Editing Fontainver (section)

==Elemental Paths==

Tak was drawn to the carving of the sea, which he felt an affinity for, and started to meditate with his hand upon it. We inspected the rest of the room, and I commented that it seemed like a place where portals to other worlds could be summoned to travel elsewhere (I remembered that I was supposed to meet Orodruin in this way before we were attacked). Suddenly four braziers appeared in a circle around Tak, with a scroll at his feet... his prayers had been answered! I was immediately suspicious. The world had already gone to shit because the uplanders had meddled with the Gods and brought them down to fight among us - was this what he was doing? Tak, though, claimed that the Lord of the Sea was a part of our world and not a God that lived separated from us. Hmm. Was there a Lord of Rock, then? I would have to think on this.

Tak examined the scroll, and saw that it had symbols representing the elements: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth in a circle. This showed us the orientation, and when matched with the water and air carvings in the room we could know the missing symbols and activate the portal. In theory... I had never had to do it! Tak thanked his Lord of the Seas as we started moving braziers, setting all four out on the former symbols. We reckoned that we had come from Air (the Air gate above us) and were trying to get to Earth (the rock that was a fortress and a prison below), so we set light to first the Air and then the Earth braziers. Cassandra did the first and I did the second, as we were closest to those elements. The doors swung open of their own accord, and we could see the shimmering silver of a portal beyond... this was getting quite exciting!

Tak seemed to be excited too, running forward and leaping into the shimmering void, with me following eagerly behind. Silanna followed more cautiously at the rear, but we all arrived in the same place just a little disorientated. We were in a completely different room, stood within a pentagram which itself was within a circle. Again they were gold and silver, with four symbols, but this time they filled the centre of the room. There were two figures here: a green, pointy-ear thing that was tall and slender holding a fine sword, and a shorter, uglier green skinned creature holding a gnarled wooden staff with misty eyes and slightly floppy ears. The floor and ceiling were black basalt, although the ceiling was shot through with veins of gold and the floor with veins of silver. Depicted on the walls were a mountain range (farthest from the two figures), a massive volcano that was erupting (nearest the figures), a tumultous sea, and what initially seemed blank on the other way. We noticed that all but the mountain seemed to be moving, though, and the blank space seemed to shimmer as if the air were moving. On the Air wall we saw a half-dozen barred windows spaced out along it. There was an in-rush of air towards us as we arrived as if we had filled a vacuum for a moment.

Even as Tak started to ask for safe passage we were attacked. Our minds were assailed first, and I struck back, sensing it was the tall, slender figure that was hostile. Several glowing lights flew from the foe into Tak, causing him to stagger in pain. Silanna reacted first, loosing arrows and striking the figure twice, and this time it was his turn to stagger in pain. It chanted, clearly casting again, but this time there was no obvious effect, and Silanna buried two more arrows into it - this time it finally fell dead. The other creature then spoke, seemingly quite excited that we had killed the tall one, and pointing at the shackle on its leg, but the words were all garbled and we couldn't understand him. He seemed to understand us, though, and we were able to get some basic information by asking him to nod for yes answers.

As we were establishing that he was a captive, the circle and pentagram suddenly disappeared, and we could talk freely in Common. He unhelpfully referred to me as "Devil Gnome", saying that he was a "Demon Gnome". He wondered why we were there, as it was a strange place to be, and we explained that we were looking for prisoners to release. He indicated his shackle again, and said we had found one! Tak was able to unlock it for him, but we kept conversing. He, strangely, could not see the bars that we saw in the wall near him (and we could all see them). As Silanna got closer to the wall to investigate, she noticed that there was a hidden door within the wall. We wondered if there were exits in all the directions, and sure enough she was able to find one in the mountain wall as well.

I said that I would rather go towards stone, as that was our intent and we should stay on our path lest we became lost. Silanna pushed at the door mechanism, but as she did so she heard a noise behind us (it was the Demon Gnome, who called himself "Dak"), and then Tak and I fell instantly into a deep slumber! Silanna challenged Dak, who said that he wanted us to join "THEM" and didn't seem friendly any more. Silanna was able to wake Tak, but then three more figures like Dak appeared around him. Actually, they were EXACTLY like Dak, and it was likely that this was just some defensive dweomer. This was confirmed when Silanna loosed an arrow that passed through one of the images, causing it to disappear. As she was doing that, Tak was able to wake me, and Silanna continued to fire at Dak. Just as we were about to move up to help her, a giant, thick web appeared between us and Dak, with Silanna trapped inside.

