The stone continues

No Azrael, not a threadslayer. I've been very busy, mowing my lawn, taking care of my neigboors pets while their on vacation. Plus i'm kinda tired. And, on top of all that, i'm getting Warcraft 3 tommorow, so i'll try to make room for IW.

IC> StoneRock- "What you got there my noble friend?" He says to Ghzarbanan. "What book would interest a halfling of a Noble Order on another dimension, unless it is sought out from your clan."

Sir Jorlon-" Hmm, I guess we can afford to learn the art of Psionics. But we must keep a look out for more Assassins." He walks back over to Chun-Li,"Never thought a Drow would be interested in Flowers. Tell me, what kind of plants are in the Underdark, or at least your home. I never got a good glimspe of the terrain down there, mainly because the Drow attacked our Order on site, and they know I'm part of the Radiant Heart and finally, my quests are mainly to go destroy an evil priest, and other stuff along those lines."

[K T Ong]

(ooc: Been busy the last couple days so I couldn't post sooner -- sorry... )

IC> Chun-li smiled. "There's a plant in the Underdark which we call the snow rose," she said. "It thrives on extreme cold and in fact blossoms only at night and in winter. The flowers are as large as your hand, and have transparent blue petals which glow in the dark. We use the nectar and sap of this plant to make perfume and season our dishes -- in fact regular ingestion of the sap or nectar can extend your life by hundreds of years. I must show you this flower someday. I always liked to use this flower to decorate my home -- hence my interest in flower arrangement."

"I'm sure you'll look beautiful with a crown of snow roses upon your brow, my lady..." said Sir Jorlon, lowering his voice and coming very close to Chun-Li.

"Do you really think so?..." whispered the drow, looking into Sir Jorlon's eyes.

"Yes," said Sir Jorlon softly, "though in truth you're still beautiful as you are now..."

The paladin approached the dark elf until their faces touched. And they embraced and kissed each other... (ooc: SecretMaster, you don't mind? )

********************************

Elsewhere in the Library:

"This book provides much invaluable information on the location or construction of various magical artifacts," said Ghzarbanan excitedly, indicating the tome in his hands. "I already have the necessary components for one of the artifacts listed -- this one!" The halfling hastily turned to the page and showed it to StoneRock, pointing at the full-page illustration showing a great sword. "This weapon is the great Wrath of Ra, which my Order had always sought to create but for want of the Eyes of God -- two legendary and sacred stones of power sought by my Order for centuries. If we can create this blade, half the battle will be won! And this book tells you how!"

StoneRock's eyes went wide. "Ya say ya have the components? Where?"

Ghzarbanan dug out the two warmly glowing gems from his side-pouch. "Here, see for yourself -- these are the Eyes of God!"

StoneRock was now as excited as the halfling. "No mistake about it? Just where didja get them anyway? But never mind -- look, why don't we go see Jah'zuer an' ask him if he can make this weapon for us? Maybe he can!"

The two ran to Jah'zuer with Ghzarbanan holding the tome in his hands. "Ho, friend Jah'zuer!" asked StoneRock, turning to the page showing the sword. "D'ya think ya can make this for us back in yer shop?"

Jah'zuer put on his glasses and carefully read the text on the page opposite the illustration. After a long pause he looked up at StoneRock and Ghzarbanan.

"Well, have you the two Eyes of God?"

"Yes!" said Ghzarbanan.

"I'll also need 5 lbs of platinum," said Jah'zuer. "And it must not be ordinary platinum, but platinum smelted and refined directly with the focused light of the sun for seven times seven days on a mountaintop, with the 25th day of smelting being the summer solstice. Have you got that?"

The halfling's face lengthened visibly. "Uhhh... Afraid not, Sir..."

"I fear I shall be unable to make this item for you, then," said Jah'zuer in a tone of regret. "It is clearly stated in this book that you'll need 5 lbs of platinum, treated in the manner I described. The construction of artifacts and relics is a task of extreme difficulty in any case, even for the celestial smiths and craftsmen I have hired; so even if you have all the required components, I may still have to charge you no less than one million gold."

Ghzarbanan's heart sank. So near was he to his goal now, and yet so far...

"Hey, friend," consoled StoneRock, "don't get so upset. Maybe we can borrow this book first -- or copy the pages ya need." StoneRock turned to Jah'zuer. "Can we, friend Jah'zuer?"

"Indeed you can," nodded Jah'zuer. Opening the book to the inner front cover in which was embedded a large flat emerald, he traced his finger around the emerald's edge a number of times. The gem twinkled and several pieces of parchment appeared in the air just above the book, which he took and handed to Ghzarbanan. Going through the parchments, the halfling found them to be exact copies of the pages he read.

"Say, this is ingenious!" remarked Ghzarbanan. "Thank you very much!"

Just then everyone heard a loud voice. It was Magnus. "Ho, friends," he cried, "Khadgar and I have versed ourselves in the spells we need. Come, let's make a move, shall we?"

