"I do not know." Dasur responds to Snorri's inquiry on the state of Torvi's mind. "I must see the amulet she picked up to ascertain its nature. Her behavior certainly changed after coming in contact with it."
There was little else the wizard could do to help them restrain Torvi without also trapping them with his spells. He quietly watches the struggle from a few feet away, waiting for them to overpower her.
As the boulder helmet slams into his face, Snorri recoils for a moment before slamming his arm into Torvi's neck. "Is it mind control? Yield to your liege, fool!"
[dice=Grapple]1d20+6
Pulling back from the headbutt, "Hey I don't like him either but you cannot just decide to kill him for no reason. Dwarves have more honor than that."
Query for Nalnera: you were next to me to grapple me. Are you taking a 5’ step back and casting or moving away and casting? Either of those will provoke from Torvi.
Let’s see:
Round 1
21 Erebos - Invisibility
14 Dasur - Color Spray
12 Nalnera - Grapple fail
7 Torvi - move and attack, miss
7 Glenda - Unknown
4 Snorri - Grapple, popped in the nose
Round 2
21 Erebos - Levitate
14 Dasur - Delay
12 Nalnera - Move somewhere and Compel Hostility
7 Torvi -
Not seeing or hearing her enemy, Torvi turns slowly as she yells out at the top of her lungs, with spittle spraying from her lips, and death in her eyes, ”flee elf! Flee! For you face the wrath of a dwarven warrior, a descendant of a great people. I am no worn down cobbler or child, that you can stab in the back. Oh yes, I know your crime. I name thee murderer! Killer of refugees! Oh yes, I know you, and what you did. And though it take the rest of my days, I shall avenge! DAMMERHALL!!!!!!”
Glenda's words trouble Snorri. How does she know? Did the amulet talk to her?
Yet, he tries to restrain her. "Torvi, we are dwarves, not orcs! We have laws and justice, not feuds and vengeance! Steel is used when needed, not a moment too soon, not a moment too late. "
When Snorri goes to grapple Torvi, she goes to take her AOO...
+1 when raging, +2 vs spells Fail
So she attacks Nalnera instead...
Bludgeon
”Cut it out fools! That elf was here when these dwarves, our kin, were slaughtered, and he participated in the killing.”
"What proof do you offer, Torvi?" Dasur says calmly as she flails her dorn-dergar about with the fury of a scorned dwarf.
The wizard continues to watch from several feet away as the struggle devolves into a wrestling match. Considering the brawl would probably take a while and Dasur wa eager to begin studying the amulet, he decides to do it from afar.
A flick of his wrist and a single word enchances his vision to pick out magical auras, and he begins to stare at the tangled mass of dwarfs while attempting to pick out any new, unique magical auras.
Exhaling with a loud 'oof' and blinking away the tears that want to spring. Was this what you were talking about?
Waving her hand in the air dismissively, "Well he is long gone thanks to your failed murder attempt. Maybe you should have brought it to everyone's attention."
Glenda cocks her head first to one side, then the other, then finally says, "Torvi... what did you see?"
Torvi, being grappled, will struggle to get free in round 3, but also says, ”dwarven refugees from Dammerhall. Hundreds of them. Tired, worn out, but determined to press on. They were lead by a ‘Master Horath.’ They knew they were near the surface, and they had allies waiting there. But they were attacked by drow, and among them was that bastard!” She spits at the darkness.
To get free...
Success?
”Now quit this foolishness, and help me find him!”
"You assaulted without a shred of evidence other than a vision, without giving the accused a chance to speak in his defense." hisses Snorri as his grapple is reversed. "That is the way of barbarians and savages, not civilized dwarves. And you raised weapons against us, drew our blood. Cease your attack this moment, or by my name I swear I will brand you an outcast."
Torvi then got out of the grapple.
”I had the evidence of my eyes! I am done, as the coward has fled. Fled, because there are no weak and weary dwarves to backstab, no doubt!”
She lets the song drop.
”I see you are injured. Let me see to that.”
Test
Seems to be working.
Regardless whether or not the struggle continues, Dasur continues to stare the magical auras surrounding Torvi. He finally separates a unique and unknown aura from all the rest, quickly teasing it apart with the precision of an expert.
"Light and Invisibility... Ah, an Amulet of Hidden Light." The wizard says after a few moments of contemplation. He strokes his greasy, single-braided beard for a few moments. "A fascinating find, but I see no other traces of magic that could have imparted the vision you claim to have seen."
He approaches, hefting his staff and holding out one end to her. "If you could please place the chain of the amulet here, I would like to study it further for command words and any curses."
Sighing, We are injured because you could not control yourself. You acted like a savage orc. And Erebos has had many chances to attack us when we are weak and weary."
