TIME'S CHAMPIONS: THE FINALE (STORY THREAD)

[oh_brother]

Westian was clearly becoming edgy, fidgeting with his hands and looking around nervously. Instead of focusing on the forward routes he was looking back the way they had came.

"We need to move quickly. Who knows if that...crack...is following us or not." He cleared his throat and quieted his restless movements. "And if we spend too long here it will erode any benefit of taking the shorter routes." At the same time Westian did not want to accept responsibility for choosing a route in case it worked out badly and the blame was laid on him.

He noted Helm's nervous glance in the direction of the path of Truth - a nervousness he shared himself if the names could be taken literally. Still, neither of the other options seemed ideal either.

"We do not have much information to go on, other than our gut feelings. If Reason is the longest, can we afford that delay?" Again he made an involuntary glance down the corridor they had come.

[raixel]

Petal notices Helm's nervous glance toward Truth as well, and smirks at him.

"Of course it is, a thief to go through the Truth wold not. Or to hide perhaps you have something, something for everyone else to know you would not?" she remarks, in a slightly acidic tone.

Then her face softens and she says quietly, "Fear not, am sure I am, that things to hide all of us have. For the truth that is in glaring light revealed, without softening, wants to see no one does, lest of all the one belongs to the secret does. Perhaps Reason it is we shall go through. Go down either Tuth or Reason I am willing, depending on what decide everyone else does. However, Light a good idea i think it is not to travel."

Petal finally notices Falkor examining the wand and other objects and starts to fly over to him to ask about them, when he activates his cloak and suddenly disappears. "Augh!" she yelps, startled. "Go where he did?", she asks as she peers curiously around the area he had been standing. "The first time he did this, it is not. A heart-storm he will give me, if popping in and out he does so much!"

After calming down she says "Items i saw, that Falkor had, before vanish he did. They are what? To look at them I would like, perhaps to read their mana I could and some clue to their use I can seek."

The pixie nods toward Westian as he voices his concern about the crack following them. "Agree, I do. To move on soon, we must, lest find us again, that crack does." she tells the party.

[beowuuf]

Assume that Ameena has not relinquished them, and Falkor merely looked to them. So roll me checks if you wish to cehck them out. If Petal is not concerned with them potentially being inhenerently evil, of course!

[beowuuf]

Also, added the fourth discovery to Falkor's section. Not sure whether Falkor would reveal the information or not, I am thinking he would, so I think you can include that danger in your final deliberations - though perhaps keep it OOC for now

[Ameena]

OOC - Yeah, Petal can have a look at the items if she wants - Ameena will let her . I just forgot about Petal, for some reason, when Ameena was asking the magic-users to check out the stuff. Though I think Petal was a bit distracted at the time so we can just say she wasn't flying close enough to Ameena to be spoken to at the time, or something .
And lol, I was thinking the "fourth curious thing" might be related to that - looks like I was right .

BIC - Ameena, from her vantage point still in Helm's arms, looks over at Petal.
"What do you mean, we all have things to hide?" she asks, confused. "Murafu never hide anything from each other. What's so bad about finding out about the way things are? Just because you might not like it, doesn't make it stop existing. I suppose we should move on soon, though, once Falkor gets back from visiting the spirit world again."

OOC - I suppose I can't do another Perception check on the corridors, can I, having already done one so recently? Ameena's pretty much up for going down the Truth path now, and doesn't understand why everyone seems to be making a fuss about it. Then again, the Murafu (a long, long time ago) didn't know about the existence of the concept of "truth" until they started encountering species who utilised the concept of "lies". She doesn't want to go down Light because of aforementioned reasons, and as for Reason, that, to her is the concept of "working things out", and you can work something out wrongly so she's less certain about that path. But the Truth is just the Truth, and she sees nothing wrong with that . Okay so it looks a bit dark and smelt sort of weird, but she can navigate well enough without eyes and she's still got that string...and other people have torches (I presume) and other ways to make light .

[beowuuf]

I think Petal actually ignored them to go checking the corridors as a priority, maybe....

And no, you can't keep spamming perception. The rolls, to me, say what the conditions are like, not that you are 'doing perception wrong'. Unless the situation changes, or Ameena takes a long time to sniff everywhere outside the corridors, nothing new will happen.

[Ameena]

OOC - Yeah, that was what I thought - conditions have to change or a lot of time has to have passed (say, they went away and came back a few hours later) for a repeat check to be made. The same goes for knowledges.

[ian_scho]

Haynuus has little to add to the decision making, after having listened to Falkor's fascinating magic trick of disappearing and returning with a story or four.

"Well that's decided then. We get this wrong we all are all forced to charge the evil elf and tear him to pieces. I think that's the plan isn't it?" He sidles up to Westian, and decides that this consensus thing won't work with neither trolins nor orcs. Psst. "Just tell the king to go down the path of your choosing, and be ready to attack any twisted pale looking elves in big puffy dresses."

Haynuus still thought that Reason, the longer route, was the superior choice here. If Westian had told them that it was what the grey dude preferred then obviously the thaumaturgical maniac would want to avoid his own pit traps or fireball lobbers down the other two routes.

[beowuuf]

Can you guys do me a favour and post your player decision in the OOC thread, and then your character's IC decisions too. Obviously, the party can split here if you reaaaaaly wanna

[Ameena]

OOC - Errrmm...Ian, Falkor's not back yet. Wuffy said we can discuss the Dolo thing OOC but not to necessarily assume Falkor would mention it. Meanwhile, I've already put Ameena's reasoning in the OOC section of my previous IC post. She'd prefer going for Truth, because for her that's such a simple thing.

[Ameena]

OOC - Errrmm...Ian, Falkor's not back yet. Wuffy said we can discuss the Dolo thing OOC but not to necessarily assume Falkor would mention it. Meanwhile, I've already put Ameena's reasoning in the OOC section of my previous IC post. She'd prefer going for Truth, because for her that's such a simple thing.

