It's Elemental: Emwonk

[Nehetsrev]

Quest: "Elemental Mysteries"
Start Date: 05/09/07?
End Date:  02/29/08?
DM: Eorendil, Rowana
 
 OOC Portion
 ------------
 This thread will detail some of the things Emwonk's seen and experienced with his involvement in the "Elemental Mystery" quest series. Later, after the end of the quest, I'll make an entry covering it in summary into Emwonk's regular journal.
 
 So, to start, Emwonk was on his way out of Port Hempstead to see about collecting his ox from near the ox-pens when he stumbled upon several others blocking the road. Unsure of these strangers, especially the one who appeared to be pulsing with alternating hot and cold, Emwonk offered greeting. He seemed to have been ignored, or perhaps misunderstood by the three. So, he tried again in the Halfling tongue, since the pulsating one seemed to be about the right height for a Halfling... still, there was no answer, nor acknowledgement of his pressence by any of them.
 
 Emwonk was about to give up and return to the task of finding his ox when the pulsing one began to whistle a melody that itself seemed to have power. At first Emwonk was frightened and ran to hide, but then his curiosity got the better of him and he stealthilly snuck back toward the trio. By the time he'd caught up with them, they'd moved a bit further down the road outside the city, to the area near the pond. Emwonk observed from the shadows as a couple more people happened upon the first three. It appeared that the pulsing one wasn't entirely paying attention to anyone, but was slowly making his way along the road into the Dapplegreen forest. Still intrigued, Emwonk followed the growing procession into the woods, still sneaking in the shadows of the dark night.
 
 Once in the forest the pulsing one eventually approached the base of a specific, large tree. There he looked up into the branches above. Emwonk thought perhaps the pulsing fellow was also an escapee from Arm's Keep where he himself had come from by the way he acted. So, he revealed himself once more and tried to ask the fellow if he was being pursued by Wadens. The pulsing fellow barely acknowledged anyone's pressence still, and continued to look up into the tree.
 
 So, Emwonk watched as another Halfling (Gilli) climbed up into the tree to investigate, keeping himself shielded from the hot and cold energies emanating from the pulsing fellow while they all waited. Eventually the other Halfling reported to those below that there was a nest, within which rested a shiny orb of some kind. Emwonk was intensely curious by this point, and wanted to examine the orb for himself. Alas, that was not to be, and in the end after the other Halfling climbed down the orb was given to the pulsing fellow after much meaningless debate. Emwonk did shield the other Halfling from the elemental energies, just in case the pusling fellow tried intercepting him after he reached the ground in order to obtain his orb.
 
 When the pulsing fellow at last received his orb, there followed shortly a brilliant flash of light, afterwhich it appeared the fellow was gone. However, some of the others began to listen and could still hear whistling. After a moment or two it was determined that the whistling emanated from the exact position of where the fellow had stood. Some theorized a portal of some sort might exist there now, and all began to approach...

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part II
 --------------------
 
 Emwonk and those with him step, or are sucked, through the space where the shadowy stranger disappeared to find themselves in Fort Homestead in Alindor. There they follow the shadowy stranger for a time, and discover that he seems somehow sensitive to musical tones, and perhaps attempts to communicate through them...
 
 Suddenly a scream is heard not far away and the party rushes to see what, where, and why it was originated. Upon ariving at the scene they discover several children who seem somewhat shocked in terror, especially a little girl among them. One of the boys says he'd told her so, that they always came for the ones that were hurt. A moment later, the children's guardian arrives, a woman dressed in armor who claims to take care of all the children as an adoptive parent. It is then discovered one of the children, named Arthur, is missing. Stranger still is the reaction to the children and their guardian from Arwen, the wolf-companion of Rain Darsus. Additionally, the woman's father, a crotchety old man arives and asks what the party is doing there.
 
 Further investigation reveals a number of odd things... The ground where Arthur disappeared is strangely disturbed as though by a legion of worms, Sol'thas contends that the earth is saddened, or depressed. Clarissa and others sent to speak with the other townsfolk discover the old man's daughter was killed by a demon when Bloodstone's forces moved through the area years ago. The old man seems to have been growing the children and his 'daughter', and even the house they live in and their belongings from strange seeds and spores, including those of Myconids...
 
