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Heh. Foolishly, I assumed the naming convention followed that of Logen "Nine-Fingers", and someone had been a wee bit o'er enthusiastic when it came to digital subtraction...
Crummock frowns thoughtfully. "I hear what you are saying... I don't think that it quite applies to this situation, but I appreciate your point of view. Let's see if we can clarify things..." He then turns to Gamma. "Gamma, do you have any objection to helping Baknarla's tribe to the best of your ability, providing what aid you can, in my absence?" Gamma quickly replies: "No, Alpha."
Crummock nods. "After a fashion... that is certainly true. He is an aspect of me, never changing, always true to precisely how he was when he was Created. He can't walk his own path, because that is literally impossible; he is part of me, which stands apart."
Crummock sighs. "I could have, but this place was meant to be like an idealied version of the 'real' world; at the time this place was Created, it was originally designed to remind me of happier times. They are, now, quite literally from a lifetime ago, but I would not dream of changing them..."
Crummock nods. "That is certainly true - frames of reference are important. It could just be that elsewhere, time simply moves much more quickly. When I last saw Einar, he said that he would return here; beyond that, I cannot, precisely, say, but if Mr Whiskers is not coming, I am sure Einar will Call, and I will bring him here. Regarding Gamma," he says, patting his double on the shoulder, "he knows precisely who, and what, he is; but he shares my values, and will do his best to help you, as best he can."
Crummock grins. "Well then, we can certainly give Treehome a try!"
Crummock grins, and winks at Dimitri. "I am sure that you will love every minute of it! As you said, I am sure that I will be hearing from you soon. Don't hesitate to Call!"
Crummock shrugs sadly. "Righteous indignation will do that to a person... when you have experienced a certain form of suffering, and seen it perpetuated upon others... you feel an indignant desire to fix it... seeing that often enough, convinces you that you are the only one that can fix it... and that leads to a rather blinkered way of looking at the world." He then sighs. "Death granted me perspective, but I also saw that the only way to retain that perspective, was to forever change the nature of what I was... which is why you see me as I am now." Crummock then grins, wanly. "Apart from the initial problems with regard to size (which I was able to overcome), that part of it didn't turn out too badly..."
Crummock nods. "Yes, it does occasionally rain; after all, how could the plants live and grow without semi-regular watering?" He then happily provides her with a tent. "You are more than welcome to harvest what you need from the Garden; the whole point of it being as Bountiful as it is, is to allow visitors to relax, and contemplate, without needing to worry about bodily concerns..." Initially, the leaf leshies are quite hesitant around Anastazia, but after she has been around for a day or so, and obviously means them no harm, they overcome their shyness, and cautiously approach her, eventually engaging in their usual games around her habitat area, performing a mock naval engagement on the pond's edge. Sensing that Anastazia is uncomfortable around him, Beta keeps his distance throughout Anastazia's stay.
Crummock greets Baknarla warmly. "It is good to see you again! You say less than a day has passed? Well, it has been many weeks since I saw you last; time must flow differently here. A lot has changed... more than I had expected. Yes, we were successfully in our quest; Mr Whiskers and Einar just had some errands to run, and wanted to catch up with a few people in the place where this all began for us. I know Einar, at least, certainly plans to come back here, at least for a time..." He then chews his lip thoughtfully. "Speaking of plans for the future, I intend to travel a lot with Greta here," he says, smiling warmly and nodding in Greta's direction. "This means that I won't always be around, if there is trouble. Consequently, I decided to make a stop-gap - Gamma here," he says, clapping Gamma on the back, "is an echo of the Crummock that was, and to an extent, still is. He will be able to provide advice, and some clerical spellcasting support, even when I am not around. That said, I will always respond when Called - you just have to say my name three times, and I will Hear you..." Crummock then grins. "However, that is a topic for the future. For the moment, let's enjoy Viveka's fine cooking, and discuss what still needs to be done, in order to turn Ivoryglass into a place that no dragon will ever be able to take from us, ever again!"
"Well, I was hoping to spend some time exploring this world; we only saw such a small segment of it, the last time we were here, and I am sure that there is plenty for us to discover here. After that, well, the Multiverse is really our oyster; we can go literally anywhere you would like. That said, I would value your input on what you would like to do; if this is to be a true partnership, it should be a mutual decision, reached by consensus..."
