Tolben studies the warding enchantment the fallen Primordial carried, and finds it to be quite clever. It appears it drains the energy of force-based magic away, essentially dumping it into the Astral plane to reduce its effects. It's a different mode of protection than an elemental ward, but it follows many of the same principles, and he thinks he can design a spell which will duplicate its effects without heavily taxing his resources.

Tolben's testing is exhaustive. He shines lights into the dead eyes, scrapes dozens of materials against the Primordial's skin and bones to test for hardness, burns and freezes and dissolves samples, and subjects some to every school of magic. At times, such exclamations as "Hmm...", "What, really?" and "Ouch!" can be heard. He even brings up some of his more interesting findings to Valdr, as his need to show off is stronger than the desire to keep secrets from a rival.

His notes this time are far longer and more rigorous than before, since he is devoting more time to the task. Some of the material is so revolutionary that if he were ever to publish a formal writeup, his reputation as a research wizard would forevermore exceed his reputation for combat magic - at least in certain circles. Sadly, such a manifesto would likely take years (and many new findings) to compile fully.

The crown jewel of his discoveries is the reverse-engineering of the Primordial's wards. Privately he might admit it to be sloppy and inefficient, but nonetheless his new spell is a rare achievement. To deflect magic into the Astral Plane... what other uses might there be for this technique?

Having worked all day, night, and day again, Tolben finally succumbs to fatigue. With an envious thought about a certain lich, he retires to his demiplane to get some sleep.

As a new day dawns, Tolben lingers in bed. It isn't until noon in his demiplane that he finally manages to rise and prepare his spells once more.

The insights of the last two days are fresh in his mind, but nonetheless he turns himself to different tasks.

Taking up a world map, and then a globe, he marks the locations of the attacks so far. There must be some pattern to them - just as there is to the timing. The pattern has so far eluded him, despite every calculation, but he has new ideas to put to the test.

He draws on the strange powers he learned from the creatures, and for an instant he knows nothing - and everything. As infinite knowledge drains from his overwhelmed mind, he manages to hold on to one tiny piece of information.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Action:
Flash of Omniscience (Archmage path ability), functions as Divination with some modifications. The chance of success is 93% (70% base + 21% CL + 2% tier). The roll is made secretly, so I won't do it myself - but I'm supposed to know if it fails (presumably, the information Tolben manages to hold on to is useless).

---

"Quantium. Of course, I understand now. I must remember to tell the others."

Of a dozen pressing issues, Tolben decides to address the matter of the gas giants. He invokes the powerful dweomer, Discern Location, to find the mount of the gas denizen who he observed before; if they haven't already gone home, he will visit them.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Sat 08 Feb 2020.

Tolben immediately discerns the location of the great spacefaring beast he saw before. It is in low orbit over...Quantium. Exactly over Quantium.

"Quantium again... Looks like a productive lead."

Tolben spends a minute preparing another spell, before casting Plane Shift.

Arriving back in Golarion, he spends ten minutes sending a Sending to Shovash - possibly the most invested in success at the next fight.


Sending to Shovash:
"Next attack Quantium. Going orbit to meet gas gianter, found same thing. Take care in Cenotaph. Please bring back spellbooks. Good luck."


Shielding himself from the airless Void, Tolben invokes a powerful teleport. He brings himself to low orbit over Quantium, to meet the spacefaring beast and, presumably, its master.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Thu 13 Feb 2020.

Tolben rips himself through space, and finds the oma exactly where his spell indicated it would be. The whale-like creature is drifting in orbit over Quantium, placid and unmoving  as the world turns beneath it. It watches Tolben for a moment, then opens its mouth and disgorges...something.

The gas gianter is eight feet tall, thin and bony, wearing violet robes that match the color of its oversized eyes. It tilts its head to the side, looking at him, and then a voice speaks in his mind, crisp and clear. It's not emotional and organic like Shovash's, more like the precise, logical diction of Cass's magic.

Greetings, as one void-walker to another.

Tolben projects his words past the void where his mind should be, relying on the gas gianter's apparent telepathy.

I greet you in turn. I apologise for my preoccupation when last we met. What interests you in this small world? The Primordials, perhaps?

The alien doesn't move, but a sort of affirmation comes to Tolben, an awareness of accuracy. The Primordials are a topic of great interest to us. They are beings of power that could threaten our world. Additionally, the weapon that your associate has now deployed twice is a serious threat to us. We analyze threats. We respond to threats. We eliminate threats.

There's no hint of threat to it, which in a way makes it even more intimidating. A simple statement of fact, distant, dispassionate.

Tolben emits the slightest hint of worry, and curiosity.

Twice, now? That is concerning.

Tolben pauses for a mere instant to gather his thoughts.

Some issues are best resolved through force, some through dialogue, and some... can be allowed to resolve themselves. I had assumed that my friend's actions fell into the third category. It seems I was in error.

He brings forth ambiguity, inviting a response.

