Totem of Instinct
You were aboard an airship for DAYS. Worse, the after-trip was nearly as long. Saddled up on horses or in the wagon for what seems like an endless eternity. Yet _someone_ at the Temple of Eluna was willing to pay for the long trip. Willing to pay for the airship, the rent of the horses and the wagon, and all of your paychecks as well to get someone out to Stormgarde to check out a burial mound. Not that burial mounds are usually the business of the Temple of Eluna but... Here you are.
The mound of dirt and grass stands on the edge of a farmer's lands. He doesn't seem happy that it just _appeared_ there one day, and he'd like it gone if you can make that happen. Not that he seems to think that you can. At the top of the mound is a stone... cap of sorts. Marked with the symbol of various deities. All of the deities in fact. Each one in a circle around the edge. In the center of which is a circle barely visibly etched into the stone.
Dirk has certainly enjoyed the trip. He brought a small cask of whiskey with him to share with anyone who'd care to join him. And armed with a deck of cards, he's also happy to while away the time playing various and sundry card games. He's also happy to belt out his repertoire of dwarven drinking tunes while doing either or both. He's just happy in general--Dirk is the odd dwarf who's jolly natured by default. And this adventure is taking him -far- beyond his usual haunts.
But then, they're there at the Stromgardian farm, peering at this... mound. "An' it just sprung up, just like -that-?" he asks, tipping back the brim of his tricorne as he peers at the mound. He squints at the capstone, tugging at his beard. "Wait a tick... -last- time I saw summat like this, it led tae a cavern wi' a yuge sodding minotaur inside," he mutters. "This couldn't be more o' -that- nonsense... could it?"
Dolan had seemed more than amenable to this trip, and had signed up promptly when it came up. He seems fully kitted for several days' journey, and had joined in on the relaxed merriment - to a point. "Probably," he turns his entire face towards Dirk, and then his body, the better to see the khazad clearly. "I've got a guess as to what's inside it. If I'm right, we can make it safe, but we probably can't make it go away."
He adjusts greatsword and pack across his back, and turns to the others. "It's got something in it that the temple of Eluna wants to find and protect. If I'm right, I know a little bit about what it is an' why they want it." He turns to the farmer, and smiles in what he hopes is reassuring - and probably is not. "Seen a few of these before," he explains. "Don't know about making it go away, but I think we can make it safe."
Again, Eztli wasn't sure why she was even stepping foot on another airship after what happened last time. But still she needed money some way or another, and things hadn't gone that badly last time, so she was at least a bit hopeful. Though it was a long trip. A lot of days. She wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't the Elunan's setting everything up. Hopefully it was worth it.
The small makari was not the first to move and travel, but she wasn't slowing anyone down at least.
"Beats me. Cairns are usually a vardaman thing, I just hope it's not some lower god hiding their worship and rituals by making it look like a generic ritual or burial site." The small makari sighs. "I hope there aren't any minotaurs in there, but you never know for certain. Seems Dolan knows what it might be though, so that's a good thing, at least."
Magpie seems to have not traveled much, because the sorceress has been *irritatingly* highspirited even after the fourth consecutive day of flight. And even on the fifth day of the wagon trip, Magpie was cheerfully humming tunes while leafing through one of her many books. All in all, she is probably enjoying the journey more than any sane person, even a Gnome, ought.
When they finally roll up on the farm, the Suddenly Mound grabs hold of her attention and focus. "Oh this is *so cool,* what kind of stone is this? Is there something underneath then? Like a tunnel? OH! OH!! WHERE DOES IT GO I bet it's gonna be *suuuuch* a pain in the butt to get through maybe there'll be a flamethrower trap and poison arrows and someone jumping up like 'BLEH!' and then stabbing Dolan but at the end it turns out there's not gonna be riches or treasure or gems or anything because the real treasure was the friends we made along th--" Pausing, she turns slowly to blink up at Dolan. "...You've seen these before?!"
Perhaps Magpie was cooped up too long.
Dirk can't help but grin at Magpie. She's got the kind of can-do cheery attitude that the burly old snowbeard can get behind! But his grin fades a bit as she turns her attention on Dolan. He harrumphs, beard all a-bristle as he plants his free hand on his hip. "-I've- been -inside- one!" he grumbles. He turns his attention back to the cairn, tugging at his beard as he looks over the inscriptions. Finding the central circle, he gives a firm nod and hovers a meaty index finger over it. But he pauses before committing to the press. He looks over his shoulder at Dolan. "Wait a tick... ye think the Elunites want tae keep summat -inside- this one?" he asks.