 But what do these fungi-folks have to do with the shadowy stranger? And could the shadowy stranger indeed be the gnome Gimbol, whom others remember from previous adventures? Should time and effort be spent on finding the missing fungi-child Arthur?

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part III
 ---------------------
 
 Emwonk and the others continue to investigate the old man, Sieruun, and his 'children'. Emwonk explores the cellar beneath the old man's home, but finds nothing of interest save a wooden pole, the top two thirds of which become lit when Emwonk approaches. The cellar is otherwise filled with vegetables meant for consumption.
 
 They decide to confront the fellow about their suspicions that the 'children' are indeed plants, and Sieruun tells his story. Sharissa is indeed his daughter, healed and at the same time transformed by his 'green magic' into a half-plant. The other children are 'plants that dare to be Human', though they have some terrible flaws. They don't do so well in the currently sunless world and only last a couple years before they require 'rejuvenaion' from Sieruun.
 
 Meanwhile as Sieruun tells his story, Elohanna sneaks into a hidden lab underneath the small tool shed not far from the home. While not nearly as stealthy as Emwonk, she manages to slip out relatively unnoticed, despite her invisibility spell wearing off. This occurs about the time that the group begins to question Sieruun about a crystal sphere he once saw, similar to the one destroyed by the shadowy figure in previous encounters. At last about to get an answer regarding the sphere, most of the group follows him down into the hidden lab...

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part IV
 -------------------
 
 Seiruun has a heart attack upon discovering his notes burned, but not until after he's given the group the crystal sphere he'd found, which eventually ends up in Emwonk's greedy little hands.
 
 Corba and others nurse Seiruun back to health, so-to-speak, and get him through his heart attack, meanwhile Elohanna confesses to Jennara that she was the one who burned the notes, thinking it was the right thing to do based in her belief in the teachings of Aeridan.
 
 Upon acquiring the crystal sphere for 'examination' it is soon made clear by Emwonk that he doesn't intend to give it back to the others. It is afterall filled with current and could be invaluable to him in his quest for ultimate vengeance upon the Wardens he has planned for the future... if only he could unlock it's secrets....
 
 When the crystal sphere pulses and begins to pull as fighting him, Emwonk let's it lead him to none other than the entity whom others believe to be Gimbol. With the realization that he cannot keep or control the sphere, Emwonk willingly turns it over to Gimbol, hoping to gain some other form of conduit. Gimbol does his thing and appears to absorb the energy of the sphere before dropping it. Emwonk quickly picks it up after, noting it still has some residual energies within. At the suggestion of the others, Emwonk attempts to re-charge the sphere, but his energies are quickly consumed by it and discharged rather than held.
 
 While listening to the others talk Emwonk begins to suspect the spheres may be part of the mysterious machine Gimbol created to attract entities known as para-elementals, so he saves the 'empty' sphere for later in case it's needed.
 
 Following Gimbol through yet another 'worm-hole' or 'warp-point' the group finds themselves in an area not far distant from Hlint.

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part V
 
 This time the group ended up in Mariner's Hold, with the additon of Acacea the Halfling bard.
 
 Upon following mysterious 'Gimbol' through his distortion and arriving in Mariner's Hold, Emwonk spotted a macaw bird, which he nearly immediately made efforts to properly kill. However, to his frustration the others prevented him from accomplishing said avian assassination. As they continued to wonder about the nature of the bird due to the magic pouring off it, other flashes and bits of chaotic magic began to flare up all around the city.
 
 Tracing it to point of origin, the group discovered a 'sleep-walking/reading' girl, who seemed to emanate the magical manifestions of what she read in the book. With some doing, Emwonk determined the chaotic magic within her might be removed, and with the suggestion of Corba and the aid of herself, Elohanna and Acacea, he went about transfering the magic into the 'empty' sphere left over from one of their previous encounters with Gimbol. After which, the girl soon recovered from her odd state... (to be continued)

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part VI
 ---------------------
 
 After capturing the unknown, chaotic entity in the once empty orb that had contained a white shimmering energy before Gimbol drained it, another orb was given to Corba by Druissa (the girl who had been posessed by the chaotic entity). This third orb shown with a green glow, and Druissa explained that within it was another entity which she refered to as "Mr. Sparkles".
 
