RPGWW

by **Jak Snide** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:26 am

Warding a small chamber against intrusion was an entirely foreign endeavour to Zant. Static defences had no place in the life of a nomadic people and he'd not been taught of such things since he left home. He contributed funds proportional to what the others offered and made himself available should his skills be needed. In his spare time he would attempt to keep track of Öringr's activities as well as the man who'd called himself Shade.

by **Kelne** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:06 am

Asp, naturally, was full of ideas, jotting them down quickly, inviting others to contribute, and cheerfully accepting Magpie's aid, though this acceptance did involve various attempts to bring the warforged out of his shell (metaphorically speaking, of course). Cost isn't something that bothers him too much, but he does make an effort not to spend too much of other peoples' money.

by **Idran1701** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:29 am

Automata - Vault

The week passes quickly, perhaps more quickly than those working on the challenge would prefer, and finally the day comes. Öringr seems to have stayed out of trouble over the last seven days, his time having been occupied with preparation for this challenge, and while he's encountered Asp and Lorraine from time to time over the last week, running into them while working on his own traproom, he's paid them little mind.

The hour comes, and Asp and Öringr stand before one another's rooms, facing each other. Word must have spread about the endeavor, as they aren't alone. A small crowd's gathered to watch the proceedings, eager to see the event unfold. " The first one to come out with the trinket's the winner." He chuckles darkly, staring down at the kender. "Are you sure you don't want to concede right now, spare yourself the trouble? It might be safer for you."

While the two show each other down, murmurs begin to spread throughout the massc, as commentary on the two competitors, guesses about what's to come, and even a bit of gambling. While the rest of the party takes in the rowd, they can pick out a few familiar faces; not long after noticing Shade lurking near the back of the crowd, Lorraine feels a nudge in her side, as Mona looks up at her and Magpie with a grin and a laugh. "Well, this is exciting. I don't think this is exactly what they expected, eh?"

Meanwhile, Hoshi spots Zant and, with a wave, makes her way through the huge group. While she seems a bit surprised to see the two-dozen-strong crowd gathered here, she's barely flapped by it. "Zant, there you are. So, just whose idea was this, anyway?"

by **Kelne** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:01 am

"Concede? Never!" Asp pronounced dramatically, "Why, you're not thinking of conceding, are you? If you do, can I still run through your gauntlet? It'd be a shame to waste it, after all." Was Asp mocking Oringr? It was sometimes difficult to tell. He certainly wasn't misrepresenting his attitude.

Asp was of course his usual cheerful self. In fact, he seemed to be lapping up the attention of the crowd, and aimed to be sure they had a good afternoon's entertainment. All his preparation, diabolical plotting and hard work would now be pitted against that of a dwarf who surely had his own claim to tricksiness. It was the kind of contest every kender dreamed of. Concede? Hah!

by **Jak Snide** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:28 am

Zant smiled and nodded toward Asp. "It is not difficult to determine. He has been quite taken by the challenge, though I have prayed for his success and safety." Zant was looking forward to the spectacle as well, as troubled as he was by the potentially lethal nature of it. "It appears that word has spread. Öringr's doing, perhaps. How did you come to hear of this event?"

by **ChristianC** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:39 pm

Magpie turned to look at Mona, green eyes flaring up at the sight of the halfling woman.

"Greetings again, Mona. You seem well." Magpie turned to look at Öringr and Asp, producing a sound quite similar to a sigh, "I wish I could have aided more in this undertaking, but it is within the realms of the possible that we may succeed still." it looked at Lorraine, giving a slight nod, "Do you not agree, Lorraine?"

by **Idran1701** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 2:45 pm

Öringr scoffs. "Please. I don't think I have anything to worry about from you, Brighteyes. In fact, the sooner we begin, the better, eh?" He grins, as cries of excitement echo out from the crowd; some eager to either see a victory, and others a disaster. The shouts of those calling for Asp's failure, injury, or worse might be a little unsettling to his partymates, and they certainly are to Nora, who understands enough of it to communicate a strong sense of concern to Asp.

