When the younger Judoc asks, inspired, what the weather will be like, and the pool reveals gale-strength winds and torrential rain, Judoc laughs in spite of himself. Grinning, he says, "Excellent intuition! I feel better about our prospects already! The pool is clearly a liar."

Now, the pool emptied, Judoc takes a moment to rest. The exertion has worked up quite a bit of sweat, and he is reminded again how easy this could have been with the right spell. As he pauses for breath, he scans the walls of the cave they find themselves in. There is a certain beauty to this place. He finds himself wondering what this area had looked like  before being destroyed by orcs and subsequently overrun by demons. Perhaps if the dwarves were more powerful, they could cleanse these caverns and claim them for their own. Judoc wouldn't mind helping out, for the right incentive, of course.

While he sits, considering, he takes out the magical amulet he wears around his neck. Holding it, he says quietly, "Lux," imbuing the amulet with mystical light. Then Judoc hands the glowing rock to his other self. "Hang onto this, in case we get separated," he says.

At length, he stands, helm in hand, and considers each exit. They seem equally good to him. "What I wouldn't give for a map right now." Shrugging at his companion's question, he says, "I dunno. Want to try the righthand path first? We can always double back if we need to."

OOC: Did we ever specify that the amulet is on a chain? My thought is to cast Continual Light, the torch-strength version, on the amulet so Judoc can have both hands free to actually use his staff.

Afterwards, Judoc wants to rest until their FP is restored. So 25 minutes?

Let's take the right-hand exit first. At the fork, Judoc will go right. Once his helm is dry, he'll put it back on.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 00:40, Sun 06 Mar 2022.

"Good thinking."  Younger Judoc says as Judoc hands him the amulet, pulling his own copy off of his neck and passing it along to his other self.  "Let's trade, that way if we get separated we'll both have one, rather than me having two."

After casting, the two rest for a moment, both of the wizards having diminished themselves through spell casting.  Judoc is not sure what time it is, bereft of any outside cues from the sun or the moon, though he knows well enough that it had been sunset when they had taken the gate, and likely the time is well into the hours of dark.  While he has no desire to sleep in this horrible pit, he is wondering just how much longer it is safe to stay awake before exhaustion begins to take its toll.

Eventually, the two rise again, refreshed from their meditation, to keep wandering the caverns.  They choose the right path, which quickly branches again, though when they choose right again, Judoc finds that the way quickly dead ends.   The two double back and check the walk down the left fork, which continues to bend left ever so slightly as the pathway continues on.

Eventually, the two get to a long corridor of tunnel, and can see up ahead more branches going off this way and that, though just to their right, there is a large stone rolled up against the wall of the tunnel.

Younger Judoc can't help but investigate the stone, bringing his lighted amulet to bear which throws shadows this way and that across the corridor as he angles it.

"There's something behind this."  Younger Judoc says, placing a hand in between the gap of the boulder and the wall.  "You think it's worth moving it?  or just keep trying to find the way out?"

OOC:  I don't think we ever did specify, nor does it specify in Tower of Octavius, though let's say it is.  Good troubleshooting after not having a rope.  Do you want to hold your lighted stone still, or just plan on having a ready staff?  Either way you can keep it on you to take out later if you get separated.

Putting in the note about sleep just for perspective.  You aren't losing fatigue yet, though at some point you will due to lost sleep.  Sleeping down here though obviously carries its own risks.

"God's body," Judoc grumbles looking off into the distance at the various tunnels branching off their current path. "This place is a rat's warren." His attention is diverted to the stone against the wall, and he looks at it curiously.

"Yes, let's try to shift it," he says. "Perhaps there's a tunnel or a room behind it." He pauses for a moment. "Or someone wanted to keep something in there," he says more slowly. "Let's move it, but be on guard just in case there's something in there that's not friendly."

He pauses for a moment, then stretches his hand out and murmurs, "Sensus inimici."

OOC: Cast Sense Foes on the area on the other side of the stone. Spend 1 FP for a 2FP version of the spell. If there don't seem to be enemies immediately on the other side, look for a way to shift the stone aside.

