*Quenton rests like a rock. When it's time for food he eats voraciously and listens sporadicly. At the end of the speech he asks:*
So... We do or do not need to find more of the decendants of the families? Or new people will be chosen at the conduit?
Acacea, having had little opportunity for rest with her shenanigans, is not so much dragging tiredly while listening as she is antsy, the shaking of the bracelet on one hand a constant undertone of the speech while she looks around and seemingly pays little attention, possibly even interrupting during the occasional pause to ask another gnome things like Ruf tu oui cyo ...? with a point at a piece of food. Each nod is repeated several times like a bobble head halfling, and occasionally segues into a more general rocking back and forth on her feet.
Khydedita, khydedita! Kat-the-Cat's halfling has to come, he will remember and could confirm the right size or shape or what have you! QUENTON! she hollers, whether he is beyond the reach of hearing or only on the other side of Plenarius, then starts at his question. Aha!
Assuming she is not prevented from attending she will join whomever goes to the room, chattering most of the way even if often to herself, and likely slips into pieces of other tongues when she picks up speed. Could it really have been an accident, though, just a part of the usual manufacturing crises and handwaving? That just seems insanity, but it would go back to the original explanation, and that would make Aedan the martyr of the story! But that's such a stretch, we are basically cut to the choice of "still don't understand why we we were given the failsafe, why not just do your thing!" and "divine intervention" though the latter is admittedly welcome in this case, under the circumstances and all, that is I don't see why they wouldn't give the gatekeeper a little nudge to insist on it except if he was bound by it that's different and anyway I wonder if you ripped the sparkles out of someone they'd just fall apart like that, too, if it's so bound up in everything, maybe it was always as simple as that but on the other hand I'm really gonna have to ask the dragons and that is such a bother...
The white wyrmling that is Foresta does not desert the original chamber, prefering to use her time to see truly the chamber as it was meant to be. She even steels herself long enough to examine the whirring things the Goranites call Golem, all this with proper and prudent politeness to her Gnomish hosts. She keeps her own counsel by and large and gathers information from the scene rather than from any written works around. When the others are invited to continue on to see what relics exist , she shifts to Druid form, and she happily listens, acknowledging even Acacea's ramblings with a nod and a hmm here and there. She complies with there insistence on good form and appropriate behaviour.
I'll remember the right size or shape of what? I might have already forgotton... AND Of course I am going... I woldn't miss going even if these gnomes had a block of cheese the size of Krashin with water crackers the size of Leringrad!
*Griff keeps quiet and listens while the others converse. He will eat n drink his share of the refreshments and rest with the others. To prepare for entry into the relic chamber he will groom himself as he would before entering the temple of Vorax and polish his armor to the bright shine of mithril. Then he will enter the chamber when escorted to such.*
*Kyle picks at his food...and listens to the elder gnome. He will go into the artifact room with those who go. He pulls up his hood and ties a cloth around his nose and mouth to mask his breathing and will breathe slow and steady within the room.*
*Zigruum seems to not have slept very well and at the first chance to go topside he gladly takes his leave with the first wave or group. The golems and machinery and various weird walled rooms, even if ancient, are not for him. He'll gladly take any ale or snacks offered to him before he leaves. He wishes the remaining adventurers well letting them know he's fine securing the topside while they diddle daddle. Before he goes he also bids the ancient gnomes fairwell and thanks them for their hospitality and thier patience.*
*Charm doses off easily as she is an expert of naps. Despite the constant foot twitches and arm flutters, as if she is just as active asleep as she is awake, she rests soundly. When food and drink is around, she eats; when it’s not, she’s asking about it. As people talk, she mostly listens with some related (or not) questions.*
*As the others get ready to enter the chamber of relics, she stuffs her hands into her pockets and repeats to herself…no touching, no touching, no touching…, but she still has her doubts.*
The group of visitors and gnomes are guided, after most are finished with their meals, into a hallway and then into a nearby room. It is a stuffy, muffled room filled with books and scrolls and display cases. Prominently positioned are a few things with gloved gnomes standing near them in various states of waiting.
“This room is filled with much of our gathered knowledge of many things Goran,” Ehkaheic says a bit more quietly as the sound travels easier despite the muffled nature of the room. “However, out before you here are our few items that predate this temple. Our brothers and sisters will move them carefully as they can, please ask if you have a need for them to rotate or explain an item.”
The first is a display of stone tiles of very similar shape and size but each bears a different shape or design engraved on the surface. Twenty seven in total, some of the items are easily identified as a dragon, though if there is a specific dragon, it is hard to tell. As well there are some of the members of the Seven represented by archaic deity symbols. There are a few pieces that are symbols of something else, a bridge, fire, mountain, something else that is likely water or air, and so on. Noticeably there is also a tile with a hexagon carved in.
