Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[SeriousConcentrate]

"If you want this artifact so badly, why don't you help them get it? And why not just let me go and give me back my guitar? I don't think I'm dangerous, and it's not like I could get away."

[Solymr]

Oh please... Where is the fun in that? Not to mention that when they or anybody found out what it was, if my info is right, they just wouldn't give it away without me having proper leverage... Speaking of it-

Silence and loneliness again.

[Tiruin]

Alessa frowned, and pricked her armor with a finger to enjoy the sudden and subtle static jump.

     "I think we need more information. Harold, do you have any clue or lead as to the importance of this room? Can't we try breaking the walls to check the locking mechanisms of these buttons? Orientation of the lettering, or the age of the numbers? I'll just press a button to test what they do. Anything with the floor? No? I'm moving."

Press the North button.

[Solymr]

*click* A dart shot straight at Alessa, injecting her with paralyzing toxin.

Hit: 90. Roll: 74.
Alessa has a chance to be paralyzed at the start of every turn!

: ...Well, at least now we know it's not that one that goes first, that trap shot faster than when I pressed the east button.

[UXLZ]

"Argh, why did you do that!? We were just told that the correct first button was the east one. Were you not paying attention or something?

Well, at least we got a slight amount of information. But was it worth the price?"

[Tiruin]

     "Nah, I'm just being selfish."

With that, Alessa tries the WEST button.

     "Look at it this way. Y'all are prisoners from Ixion--you matter more given your ally is in danger. I am but a bodyguard to Nikolai--and coupling my...static armor and this dark which caught a chink in the plating? It is very well worth the price."

She managed a smile. At least Zane could know what she was talking about, given that they were more the outliers of the group.

[UXLZ]

"HOLD IT! You IDIOT! Seeming martyr complex notwithstanding there isn't even a guarantee the traps will only go for you in the first place. There might be a strike rule that brings down the whole building on our heads. We KNOW you're doing the wrong thing so STOP! Didn't you hear the purple guy telling us the east button was the right first choice!?"

Yelling fairly loudly, Abel attempts to stop Alessa.

[Tiruin]

     "I was pretty much testing your theory. If we divide the directions by cardinal points, assuming East equals the number two, then press east twice, and shift either north or south."

Alessa withheld her non-frantic button pressing as Abel stopped her.

     "I'll test pressing East twice?"

[UXLZ]

"You're missing the point. Firstly, dividing it by cardinal directions might be a basis but it isn't going to work since we have five numbers. Secondly, even if we assume one of them doesn't refer to a direction, the numbers one and two can't correspond to a point while the others do, not logically at least. There's still something to it that we haven't thought about yet and you're just doing things based off of pure guesswork. Under controlled conditions we could probably figure it out eventually but we can't afford the risk that there's a limited amount of failures before something catastrophic like a building collapse occurs. More data is useful but that method is inefficient. Don't press buttons randomly on your own. We need to be coordinated, at least one person per button."

[Tiruin]

     "Good point taken. Zane, you take North. I'll take East. Two others position themselves at the other two buttons--as Harold presumably mentioned before, there's either a timer from his run, or this should be pressed in quick sequence. Which is rather infuriating if given East equals "2". I believe 3/1 or 9/6 are mirrors of each other after the Eastern button is pressed after the first 'sequence'. Problem is...guessing what "3" stands for. We can then try that mirror again, if its the same button or the opposite button...though I'm overcomplicating it since that'll only leave 3 other buttons than East, and there are 4 numbers. Heh, reminds me of an old Ixionite legend of the sun and the stars. Astrologers used a clock and positioned it around a circle with skylights to guide the way."

She stood by the Eastern button.

     "Harold, think back please. What happened after you pressed the Eastern button? How long was it? Minutes? Did the trap spring while you were running to the South one? Does this matter if its related to a clock-like sequence?"

...

     "Also I'm refuting your catastrophic failure scenario, unless somehow the architect of this place was ancient-crazy. If I was designing this to thwart grave robbers, I'd crash down the passages instead of set measly traps, which progress in difficulty as the number of mistakes rise. It's...a very superficial way of saying 'use your wits', really. And what I'm doing is trial and error--sans the North button. I really didn't hear Harold back then."

[UXLZ]

Abel sighs.

"Fine, I'll help if it's necessary."

[Tiruin]

     "Right, so let's make this simple then. I'm either thinking too hard, or the paralysis is affecting my brain and the static is jolting these thoughts. Or something else without the condescension."

     "But anyway. 233926112 is the code. I believe the '2' is symbolic. It can be a timer, or the number of buttons pressed-or rather anything. What we do know is that East is the origin. Now I believe, that if we represent the rest of the numbers by a cardinal correlation (3 = East), and press them in that order, we can check if it has any merit at all. East, twice, then West, then South, then North twice."

     "If this fails, poison's on me. Wait, Zane, get to the East button, I'll go South. If my guess if off, then at least nobody else will be harmed other than...well, me and Zane."

[Haspen]

Laura yawned aloud.

"What if... what if the 2's are there to just screw with us?... so that's 336911... or we get rid of 1's too..." Laura paused to let out another yawn. "So that's 3369 and if brother guy said he pushed east first that's a 3 there so the sequence would be... would be... east twice, south then west? And then we can just push north twice in place of 1's, if nothing's gonna happen yet..." She rubbed her face and grumbled. Tiredness was annoying her.

[Solymr]

: I already said I couldn't reach it in time. And after seeing you press that I'm positive the East one is the first one to press. It does seem like it has something to do with the numbers on a clock...

[Tiruin]

Alessa nodded, feeling pretty deflated at the moment.

     "She got the point. Are we ready to test this out? Or is there any other planning put into mention? Harold, are you really sure you don't have any other info you'd like to share? I'd like anyone to keep watch for the traps in case anything gets sprung. Harold didn't see what occurred, but since we're all here, we're able to do that."

     "Whose temple was this, and who made it, by the way? I'm only an Ixion commoner. No knowledge of this for me."