[ "What do we want?" "Exposition!" "When do we want it?" "Now!" ] [ We find Our Heroes leaving the inn where they stayed the night. It's late morning, almost noon, but they deserved to sleep in after staying up so late to battle necromancers and zombie hordes. The area look so much prettier in the daytime, when there aren't massive swarms of undead shambling about. ] [ They're setting out to go... uh... somewhere! But they'll prolly get sidetracked anyway. Such is the life of an adventurer. ] [ Session start! ] * HKenji mounts up and sets off without waiting to see if anybody else is ready. Of course they're ready, because he's ready. [ Kenji is funny. ] * Alcinoe is ready, thanks. She's mounted, too, and actually checks the others before she starts riding off. * Tia is galloping off after Kenji. * Seylin is ready, too. She has no horse. She needs no horse. She's flying! * Ariake is riding a little ways back in the group. * Patrick don't need a horse either. He's got boots of ruuuuuuuuuuuuuning realfast. He's easily keeping pace with the rest of the group. Nope, I don't! * Will is mounted on his horse thanks to Alci's help, and is riding beside her. The weather -is- nice today, isn't it? I wonder if there're any butterflies out... * Istvan gets up onto his horse, and quickly catches up to the group. Tia? Are you talking to the axe again? * Tia looks up and grins at the flying Seylin. "Yup!" Okay. Just checking. * Seylin looks a bit worried. * Ariake grins. * Tia seems carefree, having seemingly easily forgotten both the trouble with the necromancer and Kenji's upcoming wedding. * HKenji has most certainly not forgotten about his wedding. In fact... he pulls back a little and drops in beside Patrick. * Patrick smirks at Tia and keeps on moving. Interesting things are going to happen, because interesting things always happen to adventurers. * Tia keeps on going, though she frowns a little all of a sudden. "Oh, why not? How can you not like butterflies?" * Istvan mutters as he rides, rubbing the twin holes in a chest plate of his armor. "S'a good thing I had some leftover scales... ain't good to be walking around with holey armor." * HKenji motions for Patrick to come ahead a bit with him. * Seylin narrows her eyes. * Tia glances at Istvan. "Heya, Isty!" She falls in beside his horse. "Are you okay, you think?" * Patrick shrugs and goes ahead with Kenji. He gives a quick smile to Seylin as he runs off. * Seylin half-smiles back. * Alcinoe has been quiet, and continues the trend, but she doesn't seem quite so angry now. Being stabbed through the chest is one of the big downsides to this adventuring business. *looks over at Tia* Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to Will. Hurt like hell at the time, though. [ You've reached the entrance to the tunnel taking you back to the Brighthome canyon. And for the record, the horses have to be REALLY brave to keep from bolting with Tia running around. ^_~ ] * Tia nods sympathetically and solemnly. "Yeah, looked really painful. I'm glad you're okay now, though." (We cast Emotion: Hope on them.) * Seylin lands so she can walk through the tunnel. "Me too." * HKenji has no trouble whatsoever handling his horse, luckily. * Tia continues into the tunnel. * Ariake is looking at the scenery, seeming quite unconcerned with much of anything. * Will glances toward Alci every now and then to check up on her, but doesn't know what to say. Thanks. * HKenji speaks softly, pitching his voice so that only Patrick can hear without obviously eavesdropping. * Seylin doesn't try to eavesdrop, but she's definitely curious. Kenji is trying to take over her role! * Patrick shrugs, smirks, and comments back in a similar tone. Gee, think he's had practice? :P Need help fixing your armor, Isty? I can help you when we get back! ... s'times when I really wish I was a bit quicker... the whole 'soak up hits and keep on fighting thing' may suit my skills, but it really fucking hurts, y'know? * Tia nods in understanding. Nah, shouldn't be too hard. Just gotta fill in the holes. Appreciate the offer, though. * Tia nods again. "Okay! Let me know if you change your mind! I always like helping." * Tia grins. Gotcha. [ Up ahead in the tunnel, someone is standing in the middle of the road! ] * Tia perks up. "Look! A person!" Hiya! * Seylin blinks. "Who's that?" * Ariake slows down her horse. * Tia waves, as usual. * Alcinoe peers and slows to a walk. * Istvan eyes the person a bit warliy, and slows down with the rest of the group. [ Since the tunnels are well-lit with the help of continual flames, you can even recognize the slim, short frame of Kardos. ] Hiya, Kardos! * Seylin waves. "Hello, Kardos!" * Tia runs right up to Kardos and crushes him in a massive bearhug. * HKenji seems to be concentrating on his conversation with Patrick. * Ariake waves. "Hi!" * Istvan relaxes when he sees that it's Kardos, and winces as Tia glomps him. [ Kardos urks and turns red, then blue. ] Yikes. Tia, you might wanna let him go. Oh, right! Right away! * Tia puts Kardos down gently and instead runs circles around him, giggling. * Will had a bit trouble slowing down his horse. He waves hi after his horse finally stopped. Sorry, Kard! [ Kardos wobbles. "It is allright, Tia. And, hello, all of you." ] * HKenji looks up from his conversation. "Ah. ...Kardos, was it?" * Patrick skids to a halt, kicking up some dirt from his shoes. "Hey, Kardos! Whazzup, man?" * Alcinoe smiles upon seeing him. "Howdy, Kardos." [ Kardos fidgets. "Er. Alcinoe, I am ready to take you to the home of the Loremaster. The way there is near." ] ...Huh? Loremaster? What's that? Oh. * Ariake raises an eyebrow. * Seylin looks at Alcinoe. Yeah? That's handy. The Loremaster? Who's that Alci? Who is this sage? * Alcinoe looks to the others. "Ah