Run By: Dokuganryu (2xp)

Players: Elora Danan

Synopsis: A tomb dive, a mysterious Society, and a crystal of pure elemental fire! You won't wanna miss it!

The tomb of Ilmyvatyr, Who Encrystallized Flame. Though the actual, proper name is lost to time, those who have entered its hallowed walls call it by 'Ilmyvatyr' for the inscription scrawled across the top of the door deep beneath the surface. Local legend claims it is home to an object of pure elemental fire, crystallized by magic long since lost to those of the world in the earliest days of the First Age. Now, however, the temple lies in ruins, the only door in barely openable - and only then by the virtue of its still-functioning hinges.

Elora Danan looks up at the door, for once undisguised, thinking, hands on hips, then pahs at such barbaric concepts as hinges, and pulls out a crowbar that is a good 8 feet long, allowing her to overcome her low strength, for just these kinds of situations. She slams it into the chink in the rock and goes to work, hauling on the bar with all her might.

(Judge) Elora Danan rolls Strength + Larceny + 3 + 2 + 2: [ -1- 2 3 5 6 7 7 8 9 9 <10> <10> <10> ]

        Resulting in 11 successes.

The door explodes off its hinges. The smell of must and dust immediately washes over her, and she'll need to crouch to enter the tomb proper. A flickering set of magical torches sprout up as the door blows apart, lighting her way in an odd multicolored glow.

Elora Danan blinks. "Oops."

Elora Danan almost overbalances as the door springs off, squinting to avoid the pinging rocks and such. She grins, and the crowbar disappears back into her pouch. She moves cautiously forward into the tomb, snagging a torch out of its bracket (if it'll budge), and moving with it deeper into the tomb.

The torch is easily removed from its bracket and taken into her hand, with little effort. The tomb looms on downwards, lights only seeming to spread in one direction - a single pathway tomb?

(Judge) Elora Danan rolls Wits + Awareness: [ 2 4 4 6 7 9 <10> ]

        Resulting in 4 successes.

Elora easily avoids stepping on the pressure plates dotted along the room. Though the lights try to confuse her by shifting the colors of these plates, it's not hard for the dragonblood to notice their subtle differences, and thus, not step on them.

Elora Danan sticks the torch she's carrying into her pouch, noting it goes out. Then, with a motion that looks practiced, she practically dances through the plates, whistling, and proceeds further in.

After a bit of a walk, the tomb opens into a massive room, a huge domed chamber that nonetheless looks crumbling and unstable. Statues of men and women bearing flames in their palms line the room, with a massive altar in the center, and four statues surrounding that. And examining the statue is a young man, maybe sixteen at the most, dressed in an unusual white outfit and brown pants of the sort one might find on a student of some sort. He looks up at Elora's entrance, going pale. "Ah-ah!" he practically jumps into the air, "Hah...you scared me. I thought you were one of the ghosts."

Elora Danan smirks, not seemingly surprised that the man is there (or very good at covering it), and shrugs, spreading her hands. "Not yet, though not through lack of trying. What can I do for you? Looking for anything in particular?"

"I, um," the young man starts, appearing a bit shocked by the blue woman's appearance and trying to cover it. An odd insignia - looking vaguely like a pair of daggers crossed in front of a pillar - is patched on his shirt. "I'm not sure. Are you from the Society?"'

(Judge) Elora Danan rolls Intelligence + Lore + 2: [ -1- 3 5 6 6 6 7 9 9 <10> ]

        Resulting in 5 successes.

-= OOC =- Cathak Verei says, "The Archaeological Society is a small but growing group centered on an island in the ocean. They send out archaeologists to investigate ruins for artifacts of interest."

-= OOC =- Cathak Verei says, "Rumors say there might be more to them than meets the eye."

-= OOC =- Cathak Verei says, "Your connections have mentioned: The Society is mixed - there are Dragonbloods, mortals, and (supposedly) even Anathema working for the pursuit of knowledge. It's headed by a man named Wilhelm Albright, a Northerner who founded the Society for the express purpose of uncovering ancient lore."

