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003. Ruins, Rummaging, Ruminations

Yolo explores the remainder of the ruins, one room at a time, until she finds the treasure room and the artifact she and Dax were sent here to find.

Opening Summary

Property Value
Start Date & Time
Previous Scene [[002. What Dax Left Behind]]
Current Chaos Factor 5
Scene Type Expected

Relevant Entities

[[Characters/Yolo]]
[[Lee Rensler]]
[[Places/The Ruins]]
[[Characters/Whoever Built the Ruins]]
[[Items/The Artifact Dax Died To Get]]

The Ruins

Scene

Yolo

Right... right...
claps hands
You can do this... you've got this.

Game

  • GME
    • We never resolved which rooms were marked as traps. Dice rolling gave us 1,2,3, and 5.
  • Yolo
    • I proceed slowly following the left hand wall according to the drawn map.
    • We start with room 1.
    • Rolling notice for traps in hallway to 1.
      • 3 + 1 -- Simple success
  • GME
    • Was the hallway trapped? Unlikely. No
  • Yolo
    • Rolling notice for traps in room 1
      • 3 + 2 -- Simple Success
  • GME
    • Is the room trapped? Very likely. Yes

Yolo

Looks like the map was right.

That's... a relief, I guess.

Game

  • Yolo
    • I peer into the room, thrust my torch in a bit. Can I see anything of interest?
  • GME
    • Obvious answer, yes. There's a chest in the back.
  • Yolo
    • Is it big enough to hold the relic I'm looking for?
  • GME
    • 50/50 . Yes -- that box could have it
    • What kind of trap did she see?
      • Aggressive light
      • There's a big orb in the center of the room, right at eye level. It's cut crystal. Above it, in the ceiling, there's a hole.
  • Yolo
    • Do I know what that is?
    • Did Dax describe it in his notebook?
    • Rolling common knowledge and research
      • Common Knowledge: Simple Success
      • Research: Failure
  • GME
    • It's nothing you've heard about before.
    • You don't find anything like it in Dax's description of this journal.
    • The cut glass reminds you of a sun catcher.
  • Yolo
    • What's the floor look like? Any obvious patches of reflective material or plant life?
  • GME
    • None. It's stone and dirt, just like everything else.

Yolo

Sun catcher...
Probably not a sentry...
Maybe it scatters a magical beam or something.
I'd rather not be diced today.`
Maybe if I cover it...

Game

  • Yolo
    • I'm going to cast entangle on the orb. I'm hoping the vines cover most of the orb.
    • Benny to reroll.
    • Success and two raises
  • GME
    • if you want this to work, you'll need to spend the two power points.
  • Yolo
    • I do.
  • GME
    • The floor rumbles, vines start pushing up between the stones, They run up the center column of the room. As they get closer to the top, the vines get thicker, and start to displace some of the stones on the floor. As the stones move, Yolo hears a plate slide in the ceiling.
    • The vines have covered most of the orb as bolt of light streaks down from the ceiling. It hits the top of the orb, and you seen the vines flash from green to orange. You hear a hissing sound, but the vines continue to grow and wrap around the entirety of the orb.
    • A moment later, another bolt of light strikes the top of the orb. You smell burning. You've bought yourself a little time, but the trap is sprung and doesn't seem to be turning off.
  • Yolo
    • I sprint into the room, towards the chest, and try to open it.
    • Rolling Athletics: Simple success
  • GME
    • You get there before the next bolt. The box opens.
    • Likely has contents, unlikely it's the artifact.
      • It's empty.
      • Maybe it was a decoy, maybe it's been despoiled.
      • Impossible to know.
  • Yolo
    • I run back
  • GME
    • No need to roll, you've got time.
    • You exit the room as the light cuts the vines away from the orb. You see a final bolt strike the orb and scatter a million shards of light in the room. Anyone in there would be having a very bad time.

Yolo

Well... one down... four to go.