[beowuuf]

Yeah, but for the sake of moving onwards, I have no problem with Ian assuming it either. After all, money had said he's really busy, so we might just have to make the assumption Falkor will say rather than keep that to himself.

And so noted, one vote for Truth.

[raixel]

Petal notices Ameena with the objects and flies over to her. "Mind you, if study those I do?" she asks politely.

The pixie looks the objects over, using her Second Sight to study their mana flows and glean some clue to their use. She is careful to use a corner of her dress coverng her hand to handle them until she has established the fact that they are not harmful to magic users.

Perception/Know Arc (1d20+5=6, 1d20+8=11) Meh.

[beowuuf]

Petal tried to divine infomration from the items, however the cloth was far too subtle to work out - it seemed to be merely cloth - and the rod was apparently what Fakkor had suggested. Petal had not forged items in the same manner as plain wizards and priests, able to spin the raw mana and command its song. Therefore, the subtlies of constructions were lost on her. The stones themselves felt strange, they seemed to pull mana to them - or at least distort its song. She would not like to be in the middle of the pieces, for she was sure their discordant song, and their twisting of the lines of energy of mana all around, would be disorienting and troubling.

Perhaps that was the idea? Perhaps they were designed to wrap aroudn those intimately linked ot the flow of mana? Certainly, she was beginning to suspect her inability to connect to the magical items in Ameena's possession were now linked to those stones.


Meanwhile, the group seemed to be cioming to a hesitant consession. Pullack's reverse tactical decision regardiing the Path fo Light backfired. The King did not wish to appear to be weak, and yet did not wish to bow to Pullack. "The Path of Truth then! As priest say!" said the Trolin King, pointing to Westian. "Priest has courage. He will wlak path of truth if we walk it." The King gave an unpleasant look. As if he knew that the priest would somehow shield the King, for some reason, if things went badly and somehow truth would became a weapon.

Deephold bristled at the Trolins apparently going to lead the movement, however he was still deferring to Wesitan. Althoguh perhaps Deephold noted that Westian was less than happy. "The noble pixie said it herself. Reason is a bridge, but over and to where? Truth. We must navigate truth to seek truth, surely." Deephold tried to givea reassuring pat on Westian's arm, althoguh it felt strange as that was not their relationship in the order.

The group were set to go down the Path of Truth. There still appeared to be no light as the group walked forwards. Torchlight was still available, however Haynuus noted immediately that his darksight was not working. A fact the Trolins also remarked upon. The gloom of the path onwards - a path that seemed to be level and straight - remained obstinate, not yielding to the low light and dark sight of those gifted, barely yielding to the torchlight that flickered.

Ameena found her nose was again tingling. It was as if she were scenting too many things. The more they moved forwards, the more she could scent her friends around, and the unpleasant scents of the trolins. Haynuus was also a pungent smell. Even the air seemed to radiate. It was a cloying mix, hard to separate. There was also something, oddly familiar, at the centre of it all.

Almost immediately the group could see the carving that Petal had read out. And they could see that there were further carvings along the wall, leading onwards.

Those who seek truth, seek to step in to the bottomless void, while looking up in to the limitless sky.
Ultimate truth, without filters, is beyond those of mortal perception.
We all a hold truth in our minds, yet it is limited by what our minds can know, and what are minds can surmise.
In order to see truth's full majesty, we would need to see further and further down, illuminating greater and smaller depths until ultimate sympathy and empathy is gained with every point of view.
And then we must illuminate an infiite sky of possibilities, and do the same with each far point in that infinite black sea.
The nature of our mortality is to be separate. Our weakness is our strength. From our limited understanding comes our ability to reason, a bridge so solid it can take us whereever we wish to go...

The carvings drew the group onwards. It was a dim shift of awareness for the Trolisn at first to perhaps wonder why they could read the carvings so well. Ameena's mind perhaps realised that without even looking at the carvings, from her position - having been allowed to drop by Helm to keep scenting - she could still know what the carvings said.

The group as a whole started to wonder if they were even moving, as all knew what Ameena had spotted. Were they moving at all, or were they reading ahead. And who were they. There was a mess of thoughts, all flowing together. A part that tried to move a leg had to work out where that leg was in the mess of limbs, and then work out what a leg was compared to the bricks around - bricks that hummed wiht life. All began to see as Petal could see, the song of mana all around. And see as the Trolins and Haynuus could see, the dim light around an artistic etching. However, the could see in and through the art, knew every line and dip. And see deeper, see the speck of dirt in the dip. And beyond that...

Haynuus was dimly aware of himself. Before coming to this dungeon, he had never seenhimself. Now many eyes created a strange gestalt of what he truly looked like,. He had seen his form aped by grak-graks, twisted. He had seen his form reverses and flat in mirriored surfaces since here. Now he saw himself - with the emotional and mental resonances of those around him.

Meanwhile, for some reason the Trolin King fell to his knees. Tears were rolling down from his eyes, even as he gently reached out to touch the wall. It would have been an unnerving sight, if the group had not already felt the odd sadness and regret. And then shame,. And happiness. And fear. And anger. And lonliness. And companionship. And arrogance. And pride. And humility.

The darkness seemed to grow, as the limbs holding the torches fell limply. The light rolled around, fading. However, it did not matter. The group could just feel the shape and texture and energy and form of the path. And the path could feel the fuzzy edges of the group as a whole.


Welcome to the Path of Truth. What is ultimate truth? It's knowing everything about everything, evenything linked and aware of everythign else, with no boundaries. Does that sound like somethign any of you should be experiencing? I don't think so. Last nasty test of the dungeon. Glad you picked this one, this is a fun one for the consequences of taking too long, and for the boon you guys get from it

Anyways, feel fre to IC or OOC start to work out how to break free or break through. You can certainly think (though I'd like you to make it a little hard to separate your own thoughts, unless you have a strong separation for some reason) but moving will be very difficult. So announce intention, but don't just say you've ran back off the path.

