Meanwhile, in Sorcere...

Xylan could be seen in the tower of Sorcere early in the cycle, examining the various portals in the Szith Morcaine network. He analyzed their triggers and destinations, getting a good look at heir functions, and their malfunctions, before finally leaving the tower.

Later in the cycle he was seen leaving for his Quellar. Reports later placed him in the Crystal Cave, then the trade city performing the same tests, if pressed saying that he was doing preliminary work to ensure continued trade from Szith Morcaine.

Preliminary examinations of the few active portals and portal like effects known in the Deep Wastes Underdark reveal some basic understanding.

As discussed in the tomes that are available to students of the Szith-Morcane Sorcere, the natural faerzress, or strong magic to put in in human terms, has a negative effect on the use of long distance divinations as well as teleportation magics. Even such magics as plane shift and etherealness can be effected.

The Underdark portals, specific site to site, fixed location to location travel were established thousands of years ago. Until the Test of Lloth's Silence in 1372 DR, these portals and their connections were much more stable, but still gave rise to the occasional mishap.

Since the Test of Lloth's Silence ended, and her clergy regained access to divine magics, the issue of broken portals and portal increased instabilities has not been corrected. There must be something more at work here...


Within the Sorcere, there appears to be a stable portal that travels between the upper floor of the academy institution and the remains of the "Inverted Tower" in the under-city. Stable, but specifically attuned, seeming to only allow travel to those who posses arcane talents of a presently unknown required degree.

There is yet what appears to be another active portal on the second floor of the Arach Tinilith. This one appears to be have some sort of divine or clerical prejudice. Similarities between this portal and the one in the Sorcere suggest it two most likely connects to somewhere in the Szith-Morcane under-city.

There are several other inactive portal frames, for lack of a better term, that are either unpowered or some how disconnected from their means of trans-versing distances. How portals are powered and by what specific means they provide travel will need to be furthered researched.

In looking at the portal in the Crystal Cave, one can determine that there is something definitely wrong here. Beyond the fact that it does appear to offer a stable connection between the Crystal Cave and the distant city of Sschindylryn (below Cormyr), there appears to be several other factors at work, if not directly impacting the portal and amplifying its instability.

Though Dannyl doesn't often pry into such matters, he does have an interest in these portals. Once he hears the rumors of Xylan's work, he examines the portals himself and then settles in to wait.

When Xylan comes back, the lanky human greets him with a smooth bow.

Greetings, faern. I had heard that you were examining these portals, perhaps trying to reactivate them? As I'm sure you know, I have an interest in trade in the Underdark. What you may not know is that my cousins; the Deep Imaskari, are masters of portal magic and have managed to adapt their technology to the... ah, peculiarities of the Underdark. I am not an accomplished mage by any means, but I do have some experience with portals. And of course... I have other skills at my disposal. If you should need any assistance, I would be most pleased to be of service.

He smiles thinly and regards Xylan with a polite curiosity.

Yath'abban Neer'yl also expresses a mild interest in hearing a report from the qu'el'faeruk's private investigations into the matter, given that the yath'tallar had assigned her to lead of the investigation the problem with either the unstable portals, or the quest of digging a path to the Lands Above; and given that she also devoted considerable time to study the tomes of Sorcere which were available to her (as an utterly novice scholar) regarding the portal matters.

*Sitting on a comfortable sofa in the central meeting area of Szith-Morcane, Yath'taller Vic'aere plays with her fingernails while waiting for a report*

//restored - my misunderstanding from a long week //
//removed - sorry if i gave the wrong impression here - was trying to show support for the efforts //

Xylan would wave him toward the portal. "By all means. Tell me what you can see, tell me if you can see what is wrong with it, or if there is something missing."

Xylan meanwhile would begin looking further into matters with the portals within sorcere. He would begin an extensive comparison of the magical forces at work upon those portals and the ones in the crystal cave and Sschyndylryn to compare the similarities and deduce the needed procedures to connect the Sorcere network to the Crystal Cave network.

