After outlining the circular structure or entrance, impossible to tell with all the sand piled over it, Ty takes out a well-used shovel and starts digging sand. On Vell's recommendation he shovels out a trench down the nearest drop in the dune. He then digs straight down from the edge of the circle that faces Sloven. If asked why there, he shrugs and says that the side facing away from the open desert is better protected from storms, and most people have openings that face their neighbors, so it's an educated guess. The sand he dumps down the trench to mound at the bottom.
When he takes his first break he settles near a brazier and pulls from under his vest a tattered, burnt letter. Unfolding it with due care, and keeping it protected from rogue sparks, he reads. Immediately upon finishing he digs ink and quill from his pack and scribes a copy onto vellum, then spreads the word that all but those on guard duty should gather.
"Found this upstairs in the inn, it's pretty beat up there - wind damage and it looks like something exploded a while back, burns and stuff, the stairs are mostly gone. Couldn't find anything else." He passes the copy of the letter around. At the top, in his cramped script, he has written "dots are stuff I can't read because of damage".
............................
........... .has begun, we have sent the notes and put the pl ....
in action, soon the woman will be in Audir... . . . ..... . . .
... . . chaos, I am sure they will find it amusing to repeat the
spectcle that i did when i escaped last time.
The giants are doing their part... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . .
Granochuans on the move ... .. . ..... , The druid knows of the .. .
.. .... . . . .. . . . She has to be eliminated. ....... . . . . . . . . . .. turn against us.
................................Big. ... leading the Granouchians. ....... defend Sloven ,
when the town falls then this part of the desert will be ours to keep up with ...
-...... . . plan .
The sand Sea synod will pay. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. Rael will help our cause.
*after some digging starts Grog speaks up again to any who will listen*
Why wes dig when womans brother works stones for house? Father works stones too before dead so son probably knows secrets on hows to enter buried places in town. Wes shoud find brother and asks hims to tells us.
Charlie makes several rounds of the house/dune looking for tracks, occasionally probing the sand with his stickers. When asked, he shrugs, and simply replies, "Jess lookin, fore we start diggin.".
*The trench that Ty dug starts to make the sand go down the hill, this alongside the effort spent to dig over the right side of the dune, the side that faces towards the town, The time digging by continual effort , start to give results after the first hours, but not as fast as your group would hope, the continual shifting winds of the desert, start to fill the gap of the trench, with some extra work and keeping the trench clean, the sand keeps flowing down, over the trenches done *
*After 8 hours , that you work on the dune, and continual refresh of water, finally something is revealed from the "house", upon striking the sand with the shovel, the solid "Thump" is heard, letting you know that the mark is close, upon removing the superficial sand over the solid surface, you find to your surprise the circular shape ( at least of where it was dug ), of a wall of crystal, as if it were a partial dome.
*The crystal is clean and watching upon it with a source of ligth, the reflection of rock can be seen past the crystal layer, the rock can be spotted easily , giving you the idea that the crystal layer its not to thick, just a rock wall can be seen on the spot where you dug, yet the excavation may go easier now that you have a spot clear, this making an effective hole of one yard deep from the original level of the dune till the crystal layer*
//Actions
*Charlie readies a gem chisel in his right hand then glances at the others* Well, how much a hurry are we to git inside?
"Better have the magickers check the walls. Jasmine was a spell slinger, yeah? Try to break them, they might go boom." Ty continues digging as he speaks. "Seems like someone who lived or worked over that inn might know about boom, speaking of - based on the damage I saw up there."
*Corky examines the crystal with his bardic knowledge and geming experience*
Seems the crystal is not that thick. If we're careful and get a very sharp gem chisle, we could start to etch a small circle on the surface of the crystal. A cirular cut big enough to form a hole that would allow folks to jump through. Once we get it cut about a 1/4 of an inch thick, I think we could tap on the inside perimiter of the cirlce with a wood hammer and the crystal circle should break free allowing us entry.
*looks to the others with a confident smile*
*Ryubi tosses his gnome sized shovel to the ground and dots his forehead with a cloth* I suppose I could see if theres any indications of Al'noth coming from these walls that may endanger us or prevent further progress. *He bends down, closes his eyes and stretches his hands over the exposed walls/dome and concentrates on discerning it there are any magics protecting the dome or the walls*
*at the mention of boom he opens his eyes briefly and talks to Ty*
I seem to recall the halfling girl over there (nods to the halfling girl Tammy maybe?) mentioning something about hearing a boom during the sandstorm that covered Jasmines house.