Taking a step towards Torvi with her arms crossed, "But he did not. So he was in a battle years ago. Our people are enemies but he is no longer with the drow. He is with us. That was a war and there is never honor in that."
Torvi responds to Nalnera, ”Oh no. What he did was not war. It was slaughter. I have seen it with my eyes. And as for control, I was under control, it was my intent to avenge our people, to include one lone shoemaker, before the drow could skulk off. However, your interference clearly stopped that plan, and he is probably off to warn his people, and lay another ambush for us. He has been here before, and he never thought to mention it. He likely knows the route to Dammerhall from here. He certainly knows where to find more drow.”
She responds to Dasur’s request, ”as for this amulet, you can use your magic on it while I hold it.”
Snorri shoots a furious glance at Torvi. "And in your blind lust for justiceless revenge you raised arms against your companions! Did you stop a moment to consider what it looked like, when you attacked someone who had not raised arms against us without so much as a word? Did you not trust us to behave according to honor and justice, so that you would take it into your own hands? And now you try to blame US for your folly, because we tried to stop your apparent homicidal mania?"
"Now heal Nalnera. And if we meet Erebos again, I want you to behave like a civilized dwarf and let us discuss the situation and pass justice, because if you raise arms against us again, you will be treated as a rabid dog. Steel follows words, and if you feel otherwise you are welcome to join the orcs."
Torvi seems mildly cowed by Snorri’s berating of her, but she points out, ”I never did claim to be completely civilized. I shall obey your command.”
She moves and heals Nalnera...
Dasur seems to be completely uninterested in whatever the group is bickering about. Instead, he pulls his spellbook from its now well-used waterproof bag, skimming through the pages.
The wizard stands in one place among the bone-littered field, muttering to himself and making the occasional unknowable gesture. After several minutes he closes the book, puts it back in his bag, and approaches Torvi once more.
With a small via of some sort of fermented drink in one hand and a downy white feather in the other, he dips the feather into the vial and flicks the dripping object about in the shape of an octohedron. After the bizzare ritual is compelte, he stares unblinking at the amulet in Torvi's hands...
Sighing but letting Torvi heal her, "You are perfectly civilized but you lack impulse control."
At Snorri's suggestion that you might see Erebos again, you are fairly certain that you hear a chuffing sound from somewhere removed far removed.
Iverna smirks at the entire situation. "I'm on your side, Torvi, but I defer to our Lord, who is wiser than are we. I say we find the drow and cut him down."
Dasur's facial expression changes to one of concern, mixed with brief bouts of confusion, before settling back into its usual neutral state. He informs Torvi of the command word to activate the amulet's powers before beginning to explain the other aura he witnessed. "In addition to the carefully woven invisibility and light magics, there is a moderately powerful aura of necromatic energy emanating from the gem. It appears the object has absorbed fragments of energy from the souls of dwarves that died here. I do not possess evidence to suggest it absorbed their souls or parts of their souls directly, but instead the energy released by the act of the souls leaving their material vessels was captured by the gem instead of disapating into the astral plane, like a shadow being cast by bright light, except hte shadow remained in place after the light was removed." The wizard drones, beginning to slowly stroke his beard.
"The necromatic energies are firmly affixed but chaotic. It was not an enchantment purposely placed, but instead mere chance. There is no obvious trigger magic and no magical syntax. It is as if random words were written on a page, and a half-sensible sentance was formed. The viewing of the previous object owner's final moments, as Torvi has claimed to see, would make sense, but another of us should touch it for independant verification. If this effect is reproducible I would consider this item to be "cursed" in the technical sense, though this is very mild as far as curses go." The monotonous explaination continues, ending only as Dasur extends his hand.
"I wish to experience this vision for myself, if I may, Torvi." He says before further adding. "I do hope Erebos is still about. The possibility of a gemstone naturally absorbing magical energies into a usable state is incredibly intriguing, and I do not want him to miss this opportunity to study it."
Torvi holds up the amulet for Dasur to touch it, but she ain’t handing it over.
Hoping that he got the gist of what Dasur was explaining, Snorri speaks loudly. "Erebos! If you wish to speak for yourself against these accusations, I give you my word that I will hear you out, and I will rule justly and fairly. Otherwise, your hiding will be seen as an admission of guilt."
Snorri's hand moves to a small carving of a hammer on his armor, carved by his own hand into the mithral. "Against my people's enemies I will show no mercy. I will not allow their surrender, except to extract information. I will defeat them, and I will scatter their families. Yet even in the struggle against our enemies, I will act in a way that brings honor to Torag."
The dark elf's voice echoes around the chamber, difficult to locate.
