Finding Sylvie isn't hard - she's just emerging from her quarters after a quick bath and change of clothes. From there it's to the library. The only other one you're able to round up is Sage Vul'lath, everyone else quite busy.
"Ahem," the gith clears his throat, "So what is it you need studied immediately?"
"Wide scale planar rifts," Afina answers, trusting Sylvie to provide more technical terms as needed. "Preferably ones involving more than two planes - in this case we have Limbo and Gehenna both intersecting into the Astral. We need to know where this sort of thing's happened before, and what was done about it if anything."
"Similar in theory to a spiritual wound on the Prime," Sylvie adds, "But unlike the Prime, the Astral won't unravel due to it. It was expanding when we left and may continue to do so. Overall stability isn't clear, though the size suggests it won't fade entirely on its own, even in the most favorable scenario."
Sage Vul'lath leans back in his chair, hands steepled before him, "You caused this? The essence of devils and your own essences could potentially be in play as well, though likely overwhelmed by the planar emissions. The high quantities of undead could provide a note of connection to the Negative Energy Plane, though that is likely overwhelmed as well."
"Probably," Sylvie says, "Afina and I are spirits, the Master and Tannin are not fully mortal and Cresiel is a solar. Which I do suspect saved us from the worst of it. Mortals always come out the worst in those sort of things." There's a drawn pause here, "It's so strange talking like that, that I'm not one of them anymore."
"Quite." Vul'lath says shortly, snapping his fingers. Books begin to fly from various shelves, "Anything else to add, Afina?"
[18:55] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+35 rolling arcana on just what that green stuff was
[18:55] <Kobot> Ebiris rolled 1d20+35 rolling arcana on just what that green stuff was --> [ 1d20=19 ]{54}
As they settle in, Calleigh flutters on up towards the party.
Another post coming, this is just getting Tryll in and giving the party a chance to react.
Calleigh waves cheerfully to those assembled. "Hiiiiii!"
Afina isn't rightly sure. Whatever it is was toxic to both the living and the dead. Yet the devils seemed to be able to control it. Afina can guess it's some sort of magic that's probably customized by Lixer and his cronies or something really obscure. She's 100% sure it's nothing normal, so it has to be unique or obscure by definition. Probably unique on thinking about it.
Considering that most of Lixer's Necrolytes focus on necromancy, one idea does come to mind. Some sort of absolute energy that destroys period, a sort of similar to...disintegration! The same green beam. It clicks in Afina's head, some sort of variant of that?
"Ah, hello," Sylvie says, pausing from the conversation. "Do you need help with something or...Tryll?"
"Well, the thing the devils were trying to bring under control was some sort of wide area disintegration magic - I saw it vapourise a few necrolytes, although when it touched me it didn't do anything so it probably failed against my magic resistance. We expected they'd fail and it would bring the whole building down, but Tryll," she nods to the newly arrived cloud and its attendant fairy, "Finished manifesting a chaotic rift everything exploded. Had some strange... dreams or visions, I suppose, before waking up? Something about 8 and 9 if you go in for that numerology business. Lots of nonsense about broken clocks and porcupines and singing... could just be the imaginings of a dazed mind, but that's all I can tell you for now."
"Well, we heard you were recruiting brainy people and Tryll is REALLY smart and stuff and he even looks like a giant brain sometimes and we came to offer to help! If you want."
"Makes sense, he did have a... tentacle, in causing this," Afina says, stumbling a bit over the correct vocabulary for unbodied beings. "Tryll, has anything like that happened in the past when you've used that ability?" she addresses the cloud directly.
"Yes, I'd like to..." Vul'lath blinks and gives Afina a disapproving look, but quickly recovers. "Ahem. I'd like to know that as well. What precisely did you do and is this normal for it?"
"Broadcasting!" Calleigh chirps.
The mist detaches from Calleigh, taking the shape of a non-descript human. Though he makes the motions, his voice is in the heads of those assembled. "Ah, yes. Hello! Sorry, people tend to react better when they have something to talk to. As for your question, unfortunately not. It's rather curious that the rift caused the reaction it did, though it creates a zone of wild magic so it's not outside the realm of possibility that the rift could have interacted poorly with the ambient magic. "
"Yes, quite," Sage Vul'lath remarks, "Devil magic and chaos never mix well. Has it ever done that with devil magic before or otherwise worked awry?"
