The symbols were familiar to Jubei but their combination didn't form any words.  They were symbols next to other symbols...wait, those are numbers and some of the symbols he recognized as being used in equations.  Could this whole design be some kind of math problem?  There we different blocks of symbols  So perhaps if one could work out what they meant as equations their meanings could be elucidated.

Gyr frowned as Jubei explained that the smaller symbols were yet more numbers.  "Well, that's out of my wheelhouse.  Maybe we should knock on that door over there before messing around with whatever calculus is keeping these pillars in place?" he thought aloud and then looked to the doors, "We have a few spare hands, luckily enough, so let's handle both at once.  Phelan, would you and your mathematical expertise be so kind as to make some sense of these draconic numbers with Jubei?  I can't shake the feeling that they're here for something.  I'm going to check out those doors over there," he then addressed Willa, Krath, and Drex, "and could use some help, seeing as how there are three; someone can keep an eye out in case anything happens while we're piecing all of this together."

Jubei frowned in response to what he read and shuddered a bit.
"It is far from my expertise as well, but let see if I can get a better picture of what we are supposed to solve for?"
And with that he plodded around a bit to have a more indepth look at the pillars.


19:22, Today: Iron Jubei rolled 18 using 1d20+8.  Perception check!

Willa slipped over to Gyr's side.  Always happy to make new friends, she liked the idea of knocking on doors!

    Walking over to the doors and giving them a good knock, Gyr discovered they were, in fact, stone.  Solid stone by the looks of it.  Willa could confirm this because she could find no slits or gaps in the apparent door-frame she could even partially enter.

  Reading the draconic script on the pillars Jubei could confirm that they were each different.  Each held distinctly different set of equations.  Comparing them to each other Jubei could pick out styles.  As though made by different authors.  As he wandered around behind one pillar, a message flashed across the base in draconic.
"Why are you here?  Tap the keys at the base of the pillar, don't answer out loud, there are watchers but they are about as clever as a golem." the message said as an alphabet of draconic letters appeared below the message.  The letters each stood in their own little blocks.  It looks a lot like the odd machines Jubei had seen Phelan work with back in the weyr on Ancerenth.

  The message disappeared again only to be replaced by another. "Well? You didn't just stumble in here.  Someone guided you past the defenses.  You still have the labyrinth ahead of you even if you know which vault you are after.  Given you don't seem to have a clue which vault you want I imagine either someone is playing you for their own schemes or some greater power granted your wish.  Either way I'd be willing to help you but I want a way out of this place.  I'm a prisoner here.  And if you don't agree to help me.  Well I can always set the defenders from the labyrinth on you until you change your mind." the writer of the message seemed equally impatient and angry.

Gyr grinned with Willa as they inspected the doors... only to find that they were hardly doors at all.  The druid's thorny vines crept over the great expanse, seeking out any and all crevices to inspect; the Ulh's novice geomancy attempted to shift any and all stones to discern where the actual doors were....  He looked down to the Umbrean at his side and her similar attempts to identify any manner of portal by her unique means but was as successful as he.  "These are less doors and more decorative walls.  There must be a magical trigger to open them somewhere," he thought aloud.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Fri 15 Oct 2021.

"Or maybe real doors hidden?"  Willa piped up, hopefully helpfully.

Jubei's brows scrunched as he read the message to him, then started to frown at its aggressive contents. Still, he did not let that dissuade him too much.

"We are here for the dragon king," he wrote with the keyboard, "Who are you?"

    There was a long pause before a new message appeared, in gleaming letters, upon the screen. "That is a name I haven't heard in a very long time." there was shorter pause before another line of text appeared.

  "Why do you seek the once proud dragon king?" it asked.  "And how did you found out about him?  I'd been told all references to his existence had been erased from the histories as a final bit of spite and torture from the long dead queens?" another line quickly followed the first.

Jubei's eyes narrowed for a moment, before he typed up his response.
"I learned of the one they once called the Tyrant from a spirit in the Conduit near Kyssia. I search for the Conflict's End, and it told me that the dragon king would be able to help me in this quest. And now I am talking with this very king, am I not?"

In reply to Willa (msg # 53):

Perception: 26 to inspect the giant stone doors

Gyr crossed his arms in thought.  "That really would make for a hard labyrinth to solve if we can't even find the entrance."  He put his weight into pushing the stones with a grunt before addressing Willa again, "It might not budge even if we got Krath and Jubei to this with," he speculated and then kept a paw to the 'door' as he looked over his shoulder at Phelan and Jubei.  "Any luck?" he asked.

    The doors were elegantly molded from a white stone, infinitesimally speckled by what appeared to be grains of glass.  The stonework was at the very least masterful and as such presented no flaws or weaknesses Gyr could think to exploit.  Beside the numbers on each door they were slightly different.  Very fine filigree and patterns in the stone itself suggested different themes of a sort.  But they were very vague, one was floral, with scores of tiny flowers of a kind Gyr had never seen before.  Another as a lattice of stars and constellations.  Another after that was of the sea and waters.  One and on the doors tantalized but never seemed to reveal anything of even budge.

