"That so?" Chimed in Lucas. "Well, considering the nature of our mission and the fact you have Lady Alustriel's, uhh... approval I guess would be the word? Eh! Suffice to say, ain't much reason to go doubting your word, Dr. A... Though, I hope your studies have been conducted with all due caution, 'specially to be making sorta boasts. The gods and Mystra 'specially do tend to..." The sorcerer trails off there and nervously looks around for a second, then sunk back into his seat and waved a hand dismissively. "N-nevermind. Yer wouldn't be so long in the tooth without plenty enough caution, willpower, and luck on yer side~ Ehehe.. heh... haaa-..." He trails off letting out a long, exasperated sigh. "... B-by the way, uhh... How much you've been told, Dr. A. 'side from just our names of course." 

In response to Lucas' comment Dr A replies "...ahbut while Lady has provide me with a short precis of the quest you are on I would like to hear it in your own words. Pehaps you ..." looking directly at Lucas "... could provide me with a synopsis of your activities to date, why you undertook them and perhaps most importantly what see you as the next steps both immediately and in the longer term!" 

Lucas looks visibly taken aback for a moment or two, but then would hesitantly nod. "Uuuhhh, suuuure, bud. Let me just, uhm... H-hold on-..." After shuffling around in his seat to get at his backpack, Lucas roots around in its compartments for a solid minute before giving up with a sigh. "Gosh darn it! I must've left it back in the room. Pfft, well, uhh... In the interest of time and fer the sake of my less, uhh-" He side-eyes Passoveloce. "-story inclined compatriot here, we basically caught a portal to some underdark section of the material plane. Or at least I suspect it so, as the acquisition of the McGuffin, aka one piece of the rod of seven parts had somehow found its way into this big ass, ****ed up looking spider dragon thing that -- get this -- that actually spat live spiders and silk as its breath weapon!"

"Like, seriously. A breath weapon made of living spiders and webs! 'course 'fore we got to that part we had to deal with the cult of Loth worshippers to even get so far." Lucas pauses for a moment, bowed his head in thought, then shook it in a dismissive gesture. "Less deal with'em, but moreso infiltrate their little group. For better or worse, they were so caught up preparing to raid some poor svirfneblin community. Under other circumstances, dismantling that cult in full might've been, uhh, more in the cards. But after dealing with the dragon at its demonic spider mate... at least, I assume that was what was going there. Either way, it just weren't in the cards at the time." He then lazily gestures over Alustriel. "We've already informed our host here of such with hopes that perhaps she can send another team to deal with that, but I'll leave that to her to clarify."

Dr A listens to Lucas explanation which was delivered at a million miles an hour before commenting "... ahbut I speak at least five different languages and have a good understanding of several more but I must confess I'm a bit unclear why exactly you are participating in this quest and what you plan to achieve!" Looking over at Corwyn and Passoveloce "...perhaps one of you two could provide move elucidation on the matter?"  

Corwyn:

Rather matter-of-factly, Corwyn says, “We need an artifact known as the Rod of Seven Parts to defeat the Lich King Vecna and save the realm.  We have acquired the first section, but need to find the next six in order to unify the artifact.”

Dr A peers at Corwyn “ahbut exactly how are you going to secure the individual parts and perhaps more importantly what are you going to do with them once you find them? Assuming of course you can do so successfully!”

Corwyn:

”We will definitely need the expertise and guidance of the remarkable individuals assembled here to find all seven pieces—indeed, I hope that their research has identified the location of the next piece already,” answers Corwyn to Dr. A.., “As well as additional magical and information expertise during the recovery missions from you.”

”As to how to defeat the Undying King once we have the reassembled rod, I trust in Lady Alustriel’s plan, though I know not its particulars,” he adds, nodding in her direction.

Quote from GrantFromCanberra >>

Tasha laughs uproariously at the dwarf giving Alustriel a piece of his mind. 

In response to Toruun's diatribe Alustriel replies "... good dwarf the issue is that this Lich actually has the power and the will to alter the multiverse. Now ..." reminding Toruun that he has not as yet formally introduced himself she continues "... I have the power and means to make good any damage to your workshop however I need to know whose ..." looking directly at him "... workshop it is, otherwise there is a risk I may upgrade one of your competitors' workshops!"

