Torvi will take a 5' step due East (Can someone move her), and continues attacking the same crystal creature.
Bludgeon
Song is still up.
"Thanks for the support, Dasur!"
Snorri shrugs off the blow and answers in kind, with another wild swing.
Two of the crysmals lash out with their tail attacks at Snorri, one catching him off guard.
Two others attack Torvi.
One of the crysmals loses its footing on the slope next to Dasur's pit, tumbling into it.
Round 6
Torvi will attack the crysmal just to her west after adjusting the grip on her weapon.
Bludgeon
Song is still up.
---Round four----
Moving out of Snorri's way and finding his next target.
---Round five----
----round six----
Round 6
With no other magical options left, Dasur moves to further assist Snorri. While the paladin was an impressive fighter and an unmoving shield of Torag, he was still surrounded.
Stopping beside Regnir, the wizard lifts the recently discovered and magically enchanted obsidian staff high above his head. "Such a waste." Bemoans Dasur as he swings that staff down onto the crystalline creature.
Dasur slams the staff into the crysmal. As contacts the crysmal, a jolt runs up his arms and the staff bursts into flames. The flames cause no damage to Dasur, though the do char the crystalline structure of the strange elemental creature.
Finally up the rope, Glenda at last brings out her shield and hammer once more.
"But a scratch!"
Drawing strength from the Earth, Snorri again lashes out with his greataxe.
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Erebos weaves an arcane pattern in the air that I think you have not seen before, creating a minute portal to the para-elemental plane of ice, the intersection between Air and Water.
A ball of magical ice crystals flies across the cavern and strikes the crysmal next to Snorri. The crystal flesh of the creature ices over before crackling and exploding into crystal fragments.
The crysmal that fell victim to Dasur's grease attempts to stand, its legs flailing as it remains on the cavern ledge.
The crysmals attack Torvi, Snorri, and Regnir, but all are turned aside by dwarven steel and tactical savvy.
At last, Glenda moves into combat, stepping up to help Dasur and Regnir.
... just not much.
Torvi swings again at the monster next to her...
Bludgeon
Song is still up.
Round 7
Dasur lets out a startled sound as arcane power travels through his limbs and flames shoot out of the end of the staff. He looks at the obsidian rod quizically. "Was that an intential magical effect, or a result of striking the crysmal? More importantly, is it always fire? Fascinating" The wizard talks to himself as he looks the staff up and down. It was still irresponsible to test out an unknown magical item in a combat situation, but he had not anticipated an activation trigger from striking something.
In the end, he has to answer at least one question: Does that happen every time? One more test wouldn't hurt. Thus, he brings the staff down on the foe they currently have surrounded.
---Round 6----
Looking back and forth across the battlefield. As appealing as the safety in numbers is Torvi is on her own. Running up to help her.
---round 7---
---round 7---
Finally finding his balance again, Snorri brings his axe down on the creatures with all of his strength.
Torvi and Nalnera's blows fracture the crysmal into pieces.
Despite Glenda and Dasur's misplaced blows, Snorri and Regnir manage to hammer the crysmal between them into oblivion.
The crysmal that was in the pit returns to the surface level and moves to attack Torvi.
The stunted tail slams into Torvi.
The last remaining crysmal attacks Snorri.
Glenda steps forward grimly next to Snorri and smashes at the next crysmal with her hammer.
Round 8
Frustratingly, Dasur can't seem to activate the staff again. Was it because he couldn't seem to hit the crysmal, or because there was some command word or gesture he accidently performed?
Thinking back to the first time the staff activated as he moves towards the last surviving foe, he seeks to repeat the circumstances of a few dozen seconds ago by lifting the magically enchanted obsidian staff high above his head. "Such a waste." Bemoans Dasur as he swings that staff down onto the crystalline creature.
To everyone else it would seem Dasur has started saying the same things over and over, which was a strange new low- though he often rambles, he never seemed to repeat himself.
Torvi flinches as her new opponent strikes her, and she attempts to knock the creature right back...
Bludgeon
Song is still up.
