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[K68] 27 Oltaran, in the ruins
Apr. 3rd, 2006 08:18 amWe were on the balcony beyond the big crater at the back of the ruins, trying to figure out where we should go to find Sunk. We decided to make our way through the tunnels of the ruin to the side where we had been ambushed.
Jack went ahead to scout, then came back to show us where to go next. We went down a corridor that curved left, that had alcoves along it. There was a little side room (low enough that the tall ones had to crouch) that we stayed in while Jack went scouting ahead again.
The next part of the corridor was straight, paralleling the balconies outside, and there were bits of light that came in from them. There were lots of water sounds, mostly dripping; things must be melting in the sunshine. Jack had found that one part of the corridor had shifted, and there was a ticking sound from in the crack that had formed in the floor. There was some cynlindrical thing tapping out of its honeycomb, unlike its fellows. None of us had any idea what we were glimpsing might be, other than Orem.
It was taking too long for Jack to scout ahead, covering ground three times. We changed the plan so the group would follow Jack, and he'd have a lantern to flash signals (one for stop, two for start) back at us, also a bit of string to throw, just in case. And Jack put on his Sunk hat.
We continued along the corridor, but it dead-ended; I think the crater was deep enough to disturb interior corridors here. We went back and found a passage that went farther in, planning to work our way around the crater and over to the side of the ruins we thought the Sunk were likely to be found.
Jack went ahead, and saw flickering light that faded out, then came again, like torches passing. He crept up, and found a large room with fire spheres in the air in four alcoves around the edge of the room. There was ice, debris, and snow around, as well. There were also many low tunnels that might go somewhere. Jack went around the room, passing three other major entrances like the one we'd come in, and twelve low tunnels. Jack checked one of them out, and it seemed to be a storage area of some sort, a dead end with holes in the wall that looked like they could be storage. The torches were hot when he passed, some kind of permanently contained Burdez magic.
The floor shifted, and a loud rumble passed through, especially close to Jack. It shimmered across him, and he was gone. Thymelixsen sensed magic, and found that there was Tacomic (travel) magic flowing through, and a naturally constructed frame took Jack on its random way. He could be anywhere, then. We talked about what to do, and decided to go out to the nearest balcony, then have Thymelixsen study the roots of magic stuff behind the ruins. He sensed magic, and discovered that the roots are huge frames of Tacomic magic, with thousands of parts, unlike anything he'd seen before. Outside the main frames was a tangle of outside Tacomic energies, which sometimes broke off and sailed out, dustballs off the main frame, then would come back until the energies dissipated, when whatever was in the frame (Jack) would be delivered to wherever the frame was supposed to take him. But in this case, the energies didn't dissipate, and Jack was being held in it, being nowhere in particular.
Thymelixsen could use the shields again to get close enough to the roots to sense his own magic; Jack was holding a fetish Thymelixsen had made when he vanished. It was risky to be that close, though. I asked the shields where Jack was, and they were confused that I'd asked, since he was right there with us, though on the other side of the river. We're not across the river, and the shields could get him, though it's dangerous to cross the river. While I was talking with them, I asked if they'd found the supplies we'd sent (the Espla magic Thymelixsen had put into them), and they said that they had, though the supplies had arrived far away, in the forest, and were a bit odd. It sounds like the cloaks they found are not their usual, but could be used. I'm glad it can be used, though I wonder if using a different type of energy will change them in some way.
We debated how to get Jack out of the flows of Tacomic magic. The shields could go across the river for him, but they'd said it was unsafe, and we don't know whether they'd be able to manage it at all. The other option seemed to be Thymelixsen taking the claw and vanishing the magic frame around Jack (since only he could see that), then getting him off the roots. So I gave Thymelixsen the claw to try to use it, and he worked a long time at doing that.
While he did, May went up on the shields to scout the top of the ruins. She saw paths made in the snow on the walls, and between buildings. She also spotted some Sunk coming out onto the roof of a building, at the base of a tower. Kanethorn said that the building with the tower was likely how the Sunk raised alarms, so if we could knock that out first, it would be good.
Thymelixsen finally made the pinch disappear, and felt the tug of the bionlear at him, which he hadn't been expecting; I should have warned him about that.
Thymelixsen went to find just where Jack was in the tangle of magics (finding the fetish he'd made), then came back to the balcony. Then Cor went on the shields, carrying Thymelixsen in a harness, bringing a lasso to get Jack off the roots without falling very far. And it worked: Thymelixsen vanished the roots around Jack, who was luckily situated so he didn't fall far, and Cor lassoed him, and the shields brought everyone back to the balcony. I'm still amazed that it worked.
