Renew the Pact: The Hand of Asumit, p1
Log Info
- Title: Renew the Pact: The Hand of Asummit, Part 1
- Emitter: Whirlpool
- Characters: Seldan, Kravar, Merek, Cryosanthia, Cesran, Serene, Karelin
- Place: The Wilderness of Alexandros
- Time: Tuesday, May 04, 2021, 8:41 PM
- Summary: Griva and a bunch of adventurers head out into the wilderness to look at magicite formations that have been appearing along the ley-lines. The greater purpose is to strike a blow at an enemy of magic as part of Renewing the Pact with Animus. Asumit is the best candidate, as he has been creating the cysts on the Ley-Lines. They arrive, the area feels wrong. The Paladins are unsetted, sensing the approach of something. Various forms of magic sight employed by Griva, Merek, Cesran and Cryosanthia reveal... nothing. An absence of magic, even their magic items are fading. As the more martial types approach, Cryo causes a dancing light to preceed them, and when she gets bored, bumps it into one of the quartz crystals. Which shatters. She leaps out of the way, Cesran catches it magically, and Merek disintegrates it despite the warnings of potential anti-magic. He states confidently none are active in the area. A black ooze erupts from the ground, spreads like tar, and like tar congeals and stops. The group decides the best approach is to draw out the 'magic pus' using a magic poultice that is a rod of absorbtion and explosion, and contemplate how much they want to give up magically to make it so.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Seldan 5'11" 187 Lb Human Male Ginger-blonde human in armor wearing Eluna's symbol.
Kravar 6'2" 220 Lb Human Male Big Aesir Hero...with wings
Merek 5'10" 215 Lb Human Male A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.
Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman.
Cesran 6'1" 185 Lb Human Male A tall dark-skinned man
Serene 6'2" 175 Lb Eldanar/Charn Female Glacier meets granite meets strawberries.
Karelin 6'2" 256 Lb Human Male Tattooed Korite warrior. Tall, dark and scarred.
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-=--=--=--=--=--=--= NPCS of Note =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Griva Brassbringer Khazdi Female Head of the Alexandrian Chapter of the Resurrection Society
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-=--=--=--=--=--=--= As the GM =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Whirlpool 5'0" Otyugh I am stinky!
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Griva was adamant. One of the primary keys to the Pact was usually the symbolic defeat of an enemy of magic'. Easy enough to do in most times given symbolic is all that was required. Not so now.
Now, she is sure that such a merely symbolic action won't cut it and with news of the cysts in the leylines, amongst other things, she is taking pains to ensure that an enemy of magic is properly destroyed.
Which is why you now stand outside the city, gathered together.
"With the help of the map created by Cesran, I've tracked on of the displacements, these cysts, to a nearby location. We're going to reach into the sea and pull out ... whatever it is. And from there, we can learn, pursue, and destroy."
Griva nods towards the desolate frontier in front of you. The land here, rugged in character to begin with, feels ... wrong somehow. These arid badlands on Alexandria's northeastern frontier towards the mountains is nothing comfortable, but there's definitely an ominous feeling in the air, and Griva urges you forward into them.
"There's a canyon none too far away with some unique magicite created formations of stone..."
Something like this may not be Seldan's favorite thing to do, but it is absolutely his calling, and so he volunteered willingly to join this group, donning the adventuring gear openly for once and trekking with the others. He's done worse. "Living magicite, or something of a different sort?" he asks of Griva as he walks.
"If I'm being honest, there are times when I might consider myself an enemy of magic," Kravar notes. As is often the case with the Northerner his words come before fully considering. Just like his actions, in a swordfight (which he has in fact been told is one of his strengths...in a swordfight). "Ah, more specifically an enemy of the foul unnatural flavors of magic cooked up by those with evil in their hearts and no regard for the consequences." He glances to one side and then the other, watching reactions of others, and something makes him go on still further. "I fought on the side of Rune in the war." Kravar clears his throat and then turns his attention to the surroundings.
Merek takes time to put on his dark attire, while he shifts the scarf which he wears, the beltcape about the waist while he takes a look to everyone. "Alright, well... It looks like we have a lot to deal with," he notes. The man still wears a face wrap to his eyes a bit, though he peeks from that, keeping the sun away while they heal from the divination.
