Chapter 8 : Whenever, Wherever

[BigRedRod]

71 days remain...

Wet

...

Cold

...

Dark

...

The blackness fades and is replaced by a horde of unwanted sensations. After a few moments of struggling against the will to sleep, eyes are opened and peer into the pale dawn outside.

A beach, a cold, miserable, beach. The salty ocean gently impacts a few feet away, and a little bit more salty water and sand is deposited inside Collin's armour. The entire team stirs within a few moments.

Varidiir, the Azer, furthest up the sandy beach, as he moves to a sitting position he swats at a dry piece of driftwood which has caught fire. The small piece of wood crackles and spits for amoment before striking the wet sand and being extinguished.

Lynores stirs from his small impression in the sand, gazing across at Torin who lies a few feet away.

Grakus flies around in small circles above his master. As the drow awakens, the familiar drops to stand on the sand and watch.

Coughing and spluttering to awakefulness is Collin, nearest the rolling ocean and the party member clad in the heaviest armour.

Quite why or how the team have ended up on a beach is bewildering, but wherever they are, so is all of their equipment. It doesn't seem that the team were washed ashore. The beach is littered with the belongings of the quintet, backpacks have spilt open, boots have moved several feet seemingly of their own accord and suchlike.

The dawn-light (although with the crackling fire produced by the flaming monk) aren't enough for anything to be seen beyond the watery expanse. The bearch curves back on itself in both directions, and up the shallow sandy slope all that can be seen are trees.

[Gnarsh]

Lynores struggles to his feet, stumbling as he turns to inspect their surroundings. "What in the Abyss just happened? Where are we?" He asks no one in particular, walking about the beach and picking up whatever belongings appear to be his.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

The wet priest slogs his way up the beach. With water pouring out of his armor, his burden becomes lighter, but without the enchantment of his air walking spell, he's become earth-bound. Once safely out of the breaking waves, Collin slumps face first into the dry sand. He blows a sand bubble from the corner of his mouth.

Resting in that position for a minute, he rolls over on his back and says, "Ugh, what the hell was that? Did I get the fiend? Half our mission is complete, right? We killed Batman and got the book..."

Upon mentioning the book, all traces of fatige vanish. He sits up and grabs his bag of holding. Opening it up, he reaches inside and grabs the book. Pulling it out, he clutches the hefty tome to his chest and sighs. Dropping back on his side, he gets some rest while gripping the book tightly.

"The answers can wait..."

[Gnarsh]

"We killed him? How can you be so sure? For all we know, it was his magic that sent us here, and he's back at his little cave plotting ways to get that book back as we speak."

[Seraphine]

Torin looks around and realizes that he hasn't seen Oscar yet. He frantically looks through his pack and the rest of his belongings to no avail. His fears are quelled however when he notices Oscar scurrying in the local foliage seeming to chase something.

"So we get thrown across the world again. Perhaps our higher ups were watching our progress and had plans that we were not told of. We nabbed the book, the mountain falls, and we are teleported again; seems a bit of a coincidence. But I'm just thinking aloud."

Torin looks up to the sky hoping he could tell what how much time has gotten passed since they've entered the cave. Hopefully when night falls he can see if they're still under the same stars.

[BigRedRod]

Gazing upwards at the sky the stars begin to fade out of view before Torin has a chance to work out anything useful from their arrangement. Dawn creeps across the landscape from the horizon obscured by the trees.

Watching the dawn slowly arrive it becomes ever more apparent that the team isn't near Kholtan anymore. The tall leafy trees are more than a shade exotic and not very much like the trees typically encountered on Ku'Zul. The rythmic sound of the ocean washing on the shore is disturbed by increasing amounts of birdsong, the sounds merge and contrast to form a general annoying background noise as occurs at dawn with any area teeming with birdlife

[Gralhruk]

Tolven rolls over, grimacing at the gritty sand in his hair and which seems to have worked it's way into his clothing. Grakus settles down and the drow squats on his haunches, stroking the tiny ridges along his snout. He listens to the others with half an ear, for the moment appreciating the sounds of birds far more than the rapidly waxing sunlight. Shaking his hair out and wiping the worst of the sand from his body, he begins gingerly piecing together his belongings.

"He might teleport us to save the book but in that case, he need only have sent Collin. No, I do not believe Unknown had a hand in our departure, though I wouldn't be surprised if we hadn't seen the last of him. That spell he had around him was unfamiliar to me. It seems logical he gleaned it from the tome, and if that is true, I suspect it was probably quite powerful."

[Gnarsh]

"Well, right now I think we have bigger problems than possibly seeing batboy again in the future. Collin! Can you divine our location? We'll also need a message sent back to base as quickly as possible."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sitting in the sand, Collin ignores his teammates as he fondles the book he claimed from Unknown. Running his fingers all over it, he caresses the spine and cover, tracing out patterns and images. Flipping the tome over, he coninutes to play with it until he turns it around and finally cracks it open.

After flipping through the first few pages, his attention is brought back to the present when asked about their location and whether he can send word back to headquarters. Looking up at the sky and then to Varidiir, he shakes his head negatively. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it, not right now. But I will as soon as I am able. Just leave me to the book, for it may contain some answers." He then returns to his studies.

[BigRedRod]

It doesn't take long for Collin to learn all he can from the book. It's empty. Each and every page is an aged blank sheet. No words appear in the book. No diagrams. No ink. Nothing except marks of age, a torn page here, a drip of wax there. But nothing when it comes to actual content

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Flipping one page at a time, Collin speeds up his page turning. Pretty soon he's tearing through the book as if turning the pages faster will bring back its contents. When he gets to the end, he slams the tome shut and with a mighty anguished scream, throws it to his left down the beach and into the sand.

"That flying rat bastard! There's nothing in there!" The priest has come unglued as he rattles off a string of vile curses at Unknown. "Flying rodent, may he choke on his own bat turds. That second rate sorcerer using parlor tricks, smoke and mirrors and flsh powder. He'd use a rabbit, but he's probably afraid it'll become demonic and eat guano filled ass."

Figuring it's time to pray, Collin sits on his knees to pray to the rising sun.

(OOC - New spell list coming soon.)

[Gralhruk]

"So much for the virtue of patience."

Tolven watches the book tumble twice before it comes to rest, empty pages open and flipping idly in the breeze. He muses briefly on the possibilities before ambling after it and retrieving the tome. He turns a few empty pages himself, a slight grin on his ebony face.

The Big Book of Batman's Sorcery. Everything Unknown learned about Spellcraft. A Fiend's Theories on the Magical Art.

Amused at his imaginary titles, he nevertheless still thinks there might be something to learn from the book. If nothing else, he could use it as a backup spellbook. Stowing it with his other gear he watches Collin assume the position.

"This could take awhile. In the meantime, does anyone have sufficient woodcraft to identify the foliage? It might give us some clue as to our current location."

[Gnarsh]

"...I'll take that as a 'Yes, Lynores, I'll get to work on finding where we are just as soon as I can.'" Lynores says to the priest, picking up some rocks and pitching them into the sea.

[Seraphine]

"I'll take a look, but I'll make no guarantees. This area is pretty unfamiliar territory." Torin takes a look at the area's plant life and fauna. From what he can make out, they're a long way from home at best. "Looks like we've along way to walk..."

Torin begins to gaver some wood and any seemingly edible berries or fruits. He leaves his rations where he lays the wood in case anyone's hungry. While walking around he also looks for a fresh water source, having one could prove a necessity.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Following a good half hour of praying, the group's priest gets up from his meditations. Better rested and focused, Collin shakes his head at the question about where they are. "I've as much a clue as you do. But there is one thing I can do that you cannot, communicate our status to headquarters. The only thing is, what do we say? I think he's becoming tired of hearing us say he got away."

Rubbing the new growth of facial hair, Collin closes his eyes for a moment and suggests a new course of action. "I think I can divine where Unknown is, or at the very least, his general direction in relation to where we are. Not knowing his real name may prove to be problematic though."

[BigRedRod]

Returning as Collin finishes his daily prayers, Torin has located several items which he believes to be edible. A number of fist sized, smooth-skinned green fruits, which were growing on a squat bush, several large and exotic roots and a number of large hard hairy brown nuts. No source of fresh-water seemed forthcoming in the immediate area, however the aforementioned nuts contain a thin sweet liquid which seems a safer bet them seawater.

The day has throughly taken hold of the beach now, the sky is mostly blue and the birdsong has faded to a less irritating level. With the new day comes the challenge of finding exactly what happened, where this beach is and what to do next...

[Gnarsh]

"Just say we retrieved the book, we are unsure of Unknown's fate, and would appreciate it if they could send someone to find us and teleport us home," The tiefling says to Collin as he catches one of the nuts that Torin throws to him, using one of his horns to put a hole in it to drink the liquid inside. "Not bad. Doesn't taste like poison, at any rate."

[Seraphine]

Torin lays the out the findings on his blanket to keep them relativly clean of grit. "I'm sure they'd be glad to hear we have the book, but I'm also sure they wouldn't be very happy to hear that the pages are blank. Be it a magical concealment or not, I'm sure HQ is going to have a fit if our report is that our location is unknown, the Bat's location is unknown, and the book is possible a fake. Can anyone tell if those pages have any magical properties to them?"

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"The message I'll send will be something like; 'Unknown fled, we're in the tropics with a blank book, await further instructions'. Sound good to you?" The priest asks for confirmation.

As he waits, he's busy watching the group's new lieutenant. He watches as Torin fiddles with the native food and gets a little chuckle when asked if anyone can determine if the pages have any magical properties to them. "You were our magic expert that was assigned to us. Why don't you know? Why can't you perform something useful?" Getting a little angry, Collin snaps at their so-called superior officer, "Come to think of it, I don't think I saw you do anything useful while I was engaged with Batman. Was that because you were in the very back? Maybe hiding from the fiend's magics? You were toted to be our spearhead, a mage-killer and hunter, but there was nothing coming from you."

Collin sits back and says to his long-time teammates, "Let our fearless leader eat his nuts and berries. I'll provide us with some real food, water too."

(OOC - If needed, Collin can cast Create Food and Water, or just Create Water. His own provisions were stored in his bag of holding, so they should still be okay for consumption.)

[Gnarsh]

"Yes, that message should be fine."

[Gralhruk]

Reclined on the beach, paging through his own spellbook, Tolven leans on one elbow at the priest's report. As Collin's voice rises, so does one white eyebrow. Now might be a good time for the dark elf to speak up and dispel the tension. Of course, now might be an equally good time to wait and see how Torin reacts.

The drow absently turns another page as Grakus stretches his wings toward the sun.

[Seraphine]

Torin smiles, not taking any offense, or just not showing any. "Though the light must shine on every dogs rear, sometimes the shadows must fall even more dark. Though it seems my abilities were a bit exagerated along the way through the grapevine. I hunt magic users and thier minions, usually such simple magics such as those tenticles would not have hindered me so. I have to admit I've had a few other things on my mind lately. As for the tome before us, of course I can try to divine such information, however a book of this calibur is likely also to have had a spell placed on it to cover any magical signitures. I was hoping that someone else with more magical training than I had a better idea then simply tossing a low level spell at it."

Regardless of what he just spoke Torin still casts detect magic to check the book.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Torin's response is quite puzzling to the priest, "Low level spell? What the hell are you talking about?" Waiving his hands in the air, Collin gestures defeat in that he doesn't care. "Fine whatever, don't need to know. Probably left over from your previous assigment. So, they put you with us and you were distracted. Next time you can focus better and we can nail our objective. I'm sure we'll cross his path again."

The priest collects all the waterskins in the group before creating food and water for everyone. With sustanance provided, he sits back down in the sand and calls out to Sacorn, informing him about their progress, or lack thereof. He also requests further instructions. "Unknown disappeared, we're in the tropics with a blank possibly fake book, await further instructions."

[BigRedRod]

Torin regards the book aided by the magical insight of detect magic, first reactions reveal the book does have an aura, although Torin fails to gather any useful information about the nature of the aura. Rather than seperating into the distinctive magical schools and strengths, the aura remains muddy and thick.

Sat on the wet sand, the priest sends the message. The thought flows across the ethereal breeze and Collin watches the horizon as he awaits the angry reply of Sacorn. The seconds turn to minutes and it gradually becomes clear that there is no reply to the message

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Following several minutes of "prayer," Collin opens his eyes and looks around. Stretching, he stands and brushes the sand off his legs. "Well, we're to continue with out mission. We seem to be too far in advance of obtaining any resources, so we're on our own."

Taking some food, the priest eats breakfast and washes it down with some water. "Let's pack it up and find our way out of here. With any luck, Unknown is somewhere close by. Let's hope our mage-hunter can pick up the trail, if there's one to be found."

[Cadrius]

Varidiir ignores the bickering of the priest and the mage hunter, preferring to sit in quiet contemplation upon the beach. It's a rare opportunity for the azer. Too often being a member of the special forces has them constantly on the move, hopping from one location to the next. Truth be told, he could use a holiday and this place might just be it.

For a creature of fire, he shouldn't be so fascinated by the water and yet, there's something beautiful about it. The roll of the waves and the flow of the tide reminds him in a way of flames. Moving down the shore, he sticks his toe in the shallow water, watching it bubble and steam. He smiles.

Yet once Collin mentions food and water, his stomach suddenly reminds him of how empty it is. He pats it gently and walks back to the others.

"I could go for some of that."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sated from eating his meal, Collin has an idea, but lacking the proper materials, he's unable to act upon it. "Torin, I know it's rather warm out here, but do you think you can find me some mushrooms? I'll also need some saffron and animal fat. If you can locate these things, I think I can pierce the magical wards on the book."

[Seraphine]

Torin tilts his head in a moment’s contemplation. "Is there a specific type of mushroom that you require? The rest I'll give the area a once over to see what I can find."

After getting the info from the priest, he removes all but his leather armor, long sword, bow and pants from his person and head off in search of the ingredients requested of him. Along the way he takes time to contemplate back to when he was under the constant threat of blade and treachery, and hopes that he can relax a bit more at least now that he's away from the fight.

[BigRedRod]

After an hour or so of searching, Torin has found a handful of violet crocus flowers and a good collection of mushrooms. Searching for the saffron yielding plants the mage-hunter emerges from what from must be the other side of the tropical wodland.

Hiding in the shadows he peers to the land beyond. To his left he sees hills, mountains and yet more trees, to his right he sees the coast once again with one unexpected feature. What appears to be a large wooden enclosure sits some distance away, obscured from the rest of his party by the trees he just passed through.

From this distance detail's are hard to make out. No beach as such exists near the enclosure, the land meeting the sea in a rather more sudden manner. Extending out from some point on the enclosure is a long dock, although no boats seem to be resting or sailing at any point in the open ocean Torin can see. The enclosure itself with it's tall wooden walls prevents any view to what could be contained within.

[Seraphine]

For a while Torin ponders if he should go check out the new scenery himself, but he decides it'd be better to let the rest of the group know first and at least return with the new ingrediants. He takes one last look back to take in what he can and heads back toward the beach campsite.

Just then he realizes he forgot safron due to his discovery. He quickly takes another look around before heading back to report the news.

[BigRedRod]

After a slow walk through the tropical wood, Torin arrives back at the beach. His meager collection might be enough to fuel Collin's spell, a wide selection of mushrooms, an animal carcass(it looked something like a rabbit but with shorter ears) and a handful of purple flowers (Which yield a pitiful amount of the rare spice).

The day appears to be shaping up nicely, the few white clouds in the sky drift about concerned only with their own affairs. For the main part the sky is blue and the sun shines down warming the beach and the lands beyond. The ocean glitters in the light, looking oddly enticing.

[Seraphine]

"Here's what I could find, sorry it's not much. But I don't know if I'm the bearer of good news or bad. There seems to be building of some sort through the woods. I only checked it out from a distance so far but it may be worth looking into, seeing as we could really use someone to tell us where we are."

Torin lays the ingrediants out for the priest in seperate small piles. Then he grabs one of the small berries since his stomach was complaining on the way back.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Spreading the materials out on his blanket, Collin begins to inventory the ingrediants. He smiles at the pile of mushrooms and rabbit, but when he sifts through the saffron, the smile fades.

"You did well Torin," he says to the mage-hunter. "But I'll need more saffron. Perhaps this...building you saw has people in it that can help. Or perhaps Unknown's inside?"

Collin wraps the materials up and places them inside his bag along with the tome. Seeing Torin eating the local berries, the priest tells him to take the food that Gul'ren provided. "Eat the food I conjured. Who knows what the local food will do to you. When you're finished, lead us to this place you saw."

[Seraphine]

"If the local food is going to cause distress with me, I'd like to know now rather than later. By the way, I didn't say I saw people, but a structure at all has to suggest something above the average deer and sparrow," Torin smiles a bit, "I'd say from the looks of it, it may even be above monkey."

[Gnarsh]

"Very well, let's head for this building. Hopefully those within will prove hospitable."

[Gralhruk]

Ignoring the quarrels of priests and mage hunters, Tolven spends his time seated on the beach near Grakus, watching the play of waves on the shore and the water sports of fiery dwarves. Helping himself to some food, he takes it a short distance from the others. He once more retrieves Unknown's magical tome and places it on the ground in front of him. Dusting of his hands, he begins a slow incantation that takes the better part of an hour. He doesn't notice Torin's return, intent on he is on the book.

<OOC: Cast Identify on the book.>

[Seraphine]

"So we're off then? Tread lightly, I've no intentions to let my story end here due to carelessness now." Torin gets up and begins to pack. After he's finished he looks over to the beach and notices the dwarf and dark elf. Outwardly he smiles, glad someone is enjoying themselves, but inwardly he can only suspect what the other is doing.

Under the cover of gathering, Torin walks over to Tolven. Lightly taping him on the shoulder he says, "Hey, we're headin' out to take a look at a building. Wanna come with?" He finishes with the slightest hint of a smile curling at the edges of his lips. "I'm sure those blank pages are a great read but that's why books are portable."

[BigRedRod]

The spell of the drow completes a mere moment after Torin's question is posed. As might be expected with all prior events connected to the book, the spell reveals nothing whatsoever simply failing to function on the grimoire

[Cadrius]

Varidiir eats the summoned food happily. Sure, it's bland but it's better than spending the evening sicking up on the shores of this seemingly deserted paradise. The building though, makes him a bit wary, but if it's empty they could use it as shelter.

"Let's get to it then," he says, pushing himself to his feet and stretching.

[Gralhruk]

With an implacable smile, Tolven retrieves the tome and replaces it in his pack, standing fluidly as Grakus settles on his shoulder. He has suspected the spell would fail so he isn't particularly disappointed by the lack of results.

"Ah, a building. It sounds so very interesting."

[BigRedRod]

Leaving the tranquil beach behind, the party trudge through the humid semi-tropical forest and after a good fifteen minutes emerge at roughly the same position as Torin did on his foraging expedition.

Looking towards the wall wooden walls and the empty dock extending out to into the ocean. The grass on the plain is long and lush and interspersed with small clusters of exotic bushes and trees, the entire scene seems devoid of any sentient life.

The sun beats down, the pleasant warmth becoming rather oppressive when travelling with small crystals of salt slowly crystallising in and on the clothing of the team, giving a second type of small irritating grit to keep the sand company. Of course the Azer can look past such minor irritations to be ever so slightly further toward a more tolerable heat than he has grown used to since he days in Vodalia.

As the group gradually draw closer, the dock slides out of view, eclipsed by the wooden palisade which extends at least twenty feet above the ground. In the same moment that a large, currently closed via an iron portcullis, gateway becomes visible on the structure so does a humanoid figure.

The structure is a mere handful of minutes away, the person looking toward the party from over the great wooden wall is still difficult to make out. Clearly a tower or platform must exist somewhere inside to allow the humanoid to see outwards over the wall. Several other figures also peer over the wall in different directions, if they have seen the party they aren't making it clear and are biding their time to act

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin looks over at his colleagues; a flaming Azer, a drow and a tiefling. He shakes head at the thought of being honest and friendly. Dismissing the diplomatic solution, he suggests stealth, but the mesmerizing dance of fire on Varidiir's head causes his sentence to end prematurely. "We should probably send someone out there to scout them out. They could be friend... Aw never mind, I've a feeling they know we're here."

Looking at Varidiir, the priest asks, "Isn't there a way for you to suppress that?" He points at the glowing flames that flicker above the Azer's head. "It's a good bet that they can see you from over a mile away. Which probably means we'll need to go with diplomacy. I just hope the natives are friendly."

[Gnarsh]

"We should just approach them peacefully and see if they can give us some assistance. Besides, I'm sure we can take 'em."

[Gralhruk]

"At the very least, they should be able to tell us where we are."

He reaches up and removes Grakus from his shoulder and holds the winged chameleon in front of his face. The two stare at each other briefly and then the reptile utters a short, inquisitive croak before he silently wings away. Tolven's white teeth flash in his dark face as he smiles at the others.

"Not as good as sending one of us, but better than nothing."

<OOC: Direct Grakus to make a quick scout of the structure.>

[BigRedRod]

Spinning upwards through the air, Grakus quickly becomes little more than a tiny dot circling around and over the structure.

A few minutes later Grakus to returns to his master and shares his brief insights,
It's a people nest. Lots around the big door, they're waiting for you

[Gralhruk]

The lizards settles on Tolven just long enough to communicate his message and then wings away once more, shadowing the group as he moves from tree to tree. The drow feins a surprised look at the others, as if not realizing they are waiting for his report.

"It seems we are expected. Quite a few of them are gathered for our arrival, though whether they wish to greet us or beat us remains to be seen."

[Cadrius]

Varidiir looks back at the priest and says, "I don't suppose there's any way you could stop breathing? Just suppress it. Anyone nearby might be able to hear us. Look, you've got hair, I've got flames. It's just the way it is. If you don't want me to be seen I'll gladly go back and lie on the beach for a while."

The azer flexes his fingers before clenching them into fists and then repeating the process again. Hopefully there won't be any trouble, but he'd rather be ready than not.

"Well, let's go see what they're about. Better we find out now than in the middle of the night."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Frowning, Collin shrugs off the Azer's comment about his breathing. Craning his neck to the side in order to view the structure, he begins walking. "Might as well go with the direct method. It's what we're best at."

[BigRedRod]

Drawing closer it becomes clear that they Grakus was right, they have been seen. Arriving at the enterance to the fortified structure the group are confronted by a large iron portcullis blocking the gateway. Behind it two great wooden doors rest open and reveal a dusty dense wooden town.