"Yeah. It's been different each time, though, what's protecting it, but I'll tell you when we get in there." Dolan's flesh and blood eye flicks in the direction of the farmer, a truly odd-looking gesture when only one eye moves. "Go ahead and push it, I'll cover you." A slither of leather punctuates the comment, the Redeemer slipping his pack off so that the harness holding his sword can be released. Harness drops to the ground, sword is set down long enough to stash the harness in it and resume the pack.
When that is all done, Dolan stands, greatsword in hand, pack over back, and over nondescript cloak. "When you're ready."
"Exploring ancient artifacts is fun and all, within reason, but please don't let any excitement get to your head. That's how accidents happen." The small makari sighs. "Better they have the artifacts than any looters, if there are any at least. Especially if there are protections inside like Dolan says. no rhyme or reason to them though, or common thread to how they're set up?"
"Oh well, only one way to find out then, and they'd be really cross if we came out here just to not do anything and leave." Eztli shrugs as she readjusts her robes and peers at the stonework.
GAME: Eztli casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
"*What are you waiting for?*" Magpie isn't quite at the hopping up and down stage, but her outline is blurring some, as her excitement threatens to phase her beyond this mortal plane. But as she feels the flare of magic behind her, she does scoot back a bit, drawing a wand from the cloth bracer over her forearm, and giving herself a quick, protective bonk. Suitably armored in glowing, transparent pink magical plating, she resumes waiting for the door to be opened.
GAME: Magpie used a Wand of Mage Armor.
Dirk shrugs his broad shoulders. "Right. Here we go!" He gives the button a firm press and takes a step back. He settles his rifle into his hands, racking the slide and tensing himself up. He's ready for anything. Well. He -thinks- he's ready for anything. That may prove to not be the case.
GAME: Dirk rolls perception: (11)+8: 19 GAME: Magpie rolls perception: (8)+6: 14 GAME: Eztli rolls perception: (15)+5: 20
As the button in the center of the stone cap is pressed, there is a low grinding noise and the edge of the stone drops down into a stair case. You can easily follow it down into the pitch darkness which exists below. Nothing pierces that darkness. Not the ability to see in darkness, nor even the light of a torch. You follow the staircase mostly by feel, and then... You are spilled out into a forest.
A forest below ground? You look up and see a blue sky. All around you are trees. In fact. Directly behind you are trees too. It's... a forest.
GAME: Dolan rolls perception: (17)+10: 27
Dolan's remaining eye narrows once he's reached the bottom of the stairs, and he only absently moves out of the way of the staircase to clear the way. As soon as he does, he holds the greatsword in both hands, at the ready, staring at the forest scene before them. "Two halves of a deer - and the door between them. What's that pink thing covering the other half of each?"
Dirk was wrong. He's not at -all- ready for what he finds in this stone mound. The phantom forest is bad enough. Seeing those half-deer before him... the poor old snowbeard's jaw drops and he just... stares. One can almost see the blue screens scrolling over his eyes for a moment. "Wha..." Blink blink. "-What the hell is goin' on here-?!"
Eztli squints when the cairn turns into a staircase. "Surprised they built this place to be reentered, but that's certainly interesting. Wouldn't mind hearing how they got it to work once those Elunites were done with it." The small makari muses before she steps down into the room with the others.
"Ah, I hope this isn't some fey things happening. Whatever you do, don't give anyone your name, or accept any gifts offered to you. Least, that's what I was always told." Eztli warns. "Did the others have any magically still living dear halves in them? Seems like that's a no. What are we supposed to do now, then?"
Magically pitch-black staircases are interesting, but also not nearly safe. Were this Rune, Magpie would already be composing a strongly-worded letter to a Dean or Proctor or somesuch... But this is not Rune.
And as they emerge into a sun-dappled forest, Magpie falls *absolutely silent.* Toddling over to the nearest tree, the gnome crouches at the roots, reversing her wand and prodding the gnarled wood with the handle. "Pocket dimension? Planar travel? Probably pocket dimension, it *definitely* wouldn't be this easy to get into a celestial domain without feeling *something.* What in the worlds..."
Trailing off, her head pops up, orienting on the others. "Deer? What deer?"
