"You know, Ithar, I'd be willing to bet there are lots of shiny things here in this camp for both you and I. What do you say we look around and see if we can find anything?"

She then waits for a response from her familiar before going on

ooc:
Everyone, don't forget to check the NPC post at the bottom of page 13.

"Yey, shinies!" Without a second thought, Ithar leaves the nearby branch he'd perched on, flits across the camp into a tent on the far side, and half flies half slips around the entrance flap. After a second, he darts back out again, sounding panicked, "Bad place! Bad place!" In his erratic retreat, Ithar makes his way to another tent, off to the right from your current perspective. He perches on the tent's peak, and after a moment, peers in through a small hole. "Ooh..."

Aust looks up at Taylen, "Oh, right, sorry." He gives a faint smile, as he makes his way over to the construct and stands beside Silvan.

Taylen slides 4 of the rings back in his pocket,and while holding one in his left hand pushes in on the post with his right hand. Taylen says, "Now everyone please push."

[ 09-19-2002: Message edited by: Taylen ]

[ 09-19-2002: Message edited by: Reyolen ]

At first, as Taylen and Drakkenclaw press their respective rods, little happens. The rods slide in an inch, before they move no further. As Silvan and Freya each add pressure to the remaining two rods, however, all four suddenly slide into the construct, disappearing to half their lengths before locking into place with a click. Simultaneously, the tiny spikes around the inside of the ring in Taylen's hand grow, until they nearly meet at the ring's center. After a few seconds, a thick, dark red liquid begins to ooze from the ring, pooling in the elf's palm. His pocket where he placed the other four rings begins to puff up.

Silvan turns to Taylen and inquires, "Interesting turn of events, but how did you know the construct would activate the rings. I had, of course, came to the same conclusion. Another thing we need to figure out is what the rings are for. Thoughts?" The last is intended for the entire group, as Silvan glances around.

The posts remain in place, even after Taylen releases his. Even though they offered some resistance prior to sliding into place, they seem to have latched in, and now remain inserted by themselves. A thick red liquid begins to ooze from Taylen's pocket and down his leg, as well as dripping from his hand onto the ground.

Aust fidgets somewhat, before stepping over beside Taylen. "Um, I hate to interrupt, but you seem to have sprung a leak or something," he says hesitantly. Then he turns to Silvan, "That potion smells kind of familiar. I don't remember exactly what it is, though. Aunt Mary used to make something like it, if I'm rightly placing the smell. She always said it was important, too. Why can't I remember." He goes to scratch his head, then pulls back, "Ow! Damn, I forgot about that too."

"Oooh! What do ya see Ithar! Shinies? Other nice things for us? Lemme take a look too..."

With that, Sae tries to get a look of what is inside the tent also...

Ithar's body initially blocks most of the hole, giving you now real vantage point. After a few seconds, however, Ithar ducks into the tent, and flutters down out of view. "Yey, fruit!" the little bird exclaims. As you peer through the small, now unblocked hole, you can see a variety of wooden crates and boxes stacked roughshod around the outside of the tent, with a single path of exposed ground from the tent's center to one spot along the side. Ithar has made his way contentedly into one of the broken crates. He is partly concealed, and if not for the periodic fluttering of his wings, you might not notice him there at all.

Taylen

By reaching into your pocket, you manage to get your hand thoroughly soaked in the thick, dark red ooze. It now runs from your hand in a continuous stream. The spikes in all five rings are extended, and all five are now thoroughly blood soaked in yor palm. It might be difficult to test your theory if you can't get the rings onto a test subject.

[ 09-21-2002: Message edited by: Reyolen ]

Hey! Seems to be quite a bit of food over in that tent... Sae points to the tent she was just at...

Now...just what are you all lookin at here? That red ooze stuff? Lemme take a quick look at it. I spent some time back home in the lap studying things...I might be able to help find out just what that stuff is...

A sigh of relief escapes Aust's lips after Saeessira offers her assistance. "Please, be my guest," he says to the daysprite, "there's plenty."

"They are... most unnatural, whatever their purpose is."