"Were they people once?" Cryosanthia asks, sounding a little confused over how the formations fit in with the task at hand. And then, smarter questions are asked and she closes her mouth. The whitescaled sith'makar is wearing her adventuring gear, which seems to be white mithril and leather arrangement that's flashy, flamboyant and light. She also has some boots, gloves, and a pale blue mask across her face.
It's not hiding her identity as much as being a playful affectation.
When Kravar speaks, she turns to look him over. Her reaction, if any, is the typical lizardly lack-of-expression. "Thank you for your service."
Hopefully that's appropriate. The whitescale adjusts the buckler on her arm, exhales and rocks her shoulders back.
Cesran is on his magic carpet and keeping it to a low hover so as not to attach unnecessary attention. He can feel something is off about the land as he looks around carefully as he doesn't wish to be blinded by an overwhelming magical aura. "I've heard of such formations created by the natural flow of magic in the area. It will be interesting to see and hopefully study one." He says as he urges the carpet forward.
Serene puts her hand on the back of Silver's neck, burying it in the feathers as she calms his agitation at the wrongness in the area. The two certainly look ready for a jaunt into dangerous territory... of course, on those rare occasions that she doesn't seem prepared for it a special mark is reserved for the calendar. To prove it happened. "Be sure to keep on task, archmage," she tells Cesran. "Much depends on this."
"... what?" says Griva to Cryosanthia, a hand going over her mouth.
"I hope not! No, they're just signifying we're in the right place."
After the magical transit out there in the first place, walking a distance isn't the worst thing to do.
The canyon begins to come into view and soon you're descending down into it, picking your way along rocky paths to get to it. Before long you're seeing the large, quartz like eruptions from the earth in irregular intervals. This is the place.
"Not living," answers Griva to Seldan, thoughtfully. "Just created by it in time."
Karelin isn't really in a talking mood. He just showed up, everything sharp and shiny, like he heard there was going to be war. His hair is prepped with grey now, and the scars war with the wrinkles, but nonetheless, he's there walking in silence.
Cesran nods to Serene, "Of course, of course. Mission first then research." He says with a wry smile as he guides the carpet down into the canyon. He's careful as he slowly turns his gaze upon the large quartz like crystals. He hmms as he pauses the carpet to get a better look at them from a safe distance.
GAME: Merek casts Overland Flight. Caster Level: 13 DC: 20 GAME: Merek casts Arcane Sight. Caster Level: 13 DC: 18 GAME: Merek casts True Seeing. Caster Level: 14 DC: 19
Merek lifts up with a little shift of his attire, then he takes a leap from the carpet to begin lowering to the crystals while he shifts the magic about him to begin to slow that descent. Then he's coming upon the crystal formation to take a look at it, maneuvering both of the hands of his along his eyes. Then he brings an Arcane Imaging up. He crosses both of his arms to begin observation a little bit.
"Even so?" Seldan picks his way down the canyon wall, preferring to save flight for real need, but when he reaches the bottom, his attention is arrested by the formation, although the _wrongness_ around him is not by any means lost on him, and a shudder ripples through his frame.
Cryosanthia nods to the answer, and listens some more. She glances at Cesran flying overhead, Merek adjusting his clothes and shading his eyes. Seldan, looking well turned out and shiny; Serene, whom she's been meaning to speak to but hasn't had the chance. She'll save it for later. Several others she doesn't recognize or barely knows.
She can't think of any good questions.
There's an icicle dagger in her belt, a dull grey with an odd sheen. Long for a knife, short for a rapier. The whitescale keeps touching it to ensure hit hasn't fallen off. It's just a little walk further.
She moves stiffly, as if she's in some sort of pain with no obvious causes. The unsettling feeling of the area, the appearance of the growths, aren't helpin. Another bad question occurs, "They aren't safe to touch, are they?"
The spellcasting has started. Guess it's safe to do that around them.
Griva is looking around slowly. She looks like she just turned a few degrees paler.
Kravar keeps to one side of party, towards the front when possible but careful not to get ahead. It's not hard to drift even a bit further to the side to get a better view of one of the quartz eruptions. He glances back at the question. Are they safe to touch? Now that the thought has been voiced he feels a slight urge to reach out and see for himself. But that would be reckless even for him.
