Karrin begins moving rubble.
"There could be stuff belonging those prisoners in here," Karrin says, "we'd better look just in case."
Digging through the sodden smouldering rubble is a nasty process. Several times the salvagers burn their hands on unseen coals lingering in blackened wood, or turn their ankles on loose masonry stones. Slowly, a pile of loot emerges, mostly precious metals gleaned here and there.
"I got it!" he crows happily.
Tiandra, looking over the tower rubble, moves towards Justin as he goes to mount Goldenwing.
"I am glad you have found that item Justin. I will be a lot happier knowing that we can make sure it is destroyed properly."
Phaumee calmly cleans his spear with a handy silk rag from the ubble and uses his claws and rodent teeth to clean various tangles out of his glossy brown fur
"New friends grrk-chitta-hu-hu-nuk. Glad Phaumee friend-friend not make mad!"
Digging through the sodden smouldering rubble is a nasty process. Several times the salvagers burn their hands on unseen coals lingering in blackened wood, or turn their ankles on loose masonry stones. Slowly, a pile of loot emerges, mostly precious metals gleaned here and there.
"Well better than nothing" Merle comments before turning towards the other buildings "Better see what else is lying about here"
Digging through the sodden smouldering rubble is a nasty process. Several times the salvagers burn their hands on unseen coals lingering in blackened wood, or turn their ankles on loose masonry stones. Slowly, a pile of loot emerges, mostly precious metals gleaned here and there.
"Well better than nothing" Merle comments before turning towards the other buildings "Better see what else is lying about here"
"I got it!" he crows happily.Tiandra, looking over the tower rubble, moves towards Justin as he goes to mount Goldenwing.
"I am glad you have found that item Justin. I will be a lot happier knowing that we can make sure it is destroyed properly."
Justin smiles at Tiandra, still elated. Then realizes what she has said.
"Right." He says, blinking. "Right!" He repeats, "Don't worry Tiandra, I'll take care of it personally."
"Although,..." He says slowly, looking intently at their lone prisoner.
"I must confess that I AM tempted to use it. Just so he can see what his victims felt."
Then he smiles, and claps the Khashtaa on the shoulder like an old buddy.
"Guess it's a good thing I'm not cold-blooded, isn't it?"
Karrin probably returns to normal size sometime during the search of the rubble. With the heavy lifting and combat finished she ignores Merle (and her looting) and goes to check out the freed slaves to see if she could offer any help. Karrin had avoided the others up till this point as her size might have terrified the others.
"Hey everyone," Karrin says, "wazzup?"
"Right." He says, blinking. "Right!" He repeats, "Don't worry Tiandra, I'll take care of it personally."
1d20+1
Tiandra frowns, looking at the lanky mage.
"What exactly did you have in mind Justin? Could we just try and break it here? Why wait?"
Digging through the sodden smouldering rubble is a nasty process. Several times the salvagers burn their hands on unseen coals lingering in blackened wood, or turn their ankles on loose masonry stones. Slowly, a pile of loot emerges, mostly precious metals gleaned here and there.
"Well better than nothing" Merle comments before turning towards the other buildings "Better see what else is lying about here"
The stables are what Merle thought, stables. Several giant riding lizards are stabled there, hissing when they see her lurking about. There is a small farrier workshop with anvil and small furnace for blacksmithing. Merle spots some fancy lizard barding in engraved silver, ivory and fine leather. She estimates she could get at least 500 GP for it in Sigil, but it is bulky .
The other building is a low, three-story stone affair. Merle steps in and immediately senses that this was the common Khaasta's barracks. There is a large common room with a sparsely-decorated yet well-stocked bar and some gaming tables. Small rooms and some larger multi-bed rooms complete the rest of the building. Each bed has a footlocker at the end.
"Hey everyone," Karrin says, "wazzup?"
Karrin sees a bunch of poorly-fed humanoids emerging from the slave pens. A lot of them look confused, and some look rather ill. They are dressed in tatters, and most don't even have shoes. They mill about uncertainly.
One of Issac's new-found keys is a large brass monstrosity. There is a stout iron door on the wall of the slave pens it opens. Inside is a secure storage area. Sacks of grain and root vegetables are secured along high shelves lining the walls. Some unsorted gear lies inside as well, including a matched pair of crossbows.
