The Forgotten Wish

Rick is ready to go down, hand still resting on Pallen's shoulder.

"Lead on friend Oren!"

"Well, if it's a long vertical shaft that we have to traverse, and there isn't some sort of magic that gets us through it, we'd better hope it's got stairs.  I'm sure you've never seen a centaur climb a ladder and you're not about to."

The groups split up, Oren leading Sylvera to this "brain room", while Asimi leads the others downward into the basement. Rick, realizing Oren isn't the one leading the charge downward, likely heads in whatever direction he finds most exciting.

Up above, it doesn't take long in each case for Oren to escort Sylvera to the room in question, still exactly the same as Oren left. Maybe..? Oren gets the sense that maybe the puddles on the floor are just ever so slightly smaller than they were, but it's hard to be sure. The light continues its soft blinking.

(Will Sylvera touch the stone? If so, give me an intelligence save.)

---

Meanwhile, the others move down below into the basement, where they find a series of narrow, almost claustrophobic hallways. There's a soft humm that echoes through these halls, and many pipes run along the wall and ceiling, before eventually disappearing into various entry points in said ceiling. Asimi has really only gone through the central hallway before, where she found what most resembles a furnace. One she had briefly worried before was going to explode or something, but luckily still seems to be working. Though, not completely without trouble, as becomes apparent in the fact that whole sections of the basement have been flooded in the black goop that some have seen before. There is evidently more machinery down here, including that "shaft" or whatever it is Oren mentioned he saw, but it would require going through at least some sections of this black goop... Or find some way to pass it by.

int save: 16

17

As Sylvera touches the stone, she is bombarded with overwhelming information, but just like Oren, persists with only the briefest hint of a headache before it abates. Nothing has changed from Oren's earlier perception, with the exception that whatever reserves this place is operating on, are only growing lesser. Like before, the tower essentially feels like an extension of her body, and while each part right now still feels foreign she's sure she could try and figure out more if she... Flexed these new muscles? Focused on them? There are no real words in common to describe this feeling but some kind of innate sense, like one would see, hear, touch, smell, but it being none of those things.

"This is it," Asimi informs the others when they arrive downstairs, a slight grimace on her face upon seeing the state of things, "And the extent of what else I know, the furnace is that way," She says, pointing in the direction she remembers taking, "Where these other halls go I can't say."

Stepping towards the closest puddle of the strange liquid she examines it for a moment before taking a more direct approach then others might have, prodding at it a few times with her boot she then plants that same foot down on it directly. Intent on determining if they can ignore it for now or not. 

(What would you describe Asimi's boots as? Leather? Are they well maintained, polished? Or more well worn?)

(Leather, definitely worn but still maintained enough to be solid. Apologies it slipped my mind to describe them a bit more last night.)

Asimi boots are well worn, but well maintained, devoid of any obvious defects. She gives the material on the ground a faint nudge and finds it rippling like water, and then...

Not seem to react at all. Now a bit more daring, she steps in the goop. It feels thick like mud, yet the surface keeps rippling as if water... Long past asimi actually making movement. When she retrieves her foot out of the goop, it slowly stops, nothing seeming to have happened. 

"I feel like I'm not going to enjoy walking through this weird gunk with my bare hooves."

"Rick has a plan!"

Rick starts climbing on the walls, avoiding the goop and leading the way.

Rick passes the goop in a way that is very clever and clearly everyone should be able to replicate. He gets to this "furnace" without too much trouble, and could keep exploring down here simply by sticking to the wall. 

Rick's oft broken tail twitches in pleasure at his cleverness.

"It seems safe..." 

At the very least trudging through something akin to mud wouldn't be a new experience to Asimi... However strange this liquid might be. But for now there wasn't time to waste trying to figure out exactly what it was as she watched Rick simply scuttle across the walls.

Emboldened by her brief test she makes to walk directly across the muck to follow after Rick.

Asimi, satisfied with her test, proceeds to trek through the goop blocking the hallway. She makes it about halfway through, until...

Well, until she makes it one half through, before proceeding to the other side. It's evident that the material is strange, and it's not exactly pleasant to walk through. But her boots are completely untouched, and does not even seem to stick to her boots.

(If the others are intending to walk through, tell me the material of your boots, and if there are any obvious defects. Or what else you do, if anything.

Nuria ultimately decides to follow Breldo and whoever else down into the basement. Seeing the black goop she glances at the halfling, thinking this probably the same goop that they had found earlier, then jumps slightly when Asimi speaks up. With all that's happened, Nuria hadn't had much time to think about this elven woman. Where had she come from? She seemed far more open to the notion that magic is real than anyone she'd ever met before. How long had she known about that Comedy person? The young woman blinks when she realizes she'd been staring at Asimi from behind her dark hair. Then she jumps again when Rick exclaims his plan, only to do something only he could do...crawl on walls...Nuria will never get used to that greasy cat man...  Once again Asimi draws her attention as the elf steps into the goo, Nuria wonders if the woman is very brave or is just plain reckless. However, after Asimi seems to confirm that it's safe to walk through, Nuria slowly proceeds to follow her.

Nuria is also wearing leather boots. Though hers are considerably worn, probably even have a hole or two in them. She's also wearing thin wool socks inside them.

Sylvera doesn't know what to make of this... sensation. Nor does she really know what she can gain from trying to dig more information out of it. All she knows is that this does solidify the existence of magic. Slowly she pulls her fingers back from the gem, and stares at it for a moment. 

"Well," she says finally. "Isn't that something." Her tone sounds slightly irritated rather than shocked or intrigued. She turns to Oren, "That is all I wanted, to experience this for myself. Let's join the others." She takes the lead this time, heading in the direction the others went in--towards the basement. 

Nuria is next to try and traverse the black goop by simply walking through. The first step goes... Fine. She discovers, with some worry, that a few of the holes in her shoes allow the black into her shoes, and soon enough, as the fluid comes in contact with her skin, she-

Feels the slightly uneasy, cold sensation of it, but nothing more than that. Just more strangeness of it all, however. While feeling thick as mud, her shoe had filled alarmingly quick, as if the otherwise thick liquid has pushed its way in, yet at the same time does not even soak those woolen socks, instead just pushing through the myriad narrow gaps.

A very strange phenomenon, but again one that seems harmless.

What is maybe not so harmless is the realization that when she tries to lift her boot back up, she finds it glued stuck within the goop.