"No, and the reaction is quite interesting. I'm rather fascinated with the idea of replicating it. "
"Please don't," Afina asks exasperatedly. "We've already burned too many bridges with powers among the planes... and don't tell Simmer I said that, she'll take it as a challenge," she says with a little amusement leaking through.
"In all seriousness the only plane I'm interested in breaking is Hell, so save any further experiments for when we're there... speaking of, it might be worth investigating Hopelorn's former site on Gehenna, see if anything's leaking the other direction. But for now I just want to check the records in the library for previous occurrences before we get to practical work."
"As you wish."
Okay. Everyone here can make a K:P check with the library bonus. Go ahead and roll, Tryll.
<Kobot> LobsterSquid rolled 1d20+26+15 --> [ 1d20=15 ]{56}
> roll 1d20+91 (+15 library, +22 factotum) Sylvie
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+91 (+15 library, +22 factotum) Sylvie --> [ 1d20=7 ]{98}
> roll 1d20+73 (+15 library) Vul'lath
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+73 (+15 library) Vul'lath --> [ 1d20=2 ]{75}
Not going to wait for Afina here, since I don't think she can meaningfully contribute when the lowest result is a 56.
Time passes as the group works away. Books are consulted and notes are taken, the trio working. Amazingly, Tryll finds himself struggling to keep up. Sage Vul'lath seems to know what's in books the moment he touches them, while Sylvie condenses information and draws conclusions out of seemingly thin air. Ideas are bantered and considered as lore is digested, the three working along.
"So," Sylvie concludes after the heavy researching is done. "In general the results vary, as is normal in the planes. But there's several disturbing trends we've put together."
Tryll makes up for his shortcomings in planar knowledge by reading three books at once, appearing as a conglomeration of eyes. Meanwhile, Calleigh snores from the center crevice of a forgotten tome.
"Exactly," Vul'lath nods, reclining back once more. He closes the book he was reading, resting his hands atop it. "First of all, planar rifts of this size don't fix themselves. Incidentally, planar rift is the technical term for this."
"Right," Sylvie agrees, "If it happens on the Prime, mortals or even a powerful exemplar has to go close it - or an avatar if it gets out of hand or another force is trying to keep it open. Let me put it into perspective. I have records of a breech something akin to ours happening on a Prime world. It was the Abyss and it brought about that world's End of Days. Reality broke down as the righteous powers lead the forces of good in a battle that rent unraveling world apart."
"Quite extraordinary, really." Tryll says as the book holding Calleigh lazily sails by over their heads. "Terrible thing to happen to a Prime, though. Usually. Even if it opened a rift to Celestia, it would be bad news for the plane. Reasons for divine planes being separate from Primes isn't just to keep the gods apart from their worshipers."
"Yeah," Sylvie says, "I'm a spirit now, and I go back to the Prime, I'll probably cause a wound on the fabric of reality. The Heavens destroy the Prime just as surely as the Hells. Now, a planar rift on another plane doesn't destroy it. They're much hardier than that. However, it does cause zones where the connecting reality influences things and if left unchecked, it becomes more and more like that plane."
"In other words, untainted evil and untainted chaos," Vul'lath grimaces, "Which equals something like the Abyss. The Astral Plane becoming like the Abyss would be a catastrophe beyond any reckoning. The rift MUST be sealed," Sage Vul'lath rises and slams his hands down on the table. "Or the githyanki will be a fluffy, heavenly sidenote compared to what comes to inhabit the Silver Sea."
"Well said!"
"It has to be. Unfortunately, sealing a rift of this power is much harder than creating it," Sylvie remarks, "Most of the time, a rift of this power is sealed by a deity or the lord of a plane. Unfortunately, the Astral lacks any ruling power and the slaad are as likely to encourage the rift as they are to close it. What the yugoloths do is unpredictable at best, they may well choose not to close it for reasons of their own. I have no doubt the Oinoloth or the General of Gehenna could do so if they chose to intervene, but such can't be assumed."
"Which means it falls to us," Sage Vul'lath concludes. "When a rift is sealed by lesser hands, it usually involves finding the absolute center of the rift and using the proper magic with the proper power behind it to succeed."
