[Mission] [TWFNE] Week 210: Simmering Temple

[MoonlitRain014]

Aeria continued to bring up the rear, realizing that Keydis intended to keep on moving for whatever reason. The spurii liked to think that it was her suggestion that they seek out more parts, but the tough woman seemed as if no one but herself would sway her decision making process. Regardless, at least she was moving in that direction, so the rest was unimportant.

Diamantus walked beside her spurii companion, hands resting on the butts of her pistols, surveying the starry walls and the bodies strewn around. Her voice was muffled, rather than echoing out into the large space around them as she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Well that's fucking horrible! Remind me not to touch that stuff. You guys sure about walking into this any further? I mean I'll shoot whatever comes at us, but this is pretty weird."

In spite of herself, Aeria was fascinated by the starry stuff. "I wonder what it's made of. It seems to be a substance that combines properties. It has a certain apparent viscosity, but evidently it is also spatial in nature. It seems like it actually allows some kind of access to spatial dimensions."

As they moved forward, towards the next room, Aeria paused. "Let's go into that room slowly. Here..."

She pushed her way forward. "I'll extend my halberd into the room. We'd better make sure that there's not something else nasty waiting to dissolve us like the starfield is doing to those corpses. I worry about a whole room full of that stuff."

[3159]

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

Keydis reached out and roughly grabbed Aeria's shoulder without warning, giving it a rough shake. "Better," she noted, glad that the halberdier was acting braver, "but we're on a time crunch. Keep your eyes open and let's move."

She pulled Aeria back and entered the room, wary of any of the starry substance but not slowing her stride. There was a strong sense of something unnatural permeating the temple. The uneasy feeling curbed some of Keydis' anger but it was also making her irritable.

Move forward; past hesitation, past obstacles, past regret.

"And I'd rather lose the snake than you or your weapon so don't keep putting yourself in harm's way."

[125/2650]

Spoiler: Notes

17400/30000 Vigor spent

 

[Mystydjinn]

The gruff spurii ahead of them was silent, stepping gingerly around the strange splotches of starlight where they crossed her path and constantly wringing her hands.

I guess it's needless to say this gunk has got to be bad news, but I don't think I'd mind it quite as much if everything here wasn't falling apart. She thought, then felt a chill run up her spine as she made eye contact with the empty sockets of a long dead corpse. Myth made real or not, this shit is fuckin' disgusting.

Aelflead picked up her pace after that and stepped up to the door. "Hurry up, I'm sick of looking at these dead freaks." She said, then stepped inside.

[118/ 1,878]

 

[Redfin]

The room was far from silent. There was a rhythmic sound of wind, going in and going out. It was slow, and deep. The starry abyss covered most of the floor, the walls and even the ceiling, making the space feel like it expanded into the infinite.

There were still parts untainted, including the wall directly opposite the entranceway. A machine had been installed on there, similar to the one in the library. It had, either by chance or design, resisted the slime for the time being. The parts that operated the machine had been jammed in there, though in a haphazard way that obviously didn't fit. It, too, controlled a small chamber holding a strange crystalline device.

[2261]

Spoiler: Map

SimmeringTemple3b.png

• Redfin
• Nov 19, 2018

 

[MoonlitRain014]

Carefully, Aeria made her way towards the machine protruding from the wall, ensuring that no part of her or her weapon touched the strange substance. There was something nauseating and disturbing about this starry slime. It was the odd way in which it combined what seemed like infinite space with an actual physical presence that was most disturbing. The machine itself was obviously assembled in the wrong fashion, but the parts all looked to be in decent shape.

The fact that it was untouched by the slime meant that the spurii engineer felt confident to touch it. Nothing untoward happened, so she reached into her pocket to remove the toolkit that she carried with her everywhere. She tapped experimentally at the parts of the machine. They weren’t jammed in too hard, so she used a screwdriver to start prying them out.

“I think I can reassemble this thing but I need all of you to watch my back while I do so. It doesn’t seem to be trapped so I think that if I can get it working, we’ll get this chamber open and figure out what the device does.”

This comment was somewhat absent and directed only generally at the small party. Aeria’s mind was already starting to work on how this device went together. In this mental state, she was totally focused and driven to complete her task.

[3389]

 

[Mystydjinn]

As Aelflead's dagger was already in hand, she simply gave an idle grunt of agreement and scanned the room pensively. There were no decaying corpses to be seen inside the dark room so her nerves were eased somewhat, but the disturbing way space seemed to be warped by the slime in the room, its impressive coverage of what should have been surfaces inside it, and the limited mobility the room offered left her feeling trapped.

Rather than dwell on her mounting feelings of suspicion and helplessness, she took a breath and tried to recall what she could about the myth the mysterious building seemed to hail from.

"Dammit, what was it called?" She mumbled aloud.

WC [I'll do it/ SoOn]

 

[Redfin]

The machine sat silently in front of the delvers, it's pieces waiting to be arranged properly.

