OOC: Sorry this took so long. I forgot to check back after deciding to wait to see if anyone wanted to add anything before I posted again.
Grathna gives Vorenus a pointed look after his explanation, clearly still irked but choosing to move the conversation forward. "Misaligned gears, weakened glyphs, and a lingering enchantment ... This stabilizer's got more problems than Tinkerwick let on." She sighs, placing her hands on her hips. "If what you're saying is right and there's sabotage — or carelessness — we'll figure it out. I’ll send someone to fetch the blueprints and spell logs to see who’s been near this thing."
The half-orc turns toward the flickering glyphs Diego pointed out. "Those glyphs shouldn’t be flickering. They’re critical for channeling the stabilizer’s energy flow. If they’re out of sync, everything connected to them could destabilize." She takes a step closer to inspect them herself, though without casting a spell.
Her eyes flick to the faint traces of magic lingering in the room. "Whatever spell’s been cast here, it doesn’t belong. I’ll get our scribes to confirm if anyone had clearance to cast enchantments on this stabilizer. If not, we’re dealing with tampering — and I want to know who’s behind it."
Grathna gestures toward the planar stabilizer. "Do what you can to pinpoint the root cause of this disruption. But be careful — any mistake could make things worse. And no more smacking the machine, wizard."
As she turns toward the doorway, she pauses and glances back. "I’ll be back once I’ve got answers." With that, she strides out, leaving the group to continue their investigation.
Results of Iromae’s Arcana Check (24):
As Iromae examines the misaligned gears and focuses on the flickering glyphs, her sharp mind pieces together a likely explanation:
The misaligned gears may be more than a mechanical issue — they could be interfering with the planar stabilizer's ability to harmonize magical frequencies. This could explain why the glyphs are flickering. The weakened glyphs on the far side of the room seem directly tied to this instability.
There’s a high probability that the enchantment lingering in the room wasn’t designed to help the stabilizer — it’s dampening its ability to regulate planar energy. The enchantment might even be causing the gear misalignment by disrupting the device’s natural flow of magic.
As Grantha heads out, Iromae says, "It would be good to get the blueprints. But as I look at this, I think the misaligned gears could be what is interfering with those stabilizing glyphs. And not only that, whatever the enchantment is must be dampening the stabilizer. It might even be that enchantment that is causing the misalignment in the first place. More of an issue with the flow of magic than something actually mechanically wrong." She pauses a moment, looking at the others. "Until we understand that other magic at work here, we shouldn't be trying to mess with the mechanical parts. It might just force more problems with the flow of magical energy."
"Mmm. I’m afraid I can’t do anything to completely dispel the enchantment magic that seems to be causing all of this. But..."Shenua taps her chin thoughtfully. "I like Diego's idea: perhaps we don’t need to dispel it entirely. If we could disrupt it just for a moment, and use that tiny window to align the gears, it might work. Of course, we’d need to coordinate everything perfectly to pull it off at the exact moment."
She paces idly around the stabilizer, her thoughts spilling out as she examines it. "Let’s see. The opposite of Enchantment is Abjuration, right? Enchantment focuses on manipulation and influencing behaviour, while Abjuration is all about protection, nullification and warding against magical effects. What if we cast an Abjuration spell, like a Shield, to counter the enchantment for a few seconds, and then we do all the aligning? It might be worth a try."
Shenua turns to her friends and adds, "In any case, let’s wait for Grathna. Let’s hear what she thinks about this, and what information she’s been able to gather."
“Ah, I see, abjuration…”. Vorenus takes out his spellbook, looking through it madly and cannot find anything that can help. He instead starts to take notes, writing down their thoughts thus far, making a drawing of the device. “I don’t seem to have anything handy prepared….” He waits for Grathna, afraid to cause any more disruption… for now. He remembers something and pulls out his silver needle, considering it, wondering if he could use it as a focus in some way.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
"I could cast a shield like spell," Iromae says. "I'm not sure though, just casting a random spell. Sure, it's abjuration, and maybe it would create an effect with the enchantment. It just doesn't feel like a shield is what we need."
She again tries to think through how the spell might influence the existing enchantment magical energy. (Arcana: 17)
Diego still studying the glyphs and listening, sorry friends, I've got nothing in the way shield spells. Now if you'd like I can charm our gracious half-orcen host if you think it'd help, but I wouldn't want to be around once the spell ends. She looks like the type that might fail to see the humor in such a spell.
