Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 9:45:48	The following thread is a composite of several months of e-mails by Cassius Gaia, Lucian Risk, and Sensandela, who have been short of time to post to the boards in an interactive fashion. I've broken the text down into a number of posts so that one doesn't have to try to read it all in one sitting. It's not the length of a novel, but efforts to read a short story online can be more taxing on some of us (like myself) than an effort to read a story of similar length written on paper. Please enjoy the tale.
#2 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 9:52:33	"Lucian, my boy," says Mundavai over a hand of cards, "I wonder if I might trouble you to retrieve a book for me tomorrow?" Lucian looks down at his hand with mild disgust. His eyes brighten at the offer. "Of course, sir.What sort of book?" "It's a funny thing," admits the halfling, scratching the side of his head with his knuckles, "but I'm not sure. The scholar who found it seemed excited enough about it, though, not that he's seen it yet either. According to his letter, it was written by a dragon." Looking to both sides, he shrugs and lays his cards down. "Can't win them all," he says, displaying pairs of Jacks and nines, waiting to see what's being held against him. "I'm not sure what the fuss is," he admits, looking up at Lucian, "since I suspect a dragon would display more ego than talent in its verses. Striker is intrigued, though -- 'Never read a book by a dragon before,' he says, so I'm given the task of finding someone to recover it for him. "Now you could wait to steal it from the scholar once he's recovered it, but odds are that this dragon didn't just write books, and it will be first come, first serve, if you see where I'm going with this. Your... 'competition' isn't looking to set out before he gets a reply from a colleague, which should buy you an extra day or two." Lucian sighs, putting down a pair of sevens. "Written by a dragon eh? Sounds like something that boss would like..." The young thief leans back in his chair. "Do we know which dragon, which lair and whether it is alive or dead?" "Oh, long gone from the sounds of it," Mundavai replies, collecting his winnings, "hasn't been heard from in centuries, from what he tells me. Can't see it coming back after all this time, even if they do seem to live forever. Lapin says he found it across the lake from Drywaters, a desert retreat maintained by the Agathalans." He slides a scroll tube across the table. "Directions," he explains, "to the retreat at any rate. Shouldn't be too hard to find the place from there, though. Lapin's notes say that he left a marker on the site, so he wouldn't have to go searching again. Very generous of him. "On the subject of generosity, I've got a mule and a few other essentials waiting for you at Brown's Farm, and a horse to get you there." The place is familiar to Lucian, a Striker safehouse outside the city walls, a waystation for smuggling operations, and a modest supplier of beets to the region. "Leave the horse at the farm -- the mule's going to be enough trouble, but should be worth it. Once you get back, leave everything at the farm; we don't want the guard asking too many questions. Speaking of which, do you have any more of your own?" "I guess that would be my clue to get going," Lucian says with a wink, pulling himself out of his chair. "I'll just be a few moments gathering my things." He excuses himself and makes his way to his room, the door swings open easily and as always is unlocked. He takes great care not to step in the pile of salt he leaves by the door. Without much thought he gathers everything he owns, before he leaves his room, he checks to see how long the journey will take. Perusing the map and working with a best guess, Lucian concludes it will take him over a week each way. He sighs and hurries to the stable, mounting up the light brown horse waiting for him there. Thinking about it, he shoves his walking stick through a belt loop and rides off to the farm. (No time like the present...)Oo. he thinks to himself.
#3 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 10:03:46	"Cassius Gaia, I wonder if you might be willing to run an errand for me." Cassius turns to see an elder woman addressing him, the instructor named Becque. "I just received a letter from an old friend of mine," she explains, "claiming that he's found what he thinks to be the records of a dragon that lived in this region centuries ago. He was looking for assistance to translate the material, as well as someone who might be able to help him get to it. He suspects that some of it was kept in more difficult to reach locations. "Do you think you'd be free to look into this for me? It should only take a few days..." A smile lights on Cassius face. "It would be my pleasure to help you, Mistress Becque. I have been keeping to the tower a lot recently, and this sounds like the opportunity I have been waiting for. Crebain and I are at your disposal." Already Cassius mind begins to plan on the preparation for the outing. "I will need some time to supplement my spell components, but if Mistress Natala is stocked up I could be ready to go by this afternoon." .oO( I should at least go and get the components for that stoneskin spell, maybe look into some scrolls and healing potions if my funds allow. Crebain will be delighted to be tramping around again) "Thank you," Becque replies. "His name is Penha Lapin. He lives--" She provides Cassius with directions to a modest estate, not far outside the city's walls -- possibly an hour's walk, at most. Cassius bows for her, then turns and heads to his quarters. Once in his room, Cassius opens the hidden pannel of his wooden chest and takes out the robe, his scrolls, wands and his purse. He places his spellbook in his pack and ordens his spell components, taking stock as he proceeds. After retrieving his rapier, Cassius then tucks his daggers into their sheaths. Upon consideration, he decides to take both his crossbow and his staff as well. Thus equipped, Cassius heads to Natala's, whistling Crebain to his side along the way. Natala is able to provide him with sufficient powdered diamond to meet his needs, but only barely; what little she keeps rarely lasts long in the face of customer demand. With that arranged, Cassius spends several minutes reviewing the requirements for his other spells and is relieved to confirm that, even combined, they'll be considerably less expensive than the diamonds were. This leaves him enough money to purchase three healing potions. After stocking up at Natala's, he heads for the residence of Penha Lapin. From outside, the house appears to be respectably kept. It's ready for a new coat of paint, but that can wait for warmer (and dryer) days. After taking in the look of the place, Cassius walks to the front door and knocks.
#4 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 10:10:52	After much wandering (and some reluctance), a girl finds her way home again. Her father opens the door and, upon finding her on the doorstep, soaked from a recent downpour, he displays his concern immediately. "P-Pearl! What are you doing h-- I mean... Oh, dear, just look at you! Come inside at once and go to the kitchen. I'll put on a kettle." He doesn't even wait for her to comply, but is already rushing off. Sensandela hesitates outside the door for a moment after he leaves her. Then, first shaking rain from her boots, she reluctantly follows. Once inside, she surveys the room, noting any changes. All appears pretty much as it was when she left -- respectably clean and organized. The kitchen looks to have hardly seen use, save for the fireplace, where Mr. Lapin carefully hangs a kettle. "Well, my child, it's been ages! Yes. My goodness." He smiles, and asks "You're well, I take it? You look well." Though the man continues to hold his smile, a familiar, worried look creeps back into his eyes. "You're not in any sort of trouble, are you? Oh, surely not, not with company due to arrive shortly! Ah, and I've forgotten to prepare something for our guest! Pearl, would you please -- no, there's no time for bread, is there? Well, the cheese will have to do; there's half a wheel of it in the pantry, wrapped in-- well, you remember where it is. I'm just going to dash out to the cellar for a few items, so keep your ear out for the kettle, will you?" And again the man is racing away. The girl watches him leave as her cheeks slowly inflate with frustrated breath. Biting her lip, she enters the pantry for her father's half-wheel of cheese. (Cowardly little gnome... jumping to the worst conclusions. Never good ones.)Oo. she thinks and sticks her head into a cupboard. .oO(Nope. I wonder who his visitor is? Another smarty-farty?) "Thank you, Pearl," Penha says when she eventually returns with the cheese. "I am so glad to see you're all right. Some people can be so... so..." He searches the ceiling for the word, when suddenly there is a knock at the door. "Eh? Just a moment, dear. We seem to have more company."
#5 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 10:21:53	"So soon?" says the middle aged gnome who greets him, a look of confusion on his face. "Oh. It must be later than I thought. I'd been hoping that she'd come herself, but I guess things at the Hightower keep her busy these days. Still, I hoped this would interest her enough to... well, anyway. Please, do come in; I'm Penha Lapin, and this is my daughter, Pearl..." He indicates a waterlogged, but attractive, young woman to the wizard. Cassius detects signs of orcish blood in her features, though her hair is atypically blonde. Sensandela's own observations of the man quickly take in the rapier at his side, but the raven on his shoulder holds her attention more readily. Penha smiles at his guest. "She's a fairly talented musician, Mr. Gaia. What is that stage name again, dear? The Spectacular Sessendam? It was really quite impressive, but I fear my memory's lost it again. Head like a sieve sometimes. Please, take a seat. I'll get the tea while you two get acquainted..." Cassius bows to the lady. "Cassius Gaia at your service, Miss Pearl," he says. "Ms. Becque asked me to come and help your father with some documents of sorts, are you perhaps aware of the nature of his work?" Sensandela glances briefly at her father as she curtsies. "I'm afraid not, sir," she answers. "I myself just arrived. As such, I have not yet had a chance to, uh, ask Father about his work." .oO(I hadn't even a chance to open my mouth, little chatterwhig.) "Ahem... Perhaps, Da, you might elaborate?" she suggests, squinting at the gnome. "Well, yes, I was just going to get to that," he says, sounding a little bit crestfallen. "I just thought we could have some tea... first..." The wizard casually looks around the house, taking in as much detail as he can without being too obviously observant, trying to get a feel for the place and the people who live in it. While looking around, Cassius walks toward one of the chairs and pulls it back for the young woman, assisting her. What he sees speaks more of practicality than wealth, though there is also some appreciation for art. Two paintings are displayed on the walls -- early work, if Cassius is any judge, but displaying promise. There is also a piece of sheet music on display as well, though Cassius can not read it well enough to pick out a tune. "Oops, wait! Excuse me, Da, sir," she says with a nod to the wizard. Sensandela does not realize the chair was pulled out for her, and, brows furrowed with slight confusion, she hastens into another room to dry her still damp clothing and belongings. Her shrill voice crashes into their ears, "Hey, DA! When I'm done, you got some 'splainin' to do!" Confused by the girl's behavior Cassius sits down on the chair he pulled back and waits for the return of Penha and Pearl. "Ahem! Very well, dear!" Penha calls out, then smiles weakly at his visitor, speaking more softly. "I do beg your pardon, sir. Pearl is a well-meaning sort, but she can be... impulsive! That's the word I was looking for earlier. Excuse me, sir, I need to write that down..." He quickly draws out a notebook and rushes over to his desk. He's still looking for a place to jot the word down when the young lady returns. "Aha! Impulsive! Now to remember it's written just beneath the entry on dietary habits... hmm... never did find out if it's orcs or humans that like cheese so much... I shall have to inqui--oh, welcome back! I guess you both want to hear the whole story now, don't you?" With mild amusement, Cassius watches the chaotic Penha rush through the room and replies, "If you please, sir, I am curious as to why you would need the assistance of a wizard." "A good question!" the gnome exclaims, "Yes, a very good question, that one. I have several answers to it, too, which may provide another answer all by itself. First, I had some difficulty getting into the cave. The local hermits say that there must have been a more agreeable path to the door at one point, but now you either fly or try making your own. I had to try making my own, and it didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked." Penha frowns. "I do hope that you can fly, sir. I don't know what conditions are like inside, but when you consider who the former occupant was, there's no guarantee that we'd be able to get around easily if we're unable to simulate flight to some degree. If not, well, I'll do what I can, but it's going to be harder. "That brings me to my next reason... I could use some protection. I was very lucky with my first attempt, because the cave has new occupants, creatures with the body of a horse and the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle. Perhaps you've heard of them in your studies; I believe they're called... griffons? No, excuse me, I mean to say hippogriffs. I saw two as I was climbing the cliff -- and a good thing it was that they didn't see me! -- but there may have been more inside, for all I know. I'd rather that they weren't killed if it can be avoided, but if self-preservation calls for it, then... well, self-preservation might side with leaving the cave alone too, but I can't bear to leave the find when I'm so close! Just... let's try to find a better way first, at least, please? "Now, as for my third reason, it occurs to me that a dragon might have left behind other wonders and dangers, and I could use the experience of someone whose knowledge of magic was more practical than my own. I am familiar with much the theory, but never had the time to commit to learning the applications. Pearl picked up a few things, however. Her abilities would hardly rival yours, with your years of training, of course, but when you consider the fact that she's virtually self-taught, it's pretty impressive. I'd considered arranging more formal instruction for her, but... Hightower's policies made that... difficult, and the few elven contacts I'm made over the years were--" Penha's cheeks redden with embarrassment. "--reluctant to take on a new student. Nevertheless, she has talent and -- oh, dear, I'm doing it again, aren't I?" He faces his ward, and, with just a touch of pleading in his eyes, asks her, "Pearl, would you show our guest a little of what you can do?"
#6 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 10:24:36	Cassius jots down a few notes while Penha rambles in an attempt to get this clear. .oO(Dragon's lair, abandoned? Hippogriffs, home or guardians, do not kill, elvish help...) Cassius raises his head to look at Pearl, curious as to the girl's capabilities. "Well, sir, I can't fly or anything," she says politely, "but... I know a few useful spells..." .oO(And a lot of useless spells, keke!) A small frown furrows the girl's brow as she ruffles through her spell component pouch. .oO(One of my more impressive spells... that I won't need to use later on today. Da, I'm not a little pet that you can expect to perform tricks for visitors. Probably my disguise spell...) "Well, no dear, I-- ...did you say--?" Sensandela glances up at Penha before she shuts the pouch. As though sympathetic to its plight, the gnome closes his mouth as well. .oO(And stop looking at me like that... as if I'm one of your damn failed experiments...) "Okay, for my next trick, I'm gonna have to leave the room. Da, this is something I picked up in the city. Don't be frightened or anything, okay?" she says with a grin and returns to her bedroom. Her voice, softly scatting, can be heard. The girl who steps back into the room, however, is a foot shorter than Sensandela as well as a different race. A human child, perhaps only eight or nine years old, tilts her head and beams at the two men, her straight black hair falling like a whisper over chocolatey shoulders. She wears a short dress of embroidered sea-green silk, as well as a dagger in a sheathe on her thigh. Then, with one hand on her hip, the little girl chirps, "Yo. Whatcha think, Da?" "Goodness personified, but this is new!" Penha exclaims. "You've ... well done! I can't express how pleased I am to know that you've been practicing! [draconic]You've been practicing your languages also, have you[/draconic] [elven]form-shifter[/elven]? Well, this is wonderful! We have so much to catch up on -- perhaps you can spare a few days? The trip itself might be pretty boring to you, but I suspect that you'll find the destination interesting. I've room enough in the cart in case one of us needs a rest at any time of the day--" He looks up at Cassius. "--though I'm afraid it might be a bit cramped for one of your great height, Mr. Gaia. I'm truly sorry. I'll do what I can to pack things properly to at least make it possible to find a comfortable spot however. Oh! And I'll need another tent for-- er, that is, I'll need another tent if you're coming with us, Pearl?" Nervously he adds, "And more provisions. Oh, I do hope I've enough for three. And the raven too, perhaps?" "Master Penha, you should not fret about feeding Crebain," Cassius assures him, "he can take care of himself." "That's good to know," says the gnome, carefully settling into his chair again before reaching for his cup. Cassius smiles at Pearl. "Very impressive and a useful spell too," he tells her.[/i] "In fact, every spell is useful in some way. It seems you have a talent for the Art; perhaps I could help you gain a better understanding of the weave. One thing you should remember though is that magic is a tool and not a goal, contrary to the belief of some other people." Penha raises his eyebrow at the wizard's use of an archaic and ill-favored term for magic. The teapot shakes in his hands for a moment as Cassius defines magic as a tool, but he offers no comment as he serves the others, starting with his guest. This does not escape the wizard's attention, and as he sips his tea, he wonders how he might asure the gnome that he will not try to impose his vision of magic on his ward, concluding that Penha doesn't aprove of it. "Thanks, Mister Guy," replies Sensandela. Not understanding his advice, the girl tilts her head, brows furrowing. The girl pads gracefully to her seat at the table, then suddenly plops back into the chair and fills her own teacup. Smiling more kindly at Penha now, she answers: "Ahem. [draconic]Yes, Father, I have been[/draconic] [elven]practicing the spoken word and have even[/elven] [giant]picked up[/giant] [goblin]another language[/goblin] [dwarf]or two[/dwarf]." Although Cassius understands both Elven and Draconic he gives no sign of having understood the private conversation. [chatter]"Well Crebain,what do you think of this duo? Use our private language for now."[/chatter] Crebain seems to have decided to keep his counsel to himself for now. "Hmm," says the gnome, listening to the girl's words, "I don't believe I've heard those words in the elven voca-aha. Yes, the inflections... something different, then, and you've mastered the goblin as well! Very well done! "Mr. Gaia, I do apologize if you couldn't follow any of that. It wasn't our intention to hide anything from you, but our earliest lessons were of languages. She used to find my efforts at pronouncing the dragon tongue the funniest thing, and I confess I lack the proper timbre to enunciate sentences such as 'Cower where you stand, noisome insects -- it shall avail you not in your trespass, for my eye is upon you, while my breath is the fury of a god.' "Do they really talk like that, I wonder, or are the tales just exaggerated for effect afterward? Maybe we'll find the answer to that soon enough. "Speaking of which, perhaps I should tell you a bit about where we're going..." The little girl has vanished from her seat at the table. Instead, the half-orc Sensandela pulls herself from the floor onto the chair, her helpless giggles interspersed with snorts. "Say--Say it again, Da!" she manages before she erupts again in a fit of giggles and collapses. "What?" he says, then squeaks out syllables that lack any gravity they might ordinarily possess. He sighs at the reaction this receives and looks helplessly at Cassius, who smiles at the gnome's attempt to imitate a menacing dragon and laughs at Sensendala's amusement. "Do you see what I mean? Well, never mind. After tea, I'll try to explain what I've found." "It's good to laugh again," admits Cassius. "I've been so stuffed up in my studies this last year that I had nearly forgotten how to have fun. I've never met a real dragon, but perhaps they do sound like this, [Draconic][Deep voice]Lay off, you squirming vermin, lest I unleash my wrath upon thee [/deep voice][/Draconic] Thats the best I can do, though I think I lack the chest to make it sound just right." Gradually, the girl's giggling fades. Only a tired, but satisfied sigh floats up from the general vicinity of the floor.
#7 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 10:31:24	"Perhaps it would be best if I told you a little about myself," Cassius offers, "since we are going of on this adventure together. I can imagine you'd want to know who is coming along." Penha nods, an action that sets his entire upper body to bobbing along. Somehow, he manages to avoid spilling his tea as he does this. Sensandela giggles softly as she climbs upright into the chair again. "Perhaps you have heard of the Tower of the Elements?" the wizard asks. There is a second of hesitation, and again the nod before Cassius continues his story. "I received my training there at the hands of Master Rotharac, a man with a rather practical view of magic -- a view I share, although it has brought me into conflict once in a while with my betters at the Hightower." Cassius smiles a bit as he remembers his "perfomance" while rallying the mages of the tower to fight against the goblins. "When Master Rotharac decided my training was complete, he sent me off to Garic's to gather greater experience and grow in the Art. For a time, I served as the house mage of the Silver Sword until my friend, Daron, died. I then joined the Tower, where I have been working on a way to graft magic to flesh through tattoos, a work I recently finished." As he talks, Cassius watches the gnome for any reactions and sips his tea once in a while. He observes how Sensandela's mouth becomes a round, cavernous 'O' of interest at the mention of magic tattoos. When he is finished, he finds the cup empty. "More tea, Mr. Gaia?" Penha asks, seeing his guest's predicament and squirming out of his seat. He picks up the pot, gesturing toward the mage's hand with it, and says "I am sorry for the loss of your friend. May he have found comfort at the journey's end." Cassius accepts the offer of more tea and sighs at the memory of Daron. “I do not doubt that he found peace in the arms of the mother, he died as he lived. He gave his life in defense of the city that he loved from danger. I guess for a warrior like him that would be the ultimate sacrifice. I learned much from him and I try to honor his memory in my actions.” The girl carefully maintains a neutral expression on her face, masking the fact that she is not impressed by even a valiant death. (I'd rather keep my life any day...)Oo.she thinks. After a short, but polite, pause, Penha broaches the next subject mentioned. "Your work sounds like it has much potential. Perhaps you would be willing to tell more about this idea?" Cassius elaborates on the design for a tattoo for his purposes. “It is imperative that the base of such a tattoo is the sigil or mage rune of the mage completing the tattoo. It personalizes the artwork in preparation of accepting the magic. Furthermore I have found it useful to shape the tattoo as to depict at least part of that which the spell is to complete." Cassius rolls up his left sleeve a bit to show the tattoo’s on his left arm. Penha leans forward to get a better look. “As you can see here," the wizard says, "the lower tattoo incorporates my personal rune and a depiction of a piece of armor along with some minor arcane symbols. This tattoo allows me to cast a protective spell. The upper tattoo once again is my rune combined with a stylized bull. When activated it will temporarily enhance my strength.” Cassius answers Penha’s other questions in as much detail as possible in the current time frame and refers to the manual he wrote. “If you are interested in the concept and the theory, I have written a manual that explains it all in great detail, along with detailed instructions on how to create a magical tattoo. It resides in the library of the Hightower.” "Spiff! I wanna read!" exclaims the half-orc. Eyes gleaming with excitement, Sensandela glances at Penha and asks, "Hey, Da, can you spot me some moolah so I can borrow it?" The gnome reddens. "Perhaps when we return," he says quietly, then returns to discussing the wizard's theories. Sensandela is taken aback, thinking .oO(I... I guess I should've remembered why I left in the first place. Poor little guy.) Her face brightens a bit as she recalls the amount of money she's put away for him during her stay in Garic's. Once Cassius has finished his explanation, answering a few questions about minor points that were either overlooked or poorly understood, Penha provides a few details about the journey ahead. He also offers a few ideas for magic that he feels might be helpful in the circumstances. And when that discussion has reached its conclusion, he sees to the sleeping arrangments for the night. "I'm sorry, Pearl," he says, "and I will also apologize to you, Mr. Gaia, in case you are the sort who prefers to give Thalos a few hours as a head start on the day, but we should make an early morning of it. I've planned our stopping points along the way carefully, and I'd like for us to have a few hours of leeway to reach them before sunset, in case we experience delays." Hesitantly, he adds, "I'm afraid that sleeping in isn't going to be one we can afford." Sensandela grins at her adoptive father. "Whaaat, you mean like nine or ten in the morning, right?" she asks, only half-joking. "I promise, there'll be time for you to grab naps in the cart on the way," he hastens to assure her. Cassius indicates that he has no problem with rising early. “I will see what spells I have that might be useful, do you have an indication of how long it will take to reach our final destination? I may need some time to prepare my spells tomorrow though.” "The trip will take us a week in each direction, and I will be sure to rouse you early enough to prepare yourself," Penha says with a smile, adding, "I'll have breakfast ready by the time you've completed the task." Once he's helped them settle in, the gnome bids them both a goodnight and retires as well.
#8 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 15:40:51	It's not the best day for riding, but the hospitality at the end of the road takes the chill off quickly enough while Brown readies a mule and cart. Turnip soup was probably never so welcome to Lucian as this. Brown joins him before the fireplace a short time later, nodding to indicate that things are ready. Once the traveller is also ready, he guides him to the cart that will carry him. "Got a few blankets for you and Sheila," he tells Lucian, patting the mule by way of introducting her, "You're going to need them tonight, and I understand that the nights where you're going can be pretty cold as well. The tent's good, but there's not enough room for her, and you'll appreciate the extra warmth as well. "There's enough food and water there to last you both twenty-one days. Also put in a spade, two coils of rope and some climbing gear. Oh, and there's a lantern and enough oil to keep it lit for a full day, but I suggest you go easy on it. Also got two of them sunrods, but I suggest you hold off on using 'em even more'n the lantern -- once you light 'em, they stay lit, least until they burn out, that is. "You best get going now. We've taken steps to slow Lapin down for a few hours, maybe half a day at best, but he'll get there plenty soon enough." Lucian's face glows with the turnip soup. He pats Sheila gently. "Thanks for all your help," he says. "I appreciate it." With a smile Lucian heads off, not wasting any more time. Several days later, not all of them unpleasant, he spots the hermitage ahead, a handful of clay brick buildings and plowed fields at the edge of a muddy pond. Encouraged by the sight, he picks up the pace slightly, his brown hair slightly dampened by the exertion. (I've got to get there first.)Oo. he realizes. .oO(Boss doesn't like being told no.) He pats Sheila on the rump kindly. "Almost there," he reassure her, "almost there... The Striker takes his time to round the lake toward a series of hills, giving the buildings a wide berth. His initial search of the area soon turns up a promising marker at the base of one cliff -- a small pile of stones holding a stick upright, with a red cloth tied around the stick. Sure enough, there are a number of pitons driven into the rock here. The first bit is going to be a slightly easier climb for this bit of assistance, though he can see that they don't go all the way up. Lucian looks up and groans; his face deflates of any energy. (I hate participating in climbing. It's so unsafe.)Oo. he thinks bitterly. The young thief looks for a place to tie Sheila up, where she can graze, then unloads the equipment, distributing it where he can. Unfortunately, the scrub does not appear to promise good grazing, and the best Lucian can do is lay out feed for the beast. At least he's able to fasten her rope around the lowest of the spike, which has a loop at the end for just such a purpose. Looking up with dismay, Lucian starts him climb. This, at least, is not as bad as it first seemed it would be, thanks to the preparations made by an earlier visitor. It's only twenty feet to a ledge, which shows vague signs of deliberate craftsmanship. More impressive than this, however, are the markings he hadn't seen from below, worn as they are from the years. The cliff appears to be covered in them, stretching away to each side of the ledge. Perhaps they were once more legible from a distance, but now one would have to be very close to try to identify the designs. Lucian can't determine whether they are writing or diagrams of some sort, though the characters are nearly as tall as he is. Puzzled by the markings, Lucian takes a moment to admire the view... and look for followers. Though he can see no sign of anyone else in the area, a small frown crosses his face. .oO(I have to get this book!) He notes that effort was made to continue the climbing path up the cliff, but only for another five footholds, less than a quarter of the remaining distance. Lucian begins to the climb the hill, taking every precaution he can, but the rest of the ascent proves much more difficult. It takes several tries to make any progress at all, after which he finally locates a promising route. Panting with relief, he finds himself at the mouth of a very large cave. He takes a moment to rest, scanning the countryside again and feeling proud of himself for succeeding thus far. .oO(That was way too close for comfort... 'ere we go) Lucian nimbly rolls to his feet then starts up the trail. Just before he enters the cave, he makes sure he has his walking stick in one hand and a sun-rod in the other. The space might be thirty or more feet across, sloping toward the wall to his left, where water has accumulated in those last few feet. He judges that he could probably see much further in the morning, when the sun would be shining directly into the cave, but for now the far end of this tunnel lies beyond the limit of even his inherited vision. Near the cave's mouth, the only cover he can find is a large rock resting in the middle of the passage, ten feet from the entrance. Lucian realizes that he'd be hard-pressed to reach the top of it with a running jump, but it might be the only thing to interfere with him being spotted by someone further inside. That's his hope, at least.
#9 shatteredtower Jul 13, 2004 15:51:30	Lucian frowns in thought. .oO(Not much use being stealthy if I cannot see for myself....) The half-elf wraps a sunrod inside his shirt and raps it with his club. Thus triggering the item, he opens his shirt slightly to allow some of the light to flow forth, while still being ready to conceal it quickly. He uses this to guide his path further into the cave and edges around the rock, which slopes so that the high point faces the cave entrance. He finds a small pit, roughly five feet wide, behind the boulder. It appears to present no danger; there's plenty of room to walk around it to either side. To his far right, the wall of the cavern has been smoothed into a flat surface, bearing markings similar to the ones outside. Opposite the markings, to his left, the water widens into a pool. Lucian also notices a smaller tunnel to the right of that, leading from the far end of this chamber. He makes his way toward the water cautiously, peering into it with interest. .oO(Wonder what's in there?) The half-elf is unable to judge the depth, despite how clear and still the pond is. Seeing nothing more of interest, Lucian makes his way further into the cave. .oO(the dragon wouldn't have been able to fit down there, probably. Besides the book is my priority.) Passing through a narrow gap (surely too tight for a dragon to squeeze through), he arrives in an area where the floor and walls have been carefully carved to at least half the distance to the high ceiling. A number of sacks and clay vats have been scattered about this room on the floor and on several low tables. The chamber continues around the corner to his left, but a pair of lower passages, half again his height, have been tunneled out to his right. One appears to reach a dead end after approximately twenty-five feet, but the second turns a corner, blocking his view down its length. Lucian approaches the containers carefully before making a very thorough search. The contents of the sacks, likely vegetables and grains, have mostly rotted or shriveled away by this time. Those urns that are still intact and sealed hold more promise, however. He determines that a few contain liquid when he tries to move them. Others shift gradually when tilted, as though they held something granular. The content of the rest do not seem to move about when he moves them, but he can tell by the weight that there's something inside. Cautiously, he opens a few urns, careful not to spill any liquid. Their contents range from pickled fruit and vegetables that have spoiled to an inedible state, dried peas and beans, wine, and vinegar where the wine has not lasted the years. Lucian scratches his head and investigates the shorter tunnel. He finds rotted linens stacked against one wall, as well as an old barrel that's been tucked into a corner at the far end of the corridor. (Probably in tribute to the dragon.)Oo. he concludes. .oO(Kind of what I'm doing for Striker.) As the rogue is poking around, he hears a noise behind him. He whirls about to find that there now is a rough stone wall blocking the passage.