A majority of the occupernts of the fortified town seem to be peering out of doorways and windows at the special forces team. The braver citizens standing in the narrow streets to watch the approach.

Several lightly-armoured guardsmen stand on the other side of the iron grating. Their leader is a man who bears a striking resemblance to a wolf, or some other powerful animal, with one hand ready to draw his sword he loudly addresses the group,
"Who goes there? Explain yourselves!"

[Gnarsh]

Lynores steps forward and begins with a low bow. "Greetings and well met, my lords. I go by Lynores, and these are my companions: The well armored human is Collin, the flaming one is Varidiir, the drow is Tolven, and the other human is Torin. We are merely travelers who recently happened upon this land. I hope we would not be imposing by requesting a bit of food and perhaps a bed or two, for we are rather weary after our travels."

[BigRedRod]

The man is clearly taken aback by the casual method of introduction by Lynores, but not so much that he forgets his prejudices,
"And what travels would these be? How did your tainted self, a devil-elf, two men of clearly dubious character and a ... a ... something, reach here? Are you local to these forsaken islands?"

[Gralhruk]

Do we look local?

The words leap into Tolven's mind, but instead of voicing them he tries his best to look unimposing. He had considered a disguise spell once they caught sight of the fortress, but with Grakus having reported that they'd already been spotted he thought it best not to let them in on his spellcasting ability.

Devil-elf indeed. Although "men of dubious character" is probably accurate.

The drow is torn between speaking and remaining silent. With the right words, he might sway them. Lynores could be terribly persuasive when he wanted to be, though, and they hadn't seemed particularly receptive to him. Probably because they thought him tainted and somehow Tolven doubts they will be any more inclined to listen to a drow. The humans might fare better, but Collin could be abrasive and Torin didn't seem particularly able. Better to keep his mouth shut for the moment and see what direction the wind blew.

[Gnarsh]

"We are but a group of simple adventurers, my lord, who, through no fault of our own, were magically transported to the beach just past the nearby forest. I realize that we appear of dubious nature, but I assure you, each man, or otherwise, in this group is as valiant as any in your fortress. After the incident that resulted in us ending up in your corner of the world, however, we could use a bit of rest." Lynores' voice suddenly changes, though not in sound; there seems to be some kind of power behind his words. "You and your men should help us in any way we require."

[OOC: suggestion on the head-leader-type-guy, Will save DC 16]

[BigRedRod]

Rubbing his chin, the leader shrugs and motions to one of his men,
"Get the portcullis raised then"
Looking back at Lynores he continues speaking as the heavy metal gat is slowly raised,
"I don't know who you are trying to fool with your line of being simple adventurers, but this place is rough. The fiends that roam these islands are unlikely to be as direct and odd as you people, whoever you may be."
With the portcullis fully raised, the leader sweeps a hand around th crowded town behind him,
"Welcome to Broken-Gate. Come on, we shall have a drink with the mayor, and you can explain what you are doing here, and no more trying to fob anyone off with tall tales. My name is Brannigan, and I'm in charge of keeping the good people of the town safe"

Brannigan's man are clearly confused by his sudden willingness to aid the travelling freak show which just turned up outside the gate, especially with how he seems to believe that they are lying to him. But the men are loyal and they don't question his orders, although most are visibly ready to spring into the messy business of cutting down the party should they show the faintest hint of hostile intent.

Brannigan waves one of the younger men away, sending him scurrying down a narrow alley. Faces follow the party from windows and doorways as they follow the Captain of the guard through the walled town . Arriving at what is clearly a tavern Brannigan hestitates,
"I'd suggest we go upstairs to talk in private but ..."
The man stares at Varidiir,
"It won't be such a good idea with the tavern being wooden and all."
The tavern is indeed wooden, as is practically every other building in the town, except
a squat building a few yards away. Dissapearing for a moment inside the tavern, Brannigan re-emerges and leads the party into the stone building. Which upon closer inspection is the jail-house of the town, the cells are currently empty and there isn't any sign of a guard in the small building.

The guardsman motions for the party to sit. The table is wooden and circular but it is against one of the cool stone walls which has a bench built into it, a few simple wooden chairs surround the rest of the table,
"We don't get much crime, everyone knows that we all have to work together or not at all. It's nice-"
A heavily tanned man with a sword at his belt, but otherwise stripped to the waist enters the room. He looks like a smith, smells like a smith and most likely is a smith. With a voice like thunder he interupts Brannigan,
"What the bloody hell is going on, Brannigan!?"
He looks at the party and throws a hand in the air,
"Who are you people?"
Back at Brannigan,
"Why did just let them in"

As the guardsman opens his mouth to reply a middle-aged woman arrives behind the smith, skillfully carrying seven tankards of ale. Trying not to strare at the Vodalian Special Forces team she sets the tankards down on the table and quickly leaves. Shaking his head the smith sits down and continues to bark words at the party,
"Well you're in here now. So you can take your drink and explain who you are and how you got here. I'm Mayor Samson and this fool, as you may already know, is Brannigan. Now start talking"
The mayor takes hold of one of the tankards and starts drinking the disturbing flavourful ale within. Brannigan, the guardsman, waits expectantly

[Gnarsh]

"Of course, Lord Samson," Lynores says to the mayorsmith as he sips from one of the flagons. "We are adventurers from Vodalia. After an incident with an arch-nemesis of ours, we were teleported to the beach near your fair city. At the moment, I think our first priority is finding a way home. Our merry little band would merely be interested in staying in your town for a short time while we work on finding a way back. By the by, just where IS this town, anyway?"

[BigRedRod]

The smith-mayor bursts out in laughter, takes another deep swig of ale and then returns to speak with a far more pleasant demeanor,
"First : It's Samson, or Mayor, not bloody Lord this or any Sir that crap. And secondly, you're in Vodalia..."
Scanning the eyes of the party he laughs and continues,
"Well not really. Welcome to Broken-gate, the only current Vodalian colony on the Broken-isles, more specifically the isle of Platem. Not only that we've lasted for a year now, despite everything this bastard island has to offer, I think that could be a record. We're in it for the long-haul, the next supply ship isn't due 'till Summer, officially it's the first of Kythorn, but it's hard to be exact when dealing with sailing that kind of distance. So I doubt you'll getting home any time soon."

[Cadrius]

"Bloody bumpkins," Varidiir mutters, "don't they know a dwarf when they see one? Bah!"

To add insult to injury, he isn't even allowed in the tavern. He spits and watches the saliva sizzle slightly on the rock wall. The sight of ale, however, does a fair job at appeasing the azer's diminished pride.

"Where the hell are the Broken isles?" he asks, taking a pull from his ale before realizing his breach of etiquette. "Er, Mayor."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

With Lynores on a roll with Brannigan and Samson, Collin remains silent until the question about where they are comes up. Thinking for a moment, the priest then gulps down his ale before he responds. The strong brew doesn't even phase him as his conclusion is somewhat mind-boggling. "I believe we're in Llandesh waters. If Samson's to be believed, that we're on an island, it makes sense that we're in the Shattered Crossing Islands. But I suppose he's using a different name for them, the Broken-Isles you said?"

The hair growing ale has finally caught up to Collin as he's forced to lean back in his chair. "Ugh, curse the day we didn't get rid of that dark fiend. He's put a hex on me. The room is spinning out of control!" Throwing his hands in front of him, the priest's head falls forward thudding against the table. "We in some big trouble," he slurs. "Half-way across the world, on a durned island...what in the nine hells was in that mug?"

[Gnarsh]

Glancing at Collin, Lynores turns back to the mayor. "Don't mind the priest. he's a bit...eccentric. Can't hold his alcohol very well."

[BigRedRod]

Samson laughs again and grins broadly at the azer,
"Dwarf it is then! Yer on the broken isles, out in the sea of Chaos away from the main body of Ku'Zul. The Empire tries to colonise then from time to time, sending out brave citizens to try and bring back riches."

Looking at the cleric the mayor shrugs and continues,
"Well, as it looks like you'll be staying with us for some time, I suppose I should set you to work..."
The large man rocks back in his chair thinking

[Seraphine]

Torin keeps his mouth shut. I can only make things worse if I speak. Unfortunetly it seems the fastest way to get back would be teleportation again, but currently I don't know if we can even get them to hear our messages, even less located exactly us and yank us through some experimental magic.

Torin smiles and takes a swig ale. Not bad, but not the best. In the mean time, what can we do about our fiend? He's tossed us this far away but left us alive, but why?

[Gralhruk]

Lynores had done of fine job of getting them in the town, deftly bending the guard to his will. Tolven made a mental note to congratulate him on the tactic later - assuming that none of the other townfolk caught on and lynched the lot of them. A few moments with the mayor dispel his concerns and the devil-elf relaxes without relaxing. The ice broken and the danger of being slain for their heritage seeming past, Tolven stirs at the mayor's final words.

"With all due respect, it is imperative that we leave sooner rather than later. I don't suppose you have some quick way of communicating with the mainland, do you?"

[BigRedRod]

The major shrugs and speaks through an apologetic smile,
"Quick, slow, it doesn't matter. Ship is the only way. I'm not the man to talk to but as far as I know magic just doesn't work between here and there. Or so I'm told, I could find someone who might have a better understanding if it helps. But you'll find I'm right, it looks like you are to become part of our little commune here."

[Seraphine]

"No disrespect meant sir, but I'm next to absolutly sure that it was magic that sent us here. If you know someone who may have more details on the nature of a magical block of some sort, I think we we need to speak with him or her. From the sounds of the way you describe this island, this bastion is the only thing remotly friendly, and we have obligatiosn elsewhere."

[BigRedRod]

He lifts his hands up and smiles,
"Look, I don't blame you for not believing me. I'm not one to pour over books and look into these matters, and you can see that. Canace, she's your elf for this, we don't have many wizarding types here at Broken Gate. You'll have to wander out into the unfriendly bits to reach her. She sends most of her hours outside looking for something or other."

Leaning further back in his chair he makes a few gestures,
"Head out of the town and straight toward the hills. Big rocky buggers. Anyhow, there's a little trail leading up there. She'll be along there somewhere. Just don't take any chances on your way ... this island has all sorts"

[Gnarsh]

"Our thanks, Lo...er, Samson." Turning to the others, he addresses them, "We should seek this mage out, and try to find some way of getting back home through this antimagic effect." He drains his mug and rises from the table, waiting for the others.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven stands as well, leaving his mug untouched. His silver eyes glance at Collin's less than sober form before looking at the Mayor.

"Yes, thank you for all of your help - and for not judging us by our appearance. We will look for this Canace; she is an elf, you say? Perhaps you could give us some token that shows we are a friend of yours, so she will be more inclined to hear us out."

Instead of just blasting us based on our heritage.

[BigRedRod]

The man nods,
"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. Errrr"
Samson pauses as he stares around the room for something that he wouldn't mind parting with, but at the same time marks the party as friends of Broken Gate.

Getting up he leads the party outside and starts walking down a seemingly random narrow alley, leaving the captain of the guard sat inside alone
"Wait there, I'll be back in a minute with a note for you. I'll even use the seal and all that other useless crap they gave me before we set out"

...

A score of minutes later he returns, and hands Tolven a rather rough piece of folded paper with an inexpertly applied seal in red wax,
"Give that to Canace. I'll let you head out then."
With a sharp nod, he paces away, no doubt back to whatever he was doing before the unexpected arrival of the party.
Turning around, the five set out toward the town gate and the hills where they can find an elf who may have some of the answers they seek

...

It takes almost two hours of wandering the grassy scrub-land to reach the rocky foot-hills. The change in landscape is quite dramatic, going from green vegetation one minute to a rather more reddish-yellow rocky path with little in the way of plant life. Despite the general impresson gathered from the townspeople, the island doesn't not seem violent and beast-filled. Aside from a few small mammals and a pair of identified flying creatures, the island seems almost uninhabited by fauna.

A few moments of wandering through the rocky hills lead the group to an elf who must be Canace. The ground is fairly heavily inclined upward and is boxed in by two quite sheer cliffs. Rounding a sudden swing in the route between the cliffs reveals a ledge about four feet deep and twelve feet up at it's most. On the ledge sits a figure cross-legged, one hand on the cliff and one writing a note in a book resting beside her, back to the party.

She wears a pair of white leggings, a dark blue tunic with a belt around her waist, several blue leather pouches hanging from it, black turn-over boots and a white short sleeved shirt under the tunic. On her arms are a pair of blue and black bracers, and at her hip is a sword that every so often gives off a spark of white blue energy. Her hair is silvery grey, with a bright blue streak running through it, stopping just beneath her shoulder blades.

The party pause a score of feet away from the ledge looking up at the figure

[Kahluah]

Scraping the soft mud from the cliff in front of her, the elf puzzles over it in her mind, wrapping her intellect around it like a tongue over a morsel of food. She sloughs the mud off of the scraping tool into a glassware jar, stoppering it with a piece of cork. Crouching by the rucksack at her feet, she pauses for a moment as she hears a group of people approaching from behind.

She shakes her head as she continues her work. "If I have told you once, I have told you a dozen time's before - I do not need your protection. Please, go back and tell Brannigan to not send more of his people out here as it disturbs my concentration." She speaks, her wind-like voice floating over the group like a distant but present breeze.

[Gnarsh]

"I assure you, milady, we are by no means here to project you. We're just a group of lost travellers who were directed to you for potential aid. Might we speak with you concerning getting off this island?" Lynores says to the elf.

[Gralhruk]

"We have a note."

Tolven's tone is polite and friendly as he holds the parchment up for inspection.

"From Mayor Samson."

[Cadrius]

He doesn't know elves, not very well. Sure, there's Tolven, he's an elf of sorts, but of the dark and brooding variety. Not many of the fey visit the plane of fire, probably because their precious trees would be set ablaze instantly. Well, they'd probably be burned as well. Varidiir scratches his chin, he's never really thought of the concept of being burned by fire.

He is a dwarf, of sorts anyway, and he's learned they have a bit of a rivalry with elves. It isn't warlike in nature, so the urge to punch her in the face is quashed rather swiftly. He can't simply ignore their quasi-feud either. It doesn't feel proper.

Back home the Azers don't really have any sort of feud. Oh sure, there's the efreeti who enslave them on a daily basis, but that's more of an outright fight for survival. There's nobody to mince words with in a playfully detesting manner. Certainly not the salamanders, nor the mischevious mephits. It's something he's uncertain of how to handle. So he does the best he can given his lack of knowledge and experience.

"Oh...I see how it is. You...pointy-eared...er...tree-hugging...elf?" The half-hearted attempt at a rejoinder is asked more than stated.

Guess I don't make a good dwarf, he thinks. There are four aspects in which make the pillar of dwarfkind: drinking, fighting, crafting, and making fun of elves. He excels at the first two, having a good deal of experience and he imagines the third wouldn't be too difficult. He's practically a forge by himself. Yet the fourth looks like it will take practice before it can be perfected. Better to have the elf-maid along so he might hone his insults. Even his companions look unimpressed with his wit, or lack thereof.

"I mean, we're, ah, here to help."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

At least she speak Vodalian. Collin thinks as he watches the elf play with the jar of dirt. If she knows a way out of here, why would she want to stay? Worthless pile of sand this place seems to be, too hot and too isolated. But maybe that's what her kind wants. Is she alone out here? If there are others, maybe they can help us if she doesn't.

"Say, you wouldn't mind coming down here so we can talk face-to-face?" Collin asks of the girl. "As shapely as your ass may be, I think we'd all prefer to speak to each other on level ground."

[Kahluah]

At the reply that they are not here to protect her, she turns her head around to face the mottley group of adventurers, allowing her body to follow suit. As she does so, a feather breeze catches about her clothing and sends them into cascades of ripples, shaking her hair in the stilled environment.

"Oh. Well, my apologies. Brannigan has been sending people out here for the last week since the storm to keep an eye on me. A touch over-protective of the folk here, but sweet none the less."

She sets the empty glass jar onto the ground before walking towards the four, looking at them all with an equal measure, jumping down off of the ledge with an near-unearthly grace. As she walks, the air catches at her clothing in nigh unnatural ways, as if the space around her creates eddies and whorls in the air-currents. She looks at the azer with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.

"Dwarvish behaviour does not become you, master Azer.." Is her only reply as she turns back to Lynores and Tolven, looking upon the drow with no more derision or distrust than she'd show any other person.

"Now, you said something about a note of sorts?" As she looks at the two supposed leaders of the troupe, her eyes proceed to shift like clouds in the sky.

[Gnarsh]

"Of course, milady." Lynores says as he snatches the note from Tolven and hands it to the elf. "I'm sure you'll find that everything is in order."

[Gralhruk]

We hope everything is in order.

None of them had actually seen Samson write the note, nor did they have any idea what he might have written. It was entirely possible that he'd asked to woman to slay them all. Unlikely, of course, but possible nonetheless.

"Storm, you say? If you don't mind my asking, when did it occur and what was it's nature - that is, was there anything unusual about it?"

[Kahluah]

As she looks over the note, a lock of silver-grey hair falls across her face. She blows it out of the way of her view of the piece of paper, allowing the hair to catch onto the draft and put itsself back into place.

"Well, it would seem that all is in order, though it's not like Samson to write a note for any reason."

She folds up the note and tucks it into her pocket, before looking back up at her belongings on the precipice. Inferring that the group should follow her with a shrug of her head and a wave of her hand, she walks towards it. "The storm happened just shy of a tenday ago. Were I a druid, I would tell you it's nature, where it grew up, and its purpose in these parts.

"However, that being said, sudden storms are not rare in these islands, due to the climate and all. We should know, as we have lost three fishing boats in the last season, and two of those were in the most recent storm." She says as she climbs up the small cliff face to her belongings. As she starts scraping a small rock from the cliff face, she continues, albeit a little louder.

"It was not that which caused your sudden appearance, if that's what you are asking. The magical climate here is even more volatile than its natural counterpart. As far as I have been able to tell, it is as if these islands have their own series of planes - astral, ethereal, and shadow - as if it were another world entirely.

"To even think of using magic to cross great lengths is madness, as any plane jumping one would make in this area would drop you in the middle of the ocean at the planar boundaries."

Canace finally plucks the rock out of the mud and places it into the jar, stoppering it also. She crouches down and carefully lays the several jars into her rucksack, wrapping folds of cloth around them to keep them from shattering against each other.

[Gralhruk]

"Interesting, considering our arrival here was most certainly magical in nature and I daresay the length crossed was great. Do these limitations only apply to those attempting to leave the island?"

His question is apparently sincere, with no trace of scorn or irony in his voice. Tolven seems genuinely curious instead of mocking or doubtful of Canace.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin listens to the girl explain the island's climate. He's puzzled by her use of "we" when speaking about losing the boats. Whether the "we" refers to the people they left behind in the small keep, or some other band that the elf associates with causes his brow to rise. He's about to ask her for clarification, but the girl turns and resumes her cliff hugging. Figuring it's not important enough to break her concentration, he bites his tongue.

As she describes the effects of magical travel, Collin is mistrustful of her information and theory. If we were in some astral bubble, why did we arrive on the beach? And if landing in the ocean is what will happen if we attempt to leave the same way, would the barrier stop us from making several small hops? It's probably moot anyway since I haven't any planar keys.

With the elf seemingly more interested in digging up rocks and worms, the priest begins to lose interest in her. If Tolven's so interested in the elf, I'll let him have her. I just want to track Batman down and get off this rock. Frustrated, his mind wanders and comes up with another question, I wonder if the bubble disrupted my sending? Rather than voicing any of his thoughts, he simply folds his arms across his chest and absentmindedly looks around.

[Kahluah]

Canace stands up and lowers the rucksack down where hopefully one of the new visitors will reach out to catch it. "I would not know. I have only been here for a half year so far, and the colony itsself is barely a year old. But from what little I have experienced here, the crack in the planes is not limited just to getting off of this island."

As she lowers herself from the ledge, a little less gracefully than the last time, she takes her pack from the person who had taken it. "You said that you had arrived here via magical means? If so, I would dearly like to meet this wizard of you, as he may have a clue as to what is going on around here."

[Gnarsh]

"This wizard of ours is likely half a world away from us now, and if we're very, very lucky, he's very, very dead. But unfortunately, that's unlikely. And you probably wouldn't much like to meet him; he wasn't the most sociable type."

[Gralhruk]

"That's putting it mildly. We were in the middle of a pitched battle with him, in the midst of his underground lair, when the whole place collapsed. Instead of being buried beneath tons of rubble we found ourselves transported to the beach here, and magically cut off from headquarters back in Vodalia."

Tolven runs a hand through his hair, smoothing it even though it isn't at all out of place.

"We were hoping you might be able to help us get our spells working."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Watching Tolven groom himself sickens Collin. What do you expect is going to happen, Drow? Surface and underground elves don't fall for one another. They're more likely to fall upon each other with pointy spears and swords.

But hearing him say, "We were hoping you might be able to help us get our spells working," gets him thinking about what else they can tell her about who and what they're doing. Nice, he didn't mention that we don't actually have the means to transport ourselves across the world. I wonder how she got here? Maybe we can go back the same way? It's evident that those in the keep are here for a reason and that they arrive via ship. But what's her story? What keeps her here? It can't possibly be the dirt or bugs she's playing with. Would she notice a spell being cast? Darn elves, they're always so perceptive, I better not risk it. But that she wants to meet Batman? Now that's funny!

Collin projects a wide and obviously fake smile. His grin has about as much warmth as an iceberg. Knowing that he's about to lose it, he turns away from the cliff and girl to regain his composure, but ends up making it worse as he loses control and begins to laugh. After a minute of stifling his chuckles, he takes a deep breath and hold it until he re-centers himself. Once more under control, the priest turns back to face the cliff and the woman.

"I'm sorry for that outburst," he says. "I'm afraid it couldn't be helped. I was just thinking about this planar nexus that you've been so kind to elaborate upon. There are certain elements I just can't help but laugh about. But then laughter is sometimes used as a defense against the unknown. You might be able to help us still if you can explain a few more things. For instance, how long have you been here and by what means did you arrive?"

[Gnarsh]

"Now Collin, let's not interrogate the girl." Lynores says to the priest with a grin. "At least not out here. Milady, shall we head back to town, where you can fill us in on everything we need to know over a nice drink? My treat, of course."