********************************

In the Seven Heavens...

"I'm aware of the formidable power of the Halberd," replied Lord Kuan. "That's why I'm scaling it down to a level safer for use by mortals. Wonder when our colleague Ra is coming, by the way..."

Just then a brilliant column of light descended into the courtyard right outside the main entrance to the central hall. The light faded and in its place stood a tall and regal figure with a solar disc headress. Lord Kuan, Clangeddin and Radiant Heart stood up to give their greetings.

"Hail, Amon-Ra!" greeted Lord Kuan happily. "We were just anticipating you!" Lord Kuan gestured with his hand and another throne materialised in the hall. "Please be seated!"

"I thank you kindly, O Warlord of the Golden Light," answered Ra with a smile. "I trust all of you are fine. Have the adventurers arrived? I have guided one of them to procure the components necessary for the crafting of a weapon, which shall aid them greatly in eliminating the forces of darkness currently plaguing the mortal world!"

"They shall be arriving soon," said Lord Kuan. "In the meantime, you may like to know that there are several of your followers among the recent batches of newly arrived souls whom I've received from the mortal world. Would you like to let them stay in my quarters for the time being, or would you wish to have them brought to your residence instead?"

[ 08-30-2002, 12:35 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

[Morgeruat]

The Seven Heavens

Watching the affair with the mortal servants below on the Astral plane Helm had just moved himself to the home of his fellow deities, Amon-Ra, Lord Kuan, Radiant Heart, and Clangeddin, overhearing a brief exchange about the souls of the faithful, the Lord of Duty smiled, a rare occasion at best, and said, "I'm sure Ra's petitioners will be fine here in your house lord Kuan, our mortal champions are doing well, aren't they."

Lord Kuan: "Still testing that poor paladin?"

Helm: "ahh yes, he has much potential, but he has also proven to have a darkness within himself, and if he cannot master it, then the world will be better off with him dead. Rather than serving darkness

The lower planes would never stand for us intervening directly to restore the balance, unless the Celestial Concordance were invoked, but the forces of light have a fair enough chance that hopefully such slaughter can be avoided. Sir Morguerat, though he no longer thinks of himself as one deserving the title of paladin has proven himself to be more worthy of the duty than many of the paladins that have come to reside in my Halls over the centuries, but until he has mastered that darkness within himself his own doubt will prevent him from exercising his given powers, he has been forgiven for the taint upon his soul, it was a curse he got by sacrificing himself for untold millions of souls that would otherwise have been snuffed out by darkness, and I can bear him no malice for doing his duty.

"What of Sir Jorlon, Radiant Heart, what do you think of his ability, and the worthiness of his soul to be a representative of your order?"

Radiant Heart: "He is a great man, with a great capacity for compassion, but he may have problems in the future..."

Kuan: "Ahh you mean when he tries to wed the Drow and your order will not see beyond her heritage, yes it will be a trying time for them both, if they live through the coming storm, it truly is too bad when mortals allow their ignorance and personal beliefs to guide themselves down the path to self destruction and hypocrasy."

Clangeddin: "Aye yer one to talk, I'm sure we've all been accused of bein singleminded in our godly duties, you especially Helm, with all that unpleasant business during the time of troubles, many people see you as inflexible and foolish for fulfilling the role Ao gave you, but were I in your place, well, I would have done the same to anyone who tried to force the planar gates as well."

Helm: "I do hope they hurry, time moves more slowly on the Astral, but here in the heavens it will move much faster than on their home plane, if they dally too long then they may prove too late despite our hope in them, and we may be forced to use the Celestial Concordance rather than let that mortal plane slip into the abyss the fool dark knight is trying to send it to."

~

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~

~

**the celestial concordance is a standing agreement among the gods that they will not intervene directly in the affairs of mortals, unless the balance of good and evil is so out of control that it cannot be righted by mortal means, it has only been invoked on 3 ocasions in the history of the multiverse, twice when good was dominant and once when evil held sway, and when the concordance was enacted all but a tiny fraction of life on that world was decimated by the resulting cataclysm**

*btw I made it up, because it goes along with the story pretty well*

[K T Ong]

(ooc: Is there anything in our great epic that isn't made up, Morgeruat? And BTW, when you let Lord Kuan speak of 'mortals allowing their ignorance and personal beliefs to guide themselves down the path to self destruction and hypocrisy', I presume you're refering to all those who will oppose the relationship between Sir Jorlon and Chun-Li, and not our loving couple, yeah? )

IC> Lord Kuan's expression was suddenly sober. Closing his eyes he touched his forehead with a finger.

"The adverturers shall arrive soon," said Lord Kuan, "I see them coming. Tsao!"

A golden dragon flew in and landed before Lord Kuan -- the same one that had delivered messages to him earlier -- and turned into a human figure again. "Your humble servant hears, Great Lord!"