"the dwarf." she says flatly. "If these bring the dead, or dying orcs back, I would think that they could bring the dwarf back."

As Drakkenclaw, Freya, and Silvan release their respective posts, and Taylen continues pulling lightly on his, all four simultaneously slip free. With a jolt, the four rods all click loose, and force suddenly back to their original positions. The spikes in the rings immediately retract, and the flow of dark red ooze subsides. The level of deep red in the orb seems to have dropped slightly.

"You know," Aust said quietly, then spoke up, "You know, I've just thought of something. I don't believe you need four people to push the four posts. Perhaps only two would be enough." He steps over to the construct, and sets each of his hands on the end of two adjacent rods. "Orcs aren't bright, but I think this one is right up their alley."

Sae takes the ring, and with it some of the deep red ooze. She looks at the ooze closely, squishing some of it between her fingers...she also sniffs it...but doesnt quite try tasting any of it, at least not yet...

The texture and tone of the substance are both quite familiar. Gilikor's lab contained all sorts of potions and chemicals, and one in particular he mentioned to you quite often. A raw healing agent, which he called "life's blood", was a common agent in a variety of potions. However, Gilikor kept only a single flask of this substance, and said it should always be diluted before use.

Hey everyone! I think I know what this stuff is!

Dont try to do anything with any of it yet...Its called "life's blood". VERY powerful healing stuff. Explains why those orcs came back from the dead.

BUT its very potent. Gilikor always said that when used this should be diluted...we might want to take some of this with us...it may come in handy in the future...do we have anything to carry any in?

The construct does not budge in the slightest. Even the red fluid line inside the orb doesn't budge or waver.

"How did this monolith arrive?"

Frey steps back and walks to Taylen. She scoops some of the ooze out of his pocket and heads to Aust. "Let me see yourrr head wound." She says in a seemingly tender voice.

Aust glances up at Freya when she asks to see his head wound. He blinks, looks down at her dripping hand, then up at her face. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks, then blinks. "Well, as long as you're sure..." With that, he turns around to face away from Freya, then carefully lifts the bandage off of his head. "Ungh, ow, that stings," he says through gritted teeth, then waits for Freya to go through with whatever plan she has conceived.

Taylen looks up as Frey removes the liquid from his pocket and wrinkles his forehead in thought, "Ummmm Frey, the daysprite did indicate that shouldn't be used in it's raw state. You should probably at least mix it with some water, it wouldn't do to harm him in the act of trying to make him better."

[ 09-22-2002: Message edited by: Taylen ]

Fiting a suitible spot, and using any leather she could finr, Frey plops the red ooze onto it. "Come, down herrre, so I can do this." she motions to Aust. She calms her owl friend more, searching her wings for a loose pin feather to pull out, so as to not her Twin moon.

Useing the feather, she seperates some of the ooze, and mixes in some water. When mixxed enough, she then dips the feather into it, and paints the mixture onto Aust's wound, coating it.

ooc:
Putting Aust's actions into the GM post, because the mechanics are intermittent. The section for the entire group occurs after the part given to Aani.

The most easily available leather is that of the scorched orc's armor. Having been damaged by the fire, it proves a simple enough matter to tear loose a piece for use as a mat. Twin Moon fidgets more than she already was, and when you take one of her feathers, she flies off of your shoulder, perching on a branch on the edge of camp. Using water from your waterskin, you dilute the sample somewhat, so that it dissolves into a viable liquid.

Construct Group

At Freya's request, Aust leans carefully on his staff, and slowly settles down into a kneeling position in front of her. He winces as she begins to apply the diluted solution to the wound on the back of his head. After a moment, he begins to stammer, repeating the word "ow" in a quick, almost rhythmic succession. The still-bloody wound begins to froth and bubble, and continues to do so. After a moment, Aust passes out.

Frey does stop when he says ow. When he passes out, she takes him into her lap, and gently wipes away the froth. A rather peterbed and upset look on her face.

Assessing the damage, she breaths deeply, and checks his neck for a pulse. If she finds one, she casts her healing spell.