However, if I remember correctly, enchantment spells can go both ways, benefit or hinder. Iromae my beautiful clerical muse, would your order have a spell for detecting traps? I'd be interested to find out if this spell had a hindering enchantment to it.
First, based on the way the glyphs are flickering and how the magic interacts with the stabilizer, you suspect the enchantment is not designed to completely disable the device. Instead, it seems to be interfering with its normal function, like a dampening effect rather than a full shutdown. This aligns with what Diego observed about the weakened glyphs.
Second, you recall that some enchantments, particularly compulsion-based magic, can subtly redirect energy rather than simply suppress it. If this were meant as sabotage, the culprit might have intended to gradually destabilize the device rather than cause an obvious malfunction.
Finally, while you can’t determine the exact spell used, you suspect the enchantment is subtly redirecting or suppressing magical flow. If this is the case, then disrupting it — even temporarily — might allow the stabilizer to resume normal function.
You are now fairly confident that the problem is primarily magical in nature rather than mechanical, and any attempt to fix the gears without first addressing the enchantment could be futile — or even dangerous.
Grathna returns just as Diego finishes speaking, holding a set of rolled-up blueprints under one arm and a ledger in the other. Her expression is serious.
"Well, I’ve got the schematics and some records on who’s been working near the stabilizer. First off —" she unrolls the blueprints on a nearby workbench, pinning the edges with small metal weights. "This should give you a better idea of how the gears and glyphs interact. You were right — those gears regulate arcane flow. If they’re misaligned, they could be disrupting the glyphs, not the other way around."
She flips open the ledger and runs a finger down the list of names. "As for enchantments, there’s nothing logged about any active spellwork being added to the stabilizer. That means whatever’s lingering here wasn’t officially sanctioned. Could be someone trying to fix it without clearance — or sabotage." Her eyes narrow. "Either way, I want it gone."
Grathna crosses her arms, looking over the group. "I agree that blindly casting magic isn’t the answer, but you’re onto something. If we can disrupt the lingering enchantment just long enough to realign the gears, that might stabilize the whole thing. Just need the right spell — something that interrupts magic without making things worse."
She glances at Diego. "A spell to detect magical traps? That might tell us exactly what kind of enchantment we’re dealing with. If this thing was tampered with, we need to know how before we go messing with it further."
Grathna steps back, nodding toward the blueprints. "You figure out what magic’s at play here, and I’ll see if Tinkerwick can get you the right tools to handle the realignment when the time comes. Just don’t break my stabilizer while you’re at it."
Iromae slowly turns to look at Diego, blushing ever so slightly at his effusive praise. "Umm, I do have a spell at the ready to find traps. It is a Divination spell, not Abjuration. But Grantha's right, it would give insight into the nature of the danger posed."
Having recovered her poise a bit, she continues speaking. "Thinking more about this whole situation, it makes sense that it could be an enchantment at work. They can have a dampening effect, rather than just completely disabling magic. Like with compulsion spells, something I have practiced at a bit. In any case, I'm convinced that this is not simply a mechanical problem. The gears are not working right because the flow of magic energy is disturbed by the enchantment. Fixing the gears without addressing the enchantment would be futile if not dangerous!"
Realizing her voice had gotten louder and more energetic as she speaks, after shouting out the last line she stops, a bit surprised at her exuberance. 'This is exciting though trying to solve this puzzle,' she thinks. Calming herself a bit, she continued. "I suggest we try disrupting the enchantment magic that is here and see if that lets the stabilizer return to normal. Or at least temporarily return to normal. If we get that far, then we can figure out how to make it a permanent fix."
"First though, I may as well call upon Deneir to give me more insight into the trap. For it seems that if someone put this effect into place, that was their intention," Iromae concludes. "But I'll only do it if we're agreed."
"It’s a good idea, of course, Iromae. Go for it,"Shenua replies. "Meanwhile, I’d like to study the blueprints, just in case."
The tiefling walks over to the table where Grathna has laid out the blueprints. Leaning over the diagrams, she studies them intently.
