A Resurrectionists Visit, Part 5

Log Info

• Title: A Resurrectionist's Visit, Part 5

• GM: Whirlpool

• Characters: Fidget, Reithak, Thoth

• Place: Mountains on Alexandros's East Border

• Summary: A 'lower level' investigation of a magical phenomenon at the behest of Griva Brassbinger, local head of the Resurrectionists of Animus. Now with added support. The party has cleared the curiosity of enemies, and is investigating a possible Magicite vein

<<Previous: A Resurrectionists Visit, Part 4>>

So, there you have it. With the corpses of the bugbears tucked away after a little work, and the troll nowhere near returning, you're able to take a rest. A rest long enough to prepare some magical spells that seem likely to help with digging out the magicite you presume is present. Farland keeps busy with magics of his own, trying to ensure that things stay safe. Seems he's got some dispel magics of his own, and anytime he sees the flame start to come back to life, he slaps them down again. Seems a proficient little wizard himself.

After taking some time to study what looks like a little old metallic rolodex-like device hidden within its arm, Thoth finally takes in a deep breath -- one it doesn't need to take -- and then clicks its beak. "This one is ready to proceed." It announces, after which it takes a moment to thank Farland as it rises up. Ra lands on its shoulder as it approaches the spot. Making sure the flame is not back to its old habits, before it spreads out its fingers and clicks its beak a few times. It then puts its fingers in front of it, like one would do trying to part a set of curtains, and then slowly begins to 'open' the curtains. And with that, the ground begins to move...

Reithak finds a spot to take a seat, and the large Egalrin tosses off their jacket and undershirt, and the inquisitor pulls out a small sewing kit, mending their clothes while everyone is resting. Reithak does keep an eye on the flame, sensing if any of the evil is returning, but Farland seems to have it under control for the time being. "All set?" She asks Thoth, watching the work intently. "Alright! Everyone at the ready, just in case, then."

"And this one...uhh... *I* have some more Dispel ready in case we find more evil fire. Plus a little fire of my own!" Fidget informs the others, and quickly weaves a protection spell, as the bird said, Just in case.

<OOC> Fidget has Mage Armor
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Perception rolls, everyone!"
GAME: Fidget rolls perception: (4)+8: 12
GAME: Thoth rolls Perception: (10)+5: 15
GAME: Thoth (Ra) rolls 10: (10)+10: 20
GAME: Reithak rolls perception: (11)+13: 24

There's a lot of earth to move, if we're honest. It's a good thing Thoth is prepared to do it. Before long, you're able to make significant progress, always ready for the possibility that you might destabilize the magicite in some way. And indeed, that's nearly waht happens but for the sharp eyes of Thoth's companion and Reithak. You're able to halt right at the last second as you unearth the hint of azure crystal. This isn't just magicite being in place. This is a huge vein of it, running horizontally under the earth, stretching into the mountainside proper. Farland lets out a low whistle.

<OOC> Fidget estimates how much this must be worth, assuming we can harvest it safely.
GAME: Fidget rolls appraise: (12)+13: 25

"Hang on! Don't go touching that if we can help it, Farland said it can be real unstable." Reithak warns suddenly as the crystal is unearthed. "I guess, huh, it was magicite after all, but that's pretty massive, isn't it? No wonder it seemed like a broken leyline, but what cause this to get here like this? And well, why was it distinctly evil, at that?"

"Oh, wow! That's a lot of magicite" Fidget awes at it, "It must be worth several small fortunes, or one medium-sized fortune! Plus if we mess up collecting it, it explodes and that's also awesome. Though it's hard to properly appreciate an explosion of that size from up close so I'll watch from back there a bit." Fidget points over her shoulder and grins at the others. "Technically, the city council lays claim to all of this, but there's so much, I'm sure they wouldn't miss a couple shards for research purposes." The goblin adds, eyeing up the deposit for how you could break off some pieces without blowing anyone up inconveniently.

"This one will not permit a mistake to be made." Thoth remarks, patiently and carefully unearthing everything. Carefully shifting bits at a time, removing earth and leaving sand in places to keep the magicite itself stable. It's like someone poured hot metal into an ants-nest, and then unearthed the ants-nest in a ways. Such care is being taken by Thoth, supporting it where-ever it needs supporting. Until finally, it is as well-removed as it can do safely. "This one can create a Floating Disk in order to move this carefully." It then states. "But this one is uncertain how to return this to the Sea."

<OOC> Reithak says, "Does it look evil with Detect Evil?"
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "You're definitely detecting some darkness here, Reithak."

Farland kneels down beside it, studying it. He shakes his head. "...strange," he murmurs, "No map of the leylines indicates that magicite should be here like this. There've been earthquakes in the mountains recently. Perhaps that caused a shift in the Sea of Mana's flow through the area?" He's speculating now. "We know that Purple Worms dug under them not long ago, too -- undead ones part of the the destroyer of Dragonier's machinations. It's possible that caused a shift, producing a mana flare that could have crystalized here." He glances where the vein runs into into the mountain said. "... but that's not the only possibility."

"Does thou wisheth me to remain here to further investigate this matter?" Thoth inquires with Farland, while considering the situation. "This one is not an expert on Magicite, but this one can learn quick." It points out. "Or shall others take over guard duties upon this place?"

"If you want to take some back with us, I can try to separate some chunks off, I want to do that anyway so I can research it, look into the darkness in it with all my tools, and the resources of the Arcanists." Fidget cautiously steps up to the edge of the excavation, and activates her magic senses to start to get a feel for the flow of power in the ore, where it's concentrated, where it's most volatile.