"The mortal adventurers are on their way," instructed Lord Kuan. "Go, and bring them here once they arrive!"

"At once, Great Lord!"

********************************

The party bade Jah'zuer farewell and set off for Mt Cavernas, which was at the far end of the same great floating island of rock on which the temple of white marble was erected. It was a strange mountain. In fact from a distance it looked more like a supergiant, elongated pyramid of crystal sticking out of the rock, truncated at the top and slanting slightly, and surrounded by a forest of glass as well as smaller blocks of crystal of different shapes and sizes. As the adventurers approached the mountain -- if such it could be called -- the ground slowly changed from black rock to smooth, glittering crystal as well.

"This is... a mountain?" remarked Rufus, bemused at the rather inept usage of the word in describing this curious natural formation.

"Well, that's what everyone calls it for want of a more suitable term," said Magnus. "But right now what is more important is for us to find the Pool of Many Colors, which is supposed to be situated either inside this mountain or somewhere close. And remember, once we reach the Seven Heavens, time will not be on our side."

"Why?" asked Rufus.

"A single hour of time in the Seven Heavens is the equivalent of three hours on the Prime Material Plane," explained Khadgar. "Well, that's for the lowest of the Seven Heavens, to be exact. In the higher ones, the time differential grows even greater, until in the highest Heaven a single hour will equal three years on earth. Thank the gods we only need to visit the First Heaven!"

They arrived at the foot of the mountain after winding their way through the veritable labyrinth of crystal blocks and columns. Under the thick canopy of the glass forest, all light passing through was broken up into a prismatic shower of rainbow colors, turning the whole area into a wondrous panorama of mesmerising beauty. Leaves that had fallen from the trees carpeted the ground like a layer of tinsel.

"Place... pretty!" whispered Fenric, enraptured by the spectacle. "Fenric... like!" Rufus spotted a small fallen branch and a couple of large leaves, all sparkling crystal, and picked them up and placed them in his bag.

"Rufus, what are you doing?" asked Magnus.

"These branches and leaves are so pretty," replied Rufus, "I just want to keep them as souvenirs. They look like they're all made of glass!"

The party looked around the foot of the mountain for either the Pool or a means of ascending the mountain, which was so large it would take the equivalent of several days or even weeks of earth time to survey the full circumference of the mountain's foot (even though it would just amount to a short moment back on earth). The adventurers searched around the crystal wonderland, but could find nothing...

"When shall we ever find something?" wondered Ghzarbanan.

They came to a clearing in the forest. "Hey, look here!" shouted Sir Morgeruat, pointing to a large hole in the mountainside. "A tunnel -- leading up! Maybe it will lead to what we seek! Come, let's go in and see!"

The party travelled up the dimly lit tunnel. It was just possible to see outside through the transparent crystal, allowing for the refractions of light caused by it. "Wow, it's like walking inside a house of glass!" remarked Rufus.

The tunnel seemed to wind on without end. Pieces of crystal sometimes sticked out of the walls and ceiling, either glowing softly or emitting ringing, musical sounds when touched. Fenric never tired of gazing around in rapture at the crystalline spectacle. Every now and then they had to take a short break, and could see strange and unfamiliar writings etched into the tunnel's sides.

"Wonder what these writings might say and who put them there..." muttered Sir Jorlon.

Suddenly a few tiny balls of greenish light floated slowly past the party. One landed on Chun-Li's hand for a while before it flew away. "Oh, how cute!" exclaimed the Drow with delight.

"These are astral fireflies," said Khadgar. "They feed on the piezoelectric energy contained in the crystals!"

Presently the tunnel branched off in two directions, both leading up. "Hey, which one shall we take?" asked StoneRock.

(ooc: I reckon the gods will be say average 18 to 20 feet tall. What say you folks -- and mind if I let them give our heroes some... 'toys'?

Hope you've enjoyed Warcraft 3 by the way, SecretMaster. Which face did you choose when you bought the game?)

[ 09-03-2002, 07:54 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

[Morgeruat]

read your post, but I've been busy, will try to post soon.

OOC>Sry i haven't been posting, school just started today and i've been busy, can't be on much longer, but tomorrow I'll try to catch up on IW.

[K T Ong]

I understand, SecretMaster. Please don't feel that you have to post here. Remember, your schoolwork is more important! Post only when you've got the time to spare -- I won't mind waiting at all!

Same with Morgeruat -- your family is more important than this thread, too!

Wonder about Azrael...

[ 09-05-2002, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

Sorry Ive been really busy at work and school, and Im also playing a few online games which take up most of what little free time I have I will try and get a post up as soon as I can.

OOC>Hang on, did i miss somethin, are we meeting the gods or not????

[K T Ong]

ooc> We're at Mt Cavernas and still looking for the Pool of Many Colors. Once we find it and jump in, we'll arrive at the Seven Heavens -- and then someone will bring us to the gods.