"Let’s see... Vorenus, since you asked about helping with aligning the gears, check this out. It’s important that we know the components of the device."She traces a finger over the diagrams, pointing out key parts—the core, the harmonic regulators, the cooling vents… Everything is meticulously detailed. As she refreshes her memory, the artificer hopes to be better prepared for the alignment when the time comes. At the same time, she scans the blueprints carefully, checking for any discrepancies between the diagrams and the actual device—just in case they’ve missed something.
Vorenus goes over and looks over Shenua’s shoulder, trying to make out the blueprints. He looks up from time to time at the machinery to get his bearings, to locate the faulty machinery that would need realignment once the magical effect was addressed. “Here, and there. How long do we have after the first part before we have to do the second? Almost instantaneous? Let’s see what Ironmae can discern…”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Diego winks at Iromae as he pulls his instrument around and softly starts playing, as he strolls the room using detect magic to look for anything odd, out if the way or just seems off, he sings softly a song, a solitary tree may weather the storm, yet a forest stands strong in every form, in shared laughter in tears that fall, together we rise above it all. Giving everyone Bardic Inspiration, for the next 10 minutes you may add a d6 to any d20 roll.
With everyone seeming to approve, Iromae swiftly moves to cast Find Traps. She whispers, "Deneir, grant me knowledge of the traps in the place. Help me, your servant, in this endeavor." Her hands move as she speaks, directing the magic of this spell.
Iromae casts Find Traps, seeking divine insight into any hidden dangers within the stabilizer.
The spell does not reveal any traditional trap, such as a mechanical or explicitly designed magical trigger meant to cause harm. However, she does receive an intuitive understanding that the enchantment affecting the device is acting as an obstacle, interfering with the stabilizer’s function in a way that could be dangerous if handled incorrectly.
Essentially, the magic itself is not meant to be a trap, but its unintended effects mimic one, as it creates a hazardous disruption in the flow of arcane energy. If left unchecked, it could worsen over time or react unpredictably to further disturbances.
Grathna, who has been quietly listening, frowns. "So not a trap in the usual sense, but a malfunction that might as well be one? That tracks. What do the blueprints tell us?"
OOC: I guess I forgot to roll here? Can I roll at advantage since Vorenus is checking with me? Well, in any case, my first roll was the highest. Rolled Investigation twice and first I got a 20,and then a 16. Boosting it to 22 with Diego's bardic inspiration.
"Let’s see... Vorenus, since you asked about helping with aligning the gears, check this out. It’s important that we know the components of the device."She traces a finger over the diagrams, pointing out key parts—the core, the harmonic regulators, the cooling vents… Everything is meticulously detailed. As she refreshes her memory, the artificer hopes to be better prepared for the alignment when the time comes. At the same time, she scans the blueprints carefully, checking for any discrepancies between the diagrams and the actual device—just in case they’ve missed something.
Iromae quickly relays to the others what she learned from her spell. "I guess now we just need to counter the enchantment and see if we can repair the stabilizer." She turns to listen to Grathna. "Yes, did you guys get a look at the blueprints?"
OOC: Sorry! I didn't realize that was a skill check.
Shenua, with Vorenus’s help and Diego’s Bardic Inspiration, successfully investigates the blueprints with a roll of 22.
Shenua’s Findings from the Blueprints:
- Core Alignment is Critical – The blueprints confirm that the gears must be precisely aligned to regulate the planar energy flow. Any misalignment directly impacts the stabilizing glyphs, which could explain their flickering instability.
- Harmonic Regulators Are Key – The device does not rely solely on the glyphs for stability. There are harmonic regulators designed to balance magical energy. If these are out of sync, they could amplify magical interference instead of stabilizing it.
- An Unaccounted Enchantment – The schematics do not mention any enchantment affecting the stabilizer, which means someone tampered with it after its construction. This aligns with what Shenua and Diego sensed earlier — a lingering enchantment interfering with the device.
- A Possible Solution? – The blueprints show a failsafe mechanism meant to reset the magical harmonics in case of instability. If it still functions, activating this could temporarily dispel any disruptive magic, giving them a window to realign the gears manually. However, if the enchantment is too strong, it might suppress the failsafe entirely.
Grathna frowns as she listens to Shenua’s explanation. “Sabotage, then. Someone’s been meddling where they shouldn’t.” She crosses her arms. “We need to figure out who tampered with it and how to override this enchantment without breaking the whole blasted thing.”