Game

  • Yolo
    • Roll notice on my trip to room 3
      • Simple Success
    • Roll notice on room 3, looking for traps
      • Simple success
  • GME
    • There's nothing on the way there.
    • The room contains a trap as well
      • Communicate Combative
      • You see a bellows and what looks to be a large horn in the center of the room. A large counterweight hangs from the top of the bellows arm, and a small pin bearing most of the weight. There are cords all over the room leading to the pin. You suspect touching a cord will drop the pin, and the counterweight
  • Yolo
    • Are the ropes all on the floor, or near the floor? Do I have a clear shot at the bellows?
  • GME
    • Sure!
  • Yolo
    • I'm gonna hit it with my spear. Just give it a toss, right through the leather part of the bellows. I figure if it goes through, there's no way the horn will blow. The air will go out through the bellows holes.
  • GME
    • Sounds plausible; Roll it.
  • Yolo
    • Simple success
  • GME
    • Your spear goes in one side of the bellows and out the other. It hits the wall and the clatters to the floor below. As it lands, you see one of the floor ropes tense. The peg pulls out. The counter weight falls... and all you hear is this simple wheezing as the bellows deflate but fail to blow the horn.

Yolo

I wonder what would have come after all this time. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry I suppose...

Game

  • Yolo
    • I walk in and get my spear. Is there a box or anything else in the room?
  • GME
    • Obvious yes. Another chest.
  • Yolo
    • I try and open it.
  • GME
    • It opens.
    • Very likely contains something
      • it does
    • Unlikely it has the object
      • Has the object
      • Other Explode Information
      • The chest is lined with velvet. It's a rich purple, still plush and undisturbed. At the center of the chest is a small object draped in cloth. Uncovering it, you find a small circlet. The circlet can seat a gemstone in the center. Currently, it houses a beautifully oval cut emerald. If you wore the circlet, the gem would sit on your forehead, almost like a third eye.
  • Yolo
    • I flip back to Dax's journal and the contract. Do either describe this piece?
  • GME
    • They describe the gemstone set at the center of it, but curiously, not the circlet itself.

Yolo

... damn it. Petty baubles for rich idiots.
Yolo clicks her tongue and shakes her head.
You'd want the job done, and I'll see it done. But if you weren't dead, I'd kill you myself. Still need to find a way out though. No reason the way behind me would have opened up. I've got to find a release or something in here.

Game

  • Yolo
    • I leave room 3 and head towards room 4. Rolling notice for traps
      • in the hallway
        • Success with a raise
      • and room
        • Success with two raises
  • GME
    • The coast is clear
    • What's in the room?
      • Military Exit
      • It looks to be an old barracks. Bunks and bunks are stacked up here. The beds are of an unsurprising size. The linens moth eaten, the straw long since turned to dust. There's a ladder made of lashings and wood in the back, leaned up against the wall. It rises up into darkness.

Yolo

Ladder... that's promising.

Game

  • Yolo
    • I tug on it, is it solid.
  • GME
    • Some of the ropes are aged and frayed. It doesn't look to unstable though. If you were carrying a ton of weight, it might be an issue, but not with just you and your pack.
  • Yolo
    • I climb the ladder and see where it leads.
  • GME
    • You arrive at a chamber in the top. There are a number of holes here, cut in a similar pattern to the rooms layout in your map. Each hole contains a taught rope.
  • Yolo
    • I tug on the rope for the crushing room.
  • GME
    • You hear the distant sound of rock sliding.
  • Yolo
    • I'm going to go investigate that, carefully.
  • GME
    • You'll discover the door unlocked and your way back to the surface unbarred.

Yolo

Lovely... I've got a way out. That said... what the hell is this place. Lethal traps, false treasure chests, a garrison?

I take out the circlet and turn it around in my hand in the torch light

What are you, you little minx? Who thought you were so important... and why?

I look back towards the trapped rooms, where Dax died.
I place the circlet back into my bag, and starts heading back in.

We didn't see another structure the whole way to the site. If there are answers, they're probably back in there. Damn it. I have to look at the rest of the rooms`

Stepping over Dax's body You'd have loved the other traps Daxy. Over complicated mechanical contraptions, ropes still miraculously tight despite an age of disuse. Very much your milieu.

I hitch my pack up, and brace myself for the next set of traps.

Ending Summary

Added Threads

  • [[The Artifact Dax Died To Get]] Why did the client want the gem, but not the circlet?
  • Read [[Items/Dax's Journal]]

Closed Threads

  • Find [[Items/The Artifact Dax Died To Get]]

Added Characters

Property Value
End Date & Time
Next Scene [[004. Ruins Rhyme and Reason]]
Next Expected Scene Exploring the rest of the ruins, hopefully finding some clue as to their purpose and the purpose of the crown I found.
Ending Chaos Factor 4
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