As Acacea lands backwards, Daniel steps forward, a telltale white fire in his eyes and a prayer on his lips, then he stops. He gives Sophia a puzzled frown before turning back to Acacea. Seeing the halfling unharmed physically, he lets out a long breath, "I say, Chimes, you gavc me a start. Perhaps next time you could clue in myself or another healer before you do something impetuous?" he chuckles, "Of course not, what ever am I thinking, tis you." Giving her a brief exam, he moves on. "Nay, do not get up, you really should rest." he says over shoulder.
I don't think I could adjust to such a life. Maybe we should just have healers standing at all times! She crosses her arms over her eyes. I don't know about you, but I have an awful lot of questions, but I suppose we can put everything on the table once we're out of here. I would love to know what was moved from here, though. I don't suppose this is the helpful ask-and-ye-shall-receive sort of answer seeking we are doing here. She kind of crawls and wriggles over to the crystal and rests a bare foot against it. Dear Lucinda and Friends. Could you please show us what was moved from here, like if it was another scorpion or something more revealing of the Opposition's goals? Thank you.
She squints an eye looking at the lights for a few seconds, and then drops her foot with a dramatic sigh. I suppose I am just being greedy. Another mystery of the ages and another unappreciative wish for a manual! She laughs at herself...
*After a while just looking at the carvings of the cooperating races he furrows a brow.*
"It appears in these etchings that the races are working towards some goal. Although I can't seem to figure out what. Each etching depicts a different stage of cooperation. If we can figure out what they were working towards...might be nothing or might be something...can't tell which."
// All, as noted in the original post, we're going to close this thread this coming weekend. Please declare any additional actions you may have and express any additional investigations you are making before you will exit the chamber. PM us with any additional details. Also, if there is an open request to which we have not responded, please PM us as soon as possible. Anything brought to us by the weekend will be handled as part of the end of the last quest, but anything new brought up after this weekend will be considered a separate effort.
After a period of rest to gather himself, and while everyone is pre-occupied with their various actions and trails of thought; the dark elf disappears from the crystal chamber and group. Upon reaching the tunnel with the diety statues, he becomes invisible and darts off a unnatural speed upon drawing a blade. He said nothing to anyone.
After a time of sitting and looking at the crystal, occasionally singing or muttering to herself but with little result, she sighs. Could Katelyn maybe replace the little alarm on the gate after we leave it, so we know if someone enters the chamber while we are gone? My thinking is maybe being divine and one of the present gods, it might be even less noticed than usual. Bouncing off of yourself is just not the same as bouncing off other people...
She pushes herself to her feet and before leaving, sings a snatch of melody full of love and gratitude with her hand brushing the crystal. Pausing at the gate, she scratches her head and turns back, retrieving a small pouch, a scroll, and a yew arrow, the latter of which she turns over in the damp and bloodied sand that remains on the floor, which she tries to clean up a little after. She traces a finger along the shaft of the arrow while murmuring, and then follows it with some sparkling layer of gem dust. Once satisfied, she reads what proves to be a simple scroll of Continual Flame, so the arrow begins to glow with light.
She snaps the arrow in half and tucks one half down by crystal where its light may go unnoticed, and slides the other into her sleeve. She waits after in the space with all the carvings, looking around at them quizzically as if they were in some foreign script.
*Griff surveys the wall or mural in the first room looking at the parts that are intact and sizing up the areas that have crumbled over time and/or been recently disturbed. The extent of the amount of rubble he had intended to collect and bring to the surface appears to be more than he thought at first. He roughly concludes that an attempt by the group to bring all the rubble up (large, medium and small pieces) will not be possible and at least would make them so encumbured as to not be able to defend themselves.
The areas he is interested in are what he refers to as the 3rd, 11th and 12th sections. The 3rd section comes after the Dragons/Strife and the Bloodstone sections. The 11th and 12th come after the human in the circle and the elven woman with scrolls sections; the 12th section appears to be more recently disturbed. Also, he wants to gather the parts of the wall on the other side of the room that resembles the wall they discovered on the surface.
