All the Time in the World

[Nettlekid]

"We're out of time!"
This was the complain issued by the Material Plane's most prestigious scholars, mages, and astronomers to dozens of world nobles and governmental officials the world over.
"Well there's no deadline, I should hope. Work hard, find results."
"No, those ARE the results. We are literally running out of time."

The phenomenon was first observed when constellations began to appear out-of-season. Day and night each began to lose first minutes, then hours, as the sun and moon sped through the sky and colored it the permanent pale orange of repeating dawn and dusk. The seasons themselves started to appear earlier than normal, and summer's heat and winter's chill became more bearable as neither lasted all that long. While mortal creatures seemed unaged by the accelerating timestream, the lifetime of anything impermanent flashed by in moments. There was no stability to weather and the crops wouldn't grow when winter came every few minutes. Kindled fires burned out. Spells cast to last for hours terminated in seconds. Druids shifted into animal form lapsed in concentration immediately. Frenzied warriors felt unable to maintain their fervor for more than a breath. And assassins felt not entirely dissatisfied to find that their poisons' delayed effects were now taking effect instantaneously.

Despite the protest of the assassins, the consensus was that this couldn't continue. But this was an issue that no one knew how to approach. This wasn't a matter that a beadle would just slap up a few posters on a tavern door and hope that plucky adventurers would take up the challenge. World nobles agreed that they couldn't waste what little time they had. They would send notice to champions tried and true. To one who had slain dragons, demons, and demonic dragons. To a battle-proven, Lich-hunting assassin turned to a righteous path. To a fearsome mage of duality, walking the line of arcane and divine as well as life and death. To a Lich-slaying eldritch power who channeled the nature of Hell, and to a mage who was linked to Hell itself (because let's be realistic, they needed all the help they could get. Who were they to judge?)

With the aid of three Gnomes looking to earn a degree, a system of ropes and winches, sextants, a chemical sprayer filled with Quintessence, and an abundance of Tindertwigs, the temporal dilation was more accurately measured. It was not by any means uniform, and the location of the greatest distortion was identified. An isolated island one thousand miles across, ridged with mountains risen from tectonic motion millennia ago. While all sorts of creatures lived in the mountainous region leading into the sea, the land within is barren and inhospitable for any creature that either cannot produce its own means of sustenance or is unhindered by physical limitations such as eating. Archaeologists and anthropologists have long studied the ruins in the island valley, reflections of an ancient civilization, but no report has (at least obviously) contained information pertaining to the current temporal dilemma. This is history in the making.

So there's the leadup. I'm thinking about starting a little "in medias res," assuming everyone's met to at least some degree and is informed as to why they're here, just to speed it up a little. Feel free to have whatever dialogue you'd like though, to establish character relations and such. You'll access the island by whatever means you like, be it airship or teleport, and so this can start as you're approaching, and you can spend as much time as you want in preparation. Like a checkpoint before a final boss kind of feeling.

OoC Thread Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?385140-All-the-Time-in-the-World-OoC)

[paradox26]

Cyron was the first to arrive, as was his wont. A black mist appeared, and he stepped out of its midst, looking around with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. There did not appear to be any immediate danger, so he lowered his hands, which were raised in preparation to blast anything which might be present. He waited for the others to arrive. He had met them recently, some for the first time, others a mere renewal of old acquaintance. He knew that they had agreed to meet at this place, and hoped that none of them would get either lost or delayed in their journeys.

Deciding to take the more prudent course, he made an effort of will and change of mindset, he allowed himself to fade out of sight. Not simply invisible, which he knew many creatures to be able to see, he was simply hiding behind the naked air. His lantern, attached to his belt, created shadows instead of light. And that shadow was sufficient to allow him to hide within plain sight, effectively disappearing. Only the very keenest of eyes would stand any chance of being able to spot him.

His first reasoned action after his disappearance was to take to the air. Large feathered wings unfolded from his back, and he effortlessly lifted from the ground. He climbed straight up, wanting to get a view of the area sufficient to permit him to witness any creatures or landmarks of interest within the vicinity. He decided that if he was first to arrive, he might as well scout around while he waited for the others to make an appearance. To the outsider, it appeared that a moving region of shadows was floating around, but there was no indication that there was anything within it, and the shadowy light was spread broadly enough that it couldn't be targeted by any creatures who might be in the area. After flying straight up, he started flying slow circles, looking for anything of interest in the area, while remaining above the spot where he appeared, so that he would be able to join the others as soon as they arrived.

[Vertharrad]

The light streaming through the window from outside as Sandra checks her pack and other equipment. it's been a number of years since she has done this type of thing and didn't want to find the object she needed was buried deep at a crucial moment. Movement draws her attention as her husband enters and then hands flash as a unspoken conversation is had between them.

<Your leaving.>

<I'll be back as soon as this is settled.>

<Does this have to do with our troubles recently?>

<I think so, Gavin was vague. But this letter is pretty official.> She picks up the letter with the broken seal detailing her summons to help in important matters.

<You don't do this anymore.>

<If I don't do this the livelihood of my family and village will be in jeopardy.>

<Your skills are rusty don't get killed and leave these children without a mother.>

A mischievous smile stretches across her face. She suggestively slips forward putting her arms around his neck and mouths the next words. I'll be okay. No worries lover.

Later after getting everything situated the two kiss enjoying a embrace. Sandra disentangles herself and disappears in a puff of arcane smoke.

******

In the middle of a deserted desolate valley a muffled bamph can be heard as a heavily tattoed human woman shrouded by a elven cloak looks around taking her time to make sure no undue attention is being payed to her. She thinks about those who was at the meeting. Even though not having worked with them she had heard about them through rumors or reliable sources both during her time as "Black Widow" and Sandra the adventurer. One or two was a complete sipher while the others are what they seem. The kobold caught her eye immediately as she has been on the recieving end of their nasty traps.

Sandra heads for the cover of shadows as she waits for the arrival of the rest of the heroes. She looks up momentarily thinking she heard the beat of wings among the comparative quiet. She's not looking forward to learning the ins and outs of another group. However the survival of those she protects demands such a sacrifice. She keeps up her senses as the time slips by.

[Chambers]

Elias

There's a slight disturbance in the air on the beach and a moment later Elias appears, standing on the ground, one hand resting on the hilt of a rapier. His fingers twitch as they start the movements of a simple incantation but he curses and stills it. "Damnable curse." He mutters and taps his fingers on the hilt in frustration.

With one glance over his shoulder at the ocean he walks towards a fallen tree just inside the tree line and takes a seat, sweeping back his dress coat and brushing off some dirt before sitting down. Looks like I'm first. He reaches into his coat and takes out a thick black rod engraved with skulls and dancing bones. He holds the rod lightly across his knees and half-closes his eyes in trance while translucent flames flicker from the horns on his head. "Tell me what the sages don't know about the ruins." He says.

I'm assuming that Elias wouldn't spot either of the stealthy characters current skulking about, so he's doing a little info gathering. Casting Limited Wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) to duplicate Legend Lore. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/legendLore.htm)

[drack]

In a puff of pink smoke who's wisps spiral towards the heavens, Barsh the Unbound appears out of thin air. A slovenly, yet somewhat majestic figure for one so young, the green of Barsh's eyes, mystical and mesmerizing that they are, seem to see beyond what's around him. The energies about him always feel energetic and out of place, but beyond that and his impressive garb Barsh looks like any other kid... er, excuse me, young adult. =p Dusting off his spotless garb he catches sight of the divination, he calls to the other mage with a simple "Oy, were you called to investigate the end of time too?"

[paradox26]

Having completed his quick reconnaissance of the area from the air, Cyron descended to meet the others who had started to arrive at the agreed location. The cloud of shadows descended and suddenly seemed to spit out a being with mighty feathered wings, dropping through the air gently yet majestically. Yet this was clearly no angel. The black leather clothing might have suggested it, but the red skin, glowing red eyes and small horns clearly marked him out as arriving from the lower planes rather than the celestial realm. With a gust of wind, Cyron landed before the others, ready to greet them and provide a quick report of what he had seen from the air. Hearing the comment from the young one, he responded, "I doubt that any would be here unless they were called upon for this particular task. This is not a land for sightseeing."

[Vertharrad]

Sandra silently walks out of the shadows to join the growing group. She looks around the area noting the absence of anything natural from animals to sounds. From inside the hood of a elven cloak you see black with a flash of fair skin and hazel eyes.

"This place hasn't had life present in some time. Any visitors don't stay long I would think."

As she speaks you can make out that through her long black hair and hazel eyes there is tattoo ink on the left side of her face in the shape of a spider that wraps around her face to disappear from sight. A pack and quiver sit on her back and a sword hilt can be seen when the cloak parts.

[Cardea]

Yraalik

The journey was rough. Yraalik ate well. Slept well. Drank well. Worked well. But the journey was rough. It was still hard getting used to... it... taking up space in his ship. The stone corpse of his progenitor, now shrunk for the time being, stood, proud, glaring, from the commons of his ship. He declare it a conversation piece at first, hyped and adrenaline fueled from his victory, but now? It just stared at him. He pushed it to the back of his mind, however, as he flew his ship down closer to the island. The Descendancy flew in to the island, its presence leaving no movement on the water or sand as it approached. He called to Bishop to him, to fly the ship as he walked down to the lower deck, the multi-layered gate opening. He stood upon his Soarsled, called Knight to it, giving instructions to fly with him. He took off on the Soarsled, out of the ship, and into the open. Descendancy trailed behind him at a distance, ready to scoop him out of fire at a moment's notice.

Bishop is my Grisgol; Awakened.
Knight is my Battle Horror; Awakened.

Statue is actually a Colossal Red Dragon turned to stone and under a permanent Shrunk Item.

[Nettlekid]

This isn't telling you anything the sages don't already know, since they can shell out enough for a Legend Lore too.
The legend is that this island is uninhabited not because it is inhospitable, but because all capacity for life has already expired. Any ties to the Positive Energy Plane are faded and weak, and the nature of life force is weak. The land is old, older than most if not all of the other documented landmasses on the planet. This would suggest it was one of the first islands in the world and should life have existed on it (and the ruins suggest it did) that life ought to have spread out to the other lands. Legend has it that all life died before it had the chance to spread.

Legend Lore is unable to provide any specifics of the land, such as heroes associated with it or artifacts created here. It's not that you don't get any reply, it's that you get a mental image of bright colors in an instant. Flashes of bright red lights and black circles, wavy silver-green lines, and bumpy waves gunmetal gray flash more prominently in your mind for only a moment each (like when a magician flips through a deck of cards, pausing on a card a fraction of a second longer than the others so your eye can pick it out) before blending back into a mess of sound and color.

I'm going to assume you're meeting in some specified location, maybe a small ways into the valley from the ring of mountains?

The desert valley is eerie in the orange light of the eternally rising and setting sun. From your position, you can see the crumbling columns of old structures, sandstone and quartz reinforced with rusted metal rods within. Faint umbral cones flicker at the base of these pillars as the shadow moves from the sun crossing the sky in these one-second days. Apart from these structures, the land is perfectly flat like salt plains and you can see the silhouettes of creatures who are not deterred from "living" here due to their own lack of life. There are a few Allips babbling in the distance, their madness sparing them from boredom. A circle of Wraiths are flocking from ruin to ruin, unsure if they're really all that uncomfortable by the repeated moments of sunlight but trying to find the persistent shade nonetheless. Upon closer inspection, many of the ruined pillars are covered in Clockroaches. The infrequent break in the perfectly flat land is a trough made by the dragging arms of a Slaughterstone Eviscerator that occasionally digs in the compacted earth. A patient Quarut marches after it, looking at its hourglasses and picking at the dirt left in the Slaughterstone Eviscerator's wake. In the distance, the towering figure of an infernal Retriever strides the land, searching for some unknown target.

The Gnomes have detailed the means by which you can hunt down the general direction of the focus of the anomaly, using timed Tindertwigs burning down, and they've given you a supply of Tindertwigs for that purpose. But the government officials hiring you have made clear that each of you has autonomy, and may take action as you see fit so long as you strive to solve this dilemma.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Hrmph." Elias frowns at the rod and looks up at the people gathering near him. "Yes, as I gather the rest of you are as well?" He asks and stands up, using the engraved rod as a cane. "Elias Silversmith. Please, call me Elias."

He turns towards the two that emerged from the shadows. "So that darkness was you floating above? Did you see a path for us to take, or anything worth heading towards?"

[Vertharrad]

"I don't know what would be best to go investigate first however we could use that ditch being dug out to approach with some cover." She indictes the trough being dug out by the Slaughterstone Eviscerator.

[paradox26]

Cyron considered the problem as he studied his newfound companions. HThere were a variety of creatures they could fight. But that wasn't the primary goal. Likely they could avoid most of the creatures he had seen from the air. "You can call me Cyron. I was the shadowy zone in the air, yes. I could see no clear path through this land. There are a few options, but we don't yet know which way we are meant to be going. We should use the gnomes' tindertwig trick to find out which way we should be going. We may be able to avoid most of those creatures I saw from the air," he said.

[drack]

Flourishing his rich robe, Barsh the unbound introduces himself. "I am known as Barsh the unbound, Master of Spells and Incantations, Forrayer into the Unknown, keeper of secrets false, master of the holy flame of..." Slowly it seems to dawn on him that they just didn't care. somewhat put out Barsh the Unbound trails off, finishing dully with "You may call me Barsh the Unbound."