Tovi connects with the massive ball of her weapon, shattering the crystalline creature into small fragments.
Dasur swings the staff ineffectually, the staff bouncing off of its hard surface. But as it rebounds, an arc of electricity flashes between the staff and the crysmal. A black scorch mark blossoms on the creature's surface and it clatters to the cave floor. For the moment, calm returns to the cavern.
Torvi keeps her song up while she heals herself.
Dasur looks at the staff in his hands, turning it over repeatedly. Shards of crystals rain down on him from the other side of the ledge as Torvi obliterates a crysmal, but he does not eem to notice. "Hmmm... it was a different element despite my efforts to replicate the previous burst of fire... But is it due to the instability of the staff itself, or was this the purpose of the enchantment? Could it just as easily explode into a thousand fragments as it could shoot lightning?" The wizard ponders all these questions out loud, along with the hundreds more moving quickly through his mind.
He sighs and kneels down, looking at the defeated creature longingly. "Oh to have captured one of these alive. I will have to settle for collecting some samples... There is always too much to study, but this really is overwhelming." Bemoans dasur, standing back up and looking at Snorri. "Shall we quickly ensure there are no more threats in this cavern? I have an incredible amount of work ahead of me to study the elemental rift, this staff, and these creatures. I would like to begin as soon as possible."
Snorri wipes the crystalline powder from his pauldrons, healing some more of his wounds. "Yes. These creatures may have just been defending their territory, but I'm not taking any chances."
"That staff sounds like it has some truly impressive potential. Keep up its study later, Dasur, it will come in extremely handy."
Torvi shakes her head, "As long as we all die in a fashion considered 'interesting,' I gather that you won't be too disappointed in the event, eh Dasur?"
Glenda stows her warhammer and releases another calming pulse of power from Magrim - staving off death for another day.
Shaking her head at Dasur's ramblings and looking over at Torvi, "I fear you may be right."
Smiling at Glenda, "Thank you."
"On the contrary, Torvi." Dasur says with the utmost seriousness, which meant his normal, dry speaking voice. "I would prefer we all arrive at Dammerhall alive and well so we may reclaim our heritage, regardless if the journey was merely a stroll down the steps of the Great Forge in Highhelm or a story worthy of the Pathfinder Chronicles. Whether or not that is possible... the Stone will not say."
Glenda stows her warhammer and releases another calming pulse of power from Magrim - staving off death for another day.
[dice=Channel Energy: Heal]2d6
Erebos floats gently to the restored stone beneath him. "Interesting, Dasur. These creatures must have intruded into this cavern from the rift. They are native to the plane of Elemental Earth. If we encounter more, I suggest that we attempt to communicate with them. At least, if we have a chance. I believe they have a rudimentary intelligence and can understand the Terran language, though of course, I do not speak the Terran language."
From below, Iverna's thin high voice floats up to you, "Everyone ok up there? Everything seems to be fine down here."
In the interest of moving things along, I've posted spoilers here for whatever you want to explore. There is nothing too threatening left here.
Dasur absently rubs the warm, perfectly smooth surface of the obsidian staff as Erebos speaks, the wizard seemingly not listening and lost in his own thoughts. Yet as the dark elf finishes speaking, Dasur replies immediately. "Yes, I agree. They possessed a sense of coordination and intelligence beyond primitive animal instincts. I speak Terran and will attempt to communicate with them should more emerge from the rift. WHich begs the question... why Crysmals? The rift is an intersection of all four primary elemental planes, why not a magma crab or a brine dragon? Is it because we are already underground? Was it all chance?" There were, as ever, an infinite number of questions running through the wizard's mind and no answers to be found.
N9:
Sucking in his breath at the sight of the beautiful purple wall, the wizard abanadons all caution and approaches the extrusion with utmost reverance. He touches the stone, feeling its multicude of repeating angles and looking very closely at the spots where the crysmal had been feeding. "Is this what drew the crysmals here? Could they sense this, even from the other side of the rift? Or was one transported here by accident, and reproduced off of these fine crystals?"