 Meanwhile the re-charged second orb now shown with a dark, blue energy as it held the unknown, chaotic entity. Quickly it became Emwonk's most covetted posession as it now held the promise of some form of power in his eyes. He began to study it constantly, trying to divine for himself a way to harness the power of the orb and entity for his own use and benefit.
 
 Others soon joined the group of adventurers trying to puzzle out the legacy of Gimbol. It wasn't long before some of them noticed Emwonk's crystaline spherical and began to act as though they wished to take it from him. Emwonk quickly took measures to prevent the orbs theft by these shady persons, two of whom were former companions of his, Kinai (Obsidian) and Hawklen. The first and easiest measure he'd devised was an alarm ward upon the pouch he carried the orb within, tied to a magic, invisible key on his left hand's little finger. His next security measures beyond the alarm were never successfully put in place.
 
 The group had tracked down a gypsy who had purchased other orbs and items from the Gimbol estate, and began to seek answers from him. The Gypsy produced a life-like statue that may have been Arthur himself turned to stone and a deal was struck to buy the statue. Being too large for the group to haul safely themselves, another deal was made to provide the gypsy with guard services while he and the group traveled to Spellguard. Meanwhile, Hawklen and Obsidian parted on a sour note having made too much trouble, and perhaps envious of Emwonk's possesion of the dark blue orb.
 
 As the gypsy and group set out for Spellguard on a route that would take them through Fort Llast, Hlint, and Haven before reaching their destination, they stopped for the night just outside Fort Llast. Tired from the day's journey, and also likely affected by magical means, the group quickly drifted to sleep only to 'awaken' within a dream-like locale. There, through interaction with odd entities within the dream, and a large game not unlike checkers, the group was pressented with more names to research, and more to puzzle out. One by one they began to awaken after burning to death within the dream setting. Corba, having awoken before Emwonk, chose the opportunity to steal the dark blue orb from his pouch, unwittingly setting off the extremely loud alarm ward. Her motives were to protect Emwonk from the influence she believed the orb to be exerting on him, and she gave the stolen orb to Jennara to hold. Needless to say, Emwonk was infuriated when he woke to the sound of the alarm and quickly deduced what had happened.
 
 Next the caravan was forced to halt in Hlint due to a broken wagon wheel. There the locals seemed reluctant to help the gypsy fix his wagon, and suspicious of all those who traveled with him. The weather had become tempermantal and began raining sporatically. Further the town guard approached the group asking if they had also brought giants down out of the mountains with them. It was decided it would be best to investigate the rumor of giants, and so the group set out to do so. Quickly they found large impressions in the ground, filled with water and leading around the town of Hlint. They also noticed these puddles of water were spawning droves of frogs seemingly magically. Eventually it was determined that the frogs may have been spawned instead by some sort of duality of conflict in Corba's own aura, perhaps empowered by the green orb which she carried. The tracks lead also to an ancient construct covered in seaweed and other debris. The construct focussed it's attention upon Corba, and the two seemed to commune silently amidst a purple aura for some time before the construct wandered off into the mountains too quickly for the group to follow...
 
 (to be continued...)

[Nehetsrev]

OOC Portion: Part VII
 ----------------------
 
 Alrighty, been a while since I've updated Emwonk's entries here regarding the Elemental Mysteries quest series. I'll try to cover the main points of what's happened since the last post here, and hopefully I won't leave out too much.
 
 After the encounter with the golem, the party discovered the nature of Corba's unusual aura. It turned out that the 'ghosts' of two rivals, a golem maker and an evil mage were still out to settle a score. The party assisted in resolving this conflict, and it is believed now to be settled.
 
 Further, more was discovered about the gnome, Gimbol, and the nature of his 'research'. He was discovered to be a treacherous fellow, bent on acquiring power at any cost, regardless of what harm might befall anyone else. Arthur, who'd been turned into the statue the party brought with them from Fort Wayfare, was turned back to flesh once more at Lucinda's temple in Spellgard.
 
