Drexon watches the Ancient move through the pool, apparently healing as it submerges and re-emerges. When it motions for them to join it, he contemplates for a brief moment, then removes his boots, coat and hat, placing them carefully aside. He then steps into the water, sinking down to a seated position.
He turns to see what the others will do, and spots Eremoz at the door.
"Karm seems a capable sort, very smart. Sure he'll figure it out", he replies.
{{DM - Did the 22 investigation just go towards helpping Dvark, or did Drexon notice anything familiar in his last post?}}
{{Drexon, yes, it goes to helping Dvark. Although, I will give Drexon something to think about. Check the spoiler.}}
Through your journey, you have been attacked and there have been signs of battle in the area, which begs the question: where are the dead bodies of the enemy? You know that the Ancient dissipates into their fundamental elements after death, but the enemy doesn't. So far, except for the ones that you killed and some that you found in the barracks, there are no signs of the enemy's casualty. From your brief glance into the mind of a dead Ancient, you know that the invading forces are more than just a dozen strong. So, where are the rest of them and why aren't there more dead bodies in the area?
Dvark, Cob, and Drexon, as you enter the pool, you feel as if you have just finished a long peaceful rest. Your wound slowly closes and you can feel power surging into your body, replenishing what has been expended so far.
{{Reiterating from the last post, you can take a Short Rest in the pool room. Instead of spending 1 hour, you can gain the benefit after only 30 minutes. Furthermore, you get to heal the maximum number of hit points possible when you roll a Hit Die during this Short Rest.}}
Karm, you can hear the splash of water from the next room, but you focus on completing your ritual. As the ritual ends, understanding fills your mind. You look upon the monolith in front of you and you immediately know that this is not something you or anyone in the world have ever seen. This monolith is not only carved with Primordial runes but many, many languages. You see abyssal, infernal, celestial, draconic, giants, elvish, sylvan, orcish, gnomish, dwarvish, and many, many more languages that you are not even sure still exist today. You are unsure what the combination of words and symbols from different languages achieves, but you get the understanding that the monolith before you, broken as it currently is, was a method of travel -- a gate -- used by the Ancient to travel a great distance almost instantly. You will need to study the monolith further to decipher its operation, but it can take months or even years before you can even understand its fundamental principle. However, you do realize that there is a small part of the symbolism on the floor that reminds you of the pattern that was left behind when the Meanwhile attacked the train.
After resting in the pool Dvark rolls up his coat and vest and places then in his pack, takes out his smithing tools, and makes some minor repairs to his mail before doning it.
"I don't suppose anyone has any more idea what we are looking for now?" he asks the group at large.
Drexon spends a brief time in the pool, feeling the rejuvenating effect but benefiting little from it.
Whilst in the pool, he tries to make a telepathic connection to the Ancient, trying to communicate with it in either the common tongue, or Deep Speech.
Karm will rummage through his pockets for his spellbook and note down the pattern and sketch the obelisk and the surrounding. He will also make a list of all the languages he recognizes and a general notes on rune-alignement. He then packs his things together and joins the others.
That thing is amazing, i tell you. unbelievable! Im unsure how the obelisk works, not enough time for that, but they used it as a gate to travel through the planes of existence. I suspect that the languages and runes are there to tether the obelisk to those planes of existence in a way.
While he talks he takes off his coat and pullover and steps into the water. Would like to cool down for a moment too
He then addresses the element-man in primordial: We appreciate your hospitality and will try to repay the favour.
The Ancient freezes when they hear Drexon in their mind. Their relaxed posture shifts into a tense stance as they back further away from the group, particularly Drexon.
"You speak the enemy's tongue, yet you seem to not understand myown," they say back in their mind.
They look around at the others and tilt their head in confusion before diving back into the pool. When they come back out, they are cupping an armful of wet clay. They seem to inhale the clay as they mutter a murmured word.
