The mysterious black vines that took over your dreams and eventually waking life and drove you into the swamp are gone. The lands you traversed at the prodding of your tiny familiar and the spire covered in tendrils are gone. The allies around you that tried to fight the tendrils are also gone. Only Sal is with you, its tiny eyes staring directly at the rocky spire.
Once they had learned what they could, the druid left you to wander and seek your own revenge on the priests of Orcus (they did not trust you). You had just killed one of the minor apprentices who had thought to capture and enslave you again. This time they weren't so prepared and instead you brutally struck him down and decapitated him. You remember hearing a voice in your head just moments after, but the blood was still pumping madly through your veins and you didn't quite hear what it said. You shook your head and blinked rapidly to try and clear your mind and vision.
A malfunctioning visual sensor showed you a great spire stretching up to the sky. It was cracked, with deep black veins or shadows that reached all the way into its foundation somewhere underground. You felt drawn to it somehow but none of your research could tell you anything about this spire. You spent years researching and searching to find the vision given to you during your malfunction. As a last ditch effort you tried to recreate the exact same conditions of the malfunction that made you see the spire before.
The story or rumour you rushed out to investigate turned out to be a lot harder to substantiate that you thought. Every clue turned out false or misleading and you returned home defeated, sure that there was still some meaning to your dreams. The last thing you did was walk through the front door of your home, almost tripping on a misplaced caltrop.
The bright light of the surface momentarily blinds you as your eyes adjust and look around. You had traveled for 2 years when you found the tower hidden in the darklands. Scouting it out revealed nothing guarding it or any doors or visible entrances. When you were getting close to it you thought you saw something move out of the corner of your eye. You quickly turned around and the darklands were no longer there.
You are standing alone, not another soul in sight , in the middle of an area of empty grasslands for miles on each side. Surrounding you is nothing but nature, a small bush here and there, a couple of large trees to provide shade. You can hear the sound of birds and smell the ocean afar off to the south if you can trust the sun's movement. Far to the northwest then, you can see shadowy, rocky bluffs, trees decorate their tops. North and east is open plainland as far as the eye can see with a thick marshy forest to the southeast. Everything you see is plain and ordinary except for the natural rocky spire only a hundred feet away. It extends vertically into the sky over 300ft., an almost impossible natural phenomenon.
You have no idea how you got here, no memory of walking up to the spire and a quick look around shows no footprints or tracks in the soft ground. The sun's position directly overhead causes the spire to cast no shadow yet.
Kaillum's large eyes blink several times as she attempts to gain her bearings. She slowly turns to look in all directions, taking in the new location. Her companions who it seemed she had just met are missing. The only familiar sight from the world before this is Sal. The tiny house centipede is out of her pockets and sitting on her shoulder, staring at the spire that towers before them.
"Is this real? Was what came before real? Have we moved to a different dream now? Perhaps someone else's?" Kaillum doesn't expect Sal to answer her questions. She doesn't even have a strong feeling about whether he would know the answers at all. She feels them worth asking none-the-less. "It's not the same as before, is it? But that spire is still where our answers lie. Come, let us act. You're still here, so your master's influence is likely to be here as well. Whatever else is happening, our path still lies forward."
Urging Sal back into his place in her pockets, the Grippli uses the few bushes she can find to provide some cover as she moves towards the tower.
Grey did not question, nor wonder. He sighed in exasperation and started walking toward the spire.
Victor stands to his full height, the errant caltrop resting on his palm. "Where in the Hells am I?" he wonders alound, stashing the item in his belt pouch. Looking around the area, the tiefling runs a hand through his jet black hair with a tired sigh. The spire, practically pulled straight from his fitful dreams, calls to him and his curiosity. The situation he finds himself in, however, leaves him desperately out of his depth.
With no real landmarks to be seen besides the towering outcrop, he simply shrugs and begins walking towards its monolithic form. Confused though he may be, there is only one way forward, and nothing will stand between Victor von Ulmen and his goals.
The android looks at the spire silently, his procedure gears whizzing inside his head as attempts to determine how he came to be here and the meaning of his place. Insufficient data. He examined the spire, considering its likely architectural influences. Insufficient data. No matter found. This was peculiar... Very peculiar... One solution. Gather more data. The metal feet began treading quietly toward the spire.
The sun burned Yutin's eyes. He was fortunate to not have the weakness of his race when it came to sunlight, but it was still unpleasant to be directly under the golden orb.
