Act 4: Maelstrom

[zevonian]

"This place is doubly magicked. Illusion covers all."

The testing of the seal is an encouraging sign to the Yallah. "Vok would press upon it with staff if there is no diss uh green mint."

[GeoAvanti]

"Do it," Karak agrees.

[zevonian]

One voice of agreement was enough. One tip of the ebon staff was pressed against where the seal had a fraction of weakness. The weapon crackled with flickers of lightning as it made contact.

[Fading Echo]

Vok is able to push it back a fraction again, with the sound of stone grinding against stone, but can do nothing further. Testing it further, it feels like it would take a great deal of physical strength, or a group effort, to push the seal further, if indeed it can go further.

[zevonian]

"We would all press upon the seal at once. Or Vok would use magicks to try to knock down an exit."

[Klomag]

"I do not longer have the strength of an orc," Korruth says sadly. "However, I can use my power to contribute a great push on the fake wall."

If the group pushes on the wall, Korruth manifests his power to push mightily alongside them.

[zevonian]

"Let us get to this then."

Fake wall or not, the push was the best idea of the moment, and thus Vok steadied himself for one more attempt with the staff.

But then he decided that to use a portion of his granted magicks to weaken this trap. "Step back for a moment." Orcish insistances followed as he freed one hand for casting purposes. When his comrades were clear behind him as he faced the seal, he attempted to dispel the magicks he had detected.

 

Casting Dispel Magic on the seal. I'm going to go ahead and roll the check.

Dice Roll:

d20+11

(11)+11

Total = 22

Further OOC: Don't know if it's showing up for any of you, but I'm getting a notice of a duplicate roll that has been deleted. I have no idea what the source of this glitch is.

Warning: rolls have been deleted from this post.

[Fading Echo]

The illusion of nothingness in the tunnel dissipates at Vok's spell. A seal is preventing the party's exit - from the looks of it, it is designed to roll into a side slot. Given the weightless condition of the plane, though, it would probably take the combined strength of two or more party members to exert enough leverage to move it. Then again, it appears to be made of stone. It could perhaps be destroyed.

[zevonian]

"Now we know what is to be moved. We would finish this now."

Vok motioned for his comrades to step back towards him so that they could deal with the seal once and for all.

[Klomag]

"I agree, Vok," Korruth says. "We must do this now and move on. These illusions are becoming troublesome." Seeing that it is not quite as heavy as they expected, Korruth forgoes his sorcery and just grips the seal next to Vok.

[zevonian]

The Yallah waves once more towards his allies and then adds his strength to Korruth's endeavour.

[Endless Twilight]

Alyssa joins the orcs and adds her strength to the effort.

[Fading Echo]

Despite the stone's protests, the seal moves under the combined muscle of the orcs and Alyssa. Until something becomes apparent far too late - the party may have spent a while in the weightless conditions of the plane, but their senses and reflexes are still based on a world with gravity. Which is why, when applying leverage to the seal, the seal doesn't move. The tunnel structure does, and although the tunnel locks back into looking out at the sky, a new problem becomes evident.

With a sickening lurch, gravity reasserts itself and the party falls down the now-vertical shaft, passing through the semi-illusionary wall. The party lands with a crunch, though the impact is softer than one might expect - gravity might be present now, but it's weaker than on the Prime, and the fall stuns the party rather than hurts them.

They have come to rest in what was, at one point, a defensive checkpoint. No longer. It is a room, perhaps forty feet long by twenty across, and one end has shattered iron doors beyond which is a structure similar to the portal some of the party recall a Dawn Guard named Madeline assembling. On the other end is another set of doors, these closed.

And there has been a battle here. Eight humanoid constructs lie on the floor, broken and destroyed. So do three humans in bronze-colored plate, and there is evidence of multiple traps having fired - a pit trap in the corridor, dozens of arrows from holes in the walls, a scorched area that calls a fireball to mind. Nothing appears to be alive.

[zevonian]

"Who still remains here?"
Vok, eyes upward, if not neccesarily skyward, was actually speaking to someone, anyone, other than his fellow fallers.

"Who still remains here?"

He looked towards one of the humans as he spoke the so called common tongue.

[Fading Echo]