Kareth's eyes were immediately drawn to the elementals and studied them for a moment as he dog paddled towards shallower water.  As the Lasuri appeared by his side, Kareth slilently coughted and then glared at the captain.  With his black hair matted down and his cloak soaked, he looked very unhappy but not increadably menacing.  "It's not as though I wanted to go swimming," he grumbled.  Kareth was obviously not happy to be here.  He did however, turn his attention towards addressing the captain's questions, "They're Earth Elementals.  That much is certain.  Probably servants of Rakatau.  They likely rank far below him in the local Elemental Court.  They don't appear hostile and we are supposed to have permission to take some items from that hored."  Kareth's doubt as to the status of their welcome is in his voice but he had already voiced his oppinion to the captain.  How they proceeded was up to him.

[Private to GM: Yesterday: Isole Kareth rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,8,1,2,9,2. Int + Occult.  I don't know if this gives me anything else on the elementals or even if it's important.]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:36, Fri 08 May 2009.

Standing from up, Kiana stopped her petting of the island (because, lets be honest, that was essentially what the Earth Elementalist was doing) and offered a deep bow to the servants of Rakatau.  Her education on the Crimson Isle had deemed several different languages important to study, and Old Realm had in fact been one of them.  Imagine her surprise to hear the old language spoken within the stone passageways of this great beast, though!

"They want to take us to the Heart-Chamber."  She said to Zeru, apparently oblivious if he in fact knew old realm or not--but given that he was outside of his element right now, she thought it was best to assume he didn't.  He didn't seem the type to take offense at such liberties, and if she was mistaken, she would be quick to apologize.

"Thank you very much for your kindness."  She said to the servants, her Old-Realm a bit rusty from neglect on her part, but the words began flooding back quickly.  "We would be ever eager to accept your offer, but I'm afraid three of our numbers have vanished beneath these waters..."  She considered that they have, in fact, drowned, but she quickly shook the thought from her mind.  Tageru was more than capable of swimming to great extents, and the Captain was a water aspect, so the odds of him drowning were very, very slim.  Kareth might well be in danger, but with the other two chasing after him, the odds would have certainly been in his favor.  That left only one real conclusion as to why they hadn't returned, did it?

"...are there channels beneath these waves, noble sentinels of Rakatau?  And if so, where do they lead?  We want desperately to help the Great Isle, but are loathe to leave without knowing the fate of our own."

Then she turned and quickly told Zeru what it was she had just said, in case he was left completely in the dark.  The look on her face was slightly inquisitive, though, asking through facial expression alone if he understood what was happening, or if he was as lost as Kiana thought.  She knew he must have a dynamic array of skills to be a captain, but assuming what those skills were, lingual or otherwise, would be foolish on her part.

In the large cavern:

The elemental that first spoke bares its rather sharp looking rusty teeth at Kiana in a grimace, which looks vaguely threatening until she realizes it is pleased to understand her. "You are very welcome, princess of the Earth," it returns in Old Realm. Both bow stiffly but respectfully in the human way.

At Kiana's worried inquiry, the earth creatures pause to consider, frozen in place in their respective positions on the rowboat, their obsidian eyes staring into the distance. The second elemental speaks after a time, once their consciousness has returned to their materialized form. "Your three comrades have emerged safely in one of the collection caverns. We will have our brothers guide them toward the same direction we take you."

Both elementals once again gesture to the rowboat. Now that Kiana's light shines clearly upon the small vessel, both she and Zeru can see glittering items strewn along the inside of the boat: handfuls of small, minor artifacts (Artifact 1-2, mostly jewelry-like and hand-held items) and uncut gemstones (worth Resources 2-4 each), discarded so carelessly there that one gets the impression there must be even greater riches and items of power ahead. There is still more than enough space remaining for two passengers to be ferried across the interior lake.

In the adjacent cavern:

Two of the humanoid, vaguely lizard-like earth elementals suddenly pause in their artifact gathering, and once again focus their attention on Lasuri, Kareth and Tageru. This time, they beckon to the trio of Dragon-blooded, one of the pair addressing them in Old Realm rather than Seatongue. "If you are lost, we will bring you heart-ward. The Earth Princess is concerned about you."

They stop and wait, clearly expecting some form of response or acknowledgment. [Private to Cynis Tageru; Isole Kareth; Lasuri Leomaris: If none of you know Old Realm I'm willing to let you roll Int+Linguistics diff 3 to understand the gist of what they're saying, since it's only a couple short sentences.]