Wanting to be sure that they will not be attacked the moment they clear the way, Judoc casts a quick spell, and finds to his satisfaction that there are no enemies, at least immediately in the way beyond the small stone portal.

with a bit of effort, the two Judocs are able to roll the stone enough to one side to squeeze their way through, finding themselves in a tight niche, only ten feet across of poorly worked stone.  The floor is flat enough however, to support another single wooden coffin, poorly constructed of shoddy plank.  The top is decorated with more brutish symbols like the ones in the last crypt that the Judoc's had stumbled across, though these are written in charcoal or some other such chalky black.  On either side of the coffin, a pair of skeletons make their final rest, the remnants of ancient armor fallen and rusted away from their ancient form, a decaying and leather spauler, a rusted axe, a plank wooden shield with a single spike driving out through it's center...

Though the contents of the room are macabre, it appears that they have not been disturbed for some time.

OOC:  My fault on the light, we'll keep it the way it is for now since your agreeable.  Please make a Navigation-2 roll.

The stone rolled away, Judoc peers into the cave’s gloom. He takes in the coffin and the skeleton guards on either side. ”Was that stone intended to keep people out of here, or keep whatever was in here inside?” he muses.

Turning to his twin, he says, ”What do you think? Should we take a peek inside that coffin?” He looks back at the coffin and considers the decayed skeletons. He can’t help but shiver a bit at the thought of the bone lord he and his companions had fought in the bowels of Perdition. Now, he has no Magnus, Bjorn, or Gustav to protect him. His doppelgänger is powerful, but the two share the same specialities. ”I should really spend some time learning to use this staff better,” he mutters, hefting it.

OOC: If Judoc Jr. doesn’t object, attempt to pry off the top of the coffin. If his other self does present a decent argument against desecrating the tomb, Judoc will continue on up the tunnel and leave this room behind.

It appears that Younger Judoc is having similar thoughts to his other self, as he shivers slightly as the tomb is uncovered.  But the bone sovereign was a creature that fed off of the dead, that brought them unto himself...  Here, the dead simply lay upon the ground.  Would it be the same for the coffin?  Or perhaps would their murderer sleep there, untouched for centuries by way of dark powers or magic?

Judoc is curious and he must know the answer.  Far be it from himself to stop... his other self.

Younger Judoc grips his staff as well, putting a tip of it within an opening of the coffin lid and prying it up like a lever.  Whatever nails have held it together over time seem to fail with only the slightest resistance and before they know it, the two Judocs have opened the lid of the coffin to have a proper look inside.

Another skeleton lays inside, though much of the body is covered by a faded and thinned wrap of cloth.  They are robes of some sort, purple and white that cover the skeleton from the neck all the way down to his feet.  All that shows of the bony white is the skull, which peers at the two wizards through empty sockets.

Clearly, this was an important orc...  if indeed that was what it was, though it does not appear there is much of him left.  Judoc is just about to move along when he notices a metallic glint and he pushes aside some of the cloth to find a circlet of gold decorated with platinum leaf.  Set just on the front is a large, orange gemstone, about the size of a fingernail.

Judoc reaches down to grab the headgear and even before his fingers touch, he can feel magic radiating outwards from it.  It is a warm feeling, like holding a cold hand above a boiling pot of water.

"Nice thinking."  Younger Judoc comments as the circlet is pulled from the coffin.  "Maybe we'll make having been to this place worth it after all."


For reference.  Not the actual circlet.

It is a strange state of his world, Judoc muses, that he expects the dead to rise to life again, especially in a place like this. Ordinarily, dead men, or orcs in this case, stay dead. But Judoc has come to expect the extraordinary, especially in a place where the water looks like blood.

With the top pried off, Judoc looks inside and notes the thin cloth. The purple makes him think that this being was in life a king, and these skeletons beside the coffin an honor guard of sorts. But the real item of interest is the golden circlet with its large jewel. ”Magic,” he murmurs. ”We’ll have to analyze it more closely when we have some down time.” Tentatively, he places it on his head to see if he can get an idea of what magic it might be imbued with.

Turning to his twin, he says, ”Do you mind if I hang onto this? I didn’t have it when I was in Basharat’s shop, although I don’t know if that makes much of a difference.”