Merek then frowns a little bit while he begins to lift up to the carpet, "Nothing. There's no magic, it's a void, like it doesn't exist." He takes a look along the place and nods a bit to Cesran, "What do you think?" he asks, while he takes a look to Cryosanthia, "You notice anything?" The man will begin to shift a little more magic to bring up the True Seeing to take a look to it as well.
Once the canyon is reached, Serene elects to go by foot as well, descending carefully with those others who remain landbound while Silver trails behind, the beat of his wings a reassuring presence for his paladin. As the group approaches the magicite formations, Serene pays less attention to them... there are more attuned senses than hers obviously being trained upon them.. and more on her companions. It might even be fair to say she's taking an assessment.. before her attention moves beyond them, beyond the magicite.. most certainly seeking something.
GAME: Cesran casts Greater Arcane Sight. Caster Level: 20 DC: 29
Cesran nods, "I'm seeing the same thing." He says as his eyes are glowing with a blue light, "Let me see if there is anything going on deeper that normal arcane sight might not reveal. Right now though I don't see any magic here. It might be some sort of anti-magic field or this place has been somehow drained of magic." He says as he too casts a spell and his eyes start to glow a stronger blue. He takes his time as he slowly looks around the area making sure to stop and concentrate on any of the unusual.
Griva staggers a moment. "... gods," her hands go up to her eyes and she covers them for a moment. "Nothing, nothing at all. We have to find what happened."
GAME: Cryosanthia casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 10 DC: 14
"What? Ah! Sure? Ah, okay, sure. I'll take a look." Cryosanthia startles like she was called out for sleeping in class. Not that she's ever had that sort of formal schooling, with desks and a chalkboard. It's been more field training, like this.
Somewhat reluctantly, her left hand flips through some graceful arcane motions. Light flickers across her scales, swirling towards her arm, then around. Up to her shoulders. Finally there's a glow at her fingertips, and her eyescales illume.
The whitescale stares at the formation. Give her a minute...
No magic. At all. Even her own magical items don't look as bright as they normally do.
"Something is well and truly amiss, Brassbringer. I need no spells to sense that." Seldan draws a deep breath, then raises both hands together to his lips. "Holy Seeress, show me the presence of Your enemies." That done, he looks up again, and around, then shakes his head slowly, pushing that unruly lock of hair from his face. "Present, no, but it lurks."
"I'm... seeing a lot of nothing too." Cryo says. "Even my magic items are looking kind of dull."
She exhales softly, it seems warmer than usual near her, "Perhaps they'll suck the magic out of things. Suck up spells. Want me to try a Ray of Frost, see what happens? Or is that more on the research side?"
She glances towards Cesran and Serene.
Cesran starts to do a simple experiment as he can see even his magic items are loosing their magical luster. "We don't know what is causing it, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm for evocation solutions." A.K.A. blowing stuff up and seeing what happens. "Perhaps we can find the radius of this effect and go from there." He says as he starts to slowly back off the magical carpet, at least he tries to, hopefully it still has enjoy magic in it to move.
Kravar's eyebrows go up at the suggestion that magic can be sucked out of objects. He unslings his large shield and slips it into place over an arm. A glowing longsword appears in his hand - no telling if he'll be able to summon it later. He steps forward. This time perhaps he does indeed mean to be ahead of the others. "How are we to tell," Kravar extends his hand and holds the blade ahead of him, studying the glow to see if it changes, "When we are in the radius of this effect?"
Merek looks then to Cryo and seems to think about it, "You should probably try that to see what it does," the man offers, while he nods a bit, then he takes a look along to Cesran, "You know, I have seen places of magic that's artificial, though outside of an antimagic field, not anything really like that."
Serene's lips curl slightly, and not in the comforting way as she nods to support Seldan's statement. She looks briefly at the three examining the crystals with magic sight, then secures her shield upon her arm and continues to press forward. "Sometimes the best path to knowledge is straight ahead." Her swordhand also fall to her hilt, though she doesn't draw just yet. Silver continues to circle up above.
Seldan's hand, too, moves to his weapon, almost as if by reflex, but he nods resolutely and moves to follow Serene. "Let us learn what we may. The quicker to learn, the quicker to answer."
"...lovely," says Griva. The Khazadi woman runs her hands through her greying and brown hair, letting out a lengthy sigh.