[Private to Isole Kareth: I'd already counted your lore roll, unless that's a new one. 2 successes was enough to let you know it's some form of earth elemental and deduce that it is likely a low level servant of Rakatau. If you want another shot to figure out more I'm willing to let you make a second Int+Lore roll at -1 external penalty, since you did have occult training in Lookshy.]

"These are Jokun, the honor guards of the behemoth Rakatau. They want us to go with them", the monk says, "but where exactly, I am not sure. They mention the heart, so I guess that's where they'll be taking us. They also mention some Earth-Princess, and it would appear she knows we're here." Tageru adds, and starts swimming slowly to the "shore". "No point in staying in the water, whatever happens, we should get out and see where we are and what we can do about it."

(All of this is assuming Kiana Translates)

"Let's go find them then." Zeru says anxiously, "These guys have been nothing if not cordial, and they say they're gonna bring the captain and the others there, so I don't see a problem with it."

Kareth glares at the monk and then speaks in Sea Tongue.  "Yes getting out of the water would be ideal."  As he gets up and makes ready to follow the elemental, he asks a question to their escorts, "The Earth Princess to which you refer, is she the one who entered with us?"  While he was speaking, Kareth continued to study the elementals.  He was wary of deception by the behemoth, either intentional or caused by the demonic artifact corrupting it.

[Private to GM:
Today: Isole Kareth rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,10,6,2,9. Int + Occult. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Sun 10 May 2009.

Lasuri pauses and relaxes his stance, watching in amazement as the creatures not only do not display any hostile intentions, but end up communicating with them as well. "Well look at that, Rakatau's got a whole community of helpers living inside him. That's pretty convenient, I have to say. Sorry I seemed hostile for a bit there, mates - just wasn't sure what I had to expect what with your master's talk of demon artifacts and all that." He lowers his head apologetically, then looks in puzzlement as the elementals speak of the 'Earth Princess'.

"I wonder if they mean Miss Kiana - they're right, we shouldn't stay split up too long in there. Before we go though - remember that Rakatau gave us a limited right to get some Artifacts from his vaults? See anything you want in here, before we move out? I don't have much of an eye as to what these things do myself, so it'll have to rely on your counsel."

Kareth looked back at the Captain.  "There's a lot of artifacts there, Captain.  Some are as mundane as Armor.  Others have a wide variety of powers.  It would, perhaps be easier if you told me what it is that you desired and I might see if I can find any devices which fit that description."

In the large cavern:

Once Kiana and Zeru climb aboard, the two elementals proceed to row them across to the other side of the interior lake with slow, strong, coordinated strokes. Both of them sing a rowing rhythm in baritone as they go along, their voices harmonizing skillfully. The lyrics are in Old Realm, a rousing praise of the steady, unceasing rhythm of Rakatau's ancient heart. Their voices fill the vastness of the cavern, the acoustics amplifying their voices larger than life, and the behemoth is further pleased.

Kiana serves as a living Essence torch, keeping back the darkness and illuminating the approaching shore. She and Zeru can see that the earth from that point on is not all moist and soft. Rock formations give texture and hardness to the surface, here and then encrusted with living crystal that reacts to proximity of Earth essence, giving off a soft ivory glow. Three large tunnels extend out from the far end of the cavern, and the thrum of the behemoth's heartbeats are ever stronger; one can start to hear a rushing sound between the heartbeats, which rather than sounding liquid, sound very much like sand through a hourglass or grains of earth poured through a sieve. [Private to Kiana White-Fist; Peleps Zeru: Hope you don't mind me moving you across already. You do still have a chance to examine the minor artifacts and gemstones strewn inside the rowboat if you want.]

In the adjacent cavern:

"Yes, she and the Chosen of Danaa'd with her, they both came with you," the elemental being addressed by Kareth replies, still speaking Old Realm. Fortunately it appears all three of the Dragon-blooded in the collection cavern are proficient enough in that language to carry a conversation. "The Earth Princess has shown the Great One kindness. Both will be brought heart-ward across the water and you may meet them there if you come with us."

They do not hurry, though; earth elementals are rarely inclined to hurry. They simply wait for the Terrestrials to be done or sifting through the artifacts if they choose to, and decide how to proceed. Lasuri, Kareth and Tageru start to hear the distant sound of baritone singing, resonating from the direction of the larger cavern they were flushed from, and the pair of jokun start to hum along.

[Private to Isole Kareth: It's pretty much as Tageru said, the earth elementals are jokun. They're usually employed as elemental bodyguards, and hold to a certain ethic of honor. They converge near valuable luminous lichen (which is likely what you're seeing around you) and sing in sonorous bass voices. If you have Book of Sorcery IV, you would *not* know of any of their special attacks or powers, such as their ability to disintegrate to escape, their poison bite or their gaze that bestows heat resistance.]

