Danae, Dashu, Xurizu and Dena step out of the elevator shaft to make sense of whatever it is that awaits them.

The passage ahead of them is completely metallic from floor to ceiling, lit by dim, intermittent circular lamps embedded in the ceiling. Grooves etched into the metal give texture to the cold, clinical surfaces, but they are more than just decorative -- roughly analogous to the Essence power lines on the slave terminal Xurizu worked on in B31, but on a much larger scale. Several lines lit blue-green stretch out from the location of the elevator shaft, following the walls and disappearing down side corridors or joining other lines further down the passage, their juxtaposition multiplying in complexity to form fluid, water-inspired patterns.

The urgency that spurred them up from the floors below seems nonexistent on this level. Not even the wail of klaxons or the glare of red alarm lights mars the deceptive calm that surrounds the Exalts now. Yet they feel distinctively as if they are watched here, their every step perceived through unknown sensors: a veritable panopticon through which they must progress to seek its central mastermind.

The countdown is at 8 minutes. How will they proceed?

---

OOC: This part of the game will involve a series of rolls to navigate or intuit your way through to the Gatekeeper. The better you roll each time, the faster you'll progress. You can potentially use teamwork (Exalted p. 125.)

If you'll try to examine your surroundings as you go, roll Perception or Wits + Awareness. If you'll rely on learned knowledge about Five Coils, roll Wits or Int + Lore instead. If you're deliberately going to sneak your way through, also roll Dex+Stealth (can't do teamwork for stealth, though.)

Also just as a ST nudge, you might want to consider figuring out how to keep the elevator from returning down...
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:11, Fri 12 Dec 2008.

"I. . . think I used to carry messages down here but I'm not sure." Dena mutters, stepping out to examine a wall closely and running her fingers along it.  "It looks familiar only not quite.  Like I've seen a painting of it but not the real thing."
[Private to GM: 22:49, Today: Tervila Dena botched using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,4,3,1. Wits+Lore. ]

As the doors opened, Dashu rose to his feet.  "I've had these long enough, I think."  With that, he pushes his essence into the jade claws he took from his first opponent.  He then takes a look around at his settings to see if he can figure out the way to the control panel.  Dashu suddenly said, "I think the controls will be this way," as he points in a direction.

OCC:  I have Perception + Awareness= 8 so I'm guessing I have the highest pool.  I'll go ahead and roll it and if everyone wants to work as a team the GM can roll the bonus dice (and then just handle the roll after that).

 [Private to GM: Looks like Xurixu has a higher pool than me so just give him a bonus dice for me for teamwork.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Fri 12 Dec 2008.

Xurizu strapped the bow, now suffused with his Essence, to his back.  It should serve him a little better than the bow he had found ... well, not that long ago, down on B31.  Now, which way to the control center?  The answer seemed obvious.  Follow the lines of the essence.  They would surely lead to the centre of it all, assuming one could keep track of which line was being followed...

Under and over, woven together like threads of a spell  ... or strands of a spiders web ...

---

OOC: Xurizu has 8 too, and a Perception adder.  So he can use that.  and will.  For 12 dice.

As they begin to make preparations, Dashu looks back at the elevator and says "Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep people from following us on that thing?"

"Well, I can do my best--just gimmie a sec..."  Danae replies, getting up from her position resting, and moving to the console again--satisfied that she hadn't been locked out just yet--and beginning to punch in a few commands--ideally to lock the elevator down--though if disabling it entirely for a time was possible, she would be glad to do so.

"I could just meld the stone of the wall to the elevator and make it one solid mass if that'd be easier." Dena offers.  "I know a little bit about working stone from before I Exalted."

Danae keys in a string of input similar to the one the Water Aspect below had attempted to initiate. When she is done with it, the elevator doors remain open, the panel flashing red symbols she cannot understand, but knows means she has succeeded. The contraption is effectively jammed in place, though without any physical reinforcement, someone below might still be able to override it, given time.

Time, of course, is something neither the Celestials nor the Dragon-blooded below believe they have. Dena's suggestion, while a good one, would still take minutes to execute (natural crafting tends to be that way...) so it might be a better idea to hope that Danae's efforts hold off the Peace Officers long enough that pursuit becomes secondary to clearing the lower levels for the purge.

Meanwhile, Dashu and Xurizu employ their superior senses towards determining the right direction to move. Dashu is certain they must generally head due east, which to his perceptions would mean taking a right turn down the corridor, and continuing roughly that way. Xurizu seconds that course of action easily; he can also sense, beneath the metal plating on the walls and ceilings, the hum of security sensors at regular intervals down the corridor.

Xurizu can generally give the group direction as to how to avoid the sensors, though his impression is that it would be difficult to avoid them all. They are not alarms, but rather some integral part of the 'sense organs' of the Gatekeeper -- if one considered its core the central nervous system, and the corridors its blood vessels and nerves.

---

OOC: At this point there is a choice...
- Down the first right turn, both Dashu and Xurizu notice an odd but subtly placed pressure plate on the floor. Likely a trigger for some trap.
- Down the second right turn, there is a automaton sentry shaped like a floating, spiny sea urchin. Danae would know they are called 'whistlers', generally benign in design, but triggering their proximity sensors may lead to unknown results.
- The third right turn is the least dangerous one but would be more of a detour and add time to the group's progress.

