In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 130):

With that, the first skeleton shatters; its tiny bones scattering cross the mosaic tiles.
The third skeleton lets out a horrific screech and attempts to latch its toothy little jaws onto your leg... but it can’t seem to get a grip.

---

13:32, Today: GM, for the NPC Skeleton 3, rolled 5 using 1d20+1 ((4)).
Because, much like with Vela’s fight, this dice roller seems to hate me lol...
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:35, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

Vesryn quickly goes to the aid of the Imp, "Narmacil Telepta" as he slashes the skeleton striking it and Silver flames leap onto the last remaining one.

Green flame Blade/ But I prefer silver for color instead.

Flame damage to the other was 3 points.

14:52, Today: Vesryn rolled 4 using 1d8+3.  Damage.

14:51, Today: Vesryn rolled 16 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only.  rapier attack on grappled.


FYI what I said was "Fire sword silver" in elvish by Tolkien using it as my spell incantation.

In reply to Vesryn (msg # 133):

The skeleton you strike recoils from the initial attack, attempts to raise its arms to leap at you, and immediately falls to pieces as the blade’s silver flames disconnect its various individual bones. The little pile of kobold bones begins to burn with a horrendous, acrid scent.

Milthrix does his best to move back away from the fighting, trying to ensure the final kobold skeleton doesn’t come for him after his little display.

The final skeleton shifts it empty gaze from one of you to the other, entirely uncertain what to do next. Without its allies beside it, it desperately rakes Yesryn with both claws, hoping to dissuade him from attacking it... The first simply tears hole in the left leg of your pants. The second, however, digs deep into the flesh beneath.

---

15:17, Today: GM, for the NPC Final Skeleton, rolled 6 using 1d20+1 ((5)).
15:20, Today: GM, for the NPC Final Skeleton, rolled 21 using 1d20+1 ((20)).

Damage 6 (3 doubled from crit)
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:27, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

Bartimaeus moves to flank the remaining skeleton, and strikes... but he seems to connect with a particularly sturdy bone.

---

OOC:

15:38, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 11 using 2d20+4.  Attack final skeleton, flanking.
15:39, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 6 using 1d8+2.  Damage final skeleton. (???)

Vesryn uses the distraction of his companions attack to follow up with one of his own. His rapier hitting it but not very hard.

15:44, Today: Vesryn rolled 4 using 1d8+3 with rolls of 1.  Damage.

15:44, Today: Vesryn rolled 21 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,16.  Flank attack.

Between the two of you, the skeleton is left unsure what to do. It begins to panic further as the imp, now a safe distance away and crouched atop the desk against the room’s far wall, conjures a blob of sticky crimson flame and hurls it at the former kobold. The fire catches immediately, further adding to the deterioration of its bones; yet the skeleton remains intact.

Now truly feeling boxed in, it takes a frantic series of swipes at Vesryn, as he was the last to make contact with it. It’s claws, while still not particularly dangerous, now trail a tiny bit of flame with each swing.

---

15:57, Today: GM, for the NPC Final Skeleton, rolled 15 using 1d20+1 ((14)).
15:58, Today: GM, for the NPC Final Skeleton, rolled 12 using 1d20+1 ((11)).
 Damage 3 slashing, 1 fire.

OOC: It has an AC of 13, unfortunately, so that 11 misses.

The skeleton focused on Vesryn and left itself completely vulnerable and Bartimaeus' crosier came crushing down.

---

OOC:
16:07, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 20 using 2d20+4 ((11,16)).
16:08, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 10 using 1d8+2 ((8)).

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 138):

With a final shriek that emits from its skull long after the rest of its body has been bashed away by the crozier, the last skeleton finally crumbles to inert bone on the tiles. There is an almost palpable sense of relief in the air as things quiet back down to normal...

...then comes the music. A quiet, almost inaudible collection of instruments playing over one another. Accompanying them is the same voice you had heard previously. Calm. Collected. Cold. With just the slightest hint of amusement tinging his every word.

“An admirable performance. Though hardly a true test of skill. Nothing to spark an honest hint of inspiration... but it is a stat. Perhaps the next will prove more entertaining. Do give it another go, when you are feeling ready. Not that there’s any rush, of course... we can keep this game going for as loooooooooooooooooong as you need...”

Bartimaeus looked at Vesryn. "Are you alright? I'm merely cut a bit; nothing to complain about.