"All of you speak as if you do not know my tongue," the Ancient says aloud. This time, you can hear them speak in Common. "Some of you should have known my tongue -- our tongue," they say, addressing Cob and Eremoz directly before turning to the others. Slowly, an armor of frost and rime covers their body as they stand up on the pool. "The pale one seems to speak the enemy's tongue, but I can see that they are human. The other human seems to be the only one that can understand me, but they speak of favors as if that means anything in this current time. We are still at war. Where is the rest of you? Where is your Chief? You have successfully relieved the First Sphere, which means you have defeated the bulk of the enemy's armies outside the fort. All of the relief force should be here already with their Chief at the front, trying to relieve the Second Sphere in order to check on the Voidsphere and clear out the fort. Why did they send only the five of you? Who are you if not the relief force?"
Drexon retreats away a little, his clothes dripping. He spoke the tongue of the enemy. That couldn't be good. The familiarity of this place, coupled with his affiliation to the enemy made him worried.
He looks across to Karm, wondering if he was making sense of this.
"I...I am not your enemy", he says as he keeps his distance. "And we are not part of this war of yours, as my companion said. We come from another place, perhaps another time...", he trails off at this, not sure if he has said too much already.
Karm sees Drexon’s questioning look. I think i have an idea of whats going on he says in common before switching to primordial.
This might just be untrue but it is the only way it makes sense to me. You are stuck in time. While you fought this fight the world continued to live. Your fort is now a mere ruin and your culture is forgotten. Why else should i have studied it and your language for the better part of a decade. We entered this place through a temporal and perhaps spacial anomaly that has kept you here for centuries, not knowing that you became living history. Time has changed a lot and a favour might have gotten back some of it‘s value.
He then recaps briefly in common for the others: I think this place is frozen in time and he was stuck while the world moved on and forgot this here conflict entirely
Dvark looks out from under his large furrowed brow and says "so they're a living time capsule along with all the leatherskins we helped them deal with? I'm sure your archeologist mind must be briming with questions but I think we should stay on task and look for a way to slow the shadow."
Dvark reaches over to his pack, grabs the omcom and speaks into it "ancient appears to be friendly. Has no understanding that time has passed. Karm is questioning them. Acquired map of floorplan.
The Ancient staggers back. Their face shifts between surprise and disbelief.
"Yes, the Sphere puts the fort under a time lock," they say. "As long as the Sphere is up, everything inside the fort is saved from further harm until the Sphere is relieved and a counterattack can be done against the invaders of the fort. Are you... Are you saying that we have been forgotten? That no one relieved our fort when we were attacked? That the war went on without us?"
The Ancient is quiet for a long moment before sitting back down in the pool. Their voice, a warbling melody turns sour as their countenance becomes grim and pale.
"I assume we won?" the Ancient says. "Otherwise, the God Emperor will not allow any of you to roam free without being turned into one of his monstrosities. How... How many years has it been? What happened to Curiosity? To Tuada? They are supposed to relieve us. Have you seen any of my section mates? There were five of us left behind on this level before the Sphere was deployed."
{{Yes, anyone can hear the Ancient speak in Common except for Karm. Karm will hear it in Primordial. Don't have to make a check, but you can tell that the Ancient cast a spell to make it seem as if the word that they speak comes out in a language that you know while still speaking in their native language.}}
Drexon is a little shocked about the revelation of the time lock, although with his gambler's instincts doesn't really show it.
"I am not the best person to answer about the history of what happened, nor how long it has been. But we have come across other's like yourself, resembling different elements", he says, his face going downcast.
"I am afraid the monstrosities you mentioned had attacked them, and we have only been able to save yourself. We believe we have cleared this level of the beasts now though, but do not know what lies beyond".
Eremoz looks on with sadness on his face. "They gave me a vision of some sort and spoke to us, but I don't know what they were saying... I'm sorry." He pauses for a second before adding, "It's the year 511 of the Fourth Age, if that means anything to you.
Cob watches the exchange with the ancient one with curiosity but he has little to contribute. He's hard pressed to keep up with the talk of this place being frozen in time and what that might mean. Then he remembers the crackled message over the omcom.
"Time didn't stop in here. I think it's just moves more slowly." Cob says. "Which means we can't stay in here too long if we ever want to see the world we knew again."
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Drexon watches the Ancient move through the pool, apparently healing as it submerges and re-emerges. When it motions for them to join it, he contemplates for a brief moment, then removes his boots, coat and hat, placing them carefully aside. He then steps into the water, sinking down to a seated position.
