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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gina" data-source="post: 1497112" data-attributes="member: 10990">The Test of Purity Part 2Nail asked me to continue since he is still busy. I will not pretend that my account will be as interesting as his, but we'll be closer to caught up!From the journal of Rowan, Druid of Eaglesford:Riva is dead. We were all stunned. He has come so close to death before and always managed to survive. It is hard to believe that he is gone, that we will never again hear one of his stories about his old pappy or his dwarven cooking tips. We took his body and withdrew. Tieran stayed behind a moment to cast a fireball into the chamber. It did not affect the warrior, but it cleared the steam for Tieran to get a good look at the creature and the room. The room was circular with a broken fountain pouring water from the back wall, the warrior stood in the center of the room, water boiling where it touched him, causing the steam. Tieran also thought that he saw something shiny in the water under the warrior’s feet. The walls were defaced by chisel marks as we had seen in other areas of Alder’s Look. So, with heavy hearts, we carried Riva’s body out of the chamber, through the crack, and through the outer chamber. We went first to Slythia who seemed sad at Riva’s demise, but was unable to help him, being only the guide of initiates as she helpfully informed us.  I told her that she is dead and the makers are long gone. This did not seem to concern her at all, she simply stated again that she is the guide of initiates. She told us that the gods work in mysterious ways. Mor'Elandi muttered something less than polite about the helpfulness of that statement. She did tell us that he word he called the place “Sar-thak-con” means Font of Purity. Wonder what language that is. We will have to find out.We set up camp in the maze where we had been before and spent a day in contemplation and planning. We even discussed leaving. Mor’Elandi thought we should leave, Thaile was uncertain, Tieran, Kytum-up, and I were all for seeing it through. After much discussion, we decided to stay.We realized as we contemplated our situation that if Riva couldn’t survive in there, we needed to figure out a different plan of action. We figured that the goal was probably to get water from the source, which seemed to be the hole in the wall. Once there had been a basin to catch the water, but it was broken long ago and so the water was just squirting out. The water itself was potable and possibly had some magical powers, but we were not sure what they might be. The one thing we were sure of was that they would not restore Riva to life. We waited and thought and finally came up with a plan. Tieran and Mor’Elandi would go in with as many spells of protection on them as we could muster, which would possibly allow them to get the water out of the room without even taking a hit from the vicious weapon he wielded. June 28th On both Mor’Elandi and Tieran we cast: Invisibility, Cat’s Grace, Walk on Water, and Spider ClimbOn Mor’Elandi we cast Silence (in a radius effect so they would both be silenced) and Shield of Faith. On Tieran we cast Sanctuary so that he could not be attacked easily.Then we moved into the middle chamber. Mor’Elandi and Tieran moved forward, or so we thought, we couldn’t really tell, invisible, you know, and silent. As they moved into the room, we knew that they were away from us as we were able to hear our own breathing and the beating of our hearts. Our task was to stay there until he noticed or hit one of the two in the room, but Thaile and I realized that we could be more helpful than that and summon creatures to distract him. First, Thaile cast a Clairvoyance spell to see what he was doing, then we moved to a safe summoning location.He seemed to be aware that someone was in the room and was looking around. Thaile summoned a Dire Wolf while I summoned three water elementals. The two were at the back of the room, we could see the water disappearing a bit away from the wall. The creature struck out wildly and some blood spattered from the direction Tieran had chosen to go. Thaile’s wolf arrived first and was hit several times by the creature. Soon after, the three elementals were destroyed, but Kytum-up saw his opening and went in to help with the distraction and to aid the others if he could. I began casting to call lighting to smite the creature with. Tieran made it back first, we know this because he cast a magic missile at the creature, harming it a bit, but negating his invisibility. He was bleeding, though not terribly injured. Kytum-up fought bravely, but was felled by the creature. Mor’Elandi picked him up on his way out of the room. By this time, I was ready to throw my first lightning bolt, but I never got the opportunity. As Kytum-up and Mor’Elandi left the room, the creature simply melted into the water, saying “Thank you, you may summon me once.” Or something to that effect. The water stopped boiling, the steam cleared. Apparently, we had completed the Mystery of Purity. I think it was the water being brought out from the font while the initiate was in the room and both leaving safely that ended the test. We searched the room and found only a large copper disc. It was perhaps two feet across and weighed two pounds or so. We left the room and went back to our resting spot, surprised that we had gotten through with no one dead. Kytum-up had needed several spells, he had been near death. The death of Riva still weighing heavily on our minds, we rested and discussed what we should do next. As we set watches, we were undecided as to what our next action should be. Mor’Elandi and Thaile thought that we should leave and go back to town for more help. Kytum-up and I were for staying and working on the tests. Tieran seemed also to want to go back to town. I know that Riva would have been for continuing on our course and completing the tests. We shall decide after we are rested. We must also burn Riva’s body, though I have cut a lock of his hair for his mother, or to reincarnate him should I find myself able to cast that spell before his soul has gone too far. We also looked over the copper disc and identified what symbols we could. Inscriptions around the edge (circular) and the middle (square) are part of the magic spell that binds the azer (Kerchik) to the disc. Moreover, the writing has a secondary effect, which we are unsure of.  It has something to do with the ritually defaced symbol at the disc's centerGod Symbols:Howling Wolf: we don’t yet know which god this might beFire: AnwynCrown/Triad Symbols: The Three SistersOwl/Sword: MaalSkull/Soot: MormekarRoad/Moon: Darmon (heretical, according to Thaile)Lyre/Feather: AymaraAnvil/Hammer: KorakWave/Shell: ShalimyrFlaming Tree w/ 5 fruits: AsmodeusDivided Orb w/sun rays : UrianSheaf of Wheat: RontraAxe/Circles: TerakEye/9 Circles: ZheenkeefTower/Key: TinelTeardrop/White Flowers: MorwynSome of the symbols are in current use, some are ancient and no longer in use. Others contain elements of current symbols along with elements which are not commonly used. The god’s symbols form a square, which surrounds a border enclosing four triangles with whatever was inside them ritually defaced. This seems to be what was what was binding the creature there. Eliwyn is not represented and we have one symbol that we have not associated with any god as yet, the howling wolf. It is also puzzling that Asmodeus is represented with the others. Of course, this thing is ancient, so who knows what the churches believed at that time. I also remembered my conversation with Asmathias, it seems so long ago, yet it has only been a week, perhaps two. I consulted my earlier journal entry to be sure that I have it right. "This is a place of beginnings....beginnings of my people, beginnings of many others....it is a sacred place, abandoned by the gods.....desecrated by the humans...... tended by the children of the old ones......"The gods hide this place..........only one wants it found again.........The great serpent's eye?  It is a place of dreams at the beginnings.......  Dreams now condemned by gods.....  It is ancient......of an ancient race that once guarded these places.......it looks to its children........many things look to these children........dangerous things.....bright things........there is hope in the eye's light.”So, I think that we may be on the way to the Great Serpent’s Eye, which is a place of dreams at the beginnings, which are now condemned by the gods. The place (Alder’s Look, I would assume) has been desecrated by humans (thus all the chisel marks on the walls). So, that would make Slythia and maybe even the Kobolds the children of the old ones. I wonder which god wants this place found again. By finishing these tests will we unleash something terrible upon the world? Or should we concentrate on the hope in the eye’s light? I have thought of this too much, I must sleep and think of it later. Still, the disc has piqued my interest, I must try my best to convince the others that we must continue. I cannot let this puzzle alone, I must know the answers, even if I die trying to find out.</blockquote>

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