[Vertharrad]

It dawns on her that being away from adventuring for some time has blunted her better manners. "You all can call me Sandra. I skulk in shadows and fight for those that cannot. And Cyron is right we should use the tendertwig trick unless someone has a better idea."

[Nettlekid]

Setting the Tindertwigs, which are set to burn for the exact same interval of time in normal circumstances, in various locations and lighting them simultaneously gives you a sense of how quickly or slowly time is passing and the difference in rates between those locations. The ones in a north-westernly direction burn slower, suggesting that if the missing time is being coalesced anywhere it would be in that direction. That's also the direction, if you had to make a guess, of the center of the island. So that's fairly fitting.

As you start heading in that direction, the Quarut looks up from the stones. "Hold on a moment," it ticks. The stone it holds is a piece of quartz.
It glances toward the closest Allip, which babbles "Ippi abba wuulywot f'teee!"
The Clockroaches on the nearest column shiver and scurry, and one falls off on the left side.
The Quarut looks back to you, then back to the ground dejectedly.
"Nevermind. My mistake. We'll do this later when you come back."

In the distance you can see a black spot on the edge of the horizon, still many miles away. There are thick clouds and some kind of haze hanging above that region. Nearby, the Slaughterstone Eviscerator continues to burrow and the rest of the lifeless creatures scattered around the island keep doing what they were tirelessly doing, except for the Quarut which is now sitting down and letting the Eviscerator continue on its way.

[paradox26]

Cyron looked off int the distant haze, trying to penetrate it through sheer willpower. "Well, it looks like our path is clear. On the positive side, it appears that we can avoid having to fight all of these creatures. At least for now. Shall we?" he asked the others. He took to the sky with a blast from his powerful wings, and started to circle around the group, staying about thirty feet above the ground, and not venturing too far from the others. With an effort of will, he made himself disappear from view once again, hiding in the shadows which lingered in his general vicinity. He also became absolutely silent, with even the sound of his wings cutting through the air disappearing. He waited for the others to decide to carry on, and listened out for more discussion in case it was important.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Gnomes and their little tricks." Elias says while the tindertwigs burn. "The center. Of course." When the machine stops them Elias raises his rod ready to strike. He lowers it when the inevitable allows them to pass. "A moment, if you please." He says to the machine. Maybe they appreciate temporal humor.

"We're here to investigate the source of the time disruption, and hopefully put things right. What can you tell us about this island?"

[Vertharrad]

Sandra helps set up the twigs and light them being careful to cover emery as she works not ready for pointed questions just yet. She smiles at the simple but effective way of finding the problem area. Sandra starts to head in the direction getting ready to start thinking like a scout again. She stops when the Quarut challanges them.

"We'll be sure to seek you out afterward. What used to be here? What happened here?"

[Nettlekid]

The Quarut moved a few stones to the side, then back. It drops one, looking at its hourglass as it does so.
"No. Even my patience is not infinite, and such is the degree to which it is being tested. I am not going to have this conversation again, or the other conversation later. I will have the first conversation when it comes back around. Until that time, just stumble off. You'll be back."

[paradox26]

Cyron continued to float just overhead, making slow, lazy circles above the group's heads. He could make little sense of the quarut's words, so he ignored them for now. They would doubtless make more sense to him later, but it did not sound like they were likely to get much useful information from the creature at this stage. He glanced at the others to see if they had a better idea of how to deal with it, or whether they would just decide to begin the journey. He was himself more of a creature of action, so his inclination was to simply set out for the smudge on the horizon which was their apparent destination.

[Vertharrad]

Looking at the rest of the group Sandra shakes her head at the cryptic Quarut. "I think it best we continue on our way this creature is not going to be useful right now." she waits to see if anyone else wants to try to pry any info from the thing.

[drack]

Casually Barsh the Unbound glances up at the airship overhead and suggests to nobody in particular "Hows about we save ourselves the trouble and time of walking?"

[Cardea]

"I don't recommend it," Yraalik says, approaching on the soarsled. A kobold of unusual appearance. What appears to be a dragon's arm is in fact a crossbow, strapped to his back. A navy long coat drapes his form and covers his legs, and his head is covered by a metal, bone and leather helm, obscuring his face entirely. He smiles from inside the helmet, uncaring whether or not they can see it. "Walking is such a fun past time. Good for the heart. Good for the soul. Besides, that'd be trespassing. And we all want to be... civil, don't we?" The soarsled lowers him so he's eye level with the rest of them, arms crossed, as his spare arms hold him onto the chunk of adamantine and mithril decorated shard of crystal. "Does the Law-man there have anything useful to contribute?"

[paradox26]

Cyron decided that he would avoid flying on the contraption is possible. Instead, he flicked one wing over into a turn, and started heading in the direction they were supposed to be heading. He lifted himself slightly in the air, so that he was flying some sixty feet above the ground, then he started to head for the destination, leaving the others to figure out their own arrangements and to try to keep up. He assumed that the magical ship should be able to catch up to him quickly enough, or else it couldn't be very good magic. He continued to remain hidden and silent as he flew, with only the slightest shadowing of the objects on the ground giving away that there was anything unusual happening, since the magical shadow lantern had a range of sixty feet, just bringing it into the range of the ground.

[Vertharrad]

Shaking her head at the outlandish looking, cryptic speaking kobold and turns to Barsh. "Although I agree with you Barsh apparently the newcomer doesn't and besides we've wasted enough time here." So saying she turns to look at her shadow and says in a low voice. "Emery we're going that way" motioning to the northwest "go ahead of me and take note of any trouble spots I can avoid." She starts walking toward the center of the island.

The shadows base speed is fly 40 ft.(good) and Sandras is 30 ft. so moving at base speed he'll out distance her.

[Nettlekid]

The Quarut makes a strange noise of grinding its gears. Is it chuckling?
"Wasted enough time? I suppose that's one way of looking at it..."

It's a long walk ahead of you, but it's behind you soon enough. By this point it's hardly relevant to say "how long" it took you, because there's nothing base that frame of reference off of. The Tindertwig trick continues to suggest that the growing dark spot on the horizon is indeed your goal.

There is little hiding space on the flatlands, although the desiccated pillars and remnants of buildings are more abundant now than they were on the outskirts. As you approach, hidden or in full view, you see what you've been walking towards.

The black spot, smaller than it seemed on the horizon and only about the size of a caravan, hovering maybe ten feet off of the ground, is a spot of pure void. Like a Sphere of Annihilation or an Umbral Blot there is something unnatural about its darkness and a small lensing on the event horizon where darkness gives way to the open sky behind, but unlike these objects of disintegration you do not feel the rushing of air toward the object that the disintegrating effect of these usually has. Instead, as you can see by the clouds moving overheard, there is some kind of temporal dilation effect as matter near the orb slows down and becomes bunched up as faster matter keeps coming toward it, only to slow down itself. Similarly, on a second glance the lensing around the ball seems to be due to light moving toward the ball and then being stopped in time, creating a shell of frozen photons around a ball whose darkness is only because no light is escaping off of it. It is a black hole without gravity, and instead of a coalescence of matter it is one of temporal energy.

But perhaps even more curious than the dark sphere is the creature underneath it. It's hard to see because portions of its body continuously fade in and out of a visible dimension, and it is wreathed in a dark vapor which cloaks its similarly pitch-black body. It is shaped like a centaur, with a humanoid torso but the forelegs and body of something more like a puma. Its torso seems muscular, and its strong arms end in jagged claws. It has a long neck with a ridge of spines running down its back, and its face is covered by some kind of bone plating through which two piercing white eyes shine through.


http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/327/0/6/phane_by_klausmasterflex-d33h8bx.jpg

Its sleek, catlike body is gracefully darting around the sphere, flying to its top and darting beneath it, while its muscular arms press against the sphere's surface as though it were kneading dough. Like an electron orbiting an atom, although you are certain of the creature's presence it is next to impossible to actually point out where it is, you can only tell that it's moving very fast.

And then it appears before you. It is still moving around the ball, but it is now also still and standing in front of its sphere, while its sharp white eyes pick out each of your locations.
"The circle turns. What you have just been about to see is what has always been forevermore. The first time you will come here is also the last, and every time inbetween. I've been enjoying hour game together, though I'd appreciate the second opinion on the minute variations between iterations. Every pass through, something's a little different, but it's all the same in the end. You are far too weak. You could come here a million times more, but you have never stopped me and you never will. I must take heed of my work. We must take heed of hour work. Your anticks and antocks have forced hour hands. This will be the last time we play. This time you will remember. This time you will remember why you will not come again.


Since you're just arriving, you can place yourself anywhere up to row G you like before your turn begins. The circle is the sphere, the star is the Phane, and the brown blobs are chunks of ruins.
http://i60.tinypic.com/2rm4h0l.jpg

[paradox26]

Cyron studied the alien creature curiously. It was a dangerous enemy, he knew that much, though he had never faced one before. He also knew that most of his abilities would have no effect upon it. He moved behind the cover provided by the nearby ruins. He then reached into the power of shadow in order to try to blast the creature with a stunning ray, which would hopefully stop the creature from acting while his companions could deal it more direct damage. He would have little choice other than to continue to do the same thing repeatedly, since his usual powers would not work on such a creature. He only hoped that he would be able to stop it while the others had enough damaging spells in their repertoires to be able to bring it down.



Moves to E4.
Casts Stunning Ray. Fort Save to reduce duration to 1 round.
I will roll out here to see if my spell effect took hold, since there is only an 80% chance of it working.
[roll0]

[Nettlekid]

The total to-hit for Stun Ray is 30. Because the Phane is incorporeal, rolling under 50% means that you hit, and you did not roll under 50%. The Phane seems to disbelieve it as an illusion (made the Will save), but it takes effect anyway (rolled under 80%). It seems to largely resist the effects of the shock (made the Fort save).

The Phane's eyes lock onto Cyron as the shadows loom around the Warlock. Or was it just before?
"Slow to react but quick on the draw. How does that work, I wonder? You will find me less fragile and twice as experienced as a skeletal Lich, Warlock."
The Phane watches the black lightning coalesce from the shadows and race toward him. In fact, the rest of the party can catch the arcing lightning as it passes through the air, slowed through time. The Phane touches its left shoulder, exactly where the Stun Ray collides with it. Shadowy electricity courses through the Phane's body as its muscles clench. The Phane is stunned for one round.

[drack]

Slowly Barsh begins rubbing his fingers together, thin trails of black powder falling slowly from them, collecting on the ground as sand flowing from an hourglass, yet as two piles of black powder begin to form, Barsh begins moving his hands, allowing the thin streams of powder to form cruse jagged lines that twist and bend as the branches of a tree do, patterned yet chaotic. As he works his magics Barsh begins to speak, but not in the tongues of forgotten lore and magic itself, nor in those of prayer, but in common instead. "Tell me great Phane, For I am Barsh the Unbound, master of the ancient arts, tell me why is it you come to this land where the world that sustains your prey withers about it. Why is it that time distorts about this island as it does?" Slowly a pattern begins to form on the dark powder, like porous rock or the refraction of sunlight on a shallow ocean floor.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Whether you be guardian or thief, we must pass." Elias says as he raises the rod in his hands. Black lightning strikes down from the sky around the abomination and tears open a rip in the fabric of reality, a howling wind rising as the hole tries to suck in everything around it. The tear threatens tries to grow wider to encompass the field but Elias forces the tear to narrow until it's just large enough for the phane.

Elias will be at D13. Casting Reality Maelstrom, using Archmage Master of Shaping to reduce the entire effect to a single 5ft square (the phanes). The radius of

Spell Resistance [roll0]
The Phane needs to make a Will saving throw DC 32 or be sucked into the hole and be sent to a random Plane.

Edit: No need for a saving throw, failed to beat it's SR 37.

[Nettlekid]

Barsh, in which space are you standing?
Elias, I'm on the fence about it but I think it makes sense that while the Mastery of Shaping can change the width of the tear, the rushing winds are just a consequence of the tear and so they'll reach out as normal: to twice the radius of the width of the tear, so 10 feet in this case.

BTW, nat 1 on the Will save.

Fortunately the Phane seems to be communicating telepathically, because otherwise the stunning effect would be locking its jaw shut.
"Your arts are as ancient as unspoiled milk, Theurge. There is no 'ancient' and 'modern,' there is only the recent and the now, and all else both was long ago and will arrive again. See time as a sine curve, the present marked by 0. Tell me, is 1 in the past or the future? Is -1 the future or the past? Where is the present, if it is both now and before and after?"

The fabric of space tears around the Phane. Its white eyes look around it, though the rest of its muscles are still frozen. Its normally formidable willpower seems to suffer a strange momentary lapse, and the tauric creature vanishes into the rift. At the same time, it reappears a few steps ahead of the portal. There is the stench of sulfur emanating from the Phane as it takes an intimidating step forward. It stretches its neck, clearly no longer affected by the stun.

"Had I chosen my words more carefully it would have been Arborea. Gehenna is inhospitable this time of year. But you see? For here I once stood, so here I may always stand. What happens next? Is this when Sandra sinks her blade into my chest after realizing that her assassination technique is accelerated? Or will that be in a moment, after Cyron tries to distract me with his Chilling Tentacles and leave my guard down? Now that I've said it, it won't happen. So go on, surprise me, as though you could."


http://i59.tinypic.com/2qd4jr6.jpg

[Vertharrad]

The time seems to go by quickly as the party proceeds to the center of the island. Every detail atched into her mind as they move toward their destiny. Upon seeing the black spot sandra gets a uneasy feeling. The creature that seems to phase in and out of existence doesn't ease her mind any better. Her perception tries to wrap itself around the idea of something that can affect a widespread area in such a way as to slow anything the closer you get.

