DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fun & Games ETD: Escape the Dream Episode III: The Sixfold Seal

Looking for something that will burn. Thinking the Wizard's study is most likely. Study the painting.

If I can't see anything obvious, I may try an insight.

You study the painting beside the southeast passage: the stone sundial beneath a perfect noon-shadow.

Gypsy Study painting insight
AquaDyne rolled 1d20 and got 17

At first, the meaning seems obvious enough. Sundial. Noon. Shadow. But with the thought of the Silent Crypt still in mind, more details begin to stand out.

The painted sundial is not shown outdoors. It stands inside a cluttered chamber, surrounded by shelves, broken wood, and scattered objects. The light striking it is strangely deliberate, as if someone has arranged the room so that one particular shadow falls exactly where it should.

You are fairly certain this painting is telling you two things.

First, the Wizard’s Study has its own puzzle, and that puzzle has something to do with making the sundial show noon.

Second, your guess about fuel feels promising. If any room in this place is likely to contain old furniture, loose wood, paper, books, candles, or other things that might help make a proper sustained fire, it would be a wizard’s study.

The southeast passage waits quietly beneath the sundial painting.

But I need an 8 to enter this passage...

So thinking about the order of corridors, I think I need to do W (9) before NE (6) and do SE (8) before SW (4). But I don't have the 9 or the 8. Unless the 6 can be turned upsidedown and used as a 9?

Not yet sure about the E Labyrinth (1) or the NW Smoke tunnel (2).

Also look again around the room for anything that might be possible to take with me.. a light (candle) for example?

All the paintings except the ones with 6 and 4 had their numbers installed already. Those were the only ones missing.

When you put the 4 in the crypt square, it seemed to unlock something. The 6 may have just been a way to make the 4's spot not so obvious.

So far you have examined 4 paintings, rolled really well, and have determined game room before bright corridor, and study before crypt.

You still have the rope you found earlier.

There are no candles here, but you recall from your earlier investigation of the Wizard's Study painting that you might find one in there.

Your options at this point seem to be:
- study the other two paintings
- go to the game room
- go to the study
- go to the other rooms that you know are harder

Let's try the study!

You step into the southeast passage marked with the painting of the sundial.

The central chamber smelled of dust and candle wax. This hallway smells of old paper, dry wood, and the faint metallic tang of magic left too long in one place.

The passage opens into what must once have been a wizard’s study.

"Once" may be more ancient than one might think.

The floor is littered with broken furniture: splintered chair legs, cracked shelves, warped drawer fronts, bits of table, and curled shavings of very dry wood. Much of it looks useless as furniture, but very promising as kindling.

Tall bookcases line most of the walls. Their shelves sag under the weight of ancient books, scroll-tubes, ledgers, and loose sheaves of parchment. Many of the books look brittle enough to crumble if handled carelessly.

In the center of the room stands a stone pedestal supporting a circular sundial. It is an odd thing to find indoors. Its gnomon points upward from the center. Around it are carved hour marks, with NOON marked more deeply than the rest.

The problem is immediately obvious.

There is far too much light.

Several bright orbs hover near the ceiling, drifting slowly in place. They shine from different directions, so the sundial has no single clear shadow. Instead, faint overlapping shadows point every which way and nowhere in particular.

On the far wall, opposite the entrance, is a boarded-up window. No daylight enters through it now, but its position lines up suspiciously well with the sundial.

You are fairly sure this room wants one clear light source, from the right direction, and all the other lights either moved, blocked, dimmed, or otherwise dealt with.

For your other purpose, the room is much more cooperative. There is plenty here that could serve as fuel: dry splinters, chair legs, scraps of shelf, curled paper, and perhaps even candles or lamp-stubs if you search the desks and shelves.

The room appears quiet.

The floating lights, however, seem to be watching you.

Happy to have a source of combustables but I need something to carry them in. Look around.

Examine the boarded window to see how easy it might be to unblock it.

See if there is anything that might be used to block the floating lights from the sundial.

Looking around for something to carry fuel in proves more successful than elegant.

Beneath a collapsed writing desk, you find an old canvas satchel. It is stiff with age, dusty, and embroidered with the words:

PROPERTY OF CONUNDROMUS
NOT FOR SNAKES

There are, fortunately, no snakes in it.

You think. Sometimes they hide well.

The satchel is large enough to hold a useful bundle of kindling: splintered chair legs, dry shelf fragments, curled scraps of parchment, and a few broken bits of drawer. It will not carry a bonfire, but it should carry enough fuel to make a proper small hearth-fire if you can get it lit.

