Tunnels

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Aug 19, 2023 4:32 am
OOC:
I don't remember if we were also going up due to time. I seem to remember "one more room", but I could be misremembering that.
Even though I didn't explicitly mention it before, Skeeve has been continuing to map and take notes, so it shows the fisher cave (7), the spider cave (north of 7), the two dead ends (12 and 16) and the dark mantle cave (15).

If we're gonna stay for a bit longer, Skeeve would like to check and confirm that 13 links to both 11 and 15. In the latter case we'd work to not provoke the dark mantles this time.
Aug 19, 2023 1:50 pm
OOC:
I think it was "lunch time" and we were going to eat down here, but got attacked so then decided to get healed instead
Aug 19, 2023 2:26 pm
OOC:
Ok, sounds good. Let's lunch at the tiles and then fill in gaps in the map and choose our next passageway!

Edited for clarity.
Last edited August 19, 2023 8:48 pm
Aug 20, 2023 4:56 pm
OOC:
Mnrtoler is correct. We were stopping for lunch, and since we were banged up, had planned on going to the surface. But if Gardakhan can heal us at will, then I suppose we can chow here and get back to exploring.
Aug 20, 2023 5:13 pm
Ok, I'm that case, we can chow near the tiles. Skeeve offers to share his with Gardakhan.

While they eat, Skeeve says, You said something about nightmares and a magic spider. Can you go into more detail? And you said something about a healing spirit. That's not how my magic works. How does your magic work with spirits?

He also offers to explain what they know of this location and the expedition, figuring Blornvid and Raggy will add in details from their perspectives.
Aug 20, 2023 8:25 pm
After eating and resting a bit, during which time Garkakhan summons a life spirit to heal everyone, you set out and check a few nearby tunnels.
[ +- ] updated map
The south-west (room 14) was empty though it contained signs and a few remnant of serval camps including a corpse in front of an open chest surrounded by several candle stubs. Moving on to the north a bit you find a tunnels leading further west form a main cavern (cave 10). Near the tunnel entrance you find someone has scrawled "Joane's Marauders looted this place" on the wall, and a bent dagger nearby on the ground. The passage heads down at a steep angle and the air in that passage grows noticeably cooler the further you go. Deciding not to venture too deep you return to the main caverns. At this point the cavern that goes down and the passage beyond the cave fisher are the only areas of these caverns you have not explored.

Which way? Down, past the fisher, up to the base, other?
Aug 21, 2023 1:37 am
Gardakhan gladly share lunch with skeeves and explains his ordeal with more details.

"For a while now my tribe has been plagued with Nightmares. It puts everyone on edge. I have been tasked by my master to track the nightmare to its source. The spirits guided me torwards the cave where I found the tiles. I recall some stairs pattern then them hummed and a spiderlike creature appeared. It was the source of the Nightmare. Combat followed and when I stepped on the tiles I got sent here..."

He pause for a moment trying to figure out how to explains his powers. The best way would be to show it he decided.

"My magic as you call it is more about asking the spirits that inhabit the invisible world to manifest themselves.

As he explained this, he thought that perhaps the fire spirit he called in his fight could help him fill the gaps for the tile pattern.

Rolls

Gardakhan: Test DC: 5 - Basic - (2d6)

(54) = 9

Aug 21, 2023 2:18 am
Gardakhan calls the spirit and they commune for a minute. The spirit helps Gardakhan gain a better picture of his memories and he shares his recollections with the others.
The first pattern he saw the tiles set to had 2 groups of black tiles looking something like /_ a diagonal slash upwards from left middle to middle top and a block middle bottom to right bottom
The Second arrangement had the black tiles in a V pattern but there were a bit more to it than that
OOC:
If you want to experiment with the patterns each player can rearrange the tiles as they please and add a roll to stir Gardakhan's recollection or sence the magic feedback from the tiles
[ +- ] Arranging the tiles Tiles
Aug 21, 2023 2:18 am
Aug 21, 2023 4:43 pm
Skeeve first copies down the current configuration. Then he says, "So a V-shape you say ..." He concentrates and moves the tiles around to the pattern below. "This is just a simple V shape. How close is it to what you saw when you stepped on the tiles?"



When they've finished exploring the V shape, he continues, "And for the initial shape, something like this?"

OOC:
This is fun!
Last edited August 21, 2023 4:43 pm
Aug 22, 2023 1:07 am
After studying the tiles and considering things Gardakhan recalls the patterns being thicker and the V did not touch the top..
OOC:
Last free hint. Character need to perform test for further hints.
You can also involve the npc from the base or just spend more character time experimenting to get results
Aug 22, 2023 4:48 pm
OOC:
OK, I just realized that the above two patterns are impossible. They each have 16 black squares. They must have 18 squares as the mix must always remain 50/50. So I need to have 18 black squares. I understand they would have been wrong anyway, and the above is still the last free hint. That's all good. I just wanted to note that the first two I did were impossible and I will fix that for future efforts.