Once you're on the move, avoiding the sensors one can do with a Dex+Stealth OR Athletics with a +2 circumstantial bonus, since in this case you can actually depend on Xurizu to tell you where to go.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:17, Sat 13 Dec 2008.

Dashu looks around at the motley crew assembled.  His main priority was getting him and his fellow prisoners out alive.  Actually saving the lives of the people who enslaved him took a distant second.  On the other hand, he didn't think the others would be dissuaded from this so easily and instead of spending time arguing with them, he decided being a help would get them out of their quicker.  Besides he had no guarantee that they wouldn't have to go the same way to get off the Water Level.  So he sighed to himself and said "So it looks like we have choices.  I think I could probably sneak by all the sensors but I can't speak for everyone.  My vote's to take the shortest route there.  We don't know how long it will be before that elevator gets unjammed.  If you guys don't think you can get past all the sensors on the hard route, then I say we take the medium.  Regardless,  I think Xurizu needs to take the lead on this."  He then waits to hear his friends weigh in.

After a consensus is reached, Dashu turns to his fellow 'Forbidden' and says, "After you?"

[Private to GM: This post should carry me through whatever consensus is reached.   I didn't know if I'll be able to post until late tomorrow and didn't want something to happen because everyone was waiting on me. :)]

"Getting seen would be bad I think, yes," he spoke softly, glancing up to the sensors just a little down the corridor.  "I'm ... not that good at moving quietly, but since I'm not glowing so much it's impossible, we certainly should try." he turned to regard the two they had met on leaving the Forbidden level.

"Unless you think better, we should avoid any active elements," he whispers with a gesture to the 'whistler'

"Yeah, let's keep our distance from the whistler--and time 'Is' an issue---I may not be very sneaky, but I'm kind of nimble--and if we've got our more aware fellows to guide us, we should be able to cross the pressure plates safely"  Danae finished--then pointed over to Dena.

"And you can just fly over them, can you?"

"I can." Dena answers, turning away from her examination of the elevator door reluctantly.  "But I cannot carry everybody through the tunnel, I get too large in my warform.  Perhaps I should go second, to provide extra defenses if our leader encounters an enemy."

Dashu thought about Dena's statement for just a moment and gave it due thought and then said, "I think I'll be able to help Xurizu out more if I'm second."  He noted the concern in Dena's voice and tacked on, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad fighter myself.  We should spar some when we get the chance.  You two stay close though.  I think Dena and I might be the better fighters but we need the two of you conscious when we get there to shut this thing down.   I'll feel better if we can don't get too spread out.  We should be off though."  With that he proceeded to follow Xurizu down the hall.

Aided by Xurizu's keen senses, the group moves steadily if somewhat awkwardly down the next adjacent hall, crouching or stepping over sensors as they are pointed out. Progress is at times frustratingly slow compared to the seconds ticking by. Even Xurizu nearly steps right beneath the 'eye' of a ceiling sensor before suddenly halting his steps, backing away carefully. Everyone holds their breath for a moment, but it seems that brushing near these particular sensors has no effect whatsoever.

Nothing the group can immediately notice, anyway.

Danae has a more difficult time of it. Despite her limber reflexes, she steps wrong at a crucial moment and triggers one of the pressure plates, on the heels of Dena flying effortlessly above them. A panel in the floor suddenly opens beneath the Dawn Caste's feet, and she has a split second to catch herself before plummeting into the shaft below. Dena, if she wishes, is close enough to make a grab for Danae to catch her.

The plate seems to have activated another unfortunate consequence: the corridor ahead is starting to close off. 50 yards away, a new wall starts descending from the ceiling to close off their eastward progress. Will Dashu and Xurizu make a run for it? It's almost certain they will be separated if so, but on the other hand, they will save the need for half their group to take a detour.

[6 minutes, 40 seconds remaining.]

---

OOC: Sorry this took a while. I'd like to at least resolve this post and get another one posted before Weds. :)

Danae - roll Wits+Athletics. Dena - make the same roll, if you intend to help Danae. Whoever rolls higher, I'll add 1 extra die to for teamwork and use that roll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:21, Tue 16 Dec 2008.

Dena wastes a precious tenth of a second deciding to help and then she rolls in midair, placing her feet on the ceiling before kicking off for speed.  With one smooth movement she whips the length of chain down ahead of herself in an attempt to wrap it around Danae and give her an easy grip.

[Private to GM:
11:08, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 2d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,10. Wits+Athletics.
Added 1 die for a stunt.  Can't believe I forgot to buy any athletics building the character.  How deep is the shaft?  If possible I'll keep flying down the shaft and give Danae a second shot if this fails. ]

Dashu, not knowing if the others could easily find the controls without Xurizu or himself decides to make it a point to stop and let the path shut.  He hopes this deture isn't going to set them back too much.  He looks back at Danae and cooly asks, "You okay?"

"Are you okay?" Xurizu asked as Dashu did, not thrilled at the door closing up ahead, but not wanting to leave the pair behind either.  "Looks like we're going to have to chance the Whistler."

"Hurry up and move!" Dena yells from inside the shaft, voice echoing off the rock.  "See if you can hold the door open, at least.  If you can't try to break it until I get her out of this hole."

Dashu reached down, took Danae's hand as Dena pulled her out of the hole and waited for her to catch her balance.  He then responded, "Both of those are little bit out of my ability.  Besides I doubt we'll be able to do the damage we need to in the time we've got.  The detour will probably be quicker.  Let's hoof it."  Dashu then turns and tries to help Xurizu detect the new route.  Once everyone is on their feet, the route is planed out, and ready to go, he takes off with the group.


