SoE: Choose Wisely has started at Arx - Ward of House Grayson - Ashford House - Forest Hall.

Aleksei gets a black leather cuirass etched with a wolf sigil and stitched with gold threading from a black leather swordbelt.

Aleksei gets black leather pauldrons etched with a wolf sigil and stitched with gold threading from a black leather swordbelt.

Jasper arrives, following Deva.

Aleksei gets fingerless black leather gloves stitched with gold thread from a black leather swordbelt.

The journey from Arx is perhaps a more tense one than originally expected; all the talk about attacks in the Gray Forest means that the first leg of the journey is perhaps undertaken with some degree of trepidation. But luckily, nothing and no one accosts the party during the first portion of their journey. Perhaps this is because the group has traveled by water as much as possible; the Gray River from Arx to where it bends to the north, then a brief tense overland trip to another river village, and down the river past Pride Hall and into the area just south of the the Telmarch.

From there, it's a journey of nearly a day deeper into the forests. Even following the guidance left by the Society scout who found the place, it's rough going -- nothing attacks them, but the foliage is thick, and here and there the party is forced to literally cut their way through. But then, finally, suddenly, they find themselves up against a large stone doorway, carved with a wolfs-head sigil and a faded inscription beside it. This, then, can only be the lost temple of the First Choice.

Calypso has been a rather stoic being the entire trip. Likely much on her mind back at home. Inopportune time to travel, or not, here she is with the Society. As the group approaches the doorway she glances up at it in awe. "Fascinating. Tucked back here for all these years." She steps up closer to see if she can determine what is said beside the sigil in the inscription. Maybe she'll get lucky and it will be in Aravani!

Aleksei has put his alaricite blade to the work of helping clear some of the foliage at the thickest parts of the approach, but he wipes the sword and sheathes it once they make it to the clearing of the temple. He fits right in, actually: his white and black leathers all bear the same sigil as the temple's doorway, and the twist of his smile seems to appreciate the humor of it. "I feel like I'm in camouflage," he says in a bit of a drawl. He approaches to try and get a better look at the inscription next to the sigil (along with Calypso). "I tried asking Prism once what his worship was like before he was Lost. She just said stuff about how what I decided to do now was more important." He sighs. It's a bit of a long-suffering sigh.

Mason has traded silks for more practical travel clothing and armor, and he's certainly used to traveling through uncharted territory. As they reach the temple, the Eurusi man peers up at it, then moves to look around the nearest portions of the outside perimeter while the others examine the door.

Tristan has been rather annoyed. Granted, this is his default state when dealing with humans, but in this case it started because his dog, whom he'd thought was safe in the care of stablehands at the Palace, had broken free and followed them. Despite missing a leg, Patches keeps up well, but he's spent most of the last part of the journey through thick foliage buttoned into Tristan's jacket, which is where he is now, little head peeking out. The stablemaster moves to examine the door as Aleksei and Calypso look at the sigil. "First impression," he says, voice dry. "It's a door."

Stoic short person, Alis, has been on the quiet side as well. Though Aleksei's joke about camoflauge is met with an amused smile. She cannot say she's long-suffering anything at the moment though, and when they reach the temple she takes her time looking around curiously. "Is it in Arvani?" Right up behind Calypso, she tries peeking around the woman's side to look at the inscription. "I'm not sure we coul dbe so lucky, but..."

Mason checked perception at difficulty 10, rolling 25 higher.

Dressed in dark leathers and largely quiet, Deva joins the group in their approach toward the doorway. When she has the opportunity, her fingertips lightly touch the sigil with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Helpful," she mutters to Aleksei with a slight shake of her head, with a look then toward the others as they examine more closely. She takes a quiet breath and drags her fingertips along the surface.

Calypso glances back at Alis when she hears the question, nodding aside to Aleksei as well. "It is. Its a riddle, likely to open the door. It says - 'Good to eat, but not too much. Water's child, yet water must not touch.' Does that mean anything to any of you?"

"I thought so," Aleksei says, glancing back at Deva with a smirk. He returns his gaze to the inscription. "We /did/ get lucky," he says. "There's a bowl for an offering, so I assume we're supposed to put the answer in it. Uh." He squints a bit.

"Presumably," says Tristan, taking a step back from the door, and squinting at the bowl, "that means the answer is something people can reasonably be expected to be carrying with them and nothing too exotic. Er." The stablemaster's mouth twists as he considers the bowl.

"Well then!" Alis was genuinely not expecting the riddle to be in Arvani. "Hmm. Water's child. Would it depend on where the water came from? Ocean water evaporates into salt... right?" She peers into the bowl, to see if maybe there are offering remnants there.

There are, sadly, no offering remnants. One gets the sense that it might have been a while since anyone showed up at this temple.

Mason is gone a few minutes, wandering off following the exterior wall. He returns with a frown on his face. "The temple goes back into a cliff-face, so it could run very deep. I also saw what looked like claw-marks along the stone, but they looked to be sized as human hands." He says, holding his own hand up with fingers hooked. "They looked quite old, however. What did you learn of the door?"

Deva checked perception at difficulty 10, rolling 2 higher.

"This was at clawed too," Deva calls out to Mason, with a glance over her shoulder toward the man and a brisk nod of agreement. "Looks consistent." She inhales quietly through her nose, expression scrunching up as she ponders the riddle. "Water must not touch-- would that mean it falls apart, or something bad happens when it does?"

"Salt! That seems like it could be right!" Aleksei says, expression brightening at Alis's idea. "'Good to eat, but not too much' -- cause no one likes oversalted food. And it dissolves in water." He looks over to Mason, grimacing a bit. "/Claw/ marks?"

Calypso humms a touch at the mention of claw marks, but remains calm and collected. She nods to Alis and Aleksei then. "Salt it is then. Surely we have some in the food supply." She digs through her personal supplies and produces a little folded spice paper, the one containing salt. She hands it over to Mason. "Would you like to do the honors, your Highness?"

Alis glances over at Mason. "As if something tried to climb the side of the temple?" Brows furrow. "Not sure I like the idea of coming face to face with something that can climb up the side of this thing." she mutters, looking towards the marks that Deva calls out as well. "You think it could be?" Okay, there's a momentary flash of pride on the princess face there. Let's face it, she's more known as the hit things and not think of smart things person.

"I might," begins Tristan, fumbling in his pockets, but he pauses as Calypso locates some. "Piece of a salt lick," he explains. "If you need more." His attention, however, is caught by the mention of claw marks, and he peers more closely at the stone, attempting to see if the claw marks remind him of any particular animal.

