Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

Vadernul continues “Well there is this big fella out there making a heap of trouble, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s a dragon.  So we were here to tell you that and make sure you were safe. Then seeing if you were safe, then maybe you could spare some of your gadgets to help us or the town in these trying times.”  Vadernul begins to be distracted by the various things in the room and slowly reaches out to touch one by the time he is done speaking

Vaxis leaves shudder a bit, and he looks off to the left.

"Stop laughing, fiend. It is distracting, and this situation is not having mirth."

He looks back to the gnomes.

"My friend here speaks the truth. We need to destroy this dragon so that it doesn't decide it wants to come here after ransacking the town. Any assistance you can provide would be great, and the blessings of Bahamut unto you."

Tabesha'l in her turn comes into the conversation. She remains silent but her eyes roam around the room and everyone present, taking everything in. After a moment she says in her soft, lilting tones: " Forgive my presumptuousness in asking this: my name is Tabesha'l and I've recently come from the great Taelessar Arcanum, located in the moon elven kingdom of Andhruin. Is there anyone in particular in charge for the wild magic effects in this area ? If so, I would very much like to have the possibility to exchange some remarks and compare experience on this absolutely fascinating form of Arcane. Oh and yes, there is the matter of the white dragon wyrmling as well, as my tall furry friend and yonder vegetal paladin have just explained, quite correctly..."

She stands looking calmly at the gnomes, expecting their answer.

Ando pipes up from the back. "We faced some strange, shape-shifting monstrosity on our way to you and dispatched it. It appeared to have eaten a couple of your fellows. Have you had any encounters with such a fiend or have others mentioned it? Do you know what it was? Are there more we should be aware of?"

The gnomes seem indifferent at the mention of the dragon, but Ando's reference to the two half-digested gnomes found inside the mimic's body provokes concerned glances from the pair. "We know of no such invader in our domain, but the disappearance of two members of our commune has caused great concern among us. Specifically among our two kings..." A sharp elbow to the side from the female gnome, cuts short the male's comments.

"I'm afraid all of the items in this laboratory are unfinished," begins the female, in an obvious attempt to change the subject. "Our successful experiments are locked in the treasury and only King Korboz has the key. Unfortunately, he is...indisposed at the moment...," she cuts herself off this time and looks away from Vadernul. She goes over to a workbench and picks up a half-assembled contraption, points a wand at it which begins shooting tiny bolts of arcane lightning into the device.

The male gnome is silent for a few moments, then responds to Tabesha'l's inquiry about wild magic: "Lady elf, the wild magic that suffuses this place is of its own mind...we don't control it, rather we try to harness it's energy in our creations. Such places in the world are very rare, and actually finding one is even rarer still. Babes born in environments like this have given life to many a sorcerer throughout the eons. Dabbledob and myself are the ones who have been tasked with conducting experiments to harness the innate power of this secret location."

Vadernul, usually happy to be aloof, becomes visibly disgruntled at the apathy of the gnomes.  His nostrils flare as he exhales deeper.  

“Prakt, Strev, Rang, glang byrd. Stomm rang glang du.
Blod ettin er blod kong. Gi tusen val nul. Trut zund stommpaart.” The group can hear under his breath

He calmly places Fern-Vaxis down on the floor out of the way before walking back and slamming his fist on the table. “You were told that a dragon roams our in the world, a threat to yourselves and your neighbors and you can’t fathom having decency enough to ponder the possibility of helping?  You tell people to walk further into the depths of these mad caves rigged with weapons to harm all who pass and act as it’s a favor.  You speak in half truths and riddles to cover your lies.  Yet, your ears perk up when we state two of yours are dead, how do you lose two lives and not look for them?  Your apathy disgusts me.  May you choke on it along with your riddles.  Imagine how many of you little folk it would take to fill the dragons belly?  May be cause for concern then, huh?”  Vadernul will pick up one of the unfinished contraptions and smash it on the ground.  “I wonder how much you care for these ridiculous things!

14 - Intimidation (+5 with athletics or +3 for strength if using alternative skill rules)

FIBBLESTIB TO VEDERNUL: "Ah, I guess you must have met Facktore' on your way here...that would explain much of your frustrated mood. She has that affect on all of us. Forgive my indifference, but with our small openings, tight tunnels and low ceilings a dragon would find Gnomengarde quite an unsuitable as a lair, and poses little hazard for us, giving me no immediate cause for alarm. Of greater concern is the recent disappearance of two of our members and the madness afflicting one of our kings..." Before he can continue, the female gnome cuts him off sharply in gnomish:

IF YOU SPEAK GNOMISH, OPEN THE SPOILER BELOW: 

In complete disbelief that the two little folk could be so nonchalant about everything is baffling to Vadernul “This whole place has gone mad!  No wonder one half of the king’s went mad.  Was it the left side or the right side?”  Vadernul puts his palms to his face before dragging them downward, he walks over and picks up Vaxis once more and looks to the others.  “I want to leave this weird place.” He states calmly

Connak seems to be as upset as Vadernul, "No, you are correct.  You need not worry about dragons, you have mimics eating you instead.  Which we killed.  I think, given your apathy and lack of thankfulness, we should go find another and lure it back into your oh-so-safe home and be on our way.  We'll be sure to let the nearby towns know the gnomes of Gnomengard don't care to help nor want it either."

Seeing the group's impatience, Ando steps forward, palms out in a gesture of good faith.