#10 shatteredtower Jul 17, 2004 22:36:38	"Crap." Lucian drops his sunrod then searches the room, looking for any way out of the chamber. His actions pick up a slight frenzy to them. As he's just about to complete a full circuit of the walls, he hears a voice behind him. "I was wondering if you were ever going to stop moving about." Lucian brings his club behind his head, prepared to swing and turns around quickly. "Who're you?" he asks. The transparent gnome standing before him smiles and says, "Oh, that's right, isn't it? I suppose introductions are in order--" He wags a finger at Lucian and grins. "--especially since you didn't spend any time reading the introduction in the sun room. That must be the human blood rising to the front, always interested only in the gold, never in the literature... ah, my... "Then again, you did spend a lot of time looking through the pantry. Perhaps you just became lost in the desert and were desperate for food? If so, I am impressed at the resolve you showed. It's not easy to get up here for your kind, and the fact that you were able to spot the place from below... most resourceful, young man. Well done." "Oh, yes, we were doing introductions, weren't we? I am Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, and these are my chambers. What is your name, my ambitious young fellow?" Lucian lowers his walking stick and offers a small bow. "I'm sorry to have intruded. My name is Lucian Risk. Uh.. I guess this isn't the location of the text I'm looking for then, Mr. Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk." "No, no, it's pronounced... well, now, that must be the fine elven ear you've inherited. Well done. The dwarves never could get the hang of my name." He then starts to string together a collection of hisses and harsh sounds of which Lucian, try as he might, can make neither heads nor tails. He tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. "Uhh.. Pardon?" he replies. "No, I guess not," says the gnome. "I thought you might understand draconic, but I guess it's just an attentive ear after all. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lucian Risk. It's been ages since I've had company, you know." "I'd imagine it would be so living in such an out of the way place," says Lucian. "Uh, if you don't mind, how can I get out of this room?" "Well, it's only been like this for the last century or so," his host says, and begins to explain. "Before that, the dwarves were still making their pilgrammages. You wouldn't know to look at all of this that they used to maintain a modest kingdom only two days south of here, back before the halfling uprisings. Terrible times, those were -- dreadful mistakes they made. They could have asked me for help, but no, they had to show everyone what they could do on their own." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk shakes his head. "They certainly did at that," he adds sadly. "A kingdom, you say? Lucian asks, perking up. "Do you know where the capitol is located? I'm very interested." .oO(Definitely worth investigating....) He continues to look for a way out while still paying attention to the gnome. "Oh, long gone, long gone," he's told. "Your typical dwarf starts building communities on the surface and suddenly seems to forget all of those lessons about durability his ancestors spent years learning underground. Maybe they knew it wouldn't last and wanted to make sure that they'd be able to haul most of it away later. I'm sure there are still ruins scattered about, but it might take a long time to find something that hasn't been burned down, torn down, ripped up, hauled off, or buried." Lucian's host pauses and squints up at him. "You weren't looking to rob those too, were you?" Lucian smiles innocently and replies, "Not at all." .oO(If they're dead, it's salvage.) "Uhh... Do you know where a book written by a dragon is?" "A book? Lucian Risk -- it was Lucian Risk, yes, that's right, it was -- Lucian Risk, this whole place is a library if you just know how to look at it. Well, most of it -- not here obviously, because there simply wasn't room, and not in the pantry either, because the dwarves tended to disrupt concentration with all of the hustle and bustle that went on in there some days. And the solarium was more suited to conversation and thought than such labors. "But if you mean one of those bound paper things that you people make, no, I've never seen one. Such a fragile thing, and too readily stolen. Or misplaced, I suppose. It's amazing how often you folk misplace things, or at least claim to have misplaced them. Most of them weren't so bad, but every once in a while there was someone who thought I wouldn't notice, and maybe wouldn't miss a little trinket. It hardly matters now, naturally, especially after all that's transpired, but there was a principle involved back then. "But you've come for a book? Where did you hear that there was a book here?" Lucian rubs his forehead and restrains the urge to scream in frustration. "A friend told me..." he begins with exaggerated patience evident in his tone, then stops. .oO(...) He decides to try a different approach. "Would I 'read' this book?" he asks. "If you know how to, certainly," the gnome tells him. Seeing Lucian's expression, he tries to clarify his meaning. "It's not always just a matter of knowing the language -- sometimes you have to understand the concepts on an intuitive level. I mean, there are wizards who've spent years studying the concept of personal metamorphosis, who can offer you a dozen insightful theories into the methods by which the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, or how exactly the barghest is transformed by devouring the esence of remarkable individuals, but while they can make out some of the concepts I've proposed here, they're too divorced from their magic to be able to effect the transformation. Even those to whom Grandmother Ordemetrex has spoken personally, to whom few secrets are unknown, cannot unravel this one unless they keep it inside them. It's something you can't come to comprehand until you already know it, if you see what I'm saying. It's my gift for one who's open to inspiration, to knowing what it truly feels like to have magic running through your veins. "There are other thoughts scattered throughout the notes, naturally, since there's simply so much to share! Those shouldn't be so difficult for most of you to digest, as long as you take it in sections smaller than your head -- and chew slowly, of course." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk grins from ear to ear.
#11 shatteredtower Aug 04, 2004 8:02:19	Realizing suddenly just who is speaking to him, Lucian fingers the pendant he has in his pocket before making a hasty bow. "Mon dieu... I did not wish to intrude, Master Dragon." The tiny figure laughs gently, but with genuine merriment. "My, but either you are very perceptive, or I've been careless. Please allow me a moment of generousity, so I may assume that it's the former state. Well done. And there's no need to apologize -- it's been ages since I've had any company. If there were still any servants about, I'd have them prepare something for you, but they--" He pauses to tilt his head to one side, scratching his cheek. "Excuse me for a few minutes, won't you? I'll be back shortly, so don't go anywhere yet." Lucian has time to nod before his host dissolves from sight. "Uhh.. Thank you sir." .oO( DRAGON! DragonDragonDragonDragonDragonDragon DragonDragonDragonDragon AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!) The half-elf dissolves into a shuddering wreck for a moment before recomposing himself. .oO(I'm going to have to have a little conversation with my informant.) Lucian leans on his walking stick heavily. A male elf, as transparent in form as the gnome was before, appears in the tunnel beside him. "Sorry about that," the elf says cheerily. "I hope this new form is more to your liking. Humans sometimes seem to find gnomes a bit irritating, though for the life of me I can't understand why. Oh, they'll interrupt the narrative now and then, but that's usually only to show that they're paying attention. Dwarves, on the other hand, often seem to treat conversation as something to be endured, at least in my experience. Anyway, a gnomish guise always seems useful to keep visitors from becoming overly alarmed when they first see me. "Unless they have cause for alarm, of course, whereupon I'm not overly concerned with displaying a less intimidating form anyway." He chuckles, then looks concerned. "I hope you've brought something to eat. I'm afraid that the larder hasn't been restocked in too long, and I'm not sure there's enough left to make a refreshing meal for you." He peers into an empty pot. "I can take care of this at least. Be careful not to spill it." Several harsh sounds and a quick series of gestures, the pot is filled to overflowing with water. "That's the most important thing out of the way. Now we'll need to look around to see if there's anything we can make a meal out of for you. I'd offer you more help in opening things up, but--" He sticks his hand through a wall, silently demonstrating his lack of substance. "--I can't handle solids the way I used to." Lucian drinks deeply from the water after nodding his thanks. Midway through a sip he almost chokes as the water goes down the wrong pipe. (Did his hand go through the wall?!)Oo. he wonders. "What are you?" Lucian asks. "A dragon, but no dragon I know of can walk through walls..." He can hardly contain his trembling. "Really?" VersveshthraevaerighentbensvelkAgathalosisk asks. "How many dragons have you known?" (A comedian eh?)Oo. Lucian thinks. .oO(Perfect... he can rip me to shreds if I don't laugh) Lucian chuckles nervously. "Not too many. Actually, none in person." "Oh," says his host, sounding a trifle disappointed, "and here I can't provide you with the honor of a first meeting properly, because this place is too small for... "Oh, dear! Why are you shaking? By the watchful eye of blind Agathalos -- you know, I never did understand that oath. I wonder if the ancients realized how sensitive He might be about the subject? Still, it is a lovely metaphor for the sun, so maybe it's all right. Beneath Agathalos' lofty perch? Yes, perhaps that is less offensive. "Beneath his perch, then, I assure you of this: I have no intention of eating you. Why, in the shape I'm in these days, it's not even an option!" Lucian blushes nervously. "My thanks. It was an unfair assumption." Lucian jokes to lighten the mood. "Does that protection extend to being burned to a crisp or cut in half by your claws?" "You've nothing to fear in that regard either," his host assures him with a soft smile that suddenly freezes and vanishes into an awkward expression. "Although... er..." Lucian moves to the ball of his feet, prepared to move if something happens. "What's wrong? he asks. Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk coughs, his answer sounding in an embarrassed tone. "Asphyxiation could be a problem."
#12 shatteredtower Aug 12, 2004 6:47:14	Lucian's eyes open very wide. "WHAT?!", he exclaims. "How do I get out of here?!" "Well... heh heh," the elf says awkwardly, "I was hoping you might have some answer to that." "You're a dragon! You said in here was too large to do proper introductions.... is out there large enough? If it is, you could bust a whole in it." Lucian looks up, checking the ceiling. He is disappointed to find it looks as solid as the rest of the "prison" walls. "Did I say th- oh. I did, yes. Your pardon. And knocking holes in walls simply isn't an option--" The ghostly figure demonstrates by knocking on a wall, his hand passing through its surface ineffectually. "--if you see what I mean. Don't worry, though. We've got a least a day to figure something out, as long as you don't try to light a fire." Lucian sighs. "Does the solarium have any answers?" he asks. "Eh? The loss of air shouldn't be affecting you so soon, should it? I'm sure there's enough here for at least a day... No, my goodness, no. If I had an answer written there, I would know it, wouldn't I?" Lucian sighs again and takes a seat. "Didn't think so... What other spells do you know?" "None that would seem to help in this situation," the phantom admits. "The slab of stone is about the best I can do right now." He grins proudly. "Pretty impressive piece of work, though, isn't it?" Seeing his prisoner's response, he has the sense to at least look embarrassed. "No, perhaps not at the moment. I could try scaring you, but I don't know how running around will help. Maybe if we were able to get ahold of a large amount of acid, we could... um... well, it would work. If we could do it." "Uhh..." Lucian says, looking around, "I don't suppose you have a large amount of acid around do you?" "Well, the--" A look of confusion passes over his face for a moment. "--I mean, I might have something. There was a wand ... here... if I could just remember where I put it... Oh, yes. The assassin's wand. We never did bother fishing that out, because we were too busy getting... ready for..." Sad eyes stare hopelessly at Lucian. "...the battle. But that wasn't how it went..." The host shakes his head and begins to hiss and mutter in words the half-elf does not comprehend. Lucian looks on with confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't understand," Lucian says. "What assassin?" .oO(No matter what's going on, I need to get out!) "Oh, please don't worry about that!" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk assures him. "He's been dead longer than I have, and I've been dead for... a long time, now... "Pardon me. Lost in thought. We were preparing a raid on a Kakkodemmionite stronghold, a place called Hardaja, when it happened that they sent someone to kill me first. It's needless to say that he failed, though he used the wand to good effect before it got knocked into the water in the course of our fight. I'd have gone looking for it then, but time was short and I felt it could wait until my return. "That's what I thought at the time, anyway..." Lucian scuffs his shoe. (Who is we?)Oo. he wonders, but he asks a different question. "Is there anyway you could get that wand to work? Or get it in here?" "I'm afraid not. I have the means to lift it, certainly, once I've found it, but I can't touch it at all. Lifting it isn't going to be enough, though, because I can't pull it through with me.." Pausing only to scream silently within his head, Lucian asks, "Can you find someone else to help?" "I don't think so. I can look, but no one's been here in years, save for a few hippogriffs that tried to nest here a few weeks back. It doesn't seem very likely." VersveshthraevaerighentbensvelkAgathalosisk looks over his guest's person. "It's a shame you didn't think to bring any digging tools. That might have helped with these circumstances. Ah, well, I'll take a look around..." Lucian scuffs his shoe on the floor. (Good job, Risk.)Oo. he thinks, then gets on his knees to use his dagger as a trowel, attempting to dig a way out. For several futile minutes, he chips away with little effect before his host returns, shaking his head sadly. "I'm truly sorry about this. I will keep looking around for ideas, but I don't see much hope here, unless one of the gods owes you a favour or something." He grins when he says this, the lets the grin freeze and melt like snow in a kettle. "Eh... sorry," says, then, after a cough, adds, "Again." Lucian sighs, leaning against the damnable stone wall. Looking up his eyes are filled with a mixture of fear and resolve. "Thanks." The thief returns to chipping away at the way. "How much more water can you make?" he asks. The dragon snaps its head back, as though shocked by the question, but then realization dawns on his face. "Oh. Well, this should last you the day and I can create more tomorrow." Lucian continues to chip away. Using water to attempt to dampen it. "And is there any way that you can project it with any force?" "No, of course not." Still chipping away, he asks "Is there anything ypu could make it run down? If you could you might eventually be able to erode some of it." "I'm not sure we have that much time," the dragon says, "and I'm afraid that the spell doesn't work like that. I need a container and the water appears within that." Lucian slumps across the wall, trying to resist sobbing. Sweat streaked and exhausted. .oO(Not the way I intended to go....) "Listen," says the dragon. "I can see you're distraught, so maybe it would be best to just get some rest for now, conserve your strength, and think about this with a fresh mind. I'm going to... well, I'm going to try to see if I can think of something. Now if I could just find where the... no, never mind. I'm sure we'll think of something with a little bit of rest." And once again, the creature is gone. Lucian sighs and finally lets all his fear go. He curls into a small ball and sobs.
#13 shatteredtower Aug 12, 2004 8:23:09	Morning finds Penha as good as his word, for Cassius wakes to the smell of bacon. The servings are lacking in their visual presentation, but they are fortunately more satisfactory in the matter of taste, with generous portions of mashed turnip, flatbread, eggs, cheese, and pickles. One cannot be certain if this is traditional gnomish fare or just an attempt to use a few ingredients up while they're still fresh. It may even be an effort to feed the young lady a number of her favourite foods as quickly as possible. Speaking of the the half-orc, early morning finds her slightly cranky. However, the smell of breakfast wakes her. She inhales her portions, cooing and complimenting her father, who reddens in the face of such praise, happily at the taste. Her smile widens and spreads to her eyes before she runs to fetch, from the packs in her room, a couple of bags of gold pieces. Casually, she tosses these on the table before the gnome, but a rare smile belies her actual affection. She makes no mention of the gift, however, and resumes breakfast. Penha quietly offers simple thanks and tries to unobtrusively push the sacks to one side, but his blush spoils efforts at discretion. Both see a small degree of relief and gratitude in his expression, but he makes no comment at the table. Cassius politely ingores the gnome's slight embarrassment and the gift, seemingly too busy with his own plate. When he is done he compliments the cook. "Master Penha, if you cook like this for the rest of the trip you might find it hard to get rid of me at the end of the journey." The gnome chuckles and bows in thanks, bobbing slightly. Once breakfast is out of the way, the others have some free time while Penha cleans his kitchen and reviews the equipment he's packed for his expedition. Once or twice, he has to ask Sensandela to grab something he's stored away a bit too high to reach easily, but by the time Cassius has completed his own preparations, the gnome is satisfied that they're ready to go.
#14 shatteredtower Aug 13, 2004 2:28:24	They reach the edge of the desert within several chilly days, carefully winding their way down the slopes to the hard ground. Their course from there winds northwest toward a muddy watering spot, before they turn west again the next day, coming to a larger pond in the late afternoon. "Don't drink the water," Penha advises them both. "It's not safe until it's been blessed. Fortunately, there should be someone around to assist us with that." He points toward a small cluster of clay brick structures in the distance. Sensandela glances with furrowed brows at the water, then squints resentfully at the faraway brick blobs. "But they're so far awaaay! Is it at least safe to wash in? Da, I smell like, forgive my language, an orc! Traveling without a tub goes completely against my principles," she quips, sniffing briefly at her armpit. "I...suppose it couldn't hurt if all you do is wash in it, as long as you don't drink it," Penha concedes. As Sensendala splashes in the pool, Cassius makes himself comfortable against one of the wheels of the wagon. He takes his crossbow apart, cleaning it of desert sand and oiling the mechanical parts to ensure proper operation. While his hands are busy, he adressses the gnome. "Master Penha, have you thought anymore about a strategy concerning the hippogriffs? I have run through every spell in my book the last few days, but I find I have few spells I could use to scare them away from their 'home', if indeed the cave is such. Most of my spells are battle oriented at the moment, a legacy of my training, I guess. Most of them are invocations and as you said earlier we should try not to harm these creatures. I have been thinking about luring them out of the cave with food then sneaking in under the cover of invisibilty spells however I have no clue as to what the diet of a hippogriff might be." Cassius turns to Crebain for a moment as Penha considers the wizard's concerns. "Crebain, my friend, do me a favor and fly over to those houses over yonder and see if you can find a priest. Tell him there are travellers at the pool who are in need of clean water" "Caw, right," says the raven, "let poor Crebain do the work while you rest your weak human butt." The bird nevertheless takes wing and flies off toward the settlement. Cassius turns to Penha again, waiting for the gnome's take on his plan. "Invisibility sounds like it would be very useful, though I'm not sure about baiting them," Penha suggests carefully, then pauses a minute. "To them, we'd be just as good a meal as anything else. That's one reason we'll be leaving the cart behind with the priests and carrying only what we need the rest of the way. I'd certainly prefer that they weren't killed, but if the only way to drive them out involves some degree of injury, that is acceptable to me. They're quite territorial, but they're not suicidal creatures. I think your plan to sneak around unseen first may be a good one, though we'll want to avoid coming to close to them. I'm not sure how good their hearing and sense of smell are, but why take the chance? "How about this, then: become invisible to sneak in and see if we might be able to find a way around the creatures, and if that doesn't seem an option, at least we should have an idea of how many there will be to deal with. Once we know that, then we can spend some time preparing for what to do next." Cassius thinks about this for a while before he offers his opinion. "If the cave is large enough, I could sneak in under cover of an invisibilty spell and once inside unleash a bolt of lightning to scare them out, if the cave is sturdy enough to take such a beating. Not much use in collapsing the cave. We'll see once we get there. " "Yes, we shall," agrees the gnome, "but it sounds like a good plan for the moment -- as long as you have means to defend yourself if the lightning doesn't do the trick. Otherwise, it might be best to learn what you can and report back. We can afford to wait another day or two if it comes to that." Once his crossbow is cleaned, Cassius assembles the weapon again, then draws his rapier, wiping off the old oil and applying a new coat to it. "What did you have planned for tonight?" he asks. "Did you plan to sleep out here or do you want to continue to that hamlet overthere and find a real bed for the night?" "You'll find a roof, but not a bed," Penha warns. "The priests are content to make due with very few comforts. They'll welcome visitors..." He pulls a pouch from his belt, hefting it in his hand. "...especially those who provide the right donation. They seldom lack for food, but they appreciate something with which to season it now and then. Gold is also acceptable to them as well. Few of them spend all of their time out here, after all." Putting the pouch away, he calls over his shoulder, "Pearl, are you just about done cleaning up?" "Aw, but I haven't even been in here but ten minutes!" Sensandela whines. She then examines her fingertips, finds them satisfactorily pruny, and climbs out of the pool to dry off. A few minutes later, the freshly-scrubbed half-orc bounds out to meet with Cassius and her father. "Thanks a bunch! Can you smell the difference? Actually, in that case, you ought to be thanking ME, heehee! So, Daddykins, Mr. Guy, what've you two been talking about while I was doing us all a favor? What are we doing? Where are we going?" When he has had a moment to recover from the bard's exhuberance, Penha explains his plans, both for the evening and for getting into the cave the next day. He then sets the cart in motion once more.
#15 shatteredtower Aug 13, 2004 8:33:57	A third of the way into the hour, they are approached by a tattered figure, who lowers his hood to reveal a tangled mane and beard. "Oi!" the man bellows, "This yer crow?" Cassius can hear the disgust in Crebain's response, but to the others it is merely the raucous crowing of the bird. "Crebain is a raven, sir," the wizard tells the stranger. "He resents beeing called a crow, or so he tells me - has something to do with crows being carrion eaters. I won't translate it all, for the young woman's sake. I asked him to find us a priest to help us with cleaning the water of the pool, but our leader here decided to leave beforehand and seek refuge at your settlement. "By the way, my name is Cassius Gaia. My travelling companions are Master Penha and Miss Sensandela." Cassius indicates his companions with a sweeping gesture of his arm, then bows courteously to the old man. "And who might you be, good sir?" he asks. The fellow grunts, "I'm called Thistle here, but gnome knows 'at. As fer the bird, 'e almos' wasn' neither crow nor raven today. If Slate'd saw 'im first, 'e'd've bin dinner." He looks them over, scowling as he approaches. "Now, y'wanna explain why ye wasted my time comin' out here? Look like ye could'a walked the rest of the way, 'stead of 'spectin' me ta save ya." Thistle shakes his head and turns around, walking away. "C'mon," he says as he trudges off, slinging his waterskin over a shoulder as he goes. Penha has the cart moving immediately. "We must have interrupted his meditations," the gnome says, "or his dinner. Maybe even his rest. Anyway, we're nearly there now." (Grumpy lad, this one. If they're all like that, we're in for a fun night.)Oo. Cassius thinks to himself. He follows along, exchanging a few words with Crebain, reassuring the bird that neither will he be dinner nor does he resemble a crow. Seemingly without thought, Cassius takes his staff from the cart, using it as a prop. Sensandela runs to keep pace alongside Thistle. For a long moment, all she does is squint thoughtfully at the man. Then suddenly her face brightens, and she exclaims, "Hi, I'm Sensandela, or at least that's my stage name. My real name is Pearl! How dya do?" She takes a hop and skip before she tries another attempt to open conversation with the man. "We apologize if we've interrupted you in the midst of anything--like dinner maybe?" she asks hopefully. Thistle looks at her, holds a scowl for a moment, then lets it go with a sigh. "Nah, s'not that," he explains quietly. "Is jes' tha' yer obviously in no danger o' droppin' fram thirst any time soon, hey? Need's one thing, but tha' was..." He stops, obviously searching for a word as his lips move silently. "It wasn' called fer," he says finally, giving up. "Y'wan' my'elp, s'fine, but don' 'spect me ta come runnin' if ye c'n make it on yer own legs. No place for nobs out 'ere. Now lessee about gettin' outta th' sun."
#16 shatteredtower Aug 14, 2004 0:00:43	It turns out that this community up ahead consists of two souls and four times that many shelters. Thistle turns out to be the social one, as the one called Slate merely nods and mutters as they are introduced. It could be that the name relates to the bald man's complexion, though a case might be made for it originating from his seemingly blank personality. Once they are settled in, Thistle gathers them in the largest of the dwellings, bidding them to sit at a low table. A stack of flatbread and a bowl of some curdy substance rest upon its stony surface, along with a clay pitcher and several crude cups. "Gi' thanks t'Agathalos fer the feast ye'r 'bouta receive," he says, then takes a seat beside Slate. The two don't even wait for everyone else before they start eating, but it is apparent that there is plenty for everyone. Sensandela whoops with delight and digs in. As the silence stretches on, she glances over her food at Thistle and Slate. Mostly, she evokes the image of a cow chewing cud. The meal leaves a lot to be desired for taste, though Penha adds some seasoning to the paste that is served with the bread. The water is certainly fresh, however. "You came back," Slate says, finally breaking the silence late in the meal. "That was always my intention," says Penha, "and I said as much last time I was here." "Mos' people don' come more'n once," Thistle adds. "Most people don't know who used to live out here," counters Penha. Cassius looks from the gnome to the two man and back. .oO( Seems that not all has been told that should have been. I'm beginning to wonder if this dragon story our gnome gave us is just a veil for something else. I think Mistress Beque won't be amused either if it turns out that Penha held back from her. Tonight I'll see what can be learned.) The cenobites glance at each other before Thistle says, "Better that way." Gnome and man look at each other quietly for long seconds before Penha finally breaks eye contact and sighs. "Yes, all right. I'll record what's written, but not where it's written. Is that acceptable?" Again the two men look at each other before replying. Slate takes a bite of the bread, chews slowly, and then nods. "Yeah," says Thistle, then he too resumes eating. By this time, Sensandela has swallowed the breadlump in her mouth. Instead she chews on her lip. From beneath a furrowed brow, she squints at her father as if asking, "What did y'all just talk about?" "I suppose we are to keep ourselves to this bargain as well," Cassius asks, indicating Sensandela and himself. "If we are, I'd like to know what the secrecy is all about. I don't like to be taken out on false pretences. If we are to risk our lives, I'd like to know why." "Da, Thistle, and... Slate, I'd like to know, too, what just passed here. It all went whooosh!" says Sensandela as her hand flies over her head. She gives her father an encouraging smile and adds, "Please." Penha looks between the priests before he starts to speak, then begins his explanation. "This is a holy retreat to men like these, and has been for many generations now - generations as my folk would measure them, Mr. Gaia. His Spirit has rested in this place since there were dwarves in these parts, if the stories are true." "They are," insists Thistle. "As you say, as you say. In any case, this place was long under the protection of a dragon, a creature so filled will the Spirit of Thalos that he was considered a wellspring of mysteries and insights. He was a generous teacher, free with his words and lessons. The words were not easily understood, but it's said that the few who grasped a deeper meaning were changed by the experience. "According to our hosts, he met his end in battle with a Demmionite force while seeking to divert their eye from this region by offering himself as the diversion." Slate interupts, adding, "His existence was too well known by then, so he and the dwarves went away, leaving us to remember." "And yet you never tried to visit his lair," the gnome points out. "No," says Slate. "It'd've drawn notice," adds Thistle, "an' then all'd be lost." He frowns at them all. "Mebbe lost now a'ready," he observes. "By finding it?" asks Penha. "Yeah. T'was a secret. It stayed secret 'til y'found it. Not no more, though." "Why should it matter if Da found it? Da is a gnome of principle!" interrupts Sensandela. "He wouldn't compromise its location to people who might not respect the place. Didn't he just assure you he wouldn't write down where whatever's written? "... "Hey, Da, just what are you writing down?" asks the half-orc with a freshly confused look on her face. "Maybe... the dragon's teachings?" she suggests hopefully. Penha answers, "I want to get a record of everything it's--" "He's," says Slate. "Excuse me, yes, everything that he's written," Penha amends, redfaced, "but I think it's best to find out just how much there is to record for now. If there's too much, it may have to wait for another trip, but perhaps we can still get the gist of things and make a record of some of the more interesting passages in the next day or two." "Ooooh, that'll be cool, Da!" chirps the half-orc between mouthfuls of bread. Cassius takes some time to reflect on the story before adding his thoughts. "It seems that we are not so much here to enter a dragon's lair but more to investigate a near lost tomb of one of the Sunfather's greatest guardians." "N'a tomb," corrects Thistle, "No body. Jes' memories an' o' th' teacher's life." (Well, that's good. Bodies are icky-poopoo.)Oo. thinks Sensandela. "During my training as a wizard," Cassius continues, "I have been taught much about the various faiths and their servants, but I do not recollect having heard of this venerable dragon. It seems a secret well guarded. Although I follow a different path inlife it still seems only fair to me that the secret must be kept I agree with you that the site must remain a secret. "Maybe it would be for the best to take what wisdom this place has to offer and document it. Then the place could be sealed against further future disturbance, preventing evil from despoiling the place." Slate and Thistle consider this, then shake their heads. "No point keepin' evil out i' th' good cannae get in either," says Thistle. "Another dragon may come to us," says Slate. "It is one more reason we watch this place. We were always told that another dragon may find its way to us." A delighted squeal interrupts the somber air. "Oooooooh! Another dragon?" Sensandela gushes. "That would be so... oh. Sorry. Carry on!" She titters bashfully. The two hermits stare nervously at Sensandela after this outburst, as though uncertain what to do in the face of such enthusiasm. Finally, Slate works up the courage to stammer, "Well, yes... that's.... that's the hope, at least." He coughs nervously. "Not that... well, you know, it's been ages..." There is an effort at a grin on a face that appears unused to expression at all. It's a very good effort, to be sure. "I mean... it could happen, but I'm not saying that... I'm not saying I can expect it to happen in my lifetime. Eh heh. "I can hope, though." Cheered by the man's sincere attempt, Sensandela bestows upon him a wide smile. ..oO(They're not afraid of my scary half-orc face!) "Well, I hope it happens soon, too! A half-orc girl's life is fraught with danger. I can only hope to live so long, so that dragon better come soon while I'm still alive to learn from 'im!" she says. "Or her. I hope it's a her," she murmurs and beams. As the conversation descends into an awkward pause, Thistle suddenly decides that the meal is done -- and it's true that there is little left by this point -- looks around, and says, "If ye want, ye c'n each grab yer own spot or share. None else usin' 'em." Sensandela gives her father a look as if to say, "We'll talk later, WON'T we, Daddy-waddy-kins?" before a bright grin washes over her face. With a bounce, she cries, "I get to pick first! Ladies first!" and runs outside. After a moment, she runs back, hopping impatiently from foot to foot just inside the door.
#17 shatteredtower Aug 14, 2004 2:10:56	The night is restful, but chilly. A light mist hangs on the air when morning arrives. Dawn finds Cassius already wide awake, studying his spellbook by the light of the small statue he carries with him at all times. When he is satisfied with his repertoire for the day he dons his robe of useful items and girds his weapons and pouches, making sure his components and his wands are within easy reach. Then he goes down to join the others in breakfast. The morning meal is filling but bland, and the trio take it alone. Their hosts seem a bit uneasy today -- much less talkative than they were the day before, but very attentive to the needs of their guests, with food and water brought regularly to the table. Once they have had their fill, Penha smiles and says to the others, "Well, let's grab what we need and be on our way, shall we? Brother Thistle, could we trouble you for more water to carry with us?" As Thistle hastens to make the arrangements, the gnome places a few coins in a bowl by the entrance. Sensandela also drops a meagre fistful of gold and silver coins to the bowl, then calls cheerfully, "Thankie-wankies, Thistle 'n' Slate! See you later!" (Not bad old guys. They have 'nough sense to be unafraid of half-orcs,)Oo. she thinks happily and hops out the door. "Let's go, Da, Mr. Guy! Can't keep up with the young 'un, can you? Ahh, these sprightly young knees will carry me forever and ever and ever. Don't worry! I'll pitch you twos over my shoulders and run witchous if we gets inta trouble, just you see. Those monsters'll never..." comes her cheerful voice from outside, rambling on and on. As Cassius leaves the abode he places a platinum piece in the bowl and mumbles a humble thanks to Thalos. That done, he slings his pack over his shoulder, checks the straps on his crossbow and takes his share of the water. "A bright and early morning young one," he says to Pearl, smiling. "Lead the way, Master Penha." "Just as soon as I've secured..." Penha begins, then asks, "Pearl, dear, if you could carry this for me... and this... oh, and... yes, we'll need that as well, and... Don't strain yourself, dear child... yes, we'll need this too, and -- oh! I can't believe I nearly forgot this! Oh, and here's the water too -- Thank you, Brother Thistle. Pearl, I'm so sorry to load you up like this, but I can only carry so much myself and we need all of this. No, Mr. Gaia, please, before you offer, it would be best if we didn't so burden you as well. If we should encounter trouble before we arrive, you'll want to be able to move as freely as possible, I'm sure. Don't you worry about us now; we'll manage. Pearl is stronger than she looks, and it should only take us three hours -- not including the trip back, of course." Any distress that splashes across the half-orc's face disappears before her father can catch her. .oO(Three hours? I shouldn't have talked so much!)