[Kahluah]

Canace looks at the slightly drunk priest and shakes her head. "I arrived there the same way that everyone else on this island did, save you four - by boat. I have been here for the better part of six months, and will remain here until my services are no longer required, which is not likely to be any time soon."

She looks back at the half-fiend and nods. "I would tell you all that I know that would help you, but first I have one more point to look at and collect more samples from, so if you could escort me there, I will gladly accompany you to dinner when we get back to Broken Gate."

[Cadrius]

His form needs work, that's clear enough, but the azer isn't entirely disappointed with his first attempt at banter with an elf. Certainly he could stand to be a bit quicker on the delivery, but Varidiir feels he might be able to achieve success. The only real barrier is finding something other than "pointy-eared" and "tree-hugging" to use as barbs, but that's why he wants this maid along, to improve his form.

The talk of magic travel ironically passes over his planar head. Oh, he understands the concept, but not the actual application. Why magic can't function in a certain way is beyond Varidiir. Arcane theorems and divine incantations don't work much for him, but were the issue one that could be solved via alcohol and pugilism, Varidiir would be a handy man to have around.

"Didn't the mayor say something about boats? Could we use them?"

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Look here," Collin says to Lynores with a pointed finger. "We all know that a real interrogation would have the victim tied to a chair while unspeakable horrors are performed against their body and mind. I just had some questions that were raised by her own words. The girl was kind enough to explain her method of transportation. And for that, I thank her." He nods his head in appreciation.

When Varidiir brings up the boats again, Collin shakes his head. "Don't you remember what was said? The last ship that pasted by was just a little while ago, so there won't be another for a few months. But if you're determined, I suppose you could always build yourself a raft. Though I'd hate to be on it when you lay your head down for a little nap."

[Kahluah]

"The only boats we have on the island are the partially built fishing boats you may have seen if you were in the encampment. We simply do not have the resources to build anything more than what is beyond our means, though the people on the mainland are led to believe otherwise."

[Cadrius]

"Oh, right. Not boats for a couple months. And there aren't any of those, what-do-you-call-em, shipwrights? None?"

The azer sighs. No magic and no boats. Short of sprouting wings from his bronze hide, he's running out of ideas for getting off the island. Although really, why would he want to leave? The people are friendly enough. The weather and the water are both warm. It might not be a plane of never-ending fire, but there are worse places to live.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven clears his throat gently.

"I'd never thought to see you so eager to be surrounded by water, master azer. Now Canace, you mentioned that these islands seem to have their own set of planes. I'm curious to know what evidence there is of the phenomenon. Aside from teleportation and the like, what other anomolies have you noticed with spellcasting in general?"

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sweating beneath his armor, Collin takes a long drink from his waterskin before wiping his brow. He then offers the cool drink to anyone who wants some. "How can anyone stand to live here?" He grumbles. "It's too hot and I'm willing to bet that at night the land is swarming with bugs."

Frustrated by the lack of beneficial answers and heat, he waves his hands and exclaims, "Heat be gone!" Almost at once, the perspiration that was covering his head evaporates. Cooled by his magic, his eyes close, as he's now able to relax. "Ah, that's much better."

Turning to Tolven, he says to the drow, "It looks as if simple spells that do not involve travel or distance will work."

(OOC - casts Endure Elements vs. heat.)

[Gralhruk]

The drow smiles toothily.

"Well, that's comforting to know."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"When we get back indoors, I'll pray for guidance," Collin says to the drow. "Maybe there's something we're missing that the divine can bestow upon us."

Thinking it over some, the priest blurts out, "Say, if this area prohibits extra-dimentional travel, and we arrived here instead of the middle of the ocean, why couldn't Batman have done the same? If he's here, he's probably hiding in his batcave."

"Are there any caves around here?" He asks Canace, hoping for a positive response. "They'd need to be secluded and dark. Most likely as far away from the outpost as possible."

[Gnarsh]

"But if he had been teleported by the same spell, odds are he would have shown up on the same beach that we did. If we all managed to arrive reasonably near each other, why wouldn't he?" The tiefling says to the priest. "Now let's go with the girl and let her do what she must, and we can discuss this over a meal."

[Kahluah]

As they walk, the elf shakes her head, keeping her ears and eyes open for any signs of disturbance. "No, all other spells work near perfectly here. Only those involving planar communication between the island and the mainland are broken, and it is my theory that the elemental disturbances that seem to surround this island chain are either responsible, or at least a symptom of whatever is causing the planar split."

Taking a forest trail, she makes a sharp turn before appearing before a large mouthed cave in another cliff face. "This is the last point I need to take samples from for the week, before I start looking into them more thoroughly."

[Cadrius]

Seeing the elf move to collect whatever it is elves are interested in--undoubtedly moonbeams or moss or something ethereal--Varidiir mutters, "Oh, it'd be just like an elf to...go...collect...things...damn!"

There's something about the elf-maid that confounds his brain. The azer isn't an idiot by any means, so why can't he spit out a decent insult? He suspects magic or wiles or even treachery.

"Probably magical...treachery."

Sighing heavily he waits for the elf to return.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven casts a sideways glance at Varidiir, as he stammers out his . . . insult? The azer had been acting decidely vapid since they had encountered Canace. A slow, sly smile breaks his impassive face, bone white amidst his ebony features.

"My dear azer, I do believe you are smitten."

[Cadrius]

"My dear azer, I do believe you are smitten."

"What? Smitten? Her? Feh!" Varidiir blusters before giving the drow a look that could melt steel. Tolven's audacity is expected, but to be smitten with one's enemy, or pseudo-enemy, is likely something a dwarf would rage against. Varidiir does the same.

"You mean that...namby...leaf-wearing...prancing...elf? I'd sooner...kiss...an efreet!" He'd actually done that once before, kissing an efreet, but that's a night he'd rather not remember.

He folds his arms over his chest and scowls.

"Smitten," he mutters, "I'll show him smitten...with me boot!" He winces at the remark. It didn't exactly make sense.

Damned elf and her she-devil magics.

[BigRedRod]

Canace pauses after half a step towards the cave-mouth. Beneath the party's feet the ground shakes slightly and a few stray rocks fall from the cave roof on to the ground with a small clattering noise. The noise however does not subside and slowly grows louder, it becomes clear that it was not entirely the sound of falling rocks but of many hurried footsteps drawing ever closer from within the cavern.
At the very moment the elf sees the hostile swarm of red-skinned lizardfolk charging towards the daylight there is a sound quite unlike any other. Behind the party a large insectile ape-like creature bursts through the rocky ground, sending up clouds of dust and tiny stones flying through the air.

On one side of the party stand a horde of red-skinned lizardmen. Each carries a longsword and is clad in rather elderly looking chainmail. There are two exceptions to the trend of mottled red flesh, swords and chainmail. The creature closest to Canace carries a greataxe and is clad only in worn studded leather armour, it's yellow eyes contain anger and hatred extending to depths which are best left unknown. One of the creatures wears no armour, standing naked proudly displaying it's purple-hued hide except for a belt slung from shoulder to waist with an assortment of knives attached to it. The leader bellows a warcry that is taken up by all but the purple creature, who strides forward in silence

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL)

Map
[ooc: the brown line marks the start of the cave. The brown shape behind the U is the hole out of which it jumped. The roundish icons are a few trees growing in the dusty soil]


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@-3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 66 6h rs 0 L
*END -gkrhkh

[Gnarsh]

Lynores draws his rapier with a flourish, holding it in a high guard position as the creature erupts from the ground. He takes a long stride toward the apebeetle, and thrusts his blade at the monster. "No rest for the wicked, eh? A shame this lot doesn't realize the caliber of their foes." He says to the others during all this.

(ooc: draw sword, 5 foot step toward the critter, attack +11. Should Lynores hit, damage is 1d6 +3, +2d6 sneak attack if the Umber Hulk is flat-footed.

[Kahluah]

Canace looks down the cave at the creatures as they prepare themselves to attack. Not these blighters again! She thinks to herself as she takes a half step backward to gather herself. She waves her hands in front of her, harnessing her near-elemental nature to summon forth a blast of wind to send it straight into the cave.

Throwing her hands forth, she calls out in a voice aking to the roaring of a distant thunderstorm and hurls the wind into the open mouth of the cliff.

OOC: Casting gust of wind in the direction of the cave.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Seeing Canace create a gust of wind to seal the lizard men in the cave, Collin thinks to himself, It figures that the elf would call on the forces of nature to push these lizards back. But I'll show her what real power is!

Stepping up to stand beside the elf, Collin removes his holy pendant to Gul'ren and chants a prayer to his Lord. Holding the silver symbol out, he stares the creatures back into their hole. "Lord Gul'ren, show these creatures but a glimpse of your power. Make them beg for your forgiveness. Have them cower before your might! Make them fear us!"

(Casts Fear into the cave. A 30' cone which should hit everyone in the cave. There's a Will save, DC 18 or become panicked. A successful save makes them shaken for one round.)

[BigRedRod]

Reacting with outstanding speed to the sudden change in sitation, the Duelist steps toward the burrowing beast, his weapon moving to his hand as if by magic. Pushing he blade forward it manages to force a small hole in the thick armour plating of it's right shoulder. Removing the blade, Lynores sees a trickle of reddish brown blood ooze from the piercing.

Quickly assessing the threats, Torin follows the tiefling's lead by drawing his pair of longswords. The blue-steel of his enchanted weapon and it's duller companion flash as the mage-hunter grasps the blades and twirls them through the air while closing with the insectile monstrosity. With the creature in range, Torin strikes with his blue-steel enchanted blade and lands a weak blow on one of the forearms of the beast. The power of the blow is deflected and no damage is achieved by the blow.

Collin steps forward toward the horde of red-skinned lizards rushing from the cave, with a smile on his lips the Cleric channels the power of his lord into the reptile-warriors. The horde slows as terror spreads through them.

With a plan of action nearly identical to Collin's, the elementalist raises her hands and shrieks out a spell in Auran. Words which make no sense hover in the air for a moment before forming together into a rush of air. The progress of the panicing lizardfolk grinds to a halt as a rush of air prevents them from travelling toward the party.
The hulking ape-beetle turns it's compund eyes upon Torin, ignoring the infernal duelist for the moment. the mage-hunter squats in an attempt to avoid one of the huge claws sweeping at him, his attempt fails and he recieves a power blow to the shoulder which sets him off balance as the second claw o the beast rakes downwards. Torin is hit squarely on the back of the neck and almost falls to the ground in agony. Rolling sideways his regains his footing as the creature snaps at the space he previously occupied. Pain flows through his body, another blow from the ape-beetle and he'll no longer be taking part in this battle.

[ooc: I'll detail the effects of the fear spell on the initative of those who were targetted. Torin is now on under 20% health]

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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@0 LL *s -3 6r 2i rs 0 *s -3 64 2e rs 0 *s -3 6w j rs 0 L *s -3
@6u 18 rs 0 L *s -3 69 1v rs 0 L *s -3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 66 13
@rs 0 L *s -3 67 g rs 0 L *s -3 5m 1n rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s
@-3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 5m 76 rs 0 L
*END 49n4ob

[Cadrius]

Suffering an ambush by lizardfolk is much like having the proverbial ants placed in one's pants: startling, uncomfortable, irritating, and just a little bit exciting. Varidiir feels all of it and briefly wonders if he might have the gift of prophecy. Just as he was wishing for something to smite with his boot, something arrived. In this case, somethings. He can't remember of any azer oracles before, perhaps he's the first.

My next barb shall be flawless.

"Brought some of your...forest friends...eh, elf?"

Oh damn it.

Again, it didn't make sense. They came from a cave, not a big tree. Still, elves did like nature and these things were out here. Perhaps it wasn't a total loss. Plus he's in the middle of a fight. It isn't easy forming witty sayings while avoiding death.

The little ones appear to be neutralized for the moment, so Varidiir goes after the biggest target: the large insectoid currently mauling Torin. He charges forward but keeps his mouth shut, preferring his fists, feet, and forehead do his talking.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven skirts behind Varidiir's charge, drawing his bow as he goes. One slim hand covers his mouth just as he slides past the Azer. Once more the dwarf lets loose with yet another . . . luke warm . . . non-sult. He coughs into his hand, speaking a single word as he does so.

"Smitten."

And then he is past the opening of the cave, continuing far enough to leave Collin and Canace a clear path to the beast. Since the lizardmen are occupied, he turns his attention on the larger foe. Some of his comrades have already engaged the best, which might present a problem for a lesser archer. Humming softly to himself, he sights on the beast and lets an arrow fly.

<OOC: Move 25' due east and fire at the apebeetle, +10 to hit 1d6+2 dmg.>

[BigRedRod]

Leaving his playful jibe hanging in the air, the drow moves with grace across the arid earth, draws his bow and without much ceremony fires a single arrow high into the sky. It travels for quite some distance, further than Tolven can see with the intense melee before him causing distraction.

Charging toward the creature currently battering Torin within an inch of his life, the Azer narrowly avoids one of the long arms of the beast raking towards him. The attack throws off his momentum and the monk fails to land a single solid blow against his foe.

With the mouth of the cavern lost in the dust kicked up from the windstorm conjured by Canace, it's hard to make out the red-skinned lizardfolk dropping their arms and fleeing back into the darkness. Only half of the original troop remain after Collin's spell has taken effect and with the wind against them they are unable to close with the party any further.

Growling in anger the rage-filled leader of the lizard-warriors attempts to push through the winds, but with his determination and strength sapped by the fear he narrowly staved off he makes no progress and gains a mouth full of dust.

The purple lizardman, the one that chose not to wear armour, stands with it's arms raised over it's face waiting for the winds to calm

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 2w 25 rs 0 0 -2v 19 -1z 25 -f 1h x 1h 2x 19 2p -3 1l -z 2h
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@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 5m
@76 rs 0 L
*END q61q7n

[Kahluah]

Canace drops her hands, knowing that her supernatural winds will not hold out for much longer, having only bought a precious few seconds. She draws her sword from it's scabbard, it exploding in a shower of sparks as electricity leaps across its blade.

She looks up at the heavens and closes her eyes, praying a silent tribute to her patron, before opening them and allowing the full fury of her elemental nature flare up around her. Electricity dances across her skin and flicks between locks of hair carried by unsourced winds.

Screaming in Draconic, she points her sword in the direction of the lizardfolk, setting a small storm within the cave in motion.

OOC: Drawing Lirigitia's Claw and casting substituted Electrical Storm, which is Ice Storm, but with electrical damage rather than cold, centering it so the spell doesn't effect me or Collin.

[Gnarsh]

Taking advantage of the beast's preoccupation with Torin, Lynores thrusts his blade into its side, then moves away, out of the apebug's reach. He twists and turns to avoid any retributive strikes.

(OOC: One attack at +11, 1d6+3 damage, then move 15 feet away to the right. Tumble +14 to avoid AoO's.)

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Undaunted by the fear spell, Collin can see the monsters regrouping. Clustered together, he knows the exact prayer to call upon. "BOOM!" He cries as his hands clap together. A deafening clap of thunder erupts from the center of the lizards.

Yes! Take that you over grown newts! He cries to himself as he continues to keep the monsters at bay. But when he sees the elf summon an electrical storm, he can't help but to raise an eyebrow in awe. It seems as if we have ourselves a rather powerful nature-loving elf. I wonder if we land a boat, would she be able to control the winds to get home faster?

His thoughts of home are pushed out of his mind as the battle which rages around him, snaps his attention back from the dreamland. Got to stay alive before I can dream about home.

(OOC - Casts Sound Burst on the tight group of four lizards, three L's and the LL. Inflicts 1d8 sonic, plus a fort save or be stunned for one round, DC 16.)

[BigRedRod]

Now engaged with three targets, Lynores easily finds and exploits a gap in the earth-beast's defenses. His narrow blade manages to carve a slit in the thick armour of the creature, spilling more of it's blood on to the dusty ground. With his blow landed, the tiefling retreats to stand beside Tolven, easily avoiding a clumsy blow from his opponent in the process.

With the monster occupied with the retreating Lynores, Torin engages in a rather complicated series of hand-movements, something akin to juggling. the end result is his enchanted blade in his left hand, his secondary weapon secured in the earth by his feet and an flask of liquid hel in his fre ehand being poured down his neck. Droppining the glass bottle to the ground the mage-hunter returns his grip to his planted weapon and with renewed energy awaits an opening in his foe's attacks.

The winds begin to die down before the lizards and the effects of the fear spell on those that did not turn and flee seem to be subsiding. Collin hurls down further divine wrath upon the red-skinned lizards, catching the entire group which did not flee before him in an explosion of pain. Most of the lizards seem to shake off the spell but one remains with it's eyes stretched open standing motionless.

Adding further magical chaos to the scene, Canace chants a spell that leaves the air charged. In defiance of what are usually help to be unbreakable natural laws, electrical energy collects together into large heavy pebbles of sparking impossibility. All of the lizardfolk are caught in the storm, vision into the cavern quickly becomes impaired by the sparking blue objects raining down upon the warriors and the smell of charred flesh drifts outward. The Elementalist's arcane wind finally fades and reveals that only the axe-wielding lizard remains standing, the others lie upon the cavern floor spasming occasionally.

With a foe on each side, the burrowing monster does it's best to ignore the flaming monk and focus on the human armed with a pair of longswords. The first blow is deflected by the crossed blades of the soldier, but the second sweeps low and strikes Torin on his knee knocking him down into a kneeling position. Stooping forwards the creature bites at the man, taking a large chunk out of his shoulder and leaving him motionless on the ground in a spreading pool of blood.




[ooc: I'm most impressed with how fast we're getting through these combats today. The main limit seems to be the half an hour I need to get each update posted .Well done! Torin is alive, but just -8 health isn't a good place to be when you are so close to a big monster]

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 2w 25 rs 0 0 -2v 19 -1z 25 -f 1h x 1h 2x 19 2p -3 1l -z 2h
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@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 7k
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@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c
*END kxh1yj

[Cadrius]

It's ignoring me. Time to pull out all the stops.

Varidiir does not have mastery of insults, nor does he have a silver tongue, but there's always been one technique that's been a sure way to gain a foe's attention. He doesn't like having to use it unless absolutely necessary, but the damned thing won't have the decency to take a swing at him. And if there's one thing Varidiir won't abide, it's giant insect monsters with poor etiquette.

Drawing in a quick breath he unleashes his penultimate taunt.

"HEY! UGLY!"

But it isn't over, oh no, the verbal abuse is but the first half; the second requires punching. Unfortunately for this monster, Varidiir is well stocked when it comes to handing out pummelings.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Tricks are all well and good, but sometimes brute force is required." Collin says as he readies himself for melee. He speaks to the lizardman, taunting it, "You have no hope of surviving. Your minions are all dead and you are about to join them. Oh no, look behind you!"

(OOC - Casts defensively (DC17, concentration +18, can't fail), Spritual Weapon, bringing a phantom force mace into being, it does 1d8+3 damage, attack bonus +10. It'll last for 9 rounds and bypasses damage reduction. Once the spell has been cast, he draws his own mace.)

[Gralhruk]

Well, that wasn't a very effective shot. Good distance on it, though. Not many could miss with such flair. I daresay if that beast had been half a furlong further back, he'd be sporting a new piercing in one of those beady eyes. If that thing had half a brain, it would be quaking in fear at the thought of what my next shot might do.

Tolven wrestles for a moment with the decision on whether to show the beast just how stupid it is for ignoring the threat of a skilled archer or to attack it with one of the other weapons at his disposal. He finally decides the creature is too dim to recognize the lesson if he were to chastise it with a second gift from his bow. Holding the weapon loosely with one hand, he twists his slim fingers through a series of complicated gestures, his voice low and sonorous as it beats out the sibilant words of the incantation. The casting ends abruptly as a sizzling green arrow springs from his outstretched fingertips and blurs towards the apebeetle.

He almost giggles at the layered insult of sending a magical arrow to drive his point home.

<OOC: Cast Melf's Acid Arrow at the thing.>

[Kahluah]

Continuing to dodge the barbarian lizard, Canace mutters under her breath, willing her flesh to become as iron and her skin to become as granite. She opes her eyes, her skin having taken on the jagged texture of the cliffs she has been examining, hoping the spell works to give her that much of an edge when dealing with it.

OOC: casting stoneskin on the defensive and hoping it works.

[BigRedRod]

For a brief moment it appears that Tolven's arcane arrow was to suffer a similar fate to that which he had a launched from his bow moments ago, the large needle of translucent greenish-black liquid flies from his hands and sets course for just above the hunched form of the beast. Fate smiles on the arrow however and despite seemingly being a sure miss it strikes what passes for a shoulder on the creature. The liquid trickles down it's arm, burning away protective outer layers and mingling with the softer more sensitive flesh below.

Renewing his battery of the creature, Varidiir is certain that he is to be it's next target. The huge form turns towards him and recieves a powerful blow to it's lower left leg. The chitin cracks and smoulders slightly as the Azer withdraws his fist.

His fellows lie around him, dead, and their slayers stand before him. Screaming a fresh warcry the survivor hefts his axe and plunges towards Canace. Despite her best attempts to dodge, the elf finds herself struck by the flat of the wide blade on the hip. No doubt bruises will quickly appear but for now the injury is far from major.

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c
*END t9vc24

[Gnarsh]

Lynores leaps forward with a wide grin on his face, moving to his previous position and delivering another blow with his sword to the creature. Just as the monster turns to face him, however, the demonic duelist cartwheels backward, returning to his earlier place beside Tolven.

(OOC: Use spring attack to move forward, attack, and go back. Attack +11, damage 1d6+3. Tumbling to avoid AoOs as per usual.)

[BigRedRod]

The master fencer leaps forward and scores a weak blow against the great beast before backtracking his steps to be out of it's reach. It doesn't even seem that the huge lumbering creature even noticed the blow with it's preoccupation with the flaming monk.

Collin calls upon further strength from his God, summoning a mace composed of noting but divine force to flank the lizardman survivor. Before the creature has a chance to realise what has happened, the mace scores a telling blow to it's back and Collin holds his own weapon.

The fate's are with Canace today, her spell is completed without the lizardman landing a single blow upon her. Now only a truely heroic blow from the creature could cause any damage as her form is overcome by elemental protection.