OOC: Put the crown on to see if there’s any obvious effect. If Other Judoc is okay with it, Judoc will slip the crown into his pack. He will replace the lid on the coffin and continue on down the tunnel. (Unless the skeletons come to life and begin attacking, of course!)

"Knock yourself out."  Younger Judoc responds to his older self, chuckling slightly when Judoc mentions that he didn't have it when he was in Basharat's shop.

"Yeah,"  Judoc smirks, "The way he seemed to think, probably means if you give it to me I'll lose it."</b>  He shakes his head.  "Makes no difference to me though, I suppose I'll end up with it sooner or later whether you like it or not."

Apart from the light conversation, there isn't much else to note.  Judoc places the circlet upon his head for a moment, and he can feel the magic again...  A warmness that seems to permeate from his head down along his body... though he can't place the spell effect.  Instead, Judoc retrieves the crown off his head and places it in his pack before the two take a last look around the room and continue on down the trail.

Unlike the shallow stone steps they had followed earlier, this path is not cut stone but rather a plain tunnel that has been worn over centuries of footsteps.  Unlike the steps earlier, it was much more difficult to determine whether the two were climbing higher, or descending back down into the depths...  Though he was starting to get the sneaking suspicion it was the latter.

The two approach another intersection, where the tunnel splits off in two directions.  To the right, the tunnel continues another twenty five feet or more within their view.  To the left, the path continues on for some ways, and the two can see the same sort of stone path they had been walking ealier.

Much more pressing however, is what steps out towards them from that tunnel.  For walking towards them from out of the darkness is a the skeletal horror of an orc long dead.  In its hands, the thing grasps a stout spear, which is bladed on each end.  Judoc turns to retreat back into the tunnel beyond, but he finds there is another of the things, following them from whence they came!

OOC:  Not enough endurance at the moment for a map, but we don't quite have to go into combat yet.  The skeletons are each about 7 yards away from you, both are equipped with thick dual-ended spears, and are moving slowly in your direction at about a yard a second.  At the fork, the way left and back each have a single skeleton coming, while the way right is clear.  If you wish to flee, let me know which direction (and what your plan is if it's through a skeleton).  Otherwise, let me know what spells or actions you plan on taking.  Give me up to the point where you actually initiate combat, but no longer than about 4 seconds if you aren't running away.

"Does it seem like we're descending again?" Judoc quietly asks his double. This complex is beginning to feel like a labyrinth. He is sure they will come to the end of this place eventually. Still, he wonders how extensive this Path of Ancients is.

The cut stone pavement is gone, too, replaced by an earthen floor. Does this mean they have drifted away from the main thoroughfare? He is beginning to think it would be wise to turn around and retrace their steps when they come to an intersection. To left is the familiar stone flooring from before. Far more pressing, however, is the orc skeleton lurching towards them. Glancing behind them, he spies another!

"Damn. How long has that thing been following us?" he mutters. Gripping his staff in both hands, he murmurs words of power. "Flamma iactus!"

OOC: Step forward. Ready staff. Cast Flame Jet.

"I was thinking the same thing."  Younger Judoc answers to the initial question, searching in all three directions as if to get a better idea as to their location, though his attention quickly turns to the skeletons approaching them at their position.

"No clue."  Younger Judoc answers quickly in response, turning his back to his other self as he pushes towards the skeleton which had been following them.  "Right, you get that one, I'll get this.  No sense in keeping our backs exposed."

And with that, Judoc's doppelganger is off.  Though Judoc has little attention to pay anything other than the murderous undead that still continues to press forward directly at him.  Judoc appraises the situation, and waits until the thing is just within reach as he casts his spell.

KAFUCKINGBOOOM!!!!

Judoc can feel the warm shockwave of the explosion rippling through him and ruffling the strands of his hair as the harrowing echo crushes his eardrums again and again.  He is worried for a moment - that the echoing may have made him deaf, that the explosion will cause a cave in, that he's fumbled his spell... though his thoughts have no founding in reality, the echo slowly draws down to a dull ring, the tunnel stays resolutely in place, and the tip of his staff explodes with an extension of six feet.

