Quest Into The Magic Grotto [Open]

[Selina Della Altas]

It took an immense measure of research and scrying to find the hidden grotto, Selina had to call on her sisters aid in order to uncover the location, with their combined power they were able to discern where this cave of ancient knowledge and magic lay. In the foothills of the spine hidden in a cave.

Spoiler

It was even harder though to find sufficient help for going into this cave. There were bound to be dangers inside, guardians and monsters that are called by the power of the magical nexus of the grotto. But as luck would have it, a mercenary group of good repute and moderate success was willing to take on this job.

They now stood outside the mouth of the cave. Selina had made a rudimentary map based on their scrying of the place, but it appears that there is a complex cave system that guards the grotto. Selina was confident that she could lead them through, but there were no doubt monsters also guarding these tunnels. Her safety was truly in the hands of the men around her.
She can guide them, but it was up to them to decide how best to get her to the grotto.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Wasn't every day an attractive wizard hired a mercenary troupe. Ledhros had selected a Silver Key contingent for this job based primarily on their ability to keep their mouths shut and hands to themselves. He'd wound up with a dozen men - not a large force. Not at all.

The cave environment precluded polearms and longbows. His men carried climbing picks, axes, rope, short bows or light crossbows, knives, and plenty of torches. Throw in food and water and each had maybe thirty pounds of assorted gear, quite a bit for spelunking.

Ledhros went first with an arrow on the string. He'd stocked up for this mission by slaughtering a local nocturnal lizard that could see quite well in the dark. His eyes, he knew, looked serpentine - mimicry magic at work.

"First cavern looks clear," he called back.

Selina Altas

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She nodded. So it was time to begin.
She held her staff in both hands as she adjusted a crystal in the tangled roots of the head. She whispered and incantation and the rock glowed with a white light.
"Light torches everyone, and don't go off by yourselves. This is a complex cave system and one wrong turn can leave you stranded unless a miracle comes to save you."

She took a step towards the cave. She had the map memorized but anything could go wrong in that cave.
"We'll be taking the left passage first, Captain Caur. I recommend your best scouting men take the lead, only to mark other passages we come across and whatever tracks or other signs may be present. So long as they don't go exploring on their own."

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Selina Altas

Ledhros winced at the torches' glare, but his enhanced sight was already fading back to normal. He had rochole lizard jerky enough for plenty of moments in the dark, if necessary.

"Togle, Bant, chalk and line please."

His best underground scouts were both dwarves with extremely wide red beards that they refused to tame. Their soft boots scuttled into the dark at a reasonable pace for the main group to match. Ledhros went third, right after the dwarves.

"Droppings," said Bant, or possibly Togle, holding up a turd. "Not sure what, but it eats meat."

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She looked at the droppings and shook her head, it could belong to any number of creatures that she could think of that dwell in caves.
Though she could discern what it wasn't; It didn't come from a Troll, a Carrion Crawler, or a Cave Roper. But it was larger than anything a normal animal would produce.

"We should be cautious, there are larger monsters hunting these caves. Be on guard, the passage ahead is our direction."
She extinguished her light, just because it would do them no good to alert any monsters prematurely by attracting them with light.

She followed them into the cave.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Without the brilliance of Selina Altas' magic, the torches kept the light situation relatively subdued. For a local apex predator, though, a dozen travelers would be easy to spot or smell or hear. No way around it.

The way ahead opened into a large chamber with two exits. An identical statue of a dragon loomed over each exit. Ledhros held up his torch for a better view of the carving between them.

One door brings death, one opens safely.
One of us speaks only truth, the other speaks it never.
Ask one question of each of us.

"You any good at riddles, ma'am?"

 

[Ezra Archiva]

Sheer excitement and thrill threatened to become audible, just barely contained by the young mage who joined them. The journey he now accompanied was a unique one, that was certain. After all, magic grottos weren't all that common. Despite that, however, he had managed to hear word and promptly sign up to accompany the wizard on her expedition into the mystical unknown. What they might find within it, he didn't know, but it was bound to be something of interest.

He had stayed silent for the beginning, quietly following orders as they traversed the cave system. At the sight of the droppings, he tilted his head, sharing the sentiments of the wizard. Whatever had been responsible for it, it was quite large. Something to be wary of, even if they saw no other signs of it.

It wasn't until they came to the set of two doors where he spoke. A riddle was much more up his alley, far more than analyzing creature droppings at the very least. "Actually," he spoke up, "I might be."