Finding no logical argument against the paladin's parley, Fibblestib grabs a few tools and instruments and shoves them into a leather bag, affixes his goggles and announces to Ando: "Fair enough, lead on then. If we can bring evidence to King Korboz that the covert threat has been eliminated, perhaps he will...be well again. Until then, I'm afraid he intends to stay locked in his chambers. He has gone mad with fright..."

Dabblebob huffs her disapproval at Fibblestib's oversharing, who finally loses his patience. "Oh Dabs, hold this for me won't you?" The male gnome reaches into his leather bag, pulls out a small red marble and tosses it to Dabbledob. Catching it out of the air, the female gnome opens her palm. The marble promptly explodes in a small cloud of thick pinkish dust. When the cloud clears, Dabbledob is fast asleep on the floor. "Let's go," he says to Ando, "it only lasts an hour...if I got the formula right..."

Connak will take the lead back to the turbine room.

Tabesha'l quickly stops by the sleeping form of Dabblebob, arranges the gnome's head to rest on her leather pouch as comfortably as she manages, gives a reassuring tap on the sleeping gnome's shoulder, then proceeds to wrap herself in her magus cloak to primly follow the rest of the group.

** going back to usual walking order, unless anyone needs to change it... ? **

Vadernul is flabbergasted, “What even is going on anymore?!”

"She is not harmed, just resting gently. Dabbledob is a vehement reclusivist...she would likely serve as an obstacle to our further cooperation, so it is best if she is otherwise engaged while we seek the proof needed to satisfy King Korboz. I must insist that we hurry...he barricaded himself and King Gnerkli in their chambers nearly three days ago now. I fear they have not eaten. Before you appeared in our lab, she and I were sorting out how to subdue the mad king so that we might gain entry to their bedroom. That is who the red marble was originally intended for. Quite harmless...I think."

Fibblestib follows Connak back down the narrow corridor leading back towards the corpse of the mimic.

Ando slides up next to Vadernul, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard by any gnomes. "We understand the forest yes? When an animal is scared, you can't force it to move. It will lash out at you or flee. You must be gentle, help it understand that its fear is not the end. There is much fear here, wariness and distrust. So before we can accomplish our goal, first we must answer the fear."

Clapping the firbolg on the shoulder, Ando moves up to Fibblestib. "How long has your king been unwell? You mentioned that he is afraid. Do you know what has caused it?"

Connak mutters under his breath, "If I reigned over crazy gnomes with lethal contraptions in a place where magic turns people into plants, I'd be afraid too."

Having been silent on the matter so far, He pipes in on the exchange between Ando and Vadernul.

"They should have been brave and tackled this problem head on, rather than hiding from it. This problem has having escalated...the madness may be something I can cleanse, but I need to know the source of the corruption. But I agree, Vadernul...these gnomes are all having madness."

His leaves rustle in anticipation.

"I may not be able to make the needed gestures for my spells, but if there is danger, point me in the direction of my enemy and I will exhale on them...I THINK my frost gland is returning."

The clay pot containing strained to contain the creature that was Vaxis...the root system churned spilling dirt over the top of the rim. The pot cracked on one side an small bits of terra-cotta  flaked off. A moment later, the entire pot bursts as the full measure of the cleric's body converted from plant back to dragonborn...all except for his head, which retained the basic structure of a hefty green vine topped by a flower bulb blossoming into a draconic maw. Small eyes popped open at the ends of a pair of silky tendrils and row of long, narrow thorns lining the vine opposite the blossom flexed open and closed - no doubt the webbed head vane that so often communicated Vaxis' emotions, even when his words did not.

FIBBLESTIB TO ANDO: "I am sure things seem quite strange to you here, and to be honest they have become quite strange. We used to inhabit the mountains near Gauntlgrym, but when Mount Hotenow exploded we had to flee. Hemmed in by Miramar, Luskan and Neverwinter we ventured east, then south to Longsaddle where we had several allies with the wizards there. They set us up with a new home here at Gnomengarde on the agreement that we share the findings of our wild magic research with them. For many years, we have operated in seclusion...our only contact being the occasional visits of Longsaddle emissaries to collect updates on our work. The wild magic causes the mushrooms on the small islands near the waterfall to grow at an extraordinary rate and to extraordinary proportions which provides us with a persistent source of food, wine and lamp oil."

FIBBLESTIB TO CONNAK AND VADERNUL: "There are only twenty-two of us here, so we have no formal army or even a proper watch...our survival depends on our seclusion and the mechanical defenses we devised. We never considered the possibility of a covert threat infiltrating our ranks, so when Orryn and Warryn went missing, King Korboz became hopelessly paranoid and locked himself and King Gnerkli in their chambers, claiming some foolishness about shape changers. That was many days ago. Dabbledob and I have been deadlocked concerning how to deal with our mad King. Pog and Ulla activated the turnstiles and took up watch by the bridge. The others busied themselves working around the clock in two shifts stockpiling provisions. But I guess in the midst of the uproar, no one kept track of Facktore'...who obviously needs constant supervision."

FIBBLESTIB TO TABESHA'L: "If we can convince that whatever threat took Orryn and Warryn is now gone, I am certain we can restore King Korboz' sanity and I am equally sure that King Gnerkli would allow you to cherry pick our inventory of completed arcane items to aid in thwarting the dragon of which you speak."