#18 shatteredtower Aug 14, 2004 2:58:05	"Three hours" comes out to a little over four in the end. The gnome leads the group among cliffs and finally stops to point up at one, where both Cassius and Sensandela can see a series of markings. "Here we are," Penha says. "I've already set some spikes in to get up to-- hello. What's-- oh, dear. It seems we have company." He points up ahead to the base of the cliff, where a mule has been tethered to a cart. Cassius unslings his crossbow, loading a bolt. Cautiously, he shoulders the weapon and surveys the area, looking for other, bipedal, forms of life. "Careful now, we don't know if who ever belongs to the cart is friendly or not," he warns. Slowly, he walks toward the cart and checks inside. Quietly, Sensandela asks her father, "Can I put these down now--in case Mr. Guy needs help?" "Certainly," Penha tells her. "May as well set them down anyway, since we've reached our destination." Saying this, he drops his own pack and fishes out a sling, then dropping a stone into it. "Just be careful, like he says," he adds, a hint of worry in his voice. Sensandela sets down her cargo to bring out her daggers, but she stops only several feet away from her father. However, she does carefully watch "Mr. Guy" and his surroundings. Cassius looks back to the others, then lowers his crosbow and climbs into the back of the cart. The mule brays several times, but seems content to ignore him, once it determines that the wizard's interests lie elsewhere. He goes about searching its contents to see what he can learn about its owner. Blankets, several barrels of water, and provisions are secured within, but he finds nothing in the way of personal effects. There are no weapons, which either means that there weren't any absent that they're with the cart's owner -- or owners. Concluding his search, Cassius motions for the others to join him and quietly fills them in on the situation. "Not much to be learned here, just the usual travel supplies one might expect to find with any traveler. I am not very skilled in tracking but I'd guess that we're dealing with a single person. Somehow I think a larger group would have left more marks in the surrounding area. Maybe we should split up and search the area for any signs of life before we move on." Sensandela pokes her head out of the cart, concern on her otherwise chewing face. "Is splitting up reeeally that good an idea?" she asks, then swallows before speaking again. "I don't want anyone to pick off Da when he's all alone and defenseless--no offense, Da, but you're not exactly the world's scariest gnome, even when you do your angry dragon impression." "No offense taken," Penha assures here with a squeak, then considers the matter. "Considering the fact that this mule's been tethered to spikes I nailed in place last time I was here, I'd be willing to wager that our intruder went up. It's possible that he's just been waiting for us all this time, but I don't think so. I can't see the priests sending someone to wait for us like this, not without telling us." He looks all around, seeing possible hiding spots in the vicinity. "Why don't we start by checking the cave? Maybe the hippogriffs got our intruder first. Mr. Gaia, if you could take a look around, Pearl and I could always duck behind the cart until you can confirm that no one is up there." He stands close to the wizard and whispers, "Or maybe you can fly around invisibly first and see if you can spot someone hiding within sight of this place. We should be safe hiding behind the wagon, but if you feel it's best to make sure that they aren't outside, maybe that would work too?" Cassius smiles at the gnome. "That's as good a plan as any, I'll check outside first, then fly up to the cave and check inside." He steps away from Penha and takes a few components from his pouch. "Quod te me animadverto nunc te operor non." The spot the wizard ocupied a moment before seems vacant all of a sudden as he vanishes from sight, although his voice can still be heard. "Thebor, Prince of Air, I invoke thee, carry me safely on thy wings." A faint rush of air can be felt by those nearby as Cassius takes to the sky. Soaring back and forth around the area, he can locate no danger lurking among the rocks and crevasses. Turning at once to the cave, he finds it large enough that he can't see the back of it through the shadows. A large rock, ten feet tall and just over twice as wide, is centred close to the mouth of the place. The floor of the cavern slopes down toward the left, where a narrow channel of water has accumulated. Venturing deeper inside, as far as outside light allows, he keeps to the right, following the wall. When he is satisfied that the place is empty, Cassius returns to the rest of the group, landing near Penha. "The outer cave seems to be empty, no signs of life there," he says. "I could fly you up there if you want." "Me! Me!" exclaims Sensendela, just before Penha gives his own reply. "That sounds like a splendid idea. Pearl, we'll lower a rope for you, as I'm not certain that Mr. Gaia is strong enough to carry someone closer to his own size." "Awww... okay... Stupid rope..." "Hmm..." muses Penha, "...perhaps you can take some of our gear separately, though, Mr. Gaia. We can leave the rest in the cart, but for now, let's take this and... this... and these... if you could ferry those up first and then come back for me, Mr. Gaia, I'd appreciate it." Crebain gives what sounds like an amused caw as the gnome presents the invisible mage with close to thirty pounds of extra weight. Indeed, this presents an amusing sight, as items wind up appearing to be suspended in air with no means of support. Cassius caws back to Crebain, "Laugh all you want my friend, next time you're the beast of burden. :D Now, if you please, fly up there and keep an eye out for trouble." With a racous cry, Crebain takes wing. If one didn't know better, it would sound like he is laughing. Sensandela bounds up to the burdened wizard, and asks hopefully,"Hey, can you teach me howta do that sometime?" "If we have time to spare on the trip home, I could try to teach you a thing or two. I'll have to see how far your understanding of magic goes before I will attempt to teach you to fly, though. It is not a simple spell and takes quite a lot of concentration." Certain that the area is safe, Cassius dispels his invisibility, then ferries the material up within two runs. He returns for the gnome, safely parking him at the mouth of the cave along with everything else. Together they uncoil and secure a rope, then lower it to Pearl. Although she seems able enough to scale it on her own, Cassius hovers near her as she climbs, just in case. As the pair reach the top, they see a ghostly, humanoid figure, slightly shorter than Sensandela, materialize several feet behind Penha. Teeth flash in a reptilian grin as it raises clawed hands in their direction. The gnome, smiling as he extends a hand for the girl, appears to be completely unaware of the form behind him.
#19 shatteredtower Aug 16, 2004 19:23:13	"Penha, behind you! Duck!" Cassius call out to the gnome, then, without a moment's hesitation, he jumps into a short incantation. "Ex loginquitas ego ledo!" As the incantation reaches its climax, bolts of near invisible energy crackle from his fingertips, speeding unerringly towards the ghostly apparition. Before Penha can react, Sensandela grabs his hand, holding him close to her -- instead of holding the rope. "Pea-whoooaaAAAAHH!" he manages to scream before they fall. She chants a few quick words to make them both light as feathers as they tumble away, knowing even as she does so that landing on her back is still going to hurt. "AAAAAH-- oh. Well," says the gnome. "Thank you, dear. I do hope that Mr. Gaia will be all right." Up above, that wizard may be wondering the same thing as the monster facing him waves its hands. "No, w--aargh!" it manages to get out before being struck, then growls at its attacker. "You enter this holy place and assault one seeking your aid? BEGONE, DEFILER!" Uttering a string of sibilants, the lizardlike humanoid stretches its arms above its head, then brings them forward in a swift, swooping motion. Cassius recognizes the actions as part of a terror-inducing necromancy and barely has time to steel his will against the counterattack. His successfully fights down the fear that threatens to overwhelm him for a moment. Crebain's angry crowing indicates that the magic's only effect on the raven is to leave him very annoyed. Confused at the creature's reaction, Cassius tries to determine if this is something other than a monster standing at the ledge. "Wait," he calls. "If you want our aid, then why did you attack the gnome?" "Attack him?" snorts the creature, seemingly nonplussed that its spell did not work. "I was only about to offer you welcome, and you-- well!" "What kind of apparition are you?" "You may call me... Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk. This is my..." There is a look of confusion as the short fellow seems to search for the right word. "...home. Now that we've settled that, I shall know the names of my assailant and his companions." Cassius lands on the ledge, reaches into his pouch and pulls out a vial. "My name is Cassius Gaia; my companions are Master Penha and Miss Sensandela, his ward. I offer you my sincere apologies for attacking you, I mistook your gesture for an attack on my gnome companion and acted in his defense. Please take this potion as a token of our goodwill; its curative powers should help to undo the injury I inflicted on you." "While it's a very generous gesture," the shade says carefully, "I'm afraid it's one long lost on me. "I could use help of a different sort, but first, shouldn't we check on your friends? That looked very dangerous."
#20 shatteredtower Aug 18, 2004 8:29:48	Landing on her feet with a wince, Sensandela hesitates before she carefully sets down the gnome. As he speaks, she only studies him, trying to decide whether she should snuggle him or scold him. She begins wagging a finger. "Don't do that to me, Da! C'mon, you're smart. Be a little more careful," she says, then follows his glance upwards. "Uh, yes, o-of course. Wha--?" .oO(Hey, I can see up his robe! ...Ewww, let's not go there.) "I wonder what that thing with the scary teefs was." "Wh-wha-wha-what scary thing?" asks the befuddled gnome. "Pearl, dear child, I'm confused. What was it that you saw, and is Mister Gaia going to be all right? She hesitates at the bottom of the rope to look back at little Penha worriedly. "That bad, is it?" he asks, catching her look. "Oh, dear..." "It was kinda see-through," says the half-orc. "Oh, how exci-" Penha blurts before Sensandela's description cuts him off again. "And it had a big mouf like dish," she adds, stretching the corners of her mouth wide. The gnome's eyes widen. "My--" "And ish mouf wash vull of zarp shcary teefs! And it was reaching for you like THIS! And it was smirking like THIS!! Like 'Oho! I'm gonna have me some gnomechops tonight!!!'" Finished, she continues to look up worriedly. She gives an experimental tug on the rope, as if worried it will fall, then cups a hand to her mouth to call out, "HEY! MR. GUY! HOW'RE YOU DOING UP THERE?" "Well, will wonders never cease," says Cassius' companion, "it sounds like the girl landed just fine. Usually your kind are too fragile to survive an accident like that. She does't sound very worried about the little fellow either, so I'd assume that he's okay as well, unless... no, pardon me, that's a silly thought. Excuse me for a moment, will you?" Sensandela and a somewhat shaky gnome see an indistinct, wispy form look down from above at them. The bard freezes with one hand in mid-wave. .oO(OH YE GODS! IT ATE MR. GUY!!) "Hello! Oh, good, you're both all right!" it says, then, more quietly, "Here I was worrying needlessly. "I do beg your pardon! Will you be coming back up? Your friend has done a passable job of securing the rope, so you should be quite safe!" Penha falls to his knees. Concerned, Sensandela drops also to her knees, stroking her da's back. "Da. Da, are you okay? I'm--I'm sorry if I scared you needlessly! I thought it--no, I didn't think. I'm sorry. I just... reacted. I'm so sorry! Da?" The gnome murmurs simply, "Oh, my..." "Oh dear," says the ghostly form at the cave's mouth. "Did he hurt himself after all? Cassius Gaia, you may need that potion of yours yet. Miss, will you be okay to climb up by yourself? You appear to be quite strong for one of your-- oh! Can you handle a pick? If not, I suppose we can try to find that wand..." Sensandela glances up from her seat next to the trembling Penha. "I can climb up by myself no problem! Do I really trust-- HEY, MR. GUY! CAN YOU FLY DA UP ALONGSIDE ME?" she shouts up away from the gnome she still holds. Her face burns as she thinks .oO(I'm so stupid! I just complicated things AND, and poor Da! Poor Da.) "I'm so sorry, Da," she murmurs. The gnome pats her hand reassuringly. "I'll be fine, Pearl. I hope there won't be too much more excitement, but you did fine. In the circumstances, your reaction to Mr. Gaia's warning was commendable. I just didn't realize that you could... do... that." He smiles unsurely. "Perhaps... we could try that again, sometime when I've had ample warning?" he suggests. "It might be... fun." A small smile returns to the half-orc's face. "We'll do that again sometime, then," she says as she stands, but an expression of worry has replaced the smile now as she returns her gaze upwards. .oO(No reply from Mr. Guy! OH YE GODS! HE DID GOT ET BY A DRAGON'S GHOSTIE!!) (Is it... Is it really safe then to use the rope?)Oo. she wonders. .oO(Oh, I hope Mr. Guy's all right!)
#21 shatteredtower Aug 18, 2004 13:14:27	Cassius walks to the edge and peers down. "The rope is secure, folks; you can come up. It seems we are met here by a 'friendly ghost.' His name is [draconic] Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk- Agathalosisk[/draconic] and I think he needs our help." .oO(That name is impossible even in Draconic. We'll have to come up with something shorter to adress him with.) Cassius turns to the ghost. "Excuse me, good spirit, if you don't mind me asking: what is the short form of your name?" The creature looks shocked. "Short... form? It's my name! Use an honorific to address me if you must, but let us not be trading insults, lest it lead to an exchange of injuries. Have humans become so lazy that they abridge all meaning out of their words now? Have the works of your great poets been condensed down from seventeen lines to the word 'love' or 'devotion' or even 'the'? My name means something -- it is not just some assembly of random noises." Indeed, this is true. From what Cassius knows of Draconic, the most straightforward translation of the name into Common would be "'Resounding-Echo -of-Dawn the Redeemed", with the use of Agathalos' name in reference to the dawn reflecting a touch of either reverence or vanity -- or both, if such a thing is possible. Crebain lands on Cassius shoulder, still not sure of the benevolent nature of the ghost. "I had no intention of insulting you, revered one. I was merely concerned; your name is not easy to pronounce and ofttimes people take offence to mispronunciations of their names. I merely wanted to avoid such a mistake." "That's a different matter, of course," the creature concedes. "Very thoughtful of you. Regrettable, but one mu-" Sensandela, who has not heard the ghost's wounded reply, yells up at Cassius, "Uh... TELL 'IM HE'S GOT A PRETTY NAME! AS FOR A NICKNAME, MAYBE HE'LL LET US CALL 'IM... umm... WHAT'S A GOOD NAME FOR A so-called FRIENDLY GHOST?!" .oO(I still think he's BLOODY EVIL!!) Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk sighs. "Now, Mr. GUY! CAN YOU FLY DA UP THERE? Hey, Da, think ya can climb the rope?" asks Sensandela as she watches the gnome twitch. "One moment, revered one. I need to bring our gnome companion up here before my flight spell fades," Cassius interrupts his conversation with the ghost for a moment and jumps over the edge, only lightly touching the ground before grabbing Penha. "Ready, Master Penha? I'll have you up there in a moment." As the gnome begins to nod his approval, the human soars up to the ledge, placing him safely on the rock. Sensandela watches wistfully as her father zooms through the air. Then she sets about climbing the rope. "Sorry about the rough ride, Penha," Cassius offers with a smile, "but my spell is beginning to wear off. It would have been a rougher ride had my spell expired along the way." "Quite all right," says the gnome, looking a bit weary from all the excitement. His eyes widen as he looks past Cassius. "Dragonkin. Real, living, dragonkin," he says with awe. "A real dragon, thank you," the creature corrects him, "and not so alive either, I fear. But I am pleased to meet you. You are named Penha, I am told. Cassius Gaia mentioned you before he had to leave, just as we were beginning to straighten out a few misunderstandings." The gnome looks confused as Cassius turns back to the ghost. "Once again I apologise, revered one. It is not my habit to break of a conversation like that, but it spared Master Penha the effort of climbing up here." "Oh, it's no bother at all. It's better to have a full and attentive audience than a smaller and distracted one, anyway. The dwarves could generally focus regardless of numbers, because you can't allow yourself to become too distracted from your present circumstances when those circumstances could included having a mountain collapse above you. Still, when Hilde Strarakelt was waiting for her Derghan Goriunin to arrive so they could be joined together in matrimony, it usually seemed best to stick to lighter subjects if there was no pressing need. Lucian Risk should be able to hold out for a few more hours, unless he's-- oh, there she is! Hello, Great Leaper!" As Sensandela crests the top of the ridge, Cassius steps up and extends a hand to help her over the edge, pulling her up beside him. "Well, revered one, it seems that we are ready," he says. "You said you needed our help; please tell us what it is that we can do for you." "It does seem like the appropriate time," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk- Agathalosisk agrees, "and as lovely as it would be to get to know each other first, it should probably wait until we've attended to the matter at hand. One must always display a keen sense of priorities and avoid becoming distracted by all of the interesting thoughts and possibilities that reveal themselves in the course of a day, lest nothing gets done at all! Goodness, but I wish I could still write that down! Perhaps one of you would be so kind to carve-- "Oh, yes, the matter at hand. "I trapped an intruder behind a stone wall earlier, but in my haste to contain him, I hadn't considered the means by which to liberate him afterward. It used to be as simple as tearing the stone apart back in the old days, and it's been so long since I performed that trick that I'd overlooked my inability to do it. It's amazing how you can continue to take a body for granted sometimes, even years after you've lost it. "But enough about me for the moment. Lucian Risk will run out of air in a few more hours, and I've no doubt that he'd have no complaints about securing an earlier release for him. It would seem that you are the answer to both of our prayers. If there's another reason for you to have come here, it can wait until after that. I'm just glad that you brought a pick. It's not as impressive as my claws were once, naturally, but it should do the job. Let me show you the way." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk moves deeper into the cave, toward the shadows. Cassius follows the dragon spirit, reaching into his pouch as he walks to pull out a smaller pouch of dark cloth. From this he produces a small statue, from which a soft light illuminates the group's immediate surroundings. "A little light to keep the darkness at bay," he explains. "Revered one, a question, if you please. This wall of stone, was it brought into being with the aid of magic, or did you use somekind of mechanism to move the stone?" "It was conjured up, for all the difference it makes to Lucian Risk," he's told. The girl is still obviously wary of the dragon ghost. She leans away from it almost as if she defies gravity. "So, uh, do ya have a pick, Versverae... binthrobbin... Agathalosisk?" she asks. "It's--" the phantom sighs before Sensandela's explanation cuts him off. "I, uh, kinda forgot to bring one... up..." she falters as her companions turn to look at her. After a moment, she turns. "Awww, stupid rope..." Cassius bursts into laughter at the sight of the girl's embarrassment. "Well, both your father and I flew up here. Maybe there is a pick in the packs I brought up; that would spare you the trip down, Pearl. :D No need to worry." .oO(If it was a conjuration, dispelling the magic won't do any good -- that has been spent already. Time to see if that strength spell is any good.) "Yes, I put it right... where did I put it?" says Penha. "It's to your right," says their guide, scratching stubble beneath his chin absently. "No, over there... yes, good. You really have to learn how to keep track of your possessions, or you'll lose the most valuable ones in no time. Now then, if there are no more delays, let us please attend to the matter of Lucian Risk. I can only imagine how frustrated he must be right now. I don't think I've ever been stuck like that. Have you? I can only imagine the feeling of helplessness, waiting for the end, wondering if anyone is ever going to get around to rescuing you. I'm sure he'd be displeased if he died while his would-be rescuers tried to figure out whether or not they'd brought a certain piece of equipment even after I'd been so kind as to point out its presence to them earlier. Well, all right, so he'd be dead, but as you can see, that isn't always a hindrance to finding out what went wrong later. This way, please." He turns and drifts into the deeper shadows, toward the back of the cave. Grabbing the pick, the group follows him down a narrow passage into another wider chamber. Turning right, he guides them to a rough section of wall that seems different than the surrounding rock. Cassius examines the wall, finding it quite solid. He thinks to himself .oO(there are times that I wish I a little about everything. I have absolutely no clue as how to attack this wall best. Well, first try to get a hole it the darn thing so the poor soul trapped inside gets some air. Here we go...) "Gerulach, master of beasts," he chants, "I invoke thee, lend me thy strength!"
#22 shatteredtower Aug 18, 2004 17:10:33	With his spell in place, Cassius takes the pick and starts attacking the wall. The clang of metal on stone resounds through the cave. Sparks and chips of stone erupt from the wall each time the pick strike its surface. It is slow, demanding work, but five minutes of backbreaking effort wears the stone away until the wizard finds hollow space behind it. To Lucian, the sound is a welcome reprieve from the still darkness, but not so welcome as the light which eventually peeks through the breaking wall. Cassius sets the pick against the stone and sits down beside the tool. He wipes the sweat from his brow and sips some water, leaving it to the others to rush in and check on Lucian. "Days like this teaches one respect for the dwarves and their tunneling," he says. "It also fosters an understanding as to their hardiness and endurance. I swear, my arms still think they are at work." "Luscious, how's it feel to be a free man? You okay in there?" chirps the half-orc as she peeps into the hole. She blinks and tilts her head. "I thought your name was Luke," she says and withdraws, allowing Penha to glimpse inside if he so chooses. "You know this person, Pearl?" Penha inquires, peering in. "Hello," he says unsurely to the half-elf. "I do," Sensandela mutters at her father's back. In Orcish, she continues, "I guess one of his pseudonyms is Luke. He introduced himself to me that way in the city. He and two of his 'buddies' told me they had to stop an 'evil baker' from his crimes." Pausing, she then bursts unthinkingly into Common. "I still don't see what that had to do with his innocent wife, though! [orc]Luke and the scary one of the three went up to 'talk' with her. I wonder how she is?[/orc]" .oO(I shouldn't have walked out of it then!) Still seated against the wall, Cassius listens to the conversation. Quietly shaking his head, he thinks .oO(Here we go again...)
#23 shatteredtower Aug 20, 2004 7:09:12	Lucian straightens himself out while looking at his rescuers. His eyes are puffy and there are streaks on his dirt-covered cheeks. Feeling quite defeated, he makes his way hurriedly out of the hole. "My name's Lucian Risk, or otherwise Luke, or Mr. Risk. 'Luscious' is a new one. As for what happened back in the city, Pearl, I have been trying to take my life in a different direction." Exhausted by the whole ordeal, Lucian looks around at his rescuers. "To whom do I owe my thanks?" "So you say," says Sensandela quietly, though she takes note of the face that belies tears. She offers him her waterskin and then points at Cassius. "Him," she answers. More kindly, she asks, "Do you need some healing... Luke or Lucian or whatever is your real name?" Lucian shakes his head, dust floating freely. "No thank you. The dragon just trapped me inside the cubby. Is he still about?" The hand offering the waterskin does not recede. "Yes, Versveraewhatever-Agathalosisk is still around, so you might as well make a better second impression. Wash your face." Curiously, there is no sign of the cavern's owner, though Lucian is almost certain he hears a resigned sigh when Sensandela mangles the dragon's name. The young thief dismisses it and extends his hand to Cassius. "I do thank you, sir, for saving my life." "Think nothing of it," Cassius replies as he returns the handshake, "'tis something I hope some stranger will do for me when I am in need. "What brings you here, Mr. Risk? I hope you were not planning on looting the dragon's den?" "Hey, you can come back!" calls the half-orc to the ghost as Lucian speaks to Cassius. "At least teach me to say your mile-long name right!" Muttering, she kicks a stone; it rattles where it strikes against the wall. "I do wanna get it right. You can't blame me, though, for having a memory like a faulty bladder." Lucian takes the waterskin with a nod of thanks. He quickly and efficiently cleans his face as he tells his tale. "I was actually looking for a book written by the dragon himself. Unfortunately, I can't read the language of dragons so the instructions on the wall were sort of hard for me to read." (Quick on his feet, isn't he?)Oo. thinks Sensandela as she takes back her waterskin. "How do you know about that? And what d'you want with it?" she asks bluntly. "What'd you do to Versveraeminkelstuntser-Agathalosisk that made 'im stick you behind a rock?" Lucian sighs. "I was hired to find it. I was informed that the dragon wasn't alive any more." Cassius becomes more alert upon hearing this news, while Penha seems to look for a place to put his hands before nervously settling on folding them behind his back. Lucian laughs with a trace of bitterness. "I guess that was right, sir dragon," he says, then bites his lip. "Well, I assume he didn't like me going through the things in his cave." "Pray tell, Lucian, who hired you to find this book?" the wizard asks. "This place is supposedly a well kept secret that only some followers of Thalos know of, so I am curious as to whom your employer might be. " He rises to his feet and takes another swig from the waterskin, then calls out, "Revered one, I think it is all right to show yourself and be properly introduced to your fourth guest." "We've met," the phantom says, appearing a few steps behind them. Lucian can't help but notice that he looks much different than he did the previous two times -- much more reptilian, with a stockier humanoid form, bigger teeth, and clawed hands. "Hello, Lucian Risk. I hope you at least managed to get some rest. It was fortunate that these people came along when they did. They were looking for my writing too, can you believe it? Years go by without a single visitor, and suddenly I have four in two days! Goodness, it's-- oh, pardon me. I was just checking on a the dwarven chambers. You don't want to go down the next corridor -- not unless you need to make a quick escape and can fly or something. There's nothing but a wasp's nest there anyway, and you don't want trouble with that. "Since you've all been so inconvenienced, the least I can do is show you what I've written. Let's start out in the solarium, shall we? We can look for the rest after we've started at the beginning -- well, more like the ending, I guess, but it's the right place to start this time. I know that's not how it usually goes with your books, but since it's the first thing you'd find upon entering the cave, I think it's become the prologue by default. This way, if you please..."
#24 shatteredtower Aug 22, 2004 18:14:25	Cassius follows, curious as to the dragon's writings. Lucian follows quietly. "Thank you sir," he says quietly, glad for the shifting of attention. At first, Sensandela walks alongside Penha behind the others, but she is not content to follow. Instead, she bounds alongside the "dragony-dude" -- though she makes sure to keep a five-foot distance between them. "Teach me to say your name!" she demands. And then, before she can receive an answer, "Hey, you bulked up since we last saw you. Niiice muscles." And then, with large, round eyes, "And... my, what big teef you have." She pauses. The group walks on past her as she opens her mouth wide, tongue tracing her own meagre fangs. Her expression is one of disappointment as she falls back into step beside her Penha. "Ah, here we are!" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk says to them as they return to the entrance cavern, moving into the northeast corner. "Now, then, I realize that Lucian Risk cannot read this, but perhaps Cassius Gaia will be good enough to translate for us all. I should be interested in hearing how another delivers my words. But while he does that, let's go over the name for those of you less familiar with this beautiful language." Several times he goes over his name, syllable by syllable, with Sensandela. She eventually begins to see the pattern of words woven into the name, and how she was confused by unfamiliar modifiers, whether they are changes in the linguistic patterns over the ages, or just usage that had little application in the texts and lessons she'd studied. She knows that it will take her some time to be able to say it all in one mouthful, but she discerns some of the meaning within the words. Nevertheless, she still has trouble pronouncing it adequately to meet Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk's particular satisfaction. They review the name several times more as Cassius Gaia reads words carved into the smoothed stone with a remarkable level of craftsmanship. The finest calligrapher's pen could barely have surpassed what the writer managed here, whether it was performed with by a chisel or by some other means.
#25 shatteredtower Aug 22, 2004 18:40:00	"These may be my last words, so I shall be brief, though it shall diminish the text and your appreciation of my true talents as a writer. I am (or perhaps was, since, as I said at the beginning of this message, I do not expect to live out the week and may never see this cave again) Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk [name translates as 'Resounding-Echo-of-Dawn the Redeemed'], and I have no regrets for what must come, as my Lord has been generous enough to pay me many thousands of visits, and it is no doubt well past time that I came at last to visit him. Our servants have already departed from this place, prepared, as I am, for what will certainly be their final days, for if I feel my doom is inevitable, what hope have they against what we are to face? The hermits shall have to make their own way after this, but they should be safe. The dwarves could never understand Lord Thalos' purpose in indulging such disreputable priests, failing to see how that was exactly their purpose, to be agents of the light that could slip between the cracks, to plant the seed that would bloom when the time was right, and when a more disciplined gardener could once again safely walk in the fields with morning's return. I must leave the hope in their care now, lest it be lost to me as it has been too long lost to the others. I have planted my seed with them, and this life does not end with me. "So if you came here seeking hope, I have given it away. If you have come seeking gold, it has already been paid out to others before you. (Yes, paid! Doubtless you are scandalized at the thought, as would be too many of my night-lost brethren, that I should have to pay for anything. I can only say that time was short, the need was great, and even the rewards I could offer were only barely enough to entice those I needed to take the risks I required of them. A shame then that such rich rewards became meaningless to so many so quickly. Nevertheless, the price they paid is one I now go to pay myself, and without numerary recompense to entice me to do what is right. Truly, death in the cause of righteousness pays better than the same death for the sake of money, for while the Great Mother knows no equal as a thief, even She cannot steal a reputation.) If you come in search of a tale, however, you may yet find them. The storyteller has gone, but some of the tales have been left behind. I would like to think that some portions of my story will return again to this place and take up the narrative once again, but that is for another author's hand to decide. I naturally feel some discontent about such a state of affairs, for I strongly suspect that I would prefer my narration of events to the plot laid before me -- yet in this drama, I am but a major character, and it is given to me only the opportunity to make the performance sufficiently memorable. Well, perhaps not too memorable -- or rather, memorable enough to allow other matters to remain unknown or forgotten until the time is right. Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, Beloved (though ill-fated) Champion of the Morning, Keeper of the Lore, and Wordsmith"
#26 shatteredtower Sep 01, 2004 5:37:33	Enthralled by the workmanship, the story, and the deeper meaning of it all, Cassius reads the text several times, all the time whispering in awe as to the workmanship of the writer. Curiousity unto the deeper story behind this all seeps into his words as he starts to read aloud. Once finished, he turns his head and winks to Lucian. "I think you'll find it harder than you thought to bring the dragon's book back to your master, whom you still have to reveal," he says, "unless you intend to bring the entire mountain with you, for no doubt that these writings are 'the book of the dragon' and I expect there is more, much more..." "Sure is looking like it," Lucian says simply. "I don't suppose anyone has some paper and ink, eh?" The half-orc raises a brow at the back of Lucian's head, but does not volunteer her supplies. Instead, she joins Cassius in browsing the text on the wall, fingertips delicately tracing the words. After a moment, she glances back at Penha and motions him over. "I'm sure you want a spot right up-front for this, don'tya, Da?" she asks good-naturedly, though she keeps a wary eye on the half-elf. "Thank you," the gnome says eagerly, bustling forward to take a closer look. "Remarkable work, simply remarkable. It's amazing how the words never--" He stops, sparing a glance toward the author. "--er, that is to say, it's amazing how much information the writer manages to convey within a single paragraph, effortlessly... maintaining multiple trains of thought at once. Goodness. And this is just the beginning, another hint to the secrets hidden on these walls?" "It is," the dragon tells him, beaming. "but please take your time. I wouldn't want you to miss a nuance or fail to appreciate a particularly elegant turn of phrase because you were in a hurry to get to 'the good stuff.' It's not like it's going anywhere..." Frustrated, Lucian makes his way to the wall in the back and takes a seat. .oO(Amazing how everyone here speaks dragon but me. Why would I want to speak dragon anyways? Not like I want to spend time with them.)
