The Broken Land [IC]

[ylvathrall]

Tactical Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1h9oRgQh-bHxOlw_fdFGAcvvl_nFVIcbKk8XyGN6ytIA/edit?usp=sharing)

It all seemed so innocent at the time. The temple had been easy to clear out, and almost safe. There were no real monsters, and barely any functioning traps. The biggest threat you faced was boredom, and even that was alleviated by the quick pace of the exploration. Only a day in, you'd already reached the sanctuary of the temple. The scholars were making progress on restoring and reading the inscriptions, while those of less academic inclination established a safe perimeter in case the ruin turned out not to be as deserted as you thought. True, there was a pool of arcane energy in the center of the sanctuary, a small depression filled with magic so concentrated it became almost a physical presence. But such things aren't uncommon in the Mana Wastes, and this one had been treated with the respect it deserved. It was in a quiescent phase, not yet having enough energy built up to overflow, but the mages had still established wards around it, and everyone gave it a wide berth.

And then, it happened. Perhaps you saw something out of the corner of your eye, or felt a shift in the magical energies, or perhaps you were simply lucky. Whatever the reason, you turned to look just in time to see the pool change. The light it gave off grew brighter, and took on vivid colors unlike anything you'd ever seen before, unearthly hues that had no names.

Then the energy burst forth in all directions, washing away the magical wards like sandcastles before the tide. The leading edge of the power hit you, and you could feel it change you on a level so basic and profound you couldn't describe it if you tried. Your world went white, and the last thing you heard was the sound of your own screaming.


_________________________

The next thing you're aware of is waking up. You're lying on something relatively soft, and you feel terrible. You're simultaneously so hungry that you could eat a horse and so nauseous you don't think you could keep down a glass of water, your head is pounding fit to burst, and it feels like every single muscle in your body is sore.

Opening your eyes, you find that you're lying on a simple cot, naked beneath a thin white sheet. The room you're in is large and open; there are paper partitions to section it into smaller chambers, but at the moment none of them are in use. There are no windows, and the light instead comes from a number of bullseye lanterns spaced around the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all whitewashed wood; between the lights and all that white, the room is uncomfortably bright, especially after you first open your eyes. It smells strongly of alcohol and incense, and more subtly of blood, disease, and death. There are seven doors unevenly spaced around the room, each of which is made of wood with a brass handle.

Looking around, you see several more cots, each with a person on it in much the same condition you're in. After a moment, you recognize them as having been on the expedition with you, though only a small fraction of the people from the expedition are present. There is no one else in the room.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar awakes and slowly opens his eyes, surprised to find himself still in the body he remembered. The blast from the pool seemed certain to be the end of this particular incarnation, though somehow it had not quite managed that. The pounding in his head and overwhelming nausea made him almost wish it had, though. Offering a heartfelt prayer of thanks to Desna, he slowly tries to sit up on the bed, fighting through the pain of it to get a better look at his unfamiliar surroundings. Probably a hospital of some sort, from the look of things, but how did he get here? Didn't seem likely any from the expedition would have been in any shape to get him here after a blast like that, especially seeing a few others from the ruin in the room with him. Perhaps one of them would have an answer, it didn't seem especially likely but it was still worth asking. "Anyone awake? Seems we encountered something of a difficulty in our exploration, do any of you know where we are now, or how we got here? I find myself at a loss for explanation outside of divine intervention."

[Stormwhisper]

The first thing Asuka senses is the taste.
The dry, acrid flavour of bile in the back of her throat, pushing her tongue up against her teeth in an effort to get away. A weak whine rises from somewhere beyond, in reaction to the urge to vomit out whatever remains in her stomach.
It must have been a rough night.
The scent though, and the ache in her joints, remind her what happened. The blast of magic that had seemed to tremble, swell and crash down upon them. The flash of colour and light, all consuming.

Her tail twitches in response to the memory. Mentally, she makes a checklist of all her limbs to ensure that nothing vital has been obliterated.
When she is sure, and the voice penetrates the headache, she opens her mouth to speak.
"Perhaps it was divine intervention. Perhaps we are dead, though I did not think that the afterlife would be quite so punishing," she grumbles, her voice still weak and gritty. Speaking is like trying to push a horse uphill; lots of effort and not very rewarding.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten is surprised when he comes to, though the combination of nauseousness and bodily ache is enough to make him wish he was dead. He rolls over and makes a retching sound, momentarily regretting his survival. This reminds me of that one night Iengalan took me drinking... How can I be living, dead, and dying at the same time? Raising himself up on his hands and knees, Bolten smacks his dry lips as he tries to get his bearings before being foiled by the bright light. Before he can contribute to the conversation, the young dwarf makes a terrible realization. He begins feeling frantically under the sheets, rasping, "Me hammer! Where's me hammer?!"

[ForgotTheOldOne]

"Stop talking. Everyone stop talking." The words grate from between Sorothril's clenched teeth. Others were always loud, an unfortunate tendency she had observed in races with less keen senses than her own, but these voices seemed to boom against gongs inside her brain with every syllable. Then again, her own voice, low growl that it was, made her head hurt even worse, so perhaps the others were not, in fact, shouting at the tops of their lungs for no discernible reason. It only felt like it.

Soro let a moment pass while she considered the various possible talking points being made. "Ouch," she groans, in way of general agreement to the kitsune's assessment of their situation. "By the Thrashing Tail, that hurt," she adds, just in case her views on the subject weren't clear.

A cautious test of her extremities finds a full range of motion painfully possible, and so she sits up, letting the sheet slide and opting to preserve modesty by wrapping herself protectively within her large, green-feathered wings. One hand emerges from within the wings to pinch the bridge of her nose when the dwarf begins shouting, and - not for the first time since she left the comforts of her jungle home - she reminds herself that throttling people to get them to shut up is not considered socially acceptable outside of the serpentkin tribes. Mostly.

[Dondasch]

"...ishing"
The noise wakes Adisse from her slumber. After experiencing the pain, nausea, and hunger, she immediately regrets this happening.
She lies still for a bit, letting the shock of the sudden discomfort ebb. She then begins to go over recent events in her mind.
'Alright, so I was guarding the ruins, and then the pool... did something.'
Groggily, she looks around, fearing danger, but sees only fellow expedition members; some of them appear to be talking.
'I should probably let them know I'm alive'
Adisse gathers her strength to speak.
"I'm awake." she croaks, and then winces at her own voice.

[Halae]

Wisteria, the ghoran who had acted as the chef for much of the group during the expedition, is currently lying on one of the cots. Astonishingly, she actually looks healthier than she did before, her leaf-hair bearing a sheen in the light and she doesn't look so thin. When she sits up and looks around, however, awoken by the various individuals talking, she says "Calm down Bolten."

That's how she always is. Deal with the small things and you can get your head together to deal with the big things, if the big things don't resolve themselves along the way. Wistera will move over to the drawrf (she's not much taller than him, though a good deal scrawnier)

"Look where we are. A hospital, I think. Probably back in Alkenstar, given the feel of the area. Our gear should be in a room close by." that's easy for her to say - all of her clothing and equipment is either part of her body, or tucked under the leaves that she sprouts to act as clothing, a strange thing compared to most ghorans. Not that the plant-folk are by any means fully normal.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar nods at the Ghoran's words, struggling for a moment to remember her name through the haze caused by his throbbing head. It doesn't take long, though, everyone always remembers the cook. "Wisteria is right, we're probably in some form of hospital. I'm sure our possessions are nearby." He spends a moment carefully adjusting the sheet to form something of a toga around him in preparation of standing, but remains sitting upon the bed, still struggling with the nausea too much to risk that much movement.

[ylvathrall]

Only a few moments later, one of the doors opens and a woman enters. Formidably built and wearing a white apron and cap, both of which are starched until they could likely stand on their own, it would be hard for her to look more like a nurse if she tried.

She glares ferociously around the room as she enters. "If you don't keep it down around the patients, I'll have your...oh." She trails off upon realizing that it was, in fact, you who were speaking. "You're awake," she says, as though the possibility of her patients waking up was one that had never occurred to her. "How are you feeling?"

[Halae]

[Wisteria]

"Hungry, and our dwarven friend is concerned about his equipment. I'm fairly certain most of us are wondering how we got here, if you could inform us."

Despite feeling a bit terrible, wisteria is keeping herself serene. Nothing's exploding (right now) so no reason to be worried, right? they'll probably have to pay for the stay at the hospital, but they're all lucky to be alive anyways, so that's not much of a concern.

[Prehysterical]

After recovering from the surprise of the nurse's entrance, Bolten sits down and looks indignantly at Wisteria. "It's not just a hammer, I will have you know. It is very important to me, so please don't go making comments about my..." At this point, Bolten looks down and realizes his lack of clothing. A most undwarf-like squeak escapes him and he hastily wraps the sheets around his waist. His cheeks blush beet red from embarrassment. Oh, and in front of a bunch of girls too! Gods have mercy! Out loud, he mutters, "Before anything else, can we get some clothes, please?" He looks straight down, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

[Stormwhisper]

Asuka lies in silence, her eyes closed as she hears the others around her wake up. An odd assortment of survivors it seems. She recognises the voices; the Samsaran, Akdar was the first to talk. And then the yell of the dwarf, almost a second explosion as her head erupts in protest again.
Does he not feel this throbbing? How can he bear to raise his voice?
Sorothril then - one does not simply forget a strix - and the aasimar paladin, Adisse. Finally, of course, the Ghoran - another odd one. How curious.

She slings an arm over her eyes as the others ruminate on where they are, trying to connect the dots in her head about what had actually happened. Had someone done something to the mana pool? The relics in the wasteland were delicate instruments, dangerous.
She snorts through her nose at the puzzle.
At the nurse's arrival, she gears herself up and then pushes up from the bed, unsurprised to find herself undisguised and fully foxlike.

"Yes, clothes and food," Asuka echoes quietly, relieved that the headache hadn't worsened when she moved, "as to what happened... that light? Do you recall it? What might it have been?"
Her mouth still tastes like the rough end of a minotaur, which is far from pleasant and keeps her from being loud. She smirks at Bolten, amused by his unintentional exposure. Equipment indeed.

[Dondasch]

Adisse shifts to watch the nurse, though she does not try to rise yet. She listens carefully to the others, and considers their statements.
'So, the Kitsune also saw the light'
She speaks, though quieter this time-- she has learned her lesson from her previous attempt.
"I saw a light from the pool, though I know not what it was."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar sits quietly for a moment, musing. "Without a doubt, something went wrong stemming from that magical pool in the centre chamber. A bright light is all I remember as well." Pulling out of his thoughts, he turns towards the nurse. "Other than some nausea and a headache, I feel significantly better than I probably should due to the fact I'm not dead. How did we arrive here, so far from the incident? Also, where exactly are we, Alkenstar?"

[ylvathrall]

"Your belongings should be in the chests under your cots," the nurse says. "And you're in Deadeye Hospital, in Alkenstar City. As to what happened...you should probably discuss that with Khair. He's been waiting to speak with you since you got here—impatiently, I might add. Let me go get him, and some food."

With that, she sweeps out through another door. A few minutes later she returns, carrying a tray and accompanied by a richly dressed man who appears to be from Kelesh originally, although his clothing and accent are local.

"So," the man says, staring accusingly at each of you in turn. "I am told you are all that is left of the expedition I funded. Would one of you care to explain what you did in there? I am sure that the Grand Duchess would like to know more than that you were found half-dead in the sand outside the temple, before she has you strung up for treason!"

The nurse glares at him. "If you cannot keep your voice down, I will have to escort you out," she says warningly. Then she begins passing out bowls of soup and fresh bread to each of you.

Khair falls silent, but continues glaring at you.

[Halae]

Wisteria gives Khair a level gaze. A lot of humans aren't willing to look at ghorans like people, which hurts, but hopefully Khair's a little different. Either way, Wisteria frankly doesn't care.

"We survived a magical explosion," she says, "Frankly, I'm surprised nobody is missing a limb; I would have expected the roof to come down on us there. We probably would have stayed out there, but we aren't even aware of how we returned to Alkenstar. Your accusations won't help you find anything out, either."

and then she begins eating her soup. Her entire bearing suggests that she doesn't particularly view Khair as a threat, and she's not hiding that fact.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar remains seated on the bed and murmurs a quiet thank you as the nurse hands him his food. He dips the bread into the soup and slowly nibbles on it, hoping to avoid upsetting his still unsettled stomach. As he eats, he listens to Khair's rant politely but pointedly avoids making eye contact with the furious merchant.

[Dondasch]

Adisse had hoped to eat before answering, but decides it best to attempt the diplomatic approach now, given Wisteria's reply.
"We had entered the temple easily enough, as there were no monsters worth mentioning and the traps had broken down with the passage of the years. We did find a pool of magic within, but wards around it were erected by those among us with such powers. Other than that, we left it alone while the researchers examined the ruins.Later, while I was in the vicinity of the pool, I happened to see a flash at the edge of my vision. I turned and saw the pool glowing in strange colors. It then let out a pulse, and next thing I knew I was waking up here."

Having now spoken more than she desires to in this condition, Adisse starts on her soup.

[ForgotTheOldOne]

Sorothril retrieves what few possessions she had with her while waiting for the nurse's return. Even once she has everything in place, it is not significantly more modest than her previous state of dress, with only a bit of fabric here and there to cover up the less socially acceptable bits. Anyone who might have a mind to look twice would quickly find something interesting elsewhere however, as the portions of her body not covered in 'clothing' are taken up with savage tattoos or dangling trophy skulls. As she settles a larger, beaked skull mask over her face, her outwardly calm expression seems to shift into something fiercer, more intense. When the merchant enters and begins spewing his tirade, Soro's hands tighten within her bone and leather gloves, a scowl spreading across her face. A friendly demeanor was never her strong suit, anyway.

"So you're the one responsible for this mess?" she demands, moving closer to the man and glaring at him from behind the empty sockets of her mask. "You had a hand in our being sent into a place with powers clearly beyond our ability to combat, and you have the shk'aith" - a colorful bit of phrasing in the serpentkin tongue, that - "to imply that it was our wrongdoing?" A short length of sunbleached wood appears in one hand, and she manages to make a simple twirl of the rod between her fingers seem threatening. "You will apologize for your tone this instant, and you most assuredly be handling the costs of this stay - with a generous hazard bonus on top. And if you think differently for one moment, you will be swallowing your ashk'eketh teeth the next!"

Temper sufficiently sated, Soro turns and sits back down on her cot, calmly sipping soup, though her glare never leaves Khair.

Not an intimidate check. Just Charisma 5 in action.

[Prehysterical]

While the nurse is gone, Bolten swiftly leans over the bedside (covering his rear) and swiped the chest from under the bed. He then puts on his clothes as the sheet is tossed over his head, resulting in an amusing image of frantically rustling sheets reminiscent of an upset ghost. Upon finding his hammer, Bolten gives it a wet, sloppy kiss and pats its head reassuringly before placing it back on his belt.

After Sorothril threatens the man and the others voice their opinions (or don't), Bolten feels obligated to point out timidly, "Ahem, Mr. Khair, was it? As the expedition's official arcane representative, I can assure you that the proper precautions were taken in studying the source of the magic. Wards were set up, perimeters set, the works. As Adisse pointed out, we only had just enough time to realize that something had gone wrong before it blew up in our faces... literally.

As for the Grand Duchess... How are our actions treasonous? We performed our duties in accordance with the task given to us with no intention of political upheaval or inciting unrest. And as you know, Mr. Khair, the magic in the Wastes is extremely volatile. These expeditions always carry a measure of risk, or the prize would already have been taken. If you would allow me access to the site again, I could figure out what exactly caused the pool of power to react so violently and so suddenly." Bolten finished by meekly placing a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

[ylvathrall]

After hearing the various responses, Khair seems momentarily at a loss. He looks around, apparently deciding who to turn on next. He appears to briefly consider replying to Sorothril, but quickly decides that that might not be the best thing he could do for his own immediate safety.

In the end, he settles on Bolten as the most appropriate target. "Official arcane representative?" he says. "In that case, perhaps you can explain to me what you did out there to cause this disaster! I know perfectly well what risks an expedition to the Mana Wastes entails, and they do not include a catastrophe of this sort. You will have your chance to examine the site again, dwarf. A team leaves tomorrow to determine what the cause of this was. As you woke up just in time, you will all be going with them." He glares around the room again, as though daring anyone to contradict him.

[Halae]

"Sure, but that'll cost you extra," Wisteria replies glibly, "If you seek to order us to do things, you need some way to hold it over us. With an investigation ensuing, you have no way of holding charges of treason over our heads, and that means to do this you'd need to hire us, as guards and guides."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar raises an eyebrow at Khair. "You wish us to return to the same place we were incapacitated the very day after we recover from a coma of indeterminate length?" He sighs and shakes his head before standing up and finally making solid eye contact with the merchant. "I will go, but not for you. Your anger means nothing to me and your threats even less. I suggest you reassess your attitude towards us if you wish to receive the profit you expect from this expedition. Either that or join us yourself."

[Prehysterical]

Bolten looks surprised at the man's sheer illogical ranting. I just explained... The headache and the nausea, pushed aside as Bolten's curious mind sought understanding of their situation, comes back and Bolten presses a palm to his temple. It's like he stuck a wrench in the cogs of my mind. Groaning, Bolten replies, "I will be sure to go with them. I am curious myself. But can you please let us be for a while? I am already suffering from severe sickness and your shouting is not helping matters any."

[ylvathrall]

"I will not be paying any of you one bent copper piece," Khair says. "I already paid for your stay here, and I'm already regretting it. If you'd rather stay behind, be my guest. The magistrate will assume you don't cooperate because you were complicit, of course, but don't let that stop you. In fact, I hope you don't go. Watching you get executed for treason might make up for some of the grief you've put me through!" He smiles nastily.

At this point, the nurse grabs Khair by the arm and physically drags him back out of the room. He goes without fighting, still smirking at you over his shoulder.


The law Khair is describing does exist, although it's rarely enforced. Any action which increases the danger posed by the Mana Wastes is regarded as subverting the state, and is thus technically treason. The law dates back to the founding of Alkenstar City, and as such is worded quite vaguely, without the precise language of most more recent laws. Because of this, the magistrates don't typically enforce it, since it might include even completely innocuous actions such as traveling across the Wastes or possessing objects that were found there.

The law is still on the books and legally valid, though, and if you were found guilty, it bears a death sentence of a particularly nasty sort.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar watches Khair be removed from the room with a a look of pity. "What a pointlessly angry man." He mutters as he returns to his bed and slowly finishes his bread and soup. Once he has finished his meal he crosses his legs, closes his eyes and begins to pray to Desna for his magic and good fortune.