Hearing the creature talk sets her fears alight into a blaze. Listening to the words she can tell that fighting is going to be needed to stop whatever this creature is doing. "Then theres no reason to forestall the inevitable whatever you are." She starts weaving her hands in a intricate pattern and chanting as arcane energies coalesce around her. One second she's there and the next she's gone. She moves up cautiously being careful to place her steps, drawing her trusty rapier as she moves.

free action - speak
standard action - casts greater invisibility
move action - move silently from G7 to J7 to J8 [roll0]

Init +9
AC 37, touch 24, flat-footed 29 (+8 Dex, +8 armor, +5 deflection, +1 insight, +5 natural)
hp 105
Resist evasion, acid/cold/electricity/fire/sonic 30
Fort +7 (+11 against poisons), Ref +25, Will +6
Grp +18

[drack]

Reaching down Barsh takes a fistful from each of the two initial piles formed before his hands began to move. Lifting the handfuls of powder he tosses them into the air where they suddenly freeze before they can begin to fall. Slowly, melodically, he begins to chant "Hast-rame-le--boy-an-oooooo Casta-me-an-a-da--la--me-shunnnnnn" Life seeps up from the ground, infusing the powder with a sort of shimmering white light. "Har-a-mum Hec-tra-sh-yaaa" Summoning the power of the winds Barsh the Unbound causes the airborn powder to whip about forming semitransparent quarter spheres between each of his allies (himself included), and the phane, each joined by a thin line of powder across the ground. Then upturning his hand Barsh summons a small flask with a shred of coral in it. As life spreads through the shells Barsh drops the glass with the coral shard and watches as walls of thick coral grow almost instantly along the pathways he'd made.

Coral growth. I noticed halfway that I wasn't really sure, so I should ask before you choose to make this spell happen or not. It does require a bit of submerged coral to grow, I figured I'd fluff ignore material components as summoning them so that I could keep and even add flavor to the spells as I cast them, but I'm not sure if I could get the shred of coral since I forgot to pick one up along the coast IC or the like. :smallconfused: If not, closest I could do is stone shape to produce paper thin barriers on us. Enough to grant cover but thin enough that a single attack would shatter them.

[Nettlekid]

The Phane seems to sigh, and starts wringing its hands.
"Seen it before, seen it before, once and a thousand times played over again and again. When you all first arrived I was so hopeful. Even each of you can understand how agonizing anticipation is. All that I've done, and what I'm about to do...It's right on the edge of my existence, but not yet, not quite yet. I needed time to prepare. I need it to hatch. And in waiting for the glory of my coming, how I longed for a diversion! You appear, you distract me! Fantastic. And then...it gets boring. I let you remember, I make you forget, I goad you, I ignore you, I give you hints, I give you false hints, I pray for variety and it's the same flavor time after time again. I've had enough. Leave me in peace. Do not return. You will know of the triumph I see on the horizon soon enough."

The clouds in the sky stop moving, and then begin to drift away from the central spot above the black sphere. Sandra's silently placed footprints disappear one by one and she reappears where she had stood. The Phane vanishes from sight, and the Reality Maelstrom writhes as the Phane is then hurled from its open maw before the rift seals. Crackling electricity lifts from the Phane's body and collects into a single black bolt that flies to Cyron's outstretched finger, and then dissolves into shadows that fade around him. The party takes a step back, and another, as the black sphere begins to fade into a spot on the horizon.

The desert valley is eerie in the orange light of the eternally rising and setting sun. From your position, you can see the crumbling columns of old structures, sandstone and quartz reinforced with rusted metal rods within. Faint umbral cones flicker at the base of these pillars as the shadow moves from the sun crossing the sky in these one-second days. Apart from these structures, the land is perfectly flat like salt plains and you can see the silhouettes of creatures who are not deterred from "living" here due to their own lack of life. There are a few Allips babbling in the distance, their madness sparing them from boredom. A circle of Wraiths are flocking from ruin to ruin, unsure if they're really all that uncomfortable by the repeated moments of sunlight but trying to find the persistent shade nonetheless. Upon closer inspection, many of the ruined pillars are covered in Clockroaches. The infrequent break in the perfectly flat land is a trough made by the dragging arms of a Slaughterstone Eviscerator that occasionally digs in the compacted earth. A patient Quarut marches after it, looking at its hourglasses and picking at the dirt left in the Slaughterstone Eviscerator's wake. In the distance, the towering figure of an infernal Retriever strides the land, searching for some unknown target.

[Vertharrad]

Just when she thought the action would begin and they could end whatever fell aspirations this creature had Sandra notices they're all back where they began looking in the direction of the disturbance. she looks at the others with a puzzled expression. "I'm just a humble rogue...could one of you explain what happened? It's like time itself is going backwards. Also what was that thing talking about? As if we've fought with it before many times over."

[paradox26]

Cyron looked around in confusion. What in the nine hells just happened? They had been engaged in battle, and now they were back where they started. He glanced at the others to see if they had a better handle on what had happened to them all. "I have no idea what that thing was talking about. It certainly does sound like we have fought it before. But if so, why do we not remember it? We remember fighting it this latest time. What could be so different about this time compared to the others? We must have done something more effective than we did before. Yet I know that my own abilities, though great, are also limited in their scope. And my power affected it even though I am sure that it shouldn't have. I could feel its resistance to magic, and I am not sure how I managed to bypass that. I am just not strong enough. Perhaps it was toying with us and allowed us to get a few hits in on it. I wonder what will happen the next time we face it," he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps we should just move forward and find out. If we fail, it sounds like it won't kill us but will instead send us back here again."

[Nettlekid]

As you discuss, the world continues to move around you.
The Quarut looks up from the stones. The stone it holds is a piece of quartz.
It glances toward the closest Allip, which babbles "Ippi abba wuulywot f'teee!"
The Clockroaches on the nearest column shiver and scurry, and one falls off on the right side.
The Quarut looks back to you.
"So this time you remember. One million nine hundred eighty two thousand seven hundred and seventy one. If you were curious. That's the number of times you've walked by this way. This is the one million nine hundred eighty two thousand seven hundred and seventy second time. But who's counting? The answer is me. I'm counting. It's my job to count.

I've had this conversation before as well, but not enough times that I have lost patience with it. You remember your encounter with the Phane, yes? This is not the first time you have remembered. The first, second, third, fifth, eighth, thirteenth...actually, follow the iterations marked by the Fibonacci series, those are the times you've remembered.

I wonder if that was intentional.

I don't actually wonder that. It's irrelevant to me. I am also certain it was not.

Regardless, I fear the Phane may be losing interest in you. Look at this quartz crystal. Based on the conversations we've already had, it seems that the number of irregular fractures is inversely related to the Phane's patience. This crystal is perfectly smooth and angular. The Phane is sick of this."

The Quarut throws the stone to the side, and whirs as it drags up information from conversations it has (in its frame of reference) years in the past. It begins to recite by rote, like an informational video recording.

You've been reset to a point in your mutual timeline of the Phane's choosing. This is an advanced version of an average Phane's ability to rewind approximately 24 seconds in time given an equal amount of concentration. This Phane has managed to dilate that 24 seconds to encompass the hours it took you to reach the center of the island from this point, while reducing the interval of concentration to be instantaneous. I do not doubt that it could send you further, but it would have to affect you individually and the Phane does not wish to worry itself with that.

A Phane is a being that understands temporal energy and the nature of the timestream better than any other, at least on an innate level as opposed to those who understand it from methodical study or superior programming. Its powers are not limited by its understanding, only by its raw energy. This Phane has a nearly limitless supply of energy. A normal Phane has the ability to capture its foes in a field of static time, inside which the captive creature ages until death and provides the Phane with sustenance and energy in the form of its potential future. This Phane is no different. The temporal acceleration effect that your party is investigating is a side-effect of the Phane's operation. You may have realized that the accelerated world with unaffected organic creatures is the opposite of the Phane's usual capabilities. That is because the Phane is applying its normal ability on such a large scale that the inverse effect is seeping through to the outside.

Within the black sphere you observed is this island. The entire island. A civilization of ageless creatures lived here for millions of years. The Phane encapsulated the entire history of these people and draws upon it continuously for energy. What you stand on now is a wasted husk, the old corpse of the island. It exists here, now, because the Phane is already done with it. But the living island lasts within the sphere until the end of all time while the Phane continually harvests it. It harvests it only once, but that 'once' must be eternal. That's where the Phane gains its power. You cannot defeat the Phane now because you have not ever defeated it. If it wins, and it has, then its future is secured. It can laugh at any offense because there was a time when it was unharmed, and it can always return to that time. Because it once was, it will always be. But if you prevent the island from being harvested, it never will have been. And the Phane will never come to power. It will be defeated before it can be a threat. That is how you win."

There's a click, and the Quarut refocuses its attention on you.

"I am beginning to get tired of explaining that. Perhaps I will stop. Now that you know this, will you charge ahead once more to be rebuffed, or will you redirect your efforts?"

[Chambers]

Elias

"That is..." Elias says and pauses, unable to find the right word to express both annoyance and wonderment at what the Phane is doing. He taps the rod on the ground while listening to the Quarat. "If attacking the Phane has no chance of success, it seems that we should work this problem from the inside out. Specifically, inside the sphere." He turns towards his companions. "Any thoughts on how we can get past it and inside the sphere to the captured island?"

[Nettlekid]

"I'm afraid that if I had the means to, I would already have launched an investigation myself. I am a guardian of time, not a traveler through it. I have seen the Phane's work looping and so I have made a number of inferences based on statistical patterns, but the limit of my aid is largely in the theoretical realm. The only way into the sphere would be to be within it from the very beginning, when it is first draped over the island. Or, failing that, to transport into a fixed aspect of the world. A conduit which was on the island at all times, effectively taking your place.

I am in possession of no such conduit, but the ones who initially enlisted my aid have uncovered an artifact from this land which may be just such a device. The Timeless Order of the Zerth Cenobites, monks gifted with psionic abilities and devout students of the nature of time, unearthed a...It would probably be better to show you rather than describe it. If you have finally finished with your business here, we can go."

The Quarut reveals a scroll, and those among you with Spellcraft identify it as a Scroll of Word of Recall. Presumably it will take you to the monastery the Quarut was speaking of, if you believe the Inevitable was telling the truth. It cannot activate the scroll on its own, so it waits for one of you to do the job.

[paradox26]

Cyron listened carefully to the suddenly relevant and understandable words of the quarut. What it said made sense, in a way. He considered is at some length, standing quietly as he thought the entire thing through. "I can see no alternative. We are not powerful enough to face that creature if it decides to get serious. It appeared to be toying with us, yet we still had only whatever effect upon it that it chose to allow us to have. We will have to trust to the words of the quarut here, and hope that it does not lead us astray," he said. He turned to the practical side of things. "Which of us should read the scroll? I am trained to use magical items such as scrolls, but I am not naturally skilled with them. A pure spellcaster would be the best bet, though if none of you can do it then I will activate the scroll."

[Vertharrad]

A perplexed look comes over Sandra. "That many times? I know I've been out of the game for awhile...but I'd figure my instincts would've been alot better than to just charge in that many times when we we're warned. I was thinking this time that the sphere had a greater importance than the Phane itself. If your scroll gets us to the civilization before it I say lets go. I would suggest one of you casters use the scroll my ability to activate it might not be reliable enough."

[Cardea]

"The last time I worked with any such order, I lost enough gold to buy, burn and bring back a small island. And the last time I worked with monks, I wasn't paid." Yraalik says, glaring at the Quarut. He holds out his claw, waving for the Mechanus-Construct to hand it to him. "In all the times that we've talked, did we ever ask you what your name is?"

Spellcraft Check to use the Scroll: [roll0]

[Nettlekid]

"You have, but not often. I am the tenth generation of the Clock Automation Series, CAS10. I am a reliable and durable timekeeper. And I should not be concerned about material wealth, Yraalik. The Zerth Cenobites may be largely ascetic, but consider that you have an entire civilization spanning millions of years to plunder. Should their system of economy be equitable to yours, you'd make a fortune in interest alone. Not to mention that in attempts past, the Phane has employed a rainbow of magical items crafted retroactively to foil your particular techniques. Surely those would be worth a king's ransom in and of themselves. Not forgetting the handsome reward you are all promised for solving the issue of the temporal dilation by your respective nations. I should remark that you figured all this out on your own, in time. You needn't go through the thought process again."

The Quarut makes to resistance when you swipe the scroll from its hand. You can decipher it easily, and it is indeed a scroll of Word of Recall. It seems to be keyed to a location several thousand miles east and about four miles above sea level.

[paradox26]

Cyron listened to talk of the possible rewards without interest. He cared little for material gains, but the chance of saving an entire island of people, as well as the rest of the world to a lesser extent, did appeal to him. He still had to achieve great things in order to save his soul, as impossible a task as that might be. He leaned over to study the scroll Yraalik took from the quarut. He worked out the arrival point, and saw that it was some distance up in the air. He stretched out his wings, ready to take to the air as soon as they arrived at the new point. "I assume the rest of you are able to fly when we arrive at the destination, assuming that we aren't meant to be arriving atop some mountain? he asked.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Normally flight wouldn't be an issue. With this time trouble though I can barely stay aloft long enough to cast a spell." Elias says and frowns. "I can manage in an emergency, and I've a hunch we won't be flung straight into the air as that. I'm ready."

