Tahldar takes a moment and leaves Etag's side as he heads to the pool of Earthsilver.  Bending down he splashes his side briefly and lets his body absorb its healing power.

Returning to Etag he says "This is difficult, but is subject that must be broached.  When you pass, what would you have us do with your belongings?  And more specifically your spellbook.  It won't help us at the moment, but likely could in the future.  If we can get by the dragon that is and make the time to study it.  As a group our magic is relatively weak and needs buttressing.  It would help immensely."

"I would say it isn't nice to be reminded of your own imminent death" said Didit while cleansing herself from the dirt of the road "But the thought crossed my mind too. And I feel bad about it already."

Etag says, "You mustn't worry about me.  My passing will leave nothing to chance.  And you cannot read my spellbook, so it is useless to you.  It is written in code related to the Drow language and I will destroy it to prevent its powerful spells from going into the wrong hands."

OOC: Sorry for delays.  I'm traveling with work.

Kahan nods regrettably about the spellbook, knowing that the spells contained within would be extremely helpful but knowing that the elf was probably right and if destrlying the spellbook was his dying wish, he wouldn't deny him. "So what is this Telling of the Three that we need to know about? Is there anyone else in this world who knows of us and will help us?" the priest asks.

Etag leans against the wall, his leg starting to tremble.

"The Telling of the Three is an ancient fable, but like many fables, it is rooted in truth.  The 'Three' are Fate, Time, and Will.  Eons ago, the gods decided that their will is an absolute and should guide the universe.  They call their will 'Fate' because it is what must happen absent interference of the other two.  They put Fate like boat in a river called Time, for it to flow with a current and ensure Fate reaches its destination.  But to their creations they granted free will.  This is Will, and it can be rocks in the river, dams that stop the flow, or even tributaries leading to different branches of Fate.  The gods were pleased by this unpredictability."

Etag stops, face grimaced in pain, as his arm begins to spasm.  It slows, and he continues:

"Some of the gods began to gamble and create various fates to place bets on, each wanting Will and Time to push the boat of fate in their direction.  But this created wrath, dissention, and a divide among the gods.  They each became ruler of their own domains--the planes, the hells, the heavens."

He stops and coughs, blood coming out and onto his hand.

"One of the less noble gods, whose name varies depending on the person telling the tale, determined another way to make Fate go his way.  He created the Gates of Time.  Through this, the boat of Fate could be put back up the river and futures could be changed.  But it had an undesired effect.  The Fates were never meant to exist simultaneously.  Changing that boat -- what you would call The Present -- brings with it changes.  The gods forever banned the use of the Gates of Time but could not destroy them since they were created by a god.  The gods obeyed this law, but not so their creations.  The wizard Azaron Ashe, my mentor, obeyed this law, but his other pupil, Tarimar, did not.  He went through the Gates, disrupting the world at the last Marker before I could devise a way to close them more permanently.  And now you will see things in this world that were never meant to be."

Etag stops to grimace in pain before continuing.

"Knowing of this folly, and yet of their promise to allow free will, the gods devised the Reckoning, known among these gnomes and their dwarf cousins as the 'Kuvlah Tah.'  It is a function of destruction and rebirth, and we mortals are caught in its stream.  There is a force created by the gods; it is a force that can overcome all other forces and laws; it is the primary force of creation and destruction; it is the force created for the gods to put the Kuvlah Tah into effect, and it resonates through our worlds, Tienna and Allevia.  We call this force ‘magic,’ and it is meant to be in balance – what is called the Kish Gilah -- but when it is not, it is destructive.  It mars the membranes of realities and of the planes.  When you saw Tienna destroyed, it was because the rush of magic created a Kuvlah Tah so strong that it destroyed the entire world, and sucked the magic dry from this world, Allevia.  That was pure Kuvlah Tah, but what happened when Tarimar went through the Gates of Time is that it formed a warped and mutated magic upon the land.  It will kill Allevia if not stopped, much more slowly – but just as surely – as it destroyed Tienna.  But it makes the world a sick and unnatural place.”

He winces in pain and coughs violently.