#27 shatteredtower Sep 01, 2004 5:47:19	Once again Cassius goes over the text, this time together with Penha and Pearl. He points out specific sections in the text and contemplates the meaning and possible multiple translations of certain words, all the while completely oblivious to Lucian's frustration. "What do you think, Mr Penha? he asks. "Is this the "treasure" you were hoping to find? Perhaps we could go and get our supplies and set up camp here?" Turning to the ghost, he politely adds "That is if you do not mind, revered one." "The solarium is yours while you are my guests," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk tells him. Penha looks over the supplies and says, "We've left the bedding down below, and then there's the matter of the mules. We've got most of what we need to work with, but do we really want to lug the rest up? Well, no rush to decide. We've got a few hours yet." Cassius' fingers itch to get out quill and ink, but his curiousity is greater than his desire to commit the words to paper. " Revered one, he says, "this is the last part of the text, but obviously the story doesn't end here. Would you mind telling us the rest of the story or would you rather wait until we have read more?" "What more is there?" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk asks, looking a bit confused. "We set up a false residence, then attacked the Demmionites from there and died. I wish I could say it was glorious, but... I don't know if... that would be the right way to describe it. "I really don't know. No." Shaking his head, he continues, "The important thing is that it worked, and that this place was not discovered by the Demmionites. I shudder to think what they might have be able to do with the secrets. Given enough volunteers with the right amount of innate potential, they might have-- but I'm getting ahead of myself. The formulas are... are... ach, it's been so long. Let me see if I can remember where I've hidden them. I know there's a bit more written in the pool by the pantry, but the treasury must be... no, there was... ah, yesss... "Most of what you'll find recorded in the pantry is inventory, but you know how it is when a thought hits you and you just have to write it down immediately. That happened to me once or twice in the middle of counting the provisions, so there might be a few extra morsels among the records. Ha ha ha. Morsels among the morsels. Again, when you're ready..."
#28 shatteredtower Sep 01, 2004 5:54:34	Cassius follows the ghost, motioning for Lucian to follow. "Walk with me, Lucian, and I'll try to clarify the texts as best as I can. Don't worry about it all being written down; I guess we'll come to that eventually. First, let's see what more there is to explore. I have a feeling that a grand part of history is hidden behind all this. "Tell me, what do you know about this place? I mean your employer must have told you at least something about what you were going to face?" "You'd be surprised at how little I know. Knew, sir. VersveshthraevaerighentbensvelkAgathalosisk used to live here and there was a book but that's all really." (He keeps avoiding questions about his employer)Oo. Cassius thinks. .oO(Perhaps there is another way to unlock that secret.) "Pearl, Penha, are you coming?" he asks. "Hmm?" says the gnome. "Oh, sorry, just one more second... okay, coming now." The dragon (though it's hard to think of Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk as a dragon sometimes, standing upright and shorter even than Sensandela) leads them back into the pantry. He points out various scribblings among the inventory lists -- a reminder to look into grooming habits here, a question about the scarcity of magical bloodlines there, and a curious note that asks, "Can a bloodline be established after birth?" Most of the writing here is in Dwarven, however, which proves a problem for Cassius. "This is much better," Lucian says, now that there is something familiar to read. Sensing Cassius' difficulties, he adds "Let me help with that, sir." and starts to quietly translate to read the dwarven text for him. Most of it proves to be nothing more that a list of provisions. Scattered among that are assorted attempts at proverbs and quotations, complete with author names. Sensandela glances out of the corner of her eye at Lucian. With an approving smile, she turns to Penha and asks, "Da, do you need me to do anything? Do you need maybe some parchment and ink?" "It can wait," says Penha. "You may as well pick a wall and see if there's anything particularly deserving of attention on it. There's plenty of room, and we needn't rely on either of these two fellows to do all of the reading. Multiple translations may help us avoid an inaccurate one -- no offense, sirs." Cassius listens intently as Lucian reads the dwarven text on the wall, trying to match the words he hears with the writing before his eyes, but the language of the stocky race escapes his comprehension. "Thank you, Lucian," he says. "It seems odd, but fate has brought a group of people together that seems to combine all the skills neccesary to complete this mission. Yet I've got this itching feeling in the back of my neck that tells me there is more to this than just collecting the dragon's texts. But enough about me; how about you? You seem no worse for wear after being locked behind that wall of stone. " "Please, Cassius Gaia," the dragon cuts in, "I'm sure that Lucian Risk would prefer to put that event out of mind now that it's behind him. He's plainly none the worse for the experience, so why don't we just drop it and let him be?" Lucian bites his lip and nods. "Sir dragon is right, but thanks for your concern. Before I continue, however, I should ask: are there any other things that could be considered dangerous to us in this complex?" "I... can't think of any, no," comes the bemused reply. "I mean... I'm a dragon. Any danger beyond that would be unnecessary, surely? Nevertheless, I'm glad you asked, because there are other protections in place around here. For example, I've kept more private records hidden away in a small chamber several feet over your heads. "That way," he says, pointing it out when the others glance upward. "The stone isn't really there -- it only appears to be."
#29 shatteredtower Sep 01, 2004 6:02:08	Cassius looks up, trying to use his training to see through the wall. It takes him a few seconds to locate a section that, once he concentrates, seems less substantial than the rest. There's a visible space behind it, which he judges to be twenty feet across, but his light does not carry far enough for a better look beyond into it. There's..." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk continues, then hesitates before shaking his head and speaking again. "Excuse me. Old habits prove tougher to kill than I did, it would seem. What I collected in life serves me no purpose in death, so perhaps it is time that I let it go. You will also find a few extra baubles I tucked away up there. I didn't quite give away everything, you see. I mean, if we won, I'd need at least something for show. One must still do one's part to keep up appearances even in adversity, after all -- or after it. It's not that far up, so I'm sure you could boost someone up and hoist the rest up afterward. "Still, the writing's the important part, right?" The young Striker can barely clamp his mouth shut, awed by the gesture. He hastily sketches a quick bow. "Yes sir. Thank you for your generous offer." "It certainly is, revered one," Cassius says, turning back to the phantom. "I think we should finish with the writings here first, then, after we've set up camp we can check the chamber above. Come, Lucian, let us have a look at the wall over there, I believe that there is nothing besides inventories on this one, so I think we are done here." He walks over and scans the writing to see if he can make anything out of it. Sensandela, on the other hand, has somehow managed to miss the part about the baubles, being utterly consumed in her thoughts. .oO(Well, actually, I'm sure some cultures in this world think there is a use for wealth even in death. Or so they think. It would certainly explain why there seems to be treasure involved in every adventure tale of pirates and undead skeletons that I've ever heard. Why else would the skeletons fight so hard to protect their gold?) .oO(Because they, like me, love the shinies! It's so clear to me now! Clearly they must love the shinies because there is importance to the shinies. I knew there was a reason I loved the shinies!) .oO(That, or greed outlasts life. You would think that some other passion would survive life. Like love. Or something silly and ideal like that. I wonder if I will be a greedy skeleton when I die? Ew, that's a morbid thought.) (I'd rather be like Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, a ghosty sort. He seems to be able to shapeshift at will, it seems, considering the way he bulked up all of a sudden. Plus, there's the powers of invisibility he showed. Yeah, that was pretty cool, too! I'd rather be a ghosty than a skeleton any day...)Oo. thinks the half-orc cheerfully as she moves away from her father to read another wall. "Mmmm... Beets are good. Oooh, so is corn, and looks like you had beef here at one point, too," she purrs, skimming through the inventory. "I must say, you know your foodstuffs," says the spirit. "I quite enjoyed the... beets?" Confusion again passes quickly across the dragon's features before he recovers himself. "Yes, I remember now. The dwarves used to pickle them, and I preferred them that way. The greens were good as well, but I miss that vinegary taste. I think they were a bit more generous with salting the meat than they needed to be, but it's hard to let go of preserving traditions. Then again, using magic to freshen food didn't always work out either. It can be hard to maintain an appetite when you've seen mold on the bread -- even when that mold has been purged and can no longer be seen or tasted. "Dwarves don't like to complain about these things -- 'Food's food,' as they'd often say -- but it was obvious that they weren't comfortable with what it had been before it became food again. I guess it's just as well that I never tried to turn chalk into cheese or stone into bread for them. They'd have eaten it, but I'm not sure I could have handled the look of doubt in their eyes after such a meal. "Maybe they'd have felt better about it if I'd turned gold into potatoes or silver into carp -- at least that might have seemed a meal out of which they got their money's worth, so to speak. Or maybe they'd have decided it was too extravagant. Maybe it's best that I didn't try -- I'm not sure I'd have been able to make the change last long enough to leave them without any concerns about what they put into their mouth half an hour ago, and it would probably have resulted in them constantly pestering me to instead turn bread into gold, which never works -- and a good thing that is too! Gold would lose its lustre if we could do that on a whim, and some people wouldn't have sense enough to leave themselves anything to eat. Next thing it would be all fields of golden wheat -- real gold, mind you -- and dead kingdoms. "Okay, so we still wound up with the dead kingdom, but at least a large part of that involved people moving away from the region when it dried up! That's a different thing altogether, and shouldn't really count. It--"
#30 shatteredtower Sep 01, 2004 18:42:37	He continues on in this vein, Sensandela listening raptly, until Cassius interrupts with his next comment. "Pearl, Penha, is there anything other than inventory lists on those walls you're reading? If not, then perhaps we could concentrate on the last wall here and when we're finished we can set up camp." Cassius turns back to the wall, raising the little statue in his hand a little closer to have better light. Lucian licks his lips and pauses for a moment, looking at what Cassius holds. "Excuse me sir, What's that?" he asks. "This?" says Cassius, holding out the small statuette, depicting a small man sitting down with something resembling a sword in his hands, so that Lucian might see it better. "This is but a small sculpture upon which someone cast a spell causing it to emit light. I found it during one of my assignments from the Tower. It comes in quite handy and saves the use of torches or oil lanterns." "Interesting. I assume you mean Hightower, right?" "Yes, indeed," the wizard confirms. "Besides, what other tower is there to serve in the city of Garic?" At the mention of the Hightower, Sensandela scowls, even as she approaches Cassius' glowy statue for a better look. .oO(Stupid license. Stupid Killnakov. What a jerkface.) It turns out that the rest of the writing here follows the same vein as everything else in this area -- notekeeping, accounting, and the occasional idle thought. There seems to be no thought to organizing the records into any readily discernible order, such that one is left wondering if the multiple entry for any particular item indicates an update of stocks or just a record of separate caches, and when these supplies were set in. Lucian sighs and rubs his eyes. "Should we break for the day?" he asks. Penha opens his mouth to speak, but Cassius replies first. "That sound like a reasonable idea. Let's make camp then we can have a look at what is stashed over our heads." "Well, all right," says the gnome, following along. "for now..."
#31 shatteredtower Sep 02, 2004 6:37:40	As they set up, Lucian carefully tries to keep an eye out for his mule from the mouth of the cavern. He shivers beneath his oversized sweater. (I don't like this.)Oo. he thinks. "Cold?" asks the half-orc in Elven. "Cold nights are always best for snuggling," she suggests with an evil grin. However, before she can attack the half-elf, Sensandela is distracted by dinner and scampers away from Lucian. She looks over her shoulder at him. "Are you going to eeeat?" she asks. Cassius unpacks some of the provisions, and sets the board for a cold meal of bread, cold cuts, and cheese. Once the meal is in place, he calls for the others to have a bite. The fare is simple but satisfying. "Sorry, Master Penha, but I am not the cook that you are," he says with a smile -- not, apparently, that it matters to one half-orc. The smallest member of the group shrugs, as though indicating how insignificant the difference in their standards is. He grabs a bite of cheese as Cassius continues. "Today we'll have to do with a wayfarers' meal. Sensandela, can I seduce you to tell a few tales or sing a few songs after dinner? I doubt you will ever find a more suitable stage, being in a dragon's lair, and although the audience isn't that big, I'd say it is the chance of a lifetime." Cassius gives the half orc a winning smile. .oO(I sure hope she does. Nothing like a good story or a bit of song after a good meal.) Sensandela and Penha give Cassius an odd, appraising eye over their next bite. "You want to seduce me?? she asks, her question ends in a high-pitched squeak, before realization dawns as to Cassius' intended meaning. "Oh. "Ohh, oh, s-sure, I can do that. I'd be delighted to do that.You'd be delighted to hear me!" She tests the acoustics in the cavern with a soft, low "oooh" as well as a higher, clear note. The next expression on her face belies her satisfaction. "I've never sang in this sort of situation before. It doesn't echo at home, nor does it in the city. Oooh, the acoustics here round out the voice wonderfully," she coos, delighted, and tests a few more notes between mouthfuls of cheese. "I'm glad you approve," says the ghost. "It's certainly one of the things I enjoyed about this chamber. Being able to make the walls reverberate with one's voice can do wonders for making an impression on guests. I'm very pleased to find you appreciative of that fact." "It makes the voice sound so warm!" "Yes, exactly. That's a remarkable ear you have for such things. I'd thought one needed to be a dragon -- or maybe an elf -- to appreciate such nuances properly. You four are certainly full of surprises. It's been such a long time since a song was last heard here, and I'm curious to hear some of the more recent works. Are rounds still popular, I wonder?" Cassius makes himself comfortable by propping his bedroll against the wall and resting his back against it and motions to Lucian to join them. "Come on, Pearl, stop delaying. Let's hear that wonderful voice of yours," he says, obviously in good spirits. "Already I am glad I came along on this trip. I had expected a trek through a dreary, abandoned dragon's lair, but here we are, in good comfort with a very kind host and an exciting new day ahead of us, with new explorations and discoveries. How about you, Lucian? I bet this exceeds your expectations as well." "There's still plenty of time left to today," Penha states. "Once we've eaten and set up, we should get back to it. I'm sure one of you could leap up there with a running start, if flying is no longer an option." "We'll neither need to jump or fly, Penha," Cassius says, reaching into his robe. "I have just the trick up my sleeve to get us up there." With a quick tug, he pulls a patch loose, suddenly producing a ladder from inside the garment. "I think this will do the job." "Goodness!" exclaims Penha, his eyes wide with surprise. "Yes, that should serve our purposes quite nicely. Quite nicely indeed. I can't even begin to imagine how you fit such a thing inside your... well, never mind about that. After Pearl has been allowed to entertain us--" Glancing quickly toward her, he amends his statement. "--and finish her meal, of course -- we'll get that set up and take a look." He fidgets a bit with eagerness, but nevertheless manages to sit back down, nibbling on a few morsels while he waits. Sensandela's song begins the round from the corner, a sweet and simple melody. After the first two lines, the audience struggles to identify the source of a second voice, too clear to be just an echo, though... it sounds just like the half-orc girl. Her song carries through six lines about a magical dragony dude who didn't live by the sea, but he knew -- or thought he knew -- everything in the world. Too bad he and his kingdom of short people were kind of dead, but then to his cave of wonders came four guests, of which one was a reeeally cool half-orc babe -- stunningly gorgeous, of course. Ahem, tall. Way beyond awesome. Cassius sits back as the song begins to roll through the cave, marvelling at the half-orc's ability to improvise as she weaves a song about their present situation and at her manipulation of sound and probably magic. Lucian applauds and laughs lightly. "Wonderfull!" he proclaims, but while his voice is for the performance, his eyes never leave off staring at the concealed hole in the wall. "An improvised work?" the dragon muses. "That is quite the compliment." After hearing the words through the first cycle, he chuckles and adds, "Not wholly flattering, though. It's not often a bard so candidly speaks her mind in the presence of her subject unless it's for ridicule. Then again, perhaps I am not the subject, and... oh, that is a clever turn of phrase, that. Let me hear it two more times through and I shall try to join in on the fifth, shall I? Such self-promotion is rare in a musician, and it's more seldom that it's so well executed. I believe the expression used is 'with tongue placed firmly in cheek.' Do they still use th- oh, my turn is coming up, excuse me..." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk lacks Sensandela's appreciation of pitch and form, but he does not lack enthusiasm. The half-orc has little difficulty finding means to incorporate his own unpolished, but promising, technique into her own performance, with surprisingly pleasing results. As the song ends, Cassius applauds the performers. "Splendid, Pearl," he says. "I had no idea you were this good. This was rightly awesome. Aye, this will be a tale to tell by the fires at night, the duet of the bard and the dragon's ghost. And since not many people will believe it, it will quickly become the stuff of legends." The half-orc begins to bow most enthusiastically. "Thank you, thank you. I love an audience with good taste, I really do..." "I would love to press you for more," the mage adds, "but I believe your father is anxious to continue our exploration. So I propose we get on with that, then perhaps tonight we might entertain ourselves with a few stories." Cassius rises and starts to set up the ladder at the entrance of the overhead storage area, motioning for Lucian to help. Once it's set up, he climbs and dissapears through the wall, Penha right after him. Lucian runs back over to give Pearl a friendly pat on the back before running up the ladder with more than a little bit of glee. When Sensandela glances up from her enthused bows, only the dragon remains, peering at her quizzically through his furrowed brows. "Where'd they go?" she asks, turning about, then espies the ladder. Her face twitches. .oO(Awww, the boys could have drizzled a little more lovin' all over me before they ran off to play with their ssshhhiiiniiiiee--) --and the half-orc shoots up the ladder after them. Within seconds, her cheerful face peeps back down through the hole at the dragon. "Thanks fer singin' with me, Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk. You just make dragons seem even spiffier!" she cheers, before returning her attentions elsewhere.
#32 shatteredtower Sep 02, 2004 7:52:24	Sensandela finds that the others haven't gotten too far ahead of her, for her foster father is translating a passage to them, one written on the air itself, not five feet from the entrance. "Remember," he recites, "what is kept here is kept secret, guarded from the eyes and clutches of our enemies. Regrettably, there are ways to twist this knowledge to evil ends, means that the King of Monsters would only be too happy to exploit. Knowledge is like your hammer -- oftimes, your enemies can wield it just as well as you do, if you do not guard against its theft. It is only a matter of time before they learn these secrets on their own, no doubt, but they shall not learn them here. Let them find and invade the treasury, thinking that they have discovered all of my wealth. The greatest of my riches surround you." Cassius lingers behind Penha, admiring both the writing and the clever use of magic. Awestruck, he says, "Well, this is one dragon who understood the real treasures of this world; these walls must be filled with knowledge." Indeed, the walls to each side are covered in fine writing. Lucian can see that the far wall carries a different form of engraving, but only Sensandela can make it out clearly. The image is of a regal dragon rearing on its hind legs, wings spread wide behind it. The forearms actually extend forth from the image, claws cupped together a few feet above the floor to form a shelf, upon which rests a trunk. Sensandela steps toward it, brows furrowed. .oO("The greatest of my riches surround you"? I thought he was referring to the text. "Let them raid the treasury," suggests -- well, it might not be gold in that chest. Then again that engraving-sculpture is pretty neat, too... What the hell?) She glances around at the other walls, then calls her father over to look, confessing to him her thoughts. As Cassius is about to start reading, his attention is drawn by Sensandela's actions, the presence of the box having eluded him up until this moment. Stepping up to where the half-orc stands, he lights the back of the cavern to take a closer look at the engraving and the chest. "I suppose this would be the stash that Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk was talking about earlier," he says, "the things he kept in case they were victorious, to keep up appearances, as he called it." "That's probably it," Penha agrees. "Well, Pearl, would you like to -- Pearl? Where are you going?" The half-orc in question peers down through the illusionary wall again, her long hair falling over her shoulders, and calls, "HEY, Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk! What's in the box on the neato-jet sculpture?" Lucian peers ahead into the darkness, wincing at Pearl's subtle nature. "A few trinkets, as I said earlier," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk says, appearing in the cave behind her. "I left the chest open because it makes for a better display, don't you think? It just seems wrong to seal gold away in a box where it can't be seen readily. I realize it's not apparant to you from here, lacking my height -- my normal height, that is, not the height of this form. You'll get a better idea once you climb up and bring it down here." Sensandela peers up at the ghost. "How tall were you normally? I've never met a dragon before, you see," she explains apologetically, "so even rudimentary facts like height kind of escape me." "I'd stand about twelve feet high most of the time," he replies graciously, "and just over twenty feet long." Cassius returns to the entrance of the cave and pulls the ladder into the room, moving it to the display. Setting it up, he climbs high enough to be able to take a peek at the chest's contents, which he estimates to be a few pounds of gold and jade. He considers lifting it from the shelf, then decides that he'll need assistance to avoid the risk of a fall from his perch. Sensandela's cheery voice floats up to him in a sing-song fashion. "I'm most likely stronger than youuu... but our dragon budday is most likely stronger than me!" "I was," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk corrects, gently. "Check out those muscles!" she chirps, grinning. "Well, thank you," he accepts her praise amiably, and returns it in kind, "but truly, you are the strongest among us today, if I'm any judge of such things." Lucian bounds forward, trying to put Sensandela out of his head. Effortlessly, he hoists himself up across from Cassius and attempts to move the chest. .oO(GOLD!) He finds it disconcerting when eyes seems to stare back at him from within the box. A cloud pours forth suddenly and the air shifts wildly around both him and the wizard, ripping Crebain from the latter's shoulder. As the wind picks up speed, the two men are nearly knocked from their perches by the force of it. And neither Cassius nor Lucian can shake the feeling that the whirlwind is looking at them.
#33 shatteredtower Sep 02, 2004 17:28:18	"Dragon?! W-what is that thing?" Lucian ask as he stumbles backwards, loading his crossbow hastily. "I -- I don't know. I didn't realize it was -- I don't remember placing a guardian here!" Sensandela glances at the dragon, then back at the whirlwind, trying to keep both in sight. Whipping out her dagger, she begins to belt out a melody. Hastily improvised, it lacks something in both rhyme and ingenuity, but the tempo and intensity of her voice still manages to steel everyone's resolve in the face of the danger. Cassius backs away, pulling out his wand as he does so. It crumbles to useless dust in his hand as he expends the final charge on his quarterstaff. The wind rages through the room, a tiny storm buffeting them all. Penha is dragged into the air with a yelp and spun wildly on angry currents. Crebain's panicked caws barely make themselves audible above the shrieking winds. Sensandela's eyes widen, and her song nearly falters as her heart leaps into her throat. Abdominal muscles tighten as she struggles to sing more loudly against the wind, feeling her voice strain almost painfully against her throat. She looks to Lucian and to Cassius before glancing around in near-panic for ways to rescue the gnome. Lucian focuses on the center of the whirlwind and lets loose a bolt, shuddering backward with the recoil. Grim-faced, he watches as the projectile is quickly torn away from its course, lost to the storm. Without pause, he drops another bolt into the chamber. (This is bad...)Oo. he thinks, before his memory comes to his aid. "The assasin's wand! Dragon, get the acid wand!" Lucian sceams to be heard over the whirlwind. "I can't use it!" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk shouts back, "It would take too long to find it anyway!" "Well, if you don't have any better ideas, go and get it anyways and give it to Cassius!" The dragon disappears without a word. "Get Penha out of there!" Cassius yells to the others in an effort to be heard over the howling storm. Diving low, he aims a swing at the creature's eyes. He strikes something solid within the gale, and for a moment he fears he's hit the gnome -- until he sees Penha whizz past his ear from behind, looking both horrified and queasy. Never wavering in her song, despite mounting panic, Sensandela racks her brain for ideas. .oO(A hook --fishing, pull Da back --grappling hook-- ROPE! LASSO! DA!) She reaches for the coil at her side, but having never tried to rope a moving object before, reconsiders and instead ties it around herself. As she is knotting the other end, however, the storm settles, leaving only a cloudy form. Crebain spins across the room, but manages to right himself in midair and flee through the phantom wall. Penha drops to the floor with a quiet thump only a few feet away. He manages to roll slowly onto his side, making painful retching sounds. The cloudy creature descends on Cassius with the force of a hammer before it darts back to the ceiling, preparing another dive. Grunting, the mage drops his staff to pull a slender glass rod and some fur from his spell pouch. Rubbing them together, he focuses on the creature, reciting arcane syllables. "Waylan, Prince of Air, I invoke thee. Lend me thy spear to strike my enemy." Lightning leaps from the rod, its energies coruscating throughout the killer cloud. Cassius steps back, groping in his pack for one of his healing potions. To his right, Lucian grits his teeth in frustration and fires once more, this time finding the target. Without pause to congratulate himself, he quickly reloads. Keeping an eye on Penha, Sensandela swiftly changes the subject and sound of her song, her voice swelling and cresting more comfortably in her throat. With one hand, she ruffles around in a pouch to withdraw a tiny bag and the stub of a candle. A short trill completed, she flings her arms to either side, calling out: "Fly to me!" The shrill cry of a bird fills the air, even as a brilliant glow transforms Sensandela into silhouette. Wings extend from behind the enraptured half-orc, each feather gleaming from shaft to tip, and beat, testing the storm-ravaged air, sending locks of its summoner's hair flying over her shoulders. Again the shriek, louder, sends tremors through the summoner's spine. A celestial eagle pulls itself free of her body, looking to the young woman as she murmurs her commands. Then it launches itself at the tornado, echoes of light streaming after it, making the cavern's shadows dance in the wake of its radiant flight. The raptor's target spirals out of the way effortlessly, then rapidly descends once more on Cassius. He is spared further pummeling as Lucian's next bolt strikes the creature. Smokelike, it disperses into nothingness. For a moment, there is silence. Then the air is pierced by the eagle's cry, as it sets down upon a sculpted talon.
#34 shatteredtower Sep 04, 2004 2:10:41	Shaking herself free of her reverie, Sensandela rushes to her father's inert form. Laying a hand on his small chest, she struggles to sing through the sudden tears for his sake. He smiles weakly up at her, then attempts levity as he feels vitality pour into his body. "You couldn't do that the last time I saw you either." In response, the girl cracks a smile through her tears, but says nothing as she hugs him. .oO(You're so small, Da. Even compared to me. It would be so easy to lose you! What would I do if I lost you? The only one who loves me, who raised me when anyone else would have slit my throat...) Sniffling, Sensandela rubs her tear-streaked face against her father's shoulder, as she did on rare occasions, long ago when she was small enough to cradle in his arms. She had thought him a superhero. No brawn, but all brains: a force to be reckoned with, a scholastic powerhouse, probably able to cripple even the muscliest with a single, polysyllabic word. The word "pervicacious" would probably leave the brutes dumb, scratching their heads as he, the man, her father, walked away whistling. Or so she imagined when she was little. "What did I tell you? Be more careful, Da," Sensandela chokes finally, pushing herself away, and wipes her nose on her sleeve. Immediately, she grimaces. "Ewwwww..." She turns her bleary-eyed gaze to the eagle. It regards her thoughtfully, then shuffles its feathers in acknowledgment of her thanks. Without another sound, it beats its wings into the air and glides straight towards the girl, who receives receives the bird with open arms. Sensandela gasps as the body disappears into her chest. Returning from whence it came, the eagle's celestial light flickers and quietly fades. Cassius swallows the healing draught, which eases his pain but a little. Still numb from the beating he took, he takes two more bottles from his pack. Opening one, he downs it in a single gulp, only to be disappointed when it proves little more effective than the last. After that, the young mage looks at his companions, trying to decide which one of them is hurt worst. Looking over at Pearl and Penha, Cassius asks, "How's your father, Pearl? He took a nasty beating back there. And you, are you wounded?" The girl hiccups. "He's okay. I'm... okay. But we could use a little rest. Or a lot of rest. What about you? And Lucian--" She fidgets. "I'm sorry, I used up my healing power without thinking, but Da was--I... I'm sorry," she mumbles, again on the verge of tears as she looks between her weakened father and the others. "That's okay, Pearl," Cassius reassures her. "Your father was in need of your healing powers. Lucian and I can cope on our own. We should rest though; casting spells under such strain is exhausting. "Here take this," he says to Lucian, offering him the second potion. "It will ease the wounds you took fighting that thing." Feeling drained and more than a little annoyed by the encounter, the half-elf takes the bottle without a word, screwing up his face before he downs its contents. Cassius turns back to the girl and offers her a reassuring smile. "That was a pretty impressive summoning you did. I think that you might be able to learn the flying spell if you want to." "R-Really?" sniffles the half-orc, trying to smile back. Her lack of success is almost amusing to watch. Cassius is about to answer when Crebain returns to his shoulder, muttering and trying to preen feathers back into a more presentable display. The wizard caresses the bird for a moment, then reaches into his pack and pulls out some cheese. "Well done, my friend," offering the food to his familiar. "It was very brave of you to stick with me while we fought that thing. How are your wounds?" "Kraaaa, nothing that -- *gulp* -- some rest won't -- *gulp* -- cure. It'll take more than an elemental to take me down. Just tell me why you couldn't just blow that thing from the air with that missile spell of yours. It's no good protecting you if you can't fight your own battles as a mage should. Sheesh! Running into battle like some dumb warrior... "That lightning thingy was a nice trick -- not good enough, but close." "If you remember, my bird-brained friend, I used that spell against our host, unfortunately. Speaking of him, where is our dragon friend... ?" Cassius looks around to see where the ghost went. He can find no sign of him or of his passage, which is frustratingly unsurprising.
#35 shatteredtower Oct 16, 2004 22:31:34	As he feels the healing energies course through him, Lucian smiles widely at Cassius. "Thank you, Mr. Gaia. You are a mighty warrior." "You're a pretty mean shot with that crossbow of yours as well. I think we complement each other nicely. Working together seems to come naturally to this group." Lucian finds the nearest wall and slumps onto his rump without much grace. He raises his crossbow to his eyes and examines it for signs of wear and tear. Thankfully, it remains undamaged. Most of Sensandela's sniffles have relented by now as she tries futilely to prop up two small tents beside each other. The rest of her attention is absorbed by the little gnome, who gently offers critiques of her increasingly disheveled work. Finally, her nerves snap under the day's stress. Throwing her hands up in defeat, she stomps from the carnage to sulk. She sits, hugging her knees, glowering out from beneath the sculpted stone arms. "It's all right, dear," the gnome calls out to her softly. "It's dry here, so I think we can manage fine without the tents, just so long as we stay covered while we sleep. After an experience like that last one, I could certainly use a long nap." Sensandela glances at her father, then directs an irritated scowl at her knees instead, biting down the urge to scream, "Then what did I just spend all that time with those sticks and canvas for!?" Her mouth flickers uneasily, but still she attempts a wan smile for Penha as well as a nod. Cassius decides to try distracting the young woman from her worries by lugging the chest over to where she sits, then beckons for Lucian and Penha to join them. "Let's see what it is we fought for," he says. Lucian quietly makes his way over to Sensandela's side and slides down the wall making a solid thocking sound as he hits the ground. Wincing, he offers Pearl a sincere smile and says to her, "Thank you for not hating me." Sensandela finds herself staring. Immediately, she turns away to watch Cassius with the chest. Penha toddles slowly towards the group. "Who--Who says I don't hate you?" she asks gruffly, then rolls her eyes and smiles back at the half-elf. "'Cause I guess they're right, but I'm still gonna hafta beat 'em up laters. "See, you seem to be a pretty decent guy, nice, other than this whole business of terrifying innocent women -- I hope that was a one-time affair! Ooooohhhh!" She squeals with frustration, tugging her hair, then breathes deeply, shakily. "But I'm gonna try to forget that because I feel... like the lowest of the low when I think that I contributed to that. I know I'm not perfect either... though I'm really darned close to it... but terrorizing innocents seems even a bit much for me. "You're nice, Lucian, and no, I don't hate you... but... I dunno. I'll just shut up now, since you probably think I'm talking uselessly anyway. "Hi, Da." As the gnome carefully places himself on the ground beside her, she affectionately leans her head on the top of his, both watching Cassius with the chest as he begins to rummage through its contents.
