The Eye of Anubis: Book Eight

[The Whistler]

Otto squints at his notepad. Steps two feet to the left. Squints at it again. Makes a few more cross-hatchings with his pencil. It occurs to you that Otto has been sketching *something* for the past several minutes, while the conversation has been going on; unfortunately, he's tall enough and bulky enough that it's difficult to look over his shoulder.

There is no conceivable way for an accurate-to-the-meter topographical map of a sleeping demon-colossus to look like blueprints for a steam-powered grist mill. On the other hand, this *was* the Dream Realm.

The gunsmith tapped Khalil's shoulder. "Ah--best to--not--ahem. Rotate three degrees to the counterclockwise? No, not that far--yes. It is best to go in *that* direction."

Aiding another on Survival! Doc, you want to finish this out?

[DocBeard]

Tomas blinks at the compass, and the road, and the compass again. "Also, I think the little squiggly line here is where the river starts. The acid river, I mean..."

Khalil is a way better survivalist than Tomas, but Tomas is enough of a scholar to know that sometimes, maps get little stains and whatnot on them that can be deadly in the wrong light.

(OOC: Done and done.)

[NeoTiamat]

??? ???????? ?? ??????, ????????? ?????, ?????
???? ??th, ???, ?:?? PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Successes: 3
Failures: 0

Somehow or other, you managed to figure out where in Ezra's name you would be going. This turned out to be a bit trickier than imagined, seeing as Ronoph was a giant insect demon, and insects don't really have hearts, per se. Then again, demons weren't known for being consistent in their internal anatomy.

The heart would be roughly where it would be on a human, but centered higher and deeper. Still, the safest path still seemed to be going down the throat and hoping to find some passageway, or barring that, making one... as far as getting to the mouth went... perhaps going up the tail, then over the shoulder and into the mouth? One would avoid most of the acidic drool, and the slope was gentler.

Now one just had to get there.


Kuzan succeeds on a Heal Check
Andre, aided by Lia, succeeds on a Knowledge: Arcana Check
Khalil, aided by Charles, Otto, and Tomas, succeeds on a Survival Check

[lostboy]

{OOC: nice work everyone , and cheers to all of you for making up for my crappy dice rolling!]

Having had the route pointed out to him Khalil nods in thanks and then walks in silence for a moment, but as he goes his step becomes surer.

Soon he is leading the rest of the party on odd detours, that appear to make no sense, until you look back and notice sinkholes or vague signs of acid bubbling up.

[OOC: 34 on survival this time as Khalil gets his groove on, KK you want to rock a climb check? Khalil will aid if needed]

[DocBeard]

"I still can't believe..." Tomas trails off, shaking his head. They were inside a demon's body. He looks a little weakly at Otto, shrugging finally. Does it really matter that no one at home would ever believe them?

[Kaitou Kage]

"Hand me the rope," Kuzan said. He'd passed the two ropes off earlier to have someone tie them together. Kuzan smiled a mischievous smile, like he was up to something he shouldn't get caught doing. He looped one end of the rope around one wrist and began running his hands across the side until he found a good catch to hold onto.

"Someone hold on and let me know when the rope runs out," he commanded. Then, without another moment's hesitation, he lifted himself up and climbed.

It was like watching a squirrel run up a tree. Kuzan scurried quickly, as if his hands and feet had glue on them. The rope, it seemed, was for everyone else.

When he reached a decent landing spot, he braced himself and turned around.

"All right," he said, "Come on up."

Got a 19 on my Climb check so I'm good. Hopefully these efforts will help others get to the top more easily. Climb on up!

Are we allowed to take 10 on these?

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Right, up we go," Charles says, suiting deed to word and scrambling up the path laid out by Kuzan's rope. Just in case, of course, he has a certain word on the tip of his tongue--the one that will allow him to float down like a feather (or, better still, float up like a feather).

Better yet--if somebody else falls, which is much more likely--not because Charles is an expert mountaineer, but because he isn't. Since he will not be doing any free climbing and is reasonably light on his pins, he's not terribly likely to come to grief. Someone at the lead, working without a rope, is more likely to need the assistance.

[The Whistler]

Otto returns Tomas' glance in similar fashion, as he fishes out his own coil of rope from somewhere in his pack. Holds it at arm's length, appraisingly, talking to the graduate student absently out of the side of his mouth.

