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[UXLZ]

Money's pointless, though, at least for now, and the gemstones might be part of whatever is staving off the corruption from this place. He thought that the history of these creatures was more important regardless.

"Are you in some kind of trance? Ignoring me? Deaf? Dead? Not-living? Well, I guess we'll find out..."

He continues around and faces the figure from the front.

//If it is obviously a statue at this point: He kneels in front of it and prays for guidance, perhaps some God favored this place and would direct him towards its cleansing.

//If it is apparently living but ignoring Ispil:  He walks up so he is directly in front of it and motions to the evil albino spiderling ruler and the pearl-seed on the frieze, making a motion to indicate 'searching.' He offers his sword, hilt first, and if there is still no reaction his taps it lightly on the shoulder with the pommel. In the case that there was still no reaction, Ispil sheathes his sword and sighs, examining the rest of the temple for anything he had missed, then heads out to the entrance, checking the water and trying to figure out what was driving the taint away.

((Waaaaaait a minute, I remember these things from the older editions. The bastards were telepathic so he won't be responding to me with a voice regardless, but they were also ruled by a hive-mind queen, which was the only being with real intelligence... Of course, you've probably changed some stuff around.))

[Dwarmin]

Well, it's not a statue, and it's not living...

Ispil realizes he has been talking to a corpse. He recalls from his studies that insects have no bones-their skeletons are on the outside of their bodies, called a 'carapace'. It's just an empty shell, a husk kneeled over in repose. The beings empty eye sockets stare at him, as if in silent recrimination.

He notices a few items laid before the creature-a skinny silver cup, a small stone bell with a black wooden handle, and a long strip of yellow cloth-like parchment laid before the being, with a series of strange symbols upon it that might be words. A long pointed quill is also set upon the ground in front of him, indicates the Spiderling was meditating and writing upon this scrap of paper when he died...Ispil can make no sense of the writing from a glance, however. The language is entirely foreign to him, though he recognizes what he thinks are symbols similar to Dwarven characters, though he's sure that's not exactly the language it's written in.

((Waaaaaait a minute, I remember these things from the older editions. The bastards were telepathic so he won't be responding to me with a voice regardless, but they were also ruled by a hive-mind queen, which was the only being with real intelligence... Of course, you've probably changed some stuff around.))

((OOC: Overshoot. ))

[UXLZ]

Tch! There's no one here that could explain just what on earth this place is. The writing probably has a hint, but I can't read it...

It might be a bad idea, but he thought it might make something happen. The parchment - that was always going to be illegible - but the other two items had a purpose. He should probably leave the parchment where it was for now.

Ring the bell.
Drink from the cup, using the water that flows from the temple.

((Dang, thought I was onto something.))

[Dwarmin]

((OOC" I'm going to assume you do your stated actions backwards/outta time lock. Trust me!))

A casual drink from the small stream causes you to spit it out. It's pure salt water, oddly enough. Strangely, you do feel a bit better, afterwards-as if you washed some sort of nastiness out of your mouth with it, a foulness you hadn't quite detected until it was cleansed.

Hmm...

...

Ringing the bell does have a more interesting effect, however-the sound of it is sharp and loud, echoing inside your mind...and eventually the echoes fade, to be replaced by a voice...a raspy, chittering voice-speaking very quietly. You're not entirely sure if it's in your head, or real.

"Shaa...why do you summon me? ...You are Kynen...you don't belong here...leave the dead in peace...leave us to our own damnation...leave us...Shaa..."

You notice the friezes on the walls have also begun to glow a pale blue, as lit by torchfire from behind.

[UXLZ]

(((Mmkay, danke. Really, the order is up to you, that's why they didn't have a space between them. :v))

Salt water? That's stra-well, this current situation was a lot stranger, and a lot more important.

Ispil speaks out loud, since he's not sure if the strange voice may hear his thoughts.

"Summoning you was unintentional, I had no idea what the bell would do. I'm merely looking for answers, and a way to cleanse this island of its corruption, or otherwise escape it if that somehow proves to be beyond my capabilities. Are you the spirit of the empty shell which lies before me... Or someone else entirely?

He wasn't sure how to speak to it yet, but he decided to remain calm and be forthright with his intentions.