He turns to see what the others will do, and spots Eremoz at the door.
"Karm seems a capable sort, very smart. Sure he'll figure it out", he replies.
{{DM - Did the 22 investigation just go towards helpping Dvark, or did Drexon notice anything familiar in his last post?}}
{{Welp}}
Karm nods to Eremoz statement.
Intelligence: 5
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Dvark strips off his armor, coat and vest, boots, and everything else except his pants. Then he enters the pool.
Cob slips into the water too.
“Guess we can all dissolve together. Oh, and I saw jump, the star, and mirror written in Sylvan next door,” he adds to Eremoz.
{{Drexon, yes, it goes to helping Dvark. Although, I will give Drexon something to think about. Check the spoiler.}}
Through your journey, you have been attacked and there have been signs of battle in the area, which begs the question: where are the dead bodies of the enemy? You know that the Ancient dissipates into their fundamental elements after death, but the enemy doesn't. So far, except for the ones that you killed and some that you found in the barracks, there are no signs of the enemy's casualty. From your brief glance into the mind of a dead Ancient, you know that the invading forces are more than just a dozen strong. So, where are the rest of them and why aren't there more dead bodies in the area?
Dvark, Cob, and Drexon, as you enter the pool, you feel as if you have just finished a long peaceful rest. Your wound slowly closes and you can feel power surging into your body, replenishing what has been expended so far.
{{Reiterating from the last post, you can take a Short Rest in the pool room. Instead of spending 1 hour, you can gain the benefit after only 30 minutes. Furthermore, you get to heal the maximum number of hit points possible when you roll a Hit Die during this Short Rest.}}
Karm, you can hear the splash of water from the next room, but you focus on completing your ritual. As the ritual ends, understanding fills your mind. You look upon the monolith in front of you and you immediately know that this is not something you or anyone in the world have ever seen. This monolith is not only carved with Primordial runes but many, many languages. You see abyssal, infernal, celestial, draconic, giants, elvish, sylvan, orcish, gnomish, dwarvish, and many, many more languages that you are not even sure still exist today. You are unsure what the combination of words and symbols from different languages achieves, but you get the understanding that the monolith before you, broken as it currently is, was a method of travel -- a gate -- used by the Ancient to travel a great distance almost instantly. You will need to study the monolith further to decipher its operation, but it can take months or even years before you can even understand its fundamental principle. However, you do realize that there is a small part of the symbolism on the floor that reminds you of the pattern that was left behind when the Meanwhile attacked the train.
After resting in the pool Dvark rolls up his coat and vest and places then in his pack, takes out his smithing tools, and makes some minor repairs to his mail before doning it.
"I don't suppose anyone has any more idea what we are looking for now?" he asks the group at large.
Drexon spends a brief time in the pool, feeling the rejuvenating effect but benefiting little from it.
Whilst in the pool, he tries to make a telepathic connection to the Ancient, trying to communicate with it in either the common tongue, or Deep Speech.
Karm will rummage through his pockets for his spellbook and note down the pattern and sketch the obelisk and the surrounding. He will also make a list of all the languages he recognizes and a general notes on rune-alignement. He then packs his things together and joins the others.
That thing is amazing, i tell you. unbelievable! Im unsure how the obelisk works, not enough time for that, but they used it as a gate to travel through the planes of existence. I suspect that the languages and runes are there to tether the obelisk to those planes of existence in a way.
While he talks he takes off his coat and pullover and steps into the water. Would like to cool down for a moment too
He then addresses the element-man in primordial: We appreciate your hospitality and will try to repay the favour.
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Eremoz will join his friends in the pool.
The Ancient freezes when they hear Drexon in their mind. Their relaxed posture shifts into a tense stance as they back further away from the group, particularly Drexon.
"You speak the enemy's tongue, yet you seem to not understand my own," they say back in their mind.
They look around at the others and tilt their head in confusion before diving back into the pool. When they come back out, they are cupping an armful of wet clay. They seem to inhale the clay as they mutter a murmured word.