*Upon further observation, Corky deducts that the crystal layer is indeed a fairly normal composition of crystal. It's creation, he concludes, was caused by some thermodynamics; more specifically a rapid change in temperature between the sand and the above air. The crystaline shape is rough and caused naturally and seems to be designed by the overlay of sand. He explains he still has faith in his "hole cutting idea" but that success is not guaranteed. Removal of extra sand weight upon the area near the extraction hole would be strongly advised.*
"So in Common, something heated the sand up real fast and fused it into glass. Gotta tell ya, as a glass guy, to happen this fast that'd take some pretty intense heat. I mean, like having Fisty cough on you or something, maybe hotter. Right, so let's pick a spot and clear it."
*Ry rubs his chin at the comments* Yes maybe the boom the halfling heard in the middle of the storm near Jasmines house is symtematic of the heat source you speak of. Anyways, from what I can decipher as Corky indicates there are no magical properties to this dome nor are there any magical defenses in place.
*Ry begins taking measurements of the dome noting the density of the sand and the weight ratios so as to determine the focal point for the initial chipping*
Right then, so nothins goin boom. *Charlie bends to the task of cutting through the crystal where it's suggested, working in tandem with the others to attempt to open some kind of portal to the inside*
*As the group start to cut the crystal with the chisel's , Charlie's pulse used to delicate work manages to put the needed circle upon the crystal wall, the group keeps making shift, using the dune to protect themselves of the cold wind of the night, finally after several hours of work, you manage to cut down the first scrap of the crystal "dome", you are finally able to see the rock that used to be the wall, upon touch, the rock crumbles, and shows signs of charring , there is not enough space for you to enter the place, yet the work with the chissel allowed enough space for one hand open to touch the rock, more work may allow more advancement if that is what you intent*
*The rest comes welcome to your sore bodies, the sound of the desert and the sandstorms ,
Ocassional odd sounds are heard in the far, you almost swear you hear an explossion or two, as you rest, the damaged inn offers you protection of the elements, and the sun and the wind of the night, you are tired after the whole work you have done with the Jasmine house and the excruciating experience you had with the gnomes and the elf, rescuing from the grasp of death, other day passes, as you recovers *
There are rumours amoung the citizens that some giants were seen circling the town , a newcomer traveler reported to have seen two groups of giants figthing beetwen themselves.
They also confirm the sighting of a giant that seems to be running really fast, most of them have striked him as one of dessert mirages*
*Inside the Inn Ryubi awakens from his return from death gagging and dry heaving bits of sand. He sends the waitress for a bowl of water and a towel. While he waits he notices something inside one of this pockets. He pulls it out briefly and then looks around and places it descretely back in his pocket. When he's able to walk he motions the others in the group to follow him to a private room in the Inn were he shows what he found.*
*Ry puts what looks like a small, halfling or gnomish sized, scroll case on the table. Upon further inspection, on the outside of the case is a sigil.*
"It appears my body was crushed but this endured. It seems to be a scroll case of some kind I must have found before everything went dark. Its protected by magical runes and will not open with mere physical excertion."
*He tries to unlock the runes magics and asks the others with sensetivities to the Al'Noth to help. He also asks if anyone has knowledge of the origins of the sigil on the outside of the scroll casing*
//I'd post the image of the sigil but my tech skills arent quite that good. Maybe you could help with that Lance?

// The sigil found on the scrollcase.
*Ry continues to tinker and look over the scroll case holding it up to the candle light*
"Hmm, on second thought it appears the case may be opened with mere force. Theres a catch though *he puts his good non sand filled eye up to the sigil on the outside of the case* unless we can figure out the magical runes before it is opened there may be an unexpected problem."
*Quenton sees the sigil and thinks really hard* Hrm... I think it looks like two farming tools! A hoe and a scythe maybe? What do you guys think?
Charlie glances at the sigil when he has a chance. "Could be, Q, but it could be two crossed keys as well."
"Keys, yeah. That was my thought too. Lemme see this thing..." If offered the box, Ty will have a good slow look-over for how the sigil might be triggered from the lock and if there are any other indications of secret compartments or traps.
After his examination." Nothing, like the gnome said. Just uncap it and it'll open. Can't see how the sigil would affect it unless it's magic, like the gnome said." A grin. "So - finger wigglers?" Holds the scroll case out.
Yeah, I guess keys make sense too... *Excitedly grabs the case and pulls out the contents.*
// Geez. Sorry for the delay.. RL went crazy this week.
Back to the IG...