"Whether our bemused spectator ever inhabited this office, or if he left it as a honey trap for curious types like yourself I suppose we won't know until he tires or relents: there's no longer any reason to believe this puzzle even has a solution. Why should it? If he is a necromancer, or lich, or the Vampire Lord Conductor of the Symphony Profane, we may be caught as surely and securely and as permanently as a fly in a web. And if we are, I'm humble enough to admit: I possess no means to force exit.

"Which means the only path to exit is to assume the Spectator is earnest, and act accordingly." He sighed.

"The reaction of the chests is tedious: all four glowing brightly red. Going from the theory that Hens is correctly placed in the Mahogany chest, all four might light up brightly when there isn't a single correctly placed book; and that would mean the previous books we've tried might be correct, but simply in the wrong chest. Or perhaps they could all be correct, merely in the wrong spaces. But if Dust is also correct when placed in the maple chest, it lit up no differently than Roses and Rothfield's III when it was in the cedar."

Bartimaeus picked up Hens in the Fox Den and Dust in the Wind. "Mahogany for the former, maple for the latter. That leaves us the oak skull and the cedar bird. A worm and... what death wants. I have to say I like the idea of earworm limericks, but it lit brown when placed in the cedar. Hmmmm."

He pulled out the loose notes collected by the deceased researcher. "A lost love. 'Violetta'. Could it be...?" Bartimaeus quickly picked up Roses and scoured the pages for mentions of the purple flower she had been named for.

---

OOC:
Can I just say that combat was laudably rapid! Well done us getting through three rounds snappily.

Bartimaeus will Investigate Roses for references to Violets, oaks, and skulls, or anything similar.

Vesryn, I'm at a loss on the worm entry for cedar. Any thoughts there?

Maple    - Dust in the Wind
Oak      - Roses?
Mahogany - Hens
Cedar    - ???

I kind of like somewhere far beyond. A book on star charts . Birds are always migrating  going beyond and start charts is for navigation too.

In reply to Vesryn (msg # 141):

In that case why doesn't B spend time with Roses, and D with Beyond. See if there's anything that stands out in those texts. No need to rush, eh?

Vesryn will study the book, Somewhere beyond to see if he can find anything to tie it to the ceder chest.

13:34, Today: Vesryn rolled 3 using 1d4.  guidance.

13:34, Today: Vesryn rolled 15 using 2d20+1, dropping the lowest dice only.  Investigation, advantage.

Bartimaeus sits down and scours Roses.

---

OOC:

13:39, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 17,3 using 1d20+5,d4.  Investigation, Roses. Total: 20

Between the two of you, you spend a good hour poring through the various pages and diagrams laid out in both the guide to roses and  Somewhere Far Beyond Until you feel there is little more of use you can glean from either one.

Roses appears to bear a general tone of a guide to not only ensuring that roses grow, but that they thrive and spread. That they live out their full life and lead to the creation of more. In that way, you could certainly see some connection to the oak chest if you were to assume the skull indicates death. It could be interpreted as death craving or consuming life as the analogy between the snake and rate/bird and worm could be seen similarly. It’s a bit tenuous, but you feel, were this a debate hall or courtroom, you could at least argue a solid case for it fitting the riddle’s prompt.

Somewhere Far Beyond, while certainly a fascinating read when compared to modern astrological assessments, seems to hold little connection to the cedar chest. Reading more like an arcane study on the theoretical connection between the Starr’s and gods, it has little to do with any actual proven science, and many of the star charts therein are just plain inaccurate by modern terms. You’re uncertain if this was left as a red herring, or if it somehow pretains to one of the other chests.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Fri 25 Sept 2020.

Bartimaeus shook his head. "Blast. I'm reaching on this one. Not happy with yours either?" He picked up the two books they hadn't yet considered: the short-story Allegory, and Fickle Freedom.

"Let's give these consideration before we try again."

He hands one to Vesryn.

"Wait." Bartimaeus held onto the offered book. "... No it jolly well doesn't."

He shook his head. "A snake does not crave a rat the way a bird craves worms: yes, both feed on those creatures, but birds return worms to their nests to feed to their chicks. Snakes do no such thing. And only some birds feed on worms... raptors certainly don't. But... songbirds do." He looked up at Vesryn. "If the snake is a schemer, they crave a rat, a betrayer, not to consume, but to do their dirty work. The former will use the latter to attain its ends. The bird uses the worm as a means for its offspring to survive."

He walked to the map.

