After ten minutes of meditation Da Ghiri sighed. Soon, he began incanting the words of the language of magic, while moving his hands in the air in an unseen language. Pulling forth a feather and a pearl, he began writing in the air with each item. Soon, small whisps of sparkling glitter formed around his hands as the familiar tingle of magic flowed through his body, giving him exstacy. He stopped the movements of his hands while staring directly at the orb, as if in a trance. Much concentration was required to control the energies of magic. Da Ghiri put his hands together and began silent prayer to the spirits. Eyes closed, he appeared to be sleeping. Within twenty further minutes, his eyes opened. "I knooow the proper ritual, all I neeed is insence and something familiar to the spirit of which I wish to cooontact. Jardel, may I use yooour barrel for just a moment, it will be returned." He reached over to touch the barrel as Jardel stood by the sphere. Da Ghiri chanted softly, insence burning, and caressed the barrel. Within moments, a sharp intake of breath was heard from Da Ghiri as the spirit he was seeking entered his body.
A deep booming voice reverberated from Da Ghiri’s mouth, lips unmoving. "Ask what you wish, I grant you six questions." Jardel's hands went around the orb seeking anything supernatural. As soon as his hands came within a foot of the orb, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of utter good and protectiveness. He found the orb to be good in the highest of forms.
Knowing that there was nothing he could do to help identify the orb, Humus stood guard at the entrance of the room where he was able to see all that was happening - inside and out. Hearing that Da Ghiri's spell worked, Humus listened attentively as Jardel was prepared to ask the questions he chose - figuring that he had best be quiet and that Jardel had more knowledge about this than himself. Seeing the orb did no harm when it was touched, Belgrius backed up a bit and went to a location where he could also watch the door for any sign of intruders. Not knowing what was felt when the orb was touched, he anxiously asked, "How does it feel Jardel ?" He continued to move his eyes around the room to see if there were any reactions from the other people. Although he did not voice the opinion, Belgrius thought aloud, "I wish I had touched the orb. Perhaps, me being good, it could have helped me understand why I was captured. I can't imagine why I might pose a threat if I was only coming this direction to learn more about what was going on in this region. Perhaps this problem relates more directly to my religious order than suspected." He shook his head in confusion as he thought.
Jardel smiled at the exhiliration of touching the sphere. Glancing over to Belgrius he emitted compassion. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow, not from the heat - as he found the persistant warm conditions completely temperate - but from nervousness, "Belgrius, my friend, touching this orb of pure good hightens my senses and purifies me of any evil. Your envy of my actions are truely warranted, as this feeling is unique and comforting." Surprised at the medium Da Ghiri furnished, he walked over to the bearded priest and placed a hand on the barrel. "Great unknown spirit. I beseech thy friendliness and thank you for granting us six questions." Pausing a while to gather his thoughts, he started slowly.
"Great spirit ... what is in this barrel, which carries the magical inscription of Heimdall ?" "Honorable spirit ... how do I release the Breath of Heimdall from it’s containment ?" "Wise spirit ... what is the purpose of the sphere in this room ?" "Magnificent spirit ... where is the location of the Scepter of Power ?" "Wonderous spirit ... what creatures or traps guard the Scepter of Power ?"
Rethinking his questions, he confered with the adventurers standing around this scene. "Comrads, I hope to have asked with the utmost of my wisdom, yet due to this cause I have left one question unasked. Please, if there are any good suggestions ... we should agree upon the last one together. Perhaps there is some thought or idea I have omitted." Belgrius heard the questions and then remembered the conversation a moment ago about his abduction. "Perhaps if no one has a better question we might ask why I was abducted and brought here. I fight the evil and was looking into stories of evil happenings in this area but I though no one by my brothers knew of my mission and I certainly did not know to come to these caves." Kethas told the group. "Perhaps we should query the sphere as to who is involved in the resurrecting of Asmodeus."
Looking to the others Humus added. "Belgrius and Kethas both have good ideas as to the last question that we can ask. I want to propose another possibility - should the spirit not answer the the first five questions in an acceptable manner - what is the meaning behind the writing that was on the wall a few minutes ago mean ? If the spirit answers that question in some way, I say we should either ask it about Asmodeus or why Belgrius was abducted. Unless someone else has a better idea that is."
After a short quiet period the Spirit answered through the body of Da Ghiri, though in a very different, hollow sound, as if from a long distance away and without air.
Question: "Great spirit ... what is in this barrel, which carries the magical inscription of Heimdall ?" Answer: "... the Breath of Heimdall ..."