[Private to Tervila Dena: Dashu's not going to have the strength to break through a wall and I think our storyteller wants us to navigate a maze.  If we try and break the walls of the maze we might just get penalized with more time knocked off the clock.  Try if you want though.  Dashu's just not the character for it  :)]

Danae does manage to find a handhold as the floor opens beneath her. Her fingers cling to the edge of the pit, and both Dena and Dashu are able to pull her up to safety. Dena, looking down the shaft, sees that it is at least a couple floors deep and has a very noxious looking liquid at the bottom of it.

By the time Danae is on her feet again, the wall ahead has already slammed shut completely.

Fortunately, the group does not have to detour from the beginning. There is another path nearby that heads north, likely meeting with the path they'd seen the whistler automaton at. Or they could attempt to break the wall that just came down, though it'd make a great deal of noise.

---

OOC: Breaking the wall - Everyone who participates in breaking it will need to roll like they're attacking an inanimate object. Wall has 0 DV, of course, and is made of no ordinary material -- it's solid metal rather than stone. It has 20L soak and needs to take 80 total HLs to destroy it enough to pass through.

How long it takes to break depends on how many attack rolls you have to make, and your weapon speed. Don't use non-magical weapons to break it, they'll shatter. And don't use your fists unless you have a way to do lethal damage with them. You can of course flurry each attack if you think that'll make it faster.

If any of you instead decide to take the detour, roll another Perception+Awareness or Int+Lore.

Xurizu, as Danae is hauled to safety, considers instead the route they will have to take away from here.  He thinks about the tempo of the lights on the walls of the corridors, the distribution of the sensors, everything he can remember about where they have walked already.  He isn't basing the route he selects on any knowledge, just a gut feeling for the heart of the maze, and the now quickest way to get there ...
[Private to Gatekeeper: Spending motes to boost perception equal to the amount I get back from any stunt.]
This message was last edited by the player at 07:39, Fri 19 Dec 2008.

Dena runs her hand quickly along the metal of the door.
"Very hard." she comments.  She examines it a moment.  "I can destroy it but it will take all my essence to do so.  Is it worth it?"

Then a crafty look crosses her face and she examines the wall next to the door.  "But. . . did they reinforce the walls as well or are they mundane stone?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Fri 19 Dec 2008.

Dena, looking at the walls, finds herself disappointed to discover the construction is similar to the door. The entirety is reinforced metal, man-made and ancient, part of the oldest corridors built as part of the core structure of Five Coils.

Xurizu, with Dashu and Danae supporting, move on ahead to scout the north detour. As expected, it does meet with the next adjacent east-west passage. The sensors along this corridor are fewer, but there are several one foot diameter sea-urchin whistlers drifting along it at specific points. There aren't any of the pressure plates, though, or any other traps, at least not any you can see.

You get the idea you really don't want to get the attention of those spiky sentinels. Danae has seen their make before and knows they are not actually combat machines, but they may trigger other unpleasant traps.

[6 minutes 15 seconds remaining.]

---

OOC: The group can choose to...
- Just take the next corridor.
- Try to divert the whistlers toward a different corridor.
- Try to sneak past the whistlers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:51, Sat 20 Dec 2008.

Dashu takes a look around and sees the spiky devices and seems to be confused as to what they do.  Stands perfectly still, trying to take note of their behavior to see if he can deduce how they work.  Unfortunately he's not too good with machines.  However, machines are usually made by people to serve a certain function.  That function can be deduced from seeing way the machine operates.  However perfectly immobile devices do nothing to glean information from.  He searches the ground to find a piece of scrap metal roughly the size of his fist.  He then picked it up and handed it to Dena.  "We can try to distract them by throwing this and making some racket down the hall.... unless someone objects." 

"That seems like a good plan." Dena agrees.  "Everybody move back a few steps so we can retreat quickly, I'll try to ricochet it to make as much noise as possible."

Dena examines the lump a moment in her hands, then winds up like a baseball pitcher and bounces it down the corridor away from the group, as noisily as possible.

Xurizu, for his part just nodded in response to Dashu's suggestion and Dena acting on it, stepping back and studying the corridor they would travel down, should the distraction work, making sure to memorize sensor locations so that the others could be guided quickly and efficiently away from the Whistlers and towards the Gatekeeper.

The scrap of metal strikes as noisily as Dena would like. One of the three whistlers on the eastern side of the corridor starts drifting toward the sound. A few more bits of debris thrown that way is enough to attract another to join it, though the third one remains stubbornly in place.

The first tricky part of this little experiment is the moment the two urchins heading west move past the corridor the four Exalts are lying in wait in. They flatten against the wall and hold their breath, hoping to remain unnoticed.

Meanwhile Xurizu has gotten a good idea on how to evade the next series of sensors, the patterns all but burned into his memory. With his guidance, they should be able to pass through them without much trouble at all. There's still one whistler in the way -- but one is enough to overpower, should they not make it past quietly.

---

OOC: Dex+Stealth or just Dex if you have none. You'll only need 1 success to evade notice from the sentries heading toward the distraction, so a WP may be in order.

It'll be hard to evade the one whistler -- you might want to think of just trying to smash it, too. It's not a combatant so there won't be combat time. Just try to do as much damage as you can to it in a single attack (or flurry) and keep moving on.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:29, Sun 21 Dec 2008.