  "Come speak with me in person, I'll open the door.  You'll still need to traverse the labyrinth but I have the sense that someone's already provided you with the means to do that." the screen red.

  There was a load crack from beneath the floor.  A hole formed in glass covered, golden roadway.  Revealing a metalic tunnel leading into the earth.  Flickering bands of the same metallic substance turned around the tube.  Some of these rings were more complete then others or were much wider than the tube itself.  The rings vanished then they hit the floor only to reappear on the other side.  A curtain of white light shimmered within the tube.  The tube itself was large enough to comfortably accompany the party even if they were double their number and walking beside each other.  It easily matched to scale of the doorways yet was distinctly different from them.

By Numbers and Charades: The party receives 1,000 experience points (from avoiding two major combat encounters, 100 from solving a puzzle).
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:11, Mon 18 Sept 2023.

Jubei stepped away from the display, a faint frown on his muzzle, and yet his displeasure seemed fleeting at best.

"We are about to meet someone who might be able to assist us in making this a more understandable task," he addressed the others as he strode towards the new opening. "And before you ask, no, I do not know who exactly they are. I have a hunch, but my last few hunches haven't proven true, so I'll reserve it till we actually meet them."

Gyr pivoted from the door, exchanging a look with Willa before returning to Jubei.  He reached up and clapped the giant dragon's arm.  "Awesome!  Of course the real entrance to the labyrinth wouldn't be any of the obvious doors," the Ulh thought aloud and then inclined to peer through the newly manifested trapdoor before standing again and presenting a paw, "At your lead."

    Passing through the portal you enter into an almost circular passage.  The floor you are walking on is the only flat surface.  Draconic texts curve in long arches and spirals across the walls and floor, flowing from the end you entered to the far side.

  The corridor doesn't appear to have a determined size as each of you describe a corridor that appears to be only just large enough for you to fit inside.  Which would be impossible given the very different sizes of the constituents of your party.

  Though the walls appear to be made of stone the more perceptive of the party notice the texture of the walls seem to change if you look at it for long.  The more you stare at it the more detailed the surfaces become until the become almost rough.

  Crossing the corridor felt strange only in hindsight as it felt like it took both a very long time and no time at all.  Passing through the shimmering curtain on the other side you emerge into the sky.  Standing atop a grey slab of stone gilded in a fine web of golden strands.  The portal you had exited was part of a tower of stone similar to the one you stood upon except this was a tall cylinder almost certainly a mile tall with other portals like the one you had left appearing at regular intervals around both the circumference and length of the tower.  Only your portal had an adjoining platform for you to stand on.

  Everything else was the deep blue of the unbounded, endless sky.  It was exactly noon.  The golden orb of the sun was uncomfortably warm for everyone except Jubei, who for the first time in a while felt like he was almost home in this heat.

  The distant air appeared hazy though and you could just faintly see distant, enormous shapes on the horizon.  Structures similar but different to the ones you were next to and upon.

  As the last of your party exited the portal - the order of your arrival was nothing like your entry, with Moonchild arriving first, followed, by Willa, Phelan, Drex,Gyr, Jubei, and finally Krath - three golden portals shimmered into existence from the air.  Each to a side of the square platform you stood on.
  These portals were not like the one you had entered the labyrinth with.  These were ribbon like structures that looked more like archways, though they did not meet at the top.  Like the weaving together of large strands or tendrils of a plant.  Once they had materialized something appeared to connected to each.
  The first archway on the left, shimmered with a curtain of light between its limbs and formed a whirlwind of air trailing off into the distance where another platform was appearing from the haze.
  The second archway, dead ahead of you, conjured a bridge of golden strands across the air towards a circular platform with a golden spire at its center circled by a stairway leading into a closed, squat, but broad, stone cylinder at its top.
  The third archway, to the right, made sliding, swirling tunnel of gossamer light lead down to huge cube with only one visible entrance and exit.  The cube floated in the air on one of its points.

[Feel free to explore, I'll specifically state when Ruuk is introduced.  The skill challenge for exploring the labyrinth will be introduced after that point.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:31, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

Gyr's keen eyes studied the ever-shifting wall, enamored and enraptured by the liminal space they traversed, he stopped a moment to tilt his head one way and then the next to study the boundless arching runes beyond their corridor.  "Hey guys, check out this stone!  There's nothing actually there, yet it's not quite an illusion, either, because I feel like I could just touch the ceiling yet Jubei walks through just fine.  How curious," he marveled.  When the sun burst onto them, he raised a paw to block his eyes, especially since he wanted to gaze out at the open sky, taking moment to step away from the group and as near to the edge as he dare.  He'd also open his coat a bit since the sun was so very warm and the difference from the moon base was quite stark.  Gyr then took a moment to determine if what they experienced was some sort of teleportation magic by internally calibrating himself of any potential motion sickness.  Regardless, he'd have himself a thorough look-around, perhaps even at some of those other portals that appeared (and if need be, he'll use his psychokinesis to bridge the open gap).
This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Sun 31 Oct 2021.