"I desire the Miracle of choice - that all those whom I call True Friends may, upon their death, have a second option in the Great Beyond - if they so wish, their spirit may come to this Eden for their eternal rest..." The earth rumbles, there is a crack of thunder, and then the musical tinkling of bells... all of which quickly pass. Thereafter, an aura of calm suffuses Eden. Satisfied with what he has wrought, Crummock then crafts another lesser aspect of himself (this one called Gamma), and after that, goes looking for Anastazia, to take her to Triaxus (along with Greta, of course!).
Once he has finished making his purchases, Crummock returns to the suite where the (extended party) is staying. He nods to Dimitri an Anton. "I can stat transferring you back to my Eden, now. From there, I can send you on to Axis." Crummock then turns to Anastazia. "I know that you do not particularly care for me. From what I recall, when I first met you, you seemed to be incredibly naive, without any real understanding of how the world actually works. I did not then (and still don't) believe in coddling, and, as far as I can recall, believed that you needed to be introduced to certain harsh truths. That said, I probably could have been less blunt about it." He then shrugs apologetically. "However, as it is said, hind-sight is 20/20, especially when you are looking at it from the perspective of a new state of existence. Nevertheless, I apologise. You seem to have up-skilled with remarkable alacrity." Crummock then frowns. "Now, you have a choice. You can either stay here, or join me in my Eden for a time; there are a few things that I need to take care of there, before I move on. When these tasks are completed, I can introduce you to the Adlets of Triaxus. You don't have to decide straight away - it will take me a few hours to transfer the troop across to Axis." He then moves over to Dimitri and Anton. "Come on, let's get you to your new home..." Crummock then starts to ferry the troop across to his Eden. Once they are all assembled there, he will tap a small keg of wine, and share out glasses to all of them, raising a glass of his own. "To those that have fallen - may they rest in peace. They may be gone, but their memories will live with us, forever. May we, too, enjoy our rest; we have certainly earned it." When those who wish to have drained their glasses, he then shephards the troop down the forest corridor to Arthur's lair, where a gate is quickly opened to the park in Axis. As they each pass through, Crummock clasps their hand warmly. "Good luck. Think of this not as a farewell, but as a new beginning..." Once the last of them has passed through, Crummock watches for a moment, until the gate closes. He then sighs. "As one door closes..." Crummock then returns to the Lodge; he has work to do...
Crummock nods to Dimitri. "I can certainly arrange for point-to-point transport, back to that Park we arrived in last time."
Crummock chews his lip thoughtfully, whilst he listens to Einar. "I could introduce her to the Adlets. My new form should not be *too* much of a problem, since I hardly ever wore my old form around them, in any case..." He then smiles. "Of course, before we do that, we should probably go on a final shopping trip, so that we can divvy up the remaining spoils of war..."
Crummock nods. "Aye, that I can arrange." When the time comes, he has Arthur open a portal to the edge of the forest outside Heldren.
Crummock shrugs. "We have fulfilled the Geas, and freed Baba Yaga; in return, she has undone her daughter's nefarious scheme to blanket all of Golarion in an eternal winter, and we extracted a promise that she would never interfere with Golarion again. I have no vested interest in Irrisen; if the government is overthrown, so be it, but there is no guarantee that whatever replaces it would be any better. I have no desire to set up a puppet ruler." He then chews his lip thoughtfully. "Triaxus, on the other hand, certainly seems ripe for conquest, for a bunch of movers and shakers... there is also at least one tribe of Adlets there, that could do with some spiritual guidance..." Crummock then sighs. "Apart from that, I think I will go traveling, and focus on expanding my Eden; it needs more work, if it is to truly become a Domain..." He then smiles sadly. "Once upon a time, I might have wanted to visit some of those we have left behind in our quest, but the threads of fate that tied me to them have long since been severed, and I doubt that they would recognise me now... perhaps that is for the best."
Crummock nods. "Well, in that case, there is no time like the present..." He then casts Planar Ally, Greater to Call an Axiomite, to start the gears rolling on producing the appropriate documentation for the Russians.
