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Narrowing his eyes in thought a moment, a vague memory of what she speaks of returns. "The Mithvarium. I remember, albeit somewhat vaguely. Now to be fair any blood we have shed was in order to protect our lives. Would you not dare the same? And we've slaughtered no trees - at least, none to my knowledge - and have no desire to steal your light. Of course, and I would gather, that you are very well speaking of my ancestors of which I cannot defend. That was during a time of which I possessed no control due to the simple fact it was before my time, my lady." He then looks around at the battlefield, wondering if it is to be littered with bodies before all is said and done. Turning back to the elven enchantress, "But this is my time now. And if memory serves, we were allies once... long ago. I ask you, my lady, what is to become of us all? Do we war until one of us is to be eliminated? Whether you kill us or we you, there will always be more of both. Does the fighting never cease? Does the land remain filled with blood of both dwarves and elves alike for an eternity? I say to you: Let us end this feud! Right now! Let us return to the peace we once had. A time ago dark days arrived and have yet to cease. What say you to ending those dark days and beginning a new day? A new day that brings the dawn of peace between dwarves and elves once again?" He cuts his eyes from left to right, wondering where his invisible teammates might be located. Be ready, lot, I fear we are balancing upon a slippery slope. One false step either way...
"You seem to believe what you say. Do you believe it enough to make an oath of it? A pact? You and yours will take no action against the Mithvariim. You will hunt and destroy any of your people who break this compact. If you break or ignore this agreement, you will wither away bit by bit. In return, we will allow you free passage, as in other days."
"Take no action? Even if action is taken against us first? We would be compelled to do nothing if one of the Mithvariim steals from us or slays one of our number?" interjects Glenda.
Snorri looks to Glenda a moment before turning back to the enchantress. "My fellow dwarf makes a valid point." He then ponders it a moment before, "What I am trying to accomplish will take time. It will take time to inform my dwarven brethren of this pact if it is seen through. I cannot simply slaughter one of my own because they simply 'do not know'. By Torag's hammer I will not do it." He then strokes his beard in thought a moment, trying to figure the best way to advance this. He then looks to Glenda again - or rather through her as her words run through his mind once again - before turning his attention once again back to the tall elven woman.
"I will accept your proposal on the account you will agree to a few of my own conditions.
One: It will be necessary to include a grace period to where I can get the word out to my fellow dwarves. I cannot 'instantly' inform the dwarven kingdom if an agreement is reached... it will take time. I will reiterate once more: I WILL NOT slaughter a fellow dwarf because he is uninformed. That is unjust. Patience will be required in this.
Two: You must also accept your very own proposal with the same stipulations you and myself have drawn up. You must also be compelled to hunt and destroy any of your own who break this agreement. And if you also do nothing then you shall also wither away until it claims your life.
And three: There can be NO repercussions at any time if we or any fellow dwarf are attacked by your people. We WILL be allowed the right to defend ourselves at all cost and the same goes for you and your people. I believe those conditions are fair and just and I see no reason why they should not be included."
Another thought then strikes him and he quickly speaks up before she has time to respond. "Also, if you are in agreement, I do prefer to speak with my current team for their thoughts. While you have set your parameters and I mine, I prefer this to be a consensus among my own party. But it's going to depend on your answer. So what say you?"
Her face is mostly inscrutable, but there is a hint of amusement in the arch of her brows.
"Take your time to talk to your veiled friends. Always time is your concern. Time to inform your kind, time to talk to your companions. I will give you this time, and if you can make the agreement, I will make the agreement."
With a supernatural speed, she draws a small blade from somewhere and opens her palm. Her blood spills out onto the soil, and while it is a deep red, it shimmers with an unnatural coruscation. "If you wish to agree, shed your own blood here, upon this soil where once our statues stood intertwined. This soil, this place, will hold our bond."
Snorri nods and turns to talk to his 'visible' party members(and also his invisible ones if they by chance just so happen to be near). Huddling up, "Are there any objections among you to what I've requested? Please speak freely, I beg."
Garnet is invisibly hovering nearby, ready to charge and tent peg the leader elf if negotiations do not go well.
Torvi is "luckily" too far away to intervene. She too is ready for hostilities to commence. She nearly started things when that pointy eared tree-lover pulled the dagger out!
Garnering no objections from those visible, Snorri breaks the huddle and moves back to the elven leader. "We are in agreement." He then unsheathes his greataxe made from true mithril and rests the end of the haft upon the ground to where it stands vertically. He then places his left hand upon the blade, For Dammerhall, and runs his palm down the edge in a quick fashion. As the blood begins to flow, he makes a fist and squeezes to where it falls freely over the spot designated by the enchantress. He then looks to his counterpart, "So it is finished?"
Where Snorri's blood falls, the ground quivers and then breaks apart. A dark leafed sprout, nearly the color of blood, unfurls and grows, becoming a tendrilous shrub. Its branches sprout similar leaves, and then beautiful red brown rose-like blossoms.