Most importantly, I need all you guys to share somethign secret and personal about your character. A secert thought, a secret deed, that might start to get pulled from their psyche. I need something, make it as fluff or as plot heavy as you like, as long as it would be important to your character. You might also start sharing impressions of the others around.

Any of you with really deep secrets can of course make a will save (DC15 for now) to keep that one secret - for now - but you will have to give up something. so for example Deephold might roll a will save to not reveal he once dressd up as the Grey Lord and sang 'I will survive', but would still have to give up that he wore mismatched shoes on Larethian's day :p

Good luck people. This one might lead to some interesting pre-end fight complications and plot stuff, or you might be able to shake it off quickly. Or, you know, it might lead to some nasty consequences and we start losing characters to this before the end. We shall see. I have faith in you guys. Still, this one is suitably nasty for the what it is

[Ameena]

OOC - Hmm, a secret held by a member of a race that doesn't keep secrets...an interesting proposition, lol. Well, it's noto that murafu go around telling everyone everything - I mean, if someone (of another race) told a murafu something and asked them not to tell anyone, then they'd most likely agree and therefore wouldn't. It's more that they never see any reason themselves to hide anything. The only info in Ameena's possession that others don't have is just stuff she's not told them, because they haven't asked or because it hasn't come up. Okay so that'll be a lot of stuff. Hrmm...okay, well, I have an idea anyway...it's not a secret, as such, but I presume no-one else in the party will know this stuff...

BIC - Ameena looks around at the corridor as the group walks down it. Though she wouldn't have minded remaining in Helm's arms a while longer, she allows him to put her down, though continues to stay close to him. As the group moves further, she glances up at the carvings on the wall but as before, to her they're just strange squiggly shapes arranged in lines. But wait...are they just shapes? No...they are, but...she can understand them...? At least, somehow she feels that she knows the meaning behind them, yet her eyes continue to see the meaningless symbols.
But something else is happening. It feels as though...as though she's somehow becoming everyone else. At least, that's the impression she gets - it's as though her eyes are much higher, aside from her own eyes and those of Falkor which are somewhat lower. But...what? She's seeing through the eyes of everyone else? And her paws seem strange...she tries to walk, but somehow it's as though she has four paws and yet at the same time, only two, and somehow isn't sure how to co-ordinate them.
And her thoughts...her thoughts seem jumbled, as though she's thinking the thoughts of many people at once. Is something in her head? Oh no...what if they've gone the wrong way and it's...someone. She tries to focus her thoughts, but she isn't sure which thoughts are hers and which belong to other people. She almost feels as if she somehow is everyone else, all at once. It's almost as though she's experiencing what it's like to be them, and yet somehow she thinks she's still herself at the same time - she can feel the things she feels for these people, for her friends - the way any murafu feels about their friends, and the desire to be physically close to them and talk to them, and generally be with them, to talk to them and learn about them and be there for them if they feel unhappy. She feels, amid the jumble, the stronger sense of closeness she has for Helm at this time, after all he's been through so recently, and her strong intention to stay close to him so that he doesn't get left alone again - the worst thing that can happen to a murafu.
Images come to her of other murafu, now. Living, talking, foraging, grooming, all sleeping together in a large pile squeezed inside a burrow or a hollow tree or similar hideaway...all the things she loves, all the things she misses deeply. Yet this means that her friends are even more precious to her, because they are, in a way, acting as temporary replacements for her fellow murafu. They may have strange ways, they may not be so keen on having fast-changing conversations or on snuggling up together, but they have been kind and helpful, they have talked and listened, and have done things that any murafu would readily do for their friends. And she doesn't want to lose them. She doesn't want this to go wrong. What if it does, and the world is destroyed? An image briefly springs up of a tall, dark, horned figure looking over a devastated land through some kind of stone doorway.
Then confusion swirls up, because the image doesn't make sense - she's seen it, so it's happened. But it hasn't, because the world is still there. Isn't it? Did that even happen? Maybe it was a dream...
Trying to see through the jumbled thoughts of the entire group, Ameena tries to find something she can think of more firmly, something she can hold on to. There's not much. People. Stone. Floor. Walls...carvings...something something separate...something...strength...something...reason...wherever we wish to go...
Go...forward? Think about going forward? How many legs does she have, again? If the truth is everything, does taht mean she has everyone's legs? What if everyone wants to walk forward? Will they actually end up going forward? Which leg does she need to move...but her paws are a funny shape. They've got...things on them...boots...and...no, they're blue and...no...she's wearing some kind of cloak that can make her see spirits and she wants to set up a Screamer farm when she gets out of here, but she can't do it in the temple because Lord Larethian doesn't seem to have much of an interest in Screamers, as far as she knows and anyway, they'd disturb the prayers...but...maybe she could go back to the forest and ask the other pixies if they wanted to...see...the...something to do with someone called Mills...

OOC - Wheee, mental monologue that disintegrates into freaky weirdness as the weird Truth thing kicks in .

[oh_brother]

The unwelcome light of truth shone through them, exposing things that would be best left uncovered. Thoughts bubbled into Westian’s mind, and from there into the unity that was truth. Thoughts of how he was willing to do whatever it took to bring order back to the mountain, regardless of the cost in other peoples blood. The arrogance of the elementals in telling them what to do was galling, and Westian never had any intention of following their edicts. Who were they to decide what happened here? To limit the abilities of those who strove to bring safety not only to their mountain, but the world as a whole? To force the very people who were risking their lives to behave in whatever arbitrary way they demanded? No, whatever was necessary would be done, and the Grey Lord would thank them for it.