Through squinting eyes he gazed upon the dark tower.
Finally. I have arrived where the master sent me. Once I determine what it is I am to retrieve and bring it back to aid in the ascension of the Great One then I will be accepted back into my house, lauded as a hero.
Sitting in the dewy grass, Yutin meditates for a moment, reaching out to his connection to Baphomet. While he meditates his hands form the symbols that have become part of the ritual for summoning his avatar form. <Implore><Strength><Power><Servant>
His forehead burns painfully as the pentagram once again burns into his flesh, but like a balm to the pain, he feels the warm comfort of his blessing manifest around him. With new strength he rises and sets out to cover the short distance to the tower.
You move forward carefully, keeping to cover where possible until you get within spitting distance of the rocky spire. About 50ft. away from it the dirt and grass gives way to an uneven rocky area, leaving you no more cover. You encircle the spire's base which you estimate to be 100ft. in diameter and even levitate to its summit which takes almost 2 minutes but you see nothing of interest besides an empty birds nest nestled in a crevice at the top. The entire things looks completely natural, not artificial. The walls are rough and even a skilled climber could ascend to the top with the right equipment.
Nothing stops you as you move forward, crunching dirt under your feet. The dirt and grass stops when you are 50ft. away where it is now rocky and uneven ground. The new terrain hardly slows you and seconds later the rough spire face is directly before you, vertically straight up. The walls are rough and a skilled climber could ascend to the top with the right equipment.
Victor's right arm swells and mutates as long, wicked claws grow from his fingertips. What appears to be a spiked, inhuman tumor has grown straight through his armor and subsumed his whole arm and shoulder, leaving him looking lopsided and wrong.
He gently scratches at the surface of the obelisk with his mutated hand, curious at the material it is made of. "I know you have secrets to tell me, and I shall make sure you provide all of them..." he mutters at the structure, though he clearly doesn't expect the facade to speak back to him.
Kaillum cautiously comes to a rest on top of the spire and, after peering in the crevice with the bird's nest, looks around, using the elevation to help her, searching for anything that looks like an indication of civilization in any direction from her rocky perch.
Upon reaching the spire, the grey-cloaked figure with the scythe on his shoulder began walking around the base, looking for an entrance.
Regulus walks around the spire as well. Seek ingress. Gather data. He looks for an entrance and also looks up the spire, attempting to determine if there are any features of interest that would warrant climbing.
Reaching the vertical wall that limits his entrance into the tower, Yutin scans his surroundings, making a survey around the tower looking for a path to enter.
Guide my path oh master, that I might continue to serve thee.
As your claw scratches the surface a thin scratch mark is left behind. The bits of stone that crumble away don't simply fall to the ground. As they fall they disintegrate in the air. A few seconds later you hear a faint rumbling. It grows steadily stronger until you can see the rocky face of the spire vibrating and the ground beneath you shaking too. Right in front of you, instead of the column of stone crumbling and crushing you as fear might make you assume could happen, a part of the face right in front of you also begins to disintegrate, expanding from where you scratched it until a 10 ft. tall archway has formed. The archway eats into the spire creating a small cave 5 ft. deep, then 10... The passage goes on and on and gets darker much too quickly for the natural sunlight here. The rumble and shaking has stopped.
Looking around for signs of civilisation or entrances into the spire find nothing. Those on the ground that look down notice several sets of footprints of different sizes in the dust of the rocks and in the soft dirt where you started from. In total 5 sets of footprints seem to be here when there were none before. You also hear a faint rumbling. It grows steadily stronger until you can feel the ground beneath you shaking. After about 1 minute the rumble and shaking stops and an almost pitch black archway has appeared at ground level in the face of the spire. Upon closer inspection it is very dark inside.
Regulus looks into the darkness with great curiosity, his central ocular sensor detecting very little. He leads his pack dog inside the darkness with him, moving as quietly as he can while searching for the cause of his inability to see.
He also searches carefully to ensure that where he steps is safe, as long as he can see.
A wicked grin seems to split Victor's face. "Well, this is more like it," he gloats, as he reaches into his satchel and retrieves his helmet. Sliding the armor over his head, he clenches the clawed fist that has replaced his right hand and starts into the murky blackness. "This darkness is strange, unnatural, but fortune favors the bold."
Praise be to the Mazed.
Gripping his glaive in front of him, Yutin quietly steals into the darkness, gladly accepting the comfort of the dark over the oppression of the sunlight.
