Pizazz's Myth Drannor

The hands were both disgusting and pitiful. Mirica considered banning them away but it looked like simple sweeping would do the trick. She made a step towards the collapsed tower, checking the reaction of hands. If she was not attacked she forced herself to ignore the critters and look instead at the pile of rubble. "Can you instruct your eath elemental or maybe your automaton here to search for specific pieces? With engraving or drawing on them? Then it makes sense. Alone we will spend days here sorting things out."

"Could the earth elemental travel through the ground to look for any subterranean cavities? I wonder how exactly this tower collapsed," Nuzej says, walking around the debris field in a wide orbit, trying to analyze the larger pieces he sees (the ones too heavy for the hands to move) to try to figure out where the top might be. If it's been driven into the ground, if it's laid out flat where it collapsed, anything that might help narrow the search.

Investigation: 20

Toc shrugs, "Hmmm. Earth elementals are not known for their intelligence. I'm afraid he can help move rock, but he won't be much use in seeking out writing or markings. Likewise, the automaton can help dig...but...it's not intelligent."  

He places his staff on the ground before him and closes his eyes in concentration for a moment. From the black rock, a large creature formed of stone and dirt comes crawling outwards leaving behind smooth rock as if it had never been there. 

Mirica bravely strides forward in amongst the hands. Those immediately near her react to her presence but startling and freezing for a moment, as if considering her, but then crawl in a different location, ignoring her.  The rubble of a tall tower is strewn all around, piled high.  Finding "the roof" or top room will not be straight forward and will certainly require some excavation.

Simaal wanders around getting different view points for a few minutes, then comes back and finds a place to hide. Then sits there. "I'll see what I can do from here" he mentions.

Xemnez, for his part, scowled at the collection of undead stupidity. "Wouldn't even be sporting." He muttered as well, seeming to have at least considered -- to those with the ears sharp enough to pick up on the words -- going down and cutting them to pieces. He then while looking about for a decent perch to observe their surrounding added, "Hmph.... Put those things out of their misery however you wish, Toc. I will keep an eye out and make sure another of those giants doesn't somehow take us unaware."

Thyrius is not bothered by the undead hands like his brother, but neither does he care about them. They clearly are not the source his "elder" spoke of.

Refocusing on the task at hand (pun definitely intended), Thyrius ponders if he can consult his more traditional Leonin elders to learn about this specific tower and, perhaps, even the message it once guarded.

(OOC: I'm wondering if a casting of Legend Lore would reveal the towers secrets. It sounds like one o those "up to the DM" sort of things.)

Simaal seems to finds a spot in the rubble entirely out of sight and begins doing 'something' to try and find some answers. Xemnez watches on, while Toc and Nuzej consider nuking the site with magical flames to get rid of the hands.  Mirica stands amidst the hands looking around at the frozen, 1000 year old rubble that she finds has actually fused together in most cases. This would be troublesome to dig up.  That said, Toc seems to tell his elemental to get to it, because the thing finds a somewhat random spot and begins digging. The hands leap aside, and look ready to attack the thing, but when the realize it's helping them dig, the quickly scrabble over and begin scraping away what rocks and dirt are left behind as the elemental does it's work.  It seems they are eager to excavate the site as well, though their help is minor at best. 

Thyrius though finds a comfortable spot, sits down, and reaches out to the spirit world for information. The black rock ground is icy cold but he ignores it as he expands his sense to the spirit world to find answers.  The tower of Necromancy from the lost city of Ythryn. Legendary enough for the spirit realm to remember details? He would find out.  As he slowly expands his inner vision, seeking the stray thoughts of the dead, he instead feels a very real presence before him. A ghostly figure stands before him. The figure seems only visible to him, as no one else nearby seems to take note of the shimmering form.

Xemnez though, as he stands watch, looks over at his brother. His strange connection to the undead and spirit worlds has never really been understood. It's a foreign thing, so different from any of Xemnez's clan. As he stands and watches he sees his brothers lips moving ever so slightly, and feels a shiver run up his spine. His brother calls the spirits. The hair on Xemnez's spine sticks out like spikes as he senses some ill taste on the wind.

