Chapter 8 : Whenever, Wherever

[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