checked about gettin' that rock we found in the horde identified. The headmistress couldn't even do it, but she pointed out a wizard, Ah think, who probably could." Oh, okay. * Seylin nods. Ah, I understand. It absorbs all the spells that've been thrown at it, Ah know that much. An'... well, there's somethin' weird about it. * Ariake nods. Hey' that's pretty cool. What's weird about it? It's been givin' me some dreams, Ah think. Dreams? Like what, Alci? * Seylin blinks. "Wait, dreams? What kind of dreams?" * Ariake blinks. "This could be awfully powerful..." Jus'... about y'all. Fightin' underground, meetin' with a half-dragon woman. Ooh, ooh! Like me? * Alcinoe nods at Tia. "Yeah, like you." Fighting what? Wow! I want to meet her too! * Alcinoe blinks. "No, no." Wait, wait. Half-dragon or Dracotaur? ...No? Ah mean, Ah saw ya, but- half-dragon. A blue one. Ah think she was a cleric. Oh no. She's... She was evil, and that is enough. Oh, *her*. I still gotta kick her ass. Huh? Who? We still owe her a debt of vengeance. * Tia scratches her head. * Seylin looks at Alcinoe. "Maybe... you're dreaming the past. Our past. The stuff that happened before you joined us." That's what Ah figured. Here's the interestin' part, though. * Tia continues listening to Alcinoe. ... the lady that kicked the shit outta us. Oh...THAT lady? After the... fight, she flies up ta some cave an' enters. Goes fer a while, but she gets stopped in the light that enters from the roof. [ Kardos stands there, listening. He seems interested. ] * Will blinks, "Actually now that you've mentioned it, I've dreamt about that cave part too!" An' the stone's there, floatin', an' it tells her she can't enter, 'cause she ain't walkin' in the light. Then it looked at me, an' Ah woke up. * Alcinoe blinks at Will. "Ya did?" * Ariake blinks. Both of you now? * Will nods. "Yeah. And then she just shrugged and turned back right?" Portentious dreams. You must discover what they mean. * Patrick whispers to Seylin. Yes, it has to happen. * Ariake nods. "I think we'd best meet the Loremaster." * Seylin whispers back. She seems a bit agitated. Yeah. Huh. * Tia nods. Any idea what this means Alci? Except that the stone probably ain't evil, Ah got no clue. If it denies a known evil, that is a strong indicator that it is not itself evil. Gee. Mysterious stones, vague dreams, an even vaguer prophecy... this officially blows. * Seylin looks down at the ground for a second, then whispers something else. You said it denied her because she walked not in the light. Yup. * Will nods. Do you not walk in the light, such as it were, Will? And I, also? * Patrick puts his hand on Sey's shoulder and smiles, whispering back. [ Kardos continues to stand there, patiently waiting. ] * Tia skips in circles around Kardos. * Istvan mutters. "Shoulda been a musician. Musicians never get prophecies." * Alcinoe watches them talk, then looks to Kardos. "Why don'tcha take us there, then. An' do ya need a lift?" * Seylin smiles at Patrick and gives him a quick hug. I'm a musician! * Patrick quickly gives Seylin a hug back. * Istvan blinks at Tia. "You are?" * Seylin laughs and nods to Patrick. * Patrick grins back to Seylin and winks, turning back to the rest of them. * Tia grins and nods. "Yeah! I hit things in rhythm. You can ask Pat and Sey. We did it over the summer." * Ariake grins. [ Kardos shakes his head. "I can keep up with horses. But thank you." He walks over to the western wall of the tunnel and feels along it. At one point his hand sinks through, the rock seeming to yield, until it gives way entirely, forming a large open archway leading to another tunnel. ] * Seylin giggles. "Yeah, we started a band! Kinda." And then she blinks. ... that's some nice stonework. *whistles* * Ariake blinks. "...very, *very* impressive!" * Alcinoe raises an eyebrow. "Huh." Hey, neat! * Patrick whistles. "Interesting use of a persistant stoneshape spell." * Tia blinks. "Wow, how'd you do that, Kard?" [ Kardos shrugs. "The Loremaster knows much of magic." He grimaces. "And tends to use it carelessly." ] Wow. That's pretty awesome. Can I do that too? I want to put my hand through rock! [ He walks into the tunnel! ] * Tia hurries in after him. * Ariake follows on her horse, slowly. * Istvan follows * Seylin walks into the tunnel. * Alcinoe heads after. * Will follows the rest of the party in. * Patrick follows along. * Tia hums Ganache's tune. * HKenji follows a bit behind the group, deep in thought. [ After you all go through, the rock wall closes up behind you. How it knows to do this is anyone's guess. Kardos leads on, up a slight incline, and ahead you can see sunlight! ] Look! Light! * Tia skips along faster. * Seylin nods. "Sure is." * Patrick walks along confidently. "So, what's the name of this Loremaster?" [ Kardos leads you to the end of the tunnel, and then stops there. The mouth of the tunnel is wide, and you can see through it a small canyon with gently slopes sides suggestive of a blast crater. In the center of the hole is a large, glimmering tower. ] Ooh... * Tia stops as Kardos stops and gazes in. "Wow! What's that?" A tower? * Alcinoe shrugs. "Ah dunno, Patrick." She peers. "Nice place, though." [ Kardos sighs. "I must leave you here." ] * Ariake is starry-eyed. *Perfect* base. * Tia blinks at Kardos. "You're not coming?" [ Yes, Patrick, a tower. Wizards live in towers. ] * Alcinoe looks at Kardos for a moment, then nods. "All right. Thanks." (Well, yes. I was stating that for the benefit of Tia who was asking 'what's that'. :P) ( Oh. ;P ) * Will stares at the tower in curiosity. It's so shiny! So, a wizard's tower. You guys might as well make yoruselve's known. ~_^ * Seylin waves to Kardos. "Take care of yourself!" * Tia nods eagerly and cups her hands at the sides of her