Interesting. We are glad that you are open to dialogue. We do not lightly engage in conflict with our fellows. The violet eyes blink slowly closed, then open again. How do you propose to resolve the issue now that your associate has demonstrated their willingness to deploy this weapon again, and against animate forces?

Tolben takes a moment to ponder the problem before responding.

I will first respond by conversing with her. Point out that her reckless and destructive approach is counterproductive. I will suggest a retreat into isolation, introspection. If she will not make a firm commitment to cease... I will enlist the assistance of other friends, or... take unilateral action to contain the threat.

Tolben's mental voice is flat and dispassionate, his feelings buried behind magic and a problem-solving mindset; however, any observer familiar with human mannerisms could easily see the turmoil within.

We see. We are satisfied with this. We will remain to observe the situation's developments. The figure makes an odd twisting gesture with one limb, and floats away, towards the oma.

As the entity turns away, Tolben abandons words to convey a final question.

A concept: Primordials. A location: The world below, centred on Nex. A concept: Knowledge, place, time. A query: How? Why?

Oh, yes. The Primordials' manifestation warps local spacetime in ways that are fairly easy to detect with the right divination. The effect permeates your planet's vicinity, but it is strongest in the proximate four-dimensional locus in which they manifest. Once we detect the warping, a simple cross-analysis with high value strategic targets localizes the arrival point. The thoughts carry a complex series of thoughtforms with them: formulae describing a curvature in the fabric of spacetime on a grand scale, increasing exponentially with time until there's...a rupture? A break? A collapse? Something of all three. The progression curves and descriptors all line up right with the previous attack patterns.

Tolben is fairly sure that he could design a divination spell that works off of this model and which has sufficient range that with a little triangulation, he could work out the location of the next attack without the use of his greater vision - which he now realizes localized this attack by detecting that same spacetime warping.

Ah, clever. Thank you, and farewell.

Tolben barely remembers his manners, as the fresh mathematics lead to a cluster of new ideas. Digesting these, and cross-referencing with the previous two days' research, will take time he's not sure he has.

He watches the world below as he ponders his next move.

Tolben comes to a decision. A word of restraint to Cassie is long overdue. He invokes a spell, and soon finds himself on her doorstep.

"Now, how to approach this? Directly, I suppose," he mutters to himself.

He knocks on her door, and awaits either her invisible servant, or the woman herself.

An unseen servant answers the door in Cass's grand manor, opening it to reveal empty air. It's not empty for long, as the girl herself appears in a moment, hurrying up to Tolben and offering him her hand. She's a little pale, her eyes a little sunken, but she has a bright smile on her face. It seems she is, if not precisely "well" (assuming she ever really is), at least in good spirits.

"Hello! Come in, oh goodness, it's good to see you again. Would you like something to drink? Some food?" she gushes.

Tolben sighs heavily, offering only a half-hearted smile.

"Hello Cass. I, I could really use a drink. But under the circumstances, I suppose it has to be water."

He gives her hand a firm shake, as reassuring as he can manage - though as he does, he cannot help but think: Pull with just the right force, put a foot right there, her weight distribution would put her throat right in line for him to catch and silence for just long enough... it is not a pleasant thought.

Still, he cannot deny to himself that he just might end up having to fight her - and if he can't convince the others of it, a physical surprise attack might be better than facing her spell to spell.

Cass quickly ushers Tolben into a sitting room. A few moments later, an invisible servant arrives, bearing a jug of ice water and a tray of fruit. Cass takes a glass of water and a peach, biting into the latter. Juice runs down her face.

"It's so nice to see you. But you seem...out of sorts. Is something wrong?" She frowns, takes another bite of the peach.

"You could say that."

Tolben takes the time to choose his words very carefully.

"I am told that, once again, you have used a world-breaker. Is that correct?"

Cassie looks slightly uncomfortable. "Well, not exactly," she hedges. "This one wasn't old enough to actually shatter things. It just...made a big explosion. Just outside Bhati. I had to, there was an army and..."

She trails off, shifting uncomfortably.

Tolben pales.

"What? Here in Golarion? You - "

With a visible effort, he restrains himself to a more moderate tone.

"This is worse than I thought. Look, I understand that many problems look like suitable nails. But every time you swing this hammer, no matter how lightly... people notice. People with the will and the power to destroy not only you, but this entire world - perhaps even the entire Material Plane - to make sure it can't be used against them."

Tolben looks intently at a pebble in his hands, which soon blazes with light as he calms his mind with the simplest exercise of magic - a cantrip.

"If you're willing to use such a weapon against animate beings here on Golarion, that makes you look even more unstable - even more of a threat to be eliminated."

"I understand," Cassie says. "I, I won't do it again." Her tone is slightly sullen, but she doesn't seem to be being dishonest.

Tolben lets out a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear. We have enough problems without otherworldly interference. I think - "

There is a long silence as he chooses his next words.

