The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers

[Krsqk]

[ooc: I wasn't prepared for Jack's sudden possessiveness about "his" new toy. I didn't catch that you were setting up conflict between Arthur and John until after your Last post.]

Arthur quickly does another life detection spell, slightly altered to make it look like it was cast from the castle. Signs of life are shown, with the usualy delay, a few hundred yards inside the cave. A detect magic spell, however, does not detect anything.

Arthur "That's odd. It's the same thing I encountered on the way to the manor. There seems to be some sort of selective filter which allows some spells to pass and blocks others. I don't know if it blocks on the inward path or the return path, though, or how it would affect spells cast inside it. It's almost like a semi-permeable membrane."

Everyone takes a moment to check themselves over and make any Last-minute preparations for whatever they will find.

[Jack Simth]

ooc:[I was just setting up the possibility; your character, your decision. No matter.]

Jack looks at the cave thoughtfully.

Jack "We could set up a probe ... let's see ... I need a spell detection stealth bubble to work in ..."

Jack sets up a spell detection supression bubble, and pulls a small wooden disk out of his robes.
Jack "Hmm, Last one; I'm going to need to find a decent carpenter soon. Ah well; they are for practicing enchantments, and that I have been doing. Anyway ... on the probe itself, I need a recall mechanism ... a scanning mechanism ... some spell detection stealth ... some psionic stealth ... and some memory ..."

Jack takes a moment to write several glowing runes on it.

Jack "There, that should do it. We'll know what's up in a minute."

Jack rolls the disk into the cave. A moment later, the disk rolls back out of its own accord. Jack picks it up, looks at it for a bit, and puts it in a pocket of his robe.

Jack "It took a quick look around from the inside, and came up with some interesting results. First off: John, that barrier is your spell. Nice work by the way, but I suspect you don't remember making it; there is a forced aspect to it, as though someone was searching memory for instructions rather than just doing it. As for what it does, it is a selectively permiable membrane. It traps any magic it finds on the way in and suppresses traces very effectively, but lets psionics and solid matter pass freely. I suspect it registers Arthur's detect life spell as psionics, but it takes a while to make that determination, hence the delay. The probe noticed several spells running on the inside, but didn't get enough of a look to tell what they do. We shouldn't have any trouble getting in."

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ooc:[only the baron's soldier's where converging on us. now, let's see...the telepath can't send the baron back to where he thinks we are because the bandits are nearing the baron's manor, so i guess he just keeps going.]

they had been riding for an hour now and they where getting nervious. the baron seemed almost obsessed on that mountain peak ahead and only thirty had been left to guard the manor with bandits about. but, he was the baron and maybe he knew something they didn't.

the bandits could easily see the the baron's manor and the town if they climbed a tree, although it all looked like toy blocks. in two more hours, they would be there. the plan was simple, they couldn't take the town until reinforcements got here, so they would attack the back wall of the manor. with only thirty soldier's on guard, it would be easy.

Narp, remembering the Last cave they went into, picked up a stick and said "D, can you cast silence on the stick? and Jack, could you cast a life-simulation spell on it?"

"sure."

"adapting the spell from a flat, regular cylindrical base to a long, irregular cylindrical base will provide a little practice."

two short spells later, Narp rapped the stick around the cave walls, then stepped in.

a short walk and many raps in, the cave diverged into three different paths. from the left, one up the cave wall and going up, the other low on the cave wall and going down, the other level with the floor and going right. the wizard's could see a pale and shifting spell over all three doors and the space between. so, everyone stopped short of the room.

ooc:[hope you don't mind, but Jack's all out of disks and i didn't want to spend most of today, real-time, deciding how we're going to enter the cave.]

[ July 15, 2003, 19:03: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

Jack looks closely at the door.

Jack "Someone spent a lot of time on this. Again, it has that forced look to it."

John "Yes, yes it does. Hmm, I recognize every one of thse runes ... they seem to be in my style ... and have my signiture. That's odd; I don't remember making it."

ooc:[We've never actually told him he was being possessed, have we? He could readily be in denial at this point (especially with the comment Narf gave him about thinking he had been blocking).]

Jack's eye wanders over to the hinges.

Jack "Hmm. It seems the focus was on protecting the door and lock. The hinges were ignored completely, and could be removed without difficulty. As we are in a hurry, I suppose we can do without disenchanting the door for now; the enchantment will still be here on the way out ... Narp, got a knife?"

ooc:[Someone searching through another's memory for instructions on complex tasks would likely miss something of how they are supposed to be used; forgetting about the hinges, for example.]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ooc:[oops. musta missed that.]

Narp "at least seven or eight."

Narp sits down, pulls his pack out and rumages through it till he finds a knife about four inches long and an inch wide with a rounded tip. "this should do."

"i must remember to get a screwdriver once where back in town. now, i suppose it's best i remove those screws."

Narp sets to work on the screws. fortunatly, nothing blows up.

after a few minutes work, the screws come off. Narp carefully pulls the door out and lays it aside.

beyond lies a coridoor filled with heat. Narp's eyebrows are singed as he takes several steps backword.

ooc:[uh-oh, his scholar's showing.]

[ July 19, 2003, 09:03: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

Jack peers into the halway.

Jack "That's odd ... there isn't enough power being used to sustain the heat that seems to be there."

D "You're right. That means one of three things: either the heat is an illusion, it isn't being generated by magic, or it isn't being added to and will cool off on its own after a while."

Jack "Well, the first is easy enough to check..."

Jack reaches into his robes and pulls out an empty cloth bag, and throws it down the corridor.

Jack "Now, we wait a few moments."

A few minutes later, the bag is still just sitting there.

D "It seems the heat is an illusion. I can take care of that."

D casts his trusty dispel on the corridor, and the heat dissapears. Jack walks in and picks up his bag.

Jack "It seems to be safe." Jack checks the detect life spell. "The psi seems to be just beyond the door at the end of this hallway."

The party moves catiously down the corridor.

When they reach the door, Jack looks closely at it.

Jack "This one isn't enchanted, but there are indications of traps of a mundane nature. Hmm, I wonder how the psi deals with them? I suppose there is probably a switch somewhere. Let's see...."

Jack begins examining the walls, floor, and cieling.

ooc:[Jack isn't used to dismantaling mudane stuff; he's likely to glance right past what he is looking for if it is concealed well.]

ooc:[done with this one unless we don't get any new Posts for a day or two.]

[ July 20, 2003, 07:58: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[Krsqk]

After several moments waiting for Jack to find some sign of the traps he's looking for, Arthur becomes impatient and mutters something under his breath. The surface of the wall begins to glow as if it were red-hot, causing every crack and crevice to stand out clearly. A push switch to the upper left of the door, two dart traps on each side, and a trap door three inches to the left of Jack's foot are seen, besides numerous cracks and scratches in the wall which appear to be natural in origin.

Arthur "There, that's better. Narp, I think this is more your department than mine. Care to try your hand at the switch?"

[ooc: I suppose the switch doesn't have to disarm the traps; it could be a little more complex than that. Either way, Arthur'll let Narp take the darts in the arm. ]

[ July 21, 2003, 03:10: Message edited by: Krsqk ]