mouth. "Heelloooooooooooo?" See ya Kardos! * Ariake waves. "Thanks, Kardos!" [ "The Rock wall will yield if you press your hand into it, grab a handful, and rotate it a quarter-turn." He bows, and walks off somewhat hurriedly. ] [ Meanwhile, it's an easy walk down the slope to the tower. Easy enough that your horses can take it, even. ] * Will waves goodbye. "Thanks for your help Kardos." ... one of my uncles used to joke that, at least for male wizards, living in towers was some kinda phallic thing, to make up for their insecurities about their physical skills. Okay, bye, Kardos! See ya when we get back! ...What's 'phallic'? * Alcinoe waves bye to Kardos, then heads forward. * Patrick laughs. "Be glad my mom didn't hear that." We'll tell you when you're older, Tia. Good luck explainin' that one, Istvan. Never really bought that argument... but I can see why one would make it. Oh, okay. * Seylin looks slightly puzzled, but continues on. I'm not sure why you couldn't explain it now. I would be most interested, myself. * Tia nods and wags her tail. "Explain now!" * Patrick doesn't give Istvan any sympathy. "Don't look at me. You brought *this* one down on yourself." He grins. * Alcinoe coughs. It might be to cover up a laugh. Oh wait, it is. * Istvan shrugs. "General stereotype of male wizards is smart guys that're physically weak. Tower's shaped like a penis, makes them feel more manly." Only Ah think this wizard's female, Istvan. I see. * Seylin blinks, then blushes slightly. s'why I specified male wizards. And it isn't my theory... one of my uncles. Tower's shaped like a what? That... doesn't make much sense. * Tia blinks uncomprehendingly. * Patrick grins. "You'll understand when you're older, Tia." Er, don't think about it too much Kenji, Tia. It wasn't meant to make sense. [ For the record, the 'tower' is quite tall, and seems to be made all of one rock; the plainly evident layers make it look as though it was grown from the ground up rather than built. It has numerous open balconies with trees and flowers visible on those you can see from your vantage. ] Um, okay! * Tia wags her tail again and continues on. * Istvan eyes Tia confusedly, then eyes Kenji, then Tia. Then nods in comprehension, and keeps walking. * Seylin just keeps going, shaking her head slightly. * HKenji eyes Istvan right back. Shiny! * Tia shouts up toward the tower again, "Hellooooooooo? Mr. Wizard?" * Ariake just shakes her head, looking at the tower. Miss Wizard, maybe. Remember? [ The tower doesn't seem to hear. It must be deaf. ] Look for an entrance. * Tia nods. "Oh, right!" * HKenji proceeds out towards the edge of the crater. [ There is a big set of double-doors at the spot where a path - the very one you're on - intersects the tower. ] * Tia skips off toward the tower, her tail wagging energetically. Doors! * Seylin heads for the doors. "Tia, wait up!" * Ariake follows! [ And the edge of the crater is quite a ways up. You're closer to the bottom. Which is where the tower is, so it's okay! ] * Tia skids to a halt and waits for Seylin. * Seylin catches up to Tia and then waits for the others. * Alcinoe trots up. * Istvan follows the others, walking casually for the moment as he surveys the stonework of the tower. * Will rides on over. * Patrick runs after, catching up to Tia next. [ The tower beckons! Except not literally. It must be immobile, too. ] What do you think, Mr. Axe? * Tia grins to herself. "Yeah! It's pretty!" It is an excellent tower. * HKenji frowns in thought. * HKenji begins circling the tower, looking for an entrance. * Alcinoe gets off her horse at the doors and looks for a calling mechanism. If there isn't one, she knocks. * Tia reaches for the door. * Tia raps on the door with a large fist. "Hellooooo?" [ Kenji finds the huge double doors where the path he took to get here intersects the tower. They're big, and they're obviously doors. There's a welcome mat out front, although after the 'WELCOME!' it has a large block of what appear to be legalistic warnings and disavowals of responsibility for possible events. ] * HKenji smiles a little at the sheer obviousness and knocks loudly on the doors. * Ariake reads all the warnings! * Seylin looks down at the mat and reads. Um. Right. Thorough! I like this place already. * Patrick reads it too. "You would." ... this bodes crappily. * Seylin nods. "Yep." * Tia notices all the people reading and bends down to read it herself. After puzzling through some of the words, she says, "Um, what's, uh, li-a-bi-li-ty?" * Will tried reading the warnings, but it was a bit too confusing for him. [ Those that read are informed that The Loremaster is not responsible for those that get lost within the tower of The Loremaster, nor for any mishaps - dismemberment, devourings, messy explosions, inexplicable shifts in gender - that may happen within. ] "Liability" means that someone could get in trouble if something they did hurt someone else, Tia. * Alcinoe knocked? Oh! * Tia thinks about this for a moment. * Tia knocked too, by the way. ;) Perhaps the loremaster is not home. [ The door is answered by a young human girl, maybe twelve years of age, with very long, unruly red hair and big green eyes. She looks curiosly over Our Heros, then grins and babbles in a language only one of you knows. ] Maybe? * Alcinoe smiles, then blinks at the language shift. She looks to Kenji. * Seylin waves back at the girl. "Ahh, hello?" * Ariake waves in greeting. * Patrick grins and waves to the girl. * HKenji babbles back to the girl and bows slightly. * Will blinks. "Er..Hello to you too!" * Tia looks puzzled, but she smiles at the girl. Do you think she's the Loremaster? Could be. She is the Loremaster's... ward, I expect. Or something of the sort. Hi, little girl! Does this tower make you feel manly? * Alcinoe giggles. The girl smiles widely and babbles back at Kenji. * HKenji bows slightly once more and babbles incoherently. * Patrick stifles a chuckle. * Seylin tries to concentrate on the conversation, not that she can understand any of it. * Istvan pats Tia on the shoulder. "That only applies to guys living in towers, Tia." * Tia blinks at Istvan, then grins. "...Oh. Okay." [ The girl smiles at Kenji, and the door opens wide enough for all of you to come in. She walks off into the tower, calling something back to you all. ] * Ariake enters! * Patrick walks in. * HKenji follows the girl in. * Seylin glances around and walks in. * Alcinoe walks after. * Will follows. "What did she say, Kenji?" * Tia trots along after. * Patrick ca- err, looks around. Yeah, what'd she say? 