Elora Danan smiles at him, nicely. "Why don't you seem like you'd be pleased if I answered yes? Do you have something to hide? Some reason, besides the obvious, as to why you're down here?" She says this very sweetly, still smiling.

"Oh! Oh, no." The young man relaxes a bit, looking around nervously. "It's just, I sent away to the Society for a bigger dig team recently when I found, um..." He shifts to the side, pointing at the altar. "It's where I understand the flame is hidden - if I read these runes right - but there's a...small snag." He points his fingers inward. "There are guardians, you see."

Elora Danan grins, and strikes a pose. "I am your bigger dig team. What do you need help with?"

The young man gives a bit of a blush at her pose. "Oh. Oh I see. I'm Waldon. It's nice to meet you, miss." He turns back to the altar and points down. "The inscription reads 'When The Four Flames Alight With The Guardians' Fall, The Fire Is Revealed For One And All'."

(Judge) Elora Danan rolls Intelligence + Lore + Intelligence + Lore: [ -1- -1- 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 7 9 <10> <10> <10> ]

        Resulting in 8 successes.

Elora Danan looks at the inscription, then at the statues surrounding it. "Well, it seems obvious that you need to kill the guardians. Are they dead, or did you need help with that too?"

"You can kill them?" Waldon asks, staring at her with awe and just a bit of reverence, "That would be a great help to my expedition!" He claps his hands together. "Thank you very much, miss...uhm...what is your name, exactly?"

Elora Danan sketches an elaborate bow-curtsey combo, somehow pulling it off so you can tell it's both. "Elora Danan, professional solver of problems. You've got a problem, I'm the one to call. Now, since you've been down here a while, you know how to awaken the guardians, yes?"

"Ah! Thank you for your help, Miss Elora." Waldon shuffles over to the statues. "I believe the proper method of awakening the Guardians involves an incantation. It seems to be scrawled here on the back of each statue." He clears his throat. "Almaka Delfar Iraga!" He intones, the echo catching the room and filling it to the brink.

 Nothing happens.

 Waldon looks deflated by this. "I...suppose we could simply pry the tomb o-"

 He's cut off as the ground beneath his feet rumbles. Falling backwards into Elora and slamming his head against the ground, Waldon manages to get out of the way just as the tiles near the statue congeal into a manlike form, dressed in tiled armor. It kneels, a sword forming from the tiles as well, and clutches its hands around it, making a challenging motion at Elora.

Elora Danan cocks her head, pursing her lips. "See, this is why you don't speak aloud ancient incantations without getting a handle on them first! For example, if I were to, say, intone....Granka Isdor Wara, Nos Halda Vardoon!" Her voice changes as she speaks the last words, becoming a deep chant, rhythmic and powerful. As she speaks, the ground rumbles, and power seems to start congealing around her, making her look like she is seen through a haze. Her eyes flash a brilliant blue light, and her hair and clothes get caught in an invisible breeze as she starts a spell.

(Judge) Cathak Verei rolls 5: [ 4 5 6 9 9 ]

        Resulting in 2 successes.

(Judge) Elora Danan rolls 7: [ -1- -1- 4 5 6 9 <10> ]

        Resulting in 3 successes.

The haze coalesces around Elora's hands, and they twist and warp, becoming long, cruely hooked talons, knobbly and creased, colored like an old oak tree, as she speaks a final, "Taraanah!", and grins at Waldon before facing the warrior. She bows to the stone man, then drops into a defensive stance, waiting for him to come to her, while she analyzes him for a weak point.

The stone man does not bow; it simply brings its sword up and swings it at Elora once intimidatingly, reflecting off the statue of itself. Waldon scrambles away, out of the field of battle.

 The stone man's eyes blaze with a brilliant red light, flickering as though a torch were hidden in its skull.