"This shall mark our agreement, and shall tell whether either has broken it." Suddenly in her hand their is a blade, small and curved inward. She hooks it onto one of the blossoms and, with only a slight gesture, removes rose from bush. She offers it to Snorri with one hand, palm up. "Now take it and go. I know that you and your hidden companions long to find your lost home. Ascend the outcropping and ask your guardian to step aside. It will listen only to your kind, not ours."
Snorri accepts the rose with gratitude and smiles. "That is our hope, milady. And I thank you," he says, giving a formal bow. He then looks around in a futile attempt to see his invisible teammates. "My friends!" he calls out, "It is time to take our leave! Dammerhall awaits!" He then gives the elven enchantress a grinning nod of farewell as he turns and takes his leave.
Torvi reluctantly flies down towards Snorri, remaining hidden as long as possible.
Dasur, who had already drawn a large summoning circle around himself in preparation for the battle, perks up as he hears the call to move forward. With a glance at the circle he shrugs and begins to walk forward with Glenda and Iverna, obsidian staff lightly touching the ground as he makes his ways to the two statues.
"Ah, what memories the Stone here must have. I wonder, do they have an opinion on what transpired here today?" He mumbles, looking up at the carved figures and following along up the outcropping.
Glenda seems unruffled as usual. It's hard to tell whether she was looking forward to a fight with the elves, or trying to avoid one. Nonetheless, she accepts Snorri's decision as she always does, and follows as the group advances again, creeping ever closer to their destination of Dammerhall.
"Difficult to say, Dasur," she replies to the wizard. "You would know more of such elemental matters than any of the rest of us."
Thinking it looks like they aren’t going to fight but not sure, Garnet stays invisible and silent, flying high cover behind the Prince, ready to spring into action if there is a sudden betrayal...
As he moves closer to the massive statue, Dasur realizes that it is more than it appears. Not simply a momumental carving, it is in fact a massive construct, easily the largest he has ever seen. Strange, it can't be that much use. It is too large to leave this chamber, even to venture very far into the wound and the element infused environs around it. It could never have reached the mines of Zaraketh. There must have been a strong alliance indeed between these elves and Dammerhall for the dwarves to have built such a thing in this chamber, and it is clearly of dwarven make. It could only have been intended to defend this vault, and possibly to defend this entrance, but surely the elves here would not have allowed it to be built to fight against them.
There are clear signs of another construct, probably an elven one, that would have been joined with this one in a hearty grasp of forearm or even something more intimate? In any case, the other construct is missing now.
Any chance that Torvi recalls details of the history of this construct (pair)?
otherwise...
+2 wrt dwarves and their enemies
Snorri looks upon the construct, stroking his beard in thought. "I cannot imagine simply asking it to move would be effective." He looks to the others before turning back to the construct. "But... I guess it would not hurt. If we do not try then we will most assuredly not succeed."
Clearing his throat, he looks up and yells so as to be heard. He glances over at Dasur and shrugs before looking back up and awaiting for some form of response.
The rumble is so deep that you can't even hear it, but you can feel it vibrating in your organs. The chin of the massive stone construct lowers, bringing you into the gaze of its unliving stone gaze. The elves standing atop its head scramble to gain the solid ground of its shoulders, moving with an unworldly agility.
Then, the statue shudders and stone dust flies into the air as the entire statue separates itself from the wall and steps down onto the floor of the forest. Revealed by the movement of its right leg, you see a tunnel, 10 feet wide and 30 feet tall, stretching back into the stone.
The statue turns to beckon, almost push, you through the opening.
Just within, there is a corpse. It is clearly that of a drow, dark skin dried by time, a broken dagger and fingernails ripped from fingers. The drow's back is badly burned and unhealed. Whatever happened to it, it ended badly here.
Dasur looks on the dwarven statue in awe, eager to touch it but refraining from doing so. "One could say this is living wall of stone, and certainly it must have been carved from a single piece of the wall here... I did not know constructs of this size were even possible. What soul or energy is used to bind or power such an incredible golem?"
At Snorri's question the wizard does not look over, still focused on the statue, but replies nonetheless. "If it does not follow your word, Snorri, then I do not think it would listen to any of us." Briefly, Dasur strokes the greasy, single braid of his beard. "There would not have been much of a battle here if we could command such a golem. The elves were wise to make peace with us."
As the first to feel the vibrations deep from within the chamber, Dasur closes his eyes and allows the songs of the earth ripple through him. He opens his eyes as the noises become localized, watching the massive golem move aside to allow them passage.
Though he walks with the statue's beckoning, his torso twists so he may shout upward. "Can you speak, Guardian of the Seventh Road to Dammerhall? What is your name and for what purpose were you built?"
Finding himself in awe, "Absolutely fantastic." He then makes his way inside and awaits to see if the construct responds to Dasur.
Garnet moves to the entrance as well, still saying nothing but hovering protectively and invisibly over her prince in case the elves prove false...
The construct simply stares implacably at Dasur, but it does not respond.
Whoa! Ok, so Torvi will put all of that into an oratory and relate it back to her companions...
"Now that is truly a fascinating tale, Torvi. A dwarf and an elf. Truly fascinating." Snorri then looks over at Dasur, "It would appear the statue possesses nothing more to say, cousin. Best we continue on our path to Dammerhall."