Also, I meant to chase down the "V" formation first, then do the "/_" formation only after that. So, I'm going to just focus on the "V" formation for now, then come back to the other one. I will do the next attempt at the "V" formation, with dice rolls, in the next message.

Finally, please let us know how the time is progressing. I don't want to end up stranding ourselves because I took us on too big of a tangent. Also, I am not meaning to overshadow anyone here. While Skeeve (and I) are having fun with this, neither of us want to bore the rest of the group!
Aug 22, 2023 5:52 pm
The original one was impossible, so it is what it is. Skeeve's first try after is to make the following. Since we know it should have "a bit more to it", we know it is still wrong. But, Skeeve is hoping to at least get some kind of "feedback" from the magic item. And at least this one is possible.



So, needing to add "a bit more to it", Skeeve moves two of the tiles down to the lower corners to break the idea of a "pure V" ...



However, looking at that, it looks more like a "Y" than "V". So, he makes another alteration ...



... which doesn't seem to actually help.

Each time he makes a change he is sensing as best as possible to see if he is hitting a "match" of some kind. Any input Gardakhan and his fire spirit can offer is always welcome!

Here are Skeeve's rolls for the three patterns.

Rolls

Skeeve: First Pattern Test - (2d6)

(34) = 7

Skeeve: Second Pattern Test - (2d6)

(56) = 11

Skeeve: Third Pattern Test - (2d6)

(41) = 5

Aug 22, 2023 6:22 pm
Gardakhan tries to keep up with skeeves but he has no recollection of a V-shape pattern.
The initial pattern however, rings some bells as he tries a pattern of his own.
Psybermagi says:
OOC:
No problem here had quite a busy day yesterday and did not find the time to play with the grid

Rolls

Gardakhan: Pattern Test - - (2d6)

(26) = 8

Aug 22, 2023 7:10 pm
OOC:
Just FYI: The above pattern isn't quite right because it is split 16 black and 20 white. Since we aren't flipping tiles over (therefore able to have any combination of black and white), but rather swapping tiles (therefore maintaining a fixed ratio of 1:1 or 18 of each color), the above pattern is "impossible". I do remember, when peeking at your original thread, that the first pattern had this mistake. So, if you are accurate on this pattern, then @psybermagi will need to let us know what it really should look like with two more black tiles showing.

I'm not immune. My first two tries here were also 16/20, not 18/18, so it's an easy thing to do!
Aug 23, 2023 2:31 am
All of this is just going over Raggy head. He and Ro keep watch as he ponders what it must be like to have magic and commune with the spirts
Aug 23, 2023 3:07 am
Playing around with the V pattern Skeeve feels things out as he moves the tiles around. Gardakhan mentions that the Dream Weaver spider was able to move from one pattern to the next in a few seconds, while Skeeve and he take that long to move a single tile one spot. In the midsts of trial and error Skeeve feels a reactions and after changing the tiles gets a reactions. The tiles lock into place and seem to hum for a moment.
Skeeve realizes this is the "Address" to use the tiles to travel to this location in the caves. If they can ever find another pattern then at least now they have a way back!
[ +- ] Tiles Back to the tunnels
Aug 23, 2023 3:31 am
Skeeve both works to memorize this pattern and writes it down studiously. He will make sure to provide it to Fiznik when we go back up. On the other hand, this sucks for Gardakhan. He says, "I am sorry, but the pattern that sent you here is a one-way trip. We have no idea what the pattern to send you back is."

To the others he says, "This does mean that the tile pad has just become much, much more valuable to *us* because we can now get back!" He continues and says, "Thank you both for being patient with us while we tried to figure this out. I know it has been pretty boring for you while we keep trying different patterns. I was hoping to be able to send Gardakhan back so he could help his village, but we don't seem to have the right pattern for that pad. What would you two like to do next since we have monopolized things to this point?"

We could try to find the other pattern, but again, I don't want to bore the others too long. They've been very indulgent to this point!
Aug 23, 2023 4:19 am
Gardakhan soon learns which spirit is best able to move the tiles, though he feels they react differently to the different spirits. His initial idea does not have a good reaction but thinking over it he feels that Skeeves attempt at the /_ pattern had the bottom half correct. The slash is in need of some fine tuning. After a bit more experimentation you get a reaction. The new pattern seems to resonate but you hold back from fully activating it.
[ +- ] Gardakhan's tile arrangement
With two patterns now, one to take you away and another to bring you back. You hope.
Aug 23, 2023 4:26 am
OOC:
Take your time. Life isn’t all about combat. You do your thing bud.
Maybe the fates have sent him here for our help.
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