[Halae]

Wisteria goes to the box under her bed and pulls out a small pouch, which she tucks under the folds of the leaf clothing at her waist, and as well as the staff laid beside the box. She travels light.

"Since we have the day, whether we choose to go or not, I'm going to find somewhere nice in the sun. Maybe I'll find a tree to sit under." She always feels better with the weather over her; unless it's storming, the rain always feels nice when it happens, and as a ghoran the sun is always wonderful to feel on her leaves. Not that finding a tree in Alkenstar is terribly likely.

Unless someone wants to stop her, she's just going to head out into the yard to lay down in the sun, her staff next to her. Those that have seen her do something like this before - which would be everybody in the group, come to think of it - know she enjoys talking while she soaks in the sun, and doing so is an open invitation to the others to come talk. She's an excellent listener as well, having the patience any plant should.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten shakes his head at the man's viciousness. Why was the man being so rude? While Bolten continues to ingest his soup, he takes the time to pull out his spellbook and begin selecting his spells for the day.

[Dondasch]

Now that interruptions do not seem imminent, Adisse retrieves her gear and gets dressed.
"Well, now that that boor is gone, it's time to prepare for the day."
But first, Adisse finishes her meal, taking her time; she's in no hurry after all.
Taking her cue from the others readying their spells, she sits crosslegged on her cot, and begins to quietly recite the story of the Shadow Labyrinth-- a maze with no walls, only areas of light and areas of darkness. Of course, what most would-be heros hadn't realized was that the dark areas were the safe route, as strange and unseeable creatures lurked in the light.

Bards have to sing, recite, or play an instrument while readying spells.
I'd post a more detailed version of the story, but my time is currently too limited.

[Stormwhisper]

Asuka has been in bad situations before, and this definitely counts as another to add to the list. She thanks the nurse quietly for the food, and when Khair enters and proceeds with his speechifying, she half-shrinks back into the bed. Again, she's been in trouble before - and trouble tends to come with overbearing authority figures. Usually she might have a bit of sass for him, but as she's still somewhat confused and nauseated, she's happy to let the others unleash their frustrations on him.

"I quite agree," she smirks in agreement with Akdar, "a little courtesy for the sick would have been appreciated. And I feel it might have been more beneficial to him to simply ask rather than command us to return there, even if the askance was merely a guise."
She gets up and stretches her arms, ignorant of her nakedness, and then drags the chest out from under the bed. The soft leathers go on quickly, but she slings the armour over her arm for maintenance; the gods only know how long they have been out.

"I'll come with you, Wisteria. Perhaps the fresh air will bring an end to my headache," Asuka speaks up quickly. She fetches the rest of her belongings - most of which get tied to her belt in pouches and sheathes - and bounds after the ghoran. On her way out she murmurs a phrase in Sylvan and her body shifts and changes into that of a spritish, more humanlike female. Though it is not her true form, it is the one she favours; her tail and ears remain foxlike, but the rest of her body isn't such a huge shock for people who aren't used to seeing a five-foot fox walking around on her hind legs.

[Prehysterical]

0: Mending (School), Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Arcane Mark
1: Magic Weapon (School), Grease, Crafter's Fortune
After finally preparing his spells, Bolten sits for a moment before growing antsy. He wrings his hands, unable to be at ease with nothing to do. Finally, he gets up and walks out of the hospital. While he is feeling much better, there is still a small remnant of the ache and a bit of queasiness left over. Wandering down the street, Bolten finds a weapons shop and asks to help in the weapon-making process. As Bolten picks up the materials and gets to work, he feels strangely inspired. It's as if some previously hidden talent finally comes to the fore and Bolten sets himself to work with a will.
Bolten casts Crafter's Fortune beforehand to give himself a +5 luck bonus
Since this seems likely to be the only thing he does today, he'll use Inspired to roll twice and take the better result
If possible, I'd like Bolten to work at a place that sells firearms (DC 20, base progress 4 gp). If not, assume that he tries to make a normal martial weapon (DC 15, base progress 2 gp)
Craft Weapons:
[roll0], -2 if they don't provide him with adequate tools
[roll1], again with a possible -2
With Mythic Craft, progress doubles, so that's either 16 gp progress in firearms or 10 gp in martial weapons
...Crafting is weird.

[ylvathrall]

Stepping out of the hospital, you find yourself in a broad cobbled square. The sky overhead is choked with heavy smog, dulling the light of the sun considerably, but from what does filter through it appears to be late morning. Facing west, directly away from the hospital, you can see the Ustradi River only a few hundred feet away. On the other side is Smokeside, the poor half of the city, which is home primarily to the lower classes, the laborers and factory workers—and, naturally, also the thugs, thieves, and fences that make up Alkenstar City's considerable criminal underworld. That entire half of the city lies in a magical dead zone, making Smokeside either one of the most or least desirable places to live in the world.

On this side of the river, though, you're in Skyside, the affluent half of the city. This is where the rich and powerful of the city live, work, and play. Politicians and merchant princes rub shoulders with powerful wizards and visiting dignitaries in the markets, restaurants, and shops of Skyside. To the north, huge spires rise almost unbelievably high into the air, piercing the cloud of smoke that perpetually hangs in the air over the city.

This, then, is Alkenstar, City of Smog. It is a city of sharp divides, unimaginable wealth and crushing poverty, separated by a gulf that seems impassible. Though a simple river might not seem such a divisive thing, the Ustradi River is a very serious gap. A hundred feet across at its narrowest point and highly toxic, the river is also imbued with primal magic, and fully capable of changing anyone unfortunate enough to spend much time in it. As though that weren't enough, when it reaches the northern edge of the city the river plunges over the Hellfallen Cliffs, a drop of seven hundred feet with only stone to cushion the landing. Between all of these dangers, "swimming in the Ustradi" is both a common euphemism for and most prevalent means of committing suicide within the city.

For those who cannot fly, the only safe way to cross the river is on a bridge, of which there are two in the city. The New Bridge, downstream of your location, is suitable for vehicular traffic; the Old Bridge, which lies upstream, is not. Both bridges are fully open to the public, although it isn't unheard of for unethical types to collect tolls by threat of force when they can get away with it.


Though the city is hardly an oasis of life, you actually do see a tree on the other side of the square. A fig tree growing out of a patch of dirt in the middle of the cobblestones, it isn't terribly large or healthy, but is alive. Presumably someone provides it with regular water, and possibly magical aid.



After wandering the streets of Skyside for a few minutes, you find a small workshop that manufactures firearm components. Though the foreman is initially skeptical, when you explain that you just want to work without needing to be paid, he gladly puts you to work on the simple tasks that can be trusted to even a stranger without risk—fetching, carrying, operating the bellows, and similar menial tasks.

[Halae]

A small smile comes onto Wisteria's lips when she sees the fig tree. A small wonder, that. She runs a hand down along the side of it, getting a look at the thing; small, sickly, but defiant, even in the face of the overwhelming heat and pollution of the city. The ghoran will settle down under the tree, meditating for her spells for today - perhaps it would be a waste, but she chooses to make that waste to help this small, resilient creature forward.

For today, Wisteria isn't changing her prepared orisons, but for her Level 1 spells she's going with Endure Elements, Remove Sickness, and Shillelagh.

Endure Elements and Remove sickness will both immediately be used on the tree; it won't last long, but a short while of being acclimated to the city's overbearing sun and perhaps make it a bit better at dealing with the pollution for a short while? For one of the only trees in Alkenstar, she feels it's worth it.

With that done, she'll settle down in the shade of the tree, calmly gathering her thoughts.

[Prehysterical]

When the foreman tells Bolten that he is to be tasked with the simplest of tasks, Bolten laughs nervously. "Come now, sir, I understand this is strange to you, but my hands want to touch metal. I want to bend steel and iron hot from the forge and make something beautiful out of it. I was apprenticed at the armory, did I mention that? Please, sir, just give me some materials and I will show you what I can do." Bolten tries to put on a winning smile through his apparent nervousness.
[roll0]

[TheOneHawk]

Once he has finished his prayers and prepared his spells for the day, Akdar stands and leaves the hospital room without a word, deciding to go for a walk. Leaving the hospital he heads towards the Ustradi river, walking along its shoreline carefully to avoid contact with the dangerous waters, he meanders north towards the Hellfallen cliffs and spends a short time looking out over them at the wastes beyond. This land was a mess, to be sure, and he knew he'd seen this exact view many times before in many different bodies, but something about the vast desert still called to him. It was beautiful and sad, like an apex predator that has been wounded and cannot heal. Limping along, barely alive but still somehow majestic in its lethality. Too long it had been wounded, perhaps it always would, but perhaps it could yet be saved.

After a time, he sighs and heads back towards the centre of the town, wandering the streets aimlessly looking for something to catch his eye, perhaps a library or an eccentric shop, where he could spend some time peacefully before heading back into the wastes the next morning.

[ylvathrall]

After you cast your spells on the tree, the plant immediately starts to look healthier. The sickly yellow tinge to its leaves fades away, and it seems to stand up straighter against the punishing heat. It seems to be benefiting for your mere presence, in fact, to a degree that can't be entirely explained by the magic; you can almost see it putting on new growth, and even before you cast your spells, its leaves were returning to the deep green of a healthy fig tree.

As you're resting in the shade of the tree afterward, you suddenly hear a voice from behind you. "You fixed my tree!" it exclaims delightedly.

Turning, you see a young human woman, likely no older than nineteen. Despite her youth, her demeanor is confident, almost brash; if she feels any trepidation about talking to a ghoran, it doesn't show. She wears a heavy leather outfit that leaves her arms and most of her legs bare; skin and leather both are stained dark with soot.

"I try to keep her healthy, but there's only so much I can do," the girl continues, extending her hand. "I'm Espara, by the way. Pleased to meet you, I'm sure."


I only rolled Wisteria's Perception check to see Espara coming, since I wasn't sure whether anyone else would stay there long enough for her to prepare spells. It likely doesn't matter, since Espara rolled pretty high on that Stealth check.




The foreman listens impassively to your request, and then grunts. "You're an odd one," he says. "But I won't have it said I turned any man down without a fair chance. Come here, then."

He leads you further into the workshop, past a number of people scurrying back and forth on various projects. Eventually, you come to a stop in a quiet, dim corner of the room. There's a workbench here, with a variety of metalworking tools on it.

"Right, then," the foreman says, crossing his arms over his chest and watching you. "Show me."


You can use the same Craft rolls from earlier if you want to.





After looking out over the Wastes for a time, you wander back into the heart of the city. With no particular destination in mind, you end up back in Skyside, but on the southern side of the city, far from the cliffs. Here in the Auburn District, bright crimson-and-gold banners hang from most of the flagpoles, steeples, and gaslights. You find yourself sitting next to a well-traveled street. In front of you are several stores catering to the artistic community which is prevalent in this area, including a coffeehouse, a bookstore, a small shop which sells the basic supplies for many art forms, and a larger shop which deals in the gears and springs used in clockwork.

Behind you, the entire block is taken up by the temple of Brigh. The temple grounds are enclosed by a wrought iron fence, but it's obviously more decorative than functional, with the metal twisted into intricate designs suggestive of clockwork and machinery. The gates are open, and upon close inspection it seems that they aren't actually capable of closing. Similarly, the clockwork constructs which patrol just inside the fence are more works of art than deadly weapons. Each one is unique in design; some are humanoid, some mimic other animals, and a handful abandon all naturalistic inspiration in favor of purely abstract designs.


The red-and-gold banners are displaying the colors of House Llanalir, which owns most of the property in this part of the city. A prominent noble family in the city, Llanalir is a powerful political entity which also has a great deal of wealth and economic power. A member of the family is the current High Clockmother of the temple of Brigh, a position which many political rivals view as a conflict of interests.



Brigh is a relatively unknown deity in most of the world, but highly popular in Alkenstar; the temple behind you is among the largest centers of her worship in the Inner Sea region. A patroness of invention, she particularly loves creations which have some degree of life of their own. Most commonly this means clockwork constructions, and as such Brigh is strongly associated with clockwork, often being depicted as a clockwork creature herself.

[Prehysterical]

Eyes alight at the possibility before him, Bolten places his palms together and fervently says, "Thank you, sir! You won't regret it!" Grabbing the basic tools, Bolten sets to with a will.
I will indeed be using the same rolls from earlier.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar smiles at the contraptions wandering the grounds of Brigh's temple. Bolten would love this place. After watching them for a time, he wanders into the shop selling clockwork parts. Perhaps he could find something small here that he could afford to give to Bolten, such a gift would likely delight the mechanically inclined dwarf.

[Halae]

"Wisteria" the ghoran responds, shaking hands, "It's so rare to see some life out here. As a druid, it's my job to support it, and I felt the poor thing could use the help. A little magic here and there and it becomes strong and healthy." She frowns, "Sadly, the resistance to diseases is going to wear off after a while, but for now it's healthy enough. I'm shocked by how quickly it's growing, though; normally my spells don't have such a dramatic effect."

[ForgotTheOldOne]

While the others go about their business, Sorothril spends a great deal of time going through her morning routine of stretches and fighting her own (nonexistent) shadowy sparring partner. The relatively cramped space of the hospital room doesn't seem to bother her to anyone who cares to look; if anything, she makes a game of the footwork necessary to complete her forms between beds without sacrificing any of the upper body work involved.

Once she's managed to work up a sweat with her regimen, and the others have gone to tend to their own tasks, Soro makes her way out into the city proper. She gives a brief nod to Wisteria and Asuka, who seem to be having a conversation with someone new already. Others made conversation so easily, while she herself could barely make it through the regular pleasantries without offending whomever she spoke to.

Still, there was at least one person in the city who always seemed eager to talk with Soro, for whatever reason. Nimorn, that friendly little alchemist over on Smokeside. An odd place for one of his craft, given as how nothing really in the way of magicks worked there, but eccentricity was ever the gnome's partner in crime. Well, not literal crime, as far as Soro was aware. At least, she hoped not. He seemed above the rampant lawbreaking that surrounded his little corner workshop, and somehow that always made Soro smile.

She decided then that she would go see her affable friend, and set off toward Smokeside. She intended to avoid the traffic of the bridges and simply wing across the Ustradi, setting down once she reached Nimorn's shop. Assuming that all went to plan, she should be having a nice cup of something - come to think of it she was never really sure what the gnome put in his drinks, but they were always delicious - before anyone knew she was gone.

[ylvathrall]

At first the foreman stands and watches with an amused expression, obviously expecting you to flounder. This amusement fades as you move around the workstation confidently. Within minutes you begin work on a new firearm, gathering the various materials and then going to the forge to begin working on the barrel of the weapon. The foreman watches closely for about half an hour, then goes back to supervising the rest of the shop. He drops by your station occasionally to check on your progress, but no more often than anyone else's. Within a few hours the other workers are treating you almost as one of the team, smiling and nodding on the way by, making sure you get some water when the bucket is passed around.

At the end of the day's work, the gun isn't done yet, but it's begun to take recognizable form. The foreman picks it up and turns it over in his hands, examining it critically. "Not bad," he says at last. "You've got potential. You ever think about getting a job in this line of work? A real job, not an apprenticeship."



Most of what the shop sells is outside your price range; any sort of premade clockwork is far beyond your means, and even many of the individual components are made from exotic materials or require techniques for their production which render them more expensive than you can afford. After looking through their wares for some time, however, you find a small toothed gear of steel inlaid with silver for only five silver pieces. This sort of gear is commonly worn or carried by casual devotees of Brigh to show their allegiance, but is also quite functional in a pinch.



The girl's hand is tough and callused; though she isn't particularly muscular, there's a wiry strength to her grip that suggests she might be tougher than she looks. "Pleased to meet you," she says again. She reaches out and rubs one of the leaves between her fingers, gently so as not to damage it. "This is a good thing," she says. "You made the city a better place with this. Most don't even try."

She grins suddenly, a cheerful, infectious sort of grin. "One good turn deserves another," she says. "You took care of my tree, and that's a good thing to do. So let me tell you what. You ever need a favor, got a problem that you need to go away, you talk to me. Just come to Smokeside and ask for Espara; somebody'll point you the right direction."



The nurse comes back in and watches you for a minute or two while you exercise, but says nothing. Similarly, you get a few odd looks on the streets, but no one seems inclined to make an issue of it.

These looks turn to open-mouthed gaping as you leap into the air above the river. You fly across the water easily, making sure to stay a safe distance above the surface. You can feel, not far from the other bank, when you cross the invisible line between Smokeside and Skyside. Your skin briefly tingles, and you can taste a sudden explosion of flavor in your mouth, sweet citrus and acrid smoke that come and go in an instant. Fortunately your flight comes from muscle, not magic, so you don't have to worry about any dire consequences from the shift.

The smog is thicker on this side of the river, the scents of gunpowder and coal more intense. Soon you have to land, or else risk a collision with a building that you didn't see in the smog. The streets are narrower, as well, and more prone to twist and turn without logic or warning. They aren't precisely crowded at this time of day, but you see plenty of men, women, and children, mostly human, but with a handful of other races mixed in. Mostly they appear to be factory workers or laborers, but there are also some who clearly belong to one gang or another, and some whose occupation is hard to determine at a glance. Regardless, the vast majority share the distinctive Smokeside look, with their skin and clothing stained by the soot and smog in the air. By and large they seem inclined to leave you be, although they watch carefully as you pass.

After a few minutes' walk away from the river, you find yourself in the Ferrous Quarter, the cultural heart of Smokeside. This district is still grimy, but the air here is marginally clearer than that in the active manufacturing sectors. The Ferrous Quarter is also known for being home to many of the best-known inns, public houses, and restaurants in the city. Almost any kind of food can be found here, for a price, and almost any rumor can be heard in one seedy dive or another.

You're here for another purpose, though, so you make your way to Nimorn's shop, a couple of blocks off the main road through the district. The gnome opens the door almost instantly when you knock, glaring up at you. His expression becomes a great deal friendlier once he sees who it is, though.

"Soro," he says. "Come in, come in. Tell me where you've been." Almost before you're inside the door, he hands you a cup of what smells like particularly pungent coffee.

[TheOneHawk]

Gods these things are expensive. How much did Brigh's temple spend on those clockwork contraptions patrolling the temple? Akdar frowns as he searches the store for some time in futility, unable to afford or often even identify what he's looking at. Eventually finding the small, decorative gear he quickly grabs one and purchases it. Knowing Bolten, he'd find a way to put it into something eventually.

Moving on from the clockwork shop, he heads towards the bookstore nearby. It wasn't particularly likely they would have any books on the history of the Mana Wastes that he hadn't already read in his studies, but it was worth a look. If not, at least they would likely have something that would catch his eye, preferably some sort of historical account or magical theory, but most anything would do. It was always a good idea to have a book or three when traveling anywhere.