Though Kiana was certainly curious of the artifacts in the rowboat, she was unusually chaste when it came to the use of such things.  Part of her Father's method of the Earth Dragon style was the abandoning of the giant club, so that there was no real need for anything other than the martial artist, and their desire to protect, or in some cases, destroy.  So while she certainly enjoyed their beauty (especially in the light of her aura) they gained little more than simple admiration for their beauty, as opposed to interest in their function.

She listened to the song, and enjoyed how it sounded reverberating off of the deep caverns and canyons of the great Earth Spirit.  It was so surreal--one moment she was surrounded by nothing but water, possibly one of the most opposite of elements to her own...and now she was surrounded by one of the largest representations of Earth in the celestial court, if only in sheer size.  And while others might be uncomfortable with the thought that they were enclose in this giant stone beast, who was in turn surrounded by leagues of water, Kiana found it strangely comforting.  Here, she felt like she was among friends, even if the honor guard of Rakatau looked a little malicious at first glance.

Leaning over the side of the boat, Kiana almost gasped as she saw herself in the wavering lines of the reflective surface.  She had never seen herself with her aura burning so brightly (understandably so, as mirror tended to shatter when such power was invoked) and was taken aback by the beauty of the dust-like diamond sheen that flowed around her.  That, too, and her hair was now just covering the nape of her neck...her gift to Rakatau.  And the giant had showed, and to be true to her word, Kiana vowed to never grow it out again.  She didn't lament the sacrifice, and instead chose to favor it.  Her hair was a small price to pay for stopping the Lintha...and besides, long hair was a trait most commonly found in the Realm, and to that same point, in the Crimson Isles.  She was a different person now, and each day proved this realization more and more.  Action after action, choice after choice, she was following a path that had already found her several allies in the Cobalt Alliance...and with luck, that same path would lead her to the strength she would need to defeat her mother, and take up the mantle of her father.

These thoughts and more were the simple result of her mirror image in the waters, and to break the trance she found herself dipping her first finger in the surprisingly cold waters, causing a single ripple behind the boat as they went.  The rocks beneath glowed more intently with the sudden invasion of her golden-white digit, sending brilliant shadows along the darkest bottom of the rocks below.

"The song is very beautiful, and your voices favor it well.  This is a very spiritual place."  She said.  It sounded almost like a question, but the low murmur of her voice almost sounded more like a statement.

Zeru was still anxious but the treasures that surrounded him were more than enough to take his mind off his fears. He had been raised a Pirate and as such the thought of treasure brought a smile to his face, just as it had to the Marlena. True to his word he examines the jewels looking for any of particularly dark beauty, he wishes to find a match for the beauty of his lady, the guardian of his home.

His fingers unconsciously brush the feather in his breast pocket and he takes it out to examine it once more, this time in the glowing light of Kiana's anima. The song rings around him and for the first time since he entered the mouth of this giant beast he feels at ease.

"Hmm. Well, I have to admit I don't feel particularly greedy, Mister Kareth. Besides, we're limited to five items plus the chalice itself, so I'd rather you people pick what you want, and then I'll pick up something when that's done with, if there's any spaces left." With that, Lasuri nods, looking over to Kareth and Tageru.

"So pick what you might immediately want, and then we should try to follow our friendly hosts to where Miss Kiana and Mister Zeru are. I'd rather we don't stay separated too long in here... We never know what we might find out, and not knowing where your teammates are in that kind of situation can make it pretty messy."

The Captain nods, then peers at the stone creatures. "It'll be just a moment."

Kareth browses the artifacts in the hored.  It was truly an impressive collection for one being to have at its disposal.  However, something caught his eye and it kept going back to it.  A length of rope roughly 2 feet long which was made from strands of all six colors of jade.  "Well since we're dealing with a demon artifact and we don't have a sorcerer among us, it's better to error on the side of caution.  This might be useful," Kareth says out loud.  "This WILL be useful," he thinks to himself

"You're right, you know. Never know when you're going to need rope. Saved my hide more than once, I can say that much." Lasuri nods in approval, but then stops himself, his brow furrowing as he finally seems to catch something in what Kareth said.

"... Wait. That's not just rope, is it?" He says, leaning over to check out the rope more carefully. "Well, in that case, I'll trust your judgment, if you say this might be useful to have around." He says, his comment much more cautious now his overenthusiastic answer failed to cover his complete lack of knowledge regarding the items piled up in the room.