"Yes. Claws. There was moss and lichen growing over them, however. It's from a long time ago. Perhaps... some dark thing that tried to get in?" Mason considers, reaching for a water skin to have a sip since they're all talking about it. He watches quietly until Calypso looks to him, holding out the salt. "Oh, I could. Certainly." He'll approach the offering basin and sprinkle a little bit of the grains into it.

The bowl quivers as if it wants to move, but then quiets once more. Perhaps a few grains aren't quite enough.

Mason dumps more in. All the salt! Who needs salted food?! Not us.

Calypso glances over at Tristan then. "Perhaps that big chunk will be more alluring to the door bowl." She gives him a little nod to go up and give it a try.

Tristan pulls the piece of salt lick from his pocket; about the size of his palm and worn thin and into strange wavy shapes by a horse's tongue. Patches sniffs after it, but Tristan tosses it easily into the bowl.;

"Demanding bowl," Aleksei declares it.

As a /great/ deal more salt is placed into the offering bowl, at first it still remains quiet. But then, with a grinding noise, the bowl sinks very slightly downwards, just enough to reveal a hole in the stone. This is followed shortly by then the noise of trickling water somewhere inside the stone; slowly, the bowl begins to fill with water that flows from that hole. Then the bowl sinks still further, letting the water drain back into a second channel lower in the stone.

Silence.

And then, with a click and crunch of long-disused mechanisms, the great stone door begins to slide slowly aside, leaving an entrance to the dark interior of the temple beyond.

Alis keeps one hand on the hilt of her weapon as the door grinds open; because you never know, okay? Something could leap out from the dark! And her expression is wary, looking into the dark interior. "Well that's kind of neat. The door, I mean. Hopefully we find some interesting information in here. To make up for the lack of interesting food we'll be eating on the way back." she quips.

Calypso gets Truestrike from Sleek hip-hugging black python leather sword belt.

Calypso puts Falcon's Fury in Sleek hip-hugging black python leather sword belt.

"Is the First Choice fond of salt?" Mason asks thoughtfully, stepping back from the bowl as much to give *it* some room as well as so the others can see. He doesn't rush to be first into the temple and instead digs out a small travel lantern and some oil. He throws a small smile towards Alis, "I have some other spices we could share." The smile might be telling to anyone that knows the prince well.

"You will not get me near your curry." Alis is totally a NO. She's seen what that curry does to people :(

Calypso makes a few adjustments and switches out her Alaricite blade in favor of the rubicund one she usually carries. She nods to Alis then. "I'm sure Prince Mason didnt leave home with out a few packets of curry." And then he speaks up to confirm it and she grins at him. Gesturing forward she asks the group. "Shall we venture forth? Torches to light the way?"

Tristan puts a hand to his sword hilt but says, practically, "We'll need light," and moves to grab torches from their supplies and light them. "That almost sounded like a Mangata clue," he says with a snort. "Salt and water."

"I didn't think so.." Deva mutters to Mason with an uncertain shrug, shoulders rising higher. She nods to Calypso, reaching for and lighting up a torch she brought along. She's fond of fire, so naturally...

"I mean. I'm not aware of him being /overly/ fond of it," Aleksei replies to Mason with a quiet snort. He shoots the Eurusi prince and then Tristan a grateful look when they go about making light happen, and he's definitely take a torch from the stablemaster once everything is gathered to venture forth into the darkness of the temple. ONWARD.

As the circle of torchlight slowly reveals the space beyond, the party finds something wildly different than the current temple of the First Choice. For one, this building lacks any sort of open, airy feel; it's made of good solid heavy stone, almost more like a fortress than a temple. Good wide pillars provide support for the stone roof, but also could easily provide cover for defenders aiming to hold the entryway.

Yet there's still decoration, too. Murals line the two side walls, and three doors are dimly visible on the far wall.

"Arvani tastes... so bland." The prince murmurs lightly. Then, Mason gets his little lantern lit, content to burn the oil over carrying a messy torch that would drift sparks down on him. As they trickle inside, the Eurusi wanders over to one the murals, mindful of where he's stepping. Once he's close, he'll hold the light up higher so that he can see the imagery depicted.

Calypso steps further in to the hallway, her torch held high to get a good look at the murals and what they might depict. "This place looks more like something we'd set up to defend in than worship in."

Tristan finishes handing out torches and heads first not to the doors, but to one of the murals, examining them by the flickering torchlight for anything of interest. He runs his fingers lightly over the mural as he looks at it, head cocked to one side. "Smell anything?" he asks the dog-in-his-jacket a little wryly.

"I was thinking the same thing, Lady General." Alis murmurs, as they stake stock of the stone wall and pillars. She too heads for the wall with the murals, watching the light from Tristan's touch pass by the images, to see what story they have to tell.

"Gods. I wonder--" Aleksei's gaze roves down the sturdy hall, his brow furrowing. "I wonder if people /did/ defend in it," he says. "Against the armies of Skald's Reflection." He turns, joining the others in inspecting the murals curiously. "It could have served as -- I dunno, some sort of emblematic bastion, maybe."

The mural on one wall is a series of figures with pointed ears -- most standing arrayed in a horde, their weapons raised just /precisely/ so, as if they were a single entity rather than many, with a texture carved behind them almost suggesting chains binding them all together. Yet here and there, other figures have stepped forward into the line of fire, reaching out to those figures. Many fall... and yet, here and there, one has pulled one of their pointed-ear assailants free from that mob of conformity.

The mural on the opposite wall, however, is more detailed. It shows a figure in a blue robe wrapped in chains, with others standing freely around them. The other end of the mural shows that same blue-robed figure standing free, now among those who were surrounding him or her. But most of the mural, it seems, has been obliterated by the trickle of water from the ceiling. Whatever story it told is seemingly lost to time.

Patches, meanwhile, sniffs the air deeply. Then lets out a little doggy-sneeze at all the torch-smoke, and tucks his head deeper into Tristan's jacket.

"Sorry," says Tristan apologetically to the dog, and scritches his ears. He glances to Aleksei, and gestures to the murals. "Do these tell a story you know?"

Calypso gives the first mural a look over. "The Sylv'alfar I imagine. Bound by Tyranny. Its rather hopeful seeing the few breaking their bonds." She reflects for a moment before looking over to the next mural. "This one isn't familiar to me at all. How about you?" She glances to Aleksei for a reply.