Question: "Honorable spirit ... how do I release the Breath of Heimdall from it’s containment ?" Answer: "... by smashing the barrel with Honor's Face ..."
Question: "Wise spirit ... what is the purpose of the sphere in this room ?" Answer: "... to deceive the eye by illusion ..."
Question: "Magnificent spirit ... where is the location of the Scepter of Power ?" Answer: "... in the sphere itself ..."
Question: "Wonderous spirit ... what creatures or traps guard the Scepter of Power ?" Answer: "... only illusion, and the one's previously defeated in combat ... you have one question left ... choose wisely ..."
The blue sphere pulsed with each heartbeat, giving a strobe effect to the visage of Da Ghiri echoing a distant, immortal voice. Chills ran down the spines of the adventurers, despite the sweat that funneled the length of their bodies in this warm underground chamber.
Kethas listening, while pondering his identify spell, hit himself in the head and told the group. "We should ask who or what Honor's Face is !" Jardel nodded at hearing the answers from the spirit and he felt sure it was Heimdall himself speaking. He listened to the others throw in some suggestions, but he had already made up his mind, what to ask in his final question. "Forgive me friends, but as a Follower to Heimdall I must solve the problem with his missing Breath. Please understand that without his strength the realm and I myself am but a hollow corpse, a mere shadow amongst the living. Kethas, we have the same thoughts. Of course we must ask what in gods name Honor’s Face means." Speaking to Da Ghiri Jardel asked once more.
"Divine spirit, here is my last question. Who or what is Honor’s Face ?"
When Belgrius heard the answer about deceiving the eye by illusion, he recalled something he learned in his mage training. Walking up to the sphere he looked deeply into it and concentrated. He spoke to himself in a loud manner. "I do not beleive in what I see. This is not real. It is an illusion. I disbelieve in what my eyes tell me is here. Begone illusion and let me see what you hide from my eyes." louder and more determined "I said, I disbelieve in this illusion !" Watching and listening as Jardel's questions were answered and Belgrius tried to disbelieve the vision of the sphere, Humus thought to himself - why not ? Closing his eyes for a moment, he cleared his mind and thoughts and looked again at where the sphere was before ...
While waiting for the response to his last question Jardel glanced over to the sphere. Belgrius was yelling in disbelief and after hearing the spirits warning Jardel himself now believed this sphere to be an illusion, guarding the true identity of the object hidden within. He envisioned the sphere transforming into a smaller item ... a glorius and magnificent object ... the Scepter of Power.
As the realization of illusion dawned on the party, everyone began to disbelieve that a sphere was floating before them. Within moments, all saw that there was in fact, no sphere ... but a beautiful golden scepter circling in midair, light reflecting off the various gems encrusted in the head, creating a swirling blue glow ... hence the spheres deception. The spirit inside Da Ghiri finished his answers.
"Honor’s Face is an axe made by dwarves long ago, centuries ago. This axe was forged by the dwarves in the mountains to the south and enchanted by Wizards of Light. This axe was in turn handed to an order of priests that have disappeared over time and their names forgotten. These priest cast blessings from an ancient sect upon the axe that empowered it with the honor ... only those of lawful and honorable intentions to cast a reflection upon the surface of the blade ... others do not exist in the blade. The axe has been lost for a few hundred years but word spreads occasionaly of a mighty axe with no reflection appearing with the minotaurs to the northeast ..." The voice faded with his last words, leaving Da Ghiri to slump into unconsciousness.
Seeing the scepter appear where the orb previously was, Humus' jaw dropped. This was the very item that they had been charged to retrieve. Looking around he asked, "Ok, now who wants the task of carrying such a precious object ?" Hearing the spirit tell the tale of ‘Honors' Face’, Humus walked over to Jardel and layed a hand on his shoulder. "It appears that another quest begins as one comes close to ending. I know that you will wish to set forth to find this axe as soon as possible, but let us first get the scepter back to the court wizards so it can be researched. After that, should the Prince not wish anything more of us for a while, I will help you on your quest as best I can." Looking to the others, "Now that we have the two items that we came for, let us leave this evil place. Remember, the Prince bade us to hasten. On our way back, we should stop off in Vain and try to give Enchantra back her staff. Hopefully she will also be able to identify some of the items that we obtained, and maybe she will be able to safely open that other chest."
