Post by Gomer Sting on Apr 22, 2010 22:05:13 GMT -5
Clue #17
Huh - you did well. Who knew you had it in you?
Well, I suppose I had better live up to my part of the bargain, or else you'll come around and stand in my chrysanthemums again...
The runes you sent me are, as you know, teleportation runes, and these lead directly into one of the Ur’agoth hideouts. This way they bypass the door, which can be a little tricky sometimes. You see, it tends to move around a lot. The door is never fixed in one spot for more than an hour, so it can be difficult to find at the best of times, and teleporting straight into the main chamber can be so much simpler. Much more dramatic too, which they love...
You, however, won’t have any such luck with teleporting in. You’ll have to find the door yourself and get in that way.
Now I’m off to the arena to place a few bets on fighting adventurers with my new favourite amulet!
-Shinboz
Ps. Given that you seem to be chasing after someone in the group I used to belong to, I was ready to just steal the amulet and then run away without giving you any real guidance in return, but on reflection you do seem to be very good at finding lost things, so escaping you might not be as easy as I thought. Let me give you this advice:
Morality is rarely black and white, but you’ll have more than a hill to climb if you want to find the Ur’agoth Brotherhood.
[Obscure] Spoiler: Solution of clue #17
Between black and white is gray and a mountain is more than a hill. Our last step is to go to The Gray Mountains
[Obscure] Spoiler: Clue #17 solved
You’re standing in front of a door, which you’re sure was a solid rock just a few moments ago. I mean, it’s possible you just didn’t notice it before, and maybe this door doesn’t go anywhere interesting at all, but it does seem unlikely.
You tentatively push against it, and it doesn’t budge. You push harder and harder, but it resolutely refuses to move. You throw your shoulder against it before stepping back and placing a few well aimed kicks at certain points in the framework which would have brought down any normal door, but this one remains resolutely immobile. After a minute’s flustered attacking the door you stop for a moment and notice the small sign that reads "pull" just above the handle. You reach out and tentatively pull the door, which opens with a smooth swing outwards. Blushing brightly enough to scare off any grues you descend into the dark cave.
You may well never know what it is about dank, dark caves that attracts evil wizards and their like. Honestly, would the occasional throw rug or bean bag have been just too much to ask? As you progress through the corridors your eyes slowly adjust to the faint light thrown by the occasional lit torch, and your ears catch the distant sound of chanting: always a sure sign that evil is afoot. You creep toward the sound and, peaking around a corner, you see a vast chamber. The ceiling is covered in tendrils of light which swirl towards the centre and then arc down into a crystal, which is slowly, but steadily, glowing stronger. Off to one side, Frizzlebits is standing near a deep pit, watching with rapt attention as the other dark wizards chant and sway, all attention directed on the crystal in the centre of the room.
"Well," you think, "if it’s that important to them, it’s probably something I should put a stop to..." You consider what the best plan of attack could possibly be, and look around for the precision tool required to carry out your stratagem. "Aha!" you pick up a reasonably sized rock, "this should do nicely..." and with a grunt you send it flying across the air, crashing into the crystal, and cracking it right down the middle.
There is a cave-shaking boom and immediately the pattern of light reverses, with the swirling cyclone on the ceiling all but vanishing and the glow of the crystal starting to fade as the light starts to leak out and dissipate into the air.
The wizards, whatever connection they may have had with the crystal now shattered, are thrown backwards and lie sprawled around the cave floor for a moment before getting to their feet and yelling at each other.
"The crystal is shattered!"
"Woe and alas!"
"Run, run for your lives!"
"Rhubarb, Rhubarb!"
"It cannae take it cap’n!"
"It’s gonna blow!!!"
As the dark wizards run from the crystal and in some cases into each other, Frizzlebits looks around, searching for the origin of the missile. After a moment scanning the area he spots you reaching out from behind the corner to get another rock.
"YOU!!!" he screams in fury, "NOT YOU AGAI-" Fortunately he never finished the sentence, as your well aimed rock rebounds off his forehead, and he stumbles backwards, falling straight into the pit behind him.