Instead of attacking, Elora pulls back her hands and *SLAMS* them forward, the talons scything through the air. As she does, her pouches erupt with what looks like a wave of liquid metal, boiling towards the stone guardian, making a sound like a small, metallic avalanche. Looking closely, however, the wave is revealed as thousands of tiny metal insects, scuttling towards the thing. As soon as the last one tumbles from her (a process that takes mere moments, despite the mass of creatures), she leaps forward, talons raking. "Return to the stone from whence you came!" Her shout reverberates off of the walls, making it sound far deeper than it should.

The Tomb Guardian reacts to the assault angrily, swinging its massive tile sword around towards Elora with both hands clutched in its tiled hands, a roar of rage across its lips.

(Judge) Cathak Verei rolls 6: [ 2 4 9 9 <10> <10>]

        Resulting in 6 successes.

Elora Danan jumps back from the whistling blade and smirks. "Piece of cake. Why don't you just give up now?" Then, she jumps in again, slashing in two broad strokes across the thing's chest, as the bugs she 'called' swarm around and over it, chewing it into dust.

In short order, all the tomb guardians are dead. One by one, each statue explodes into fire of a different color - one red, one yellow, one blue, one white. The altar slowly peels open as Waldon peers down at it; after a moment, he lifts forth a beautiful crystal, roiling flames of all colors rotating about within. "L...look at this," Waldon whispers in awe.

Elora Danan drops the last one, not even scratched from her fights. She concentrates as she walks towards Waldon, and the claws vanish. The bugs swarm up her legs and disappear into the bags again. "That is a seriously cool item." She seems just as entranced with it as he is. "Right, hand it over."

"Wha-" he remarks, sounding shocked, "But...this is my first dig..."

Elora Danan smiles at him, shaking her head. "You misunderstand. I want to know if it contains any magics besides those making it look cool. Based on the fact that there was plenty guarding it, I'm assuming it does. If it doesn't, I'll give it right back. If it does, I'll give you something else to make up for taking it, something that'll help you in your digs. What do you say?"

"Oh...oh. W...well," Waldon says quietly, looking from the crystal to her. "But I'm supposed to retrieve it for the Society..."

Elora Danan puts a hand on her heart, looking shocked. "What did I tell you earlier, about my being in the Society? Listen, this is for your own good. If you don't have the means to control a powerful magic item, the energies contained within it might rip you apart. That's where I come in, instead of the Society sending mortals. I can control it."

The young man looks away for a moment. "...w...well...okay," he admits after a moment, handing the crystal over. "H...here you go."

Elora Danan holds it in both hands, staring deep into it's depths, concentrating on it deeply, to the exclusion of all else.

Elora Danan continues her evaluation for a few more moments, then, suddenly, a blast of frigid air accompanies the sudden appearance of her anima, as it blazes up from nothing to full totemic in a mere moment. Suddenly, she is surrounded by whirling blue and white light, seemingly borne on the howling winds that surround her, turning this tomb into the middle of a blizzard in the blink of an eye. She blinks, grinning up at Waldon. "Well, would you look at that."

"Wha.....what!" Waldon stumbles back, "A...amazing..."

Still grinning, Elora slips the crystal carefully into one of her pouches, where it, like the bugs, vanishes completely. The storm abates slightly, the winds dropping, the temperature slightly rising, and the light diminishing. She strides over to him and helps him up, then pats him on the back. "Well done! You've completed, successfully, your first dig. Now, we shall return to the Society together, where I will tell them of your triumph. How's that sound to you?"

"I..." the young man offers, seeming knocked off his feet. "...alright," he agrees finally, "We'll...head back to University Island together..." He gives another little blush at the idea of accompanying such an amazing woman -anywhere-, but swiftly falls into step behind her. "...thank you very much for your help, Miss Elora."

Elora Danan clasps a fist to her heart and bows slightly, still grinning. "It was not a problem at all, young one. Always a pleasure to help a budding seeker of lore."