"Speak how, Lord Snorri. If I am guilty, and I have killed your kin, how would you know? Or if I am innocent of the Stonesinger's mad accusations, how would I demonstrate that innocence? Surely you know that I am no babe in arms. I am innocent of nothing. When I was three years old I murdered my twin sister with a snake's poison. Since then, I have killed orc, elf, drow, and dwarf. I will not be so foolish to submit to your judgement. Leave me be, and I will not seek to harm you in the immediate future. But follow me, seek to deliver your 'justice,' and I will ruin you while your kin fall around you. I will see that you are fed to the demon worms that lair nearby. Do not seek me, do not follow me. I would have delivered the halls of Taaryssia to you heavy heeled boot, but instead you will follow the whims of your stupid, cretinous Stonesinger. Follow her, follow her madness, follow her anger. If the Blackfire of Dammerhall does not consume you, your own foolishness will."
Looking around, "Ok so I don't like you as a person but you joined our little group. Your past is yours and I only care about your future. You stayed long enough to see what just happened. Torvi has impulse issues but we all tried and succeeded, mind you, to stop her."
Throwing her hands up, "We met him in a battle where we were on opposite sides. Snorri you have no right to judge him now when you were willing to sleep next to him. Trusting that he would not slit our throats while we rested."
Looking up and sighing, "If you demand his blood now because that amulet showed a vision of a battle that took place years ago then your word is a hollow thing. We made a place for him among us after he tried to kill us! He is a warrior there for he has shed blood and claimed many lives."
Looking around for the drow again, "I didn't want to but the majority agreed to keep him. To trust him. We gave our word and currently that is all we have. My word is my bond and I will not resend on it."
"Can you locate him through his invisibility?" Snorri whispers to Dasur. Then, scanning the room for the source of the voice, he speaks again.
"Don't take me for a fool! I know there are spells which ensure someone is telling the truth! And my word was to have you as a companion, not to shield you from justice. Justice, not anger! I knew you had faced dwarves in battle, and I trusted you to work with us because of your own ambition, but if you truly slaughtered harmless civilians, it's another matter entirely, and if you pretend not to see the difference, I see it as an admission of guilt!"
"That's what war is Snorri! You take any advantage to hurt your foe. I don't have to like it but it is true. Dwarves speak of the drows brutality all the time so how are you surprised? Just like everyone talks about the pride and stubbornness of dwarves."
"War is NOT slaughter, Nalnera or Regnir, whichever of you speaks now! It is not a reason to act dishonorably, to kill the innocents and the civilians! To do so would bring only shame to all of dwarvenkind and to our Father!"
Shrugging, "Nalnera and he is not going to show himself and I do not blame him. You have already judged him."
Looking around again, "Death is a part of war. No war ever avoided casualties on either side. When we lay siege to the orc's their innocents die. Same with the drow. It is not what war should be but that is what it is."
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"Perhaps most importantly, death and change go hand-in-hand," Glenda interjects suddenly.
"Stubbornness, you said, Nalnera... and that is what this is. An age-old grudge come to the fore again. A grudge between our kind that has gone on for millennia, now playing out once more between us as individuals."
The priestess looks at the cavern floor, then slowly looks up toward the black ceiling somewhere above. "Long ago our kin died here and the fortress of Dammerhall came to an end. So crumbled our pride and our empire."
"This drow may have been there - may have put an end to the lives lost. Perhaps willingly, gladly. Yet now, he has walked beside us an fought alongside us. Adversity truly makes strange allies."
"This battle should not, cannot be forgotten. Yet who among us has never done something of which they were ashamed? Who among us has not learned one lesson in our hard-headed, pride-filled lives?"
"Erebos took his way out because we defeated him. It was only practical. Always he has looked to his safety, because that is the world in which he lives. A world where any ally might turn on you in a moment. A world where treachery is common and loyalty is a death sentence. Little wonder that it is a world filled with murder and... loneliness."
"We opened a door when we said, you may travel with us. We took on that responsibility. We decided that we would offer Erebos another way to live, because we held a different standard. To turn on that trust says something about us more than him."
"If you offer a man redemption, you implicitly accept that his past contains wrongdoing."
"Our ancestors may cry for vengeance, but what would be better than the death of hate? The death of strife? A world in which none of us, dwarf or drow, is always looking over our shoulders for a blade. A world in which we have recognized our follies and are ready to change them so that we might thrive. Because if we do not recognize change, we will make the same mistakes that Dammerhall did before."
"Erebos, if you choose to flee, do so now, and you will live out your days a lonely fugitive from your own people and from us. If you choose to stay, you make the ultimate gesture - the gesture of trust. You extend trust to those who would be your enemy. You put your life in someone else's hands, and that is the greatest offering that Magrim can ever receive."
Turning to the priestess and nodding, "Thank you."
Torvi listens quietly, as the fate of the devil-drow is discussed by her companions.
