Post by Toby (DM) on Feb 28, 2022 11:50:56 GMT
“Fascinating!”
Oriloki’s eyes are saucer-wide, a boyish grin splitting his face. Aurelia feels her serenity waver just a little at the bespectacled Goliath’s enthusiasm.
She takes a breath.
“Certainly - though not unconcerning. How do you feel, Coll?”
The barman-come-councillor looks up at her from his chair.
“Fine, I think. Not that much different than normal. Honestly I barely notice unless I catch myself in the mirror. Well, that and the whole ‘aware of every part of a flying city’ thing of course.”
Aurelia gives him a smile of commiseration, though even she has to confess it’s a little half hearted. She is, after all, a touch distracted.
It’s been less than a day since the small band of adventurers returned from their mission to rescue the Academy’s archaeological team from the depths of Gadenthor. Not only had several of the scholars been killed (not to mention the diplomatic liaison from Harnash - they’d be dealing with the fallout from that for a while yet she wagered) but there had been several…other developments, too.
Somehow, in the fight with the creatures who had kidnapped the research team, Coll had formed some kind of connection with the machine or entity that powered the crashed Netherese city. They still had a long way to go in discovering the extent of that connection, but one effect had made itself immediately apparent.
The city was crashed no longer.
Indeed, one need only look at Coll to know just how dramatically events had turned. It wasn’t so much written all over his face, as inside his head.
His brows were encircled with a band of silvery material, about two inches wide. From a distance, it appeared to be a crown or a diadem, polished to a mirror sheen, but on closer inspection showed itself to be far more unnerving. It showed the city of Gadenthor in its entirety, floating serenely above the jungle plateaus of Harnash, as though someone had cored Coll’s skull and replaced its contents with a snow globe of extraordinary detail.
“Has it spoken to you again?”
Coll grimaced, meeting her gaze with eyes of unnerving, uninterrupted blue - another symptom of this strange bond.
“Constantly. I can’t get it to do anything though, at least not as far as I can tell. It just asks me the same question any time I think about it. ‘What is your command, Magister?’”
She gives a nod, patting him gently on the shoulder. From the far window, the room’s fourth occupant makes an impatient sound.
“This is all very interesting, but it doesn’t seem to go any way towards solving the immediate problems my people are facing - namely, the unplanned levitation of our palace district and an invasion by dragon riding interplanar maniacs!”
Anyone else might find the Harnashi ambassador intimidating - Kirith Dentilar is not a small woman - but Aurelia is not so easily shaken. What they need now are practical solutions.
“Has anyone managed to speak with the invaders yet? We’re still assuming they’re Githyanki from the descriptions?” She pauses for Oriloki’s nod of affirmation. “Do we know what they want?”
The Orcish diplomat gives a tight shake of the head, braids whipping against her shoulders.
“No. Anyone who has approached has either been captured or forced to retreat. For now they have confined themselves to the city itself, but I can’t imagine they’ll stay there forever.”
“Indeed.”
All eyes are drawn to the image of Gadenthor swirling across Coll’s brow as dark shapes flit over the skyline, chased by actinic flashes.
“Perhaps” Kirith’s words are slow, measured. “Perhaps if you were to surrender this artefact to us we might be able to gain some advantage from it. At the very least it would give us some indication of their movements.”
Aurelia gives a tight smile.
“We would be delighted to. Unfortunately, much as Coll might wish to part with the circlet, it appears to have other ideas. It has joined itself to him, as much a part of his body now as his own teeth, and no magic at our disposal, arcane or divine, has been able to separate them. Moreover, as you have heard, Coll seems to have no control over whatever the entity is that he is linked to, in spite of it’s constant requests for instruction. Oriloki here has conjectured that some arcane ability may be required to directly interact with it. No, I suspect less orthodox solutions will be required.”
Her brow furrows momentarily in a pensive frown before she looks up again, serene and unreadable.
“In the meantime, we will make our adventuring community available to you, should you feel that beneficial to the defence of the city. I will have Girelle Veluss draw up the particulars. Phillip will show you to one of the diplomatic suits so you may rest before meeting with the ambassador.”
She nods her thanks to the dark haired young man who politely but firmly escorts Kirith from the room. As the doors close, she lets out a sigh, sharing a smile with Coll.
“I suggest you try and get some rest, Coll. Master Manyvoices here will poke and prod at you all evening if you let him.”
Oriloki looks as though he is about to protest, but Coll cuts across him.
“Where are you going?”
As she finishes fastening her cloak, she throws him a tight smile.
