Crystal Tower

There's a request from the guild from Veyshan, several complaints from the nomads of the Nisaan Sandsea have come in of late, and while that wouldn't usually be enough to merit action, they've been having troubles of their own along the border. Queries from Hextus about the sudden erection of a massive tower along the border. Queries that might well break out in war if they can not be laid to rest. So they've called upon the guild to send out anyone available to look into the tower, and the matters pertaining to the nomads while the adventurers are out there.

It's like people go around trying to make Telamon angry, and he doesn't understand why. Well, the easy answer is that they're just stupid or evil and they don't realize that's a bad idea, but still, surely someone would think twice, right? Right?

The group had gathered at the Guild meetinghouse, and as soon as the Guild representative had mentioned Veyshan, and an unauthorized construction, Telamon had actually started filling it in before the representative could finish the briefing!

"On the outskirts of the Nisaan Sandsea, near the border with Hextus. A tower springing up from out of nowhere practically?" The half-elf's expression is tranquil, but icy. "Yes, I'm aware of it. No, it's not mine. It's someone I was tracking down. How nice to get independent confirmation, though."

"So lemme get this straight," Magpie says, her voice muffled by the layers of brightly colored and patterned cloth wrapping her head-to-toe. She has, after all, *heard* about the famous Veyshanti sandstorms, and has resolved to find herself eating as little sand as possible. Whether or not her preparations will be *effective* is anybody's guess; it's not like she's about to dive headlong *into* a sandstorm to test, right?

Right?

"Someone builds an entire-ass tower, magically, and doesn't bother to tell... *any* of the people who have an interest in the land the tower's on? ...I think I'd want to give 'em a solid elemental spanking already, but uh... Who're we talkin' about, Tela, and how badly are they gonna deserve what's comin' to em?"

Verna's lips purse at the description of the issue at hand. "That seems a very poor choice. Such structures are both highly conspicuous and oft presumed to be of suspicious intent, thus shall draw keen attention." The notification to the Guild and the subsequent presence of those gathered serves as a strong example of such.

Cor'lana hasn't been out on assignment in a while, and when Telamon had told her what would be going on... Well, she decides to go. It's better than staying behind and trying to write poetry, only to get interrupted by Pothy gorging himself on snacks or listening to the pixies scream at each other outside. (They've been particularly gossipy as of late, considering the recent change in fae monarchy.)

Which is how she came to dust off her adventuring robes and why she's standing with her arm hooked around Telamon's. Her violet eyes shift over to Magpie with a little smile. "Well," she says, "safe to say this is someone that is... Someone that Telamon is very keenly interested in." By sheer proximity of being her beloved's telepathically connected headmate, she knows, and she looks at Telamon. "Do you want to fill the others in on poor Nemenba and Idoren?"

I Roved Out In Search of Monsters,

Carver is not in her hides and furs! She is in fact something better suited for a geography she actually does not know nearly as well as the wild plains of Dran, or the Mythwood forests. Deserts. Veyshanti desert. Exciting. Dark eyes peer out from beneath her white hood, pinned in place with braided rope. She is not invited to speak so she does not, but she looks longingly back outside.

Deathless will be safer here.

Telamon's eyes are chilly doors to the nighttime, a far cry from the improving weather. At Lana and Magpie's urging, the sorcerer nods, taking a breath.

"The wizard's name is Idoren Aniutiom. I don't know if you've been unlucky enough to deal with him, but he's one of those magicians who could give the nicest, most mild-mannered conjurer a bad name. He actively pushes against restrictions on spellcasters -- he's been trying to get the Alexandrian ward removed, just to give one example."

"Unsurprisingly, he's not my favorite person either -- he really didn't like my ethics courses at the university, said I was 'stunting magical progress'. But recently, he stepped over that line from 'merely annoying' to 'committing crimes against gods and men'. He crafted an artifact called the Golden Songbird, or the King in Orichalcum Rags."

GAME: Verna takes ten on wiznerd: aliased to knowledge/arcana+org+lore: (10)+38+4+2: 54

GAME: Magpie rolls knowledge/arcana: (3)+16: 19

"...Oh he's one of *those* wizards," Magpie answers, and the tone of her voice is akin to someone identifying the horrible mess found on the bottom of one's shoe. "'Meh meh meh I break the rules of reality on the regular, wah wah wah how dare you make me follow *temporal* rules, blah blah blah more powerful than you could possibly imagine, bitch bitch bitch you'll all see.' Something like that?"