A smile spreads across Quinn's face. "All of it's still here! Excuse me for a moment while I get my things together." Soon, he's wearing a longcoat, a hat and an array of weapons that on any other man would look intimidating. On him, it just looks like he's compensating for something.
"Hey everyone," Karrin says, "wazzup?"
Quinn looks over the woman with a practiced eye. Horns, capped in silver. Pronounced canines. Tiefling, if he had to guess. Devilspawn, if he had to guess her lineage. The relative subtlety of her features points to either diabolic or distant demonic heritage, and the silver could have a becalming effect on any infernal traits. Remember to keep an eye on her, if only to see an outsider-blooded person in the flesh.
But her heritage was irrelevant at the moment. The church isn't above working with the evil-inclined, and she is apparently with his rescuers. He doffs his hat in deference and introduces himself. "You helped defeat these khaasta, correct? Thank you for your aid. Quinn Ardenseir, field researcher for the Eternal Library."
"So where's Ekuur?" Karrin asks looking around for the priest, "I owe him some thanks, he saved my butt during that battle!"
Ekuur, of course, could be a mere 15ft away and Karrin might not notice. Being oblivious to people and things is a common trait of Karrin's.
Speaking of which: Karrin notices the former prisoner standing amongst the others.
"You helped defeat these khaasta, correct? Thank you for your aid. Quinn Ardenseir, field researcher for the Eternal Library."
"Hey there little fella," Karrin says, "Guess those khaasta bastards didn't feed you much huh? Well don't worry we'll make sure you're looked after."
Karrin reaches into her belt pouch and gives the inquisitor a piece of bread.
"It doesn't taste so well but it's good for you," Karrin says as she tares the piece in half and pops half in her mouth, "Mon't murry Mwe'll met you mack mome!" Karrin says spraying crumbs as she tries to talk. Sadly she never learned not to talk with her mouth full. Which is good for her because she might never talk otherwise!
A few moments later Quinn's words finish rattling around in her head and something finally sticks:
"Wait," Karrin says, eyes going wide, "You worship Beccob? Well I suppose there could be other eternal libraries and stuff, but what are the chances that people on another plane would choose to dress like that? Beccob is from Oerth! I'm from Oerth! Wow! I grew up in the Griff mountains! Where you from?"
"Hey there little fella," Karrin says, "Guess those khaasta bastards didn't feed you much huh? Well don't worry we'll make sure you're looked after."
Karrin reaches into her belt pouch and gives the inquisitor a piece of bread.
"It doesn't taste so well but it's good for you," Karrin says as she tares the piece in half and pops half in her mouth, "Mon't murry Mwe'll met you mack mome!" Karrin says spraying crumbs as she tries to talk. Sadly she never learned not to talk with her mouth full. Which is good for her because she might never talk otherwise!
"Thank you. Haven't had bread that wasn't drugged for lord knows how long." He gladly devours the piece of bread.
A few moments later Quinn's words finish rattling around in her head and something finally sticks:"Wait," Karrin says, eyes going wide, "You worship Beccob? Well I suppose there could be other eternal libraries and stuff, but what are the chances that people on another plane would choose to dress like that? Beccob is from Oerth! I'm from Oerth! Wow! I grew up in the Griff mountains! Where you from?"
"You're from Oerth too? What are the odds? I'm from Longspear, you know, in Yeomanry! So, how'd you get out here in the first place?"
Merle begins to have a look through the Khassta lockers
Perception
Merle begins to have a look through the Khassta lockers
Perception
1d20 + 7
Merle begins tossing the lockers. Most are locked, but a few are open. The open ones reveal several changes of khaasta clothing, a few odd-looking grooming tools and a small sack of coins. She racks up about 100 GP in short order.
"I found my way to Sigil through a place called the World Serpent Inn," Karrin says, "and I've been told that it's an extremely rare root to travel. The chances of stumbling into the World Serpent Inn is like being struck by lighting or something, but not really that good cuz you could live on top of a really high tree or something, but rather if you lived in the sea of dust or something. Or maybe being struck by a star stone or something. Anyways I ended up in the place that has all these doors, cept they keep changing and stuff, but a few doors are real constant like the door to Sigil, so I got some work there.