"Easier said than done," Sylvie chimes in, "All of Hopelorn's worst are surely around there, not to mention whatever attention the rift got from Gehenna's worst. What's worse, we can't count on Hell staying out of it due to Lixer's role in it, plus the mixing of chaos and evil could lure the Abyss in. Which means the Astral Plane may well be a Blood War battlefield as we speak."
"That is the worst case, though. So, general, how do you wish to approach this?" Tryll eyeballs at Afina.
"Not quite," Sage Vul'lath scowls deeply, the lines of face face pronounced greatly. "The worst case is the the yugoloths do as they always do. They fan the flames of the Blood War and invite both sides to the rift. They ensure the Blood War rapidly spreads to the Astral, all so that they earn more treasure and souls."
"For now? We rest, and those of us who can prepare appropriate spells. I want to give Jaela's group at least a day to return. But even if not we can't delay any further and will relocate to the rift tomorrow. Then we'll secure the area and get to work."
"We'll want spells like dimensional anchor, dimensional lock, wish and miracle," Sage Vul'lath replies. "There's specialized magic to deal with it beyond the 9th circle, but none known to Aurora. A gap in our knowledge we will have to remedy, but unfortunately we lack the time to do so now."
"I'm not sure how 21 would interact with one, though it may be worth trying if all else fails," Sylvie says, "I don't doubt it'll dissolve anything from Gehenna, but I don't think it'll affect the Limbo part of things."
"I'll see about passing orders down to all of our casters that can change their spells by the day. Dimensional anchor is simple enough we can have a few hundred people all casting it to supplement the higher tier magic. Unless there's anything else we can bring this to a close," Afina says.
So aside from the likes of Vul'lath, Tepen, Balyss, Kascha, Stille, and Hanna who can all swing high level magic, we have the following among our ranks who can at least manage dimensional anchor:
77 firre warrior/clerics. They range from 8 to 12 hd, having levels in cleric, paladin of freedom, barbarian and champion of Gwynharwyf. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Morale: 88/100 (Fanatic)
80 healers of medium size. They range from 4 to 10 hd, having levels in healer and cleric. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Morale 80/100 (Good)
20 elite healers of medium size. They range from 11 to 12 hd, having levels in healer and cleric. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Morale: 80/100 (Good)
100 triune movanic devas. They range from 6 to 9 hd, having levels in cleric, fighter and bard. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Morale: 87/100 (Fanatic)
200 hound archons. They range from 6 to 8 hd, having levels in paladin, fighter, ranger, cleric and favored soul. Alignment: Lawful Good. Morale: 60/100 (Fair)
200 justice archons. They range from 6 to 8 hd, having levels in paladin, cleric and fist of raziel. Alignment: Lawful Good. Morale: 60/100 (Fair)
12 githyanki acolytes of medium size. They range from 2 to 10 hd, having levels in sorcerer, wizard and savant. Alignment: Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil. Morale: 67/100 (Good)
So I'll enlist Elena and various officers to put word out to all of them capable of doing so that they should prepare as many castings of dimensional anchor as possible for tomorrow.
So noted. Anything else you wanted to do in prep for that or while you have the brain trust together?
Nope, we'll wait and see what the facts on the ground are once we get there.
As Afina flutters to the forges to get some work in after sorting tactics out, "Hi," Elena appears as Afina walks amid the forge workers, several nodding or waving to her, "Queen Ilsenine wants to see you."
"I'll attend to her now," Afina answers without hesitation. "Where is her Majesty?"
"In her suite," Elena says, "Crystal's en route too, she wants to talk to both of you."
"Alright. Thank you Elena," Afina thanks Aurora's spirit before taking a portal to the royal suite in question.
Afina hurries there. Here she finds Crystal before Ilsenine's throne, just coming up from a quick kneel.
"Afina," Queen Ilsenine meets, "Thank you for coming. We require your council as well as Crystal's."
Giving the obligatory kneel before the throne, Afina rises once bidden and says, "If my wisdom will serve then you will have it."
"Yes. We require your advice on a certain matter." Queen Ilsenine pauses - and slowly begins to blush. "Ahem!" Coughing into her fist before going on, "I would like your opinion of Moore's service and competence."
Crystal blinks and then smiles ever so slightly, "Ah. Ah! Of course, Your Majesty. He is a skilled bard and motivator. I feel as if I come alive anew when he rallies us in battle."