[Halae]

"So you're a blacksmith then, Espara?" the ghoran asks, "Or perhaps a gunsmith would be more accurate? You certainly have the soot for it. When I eventually come down - hopefully for social reasons rather than a problem - I'd rather know when you're available than just dropping in. Good way to screw up a project, and If you work with guns that could mean an explosion. Just don't want to cause problems."

[Prehysterical]

"Yes. Er, well, you see..." Bolten starts stroking his beard as he tries to explain. "What I really want to get into is clockwork. My mother had a shop when we lived up north, but I had to sell the place after she died. Clockwork is even more complex than firearm mechanisms and I simply didn't have the skill to keep it open. I want to make my living crafting it, but it simply doesn't pay the bills. I learned weaponsmithing at the Armory so that I could make something and earn some money. I've had to take up adventuring in the Wastes to try building up enough of a monetary nest egg to save for opening a shop." Bolten isn't really aware of his unloading onto the foreman.

[Dondasch]

'Now to find out if Khair's ranting about having us strung up for treason! is an actual threat, or just grandstanding and intimidation. First... I think I'll learn more about Khair himself.'
Adisse first makes some minor adjustments to her clothes and appearance, as she would prefer to be less memorable if she is to be asking questions.
She then exits the building and begins searching for some sort of merchant's guildhall where she can begin her inquiries.

Adisse will be making use of Scion of Humanity here, pretending to be a human.

[ylvathrall]

The bookstore contains a wide variety of wares, everything from crumbling scrolls and clay tablets to the most recent books fresh from the printing presses of Alkenstar City. It's one of the latter that eventually catches your eye. A scholarly dissertation published only a few months earlier by one Devan Llanalir, it isn't something to suit the casual interest, but to you it's quite intriguing. At a glance, it appears that he was researching a new theory of magic, using the primal magic of the Mana Wastes to theorize about what magic itself might be and how it functions in its natural state.

There are also numerous other works on topics related to history and theology, as well as fiction, poetry, cookbooks, travelogues, dictionaries and phrasebooks in a variety of language...really, almost every sort of book seems to be on one shelf or another. There's no clear organization, though; you would have to be looking for a specific sort of book to have any chance of finding it.



Espara laughs. "Oh, I do this and that," she says, grinning. "Really, drop by whenever. I mostly work nights, but if you can find me, I've got time to talk to you."



The foreman nods. "I understand," he says. "Took me twenty years to start this shop." He reaches out and claps you on the back. "You'll manage it, I'm sure. If you're back in town and need work for a few days, come talk to me. I can find something for you." He pauses, glances outside, and then looks back to you. "You got a place to stay tonight?" he asks.



Casual inquiry on the streets suggests that there are numerous guilds and coalitions of merchants in the city. Khair himself belongs to the Alliance of Spice Merchants, more casually referred to as the Spicers; this guild counts among its membership a sizable majority of the merchants who import food to the city. An economic powerhouse with wide-ranging influence, the Spicers are easily among the most powerful mercantile guilds in the city. Their primary guildhall is almost a mile north, in one of the more exclusive districts of Skyside.

The official source for information about mercantile activities, on the other hand, is the Alkenstar Company. This guild is owned and operated by the government of Alkenstar, and is exclusively responsible for the sale of firearms outside the city. They also deal extensively in the mechanical and alchemical goods which are Alkenstar's primary exports. Their public office is located in the Capital District, about half a mile north of your current location, also in Skyside.

[TheOneHawk]

While Akdar had felt somewhat lost in the machine shop next door, he was very much at home amongst the shelves of books. While he felt a certain affection for the musty tomes who's weathered pages showed very clearly the years they had endured, the newer books were what he looked at most closely in order to find new information he had never heard before. It wasn't long before he found the dissertation by Devan Llanalir. Using primal magic to theorize about the very nature of it? Intriguing... Taking the copy off the shelf, he also grabs a few books on learning the dwarven language. He was sure he had known it in a previous life but had not yet mastered in this one. The books would likely help trigger those faded memories. Walking up to the counter in front of the shop, he sets down the four books he has pulled out. "What is the price for this collection of books, sir?"

[Prehysterical]

"Er, well, technically yes, but I'd rather not go back to the hospital, if at all possible. I don't want Khair barging in on me in the middle of the night with a bunch of ruffians. He seemed really sore about how the last expedition went. I imagine that I will be heading out first thing in the morning to do some post-disaster analysis." Bolten really hopes that the man doesn't think to question what exactly happened.

[Dondasch]

'So, Khair likely has enough influence to make things very unpleasant for me at the least, and he seems like the type to do so. I suppose this will at least give me the chance to learn more about that pool.'
'Well, I don't think there's anything else I need for the next expedition. Which, come to think of it, I don't know much about, and what I do know comes from Khair. I should go find out more, and see who I'll be working with.'
Adisse heads off, making for the place she joined the previous expedition.

[ylvathrall]

The man behind the counter is an ancient human. He is bald, and his features are largely lost in a mass of wrinkles. He does, however, have immense, bushy eyebrows and an impressive mustache which droops down around his face, all of which are pure white.

He appears to be asleep, but when you start towards the door he perks up immediately. When you place the books on the counter he picks up each of them, turning them over in his long fingers before setting them to the side. Once he has examined all four of the books, he turns his attention to you. There is something oddly intense about his stare; it feels piercing, as though he sees more of you than meets the eye.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, he looks back to the books. "These three," he says, stacking the books on the dwarven language, "are common tomes. Readily available. You may purchase any of them for one gold piece, or all three for two."

He then touches the final book with one fingertip. "This," he says, "is not a common tome. It was only recently published, and its distribution is quite limited. Due to the controversy surrounding its author, it is unlikely that another print run will be made in the near future. As such, I would be reluctant to part with it for less than two hundred gold pieces."

He steeples his fingers and looks at you over them as he continues. "You cannot afford this book," he says without any hint of doubt. "However, you could provide something for it in trade. You take this book now, and in the future I will request that you provide another book to replace it. Something which I do not already have in my collection."



The foreman listens to this explanation without expression as he locks up the workshop, then grunts. "You'll stay with me tonight," he says. It isn't so much a question as an order. "Dinner is bread and cheese. You'll sleep on the floor."

He then turns and starts walking south at a brisk pace. He doesn't wait for a reply or look back to see whether you follow.



The last expedition met up at the bottom of Hellfallen Cliffs, in the town of Martel. Though Martel and Alkenstar City were initially quite separated, both cities grew since their founding, and at this point a casual visitor could be forgiven for thinking them a single city.

There are multiple ways to get from the top of the cliffs to the bottom, ranging from simply jumping off to hiring an airship. The only readily available method which is neither expensive nor lethal, however, is to descend the enormous staircases within the two towers which ascend from Martel to the top of the cliffs. At seven hundred feet of height, it isn't a casual walk, and many of those who regularly travel from one community to the other prefer to use the lifts within the towers. These devices can get you from top to bottom much faster than walking, and with considerably less effort. However, the enterprising rulers of Alkenstar long since realized that this preference was an excellent opportunity to augment their taxes. As such, the lifts now charge one silver piece per passenger per trip.

[Halae]

Wisteria gives Espara a smile, "I'll keep that in mind. I should probably meet back up with my colleagues at some point though; I'm heading out to research some ruins tomorrow, but I'll be certain to stop in when I return."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar quickly removes two gold from his coin purse to pay for the books on dwarven while mulling over the man's words. This book seemed like it could be extremely useful in his research and he was loath to leave it and hope to return with enough money to buy it at a later date. The shopkeeper had given him an intriguing offer, to be sure. "If you don't mind, could you elaborate on the controversy surrounding the author?"

[roll0] Sense motive to see how truthful the shopkeeper is being about both the book's value and the controversy.

[ylvathrall]

"Good luck with that," Espara says. "Going out into the Wastes is...well, let's say I'm just as happy to stay in Alkenstar, thank you very much. Do drop by when you get back, though. Remember, just ask for me and you'll find someone who can point you the right direction."

She then saunters off, whistling.



The old man shrugs. "The Llanalir family is one of the local families," he says. "A prominent merchant clan that has several representatives on the council, either their own blood or men they bought. They also own most of the land in this district, which by extension means that they control most of the printing presses in the city."

He pauses. "Now, I don't follow politics closely, and I'm not a gossip. So I won't pretend to know the details of the scandal Devan got into. What I do know is this. Less than two months after that volume was published, the boy was publicly disowned by his family. It was the sort of public shaming that you seldom see anymore, and not the sort of thing you can come back from. Everyone who pays attention to such things knows that he isn't welcome in any of his family's holdings, isn't even permitted to use their name anymore."

He then shrugs again. "You see what I mean? They have influence, and now it's working against him rather than for him. Any press that prints his book these days is going up against the Llanalir clan. They could be evicted for such a thing like that." He snaps his fingers, the sound surprisingly loud in the otherwise silent bookstore. "Who would take such a risk to their business for what is, let us be honest, a book of interest only to collectors and academics? No one. And thus the number of these books in circulation will likely remain low for some time to come."


As far as you can determine, he is speaking the truth as he understands it about the scandal. The price was likely inflated somewhat from its actual value, but this is a store, not a public library; if he didn't make a profit, he wouldn't stay in business.You don't get the impression that he overcharged you specifically.

[Prehysterical]

Surprised by the man's manner, Bolten scrambles to catch up after him. The idea of sleeping on the floor doesn't thrill him, but it's rude to look for nicks in a gifted axe. "Thank you very much, Mr. um...?"

[TheOneHawk]

"What could he have done to trigger a response like that?" Akdar sighs and shakes his head. "None of my concern. I do want this book, however. I will accept your offer, though I don't know exactly what your current collection entails so I may bring you duplicates once or twice before I find a book that satisfies you. I do rather a lot of travelling, so I'm sure I'll find something suitable." He extends his hand towards the shopkeeper to seal the agreement.

[ForgotTheOldOne]

Sorothril accepts the drink with a smile and a nod, making her way inside the shop. She wanders a bit in the small space, mindful not to knock about any of the mixtures with her wings, before settling into a relaxed lean against one wall and telling her story. Her version of events is significantly different from what others might have remembered; she makes no mention of the arcane pool, and dismisses the minor opposition faced by the expedition as beneath detailed considerations. She does struggle a bit explaining how she got back to Alkenstar, given that she presently does not even know what day it is, but covers with a tale of escorting the rest of the expedition back to tend to their injuries.

"Idleness does not suit me, Nimorn," she says, deftly twirling the cup between fingertips. "This city has so many things to do, but few that make any use of my talents. I feel confined even in the skies here, forced to walk the streets or be choked by the smoke. And the other side of the river is worse yet; I have nothing in common with those types. It is nice to have someone to share stories with, but I wonder sometimes what it is that continues to bring me back here time and time again." She smiles, flashing the empty cup in Nimorn's direction. "Aside from your concoctions, that is."

[ylvathrall]

"The name's Rafki Ferrous," the foreman says, glancing backwards. "You can call me Rafki."

He then slows his pace slightly, allowing you to catch up more easily. "Sorry if that came off wrong," he says gruffly. "You can stay elsewhere if you prefer, but it's late to be looking for lodgings. My place isn't much, and it's Smokeside, but I can offer a roof over your head."



The elderly man reaches out and shakes your hand. Considering his obvious age, his fingers are surprisingly strong. "Bargain struck, then," he says, pushing the books to your side of the counter and snatching up the coins. "You take these, and you come back here when you find an interesting volume for me. My collection is quite extensive, but I'm sure you'll come across something that I don't already have."



"You come for the same reason I stay," the gnome says, sounding like what he's saying is simple common sense, self-apparent to even the dimmest of observers. "Because you can feel the power here. This city is the beating heart of the world, Soro. Where else could you find the sort of power that lies out in that desert? Where else could you see the world change the way it does every day in this city?" He nods sagely. "Mark my words, girl. You say you don't fit here, and you complain about the city, but you'll always come back. Because you know there's nowhere else you can get the things you find here."

He then grins brightly. "Speaking of, how do you like the new coffee? I'm experimenting with using alchemical reagents to purify the beans. It should concentrate the stimulant effect."

In truth, the drink was much too strong, particularly on a stomach which is still slightly unsettled. The taste is bitter and acidic, even more so than most coffee. The stimulant effect is undeniable, though; within minutes of drinking it your heart is racing, and any feeling of fatigue is gone.

[TheOneHawk]

"Bargain struck indeed." Akdar smiles at the shopkeeper as he shakes his hand. "I don't know why you decided to trust me with this tome, but I will absolutely hold to my side of the deal. Thank you, Mr..." Akdar pauses as he realizes he hasn't a clue as to the man's name. "My apologies, it seems in my haste to read this book I completely skipped introducing myself, I am Akdar Daskan."

[Prehysterical]

"Really, I do appreciate it, Rafki. I'd prefer to stay with someone I know, at least on a first-name basis. I think it goes without saying that waking up in a hospital is not a pleasant experience." Now that Rafki has slowed down, Bolten has a much easier time keeping up with the man. The slight fatigue he still feels does not stack well with his chubby belly.

[ylvathrall]

"Akdar. Daskan." The man's voice is thoughtful as he repeats the name. "Yes, I expect you will fulfill your part of the bargain. As I said, you should return here when you have a book which you think will satisfy me."

Considering how obvious you were about introducing yourself, his refusal to provide a name can only be deliberate.



Rafki leads you upstream to the Old Bridge. An almost-delicate looking arch of stone that crosses the river in a single span, the bridge is a marvel of engineering. Although several thousand years old, it has been maintained scrupulously, and is still entirely stable. Its surface is too narrow for most vehicles, though, which is why the New Bridge was built a hundred years later.

Not far from the opposite shore, you can feel when you cross from Skyside to Smokeside. Your skin prickles for a moment, and you smell lavender, an intense odor which vanishes as soon as you notice it. At the same instant, you are cut off from the magical powers which you rely on. Any spells you currently have active cease functioning, and when you reach for the arcane power you are accustomed to using, you feel only a void.

Rafki continues without pause, reaching the other side of the city and then turning north. It is after dark by now, but many of the workshops and factories of Smokeside work through the night, and it seems only slightly less busy than in the daytime. Smog hangs low and heavy overhead, a thick, choking cloud of dark smoke and white steam. Every exposed surface that isn't regularly washed is stained dark with soot, including the faces and clothing of most of the people on the streets. What little light is available comes from torches and lanterns, rather than the gaslights that are more common in Skyside.

A few blocks north of the bridge, Rafki turns and walks along a tenement building. He unlocks a door about halfway down the building on the ground floor. The room thus revealed is simple, almost stark; there is a small wooden table with two wooden chairs, a narrow cot against the far wall, and no other furniture.

[Prehysterical]

While the loss of contact with magic is somewhat disconcerting to Bolten as they cross the river, Bolten has made it a point not to rely too much on magic and doesn't suffer the misfortune of having any spells rendered useless by the lavender embrace. As they cross, the dwarf in Bolten admires the solid engineering put forth into the bridge's design.
[roll0]

The opening door reveals a surprising sight to Bolten. Even his own room back home hadn't been so bare, nor had his quarters at the Armory. Looking around at what little was there, Bolten did some mental arithmetic. Twenty years to set up the shop... Looking back to Rafki, Bolten asks, "This is all you have? Do you have a family, Rafki?"

[TheOneHawk]

Despite being put off momentarily by the mans refusal to give a name, Akdar quickly recovers and gives the man a polite farewell before leaving the shop. What an odd man... he things to himself as he leaves, but quickly puts that thought aside in his excitement to read the treatise in his hands. His school would likely be able to put him up for the night while he got started on the book so he could get a good nights rest before heading back into the Wastes in the morning. He starts heading there, but finds it difficult to wait until arriving to begin reading, choosing instead to get a head start by both walking and reading at the same time.

[Dondasch]

Adisse, after deliberation, decides to pay the fare and take the lift. Once it arrives in Martel, she makes for the offices where she signed up for the previous, ill-fated expedition.

[ylvathrall]

"It's just me here," Rafki says. "Not much here, but it's always been about the shop for me. I only come back to sleep anyway, so what's the need?" He shrugs. "Might find myself a wife someday, when I'm not so busy with the shop. Right now I'm putting in fourteen, fifteen hours most days. Not a lot to offer a family in a life like that."

He walks over to the cot and rummages underneath. A few seconds later he pulls out a bullseye lantern and lights it, illuminating most of the room. He then grabs a loaf of dense wheat bread and a wheel of cheese from under the cot and sets them on the table before sitting in one of the chairs.


The bridge was made using ancient but reliable principles of engineering. It was designed with both efficiency and aesthetic principles in mind, and was built with the intention that it would last forever. Though markedly older than the surrounding city, it is in astonishingly good repair. Beyond that, the architectural principles are far beyond your knowledge; this bridge was designed by a genius.




As you step out the door of the shop, you feel an odd sense of loss, as though something is pulling at your mind.


After you step out the door, your experiences within feel oddly vague. You recall having purchased the books from an old man, and you know that you agreed to bring back another book which the man didn't have in trade for one of the books. Beyond that, though, you can't quite remember the details of the transaction; you don't know quite what was said, and you couldn't describe the person you made the deal with beyond saying that he was an elderly human.


The Scholars of the Wastes do maintain a guildhall within the city, not far from your current position. It isn't all that large, but you should at least be able to stay the night.

You can read the book easily by the flickering light of the gaslights. Though a slender volume, it is printed a dense, small font, and it will take some time to read it fully.


The dissertation is divided into the following sections:

Foreword and Introduction
History of the Mana Wastes
Primal Magic: A Brief Summary
Primal Magic Events
The Nature of Magic
Conclusions
Afterword

Which section do you start with?




The office building is a large tower of stone and steel, with less common metals used in certain aspects of the construction as well. Though not built to the same scale as vast towers which ascend to the top of the cliffs, it is still a quite respectable two hundred feet in height.

Kito's Rangers, the mercenary company which was contracted to protect the expedition, keep their offices on the third floor. They occupy the first suite to the left of the stairs, with the rest of the floor and building being host to a variety of mercantile interests, banks, and other companies.

Upon entering the suite, you are greeted by a small, well-appointed foyer. There are several chairs and couches arranged around the walls, along with tables displaying a variety of newspapers and pamphlets. A small desk sits against the opposite wall from the door. The slender half-orc sitting behind the desk smiles at you toothily. "May I help you?" she asks.

[Dondasch]

"I believe you can. A spice merchant named Khair asked me to join an expedition to the Mana Wastes tomorrow, to determine the cause of the magical disaster that the previous team met with. He was not forthcoming with details, but I know that the previous expedition contracted with your company, and was hoping to find more information."

[TheOneHawk]

Feeling the magical tug on on his mind instantly brings Akdar's guard up. That was magic. Not friendly magic either. What have I gotten myself into... Shaking his head gently at his folly, he shrugs and cracks open the book to read as he walks to the guild hall. Nothing I can do about it now, it was probably nothing anyways, I'm being paranoid. Might as well just get started reading. He reads through the table of contents, but decides to start at the beginning, as the author likely intended.

