You hear the man's booming laughter echo off the staircase as he climbs up ahead of you. "Hah! Freedom Town must really be loosening up if its deputies have such good senses of humor! But no. It's nothing so insidious! Just a bit of magic! Come on up!"
Caln follows closely behind the wizard a suspicious look on his face.
Arthur hangs back, going next to Suny. Arthur directs the strider up the stairs, looking around at most of everything while speaking to her.
Suny's grins in reply to Arthur's comments, her grin instantly brightening her countenance,
Though just as quickly her features and thoughts turn to being puzzled, "Here, I dun't know whut t'is about people's and cloth an' stuffs. I mean, look-it Oozula? They be scamperin' aroun' all in jus' they shiny selfs an' no one be mindin'." She absently scratches behind one longish, tanned ear,
"Maybe I should find some way ta' get all shiny? Then folks wouldn't mind m'selfs all nat'ral inclinations?" She asks Arthur's opinion on the matter still sounding puzzled by people's inclinations.
ozoola will follow after the group.
"I would explain it to you suny, but i don't quite get it myself. Though, rased by a gold dragon, i don't know too much of your cultures."
Suny's eyes grow wider at Oozula's comment and she makes a soft "Ooooo..." of awe and wonder.
Arwen will follow at the end of the group. His inquisitive nature keeps him from totaly relaxing
Though she is probably currently more interested in Arthur and Oozula....and the big metal, clanky thing....
Arthur directs the strider up the stairs easily, not looking around much as he pays attention to Suny and Oozula.
oozola thinks to herself for a bit. She decides to start studying elven after this. It would be nice to understand these conversations.
Suny's grin seem to brighten even more at something that Arthur has said a she skips barefoot up the stairs, swirling her 'cape' of a blanket as she goes.
"Oh! Fixin' that up would be right naffy!" She exclaims, "Though, rilly, the other thing -tha' poncho- does way good'nuf as t'is." Then her eyes again grow wide in amazement,
"Oh aye! About th'a cold it gets? Arwen were sayin' that tha' water? It does stop movin' an' stuffs like that!" Her voice carries obvious wonder and amazement at such tales. "I mean, I did es'plain about gettin' rained on. Heck, some times we get so rained on, tha' only way ta' get wetter is ta' sit in'a ocean, an' then not by much more!" And she laughs brightly at her her own small joke.
"But ta' see water stop, with out magic or nuffun'...That's a wonder of it'self..." She exclaims, then pauses,
"Here...whut t'is it ye be meanin' about them dress thingys...?" She blinks, "I thought t'were a nice poncho?" And she looks about embarrassed, "Am I usin' tha' wrong words agin...?" She asks.
Uflad reaches the top level of the steps and and you find yourselves in a large, empty-seeming room. All of you are standing on a simple stone floor with white stone walls. Uflad intones a command word, and you hear the grinding of stone on stone all around you as the tower seems to shift. The bricks shift and rearrange themselves into a normal-sized doorway. The doorway has no door blocking the opening, and you can see a dim room beyond, with what looks like a hot tub filled with a glowing green semi-liquid. Several people sit around the outer rim of the tub, facing each other - their eyes are wide open and faint light shines forth from their sockets. Uflad makes another "after you" gesture, smiling with a hint of mockery at Suny.
As the site unfolds Suny looks around in quiet amazement.
Though, as the farther room opens and reveals its contents, at Ulfad's gesture she freezes in place and shakes her head,
"Nuh-UH!"
Curious, Jaxx makes his way to the head of the line.
What is that thing? ask arwen
"I'll explain!" Uflad says enthusiastically, leading the group through the doorway. "I understand your lack of ease with the situation...magic can be confusing to those who may be less experienced, with such things," he calls back over his shoulder.
Looking back, you notice that when the tower was shifting position, it covered up the entrance to the stairwell you came upstairs on.
Armelio hangs back, and eyes the room suspiciously...
Seeing all of you hesitate, Uflad moves back to the doorway from inside the far room. He leans casually against the doorframe. "If you don't wish to see the scrying, I'm sure I can...write you a report, or something," he comments, waving his hand about idly. A small smirk tugs the corner of his lips.
Armelio: Your knowledge of arcana is broad, but nothing immediately comes to mind that quite resembles this. Perhaps if you could study it more closely, or cast Detect Magic, you would be able to narrow your intellect's focus.