Dena waits while the drone rotates in place, timing a lightning-fast flying dash to go over the top of it while it's sensor is pointed towards the floor.

[Private to GM: 21:21, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,6,7,4,8,3. dex. ]

Dashu flattens himself against the wall and holds his body perfectly still.  He kept his breath shallow as the two machines sped by.  When Xurizu moved, he moved with him.  As they approached the last Whistler he turned once again to Dena.  Dashu and nodded to his head to show he would let her break it.  He probably could do it himself but she's shown herself to be far stronger than he.

Xurizu presses up to the wall in the dead spot between a couple of sensors as the pair of Urchins fly past, climbing a little up the wall to be out of their typical sweeps as they reach their closest approach then dropping down lightly.  He starts to move as soon as they're past, leading his three companions swiftly through the field of sensors until they reach the third whistler.  He's more than willing to let the fighters of the group handle this one.

"Damn...  Sorry about that..."  Danae apologized quietly when she got out of the pit--and was rather silent for a good long while after that too--for good reason, she had made a rather bad mistake, and it would be entirely inappropriate to continue with the snarky commentary after the fact...

When the time came to deal with the Whistler though--and when the group of other ones came along back--she took a look at the remaining one, pointed towards it, then put a hand on her own sword, as if trying to ask the others if she should smash this one, instead of simply leaving it and risking another alarm.

Assuming there were no objections--she would steel herself...  And in a flash of motion, cover the distance when it's sweep left the group--bringing her weapon down a full three times--the very limit of what can be done in the blink of an eye--and channeling some of her still limited essence supplies in the process.

With any luck, it would be enough to disable the thing...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Sorry about that slowdown--in any case, spending a WP on the stealth

Then flurrying three attacks on the Whistler, spending 4m on Second Melee for each--which probably cleans my personal pool out again]

The two whistlers moving westward do not see the Exalts in the corridor at all. Their single-mindedness upon finding a disturbance to examine is perhaps a flaw of design, but Danae figures that's why the Gatekeeper employs many of them at once -- to increase the probability of successful sweeps.

As soon as the two disappear down the corridor, Dashu, Dena, Xurizu and Danae use the window of opportunity to act. Dashu is able to slip right past the third whistler before it can even see him. Unfortunately, it does sense the others -- triggering a high pitched whine that emits from the sea urchin shaped sentry.

---

OOC: I already rolled for Danae's attacks, but I figured that I'd wait and see if any of the others will smash it to shut it up first.

(note: she does do enough damage to disable it, but I just wanted to see because Danae will 1) flare, 2) use pretty much all her motes if I proceed as written.)

Having already planned to deal with the whistler should it spot her, Dena wastes no time thinking when it makes a sound but charges at it, forcing her essence into the black jade staff as she crosses several yards in an eyeblink.  The staff's form is slippery and resistant and Dena resorts to brute force of simply flooding her essence into it to get the weapon to obey before bringing it in a forceful smash against the probe, then kicking it against a wall to use as an anvil for a final crushing impact.

[Private to GM: 17:57,
Flurry attack.  Well that's some unimpressive dice rolling.

Today: Tervila Dena rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,10,2,5,6,7. Third Staff Strike.
17:57, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,8,2,7,7,6,4. Second Staff Strike.
17:57, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,3,5,5,7,9,6,2. First Staff Strike. ]

Fortunately for Dena, the whistlers don't seem to be much for dodging, and exhibit no obvious weaponry. Each and every one of her blows rings true, caving in the spherical body, knocking off several of the spikes jutting from its surface in the process. More thorn-like appendages clatter to the floor as Dena pounds the automaton into the wall, leaving it more like a misshapen spiked saucer than a sea urchin in shape.

More importantly, the whistle sound appears to have been abruptly silenced, and gives the opportunity for the group to move on before the other whistlers return. Danae finds her attack unnecessary, unless of course she wants to pummel the thing more, just to be sure! (If she does, the entirety breaks apart in an explosion of sparks and smashed up bits of metal, but her sword will be severely damaged by the effort, as well.)

Progress continues, with Xurizu and Dashu still taking the lead. They move eastward until the passage they are at ends in a T-intersection. Eastward is a solid wall, while the north and south offer two different paths.

Northward, a long gap in the floor leaves no way to get across except by jumping or flying over, or possibly climbing the walls if one were skilled enough to do so. Much like the pit Danae nearly fell into, it is about two stories deep and contains an unknown liquid at the bottom, but covers nearly three times the floor space as the first one.

Southward is a series of crackling electric fields covering the passage from floor to ceiling. They are not perfectly solid but look dangerous to touch. It may be possible to deactivate them, perhaps by diverting or grounding the charges. It would take more time, but south is closer to the core.

At this point there seem to be fewer sensors to avoid. The traps are likely becoming more difficult as a result.

[5 minutes 30 seconds remaining.]

---

OOC: You can...
- deactivate charges with int+lore
- jump pit with dex+ath
- fly over pit (no roll), can potentially make multiple trips to carry others

also, spotting traps: perception or wits+awareness, unless I'm told otherwise I'll assume Xurizu is leading the roll with teamwork again.

"Well--it's nice to see something that's in 'my' particular area of expertise!" Danae said, taking a second to catch her breath as the group reached this intersection, and she glanced down to the south.  "You guys want me to turn that thing off?  I probably shouldn't take 'Too' long trying it, and it looks like it'll get us into position quicker too..."