"Well, then. It seems we have a mystery." Her eyes narrow a moment. A glance towards Cesran and Merek, then Cryosanthia.
"The Sea of Mana itself can't be harmed: it is infinite and all powerful, but ley lines can be changed by changes to the world, amongst other things, and of course, there's the purposes of the cysts we're here to investigate. Without being able to sense the ley line, though..."
She chews her lower lip in thought.
GAME: Cesran casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 20 DC: 23
Cesran nods, "It seems we do. However I can't feel the Ley Line that I know is supposed to be here. Our magical items and implements are losing their magical power, something is happening to it and it probably is further ahead. Serene is right the best course of action may be ahead. I would suggest casting any longer duration spells now and watch your magical items. If they suddenly lose power, you are in an anti-magic field do not cast a spell or you might suffer a major spellblight." He warns as he nods to Serene to lead on as he gets off his carpet and rolls it up before casting some defensive spells on himself.
GAME: Cryosanthia casts Dancing Lights. Caster Level: 10 DC: 14
"Well..." Cryosanthia says, "Dancing Lights has a pretty good range. I could Dance some closer and you can watch them dim and maybe that would suggest a radius of effect?"
Even though the wrongness that has been making her wary started a while back, certainly further out than her spell range. The whitescale coughs, and does another little dance where she waves her left hand through a small arc. Her scales flicker once more, strobing from her chest, around and down. She grimaces a smile while these effects are going on. Finally a large, glowing light appears in front of her, "I'll wander it up to one, slowly enough we can stop it if something bad happens, ok?"
Half approved, half not, she proceeds with her evocation experiment. The light moves forward. "I'm... probably the best candidate for spell blight, my magic has been a little weird lately. I don't expect to be casting much."
The magic spells are obviously working, but even casting here feels 'bad'.
As if the Aquifer is not only so low there's salt water incursion but the treated wastewater from the Deep Well Injection Sites are infiltrating the fresh water well. Or a pond, with scum and fresh water underneath, if the scum were so thick one can't see the water.
"That'd probably work the best," Merek offers then to Cryo while he thinks about that. The man begins to watch while he thinks about the magic, "Well, I don't think it's antimagic in anyway," he mentions.
Karelin unlimbers his bow, just in case -- scowling at the crystals. He shakes his head, "I've seen this before -- sounds like nethercite, with all the magic deadening."
Kravar slows slightly. "Griva, do you mean to say the ley line may not be here?" He turns his head back slightly but doesn't take his eyes off of the way ahead. "But the cyst is? Then what do we do...follow this sense of wrongness? The more wrong we feel, the more right our direction?" He veers off a few degrees to one side of his original course.
"I guess?" says Griva.
"Do you think I expected this?" She puts her hand on the top of her head with a sigh, uncomfortable.
Still, moving forward behind the dancing lights is an option. This leads you directly towards the quartz-like formations, and in time, amongst them.
The feeling of wrongness is far more palpable here. It feels like, well... a kind of death. A deep set chill that sets into your bones. Life is absent here. It's quiet.
Far too quiet.
Even casting a simple spell of mage armor makes Cesran feel like he's putting his head in a barrel that has a thick layer of pond scum on the top and fresh water underneath it. He takes a deep breath to steel himself as he bows his head to say a quick prayer to Elune. He nods to Crysanthia, "That's a good plan." He says as he grips his staff and gets ready to follow along with the others. He continues to look around, not looking for anything magical per say but trying to keep his head on a swivel to spot anything that might be causing this.
Although Seldan says nothing, and strives to keep his disquiet from his features as he begins to move among the pillars, it's visible in the stiffening of his shoulders, in the downturn of his mouth, in the way he holds his eyes. There is at once a deep sadness, there, and an anger. "It is ... as if one tampers with magic itself."
Serene shakes her head, disquieted, as she navigates through the formations. She looks to Seldan, as if seeking some sort of confirmation before saying to everyone, "Be ready." Her hand has fallen to the hilt of her sword, and she slowly draws it forth, the blade almost silent as it pulls free of its leather home. Not that stealth is her goal as she lets out a sharp whistle to signal to her gryphon.
Cryo gets her dancing light out in front of Serene and Kravar. She lets it precede them. She keeps a careful eye on it with her Detect Magic, in case that tells her anything useful. She follows, some distance back, closer to Cesran than the front line.