"And Sigil is this other place that's all doors as well, cept the doors don't always literally look like doors, they're really portals or something, and supposedly you can take a portal from there to anywhere in the universe or something. It's from sigil that we came here . . . well not directly from sigil, we've taken a few doors since then, chasing these lizard jerks down, but that's where we call home these days. I mean I miss my home and everything, and sigil is this really awful place at times, in fact most of the locals call it the cage, but it's also really amazing and fantastic. I mean there's magic and folks from all over and everyone kind of lives together peacefully, well usually peacefully, and that's real inspiring. Seems like back home there was always stories of fighting and wars but in Sigil all these folks can live together almost peacefully. I think that's neat."
Karrin stops and scratches her head.
"I'm sorry, I can't remember what your question was . . ."
Merle decides to head back to the others "So what's the plan now?" she asks as she arrives
Ekuur goes around to everyone, assessing their state of injury. He makes the general announcement, "All those who are injured, please gather around me." Once those who are in need do so, he releases the now familiar burst of searing but healing flame.
channel energy
channel energy 2
He will then use his wand of cure light wounds to finish up healing those who aren't fixed by the channels.
To the new man standing before him, Ekurr simply gives a short nod in greeting, and goes back to his healing work.
Isaac leaves Quinn and Karrin to talk and walks over to Phaumee; he speaks again in his courtly Sylvan.
Sylvan:
Tiandra frowns, looking at the lanky mage.
"What exactly did you have in mind Justin? Could we just try and break it here? Why wait?"
A look of, Consternation, crosses Justin's face. After a quick look to make sure that their lone prisoner is looked after, he pulls Tiandra to the side and leans in close.
"Look, Tiandra,... Your hurt, your mad, your angry. I get that, I really do!" He says softly and earnestly. At her look he sighs, and says so softly she can barely hear him,
"I too have been, used. My will was taken and I did, things, that,... and I lost,... And I vowed it would never happen again. The point is, I. Know. How. You. Feel." He hisses, the fervent look in his eyes gleams like a flame.
After a moment, he straightens back up, and says in his normal voice, "In any case, I didn't get to be a fire mage by being reckless or careless."
He slowly turns his head to look at the smoldering remains of the tower, and slowly turns his head back to Tiandra.
"Yeah." He says, drawing the word out VERY slowly.
"The point is, this isn't just a potion bottle that can be smashed, or a wand that can be snapped, or even a powerful scroll that can be controlled by proper pronunciation. It is an Art-i-fact. A minor one, to be certain. As such things are measured, I suppose. But an Artifact nonetheless. And I have NO intention of snapping it over my knee, or even blasting it from a hopefully safe distance until I am certain that I can survive the experience!"
He looks at her, and adds in a whisper, "Please, Tiandra. We helped you when no one else would look at you. We not only helped you and the boy, but made it a mission to recover the device so it could not be used on others like it was on you. Now I'm asking you to trust us. To trust ME, to take care of it."
"Alright?"
:)
"All those who are injured, please gather around me." Once those who are in need do so, he releases the now familiar burst of searing but healing flame.
Justin shivers as the flames wash over him.
"I don't know as I'll ever get used to that. I mean, fire is a cleansing element and all, but it's supposed to scorch, not soothe. But I like the result! Thanks Ekuur." Ha adds with a grin.
...
Tiandra's face clouds, her proud features angering
"Justin, I wish that artifact to be destroyed. It is evil, pure and simple. You might think it is an interesting toy, but this is something which should not be left functional."
Isaac leaves Quinn and Karrin to talk and walks over to Phaumee; he speaks again in his courtly Sylvan.
Sylvan: ** spoiler omitted **
Phaumee replies
Sylvan:
Merle walks over to where Justin and Tiandra are arguing " I agree the thing should be smashed but we should at least see if it can be used to reverse whatever was done to them."
Tiandra's face clouds, her proud features angering"Justin, I wish that artifact to be destroyed. It is evil, pure and simple. You might think it is an interesting toy, but this is something which should not be left functional."
Merle walks over to where Justin and Tiandra are arguing "I agree the thing should be smashed but we should at least see if it can be used to reverse whatever was done to them."
Justin shoots Merle a quick glance of either gratitude, or annoyance. But simply nods as Tiandra lets her feelings be known.
