Thalenir appears in the center of the Shady Corner in a flash of azure light and a puff of smoke. He winces visibly and flexes his right arm, then takes a seat and conjures himself a cup of tea from the kitchen.
To any who observe the otherwise normal event, Thalenir's right arm, as well as the right side of his neck and face, are covered in runes.
Thalenir rubs his temple at the sudden onslaught of fairy reasoning. He answers her questions succinctly. "Hello, Glimmer. Yes, the stone caused Scorch's mark to reappear and spread. No, I'm not a dragon, nor will these turn me into one. Regardless, I belong to Haven. If you want to keep me, you'll have to take it up with her."
Knowing better than to refuse a fairy's hospitality, he tentatively takes a single cookie and nibbles it. "I've paid a steep price, but my efforts have born fruit." He smiles. "The dragon stone isn't what we think it is, and anyone who tries to activate it again should be in for a nasty surprise."
Akon walked in to the tavern, walking to the bar and eyeing Thalinir, observing the runes and ears picking up on the tones of his voice as she slides into a barstool nearby, leaning her back against the wall and pulling out of own wine flask. She pours herself a goblet of wine from her side, letting her wine flask fall back to her hip as she took a rather long sip of the thick red liquid.
"Boy oh boy Thalenir. I appreciate what you tried to do. I'm sorry this happened because of it. Is there anything we can do? I sure wish you were going to be a dragon now, but that's ok. Haven can keeps you. I like her and I have Taklinn. Sooooooo do we need to call on the rest of the New Dawn and have a talkie talkie chit chat?" Glimmer closes her eyes and squishes up her nose, turning her head away as she places a hand on Thalenir's left shoulder, saying "Let the light of the Dawn warm you" (HEAL 4). She opens one eye and peers at her ring bearing hand to ensure it is still, in fact, intact and rune-less.
Thalenir holds his arm up and regards the runes with distaste. "That will have to wait for another day, I'm afraid. I've replaced a new problem with an old one. One thing at a time."
He shakes his head. "No, I think this issue goes beyond the New Dawn now. We'll need more people involved to resolve the situation. There's the small matter of a dragonling infestation to take care of. Once that's out of the way, we can get to work trying to cleanse Scorch's corruption."
Thalenir looks around. "Let's wait for a few more to arrive and I'll go over the details. No doubt there are some eavesdropping from the shadows. They always seem to appear mysteriously when someone has something important to say." He smirks.
"Yes. Yes I can see that they do. Dragonlings you say? Think I can catch one? Just a little itty bitty one? I can raise him right and feed him treasures. Now don't say no just yet. There has to be a way....." Glimmer trails off in thought and waits for others to join them so she can hear the rest of the happenings.
Thalenir's eyes grow wide as he speaks of cleansing Scorch's corruption. His runes begin to glow with a red light. Waves of heat and wisps of steam emanate from them, accompanied by a quiet sizzling. Thalenir cries out in pain, clutching at his face and collapsing from his stool.
After a few moments, the magic of the runes subsides and Thalenir regains his composure. He looks down at his hand with a scowl. "Interesting, but it'll take more than that to keep me silent, dragon," he whispers.
"Oh... That doesn't look goood. Is you okay Mr Empyrean wizard guy?" Kollista stopped in her tracks, having skipped into the tavern, when Thalenir cries out in pain. She eyes the runes on him warily and moves cautiously forward to stand by Glimmer. Any thoughts of the tea she had come for had temporarily fled from her mind. She was sure those runes hadn't been there when he showed her how to get to town through his portal. Or had they? She wasn't sure, but either way it looked bad when they smoked and turned red...
Taklinn moves seats over to view his wizard friend's new runes. Taking a long pull from his drink, he then says "The last time I went to pull me guard shift, I saw the infestation meself. Seems that our plan may have gone a bit awry me friend. What in Githal's hairy bum did ye do to gain those new runes lad?" As the runes flare to life, Taklinn puts a hand on his axe, suspicious of the unknown magic now coming from his friends runes. "Seems we may be needin' a new plan of action fer what to do with that damned stone. Has it started regrowing the crystals yet like when we found it?"