As Shenua points to the different parts of the planar stabilizer, she suddenly halts, her finger hovering over a tiny component atop the device core. She gasps, her eyes widening."Of course! How could I forget this?"
Her gaze snaps up from the blueprints to meet the others in the room. "There’s another option!" she exclaims, her voice brimming with excitement. "A piece I overlooked—one that could give us the solution we need. It’s a failsafe mechanism. If handled properly it could dispel any disruptive magic for a moment, letting us realign the gears manually. With this, we wouldn’t even need to cast a spell to disrupt the enchantment. This is brilliant! Whoever designed the planar stabilizer was a genius. I don’t know who they were, but I’d kiss them right now if they were in this room!"
Shenua beams with a bright smile, but then her expression sobers slightly. "Okay, there is the possibility it won’t work if the enchantment spell is too powerful. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But if it does, we could still resort to casting the shield spell—or another one we might have—to disrupt the magic."
The tiefling pauses, idly playing with a strand of her turquoise hair as she thinks for a moment. "Mmm, what if we do this? Iromae could activate the failsafe mechanism and keep a spell ready in case it can't suppress the magic by itself. Vorenus and I could handle the misaligned gears, and Diego… could you help us with your magic, or even your music, to keep us focused? Your music always helped me concentrate when we were studying, all those years ago. I would welcome it for this procedure."
Shenua finally turns to Grathna, her expression serious. "What do you think? I want your agreement before we move forward. As for the sabotage, let’s leave that for later—once we’ve fixed the stabilizer, yes?"
Diego winks at Shenua, harmonic regulators are my specialty, he grins. His face turning serious he reaches for her hand, you can do this, we've got your back. Just say when.
"Me? Activate the failsafe?" Iromae says, a bit surprised to be nominated for such a task. "Is it going to require tools?" she asks, glancing over at the stabilizer. "Hmm, would there be a way to know if the enchantment is too powerful for the failsafe? Just to be safe. Though I guess I can have my Shield of Faith spell ready in case." She listens further to Shenua's plan. "Makes sense for you and Vorenus to focus on the gears. And Diego to provide the musical inspiration. Perfect," she says. "What do you think Vorenus? Grathna?"
Vorenus nods to Ironmae, “Yes, activate the failsafe. I’ll assist Shenua with the mechanical gears, we will be ready once you do that. Ready Shenua? Let’s get into position. Okay, all of us, work together, keep an eye on the others, this thing could change quickly and we might need to adapt what we are doing…”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
OOC: Sorry this took so long. I forgot to check back after deciding to wait to see if anyone wanted to add anything before I posted again.
Grathna gives Vorenus a pointed look after his explanation, clearly still irked but choosing to move the conversation forward. "Misaligned gears, weakened glyphs, and a lingering enchantment ... This stabilizer's got more problems than Tinkerwick let on." She sighs, placing her hands on her hips. "If what you're saying is right and there's sabotage — or carelessness — we'll figure it out. I’ll send someone to fetch the blueprints and spell logs to see who’s been near this thing."
The half-orc turns toward the flickering glyphs Diego pointed out. "Those glyphs shouldn’t be flickering. They’re critical for channeling the stabilizer’s energy flow. If they’re out of sync, everything connected to them could destabilize." She takes a step closer to inspect them herself, though without casting a spell.
Her eyes flick to the faint traces of magic lingering in the room. "Whatever spell’s been cast here, it doesn’t belong. I’ll get our scribes to confirm if anyone had clearance to cast enchantments on this stabilizer. If not, we’re dealing with tampering — and I want to know who’s behind it."
Grathna gestures toward the planar stabilizer. "Do what you can to pinpoint the root cause of this disruption. But be careful — any mistake could make things worse. And no more smacking the machine, wizard."
As she turns toward the doorway, she pauses and glances back. "I’ll be back once I’ve got answers." With that, she strides out, leaving the group to continue their investigation.