Alis hadn't guessed much past 'elves', really. And so she listens to the others speak while crossing to the other wall to look at the doors and see if they have any symbols or inscriptions on them that might help them pick which one, if any, they might want to open.

"The Nox'alfar and the Sylv'alfar?" Mason suggests, peering at the chained elves before looking around to the others curiously. Then he crosses to the other mural with the blue-robed figure. "Someone in chains and then free? ... It could be the Great Enslaver. He was ran free at the same time that the elves were released. It is too bad Aislin isn't here."

"The Sylv'alfar," Aleksei murmurs, reaching for but not quite touching the pointed-eared horde. "See the chains -- the Archfiend of Slavery -- not Tyranny, Lady General, that's Gloria's -- stripped them of their identities. Their very names. They referred to each other by numbers. But they were corrupted and bound, not evil, so these ones--" His hand shifts down to their painted fellows trying to free them from the horde. "--some of the others wanted to save their people, of course." He turns, considering the mural on the opposite wall and the blue-robed figure, his brow furrowing. "It /seems/ like someone who maybe was bound and then freed? Maybe a mage? Mages wear robes, right? I don't even know. I've heard a story of a half-elf with the power of 'True Songs' or whatever -- a spellsinger -- who could sing their identities back to them and break their Writs. But -- she was born free, not bound like the others. Doesn't quite fit."

Calypso nods a little. "If someone has any latent for drawing, it might not be a bad idea to bring a recreation of these back with us." She pauses a moment and then looks down the hall to the three doors. "But, our journey does not end here."

"Not I," says Tristan. "We've all our talents. Drawing is not mine." He steps away from the walls, and raises his torch to illuminate the doors beyond.

Mason looks over at Aleksei, "Oh, it could be a mage. That is true. Maybe one of the Metallic Order?" He spends a while looking over the murals, pulling out his writing case so that he can take a few notes. "Perhaps you could tell me that story sometime, Archlector?" He asks quietly, then looks to Calypso, "I could try a rough sketch, but I am no artist. If someone else here is skilled, I have the tools." At the very least they will have nice stick figure representation!

Looking on in an unsettled fashion, Deva's fingers remain tight around the torch she holds high to illuminate their explorations. Staring at the mural, she exhales quietly and nods in agreement as the conversation flows. "I could try-- I've been sketching more lately," she nods to Calypso, and gives her pack a little pat. "If we have time on the way back."

Alis smirks. "I expect anything I drew would put Percephon's visual horrors in a much better perspective." is all she says about that. And anyone who has seen his artistic creations may well recoil in horror at the idea.

"Which metal's blue?" Aleksei asks with a crooked smile. "But yeah, I can certainly tell you what I know of it sometime. Obviously it's a, uh. Point of particular interest for me." He flashes a quick look of mild surprise for her drawing skills, but then he's smiling again. "I live with two artists, but I sure don't know the first thing about it myself." And since they're apparently leaving sketching for their way out, he goes ahead and starts moving down the hall to check out the doors. Hello, doors.

Calypso nods and steps forward down the hall until she can get a better look at the three doors. She searches for any distinguishing features that might hint at what we might find behind the door. "Looks like we have a choice to make."

"Cobalt? Is that right?" Mason asks, because some Arvani words just don't come up too often. Still, since Deva is offering to make the drawings the prince will give her a smile, happily deferring. "Thank you." He says, then moves to follow the others to the DOORS. He gives Calypso a smile, "Obviously the best choice is for us to split up and all explore different doors." He's joking. Really.

Alis looks thoughtful at the mention of Cobalt, and then glances back at the mural again as if comitting the image of the robed person to memory. "We could flip a silver coin a few times." she suggests to pick a door to go through. Which is obviously a bad idea. But it's AN idea.

Tristan moves toward the doors. He inspects all three closely by torchlight, looking for any differences between the three. Markings or inscriptions, the wear of foot on the floor, etc. Claw marks. Blood stains. And so on.

"Maybe start by seeing if any will even open?" Mason considers, gazing up -- because no one ever thinks to look up.

"Oh, Cobalt," Aleksei says, brows lifting again thoughtfully. "I only know the one story about her, which doesn't have any mention of Skald's Reflection or the like. But I guess she did break a Writ in it." He eyes the blue-robed figure on the mural for a moment longer before returning his attention to the doors for examination.

The three doors at the far end of the room are unlabeled and with no immediately visible way of opening them. Though this time there's a series of tiles, each inscribed with a design of some form, placed in the two gaps between the three doors. Though the design doesn't seem to be /writing/, there is something of a repetitive design to them. It seems as though, once again, the next part of the temple is sealed off securely.

This temple really /was/ set up as a defensible position, and whatever was once beyond, it seems that those who worshipped here did not want outsiders -- or at least, mindless hordes -- reaching it.

And yet... Tristan finds evidence that at least once, those defenses failed. For there is a darker patch of stone that suggests someone bled out near one of the doors.

Aleksei checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 13 higher.

Mason checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 31 higher.

Deva checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 11 higher.

Alis steps closer to get a better look at the designs on the tiles. And then, looks back over at the murals in case maybe the designs are repeated there in some way. "Maybe it's one of those things you have to push in a sequence? Or it could be a big ol 'No Trespassing' sign."

Tristan stoops to investigate the blood patch while the others are studying the tiles. "Reassuring," he murmurs to himself before straightening up. "I wonder if whoever that was attacked by someone? Or did the temple kill the poor bastard?" He cautiously eyes the walls and floors around the bloodstain, checking for traps.

Tristan checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 17 higher.

Dusting off her fingertips, Deva scoots close enough to stare at the tiles and the designs etched into them. "Awfully fortified," she mutters, with a glance around before her attention returns to the designs. "It looks like runes, just... scrambled. If we could shuffle them around...? I think it could make a more sensical pattern. Maybe?" She looks to the others, before squinting back toward the puzzle with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, that's kind of what it looks like to me," Aleksei says in agreement with Deva. "Like, we have to put them in -- a specific order. Probably not /empowered/ or whatever, but -- you know, symbolic. Of -- something." He scratches his head a bit.

Tristan inspects the walls, his gaze travelling upward, and to the ceiling. He frowns. "Er," he says, with a gesture of his torch. Just visible on the ceiling by the torchglow is another bloodstain, a matched set with the one on the floor.

Mason walks slowly along between the doors, studying the different tiles with brow furrowed. He looks to Deva and Aleksei, "Yes. They're mixed up. They are similar to a ward I have seen in Eurus, against darkness, but they're not in the right order." The prince shares. He will reach to see if one of the tiles can be lifted free. "Maybe we can assemble it correctly."