Crummock listens carefully. "They may be leaderless, but there are still a *lot* of forces remaining in Irrisen; remember, the promise we extracted was that those who wanted to leave her service could. I would not be surprised if a number of the more powerful remaining witches (such as Elvanna's daughter) decided to stay on... and history teaches us that people who are used to following orders, frequently continue to do so." He pauses thoughtfully. "I grant you, there were rebels, but when we freed the hut, I got the impression that a lot of them sacrificed themselves to enable us to do so, when they created a distraction..." Crummock sighs. "Still, at least there is now a chance for change, whereas there was, realistically, none before..." He then turns to Anton and the other soldiers. "I can Call one of the bureaucrats of Axis, and we can sort-out your paperwork; it shouldn't be too much of a problem to arrange your Green Cards." He then holds up Elvanna's staff. "Mr Whiskers? Were you wanting this, or should we sell it? We likely won't get full market value, but if no one wants it, something is better than nothing."
Crummock frowns. "Actually... the eternal winter of Irrisen isn't ended; that wasn't part of the agreement, and I doubt she would be so generous as to end it, now. We did, however, stop it from being expanded to encompass the entire planet, and extract a promise that she would leave... there is, however, still an entire nation of Winter Witches left behind..."
Crummock shrugs modestly. "I feel that I am on the cusp of unraveling certain essential secrets of the cosmos... in the morning I should be able to do something about getting us out of here, if Mr Whiskers does not do so himself." He then nods to Mr Whiskers. "Would you like the Queen's staff?"
Crummock attempts to pimp-slap the demon.
Dimitri then adjusts his position, and tries to finish the job, by blowing up the demon, and then moving on to blow up Elvanna!
Dimitri curses, and hustles out of the darkness, Air Walking above the statue, and taking a shot at the demon.
Crummock, for his part, tries to dispel the darkness.
Crummock casts Quickened Dispel Magic on Dimitri, hoping to clear the spell affecting him.
He then moves up to the pink elemental, and attempts to pimp-slap it.
Dimitri staggers to his feet, and pops off a shot .
Dimitri tries to blow-up the blue elemental...
Crummock then steps forward, and starts swinging at the yellow demon.
Crummock, noting that Greta's strength is reduced, attempts to fix it.
Crummock nods to the others. "I... picked up a few things from my internecine existence, between the Crummock that was, and the Crummock that is. Allow me to share one of them with you..." He then casts Particulate Form, covering the entire party, before Einar pops open the door.
Crummock chews his lip thoughtfully. "Let's do some recon..." He then casts Summon Totem Spirit for a Small Earth Elemental, and instructs it to scope out the remainder of the underground complex, reporting back any creatures that it detects with tremor sense.
When the cloak is discovered, Crummock nods to Greta. "Do you think you could make use of it?"
Crummock then pulls out some wands, and starts healing the party.
Ah, sorry - I was thinking of the *Drag* maneuver. That is what I would have actually done ;-)
Crummock frowns, then casts Quickened Divine Favor, and drags Dimitri (who doesn't resist), so that he has a better view of the serpent.
Dimitri then opens-up on the strange undead thing.
Crummock nods in satisfaction when the beast goes down. "Right then." He then heads down the south-eastern corridor.
Dimitri attempts to blow the wendigo away.
Crummock hangs back, whilst Dimitri happily starts blowing-up marble cats.
Crummock shrugs at Mierul's glare. "It mattered to me once... but now, not so much. I saw no need to continue with the baggage of a previous iteration, and simply returned them to the Cycle." He then frowns. "That reminds me... I don't know whether you are free to do as you wish, at any stage, but your mother would appreciate it if you visited her in the Chaotic Good afterlife; she feels bad that she was never able to return, and keep you safe..." He staggers slightly when he receives the vision, but otherwise remains stoic. Once there has been a chance to loot the bodies / room, Crummock tosses a gold coin...
...then nods to himself, and heads left.
Remembering what happened last time, Crummock casts Breath of Life on Rasputin....
Dimitri, with great gusto, then promptly tries to kill him again.
Crummock then makes an irritated gesture in Einar's direction. "Einar, rhowch eich ass drosodd yma!" Aklo: "Einar, get your arse over here!"
Don't worry - Einar can expect a serious tongue lashing later on ;-) Hmmm... On the plus side, we *are* in a Dimensionally-locked area, so whatever Shadow Walking-type ability that he used last time may not work this time around...