[ylvathrall]

"Khair's expedition," the half-orc says, flipping through the book on the desk. "I see it. Looks like he purchased our services again. Seems he hired a full platoon this time. I have them scheduled to leave tomorrow shortly before noon. There's also a note saying that anyone who was on the previous expedition can hire on here as well, no questions asked and double pay." She then looks up again. "I'm guessing that means you?"




I have been a student of magic for more than twenty years. I have studied at academies in Nex, Geb, and Absalom, as well as seeking out numerous individual scholars and experts to consult with. More recently, I have been a professor at Blythir College in Alkenstar City.

In all this time, there are key questions which have remained unanswered. What is magic? Where does this energy come from? Why does it obey mortal will? And, perhaps most curious of all, why does it consistently obey certain laws?

As a student, when I asked these questions I was dismissed and told not to trouble myself with such abstract nonsense. As a scholar and a professor, I have found that the true reason I was not given answers is much simpler: we do not know. Though our examination of magic's uses and the rules by which it operates has been extensive, we have almost no knowledge of the essential nature of magic. Indeed, to study such a thing seems difficult, or even impossible. How would you study the basic properties of magic, if not by using magic? How would you propose to study a thing using itself?

And yet, in this volume, I seek to do precisely that. The reason I feel I can do this with confidence is that I am not studying magic in the carefully controlled environment of a laboratory. Rather, I shall endeavor to examine magic in its natural state, uncontrolled by the will of any being. This is referred to as primal magic, and occurs only in very limited areas within the world. Here we can observe magic as it occurs without any control by another. By this means we can hope to learn more about magic itself, and perhaps even arrive at a theory regarding its fundamental nature and origins.

Many of the ideas proposed herein are shocking to more traditional academics. I know this, and I know that you may reject my new theory of the nature of magic out of hand as a result. I ask only that you keep an open mind until I have laid out all of my evidence.

Devan Llanalir


By the time you work your way through the foreword of the volume, you've already reached the guildhall. A small, unassuming stone building, it bears no sign advertising its nature. Inside, the attendant hands you the key to one of the guest rooms without question when you present your token of membership.

[Dondasch]

"Yes." Adisse replies, briefly taken aback by not news that not only would Khair be paying them, he'd be paying them double. "I'm Adisse. I assume the expedition departs from the same place as the last?"

[Prehysterical]

The man's manner saddens Bolten. He doesn't seem very happy... It reminds the dwarf too much of his own childhood in his mother's shop. I need to cheer him up somehow. Inspiration strikes him and he sits down at the table. He holds a hand out to Rafki, gesturing toward the knife. "If I may?"
Taking two slices off of the loaf and a slice of cheese off the wheel, Bolten places the cheese between the bread slices. With a mutter and a gesture, Bolten gets the cheese to melt between the now steaming bread slices. Another gesture with slightly different wording infuses the newly made sandwich with ham flavoring. The room now basks in what is (hopefully) the savory aroma. He hands the sandwich over to Rafki, a kindly smile on his face.
As a cantrip, Bolten can use prestidigitation as much as he wants.

[ylvathrall]

"That's correct," the half-orc says. "The expedition leaves tomorrow from Golden Square. Should I mark you down as planning to accompany them?"



Rafki hands you the knife and watches curiously as you cut the bread and cheese. You assemble them into a rough sandwich and then mutter and gesture over the food, trying to make it slightly more palatable. The arcane power you're used to commanding doesn't answer your call, though; it's as though it doesn't even exist. The bread and cheese remain the same as they were.

Rafki watches this, and then chuckles at your expression. "Smokeside," he says apologetically. "Thanks for trying, though."


As a reminder, the entire district of Smokeside is in a magic-dead area. The feeling of prickling and the odd scent vanished moments after you entered, but that's because the sensation of transition from normal magic to magic-dead is very short-lived. You're still in a location where magic doesn't function.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten slumps in his chair, embarrassed at making a fool out of himself. Assembling his own uninspired, non-magical sandwich, Bolten comments, "This is terrible. If I do ever get my own shop, I'll have to set up on the other side of the river and pay exorbitant estate fees. You can't exactly make some of the things I have in mind if you wiggle your fingers and nothing happens." He begins digging glumly into his sandwich.

[TheOneHawk]

Thanking the attendant, Akdar heads towards his room for the night and continues reading until night falls. Once the stars emerge, he steps outside to offer a prayer to Desna under the night sky, then returns to his room to sleep.

[Dondasch]

"Yes please."

[ylvathrall]

Rafki grunts and begins eating his own meal with, if not precisely enjoyment, no evidence of actual dislike. "You get used to it," he says. "Guess it's worse for you, but you get used to it." He chuckles. "And you'll notice the shop is in Skyside. The rent is ungodly, but it's worth it. I couldn't cast a spell to save my life, but even a man like me needs magic now and then to make some of the really fine stuff."



You find the guest room easily. It's small and minimally furnished, comparable to a very cheap room at an inn, but well lit with a permanent magical torch.

The next chapter is much denser, with many footnotes and references to other works, of which you've read only a fraction. In it, the author attempts to summarize the entire history of the Mana Wastes, beginning with the founding of Nex and Geb. He then documents the beginning of the war and attempts to reconstruct the general course of the violence from what is known about key events. Following this he describes how, when the great war finally ended, the land now known as the Mana Wastes was a blasted desert scrubbed clean of all life, inhabited by nothing but unnatural monsters, constructs, and fiends. He glosses over the next few thousand years slightly, until the founding of the Grand Duchy of Alkenstar. At that point the narrative becomes more detailed again, describing the history of the duchy in detail and documenting the current geography and politics of the Wastes.

By the time you finish this chapter, it's already time for you to go to bed if you want to have time to perform your morning routine before going to the expedition's departure point on time. Reading the dense, scholarly writing is taking considerably more time than you might expect from most books; this is clearly meant for serious scholars of the topic rather than the casual interest, and even for you, it isn't light reading.


Thanks to the information from the book, you are considered trained in Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (nobility) within Nex, Geb, and the Mana Wastes, despite not having ranks in these skills.

Also, sorry, but I'm not writing out a full scholarly dissertation for you. That's not a thing that's going to happen, even if I wanted to. You get the full text of plot-relevant pieces and topics that your character is specifically interested in, but otherwise it's summaries.




"All right then," the half-orc says, making a note in the book. "I'll let them know to expect you. The expedition departs shortly before noon from Golden Square, here in Martel. You shouldn't run into any trouble joining on. You can collect your pay when you return." She smiles at you. "Good luck, Adisse."

[Prehysterical]

I'm going to go ahead and wrap this up.
Finishing his sandwich, Bolten replies, "Magic is just a tool, but a valuable tool nonetheless. Speaking of which, I am afraid that I must retire. I'll have to get up decently early and find somewhere in Skyside to sit down and prepare my spells before I head out. Good night, Rafki." Bolten tries to make himself comfortable on the floor... before standing up. He sheepishly lays out his traveling bedroll and blanket, forgotten in the day's events, before settling in. "If I start snoring, just give me a kick."

[Dondasch]

"Thank you." Adisse replies returning the smile.

After leaving, she looks for a nearby inn at which to spend the night.

[ylvathrall]

You find a fairly cheap inn and stop to rest for the night. The night passes without incident, and you wake in the morning with plenty of time before the expedition leaves, particularly since you're already nearby.
Expense: 5 sp



My current operating assumption is that all of the PCs will be joining the expedition. You know where the previous expedition gathered before leaving the city, and it's safe to assume this one will do something similar; likewise, you either already know or can easily figure out when they're leaving. I don't think we really want to spend a round of posts getting readily available information, so we can assume that you all know when and where to go to sign up.

ForgotTheOldOne, I am currently assuming that you stay and have a nice conversation with your friend. You get something considerably less vile to drink after the coffee, and a generally pleasant time is had by all. You can then stay with him for the night at no expense. If these assumptions are incorrect, let me know; we can work through any other activities from that day either in this thread or via PM.


The next morning finds you making your way to Martel to join the next expedition. Though Martel and Alkenstar City were initially quite separated, both cities grew since their founding, and at this point a casual visitor could be forgiven for thinking them a single city. It doesn't help that the two largest buildings in Martel ascend from the bottom all the way to the top of Hellfallen Cliffs, where they connect to buildings in Alkenstar City by bridge.

There are multiple ways to get from the top of the cliffs to the bottom, ranging from simply jumping off to hiring an airship. The only readily available method which is neither expensive nor lethal, however, is to descend the enormous staircases within the two towers which ascend from Martel to the top of the cliffs. At seven hundred feet of height, it isn't a casual walk, and many of those who regularly travel from one community to the other prefer to use the lifts within the towers. These devices can get you from top to bottom much faster than walking, and with considerably less effort. However, the enterprising rulers of Alkenstar long since realized that this preference was an excellent opportunity to augment their taxes. As such, the lifts now charge one silver piece per passenger per trip.

Once in Martel, you make your way to Golden Square, one of the main city squares in the town. A large cobbled square surrounded by vast stone and metal towers, Golden Square earned its name for being surrounded by some of the largest financial firms in Alkenstar. The companies in those buildings trade in entire businesses, buying and selling shops and major investments as casually as a housewife might barter for the day's bread. Meanwhile, the Alkenstar Mint on one side of the square produces all of the currency used in the duchy, much of which will end up flowing into the other buildings around the square. The amount of money which moves through Golden Square in a day is staggering, almost incomprehensible.

Anyone considering taking a share of that wealth, though, is typically discouraged by the obvious display of security. The shieldmarshals patrol the area in force, displaying both firearms and more traditional weapons. Meanwhile, those who look up to the cliffs can see a far greater threat overlooking Martel: the Great Maw of Rovagug. The cannon protrudes from the cliff face, almost comically large. Very likely the most powerful weapon the Gunworks has ever produced, the Great Maw is capable of propelling an 81-inch ball of metal nearly twenty miles. To date it has only been fired twice, and the results of a direct hit from such a projectile have never been observed. Its mere existence is a considerable deterrent against attack, though, since not even a dragon could casually shrug off a hit from this cannon.

The expedition gathers in the square in late morning. Twenty of Kito's Rangers are present, hard-looking men and women who openly display a wide variety of arms and armor, led by an armored dwarf with a musket. Another ten or so academic types stand around, apparently a mixture of wizards and alchemists accompanying the expedition to sort out precisely what happened at the end of the previous one. In the meantime, laborers rush about the square loading the camels which are accompanying the group as pack animals.

[TheOneHawk]

Waking up early, Akdar steps outside to watch the night sky fade and the sun rise while he prepares his spells for the day. Bidding farewell to the stars as he finishes his daily prayers, he stands and leaves the guild hall to head into Martel. Never one to fear a long walk, he takes the stairs down the cliff, rather than the lifts. Once he arrives at the square, it's quite easy to pick out the expedition and he heads towards the Dwarf who seems to be arranging things. "Blessings of Desna be upon you, good Dwarf. I was told this is where an expedition was being arranged to return to a ruin I helped investigate previously. Unfortunately we did not meet with much success, and were fortunate to survive. I'd like another opportunity to study there, however, if you'll have me."

[Halae]

Wisteria spent the night the way she does many; finding a comfortable place to sit and think. Tonight, it's under the comfortable boughs of the fig tree she helped, resting against the bark of its trunk as she thinks of what happens.

And inevitably, her thoughts turn back to Lira Trayzen, the vampire. She'd inquired after the buxom undead after she sprouted anew, but there is a remarkable dearth of people who are both willing to talk to a strange pale ghoran and have information. All she'd ever been able to find out was the vampire's name, not even her position in Geb. Given the troupe she commanded though, she was obviously highly positioned. Powerful too, given how she killed so many people and tossed Wisteria around like a ragdoll.

What do you intend to do about it?

Need to be able to challenge her on favorable terms. To do that, need support from other people, possibly even money. Lots of money. Wisteria leans her head against the tree behind her, and looks up at its branches for a long moment. An idea starts forming, and she looks over at smokeside. What sorts of plants could survive there? If she can't grow things in Smokeside, what could she do in Skyside instead?

--------------------

Wisteria arrives the same way she did last time; showing up early, deep in contemplation for her own things. the members of the expedition that went out (including her) last time will note she's changed the leaves that cover her somewhat, to account for the hide armor she's layering on top of them. It's simple stuff, a bit restrictive, but unless you're up against a gun it can save your life. Not that she feels the need to expect guns; more likely there'll be claws and teeth.

As Akdar approaches the lead dwarf, Wisteria follows up, "Same as him."

[ylvathrall]

The dwarf looks from Akdar to Wisteria and then grunts. "Fair enough," he says. "Anyone who's been out to this ruin before is more than welcome by me. A little bit of experience with the terrain can go a long way with this sort of thing. Supplies will be a bit tight, but that's why I always budget extra."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar smiles at Wisteria's words. He was glad she decided to join the second expedition, it would be good to have someone he already knew. Continuing his conversation with the Dwarf, he asks "Is there anything you need me to do to assist in the departure?"

[Halae]

Wisteria smiles "I can actually help with the supplies" and then she reaches up to her hair and plucks five berries that grow out before onlooking eyes. She'll hand them over to the lead dwarf, "These are only good for a day, so if you use them it'll have to be today, but they're as filling as any ration pack you might have. One berry to a person will keep them going all day. I can make these once a day, but I can't always control how many there are; it's always at least two, but I've sometimes grown up to eight."

"By the way, name's Wisteria. My friend is Akdar."

[Dondasch]

Adisse wakes up, feeling much better after a good night's sleep. After leaving the inn, she arrives at the square to see Akbar and Wisteria already there. She walks up, waiting for a suitable break in the conversation before speaking. "Hello! I'm Adisse; I was a member of the previous expedition and signed up for this one last night."

[Prehysterical]

0: Mending (school), Read Magic, Detect Magic
1: Shocking Grasp (school), Grease, Abundant Amunition
The slowness of the lift allows Bolten time to do some reading to prepare his spells. When he gets to the top, he looks up once again at the massive bombard that stands watch over the city.

It's a nice thing and all, but I feel that it's very inefficient. It would have been better to split the materials and set up several smaller cannons to catch invaders in a crossfire. I suppose it's more of an art piece than anything else.

Seeing that most of the others are already present, Bolten rushes forward with his spellbook under his arm. "Sorry, I hope I'm not late."

[TheOneHawk]

"Adisse, Bolten. Good to see you two again. Hopefully our second attempt at this ruin is more fruitful than our first. Here, Bolten, while I was out yesterday I found a clockwork shop. Thought you might like this." He hands the small, decorative gear to Bolten. "I'm not sure whether or not you actually follow Brigh, but it seems like something you'll at the very least be able to use at some point."

[Prehysterical]

Accepting the cog, Bolten looks at before nodding approvingly. "It's a simple but beautiful combination of function and art. Thank you very much, Akdar!" Bolten grins childishly at the joy of receiving a present.

[ylvathrall]

The dwarf eyes the berries somewhat suspiciously for a few seconds, then shrugs and takes them. "Thank you kindly," he says, popping one into his mouth and slipping the rest into a pocket inside his armor. He chews the berry slowly and thoroughly before swallowing.

"Name's Sergeant Durzak Blackwall," he says, after eating the berry. "You can call me what you please, so long's it isn't Durz. Right, then, ground rules if you're coming with. You aren't ready when it's time to move, we leave you. You go crazy in the desert, we leave you. You pick a fight with another expedition member, we leave you. You steal from another expedition member, I will personally kneecap you and dump you in a mana well. Any questions?"

If there are no questions, he looks around and then grunts. "This lot should be ready in ten minutes or a touch less. You got any last details to take care of, recommend you do it now. May be as much as two weeks 'fore we see another friendly face."

[TheOneHawk]

"I am ready to leave at your leisure, Sergeant Blackwall."

[ForgotTheOldOne]

After a pleasant day spent in her friend's company, Sorothril accepts his offer of staying the night. There was no pressing reason for her to return to the hospital, and it was unlikely that any would be overly concerned about her whereabouts. Nimorn's accommodations were far more comfortable than those available at the hospital, and at a far cheaper going rate; namely, an open ear to listen to his stories, and the occasional nod of a head where appropriate.

Come morning, Soro takes her time making her way to join the expedition, enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Nimorn and going through her morning workout routine. Unburdened as she is by the need to take the lift or the stairs however, she arrives not far behind the earliest of those gathered after gliding swiftly downwards into Martel. She greets those new to her with a curt nod of her head, while giving her previous companions a brief smile that manages to be only slightly menacing beneath her fearsome mask.

"Sorothril," she says by way of introduction, touching one fingertip in turn to forehead, throat, and sternum, in the manner of the serpentkin greeting. "I will be joining you." That last is a statement, plainly said, not a question.

[ylvathrall]

The sergeant nods to Akdar, then turns to Sorothril as she approaches. "Wings, eh?" he says. "I can use that. You're in if you want to be, same rules as everyone else. You turn on us out there, wings won't be enough to keep you safe from me." He pats the musket meaningfully. "No offense, but I got to be sure we all know where we stand. Where we're going, there's no room for working against each other."

[Prehysterical]

Bolten regards the other dwarf in a confused manner. "I'm sorry, but... Have you had problems with this sort of thing before?" His fingers play over and between the teeth of the cog that Akdar gave to him.

[ylvathrall]

The sergeant sighs in response to Bolten's question. "All the bloody time," he grumbles. "A trading expedition through the desert has a lot of value, right, so sometimes some fool thinks he'll just waltz off with some of the cash. Or a noble can't keep the schedule and wants another hour to get ready. Or some bloody scholarly pissant decides he knows the Wastes better than we do and tells me to change our route. Or a priest learns that the fellow standing next to him is a devil-worshiper and, oh, we can't be having that." He snorts. "If I had a lucky for every time somebody decided our rules don't apply to them, I wouldn't be on this trip, I can tell you that."


"Lucky" is the local slang for the official currency of the duchy; they are officially termed doubloons. (Effectively, this is what gold pieces are in the area; 1 gp = 1 lucky. Other units of currency are also produced at the mint which correspond to copper, silver, and platinum.)

[TheOneHawk]

Frowning at the sergeants words, Akdar gestures towards the small group that had gathered from the previous expedition. "We, at least, have managed to not kill each other once before. I'd hope we can accomplish the same again."

[Halae]

Wisteria is glad for Sorothril's presence; a winged scout is much better than what otherwise might be present.

For the moment, she stays quiet, waiting for the trip to start. She has something to share with the group - so few people she knows she can fully rely on - but not while they're talking to Blackwall.

