Taklinn walks into the practice room at the first floor of the tower and moves over to a bench and lays down his pack. He grabs his greataxe and begins going through several attack routines to limber his muscles. He then walks over to the training dummy and begins to attack it, focusing his attacks on the outstretched weapons that the dummy is holding. He swings a hard combination and sunders the shield on the dummies arm (2 swings of Ruin). He follows that by disarming the sword from the other hand (2 swing fumble). He then launches a series of hard blows to the chest of the dummy (3 20 sharps, and 3 30 sharps), collapsing the dummy in the process. He steps back to catch his breath and rest for several minutes. "Well what good is a one trick pony?" he mumbles to himself before picking up his dwarven waraxe. "Tis been too long since I've wielded the standard weapons, and with the army coming, me two handed style may hinder the line. He picks up a shield and nods as he walks over to another practice dummy. "Come on ye son of an orc!" (provoke) he yells as he starts banging into the dummy with his waraxe. He lands a few hard strikes with the waraxe, making sure that his shield technique is still proper (3 15 sharps) before once again sundering both the weapon and shield of the dummy (2 swings of ruin). Then with a smile he pivots his feet and recites an old saying from his training "Tis not only yer axe that can hurt yer enemy, and more often than not, the less seemly weapon is the most effective" while he slams his shield into the face of the dummy (Riposte daze). Walking over to the now prone dummy he hacks down on its head with two powerful strokes like he would cutting wood for the forge (2 25 sharps). Satisfied with his work, he goes about setting the dummies back into position and putting different combinations of weapons and shields on them before hacking them down in similar fashion with different practice weapons laying about the practice room. Any outside can hear unintelligible grunts and battle cries, and every now and again one can make out the words "Espidrel!" and "Glanacral!".
Taklinn looks at the mess in the hall and looks down momentarily, then lifts his gaze to the airborn fae and speaks. "Well lass a blunt axe never relieved an Uordeq of his head, and it wasn't ME that went about making deals with the devil, was it love? As fer the mess, ye can't make an omlette without some cracked eggs they say. As fer the green one, I heard him up on one of the upper floors a while ago before I came down to practice." With that he walks over to a broken sword and mumbles to the broken blade "Strength of me kin, make whole again" (Repair), and the sword is bathed in a bright light, mending the blade and fusing the hilt back to the sword. He looks in her bag and says "Oh nice love, ye brought dinner home with ye! Do ye want me to stoke the fire on the stove?".
Glimmer turns red and drifts back down to the floor. She zips past Taklinn's head and lands just behind him, grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around to face her in the process. "Listen to me ye durned' rumblin' bumblin' mess of a dwarf. If ye' so much as touch one of Grishal's frogs I'll do the same to ye as I threatened to Ras. These are important and you know why. I have been flat out laughed at once today already, and I don't need to come home to ye chucklin' and huffin' around at me. I'll have ye' a meal and it'll be good and hot all in due time. Ye' best be bittin yer' tounge afore' I bite it for you! LOVE!" At that Glimmer tries to regain her composure as elegantly as possible, and a slow tear drips down her cheek as she sighs and turns her back to Taklinn. "I need your help and your hand, not your words and your jabs. I need you to trust my decisions and understand without questions. I'm sorry if I was a fool to think you would give me that." Glimmer brushes her skirts off and heads upstairs in search of Grishal, with quiet sobs heard along the way.
Glimmer looks at Taklinn with her mouth agape and the slowly says between much quiter sobs "Can I have some tea, too? And I'm aware of your feeling toward Urodeq. I don't much care for what I'm doing either, but I owe him my life. I hate it as much as you do. But it has to be done. I'll go see about Grishal now." Glimmer kisses Taklinn on the head and squishes his face to her, then flits quickly up the spiral staircase.
