Move 363:  The Pillar

Smooth Caverns--Midday, Day 37 (Marpenoth 20)

Renn healed both Blacky and Jana with a couple of prayers performed over each of them. Jana gutted the roper efficiently, discovering a lot of platinum coins and more gems in its craw. Everyone discussed their immediate course of action, and it was decided to go see the pillar that Renn had described.

Jana asked Echo for the bag she'd put the other roper-gut-goodies into and added the newest batch of stomach swag.

The bag appeared by the mess on the floor. When Jana was done, it disappeared again.

The group continued along the left side of the cavern, finding that the odd formation in the middle of the chamber was a semicircular wall. Behind it was an eight foot tall pillars, but this one was different, more complex, than the ones that had been seen in other areas in this series of caverns. It looked as though some human-like form was just beneath the rocky skin surface of the pillar, struggling to emerge like a butterfly from a chrysalis. The torso was sensed as much as seen; it was slender, elegant, with very long hands and fingers and a very angular face. But then, these details too seemed to be as much in the mind's eye than anything else.

It was approached with trepidation, but its reaction was exactly what one would expect from a stone pillar...it did not move at all.

"Well, there it is," Renn said from the rear of the group as he shifted from one foot to the other, looking quite uncomfortable. "Now only if we knew why it's attracted us," he grimaced.

"Whaddya mean, 'attracted us'?" Jana asked, looking confused.  "I mean, Echo said she felt drawn or something? I don't feel a thing. 'Cept my stomach turnin' from havin' roper guts all over me."

"Oo, oh," Echo stuttered. "I...I'm going to check something." She began making spell casting noises.

Azrun circled the pillar while studying it, "What are you trying, Echo?" He kept watching, waiting to see what happened.

I'm checking for magic," Echo replied.

"It's magical," she confirmed. "I can't tell what kind of magic." She paused. "This whole place is, the walls and everything. I...I'm not sure the magic of the pillar is the same kind as the rest though.   Maybe someone else should check too." She sounded nervous.

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