#36 shatteredtower Nov 05, 2004 17:41:05	Cassius removes several pieces of jade from the pile of gold coins, placing them where they can be better admired by the others. Lucian's eyes widen and he whistles slowly. "Amazing!" A smile spreads across the half-orc's face. She looks down at her father with gladness. "That should keep you for several years, hmm?" she jokes softly. "It will certainly help, yes," Penha agrees. "Let's just leave it in the chest for now, though, shall we? We can sort it out tomorrow, when we're all feeling better." "Sensibly spoken, Penha," Cassius adds. "A night's rest will do us all a lot of good. We could take it easy tomorrow, take the time to read what is written on these walls. I am more than a little curious." As Cassius speaks, he glances around at the inscriptions on the walls, trying to determine the language of the writing. It all appears to be draconic, but he recognizes arcane formulas within the text in a number of places. The concepts being expressed appear to be quite complex; he thinks it may take more than a few hours to unravel their meaning. After several minutes, the ghostly shape of Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk floats back into the room. A slender piece of bone drifts in behind him, apparently at the dragon's direction by the way he concentrates and gestures. Slowly, it makes its way to Cassius, floating in front of the wizard. "Here's the wand Lucian Risk requested," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk explains to him, "though I apologize that it has arrived too late to be of any use to you. It doesn't look like you needed it after all, however, so hopefully that balances out. I will tell you that it wasn't easy to locate, nor have I had the easiest time getting it here, what with no body to carry it. Lucian Risk seems very inconsiderate of such details at times." The wand drops to the floor with a soft clatter, and then the dragon continues. "It will hurl acid at any target you pick, though I couldn't tell you how many uses remain in it. In fact, it's been so long since I've seen it used that I'm not sure I can recall how to activate it either. Still, the original owner has no more use for it than anything else he brought with him, so you may as well keep it." Cassius picks up the wand and quickly examines it. "Thank you, revered one," he says. "This is a very generous gift. I will have to find a way to repay your generosity, especially after my first reaction to your appearance." If it were possible, it seem that Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk would blush. Instead, he absentmindely plays with the fastening of his cloak. Lucian hides his inner frustration behind a practiced smile. .oO(I was going to give it to the boss if the dragon had gone. What am I going to do now? It'll take forever to find something to give him.) He never utters the thoughts racing through his head, saying instead: "Thank you for your efforts, sir, Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk." The dragon looks to the half-elf quizzically. "You're both very welcome," he says "but try to be more careful in the future." Lucian turns beet red. "I can assure you I will," he answers, then carefully poses a question. "Just for the sake of my own curiousity: did you cast the spell or was it in place from before?"
#37 shatteredtower Nov 05, 2004 17:51:18	"I... well, I must have, but I never..." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk shakes his head and tries again. "I never had this happen before. I never knew, but I ought to have known, which means that someone did this without telling me, except that they wouldn't dare. I wouldn't have dared it -- never did, no. Why would they do this without telling me? It wasn't designed to cause me any difficulty, so they weren't looking to keep these things from me, but then why wouldn't they tell me about it? This is such an exasperating conundrum! It's like trying to find the treasury all over again! What were they thinking, doing this? "I'm so sorry, everyone. It must have been one of the dwarves. I'm sure they meant well, but they knew better than to do something like this without informing me first. Still, it's not like they had to do this for me..." The dragon rocks back and forth, muttering to himself as though trying to work something out in his head. Lucian watches him and chews on his lips, his eyes drawn in concentration. Tactfully, he offers his thoughts. "If my knowledge of magical traps is correct, that is quite the expensive ward for someone to throw up there without just cause. The whirlwind as well, which you did not know about. Other than the assassin, are there any who wish you and yours harm?" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk stares at the rogue for several seconds before replying. "Lucian Risk, even if I weren't centuries dead, what you faced here was something that couldn't possibly have posed a danger to me. Were I alive, it's something that I could have destroyed before it posed any danger to anyone else. Any enemies I had know -- or knew -- that I'm long gone, and would hardly have bothered to trap that which they could have simply stolen for themselves. It would be a wasted effort with this place abandoned, so I can't see it." Cassius follows the conversation with interest. Although he seems to be wanting to interupt a few times, he thinks better of it -- until the discussion turns to the subject of the elemental. "It might not have been a spell that placed the elemental here. It didn't feel like a ward, if you know what I mean. If it had been a ward, I might have felt the surge of magical energy when it went off and although I was surprised, I don't recall feeling any such release of magical energy. Perhaps the elemental had chosen this place to live in and attacked when we invaded its home." Lucian shrugs. "Probably true. I was really opening a shot in the dark as to where they came from. My knowledge of magic is very limited." "Cassius Gaia's seems to be lacking in a few areas as well, from the sound of it," snorts the dragon. "The windwalker wasn't there until you touched the chest. I don't mean that it was invisible or anything of the sort. I mean that it wasn't there! I don't know who deluded you into thinking that you have the talent to feel surges of magical energy, Cassius Gaia, but the idea... -- well, not to be rude, but it's nonsense. There are spells that might be able to do something of the sort, but you obviously weren't using one, or you should have known of the danger before it struck." "It is true that I do not have the innate talent of sensing magic as it is," Cassius admits, "however, it would not be the first time the hair in the back of my neck stood on end when some powerful spell was cast or triggered." "Then perhaps you do have some innate talent after all," the ghost suggests. "We ought to look into that later, for I can see that you have a course of action in mind at the moment. What do you intend?" "I will investigate the chest to see it there is some residue of the magic left. Perhaps it might give us a clue as to who cast the spell."
#38 shatteredtower Nov 05, 2004 18:03:37	There is a careful pause before Lucian speaks again. "If you wouldn't mind I'll take a look around..." ,the half-elf takes in a deep breath, "--Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk." Letting the name out, he then inhales again before continuing. "Just to ensure there are no more surprises while we are examining the caves." "Eh, well, if it will make you feel better, I suppose it makes some sense," they're both told. "I'd be interested in finding out if there are any more surprises here also, as well as why they're here and how they came to be." Lucian excuses himself and begins to slowly search the rest of the cavern for hazards and traps. Suddenly grinning broadly and speaking in a bright and hopeful tone, the creature adds, "Since this is probably going to take awhile, maybe there's time for another song?" Obligingly, Sensandela launches into a humourous refrain, in which a silly old gnome spends his day looking about his home for his hat ("Yes, his hat, and what a very fine hat..."), pantomiming the fellow removing his headgear to carefully wipe his brow each time he has completed some difficult task, such as moving his bed, or clearing a shelf, or persuading a cow that has inexplicably camped out in his kitchen to move over enough to let him check for it where she was standing. Lucian is barely aware of the words, focused as he is on his task, but the rhythm seems to direct him unaware at times. "Stop. Look ahead. Take a breath. Glance up high, and now below. And try to not overlook the obvious." He barely registers the dragon's chuckle as an imaginary cap is doffed and replaced each time these verses are repeated. Cassius mutters a few words, triggering a divination magic's presence. With the spell in place, Cassius first scans the room, then has another good look at the chest. He finds only two sources of magic: the phantom wall concealing this space and a faint aura of interdeterminable form where the chest was kept.
#39 shatteredtower Nov 05, 2004 18:41:10	Sensandela starts another song as Lucian slips down the ladder to search the rest of the cavern. He strikes his remaining sunrod and wanders over to the pantry's south wall, noting how the water has pooled in the corner here, much as it's done out in the solarium. Peering in, he estimates that it's not very deep, maybe twenty feet at the most, but he can't make out the bottom very well. Moving across the pantry, he checks the passage to the left of his former prison. The thief hasn't moved more than a few steps when the stone gives an inch beneath his foot, resulting in a sharp cracking sound, followed by a rising buzzing noise up ahead. Cursing, Lucian rushes back toward the pool, only to be overtaken by a mass of flying insects -- wasps, he believes. The sensation as they swarm over him is as being caught within a cloud of a thousand fiery needles. Lucian takes a deep breath and stumbles into the pool. Peering up from his haven, he watches his swirling nemeses hover above him in a deadly mass. He watches until his lungs feel that they're going to explode. .oO(I swear on the Mother's luck, if I get through this, Mundavai is going to have to pry me out of the city with a stick.) Desperation forces him to rise for another breath, one he for which he pays dearly before he can resubmerge, numbness creeping into his muscles as the stings take their toll on his body. .oO(These wounds burn! Just go away! Leave me alone!) Lucian continues to stares at the swirling menace, shaking in a mixture of exhaustion, anger, and fear.
#40 shatteredtower Dec 20, 2004 7:33:16	With short song concluded, Sensandela rises to her feet. "Where's Lucian?" she asks. When no one else appears to know the answer to her question, she wanders tiredly in the direction she saw him last. "I dunno if it was such a good idea to let 'im wander off alone. Lucian!" she calls. Listening for any reply, Sensandela hears instead only a wavering drone from down below. She looks back at her remaining companions. "I'm gonna go find 'im," she says solemnly. "That's really not necessary," says Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk. "I could always--" Before he can finish he sentence, the half-orc plunges through the illusory wall, calling more urgently, "LUCIAN, I'M COMING!" "My, but she is the impetuous sort," the dragon murmurs. "Gentlemen, if you'll please excuse me, I'll be right back. It shouldn't take but a moment for me to find Lucian Risk for her. I'm sure once she's seen that he's fine, we can all get settled in again." He fades from view once more. Penha sits up and blinks in response. "I don't think I'll ever get used to him doing that," he says. "Nevertheless, I think he's right. There's no point in us all running around right now. Pearl sometimes needs to find an outlet for her youthful energy and imagination. Versvesh... uh... thrae... vaerighent... bensvelk-Agathalosisk is more capable of keeping an eye on them both anyway." He chuckles. "I never could keep up with Pearl, even when she was ten years younger. I remember the day she uprooted all of my cabbages, convinced that they were some invading army biding their time before they'd raid the house. She kept trying to convince me that it was only a matter of days before the rest of the body grew in underneath those big heads of theirs, but I think it was just that she didn't like the taste of cabbage back then. I'm sure she'll have an equally interesting story for us when she returns, but I think I'll take this opportunity to get that nap." With that, he lays back once more, closing his eyes. Outside the room, Sensandela has just reached the floor when the source of the buzzing is revealed to her. Wasps quickly engulf her, their stings painfully overwhelming her senses. As she tries to wave them away from her swelling nose, she knocks the ladder free, sending it clattering to the floor. Penha gives a start at the sudden noise. "It may be all right. Let's see what our host says first." The gnome cannot hide just a hint of unease this time, however.
#41 shatteredtower Dec 20, 2004 7:41:50	As the air above him clears, Lucian surfaces as quietly as he can, gladly filling his lungs with quick breaths. Raising his sunrod, he sees Pearl's predicament and responds without thinking. "Pearl! Run to the water!" He takes another breath and shouts as loudly as he can, waving his sunrod madly. Head swimming, stomach reeling, Sensandela staggers to her feet and runs toward the water. Lucian throws the rod off to Pearl's right and dives under the surface once more. The singer fills her powerful lungs with air and plunges in after him, narrowly missing a collision between them on her way to the bottom. As Lucian turns to make sure she's all right, however, it suddenly becomes too dark for him to make anything out. Sensandela, with one of the few blessings of her non-human parentage, can see the block of stone that has appeared above the pool just fine. Understanding how it could have suddenly just showed up there is another matter.
#42 shatteredtower Dec 20, 2004 7:51:13	Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk reappears in front of Cassius, looking quite uncomfortable. "Lucian Risk must have disturbed the wasp's nest in--" "WASP'S NEST?!" interupts Penha, jumping to his feet. "Yes, in the dwarf quarters. I'm not sure why he did that, since he-- where are you going?" "Where does it look like I'm going?" says the gnome, barreling toward the exit. "I have to go save--" "But the ladder has fallen--" "Well, then we'll use rope! Cassius, hand me that coil to your left. No, better yet, tie it around me and get ready to lower me down." "You'll only end up in the same predicament as the others," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk argues, attempting a reasonable, if somewhat fretful, tone, "unless either you or Cassius Gaia are able to create more lightning or perhaps fire." "Well, we have to do something!" shouts the gnome, fighting down feelings of helplessness with dwindling anger. "I have," says his host. "I've blocked the wasps off from them. They won't be able to reach the couple through the stone. They should be perfectly safe there." Penha slumps to his knees in relief. "That's good. Thank you. As long as we have the pick, we can dig them out later, if you've sealed them in somewhere like you did earlier." "Er... yes..." Penha tilts his head sharply and squints at the dragon. "Where exactly are they, anyway?" "They're... in the pool..." The gnome's eyes widen. "WHAT?" "Well, they were trying to hide underwater, and... the wasps were just waiting above for them to... surface... and... well..." "YOU DID WHAT?" "It was the best I could do on short notice! They'll be perfectly fine..." "THEY'LL DROWN! Cassius, we've got to get down there or--" "Not with the wasps around," says the dragon. "But they'll drown if we don't get there right away!" "And they'll drown if the wasps kill you before you can do anything. I'll... I'll keep an eye out for you. The minute they're gone, I'll let you both know, and you can... get them out." Drained, the gnome drops his head into his open palms, hiding his face as Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk vanishes once more. Cassius' mind races to find a solution to their plight. .oO(Lightning or fire... I spent my lightning bolt on the air creature, no fire spells today... Oil, I should still have some oil in my pack, and then torches and some wet rags. That should smoke those wasps out.) "Penha, quick, can you get a small fire going?" he asks. "I'll try to fabricate some impromptu smoke bombs to drive the wasps off." "I don't mean to sound negative, Mr. Gaia," the gnome says, his voice heavy with resignation, "but this plan sounds like it will only be exchanging one target, which the wasps can't reach, for another." Nevertheless, he gets to work as requested, while Cassius gets to work with wool and any other flammables he can secure, trying to come up with something that will burn in a heavy, thick cloud of smoke.
#43 shatteredtower Dec 21, 2004 8:55:54	Cold and wet, Lucian fights down panic as the darkness steals his sight. Disoriented, he nevertheless kicks against the water, aiming for what he hopes is the surface. His hands push against stone, bringing him to a stop before he can injure himself. Sensandela likewise fights the tide of panic rising in her throat. The sudden appearance of the surface of stone confuses her, though a nagging voice in the back of her mind suggests she should know, she should stay calm. She swims to Lucian and gently tugs him close, then begins to swim straight towards where she imagines the shore should be, all the while glancing up and down between the irresolute sheet of stone and the murky depths, searching for an escape. In the back of her mind, she bites down tears and wonders how the little gnome will survive without his barbarous, bitty bard. Her first effort sends her in the wrong direction and she kicks off the wall in an attempt to propel herself the right way -- --only to find nothing to kick against. She can see the wall, surely enough, but she can also see her foot, even though it should be concealed within the surface of the stone that offers no resistance to her touch at all. She spares glances to each side of the appendage, determining that there's easily enough space for both herls and Lucian, all the while wary of another trick. Quickly concluding that it looks more promising than drowning, she tugs the half-elf with her through the wall. Within only a few feet, they find a place to surface and take in air once more. The buzzing sound has not followed them here, which is a further blessing. Lucian lacks the light he needs to see, but Sensandela has little trouble guiding him to the nearby shore now that she's free to talk. Her reassurances are cut short when something nearby draws her attention. It may not shine in the dark, and silver and gold look almost identical in such conditions to her, but she can recognize the shape of a coin, even when there are many of them in a loose pile. Relieved to be able to breathe again, Lucian flops down on the cold stone floor, gasping heavily. "I'm not dead am I?" he asks. "What's going on?" "You're not dead, but... but this looks like... heaven," manages Sensandela weakly. She restrains herself just enough to keep from crawling to the pile of coins, but squeezes Lucian's shoulder instead. "How ya doin'? Those bugs were... nasty!" "I think I'm all right... I missed a trigger and those things just swarmed me out of nowhere. Can you see down here?" "Yerp," sighs the half-orc, rising to her feet. She trembles in the dark. "One of the few... perks... to being an aberration. Yeah, I can see. And I see there's a nice pile of shinies over there." "I hardly consider you an abberation. If you're an abb- Did you say shinies?" The thief stumbles to his feet, then falls on his face. "I don't suppose you could create some light?" he asks
#44 shatteredtower Dec 21, 2004 9:19:14	Sensandela winces at the thud, then helps Lucian to his feet. "Not... for very long, I'm afraid," she tells him. "Would just a minute of light help anyway?" Lucian takes the hand and pulls himself up. "Probably not.... Damn it! That bloody dragon has almost killed me TWICE with that bloody spell. Next time I see him I'm going to wring his neck!" The young gent takes a breath, calming himself down. "Sorry. I just hate being almost killed. And I guess we aren't out of it yet either. Unless Cassius breaks down the stone wall over the pond, we're going to run out of air before long." Sensandela holds on loosely to his arm. "I'm sorry. Calm down. I'm sorry I can't be of more use," she says, glancing around. "We'll get out of this, I promise. If the air is a concern, however, let's... try to keep quiet, hmm? Do you want to sit and wait for me then, while I look around, or would you rather stay near me?" Slightly ashamed, Lucian is glad for the darkness as he begins to blush furiously. "If it's all right, I'd rather stay near you," he replies. "Okay. That's safer, right? Now let me see what IS this place?" Sensandela carefully guides Lucian across the shore. Slowly, she explores the cavern, looking for anything more than the pile of coins, like an exit, for example. However, her hopes are not very high, and she says quietly as they walk, "We don't know how long the stone will cover the lake, so let's give it as much time as we can. Just before we run out of air down here... we should give the lake one last try. "Think you can do it? I'll lead you," she offers kindly. The exploration takes a long time -- the chamber turns out to be larger than even the solarium and guiding Lucian requires patience and concentration. Water pools along one wall for the entire length of the chamber, while sections of the wall across from it have been smoothed to contain more of the familiar draconic handwriting, scrawled in lines that continue toward the ceiling high above them. A quick glance suggests to Sensandela that this material is more personal in nature than everything she's seen thus far -- more journal than the research notes of the hidden room or the inventory in the pantry or even the proud declarations in the solarium. As they reach the far end of the room, where the pool broadens to extend beyond the limits of Sensandela's vision, Lucian's ears pick up an unexpected, but welcome, sound off to his right. "Pearl! Do you hear that? There's air coming in here!" Lucian carefully moves towards the sound, accepting Sensandela's guidance. Turning a corner at the water's edge, Lucian is surprised to find the area bathed in a very dim light. He can't see where it's coming from, nor can either of them see any exit, but the noise comes from this direction. Soft as the sound is, Sensandela can now hear it too. A broad smile, lights up Lucian's face as he rushes into the light. "I can see!" he exclaims, twirling and giddily hopping about. The girl, on the other hand, realizes her exhaustion after a very definite lack of rest, followed by a forced swim with the half-elf. She allows herself to sink to her hands and knees, letting Lucian keep watch for the immediate time being. Quickly stopping what he was doing, Lucian slumps down beside her. "Soo.... what now?" he asks. "What now?" sighs the half-orc. "My body suggests rest, but that's not fair to the others. "Dammit," she grunts, struggling to her feet. "We should get back as soon as we can. We can... check the pool again, or... Where are we?" She looks around somewhat dully. Circling widdershins from the corner, she sees that the water pools to its greatest extent in left half of the cavern, with the far edge barely visible to her. She can't determine the source of the light, though. "Maybe we could take a better look around with a glowing spell," Lucian says with a grin, before adding "At least we aren't worried about air or drowning." Sensandela nods and begins to sing a tune about fireflies and summer nights. As Lucian watches, tiny sparks appear, glowing brighter by the second until each has grown to the size of a torch flare. She sends them bobbing and darting about, so that they can both get a better look at the draconic scrawlings across the walls -- and at the pile of coins. Copper has turned to green and silver has grown dull with the years, but despite the lack of gold, it is a remarkable pile, possibly more than either of them could carry. Lucian's mouth opens wide and his eyes turn into wide blue plates. Facing Pearl, he laughs and dives into the pile. "Look at all this!" Beaming, he attempts to count the coins, but gives up once he realizes that there must be thousands of them here. There's no gold to be seen, however, which is certainly odd for a dragon's hoard. This doesn't seem to matter to Sensandela -- Lucian can barely make out a song about "the shinies" sung under her breath, even as she continues to guide her lights about, skimming the ceiling, darting over water in a simulated game of tag, even pausing as though to read some of the passages on the walls. The light fades all too soon for Lucian's tastes, but the memory of what he has seen is a different matter.
#45 shatteredtower Dec 21, 2004 10:00:20	Cassius and the gnome work feverishly for several minutes before Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk reappears. "The wasps are -- my goodness, what is all of this mess? Well, never mind -- anything to keep yourselves busy instead of just waiting for the news. Speaking of which, the wasps have cleared away." "I was trying to make some smoke bombs to drive the wasps off," the wizard explains, "but if they are already gone, we should get to work to get that slab of stone out of the way. Come on, Penha, I'll lower you first, then you can set up the ladder again." Cassius retrieves the rope and drops it over the side, bracing himself to support Penha as he clilmbs down. Making sure to take the pick with him, Cassius follows as soon as possible. "Revered one, show us to the slab, and could you please check on them to see how they're doing?" "It's just over here," their host says, drifting ahead. He dives through the stone as Cassius requests, resurfacing just as the other two arrive. "They're gone!" he exclaims. "What-- but... no..." Penha stammers, trembling. "No, no, I don't mean dead," says Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, hastily seeking to reassure the gnome, "not necessarily, at least. I mean that they're not in there!" Penha looks bewildered, unable to determine if this is better news or not. "Okay, let's get to w..." Cassius starts before confusion sets in for him as well. "--wait a minute, they're gone? Uhh, okay, that could be good news, couldn't it? They could have found a way out -- I mean, they must have. No way they could have lifted this... and put it back and not come to us and and, and why put the slab back and Pearl would not leave her father and..." Momentarily stunned to inaction by the news, he starts to mutter under his breath, seeking the wildest possible options. A black form lands on his shoulder and pecks at his ear. "Kaw! Cassius, shut up; you're blabbering like a baby. If they are not there, either another exit exists or they used magic to escape. Pull yourself together; you're a scholar, not some untrained peasant. Remove that slab and then you can investigate. Sheeeeesh." Brought back to reality by Crebain's intervention, Cassius finds his resolve again and starts to chip away at the barrier. Without the benefit of magic this time, the strain on his muscles is greater. Feeling rushed, he silently endures the rain of splintering stone that flies beneath the pick. As he finally strikes water, Penha redirects him to continue a foot away from the spot, on the unlikely chance that someone will come to the airhole he's created. No one comes, however, and Cassius eventually widens the space into something large enough to admit him. "Perhaps you should rest before we do anything else, Mr. Gaia," says Penha, voicing concern. "You can't be at your best after all of that work. If your muscles seize up down there, we'll lose you too." Exhausted, Cassius slumps to the floor, wiping his forehead. He looks at the back of his hand incomprehendingly, wondering where the blood came from, until the sting from a particularly nasty cut reminds him of its source. Using focusing techniques he learned as an apprentice, he eventually steadies his ragged breath. "Rest is definitely in order, Master Penha. Thank you for your concern." Cassius reaches for his pack to take out a flask of water, only to find he left it at the camp site. Moving over to the hole in the slab of stone, he scoops up a few hands of water to wet his parched mouth. "We'll need to go back for my pack anyway," he says. "I keep a couple of sunrods in it that might prove useful. I'm not going to risk losing the statuette down there." "You rest," Penha insists, "and I'll go get that for you." The wizard sits besides the slab of stone until his exhaustion wears off and Penha returns with the pack. Taking out his spellbook, Cassius prepares the his last two spells for today: another lightning bolt and a spell to direct a ball of flames at any opponents. Thus prepared, he takes of his robe and shirt, then ties one end of the rope around his waist, handing the other to Penha. After securing a few spell components, his rapier, and a single dagger on his person, he lowers himself into the water. Striking the sunrod, he takes a deep breath and lets himself sink beneath the surface. Looking around in the orange light of the sunrod, Cassius starts searching for the escape route his friends took. Every so often he surfaces to take a few deep breaths before continuing. Probing the edges of the pool, he eventually locates a place where the stone proves less resistant to his touch than his eyes would suggest. The illusion, revealed for what it is, proves no more resistant to his progress than the water itself. Moving down the short passage, he heads toward the surface on the other side.
#46 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 7:10:50	Lucian sits in the dark, amidst the coins, and frowns. "Do you think there is a way out of here?" he asks. Wandering towards the pond, he bites his lip as he stumbles. "I don't suppose you could do that again?" "I could," she says, jingling a few coins together, "but to what end? If it's not for getting us out of here, it's probably an extravagance we can't afford. Oooh, I'll be able to afford a pair of boots like the ones I saw in the market with this..." Lucian shrugs and answers, "Maybe I could see a solution to our problem. It'd be better than sitting in the dark anyways. Well, for me at least." "You didn't see one last time, so why should this time be any different? No, come up with something more concrete first, or you'll end up sitting in the dark after a few minutes anyway when I can no longer work up the energy to cast the spell." With another shrug, the thief makes himself a small nest amongst the coins. "This is somewhat less fun than I had imagined it to be," he observes, "however, that may just be situational." The half-orc grimaces in the dark. "What would make it fun, Lucian? If I could juggle, would that entertain you for a few minutes? Do your complaints make the situation any brighter? No, we're still in the dark, so I didn't think so." She glances around. "Maybe you could look around outside for me while I... look around. In here," she sighs. "Would the sheet of rock have dissipated by now? Supposing it hasn't? Would I be able to swim there to check, then come back if-- if I had something I could trap air beneath, I could carry it with me while I swim..." She squats and idly trails her fingers in the water as her words become a mumble. "Don't waste your time," Lucian tells her. "I was kept in the cave for hours the last time the dragon almost killed me with that spell. The only reason I was able to escape was Mr.Gaia's timely rescue. Picking up a few coins, Lucian begins flipping them up into the air with his thumb and trying to swat them with his other hand, relying on timing to compensate for a lack of sight. Sensandela echoes, "'Mr. Gaia's timely rescue'... If we had a pick, I could certainly try our own timely rescue. "Or die trying," she adds glumly. "I'm stronger than he is, with or without a fancy tattoo. There's... nothing to do but wait then, is there? Nothing to do but wait and sing old drinking songs." Her voice reverberating, she sings as she wanders slowly off in the direction of the draft. Still flicking the coins up in the air, Lucian joins in, not adding much in the way of talent but passing the time. "Those southern belles, They all raise nine hells, Bartender get me a whisky! They lie and steal, They make my life hell, Bartender get me a whisky! Sold my chattels, Cheated on me, Bartender get me a whisky! She took my dog, He liked her more, Bartender get me a whisky! That lass lacks class, Shows much sass, Bartender get me a whisky! I don't got coin To pay you, Bartender thanks for the whisky!"
#47 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 7:25:29	At first, Lucian thinks his eyes are playing tricks on him as the water before him shimmers dimly, but then it grows brighter, until he can make out a form moving throw the water. Before he can shout out a warning, it becomes apparent that there will be no need, as Cassius surfaces several feet away from him. "Thank Thalos you are all right!" he exclaims between gasps for fresh air. "We feared for your lives when our host told me what he had done. Then he spooked us even worse when he told us you had gone from the pool." "Mr.Gaia! It's good to see you again!" Lucian cries as he stands. "It seems I'm your damsel in distress time and again. I thank you again for saving me from the dragon. I hope you survived the whirlwind of bees above us." "Yes, we can't tell whether or not you're alive or undead, Mr. Guy, because, you see, it's quite dark," adds Sensandela. The wizard swims closer, dragging himself ashore. "We should get word to your father, Pearl," he tells her. "He will be very, very relieved to hear you are all right." Pausing to look around the cave, Cassius tries to get a better impression of the chamber. "Have you explored the area yet?" he asks absently as a jumble of thoughts call for his attention. .oO(It seems our hosts has no knowledge of its existence or has forgotten about it during his afterlife. He made no mention of a possible connection out of the pool. ... and suddenly this strikes me as odd, he is incorporeal, supposedly been here for ages and never explored beyond "his own" caves. Hmmmmm...) "We've given the area a once-over," the half-orc tells him, "and other than a mysterious draft and a mysterious light, the only item of interest is a really, really big heap of shinies. "How'd you get here, anyway?" she demands, toeing the water. "I want to see my da!" "Not that we're not interested in the huge, heaping pile of glittering wealth," Lucian hastens to add. "I'm also interested in how to get out." Cassius smiles as he lifts his sunrod a little higher so the light can better penetrate the darkness. "The bees have all gone and we used the pick to break through the slab of stone our dragon friend conjured up. The way back is open; no problem." He moves over to the pile of coins, grabs a handful and checks them over, but cannot place the year or place of their origin. "If you want we can go back through right now," Cassius offers as he undoes the rope around his waist. "If you follow this rope, it will lead you straight back to the opening. Penha holds the other end. If neccessary, I'll stay here holding this end." Wasting not a second, Sensandela dashes into the water and dives, following the rope to her father.
