Drex enters the tower, with a slight eagerness. He looks at everything in the room. "Well isn't this interesting, I have always wondered how a wizard tower looked on the inside."

As Uthnonin spoke to Enkii, Drex listens to him and moves to the side of the room. Drex looks again to Uthnonin, the strange feeling is still present. Drex up his memories of long nights of study in the abbey. Trying to recall anything on this matter.

Religion check: 25

It was certainly a spectacle befitting of some grandiose wizard, and the size of that door seemed to imply to the serpent of being more than his expectations for the presumably human magic caster...and he had to stifle his amusement to see that smaller door affixed for its master's proper use. The hard part was getting inwards, no small feat seeing as the Musadi weren't your conventional members to the serpentine race with all that extra they tended to possess; but some kinship between Jubei and he was poised to at least commune some kind of physical synchronization needed to compress themselves within these predictably uncomfortable quarters. Nobody to complain though, Enkii forsook most other further movements and simply wrapped his tail around himself, using some of his coils like a makeshift "seat" to relax upon while the wizard introduced himself...

Contrary to his previous reaction though, the anger seemed to have dispersed by the time the group actually answered this invitation in person, leaving only some slight mistrust towards Uthnonin, but not so much that his curiosities weren't in order. It felt awkward not introducing himself formally though, but no sense in wasting time; so leaning forwards to further examine the ornate object, Enkii almost instantly took a recognition towards the craftsmanship and nodded softly, his expression warming, "What is to us that a tumbler is to you humans, sort of a...lock and key, you might say; we use them to keep our locks in check, but rather than using an actual key, it works based off of more abstract concepts. Thoughts, smells, a particular word said a certain way, or a specific way to touch the lock itself; because of that, it's practically impossible for someone to crack it without knowing what the keeper does."

He folded his mighty arms with a thoughtful hum, posing no accusatory tone in his voice, "I'd never expect to see one on land though, where ever did you come across it?"

    “Ah!” the wizard said, looking to the artefact in his hand with new eyes.  “That explains a great deal really.” this last part seems to have been directed more at himself.  Before he turned his gaze back to the mighty Enkii and spoke.
  “About three years ago I noticed this little curiosity at the annual market during the festival of lights.  The merchant who sold it to me tried to claim many mysterious and mystical things about it.  But one thing struck my interest.  That it had been made by your kind aeon’s ago.” the man gestured about the room.  “As you can see I am a collector of curiosities things beyond the means of simple divination.  It is my hobby you could say.” he tossed the shell-like object into the air and caught it again.  “I think I shall take it to the embassy then, and see if it may be of some use to your conclave.” and with a turn of his wrist the object was gone.


  “I will show you what I know about these dreams, follow me unto the elevator to the first floor.” Uthnonin said as he walked over to the doors behind the dragon statue.  Which opened and flattened against the walls to reveal a smaller, circular room about 10 feet across with a raised floor spanning it.  The roof to this chamber was near the top of the tower.  With the doors to each of the towers levels visible from the bottom.  The wizard motioned for Drex, Phelan and Lambent to climb aboard the elevator with him.  “The doors will open again once the elevator is ready to receive you, just get on it and it will bring you to the floor just overhead.” He said as the doors closed and the three adventurers ascended in a few moments to the first floor.

  Beyond these matching wooden doorway was a room that could best be described as a study.  There were a few tables pressed against the walls, book cases and a fireplace at the opposite said of the room to the entrance.
  Uthnonin motioned for the three adventurers to step in then followed them as the doors closed just behind him and descended.  A few minutes later Enkii and Jubei followed.
  Leading them all into the centre of the study Uthnonin welcomed each of them to sit on the chairs suited for only half of his visitors.  The room was a little more spacious then the chamber below, mostly because it lacked the large draconic statue and only held furnishings at its edges.  Uthnonin sat behind the main desk of the room which sat before the fireplace.