"One of my congregation mentioned hearing it from a friend," Hoshi says, her voice a bit hard to hear over the din. "Word of it's spread all through the middlegrounders. I'm not surprised, really. Contests like this always draw a crowd." She looks to Asp and frowns. "I just hope Asp knows what might be in store for him. I can't imagine Öringr holding back."

by **Jak Snide** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:23 pm

"While he and I have only been acquainted for a short time I do not believe that he fears danger, nor would he let such deter him. Has Öringr participated in contests such as this before?"

by **Kelne** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:07 am

"Right you are," Asp said, turning to face the door, "When you're ready." To Nora, he communicated a feeling of confidence. Given his historic blithe unconcern in the face of danger, this was probably not all that reassuring.

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:44 pm

Now that things were finally coming to a head, and it was time for the contest to begin, there was a knot in Lorraine's stomach. She barely knew Asp, but that didn't prevent her from having grown fond of him and the others. Watching him die messily here would be very hard on her, and she didn't deal with stress well lately... Shade lurking in the crowd didn't help. Her best hopes for his presence was that he would either find Oringr in a weak moment and finish him off, or stay out of matters entirely... But she expected the former more than the latter. At least in that case, though, the contest might be called off. In the back of her mind, she was a bit surprised to not see Thom here. Then again, Nora was present, and that would complicate things if he were seen. ... And, of course, he was an illusionist. Maybe he was present.

She nodded solemnly to Magpie.

"I do."

She had, however, learned better than to expect things to turn out well.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:07 pm

Automata - Vault

Asp turns to the door, ready to begin the contest. Without saying a word, Öringr starts work on the lock on his side to the derision of some in the crowd; hearing the response, Asp follows suit promptly after. Öringr chuckles to himself, taking out a small hammer and tapping at a small protrusion jutting from the lock; it seems he's noticed Asp's first trap. He begins bending the needle down, when he lets out a sudden hiss, having pricked himself by mistake while working the trap. His eyes droop, but he recovers quickly, shaking off the effect, and returns to the lock.

Meanwhile, working his own door, Asp misses the needle within his lock entirely until he feels the small prick at the tip of his finger. He can spot a blue stain around the small injury, and a sudden feeling of weakness and wooziness strikes him soon after. He fights off his own ailment nearly as speedily, however, and returns to work on the lock. He quickly gets his door open after and reveals his vault to the crowd. Öringr lags just a few seconds behind him, but not by much. The crowd moves forward, eager to see what awaits the competitors within each room.

Asp fails his perception check for the door needle, and triggers it, getting poisoned. He succeeds on his poison save, however, and opens the lock in the next round. Öringr opens his door in the following round.

Asp:

Spoiler:

Hoshi moves with the crowd, glancing to Zant to ensure she doesn't get too far separated. "Not that I've heard of while he's been here. I have no clue before he arrived. And Asp? Does he do this sort of thing often?"

Mona stays near Lorraine and Magpie, keeping near the outskirts of the crowd to keep a good view of both rooms. "He's got a good start on things, at least." She looks up with a grin, before turning her attention back to the two rooms. "Anything special I should be keeping an eye out for, Lorraine?"

by **Jak Snide** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:11 pm

Zant smiled as he watched Asp, glad that the toxin had failed to have any real effect on him. "It would honestly not surprise me if he did."

by **Besyanteo** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:49 pm

Lorraine lowers her voice: "I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises, and there are plenty in store."