"I think you are right. Lets try making sense of these patterns." Calypso says at Deva's suggestion. She gives them a long hard took to see if anything in the patterns starts to look like a sequence to her. All this time staring at maps and finding patterns in them certainly must pay off.

Alis looks up, and then down. "Well, that looks promising. May I suggest that if we don't get this right, we will wind up with bits of ourselves on the ceiling somehow?"

Calypso checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 4 lower.

The tiles on which the runes are visible seem to be able to be slid around on the walls. Evidently, they /are/ intended to be unscrambled in some manner. Two sets of tiles, three doors...

Aleksei's gaze lifts up to that bloodstain on the ceiling Tristan has found. He looks down to the floor. "Well. That'd be -- embarrassing." Archlector of the First Choice, murdered by an ancient Temple of the First Choice. He looks hopefully to Mason. Mason recognized it!! "Maybe we can just be -- uh. Really sure before setting the last one in."

"I think," declares Tristan, "that I'm going to stand over _there_." He moves as far away as possible from the bloodstains while still remaining within eyeshot of the tiles. For the most part, he seems content to leave the tiles to those who are more versed in runes than he, but squints at them thoughtfully, jaw set, as if something will magically occur to him.

Calypso humms a little. "I looks like that goes to there. But, I really can't be sure." She glances back to Mason then, holding her torch up high to illuminate the area a little better. "Maybe you can give it a go?"

"If it's meant to be the same as the Eurusi ward, well, I can try it. It's very familiar. I can't think of what else it could." Mason replies, looking to see if the others are in agreement. And, well, there's that blood stain to consider. "If no one else has a better idea?" With a little murmured prayer under his breath in Eurusi, he'll start trying to rearrange the tiles to what he thinks they should be.

"Great," Deva gives Mason a hopeful look, as she shuffles back a few steps to stay well out of the way of the man who seems to know what he's doing. She keeps the torch close enough to illuminate as needed, while also not setting anyone on fire. Ideally.

Deva checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 12 lower.

Tristan checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 8 lower.

Mason checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 18 higher.

Alis checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 22 higher.

Aleksei checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 11 lower.

Alis can see the pattern now, on the other set of tiles. Meanwhile, Mason has finished assembling the first one... and two of the doors, the ones bordering it, each open, revealing a long hallway beyond each.

"I think I can see the pattern in the other one, if we want to open all the doors at the same time.." Alis declares, after having been either quiet or snarky for the last little while. "Unless you already recognize this one too, Prince Mason?"

"We might as well open all three if we can." Calypso says as she looks between Alis and Mason. "See all of our options before we decide our path."

"Yeah, that seems reasonable enough," Aleksei says in agreement with Calypso. He looks to Alis, since she seems to have a good idea for the next puzzle.

Tristan checked perception + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 0 higher.

Aleksei checked perception + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 8 lower.

Alis checked perception + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 25 higher.

Mason smiles when the doors open, "I didn't expect that to work." He admits with a nervous laugh, then goes over to where Alis is inspecting the other. "Go ahead. It looks familiar, I'll stop you if I see anything that seems out of place. There are many runes like this in Eurus. People use them for a variety of things." He just stands back. Someone else can risk getting deadified this time. Yep.

Deva checked perception + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Alis definitely does not want to be the one who turns them all into Arvani pancakes. So she gives Mason a grateful nod for watching over her shoulder to make sure there's no obvious screw up. But, with a look of focus in her expression she starts sliding the tiles around so that the pattern locks into place.

Alis checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 20, rolling 18 higher.

When Alis slips the last bits of the puzzle together, the far door opens as well. Now all three doors stand open, revealing three potential paths forward.

It seems the party may have to make a Choice.

"Eenie meenie time?" wonders Tristan, tone a little dry. He raises his torch, looking between the paths, looking for any notable differences that can be seen at this point. "Which one smells best?" he asks his dog, as if he expects the dog to actually understand him.

Calypso glances down all three hall ways. Neither of them having any more or less to distinguish them. She humms a moment and then points towards the door to the left. "As good as any. Shall we?"

"Unless Patches has a better idea," Aleksei says to Calypso with a faint smile. He steps nearer to Deva, murmuring a quieter word to her, smile going wry and crooked.

Alis looks in the direction Calypso pointed, and shrugs her agreement. "They all look quite the same to me." No pressure, Patches.

Tristan has rolled a critical success!
Tristan checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 79 higher.

Deva gives Aleksei a confused look, a brow lifting. "Why in particular?" She seems happy to defer this decision to the rest, looking toward Tristan and pup with a curious expression.

Patches sniffs the air, and then wiggles in Tristan's jacket. Bark bark! He squirms towards the leftmost passage, as if trying to guide his master closer in that direction. /This/ way!

Tristan checked perception at difficulty 12, rolling 4 higher.

Aleksei checked perception at difficulty 12, rolling 5 higher.

Calypso checked perception at difficulty 12, rolling 5 higher.

Alis checked perception at difficulty 12, rolling 10 lower.

Mason has rolled a critical success!
Mason checked perception at difficulty 12, rolling 16 higher.

Tristan unfastens his jacket and sets the squirming pup down. "You're going back in at the first sign of trouble," he warns Patches, even as the dog hops toward the leftmost door. Tristan steps after him but glances over his shoulder at Aleksei. "Breeze," he says.

Aleksei blinks at Deva's reaction. "Oh," he says. "Nevermind. I--" His attention is pulled back over at Patches' barking and indicating. "Well. I guess the dog agrees with you, Lady General," he says with sage humor to Calypso. He steps towards the door, lifting his chin when he seems to catch the same breeze as Tristan. "Smells kinda green."

Alis looks towards the passage on the right, obviously. While everyone else is looking left. The dog barking totally registers, but she... doesn't get it. She even sniffs, trying to smell this green that Aleksei mentions. And, nope. Not sniffin' a thing. But she's also not going to argue with the dog! It's too cute.

Calypso grins just a little when she sees the dog headed the way she just randomly choose. Taking a step in a little closes she sniff at the air. "Greenery, the air is moving. Seems safe enough to venture forth to me." And with that she takes a few cautious steps down the left-most hallway!

Patches sort of scamper-hops along down the passage, with another bark. This way! This way, guys! He's got this!

Mason has been waiting while they decide all of this, having wandered back to study the murals more. Once people start moving he moves to follow, but pulls a bit of chalk from his pack and marks a little Eurusi symbol on the door frame as he passes it. Just in case they end up in a bit of a maze, he'll keep marking things.

