Khessa sighs: "It would be nice to detect magi here... I wonder how many of these items are potentially useful! But that would cost us time - while now it is better to give priority to severing the bond between the lich and the devils. Let's continue searching upstairs."
The blonde arcane warrior, maintaining her 'position of honor' next to the 'host' Lord Akkron, leads the way to the upper floor...
After you climb to the top of the stairs, you find yourselves in a library, and alone. Foliage grows deep red and orange over shelves filled with hundreds of books and scrolls. Fallen leaves form a rustling blanket across the floor. A desk covered in candles and a century’s worth of melted wax dominates the west side of the room. You see a recess for a door in the center, east of the room.
As the group enters the room, Vrox says, "No guards on this floor? Do you think that the High Mage just expects that the guards below would have stopped any intruders?" He sounds suspicious.
If nothing jumps out at them, Vrox will move around the room, looking for anything that might be a trap, magical ward, or hidden guardian. He'll stop at the the wax-covered desk first. (They don't know much about High Mage Varia, and Vrox is hoping that they could learn something about the lich before they come face to face with them. Maybe on or in the desk...?) Then he continues clockwise around the room until he reaches the door to the east.
Perception20, advantage from Sentinel Shield - keeping his eyes and ears open for traps or guards Investigation24 - searching the wax-covered desk for any information or clues about High Mage Varia
"It can be, if they were powerful Devils..." Khessa hypothesizes "...and forced to obey him".
If the blonde arcane warrior had been attracted by the armory below, she now feels almost physically pulled towards the scrolls and books that contain ages of magical knowledge... but she somehow manages to control herself: "First things first... The circle..."
Since there is clearly no magic circle in the room, the tall adventuress goes to open the door.
As the group enters the room, Vrox says, "No guards on this floor? Do you think that the High Mage just expects that the guards below would have stopped any intruders?" He sounds suspicious.
If nothing jumps out at them, Vrox will move around the room, looking for anything that might be a trap, magical ward, or hidden guardian. He'll stop at the the wax-covered desk first. (They don't know much about High Mage Varia, and Vrox is hoping that they could learn something about the lich before they come face to face with them. Maybe on or in the desk...?) Then he continues clockwise around the room until he reaches the door to the east.
Perception20, advantage from Sentinel Shield - keeping his eyes and ears open for traps or guards Investigation24 - searching the wax-covered desk for any information or clues about High Mage Varia
As you inspect the desk, you find a chain that is attached to something in the drawer, a trap mechanism of some type.
"It can be, if they were powerful Devils..." Khessa hypothesizes "...and forced to obey him".
If the blonde arcane warrior had been attracted by the armory below, she now feels almost physically pulled towards the scrolls and books that contain ages of magical knowledge... but she somehow manages to control herself: "First things first... The circle..."
Since there is clearly no magic circle in the room, the tall adventuress goes to open the door.
When you look inside, you see this is where Vairae conducts his necromantic experiments. The north of this chamber is filled with alchemical and arcane tools and supplies scattered over several tables. A blanket of red and orange leaves covers much of the floor, but where the floor is bare, glimpses of a circle of magical runes peek through. To the south, four beds hold corpses in varying states of decay, and beside them stand tables of dissection tools and embalming jars. Plants growing along the walls have enveloped one of the corpses.
Khessa's blue eyes light up with excitement: "I found the Circle! Everyone come near me, it's time to destroy it!"
The blonde arcane warrior explains her idea: "I will create a large and incredibly heavy cube of solid platinum high up, corresponding to the circle, so that it will fall on top of it. I already did this some time ago to destroy some evil magical idols of the Nefarious Duo... The impact will be tremendous and, just as the magical idols were unable to resist it, so should the floor on which the Circle is traced - Circle which, losing its integrity, will also lose its effectiveness".
"In case there is some... magical side effect related to the destruction of the Circle, we will all stand here, in the northern part of the room, which is easy to close. Master Akkron" the tall adventuress puts a hand on the shoulder of her undead mentor "will be ready to create a Wall of Force to completely block our section, as soon as my cube appears. That way, if a magical explosion of some kind occurs, the Wall of Force, being practically invulnerable - unless targeted with a very specific spell - will prevent us from being affected".
"What do you think?" Khessa asks for confirmation, before proceeding. "Shall we try this?"
"What do you think?" Khessa asks for confirmation, before proceeding. "Shall we try this?"
Vrox wrenches himself away from the interesting puzzle of the wax-covered desk and the chain / trap. Their first priority is the summoning circle, he reminds himself.