*As Q takes the scrollcase , with fast hands he removes the cap, a loud pop is heard that is caused by the traped air and the humidity that the scrollcase held, apparently it has been closed by some time at least months maybe, those of you who are noticing the events may see or feel a chilling feeling, there is a dark bluieish "wave" that can be barely seen , spreading aroudn the area in continual motion, this comming from the scroll case. you all in the inn ( not only those who are closer to the scroll case ) start to feel weak, as if your energy had left your bodies all of sudden, Not a confortable feeling, you are barely reacting to this feeling when suddenly, the whole inn is swarmed into flame, a big ball of fire explodes again from the center of the room ( where the scrollcase is ), Q is hit straight by the fire ball, and the rest of you manage to take cover in time to just suffer damage of it ( aka nobody of the party died, but are heavily burnt ), at the moment you give a heartfelt thanks to the gods that only you were in the inn, the blast could easily have killed people less used to the dangers of the road *
*The inn's wood its starting to catch fire and the peace of the town is disrupted by the sudden explosion, The scroll case was destroyed in the process, Q was hit straight and took the worse of the explosion, the halfling managed to raise the cloak to prevent the worse of the burnts, yet he can be seen under where the stairs once where, being pushed by the fireball he flied some feet towards that place, After some minutes he seems to be still being able to react, yet the fire in the inn doesn't give any form of security*
// And .. go... Actions and reacitons please.
*Quenton coughs heavily and crawls slowly toward the door, clutching two pieces of paper in his right hand and a small clover in his left. He pauses briefly and whispers to himself the words for Prunilla's cure serious wounds for himself and continues crawling to the door.*
Charlie crawls out from behind a now burnt table and heads for the door. Throwing it wide, he calls to the others "C'on! This way". Charlie pauses to make sure Kat makes it out before stepping completely aside.
Ty crouches and takes a moment to assess if the fire(s) can be put out before the entire building goes up - there may not be much water, but there is plenty of sand to starve the fires of oxygen, if they're not out of control yet.
*Ryubi furiously pats his eye brows trying to put the fire out all the while cursing in gnomish. He uses his one good eye to look for the door and attempts to crawl his way out using his arms. On his way out he recites a protection from elements spell and keeps moving under the heavy smoke column now permeating the room.
"I do believe I did warn of unexpected problems *coughs* regarding the opening of the scroll case"
*Corky screams a song for protection as he sees the blast starting to form and then ducks for cover behind the bar back. He pats out any fire on him and rolls to extinguish the rest. He crawls his way out of the Inn when its safe, but on his way keeps and eye out on the ground and the surrounding areas of the Inn interior for any loose items that might have shot out of the box and survived the fire.*
*After crawling outside, Quenton sits up and shakes it off* Whew! That was AWESOME! Oh... sorry guys, I didn't know that was gonna happen *smiles really big* But, a... guess what!? I got these out of it! *holds up two pieces of paper in his right hand* Here I read them while crawling out *nods and hands the letters around to the group*
//Quoted from Redeemer: They are some letters written to Jasmine.
They are sent from her "husband" apparently,
Dear Jasmine.
I am affraid that you won't be see me again. I really feel bad for what happened to our daughter, but somehow i feel better cause she won't see the suffering that will rain upon the desert. It is indeed a time for reckoining, and so everyone will pay...there are some people out there .. you know, I know how much you care for your brother's kids. It would be a shame something happened to them isn't it ?
I know what you are thinking, that its a vain threat, Know this that i've put things in order, and my capture was not an accident , all is part of great scale scheme, where nor me and our family has bigger importance, just the starting of it, But you may still be able to save them... You'll see. . you'll find this man on the inn in 2 weeks after you read this letter, you may wish to talk with him about comming to audira to visit. . I can promise you it will be a blast.
Don't think to wrong of me, I swear I did not enjoyed what happened to our daughter, yet I know you won't ever forgive me, I don't expect to be other than being hated, I care less for what you may think of me. . All that matters is that she is dead.
Course you know what would mean to share the contents of this letter.
Yours in the scarce days to come .
~Ramer
_________________________________________________________
And another letter.
Milady Jasmine.
I am glad you are as reasonable as good looking, and to have concluded the best way of action for the safety of your family, your husband spoke highly of you. If you were able to read this letter means you are indeed wise and were able to restist the curiosity, always a virtue I've admired in women per see, and only seen in the gnomish kind preferebly.
Upon taking our gentle request, you have to keep your family safe, and your brother willl never know how kind soul you are, that makes you kind of a heroine, an unsung one yet. . a heroine nonetheless.