 With the party unable to recall how they may be linked to Vecna or if they can not prepared to admit it there is quiet in the room before Mordenkainen strides over to a cabinet full of wondrous items and picks up a silver chime saying "I was worried that our joint spell may not stop one as powerful as the so-called Undying King, as obviously appears to be the case, and consequently I planned a contingency. As we surmised the so-called Undying King is to powerful to stop directly at this point but as we all know no power is absolute! I believe that the so-called Undying King will be vulnerable while he weaves his ritual. At that time and with the assistance of an extremely powerful item called the 'Rod of Seven Parts' a brave group of individuals will be able to use this chime ..." holding up the chime "... to banish him back to place of origin 'Oerth' and where he will no longer be able to influence more than that part of the multiverse."

Mordenkainen's eyes gleam with excitement as he turns directly to the party before continuing "... Unfortunately the Rod of the Seven Parts has for reasons I don't know been broken into its component parts which have then been scattered across existence! While Alustriel and Natasha were researching the spell which inadvertently perhaps - or maybe greater forces were at play - who knows? brought you here! I undertook some research as I say in case a contingency was needed into where the first part of there rod might lie. I have been able to locate it as being deep in the Underdark hidden inside a safe house that belongs to worshippers of the Demon-goddess 'Lolth': Web's Edge it is called! Like calls to like and once you find the first piece of the rod it should point you to where the second piece lies. Are you prepared to undertake this task on behalf of all denizens of the multiverse?

 
Corwyn:

”Ah yes, there was a chime and a ritual involved, right?” adds Corwyn.

Dr A continues to peer at Corwyn, Lucas and Passoveloce before saying somewhat disparagingly "...ahbut a chime and a ritual is involved you say. What sort of ritual exactly? Who exactly came up with this brilliant strategy and exactly how do you propose to locate the next piece of this artifact - hmmm?"

(OOC: Above game, I actually missed that tidbit about Dr. A's other questions.)

As much as his inner petulant child balked at the initial 'insult' -- intended or otherwise -- from the Tortle, Lucas had bit back his initial retort, crossed his arms, and with jaw seeming to be clenched, decided to hold back and let things play out for a bit with the others carrying the exchange. But the moment Dr. A started to get "uppity" again the sorcerer had had enough. "Listen, wizrobe, I'm not sure if yer try'na test us, or were genuinely given **** all knowledge about what were up and gonna be up to going forward, 'fore ya got dragged into all this. And at this point, I don't fack'n care." He states frankly.

"But as the pacing of our dissemination of information has been so dissatisfactory for ya, why don't we just toss things over to our hostess to clear the air for ya, yea?" Lucas said, and with a bit of a raised brow gave Dr. A look daring him to keep up the 20 questions. Was what the tortle asked unreasonable? No. Was frustration entirely unwarranted? ...Yes and no. But regardless, he'd still look expectantly at Lady Alustrial. And if she still appeared insistent on letting the "party" sort things out, then following a frustrated huff out of the sorcerer, he gets up to head back to his temporary quarters to retrieve something without so much as a word of warning or explanation.

Passoveloce decides it is time to speak up as Lucas goes into one of his huffs.

"We accepted the quest as we were summoned by a power that seemed to indicate that we were needed. Perhaps you, Dr A., could explain why such a thing would happen. I do not know how my specific skills would be particularly useful on a quest such as this, but if it averts the end of the multiverse - which I guess is important though no-one has explained to me what this multiverse thingy is - and my assistance has been requested, then who am I to say no. We are treating this as a step by step procedure, get each piece of the rod, determine where the next piece is, retrieve and so on until we have all 7 parts. Lucas has the first part of the rod, does any one know how to use it to find the next piece?" 

He looks pointedly at Dr A. "Perhaps this is where your skills may help."

"Lucas you seem to have taken the Doctor's questioning a little personally. I think he is just trying to determine if the quest is doable given the people available and what we have achieved so far. Show him the piece of the rod, and see if the two of you can work together, perhaps also with the assistance of the good lady", he nods towards Lady Alustriel, "to locate the next piece so we can continue the quest."

(OOC: I'm gonna assume for now that Lucas hadn't got far before Passoveloce called him back.)

Whether Lucas called upon before leaving or returns with Passovlecoe making his request, he's looks no less angry than earlier. But after a long pause and a deep breath, his demeanor some of tension would seep off his shoulders "Listen, brother man, I appreciate ya try'na play diplomat 'bout all this. I truly do. But-..." Lucas pauses again, his face scrunching up as if struggling to find the right words.