He stepped up to one of the doors, looking up at the looming statue of a dragon. He thought for a moment, considering how to phrase his question, before asking, "If I asked which door opened safely, which one would the other dragon statue tell me?"

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ezra Archiva

MY BROTHER WOULD SAY TO TURN RIGHT, both dragon statues rumbled, unmoving, more felt than heard.

 

[Ezra Archiva]

"Lovely," Ezra remarked as he heard the rumbling answer. To his companions, he said, "In that case, we'll be heading to the left." He gestured for the mercenaries to go forward, as they were clearly better suited for scouting than he was, before following.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

(Sorry, forgot to watch this.)

Selina was a bit confounded by the riddle door, such a thing hadn't appeared in her scrying. Could she have overlooked it?
At least the magic user that came with them had a nose for riddles, and he seemed confident that he chose the right door. She nodded to him as the scouts went to check it out.
"I would have asked a different question, but it seems your choice may have prevailed."
She didn't reveal her concern for the discrepancy between this door and her previous scrying and mapping of the tunnels.

She followed after them once they gave the all clear.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ezra Archiva

Togle and Bant, quite sensibly, scouted out the 'safe' door and passage thoroughly. They stayed in sight at the edge of the torchlight. In short order they pronounced it clear, and the party continued.

Ledhros sidled up to the wizard Selina Altas. "Thought you'd scryed this place," he mumbled. "Any idea why the magic statues didn't show up? Could something in the tunnels be messing with the scry?"

Up ahead, one of the dwarven scouts whistled. They'd come to a new obstacle: a sturdy stone door with a riddle carved in it.

I am a tower of steel and light
Though I am burning, never shall I fall

"Uhhhh..."

 

[Ezra Archiva]

Ezra, pleased with his success, walked with them once the two scouts confirmed it to be safe. "Whoever made those statues could very well be capable of setting something up to dissuade scrying," he offered in regards to why the riddles weren't picked up.

He stopped once they came upon the door, biting his lip as he read over the riddle. Nothing struck him immediately as a viable answer. "A lighthouse, maybe?"

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ezra Archiva Selina Altas

The stone door didn't budge.

"Sounded about right to me," said Ledhros. He got up close to the inscription, torch first. "Togle, how hard would it be to get through this?"

"Depends, Cap'n. You want us to survive it? Delving Rule number 284: never dig through a magic door."

"Yes, but we've got a mage. Selina? If we don't solve the riddle, how do you like our odds of getting through the door?"

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She shook her head, "Doors that are opened by magic and guarded by riddles are usually magically warded as well, a basic reinforcement or turning ward usually. Unless you possess a magic that can break through a ward powered by an ancient magical nexus I think we're stuck with solving the riddles. I may be able to figure out a workaround given enough time, but..."

She looked back the way they came, at least it still looked the same, so hopefully the tunnels weren't changing.
"I think it is entirely possible that these doors did escape my scrying, I didn't anticipate countermeasures like these. I saw no evidence that anyone had sealed this place up so I ignored the possibility of man made safeguards against entry.
Evidently some ancient explorer or mage discovered this place and sealed it away."

She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Riddles weren't a strong suit of mine, I can only think of a lighthouse as well, but that is obviously the incorrect answer. A ceremonial steel brazier holds fire, so it could be another option. But I cannot imagine anything truly made of steel and light that burns."

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ezra Archiva Selina Altas

"It feels close, but like I said, I'm terrible at riddles. Burning tower made of steel..." Ledhros chewed on his lip and paced around the chamber in torchlight. "What about you, eh?" he said to Ezra. "You got the last one. Pull this out of your hat-"

An animal growl, half deep roar and half rattling screech, thundered down the tunnel from which they'd come.

"-quickly. Quickly."

 

[Ezra Archiva]

As the tunnel erupted into a single, blood-wrenching animal cry, Ezra immediately tensed up. That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all. He felt around in his pouch, both as a nervous habit and in case he needed to cast a spell quickly.

He read the riddle over and over again, trying to conceive of any possible answer that could make sense. A lighthouse was his best guess, and Selina's answer made sense. Unfortunately for them, they didn't make enough sense for this magic door. "It's not a lighthouse, not a brazier... Torches would make sense, but not steel."

He began to pace back and forth, trying to think of an answer while he anxiously looked down the tunnel. "Maybe it's metaphorical, so a sword that reflects light and never falls in a duel?" He shook his head, doubting that was the answer. "I've honestly got no clue. Any of you have any ideas? Preferably, quickly."