There was only one way to go. The stubborn part of him considered refusing just to be obstinate, but in the end he walked through the arch into the dark.
As the shaking begins Kaillum lifts into the air once more and looks around to see if she can find the source. When it stops she settles back on the spire briefly and with a quick hand gestures marks the summit with a beacon only she can see. This done, she dives off the side towards the ground, letting gravity do most of the work in her descent before slowing her body telekinetically and landing softly on the ground.
Once there she can see both the newly formed opening as well as varied tracks leading to the Rocky tower. Out of curiosity, she follows one of the larger sets back several hundred feet from the spire where it abruptly ends in the middle of the open plain.
Returning to the base of the spire, she looks up towards its peak high above her once more before shrugging and beginning to move as quietly and cautiously as she can into the darkness.
The darkness swallows you as you walk inside. If you look back you can see the light from the opening shrink rapidly smaller until it is gone and you are left with complete darkness. Thanks to your darkvision you can see the walls and your own hands and feet but further than 5 feet away is total and complete darkness.
You do not have to stumble along for long. Within 10 steps the darkness lifts slightly and ahead another 10 or 15 feet is the front of a solid stone building with a couple of stairs leading up to big 10 feet wide double doors made of iron or perhaps some other metal. There is no knocker or keyhole that you see. Something like this but no windows.
At the same time you see the wall, stairs and door ahead of you, 4 other figures emerge from the darkness next to you. In all there is a dark-skinned elf, a metal humanoid, a frog person, a hooded orc and a pale-skinned human.
The Grippli before you stands just under 2 feet tall, her medium green skin has a charming (if you're into that sort of thing) pattern of spots ranging from black to a light brown. Her eyes, large compared to the rest of her body, are yellow with dark black pupils and seem to take in an almost unnaturally wide range range. Clad in dark, travel stained leather armor with many pouches and hanging bags, a dagger is sheathed at her side and a small bow is held in one hand. On her back is a larger bag, a mossy cloak and a quiver full of small, thin arrows. An intricate medallion seemingly woven of vines and branches hangs from her neck over the front of her armor.
Seeing the others appear beside her, Kaillum's has an arrow in her bow in a flash, though she aims it at no specific target. Her eyes quickly dart over the strangers and as she edges back slightly she speaks. "The tracks that appeared outside the rocky spire when the portal came, they were yours perhaps?"
The broad figure was not the largest in the group, but his presence loomed. He was clad in grey from head to toe. Even his face was hidden behind a featureless grey mask. It bore no eye or mouth holes. It was flat and seemed to swirl within like fog or smoke.
He stood in relaxed stillness, the mask making it impossible to tell where he was looking. A scythe rested gently on his shoulder. He turned his head, scanning the room and the others. "Perhaps." he rumbled. His voice was deep and resonant, but muffled behind the mask.
"I am called Grey. Do you know where you are?"
Regulus freezes in his silent, mechanical motion up the steps. His head swivels around as his face, far from human, scans the others with his central ocular sensor. He leads a mastiff carrying a pack with him and carries several books in a leather pack on his back. "Fascinating. It seems we have found ourselves in symmetrical predicaments. I have no idea as to the cause or purpose but am eager to investigate further. Cooperation can only yield greater results, should we all prove trustworthy."
Standing before you, with an attitude of disgust and dismissal, is a dark elf in the most curious...garb, armor, you aren't sure how to describe it...you have ever seen. He seems to stand a few inches above the ground, housed entirely within a semi-translucent muscular shell of brown fur. His arms end in hands, but then the shell extends about 3 - 4 inches further before ending in wicked claws. Starting just above the elf's head is the head of a minotaur with a snout the mix between a bull and a wolf, sharp fangs peek from behind the closed lips.
The symbol of an upside down pentagram glows with a low red light on the forehead of the elf and his shell, a tell-tale sign of a summoned outsider bound into service.
Yutin glares at the others, not attempting to hide his contempt. As he speaks there is an echo to his voice, both him and the shell vocalizing and harmonizing.
"Light-landers, I should have expected to encounter such when I was transported here."
Yutin steps back 5' away from the crowd and lowers his glaive in a defensive stance.
"Is it by some trickery of yours that I am brought here? If so, know that you only work to serve my master's interests. He desires that I explore this place and bring back the treasures that it holds unto his glory. Stand in my way or try to stop me and your death shall also serve unto his glory."