Patches obviously knows where he's going, and Aleksei is prepared to follow their fearless canine leader. So he follows!

Alis follows along. Go, Patches, go!

Tristan follows closely behind Patches, a little too aware of what dangers might befall a plucky little three-legged mutt.

The passage leads deeper and deeper into the mountain. Soon enough, Mason's fears prove true; the passage turns and splits, clearly becoming a maze. A temple of choice with a labyrinth? What were the chances...

Little Patches is many things; a maze-runner is not one of them. He pauses at the fork in the pathway, sniffing the air, and then just decides to wait for Tristan.

"Oh. Oh, okay, I think I get it now. I didn't get what you were referencing," Deva looks troubled by Aleksei's response, her expression falling. She steps away, keeping toward the back of the group as they press on.

Calypso digs around in her backpack for the giant ball of twine she brough. This is an adventuring expedition, yes? Balls of twine come standard. "Mark our way through the maze. At least if we take a wrong turn we can track back to the beginning here."

Alis can just /feel/ her expression fall when they come upon a labyrinth. "Good idea." she remarks, about the ball of twine. Though she then stands at parade rest, waiting to see what the others are going to say about directions to take.

Tristan catches up with Patches, and stoops to scritch him behind the ears. "Good boy," he tells him. "And good idea," he adds, approving of Calypso's twine. "I heard somewhere...shouldn't you always keep right in a maze? Or possibly left."

When they reach the fork, Mason dutifully marks some symbols down and an arrow pointing back up towards the exit. "Oh, I have some chalk..." He says to Calypso, but doesn't really protest extra precautions.

Deva looks troubled, but Aleksei looks a touch relieved as he looks back at her. "Oh. Sorry. No, I just got caught thinking I'd, uh. Said something I shouldn't have." He offers her a warm, crooked sort of smile. He looks back to the others as they come to their next split. "Well, I'm sure it's one of those two," he says with wry humor to Tristan.

"Or backwards," Tristan murmurs dryly in response.

Aleksei checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 1 higher.

Alis checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 1 lower.

Mason checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 28 higher.

Calypso checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 3 higher.

Tristan has rolled a critical success!
Tristan checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 32 higher.

The party slowly advances through the maze. Alis almost leads them into a brief backtrack, but Mason and Tristan soon have the group back on track. Soon, the walls become inlaid with tile mosaics, many of them crumbling, with the tiles in broken piles on the floor of the maze. Yet here and there, one can see glimpses of the imagery still: a field of chains with a man standing among them to shatter them all. A huge shadow looming over those in the maze. A tall man with black eyes and an expression of fury.

Aleksei checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 17 higher.

Mason checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 5 higher.

Tristan has rolled a critical success!
Tristan checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 49 higher.

Calypso checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

Alis checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 1 lower.

Deva checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 3 lower.

Mason continues marking with the chalk as they go as an extra precaution, pausing occasionally to take in the images they pass. He jots down some more notes on that paper from earlier, frequently pulling it from his writing case. "Maybe this is Skald?" He asks of the man breaking the field of chains. The shadow he just frowns at. The tall man with dark eyes and fury, "Any thoughts on this one, Archlector?"

"Skald, I think," Aleksei says to Mason "Looks like him as much as a crumbly tile mosaic can. Pissed as fuck about something. Probably Writs. Or--" He stops, his expression softening a bit, and they move on. Skald is his guess for the man standing among the chains to shatter them, too, and his Reflection for the looming shadow.

Tristan may have been confused on whether to stick right or left, but his sense of direction seems to be working today, at least. Patches is helping. The dog keeps sniffing the patch ahead and occasionally has Opinions on which route to go.

Alis is obviously entranced by the imagery, as she nearly makes several wrong turns. And maybe looks a little embarassed when she realizes it. "It's fascinating. I'd love to devote some time to better understanding theology at some point." she murmurs, trying not to continue being a directions derp.

Calypso nods her agreement with that assessment. "Very likely so. Much of this temple likely tells of his history I would imagine. His quest to free those who are bound and offer choices." She smirks just a touch as she sees another bend in the maze. "Weather or not it is easier to make all of these choices, I am glad we have the opportunity to do so."

Deva is mostly lost, and she's completely unhelpful when it comes to navigation. She looks up, her expression a reserved one, more than a little withdrawn for the time being. She aims to stick with at least a few other people, following and soaking it all in.

The maze begins to fork more often in the center; the mosaics crumbling more often now. Here and there another image is visible, however -- people laying on the ground, seemingly dead, as a pointy-eared figure looms over them. A blonde figure bent in grief beside them. Huge figures looming over smaller ones, as if prepared to crush them. And again, behind so many of the darker scenes, that enormous dark shadow.

There's an echo to their footsteps now, as if they were in a much larger space than this maze appears to be.

Mason checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 1 lower.

Tristan checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 2 higher.

Aleksei checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 16 higher.

Alis checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 2 lower.

Calypso checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 2 higher.

Deva has rolled a critical success!
Deva checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 18 higher.

While they're walking, Mason murmurs quietly to Aleksei, "I am thinking I will take you up on that offer before, now that I've had some time to think on it. And this here, what we are seeing... It is telling me this is the right path." And maybe he's just a little too distracted because he completely forgets to mark one of their turns and causes some mixups as they explore. Still, he'll at least jot down quick notes on each mural they see.

Aleksei looks less sure of himself as they pass by these more crumbling mosaics. "I assume a Sylv'alfar, but--" he says to the looming, pointy-eared figure. "His Herald? The Metallic Traitor? My timeline's kind of fuzzy for that, and this Temple might predate him becoming a Herald--" His gaze lingers on one of those many shadows they pass, his expression grim. It does lighten, however, at Mason's words, his lips curving in a slow smile. "Glad to hear it," he says.

Calypso humms again as she looks at that mural. "Unsettling this one." She nods to Aleksei. "It is possible. I don't know how old this place is though as you say. But it is highly possible that is depicting the Metallic Traitor."

Tristan is a little less sure, or maybe Patches is. He's more interested in looking at the mosaics as they pass. "Strange, the echo," he remarks. "As if this place is larger than it looks. Or the floors are hollow."

"I've been thinking of tackling some sort of master timeline as a project in the Society.. Something we can use to more easily reference all these events." Mason shares, glancing around to see if there's interest from the others on that. Then he focuses on Tristan, "How do you mean? It is going back into a cliff... have we been going down at all? Deeper?"