While such thoughts slide from his grasp whatever was left of his intellect struggled in the alien environment it found itself in. How could the truth be blocked out? Ultimate truth was out of balance. It had to be weighed against the need for privacy, and the dangers that unedited truths could bring. But how can we block it? He was not sure if that was his own thought or a response from someone else. Or if that distinction even mattered. How can we become separate? He struggled to focus on something, something that was not of this place. The only thing that was not here those was that which was unreal, untrue. He thought of false memories, of things that had never happened. Of growing up in Mt. Aniais. Of beating a dragon in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe that could help separate himself from this mass of truth. Maybe it would even drown out the true memories that were leaking from his open consciousness.

Failed the will save for keeping secrets, so I thought I should give an important one.

[raixel]

Damn it beo! WILL (1d20+6=20) Hmmm. Oh, too bad, you guys arent gonn alearn Petal's darkest secret after all.

Petal is assulted as the song of mana around her grows in power. Or was she breaking apart? The song of everything pounds into her brain, carrying her with it, her friends with it, tearing them down and shining the pure light of Truth into every fiber of them. They are all together now, one thing, one Balance

"Is this what its like to be dead?" she thinks, the last concious thought she has before she is carried away in the Truth that is All.

Images flash by, she sees Westian fighting one of the Great Lizards, Ameena sitting in a circle surrounded by friends. Or was that Petal sitting there? Did she fight the dragon? Another image, of Petal with orcish skin, the size of a halfling, a dwavish build, the whiskers of a muafu and the face of an elf melts to be replaced by an image of Petal herself, but with fiery red eyes peering out from a horned helm, wraethed in a black fiery cloak and her face twisted into an insane rictus grin that suddenly twists into a grimace of hate.

That image melts to be replaced by a once-beautiful clearing filled with blasted tree-homes and a shattered marketplace on the ground. In the center of the market rests a gruesome pile of bloody corpses, elves, pixies,humans, centaur. Petal floats off to the side, bruised and battered, tears streaming down an anguish twisted face. She points at the pile and screams words, words lost in the Song of All that is drowning everything, and the pile of corpses erupts in an inferno, flames licking the bodies to ash. As the fire rises, the shattered bodies twist their melting faces towards the pixie as one. "Whyyy?" they call in a singular eerie voice to her over the pounding song. "Whyyy didnt you stop the trolins? Yoooouuu let us die. Yooouuu live, while we are dead. Yooouu have no right. Join us. You belong with us."

Um yeah, and that wasn't her worst one either.

[beowuuf]

Wow, you are that confident you will get out of the path Petal? THis was jus tthe first will save Thoguh I like OB's tack very much.

[ian_scho]

OOC - Will save (1d20+2=3) Oh, that would be a fail then

Haynuus lurched around the corridor and was amazed when he didn't physically bump into his companions, yet his mind seemed to touch their thoughts in profound ways which really unsettled both him and his magic circlet that he was wearing. He saw images and experienced feelings that were most definitely not his own. Those of the trolins were the simplest of all, the basic ones of love, betrayal and sheer butchery of their fellow kin. But those of his immediate companions were of a deeper effect with more subtle hangover that Haynuus most definitely not used to. So this was what it was like to be intelligent? To possess such an important and wonderful asset yet to waste it on obtaining such nonsensical things.

Disorientated he took off his circlet and put it in his backpack, at least until he left this immediate place. He needed no extra mouth in his ear here. He could barely listen to his own inaudible mind, let alone that of another.

"I was a truly pathetic and feeble orc." he admitted to himself. But that was obvious to his half brothers and sisters who were all of true orcish blood. They watched him grow up and saw that he developed and matured at a far slower pace than they would. At one point some of his younger sisters were stronger and taller than him. He was considered the ugly duckling amongst the orcish kind. Now imagine that! Being brought up in a society where showing your strength was your most important asset meant Haynuus suffered greatly while in his formative years. His one greatest asset, the only thing that he could say would be superior to those of his peers, was his intelligence. And he willingly sacrificed it to appear stronger. We could once consider Haynuus to have been gifted a superior intelligence but he visited shaman, dark wizards and insidious occultists in asking for them to for greater physical strength. He suffered sacrifice after sacrifice in achieving his foolish goal just to fit in with his orcish comrades. After finally considering himself as strong as a normal orc he realised too late that it was not his physical strength that kept him out of that society but strength of mind. He was going insane living with such violence, where the value of life was minimal. After having lost part of his mind and became physically twisted he left it all behind in an attempt to start afresh in human society.

OOC - Assume that Haynuus would replace his circlet back on his head again when they leave the corridor.

[beowuuf]

As Petal's mind melts, she realises the horrible truth. Ultimate Truth is not ultimate balance, it is ultimate stagnation, just as much as chaos is. Without the drive of separation, without the drive of having to apply ones sympathy and empathy to the world around, all one is left with is a mass of information and feeling that is unimportant. Nothing new, nothing urgent, just left alone with the vision of accusatory dead that she can feel the pain of, that she can feel the pleasure in their deaths, that she can feel the apathy that they ever lived and died so horribly... a numbness that hurts so deeply that she could weep, except there is a deep void she is about to fall in to first...

...a void of loathing at the gifts being given to her...or him, or them, where intelligence is nothing and strength is everything. A void where one's best time is passed, where one is simply accumulating knowledge of the world and feeling less and less a part of it.

Deephold reeled back from contact with Haynuus and Petal's minds, from the horrors they had witnessed, and yet he possessed no boundaries with which to retreat behind. His eyes widened as Westian's own mental processes bled in to Deephold's own. Westian could feel - without needing to see - the old dwarf's look of horror at what Westian would say and do for a cause.