#48 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 7:39:37	"I guess I can tell what she's doing right now," Lucian says, then turns toward the walls. "Can you tell what these markings say?" he asks Cassius. Looking where Lucian points, Cassius observes that the far wall of the cave has also seen a generous application of the Draconic language. "Come on, Lucian, let's see what that wall can tell us," he says, "Our dragon friend's neglect to tell Penha and myself about this place has piqued my interest." Skirting the edge of the pile of coins, the wizard steps up moves to take a closer look at some of the passages. "I'll make a quick translation of this," he says. "After that we can rejoin Pearl and Penha." .oO(I hope my suspicions turn out wrong, because if I am right, they might be in mortal danger. Oh, well, that can not be helped right now.) "...Thanks," Lucian replies, then leans over Cassius' shoulder. There's a lot more written here than can be quickly translated, spreading along a few dozen feet, so Cassius simply starts with what's in front of him, skimming over idle recollections and thoughts until he stumbles across something more interesting. I really thought it would work out better. Young -- Cassius assumes that the next words are a name, but he can't make it out. Either the name is recorded in another language or this was something overlooked in his studies of draconic. --is rare among his kin, one of the few to whom magic comes naturally. This has made him something of a pariah among his people, as I've recounted earlier, and it saddens me to think of what misfortune may have befallen him if I had not learned of his potential and brought him here. And yet I can't help express disappointment in the results. Despite my best efforts to aid him in developing his talents, he still lacks confidence in his abilities and is prone to carelessness or impulsive usage. I had hoped the change would help him overcome his doubts and I was certainly pleased by how diligently he studied the lessons of the Hidden Library, but the process seems to have upset him in ways I couldn't have foreseen or even imagined. He seems to need my approval for everything he does now -- or at least to believe that he's doing it for the reasons he thinks I would do it. I appreciate the compliment, but this borders on an obsession! I'll do what I can to help him, but he just needs so much attention! Thankfully, he was never shown how to reach the treasury, or I'd never get any peace! There's so much to do; would that I could leave it to-- Once again, the unfamiliar words appear. -- or the others, but they don't seem to appreciate what's at stake. Perhaps this is somehow due to the brevity of the years alloted to them, or could some other humanoid deficiency be the cause? An interesting study, perhaps, but a question for another time. For now, the matter of-- The unknown words again appear, followed by an indication that the next entry was made a time (hours?) afterward. After reviewing my notes, I can find nothing in the process of transmutation should have caused this. It may be that he simply wasn't as ready as he seemed, or perhaps the process was too rushed, or maybe this is a gift that was never meant for dwarves. I hope that this is nothing more than a phase in his ongoing development and that he will outgrow it in time, but I shall nevertheless continue to keep a careful eye on him, looking for possible means to alleviate his condition. After reading the text silently himself, Cassius starts over again, this time reading it aloud for Lucian. When he reaches the unfamiliar words he points them out to the half-elf. "These words I can not translate. I believe they are not Draconic, but perhaps Dwarven. Can you make sense of these?" Lucian nods and studies the words. "Seems like the dragon had a protegé at one point," he tells Cassius. "I wonder what happened to him?" "If I interpret the text correctly, it would seem that this protegé tried to cast a spell from the transmutation school, a spell that allows to alter the properties of things, and that somehow the spell went awry or backfired, changing the protege is some way. Let's see if there is more said on this subject." Cassius returns his attention to the writing, starting where he left off. It seems that I shall have to be more selective about whom I choose to inherit my bloodline in the future -- if indeed there are any who can withstand the strain that comes with such a gift. Perhaps the elves, even as frail as they are, are more capable of adapting, although the wizard who came here insisted that the formulas were meaningless to him, suggesting that he lacked the necessary intuitive spark to see beyond what was written into the very essence of the process. They do not dare to dream, the elves, and the results show at times like this. I suppose it will have to wait until another suitable candidate -- dwarf, human, elf, even orc, should one prove capable of understanding the processes involved -- comes along before I can test the idea. I'm sure I have plenty of time to look into possible means by which to modify the formulae before that happens. I'll give it thought later; right now, I have a journey to prepare. The text resumes with ruminations on the manners and obstinacy of dwarves, a subject the dragon seems ready to discuss for volumes, if time allows him. Cassius scans ahead, realizing that there are hours of reading in this place, but he can't find more than the most passing of references to Vedit, formerly of clan Ladorr, as Lucian translates the dwarven name for him. "That is.... slightly disturbing, to say the least that is on my mind right now," says Lucian. "He seems to be transforming other races to be more like him, right?" "So it seems," Cassius replies, "and from what I read here, he hasn't had much success with it. I wonder what became of this Vedit? "It seems our host has been seaching for a way to pass more that just his knowledge. Maybe we are looking at the truth about the origin of sorcerors. After all it is popular belief that a sorceror's innate magical abilities are due to dragon's blood running through their veins. I always dismissed such stories as children's stories, but after reading this I can't help but wonder. "Anyway, the rest of the text seems to be an ongoing discussion on the ways of the dwarves. I think we have read all there is to know here. Let us return to the others. Mind yourself not to speak to our host of this just yet. Let's try to find out a little more before we broach the subject. Come on." Cassius returns to the water's edge and motions for Lucian to go first. "Work your way along the rope hand over hand," he tells the half-elf. "I'll be right behind you with the light."
#49 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 8:02:04	"PEARL!" Penha rushes toward the water as Sensandela pulls herself up through the stone. "I'm so glad you're safe!" he says. "Are the others there as well?" Holding Penha tight to her, Sensandela nods and answers, "They're fine, though Lucian seems a little grumpy, sitting in the dark in a pile of silver coins." "I'm not surprised," he replies to her in a slightly muffled voice. "He keeps running into trouble here, doesn't he?" He pulls back from her. "Are you hurt, dear?" he asks, frowning in concern. "No, I'm fine. Are you okay?" she asks, looking him over, back and front. "Where did the wasps go?" "I think they must have gotten tired and returned to their nest," he tells her. "We didn't have time to check on that, since we were more concerned with finding you two." After a pause, he asks, "Did you say silver?" "Yes?" she replies hesitantly. "If we could retrieve it, I think life would be pretty secure for you, Da!" "Goodness!" he says. "That would be an awful lot of silver, isn't it?" "I don't understand," says Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, appearing suddenly behind Penha. "Where did you find this? Where did you go?" Sensandela blinks mutely at the dragon, then points at the hole in the sheet of rock. Perplexed, he looks to the hole and back at her. "But I was--" he starts, then stops again, as though unsure how to finish the sentence. "But I didn't keep any..." He shakes his head roughly, then adopts a more serious expression. "What else did you find?" he asks Sensandela. "Not much," she tells him. "It was kind of a boring cavern, all dark except for one spot. There was some light there, but no source, no source of light. Also we felt some wind, but there was no opening anywhere to allow for that." "Those villains..." the dragon says slowly, obviously running through possibilities in his head. "...somehow, they must have had constructed a hideout connected to my own home, keeping it hidden from me until the time was right for them to strike. No wonder that assassin was able to slip in undetected and--" Doubt flickers across his expression for an instant, but is surpressed. "No. That must be it. I must go -- your friends may be in great danger. How do I get in?" "Eh?" Confusion furrows the half-orc's brows. "What--You... follow the rope." "The rope? Of course, how silly of me..." "But wait, 'danger'? Shall I go back too?" He smiles reassuringly at her, carefully revealing no teeth. "It might be best if you stayed to keep an eye on your father for the moment. It could be nothing after all this time, but anyone hiding this close to my chambers must have posessed rather impressive magical resources. I can only hope that CassiusGaia and LucianRisk haven't found any deadly wards they might have kept. I should go warn them immediately; please excuse me..." "I already searched the cavern," Sensandela adds, "though -- pretty roughly, but nothing happened, so I don't think you should worry. "Your only problem should be prying Lucian away from the coins," she adds quietly, cradling the gnome closer to her body. "Oh," says Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, sounding slightly deflated. "Well, I should take a look in any case. Dangerous or not, I must see to this breach of my privacy." He drifts down into the stone, fading from sight even before he has finished his descent into the water. "What a curious fellow," Penha says after he has disappeared, then hugs the half-orc again. "I am so glad you're both safe. What a day this has been!" Sensandela sighs into her father's shoulder wearily. "Damn right, Da. I miss sleep soooo much," she whines softly. "Yes, we could all use some rest after this. I think you really should dry yourself off first, however; if you sleep like that in here and you risk catching yourself a dreadful chill. "And please don't say 'damn', dear," Penha adds as an afterthought. "It's simply not ladylike." She stiffens slightly. "Drying off sounds like a good idea," she agrees quietly. Smoothly she rises to her feet and returns to their initial campsite. "I'll be along as soon as the others come back, Pearl," her father calls out to her. "Please don't feel you need to wait up, because I'm pretty sure we'll all want rest by the time we get back." Clenching her fists, Sensandela stops for a moment, then quietly returns to her father's side next to the hole. "Da, I have to take care of you." Startled by the determination in her voice, Penha says nothing for several moments. Finally, he nods. "Very well, then," he says in a gentle voice. "We'll wait for the others together."
#50 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 8:15:46	As Cassius and Lucian approach the water, the head of Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk breaks the surface, leaving not even a ripple behind him. "There you are," he says, drifting higher until his feet are bare inches above the water. "Good. I feared you might be in some danger here, since any foe I have that would have the power to conceal a hideout so close to my own quarters would surely protect it with the most terrible wards imaginable." Scratching his head with a clawed hand, he asks them, "What is this place?" Lucian shoots a sideways glance at Cassius. "It's good to see you as well, sir dragon," he says before attempting an explanation. "It appears to be a lair of yours perhaps, or one of your kin dragons." The elfling sits on the balls of his feet, ready to move. "It... what?" says the dragon, clasping his hands behind his back as he drifts about the room. "But that's not... possible..." He words drift off as he stares at the walls. "Please bring the light over here; I need to see this... this... insult." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk's voice takes on an uncomfortable level of heat as he exclaims, "How dare they mock me thus, invading my lair and aping my work!" "Excuse me, sir," Lucian responds, "but I don't know what you mean." He shoots a glance at Cassius and backs slowly towards the pond. The wizard quickly speaks, standing his ground in the face of the spirit's rising anger. "What then do you make of this, revered one? A part of this seems to refer to an apprentice of some sort -- a dwarven spellcaster, if I interpret the writing correctly -- and the style seems to reflect your own. Could it be that in all your long years you have forgotten or forced yourself to forget about this? No offense, sire, but I can not help but wonder." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk's eyes go wide at this explanation. "I would never..." he starts, then seems to change his mind. "And yet -- let me take a look." Carefully, he examines the passages to which he is directed. He reads and seems to reread it, fingers tracing the words as his confusion grows more evident. "That..." he begins, apparently loses his thought, then tries again, stumbling over words. "But it wasn't... that's not how it... but didn't I... didn't I... what did I do?" Bewildered, he turns back to them both. "What does it mean?" he asks, absently scratching the back of one leg with the other.
#51 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 8:38:04	The spirit's bewilderment is enough for Cassius to sink his teeth in the puzzle. "Obviously this report conflicts with your memories, revered one. Why not tell us the whole story so we can try to sift out the truth of what really happened?" Lucian nods, happily allowing Cassius to take control of the situation involving spirits and magic. "It isn't like we don't have time." he adds. "Have a care, CassiusGaia," the spirit growls. "Does my current humanoid guise cause you to forget with whom you are speaking? I will not be called a liar in my own home -- by either of you. This -- this is obviously nonsense, lies scratched out by enemies to confuse me, to get me to reveal what I know of..." He breaks off, then continues again in a thoughtful tone. "How long have you two been preparing this charade? The two groups of visitors, so close together... and now this... yessss..." Lucian shakes with terror at the thought of an angry dragon, alive or not. His legs turn to jelly and he sinks to the floor, babbling frantically. "D.D...dragon. Sir! Please! I-I don't know w-what you mean! This is t-the f-f-f-irst time I-I've ever seen Mister-Mister Gaia in my life." Cassius in turn starts to grow angry at the dragon's accusations. "First off, revered one, I am not implying you are a liar," he says. "I merely want to help you to figure out what happened. "Second, I have no idea what you are talking about; I know nothing of another group of visitors and most of all I resent the idea that I would be allied with the scum that follows the Dark Brother. I have been following the ways of the Mother and Agathalos since the day I was old enough to know the difference. You don't nearly know enough about me to make such a judgment, so if you are not interested in sorting out this puzzle, just forget it and keep wondering who invaded your lair and set all those traps for the rest of your existence and we'll join the others and leave you to your peace. You can have our help in sorting this out or not; the choice is yours." The fires of righteous anger smolder in his eyes as he declares, "For all I care, you cast a truth spell on me to see if you can catch me on a lie if you're not willing to trust." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk's next comment is lost on Cassius, but Lucian is surprised to understand every word of it. "Blasted humans -- all that height goes straight to their heads sometimes," the dragon mutters in dwarven, before returning to the common language. "Once again, CassiusGaia, I remind you to have a care and remember with whom you speak. You are naught before the might of Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, who would never tolerate such affrontery while he lived. Nor will I tolerate it now, not in this place of... lies..." His anger subsides with the last word, replaced once more with confusion. Shaking it off, he continues in more gentle tones. "Return to your feet, LucianRisk. At this moment, I know you would say anything to save yourself from my wrath, but it is unnecessary. As full of himself as he is -- doubtless a consequence of the wizardry he has learned, as though this should impress one to whom the power came naturally -- I believe him when he says that he knows of no other visitors." "Y-yess-ss-ir," Lucian stammers, not rising from the ground, while the dragon continues to speak. "I am more skeptical of the service he professes to Agathalos, but that is of little import at the moment, as are his empty threats. I have nothing but time to work out what this means and do not need some biglegs human pestering me with his incessant second guesses in an effort to feign some degree of authority here. Pfaugh! If CassiusGaia is so confident of things that aren't what they seem, let him state what he thinks they are, because I'm sure I don't know what's going on. "But if he has no idea, then perhaps CassiusGaia should hesitate before he accuses me of either hiding or forgetting things -- especially if he's then going to immediately turn around and ask me to tell him all about the things I've supposedly forgotten or hidden! "Honestly, CassiusGaia, could you humans be any more exasperating?" he concludes in a petulant tone. he fire inside Cassius dies to a smoldering ember at the fierce reprimand. .oO(One would have thought that the lessons at the tower had taught me to think before speaking. I really have to learn to control my anger. One day it will cause me more trouble than it is worth.) "I apologize for my anger, revered one, but I don't take well to being called a servant of the dark brother. Demmionites killed my father in a raid on his caravan and my mother never got over his loss, so in effect that hellspawn cost me both parents. I didn't mean to imply that you are a liar either, but there is something going on here that bears investigating and it is rattling my brain like a caged animal. I am not here to pry out your secrets. We came here because Master Penha wanted to record the wisdom hidden within these walls." Cassius sinks into thoughtful silence for a moment. Likewise, Lucian ponders the situation, turning over in his mind what he's heard. .oO(Something isn't right here. He looks like a dragon that could rend me apart, but he refers to Cassius as a biglegs. Then he mutters in dwarven.... Odd.)
#52 shatteredtower Jan 18, 2005 8:47:51	"I just thought of something," the wizard says suddenly. "If we could somehow determine the age of these writings, that would easily determine if they are fake or part of a larger mystery." "Well, yes, that would help, but how would you accomplish that?" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk asks, then turns to address the prone half-elf. "LucianRisk, are you all right? Are you going to require assistance to stand?" Lucian shakes his head, points to some of the writing, and asks "[Dwarven]D-Does that clan name mean anything to you?[/dwarven]" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk looks at the thief curiously, but deigns to review the section again. "Ladorr... Ladorr... never had much business with them... not after they... sent me..." The dragon scratches his cheek idly. "But whatever happened to that boy? I... remember him being there when we dealt with the assassin, but..." He shakes his head after a moment of silence. "He must have been busy with other tasks. We all were after that, preparing for one last battle. Doubtless he... found a place with Agathalos afterward." Lucian moves himself to his feet, Leaning heavily on his walking stick. "After who sent you, sir?" he asks, wondering .oO(Who sends a dragon anywhere?) "What do you mean?" comes the reply. "No one sent me anywhere." "Revered one," Cassius interjects quickly, "tell me, were your writings carved in stone manually or with the aid of magic? Because if magic was involved we could try to use divinations to see if we can determine the age of the writing. We could compare the emanation of residual magic, if any, from these markings to those in the main caverns. Otherwise we would need someone with knowledge of stone and rocks. I know that with time even stone erodes, but I think we would need an expert to tell the difference between two sets of writing. "Maybe Master Penha has some knowledge in this field; I know I don't." "Unless this was done in the last hour, a divination isn't going to reveal anything to us," the dragon says with a sigh. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let the gnome take a look, however. One moment..." Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk fades slowly into invisibility. When he is certain that they are alone once more, Cassius looks to Lucian. "What was that last comment about, the one on being sent somewhere or something?" he asks. "This thing is beginning to make me feel queer to the stomach, if you understand what I mean." Lucian smiles weakly at the mention of stomachs. "I know what you mean. Cassius, he refered to you as 'big legs' when he was murmuring in Dwarven. That doesn't seem very draconic. Wouldn't a dragon usually speak in their own tongue? He seems practically dwarven -- have you seen him in his full form ever?" "No, I haven't, and there is another thing that has me puzzled. Our esteemed host is supposed to have been one of the greatest servants of Thalos during his life. Unless he entered this undead state of his own volition, it seems a strange reward for his services, don't you think?" Cassius contempates the mystery for a while, waiting for Lucian's reply or the dragon's return. The half-elf merely shrugs. "I don't know much about ghosts and the like," he says, "but I can tell you that he's almost killed me twice by 'accident'. Do you think he has any relation to the dwarf mentioned in the text?" "There is a relation to this dwarf apprentice. Whether he is the dwarf transformed or Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk himself, he is connected to this dwarf one way or the other, and I think his peculiar behavior has something to do with the dwarf as well. Be on your guard... we don't want anymore accidents." "I can empathize with that. Shall we continue on with the text until our host returns?" Cassius shakes his head. " I am beginning to get rather intrigued by that mysterious light. Let's see if we can find its source. I scanned a few parts of the text earlier and it seems to be another treatise on dwarven behaviour. Perhaps the source of the light could provide a new angle." He begins to scan the room to find where the light seems to be the strongest, then makes his way over to search for a source. He finds nothing to suggest from where the light originates, unless it is from the wall itself. "There's nothing I can find right now," Cassius says with a sigh. "The light seems to come from the wall itself and I have used my divination spells area earlier today. We could explore further with the aid of magic but not until tomorrow. For now let's get back to the text then; mayhap there is something useful in there after all." He moves to what hopes to be the earliest entries in this room and starts to read aloud for Lucian's sake, as the half-elf closes his eyes and concentrates on the words. Cassius reads on, every now and then taking a swig from his water flask to keep his mouth from parching, his steady voice droning like a sleeping spell upon the ears of his companion as he recounts the dragon's view on dwarven culture, searching for a hidden clue in the text.
#53 shatteredtower Jan 19, 2005 8:15:54	The Lapin vigil ends with Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk's return. "Penha, the others have asked if you could take a look at the writing we've found and determine how old it is," he says. "I'm sorry, I don't understand," Penha replies. "They want to know if the writing there is as old as my own work," the dragon explains, his taloned hands moving expressively as he talks, "or of much more recent manufacture." "Oh. Uh... umm... is it far?" "You'll have to hold your breath for a while, but I can take you there if you have to go," volunteers the half-orc reluctantly. "Oh. Thank you, dear." The gnome looks down uncertainly. "The water does look like it will be awfully cold, though..." "I'm afraid I wouldn't know," sighs Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk. Penha looks expectantly to his daughter, hesitating at the edge of the water. She replies with a grimace. "I would really rather you not freeze to death, Da, but if you're the only one here..." At the edge of the water, she spreads her arms to him. "That bad, hmm?" he says in a weak voice, before taking a deep breath and nodding to her. "Ready?" she asks, then gathers the gnome tight to her and leaps into the water, trying to ignore the temperature and focus instead on carrying her father to air as quickly as possible. Sensandela can feel the gnome tense as they submerge, but she has little trouble carrying him through the "wall" and to the other side. Penha shivers slightly as they surface. "Certainly... bracing, isn't it?" he says, smiling through a small shudder. Trembling, his daughter holds him close for a moment, and thinking .oO(Take my warmth and make it yours. I'm bigger than you. I can take it.) "Mm," she responds and sets him down on the dry ground, trying to still her own shivers. ""Keep moving, or you'll get sick." The half-orc wiggles experimentally, then begins to dance, quietly singing a shaky tune in her own little corner as the gnome tries to wring out his sleeves. Cassius doesn't even notice the arrival of the others from where he stands, busy as he is translating the following passage to Lucian: "While the mercy our Lord showed these people was an undeniably generous act, it is unfortunate that he could not undo the cruel efforts of his brother and reshape them into a more pleasing form. Then again, He was young in those days, and the intended design does not appear to have been a significant improvement, prone as the humans are to corruption and treachery. I do not think I could bear to live my life in either form! Agathalos be praised that I am blessed as I am, but is there a way to share my good fortune with-- Only at this moment does he spy the soggy gnome coming his way. A quick glance around allows him to locate Pearl by her movements in the distance, though the darkness conceals her features. He turns to Penha with a smile. "Master Penha, I hope the trip here wasn't too much of a discomfort? I am sorry for having you make the trip, but we have a problem which we need to settle. These lines written here are something of an enigma. Our host does not recall writing them and has no knowledge of this cave. However the texts are in Draconic and they appear to be fashioned in the same way as the other texts in the main complex. "Our dilemma is thus -- are these texts authentic or forgery relatively recently inscribed in the wall? Since we have discerned that there is no magical way available to us to establish the age of the writings we have seek our answer in the stone. I was hoping that you could shed some light on the age of these writings." Lucian, seeing Penha shiver, winces in sympathy. "I promise, we'll be back at the fire in no time," he says. "That would be nice," the gnome agrees, before taking a closer look at the walls.
#54 shatteredtower Jan 19, 2005 8:19:14	Several minutes later, Penha turns away from his examination, scratching his forehead. His eyes seek out the half-orc in the darkness and he smiles softly to see that she's keeping herself amused. Then he turns back to Cassius and Lucian to give his judgment. "The writing style seems identical to the one in the other chambers. It has the same -- oh, excuse me, that wasn't the issue, was it? I'm not really an expert on stonecraft, but I can tell you that this wasn't recent work by any stretch. I couldn't tell you if it was carved centuries ago or only within the last few decades, but it wasn't done within the last few years. I mean, if you look at the decay that's set in on this section here, you'll see..." The technical assessment continues for awhile as the gnome displays several examples to support his conclusion. When he eventually realizes that at least some of his explanation is lost on the others, he try to wrap up quickly. "I-in other words, if it's a forgery, it's a good one that's been around... oh, at least half your lifetime, Mr. Gaia. Probably more. It's even possible that the work is quite a bit older than I am." He gives an embarrassed cough. "Thank you for clearing this up for us, Master Penha," Cassius says. "If we assume that creating such elaborate writings takes a lot of thought and time, that would indeed rule out the possibility of this being a forgery or at least of it being recent work. Which brings us to the next question..." Cassius takes a moment of silence to straighten the thoughts jumbling through his mind then turns to the ghost. "Revered one, I beg your pardon for having to ask this, but could you tell us how long it has been since your demise and if you have any knowledge of the period of time that passed since that event and your return to this cave complex? More accurately, how long you have been away from this complex?" Cassius prepares once again to be on the receiving end of the dragon's ire. With similar expectations, Lucian moves behind Sensendela to study the text, nevertheless trying to be close enough to hear the answer. Instead, the beast simply sighs before replying. "It has been a long time since the days mattered enough to count them. Thousands of them can pass quite unnoticed when there is nothing to do with them. There was... the battle, which was... well, the details escape me right now, but it would certainly have been terrible, considering what it would have taken to kill me! Anyway, after my death, I was simply here. I have no way of knowing if my reappearance was immediate or delayed by years -- I had no frame of reference by which to measure the time then. As for your other question, it too requires a frame of reference. How long has it been since the [dwarven]Year of Deceived Augurs[/dwarven]?" The term means nothing to Cassius, nor to Sensandela, nor to the elfkin she tries to ignore cowering nearby. However, Penha tentatively ventures a comment. "Er... is that measured on the [dwarven]Mountain's Heart[/dwarven] or the [dwarven]Five Hammers[/dwarven] calendar?" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk considers this a moment before answering. "Neither. It's [dwarven]Golden Harvest[/dwarven]." Penha's face falls. "I've don't know that one." "Then it is fortunate that I'm familiar with the [dwarven]Mountain's Heart[/dwarven] system, if not the [dwarven]Five Hammers[/dwarven] you mentioned. By their reckoning, it would have been... oh... let me see now. No, it wasn't the [dwarven]Year of the Silver Waters[/dwarven], though it couldn't have been far from that." "Oh, dear. I don't know if I can recall when that was. I'd need to consult my books. Does the [dwarven]Year of Copper Death[/dwarven] sound familiar?" "No, I've not heard of that one." "[dwarven]The Year of Whispering Tunnels?[/dwarven]?" The dragon simply shakes his head. Penha makes another guess. "[dwarven]The Year of Erdin's Fall[/dwarven]?" "Ah, well, that is one I have heard before. I believe it would have been about two hundred to two hundred fifty years earlier, however." "Goodness. That would mean... you've been dead for nearly thirteen hundred years." "As much as that?" "Yes," the gnome says warily, before turning to the others. "And in case you're wondering, Mr. Gaia, the work here could be as old as that. I'm sorry, but I really don't have the expertise to give you a more accurate figure: Draconic text has remained virtually unchanged from the earliest examples I've seen to the present day."
#55 shatteredtower Jan 19, 2005 8:21:25	Baffled, Cassius lets himself fall with his back against the wall and then slides down to the floor, holding his head in his hands as he tries to wrap his mind around the enormity of it all. A dull headache begins to throb behind his eyes as his mind races through all the possible implications of these last revelations. .oO(Thirteen hundred years and then some before, that old... I never realised. I must be like a child in his eyes. Not so strange that he remembers only half of it -- could have honestly forgotten in such time? It explains his weird behaviour as well, wouldn't it? Wouldn't I go wobbly in the mind after so much time? But why is he here... what keeps him here? Guarding, but what's he hiding? Thought we were in league with the others that came before, looking for something... his secret. Nearly went berserk on that thought... his secret is his treasure.) " ...What is it that keeps a dragon's ghost tied to this world so long after his death?" he mutters. "That's the real puzzle." Cassius turns to the ghost. "I apologize, revered one," he offers, "for earlier questioning your integrity. I realize now that I must be like a child in your eyes and an impetuous one at that." "Hmm?" the creature says to him. "After so many years of restless slumber, waiting for one worthy of the legacy to appear, it is often difficult to remember who the child is and who the parent was. So much has lost meaning. It used to be so exhilarating when I first learned to fly, feeling the air rushing around me as I ascended toward the sun, always so far away. Now it is like floating in cotton, not uncomfortable, but numbing to the senses. "These claws of mine, which could once cut like knives... now they serve no purpose whatsoever." With a short magical phrase, his draconic features fade completely from his dwarven guise. Gone is the muscle and the majesty, leaving a figure barely taller than Penha. "I may as well appear as this. Form, like time, no longer matters the way it once did. All lost..." Penha wears an uncertain expression. He stretches out an arm and stepping toward the ghost, then hesitates. As though he realizes the futility of the gesture, he brings his arm to his side again, folding his hands nervously. Cassius remains seated while he lets the implications of what he has just witnessed sink in. .oO(That was a spell of self alteration if ever I saw one, but that allows only for small changes. There is no way a dragon could use such a spell and make himself look like a dwarf unless... no, dragons have a very high resistance to magic. The chances of polymorphing one are astronomically small, especially against one so old. The dwarf reference in the text... .oO(I think it is all coming together now. The dwarf apprentice, there was something about him lacking talent... Could it be that the he tried to imbue his apprentice with some of his innate magical abilities with part of his essence, so to speak, or even to transform the apprentice to a dragon?) .oO(Something went wrong though. What if he transferred too much of his essence into the dwarf? He might have gone mad and come to think that he is the Revered One, which would explain the cryptic notion about the dwarf's condition. The solution could have been to meld with the dwarf completely, but how to know for sure? Confronting him might solicit a violent reaction. Best to keep him talking.) "You speak of waiting for someone who is worthy of a legacy," Cassius says, "and before you accused us of trying to steal something from you. I presume you refer to the same thing in both instances. Would you care to tell us more? We might be able to help you if you do." Having safely put Pearl between himself and Cassius, Lucian is fairly sure he is safe now. He leans heavily on his cane. (Mother help me, I'm out of my league.)Oo. he thinks. Sensandela briefly wrinkles her nose at him, then returns to her vigil over Penha. A small scowl belies her impatience. .oO(Why are they sitting around on their buttocks talking? Come now, what did we come here to do? Let's finish and be done with it. This dragon's novelty has worn off.) After a short period of hesitation, Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk shrugs sadly and tries to explain. "Magic flows through my veins into every muscle and sinew of my form. It is as much a part of me as these claws--" He holds up a hand to demonstrate before realizing his error. "Or rather my... wings -- well, you know what I mean. The point is that I discovered a means by which to-- but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start again. "As I noted before, I am a being of magic. Such is the power that resides within my form that I can pass my bloodline on even to non-draconic creatures. The creation of progeny by such methods tends to involve a number of complications, however, of both and ethical and physical nature. Fortunately, I have worked out methods by which to pass the legacy on to certain individuals who were not born to it. The techniques involved... well, you've seen them explained in more detail earlier. Suffice it to say that not everyone is suitable for the transformation. The subject must be familiar with several fundamental elements of arcane lore and possess a degree of innate magic in order to effect the process of the change. "If the process of tranformation was to be effected too suddenly, the... the adjustment could prove too much for the subject to endure; the recipient's psyche would likely be permanently damaged. Therefore, the change is now a gradual one that could take months or even years to complete, varying from one recipient to the next. However, if my theories are correct, the beneficiary's bond to the parent dragon is actually closer than it would be if they were related through breeding. The recipient is even likely to develop wings in time, a trait not shared by most half-dragons. "It is not enough to understand magic, Cassius Gaia, or else you would be ideal for this procedure. The magic must be in the blood, rather than in the mind. As for why this is important... for a number of reasons, I have never had any children of my own. When I die, I will -- excuse me, force of habit. Let me try again: I died without an heir. Nevertheless, it is my hope that some worthy soul shall one day find their way here and agree to rectify that misfortune." Lucian lets out a slow whistle. "Sounds dangerous," he says. "If I may ask, how would one perform this transformation?" .oO(This may interest Striker enough to let me to keep my gold.) "Speaking of dangerous," mutters Sensandela, "why are you hiding behind me? Have you no pride?" (And there is his reason for lingering in this world)Oo. Cassius muses. .oO(He tried this procedure at least once, but it must have gone awry.) "I'd guess from the texts here on the walls that this procedure has been attempted at least once before and failed for some reason." .oO(Is he the dragon, the dwarf or both combined? I feel we are getting closer to unravel this mystery. If we keep him talking about this long enough he might let drop his guard long enough to make a mistake that will tell us for certain or make himself realise the truth of what happened.) "F-failed?" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk coughs. "No, it couldn't have... failed. I was... successful, surely? I mean, it was just a matter of following my directions to better understand the power that I had been gifted with. It took me weeks to understand the meaning of that, but afterward, I only had to unlock the potential inside me and focus it to effect the transformation. Some of it is intuitive, but a lot of the ideas require one to understand a number of the fundamentals of magical theory. All of the theory in the world wouldn't help, though, without that innate spark. Cassius Gaia has doubtless trained hard to master his spells, but they are not part of who he is; he must prepare them to use them. "I, on the other hand, am one with my magic -- it can be depleted with constant use, but I need only rest to make use of my potential again. Someone with similar potential should be able to learn the techniques and, following my guidelines, gain a number of the blessings that have been granted to my species. I might have to supervise the process to help with some of the more alien concepts to the non-dragon mind, but it should work just fine for a properly trained and prepared individual." The explanation quiets the half-orc. At its end, the girl raises a hand and asks hopefully, "And... would she grow wings, too?" She does not allow her eyes to stray to Penha.