It was almost night, and we used the shields to go back to the Shicomic nexus for the night, and figure out our assault on the tower in the morning.
Jack went ahead to scout, then came back to show us where to go next. We went down a corridor that curved left, that had alcoves along it. There was a little side room (low enough that the tall ones had to crouch) that we stayed in while Jack went scouting ahead again.
The next part of the corridor was straight, paralleling the balconies outside, and there were bits of light that came in from them. There were lots of water sounds, mostly dripping; things must be melting in the sunshine. Jack had found that one part of the corridor had shifted, and there was a ticking sound from in the crack that had formed in the floor. There was some cynlindrical thing tapping out of its honeycomb, unlike its fellows. None of us had any idea what we were glimpsing might be, other than Orem.
It was taking too long for Jack to scout ahead, covering ground three times. We changed the plan so the group would follow Jack, and he'd have a lantern to flash signals (one for stop, two for start) back at us, also a bit of string to throw, just in case. And Jack put on his Sunk hat.
We continued along the corridor, but it dead-ended; I think the crater was deep enough to disturb interior corridors here. We went back and found a passage that went farther in, planning to work our way around the crater and over to the side of the ruins we thought the Sunk were likely to be found.
Jack went ahead, and saw flickering light that faded out, then came again, like torches passing. He crept up, and found a large room with fire spheres in the air in four alcoves around the edge of the room. There was ice, debris, and snow around, as well. There were also many low tunnels that might go somewhere. Jack went around the room, passing three other major entrances like the one we'd come in, and twelve low tunnels. Jack checked one of them out, and it seemed to be a storage area of some sort, a dead end with holes in the wall that looked like they could be storage. The torches were hot when he passed, some kind of permanently contained Burdez magic.
The floor shifted, and a loud rumble passed through, especially close to Jack. It shimmered across him, and he was gone. Thymelixsen sensed magic, and found that there was Tacomic (travel) magic flowing through, and a naturally constructed frame took Jack on its random way. He could be anywhere, then. We talked about what to do, and decided to go out to the nearest balcony, then have Thymelixsen study the roots of magic stuff behind the ruins. He sensed magic, and discovered that the roots are huge frames of Tacomic magic, with thousands of parts, unlike anything he'd seen before. Outside the main frames was a tangle of outside Tacomic energies, which sometimes broke off and sailed out, dustballs off the main frame, then would come back until the energies dissipated, when whatever was in the frame (Jack) would be delivered to wherever the frame was supposed to take him. But in this case, the energies didn't dissipate, and Jack was being held in it, being nowhere in particular.
Thymelixsen could use the shields again to get close enough to the roots to sense his own magic; Jack was holding a fetish Thymelixsen had made when he vanished. It was risky to be that close, though. I asked the shields where Jack was, and they were confused that I'd asked, since he was right there with us, though on the other side of the river. We're not across the river, and the shields could get him, though it's dangerous to cross the river. While I was talking with them, I asked if they'd found the supplies we'd sent (the Espla magic Thymelixsen had put into them), and they said that they had, though the supplies had arrived far away, in the forest, and were a bit odd. It sounds like the cloaks they found are not their usual, but could be used. I'm glad it can be used, though I wonder if using a different type of energy will change them in some way.
We debated how to get Jack out of the flows of Tacomic magic. The shields could go across the river for him, but they'd said it was unsafe, and we don't know whether they'd be able to manage it at all. The other option seemed to be Thymelixsen taking the claw and vanishing the magic frame around Jack (since only he could see that), then getting him off the roots. So I gave Thymelixsen the claw to try to use it, and he worked a long time at doing that.
While he did, May went up on the shields to scout the top of the ruins. She saw paths made in the snow on the walls, and between buildings. She also spotted some Sunk coming out onto the roof of a building, at the base of a tower. Kanethorn said that the building with the tower was likely how the Sunk raised alarms, so if we could knock that out first, it would be good.
Thymelixsen finally made the pinch disappear, and felt the tug of the bionlear at him, which he hadn't been expecting; I should have warned him about that.
Thymelixsen went to find just where Jack was in the tangle of magics (finding the fetish he'd made), then came back to the balcony. Then Cor went on the shields, carrying Thymelixsen in a harness, bringing a lasso to get Jack off the roots without falling very far. And it worked: Thymelixsen vanished the roots around Jack, who was luckily situated so he didn't fall far, and Cor lassoed him, and the shields brought everyone back to the balcony. I'm still amazed that it worked.
It was almost night, and we used the shields to go back to the Shicomic nexus for the night, and figure out our assault on the tower in the morning.