"Ah, a skrying. That's reasonable. People would probably be less nervous about this kind of thing if you said what it was that you were doing first."
"Please give me a moment, Wizard"
Caln moves a few feet away from everyone and draws his morningstar, holding it in both hands over his head...Lady of Graves, your humble servant pleads for a sign, is this entity calling himself Uflad to be trusted?
"Well I do apologize. I meant to invite you up as a response to Master McLyntier's request to see the scrying. I thought it self-evident...but perhaps I'm spending too much time among my own folk." he finishes with a ^_^ smile.
Turning to the room, he begins to walk further inward whether you follow him or not. He calls out over his shoulder, "You see, we were exiles...lost students of the West, persecuted souls who merely wish for freedom of education for ourselves." a mournful, self-pitying note enters his voice as he walks further into the room, away from all of you. "In our mother lands we were driven out due to political persecution and a lack of respect for any idea they themselves did not or could not come up with. We banded together and gradually came to add more and more miners to our fold, who enjoyed being able to work the land like they are meant to, under the protection of their betters."
He's standing at the edge of the pool now, gazing down into it. From the room you're standing in, what he's saying is a little difficult to make out clearly, as he's not facing you.
Suny sidles up to the door frame and carefully peers around its edge,
She still frowns at the over blow fellow pontificating to herself and all her friends.
Sweet! So this will make your more powerful, proving you shouldn't have been exiles willingly or otherwise. And eventually, you can take back what was yours and denied you for all these years.
The more miners, indentured servants, serfs... The more powerful you are. Yes?
Arthur was going to respond when things happened
Spellcraft
Know Arcana
He looks speculatively over the scene, before steering the strider through the door and into the room.
He didn't like this man much, but knowledge was power. Power over the people it comes from, more often than not....
"Bah!" Uflad says, waving a hand in another of his airy dismissive gestures. You notice he seems rather fond of those. "They can keep the stinking West for all we care! To a man, we've denounced the entire region. Our experiences have soured us on the prospect of ever returning."
He turns back to the pool, folding his hands behind his back and sighing. "That said, we're not fond of the idea of setting up permanent shop here in the Mindspin Mountains either..." his voice trails off.
"But come, you don't care about such things, you have far more important issues at stake here. Come, gather round, I'll explain the scrying process to you. It's quite unique." Without turning around, he beckons you all closer to the tub.
Caln: your link to the spirit world is quiescent, for now. You don't seem to get a clear answer to your plea for truth. The way, it seems, is clouded, and uncertain - friends could easily be mistaken for foes, or vise versa. You are left with a feeling of foreboding.
Suny: You see a group of men and women sitting in the tub in a ring. You can tell that light is shining from their eyes and mouths but their expressions don't appear tormented, but rather neutral. You'd need to get closer to see more.
Arthur: You understand that great divination magic is at work here. There are a lot of powerful magical auras coming from multiple different directions, and the tub is emanating a LOT of it. Your knowledge of the arcane tells you that a spell magnified by such concerted and long-term effort could be magnified by immense factors - the duration could last longer for a given spell, for example, or it could provide far more detailed information. There are numerous factors to consider, but you've never heard of a communal bathing ritual before. Seems kinda weird.
Suny hops from foot to foot, intrigue warring with her dislike for Mt 'Pony-pants'....
As she sidles closer to the pool of glowing water.
Yes we have indeed come to ask from a scrying of the dwarven fortress the Steel eaters are using and so Arwen will step inside the room
I am here to see what it is you see.
"Yeah. Lets see it. No offense from earlier I hope. I've known my share of wizards, and from my experience there are three types...
Wizards who are crazy, wizards who try to act crazy, and wizards who are crazy try to act crazy. The third category are the ones to watch out for."
Caln has become increasingly annoyed by the wizard. He boldly walks up to near the divination hot tub and casts Detect Magic.
Arthur is watching the goings on thinking about how he's going to make some lenses of detect magic...
Are you on contact with the Steel Eaters?. Jaxx does not enter the room, yet.
Caln, remember the words from The Lady. Ivory, jade, black...
Suny moves away from the glowing pool and back towards Mr Ponty-pants.
oozula doesn't know what to do, so she stands back a bit and detects magic, looking at all magic auras in the room.