Searching a little more, you also find three stubby wax candles in a cracked ceramic cup. One is bent nearly in half, but all three still have usable wicks.

The boarded window is less formidable than it first looked. The boards are old, dry, and nailed in place with rusted iron nails. A strong pull might loosen them, but a better approach would be to pry them up with one of the sturdier chair legs or broken shelf boards scattered around the room.

Through the narrow gaps between the boards, you can see not daylight exactly, but a pale golden glow — as though some artificial sun waits just beyond the wall.

The alignment is suspiciously perfect. If the boards came away, the light from that window would fall directly across the sundial from the far wall.

That still leaves the floating lights.

The orbs drift lazily near the ceiling, shining from several directions at once. They are not so much “in the way” as they are “ruining the shadow.” Every time the sundial tries to cast one clear line, another orb washes it out.

There are a few things you find when looking around:

- a dusty, moth-eaten curtain or wall hanging, fallen behind one bookcase
- several large cracked book covers, stiff enough to use like screens
- a dented brass lampshade with a soot-blackened inside
- a few broken drawer panels that could be leaned or held to block light

You still feel there may be more to find with a more dedicated search (OOC: roll required).

The little orbs continue to drift overhead.

One of them bobs lower, as if curious.

Then it bobs away again, pretending it was not curious at all.

Well seems seem to be looking up. Dust off the satchel, stuff it with said combustable for the hearth fire, add the candles, Once done set it by the exit so it is ready to grab if I have a hasty exit.

Keep an eye out for snakes, just in case.

I suppose I could try talking to the lights, they might be sentient? Pick up the lampshade.

"Err.. I don't suppose I could persuade you to duck under this lampshade for a few minutes. I would be very grateful."

Address my remarks towards the ceiling and watch to see what happens.

You pack the satchel with dry scraps of wood, splintered chair legs, curled parchment, and the three stubby candles. It is not a tidy bundle, but it is very definitely combustible.

You set it by the exit, ready to grab.

Then you pick up the dented brass lampshade, look up at the drifting lights, and make your polite request.

Gypsy Persuasion orbs
AquaDyne rolled 1d20 and got 6

For a moment, the orbs hover in silence.

Then one of them brightens. Another brightens too. A third zips behind a bookshelf, peeks out, and then darts away as though it has just performed an act of tremendous stealth.

The nearest orb descends toward the lampshade. It hovers just above the opening. This looks promising. Then it darts sideways.

Another orb immediately dives under the lampshade instead, causing the brass shade to glow like a tiny captured sunrise.

This also looks promising. Then the first orb bumps the outside of the lampshade. The second orb pops back out.

A third orb swoops down and circles your head.

The sundial’s shadows wobble wildly across the stone face.

You have definitely gotten their attention. You have not, however, gotten their cooperation.

At least not yet.

Still, you learn something useful: the lights can be influenced. They respond to voice, movement, and possibly novelty. They are not mindless fixtures. They can be lured, distracted, covered, or perhaps herded, but asking nicely once is not quite enough to make all of them sit still.

The boarded window remains closed, but the golden glow beyond it is steady and perfectly aligned with the sundial.

The orbs continue bobbing around the room, now clearly interested in the lampshade. One of them dips halfway into it again. Then backs out. Then dips in again.

"I'm going to let some light in so that I can see better, and then we'll play a game!"

Pulling the boards off the window and stacking them randomly.

"OK, how about a game of hide and seek? I will close my eyes and count to twenty. You have to hide but remember your light shines as a give away. Then after twenty I will try to find you. Ready?"

I close my eyes and count slowly. On ten I peek at the sundial.

The boards over the window are old, dry, and much less stubborn than they look.

The first one takes some effort. It creaks, bends, and then comes free with a dusty little shriek of rusted nails.

The second follows more easily.

By the third, you have the knack of it.

One by one, the boards come away, and with the last of them removed, a clear golden beam pours through the window.

It is not sunlight, exactly. There is no sky beyond the opening, no garden, no outer wall, no world. Just a steady, warm, magical radiance from somewhere outside the room, aimed with suspicious precision across the study.

The beam falls across the sundial.

For the first time, the gnomon casts one strong shadow.

Unfortunately, the floating orbs are still bobbing around overhead, washing it with extra light from every direction.

Then you announce the game.

The orbs stop. All of them.

For a moment, the room is very still.

Then the nearest orb gives a tiny delighted pulse.

Another zips behind a bookcase.

A third darts under the fallen curtain.

A fourth streaks up toward the ceiling, realizes that glowing in the open air is not a particularly convincing hiding place, and drops behind the dented brass lampshade instead.

