Ch. 2: Highway to Hell?

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant, master of spring:

"Why would anyone willingly reside within such an unnatural event?" the humble sensei wondered. Then a potential answer dawned upon him.

"If possible, perhaps we should all go," the unassuming monk offered as he stepped forward.
"If Emirikol is trapped in the storm, any of our skills may be required to free him."

[max_vale]

Xale Max; Dwarven Warrior-Priest


Xale turns to the Monk and says; "I doubt he's trapped in the storm, but perhaps. Anyway, I think using the side of my Cube that keeps out EVERYTHING is the way to go....and perhaps once we enter the Storm; we use a Wish to get to the center or the other side....thoughts?"

[Zhym]

Khogeki, Rool, and Odilo gather around Xale while the others wait some distance away. He holds out a cube. It's about two inches to a side, and each side is marked with a number of pips, from ⚀ to ⚅. The side with a ⚀ has thirty-six smaller dots arranged in a circle around the center pip. He presses the side marked ⚄, and a 10x10 cube of shimmering force springs into being. To those within the cube, the outside world is a little hazy and a little muted—though not muted enough, alas, to make the clanging Metalstorm tolerable.

Xale starts forward into the whirling hurricane of iron and steel. As he approaches the edge of the storm, stray shards plink off the side of the force cube. Then the cube his the storm proper. Metal ricochets off the hazy force fields. Tiny dust motes, slivers the size and sharpness of axe blades, huge slabs bigger then the force cube itself—all of them slam into the force field so hard and in such numbers you wonder if the field will hold. But it does. For now.

You move forward at a crawl. Thirty yards in, with twenty yards of the Metalstorm behind you separating you from the outside world, it's already hard to see your companions through the flying flotsam. [The DM rolls dice.] Thirteen of the thirty-six small dots on the cube face vanish. The intense pummeling the cube is taking has already burned more than a third of the cube's charges and you're only 30' into the storm!

Will Xale press on into the storm, or turn back and try something else?

Technically, a cube of force that blocks everything, living and non-living, probably wouldn't let sound or light through, but let's leave some logic at the door.

-----
Time: May 16, 3:00 PM
Status: Malibran (H LG C20(Pholtus)): 90/90; Khogeki (H LN M17): 78/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Xale (D NG C14(Dalt)/F13): 75/75; Risdac (H NG MU17): 58/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 107/107; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 93/93
Effects: PfE (Malibran): 1 turns.
Light Sources: None

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant, master of spring:

Inside the deadly chaos of the iron maelstrom, the humble sensei is calm. Serene.

True peace comes not from without, but from within.

"Shall we continue?" he asks, admiring the vast cyclone's beauty.

[GreyWolfVT]

Odilo keeps his wits as best he can with a maelstrom whirling by. "Let us either go back or proceed on but we haven't the time to delay such decisions. Xale are we turning back or proceeding onward?"

[max_vale]

Xale Mav; Dwarven Warrior-Priest


Xale says to his companions as he keeps an eye on the Cube; "We don't have long; so if somebody wants to do something like use that Wish spell; NOW is the time." He thinks furiously for a second and then yells out as loud as he can into the thick of the storm; "IF YOU CAN MAGICALLY HEAR US EMIRKOL; WE'VE ENTERED YOUR STORM! WILL YOU MEET WITH US?"

Looking at the others, he shrugs and says; "It's worth a shot".

[Norjax]

Rool Diov

Rool nods in agreement with Xale and then adds, "I THINK WE SHOULD TURN BACK WITH 55% OF THE CUBE'S CHARGES REMAINING, JUST TO BE SAFE!"

[AleBelly]

Hallagad continues to cover his ears, hoping no stray metal flies his way.

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

Risdac watches the group inside the cube advance deeper through the deadly metal-storm, fascinated by the goings on.

[Zhym]

Xale pauses and shouts into the storm. "IF YOU CAN MAGICALLY HEAR US EMIRKOL; WE'VE ENTERED YOUR STORM! WILL YOU MEET WITH US?"

Emirikol's reply, if any, is lost in the painfully screaming noise of the Metalstorm that rages just outside the force cube protecting you.

Another 14 of the small dots on Xale's cube vanish. Only nine charges remain.

-----
Time: May 16, 3:10 PM
Status: Malibran (H LG C20(Pholtus)): 90/90; Khogeki (H LN M17): 78/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Xale (D NG C14(Dalt)/F13): 75/75; Risdac (H NG MU17): 58/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 107/107; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 93/93
Effects: PfE (Malibran): expired.
Light Sources: None

[max_vale]

Xale Mav; Dwarven Warrior-Priest


Xale sees that nothing is happening by entering the Storm; so with a sigh, he yells to his fellow adventurers; "Well....I guess this was a waste of time. Emirikol can't magically hear us...the storm didn't dissipate just by us entering it and my Cube is running low on charges. Let's get out of here while we can". With that, the Dwarf will move as quick as he can (ensuring the others stay near him to the best of his ability) in the exact reverse direction they traveled into the Storm from.

[Zhym]

Seeing no other option, Xale turns and heads back out of the storm as quickly as he can manage—which, with his cube of force still set to block everything it can block, is an agonizingly slow 30 yards/turn.

Those waiting outside the storm see Xale, Odilo, Khogeki, and Rool emerge just as the force field around them drops. The cube is out of charges for the day.