And for this as it was instructed you only have to deliver the small box to the man i told you on the date ( Date of the festival ) , you can't miss him,, all pompous, and well looking , so prideful of those lightly pointed ears that identifies as a "noble blood", Once you have done this, all will be safe, We understand we know this man, and so it would be easier for you to approach,
And it may give you the chance to say hi to your husband, the last hi, I recomdend you that once the deed is settled and your husband dead, you go back where you came .. take your brother and his kids and go away , the things over Sloven its not going to get any better, and that statue will not be helping you either. . So if you want to persue your better intrests, you'd follow this friendly advice.
You may use this enchanted box to keep your things safe, the pass word is "I am screwed" , yes .. i know, Can't help myself at times with the morbid humor but heyl. its what gives life a touch of sanity .. or was it insanity .
Anyway .. we'll be seeing you then. . and for the good of those you love, fullfill your part of the deal .
Yours in the eternity .
~Tyrus, the mad.
The building is coming down, the timbers too old and sucked dry of moisture to resist the flames. He can't throw sand fast enough - time to get out. He scrambles out a window popped from the heat. Q's bright smile as the local inn billows smoke chafes, and his temper rises in a way it doesn't, usually. "Oh, yeah. Completely awesome. Their one bar and local gathering spot will burn to cinders and they have so much wood to replace it with, why, they'll hardly notice that it's gone." His voice is completely deadpan. "Totally awesome too, if someone was in a back room or a corner and we missed them in the smoke. A little murder to go with your loud, obvious, and completely predicatable destruction of local property. Yep. Completely, totally awesome." With that he looks around for the inevitable crowd of locals and the questions that will surely follow.
Oh... Oh shoot... Yeah I didn't think of that... Oh man. Um. *looks up at the inn burning* Dangit. Ok as soon as we figure all this mess out with the giants and the Realites, I will hire that caravan to bring a bunch of wood that I will chop myself! And I'll come help build them a brand new inn! I promise! In fact here's all the trues I have on me now. *dumps out a coin purse with about 200 trues* I got more in the bank too! And I can get more from playing cards, that old rich Wyatt is a pushover. I'll make this right I promise! I'll even design the new inn modeled after the Silver Buckle, Yeah I'll do that! It'll be fantastic! I don't know the whole floor plan though Mr. Andrew, can you help me with that part? *weak smile*
*Kat crawls out the door with Charlie and stands, watching in awe as the building is consumed by fire. She sighs and starts counting the coins in her purse.*
"Replacing that inn is going to be really, really expensive. I hope we can at least make enough of a down payment that they'll let us leave."
"Q, you inhaled too much smoke if you think I'm my dad." Ty starts digging a fire trench around the inn, starting closest to where the fire burns hottest. "Get shovels, start digging, we need to contain this."
//Sorry as well, RL is pretty consistantly busy for me. Hopefully if Redeemer sees this before tonight he can add to it. Unfortunately I am rushing out the door now.
Rory, probably before all this is happening to the burning Inn, and scroll case. While the party went digging and exploring the cave, Rory was preparing herself to follow Kels notes and path that Kel sent her via a lizard. Rory made the time to draw a duplicate note and hand it to Vell before Rory left.
Maybe Kat, I sure hope ya got more true in yer purse than I do..I dun think 25 true is gonna cover much. *Charlie sighs handing her what he has.
*Ty using the skill he has learned from years of digging manages to quell down the advancement of the fire, this aside the lack of combustibility of the sand, There are small pieces of crystalized sand in the nearbies of the now absent and burnt inn, there is alarm in town of course, as you gather your thougts and your strenght after the impact and the adrenaline*¨
*The people of town are watching in awe for the explosion that broke their rest in the night, and the flaming beacon of what was the inn once, you may notice that despite what was expected, the people of town are not approaching apparently just not want to deal with the loss of their precious safety, this maybe the second explosion that the inn had suffered, and they are with good reasons affraid, as the time passes, only Merin, the sage of the town approaches*
- What in the gods name happened here? *his voice is alarmed,yet more cautious and looking for more danger that may come closer, he instintively looks over the edge of the town , as if examining something that its obviously not there *
//Just to clarify, are we using this thread to continue to the rp from the moment the group manages to heal the Grannocian giant? Or will another thread be started. If we are//
*Jo aids Fern in administering to the Grannocian giant, mostly making sure the large creature doesn't thrash during her ministrations and accidently hurt her by staying close, he leaves his sword sheathed and his shield on the gound nearby.*
// For now we'll keep up on this thread. Since here is where the information can be found , we may as well change in the future, but for now we'll stay here.