Turning to the others, Victor raises an eyebrow beneath his helmet. Tall and heavily-muscled, his most notable feature are the horrific, spiked growths that seem to have replaced both of his arms. Each hand ends in wicked claws, and his eyes burn red from the visor of his horned helm. He does not seem worried at the presence of others in this strange place, but he does carefully seem to glance over each of them in turn.
At the strange Drow's proclamation, von Ulmen chuckles derisively. "Put the stick down, lad. Picking fights in a situation like this is unwise," he states, crossing his grotesque arms. "I am Victor von Ulmen, son of Edler Gerald von Ulmen. A pleasure, I'm sure."
The heavy double doors at the top of the small rise of stairs slowly and silently open, seemingly of their own accord, as if beckoning you inside.
Before anyone has a chance to respond to him, Victor turns to the now-opened door, his look of interest masked by his visor. "Oh, what do we have here?" he asks, though whether he actually expects a reply to the question or if he just felt like asking it, is hard to say. He begins to walk towards the door, seemingly done with conversing with the others as his curiosity seems to drag him by the horns.
As the doors swing open, Yutin's attention swings to them. He sets himself, preparing for some foul overworld monster to charge them.
After a moments pause, he realizes there is no immediate danger.
"Very well, if you lot are not the direct cause of my arrival here then I will accept your company for the time being, until you prove faithless. Then my master will accept the company of your damned soul."
"I am Rong, of the house Yutin. As light landers you are likely unaware, but should the need to address me arise you will call me Yutin in honor of my house."
He forms a series of symbols with his hands that you do not recognize.
Drow Sign Language: <GREET> <STRANGER> <WARY>
With that he too climbs the stairs to face the challenge beyond the doorway.
Posturing. Grey cared nothing for it. When the door opened he moved to investigate.
If my last band of companions was unusual I don't even know what words might fit this one.
Watching as three of the others approach the newly opened door as moths drawn to a flame with little caution for what might lie beyond its threshold, Kallium moves until she stands beside the fourth and his mastif. Apparently not concerned by the degree to which he towers over her, nor the unfamiliar beast, she offers a reply to the previous statement. "You speak of cooperation. I had companions recently and I found that cooperation was beneficial then. If the world has finished with it's sudden changes for a time then I am willing to try it again. You can call me Kaillum. For now it would appear that our fellow explorers are on the move. Shall we follow?"
Regulus' head rotates with a slight clicking sound to Kaillum. He responds "Affirmative. That seems an optimal course of action. If they wish to head first into danger, we can allow that, though no doubt we could move with less amplitude of incidental sound waves."
Unable to resist, you all go through the door one by one. The room inside has walls of the same solid stone as outside, not a seam noticeable and the ceiling and floor too. The whole room looks made of 1 piece of stone. The ceiling is 20 feet high. A magical shaping spell could explain it. There are several doors around the room, 4 in total, 1 to your right and left and 2 at opposite ends of the far wall of the room. The room is lit with ambient light and you notice no point of origin for the light here.
On the left wall there is a long chest made of some silvery white metal. On the opposite wall there is a large bookshelf 15 feet wide and reaching to the ceiling with a ladder to help reaching the topmost books. Against the far wall is a long table with writing materials, inks, papers and velums as well as alchemical equipment equivalent to an alchemist's laboratory.
In the center of the room is a raised platform in the floor accessible by steps on each side, still all 1 piece with the rest of the room. On the platform is a strange circular design that you do not recognise with a small hollow crystal sphere sticking out of a slot in the design, like for a key. Inside the transparent sphere is a complex mechanical arrangement of gears and spheres and geometric shapes.
It looks like an orrery, but one far, far more detailed than you have ever seen. None of your knowledge helps to understand what each of the pieces physically represent, if anything.
Perhaps of most concern, positioned around the raised platform are 4 silent and unmoving humanoid sentinels no more than 4 feet tall. They are translucent and smoky and look made from no normal physical material you have knowledge of. They do not move at your entrance or appear alive. Perhaps they are a mere illusion meant to frighten lesser minds than yours.
Having entered a room with such diverse materials, Yutin instinctually uses his arcane sight to scan the room of anything of magical import and then study it further.
Yutin remains silent while surveying the room from his position, absorbing any information that comes his way before making commentary.
Regulus' sensors light up and glow visibly at the appearance of the bookshelf and alchemy lab. But then his brain begins humming with activity upon seeing the orrery. [smaller]"Fascinating... It may represent some astronomical bodies but I have no conjectures as to which..."