"All of you speak as if you do not know my tongue," the Ancient says aloud. This time, you can hear them speak in Common. "Some of you should have known my tongue -- our tongue," they say, addressing Cob and Eremoz directly before turning to the others. Slowly, an armor of frost and rime covers their body as they stand up on the pool. "The pale one seems to speak the enemy's tongue, but I can see that they are human. The other human seems to be the only one that can understand me, but they speak of favors as if that means anything in this current time. We are still at war. Where is the rest of you? Where is your Chief? You have successfully relieved the First Sphere, which means you have defeated the bulk of the enemy's armies outside the fort. All of the relief force should be here already with their Chief at the front, trying to relieve the Second Sphere in order to check on the Voidsphere and clear out the fort. Why did they send only the five of you? Who are you if not the relief force?"
Eremoz looks to the others and back at the Ancient. "We don't know about any ongoing war. We are here to explore."
Drexon retreats away a little, his clothes dripping. He spoke the tongue of the enemy. That couldn't be good. The familiarity of this place, coupled with his affiliation to the enemy made him worried.
He looks across to Karm, wondering if he was making sense of this.
"I...I am not your enemy", he says as he keeps his distance. "And we are not part of this war of yours, as my companion said. We come from another place, perhaps another time...", he trails off at this, not sure if he has said too much already.
Karm sees Drexon’s questioning look. I think i have an idea of whats going on he says in common before switching to primordial.
This might just be untrue but it is the only way it makes sense to me. You are stuck in time. While you fought this fight the world continued to live. Your fort is now a mere ruin and your culture is forgotten. Why else should i have studied it and your language for the better part of a decade. We entered this place through a temporal and perhaps spacial anomaly that has kept you here for centuries, not knowing that you became living history. Time has changed a lot and a favour might have gotten back some of it‘s value.
He then recaps briefly in common for the others:
I think this place is frozen in time and he was stuck while the world moved on and forgot this here conflict entirely
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Dvark looks out from under his large furrowed brow and says "so they're a living time capsule along with all the leatherskins we helped them deal with? I'm sure your archeologist mind must be briming with questions but I think we should stay on task and look for a way to slow the shadow."
Dvark reaches over to his pack, grabs the omcom and speaks into it "ancient appears to be friendly. Has no understanding that time has passed. Karm is questioning them. Acquired map of floorplan.
The Ancient staggers back. Their face shifts between surprise and disbelief.
"Yes, the Sphere puts the fort under a time lock," they say. "As long as the Sphere is up, everything inside the fort is saved from further harm until the Sphere is relieved and a counterattack can be done against the invaders of the fort. Are you... Are you saying that we have been forgotten? That no one relieved our fort when we were attacked? That the war went on without us?"
The Ancient is quiet for a long moment before sitting back down in the pool. Their voice, a warbling melody turns sour as their countenance becomes grim and pale.
"I assume we won?" the Ancient says. "Otherwise, the God Emperor will not allow any of you to roam free without being turned into one of his monstrosities. How... How many years has it been? What happened to Curiosity? To Tuada? They are supposed to relieve us. Have you seen any of my section mates? There were five of us left behind on this level before the Sphere was deployed."
{{Is the Ancient speaking in Common now?}}
{{Yes, anyone can hear the Ancient speak in Common except for Karm. Karm will hear it in Primordial. Don't have to make a check, but you can tell that the Ancient cast a spell to make it seem as if the word that they speak comes out in a language that you know while still speaking in their native language.}}
Drexon is a little shocked about the revelation of the time lock, although with his gambler's instincts doesn't really show it.
"I am not the best person to answer about the history of what happened, nor how long it has been. But we have come across other's like yourself, resembling different elements", he says, his face going downcast.
"I am afraid the monstrosities you mentioned had attacked them, and we have only been able to save yourself. We believe we have cleared this level of the beasts now though, but do not know what lies beyond".
Eremoz looks on with sadness on his face. "They gave me a vision of some sort and spoke to us, but I don't know what they were saying... I'm sorry." He pauses for a second before adding, "It's the year 511 of the Fourth Age, if that means anything to you.
Cob watches the exchange with the ancient one with curiosity but he has little to contribute. He's hard pressed to keep up with the talk of this place being frozen in time and what that might mean. Then he remembers the crackled message over the omcom.
"Time didn't stop in here. I think it's just moves more slowly." Cob says. "Which means we can't stay in here too long if we ever want to see the world we knew again."