A shame that they might not get to see many of them, since the door was supposed to slam shut before too long. Still, there was a chance they would catch sight of Oringr slamming into the wall before he was lost from view... Lorraine had very little faith in his ability to locate and disable her largely non-mechanical traps.

by **Kelne** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:38 am

A sneaky person (and Asp had a few sneaky bones in his body) would put something nasty on the other side of the pit trap, in hopes that somebody would jump blithely over it and trigger the real trap. Thus, Asp knelt down and swept his gaze across the far side of the trap in search of hidden pressure plates and the like.

by **Idran1701** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:14 pm

Automata - Trap Contest Round 4

Kneeling, Asp examines the room more closely, and his companions eventually spot what exactly has taken his attention. Asp does indeed see a subtly-raised tile just beyond the pit, directly across the doorway. Whatever mechanism it's attached to is concealed beneath the floor tiles from here, but it's almost certainly a pressure plate.

Asp:

Spoiler:

"Ah, that's a shame. You'll have to tell me if he misses one, then." Mona grins, staring into the room. "So how much did all of you do anyway? Mostly Asp, or did you all chip in?"

Hoshi stares into Öringr's room as she speaks, a slight smile across her face. "This does seem like something he'd enjoy, yes." Öringr moves forward as she watches, glancing towards the walls on either side with a smirk and acting carefully to keep his distance from either. While his attention is engrossed by them, he steps forward, and the entire crowd can hear a sudden 'click' as he steps on a well-concealed plate. A panel in the ceiling falls open, and a weighted net falls upon the dwarf. With surprising agility, he hops out of the way, stopping himself just before he tumbles back into the walls. The net misses him entirely, and whatever tricks the walls held go unrevealed.

Don't have my desktop up and running yet, but I do have a mouse finally, so I've finally been able to put together the maps for these two. Scale is 1 square:5 feet.

Asp's Vault, being assaulted by Öringr
Öringr's Vault, being assaulted by Asp

by **Kelne** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:18 am

"Don't worry, I've got this," Asp said, surreptitiously slipping a wooden chock under the door. That ought to keep it from closing; One should always know how to counter their own traps. Not that he thought Oringr had set up the slamming door trick himself, but why take the chance? This done, he headed to the left hand side of the vault and nimbly hopped over the lurking pit trap, giving the pressure plate a wide berth. No howls of dismay from next door yet. Could it be that Oringr was pulling ahead? Inconceivable!

Asp continued towards the pedestal, keeping an eye out for traps as he went. There was bound to be something else in his path yet.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:44 pm

Automata - Trap Contest Round 6

Moving to the side, Asp hops over the pit, completely heedless of the undetected trip wire stretched over its length. He feels it snap against his ankles halfway across, and quickly realizes his dilemma when a portion of the ceiling dislodges while he's in midair. Shooting down into him, it knocks him straight down and through the false floor into the pit, smashing him into the ground. Nora quickly jumps free of his pack as he lands, careful not to get squashed as he lands.

Round 7

When he stands, it's in near-pitch blackness 10 feet below the hole, with only the slightest of light peeking through the cracks around the panel that now covers the length of the trough-like pit's entrance. As his eyes slowly adjust to the light, he appraises his condition. Though battered and bruised, he doesn't seem to be bleeding, but his self-diagnosis is interrupted by the feel of something crawling up his leg. It's soon joined by more ticklish feelings against his skin, and as he looks to see the source of the feeling, he sees what at first he can only interpret as the floor shifting about. Soon, though, he makes out enough to tell what exactly is going on; the entire floor is covered with small, gray spiders, and they seem to have not appreciated his sudden assault on their number.

Meanwhile, Öringr takes a moment to glance back, chuckling as he sees the falling panels covering the pit. Turning back to his own challenge, he decides now's the time to take some time in his progression. He crouches down and begins to scan the floor, not eager to repeat his previous failures in this room.