But after a moment or two, he appears to give up the effort in sighing, bowing his head, and waving a hand dismissively. "You know what? Doesn't ****'n matter. Show needs ****'n go on, I guess... But fer the record, as for whether or not this 'quest' is doable or not, it ain't like we got many choices either which way on courses of action. Not when three of some of the most powerful, if not infamous spell slingers across the multiverse needed to resort to pulling together a bunch of yahoos from across the multiverse together fer the task. Well, incidentally did so, but point still stands!" He said with a bit of a huff towards the end, before finally looking to Dr. A. "Look old timer, I don't mean to harsh yer mellow or come off like some bratty man child 'bout all this. We asked for assistance, and, well, here ya are. It just..." He trails off into a sigh and looks to the rod still in hand. "...Again, doesn't matter. What does is to not let yerself get lost in the weeds over ever little detail. You're here largely to help us out on the field, not waste time over analyzing plans. A plan that by and large consist of three very simple steps to try and stop the Undying King. And no, I will not be mentioning his actual name if the title alone isn't enough for you, 'cause that type of shit is how you invite unwanted attention, so don't ask. And if the name does come to mind, don't say it. Not here, at least, regardless of whatever fancy wards might be shielding this place." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, but not so long that the Doctor would once again fill the need to question. 

"First step, we are to collect the scattered pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts and assemble it. A creation by some ****'n Wind Dukes of Antioch or some such -- I'm sure you probably know'em, and the Rod is one of'em truly legendary artifacts out there so moving on. Second step, we use the rod to aid us in disrupting the Undying King's ritual. What does it /exactly/ entail? Unclear. But given what at least most of us know about the orchestrator of the ritual, believe me when I say that it'll **** everyone across the multiverse over. Ya following so far? Cool beans -- Third step, with the ritual disrupted and the Undying King weakened ideally, then we are to use some fancy magic chime to send the **** back to his home realm, crystal sphere, or whatever, locking his influence on only that plane or whatever." Lucas finally explains. "Now, I believe Mordy, er, Mr. Mordenkainen has the chime, so if ya wanna bugger him about the finer details there or maybe about the ritual, be my bloody guess. He's also the one that helped us find the first piece. That said, now that we have one, I'm like ninety percent sure it can be used as a compass or lodestone or whatever fer the rest. But don't take my word fer it. Here, have a look at it yerself." Lucas than proceeds to underhand toss his piece of the rod over to Dr. A.

When Lucas asks Dr A how the Rod works Lady Alustriel just shakes her head and mutter something "like oh no, we could be here all afternoon!" Dr A catches the Rod with suprising dexterity and says "abut the famous Macguffin. I have indeed heard of the legends that surround it. You are quite correct one piece does act like a lodestone to the next piece or in other words like attracts like. He pulls out his notepad and says to Lucas come over here and I will explain exactly how it works. There are many forces across the multiverse, some good, some evil - ahbut those in themselves are philosophical terms and one person's evil is another person's good. For example if I kill a small furry creature to feed my family who are starving is that good or evil. Some would say it is evil whereas others would say it is good and the end justifies the means. But I digress!

The Weave is in effect a boson field and magic – which is in itself neutral – is the high level excitation of this field to create a particular effect. The different callings are able to access the field through different means. For example, Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, Paladins and Warlocks are granted access by a more powerful being who themselves is able to directly tap into the field. Sorcerers seem to have an innate ability – which I must admit is not fully understood – to access the field in moments of extreme stress. Wizards are able to access and manipulate the field through having developed a detailed understanding of how it works. Arcane Tricksters and Bards are more akin to Sorcerers in how they access the field, whereas Eldritch Knights such as Corwyn are more akin Wizards in that they have developed an understanding – albeit somewhat limited – how to access the field.

So what does this all mean for you, well what is happening is that the Rod is accessing the field and is drawn to its other parts. Both myself, and Alustriel, have the skills to link the Rod to the portal so that we can use it as a doorway to a metaphorical room in which the next part is located.

Ahbut I must confess to a level of confusion that Mordekainen came up with this approach. Normally he is so logical and methodical in his approach whereas this time he seems to have adopted a ‘let’s see what happens approach!’ I’ll have to have a chat to him about it at sometime!”