Alis definitely looks down at the mention of hollow floors. Perhaps with a brief spurt of panic before the infamous Valardin stoic appears.

Deva's instinct to get the hell out starts kicking in. Her pace picks up, jaw tight as she scurries along. "I hate it in here," she mutters aloud, with no attempt to keep that sentiment to herself. While she does study the murals they pass, her expression is no better than an uncomfortable grimace.

There's definitely a breeze now -- it's hard to tell precisely where it's coming from, but occasional backtracking and re-routing, along with Mason's chalk outlines, have helped. The mosaics have vanished now, as this part of the maze seems to have crumbled more.

The reason for the echoing footsteps becomes clear soon enough, when the party nearly rounds a corner right into a hole -- Deva spots it first, Aleksei a moment later, and the two of them are able to keep the rest of the party from simply stepping into what appears to be an opening /deep/ into a chasm below. The maze, it seems, extends out over this, and perhaps this hole is where some of the breeze has been coming from.

There is, thankfully, enough of a lip still for the group to edge around the pit and make their way past, to continue their travel.

Mason checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 7 higher.

Aleksei checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 5 higher.

Alis checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 8 lower.

Tristan checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 14 lower.

Calypso checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 1 higher.

Deva checked intellect + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 4 lower.

Deva flings her arms out to the sides, the better to keep the others from tumbling forward. "Gods damn," she mutters, scooting a few inches further back from the hole they nearly plummeted into. This leaves her far too flustered to get a good grip on where they tred next.

Calypso sucks in a deep breath as she sees the very deep hole and the very thin ledge that surrounds it. "Careful now. Take it slow, this isn't a race." She cautions and then carries on, sliding carefully along the edge of the path, hand to the wall for stability.

"Fucking shit--" Aleksei wheels back a bit from that chasm, his expression startled. He's quite slow and careful across that lip, although he makes the mistake of looking down at one point. When he lifts his head again, his face is a bit whiter. He makes it, though.

"Please tell me we don't have to go down there. Let's find another way around." Alis is not about the flinging herself down into chasm's. Thin ledges though, she doesn't seem to have a problem with.

Patches is a very sensible dog and would never fling himself into a chasm. That does not prevent Tristan from pouncing him and picking him up quickly, cradling the little dog in his arms as he looks down. He takes a step backward, turns, checks to make sure he's still on solid ground and wonders, "Where were we?"

Mason checked willpower at difficulty 15, rolling 8 lower.

Mason's eyes are totally on the mosaics of the walls, soaking up the ancient images with a certain delight. He would have fallen right into the chasm had Deva and Aleksei not blocked him. The prince sucks in a sharp breath and retreats back with eyes widened by alarm and a sudden burst of nerves. He swears softly in his native tongue. "Maybe we should just go back and take another route?" He suggests, because that is a really deep hole and he's looking a little shaken.

The party finds themselves in a dead-end. Patches looks disgusted with all of them; this is why humans don't rule the world, clearly.

Deva checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Calypso begins edging her way back along when she sees Mason hesitating. She holds out a hand. "We've got you."

Aleksei checked charm + empathy at difficulty 15, rolling 23 higher.

Alis can definitely sympathize with Mason. But since what she's tempted to do is /order/ him across the chasm, she bites her tongue and keeps her mouth shut and lets the others do the charming. She's too busy trying not to look down anyway. She ain't much better then he is.

Aleksei looks back, finding Mason still there on the other side. He turns back, nodding to Calypso when she offers the prince her hand. "You've got this," he tells him, his smile warm but a bit gentle. "Take her hand, okay? And just keep your feet against the wall, and keep looking at me. Don't look down, just look at me. You've got this."

Tristan keeps hold of Patches, which no doubt makes him extra disgusted. Humans. Not even trusting that one very sensible dog won't fling himself to his death. Tristan watches the others coax Mason, and shuts his mouth with an audible click. Whatever he was going to say was probably less patient.

Mason is eying that ledge, that oh so narrow ledge. Then he's looking at that deep deep hole of death. When Calypso edges back and offers her hand, there's clear hesitation, but the scholar will reach to take it in what quickly becomes a death-grip. He slowly shuffles along. Painfully slowly. His normally dark complexioned features have a very grayish cast to them, but eventually he gets across and rapidly puts some distance between himself at the opening in the floor. "Sorry..." The man gasps when he gets some composure back.

Okay, NOW they eventually find themselves in a dead-end, and have to backtrack slightly.

Aleksei checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 15 higher.

Tristan checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 1 higher.

Calypso checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Mason checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 7 higher.

Alis checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

Deva checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 5 higher.

Mason says in Eurusi, "What the fucking hell?!"

Of course when they hit that wall. That END in the PATH. Mason just stares at it, then spits out his phrase in Eurusi and clenches his teeth as he slowly returns to that pit with a loathing on his face now.

"Hey, it's okay." Aleksei offers Mason's shoulder a squeeze before dropping his hand away. Aaaaaaand there's the dead end. Okay. They'll just -- do some of that backtracking.

Calypso frowns a little as they hit the dead end. "Well. The murals were nice." She glances back at Mason as he is no doubt swearing in his native tongue. "You'll be fine." Whatever care and sympathy she had getting him past the chasm is gone. Returned is the stoic general once more.

"It's a little tempting to kick some of the stone here and see if we can't just strongarm... or foot our way through. But, that seems rather sacreligious." Alis, not looking forward to going back over that chasm.

Mason checked composure at difficulty 15, rolling 2 lower.

Needless to say, the Grayson prince is neither stoic nor particularly noble about it, but with much muttering he makes it back across that narrow ledge with the help of any that are willing to give it. Mason falls into a bit of a brooding silence for a while after that. He's probably just embarrassed. Or traumatized. Whoever built this place is probably getting a good chuckle from the Shining Lands.

After a bit of backtracking, the maze finally disgorges them at a bridge overlooked by balconies... another defensible space. Whatever was done here five hundred years ago or so, the followers of the First Choice clearly did /not/ want someone or something getting in here. It's a nice sturdy bridge across part of this chasm, good and solid, leading to an ornate archway.

Well, nice and sturdy... save for that six-foot gap where a boulder appears to have fallen and taken part of the bridge out.

(No doubt Mason will be fine.)

Calypso snorts a little as she sees the gap in the bridge. "Press on and jump for it? Or turn back and try another door?" She glances around to her companions. "Its only six feet or so. I think we can make it."