Dashu looks at the charges in the most perplexed manner.  It was obvious he had no clue what to do with the situation.  "Sure knock yourself out," he replied to Danae.

"Whatever will be fastest." Dena answers uncertainly.  "I do not recognize this area at all, but these bars look like a wind-aspect's anima.  I suspect it would be painful to touch." the prospect of pain doesn't seem too horrible to Dena as she observes the leashed lightning quietly.

"Probably... Fortunately, I don't plan on actually touching it" Danae replied, pulling out a shock-pike from earlier--and after popping open the head and removing some of the crystals built into it, rewiring it slightly so as to have it channel incoming Essence--as opposed to being fed it in a more serene manner--and taking a deep breath...

She quickly jammed the Shock Pike into one of the walls--wedging it in place, and angling it so the charge is absorbed into the spent capacitor, as opposed to roaming freely like it normally would--it wouldn't last for terribly long, but it should give the group ample time to cross over.

That was the theory anyway...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Int + Lore in any case--I'll put any Personal Motes I have left into second lore excellency though, and if I have more then 1 left, a WP too]

"T-minus five minutes until purging commences. Authorized personnel, commence final stages of evacuation." It's cutting it close, but Danae is already immersed in her task, and making great progress.

Fortunately, the Dawn Caste's theory proves true. For several seconds the electric charge is diverted into the pike, and it's just enough time for everyone to rush through before the weapon's capacitors are entirely fried. With its sensitive circuitry overwhelmed, the head of the shock pike explodes in a shower of sparks, and the useless shaft clatters to the floor.

The electric field renews itself behind the four Exalts, barring their way back. Almost as soon as they clear the electrically charged corridor, they hear another voice -- separate from the announcements -- resonate sharply in their minds:

"INTRUDERS. IDENTIFY YOURSELVES IMMEDIATELY. ON WHAT AUTHORITY HAVE YOU ENTERED THE DOMAIN OF THE GATEKEEPER OF WATER?" Even as the message is transmitted, the group begins to experience intermittent, intrusive visions -- familiar mental images of events that have occurred in their past. The Gatekeeper (who or what else could it be?) is attempting to probe their minds for information.

---

OOC: The Gatekeeper is executing what amounts to a social attack using Investigation. The attack has 8 successes. Defend as if you're in social combat -- use your highest social defense (probably Dodge DV from what I'm seeing) and stunt, channel, etc. for extra DV. If you succeed, it won't be able to read your mind, and you'll be able to deceive it (though deception will also require a social attack roll from you.)

Unfortunately, given the current circumstances, App bonuses for social combat won't count here.

If you want to continue moving at the same time you can and probably should do so, but if you want to also remain aware of your surroundings as you move, roll Perc+Aware. Conversely you can roll Int+Lore to draw upon what knowledge you might have to aid you now. This time you won't be able to teamwork, though, because you're all mentally preoccupied. You also get -2 dice to either roll due to the distraction.

Due to own skills at investigation, Dashu recognizes the investigation techniques employed by the Gatekeeper and immediately tries to restructure his thoughts to counter them.  While his skills were normally employed at crime scenes, he is able to cross apply them to the mental attack easily.  He stayed a step ahead of the Gatekeeper and tried to feed it information which would satisfy the inquiries without revealing his status as an intruder.  To do this though, required not just his knowledge of investigation techniques, but also his experience with countermeasures people had used against him.  His goal is to let the Gatekeeper know that he works in law enforcement and is trying to save the lives of residents of the Water District while keeping the fact that he was an escaped prisoner to himself... not a lie, just trying to present himself in a fashion the Gatekeeper would find acceptable.

As he did this he pressed forward, although he was too focused on keeping the Gatekeeper out to vocalize what he saw to Xurizu.  He hoped those who couldn't track the direction themselves would be able to follow in his footsteps.

[Private to Gatekeeper: I'm going to go with my Parry MDV and use my investigation excellency buying 5 sux.   I'm  also trying to stunt the use of my larceny score as a bonus to the Parry MDV.  I was trying to present it to his defence in such a fashion that it used his charisma and not manipulation.  I'm going to press onward with a perc + aware roll.]

Dena staggers a bit under the emotional assault, accustomed to provoking others to awe with her impressive physical appearance she's become weak without it to use as a tool but she begins to rally and turn the Gatekeeper's methods back on him.  Instead of trying to hide her memory or avoid his intrusion she instead forces the memories at him at breakneck speed, but focuses entirely on smells as only a Lunar with a beast's nose could, giving him too much information but none about wh.  Dena speaks loudly as she pushes back at him.
"Smoke from a blast furnace rising on a shimmering wave of heat. . . hot iron tangy on the forge. . . blood like iron drifting down the edge of a stone. . . stone dust where the city has broken. . . sweat and tears in the rebuilding. . ."

[Private to GM: Stunting and, at least theoretically, trying to figure out if I can bring my New Friend Aroma charm to bear on him.]

Xurizu has a strong mind.  One can't be a Sorcerer without that.  More than a strong mind though, he has a determination.  He is not going down to the Forbidden level once more, not spending the time he remembers in a tiny little cell far below the earth and not giving up any information which might put him back there.  And of course, he has so many memories that have have been ripped from him.  So many holes.  It's these holes which he offers up.  An empty mental landscape.  Like there was no mind there at all, no-one to identify, nothing to see here.