“To see a man about a Gith.”
Oriloki’s eyes are saucer-wide, a boyish grin splitting his face. Aurelia feels her serenity waver just a little at the bespectacled Goliath’s enthusiasm.
She takes a breath.
“Certainly - though not unconcerning. How do you feel, Coll?”
The barman-come-councillor looks up at her from his chair.
“Fine, I think. Not that much different than normal. Honestly I barely notice unless I catch myself in the mirror. Well, that and the whole ‘aware of every part of a flying city’ thing of course.”
Aurelia gives him a smile of commiseration, though even she has to confess it’s a little half hearted. She is, after all, a touch distracted.
It’s been less than a day since the small band of adventurers returned from their mission to rescue the Academy’s archaeological team from the depths of Gadenthor. Not only had several of the scholars been killed (not to mention the diplomatic liaison from Harnash - they’d be dealing with the fallout from that for a while yet she wagered) but there had been several…other developments, too.
Somehow, in the fight with the creatures who had kidnapped the research team, Coll had formed some kind of connection with the machine or entity that powered the crashed Netherese city. They still had a long way to go in discovering the extent of that connection, but one effect had made itself immediately apparent.
The city was crashed no longer.
Indeed, one need only look at Coll to know just how dramatically events had turned. It wasn’t so much written all over his face, as inside his head.
His brows were encircled with a band of silvery material, about two inches wide. From a distance, it appeared to be a crown or a diadem, polished to a mirror sheen, but on closer inspection showed itself to be far more unnerving. It showed the city of Gadenthor in its entirety, floating serenely above the jungle plateaus of Harnash, as though someone had cored Coll’s skull and replaced its contents with a snow globe of extraordinary detail.
“Has it spoken to you again?”
Coll grimaced, meeting her gaze with eyes of unnerving, uninterrupted blue - another symptom of this strange bond.
“Constantly. I can’t get it to do anything though, at least not as far as I can tell. It just asks me the same question any time I think about it. ‘What is your command, Magister?’”
She gives a nod, patting him gently on the shoulder. From the far window, the room’s fourth occupant makes an impatient sound.
“This is all very interesting, but it doesn’t seem to go any way towards solving the immediate problems my people are facing - namely, the unplanned levitation of our palace district and an invasion by dragon riding interplanar maniacs!”
Anyone else might find the Harnashi ambassador intimidating - Kirith Dentilar is not a small woman - but Aurelia is not so easily shaken. What they need now are practical solutions.
“Has anyone managed to speak with the invaders yet? We’re still assuming they’re Githyanki from the descriptions?” She pauses for Oriloki’s nod of affirmation. “Do we know what they want?”
The Orcish diplomat gives a tight shake of the head, braids whipping against her shoulders.
“No. Anyone who has approached has either been captured or forced to retreat. For now they have confined themselves to the city itself, but I can’t imagine they’ll stay there forever.”
“Indeed.”
All eyes are drawn to the image of Gadenthor swirling across Coll’s brow as dark shapes flit over the skyline, chased by actinic flashes.
“Perhaps” Kirith’s words are slow, measured. “Perhaps if you were to surrender this artefact to us we might be able to gain some advantage from it. At the very least it would give us some indication of their movements.”
Aurelia gives a tight smile.
“We would be delighted to. Unfortunately, much as Coll might wish to part with the circlet, it appears to have other ideas. It has joined itself to him, as much a part of his body now as his own teeth, and no magic at our disposal, arcane or divine, has been able to separate them. Moreover, as you have heard, Coll seems to have no control over whatever the entity is that he is linked to, in spite of it’s constant requests for instruction. Oriloki here has conjectured that some arcane ability may be required to directly interact with it. No, I suspect less orthodox solutions will be required.”
Her brow furrows momentarily in a pensive frown before she looks up again, serene and unreadable.
“In the meantime, we will make our adventuring community available to you, should you feel that beneficial to the defence of the city. I will have Girelle Veluss draw up the particulars. Phillip will show you to one of the diplomatic suits so you may rest before meeting with the ambassador.”
She nods her thanks to the dark haired young man who politely but firmly escorts Kirith from the room. As the doors close, she lets out a sigh, sharing a smile with Coll.
“I suggest you try and get some rest, Coll. Master Manyvoices here will poke and prod at you all evening if you let him.”
Oriloki looks as though he is about to protest, but Coll cuts across him.
“Where are you going?”
As she finishes fastening her cloak, she throws him a tight smile.
“To see a man about a Gith.”