[ylvathrall]

As it becomes clear that there are no further questions, the sergeant grunts. "Right, then," he says. "Ten minutes and we're out." He then wanders off to talk to the scholars accompanying the group.


Sounds like Wisteria has something else to say before you leave, so I'll wait for that before moving things out of the city.

[Halae]

When Blackwall moves away, wisteria says, "How would you all like some gardens?" and then she grins rather widely.

[TheOneHawk]

"Like some... gardens? What do you mean? We're not exactly in the most fertile of places and we're heading out into even more inhospitable land in literally ten minutes. What are you planning?"

[Dondasch]

Adisse looks at the Ghoran for a moment, puzzled by the apparent non-sequitur. "I don't have much use for gardens; I don't stay in the same place long enough."

Adisse won't have told people about feeling like she's being hunted, as most people just think her crazy.

[Halae]

"I'm a druid," she states, "My intention is to restore life to the Wastes. To do that though... I need money. Establishing gardens - probably fungi to start with, given the nature of the land here - and using druidic magic to enrich them and make them grow faster should provide something very few people in this region have; a reliable source of food and medicines. I'm asking for investment partners for the purposes of creating such gardens. As we produce more and more of in-demand supplies, we should see greater returns, which in turn would allow us to build and enrich more gardens. A self-sustaining business. Besides, More people will be willing to accept such a business if the ghoran is merely a business partner rather than the leader of it."

She declines to state the other reason.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten strokes his beard thoughtfully. Plants were something that he could never find interesting, but the idea itself had merit. Improving quality of life within the city, especially in Smokeside, could be very beneficial. However, now the ghoran has aroused Bolten's curiosity. "Where did you get this idea? I didn't think druids liked the idea of nature being cultivated and harvested."

[Halae]

"Normally, you'd be right, but without careful tending any plants we try to grow out here, in the wastes or Alkenstar, would wither away in a matter of days if the seed takes root at all. I don't expect people to work for free either, and that makes this less an altruistic venture and more of a financial one, which means we have to make the gardens work for us too. Besides, food chains being what they are, plants get eaten all the time. this really isn't any different," Wisteria has a cool confidence to her, "It's all about context, and if things turn out well, we'll all be well paid on top of it. Potentially enough to open other shops." She looks directly at Bolten as she says that, her smile widening.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar frowns, deep in thought at the proposal. "It could certainly be an interesting and beneficial venture if handled properly. I don't know that I'd be able to contribute much, plants are hardly my area of expertise. I think we likely need to return from this expedition first, however, since we will be travelling for a while. Something to look forward to on our return, hopefully in a more triumphant manner than our last expedition.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten ponders thoughtfully before shrugging with a grin. "Well, all right. I suppose you can't run a forge without coal and you can't start a business without some investment. Although, let's wait until we actually have money in our pockets before talking business, eh?"

[Dondasch]

'On one hand, staying in one place and becoming well known is a Bad Idea. On the other, a group of allies would be good.'
Her train of thought is jolted by Bolten's words. 'Wait, do they know we're getting paid double?'
"That reminds me, they'll pay us double for this expedition."

[TheOneHawk]

"Double pay? The impression I got from that Khair fellow was rather the opposite. I certainly won't complain, however. That will certainly help with this... business venture Wisteria has planned as well. Regardless, I think we may need to continue this conversation on the road, the expedition appears to be nearly ready to leave."

[Halae]

"This is good news, thank you," Wisteria looks towards the gathered mercenaries, "Yes, let's hash out the details on the road. we don't want Blackwall leaving us behind."

[ylvathrall]

Almost exactly ten minutes after talking to you, Sergeant Blackwall steps up in front of the group. "All right," he bellows, loudly enough to be heard on the opposite side of the square. "Now or never, people! Get your lazy rears in gear, we are moving out!"

Instantly, the mercenaries spring into action, moving forward without any hesitation. They aren't precisely marching as a unit, and certainly they aren't moving in lockstep, but there is still a high degree of coordination. Everyone knows their place and their task, and none of them show any hesitation in carrying out that task. The scholars are slower to react, and less confident, but they do all start moving.

You pass quickly through the streets of Martel and onto the road. You walk (or, as the case may be, fly) for less than a mile before reaching the great defensive wall of Alkenstar. Built of stone and steel, this is one of the most impressive fortifications in the world. The wall stretches from one side of the canyon to the other, maintaining a constant height nearly fifty feet above the canyon floor. Shieldmarshals and clockwork creatures patrol the top of the wall, vigilant against any threat from the Wastes beyond, and here and there the gleaming metal of a bombard or cannon can be seen as well. Though you can't see them, you know that there are also men within the wall, both cannon crews and riflemen. Any hostile force approaching this wall, from either side, will be subject to a hail of gunfire long before reaching it, and once they do they still have to contend with the defenders in order to breach it.

Lucky for you, then, that you aren't here to breach the defenses. The expedition passes through the only opening in the wall, a large arch at the road. You walk through the gate, although it's long enough that "tunnel" might be the more appropriate word; the wall is nearly one hundred feet thick. Flickering torchlight shows that there are numerous portcullises that can be dropped to block passage through this opening, and a particularly watchful eye might also spot machicolations in the ceiling. These trapdoors can be opened by defenders to drop rocks and boiling water on invaders, though considering where you are it's probably more likely that they would be dropping explosives and alchemical weapons on you.

On the other side, you're in the Mana Wastes proper. The barren desert stretches out to the horizon with little variation and no signs of life. Overhead the sun blazes fiercely against a cloudless sky. There is a road, but it's hardly visible and it hardly matters; out in the desert, one path is usually as good as another.

After passing through the gates, the expedition falls into a much more regimented marching order. The scholars walk at the center of the line, with the camels directly ahead and behind. The bulk of the mercenaries walk at the front and back. The exception are the four mercenaries that are mounted, who act as scouts and outriders patrolling around the group as you walk. Finally, Sergeant Blackwall seems to be everywhere at once, checking that everything is going smoothly and everyone knows their job.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar doesn't wait long into the journey before pulling out his book. There's not much else to do out here and he had a lot of practice walking and reading. Confident that if there was any real problem, someone else in the group would yell a warning, he attempts to get as much reading done as possible while not walking into anyone, or anything, before sundown.

[ylvathrall]

As you move out into the desert, you find yourself lumped in with the scholars more or less by default. It's easy, level walking, and you have no difficulty reading as you travel.


The next chapter of the dissertation is a brief description of what primal magic is and where it's found. Though often any environment in which the normal rules of magic don't apply is described as primal magic, this book is somewhat more strict in its definition, applying the term only to occasions in which magical energies act unpredictably and without any apparent guiding intellect. The text continues to be exceedingly dense and scholarly in its writing, referencing a wide variety of other works ranging from ancient holy texts to modern scientific studies.

Though you already know much of the background information presented in this chapter, you do note the following details as particularly interesting considering your goals:

Primal magic does occasionally occur naturally, especially in areas where there's a great deal of energy. This can include things like major storms and volcanic eruptions, in addition to magical effects.
Nowhere in the Inner Sea region experiences primal magic as intensely or consistently as the Mana Wastes.
Some groups have figured out ways to influence primal magic. There's a spell which limits or mitigates the effects, which is commonly known in Nex, Geb, and Alkenstar, although it isn't always effective against truly massive surges of power. Additionally, methods have been found to cause primal magic effects. Particularly notable among them are cultists of Nethys, who consider primal magic a sign of his favor, and some of whom can produce it.
No one has figured out any reliable way to predict what effects primal magic will have. Even divination magic can't always predict when it will strike, or what effects it will have when it does.

[Dondasch]

Adisse spends her time bringing the others (not from the previous expedition) up to speed on what they had encountered the first time, and the pool.

[Prehysterical]

As they walk, Bolten gets a strange idea as he considers Wisteria's offer. Walking over to the plant-lady, Bolten asks, "Excuse me, but while we are on the subject of gardening and whatnot... Is there a way for those with plant magic to create their own coal or peat? Some sort of organic matter that can be used as fuels for forge fires? If such a thing were possible, it would relieve a lot of stress on the woodlands around this area and probably allow for more peaceful transactions between wilders and cityfolk. Besides, if done right, a contract could be signed between the spellcaster in question and a facility to ensure a steady supply. The money paid in return would go to whatever conservation efforts are necessary. What do you think?"

[Halae]

Wisteria nods "Maybe, but I don't yet have that kind of power. Working on it, though."

[ylvathrall]

You walk for several hours through the desert. The sun blazes overhead, uncomfortably hot as it edges on past noon. At one point, you hear a high-pitched whining noise, just on the edge of hearing; it lasts for a few minutes, and then stops with no more warning or explanation than it started with. A few hours later, a sudden squall blows up and pours rain for half an hour before dissipating.

Half an hour before dark, the mercenaries stop and strike camp with brisk, professional efficiency. A simple palisade of sharpened stakes forms the exterior defense, with bullseye lanterns spaced out around the perimeter. There are a handful of tents, but most of the mercenaries just set their bedrolls out on the ground. Food is passed out from the saddlebags, and one of the scholars accompanying the group casts a spell to produce clean water for everyone.

The mercenaries stand watch through the night, trading off so that all of them have time to sleep. In the morning, they break down camp as quickly and efficiently as they set it up, packing everything up and moving on.

The next four days pass in much the same way. On the third night, a gunshot wakes you in the middle of the night, as a huge, misshapen monster of some kind attacks the camp. By the time you make it to the area, though, the mercenaries have already driven it off again. The next day, you have to detour extensively from the planned path; first a mana storm forces you to take a different route, and then you have to go two hours out of your way to get around a massive crevice in the ground.

Finally, on the sixth day, you reach your destination. The temple rises out of the desert, the massive sandstone edifice fading into the sands. Any details of the architecture, or any hint of what this temple might have once been dedicated to, have long since been eroded by the weather. The only apparent entrance is a large arch leading into the interior of the building, completely unlit.

As far as you can see, nothing has changed since the last time you were here. You can feel an odd energy in the air, though, something like a static charge hanging around the temple.

Skipping over a bit of time for convenience's sake; if there's anything you want to do in the interim, or conversations you want to have, feel free.

[TheOneHawk]

As the expedition arrives at the temple, Akdar puts his book into his backpack and murmers a quick prayer, beseeching Desna's protection within the ruin. It was irritating that he hadn't quite managed to finish the tome before they arrived but there wasn't much left, he would be done soon. Stepping forward towards the entrance, he nods towards his companions from the previous expedition. "Unless things have changed significantly in the last week, which I highly doubt considering the age of this structure, we should be able to navigate it for the rest of the group."

[ylvathrall]

The next two chapters are even more dense and difficult to process than the previous ones. Additionally, once you leave the beaten path the terrain gets rougher and more awkward; at times you have to put the book away while you walk, lest you suffer an embarrassing and potentially dangerous fall.

Despite this, you manage to finish most of the book by the time you reach the temple. Only the Afterword section, which appears quite short, remains.

Having considered the general nature of primal magic, we now turn our attention to specific primal magic events. Broadly speaking, there are two types of primal magic events, induced events and spontaneous events.

Induced Primal Magic:
An induced primal magic event occurs when a mortal agency attempts to perform magic within an area of primal magic. This causes a reaction which alters the intended function of the spell in unpredictable ways.

Those impacted by induced events tend to describe the results as random, but this is not strictly correct. The result of an induced primal magic event is unpredictable, but rarely is it so chaotic as to defy rational description. Generally there is some connection between the initial intention of the spell and the eventual result. This connection may be direct, as when a fire spell produces a bright light; it may also be more broad and thematic in nature, as when a spell cast with intention to harm is accompanied with ominous music and images of weapons. In addition, induced primal magic events are typically stable, that is to say, they do not change once they begin. Though the effect is unpredictable, once initiated it will typically run its course in a manner which does not exhibit significant alterations in behavior.

Alhough there is typically some form of connection between the initial intent and the primal magic event, this relationship is unclear, and certainly cannot be used to predict what the result will be. The same spell, when cast by the same person in the same location, has been known to produce wildly divergent results. Similarly, spells which on the surface seem very different can produce effects which are thematically similar in many ways.

Further complicating matters, induced primal magic events do not occur with every use of magic, nor is there any apparent pattern to when they do occur. Broadly speaking it appears that induced events occur more frequently in areas where the primal magic effect is stronger. However, to date there is no way to objectively quantify the strength of primal magic in an area, making it impossible to confirm the relationship with certainty.

It is also worth noting that the exact details of an induced event often vary from one observer to another. Though the general nature of the event is always preserved across multiple accounts, details of appearance are highly dependent on the observer. This may suggest that the magic is still to some degree dependent upon outside agency to fully define its qualities.

(This is followed by a lengthy list of individual primal magic events, each of which has a brief summary of the conditions surrounding it and a description of the event itself. Many of these events are cross-referenced to those which share similar conditions or produced a similar result. This section is also exhaustively researched and contains numerous references to other works. You recognize a handful of the titles, and have even seen some of the books in your research. Additionally, one or two titles are so inexplicably familiar to you that you suspect you may have actually written them in a previous incarnation.)

Spontaneous Primal Magic:
The second category of primal magic is the spontaneous primal magic event. This type of event occurs without any apparent initiating cause; all available information suggests that it is produced purely by the primal magic itself, without input from any outside agency. These events tend to occur infrequently, and are often presaged by an increase in the apparent strength of the primal magic within the area. Frequent induced effects lengthen the interval between spontaneous events, and immediately following the spontaneous event, the area appears not to exhibit primal magic at all; this further suggests that spontaneous events are directly tied to the strength of primal magic within an area.

In terms of their effects, spontaneous events are broadly similar to induced events, with three important distinctions. First, they are far more unpredictable; with no thematic connection to a deliberate spell, there is nothing to constrain their manifestation. Second, they are more unstable; where induced events run their course without changes in behavior, spontaneous events often change dramatically on a moment-to-moment basis. Third, they exhibit no apparent dependency upon the observer; on the contrary, all observers uniformly report the same manifestation for a given event. All of these point to the conclusion that spontaneous primal magic events, unlike induced events, are not influenced by external agency, but instead represent purely the action of the primal magic itself.

(As with the previous section, this is then followed by a lengthy list of incidents. The list is somewhat shorter and many of the details less certain than those of induced events.

Having stated all of the following, what conclusions can we draw regarding magic? First and foremost, that it is by nature disorderly. Magic does not of its own accord behave in a predictable or controlled manner.

Second, that it does not occur in its natural form in this world, with rare exceptions.

Third, that it is malleable. Even when occurring in its natural state, magic is easily molded by external agencies. This is not, however, the case for particularly strong magical events. When primal magic builds up to the point of seeking its own release, it is not nearly as amenable to outside influences.

Fourth, that it is not intelligent, or if it is, its intelligence is so overwhelmingly alien as to be unrecognizable. This can be seen from the apparent randomness, the lack of intent, and the lack of discernment in primal magic events. If these events are guided by any intellect, that intellect is beyond inhuman. Indeed, my own inquiries suggest that even such creatures as demons, elementals, and fey have no better understanding of the intelligence underlying primal magic than we do. Thus, if it is intelligent at all, it is a profoundly alien form of intelligence, something so far removed from our experience that we cannot begin to understand it.

Fifth, that it is not under our control. We can conclude this from observing induced primal magic events, which are in some ways an intermediary step between the orderly magic of our normal lives and true primal magic. These events are uncontrolled and unpredictable, but still exhibit some degree of influence by intelligent observers. This strongly suggests that the control we have over magic under normal circumstances is in fact a stronger form of this same influence. The distinction is minor, but significant.

(The remainder of the chapter consists of further elaboration on these five points. For the most part it seems to be a defense against various counterarguments, including rebuttals of those found in numerous older works.)

The picture of magic we have thus reached is one which is radically different from what we have typically envisioned in the past. It is that of a vastly powerful, uncontrolled force, something not wholly of this world, something which is profoundly indifferent to us. It is dangerous, undeniably, and we do not fully understand it. Even at the best of times, we do not fully control it.

This is likely to be a worrying image to many. Certainly I find it to be so. But we should not rule it out simply because we find it disturbing. At present, all available evidence points to this as the most accurate depiction of magic's fundamental nature. Ignoring this reality will not change it.

Furthermore, there are other lines of reasoning which suggest the same things. It is notable that Nethys, a man who understood magic to such a degree that it elevated him to godhood, has many of these same traits. His powers are great, but even his own followers acknowledge that his all-encompassing grasp of magic has driven him quite, quite mad, and there is no predicting him at all. Similarly, creatures from other planes of existence often exhibit these traits, particularly those from the most fundamental planes, places where primal magic reigns uncontested.

On the whole this topic is still uncertain. I do not by any means claim that my investigations are the final word on the question. Rather, I would consider this work a starting point, a place to begin further research from. I do, however, believe that this type of study will form the groundwork of a new theory of magic, which tells us much more about this fundamental force of our world.

Thank you,
Devan Llanalir, Dean of Extracurricular Research, Blythir College

[Halae]

Wisteria will approach Blackwall, looking at the building with narrowed eyes, "Sir, I'd advise caution. There's something in the air; magical or otherwise, I couldn't say, but it wasn't like this last time," and everybody who even thinks about going into the mana wastes knows that a shift in something undefinable could be really bad news. The wastes are too chaotic to judge otherwise, "It feels more alive, where previously it felt dead." And anything living out here is either incredibly resilient or very, very scary.

[Prehysterical]

Standing beside Wisteria, Bolten nods in agreement. "I can feel it, too. Better let us go in front with your lads." Bolten doesn't sound too enthusiastic about being on point, but it is the safer option.

[ylvathrall]

Sergeant Blackwall nods. "Right, then," he says. "You five, stay outside with the beasts and set up camp. Nobody comes inside without my say-so, and I mean nobody. If Abadar himself shows up and wants inside, you make him a cup of tea and ask him to wait. You, you, you, and you, lead the way. Eyes open, watch for traps. Anything and everything in here is a potential threat. After you come our guides here, and if they tell you something, you bloody well listen. Scholars after them, and the rest of us will watch the rear."

The sergeant quickly positions everyone to his satisfaction, and you start into the ruin. The four mercenaries in front of you are all heavily armored, and appear extremely alert, watching for any sign of danger. Behind you, several of the mercenaries produce and activate sunrods, passing them to the scholars to carry. This provides more than enough light for everyone to see.

The structure of the temple appears unaltered, and you're able to easily navigate back towards the sanctuary of the temple. Given that you already know the way, it should be a quick trip; even taking your time and moving carefully, it should take you less than an hour to reach the sanctuary.

Only about ten minutes in, though, you turn the corner and are met with a gruesome sight. A corpse is lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of sticky, foul-smelling greenish blood. The body is vaguely human in shape, but strangely warped, its limbs too long and strangely curved. Its skin is greyish and warty, its features malformed. One arm is much larger than the other, and deformed, the hand little more than a lump of bone and muscle.