The figure, a human man with a gaunt appearance and a long beard stands there before Thyrius. He speaks in a foreign language, but it's the true meaning of the words that seep into Thryius' consciousness. "My name is High Necromancer Cadavix. You are tied to the spirit world. I can feel your connection. You sit in this place seeking knowledge. The knowledge of Ythryn is but a shadow of its once true self, you will find only the infinite echo of its existence here. What do you seek?  My spirit is drained from is languish here, I long for departure. Perhaps we can come to an agreement." 

Thyrius speaks softly, trusting Cadavix to hear him regardless:

Cadavix considers these words. Long moments tick by. "I know the seventh line of the Rite of the Arcane Octad. I will reveal it to you. More than all others that existed in Ythryn, perhaps even more than my master, Iriolarthas, I am master of the realm between life and death, between the soul and that tenuous silver thread that connects them to our physical existence.  Tell me, who is your patron? A thousand years of knowledge can not be spoken. But, I do know where a book yet remains that contains much of the lore you may desire. Somewhere in this rubble lays my body, crushed between frozen rock. If you free my physical form from the Ythryn stone, so that I may rest, I will tell you the seventh line and instructions on where to find the Book of the Veil." 

Black dust hovers above the ground where the elemental continues its work. With the hands leaving it be, and even helping somewhat, Toc decided to send his guardian in to help, so the large automaton is also at it.  Simaal grunts from his hiding spot, silent and away...and says, "This wreckage is pulverized, not so much as a mouse hole or inch wide gap to search through. The chances the roof is in any state to reveal its writing is slim to none."

Mirica, Toc, Nuzej, and Xemnez stand to one side, looking about at the gross scrambling hands. Russel is probably around, but hidden in the darkness. Thryius is off to one side, his eyes shut as he sits in lotus position, seemingly meditating.

Simaal sighs.... "dammit I thought they were moving rocks not virtual dust, we need shovels more than rock folks..... well without spells to look somehow back in time, I'm not sure how we can do this. There's a chance the lower portions are less pulverized though. I can potentially help with that but it will create a lot of dust so we'd have to stand back. Let me know if you'd like to proceed with operation "dust everywhere for everyone to see us"".

Thyrius nods, opens his eyes, stands up, and addresses his companions. "Thanksfully, we need not find the pieces of rock with inscriptions and puzzle them together. We need only to find a corpse among the debris. I have reached out to the spirits and the corpse's was the one to respond. He'll tell us the seventh clue in exchange for freeing his body from the rubble. I trust the bargain we have struck. Toc, would you mind telling your vassals to search for the corpse?"

As much as Xemnez seemed unnerved by the whole process, the Leonin never raises a word of concern or rejected his brother's efforts. They had already in part been down that road before and his trust in Thyrius remain unbroken to the day. But he would watch closely as per another promise to both Thyrius and another. Closer still perhaps than usual this day as a no doubt result of distrust in remnants and mechanations of former wizards that sought to challenge the gods without good reason... as far as he was aware. "Seems we are fortunate then... Good work as always, Brother."

Toc nods, "Very well. Corpse hunting." 

The earth elemental makes good time through the rubble, and the large automaton is able to scoop away rubble that the elemental loosens easily enough. Even so, after an hour the elemental stops moving, and then melts away into the ground. You figure, with the two of them digging, it could still be a whole day worth of digging to find anything. But Toc can't summon the elemental, which means, alone, the automaton will take even longer. Do you guys do anything else to speed up the process, or does anyone else join to help? 

The rubble is tightly packed rock, frozen together, and in some case fused by time. It's a pain to dig through and excavate. There are no gaps or spaces within the rubble for sensors or mage eyes, or mist to go through. 