Riddles stumbles up to the group and screams "Where are the fizzbangs!" and then takes a look at Thalenir's arm and goes "Oh, that is some very ferocious ink you have there good sir. Kudos to you. I got a butterfly once, hurt worse than getting your finger caught in a peeler."
He takes a look at Taklinn's unease, and realizes he misjudged the entire scenario.
"So, anyone mind given a real explanation of the problem, from the beginning?" he says with a big yawn, tired from having traveled for so long.
Thalenir rubs his arm and retakes his seat. He looks at the small crowd gathered and seems satisfied. "Very well. I'd say there are enough here to bring everyone up to speed." He raises his voice to ensure that any eavesdroppers can hear him clearly as well.
"Two mestruns past, we obtained a dragon stone. It is a tool used by the dragon Scorch for creating the perfect minion. When used, it pours his essence into the user, giving them draconic traits but ensuring that they are under his total control. It happened several years ago, and it deeply divided the town."
"I took it upon myself to hide the stone away in the Nexus ruins until I could find a way to eliminate the threat it poses. Unfortunately," he exchanges a look with Taklinn, "it reacted to something in the Nexus and began creating dragonlings."
"I've spent the past week studying it. My runes are the result of that exposure. They are a curse laid upon me by Scorch the day we killed him years ago, now reawakened by the magic of the stone."
"Despite the setback, I did manage to accomplish two things. First, and most important, is that I learned the nature of the stone itself. The dragon stone isn't merely one of Scorch's tools. It is, in fact, one of his victims."
Thalenir allows the statement to hang in the air for a moment. "The stone is an earth spirit, the spirit of a mountain to be exact, bound by dragon magic and used to fuel the enchantment." He grimaces as the runes begin to flare up again. "If the spell could be removed, the spirit could be set free."
He grits his teeth and waits for several long moments for the pain to subside. "Secondly, I have taken steps to ensure that the stone is of no more use to any who would risk its power. I was unable to remove the enchantment, but I was able to put up several safeguards, altering the conditions by which it is activated and changing the effect. If any should be foolish enough to try, the best they can hope for is a swift death. Needless to say, turning a person into a half dragon is delicate, perilous work. Tampering with such an exacting process was easy work for a master enchanter."
He looks up and pauses. "Hopefully, then, we're all in agreement on what needs to be done. Are there any questions?"
Riddles stands there, staring at the idea of a mountain being trapped inside of one stone. It made sense, his cousins used to go on and on about how a mountain was inside of each of them, but he had always thought it was just a crude slur. As he stands, pondering this new information, he loses track of his hands, and a few drops of his beer hit the floor.
Idris raises his hand, and before waiting for a response begins "Man ive never heard of Dragon Scorch before but it sounds like some heavy shit man, you need a real iron lung to smoke all that shit up. Me and Cheech will help you burn it all up though man" Idris stares at his shield "Isnt that right man?"
Kollista did nothing to hide her awe of and interest in the talk of such strange, strong magics and of the dragon named Scorch. She looked on at Thalenir with a wide-eyed childish intrigue, letting out a quiet squee-ish sound at the mention of dragonlings. After the Empyrean had finished his tale she let out a rush of air and a little squeak before a rush of words, "That is SO COOL. Ohmigosh! DRAGONLINGS? Can we keep one?? I'd love to raise a baby dragon! Oh please please please! OOOOOOOOO!! Do those runes mean YOU'RE turning into a dragon???? Can we keep you as a pet when you do? Oh this is SOOOO exciting. And awh at the poor little spirit! It must be awefully tired from turning things in to dragons. We should really do something to help it after we catch our new baby dragon pet, yes yes yes. Ooo. This is going to be simply DELIGHTFUL. What an adventure!!"