#56 shatteredtower Jan 19, 2005 8:24:34	The dragon considers Sensandela's question for a moment. "It is possible," he admits. It wouldn't happen right away, but if the transformation is allowed to reach completion, then yes, I am certain that the subject would grow wings." .oO(I think I have things clear now.)Oo. Cassius thinks, feeling close to the truth. .oO(He is the apprentice with his dragon essence unlocked. Somewhere in the vast expanse of time he spent here he lost his sense of self and decided that he was the parent dragon himself. After all, the bond is closer between one created like this than with a blood child. That could mean that the bond goes as far as to share memories. Now to reason all this true once more to see is there is an error in my logic.) .oO(It starts with this cave and the text, which is probably as old or older than the rest of the writing and of which our host has no knowledge. Then there is the fact that his real size could never approximate that of a dragon, as proven by the spell he used to alter his appearance; it just doesn't allow that much deviation in size. Finally, he is using "I" for both the dragon and the apprentice. He told us he hasn't been "a dragon" since birth. Essentially, he effected the change on himself, but that would not have been necessary had he been a dragon by birth and...) "Are you taking volunteers?" Sensandela asks, her question stopping his train of thought as if cut off by an axe, shock and disbelief showing in his face as the essence of her question hits like a hammer. "Are you saying you know someone capable of fulfilling these requirements?" the dragon asks the former, even as a worried gnome declares, "Pearl, you can't mean to attempt this -- it's too dangerous!" Pearl gently corrects her father. "Oh, but I do mean to attempt this. Don't worry, Da -- half-orcs don't break easily." .oO(And if we do, the world will not mourn for me.) Unaware of her thoughts, the gnome smiles with as much assurance as he can muster. The girl steps toward the dragon, her self-confidence for once wavering visibly. "I hope this isn't too audacious of me," she begins, "but I would like to volunteer... myself. I've never been trained to use magic. What I do know, I learned on my own. That... 'innate spark' you talked about." Lapsing into silence, she frowns at her hands. "Maybe that's not enough, though." .oO(Versacethrivesallrightinmen'swork-Agathalosish?) "Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk," says Sensandela, slowly feeling out the name on her tongue, "how will you know when you find someone worthy?" The dragon looks at the girl gravely. "You do have a strong frame," he allows. "You probably don't have as much stamina as a dwarf, but since this is as much a test of spirit as body, it matters less than the ability to draw upon magical energy. You have certainly shown yourself capable in that regard, at least." He pauses to consider the issue a little longer. "The only other thing we shall have to test is your comprehension of the rites involved. We can do that in the morning, however -- you four should probably get some rest and dry yourselves off first." He makes a sweeping gesture of the coin pile as he continues. "You're welcome to take what you can carry, of course, but remember not to overburden yourselves, lest you end up drowning." As if recalling what nearly led to that situation earlier, he has the sense to at least look embarrassed. "Sorry. Let's get you all set up for the night now, unless there are any other pressing details we need to take care of first?" Cassius nods at the dragon's suggestion. "I think we are all long past a due rest as it is. I've seen and heard much today that requires some quiet thought. Besides, I believe all of us should at least take some time to think things through." He shoots a quick glance at Pearl, then launches a last question at the dragon. Almost casually he asks "By the way, revered one, have you ever been polymorphed? Just curiousity; I am wondering if the sensation of the transformation you are describing is comparable to the impact of having your form altered in a split second in any way." "You don't think this is my regular form, do you?" the creature replies with a chuckle. "There is some minor discomfort, such as you might experience from trying to fit into clothing you've outgrown, but it passes quickly enough." Seemingly absentminded, Cassius scoops a few handfuls of coins from one of the piles and drops them in an empty pouch. Then he moves to the water's edge, launching himself in ahead of the others. Lucian waits for the others to depart as well, then removes his shirt and fills it as a sack with coins. Taking it firmly in hand, the thief swims through the pool after Cassius. Shivers quietly once he reaches the other side, he counts the coins before making his way up the ladder. Close to two hours pass before the group finally manage to settle in for the night, doing their best to dry themselves off and get warm again.
#57 shatteredtower Jan 19, 2005 8:26:42	Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk wakes them the next day with a cheery "Good morning, everyone! Dawn will be visible from the solarium in a few minutes, just so you know." Cassius wakes immediately to the cheerful voice, but the ghost has already disappeared. After stretching the stiffness from his limbs, the wizard picks up his spellbook and starts to leave. "I'm heading for the solarium," he declares. "I'd like to see what the day is bringing and it seems like a good place to prepare my spells for today. Anyone coming?" The girl only grimaces and rolls over, mumbling. Penhan nods groggily, and reaches for his backpack. Lucian rolls to his feet and yawns. He stretches widely. "I'll come," he answers. "Just give me a minute." Cassius walks out to the solarium alone and seats himself so that he faces the rising sun. As it climbs the horizon, he quietly offers a prayer to Agathalos before opening his spellbook. .oO(Now what spells might be useful today? I need to identify that wand for one thing.) Lucian staggers towards the solarium as conciousness slowly returns to him. He takes a seat with one side turned away from the morning sun, then fingers around in his pockets for the leather pair of dice. He looks over to Cassius and smiles. "This should be an experience." the elfblooded says, then spents the next few minutes in silence, watching the sunrise as he silently recommits himself to the Mother. Penha stumbles out shortly after the other two, admiring the way the pink morning light warms the cavern. Fishing a jar of peanuts out of his pack, he takes a handful before considerately placing the container between Lucian and Cassius. He then retrieves a loaf of bread, breaking it into four sections. "We ought to check on the animals soon," he reminds them quietly as he passes out the bread. Lucian nibbles, squirrel-like, on the piece of bread. "I hope I have enough food," he says. "I wasn't expecting to be spending the night here. I wasn't expecting a full house." "That shouldn't be a problem," Penha tells him. "We came prepared to stay for several days. I suppose we could cut our trip short a day or two, if it will help you out." Cassius closes his spellbook after preparing his spells and has a few bites to eat. "Pearl is not here?" he asks. Penha shakes his head. "Good," says the wizard. "Not that I want to go behind her back, but I would like to have a word with the two of you regarding the offer she made last night. Master Penha, you probably know her best; do you think that she was serious when she offered to undergo the change? I think there is more danger involved than our host has led us to believe..." Penha appears to consider the question before he gives his answer, speaking in a thoughtful tone. "I believe she was. She can be impulsive, but she is also quite stubborn when she thinks something is important. Despite my best efforts, she isn't always happy with who she is -- but then, she's met a lot of people who aren't happy with who she is over the years. If she thinks there's a chance to be something more... 'impressive' ... I'm pretty sure she'll take it." Lucian slips his dice into his pocket, then states his opinion. "I know where she's coming from there. It's not fair, or right, but if she wants to, I don't see why not." Cassius looks thoughtfully in the direction of the inner cave before sharing his own thoughts. "I was afraid she might be serious. I am not sure that I am happy with that. Not that I begrudge her a chance to be more then a mere mortal, or a release from his eternal vigilance for our host, but..." He releases a sigh. "I guess there is no easy way to put this. I am not sure that our host is exactly who he claims to be. I have no doubt that part of him is the spirit of the revered one but there are to many things that make me wonder if he is 'the complete original.' "For a start, there were was the ward spell on the treasure chest he had no knowledge of, then there is that cave beyond the pool that he didn't know existed. The text written there, which he claims as false, tells of a dwarf apprentice to the dragon. According to the text, the apprentice tried to undergo the change and something went wrong. Also, the text mentioned that it was fortunate that the apprentice hadn't located the treasury up 'til that point in time "Third, the spell he used to alter his appearance is not one that would allow for great changes in body size, so if his true form is a dragon, he could not use the spell to appear as a dwarf. "Also, he commented that the relationship with the 'parent' after the change would be stronger than blood ties so he may be implying that there will be a bond in spirit, perhaps part of the parent spirit that comes to reside in the 'child'. "I am by no means sure of this, but it is my idea that our host could be the spirit of the apprentice with much of the memories of the dragon, perhaps the memories until the time that the change was initiated. That would explain why he didn't know about the cave beyond the pool, or the ward spell on the treasure." Cassius sits back to give his companions the time to think on his theory. "That sounds quite possible," Penha admits hesitantly, "especially in light of all of those details. Whether that's the case, though, or whether our host is either lying or the truth is something we haven't considered, what would you propose we do?" "I don't believe our host is lying, or at least that he believes in what he is telling us. There may of course be a truth that we haven't considered. I also think that we should try to get at the truth, maybe even confront our host with this, although his volatile nature makes that a risky path to take. I'd say we tell Pearl of our suspicions -- the decision is hers ultimately -- and keep a close watch on our host. Maybe he'll give us a few more hints at the truth... "I really don't know, this is way beyond my experience. Mad wizards, undead halflings, and orc armies, that I can deal with but draconic ghosts... My instincts tell me I am on the right track though. Lucian, what say you?" The half-elf lets out his breath and twirls his staff. "What you're saying sort of makes sense, but I know very little about magic or situations that could cause this." He fumbles the cane for a moment, but quickly picks it up and resumes twirling. "Even if he isn't what he says he is, it's his business," he concludes. Cassius nods at Lucian's comment. "I agree that it is his business, that is if he knows that he isn't what he claims to be on a conscious level. It is the other option that has got me fearing for Pearl's safety. Anyway, I feel the decision is to be hers alone in the end. I suggest we put it in front of her so that she may consider the risks. "Who will go and wake her? " "You'd best be leaving that to me, gents," Penha responds, feigning a grimace. "I've several years of experience with this chore." The gnome stands up and starts walking toward the back of the cave. He can't have gone more than ten paces before they hear him remark, speaking in an unnaturally calm tone, "Mr. Gaia, I hope you're prepared for more digging. Our host has sealed the tunnel on us..."
#58 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 0:22:29	Lucian turns to the gnome, and the absolute fury in his eyes causes Penha to step back fearfully as the half-elf gets to his feet. "DAMN IT!" he screams in rage. "I'm going to kill him. Dead. Redead. I don't care. Argh!" He then collapses in a hyperventilating heap. With a grim look on his face, Cassius motions to his prone comrade. "Penha," he asks, "can you take care of Lucian? If you can get him to calm down, he will probably start breathing normally again. We'll need him later on." The gnome nods and rushes over to the water pooled along the north wall, scooping some up in his hands to bring to the quaking half-elf. Lucian takes the water gratefully, sipping greedily. He pauses in his quaking but resumes at a slower pace. Eventually, he calms himself down. "Thank you, Penha." "I'm going outside to see if I can find something to use as a hammer to break down that wall," the mage tells the others, quickly casting a spell. Within moments, his feet leave the floor and he soars out of the cave in search of anything large and heavy enough with which to bash down the wall. (So it comes down to this; It seems I will have to resign myself to violence once again.)Oo. Cassius thinks. .oO(Oh, Rotharac, my master, if ever I was in need of your guidance, now would be the time. I don't want to destroy this spirit, for there is definitely a great capacity for good in him. Curse his obsession, for it is leading him astray.) Back in the cave, Lucian hits his fist on the rock floor. "It wouldn't have been so bad, if he hadn't done it to me before," he says, then adds, "Twice. However, he did." "Yes, well... thankfully your luck held up both of those times," Penha tells him, trying to grin in a reassuring manner, "what with us coming by and you finding a hidden passage through the water the second time. At least this time I know Pearl won't suffocate any time soon. "But she's going to be awfully cross when she wakes up."
#59 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 0:26:51	Meanwhile, the half-orc in question finds her efforts at sleep interupted by a persistent voice. "Excuse me for the interuption, miss," says the dragon apologetically, "but I think you need to wake up right now. I'm not sure how long the others will be, but we really need to get started right away." The girl acknowledges the interruption of her sleep with a grunt, but does not move. "Miss, please! I've heard them plotting to stop us! Now I've done what I can to delay them, but it won't last forever. That wizard is very persistent! Come on, you've got to wake up! Please!" Trying not to cry, the girl pushes herself up out of the remnants of sleep and looks on the dragon with flat eyes. "Whaddya want?" she demands crossly. "I want for there to be a continuation of my line at long last, so that perhaps I can find some rest." The ghost pauses a second, then asks, "And didn't you say you wanted to be able to fly?" Weary Sensandela rubs her eyes. "Yes," she murmurs. "Well... if we don't get started right away, they might stop us from trying and you won't get the chance after all! Come on, please, let's get started on those notes -- we've got a lot to cover and too little time." "Okay." Sensandela staggers after the dragon. "Start here," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk says, directing her to a passage toward the back of the room. "I'll do my best to answer any questions you might have." The half-orc looks up glumly at the words on the wall. (You want me to read this?)Oo. she asks wordlessly. Still groggy, her eyes stagger at first over the text. She picks up speed, though, as the brain behind the eyes wakes. The ideas are not readily comprehended, in part because of the dragon's methods of expressing them, but as she continues, taxing her understanding of arcane techniques, she can begin to discern elements of the pattern. In many places, the principles are as intuitive as the magic she uses, something one can not so much explain as experience. However, one of the most easily comprehended requirements also strikes her as the one that might complicate things the most for them. It calls for her to take a portion of the dragon into herself before conducting the ritual, and ruminates about a number of possibilities by which this could be achieved: everything from ingestion to inhalation to marking the skin with blood or powders made from scale or claw.
#60 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 0:34:33	As Cassius approaches what he hopes to be a promising pile of rubble, he observes that a large section of the rock has been chipped away very heavily and in a rough manner. A closer examination reveals small ledges in places along the wall, worked in such a way as to reveal that there was once a route leading up the cliffside here. He takes in the sight of the ruined staircase, a slight smile on his lips. .oO(It looks like there is another way in, did you leave your backdoor open, you fiend?) Flying up, following the trail of the destroyed steps to see if what lies at the top. .oO(If there is another entrance, our friend is in for a nasty surprise) He finds a narrow crack in the stone, barely wide enough to admit him if he squeezes and ducks his head. Further examination reveals that the stonework here was once a cleverly concealed entrance. .oO(Hello, back door, you've just changed the name of the game :D)Oo. he thinks, the smile spreading openly across his face now as flies back to the others with his report. "Lucian, Penha, I've found another entrance higher up. It is cleverly hidden and almost unapproachable except by a bird -- or a flying mage. If the two of you trust me, I could fly you both up there. Lucian, I'd like to start with you." Cassius grabs the thief under his arms and attempts to fly off. To his frustration, he finds he is unable to lift the load. "CAW CAW CAW!" sharp voiced laughter rings in their ears as Crebain flies down from his perch, landing on Cassius' shoulders. "Looks like you've got to lose some weight or gain some muscle, wizard boy," he taunts. "There IS a reason why birds don't carry bags when they travel, you know." "I think we'll have to do both," Cassius decides. "Lucian, can you take only that which you absolutely need?" The half-elf nods once, savagely. Quickly dropping his club and a case of bolts, he then unslings the crossbow from his shoulders. He finishes by slipping the dagger out of his belt, and one out of each boot, then reconsiders and slides the one Aramil made back into his sleeve. With a sheepish grin, he notes "It's a dangerous place, no?" Cassius makes no reply, merely divesting himself of his own weapons, then his pouches, taking a bit of powdered bull's horn from one before he sets it down. Sprinkling the powder on himself, he quickly chants a few phrases. As the power from the spell surges through him, he looks to the half-elf. "What say you, Lucian, are you ready to fly?" he asks. Lucian tenderly drops several bags of coins to his feet, then slides up his sleeve to pull out his lockpicks. He deposits them on the ground without looking at anybody else. "Ready," he answers. "Crebain, join us, if you will," Cassius tells his familiar. "I need you to scout out the entrance, see where it leads. Master Penha, if you'd be so good as to guard my belongings and stay here by the ledge. I wouldn't want to give our host the opportunity to split us up three ways." Penha nods and wishes them both luck, watching them soar away as quickly as Cassius can manage. Lucian still proves to be quite a burden in spite of their preparations, but the journey is blessedly short. "Crebain, there is the entrance up ahead," Cassius says as he touches down on the ledge. "Please go and see where it leads." Without another word, he then departs to retrieve Penha.
#61 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 0:43:55	Sensandela pauses for a moment, reading again over that pecular requirement. Then scratching her head, she asks, "Um. Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk. It says here that I have to... eat or sniff down parts of you, um. But you're kind of see-through. So how can we do this?" The dragon reads the indicated section over, then over again, mumbling the words this time and scratching his chin in puzzlement. "Oh. Oh, let me think, let me think. This isn't good. Of course, the symbolism of becoming 'of the blood' is essential, but I've no blood to give you, do I? No, let me think, there has to be a way to accomplish this... simply has to be... We can't even go retrieve my body, because it's -- it's too far away. No time, no time... but all it takes is for you to contain even just a portion of my being. There has to be a way to make this work, simply has to be..." .oO(I wonder...) Sensandela leans over and sniffs deeply at the spectre. "Hmm? What are you doing?" he asks, a confused look on his face. As far as the half-orc can tell, he is as lacking of odor as he is of substance. She makes a face. "I thought maybe I could just suck up a little bit of ghost vapor, but I guess not. "So how far's 'far'? Why are you so far away from your body?" she asks, as if the inconvenient distance is all the spectre's fault. "I fought my last battle many miles from here, in an effort to make sure that my enemies would not discover this place. I wish I'd had the foresight to preserve even a few scales or some such in a jar at the time, but it was a detail understandably overlooked in the face of more pressing concerns." He smiles faintly. "It was a good idea, young lady, but I don't think it works that way. My essence isn't like that of mist in the sense that you can stand in fog -- this is my actual body, not a mutable cloud. My form exists mainly outside of this reality now -- I can manifest a visible presence here, but I can't actually touch anything. I simply pass through it if I try. I can't actually pass through bigger objects while I'm like this, not without pulling out of this reality entirely, but I can conceal myself inside an object even in that case. "Does this make the idea any clearer to you? I'm sorry. I admit that I never took the time to fully understand the idea myself while I was alive." Her expression darkens. "You exist only visibly. But you can't pass through bigger objects? Wouldn't that suggest you have physical form to some extent?" She waves her arm through the spectre. "Well, what now? Can you leave this place? I can walk a couple of miles. But Da will worry if I don't tell him where I'm going." The ghost opens his mouth to answer, but Sensandela interrupts him quickly. "Wait, can you conceal yourself in... say, a chunk of cheese?" "It would have to be a very large chunk of cheese!" the dragon says with a toothy grin. "If it was a small piece, though, I could only hide a small portion of myself inside it. When I am this size, that might be as much as a hand, or maybe as little as one of my fingers." "If you hid your finger in a piece of cheese or bread or something, and I ate the bread, would that work--or does it have to be a very corporeal part of you?" "No, that--" Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk begins, then hesitates. He tries again. "Well, when you ate the cheese, you would only be eating the cheese -- you wouldn't actually eat my finger, which I could withdraw just as easily as if you weren't there. Or as if I wasn't there. Either way, really. But as for requiring a corporeal part of me... I'd not considered that before. I don't believe it would, now that you mention it..." "Explain please." "We're working with principles of sympathetic magic here, using appropriate symbols to unlock the power necessary to affect this change. The symbol is the important thing in this case; the connection must be real, by which I mean that you must take my lineage into yourself in some tangible fashion. However, that doesn't so much require that you drink my blood or anything like that, so long as there is a means by which we are able to show areself as joined when the process takes place." "Your lineage? I don't have to drink your blood--thanks--but we have to join or something, nevertheless. I thought you said you didn't think it would require a corporeal part of you! "So what, can I scrape off a bit of the rock in which you've imparted your thoughts and down that with my breakfast? Or can we skip that altogether and show simply that your thoughts and ideas, as written on the wall here, have been processed and consumed by my mind? "What the hell am I saying? I dunno. Would any of that work, or--or explain better! Geez!" the girl splutters. "The use of the ideas is interesting, but if that was all that was required, it probably wouldn't merit mention, since we're already using my ideas here. As for scraping words from the walls and making them into some sort of tea, it's an interesting idea but maybe not so good for you. It might also damage the notes and I hope you'll pardon me for not wanting to vandalize the work, even for such a noble cause." The dragon's next words come out in a hesitant tone. "I can think of another possibility... but... you might not like the idea..."
#62 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 1:44:43	To Lucian's relief, he is not alone on the ledge for long -- Cassius returns quickly, having brought the gnome and much of his own gear, save for the staff. He also brings the satchel the thief had left behind. "Some tools could come in handy, my friend," he tells Lucian as he hands it over. "There is no telling yet what we may encounter in there. You can also take my crossbow, if you like. I couldn't bring yours up with us. Master Penha, take these daggers please. If things get nasty, we might have need for an extra blade." Cassius takes two of the sheathed weapons from his belt and hands them to the gnome, who takes them uneasily. "You look ready to take on an army," Crebain declares insincerely, "not that it'll help us get inside. I found the wasps' nest -- could have tried sneaking past, but why risk it?. Safer to wait for the rest of you. Besides, Lucian here wouldn't have had any place to go if I'd got them all riled up." He cackles quietly. "A wise choice, my feathered friend," Cassius reassures the bird. "It could have been bad, Lucian stuck up here swarmed by a hive of angry wasps... Can you show me where the nest is? Perhaps we can plug the entrance, or better yet, get rid of it. I have a spell prepared that could come in handy in this situation." "Oh yes... please do take care of them," Lucian says, grinning evilly. "Plugging it won't do," the raven tells them, leading the way, with Cassius following as quietly as he can. "Be careful; it's not far from here at all. "Keep your eyes on the ceiling ahead," Crebain warns them as he slips past the door. Looking up, Cassius sees a large clump hanging from the stone. Even in the dim light, he notices signs that several of the insects are moving about. Thus far, they do not appear to be agitated. He is all too aware of how quickly that could change. Humming quietly, he considers his options. .oO(Not too high for a flaming sphere. If only I'd had the time to identify that wand; I think a good glob of acid would do the trick even better. Better get outside first.) He moves back toward the ledge to quietly inform the others of the situation. "The wasps' nest is hanging in the middle of the path. We'll either have to destroy it or get the wasps out and away from us. I see two possible solutions to get rid of the nest and the swarm. First, we could try to use a fire spell to burn the nest and get rid of most of the swarm, but I am pretty sure that the smoke will alert our "host". Second, I could try and identify this wand he gave me to see if I can learn its command word and try it with a glob of acid. If that is indeed the power of this wand. "If no one has a better idea, I'd like to go with my second plan. Unless you think that we need speed over surprise, Penha. She's your daughter." "I don't know, Mr. Gaia," Penha replies, frowning in thought. "Any smoke shouldn't spread that quickly through the rooms, not without at least a breeze to move it around, should it? And whether you use acid or fire, won't you need a lot of it to destroy the nest quickly, before the wasps have time to react? I know I wouldn't care to try fighting them off with a torch, but I trust that your spell is much more impressive than that. "Still, maybe it is better to see what the wand does first, just in case. Pearl shouldn't be in any immediate danger, I don't think -- the ghost has no body, after all, and it ought to take them awhile to figure out those notes." Lucian eyes the wand. "You have my accord there," he says. "I'm interested as well." Cassius nods. "In that case I'll identify the wand's powers first. I have a spell that will protect me from the wasps' attacks. Once I know what the wand does, I'll go in and take out the hive with fire and acid. You three make sure to stay outside until I come and get you. The ledge isn't that big, but if you can cover yourself with cloaks and stay behind the door opening I think the wasps will ignore you if they come out." He removes the wand from his belt and begins the preparations to cast his spell. Once he is ready, he opens his mind and recites a series of mantras to aid with the process of divination. Over the course of the next hour, he deciphers the means needed to use the device. The dragon's information was correct; the magic contained within the baton does hurl acid. Unfortunately, Cassius realizes that it is probably of little use to him for the immediate task ahead, as the effect operates against but a single target per use. Even if there were enough charges to affect every wasp in the hive, it would take far too long to combat them safely in such a manner. "Drat. Exuse me, my friends, it seems this is not going to be much help in getting rid of the wasps. Seems like we'll have to go with my first plan, then."
#63 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 2:02:40	The half-orc's voice has all the expression of a Noh mask. "Fine. Let's hear it," she says. "Well... I can also manifest within another individual, possessing a body to effectively take it as my own for a time..." "I was afraid you'd say that. Well. What do I care? Go ahead, do it. But if you turn out to be evil, if you hurt my father, I will--" Suddenly she lapses into silence. Then quietly, she reaffirms, "I won't know what you do once in possession of my body, even for that short time. "I have to say... Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk, I don't care what you do with me. Once in possession of my body, you can go through with the process like you say, or you could throw us off a bloody cliff for all I care. "But you'll leave my dad alone," says Sensandela, as grim and resolute as stone. The dragon's expression passes from shocked to hurt. "No, no, no! You wrong me greatly to think that I am concerned with having a body of my own again. Were that the case, I'd have taken control of LucianRisk before the rest of you arrived." His shoulders slump wearily. "No, my time is long done," he continues forlornly. "I shall simply begin the process, but you shall complete it on your own, with no compulsion from me. This is a gift. I ask that you will use it wisely, but it will remain your life to live." The girl softens a little, extending a hand. "Sorry. You hear too many scary songs from the big bards, and--It's hard to trust people when you look like this. Did you ever get that? "I bet a lot of people tried to slay you, huh, because you look like you were quite the huge, ferocious dragon back in the day--the kind that made would-be heroes wet their didies, hmm?" she says kindly. "You sure you would rather rest? It seems sad that you... wouldn't be around anymore." He smiles sadly. "It is kind of you to say so, but this existence is not a life. I've waited long enough and would like to move on, perhaps to see once more those who moved on before me, where I may once again be of service to my lord. "But I... do know something of what you mean, about trust and appearances. As a dragon, others have always looked up to me, but before that, I... no, wait. That doesn't make sense, does it? I mean to say that it is easy to be misunderstood when you look different -- when you are different than everyone else. What you're about to do won't change that -- if anything, it will make the gap between you and other people wider. "At the same time, however, it will narrow the gap between you and I. Those who have never taken the time to know you may see you as more of a 'monster,' but I shall know you as family." He looks at her curiously for a moment, then asks, "And you? How do you think you shall see yourself?" ('A monster.' I'm going to be even more a monster. What am I doing?)Oo. the girl thinks before replying. "I don't know how I'll see myself," she answers honestly. "I won't be myself anymore, so how can I say? But..." She brightens. "At least I won't be myself anymore. Get what I'm saying? "C'mon, Vers. Let's get it done and over with before the others come back."
#64 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 2:10:02	Cassius sheds his cloak and hands it to Penha. "Take this to use as a cover. Combined with Lucian's cloak this should be enough to cover the both of you. I am going in now. Once I am through the door, you two stay under those cloaks until I return to tell you it's safe." Penha nods and sets to concealing himself while Cassius takes a small pouch from his belt. Chanting words of magic, he sprinkles himself with a very fine dust. Before the eyes of his companions, the texture of his skin hardens to resemble the rock they stand on. For a split second, the wizard seems to have been petrified, unable to move, but then he reaches into his pouch once again as he steps through the doorway. More arcane words soon filter out to the others as Cassius begins his attack. A cloud of insects cover him before he has time to complete the casting, but he forces himself to finish the incantation, summoning a small sphere of flames, which he then hurtles toward the nest. Though the wasps are unable break his skin, the sensation of having them crawl all over him, looking for a vulnerable point, nearly sends Cassius into a state of panic. Staggering around the room in an effort to get clear of the thickest part of the cloud, he sends the flames careening about wildly, desperately trying to fend as many of them off as he can. Hours seem to pass before Cassius finally has enough room to finally bring himself back under control, but he knows from the fact that he still controls his sphere that it cannot have been even as much as a minute. The horde has by this time dwindled to more manageable numbers by now, and he requires only a little more time to destroy most of the remaining insects and their nest. Unaware of conditions inside, Lucian continues to huddle under his cloak next to Pearl's foster father, trying not to draw too many conclusions from the sounds he hears. (That's going to be a BIG prybar next time Mundavi suggests something like this.)Oo. he decides. Dismissing the sphere, Cassius takes a few moments to regain his composure before he rejoins the others. "Cast off your cloaks, my friends," he tells them. "It is safe, although it was a close call. My spell protected me from their stings, but I was nowhere near prepared for the effect of them swarming all over me. I nearly choked and lost control over my fire spell. I hope I'll never have to deal with something like this again; the sensation of those insects crawling all over me..." The memory of the insects crawling over him and the strain of fighting his own terror momentarily prove too much for Cassius' stomach. He hurries to the edge of the ledge and sends his breakfast down hill like a small waterfall. When the young mage's stomach calms again, the he sits to regain his composure, taking a few sips of water to further settle his belly. He announces that he is ready to proceed soon after and, motioning for the others to follow, he re-enters the cave. The heavy smell of sulphur and scorched wasp nearly makes Cassius ill again, but he manages to keep his stomach under control and heads down the corridor, whispering to his familiar. "Crebain, I want you to fly ahead again. See if you can find the shortest route down to where Pearl is. Be careful and be quiet; we don't want to alert our 'host' just yet." "That makes two of us," the bird reassures him. "There's just one problem with that plan: I can't see in the dark. My eyes are keener than yours, but they're not that good. Unless they've got light with them, I'm not going to be able to see them before they could see me." "If they're still in the area that we camped in, there should be enough light to see by. I don't think Pearl is going to be stumbling around in the dark. You best stay with us, though; we'll need light as well to navigate our way through here. I could give you a sunrod, but that would make it hard to stay undetected." Cassius rummages through his pack and brings out his statue again. Shading it from shining too far ahead with his left hand, he starts to move deeper into the cavern. Lucian follows behind, stopping every so often to check for problems. "You do know that Pearl can see in the dark, yes?" he asks. "And got in all sorts of trouble because of it when she was younger, too," Penha chimes in as they move toward the pantry. "There were nights I'd almost wished she was a little afraid of the dark, but it's just not the same to her." Cassius grows silent for a moment. His next words come in a hushed tone. "I wasn't aware of Pearl's ability to see in the dark; that may complicate manners. Lucian, could you have a look around for another way out? Penha, you stay with me; Crebain, check the upper room if you please. If they're not here, they could have gone to the room behind the pool, but I want to check here first. I'll check for traces of magic. Penha, do you know if Pearl can use magic to make herself invisible?" Not waiting for the others to acknowledge his requests, Cassius cast a spell that allows him to see magical activity. "I don't think that Pearl would be the one to cast that sort of spell on herself anyways," Lucian says. "In general, it's true that she'd prefer to be exceptionally visible," Penha agrees, "and I've never seen her perform such a trick, but sometimes... sometimes she would prefer to be as alone as possible. It's possible, but I'm afraid I don't know for certain what she can accomplish now, Mr. Gaia." Lucian quickly locates the pick over by the water. He slings it over his shoulder, then continues to look around. Activating one of his sunrods, Cassius quietly calls after the half-elf. "Lucian, here, catch," he says, throwing it to him. "Use that to light your way." There is little more to explore here, though the extra light is some comfort to Lucian in his search. Cassius' own efforts don't reveal an impression of magic until he focuses his vision on the hidden entrance, but that was not unexpected. What he's not prepared for is the squawk Crebain makes as smacks straight into that entrance as though it was solid stone. The bird drops to the floor, momentarily stunned.