Judoc jabs out with the weapon, though the skeleton jumps nimbly out of the way, far more nimbly than the skeletons in Perdition, and charges back with a brutal strike of his own.  Judoc dips neatly out of the way of the spear, though it only takes the one moment to assess that this foe is no pushover, and that likely even one sound hit may be more than Judoc can withstand.

OOC:  That's a total of 4 seconds.  You have cast a successful 2 point Flame Jet (1 FP) and can maintain it for next turn if you wish.  You are at range 3 from the skeleton, who has its own spear in a 2 hex, 2 handed grip.  You aren't sure what is happening in the fight with the other skeleton, though it's quite clear that younger Judoc has used some sort of an explosive spell.

Let's do 2 more rounds of combat.

Also, you mentioned you wanted a block for defense - Not sure if you're getting confused with another character, but you don't have shield equipped nor the shield skill.  I ended up using a retreating dodge.  You might have meant parry, though either way your defense was successful with the retreat.  You are back at the intersection, though you can retreat again if needed without stepping forward.

The sonic blast washes over Judoc, catching him off guard BS nearly making him stumble forward. Explosive Fireball, he figures. Appropriate. The other skeleton must be charred bone now. His ears still ringing, he focuses on his own undead foe and ignites a flame jet on the end of his staff.

Flame arcs out at the skeleton, but the undead foe avoids it with ease. Interesting. This skeleton seems far more agile than those he has fought before, and there is a heft to its own attack that suggests a strength in its bones.

Concentrating, Judoc aims another flame attack at his foe.

OOC: Attack again with Flame Jet.

Back and forth, Judoc and the orcish specter spar with their weapons of steel and fire, the skeleton dodging with surprising quickness and thrusting back with equal fervor.  Judoc puts his everything into the defense, stepping back and knocking the thick spear away once, then twice, though his muscles strain and protest the monumentous effort.

Wafting smells of char and ash fill Judoc's senses and he can see flashes of color as younger Judoc moves with the lighted necklace, though he is far too occupied to see exactly how things are going.

Judoc thrusts back with his own weapon, the fiery spear lancing true towards the skeleton's chest cavity, though again the horror moves with such quickness that Judoc is not prepared!  The thing steps clear of the blast, then forward, hooking his own spear to the side of Judoc's staff and blasting it to the side!  Judoc is floored as the weapon is torn from his grasp and falls to the ground, deflecting a bright flash of the jet of flame in the air for a brief moment before snuffing out on the stone!

Judoc's mouth seems to go dryer with the setback, though his fingers still crackle with magical energy.

And then, the other Judoc is there at his side, staff in hand as he approaches the skeleton's side quarter!

OOC:  Posting this as I'm sitting in the airport, so apologies for the use of theater of the mind.  You have your back against the wall, though you can take a (side) step and attack this turn if you wish to start skooching yourself to have a little more space.  Just let me know if you want to sidestep towards or away from your other self.

You are at range 2 to the skeleton, who has his spear in a 2 hex grip.

Your staff has been knocked from your hands (you seem to be involved on the wrong side of a lot of critical successes... alas, since it wasn't your roll you can't use a hero point) and you are unarmed.  I assumed you wouldn't want to continue your spell without your staff in your hands.  Lets do another 2 rounds of action.

Annoyance rises within Judoc. The skeleton is far quicker than he had anticipated, and it is all the mage can do to parry the aberration's attacks. And then, in a skillful move, the skeleton actually disarms Judoc! He had not expected such cunning in a foe so long dead.

His staff falls to the ground, and Judoc allows the Flame Jet spell to end. Disarmed, Judoc knows he has to think quickly. That creature could easily skewer Judoc with its spear should Judoc make the wrong move.

With a swift glance, he sees his other self arrive. Summoning mana from the air around him, he readies another attack.

OOC: Allow spell to end. Cast Fireball and throw it at the skeleton.

Judoc wriggles to the side, getting his back away from the wall so that he can retreat down the corridor, away from his double, potentially allowing younger Judoc to get a couple of clean shots on the foe's back.

