I managed to get in a breather. It helped. I felt a little better after having been bitten by vampire. And now we had a gapping whole in the ground.
Ant growled. “They wouldn’t have sent us in if we couldn’t get across.”
“Magic maybe?” I sat down close to the chasm’s edge but I didn’t look over. There was that whole fear of heights thing and while I knew I was safe, looking over wasn’t really going to help much. I could sense magic if I studied it long enough or sat in the location where magic was. It made my skin tingle, and that’s what I set out to do.
“What ya doing?” Alex asked squatting down next to me.
“Sensing magic.”
“Can I help?”
I shrugged. “Dunno, can you sense magic?”
Alex chuckled. “No. Am I bugging you?” He snickered softly to himself.
“Not at all.” I whispered the next words, “I like having you close.”
Alex sat down next to me an put his back to the post that overlooked the chasm and faced me. He looked around and cocked his head to the side. “Something interesting?” I asked.
“That broken stone on the wall says ‘Cross’.” Alex said after staring at the carving for a long moment. I felt magic in the area. But I couldn’t figure out from where.
Ryan was looking at the carved letters. “It’s in some language I don’t understand.”
“Alex is good with words.” I said.
“Among other things.” Alex winked at me and I pulled my lips into my mouth. I had been thinking something along those very same lines. It felt like Alex knew what I was thinking.
“I do. For some reason.” Alex whispered as his lips brushed past my ear as he stood up to walk towards Ryan who was now stooping and sorting through rocks on the cavern floor.
“Maybe there is more.” Alex and Ryan said with a smirk as they both shouted ‘you owe me a…’ Though they didn’t agree on what they owed the other, they were snickering and chatting as the looked through the rocks.
“So smarty pants. What are we going to do?” Ant said kicking a rock across the chasm. I watched as it careened across the space and then bounced in mid air.
I stood up. My heart raced as the darkness below gaped it’s open maw at me. I hated heights — more to the point I hated what happens when you fall from heights. I valued my life — even if I took some risks in it. It was the only one I had.
“Did you see that?” I asked Ant.
He looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. “You kicked a stone and it bounced in midair.”
Ant rolled his eyes. “You are crazy.”
Ryan and Alex had rocks set aside and were looking at how to piece together some stones. Ryan was heading up the effort but he grew frustrated and pushed the rocks towards Alex. “You are good with words.”
Alex chuckled at my words being through back at him. Several moments later he had the puzzle together. There were holes in the carving but it didn’t matter, the essence was there and the shape. “It says Faith.”
He pointed to a bit on a broken edge, it looks like there might have been something here, but it’s gone.
“Cross and Faith.” Ant said.
I looked at the pillar alignment and how there looked like no bridge existed now. But there clearly had been one at one time.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I centered myself.
I put my hands on both poles in the ground and was about to take my first step when a hand on my shoulder stopped me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Crossing with Faith.” I said. “The rock fucking bounced.” I declared with fervor.
Ryan laughed and he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it out between the pools. Some of the dust settled and some of it fell to the ground. He picked up another handful and took my hand off the pole. “Use this.”
Instead of using just the dirt Ryan handed I used a bit of magic to scatter the dust the distance of the chasm we were about to cross.
“Not really about faith, if we can see it.” I said. But I didn’t hesitate as I crossed the invisible bridge over a deep dark chasm. My heart beat through my chest and my jumpsuit was soaked through and through. But I made it across albeit slowly.
Nox Luxignis is a Mystical Warrior who Bears the Phoenix Feather and Drifts from Shift #0
Effort: 1
Armor: 0
Recovery:
■ ■ ■ □
Damage:
□ □
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Speed: (1)
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Intellect:
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □
XP:
■
Abilities: premonition, sense magic, hedge magic, manifest phoenix, shroud of flame, drift, determine shift
Weapons: unarmed (caestus) 2 – eased, unarmed (caestus) 4, blaster 4 long range
Setup
Alex looks around L2 → 6 roll: 1d20: [16] = 16 → finds table on the wall
Alex tries to decipher text on the wall L2 → 6 roll: 1d20: [17] = 17 “Cross”
Ryan looks through the stones with Alex help L3 → 9-1 roll: 1d20: [13] = 13 → finds stones
Alex helps Ryan try to solve the puzzle L3 → 9-1 roll: 1d20: [2] = 2
Alex tries to piece the puzzle together L4 → Ryan assists, Alex applies effort enhancer and uses 1 effort (-1 int) → 12-2 roll: 1d20: [16] = 16
1d6 cyphers also found: 1d6: [2] = 2
- Curative 1d6: [1] = 1 → L3 => to Nox
- Strength Boost 1d6: [2] = 2 → L4 => to Nox
Alex deciphers the text: L2 → 6 roll: 1d20: [6] = 6 “Faith”
The Mind of Nox 