The Trolins' minds were an ugly yet conplex stain on the consciousness of the group. Haynuus's recollection triggered many conflicting agressions and emotions within them all. Pollack was revealed as a thoroughly untrustworthy, as power hungry as any other. It had been Trolins such as his kin Goga and the Trolin Uumack that had kept that leader on the straight and narrow at all. As Haynuus's psyche was revealed, it bled to Uumack, who realised the truth - for better and worse - of Haynuus's actions when fighting Goga in the cavern earlier. And of course, now Pullack could feel the truth of Haynuus's actions as well. And knew that Uumack had stepped in to fell Goga just as Goga was ready to strike the weakened half-orc down. Pullack's rage - for he did not truly care for honour - rippled throgu hthe group.

Karda, apparently with an inquisitive nature, was the first to start succumbing to the madness of it all. That too started affectign the other Trolins. It was almost lucky for Grrl, the Trolin King, for the King had a complex tapestery. Westian and Petal perhaps most keenly focused on the actions of the King could almost feel the fear and whim in them. Westian might be relieved, and Petal amazed, that the King had nothing but passing thoughts of betrayal. Instead, more focused on betrayal in kind. Every action of his was merely to maintain his own power, and he rated many other races who possessed intelligence and magic above his own. It was no wonder he had been swayed by Dolo and the Blackskulls, no wonder Westian and Falkor had managed to sway the king further still. The King balanced between wishing to control that which he feared and joining it. His affectations of humanish behaviour as he saw it betrayed hoiw much he wished to ape them and be safe.

Afetr all, Lord Chaos had trapped the King, copied the King mercilessly to produce magical clones of the 'strongest' Trolin to fight for Chaos. And it had been humans and the other champions who had toppled Chaos. Sadly, Westian and Deephold knew the truth of Lord Chaos - that Chaos was nothing but a fragment of the Grey Lord.
That fact now floated in to the groups. The Trolin King looked to Haynuus with such hatred, for he hated the weakness of Haynuus yet hated him more for the gifts he had squandered, and hated the true loyalty the half-orc inspired from Ummack and Guree. Yet also understood perfectly Haynuus's feelings, except was the mirror image of them. And so the Trolin King sat and wept, reaching out to a world filled with more wonder than his brain was allowed to possess. Meanwhile, Guree's mind was already twisting at the strangeness of Haynuus's thoughts. For she had identified with Haynuus as beign like a brother, strange and therefore killed for his strangeness - who had been strong and kind and loyal and honourable. Guree could not understand how Hyanuus could be so different under the surface, and then her mind was flooded with the strangeness of everyone else. As a mass, the Trolins were starting to turn internally, react to each other without comprehending who was who. Only those with such different emoitons were affected swiftly, the rest onl;y slowly succumbing to the vastness of the world around them.

Falkor's own mind started to bleed out, his earnest desire to help the group and his guarded method of doing so. That when he had first tried on the cloak, he had seen Gholst in the flesh, roaming as a terrifying spectre, a spactre that had struck at him with a force of will back in the teple after the first battle with the mummy. And too, Ameena and the rest could feel Falkor's experience when leaving Soorec's room,. where Falkor managed to discover and aid the twisted spirit of an elf druid, one lost in itself that managed to find itself. That Falkor had been tasked with giving the twisted staff Westian possessed and the symbol Ameena had causally kept to the kin that would wish to know the elf's fate. Falkor's own fight with with the dead Arbrut, the man apparently tortured in death by the souls of all those he had killed, souls that had been bound to the soldier. The secret of a true Blackskull soldier's might. And Falkor had come throguh that altered in a way, touched by his spiritual contacts and more focused from it.

And all could feel Aurek's own black and white personality, his harsh but true view of the world. And could realise that Aurek had been driven to this place, long before, and drive in to service of Larethian by a desire to find a brother lost. A brother than could well have been bound in the golem hall.

Ameena could feel Helm's mental processes even as her brain started being swamped with the full nature of the surroundigns she loved to explore. And she realised that Helm was afraid, wished to run, and was torn between wishing to be loyal and good, and giving in to his true nature of terror. He was not the best at anything, and the terror he felt at being a fraud, and not being able to fully adapt to the situations life placed him in meant he just wished to run and abandon everyone. And so he could not believe that Amewna really wished to not run from him. And worse, she could feel the terror of him when she had led him away to the front door in the dark. When the baby oitu had attacked Helm because neither could see the tiny terror, and the truth seeping in let both know that the creature had managed to infect Helm with screamer spores in his throat. And Ameena could feel the deep betrayal Helmfelt at having had his safety compromised for the lives of somehting he considered monsterous. And of course, Ameena had abandoned Helm, even though she had not meant to, with the elite soldiers and the cowardly bully Brohur at the door, forced to investigate the strange coldness there first that had consumed the iron grate, rusting it ahead of its time because time was torn and ragged there. That the front gate now led to a dark future where the party had freed Chaos trying to stop Gholst. A future that even Chaos himself - in all his twisted glory - had hated. And Ameena could feel that Helm had died when being pushed through that place, killed by a doubel future of a pit he had fallen in to in an alternate relaity, and the future possible now where the spores inside him continued to spread.

However, Ameena's own consciousness bled in to Helm, and he could feel her earnest desire to not abandon him. And he could see - just as she now could - exactly what had happened, where Ameena had became her alternate self, and had been forced to face the insane Lord Chaos, one whim away from death.

However, Ameena lost in the alternate realm's thoughts bled in to Westian's. Westian alone started trying to fight the overwhelming tide of thoughts rationally. He tried to focus on lies, and yet it only showed a greater truth. There was nothing Westian could imagine doing that - somewhere - a version of him, in a universe touching this one - had not done. Westian's mind was almost renched to breaking point as the flood of truth from an infinite amount of universes tried to flood in to him.