  “I believe you know that these dreams are cyclical.  Occurring once every few thousand years for only a few nights.  Presently the dreams are not going away and no one seems to know why.  I only have about two good guesses as to why this is so.  Although I am not certain.  Your company however, presents an opportunity to find out.  Though the journey would be perilous.” the wizard finished.

"This is interesting, a clone..." Drex thought to himself.

Now aware that this person is a clone Drex will keep himself ready just in case things turn hostile.

After entering that looks like a study, Drex takes up a position close to Uthnonin. As the rest of his group settle in, he notes his surroundings to see any possible places where ambushes could hide. "Just in case" Drex think to himself.

Taking note of what Uthnonin has to say, Drex replays. "Wait just a moment... Do we know this for sure. And another question: Have non Gifted also start having these Dreams?"



Perception Check to find hiding assailants: 27

Jubei meanwhile seemed to have phased out a little upon reading what the scripture on the dragon statue held. But when he noticed that the others were moving again, he shook his head to clear it of the distracting thoughts he had. He had missed what had been said for the most part, but as they entered the upper chamber he rumbled lowly he caught on that it was probably nothing of immediate import. For now he decided to be silent and listen to what was being said.

    The wizard arcs his right eyebrow as he turns to look at Drex and gives the wry smile “And what has changed Drasden?  Are you expecting I would have gone through all this trouble of gathering a well-armed party of adventurers within my home only to have you slaughtered?  What possible purpose could that serve?” the wizard cast his eyes down for a moment and his features softened a bit.
  “Yes, I am a clone.” the wizard suddenly declared as he returned his gaze to the assembled adventurers.  “One of many.” he said with a sigh.

  “Most of us live here in this tower.  Others are abroad.  We are all telepathically linked.  We are joined to a single mind.  That mind is the ‘original’ Uthnonin who lies a few dozen feet below us in a crystalline vat filled with chemicals.  How do you think I would have survived for the last 300 years?” the wizard paused to let this sink in.
  “I am telling you this; I reveal my most valuable secret to you because I would like for you to trust me.  Not try to peel away at phantasmal layers of hidden agendas that you may perceive in my actions.  I had grown tired of politics even before the Old Kingdom fell.  It is why I live outside of Galdion and why I make myself so scarce overall.”
  “However I cannot sit idly by while an event of cosmic significance stews us all within it!” Uthnonin had an angry gleam to his eye while he spoke.

"I see" Drex said now knowing the reason for the clone he feels a lot more at ease. This is reflected in the relaxed posture he adopts.

"My apologies for thinking ill of you, but one can never be to careful. But back to the subject at hand. Do we know that the Dreams are recurring? And have non Gifted also start having these Dreams? If so..."
Drex looks at Phelan as he said this. Then asks Phelan to recall the verse from that old song he mentioned, while they were waiting for the carriage to bring them to Sorom.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:40, Thu 19 Dec 2013.

This answer seems to satisfy Enkii; although he still found himself just a tad bit put off by the wizard's eccentric mannerisms, most of the mistrust had at least by no dispersed in favor of sheer curiosity...and an honest answer at that was one he could appreciate. This unusual revelation seemed to further muster Enkii's trust, for what else could this speech stand to earn of him, moreover, what could he give to merit a proper repayment. Sensing no such further motive beyond the task seemingly destined to be shared between them, the Musadi relinquished the perpetual furrow in his brow and paid close mind to Uthnonin's further words, finding no mania to be had...yet at least.

He was content however to allow the others to do the talking...

"Oh right... Um let me see..." Phelan hesitated briefly, looking up as he recalled the words he had recited to Drex earlier. "It went something like this...

When everyone has the same dream
There is a choosing and a great deciding
We all hold it in shackles of sleep
As aeons pass and we forget
Then sleeper stir and we regret
Thus all are brought to account again

Not all that pleasant a verse." He looked respectfully at the wizard. "The verse was from about... Two thousand years before the Narayah slept."

