Chapter 1: The Menace [Completed]

[Mysticsage]

"Yeah, I have not been seeing to much that gives me confidence in the capabilities of the guys running that place if this kind of insanity can go one without anyone being able to do anything about it." Seth stopped trying to manipulate the energy for a few minutes. He could feel he was getting close to do something with that energy, but he did not want to run out of steam midway through and causing more problems. So he rested every few minutes to not get overly fatigued.

Leaning close to the fire he wondered if this whole thing was just another part of the test. It seemed far to excessive for no names like them though. Glancing around at the others he could not help but smirk at how pathetic he felt right now. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place who knows how far from home exhausted and lost exactly how he hoped to spend his Saturday night.

Taking the artifact out of his inner pocket he traced the grooves in the stone. Then an idea hit him could this thing have interfered with the kid's power? That might explain the teleport, but not why some of them were now frozen by energy fields. Seth closed his eyes trying to see if he could sense if the artifact had any residual energy to say that it responded.

Looking at Bookkeeper he could see a look of pained apology. It seemed he was not planning for his powers to go out of control.

"Hey BK, this isn't your fault okay? None of this is our fault. So relax no one is hurt and I promise we'll get this worked out and back home." He tried his best to give a reassuring smile. Even though he was still upset about all of it seating around fuming was not helping.

The person who lit the fire must be somewhere close by, but he had not heard or seen anyone since they had arrived, and he didn't want to call out for fear that it might attract unwanted guests. He doubted anyone was in any real condition to fend off threats. He then threw his burner cell at Mindsense who caught it, " You think you can make that thing work? Or at least use the SIM card to figure out where we are? Or better still track down who ever lit this fire?"

Feeling around in his pockets for anything that might help his hand meet with the box of tarot cards Leo had given him. They were supposed to answer questions right maybe if he did it right they would provide a clue on the best way to move forward. Clearing a patch of ground he began to shuffle the deck then drew card after card as he had been told hoping he would get some guidance. Afterward he returned once again to trying to free the others.

Spoiler

Attempt to see if the artifact responded to BK's magic
[dice]Rolled 1d20 : 17, total 17[/dice]

Attempt to read tarot cards for guidance.
[dice]Rolled 1d20 : 18, total 18[/dice]

[close]

[Throndir]

"If we were in my lab, I probably could throw something together." Mindsense said as she deftly caught the phone with her left hand. "I'm sure we're going to find some tools in this forest to hack this phone as a make-shift radar." She continued with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. However she proceeded to point towards the other three who were stuck in that strange force field.

"Tin man over there is probably our best bet to hack this into something else. But as you can see, he's really not in the mood right now." With that, Mindsense tossed the cellphone back. With three of them out of commission, randomly teleported to god knows where, it wasn't a situation that Megella liked at all. She wished her suit was more complete. The Crius II was still a prototype after all. In terms of functionality, Megella had already added on to her father's work, incorporating what plans and technical details she was able to salvage after their lab had burned down. She in fact had already been designing a Crius III. She made a mental note to herself to add some sort of GPS the next time around.

"So does anyone have any ideas to remove that force field? I have one, but it isn't entirely graceful." With that she proceeded to charge her arm cannon.

[Linwelin]

Viktor nods at the consolation from his companions, but isn't convinced. His powers had gone haywire, after all; he had felt it. Something had gone wrong, and he was still convinced he had some part to play in what had happened. There's no way I wasn't involved, but at least I know they aren't trying to beat on me for it...I've gone through enough of that. But he quickly shook himself from those thoughts, there were more important events to tend to.

"Well, for now, I think it's most important to know our surroundings. Someone lit this fire. Who and how are very important. With that, Viktor lifted up a stone, and spoke plainly. "Light."

The stone took on a somewhat eerie glow, casting off a cold, white light. Let's see what's past the firelight. Viktor thought as he tossed the stone out into the treeline.