Across the shore:

The elementals merely bow their heads humbly at Kiana's comment, unwilling to break the rhythm of the song just yet. Echoes of their strident voices come from all around, resonating from distant rooms, where their brothers raise their voices to join in the sonorous paean.

There is something inherently ceremonial about the lake crossing, for the heart sanctum is itself deeply sacred to the jokun. It is a source of power, of warmth, of comfort, a rallying point at which they feel united with one another, intimately close to their source element. They are inviting the Cobalt Alliance into their sanctum, and at the very same time, the chamber where Rakatau is most vulnerable. There is no greater sign of trust the behemoth could possibly offer the Terrestrial Exalted that will be its champions against the demon taint.

By the time the rowboat reaches the opposite shore, Kiana and Zeru have a strong appreciation of just how vast Rakatau really is -- and they've not even traveled a fifth of its length. Before disembarking, Zeru has a chance to examine the gems scattered at the bottom of the boat. The one that most catches his eye is over half the size of his fist, and of a deep crimson color like that of fresh blood, yet with the eye-catching luster of a ruby. He does remember that Marlena had requested something red this time.

The collection room:

When Kareth snatches up the multicolored cord, the pair of jokun watch him raptly until it appears the Fire Aspect has decided on taking it. Seeing that no one else wishes any of the artifacts in that particular room, they start to nudge Lasuri, Kareth and Tageru toward the next one.

A short tunnel that ramps upward leads to a still larger, and fortunately dry room. It appears to be a cavern dug purposefully above the water level to keep the artifacts in a dry place. The pile at the center of this room is even more impressive than the ones scattered on the banks of the body of water further throat-ward. Collected in particular in this area are artifacts that are mainly weapons, armor, bracers and boots, most of jade, but some even consisting of materials only the Anathema could use effectively: a moonsilver grimscythe, a full suit of orichalcum reinforced plate. Others appear to lack a specific magical material, but include advanced components built with High First Age technology that could hardly be reproduced today, such as the shield bracers from a sentinel defense force armor.

There are several more jokun in this area, doting over piles of jade daiklaves, grimcleavers, skycutters, razor claws and so on. They appear quite fond of the weapon artifacts, especially the swords, which they polish and sharpen over and over and over with obsessive glee as they continue to hum along to the sound of the distant baritone song.

Three tunnels lead out from this room, one going back to the damp room Kareth got flushed into, another sloping downward in a diagonal direction, and yet another sloping upward straight ahead. Again the elementals wait, in case the Dragon-blooded might be interested in any of the treasures here. (Artifact 1-3 weapons/armor, including magitech items).

As they walk to the adjacent chamber, Kareth explains his selection to the Captain who knows nothing about it, "It's called a Sorcery-Capturing Cord.  If I use it I should be able to capture and store up to 3 spells in it as long as I was part of the original target.  If one has the ability to cast spells of the correct cicle, then one may release the captured spells as though they cast them.  Since we don't have a sorcerer among our number, this might be an effective substitue for countermagic if this alleged artifact or cancer has the ability to create such an effect."

"Oh, I see now. I think I've heard miss Thornbloom talk about these things before, now that you mention it that way. That would sure come in handy, so that's a good selection." He nods, not necessarily understanding how exactly the cord works, but more than capable of grasping the theory behind it. Being able to capture the enemy's weapon when they use it against you is a powerful ability, and Lasuri can only appreciate such a use all the more now that Kareth has explained its function.

When prompted, the Captain follows the Jokun into the new room, and lets out a short, appreciative whistle when he peers around. "Dragons, have a look at that. It seems that our lord Rakatau has swallowed a ton of objects of power over time - I'm sure some of this gear is ancient, even. I wonder if he's done it on purpose, too? Earth elementals have an appreciation for crafting, right? He might not like people misusing these things if he catches sight of it."

Lasuri nods once more, then tilts his head to one side. "Anything you might want in here, Mister Tageru? If now, we should go meet up with the others soon. Looking at all these things might be tempting, but we're still in a potentially dangerous position as long as we haven't spotted the artifact and we're still separated."

Zeru examines the blood colored Ruby with interest. He looks up at Kiana, "Can you tell them that this is my choice from what Rakatau has offered us." He gives a small smile, but waits for his message to be relayed, he would not want to be accused of stealing while still inside the behemoth.