Vrox moves to join Khessa at the door. He asks, "Would dropping a great weight on the floor really damage the circle?" He looks up to see how high the ceiling is. "It's not like this is an idol to crush: it's a 'drawing' on the floor. Do you think that you could do that much damage to the floor? Wouldn't it be safer just to try breaking the spell that created this infernal circle?" Vrox volunteers to give that a try first. He admits that he's not a 'High Mage,' but the Fey spin many enchantments, and he has some experience in dispelling them.
[[OOC: Vrox doesn't tend to go through many of his spell slots in a day. He's wiling to burn a 3rd level slot to give it a try. If it's a 9th level spell, the DC 19 will be tough, but there's still a 35% chance to succeed. Too bad that Vrox didn't also learn Enhance Ability to provide advantage on the check. It looks like Clarac would have a 40% chance to succeed if she's willing to burn a spell slot on it.]]
[[ OOC: Khessa would also only have a 35% success rate with Dispel Magic... and spell slots are usually quite precious to her. She has never used them all up prematurely (which is a good thing, because it's thanks to spell slots that she can maintain her effectiveness at her level) but she still uses them quite a lot. That's why I thought about spending a 5th level slot on a 'tested' effect (the platinum block is so heavy that it will definitely break through the floor - thus ruining the Circle that is drawn on that floor) rather than an undetermined number of 3rd level slots. One 5' cube of solid platinum = 125 cubic feet of platinum = about 167,360 pounds (rounded down) - more than 305 tons (rounded down) - it's a pretty crazy weight, but, hey, platinum is a very heavy metal) ]]
Khessa explains: "The exceptional weight of the platinum cube I can create has been enough to destroy massive stone statues - and statues that were imbued with Nefarious Duo's magic, so potentially more resistant than normal. I expect it to break through the floor without difficulty. And since the Circle is drawn on the floor... that will ruin the Circle!"
The blonde arcane warrior shrugs at Vrox's suggestion: "Breaking the spell is an alternative that may seem better - but I don't know how easy it is to pull off. And there's always the remote possibility that the Circle's defenses include spells that warn the High Mage in case of attempted tampering... If that were the case, a failed Dispel Magic attempt could give us away. Instead, the approach I have in mind should work directly on the first attempt, limiting this risk".
"So... I propose to use the cube, as a first attempt" the tall adventuress concludes "because I need time, at least a minute, to summon it - it's not a matter of a few seconds as is typical for the most common spells. So it's an approach that I couldn't try quickly, in case the Dispel Magic failed and gave us away. On the contrary, if by chance the cube this time proved ineffective... switching to the Dispel Magic attempts would be a matter of seconds".
One 5' cube of solid platinum = 125 cubic feet of platinum = about 167,360 pounds (rounded down) - more than 305 tons (rounded down) - it's a pretty crazy weight, but, hey, platinum is a very heavy metal) ]]
[[OOC: One correction. A US ton (or short ton) is 2,000 pounds, so the platinum cube is "only" 83.68 tons.]]
"So... I propose to use the cube, as a first attempt" the tall adventuress concludes "because I need time, at least a minute, to summon it - it's not a matter of a few seconds as is typical for the most common spells. So it's an approach that I couldn't try quickly, in case the Dispel Magic failed and gave us away. On the contrary, if by chance the cube this time proved ineffective... switching to the Dispel Magic attempts would be a matter of seconds".
In the face of that reasoning, Vrox assents. He asks, "If it breaks through the floor...well, should I go downstairs and warn our infernal 'friend' before he's crushed by a block of solid platinum?" It's unclear to him how the different layers of the tree / tower stack up, but he imagines the platinum block breaking through this floor and the next and squashing Haraphaen downstairs in the room with the vine-lined paths.
Now Vrox just has to force himself to behave and be patient for 1 whole minute instead of going to look at the trap on the wax-covered desk in the adjacent room.
Tyekanik groans at the talk of waiting another minute. It seems like all they've done is talk since they got to this tree. "Are you sure that you don't want me to just destroy the circle?", he asks hopefully, hefting his weapon. "I'm sure that Annam's Greataxe would quickly demolish this wizard's scrawl."
[[OOC: You don't have to reply to Tyek. He just hadn't said anything in a while, so I thought that I'd remind folks that he's still here.]]
[[ OOC: Oh, thank you for the correction, I'll keep this in mind! ]]
Khessa admits: "I'm not sure if we're exactly above Haraphaen... but if you want to warn him that he should hug the wall (or wait a moment outside), it won't hurt."