Though it's almost unrecognizable, you think this is one of the human members of the last expedition. She looked like a normal human before, rather than this strange creature, but there are enough features in common that you can't discount the resemblance.

This creature is a mana wastes mutant, the result of exposing a living being to the strange energies of the Mana Wastes for too long and in too high of concentration. Every mutant exhibits a unique set of mutations, but all of them have a strange physiology. They tend to be bizarrely tough, shrugging off many attacks, and exhibit a remarkable resistance to magic. More worryingly, they are known to sometimes be contagious, passing on their mutant nature to other living creatures.

[TheOneHawk]

"Gods... that's Izora. Seems she fared significantly worse in the aftermath of the explosion than we did." Careful to stay a safe distance from the corpse, Akdar quietly administers the woman's last rites as best he can without exposing himself to the mutation.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten looks horrified at the dead woman's appearance. "Wait... That doesn't make any sense. Why is it that we were unaffected by the magical surge but she was? It's not like it targeted any specific race or casters or non-casters."

[Dondasch]

Adisse has been following along, though the time spent on the road has lightened her spirits considerably. She stares at the corpse for a moment, failing to see the resemblance that Adkar announced, but speaks in reply to Bolten "Friend, this is the Mana Wastes. If you wanted magic to make sense, you could have gone anywhere else in the world."
"That being said, it does still stand to reason there may be more mutants about, and we should prepare accordingly." At that, Adisse draws her sword.

[Halae]

"Blood hasn't clotted yet," Wisteria says, "whatever killed her is still around."

[ylvathrall]

"You're assuming the blood clots like normal," Sergeant Blackwall says to Wisteria. "I don't know if that's a safe assumption. That doesn't seem like normal blood. It's green, for one thing. Still, you've got a good point. We should watch out for more of them, or for whatever killed this one."

Another soldier speaks up at this point. "Sarge," he says. "Shouldn't we do something for her?"

"We'll bury her when we can," Blackwall says. "For now, we focus on keeping ourselves alive." He looks around the group. "A lot of you had friends in this group," he says, more gently. "And we'll do what we can for them. But remember that they might not be your friends anymore. If the mutation's gone far enough, they might have lost their minds completely. So if something comes at you, you put it down, whether it's got a familiar face or not."

I'm not sure whether anyone has other things to do before continuing, so holding it here for the moment.

[Halae]

"the safety of the sane and living comes first," Wisteria says, her face blank, "Let's move. I don't want to remember her like this if I can help it."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar nods at Wisteria's words. "Losing friends is a harsh reality of this land. I've made my peace with it, they will be in a better place than this when they pass. Still, I do not wish to dawdle about the rotting corpse of what was once a companion of ours."

[ylvathrall]

You skirt around the body and continue moving further into the ruins. The mercenaries were already treating this as hostile territory, so any new worry provoked by the evidence of hostile creatures is indistinguishable from how they were already behaving. Some of the scholarly types, though, seem distinctly unnerved, glancing around and muttering until Blackwall glares them into silence.

Despite the unsettling sight, nothing particularly threatening appears, and you see no other signs of violence. As you get closer to the sanctuary, though, some of the people with you start behaving oddly. One of the mercenaries pauses for a moment and looks around. "Does anyone else hear that?" he asks. "It's like a...a ringing in my ears." A few minutes later, another of the men reports an odd taste in his mouth, something between copper and cinnamon.

Then, with just a short hallway and two turns separating you from the central chamber where everything blew up, things escalate. One of the scholars following you abruptly vomits onto Adisse's shoes. At almost the same instant, one of the mercenaries leading the way speaks up. "Sir," she says, "I am seeing numerous, oddly colored centipedes crawling on my skin, and I can hear voices singing in an odd language. I believe that I am hallucinating." Her voice is still crisp and professional, but it is obvious that the vision is getting to her a little.

"Stop," Sergeant Blackwall orders. "You four, did anything like this happen the last time you were here?"

Nothing like this happened last time. Additionally, none of you are experiencing any of the symptoms other people are reporting; things seem about as normal as they get here.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar frowns and shakes his head at the sergeant. "Nothing like this at all, sir. The previous expedition had a surprisingly easy time accessing the centre chamber. I can only guess that the explosion that incapacitated us... awoke something here. As Wisteria said outside, this place feels alive now when previously it seemed like nothing more than a simple ruin. I feel I should report that I don't seem to be suffering any ill effects from the changes, however." He turns and takes a couple steps towards the central chamber, thinking back to the previous expedition to try and provide as much information as possible. "We're very close to the pool. The most likely way I see for us to find answers to our questions is to return there."

[Prehysterical]

Bolten hesitantly ventures, "Er, sergeant, is there any chance that the four of us could scout ahead? I'm not suffering from the magic, either, and believe that it would be safer for everyone involved if someone with untested senses get the layout of the situation. No sense in risking friendly fire or anyone suffering a panic attack, after all."

[Dondasch]

Adisse lets out a small exclamation of disgust and begins shaking the worst of the vomit off her feet.
"I am also unaffected. I agree that we four should probably scout ahead, as it seems the effects get worse the closer we get to the pool."

[ylvathrall]

"If you four aren't being affected, you should go on ahead," Blackwall says. "The rest of us are more a liability than an asset in this state. We'll move back to where we can function and wait for any information you can bring us."

The mercenaries and scholars form a tight group and fall back through the halls. Moving forward you turn the corner, and then you start to hear a quiet humming sound, somewhere between a ringing bell and a purring cat.

As you round the last corner into the sanctuary, you see something quite different from the room you found last time. The general structure is the same, but the ancient inscriptions cut into the walls are glowing with a gentle, subtle light. The light slowly shifts through the same vivid, unnameable hues that you saw when the pool exploded with arcane energy.

The pool itself, though, is gone. The energy that had accumulated there is gone, revealing a gaping hole in the floor. The edges are uneven and crumbling, suggesting that this is likely the result of the explosion rather than a deliberate part of the architecture. The faint light from the inscriptions is enough for you to safely move around the room, but it doesn't light the hole.

The floor is about twenty feet thick, after which it opens into another hallway. This one is more narrow than those you walked in earlier, but still appears to be a part of the ancient temple's architecture rather than a natural cave or a later addition.

A few seconds after walking in, you realize that you aren't alone in this room. A kobold is standing inside; after a moment, you recognize him as having been on the first expedition with you.

[Chaltah]

How long had he been here? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to survive. He had spent some time trying to recover from an intense sickness from when the arcane pool had exploded. He had wondered if he had been the only one to survive the encounter as there had been no others that he had seen. He had gathered up what little resources he could from the dead team to try and get out and see if he could get out but was deterred every time he tried to leave. Looking over his supplies he couldn't help but realize he was low on resources I will have to try and find more supplies he thinks just before he hears people approaching. At first he thought it might have been more mutants and had drawn his sword but upon seeing the party he gives a bright smile and would have shouted with glee but he knew any noise could lead more monsters to him. "Oh thank the gods I was not the only one to survive this terrible ordeal." he looks them over as he stood there "What happened to you?" Riizak inquires, having not seen what had happened with the explosion.

[Halae]

"Riizak?" Wisteria says increduslously, kneeling down. Her leafy clothing spreads out across her legs as she does so, giving her an odd look like a woman coming out of a plant bulb, "Come here, let me look you over. Are you hurt? We managed to get back to Alkenstar, ourselves. I suppose not everybody could be that lucky."

Tend to the (potentially) wounded first. Then be awed by your surroundings.

[Dondasch]

At the sound of the kobold, Adisse whirls around, slashing the air with her sword-- until she recognizes Riizak. "Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy."

"As for what happened, we and two others got blasted clear out of the ruins. We were taken back to Alkenstar, and after waking up, roped into going on a second expedition to find out what happened. Asuka the kitsune was one of the other survivors, but she never showed up for the second expedition. Sorothril the strix is guarding outside, where her wings will be more useful. The mercenaries that came with us are waiting further back, because they had worsening hallucinations as we got closer, and we found the mutated corpse of another expedition member on the way here."

Not waiting for a response, Adisse peers into the pit, being careful to stay away from the edges.
"Hey, there's another hallway down there! I don't suppose you've poked around down there at all?"

[TheOneHawk]

"Riizak? I must say I was not expecting to find any more survivors here. It is good to see you." Turning his attention to the runes, Akdar examines them, searching for any changes from the last time he was here aside from the glow as well as attempting to determine why they're glowing now. "Now, Riizak, I know you're not the scholarly type but have you noticed anything change from the way it is right now since you awoke here?"

Casting Detect Magic.

[ylvathrall]

Round 1: You detect magic.
Round 2: You detect two auras, the most powerful of which is strong.
Round 3: You detect a strong aura and a moderate aura, both associated with the runes.
The strong aura is an abjuration effect which appears to be designed to amplify and extend the effects of certain other spells. The moderate aura is unstable and likely derives from a primal magic effect. The primal magic seems most closely associated with the transmutation school.

[Chaltah]

Riizak scratches under his chin in thought as he looks around a moment before speaking softly "There are strange mutants wandering the area. Ever since that thing there..." he motions to the glowing runes "has been like that there's been some very unusual activity. I have run into a few mutants in my attempts to escape this place but I've been cut off at almost every turn" He looks toward the door "This place has been the safest place as the mutants seem to avoid coming here" he looks now at the runes "They seem dimmer than I recall when I woke up now though."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar remains silent for a time, staring intently at the runes until eventually he curses and turns away in frustration. "There's two aura's emanating from the runes, not trivial ones either. I can't recognize them for the life of me, though. Anyone else want to take a try?" He walks away from the wall and turns his attention to Riizak. "How many mutants have you seen? We should warn Blackwall if there's enough to pose a threat to them. I'd prefer to get everyone out of here safely this time."

[Prehysterical]

For lack of anything better to do, Bolten steps up and waves his fingers along with an incantation to read the magic of the runes. He then tries to decipher their meaning.
[roll0]

Eventually, however, he steps back and shrugs helplessly. "I don't know either."

[Halae]

Wisteria frowns deeply towards the pit, "We should investigate first. Riizak, you're welcome to come with us if you wish, or go to Blackwall's group. There's something deeply strange going on here, and you have as much a right to learn what's happening as any of us do."

There's a tenseness to her body, a rigidity that the gathered individuals aren't used to seeing. She seems... unusually focused. Intense. She speaks in a hard voice, "I want to find out how we were changed."

[Dondasch]

Adisse looks at the runes. "I'd give it a shot, but I never learned enough about magic to identify auras." She shrugs.
"We should definitely let Blackwall's group know what we've found before we go any further. They'd be expecting us to examine this place and return."

At Wisteria's words, Adisse looks at her quizzically and asks "What do you mean by 'changed'?"

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar nods when Wisteria mentions the change. He had certainly felt different after the explosion, like it had taken some fundamental part of him and altered it irrevocably, though he had yet to find out what or how. "Do you not feel any different since the explosion, Adisse? I know I have, and apparently so has Wisteria. It's subtle, but something seems different about... something." He frowns as he struggles for a better way to phrase it for a moment, but gives up quickly. "It's difficult to identify exactly what feels different, or how it feels different, but something happened in that explosion and I'd love to find out what it was. That said, I also want to inform Blackwall of what happened before we jump down into the darkness. What do you think, Bolten?"

[Dondasch]

Adisse pauses for a moment, concentrating to see if she can feel anything different.
"I had just put down anything odd to the aftereffects of the explosion, but now that I stop to focus, I do feel... glowy? Sort of like having eaten a lit candle, maybe? That's the best way I can think of to describe it."
Reminded by her analogy that some of the party would need a light source, Adisse scoops up a pebble, and says a few magical words, causing it to light up.

Adisse is casting light on the pebble. She can cast it on something else if anyone wants.

[Prehysterical]

All this talk makes Bolten uneasy. Was this feeling they were talking about what allowed him to flow so thoroughly in his work yesterday? "Er, yes. Blackwall and his men need to be informed. I'll go tell them quickly so we can get on with it."

[TheOneHawk]

"I don't like the idea of anyone walking alone in here, you all heard what Riizak said about being trapped in this room by the mutants. We should stick together."

[Chaltah]

Riizak closes his eyes and concentrates, recalling the times he had bumped into the strange mutants through the halls and rooms. "I recall around a dozen at least that I could recognize as unique. I tried to talk to them but they just chased me. They didn't look very good and I don't think their minds are all their either. at the mention of change he gives a vigorous nod of agreement, having felt like there was something inside him that had been changed, but he hadn't been able to figure it out. So he had put it down to the unusual activity that had been going on. But it seemed to be more than just him now. "I didn't think much about it but now that I see that you are also experiencing things as well it warrants investigation. But this Blackwall needs to be informed of the potential dangers that lurk in these halls. the kobold looks toward the door warily, gripping his sword tight in his left hand.

[Halae]

Wisteria breathes out and nods, "Alright. We'll go after we report back to him. Then we can investigate the pit."

[ylvathrall]

You get back without incident and find the rest of the expedition has already started setting up a fortified camp of sorts. They've moved a ways away from the central chamber, and while some of them are still clearly not entirely recovered, their overall condition appears to be considerably improved.

Sergeant Blackwall listens to your report and then nods grimly. "You're likely right that any answers will be found down below," he says. "I would gladly come with you, but I have a nasty suspicion that the magic messing with our heads would only get worse down there. For now, you lot are on your own. We'll stay up here and keep watch for any beasts following you down. Hopefully we'll be able to take care of those mutants, help the ones that are still themselves. As for the rest, well, we'll help them too." He pats his musket meaningfully as he says this last bit.

Before you leave, the mercenaries provide you with a coil of rope and a pair of sunrods. They've got no preference for who gets them, so it's first come, first served.

The corridor at the bottom of the pit leads in two directions, both of which run as far as you can see; it's about fifteen feet wide, and the arched ceiling is ten feet high at the highest point. Everything is made of stone, cut and fitted together smoothly in decorative patterns, almost a mosaic. The patterns on the floor are abstract geometric ones, but on the walls are designs suggestive of ideographs, perhaps an ancient form of writing. The floor is dusty and the air is stale, but otherwise the hallway seems to have carried the weight of the centuries with remarkable grace.

You are certain that you did not see this part of the temple during the first expedition.

The ideographs on the walls suggest that this was a part of the temple not open to the public, perhaps priests' quarters or something like it. It's hard to determine precisely what the temple was dedicated to; it might have been Nethys, Nex, or the abstract concept of magic as a whole. There are phrases suggesting the veneration of all three.

[Chaltah]

Before the depart back to the pit, Riizak approaches Blackwall, giving a slight bow to the man before speaking If you happen to find a young wolf anywhere, please, don't kill him unless he's been affected by whatever is going on here. he was hoping that his little friend wasn't dead but as the time passed he was prepared for the worst.

Returning back to the pit he gathers up what remains of his belongings before the group attempted to climb down into the pit. He felt a little uncertain but he wanted to investigate this place further now that there were others to watch his back. He went to grab the rope to let himself down when the ground he was standing on shifted, sending him falling down into the pit

[Dondasch]

"You alright? It works better if you tie some knots in it first." Adisse says, before pulling up the rope, tying some knots, and anchoring it to a suitably large piece of debris. She lets it back down and descends, then checks on Riizak. "Hmm, that looks nasty. I'd do something, but healing is Wisteria and Akdar's province."

She looks around, keeping an eye out for danger. She notices the patterns on the wall, but cannot make sense of them.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar quickly descends the rope after Adisse and hurries to check on the injured Kobold. "Careful, Riizak. You don't want to get yourself hurt too badly down here, I can only heal so often." Summoning positive energy into his hands, he channels the healing magic into Riizak's wounds, knitting them together as best he can. His immediate task finished, he turns to the mosaics on the walls. "Beautiful. This is ancient osiriani, the old language of this land from millenia ago. It has been some time since I've been called upon to read such, but I should be able to translate..." Taking one of the sunrods provided by the mercenaries, he walks up and down the corridor a short ways, squinting at the ancient runes with fascination. "It would appear this was not a public part of the temple, a priest's quarters or something similar. It appears to have been a temple venerating some combination of Nethys, Nex and the concept of magic."

Spontaneously converting Bless into CLW. [roll0]

[Prehysterical]

Bolten is one of the last ones to go down. Between the wall to brace on, the knots in the rope, and his not being a complete weakling, he's able to make it down without making a complete fool out of himself. The runes on the wall are nothing but gibberish to him. "Why would the priest's living quarters be under the main worship area? It doesn't seem very structurally sound to me."

[Chaltah]

Riizak saw stars as he hit the ground. The next thing he remembered after hitting the floor was Adisse looking down at him. Groaning he winces and sits up rubbing his head. "No more of that for me" he mutters. As he receives the healing from Akdar, the aches lessen and he sighs in relief Thanks Akdar. I'll try to not do that any more. It hurts too much. He sits there a little while longer while Akdar goes over the writings Think you can teach me some of this? It seems an interesting language if that is what it is. he asks after finally getting to his feet and brushes himself off and gathers his belongings that had scattered from impact.

[TheOneHawk]

"I can try to teach you some, though it will take time. If you're truly interested I can begin teaching you the basics next time we camp. For the moment, however, I believe it is best if we move on. We obviously never found this part of the temple last time we visited, so there may be much here we have not seen." Lifting his sunrod high, Akdar re-examines the ancient ideographs, searching for any clue as to what lay in each direction. After a moment, he clues into a cipher in the words. "Hmmm. I think I might see something here. Hold on just a moment, there's a kind of a..." Trailing off into silence, he stares intently at a specific section of the ancient writing before nodding quietly to himself and pointing down the hallway to his left. "That way leads back to where we came from, other way is deeper in to the priest's quarters. I'd suggest heading deeper in to find any answers."

[Dondasch]

"I'd rather go that way first," Adisse points to the hallway leading out "to avoid anything sneaking up on us from down there."

[Halae]

"I agree with Akdar, personally," Wisteria says as shereaches the bottom of the rope, "but... one moment. I'm going to try something. If it doesn't work, we're no worse for wear. If it does... I've found one hell of a trick."

The ghoran moves over to the direction Adisse pointed and begins to cast a spell. those who've seen her cast before will, at the very least, note something is odd about her movements for the spell. The verbal component is oddly lyrical, unlike most mumbled spells. The voice might bring to mind a lush field - certainly not something she's ever exhibited before.

That's mostly fluff - if it doesn't work, or if Stein wants to add in more, or change it, whatever, let me know, I'll edit.

Specifically, Wisteria is using her Inspired Spell ability (and thus using one point of Mythic Power) to cast Detect Aberration without spending a spell slot. Because it counts as two caster levels higher, that means as long as she's concentrating on the spell, it goes for a 430 foot cone shaped emanation in front of her, and lasts up to half an hour.