As the last of the panicked wizards flee the room, still screaming about how everything was about to explode, you walk over and examine the crystal. The crack, although not too big right now, is slowly spreading, and seems to be reacting to pressurised magical energies from within the gem. There’s no way to tell how long it will be until the crystal shatters, but it’s probably not a good idea to be around when it happens. You hurry over to the pit, searching through your backpack to see if there’s a rope you can use to climb down and get Frizzlebits, but as you arrive at the edge you see it won’t be needed. The pit stretches down deep into the bowels of the earth, vanishing into an impenetrable darkness below you. Picking up a pebble, you hold it over the edge and drop it in, straining to hear even the faintest noise as it hits the bottom, but there’s nothing. It must be one of the old bottomless pits, although you thought that they’d all been filled in. Oh well, whether there’s a bottom or not, either way it seems that Frizzlebits is out of your life forever. You turn and hurry back to the surface; there’s no point in hanging around in here any longer than you have to with that crystal cracking more every minute. You should probably head back to G.U.E. Tech anyway, and report to the Grand Wizard.
***
Half an hour later, with the chamber completely deserted and nothing to be heard but the occasional snap and crackle from the gem, a whisper of an echo drifts up out of the pit...
"Ow!"
[Obscure] Spoiler: The very last step
Go to G.U.E. Tech
[Obscure] Spoiler: Quest completed
The Grand Wizard looks at you across steepled fingers, "so, he’s dead?"
"Yes, I’m-"
"You’re sure he’s dead?"
"He fell down a bottomless pit, I think that’s pretty conclusive"
"Hmm... alright then, so he can’t complain that we’ve already spent his pension on my birthday party. Excellent! That’s all I really needed to know. Thanks for dropping by."
"But what about me? I have so many questions! Who are these dark wizards? Why are they out to get you? How many more nefarious plots are they hatching? What was that crystal? What were they doing with it? Will it actually explode? And while do I feel.... strangely stronger?"
"Well, you were pretty strange to begin with, but I imagine the answer to your final question is ‘because you’re finally advancing again’. The whole tangled web revolves around that crystal, you see. They were draining the power of the world’s top adventurers (and you), and storing it within the crystal, although what they were going to use it for, we have no idea. Frizzlebits seemed to be essentially bait, luring you all here to G.U.E. Tech and then keeping track of you as you ventured throughout the world, killing things and gaining power - which they would then immediately drain. When you cracked the crystal, the power started to seep back out into the world, so it's no wonder you feel stronger again. However, as the crystal wasn’t completely shattered, your abilities may take some time to return to normal levels - but as soon as the crystal explodes, everything should be made right. Unfortunately we have no idea how long this will take, and before you suggest it, no, you can’t go and destroy it yourself. When it finally shatters the crystal will explode with enough force to destroy the cave, if not the mountain, so standing beside it with a hammer would probably be a bad idea. As for your other questions, I’m sure you’ll discover the answers in good time."
"Okay, but what about-"
"I’m sure you’ll discover the answers in good time."
"But-"
"I’m SURE you’ll discover the answers IN GOOD TIME."
You give in with a sigh. Sometimes banging your head against a brick wall seems so much more intellectual... "Okay, fine. But can I at least have the brooch you promised me?"
"...Brooch? Promised? You? Are you sure you’re thinking of the same Grand Wizard?"
"But you said-"
"Well, I suppose we COULD give you a brooch. But do you really deserve one? They are still very rare, and can’t be handed out to just anyone. I shall send you on a series of quests, which will test you and... um..." He falters as he sees your hand, trembling with rage, reach for your weapon. "You know what? Actually, I think you’ve proved yourself enough already!" He gets out of his seat and walks over to a nearby closet. With a wave of his hand the doors glide open and you see a small room stuffed to the brim with Dex Machine brooches. With another gesture a box of about twenty glides across the room and hovers in front of you.
"Here, help yourself." He says as you take one, "using this rare and mighty magical item you can now pass through the curtain unhindered and can take your anger out on any monsters which happen to be on the other side." With another wave of his hand the box is whisked away and the closet sealed once more. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some very important paperwork to do!"
You get up and walk out the door, looking over your shoulder as you leave to see that he has taken out a sheet of paper and started to fold it into the shape of an origami fireball. Somehow you’re not surprised...