The deer meanwhile stand there placidly being... entirely odd and seemingly unthreatening. They are between you and the door that stands in the middle of the forest without any support. It being pointed out makes it clear. The deer... well most of you can see them, but even pointing them out doesn't make them more obvious. They blend into the scenery.
"Usually the doors in these are one-way," Dolan answers Eztli, then turns to look behind him, for a moment. "This time is no different." He turns himself back to the deer, squinting at it. "Either that, or it's an illusion of some kind. Bet me that pink whatever it is doesn't let us through so easily. Anybody know if it's magic or not?"
GAME: Dirk rolls knowledge/nature: (4)+7: 11 GAME: Magpie rolls knowledge/the planes: (6)+7: 13
The small makari blinks. "It would have been good to know the doors were one way before entering. So what, how do we leave here then, only through that door?" She grumbles. "The deer, way over there." She adds, gesturing to the two halves of a deer that were in the distance. "They're watching us, or something. Can't tell if they're magic, maybe if we got closer, but I don't know if that's a good idea."
"...Okay so," Magpie says slowly, rising back to her feet and carefully using her robe to wipe any detritus off her wand. "I have no idea what kind of deer that is; I'm going to call it 'gloves' because it's two halves, and I'm putting that in the report. But um... Maybe this was obvious to anyone else, Iunno, this is my first time in a transdimensional root cellar, but, we're probably not on the world anymore. Like... Something smells planar here. So that, plus one deer doing a really good impression of two separate deer? Yeah, magic."
_Planes._ The word is enough to set Dolan's world on edge, and he re-readies his blade, taking a couple of steps forward towards the dear. The stance is not so much threatening, though, as defensive, and he turns his head to look at each half in turn as he advances towards it. Slowly, carefully.
Dirk gapes at Etzli. Blink blink. "Well of -course- they're magic deer!" he finally manages to sputter. "Ye ever -see- a deer walkin' in -two bloody halves- in nature?!" Magpie gets a firm nod. "See? -She- gets it?" He pinches the bridge of his nose with a hefty sigh. "They're nae payin' us enough tae put up wi' this bullshit," he grumbles. And he was in -such- a good mood when they were coming here. It really is about the journey and not the destination. Sometimes the destination -sucks-. He looks back over to Dolan, seeing the man readying to move. With a gulp, the dwarf starts to trundle after him, his knuckles white as they grip his thunderbelcher.
The deer are definitely watching you. Which is creepy. They're not watching you in a way that suggests that they understand what you are saying, which would be bad enough but rather... They look almost hungry. But deer - even odd deer - don't eat people right? One of the deer leans down and nibbles on the grass. Then _peers_ at Dolan.
The closer he gets the more intent the deer get on - him - and it's extremely unsettling.
GAME: Magpie rolls ranged-6: (16)+4+-6: 14
"So is this like, a gigantic red flag to anyone else?" Magpie says, searching through her bookbag as she totters up behind Dolan and Dirk. "No, no, I liked that one... I mean just, obvious prey animal, looking at Dolan like Andelena does sometimes only probably more literally, and oh yeah *that disguise only works when you're standing together jerks.* AHA!"
Drawing a lurid red book titled in incomprehensibly flowing script, she cocks her arm back and lets fly, the tome sailing through the air to *plop* between the demideer. "Damn. Well it was still a terrible book."
GAME: Dirk rolls Ranged: (13)+6: 19 GAME: Dirk rolls 1d12: (2): 2
Dirk trundles forward as his comrades move. He pauses as he gets close, lifting his rifle and drawing a bead. CHK-BOOM! The strange half-deer gets winged by his shot. "Bah!" He hawks and spits as he resumes his rush forward.
GAME: Eztli rolls 2d4+2: (8)+2: 10 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (16)+4: 20 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (3)+4: 7 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (3)+5: 8 GAME: Dolan rolls fortitude: (6)+9: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d8+1: (5)+1: 6
"It could be a deer that's had magic done to it, it could be a construct made to look like a deer, it could be not a deer at all and something else completely." Eztli replies, and then the deer looks at Dolan, and gnomes are throwing romance novels at them, and Dirk is shooting them. "Well, if they weren't attacking us before, they certainly are now." Eztli sighs. She lifts her hand and flicks her finger at one of the deer, sending two orange-ish red bolts to thud into it.
The two deer rush forward, startled seemingly by the book. They don't hesitate to attack Dolan however, nipping at his heels. One of them manages a good bite in spite of having only half a mouth to work with, and tries to headbutt him onto his butt at the same time; but it’s unable to unseat the sturdy man.