"It works!" Wisteria says, a brighter look on her face than most present will have ever seen. She clears her throat and focuses on the spell, scanning down the passage for anything that might be there, "I should be able to tell if there's anything we need to worry about down that way."

After a long moment of focus, Wisteria says, "We have one creature, about a field's length down that way. I believe the wisest course of action would be to neutralize it first, then proceed."

[Chaltah]

Riizak looks both ways as the people discuss what they should do. "I agree with Wistrea. Whatever is back there in our way to the rest of this temple could potentially cause problems if we need to beat a hasty retreat. No sense in being cut off and attacked from both fronts." He pulls out his sword and makes sure his shield is still in good condition before looking to the others. "I will volunteer to go first unless any of you would prefer to take point" This was his moment to truly test his mettle, he could feel it... or maybe it was the bump on his head. But for now, there was something to face with his companions.

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar nods at the suggestions. "Shame we need torches down here, makes sneaking up on it pretty much impossible. Still, let's go."

[Prehysterical]

As Bolten joins the others, he pipes up, "Can we at least determine if its hostile before piling on? Mutation does not always extend to the mind, or so some Waste scholars have told me."

[Chaltah]

Riizak gives a nod after some thinking "that is a good point. Perhaps those of us with darkvision should go on ahead to investigate so as not to draw attention to ourselves prematurely " he looks to the others as he suggested this "it would be nice if there were other allies to perhaps gain more information about this place"

[ylvathrall]

Moving further into the ruin, the hallway continues to look much the same. About halfway to the aberration, though, Wisteria notices it perk up and start moving in your direction.

A few seconds later, a small creature bounds into sight. Its fur is falling out in places and its hide appears strangely thick, but the creature is still recognizably canine in its general shape. It appears particularly interested in Riizak, although its behavior is not obviously hostile.

The beast looks oddly familiar....

One of the stones in the floor appears slightly off, likely being a pressure plate rigged to a trap.

One of the ideographs suggests that there's a trap ahead, something meant to ensure that only priests continued down this hall.

[Chaltah]

At Wisteria's warning the creature Riizak moves toward the front ready to fight whatever it was that came. But he was taken aback by what he saw approaching him. It was an eerie sight to behold but he could feel his heart leap as he saw what could only be the young wolf that had been his traveling companion since his departure from the mountains. "I... I think that's... Kaldaka" he says to the others "Maybe we won't need to kill him" he slowly sheaths his sword and locks eyes with the wolf. "kaldaka, confn tenpiswo" he speaks in draconic

Handle Animal check [roll0]
Also for anyone who speaks draconic he said 'wolf, come here'

[TheOneHawk]

"Careful, Riizak. Are you sure that's Kaldaka? Even if it is, can you be sure your wolf still has the same mind you remember and it hasn't been warped by the magic? I appreciate that you think this is your friend, but I do think keeping your sword in hand would be pertinent."

[ylvathrall]

Upon hearing Riizak's voice the creature rushes forward at the kobold, yipping wildly. The vocalization is oddly warbling, not much like an actual dog's, but it still sounds recognizably excited.

The creature jumps up at Riizak and attempts to lick his face. Its breath smells slightly more acrid than a wolf's, but otherwise similar.

The mutant will not initiate combat at this time unless you attempt to take it away from Riizak.

[Prehysterical]

The reunion, as ugly as it is, still endears Bolten. "Aw, he appears to be fine. Apart from, y'know, the whole mutation thing. Would it be okay if I pet him, Riizak?" Bolten's request is not entirely innocent. He wants to feel the animal's hide as much as show affection.

[Halae]

"Don't. Not yet." Wisteria says, "The wolf has been through an ordeal; we'd best not agitate him until he's more comfortable here, and extra hands may cause him to panic. Whether or not he still has his mind, a wolf is still a wolf."

[Chaltah]

The warning given by Akdar did not go unheeded. Though he had put the sword away, he still had his shield ready to defend himself should the wolf suddenly turn hostile. At the yipping, he brought up his shield as instinct as the thing came his way and almost bowled him over as he proceeded to lick his face. "Gah! Kaldaka we've been through this already. Vhira. Vhira, Kaldaka" Though the smell was a little more atrocious than before, he was glad to know that his companion was alright.. in a sense. He stroked the wolf gently before responding to Bolten's request Wisteria is right. There's no telling what might happen. Best we wait until we're out of here before having others touch him." It was good having the pup back, even if he had been changed. But he knew he would have to pay special attention as well, knowing Akdar was right about this being dangerous. He couldn't run the risk of endangering others for the sake of his companion.

Vhira means down

[ylvathrall]

Kaldaka settles down after a few seconds, but is still obviously very happy as he walks beside Riizak down the hallway.

Checks posted earlier are relevant now, assuming you are going further into the ruin. Also, I assume that Riizak is in the lead, given that he offered and no one disagreed?

[TheOneHawk]

Falling into step behind Riizak, Akdar makes sure to keep a safe distance between himself and the mutated wolf as he continues to scan the cryptic writing along the walls. After a time, he notices something and calls for the party to halt. "Hold on everyone, there's a warning here. Give me a moment to... ah. Ok, we're about to enter a more private part of the temple. It has been trapped in order to ensure only priests get through, some kind of pressure plate." Stepping forward ahead of Riizak for a moment and bringing the sunrod low to look closely at the tiles on the floor, he picks it out fairly quickly. "Right there. See that stone? Don't step on it and we should be fine."

[Chaltah]

Riizak was glad someone was keeping an eye out for such traps as the one that Akdar pointed out. Even taking his time he wouldn't have seen it until he had pushed the plate himself. But thanks to his companions direction he was able to skirt around it with little trouble "Good eye Akdar. I guess this is where it starts getting interesting" he grins a bit to the group "Let's hope we get some answers"

[Halae]

Wisteria follows closely behind Riizak, remaining silent, but aware, and thinking about the situation as it stands. This is very curious.

[ylvathrall]

Shortly after the trap, the hallway forks. To your left, it looks like a dormitory of some sort. The bedclothes have long since rotted away, leaving just rows of rusted metal bedframes. To your right, a short hallway opens into what looks like a refectory or mess hall of some sort. Ahead, the hall continues onward.

You can hear something scuttling around to your right. It sounds like something's living in the refectory.

Starting just after stepping past the trap, you're able to detect the presence of two more healthy aberrations. At the split in the path, these aberrations are about forty feet to the right and thirty feet in front of you.

[TheOneHawk]

Hearing the scuttling sound coming from the right hand hallways, Akdar immediately grabs Riizak by the shoulder and gently pulls him to a stop with a finger to his lips. Once he's sure Riizak is stopped, he turns to Wisteria and points down the hallway with a questioning look on his face.

[Halae]

Yes, until something forces her to break her concentration on the spell, Wisteria will continue to maintain it.

"Two ahead," Wisteria whispers to the group, "About forty feet past the split to the right. Be cautious; I doubt we will be lucky enough to find more friendly animals."

[Chaltah]

Riizak strains to hear whatever it was that Akdar was hearing but to no avail and shakes his head. "I do not hear it but it does seem Wisteria has confirmed there's something that was as well" he whispers softly as he peers down the right hall and moves slowly, sword in hand, and speaking softly to the wolf at his side "Japachi" he had to trust that his companions would be able to alert him if the creature were to come at him as he was unable to hear just where this creature was.

Stealth roll [roll0]

[TheOneHawk]

Gently prodding the Kobold towards the seemingly occupied refectory, Akdar points towards where he heard the sound as best he can and whispers "Go in, quietly, and keep your eyes peeled. I'll be right behind you."

[Dondasch]

Adisse closes her hand tightly around the pebble, and moves slowly behind Riizak, keeping her distance to avoid ruining his efforts at stealth.

[ylvathrall]

Stepping into the refectory, you see a long metal table running down the center of the room. A pair of what look like oversized, mutated rats are standing at the far end of the table. They have what appears to be a bag of rations torn open on the ground between them. Neither of them seems to have noticed your arrival.

I'm just going to assume that you did go in to look at things. The rats don't appear to have noticed your presence yet; they are the mutants that Wisteria has been detecting. The rats are Small in size, resembling a dire rat.

A link to the tactical map has been added to the OP of the OOC thread.

[Chaltah]

Riizak moves up to the corner to peer around at what it was that might be in the room. He stares a moment as he looks upon what he could possibly make out to be giant rats. He looks back to the others behind him and mouths the word 'rats' to them and then lifts his sword in a manner as to strike something and then motions toward where the rats were feeding, hoping they would get the idea that he was asking if they should move in to attack now.

Riizak moves up to Z11 so he can see into the room. He is stealthing, though not very good with his 14.

[Prehysterical]

Near the back of the group, Bolten grips his warhammer nervously at Riizak's warning. He waits to see what anyone else has to say.
Let's put Bolten at X8

[Dondasch]

'Hmm, rats. We can probably take them, but I don't know what else might be ahead. It might be better to conserve our resources.'
Adisse shrugs in response to Riizak's gesture.

Adisse is at W13

Prehysterical, so you know, we are coming from the bottom of the map. If Bolten is at X8, he's gone past the split, and the group.

Also, if we have anyone with the message spell, that'd be handy right about now.

[TheOneHawk]

Turning to the rest of the group, Akdar starts whispering quietly. "They're just rats, but they've been mutated by magic and could pose a danger. Need a remind you where we are? This land is dangerous enough with leaving potential enemies behind us in an unknown ruin. Either we ascertain they aren't aggressive, or we kill them." Turning back to Riizak, he nods and makes a cutting gesture towards his throat.

[ylvathrall]

One of the rats chitters something and pulls another piece of hardtack out of the bag. They appear to still be focused on their meal.

[Chaltah]

Noticing that the rats weren't really paying attention he takes a deep breath and starts moving toward the pair, trusting that the others would be behind him if the things attacked. He wasn't sure just how the mutations affected these creatures but their size alone was staggering in his book. Riizak keeps his shield in front of him, sword behind it for the time being, trying his best to appear nonthreatening as he moved, trying his best to remain as quiet as possible, his eyes never letting the rats leave his field of vision.

Stealth roll [roll0] Riizak will also move to AA6 with double move of 20ft

[TheOneHawk]

Seeing the rats lack of reaction to Riizak's advance, Akdar shrugs and moves into the room himself. Must either be really hungry, or the magic addled their brains too much to be a threat. Doing his best to remain quiet, he passes the table and heads behind the wall across the room, looking to see what else is here.

Stealth! [roll0]

... Crap I forgot I don't have wisdom in the flesh (stealth) anymore. Decided on Desna over Irori. Dammit. Oh well. I'll head to AI 12, but I'm pretty sure that got me heard.

[Prehysterical]

Bolten's curiosity gets the better of him. It's better to see the thing rather than stand back and let your mind come up with something worse. He looks on as Riizak moves forward.
Bolten moves to Z11

[ylvathrall]

Riizak doesn't make any obvious noises as he approaches the rats, but as he gets closer one of them sits back and turns in his direction anyway. It takes a few slow steps towards him, sniffing the air. Akdar is less graceful, though, his feet scuffing on the ground as he crosses the room. The other rat instantly bolts over in his direction, squeaking. Its movement is oddly clumsy and halting, probably due to a visibly malformed front leg.

Peering around the corner, Akdar sees a kitchen area separated from the refectory by a thin stone wall. Any food in the kitchen is long since gone, destroyed by time or vermin ages ago. It does have an inhabitant, though, another large rat lying in the middle of the floor. This one doesn't seem to be a mutant, although it is obviously unwell.

Map updated. I'm assuming that Adisse and Wisteria just maintain about the same relative position as they have been.

[Chaltah]

The rat's approach put Riizak into defense mode. He wasn't too sure until he saw the second rat turn and 'bolt' toward Akdar. He raps his sword against the shield in hopes that his companion will hear it as much as it would distract the other rodent long enough for Akdar to defend himself. He stands his ground waiting to see what this other rat would do that was in front of him.

Riizak will ready an action to attack the rat in front of him and use his move action to alert Akdar to the potential threat if possible

[Dondasch]

Seeing a rat moving towards Akdar, Adisse chooses to intercept it before it can try anything. She drops the pebble, grips her sword tightly, and strides up to the rat, maneuvering around the table. Once there, she channels magic into her sword, then strikes.


Free action to drop the pebble
Free action to switch to a two-handed grip
Move action to AE12
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike for +1 damage and overcoming DR/magic
Standard action to attack with her longsword. If [roll0] hits, she deals [roll1] damage.

[TheOneHawk]

Seeing the rat stumble towards him, Akdar swears quietly to himself and reflexively casts the defensive spell he had prepared for the day, hoping its ward would keep him safe from the rat. Only after he's finished casting it and the barrier was in place did he realize he had channeled the energy from that spell to hearl Riizak from his fall. "How in Desna's name..." he mutters before shrugging and moving towards the rat. The sanctuary effect appeared to be working just fine, so he might as well help Adisse.

Using a point of mythic power to cast Sanctuary on myself, should last for 3 rounds. Moving to AG12

[ylvathrall]

Adisse closes easily with the rat. While its hide is oddly thick and tough for such a creature, it isn't terribly quick to react, and she is easily able to stab through its torso. The rat is grievously injured, but manages to snap at her one more time before it slumps to the ground, bleeding out.

The other mutant rat leaps at Riizak, biting ferociously and swatting at him with one oversized paw.

As this goes on, another rat moves out from the kitchen area towards Akdar. It starts to bite at him, then hesitates as the defensive spell attempts to keep its aggression at bay. Perhaps its mind is too simple or too hungry for the magic to work on it, though, because it manages to continue the attack.

Bite at Adisse: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Bite at Riizak: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Slam at Riizak: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

Bite at Akdar: [roll6]
Damage: [roll]1d4[/roll

So the rat made its save against the sanctuary effect, to the surprise of everyone including the rat. The one that Adisse hit was reduced to 0 HP, nice job hitting the target head-on there; when it bit you it dropped to -1 and started dying. Adisse does notice that her sword isn't cutting as deeply as she would expect (it's got DR and Arcane Strike isn't getting through it).

Riizak's readied action does take place before the rat's attacks, and obviously if he kills it those attacks are null and void.

Other than that, it is now your turn again. Map has been updated.

[Dondasch]

The rat's bite doesn't come anywhere near Adisse, and it drops before it gets a second chance. Adisse notices the new rat going for Akdar 'Another?' and moves up next to Akdar. She channels magic into her sword once more, and slashes at the critter, hoping this be a bit less durable.


Move action to AG11
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike for +1 damage and overcoming DR/magic
Standard action to attack with her longsword. If [roll0] hits, she deals [roll1] damage.

[Chaltah]

As the rat closed Riizak strikes out at the rat as it closes, its teeth coming nowhere near him, and he calls out to the others "Move swift friends. Strike them down" as he said this, he could almost feel that his words had more power than normal as he looked toward Akdar and Adisse wishing he could give them more aid.

Riizak is using his Marshal's order 'advance' to give his allies an extra 5 or 30 feet of movement that doesn't count toward their move action. [roll0] to hit the rat. [roll1] if it hits

[Prehysterical]

The first few seconds of the battle go too fast for Bolten to react. Eventually, however, he snaps out of it and moves forward to help Riizak. Bolten swings his trusty hammer at the rat.
Bolten moves to AC6
A: [roll0]
D: [roll1]
C: [roll2]
CD: [roll3]

[TheOneHawk]

I shouldn't have been able to cast that. How did I cast that? I... Lady Desna must have smiled upon me this day. Snapping out of his confused train of thought by Adisse skewering the second rat, he bows briefly to the young bard. "Thank you for your assistance, Adisse. Your skill with the blade is evident, and greatly to my benefit today." Turning his attention to his allies, he decides a single rat is unlikely to be a major threat to them and heads towards the bag they had been feeding on to see if anything could be salvaged.

Move to AD 3. Also, cast detect magic and try and cover as much of the room as possible with it. I can get there and cast during this combat round due to advance. I should also have one round remaining on my sanctuary.

[ylvathrall]

Adisse easily skewers the rat through the heart and it drops to the ground, instantly dead. The other rat is proving more difficult, though; it slips aside from Bolten's hammer, and Riizak's sword glances uselessly off its hide. It then continues to thrash and flail, biting and swatting.

Bite against Riizak: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Critical confirmation: [roll2]
Critical damage: [roll3]

Slam against Bolten: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
Critical confirmation: [roll6]
Critical damage: [roll7]


You don't detect any magical auras in the area. Looking at the bag, it seems like most of the contents have been spoiled or ravaged by the rodents, but you could probably sift out a handful of usable items given a chance.

[Prehysterical]

Luckily, the rat's clumsy striking fails to harm even the unarmored dwarf. Bolten swings again at the mutant.
A: [roll0]
D: [roll1]
C: [roll2]
CD: [roll3]

[Dondasch]

"Thanks!" Adisse replies, before moving on to help the others, spurred by Riizak's words. She attacks this rat as she did the others, seeing no reason to abandon an approach that was bearing such good results.


Two Move actions (one from Riizak's Advance) to AC4, flanking with Riizak
Swift action to activate Arcane Strike for +1 damage and overcoming DR/magic
Standard action to attack with her longsword. If [roll0] hits, she deals [roll1] damage.

[Chaltah]

Riizak manages to keep the rat's bite from striking and smiles as Adisse comes to his aid, providing some flanking for him. He tries to make it work to his advantage and takes another swing at the rat with his sword, not bothering to move himself since he had a strategic position.

Riizak will strike at the rat once more
Attack: [roll0] for flanking. if it misses I will use a surge to try and and improve my hit
Surge: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Crit: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar looks up at the continuing fight with concern. "Do you require assistance? I have no additional spells prepared that I feel would be useful here, I apologise."

Yeah, I'm basically just skipping turn. Akdar will keep looking through the bag for salvage.

[ylvathrall]

None of your attacks really seem to be doing much to the rat. Riizak manages to connect, but can't seem to cut through its hide. The rat continues to writhe frantically, frothing at the mouth as it bites and swings at you.
Bite against Riizak: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Critical confirmation: [roll2]
Critical damage: [roll3]

Slam against Adisse: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
Critical confirmation: [roll6]
Critical damage: [roll7]

I'll go through what you find in the bag after the combat's over, since it would probably take at least a couple of rounds to sort through the contents and find anything useful.

[Chaltah]

The rat somehow managed to get its teeth into him, the kobold wincing in pain as he felt the teeth find purchase. He swings again, to try and cut into its hide again "I think we can handle this Akdar. It's just tougher than i would have imagined a rat to be"

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[Dondasch]

"Oof!" Adisse exclaims as the rat's oversized paws slams into her. She slashes at it, enchanting her sword once more.

Swift action to activate Arcane Strike for +1 damage and overcoming DR/magic
Standard action to attack with her longsword. If [roll0] hits, she deals [roll1] damage.