"Well, debates about the morality of nonliving, at least nonintelligent nonliving, magical items aside, you have a valid point. And I understand where your coming from. And yes, I DO find it interesting, although I wouldn't call it a toy. And even if we do destroy it, I intend to find out everything I can about it first, IF only to make sure we CAN destroy it and survive!"
Justin hastily holds up both empty hands in a 'don't hurt me!' gesture. "But Merle has the most valid, immediate point I think! Presuming that the vials of stolen essence were either with the Toilmaster, who escaped, or were still in THERE,..." he indicates the still-smoldering ruins of the tower. "This artifact is now the best shot we have at restoring these people. Right?"
"Karrin, how much food can that pouch of yours produce? It's just that, well, I don't think these people have been fed very well, and they'll need their strength to travel. I doubt any of us want to stay in this place for very much longer, and certainly not them," Nari asked quietly.
Isaac thanks Phaumee and joins the discussion around Justin.
"What's the plan, cutters? Crux is the closest burg, best bet fer our captive and the prisoners. They can likely lann us the chant on any portals nearby in Crux. We could start tracking the khaasta that ran off..."
A tall woman steps forward from among the slaves. Tired and a little worse for wear she still seems substantially healthier than the others, and her appearance is markedly better.
"Karrin, how much food can that pouch of yours produce? It's just that, well, I don't think these people have been fed very well, and they'll need their strength to travel. I doubt any of us want to stay in this place for very much longer, and certainly not them," Nari asked quietly.
"Not enough for that," Karrin says frowning, "enough for me, but I can feed all these people. There has to be supplies around here somewhere."
Justin hastily holds up both empty hands in a 'don't hurt me!' gesture. "But Merle has the most valid, immediate point I think! Presuming that the vials of stolen essence were either with the Toilmaster, who escaped, or were still in THERE,..." he indicates the still-smoldering ruins of the tower. "This artifact is now the best shot we have at restoring these people. Right?"
Tiandra frowns but looks away
"You are correct, Justin. This ...thing ...is merely a tool, but it is a tool meant to wreak evil. However, these poor prisoners have aught else to help them. "
Tiandra looks Justin in the eye, hers gleaming with serious intent
"However, should I hear of you using this artifact for your personal gain, I will find you. I promise you that."
She abrubtly turns and heads towards the slave barracks.
Once Tiranda leaves Merle looks the magic rod over trying to figure out if it has the magical equivalent of a reverse switch
Knowledge arcane
Spellcraft
Use magic device
"Hmmm. Then could you perhaps help me find a very large pot? There's grain, and we can use that to make porridge. It won't be anything special, but it's food. And potatos," she added making a face. "I can almost bear them fried, but after Neverbridge I just can't stomach the blasted things. They paid us in potatos," she said, by way of explanation. "It was potatos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over a year. But I can surely cook them any way you can imagine."
"Hmmm. Then could you perhaps help me find a very large pot? There's grain, and we can use that to make porridge. It won't be anything special, but it's food. And potatos," she added making a face. "I can almost bear them fried, but after Neverbridge I just can't stomach the blasted things. They paid us in potatos," she said, by way of explanation. "It was potatos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over a year. But I can surely cook them any way you can imagine."
Just outside the slave barracks is a separate kitchen area. Basically a firepit with a large iron cauldron and a few grilling areas, it was abviously set up to make large batches of soup or porridge. A stack of wood and a pile of charcoal lie nearby.
Once she finds the kitchen area, Nari gets to work, building fires, filling pots with water to boil, and peeling and chopping the dreaded potatos.
Once she finds the kitchen area, Nari gets to work, building fires, filling pots with water to boil, and peeling and chopping the dreaded potatos.
Several of the recent khaasta prisoners come assist Nari. Soon a goodly amount of porridge is simmering, along with some potatoes boiling. The emaciated slaves bring out crude wooden bowls and form a line for feeding.
Isaac thanks Phaumee and joins the discussion around Justin.
"What's the plan, cutters? Crux is the closest burg, best bet fer our captive and the prisoners. They can likely lann us the chant on any portals nearby in Crux. We could start tracking the khaasta that ran off..."
The glossy brown chitin swathing Issac's body winks in the fire Nari and her cohorts build. The antennae seem to twitch towards whoever Issac is talking to
Once she finds the kitchen area, Nari gets to work, building fires, filling pots with water to boil, and peeling and chopping the dreaded potatos.Several of the recent khaasta prisoners come assist Nari. Soon a goodly amount of porridge is simmering, along with some potatoes boiling. The emaciated slaves bring out crude wooden bowls and form a line for feeding.