Before the earthern creature the firey dwarf dodges and weaves waiting for an opening. Pressing it's size advantage and paying no heed to defense the creature rains down blows on Varidiir. The first claw impacts deeply into the ard earth as the Azer leaps upwards, the second however catches him mid-leap and sends him crashing to the groound. Lying on the ground, a lesser fighter would have been bitten by the approaching insectile mouth, but Varidiir rolls sideways and leaps to his feet easily avoiding the hungry mouth of the beast.

Initative Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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@9zabk 2s 3o 2c 3w 2k 44 2k 4c 30 44 2s 3o *s -3 5j 7s rs 0 U *s
@-3 4y 7v rs 0 V *s -3 66 4i rs 0 Ca *s -3 5g 4h rs 0 Co *s -3 43
@6j rs 0 *s -3 7f 6i rs 0 Tv *s -3 65 7v rs 0 Tr *s -3 65 3v rs
@0 LL *s -3 6r 2i rs 0 *s -3 64 2e rs 0 *s -3 69 1v rs 0 L *s
@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 7k
@76 rs 0 L *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 9y6tc 2o c 3c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0
@9y6tc 2o 10 3c c *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 30 c 3o 10 *s -1 3o 10
@rs 0 9y6tc 30 10 3o c *s -1 3c 1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o o 3c 1c *s -1 3c
@1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c o *s -1 3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 o 3o 1c *s -1
@3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 1c 3o o *s -1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 3c 3c 40 *s
@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c *s -3 66 39 rs 0 FM
*END xhws7x

[Gralhruk]

Bolstered by his magical success, Tolven decides to conquer the more mundane avenues of combat. Even as he brings his bow once more in line and his long fingers unerringly draw one of his best arrows from the quiver, Lynores retreats to stand next to the drow. Most rude, as such an action might well draw the beast's attention this way - an idea Tolven finds less than appealing. He launches his projectile without further ado and then steps eastward, placing the tiefling between him and the creature.

<OOC: Fire masterwork arrow at the apebeetle, 5' step due east.>

[Cadrius]

"Ha! Can't stand bef--oof!" The wind is knocked from his lungs by the second pincer and drives him back to the earth. His head smacks against the ground and pain explodes in front of his eyes creating a small shower of sparks seen only by the azer.

He shakes his head, brushing off the sparks only to see a mandible plummeting toward his stomach. Varidiir decides that today is not the day he'll be eviscerated. He rolls away with a less-than-brave shout of surprise.

"Yeeeeeeee!"

Back on his feet, Varidiir glares at the monster. First it threw him on the ground and then it tried to eat his innards. What's next? Going for his throat? Well, two can play at that game.

"Is that how it is, beastie? Take that!"

Rushing forward once more, Varidiir forgoes his fists in favor of his broad, and especially thick, forehead. He aims for the monster's torso, hoping to give it the same treatment he just received.

"Don't think I won't eat yer innards too!"

[BigRedRod]

Acid continues to burn away at the creature as Tolven knocks an arrow and sends it penetrating deeply into the side of the beast's torso. Within moments the shaft is broken as the creature continues the dance of Azer battling. The creature is beginning to look worse for wear and yet it shows no fear.

Back on his feet the monk collides headfirst with the creature. As undisciplined as his fighting technique may appear to other monks, it is undoubtably effective. The creature reels back from the impact but isn't finished yet.

The raging lizardman is not so well off however and seeing the thickened skin of his opponent changes tactics. Drawing a deep breath the creature's eyes bulge and it spews forth a small stream of flames. Canace is engulfed and left with singed hair, raw skin and beginning to feel slightly light on her feet


Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 2w 25 rs 0 0 -2v 19 -1z 25 -f 1h x 1h 2x 19 2p -3 1l -z 2h
@-23 *s -1 6w 2w rs 0 0 g -2w w -1s 8 -o o w 8 1k 2w 2w 4w 1s 60
@0 6w 14 *s -1 7g 28 rs 0 0 6c 1s 7g 28 *s -1 3k 28 rs 0 9zabk 28
@14 2o 20 3k 28 *s b 31 7p rs 0 *s b 2d 6c rs 0 *s b 1o 7p rs 0 *s
@b z 5n rs 0 *s b 19 6r rs 0 *s b z 8p rs 0 *s e ag 5y rs 0 *s e
@az 5m rs 0 *s e az 5z rs 0 *s e be 57 rs 0 *s e bp 5g rs 0 *s e
@bk 5s rs 0 *s e bv 53 rs 0 *s e bk 65 rs 0 *s e bw 5w rs 0 *s e
@74 4s rs 0 *s e 57 10 rs 0 *s e 4t 3u rs 0 *s -1 30 4c rs 0
@9zabk 2s 3o 2c 3w 2k 44 2k 4c 30 44 2s 3o *s -3 5j 7s rs 0 U *s
@-3 4y 7v rs 0 V *s -3 66 4i rs 0 Ca *s -3 5g 4h rs 0 Co *s -3 43
@6j rs 0 *s -3 85 6j rs 0 Tv *s -3 65 7v rs 0 Tr *s -3 65 3v rs
@0 LL *s -3 6r 2i rs 0 *s -3 64 2e rs 0 *s -3 69 1v rs 0 L *s
@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 7k
@76 rs 0 L *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 9y6tc 2o c 3c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0
@9y6tc 2o 10 3c c *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 30 c 3o 10 *s -1 3o 10
@rs 0 9y6tc 30 10 3o c *s -1 3c 1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o o 3c 1c *s -1 3c
@1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c o *s -1 3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 o 3o 1c *s -1
@3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 1c 3o o *s -1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 3c 3c 40 *s
@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c *s -3 66 39 rs 0 FM
*END -ogzora

[Kahluah]

Reeling from the flaming blast being issued from the lizard man's maw, Canace looks at him with gemstone eyes. Praying that Lirigita wouldn't fail her now, she thrusts the spark-ridden sword at the lizardman, hoping it delivers her opponent a similar elemental blow to what she had recieved herself.

OOC: Attacking the Lizardman barbarian.

[Gnarsh]

Realizing that his current tactics may not be doing all they potentially could, Lynores decides that a different plan of attack is in order. He leaps forward in a dive towards the monster, curling into a roll and ending up directly behind the apebug. The moment he reaches it, he sweeps his leg out to catch the creature off balance and hopefully bring it crashing to the ground.

Should he succeed in tripping it, Lynores follows through with another rapier attack. If he fails, he retreats back to his former position.

(OOC: Move towards the critter and try to trip it. Touch attack +11, provokes no AoO due to Improved Trip. Strength check +6 (+2 str, +4 Improved Trip) If it works, attack at +11, 1d6+3 damage.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Play with fire and you're bound to get burned, he thinks as the smell of burnt flesh assails his nostrils. Mace in hand, Collin ignores the screams coming from the burning elf and assaults the fire-breathing lizardman. "You bring me to this desert island; nearly drown me and now you're trying to burn the flesh from my arms! Grraarrgh! Die you over grown pile of luggage!"

(Full attack with mace, Attack +8/+3, Damage 1d8+2. Spritual Weapon, 1d8+3 damage, attack bonus +10. It'll last for 8 rounds and bypasses damage reduction.)

[BigRedRod]

Lynores executes quite a spectacular feat which would impress any on looking into providing a short round of applause. The great beast from the beneath the earth seems much less impressed however, his superior weight and strength preventing him from falling

The fire-breathing lizard stubbornly refuses to fall under the hail of blows which land on it, two from the cleric and a near miss from the floating divine weapon of Gul'ren.

With a deft blow, Canace ends the battle with the lizardman beserker. The sword passes directly through the neck of the creature, which falls to it's knees. Electricity sparks through the torrent of blood which subsides a moment or two after the elf pulls the blade free. The last of the lizard horde falls

Concentrating only on the fast moving fusion of fire and dwarf, the last opponent to the party continues it's attack. A huge clawed hand is thrustforward which Varidiir easily dodges. Another clips his arm but doesn't leave a mark. With two solid blows avoided, the creature angers and steps forwards snapping at the Azer with his it's mandibles. His other arm isn't so lucky and he loses a chunk of flesh to the monster. The red-hot monk chunk falls from it's mouth, the monster doesn't seem to relish the flavour.
[ooc: interesting sidenote : on -9 HP Torin stablised. It's nice to see you care for your teammates in the thick of combat...]

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL) (down)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 2w 25 rs 0 0 -2v 19 -1z 25 -f 1h x 1h 2x 19 2p -3 1l -z 2h
@-23 *s -1 6w 2w rs 0 0 g -2w w -1s 8 -o o w 8 1k 2w 2w 4w 1s 60
@0 6w 14 *s -1 7g 28 rs 0 0 6c 1s 7g 28 *s -1 3k 28 rs 0 9zabk 28
@14 2o 20 3k 28 *s b 31 7p rs 0 *s b 2d 6c rs 0 *s b 1o 7p rs 0 *s
@b z 5n rs 0 *s b 19 6r rs 0 *s b z 8p rs 0 *s e ag 5y rs 0 *s e
@az 5m rs 0 *s e az 5z rs 0 *s e be 57 rs 0 *s e bp 5g rs 0 *s e
@bk 5s rs 0 *s e bv 53 rs 0 *s e bk 65 rs 0 *s e bw 5w rs 0 *s e
@74 4s rs 0 *s e 57 10 rs 0 *s e 4t 3u rs 0 *s -1 30 4c rs 0
@9zabk 2s 3o 2c 3w 2k 44 2k 4c 30 44 2s 3o *s -3 5j 7s rs 0 U *s
@-3 4y 7v rs 0 V *s -3 66 4i rs 0 Ca *s -3 5g 4h rs 0 Co *s -3 43
@6j rs 0 *s -3 85 6j rs 0 Tv *s -3 65 7v rs 0 Tr *s -3 65 3v rs
@0 LL *s -3 6r 2i rs 0 *s -3 64 2e rs 0 *s -3 69 1v rs 0 L *s
@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 7k
@76 rs 0 L *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 9y6tc 2o c 3c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0
@9y6tc 2o 10 3c c *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 30 c 3o 10 *s -1 3o 10
@rs 0 9y6tc 30 10 3o c *s -1 3c 1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o o 3c 1c *s -1 3c
@1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c o *s -1 3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 o 3o 1c *s -1
@3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 1c 3o o *s -1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 3c 3c 40 *s
@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c *s -3 66 39 rs 0 FM *s -1 3c 20
@rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c 20 *s -1 3c 20 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 20 3c 1c
*END -qkpzre

[Gralhruk]

Finding something of a rythym with two sequential strikes, Tolven decides to follow the pattern and hope it continues to give him a good return. Rather than plucking another arrow from his sheath, dark fingers pluck arcane energy from the air as he repeats his earlier incantation. Those possessed of both situational awareness and good memory for arcane gibberish are not surprised to see a dripping, greenish bolt fly from his fingertips towards the creature.

<OOC: Cast Melf's Acid Arrow at the thing once again.>

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

With a broad sweeping gesture, Collin commands his Spiritual Weapon to attack the rampaging ground monster. "Seek and destroy!" He hisses at the phantom mace.

His harrassing weapon sent on its mission, the priest takes the time to loop his own mace on his belt. I should consider not using a shield, he thinks to himself as he frees up a hand for spell casting.

(5' step towards the monster, command the Spiritual Weapon as a move-equivalent action, sheath his own mace as another move-equivalent action. Spritual Weapon, 1d8+3 damage, attack bonus +10. It'll last for 7 rounds and bypasses damage reduction.)

[Cadrius]

Varidiir looks from his arm, to the monster, and then back to his arm. It ate a piece of his flesh; it ate a piece of him. Nobody, but nobody, eats his skin without his permission. It just isn't proper, damn it, and if there's one person who's an expert when it comes to azer etiquette, it's Varidiir.

"...ow!" He yells, the pain finally catching up to the wound.

Righteous indignation floods his senses. The nerve of such a beast to try and eat him, especially while he was still alive and punching, is beyond reprehensible. It's depraved. His fists clench and then unclench while he waits for his opening. One pincer sweeps in and he leaps forward latching onto the area above it.

"I'll show you, you damned beast!"

Latching his strong hands onto the bug-thing's forearm, Varidiir bites with all his strength.

[BigRedRod]

With all of it's former allies gone, the attack concentrates on to the hulking beast. A glob of arcane acidity splashes against it's back and the creature emits a deep rumbling noise of pain.

The Azer takes this distraction and pounces upon the monster. His teeth make very little impact on the thick armoured-hide but the heat radiating from the monk's body leaves the forearm of the insectile creature blackened.

Initative
Lynores(L)
Torin (Tr) (down)
Collin (C)
Canace (Ca)
Ground Monster (U)
Tolven (Tv)
Varidiir (V)
Red Lizardmen (L) (all down)
Lizardman Leader (LL) (down)
Purple Lizardman (PL) (down)

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 2w 25 rs 0 0 -2v 19 -1z 25 -f 1h x 1h 2x 19 2p -3 1l -z 2h
@-23 *s -1 6w 2w rs 0 0 g -2w w -1s 8 -o o w 8 1k 2w 2w 4w 1s 60
@0 6w 14 *s -1 7g 28 rs 0 0 6c 1s 7g 28 *s -1 3k 28 rs 0 9zabk 28
@14 2o 20 3k 28 *s b 31 7p rs 0 *s b 2d 6c rs 0 *s b 1o 7p rs 0 *s
@b z 5n rs 0 *s b 19 6r rs 0 *s b z 8p rs 0 *s e ag 5y rs 0 *s e
@az 5m rs 0 *s e az 5z rs 0 *s e be 57 rs 0 *s e bp 5g rs 0 *s e
@bk 5s rs 0 *s e bv 53 rs 0 *s e bk 65 rs 0 *s e bw 5w rs 0 *s e
@74 4s rs 0 *s e 57 10 rs 0 *s e 4t 3u rs 0 *s -1 30 4c rs 0
@9zabk 2s 3o 2c 3w 2k 44 2k 4c 30 44 2s 3o *s -3 5j 7s rs 0 U *s
@-3 4y 7v rs 0 V *s -3 66 4i rs 0 Ca *s -3 5g 4h rs 0 Co *s -3 43
@6j rs 0 *s -3 85 6j rs 0 Tv *s -3 65 7v rs 0 Tr *s -3 65 3v rs
@0 LL *s -3 6r 2i rs 0 *s -3 64 2e rs 0 *s -3 69 1v rs 0 L *s
@-3 6y 1t rs 0 L *s -3 69 2i rs 0 L *s -3 6s 2l rs 0 PL *s -3 7k
@76 rs 0 L *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 9y6tc 2o c 3c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0
@9y6tc 2o 10 3c c *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 30 c 3o 10 *s -1 3o 10
@rs 0 9y6tc 30 10 3o c *s -1 3c 1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o o 3c 1c *s -1 3c
@1c rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c o *s -1 3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 o 3o 1c *s -1
@3o 1c rs 0 9y6tc 30 1c 3o o *s -1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 3c 3c 40 *s
@-1 3c 40 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 40 3c 3c *s -3 66 39 rs 0 FM *s -1 3c 20
@rs 0 9y6tc 2o 1c 3c 20 *s -1 3c 20 rs 0 9y6tc 2o 20 3c 1c
*END -qkpzre

[Gnarsh]

Lynores jumps at the creature, stabbing with all his might, then retreats to his former position.

(OOC: You know the drill)

[Kahluah]

Canace turns around to see the umber hulk attempting to eat the Azer. Striding forward, she readies her sword, swinging the electrified blade high into the air and bringing it down hard at the creature.

OOC: Move towards the creature and attack it.

[BigRedRod]

Lynores leaps forward andslashes again at the great beast. His thin blade does little more than rub against an unarmoured joint of the creature

Striding forward the cleric readies his own weapon and commands the disembodied mace to strike the remaining creature. The mace glides through the air and crashes powerfully against the neck of the ground monster. It squeals in pain.

Rushing alongside Collin's divine mace, Canace joins the fray. Plunging forward with her sword. A small jump allows her to put far more force on the downwards slash and the crackling blade buries itself deeply in the creature. Slicing cleanly through the thick armour plating and spitting several internal organs. Liquids of various colours and consistencies spurt outwards from the rift. The creature makes as if to strike at the wizard with it's last breath, but instead falls limply to the ground

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin allows his spiritual weapon to continue beating the monster. If he gets any looks from the others, he returns them with a "better safe than sorry" shrug. Reaching out to Torin, the priest rolls the unconscious mage-hunter over to check the wounds that were inflicted.

Realizing that he can't waste time, he calls upon his God to restore health to the fallen. "Blessed be, grant your healing energy to this fallen man as we need his expertise in extracting revenge on the Unknown one." With that, healing hands are placed on the most gruesome wounds.

(Cure Serious Wound for 3d8+9 hit points on Torin. The Spiritual Weapon will continue to beat the monster until it's really dead.)

[BigRedRod]

With a jolt, Torin returns from the grey borderline between living and dead. Quickly hunching into a sitting position he coughs and spits out a glob of blood from his throat, with a quick wipe to his mouth he nods at Collin.
"Wow. Thought I wasn't coming back that time."
Slowly, the mage-hunter stands up, clearly still sore from the beating he recieved. With a raised eye brow he regards the beast which felled him still being struck by Collin's spiritual weapon
"You got him then? Looks like I missed everything."

[Gralhruk]

"Our blessed priest is ever a generous benefactor. I, too, feared for your life."

In truth, Tolven had barely considered Torin's fall. With no way to heal him, the best option seemed to be to kill the creature as quickly as possible. Maybe it would have been better to drag the man to a safer place.

Note to self: next time a companion drops, spurting blood, contemplate all avenues.

He turns his attention to the lizard men, searching them for some clue as to their purpose. While he does so, he glances over at Canace. Grakus emerges from behind a rock and glides to his master's shoulder, where he quickly furls his wings and proceeds to look very much like a miniature gargoyle.

"Lady, I do believe you had some samples to take? Perhaps we should proceed with care, or find another location for your work."

[BigRedRod]

A quick search of the fire-breathing lizardmen is most puzzling, they lack any items but what they used in the battle. Weapons, armour and nothing else. Not a crude idol to a dark god, not a smattering of coins, or even a light snack. Just a rather tired looking great axe, a suit of heavily worn studded leather armour, eight rusted longswords and eight sets of equally mistreated chainmail. The purple-skinned lizardman carried nothing but the old yet functional belt which contained a dozen throwng knives of no special quality but not as poorly kept as the other equipment.

[Gnarsh]

"Ah, nothing like a nice workout." Lynores says to no one in particular as he sheaths his rapier. He moves over to the bodies of the fallen lizard-men, inspecting their bodies more than their crude equipment. "I wonder if a decent set of boots could be made out of one of these. Perhaps some gloves to match, too." He turns to the elven mage, saying, "Canace, is there a decent tanner in town who doesn't mind working with the skin of sentient beings?"

[Cadrius]

"Rrrrrrr!" Varidiir continues to worry the beast's arm for a moment. His teeth proving to be ineffectual, the azer relies on the natural heat pouring out of him to blacken the creature's hide a bit further. It wasn't a physical attack; it was a psychological one. The last thing that creature likely saw was a burning dwarf biting its arm. If there's an afterlife for such creatures, it won't live its death down for a long time to come.

He releases the arm and spits. The hide is actually quite foul tasting and if he hadn't been so intent on revenge for being bitten, Varidiir might have reconsidered his course of action.

Everyone is alive and in various states of well-being. His arm hurts. Looking down he sees the damage done by the beast and frowns. Crimson blood trickles down bronze skin and the azer shurgs before sticking his arm into the perpetual flame errupting from his skull. A bandage wouldn't last long against his hot skin before blistering; he might as well attempt to cauterize it.

Whistling an old drinking song, Varidiir waits with one arm over his head.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Tis a good thing I can withstand the heat," Collin says to Varidiir as he lays a healing hand on the Azer's wounded arm. "Blessed be that you are with me and my Lord; for He will heal and purify your wounds."

His hand glows with a soft blue light as his prayer is answered. "Now this may feel a little uncomfortable to you," he says as the healing magic does its job. Uncomfortable is an understatement for the flaming dwarf when the open gash from the umber hulk's bite ices over with intense cold. When it's all over, a small scar is all that remains of the large bite.

Healing complete, Collin looks around for any other wounded. Seeing that nobody else is in dire need of magical healing, he begins searching for clues. "Were they working together, or was it simply coincidence that we were attacked from both sides?"

(Casts Cure Moderate Wounds on Varidiir to heal 2d8+9 hit points.)

[Kahluah]

The elven wizard crouches low, wiping the still sparking blade across the ground to remove much of the blood and other multicolored fluids from it. Hearing her name, Canace turns her gaze to the half-fiend, her face posed in thought. "There is a tanner in the settlement, and I know he holds no love for the lizardmen that reside in these hills. That said, I am not sure he would be willing to carve one up to make a pair of gloves or boots out of one. But I suppose you could ask, and he may be able to do something."

[Cadrius]

Cold. If there's one thing the azer hates more than ill-mannered insectoid creatures, it's cold. He shivers, goosebumps dancing along his normally hot skin. He hates being cold; his hands feel weaker, clumsier, and his whole body feels slower and anile. Teeth chatter, and Varidiir is suprised when no puff of steam appears once Collin's hand is withdrawn.

Varidiir rubs his arms and legs, urging the warmth to return and it does a little, but the area where his wound had just been is still chill to the touch. The azer briefly wonders if it will fall off. He frowns at the thought of trying to drink, fight, or make rude gestures with only one arm to serve him.

"Well, then," he says, eyeing Canace, "I see ye survived. Maybe you aren't quite so willow...waisted...like those other elves that I've, uh, punched...damn it."

He glares at the bemused look on Tolven's face and wonders if azers should have a feud with the drow as well.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

His healing job complete, Collin inspects the hole the tunneling creature came out from. "You don't suppose it's possible to travel under the barrier?" He asks as he kicks a rock down the hole. Looking back at the cave, he brings up another question, "Or should we see where those handbags came from?"

"I don't suppose these are the real local natives," he asks Canace. "Are they usually this violent? And do they always work with one of these things?" The priest makes a point of kicking the large monster. "If so, maybe the town needs to set up some more defenses to prevent tunneling. I'm sure they think they're safe in their walls, but then one of these things digs under them and surprise, the fort's overrun with lizardmen."

[Gnarsh]

"Well, shall you get what you came here for, milady, and we'll head back to town? I have some boots to get made, after all." Lynores says to Canace while looking over the lizardfolk bodies for the one with the least marred skin.