She gave Zeru a small smile and nodded.  She had not expected him to pick a gem as his choice of the horde Rakatau carried within him...but then again, Kiana didn't know so much about Zeru, did she?  He was a curious person thus far.  He was a Captain, and yet he didn't like being called such.  He seemed to be young to have such a position as well, especially consider how powerful his ship was.  That much told her that he was formidable, though in what way she wasn't sure.

"Your liege, Rakatau, has promised us a pick of five artifacts within his sacred depths.  My companion, Captain Peleps Zeru of the Marlena, has chosen this ruby as his gift."  She was sure that they knew this, as they knew to expect them, so Rakatau would no doubt inform them of the crew's pure intentions, and their reward for their previous offerings.

"No, Captain", Tageru answers "I haven't found anything here that I would take. Weapons don't interest me as much as some other things would. I am already a skilled warrior, and a true warrior's power comes not from his weapons, but from his skills and his heart." the monk adds and smiles as he looks at the weapons stash on the shore. "Let us go! We should reunite with our teammates as soon as possible!"

"Well for those of us who fancy ourselves scholars, our power definately comes from our weapons," Kareth says dryly as he waits for their guides to lead them onwards.  "If you don't mind me asking, Master Tageru, if it's not weapons and armor that would please you, what is it that you desire?"

"Something that would help me do something I'm not already very good at." Tageru adds with a smile. "Something that would help me be more useful in a more diverse set of situations. Besides, I already have a good armor, and my bow serves me just well. There is no need for me to make such a choice for the one artifact I can take, when there could be something much more useful later. Something that would help me heal people, or breathe and move under water, or fly or maybe even... there are millions of choices, and each one better for me and our group than simply a pair of bracers or a new bow."

He looks at the engineer and speaks "And, believe me, Kareth, your weapons may help you channel your power, but it comes from you and your Exaltation and your willpower, not those pieces of Jade, no matter how skillfully crafted and shaped. They are useful, yes, but without a true warrior to wield them, they are nothing. You may be a scholar not as trained in the arts of war as some others, but your power comes from within you, not from some weapon, even if you're not aware of it yet."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:35, Thu 14 May 2009.

"I see," Kareth responds and then thinks for a moment.  "Well if it's healing you wish for then we can surely find a set of Wound Mending Needles.  I could  benifit from a good half hour of their use.  As for breathing underwater, we could probably find a gill cloak.  I've heard tales of the ancient Dragon King vegitative technology which allowed them to breath underwater, but I don't know if we will be able to find that.  If you hadn't rule out armor, then I would suggest finding exalted grade Tiger Shark Aromor to breath and move underwater."

Zeru is allowed to take his ruby without any further comment from the rusty-toothed, iron-tailed jokun. It seems they are already aware of Rakatau's orders, though they thank Kiana for her graciousness.

"Our honored guests may take three more items from the hoard," they politely inform Kiana in Old Realm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:54, Thu 14 May 2009.

The two separated groups moved on, each accompanied by a pair of servant elementals. Kiana and Zeru are brought through the center tunnel leading heart-ward, while Lasuri, Kareth and Tageru are brought down the left diagonal path, sloping down from the collection chamber for weapons and armor. As they walk, the hard-packed earth gradually solidifies into hard, crystal-encrusted rock, then to pure, white, smooth crystal planes. The translucent stone radiates its own inner aura, giving off a warm, uniform light to see by.

Finally, the two groups' respective paths converge, opening up abruptly into the crystalline heart-chamber. It is shaped something like a crescent or a boomerang, with the convex toward Kiana and Zeru's left, and the Captain and the others entering from a downward sloping corridor toward their right. Emerging from their tunnel, Lasuri, Kareth and Tageru see Kiana almost immediately, blazing with Earth Essence that intensifies the living stone's natural glow, as it vibrates with a pleasant low-pitched harmonic.

There are no artifacts collected here. Instead, the Terrestrials' eyes are drawn toward the huge, egg-shaped protrusion of living crystal embedded into the wall, its height stretching at least three stories high. The heart -- for surely it can be nothing else -- expands and contracts powerfully, sinking into the depression in the wall until it gradually expands once more, repeating the process with vigorous regularity. This close to the source, the heartbeat is so dense, so heavy that the air itself seems to pulse with the pressure. Each surge is a muted explosion, followed by the sibilant hiss of sifting sand, seeping gradually back in like the ebb of a tide.

The jokun hang back, allowing the Cobalt Alliance members to reunite as they bow formally to the massive crystal heart. There are several more of their kind occupying the room, including a group gathered in a tight knot near the tunnel leading stomach-ward. They rumble in nervous excitement, trading words about whatever it is that lays between them at their feet.