"We all needed a chance to rest, after everything that's happened. A chance to process it. And none of us really got that chance, did we?"

"No, we didn't," Cass says softly. Her fingers weave through delicate motions, a cat's cradle without string. "It's a lot to manage, being the one overseeing the world. We don't know how you do it."

Tolben clears his throat.

"Er, yes, well. None of us have to carry a heavier burden than the one you bear, courtesy of Rovagug and his cult."

He pauses to let that sink in.

"I'm worried about you. The more weight you pile on, the closer you come to the breaking point. It's hard - really hard - to look at old problems long enough to cast them aside, but you need to do it before you can take on more. Mind healers may not be an option for any of us, but some time alone, some introspection can help."

"I miss the old Cassie, and I think you do too. It's time to reclaim what you can of the person you were before - before the end."

Cassie flinches at this. "I, I'll try. I can't just, just, go back. But I can try. Maybe I'll be able to get some...balance. Yes. That would be good." She smiles at Tolben. It looks very wan.

Tolben's smile is a bit more confident than Cassie's - although that isn't saying much.

"Yes, balance is a good thing. At the risk of mixing metaphors, you can't get rid of the scars, but you can at least stop the bleeding."

After a brief silence, Tolben rises to his feet.

"I suppose I should be going. Well, have a good holiday, get some healing done and come back to us when you feel ready. We should have some breathing room, now that Valdr has taken an interest - though my tongue should turn black for saying it."

He offers her a quick hug, and walks out the door before teleporting away.

Cass watches Tolben leave with a wan smile, and stands, and closes the door. Her eyes are haunted, hollowed it seems, and she is so very pale.

As Tolben makes his way back to his demiplane and library, he racks his prodigious brain. To be at the forefront of magical knowledge, one must read a great deal of published literature.

"Hmm... What have I read from Nex recently? Small Made Large is crystalline, has a connection to the place..."

He arrives within the circular demiplane, its walls lined with bookshelves. Nuts and berries grow from the wood, ensuring a snack is always at hand, and light pours through windows which open only onto nothingness.

He runs his hand down the spine of book after book, authors' names running through his mind with only the loosest connection to each tome.

Finally he comes to one particular journal. Flipping through the pages, dozens of diagrams depict various glassblowing techniques - for this book has nothing to do with magic at all. Still, he seems to derive something from the exercise. Something for the next morning, perhaps.

Dawn sees Tolben at the entrance hall of the Bandeshar in Quantium. Downright unearthly silks billow about him, and his accoutrements display obvious wealth - but the wealth of an adventuring wizard, not that of an aristocrat. His manners bear that impression out.

"You there!"

Tolben addresses the closest authority figure.

"I demand to see the Council immediately!"

"Of course, Wizard Tolben. The Council of Three is present already, do you wish to see the Nine as well?" The doorman bows as he speaks, and opens the door, ushering Tolben inside. The two proceed through half-lit, finely decorated corridors to a small chamber where the Three are sitting, discussing the state of the world.

They look up as you walk in, and nod respectfully. Oblosk, the pech, is the one who speaks, his voice soft and thoughtful. "Hello, Tolben, a pleasure. What brings you to us today, hmm?"

Tolben is almost taken aback at things proceeding so smoothly. He recovers swiftly, and responds to Oblosk with a barely noticeable pause.

"The Primordials. The next attack will target this city."

He stops there, giving the Three some time to absorb that message and respond.

"Fascinating. I would ask how you know this, but you are a noted diviner - your information is undoubtedly sound." Oblosk sips his tea as the other two react much more visibly - shock, fear, and confusion. "We have very limited time to prepare for either fight or flight. Do you have a proposition as to which we should be considering?"

"Both, I would expect."

Tolben takes a moment to clarify, largely ignoring the two discombobulated Councillors.

"Most of the populace can contribute nothing to any defense. Best if they're out of harm's way. Nonetheless, a defense must be made. A true exodus is unviable. And of course, 'Small Made Large' is unlikely to simply go away if left unopposed."

"We'll move people into what shelters we can, then, and work to prepare for the storm," Oblosk says, nodding along. "The preparation will have to start as soon as possible. Agrellus, your Arclords will likely be useful in the defense, so you should coordinate and prepare them for battle. Iranez, your skills are likely to be more useful in evacuation and coordinating the populace, I should think. For myself, I will coordinate with Wizard Tolben."

The other two Councilors nod as well, clearly calmed by the pech's steady presence. It's easy to see why he has been a leader of the nation since Nex's time - his response to the crisis is calm, efficient, and composed, and he has a way of making others feel the same.

Tolben nods, suppressing a sigh at taking on yet more time-consuming responsibilities.

"That sounds sensible. One more thing - Small Made Large is crystalline. We may be able to exploit that connection, with the right plan."

"Excellent. There are some tricks that can be played with crystals - as one might imagine it is something of an area of expertise for me." Oblosk smiles a little. The meeting is adjourned shortly thereafter.