Date night

[Ebiris]

"That can be your reward Latha, since Yandrazt has claimed his share," Alicia says, making that decision easily enough considering her hard work and what Jessica was talking about earlier. "Can it be tuned to change what metal is focused on later or does setting it once lock that decision?"

[Anastasia]

Jessica smiles at that, "Go on," she prompts, "Taste the fruits of your labors."

"It can be reset," Yandrazt notes, "I wouldn't change it more than once every day since productivity takes time to ramp up, but you can change it freely."

"Thank you, Alicia," Latha agrees, going to the sphere and touching it. Arcane circles appear around it, spinning and attuning, "It's begun. Watch."

[Ebiris]

She nods. "We can leave it on the general setting for now," she says, lacking any specific metallurgical needs for the moment. Stepping back she watches the thing spool up to begin dispensing their reward.

[Anastasia]

It starts slow - a few specks of gold appearing in the air, forming next to the sphere. A metal slat appears under it, extending from the sphere as magic gathers. A speck a minute perhaps, everyone watching.

Then two a minute. Three. Five. Nine. Ten.

Before your eyes over the minutes, a single ingot of gold forms. Gold radiant as sunshine, an ingot over a foot long and quite thick. Yandrazt goes to it, a pass of his hand. Sheer radiance comes from the cut ingot, half taken by the metal gnome and the other half left. "Latha," he calls.

Latha comes forth, taking the half ingot and raising it to he rmouth. The faintest taste - and gold is bitten as easily as bread. Latha's eyes go wide and she tucks into it, taking big, needy bites out of it. She devours it like a hungry man devouring a feast, the gold consumed swiftly. Light lingers around her in a radius, blending into her own glow, which seems faintly more gold-shaded now.

Latha gains the following:

Golden Light (Su)

Spells Latha casts are filled with the purifying light of the sun. Any spell that she casts that targets a living ally heals 1d12 points of damage and cures 1 point of ability damage to all six ability scores.

Additionally, Latha's racial resistance to poison increases to immunity.

[Ebiris]

"What did it taste like?" Alicia is curious to know after seeing how Latha went at it with such gusto.

[Anastasia]

"Like a warm summer day through the lens of nostalgia," Latha finally says.

"Good, good," Yandrazt puts his half away, "The research to be done with this," he murmurs, "Now all you have to do is hold this location and harvest the metals."

Jessica's smiling at that, smiling widely - as you feel it, a connection to Jessica, growing bright and strong.

Node update, go read. It's for your sword, both sides of it.

[Ebiris]

Read it.

"That is nice," she says, smiling back at Latha, then she nods to Yandrazt. "Yes, fortunately the natural defences will serve us as well as it did the dao. We'll set up dimensional interdiction and a moderate garrison should be able to hold it long term."

Next of course she needs to disarm that earthquake trigger permanently.

[Anastasia]

With that in agreement you go to do just that.

Quick Spellcraft, just for my own reference.

[Ebiris]

[18:21] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+68 spellcraft using divine insight
[18:21] <Penuche2> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 73 > [d20=5]

[Anastasia]

Studying it carefully, you can see it can be done. It will require sublime skill - it's woven in quite well, but it's not like sublime skill is in short demand for you and yours. You could do it yourself with a bit of time and effort.

[Ebiris]

Alicia will get Marie to do it, since she's skilled and particularly good at subverting other people's magic!

(wouldn't dispelling it just work?)

[Anastasia]

Could try that, sure. Spellcraft or a dispel check, whichever you prefer.

[Ebiris]

Marie has this!

She'll use her Snatch Spell ability if she can.

Snatch Spell (Su): At 8th level, an incantatrix can attempt to seize control over a persistent effect created by another spellcaster. The effect must be one that does not depend on concentration but still relies on or responds to the caster's control (such as a summon monster spell or spiritual weapon, but not a wall of fire or acid fog). Furthermore, the effect (but not necessarily the spellcaster) must be within 30 feet of the incantatrix. The target spellcaster and the incantatrix make an opposed caster level check. A divine spellcaster receives a +2 bonus on this check. If the incantatrix wins, she gains control of the spell until its original duration expires. The spell functions as though the incantatrix had cast it, except that any variables determined when the spell was cast (including its caster level) remain as determined by the caster. The original caster can be affected by his own spell, though he receives a +2 circumstance bonus on any saving throw allowed against it. If the spell is dismissible and the incantatrix wishes to dismiss it, she must make a second successful opposed caster level check to do so. If she fails, the spell remains in effect and control reverts to the original caster.

[18:48] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+33 Marie CL
[18:48] <Penuche2> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 49 > [d20=16]

She'll then dismiss it if she takes control, which requires another check.

[18:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+33 Marie CL
[18:49] <Penuche2> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 36 > [d20=3]

If none of that works, here's her spellcraft check.

[18:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+52+15 Marie spellcraft with Alicia granted divine insight
[18:49] <Penuche2> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 74 > [d20=7]

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+37
<Penuche2> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 48 > [d20=11]
> roll 1d20+37
<Penuche2> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 54 > [d20=17]

Marie manages to get it but can't dismiss it, the spell resisting. Alas.

Instead she works the long and hard way, slowly and carefully disarming the spell. It takes some time, but in the end it's no longer a threat, the earthquakes stopped for good.

[Ebiris]

A good job by Marie!

They stick around a while longer, rebuilding defences, getting the new garrison and workers organised, and then it's time to return to Sylica with a job done and a new stream of resources pouring in.