[Nettlekid]

"It's on a mountain." the Quarut adds in a monotone.
"It's chilly. If you have skin."

[Vertharrad]

Sandra looks at the others. "Can any of you cast endure elements? I wasn't expecting to have to deal with cold weather on this particular adventure."

[paradox26]

Cyron shook his head curtly. "I fear not. I have a natural resistance to fire and electricity, but no resistance to the cold. I also lack the ability to cast any sort of incantation which will protect us from the weather," he said. He considered what they were each wearing. "We might be alright, so long as we find the monastery quickly. We are all reasonably hardy, so the cold should not kill us quickly. If we are able to quickly find the entrance to this place, we should be safe."

He paused, then a thought occurred to him. He turned to the quarut and asked, "Is there any practical time limit to how long we can take to accomplish our task? I know that the nature of time being what it is, this is almost a nonsensical question. But I assume that when we enter the island we should be free of these time shennanigans. So it would be handy to know if there will be any limits on our time once we are inside."

[Cardea]

"Aye. Why did you come if you were not prepared? This is basic protocol, isn't it?" Yraalik says, readying his Infusion. He holds his claw out to shake hands, ready to cast it into Sandra's glove.

Casting Spell Storing Item to cast Endure Elements. Placing it in Sandra's Gloves.

Spellcraft check automatically meets the 23 DC Spellcraft check.

I'll do this for anyone else who needs it.

[Nettlekid]

The Quarut still has its hand outstretched from giving the scroll over. The many years of accumulated time it spent living in the Phane's loop flash before its mechanical eyes.
"It is not exceedingly chilly. Just quite chilly."

[paradox26]

Cyron looked over at Yraalik and replied, "I prepare for the foreseeable. I intended to come to an island, not head into the mountains. My funds and creative abilities are not unlimited. I am ready for that which I considered most likely." He then looked over at the quarut and added, "Then there is no need to linger then. We seem to be as ready for this as it is possible or required to be."

[Vertharrad]

As Sandra is about to reply the problem solves itself. She shakes her head yes at Cyrons suggestion. "Yes let's get going."

[Cardea]

Yraalik makes a funny face, using his Infusion-based Endure Elements on himself. "Suit your selves. Lets move."

UMD: [roll0]

[Nettlekid]

There is a flicker of bright yellow divine energy radiating out from the scroll, which reaches out to the four party members and the Quarut. In an instant they are plucked from the Material Plane, passed through the Astral, and deposited somewhere presumably on the Material Plane. You come to a rest standing on a large stone pedestal with stairs carved down. You are in a large hall with a high ceiling, and a brisk wind blows through to the holes carved to form doors in the outside. The entire building seems to be just a cave carved into the side of a mountain, because as far as you can see there are no breaks in the stonework, even around the tall stone columns rising along the center of the hall. However it is clearly not naturally formed because the masonry is highly defined and the architecture is evocative of a cathedral.

A round has passed, and Endure Elements wears off. It is indeed chilly.

This monastery is far from uninhabited. The majority of monks are tall, slender, robed Githzerai discussing with one another, meditating, and writing in journals. By the presence of insectoid Dromites and glittering Maenads, there are many other naturally Psionic races who seem to be in an acolyte position. An humanoid creature whose off-putting piercing green eyes and bright red hair give him away as an Elan strikes toward you as the Quarut descends from the pedestal.
"CAS10, back so soon? Did you forget something?" the Elan asks.
"I've found suitable travelers."
"Oh, haha! Brilliant! That didn't take you long!"
The Quarut does not reply.
"Well, good, good, this way please, thusly, thusly." the Elan continues, and beckons to you four. He walks through the hall toward an area of bookshelves and tables, and a large object covered by a sheet.
"My name is Rasa, acolyte of the third hour to the order of Zerth Cenobites. I trust you know why you're here? Our order commissioned the use of CAS10 to locate the temporal disturbances and seek their rectification. We had had a suspicion that the ancient island would be the source of the problem, mainly due to THIS!"
With a flourish, Rasa grabs the sheet and pulls it off. It falls away to reveal a peculiar metal machine made of large rings and a wide metal dais. The dais is large enough for perhaps five people to stand on if they squeeze, and metal poles rise from the sides up to a dome ten feet above the platform. It's slightly raised and there's a set of stairs leading up to the dais, and on the far side there's some kind of panel.
"This is a relic we uncovered from the island, in a cavern deep underground untouched by any other developments which may have occurred on the surface. Now to be honest...we don't entirely know how it works. But we believe that it represents a fixed point in the incredibly long, contracted timeline of the island. It can take you onto itself at one of three different eras in the island's history, as indicated by this dial. See, there's a symbol of a leaf, an eye, and a hammer. Those are the three key periods of history of the island, and this machine can move forward and backward between them. There seems to be the capacity to fine-tune the travel to literally any single moment in the three million years from beginning to end, but um...that piece is missing. But still, it can take you to the beginning, middle, and end of the island's timeline. Also, while you return to the device you'll be able to communicate with us on the outside if you need suggestions, guidance, or clarification and would benefit from our research. The only time that will pass for us will be the time spent talking to you-your travelling and adventuring happens within the timeframe of the black sphere, not our world.

Now, I have to warn you. It can take you into the island's encapsulated time because it existed at all points in that time. It can't do the reverse and take you out of the timeline once you're in. The only way to return to this world will be to somehow break the Phane's black sphere from the inside, destabilizing it such that the sphere dissolves and the Phane never had the power it now has. I don't entirely know how to do that, but I would imagine that interfering with the timeline will damage it. Beware, as the timeline becomes less stable the Phane is more likely to take notice and start acting against you, like antibodies fighting a virus. I understand if it's too daunting a task to undertake. It would be asking a huge amount from you."

[Vertharrad]

Sandra recognizes the somewhat familiar feeling of being transported from one place to another by teleportation magic. Her gaze gets intense and focused as their surroundings come back into focus. The elaborate set-up in the cave-like cathedral leads her to believe that this is a compound or abode.

She pauses as a creature straight from half serious rumors and legend itself steps forward...a Elan. However it fits in with the Githzerai and insectoid creatures she can see. Sandra doesn't let her guard down as they are ushered to a device covered with a sheet. The object has her full attention as the noises from the activity of the monks roll over her like water.

She almost seems preoccupied as the Rasa explains their situation. Once done she focuses her own piercing, intense, unsettling gaze on him. "So to clarify, you want us to use a device we're not even sure works to travel to this island that is stuck in a time vortex? Millions of years ago? From which we cannot even get back except to try and break the hold this sphere that has caused the vortex has on the island? From which your instructions are vague and can be read as misleading or unfocused?"

A mischievous smile stretches across her face from ear to ear. "If we are to ensure that those people or places we want to protect aren't similarly used when this spheres area is increased, we'll agree to do it. Just one question. what makes you think that we'll be able to destabilize the timeline or even defeat the Phane should it show up to deal with us? Our earlier attempts have been uninspiring. Also will we be able to blend among the islands populace? What races and customs will we be needing to infiltrate? Are there key figures in their history we could convince to aid us?"

[Nettlekid]

Rasa waves his hand almost dismissively. A moment ago he seemed somewhat shy, but it looks like he doesn't want the credentials of his research disparaged.

"Most of your concerns are thoroughly irrelevant. We have every proof that the machine works as intended, it's simply that its current functionality is limited compared to its potential. Rest assured, the finest minds in this institution and some of the leading researchers on the subject of temporal distortion investigated this. We have the published author who discovered how to make the fantastically complicated power Time Hop simplified and uniform enough to be mass-produced in the Mirror of Time Hop that you may have seen in your local magic shoppe, and an award-winning, nationally recognized scholar whose early thesis work led to the categorization of Quintessence. There's no doubt as to the capabilities of this device, only those of its users.

And please, used? This is purely a voluntary mission, make no mistake, though our options are limited because of the grand scope of the process. I daresay should you turn down our request we will have CAS10 search for other suitable recruits, and in the meanwhile you can deal with the continually destabilizing passage of time because I'm sure that won't affect the daily lives of the billions of living creatures on this plane, probably not," he snorts. "Now, if you DO choose to undertake this, your task is far from straightforward. And that's the part where communicating with us on the outside is essential, because we have no data from within the sphere at this time. I'm sure we'll be able to locate key points for you once we're made aware of them, but until that point there's not a lot we can say. The most we can ascertain about the culture is what's left of the island, which is to say that it was stripped bare of all natural resources including minerals in the ground, and is for some reason particularly hospitable to Undead and other creatures without a link to the Positive Energy Plane. What kind of civilization results in that outcome after three million years, well, your guess is as good as mine.

The Phane's interference won't be as direct as you're imagining. For one, because you're infiltrating the captured civilization before its termination, the Phane won't be at its full power. It'll be a prototype of its future self, powerful but as weak as we're hoping to make it. But you won't even have to concern yourself with that; the Phane won't risk interfering with the civilization's timeline for the same reason that you want to. Since the Phane was not a part of the timeline, its addition will risk paradoxes. If anything happens that could not be caused without the Phane's interference, the pocket timestream won't know how to deal with it, and that's bad news for the Phane. He'll interfere in other ways, manipulating authority figures to target you or inciting predestined wars. It's by deviating from that blueprint that you can make a difference."

[Chambers]

Elias

"Sandra, it sounds to me as though the instructions are clear enough." Elias says while looking at the strange device. "Cause enough distortions in the timeline such that the Phane is prevented from gaining this unique power." He glances at the inevitable and then their host. "What are your thoughts on the effects of a total annihilation of the early timeline island and it's inhabitants on our timeline and the Phane?" He asks. "There are ways to accomplish this."

[Nettlekid]

"An extreme approach, to be sure. Arguably not a poor one. It would certainly shake up the Phane's position, that's for sure. It would probably re-seed the civilization?"
Rasa thought for a moment.
"There's a fine line to be walked. Too subtle a change, and the timeline will rectify itself. Too extreme a change, and the Phane has nothing to lose by taking direct action (which it would initially avoid). It's almost like you have to trick the timeline into staying the same until it realizes it can't. For example, let's say you find that a tyrant will rise to power and destroys the land. You might be tempted to kill the tyrant as a child, but the timeline knows that a tyrant must rise to power and so another child will just take its place. But if you kill every child, or all the people of the civilization, then the timeline sees that all are dead as they're meant to be, and it can continue from there. Only if you allow the tyrant to come to power and then defeat them would you manage to confuse the timeline to a point where it can't rectify itself.

Also there's probably an ethical issue in committing genocide against a whole civilization of people. Just thought of that, yeah. I mean, yeah, greater good and all, but probably that's bad. But who am I to tell you how to do your jobs?"

[Vertharrad]

At the mention of indiscriminate killing Sandras visage goes hard and she scowls darkly. "No, if we kill like that just to avert a disaster to us...we become the very villains that we are striving to thwart. I have had innocent blood on my hands and I'm not going to back to being an amoral killer again. There are better ways to do this. If we can identify the authority figures that the Phane wishes to use and then kill some of them in such away as to implicate the others or as you said stage a revolution should it get terribly bad we won't become monsters in the execution of our mission. And I'm sure there are other options we can use that haven't been voiced yet."

[Chambers]

Elias

"You were on the island, just as I was." Elias says with a raised eyebrow. "There was no life, no people. All of these 'people' are already dead...will be dead." He says and shrugs. "I'm not advocating it as our first option, but it's something that we may have to consider."

[Nettlekid]

"It's not impossible that what you suggest might be the final course of action to take. The outcome of the island that you've seen is only one possible future that may be altered by your interference, but you're right in that it is the future that the civilization resulted in of its own accord. Who knows why, but it did end up barren and destroyed. So really, that's the lowest point that you can only improve on. The Phane is drawing power from the lives trapped inside the sphere and the years of lost futures. And they need to be alive for the Phane to draw power from them. Kill them all, and the Phane will probably replace them. Since the end result is that they're all gone, it stands to reason that they'll end themselves shortly before the three-million-year mark, late enough that the Phane won't bother replenishing them. Who knows, maybe they destroyed themselves long ago and a new civilization cropped up in the meanwhile? I suppose there's no reason to think it was a single uninterrupted process from start to finish.

Remember, saving the lives of the people in the sphere is not your first priority. In fact, it's really not a priority at all. They lived out their lives on the island, free to make their own choices and succumb to their own fate, so who's to say they were denied anything? The priority is to rectify the time stream and stop the Phane's rise to power in the process. If the path you choose results in their salvation, good for you. If it wipes them from existence, well, can't complain about a done job."

[paradox26]

Cyron had been standing in silence, listening to the discussion rage around him. He had no intention of slaying everyone on the island, though he could not absolutely rule out the possibility of it becoming necessary. After all, he had been on the island and at some point the inhabitants had clearly died off. He looked over at their interlocutor and said, "I have two questions, which may be too basic to have been mentioned. You say that we need to change the timeline in order to defeat the phane. How do we do that? By which I mean, how will we know when we are changing the timeline, and how will we know what the planned timeline is, in order to alter it? There is no point taking drastic actions if it turns out that we are merely doing what is foreordained. My second question is a simpler one. How do we use the machine in order to communicate with you once we are inside the island? You said that it is possible to speak with you, just not exactly how to do so."

[Nettlekid]

"Not at all, this is a complicated business. The communication should be a simple matter. The machine is designed to drop a veil around you as it is in operation. The travel itself is instantaneous, but if you lower the veil partway and then flip this lever here, what this silver screen here" he gestures to a small metal plated cylinder on the table, away from the dais, "sees will be visible to you, and what is standing on the dais will be visible to us through it. We will also be able to speak. We'll be able to send things in to you if you need them, but you won't be able to send anything out.