Nari ladled out food to the hungry ex-slaves along with admonishments not to eat it too fast or it would come back up again. In spite of being surrounded by strange people she seemed happy, and didn't duck behind anything to hide even when someone spoke to her.
Tiandra frowns but looks away
"You are correct, Justin. This ...thing ...is merely a tool, but it is a tool meant to wreak evil. However, these poor prisoners have aught else to help them. "
Tiandra looks Justin in the eye, hers gleaming with serious intent
"However, should I hear of you using this artifact for your personal gain, I will find you. I promise you that."
She abrubtly turns and heads towards the slave barracks.
"Sounds fair!" Justin says to Tiandra's retreating back. He drops his head into his hand.
"Seriously. What IS it with you people and wanting to destroy perfectly good magic?!?" He mutters into his hand. He looks up at Merle. He grins.
"So. Would you like to give me a hand? Your control of magic is more instinctual. Those instincts might come in handy with something like this." He says, pulling the brass rod back out of his coat and holding it up.
Merle and Justin pore over the weathered bronze rod. The glyphs are Draconic, but a very early iteration. Many of their meanings are hard to decipher due to their faded condition.
The rubber stopped side is obviously where the glass bottle should be fitted. Experimenting a bit with an empty jar they scrounge up reveals that when placed on the end, the rubbery material forms a tight seal to the glass neck automatically. When the glass bottle is seated, the rod heats up the tiniest bit. The other end gains a slight sparkle to it. A word in Draconic also begins to become more apparent on the shaft:
Draconic:
Other than finding an experimental guinea pig that's about all that they can figure out.
After examining the rod with Merle, handing it back and forth and muttering various arcane phrases (and a few curses) over it, Justin looks to Merle with a frown.
"Well, now that we've gotten this far, it seems fairly straightforward. Almost simplistic, actually. Which explains why the Khastaa were having such a heyday with it. I was actually hoping it would be more,... complex. At least capable of 'essencing' all of the physical abilities of a person, maybe the mental as well."
He shrugs his shoulders. "At first glance this appears to be nothing more than a siphoner. An essence-taker. What we need is an essence GENERATOR. Still, there's hope. Whatever process magic can do it can also UNdo! Of course it's usually more difficult, and usually requires a LOT more energy,..." He mutters off, fingering his amulet as he thinks.
"Hm. I wonder. Merle, we need to experiment. If this thing takes the 'essence of beauty',... animals also have beauty, charisma, chutzpa, whatever. Perhaps we can use the essence of animals to replace what was stolen from the prisoners. Distasteful perhaps but preferable to being drained all their lives. OR,... Yes! perhaps if we fed it potions of Eagle's Splendor! It should be able to distill the power of the potions into the same basic essence it takes from people! It might take, scratch that, it WILL take a lot of potions. Presuming that the potion carries the same properties inherent in what it enhances in the drinker, a temporary booster distilled into a permanent replacement would involve at least 80% loss, maybe 90%. But it's a sound theory. Of course there will have to be stabilizing enchantments overlaid with the artifact to ensure control and minimal efficacy loss,..."
Justin begins wandering off, tracing the sigils on the rod with a finger as he begins to calculate various arcane formulae. Goldenwing walks by his side, watching Justin with curiosity, but probably wondering if Justin would like to go flying. Or when the mage will fetch his promised cow,...
Merle slightly agitated at the lack of progress marches over to the bound Khassta "Okay lizard lips how do we reverse whatever it is you did to them?"
Isaac starts to ply his managerial skills while the freed slaves are eating, taking a headcount, figuring out who is fit to travel, who will need assistance and what their trades are, if any are fit enough to hold a weapon and know which end to stick into someone.
He approaches the woman standing apart from the rest (Rhiannon) and extends a hand... and both antennae.
"Greetings, cutter. Name's Isaac: what's yours?"
Quinn takes his place at the back of the gruel line.
Merle slightly agitated at the lack of progress marches over to the bound Khassta "Okay lizard lips how do we reverse whatever it is you did to them?"
The tied up khaasta hisses
"SSSSS .... Only way issss to give them a potion from the rod. No other way I know."