Notes on the Aether (Rae judging)

[Trouvere]

"The only severed body parts we're likely to see around you are the hind legs of donkeys, Atomerasu," comments Keldar. "Well, now that I am safely doused in cold water from head to toe, before we head upstairs I shall have a word with that lightning elemental. Is anyone coming?"

 

[Boddynock]

"Oh, yes - that's a good idea. Get soaking wet and then invite the lightning. Very bright."

Tarag has a headache. Trying to keep up with the conversations at cross purposes which these folk seem to revel in was not the sort of peril he had anticipated when he left the Red Dragon.

 

[Trouvere]

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Tarag," says Keldar. He squelches his way from the kitchen through the sitting room and back down the corridor. "Cassandra!" he calls, quietly.

 

[Solange]

"You'll regret it if you don't have it! Don't come running to me with your beard on fire! Honestly, is everyone afraid of a little water? Ah, Rapture, what say you?"

"I'll pass, thank you Keldar."

 

[Solange]

"I've seen that trick, thief. You won't douse the woman in water. It... clings."

Galwynn blushes, and then looks away so no one notices.

"It works much better when wearing something shear and light and is quite effective when you reach your arms back to rinse your hair in the water as it cascades over you, and cold water..." Rapture says. She smiles a bit sheepishly at Galwynn before she finds something else to do.

 

[Wik]

Galwynn smiles, perhaps a little sadly, at Keldar's question. "I grew up in a temple of Halina, thief. Where three out of four of the faithful were women. And I was thirteen, once."

After Rapture adds something, Galwynn looks away, and studies the roof very closely. He then realizes Tarag's discomfort, and places an arm on the dwarf's shoulder. "I feel your pain. About the only thing you can do is endure it, and wonder why the goddess likes to torment her faithful so. I don't know about your god, but the blessed lady Halina has far too much time on her hands."

 

[Solange]

"Oh, yes - that's a good idea. Get soaking wet and then invite the lightning. Very bright."

Tarag has a headache. Trying to keep up with the conversations at cross purposes which these folk seem to revel in was not the sort of peril he had anticipated when he left the Red Dragon.

]"Keldar never claimed to be well grounded," Rapture quips, hoping to change the subject.

 

[Boddynock]

Tarag winces, then chuckles. 'You know the frightening thing? I could get used to this. But still, I suppose I should just go with the flow."

 

[Solange]

Tarag winces, then chuckles. 'You know the frightening thing? I could get used to this. But still, I suppose I should just go with the flow."

"Keldar has another bucket of water if you still want it I'm sure," Rapture says.

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

"Cassandra!"

Cassandra's soft, crackly voice echoes down the main entrance hallway, "The same containment field that keeps the other elementals in is keeping me out. Come here, I don't want to shout, the elementals on the upper floors may be attracted to my voice."

Assuming Keldar (and whoever else) goes to hear her...

"Alright, I'm sure you all are as confused as I am. I watched your battle in the living room from out here, and apparently Thyrin made some changes to the tower's elemental defense system. We've been talking about upgrading for a while now, but I rarely travel downstairs, so I never knew he actually went through with his plans... Unfortunately the saferoom is quite isolated from the external world, so I can't directly contact Thyrin to ask him about the changes. I'll tell you what I can glean from our various discussions...

"First of all, I believe that all 6 lesser elementals on the first three floors will now regenerate every 20 minutes. The automatic summoning device worked so well that Thyrin planned to implement it all over the tower's lower levels. My guess, based on the device that Tommy just disabled and the regeneration of the lesser fire elemental, is that he made those plans a reality. So now you have 7 quickly regenerating lesser elementals to deal with.

"Secondly, Thyrin always found the pylons jutting out of the walls all over the place rather offensive to the eye. He must have disguised the new summoning devices using more aesthetically pleasing objects, such as that dais in the 1st floor living room. I imagine the fireplace contains another such device. I can only guess as to the locations of the other devices, one is surely in the 2nd floor forge, another may be by the forge exhaust... as for the rest, I'm not sure. You'll have rely on your skills and intuition. There will be one device for each lesser elemental, that I am sure of.

"Thirdly, don't expect all the summoning devices to be so easy to disable as the one beneath the dais. I suspect Thyrin didn't quite finish installing the devices and never got to trapping that particular device. The original was definitely trapped, but it was easily disabled by a little electrical shock in the right place." Cassandra's outstretched finger sparks. "Since I obviously can't get in right now, it'll be up to you to turn off the devices.

"Alternatively, you could move quickly and use the elemental barrier between the 3rd and 4th floors to your advantage, but then there would be no time to prepare for the greater fire elemental guarding the lower saferoom door. It's up to you."

Cassandra's mouth emits little blue sparks as the lightning elemental sighs. "I hope this is all clear to you. Let me summarize: There are 7 hidden devices, each of which summons a lesser elemental every 20 minutes. One is in the dais, it's been disabled. One is probably in the fireplace, one is surely in the furnace, and I think one may be in the furnace exhaust. That leaves three more, in unknown locations.

"The original device, if I remember correctly, was last set to summon a lesser fire elemental. Since you've taken care of one earth and one fire already, you can expect 3 more fiery guardians and 2 more earthen guardians spread out among the 2nd and 3rd floors."

Cassandra pauses for a moment. Then she adds, "Oh, and try not to let the greater fire elementals into the 4th floor library. Thyrin would be terribly upset if all his research and arcane writings were lost."

OOC: I hope this doesn't feel too forced to anybody. I'm just trying to make sense of the adventure with what little notes I have on it. If anything Cassandra just said doesn't make sense to you, please tell me now or forever hold your peace. Her new information supersedes anything she told you in the past. =D