[Dwarmin]

"Shaa...I do not know...I was once alive...but, I do not know if the shell you speak of, was also mine...a being may leave a garment unattended, and forget it was ever his...after all...I am merely tied to this place...my penance...Shaa..."

((OOC: No, we were going into spirit conversation. I just wanted to make a note on your exploration before, rather than after.))

[UXLZ]

((Ah, I see, that makes sense.))

"Penance? I'll assume your race was somehow responsible for whatever happened to make the island this way, but was it someone else or you specifically. You speak of penance, but what was your sin? And will you be willing to help me fix what was wronged?"

[Dwarmin]

"Shaa...who is responsible?...a great question, isn't it?...it was we who unleashed the Green Hell and destroyed the Kynen...and ourselves, in time...but, it was the Kynen who drove us to do it in the first place...or, so I would have claimed once, when I was less wise...who fired the first arrow?...who let slip the first blade from it's sheath?...I can not say...but, it was my mate who died, in those first confused, bitter days...she was a merely a healer, but they killed her...and without her nectar to sustain, our brood died as well...I...lost...

...I bathed in a sea of Kynen blood to try...and assuage my grief...I became a monster...I forgot...the reason...she ever loved me...in the first...place...

...So, when we began to lose to your numbers...to your wood-wolves...your hard steel, and your terrible thunder-staffs...we became so desperate to stop you...I was one of the voices that called loudest to unleash our most horrible weapon...the Green Hell...it would have been better to die...die...with honor...than...this...

...Shaa...leave this place...there is no hope here...no life...no one can reach the Narthex...so many tried...all perished..."

[UXLZ]

"I'm stuck in a temple deep in a killer forest full of something deadly. I can't leave this place, not simply, at least. Tell me what the Narthex is, it may actually be my best hope to be able to leave as you desire to. At least, if it's somewhere in this city. if it's elsewhere on the island... I'm in a very bad situation indeed.

Please, tell me what the Narthex is, tell me about the Green Hell, and tell me how to stop it."

[Dwarmin]

"Shaa...I am no Spellsinger...all I know...Green Hell...demonweeds...from another place...another world...they grow...to consume whole worlds...only the seas stop them...only the burning water...feed on blood...living things...consume...flee beyond the burning waters...flee...no hope...

...ancestors...defeated Green Hell here...long ago, to found our homeland...they sealed it into the Narthex, deep under the center of the island, under what was once the capital...we broke the seal...foolish...to stop the Kynen...

...And you wish, to Reseal them?...I don't know if, or how it can be done...ancestors...gone...but, it was perhaps done once, before...but...long leagues from here...into the dark heart...of our domain...no one...has survived...

...Shaa...I grow so weary...grief...pain...remorse..."

[UXLZ]

"Go then, rest. Find solace. I'll try to leave as you wish, but if I succeed I will return in the future.

Ispil thought and thought, but whatever angle he approached the scenario from, things seemed catastrophically bad. His main source of information had gotten too weary to properly speak, and he was still trapped somewhere, gods know where.
Still, he should probably try to arrange what he knew in his head.

Sea water seemed to repell or destroy whatever it was that caused the hallucinations and drowsiness, the deadly pollen.
Resealing the cause of all this was only possibly possible, nothing was certain. It wasn't even contained here, it was leagues away in the Spiderling's capital.
From what he was saying, it sounded like wherever the 'heart' was, it was underground, or at least in a position that wouldn't be easy to traverse.
Apparently the 'Narthex' was something capable of containing the evil, and it was beneath the earth at the center of the island.
Was he forgetting something?

This is definitely completely beyond my current abilities. The primary focus should be returning to the ship and leaving the island, I'm sure of it now.

He didn't like letting something like this rest, but if he tried, he would simply fail. He would remember to ask the captain to chart the island's position, such that he would be able to return in the future and finish things here. To escape, though, he'd probably need to be fairly lucky. The thing with seawater, that was important. Thankfully there was some right here. It dealt with the infection.

Ispil douses his head in the Temple's water.

Perhaps if I climb to the top of this temple I'll be able to somehow garner my bearings? I'll at least get an idea of just how big this are is.

He stows the cup, parchment and bell in his backpack and tries to climb to the top of the temple.

