| Leralt Littlehorn |
| Male Tiefling Void Elementalist 5 |
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Leralt gives the man a bored look.
"I seem to have forgotten, logical thought without ego is only common among the collective. It is no longer my concern. I will keep my own council, do as you wish without me."
He washed his hands of the whole thing, his budding anger cut short by his will. Let the fates claim their price, it seemed enough lives had not been lost. He thought about returning to the collective. What a twisted joke, he had more of a home among star creatures then those of his own world.
| Dr. Catila Eyesquint |
| Female Gnome Bard (Detective)/ 5 |
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Raising her own eyebrow, Catila snaps back "Well good thing I wasn't asking your permission!" Then, taking a deep breath, she calms herself and tries again "Honestly Leralt! What is your problem?? It's not as if you can study all the books at the same time! While I may not possess your skill at linguistics, I am no slouch myself. And I do possess other skills that you do not. I had no intention of keeping the books from you, I merely wished to peruse them myself as well. You really are an impossible man to get along with!"
She then turns to Gellius "Thank you Dr. I am sure with all of us putting our minds to the task, we shall uncover and solve whatever mysteries are to be found here in short order." while shooting another quick glare the moody wizard's way.
| Leralt Littlehorn |
| Male Tiefling Void Elementalist 5 |
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Leralt does not react to yet another outburst. Speaking normally.
"My problem is I feel no need to explain my every action like a child. I was and still am a researcher, their is a method to decoding which requires as much source information as can be acquired. The less source the more difficult the task. So yes having all the books is beneficial. While I could go into details of the complexities of such work, I do not feel the need to waste that sort of time. By your own admission you are aware that my skills in translation exceed your own. Does it not make sense that I should be the one to do that work. Is it not sensible, rather then costing me double the work to check your translations. Otherwise information could be misinterpreted and corrupted."
He shakes his head.
"You do not trust my judgment or me in any sense. That is a problem on your part and a dangerous one at that. As it has already cost us."
He picks up the bag he placed all the arcane tomes in.
"No doubt that outburst has alerted Rykks'vykk and anything else in these caves. I am not going to tempt the dragonkin, I will wait outside the mouth of the cave."
He is careful to keep alert and on guard in case Rykks'vykk was faster then the first time they met as he leaves.
| Our Mysterious Benefactor |
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As the party muses amongst itself on the dynamics of interpersonal relations, Catila spots something embedded in one of the fungal piles. It appears to be a soap bubble at first glance, but as she retreives it, she discovers a small palm sized quartz ball, filled with bubbles, cracks and imperfections. As she stares into it, the light seems to play through the cracks and bubbles and almost seems to become images. She can almost fancy she hears voices as well...
| Dr. Catila Eyesquint |
| Female Gnome Bard (Detective)/ 5 |
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Opening her mouth to reply to the caustic and myopic wizard, the Detective instead closes her mouth and just shakes her head sadly. Turning away from the un-winnable argument she continues her search. Upon finding the quartz ball she leans closer, peering in deeper and listening more intently.
| Lena Relani |
| Female Half-Elf Rogue 1/ Inquisitor 4. Init: +5, hp: 30/30 F: +4, R: +4, W: +7, AC: 18 |
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Lena remains silent during the others' bickering slowly getting more irate and her frown deepening to match.
"Will you lot keep it down? We've a job to do here and an angry Dracolisk we don't want to piss off. Just grab what you can and we can sort it out later"
Lena helps collect and books or other clues deemed interesting.
"Catila what have you got there?"
| Our Mysterious Benefactor |
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Catila feels a sudden drop in the pit of her stomach as she seems to fall into the vision, until it surrounds her. She seems to be in the vision, but unable to affect it, a spectator.
She sees a Pale Guardian, a young one by the look of it, holding the crystal. It seems to concentrate on the item and Catila senses that it's trying to study it or extract some information from it. Suddenly the fungus man tenses, as Catila can feel a suddenly change in the air of the cave, as if strange smells were sent on the wind. The fungus twitches, as if scenting the air, then drops the crystal into a pouch made of plant materials and leaves the room. Catila is drawn along with the fungus, as if tethered to the crystal.
The fungus passes several comb-like rooms that Catila recognizes, where others of its kind seem to have gotten the same message. Catila can see a room where scrolls and books are being studied by the fungus, where a forge is set and great chunks of iron ore are being melted down, where several humanoid bodies are laid on the floor. This intrigues her, for one of the bodies is pulsing and as she passes, she sees it rip violently open from inside, and three small fungal people, about the size of toddlers, burst forth. They immediately begin to turn and consume the corpse as she is drawn along.
The crystal draws her down, to the large cavern where the dracolisk now lairs. Only now it is an amphitheater where rows of fungal benches sit in staggered layers facing a large stage. On the stage is a hooded, masked man, wearing the same robes and mask as the men with Uriah before you were frozen in time. The man is kneeling, his hands bound and guarded by the Pale Guardians. Still, you sense a strange anticipation in the man's demeanor, even through the mask.
As the room fills with the Pale Guardians, one of the stage steps to the edge and suddenly the air changes again, as more scents are released. A few moments pass, with sudden changes in the air back and forth, as if a debate were taking place. Finally the leader Guardian turns to the two guarding the man. It makes a motion and the Guard on the man's right raises a sharp looking axe. The man lets out a rasping laugh beneath the mask. "Yes! YES! I die for the Master, so that He Who is Imprisoned will be released once more!" SNICK! The axe falls and the man's head rolls away. But something odd happens, too.
As the head is separated, he bleeds not blood, but a green fluid. It spreads, even as the Pale Guardians pull back from the corpse. The liquid begins to bubble and hiss and as the bubbles pop, a pale green dust explodes into the air. As soon as it hits the guards, their spongy fungus flesh begins to sprout with the blossoms you saw below. The flowers grow at an amazing speed, rotting the fungal men as you watch, turning them into piles of flowering goop.
In the crowd, panic ensues. The vision becomes bumpy as the crystal bearing fungus races out of the amphitheater and up the ramps, heading back to the room you found it in. But it's too late. Even as it goes, the flowers burst from its flesh and begin to decompose it rapidly. But before it stops completely, you can hear the distant sounds of liquifying fungus and something else, a voice, booming and commanding and familiar. Uriah Parker.
"Search the rooms. Find the seals. There will be seven total. Bring them to me!"
For a long time nothing happens, then a hooded, masked man enters the room. He kicks through the fungal remains in the room, but finds nothing.
A few moments pass. Suddenly you hear Parker's voice raised in anger. "What do you mean they only had six?!? Curse them! They must have given the last to someone else for safekeeping! Those damnable talking beasts! Curse them!" There is the sound of arcane syllables, then a ZAP of electricity and a scream that cuts off abruptly.
Then nothing happens. All is silent. And the crystalline vision ends.
| Dr. Catila Eyesquint |
| Female Gnome Bard (Detective)/ 5 |
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Turing to Lena, her eyes wide with wonder and fascination, Catila says quietly "I...I think I know what happened here..." amd she then continues to detail her vision as exactly she experienced it.
| Lena Relani |
| Female Half-Elf Rogue 1/ Inquisitor 4. Init: +5, hp: 30/30 F: +4, R: +4, W: +7, AC: 18 |
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"So Parker came here and killed the Pale Guardians. That much we already knew"
Lena states arms folded
| Our Mysterious Benefactor |
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As soon as Catila's vision ends, the crystal shatters and dissolves into soap bubbles, which float away and pop in the moist air.