Hidden truths

[Anastasia]

It slowly follows, ensuring you can't escape in any way.

"Put the prisoner down?" Sylvie suggests, "It's not productive now."

[Nephrite]

Moore does just that, and then slowly backs away from the prisoner.

[Anastasia]

The golem goes still, no more advancement or movement.

[Nephrite]

"...It doesn't even take the prisoner back?" Moore asks. "None of this makes any sense. Do we just go over it, take another prisoner and then have it follow us? It can assuredly still get in front of us from any distance regardless..."

[Anastasia]

"Maybe it's broken. Maybe it's part of a greater system." Sylvie speculates. "Xandra?"

"Still nothing," Xandra confirms.

[Nephrite]

"If that's the case, then should we try and go deeper in?" Moore asks. "Maybe we could wrest control over it?" He says. "...Actually, the first time I was here, remember - when we tried to take prisoners out? There was a tangible force that stopped us. I wasn't strong enough at the time to deal with it. I wonder if I could... I don't know, take control over it with my will? I tried to emulate the Guardian before, but... maybe I just need to... I'm not quite sure what the right phrasing is here." He says. "But basically subdue the Guardian's original rules with my own or something? I can't say I deal with things that aren't bound by the rules of Creation very often. Well, that's a lie, I do, but regardless..."

[Anastasia]

"Your last try didn't do anything," Sylvie points out, "Awful lot of assumptions and hope in that."

Kaja keeps his gaze on the creature, "It's better than the alternative. This...thing never speaks. It just moves and does. Soulless."

[Nephrite]

"I'm nothing if not optimistic." Moore says with a smile. "Actually... I think I know. Let me try something..."

You're free.

[21:44] <Nephrite> roll 1d20+4 come on 20
[21:45] <Kobot> Nephrite rolled 1d20+4 come on 20 --> [ 1d20=15 ]{19}

He's trying to use his divine will to "free" the golem from whatever the Guardian's original orders were. Basically same concept as when he tried (and failed) to take the prisoners out originally.

[Anastasia]

Nothing happens, perhaps predictably.

[Nephrite]

"Aw, I really thought that one would work, too." Moore says, the disappointment obvious. "If we want to do something with this, I think we need to find... the core of this place, if it even has one. But I have no idea how we'd do that, given that the person who controlled it is gone... but... surely, it left some failsafes or... something, right?"

A sigh. "It's not fun trying to solve a puzzle when the puzzle doesn't have any rules."

[Anastasia]

"You're left guessing and hope you don't go out of bounds," Sylvie agrees, "But whatever this is, it isn't enforcement. It's containment."

"Containment?" Kaja asks, a glance over at Sylvie.

"It keeps prisoners in, but it doesn't deal with intruders. It might be why we didn't see it before." Sylvie suggests.

[Nephrite]

"I wonder if it got activated because we took prisoners out?" Moore suggests. "Well, since we know it's not going anywhere and... well, quite frankly, I'm not too concerned with it getting beaten up while we explore, should we just keep exploring for now?"

[Anastasia]

"I think so," Sylvie finally says, "It's ignoring everything we do otherwise, and I still don't relish the idea of attacking it."

"Then onward," Xandra agrees, "Before anything else finds us."

[Nephrite]

Moore turns and will resume their journey down into the bowels of the First Prison!

They'll resume their cursory scan of prisoners as they go by if there's anything of any interest that jumps out at them.

[Anastasia]

Sure, Perception.