'bout now is when I wish I picked up that headand of comprehend languages... * Seylin nods. "Sure would come in handy." * Istvan shrugs, and follows. "Open doors mean the same in every language." She said we'd be escorted to a waiting room, where we shall await the Loremaster's pleasure. Oh, okay. I expect we shall wait for at least a day. Did she say anything about the tower? * Ariake nods. No, I don't believe she understood your question. * Will nods, "Okay. Thanks for the translation." [ The door closes behind you. The little girl walks along, and you all follow obediently, 'cause that seems to be what heros do. The entire place seems to be of an open construction lacking in hallways, with rooms leading one into the other without apparent rhyme or reason - at one point you pass a balcony that seems to be high up, although you never go up any stairs. ] * Tia looks a little disappointed, but she shrugs and resumes grinning. "Oh, well." * Ariake looks around as they walk. "Very nice place." * Seylin looks at her surroundings. "Kinda confusing, though." No kiddin'. ... we shoulda brought breadcrumbs. Geez. * Tia hums as she follows along. * Tia grins at Istvan. "Breadcrumbs? Are you hungry, Isty?" [ Every room has comfortable furnature, even the one you walk through with a big steaming spring in it. Every room also has at least one shelf of books, no two shelves alike. ] Naw. He's talkin' about leavin' a trail. Oh. Why do we need a trail? If ya wanna leave. [ One shelf is clearly shaped like a holy symbol of Kali. ] So we don't get lost. * Will looks around at all the furniture. "Wow. Every room is differant here." * Ariake observes the books as she goes by. *_* Oh. Are we lost? Probably. * Patrick shrugs and smiles. * Tia giggles. "This is fun!" Are we playing a game? It feels like a game. [ Eventually you are lead to another balcony room; this one a round room lined with bookshelves stacked with reference tomes in some language or other. The little girl has a seat on a well-padded chair like several others in the room, and puts her feet up on the table in front of her. She babbles at Kenji. ] It could be. We are to wait here. * HKenji kneels in an unused spot. * Ariake nods. "Thanks!" * Alcinoe nods, looking around. She doesn't touch anything. "All right." * Tia settles on her haunches by the cluster of chairs and looks around with wide eyes. * Seylin looks around, also not touching. "Okay!" * Istvan grabs a chair and sits, shifting a bit to get comfortable in his rather bulky armor. * Patrick glances around and shrugs. "Sure." [ The room smells of old books. You all prolly like or dislike that to varying degrees. ] * Will was about to sit in a chair, but notices everybody else is standing. He stays standing instead. * Tia gazes out past the balcony. * Ariake simply cannot resist the books. She peers at the shelves, selects a book reverently, and sits down to read. * Alcinoe wrinkles her nose a little, but finds a place to sit. * Seylin peers curiously at some of the books, but eventually goes and sits down. * Tia is flipping through one of the books. "Hey, no pictures..." * Patrick sighs and takes a seat next to Seylin. He peers around the room cautiously, and makes sure not to put his forearms on the arm rests. * Istvan finally manages a semi-comfortable position, and flumps into the chair. * Will takes a seat next to Alcinoe. "So many books here..." * Ariake is reading relaxedly, and appears not to have been devoured by an extradimensional carnivorous recliner. Yeah. Ah was never that good at readin'. Reading is important. * Tia grins at Alcinoe. "That's okay. Me neither!" She resumes concentrating on reading the page she's on. [ Tia's book is about the art of Conjuration. It uses a lot of really big words she can't quite grasp. ] * Will nods at Kenji's comment. "Yeah. But you guys are much better at it than I am." * Alcinoe eyes Kenji. "Yeah, Ah know readin's important, but like Ah said, Ah was never that good at it." It is necessary to practice often. * Seylin glances around the room again. The books seem to be tempting her. Serve with a book in one hand and a sword in the other. When you are not serving as a warrior, serve as a scholar. * Tia frowns in concentration as she mouths the words silently to her self. And thank ya for that bit a' wisdom. * Istvan is zoned out and comfy. Yay. [ The little girl frowns and says something to Kenji. ] ...What does "invocation" mean? * HKenji smiles slightly and says something back to the girl. Oh, thanks, Mr. Axe! [ The little girl grins and says something else. ] * Tia grins, then closes that book and puts it back. She selects another and plops down to read that one. * HKenji frowns a little and says something back. * Istvan starts snoring softly. * Seylin gets up and walks over to the shelves, examining the titles more closely. * Ariake is lost in the book. [ The little girl smirks and says something else, nodding at Tia at one point. ] * Tia doesn't seem to notice, as