Asp takes 1 point of damage from the ceiling hitting him, and 4 from hitting the ground. Nora is unharmed. All the outside could see was a set of panels suddenly fall from the ceiling, which now cover the full length of the room over the once-hidden pit. Asp is now stuck in a 10-foot deep pit with a spider swarm in dim light, but mutual surprise prevented either party from getting a surprise round.

by **ChristianC** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:57 pm

Magpie looked at Mona and Lorraine, listening to their discussion when the loud sound of the panel falling made it turn its head in the direction of the sound. "It would seem Asp has triggered another trap," it pointed out quite pointlessly, "Lorraine, are you certain I should refrain from doing what I offered before? With Öringr in a situation like this, he would most likely have no means of escaping." it didn't have much conviction in its voice, seeming more to mention this for their sake than any bloodlust on its own.

by **Kelne** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:03 am

Well, this was annoying. Oringr clearly favoured layered traps. Staying and fighting the spiders was by no means a good plan; if nothing else, it would eat up valuable time. Of course, letting the spiders swarm over and devour him was also sub-optimal. He therefore called upon the problem-solving powers of magic, blasting the swarm with a colour spray. That ought to keep them out of his hair for a crucial minute or so.

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:52 am

Lorraine spared a glance at Magpie before looking back at the action. She was a bit distracted at the moment, so it was hard to be sure what he was referring to.

"What do you mean by that?"

by **ChristianC** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 2:04 am

Magpie simply folded it's arms, a disturbingly human gesture that spoke of resolution, or, well, usually did. With the construct, such body language could merely have been something it picked up not knowing what it meant.

"Should I kill him?" It explained in its sombre, toneless voice.

by **Idran1701** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:40 pm

Automata - Trap Contest Round 8

Asp directs his spell against the swarm, to no avail; the simplistic minds of the arachnids barely even comprehend the blast of colors, let alone become overwhelmed by them. They do, however, quickly overwhelm Asp, moving forward as a large mass and crawling up and over his body, even into his pack. Almost reflexively, he swings at the eight-legged creatures. He kills a good many, but there must be hundreds, even thousands perhaps. His efforts are hardly enough to make a dent in their numbers.

He can feel the sting of bites all over, the sudden surge of weakness as his body becomes wracked with poison. It's an experience might make another creature sickened; thankfully, if nothing else, his heritage spares him from the instinctual revulsion. The pain is hardly anything, though, compared with the sudden mental scream from Nora. Her smaller frame is much more vulnerable to the bites, and though she manages to fight off the poison well enough, the attack itself is quickly enough to overwhelm her. He can no longer sense her feelings as she passes out, not even the vague sense of feline dreams filling the gap as it does at night. She's still alive, thank goodness, but not in good shape, and for the first time in ages, his mind is alone.

Asp casts Color Spray on the swarm, the swarm is unaffected. The swarm moves forward into Asp's square, provoking an attack of opportunity; Asp hits but does no damage. The swarm attacks Asp and Nora. Asp takes 3 damage, fails his save against poison, and takes 2 Str damage. Nora takes 6 damage, saves against poison, and falls unconscious.

Across the hall, Öringr grins as he stares at the floor beneath the small box. He's obviously noticed something, as he pulls a small handful of tools out and slowly approaches the panel. He begins his work, but once more, something goes wrong with his attempt. As he approaches the panel, he's flung backwards, sliding along the floor and onto the net, showing newly-formed bruises across his face as he stands. Glaring at the floor about the box, he retrieves his tools from the floor where they were dropped, crossing his arms as he considers his next direction of attack.

"That seems a little harsh," Mona says, giggling lightly as she nudges the warforged. About to say something further, something catches her eye in back. A figure coming up through the crowd, a blond elf, a little taller than average for his race. Quite unkempt, his steel breastplate is stained with the results of numerous combats, and mismatched leather hides dangle around his waist like a makeshift kilt. He gives the impression of someone that's wandered through the wilderness for weeks without sight of civilization, his face smudged with dirt and the distinct scent of the wild wafting off of him. A long, curved sword hangs loosely from his belt, and a large hammer holds itself to his back with leather straps. He looks over the gathering, obviously uncomfortable in the urban surroundings, but with a certain gaze that suggests he's looking for someone in particular.