Huh - you did well. Who knew you had it in you?
Well, I suppose I had better live up to my part of the bargain, or else you'll come around and stand in my chrysanthemums again...
The runes you sent me are, as you know, teleportation runes, and these lead directly into one of the Ur’agoth hideouts. This way they bypass the door, which can be a little tricky sometimes. You see, it tends to move around a lot. The door is never fixed in one spot for more than an hour, so it can be difficult to find at the best of times, and teleporting straight into the main chamber can be so much simpler. Much more dramatic too, which they love...
You, however, won’t have any such luck with teleporting in. You’ll have to find the door yourself and get in that way.
Now I’m off to the arena to place a few bets on fighting adventurers with my new favourite amulet!
-Shinboz
Ps. Given that you seem to be chasing after someone in the group I used to belong to, I was ready to just steal the amulet and then run away without giving you any real guidance in return, but on reflection you do seem to be very good at finding lost things, so escaping you might not be as easy as I thought. Let me give you this advice:
Morality is rarely black and white, but you’ll have more than a hill to climb if you want to find the Ur’agoth Brotherhood.
[Obscure] Spoiler: Solution of clue #17
Between black and white is gray and a mountain is more than a hill. Our last step is to go to The Gray Mountains
[Obscure] Spoiler: Clue #17 solved
You’re standing in front of a door, which you’re sure was a solid rock just a few moments ago. I mean, it’s possible you just didn’t notice it before, and maybe this door doesn’t go anywhere interesting at all, but it does seem unlikely.
You tentatively push against it, and it doesn’t budge. You push harder and harder, but it resolutely refuses to move. You throw your shoulder against it before stepping back and placing a few well aimed kicks at certain points in the framework which would have brought down any normal door, but this one remains resolutely immobile. After a minute’s flustered attacking the door you stop for a moment and notice the small sign that reads "pull" just above the handle. You reach out and tentatively pull the door, which opens with a smooth swing outwards. Blushing brightly enough to scare off any grues you descend into the dark cave.
You may well never know what it is about dank, dark caves that attracts evil wizards and their like. Honestly, would the occasional throw rug or bean bag have been just too much to ask? As you progress through the corridors your eyes slowly adjust to the faint light thrown by the occasional lit torch, and your ears catch the distant sound of chanting: always a sure sign that evil is afoot. You creep toward the sound and, peaking around a corner, you see a vast chamber. The ceiling is covered in tendrils of light which swirl towards the centre and then arc down into a crystal, which is slowly, but steadily, glowing stronger. Off to one side, Frizzlebits is standing near a deep pit, watching with rapt attention as the other dark wizards chant and sway, all attention directed on the crystal in the centre of the room.
"Well," you think, "if it’s that important to them, it’s probably something I should put a stop to..." You consider what the best plan of attack could possibly be, and look around for the precision tool required to carry out your stratagem. "Aha!" you pick up a reasonably sized rock, "this should do nicely..." and with a grunt you send it flying across the air, crashing into the crystal, and cracking it right down the middle.
There is a cave-shaking boom and immediately the pattern of light reverses, with the swirling cyclone on the ceiling all but vanishing and the glow of the crystal starting to fade as the light starts to leak out and dissipate into the air.
The wizards, whatever connection they may have had with the crystal now shattered, are thrown backwards and lie sprawled around the cave floor for a moment before getting to their feet and yelling at each other.
"The crystal is shattered!"
"Woe and alas!"
"Run, run for your lives!"
"Rhubarb, Rhubarb!"
"It cannae take it cap’n!"
"It’s gonna blow!!!"
As the dark wizards run from the crystal and in some cases into each other, Frizzlebits looks around, searching for the origin of the missile. After a moment scanning the area he spots you reaching out from behind the corner to get another rock.
"YOU!!!" he screams in fury, "NOT YOU AGAI-" Fortunately he never finished the sentence, as your well aimed rock rebounds off his forehead, and he stumbles backwards, falling straight into the pit behind him.