When she finally finshed her onslaught of words, she drew in a large, much needed breath. Being that she had managed all that in one hurried breath, she was a little bit light headed and Kollista sat down with a broad grin. Her breath was still coming in slightly ragged pants, but the excitement clearly sparkled in her bright eyes.
Delvin sat in the corner of the bar, eyeing the day's events with curious eyes. Eaves were dropped, and rather obviously so. Though for now he'd take to simply sipping his drink and munching on his lunch. His lips curled into a distinct smile at the thought of the town having an earth spirit indebted to them, a new goal indeed.
Thalenir raises his eyebrow at Idris. His expression grows bleak as he listens to Kollista. He looks back and forth between her and Glimmer for a moment, as if thinking that they might be related somehow. "No, I'm not turning into a dragon. No, it's a very bad idea to keep dragons as pets. And yes, we should do something to help the… ARGH!" He fails to finish the sentence as a fresh spasm of pain shoots through his runes. He pants, and beads of sweat form on his forehead. "I think I'll stop saying that now…"
The gnomeling's eyes got big when the runes on Thalanir flared again. Kollista blinked a little and remarked after noting the cookie pouches and cup of tea in front of him, "Maybe you should have a cookie and calm down a minute, Mr Wizard Guy. It seems like those rune curse marks from the rock thingy of that Scorch guy's don't like it when you talks about it...."
She looks over to the fae that claimed her for a pet, "Does you have any more tea, Miss Glimmers?"
Taklinn, upon hearing the explanation of the nature of the stone, shakes his head solemnly, his ears starting to turn from pink to crimson quickly. He spits on the floor, obviously angered by the prospects and trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth. "Tis grim tidings ye bring mage. 'Course it would have been better to know ye was goin' to mettle with the blasted stone afore ye started, but that can't be changed now. Binding a mountain spirit to the stone must take powerful magics indeed. Seems the foul dragon is never without tricks up his durned sleeve." he says quietly.
Akon nursed the deep sour red liquid across her tounge as she rolled the conversation through the workings if her mind, listening from the edge of the room, watching the pained wisard, but giving no reaction, pondering the situation. "Dragon magic you say? Hmmm..." She glanced into her goblet. "The master of bonds is no less than the Queen of slavery herself, the Mistress Hexadus. Knowing Sourch's necromantic tendencies, it wouldn't suprise me if he enlisted some of her power to bind the Earth spirit..." She eyed he runes on Thalinir and the pain they causes him. "Might have something to do with that mess of runes as well, as such practices of bindings of control coupled with pain are not uncommon in my lands and are usually the result of the dark arts.
Thalenir regards Taklinn. "Don't kill the messenger, Master Forgesplitter. We all do what we must to protect the town. Meddling with dragon magic was folly, but necessary. I didn't care to drag anyone else into my ill-advised experimentation, however well-meaning."
He then turns his attention to Akon. "Pain, torture, binding, and control are generally thought to be the province of the dark arts, yes. However, these effects are not being accomplished directly. Scorch commands those touched by the stone by virtue of making them beings of fire, part of himself. These runes likewise leverage the elements to inflict pain and, if need be, destroy the one who bears them. The ends are dark, for certain, but the means are most definitely sorcerous. Unfortunately, the only thing that might undo dragon magic would be high sorcery."
He waves a hand dismissively. "Besides, Scorch himself never displayed necromantic inclinations. His current… condition is the result of the cult who brought him back. Both the stone and the runes predate his death."
"Aye it is almost like a tale I heard long afore me beard was full about someone trying to bind a heart of fire fer to fuel their forge once. Some scholars say it was a clan of dwarves long lost and forgotten, but others say it were gnomes or even small humans. In the end they knew their folly and were consumed by that which they tried to control and couldn't. It is a tale long told to dwarflings to illustrate that we are part of the world and nature, not the masters over it." Taklinn says quietly to those gathered, his brows furrowed and a growing anger in his voice.