Everyone, meet Garick. Garick, everyone.

by **ChristianC** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:58 pm

The construct merely nodded at Mona, "I understand." the lights in its eyes flickered for a moment but then it resumed watching the contest, arms still folded. As it noticed Mona turning, however, it too swung 'round and observed the approaching elf coldly, giving no sense at to its reaction except perhaps wariness.

((OOC: Welcome Garick! :D Also, Choark went and drew an awesome rendition of Magpie over here, check it out!))

by **darkknight61189** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:16 pm

(Hi, I'm Garick Farrunner, and... I'm an alcoholic.)

Garick waded through the crowd, attempting to find the halfling woman Mona in the crowd. Unfortunately, telling him to search for someone short in a crowd of much taller people made the task a bit more difficult. He did, though, notice the odd hole in the sea of heads and decided to head in that direction. He only glanced at the goings on of the contest, not really knowing what was happening up there. He assumed this was some sort of sport here on this plane, and from his travels he'd begun to pretty much ignore any odd games that residents enjoyed.

He waded over to the hole, and sure enough, there stood a short woman and what he assumed was her construct escort. "My name is Garick Farrunner," he said, without any sort of introductory motion. In fact, he glanced around a lot, as if scanning the crowd. "I'm with the Planewalkers' Guild, and they sent me to come find you. Said you needed some help." He finally looked down at the halfling and then, almost as if just remembering, forced what might pass for a smile had Garick had a crossbow aimed at his head. It came out more like someone had put hooks in the corners of Garick's mouth and pulled."I assume you're Mona?"

by **Kelne** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:02 am

Asp was now in a state of what, in anybody else, would be panic. All thoughts of fighting the spiders were gone, leaving only the desire to get Nora clear. With this in mind, he scooped the cat up and cast another spell, a rather ironically named one, given the circumstances - spider climb.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 1:07 pm

Automata - Trap Contest Round 9

Laughing, Mona extends a hand to Garick, shaking it briskly. "Well, it's good to meet you, but I'm afraid some of your guildmates beat you to it. Garick, this is Lorraine and Magpie, that's Zant over there talking with the half-elf, and stuck in a pit in that room is Asp. We're dealing with one of the priests now, if you want to stay and watch. He's over across the hall, dealing with his own half of Asp's trap contest. You'll have to stay here until things are done, though."

In Öringr's room, he steps forward with tools in hand, and cautiously reaches out towards the plate. Seeing no repetition of the effect that slammed him back last time, he gets to work, but after a second or two he mutters a short curse under his breath. The door to the room suddenly slams closed, and in the last instant of sight into it, the crowd can see a small, spherical construct-like thing with two small wings appear out of nowhere, hovering in the air; a monodrone, the least of the modrons.

Grinning, Mona speaks up as this happens. "Not that it looks like that'll be an issue now."

On the other side of the hall, Asp casts his spell, not lacking for components in his current situation as one of the spiders on his shoulder shrivels into nothingness. He quickly moves to scale the wall as he feels the poison still leeching at his body. His frame starting to sag on the wall, he exerts himself with all his remaining strength to get up to the top. Sliding the panel to the side, he pulls himself up and over the lip, appearing once more in full sight of the crowd. He slides the panel back into place before more than a few dozen spiders escape. Scurrying in the light, they spread out through the vault, as do the ones still clinging to his body. Crawling through the room, at least a half dozen make a beeline to the door, where they're quickly smashed by the slightly-unsettled crowd. Meanwhile, Asp feels utterly exhausted, sweat pouring from his forehead; he's not down yet, but his entire body feels weak and drained. There's still no sign of thought from Nora, lying limp in his arms and with multiple swollen spider bites dotting her body. She's breathing, but unsteadily, and small amounts of blood ooze from her wounds, but if nothing else, she doesn't seem to be in any worse shape.

Asp escapes from the pit, fails another save vs. the poison, and takes another 1 Str damage. Nora successfully makes her stablization check.

by **ChristianC** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:55 pm

The eyes of the construct flared briefly, the green becoming almost white before it extended its own hand to the elf, if/after he'd shaken Mona's.