(Basically, it takes 50 person hours to excavate through the rubble. The earth elemental was worth 2 man hours for its 1 hour. Toc could summon him 2 more times, but doesn't want to use up all his charges if he can help it.  His robot is worth 1 man hour per hour.  So, you've got 3 of 50 completed. Can get maybe 2 more from another earth elemental. Ideas for the rest? Just wait?)

Mirica was watching skeptically but patiently an outsider and the construct working on the excavation. "Does not look that efficient," finally admitted she when the elemental disappeared. "But you are onto something with the summoning. I might call for celestial help. Pretty sure the couatl can think of a creature that would not bother with the whole excavation but make a tunnel. The problem is, it will be for an hour too... Can you, Toc, or Nuzej polymorph someone into a serious digger? Or maybe two diggers?"

Xemnez raises a brow, then chuffed and shook his head. "None too thrilled in being changed to something else, if understanding intentions well enough. But for sake of the multiverse--" He uncrosses his arms only to fold his hands behind his back. "Do what needs be done. As I am at least, all I have our the claws I've been blessed with, and that I will use to see this unearthing task done to the end. But any... aid that can be provided there would be appreciated." He said, if though with a hint of reluctance to his voice. 

Thyrius wants to try somehting: "With some luck, I can hopefully pinpoint the corpse's location."

For the next minute, Thyrius' eyes assume an ethereal form and he moves as quick as manageable alongside the fallen tower looking through the rubble. With some luck, he'll be able to spot a foot, a bone, a head... something. If needed, he'll activate his footwrappings and dash as needed to cover of much as the tower as he can in 1 minute.

(OOC: Should I roll anything?)

Ghostly Gaze:

Letting his connection to the spirit world continue to guide him, Thyrius lets his sense and vision reach into otherworldy spaces. The world around him becomes hazy and semi-transparent and he looks down into the ground himself. He walks along the tower, scanning through the rubble and rock for a body. It takes a remarkably short amount of time. He walks partway down the crumbled pile and there, within the rock, spots the frozen crushed body.  He points it out to the group as his vision slowly fades back to reality. 

With the body pinpointed, the excavation will take much less time. Digging a hole rather than clearing a full area. Toc summons another elemental, and then he also touches Xemnez, turning him into a massive muscular giant ape.  Together, the ape, elemental, and shield guardian, along with a few hundred hands continually getting underfoot (a few get crushed...oops), it's only another hour before the group is pulling the last of the rocks away from the frozen body.  As the last of the rocks are pulled away, and the ancient body, preserved in the ice but still terribly degraded, is flipped over, Thyrius hears an other worldly voice whisper into his mind.

"Seventh, trace a circle with the ashes of the dead. This is the Necromantic clue to the Rite of the Arcane Octad.  As for the Book of the Veil, you can find that within the central tower itself. The tome is within Iriolarthas' library on the upper floor. Bring this tome to your master, and he will be satisfied with your service."

Mirica exhaled with relief - scraping frozen rocks cemented together by the ice without so much as a shovel for hours was a bleak perspective. "Quite a useful talent," nodded she to Thyrius and then almost happily watched the coordinated effort of Xemez, elemental and automaton on the exhumation of wizard's body. (The saying about three things one can watch endlessly had a grain of truth in it)

"Ashes of the dead..." if Thyrius shared the information it was something to think about. "Should we use the body or those hands around?"

Thyrius indeed shares the information but, for now, only the first sentence of what Cadavix said. He responds to the spirit:

To Mirica and the group, mentally: "It'll be easier to carry one of these hands, especially one that has already been crushed and is already fully dead, than to carry a corpse. Any idea of where to go for the eighth clue?"

"We have all eight of them now." And Mirica recited:

“First, shield thy heart with a wand from the Nether Oak."
"Second, summon a flame in the palm of your hand"
"Third, a burnt palm loosens the tongue. Shed a secret about yourself for all to hear"
“Fourth, coax a secret from another.”
"Fifth, quench the flame in thy palm with ice”
"Sixth, hide thyself behind a mask"
"Seventh, trace a circle with the ashes of the dead. "
“Eighth, stand firm in thy circle of death and consume poison"