*As the sand clears and the giant is seen falling to the ground, unconcious, the massacre fills the air with a dread feeling, Its some time till you are able to see clearly as the explosion made some sand to be raised and making a small sandstorm on the minutes before pacific dune, the bodies of at least a dozen of giants are seen in the massacre, If it were not for the help you gave , the group on the valley of the dune was going to get massacred, yet there is not much diference now, as just one giant remained in a literal last giant standing, the giant was wounded to the point of exahustion, the floor trembles when the big mass of flesh and blood falls to the ground lifting more sand on the area , the blood and the gore spread over the sand, making a gruesome picture*
**You approach cautiously as the sand finally disipates to see the giant laying down, blood everywhere, the sun in the horizon is still far from the sunset and the heat of the desert is starting to hurt you after so many battles, the pain and the weakened state you are still from the "scroll" effect still hurts and make your steps even more weightful ( save Dot and Rory that weren't on the place when this happened ), Rory is nowhere to be seen around the area, and gladly for you, your group didn't got any loses , at least on this encounter*
*There is also no traces about any prisioners or food that may have been in the asaulted caravan, The dessert wind threatens to form a sandstomr during the night, which thankfully is still some hours away *
// Actions and discussion ahead. .
Ty, himself no healer, checks the giant bodies for tattoos to make sure they helped the right ones, and for clues.
*Ryubi approaches the large giant bow drawn taking small gnomish steps. He squints to the sand storm in the horizon and then tries to figure out the tracks and if any of the agressor giants left the scene and their direction.*
*Corky wanders back over after all the bad giants finish exploding and digs deep to find a song that might sooth the giant and help with his recovery. He keeps watchful of where the bad giants went and direction. He tried to recollect on what spells they used and what tactics they employed so to be better prepared when they come across them again.*
*Quenton keeps watch on their surrountings, looking for any attacks* Um, we should get out of this sun. It's gonna get hot and sandy soon... Can that giant walk yet?
//Just to clarify, are we using this thread to continue to the rp from the moment the group manages to heal the Grannocian giant? Or will another thread be started. If we are//
*Jo aids Fern in administering to the Grannocian giant, mostly making sure the large creature doesn't thrash during her ministrations and accidently hurt her by staying close, he leaves his sword sheathed and his shield on the gound nearby.*
Rory must have been in the sun to long, cause she could have sworn it was Charlie and Kat with the Dot.
//No, I'm confused..just substitute Charlie and Katelyn for Jo and Fern.
*The ministrations given by Kat on the giant, seems to not make much, the effort of the battle and the explosions damaged his body really bad, the giant though may recover if given time to heal and the healing continues on him, he is barely concious now, but unable to move, A big boulder is tatooed on his arm and right side of his chest*
*The giant creature is able to crawl , or if enough support is given ( with the proper size and a ingenious way) may move, the storm seems to move closer, agian there is still some hours till it reaches to where the group is*
//first, ignore my PM asking if the giant is concious.
*Quenton asks the giant* Hi Mr. Giant, Do you know of any caves nearby?
*Then, even though its a desert, he looks around for any logs.*
*Ryubi takes some measured steps from the giants armpit area to its feet. He counts to himself as he walks. He then pulls out some parchment and draws a schematic on it with various lines, diagrams and figures taking into account the approximate the weight of the giant. He looks to the party and suggests that some of them head back to the ruins of the caravan to see if they can salvage some wood from the carts. As they continue to work on the giant he mentions a fiew ideas*
"I have designed what could be a very large cruch for the giant to walk on if we can find the neccessary timber. If the giant is strong enough he may be able to use it to pick himself up and start walking. Otherwise we'll need to fashion pulleys and a fulcrum to elevate him first."
*He adds bit and peices to his diagram as he waits for volunteers and then heads out*
*Charlie helps Kately where and when he's told, eyeing the approaching storm in the distance.* Ya know, iffn we can't move him, we could always bury him some, works fer snakes an moles, why not a giant?
*Corky watches on as the healers bring the giant to a semi-concious state with the ability to crawl. He looks over the terrain and the rocks and dune formations. He tries to see if there is a cave nearby, or an area near the rocks they can best fortify from the approaching storm.*
I think Mr. Giant is gona have to help us out here a bit. That storm is moving fast. He appears to be able to crawl and with some help from all of us to support him, I think we can get him over to that rock/cave, and he'll be out of the way of the worst of the storm's winds.
*He gives the other's an assured look*