  Uthnonin’s brow was furrowed as he listened to Phelan’s words.  There was a pause after the narayah had spoken within which the man seemed in deep contemplation.  Then as quickly as it had fallen over him he focused on the adventurers again.
  “I have never heard of this verse.  It is ominous to say the least.  And yes I have noticed that this current phenomenon, unlike previous occurrence lacks one central element.  Only beings with limited psychic ability are having them rather than everyone.” the wizard leaned forward upon his desk, folding his arms and resting his hands against his chin.
  “Though from what I understand in those earlier eras the world lacked two, possibly three anomalies capable of drastically affecting the dreamscape of the entire world.  And all three of those anomalies are located here in the Crystal Isles.” he said as he looked over the adventurers from left to right.

  “The first being the magical tempest that lies at the approximate centre of the Crystal Sea.  There have been countless attempts to harness the power of that storm.  None have been successful.  Though I am not certain how it might be affecting these dreams.” the man sighed “Although I do not believe an expedition to the storm will yield any significant results.”
  “Thus the second item, I believe, is the blighted land of Appirga, the capitol of the old kingdom.  That land is a place within which the nature of the world as it is commonly known has been discarded and a perverse order dominates there.  Along with the combined horror and suffering of the tortured souls trapped there since the end of the old war.” Uthnonin was about to speak but stopped himself.  Closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
  “Finally, the third one.” he opened his eyes “I cannot name this place directly as it is dangerous to do so.  Though there are those foolish enough to do so without realizing the attention they draw.”
  “If you follow the coastline west of here, north, you will come along to a bay, similar to Galdion bay.  It is shrouded in mist that no heat from the sun can burn away nor wind of the mightiest storm can disperse.  Within that fog lays a city the isleborn have abandoned and mostly forgotten about.  Some would say that it is cursed.  I have heard it argued that it is a wound in the world while others say it is another world touching ours.  Regardless of what it really is I know for a fact that it can reach out across the span of the entire world and drag those that it wants into itself and never let them go.” Uthnonin sat back into his chair.
  “Of all the things in the world that I believe might be interfering with these dreams I would wager it is that city.  I believe the Warden there might be able to provide more information if you are willing to venture near such a terrible place.” the wizard seemed to be scrutinizing the adventurers very carefully.  And as they spoke he sat forward on his leather lined chair and opened a drawer in his desk taking out a long pipe made of bone.  Fed it some pipe-weed, lit it and began puffing away.

"It seems that this investigation has gone a lot further than our original intention," Lambent says plainly to his companions. "If you recall, our original mission, as it were, was to discover more information about these dreams and I believe we have succeeded much better than the Guild could have expected us to."

He bow to the wizard apologetically.

"Please understand, as interesting as this phenomenon is, we are not at liberty to investigate it much further, I believe, than what we already have. If you can give us what information you have then we can take it back to the guild," He regards his companions calmly. "If the guild decides to take the matter further then I am sure they will contact us again, but we are now leaving the bounds of what 10 gold pieces can cover."

Listening tentatively to the words forming in his head, Drex turns to see Lambent clearly.

"Lambent's logic is sound, our original mission was to discover more information about these dreams. And if the guild decides to take it further then they will..."

Turning back to Uthnonin, Drex makes a bow with his head in respect. "Unfortunately if you wish this investigation to go further, you'll have to make use of the official channels. I'm sure your use to this. Not that I mind bending or braking the rules if something needs to be accomplished as long as I don't commit one of The Sins of the Panteon."

"Besides, I now remember that the Guild already has a task that we need to preform, later today."

Drex thinks for a moment, then speaks again. "Well, we could..." Drex stops in mid sentence. "No."

Drex looks at the rest of his companions. "What do you think." He asks the rest of the group.

The big dragonblood listened while the others spoke and then at the end gave an agreeing nod. "Yes, we have taken it as far as we can, given the compensation we were offered. I must admit that there is a certain thrill to pursuing this even further. But as it stands we are not properly prepared to do those journeys. And of course the Gravewatch still requires our presence as well.", Jubei said and let out a rumble as he crossed his arms before his chest. Having spoken his mind for now.

