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Nigel (carefully) extracts a vial of the Gibbering Mouther's stomach acid, for later use.[/ooc]
"I zink zat it is hungry...?"
Nigel smiles cautiously, and digs around in the bag of holding, extracting a pile of semi-precious stones, which he offers to the creature.
The creature shakes its head at the offered gold and silver and makes a sniffing noise after it ransacks Grenwolds pack for no gems. It seems disappointed.
No shinnies.
The creature eagerly scuttles over to Nigel when he takes out the gemstones, then starts rumbling.
Ohhh shinnies! Yum Yum!
It begins to start gobbling up Nigel's gemstones.
"Wow. Look at it go. Hey, Nigel. Ask it about what's ahead of us, if it knows."
The creature rubs its head against Nigel's shoulder affectionately, while rumbling.
East tunnel? Bad bad. Nasty things come up from there, that kill friendly gray lizards, that's why lizards blocked it.
Oh there are 5 more friendly grey lizards down the western tunnel. Don't hurt them,they feed me shinnies but lately they've been busy. One of them even speaks to me.
While Nigel speaks with the odd creature, Ratel nods politely to it, "while were here, I'll check the rest of this cave." He then moves south toward the area past the creature.
Ratel spots a belt made out of gold links hidden in a corner. He also comes to a double door which he pushes open.
Enormous salt crystals hang from the ceiling here, glittering in the light of a glowing blue crystal set in an inhuman, insect-like statue in the center of the floor. Mist drifts along the floor of the circular chamber, swirling in the gentle currents of air. The western wall has collapsed into stony debris, but on the eastern wall a carving of a huge, withered dragon’s face leers above a metallic door set deep in the stone.Woven mats made of dried grasses cover the floor, while bundles of dried herbs hang from the walls, filling the room with a pungent grassy odor.
There are five gray lizards in the room, and they turn to look at the party with alarm.
"Surfacerrel! Hogy kerültél ide!"
Surfacers! How did you get in here?!
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Hedging his bets, Nigel addresses them politely in Terran.
Gren doesn’t know what Nigel said, so he says, in draconic, while shrugging:
He smiles without teeth and beams happily at the trogs.
One of the gray lizards wielding a green crystal shortspear steps forward, and makes a rumbling noise, while looking at Nigel.
I am Ighiz, shaman and tribe leader. I see you have strength, for you have braved the gauntlet of the earth. So, cave sharing you wish? Trade with us edible flora and fauna from the surface, and you may have the chambers you have cleared.
Glad that Nigel and Gren started speaking to the lizard folk, Ratel looks at them expectantly, "Are they going to help us fight the Hobgoblins?"
The trogs point their clubs and one of them wielding a green rock crystal shortspear. The one with blue mystic tattoos over his body and a blue shortspear steps up and speaks to Grenwold, while pointing his blue rock crystal shortspear at a grey lizard with a green rock crystal shortspear. ” Ez az Ighiz, a törzs sámánja. És Handiss a második parancsnoksága. A szörnyekről ... ha ideértél, mindannyian foglalkozol velük. Csak ne menj le a keleti alagútban.”
That’s Ighiz, shaman of the tribe. And Handiss is her second in command. About monsters..if you’ve gotten here you’ve dealt with them all.. Just don't go down the eastern tunnel.
Hedran realizes the gold belt is magical, but can’t identify it.
”I speak your tongue, surfacer. And going to war costs much.” Ighiz answers bluntly. ”We are not a numerous people. There is no reason why we should put our lives on line for surfacer conflicts.” Ighiz states.
Shrugging, "The Hobgoblins we are fighting had sent an emissary to you, he was foolish enough to attempt to kill us. The letter he carried said that the goblins would unite the non-humans to enslave them. That all must choose a side." Ratel begins looking at the others, to see who has the note.
Robert passes the letter not written in common to Ratel.
Ratel quickly hands the letter to Ighiz.
Ratel coughs out the note in draconic, and Ighiz reads it. Her expression remains indifferent throughout, like a stone, then she returns the note to the party. ”Fine. I will consult the wisdom of the stones on this.”
Then she chews a bunch of weeds, and washes it down with a vial of milky white liquid, as she sits in a cross-legged position, her eyes closed. She begins to start dripping with cold sweat and breathing heavily, when suddenly she sits ramrod straight, and her eyes open, but instead of slit reptilian pupils, her entire eyes blaze with glowing green light. As she speaks addressing the party, her voice echoes, as if rumbling with the sound of the earth.
”The branch of the tree you may strike,
But not at the trunk whole.
For the powers of the earth
Are still under their control.
For your homeland to be free,
Seek the children of the trees.
Seek the shadow that is long,
For there your people belong.
The children of the earth,
Their aid you must secure.
For secrets they hold many,
And in those you must procure.
A fey queen you must free,
For your venture a success to be.
Only when the pieces of the puzzle
have been put together as one.
Can you strike at the root,
And your quest be done.”
Meanwhile, the tattooed trog is busily scribbling down notes on what Ighiz had just said. "Jaj nekem.."
Oh my...
"Hmm. She said 'children of the Trees.' Elves, maybe? Longshadow is mentioned. How far away is Longshadow?"
Robert thinks Longshadow is about 200 miles northwest of Phaendar. The town of Longshadow is dedicated primarily to processing the ore brought out of the nearby Hollow Hills and Mindspin Mountains.