"I concur." Dasur says in response to Snorri's observations, though he is loathe to leave the construct behind. He moves towards the tunnel entrace, glancing at the dead dark elf. [b]"How did this Drow end up on this side of the passage?"{/b] He asks to no one in particular, standing over it with a quizzical look. With a flick of his finger he begins to read any magical auras in the area.
The corpse is devoid of residual magic.
The road to the 7th gate is a series of natural caverns, most of them living caves where water still flows and beautiful mineral deposits form all manner of stoneflow shapes. Occasionally, a carved shaft connects two areas to allow passage. There is little sign of recent passage, and a particularly nasty species of carnivorous bats congregate on the ceiling in many places. Erebos and Iverna agree that they are known as razor bats.
"Keep your skin intact and your blood where it belongs. They won't pay us much mind, but blood drives them into a frenzy. They love carrion and the weak and wounded. The duergar call them ghoul-bats."
Your travel from the golem gate to the 7th entrance is another two days, and your excitement builds. Finally, you hear the distant rumble of water moving, and the air grows ever more damp. The cavern branches, the larger passage continuing and a smaller one branching off. In an arch 20 ft wide by 40 tall, you see a delicate carving of the posts and and arch, two sides coming together almost at the edge of your darkvision. There is no door or gate, but there are holes in the stone that suggest there was once something here. No sign of whatever it was remains.
Visual reference for Road and Entrance
Dasur exhales a long and relaxed sigh at the sight of the residual architecture, and he takes a moment to adjust his ancient mining helmet to sit more squarely on his head. "Here the elemental forces of Stone and Water join their energies to greet us. I suspect it has been long since any of our blood walked these tunnels, and I hope we are greeted by the elements as returning heroes and not interlopers."
Then, he crosses his arms in thought. "Now, which way?" He glances back and forth before shrugging and pointing his staff towards the smaller passage. "If this reaches a dead-end, we can simply turn around."
Garnet looks around carefully for threats, but otherwise waits on her comrades to discuss how to get over this underground river, as it appears the bridge is out.
"Oh, I just remembered." The wizard says suddenly, before sitting on the ground just as suddenly. Taking out a piece of chalk from one of his belt pouches, he starts to draw series of symbols and diagrams around himself in a seemingly haphazard manner. "You see, the Glitterdust spell functions outside of the physical realm and actually injects sensory information directly into the target's brain by overloading their visual systems. By co-oping and modifying that mechanism, and combining it with an Unseen Servant, I have developed a spell that takes in visual information and feeds it directly into my own visual senses." He continues to draw on the stone, boxing himself in.
"Typically such spells are called some variation of Arcane Eye, for obvious reasons." The diagrams start to get more complicated as time goes on, and the floor looks like some sort of mosiac artwork by the time he places the chalk back into his belt pouch. Taking a seat cross-legged, the wizard produces a bit of bat fur (helpfully provided by a long-dead ghoul-bat they found along the way) and the component disappears in a puff of smoke. Immediately he feels his vision transfer to a new point of reference untethered by his earthly flesh.
"I will be unable to see out of my phsyical eyes as long as I am concentrating on the arcane eye. The spell only lasts a few minutes, but I should be able to get an idea where our next destination lies." He says as the invisible eye silently flies down the smaller corridor.
The corridor remains tall, nearly 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide, all of natural stone, or stone shaped in such a way that you can't tell the difference. About seventy feet through the winding passage, there is a rock fall, as though something powerful broke the stone. There are some old marks of fire, melted stone.
Beyond that, there are the remnants of a magnificent bridge, what once would have been a sturdy and elegant arch is only a jagged tooth ruin. To one side is a powerful waterfall crashing into a ravine below, to the other it cascades downward into darkness.
Beyond the bridge is a wide landing area. Once there may have been defensive engines here, and beyond that a carving of a dwarven face, its mouth a massive iron colored gate, now closed. A series of tall stalagmites stand here, almost like fangs in the mouth of the dwarven face.
"It appears the way forward is beyond the smaller corridor." Dasur says from his seated position in the center of the circle. "There is a rock fall in the way which we have the means to clear. The True Mithral pickage alone will likely cleave through it as a knife cuts cheese. Beyond that is a broken bridge, though Erebos and I should be able to easily magick a solution past. A massive iron gate, surely cast by our ancestors, lies past the bridge, though it is curiously closed."
Opening his eyes and blinking a few times at the transfer of consciousness, the wizard stands up by using his staff for support. "I saw no other dangers than what the machinations of Air may throw at us."
Torvi nods, "you'll let me know if some random spell might aid the cause, right? I can only do it once per day, but still."
Dasur tilts his head for a moment in thought before replying, slowly; "A random spell has a low probability of being helpful, but I suppose in dire circumstances it could certainly be used as a last resort."
"So, let's just say, that if you identify a problem that needs fixing, maybe I've got a spell to fix it. Shall we go with that?"
"How significant is the breakage of the bridge? Could it be repaired by reshaping the stone?" Glenda asks Dasur. "With a stone shape spell - I'm sure you're familiar with it."
"Or multiple of such spells over time. Our people are masters at manipulating stone using spells such as this, and our natural affinity for stone."