GAME: Dolan rolls weapon1: (4)+8: 12 GAME: Magpie casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 2 DC: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (5)+5: 10 GAME: Magpie rolls 2d4: (7): 7
Defensive stances are lifesavers, and Dolan's certainly grateful for his cautious, defensive approach. The spells come flying in around him, and he doesn't have time to shout back more than, "Thanks!" before the deer are on him. Those flat teeth may not draw blood, but they certainly hurt when one slips through his defense and gets ahold of his forearm.
He tears it free and while his sturdy stance is enough to keep the headbutt from knocking him onto his duff, it also hinders the return strike, and he whiffs just wide. "Holy Knight, lend me your shield," he calls out, restoring his stance into something just a little more balanced.
"No no no no," Magpie says, hurrying forward and slightly to Dolan's left. "You don't get to take chunks out of *my* buddy!"
Clapping her hands together as if catching a firefly, the gnome brings her hands up to her mouth, and exhales a *sharp* puff of air. And as she does so, she throws her hands wide, and a sheet of yellow-and-purple flames roars out, catching one of the halves in a riot of color and pain.
GAME: Dirk rolls Ranged: (13)+6: 19 GAME: Dirk rolls 1d12: (5): 5
Dirk racks his rifle, and as he does, one of the gems on his bandolier winks out. He scootches to the side to get a clear shot, lifting his thunderbelcher to his shoulder. "Oy! You hungry? EAT THIS!" he thunders, before pulling back on the trigger. CHK-BOOM! This shot hits with a much more meaty THUMPP, and the old hunter grins. "HAH! Aye, how's -that- taste, ye half-split bastard?!"
GAME: Eztli casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (19)+5: 24 GAME: Eztli rolls 3d4+3: (7)+3: 10 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (13)+4: 17 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (8)+4: 12 GAME: Dolan rolls weapon1: (12)+8: 20
At least she knew the deer were hostile now, though whether that was due to being shot was unknown. Still, they were probably going to keep attacking now, so they would need to be dealt with. The small makari runs up around them, and brings her hand up, alight with flickering flames that she throws in the direction of the deer, covering it in fire that vanishes just as quickly as it appeared.
The deer continue their assault on Dolan, but his armor and defensive stance prove too effective and their attacks don't land anywhere vital.
"Stay back, don't let them think you're tasty." Dolan warns Magpie as she comes up and to his left. This time, the balanced stance serves him much better, and he's able to nimbly dodge both sets of teeth, then reverse the blade. HASSAN CHOP! And the head slides slowly from the thing's withers. Well, half a head. The other half is still feeling frisky.
GAME: Magpie casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 2 DC: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (18)+5: 23 GAME: Magpie rolls 2d4: (5): 5
"Got it!" Magpie chirps, slipping further forward to brind the other deer into view. Once again, the firefly is caught, and purple-green flames rush out in a horizontal fan. "Eztli, get to the other side! We'll keep its attention split!"
GAME: Dirk rolls ranged: (11)+6: 17 GAME: Dirk rolls 1d12: (11): 11
Dirk racks his rifle, and another gem on his bandolier winks out. "By the Green Lady, this was the -best- purchase I -ever- made!" he growls with delight as he lines up another shot. He sights down the barrel of his thunderbelcher, eye slowly narrowing as he draws his bead. "Smile, you son of a--!" CHK-BOOM! Alas, the half-deer can no longer smile. It no longer has a head (or even half a head) to do so. The bullet flies true, smacking into the thing's demi-cranium and splattering strange half-deer goo-bits all over the damn place. "BOOM! HEADSHOT!" he bellows, pumping his fist with a grin.
"Okay!" Magpie says, bouncing on her toes. "That works too! So okay, what happens next?" The gnome looks between Dolan and Dirk. "You've both done this before, so... explain. How does this normally work?"
As she talks, she whips out a small journal and stub of charcoal, looking up expectantly.
Once the second deer drops, Dolan waits to make sure it is still and unmoving completely before transferring the bloodied blade to his off hand, flexing the bitten arm slowly and experimentally. He seems to have full use of it, and he opens and closes the hand a couple of times before looking at the door. "See if there's anything around her we want or need. Once we go through the door, we can't come back."