"Two Hundred miles is a long distance to travel with the people we've saved. Perhaps too long. Anyone have any ideas?"
Gren looks contemplative at her poem.
"No, it isn't elves. I know a little of what she speaks. The children of the trees are the feyfolk and the fey queen must be... the queen of the forest. But freeing her is impossible, impossible. A thousand of us couldn't free her. She lies at the center of the darkblight, held captive - or worse. Nobody's seen her for hundreds of years." Gren shakes his head. "The rest of the poem - it sounds like we have to get to the 'root' of the problem instead of attacking the branches, not sure what that means."
”Or not.” Her eyes lose their glow and return back to normal, as she finishes Grenwold’s sentence. ”If you are the Children of the Prophecy, you will find a way.”
Then Ighiz staggers to her feet. ”The stones have spoken of a powerful conflux of elemental forces being stored in a single diamond. You may wish to take its power for your own. I have tried, with my tribe and failed to challenge the guardian for it’s prize. You may wish to do the same.”
Grenwold knows Queen Gendowyn ruled the fey Accressiel court in the Fangwood for millennia, from when she formed it in -3852 AR until her imprisonment and the appearance of the Darkblight in 4062 AR, around 700 years ago.
"Beyond."She gestures at the door to the east, being made of polished, blue steel. It is decorated with a ring of pictograms, and at the center is a depiction of an unusual head with bulging eyes and wisps of hair radiating in every direction. The head—which looks at once like an insect and an old woman—spins freely, and the wheel of pictograms depicts a beetle, a rock, a wedge, a hammer, a crying face, a flame, a claw, a door, a metal bar, a figure standing in triumph, and a bottle.
"I can open the door if you so wish, and summon the guardian."
"I vote yes. We haven't many options, now. With this prophecy, our paths are before us."
The door opens with a grinding noise.
Beyond the strange metal door lies the tomb of the Vault Builders referred to by both the troglodytes and the derros before them as the Excavator. Though ignominiously interred on the Material Plane, it was nonetheless buried with great riches and magical tools—many of which have been plundered by worshipers over the years. A three-stepped riser fills most of the room, atop which lies a stone sarcophagus depicting a vaguely insectoid creature.
Ighiz stamps her foot on the floor three times, rumbling.
Terbius, I summon thee!
A hulking, roughly humanoid creature of dirt and stone explodes up from the earth, faceless save for two glowing gemstone eyes. It rumbles at the party.
Why have you come?
Grenwold realizes the creature is a medium earth elemental and can glide through earth.
The guardian rumbles at Nigel.
Then prove your worth by defeating me in combat. I know your flesh forms are weak. You will have my word there will be no permanent harm done to you. Ighiz will be my second, and the Children of Stone will bear witness to this trial of arms.
Very confused by the Lizards poem and the ensuing conversation about freeing Fey, Ratel looks from one conversant to the other. Pleasantly surprised that Nigel is able to open the door and speak to the 'guardian' he scratches his head, "Single combat with a 'second' Does the second fight was well?" Ratel nears Nigel, "Do you want me to fight it? Um, do you think they would mind if Bear helps? If I'm in a fight I don't know that anyone could stop him from joining in. If they tried, they'd have their own fight on their hands." Looking from Nigel to Bear he gives a little smile.
Gren explains the little he knows about Queen Gendowyn.
"You can do it Nigel, I believe in you. You're a pretty fierce guy, even if you dress nicely." Gren gives Nigel a thumb's up.
"I could try fighting it, but I don't know how successful I'd be - usually I work best with Ringo, and that defeats the purpose of single combat."
Leaning in closer to Nigel, Ratel continues to whisper: "Do you think they would let us put on some of the gear we're carrying?"
"No, you misunderstand."Ighiz corrects the party. "You can all jump in the fight. We did and he pretty much wiped the floor off us. I'm just here to stabilize anyone that goes down."Ighiz replies.
She then rumbles at Terbius.
They thought they have to fight you singlehandedly. I corrected them.
Terbius gives a rumbling laugh.
That would be a sight to see.
"You can choose a second among your group who won't participate in the fight, or any of my people can be your second as well."Ighiz states.
Terbius spreads his arms out generously and gives a good natured rumble.
Go ahead. Tell me when you're ready.
Terbius seems to enter a meditative trance.
"We can all fight?" Ratel smiles, releasing his bestial form, reforming it with a focus on a thicker hid, he moves his shield to his shoulder, where he can quickly rearm it. Attacking his scizore, he draws out his vial of mutagen. "So do you think they would care if we use more of the gear we have in the bag?" He smile, "I'm curious to see what that fancy belt does."
"It is a risk to put on a magical item without it being properly identified Ratel" - Hedran warns - "There are many cursed items which reveal nothing more than their magical nature at a first inspection"
The earth elemental waits until everyone is ready, as the trogs close the door and start sitting at the sides of the impromptu arena, with everyone including the crystal scorpion watching. As Hedran casts shield and mirror image, the earth elemental shrugs, and begins to summon up protections.
The earth elemental rumbles at Ighiz, who translates.
”The combat will be until one side goes down, or yields.”Ighiz declares, then taps her spear against the ground to signal the combat start.
Robert fires an arrow at the earth elemental, but it bounces off its stony exterior.
The earth elemental moves up, surprisingly swiftly, for an earth elemental and gives Ratel an uppercut.