[Prehysterical]

I'm just going to bite the bullet here.
Seeing that the rat is starting to inflict injuries, Bolten makes the difficult decision to expend one of the spells he had been saving. Bolten reaches for the rat, the familiar feeling of electricity crackling between his fingertips.
Melee Touch Attack: [roll0]
[roll1] electric damage

[TheOneHawk]

Ceasing his rummaging in the pack, Akdar looks over at the continuing combat worriedly. "Should we perhaps retreat? Are we overmatched? I do not claim to know much of combat but I do believe we are losing."

Yeah, just skipping. Please someone roll something decent.

[ylvathrall]

The party continues to assault the rat, even using magic against it, but their increasingly flustered attacks come nowhere near to actually hurting it. Meanwhile, the rat continues to thrash and bite, not seeming the least bit inclined to retreat.

Bite against Bolten: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Critical confirmation: [roll2]
Critical damage: [roll3]

Slam against Riizak: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
Critical confirmation: [roll6]
Critical damage: [roll7]

[Chaltah]

Riizak growls in frustration as this abomination refused to take a hit and swings again, trying to at least cut into this thing and make it bleed.

Attack [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[Dondasch]

Adisse swings at the damnable rat again, not even bothering with magic this time.


Standard action to attack with her longsword. [roll0].
I'm considering using Surge or Fleet Charge, so won't roll damage yet; other rolls will be made in the OOC thread.

[ylvathrall]

Adisse's sword finally manages to connect with the rat, splitting its skull wide open. The creature twitches a few times and then dies, collapsing in a pool of foul-smelling blood.

Much of the bag's contents are ravaged and worthless, but you manage to sort out the following usable equipment:
2 masterwork daggers
2 units of trail rations
7 doses of black powder
50 feet of silk rope
3 sapphires
2 stones of an unusual yellow-green color
125 copper pieces
65 silver pieces
50 gold pieces

[Halae]

"Truly, masters of combat, every one of you," Wisteria says wryly. It's clear why she didn't take part - her hand is still held in the same spellform as before, so she's maintaining it, "What's in the bag?"

[Chaltah]

Riizak was ever so glad that mess was over and vowed to improve his skills with the weapon in hand. He couldn't risk not being able even to strike down the most simple of creatures like this. Gazing from the dead rat to Adisse he he gives her a toothy smile and nods "Thanks. This rats hide was tougher than I expected" at Wisteria's comment the kobold just sighs and walks over to Akdar to see what he managed to rifle from the pack. He didn't see much there that would be useful to him but it was a lot of items they could use along the way. "Did you see anything worth while on the other side of the wall?" Riizak asks as he points toward the kitchen area.

[TheOneHawk]

"A few things, just give me a moment to sort it all out. Not everything is salvageable, the rats did a number on most edible things in here... Couple of daggers, maybe two days worth of rations that aren't spoiled, some black powder, rope, a few gem stones and a coin purse." Akdar lays each of the items out on the table in front of everyone as he names them. Once he's finished, he walks back to the daggers and picks one up. "I feel it would be pertinent for me to hold on to one of these, at least. I don't really have much idea how to use it, but I think I grasp the basic concept. I was expecting the mercenaries to take care of any combat, but if it's just the group of us I feel I should be able to contribute in some minor way when called upon." He then gestures towards the rest of the items on the table. "As for the rest of this, we should report it to Sergeant Blackwall, but none of it seems particularly relevant to the nature of the temple. I do wonder how it got here, perhaps one of our fellows ended up down the hole and was killed by the rats? Regardless, as far as the other side of the wall I didn't manage to see much except the rat that was there. We should take a closer look now that they have been dispatched."

[Dondasch]

Adisse shakes her blade, trying to remove the worst of the rat blood and brains. "Yes, it did seem unusually durable."
"Thank you Wisteria." Adisse replies, completely ignoring the sarcasm.
"The pack might also have fallen down on its own, or perhaps the rats ventured above and found it."

[Prehysterical]

Bolten, after expending a spells and swinging multiple times to no effect, looks upset at Wisteria's comment. "Perhaps next time, you can show us how it's done." For lack of anything better to do, Bolten wanders over to the table and tries to appraise the various items.
[roll0]

[ylvathrall]

The three sapphires are worth about 25 gp each. The two yellowish gems are a little more exotic and you can't readily pin down their value, but it's probably at least as high as that of the sapphires. The rest of the gear is worth what it's listed for in the book.

[Chaltah]

Riizak nods as he glances toward the kitchen. He wasn't a very observant sort but it would be a good idea to sweep the rest of this area before moving on to the next. And with the rats dead he calls his wolf back to his side "You're probably right on either account. It would explain why Kaldaka was down here if he might have fallen in or if maybe he followed the rats for food" He rummages through some of the areas in the kitchen, looking for anything he might feel would be worthwhile.

[roll0]

[ylvathrall]

It doesn't look like there's anything of value in the kitchen area; it has long since fallen into disrepair, and any foodstuffs left from when the temple was active are far beyond spoiled. There is a large rat's nest in the corner, but it appears to be nothing but a mass of filthy, shredded cloth; it's unlikely that you could salvage anything useful from it.

[TheOneHawk]

While waiting for Riizak to return from searching the kitchen, Akdar carefully returns each of the items of value to the pack except for one of the daggers which remains on the table. Once Riizak returns with no further salvage, he hefts the dagger and turns to the rest of the group. "Shall we continue, then? There was another room across the hall, hopefully with less rats." He then strides off towards the hallway, leaving the pack on the table for another to take.

[Chaltah]

Riizak comes back out from the kitchen once he's satisfied that there was nothing else of any real worth there and notices the pack still sitting on the table. He looks to Adisse to see if she was going to pick it up but if she didn't he would grab the pack and shoulder it along with his own for the time being. There handn't been a lot in it to make it that much heavier than what we was already carrying either way. "Yes lets check the other room before we move on down the hall. Also, I'd like one of the sapphires if that's alright with everyone else."

[Dondasch]

Adisse grabs the pack. It's a bit awkward with her own, but she manages to get it fairly secure. "We can divvy things up after we've finished exploring. For now, I agree with checking out that other room."

[ylvathrall]

The other room was obviously a communal dormitory of some kind. The metal frames of bunks are still intact, spaced evenly throughout the room, although the actual beds are long gone. Here and there you can see scraps of ancient, rotted cloth hanging from the frames. The room appears uninhabited, and at a glance it hasn't been occupied for a very, very long time.

A small book is tucked under one of the bunk frames. Though the book is obviously ancient, it appears intact.

[Halae]

Wisteria looks at the room for a moment, then turns around quietly, spending time examining every direction to make sure there are no more surprises for the group before letting her spell finally drop.

Then she moves into the room without a word, and begins picking it apart piece by piece, spending a lot longer in there than any of these others have thus far. When she's turned over enough things to find the book, she says softly, "hello, what have we here?" And will attempt to (very gently) open it, aware that it could be very old and fragile.

[TheOneHawk]

Seeing Wisteria find something in the corner, Akdar quickly abandons his own search to look at what she has uncovered. Upon realizing she has a book, he gets a noticeable spring in his step as he approaches. "Now this is more like it! Excellent eyes, Wisteria. Do you recognize the language?"

[ylvathrall]

You detect two healthy aberrations at the very limit of your range. One of these is directly north of you, while the other is north-northwest. The distance between the two is such that it seems unlikely they are together. Neither one is moving; in fact, careful observation suggests that neither one is even breathing.

The book is indeed ancient and fragile; had you been less cautious, you might have done irreparable harm to it by accident. The text is faded and difficult to make out; in addition, it is written in an ancient dialect of Osiriani, one which bears only a passing resemblance to the language you know. It appears to be the diary of a priest that lived in this temple, but learning any more than that would require a great deal of time and effort.

[Halae]

"It looks like Osiriani, I think, but not a dialect I know. Perhaps you would be better able to read it." Wisteria says, handing the book carefully over to Akdar, "Careful with this. The pages could tear easily."

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar very cautiously takes the ancient book from Wisteria, holding it open to the page she had without so much as touching the fragile pages. He scans it for a few moments before nodding. "I can read this, yes. This is, as you said, Osiriani, but this dialect has been dead for at least a thousand years, if not longer. Truly, this is an ancient book and should give us some clues as to the nature of this temple. I don't want to damage this trying to read it in this state, however. A mending spell should make things much easier but I do not have one prepared today. Does anyone else?"

Checking sheets, I think Bolten has mending prepared?

[Chaltah]

Riizak was a little surprised by the way Wistreria went about searching the room but was also just as surprised that she had managed to find something as well. He would have never thought to look where she had. "Ancient Osiriani. is that like the pictures on the wall you were trying to make out earlier when we got down here?" he walks over and tries to get a look at the book without bumping into Akdar. He cuoldn't make any of it out really and the faded text made his eyes hurt just to look at "Well I hope you can fix it, it doesn't look like it could stand up to a small breeze at this point"

[Prehysterical]

Glad to finally be of some use, Bolten rushes forward and shouts, "I can!" He's forced to slide on his heels to avoid running into Akdar and potentially damaging the book. He takes the book from the man and sets it down on the table. "Please, give me about ten minutes. This magic takes time to work." Bolten stands over the book, fingers weaving in arcane gestures and his tongue releasing the words of restoration and reversing time.
[roll0]

[TheOneHawk]

Akdar nods at Riizak's words. "Yes, the same language as on the walls. Perhaps I could use this book to teach you some of the language as you requested." As he speaks, he hands Bolten the book and gives him room to work, watching the dwarf work his magic and slowly erase years, decades, centuries and eventually millenia of damage. Once the spell has been completed, he looks at the suddenly much newer looking tome and quickly reads through the first few pages. "This would appear to be a priest's diary. Certainly worth reading through, but for now we should continue, I believe. Stopping for long enough to read the entire thing would certainly cause Sergeant Blackwall unnecessary worry and we still have a lot of temple to explore." Closing the book, he steps out into the hallway and continues deeper into the priest's sanctum.

[ylvathrall]

Continuing onward, the hall seems much the same. About a hundred feet past the dormitory and refectory, though, you notice hints that things are changing. The markings on the walls have been somewhat incomplete since you entered, but now some of them appear to have been deliberately defaced rather than just worn down by time.

About four hundred feet further on, the hallway opens into another room. This one seems to have been a higher-class area of the temple, perhaps a receiving room of some sort; the splendor of the room is faded and tarnished, but the worn carvings, the cracked tiles of the floor mosaic, and the decaying shreds of beautiful tapestries all hint at the glory of that bygone age.

Three more halls open off the room, larger ones to either side and a smaller one straight in front of you. In the corner to your left you notice an odd sight. A sort of cocoon woven out of thin strands of some silvery metallic substance sits against the wall. Easily the size of a human, the cocoon doesn't let you see much of what's inside.

[Chaltah]

Riizak takes point once more, shield and sword out as they walked down the halls. He couldn't tell much about the depictions on the walls that they passed but he could tell some of them had been damaged deliberately. He looks at a couple of them curiously as they moved past them until they reached the room "Wow...." he whispers as he takes in the faded splendor of the room though the sight of the strange cocoon in the corner drew his attention. He points toward it with the sword in his hand "That seems odd. It looks like it might be made of metal"

[Dondasch]

Adisse walks quietly, looking at the aged decor of the temple-- and notices that some of it appears to be deliberate destruction, not merely the work of time. "Some of this damage seems to be intentional. There may be intelligent creatures downs here."

When they reach the next room, she stops and stares, but Riizak's words draw her attention before she can get lost too far in thought. She turns to look at what he's remarking on, and sees the cocoon. "I'm more concerned about what made it than what it's made of."

[TheOneHawk]

At Adisse's mention of the defacement of the marking, Akdar pauses a moment and looks closer. "Irritating, you are correct. That will make it much more difficult for me to get clues as to our surroundings from them, but nothing can be done about that now."

Moving forward into the room, he stops and looks around at the once beautiful hall, saddened to see so much beauty gone to waste. Unlike the others, he is not particularly interested in the cocoon, confident his allies would figure out what it was and whether or not it was dangerous. Instead he begins searching the room for any kind of writing, or a tapestry or carving that wasn't aged beyond recognition that could give some hint as to the original purpose of this temple and perhaps an idea of which of the three hallways would be best for them to explore first.

[Halae]

Wisteria kneels down at the edge of the coccoon, "Curious. I'd detected a pair of mutants with my spell down here, far enough away that they aren't related... but I was wondering why they could be healthy while not breathing. I suspect they're going to be in there for a while, and disturbing them will likely kill them if they're anything like the normal butterfly."

[Prehysterical]

Bolten looks at the cocoon, entrance by the substance covering the unconscious person. "Is it possible that they didn't wrap themselves up? I hear that spiders like to wrap their flies in a cocoon and store them away for later." He doesn't look very happy with that possibility.

[ylvathrall]

Most of the carvings are illegible, and all of the tapestries are reduced to shreds and scraps; you can only barely tell that there were ever tapestries on the walls. What you can make out is still frustratingly vague beyond what you already knew; this temple was involved in some sort of veneration of magic, and associated with Nex. Other than that the coded inscriptions suggest that the hall to the north (upwards on the map) leads to the apartments of the abbot or high priest, while to the east is some sort of library. To the west, the marks are intentionally defaced to an even greater extent; you can't even guess what they might once have said.

Something started moving inside the cocoon when Wisteria got close....

[TheOneHawk]

Turning to tell the others of what he had found, he notices the cocoon twitch as Wisteria kneels beside it. "Wisteria? Something is in that cocoon and it's moving. Use caution, we have no idea what it could be and I would prefer you don't end up incapacitated because we don't know what we're dealing with." His warning complete, he walks back towards the group, though he heeds his own warning and remains a solid twenty feet away from the mysterious cocoon. "So I know what's down two of these halls, the abbot's quarters are straight ahead while there's a library to the right. The marking for the left passage has been defaced beyond recognition. Any suggestions for our path? I would prefer to examine the library and see if there are any surviving books like the journal we found."

[Chaltah]

Riizak had started moving toward the cocoon but at Akdar's warning he stops and studies the thing more but couldn't see any movement from it. He stays about 15 feet away, watching it now. Movement usually meant something could emerge at any moment "If it is a human, perhaps we should let it out. But I haven't seen any sign of normalcy before you all showed up. Do you think this could be part of their transformation"

[Halae]

Wisteria steps back and eyes the cocoon cautiously, holding her staff tight, "Then it's reacting to the closeness. I believe it's safe to say it's another mutant - hopefully, one we can reason with." She's reminded of Grim the mutated half-ogre. Not all mutants are insane, but they're all dangerous in one way or another. Kaldaka is another good example.

[Dondasch]

Adisse stays a good distance away from the cocoon, trying to avoid disturbing it. "Whatever it is, we should probably do something with it before we move on.If it's a danger, we don't want it behind us, and if it's in need of help, we should not ignore it."

[Chaltah]

The kobold stays close to his wolf, resting a hand lightly on its side as they stood there, watching the cocoon. "Yes you are right. Whatever is in there could be a help or hindrance. Is there any way we can find out which before it comes out? I would hate for it to come out and start swinging at us before we know"

I'm gonna roll for the wolf just because. If you don't agree you can ignore it but I figure it's there it should get a check to see stuff too.
[roll0] perception

[TheOneHawk]

"As has been pointed out, we cannot leave this unknown entity behind us while we move on. Such an action would be extremely unwise. I also dislike the idea of simply killing it, but I do place my own safety above that of an aberration of the wastes. Might as well attempt to wake it up, though. I would suggest everyone be prepared for the possibility of combat." Pausing for a moment and muttering a quick incantation under his breath to scan the cocoon for any magic, Akdar then steps forward and runs a hand down the cocoon from top to bottom, prepared to step back if anything unexpected occurs.

Detect magic, followed by moving up and touching the cocoon as indicated. Ready action if anything happens to move back behind Riizak.

[ylvathrall]

You don't detect any magic on or in the cocoon. When you touch it, however, you can feel something moving inside. It seems like it's trying to get out, but the material of the cocoon is tough enough that it will take some time for it to tear its way out.

[TheOneHawk]

"Curious..." Akdar frowns at the sensation of something attempting to escape the cocoon from inside. "Something is definitely alive in there, and it seems to want out. I believe the best way to find out its intentions would be to release it. Riizak, would you mind trying to cut it open with your sword? Carefully, remember"

[Chaltah]

Riizak watches as the cocoon moves and shifts and takes a step back. But when it was apparent that the thing was unable to tear its way out so easily he relaxes some. Then when Akdar asked him to cut away at the cocoon, he gives a nod and approaches the thing. He decides to start at the bottom, or what he thinks is the bottom, of the cocoon and cut up, slowly toward what he believed to be the head. "Everyone stand back." he warns the rest of the group

If he can Riizak will take 10 or 20 so that he doesn't accidentally cut anything more than the cocoon. The sword only does a d6+1 points of damage either way and it has the unyielding trait from it being my legendary item

[ylvathrall]

Riizak cuts at the cocoon, but his sword just doesn't seem to be up to the task. The strange metallic fibers are simply too tough for the blade's edge to slice through them.

Whatever is inside the cocoon twitches visibly at this, then goes back to the barely-perceptible movement it was exhibiting earlier.

Can't take 10 or 20 on attacks (or saves, or really anything other than skill checks). Doesn't matter, though, since the cocoon has an effective AC of 0 and your sword damage doesn't beat its Hardness. So you basically can't miss, but also can't damage it.

[Chaltah]

Having no luck with breaking the binding of whatever was inside, Riizak steps back with a sigh "I don't think I have the means to cut it. Someone stronger perhaps, I just don't have the ability to cut it" He backs up and looks to the others "If any of you would like to try you are welcome to" he says holding out his sword

[Dondasch]

"Well, let's see if I can do it then."
Adisse walks up to the cocoon and begins cutting, starting at the bottom as Riizak had done.

Switching to two-handed grip for now and using Arcane Strike; the sword will deal 1d8+7 damage per attack.
Rolls for first attack, if you want it: [roll0], [roll1]

[Dondasch]

After a few seconds Adisse stops cutting. "This is too tough for me to cut through quickly. I'm going to try the brute force method."
She sheaths her sword, grabs the cocoon, and begins trying to rip it open with her bare hands.

[Prehysterical]

"Wait, hang on a second!" Bolten, having been hanging back and not feeling very helpful, suddenly gets an idea. Trying to halt Adisse's methods, Bolten points out, "If we do this wrong, we might hurt whatever's inside. Let me a take a look at this fibers. I'm pretty good with metal and it does seem to be similar, if not metal itself." The dwarf examines the wiry substance for any weaknesses.
[roll0]

[Dondasch]

"If you want." Adisse shrugs and steps back.