The names of the artifact in question seem to go right over her head, and she just throws up her hands. "OKAY well I guess I'm gonna drop a hell-ton of monkeys on his head and maybe turn him into a weasel -- speaking of, did you know weasels are to mammals, what crabs are to sea life? It's, like, the *optimal* form for the environment, and over a long enough period of time *everything* wants to be a weasel."

Now Verna is frowning; perhaps scowling, even, following the initial description of Idoren. "Hubris. Ignorance. These follies perhaps cause more harm than-" Her words halt abruptly as the mention of the artifact is registered and parsed

Yes, definitely a scowl. "That abomination is considered by many to be unproven legend, at best, and nonfunctional, at best." She stares at Telamon. "Do you mean to imply that this mage successfully USED the artifact?!"

Cor'lana reaches up to gently rub Telamon's shoulder in one of her usual displays of affection, soothing him a little, even if her eyes are filled with a similar sentiment as Telamon's. "We'll see how he likes having a feeblemind spell sent his way," Cor'lana mutters darkly, before she manages a broader smile at Magpie, even if the smile doesn't reach her eyes, exactly. "A weasel might be too good for him, really."

She looks at Verna and nods a little. "Yes," she says. "You do not want to know how such an artifact was created, either, if the dreams that Telamon had were depicting just that." She had to console Telamon after the fact with plenty of lavender-mint tea and late-night embraces. Pothy helped in his own way. Sometimes, he has the privilege of being a bed-raven when people need comforting.

"Some men do not warrant talk." Carver quietly interjects. "Just rope."

The bratty girl screaming about paladin's customer service was a long time ago, looks like. "This particular fool is too stupid to be cowardly in a subtle way. A rat anything that makes that animal admirable." Cunning, amongst them.

GAME: Carver refreshes spells.

Telamon's expression grows even more dour. "He did, Verna. I can't precisely explain how it works... not that I'm in a hurry to find out... but he now commands the powers of the box's spirit, Nemenba. Which is where that tower comes from. He's got Nemenba basically building it for him."

Tel runs a hand through his hair, offering Lana a smile. "So that's what's causing all this ruckus. A second rate wizard, in possession of a powerful artifact, misusing it for his own egotistical whims and making everyone around very angry in the process."

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Magpie says, hopping in place. "Let's get on out there and get to steppin' on a stupid face!"

Sometimes, it's just *refreshing* to have a simple problem to solve. Nothing to hurt the heart or confound the ethical mind. Bad wizard bad. Go find bad wizard, stomp until justice comes out.

Ethical conundrums are best left in a debate hall, not the real world.

Telamon giving Lana a smile makes Cor'lana smile in kind, but there's a touch of mischief in her smile as she leans up on her feet and gives Telamon a little peck on the tip of his nose. It's to make him smile a little wider despite the circumstances.

She leans back and nods to Magpie and Carver. "My sentiments exactly," she says. "Let's get going... and hopefully, we might find a way yet to free poor Nemenba." She might already be thinking of a spell to do just that, if possible.

Verna nods at Telamon's confirmation, then again to Magpie, offering assurance. "Indeed, we shall." Her scowl remains, though does not detract from her enthusiasm to correct the situation. There is an obvious imbalance, afterall. "That is my intent, as well, Cor'lana. It is never another's purview to bind a mortal soul."

Carver's lips press in a thin line, but she nods. She is likely just now remembering the metaphysical rule shifting that this family unit resorts to, for sake of expediency. Of miles being minutes rather than weeks, from coastline to middle of a continent with just a few words and gestures.

That scowl is for all wizards. Just some more than others. Telaporting time.

GAME: Telamon casts Greater Teleport. Caster Level: 20 DC: 28

GAME: Verna refreshes spells.

The desert isn't the most welcoming of places. The sun is high in the sky and it's far hotter here than it was back in Alexandria. It's actually rather unpleasant to go from a late winter environment to... This. There's a tower in the distance. A sandstone thing with gleaming windows and capped with a great crystalline top. It stands in a small oasis which has been excavated a bit to make way for the tower itself which is... notably large and imposing looking. In the distance one can see that there's a few tents that have popped up around the base of the tower.