I peered through the web strands and could see Dak chanting, and Silanna shouted that he was going to create some grease. Sure enough, as Tak went to check the door he slipped and landed on his arse! I lashed out with my mind, having some effect because I felt the connection, but it wasn't clear what. Dak moved towards us, raising a shield of dweomer, but then stopped and started shuffling around in a circle looking at the floor, muttering "where is it?" to himself in Gnomish. Silanna was forcing her way through the web with huge effort, reaching Cassandra and pulling her free, but still had to reach the edge to get out.

Tak was still struggling to get to his feet, now on all fours as he wondered out loud why anyone would want such dweomer (he obviously hadn't had to deal with rust or worn bearings before). Silanna managed to break free, though, and joined me at the edge of the grease. I asked if Cassandra was ok, and happily she was, and Tak was finally able to get to his feet. Unexpectedly, as he had been focused on the door, he crossed to the image of the tumultuous sea, which apparently really bothered him. He placed his hand against it and recited some verse that started with "The Sea brings life, the sea brings death..." then there was something about bringing order to chaos to bring hope. It sounded really good, but didn't seem to have the effect that Tak was looking for. He banged his head, despairing at the chaos, as I looked back to see Dak still scrabbling around on the floor.

I heard a gasp and looked at Silanna - Tak had disappeared! Silanna moved to where he had been, touching the image of the water as he had done, and she was suddenly in mid-air diving into the water and was gone as well! This was bad - that could only lead to a place of elemental water, and whilst Tak would probably love it, Silanna would be in danger! To make things worse, the Demon Gnome found what they were looking for and he started to scribe a purple circle on the floor, reforming the circle that had been there as we entered. I crossed to the spot where the others had disappeared and tried my last dweomer on it, trying to bring order to the chaos, but it just didn't have enough power to make a difference.

I had no way of knowing, but as I suspected my friends had been immersed in water, but thankfully Silanna had found a potion that enabled her to breathe. She was more worried that she had lost her connection to Cassandra, and indeed she had left us entirely although I didn't know it at the time, as she was so hard to see. Tak concentrated on the ring, thinking of the symbol he had seen on the tower, and they were surrounded by a screen of bubbles with a circle turning around them like a wheel. It brightened and faded as it turned, but was silver, and Tak grabbed Silanna ready to go through it. He pointed first and then swam really quickly to hit the centre of it as it passed around them.

I had looked over at Dak just as he completed the circle.. and the entire room seemed to flip over! I suddenly found myself falling, and used my mind to land gently on the gold streaked former ceiling. The silver veins were now above me, and the rock and fire walls had also reversed. At least the web had gone as well. Tak and Silanna appeared shortly after this, but again they were on the ceiling! Dak had completely disappeared, presumably in the "other" room still. Silanna quickly used dweomer to slow them both before they hit the floor, and I could see that she was wet through. I also noticed that we could still see the bars on the air wall (which hadn't changed), and that the waters were now calm, bringing the room into a better balance.

Tak was really excited and happy about the experience he had just had, not having known that such a wondrous place existed, but Silanna very unimpressed and made that perfectly clear. She had nearly died, and now Cassandra was gone! She despaired that she might have gone forever, having been together since she was young. Tak tried to console her, promising to take her back to the Efferendil to find Cassandra as soon as we could. Meanwhile I found it interesting that they had returned from Water through Air... although that did seem to be the right "direction" (if such a term meant much here). The room, Tak noted, now "matched" the symbology that his Lord had given him, so he seemed happier, although darkness was now ascendent.