And then there was the white crack. For there was ironically things Westian had truly done, which he had not done. He had beaten Gholst and yet not, he had taken two paths through this dungeon. He had met with and travelled with Haynuus to this place, and yet had never met the half-orc beforethye woke up together here. Westian's mind - indeed five of the six champion's minds - possessed such an appauling paradox. Even asultimate truth tried to join every mind as one, there were five that possesed a flaw. A fatal flaw, one that could rip the universe apart because of the wrongness of it.

Westian could see the white tear in his mind, the brightness of it blinding, and could feel the universe shake as he was trapped thinking of it...


Wow, very very long typing, sorry! That's probably the lastlong speeches, now we're on to the whole solving this then dealing with the spill out of learning things about each other. And heh, rteally, there could be more revealtions to come!

Firstly, anyone who did not fail the savign throw - which I thin kwas just Petal - roll a new one since the issue is not resolved. DC is now 17. Or if anyone realises they have a darker secret. Or even just somethign they would usually not announce.

Secondly, although it seems dire for poor Westian's mind, and for 'summoning' the crack again, it is one avenue you guys have. Instead of solvign the puzzle, you can try to break it due to the wrongness of many of your minds. Could be risky though...

Otherwise, feel free to have more discussion regarding how to get out of this. Obviousl, Westian had a good tactic that just went a little wronng - trying to figure out a way to keep separate. And obviously Petal's knowledge rolls earlier - ones Ameena mentioned again - were designed to give you strong hints on how the mechanism of the paths were designed.

Anyway, back now, sorry for the week's worth of delay!

[ian_scho]

OOC - Great post!
Will check (1d20+2=21)

[Ameena]

Through all the confusion of the jumbled thoughts, Ameena tries to hold on to something - she tries to hold on to the thought of herself, and of Helm, as separate people. Since the awareness has reached her that he's got some kind of...growth...in his throat that might kill him, she tries to think of him and herself as...outside each other, somehow. Because if he needs help, she can't do anything if they're the same person. So they must be different, because then she'll be herself, with the right number of legs, and she'll be able to...to do something which might help him. She tries just holding on to that - despite the innate social nature of her species, this is too much, her thoughts themselves winding in and around those of other people. If she can just hold on to one person, place herself separate from him whilst thinking about him and how she might be able to help him, maybe...maybe that will help in some way...

OOC - Dunno if this would require a Will save to try and concentrate on stuff so I'll make one anyway...wow haven't done this for ages . Will save =15 (12+3).

[raixel]

Wheeeeeeee!

Petal gropes for a shred of self, something she coulfd hold onto in this madness.

Another image flashes by.

A young Petal and an old wizend pixie sit in a clearing, the elders blue skin faded with age and his hair standing off from his head like a white dandilion puff.

"No Petal, you need balance. Ultimate order is just as twisted as ultimate Chaos.", says the old sorcerer. He flicks his hand outward, and a shape appears glowing in mid air, an eight pointed star made of arrows radiating out from a central circle.

"Look here, you see the arrows radiating out? Well, if you look close, in the negative space, you can actually see arrows also going in. The outward arrows are chaos, the inwards order. The circle in the center is Reality. Without all, the Balance will not be." the elder continues, demonstrating his point by altering the shape sligtly, so the outward arrows disappear. The shape warps, and no longer looks like a perfect star.

Petal grasps that image, one she is sure is hers, although other, conflicting, images keep flitting around in her vision.

"We....I...us...me...must...get out." she thinks.

WILL (1d20+6=12)

[ian_scho]

Haynuus is horrified that the mental image of his past is now a secret shared. The knowledge of that alone is enough to give him the briefest of window of respite, of him being his own pathetic self for just a short time. He throws his hands up to his face, realising that his circlet is dangling like an enlarged bracelet around his arm. It chines against his armour for a second, that useless protection for his weak mind that he now possessed. I'm so sorry, he says to none but himself. He had lost so much, and now even his darkest secret, his biggest mistake, was shared amongst the others. But he knew that they were suffering terribly as well.

He caught himself for a second and tried to think what to do. To release himself from this magic form of torture. To return to his mind to his own body he decided on imitating what his own shaman once did, to seal an incantation or spell. He partially drew his sword from Westian's order and moved his bare hand down it's blade. The pain was immediate, the blood was that of his darker orcish heritage. Anything to return his mind to his body, and bring his thoughts to help that of his companions.

It was then he sees the darkness all encompassing them. "Could someone cast some light in here, please?" OOC - Oh Ir Ra is light spell, Oh Ew Ra is to see through walls so maybe Ra helps here? To shine light on the truth, rather than hide from it.

[beowuuf]

Westian instantly shied away from the horror of the crack in his mind, pushing away. It had given him a moment's separation from the nartural flow of the slowly expanding universe around him. However, Westian's next instincts were to embrace the process. After all, if their minds could experience what was around, that could include the nature of the trap - or test - they were under.

Westian could feel the expectation of the mana around, he could hear - through Petal's own ears? - its song. It was waiting for something. And he could feel the carvings reaching outwards to them. Explaining the consequences of being mortal an knowing everything. Westian held as tightly as he could to who he was, while stretching out to the walls and the mana to work out what was expected of him.

And luckily, pulling back harder than he was stretching out, he felt the edges of it. Reason was a bridge to truth. Approximation and estimation and intuition on the nature of things around - even on the test - rather than reaching out for the puzzle itself. There was an elegant trap set for those clever, however luckily Westian's own personality had always been guarded. He had felt the trick and realised it before he truly fell in to it. However, he was still too far gone. He was simply treading water, as he could feel the carvings of the walls and the imperctionsof them as if they were carved on him. Or weren't they? He could understand the immense connection of the wall to the ground to the mountain to the land around to the lands around that to the...

Ameena meanwhile held on to her concern for her friends. She had felt what he felt, and knew even what he had not known, but what was important was that it was not happening to her. Her concern for her friend came from a place of separation. He was separate from her, and that fear was different from if she had been infected herself. And more importantly, thae lump was separate from him. Still, Ameena's concern also meant she could not quite disentange from Helm's awareness, could not quite stop from being aware of the spores even thoguh she should not know they existed, not know what they felt. Like swimming in a strong current. for the moment she was just treading water, not moving but not pulling away either.