Taklinn's ears get red at the mention of tea. "If ye want tea dear, I will make it, but I am not sure about how much yer to be liking it." he says slowly and deliberately. As she walks away, he slams his waraxe into the nearest dummy, hitting it so hard that the handle snaps apart. With a great sigh he shouts "Sandstone!" and leaves it in the dummy. He continues to clean up, and minutes later when he has swept and the mess is cleaned up, he goes and retrieves his repaired waraxe and replaces it on his belt. "Who ever said that some trees ain't useful?" he says as he marvels at his new aquisition. He goes and puts a pot of water on the fire and leaves to retrieve their dinner. Upon coming back with the food, he notices the water has started boiling over, and he drops the plates of food as he rushes to retrieve the hot pot. When he grabs the hot metal, it burns his hand and he drops the scalding water onto the floor, just barely dodging the burning liquid. "Son of an orc! Sandstone! Glimmmmmmerrrr!, ye can make yer own durned tea, I am going to get our food!" he screams as he notices the meals on the floor. Wrappin his hand, he once again sets out to the tavern to retrieve dinner.
A large thump, then a crash can be heard from the top of the tower as Grishal throws himself into a small wooden door at the end of the hall. A small wooden plank lays splintered at the base of the door from where the goblin attempted to break the handle off in order to gain entry. Exhausted from his efforts, he sits down next to the door panting, "Grishal open.... Grishal open...."
Glimmer reaches the top of the stairs and sees Grishal sitting in the pile of wooden splinters and saying "Grishal open" apparently to the door. "Grishal? What are you doing? Is the door locked? We'll have to find a way to open it. Let me get Taklinn. Oh my dear dear dearie dear. Are you hurt? Here. Play with your frogs till I can get Taklinn." Glimmer hands the bag of frogs to Grishal and instructs him to play frogs until she can return.
Grishal looks up at Glimmer as she hands him the large noisy bag. His face lights up as he opens the bag and several frogs hop out of it. "Ribbit! Ribbit!," Grishal croaks excitedly.
In his excitement, Grishal forgets all about the door and dives straight at the bag laying on the floor trying to dump out all of the frogs at once. "Crooooaaaaaaak!" he screams excitedly as he bounces around with the frogs, not caring about where and how he lands, squishing several of them in the process. "Froggies! Grishal like froggies!," he says as he leaps up again excitedly jumping up and wrapping his arms and legs around Glimmer giving her a giant hug then diving head first back into the bag coming back out with a frog between his teeth.
"Mmmmm.... Froggies!"
Glimmer looks surprised as she sees Grishal leaping up to her. She hugs him back and says "Have fun Grishal!" She then begins bouncing around and saying "Ribbit Ribbit! Ribbit Ribbit!" Once Grishal is distracted again, she turns to Taklinn and says "We can't get the door open. He wants to use this room as his office, but it's locked and I don't have any keys. Can you break it down?
"Aye lass, I think I can give it a try." Taklinn says as he sets the food trays down and walks over to the side of the hall opposite the door. With feet pumping, as if he is winding up a spring, he begins running in place. With a quick snap of his muscles, he launches towards the door, stepping on frogs as he leaps into the door with his shoulder leading. He slips on frog guts and falls headfirst into the door. He bounces back and falls to his back, with no noticable damage done to the door. A loud squish accompanies his fall when he lands, as more frogs are crushed beneath his weight. "Sandstone!" he cries as he slams both fists to the ground out to his sides, squishing yet another frog in the process.
Grishal bounces around wildly, even more excited that Miss Shiney Manners and Boss Takki-sakks are happy to play froggies with him too. He's so excited about Taklinn playing with him that he mimicks his actions. Grishal starts hopping up and down in place to get a good bit of a head start and then bends back and the hips, leaning forward to put his shoulder into the door. The frog still in his mouth he lunges at the wooden door crashing fiercely against the wood, knocking himself unconscious in the process. His body slumps to the ground in a heap at the base of the door with half a frog falling out of his mouth and a smile.
