We walk with Sherine towards her short tower. Around her tower fruit trees are growing and gardens are in bloom. The compound is verdant.
The first floor contains a common area with one table and a single chair, but she brings us to a carpeted floor where we sit. She casts a quick spell, and a tray with grapes floats over to us. Liadan recognizes an unseen servant. A stairway curves to an upper level. R’eme notes that the tower is incredibly well laid, great stonework, built from local materials. The tower is human size – though the furniture is halfling size. The tower is not ancient.
Sherine apologizes, “I’ve never had company here before – how did you even find me?” Rhun explains our relationship with Sir Lao and the mission that sent us to explore her “tomb”. She doesn’t know of any of the people we’ve met. Rhun asks how long she’s been here. Sherine explains that it’s hard to tell – she’s been here for many years. She explains that building a tomb as a workshop was an excellent way to get privacy for her work.
We ask her what she’s doing. Her life’s work is to have a place like this – a place she can work freely and stabilize. “Most bubbles ‘pop’. My work is to keep this one stable. This bubble happens to have all four elements in it. Most bubbles exhibit one plane – and usually return to their native greater plane. In this bubble, the earth plane is growing and I am working to keep the elements in balance. My pylons, the large crystals, help keep things stable.”
We ask about the scorpion-like creatures. She explains that creatures of the planes can be found within the bubble. There is a white dragon that causes some trouble, but her work helps keep it away. She has met with some djinns who make deals with her to help with her work.
We ask why she stays. Sherine says, “I’m afraid if I leave this place will dissipate. I worry that I will not be able to power this system. But imagine the ore under the earth here – look at the water – it’s immaculate.
Rem’e asks if she ever got into trouble with a fire elemental. Sherine notes that there’s an effrit that lives on the outskirts who seems reluctant to leave. “The problem here, is that for element that is reduced, one of the other elements will fill up the vacuum. If I can stabilize the four – earth, air, fire, and water – then this land will stabilize.”
Rhun asks if gathering some of the gemstones, which would benefit our work, would be a good barter to help her set up more pylons. Sherine says, “certainly”. We offer to help her set up the extra pylons she has ready to go (about six). She says that starting by placing the two of the pylons near the gate would help with the weak points near the plane of earth.
Sherine warns us that the white dragon uses mephit servants spying for it and to be on guard.
We rest for the evening on the rug with Sherine’s blessing. The evening is comfortable – the weather never changes, the light remains constant. R’eme doesn’t sleep well. Ariza is also on edge – it’s just too quiet.
We wake the next day. Sherine feeds us potatoes with some simple spices. We debate bringing chickens to the bubble. We pile the pylons on a sled Sherine has available. Liadan and Rhun prepare to pull it.
Rem’e asks, “Before we leave, should we encounter this dragon, how do you think we should handle it?” Sherine says that we probably won’t encounter it. She notes that air is to the north, water to the west, fire to the east, and earth to the south. She also tells us to avoid the crysmals if we are carrying crystals. They feed and they grow, but we can destroy them if we wish, and they will be full of gemstones. “By mindful of the shaitans – and other earth elements.”
We head straight for the gate, due south. Rem’e plays a jaunty tune on his ocarina while we head out.
Ariza has a cat: a big black cat – large enough to ride on. It is traveling with us.
We forge straight ahead. At the distance, we see a crysmal on a rise looking towards us, but it goes away. Several times this happens. Ariza scouts ahead.
Suddenly five crysmals appear from nowhere – we attack immediately, with Rem’e shooting into the beasts, Liadan casting force missiles, and Ariza attacking with her cat. Rhun attacks with shatter, and inflicts damage on the nearest.
Ariza attacks with her cat, and the crysmal shatters. Liadan attacks with magic missiles, while taking attacks of opportunity – but her concentration holds, and she pours damage into the nearest. Rhun casts Inheritor’s Smite on his weapon and smashes his crysmal with a critical strike, shattering it.
The creatures attack, hitting Liadan who drops.
Rem’e steps back and changes his weapon for his regular pistol. Ariza attacks with her blade, but misses (badly) – Ariza starts making weird battle noises to help herself focus. BBC (the cat) jumps into the mix but misses. Rhun runs to Liadan and heals her.
The crysmals attack – one stinging Ariza, one hitting Rem’e, and the last tries to sting Liadan causing her great pain.
Rem’e shoots and hits. Ariza rolls into a flanking position and hits with a massive blow leaving the creature reeling, and the cat attacks the same and the creature drops. Liadan, who is on the ground, cures herself with a potion. Rhun blasts searing light into the creature near Liadan which shatters.
The last creature runs, and the cat hits it as it flees. Rem’e shoots the fleeing crysmal, focusing his aim carefully, and the last creature explodes.
Rhun helps Liadan up. Rem’e secures the area, and Rhun gathers gemstones spread all over the ground. Among the ruins of these crystal creatures, we find about 27 gemworthy pieces of crystal — 20 of them worth 25gp each, 5 are worth 50gp, and 2 are worth 100gp.
Back at the portal, we find that Habistaw, Fedor, and Mereliel are all there. They’ve moved some of the the furniture out into the area, a circle of rocks – camp has been set up nicely.
We show the others our gemstones for Sarenrae, and we set up the pylons on each side of the portal. With a little bit of magical force from Liadan they fire up. The area around the gate firm up through the vision of Liadan’s glasses. Habistaw asks, “where did you get these??”
We tell Habistaw that there’s a woman here (we don’t say who) that’s working in the bubble. Fedor doesn’t seem too interested, Meriliel and Habistaw seem curious. Meriliel asks “is it Sherine Blueheart?” We tell her yes.