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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 7233046" data-attributes="member: 23">SESSION 12 July 4th Today was a day of exploration. After another hearty breakfast, Torin and Suleiman headed to the jeweler to change our coins into gems. It occurred to Finis and I that we ought to find out if those rubies we found are magical, in case Torin or Suleiman decide to sell them. We soon caught up with them, and a quick check revealed that the bright ruby does indeed appear to be enchanted in some way, although it has a curious dweomer. After changing our coins, we returned to the inn. Afternoon came, and Screech did not. Hubert told us that she probably was not coming today, so we decided to investigate the druid's grove. It was only a three hour walk or so, down a trail which wound its way through an apple orchard and some fields. The grove itself was surrounded with tall granite pillars, with mysterious symbols on them. One of them was that of the nature god whose hidden temple we found while fleeing from the orcs. Suleiman, Rinver, and I stayed out of the grove, while the dwarves and Finis investigated. After a look around, Finis said that he would stay there. Torin also wanted to stay. The rest of us returned here to the inn, arriving at dusk. Finis and Torin said they will return in the morning, and we'll see if Screech shows up. July 5th Finis and Torin returned as planned, and Finis has fixed his staff. They say that nothing exciting happened while they were there, although they seem a little secretive about it. Finis has expressed a desire to stay and restore the grove to its former glory; we implored him to stay with us so that we might finish our assigned task first. He agreed. Shortly before lunch, Screech arrived in town. Hubert spoke to her by clutching a magical stone, and she agreed to carry us to the river. We made arrangements to leave immediately, including the sale of our horses (we got a pretty bad deal on them, since dwarves don't ride horses). Our stout dwarven pony will be cared for by the Tucker clan, as Screech cannot carry him. After another exhilarating four hour ride through the air, Screech brought us close to the ruins of a town by the river. We asked her (through Hubert, who had come with us) to land a safe distance away, and went to investigate. The town's walls seemed to have been blown over by some incredible gale, but they had been blown in different directions--I suggested that a dragon might have done this by beating its wings; I have heard they can create incredible wind gusts this way. While investigating the ruins we were attacked by several gargoyles, which are ugly, demon-shaped flying creatures with horned heads. It was a rough fight, but we (barely) came out victorious, thanks to the dwarves and an incredible blow by Finis; apparently, his staff is back in perfect working order. Unfortunately, Rinver and I were knocked unconscious during the fight, so we are incapable of casting spells for the rest of the day, due to our wooziness. Suleiman went to tell Screech to leave, and soon she flew overhead, with Hubert waving to us from her back. We waved back, and watched her soar off toward the mountains. I wish all of our journey could be so swift. Further investigations of the town revealed that the inhabitants were all dwarves; their skeletons lay scattered about. They showed no signs of battle injury, which again suggested that the green dragon (of which we had heard rumors, and had been offered a job to destroy, if you will recall) had attacked the town with its poisonous breath. Several usable boats lay in a building by the docks. After Finis performed some repairs, we have managed to scrape together two kayaks, two canoes, and one rowboat. Rinver says that Prolingmur is the next city, and it is one week down the river. We camp by the boats tonight; tomorrow, we will begin our river journey. July 6th I feel much better after a night of rest. We have decided on our boating arrangement: Torin and I in one canoe, Finis and Suleiman in the other, and Rinver and Blades in the rowboat, along with most of our supplies (the rowboat is the most stable of the boats, and is thus less likely to capsize, spilling its contents into the river). After a couple of hours of struggling, we are getting used to the boats. We have made arrangements should trouble arrive; we shall all head to the right, or west, bank of the river. Fortunately, today's travels were uneventful. I estimate that we traveled twenty six miles today. Finis caught some fish for dinner, while Suleiman and I scouted downstream from our camp. The river slows somewhat ahead; no matter. This is still faster than land travel. I have concealed our campfire with dark fire, so that we might cook our fish without attracting all the local wildlife. I hope that catching food along the way will allow us to extend our rations. We should have more than enough food to reach Prolingmur, where we can purchase more provisions. July 7th Soon after starting our journey we saw the most unusual creature drinking at the water's edge. It looked like a large, gangly, ugly deer, with huge, thick antlers. Finis tells me that it is called a "moose". Around lunchtime we came upon a large stone head protruding from the water; it was the top of a statue of a dwarf. The portion of the statue underwater was holding a large shield. On the shield was a symbol: a mace with a large ingot on it. No one was familiar with the clan it represented. When it came time to camp, Finis spotted a giant crayfish. We decided to find another campsite. Another suitable spot was just a short distance down stream. We made camp, but the crayfish followed us. After attempting to lure the crustacean into the dark fire failed, Blades and Torin charged it, and we soon had more food than we knew what to do with. Our bellies full, we lay down for the night. July 8th A mist