Tombadil1497Senior Member333 posts Tombadil1497Senior Member Digo throws a wink towards any Urdefhan that look questioningly towards him with a "Magic sh*t, don' worry about it" in fluent Undercommon. No reason to be a dick, not anymore. He'd been too harsh with them at first, he knew that. But how the f*ck was he supposed to react when he was stuck in a lightless hellhole that constantly made you sick? Oh, and itrained all the time. Then there was the small matter of... Don't think about it. Not worth it. When he finds himself inEl Sueno, Digo is unsurprised to see a familiar... mask. "Hola,Suerte. Do not worry, The elf lifts a hand and lazily conjures a living room around them, silk and mahogany and marble everywhere. Towering bookshelves line the walls and thick, fluffy rugs are scattered fashionably around the floor. Digo makes his way towards a small cupboard, pulling out two small glasses and pouring three fingers of the same fine Garundan brandy he has in his own cart at the circus. One large block of ice in each, and he hands one to the cloaked figure. Hell if they're going to drink it, but it always pays to be hospitable. Outside of the stained-glass windows, the patter of rain joins the crackling of the jolly little fireplace. Digo plays with a ringlet of his hair, curling and uncurling it around his finger. Where to even start... "So. I thought things were going well. Was I wrong?"
griff4218Senior Member145 posts griff4218Senior Member The figure stands motionless as Digo moves around the room, seeming to stay nearly the same size in Digo's vision no matter how close or far he moves away. As he hands the figure the glass it does not move, but Digo can feel the cup become almost frozen in space as he offers it. When he removes his hand, the glass floats exactly where he left it, frozen in space. There is a brief moment of pause after Digo asks his question "It is not so much that you were wrong in your assumption, more so that you assumed an answer to the wrong question." The glass that Digo "handed" the figure does not move, but he sees the level of the liquid within it decrease slightly. The figure turns to face more towards Digo, simply rotating in space with no perceivable method of movement. "We possess a theory."
Tombadil1497Senior Member333 posts Tombadil1497Senior Member "A theory." Digo repeats after his Patron, waiting for him to go on. He glances out the window and sees Esforzado outside in the rain, grim-faced and stoic. The champion stares out into the rain, eight eyes piercing the dusky, misting night. "Tengo algo migo. I'll let you go first, but before that I gotta questionpara ti." Digo swirls his brandy, staring intently at the mask. "Mi familia y Tia Flores, they worked indirectly. Don't look, don't touch.Laughter and wonder, I know these things worked. But is it enough? Is this thing we found just an arm, or the whole body? It can be scared. Can we kill it?"
griff4218Senior Member145 posts griff4218Senior Member The mask of the figure stares into Digo, feeling almost as if it is looking through him. "We ask you to recall the first point of protection against this creature." A swirl of energy appears before Digo, forming into the shape of Tia before him "The more a person knows about it, the more dangerous it becomes" the vision speaks before fading away. "Now, do you remember the book we had sent to you" the choir asks as a small book slides from the shelf and drifts towards Digo. "The inhabitants of this vault possess popular tales of a creature similar to the one we are interested in." The book floats in front of Digo and flips to one of the stories within it. "These tales are spread far around the inhabitants of the vault, it would be a decent assumption to say that nearly every person possess some knowledge of this creature" The book closes and drifts back to the shelf. "We would like toanalogize this knowledge as a flame" the swirling energy appears once more, taking the form of an average looking human man. A small flame, maybe the size of a match flame, appears above his head. "A single small flame can prove to be no danger to a forest, given the right conditions. A stiff wind or a drop of rain could easily put it out before it has any chance to cause trouble." Suddenly, the man, along with his flame, begins to shrink, before multiplying into the hundreds along the floor "But of a thousand small flames -" One of the flames above one of the men suddenly erupts into an inferno, quickly spreading to the other men "- Any one of them could erupt into wildfire" The small army of immolating men quickly disperses. The choir of voices is silent for a moment before speaking again "This is our theory. It is not the knowledge of a single individual that proves to be a danger in terms of this Creature, but instead, the shared knowledge among a group may bring out its. Curiosity" The scene outside of the window suddenly shifts to that of a dark cityscape, with thousands of people walking the streets within. "It is possible that this Creature is not so much a creature as it is an idea." One by one each of the people walking through the streets of the city has a small flame appear above their head. "And much with any idea, Digo, should enough people believe in it - " The city suddenly begins to catch flame, as each house and building spreads the fire one to another and the people within scramble to safety " - it will become reality" The scene of the city fades. Digo looks at the figure, it's posture unchanged and its cold blank expression staring back into him "And so, to answer your questions. Drawing one's thought away from the creature, which your people did with laughter and wonder, prevents them from drawing the creature's attention, keeping them safe from it's gaze. We believe that what you faced against the other day was a manifestation of the idea of this creature made reality, much like a wizard may manifest any manner of horrible creatures through use of his magic. It is possible that this Manifestation could be killed, much like any manifested creature. But it is not this manifestation that one must worry about, but the idea. That is a much more difficult beast to kill."