Nobody had mentioned that.

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+2: (12)+25+2: 39

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Will+2: (4)+24+2: 30

GAME: Magpie rolls will: (18)+10: 28

GAME: Verna rolls will+2: (8)+26+2: 36

GAME: Carver rolls will: (15)+7: 22

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Will+2: (12)+24+2: 38

It's a pleasant ride (at least for Telamon), although being deposited in the much warmer regions of Veyshan is probably not everyone's cup of tea. Without a word, he passes a bottle of soothe syrup over to Carver, to try and stave off the inevitable illness. Hey, at least -some- magicians try to make life easier.

The half-sil looks around, before taking a careful look at the tower. And its new additions. "Dammit. Well, with the kind of magic Nemenba can bring to bear, he could offer all sorts of incentives to bring people in." A pause, as he tilts his head, then he scowls. "Anyone else hear that? Pretty sure he laid down some kind of lure, too..."

Carver's appreciation is clear in the shaky hand that takes the soothe, exhaling stiffly. She is not certain that it is wise to gulp so instead sips, allowing the syrup to pool and drain toward her stomach rather than pour. Her stomach rolled and the discomfort, and frankly the disorientation, helped in drowning the song's allure in aching normality. Of a pounding headache and wrenching stomach.

At the question, she nods. She hears the song as well, but understands its enchantments far less than say sorcerers and wizards might.

Verna takes a moment to acclimate herself to the change in location, which has the additional component of markedly different climate, as well. Her cloak and robes shield her from any sun, though they also absorb it, as well. As she studies the tower, she nods in response to the question. "I am uncertain that it is truly audible, yet I sensed it." One hand gestures to the tents on the periphery. "It is probable that some or all of those gathered as not aligned with the tower nor its forces. Not by choice, at the least."

She turns her attention to her compatriots. "How should we proceed?"

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Spellcraft: (7)+30: 37

GAME: Magpie rolls spellcraft: (19)+19: 38

GAME: Telamon rolls spellcraft: (9)+26: 35

GAME: Verna rolls spellcraft+org: aliased to spellcraft+4: (8)+38+4: 50

The change in locale is *jarring,* shocking sweat out of nearly every pore on Magpie's skin. But the little chaos gremlin *did her research,* and knows better than to get rid of a single layer! It's just a matter of acclimating to the desert heat.

It will only occur to her much, much later, that there are lighter fabrics than wool muslin... and that they're generally not available at winter's end.

After a few moments spent taking the edge of her getup, anf fluffing some air through what can be fluffed, she looks up, tilting her head. "...Yeah that's a pretty significant draw," she murmurs, and leans back to mutter with Verna in hushed tones. "Okay so that's *another* artifact this idiot's got his hands on, so the *real* question is *how many* objects of overblown power and way too much historical significance did he get his hands on?"

Lana furrows her brows in thought as she examines the song wafting over from the tower. "It's a charm of some kind," she says. "What spell exactly, I can't think of, but it's almost certainly from a powerful magic item. People don't generally... emanate magic like beacons like that. Generally."

She looks at Telamon. "Before anything else, we need to do some protective spellwork." And so she murmurs an incantation to shield her mind from further interference.

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 20 DC: 30

"Maybe. Idoren did say he had been on an expedition. Perhaps Nemenba wasn't the only thing he found on that journey." Telamon's lips twist in disgust. "What a disgusting state of affairs."

He exhales, and nods to Lana. "Absolutely. Anyone else want the warding? Both Lana and I know the spell and can help protect you." He murmurs a similar incantation, a pattern of silvery light appearing around his head briefly before fading.

"I guess leveling the tower with meteor strikes is probably out of the question, since he probably has enthralled people inside it."

GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 20 DC: 29

Verna emerges from the brief aside with a deepened scowl, nodding lightly in assent with Magpie's direct-yet-quite-pertinent inquiry. "The presence of multiple artifacts is quite concerning for a number of reasons. Foremost, external sources not only grant him additional power, but also suggest that his goals may exceed his own knowledge and abilities. Additionally, it calls into question how many others he might possess, giving the adeptness. Lastly, neither of these are benign in origin, thus others may be similarly malfeasant in some manner. All the more reason to remove them, and him, as a danger to others.