she's lost in her reading. * Patrick stays sitting. * HKenji frowns deeply and replies with something sounding a bit short. * Tia tugs on Istvan's sleeve, evidently not knowing that he was asleep. "Look, Isty! This one has pictures of dragons in it!" * Alcinoe folds her hands and waits. [ The girl frowns and says something, then grins slyly and says something else. ] * Seylin hmms softly and glances back at Ariake and Tia. Then she looks at the girl and Kenji, and finally sits back down with no book. * Istvan bolts upright out of his chair, an impressive feat since he's wearing full plate armor. "Huhwhahuh?" * Seylin giggles. * Tia shows Istvan the page with the illustrations. "Look!" * Tia wags her tail and grins. * Istvan blinks, then looks at Tia, then the book. "... yup, those're dragons." *shakes head* * Will glances around the room, trying to find something to pass the time. * HKenji smiles slyly right back and says something long and involved. * Tia looks thoughtful. "I wonder what Kenji and the little girl are talking about." * Patrick chuckles. Ah'm sure he'll tell us when he's done. Dunno. *flumps back down* * Tia goes back to flipping through the tome, all the while singing softly to herself. * Istvan idly pokes a finger through the holes in the chest plate of his armor. [ The little girl makes as if to be taken a back, says some things, then beams brightly at Kenji, placing her index fingers in her dimples as she does so, and saying something else. ] * Patrick raises an eyebrow. * HKenji grins a patented Patrick grin at the girl as he replies. * Istvan dozes off again, returning to his soft snoring. * Tia wags her tail as she thumbs through more pages. [ The little girl looks exaggeratedly around the room, responding to Kenji. ] * Will is starting to doze off too. z.Z * Seylin leans back in her chair and stifles a yawn. * Ariake readreadreads! * HKenji smiles indulgently as he replies. * Alcinoe doesn't look too bored. But perhaps we should speak in the common tongue of this land, so that my companions may dialogue with us. Zzzz. [ "Oh, but that wouldn't be any fun!," says the little girl. ] * Tia suddenly looks up as the little girl speaks. "Oh, you speak Common!" * Seylin looks over at her. "Oh! Excuse me, but may I look at some of the books? Please?" * Ariake looks up, and grins. Aww, if it ruins yer fun, then go ahead an' talk in the other one. Jus' don't expect any a' us ta participate or know what's goin' on. Guess that'd be the point. Now... as to my previous question, DO you have any of those books? Or at least a means to translate existing copies? [ "Do I? Is that what this is? My goodness! I speak Common! How did I learn to do that?" She pretends to be surprised. ] * Patrick grins. "Imagine that." * Alcinoe sighs. She doesn't seem to think it's funny. [ "And yes, actually, I do. I'll hand 'em out later, along with some other things that I think will be more up your friend's alley." ] *snore* Somebody wake Istvan, please? * Ariake prods Istvan. "Mr. Istvan, are you free?" [ "And yes, Seylin, you can look at the books. Ariake and Tia can, too, now that I think about it. And I'll handle Istvan." ] * Tia wags her tail. "Hi, little girl! My name's Tia!" * Ariake smiles at the girl. "Thanks!" * Seylin blinks. "How did you know my name? Did Kenji tell you?" * Will is woken up by all the commotion in the room. "What's going on?" [ A large stone birdbath falls from nowhere and strikes Istvan on the head. ] * Seylin winces. "That... might hurt." * Patrick winces too, for once. * Alcinoe winces, too. ... ow. * Tia jumps. "Isty! Are you okay?" * Will sees Istvan being hit. "Oh, just dreaming. I'm still sleeping then." [ The birdbath cracks right up the middle, then rolls off Istvan's head, the halves disappearing. ] Wow, that had to hurt... ... I repeat. Ow. * Will gets back to sleeping. * Alcinoe nudges Will back awake. ... who just whacked me over the head? * Will sits back up. "Whawha huh?" The Loremaster did. You wouldn't believe us if we told you. Or that. Kinda. "That would be the birdbath. But you won that competition, so don't worry!" It is impolite to sleep while waiting someone's pleasure. "I'm sure that birdbath will never underestimate your might again." So I didn't dream that a large stone birdbath fell on Isty's head? It was real? It was real. * Istvan rubs his head, and eyes Kenji. "Didn't sleep well last night. Getting skewered does that to me." "Maybe. Is anything really real? Really?" Well, it was real enough to Istvan, it seems. * Patrick shrugs. * Tia scratches her head and tries to figure that one out. * Will pinches himself to make sure he's awake. * Istvan then looks over at the little girl. "I'd be upset, but that would just get more heavy things dropped on my skull, so I'll settle for this." *gives the girl... THE RASPBERRY!* Oh, my. This ought ta get interestin'. Uh oh. * Alcinoe ruffles Will's hair. "Yer awake. Really." [ The girl is shocked! "Wh-wh-- an insult to my very honor! Why, you leave me no choice, but to do THIS:" And she gives Istvan THE RASPBERRY! ] * Seylin giggles. * Will rubs at where he just pinched himself. "Ok. But what in the world is going on?" Our companies appear to be wagging their tongues at each other. Is this some bizarre gaijin courting ritual? Is it really appropriate to be performing it with a small child? That's not quite it, Kenji. * Istvan grins, then looks over at Kenji and gives him... THE RASPBERRY! * Seylin laughs. Sorry, Kenji, but ya seem ta have gotten another fiancee now. * Alcinoe says that with a straight face. Somehow. * Tia can't seem to stop giggling. * Seylin laughs even harder. * Patrick laughs. [ The little girl cracks up. "Yes! Yes, that's it!" She darts over to Istvan and glomps his arm. "Oh, Isty! I didn't know you