IC VIII

[Bouv]

Tratiln readies his sword and torch as the party proceeds

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Bregalad calls for Lanny to step back and, flexing his panther-like muscles he takes a shot at forcing the door open. This time, all can see the mighty elf bounce off the door, a resistable force meeting an unmovable object. It is almost as if the door were treated with some sort of elf-repellant, so violently are they rebuffed.

Two natural 20s in a row! I probably should assess some damage to you guys, but didn't.

[/quote]

this had me laughing so hard.

Innana is finding much entertainment watching the group maneuver the castle rooms. As always she follows the group watching from the rear.

[thirdkingdom]

So, you guys are cool with continuing west?

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Party Caller: The party will proceed through the door to the west.

[sulldawga]

Marodin says, "Go west, young elf."

[thirdkingdom]

The door opens to reveal a corridor leading immediately south. The corridor runs south for fifty feet then turns west. Sfter ten feet it opens up into a room fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep. There are closed doors in the center of the northern and western walls. The room is dimly lit by six glowing globes set into the walls. Standing in what looks to be the exact center of the room is a four-foot tall pedestal, perhaps a foot in diameter and carved from a whitish stone. Set atop the pedestal is a clear crystal slightly larger than a man's fist. The crystal is illuminated from above by another of the glowing orbs.

The room is otherwise empty.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Is there anything about the crystal or pedestal that Drudsa would recognize with his arcane knowledge?

[thirdkingdom]

Drudsa the dabbler

Is there anything about the crystal or pedestal that Drudsa would recognize with his arcane knowledge?

There is nothing obviously magical about either, actually.

[sulldawga]

Marodin rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Semele, what do you make of this?"

Religious Lore check, please. And a Tracking check for Marodin, to see what the traffic looks like in this room.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny looks around the large room.

"My goodness, this basement level is quite extensive... Perhaps this is where the real power behind the throne was wielded..."

Lanny enters the room and examines one of the glowing globes on the wall.

"These globes are interesting sources of light... I wonder what keeps them glowing?"

Can he tell what is illuminating them?

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys examines the pedestal closely, looking for any signs of markings or engravings or even indications of traps or secret buttons or compartments.

[thirdkingdom]

Marodin searches the floor for tracks. He finds none, but does note that the floor seems unusually clear of dust. Semele ponders for a few moments, then shrugs. "No idea, Master Marodin. It is like nothing I have every seen. But it seems awfully suspicious, if you ask me."

Lanny examines the glowing globes. They are perhaps six inches in diameter, and fashioned from some sort of curved glass let into the stone. The light source reminds him of some of the elven lights he had seen before, although they are more utilitarian in nature and less works of art. Rhys examines the pedestal. He can find no trap.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny rejoins the others after examining the globes.

"Artificial lighting... possibly magical in nature. Perhaps this was once the laboratory of the court wizard..."

Lanny stands next to Rhys and studies the pedestal.

"Well, anything placed on a pedestal in the center of a room must have some significance... and perhaps some power as well. We should scan it for magical energies... Then I think that either we try to take the crystal, or tinker with it in some way to try to determine its power, or else we just continue on."

Party Caller: Any ideas on taking or tinkering with the crystal?

If and when we continue on, Lanny votes to go through the door to the west. He would like to try to determine the full extent of this basement level.

[thirdkingdom]

Neither the pedestal nor the orb appears to be magical. The light-giving globes, however, are certainly magical.

[sulldawga]

Marodin thinks we should leave the pedestal in place for the time being and continue searching.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods in agreement with Marodin.

"Yes, perhaps the rooms beyond the doors will shed more light upon the nature of this particular chamber. We'll be passing through here again anyway, since there were a couple of doors to the east that we still needed to check. For now, I suggest we examine the two doors in this room, and then continue on through the western door, if everything about them is equal. What say you all?"

Lanny looks around the room at the walls and the floor.

"I wonder... Thus far on the basement level we have seen larger rooms and wider corridors than what we encountered on the ground level. The floors in some rooms are also cleaner and more free of dust and debris. It is feasible, I suppose, that the basement, or at least this wing of the basement, is of more recent construction than the rest of the castle. Thordin, do you notice any difference in the stonework between the two levels?"

[thirdkingdom]

To Thordin's eye the stonework appears to be of the same vintage, and by the same hand.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys steps back from the pedestal and says, "I can't find anything unusual about the pedestal, other than it being a pedestal in the middle of the room with a crystal orb on the center of it, lit up by magical means... I'd rather not touch it until we know more about it. I agree; let us move on for now."

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter

Is entranced by the illuminated Crystal, and as the group is leaving she puts her hand over the crystal. She steps back quickly realizing she may have done something that could be dangerous. She draws her dagger quickly and backs up a couple of steps.

[Bouv]

Tratiln looks around, intrigued. "It's almost as if the top is just a decoy for what is or was going on below."