The room becomes a flurry of poorly concealed lights.

You close your eyes and begin to count.

“One…”

The orbs scatter.

“Two…”

A glow leaks from behind a shelf.

“Three…”

Something bright squeezes itself into an empty scroll tube and immediately illuminates both ends.

“Four…”

The light on the sundial grows cleaner.

“Five…”

One orb wedges itself between two ancient books on a nearby shelf. The books shift. Something thin and rolled, tucked behind them, slides slightly forward before stopping against the shelf edge.

“Six…”

The rolled object remains there, half-hidden in shadow and dust.

“Seven…”

The sundial’s shadow sharpens.

“Eight…”

A glow leaks from behind a cracked book cover near the left side of the room.

“Nine…”

The shadow trembles, almost aligned.

“Ten…”

You risk a peek.

The sundial has changed.

With the window unblocked and most of the orbs trying very hard to hide, the confusing web of shadows is gone. One clear shadow stretches across the stone face.

It is close to the deeply carved NOON mark.

Very close.

Not perfect.

One orb, perhaps the least talented at hiding, is tucked behind a cracked book cover near the left side of the room. Its glow leaks around the edges just enough to pull the shadow slightly off true.

The orb seems very proud of itself.

On the bookshelf, the half-loosened rolled parchment remains visible where the other orb disturbed it.

You still have ten numbers left before you are expected to start seeking.

Continue the count whilst edging towards the parchment.

"Half way there!"

"Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen."

"Coming to find you very soon!"

Reach out and take the parchment.

"Sixteen."

Start heading to the light leaking from the bookshelf orb.

"Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Nearly ready! Are you hiding?"

Hold the parchement up to cover the leaking light and watch the sundial.

"Twenty! Coming ready or not!"

“Eleven…”

You edge toward the shelf.

The orbs remain very committed to hiding. Or at least to glowing from behind things and hoping that counts.

“Twelve…”

The rolled parchment sticks out just far enough to grasp.

“Thirteen…”

You ease it free.

Something on the shelf gives a tiny papery sigh, but nothing collapses.

“Fourteen…”

The parchment is old, dry, and tied with a faded blue cord. You do not have time to examine it properly yet.

“Fifteen.”

The orb behind the cracked book cover pulses brighter, which is a poor hiding strategy but an excellent expression of excitement.

“Coming to find you very soon!”

“Sixteen…”

You start toward the leaking light.

“Seventeen…”

The orb tries to dim itself.

It fails.

“Eighteen…”

The sundial’s shadow sharpens as you approach.

“Nineteen…”

You hold the rolled parchment up between the leaking orb and the sundial.

“Nearly ready! Are you hiding?”

The orb behind the book cover goes very still.

For one perfect moment, the only strong light in the room comes from the unboarded window. The golden beam falls cleanly across the sundial, and the gnomon casts one clear shadow.

The shadow slides across the carved face.

It touches NOON.

“Twenty! Coming ready or not!”

The sundial answers with a deep, satisfying stone click.

A hidden seam opens in the pedestal beneath it. Dust spills from the crack as a small compartment slides outward, revealing a copper key resting on a velvet pad so old that it has mostly given up being velvet.

At the same time, the orb behind the book cover bursts out with a delighted flash and zips away.

The other hidden orbs emerge too, one by one, clearly convinced that this has been an excellent game. One pops out from the empty scroll tube. One wriggles out from behind the curtain. Another floats proudly out from under the brass lampshade, as though it deserves a prize for superior concealment.

The parchment in your hand catches the golden window-light.

For a moment, the light shines through it.

Thin lines appear inside the parchment, darker than the rest, as though drawn in ink that only shows clearly when backlit. You can make out corridors, turns, dead ends, and a few small markings.

This is not just old parchment.

It appears to be a map.

The copper key waits in the opened sundial compartment.

Your satchel of kindling waits near the exit.

The orbs bob around the room in triumph, apparently expecting you to start seeking them properly now.

"Well I can see you all now!"

I point to all of them and then applaud.

"Great job hiding though guys!"

Excited by the map and the key I still have time for another thought but take the key first.

"Not sure if you guys want to stay here or come along with me?"

[OOC: That was fun! ]

The orbs bob in place, very pleased with themselves.

The one that had been behind the curtain gives a bright, smug little pulse.

The one that had squeezed into the scroll tube glows from both ends, apparently still proud of the attempt.

The one from under the lampshade bumps the brass shade from the outside now, as if demonstrating where it had been hidden.

The poorly hidden orb that had leaked light near the book cover hovers a little higher than the rest, behaving as though it was not found because it was bad at hiding, but because it was essential to the puzzle.