"Suppose this riddle connects agents, means, and ends. The bird is the agent: protector and provider; she desires a worm; her intent to sustain her young. Let us take this as the model for the others. The snake is the agent; he desires a rat; his goal of betrayal is fulfilled. The cello is the means, but neither agent nor end; immortality is that end; the composer the agent, though perhaps not object, of immortality. That leaves the skull as the end, the purpose. Whose purpose is death? With what means do they pursue it?

"Hens seems to suit the mahogany still. Dust suits the maple."

Hefting the Allegory in his hand considered: "And the devastation-trooper was a tool. But was the crone-witch trying to feed her young as a bird? Or bring death to others? And maybe in these pages we can find a songbird. Let's find out, shall we?"

---

OOC:
More reading!

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 146):

And so you read. The allegory is a simple one, and one that has been told time and time again across hundreds of cultures in one form or another. At its base, it deals with the concept of losing one’s humanity. Of becoming disconnected from what a makes us fundamentally what we are. It also touches on the horrors of what people can be driven to. How the advancement of technology, magic, and warcraft can cause even the sanest of us to cast away our humanity and become nothing more than weapons driven by our own ambition. Monsters not only in body, but in mind and soul as well. It is an old tale and it reminds us to hold fast to our humanity. To stay true to who we are, regardless of circumstance and influence of forces beyond our control. In many ways, your mind connects the message it is trying to convey to the point of what music has done for many cultures; preserving their heritage and traditions down the line. You suspect this book may be an alternative choice for the chest with the cello on it... which leads you to wonder just how many answers there are mixed in amongst these books. And what difference might come from combining different correct answers...

Fickle Freedom proves to be exactly what it was at first glance: a history of economic failures amongst free-cities throughout Veltria. Places that declined the generous invitation of the Eternal Empress, only to then fall to ruin for it later on down the line. You are unsure how this book fits into the puzzle, if it does at all. It is something of an outlier amongst the rest of the bunch in that there doesn’t appear to be any hidden meaning or deeper subtext to it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:25, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

Bartimaeus screwed up his face in frustration.

"No clue. Maybe Roses for the flower connection. Earworm still makes the most sense to me."

Shrugging, he flipped through the pages the researcher had found, until: "I'm an idiot."

Showing Vesryn the notes, he said: "Rothfield is our conductor and... lich? Who knows. His initials signed here for Kava, whomever that is. Violetta, his love, long since dead and his attitude about her changes and moves towards indifference, the process of which he recognizes and regrets. But what continues is his composition. His verses. He is incomplete."

~~ Of course he is, terrified as he is of what he may find beyond the stars, and obsessed with preserving rather than becoming... ~~

"And this," Bartimaeus holds up Rothfield's III, "is his incomplete work. Violetta he's moved beyond, poor thing. Likely enough he's already ripped her soul back from death to use her femur as a contrabassoon's spit-valve. His incomplete work goes in the oak." He exhales.

"As for the cedar, I think Stype's limericks fit. Not only are they earworms; but how else would a composer of high opera view a scribbler of epigrams and banal witticisms but as a worm? Yes, we've placed Life in the cedar box before. I don't know what to say: the colors make little sense to me."

---

OOC:
Vesryn, anything else you'd like to do before we try again?

Guidance on both of us, and Shillelagh. Ailuros gets dismissed to escape an AoE.

Maple    - Dust in the Wind
Oak      - III
Mahogany - Hens
Cedar    - Life and How to Live
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

The mahogany and maple chests again let off a pale green glow. Rust colored light emerges from the cedar chest, while a strange, wavering shimmer that constantly shifts between blue and orange emits from the oak. After a few moments, the circle on the floor begins to shift once more, turning this time to conjuration. A chunk of suddenly appears in the center of it, an almost perfect cube about 4ft ion all sides. The circle shifts again. Transmutation this time. A hissing sound can be heard from the base fo the rock. It slowly begins to sizzle and melt from the base up. As it does, certain parts of the rock fall away entirely, but others remain; taking on a different consistency all together.

By the time the spell is finished, what remains a 4ft wide table about 2ft high. It seems to be made of oak and covered with an assortment of foods. Meats, fruits, Vegetables, four bottles of what appears to be wine of some manner. All sitting atop a gray stone platter on the tables oaken surface.

The instruments around you begin to buzz with life once more. “A fascinating choice.... Not a deduction I believe anyone’s made before now. Interesting. Very interesting. You two are quickly proving to be most entertaining guests after all...”

"We haven't seen purple or yellow light."

He walked over to the table to inspect the wine.

"We've seen red, orange, blue, green, and brown. But neither the primary yellow, nor the secondary purple.