Tak moved to examine the door, which was still in the same place in the wall despite the wall having moved. He found a lock, and noted that the door itself was made from a material that was wonderful and fine, but he hadn't seen it before. The lock was beyond his ability, though, and instead he focused on the tower depicted in the mountains which had the symbol of Earth (Aarda in the Dwarven tongue) upon it. He worried that we might be drawn into the rock, but the tower was an imposition of order onto the element so it would not be the same. I, having the closest affinity to Earth, agreed to be boosted up by Silanna and try touching the symbol. As I touched it I felt that I should say something, so I uttered: "In my ancestors name, I seek order within the rock and those trapped within." There was a sudden glow around the outline of the door, and when Silanna let me down I pushed on the door and it opened easily.

We walked down a narrow corridor in which torches flared to life as we passed, giving us only five feet or so of illumination ahead. At least we could walk comfortably, or at least I could as it was a good size for me. We began to worry as we walked on, though... it must have been two hours or so before we saw any change. The Dwarves had been known to carve out for over a mile if there was a rich seam, but this was long even for that. Just as I was thinking that we might have to turn back, Tak saw something warm up ahead. He shouted "hello ahead, we seek friends!" in Common. Oh crap, why does he do this? Even if they were friends they'd probably be wary of an unknown voice calling them. I tried calling in Gnomish, hoping that this time they might actually not try to kill us, but an alarm sounded in the distance and an arrow flew out of the dark, catching my shoulder.

Tak ran forward and punched one so hard it stunned them. They were small reptilian creatures and individually probably not a threat, but the alarm suggested there were more of them. I quickly searched it for any clues about their situation, and found some keys in a small pouch, which I took. Surely these things weren't jailors, were they? Tak kept moving forward, but reached a room and when he turned the corner he saw a group of them prepared for attack, so he fell back into cover and warned us. The light went out as he reached the end of the corridor, but winked back on near to me as the next in line - an interesting design!

Silanna joined Tak, and they both drew weapons. Some of the foe moved forward into melee whilst others held back to loose arrows when they could. Tak was hit, but Silanna decapitated one in return. She then took an arrow from the side, and I was hit by one as I closed to melee. I kept close to Silanna, as she seemed to be the biggest threat to them, but I was able to run one foe through as they tried to flank me. Silanna was favouring her side after the last arrow struck her, so Tak spat on his hand and rubbed it on Silanna's neck (Eww), but it somehow healed some of her wounds so I guess it was worth it. Silanna ran forward with me, refreshed, and killed an archer. I wondered if this was right, because it was a bit of a slaughter... but they had the keys, so they could have helped  if they wanted to, perhaps? I was engaged in melee before I could think any more, but Silanna cut down the foe I was about to strike. The rest of them turned and fled, although they still had numbers so they might be back if we weren't careful.

They disappeared into either a corridor or another room to the left, although the main corridor continued forward. Silanna took a minute to light a torch, and that revealed the arched entrance they had used. There were runes all over the floor, all well worn, so they were bound to be significant. The domed ceiling showed winged black beasts with scorpion-like tails, flying anti-clockwise in a night sky. On our left, behind us as we entered, was show a range of mountains with a tall tower on the left, with a fiery sunset or sunrise behind it. Opposite where we had entered was depicted another mountain range with another tower, but this time with a rough sea at its foot. The wall where the creatures had gone through showed a dwarven tower like the one we had seen before - the archway right below it. There was nothing on the right where the corridor continued. It seemed that this was an ancient place of evil and order (more Devils?) that was dominated by air, although it didn't seem to be that way now. It didn't feel right for where we were trying to get to, though.

The creatures were Kobolds; I had heard of them, but never encountered them before. Despite being weak they could swarm in large numbers, and we were sure they would be back. They did tend to keep to themselves rather than align with others, though, so that was reassuring. Tak started to make some sense of the runes on the floor, revealing verse that surely had some significance:


I ride the winds and walk the clouds.

On wings of fire, I cross the skies.

Ruined cities lie in my wake,

The shattered dreams of many Kings,

The broken tones of power's call.

For deep within, it is the soul

That hears my wings and cries with joy.

I bring no peace to calm the storms

Of kingly men or common born.

One and all hear my call,

From Temple Priest to simple man.

I burn away the worlds of both.

With wings of fire, I call to man

To leave his world and fly with me.

