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NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

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There's no such thing as a lock that can't be picked, and we know where the lock is.

Obviously, we can force our way in, but that will absolutely trip any alarms or security.

Of course, we don't have too much to work with either, hrm...

EDIT: Wait a sec... (Checks back on something)

Yeah, yeah! We've seen this tree before! It's the same kind as the one the Dwarves used to hide their way underground!

Now mind you, we don't want to use our blood to sign in, but that's a hint if I've ever seen one.
 
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Imperial Fister said:
Since you are, the preparations are completely meaningless. It does, however, serve as a potent reminder that no matter how strong you are, no matter how many precautions you take, it only takes one random idiot to come along to render it all useless. Or worse, actively detrimental as he has to move slowly to allow the cloak to do its work, which makes him even easier to follow.

After more than an hour of following this bastard through the freezing rain and descending fog, you arrive before a large tree with a broad knot on an end. Horra reaches into his belt and pulls out some kind of key.

After looking over his shoulders as carefully as he can, he presses the key to the knot and red light shines bright. A moment later, the tree unfolds into a ladder, which he then climbs down at a swift pace.
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Here's how Horra got in, for reference.

We could try digging. It would leave a lot of evidence, but we know where the tunnel is, assuming no space-warping shenanigans involved.
 
Okay, so, this is precisely the same kind of tree as the one used by our Dwarf neighbors, though it's keyed to a specific key to open up. There's spatial-warping involved, absolutely, we know the Dwarf one could be opened with blood, but we know Horra didn't use that method. It might still be worth a shot if all else fails, but let's explore our options first.

@Imperial Fister, two questions, is the "Lock" an indentation on the knot is the first, and a second is how long does it take to use Odr to grow Produce?

Because I'm thinking, if we grab a twig of this thing, grow it into a Stage 2 object, we should have enough to fashion a fake key from what's effectively a 'Clone' of the original tree!

Like, if he's basically carved a chunk out of this and re-uniting it is what opens it up, then we grow a clone of the tree in our Soul using the same method we used for the Sealwood, and we've effectively reproduced the same item that the key might have been made from, fixing the tree and opening it up.
 
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Imperial Fister said:
Making Contact with the Dwarves (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 6x3, 5x2, 4x3, 3x1, 2x1, 1x1)12+1=13 Successes
With a bag of gifts in one hand, you stand with the other pressed against the soft bark of the golden-boughed tree. The stone door of the underhouse sits impassively in the ground, uncaring one way or another if you proceed or turn back.

Taking a deep breath, you find a spike and, following your instincts, press your palm against it. The spike pricks your palm, drawing blood from the wound as the trees all shudder and shake in unison.

An ground-shattering shake rumbles through the earth and nearly throws you off your feet. Steadying yourself on the tree trunk, you watch wide-eyed as the door lifts into the air, revealing a stone set of carved spiral staircases rising up from the earth.

The world stops shaking and you swallow a gulp as you check the gifts. Finding them all okay, you steel yourself and set onwards in your goal. One way or another, you would meet your dwarfy neighbors.

Your steps echo around you as you descend deep underground, into the bowels of the earth. You eventually have to call forth a palmful of fire as you find yourself immersed in darkness. The walls of the staircase are covered in carvings depicting a variety of scenes. Mostly concerning the lineage of the dwarves inside the underhold, you reckon.
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Our dwarf-tunnel entrance, for reference.

I'm curious how long it would take to make a rune-key that just says "Open locks" or something quick-and-dirty like that.
 
Okay, nevermind, I thought he basically just had a chunk of the tree and we could clone it using our Soulscape. Not an option.

Hrm.

We know there's no such thing as a perfect defense, and he's very dependent on obscurity to protect this. But why the key then? Is it just all smoke and mirrors?

And you said there were multiple ways through this. Brute force is obviously an option, but a counterproductive one.

"Multiple Ways through this."

I...

Hrm.

Oh, huh, I might have an idea. We could just carve something ourselves, we know how it opens, and we know what's held within. That might very well be the hardest part involved here.
 
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@Imperial Fister, have we already searched the tree for runes?

Odr is an interesting idea. I wonder if we fed the tree odr if we could sort of claim it for our own, maybe make it grow another key for us like how our stuff grows more berries as we feed it more odr.
 
Would it be possible to like, break it open via writing runes designed to do so on the tree? Can runes even do something like that..?
 
Constenanto said:
Would it be possible to like, break it open via writing runes designed to do so on the tree? Can runes even do something like that..?
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We'd ideally want to do the runecarving on a stone or stick or something we use to touch the tree (probably where the key goes), so as to leave less evidence. That may, or may not, work as well, though.

On the other hand, cutting into the tree seems likely to activate the security system, if there is one. I think trying to make a key with runes is the way to go if using runecarving.
 
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Hmm.

We've seen where the key needs to be applied, and it doesn't necessarily need to be a specific code phrase, just one good enough to work.

Anyone feel confident in putting together some poetic code phrase that describes how it opens up? My mind doesn't work proactively in that sense.
 
Remember, there's no such thing as a perfect defense. We've seen how this opens up, we've identified a similar tree. We should absolutely be able to bullshit up a Rune Phrase that knocks it open.

If the only way to open this would be to have the exact key, Horra wouldn't take such elaborate steps to hide this place.
 
KreenWarrior said:
Interesting. Implies this is either seidr or the Dark Arts, I suppose. Or maybe there's some way of hiding the runes.
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Or that they're on the inside or below ground.

Franco Asuriano said:
Alternatively, could we break the lock so even Horra can't go in?
Of course, only if we can't get in first.
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Eh. He knows how to work around that and we prefer not to leave evidence we've been here. If we can't get in we just leave it.
 
"Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone".
Basically, all trees are reflections of Yggdrasil, where Ratatosk carries insults from the eagle that lives in the sky and Nidhog in the earth. Poetically, "a tree touched with this becomes a ladder."
 
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KreenWarrior said:
"Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone".
Basically, all trees are reflections of Yggrasil, where Ratatosk carries insults from the eagle that lives in the sky and Nidhog in the earth. Poetically, "a tree touched with this becomes a ladder."
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Huh. Seems like somewhat of a stretch, but it's not like I've got anything better. Here's hoping it works. I imagine we have limited tries/time to come up with a rune phrase, otherwise Horra will return.
 
I'm a little worried about not including something about countering any defenses, but I'm not sure how to add that organically so we may need to do without?
 
We can use Odr as a pigment, right @Imperial Fister?

Because I like that rune phrase KreenWarrior just came up with.

"Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone".

As "A tree touched with this becomes a ladder", which we know is what it turns into. That should be enough to trick the mechanism, because if it was intelligent, he wouldn't need to have gone through all that effort to hide that it was here.

[X] Create a forgery. You don't know the exact key, but you know what it does, carve a key or something similar using the Rune Phrase ""Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone"." Use Odr if we can on this to hopefully give it some added punch, apply it to the 'Lock' and see if that does it.
 
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Pffft. Completely missed this turns into a ladder. Yeah, I think this has a good chance of working then. Nice job with phrase, @KreenWarrior!

[X] Create a forgery. You don't know the exact key, but you know what it does, carve a key or something similar using the Rune Phrase ""Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone"." Use Odr if we can on this to hopefully give it some added punch.
 
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[X] Create a forgery. You don't know the exact key, but you know what it does, carve a key or something similar using the Rune Phrase ""Branch and bough are branch and bough, be they pine or elm or ash. Remember now and open the bush-tail's flyting path twixt sky and stone"." Use Odr if we can on this to hopefully give it some added punch.
 
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