"The colors are not tied to the books: Dust in the Wind has been rust, crimson, and green. You might say the colors are tied to the combination, but three times there's been no unity whatsoever among the books. So what about the time all were united in crimson?

"We think Dust and Hens are correct books, but we intentionally put Hens out of the mahogany chest. Dust was there as well, but not in its correct chest. The resulting mosaic was teleportation - as desirable an effect as we should like - but bringing creatures in, not out. If green signifies success, and if unity signifies a correct selection of books, and the reversal of the teleportation effect produces red, then its complementary color, green, might produce a teleportation effect out.

"The previous combination was Cedar:Dust; Mahogany:Headsman; Maple:Hens; Oak:Key.

"Dust fills the maple chest; Hens the mahogany. Key had previously been in the oak chest. That there was unity in color makes me believe that it was in the wrong chest before, which would place it in the cedar chest, though I don't know the metaphorical connection. This leaves Headsman for the oak chest. A rather banal connection, if I'm honest, for someone who composes opera. But this deduction is looking at color theory more than literary content."

He brought the wine, two glasses, olives and salami over to the reading desk. "I cannot test it for purity... can you? Something to look into later."

Picking up the four books, he looked at Vesryn. "Ready?"

---

OOC:
Guidance and Shillelagh should still be active.

Cedar    - Key to the Kingdom
Maple    - Dust in the Wind
Mahogany - Hens in the Fox Den
Oak      - Headsman's Bounty

will be ready after I do a heal or two just in case. Just need to do it in a few at work on my way out the door in just a few.

21:10, Today: Vesryn rolled 8 using 1d8+3.

21:09, Today: Vesryn rolled 8 using 1d8+3.

Ok ready only down 2 hp since healing was at 1/2 value

Once more the maple and mahogany chests fill with a pale green light. The oak brings for a rusty red color while the cedar sends out one of a more bark-like brown hue. The circle beings to shift once more. The books THUNK back down onto their respective shelves. The lines of the circle snap into place. Teleportation. But of a strange variety. A portal slowly opens above it, unfolding like an aperture from several points around its center.

It is open.

And it is passable...

But it is passable from both sides.

After a second uncertain shuttering, a torrent of water begins to flow out of the portal. The smell is unmistakable. Salt water. It begins to fill the room with its frigid, briny bulk. You are both buffeted by the overflow as it washes across the floor, then begins to climb quickly. The first three feet of the room fill up in a matter of seconds. From there, it steadily fills more and more with every moment that passes. By your mental calculations, the chamber will be completely filled in just over a minute.

"BLAST!" Bartimaeus yelled. "You'll get through only once the water near the portal has equalized the pressure by filling the room." As he spoke, he hurriedly checked the waxed containers for his books and writing equipment, stuffing the researcher's notes in and sealing everything as tightly as possible in the little time was available.

"Good luck!" he said, wading next to the portal from the side, before quickly incanting a spell and...

... disappearing.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:43, Mon 28 Sept 2020.

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 153):

In a flash, Barimaeus vanishes from his spot; leaving Vesryn and Milthrix to fend for themselves in the ever-filling chamber.

---

For gameplay purposes, we’ll say that only took 6 seconds, so you still have most of a minute. The water wouldn’t have risen too noticeably  between the time Bartimaeus disappeared and the time you take you respond to this post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:21, Mon 28 Sept 2020.

Since the water is rising, but it is a two way portal the water must not be coming in fully from the portal which would mean that the portal is near the surface to have both air and water otherwise it would just be pure water and yes it would need to be equalized. Vesryn moves to the portal and will go through it also. If the Imp cannot go through or needs assistance can put him in a sack etc to give him some air while I swim to the surface or what have you.

If he needs to wait to get through, he will do so taking a full breath before making his way out etc.

In reply to Vesryn (msg # 155):

Calming your mind against the panic-enduring sight of the immense torrent of water pouring out of the portal, you allow yourself to relax and consider the situation from a more rational light.

You are a learned man.

You understand basic science.

You know your own limitations.

Making peace with the hand you have been dealt here, you wait as the water rises. You allow yourself to be engulfed by the briny tide overtaking the room. You watch as instruments and the quills on the writing desk are shuffled around amidst the flow of the sea entering the room. The books on the shelves, you notice, remain unmoved by the force of the swell.

Soon you are in a fully submerged chamber and find the portal quickly closing. Yet you are dexterous enough to make your way through just before it phases out of existence entirely. You find yourself, still submerged, in an unlit stone chamber...