 Ezlab was discovered to have been a powerful mage who hid herself in magical melody and distributed her 'pieces' into 12 para-elemental gaurdians in order to avoid falling under the sway of Bloodstone when he had returned. Gimbol had, perhaps accidently, stumbled into one of Ezlab's pieces and absorbed it along with the elemental powers it gave him. He realized he'd found a source of great power and began taking reckless risks to gain it all for himself, as such in a 'failed' attempt he was made out-of-phaze or some-such, and this is how the party (save Corba) first encountered him. Their efforts to 'make him whole' in reality actually aided Gimbol in gaining more fragments of Ezlab and her powers. The party now endeavors to reassemble the melody/person of Ezlab, parts of which resides in Acacea, and after the most recent session at the time of this post, Corba as well.
 
 After aiding Arthur, the party deliberated on how to further proceed. First they set out near Lyn, in the Hammerbound Peaks to search for the remains of one of the original SEARCH devices used by Gimbol. The pieces of the machine were recovered, though the party was forced to make a deal with a resident red dragon in order to acquire them from her posession. Additionally, there was a further encounter with Gimbol who'd tried to stop the party from getting the parts for the SEARCH and failed in that effort after being driven off.
 
 The party returned to Spellgard to re-assemble and repair the old SEARCH they had recovered. Their first use of it begat another encounter with Gimbol, whom the party was successful at driving off at least temporarilly. Additionally, there at the temple, the radiant guardian of Ezlab was freed from an orb recovered from the depths of the Underdark and freed also of it's 'piece' of Ezlab. Emwonk had been given an empty orb to replace the orb taken from him by Corba and the radiant elemental filled the empty orb as a gift to Emwonk. So, Emwonk at that point acquired a crystal sphere filled with radiant energy.
 
 As the party deliberated on their next course of action, they decided the next guardian they would seek out would be the salt guardian. Eventually there was a confrontation for control of the Salt guardian's Melody-fragment deep within the Red Light Caves. Gimbol was defeated by the party, but only just so, and the salt guardian imparted it's melody fragment to Acacea, just as the radiant guardian had.
 
 From there, Emwonk accompanied Corba and Acacea to the temple of Beryl in Stone where the magicly crippled Wrenklin, designer of the first SEARCH and former teacher of Gimbol resided. Their goal there was to heal Wrenklin of the magical harm done to him by Gimbol. After yet another struggle with Gimbol, and some rather nasty things pulled from Wrenklin's Weave-pattern, their task was a success.
 
 It was decided next to attempt to acquire the piece of Ezlab within the elemental guardian of sound, and the party met at the Minaret of Symphony in Alindor. However, the party would not be succesful in their attempt this time. The SEARCH, beaten and worn past serviceability, chose this time to completely disintegrate in a violent explosion during yet another confrontation with Gimbol.
 
 Disheartened, but not defeated, the party knew they had but one course of action. If anyone was to help them, it would have to be the Gnomish inventors who'd helped Gimbol with the design of the original SEARCH devices, Paskini and Wrenklin. Fortunately, though they both at first balked at the notion, both inventors were convinced to help build a new SEARCH device. In place of the elemental trap that Gimbol had designed to capture elemental energies within the crystal spheres, Wrenklin and Paskini designed a new piece for the SEARCH based upon an idea of Emwonk's to turn Gimbol's own powers against himself to subdue and contain him.
 
 With the new SEARCH complete the team headed out to the forrest, lest innocent townsfolk be endangered, in order to attempt summoning the next guardian on their list, the smoke elemental. To their consternation, Acacea, the only one who'd been thus far able to communicate with the guardians, was mysteriously absent. Thus, the task fell to Corba to attempt negotiating with the smoke gaurdian, which she was able to do without fully realizing she had. Gimbol quickly struck at the party once more, sinking Corba roughly three feet into the earth by pulling her down while sending several elementals and/or constructs of his own to engage them as well. Thankfully, after some time Gimbol retreated, and the party was able to free Corba. It was during this moment that Emwonk sensed she indeed carried a fragment of Ezlab's melody/spirit within her just as Acacea does.
 
 (to be continued...)