With a sudden swing of his staff, Dasur brings off a palm sized chuck of pure amythest- most likely a sample for later study. "I have cut many gems in my life, from precious to semi-precious to the most mundane of quartz. But the purity of these gems is most exquiste. Do they also contain the resonant frequency energy of the nearby portal I wonder?"
N8:
The cat-sized, crystal-spider thing causes Dasur to pause as he wanders into the room. With a single sweep of his head, his both trained and instinctive dwarven eyes see not only no danger, but no jewels of any value.
Aproaching the small creature, he kneels down and holds out the pure crystal of amythest he previously broke off from the wall on the rough cave floor, his hand gripping his staff for support.
Dasur makes some noises that sound like he is mumbling and gargling gravel simultaneously at the small crysmal. He watches the creature carefully- if they could sense gemstones, the trillion cut ruby amulet around his neck, though hidden beneath his shirt, must smell of a feast.
Dasur absently rubs the warm, perfectly smooth surface of the obsidian staff as Erebos speaks, the wizard seemingly not listening and lost in his own thoughts. Yet as the dark elf finishes speaking, Dasur replies immediately. "Yes, I agree. They possessed a sense of coordination and intelligence beyond primitive animal instincts. I speak Terran and will attempt to communicate with them should more emerge from the rift. WHich begs the question... why Crysmals? The rift is an intersection of all four primary elemental planes, why not a magma crab or a brine dragon? Is it because we are already underground? Was it all chance?" There were, as ever, an infinite number of questions running through the wizard's mind and no answers to be found.
"Is a mulled-wine elemental an option? Perhaps a frosty ale-adon?"
N9
"Does anyone have experience in gemcutting? This would make for good mementos and materials to bring with us."
N8
"This creature would be a fine addition to our motley crew. Perhaps it was cast off the main group for being small?"
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Torvi:
"Of course." Dasur intones with absolute seriousness, and the skald instantly knows she has set off an explaination. "As thoughts generated by mortals coalesce in the Astral Plane, they form aggregates and gain something resembling substance. These idea-subbstances ricohet off of the boundries of the astral plane and the outer elemental planes, forming new, small demi planes dedicated to a singular idea. Within these new planes elemental souls can sponstanteously form, making it possible that there is indeed a mulled wine elemental out there somewhere. However, many of these smaller demi planes do not last long and are constantly destabilizing and reforming, especially for more specific ideas that are not thought of by mortals very often. This makes it very difficult to travel to or summon creatures from these specific planes, but not impossible. For instance, the elemental plane of butter is stable enough that I often use it as a viable spell to trip up foes in combat, though sometimes heavy cream or lard comes out of the portals instead. This is because I use a fixed coordinate for the portal, and sometimes the plane of butter is waning in favor of other fatty demiplanes."
Snorri:
N9:
"Yes, and I have brought my lapidary tools with me, though I mostly use them in my studies of finding new links between crystal matrices and arcane ampliciation potential." Dasur says as he cradles the piece of amythest in his hand- it is cracked where he broke it offfrom the greater wall and unsuitable for cutting. "However, I am no miner. I do not know how to extract the crystals from the wall to make them suitable for cutting. I merely wanted a sample for later study. It is possible these crystals have absrbed a great amount of the nearby elemental energy."
N8:
The wizard continues to hold his hand out to the little creature, the enticing gem flat in his palm. "Lord Snorri, I must advise against becoming attached to this crysmal." He saysin dwarven without taking his eyes off of the creature. "I study and work with gems and crystals of all types, and they are a key component in my arcane abilities. This creature consumes them for sustenance, and taking it along would greatly impede or possibly destroy my work. As an analogy, your suggestion is similar to if a situation arose where I wanted to adopt a rust monster." Dasur doesn't sound upset- his monotone voice is merely laying out the facts, though it is clear he is going to vehemently resist such an idea.
Torvi smacks her forehead and shakes her head as she turns away from the chatterdwarf!
The tiny crysmal approaches Dasur tentatively, its tail waving half in threat and half in enthusiasm.