Summoning his thoughts, and the mana from the caves around, Judoc brings a sphere of fire into his hands which is near the size of a grapefruit.  But the spell distracts him.  The monster thrusts out his spear in his two hand grip far faster than Judoc had been prepared for!  Judoc heaves himself back with every bit of his energy, though the blade drives towards the shoulder of his leathers with tremendous force.  Somehow, the blade catches on a seam, miraculously diverting the blow up and away over his shoulder, leaving only a gash in the sturdy fabric.

Younger Judoc attacks with a tremendous blow of his own, but the skeleton somehow avoids the blow, turning at the last second as the staff blow goes astray.

His ball of flaming energy ready, and his foe momentarily distracted, Judoc hurls the sphere at his target, straight at the chest of the undead horror.  This attack, the monster is not ready for, and he barely has the moment to turn himself back, before his porous ribcage is struck with the missile, which immediately bursts into a fount of flame which rises up through and around the shoulders and skull!  Somehow, the monster still stands!  Judoc is horrified for a moment, that like the bone sovereign, the thing might have taken the magic unto himself, that it might have made it stronger...  But he is relieved as the fire dies down, leaving the bones charred and ashen.

Clack!

Younger Judoc's staff strikes a glancing blow off the monster's shoulder, though still the thing drives on, thrusting his spear yet again towards Judoc!

His hands empty and his mind focused only on staying alive, Judoc manages to dodge the blow, and again younger Judoc strikes from behind, a vicious strike which cracks bone with powerful force!

But still, the beast staggers forwards, his spear still poised for a deadly strike!

OOC:  You missed your defense on the first round, and I opted to use a hero point for you rather than have you take 16 points of damage (ouch).  Your fireball hit, and did significant damage, though the thing still staggers forward.  I tried to finish up the fight by adding one more round, where you just did an all out defense, though of course, the skeleton critically succeeded his HT roll to stay conscious.  He's still facing you, and younger Judoc is essentially striking against an exposed back.  You've moved 2 yards away from where your staff is laying on the ground and you can now retreat normally.  Note that you are very close to being half move/dodge/ST due to fatigue.

Let's do 2 more rounds of combat.

As a side note, as you threw a fireball and hit the skeleton in the chest, all I could picture was the flaming skull of the punisher.  Maybe I should give the enemy a few fully automatic weapons to really make the reference shine?

Also, it's worth noting that I don't base using FP for defenses on the dice roll.  That is to say, if your defense is 10 and you roll a 12, I won't apply an FP post facto so that you succeed the roll.  So if you say "feverish if needed" I'm simply going to make it a feverish defense (so long as the attack is successful).  But at this point, you're getting close to fatigue making a big difference, so I wanted to make sure you knew.

Normally, Judoc holds back. He prefers to either have a friend or two between whatever he's fighting. Well, or aerial superiority. Some might call this attitude cowardice, which clashes with the confidence he normally feels. But Judoc has no desire to die, at least not this young. He'd rather not tempt fate by playing things too close.

From a more defensive position, Judoc can hurl small flames all day long. He has experimented with making larger fireballs. He can pump more mana into his flames for massive damage, but doing so will leave him drained. He needs to take this orcish skeleton down before it kills him, so he figures a larger version of his normal flame will do.

But before he can cast the spell, his opponent strikes out with deadly force! Even one stab could kill, but somehow, Judoc is able to evade the blow. In response, he lobs his fireball at the skeleton, and the results are more than he could have hoped for! The skeleton erupts in flame! But still it stands, stepping forward to menace Judoc even further.

"Why won't you die?" Judoc growls, though he realizes the skeletal monstrosity already has. Death is decidedly not an impermeable barrier.

Again he summons a ball of mana, this time a smaller version of his Fireball spell.


OOC: Thank goodness for hero points! Please don't give this guy automatic weapons. Or a burning motorcycle and a ten-foot-long chain, for that matter.

Judoc hurries back, casting a spell as he easily sidesteps another jab from the vicious spear.  Again, a ball of flames appears in his hands, this one the size of a ripe orange.