Results of Iromae’s Arcana Check (24):
As Iromae examines the misaligned gears and focuses on the flickering glyphs, her sharp mind pieces together a likely explanation:
As Grantha heads out, Iromae says, "It would be good to get the blueprints. But as I look at this, I think the misaligned gears could be what is interfering with those stabilizing glyphs. And not only that, whatever the enchantment is must be dampening the stabilizer. It might even be that enchantment that is causing the misalignment in the first place. More of an issue with the flow of magic than something actually mechanically wrong." She pauses a moment, looking at the others. "Until we understand that other magic at work here, we shouldn't be trying to mess with the mechanical parts. It might just force more problems with the flow of magical energy."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"Mmm. I’m afraid I can’t do anything to completely dispel the enchantment magic that seems to be causing all of this. But..." Shenua taps her chin thoughtfully. "I like Diego's idea: perhaps we don’t need to dispel it entirely. If we could disrupt it just for a moment, and use that tiny window to align the gears, it might work. Of course, we’d need to coordinate everything perfectly to pull it off at the exact moment."
She paces idly around the stabilizer, her thoughts spilling out as she examines it. "Let’s see. The opposite of Enchantment is Abjuration, right? Enchantment focuses on manipulation and influencing behaviour, while Abjuration is all about protection, nullification and warding against magical effects. What if we cast an Abjuration spell, like a Shield, to counter the enchantment for a few seconds, and then we do all the aligning? It might be worth a try."
Shenua turns to her friends and adds, "In any case, let’s wait for Grathna. Let’s hear what she thinks about this, and what information she’s been able to gather."
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
“Ah, I see, abjuration…”. Vorenus takes out his spellbook, looking through it madly and cannot find anything that can help. He instead starts to take notes, writing down their thoughts thus far, making a drawing of the device. “I don’t seem to have anything handy prepared….” He waits for Grathna, afraid to cause any more disruption… for now. He remembers something and pulls out his silver needle, considering it, wondering if he could use it as a focus in some way.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
"I could cast a shield like spell," Iromae says. "I'm not sure though, just casting a random spell. Sure, it's abjuration, and maybe it would create an effect with the enchantment. It just doesn't feel like a shield is what we need."
She again tries to think through how the spell might influence the existing enchantment magical energy. (Arcana: 17)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Diego still studying the glyphs and listening, sorry friends, I've got nothing in the way shield spells. Now if you'd like I can charm our gracious half-orcen host if you think it'd help, but I wouldn't want to be around once the spell ends. She looks like the type that might fail to see the humor in such a spell.
However, if I remember correctly, enchantment spells can go both ways, benefit or hinder. Iromae my beautiful clerical muse, would your order have a spell for detecting traps? I'd be interested to find out if this spell had a hindering enchantment to it.
Iromae:
First, based on the way the glyphs are flickering and how the magic interacts with the stabilizer, you suspect the enchantment is not designed to completely disable the device. Instead, it seems to be interfering with its normal function, like a dampening effect rather than a full shutdown. This aligns with what Diego observed about the weakened glyphs.
Second, you recall that some enchantments, particularly compulsion-based magic, can subtly redirect energy rather than simply suppress it. If this were meant as sabotage, the culprit might have intended to gradually destabilize the device rather than cause an obvious malfunction.
Finally, while you can’t determine the exact spell used, you suspect the enchantment is subtly redirecting or suppressing magical flow. If this is the case, then disrupting it — even temporarily — might allow the stabilizer to resume normal function.
You are now fairly confident that the problem is primarily magical in nature rather than mechanical, and any attempt to fix the gears without first addressing the enchantment could be futile — or even dangerous.
Grathna returns just as Diego finishes speaking, holding a set of rolled-up blueprints under one arm and a ledger in the other. Her expression is serious.
"Well, I’ve got the schematics and some records on who’s been working near the stabilizer. First off —" she unrolls the blueprints on a nearby workbench, pinning the edges with small metal weights. "This should give you a better idea of how the gears and glyphs interact. You were right — those gears regulate arcane flow. If they’re misaligned, they could be disrupting the glyphs, not the other way around."
She flips open the ledger and runs a finger down the list of names. "As for enchantments, there’s nothing logged about any active spellwork being added to the stabilizer. That means whatever’s lingering here wasn’t officially sanctioned. Could be someone trying to fix it without clearance — or sabotage." Her eyes narrow. "Either way, I want it gone."
