- D. - Oobl, Level 5 Mossling
- James - Tomkin, Level 4 Hunter
- Marcus - Melysee, Level 5 Knight
- Peter - Chadwick, level 4 Mage
- Ythan - Petra, Level 5 Thief
- Osric, who follows Tomkin - Level 2 Fighter
- Ella, who follows Albert - Level 2 Bard
- Elain, the dog, adopted by Melysee
- Zoe the dog, who follow Tomkin
The World Beneath the World
From the evening of Friday the 12th to 9:00 on Saturday the 13th
After failing to find a way into the chamber above Nightingale Hall, the Magpies turned their attention to the Fulgarium and began the ascent by using the passwords they had learned — Observation and Auscultation.
The calcite guardians responded immediately, leaping down from their positions and assembling themselves into living stairs of stone. Step by step, the statues arranged their bodies so the party could climb comfortably through the first two levels. When they reached the second level, the Magpies suspected there must be a final password.
They asked Ella to pronounce more Laxian words that might plausibly serve as the last key. For a moment, nothing happened, but after several incorrect attempts, the guardians of the final level sprang to life. Twenty calcite figures dropped from above and advanced to attack.
Most of the group had an advantageous position and could keep their distance, but Ella was caught too close to the constructs. She would certainly have been killed had the others not rushed back to aid her. The fight was intense. Though the Magpies suffered some hits, they managed to smash the statue carrying the retainer and seize the opportunity to flee, retreating toward the Mirror Cell.
Calcite Guardians
Beyond it, they found a ramp of stairs running outside the main body of the observatory. The world beyond was engulfed in total darkness, but at one moment, a flash of brilliant light — like a lightning strike — illuminated the surroundings. What it revealed was staggering. The observatory stood beneath a vast ceiling of solid stone, stretching farther than the eye could see. From that immense roof hung colossal stalactites, each the size of a mountain. The observatory itself had been carved into one of these titanic formations. Far below, there was nothing but absolute darkness.
The chiaroscuro stair led them to the Armoury. Inside, they discovered ten crates filled with equipment; some more mundane and others more exotic, which included bundles of luminous crossbow bolts, a magical sword, and several devices that appeared to be bombs.
The Magpies chose to rest there for the night. During the quiet hours, Tomkin practised with the crossbow he had taken from the Crows until he felt entirely at ease with the weapon.
In the morning, Oobl examined the strange bombs. Testing one revealed their true function: the device turned stone to liquid mud within a thirty-foot radius before hardening it again moments later. The Magpies kept two for themselves and used the last one to prepare a trap behind them. They also took whatever supplies from the armoury they found useful and hurled the rest down the Chiaroscuro stairs.
As the discarded weapons plummeted into the abyss, their faint light of the glowing bolts revealed something far below the observatory — many miles down. For a brief moment, the Magpies glimpsed an endless sea of black, viscous substance, whipped into violent motion by raging winds.
Continuing their exploration, the party descended another set of stairs and encountered a pair of balancing elevators. While moving through this area, they made a tremendous amount of noise, at one point sending an armoury crate crashing down one of the elevator shafts. The thunderous impact echoed through the rock itself, reverberating throughout the observatory.
Eventually, the group split. Melysee, Chadwick, and Petra carefully opened a metal door and began to explore beyond it, while Oobl and Tomkin continued descending deeper.
Below, Oobl and Tomkin discovered a strange chamber filled with apparatus labelled Altazimoth Reflectors. Behind a metal wire cage, they saw something profoundly unsettling: a disturbance in reality itself, as if light and space were bubbling like liquid. Refusing to look directly at the anomaly, Oobl explored the cage by touch and found a hatch in the mesh perfectly sized to receive one of the reflectors. Tomkin, however, could not resist studying the phenomenon more closely. The moment he focused on it, dizziness overwhelmed him, and he began to vomit violently.
Altazimoth reflector
Meanwhile, Melysee, Chadwick, and Petra crossed the threshold of the metal door and found themselves facing a suspended bridge. Ahead of them glowed a familiar green-tinted light. And far above, nearly a hundred feet overhead, they could see the flicker of torchlight.
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