He would, at the same time, keep working to discover the power sources of the portals. He might, after all, need to activate an unused portal to connect to it.

Passing by the lounge, he would, of course, give an update to the idle yath. "Xas, I am working on it," he would stay, with a brief nod as he passed by without stopping.

*Vic'aere scowls, as the tips of her fingernails begin to glow with demonic power*

Xylan stopped, looking back at her. "Dos have something more to add? I was under the impression that dos wished me to work rather than grovel like a shebali."

As regards the specific matter of the physically existing portals, Neer'yl has entered the portal on the second floor of Arach-Tinilith many times. It leads to a spider-shaped room with an abdomen (center room) eight legs (with eight small rooms at the end of every leg). The "head" consists of the portal that leads back to Arach-Tinilith, while the "rear" leads to a part of Szith Morcane where a web ladder takes one into the Tower of Sorcere. The place continously summons some sort of driders, the damned of Lolth. The room itself might be somehow linked to the building structure of the Sorcere tower.
She has entered the room with True seeing cast, but discovered nothing unusual, except that in what might be counted as the "second leg" of the room, the path is obstructed by webbing, which is twisted in such a way that does not permit further travel, except perhaps for the most skilled climber.

Perhaps the portal enables a highly skilled caster to use it in a more productive fashion. Perhaps the damned of Lolth might be commanded to spin webs that leads to somewhere yet undiscovered?

She has also travelled the edges of the outpost, searching for clues, and has entered among other things a mysterious empty room:

Ilharess Feanora will be after a report too and seeing that Dannyl is around would ask him to visit her and report on any news of the surface and of trading information

In an effort to avoid stepping on any toes, Dannyl concentrates his efforts on the portal in the Crystal Cave by the old camp. If he can figure out exactly how that one works, he should be able to extrapolate at least some information about the other portals.

He stands by the portal for a long time, occasionally flipping through an old book and prodding at the frame with some sort of wand-like device. He examines the area closely, studying every possible clue and lead for some specific information on the portal.

(((Skill roll results:

Lore: 35
Spellcraft: 53
UMD: 44
Survival: 25
Disable Device: 67
Search: 68
Spot: 47
Listen: 42
Craft (Alchemy): 29
Open Lock: 65

I just rolled everything that could be relevant, screenshot can be provided to a DM if necessary)))

Dannyl hears of the Illharess' request, and goes to speak with her personally. He approaches her cautiously, bowing deeply and asking if he could take a moment of her precious time.

I will primarily be studying the portal at the old camp, but with your blessing I could also extend my examination to the portals in the Academy. As of yet, I only have the most basic information, but I will return to my work immediately. Once I have some useful information, you will be the first to know, Illharess.

He bows again, taking his leave when her instructions for him are delivered.

Arjay wrote:

Xylan stopped, looking back at her. "Dos have something more to add? I was under the impression that dos wished me to work rather than grovel like a shebali."

*Not bothering to stand, she flings a stream of demonic energy at the chair to Xylan's left, destroying it*

Dos will naut be flippant with un'sa, faern, remember dost place!

*Then her attitude abruptly changes, her tone becoming sweet and girlish as she flips her pony tail and goes back to looking at the waterfall in the lake*

Bring uns'a results, qu'el'faruk...

@ Neer'yl Hla'mtor -

The mysterious empty room appears to have been unused for a long time, maybe three or four hundred years. There is trash and other refuse in the corners and evidence of an old tiled floor. Access to the room seems to only be via the great web the vertically ascends and descends the deep chasm west of the city. The strands of that section of the great web appear to be very thick with evidence of them having been used to move heavy objects long ago...

@Dannyl Still -

The portal in the Crystal Cave definitely has something very wrong with it. It almost seems that is has been jerry-rigged for more than it's original intended purpose (disable device information). In an odd sort of way, whatever used to "lock" the portal to another specific place has somehow been unlocked (open lock information). From what knowledge that you grasp of arcane matters, not being a true arcanist yourself, you believe that underdark portals were designed to have a single two-way connection and not multiple ones (lore and spell craft). Looking as hard as you are able, you feel that there is something there, some power or energy that is beyond your limited arcane training or ability to actually see and recognize.