"Indeed, I am Magpie." it said with a voice only slightly more fluid and human than its carved exterior, "You are a member of the guild of Planewalkers? It is... a pleasure to meet you."

After the (potential) handshake it turned to look towards the twin vaults and the small Monodrone, folding its arms once more. "I was not aware of this part of the traps we were constructing."

by **Kelne** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:04 pm

Asp continued to stagger forward, looking utterly drained but determined to get Nora to a healer. "Zant?" he asked plaintively, "Help?"

by **Jak Snide** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:51 am

Zant had been watching with growing concern when Asp had tumbled into the pit, struggling to keep a concerned frown off his face. When he'd staggered out, robbed of the carefree demeanour that had seemed so indomitable, the gensai was all to quick to respond to his call for help.

(Moving to retrieve and cast Cure Light Wounds on Nora. Will do his best not to interfere with the competition, but the cat is the priority.)

by **darkknight61189** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:48 am

Garick was honestly shocked when the warforged began to talk to him. He had never encountered a warforged before and had just assumed it to be like every other wizard or artificer's construct. Not only was the construct imposing, it apparently could also speak, and seemed to be self-aware. Garick said "Wow, you can talk. Yeah, I'm from the Planewalker's guild. So what's going on up there?" Garick did not shake the hand of either the warforged or the halfling mostly because he forgot to. In fact, he'd forgotten about the whole practice of shaking people's hands. He'd spent so many years in the wilds of random planes that the shaking hands was the furthest from his mind. The last time he'd shaken someone's hand was a few decades ago, and it almost tried to bite his hand off.

Garick peered at the vaults, trying to figure out what was going on. He figured it was a contest of some sort, but he had no idea who to cheer on, or whether there was a side to cheer on. "What's going on? And who are they?"

by **ChristianC** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:16 pm

Magpie's hand was withdrawn with no apparent ill will or disappointment, although its eyes seemed to flicker for a moment at the elf's response to its sentience. It began to speak, but before it could even finish its first sentence it noticed the approaching Asp and it suddenly moved over towards him and Zant, giving the impression of a statue suddenly springing to life. The crowd parted fairly easily as it made its way towards the two and as it reached Zant's side it looked down on the wounded and unconscious cat, and on Asp.

In a strange gesture it half-reached its armored hand towards the cat, then reluctantly lowered it back, giving the two the same glowing-green look it always did. The tone of worry on the construct's voice was almost indistinguishable from its usual monotony, "Is Nora alright? How did this come to happen?"

by **Besyanteo** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:52 am

Lorraine didn't answer Magpie immediately, looking on with great concern. Asp wasn't doing well, and Nora was worse. Meanwhile, they couldn't know what Oringr was up to at the moment. With his vault re-sealed, they could see him in a moment from now, or never again. The former was more likely than the latter, though. So now what? She couldn't offer any help that wasn't already being given by Zant. She could only wait, and hope things turned out well... That Asp didn't die terribly. She watched and waited.

by **darkknight61189** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:15 pm

Garick was quite confused by the whole situation. He had no idea who anyone was, or what was going on. Clearly, though, they were acquaintances of Mona, and so he cautiously assumed they were allies. He was also puzzled by why everyone seemed to be so concerned for the cat. As far as Garick was concerned it was a pet, and though it was horrible to see pets die, he sure didn't expect nearly this much effort.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, hoping that this might put himself on good footing with his (probably) future team members. He didn't know what he could do for them, though. So he stood by, watching without much worry but with plenty of curiosity.

by **Kelne** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:04 am

After making sure Nora was going to be alright, Asp carefully handed her over to Zant to look after and turned back towards the vault with a determined look on his face. A single hand was raised and with a few muttered words of power, Asp set about giving the object on top of the pedestal a good hard shove.