Taklinn watches as Grishal brains himself on the door. He attempts to get up and slips a few times on frog entrails, but seems to not mind as he is laughing loudly. "Bwahahaha! That may be the funniest thing I ever seen the green one do!". Once he regains his feet and his composure, he looks down at Grishal's still unconcious form and says to Glimmer "Check an' make sure the dolt didn't snap his fool neck lass". He then pulls out his greataxe and steadies himself for his strike. He then begins hacking at the door with abandon and his axe glows a bright blue as it send what looks and sound to be lightning jolts into the door. (30 shock 3 times., followed by 5 20 shocks).
Glimmer lifts off the ground, barely avoiding the frogs, and flits to Grishal. She bends down to him, holding a frog in his face and squishing it a little. She says "Grishal?! Grishal?! Froggies froggies froggies. Boogity boogity frog frog frog!" She stays there to await his awakening.
The two of them that are still able to percieve reality hear a small chuckle come out of the shadows in the hallway and Rasiri steps out. "Niiiice job Sir Taklinn, arrrre you okay? And i theenk we should help the little green fellow... or do the job now since he is very cleeeearly incapacitated, Und i theenk someone with a lighter touch should try that doooor." Rasiri walks over to the door and trys to pick the lock. [Sabatoge]
The lock snaps open and the splintered remains of the small wooden door give way to a medium sized room lined with shelves full of popular arcane tomes and small reading tables. A single candle dimly lights the room as a magical flame dances on the wick showing no signs of burning out any time soon. In the center of the room sits a lone ornately carved pedastal holding a large blue book bound in silver runes. An old cot sits in the far corner of the room with Astrum's cloak balled up on one end apparently serving as a makeshift pillow.
Glimmer asks everyone if she can have a moment to herself in the office of her long gone friends. She sees the book on the podium as she enters and says "Ahh. The book. We meet again." She can be seen looking the book up and down, and she looks under the podium and around the room. She then walks to the doorway and asks everyone to stand aside and take some cover behind the stone walls. She says "TAKKI! The book is in here. You all stand back as I'm not sure what's about to happen. Takki, I'm going to try to grab it and run for Thalenir. I want it out of here in case it explodes and destroys something. Even if it's me!" Glimmer flits up to the podium, arms stretched out wide, and then backs up. She says "OH Wings of the Fae calm yourself Glimmer!" She then flits back to the podium and grabs the book.
Taklinn eyes Rasiri's handiwork with a look of trepidation. "Well we will see how well yer soft touch works when Douglas' Army shows up." he says with distaste. He steps back to allow Glimmer to enter the room. "Mages" he harrumphs as he regards the book, "Strange lot if ever I seen any." He then stands quietly as he waits for Glimmer to attempt to retrieve the book. Upon her failure to retrieve the book, he says "Well I'm fer thinkin that one that is better suited to this magic mess should probably be called in to inspect it, afore we break somethin' and bring this durned tower down atop our fool heads. Maybe we should bring Thalenir to the book rather than the other way around. And Rasiri, I may have need of yer sneaking ways to get us into any other locked doors of this damned place, if ye have a mind fer it. Don't go openin' nothin' now, as I will want to "Accompany" ye as ye go about it. I have no wish of things to go missing because ye went about someone elses home unescorted and unchecked. Not that I am sayin' that ye would do something so bad, but more so just ta "keep ye honest" if ye will. So what say ye, should we get Thalenir?"
Glimmer frustratedly tries one last time to unstick the book from the podium. After a final failed attempt, she looks to Taklinn and say "I concur. We must find Thalenir and have him come in." She then looks to Rasiri and says "You'd be best to mind yourself when sneakin upon friends. Would you please go get Thalenir while I sit with Grishal?"