Near-by are two clay pots. One has the head of Deliar and the other of Prunilla. A gloved and masked gnome shows them gently to those who look on, showing that the heads remove to allow the pots to be filled and that their decorative symbols loop and fill the entirety of the pot. The hexagonal marker is on the belly of both pots.
The pots, to the educated crafter's eye, are not ones meant to be decorative but used and likely a student or novice makers' practice pieces. A number of symbols and simple pictures adorn the pots, covering seemingly random aspects.
Next is a large bronze shield. Though clearly meant as an ornamental or ceremonial item, this large, round bronze shield clearly has the heft and integrity to serve as a functional means of protection. Though clearly quite old, this shield remains in excellent condition, likely due to the fact that it has been kept out of the elements for most of its existence.
Domed and circular in shape, the shield's face is hammered, engraved and apparently sculpted to an extremely high degree of detail, so much so that there are no discernible tool marks except where clearly intended as an aspect of the shield's artistry. The quality of the surface suggests that it was once polished enough to have been reflective, though time has degraded the surface to a dull luster.
On the face is depicted a scene now familiar to most: an arrangement of symbols that describe a hexagon with another in the center. At each point is something symbolic of each deity presently gathered in the overhead skies of Layonara and in the same relative arrangement. Though they are not the commonly-accepted imagery in modern times, the overall theme of the symbols makes them easily recognizable. Each symbol is set on a backdrop of several multi-pointed objects. Upon closer examination, these smaller features form the constellations of each deity represented.
From a distance, there appears to be a painting in remarkably good shape considering its age. However, as one draws closer, the truth is slowly revealed. The “painting” is in fact made not of paint on canvas but of an intricate and complex collection of shapes assembled together like some impossible puzzle.
When closely examined, the “canvas” is actually a stone tablet that has been carved and inlaid with what must be thousands of pieces of stone creating every hue and detail of the image. The stones used seem to range from common river stone to mother-of-pearl to what appear to be slices of precious gems, each cut, shaped and fit to such high precision as to leave no visible seams between them. The whole work was polished to appear smooth and glassy, and there is only a slight dulling of this despite the age of the work.
The image depicts a cavernous room bathed in light where a shadowy contraption sits over a pit of some kind, looking as though it supports a very large crystal. White beams (of light perhaps?) pour down into the crystal and red beams of something pour out of the crystal, seeming to push into five individuals.
The last piece is a beautiful work of instrumental art. Though several of the original seven strings are broken and left in that state to preserve its authenticity, this gilded lyre bears the hallmarks of a skilled craftsman. It is about half a meter wide at its widest point and slightly shorter than that in height. Along the bottom third of this harp, the surface is covered with bone or ivory bearing intricate carvings.
These carvings seem to tell a story and are not unlike the mural found outside the Chamber of Seven. Though no one in the group is allowed to physically touch the item, a gloved gnome curator is all too happy to show both sides of the harp to those gathered, thus completing the holes in the story.
Foresta looks at the objects one at a time slowly, she has the Gnomes turn them where they will. She is looking at the detail of the art, seeking anything that has been added and not initially obvious. She assumes every detail added will have a purpose.
Foresta finds that everything is as it seems, as far as she can tell.
//This thread will be tying off on Sunday, June 14th (at a non specific day light hours CDT time) with the exit descriptions. Any last minute questions or actions should be finished by then.
Tyrra takes detailed notes while observing each item, making rough drawings of each item's unique features. She does her best to describe what she can't adequitely draw, as well as taking down notes regarding the apparent construction of each relic. She then asks where these things are from, and for any know facts regarding craftsman, age, purpose, and importance.
*Quenton takes notice of the prunillian pot and tries to inspect it closer*
That's neat! Any idea who made it? Or when or where it was made? I bet the folks at castle mask would love to see it!
*Griff inspects the items and when the musical instrument is shown he inspects it in detail, asking the gnome to step closer and rotate accordingly.*
//Apparently this insturment indicates what was on the mural in the hall of seven and shows us what was missing or damaged on the mural. Could we get an accurate and complete description of the scenes missing on the mural and now revealed from this instrument please?
Foresta will make another check of the items while she listens to any explanation given to the others questions about the origins of the items. She checks for any residual magic contained within any of the items. She further checks for any secret compartments amongst the relics.
The bone carvings on the lyre play out much as the stone mural did outside of the Chamber of Seven. The key differences between the two are obvious stylistic differences between artists and the medium, the fact that the bone carvings blend more fluidly as one continuous carving per side of the lyre as opposed to the mural which seemed to be done in sections, and the fact that the bone carvings seem to tell a more complete story.