Passoveloce watches as Dr A. explains things to Lucas. He nods his head sagely while listening and pretending to understand, repeating some of the words quietly to himself such as "boson field, metaphorical room, etc".

Corwyn:

Following along for the most part, Corwyn knows his magic supplements his warcraft, not the other way around, so he takes no offense.  

Instead, he asks, “Are we ready to depart soon,” as he looks over at the items awaiting their discovery.

Lucas, ever the inconveniently observant one, immediately clocked the mutters from Lady Alustriel, but could scarcely raise a concern brow before having his attention stolen by Dr. A's rather... verbose explanation. Some of which -- particularly the bit about sorcerers and bards means of accessing the weave -- left Lucas' frowning a bit. Just as he's about to open his mouth to say something, Corwyn's own timely request gives the sorcerer at first pause and then elicited a sigh of relief.

"Whooo~ Uhh, yeah, that's, uhh, a fair point Corwyn. Though, 'fore we go opening portals and gallivanting across planes 'n all that, I believe there is the matter of those things to address as well." Lucas gestures over to the magical trinkets Alustriel had on display. "Not to say that explanation wasn't riveting, but we can't be lose'n ourselves in sauce all willy nilly with a whole multiverse in danger 'n all that."

“Ahbut, I believe we are ready to depart? Yes!” Dr A asks of the party. When (and assuming he does) he receives a series of affirming nods. He continues by saying “…ahbut, give a few minutes to ensure that the portals are aligned!” As Dr A starts to fiddle with the rod, Lady Alustriel says “… my friends, while the good doctor casts his magic so to speak, let me explain about the three gifts I have garned for you.” Picking up the boots she turns to Corwyn and says “… these will assist you to both cover distance more effectively and cross over impassable terrain more easily. However, be warned their power is not unlimited and you do not want to be not on the ground should the power levels become exhausted. Rest assured that everything else being normal, they will recharge over night”. Turning to Passoveloce she says “… this cloak will both provide some level of protection against spiders and their venom as well as granting the ability to traverse their webs far more easily.” Turning to Lucas she finishes by saying “… and this bag is for you. Not only will it hold an inordinate amount of the stuff, but it does contain a range of useful items should you wish to use them!”

While this is going on and after a few minutes of muttering and much consultation of his notebook, Dr A turns to the party at the same time he hands the Rod back to Lucas and says “… ahbut I believe that’s got it” as a silvery field flashes into view. “Ahbut shall we?” he asks of the party.

Corwyn:

Smiling and saying, “Thank you, great lady, I shall treasure them.”  Immediately going over and putting on the boots, Corwyn stashes his regular boots in the bedroom and returns just as the portal opens.

”I’m ready when the rest of you are,” he responds, ready to step through the portal wearing his new boots. 

Passoveloce says "Thank you m'lady, much appreciated". Then after a brief pause, "Is there anything special I need to do to make it work?"

Lucas only flashes Lady Alustriel thankful look, as any glance from Dr. A would spur the sorcerer to look away and pretend to innocently whistle. "Eh? Wha? Er, fwa-aight! Can't say I've ever heard of a bag that functional, but far be it for me to complain! Uhmm... m-many thanks, Lady Alustriel." He accepts the bag and immediately went about "testing" its properties about putting a few choice items away from his person.

Once satisfied with having lightened his load, Lucas took out a pearl and spent the next minute or so magically further analyzing the bag for more exacting details on his bag. A service he offers the others if it appears to be needed, but otherwise he was content to spend whatever remaining wait time there was polishing off breakfast. At which point his more gluttonous side rears its ugly head, ensuring none of the remaining offered food goes unconsumed if none stop him.

But with the activation of the portal and the return of Corwyn, Lucas claps his hands together and rubs them together. "Likewise. Actually, 'fore we go-" Lucas proceeds to take out a strip of white cloth and wrap about a wrist while softly singing the lyrics of some song involving a 'Seven Nation Army'. By the time the song ends Lucas, Corwyn, and Passoveloce would feel a familiar surge of invigoration, as subtle magic worked into the song found purchase and emboldened both mind and body.

-Cast at (6th level)Aid on Corwyn, Passoveloce, & Lucas.

"Okay, now I'm good to go. Though, can't speak for everyone else. That said, even if some of our new acquisitions require some time getting attuned to'em, prolly can just handle that on the other side rather than leave the portal open. Once on the other side, I'll pop the safety bubble if its needed for ya'll."