The light in the cave was dim, but hints of color splashed against the wall in front of the goblin who padded gingerly down the uneven passage. Pie cautiously crept to the opening and slowly peeked within, the
many hues spilling across his face and bathing him in rich color.
Within the now revealed chamber the colors of the rainbow danced as light from an ethereal fire illuminated crystals of varying tint on a dias that occupied the center of the rough but cleanly carved chamber. Unlike the passage this room was most definitely made by intelligent hands, and was empty save for the source of glowing multi-hued radiance in the middle. Nothing lined the walls, no portals or doorways led off to further mysteries.
Pie approached the dias carefully, stepping up to it slightly on tip toes as his eyeline was nearly even with the top of the stone centerpiece. In a ring around the central flame were 7 crystals, each one of a different color. In front of each crystal was a small bowl shaped depression. He walked around the dias once, taking in each of the crystals, letting each color surround him as he traversed the edge.
The goblin knew what he needed to do, but he pulled from his pack the note that Miss Aelita and he had transcribed with the assistance of the undead librarian from the harpers hall in Berdusk. He smiled fondly, remembering the now feminine shaped specter adding his latest flower to the growing number in the vase. A far cry from the first time he had gifted them one and it simply passed through them without resistance.
He unraveled the carefully folded parchment, and read from it as he faced the dias. He didn't know if the words mattered or even needed to be read aloud, or if they were simply a clue left behind in an ancient text. A text that had pointed him here to this cave, hidden in a hill near Searloon. He had a friend that lived in Cormyr, Froho, which sounds like Frodo, but with a lot less do and a lot more ho. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to focus and he shook off his other musings as he began reading from the parchment.
"In a realm where light does bend,
There's a crystal, round and grand,
Its facets shine with powers vast,
A puzzle to unravel, die is cast.
With a strike, it shatters bright,
Seven shards of pure light,
Each holds a might, a hidden rite,
To wield, you must see the sight."
He paced around the dias as he read, his words echoing slightly in the semi smooth walled chamber, leaving a shiver running up his small spine. He stopped as he finished reading in front of the Red crystal shard. Had these really been one giant multifaceted prism at some point? They looked like they were part of the dias now. He read the next line aloud without moving from the spot.
"One for the heart's fierce flame," he intoned solemnly. As he did he called on his friend Qually, the tiny young salamander who crawled out of the fae realm in a space between and nestled on his shoulder, the heat from his body bathing his face in warmth, and another source of ruby light. The fairy lizard tossed his tail with excitement and a small fire sprite leapt onto the table where it danced its way around the crystals, weaving in and out between the various colors before finally finishing it's performance in the bowl in front of that RED crystal.
As it's dance wound to a close the crystal began glowing even brighter and the little fire sprite leapt away from the gathering energy, as if it was afraid of being sucked up into the shard. Pie nodded his thanks to Qually as his friend slipped down his back and away, taking whatever unseen route he had arrived by back to his home in the Feywild.
"Another for earth's sturdy frame," He spoke the next line as he dropped a handful of stones he'd collected on he way in and now retrieved from one of his many pockets. The ORANGE Crystal began to glow brightly and the rocks did indeed move closer to the crystal as if pulled by a force.
"A beam so pure and bright," he spoke, this time pulling from his pocket a rolled up scroll, yellowed with age. It was a philosopher's musings, the ray of knowledge bot literally and figuratively matching the poem. He held the scroll carefully but did not place it in the bowl.
"Another for the winds that blow," Pie stepped back and called for Meela, the sprite made from wind and sunlight whooshed to him in an instant upon hearing it's name. From yet another pocked he withdrew some small green leaves, and he tossed them and the scroll into the air with a giggle. They swirled in places as Meela caught them up in the vortex of wind that was her "dress" and the scroll was torn to bits by the strength of her winds, mingling with the leaves for a moment before the elemental swept the paper fragments into the YELLOW bowl and the leaves into the GREEN crystals bowl effortlessly. Both crystals lit up and pulled the contents closer, though nothing happened when the fragments touched the crystal itself.
"And one for the waters' ebb and flow." As Meela swirled around him in a warm airy hug and then flitted out of the cave, he pulled his waterskin and took a quick sip before emptying the rest of the contents into the bowl in front of the BLUE crystal. The 5th one now aglow, only two final bowls remained unfilled.
"There's a chill, a twilight's frozen touch," The little goblin carefully opened a box from his pack, one that was wrapped in water resistant cloth and was his alchemy kit. He sorted through some of the packets inside and finally settled on one, and pulled from it the purple petaled form of the very poisonous deadly nightshade. He gingerly dropped them in the dark INDIGO crystal's bowl. It too began glowing with a fiercer light.
"Lastly, a beam, so pure and bright, Reveals the truth, and banishes the night." The final piece, a small amethyst gem that gleamed in the rainbow glow and the pale flame alike as his little green fingers dipped into yet another pocket on his vest.. When it was placed in the final bowl, the VIOLET crystal too began to glow.
As the last light joined the others and the intense rainbow made the room shift and move in the still flickering flame from the middle of the dias, Pie stared in awe as the walls around him melted away. Instead of the stone and earth that should be there, the dias was now in an open field, the sky tinted dusk with hues of violet bathing the green leaves in the fading yellow of the sunset as the blue sky slipped away into the coming evening.