Petal's own mental exercises tried to resist what was happening, apply reason to it. Unfortunately, the truth was incidious. Even as she tried to find faith in what she knew of as balance, and been taught, the truth pushed at her like a tide on the shores of her beliefs. Her thoughts of balance were not true, they were the false balance all imperfect beings sought. Ultimate understanding was the perfect balance. Everything simply existing, with perfect awareness, not moving to do anything but existing. Mortals staggered around in the dark, and then moved towards thigns in the light, and then accidentally found some small moments of understanding before moving away again. It was the balance like a drunkard swaying in all directions and so not falling, not the true balance of admitting the truth. Of opening up ones mind to everything...

Petal tried to compare it to the falsehood of law and chaos, but unfortunately there were only two areas to balance with there, and here there were three. Truth was pulling her, like an ocean telling her united existence was ultimate balance while she could only see absolute singular reason and absolute singular perception at the two poles to guard against.

More a reaction to the lower will save than anythign else, althoguh I like the thought that true balance would be a nirvana state, and 'balance' as we need it is shoring up and appreciating imperfect tools. But just liek the stagnation of perfect order or perfect chaos, perfect truth would result in an equal stagnation. Anyway, feel free to move onwards with that wrinkle, but I think the lower will save dictates a little revelation of what's in Petal's head. Perhaps not a full disclosure given the good will save last time, but maybe a hint as that might also be a way for Petal to keep sane until Westian's plan can intrude.

Meanwhile, even as Haynuus felt himself caught up in the emotions of those around him regarding his dark revelation, that shame bought him some separation. He had always hidden who he was while assuming he knew how he would be regarded. It was such a familiar feeling that his mind slipped to it before his mind then was swept up in the thoughtsd and feeligns of others. It was a brief recess, but it allowed him to grip the sword- his sword, given to him - and inflict the pain. His pain. Even as he felt it ripple around the group, like a stone distorting a pond, removing the distinct reflection so everythign was just rippling water...

Light! Haynuus's mind was still separate enough to think on the darkness around. His senses that he used before this strange joining needed light to work properly. And people - other people, not him with his gifts - could not see in darkness. Light!

Haynuus felt the runes of light - OH IR RA - settle in to his mind from strange directions. The half-orc did not know who had attempted the spell, only that it was successful. Suddenly, there was a bright light. Blinding almost, after the darkness the party had lapsed in to. There was a lurch in the group awareness. As eyes that had almost fallen to disuse now looked at different things. Carvings looked different, people looked different, each person suddenly could not see themselves, their minds forced briefly to reason who they were rather than knowing through other's eyes.

Westian was brought back to himself as he could once more see the carvings and the wall from the outside, as separate thigns his mind had to read - as he had read in the order - rather than just know. Perceive in an imperfect yet unique way. The Grey Lord had walked easily on these paths with Westian and his order before, taking them to the inner sanctum of the soul gem's hall. He recalled the Grey Lord casting the Light spell himself, depsite the perfect illumination of the Path of Reason. Haynuus's call and the resultant action recalled it. The Grey Lord had spoken to them of thigns past - things that none but the Grey Lord had apparently knew. Truth. The Grey Lord had spoken truth on the path of reason. Westian hadn't appreciated it before, only as he felt the walls crave something similar did he realise it. The Grey Lord had used light and truth on the path of reason to keep them connected to the reality of the place, and not get lost in supposition and lies. Yet here the opposite was the case. The light - aid to perception - kept them focused on their own limited view of the world, on what they thought existed in their limited view, and not on what actually was. And what was reason? Not just guessing. It was what a person thought should be, must be, but also what could be. It was the motor that kept mortals moving, it was the self delusion that kept the universe moving and growing and changing from one moment of truth to the next, when reality could otherwise grind to a halt in a single unchanging instance of truth.

Was that the secret? Westian had tried to lie to the path, and that had failed. Instead, did they need to lie to each other? They knew who each other were now. Did they need to speak of what was not - but could be? Afetr all, Westian could feel what the group around him - Trolins and others - truly were. And yet was he not always used to speaking of what peopel could be, in the hopes that they might become that? Had not his first words to a disperate group of people been a lie that had become truth?


Ok, sorry, that was a long post. Obviously depsite Westian's good will save to not go mad, he's not actually doing a good job of keeping separate because he deliberately tried to feel out the path here. So assume everyone knows the logic of what's been suggested.

Basically: Now you know the truth about who each other was and is, perhaps you should share how you have always perceived them, and who you thought they were - or could be. Obviously Ameena is focused on Helm, and Petal needs to pull herself back from the edge a little, but in your own ways you can all start trying to share your opinions and beliefs on who each of the people in the group are.

It's like a teambuilding exercise and inspirational talk, except you all know each other's terrible secrets, and there's still tons of trolins. And if you don't do it well then you all go mad from expanded minds

I like you chose this path, it was the most dangerous in terms of all the possible consequences (some bad yet non-fatal ones too!) but also allowed for the biggest scope of touching base with each other's characters one last time before the big end thingie. Plus if you pull yourselves out correctly, you might get some nice rewards for this...

[Ameena]

OOC - Does that mean we're able to move and stuff now, as we've separated a bit? Or does this all have to be done through thought as people still try to figure out whether they're themselves or someone else? From the sounds of it, individual awareness has come back to some extent, but I presume everyone is still stuck in place, or something, since we've not quite finished passing the test thingy yet...