Grateful to have found his answers Jardel walked over to the Scepter of Power. Looking at it’s swirling blue glow he knelt down on one knee and bowed his head for a short prayer of thanks to Heimdall. Regaining his composure, he stood again and looked among the members of the party. Solemnly he spoke. "Friends, it seems we have found that which should not have been found. Humus has spoken wisely. We should first return the scepter to King Edmund. My path then leads to the minotaurs to the northeast. I must find Honors’ Face to release the Breath of Heimdall from this barrel. I welcome any company on my quest, as our strengths so far have let us prevail in glory. Again, first we must return the scepter and pay Enchantra a visit. There were deeds to repay and perhaps rewards to be gained. I dare speak in the name of goodness in this battle against Asmodeus and his minions. If there be anyone here more pure to heart in the just cause of saving the realm than myself then speak and step forward. This individual with the cleanest soul and unblemished reputation should carry the scepter on our journey home. I volunteer to protect this item and barrel with my life and suggest that I should be the one to establish physical contact with this artefact. Let me say though, if anyone is of other opinion then I will certainly step back and protect that person with all my power." Jardel waited for any responses of objection.
Da Ghiri, who was slowly recovering from his channeling of the spirit didn’t seem to have any objections. After a moment he gathered himself up into his, by now familiar, meditating posture and began to meditate, the weariness seemed to slowly seep out of his face. Caladan's eyes were widened in wonder of the artifact. "I would be honoured to carry the sceptre, but Jardel is right, It should be carried by one as him, one pure of heart. I am more like the sword at my side, I have a dark past, but a bright future. Furthermore I say that we hurry back with the sceptre and the staff"
As no one objected, Jardel took the scepter reverently, his emotions running free as he now carried two holy artifacts. Power also ran through his body, as the goodness of the scepter nearly forced him to his knees. The power of the scepter could be felt by those who use magic, a slight humming and vibration in the forces of magic within each mage.
"Unless someone knows a better way out, must we backtrack to get out of these caves. I suspect getting out might be harder than getting in. Before you came to my cell, did you see other passages that might lead out of here ?" Belgrius looked around a bit nervously. "We may need these new gadgets we have found to get us out of here. Does anyone know what they are intended to do ?"
"Unless someooone does have an idea of hooow to get out anooother way", Da Ghiri repeated, coming out of his trance, "I wooould suggest we backtrack and leave the way we came. It may be guarded, but it is prooobably better than wandering arooound and getting lost, or running into some ooother denizens of theeese halls and we do knooow where the traps are along that way ..." Already hearing Belgrius and Da Ghiri speak their mind about how to leave, Humus put his two copper pieces worth in too, "I too think that we should backtrack. We won’t have to spend as much time looking for traps and it would be faster too. After we leave, I say that we should travel to Vain and return Enchantra's staff to her. If we are lucky, maybe she could teleport us back to the Prince and save us several days of travel. Also, as to the items that we found earlier, does anyone have an identification spell memorized ? If not, some of us might want to take a chance and try wearing or using some of the items. Should no one have a spell ready, I'm willing to try on the cloak to see what happens. The rest of you do not have to try anything if you do not want, but I'm thinking that maybe Da Ghiri or one of the mages would want to inspect the medallion. The ring and boots would be a toss up - who, if any, would want to try them ? The scrolls and maybe the potions could go to Belgrius and Kethas. There are also the ten magical swords if anyone wants to try one."
"I have an identify spell memoized if it will help. The question is, which item seems most important to identify ?" Belgrius offered. Thinking for a moment, Humus said, "Hmmm as to the order of importance of items, I would say the medallion , the ring, the cloak, and then the boots. I think that we should let the various swords be. There are too many of them to choose one to identify. Should anyone else have a different opinion, please speak up now."