[2276]

PiecePuzzle2.png

• Redfin
• Nov 21, 2018

Spoiler: Notes

Fit all pieces into the bounded area. The marked spots must match up.
If you want a version you can edit and move around, get it here. It opens in GIMP, a free image editing software.
Alternatively, you can use this online editor to look at and edit the file.

 

[MoonlitRain014]

The pieces of the machine fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and Aeria inspected them carefully. She wanted to ensure that the assembly was as smooth as possible and that the ancient mechanism was properly activated. She flipped and turned the pieces on the floor, trying to visualize how they might go together so that they could activate the mechanism and move beyond the area in which they were trapped.

She started with the marked central piece of the machinery and turned it so that the red X- marks matched and the L-shaped part of it faced to her right. Next she placed the square piece so that it made contact with the right-facing L of the centre piece and flipped the rectangular part of the mechanism so that it lay horizontally and to the right on top of the other two pieces. Next she took the rectangular piece with its single protrustion and flipped it so it sat on top and to the left of the other pieces that had already been inserted.

Finally she looked at the two remainng L- shaped pieces and flipped one so that it lay horizontally with the protruding part of the L facing up and to the right. The other she flipped so that it lay with the L’s protrusion facing down and to the left, the two pieces interlocking.

There was a satisfyingly heavy and solid clunk of machinery moving into place as Aeria stood back and waited to see precisely what was about to happen.

[3643]

Spoiler: Notes and a Thank You

Thanks for sharing your solution with a spatially challenged Moon, Will. I appreciate it. Here, for you all, is the solution that Will came up with: https://imgur.com/tnyO5Mt

 

[Redfin]

With every part in place, the machine was able to spring to life. Power went through the gears and cables. Much like the machine in the other room, it was still functional. Only, every noise was muffled and absorbed by the starry field, leaving it silent. At the end of the process, the chamber containing the specialized part slid open.

[2336]

 

[Mystydjinn]

After a moment of silence Aelflead spoke up. "Is that it?" She asked. "I mean, I'm not complaining if it is but..." The redhead looked around the room, then shook her head and began edging towards the exit.

"Nah fuck it, just grab the thing before something does happen."

[wc/soon bufoon]

 

[Keydis Lysistrata]

As though afraid that Aeria would once again agonize over possible traps, Keydis stepped in and grabbed the widget from the opened compartment. "Nice work, gearhead. This is all we need, right? Then let's go!"

With the way back seemingly clear, Keydis started up a brisk jog toward the exit and the central room, biting back the pain in her ribs. "Move it! It's too early to be tired!"

[70/2470]

Spoiler: Notes

17400/30000 Vigor spent

 

[Redfin]

In the main chamber, the main set of stone doors loomed at the top of the stairs. They remained silent and still. On the wall next to them was machinery that clearly didn't belong, machinery that changed the temple from a place of worship to its new sinister purpose.

The two parts with crystalline cores reacted as they got near each other. A light shimmered from inside. It was a cold, otherworldly glow of magic long lost. With all the parts available, the machine was waiting to be reactivated.

[2365]

PiecePuzzle3.png

• Redfin
• Dec 2, 2018

Spoiler: Notes

Fit all pieces into the bounded area.
If you want a version you can edit and move around, get it here. It opens in GIMP, a free image editing software.
Alternatively, you can use this online editor to look at and edit the file.

 

[MoonlitRain014]

Every piece was carefully set into the mechanism, worked until it sat where it needed to sit as Aeria worked on it. There was a sense of danger despite nothing happening, as if this particular mechanism had an added aura of something sinister. Perhaps it was the strange light, but it made Aeria especially concerned. Eventually all of the machinery was adjusted appropriately and the last piece slotted into place. The ingenarius stood back and glanced to her various companions as the next device was activated.

They had come so far in this together and now they seemed to have reached the next phase of activity. The coming moments would tell them what they could expect and if they'd continue to move forward. It was hard to think back on what had happened in the previous hours and days. Everything had focused to this one moment and what happened after. Aeria wasn't sure why this should feel more momentous, but something about it did.

In the background, Diamantus instinctively tightened her hand around the butt of her pistol. She, too, felt a certain sense of threat although she doubted a simple firearm would be much use against anything of the sort of power that seemed to be emanating from behind that door. On the other hand, she'd faced down hellspawn with that pistol. Regardless, they were going to find out any minute now.

[3876]

 

[Redfin]

Spoiler: Solution

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/14f-96F9YG6wcL_agOr6X0mvIj4saNpf8pgRuqTExgXg/edit?usp=sharing

With every piece in place, the machine sprang to life. The parts all worked together. If any one piece had been missing, the entire machine would have failed. The two special pieces were the lynchpins that gave the machine its much needed boost of power. Their magic resonated against the door, revealing a magic seal made of shimmering rings. With a burst of light, the protection on the heavy stone doors shattered like glass. The pieces flaked away into dust, and the doors began to move. They scraped along the ground, leaving a deep rumbling noise throughout the chamber.

The doors were open fully inviting those that had fixed the machine to enter. Beyond that lay....

[2481] Final