"To bind or corrupt a mountain's spirit must take dark magic indeed, no doubt that some of this town would try to seize fer her own gain. If Scorch ain't one fer knowin' that type of magic, then perhaps his cult has found a new ally or member who completed the ritual for him. At the end of the day, I would say a warlock, indeed a very powerful one at that, who has at least a hand in this thing, or I am a bearded goblin!" he says angrily as his eyes move about the room, his gaze resting on Akon as he finishes his statements.
"Those runes did ye in one time Mage, and I'm hopin that history don't repeat itself. If that arm of yours consumes ye and ye become a thrall of that dracolich, we may have to remove it fer our own safety. Not that the prospect makes me happy, but havin' ye running amok in town killing us frightens me more than a bit." he says with a grim chuckle and shaking his head.
Akon nodded as she listened, her brow lightly knit as she pondered the information given by the wizard. "Where's Wyndfere when you need him hmm? The only other bloke I can think of would be that rogish fellow, who used to carry Tor. Makes his conversations with those of the brotherhood, but I've noted him wielding powers that only one knowledgeable in the powers of elemental sorcery could manage. Mostly keeps to himself though and doesn't generally seem to care much for problems not his own. He is that empyrean fellow, wears a black vest? He would be the only one within our walls I can think of that would even come close to the level of sorcery which you describe." She looked up from her drink towards the magus.
Victor walks into the tavern, scans the room quickly, and takes a seat next to Taklin and Thalenir. He eyes the other Empyrean quizically and smirks a bit.
"Never took you as one to get tatoos Thalenir. I would of gone with a fearsome serpent coiled around a dagger myself, but to each their own I suppose."
He calls to the waitress and orders a drink and a bowl of stew.
"So whats going on, why so many people gathered around your table?"
"Come on Victor, you've been here long enough." Wreynn says as he hangs like a bat from the rafters. "Since when is the great Thalenir's table ever empty? If the high mage and master enchanter sits down for a drink, you better believe he's got a dozen followers waiting with baited breath to find out what he's done since the last time he portaled into The Shady Corners."
A devilish grin begins to creep across Wreynn's face while he hangs from the ceiling. "Looks like you got yourself into a fine mess this time Thalneir. Please tell me you're not calling the master home again. Its been so nice living in a town that doesn't smell like a moldy foot."
Rasiri, who had been sitting quietly at the bar enjoying his wine and meat platter decided his time to speak was now. "Thalenir, Exactly how do you suggest we take care of this? Because i may be delving more deeply into the magic side of my personality recently, seems more of a smart carreer move at this point... losing some of my sneakyness. And i am already on board with your idea no matter how suicidal it might seem, you took care of that already. So give me an idea. I might be of more use to you than i have been in the past. And on a note you speoke of earlier, I need to have a conversation with you and little Mrs. Glimmer sometime soon." Rasiri's feet hit the floor a little harder than intended when he swings his feet down onto the floor and he takes his steps over to thalenir's side.
Thalenir shoots Wreynn an unamused look. "You do me too much kindness, Wreynn… truly. My goal is simply to remove one of Scorch's most powerful weapons and free an innocent spirit. Nothing more. Though I would call the drake here myself ifI knew a sure means of putting an end to him."
He turns to Taklinn. "As a matter of fact, Taklinn, that's what I had to do the first time. The mark ensures that Scorch can use me as a bomb if it pleases him, killing me and those nearby. He has no control over me save what he can coerce given such… incentive. Kirell will tell you, though; when we slew him the first time, I removed my arm to see it done. The runes have spread since then, though, so I have no way of knowing if it would work this time around."
Thalenir shrugs toward Victor. "The stone could have something to do with the dragotaurs. Something had to have made them as they are and sealed them up in that cave. And the earth spirit came from a mountain. It could be that we'll find its home deep in the same cave. There's no way of knowing for sure, though. All we can do is speculate."