Alis looks disapprovingly at that gap. "I generally dislike bridge gaps that are taller then I am." Which is probably most bridge gaps, lets be honest here. "What about rope? I have rope. We can... no we can't swing across that can we. It'd be worse. Cause then we'd have to swing and climb."

Calypso checked perception at difficulty 7, rolling 1 higher.

Mason checked composure at difficulty 15, rolling 7 higher.

Alis checked perception at difficulty 7, rolling 5 higher.

Tristan checked perception at difficulty 7, rolling 13 higher.

Mason just stares at the bridge and the *gap* in the bridge, his face as stony as the walls. Then he just holds his hand out blindly towards Alis, "The rope? I will jump." Oh, he's going to face his fear. He is. He looks like he's going to wet himself, but he's determined.

"I could hold onto the opposite side and let you all walk across me," contributes Tristan. A pause. "That was a joke."

"Oh, I can totally jump that," Aleksei says with full confidence, eyeing that six foot gap. "That's an easy one." Although now he's eyeballing the people in steel a little bit. "Hn."

Calypso pats Mason on the shoulder. "Good man. Just hit it with confidence and you'll be just fine."

Tristan fastens Patches inside his jacket again, obviously not trusting him to make his way across alone. He looks up. "Look," he says, gesturing to one of the balconies. "There's a metal ring in the bottom of that balcony, there. Someone who's a decent archer could probably get a rope through an arrow and then we could swing across."

Alis holds out rope. "Who's good with a bow? The rope's all yours." Clearly, she is in agreement with Tristan's assessment here.

"Oh. Well, I guess we could do that." Aleksei's gaze sliiiiides on over to Deva.

Calypso looks to Deva as they discover the rope and ring situation. "Your Grace, I'be seen you with a bow on the battle field. This should be a cake walk."

Deva checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 25, rolling 10 higher.

Mason gives Calypso a nod, but as someone suggests a seemingly better idea, the man just steps back and is quite content to sit down and wait. Oh yes.

"...No one else? Fine," Deva allows a very small smile as she slides the bow off her back, and plucks an arrow out of her quiver with ease. Off the arrow goes, into the ring, with the row attached to the other end. "Tada," she holds out the rope for someone else.

"Probably an easier shot than Brand's eye," Aleksei says with a crooked grin to Deva. He looks about the group. Who's going first?

"Lightest should go first," suggests Tristan. "To stress the rope least at the beginning. I'm sure it's a fine, sturdy rope, but just in case."

Calypso nods over to Alis. "I suppose thats you." Minus the heavy armor of course.

Alis is surely not the lightest with this armor on. But, she shrugs and grabs the offered rope. "Okay!" And away she goes! Fortunately for all of them, she skips a tarzen style battle cry on the way across, before ensuring the rope swings back.

Calypso makes a swing for it when it is her turn! She is a practiced fencer, a controlled fighter! Surely her swing across a gap on the bridge is nothing by graceful. at least, she hopes.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be fine," Aleksei says blithely when Alis goes first anyways. He lets a few people go ahead of him, then takes a brisk swing over himself. (He could've jumped it.)

Mason looks reluctant, but the prince is bolstered by having a rope to hold onto. When his turn comes up, he will work it's slack around his arm a few times and then hold it in a vice grip as he swings across. Honestly, it's six feet. It's incredibly anti-climactic, but he looks relieved once his feet are on the ground again. "It's just... deep holes.. They're deep, yes?" He asks of no one in particular as he brushes his hands off in nervous fashion.

Tristan could have jumped it too. Totally. But he waits to nearly the end, and swings briskly across, with Patches in his jacket. The dog hangs his head out, his ear-and-a-half swinging in the breeze, tongue lolling. What fun!

Once across, it's a simple matter to head through the archway and into... well, it's breathtaking, really.

The room the party now finds themselves in is enormous -- a huge natural cavern. Far overhead, a crack in the stone lets in a shaft of natural light; centuries of dust drift through the sunbeam, turning it into an almost-visible column. A single huge clear crystal, quartz of some sort, refracts the light and spreads it across the cavern. Meanwhile, ropes and vines of greenery that have crept inside the cavern hang from the ceiling overhead, creating a sort of natural set of tapestries and drapery.

The center of the cavern is an area of flat, polished stone large enough to hold a small building, atop which is built an 'open air' temple. It's really more of an amphitheater, in some ways -- lots of spaces to sit, curved benches arrayed between pillars shaped to look like the trunks of trees that had grown there naturally. At the center appears to be an altar of some form, with plenty of space in front of it.

This, then, would be the true /temple/ of this facility. And even now, centuries after it was last used, there's still a feeling of peace to it, as if here -- here you can be safe, for a little while.

Surrounding it all, however, is a deep chasm.... with one last bridge leading across. One final line of defense. This one has no gaps, however -- doubtless to Mason's relief.

Calypso glances around as the group steps in to the cavern. Even as sensible, calm and collected as she usually is, the Lady of War is left standing in awe. "How remarkable." She says with no hint of sarcasm, and no lack of reverence for such a place. She looks to Aleksei then. "Do you think this is the heart of the temple then?"

Mason is gaping for a long time as they reach the cavern, gazing around in fascination at the beautiful space and how it's been designed. "Ooooh, this is incredible." The Eurusi man says, eagerly pulling out that paper to write more notes, no doubt to share with his wife when he returns home. Of course, he does see that chasm, "Very fond of deep holes, whoever built this place..." He murmurs with just a touch of disgruntlement. He looks to Aleksei as well, however, to get the Archlector's take on it all.

"There it is." I mean, that's obviously the real temple there. Alis actually smiles upon seeing it, the tension leaving her shoulders and a look of wonder replacing any of her former worry. "Archlector Aleksei, it seems only right that you enter the true Temple first. If you think that's what it is." With a nod given across that chasm.

After swinging, taking up the role of being the last to go across, Deva tries to set the rope somewhere it can be reached in the event of a hasty retreat. As they enter, she seems particularly awed. A hand slips over her mouth, and she looks like she's getting misty eyed. She peels a few steps away from the rest of the group, arms sliding around herself in self-hug of sorts.

"Holy gods." Aleksei's gaze travels slowly over the open space of the temple in front of them, his bright blue eyes wide and delighted. "Look at it," he says, an irrepressible smile widening across his face. "Can you feel it? Chains have been broken here." He moves swiftly ahead to the bridge. "The light -- just like Prism did with the new shrine -- and the /crystal/!" He's near to cackling; it's not the most dignified reaction by the Archlector, particularly when others are being so polite about letting him go first, but it is what it is. Skald's not the most dignified god, anyways.