Victor heads directly to the bookshelves, removing his helmet to display a thirst for knowledge clear on his face. Stashing the headgear away, he grabs the first book that grabs his interest and begins flipping through it. He seems completely oblivious to the others around him as he skims the tome.
Kaillum glances around the room, taking in both the contents as well as the reactions of her fellow explorers. As she looks, Sal emerges from a pouch once more, summoned by the grippli's curiosity. With the house centipede on her shoulder, Kaillum lifts off the ground and begins a tour of the outer walls of the room, thus far touching nothing, but taking in all she can.
Moving clockwise, she starts with the bookshelf, noting whether or not she is able to read the languages the books are written in, moving from the bottom to the top and then above. She stops near the ceiling to confirm that a close examination still finds no seams in the stonework. She stays high in the air as she circles over the workbench and the alchemist's workshop, but comes in close to examine the long chest on the west wall.
Once a transit around the outside is done she looks closely at the figures surrounding the center to see if there has been any change since her explorations began.
Grey slowly walked around the edge of the room, moving the opposite direction as the little frog man, scanning for magical auras and hazards.
Yutin and Grey scan the room carefully and notice auras on almost every object in the room, even the doors.
A very faint aura covers the scribe's table and alchemist's lab.
A faint aura covers every door in the room.
A moderate aura covers the floor, walls and ceiling.
A moderate aura emanates from both silvery white chests.
A faint aura emanates from the bookshelf and its books.
A faint aura pervades the room.
Several strong auras pervade the room.
An overwhelming aura emanates from the device on the platform.
Victor heads to the bookshelf and picks out the first book he sees. Opening it and flipping through it, all the pages are empty and it has no title. He checks more of the books and every one he looks at is the same. Any books dropped in frustration or carelessness reappear in their space on the bookshelf before they even hit the floor.
Sal looks only at the spherical object in the middle of the room. Kaillum finds every book she inspects to be blank. The ceiling still appears to be one piece with the walls and floor. The 2 chests you examine look identical in every way. They are currently locked. As you look closely at the humanoid figures not much taller than you the smoky substance inside the translucent form billows and you think you see an image projected in the smoke, obscured slightly. It looks like a baby grippli, the smoke covers it then clears again and the image is of a swamp eerily similar to yours.
YES, WELCOME. MAKE YOURSELVES AT HOME. A loud strong voice—that seemed more like a synchronisation of several voices than just one—spoke. YOU ARE FINALLY HERE AND THERE IS MUCH TO DO. BUT FIRST I WILL EXPLAIN MYSELF AND WHY I HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE. The voice feels loud and you can't pinpoint where it is coming from, it seems to come from everywhere. You quickly realise it must be telepathy.
SMALL ONE. I AM IN NEED OF YOUR HELP. MY DOMAIN IS UNDER SEIGE BY A LEGION OF FORCES AND I AM USING ALMOST ALL MY POWER TO KEEP CONTROL. THE VISIONS OF THE VINES YOU SAW CONSUMING YOUR VILLLAGE CAN BE AVERTED BUT I MUST FIRST BE RELEASED FROM THIS STRUGGLE. TRAVEL MY DEMIPLANE, WEAKEN AND DESTROY THE GENERALS OF MY ENEMIES THAT WISH TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE AND I WILL ENSURE YOUR VILLAGE IS FOREVER PROTECTED. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO DO THIS, LEAVE AND RETURN TO YOUR VILLAGE NOW.
METAL ONE. YOU HAVE SEARCHED FOR YOUR PURPOSE AND FOUND NOTHING. YOU DID NOT MALFUNCTION WHEN YOU SAW THIS SPIRE. THERE IS A PURPOSE HERE MORE WORTHY THAN THOSE CREATORS WHO SHUT YOU DOWN AND ERASED YOU WHEN THEY DEEMED YOU A FAILURE FOR QUESTIONING ORDERS. MY DOMAIN IS UNDER SEIGE BY A LEGION OF FORCES AND I AM USING ALMOST ALL MY POWER TO KEEP CONTROL. I NEED YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND MAGIC TO FIND THE LEADERS OF THOSE THAT WISH TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE AND DESTROY THEM. I WOKE YOU FROM YOUR SLUMBER AND WILL REWARD YOUR AID. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE TO LEAVE, DO SO NOW AND RETURN TO YOUR ENDLESS SEARCH ALONE.