Taklinn picks up another sword and again repairs it with his magic. "It ain't that I don't trust yer decisions lass, its just that I would like to know afore ye decide to jump in the stoked forge and singe both our arses. I aint sayin ye made the wrong choice, but I don't like bein' in bed with demons." He rushes to catch her in the hall and turns her about. "Ye see, me kind ain't the type to just make quick decisions, especially when it involves these seedy types. Let me tell ye a story that is taught to each dwarf from the time they start hearin stories from the elders until they finally come of age.
A dwarf was using a raft to cross a fast moving river laden with goods set to go to market, when he came upon an Uordeq flailing helplessly in the river, close to drowning. “Help me Dwarf, I am near to drowning” the Uordeq stated. “How do I know I can trust that you will not betray me and throw me in the river myself” the Dwarf replied. “I know not how to navigate the waters, nor do I have the strength to pull on the oars. I would be left to the mercy of the current on the raft alone.” Satisfied with the reply, the Dwarf quickly hauled in the Uordeq and covered him up to take away the chill and make him more comfortable. The dwarf then turned back to his work, as he knew that there was a large waterfall coming up soon. After a few moments he felt a foot kick him in the rump and sent him over the side of the raft and into the water. “Why would you do this ye durned fool, we will both likely perish from the ride down the falls!” he lamented as he feverishly tried to catch up to the raft. “What did you expect, I am an Uordeq and it is in my nature….” The Uordeq replied as they both went over the precipice of the falls to fall into oblivion.
So ye see, it ain't in me Nature to trust one that ought not be trusted, but I'm fer standin' byye no matter what. I am here fer ye, but I like being a party to whats goin' on. Chalk it up to a cultural difference I s'pose, as I know its in yer nature to make decisions as yer heart guides ye. But it is all just ore in a cart to us now, and we will get through this together." In an uncharacteristic moment of tenderness the dwarf reaches up and wipes a tear from the faerie's cheek and says "Now ye go and find the Green one, and I will clean up me own mess, and then I will go to the tavern and get us both a meal." He then turns and goes in to clean up the floor and reassemble the dummies in the practice room, pausing every couple of minutes to repair another ruined weapon or shield.
The front door of the tower creaks open and Taklinn enters followed closely by Thalenir. He pauses for a moment to look about the place, with a passing thought that the only time he was ever here, he was fending off golems. "Strange that I should feel disquieted in a wizard's tower," he mutters to himself.
He turns to Taklinn, says, "I trust you know your way around better than I," and follows the dwarf up the stairs. When they reach the upper hallway, his eyes grow wide at the sight of the frog massacre. He opens his mouth, as if he's about to inquire about it, then sees Grishal lying sprawled out on the floor. "Ah," he says as understanding dawns on him. "That explains that, then."
Thalenir enters Astrum's quarters behind Taklinn and his eyes immediately fix upon the book on the pedestal. Without glancing at anyone, he asks, "So that's it, then?" He hesitates to proceed closer to it.
Glimmer stands in the middle of the room and looks up to Thalenir half in frustration and half in relief. "Yes siree. That's it. The durned' ol' thing won't let go of the podium. And I don't want any crazy bunny foo foo's bringing my tower down on my while I sleep. Nor do I care to BE a crazy bunny foo foo. Any suggestions you have are more than welcome. I was here when this book was retrieved, but I don't know much more about Dalgoon's history other than that. And my spoon pendant."
Thalenir furrows his brow, clearly concerned. "If you want my honest opinion, this room ought to be sealed up and forgotten, along with the book and any of Dalgoon's other trinkets." With that thought, he reaches into his pouch and retrieves a small lock. He looks down at it and back toward the pedestal with a puzzled expression.
"Much as I hate to fiddle with such things, though, I'd rather see it removed from Jastrey or, better yet, destroyed than left hidden to plague us in the future." He steps toward the pedestal, searching for a place where the lock might fit. "I'll do what I can to detach it. I would urge everyone to step out of the tower. Strange and dangerous things happen when Dalgoon is involved, and I can only teleport myself to safety if something catastrophic should occur."