For once, Tristan's run out of sarcastic remark. He stops short and stares, looking around himself in clear wonder. He lets Patches down so the dog can sniff around.

Calypso follows Aleksei across the bridge when he seems to skip and cackle towards the center. "You're going to have to tell me who Prism is on the journey back. Sounds like an insightful individual." She comments as she makes her way across the bridge. "What do you suppose that crystal is for in the center? Surely not just decorations?"

Mason will wait for Aleksei to cross first, then trail along the bridge (there are no gaps, he's good) after Calypso. "Prism is the Seraph of the First Choice." He offers in explanation, speaking softly as he moves closer to the hallowed ground. He seems hesitant to go too quickly, lest he disturb the tranquility.

Alis has to stifle a laugh at the skipping and cackling. But she will soon follow across that bridge, and simply start looking around before she gingerly takes a seat at one of the curved benches. A little meditation never hurt anybody.

Tristan follows near the back of the group, still looking about himself in wonder. He keeps one eye on Aleksei. This is Aleksei's moment, after all, more so than anyone else's.

The temple itself, once they're across the bridge, proves to easily be large enough to hold two hundred people, perhaps two hundred and fifty. There are several crumbled bridges leading deeper in off the other side, which suggests there may be rooms -- living spaces and such -- elsewhere in this complex. There are racks of weaponry -- old in style, ordinary in construction, but clearly left there to be ready for defenders.

Sadly, it seems like a lot of the temple is empty. There are shelves which must once have held books and relics, which now hold only dust. Clearly, either nearly everything here has decayed, or else it was taken away by someone.

Aleksei checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 2 lower.

Tristan checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 31 higher.

Alis checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 9 higher.

Deva checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 3 lower.

Mason has rolled a critical success!
Mason checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 21 higher.

"What he said!" Aleksei calls back after Mason identifies Prism. "And, I mean, it /might/ be decoration. She showed me all these colors through a prism once--" Once over the bridge and in the temple proper, he keeps twisting around, trying to take it all in at once, that grin still wide on his face. "It's so big! And look--" He darts over to some of the shelves, picking up one or two of the ancient weapons and putting them back down. It's possible that the level of delightedly overwhelmed he is has something to do with his total inability to find anything /interesting/, but he doesn't seem that bothered, honestly. He bounds up the crystal to take a closer look at it, to actually lay his hands on it. "I guess it's also -- what do you call it. Diffusing the light."

Alis carefully takes a few pages in hand, after poking around the bookshelves, and brings them over to Aleksei. "I think this should go back with us for safekeeping in Arx. It looks like it was from a Priest's journal." She considers them to be his, of course, hoping he will take them to look at and read. "I think you'll enjoy his comments on too much salt in the food." she adds, with a quirk of the lips.

Calypso checked perception at difficulty 13, rolling 1 higher.

Tristan (and Patches) explore the various shelves and corners. He frowns at a shelf for a moment, one in a corner that looks empty at first glance, but the shelves are shadowed, concealing their contents. He pokes his head into a shelf, sneezes loudly (Patches looks at him in concern) and re-emerges, carrying an old metal box and with a generous amount of dust decorating his rumpled auburn hair and along the bridge of his nose.

Mason gazes at the prism in some wonderment for a while, but eventually turns to searching around. He wanders up and down the rows of seating and pauses where some rubble has fallen. He pulls aside some rocks and spends some time crouched there, picking through something. "Brother Aleksei, there is something here. A journal. Most of it is crumbling..." He pulls out a fresh sheet of paper and begins quickly copying the words down. "It talks of the 'War of Stolen Names', and that there was shelter for them. Maybe here? It was written by a priest that saw it as sacred duty."

Calypso seems to head over with Alis to look through the book shelves. She pulls out a page and then frowns a little as the twists and turns of the drawing seem to make sense. "This would have been useful coming down here." Calypso says with a slight grumble as she brings the map over to the rest of the group. "But at leas getting out will be easier. Here is a more direct route." She sets the map down and points out a good way to get back to the top from here.

"A journal?" Deva questions as Mason approaches Aleksei, eyebrows lifting with incredible curiosity.

Oh boy. Now Aleksei has multiple people with pages for him! He carefully takes the pages Alis brings him, laughing aloud at her comment -- and again when he reads through. "I guess salt was a running theme." And then he looks over to Mason, brows arching with interest. "It's what the Sylv'alfar called the Elven War. Because the elves bound to Skald's Reflection lost their names and identities. That makes sense that defending against that horde would be one of the callings of the temple, I'd think."

"I'm not sure what's in here," Tristan calls out toward Aleksei, approaching him with the metal box in his arms. "But perhaps you should be the one to open it." Patches scamper-hops along, barking. They found something!

"Yes, it mentions them reclaiming their names. It must have been those that were freed from the Writ." Mason says, still making careful recordings of anything still intelligible in the journal. Once he's finished he delicately picks up the crumbling book and carries it over to set down with the other finds.

Alis looks briefly tempted to pilfer Patches. Not that it would be allowed. But, so cute. Too cute!! "It would seem so." She saves on the laughter though, on hearing of the Elven War, her expression growing briefly somber. "Open the box! Open the box!" she encourages, all but bouncing on the balls of her feet. Which is quite a feat, since she's wearing steel. But then she is also headed toward Calypso to look at the map. "Hopefully with no giant holes on the way out."

"Yeah, the spellsinger could do it, and I'm sure they found other ways. Writs like those are unwilling, which are easier broken." Aleksei looks to Tristan, and then to Alis, and then he laughs again. "Well. Okay." He steps closer to the stablemaster and, after a hesitation, reaches to open the box he's found.

Inside the metal box, wrapped in a cloth, is a manacle which has clearly been through /something/ catastrophic. Cracked and split, blackened around the edges, it's clear that whatever happened to it, it can never chain anyone ever again. Whether it's a relic or a simple memento is unclear, but someone thought it important enough to wrap it in cloth and slip it into a box for safekeeping.

It takes a bit more searching, but it soon becomes clear the rest of the temple has been largely cleared out. And the path deeper in... there's no way across that chasm, not without serious spelunking equipment. But with knowledge of the path and the map Calypso found, returning to the outside world once more -- and thence, back to Arx itself -- should be relatively straightforward. And if the party might take a few mementos back with them... well, perhaps some of those old priests from so long ago would be pleased to see items carry on their old tasks once again.