Thalenir thinks for a moment. "I'm not sure, Rasiri. Earth spirits and dragon magic aren't exactly my areas of expertise. Victor here might know something about unweaving the dragon magic, or Keg might know something about rousing the spirit within it. Taklinn could even have a chat with it. I'm lucky I managed to figure out what it is, but I'm hardly the best equipped to set it free."
Riddles listens very carefully, and then hears the word 'bomb' and then proceeds to run away shreeking a very high pitched yelp. His voice can be heard from a distance away screaming:
"THEY'VE ALL LOST THIER BLOODY COGS! HALF A NUT AT MOST BETWEEN THE LOT OF THEM!"
As his new gnome friend takes his leave he mutters to himself under his breath "Excitable little fellow. Hopefully he just ran off to find his backbone." Taklinn says with a good belly laugh.
His mirth is shortlived though, as he continues speaking to the group. "The stones do talk to me from time to time, though I have just recently been able to decipher their meaning. Espidrel only knows where that spirit originally hails from, though I suppose I could try to converse with the spirit within. Ending up as a thrall to the dracolich or waiting for him to blow meself and me friends up may not be worth what little bit of information I can garner from the stone though." He says warily, obviously not very comfortable talking of magic or his relationship with it. "Shamans would be a good place to start I reckon." he says at length after thinking to himself for a moment.
Turning to Rasiri he says blandly "Why Rasiri, I didn't even notice ye was about, yer sneakiness knows no bounds. Not sure what ye be needin' to talk to meself about, but if the New Dawn deems it necessary, I will be there to hear what ye have to say."
Glimmer begins to drool a bit uncontrollably at the sight of Wreynn in the rafters. "Kolli, dear, that man up there is my Uncle Wreynn. Dearest Uncle, I fear I am short on something only you can so graciously provide. We can talk of that later though. Be a dear and come meat Kollista." Glimmer waves an imaginary air around Kollista and continues on.
"Thalenir, I simply wish you didn't have to deal with this. However, when the time comes, you have my bow and my undying charm at your service. May they fall to the poison dripping from my every arrow." Glimmer's eyes flicker a bit dangerously as she mentions her vast poison useage, before hiccuping and pouring Kollista more tea. "Sorry, darling girl, I forget meself when Uncle is near."
Binx had been passing by the tavern with a new bow string coiled in hand, Thalenir's explanation having caught her attention. She paused for a moment before leaning the doorframe, her face unmasked as she listened. Granted, she had missed the beginning of his explanation but she heard enough to gather that Thalenir could unfortunately end up being a threat to town and it was because of the stone. "That damned stone has been nothing but trouble since we found it." She chimed in from the doorway in her thick accent. She had been part of the group that had originally recovered it from the ogre's for the wizard that had come to their town. She wondered if that wizard had actually known what it was, or if it simply was not what he was looking for.
Kollista listened on, taking in far more than anyone would assume. She was fascinated by the prospect of this Dragon and it's magic stone with the mountain spirit bound within. Her bright gaze slid to each person in turn, snickering slightly at the deki in the rafters. Silly bat. She made no initial remarks on the conversation as she listened, only muttering once, "Dekis and white-hairs galore in these parts..."
She turned her eyes to Glimmer when she was finally addressed by the fae, noting that she called the silly deki in the rafters Uncle Wryenn. She giggled, "Hi there Uncle Wreynn! Oh, and Mr Thalenir, you has my spells and little sword, for what ever it may count as well. I love dragonlings and all but this soundses like bad news."
She swung her legs back and forth from her seat and looked around again at the crowd that had gathered. Kollista grinned broadly when Glimmer poured her some tea. "Thanks you very much!" She piped before starting to drink the sugary liquid.
Garrok came in heavy footed through the tavern entrance saying with a loud voice, "Miss Chataya? Miss Chataya, I got your water!" He looks around the building not seeing her, but what he does see excites him.
"Wow mister," he says to the Empyrean with the runes covering him. "Thats a great tattoo! I don't have one, but I know great artwork when I see it. Is this a tattoo parlour? Are all of you guys getting one? I wouldn't mind having one myself."