Your applause sends them into a delighted spiral around the room.

For a few seconds, the Wizard’s Study is full of bobbing, glowing, self-congratulatory lights.

You take the copper key from the sundial compartment. It is warm from the golden window-light, and a small rune on its bow glimmers briefly before fading.

Copper Key acquired.

The parchment in your hand remains rolled, tied with a faded blue cord. From the glimpse you caught through the light, it appears to contain some sort of map, though you have not yet had the chance to study it properly.

When you ask whether the lights want to stay or come with you, several of them bob closer.

One, perhaps the boldest, drifts toward the exit.

It gets about three feet beyond the study threshold before it slows, stretches like candlelight in a breeze, and then gently snaps back into the room with a soft *pop*.

The orb wobbles, offended.

From somewhere overhead, Conundromus’ voice murmurs:

“Ah, yes. The study lights are part of the study. Very loyal. Very luminous. Very bad at leaving.”

The orbs dim slightly, as if disappointed.

Then the bold one bobs up and down twice, apparently choosing to interpret this as another game.

Your satchel of kindling and candles waits by the exit.

The copper key is in hand.

The rolled parchment map is yours to examine when ready.

The floating lights remain in the Study, glowing proudly, as though expecting you to tell everyone they were extremely difficult to find.

[OOC: That was fun for me too! :)]

"It seems that you cannot leave here. So I will stay a little longer but I will have to leave soon. Maybe I could come back later? Meanwhile maybe I could teach you a game you could play together, though you could play Hide & Seek taking it in turns to be Hunter and Hunted."

"Another game you could play is to make shapes. Try making numbers first, like one, two, three."

I examine the scroll carefully, concerned I might damage it. Before trying to unroll it, I will look for materials whereby I might make a copy, parchment pen & ink.. or similar. Then I will hold it up to the light and carefully manouevre it to see as much as possible, memorising what I can.

The orbs bob in a small cluster near the ceiling.

At the suggestion that you might come back later, several of them brighten at once.

This may mean yes. It may also mean they like the sound of "later." Or possibly "come back." Or possibly they have no idea what time is and are simply enthusiastic.

You suggest Hide and Seek with a Hunter and Hunted, and the orbs immediately scatter in several directions, apparently taking this as either a rule explanation or the start of the game.

Then you suggest making shapes.

The orbs gather themselves with surprising seriousness. At first, they form a circle.

It is a very good circle. Possibly too good, since they seem reluctant to stop being a circle.

Then, with much bobbing and a few corrective flashes, the circle stretches into a straight vertical line.

A 1.

After that, the line bends, curves, and snakes around itself into a glowing 2. This is less obvious, but still recognizable.

Then comes 3.

This proves controversial. Half the orbs attempt to make the number three. The other half attempt to make a triangle.

There is immediate artistic disagreement.

Several lights flash in protest. Two bump into each other. One spins in a tiny offended spiral. Another darts upward, then downward, then seems to decide it was right all along.

At last, after much glowing argument, the group settles into a triangle.

Mostly.

One orb, which should probably be occupying the upper point, drifts down instead, curious about the parchment in your hands.

You examine the scroll carefully before unrolling it. It is old, but better preserved than it first looked. The parchment is dry, but not crumbling, and the faded blue cord unties without much resistance.

You find an old quill, a cracked inkwell, and a few loose sheets of brittle paper on one of the desks, but the ink has dried to black dust. Copying the map might be possible later with charcoal or something similar, but for now the original seems safe enough if handled gently.

You unroll it.

It is a map.



More specifically, it appears to be a map of a maze or labyrinth: narrow corridors, turns, dead ends, and branching paths drawn in thin dark lines. Some sections are clear. Others are faded. A few places have marks that look unfinished, as though something was meant to be added but never was.

When you hold the map toward the golden window-light, more of the maze becomes visible.

When the curious orb drifts lower and shines over your shoulder, the lines sharpen further.

For a moment, the orb’s light passes through the parchment at an angle, and you almost see something else: a hint of red, perhaps, or a mark beneath the ink.

Then it vanishes.

The map is useful as it is. You could probably use it to avoid wandering blindly through the Labyrinth.

But you get the strong sense that it is not showing everything it can show.

The painting beside the Labyrinth Door comes back to mind: a glass lens held over a map, revealing a hidden path in red ink.

The orb hovering near your shoulder pulses brightly, as if proud of having helped.

The other orbs, still arranged in a somewhat lopsided triangle, seem to be waiting to hear whether they have successfully made a three.