After wielding legendary Caliburn, then finding the enchanted barrel containing his god’s breath and now to be in physical posession of the Scepter of Power brought a width to Jardel’s chest not yet seen. Yes, he was proud and his white hued armor shone just a bit more than always.This was the moment he relished but also feared. He gladly followed the leadership of Humus Giantbane, professing himself only to lend advice gained over years and years of adventuring to the group. He swore to uphold justice and guard the group from danger, till the last man standing, giving his life in selfless defense. This was the religious doctrine all servants and followers to Heimdall admonished to - always keeping in mind to protect and guard. Wielding such visible and tangible power made him the centre of attraction, like a beacon in the nightmarish depths and entanglement of evil. He was willed to face these horrors now, likely to befall the party. Was it not what he was carrying that even Asmodeus feared and desired to utterly destroy ... along with it’s wielder. Caliburn still sheathed, he chose to keep the scepter tight in his grip - silently swearing to release it to none other than King Edmund himself. Asmodeus and his minions would have to pry it from his stiff dead fingers should they want access to it’s powers. With his left hand he easily picked up the barrel and hefted it onto his left shoulder showing great strength and dexterity. Heavily laden with armor, shield on his back, barrel on his shoulder, sword at his waist and scepter in his palm his step was unnervingly light and a slight bounce mirored his good feelings. "Friends, I take it from your words that we agree on returning the scepter to King Edmund. This was our primary goal and time is very valuable. The priests and court mages still need time to study the artefact and find a way to put it to use against Asmodeus. Do not forget that Kothas awaits our return outside of the caves. He was to wait three days, from which but a mere half-day could have passed. Returning with mounts should help. I believe it to be extremely ‘necessary’ to visit Enchantra on our way back through Vain.We must seek her out to fulfill our part of the bargain regarding the retrieval of the Staff of Magius. She will certainly be enchanted to see us succeed. Who would have believed so prior ? We could ask for her assistance in identifying our treasure and perhaps she might be willing to trade an item to our liking, if so desired. So far from her actions she seemed very cooperative. I hate the idea of teleporting back to King Edmund, but will do what is best for the kingdom if need and chance arises ..." Looking at the spell-casters in the group the knight waived the scepter slightly in warning. "Be warned of taking our situation lightly now that we have possession of the scepter. I understand you are eager to distribute the items here and now, which, provided an identify spell describes the use of the item correctly, I support. I would refrain from delving into the unknown. Surely Enchantra will help us ... at a cost. Asking for my advice I would certainly identify the powerful amulet first as it’s radiance overshadows all other items. Let us hurry. If you need time to pursue your cantations then I will guard the entrance of the hallway from where we entered. There are still dangers lurking here. We should backtrack the identical path back to the surface, ignoring all minor threats if possible. I wouldn’t mind returning to rid the complete area from all minions of Asmodeus later, yet my path is already traced ..." Jardel walked over to the open entrance of the chamber and waited for his friends.
Da Ghiri considered Jardel's words then spoke quietly, "I tooo believe that we shooould not blindly attempt theeese items; at least nooot unless things becooome truly desperate and we have no ooother choice. If we have magics that can help us identify their powers we shooould certainly use them, though from ooour previous discussion I was led to believe that the spell in question is both time-consuming and debilitating - of cooourse I am not a mage and therefore not expert in theeese matters. I wooould counsel that we not linger here over long, but quickly return to yooour prince's court, with a short side-trip to Enchantra's shop of course."
The long process of incanting the energies required for identification began. Kethas had already started and was done quickest, though to little luck. He was only able to identify the cloak, which was of Elvenkind. Belgrius had the same fate, only able to draw forth the energies of one item, those of the boots, also of Elvenkind. The remaining items were just out of reach for the two mages. Through much sweating and incanting, the energies were to far removed from the items to tell, maybe their age being too old to bring back the names, but the power was there nonetheless, as each glowed when the first arcane words were spoken. Who knows whom these items whence belonged to ... but age was apparant with most. Also, the two mages now were quite weak from their ordeal. Upon stepping through the door, leaving the room that once held the scepter in protective magic, all was eerily quiet. The room behind the party turned back into a gloomy stone cavern as the illusion was now broken. The corridors ahead appeared ominous in their silence. Though the only noise that could be heard, was that eerie, hollow wind that howled in the distance. From some unseen force the wind blew, crying out to those who would listen ... whispered words could almost be heard as the adventurers cautiously headed down the path leading back to the surface. Room after room they travelled, finding the carnage left behind ... scorched walls surrounding scorched corpses ... some with heads ... some without. Maybe it was these restless, evil souls that made the hollow whispers in the dark corridors ... promises of torture ... maybe promises of revenge. Though the trip was filled with much fear, not a soul disturbed the group as they found their way back to the light at the top of the stairs. There the bound and gagged guards were sitting left behind conscious now.
Da Ghiri, hoping to avoid another round of summary executions, "Let us take the prisoners with us to stand before the judgement of yooour prince". Stopping near the prisoners as the others began to discuss what to do with them, Humus interjected, "Now that the worst is behind us, I agree with Da Ghiri. However, we may want to deposit them at Vain for their trial. I'm not really wanting to drag their sorry butts all the way back to the King. Besides, we may have bigger troubles as we get into drow controlled areas again, and we may not be able to watch them and our backs at the same time."
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