The large Angori, having no idea what the runes actually are, continues to talk to himself about them and how cool they look. He then notices Akon and says to her, "Hey, miss Akon! Are you gonna get some tattoos too? I didn't picture you as an artwork kinda' girl."
With a squinted, perplexed expression on the Uordeq's face, Blisdon lifted himself up from his reclined position on one of the taverns stiff, albeit welcoming benches and turned his body towards the conversation at hand.
"The wild spirit of a mountain trapped and bound to the service of dark magic you say...?" The shaman snorted with a sort of deep, dwarven grumble to accompny his motion towards the standing crowd.
"It seems this humble keeper can no longer watch the issue from afar...Though it is known that anything reduced to nothingness can be made to restore itself, Have any of you gotten any ideas on how to make the inverse in this instance truthful as well?"
Wreynn locks his foot against one of the ceiling beams allowing his body to dangle limply and his hands to dangle free. "So, Thalenir, just where is this cursed stone then? Somewhere safe I hope? You've been gone for some time, so... did you wisk it away to another shard? another plane? some existance where it's not going to be a bother to us? Seems that would be the smart thing. Especially with all the rumors about Scorch being on the loose."
Using his now free hands, Wreynn unbuttons the top button of his shirt, and pulls out an old parchment with a note to inquire at Dragon's Grove about dealing with a skeletal looking dragon pillaging a list of several other shards. While dangling, the clasp from his pouch worked its way loose and allowed its candy contents to spill out on the tavern floor.
Looking at Glimmer and the gnome at her side Wreynn can only chuckle. "Well, I didn't mean to give you quite THAT much, but by all means, enjoy it Glimmer, and feel free to share with your little friend there."
Glimmer goes wild eyed and lets out a shreak of pure joy mixed with a little bit of insanity. "OOOOOOHHHH WOOOOOOOWWWWWEEEEEEE!" She jumps of the bar and appears to belly flop right in the middle of the candy, whispering "17 for me, 1 for them, 29 for me, a half for them." She sets about collectiong the delicate little treats and looks to Wreynn saying "Yes, Uncle. Thank you Uncle." She pops a good three pieces into her mouth as she continues picking them up.
"So....Thal....e...nir. I he...heee...HELP....you!" Glimmer hands a piece to Thalenir, and Taklinn, then to Kollista as well.
"Iffin, I knew how to change things back, ye would have a beard instead of bat ears lad." Taklinn says glumly to the Shaman. "I only worry that when the spirit is released it will take out its frustrations on us, rather than the one who enslaved him. 'Course I cant say I blame him. When first we got the stone, I misinterpreted what it was sayin'. The spirit was some kind of angry at being trapped, and I interpreted it to mean that it was the crystals around the stone that it was lookin' to be free of. I think it may be time to try to talk with that stone here soon." he says seriously, taking the offered piece of candy and slipping it into his pouch. "I'll eat this a bit later lass" smiling to himself and looking over at the Uordeq with a smug grin on his face.
Kollista's eyes widened at all the candy that had spilled from Wreynn's pouch and she couldn't help but giggle at Glimmer's immediate reaction to them. She knew that she should likely be at least a little suspicious of candy that made someone react like that... But.. Glimmer was a Papilio... She had said so herself... And... it was candy. Who would ever mess with an innocent piece of candy, right? Right. Okay then. With a broad grin in place, Kollista takes the piece offered by Glimmer and pops it into her mouth.
"Ooooo... Yummy candy!!!" Kollista remarks tucking the piece into her cheek. "Does Uncle Wreynn makes them??"
"I'd have moved it if I could, Wreynn, but the blasted thing is impervious to such magic. I stowed it deep in the Nexus ruins. The path was relatively clear the last time I saw it, but things always change in that place. For all I know, it's probably been producing more dragonlings since I've been gone."
"You may have a point, Taklinn. This spirit has been bound and tortured, tormented for unknown years. It may lash out at those who free it. Again, I admit I'm out of my depth. How does one go about calming an angry earth spirit?"