Spoiler

Tosses the lit stone to the south (not that we know direction, but I'm just giving you someplace to choose haha)

[close]

[Hasabushi]

Okay I will be starting this back in again in the rotation. We will finish out chapter 1 as I originally planned, And then sort of 'reboot' for chapter 2. Anyone that wants to take over one of the current 'NPC's in amber' just give me heads up, Just PM me :D

SIGIL

Knowledge on type of energy
]Rolled 1d20 : 9, total 9[

*The energy is unknown to you although it does appear to be mystical in nature, you can't identify what type of magic created this.*

Manipulate energy
]Rolled 1d20 : 20, total 20[

*You attempt to manipulate the energies, you are somewhat successful but find yourself completely drained with every attempt. when you
return to the task again, you find that nothing has changed with all your efforts.*





*Not sure when you were attempting to this I'm assuming that it's back to back with the previous use of your magic, so each roll is at a -5 due to
exasperation and lack of energy. If I'm reading this wrong just let me know*

Attempt to see if the artifact responded to BK's magic
]Rolled 1d20 : 17, total 17 - 5 (tired) = 12[

*The artifact only glows for a moment then returns to normal, you have determined that it is partially magic in nature*

Attempt to read tarot cards for guidance.
]Rolled 1d20 : 18, total 18 -5 (tired) = 13[

*You lay the cards before in the traditional manner you were trained to read them. The cards spill before you as turn each one, but the readings make no sense, as if everything is confused. You fumble the cards back into your pocket bewildered by the reading..*


BOOKKEEPER

Tosses the lit stone to the south (not that we know direction, but I'm just giving you someplace to choose haha)

SCENARIO:



Your still exhausted but this neutral word bears no strain on your abilities. The stone lights up a bright phosphorous white as it is flung into the darkness, the stone strikes the ground landing with a rustle on the forest floor. You see the area lit up around the magicked stone, it appears to be a path of some sort leading into a rather dense forest. You appear to be in a grove of some sort in the midst of dense woods. For a brief moment you swear you saw something peering at you through the trees, a series of deep guttural growls emanates from the forest... 

[Mysticsage]

Sigil looked at the cards in disbelief and utterly confused. He did the reading correctly he was sure of it, but the cards provided no clues as to what the future held only half answers that made no sense. Scooping up the cards again he shuffled the deck once more and repeated the process only to the same result.
"Damn it!" He said hitting the ground again staring at the many card faces. He was feeling utterly useless do to the lack of any kind of solid lead at the moment, and that was the feeling he hated the most. Was it even possible for tarot cards to not work right? The cards main purpose was to act as an interpretable medium for the energies. From what he learned everything in the world gives off all kinds of energies. It is those energies that govern things like random chance that the cards then interpret to form an answer to questions.
"So then the only way to stop a prediction from the cards would be to block them from those energies, but the cards let of little to no magical presence on their own so it shouldn't have caught anyone's attention. That's why even a person with no magical training are able to use them affectively."

Then an answer hit him,"Unless they were already watching what I was doing when I started using the cards. Then someone could isolate the cards specifically and leave his other magic unhindered."

It was then that Bookkeepers spell went off illuminating some of the forest. Looking up Seth could swear he saw for a moment eyes staring back at him from the shadows of this new path, and he could definitely hear the sound of it's growls.

Speaking in a hushed tone he said to the others, "We need to be careful, I think we still be in the tower, caught in one of those simulation rooms like we were before. Someone or something has been blocking me from using some of my magic. But regardless, we have to do something soon to make headway. I don't care what you guys decide, but do it fast I'm running on fumes power wise and when I run out, I'll be nothing better then dead weight.

Looking back at the other three frozen in amber,  I hate to say it, but we may have to leave the others behind it's beyond me to free them right now and we are no use to them if we end up dead in this place."

If worse came to worse he was just gonna pour what little mana he had left into the strange stone and see what would happen he thought as he  collected his gear. His limbs felt like cement as he stood.

[Linwelin]

Did something just...growl at me? Viktor thought to himself. Upon hearing Sigil's thought on where they were, and that this was probably another simulation in the tower, the growl only upset the boy more. So something is still watch us...aggressively.

"I'm sure I wasn't the only one that heard that. We're being watched. It's probably dangerous to move without caution. Especially since we're all tired. Luckily, it seems there's a path where I threw that stone just now, so we at least know this isn't untraveled. Should we risk taking the path?"

Throughout this entire statement, all Viktor could think was that the path may not be man-made. At this point, he didn't know what to expect. And he was close to being unable to defend himself, with how fatigued he was.

"Or we could take this chance to rest a bit. This grove has enough space that we can see anything coming, so we can take turns on watch. We're all tired enough that a break would be the best course of action, in my opinion."

Viktor takes a seat next to the fire as he tries to gather himself. May as well take advantage of the fire if it's here already.

[Throndir]

"Playing boy-scouts now are we? As much as I love the idea, if we're to decide to leave those three in the energy shield behind, lets at least do it with haste." Mindsense turned towards the forest and began probing the area ahead attempting to see if there was any sort of living being with a mind out there.