@Xylan Dabel'kith -

When comparing the portals in the Sorcere to the one in the Crystal Cave there there are some similarities. First both portals are created of the same materials and at similar time periods (some two-three thousand years ago), suggesting that the ones in Szith-Morcane were moved their from another older location (Szith-Morcane was founded in 804 DR some 574 years ago from present server date). In fact, it would appear that all of the portal arms, inactive or not may date from close to the same period. The magical effect of the active portals have the same purplish-red color like the runes that inscribed upon the arms of the portal device.

Things are are different between the active portals (as differences between inactive are hardly useful at this time) main have to do with extra planar energies. The one that connects between the Sorcere and the Inverted Tower of the under city feels of faint negative energy and illusion. The one in the Crystal Cave has a very confusing feeling to it, making it difficult to identify exactly what sort of energies are being drawn upon...

May I have some rolls or relevant spells cast from you to possible reveal or specify additional information from Dannyl's shared observations at the Crystal Cave portal please?

(((Just to clarify - Dannyl's got 6 Warlock levels; some arcane ability, albeit limited, to compliment his skills and formal training)))

Dannyl finds Xylan and carefully passes on all the information he could gather, leaving it in the qu'el'faruk's hands. He also does his best to discretely determine precisely what Xylan is doing, and exactly how well he is progressing in his tasks. After hanging around the portal sites a little longer he then slips off to Illharess Faenora Dabel'kith and reports everything he can to her.

Illharess, I have compiled a small report about our progress with the portals. I've attempted to outline what I have observed of the Qu'el'faruk's progress, as well as including all the information I have independently gathered. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

He hands her a small envelope with documents inside; outlining the information in the posts above.

((Roll results (screenshots available)
Intelligence roll: 28
Lore: 73
Search: 51
Spellcraft: 68
UMD: 53
Craft Alchemy: 65))

((Like Danny, I rolled everything that could be relevant))

Illharess Feanora takes the envelope.

"there are some other things i need to enquire about" ((pm sent))

Dannyl hears her out, then bows deeply.

Of course, Illharess. I will begin making inquires. In fact, I have a contact already lined up for such things.

He then makes preparations for a trip, stopping by Xylan on the way to see if he could be of further assistance or if the faern needed any materials, then headed up into the Upperdark tunnels.

@Xylan -

The foolish human has noticed something! Idiot that he is he thinks is more of a trap or lock, but his insights point you in the right direction. The Crystal Cave Portal HAS been jerry-rigged (umd). This type of portal should only access the edges of the Plane of Shadow, but here there is evidence of some sort of elemental power impacting the event horizon (spell craft and lore). This excess energy seems to be making the portal even more unstable than it was before. But this did not happen all at once, it seems to have built up over time, as if repeated random spikes of this elemental energy have somehow knocked the portal out of mystical alignment. With effort, and time studying the quickly fading remnants of these elemental impacts, you begin to discern a signature that reminds you of the energy (alchemy) that can be harvested from myconids...

Xylan, making sure to compare the crystal cave portal with the corresponding portal on the other end of the path (in Sschyndylryn), began analyzing the path itself. Things he would check for were whether there was an earth node interfering with the portal (or that HAD interfered with the portal) and to determine whether A) he could determine if the portal's current destination was its intended destinatin, and B) if he could correct the portal's path to stabilize it (if the destination is correct) or restore it (to its indended path/destination).

@Xylan -

Traveling from the Crystal Cave to Sschindylryn through the portal works as expected and you arrive safely there. When looking at the portal in the city, it clear matches the style if not time period of the other portals, physically. The energy signatures are another matter.

One of the first and most evident features of the trade city is it's relative lack of faerzress radiation. Make no mistake, faerzress is present and an active influence on all things, but here on the south-west edge of the Deep Wastes beneath Cormyr, the over all power of faerzress is not as strong as it is in the middle of the Deep Wastes. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe that faerzress in the middle of the Deep Wastes as stronger with the levels here being more normal.