As the last of the panicked wizards flee the room, still screaming about how everything was about to explode, you walk over and examine the crystal. The crack, although not too big right now, is slowly spreading, and seems to be reacting to pressurised magical energies from within the gem. There’s no way to tell how long it will be until the crystal shatters, but it’s probably not a good idea to be around when it happens. You hurry over to the pit, searching through your backpack to see if there’s a rope you can use to climb down and get Frizzlebits, but as you arrive at the edge you see it won’t be needed. The pit stretches down deep into the bowels of the earth, vanishing into an impenetrable darkness below you. Picking up a pebble, you hold it over the edge and drop it in, straining to hear even the faintest noise as it hits the bottom, but there’s nothing. It must be one of the old bottomless pits, although you thought that they’d all been filled in. Oh well, whether there’s a bottom or not, either way it seems that Frizzlebits is out of your life forever. You turn and hurry back to the surface; there’s no point in hanging around in here any longer than you have to with that crystal cracking more every minute. You should probably head back to G.U.E. Tech anyway, and report to the Grand Wizard.
***
Half an hour later, with the chamber completely deserted and nothing to be heard but the occasional snap and crackle from the gem, a whisper of an echo drifts up out of the pit...
"Ow!"
[Obscure] Spoiler: The very last step
Go to G.U.E. Tech
[Obscure] Spoiler: Quest completed
The Grand Wizard looks at you across steepled fingers, "so, he’s dead?"
"Yes, I’m-"
"You’re sure he’s dead?"
"He fell down a bottomless pit, I think that’s pretty conclusive"
"Hmm... alright then, so he can’t complain that we’ve already spent his pension on my birthday party. Excellent! That’s all I really needed to know. Thanks for dropping by."
"But what about me? I have so many questions! Who are these dark wizards? Why are they out to get you? How many more nefarious plots are they hatching? What was that crystal? What were they doing with it? Will it actually explode? And while do I feel.... strangely stronger?"
"Well, you were pretty strange to begin with, but I imagine the answer to your final question is ‘because you’re finally advancing again’. The whole tangled web revolves around that crystal, you see. They were draining the power of the world’s top adventurers (and you), and storing it within the crystal, although what they were going to use it for, we have no idea. Frizzlebits seemed to be essentially bait, luring you all here to G.U.E. Tech and then keeping track of you as you ventured throughout the world, killing things and gaining power - which they would then immediately drain. When you cracked the crystal, the power started to seep back out into the world, so it's no wonder you feel stronger again. However, as the crystal wasn’t completely shattered, your abilities may take some time to return to normal levels - but as soon as the crystal explodes, everything should be made right. Unfortunately we have no idea how long this will take, and before you suggest it, no, you can’t go and destroy it yourself. When it finally shatters the crystal will explode with enough force to destroy the cave, if not the mountain, so standing beside it with a hammer would probably be a bad idea. As for your other questions, I’m sure you’ll discover the answers in good time."
"Okay, but what about-"
"I’m sure you’ll discover the answers in good time."
"But-"
"I’m SURE you’ll discover the answers IN GOOD TIME."
You give in with a sigh. Sometimes banging your head against a brick wall seems so much more intellectual... "Okay, fine. But can I at least have the brooch you promised me?"
"...Brooch? Promised? You? Are you sure you’re thinking of the same Grand Wizard?"
"But you said-"
"Well, I suppose we COULD give you a brooch. But do you really deserve one? They are still very rare, and can’t be handed out to just anyone. I shall send you on a series of quests, which will test you and... um..." He falters as he sees your hand, trembling with rage, reach for your weapon. "You know what? Actually, I think you’ve proved yourself enough already!" He gets out of his seat and walks over to a nearby closet. With a wave of his hand the doors glide open and you see a small room stuffed to the brim with Dex Machine brooches. With another gesture a box of about twenty glides across the room and hovers in front of you.
"Here, help yourself." He says as you take one, "using this rare and mighty magical item you can now pass through the curtain unhindered and can take your anger out on any monsters which happen to be on the other side." With another wave of his hand the box is whisked away and the closet sealed once more. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some very important paperwork to do!"
You get up and walk out the door, looking over your shoulder as you leave to see that he has taken out a sheet of paper and started to fold it into the shape of an origami fireball. Somehow you’re not surprised...