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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3365534" data-attributes="member: 3448">My apologies for the lateness of this post, and for missing yesterday altogether.  A double length post to make up for it:“What do you mean?” asked Kit.  “Who could have loaned them this set?”“There were six of these, one created by each of the servant lords of Borsh’tro, after he arose in the aftermath of our unfortunate kinslaying.  Since they were given the use of one, they must have the direct support of one of the Six.”“So what did I already lose?  Who were the other two missing names?”“Impossible to tell, your grace, until you need the knowledge.”“How do we prevent them from erasing anyone else?” asked Dame Brionna.  “We’ll try to keep these safe, but…”“The papyrus could be safely burned.  There would be no harm to anyone on the list without the use of the marble, and in any event the artifact can only affect the dead.  However, if you destroy the papyrus, the marble will return to its creator within three days.  I know of no force that could stop it.  As long as the papyrus exists, the people on the list are in danger.”“Is there any way to destroy it completely?” pressed Dame Brionna.“If you take the marble to the Positive Energy Plane, it will be destroyed utterly.  If you destroy this one, there will be four left.  But that is the only way to destroy it-- one of the Noldar engaged in herculean efforts to find another method but failed.”Alistair frowned.  “That doesn’t seem very difficult.”“It would be beyond my powers,” said the Eldar mildly, “although one who specializes more in the arcane arts would be able to open a gate fairly readily.  I believe that your archmagi could do it.  The difficult part is that you cannot simply open a door to the Positive Energy Plain.  Or, rather, it would be like opening a door expecting to find another room and finding the ocean instead-- it would pour through and overwhelm what was on the other side.”“Still, that should be possible if we choose to,” said Alistair.“Do you know who the original owner was?” asked Kit.“I cannot tell by simply examining it.  If you wish, I will undertake the rituals.  But you should know, even I cannot guarantee safety touching the mind of one of the Six.”“Best not to take the chance, then,” said Alistair.  “On a somewhat different subject, can you tell what the vial of liquid lead contains?”“Certainly.  It is filled with purified warpstone essence.  It is well that it is sealed; if it were released in a room this size, it would overwhelm everything within the room in a wave of pure chaos.”Dame Brionna boggled.  “How can we destroy it?  That’s too dangerous for us to store.”“A simple enough matter.  Teleport it to the mouth of any active volcano.  I could probably do it safely, even though aportation is not one of my specialties.”“No need.  We can have a wizard who does specialize in such matters handle that.”“Thank you, your grace.”“Getting back to the artifact,” Kit said, “we need to figure out who was removed.  I guess we should start with things you’re no good at…”The Eldar leaned over to her and murmured, “You could start with psionics…” and then looked vaguely repentant at having made a joke.Kit suppressed a giggle.Dame Brionna asked, “Does it actually alter the past?  Or just people’s memories?”“I’m not expert enough to say.”  The Eldar paused for a moment.  “I now have a link to a colleague at the Steading of the Elven Lords.  He should be able to answer more of your questions.”“Wait!” said Kit.  “I just realized the connection among the recent people.  We’re people who’ve saved his life!  That’s why Jet’s on the list, even though you’re not close to him… because he stopped the poisoning attempt.  If we were killed and erased, would he die?”The Eldar nodded sadly.  “My colleague who is an expert on this sort of artifact says that it is possible that he would die.  If his constitution is strong enough, it’s possible that his body would remain and only his soul would depart.”“No one left on that list is going to be erased,” said Alistair firmly, looking straight at Kit as he spoke.  “What of the people who have been erased?  Is there a means to restore them?”“There is one way, or at least was.  Our fallen brethren were as concerned about these devices as we were, and one created a talisman that could reverse this effect, among other things.  The talisman of stability.”“Let me guess.  That was the talisman stolen from the Archbishop of Tarsh,” said Kit.“Indeed.  If it were recovered, it could be used to reverse this artifact’s effects.”“Do you have any other questions for my colleague?  He has other matters that he must attend to for the next six months or so, but he will check in with you at the end of that time.”Alistair looked at his friends and then shook his head.  “Not at present, no.  Please pass on our thanks for the boon he has granted us by answering our questions.”“He was pleased by that message.  My colleague is the Sage of the Great Library of the Steading of the Elven Lords, a member of the House of Starfall, and a finer elf you will never meet.  Mind you, he can be a little arrogant.”  The entire Council wondered at what could make the Farsensor, whose enormous ego they had seen themselves, describe a fellow elf as arrogant.</blockquote>

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