GREY ONE. I HAVE SEEN YOUR MISFORTUNE. THOSE SERVANTS OF THE PRINCE OF UNDEATH THAT VIOLATED YOU ARE STILL HERE. I HAVE BROUGHT YOU BACK TO FINISH WHAT YOUR LADY OF GRAVES STARTED. MY DOMAIN IS UNDER SEIGE BY A LEGION OF FORCES AND I AM USING ALMOST ALL MY POWER TO KEEP CONTROL. FIND YOUR ENEMY HERE IN THE DEPTHS OF MY DEMIPLANE AND DESTROY THEM. WHEN MY POWER IS RESTORED I WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE RETURNED TO YOUR FORMER FORM.
DARK ONE. I KNOW WHY YOUR DEMON LORD SENT YOU HERE. BUT HE IS NOT THE REASON I ALLOWED YOU HERE. MY DOMAIN IS UNDER SEIGE BY A LEGION OF FORCES AND I AM USING ALMOST ALL MY POWER TO KEEP CONTROL. IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT WHICH YOUR LORD SEEKS, FIND THOSE THAT WISH TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE. DESTROY MY ENEMIES THAT I MAY BE STRENGTHENED AND HAVE THEIR SOULS AS REWARD. LEAVE HERE UNHARMED IF YOU WISH NOT TO AID ME AND FACE YOUR MASTER'S WRATH.
MUTANT ONE. YOUR LIFE IS SPENT STRIVING FOR UNATTAINABLE GOALS, CARING LITTLE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY. MY DOMAIN IS UNDER SEIGE BY A LEGION OF FORCES AND I AM USING ALMOST ALL MY POWER TO KEEP CONTROL. MY ENEMIES MUST BE REMOVED. THEY SHALL NOT TAKE WHAT IS MINE. FOR THE PRICE OF YOUR AID I SHALL GRANT YOU THE IMMORTALITY WHICH YOU SEEK. IF MY PRICE IS TOO LOW, LEAVE NOW UNHARMED AND SEARCH ON YOUR OWN IN FUTILITY.
Kaillum watches with fascination as the images in the smoke show first a grippli spawn and then a familiar swamp. As the voice echoes in her head she glances around to see the others listening to words which must, given the content, be different from what she hears.
Lifting her head to the center of the room she calls out to the ether. "You can speak to me, no, to us in our heads, but who are you? Why should we listen to your call for aid?"
With Sal's attention so fixated on the central platform Kaillum examines the Orrery there briefly as well, to no noticeable gain, before turning to look at her companions in the room.
"I have been offered a choice to aid our ... summoner? ... and help my village or to leave and return to whence I came. There is no choice between the two should they be the true alternatives, but I would hear what the rest of you might have been offered as well. My people's safety should hold no sway over you. This ... this is beyond my experience and I am unsure how to proceed."
"Agreed," was all the figure in grey rumbled.
Victor's grin spreads so wide that it seems almost painful, his greed plain on his face. "You know just the right things to say," he quips, crossing his mutated arms once more and nodding heavily. "I will crush your foes, and you shall fulfill my ambition. I agree to your terms!"
Regulus' head swivels on his neck toward Kaillum. "Yes I would aid our summoner as well... As far as I can determine... that is my purpose..." He replies to the voice "Who are these enemies? How will we aid you?"
Yutin's scalped tingled the way it did when he would over hear his matriarch talk about court intrigue and politics. Something did not feel entirely balanced about this conversation.
If our summoner has the power to bring 5 beings across the verse, why not 50, or 500? It was clear that this "benefactor" had powers beyond them, and so was not an ally. The carpenter is not an ally to the hammer or the saw. And if the hammer breaks?, the carpenter just reaches for another.
The promise of reward is certainly my incentive, but it is only a promise; as cheap as the air that carries the voice. Which in this case is none. I cannot turn away from the path the Lord of the Maze has set me on, but perhaps some more tangible bond to make the promise sure. A down payment perhaps.
"I will answer your call and render you aid as I walk the path my master lays before me, but what symbol do we have that your word is your bond? If we are to work for your benefit, should we not be benefited along the way? So yes I will answer your call, but with a proviso. Grant us boons to help us accomplish your tasks. You obviously have great power to bring us here. Gift a mote of that power unto us, in whatever form you see fit, that we can complete your tasks and earn our ultimate reward."
Kaillum's large amphibian eyes blink as she watches each of those around her agree to the terms in their own ways. I see. The choice offered to each of them must be as mine. Not really a choice at all. Turning to Sal on her shoulder she considers the insect for a moment, trying to sort it's intentions out from the empathic bond they share. After a short pause she nods and turns back towards the center of the room, as though addressing what sits there will make a difference to the entity that has brought them all together.