That's fine - when Rasputin escapes again, Crummock gets to yell at Einar ;-)
Yeah, Einar, if you recall, the last time we killed Rasputin, there was a certain thing you forgot you could do to his corpse (which is why he came back)... and it looks like the same thing has happened again ;-)
Crummock responds by frowning, and rushing Rasputin!
Dimitri then opens fire, hoping to finish Rasputin off.
Yeah - if she takes damage from magical fire, the helm might go nuclear. That thing is dangerous, and should be kept in a sack. The spear, though, she can definitely take :-)
Crummock nods. "This place is indeed ancient..." He then heads inside, after casting Greater Angelic Aspect, and Divine Favor.
Crummock nods companionably. "My colleague speaks the truth; we have no quarrel with you, unless you have a quarrel with us. Please, depart in peace; I have no wish to shed more blood than I need to." He then moves to check the bodies, before heading for the mound.
With a sigh of frustration, Crummock flaps back to Dimitri, and casts Freedom of Movement on the man. Dimitri then tries to finish the croc off.
Dimitri simply opens up on the beast.
Crummock then flaps forward, and attempts to pimp-slap it.
Heeding Dimitri's warning, Crummock immediately casts Divine Favor.
Well, beyond my existing 'all day' buffs (which are now literally 24 hours per day, with some pocket change extending into the next day), I don't really have anything else to add. If anyone wants anything out of my spell list, they are more than welcome to let me know.
Crummock nods. "As Einar said so eloquently, it gave me a different point of view. As to why that was necessary... well... it is a long story, and one that does not matter now, since all of the players (including myself) are dead. I have a new life, now..." In response to Mr Whiskers' comment about the size alteration, he shrugs apologetically. "It was convenient, as it meant that I did not have to acquire multiple sets of equipment, and could continue to use all of my previous life's gear... Believe me, it was not meant as a slight upon those of a smaller-than-human size..."
Crummock raises a placating hand at Anton's words. "Rest assured, it was nothing to do with you; it was simply a matter of my own peculiar hang-ups. Death... provided a different perspective, and in order to retain it, it was necessary to come back in a different form, so that I would not fall back into old patterns of thinking..."
Axis Adventure:
Crummock nods understandingly. "You will have to put all the facts before them, so that they can make an informed choice. They deserve nothing less." When the subject of returning to the Grotto comes up, Crummock shrugs ambivalently. "Once, that would have mattered to me. Now, not so much. I will return to the Grotto with you, and they can see me for what I am. If they really knew me, they should be able to look past the shell, to see the Spirit within. If they can't, well... that is not a problem for me. After all, to some extent, one version of me is gone..." GM Mort: Crummock nods understandingly.
"Of course! Once we have some spare time, with a bit of preparation, I will be able to take you to literally any library in the multiverse that you desire to visit..."
Axis Adventure: Crummock nods thoughtfully. "Assuming that they were of a like mind to you, I don't see why they would not be welcome there. I wish you all the best with it - it is nice to see that you look forward to a future once all this unpleasantness is over..."
GM Mort:
Crummock smiles, pleased to see that Greta is happy with what he has been able to arrange.
"I am just glad that I have been able to help you reach the goal you have been yearning for, for so long." He then clasps her hand with his. "If, after all this is over, you truly wish to stay with me, you are very welcome to do so." Axis Adventure, a reply: Crummock is, unfortunately, a tad uncomfortable on Axis (it being Lawful-aligned, and him being Chaotic), but he can see how happy / at peace it lets Dimitri be, so he bites his tongue, and goes on the tour.
The architecture is, indeed, quite impressive, although he agrees with Dimitri that some of it is too garish for his tastes. He thinks carefully, before responding to Dimitri's question. "I can appreciate the desire for simplicity. In an ideal world, I would prefer a stone foundation and core, with a wooden exterior. That last place you showed me was quite impressive, and well beyond my own humble skills; I am afraid that in my previous existence, the best I was able to manage was lime-sealed stone, with a thatched roof..." Crummock then grins wistfully. "I understand, though, that that is something that will take a long time, and would definitely require the import of substantial building materials. Fortunately, I should be able to establish the contacts required to facilitate the required inter-planar transfers." He pauses briefly, before continuing. "I can see why you like it here."
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