Tombadil1497Senior Member333 posts Tombadil1497Senior Member Digo speaks slowly, letting his ideas form before he speaks. For once. "Quizas. But you can change ideas, si?" He eases off the mantle, setting down his glass and pacing the floor. He abandons Taldane as a tongue, assuming his first language. "I never assumed this thing was a creature. It worked too much like a disease or a curse, something contagious and impersonal. That's part of why I was so shocked when Irecognized it." He pauses, remembering the frost that crawled up his boots. "But it has effects in the Material Plane. Physical effects. Those were no illusion, it just blurs the line between thoughts and reality. In a way, it feels like it bringsThe Dreaming with it, you know?" While he paces, his footsteps turn into more men with flames. They scatter, but they're a good enough distance apart that the flames don't conjoin. The fire is wild above their heads, grasping. "If this thing is an idea, it's possible we can change that idea. Turn it from a grasping, icy, hungry death into a sort of..." He snaps his fingers, and the hateful light from the flames above the figures turns into that of a gentle candle. "Snowfall." He stops, examining the little platoon. "But we would have to have many know of it, and change their minds. And if we're wrong, and thisidea is a living thing that is just attracted to knowledge..." Another immolation. Thousands dead. "Well, the Isles of Kortos may be f*cked in more way than one." Digo stares into the flames.
griff4218Senior Member145 posts griff4218Senior Member The figure is silent for a moment, seemingly considering the thousands of outcomes of thousands of possibilities. "You propose many plausible solutions. It is possible that with a strong enough ritual or magic that the concept as a whole could be changed, or even removed from the minds of everyone. It would be difficult, very difficult, and we know not of any such magics at this moment, but Golarions scholars are tenacious creatures, we would not be surprised if someone has thought of such a thing." The figure moves to the window, gliding smoothly across the ground as it does. No matter where it moves, it seems to tower over Digo, standing well over twice his height or more. "Your other idea is. Dangerous. We do not know if there would be any ability to form a complete manifestation of the creature, and if you were to, what would happen when it arrived. It would be an incredibly risky plan, but if it works, it would be the simplest of the two."
Tombadil1497Senior Member333 posts Tombadil1497Senior Member "Simple,si. Doesn't mean it would work though." He joinsSuerteby the window. Before, he might've bothered to grow a few feet himself to match his companion, but they both knew that kind of posturing was pointless. "We need to know more. I might be able to figure out a few things from the stories around here if I do more digging. I'll do my inquiries by myself, leverage some favor with the locals." Several urdefhan appear outside the window, miserable around a meager campfire. "Seems they're desperate enough. If I can't find anything, I might have to start attracting its attention on purpose, letting it see me so I can see it. I'll have to hide the others, do it far away from the Circus. If it's just an idea, then I think the first plan might work. If you have any precedent for that sort of magic or know someone who might be able to help, I'd appreciate you putting me in contact with them. If it's actually alive, though..." Digo lets that thought drift off. He didn't have any real ideas, and feeding that monster the contents of Vask might just make it stronger. There's a long moment while they stand at the open glass. Digo slowly sips his brandy, studying his own mindscape. The room was on purpose, but everything past the rain was subconscious. In the distance, through the mist, rolling hills of the island of his childhood stand. There are the pine forests, the cliff face ofEl Gordito cresting barely below the cloud cover. Ice covers the lonely mountain, slowly spreading down its edges. The elf's fingers drum on the windowsill. "You think... If we could change this thing. Maybe we could recover the land it's ruined?" His voice is flat and steady. He won't allow himself to hope that much. He could feel emotional about the whole thing after it was finished. "Most curses can be undone. Even the Worldwound is healing, slowly."
griff4218Senior Member145 posts griff4218Senior Member The figure stands motionless, the white mask obscuring whatever face may lie beneath obscuring any thoughts that go through it's infinite and timeless mind. "Should we find any information that may be of service to you, we will inform you." The figure turns towards Digo, it's form towering over him like a parent to their young child. "We caution you. We still know very little about this entity, attempting to provoke it may only put you and your companions at greater risk, or worse." A silent tension falls over the room. Digo's final question seems to have stirred some thought within the figures mind. It's lifeless expression offers no comfort for Digo as he awaits it's answer. "We are. Unsure." The voice emanating from the creature shows no emotion, but the cadence of it's words delivers a feeling of sympathy towards Digo. "It is possible. But it is equally possible that the effects it has had on the world are an irreversible scar."
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