When the Cantrip expires she casts it again. An unpleasant experience, it's not only harder it itches in ways her magic used to, before her personal paths were cleaned up. By Her. The dancing light re-appears. "I feel like I'm pulling in sludge."
Lacking any better idea, she bumps the light up against one of the formations. Then she pulls her icicle dagger into her hand. Reverse order might have been better. "I read some Anti-magic makes your spells random. Like you cast one thing but another spell happens."
When Cryo bumps into one of the formations, there's cracking sound. Surely, she didn't just break one, did she?
Whatever just passed between the two paladins, it isn't good. Seldan returns that look from Serene, an invisible _uh-oh_ passing between the two of them before he, too, readies his blade in a rasp of leather and steel. "Prepare yourselves. Something very wrong is afoot, and it is near."
GAME: Merek casts Angelic Aspect. Caster Level: 14 DC: 19
"That is spellblight," Merek notes then to Cryo, while he nods a bit. The man looks to the formation, "Well, I wonder if we can do anything," he notes at that noise and offers a nod to people, "Well, we should try to investigate a little bit." There's a look to Griva and to Serene, then he notes the place, while he takes a look about, "I don't like to fight." Then he snaps a finger while he brings up his angel wings.
Cesran continues to look around, "If you like I can take over casting dancing lights. If you need to take a break from casting let me know." He offers as he slowly moves with the rest of the formation ready for anything. He has himself mentally prepared to try to counterspell any magic that might be thrown at them. "Yes casting magic in an anti-magic field can do worse things then simply make you cast random spells. Be careful." He says quietly.
Cryosanthia loops her icicle dagger in a practice parry and drops into a ready stance. She concentrates, and there's a fluttering noise, something, a slight change in her clothes. On her toes, weight balanced, she's in a ready position and checking the points and distance from her, picking a territory to defend.
The whitescale nods to Cesran, whispering back, "My spells aren't that dangerous, but. Um... I don't know. Light shouldn't crack that? Are they solid at all? Should I bump it again?"
...crackle. The quarts crystal behind Cryo splits and cracks and begins to topple over towards her. She can get out of the way.
Griva stares.
"...those shouldn't be THAT fragile," she says, grimacing.
"It is ... almost as if the magic of this place is poisoned," Seldan realizes, his eyes widening at the crackling of the quartz. "The very foulest of things." He doesn't move, but remains with sword in hand, reaching out with his free hand to hold it near another of the quartz pillars.
Merek says, "I would also like to mess with the magicite."
GAME: Cesran casts Forceful Hand. Caster Level: 20 DC: 30
Cesran sees the cracking quarts and he moves in front of her as he teaches to take out a soft glove from his pouch, "Stand back." With a word of arcane he thrusts his hand that's not gripping his staff and a phantasmal hand appears. He tries to maneuver the hand to catch the crystal before it falls to the ground.
"Ah! Lookout" Cryosanthia hears the crystal cracking behind her, sees it toppling and opts to get out of the way. She'll drag anyone near her that's also might be impacted, away from the point of impact. She leaps, she spins, she lands, she points her dagger at the falling crystal even as Cesran casts.
Maybe he'll catch it, maybe he won't. She's out of the way regardless.
Her head snaps over towards Seldan, "So... why would my spell be made stronger? Does that mean we're poisonned if we cast? Is our magic stuff going to break... like that did?"
Cryo quickly reviews her non-magical options. There aren't many.
Karelin puts away his bow, and instead draws out his sword, wary at the crumbling crystals. Keeping his distance, he searches for signs of creatures amidst the poisoned magic.
GAME: Merek casts Disintegrate. Caster Level: 13 DC: 21
"You know," Merek then looks to the crystal while he speaks to Cryosanthia as she dodges, "Spellblight seems to be only in specific areas of antimagic. It can cause spells to go wild. It's rare, though it can bring about any kind of issue." The man points a hand along to the crystal, while it begins to form green energy in the palm, "Can you keep that in place?" he asks Cesran. Then to Serene and Seldan, "What do you think is coming?" Then a look to Griva, "Well, we're learning." Then he shoots a disintegration ray into that whole crystal.