[Dwarmin]

"Shaa...do not...forget...The Stone of Stars...close...gate...whole...keep...dagger...purg...dom...consu...darga...,,,,,"

Ispil strains to hear the last words, but the voice now falls completely silent. Ringing the bell once seems to produce no further effect.

...

Ispil feels refreshed by the holy waters of the temples stream...they clear his head and stabilize him, allowing him an easy climb to the top of temple.

...

While it's not quite high enough to make out much of the area (he sees the remnants of the road he followed stretching into the distance), he does see what he was looking for-high in the sky...a plume of thick black smoke....

Spoiler: Player Status (click to show/hide)

Ispil Desdaea (UXLZ)
Class: Monk
Symbol: %
6/9 HP left
Status: Ungh!
Death Saves Remaining:3/3
Resting HD Remaining:1d8/1
Effects: Lit Torch (Providing Light-50 minutes [300/360 turns] duration remains), Green Hell Spores (?%), lightly encumbered/-10ft spd
Active Abilities: None

Wielding: Standard Issue Shortsword (Ispil's blade is half a can opener and a meat cutter, half a tool for clearing greenery and poking things he doesn't want to touch with his bare hands. It's short, blunt edge is designed for more hacking utility than warfare, but he's trained enough to use it as a weapon, if the situation warrants it. Formerly a soldiers tool, bought at a bargain price before he left port. It's covered in dried green blood.)
Wearing: Commoner clothes and Hood (Ispil's common wear is unassuming, dull earthtone clothing, with a deep hood. Designed for ease of movement and acts of agility, he wears it as comfortably and reliably as any suit of armor. It's getting pretty dirty. AC 15

Inventory=65lb carried/light carry 50lb/max 150 lb (lightly encumbered, -10ft spd)
~Common Clothes/Hooded Robes [7lb]
~Shortsword [2lb]
~10xDarts [2lb]
~Backpack [53lb]
-Bedroll, Mess kit, Tinderbox, 9xTorches, 10xrations, Waterskin, 50xft Hemp Rope
-Spirit Bell
-Spiderling Parchment (Untranslated)
-Temple Cup
Thirst/Hunger: Full
Money: 15 GP
Ammunition: 10xDarts
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=181629

[UXLZ]

((Doing a little bit of time warping, eh? :v)

Stone of stars... Gate... Dagger... It was depicted on the Frescoe, the white Spiderling ruler, the pearl-seed and the gate. He wouldn't forget...

...

It's nice to have a clear head. I'd like to take some of the water with me, but the torch should help me enough until I make it back to the shore...

...

Excellent, now he knew where the beach was. He just had to try and figure out a way of avoiding losing his bearings.
He decided that tracing a line behind him with his sword was a fair enough choice. It would help him, at least initially, and the jungle seemed slow to react. If he moved quickly enough he might be able to make it. Just like before, head towards the smoke, silent and swift, though he noted that his pack seemed to be weighing heavier than it was before... He probably wouldn't be able to make quite as good time.

Use your sword to place markers and objects that the jungle cannot easily obscure to guide the way. Keep a look out for the roses, avoid them where possible. Don't lose your bearings, stay sharp, be aware of your surroundings. This place isn't foreign to you any more, you know what it is, or at least what it does.

((You'll probably just roll survival for this, though hopefully without disadvantage since Ispil knows the nature of the Greenhell now. :V
Only just realized I was encumbered. Bloody Variant rule, I started encumbered. >_>))

[Dwarmin]

((Doing a little bit of time warping, eh? :v)

((if they don't light the bonfire, I'll have to improvise.

Anyway, you can take a break. I'm not doing any more updates today. Mighty as well let the others catch up...))

[mainiac]

((Three players will have a hard time catching up with one player because they will always need to check for confirmation with each other and between different posting times and roleplaying that takes a long time.  I propose that just to move things along we just drop out of character and lay out a strategy so we can move this along.

Everyone gathers wood for the bonfire.  Then we light the fire and wait for black smoke to start rising so we have a beacon heading back.  Then Natalie, Nigma and the NPC hurry towards the center of the island together, looking for Ispil.  We take a flash of seawater with us to splash on our faces if the island starts messing with our heads again.  If we meet resistance we turn tail and run back to the beach again.  If we find the wayward lamb we grab him and run for the beach.))