"Ye can't tame a mountain lad. Trying to do so would be folly. Of course, I haven't ever even heard of anyone tryin' it, let alone succeeding in it. I'm thinkin' that tryin' to find out which mountain this spirit belongs to may be a good place to start. It very well may be the same mountain that we took the stone from, and those Ogres sure won't be happy to see us again, but such is life. I suppose I could give talkin' to the stone a try, or even better gettin' a shaman to talk to it. If we ask the right questions, we may get better results. Of course we could all end up with runes identical to Thalenir's as well." he shrugs matter of factly, picking up his drink and draining it in two quick gulps.
"Alright, then. I think we have the makings of a plan. First, we retrieve it. Dragonlings are more of a nuisance than anything. Maybe we send some of town's less experienced defenders so they can get some practice for the real thing."
"Second, we commune with the spirit within the stone. Shamans, dwarves, spirit feathers… however we accomplish it, we try to find out where its home is and maybe learn some clues about how to free it."
"Third, we return it to its home. We'll have the best chance at releasing it from its bonds within its place of strength. Dragon magic is strong, but there's not much you can't do if you put enough mages to the task."
He frowns. "The risks are there, to be sure, for all involved. The dragonlings in the Nexus could have matured. Communing with the stone or dispelling the enchantment could have adverse side effects. And even if we succeed, the spirit could simply turn on us."
He smiles. "The altnerative, however, is to do nothing. To allow Scorch to keep his most powerful weapon. To allow a spirit to remain trapped and tortured. To let the corruption continue and spread. I don't think any of us wants that."
Kollista waved up to the hanging Uordeq with a smile, "Thanks Uncle Wreeeynnnnn!"
Drinking her tea, she returns the rest of her attention to the discussion at hand. Occasionally, a small hand would reach up to tug at the brim of her hat. She would likely never portray correctly that she understood the situation's gravity- mainly because she just.. couldn't- but her excitement and blatant interest was enough to prove that the little creature was listening. Rosy cheeks flushed and even deeper pink in her eagerness, as Thalenir went over the general plan outline that seemed to have pulled itself together. "Seemses like a good starts to me. I just hopes we can get the how straight afore something goeses more wrong than it seems like it already has. Either ways. I stand by what I said afore. I'll do my best to help however I cans. Mr. Takklin, sir? Is there a ways maybe to placate a mountain insteads of trying to tame the impossible? I guess that's kinda like you said, figuring out where it came froms though... but just a thoughts. Incase there's more than one ways to calm down the poor thing a little bit quicker or somethings."
Akon glanced at the Angori that addressed her, not making any particular indication at her amusement at his remark, know full well she was covered in runic markings under the black that covered her head to foot. She lifted herself off the wall then walked to place her emptied wine goblet on the bar. "A fine plan indeed. I can't help but ponder if a good solution might be to counter sorcery with sorcery. Mountains can be tamed... One pebble at a time. And if sorcerers are good at one thing, it's blowing things up. If you destroyed the cage wouldn't the spirit be free? When a body is killed, the flesh that binds the soul releases its grasp. Of course blowing up the dragon stone would be a rather primitive solution, but not one to be entirely overlooked I suppose. After all, if the spirit knew how to free itself, I would imagine it would have already said so. But blowing up the stone Would likely be a last resort, and doing it in the heart of the mountain the spirit was birthed in would likely be wise. You have my blade and aid in anyway to help." Akon nodded to Thalenir, then eyed the candy induced frenzy.
"Aye I say that is a fair plan. To be sure, gettin' more knowledge o' the spirit within would be wise. Iffin others can get to the stone and get it back to us, we can set about gettin' everything ready here, and to get the people about that may be able to converse with the stone." Taklinn says matter-of-factly, going back up to the bar and filling his tankard again.