Spoiler

Scanning the area up ahead

Rolled 1d20 : 19, total 19

[close]

[Manzokushi]

Jin dreamed of his life with his grandfather, and within those dreams were mixed nightmares, reminders of the past. He knew that something was missing as if he stood at a door and it was missing the key, but on occasion he was able to catch a glance from the keyhole or a sound from beneath the door. He tried so hard to remember his parents but all that came was glimmers, shifting images of uncast characters. Jin was certain that whatever had transpired to his parents, it had been a wrong doing and that in some way within his honor was tarnished. The images swirled further as he recalled his days as a vigilante even before he discovered his powers, Jin had been drawn to fighting for a better world to live in.

Strong breaths of air filled his lungs but his eyes would not open. He was slumbering in a realm of inescapable rest. His body would not move but the air told the story. He was confined that much was for sure.

He remembered a bright rainbow of colors, filled with shifting images. Why had Mindsense been in the building confined? It made no sense, he had moved ahead of the party and knew that he was faster than the rest. She had stayed back with the team...or was it clone?...a projection?...to many questions and not enough answers.

The skateboard had hit the curb, and he had tumbled onto the sidewalk. He was 8 years old and just learning the streets. His grandfather had finally permitted him to leave his roost and adventure into the neighborhood. He was so full of happiness the days of learning what the world could be all its possibilities. Why did all of the street signs appear to be in Japanese? He was in America, he had left Japan when he was just a baby...anger swam within his heart, he was so angry!

He needed to wake up this sleep was all to keep him restrained, to not allow him to do something? What was he doing?

Air formed, tightening around his body, the currents strengthened, swirling with force. With a final exhale of breath the wind burst forth into a small sphere of tightened air.

To all those sitting by the fire it sounded like a giant bubble collapsed, with faint audible "pop." The field surrounding Specter cascaded away like broken panes of glass, falling to the ground and vaporizing into shimmer ether.

The young man sat up, glancing around for the first time weeks it felt like. "Why are we in the forest? I thought this was a city based film?"

[Mysticsage]

Sigil turned slightly in shock to see one of his trapped compatriots be released from their prison. "So you can only escape if you wake up on the inside." He said reaching as if to help the other man regain his balance. He was slightly comforted by the fact that if they were going to leave the others they were not defenseless.

Pulling in close he whispered "we think who ever is running the programming decided to put us in another one of those virtual stages. These woods don't appear to be normal. Be on guard." Detaching quickly he took up a defensive stance.

"I think we need to move now waiting here is just inviting more trouble to find us. The question is do we take the path in front of us or try and find an alternate route?"

Spoiler

Sigil will try to make a magical awareness test to try and sense any hostile energies or the limits of the space.
Please warn me if this will make me pass out and I'll simply hold my action till the others decide or we are attacked

Rolled 1d20-5 : 14 - 5, total 9

[close]

[Hasabushi]

Mindsense:

Scanning the area up ahead
Rolled 1d20 : 19, total 19

Active Sensors:
Mode: radial/bio Scan
Power Consumption: negligible

You send out an active scan checking the area around you, pulsating out from the various radial sensors on your suit. The scan is successful as you get a good view of the area around you within 100 ft. It is clearly a dense forest with some breaks here and there in its layout. You sense only animals and fauna around, no  humanoid life or technology appears to be present.

Specter:
You are fully restored and other than being a little disoriented completely rested and rejuvenated.

Sigil:

Sigil will try to make a magical awareness test to try and sense any hostile energies or the limits of the space.
Please warn me if this will make me pass out and I'll simply hold my action till the others decide or we are attacked
Rolled 1d20-5 : 14 - 5, total 9

Passive Magical: Scan.

You sense no magical or hostile entities nearby, everything appears to be what you see around you.

SCENARIO:
As the party attempts to gather its bearings... the fire mysteriously suddenly wafts out leaving the team in relative darkness and slowly chilling air, although the stars and moon above clearly light the grove you are in, the only light sources remaining are the two shrouds glowing an ominous yellow orange translucent color, giving you a clear view of the occupants within, and the various pulsating red/blue LEDs on Mindsenses gear.

But your minds are quickly taken off of the slightly comforting site, when the sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs draw your attention...
 

[Throndir]

"Better not be anything sneaking up on us." Mindsense declared as she began powering her cannon. Its energy continued to swell and surge. With the light from the fire just vanishing completely, surely there was something or someone who wanted to catch them unaware.