[Gralhruk]

Time stretches and so does the silence. Tolven clears his throat lightly, looking expectantly at the magical lady, wondering if perhaps she was appauled by the ruthlessness with which they had dispatched the enemy. It seemed doubtful, given her prowess in the combat. Perhaps Canace simply wanted to continue her study without the rest of them looking over her shoulder.

"I don't feel right leaving you here, especially with the possibilty that further dangers might be lurking about. Still, if you would rather meet us back in town . . . "

He lets the suggestion trail off, waiting for her answer.

[Kahluah]

Canace slides the still sparking weapon into its sheath, taking out a few jars from her rucksack. "I should only be a few minutes. This area seems to have the least concentrated ley lines in it that I need to study the effects of."

Disappearing into the cafe mouth for about ten minutes, she comes back with her hands dirtier than they had been before, and four jars filled with rocks, mud, and other such things. "Ok, we can go now," she exclaims as she wraps the jaws in different colored cloths and places them into her bag.

[Gnarsh]

Lynores hoists the least-damaged lizardman to his shoulder and prepares to leave.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Are you sure we should just leave without checking out where these critters came from?" The priest asks, as the others seem ready to leave. "What if there are more? And what about that magic they must have used to summon and control that thing." He points at the large subterranean monster that nearly killed Torin.

Laughing, he suggests something bordering on the insane, "Wouldn't it be fun to have one or more of those things attack Batman? 'Course he'd just fly away, but I'm sure he's got his own minions by now. If one of those things could occupy them, we'd be free to jump on Blackie."

[Gralhruk]

Tolven shakes his head slightly and represses the urge to smile. Walking around with a couple of those beasts in tow until such time as they bump into Unknown? That plan had more holes in it than Torin did a few minutes ago.

"Our business is with that Nameless traitor, not these creatures. What magic they used might be gone and it seems a needless risk to go searching for something that might not even be there."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Without interest in his idea, Collin shrugs and joins the rest of the group as they tromp back to the garrison.

"Makes one wonder about why they trusted him," he says on the topic of Unknown. "Could have finished with all of this business a while ago when he was gored and at the brink of death." Shaking his head in sorrow, he continues, "The fates must have had something to do with his recovery."

[BigRedRod]

Leaving the warrens of the red-skinned lizardmen and their pets behind, the six return to the town of Broken-Gate with one of their kills in tow. For all but the azer, the walk is tiring after the unexpected skirmish.

The town guards quickly raise the gate and look in odd wonder at the tiefling and his prize. Eventually one of them remembers his job and speaks up, addressing Collin with a slightly shakey voice,
"Uhh, we're hving a big celebration-meal tonight and errr, I was told to err tell you... Err, yeah. you're the guests of honour!"
He spread shis arms at the last words and tries a smile. Blushing slightly, he continues and rops his arms,
"We're gonna start at sundown so erm... you know ... few hours ..."
The guardsman manages a quick nod at Canace before returning to his post and quickly becoming fully occupied with closing the gates and lowering the portcullis.

[Gnarsh]

"Ah, excellent, a real meal for once! I'll go drop this off at the tanner's, and be over in a bit. Save some wine for me!" Lynores says to the group as he moves off to try to find the town's tanner.

[BigRedRod]

Lynores quickly locates a small dwarvish man named Lenn. A dwarf who is clearly both a tanner and a tailor. A man who's face passes through a number of phases as a Tiefling carrying the remains of a dead red-skinned lizardman saunters up to his place of business.

First it was suprise. Lenn hadn't seen any of the newcomers and one being of such obvious demonic heritage was clealry a fact which hadn't made it back to him through the various gossip circles.
Next came fear. A demon swordsman dropping a corpse at his feet and smiling is not an image that is likely to be forgotten. In Lenn's own retellings of this tale he doesn't say that he ever felt such an undwarf-like emotion as fear.
Shortly after arrived bewilderment. The day would not be his last it seemed, the demon merely wished his fallen enemy to be crafted into a pair of boots.

In this period, the dwarf found himself nodding and quietly saying that his new client could come back in a few days to pick up his boots.

With the figure heading awat across the dusty earth, Lenn found his fourth phase. Shock. Sitting heavily on a stool, Lenn stared at the body fo several minutes before going inside to make himself a good strong drink.

An hour later, a tanner with steeled nerves would return to the corpse and set about his task. Distasteful it may have been, but he had given his word and Lenn was unable to break such a bond. The demon swordsman would have his lizardskin boots...


...


The sun slowly begins to fall from the sky tearing away the blue and replacing it with the pinkish purple of twilight. One of the few open areas of broken gate has been transformed intoa huge dining area. A series of long tables have been constructed from smaller tables, and the party get the feeling that every colonist has brought his furniture outside to aid the festivities. A crudely fashioned stone stool sits at one of the larger tables nearest a large bonfire around which several men busily work. One of them notices the party and approaches, it appears to be Brannigan, although free from his armour and covered in soot and ash. He grins,
"Welcome, Welcome!"
His eyes dart to the azer and then to the stone stool which appears to be a pair of large flat stones sat on top of one another,
"Erm. Varidiir, wasn't it? We've made arrangements that should avoid you setting fire to everything and everyone tonight, not glamourous but nothing out here is. Makes more sense than fitting everyone in the jailhouse too."
He laughs and gestures to the table,
"Sit. Sit. The Mayor will be out soon."

Other townspeople have started to arrive and sit in little clusters at the ables. The table marked for the party by the stone stool however, remain empty. A few steps toward the table reveals that the section of it around Varidiir's seat has been soaked in water.. The same steps also reveal that the tankards on the table contain ale, and that the jugs on the table contain more ale.

[Cadrius]

"Er, thanks?"

He isn't quite certain how to respond to the specially made chair. The azer wants to be touched, but at the same time it's a couple of rock slabs that can only be considered furniture in the barest sense of the term. Plus it's gonna hurt like hell if he sits on it for too long. There's only one cure for such a thing: ale. Fortunately for Varidiir, the village seems to be well-supplied.

The danger of Varidiir burning people or villages is at least partially overstated. He's only set fire to a building once in his life, and it wasn't even his fault...much. That hunter should've known better than to try and use the azer as a match; the kindling caught, and then so did the whole damn place. And people? Please. Varidiir hasn't set fire to a person in at least several months. He doesn't know why they make such a big deal out of a flaming skull anyway.

A mug is hoisted, drained, and then thumped back down upon the damp table. He grins at Collin and Tolven before catching sight of the Canace. The elf! He'd almost forgotten! Varidiir quickly affects a scowl and does his best to appear surly.

"Ale's all that's here, eh? Maybe they've got some moonbeams or pixie spit, or whatever it is you elves drink."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Still shaking his head in bewilderment that he was the first to be addressed, Collin chalks it up to being the only "normal" person in the group. Having until sunset to think about the situation, he only comes up with more questions. I've always wondered about this. If we were formed to be a covert Special Forces unit, why'd they stick me in with a bunch of freaks? Being covert, I would have thought that we'd be able to blend in with the major populations. A burning dwarf, a drow and an evil spawn in the form of a tiefling doesn't seem too natural. Maybe I was placed in the wrong group?

Pushing those troubling thoughts aside, Collin tries to put on a different face in order to enjoy the night's festivities. Being honored by the town is a nice surprise, but for some reason he remains uncomfortable. As they're ushered towards the empty table, the priest looks around at the assembled partygoers and gives each a good look up and down. Why are they honoring us? He asks himself. It's not like we've done anything to deserve this.

Stepping around the soaked table, he takes a deep breath through his nose, smelling the air and liquid that surround the seats of honor. Have they soaked the table and floor with water or oil? With all of them sitting so far back, burning all but Varidiir would be a piece of cake. Gul'ren do I ever wish I were home. That thought gets him looking up at the surrounding walls and buildings, seeing if there are archers with flaming arrows nocked and ready. Whoa now, let's not get too paranoid. Those six-foot lizards got you thinking about Unknown's treachery again. Calm, deep breaths are needed to relax...

In order to help relieve some of his fears, Collin begins to ask if some of the other townsfolk will join them at the table. "Please kind sir, why don't you pull your chair up to the table. We'd appreciate hearing your own tales. Miss, won't you honor us by joining our table. It'll be so lonely without your company..." He figures that the enemy may hesitate to light the area on fire if some of the townsfolk are surrounding the Special Forces members. Why make us an easy target? Blend in, isn't that what they tried to teach us?

[Gralhruk]

Yes, I'm sure every farmer and blacksmith in this place will be more than happy to join the travelling freak show for a meal. They'll probably have trouble enjoying dinner, wondering when we'll decide to skin them and turn their hides into fashionable accessories.

Tolven sighs and contents himself with several bored swallows of ale. Grakus is sprawled half on his shoulder and half around his neck, apparently sound asleep. The drow wishes he might do the same. Perhaps tomorrow would bring an answer to their current dilemma - something, he notes, that nobody seems particularly concerned about.

Well, whatever.

It isn't like they had many options, thousands of miles away from society and cutoff from any magic that could help them get out of here or determine Unknown's whereabouts. He wonders idly how far from the island they'd need to go before magic started working again. Maybe Canace would have an idea. Varidiir's glower brings a faint smile to his face. Yes, the azer undoubtedly had a thing for their new companion.

Good luck with that, though it might be the first time in history that the poker is too hot for the fireplace.

He clears his throat.

"So, it seems they don't get many visitors here. Not a good sign, as far as our quest goes. Perhaps we should inquire about a ship before we, uh, wear out our welcome."

[Gnarsh]

A few minutes later, Lynores arrives at the festivities. A wide grin appears on his face as he sees his fellow Special Forces Agents, and he heads over to the table. Sitting down between Collin and Tolven, the tiefling grabs an ale and drains it before turning to Tolven and asking, "Guests of Honor, eh? Any idea what we did to deserve this? Or are they just a party-happy kind of town?" He grabs another ale and looks around, catching the eye of a carefree young maiden or two. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin rolls his eyes at Lynores' last statement. Just what the world needs, more fiends, he thinks to himself as he watches the tiefling attempt to pull some moves on any person with breasts.

In attempting to converse with the locals, Collin politely asks about the other native inhabitants. Who are the lizard-folk that live underground and what kind of trouble they might bring to the "normal" folk that live on the surface. Depending on the answers, he also asks about transporting off the island. Maybe he suggests, the lizards have ships, or some other group of inhabitants the Special Forces unit haven't seen.

[Gralhruk]

"What did we do to deserve all this? Just at the right place at the right time, it seems."

They had been neither, of late. Tolven smirks into his ale, silver eyes continuing to appraise those around him. The section of armor around his neck bulges and twists, becoming Grakus as the chameleon stretches his wings and climbs onto his shoulder. The familiar proceeds to look at Varidiir first with one eye, then the other, before taking a short, gliding hop. He lands on the bench next to the azer and paces for a moment, finding a nice distance at which to bask in this heat source. Apparently satisfied, he settles down and curls up on the warm stone of the bench next to the fire dwarf.

[Kahluah]

Canace takes her seat two spaced down from the Azer, before he makes his remark. "I am quite able to drink ale just as any other. Not all elves sit in their tree top houses drinking wine and fae-ensorcelled water." As she takes a draught of the bitter ale, she looks at Collin talking sullenly with the locals before looking at the rest of the group at her table. "Well, you no doubt have questions, and I certainly would like to know more of you also, so please feel free to start with whatever you wish to speak of."

[BigRedRod]

Not long has passed before every table is filled, except for two spaces for the party's own. Brannigan sits beside Lynores, while the rest is occupied by others who all but Canace do not know. The table is situated so that one side is free of chairs and it looks toward the rest of the townsfolk.

Collin's questions are answered by the plump gnome beside him. She was recruited to the initial band of colonists for her knowledge of minerals and gems, should there be anything worth mining here it will her task to coordinae efforts. However, the island has proved a little dangerous to send anyone in to the caves. The fire-breathing lizardmen are an annoyance and prevent her from prospecting the underground regions. Seemingly limitless in number and fearless, they randomly pour forth from beneath the ground to kill any villager they come across. Half a dozen men and women have been lost so far, although not for a while now. Everybody knows not to go near any open caves. Except for Canace. The gnome, whose name it turns out is Shamil but perfers to be called Gempalms, doesn't seem to like Canace but she siesteps the issue of why.
Gempalms doubts there is anything intelligent enough on the island to have a ship, and doubts anything will be sent from Vodalia until Summer.

The smell of roasting meat fills the town as whole pigs are turned over on spits by the great bonfire. The village huses for a moment and it becomes clear the mayor is arriving. Samson walks between the tables, smiling at people and saying a few words here and there. Now he wears a shirt, and has a pretty young woman on one of his arms, his sword remains on his belt. Arriving at the pair of empty chairs he nods to the party and prepares to speak. Sensing this, the town comes to it's feet.
"I think it is quite obvious why everybody is here today. We have some visitors to our humble Broken-Gate!"
He sweeps an arm toward the party, and most of the crowd cheer,
"Well that's enough. Make them feel welcome and now I need a drink"
The people cheer once more and then Samson sits, the rest of the village quickly follow. Noise fills the town as everyone resumes their talking and gossips merrily about the party. Leaning sideways Samson smiles and speaks loud enough for all of the team to hear,
"I hear you met some of our island friends. Bastards, although I think you've unsettled some of the people with that boot making stunt."
Before he can continue, a plate of food is set before him. Plates quickly appear before the whole party, as the few men left manning the bonfire and spits carve and serve. A few bowls of roasted vegetables and roots appear on the table with equal speed and then the team of cooks rapidly distrubute food to the remaining hungry people. The food distracts the mayor from paying the party more direct attention, as he begins to eat, drink and laugh loudly at the whispers from the girl by his side.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"That is all very interesting," Collin says after Gempalms informs him about the lizardfolk. "But has anyone tried to open the lines of diplomacy with these creatures? If they control the caves, they must have wealth in some form. In fact, the ones we encountered seemed to have been well armed, swords and mail. With so many of them, I doubt that they looted all of it from you. Never mind that the armor looked to be decades old."

Taking a sip of drink, the priest continues his train of thought, "You said they're underground creatures and that you only collect ore from the surface. I'm sure that the pickings have become very thin. Now would it be worth something if we were to ferret out these nuisances and possibly open up some of the underground mines? Or is there a more immediate threat, tunnels under the town? I'd hate to see your walls breached because the lizards used their burrowing slaves to dig a hole up into the middle of the town. Or worse yet, poison your well from below." Collin shakes his head at that last thought. "It'd be tragic to see your young and old fall to disease without warning. I mean just imagine it; they could cripple the town without so much as a single armed conflict. After the town collapses, they'd have access to your stores of weapons and goods. And then when the supply ships come, they could end up tricking them and commandeering those vessels."

Planting the seeds of an idea in the gnome's mind, Collin pushes just a little, "Yes, they're probably getting ready to do so since you haven't had any contact with them in, what did you say, several months? Very dangerous work that would be, stopping them and well worth a substantial reward."

[BigRedRod]

Gemplams tries to stifle her laughter at Collin's mention of diplomacy but fails, after a few moments and some deep breaths she calms down enough to talk,
"You? What would your God have to say about that? Aye, I know what you are. But your type don't normally go in for cloak and dagger. No if you'd wanted to kill us I have no doubt you'd have started as soon as you were through the gate. I don't agree with your beliefs but I don't ask need to, they are yours not mine."

Smiling, she gets back to the topic of diplomacy,

"They can't be reasoned with. They endlessly pour out of the ground and kill. No amount of talking makes them even pause. We've noticed their arms and we don't know what to make of it, ancient stuff but an endless supply..."
The gnome leans forward as if to share a secret and lowers her voice to a rather more conspiratorial volume,
"...almost like they found a vault or something down there. An old one too. But that is just me"
She laughs again, and Collin isn't quite sure whether she was joking or actually thinks that the lizardmen really do live in some unknown subterranean ruins

"Thin? Thin? I pray for thin pickings we are on near non-existant these days. What burrowing slaves? I don't think they made the tunnels themselves, lizards don't dig. What makes you think they do or even that they are?"

Her face reveals that she is boh confused and worried that the village could be at risk

[Gralhruk]

Tolven turns the information over in his mind. No ships, no magic, and no real way to get either. They were stuck here, seemingly for months. Months they probably didn't have, given the fact that Unknown was doubtless out trying to finish wreaking the havoc he'd started with that Grimoire. He frowns, wondering once more if the book they had was actually the magical tome and they just couldn't read it or if the information had somehow been transferred to a different book. A book that might be in the fiend's possession even now. Not a comforting thought.

On the other hand, maybe fate had been kind enough to strand their adversary in a similar situation. The thought of him stewing somewhere is vaguely pleasant, but hardly enough to make the drow smile.

"There was some fearsome creature with the lizard men that attacked us - a large, shelled beast that was able to dig through the earth as though it were water. It certainly seemed to be in league with the lizardmen; it was impossible to determine how intelligent it might be during our brief encounter, but the nature of it's attack and defense suggests at least rudimentary cunning.

"I can't say I'd be eager to take on too many of those things, though."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

A bit surprised at the elderly gnome, Collin asks, "How would you know what my beliefs are? All you know of me is that I, like my friends, do not belong here and that we are also fellow Vodali."

After speaking the words, he changes his mind on obtaining an answer. Holding his hand up and shaking it side-to-side with his palm facing Gemplams, he says, "No, do not bother to answer that question. It was impolite of me to even ask. Besides the answer doesn't matter. What does matter is that I was not lying when I told you of the tunneling beast. With such a monster under their control, your walls will not provide any defense against them."

Resting his hands on the table, he continues, "I take it you're unaware of such creatures allying themselves with these lizards. The plans of attack are or should be well known to any military commander, as they are the staples for a prolonged attack against a fortified city. Why siege when you can kill from within? Why scale the walls when you can tunnel under them? Never mind the fact that these armored monstrosities could very well tear through your wooden palisade. The one we fought mauled poor Torin here in the blink of an eye. He hovered near death's door before I restored him to life."

Looking down the length of the table, Collin begins to wonder if his words are being wasted. "Perhaps I should speak with your garrison's commander about these matters?"

[BigRedRod]

Gempalms shrugs and half nods at Collin's suggestion of informing someone more closely related with the defense of the town to this new threat,
"I'm unaware but perhaps Brannigan and his men know. I'd make a point to inform him-"

The gnome pushes herself forward over the table so that she might see those at the other end of the table, the sight is oddly comic as she struggles to see while avoiding coating herself in the hardly touched food before her. The captain of Broken-Gate's guard laughs along merrily to whatever Samson is saying while trying to weasel stories of adventure out of his tiefling dining companion, his face is already quite red with the effects of ale as he refills every tankard within arms reach and waves the now-empty jug in the air.
Satisified, the gnome sits back down and pokes some of her meat with a fork

"Although perhaps the morning might be a better time. Let him enjoy the evening. They've not attacked us directly in a good while, they seem to be learning that we are here to stay. And never with one of those ground-monsters. I doubt our dear Brannigan would even remember any conversation tomorrow the rate he is going."

[Gnarsh]

While absentmindedly eating his meal and downing several ales, Lynores chats with Brannigan and Samson. Eventually, after some persuading, he begins a story about his adventures with the VSF.

"So there we were, infiltrating the palace of a mighty Baron of Dauthim. We had been sent to assassinate the Baron and implicate an outside party in the matter, thus ending his tyrannical reign over the area's peasants.

We flew in through a balcony, with the aid of the Unnamed One, the former companion whom we are now pursuing, curse his black heart. Soon after entering the mansion, our group meets a strange creature, at least ten feet tall, with arms like tree trunks, who, by my best estimation, was quite insane. Upon dispatching this foe, we managed to subdue a guard, and Tolven, with the assistance of my mastery of disguise, donned his uniform and, using much make-up, appeared as one of the guards."

Several attendees at the festival begin to wander over to the table, and Lynores' voice rises to accomodate them, while he accents it with great, sweeping arm movements.

"Now, on that night, it just so happened that the Baron was hosting a grand party. After slipping in unnoticed, Tolven used his magic to create a large distraction, and the rest of us burst in. The guests fled, the guards attacked, and the Baron's personal mage summoned a mighty demon to battle for them. Using its abyssal powers, the creature subdued the others! However, I managed to overcome the beast with a quick sword and ample speed, and the rest of the guards, along with the sorceror, soon fell in a similar fashion. The Baron was the last to fall, cowering at my feet, no sense of nobility left in him. I mercifully ended his life quickly, freed my companions, and we set out for home, winning a great victory for Vodalia!" Lynores finishes with a shout, then pours some more ale for himself and the others.

[Cadrius]

"Bah! I once punched a hole right through a demon's chest...and...uh...right into an elf's face. Then I...ran and...um...ate it. But that wasn't all! Oh no. The elf used some of its tricksy magic and popped back out again," Varidiir says, eyeing those around him, "So, uh, to make a long story short, that's how I learned to never get into a spitting contest with an elf."

Satisfied with his story, Varidiir reaches down and fumbles an attempt to pet the familiar curled up around his makeshift chair. He's had more to drink than he thought. Shrugging, the azer sinks his teeth into another slice of meat before hoisting his ale once more.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Listening to Lynores spill his guts, Collin's eyes nearly drop out of his skull. I thought we were supposed to not exist, and not share our deeds? Well, so much for being a covert unit. Not that we've ever really been covert, or a unit for that matter.

Gempalms snaps his attention back to what he was trying to discuss. Hearing the gnome's response, he nods in agreement. "Very well," he sighs. "We'll bring it to his attention at a later date. Let everyone enjoy tonight's banquet."

The priest doesn't really eat his food, but picks at his meal with his knife for a while before asking Gempalms, "Your supply of metals, you said that you're relegated to the surface pickings. Now, I'm no blacksmith, but I doubt that there's enough iron lying about the surface to shoe a horse. How do you maintain all your needs? I highly doubt that there's enough brought here by ship if they only arrive once a year. There'd be no profit for the kingdom to keep this place stocked if you weren't at least moderately self-sufficient. So, what do you do here?"