The blonde arcane warrior smiles at Tyekanik: "I also have no doubts about the destructive potential of your axe, my friend - especially when you're the one swinging it. But it's safer if the work of destruction is done with a single blow."
At that point, if everyone is convinced of the proposed course of action, the tall adventuress proceeds...
Khessa admits: "I'm not sure if we're exactly above Haraphaen... but if you want to warn him that he should hug the wall (or wait a moment outside), it won't hurt."
At that point, if everyone is convinced of the proposed course of action, the tall adventuress proceeds...
Vrox and Tyek are basically fine with Khessa's plan.
Where are we going to stand while this is happening? Khessa suggested huddling in the north end of the room with the summoning circle, right? It seems like that would put some of us quite close to the summoning circle. Vrox suggests that if Khessa's spell has sufficient range, maybe the party should be way over in the "library" area, 30-ft or more away from the summoning circle. "What if the circle creates a rift that drags everything within 20-ft of it back to the Nine Hells when you destroy it?" Vrox is happy to discuss the possibilities with Lord Akkron to see what the lich thinks would be best to keep the party safe while destroying a summoning circle like this.
[[OOC: Vrox has proficiency in Arcana and is trying to provide Help for Lord Akkron's Arcana check.]]
Yes, when Khessa begins casting her spell, Vrox will Dash down the stairs to the first floor. He just stays for a moment to shout to Haraphaen to take cover on the spiral stairs. (It looks like those should be well out of the way of the summoning circle in case the platinum block crashes through the floors all the way to ground floor.) He shouts, in Infernal: "Haraphaen, hurry! Come here to the stairs!" And when he sees the devil approaching, he says cryptically with a wink, "You may hear a big boom. When you're free, I hope you will convince the other devils not to attack those who came here in disguise and set you all free from the High Mage's binding! If we can trick the High Mage and break his binding, imagine what we'd to a few common devils!"
Persuasion: 15, trying to convicnce Haraphaen to stay put and get the other devils not to attack the party
Vrox only waits long enough to deliver his message and see that Haraphaen received it. Then he dashes back upstairs and into position with the rest of the party.
When Clarac says that she's sending Weatherbee to be a decoy, he suggests that she have him lead the devils away from wherever Sir Sparhawk and the others are waiting.
Clarac passes on the message to Wetherbee, who agrees and attempts to lead the devils on a wild goose chase.
Near the summoning circle, Clarac stays close by, so that all involved can benefit from her aura of protection, and so she can cast Dispel Magic very quickly if things go wrong.
OOC:
Concentration: Locate Object (about 7 minutes remain by my estimate)
"I had chosen that area because it was easily closed by the Wall of Force that I asked Master Akkron to be ready to cast..." Khessa explains "So a possible magical rift should not be able to suck us in, because the influence could not go beyond the Wall of Force".
"But actually the layout you proposed also allows the same measure of defense" the blonde arcane warrior concedes "so why not? It will be fine to stay in the other room".
At that point, the tall adventuress puts the agreed plan into action.
As your spell works, and the heavy block falls upon the circle, it detonates in a loud explosion, but the block appears to take most of that damage as well. The energy of the explosion stayed to within only 10 feet of the circle. The explosion does rattle the room but does not collapse it, nor does the weight of the block.
Khessa sighs: "It would be nice to detect magi here... I wonder how many of these items are potentially useful! But that would cost us time - while now it is better to give priority to severing the bond between the lich and the devils. Let's continue searching upstairs."
The blonde arcane warrior, maintaining her 'position of honor' next to the 'host' Lord Akkron, leads the way to the upper floor...
After you climb to the top of the stairs, you find yourselves in a library, and alone. Foliage grows deep red and orange over shelves filled with hundreds of books and scrolls. Fallen leaves form a rustling blanket across the floor. A desk covered in candles and a century’s worth of melted wax dominates the west side of the room. You see a recess for a door in the center, east of the room.
As the group enters the room, Vrox says, "No guards on this floor? Do you think that the High Mage just expects that the guards below would have stopped any intruders?" He sounds suspicious.
If nothing jumps out at them, Vrox will move around the room, looking for anything that might be a trap, magical ward, or hidden guardian. He'll stop at the the wax-covered desk first. (They don't know much about High Mage Varia, and Vrox is hoping that they could learn something about the lich before they come face to face with them. Maybe on or in the desk...?) Then he continues clockwise around the room until he reaches the door to the east.
