Insufficient Ground for Comprehension

[kiya]

• Session 20: Wallops and Castor
  
• Session 21: Let's Split Up. We can do more damage that way.
  
• Session 22: Shamantic Disposition
  
• Session 23: Wherever It Wants
  
• Session 24: Interlude interrupted by occasional prophecy and rhinoceri
  
• Session 25: Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life
  
• Session 26: Travel the World, Meet Interesting People, and Kill Them
  
• Session 27: Terrible Pain in All the Diodes Down His Left Side
  
• Session 28: Into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it
  
• Session 29: Sheets to the Wind
  

Must . . . not . . . get . . . behinderer.


So we went to see the Earth Oracle again and asked her about using her portal to the Plane of Earth. And then we went through to the other side. It was sort of weird swimming down and then somewhere in the middle we were going up through all the mud and pebbles and grit and when I got to the other side I had to clean it all out of my armour because it itched. Renn had changed herself into something furry that liked to dig, and stayed that way as we looked around the sort of cave thing we were in. It has a crevice running one way and a sort of round tunnel going another way, and it was full of all kinds of rocks. (I practiced bits of dwarvish, trying to remember all the right words.)

So after a little exploring, Adosar decided we needed to know how to find Grshrondigond. So he called a little earth elemental. (Session quote: "Adosar dials directory assistance." -me) The elemental didn't know, but it thought it knew someone who might know. It was also kinda confused by us.

"You are . . . mortal?"
"Yes."
"You are . . . not earth?"
"Not in the way you are."
"They're made out of meat!"
- elemental, Adosar, keshwyn

Anyway, the elemental started to lead us around to where we could find someone who could tell us where Grshrondigond was. He said that this person was sort of cranky and unpleasant, and so we were careful. It was sort of strange, and it was very long way around because we had to go through the cracks between the stone and around the edges of things. One place we found a spot where there was a gale coming out of nowhere and running through a crack and vanishing again. Adosar made a little tunnel-bridge out of stone to get across there without having to worry about the sand and rocks that the wind was whipping across the crevice.

Eventually we got to a big cave, where the elemental said the unpleasant person who could tell us where Grshrondigond was might be. And we looked in. There was a huge lizard there, with two big heads, who looked like it was made out of stone. And he was sort of slithery and unpleasant and seemed hungry, but said he'd tell us where to find Grshrondigond if we got him a gemstone that someone else had.

And we sort of said we would, and backed out, and Adosar called the little elemental again and asked if the other person was as unpleasant as the lizard. And he said, "Differently unpleasant," which wasn't at all useful. We talked a bit about whether or not we wanted to leave the gemstone with the big lizard when we got it, anyway, because he sounded wrong to Karas, and sort of figured we'd give it to him and sort it out later.

"It's good to give presents to people you're asking questions of especially if they're grum-py."
- Thiara

Adosar wanted to make something before we went that way, though, because he had an idea of how to make this travelling on the Plane of Earth easier, so we went back to the cave with the portal in it to gather materials for him to do it with. There were a couple of seams of gemstones and stuff that would be useful for making things.

While we were working, a couple of elementals came by to fix the empty space. 'Cause it's the Plane of Earth, they don't like these little air pockets around. They started talking to the elemental that Adosar asked for directions, and eventually Adosar managed to get them to fix the empty space some time later, which was going to be much after we were done needing it because earth elementals think in even longer term than dwarves.

"What are you doing here?"
"They asked."
"What are they?"
"Mortals."
"Mortals?"
"Mortals."
"Mortals need open?"
- elementals

So we got the things that Adosar needed to work his magic, and then we went back to the cave around the Earth Oracle for him to make it.

When we got out there, there was a cat sort of lounging around the cave making the horses nervous. It was the cat that Renn had talked to on the plateau when we were on our way to deal with Xenecal. He decided he liked me and wanted to see what I was up to. We talked some, and hunted some. He didn't like the idea of going to the Plane of Earth, though. I don't blame him. I bet it's harder to get dust and pebbles out of fur than armour, 'cause you can't take it off and shake it.