"Hmmm..." mused the Musadi, a sort of smile on his face as he listened to the general consensus of his companions, regretful as they might have each seemed, he nonetheless offered the wizard as friendly a look as he could and bowed his head, "I must apologize earlier for my demeanor as well, sir, I am unused to telekinetic contact...but you have provided us a great boon in this investigation and with further allowance by the Guild, it shall not go to waste, not with actual leads in mind."

Phelan hesitated, then shook his head ruefully. "They're right unfortunately. Personally I'd love to investigate the matter but... Without permission I can't go further." He looked somewhat regretful, then shook his head. "Maybe they'll assign us to look further into it. We'll have to see. Either way, thank you so much for your time and information."

    Uthnonin took the pipe out of his mouth as he said “Good.  Both your loyalty and caution demonstrate that you would be well suited for the task.  Even though you are not yet able for it.” he took a breath from his pipe, blew out the oddly pale yellow smoke and said “I will take up the matter with your Adventurer’s Guild.”
  There was a pause as the wizard seemed to be thinking something over.  “If your travels ever take you near the town of Kyssea, look for the Conduit.  It is a circle of ten white stones which lies at the summit of a rugged, lone hill just west of the town.  From what I have read it is capable of transporting one from one place to another and back again.  It may allow you to enter the world of dreams and access this strange Village.” he took another breath through his pipe and blew out smoke as he said “That is if whatever magic governs that device will allow it.”

  The wizard’s eyes focused again as he looked the group over and held his pipe aside.  “Even though you are not going to engage in this task you have provided me with information I lacked and also gave me an avenue by which I might have this matter pursued.  For that you have my gratitude.” Uthnonin puffed at his pipe.  “And if you wish to leave now I will accompany you to your guild hall so that I might arrange for a contract with your guild on this matter.”

Jubei looked to his companions who apparently had no immediate desire to leave, then back to the wizard. "Well, I have a question before we go. That dragon statue you have downstairs. Where did you find it? It seems to be part of a larger piece, or at least the story written upon it is, and I would like to learn more about if that is possible.", the quadruped rumbled lowly as he regarded the wizard with an expectant look.

    Uthnonin grinned as he puffed on his pipe “I have had that piece for the better part of 50 years now.  It is a replica though.  Which had been made during the middle ages of the Old Kingdom.  The original, I believe, is within the museum of history in Appirga.  Before that it was taken from the weyr at the summit of the Mountain of Kings on Solon.  That weyr was converted into one of the Grand Necropolises about a thousand years ago.”

  “Though I think you are more interested in Conflict’s End, eh?” the wizard smiled conspiratorially at Jubei.  “There have been many throughout the ages that have sought it out.  Only it seems that the dragons may have taken the secret of what exactly it was with them.”

  “The dragon’s weyrs here in the Crystal Isles are either ruins or were looted long ago and have become the homes of barbarians, bandits and others.” Uthnonin finished with his pipe and put it down within a small bowel specially reserved for that purpose near the furthest centre of his desk.

  “Although a few years ago some dragon kin sought me out to examine the statue I have.  They had come all the way from the Clanholds.  Of course they did not trust me enough to tell me what exactly they were after, though that did not stop me finding out.” the wizard’s gaze left the adventurers as he looked out one of the northern window for a moment then turned back to the adventuers.

  “They had a map of all the weyrs on Ursang, and were comparing records here in the isles to discover which ones had been, hopefully, left untouched.  I know that they believed that there was one high up in the western range of the Red Mountains that would have been isolated enough to have been spared from looters.  They may have gone there but I have not heard from them since.” he finished rather ominously.

Weyr: The primary, communal dwells of the star dragons.  Weyrs were extensive caverns with easy access to the sky. Though they would usually be very difficult to access without the ability of flight.  Most Weyers were made within or from natural cave systems. Within steep mountains or valleys.

If you wish you can leave the wizard’s tower at any time or you could continue to ask him questions before your leave.  As a side note I shall from now on be more abundantly clear about adventure threads.