Perception 20, advantage from Sentinel Shield - keeping his eyes and ears open for traps or guards
Investigation 24 - searching the wax-covered desk for any information or clues about High Mage Varia
"It can be, if they were powerful Devils..." Khessa hypothesizes "...and forced to obey him".
If the blonde arcane warrior had been attracted by the armory below, she now feels almost physically pulled towards the scrolls and books that contain ages of magical knowledge... but she somehow manages to control herself: "First things first... The circle..."
Since there is clearly no magic circle in the room, the tall adventuress goes to open the door.
As you inspect the desk, you find a chain that is attached to something in the drawer, a trap mechanism of some type.
When you look inside, you see this is where Vairae conducts his necromantic experiments. The north of this chamber is filled with alchemical and arcane tools and supplies scattered over several tables. A blanket of red and orange leaves covers much of the floor, but where the floor is bare, glimpses of a circle of magical runes peek through. To the south, four beds hold corpses in varying states of decay, and beside them stand tables of dissection tools and embalming jars. Plants growing along the walls have enveloped one of the corpses.
Khessa's blue eyes light up with excitement: "I found the Circle! Everyone come near me, it's time to destroy it!"
The blonde arcane warrior explains her idea: "I will create a large and incredibly heavy cube of solid platinum high up, corresponding to the circle, so that it will fall on top of it. I already did this some time ago to destroy some evil magical idols of the Nefarious Duo... The impact will be tremendous and, just as the magical idols were unable to resist it, so should the floor on which the Circle is traced - Circle which, losing its integrity, will also lose its effectiveness".
"In case there is some... magical side effect related to the destruction of the Circle, we will all stand here, in the northern part of the room, which is easy to close. Master Akkron" the tall adventuress puts a hand on the shoulder of her undead mentor "will be ready to create a Wall of Force to completely block our section, as soon as my cube appears. That way, if a magical explosion of some kind occurs, the Wall of Force, being practically invulnerable - unless targeted with a very specific spell - will prevent us from being affected".
"What do you think?" Khessa asks for confirmation, before proceeding. "Shall we try this?"
Vrox wrenches himself away from the interesting puzzle of the wax-covered desk and the chain / trap. Their first priority is the summoning circle, he reminds himself.
Vrox moves to join Khessa at the door. He asks, "Would dropping a great weight on the floor really damage the circle?" He looks up to see how high the ceiling is. "It's not like this is an idol to crush: it's a 'drawing' on the floor. Do you think that you could do that much damage to the floor? Wouldn't it be safer just to try breaking the spell that created this infernal circle?" Vrox volunteers to give that a try first. He admits that he's not a 'High Mage,' but the Fey spin many enchantments, and he has some experience in dispelling them.
[[OOC: Vrox doesn't tend to go through many of his spell slots in a day. He's wiling to burn a 3rd level slot to give it a try. If it's a 9th level spell, the DC 19 will be tough, but there's still a 35% chance to succeed. Too bad that Vrox didn't also learn Enhance Ability to provide advantage on the check. It looks like Clarac would have a 40% chance to succeed if she's willing to burn a spell slot on it.]]
[[ OOC: Khessa would also only have a 35% success rate with Dispel Magic... and spell slots are usually quite precious to her. She has never used them all up prematurely (which is a good thing, because it's thanks to spell slots that she can maintain her effectiveness at her level) but she still uses them quite a lot. That's why I thought about spending a 5th level slot on a 'tested' effect (the platinum block is so heavy that it will definitely break through the floor - thus ruining the Circle that is drawn on that floor) rather than an undetermined number of 3rd level slots.
One 5' cube of solid platinum = 125 cubic feet of platinum = about 167,360 pounds (rounded down) - more than 305 tons (rounded down) - it's a pretty crazy weight, but, hey, platinum is a very heavy metal) ]]
Khessa explains: "The exceptional weight of the platinum cube I can create has been enough to destroy massive stone statues - and statues that were imbued with Nefarious Duo's magic, so potentially more resistant than normal. I expect it to break through the floor without difficulty. And since the Circle is drawn on the floor... that will ruin the Circle!"
The blonde arcane warrior shrugs at Vrox's suggestion: "Breaking the spell is an alternative that may seem better - but I don't know how easy it is to pull off. And there's always the remote possibility that the Circle's defenses include spells that warn the High Mage in case of attempted tampering... If that were the case, a failed Dispel Magic attempt could give us away. Instead, the approach I have in mind should work directly on the first attempt, limiting this risk".