As he offered up the nothingness, he continued forward, deeper into the domain of the Gatekeeper, looking out for the sensors still, more careful than ever to try and avoid them after this, though gritting his teeth too much to relay any information to those around him.  He does his best to track them though, by their footfalls and breathes, to make sure no-one is lost.

To be truthful--Danae couldn't speak overly much about being 'Particularly' strong of will...  Or much in the way of a social ability--or really much of anything to be perfectly honest.  Her Essence was a bit more solid then the average however, and she was sufficient in command of herself that she was able to quickly capitalize on the sudden bit of freedom...

But when the mental broadcast came along--Danae took that moment to delve for a moment, to dwell on how generally tired she was--after all, when you're running on what's basically full blast, in an exceedingly hostile environment, and having had very little time to rest--it's very easy to wear yourself out.

And it was better then dwelling on any little bits of information that this Guardian might use to errect superior defenses as well.

She yawned lightly as the group passed along.  "Kinda sleepy right now... I hope we get a chance to take a nap when things settle down, don't you guys agree?"

An additional little push--a perfectly ordinary front--a tired worker who wasn't really quite getting paid enough for all the overtime--and trying to figure out where the next little bit to work at was...

What 'Was' the layout of this place anyway?  Roughly speaking?  Still better then thinking up on something more controversial after all...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Using MDDV, base is 6, so with a 2 stunt, I should be able to deflect the inquiry--also going to use Int + Lore as my direction pool]

Dashu pits his considerable powers of investigation against the ancient, artificial mind. Though the Gatekeeper employs every textbook trick with the single-minded efficiency one would expect of a machine, it finds that Dashu's answering thoughts are simply NOT lies, though it cannot pinpoint his exact identity -- only that he is what he says he is. [Private to Peleps Dashu: I ended up using Charisma+Investigation for you. The DV has to be based on one and only one skill. But fortunately you had more than enough to convince the Gatekeeper of your story, at 4+5(excellency)+2(stunt). Since you had the highest sux the Gatekeeper now thinks of you as the group's leader.]

Xurizu simply slips away from the Gatekeeper's notice, as it realizes the mind it has touched is devoid of information. It busies some small percentage of its processing power on the philosophy of nothing, and continues on.

Dena's approach quickly leads to logic errors and other such computational frustrations, as the Gatekeeper cannot quite figure how to process smells, much less thoughts about smells. [Private to Tervila Dena: You definitely could use New Friend Aroma -- the problem is that you've been avoiding the sensors and confusing the mind probe, so the Gatekeeper is unsure what to make of you. So it'll be more difficult to convince if you're not allowing it to 'see' you either physically or mentally.]

Danae's defense is a simpler one, and perhaps it is that simplicity that makes it effective. Weariness is certainly acceptable given the circumstances, though why laborers would be assigned to the control floor is another worrying thought altogether, one the Gatekeeper sends a swift inquiry downward to discover.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE," states the Gatekeeper's mental voice. "PEACE FORCE REPRESENTATIVE REQUIRES ENTRANCE TO GATEKEEPER CORE TO PRESERVE LIFE IN THE DISTRICT OF WATER. PEACEKEEPER IS ACCOMPANIED BY AT LEAST TWO WORKER ENTITIES TO PERFORM CORE MAINTENANCE, SUGGESTING A SHIFT OF PRIORITY FROM BELOW FROM ELIMINATION TO PRESERVATION."

A pause of seconds, as the AI makes further inquiries, followed by a rather worrying conclusion. "IDENTITIES OF THE APPROACHING ENTITIES CANNOT BE CONFIRMED. COMMENCING FINAL SECURITY MEASURES. AT ANY TIME, OFFER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND SECURITY PASSWORD TO GAIN IMMEDIATE ENTRANCE."

The Exalts attempt to continue forward all throughout the AI's analysis. All Danae can figure out is that they have entered the outer chambers of the Gatekeeper core, putting them reasonably close to their goal, given their time limit. She knows that the traps here ought to be debilitating and environmental in nature: sonic waves, poison mists, extremes of temperature and so on. But she has no idea of the exact location or function of these traps.

Dashu and Xurizu continue to take the lead one after the other, and fortunately find themselves moving in the same direction. Unfortunately they are not as certain they are moving in the right one, particularly when Dashu's foot touches some invisible trigger, culminating in a hissing sound very much like air being pushed through a vent.

---

OOC: +2 stunts for all, you managed to avoid the mind probe. However, the AI has decided that the only way left to test your authorization is to see whether you know how to avoid the final traps in the way. At this point you can:

1) try to convince Gatekeeper that the trap is unnecessary, using a social attack roll to bypass authorization. Dashu gets +3 to this roll, but Xurizu cannot participate as he is supposed to be a non-entity. Everyone else choosing this action should roll separately, but the rolls may have synergy depending on the approach used. (diff 6+)
2) try to actually disarm the triggered trap before it becomes dangerous, I'll allow Wits+Lore or Larceny in this case. (diff 4)

Failing either, you will have to roll Stamina+Resistance, or hold your breath, unless you've some means to filter harmful air. (diff 3)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:44, Sun 04 Jan 2009.

Dena peers a moment at the hissing gas exits and, as is typical, spends several seconds thinking it over while she holds her breath.  She then carries out a fairly typical Dena-ish plan of trying to smash and collapse the inlets by kicking them very hard.  This only slows down the process slightly as the bad air bubbles around the rubble.
"Maybe we should just keep on moving.  The gas is seeping pretty slowly, and from the smell it's weak sauce anyway that won't hurt us any.  I'll bet we can outrun it before it gets to a dangerous concentration." she finally suggests.