Judoc wastes no time, but hurls the orb forward which impacts the creature's chest again with a charring puff of flame.  Nearly the same time, younger Judoc unleashes a brutal overhand swing that impacts the thing's shoulder with a bone-snapping crunch!  All at once, the life retreats from the skeleton, its many parts falling to the ground with a hollow clatter as they spill across the cave floor.

After a moment of catching his breath, Judoc realizes that the other skeleton, the one younger Judoc had faced at first, was actually still alive... though both of its legs had been blasted off its body.  The thing was now dragging itself across the floor, it's spear still fumbling in a one-handed grip, attempting to get closer to the pair of mages.  With little ado, the pair hurl a set of fireballs from a safe distance, until that monster too ceases to move.

"God."  Younger Judoc gasps for breath.  "Those didn't seem like the ones down in Perdition eh?  Moved so much quicker.  I'm starting to think that imp was completely full of shit, didn't mention those on the things we'd meet on the way out eh?"

OOC:  You guys finally managed to score some serious damage together, which put the skeleton below -HP which caused an automatic death.  Congrats on the win.  Apart from the various bones, the only loot from the fight appears to be the two double-ended spears, which function exactly like normal spears, though perhaps slightly more intimidating (and of less use as a walking stick unless you want to dull one end in the process).

You are still at the three way intersection.  Back goes to where you freed the mephit - left appears to get back on the main path of shallow stairs - right is simply another tunnel leading farther on. Note your fatigue on your character sheet.

Satisfaction fills Judoc as his fireball smacks into the oncoming skeleton, joined with relief as his younger twin finishes the bony monstrosity off. The other skeleton is dispatched with ease, and the two Judocs find themselves victors on the field of battle.

He examines one of the two-bladed spears with curiosity. They seemed the sort of weapon a guard might carry. "Yes. I wonder why these were so much more agile. Perhaps in life, these two were more skilled orcish warriors. That would explain their strength and speed." Likely, they had been left behind to guard this place. He wonders if they had been killed here and raised by a necromancer or if they had died of natural injuries, perhaps in battle.

Noting his twin's labored breathing and his own fatigue, he says, "Let's find a place to rest. I wonder what time it is. It must be approaching midnight by now." He frowns in concern. Resting now might put them so at ease that they might fall asleep. "When we do rest, let's keep an eye on each other to make sure the other doesn't nod off."

OOC: Judoc won't take the spears unless he can figure out a way to strap one to his pack.

Look for a place to rest. Judoc will rest until he's recovered his lost FP. Then, head left back to the stone stairs.

Judoc is thankful the fight has been short lived and with the best of outcomes, but nevertheless he finds himself drained to a point where he must rest before he goes on.  Younger Judoc makes no complaints, and the two find a small nook in the tunnel where they press themselves against the wall and sit, entering that wizarding trance where they pull the mana from the air and earth around to supplement their own, natural recovery.

The two remain unbothered, and the tunnels remain silent.

Once, Judoc catches himself drifting off, his head nodding forward for a moment before it jerks back up into attention.  Judoc blinks rapidly for several moments, only to note that younger Judoc as well is nodding at the edges of sleep.

Shaking off the tiredness, the two stand and prepare themselves to head out.  Judoc briefly thinks of putting one of the spears across his back, secured by the straps of his bag, though after taking a moment to think of how difficult a fight would be in that position, he ends up putting the thought aside.

Instead the two walk to the stair path and turn left again which leads upwards on the shallow stair.  It is not very long before the two walk out again into the large cave with the blood steam and waterfall, only now the bloodied pool is gone, scooped out bit by bit with the Judoc's leather helmet.

"Circles!"  Younger Judoc spits, shaking his head.  "You were right, we were headed back downhill."

He turns his body, searching the far side of the cave with his eyes.  The falls hit the cavern floor in a vicious churn, creating a thick plume of reddish steam which covers the walls and makes the visibility upwards difficult.  Just to the sides of the falls, large and sharp stalagmites are wet with the spray, gleaming with a reddish hue like the fangs of a predator after a fresh kill.

Younger Judoc's face quirks, a puzzled look crossing his expression.