"Hmm." The wizard muses briefly. "This one is barely sentient and seems to only care for food. Unless its name is the Terran equivalent "to eat", which is extremely improbable. Perhaps its growth has been stunted by unknown forces, but it seems much more likely it is a juvenile of its species and does not have fully developed mental facilities." He says in dwarven to his companions.
The hunk of amythyst rolls out of his palm and hits the cavern floor with a small clink. It rolls towards the small crysmal as Dasur places his other hand on his staff and makes one last attempt to converse with the creature.
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"It's cute," says Glenda, completely deadpan.
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The crysmal scuttles greedily toward the chunk of crystal.
The tiny creature's mouth opens to reveal tiny cutting arms, something like the mandibles of a spider, as it cuts small chunks from the semi-precious stone.
"It's a cub, I think. Are you sure it will be a danger to your own crystals, Dasur? You seem to be speaking with it, maybe it'd be possible to train it?"
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"Ahh, it can comprehend more than initially thought. It also says it was born here. That would make it a "cub", as you say. Interesting. I am not sure how they reproduce, but like most creatures it is probable there is consuming sustenance involved." Dasur says as he watches the crysmal deploy its tiny gem-cutting mandibles. "It is a sentient creature, my lord, with a soul bound to its physical form like any other Outsider. It is capable of much more than merely being trained. I was considering performing a vivisection to investigate how its elemental energies are distributed throughout its crystalline structure, but it is no mere animal to be experimented upon. Though I would learn much to discover how its soul is distrubed in a crystalline matrix...." The idea lingers for a moment as he considers the possibilities, but is ultimately dismissed.
Standing up straight by lifting himself up with the obsidian staff, the wizard slowly turns to Snorri. "One day, you will be King." He begins, dull brown eyes looking into Snorri's. "You will face these choices every day. Do you capitalize on something new, such as attempting to train this crysmal into one of the finest gemcutters the world has ever seen as it carefully eats away at previous stones with a precision unmatched by even the greatest of our kin, or will you follow the traditions of our Kings of old and say anything that threatens the livelihood of your subjects should be eliminated? Can this creature bring about a new era of progress or will it multiply out of your control and destroy all of my research one fateful day?"
"I do not know." Dasur concludes before continuing. "Perhaps Torag or Magrim will forthcoming with such information. I do know I appear to be the only one that can speak to it, and I will not be responsible for it. If you decide to keep it, I ask you keep it caged and well fed so it is not tempted by my research, at least nutil you have taught it not to eat any crystal is comes across. Know that this is a creature from the Plane of Earth, where veins of pure gemstones can stretch for hundreds of miles in all directions, like the fields of barley in Maheto. We live in a much more... finite plane."
N7
After his conversation with Snorri, Dasur wanders in the strangely musical chamber with a single dancing crysmal. He just starts asking questions with little regard for whether or not he was interrupting something.
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N7 The full sized crysmal vibrates in a multi-tonal WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM that weaves through the other sounds of the cavern
It was a bit difficult to pick apart what was the crysmal's speech and what was the sound of rushing gases, but after a moment he can tell the two apart. It seemed to him this was just a normal creature minding its own business, while little knowledge of the portal.
The wizard holds out the obsidian staff, the straight white outline of its sleek form standing out among his darkvision.
the one that held it last?"
Snorri ponders the crystalline dilemma in front of him. Part of his spirit wants to shed some of the isolationist ways of the older bloodlines: Erebos and Iverna are examples of that. And this tiny creature, shunned by its pack, hides a significant potential, if what Dasur says is correct. And yet...
I am at all times truthful, honorable, and forthright, but my allegiance is to my people. I will do what is necessary to serve them, including misleading others if need be.
... and yet, it would be foolhardy to bring with someone who could deal, by accident or malice, a significant blow to their chances. The simile of the rust monster is not lost on Snorri: Torag is a god of the Forge, but weapons and armor are a grace and a vulnerability. Let metal make us stronger, but pray that we are not lost if it shatters.
Perhaps with enough food, the creature may be satiated enough not to go after Dasur's focus. But what if not?
"I think that this little one may be helpful, in the future. But I'd like to hear other opinions."