"I suggest caution and preparation," just as her sister-by-bond begins to do just that.

Carver does not crook finger or chant spell. There will be no shelter in magic for her. She will succeed and hold herself well against the siren's lure, or she won't. A bead of sweat cuts down across her face and it is not solely from the opressive midday's sun. Nothing for it. She knew the dangers long before boot touched the dunes.

Oh, wait, they offered. "If you can spare it." Carver says. "I am not eager to be slave to this creature's magic."

Thankfully the siren song doesn't seem to be getting any stronger. It's just persistent and ever-present. The tower itself stands unyielding and impressive if veritably screaming at the ineptness of it's master. So much power, and it's led to what?

"A sensible response, Carver." Telamon smiles at the ranger. "Frankly, if this idiot didn't have so much power at hand, I'd be a little less cautious." Deliberately, he murmurs the same spell, before reaching out to touch Carver's brow. A shimmering pattern of silver surrounds her head, like a halo, before fading.

He glances at the tower again. "I kind of feel offended, really. He's got all this power with the artifact, and he builds an isolated tower in the literal ass-end of nowhere. What's the point, other than to gratify himself?"

GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 20 DC: 29

"Caution and preparation we'll have, Verna," Cor'lana replies to her sister-by-bond with a small smile. She approaches Magpie and incants the same incantation she had uttered for herself, letting protective magic wash over their friend.

"Now... We can attempt to sneak in with invisibility. Or..." Cor'lana smiles a touch mischievously. "We can veil ourselves in some sort of disguise that might allow us to seem like 'mere' travelers. Ordinary, common, everyday merchants, perhaps?"

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 20 DC: 30

Verna also does not promptly nor pre-emptively invoke magic: presumably for a more appropriate time, or perhaps hubris is common to wizards. "There is the small consolation that he did not do so in the midst of a population center, should his efforts to serve his own ego fail spectacularly." She then considers Cor'lana's offerings. "If I may, I suggest that latter, as effects to pierce invisibility are not uncommon. Should a disguise be pierced, we could possibly remain inconspicuous."

Carver reaches up to see if she can feel the halo, but nope, just magic. Binding but not in ways eyes can see. She drops her hand back down to her side once its determined she is not in fact a pretty little angel. "Yous think you can /pass/ as simple merchants?"

As the magic washes over her, Magpie closes her eyes, waiting for her thoughts to still.

Waits...

waits...

waits...

...and cracks an eye open, realizing that the magic doesn't *actually* calm the mind, it just makes it *look* like their mind doesn't exist from outside magics. Her shoulders sag somewhat, as disappointment reigns for an instant. "Thanks!" she says brightly -- it always pays to be polite, after all -- and ponders the question. "...I mean, I *look* pretty foreign, and if I just stand off to one side and silently look weird I *probably* won't mess up any attempt to pass us off?"

Telamon smirks slightly. "I once disguised myself as a makari. I think between Lana and myself we can come up with something... convincing enough." He chuckles. "I looked pretty good too. Nice shiny black scales."

He glances up at the tower again, and shakes his head. "It's just strange to me. Maybe I don't think like a self-absorbed asshole of a wizard, but I expected him to set up shop somewhere where he could... y'know, show off." He shrugs. "It is what it is. I'm hoping he doesn't have any more clever toys he's unearthed to throw at us."

GAME: Magpie rolls knowledge/local: Trained Use Only: 0

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Knowledge/Local: Trained Use Only: 0

GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/local: (17)+13: 30

Cor'lana thinks for a long moment about clothing of the local area. Unfortunately... Despite being married to a clotheshorse, she is not one herself. She draws a blank, and then she looks at Telamon, who is, of course, his ridiculously good-looking self. And him showing off. And...

She suddenly receives a patient thought from Telamon to focus on the mission and as to what they ought to be wearing, so she snaps her fingers. "Alright. One veil, coming up." Cor'lana lifts her hand, incants the magic, and casts the spell. The group are now a relatively ordinary-seeming set of Veyshanti people, copying the outfits of the people around the tower to blend in.

"Okay. Let us proceed." Lana hooks her arm around Telamon's, as per their usual fashion.

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Veil. Caster Level: 20 DC: 28