OOC:  Roll vs. IQ-5

It seems clear that you went in a big circle now.  A total of 4 left turns to get you right back to where you started.  The pool is still gone and the imp is nowhere to be seen.  Thanks for the reminder on the time.  You aren't entirely sure what time it is (as you are underground and don't have absolute timing) though you feel that tiredness is beginning to take its toll.

Normally I use a homebrew set of rules for fatigue based on loss of sleep.  If you want to accomplish a job in the middle of the night, I assign a modifier to HT based on how late it is, have you roll, and assign fatigue based on the amount of failure.  However, in your case, I feel like I need to use the rules per the book, as you aren't exactly sure what time it is nor are we sure when you are going to get to sleep.

"God's blood," Judoc mutters, shaking his head. Circles, indeed. The mage would like nothing better than to find a warm bed to curl up in and pass the night in relative peace, preferably with someone to share the bed with. But sleeping in a place like this would be inviting one's own death on one's head. Or at the very least, tempting the Reaper.

His eyes take in the scene, the now emptied pool that had been full of lies, the waterfall splashing down on the rocks. Judoc doubts very much that an afterlife exists after this one. If one does exist, however, perhaps it consists in stumbling around in an existential darkness, beset by demons and the undead.

Turning to his companion, he says, "Well, at least we know where these three paths go. Shall we retrace our steps and try that other tunnel?" He looks at Aiah. She probably feels ill at ease in this enclosed environment. He feels a momentary pang at not having his Aiah. He misses her, as nagging as she can be at times. "How's Aiah?" he asks. "Does she have any sense of the right way out of this place?"

OOC: Unless the roll reveals information that would impact this decision, Judoc will retrace their steps and take the tunnel they passed by before, the one that had led to the right of their battle with the skeletons.

Judoc's thoughts move to Aiah, his familiar, who certainly must be ill-content in this depraved, smothering cave... though as he looks at her, he realizes that the bird is asleep, slumped and unmoving on younger Judoc's shoulder.

"She's fine.  I don't think she likes it in here much."  Younger Judoc answers, though his eyes are still on the stalagmites ahead.

Unsure of exactly what is drawing his attention there, Judoc himself glimpses in that direction and feels a niggling in his memory.  Had he seen them before?  Of course he had, he'd been in this very room only an hour or so ago...  Though...  That wasn't exactly it.

Judoc himself shakes his head, trying to place the memory...  was it one of the images of the quasit?

"What traps are between here and the exit?"

He remembers asking...  Twice actually.  And both times, there was the image of himself falling, impaled upon sharpened, wide-based spikes...  Not spikes.  Stalagmites.  Those stalagmites.

Judoc redirects his attention upwards towards the cave wall.  The whole surface was slick, covered with the reddish spray that was kicked up by the waterfall as it cascaded into the stream below, the steam obscuring the most of the view above.  Though the waterfall was coming from somewhere.

High up in the mist, Judoc attempts to break out if there is some sort of ledge or outcropping.  How high did the falls go?  forty feet?  Higher?

The dim torchlight of the magical necklace was not strong enough to show an answer, and likely, even had the thing been powered like the sun it would have made little difference, as the mist from the falls obscured even the closest objects in a hazy fog.

OOC:  Nice job on the IQ roll.  It would be much easier for your character to recognize the stalagmites as the same spikes that were in the premonition than it would be for you the player.  Play by post certainly has its limits.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:55, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

Of course. The image of Judoc being skewered on the spikes comes back in a rush. The spikes were actually stalagmites. Even though the pool may have been deceitful, it still provided a useful clue in how to escape this place.

”Remember the spikes? I think we were actually seeing those stalagmites,” he says quietly, pointing to the natural formations. He peers upward, looking for some kind of opening above that the water might be spilling from. ”Shall we see what’s up there?”

OOC: Give Judoc 2 a moment to get ready. Then, cast Flight and see what’s above.

"Yeah."  Younger Judoc answers as his counterpart points out the stalagmites.  "I was just thinking the same thing..."  Though the thought seems to go on in his mind even if his words fade out into the echoing crash of the falls.

"Yeah, let's."  Judoc responds, casting his own Flight spell silently and the two rise up into the crimson mist.