He wants to know who will volunteer to help him carry and how much they can carry and by what means. He's also looking for suggestions on how to get it to the surface or at least a copy of some sorts. He would suggest that the larger sections could be rougly drawn by their artist, maybe the Singer, and/or copies could be made with charcoal rubbings and parchment. Then they could leave the larger sections there and possibly come back for them.
Griff explains he is quite strong and has many bags and he can also call on his Warpony Passion for assistance. He looks across the room with a convencing stare as he poses the question and waits for responses.
//ooc I've been told the group can no way carry all the rubble due to carrying capacity and/or sheer bulk of items; also I can't speak for the group as to who would volunteer. So, it was decided to pose the dilema here and look for solutions. Cheers.
// Just so everyone understands, in case this wasn't clear during the quest, the bits of mural that have fallen away are not some relatively thin stone fascade that crumbled and fell. The mural was carved into the stone walls themselves, so the pieces of the mural have a significant chunk of stone on the back of them, to varying degrees. So besides some of them being quite heavy, they're also bulky. Except for the smaller pieces, none of them would fit neatly into a pack or a bag. Everything else would have to be carried by hand.
// Remember also that to get into this chamber there was a very long climb down a cliff. There are no mounts, pack animals or carts down there with you, nor is it likely there will be on any return trip.
After a final check on the various persons, Daniel tidies up the area around the crystal. Being careful not to make contact he polices up all the used bandages, bottles, debris, attempting to return the chamber to as they found it. That done, he approaches Griff, "I may not be a dwarf, sir, but I am still strong enough to carry a fair bit. I shall help."
//His capacity with a few buffs is an extra 500 lbs.
So besides some of them being quite heavy, they're also bulky. Except for the smaller pieces, none of them would fit neatly into a pack or a bag. Everything else would have to be carried by hand. // Remember also that to get into this chamber there was a very long climb down a cliff.
So besides some of them being quite heavy, they're also bulky. Except for the smaller pieces, none of them would fit neatly into a pack or a bag. Everything else would have to be carried by hand.
// Remember also that to get into this chamber there was a very long climb down a cliff.
(( Emphasis added. ))
After watching for awhile from where she sits in the carving room, Acacea refocuses on Griff and Daniel, tilting her head to one side. She looks around to the fallen pieces and then back at them. This place still seems to serve purpose. If people are to be carting chunks up, who is going to be carting it back down? Isn't it easier to bring the people down than cart stone both ways? It might not survive the trip, yoa? Think how the gnome fretted over people being too near his fragile areas. I do not think they'd thank us for trying to take a piece of wall through the deep and squashing a bunch of dark-ears with it, even if it made a good end!
They, whomever they are, may also glean some information from where exactly the stone has fallen, or something. Has someone drawn and taken rubbings of the pieces, too? That seems more manageable and less like carting off pieces of importantly capitalized Halls of Purpose to unknown ends and being mistaken for pillagers... she kinda half laughs at herself and rubs a hand over her eyes.
Daniel looked dubiously at the various pieces Griff has assembled. "She is right you know, these will need to be returned sooner or later." he snaps his fingers and withdraws several sheets of high quality mahogany parchments. "I was saving these for the Aragenites, but they may like them better with actual information, even if it is simple rubbings. Who has a bit of charcoal?"
*Griff grumbles at Daniel and Acacea as he has just prepared his personal bags and gear to make maximum carrying capacity.*
Aye ye both mak'n some roite sense ov dis 'ere situation. *He sighs and grumbles some more* Maybe it best weh nay move it all from its womb. Still tink weh should maybe take some fer samples loike. Best weh get our drawers n fancy pants Illsares out tah make sketchs n rubb'ns ov all deh pieces. Weh can compare deh draw'ns uptop n see if maybe weh come up wit a better vision of what was once 'ere.