Grathna crosses her arms, looking over the group. "I agree that blindly casting magic isn’t the answer, but you’re onto something. If we can disrupt the lingering enchantment just long enough to realign the gears, that might stabilize the whole thing. Just need the right spell — something that interrupts magic without making things worse."
She glances at Diego. "A spell to detect magical traps? That might tell us exactly what kind of enchantment we’re dealing with. If this thing was tampered with, we need to know how before we go messing with it further."
Grathna steps back, nodding toward the blueprints. "You figure out what magic’s at play here, and I’ll see if Tinkerwick can get you the right tools to handle the realignment when the time comes. Just don’t break my stabilizer while you’re at it."
Iromae slowly turns to look at Diego, blushing ever so slightly at his effusive praise. "Umm, I do have a spell at the ready to find traps. It is a Divination spell, not Abjuration. But Grantha's right, it would give insight into the nature of the danger posed."
Having recovered her poise a bit, she continues speaking. "Thinking more about this whole situation, it makes sense that it could be an enchantment at work. They can have a dampening effect, rather than just completely disabling magic. Like with compulsion spells, something I have practiced at a bit. In any case, I'm convinced that this is not simply a mechanical problem. The gears are not working right because the flow of magic energy is disturbed by the enchantment. Fixing the gears without addressing the enchantment would be futile if not dangerous!"
Realizing her voice had gotten louder and more energetic as she speaks, after shouting out the last line she stops, a bit surprised at her exuberance. 'This is exciting though trying to solve this puzzle,' she thinks. Calming herself a bit, she continued. "I suggest we try disrupting the enchantment magic that is here and see if that lets the stabilizer return to normal. Or at least temporarily return to normal. If we get that far, then we can figure out how to make it a permanent fix."
"First though, I may as well call upon Deneir to give me more insight into the trap. For it seems that if someone put this effect into place, that was their intention," Iromae concludes. "But I'll only do it if we're agreed."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"It’s a good idea, of course, Iromae. Go for it," Shenua replies. "Meanwhile, I’d like to study the blueprints, just in case."
The tiefling walks over to the table where Grathna has laid out the blueprints. Leaning over the diagrams, she studies them intently.
"Let’s see... Vorenus, since you asked about helping with aligning the gears, check this out. It’s important that we know the components of the device." She traces a finger over the diagrams, pointing out key parts—the core, the harmonic regulators, the cooling vents… Everything is meticulously detailed. As she refreshes her memory, the artificer hopes to be better prepared for the alignment when the time comes. At the same time, she scans the blueprints carefully, checking for any discrepancies between the diagrams and the actual device—just in case they’ve missed something.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Vorenus goes over and looks over Shenua’s shoulder, trying to make out the blueprints. He looks up from time to time at the machinery to get his bearings, to locate the faulty machinery that would need realignment once the magical effect was addressed. “Here, and there. How long do we have after the first part before we have to do the second? Almost instantaneous? Let’s see what Ironmae can discern…”
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Diego winks at Iromae as he pulls his instrument around and softly starts playing, as he strolls the room using detect magic to look for anything odd, out if the way or just seems off, he sings softly a song, a solitary tree may weather the storm, yet a forest stands strong in every form, in shared laughter in tears that fall, together we rise above it all. Giving everyone Bardic Inspiration, for the next 10 minutes you may add a d6 to any d20 roll.
With everyone seeming to approve, Iromae swiftly moves to cast Find Traps. She whispers, "Deneir, grant me knowledge of the traps in the place. Help me, your servant, in this endeavor." Her hands move as she speaks, directing the magic of this spell.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Iromae casts Find Traps, seeking divine insight into any hidden dangers within the stabilizer.
The spell does not reveal any traditional trap, such as a mechanical or explicitly designed magical trigger meant to cause harm. However, she does receive an intuitive understanding that the enchantment affecting the device is acting as an obstacle, interfering with the stabilizer’s function in a way that could be dangerous if handled incorrectly.
Essentially, the magic itself is not meant to be a trap, but its unintended effects mimic one, as it creates a hazardous disruption in the flow of arcane energy. If left unchecked, it could worsen over time or react unpredictably to further disturbances.
Grathna, who has been quietly listening, frowns. "So not a trap in the usual sense, but a malfunction that might as well be one? That tracks. What do the blueprints tell us?"