lay over the water this morning, lending a mystic quality to the already beautiful scenery. The river widened soon after we set out, slowing the river even more. Around lunchtime we spotted an incredible sight under the water--a town! It seems that this river bed was not always underwater. Nothing but fish live there now. A curious white marble dome lay in the middle of the town. A detect magic revealed that it is somehow enchanted; perhaps it is a temple. Finis wanted to swim down and check it out, so I cast endure cold on him so that the cold water would not cause cramps. He cast water breathing on himself, we tied a rope around his waist, and he jumped in. Finis used his ring of water walking to stand on the water above him, holding the rope. After a quick search of the town revealed nothing interesting, Finis tried knocking on the door. Those of us on the surface were shaken by a huge roar, coming from far, far downstream. Alarmed, we pulled Finis up and tried to put some distance between the town and ourselves. A huge gar (a very ugly, inedible local fish) surprised us, biting Finis and Suleiman's canoe in half. It then nearly bit Finis in half, but Blades and Torin managed to kill it. I estimate the fish to be twenty-five feet long! Fortunately, we have been dragging the kayaks behind in case of just such an emergency, so we still have sufficient transportation. While camped tonight, Finis found a local berry called "Heaven's Gift", which has the curious property of bubbling when placed in water. They are also good to eat, so we have picked some. July 9th A huge bear watched us from the shore as we set out this morning. It seemed as curious about us as we were about it. The river narrowed some, but widened into a loch in the afternoon. We made camp on an island in the middle of the river. Torin spotted a light coming from an island downstream. It doesn't seem to get any closer; it is an odd, gray, cold light. After about an hour, it brightened, then went out. We all plan to be extra vigilant on watch tonight. July 10th For the second time since coming to this continent, I have lost a friend and traveling companion. Today, it was Rinver, and his loss was pointless and frustrating. It was as if the gods themselves decided to visit some random tragedy upon us. Unlike Taelsyn's death, which we could have prevented, we could do nothing to save Rinver. Now, we are without maps, without a guide, without a wizard, and without an employer. Most importantly, we are without a friend. As the river's current is almost nonexistent here, we paddled downstream to the island from which the light emanated. A tower stood on a hill in the middle, and some kind of glass apparatus could be seen in a window. A single rowboat was tied to the dock, and a path led up toward the tower. I have seen a lighthouse before, and this is not a lighthouse. A brief search for tracks revealed huge, fresh claw prints in the moss. Torin estimates that it is reptilian, and that the creature who made it is bigger than Screech. The tracks lead away from the island, into the water. We headed up the path, toward the tower. A small stone building with a thatch roof was next to the tower. A stone arch stood on the opposite side from the stone building. Four carefully trimmed trees lined the path to the tower's door. We examined the arch; it was covered with mathematical and wizardly symbols. Looking through the arch was difficult; the trees on the other side appeared hazy. The gray beam of light shone from the window above, directly into the arch. Rinver and I examined the runes on the arch, and concluded that it is some kind of portal through both space and time. In other words, it was better left alone. Unfortunately, extra-planar creatures would not leave us alone. As we went to investigate the stone hut, a large insect-like, bipedal creature materialized out of thin air directly behind Rinver. It instantly knocked Rinver unconscious and grabbed him. We tried to hit it, and succeeded a couple of times, but we did not have enough time. There was no way in the world for us to defeat this monster; it was too fast. We didn't stand a chance. It disappeared with Rinver. Hoping that some clue to where they might have gone might be lying around the tower or the stone hut next to it, we quickly began an exploration of the area. A quick casting of locate object revealed that Rinver (or at least, the backpack he was wearing when he disappeared) was nowhere nearby. We later found that he is on the ethereal plane. But more on that later. Barging into the hut, we were greeted by an undead--some strange kind of zombie. I could not turn it from us, but Blades quickly cut it into small pieces. The zombie actually had a pouch of spell components; perhaps he had been a wizard in life. The room was spartan, containing only a bed, a desk, a chest, and some books (including a spell book). I grabbed several of the books on mathematics, and Suleiman too the spell book. The other books were filled with planetary and dimensional charts; I could make little sense of them. The chest held only a few coins. We hurried on to the tower. Using keys we found on the zombie, we unlocked the door. Inside, an unusual five legged creature, with an eye on each leg/tentacle (it rather reminded me of a starfish) awaited us, attacking us viciously. It released clouds of paralyzing poisonous gas or spores from its legs, but I was unaffected. Finis used slow poison to free Torin and Blades, who were both affected by the poison. The creature didn't last very long once they were both back in combat. The room was elegantly furnished, with a kitchenette behind a door. I found six more books on mathematics! A brief search of the room turned up nothing else of interest. We continued on, going up the stairs to the second floor. A wardrobe came crashing down the stairs at us! Torin jumped out of the way, but Blades wasn't fast enough, and it crashed