were so passionate!" ] * HKenji looks taken aback. I am afraid I simply cannot marry you, Istvan. * Tia jumps and looks at the girl with confusion. "Huh?" * Seylin keeps on laughing. * Ariake snickers. * Patrick keeps laughing too. I don't get it. It's okay, Tia. We're all just being silly. Well, most of us, anyway. Oh, okay! I'm good at being silly. * Tia resumes giggling. * Istvan patpats the girl with his free arm. "You're the only one I give the raspberry to, and mean it." * Istvan pulls down his eyelid at Kenji. * Tia keeps on giggling. What else... oh yeah! *bites his thumb at Kenji* [ The girl blushes. "Oh, stop, you flirt! I'm sure you say that to *all* the young girls." ] * Tia looks from Istvan to Kenji, then back to Istvan, then imitates his gesture. [ She then gets up and hops lightly onto the table in the middle of the room. She clears her throat meaningfully, and says "Now, I'm sure you all have questions. Yes?" ] * Patrick grins. * Alcinoe nods. * Ariake nods. So you admit that you are the Loremaster? Yes. Not especially. I'll let the others handle the quesitons. * Will nods. "Yes." * Patrick smirks. "Sure." [ "Oh, you have questions too, Istvan. You just won't admit it. Now, Kenji asked his first so; Yes, I admit I am The Loremaster, although I've never liked the title." ] * Tia blinks. "You're the Loremaster?" Um, what title do you like? Everybody stop. * Alcinoe shrugs. She hasn't even started. * Seylin blinks at Kenji. * Ariake either. *shrug* * Tia falls silent and looks at Kenji in puzzlement. * HKenji grins deviously at the Oracle. "I've already asked my question. So I can't confirm that you are the Oracle of Earth. But you MIGHT be, and that is reason enough to proceed with caution." * Patrick raises an eyebrow. * Will waits for Kenji to explain more. * Seylin looks puzzled and starts to ask something, then thinks better of it. If you ARE the Oracle, any mortal may ask you a single question, and get an absolutely truthful response. [ The little girl grins at Kenji. ] [ "And what makes you think I *am* the Oracle of Earth?" ] First, you made reference to me asking my question. Second, your tower looks as if it were raised whole from the ground, without any construction, which would point to you being the oracle of earth, if you are indeed an oracle. Now. Alcinoe, proceeding under the assumption that you have but a single question, ask. We will proceed from there. "Ah, but the first I could have said simply because I know you DO have questions, and the later can be accomplished with the judicious use of Stone Shape spells." "...or rather, the over-abundant use." * Ariake grins. Nevertheless, the Tao of Shinsei states that it is better to be safe than dead. [ "But, yes. Alcinoe's question is actually the most important right now, so she should go ahead and get it out of the way. Then we can debate over weather the tower makes me feel manly." ] * Alcinoe gets to her feet. "Ah guess it'll be more than one question, but we'll see." She opens her pack and carefully pulls the stone from it, holding it so that the loremaster can easily see the thing. * Tia hears this and claps. * Seylin giggles. * Istvan raises an eyebrow. [ The little girl grins and her eyes go wide. "Ah! I haven't seen this in a long time." ] * Alcinoe opens her mouth, then blinks and closes it, and tries again. "Oh, so ya know what this is. Great. Ah'd like ta know what it is, what it does, an' what its purpose is. A red dragon figured 'e could take on the whole academy, an' Ah think this is the reason why... It's been makin' dreams, an' not even the headmistress could identify it. She said maybe ya could tell us." "Oh, I could certainly tell you." "Buuuuut I'm not going to." * Tia blinks. "Why not?" * Alcinoe sighs. "Guess that'd be too easy." "That would be my usual response for anything involving this, anyway." "But I like your spirit! So I'll tell you, just this once." * Tia cheers. * Alcinoe smiles. "Thanks." * Ariake grins. All right! [ The little girl takes the piece of rock and spins it, until it looks like a complete dias of stone. ] * Alcinoe blinks. * Tia watches in fascination. * Tia tugs on Istvan's sleeve again. "What's she doing?" ... I dunno. * Patrick watches. [ She then stops the spinning, and it still looks complete-- she holds it up so you can all see. "This is the Dias of the Sun, a magical artifact crafted by the most brilliant wizard to ever live, enhanced by the highest cleric - at the time - of each of the Bright Pantheon's gods, and specially blessed by the hand of Bahamut himself. It's a neat little trinket to have, sometimes." ] Interesting. * Seylin 's eyes widen. "Wow..." Quite. * Ariake almost gapes. Blessed by Bahamut!? Wow. ... okay, color me impressed. Some artifact there. [ "It was intended to keep at bay the Hordes of the Underworld, for every now and then they decide they want to wipe out and/or enslave the surface races. It worked real good for a while, too." ] Huh. That sounds powerful. Um, does that mean it doesn't work anymore? * Alcinoe stares, then nods. * Seylin looks like she wants to ask something again, but still keeps quiet. Still's gotta do somethin'. * Will stares at the dias in awe. [ "Not really, no. It was broken by an unknown force at the beginning of a great invasion of drow that was aided by a over a hundered chromatic dragons." ] * Seylin gapes now. "W-what?" * Ariake blinks. That'd do it, yeah. * Patrick whistles. Ow. [ "Quite a mess, that was. The pieces were taken by one of the dragons and kept seperate. The races in the canyon were scattered to the Underworld, but eventually re-emerged here, in Brighthome." ] * Tia scratches her head again. "So there's more of these?" [ "Each piece will have a part of the dias' power; this one will selectively negate all