As for changing the timeline, it's deceptively simple. The timeline is what it is, currently. Your first task will be to understand what is set to happen, what is fated, et cetera. That is how things are quote 'meant to be' unquote. Because you have a time machine, you can see that timeline at multiple points. If you then insert yourself into the society and take actions such that what is fated is now impossible, the timeline will destabilize. If you do not act drastically enough, the timeline will likely rectify itself, and it will be as though nothing has changed. If your actions change the entire course of history of the civilization, such that future fated events can never occur, then the timeline will break down. But as I said before, you have to act in such a way that is subtle enough that the Phane won't step in and directly interfere with your interference. I'm sorry I can't be more specific about what you'll have to do, but since I don't know what the civilization is like or what its fate entails, I can't guess on how to alter it. But that's why it's handy that we can communicate-I'll probably be able to give you hints or suggestions if you come to a crossroads, once I'm more informed."

[paradox26]

Cyron considered this for a brief time. "That sounds fairly straightforward," he said eventually. "I suppose the best way of continuing is simply to proceed. Since we can still communicate, I think the best thing to do is just activate the machine and move into the island's time stream. We can figure everything else out once we get there. And since we will still be able to communicate with you here, there will be little lost in doing our talking from the island."

He looked over at the others. "Can anyone thinik of anything which has to be asked from here, or is everyone okay with moving along with this quest and activating the machine?" he asked. He quickly checked his effects, making sure that he was carrying everything he might require. He was, of course, so he looked expectantly at the others. He had never been one for deep contemplation, and was keen to proceed as quickly as possible, in order to more rapidly get to the heart of matters.

[Vertharrad]

Looking anxious to get going Sandra approaches the device. "Let's go. We can figure this out once we get there and see what's what. theres not much more we're going to learn here. It's time to take the field and act."

[paradox26]

Cyron decided that there seemed to be at least some level of agreement to his suggestion of continuing, so he moved over to stand on the machine. He took up position in the area that seemed designed for the travelers to stand on, and looked over at the others to see if they would move as well, or if they were intending to stay longer and ask more questions.

[Nettlekid]

"Excellent, no time like the present. Well. I mean. The past and future's alright too."

Rasa ushers the party onto the dais, pushing you slightly so they all fit in the enclosure of the ring. He pulls a few levers in the device, ending with the one he had gestured toward which activates the machine. He quickly hurries out as the bulb on the top of the enclosure opens and allows yet another metal ring to expand outward. Once it has extended fully, out to the edge of the dais, the ring segments into three concentric rings, the center of which slowly descends to the bottom of the platform. It houses a thin clear panel, filled with a silver-white fluid no thicker than the soap film forming a bubble. When the descending ring connects with the circumference of the dais, and the silver-white fluid forms a cylindrical wall around you, the sounds of the monastery outside vanish in an instant.

A rectangular panel toward the back of the device flickers to life.
"Ah, yes, hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" Rasa's face appears with an exaggerated fisheye effect as he presumably stares at the cylinder you saw earlier.
"We've initiated the delivery, and raised the curtain on our end. You're already gone. Right now, you and the machine are all inside a kind of void space. Well, void time. In fact, the space is the only thing that's determined. You're deep underground, where we first unearthed the machine, but you don't exist right now because there's not a decided time to exist at. You see the large dial that I pointed out earlier, with the leaf, the eye, and the hammer? Pick one and turn the pointer of the dial to it. That'll send you somewhen you want to go!"

[paradox26]

Cyron leaned forward to look at Rasa through the machine's panel. "Yes, we are here, for all that means right now. And right now, for all that means, come to that," he said. "We can select one of the settings, but do you have any idea which ones relate to what time? I think we should head for the most recent time period, so we can try to locate a history book. With that, we will be able to travel back in time and will be able to figure out what we can and should change," he suggested.

[Nettlekid]

"We've reason to believe that the hammer is approximately the two million year mark, the beginning of the final third of the timeline. The leaf is the beginning at year zero, the eye is the middle era at year one million, and then there's the hammer."

[paradox26]

Cyron examined the various markings on the machine. "So it sounds like the Hammer is where we should probably start," he said. "It seems odd that the civilisations can last for millions of years though. I would have expected a civilisation to have lasted for no more than a few thousand years. Do you know anything about this civilisation and how they might have lasted for this long?" he asked. He glanced at the others to see if they might have a contrary opinion on when to head for.

[Nettlekid]

"Most normal civilizations wouldn't last for such a long time, you're right. But this one has two factors contributing to its longevity. The first is that it's self-contained, away from all external influence. It never had fear of invasion from forces across the seas or other threat of external annihilation, which has felled many societies throughout history. And secondly, though we don't have record of what the race of creature is who lived here, we suspect them to be quite long-lived. Compare the culture of Elves and Kobolds, and you'll see what average lifespan does to prolong a culture. If the people were calmer and slower to incite, as a long-lived race would be without any mortal deadlines, there's less chance of turmoil from within. There was probably a great civil war at some point which reduced the island to what you've seen, but who knows how long that was in the making?"

[Chambers]

Elias

"That was...not what I expected." Elias says once the machine has activated. He squints at the image of Rasa, then turned his attention to the three symbols. "The leaf." He says, then smiles. "When else are we going to have the opportunity to witness the birth of a civilization?"

Elias taps his rod on the floor. Long lived peoples...hmm. "What if the nature of the people isn't what made them long-lived? What if it were the nature of the island that prolonged their lives? Think on it like this: what's the most important difference about these people besides that they lived unbelievably long lives? They lived here, as opposed to the rest of humanity, which ages normally and lives elsewhere. Something to consider."

[paradox26]

Cyron shrugged at Elias's idea. He preferred to go to the end of the civilisation first, but if the others were more interested in starting with the beginning of the realm, then it did not concern him greatly. The great thing about having a time travel machine was that they could travel backwards and forwards without any problems, making their exact position in time irrelevant. If they started at the beginning, they could always shift forwards at will to the more advanced times. He was a little concerned that they were limited to three specific time periods, but that would have to do, unless they were able to figure out how to activate the fourth control that would open up the time stream to them.

"Perhaps they are long lived, perhaps they are immortal. Maybe they are a race of fey or elans, and can live forever," he suggested. Ëither way, it doesn't really matter at this stage. Perhaps it will be of more significance when we get used to the civilisation. If they are immortal, we could conceivably encounter the same individuals at different points in time, which may cause issues."

[paradox26]

Cyron nodded at Elias, then reached forward and grasped the control for the leaf symbol. He activated it as they had been told, then looked around with interest to see how time travel actually worked in practice. He wasn't too concerned at where or when they would land, since the where was easily rectified by magic, and the when could be altered as required by the machine itself.

[Nettlekid]

"Oh okay bye then. Goodluckwiththefateoftheworldandallthat."

The actual process of the traveling through time was fairly anticlimactic. There was a faint humming as whatever powered the machine registered to the new input, and then the silver screen connected to the center ring began to rise. The humming stops when the screen fully retracts into the extended upper ring, and the machine is still. Perhaps a high-tech time travel machine should be silent and smooth as it functions, but still, except for the fact that you're in a totally different place than you were a moment ago it would be hard to believe it functioned at all. Instead of the wide monastery and Rasa's study area which had just been surrounding the machine, there is nothing but the pitch-blackness of a pocket taken out of the earth.

Those of you with Darkvision can see that you're in a small cave, about fifteen feet wide leaving only a small gap on any side off of the dais, presumably deep underground. There's a small sheet of water on the bottom of the cave which comes from a slight trickle on the damp ceiling, and tiny bubbles near the back of the cave (back measured only by the back of the dais) show where the water is dripping out somewhere else. There is no visible living creature, or even growths like moss and fungi. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the cave are solid stone with no visible breaks. In fact, there is no entrance or exit to the cave whatsoever. It's just a pocket of nothing inside the stone. Well, Rasa did say that the machine wasn't discovered for the millions of years that it existed in the timeline. You guess this is why, since it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, when the haystack is the planet.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Let's have some light." Elias says and reaches up to touch one of his horns. It immediately glows with a bright light that fills the cavern. "If that stays on for more than a few heartbeats..." Elias says while glancing around the cavern. "Then we're truly in the past and free from the thrice-damned phanes time curse." Elias lets out a sigh of relief and taps his rod on the ground, pushing up into the air and hovering there as he weaves further dweomers upon himself.

Elias takes a few moments to carefully study the cavern, placing small details of it into his memory. "You can fly, right? Take my hand, we're leaving this cave."

Casts Light, Overland Flight, Protection from Good, See Invisibility. He'll then cast Teleport and take the party 1 mile straight up. Percentile for Teleport [roll0].

[Nettlekid]

With a crackle of arcane magic, you skip momentarily through the Astral Plane before being jolted back onto the Material Plane. The path the teleportation takes is peculiar, and you feel as though it tries to put you into the earth, but failing to do so snaps you high into the sky, and then once more only a few feet from the ground. But where you've landed is a complete mystery. Although this is technically land you've walked on before (or, will later walk on?) it is entirely dissimilar to the desolate island you saw only a short while ago. There is rich emerald foliage as far as the eye can see, which isn't very far given the thickness of the underbrush. Thick trees reach up to the sky, shading the landscape from the bright sun...which isn't there. There's light, but there is no sun. Perhaps the Phane couldn't enclose the sun in its entirety, so it just trapped the light which would be shining through? The land is not flat, and you by looking diagonally upward you can see the contours of the hilly terrain by the waves of treetops. The earth you stand on is rich, wet, and loamy, but further in the distance the tall trees turn to shorter brush as the land rises into several jagged stone mountains. The air is fresh and humid, and the landscape is littered with small forms of life. Little lizards scurry through the heavy moss on the forest floor, and the trees are peppered with large beetles whose shells are damp with condensation. The air is alive with birds chirping. There is a thumping and scrambling in the underbrush as a small herd of deer leap across your path and disappear into the bushes, pursued by three Krenshar on the hunt. These moving animals push away the foliage enough that you notice a Deinonychus about twenty feet ahead of you has been staring at you intently, not moving since you arrived.

[paradox26]

Cyron held onto Elias's hand along with the others, and was startled in spite of himself at the sudden movement. He had the ability to shift himself if needed, but his own powers operated off shadows, and so appeared very different. As they arrived he looked around, pausing to study the man-sized dinosaur. He did not consider it a threat, though it was undoubtedly a meat eater. Instead, he spread his wings and launched into the sky, building up height in a series of tight circles as he moved ever upwards. Once he reached an altitude of around a hundred feet, he leveled off in flight, and started to circle as he examined the landscape, looking for any signs of intelligent life, or for anything powerful enough to prove dangerous to the group of heroes.

[Nettlekid]

Cyron charges into the sky, but Elias feels tugging at his cloak from not one, not two, but three waist-high hands clinging to the teleporting mage. Yraalik's clawed hands are there, but there are two rough-skinned round-fingered hands as well, and two pairs of brutish eyes look up at the diabolic sorcerer. When did they get there? Were they always there?

The Deinonychus lunges forward. Not the one in front, but the ones from the sides. Clever girls. It's going for the newcomer Goblins, who look like less of a threat and more of a ready meal!

The two dinosaurs lunge in together, pouncing on Piyd from the left and Flond from the right.
Piyd, being flat-footed, is struck by the talons of the beast, taking 11 damage! Thanks to his small size Piyd dodges the raptor's twin claw attack, but is still struck by its formidable bite, taking another 9 damage!
Flond is similarly flat-footed, but his raptor strikes poorly and misses its initial talon attack. It strikes true with one claw but narrowly misses with the other, dealing a mere 4 damage. Its bite is as shaky as its talon strike, and it snaps only the air above Flond's head. Clearly this is the weakest link in the Deinonychus chain.
The one that had been watching you previously continues to watch, taking a step forward but not yet charging.


As Cyron circles in the sky, he can see the events unfolding beneath him, but not much else through the thick canopy of the trees. The jungle is alive with fauna, and all around the trees are shaking as creatures run through the underbrush or swing from limb to limb. Judging by the motion there is something quite big stomping around north of the central mountain. The area to the southeast is strangely still, compared to everything else in the jungle.

[Gunhaven]

With a grin the goblins take a step back to back. One of them pulls out a bastard sword embroidered with motifs of the sun and a chariot while the other causes a glaive of energy to form in his hands, dripping with acid. The one with the sword says in passable common "Odur blesses us with a greeting, sir!" and swings at the dinosaur with both hands on the blade. With a laugh the other says in near perfect common "That he does! Idle hands lead to wayward thoughts after all!" and swings three times at the dinosaur that decided to attack him.

Flond: Attack once with bastard sword that I need to thumb through the MIC for.
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

Piyd: Swift Knowledge Devotion, Full Attack with a Vitriolic Eldritch Glaive.
Knowledge check: [roll2]
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4]
Attack: [roll5] Damage: [roll6]
Attack: [roll7] Damage: [roll8]

[Nettlekid]

Flond's strike against the Deinoychus leaves a deep cut in the creature's torso, and it staggers back to regain itself as it loses blood. It seems to contemplate fleeing, but somewhere inside it knows that with its injuries it's unlikely to hunt down food again, and it needs to commit to this. It strikes again with talons, claws, and its gnashing teeth, but now that Flond has had the chance to steady himself each attack strikes either air or metal armor.
Piyd's attack is far more devastating. His initial strike mortally wounds the beast, and it screeches as its flesh is eaten away by the acidic eldritch energy. It does not suffer for long as Piyd's return strike eats through its neck, and it collapses in a still-dissolving bubbling puddle of scales and bone.
The third Deinonychus, terrified by its companion's dying scream, has bolted into the thicker forest.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd and Flond shifted slightly in position as the second dinosaur still dissolves, the duo with passive faces attack as acid and steel flash before the first raptor's eyes. With the dinosaur dead at their feet they look about at the others and then each other before the one with the sword speaks. He says sadly "The meek have fallen because of instinct..." He looked up at those present and continues*"I am Flond, my leader is Piyd. We assume you chose the leaf like us? Piyd wanted to start from the beginning and consulted our God, Odur on the matter. Rasa said others would aid and that it wouldn't be a suicide mission, a satisfying change."