[beowuuf]

It will still take an effort of will to even move a limb, etc. You can't move back out, or anything. Let's face it, if you could, you;d have solved it and can move forwards instead

Basically Petal needs to RP something cool to get freer, Haynuus is freeish to be independant, Ameena is sort of stuck between trying to separate and be separate from Helm, and Westian is sort of deliberately stuck himself but is not going insane.


You all though are aware that you need to state something about at least one other person to them, that is you own opinion (either new or old) that isn't the truth you've had revealed. That sounds like the way Westian would have perceived the solution.

So you are all free to do that, just Petal needs to sort of RP pulling herself out of things a little first, preferrably in a way that at least hints at the other secret she's been keeping

Edit: Oops, rushing at lunch, put an OOC comment in the IC thread!

[oh_brother]

Separate points of view are necessary. This thought sprang into the collective consciousness of the group. Almost like a natural reflex Westian’s thoughts of others in the group bubbled to the surface.

Helm. A good character. Somewhat weak, but then again Westian faced many of the same fears and insecurities that plagued the thief. Still, some times his actions – and apparent sense of shame – worried Westian. Could he really be trusted? He would probably not abandon them out of wickedness, but would he do it out of cowardice?

Ameena. Kind and good-natured, without any cunning or malice. The world might be an easier place to live if others felt more like her. But there was a downside. The world was not that easy, and ignoring problems did not make them ago away. It just meant other people had to make the hard decisions that you were unwilling to do. Them again the good nature of Ameena – and possibly all murafu – meant that these concepts were too alien for them to comprehend. Lucky for them.

Haynuus. Certainly loyal. Westian had been extremely worried when he had woken up in an enclosed space with the half-orc, believing him to be the monster that he appeared. But despite his slow nature and his need to be guided he was clearly a force for good. The High Lords did not always choose the most obvious agents to carry out their plans.

Petal. Poor Petal. She had seen her village destroyed. Who knew what that could be like? Did it scar her? Was she the same person he had known previously? The conversations they had had by necessity were very limited, but maybe Westian was worried also that beneath the surface lurked anger and hatred. But the pixie he knew was wise beyond her apparent years, striving for balance.

Falkor. A puzzling character. It had taken Westian sometime to get to know him, and only then when they travelled alone together for some time. Distracted, often seeming to be absorbed in his own thoughts rather than with the here and now. Still despite the surprises and secrecy he had no doubts about the halfling’s loyalty.

Aurek. Westian felt that he had to convince most people when something needed to be done. But Aurek knew the meaning of duty. Regardless of his own thoughts on the matter he would do what needed to be done, more so than anyone else in the group. Like Westian he seemed to realise that the best path was not the easiest path, and unpleasant actions sometimes had to be taken for the greater good. Indeed Westian felt that so long as he strived to do good he could rely on the paladin’s unwavering support.

Deephold. Westian still felt the need to please his former teacher, indeed to please all his superiors. But Deephold in particular. Maybe it was the dwarf’s taciturn and distant nature, standing apart from everyone else. When praise was rare, it was more valuable and meaningful. As to why the dwarf stood on his own Westian could only guess. Was it due to his race – he was certainly different to all the others. A dwarf in the Church of Larethian was an unusual sight.

Didn’t have time to get into the whole party, but I suppose I mentioned the people Westian knows best!

[Ameena]

OOC - Damn, so the (relatively) simple creature with nice-and-easy views on stuff has to express some knd of new opinion that's somehow different to the opinion she's already expressed even though she doesn't have the mental capacity to think in twisted ways like that and portray a different view to the one she really holds? Oh well, let's just muddle along and see what happens .

BIC - Ameena thinks on the views she's somehow become aware of, the ones that seem to have come from Helm's own mind. At least, she thinks that's what she's thinking - it's hard to tell which thoughts are her own and which are his, since at the heart of things they're both actually pretty similar. After all, both are scared, both like to run when things go bad, yet both have a desire to remain with their friends. Ameena, certainly, has no intention of breaking physical contact with Helm unless he wishes it, and she hopes he doesn't because she's had little enough of such contact with people since she's been down here - she misses her own kind fiercely, so she'll take whatever she can get regarding experiences that are similar to the ones that are constantly available when she's among them. She somehow feels closer to Helm than ano of the others, perhaps because they've spent more time together, somehow. And because she feels upset over the fact that she inadvertently left him behind, and then forgot about it. She couldn't help that she forgot about it, but it seems like such an un-murafu-ish thing to have done, she almost wonders whether that really happened - everything has been such a muddled confusion lately, memories and images all over the place. But hopefully, soon, it will be over. But there are other things to consider, too. It would be terrible if, after trying so hard to bring Helm back from death, she were to lose him again to the unpleasant things growing in his throat, whatever they are.
She tries to focus on these thoughts, on the fact that she doesn't care that Helm would run from danger - that's a murafu instinct as well, just that it tends to be over-ruled by the urge to not abandon a friend in trouble. She doesn't want anything else bad to happen to him - she wants this all to be over, so they can all emerge back into the outside world and get on with their lives, and be happy again, and all that. But she knows there's danger - she knows he must surely know it too. They might all die down here and no-one will know until it all goes wrong and the world ends. But right here, right now, they're all together, and can all stay together, to try and do whatever it is that needs doing to make sure that no-one else dies as a result, and that the world doesn't get destroyed, and...and...
A friend is for life. Life is for friends.
Somehow the saying springs into her mind. That simple murafu saying that turns up every now and then, and which every murafu lives by even if they've never heard it said before, just because it's part of their nature. She holds on to that, and tries to get across that it certainly holds true now, as much as it ever did. And she's not going anywhere, not if the others aren't with her. She won't be leaving anyone behind. She won't be leaving anyone alone.

[beowuuf]

Well for example she used to think and might still do that Falkor was scary and murderous when he's all nice It's the idea that perception and assumption/rationalisation can create an untruth that could become truer than what actually is Anyways, what actually happens with Ameena's thoughts we shall see!