[Private to GM: 23:55, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 5 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,9,2,7,4,3,6,10. Stamina + Resistance.
23:53, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,3,2,7. Wits + Lore (Disable Device). ]

Dashu decides that he'll help Danae how he can with the disarming the trap.  He reaches behind him and produces a blue jade breath mask which he puts on. He then offers the Dawn Caste what assistance he can he can in disarming the trap.

Well, what do you know, it worked?

Xurizu swings his own breath mask down from off his back, and fastens it around his face.  He wishes they had enough for Danae and Dena, although Dena seemed confident enough about the gases ability to affect her, and with any luck Danae and Dashu could disarm the gas trap before it would be an issue.  Whilst they kneel to examine the trap, he turned his attention to the path they would need to take beyond this point.  By examining the sensors and searching for further traps, he planned to guide their movement as soon as it was safe to do so.  After all, legitimate workers would have no need to tarry and would know just where they were going.

Bonus--the thing 'Didn't' actually pick up on anything menacing from her--a part of Danae's mind that wasn't dedicated to maintaining the usual haze that a tired and hard-pressed worker in a stressful situation celebrated--but on the hissing noise after Dashu pressed the wrong switch--Danae was quick to move to the fray--quickly snagging out a couple of minor tools she had managed to carry along from earlier on--extending a few small prods--and once Dashu pointed out the vent in question--she was quick to slip them in--recalling the customary construction of these sorts of things--and with a slightly musical jingling noise, manipulated the two prods to reset the trap--manually having it report in that it was a false alarm--probably from shoddy maintenence...

And in that process, also reinforcing the opinion that the 'Workers' had been brought along to help repair any possible damages that may have been done in the duration of the purge...

Hopefully it would work out properly...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Using the motes I got back from the successful stunt to buy 2 succs on the Wits + Lore roll, and then rolling it]

Danae's skills are as peerless as ever. With Dashu's sharp eyes and logical mind looking out for minor errors she might have missed, she manages to shut off the gas trap in record time. [Private to Danae Adela: You... succeed! By a large margin! You also get a +1 stunt, I think I had rolled +2 but trying not to be *too* generous.]

The breathing masks Dashu and Xurizu kept from several floors below keep them safe from the effects of the gas. Unfortunately, Danae and even Dena (despite all her stamina) are still left with a vague, lingering lethargy, as if the weariness of all the intense combat, running and navigating through traps is finally catching up to them. Having seen the make of the trap herself, Danae knows that if they'd not disarmed it so quickly, they'd be much more than just tired... the gas would have put them instantly to sleep. [Private to Danae Adela; Tervila Dena: You both have -1 to your dice pools and movement rates, but keep in mind you DID avoid the much stronger effect.]

Xurizu scouts ahead for the others while they catch up, and the group continues on. It's very difficult to get lost now -- pretty much any path away from the lightning barriers leads toward the core. The Exalts progress at a deceptively swift pace, trusting in the senses of the Lunar, knowing they must surely be close to their goal.

But something is wrong. The further the Exalts travel, the more keenly they feel it. The temperature of the core is starting to drop at an alarming rate. The walls and floors have begun to freeze over, forming a sheen of mirror-thin ice.

The group abruptly reaches what appears to be a dead end, forcing them to backtrack slightly through the bitter cold. But they MUST be close now!

---

OOC: For this phase Xurizu was leading and actually botched. Unfortunately! The temperature change is a sign you probably did something very wrong. It's equivalent to a supernatural ice storm in the environmental effects list.

This is the last step before the core. I need from you...
- Stam+Resist roll. 4 sux means you avoid all damage for a minute, 2 sux means you get 2B damage per minute, less than that means 2L damage per minute. If you don't make the roll, you can still soak with natural soak and reduce to 1 level of damage/minute. Don't forget penalties if you have 'em!
- ONE last roll of Perc+Aware or Int+Lore to find your way to the core, can pool efforts again if you wish. This last roll is to determine how fast you get there (and thus how long you're exposed to the ice.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:26, Tue 06 Jan 2009.

Dashu pulls his shirt tighter around his body.  The cold doesn't slow him down any but he still doesn't like it much.  After a few minutes of it, the starts to wonder if they're going the right way.

[Private to GM: 20:25, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 6 successes using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,9,9,3,4,10,8. stamina + resistance.]
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Tue 06 Jan 2009.

Danae sneezed in a slightly mousy way--rubbing her nose slightly afterwards.  "I think we actually missed the door--it wouldn't be hard to miss actually, considering a lot of these things can't really have a lot of protruding portions going along wi...  *Achoo!*"

Rubbing her arms together with a frown, Danae took a look at the walls--it was COLD down here damnit!  Her outfit was 'Not' designed with warmth in frozen temperatures in mind--slight fire resistance was more appropriate when you often had to work in a foundry--and they're often made to 'Reflect' ambient heat as opposed to trap it...

"We've already gone along about this far though--geomantically speaking, the core should be back the way we came, probably along the wall to our left along the inside wall--likely without a whole lot to regulate it--but there sh...should be a handle on the wall about there--can we please hurry it up before I freeze to death?"