At this moment the one with the now gone glaive turned to the group and motioned at them to gather around. He at first tried to look at them at head level, as if he was their height, before he seemed to remember his size and looked up at them. In his left hand he held a simple rod and said*"Odur has blessed us with this chance meeting in time and place. He must be pleased to ride his chariot once again. If you will allow me to bolster your arms and armor then I can chain a couple of spells amongst us for most of the day." He chuckled at using that word again and held out a hand to cast his spells.
Combat
Flond: Full Attack
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

Piyd: SOP
Knowledge Check: [roll6]
Attack:*[roll7] Damage:*[roll8]
Attack: [roll9] Damage: [roll10]
Attack: [roll11] Damage: [roll12]

Post Combat buff time!
I'll put on the sheet the fact that I'm picking up a Pearls of Power level 3, an Orange Ioun Stone (or about 8k gold left), and mine spells. Until that time I do have a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Chaining and am a cleric. So chaining Magic Vestment for anyone that wants it (both at CL20).*
I take up 4 uses of MV with my armor and shield. I'm willing to cast MV again (and use a spell slot) if we have need for 10 extra pieces of armor/shield (instead of 3). *

[paradox26]

Cyron watched as their apparent allies fought the dinosaurs. He was not concerned, as the pair appeared to be easily capable of dealing with the threat. He was content to keep an eye on the larger area, ensuring that nothing bigger and more dangerous appeared while they were busy playing with the small dinosaurs. After the fight, he landed and approached the pair. "It would appear that we are not the only ones then to have been sent to deal with this problem. You can call me Cyron. I don't have a fancy title, so that will suffice to draw my attention."

He looked the two up and down, then continued, "Your offer is generous, but I have no personal need of such protective spells. My effects protect me sufficiently well that your magic would simply be wasted in trying to enhance it further." He turned back to the business of survival. "It appears that this far into the past we will need to be wary of such primitive creatures. From the air I saw signs of something huge making a ruckus to the north. The southest appears strangely silent, which makes me suspicious. The rest of the jungle is teeming with life, so something odd must be working to keep that area quiet. I suggest that we start by looking in that direction. Although we can likely handle whatever is to the north, near the biggest mountain in the area, I woul dprefer to avoid it if possible."

[Nettlekid]

Needless to say, the second dinosaur is lain low by Flond's flashing steel, the creature's heavy body crashing to the ground made wet by its blood. No larger animals have come yet, but beetles and other insects (some as big as a fist) have begun crawling toward the recent kills, drawn by the scent of blood and the promise of fresh meat.

Cyron's eye catches something pressed against the thick trunks of the trees above. It's hard to pick out anything, because the blowing wind shifts the leaves to disguise motion and everything is the same vibrant green and mottled brown color, but you're fairly certain something had just jumped from a tree farther away from you to one closer, high in the canopy. It may have been some kind of monkey, but for a moment you think you can make out a humanoid silhouette before the shapes become indistinct again.

[paradox26]

Cyron noted the movement, and immediately he disappeared from sight, hiding in the shadows. He moved quietly in the direction of the creature he had seen, hoping to get a better look at it. He didn't like having to use his new companions as a lure, but if the creature seemed hostile he would have a good chance of being able to destroy it before it got near to the others. As he moved he quietly said, "Wait here. There is something suspicious coming towards us. I will check it out."


Will move silently and hide in shadows, then head for the creature he saw.

[Nettlekid]

Haha, I was like "uhh, why didn't he roll his checks?" and then I saw your modifiers and was like "oh, okay." What went into that Vest of Great Stealth?

Cyron immediately vanishes from the sight of every nearby creature, and his swift wings take him into the treetops. Whoever is up here is perhaps as sharp-eyed as you are, but they are not quite as good at hiding. You should be thankful that you caught only the faintest glimpse before, because had you not it would have been next to impossible to find a creature up here if you didn't know there was one. You're looking around and don't realize it until you're maybe a foot away, almost close enough to breathe down the creature's neck, that there's something standing right in front of you. It's a Killoren. Taller than a human, it looks much like a living plant. Its skin is the same deep greenish brown of the forest and its hair and eyes are both pure emerald in color like leaves with sunlight shining through. It's a muscular creature, and its veins look like those of leaves. Its hands and feet too are more like fronds than fingers as they wrap around the thick tree trunk, and you can't tell if the leaves covering its body are growing out of it or maybe some kind of woven clothing. Its face is more feline than anything, and it's not paying attention to you, but instead looking out into the clearing at Elias and the two Goblins. You get the impression it might be confused and slightly distressed, given your sudden disappearance. Silently, it withdraws a small fan made from maybe five different colors of feather from a pouch on its pocket, positions it so two colors are visible, and makes a few small signals behind it. If you look, you can see momentary flashes of color from trees about a hundred feet away on either side, as other Killoren reply to this ones message.

[paradox26]

Cyron continued to remain as close to the killoren as he could without giving away his location. He considered warning the others, but he couldn't risk leaving the killoren untended to, in case he could not find it again. He decided to content himself with keeping a close eye on this one, watching to decide if its intentions were apparently hostile or not. Besides, he had warned the others that there was a sign of movement and something approaching, so if they were sensible then they would be preparing themselves to fight regardless of any further input on his side.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd and Flond move back to the machine once the battle is done. After Piyd makes a quick incantation to Odur and Flond takes a look and listen around for any waiting surprises the duo spend a moment communing with Odur and feeling the satisfying connection to the divine they both enjoy, even if it's from simple belief in the Sun and not necessarily the Deity existing just yet. While neither are that good at hiding or scouting they do have enough common sense to hunker down until either another pair of dinosaurs appear or Cyron comes back with news of the area.
Piyd:
Activating Summon Swarm and Dark One's Own Luck for Cha to... Fortitude.

Flond:
Trapkiller to look for possible traps outside the clearing [roll0] and Listen to hear any possible ambushes awaiting them [roll1].

[Nettlekid]

Piyd and Flond move back to the machine once the battle is done. After Piyd makes a quick incantation to Odur and Flond takes a look and listen around for any waiting surprises the duo spend a moment communing with Odur and feeling the satisfying connection to the divine they both enjoy, even if it's from simple belief in the Sun and not necessarily the Deity existing just yet. While neither are that good at hiding or scouting they do have enough common sense to hunker down until either another pair of dinosaurs appear or Cyron comes back with news of the area.
Piyd:
Activating Summon Swarm and Dark One's Own Luck for Cha to... Fortitude.

Flond:
Trapkiller to look for possible traps outside the clearing [roll0] and Listen to hear any possible ambushes awaiting them [roll1].


The machine is a mile or two underground. It's why I had you holding onto Elias' cloak to Teleport out. You're now in some area whose relative position you don't know. There's also not really a clear area, it's all thick forest.

It's impossible to hear any particular sounds because the forest is alive with rustling, chirping, and buzzing. A short distance away from where you're standing, Flond discovers a rope trap looped through wooden holds, wrapping up into the trees. The ground below is covered in moss, but just underneath is a tough net, at the center of which is a cut of raw meat. The ropes are actually tough vines wrapped around one another.



The Killoren in the tree follows Flond with his eyes, still unaware of Cyron's position. As Flond approached the trap it makes a signal behind it, and it makes another as Flond more thoroughly uncovers it.

[Chambers]

Elias

"They seem harmless. Let's be about -" Elias says as the dinosaurs attack and are quickly dispatched by the small fellows. He checks his robe to make sure no blood splattered on it and then nods to the pair of goblins. "I am Elias, Archmage of Snowhaven." He says. "I'm unfamiliar with Odur, but am glad to have his aid. Like my companion, I've my own dwomers to protect me."

He frowns as Cyron warns them and sneaks into the shadows. "More distractions." He says in a low growl. His feet lift off the ground as he hovers near the dead bodies of the dinosaurs. He reaches down and touches the corpses with the tip of his dark rod and says "Arise." The bodies stir and the flesh and muscles slough off, leaving only the bones. "Guard us." He says to the dinosaur skeletons.

Elias casts Animate Dead on the dinosaurs, creating skeletons.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd began to speak, his voice that of someone discussing the weather. "Odur is the husband of Freya. It is he that carries the sun across the sky in his chariot, who had appeared motionless in our when. Now it appears he can return to visible, glorious, work. It is through that work, emulating his task each day to carry our sun across the sky, that we can experience freedom and happiness. That is what I was taught as an acolyte and what I've taught Flond and those goblins who follow me."
He paused to look at the sun as he said with a hint of sadness "I, like Cyron, have no formal title beyond being a devote servant of Odur. I turned down that chance when I retired to a small hamlet to help guide it and it was there that the meek bested the mighty..." He trailed off for a few seconds before Flond shook him and pointed at the skeletons. He withdrew his sword and waved at them, having a quick hushed conversation with Piyd. Flond was the one that spoke next, fear and anger seeping into his voice as he asked "They are friendly, yes? Do you plan on doing such magic regularly? Finally is it simply using what resources you have?"

[paradox26]

Cyron decided that he could always activate his mindsight ability if he lost track of the killoren, so it was probably better to return to the others and warn them of what approached. He flew back to the rest of the group and landed, though he remained hidden from view and silent apart from his speech. He quietly said to them, "There are a bunch of killoren approaching in the trees. They are interested in the trap, so they probably set it. Be prepared to fight, they may be hostile." He then turned to face the direction of those killoren he had seen, and activated his mindsight ability, allowing him to see the minds of any creatures approaching him out to a range of one hundred feet. That should provide him with the ability to see them long before they would be able to attack.

[Chambers]

Elias

Elias raises an eyebrow. "Friendly? That means nothing to them. They are under my command, and we are companions. You have nothing to fear from them. If you are squeamish about such things..." He trails off and shrugs, then scowls as Cyron reports. "I can disperse them, but we need to find out more about this land." He looks towards Piyd. "Perhaps you'd like to talk to the hunters?"

[Gunhaven]

Piyd blinked at mention of him speaking to the Killoren and looked over at Flond. With a sigh he said "I'm not the best at asking the living questions. I'll beseech Odur for aid in case they die and to insure they don't lie if we do ask them questions but that's as much aid as I can offer in that regard." Flond added after "I'd only be good at scaring them and bullying them into submission. Not skills we need right now."
Preparing Zone of Truth, Tongues and Speak with Dead in a level 2 and my 2 level 4 slots in the mean time.

[Nettlekid]

Cyron's Mindsight picks up only one Killoren, the one he had been flying behind, the others in the area too far beyond Cyron's range of Telepathy to be seen. The Killoren is of the Fey type, and has Int 15.
However, shortly after he activates it, the Killoren moves to the edge of Cyron's range and then passes outside it, presumably having leaped away through the treetops. Mindsight continues to pick up the various animals in the area, the majority of which are small dinosaurs and burrowing mammals. There's a Magical Beast with an Int of 1 about thirty feet below the ground slightly off to the side.

[paradox26]

Cyron warned the others, "The killoren appear to be moving away, or at least keeping their distance. But there is a magical creature of some kind about thirty feet below the ground, just over there." He gestured in the direction of the creature and the point at which it lay below. "If you are able to fly, it might be safest for you if you do that," he recommended. He then lifted back off the ground, remaining hidden, and flew about twenty feet above the ground, where he could easily monitor anything which might prove a threat to the group.

[Chambers]

Elias

"Perhaps another time." He says. "Cyron, did you see any signs of civilization from above? Probably not high enough." Elias floats up until he can see through the canopy to the sky above. "I'll be back, going for a higher view." He says, then turns towards the skeletons. "Follow his orders." He says and points to Piyd.

Using the Runestaff of Passage to cast Greater Teleport, going up a few miles. He has Overland Flight already cast, so he's got a fly speed once he's up there. He'll hold his breath before he teleports in case there's no air to breath.

[Nettlekid]

Again you get an aerial view of the island, much more of it for being so far in the air. You're above the entire mountain, and you can see from this point of view that it seems like it may in fact be a volcano, because the top is hollowed. There are many caves in it as well. There seems to be a storm rolling in from the south. There is a flock of birds to the east. The forest is still alive with the motion of thousands of animals. As Cyron said, there is a lot of movement near the north face of the mountain and far less movement to the southeast, though more movement than Cyron implied. But the incoming stormwinds may be kicking up the leaves.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd chanted quietly while communing with Odur for the three extra spells to help aid in their endeavors. Meanwhile Flond patrolled the area for further traps, disabling mechanical ones as he finds them, and attempted to see if there was a pattern in their layout or if the entire jungle would likely be trapped. Until such a time that Odur answered Piyd, Flond kept an ear out for potential dangers.
Gonna spend the next 15 minutes finding and clearing traps while listening for danger.
Survival: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

[paradox26]

Cyron was flying not far off the ground, so he called down to the others, "There is likely to be less natural noises in the vicinity of civilisation, so how about we head to the south east. That sounds like the quietest area. If we find nothing, we can head for the volcano. There might be people living in the shadow of the mountain." With that, and lacking any other suggestions from the others, he started heading towards the south east part of the island, where things appear to be quietest. He started flying at treetop height, thirty feet above the ground. He kept a close eye on the area below and in front of him using his mindsight ability.