“To keep the Kuvlah Tah in balance, the Five Pillars were created by the gods.  Each has two incarnations imbued in objects--artifacts.  And you carry at least two of them that I have seen.  You have heard of the Five Pillars, yes?”

He waits for an answer while wincing in pain.

OOC: Sorry for the long exposition.  I'm setting up the entire setting and future campaign here, so it's taking awhile to make sure it gets across.

Kahan reaches into his backpack and pulls out the necklace they took from Grung, along with any of the other pillars they had recovered before (I can't rightly remember them all honestly). "These are the ones we have found. Do we know the locations of the others?" he asks.

Borimer keeps glancing about as the gnome speaks, wary of encroaching danger from...probably everywhere.  "We have heard of these Pillars."

Tahldar has heard of the five pillars, but knew not what they were exactly. He sits and listens intently while Etag and the others discuss them.

Etag says, "A pillar has a foundation and supports a structure above.  So it is with the Five Pillars.  There is an object imbued with magic forming a foundation and supporting each of the Five Pillars.  The Five Pillars themselves are:

First, power over life and death.
Second, strength greater than mortal flesh.
Third, power over time and space.
Fourth, the power of cunning and wisdom of the gods.
And fifth, the power of persuasion over will.

"The artifacts were scattered and their identities lost with time, except for a few entrusted with knowledge.  The gods did not see good in having them all in one place and in one possession because the power would be too great.  If all the artifacts are brought together, they result in crushing the Gates of Time and resetting the world to its original state.  This can be good or bad, for whoever brings the artifacts together will himself become a god to rule in dominion over the two worlds for good or ill, and the artifacts will be scattered again."

Etag looks over at the objects scattered on the ground by Kahan.  He coughs violently, squints, and points.

"I see here you have the Sceptre of Shi'iki and the Dagger of Ikishi.  These are the artifacts for the First Pillar."  He points to Borimer's sword and Kahan's mace.  You also have the Godslayer and Deathbane, the two artifacts for the Second Pillar.  And you have the Eye of the World and the Eye of Tarsek, both artifacts for the Third Pillar.  And the Berillian Brooch, an artifact of the Fourth Pillar.  It appears you have only three more artifacts to collect."

He coughs, begin spasming slightly, and says, "There is one more problem.  You have come back in time with these objects.  This means that they each exist twice -- the seven in your possession and the entire ten that exist in this current time.  Therefore, there are, for example, two Godslayers in this time -- the one you possess and the one that is out there...somewhere."

His leg begins shaking, and he holds it down with one hand.  "I must be quick.  Seek out Tenvillah.  He is a gnome scholar in the village below this mountain.  Seek to get in his good favor.  He may require you to prove your worthiness of his trust, and part of that will be delivering as many gnomes here as possible safely back to their village."

He nods to the gnomes you have saved -- those who have survived, that is.

"Tenvillah also knows how to cure the Black Curse, and you will need to bring the following to him."  He pulls out a piece of parchment and hands it to you.  His hand is shaking and mottled with dark pools of blood.

"I have...little time.  Take Marty to...  Beware the man with the white hair."  His face contorts in pain.  His words appear to be nonsense now.  "Climb the Talon.  Cross the Sea of Glass.  Find the gnome brothers who speak as one.  The Xren Codex will..."  His voice fades as he winces in pain.

Then he suddenly says, "It is over."  He mumbles to himself, and his entire body, including his spellbook and his clothes, become engulfed in flame.  He runs to the edge of the cliff near the rope bridge and jumps off.  You might expect screams or yells, or even the sound of impact, but you hear nothing.

Shae watches in horror, and then understanding.  Her quiet comment after the drow is gone is:  "I had so many more questions."

Borimer relaxes his grip on the Godslayer's ivory pommel and silently watches the drow elf take his own life.  He wonders who holds the twin blade, and how hard it's going to be to kill them if they don't give it up.  "They won't," he murmurs.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:21, Tue 10 June 2014.