Kravar's eyebrows go up the highest they've gone yet. "Poisoned? Magic is poisoned?" He watches the attempts to deal with the pillar but almost absently. It's arcane practitioners dealing with the arcane, and nothing he's likely to understand. "Why, that sounds like the work of 'the enemy of magic' we're here to strike a blow against."
The *wrongness* does not change in strength in a particular direction. It is wrong all around.
<OOC> Serene says, "I would like to put Magic Circle against Evil upon Cryo, and then hop on Silver for some aerial surveillance." <OOC> Cryosanthia dies laughing at Serene <OOC> Cryosanthia says, ""Hmm... Fight's starting. MCaE on Cryo, yes, that seems a good reflex." <OOC> Seldan says, "I know. Magic Circle Against Evil and Cryosanthia have a history." <OOC> Cryosanthia tailswishes... <OOC> Serene shifty-eyes <OOC> Cryosanthia says, "It's a good flinch reaction, yes." You paged (Serene, Seldan) with 'I fully support getting the MCaE out of the way.' From afar, to (Serene, Cryosanthia): Seldan laughs. GAME: Serene casts Magic Circle Against Evil. Caster Level: 20 DC: 25
"I need a better look," Serene says once the excitement has passed. This particular excitement, anyways. She whistles sharply again, this time two notes, and a 'whump whump' heralds Silver's arrival and landing. Before she gets into his saddle, she takes a quick step over to Cryosanthia, uttering a quick blessing to place upon the whitescaled Sith, and then the paladin and her gryphon take to the sky. Well, the immediate heights anyways.
Anyone paying particular attention might notice that Silver's agitation from earlier seems only to have intensified... raised feathers, restless clawing at the ground before he takes his paladin to the air.
Karelin is event security at the moment, but it looks like he's in about the same place as Silver.
As the seconds tick by, Seldan's expression - shifts. From sadness, and into anger. It's a slow thing, a morphing rather than an instant shift, but when it is done, his features have settled into that cool, dispassionate demeanor with a dangerous edge beneath it that those who know him will recognize. _Someone is going to pay for this._
The crystal shatters into nothingness when Merek's disintegrate hits it, leaving a spreading darkness where it once stood.
Uh oh.
The blackness oozes up out of the ground in thick, viscous flow before stopping.
"..ah... I believe we see the problem," muses Griva, "We can't feel the ley line, because it's been fully consumed." She points towards the blackness.
"That must be the byproduct of the cysts Cesran was telling us about. WE need to draw it out. Out of the ley line, fully."
Karelin nods slowly. "By destroying the crystals?" He reaches for a concrete action.
Cesran sighs softly as he was hoping to study the crystal to see what was making it fragile enough that a simple light spell would make it topple over. He lets the hand return to his side as he sees the blankness that's oozing out of the ground. "No I don't think it's the crystals we have to fight, but instead we have to try to find a way to combat that blackness."
<OOC> Cesran says, "Yah can I try to id the ooze" <OOC> Whirlpool says, "Think of it as a kind of magical pus." <OOC> Whirlpool says, "It's not really anything in and of itself. It's just a sludge taking up space in the metaphysical area." <OOC> Whirlpool says, "A byproduct. You've got the skills to deduce that, as does Serene, Seldan, and Cryo and Merek. xD" <OOC> Whirlpool says, "Which is why I'm just stating it. ;)" <OOC> Seldan says, "I referred to drawing it out." GAME: Merek rolls heal: (4)+20: 24
Merek then points to the nice black ooze, and nods to Cesran, "You see, the black ooze was putting a little force upon the crystals, making them extend from the ground, and warping it possibly into magicite. Geology. It's a byproduct of the issue. If we look at the world as a living thing, then we must think that it is an infection, the kind which is creating some kind of magical defense."
Cryosanthia feels a familiar spell surround her, and she smiles gratefully in Serene's direction. Merek's spell gets a different reaction, a jump backwards from the crystal and it's spreading ooze. "Yes. Thanks for the lecture and demonstration."
There isn't much gratitude in her voice. "So. Smash crystals. Draw the puss out."
The whitescale exhales, her shoulders slumping, "is there some kind of 'magical poultice' we can soak it up with, or is the drawing it out simply pelting it with spells?"
She glances around, "While we're at it, anyone got a disposable magic item we can use to test if our valuable ones are going to be destroyed, and maybe divest of them? I like my clothes."