"So... I propose to use the cube, as a first attempt" the tall adventuress concludes "because I need time, at least a minute, to summon it - it's not a matter of a few seconds as is typical for the most common spells. So it's an approach that I couldn't try quickly, in case the Dispel Magic failed and gave us away. On the contrary, if by chance the cube this time proved ineffective... switching to the Dispel Magic attempts would be a matter of seconds".
[[OOC: One correction. A US ton (or short ton) is 2,000 pounds, so the platinum cube is "only" 83.68 tons.]]
In the face of that reasoning, Vrox assents. He asks, "If it breaks through the floor...well, should I go downstairs and warn our infernal 'friend' before he's crushed by a block of solid platinum?" It's unclear to him how the different layers of the tree / tower stack up, but he imagines the platinum block breaking through this floor and the next and squashing Haraphaen downstairs in the room with the vine-lined paths.
Now Vrox just has to force himself to behave and be patient for 1 whole minute instead of going to look at the trap on the wax-covered desk in the adjacent room.
Tyekanik groans at the talk of waiting another minute. It seems like all they've done is talk since they got to this tree. "Are you sure that you don't want me to just destroy the circle?", he asks hopefully, hefting his weapon. "I'm sure that Annam's Greataxe would quickly demolish this wizard's scrawl."
[[OOC: You don't have to reply to Tyek. He just hadn't said anything in a while, so I thought that I'd remind folks that he's still here.]]
[[ OOC: Oh, thank you for the correction, I'll keep this in mind! ]]
Khessa admits: "I'm not sure if we're exactly above Haraphaen... but if you want to warn him that he should hug the wall (or wait a moment outside), it won't hurt."
The blonde arcane warrior smiles at Tyekanik: "I also have no doubts about the destructive potential of your axe, my friend - especially when you're the one swinging it. But it's safer if the work of destruction is done with a single blow."
At that point, if everyone is convinced of the proposed course of action, the tall adventuress proceeds...
Vrox and Tyek are basically fine with Khessa's plan.
Where are we going to stand while this is happening? Khessa suggested huddling in the north end of the room with the summoning circle, right? It seems like that would put some of us quite close to the summoning circle. Vrox suggests that if Khessa's spell has sufficient range, maybe the party should be way over in the "library" area, 30-ft or more away from the summoning circle. "What if the circle creates a rift that drags everything within 20-ft of it back to the Nine Hells when you destroy it?" Vrox is happy to discuss the possibilities with Lord Akkron to see what the lich thinks would be best to keep the party safe while destroying a summoning circle like this.
[[OOC: Vrox has proficiency in Arcana and is trying to provide Help for Lord Akkron's Arcana check.]]
Yes, when Khessa begins casting her spell, Vrox will Dash down the stairs to the first floor. He just stays for a moment to shout to Haraphaen to take cover on the spiral stairs. (It looks like those should be well out of the way of the summoning circle in case the platinum block crashes through the floors all the way to ground floor.) He shouts, in Infernal: "Haraphaen, hurry! Come here to the stairs!" And when he sees the devil approaching, he says cryptically with a wink, "You may hear a big boom. When you're free, I hope you will convince the other devils not to attack those who came here in disguise and set you all free from the High Mage's binding! If we can trick the High Mage and break his binding, imagine what we'd to a few common devils!"
Persuasion: 15, trying to convicnce Haraphaen to stay put and get the other devils not to attack the party
Vrox only waits long enough to deliver his message and see that Haraphaen received it. Then he dashes back upstairs and into position with the rest of the party.
Clarac passes on the message to Wetherbee, who agrees and attempts to lead the devils on a wild goose chase.
Near the summoning circle, Clarac stays close by, so that all involved can benefit from her aura of protection, and so she can cast Dispel Magic very quickly if things go wrong.
OOC:
Concentration: Locate Object (about 7 minutes remain by my estimate)
"I had chosen that area because it was easily closed by the Wall of Force that I asked Master Akkron to be ready to cast..." Khessa explains "So a possible magical rift should not be able to suck us in, because the influence could not go beyond the Wall of Force".
"But actually the layout you proposed also allows the same measure of defense" the blonde arcane warrior concedes "so why not? It will be fine to stay in the other room".
At that point, the tall adventuress puts the agreed plan into action.
As your spell works, and the heavy block falls upon the circle, it detonates in a loud explosion, but the block appears to take most of that damage as well. The energy of the explosion stayed to within only 10 feet of the circle. The explosion does rattle the room but does not collapse it, nor does the weight of the block.
Khessa looks intently... is the Circle ruined by the impact and the explosion? Or there will be a need to start trying to Dispel Magic?
Your block is hiding the circle now