Northern Bastion a test, to make sure nobody unready gets into Changing Ways. Six keys guarded six different ways - collect them, place them, you can get through, and they come reset it all. "They" being Dondar, apparently still around, or possibly their constructs of some sort. Source a bit hazy on difference between breath and magic, lack thereof.
Source a bit hazy period, being sort of condensed-cloud thing guarding one way into center (way out). Rather sad; wants to go home and has been waiting a long time for gates to open (but will in couple months? more story to be had there). Employed meanwhile. Smoky things also guarding second tower --
Towers. Statuette keys. First one in a hornblende box submerged in acid - garnet tower like the veins in the schist. Second one sealed in a vacuum chamber, very cunning, vacuum sucks the platform up into the room, turn off the vacuum, box and statue fall back down into the floor. Haha. Luckily Korenn doesn't need air, could go in there and get it when Parna turned vacuum back on. Very frothy pumice, that one.
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Parna figuring all this out of course, how all this stuff works, checking every door for traps. Cloud guy said people get killed trying to get the keys. Suppose it's better than letting kids and idiots wander in. Forge bless for Parna though, never thought I'd say that.
Picked up a third tower (wood, cracked in half - problem?) off a dead mantis guy (suffocated by cloud guy). Had found mantis guys earlier - are collecting keys too? Had *furniture* - hadn't realized they had *quarters* back there, may know more... but we can't talk to each other so not a lot of options there.
And fourth tower, big obsidian one, had passed on way in. All rather queasy about it for likely magical trap, as was no physical barrier - pulled it off pedestal by two ropes (v. clever, Parna again) so no one standing too close. Nothing. Did not actually do its thing until I went to pick it up (send dwarf, of course) and it put to my mind the seeming of a small room, bare except for a small skeleton (child or halfling maybe) and a door. Couldn't shake it so sat down to empty mind, see what would happen. Few minutes a kithwoman appears.
Says she's Rhodocros.
Right - cursebound Enemy, been stalking me dreaming and waking, etc. Was almost disappointed. Talked like a bad cleric, all saying other things that meant what she was saying but not really saying it. Tried to tell *me*, Walker of Way of Necessity (not to mention incarnation of riparian cairn or whatever the grep is going on with that), that I didn't know what I was doing. I mean, may not have achieved Perfect Unity but no snags sticking out for words like that to catch on. (Burrs polished by river - heh.) Wished she'd just state challenge and get on with it. Too bad too - decent weapons kit, fighter's poise, probably did some great things in her day. Could knock back some ale, share the Women's Toast, get her bragging, I'd probably learn a thing or two. But no, Enemy, fire anger death "you're misguided and sinful" fishcrap. Stupid fracting curse. Stupid slagging magic. Guess next time we meet's the big fight then.
And then I was standing back holding statuette, nobody noticed anything. Figures.
Two tower-keys remaining, then to find another way to the center (avoid fighting poor cloud guy). Having had magic, acid, and vacuum, wood might be lightning or something, maybe fire, or cold, or really heavy things, or ? Sonic - big weird obsidian drum thing in the floor of one of the rooms, set off a huge booming flicking a pebble onto it. Figured it for door alarm - we're here to take the grepping test - but some other role? So far none of the keys really *hidden*, behind secret doors or what.
Or darkness - weird magical darkness down one hall, *dimmed* things. Gave Grettir the willies like being watched - like hoodoo-doll-on-stick thing at Throat pass. So we got out of there. Maybe Dondar/Bastion servants down that way? If actual live keepers might be nice to try to get some up-to-date information... probably been a while since a Silver Clan dwarf came through... hm, unless they blame us for making Delving in first place, leading to Cataclysm etc. Maybe better not to meet Dondar. Still many questions, though. Significance of using *sentinal towers* as keys - general warning? Would they be willing to deny test (and passage) to Emsariel - or has he already bypassed? Would just figure.