Whether it is from location, relative depth or some sort of unknown artificial effect, it is much easier to study portal effects within the City of Portals.

Looking at the one remaining active portal in the city, it becomes quite clear that it uses a modified version of the spell shadow-walk as it's basis of site to site travel. Here, the portal it's self seem quite stable, drawing power from the arms of the portal to maintain the event horizon. The power seems to be a pure one, not influenced by one particular element over another. Though unlabeled, you can see where a plaque once sat to the side of the portal that may have stated it's destination.

There is no indication of earth-node activity, power or effects within Sschindylryn.

((I meant earth node effects on the one in the crystal caves))

With that, Xylan returned to Szith Morcaine to examine the portals there, as well as the inactive portals, taking stock of:
A) If one of them could be moved
B) What materials it would take to power them
C) What materials it would take to link a newly-activated portal with another freshly (re) activated portal placed in either the Crystal Cave or another nearby secure location (such as the abandoned refugee camp)

Arjay wrote:

((I meant earth node effects on the one in the crystal caves))

// read between the lines please, and draw your own conclusions \\

Quote :

A) If one of them could be moved

Since it seems that in the past portal arms may have been moved, it stands that is may be possible to move them a second time. How difficult or dangerous this might be is yet to be determined.

Quote :

B) What materials it would take to power them

// again, read between the lines please, you may have to experiment or seek out other forms of assistance, or even both \\

Quote :

C) What materials it would take to link a newly-activated portal with another freshly (re) activated portal placed in either the Crystal Cave or another nearby secure location (such as the abandoned refugee camp)

It would appear from the portal arms markings, that each portal is aligned to one single secondary specific receiving portal, and vise-versa. Though the arms themselves do not make reference to map locations, only to the other portal of connection. Multiple connections from different locations arriving to a single receiving portal does not appear to be intended design with this style of portal and portal arms.

A young hopeful female approaches the gates, by first impression she might seem like some commoner, she was pretty as most of her race was, but seemed to lack that Fire, that awe of fear that gave away those picked for the Yath, by part, she was in fact smaller than the normal female, and her eyes seemed more a dark violet than the standard blood red glow. Wearing a simple black robe, with only a spell book under arm and staff in hand the young hopeful apprentice looks up at the gates... and Knocks....

The door was opened after a leisurely interlude, and the figure who answered was enigmatic at best, imposing at worst.  Blood red robes and cloak covered his body, decorated by his house crest and the mantle of a house master.  The upper part of his face was hidden behind a crimson skull mask.  He seemed to hum with magical power, and from the looks the common mages of the tower gave him, this power had at some point been put to effective and ruthless use.

However, he seemed to have no attention to spare for the thoughts of those mages occupying the tower.  His eyes surveyed the girl, first with suspicion at the rather uncommon (some might say unwelcomed) sight of a female outside the doors of Sorcere, then with a cool, guarded interest.  "Vendui, jalil," he said, his voice quiet without sounding remotely timid.  "What business have dos in the halls of Sorcere?"  The question, with its obvious answer, seemed more a formality than an honest interogative.

((ooc player note: if you're unfamiliar with the drowspeak words, I can either provide translations as we go, or just forego it.  Your call))

The young Jalil would would offer a slow and small bow of her head to him, taking a moment to quickly look around after hoping no one saw that, pulling her spell book up to her chest she would bite her bottom lip for a moment before saying.

"Sssiring Jabbuk, Usstan tlun ghil wun kestal nindel dos xal ja'hai uns'aa.. Usstan zhahus unfit ulu valm l'Yath, lu'ussta Ilhar luth uns'aa doeb 'zil natha houj, Usstan inbal nau vel'klar dkinoss ulu alu"

Spoiler:

It would be clear that asking like this, was new to her, and made her feel comfortable, perhaps even weak, but then again she also see she understood her options.