Optional Adventure -- Discover the fate of the dragon kin expedition to the lost weyrs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:30, Tue 24 Dec 2013.

The grey-white Deseeky, shifts as the conversation comes to an end. "Uthnonin, you said that you will accompany us to the Guild?" Drex starts to make his way to the lift.

It seems that Drex is ready to leave the wizards tower.

Jubei nodded as he listened to what the wizard had to say and seemed to make a small note in his journal that he had flipped out at some point. "Thank you, Uthonin. I will pursue this as time and... willingness of my companions allows it.", he said with something that was probably close enough to a smile for a Kaetyma. But aside from that he didn't seem to have any other questions and was ready to leave as well.

    Uthnonin put a few items away within his desk.  Thereafter he donned a dark blue cloak and joined the adventurers in the meadow outside his tower.  As the group returned to the guild hall in the old waterfront district they noticed that traffic along the roads had grown considerably less which helped to speed them along on their journey.
  The sky overhead had become completely overcast while they had been inside the wizard’s tower giving the appearance of early nightfall to the area.  The occasional boom of thunder threatened overhead and before long the low clouds began to shed their rain down upon the land.
  The rain was not large or thick droplets but instead as close as rain could come to a spray.  A wet mist which descended to the earth, and made everything thoroughly damp to wet.  The sea breeze only helped to spread the chill in the air and from the rain only down into ones bones.

  As the party arrived at the guild hall, they found one of the guardsmen – the same man who they had seen on their arrival – standing with a thick, brown, woollen cloak and hood over his head looking like a wooden statue for his stillness.  Only his breath gave him away as being very much flesh and blood.  He nodded at the adventurers with his eyes but raised a quizzical eyebrow at the drenched wizard in their company.
  Despite being half-sodden Uthnonin seemed to be quite happy, and was grinning like an idiot as he nodded to the guardsmen and walked inside the dark, slightly warm guildhall.
  “This is not at all what I had expected!” the wizard remarked and was a little surprised a moment later by the echo of his voice come back rather loudly.
  “Now then, is there someplace warm in here that we, or at the very least I can sit down and dry off?” Uthnonin asked giving the adventures something of a pleading look as he took of his wet, linen cloak.

Merry Xmas everyone! :D

"There is a fire place in the dining-hall that should no doubt be going right now. I'd gladly accompany you there.", Jubei said with a somewhat sniffeling tone in his voice and he shook himself to get some of the rainwater still sticking to his body off faster. Given from where he hailed it was probably no surprise that he didn't take that well to this kind of cold and wet weather. "Although I think we should first report to the taskmaster.. whereever he may be right now.", he continued and the tone of his voice didn't sound that excited.

Phelan began squeezing water out of his sodden tail, his drooping fur giving him a rather sad look. "Maybe he'll be in the dining hall keeping warm? IF not, perhaps someone there can tell us where he may be."

Of all the folks in this particular troupe, Enkii seemed to be the only one amongst them who actually brightened in spirits with the considerably dreary turn in the weather; and slithered along at the back of the group as if to make the most of enjoying it. To enter the guild hall though, he returned to his particular gruffness, if only neglecting to shake out his scales as they took on a healthy gleam. He mused internally upon how he hadn't quite yet grown used to dry land in all his time spent slithering above sea level since "retirement".

"I'd think he'd have some sort of private office, wouldn't he?"

Growing up in the Isles, Drex seems to be not to bothered by the rain. Taking of his hood of his clock which seems to have kept him dry. He looks at the others and says, " Jubei, seeing as you had offered will you please escort Uthnonin to the meadhall, we will go to Akkorrin's office, you can meet us there. I got a strange feeling in my hipbone that he is waiting for us."

Drex now looks to Uthnonin. "We will inform Akkorrin, the Guild taskmaster that you are here to see him. I'm sure he will be eager to speak with you when we tell him all that we have learned about the Dreams."

Drex formally bids the lion-like wizard-man a good day. "See you now-now Jubei." Drex saunters off in the direction of Akkorrin's office.