Segang tries to lift and carry his totem.
Melianthe will keep hands on hers to stabilize the totem, waiting for Jarha to lift the totems.
Assuming there is time to proceed one by one, and seeing Melianthe at the ready stabilizing her totem, Jarha will carefully use telekinetic haul to lift it into the air.
Seren will try and push hers over on to the floating disk or perhaps use it to speed up Jarha's process.
Segang may actually be able to carry his, might do this all in one run.
Straining muscles, Segang lifts his totem out of the stand and braces it against his shoulder. He is able to drag it up the first landing without too much trouble.
Jarha's telekinesis makes lifting the totems simple work, and Seren's magic disc easily carries two more totems up. Altogether, the four of you get your totems up to the landing within a few minutes, without even breaking a sweat.
On the landing, you discover a couple of things. One, the totems have rounded bases, and two, the designated spots on Bolt Rock are just shallow concavities. You get the totems into the spots and upright, but they will require constant supervision to keep them from falling over.
"Jarha, now we need to make our piles of rocks to stabilize these totems," says Melianthe.
Segang stabilizes his totem and looks concerned at his friends.
"I have a scroll of spider climb and some rope. Think we can use some guide ropes and stakes to make holding these in place a bit easier?"
Seren will use shadow conjuration (disk was evocation apparently) to summon a pair of mounts (communal) -- maybe only one depending on time. She will tie a rope to each of them and direct them in opposite directions and then she will work to keep it up the rest of the time herself with the disk on the opposite side of wherever she is.
Melianthe flies to near the top of her totem, doing her best to keep it steady. Just in case, she hexes herself with good fortune.
"If we tie them together and stake ropes out like the spokes of a wheel...er, more like the legs of a centipede...we may be able to keep them steady."
She's not very fortunate, though. With luck being at the top of the totem, she has better leverage...
Before he attends to his own totem, Jarha helps his companions however he can, by moving rocks, etc.
He then sits cross-legged in front of his totem and wriggles it back and forth to keep it in position by manipulating aetheric forces. He seems perfectly relaxed, in a light trance, while doing so, and he mutters in prayer, although the fatigue starts to show eventually.
"I am sorry I am not able to direct the aetheric forces in more than one direction at once, so that I could help with your totems, my friends."
The early morning passes relatively quickly as you scramble to enact your plans and then finally settle in. The sun slowly climbs into the blue sky. At first, its gentle warmth is refreshing after the evening cool, but before long, it becomes oppressive. Although it is not exceptionally hot, the hours of unrelenting sun make you tired and very thirsty.
Segang has no real trouble maintaining his totem's balance, nor Jarha, who remains as immobile in trance as his totem.
Melianthe uses her intrinsic flight to keep a more effective moment on her totem and manages to keep it upright.
Seren enacts a creative plan using conjured horses and ropes to balance their totem, but it proves a bit unwieldy. The horses are strong but slow to react to subtle changes -- a small correction turns into a late overcorrection and weak counter... Seren's totem starts to lean precariously!
Afternoon checks
Melianthe tries a new tack.
Keeping one hand on the totem, warily, she casts a spell, summoning an earth elemental.
She speaks to it in the grating tones of Terran.
"Hail, dweller of the earth. Can you help me keep this thing upright? Perhaps if you can bring some rocks or earth to stabilize it. We cannot damage it nor the mountain it rests upon."
"And if you can hold this totem steady, I would be most grateful," continues the elf. "I'll hold it with you, but I need to rest."
Seren's directs the shadow horses and they move rebalance the totem again... but one of them over-corrects again. The totem leans and falls, hitting the ground.
The day stretches into the afternoon. As you attend your totems over the long, slow hours, the sun makes a slow track across the sky toward the western horizon. The hours of continuous strain and exposure begin to add up.
Seren gets their totem back upright and finally gets the horses to maintain a balanced position. Segang and Jarha keep their totems up without much trouble.
Melianthe's summoned elemental helps build up some rocks around the base of her totem, temporarily aiding in keeping it balanced.
Jarha winces as Seren's totem falls, but he comments re-assuringly, "At least it looks like the totems are pretty tough and can take a few falls. I wish I could help."
Seren's horses disappear by the end of the first day ... so before they disappear, she stakes their ropes into the ground and then holds on to the last one as a guide
Segang and Jarha keep their totems up as night descends. Meliathe has a good thing going but becomes a little distracted in her success -- a wind gust starts the totem leaning and her elemental is not quick enough to react. The totem crashes down.
The wind picks slightly up as the sun sets and the desert transitions from day to night, and the air grows noticeably cooler. About an hour after sunset, the only lights are those of the innumerable stars overhead and the fires from nearby Flameford.
Jarha sits in a trance-like state -- in prayer, in concentration on maintaining the aetheric strands holding up his totem, in communion with the landscape, and conserving energy.
Melianthe grumbles. "This is ridiculous. If there's any way that I might sleep, I could prepare a mending spell and repair my totem. Jar--ah, he's occupied."
She holds on to her totem, thinking.
Melianthe first summons a fire beetle, right on the totem.
She then hexes the fire beetle with Ice Tomb.
You each get settled in on a plan to keep your totems in place and standing through the long hours of the night. The moon and stars make a lazy track across the sky, the only mark of time passing.
Without sleep or any break from your task, fatigue starts to set in in the wee hours.
Jarha remains in a trance-like state. His eyes droop and his joints stiffen, but it does not diminish his control over the aetheric forces supporting the totem. He can be heard to mumble quiet prayers to Khepri, asking for continued strength so that, at the end of this long journey with its many trials, the group can set things right in Korvosa.
"...you don't have anything to restore lack of sleep, do you, Jarha?"
Melianthe's eyelids droop.
"I thought I'd never be unhappy to see the night fall."
"Well..."
Melianthe gazes at her own hand.
"I could use some help over here..." Melianthe struggles with the totem.
Segang holds his totem like he is part of the rock he holds.