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. :)]