[Private to Gatekeeper: Int + Lore for me for 4 succs before stunt is added in...  And... O_o 3 succs on 2 dice for my resistance roll?  Dice gods are kind today!  I've already rolled sta + res prior to stunt in any case, so I'll leave it to you to add in any dice to see if I completely avoid damage for now.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Tue 06 Jan 2009.

Dena examines the wall for a moment, apparently hoping it's an illusion or easily-broken layer of normal ice.  Closing her eyes a moment, Dena breathes deeply and concentrates on her mercurial body, encouraging it to grow thicker and longer hair to trap in more heat and adding chemicals to her blood to keep it thinner and less likely to freeze.
"I think I remember it differently Danae.  I think it's on the other side of this wall and we should smash through it." Dena argues.  She smashes one fist into it with a sound like a tree falling to gauge the hardness and glances again at the radiating cracks from the blow, where flakes of ice are drifting away and sparkling in the dim light.  "And a little exertion will help you keep warm too."

[Private to GM: Can I stunt learn the first Stamina Excellency now?

Okay here's dice:
01:01, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 6 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,2,3,1,5,4,10,10,7,8,5,3. Stamina + Resistance + Excellency.
00:46, Today: Tervila Dena botched using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,5,6,1. Int + Lore.
]
This message was last edited by the player at 07:05, Tue 06 Jan 2009.

And then we just turn down he-...oh!  The dead end had come as a real surprise to Xurizu, so much of one that he hadn't noticed the cold until his teeth started to chatter.  Snakes didn't cope too well with the cold, after all.

"H-h-hurrying it up before we f-freeze to death sounds like a good idea," Xurizu chattered out.  He didn't stop moving though, even as everyone paused to examine the wall Danae had pointed out, looking for the handle she had claimed must be here somewhere as he paced about, trying to keep himself as warm as he could.  He hoped wherever this Gatekeeper was, they would be warmer ...

Of the four, Danae and Dashu seem to have the best idea as to where they should be backtracking. Xurizu can at least follow their strategy enough to know it is sound, though the cold distracts him too much to concentrate further. Dena has to move on with them, or be left behind beating at the wall on her own.

At first the crafter-general takes the lead, guided not by instinct but by pure know-how. It takes a minute for her to navigate the majority of the inner maze, until Dashu suddenly shouts out a warning for her to stop. Just ahead of her is a Level 3 Core Security Measure: a corridor equipped with miniature pinprick holes punctured into the wall that (after a specific time delay) emit anything from synthetic skin-contact poison to corrosive acid. If she'd triggered that they'd have much more to worry about than the temperature!

Now Xurizu and Dashu put their senses together, discovering a maintenance-only detour that unfortunately needs another half minute or so to accomplish. The cold is still not abating, and Danae feels the chill penetrate through her clothes. Xurizu looks even worse for wear, the tips of his fingers starting to turn faintly blue, the color and warmth draining from his face. (2B damage for Danae and 2L for Xurizu, as it's over a minute of exposure.)

Finally they reach a wide corridor headed in a single direction. At the end of that corridor is a heavy, multilayered mechanized door. There is a black jade and adamant panel embedded into the wall, the screen flashing with a message in Old Realm. "HARMONY-WILL-HELP-YOU," it reads, inexplicably. Close to the door the air seems to be warming, though it is still quite cold.

As the strange message on the panel continues to flash, the Gatekeeper's voice enters the Exalts' minds: "FINAL IDENTIFICATION CHECK. SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE... CONFIRMED. YOU MAY ENTER."

The door into the central core opens, latch by latch, gear by gear, layer by layer.

---

OOC: And there you are. You're a bit above 3 minutes to go. Post your last thoughts and actions before moving to the new thread, which will be named "Floor B26 - District of Water, Gatekeeper Core." It will be a bit... chaotic in terms of number of posters, at least for a while, because you're not the only group that made it this far.

If you can read Old Realm, roll another Int+Lore if you would like to make sense of the Harmony message before you go.

Dashu takes one look at the message flashing on the display and is immediately confused.  He doesn't speak Old Realm. He doesn't want to verbalize his question, least the question triggers the Gatekeeper to shut the door.  However, he points to the message with a questioning look on his face, hoping the others pick up on his question.  If not oh well. He then turns and prepares to enter the core.

Xurizu is shivering and chattering, rubbing his hands together against the cold.  He really didn't cope well with the drop in temperature and it was with something of a relief that he felt the first stirrings of warmth by the door.  He frowned though, at the odd message, before he caught Dashu's questioning glance. "H-h-harmony w-will help y-y-you," he chattered out, keeping his voice as low as he could, deciding that if the Gatekeeper could have heard them normally, then they would have been declared hostile long ago.  And he had no chance of mouthing the words.

"Huh... Seriously?" Danae said, sneezing again, but seemingly recovering as the temperature warmed up a bit.  "No matter how you construe that statement, it's probably a good thing for us...  But I'll go into detail when we wrap all this up, or if it winds up becoming relevant..."

A bit abashed over her decision to break through what turned out to be a very solid wall, Dena keeps quiet and follows everybody else, keeping an eye out for threats but no longer offering bad advice about the route to be taken.

Dena encounters no more threats, no more tricks to mislead her. Xurizu and Danae find the chill has abated to a point it longer affects them adversely, uncomfortable as it may be.

The message in Old Realm continues to transmit from the panel as they join Dashu in stepping through the door.

"HARMONY-IS-WITH-YOU"

---

OOC: closing this thread, look for the next one opening on Sat. or possibly Sun. depending on how I'm feeling.