Chapter 1: The Avernus Job [First Layer of Hell]

[ManWithDoor]

"Good thinking, Ryld." He keeps contact with his Soul Coin, attempting to mentally commune with the shaman inhabitant. The wise man might have no special insight, but trying it unlikely to hurt. "Traveling to Cania to ask him personally would be interesting." He winks, making clear it is an attempt at levity.

[Shurijo]

As Tome circles the stones, he finds nothing of note about the stones. Their appearance seems rather mundane. The runes appear in the same manner as he has seen in countless books. As he passes each, he can feel the power draw him closer. Believing a lesser would not be able to resist touching a stone or entering the circle, Tome walks proudly around the area.

"Mephistopheles", Jez repeats aloud when Tome mentions the name. "That. That makes sense. Of course, he would want a soul as powerful as mine. If you were even a quarter as powerful in arcane arts as myself, then you might have fallen into his trap as well. He must be behind this trap. I guess it doesn't help that my family's infernal bloodline was said to be of the blood of Mephistopheles."

OOC

Tieflings lore

A long time ago, tieflings were (probably) humans who made pacts with devils which caused them to inherit horns (different shapes), thick tails, pointy teeth, eye colors (black, red, white, silver, gold) with no visible sclera or pupil, skin tones from all human shades to shades of red, and hair of black or brown or dark red, blue, or purple.

It's basically a "bloodline" like with other various fantasy races. Tieflings aren't inherently evil. Their appearance (and racial feats) are derived from their bloodline - but you can't tell which bloodline strictly by appearance. They aren't "bonded" to the originating devil's who blood tainted their ancestors, but some families do go that route due to ancestors/family, etc.

"You won't need to go to Cania. When we teleported into Avernus, we arrived near a gigantic slab of ice. I believe that was called the 'Mirror of Mephistar'. It could be a portal to Cania or a way to contact him."

She pulls out a large cylinder shaped device, which appears to be multiple soul coins wrapped together with string and pierced with a silver stake. The stake's heads are flatted to prevent the coins from separating.

At the same time, Log'thar feels the shaman's soul coin's desires become even stronger. "This is what you seek warrior. I will offer this item in exchange for knowledge of how to escape this trap. I believe I know what Mephistopheles seeks, but if you speak on my behalf to confirm then I will release this object."

"With the four of you, you could try touching all of the stones at once - one with each hand. That is one task that I cannot accomplish by myself."

[Vardaen]

"A arcanish of lesser will would certainly be tricked into entering this obvious trap. It is unfortunate that power and willpower are not the same for most of the softer races." Tome will not accept the insult without one of his own.

"Is this continued delay worth the effort?" Then the offer of Soul Coins is made. "Perhaps it is."

[RorytheRomulan]

"We could wander aimlessly for the tower or that slab of ice until we're desperate enough to drink from the Styx, or try to free the sorceress and gain a new friend, the means to find the tower, and some local currency to boot. I'm willing to give her idea a shot. If you guys lend a hand."

From what they said earlier about ol' 'Phisto, Jez' suggestion might do absolutely nothing, which is only the third-best case scenario, but Ryld keeps that thought to himself. He still holds the rapier behind his back.

ooc

I didn't know that the stones were that close together. You guys wanna give it a try?

[Shurijo]

OOC

If you want to try it, there's 8 stones (one per magic school). We can pretend whichever ones you want to touch (2 per player) are adjacent - just to make everything go quicker. So if someone wanted
necromancy and enchantment, then we can pretend that player can reach both. However, everybody would need to pick 2 (whoever goes last gets the last 2).

The 8 are: abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation

If only 1, 2, or 3 players want to try, then you could try to convince Jez to touch 2 others from the inside (might not be same result, but maybe, nobody knows, never been tried before that anyone here knows about). She said she's already exhausted her once/day touches, but maybe that might be different?

[Othniel]

"I suppose we may as well give it one attempt, but no more."

[ManWithDoor]

The paladin is confident in his power of faith in the might of Hell in protecting him from whatever untoward effects these Stones might inflict, although is less certain about the others. They seem competent, but he hasn't seen them in battle or strife. They might just perish instantly, but there is no way to know for sure unless they try.

"It seems worth the risk. I am in." He looks at the sigils, considering. "My strength would be useful in countering magic that tends toward direct change and control."

OOC

I'm volunteering for Enchantment and Transmutation. Seems to make sense, more or less.

[RorytheRomulan]

Ryld bites the inside of his lip, apprehensive still about testing the proposed solution. He hides it behind a smile and approaches the stones of Illusion and Conjuration.

"You'll have to touch the stone in the center, naturally," he says to the trapped tiefling. "You could touch another while you're at it."

He looks at Log'thar. "What do you think? Should we do it that way?"

ooc

Tapping Log'thar for Persuasion, if he agrees.

Trivia question: which school of magic is represented by the stone in the middle?

[Shurijo]

OOC

The stone in the middle (where Jez is at), is just an obelisk. There's no specific rune on that. The 8 magic school stones circle the taller obelisk and act as borders of the entrapment spell.

[Othniel]

"Evocation and Necromancy for me." Morneth glances between the stones. "I have a high tolerance for pain."