On and on they climb, moving slowly for lack of visibility.  Ahead, the sheer face of the cliff seems to slowly dry, above the mist seems to fade ever so slightly...  It is sixty feet up or more before the the mist has cleared and before the two can break out what lies at the top of the bluff.

It seems to be the continuation of the path, the same cut stone from the steps down below, though here it is almost entirely level.  To the right, the stream gurgles out from under stone sweeping quickly over the edge and cascading down into the pools below.

OOC:  Whole map of the room finally provided below.  I think it would have been a little more clear seeing everything in person like I said, though it was hard to give you a real look without giving you the whole answer at the same time.

It appears there are two ways forward, though it's debatable if the stream is really an option.  It is flowing swiftly out of the rock without much of a gap at the top for air.  A roll vs. IQ will make it clear that swimming upstream will be exceedingly difficult for a normal person, with the added drawback of failure including a 60 foot fall from the top of the cliff into the pools below.

You have 50 seconds left on your flight spell.

As the trio takes to the air, Judoc feels a rush of exhiliration. This never grows old, he thinks to himself, his feet leaving the ground in a defiance of gravity. Though the mist requires them to fly more slowly than he would like, they reach the top eventually, and Judoc glances around at their options.

He immediately discards the idea of swimming up the stream. He would be lost in the water, he knows, and there is no telling where the stream might go or how long or how far it might travel underwater. Of course, it might lead to a chamber filled to the brim with gold and gems, but Judoc is focused right now on escape, not scouring The Path of Ancestors for all its secrets. The path is far more attractive, and he heads for the ground.

"Let's keep going this way," he says to his twin. "We can try the stream if we exhaust all our other options, but I have no desire to try to swim against that current."

OOC: Head up the path. Keep flying until the Flight spell wears off, then walk.

I wonder. Does the stream eventually end up someplace like this?

https://images-na.ssl-images-a...es/I/A1we1v4G8kL.jpg

And at the bottom of that pool:

https://static.wikia.nocookie....st?cb=20200510204914

"Agreed."  Younger Judoc assents before redirecting his momentum straight up the path alongside his double.

Ahead, the path is paved with stone and the walls of the tunnel are cut and shaped in a wide arch.  Of all the areas of this orcish lair Judoc has seen so far, this is by far the most worked area.  Ahead, the light of the torch-stone just barely touches some criss-crossed structure of white that lays across the path, though it is hard to see at such a distance.

"I'm not sure what's down this path,"  Younger Judoc continues without much a of a pause, "but it can't be any worse than trying to swim..."

Though whether younger Judoc completes the thought or not, Judoc himself is not sure.  Instead, replacing his counterpart's voice is a sudden crescendo of screaming and wailing that pierces his eardrums and attacks his mind!  Judoc's hands impulsively fly to his ears, his every effort just attempting to keep himself from crashing into the ground at full speed.

What is this magic?

OOC:  Make a few rolls for me.  The first is a normal IQ roll to avoid a mental stun.  If that fails, you are stunned and fall from your flight spell, taking falling damage for a movement of 10 yards/sec (your speed for flight).  Then I need two rolls vs. Will, label the first Panic, and the second Madness.  Please let me know your margin of success or failure in a PM and I'll let you know the results.

Funny enough, the cavern ahead does look quite a lot like the Duck Tales image... with the water just being all more of a reddish hue.  I'll have  pic of that soon assuming that you don't fly away screaming and then drop 60 feet to the cavern floor behind you :p.  I don't see the second image though, wonder if the link on that expired?


You can't quite see the detail yet, but this is the gate ahead.

From the appearances of the path now, Judoc surmises that they are getting closer to the entrance. Either that, or to areas of the Path of Ancestors that had been more heavily used by the orcs who had fashioned this place. Realizing that a way forward lay upward had previously buoyed his mood, and hope continues to grow inside him.

And then, pandemonium strikes! The assault on his mind breaks in on him like a flood, and the sound is deafening! He slows down to a stop and looks at his younger self in concern. The mage is rattled by the sudden audial onslaught, and he hopes his alter has not been seriously affected.

OOC: Slow down and come to a stop. Look carefully at Judoc 2.