Jubei did not realize that the corridor conformed to their shapes until Gyr pointed it out, and even then he struggled to fully understand what his eyes were seeing. He grunted and simply shelved it away with all the other strangeness of this place as he nodded.

"Where are we?" Jubei pointlessly asked as he let his gaze drift around and then examined the portals closer, "Right, the labyrinth. We will need to navigate it to meet that somenone. Any suggestions?" He looked to the others.

    Moonchild turned to Jubei and asked "Didn't the creature from that disc say they would guide you?"

"Yes, where is Kylin?" Gyr wondered aloud, "She was with us a minute ago."

Willa gazed about in awe at the wondrous vista, until Gyr made mention of Kylin.  She looked around quickly for her fellow umbrean, before rushing back to the portal the group had entered/exited by.  Sticking just her head through she called out:

"Kylin!  Where be?  Willa and friends of, here!"

    Shortly after Willa stuck her head back through the portal she saw the passage growing dark, as if it just suddenly ended beyond a point down the corridor.  There was no sign of Kylin.  Though she had entered with all of you when the party had passed into the portal.  As though by gravity Willa was pulled (or perhaps pushed) backwards through the gateway as the shimmering curtain of light faded leaving only a half circle niche in the stone.

  "I don't think someone wants her in here." Moonchild remarked.  "Is is possible to hold someone in...uh...suspension? In a portal?" he looked over at party as he asked.

Willa looked both unhappy and thoughtful.

"Is Maze, no?  Maybe Kylin in other part.  But why be?  Is not 'cause umbrean.  Willa here still!  So 'cause dragon was?  But Iron Jubei here be, though...not same as.  So maybe?  Else, 'cause Kylin knowing stuff?  Can to be telling things?  Willa and friends of, not allowed to know?  Is..." she shuddered a little, "icky feeling.  Willa not to be liking very much!"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:40, Wed 03 Nov 2021.

Jubei gritted his teeth as he grimaced and shook his head, "Let us hope that she has simply been barred from entering. But let us assume the worst. We have to act with urgency."

He then turned his attention back to the three passages ahead.
"Now then, spirit, guide me. Which way is the path?" he murmured.

Gyr stopped at each archway, holding a paw over his eyes to gaze into the distance at each destination.  Archway #1 "Seems to lead to another platform like this one; we'll likely see more of the labyrinth from there..." he pondered aloud and then continued on.  He stood at Archway #2, eyes squinting at the light as he followed upward to the stone cylinder on high, "That looks like an actual destination or... some manner of stopping point to continue elsewhere..."  At Archway #3, the Ulh squatted and stroked his mane as he inspected the odd cube far below, "That looks like a dead-end... yet why would a labyrinth have an obvious dead-end from the start?"

Upon returning to the group, Gyr speculated aloud (as was his way).  "It sounded like we were to be escorted to meet this dragon-king fellow but ended up here, instead.  Either that lofty cylinder or that teetering cube would be places to meet someone... or to hold someone.  Kylin could have been swiped, lost, or run-off but she should also know her way around; if swiped, she might be held somewhere," he insinuated, tossing a thumb over his shoulder at the third archway and its singe entrance/exit.  "If we have, indeed, been escorted to where he can meet the dragon-king, I know of somewhere that would be very fitting," Gyr continued, tossing a thumb of his other shoulder at the second archway with its golden tower.  He then braced his hips and addressed the first archway, "And I have no data about that way," before addressing Jubei, "so it's up to you to direct us, if that spirit of yours doesn't respond."

   At first there was no obvious response to Jubei's call.  There were faint flickers in the air as golden dust gathered about Jubei in strange currents and formed ahead of him what looked like a wide, and intricate golden flower.  Very reminiscent of a plucked rose only far too precise and symmetrical.  Of the golden dust which did not become the flower a few became loose petals which floated around the flower.

  Shimmering, scintillating light shone from the flower and it spoke with a voice similar to the one you had heard from the draconic apparition before only this one sounded far stronger and more ethereal as if the words were being spoken directly to you in a private chamber.
  "Fear not.  The child Kylin waits in the corridor for your egress." the flower spun lazily as it spoke the center of the blossom remained turned all the while to Jubei as it spoke.  "The guardians of this place do not allow the entry of transplanted minds."
  The flower floated over to Gyr and lazily orbited about him.  The glimmering light within focused it's cyclopean gaze upon Gyr.  "She will not have to wait long as time flows significantly faster here than in the real world."

  "A warning before we proceed.  The machines of this place react to the mind.  The slightest pressure can be read as instructions.  Should you see a machine with crystals or jewels in its design then still yourself before you proceed lest your mind cause reactions you'd rather do without." Moving on to Drex the rose spun about him slowly as well, gazing unblinkingly at him.

  Finally it floated back to Jubei "The path through the labyrinth holds no peril of its own.  What dangers you will encounter will be accidents of your own design.  This way."  The flower drifted towards archway leading to the tall cylinder.