[Lamordian]"See, a couple of months back--"

--unspool, loop, measure, unloop, unsheathe, cut, sheathe--

"--I made a resolution. I figured--"

--wind wind wind turn, loop, wind wind wind pull--

"--That if we all get out of this alive, and if I get back home--"

--twist twist pull over under around through pull--

"--And someone comes up to me and says "Hey! How was your trip?--"

--test inspect inspect adjust readjust--

"--I'm going to change the subject."

Otto links the carabiner onto his full-body harness, tugging it to make sure it doesn't slip. "Is anybody else wanting one of these?"

Burning one charge of the Gloves for a 22 Use Rope check.

[NeoTiamat]

??? ???????? ?? ??????, ????????? ?????, ?????
???? ??th, ???, ?:?? PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Successes: 7
Failures: 0

Climbing Ronoph was... easier than one would have expected, strangely. Once you had committed yourselves, the paths between the rivers of acids, the deep ravines, the vents of lethal gas just seemed to reveal themselves. The climb, while irksome, fell with equal ease to the right application of magic, rope, and ingenuity. Mostly rope though.

So it was that some (four? five? twenty?) hours after you arrived, you stood atop Ronoph's shoulder, gazing out across the dreaming desert of the Sebuan Nightmare-scape. There was no Ruse nor Monastery to be seen, and in fact, the entire land just seemed to be flat desert, sand and stone in equal profusion, sprinkled with rocky outcroppings. As a matter of fact, the only thing at all noticeable was the huge mountain some twenty or thirty miles due east.

...Now that you thought of it, that mountain sort of looked like Mt. Ronoph.

Spot DC 30. This has no relevance to the Skill Challenge.


Kuzan succeeds on a Heal Check
Andre, aided by Lia, succeeds on a Knowledge: Arcana Check
Khalil, aided by Charles, Otto, and Tomas, succeeds on a Survival Check

Khalil succeeds on a Survival Check
Kuzan succeeds on a Climb Check
Otto succeeds on a Use Rope Check
Charles trades in a Feather Fall for a success.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan's head swung back and forth as he looked for his next perch when suddenly, the priest stopped and stared intently into the distance.

"Get the rope ready," he said intently, "There are people over there in the distance, on the shoulder." He pointed hastily, then slung the rope over his shoulder once more and spiderlike began scaling the bug-cliff.

17 on my climb, 30+ on my spot.

When he reached the pinnacle of his climb, he stopped and stared out toward the group. Then he frowned.

"You all will want to get up here," he said quickly, "Those other people are waving at us."

[The Whistler]

Otto turns around, following Kuzan's gaze. "Vas ist?"

The gunsmith squints at the specks on the opposing mountain for ten seconds or so. Then, seized by a sudden impulse, he waves one hand in the air over his head, rather conspicuously.

Is that...

[yalenusveler]

"Are we sure they're other people? They could be shapeshifted dreamspawn." Andre said, trying to get a better look at these people Kuzan had spotted after making his way up. "It would be rather like them to try and slow us down.."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

There is a brief 'whoosh' of beating pinions, and Lia alights next to the others, folding her wings back under her cloak. "You know, gentlemen," she says, "it would really be tragic if we had been climbing the wrong giant demon. And worse yet if there are multiple giant demons waiting to cause intolerable chaos here. It is an odd thing to actually hope that malicious dreamspawn are trying to trick us, but still ... I do not have the Fly spell handy, but I could go over under my own power and check, if you all insist. Or we could simply continue tracking down the heart of this demon ...?"

(OOC: Lia flies the brief distance up to Kuzan, rather than climbs.)

[lostboy]

"Or we could just take a closer look?" Khalil asks retorically as he returns from a quick survey of the shoulder area.

[OOC: Search 17 bloody dice roller gave me a 4... anyone facing doing some aiding?]

The desert guide pulls his spyglass from a pouch. Extended the brass device he places it to hsi eye and scans the mountain in the distance.

[OOC: Spot: 18 the dice roller really hates me....]

[Nathan of the FoS]

Charles squints in the direction of the people mentioned on the strange demonic mountain, and half-smiles.

"It's us," he says, with a certainty that is more based on intuition than anything resembling a way to prove his hypothesis. "The demon is repeated indefinitely throughout the dreamscape, and so are we."