Common Worlds

Long Discussion of the River

The Rass siblings spent a great deal of time brainstorming methods of making "the river reach the tower's top." They experimented with some mundane ways of doing this, and had no success, but a bucket of water pulled from the Zola Fel did turn out to have a tiny tentacled gorp in it, which took some magic to kill.

The Rass siblings entered the tower again.
Kruly could not enter the tower even now, though the rest of the Rass could. They examined the positions of the dead, including their ancestors. They had some luck reconstructing the progress of the battle.

With further investigation, the siblings entered what proved to be a family temple on the third floor. Dead trolls and trollkin, long dessicated, littered the place. Amid the dust of hundreds of years, the dim faces of the Rass ancestors peered out of a faded mosaic on the walls of the temple. Other ancestors watched from their places on a great altar stone. Sitting atop this stone, a fist-sized rock of deepest black was the center of the spirit-wind that only Cam could feel.

It was clear that no one should touch it. Asher hit upon sealing it in a pure gold box, and they found an appropriate one in the manor house. With Barlo's wind magic, they lifted it into the box and closed it up.

Instantly, the spirit wind stopped. Instantly, the dust rained down off the mosaics in the temple hall. Everyone felt the attention of the ancestors on them, something none had ever experienced so strongly.

From his watch post in the court yard, Kroly was almost knocked down by the wave of joy, relief and POWER that rushed over him. He felt the intense presence of the ancestors rise up from the very stones of the manor, had a momentary vision of a line of his forebears parading around the curtain wall, and most of all felt their impatient relief at the burden that had been lifted from them.

then to 4th Floor again.
Discovers secret panel in floor
but determine it is probably
magically opened
Glass Wand of Sorcery