[Chambers]

Elias

Volcano. Interesting. Elias steadies himself against the winds as he takes another look around, then glances down and tries to remember where the skeleons where standing when he left. A moment later the sky is empty and he's floating above the trees. "The mountain seems hollow. No signs of any cities or other civilization." He says as he follows along. "Picked a direction, have we? Good."

Teleport back down.

[Nettlekid]

The treetops are much higher than 30 feet. The very highest are maybe 200 feet, and the majority are in the 100-150 range. There are many trees that are shorter than that, but the tops of the tallest are up there.

Keeping to the skies you manage to avoid the majority of lifeforms inhabiting the island, though brightly colored birds, a multitude of large insects, and something that looks a lot like a pterodactyl all populate the sky. It strikes you that the air is much thicker than you're used to, largely due to humidity.

The treetops are filled with small mammals like lemurs, with the occasional Girallon stomping about its territory and large insectoids like Spider Eaters flapping through in search of prey. Dipping down every now and again you can pick up the mental frequency of the Killoren not too far ahead of you, slower in their brachiation than Cyron is in flight. They are definitely headed to the calmer area you noticed several miles away.

It takes the Killoren a few hours, but they arrive across the border of that quiet area. You're thankful for your Mindsight, as you can't set eyes on the creatures at all, but you can tell that there are several stationary Killoren positioned nearby, spaced out in what looks like a large arc. Maybe a circle all the way around this zone? They probably keep animals away and are on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, like any guard. You can start to see that there seem to be dwellings in this region. Every tree for what looks like several miles is connected by vines or grown wood, likely magically shaped, to create a massive multi-layered complex. The trees appear to have been hollowed, again by magical means to make pockets within the tree so it continues to live, and inside these homes you can hear the mental chatter of dozens of similar Fey. Further down, at the base of the trees, are pathways for carts and the like where the underbrush has been cleared away. There are a number of controlled bonfires set up between paths, likely to scare off animals and perhaps for use as signals and communication, or for cooking and warmth. Above the fires are pipes made from wrapped leaves, likely also enchanted not to burn. They seem to be siphoning the smoke away so it doesn't rise above the treetops, and guiding the rising hot air to be used to power lightweight machines made of wood to grind grain or raise water from wellsprings to be channeled into what look like bamboo pipes. It's an entire community of Killoren, living on their own in this massive jungle!

[Chambers]

Elias

"Well, this is civilization, after a sort." Elias says while hovering next to Cyron in the trees. "I'm going down to talk to them." He says and then brings his rod to his chest, gently tapping his heart. "Let's hope they speak the trade tongue."

Elias flies back a short distance, making sure not to drop through the trees right in front of the guards and then descends, arms helds to the side. He coughs loudly to get the attention of the guards and then crosses his arms as he hovers just off the ground. "Hello. Do you understand me?" He says in the trade tongue.

Casting See Invisibility.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd stayed on Flond's shoulders, thankful for his comrade's strength and Odur's blessing. Seeing as how neither of them are suited in languages right now he instead ascends up to see the top of the jungle. Flond waited patiently to see if combat would begin while Piyd waited to offer aid and prove their innocence and desire to aid.

[Nettlekid]

The Killoren guards are absolutely bewildered. There are four of them. They stagger back, and the two at the front make a fumbling attempt to ready their spears. The third seems to be about to cast a spell, which you readily identify as Entangle. The last one near the back, shorter than the others, reaches for a shell horn which you expect is for an alarm, and is about to blow it. If they understood what you said, they aren't responding.

[paradox26]

Cyron remained in the air, flying in small circles since he could not hover in place. He remained hidden from view until such time as he could determine if the creatures were hostile. He thought it likely that they were merely surprised and not actively intending to harm the group, but he wanted to stay out of the line of fire until that could be confirmed. At the lack of understanding, he found himself wishing that he had access to a spell of tongues, that they might be able to communicate more effectively with the killoren. Instead, they would have to hope that a killoren spellcaster would be curious enough to cast a spell of comprehending languages, so that they could at least explain what they were there to do. Despite his lack of hostile feelings for the killoren, he still prepared himself to throw down an eldritch blast should the encounter turn truly bad. He doubted that would be necessary, however, since he was sure that his distinguished companions would be able to easily deal with the guards if necessary.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd sighed and mumbled to Flond "Our allies seem to be in need of Odur today. We will have to better prepare when He rises again." With a nod Flond descended to where the others are, staying near the two of them. Piyd considered for a moment and said in common "Odur can offer one of us the gift of language. Which one of you would like to be blessed by His light?" To the one who desired it he touched the arm of and bestowed Odur's blessing upon as he silently counted down the minutes until the duo descended to the ground.

[paradox26]

Cyron remained silent. He figured that one of the others could better benefit from Piyd's offer of a languages spell. He was better served by remaining hidden and silent, avoiding any contact with his comrades in order to stay in place as a secret weapon, should things turn out badly. He used his mindsight ability in order to check on the numbers of killoren in the area, just in case he ended up having to fight them. He found himself hoping that this would not prove to be the case however.

[Chambers]

Elias

Keeping his hands in plain sight Elias nodded to Piyd. "I'll speak with them, though it seems they plan on capturing us first. Try not to resist. We're here to study their land, not slaughter them." He says, then glances back at the killorens. "Yet."

"We're here to speak with your leader." He says after Piyd's spell takes effect.

[Nettlekid]

The Killoren pause, startled once again. The Druid's magic stumbles and backfires, Entangling himself. The one in the far back hesitantly reaches for the horn, but looks to one of the first two in front for guidance. Those two take a few steps back and whisper amongst themselves, though Elias can just about hear them and Flond can easily (though they still speak in strange words).
"As we do, on two legs they stand and our words they use."
"But so different they seem. Red is its skin and deep is its voice. From where did it come?"
"The ones that ruined the hunt are these?"
"How could they be any other?!"
"Well how did so quickly they arrive? Followed the hunters were not."
"More Fey are they? Mu would know."
"To speak with Drathumel is what it said it wants."
"What do we do?"
"Defeat them I think we can."
"Defeat them I absolutely think we cannot."

One of the spear-holding guards turns back to face you, still pointing his spear ahead of him threateningly.
"Er...er...Where...come from? You? From here? Not from here? Why here? You?"
"Why do you speak as such, normally it spoke to you!"
"Understand me I hope it does!"

[paradox26]

Cyron decided that the killoren would not likely pose much of a threat to him even if he were visible. Or, at least, those on regular guard duty would likely not pose much threat. So he flew down and landed with his companions, making himself visible once more. He could blast the killoren as easily from there as he could from a hiding place in the air, and it would provide less of a problem if they were to become aware of his existence now rather than when they are taken to the killoren leader. Now that he was visible, he kept his hands in clear sight, making no threatening gestures. He continued to monitor the killoren using his mindsight, looking around constantly to watch how they were reacting, and whether they were surrounding the group in numbers that might suggest a forthcoming attack.

[Chambers]

Elias

Patience... Elias furrowed his brow as the killoreen jabbered between themselves. "We are not here to speak with guards." He says in reply. "We mean you no harm..." He says and nods towards his companions. "But time is of the essence." Technically, true. He smiles briefly and then beings to stare down the guard. "If you're not going to help, I'll just find Drathumel on my own."

[Gunhaven]

Piyd waited patiently for the discussion to come to a head while Flond touched down and looked up at the Killorens. Flond did his best to remain passive since they didn't seem like trouble and if anything did happen Odur would grant him the speed necessary to fend off their advances. Piyd meanwhile casually got off Flond's shoulders and smiled at the guards, saying in common "I hope that we can have the chance to teach them common. Worst case I'll have to ask Odur to aid us tomorrow so that we can train them in a general tongue."

[Nettlekid]

The Killoren look taken aback.
"H-how you know who Drathumel-" the first begins before his companions cut him off.
"Stop, stop how you speak!"
"As you spoke previously, so he heard you. Sharp are his ears."
"And dull are our eyes. His companions I had not seen."
"More as stumps than trees as he, they are."

"Y-your business is unknown to us, as are you. You are not welcome-"
"Silence, and courtesy!" comes a higher voice piercing through the glade. A tall and slender Killoren woman wearing woven leaves from the lower half of her face down strides toward the group. The guards scamper back and give a quiet nod, except for the Entangled one which calls out "Teacher!" and waits patiently as this newcomer first physically digs into the restraining vines before encouraging her presumed student to channel them away and dismiss the spell.
"Narrin, unbecoming is your demeanor, and foolish as well. Should they be of the Fey Court, travesty may befall our land by your words alone. But they are not, it seems. New, this is, and pleased am I to see it in the skin." She says this in the same language as the others, but then turns to you and speaks in what can be recognized as an antiquated dialect of Sylvan. In hindsight, the other language may be Sylvan as well but almost unintelligible to a modern listener.
"I can only apologize for the behavior of the scouts and guards, but please forgive their hastiness. They mean the best for our people, and they have reason to fear what they do not know. When the hunting party returned and described their prey ruined as meat sloughed off of bone and left the bones walking as if alive, I knew this was magic but none like that which I know. Please, enter and speak with us. I am Mu, daughter of Drathumel and Speaker of the Glade. It is upon me to know the forest and that within it, and I do not know you. I wish to."
She instructs the guards to return to their post, and gives each a Goodberry for their efforts. She then beckons to you to follow her deeper into the Killoren village, making your way to a tent made of woven vines surrounding one of the largest trees in the glade. She is silent as you walk, but the Killoren around you mutter as you pass by.

[paradox26]

Cyron stood uneasily, not understanding the words that were being exchanged. He sensed an easing of tensions as the female appeared, and judged that she must be a high ranking leader, from the deference that the other killoren displayed towards her. He stood silently, trying to express through body language a combination of easy confidence and restraint. He did not want to show them that violence was an option he might consider, but that it was one which was nevertheless available to one of his power. All this done with little more than the slightest of movements and expressions, which he had to admit may well be completely lost on the alien killoren. He followed the others when the group started to head into the killoren village.

[Chambers]

Elias

"I am Elias." He says to her, then turns to his companions. "Ancient version of Sylvan, if that helps. They know of the Art but are not highly practiced." He says in common, then turns to follow her. "No, we're not from the forest. I will tell you where we come from, but I would like some of my own questions answered first. As an assurance of our good behavior, you may hold on to my magi's staff." He says and offers his necromancer's rod to her.

"If you're the knowledge keeper of these lands then you'll know this." He says and pauses while he looks around at the killoren staring at them. "How long do your people live?"

[Gunhaven]

Piyd and Flond followed side by side with the rest of the group, taking up a position in the back. Piyd kept a friendly smile, or as friendly of a smile as a goblin can muster, while Flond keeps an eye out for potential danger. He was more than confident that he could handle any problems but was more concerned to Piyd's weakness to the meek. Neither understood what was said, instead relying on Odur to guide them through this tribulation.

[Nettlekid]

Mu glances to the staff, but politely declines it.
"I've never met one of your kind I had reason to distrust, and I needn't start now," she says diplomatically. The group enters into the woven tent beneath the large tree. The tree's wood is shaped to house a room, though it is simple and unfurnished. Sitting on a mat of woven Thistledown is a dark green male Killoren whose mossy hair and beard is as white as snow, and whose eyes are as blue as the sky, with two average Killoren like the earlier guards standing on either side of him. Mu kneels by his side. In front of him is a pile of berries and nuts, as well as some raw meat in strips on the side.
"Sit. Rest. Consume. And speak," says the white-haired male calmly and slowly, speaking the same ancient Sylvan as Mu. "I am Drathumel. I am the Gladefather of our people. You have met my daughter Mu, the Speaker of the Glade. The voice of the trees speaks through her, and the voice of my people speaks through me. You have questions. And I have questions. Let us ask and answer together."
Drathumel sighs, peels a thin-skinned nut, and chews it for a long time. Mu chimes in while Drathumel pauses.
"As we walked, you asked how long we live. I at first did not understand your meaning. I take you to mean that you are as the birds and beasts of the forest, and upon seeing enough leaves fall you too fall. It is unusual for us, for those that walk and speak as you do do not normally follow the paths of the beast. Our eyes do not tire of the sun and the stars. We live for forever, is I think the way to say it. There are times that our bodies may be destroyed by harm and injury, but even then we are returned to the soil and regrow in time. It is in that time that we are closest to the forces of nature which govern us all. So says the wind in the trees and the water in the loam. We are but one kind of walker of this land, and the others are Fey beings that do not tire of the sun and stars either. I know not what happens to their bodies in injury, but nature has paths for us all to walk."

[paradox26]

Cyron entered the building along with the others, and took a seat at their cue. He studied the elderly-looking being across from them, and examined the foodstuffs laid out in front of him. He was unsure if they were exclusively for the old killoren, or if he had laid out a table for his guests to eat. Either way, he was not all that hungry right now, and would decline to eat unless it looked like he would offend them by not eating. He sat quietly as the babbling talk went on around him, in a language he did not understand. He spoke several languages, but this was not one of those he understood. He made the easy leap to the conclusion that this elderly killoren was the one who ran this village, and perhaps more. But he was unsure if the being would understand him if he spoke in another tongue. "Do you understand me, old one?" he asked the elder, hoping that one as long lived and powerful as he might understand the common tongue.