Kravar says, "Smash them? All right." He shifts his backpack in a long-practiced motion so that he can reach into it without taking it off completely. He pulls out a flail and then tosses it to the side. Then he pulls out a crowbar. "Aha. I'm ready."
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Knowledge/arcana is fine, Seldan" GAME: Seldan rolls knowledge/arcana: (16)+17: 33 GAME: Merek rolls knowledge/arcana: (8)+15: 23 GAME: Cesran rolls knowledge/arcana: (2)+37: 39 <OOC> Cryosanthia curls her tail up in shame. <OOC> Serene says, "Yours is certainly better than mine, Cryo." GAME: Cryosanthia rolls knowledge/arcana: (20)+12: 32
Merek looks then to Cryosanthia and lifts up his shoulders, "This is not an antimagic field so it should not be spellblight. I don't think it's something to think about, I apologize," he notes, then he nods a bit to the crystal. The man seems to know what he's doing, at least generally. He then takes a vial to try collecting a little ooze as well.
Serene continues to circle above. It's hard to tell from the distance, but her motions and the flight path the duo take might indicate some level of unhappiness. Or unease. Particularly once the ooze was revealed.
Seldan has been silent for some moments while the others talk, and once looks up at Serene before returning his attention to the blackness. "It is an infection ... as any within the blood, for truly are ley lines akin to the blood in a man's veins," he says finally. "It might be dislodged, were there magic sufficient poured into the ley line, or it might be drawn out ..." He pauses. "A poultice of magic, a source perhaps, or merely lancing it with magic, as one might lance a boil."
Cesran thinks for a moment, "I definitely agree that it is a byproduct of the real issue. I wouldn't want to drop anything magical in there. We could use a telekinetic sphere to try to push past the blackness. Or instead try to find a way to bring the Cyst to the surface. Perhaps a concentrated blast of magic above the main opening will draw it out." He does look around at the crystals, "Or perhaps smashing the crystals will draw it out."
"This is your province," Karelin says, "I'm not eager to be too close to a smashing crystal if I can help it."
The ley-line 'cysts' are basic horribleness that's obstructing and displacing the proper flow of mana. But it's all 'energy'.
Cryosanthia thinks really hard! She's surrounded by all these brilliant spell-casters. She rubs at the back of her left hand. It doesn't itch, it's more a nervous habit from a time when she was always around the Fey Queen and constantly reminded she was a dumb, smelly lizard.
The whitescale stares at the crystals and thinks things through. They're not magical items, her desperate go-to of grabbing and willing it to -just work- would be counter productive here. Each crystal has a certain harmonic frequency, she's certain she read that somewhere. How that helps isn't clear.
Cryo stares at them, littering the area. Searching for some hidden pattern that will give her a clue. Maybe bumping them with a cantrip is the best idea.
She calls upwards to Serene, "Is there any kind of pattern? A large circle? A bigger cluster."
Her attention drops to Seldan next, and Cesran "I guess playing them like bells isn't the answer. A magic source, that's like an artifact. Those are kind of in short supply. Or lots of spells."
She exhales again, stiffly rolling her shoulders, "maybe if we cast ourselves dry until we're down to cantrips that will pull it out."
Cesran hmms, "Well if we are going to lace it, I can use my magic carpet to fly up and then use a trio of scorching rays to try to cut through to help bring the Cyst out." He offers as way of a plan.
"Mikilos would say 'fireball' is the answer." Cryo coughs into her hand, "He's got quickened spells now, so he can cast them really fast."
"Holy Eluna prizes judgement over speed, or power." Seldan turns his head from the blackness briefly to regard Cryosanthia evenly, but she doesn't hold his attention long, and he leaves it at that.
"You're all right. Fortunately, I have the proper tool, I believe."
Griva reaches into her bag of tricks and produces what appears to be a lengthy metal rod that extends. She drives it into the ground at the baseo f one of the quartz formations.
"Now, target that with magic," she adds. "It's a rod of spell absorption, of sorts. Channeling energy into it should charge it enough that when it disgorges its power, the resulting surge of energy should displace ...whatever it is from the ley line -- but be careful. We have to hit the right threshold. Too much and we might cause a problem for ourselves having used some of our most potent abilities. It can also absorb magic from magical items -- temporarily..."