magic. And yes, Tia, there are three more pieces just like this." ] Selectively how? [ "Well, let's say you only wanted to block magic from clerics of certain gods, or of, I dunno, 'Everyone but me'." ] * Alcinoe nods. * Ariake raises an eyebrow. [ "The Dias was created to deny the magics of the dark gods. It didn't do a complete job, but it prevented everything above first or second circle spells." ] Huh. Interestin'. * Will nods. "Amazing artifact." Yup. [ "Which meant you couldn't have, say, a half-dragon cleric come in and cast Blashphemy in the middle of a bunch of people." ] * Ariake nods. ... yeah, that'd be nice. * Patrick snerks. Makin' it that obvious on us now. [ "The completed artifact was capable of other things, including extending the duration of sunlight in the day - that part was Bahamut's blessing, in fact." ] [ "Mind, there's only one snag." ] Y'all didn't have it when that happened, so. Snag? Listenin'. * Will blinks. "Huh?" There is always a catch. [ The dias in her hands grows an ornate vein, like the point of a sundial. "One of the pieces has the control mechanism for the whole. The pieces are almost impossible to use without that." ] * Alcinoe nods. Ah... Where do we find that one? And it's not this one. [ "They *can* be used, but the magic required would be well beyond your current abilities - sorry, Ariake. The only decent person I know who could use this, other than myself, is your girl Beatrice." ] [ "And Tia asks an excellent question; you need to know where the other pieces of this are." ] * Tia wags her tail at the praise. We need ta know 'cause ya think we should put this back together, then. [ "Oh, I *know* you should put this back together. You're about due for a major invasion, and while Brighthome's wall are stout, they're not enough." ] What?! * Alcinoe frowns. "Ah see." ...Invasion? Oh, no... * Tia paws the floor anxiously. * HKenji blinks, then smiles deviously. * Patrick smirks. "An invasion, eh?" And where, O Oracle, are the lands belonging to the woman I am about to marry? Well, we'll do it, then! [ "Oh, don't get me wrong. It won't happen for years, but someone is already trying to put one together. You've met her, in fact. I don't think you got along very well, either." ] The half-dragon cleric, Ah'm guessin'. * Seylin nods. [ She nods. "I'm sorry, Kenji, what was that?" ] * Will sighs. "Her again? Seems like she's been the source of all our troubles." Invasion. Wonderful. [ "Oh, she's not the source. Her god is. A god that I don't yet know, which should tell you something about how well they're hidden - and it is NOT easy for a god to hide." ] The woman I am engaged to marry. She is obviously from a wealthy and noble family, else I would not be engaged to her. Where are her family's lands? [ "You were just there, Kenji. You stayed the night in an inn on her land last night." ] But... what about the necromancer? [ "And, in fact, there is an entrance to the Underworld there. Lightly fortified, as nothing but goblins have been encountered on the other side, mind." ] * HKenji blinks. "I see. The matter had slipped my mind." [ "What about him?" ] What happened to him? Where'd he go? Yeah! I wanted to finish hitting him! Alci, too! * Alcinoe chuckles and runs a hand through her hair. She looks just a little embarrassed. * Will nods fiercely in agreement. * Ariake nods. * Patrick cracks his knuckles and smiles. [ "Ah! He went back home, to his subterannean fortress. You'll have to bother him some other time, too; he deserves to be put down." ] * Seylin nods. "We need to take care of that." * Alcinoe nods. Definitely. [ "But! I'll get to that in a bit. For now, come with me. I've got to give you old cratchets some directions." ] Eventually. However, this matter of the coming invasion takes precedence. * Istvan gets up, and follows. I must send a message to my family. The marriage will simply have to be delayed. * Seylin giggles. "Old? I'm not that old!" What are cratchets? Ah have no clue. * Ariake grins, and carefully puts away the book, which has been sitting closed. * Seylin stands up. * Alcinoe follows, though. * Tia puts away her book and follows the girl. * Ariake follows! * Will stands up and follows behind Alci. [ She hops off the table and walks out of the room. "Oh, taking him out will help with that, too. Do you think he has any love for the sun-bless'd peoples?" ] * Patrick gets up and follows. [ She leads you through several rooms, again no two alike - one of them is a kitchen, another a *different* kitchen - and eventually out onto a balcony that turns out to be the roof of the tower. ] His loss, Ah figure. * Alcinoe looks around. [ She walks out to the edge of the roof, which has a waist- height bannister encircling the entire affair. Hopping onto this bannister, she makes a brief gesture, and three bright-blue globes of light appear over her head. ] * Seylin watches. * Ariake watches! * Will watches attentively. * Patrick watches. [ "Now." The orbs spin, and launch out onto the ground, which, you suddenly notice, seems rather like a map. The orbs settle in various places. As an afterthrought, she tosses down one more - this one bright sunlight brilliance - which lands in another spot. ] [ "The yellow blob of light is the city of Brighthome. It's where your cute little college is. Each of the blue lights represents the location of one of the fragments." ] * Ariake looks at the map, memorizing it. * Patrick takes a good look at the map and nods. * Alcinoe takes a look and nods. * HKenji takes a look at the map and memorizes it as best he can. * Istvan eyes the map. * Tia stares at the map, trying to commit it to memory. [ "The first you should go to is... hm. This one;" One of the globes on the map turns red. "It lies in the hands of a friend of the