*At that, Griff would help with drawings and rubbings as best he can and hand out carbon and charcoal to those who need it. After all the drawings are complete, he would take some smaller samples (maybe the size you pick up with one hand) from each of the areas he mentioned and put them in his bags.*
As the others are arguing over what to do with the mural chunks, Sophia busies herself with the recently destroyed section trying to arrange what rubble there is in some semblance of order if the pieces are a size and condition to be moved with ease or by carefully noting and trying to reproduce the surface markings and orientation within her notebooks.
She states to no one in particular If you look at the chronological order of these reliefs, it is this section *she points to the area where she is working* that has been disturbed most recently and seemly with some purpose that may hold the most vital of information or else why go to the trouble of trying to destroy it?
Finally coming out of his haze, followed by some prayer, observation, and contemplation over the "strange" elf's actions - for reasons even he isn't sure of, he has not called out Nym, although he's angry at himself now of course - he pulls his journal out. "We took rubbings but not in any kind of order. I also drew what I could see. As Lady Wind suggested, let's take a rubbing of each broken rock with carvings, and note the position. Such a jumble, coupled with the right strength of cigar and some crisp dwarven ale, would be a good few evening's puzzling, I think. And I will volunteer to be a puzzler!"
Torn pieces of journal in hand, he puts himself by Griff and motions to Kurn - the original rubber, if such a thing is polite to think. This results in a good laugh that he immediately regrets, and he rubs his head before rubbing charcoal to rock, open journal next to him to note the location in relation to the undamaged bits.
*Zig nods to those working at tracing and scetching the boulders and murels or what's left of them. He is still sitting but could probably stand up if he felt like it. He downs his last bit of ale and contemplates.*
Whoever or whatever came in er' took what de wanted and destroyed what de wanted it seems.
*His gaze fixes on the recently destroyed section*
If de wanted te destroy de whole cave de couldof' Oi suppose. Only ting Oi can think of lef' is maybe for de folks represented in de star formations maybe dip sometin' important in de loite beam if de feelin' giddy. Maybe a clover for de prunillans or sometin'. Maybe ye get a soign or somethin' loike de scorpian dat kilt' de deep elf.
*He eases up and goes to the recently destroyed section and looks over the remnants for any recognizable images that may still be there.*
Sophia takes from her pack a length of wood with small marks at regular intervals on it. She uses this to examine fragments and transpose the details to her notebooks. She glances over at Andrew. I don't think there are any trees down here when you run out of paper unless you have enough in that book to plaster the cavern wall. she pulls out some metal calipers to go with her marked stick and continues to document as much of the pieces as she can. This is the only section she seems to be interested in. She summons a large black wolf to stand guard over her section while she's working.
*Quenton pipes up* I got a four leaf clover I carry for luck! But... I don't wanna loose it... Istill think we gotta get seven folk that follow each of the seven down here and all touch it at once.
*wanders over to the summoned wolf and pets it and gives it some jerkey*
*the large wolf snarls and turns its red eyes on the halfling as he approachs. Sophia absently looks up at the noise* Snack time tyaan? *her line of sight implies she does not mean the jerky*
Those taking rubbings of the mural quickly figure out that there's not enough paper in the cavern to make rubbings of the entire thing. Sketches and notes seem to be the way to go instead. Rubbings taken of the parts that seem to have been broken and crumbled away long ago are disappointingly shy of details, and attempts to puzzle the rubbings together into some sort of meaningful image are similarly disappointing and inconclusive.
Sophia's summoned wolf comes and goes several times while she works at taking observations of the section of wall that seems to be recently felled. Anyone who bothers to observe her and her work could see that she has managed to arrange a few of the smaller pieces into a fragment of what was the larger image carved on the cavern wall. Several larger and medium-sized pieces remain unmoved, likely due to their size and weight.
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Topic: Within the Chamber (Read 2402 times)