I am the torch that all men seek,

The Light of Knowledge, the Flame of Passion,

That ends the gloom within the soul.

The sun's own light is paled by me

And men see me with awe and fear.

I am the light of ages past,

Yet hold the keys to future time.

If you would seek the Higher Light,

Then take the wings within your soul,

Leap to the sky and seek me out!

You will not find the path I flew.

It is your own, not mine you seek.

You are not I, nor will you be,

Until the day you take the torch

A Dragon then to shout my words,

of burning skies!

Come! Burn with me!


Was the path forward through Air? It sounded like we would have to follow our own path rather than the one described in the verse at some point as well. Tak started to search the wall near the corridor, which just looked blank, but it wasn't until Silanna looked that she noticed something different quite high up - about eight feet up. Tak watched for foes approaching as I got onto Silanna's shoulders to have a closer look. Just as she lifted me up, Tak warned that he had seen movement and he was scraped by an arrow a few moments later. I could see an intricate tree within a circle in silver on the wall. It was huge, about five feet across, so the highest point was almost thirteen feet from the floor. I was just looking at what appeared to be twelve round nodes of some kind when Silanna was hit by an arrow, and dropped me as she cried out in pain. I fell heavily, which was also painful!

I started to describe what I had seen, but then Kobolds flooded into the room, forcing Tak to parry a blow and back off slightly. I sent a flechette into his attacker, killing it outright. Tak went on the offensive, killing both archers with his blades, and even decapitating one of them with the force of his blow. The last one we could see turned and fled again, but he would probably be back with more. With a sense of urgency now, Silanna threw me up near wall, so that I would be level with the tree, and I tried simply blowing on the tree near its top. There was definitely a reaction, as it flashed brightly, flooding the room with silver light for a moment, but it faded quickly and nothing else happened. The verse spoke of leaping, so perhaps we needed to actually leap at it as well.

Tak had faith enough to propel himself directly at the wall, which I was less keen on. He asked Silanna to lift him so that he could see what he was aiming at, then backed off to get a run up. The intent was for Silanna to boost him as he jumped, enabling him to get the height required. She ducked down, presenting her back as the platform for him to use, but the first time his weight and momentum was a bit too much and they both ended up in a heap instead! Silanna was better prepared the second time, and Tak was launched into the air. He blew out as his face met the wall, and again there was a flash of silver. This time the circle around the tree became more substantial, and he disappeared through the wall. He had been right!

That left the two of us to get through somehow. Silanna, thankfully, had a potion that would allow her to reduced significantly in size, so we tied ourselves together and initially did the same as Tak. Silanna lifted me as I jumped and I passed through the portal. As she stood she drank the potion, and was dragged through behind me by the rope. Then it got strange. We were not together, for one thing. I found myself in the King's Hall in Yarlug in its glory days, a magnificent carved hall with a palantir glowing purple. It was well lit due to shafts in the ceiling, which meant there was daylight outside, but there were lights floating in the corners too.

As I looked around, confused and amazed in equal measures, a pair of doors opened behind me and an armed party entered, stopping when they saw me. They seemed confused to, and demanded to know how I had got there. They confirmed that I was in Yarlug, but it was nothing like when I had left it, or even before to be honest. They were worried about the palantir, and me, seeing us both as a source of evil. This couldn't be real, though; it certainly wasn't the Yarlug I had left, it was rather what I would have wanted it to be. As I started to question what I was seeing, a moment later I found myself stood in a bleak, boggy plain in the open air. Tak was beside me, and he warned me to get low, pointing at an army moving in the distance.

I recognised it now; we were in the crater where Vorsaykorai had once been, and I pulled my cloak around me as I felt the cold in the air. His own vision had been different, finding himself near a fountain at Fontainver, initially feeling like he was home until he noticed the water was too pure and had begun to doubt what he saw as well. Silanna still wasn't there, though, and we were beginning to get worried when she eventually did appear. She had been in the glade of Walorin, and had met her kin and seen the tree when it had been used to travel, clearly a vision of the past. Like me, though, the other people in the vision had seen and spoken to her. So we had all seen a wonderful version of our former homes, but none of them were real.