"Words? Ivory? Jade? What are you talking about, my small friend?" Uflad says, looking over his shoulder at the gnome.
Suny: your bare feet make no sound whatsoever on the soft stone floor. It's cool to the touch, a relief from the hot dirt outside.
Those of you who cast Detect Magic see a powerful magical aura emanating from the pool in which the wizards sit. The pool itself is green, but the glow is gives off is silvery, which corresponds to the divination school.
"As you can see," Uflad says, kneeling before the pool, "My associates of the Wizarding Community are HERE in the physical sense, but are...not quite 'at home.'" He snaps his fingers and waves his hand before the eyes of one of the glowing wizards; there is no response.
"This is a revolutionary form of divination that actually has the potential of..." he lowers his voice, "remote manipulation."
"Alright then... Hmm..."
ozoola fidgets. She doesn't like this, it gives anyone who would use it too much power... Hmm...
Negative, Oozula. Apart from the scrying tub, you don't see anything else in the room. It appears to be magically constructed.
Arwen will simply wait during the whole explanation
"But that's impossible. If it could be done I would've figured it out by now."
He absentmindedly toys with his little bar thing a ma bob.
"Impossible? I know many have said it is... but it only takes an arcane discovery or two to make many things possible that weren't before.
... not saying I'm completely convinced... and just the thought of remote manipulation gives me the willies."
"It ISN'T impossible!" Uflad insists, pointing his finger forcefully at Arthur. "Though...we have had trouble recreating even the simplest of cantrips as of yet. Othellus was the first -" he says, gesturing at one of the oldest-looking men in the pool. "And Linnea and Tayvan witnessed the phenomena themselves." he folds his arms over his somewhat formidable belly. "Leaving behind only one of our number, me, to mind the small folk and the tower in case of visitors, you..." he continues, nodding at each of you, "The Mindspin Wizarding Community has entered a state of communal hypnosis, to better sharpen our arcane abilities."
"It ISN'T impossible!" Uflad insists, pointing his finger forcefully at Arthur. "Though...we have had trouble recreating even the simplest of cantrips as of yet. Othellus was the first -" he says, gesturing at one of the oldest-looking men in the pool. "And Linnea and Tayvan witnessed the phenomena themselves." he folds his arms over his somewhat formidable belly. "Leaving behind only one of our number, me, to mind the small folk and the tower in case of visitors, you..." he continues, nodding at each of you, "The Mindspin Wizarding Community has entered a state of communal hypnosis, to better sharpen our arcane abilities."
"So can you show us what is happening at the Steel Eaters or not?"
Caln, remember the words from The Lady. Ivory, jade, black...
"I'd imagine that you aren't too happy that you're the only one not to be a part of that. Hardly fair that they're making leaps and bounds in magical knowledge and you're stuck here dealing with us and managing the miners..."
He stills fiddles with the metal bar, twisting and bending and seeing what he can pull out of it. With nothing in mind to shape it into it keeps pulling out new things one after another being pulled out, bent in pushed back, switched around, unfolded with clicks.
"You might need a fresh pair of eyes... err someone who hasn't been banging their head against the tower for years trying to work it out...
"I heard of some nut who tried incorporating teleportation and a variation on imbued contingency magic through a proxy. So... rather than directly affect what you are able to scry, send an effect... via teleported proxy. It kind of worked... but he ended up send his consequently severed hands with the item into his maid's bedroom. If he had just had an arcane proofreader..."
"Ouch. No more somantics for him, I suppose."
"FEAR THE TOWERS! FEAR THE EYES OF ! FEAR THE SMOKE RISING TO THE NIGHT SKY AND OCCLUDING THE STARS ABOVE! FEAR!"
Probably just mumbo-jumbo...
Uflad is about to reply to Caln when he hears Jaxx shout about doom prophecies yet again. "Sir! I do ask that you contain yourself and refrain from shouting about nonsense! What on earth are you talking about?" he says, growing quite cross.
"Why are you saying that? Pharasma or whatever force is sending him messages wants us to be afraid of things. We understand. It doesn't mean it's not our job to do this stuff. Now. Sir, would you be so kind as to show us how exactly your scrying set up works. How exactly do you communicate with them to direct them? And do they need to eat? Sleep?"
He's managed to unfold his tool into a handloom. Maybe a subconscious desire to make potholders.... he folds it back up and back out into a lense grinding tool...