OOC: I guess I forgot to roll here? Can I roll at advantage since Vorenus is checking with me? Well, in any case, my first roll was the highest. Rolled Investigation twice and first I got a 20, and then a 16. Boosting it to 22 with Diego's bardic inspiration.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Iromae quickly relays to the others what she learned from her spell. "I guess now we just need to counter the enchantment and see if we can repair the stabilizer." She turns to listen to Grathna. "Yes, did you guys get a look at the blueprints?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
OOC: Sorry! I didn't realize that was a skill check.
Shenua, with Vorenus’s help and Diego’s Bardic Inspiration, successfully investigates the blueprints with a roll of 22.
Shenua’s Findings from the Blueprints:
- Core Alignment is Critical – The blueprints confirm that the gears must be precisely aligned to regulate the planar energy flow. Any misalignment directly impacts the stabilizing glyphs, which could explain their flickering instability.
- Harmonic Regulators Are Key – The device does not rely solely on the glyphs for stability. There are harmonic regulators designed to balance magical energy. If these are out of sync, they could amplify magical interference instead of stabilizing it.
- An Unaccounted Enchantment – The schematics do not mention any enchantment affecting the stabilizer, which means someone tampered with it after its construction. This aligns with what Shenua and Diego sensed earlier — a lingering enchantment interfering with the device.
- A Possible Solution? – The blueprints show a failsafe mechanism meant to reset the magical harmonics in case of instability. If it still functions, activating this could temporarily dispel any disruptive magic, giving them a window to realign the gears manually. However, if the enchantment is too strong, it might suppress the failsafe entirely.
Grathna frowns as she listens to Shenua’s explanation. “Sabotage, then. Someone’s been meddling where they shouldn’t.” She crosses her arms. “We need to figure out who tampered with it and how to override this enchantment without breaking the whole blasted thing.”
As Shenua points to the different parts of the planar stabilizer, she suddenly halts, her finger hovering over a tiny component atop the device core. She gasps, her eyes widening. "Of course! How could I forget this?"
Her gaze snaps up from the blueprints to meet the others in the room. "There’s another option!" she exclaims, her voice brimming with excitement. "A piece I overlooked—one that could give us the solution we need. It’s a failsafe mechanism. If handled properly it could dispel any disruptive magic for a moment, letting us realign the gears manually. With this, we wouldn’t even need to cast a spell to disrupt the enchantment. This is brilliant! Whoever designed the planar stabilizer was a genius. I don’t know who they were, but I’d kiss them right now if they were in this room!"
Shenua beams with a bright smile, but then her expression sobers slightly. "Okay, there is the possibility it won’t work if the enchantment spell is too powerful. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But if it does, we could still resort to casting the shield spell—or another one we might have—to disrupt the magic."
The tiefling pauses, idly playing with a strand of her turquoise hair as she thinks for a moment. "Mmm, what if we do this? Iromae could activate the failsafe mechanism and keep a spell ready in case it can't suppress the magic by itself. Vorenus and I could handle the misaligned gears, and Diego… could you help us with your magic, or even your music, to keep us focused? Your music always helped me concentrate when we were studying, all those years ago. I would welcome it for this procedure."
Shenua finally turns to Grathna, her expression serious. "What do you think? I want your agreement before we move forward. As for the sabotage, let’s leave that for later—once we’ve fixed the stabilizer, yes?"
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Diego winks at Shenua, harmonic regulators are my specialty, he grins. His face turning serious he reaches for her hand, you can do this, we've got your back. Just say when.
"Me? Activate the failsafe?" Iromae says, a bit surprised to be nominated for such a task. "Is it going to require tools?" she asks, glancing over at the stabilizer. "Hmm, would there be a way to know if the enchantment is too powerful for the failsafe? Just to be safe. Though I guess I can have my Shield of Faith spell ready in case." She listens further to Shenua's plan. "Makes sense for you and Vorenus to focus on the gears. And Diego to provide the musical inspiration. Perfect," she says. "What do you think Vorenus? Grathna?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Vorenus nods to Ironmae, “Yes, activate the failsafe. I’ll assist Shenua with the mechanical gears, we will be ready once you do that. Ready Shenua? Let’s get into position. Okay, all of us, work together, keep an eye on the others, this thing could change quickly and we might need to adapt what we are doing…”
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.