"I cannot return to my home while it remains as I left it, so for now I will stay here, with the others. Your offer of hope must suffice for the time being."
Regulus turns curiously to Yutin. "I infer you may be identifying magical auras. Might I assist you with whatever knowledge is retained within my circuits?"
BUT I AM NOT A DECEIVER. THE ENEMIES HERE ARE ALL THOSE WHO WOULD TAKE WHAT I HAVE ACHIEVED AND DESTROY THIS PLACE. THIS UNIVERSE'S GODS HAVE SENSED MY GROWING POWER AND DO NOT WISH ANOTHER TO RISE TO THEIR LEVEL. I HAVE BUILT THIS DEMI-PLANE ON THE EDGE OF THE DIMENSION OF TIME SO THEY CANNOT TOUCH ME THEMSELVES OR LEAVE THEIR PLANES UNPROTECTED. SO, THEY SEND THEIR SERVANTS TO INVADE ME. MANY GODS AND OTHER POWERFUL BEINGS VIE FOR MY SECRETS AND POWER. THE ONLY REASON I AM NOT DESTROYED IS THEY ALSO FIGHT EACH OTHER. THEY ARE CONTAINED BELOW THE SURFACE. BUT SOME HAVE PENETRATED MY SPIRE AND KILLED SOME OF MY GUARDIANS LIKE YOU SEE HERE SURROUNDING ME IN FRONT OF YOU.
THEY ARE TIME ELEMENTALS AND THEY SERVE ME. BE CAREFUL OF LOOKING TOO CLOSE, YOU MAY SEE SOMETHING FROM YOUR OWN LIFETIME YOU DO NOT WISH TO SEE. The translucent smoky creatures you now know as time elementals show that they are alive and not statues or illusions by stepping backwards up the steps and forming a circle around the platform. The small sphere rises off the platform, revealing it is more than just a sphere. It is connected to a rod that was hidden in a slot in the platform. When the sceptre-like object has fully risen above the platform you see strange metal prongs and rune-marked teeth jutting at weird angles, it looks more like an oversized key the length of a sword.
Example. This is a much too simple image of the Sceptre. Especially the orrery part at the top but I literally couldn't find a better example online. So this is just to help visualise a little what it looks like.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE AGREED TO AID ME, YOUR FIRST TASK AWAITS. CHOOSE EITHER TO DEFEND THE SPIRE OR DELVE BELOW. I HAVE LOST MANY ELEMENTALS ALREADY, PLEASE ASSIST THEM OR LEAVE THEM ALONE IF YOU FIND ONE. BE SMART AND CAREFUL OF TRAPS AND OTHER METHODS I HAVE ALSO EMPLOYED TO DEFEND MYSELF. FOCUS ON FINDING THE LEADER OF ANY FACTIONS YOU FIND. IF THEY ARE REMOVED BY WHATEVER MEANS YOU DESIRE, THEIR DISORGANISED FOLLOWERS WILL BE NO LONGER BE A THREAT. THE MORE POWERFUL THESE BEINGS ARE, THE MORE OF THEIR POWER I CAN TAKE WHEN THEY ARE DEFEATED. EVEN WITH A LESSER GOD OR DEMIGODS INTERESTS FOILED I WILL BE MUCH EMPOWERED. AND IN KIND YOU. As it spoke inside your minds a wave of energy that appeared to your eyes as fractal shards swept through the room. Nothing was harmed and you felt nothing. The Sceptre descended back into its slot in the platform and the elementals moved back to their stationary positions as before, motionless as a statue.
THE BOONS YOU RECEIVE WILL DEPEND ON HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU ARE. THERE ARE ALREADY SOME IN THIS ROOM. THE BOOKSHELF CAN BE USED TO FIND INFORMATION ON ANY CREATURE YOU FOCUS ON AS LONG AS YOU HAVE SEEN IT. THE CHESTS ARE LINKED, THE COMMAND WORD TO LOCK AND UNLOCK THEM IS "ACCESS". THEY CAN BE SHRUNK AND ENLARGED BY SPEAKING "ALTER". WHATEVER IS IN ONE WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE OTHER FOR THEY SHARE THE SAME EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL SPACE. YOU CAN STORE WHAT YOU FIND AND DO NOT WISH TO CARRY IN THERE. THE TABLES HAVE ANYTHING YOU NEED TO CREATE MAGICAL AND ALCHEMICAL ITEMS. I HAVE FORESEEN YOUR TALENTS. THE OTHER ROOMS HERE HAVE ANY TOOL YOU NEED. The 2 single doors swing open and reveal circular rooms, equipped to craft anything you wish. Though no raw materials have been provided.