Dirk racks his rifle, loading another round, -just- in case he needs it. You never can tell when there's extraplanar shenanigans involved. He looks over at Magpie, eyes boggling wide. Blink blink. "Och, ye think -I- know?" he finally asks. "Dana's teats, lass, I'm lucky tae remember me own sodding name some days! I'm just along fer the ride! An' tae shoot things. Mostly just shoot things. -Yer- the finger-wiggler, aren't ye? Why don't you tell -me- how this works. Because I'd -really- like tae know!" Pause. "I don't -actually- want tae know."
"Got it!" Eztli calls back to Magpie as she sprints over to the other side, only to find the deer already dead, or at least, not moving now. She sighs and rubs her shoulder. "Well, don't got it, but don't need to! That's good that it's down, but we can't get complacent. And, right. So, how do we get out of here? You said once we're through the door that's it, seems like you've been to these before, but I really don't want to wander another plane until we starve to death."
GAME: Eztli rolls perception: (7)+5: 12 GAME: Magpie rolls perception: (7)+6: 13 GAME: Dolan rolls perception: (1)+10: 11 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Dirk rolls Perception: (5)+8: 13
"Well I mean, if this is anything like the last one," Magpie says, kneeling down and peering at the decapitated half-deer. If it can bite her *now,* she has bigger problems to deal with anyway. Digging in her satchel, she extracts book after book, as if looking for something. "Where is it, where is-- ah!" An empty vial is extracted, and the gnome turns her head away a bit as she presses the mouth of the vial against leaking red meat, squishing down on the neck to get a full sample. "Gods I need to be important enough to have people for this... OKAY. SAMPLE GET."
Stowing the vial, she climbs to her feet again, turning to the door. "What I meant was, we go through this door now. I'm assuming what's gonna be on the other side of *this* one isn't what was there the *last* time, so... How many doors did you go through?"
"Two or three," Dolan answers, straightening and picking up his blade to clean it in the grass. He looks towards the doorframe, and starts towards it.
Dirk watches the sample getting with a somewhat queasy look. In any other situation, he'd be right there with Magpie, collecting the skin and venison. He's a responsible hunter and uses as much of his kills as he can. But... one can only imagine the kind of nightmare fuel getting the leather from -these- things would be. Do they even -have- leather? He gulps hard and turns away, hurriedly lumbering over to the door with Dolan. "Right, let's see what fresh hell awaits us," he says.
"You're going to have to add in the report that you collected those samples, and not just that you called them mittens. Which is, I don't know. Maybe they're two different animals? You might be able to name them together." Eztli sighs as she stops to take a look around, and not find much.
"Well, we should all go into that door together though, don't want to get split up if there are more beasts about, or the doors stop working for no reason."
The small makari sighs and moves to the door as well. "If this place wasn't so uncertain either, and I was better prepared, it'd be interesting to take a proper look around. But I'm not really equipped for proper study."
As you start through the door you realize that there are _more_ of those deer in the woods. Many more of them. Many, many more. Enough that you almost rush through and then you're suddenly elsewhere. The door behind you gone and a new one before you. Though between it and you is a pedestal with a small statuette on it. A twisted thing of a person mid-transformation. It looks... as horrible as those deer.
Getting through the door is almost a relief, and Dolan moves quickly. Once on the other side, he stops at the sight of the statuette on the plinth, but instead of revulsion or disgust, he just nods, as if that was what he was expecting. "Yeah, thought so," he says, then turns fully towards the other as they come in. "This is what they want," he explains to the others. "You know all those werewolves that have been all over the damn city? This is one of the things they want. It's one of the anchors that holds the Nightmare's chains in the abyss. You can't destroy it anywhere but the Dream Realm, and you don't want to destroy it at all. By itself, left alone, it'll give you fucking nightmares, but if you bleed on it, it'll attune it to you. It gives you some strange-ass dreams, but they're not nightmares, and as long as you're of the Light, it'll strengthen those chains and keep the werewolves from bringing him back. I'd do it myself, but I've already got one, and I don't know what'll happen if I try to attune more than one."
"Gloves," Magpie says distractedly, scribbling down notes in her journal. "I called them 'gloves.' 'Mittens' is if we were still in Stormgarde and needed them."
Her mind is mostly on her writing, but an errant look up puts extra spice in her jogging behind the group. Once through, the gnome looks up and around at their new surroundings. Scribble scribble scribb--
The book snaps shut, as Magpie orients all of her attention on Dolan. Always, *always* listen to the expert.