#65 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 2:25:24	The dragon simply nods, then steps forward, vanishing within the half-orc. The girl blinks once, then slowly says, "I'd forgotten how this feels. Goodness, but it's different to hear myself with this voice and -- oh, yes, excuse me! Sorry about that." Guided by the spirit that fills her, Sensandela speaks the language of dragons, recounting elements of the life of the deceased creature that is to become her parent. Whether they have been embellished or not, she cannot say, but if only half of it is true, it sounds as though the dragon's life was rich and marvellous indeed. "And now it is your turn," she says, blinking once more. "My turn," Sensandela murmurs, studying her hands. "What am I supposed to do?" Finding no answer in the specter's expression, she returns her gaze to her upturned palms. Gloved fingers curl to form fists. "But I don't know what to do." She kicks half-heartedly. Gravel skitters quietly across the stone floor. The silence swallows the sound whole, then bears down on Sensandela's eardrums, heavy and absolute, expectant. She glances over her shoulder. Dragon eyes watch her. Sensandela clears her throat, shattering the stillness long enough to introduce a hesitant hum. Her voice falters at first, so weak is it compared to the overbearing silence, but slowly it grows as she weaves melody to accompany the graceful swathes of her feet. Echoes trail and blur in her wake. The dragon glimpses her face for an instant as the girl whirls past -- her eyes shut but her brows furrowed, her lips releasing song through a grimace -- and then she turns away. Her hair is a long spray of pale gold motion in the air. Sensandela winces as each step jars the sudden ache in her shins, rippling through her spine to the base of her skull. Time slows to a trickle. The ache throbs to the pulse of her song, begins to pound, unrelenting, until her words begin to falter, her feet begin to falter. She stops. Pain stops. The echoes die, smothered by the return of silence. The girl looks to the spectre, eyes pleading. "It hurt," she whispers shakily. Then, bristling, she croaks, "It hurt!" The dragon nods. "Just a little more, I promise," he rumbles. "More? You mean it's supposed to hurt? You know what, I don't want to! I can't! I -- I won't." "Please -- you have to. You can. You will. Besides, you look taller already." Sensandela looks away, shuts her eyes, and trembling breathes deep. After a moment, she bites her lip and gingerly taps her foot on the ground. Then she tries tapping to hesitant fragments of melody. Relieved, she sighs and again resumes her strange music and dance. All too soon, her expression reverts to a grimace. Her flesh burns all over, inflamed with an itch like armies of burrowing mites. Her song becomes a snarl of irritation. She tears off a glove and rakes her fingers beneath her suddenly tight sleeves -- but something gathers beneath her nails. She withdraws her hand, stares, and checks her shins as well. From both arm and leg, tiny scales gleam, caught beneath her fingernails. "Let them grow in," advises the dragon. "They'll set and harden with time." Clutching her fists at her sides, Sensandela continues her song through gritted teeth. As soon as the itch fades, however, the girl cries and her hands fly to her chin. Bone shifts beneath her fingers, two points growing beneath her skin. The pain only mounts through her tears, its agonizing peak announced by another shrill cry as the horns surface. The ritual is complete. No more song. The dragon girl Sensandela cries even after the pain has faded. "It will be all right," Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk assures her. "You'll see. The secret is yours now -- yours to share, once you've found others worthy to share in what we've become." For a moment, the dragon is frozen. Then he whispers, awestruck. "What we've... become..." He quickly resumes his conversation with the girl in more normal tones. "So that's what CassiusGaia was getting at! Sister, would you be so kind as to offer my apologies to the others for the inconvenience I've caused them? I didn't realize... well, it no longer matters. They'll be here very shortly, in any case. I belong with the past now; I leave the future to your care. Thank you..."
#66 shatteredtower Feb 06, 2005 3:32:54	In response to the noise, Lucian runs back and asks, "Everybody all right?" even Cassius rushes over to Crebain, checking the bird to ensure that his injuries are no more serious than first glance would have them. Calling the others to his side, he says, "It appears that our host has sealed Pearl behind another wall. This time he sealed the hidden room with a real wall, conjured up once again in his usual fashion. We'll have to break trough once more. Good thing we have the pick back." "I'd rather someone else made the discovery," mutters the raven. Penha sidesteps the issue of the bird's condition to address another matter. "Won't that be dangerous, trying to use a pick on a ladder? I know that there will be two of us to hold it in place, but trying to keep your balance while chipping through stone sounds awfully risky." "True enough," Lucian concedes, "but unless Cassius has another way to get us back there, it's our only option. I'll do it. My familly name's Risk for a reason. Just make sure you hold that ladder tight." He sets up the ladder with the pick and once all is secure begins picking away. "There aren't that many other options, Master Penha," Cassius explains. "I could rememorize my flying spell and use it as a safeguard to stop me from falling, but I am not sure how much force I could put behind my strokes whilst flying. I would still need to be standing on something solid and even then it is going to be tedious work. Do you have another suggestion?" "No, I'm afraid not," the gnome admits. "Is there some way we could sort of secure Mr. Risk to the ladder, however?" "We could use a length of rope to construct some sort of safety harness I suppose. I'm not that handy with rope and knots but we should be able to manage that." Cassius leans against the ladder as the reverberations of Lucian's work their way down the wooden construct, placing a foot against both bottom ends of the ladder to keep it from shifting. "All right," sighs Penha. "Let's see what we can do here." The efforts to secure the half-elf to his perch prove to be more frustrating than they'd have thought possible, but within several minutes, they're at least certain that he won't fall even if he slips. It is hardly a comfortable arrangement, but Lucian is still able to work around it, working carefully to avoid shaking the ladder out of the grip of the wizard and gnome below. Progress comes as a slow and tedious rate. Lacking the means by which Cassius was able to boost his own strength and a platform to take full advantage of it, Lucian is reduced to chipping away with as much precision as he can manage. ~~~ As Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk fades from sight, Sensandela is certain that it is for the last time. Before she has more than a moment to dwell on that fact, however, she becomes aware of a heavy pounding on the stone, a noise that had barely registered until now. Her dull eyes stare at the wall for some time, her sniffles gradually subsiding. ~~~ After close to an hour, Lucian feels a distinct lack of resistance at the end of his swing. "Almost through, get ready!" He aims the pick higher, trying to broaden the hole. ~~~ When the tip of the pick pierces through the wall, Sensandela wipes her face with her sleeve and glances around. .oO(Can I hide? Would they go away and leave me alone? Da wouldn't stop looking until he found me. How is he going to look at me then?) She blinks away another threat of tears, then pushes herself to her feet. Beneath the hole, she calls, "Da?" "PEARL!" the gnome exclaims with a start, nearly shaking Lucian from the ladder. "Oh, pardon me, I-- PEARL, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" The girl chokes at the sound of his voice. "I'm here, Da. I'm... I'm not hurt or anything," she offers. "Wonderful! We'll almost there, dear, but be please careful! Mr. Risk's using the pick, you see, and he's forced to use it from a rather precarious position, so you may wish to step away from the wall until he's finished digging you out!" "O-Okay." .oO(Mr. Risk? And Mr. Gaia, too. They'll all see me, and when they lay eyes on me...) Sensandela has several long minutes to consider what that signifies before Lucian has finally made a hole large enough for him to crawl through. Holding up the sunrod for a better view, he is surprised at how she almost seems to sparkle in the light.
#67 shatteredtower Mar 26, 2005 13:04:07	Lucian rushes forward, holding the rod ahead of him. "Pearl, are you all right?" he asks. "What's going on?" (Are we too late?)Oo. he wonders. The girl looks away and does not answer. "He didn't hurt you did he?" Lucian asks this time. Only then does he notice the two tiny horns growing from beneath her chin. He pauses and takes a deep breath. "I see..." he murmurs. "How are you feeling?" She bites her lip, mulling over an answer, then looks the half-elf in the eye. "I'm afraid of how Da will react," she finally admits. "From what I've seen, he's only concerned about your wellbeing," Lucian offers. "He loves you and not only for what you look like. He'll understand." "What if I frighten him?" she asks in a small voice. "Maybe -- what do you think? If I disguise myself with a spell -- but it'll wear off too quickly. I could pretend this is the disguise... but you'll have to play along, and, and I don't really want to lie to Da for the rest of my life." She grimaces, then remarks, "So what now? Da'll have a heart attack if I pop out through that hole like this." Lucian pauses to think for a minute. "Please don't lie to him about it," he says, speaking firmly but softly. "Look, I'll give him a heads up before he arrives. Trust me. It'll be fine." He gives her a quick hug, then heads over to the ladder, where he sees Penha looking up at him expectantly. Sensandela stiffens at the unusual gesture, then watches with brows furrowed as he leaves. She begins to fidget, but roots her feet in the ground. "Is she all right?" she hears her father ask, sounding a little bit worried. "She's all right, sir," Lucian assures him. "The dragon went through with the changes but she is still the Pearl we know and love. Her appearance has changed slightly though. She wanted me to let you know, so you wouldn't be alarmed when she came down." Lucian cannot see Penha's expression at this news, for the gnome looks to the ground for a moment. He looks up again and seems both sad and tired as he says, "Very well, thank you. As long as she's not been hurt, I- I'm ready." "Pearl, your father's as ready as he's going to be." Lucian calls over his shoulder, offering what he hopes is a reassuring smile. (Too late...)Oo. Cassius thinks. .oO(I just hope she's all right. She'll have to be watched closely for the first few days. Fortunately, we still have the return trip home for that.) He shakes his head and pats Penha on the back. "Don't worry," he whispers to the gnome, "I am sure she's made of sterner stuff than a dwarf apprentice. She'll come out on top on this one."
#68 shatteredtower Mar 26, 2005 13:28:52	Penha nods somberly. "Yes, you're right, certainly," he says, a trifle numbly. "Excuse me, won't you please?" Slowly, the gnome climbs the ladder. He gives a quick tight smile to Lucian as he reaches the top, then looks past the half-elf to the girl he raised. Penha is unable to supress a gasp at what he sees. "My goodness, Pearl..." he breathes, wide-eyed. "This is... you look... almost regal, dear. It's... it... it didn't hurt, did it?" Sensandela glances up at the lack of disapproval or fear in his voice. After a moment, she carefully offers, in response to his worry, "It itched worse than the time I got the chicken disease." "The chicken-- oh... Goodness, that much? Perhaps I should check for a fever..." He raises the back of his hand out of habit. The girl leans over to touch her forehead to her father's hand, glad to veil her cheeks, pink with embarrassment, behind a curtain of hair. As Cassius reaches the top of the ladder behind them, he stops in amazement at what he sees. "Pearl, you... you look beautiful, all sparkling and pearly," he tells the girl. "I'm glad you're all right." "I'd agree with that," Lucian says with a smile, then climbs down the ladder to give Pearl a minute with Penha. "I think you mean lustrous rather than pearly, Mr. Gaia -- too dark a shade," the gnome gently corrects the wizard, "though I wouldn't hesitate to agree with the rest of your sentiment." "Da, you're... you're not angry or... frightened?" Sensandela asks, doubt hanging heavy in her thoughts. .oO(They're lying to me. They've got to be.)
#69 shatteredtower Mar 26, 2005 13:35:45	Satisfied that Sensandela isn't feverish, Penha steps back and tries to get her to meet his eyes before he speaks again. "Pearl, I tried to raise you to be ready to make you own decisions as an adult, since it was obvious that you were always going to make them anyway. If this is what you want, it... well, it's not what I would have wanted for you, but you're not dead, which is enough of a relief for me now. Give me time to get over that relief and maybe I'll start to worry about what you've done and what it's going to mean. "But you're still my Pearl. Oh, you'll never again be that little girl who always asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up before telling me that she was going to be a princess or powerful sorceress or a pirate queen-- or even a dragon on one occasion." Penha giggles for a moment. "I might consider that last one more prophetic right now if you hadn't also decided you were going to grow up to be a warhorse, elf, statue, and even a clay pot as well. You seemed to like that claw pot idea a lot, as I recall. Maybe it had to do with the fact that you always saw them as places where people kept food and... "No, I'm not mad at you," he says with a sigh, then scowls before adding, "but a certain ghost is due a piece of my mind when he shows up again. "Speaking of ghosts," Cassius says, "where is our host anyway?" "Not... here, anymore," ventures Sensandela. "He won't ever come back," she murmurs sadly. "I hope that means that he is now finally at rest," Cassius offers, "and not that he fused his essence with yours. I truly hope that he is at rest now." Penha nods hesitantly, looking uncertainly between the wizard and the half-orc. "May he know peace, then," he offers sadly, offering a brief silence.
#70 shatteredtower Mar 26, 2005 13:44:56	Turning his mind to other matters, Penha pokes his head out through the phantom wall, calling out to Lucian. "Mr. Risk, if you're in no hurry and heading in the direction of Garic's City, you're welcome to join us on the journey back. I'll record what I can over the next two days and then we'll head back. We'll need to inform Brothers Thistle and Slate of what we found before we leave, but that shouldn't take long." Lucian turns from contemplating the passage to the treasure cavern and performs a quick bow. "Thank you for the offer," he says. "I think I'll take you up on that, if it's all right with everybody else." Lucian uses the better part of the next day to break open the tunnel into the solarium, then spends the remainder retrieving coins through the pool. Cassius divides his time between helping Penha translate, helping Lucian ferry coins to the main cave, and keeping an eye out for any signs of strange behavious from Pearl. During the few moments when the girl is actually awake, she seems very sluggish. Penha checks on her regularly over the course of his work, doing his best to avoid annoying her, but unable to always hide his worry. By the time they've finished, Lucian judges the hoard's size at over fifty thousand coins, nearly all of it copper and silver. It takes several trips to move everything down to the carts, for the entire amount weighs more than any of them individually. With everything packed away, Penha takes one last solemn look in the direction of the cave entrance, then glances toward the girl resting at the rear of the cart before he leads them back toward the hermitage. "We should be very careful while travelling," Lucian cautions, patting his mule fondly. "This much coin is bound to attract some attention. Not the good kind either." Leaning back, he sets his wagon to follow the gnome.
#71 shatteredtower Mar 26, 2005 14:01:45	The group's arrival is met with a gasp when Thistle first sees Sensandela. "A dragon has finally returned," he says, kneeling quickly. Slate doesn't look quite so sure of this, but says nothing as he too kneels before the girl. Soon after, a meal is laid out for the visitors. The hermits have many questions about what the group found and what occurred, most of which Penha attempts to answer as tactfully as possible. Several are addressed toward Sensandela, but Penha deflects most of them during moments when she seems ill-inclined to respond. Eventually he is forced to beg off further explanation, simply directing the pair toward his records while he and his companions retire for the night. Settling in, Cassius brings up the matter of dividing the spoils. "We made a good haul from the lair I'd say, a good amount of coins, a fair share of stones and this..." He pulls out the wand the dragon gave him. "I believe it is only fair to count this with the treasure taken; it is a well crafted wand with plenty of uses left to it. It should get a good price, if we can sell it. Although the dragon gave it to me to use it in the battle with the elemental, it belongs to all of us. Its value is probably greater than a single cut would be, otherwise I'd claim it as my share." Cassius hands the wand to Penha. "Master Penha, if you would take custody of this item and see that it gets sold with the profits divided amongst us. I know myself too well and I am bound to forget to sell this once I get on with my studies again." The gnome gently accepts the device, looking it over. "All right," he says. "I'll see what I can do when we get home. However, we should also discuss the matter of your expenses, Mr. Gaia. You should be reimbursed for the cost of materials required for your spells. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Risk?" "I'm fine with that," Lucian agrees, twirling his walking stick. "It'd only be fair." A certain nervousness in his eyes suggests that he is still unused to being near so much coin. Next to him, Sensandela only nods mutely. In response to this consensus, Cassius smiles at the gnome. "Thank you for bringing up the subject, Master Penha," he says. "I'm always a little uncomfortable when it comes to this. Working magic can be a costly endeavour indeed and I estimate that I spent about three hundred gold on components. Then there is the tattoo I used in freeing Lucian -- it was rewarding to see it worked, but they are not cheap to create either. Say another three hundred gold for a total of six hundred fifty. I propose to make that an even split as well so I'll take one quarter of those costs on myself.... "I guess I'll have to learn to stand up for myself in this respect." Penha nods and, with this matter settled, three of the four are quickly asleep. Only the half-orc finds rest difficult, filled with half-remembered dreams of fire and falling. In the morning, she looks as tired as ever, though Penha lets her sleep through breakfast, making arrangements to save a few items for her to eat later on the wagon. With the end of breakfast and the wagons prepared once more, they bid farewell to Thistle and Slate. In return, the pair offer them a respectful, perhaps even reverent, farewell of their own.
#72 shatteredtower Mar 27, 2005 22:46:16	At the end of the day, Penha's group sets up camp between the two wagons, in hopes that they'll offer some shelter from the night's chill. The gnome builds a modest fire, then serves a simple meal. He retires early, bidding them all a good night once the evening's fire picket is arranged. The night is peaceful until the early hours before dawn, when Cassius overhears a s****ing sound from somewhere in the dark. Moving quickly around the fire, he quietly wakes the others, alerting them to the possible danger. This done, he attempts to take cover behind one of the carts, loading his crossbow. Lucian silently rolls to his feet, shaking the sleep out of his eyes. .oO(What's up...... Oh no! The coins!) Suddenly wishing he had worn his armour to sleep, he nevertheless draws a dagger, then moves toward the cart carrying the most coins. Sensandela, on the other hand, looks for Penha, worry creasing her brow. .oO(Da, where are you??) She spies him huddled next to the outer side of a cartwheel, offering him as much cover as possible from whatever is out there as he pulls a sling from his belt. Barely awake and preoccupied as she is with his safety, she hardly registers the dull ache in her jaw. Cassius takes a peek around the edges of the cart, trying to spot the origin of the sound he heard. Off to his left, he hears a faint, dull clink, suggestive of something metal being moved about. However, the darkness doesn't give him any idea of exactly what it is. Lucian rises just enough to check the contents of the wagon, finding them apparently untouched. A sudden whistling sound cuts his relief short, however; only quick reflexes prevent the arrows that graze his neck and shoulder from killing him. Looking up, he spots two figures, their shaggy grey heads much like those of dogs, each prepararing for a second shot.
#73 shatteredtower Mar 27, 2005 22:53:38	"Mother's Dice!" Lucian yells. "Get behind cover! Gnolls! What the... oh no!" The last comes as another creature, more canine than the gnolls, rushes out of the darkness to knock him flat. He winces as it savagely tears into him. Penha tries to help, ineffectually flinging stones at it. Before Cassius can turn to assist, another doglike creature bolts toward him from his right. Dropping his crossbow, he raises his right hand, fingers outstretched towards the creature. With a few arcane words, he sends four near invisible bolts of energy sizzling toward the animal. It whines and yelps from the force of each impact, then turns to flee. "Get this thing of of me!" Lucian yells out, only to manage the task himself with a wild kick. Scrambling to his feet, he thrusts toward the dog's eyes with a raw, uncontrolled scream of anger. Another arrow strike the cart nearby and he sees the gnolls lope forward, a series of low whines passing unnervingly between them. A grim certainty tells him that he won't last long here; any hope of victory depends on ending this quickly. Her father safe for the moment, Sensandela begins to sing. Still sluggish with sleep, she struggles to sequence words in song, settling on the first tune that comes to mind. Through high, soaring notes, she shatters the air as she runs toward Lucian and the wild dog: "Stab, stab, stab the dog, Right between the eyes, Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, To the doghouse in the sky!" Feeling the flow of the music, Lucian relaxes, his motions becoming more fluid and precise. He growls back at the dog, then steps back to power a lunge. The beast leaps at him at the same moment, however, nearly sending them both tumbling. He stumbles backward, intent on withdrawing from the gnolls' line of fire. Another arrow knicks Cassius across the back of his hand as two figures move toward him from the left. He dodges quickly as a third suddenly steps into the light to his right, its axe barely avoided. The young mage takes only a moment to draw the energy for his next move. Heedless of the danger, he step forwards under his attacker's next swing and lets out a deafening roar. The gnoll drops, bleeding heavily from the ears and snout. Further away, another of the creatures utters a nigh inaudible whimper before it too collapses. The third vanishes into the dark, running madly, if Cassius' ears do not deceive him.
#74 shatteredtower Mar 27, 2005 22:59:27	The moments following the roar seem almost devoid of sound. Cassius backs off towards the others, creating a protective armor spell around himself as he draws his rapier. Standing back to back with Lucian, he takes a second to survey the situation. "Four attackers on my side, two down for the moment, two on the run. What's the story on your side? PENHA, PEARL, TAKE CARE OF THOSE TWO WOUNDED CRITTERS! SHOW NO MERCY" With Cassius come to Lucian's aid, Sensandela whirls, throwing her dagger at the nearest animal. Words have fled from her mind for the moment; her song continues only as a sharp, angry siren. Her grip on the hilt feels strange, but there is little time to reflect on this before the blade sinks into the beast's haunch. It surrenders a yelp of pain, but does not abandon the attack. A loud thump to his right causes Lucian to glance toward the cause. Hair rises along the back of his neck at what he sees, for one of the gnolls has leapt onto the cart, catching Cassius across the shoulder with the blade of its axe. Lucian involuntarily recoils from the threat, only to leave himself open to the beast before him. Jaws tear into his leg once more and he feels himself cough, before emitting a yowl of pain, making his voice go raw. "All right," he says, "that's quite enough of that." Dodging as the animal lunges for him once more, his next strike manages to slice across several ribs. It is regrettably not enough to slay the beast, however, nor even to discourage it. Frustrated with their results thus far, Sensandela's singing might now be called melodic snarling. Drawing her sickle with her right hand, she leaps, cutting the doglike beast deeply just behind the neck. It drops heavily, lacking even time to whimper. Lucian nods to her, thankful for the assist. Behind him, Cassius watches the other gnoll almost saunter around the wagon in front of him, growling low in its throat. Doing his best to hold both of them back, he suddenly drops his rapier at a critical moment to go for a small glass rod and some wool. (Thalos give me time...)Oo. he prays, focusing on the farthest gnoll as he chants the words of magic again. The gnoll's body virtually explodes, unable to contain the white hot lightning sent coursing through into it. The other gnoll is so startled that it nearly falls from the cart. Penha hurls another stone at it, but aims too high. Spinning his dagger around to grab its blade, Lucian flings it toward the last brute, embedding it deep in the shoulder. (Next time I'm in the city I'm getting a bigger sword.)Oo. he thinks as he scrambles toward his bedding, retrieving his walking stick. Sensandela moves in next, her sickle slashing across the gnolls' shin. Struggling to keep its balance, its riposte only bites into her shoulder, rather than her neck. Cassius races through options in his mind. .oO(No good using a fire spell; I may set the cart on fire. Perhaps I can bluff him off.) He points another glass rod at the gnoll and begins to intone words in imitation of his last spell. .oO(I hope this stupid beast saw what happened to his buddy when I did this.) With widening eys and a fearful yelp, the gnoll scrambles to take cover. Chuckling, Lucian winds back and hurls his club. "Take this!" he shouts, catching the gnoll in the throat. It drops from its perch with a thud. "I'll finish you!" yells the girl, dashing around the cart with her sickle ready. Striking surely, she puts an end to it.
#75 shatteredtower Mar 27, 2005 23:07:15	Cassius recovers his crossbow, looking about for the two runaways. While the night conceals their whereabouts from him, Penha hurls another stone into the darkness. The gnome looks rather disappointed at the result. "Too far now," he mutters. "How are you guys holding up?" Cassius asks the others. "If I'm not mistaken, I've still got one potion in my pack that could ease some of your injuries." Lucian shakes his head. "Don't worry about it," he replies, retrieving and loading his own crossbow. Sensandela turns her head away from the carcass and wrenches back her sickle to wipe on a clean clump of grass. "I'm fine, thank you," she says with a weary sigh, "but Lucian... Lucian looked like he took a beating. Sure you'll be okay?" .oO(Oh, I'm probably covered with the stuff... I need another bath. And even then, I know I'll still think of the spots where blood touched me.) She stills a shudder and hurriedly fetches back her dagger from another carcass. "I can take care of it in just a minute," Lucian replies. "There's just something else I need to take care of first." "Do you think there will be more of them?" Penha asks. "I hope not," mutters the girl, wiping clean the dagger. More gently, she asks, "Da, are you okay?" "I wasn't even so much as scratched," he reassures her. "I think we're going to need to get moving again soon, though, just in case there are more of them." "There are at least two more of them out there," Cassius observes. Although we scared them off, I'm not so sure they won't try again, perhaps with some more friends. I say we hitch up the wagons and get moving right away." .oO(I haven't prepared all my spells yet. I think it'd be wise to re-memorize that lightning spell while we are on the move.) "What do you think, Lucian?" "I think..." Lucian says, then pauses to take aim and fire off a bolt. He sighs as it lands far short of his target. "I think I'm in favour of getting out of here right now, just in case. Let's search the bodies first, though. Maybe we'll find out more about them, but at least we might get something for our trouble. I'd rather not leave it for other gnolls." "When you put it that way," Penha says hesitantly, "maybe it's best, distasteful as it sounds. I won't tell any of you what to do with your shares of any salvage, but mine's going to the temples." "I'm sure they'll appreciate that," Lucian says, offering a short healing prayer over his injuries. "My share of whatever these gnolls hold will go towards my studies," Cassius replies. "Tonight's effort proved one thing: I need some magic that can hurt more than one creature at the same time. I heard talk about a spell that invokes a exploding ball of flames. That just might be worth looking into." He sets to work beside Lucian, searching the bodies and piling their findings near the fire. Once this is done, they prepare the wagons for departure and set out, taking turns at getting a fitful sleep in the back of the carts.
#76 shatteredtower Mar 27, 2005 23:20:01	Penha keeps them riding until he thinks the animals can't go any further, then calls a halt for the evening, for which they are all grateful. Tired as he is, Lucian still takes several minutes to scout the area, looking for signs of pursuit or other danger. Finding none, he slumps beside a wheel to get some more rest. After he's finished heating a simple meal, Penha delicately clears his throat to broach an awkward subject. "Do you feel any different today, Pearl? You certainly look... stronger." The girl glances down at herself, then at her father. Brows furrowed in thought, she flexes her clawed fingers. "I ached a little yesterday. Were they growing pains? Da, am I taller?" "Perhaps a little," he answers after examining the question for a few moments. "I've had a hard time judging it since years back, when you'd reached almost half again my height. But your hands and your wrists look thicker than I recall. Your jawline seems stronger too. She frowns. "Well, I guess whaddya expect, becoming half dragon? You're not gonna suddenly turn pretty. No offense, Vers," she says, looking skyward. "Maybe not pretty, but that never lasts anyway. I think beauty is more enduring, in the same way that dragons are." "Da, have you ever seen a beautiful dragon?" An earnest question, but quickly forgotten as she launches into the next. "Thistle and Slate think I can replace Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk?" Again, Penha lapses into serious thought before speaking. "I've never met a dragon before Versveshthraevaerighentbensvelk-Agathalosisk," he admits, "and he wasn't quite what I expected. But he still had some of that presence I've read about. Some of it's physical, which is harder to project without a body -- especially since we're not even sure what he really looks like, considering how many times he changed appearances -- but there was still some of that majesty that dragons are supposed to possess. He might have made a better impression if he didn't seem so confused -- and confusing! -- half the time." "I kind of liked him," sighs Sensandela. "Confused as he may have seemed, he seemed to know what was going on. I could use some of that certainty right now. Like... how often is my body going to undergo these growth spurts? I look and feel so weird! And what am I supposed to do? What do Thistle and Slate think I am?" "They seemed to feel that you fulfilled a promise, that a dragon would return. As for the rest... I really don't know. I don't know if you're supposed to do anything, however. If you weren't given instructions, what happens next appears to have been all left up to you." Penha pauses once more, scratching his chin before he resumes. "Perhaps the Hightower can provide answers about your transformation, though. Maybe we should ask there." "It's all up to me from here? Um. Wow. I guess that's supposed to relieve some pressure, but actually that's kind of stressful. They expect me to make something of myself! Not that you never expected the same outta me, Da, but it's a little different, you know? when someone who doesn't love you unconditionally expects something of you." She scowls. "I ran into a jerkface at the Hightower, Da," she complains. "There are... uh... 'jerkfaces' everywhere in the world, dear," Penha says, attempting to sooth the girl's irritation. "We can always ask Mr. Gaia to look for us, though. He is probably more experienced at handling such... jerkfaces. "Now as for expectations, well, you're an adult. I have a hard time accepting that sometimes, but that's because it took me longer to grow up. You never had the same luxury I did, though I've done what I can to provide that, but the years pass more quickly for orcs and humans. It -- excuse me, lost my train of thought for a moment there. What I mean to say is that, as an adult, it's your expectations you've got to live up to now. It may be the only way to measure up to anyone else's too. I'm not sure what Brothers Thistle and Slate expected, but since they didn't tell you either, I think they're waiting to see what you might do next." He chuckles. "For all I know, they're wondering what you'll be expecting of them." "I have to give directions? I'm bossy and demanding, Da, but I don't know how to command. I don't know anything. I'm still growing up, I still don't know anything. I know I demanded many people to consider me more grown-up, but I'm still just a kid. How old am I? Sixteen. Seventeen. Around theres," she muses. "As long as they can wait until I grow up a little more," she sighs at last. "All right. They didn't seem like they were in any hurry to see things happen, though. They didn't ask us for anything, not even to ask when or if we were coming back. Considering how long they've been out here, I don't think a few more years will matter that much to them." "Okay. Then... then that should be all fine and dandy. Why do they continue to live there if, according to them, the promise has been fulfilled... and stuff?" "We'd probably have to ask them to know for sure. I think, however, that they may just have gotten used to waiting and watching. As an observer myself, I can appreciate the need for that." They continue to talk late into the night, changing subjects several times before sleep overtakes them. Little noises in the night jar everyone out of their sleep, but there is no repeat of the previous night's ambush. Come the next dawn, they make their way home.