Wryenn cringes a moment while preparing for the overzealous Glimmer hug, tightening up preparing for the worst. As she wraps her arms around him Wreynn lets his foot slip causing his body to slide from the rafters and come crashing down on top of the fairy, pulling both of them to the floor.
"How many times have I told you not to do that? ESPECIALLY when I'm hanging from the ceiling," Wreynn scolds the fairy as he begins to dust himself off and stand up. "One of these days.... somebody is going to get hurt." He pauses briefly before mutting in a low tone, "And it's likely going to be me."
Adjusting his shirt he replies to Akon, "The world's split into enough shards now as it is... what's one more broken mountain?"
Kollista hopped up and scurried over to where the pair had crashed to the floor. She stopped infront of the Uordeq for a moment and tugged on his sleeve before hugging him tightly herself, "Thanks for the candy, Uncle Wryenn. It was yummy!"
Almost immediately she turned and offered a hand to help up Glimmer, with a wide smile. "Is you okays Mama Glimmer? Also... might you have another piece of candy you can shares?"
Glimmer lets out a giggle and hiccups, adjusting her tutu and saying 'Well you just hush Uncle. Hugs are for friends and squishy things with sweet treats for me to eat. You qualify as both." Glimmer giggles and snorts, righting her mussed hair and stands to turn to Kollista.
"Here darling girl. You can has a nother pieces yes you can you can!" Glimmer hands another piece of candy to the girl, before adressing the group, seeming to change from her playful nature.
"People of Jastrey, hear my words. This is a time to band together. No one should be out alone until we have a better handle on the situation. Gather your gear and make sure everything is in order. Charge your magic, train your blade. Rest easy and be assured we can all handle this. Younger citizens and new travellers, ask for help if and when you need it. Be friends this day and protect yourselves and one another." Glimmer promptly plops down on Wreynn's feet and eats her cookies as if she hadn't said anything. She holds a couple of cookies over her head to the Uordeqw, fully expecting him to take them before she speaks again.
Akon nods to the Fae, picking up her goblet and pulling a cookie of her own from one of her stashes in the robes. She toasts the Fae with the cookie and a nod, "Well we best prepare then." Shr said, promptly munching the cookie in hand as she made her way to the door and took her leave.
Wreynn looks inquisitively at the cookies, grabs them, and sniffs one cautiously. You can never be too careful when taking gifts from a fae, especially not one as hyperactive as Glimmer. Not noticing anything suspicious about them, he slips the cookies into his pouch, pats the young gnome on the head, leaving a tiny pepermint wrapped in sparkling foil, and walks off to dissapear at a table in one of the many shady corners of the tavern.
No sooner than Kollista had unwrapped the second piece of candy and popped it in to her mouth, she found herself being patted on the head by Wreynn. She took the foil wrapped piece of peppermint he left behind and slipped it into her bag for later, with a big grin at his retreating back.
With a slight tug on the brim of her hat, again, the gnomeling rises and walks toward the door of the tavern. Candy tucked safely into either her cheek or her little bag, she gives Glimmer and the others a quick, cheerful smile and a little wave. Then she turns and takes her leave, disappearing into the trees not far from the building.
Glimmer sees the flash of light and promptly smacks Taklinn when Thalenir's form becomes visible. She runs to his side as he sits at the bar and notices the runes have spread.
"SHHHH.....WOW! OH WOW. JUST WOWIE ZOWIES Thalenir! That doesn't look good. You'd think they'd be prettier. What in the WINGS happened to you? Did the thing you put in the place do this to you? ARE YOU A DRAGON? That looks dragony. I can keep you, yes? Oh what fun we'll have. How long do we have till those things make you go POOF I'm a dragon? You should have some cookies. Don't drink that tea. Mine's better!" Glimmer pours a cup from her pot for Thalenir and slides him three pouches of cookies. After deciding he doesn't look thrilled, she plops a pouch of candy on the bar, too.
Glimmer moves to Thalenir's right side and lays herself on the bar, propping her head in her hands and staring in awe at the runes upon his face.