Dasur shrugs as Snorri whispers to him, seemingly not interested in playing magical hide-and-seek. "While theoretically possible, Erebos will certainly recognize the tactic and move faster than magical detection can locate him." The wizard answers in a normal voice, not really understanding why Snorri was whispering in the first place.
Unmoved by the speeches of those around him, Dasur reaches out and touches the amulet Torvi found, attempting to duplicate the vision she saw.
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Erebos appears quite nearby, only a few feet away, rapier in hand, as if to make clear that he could have caused harm had he wished.
"Your naive words aside, Snorri, the words of your companions do suggest that you will find a path that does not result in my death. You say that war is not slaughter, but life is slaughter. You speak of innocents and civilians. I have never met an innocent, so you will have to forgive my lack of knowledge there. But do not pretend that there are innocent dwarves. Dwarves make nothing but war and the means of making war. Dwarves take, and take. Perhaps, on the sun drenched skylands above there are those who live lives of peace and complacency, but here, in the Darkness, life comes from death. Every morsel you eat is taken from the mouth of someone else's babe, so do not speak of innocence and righteousness to me. You want Zaraketh, and I know where it lies. Not precisely, but close enough. These dwarves passed through there on their way here. They passed here on their way to the passage that we descended, and there they begged the gnomes to take them in their float-ship to the lands above, but the gnomes refused. Then, in all of their dwarven rightness, they attacked the gnomes, attempting to take the ship by force. The gnomes blinded many of them, and in their weakened state, the dwarves were no match for the strange magics and weapons of the gnomes. By the time the dwarves turned around and came back to this place, we had caught them up. Our shaokyri, hunting cats, tracked their dwarven scent. We killed every one of them, because they were dangerous. We would have enslaved them, but we could not trust that they were free of the taint of the Blackfire, and so we killed them all. If your dwarven justice seeks to punish me for that act, then I demand at least a trial by combat against your chosen champion."
For the moment, the mysteries of the amulet frustrate Dasur. The stone swings like a pendulum as he touches it, but no vision is revealed.
Torvi smiles, as she fingers her weapon, ”guilty by his own admission,” she ponders to herself.
Dasur grasps the amulet, waits a few moments, lets go, grasps the amulet, and lets go again. He repeats this motion several times, using one or more fingers, and all variety of different way of touching it.
After about a minute, the wizard sighs and shakes his head. "The vision will not manifest for me. Further study will be required when we next camp." He says flatly, as if disconnected from the entire situation unfolding nearby.
However, the wizard soon proves he was actually listening the entire time, turning towards their dark elf companion and leaning on his staff. "If Erebos knows the way to Zaraketh, then he is now our guide. The only past actions or memories we should be concerned about are ones that assist us in our purpose, which is reclamining Dammerhall."
Thinking for a moment, he finishes with a question: ""What is the Blackfire, Erebos?"
"I do not know what the Blackfire is, Dasur, only what it does, which is kill by detereorating its victims. In many of the dwarves who escaped Dammerhall, it presented as a necrotic plague that could spread to others. The first dwarven refugees we encountered referred to the Doom of Dammerhall, and called it the Blackfire, but none that I know of were ever able to explain what it was. I was a warrior, then, not a scholar."
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Snorri considers the dilemma in front of him, painstakingly wondering whether his decision will be the right one.
"Glenda, Nalnera, thank you for reminding me of the value of mercy. I was quick to anger."
"Erebos, justice is not only carried out by an axe. I wouldn't have asked you to speak for yourself if I hadn't been willing to listen to your words, and this is what I think. In the past, you have been an enemy of dwarvenkind, and as I understand, you have been an enemy of mostly anything other than you. But as Glenda said, it doesn't have to be this way."
"I don't know if the dwarves in Dammerhall grew proud or violent. I wasn't even born at the time. But we wish to build a new Dammerhall based on trust, on justice and on loyalty, a place that we all can be proud to call home. And we are loyal to each other not because it's convenient, but because it's the right thing to do."
He takes a deep breath and hopes that Torag will agree with his judgement.
"Of having been a foe of our kind, I judge you guilty. Of being one now, innocent. And since, as you are, you may be one once again, I want you to swear, as sincerely as you can, that you will talk to us and try to understand what it means to be a companion, to be loyal and steadfast to each other, in hope that one day you may stand by our side because it's the right thing to do, even if it would put you in greater jeopardy. And may Torag and Grundinnar protect us."
Dasur considers this new infrmation about the strange disease known as Blackfire. "Hmm.. if it is infectious, passing from person to person, there is the liklihood no further trace would be left due to the last dwarf in Dammerhall dying out hundreds of years ago. Stone willing, we will find an empty kingdom, but something must have caused this Blackfire, of course. I will need more information if I am to link it to any known magical diseases or creatures."
Lost in his thoughts, the wizard ponders throughout Snorri's entire speech, merely waiting for the moment they begin their journey once more.