sun, and he'll willingly give it to you, but how you get there is actually more important." ] * Seylin looks over the map, tracing a few things in the air, and finally nods. * Will glances towards the map but doesn't pay much attention. The other party members can memorize it. ^^ * Ariake nods... [ "You remember the kindom of the trolls and their slaves, of course. Sherincal is courting their support for her efforts, and from the picture she paints your nation is weak and ripe for conquest. As it stands now, the Black Troll believes a war with your peoples in conjunction with other Underworld powers would be quick, easy, and enjoyable." ] The forgetful priest. He has the second fragment. [ "If nothing else, you must change his oppinion on the matter. If he thinks the people of the sun are strong, he may reconcider his bid. It'd be nice if you could crush his filthy empire while you're at it, but we're being practical, here." ] * Tia looks bemused. "But...but Mr. Troll was nice to us." [ "Hm? Oh, no, not him. Ha! You'd actually better stay away from that one." ] * Patrick smirks. I don't think he's so nice if he wants to attack Brighthome Tia. [ "Beyond the cavern of the false sun and the village of the desmodu lies a ruins that you need to investigate. It is there that you will find the keeper of the fragment." ] ... so we go to this troll king, and prove our strength somehow. Fuuuuuuuuuun. * Alcinoe nods. Hmm... We tried to go that far before, but... Um, so a different Mr. Troll? [ "Oh, you bet it is, Isty! And I think digging your pick into his chest should suffice." ] * Patrick shrugs. "Kickin' ass doesn't sound that bad about now." Sounds like we got our work cut out fer us. Very much so... I can do that... probably. [ "You certainly do! You'll probably want to go back home and prepare for the upcomming summer's quest, then. And Kenji, you need to get the marriage called off. And reapply to the school. And while I may not *be* the Oracle of Earth, they will prolly back me up on the need to fortify Anastasia's lands." ] They will trust my own assessment. We have much to do. * HKenji bows to the Loremaster. "If there is nothing else, Lady?" [ The little girl grins. "That's good of them. And yes, you do, and no, there is nothing else. Except you have to get back down, now." ] * Ariake nods, and bows as well. "Thank you very much!" It is unlikely to be a problem. I am inclined to simply walk down the side of your tower. The interior is... daunting. * Tia nods. "Thanks, Miss Loremaster Girl!" [ "Oh, well. I could just throw you all over the side, but the landing might hurt your tush." ] * Patrick grins. I can fly! Me too! * Seylin seems almost offended, but she's smiling. * Alcinoe chuckles. "Likely. Thanks. Uh, we're gonna get that rock back? Ah'm thinkin' givin' it ta Beatrice ta hang onto just in case is a good idea." My head's already aching. Last thing I need is a sore butt. * Tia nods. "The Headmistress would take good care of it." * Will nods. "Falling doesn't sound so good." * Tia pats Istvan comfortingly on the shoulder. [ "Certainly! She'll love to hear about it, I'm sure. And by 'love' I mean 'hate', but it's the responsibility of the powerful to protect the weak, right, O cleric of Galahad?" ] * Alcinoe grins. "Yeah. Sometimes it ain't fun, but it's what's gotta be done." * Ariake nods. [ The Loremaster grins. ] Yeah. Thank you for all your help. * Will nods. "Yes. Thank you." * Tia nods and says again, "Thanks!" Thanks. Ya know, you never told us your name. ~_^ * HKenji bows once more. "Many thanks for your aid." * Istvan nods at the Loremaster. [ "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just pointing you kids in the right direction. You get to do the hard part. And you know, Patrick, I think I've forgotten my name. Everyone's been calling me 'Loremaster' for soooo long." ] Maybe you should make yerself a new one then. * Alcinoe nods. 'cuz I don't know 'bout you, but loremaster is kinda... general. You know what I mean? [ She puts a hand to her head. "Oh!, what a tragedy, to forget one's name. I lement my lamentable loss with lamentation, and whatnot." She heads back into the building - better follor her if you don't want to get lost. ] * Ariake follows! * Tia follows along. * Patrick follows! * Seylin hurries after her. * HKenji follows. * Patrick shrugs and grins. * Alcinoe follows, yes she does. Mm...what about Wuffiekins? Can I call you Wuffiekins? * Will follows closely! That's Mr. Teddy's name! It's a good name, I think. [ She leads you on, babbling all the while. "And what's in a name, really? Although some would say a great deal, for a name can give one power, power over another! And no, Tia, you may not. Seriously, now." ] * Seylin giggles. [ "It's a good name for a teddy, but I am not a teddy. I am an adorable little girl!" ] Adorable little girls are kinda like adorable little teddy bears, don't you think? [ Sooner than before, you're back at the entrance to the building. The double doors open themselves for you. ] Only they don't have fur, an' they ain't bears. Oh, I guess so... How about-- * Tia is distracted as she sees the doors opening. "Oh, we're back here!" [ "Now, you all have a nice trip!" ] * Seylin waves to the Loremaster. "Goodbye! Thank you again!" * Ariake waves. "Thanks again!" * Alcinoe waves, stone safely in her backpack now. "Thanks fer yer help!" Okay, thanks, Wuffiekins! I mean, Miss Loremaster Girl! Bye! * Istvan nods back at the Loremaster again, and heads off to his horse. * Will waves goodbye at the Loremaster as he walks out the door. * Tia waves emphatically, beaming from ear to ear. * Patrick waves goodbye to the Loremaster. "See ya!" [ The Loremaster waves cheerfully to you all as the doors close behind you. ] [ Aaaand session end. z.z ]