"Stick close!"

[Mysticsage]

Sigil acting fast began focusing on a spell that might help if he acted fast enough despite his aching body. He was not the most keen on getting on being hunted by a possible computer program and as the darkness enveloped them he had a spark of inspiration. As his tongue and mind worked around the last part of the incantation his hands and eyes let off a small glow. Small magic circles appearing on his palms though if you were not looking for it you would not have noticed He also added a small extra line to the spell nothing special just a plea for help from the universe that he might find aid with the casting.

"Perhaps this will shed some light on the situation!" cupping his palms up and towards the sound of the creature in the woods he let loose a jet of arcane energy that exploded in the sky like a flare gun revealing the area in the sharp contrast of the green light.

Spoiler

Using cantrip flare from character sheet
don't know if i need to roll anything so i will with the -5 just to be safe but disregard otherwise
This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20-5 : 6 - 5, total 1

[close]

Any animal who was used to seeing in the dark would no doubt have an even harder time avoiding being blinded by this kind of thing and might even reveal more of the landscape or set them up for a surprise attack. And if his guess about their being outside interference watching them the sudden contrast from black to bright green would at least shield them from those onlookers if not reveal any hidden cameras or familiars blinding and disabling them as well. Computers he knew no matter how advanced struggled greatly from shifts in extremes smiling slightly as he remembered how fast his laptop almost exploded as his master had tried to use it one night afe\r drinking using magic to make it run faster and deal with things it's small processors were not built to manage. That and he had to make sure the memory was completely whipped from all the blacklist websites she visited.

Sigi know from always living with his family that their was always one final trick that might flip the table in his favor. The look on any one of his family members face if they could see him in such a state. If they wanted to beat him he would have to be incapactated before he just layed down and died.

"This is the time to do your thing guys!" He screamed "Big guy... Specter pick up the kid we're gonna may need to move as fast as we can down this path if something decides to attack and he's not gonna be keeping up if we have to book it!" He still was not certain how affective his spell would turn out to be so he was hedging his bets just in case.

[Linwelin]

Viktor sighed at the passing of the fire, then seized up as things started getting hectic again. "And there goes any chance of rest." He says rather annoyed. The boy quickly gathered himself breaking out of his daze to realize that one of their companions had woken up. He was too confused to make heads or tails of what was going on, so he just decided not to think about it.

"I can keep up just fine." Viktor responded, keeping himself from being picked up. If anything, I can scout ahead. You'll need to keep up with me." The boy said proudly.

Viktor checked that there was nothing in the trees thanks to the flare light. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was on the branch he'd been focusing on. He looked back and down, calling out, "Come on!"

[Hasabushi]

The branch holds Bookkeeper rather securely as he covered the distance quickly, watching as Sigil's flare had lit up most of the area directly ahead Viktor was able to make out a mostly dense tree coverage and small winding path leading directly away from the campsite. The way appears to be clear, but the short time that the flare lasts does not allow enough time for getting any accurate detail of the forest layout.

The wind is beginning to pickup and the air feels damp as it whips across the parties faces. A few moments later something can be heard stirring in the woods again, it appears the flare's effect has ended...

Spoiler

Sigil > Has recovered most magical energies (70%)
Bookkeeper > Is able to use power words again.

[close]

Spoiler

I'll be changing how spells/powerwords are cue'd up, so it gives the player a better idea of what they have available to use.

[close]

[Mysticsage]

DAMAGE]
SCT   Mind
DMG  Tired
ERT   HEALTHY

[ALIGNMENT]
HERO   10
VILLAIN   0

Sigil did his best to memorize the root to the path away from the camp. He was now more certain then ever that this was just another game someone was playing with them. He was tired of tests if this even was part of the process any more.

Before heading out he drew a small magical marker in a near by tree with some arcane power. This would hopefully stop things from going out of hand if anything went wrong. With that done, he closed his eyes for a moment feeling slightly better with his power returning. Focusing his energies in his palm small specks of light like fireflies began to coalesce until if formed a floating orb no larger then a tense ball. It shown a soft pastel white a warming color or so he felt something less harsh to the eyes. All the easier to make out any details within the wood.

Casts summon light

Finding the path that he had seen before he began walking, motioning for the others to follow curious as to what they might find and wishing that he would soon be home again back safe in his own bed.  He was tired but the small rest was at least a start. His free hand fiddling with the strange rock in his pocket.