"We go in. But first, we rest. Hoku and Irawaru both took a beating back there. Melora can see us wherever we are, but nobody ever said she rewards the stupid. I'll watch."
Eye-shielding bandana in place, Hasnett gets decisive.
Irawaru laughs, "Takes more than a lizard to do me in!
Elohir begins to move forward on shaky legs.
"Brilliant, dazzling..." he mutters.
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Elohir:
"Which one are you?"
Others:
Hoku prepares for the bright light by squinting.
Pat:
Elohir's eyes turn black as midnight as he smiles despite the pain in his ears. All signs of fatigue seem to slip away as he ponders his response.
"I am the one who sees," replies Elohir, gazing unblinking with his dark orbs at the being upon the throne. "I have traveled far to find this place where the stars are not as they should be. A vision came to me of the caldera and the wheat. I know that there are answers waiting for me here. Who are you, and why did HE send me here?"
"Elo ..."
Hasnett's voice trails off. "Come on then. Let's get after him."
She adjusts her bandana and walks into the light.
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Elohir:
Elohir's eyes turn black as midnight as he smiles despite the pain in his ears. All signs of fatigue seem to slip away as he ponders his response.
"I am the one who sees," replies Elohir, gazing unblinking with his dark orbs at the being upon the throne. "I have traveled far to find this place where the stars are not as they should be. A vision came to me of the caldera and the wheat. I know that there are answers waiting for me here. Who are you, and why did HE send me here?"
The being does not even seem to consider his answer before booming, "He sent you to meet me, naturally -- at my behest. But I can not answer your first question."
Hasnett:
"Which one are you?"
Elohir is nowhere in sight, though there are not any obvious exits other than the entrance from outside.
Outside the cave:
EDIT for Hasnett:
"Right. Can't let them go off by themselves, hey?"
Hoku follows Hasnett, encouraging the others to join.
Pat:
Elohir's voice grows more excited as he continues to speak.
"Why am I here then? I do not understand everything that I see, and half of it I do not wish to understand."
Pat
Hasnett stares and stares, quite unable to stop herself.
"I know who I am, Hasnett Corduba. I don't know who you want me to be, but that's who I am. I belong to Melora."
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Elohir:
The wheat-headed giant pauses a moment, as if listening to something, then booms with a note of . . . satisfaction? . . . "Melora's daughter is here."
Hasnett:
"This may be fun" the shadar-kai barrels into the light
Pat
"Melora's little finger,"
Hasnett can't help correcting the deity, wondering at her own temerity.
"I'm not a daughter yet. I'm working on it. Where are my friends and what do you want with me?"
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Aden:
"Which one are you?"
Hasnett:
"Your friends, yes, you came together with the one who sees. So be it." The light flares, and when Hasnett's vision recovers, she is standing next to Elohir, in front of what she has guessed is a deity.
Elohir:
Hoku, Irawaru:
Irawaru shrugs and heads on in.
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Hoku:
After you pass the threshold of the cave, the light becomes more tolerable -- not dimmer, exactly, but you can see through it better than makes sense. At the back of the shallow cave rests an enormous throne, with an enormous being. The light is emanating from it. It appears to be a male giant, probably 15'-18' tall standing, in fine robes. In place of its/his head, however, is a sheaf of wheat (the size its head should be) emerging from the collar of its robes. As you approach, it speaks in a booming, painfully loud, voice. You do not recognize the language, but you understand the words:
"Which one are you?"
None of the others is in sight, though there are not any obvious exits other than the entrance from outside.
Irawaru:
After you pass the threshold of the cave, the light becomes more tolerable -- not dimmer, exactly, but you can see through it better than makes sense. At the back of the shallow cave rests an enormous throne, with an enormous being. The light is emanating from it. It appears to be a male giant, probably 15'-18' tall standing, in fine robes. In place of its/his head, however, is a sheaf of wheat (the size its head should be) emerging from the collar of its robes. As you approach, it speaks in a booming, painfully loud, voice. You do not recognize the language, but you understand the words:
"Which one are you?"
None of the others is in sight, including the hirelings, though there are not any obvious exits other than the entrance from outside.
Elohir/DM
"I wasn't intending disrespect. I've never met a god before and I didn't want you to mistake me for the wrong person."
Hasnett smiles at the description of Elohir and his reappearance. "You were right."
Pat
PAT
Pat/Hasnett:
Elohir looks intently at Hasnett's reappearance but says nothing. She'll notice that his eyes have turned black once more, and he does not blink at all. He then looks back at the large being on the throne.
"Yes, Melora's daughter. She was in the dream as well, but the others were not. They do not seem to have anything to do with this. What purpose are they meant to serve?"
Pat
"Which am I? Well that's an odd and rude thing to say. You should atleast introduce yourself first" Aden tries to measure up the wheat headed giant.
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Hoku:
"Who am I?" The volume is so great that it is difficult to pick up intonation, but the being seems to be musing. "I do not know. We will see if you can help."
