how to heal his own wounds with the heat of ordinary flames.
Yag and Gefar had managed to find a hidden door which led to an ancient armory. Carym tasked them with finding suitable weapons and armor, and the pair returned carrying two crossbows, a supply of bolts, a couple of swords, and a pair of shields. The blades of the swords were stylized in an ancient manner and their shields bore designs not used in centuries. But the men found that their blades were light and sturdy and their armor quick and maneuverable and so they expressed no complaints.
The supply room inside the device was stocked with provisions which would supply half a dozen men for one month. Amazingly Gennevera found a store of cloaks in a closet in the temple. Although they were of the style of cloak worn centuries ago, they looked as though they had been made only yesterday; most people wore coats nowadays, although some still preferred to wear a cloak when traveling. When she tried one on and wrapped herself in it, she found that it kept her remarkably warm and the surface had a slick feel to it. These could prove useful if we ever reach the surface, she said to herself.
She also found a few packs in the same pristine shape as the cloaks were in to replace the ones they lost on the water. The most bizarre items that the Keneerie woman found, though, were a number small metal cans with an odd sort of pull lever on them. Tentatively she pulled the lever back on the side of the can and it made a sucking noise that startled her so she almost dropped it. When she recovered herself enough, she opened the lid the rest of the way to find powdery wafer like objects. She was certain it was food of some kind, but could it possibly have survived ten centuries or more?
Mathonry assured her that the canned food was quite edible, if somewhat bland, but cautioned them all not to depend on the interplanar device for food and rest. There were benefits and hindrances to the slower passage of time inside the device, he warned. It would be quite easy to over use the food supplies by spending too much time inside the device and finding that the span of two meals passed within, while only minutes passed in the world without.
Gennevera was overwhelmed. Could we really have found food, arms, and clothes inside a magical multidimensional device inside a temple a dozen or more centuries old and miles below ground? And cloaks and carrying bags and weapons that still work? And the guidance and wisdom of an immortal being?
She knew this was no coincidence. There were greater powers at work here, one of whom of was Zuhr. Something bothered her though. It was the hollow faith she had in her own god, and his lack of interest in herself. What was the point of revering a god who cared only for the dead and dying? She really had had no choice in her devotions. The woman had been abandoned as a babe and raised by the Sisters of Grymm; she had known no other life than that of the bleak existence of her Order. They were an intensely boring lot with very strict rules and little room for deviation. She had found herself on the receiving end of switchings many a time as a girl, which made her all the more determined to dabble in the forbidden. And as she began her instruction in the arcane arts from the Elder Sisters, she became aware of the awesome power that was out there waiting to be used. Dark power, to be sure, but waiting to be used nonetheless. The use of arcane magic was sanctioned only within the limits set by the Order and dabbling beyond those parameters was strictly forbidden. She had been dabbling in the forbidden arts for quite some time and now that Carym was training in a field of power not seen in centuries, she was bursting at the seams to gain some insight.
Her own power was growing, thanks in no small part to the forbidden arts which the Sisters of Grymm were loath to use. Fools, she thought. Although she had not been privy to much of Carym’s training, what little
Yag and Gefar had managed to find a hidden door which led to an ancient armory. Carym tasked them with finding suitable weapons and armor, and the pair returned carrying two crossbows, a supply of bolts, a couple of swords, and a pair of shields. The blades of the swords were stylized in an ancient manner and their shields bore designs not used in centuries. But the men found that their blades were light and sturdy and their armor quick and maneuverable and so they expressed no complaints.
The supply room inside the device was stocked with provisions which would supply half a dozen men for one month. Amazingly Gennevera found a store of cloaks in a closet in the temple. Although they were of the style of cloak worn centuries ago, they looked as though they had been made only yesterday; most people wore coats nowadays, although some still preferred to wear a cloak when traveling. When she tried one on and wrapped herself in it, she found that it kept her remarkably warm and the surface had a slick feel to it. These could prove useful if we ever reach the surface, she said to herself.
She also found a few packs in the same pristine shape as the cloaks were in to replace the ones they lost on the water. The most bizarre items that the Keneerie woman found, though, were a number small metal cans with an odd sort of pull lever on them. Tentatively she pulled the lever back on the side of the can and it made a sucking noise that startled her so she almost dropped it. When she recovered herself enough, she opened the lid the rest of the way to find powdery wafer like objects. She was certain it was food of some kind, but could it possibly have survived ten centuries or more?
Mathonry assured her that the canned food was quite edible, if somewhat bland, but cautioned them all not to depend on the interplanar device for food and rest. There were benefits and hindrances to the slower passage of time inside the device, he warned. It would be quite easy to over use the food supplies by spending too much time inside the device and finding that the span of two meals passed within, while only minutes passed in the world without.
Gennevera was overwhelmed. Could we really have found food, arms, and clothes inside a magical multidimensional device inside a temple a dozen or more centuries old and miles below ground? And cloaks and carrying bags and weapons that still work? And the guidance and wisdom of an immortal being?
She knew this was no coincidence. There were greater powers at work here, one of whom of was Zuhr. Something bothered her though. It was the hollow faith she had in her own god, and his lack of interest in herself. What was the point of revering a god who cared only for the dead and dying? She really had had no choice in her devotions. The woman had been abandoned as a babe and raised by the Sisters of Grymm; she had known no other life than that of the bleak existence of her Order. They were an intensely boring lot with very strict rules and little room for deviation. She had found herself on the receiving end of switchings many a time as a girl, which made her all the more determined to dabble in the forbidden. And as she began her instruction in the arcane arts from the Elder Sisters, she became aware of the awesome power that was out there waiting to be used. Dark power, to be sure, but waiting to be used nonetheless. The use of arcane magic was sanctioned only within the limits set by the Order and dabbling beyond those parameters was strictly forbidden. She had been dabbling in the forbidden arts for quite some time and now that Carym was training in a field of power not seen in centuries, she was bursting at the seams to gain some insight.
Her own power was growing, thanks in no small part to the forbidden arts which the Sisters of Grymm were loath to use. Fools, she thought. Although she had not been privy to much of Carym’s training, what little
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