"So... when you say 'of the Light.' Are we talking, like, active membership in the Temple?"
Dirk peers at the statue, tipping back the brim of his tricorne. "Och, is -that- what they're for? I thought they were just some wicked-bad evil," he grumbles. "But... when ye describe 'em like -that-, then they -are- wicked-bad evil, I'll warrant." He looks between the others, then at the statue. -Is- he one with the Light? He's always followed the Green Word, and Gilead -technically- is one of the Gods of Light. Of course, like most dwarves, he's also hot-tempered, hedonistic, and foul-mouthed. Plus, there's the whole 'weird dreams from beyond' and all that. But... the old snowbeard is, in his heart, a good man. He's seen what those werewolves can do. Often he's lamented about not being able to help. But... perhaps now he can. "Oh, piss up my arse," he grumbles, holstering his thunderbelcher over his shoulder. He unlaces one of his bracers and pulls it off, holding it in his teeth as he digs his pocketknife out of his hip satchel. He thumbs the blade out and lumbers over to Dolan. "Giff it hurr," he says around the mouthful of leather.
"Same thing. Just a matter of if they have fingers or not." Eztli shrugs. Though she stops, and sighs. "If you had an inkling that's what we're looking for, you can tell us beforehand so we aren't just stumbling on it by chance though."
"I just follow Eluna loosely, I'm not of the light as you put it, so probably not for me. I'd say bring it to the people who set up this expedition, but if Dirk is willing to try it, well, it's not my place to stop him. Assuming there's no bad effects from doing that, at least."
Suddenly, a cheeky grin splits Dolan's features, strong enough to lift the scarred half with good-natured laughter. "For as much as you say that, I'm starting to think you like having someone piss up your arse, Dirk," he chuckles, but reaches forward to take the statue, wrapping his hand in a corner of his cloak to ensure that he does not touch it directly.
He walks back towards Dirk with it in hand, and replies to Eztli, "Didn't want to say it in front of the farmer. They're simple folk, and he's scared enough as it is. He doesn't need to know what this is."
To Magpie, he frowns, then stops and considers. "All the ones I know of happen to be in the hands of somebody from a temple - one of the Silver Guard has one, someone several people I know have vouched for. I've got one, and last I knew, Andie's got another. Don't think you have to be of a temple, though." He offers it to Dirk, seeming to take the stepping forward in stride.
"Weirder than standing on a desert island in silk sort of high-priest robes, while dozens of Egalrin in bikinis are screaming and throwing little pickles at you?" Magpie rejoins, grinning. "I asked cos I was about to offer, but if there's more than two of these, you take this one Dirk. I'm sure the opportunity will come around later, and... That actually makes a weird sort of sense, come to think of it. I mean not the pickles, the doors... If these are anchors to a prison, then you want to bury them as deep as you can... And where better than all across the planes all at once? Besides it's dream logic; something weird happens, you don't even stop to think how weird it is, you just go 'yes that sounds right' and keep going. Stormgarde to forest to wherever this is. Maybe next time we'll pass through a flying dream!"
Dirk grunts a bit at Dolan as he reaches the man. His shaggy white brows furrow and his eyes narrow as he draws the blade of his handaxe over his arm. Once a thick line of dark red dwarven blood has risen, he holsters his axe and smears it on his palm. He reaches out to take ahold of the statue, bracing himself for whatever magical shenanigans might be coming. "It's a common dwarven curse," he says to Dolan as he grips the statue, his blood smearing over the surface. "We say it all the time. 's just an expression."
"Fair enough." Eztli shrugs as she waits around on the sidelines. "If it'll work, then maybe it'll work. Why would an egalrin even wear a bikini though? That's just confusing. Guess that's the deal with dreams, they don't make sense and mash things together trying to make sense of them."
"Well, fingers crossed it works, and then we can out of here. I don't want to linger if this thing is going to draw werewolves or other unpleasant folks to it now that it isn't hidden, It'll hopefully be safe enough up on the airship."
As Dirk smears his blood on the statue it... changes. Becomes an image of an athletic looking man. It's hard to make out any details about him, but it's a much more wholesome image than that of the twisted form that Dirk had been holding for a few moments.
In the aftermath, you leave the room behind, exiting out through the only door that remains and... out into the fields of the farmer that you left behind only a little bit ago. Also... your trek didn't remove the mound from his property. Mores the shame.
-End