No... no this isn't happening, surely? This better not mean she's going to be asked to 'dispose' of the poor fellow a week from now. Admittedly she's never seen Ilsenine blush about her previous paramours, but they all suffered the same fate regardless.
"Smrgol had no complaints as to his contribution in the recent battle on Earth," she offers neutrally. "And he hasn't shied from contributing to our overall strategy." Honesty compels her to add, "Though how much is his own wisdom and how much is provided by his patron I could only speculate. He spends a great deal of time communing with Celestia for guidance."
Queen Ilsenine nods, the only reply to the two pixie's words. A silence follows, one of quiet introspection before she breaks it. "Thank you. We ask that you inform us if you find him doing anything unworthy," she then commands, "But we find him...ah..." The Queen actually pauses here, blush returning anew. "Pleasing."
"Ah." Crystal gently coughs, "It is rather evident to us, Your Majesty."
"Her Majesty is usually more enigmatic," Afina says diplomatically. "I will pass on anything relevant I discover." Though she's not going to be exerting herself at all to look. Best she steers well clear of this affair if she can.
"...yes." Queen Ilsenine says, "Go," she dismisses the two of you, Crystal standing. Once outside of the Queen's presence, "You know," Crystal says quietly, "My aim was to set you and Moore up."
"So I gathered," Afina says. "It wouldn't have worked regardless, he's not the sort to capture my interest. Still, I hope her Majesty's new leaf extends to her love life, his skills are useful to the Crusade." It's a somewhat cold calculus but she doesn't know him well enough for affection to sway things.
Not that it ever has when Ilsenine commands.
Crystal's quiet for a short time, "I believe so," she finally says, "You've seen her and heard some of the things she's seen. Confronting absolute evil changes anyone. Perhaps that it why you are a general now," she adds, even quieter.
Crystal then sighs, a long and tired sound. "Now if you would just find someone to fancy. I swear that I cannot find the proper way and combination to crack the code to your heart, for every effort to bring a suitor to you seems doomed to failure."
"You're a romantic, Crystal," Afina smiles, reaching over to pat her fellow pixie's arm. "Me? I enjoy friends, and I'll use someone for physical pleasure when the urge strikes, but it's not ever going to be deeper than that. That's why you're never going to find a suitor for me, our interests are just too different."
Crystal pulls Afina into a hug, "Oh, don't speak like that! There's someone there for you, no matter how you barricade your heart, for it is a fortress that will oversee it's own downfall when the time is right."
"You can look as smug as you like when that day comes," Afina says, returning the hug but not lingering in it before she extricates herself. "Anyway, I need to oversee planning for tomorrow's action. I'll see you later, unless you want to help?"
"I do," Crystal says, "Though you had best hurry and find someone...though perhaps you can at least inform me what types you prefer?" she asks, rather hopefully.
"Honestly, you talk like a human afraid of her advancing years..." Afina teases as she starts heading to the war room to begin drafting plans and picking assignments. Most of their mages and clerics are going to be devoted to closing the rift and given the spread out area it'll require a substantial amount of their army to guard them as well as Aurora. She'd originally intended to have a small force investigate the rift while splitting the mass of their army to sweep through the ruins in a pincer, but given what they discussed in the library a more defensive posture will suit better. They can plunder the ruins at leisure once the rift is closed after all.
"I like people that are free-spirited, decisive and unfettered," she answers Crystal before getting her teeth properly into planning. "Nobody that's mopey or uptight, they need to be able to make me smile and laugh. If you want some examples of who I like? I could name Stille, Simmer, or Canderella from those I deal with most often." She wrinkles her nose, "Size is an issue with those three of course, but Simmer's fieriness makes up for it a little." She then gives Crystal a sidelong look and a smile, "Speaking of size differences, I've had my eye on Shinear since I first met him, but well the logistics are... improbable. I think it's more just an infatuation because of how he makes me feel when he goes so fast..." she sighs longingly regardless.
"Oh come now," Crystal murmurs, "You'll find someone, even if I have to start learning how to run faster. Hmmmm..." she murmurs, "That does narrow the field down." She goes quiet as she mulls it all over.
Anything you wanna add here?
Nope.
Okay, I'll pause you in case you're needed in other threads. If not, you'll reactivate come the other threads wrapping up and the Astral mission starting.