[BigRedRod]

Gempalms giggles at Collin's question,
"You sound like a spy sent by the Emperor to check up on us. I think the mainland expected us to be doing rather better with all the skills and resources they collected together. Simply put we do what we can to survive and expand. Currently that is largely related to trying to get our fishermen back on the seas, the project before was to enclose an area near the town with walls so that it might be farmed and protected. Everyone tries their hardest and we make progress. Slow progress, but progress all the same. I think the Gods must truely favour us, otherwise we would have been pushed from this hostile isle several times over"
The voice of the gnome is distant, but after a fork-full of food she turns the conversation around to news from the mainland and Collin spends the rest of the evening moved to a rather less controlling position in the conversation. He learns little else, a few local rumours to which he attaches little worth, and a general feeling that the storm hit while the settlement had alreay been struggling for a few weeks. This meal welcoming the special forces also seems to have been a subtle attempt to raise morale, judging from the faces of the townsfolk it seems to have worked

...

With pounding heads the new-comers to Broken-gate awaken in the jail-house, a place rarely if ever used for its intended purpose. A few attempts have been made to transform the stone building into something more like a bunk-house. As per usual the building is deserted of any guardsmen, at a guess it would seem that all are either on duty or still sleeping despite the sun marking the day as having already progressed to mid morning.

[Kahluah]

Canace walks up towards the jailhouse, stepping into the stone building to look for the newcomers she had met yesterday. She is dressed in considerably more ceremonial clothing than yesterday, long flowing robes of silver with blue trim covering her lithe frame, her hair left untied so as to let the winds that still flow lightly about her to catch them locks and the folds of the robes, despite there being no draft at all in the room. In her hands she carries a scroll of some sort, tied with a piece of grey ribbon.

"Ahh, there you all are. I was studying those samples you all helped me protect yesterday, and I think I may have found something interesting in the soils at the site we met, some form of enchantment that, while present throughout the island, seemed to be strongest near to that point."

She looks at each member of the group in front of her, her eyes pale grey and shifting slightly like clouds in the arial winds, before continuing. "I have been asked by Samson that you accompany me to that spot and keep a weather-eye open should the lizard-folk attack again, as I will need to enact a ritual to try and dispel the enchantment that I believe has caused the planar split from the main Prime Material."

[Cadrius]

Varidiir's eyes flutter open, chasing away the vestiges of a rather pleasant dream involving elves, derrogatory comments, and ale, lots and lots of ale. He sighs. The good dreams never last long enough. Pushing himself to his feet, he stretches his muscles, driving the sleep from them. A mighty yawn seizes him and he places a fist in front of his mouth. Taking a moment to allow his newfound consciousness to soak in, Varidiir surveys his "room."

Jail, eh? Suppose I've slept in worse places.

The light streaming through a nearby window, still complete with iron bars, has him squinting. What time was it, anyway? Stifling another yawn, the azer strolls outside and into the morning light. Craning his neck, Varidiir takes a quick glance at the sky and sees the morning is already half-over. He runs one bronzed hand along his flaming scalp and smiles. The sun feels good. Perhaps a few months on this island would do him some good. A rumble from his stomach has him striding back into the jail-turned-house. Spying a half-eaten loaf of bread that he apparently took with him from the feast, Varidiir tears a piece and pops it into his mouth. Bread in hand, he emerges from the jail once more and begins walking toward the sea shore. A quiet place to listen to the ocean would make an excellent spot for meditation.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Groggy and bleary-eyed from the night's festivities, Collin rolls out of his bunk and comes crashing down on the stone floor. Cursing his lack of discipline, he scolds himself for his gluttony. As the iron bars come into focus, he stares in wonder, Where am I? He thinks as he tries to recall the previous night's events. I was talking to that nosy gnome about the lizards...someone mentioned something about Vodalia and now I'm locked in here?

Thinking he's a prisoner, the priest kneels down and begins his daily prayers. It isn't until Varidiir departs that he realizes that they're in the jail for fear of burning down the town. Silly me, I'm so used to Varidiir's flaming top that I forgot the town is made nearly entirely of wood.

Just as he finishes his morning ritual, Canace enters the hoosegow with her pleasant news. Listening to her describe the enchantment, Collin's spirit rises. Home, he thinks to himself as he begins to daydream about the barrier coming down. But hearing the elf describe the ritual, he wonders what she'll be doing, and who'll try to stop the magic from returning the island back to the world.

"Very well, we'll go with you in order to restore this place to the world. I for one would like very much to finish our own mission," he says to Canace. "But I'm afraid you'll need to repeat your orders to Varidiir as he seems to be missing. He's probably in search for his morning cup of ale. As any dwarf would say, 'Beer, the breakfast of champions.' Or is lunch-time all ready?"

[Gralhruk]

Tolven sits with his back to the solid wall of the jailhouse turned temporary residence, one leg drawn up to his chest, chin resting on that knee. His left hand traces cryptic runes in the condensation near his mug of water. At the moment, it is all the movement he cares for. Outside, Grakus seems in wonderful spirits, soaring and diving in the crisp morning air. The drow grimaces slightly as his stomach lurches; there were times when having a bonded familiar were inconvenient.

His impassive silver eyes track the azer as Varidiir rises and departs, his mouth twitches at Collin's somewhat louder awakening. Tolven had been up for some time, pondering this curious settlement, wondering what life would be like for the next six months. With the rest of the team, it was bound to be interesting. He doesn't stir from his position or preoccupation when Canace enters. His head raises slightly when she announces peculiar findings from her sample taking, and then leans back against the wall when she claims to be able to dispel the planar shift blocking their exit from this pleasant but inconvenient island. His fingers have stopped their designing. Ignoring Collin's grousing, his eyes remain on the windswept elf.

"My dear Canace, that is most wonderful news. You are very clever to have deciphered this riddle with so little to go on. I would be delighted to hear a somewhat more technical description of your findings and the workings of the ritual you speak of."

[BigRedRod]

The two elves discuss the intricacies of the ritual and the elemental split as the group make their way toward the beach. Tolven finds parts of quite what Canace is planning on attempting beyond his reach but he understands the basic idea.

Sea air blows toward the party and coupled with the walk in the early afternoon sunlight they find their hangovers gradually fading and their minds capable of focusing on the task at hand. The party stumble across Varidiir sitting on the sand with the tide gently lapping against his toes. The water bubbles as it comes into contact with the superheated dwarf.

Sunlight dances on the water and it becomes clear that the traitorous half-demon could have transported them somewhere far less pleasant despite the dangers present on the island.

With the Azer in tow the special forces team and Canace head towards the ritual site. The point at which the elemental fold is focused and through which the natural fusion can be restored.

...

The sun beats down on the dusty ground around the stunted spire of rock which is barely as tall as Collin. Glancing into her spellbook the elementalist confirms that the outcrop is the location of the seal where the spell must be cast. After a few minutes of drawing chalk sigils around and on the rock protrusion all that remains is the casting of the spell scribed upon the scroll which Canace carries

[Cadrius]

They'd disturbed him from his meditation. He'd dreamed of fire, the warmth of the morning sun enhancing that. The memory stirred within him, a land of flame, where his people were from, where he was from. And yet...and yet there's something soothing in the crash of these waves, of the play of surf across the sand. He likes the way the wet sand feels between his toes. Perhaps he could find a new--

"Varidiir!" The call disturbed the thought, chasing it away to some secret corner of the azer's mind. There was work to be done. Sighing, he'd pushed himself to his feet and out of the water rushing in with the tide.


He just wishes it wasn't so damn boring, this magic gibberish. Wanting to make some snide remark about elves and magic, but not knowing how to make it insulting, Varidiir settles for feeling smug. He wouldn't use magic...unless he had to. There's rarely been a situation where fists or feet couldn't solve things. Unfortunately today happens to be one of those times.

"So," he says, looking over at his companions, "why're we here again?"

[Kahluah]

Canace looks at the small outcropping of rock with the spire in the center of it and consults her spellbook in which a sheet of parchment was slipped, marking ley lines of the island. "Yes, this is the place." She points at the spot on the map where three ley lines intersect and showing it to Tolven, who appears to be the most interested of the group. "You see where the lines converge? That's this rock outcropping right here. It makes sense that whoever placed the original enchantment here in the first place would choose this place to amplify it's effect."

Closing her spellbook, the elementalist reaches into the folds of her robes, drawing the scroll out and prepares marking the ground to be used for the ritual. She draws a circle around the spire with chalkpowder, crossing it with a straight line from the spire to each of it's 'corners'. She works 4 small channels into the dirt and then places a bundle of sticks in one trench, a pile of stones in another, half of the contents of her waterskin in a third, and leaves the fourth one empty, choosing instead to stand at that point.

As she begins her ritual to heal the tear in the planes, her voice comes out in whispers of wind and the rolling distant roar of thunder as she calls to the spirits of the elements, coaxing and commanding them to heal the rift.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven quickly concludes that Canance is far more versed in the esoteric arts than he. That doesn't stop him from animatedly conversing with her about it, though, using his conversational skills to make himself seem more knowledgable than he really is. So when she show him her maps he nods wisely, commenting on the luck that the convergence didn't occur somewhere less accessible.

He watches her preparations carefully, hoping to learn something. By luck or design, he is standing next to Varidiir who has no inkling whatsoever about rituals or magic. Tolven feels wonderfully superior.

"See how she uses each of the elements to mark the circle, with herself being air? She will draw the elements together to close the breach."

[BigRedRod]

Falling silent Tolven watches Canace continue the ritual. Each of the three elemental focii placed by Canace is consumed by its own element. The bundle of sticks combust cleanly and instantly into a roughly spherical orb of fire which rises a few feet into the air. At the same moment the water which was content to bleed into the earth rises outward and into the air, also forming a tempestuous floating sphere. The pile of stones representing earth remain motionless a second or so longer than the wood and water, finally beginning to spin around one another and rising. Whatever invisible centre the stones have chosen is lifted to the same level as the other spheres, however the stones themselves orbit in larger and larger circles.

The ground rumbles slightly and all put Canace find themselves stepping backwards slightly. Canace remains firmly stood at her own elemental focus, a gale whirling around her as she grips on to the mystic scroll and shrieks bizzare arcane phrases at the top of her voice.

Silently the raw chunks of elemental fire and water fade from sight leaving only the spire with an expanding whirling mass of stones on one side and the Air-Wizard on the other. The rumbling of the ground grows worse and the elemental vortex of earth begins to pluck more matter from the surrounding area. At first tiny stones are lifted from the ground, but soon clods of dirt and larger rocks glide through the air to join their dancing fellows.

Thin cracks begin to run across the arid ground outward from the spire as the shaking grows ever more violent. Finally the ritual ends, Canace drops backward as if suddenly thrown by an invisible force and the gale of elemental material suddenly drops to the ground.

For a moment there is silence and the shuddering stops. Before anyone can voice their relief at this turn of events the quakes resume. Huge splits appear in the dry earth and the spire begins to move. Breaking free from the earth the spire rises, now centered on the earth element focus and more like a small mountain than the formation it had been moments ago. The ground begins to split and crack as the tower of stone rises further into the sky, crushing the ground around it into thick clouds of dust.

Even when the rocky spire seems to have stopped its rise the world continues to shake. Cracks lace most of the ground and a few deep chasms have formed in the immediate area. Even under the midday sun a firey red glow can be seen from within the holes in the earth.

Through the dust the top of the spire can be seen shining. A light so pure that it lacks any colour. Any further consideration of the light is hampered by the earthquake which has reached the point where it is becoming difficult for the party to remain upright. To accent the current situation comes a frightful grinding from within the spire itself.

Emerging from the rock as if it was nothing more than water, a cyclopean beast more than six men in height strides out into the sunlight. Even to the common man it is obvious that the creature is a living embodiment of elemental earth. Composed of what looks to be solid stone, the monstrosity looks like a moving statue of a man. A statue crafted by a blind sculpture given the lack of detail.

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
[ooc: The red box marks the edge of the creature's space. The brown shapes are deep holes caused by the earthquake]
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
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*END 2hi6tg

[Gnarsh]

Lynores had been quiet that morning, in no small part due to the splitting hangover he suffered from. Large elemental creatures stepping out from immense rocky spires tend to make one forget about minor problems like that, though.

Springing into action, Lynores recalls just the item that could come in handy here. Not particularly looking forward to charging the creature alone, and realizing that his bow would likely do little against the monster's stony hide, he reaches into his bag for a scroll which, when used correctly, should cause a corrosive blast to be fired at an enemy. Pulling it out, he speaks the words as written and stows the scroll, hoping that he hasn't gotten rusty at using such things.

He then unsheaths his blade from its scabbard with the usual spins, preparing for the inevitable melee.

(OOC: Use the scroll of Melf's Acid Arrow on the earth thingy. Use Magic Device DC 20, Lynores has a +10.)

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Oh hell, this can't be good. Collin thinks as the stone comes alive. "Is this part of the spell?" He asks with a shout so as to be heard over the thunderous commotion emanating from the tearing earth. "Or did we just piss off Mother Nature to the highest degree?"

Not wanting to provoke it into a fight just in case, the priest invokes a protective barrier. With any luck, it'll leave me alone. "Power that channels from the divine. Ward your devoted follower. I invoke Sanctuary!" But just in case it doesn't work, he steps away from the gigantic monster.

[Kahluah]

Canace looks up at the immense golem-like creature, watching with arcane sight as her dispellation scatters itself ironically to the four winds. "This is not a part of the spell. Whoever set the enchantment up must have placed this thing here to guard or empower it!"

Standing shakily to her feet, thanks in no small part to the coming earthquake, she stretches her arms out wide of her, hand clasped firmly around a piece of golden wire, before speaking Auran words of power and turns her palms skyward to lift herself off the ground.

OOC: Casting the extended levitate spell I had prepared. Damn not having prepared fly for this.

[BigRedRod]

Whether or not the creature is hostile is a decision which Lynores decides to make for it by launching his own attack. The scroll turns to dust in the hands of the tiefling and a crude arrow shaped from mystical acid glides outward. The missile strikes the torso of the creature and the green fluid begins to trickle down the surface of the stone giant.

The elementalist casts aside the contraints of gravity while the priest weaves an aura of protection that should prevent the colossus from directing any attacks toward him.

Eyes wide in suprise at the appearance of the creature, Torin darts to his left. Landing down on one knee the mage-hunter draws his bow and fires a single arrow. The shot itself was near perfect, striking the enormous foe at the join between head and body which can't quite be called a neck. However, against something formed of solid stone an arrow is little use. On impact the arrow snaps leaving little more than a scratch

Paying no heed to the others, the giant charges toward Lynores. Freeing itself from the spire without any effort and leaving huge areas of impacted earth under each heavy footfall, the full fury of the creature is brought to bare against the Tiefling. Narrowly avoiding being crushed by the foot of the creature, Lynores leaves himself open to a wild swing from one of it's massive fists.

Half dodging the attack, Lynores is sent into a bruised one legged spin rather than having most of his bones broken. Even above the shaking earth the voice of the creature can be heard, speaking a lanuage unknown to any of the party in tones not disimilar to the sound of the quaking earth.



Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
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@rs 0 9y6tc 2o 3c 4o 3c 4o 1c 2o 1c 2o 3c
*END 53fq1q

[Gralhruk]

Tolven watches the ritual with interest, considering all the while the massive forces at play and wondering just how powerful Canance is. He raises one white eyebrow as some things start to come apart and other things seem to meld together. He keeps one eye on the sorceress, trying to gauge her degree of success or failure. When the huge earthen creature steps forward Lynores springs into action. When Canance protests ignorance, Tolven is forced to admit a certain relief that her own knowledge does not so greatly exceed his own.

The relief, however, is short lived as it leaves them face to face with one mean ass guardian - and quite in the dark about it's purpose. The drow studies the thing, noting that it went after the tiefling - the one person to attack it - and not the closer targets or the one to trigger its release. Curious but cautious, he moves towards the pillar of rock and then casts a spell of his own.

"Dirzahn mel carzoken!"

<OOC: Retreat northwest 30' and then cast Detect Thoughts>

[Cadrius]

It all happens so fast. The elf's words of power, sounding both breathy and soft, force her will into reality. And then it happens: the Moutain that Moves. His mouth hangs open, surprised by the appearance of the gigantic statue-like piece of earth. It is wonderful. It is terrible. He sincerely hopes it isn't a violent guardian of some sort. Unfortunately the tiefling spoils any chance of a peaceful resolution.

The azer sizes up the foe before him. The bolt of acid seemed more effective than the arrow fired by Torin, but not terribly much. Varidiir looks down at his fist and then back at the creature. It seems small in comparison, and why shouldn't it? Next to the Moutain he would be like a newborn attacking an adult. More importantly, he doesn't want to break his hand in the process.

"Shit," he mutters.

Scrambling backward from the Mountain, Varidiir watches its movements and looks for an opportunity. Not liking what he sees, the azer calls out to the creature in his native ignan.

"Hey! Big guy! How about ya leave us alone!"

((OOC: Move back 40' and watch.))

[BigRedRod]

Tolven's magic confirms that nothing else seems to be thinking beside his companions and the hulking beast itself. However to pick out any details of the creature's thoughts will require the dark elf not to lose focus

If the words of the Azer are even heard by the walking mountain then it does nothing to show it. The steady rumble of the ground reaches a peak for half a second shortly after Varidiir's plea, the racks covering the ground begin to widen and a brand new lancing rift bursts from beside the spire sending tonnes of dry earth plumetting into unknown depths. For now everyone manages to maintain their balance and the peak quickly fades back into a background rumble

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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*END -mrh3h8

[Gnarsh]

Lynores, realizing that he may have made a slight mistake in engaging the creature in hostilities, makes a pair of quick stabs at it.

(Full Attack)

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

What in the Nine Hells has that elf witch conjured? Collin's mind screams at him. Best to not be where it strikes. With eyes wide-open, he calls upon his faith to protect him. "Gul'ren, you had best help get me out of here. Fancy flying feet, don't fail me now!"

(OOC - Casts defensively even with the Sanctuary spell running. The new spell cast will be Air Walk. DC 19 concentration check (15 + level of spell, 4th). Concentration skill check while defensive +18 without rolling the d20. I guess Collin can't fail this check. Takes a 5' step away to his left (in Varidiir's direction) and up so that the earthquake can't affect him.)

[Kahluah]

Canace continues her soaring higher abover the creature as it comes to within reaching distance of her feet. "Let's see if my theory of elemental opposition really does work." She says to no-one in particular, before looking down at the rock guardian.

Her eyes turn a dark grey as she calls forth the same powers that descimated the lizard warriors the day before, summoning a swirling storm of electrically charged lead blocks to fall from the sky around her and rain down on the creature.

OOC: Casting the substituted electrical storm, centering it so that it doesn't touch any of the party members. Of course, because of the full round duration, anyone who steps within the area will get hit.

[BigRedRod]

Lynores thrusts at the huge monster and after landing a pair of stunning blows but inflicting no damage whatsoever it begins to become clear that the fineses and grace which make the rapier the weapon of choice for a duelist are useless against a huge moving mountain. His earlier spell however continues to burn away at the creature making the earlier channels deeper

The floating elven elementalist narrowly avoids being struck by the earth-creature as she floats beside it attempting to weave a spell. One of the huge fists swings just low low enough for Canace to float upwards an extra foot and completely dodge the blow. Despite the distraction the spell is completed and solid fist-sized blobs of solid metallic electricity fall from the conjured clouds. Shards of stone are stripped from the outer layers of the stone creature as the pieces rain down and the entire creature crackles with elemental energy

Gul'ren's ever faithful servant manages to join the airbourne Canace while backing away from the creature which seems to be currently completely occupied by fending off the elemental storm.

The mage-hunter, Torin, is quite overwhelmed by the thought of a continuing battle with such a creature. His previous attack had left no mark and he had no way of battling a creature seemingly immune to physical blows. Pulling himself together and attemtping to ignore the trembling ground, he notches and frees a pair of arrows at the creature. Both find their mark, striking within a few feet of one another but damage is minimal. A small fragment of rock crumbles free but the creature is built from stronger stuff than a pair of arrows can stop

Abandoning it's assault of Lynores under the hail of electricity the beast swats at Canance with both long arms. The first misses as the earlier attack had with the elf dodging upward. However, the second sweep is from above and sends the elf spinning in the air, her levitation spell interferring with the natural laws attempting to pull her to the groundas a result of the blow. Regaining her composure, Canace finds blood freely pouring from skin struck with such force that it tore.
Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map

Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
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*END -bscc0

[Gralhruk]

Seeing the situation deteriorate as rapidly as the earth around them, Tolven decides to abandon his attempt at a peaceful resolution. At this point, the possibility of avoiding combat was as scarce as good taste in a tiefling's wardrobe. Acid seemed a wise choice, but then again, it were wiser still to take precaution against the bodily harm a sentient avalanche could cause. Sighing lightly, he invokes a defensive spell of his own.

<OOC: Cast Mirror Image on himself.>

[Cadrius]

Varidiir's mouth hangs open as the Mountain is temporarily shrouded by clouds of arcane energy. A hum builds and then lightning lashes out at the Mountain, scoring its rocky slope. Yet it still stands and it still moves threatens them. Watching the elf battered has Varidiir's blood boiling.

"Oi! Nobody hits th' elf but me!"

The azer charges forward, shoving aside the part of his mind that questions the logic of attacking the Mountain. Legs pumping, he builds momentum, charging the earthen creature. He leaps forward at its leg, bellowing incoherently in his native Ignan.

[BigRedRod]

As Tolven weaves forbidden magics to create a shifting entourage of illusionary drow, his fiery companion tries a more direct approach.

His running leap lands the Azer upon what area might be called the thigh if the mountain was slightly more humanoid. Clinging to its craggy skin with legs and an arm, the monk punches in an unsophisicated manner with his free hand. The rock around Vardiir heats and becomes ever so slightly softer allowing his blows to chip away fragements of the rock-beast.

All around the battle the earth continues to roar in anger. Cracks spread and even the mammoth earth-monster itself seems to have to concentrate to maintain sure footing. Each of the party manage to resist the shaking of the earth, although two hover above it and one grips to the beast itself, each of the party except one that is

Cracks spread and the mage-hunter finds his crouched position is rather too near to a growing chasm. Engrossed in the battle, Torin notices this as the chasm overwhelms his position and he falls inside. His cry of suprise is almost lost below the grinding noises spilling forth from the spreading rifts in the earth


Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
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*END v9ej49

[Gnarsh]

Realizing that his attacks are doing little to the creature, Lynores pulls back, favoring his bruised leg. "I can't do anything more to it! We should retreat, and plan out an offensive!" He yells to the others. Suddenly, however, he comes up with an idea. "No: lead it into the water! Let's see it fight when it's a pile of mud being swept out to sea!"