into him. We pushed it aside, off the staircase, and charged up the stairs. Two more zombies awaited us, a man and a woman. A fire in the hearth warmed the room--which turned out to be bad, because one of the zombies hit Torin with a flask of oil. Fortunately, he didn't venture near the fire, so it never did any harm. We dispatched the zombies, although Finis, once again, damaged his staff. The room contained several items of interest. The zombies both had pouches of spell components. A chest lay on the floor, and we opened it with a key we found on one of the zombies. Some scrolls and coins lay inside. Also, there was a small carving of a lynx (a kind of wild cat), with the dwarvish word for "awake" on the bottom. Suleiman says that it is a "figurine of wondrous power", and that the creature portrayed can be summoned by speaking the word on the bottom. One of the zombies was wearing magic arm bands; Finis has put them on, hoping that they will convey some benefit to him. Continuing upstairs, we were attacked by a creature that Suleiman tells us was a "lesser Daemon"! I gave Torin the warhammer, and he and Blades dispatched it. The creature oozed into the floor and faded away. Having cleared the tower of hostile creatures, we looked around the third floor. A strange apparatus filled the middle of the room. It was a strange assortment of glass, mirrors, and lenses. Papers full of calculations and diagrams littered the room. A small stone seemed to power the whole thing, and a light shone from the apparatus, out of the window, and through the archway outside. Suleiman and I sat down to pour over the charts and diagrams, and formulas. After a couple hours of research, we think that we have figured out the basics of this machine. It is indeed a portal through time and space; apparently, the machine was set to 40,000 to 50,000 years into the past, and is incredibly difficult to calibrate precisely. With years of research, we might be able to direct it to a particular location and time. However, we had good reason to destroy the device. Several creatures had apparently come through it already, and had either killed the wizard behind its creation, or turned him into one of the zombies we had fought. We were interested in using the device to find Rinver, but it was so difficult to tune, that I thought we should ask for information from a higher source. Using the candle of invocation, I cast a divination spell, asking for Prometheus' guidance. He replied! I felt incredibly honored that he, or one of his servants, felt that I was worthy of a response. I was told that we could not use the machine to rescue Rinver, at least, not on its current settings. Actually, this was not so useful. We could tell that the machine had originally been set for the Abyss, and had drifted to its current setting, 40,000 to 50,000 years into the past, on this prime material plane. Finis used speak with animals to tell Falstaff, Rinver's owl familiar, that we could not locate him. Falstaff said that he was still alive, and didn't seem too concerned. Suleiman decided that the machine was to dangerous to continue functioning, and destroyed it. I grabbed the power source, a small quartz crystal. Surveying the room with detect magic revealed that the lynx statuette, a dagger (that a zombie had thrown at Torin), and curiously, a pillow, were magical. While searching through the books in the room, Suleiman spotted a picture of the creature that captured Rinver (in an encyclopedia). It's called a "Xil", and it lives on the ethereal plane. These creatures capture hosts in which to plant their eggs. Their young hatch from the stomach of the hosts, killing them. We have very little time to save Rinver, if we can do so at all. I am not optimistic. I only have one idea, and it is a long shot: I have heard that creatures like the lynx in the figurine sometimes live on the ethereal plane when they are not summoned to this plane; perhaps we could ask it to search out Rinver. I have also heard that such creatures are often noble, and of above average intelligence. Another option is to strike a deal with it; if it finds and returns Rinver, we will free it from the statue's bondage. Of course, all of this is assuming that it lives on the ethereal plane, that it is intelligent enough and willing to help, and that it is capable of tracking him on its native plane. But, it's a better plan than no plan. If we cannot rescue Rinver, then I think that we should stop for a while, using this tower as a base of operations, and restock our supplies with local fish and game. With the gateway closed, I do not think we will be in too much danger. It will give us time to take stock of the situation, and decide a new course. Everything seems so hopeless now; I try to draw strength from the Light. There seem to be so few options. One reason I started the log entry early (it is still daylight; we have not yet made arrangements for camp) is that it is a good way to organize my thoughts. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have worked. Things seem just as hopeless as before. Should we continue on with Rinver's mission? Could we even accomplish it if we tried? I wonder if I am growing weary of adventuring. Perhaps I should begin my long journey home. I have wanted to visit my relatives in the city of Cork. It is too early to conjecture; I should see what the others think first. Hopefully, my next entry will offer greater hope than this one. I wonder, why have you not sent me a thoughtwave? I would like to have an image, however brief, of how things are going in the temple. I was told before I left that you occasionally send them to our wandering tyros to let them know that all is well. It would be nice to know that things are going well somewhere. It would be nice to have even a fleeting glimpse of home. I suppose I must be content with my memories.</blockquote>

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