GAME: Fidget casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 7 DC: 15
GAME: Fidget casts Fox's Cunning. Caster Level: 7 DC: 15

"Oh, and you should either assist me, or stand about 75 feet thataway for the best viewpoint of possible explosions." The goblin adds, matter-of-factly. "I don't know any leyline maps, but it does seem out of place, probably." Reithak admits, taking a few steps back to make sure she wasn't disturbing any more soil. "Let's, lets try to avoid anything blowing us all up, If there's a chance you'll break it if you try to get any fragments, I say we get a specialized team in to do that." Reithak warns. "So what are the other possibilities, then?"

"Especially since it's still not quite right. Like, it shouldn't be evil, should it? Still seems like it to me, but that doesn't make sense if it's just crystallized magic, does it?"

Farland sits down and studies it a moment later, nodding to Fidget. "Yeaaaah, it seems moderately explosive," he agrees, then he turns topwards reithak, squinting. "...evil, huh?" He doesn't like the sound of that. "Well, if you look closely," he says to Fidget, "You can tell how this magicite is aspected, right?"

<OOC> Thoth says, "Can Thoth tell how this thing is Aspected?"
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Knowledge/Arcana, Thoth!"
GAME: Thoth rolls Knowledge/Arcana: (15)+12: 27

"Hrrm... this is... so much Magicite." Thoth remarks. That's the main thing it is concerned with, more than anything. As it has unearthed so much of it, it notes; "In my time, this would be far more valuable than... well, if one brought this to one of mine, this would be more valuable than a dozen Wish spells." Though its tone is plain, the way its body shakes shows just how impressed it is. It knows more about the aspect of this crystal, but right now it's honestly too busy being taken aback by what lies before it.

"Yeah, but if we get a specialized team, they'll take ages to collect it, and the council will claim all of it. If we want to find out what's going on with the evil enchantment magic that's suffusing the magicite, now, then we should take a little risk and harvest a small piece. A few small pieces." Fidget tries to persuade the others, though her eyes haven't left the magical rock. "Don't know about you, but I'd rather not just leave it for someone else to actually figure out what's going on."

<OOC> Reithak says, "can I roll anything to inform how bad of an idea this is"
<OOC> Fidget says, "I would also love to roll the thing to find out whether this plan is risky vs probably a completely awful idea."

"That much, huh? Well, it'd be real swell to retire, but that'd be real boring and there's still a lot of work to be done, now. Like figuring out why there's a big chunk of crystalized, somewhat evil magic here to begin with." Reithak sighs. "But, well, it's not a little risk, Fidget. It's a big risk, and if it goes wrong, the entire crystal is probably gone with it. Not to mention, well, you probably would be gone as well, and I really don't want to have someone die for their curiosity."

GAME: Fidget rolls knowledge/arcana+1: (15)+15+1: 31
GAME: Fidget rolls use magic device: (2)+10: 12
<OOC> Fidget says, "Fidget could zap the excitable part with Dispel Magic to stabilize it?"
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Dispel magic would definitely work, and is a clever choice! Roll a caster check for it."
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Fidget sees its starting to destabilize and moves to neutralize it!"
GAME: Fidget rolls 7+7: (5)+7+7: 19
<OOC> Whirlpool says, "Success! If barely. xD"
GAME: Fidget rolls use magic device: (14)+10: 24

"Goblins, and Elgarin, and Wargolems die for their curiosity all the time. Though they rarely intend to." Fidget frowns, definitely fighting between what she's aware is 'common sense', and her overwhelming desire to get the puzzle piece in front of her so she can solve it. The curiosity wins out. It usually does. The Gobbo hops down the handful of feet to the bottom of the excavated section, and takes out a small chisel (who leaves home without one?) and uses her magic sight to identify the spot where the magic is most stable, and there's a strong aura with a weaker area around it, where the link can be severed. She places her chisel, and takes a deep breath, "I'm only *pretty* sure this won't explode, so hopefully you're not too close by!" She whacks the chisel with her tiny fist, sending cracks spiraling outwards from the impact, not quite enough to separate the chunk from the main body. She winds up for a second whack, but the cracks start to glow brightly, "Oh. That's bad. That's very bad!" she squeaks out, panicking for a moment before she realizes that she *can* do this, she just needs to change up the approach. With some arcane words, she conjures just a touch of anti-magic, and gestures over the ore, careful not to touch it directly, leaving a sigil of power over where the cracks formed. The glow freezes in place, no longer growing in strength, it gives her just a few more seconds to complete her work, and she drives her tool home, severing the magical link between the two pieces of magicite, and her prize falls onto a cloth bag prepared on the floor below, between her feet with a soft clink. "Everything's fine! It all went perfectly to plan!" comes the voice from down the hole.

GAME: Fidget rolls bluff: (14)+12: 26
GAME: Thoth rolls Sense Motive: (8)+-3: 5
GAME: Reithak rolls sense motive: (9)+10: 19

Thoth watches as the Gobbo suddenly jumps in there with that small chisel. "What quantity of 'pretty sure' are you using in this assessment?" Thoth inquires, as it remains close to the edge of the hole. Partially in case it needs to 'jump in' and assist the small little Gobbo. However, it doesn't move away, even when she squeeks out something about things being bad... Only to masterfully fix the situation, freezing the glow, and chipping away a chunk of Magicite and indicates all was according to plan. "This one is glad all went according to plan. Though this one does recommend 'things going bad' not be added as part of a future plan." It helpfully points out.

"Oh, I really don't like this at all, making my feathers stand all on end." The large egalrin huffs, but she doesn't really move out of there. Maybe if something horrible did go long, there'd be time to jump off a cliff with the goblin, which wasn't as horrible an idea when you had a pair of wings. So Reithak was halfway over the edge into their excavation when something went wrong, but the goblin managed to fix things. The hand going for the scruff of their neck pats Fidget gently on the head. "Good, now let's get it out of here while everything remains perfectly to plan, alright?"