(Mage hand ahoy.)

by **Idran1701** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:26 am

Automata - Trap Contest Round 10

Leaving the room, Asp hands Nora off to Zant as Mona watches on, her expression not too far from Lorraine's. The situation is soon ended, however, when Zant quickly casts a spell of healing upon the familiar. Her injuries quickly stitch themselves up, the swollen lumps vanish, and but for the blood still matting her fur, Nora seems entirely uninjured. She opens her eyes, glancing around the area, and Asp quickly feels the return of the flow of emotions; relief, followed by concern for his own condition. It seems to give him a surge of inner strength, as the poison that had been eating at him no longer seems a concern; its effects still haunt him for now, but he feels no weaker from it.

Sounds of combat and the chirps of the Modron language, efficiently designed to carry to a the maximum degree possible through any material, echo from the opposite vault. Clangs of metal against metal reverberate, as the fight goes on.

In response to Garick's confusion, Mona speaks up, smiling with relief as she reaches up to pet the now-healed cat, though she can't help but still look concerned at Asp's own state. "This was Asp's idea. A trap contest between him and Öringr, one of the priests. A week to set up these vaults, and the first one to get the goal and come back out wins. And if Öringr loses, he's got to leave town."

Round 11

"I'm not sure if there's much for you to do right now; Asp's got to compete alone for it to be legitimate. Personally, I wouldn't mind hearing about you, though, if you want to pass the time." With a light laugh, she adds, "No offense, but it looks like you've been walking here for the last month." Meanwhile, Hoshi, hearing the conversation, moves to put a bit of cautious distance between her and Garick; while there's no reason he'd recognize her, it's far better to be safe than sorry in a situation such as this.

In the vault, Asp focuses his mind on the box, knocking it from the platform. There's a small hiss from the pillar as a puff of green gas escapes from all sides, quickly dispersing throughout the room. All that's to be found underneath it, though, is a single slip of paper. Something's written on it, but Asp can't make it out from this distance.

Across the hall, the sound of rending metal bursts forth, after which the vault falls silent. The fighting within's seemingly ended in Öringr's favor.

by **darkknight61189** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:58 pm

Garick looked down at himself, a bit puzzled, then his face showed a sudden recognition of what Mona was talking about with her comment about him walking. "Oh, yeah, I guess I'm not very clean. I don't see much point in it all. In fact, if you're always so clean smelling, it makes it so much harder to sneak up on someone. I spent a lot of my life in the wild. In fact, I've only just gotten back to civilization." At this he looked about, "Or at least, some kind of civilization."

"So, what's the whole point of this contest? I mean, obviously Asp is trying to break in to this vault, but what's the end result of this?"

by **ChristianC** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:36 pm

"Öringr's removal from this city." Magpie stated flatly, turning its attention from the now healed Nora, which it had just briefly and gently petted after seeing Mona do it. Then, as if just realizing it, it turned to look at Asp, "How are your undertakings? Is there any way in which I can aid?"

by **Kelne** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:28 pm

"Well, you can come in after me if the traps get me," Asp said, figuring Magpie would anyway, but not having any other way for him to help.

Somehow, he doubted the paper contained a riddle or clue; much more likely it had been inscribed with explosive runes or somesuch. Accordingly, Asp used his mage hand to flip the paper upside-down. He then hopped the pit again, taking care to avoid the pressure plate, and made for the altar, making a cursory check for traps as he went. Nice as it would be to open the box using the hand, his control wasn't anywhere near good enough for that.

by **Idran1701** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:36 am

Automata - Trap Contest Round 12

Moving forward, Asp makes a quick check about for traps; he spies a small pressure plate in the wall about at his shoulder-level, but other than that, things seem clear. Careful to avoid the paper, he picks up the box and looks inside...empty. A glance around the floor shows nothing either. It would seem that the box contained nothing but the slip of paper.

by **ChristianC** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:04 pm

"I will do that." Magpie replied to the Kender with a honest nod, fixing its eyes once more on the two vaults, faint green glow unblinkingly checking to see signs of the dwarf coming out of the vault before Asp.

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