(OOC: Double move 60' away from the creature)

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

With outstretched fingers, Collin calls forth a mace of force. "I call forth the power of Gul'ren to smite my foe. Shimmering mace of doom spring to life!" As the weapon materializes, he clutches it in his hand. The ghost-like embodiment of his deity's favored weapon feels just right as the priest advances back towards the monstrous rock-formation. Reaching out he gently taps the creature with his spiritual weapon. As he does so, he summons even more unholy anger to decimate the elemental. "Die! Go back to whence you came, for I do not want to be here any longer than I must!"

(OOC - Casts defensively, Mace of Odo, a 3rd level spell. Collin is +18 to his concentration check against a DC 18 (15+3), so he can't fail. When he strikes, he'll use his Destruction Domain power to add +4 to hit and +9 to damage. Since the spell requires a melee-touch attack (+12 total attack bonus), the power should work. The spell does 9d6 points of damage, +9 if the domain power is used. If the attack misses, the spell's power can be held until discharged.)

[Kahluah]

Still reeling from the force of the blow dealt by the rocky creature, Canace continues to soar into the air far above the creature. Safely out of the creature's reach, the elementalist calls once again on the powers of her patron and her element, her robes fluttering about her in manic breezes as her hair whips across her face.

As she opens her mouth, the sound of thunder spills forth from it even as she is wreathed with white and blue sparks of electricity. Pointing at the moving hunk of rock, she aims a white beam of living electricity at the being, making sure she doesn't point it anywhere near the azer sitting atop it.

OOC: Casting lightning bolt at the creature, aiming it so that it doesn't hit Varidiir.

[BigRedRod]

Despite the distance to the nearest shore, Lynores embarks on his plan to somehow lure the huge rocky beast into the salty ocean, by retreating at speed.

Out of danger from both the quaking earth and the monster itself, the elementalist summons the wrath of lightning to aid her. The bolt of lightning strikes squarely on the creature and instantly melts a deep well in one shoulder of the beast. Reeling in pain, the azer almost looses his grip. One thing seems clear, the stone giant can be harmed.

Preparing his own mystical attack, Collin begins to chant a prayer for his God, Gul'ren to bestow his power upon him in the form of a divine mace.

Attacked from above by an unreachable foe and with the battle's aggressor rapidly escaping, the creature focuses on targets it can meet. Gripping Varidiir roughly in one hand and lifting him high into the air, the monster hurls him toward the ground. The attack clearly harms both the flaming monk and the walking mountain with a vague impression of Varidiir's shape being left through contact of his super-heated body with the stone of the larger creature's hand. Varidiir takes the brunt of the damage however, his attempts to take the pain out of his rapid descent fall far short and he finds himself prone on a small monk-shaped impact crater at the feet of the beast

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir (prone)
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 4n 3f rs 0 0 20 -s 2o -k 2g 4 40 c 4o 18 3k 1w 34 2c 2g 2k
@28 38 20 3g 1c 2k g 1w 8 18 14 k w -4 20 -s *s -3 5v 40 rs 0
@Rocky Spire *s -3 7h 6i rs 0 *s -3 76 6o rs 0 *s -3 67 7v rs 0
@Ca *s -3 62 ai rs 0 Co *s -3 cr 54 rs 0 Tv *s -3 7j 9u rs 0 V *s
@-3 7l dp rs 0 L *s -1 2q 45 rs 0 9zabk 2r 1i 2b 1y 23 2m 1f 2u r
@2m j 2u 3 32 -d 2u -t 3a -19 3a -1p 3q -1p 46 *s -1 6p 1o rs 0
@9zabk 61 -4 6p 18 61 1o 5l 10 4x s 4x 4 5t -s 5l -4 5d k 61 s 61
@-4 *s -3 65 9t rs 0 *s 6 7q 8a 2lh -l *s -1 4c 4o rs 0 9y6tc 2d
@4p 4d 4p 4d 2p 2d 2p 2d 4p *s -1 j 50 rs 0 9zabk j 39 -5 3x -5
@51 j 51 3 4t 3 3x j 3p j 3h *s -1 78 6g rs 0 9zabk 4s 68 5w 6g
@78 60 78 5c 6s 3k 5w 5c 4s 3k 58 54 4s 4w 38 5k 4k 5k 4k 5k 5w
@5k 6c 5s 4s 68 *s b 9c 6q 6in 0 *s -3 c7 55 rs 0 MT *s -3 cu 5m
@rs 0 *s -3 cu 5t rs 0 MT *s -3 c4 5u rs 0 MT *s -3 dg 58 rs 0
@MT *s -1 34 4s rs 0 9zabk -20 3o -1s 38 -14 38 -g 2k 8 4s g 2c
@2o 4c 20 24 34 2k 2w 18 *s -1 60 4i rs 0 9zabk 2p i 29 22 2x 1e
@35 4a 35 1m 3t 4i 3d 1u 4p 4a 49 2i 61 2y 4x 1u 61 q 4h 1e 4h
@-1q 3t 1e 35 i *s -1 4o 2k rs 0 9zabk 4g 2k 4o 24 *s -3 87 da rs
@0 *s -3 89 do rs 0 *s -3 86 dn rs 0 6 squares off edge
*END tu6lrm

[Gralhruk]

Canace impresses Tolven once again as she proves her mastery of magics greater than his own. The lightning bolt sizzles down with power to spare, causing the drow to reflect that perhaps he should spend more time studying the arcane art. His conjecture is cut short as Varidiir is flung to the earth with enough force to shake the ground. Well, with the earthquake in full swing it was hard to tell if he actually shook the ground or not but it certainly looked painful.

You can't get blood from a stone.

True, but there were other ways. Falling back on the tried and true, Tolven quickly recites the words for one of his standby spells. The ichor dripping arrow sizzles its way towards their monolithic adversary, bringing him at least momentary satisfaction. Had he been less pragmatic and more sentimental, it might have bothered him that an elf was the originator of this particular enchantment. Being Tolven, though, the age old feud between elves and drow meant as much to him as buck teeth on a donkey. That is to say, nothing at all.

<OOC: Cast Melf's Acid Arrow at the stone thing and pray it doesn't hit back.>

[Cadrius]

Varidiir crashes to the ground, losing his breath. He'd tried to ride the mountain and was cast down. His chest hitches, struggling for breath. Perhaps there's a reason that there aren't any azer mountaineers of great renown. There's little to be done now but pick himself up, dust himself off, and get ready for another ride. As he does so, Varidiir wonders how many of his kind have ever tried to ride an earth elemental. He grins; maybe fighting this thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

((OOC: stand, fight defensively))

[BigRedRod]

While his cloud of illusionary drow mimic his motions perfectly, Tolven weaves another of his acidic missiles to throw toward the hulking beast. His own mouth is barely audible above the rumbling ground but the spell is finished and impacts firmly on the back of the creature's head burning away stone and ribbling further down its body causing more damage as it does so.

The creature raises a fist high in the air and begins to plunge it down toward where Varidiir lies inside the crater at its feet. The gem-loving azer however has faster reflexes than one might imagine and manages to somehow vacate the crater, avoid the fist and land a blow of his own on the massive hand of the elemental as it pummels a wider hole in the earth where seconds before Varidiir has been lying. His blow removes only the smallest of rock ships from the beats but is very satisfying.

For now the growling earth remains doing just that, the cracks in the ground fail to widen any further and everybody manages to remain on their feet for valuable extra seconds

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir (prone)
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 4n 3f rs 0 0 20 -s 2o -k 2g 4 40 c 4o 18 3k 1w 34 2c 2g 2k
@28 38 20 3g 1c 2k g 1w 8 18 14 k w -4 20 -s *s -3 5v 40 rs 0
@Rocky Spire *s -3 7h 6i rs 0 *s -3 76 6o rs 0 *s -3 67 7v rs 0
@Ca *s -3 62 ai rs 0 Co *s -3 cr 54 rs 0 Tv *s -3 7j 9u rs 0 V *s
@-3 7l dp rs 0 L *s -1 2q 45 rs 0 9zabk 2r 1i 2b 1y 23 2m 1f 2u r
@2m j 2u 3 32 -d 2u -t 3a -19 3a -1p 3q -1p 46 *s -1 6p 1o rs 0
@9zabk 61 -4 6p 18 61 1o 5l 10 4x s 4x 4 5t -s 5l -4 5d k 61 s 61
@-4 *s -3 65 9t rs 0 *s 6 7q 8a 2lh -k *s -1 4c 4o rs 0 9y6tc 2d
@4p 4d 4p 4d 2p 2d 2p 2d 4p *s -1 j 50 rs 0 9zabk j 39 -5 3x -5
@51 j 51 3 4t 3 3x j 3p j 3h *s -1 78 6g rs 0 9zabk 4s 68 5w 6g
@78 60 78 5c 6s 3k 5w 5c 4s 3k 58 54 4s 4w 38 5k 4k 5k 4k 5k 5w
@5k 6c 5s 4s 68 *s -3 c7 55 rs 0 MT *s -3 cu 5m rs 0 *s -3 cu 5t
@rs 0 MT *s -3 c4 5u rs 0 MT *s -3 dg 58 rs 0 MT *s -1 34 4s rs 0
@9zabk -20 3o -1s 38 -14 38 -g 2k 8 4s g 2c 2o 4c 20 24 34 2k 2w
@18 *s -1 60 4i rs 0 9zabk 2p i 29 22 2x 1e 35 4a 35 1m 3t 4i 3d
@1u 4p 4a 49 2i 61 2y 4x 1u 61 q 4h 1e 4h -1q 3t 1e 35 i *s -1 4o
@2k rs 0 9zabk 4g 2k 4o 24 *s -3 87 da rs 0 *s -3 89 do rs 0 *s
@-3 86 dn rs 0 6 squares off edge
*END -qiy8ak

[Gnarsh]

Lynores turns back to the battle, to see the others begin his brilliant plan. He is disappointed. "Well fine, keep on pummeling the thing. I sure can't do anything to help you, but I'll be right over here." He calls back, sheathing his sword and watching the battle.

[Kahluah]

Canace looks at the mountainous figure and soon realizes that only half of them are fighting it. Shaking her head, she summons forth more elemental magics and condenses them into solid matter around her hands. As they come into being, they begin as solid fire before changing slightly to electricity as per the windswept elf's affinity.

Looking down at the mountainous creature, she sends the twin rays downward to the walking mountain below, hoping it catches them right where it hurts.

OOC: Casting scorching ray (two ranged touch attacks with one incuring a -1 penalty for being levitated, 4d4 electricity damage each ray), and due to the elemental specialty that Canace has with electricity, it becomes an electricity spell rather than a fire spell.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Armed with his spiritual mace, Collin glides foward to smite the giant rock beast. Although he doesn't need to put all his weight behind the blow, he does so anyway out of habbit. "Always something getting in our way! Die, die, die, damn you! I just want to go home! Or track down that traitor."

[BigRedRod]

While Lynores looks on from afar, Canace sends a pair of blue-white tendrils spiraling in a double helix toward the creature. Both impact on the so-called head of the elemental and leave a pair of small neat twisting bore-holes of melted rock, although the creature shows no sign of registering that any damage has been caused

Swinging his spectral wepaon in a wide horizontal arc, Collin catches the leg of the elemental squarely. The weapon deals far more damage than anything crafted by mortal hands ever could, sending a shower of tiny rock fragments hurtling outwards of a swirling explosion of light.

Collin's attack lands at the same time as the elemental attempts to strike out at the flaming Azer once more, sending his blow wide and impacting on nothing but empty air

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin (Missing presumed fallen)
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 4n 3f rs 0 0 20 -s 2o -k 2g 4 40 c 4o 18 3k 1w 34 2c 2g 2k
@28 38 20 3g 1c 2k g 1w 8 18 14 k w -4 20 -s *s -3 5v 40 rs 0
@Rocky Spire *s -3 7h 6i rs 0 *s -3 76 6o rs 0 *s -3 67 7v rs 0
@Ca *s -3 6r 9t rs 0 Co *s -3 cr 54 rs 0 Tv *s -3 7j 9u rs 0 V *s
@-3 7l dp rs 0 L *s -1 2q 45 rs 0 9zabk 2r 1i 2b 1y 23 2m 1f 2u r
@2m j 2u 3 32 -d 2u -t 3a -19 3a -1p 3q -1p 46 *s -1 6p 1o rs 0
@9zabk 61 -4 6p 18 61 1o 5l 10 4x s 4x 4 5t -s 5l -4 5d k 61 s 61
@-4 *s -3 65 9t rs 0 *s 6 7q 8a 2lh -j *s -1 4c 4o rs 0 9y6tc 2d
@4p 4d 4p 4d 2p 2d 2p 2d 4p *s -1 j 50 rs 0 9zabk j 39 -5 3x -5
@51 j 51 3 4t 3 3x j 3p j 3h *s -1 78 6g rs 0 9zabk 4s 68 5w 6g
@78 60 78 5c 6s 3k 5w 5c 4s 3k 58 54 4s 4w 38 5k 4k 5k 4k 5k 5w
@5k 6c 5s 4s 68 *s -3 c7 55 rs 0 MT *s -3 cu 5m rs 0 *s -3 cu 5t
@rs 0 MT *s -3 c4 5u rs 0 MT *s -3 dg 58 rs 0 MT *s -1 34 4s rs 0
@9zabk -20 3o -1s 38 -14 38 -g 2k 8 4s g 2c 2o 4c 20 24 34 2k 2w
@18 *s -1 60 4i rs 0 9zabk 2p i 29 22 2x 1e 35 4a 35 1m 3t 4i 3d
@1u 4p 4a 49 2i 61 2y 4x 1u 61 q 4h 1e 4h -1q 3t 1e 35 i *s -1 4o
@2k rs 0 9zabk 4g 2k 4o 24 *s -3 87 da rs 0 *s -3 89 do rs 0 *s
@-3 86 dn rs 0 6 squares off edge
*END ykcfki

[Gralhruk]

Mentally rifling through the incantations he has on hand, Tolven is unsurprised to realize that his previous spell choice was the appropriate one in this situation. That knowledge does little to cheer him. It was an effective trick but - relatively speaking- fairly minor compared to the magics the others were throwing about.

Oh well.

Rather than berate himself for this fact of life, he gives himself an imaginary pat on the back. After all, he did have the foresight to prepare a second acid arrow. Maneuvering through the now familiar gestures, he speaks the proper words and once more unleashes a nasty mosquito bite at the monster.

<OOC: Cast Melf's Acid Arrow yet again.>

[Cadrius]

"Ha! Missed me you big, uh, ugly, un...butte!"

Satisfied at his spontaneous insult, Varidiir lays into the ankle of the Mountain once more. "Soft weapons, hard targets," he muttered, using an open palm. His friends back home would never believe this story of how he fought a Mountain and won; this was mostly because they were living the good life back in the monastery, which was near the desert, and Mountains don't likely show up there much. Plus it's a walking Mountain and Varidiir likes to drink.

[BigRedRod]

The rumbling of the earth begins to calm as yet another of Tolven's acidic projectiles strikes the creature. Corrosive, green viscous liquid dribbles down the torso of the earthern beast dissolving rock

Varidiir's blow would be almost completely ineffective if it wasn't for his burning fists. His palm strikes firmly, but the impact is tiny on the scale that the mountain lives, none the less, the indentation of his hand lingers where it has melted a slighlt impression

Initiative
Lynores
Canace
Collin
Torin (Missing presumed fallen)
Huge Earth Creature
Tolven
Varidiir
Earthquake


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee (http://www.irony.com/java/mmee)
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 4n 3f rs 0 0 20 -s 2o -k 2g 4 40 c 4o 18 3k 1w 34 2c 2g 2k
@28 38 20 3g 1c 2k g 1w 8 18 14 k w -4 20 -s *s -3 5v 40 rs 0
@Rocky Spire *s -3 7h 6i rs 0 *s -3 76 6o rs 0 *s -3 67 7v rs 0
@Ca *s -3 6r 9t rs 0 Co *s -3 cr 54 rs 0 Tv *s -3 7j 9u rs 0 V *s
@-3 7l dp rs 0 L *s -1 2q 45 rs 0 9zabk 2r 1i 2b 1y 23 2m 1f 2u r
@2m j 2u 3 32 -d 2u -t 3a -19 3a -1p 3q -1p 46 *s -1 6p 1o rs 0
@9zabk 61 -4 6p 18 61 1o 5l 10 4x s 4x 4 5t -s 5l -4 5d k 61 s 61
@-4 *s -3 65 9t rs 0 *s 6 7q 8a 2lh -j *s -1 4c 4o rs 0 9y6tc 2d
@4p 4d 4p 4d 2p 2d 2p 2d 4p *s -1 j 50 rs 0 9zabk j 39 -5 3x -5
@51 j 51 3 4t 3 3x j 3p j 3h *s -1 78 6g rs 0 9zabk 4s 68 5w 6g
@78 60 78 5c 6s 3k 5w 5c 4s 3k 58 54 4s 4w 38 5k 4k 5k 4k 5k 5w
@5k 6c 5s 4s 68 *s -3 c7 55 rs 0 MT *s -3 cu 5m rs 0 *s -3 cu 5t
@rs 0 MT *s -3 c4 5u rs 0 MT *s -3 dg 58 rs 0 MT *s -1 34 4s rs 0
@9zabk -20 3o -1s 38 -14 38 -g 2k 8 4s g 2c 2o 4c 20 24 34 2k 2w
@18 *s -1 60 4i rs 0 9zabk 2p i 29 22 2x 1e 35 4a 35 1m 3t 4i 3d
@1u 4p 4a 49 2i 61 2y 4x 1u 61 q 4h 1e 4h -1q 3t 1e 35 i *s -1 4o
@2k rs 0 9zabk 4g 2k 4o 24 *s -3 87 da rs 0 *s -3 89 do rs 0 *s
@-3 86 dn rs 0 6 squares off edge
*END ykcfki

[Kahluah]

Canace narrows her storm-filled eyes at the irksome elemental creature, reaching before her and summoning what little energy there is left around her and forming it into the shape of an arrow not unlike the volley of acidic arrows the drow had been creating. The electricity takes on a sickly green hue as her elemental nature converts the acidity of the original spell to her allied power, before she looks at the stony creature and throws the magic projectile down at it.

OOC: Casting melf's acid arrow at the creature, once again turning it into an electricity spell due to her speciality.

[Gnarsh]

"Nice job, Tolven! Solid blow, Varidiir! He'll be down before we know it!" The bystanding tiefling yells to his companions.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Nice job, Tolven! Solid blow, Varidiir! He'll be down before we know it!" Solid blow my ass; what in the Nine Hells did Gul'ren and I just do? Collin thinks to himself when Lynores shouts out his compliment.

Needing that last solid blow to finish the monster off, Collin wraps himself in the dark energies of his god. "Gul'ren, may your touch smite this creature down so that we may continue our hunt and extract some needed revenge." To his amusement, Collin adds a silent prayer to the end of his incantation, And with luck, the creature will fall on that no help worm who will not acknowledge your greatness.

(OOC - Casting on the defensive, Inflict Critical Wounds. The spontaneous casting will use his Poison spell. Concentration check DC19, skill check +18 (can't fail). Touch attack deals 4d8+9 points of damage.)

[BigRedRod]

Liquid electrictiy flows from Canace's hands foriming into a small arrow of shining blue and slamming in to the enormous creature. The electricty sticks to the rocky skin and the beast and begins to slowly roll downards, much like a glob of honey slowly sliding down wall.

At much the same time Collin forces the wrath of his patron into the earthern form before him. The rock under his palm splits and cracks as divine energies surge into the beast. For a moment it seems that the elemental will simply swat away the Cleric like an annoying insect but as it reaches for him with one huge fist it pauses.

Lines of red light suddenly spring in to being across the stone behemoth, growing brighter with every moment. And then some of the isolated sections begin to fall to earth. Hunks of rock the size of people drop and smash against the dusty ground. Varidiir dodges left and right to avoid the rain of stone, Canace remains levitating above the catastrophe and Collin stands motionless with his palm still outstretched, although no longer making contact with the creature.

Within seconds it is no longer possible to tell that a fiend of seemingly insurmountable strength and stone flesh had ever existed. Instead there is just an immense pile of rubble and a dust cloud of epic proportions which obscures all vision. Or not.

A light starts to shine from within the cloud, a light like that seen atop the spire before the creature had emerged. But this light is not atop the rocky spire, it is where the creature had stood for the final moments of its existence. The pure light transcneds colour and slowly sinks downward toward the sundered collection of stones which had once been a great elemental guardian

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Blessed be the might and wisdom of Gul'ren!" Collin cries out after the dust settles a bit. "With his greatness, we have defeated the stone guardian and now we may be able to leave this overly hot and humid island." The priest cackles for a moment, "Muwah-ha ha ha!"

Floating above the rubble, he looks down at the glowing ball of energy in puzzlement. "Is that it? Was that what we needed to get?" he asks Canace.

"Where's Torin?" He calls out to the magister, "Torin, pick it up before it disappears or creates another rock thing. Torin!" With a sigh, Collin looks about for the officer with disgust. "Always disappearing when we need you. You sure you're not Batman in disguise?"

[Kahluah]

Still floating above the now destroyed creature, the elementalist looks at the mad priest and shakes her head. "I very much doubt that will be all that is involved with this. Whoever set this enchantment up must have placed that creature there to guard it against dispellation - and I'm not entirely certain it worked to bring the sides of the planar rift back into alignment."

The windswept elf looks over at the great spire as she lowers herself down to the ground. "I fear that whoever set up this enchantment may well know now that something has happened."

[Gralhruk]

Tolven gives a sideways look at Collin, scratching the side of his nose with one finger. The priest was disturbing but he more than pulled his weight in the group. Grakus climbs slitheringly from the protection of Tolven's cloak.

Fine help you were.

The winged chameleon yawns and stretches his wings. The drow scowls at him briefly before turning to Canace with a bright smile.

"When will we know if your ritual worked?"

[Cadrius]

"Ouch," he says, trying to shake the pain from his hands.

Punching the Mountain is a lot like punching any other oversized, incredibly strong foe: it's a bad idea. Varidiir wiggles his fingers, making certain that nothing is broken. His hands still hurt. Hell, his whole body hurts and he'd only been clipped by the Moutain's rage. Gingerly rubbing a bruised shoulder, the azer makes his way over to the others.

"Could we, perhaps, not do that again?" He casts an accusatory glance at Canace and mutters to himself in ignan.