On the first side, the carvings start at the left depicting a scene from the dragon wars, with fearsome dragons being held off by Bloodstone and his army. This blends into Bloodstone's banishment followed by the stellar conjunction, depictions of deities: Lucinda surrounded by a representation of magic; Prunilla and Deliar surrounded by what appears to be small people of all ages grouped together; Goran equipped with some kind of tools on his body, standing in front of some kind of large drawing; Dorand before a forge, creating something; Aragen seated in the middle of a circle with other nondescript people around him; and Shindaleria alone with hands open to display what is held within, a small idol in one hand and some kind of paper in the other. A lithe, childlike being, possibly fey in nature, holds a parchment in its hand and is surrounded by swirls that could as easily represent grass, wind or Magic. At the far right of this side of the lyre is carved a depiction of the Chamber of Seven, showing five groups of non-descript people surrounding a large crystal that is encircled by machinery of some kind. From this machinery, beams of what appears to be light shine upon the groups of people, bathing them in a glow.
Those who have seen the Chamber of Seven recognize that this ends at the same point the carved mural did deep in the earth.
When the caretaker turns the lyre, another long scene is revealed. At the far left corner, the Chamber of Seven is presented in its barest detail with people walking away from it in all directions. Most of the rest of the carving is dedicated to scenery depicting peace, but eventually it shows several dragons hovering menacingly over a group of people. Beyond this is another depiction of the stellar conjunction. Standing below it are five people, carved with enough detail to show their racial characteristics (one each: human, halfling, elf, dwarf and gnome), each with an arm raised and a hand outstretched toward the conjunction. Once more, a depiction of light bathes these people, but it is more subtle. The end of the carving depicts what appears to be the same five people with their hands raised to a group of dragons, their palms facing the beasts, and the beasts recoiling from them.
Tyrra is, perhaps, disappointed by the lack of known details. She gets the known era (some two or more millenia ago), and regions they came from (various locations around the world) and little else. Their 'importance' varies by who she might ask, she's told, as they are ancient relics from the past.
Quenton is told that they, the group before them now, are the only people in at least a century to have seen these artifacts. They have very little detail on who might have been the crafter of this set other than the fact that they were in their novice years.
Foresta finds traces of preservation magic upon the items but little else. She is very sternly (if necessary) forbidden from exploring the item for anything hidden. Touching (a pretty necessary aspect of full exploration for hidden components) is expressly forbidden except for those of the temple wearing proper gear.
//**NOTE: Previously stated in response to Tyrra that the known era was 2 or more centuries, this was an error. They are two ore more -millenia- ago. Corrected now.
Acacea gives several of the relics a look-over that is almost offensively cursory. There is a little oo'ing a bit in appreciation of the mosaic for its pieces, though it seems to take her a few looks to blink and adjust her focus to see the image the stones form, after which she pouts. The constant background noise of her wrist twitching its bells clearly goes unnoticed by her.
Barring artifacts related directly to Lucinda, she seems most interested in the lyre, again for its own sake. Bet Andrew in the Red Coat would have been impressed! He makes very fancy things, yoa yoa! You should hunt him down if you feel like making new fancies, or if you want that one repaired. Just sayin'! If they were going to make commemorative instruments, they should have brought in - err... she ticks off her fingers as if counting. Oops, ybumukewa!
She rocks a little back and forth on her heels, humming droning pitches while looking past the lyre with a look of some curiosity. At one change in pitch, some of the keys hanging around on her person rattle against the others. Beside her, Plen nudges the halfling gently and widens his eyes with a smile; the humming stops abruptly and she coughs sheepishly.
Is 'having' it the same as 'knowing where it is' or 'controlling the area where it lives' in which case that is definitely true? 'cause I don't get how else he could 'have' it. It's not really good for hanging on the wall, you know?
Ehkaheic looks to and then addresses Acacea with her questions. He parts his hands in a sort of shrug.
“It was one of your own who suggested Milara may have something to do with all of this,” he offers, “With questions of 'what ifs', and questions of how the Conduit might alternatively be used. We may be reclusive but we know Milara and his desires much like others who have fought him more directly,” he gives a meaningful look to a few in the present room, “And we know that it is not impossible for him to both have acquired control and potentially be using the Conduit for darker purposes.”
She waves the less bouncy hand in a dismissive gesture and nods to him. Yoa, yoa, I had only wondered of your wording from before and had hoped I misunderstood. She winks to the gnome with a shrug of her own. I was crossing the proverbial fingers that it was a thing that was gone from there and not the thing that stayed; it would have confused me less! She giggles at herself.
Thanks for filling in the blanks with those carvings! We saw them in the Hall of Seven already and some were all crumbly and the - what, T'ol? - one was attacked with a maliciously narky chisel. We'll have to tell you all about it after we do something spectacular! Maybe you can put new talkies in the walls.
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Topic: Gnome At Last (Read 5784 times)