To be continued in Augusts entry.
many hues spilling across his face and bathing him in rich color.
Within the now revealed chamber the colors of the rainbow danced as light from an ethereal fire illuminated crystals of varying tint on a dias that occupied the center of the rough but cleanly carved chamber. Unlike the passage this room was most definitely made by intelligent hands, and was empty save for the source of glowing multi-hued radiance in the middle. Nothing lined the walls, no portals or doorways led off to further mysteries.
Pie approached the dias carefully, stepping up to it slightly on tip toes as his eyeline was nearly even with the top of the stone centerpiece. In a ring around the central flame were 7 crystals, each one of a different color. In front of each crystal was a small bowl shaped depression. He walked around the dias once, taking in each of the crystals, letting each color surround him as he traversed the edge.
The goblin knew what he needed to do, but he pulled from his pack the note that Miss Aelita and he had transcribed with the assistance of the undead librarian from the harpers hall in Berdusk. He smiled fondly, remembering the now feminine shaped specter adding his latest flower to the growing number in the vase. A far cry from the first time he had gifted them one and it simply passed through them without resistance.
He unraveled the carefully folded parchment, and read from it as he faced the dias. He didn't know if the words mattered or even needed to be read aloud, or if they were simply a clue left behind in an ancient text. A text that had pointed him here to this cave, hidden in a hill near Searloon. He had a friend that lived in Cormyr, Froho, which sounds like Frodo, but with a lot less do and a lot more ho. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to focus and he shook off his other musings as he began reading from the parchment.
"In a realm where light does bend,
There's a crystal, round and grand,
Its facets shine with powers vast,
A puzzle to unravel, die is cast.
With a strike, it shatters bright,
Seven shards of pure light,
Each holds a might, a hidden rite,
To wield, you must see the sight."
He paced around the dias as he read, his words echoing slightly in the semi smooth walled chamber, leaving a shiver running up his small spine. He stopped as he finished reading in front of the Red crystal shard. Had these really been one giant multifaceted prism at some point? They looked like they were part of the dias now. He read the next line aloud without moving from the spot.
"One for the heart's fierce flame," he intoned solemnly. As he did he called on his friend Qually, the tiny young salamander who crawled out of the fae realm in a space between and nestled on his shoulder, the heat from his body bathing his face in warmth, and another source of ruby light. The fairy lizard tossed his tail with excitement and a small fire sprite leapt onto the table where it danced its way around the crystals, weaving in and out between the various colors before finally finishing it's performance in the bowl in front of that RED crystal.
As it's dance wound to a close the crystal began glowing even brighter and the little fire sprite leapt away from the gathering energy, as if it was afraid of being sucked up into the shard. Pie nodded his thanks to Qually as his friend slipped down his back and away, taking whatever unseen route he had arrived by back to his home in the Feywild.
"Another for earth's sturdy frame," He spoke the next line as he dropped a handful of stones he'd collected on he way in and now retrieved from one of his many pockets. The ORANGE Crystal began to glow brightly and the rocks did indeed move closer to the crystal as if pulled by a force.
"A beam so pure and bright," he spoke, this time pulling from his pocket a rolled up scroll, yellowed with age. It was a philosopher's musings, the ray of knowledge bot literally and figuratively matching the poem. He held the scroll carefully but did not place it in the bowl.
"Another for the winds that blow," Pie stepped back and called for Meela, the sprite made from wind and sunlight whooshed to him in an instant upon hearing it's name. From yet another pocked he withdrew some small green leaves, and he tossed them and the scroll into the air with a giggle. They swirled in places as Meela caught them up in the vortex of wind that was her "dress" and the scroll was torn to bits by the strength of her winds, mingling with the leaves for a moment before the elemental swept the paper fragments into the YELLOW bowl and the leaves into the GREEN crystals bowl effortlessly. Both crystals lit up and pulled the contents closer, though nothing happened when the fragments touched the crystal itself.
"And one for the waters' ebb and flow." As Meela swirled around him in a warm airy hug and then flitted out of the cave, he pulled his waterskin and took a quick sip before emptying the rest of the contents into the bowl in front of the BLUE crystal. The 5th one now aglow, only two final bowls remained unfilled.
"There's a chill, a twilight's frozen touch," The little goblin carefully opened a box from his pack, one that was wrapped in water resistant cloth and was his alchemy kit. He sorted through some of the packets inside and finally settled on one, and pulled from it the purple petaled form of the very poisonous deadly nightshade. He gingerly dropped them in the dark INDIGO crystal's bowl. It too began glowing with a fiercer light.
"Lastly, a beam, so pure and bright, Reveals the truth, and banishes the night." The final piece, a small amethyst gem that gleamed in the rainbow glow and the pale flame alike as his little green fingers dipped into yet another pocket on his vest.. When it was placed in the final bowl, the VIOLET crystal too began to glow.
As the last light joined the others and the intense rainbow made the room shift and move in the still flickering flame from the middle of the dias, Pie stared in awe as the walls around him melted away. Instead of the stone and earth that should be there, the dias was now in an open field, the sky tinted dusk with hues of violet bathing the green leaves in the fading yellow of the sunset as the blue sky slipped away into the coming evening.
To be continued in Augusts entry.