[BigRedRod]

As the dust slowly clears the source of the light can be seen rather more clearly, as can it's partner high atop the spire. Seated within the mound of rubble is an impossibility. A fist-sized impossibility.

Any object giving out a pure transcendent light should be little more than a minitaure sun, however the light is simply an outer aura, an outer aura that usefully doesn't obscure any view to the object at it's centre. A rather ugly conglomerate of tiny stones, glittering gems and sparkling mineral grains sits amid the rubble merrily radiating its aura of pure light while still being visible itself, blissfully unaware of how many physical laws it is violating.

[Kahluah]

Canace scowls at the azer as the adrenalin of fighting a creature hewn from the earth itsself, before looking down at her beaten and lacerated leg. The silver-and-blue robes she wears are shredded down the lower left side, revealing deep bruises and cuts down her legs from where the monolith had swiped at her during the battle.

As she is about to ask for something resembling aid, she looks at the source of the light with a mixture of awe and aprehension. This is what has been causing the disruption? She thinks to herself, tilting her head to the side as she limps slowly toward the glowing mass of stones, keeping an eye out for anyone who would disturb their discovery.

"Do not go near it," she says, her voice carrying with it a stern tone of warning, "it may very well be dangerous to anyone who touches it." As she looks at the creation, she flicks her eyes to the drow. "What do you suppose it is?" Canace asks, wanting to hear another's opinion, especially if they're in any way versed to the study of magic.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven spares a moment to consider their fallen companion. Killed by his own grave - not exactly the epitaph that most people would want. He supposed that Collin could probably revive him. If they could find a body, that is. Of course, the question wasn't if the priest could bring him back from the dead - the real question was: in what fashion? While the dark elf wasn't particularly sentimental, he wasn't fond of having a zombified Torin following them around. Not pretty to look at, and smelly too. He wrinkles his nose.

Of course, a zombified Torin would prove most useful right now.

Yes, an undead companion could walk right up to that unknown object and pick it up, keeping the others from risking themselves. Of course, they might never find Torin. Waiting around for something else didn't seem wise either. No, Tolven felt time was of the essence now. Whatever they had started was best finished quickly. And so he concentrates on glowing stones, picking his brain and trying to glean their magical secrets.

<OOC: Spellcraft +13, Knowledge(Arcana) +10>

[BigRedRod]

Despite the claims of many middle-women that "You look with your eyes not your hands" Tolven finds himself unable to reach any conclusions about the strange object from simple visual observations

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Do not go near it," Canace says, her voice carrying with it a stern tone of warning, "it may very well be dangerous to anyone who touches it."

Hearing the Elementalist say that, Collin can only groan and think, Great, more stuff that we shouldn't touch. When have I seen this before?

Then she asks, "What do you suppose it is?"

"You're the so-called expert here," he snaps back. "Don't you know? Hell, you raised that rock-monster out of nothing. And oh, thanks for the God-damn warning!"

"Don't touch it," he mumbles as he walks over the open crevices looking down for Torin. His thoughts focus on two things, searching for the missing Special Forces member and figuring out a way to grab the ground stone without endangering him or the others. Given time, I'll get Torin back on his feet and the all-important Lieutenant can touch the stuff as much as he wants.

He continues to ascend in the air and from his high perch he calls down to the others, "Once more I'll ask, anyone see where Torin disappeared to? We'll be able to narrow our search and find him sooner. And who knows, maybe he'll be able to shed some light on our situation. He is the mage-expert our commander issued to us."

In his absent-minded search, the priest looks to his left and is just a few feet away from the top of the spire. Indulging his curiosity, he looks into the brilliant light from all angles, walking in air as necessary. Holding his hand out, he checks for heat or possibly a chill. Detecting none, he rummages at his side and pulls his magical sack out. Licking his lower lip, he reaches out and touches the source of light, intending on grabbing it if he can.

We're not going to sit around doing nothing any more. Damn Batman, damn the book, and damn this island hell. One more damn to let out, damn the foolish kid who signed on to this freak show unit.

[BigRedRod]

The search yields little fruit. Despite the limited number of rifts caused by the quaking of the earth, Torin is nowhere to be seen. A brief scan from above reveals that the mage-hunter must have fallen into the deepest of the crevices, the one which collin can see no end to as he looks down, just a dull red glow. To investigate the whereabouts of Torin would involve a journey down below the surface, and as of right now the pure light, similar to that emanating from the cpnglomerate in the remains of the elemental, seems to cry out for investigation while Collin can still walk without the confines of gravity.

Looking in to the spire's light, Collin is greeted by a phenomenon similar to that at ground level. A light which spreads outwards in all directions from an object without obscuring the object itself. A perfect sphere sits at the centre of the cloud of transcendent light. Drawing closer, the priest can make out details, an infinite blue dotted with traces of white. Inside the sphere is a tiny sky, a sky which fits inside the rob but still manages to extend all the way to infinity in every direction.

Reaching out, the gauntleted fist of the cleric clenches around the sphere.

Nothing

Collin's own inspection of the object reveals little and so with a slightly intake of breath he plunges it within his bag. His bag which is a gateway to a handy dimension.

Nothing.

Still Nothing.

No fracturing of reality, no hellfire, not even any strange feelings. Just a Cleric floating in the air beside a spire of rock which no longer has a cloud of colourless light.

[Kahluah]

Canace looks indignantly at the priest, her eyes flashing like a tropical storm as the still intangible winds start whipping her hair into a frenzy. "Were I an absolute expert on this matter, I would have figured the riddle out long before you even thought of falling on this gods forsaken spit of land in the middle of nowhere. I was not to know that the monolith was going to come to life, and I have already paid for my hubris," she says, motioning to her blood-covered leg.

Sighing mostly to herself and her inability to deal with the situation alone, Canace, follows the priests lead in walking towards the glowing orb atop the spire before concentrating her energy into the wire loop in her hand and rising in the air towards the orb to get a closer look, but the priest snatches it from the spire before she can get much of a look at it.

"Collin, if I may be so familiar with you, would you might bringing that back out so I can get a look at it?"

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Sorry for being cynical, lady" the priest replies harshly while stepping a few feet away from Canace. "But we were recently back-stabbed by a so-called friend when we located a valuable treasure. So, you may see why I'm hesitant to hand over the object willy-nilly. And by your own admission, you're not an expert with these things. Why don't you and I examine the stones together along with his help." Collin glances down at Tolvin, indicating that the drow be included in the investigation. "Perhaps three novices can put enough together to form one expert."

"But this," he pats his bag with the stone, "shouldn't take precedence over the life of Torin." Collin ends his statement about Torin with a smirk. "Let's tend to the missing and injured before playing with the stones. You say you've paid for your hubris, but to me that is just a scratch and easily curable. Poor Varidiir was nearly crushed by the mountainous rock. Besides, it was my idea to take this stone while I was still under the effects of my flight. I would have hated the idea of climbing this thing under such heat."

[Kahluah]

Canace nods and looks around at the people left on the ground. Sure enough, there was one missing from their ranks. "Of course, though we should attempt to make it back to the settlement as quickly as possible. Who knows what sort of effect that earthquake would have had down there."

As the last of her words drop off, the elementalist turns her palms upward to soar higher into the air. "I'll look from up here and see if I can't spot anything." Canace looks downward from the air, attempting to see anything of the missing member of the party.

[BigRedRod]

Unable to move laterally in the air due to the nature of her magic, Canace finds her less effective search is, as might be expected, much less effective than Collin's earlier attempts. Torin is clearly not on the surface, which seems to indicate that the deeper chasms will need exploring in order to find any trace of the missing team mate.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin eventually winds up gingerly exploring the only place he hasn't searched, the fissures. Picking his way through the debris, he looks for any sign of the missing mage-hunter. Alive or dead, he thinks; it doesn't matter what condition he's in, they being Special Forces members are required to find his body. Charir got a decent burial; Torin deserves the same, even if he wasn't well liked or respected.

[BigRedRod]

The narrow earthern walls remain roughly parallel below the surface for almost twnety feet, gradually becoming increasingly stone-based with depth. Dull orange light radiates upwards from the base of the rift, seemingly provided by the cooling lava at the bottom of the fissure. Now mostly covered in a layer of solid black slag, the molten rock beneath still issues forth sweltering heat.

Of more interest than the quietly solidifying rock at the bottom is the remains of a tunnel which seems to have formerly passed through the section of earth prised apart by the rift. Without the tunnel it seems likely that the lava would have poured forth from this rift in the earth and spread across the arid land above. Instead it moved sideways, filling and blocking both directions of the tunnel, due to the incline of the underground passage one direction has been more thoroughly filled than the other. The less filled tunnel direction has its upper two feet above the semi-liquid rock, although if its slope holds that gap will rapidly vanish into nothing.

Of Torin, there is not a sign. The other rifts are too small to house him and the lava pooled at the base of this one would have devoured the mage-hunter within moments

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Oh-ho, a tunnel!" Collin shouts to those above. "Looks as if those lizard-men and their pets may have been busy down here. And with no sign of Torin, could it be possible that he was taken away before burning in the pool of lava?"

Walking back up to the surface, the priest hunts down Varidiir. "Think you might be able to squeeze yourself down there? The place is still steaming hot and the only other person who's capable of making the trip is Lynores, but the tight quarters may prove to be too difficult for him to use his weapons if there's an ambush behind the cooling lava wall. Now if you see something down there, just come back up and tell us."

[Gralhruk]

Tolven shakes his head skeptically. Even if Torin had fallen in that particular crack, there didn't seem much possibility that he'd be able to avoid being cooked in the lava. And the odds of Varidiir being able to find anything of value down there now seemed even slimmer.

"This may well be a waste of our time. If we want to investigate the lizards, we'd probably do better going back to the cave where we encountered them yesterday. I don't think even Varidiir can fit through there."

Although Grakus might be able to . . .

He takes a moment to check with the flying lizard to see what his companion thinks of that idea.

[Cadrius]

"Um...well..."

The thought of squeezing himself through the tunnels isn't particularly appealing, especially when he doesn't know if there's any remaining lava flows nearby. Varidiir might never burn, but he can drown the same as any prime. Being trapped beneath a collapsed wall while the lava washes over him is not how the azer would like to go.

"Can't the wizards do something like that, but without going in? Can't ye use magic for this?"

[Gnarsh]

"We may as well just assume he didn't make it. Last I checked, long falls with lava at the bottom tend to end in death for most human beings," Lynores says to the others. "We could even buy a decent tombstone in town and drag it out here for him once our business is done here. But for now, we should focus on what the hell those rocks are and what we can do with them."

[Kahluah]

Canace lowers herself to the ground and dismisses the magic that had freed her from the constraints of gravity. Walking to where the rest of the group is gathered, she looks over the lip of the crevace and into the pool of lava. She shies quickly away from the opposing elemental force, before looking at the azer.

"I know how to cast a spell that would let me see down the tunnel as best I can, but unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to prepare it for today."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Landing beside the rest, Collin kicks a loose rock over the edge. "Well then, so long Torin. We'll be sure to mention your lack of accomplishments in our reports." To add even more insult to their fallen officer, Collin closes one nostril and blows snot on Torin's makeshift grave. He then does the same for the other nostril.

"If we're not doing anything else here; let's get out of here and check out those stones," he says while turning around to leave.

[Kahluah]

Canace nods her agreement. "I agree we should get back, but we should also make sure that the settlement wasn't too affected by the earthquake. There's no telling how much damage it could have suffered, if any at all."

[BigRedRod]

Leaving the sundered landscape behind, the remains of the party leave their loss behind. Passing over the cracked arid ground, the five witness the impact of the shifting earth all around them. Fallen pillars of stone, random small sections of earth raised half a dozen feet over the surrounding land and as they leave the dry stony waste behind, uprooted trees.

As the walled town enters the view, there is a wash of relief that the tall wooden barrier still stands. The devastation found around the spire has lessened to the point were one could hardly tell such a natural disaster had occured in the last few hours. A few trees are bent at unnatural angles but such effects could have also been caused by the strong winds that tend to favour tropical islands.

The solitary gate guard nods a silent greeting and sets about raising the portcullis. Through the iron grating it is possible to see that the town of Brokengate has suffered no external damage whatsoever. Avoiding eye contact the guard patiently waits for the party to move inside.

[ooc: The town looks safe, but where do you want to go today?]

[Gnarsh]

"Shall we go report what happened to Samson? I'm sure he'll be interested to know what happened." Lynores asks the group as they enter the town.

[Gralhruk]

"A wise idea."

Tolven answers with his usual serenity, absently stroking Grakus. He glances over to Collin and Canace.

"Why don't you and Varidiir do that while the rest of us see if we can learn anything more about the stones?"

[Gnarsh]

"Good plan." Lynores responds to Tolven. In a slightly lower voice, he adds, "It's probably a good idea to get Varidiir away from Canace before he's seriously injured by the strain of forcing himself to 'hate' elves. At the very least he can have some time to come up with some better insults."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Going along with Tolven's plan, Collin adds, "Think we could evict the gnome from her lab for a while? It may give us a better environment to work in. Not that the jail isn't nice, but I'd prefer not to stay there."

[Kahluah]

Canace looks at Collin and shrugs. "Or, we could use my lab, perhaps? I have a small hut just inside of the walls near the guard post. It is something I inherited from my predecessor when I came to this island. Also, it would allow me a chance to get out of these robes and into something a little less formal."

[BigRedRod]

Agreeing to split, Lynores and Varidiir trot through the town in search of Samson, the town's smith and mayor in order to report the day's adventures. Suprisingly, the Mayor is found stood outside his forge wearing little but a heavy leather apron and using a large hammer to take out his frustrations on a white hot piece of metal.

He looks up as the two approach him and strikes the iron a few more times before grabbing it with a pair of tongs and thrusting it in to a water barrel.

"I bet you'd make a hell of a smith sonny. All that fire must be good for something."
Smiling at the two, he wipes the sweat from his brow and exhales heavily,
"So then. What happened?"

---

Canace, Collin and Tolven walk a short way down the narrow, dusty alleys of the town and soon arrive at the small contruction that serves as home and laboratory. Built so that one of its four walls is in fact the town wall, it speaks volumes for the need for space in Broken Gate.

Beyond the front door the house is dominated by a decent sized table, which is mostly covered by the exotic looking devices and equipment needed by every good wizard to confuse outsiders and occasionally practice alchemy.

[ooc: Feel free to do background posts of research while I do the conversation with Varidiir, Lynores and Samson. Sorry it was a bit of a vague post, I didn't want to overdefine Canace's personal space]

[Gnarsh]

"Well, my Lord Mayor, it went something like this..." Lynores says to Samson as he begins the story. "Canace performed the ritual, and a mighty elemental beast of earth came into being. After a long battle, the creature was defeated through the efforts of all of us. Unfortunately, on of our number, Torin, was lost in the melee, and his body was not recovered. Afterwards, some obviously magical glowing stones were found, which the others have brought to Canace's lab for inspection. We were sent to bring word to you."

[Cadrius]

"Heh, well, you know I'd always--" Varidiir is cut off by his companion, crushing his dreams of smithing.

The azer's curiosity is piqued. The thought of using his own fire to aid in shaping metal fascinates him. More importantly it's seemingly one of the foundations of dwarven culture. He's fairly confident he's got the elf rivalry thing down, or at least is on the right track toward mastery. He's also come close to perfection when it comes to drinking and scrapping. Yet smithing has eluded him thus far. Perhaps not forever though. He gives Samson a nod, indicating his agreement of Lynores's story.

[BigRedRod]

Samson scowls at Lynores,
"I've warned you once about this Lord and Sir bollocks. I'm letting you know now that you just used your last warning."

Pausing for a moment the stout man continues,
"I'm sorry you lost a team mate, it is never easy and not having a body to bury makes it all the worse. Although at least you gave as well as you took and managed to kill your beast of earth, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that is what the rumbling I could feel earlier was? And if the rest at Canace's hut then I'm also going to say that it didn't work. At least you have something to work on though..."

A pause fills the air for several seconds as both parties wait for the other to speak,
"Is there anything else or are we going to stand here till we put down roots?"

[Gnarsh]

"No, that's about it." Lynores responds to the Mayor's query. After a short pause, he continues, "Well, actually, are there any mages in town other than Canace that would be capable of enchanting items? I have some extra money and I'd like to have some of my gear improved."

[BigRedRod]

Samson laughs and claps a hand on his chest,
"Sonny, I think you keep forgetting where you are. We aren't in fancy-pants downtime Vodalia. You're in the isles... We have Canace and last I heard Gempalms was amusing herself with a little alchemy while we try and secure prospecting sites. So to be frank, no."

[Kahluah]

Canace enters her hut, moving herself quickly around the arcane laboratory equipment to the curtain separating the two rooms from each other. "If you'd care to begin making yourselves at home, I'm just going to slip out of these robes and into something less formal to work in."

Drawing back the curtain, the windswept mage slips into what looks to be a very well lived in bedroom, before sliding the curtain shut. She changes out of the torn and bloodied robes, making a mental note to fix them tomorrow before she begins work on the orbs, and into a pair of breaches and a deep blue tunic. She slides a pair of thin framed spectacles on her face, hooking the arms behind her ears before walking out of the bedroom once again.

"Well, let us start our work, shall we?"

[Gnarsh]

"Well, it was worth a try. I'll see you around town, Samson." Lynores says to the blacksmith as he walks off. "Now then, let's see if some fun can't be found in this backwater village," He thinks to himself as he wanders the streets.

After finding very little to keep himself occupied, Lynores busies himself with drinking, singing, and wenching at the tavern with the occasional visit to Canace's home while the others inspect the stones.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

To help get things started, Collin removes the stone from his magical bag. He holds onto the object, trying to discern if it does anything active. When that fails, he resorts to covering it with his large hands and shaking the stone. Fun and games over, he hands it to whoever is next in line to play with the over-sized marble.

Done toying with the object for now, he makes himself comfortable as the real wizards analyze the mystical treasures. "It's still just a rock," he says before laughing at some bad humor. "Watch how we spend the next few days looking at it; only to find out that the stone has a simple light spell cast upon it. What a joke this would turn out to be."

[Cadrius]

Lynores wanders away, muttering to himself about finding some fun. Varidiir shrugs. The fiend is free to do as he pleases and find what merriment he may on this rock. As for the azer, well, there's a certain beach calling his name. He delights in the opportunity to return to the seaside. He can serve of little use in unlocking whatever arcane secrets the stone might possess.

This time instead of meditation, Varidiir begins to practice the unarmed combat taught to him as a boy. Flowing from form to form, the azer burns up and down the beach.

[BigRedRod]

Varidiir practices his art on the beach with the relaxing view of the open water, and the sound of the gentle waves breaking as the sun slowly begins to descend and steals the colour from the day. Under the vivid red sky he becomes aware of a trio of townsfolk watching the fiery form as it shifts between martial exercises. As the monk stops his training and turns to regard them, they wave him over and one shouts something about the gate being locked for the night soon.

Finishing his physical workout for the day, Varidiir joins the trio who had apparently been dispatched that morning to survey a section of island for any useful natural products. As much as their findings fail to interest the flaming little monk they explain them in great detail.

...

Lynores finds himself quickly bored by the social activities offered by the town. The tavern is little more than a meeting hall, with no one present to tend bar during the day and only a few clusters of people who appear to be planning for the work of future days.

After a dull wait, things pick up slightly with a rather pungent ale being served and a score or so of the townsfolk looking to relax after a day of hard work. Still, the performer finds himself wishing their traitorous companion had had the mercy to send them somewhere a little more lively.

...

Back in Canace's hut the day passes with a mixture of debate, research and long periods of sitting around as each of the researcher tries to comprehend the next confusing discovery (or none discovery). As darkness spreads across the sky it quickly becomes obvious that discovering the true nature of the stones is something which will require more than a few hours and a handful of cantrips.

...


Ten full days pass by the town of Broken Gate

...

Samson clearly realised that not every member of the new arrivals would be spending their time with Canace and the mystic artifacts and early the next morning, both Varidiir and Lynores founds themselves accosted by the man and set to work.

The gruff man quickly explains that the party are more than welcome in his town, but if they are to stay then they must work towards the common good. Lynores is instructed to join the guardsmen with their duties, although Samson is quite clear that spending time in the tavern lifting spirits is also a productive use of free time in the evenings. With Vardiir's rather unique physiology, Samson is clearly loath to leave him within the boundaries of the town all day where a slightly accident could cause a fast moving fire and the destruction of large amounts of the wooden buildings. As such, Samson informs Varidiir that he can spend his time protecting the survey teams.

Oddly enough, at no point during the research period does the town instelf or one of the small groups travelling the island to hunt, forage and survey come under attack from any of the red-skinned lizards or the burrowing beasts. Lynores finds the other guardsmen are baffled by the lack of activity, although a few are happy to reach the conclusion that they must have given up their conquest of the surface after being repelled so much.

After over ten days, Tolven, Collin and Canace all agree on their findings. After far too many theories to remember were quickly dispelled by one of the others of further experiment, the three reach one which seems unshakable. The two stones are in fact condensed elemental matter, one of air, one of earth. Canace's earlier ritual did not restore the elemental disjunction so much as reveal the true extent of the problem. Somewhere on the island exists an elemental focus, a swirling vortex of energy which is the very essence of the confused cosmology the island experiences.

The two condensates are eager to be swallowed by the vortex and a force of attraction exists between them. Using this force of attraction, it will be possible to locate the vortex, however simply allowing the two pure forms of elemental energy to follow their attractions would return things to their initial state when Canace arrived.

After much debate the only course of action that seemed possible was the enchantment of the condensates with powerful dispelling magics, which should, in theory, tear the planar rift open and restore the connections with the elemental energies and rest of Ku'Zul. Content that they are unlikely to reach a firmer conclusion, the three prepare to explain their findings to Samson when a noise from outside attracts their attention.

Hurrying outside, it becomes clear that another day has passed for the research team, the sky is dark except for a few light purple clouds and something major seems to happening. Guardsmen scurry about atop the wall, shouting for the town to prepare for attack. One the guardsmen halts and looks down at the party stood in the narrow alley, upon closer inspection it's Lynores.

Before the fiend can open his mouth, the area suddenly grows light as a familiar Azer emerges from around a corner at quite a pace.

-=Chapter End=-

[BigRedRod]

Tolven
5345

Collin
5400

Varidiir
5290

Lynores
5215

Canace
5360