[Gunhaven]

Some part of Piyd regretted not learning languages in his travels in the name of Odur, instead focusing on healing the wounded and snoting the unfaithful with the odd gifts bestowed upon him by his God. Flond had no such ill feelings, instead enjoying the blessings of Odur as they've arrived and knowing through His light all miracles were possible.

The duo knew now that they were ill prepared for this meeting and that Odur would have to bless them tomorrow to help aid in communications. In a whisper, Piyd asked "When the time seems right, could you ask if we can retire and continue next dawn? That way Odur may bless us properly for our negotions."

[Chambers]

Elias

"So they do know of other mages. Possibly other necromancers. Fairly trusting of them as well." Elias says to his companions. He listens as Mu explains her answer, then nods and turns towards his allies. "She says that the birds and beast of the forest pass normally after their lifespan, but that her people do not. Even when they are bodily destroyed they 'return to the soil and regrow in time'. That sounds like druidic art, powerful rejuvenation, resurrection." He says and pauses to think.

"The other peoples in the land she calls Fey and says the Fey live as long as they do, but she isn't sure if or how they regenerate." He taps his fingers upon his rod and furrows his brow. "This seems to support the idea that the land itself is responsible for their apparent immortality...but it's selective in some manner, not affecting the lower creatures."

He turns back to the Mu and the Gladefather. "Do you have writing, spoken word inscribed on bark, leaf, or page?" He asks. "I'd like to read your historical accounts, if you have any. How far away are the Fey creatures that you speak of? Do you war with them? Also, will we be allowed to rest here this evening?"

He turned towards Piyd. "Have you felt any difference in your Art since you've been here? We should prepare tomorrow to study the land itself, if you can pray to Odur for such insight."

Elias is asking Piyd to prepare some spells that might help them test out some hypothesis and learn more about the land.

Ideas:
Regenerate. See if it functions differently, i.e. at an advanced rate.
Commune. Speak with Odur. As we're in a different time, Odur might behave differently or have knowledge of this land.
Summon Monster IV or Lesser Planar Ally. Summon/Call a Lantern Archon. It's intelligent and has a limited knowledge of the Planes. It might know something about the land in this timeline.

[Nettlekid]

Drathumel looks to the Cyron at being asked, but does not reply. Mu looks to Drathumel curiously, and the elder Killoren shrugs in response, though he pushes some of the food on the pile toward the party.
"Forgive me for I am surprised, I am not familiar with the sounds you speak to one another. You are a talented creature, for not only do you know the language we share with the Fey that I use now, but you could speak our own language to the guards at the border, and yet a third tongue rolls from yours now. You must be experienced, for it took me many years to become half as proficient with just one as you seem to be with many. Are your companions similarly versed?"
Drathumel eats another nut, and answers Elias' question with his mouth full. He speaks slowly and pauses as though choosing the right word, though you suspect that perhaps the translation that Tongues is providing is losing some of the finesse. Such is the price for immediate magical polyglotism.
"We do have our records. We are proud as a people to have invented a means of drawing fiber from reeds and forming it into a stiff, clean surface that we may put our mark upon, and on these surfaces we have compiled stories of days gone by. Notable hunts, ceremonious occasions, any tale told frequently enough that the speaker wishes to put it down, lest it be forgotten.

The Speaker of the Glade and her associates mediate with the Fey of the land should need for mediation arise. They and we are different branches of the same tree, and while in some ways we are similar, their manner of being is very different from ours. They are rarely harmful or aggressive, and when they are I suspect they do not see their actions as being malicious. It is difficult to find them if they do not want to be found.

You are free to stay as long as you wish, especially as we are eager to learn more of you and your kind's abilities. We are pleased to keep to our ways, but if what you bring changes our lifestyle for the better then we would not forget that kindness.

But as you have asked, now I request you to answer. From where do you come, for we believed we knew all those that walked on this land? And you spoke of dire purpose and the necessity of time, which I would like to be made aware of should it affect the people I care about. What is your purpose here?"

[paradox26]

Cyron listened to Elias's translation of what was going on. "It is strange that they should be familiar with necromantic magic, and unconcerned about it, given they are obviously so nature based. I wonder how that came to be," he said. He wasn't too sure about the other stuff which was discussed, since he was unfamiliar with the source of Piyd's magic. He was curious about the source of the killoren's immortality, but decided that they themselves likely did not understand the source of their own immortality. It was something which would likely become important, though, since they might well still encounter some of the same beings when they shifted in time. His face went blank again as Elias started to talk once more to the killoren leader.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd remained silent for a moment, deep in thought, before he said "Odur is glad to be at work at his old pace. He has gifted me with several abilities currently related to healing and bringing the dead back. I could see if they are any different if our host is willing to offer us those who wish to feel His light upon their souls. Given time and assuming that I may beseech Odur again soon after I could use those higher callings to power the less miraculous of His gifts."
He casually formed his Glaive of dripping acid and seemed to alter it in some way, the acid turning to light and radiating positive energy. Flond had a revelation at that point and drew his own weapon, cutting a gash into his left hand deep enough to nearly sever his fingers. With blood dripping on the ground, Piyd struck his companion with the healing blast and caused the wound to stitch close as if nothing happened.
Using a turn attempt to turn my Eldritch Glaive into a Healing Blast. Flond is injuring himself, then I'm healing him back to full. I've also got other healing powers and Revivify if we want to test resurrection magic before I rest.

[Chambers]

Elias

"They have a written record, of some kind." He says to his allies. "He says the Fey mostly keep to themselves and their nature seems to be the same as we know them to be." He turns to Drathumel. <<I must speak with my friends for a moment, please.>>

Turning back towards the goblins and warlock he nods towards Drathumel. "He wants to know why we're here. What do you think we should tell them? I knew at some point we'd have to consider the impact of our actions in the past on the future, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon, before we could discuss the matter. What are your thoughts?"

[paradox26]

Cyron considered this question, then eventually he answered, "I think we should tell them the truth. We are time travellers, and we are trying to defeat a time-based monster which will trap their time stream and destroy their civilisation. If we lie, they may still be around when we shift times, and they could potentially remember us when we come back. That would damage their trust in us. Of course, they may well not recall us when we go forward in time, since it is so far into the future. But I would prefer not to take the chance. Besides, there is nothing to be gained by lying to them."

[Gunhaven]

Piyd followed up Cyron's suggestion with his own addendum. "Perhaps tell them something along the lines that it is a feature we three share so that they can ease into it. I would say that we are heralds or fey or some other graspable concept beyond humanoids with a magical machine deep underground that allows us to move through time. Either way we will be in their records now and we could probably confirm as much with what was our original time zone."

[Chambers]

Elias

"I'd prefer to leave the details out of it. What happens if they stumble upon it?" Elias asks, then turns towards Drathumel. <<We are travelers from the future.>> He says. <<There's a problem with how time flows when we live and we know this island to be the center of the problem, though we're unsure exactly how yet.>>

[Nettlekid]

Drathumel scratches his mossy beard.
"I am afraid I do not understand your meaning, in saying 'travelers from the future'. By future, you mean that which has yet to come? The unknown? I believe I can understand were you to say you travel from the past, as that is how we all come to be here today. But I do not understand how you come from the future. Is it perhaps that your people go through time differently as we? To you, am I asking this question before you have described where you come from?"

[Chambers]

Elias

<<Yes...well, perhaps no.>> Elias says and frowns. <<One of my friends may be able to explain it better. They'll be able to speak with you tomorrow. In the meantime, we should rest...and maybe read some of your histories?>> He asks.

[paradox26]

Cyron sat listening in silent incomprehension to the discussions going on around him. He decided that he would have to learn more when they had time to themselves in which to speak. In the meantime, his best option was to remain silent and let Elias continue to discuss things with the killoren elder.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd and Flond moved to the door and peered outside as the conversation continued on. Piyd had the spells recommended for tomorrow when Odur and the duo began their work and figured that he'd need several additional iterations of other blessings to cross this gap they find themselves suffering at the moment. Such things would happen in time, however; the duo was instead more interested in Odur's chariot moving in the sky and the work that he was able to perform.

[Nettlekid]

Drathumel nods.
"I admit I still do not understand, but I recognize the need for rest. We have a building where Mu performs ceremonies in conjunction with the Fey, and I think that will suit nicely for accommodations. Until such time as we can more clearly understand one another, I would like to ask that you not wander the village while my people still see you as strangers. You may frighten them. But you may rely on Mu and her students to fetch for you food and drink and whatever we can make available to you, including these records you seem so keen to read. I hope that is satisfactory."

Drathumel lifts himself to his feet and the younger Killoren Mu rises with him, nodding to her father before touching Elias on the shoulder and motioning for the party to follow her. As when you came into the village she walks ahead of you while a couple of the guards keep to the rear nonthreateningly. Not far from the elder's tree is a hut woven from what looks like dyed Thistledown braced with branches, about forty feet in diameter. Inside is heavy with smoke and the smell of burning incense. It takes some getting used to, but it's fairly soothing after a time. In the four cardinal directions there is a small pile of burning charcoal, a pit of sand and stones, a pool of water in a carved stone basin, and a pipe leading in from underground through which clean air flows. In between these features are soft leaf beds and seats. Mu sees to it that you are comfortable, and wordlessly departs.

Once you're settled, you have the evening to yourselves. You are interrupted now and again by what are presumably Mu's apprentice Druids, bringing you assortments of different fruits, nuts, and dried meats. One of them brings about ten thick books of the records Drathumel had mentioned. You still have an hour or so before Tongues runs out, but looking through the books it seems like what the elder Killoren had said about the records just recounting interesting and exciting stories was true. There is mention of the time one single warrior brought down a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the one time that an apprentice Druid accidentally rose the ire of a Verdant Prince, though all was well in the end. There's a story about how one of their number explored into the caves of the mountain and got lost for two years but eventually came out completely immune to poison. There's a somber story about the previous village chief who was killed by a giant scorpion as he lured it away from their old village. Unfortunately, none of these stories are dated, so you don't know if any are relevant to the time period you're in right now.

[paradox26]

Cyron followed along as the group was directed to the house they were to stay in. He remained largely silent as Elias read through the history books, spending his time nibbling away at the various treats they had been left with as food. He had to force himself to be patient as Elias used up the spell duration by usefully reading the books they had been loaned. He wanted to know what there was to know about the killoren and their history, and especially about the possibility that they might have some information which might lead to the trail of the phane. "So, is there anything of use to us? Anything which we can use to try to break the timestream?" he finally asked, when he could wait no longer.

[Gunhaven]

Piyd for his part partaked in the smattering of food offered while mulling over what to beseech Odur for tomorrow. He foresaw them being in this village for a while longer and was thankful on some part that he most likely wouldn't need to aid anyone for a day. Still, he doubted they could train one of the Killoren as a translator in any reasonable amount of time and foresaw himself having to prepare several iterations of Tongues to aid in communication until that point in time.
Flond meanwhile took up a position near the door. While the group was fully capable of defending themselves if the Killoren decided to do anything foolish he knew that he wasn't able to offer much aid in the translation or discussion of materials. He was, after all, a goblin and not a shaman of his tribe; he was simply a devote follower of Odur and was decently trained in His favored weapon.

[Chambers]

Elias

Closing the 'book', Elias rubs his nose and sighs. "At first read, no. Interesting tales to them I'm sure, but nothing that seems to hint at a larger significance." He says and stretches as he stands. "Breaking the timestream...a peculiar way to phrase it."

He sits back down and taps his fingers on the book. "The only unique thing I see about these people are their longevity but I feel safe in attributing that to the island itself, not some enhancement they have. What if one of us stayed behind while the others jumped ahead? It's bad fortune that the controls on that machine are so crude..." He says and shakes his head. "I can't even begin to imagine what it would mean to be alive for a million years."

"Since we can't leave one of us behind, I've been thinking about what we can leave for the future that we'll be visiting next. Some kind of message, obviously, that we're trying to tell the people throughout the millions of years that we skip. Maybe not something as obvious as a message." He frowns. "An idea...one that we could get the people of a million years history to believe...one that somehow weakens the phane. Start a religion, perhaps?"

[paradox26]

Cyron considered this. "I am not sure I would agree. From what I understand, the killoren are long lived of their own accord. I do not think their longevity is related to some mystical property of the island. Even if it is, I am not sure that there is any way this knowledge will realistically help us. We could try remaining here, but that sounds like a poor use of a million years. I do agree, though, that starting a religion may be a good way of changing the time stream. It is likely to last for a long time. I am wary of affronting our hosts, however. They have their own mystic ways, and they may become offended if we start trying to create our own religion," he said to Elias.

[Gunhaven]

Flond looked at Piyd before he nodded his head in silent agreement. He said "I could stay behind. Piyd beseeched Odur in the past to grant me eternal youth and He saw it fit to grant such a request. Our priest here should be able to easily locate me no matter what time you choose. As for religion: you know we will be in favor of worshipping Odur. What I propose, and what I feel Piyd would agree is a good path of action, is that we don't come out and say it's Odur. It's how Piyd converted me and my tribe; attributing what we did to Odur until it was a natural thing to feel His smile on us after our day of work."
Piyd nodded and added "First we need to remove the language barrier however. Either through teaching or perhaps prayer. Teaching seems easiest, worded that we wish to teach a group of young our language to better facilitate conversation. Once they know common then they can further teach their comrades."