As Thalenir approaches the book, the small tarnished lock begins to glow a faint white, and a murmoring involuntarially escapes Thalenir's lips, "Light of truth, cast away the shadows."
Soft, radiant light envelopes the room casting away the darkness and deceit. As the light fades, the pillar cracks as if its been under an immense weight for a very long period of time and a depression begins to form on the center of the book to match that of the lock.
"Well that's the first smart thing I heared yet!" Taklinn says in response to Thalenir's statements. "It seems ta me that naught but trouble seems to follow anything that has to do with that hare. Come along now Glimmer, ye said we should get Thalenir to provide us wisdom with this matter, and he has spoken wisely. If somethin' bad happens, I'd much rather be outside the tower as I would be inside it." Taklinn grabs Glimmer's arm and they walk down the stair to wait outside the tower. On the stairs, Taklinn sends a parting message to Thalenir "We'll be right outside within earshot, If'n yer needin' us just give a shout master mage." With that he picks up Grishal like a sack of potatoes and heads down the stairs. At the bottom, he wraps the goblin in a large blanket off of a cot so he cannot be seen. Taklinn then walks out the tower with his cargo over his shoulder and waits with bent ear for a call or news from Thalenir.
Rasiri's eyes widen slightly at the magical light and he starts muttering curses under his breath as he darts past Glimmer and Taklinn out of the tower. "As muuuuch as i reespecct magic when it es used i cannot stand it," He mutters to himself as he takes several steps away from the tower and watches it for signs of Thalenir's death.
Thalenir waits patiently for to hear that the others are safely outside of the tower before incanting several protective spells. "Blades bend from my flesh on armor unseen." (Guard 20) "May all be revealed before my gaze." (Perceive)
He stands before the book and pauses. "Just a poor fool you delved too deeply into mysteries we wizards were never meant to know. You and I are alike in that, Dalgoon. The only difference is that my father paid the price in my place, else I'd be lost and fragmented the same as you. I understand too well, even death would be a welcome respite from that torment. You have my sympathy. Perhaps…," he holds the lock over the depression in the book, feeling the magic resonating between them, "Perhaps there's a way to set you free. If ever it is within my power to give you release, I promise you, I shall." With that he presses the lock into the book and is engulfed in a blinding light.
The light subsides, and Thalenir stands alone in the room as the tower begins to shake. Small silver chains snake outward from the silver lock and wrap themselves around the book and the pedastal sealing it tightly shut. Books begin to fall off nearby shelves and the leather binding groans as it gives slightly under the tension of the wrapping.
A pericing howl of anguish that could only be rivaled only by a chorus of defeated skuthropazown echoes from the heart of the tower and outwards through Jastrey. The air stills for a moment, and is echoed by the ringing of a single ship's bell from deep in the verge.
Thalenir loses his footing for a moment as the tower shakes, catching himself unsteadily on a nearby reading desk. He reaches for the book and tries to pull it from the pedestal, heaving it with all his strength (Strength 1). Try as he might, though, the book refuses to budge.
"Well, that was counterproductive," he mutters, shaking his hand from the effort. He jumps as the howl echoes through the tower. "And I'd say that's my cue to leave. The Shady Corner calls me home!" He incants loudly, making sure his voice carries out the window to those standing below, and disappears in a flash of blue light.
(This thread is continued in, "Thalenir Appears in the Tavern")
Glimmer enters the tower and yells 'Grishal! Grishal I'm back. I have them!" Upon further inspection, she hears what sounds to be Taklinn swearing and swinging his axe at fae knows what. She flits quickly down the hall to find him and says "TAKLINN FORGESPLITTER! Quit yer' mess makin'. I donna' be havin' time to clean up after the likes of ye'. Weren't ye supposed to be sitting with Grishal. Where is he?" Glimmer eyeballs a pile of broken fighting tummy mess and begins cleaning up the mess, swearing and briefly flying up off the ground.