FYI, Etag was a drow, not a gnome.  I think you are confusing him with Junar, the gnome who was briefly your guide in the caves until he died in the bridge crossing.  Etag was the drow you rescued who had been tied to a pole on top of the building the giants had repossessed from the gnomes when they took over the settlement.

Kahan watches Etag's actions, moving out of the way as he runs past. It was regrettable that the only ally they had in this land was the first to die, but there was little that could be done to help him. "We must move. Let us get into the caves so that the giants will leave us alone before resting for the night." Kahan states as he picks up the artifacts and places them back into his haversack (aside from his mace).

oops! i edited the post so etag is a drow again :)

The gnomes have moved a little deeper into the cave and are talking amongst themselves.  There is a pool of Earthsilver inside a large alcove, and the gnomes are using it to heal and refresh themselves.

This is probably a safe place to rest (only 10% wandering monster chance --giants or something else).

Kahan follows after the gnomes, heading into the caverns to get to the earthsilver pool where he heals his wounds before setting up his makeshift bedding. "Borimer, I assume you will be taking first watch as normal? I need sleep and so do the other spellcasters." The priest states, looking around at the others to see who else could take the next shift.

"I will need rest as well,"<purple> Shae says.  <purple>"And not just for my beauty sleep," she adds with  a wink.

Tahldar watches Etag make his fiery exit and says nothing.

From the frying pan of Tienna to the flames of Allevia! he thinks sardonically.  Both in reference to Etag and whatever the dragon has in store for them.

"We have a long road ahead of us and I need my rest if we are to defeat this dragon." he says impassively as he goes to make use of the nearby healing pool.  As he heals himself he wonders what spells he might have had if Etag had not taken them with him.  He also wonders if there ever will be time to share what spells his group has as he tucks in for the night.  And lastly if his meager skills will be enough to kill the dragon or at least protect the group well enough to slip past it.

Dozing off on a bed of stone, the diminutive Elven dreams of fiery death and swinging bridges...

Let me know if your characters do anything special before or during the rest period.  I will assume your typical watch order, while letting the gnomes rest.

I will probably advance this tomorrow to get it moving forward.

Borimer wearily takes off his armor piece by piece and then drops down uncermoniously into the strange healing water.  After his wounds are gone and the aches and pains with them Borimer gets out and slowly puts his armor on again piece by piece.  "I will need no rest and can stand the watches, everyone get some sleep if you can."

"I wish I could keep you company" Said Didit to Borimer "But just as Thaldar said, I'm already at the limit" she was about to make motions to move away when she said the thing she was very insecure about asking "I cannot thank you for all that you've done for me, for us. I don't think I would have survived this long without your help, everyone's help. And that is why I need to ask, am I being a burden to you?"

Kahan will look around to see if there is ample ventilation for him to be able to burn his Incense of Meditation without attracting unwanted attention or making the others inhale the fumes while they try to rest. If it seems feasible, he will do so upon waking, wondering aloud if they would also help Shae and her druidic spells.


As Shapfren asks about being a burden, the priest chuckles a little, shaking his head as he responds, "We have journeyed with a man who had no hands or tongue who needed to be carried if we wanted to go faster than a snail's pace. You are as useful as a wizard's spell book compared to him."

Borimer adjusts another strap on his armor and nods at the priest's words.  "You are no burden, you are our companion, and a valuable one at that."  He begins oiling his longbow as though the matter were settled.

The party rests for the night without incident.  There is no sign of the giants or anything from the cave below.  The light from the rising sun outside the cave gives you some renewed vigor.

(Spells and health are all now back to max.)

Just beyond the pool of Earthsilver, the alcove turns into a cave corridor that leads steeply down and into the mountain.

Borimer settles in to watch over the others as they rest.  An hour into his vigil the warrior withdraws his small wooden pipe and lights it with only one hand, quietly exhaling with satisfaction.  It takes him a moment to realize the nearly perfect ring of smoke that appears and then slips away.  Borimer swings his head around excitedly to see if there are witnesses, but his only answer is Kahan's intermittent snores. Borimer sighs and taps out the bowl, then puts it away.  After a moment he goes back to sharpening his blade and waiting...