NO OTHER POWER CAN I AFFORD TO SPARE YOU. GO FORTH AND TIP THE SCALES IN MY FAVOUR AND REAP YOUR REWARD. The double doors at the other end of the room also swing open on their own, giving you access to the rest of the level.
If any more questions are asked they are not answered. I HAVE REVEALED MUCH. PROVE TO ME YOUR WORTH. YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO LEAVE.
As you explore it, the rest of the level is patrolled by several more time elementals and holds living and eating quarters as well as several empty but guarded rooms. The kitchen contains tables enchanted to endlessly provide beautiful and delicious food suitable for any tastes In the center of the level are double doors at the north and south. They open to stairs guarded by more elementals. The northern stairway leads downward and the southern stairway leads upward.
Kaillum listens to the voice and as the contents of the chambers are revealed she gazes at each, cataloging it mentally for future use. When the voice is done the grippli explores the surroundings as much to give the others the chance to do the same as to satisfy her own curiosity.
So one who challenges the gods has chosen us as its champions. I suppose I should be flattered, though being the conduit of Sal's master isn't my doing. I wonder if the two are related or will have conflict in the future. Sal doesn't seem alarmed thus far, but it's hard to tell what he holds in his tiny head. If removing the vines is within the power of the summoner then perhaps their goals are aligned for now.
At some point after the exploration has died down some, Kaillum addresses those gathered in the chambers. "It seems that we are expected to act reasonably soon. Without knowing more my inclination is to try to drive out the invaders of our summoner who have penetrated whatever defenses were in place. There are clearly secrets above and below, but my gut says that those above are the more immediate threat."
Kaillum pauses slightly before adding, "I don't know what powers you possess or how you engage foes, but I would propose that if we are to work together we share some of how we overcome foes. My strengths lie in the shadows and with my bow. I can reach many places unseen and report back, hopefully giving us a tactical advantage. In a fight I would be most effective providing support from a distance instead of engaging a foe directly." The delivery is overly formal, and she has some qualms about how it will be received, but she feels it must be offered as the opening to a discussion. Now she waits to see how the varied personalities will respond.
Yutin glares down at the frog creature. Disdain radiates from the smirk on his mouth as two sets of eyes, one from the drow and one from the minotaur 'shell' examine the small one. Again the two voices harmonize into one as he answers the query.
"I use my Drow Superiority and the blessings of power granted by my Patron to engage the foe head on. This form can bear an enemy to the ground and then rip them limb from limb. In the unlikely event that this form should falter, I can call upon allies from across the verse to aid me in vanquishing my foes and sending their souls screaming to the Abyss."
"Meanwhile, because of the blessings of my great Patron, I have learned to harness power from each enemy that I defeat. As we travel this spire and vanquish the intruders my powers shall only grow stronger."
The wolf-like jaws of the minotaur snap shut at the end of the sentence, giving the impression of a wolf dragging running prey down to a death in the snow.
Regulus clicks mechanically as he turns to the group, not wishing to turn away from the fascinating alchemy lab. "Indeed. Pre-determined strategies modified spontaneously are likely to fare better than pure spontaneity with no pre-existing strategy. I am relatively capable of moving quietly to observe enemies. Forewarned is forearmed as some organics state. I have never fought another sentient before but I believe that I could slow them down with arcane manipulations to slow their movement and improvised alchemical devices to damage them." He ponders. "Now if only I could improvise a device that damages while slowing..."
Victor carefully listens to the others, taking particularly close note to Regulus. Simple curiosity on the part of a fellow alchemist, of course. When the others look to him, he grins lackadaisically. He shows off his empty, mutated palms to the others, the claw-tipped fingers glinting in the light. "The android seems to share some of my skills, but I am certainly not one for skulking about. I shall boldly go where needs must, and crush all who stand in my way... our way, I suppose," he states, conviction clear in his words. "I am rather adept at safeguarding others, despite what my appearance may imply. As long as I am within arm's reach, you need not fear. Not that you should become too reliant on my protection, of course. 'Overconfidence breeds complacency,' as they say."