-----
Time: May 16, 3:20 PM
Status: Malibran (H LG C20(Pholtus)): 90/90; Khogeki (H LN M17): 78/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Xale (D NG C14(Dalt)/F13): 75/75; Risdac (H NG MU17): 58/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 107/107; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 93/93
Effects: None
Light Sources: None

[ravenn4544]

Malibran will step away from the maelstrom to a manageable (quieter) distance and signal the group to gather around. "Friends, our path is clear yet strewn with mighty obstacles. The brave attempt to traverse the fury with the Cube was thwarted, however by doing so, we have learned the formidable strength the Cube can provide! Now a choice to be made. I suggest we utilize one of the several Favors of Pholtus I have been blessed with. A mighty magic indeed. I urge caution and restraint in our attempt and, in so doing so, think we should be further cautious with our potential ally. Consider. He has offered his assistance should we face him, yet has allowed this seemingly impenetrable Maelstrom of Metal to block our path. A test perhaps? Perhaps it teaches us something about him. i think that something is to tread carefully and thoughtfully. Our friends lives may be counting on that. With that, if folks are ready, I suggest we bow our heads and pray for the Light of Pholtus to advance us on our path!"

Malibran bows his head and chants some prayers and words that are largely unknown. He takes careful and sincere time to praise the deeds of his mighty and righteous lord, Pholtus, and makes similar efforts in humbly asking for assistance on the difficult quest before them.

His arms then reach wide to the sky in a final blessing and appreciation of the mighty Pholtus. "May the Favor of Pholtus Bless us and Keep us Safe!"

He pauses, takes a deep breath, then quiets himself and his heart and utters his humble prayer...

I wish for this group of adventurers present here to teleport safely through the maelstrom to the entrance, respectfully, of Emerikol's lair.... and reaches to his hand and twists a simple and tarnished band of gold....

[GreyWolfVT]

Odilo agrees with Malibran "True we did in turn learn at least two things the cube's protections are powerful though limited. The chaotic makes sense to the title and the maelstrom as well proves it."

[Zhym]

Malibran says a prayer—not a spell, but a prayer to Pholtus that what he is about to attempt does not go horribly wrong. When everyone is ready, he twists his ring and speaks his wish:

"I wish for this group of adventurers present here to teleport safely through the maelstrom to the entrance, respectfully, of Emerikol's lair"

One of the four pearls on his ring bursts. The world vanishes about you. After a moment of disorienting nothingness, the world reappears.

You find yourselves standing on a small ledge on the side of an impossibly tall black crystal spire. It is calm here, although the noise from the Metalstorm remains high. As for that storm, it surrounds you like a clanging, chaotic, metallic upturned bowl. What light passes through the storm is dim and gray. The inside edges of the storm seem to be several hundred yards away, flying above you like deadly low-hanging clouds that happen to be made of metal smashing into each other at tremendous speeds. Standing inside the Metalstorm is like being surrounded by a shifting, swirling, twisting, turbulent sea. It is all you can do to avoid vertigo just being inside the thing.

The spire does not help with your vertigo any. It looms a thousand feet above you. You can barely make out the walls of some sort of metal fortress atop the spire. Below, the spire drops another thousand feet to a rocky sea shore. The spire stands at what must once have been Point Harrow. North past the spire lie the cold waters of the Northern Sea, calm except where the Metalstorm kicks up a boiling froth where it intersects with the water. Behind you to the south, about 150 yards across a great big bunch of nothing, are cliffs. The cliffs nearest you are glass-smooth and semicircular, as if a column-shaped section of the cliffs ending at the point where you now stand had simply been cut away. The top of the cliffs are level with your position on the ledge.

In front of you, an iron bar is embedded into the crystal of the spire three feet above the ledge. Above the bar, a bas-relief bust, seemingly of the same dark crystal as the rest of the tower, constantly shifts form. One moment, it is a gargoyle head. The next, a dragon. Then an angular, twisted likeness of a woman's face, with her nose off to one side and one eye high much higher than the other, each looking in different directions. Then it is a single, perfectly round glowing eye with three mouths below it, each of them also perfectly round. It keeps shifting, a different face every few seconds.

A chorus of voices comes from the faces, one face at a time, as they shift: "Grasp, and speak of the beauty of chaos."

-----
Time: May 16, 3:30 PM
Status: Malibran (H LG C20(Pholtus)): 90/90; Khogeki (H LN M17): 78/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Xale (D NG C14(Dalt)/F13): 75/75; Risdac (H NG MU17): 58/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 107/107; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 93/93
Effects: PfE (Malibran): None
Light Sources: None

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant, master of spring:

The disciple of order, balance and harmony has nothing to say of the beauty of chaos.

He serenely awaits the response of one of his companions to Emirikol's latest request.

[Urson]

Tanner

The black-skinned warrior bows his head respectfully when the priest says his prayer, but tenses and grips the hilt of his sword when the Wish is used.

Sometimes, wishes work exactly right. He shakes his head, as if surprised.

When he hears the challenge from the statue, he strides over, grips the bar with both hands (tightly) and says All things arise from Chaos. It contains all the Beauty that can possibly exist.

[Norjax]

Rool Diov, Dexterous Thief

Rool insures that his footing is solid against the surface of the narrow ledge. He casually takes in the scene about them and contemplates how long it would take to hit the ground if he fell from here.

He then steps back and gestures his dislike of the Chaos relief.

[AleBelly]

Tanner

The black-skinned warrior bows his head respectfully when the priest says his prayer, but tenses and grips the hilt of his sword when the Wish is used.

Sometimes, wishes work exactly right. He shakes his head, as if surprised.

When he hears the challenge from the statue, he strides over, grips the bar with both hands (tightly) and says All things arise from Chaos. It contains all the Beauty that can possibly exist.

"Sellout" grumbles Hallagad to the monk. The paladin considers speaking against the vagaries of chaos, but decides discretion is the order of the day. He stands silent.

[ravenn4544]

Malibran gratefully acknowledges the blessings of Pholtus to hear his prayer and advance them on their quest. He takes in the view of the tower and the revolving maelstrom with awe.

He notices Tanner grasping the bar and watches for any immediate affect.