21

[Corwin]

Vamos!

[Anastasia]

Ahead.

Congratulations, Latha.

Which one did you find, Alicia?

Like One, I don't believe you were meant to find them yet, even if it has become possible before the end.

As Sylvie talks, you see it ahead. The doors, three left, standing ahead.

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa approaches hers, "Designed for us specifically.  Let's get to work."

Alyssa heads in.

[Ebiris]

The root of the Infinite Stairway, left by the Incarnation of Balance. I'm not interested in waiting on someone else's timetable, Alicia's voice responds to Sylvie and Sylvie alone as she looks over the three doors ahead.

"This one is for us?" she asks, gesturing to the one bearing a sigil of a wavy line with four four-pointed stars above it. They'll have to update that soon of course, but it represents Sylica and it's four commonly known goddesses.

The word four has lost all meaning.

[Anastasia]

Four has died for you, has it? Scary.

"Let's go," Syala agrees.

"Good luck," Emily calls over as she follows Alyssa.

To Alicia alone then, heard only by her? The rest of them...you'll all see. Soon.

Your trial awaits, Alicia.

Go.

[Ebiris]

"And to you," Alicia calls over to Emily and company, before she opens the Sylica door and leads her own group inside.

[Anastasia]

Okay, Alicia and Seira in this thread, since they were here first. Iddy, I'm gonna make a new thread for you momentarily. More, don't reply past this post until I give another post.

[Anastasia]

Gears.

You stand on a stairway that leads into a tower. An open air tower, riddled with stairways and gears. A clock tower of some vast design, the works of Mechanus all about. They grind and turn, a melody of metal that rings throughout this tower. A tower that rises high and higher up, an impossible design that doesn't seem to end.

There are regular windows of transparent blue, ones that hold back a pounding white rain from the outside.

[Ebiris]

"Good thing we didn't bring Marie after all," Alicia says as she takes in the tower up and ahead. Going to the side she peers out of one of the blue windows, looking up and down from it before she returns her attention to the tower.

"Do you expect much in the way of combat or traps, Seira?"

[Anastasia]

Syala turns, hands on her hips as she looks dead on at Alicia and Antenora and then Latha. "I blame the three of you for this," she declares.

"Thank you," Antenora banters right back, cracking a smile.

[Corwin]

"My path had traps but Moore's hadn't. I'll make sure to scout all the same, but these things seem thematically adjusted to us personally. Which is why, yes, good thing Marie isn't here. As for combat, I ran into an annoyance that was easily dealt with, and then was faced with a stronger opponent in the end. That much seems to be constant."

Seira will look for traps all the time with Perception 10 for 105.

[Anastasia]

No sign of traps for Seira, at least down here.

[Corwin]

"Looks good so far."

[Ebiris]

"Lets take a moment to prepare, then?" Alicia says, casting some useful spells.

Sensual blessing, repelling shield on self.
For everyone:
Greater heroism (CL 34), +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +20 temp hp
Recitation (CL 34), +2 luck attack/saves/AC

With that done she continues down the walkway towards the tower, letting Seira check for traps ahead.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Alicia HP: 704+20/704
Active spells:  Many moments of prescience (CL 34), extended mind blank (CL 35), extended nondetection (CL 35), greater heroism (CL 34), sensual blessing (CL 34), repelling shield (CL 34), recitation (CL 34)
Defences: AC 81, CMD 96, spell resistance 49, energy immunity (fire and cold), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, poison, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, disintegration, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 49)
Stat buffs/penalties: +4 morale attack/saves/skills, +9 shield AC, +3 luck attack/saves/AC,
Perceptions: Arcane sight, perception +80
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/16/16/16/9/9/15/9/8/7/8/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/23/23/22/11/7/9

[Anastasia]

Thus you go upwards. You begin to climb the tower, and as you do? It' sa maze of staircases and walkways inside, but superior divine vision largely mitigates this problem.

As you pass a window, Antenora pauses before it. She looks out, hand resting on the glass. Her palm is open as she stares out, silent.

"...Antenora?" Latha asks, a moment.

"Nothing," the former erinyes turns away, falling back in line.