An instant later, after a flash of dizziness, Hoku, Elohir, and Hasnett are all in the room in front of the giant.
Irawaru:
An instant later, after a flash of dizziness, Aden and Irawaru are together in the cave in front of the giant.
Aden:
An instant later, after a flash of dizziness, Aden and Irawaru are together in the cave in front of the giant.
Elohir/Hasnett:
DM/Hoku/Elohir
Pat/Hasnett/Hoku:
"Very well," says Elohir at the appearance of Hoku. "We shall do this together. But I must know, when this is over, will I be free? Will I finally be able to finish this accursed book?" asks Elohir, presenting the leather bound tome before him.
Pat/Hasnett/Elohir
Pat/Irawaru
"Heya", the shadar-kai waves, "Did Wheat-Head zap you here too?"
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Irawaru:
Aden:
Hasnett/Elohir/Hoku:
Pat
"Now I'm the Angry One. More like the Annoyed One. I have no problems in helping, but you could atleast fill me in with how to do that and what or who you are. I mean how can I help a person when they won't even tell me there name."
DM/Elohir/Hoku
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Aden:
Then Irawaru shows a bewildered look briefly before vanishing. You are alone with the giant.
Irawaru:
Hoku/Hasnett/Elohir:
Irawaru appears. Neither Aden nor the hirelings are to be seen.
DM/Elohir/Hoku/Irawaru
"Irawaru? He gets angry in battle and he gets angry when he doesn't have enough gold for booze and girls. Is that what you mean?"
"There is another man. And there are dwarfs and a halfling. Whatever you want with us, they need to be safe and well. They're here under to work, under our protection."
Irawaru growls to Aden, "Show some respect. He's some mighty spirit fella."
Pat
"So you're telling me big fella like you doesn't know his name or purpose? Well I guess I can lend a hand then. Just no more Angry One stuff ok. My name is Aden."
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Aden:
Everyone else:
Aden is now with the rest of the party.
The wheat-headed giant continues speaking as though nothing has happened. "The dwarves and halfling have completed their work. They brought you here. They are no longer needed."
"But will they be safe?"
Hasnett is insistent.
Hasnett bows politely.
"Thank you."
She looks from her companions to the god. "How are we supposed to help you?"
Religion on Mr Wheaty God (1d20+8=21)
Religion on Sehanine's cult (1d20+8=26)
Hasnett gathers her thoughts.
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Hasnett:
Sehanine is the goddess of trickery, among other things. There's no real telling what her involvement might mean.
"Right now, we're employed by Master Xan."
Hasnett's tone is neutral.
"I think if you want more cooperation, we need more information. Forgive me if I say you seem new to this plane. Now, you can probably swat us like flies if you want to, but if you want our help, that may not be constructive, so I'm asking you not to smite until you've heard me out."
She thinks a moment.
"It's not our business to ask why you and Sehanine are at odds, but it is very much our business to know more about what's going on. If we don't know, we'll make matters a lot worse without even trying. Master Xan isn't here unless you got him hidden somewhere, so he can't answer these questions."
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"Very well, Melora's daughter," the giant booms.
"You are correct, I need your help. There is another group on the island that could help me, but might be less . . . sympathetic." The implication that you are not indispensable is clear.
"This plane, as you call it, is my construction. Do you like it? The sizes aren't quite right." The sudden change in tone is a bit disorienting -- he seems to be seeking approval.
Elohir looks unconcerned at the prospect of the missing companions.
"They were not necessary for this mission from the beginning. I am sure they will be fine, and we are better off without their burden."
"Back to more important matters. I do not know much about this Sehanine character you speak of. Probably another one of those exarchs or something, yes? There are so many of them I can never keep them straight. But regardless, how are we supposed to thwart the machinations of a god. My powers will hardly match up to that. I have only what HE is willing to give me."
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"Back to more important matters. I do not know much about this Sehanine character you speak of. Probably another one of those exarchs or something, yes? There are so many of them I can never keep them straight. But regardless, how are we supposed to thwart the machinations of a god. My powers will hardly match up to that. I have only what HE is willing to give me."
"Do not aggrandize yourself, seer. Master Xan and I have other forces in play -- you see only a part of what is happening, as you see only a part of me."
Hasnett suppresses a sigh and offers up a silent prayer to Melora to grant her patience with upstart godlings and heathen warlocks.
"Elohir, I think there's a couple of things you and I need to talk about some time," she mutters quietly.
"Your plane is a marvel," she says honestly. "A large marvel. The scale is unusual. I don't often feel small."
"You say there are others in this place and that you think they'll be less cooperative. Are they a threat to us?"
There's a slight pause and then she goes on.
"Could you be clearer about what you want us to do? When gods and spirits speak, we should heed them, but we mortals have our limitations. One of them is needing things explained to us."
Often slowly and usually twice ... she thinks privately.
She feels that a little flattery as well as an honest explanation of why the party are being so dense won't go amiss.