The Stalagmites
Last known entry of Explorer and Geologist Rola Cello (Guvner).
[Start of journal extract]
“Whilst on an errand for my faction, I happened to cross a proxy of Blibdoolpoolp—the queen of fish people who live underground, mostly on the Prime. Seeing as the cutter was none too pleased after our brief encounter, I decided to see if I could lure him to the base of the Spire where a confrontation would be a little more evenly balanced. Heck I might even find some loophole in the laws that govern reality at the base of the Spire and find a way to gain the upper hand.
The Rilmani seemed content to let me be and so I had time to explore the terrain and find a place suitable for our little showdown. These primes can be so old fashioned, I wonder if we’ll duel or just hack each other apart…. Anyway, as I was walking in what could be described as the “foothill” of the Spire a strange outcropping caught my eye. Cautiously I went over to investigate and discovered that the outcropping was caused by a small pointed outcropping that had toppled over and only its base was left standing. My humble estimate predicts that this pointed vertical outcropping would have been a pillar or cone-like shape approximately nine feet tall.
I consulted my mimir on the off chance that it might know something of stonemasonry. As luck would have it did I figured out after a short calculation that the angle at which the fallen stone lay and the angle off the cut, that the outcropping had not fallen by itself. Upon closer examination, there were signs on the base of the outcropping which confirmed that tools had been used to topple the narrow cone shaped rock formation.
Rocks only hold my interest for so long and I thought that I had learned most of the dark of it when after a short walk I came across a similar outcropping. This one seemed a little older and was quite weathered. If I had not known what to look for, it would not have caught my attention.
A week has passed and signs indicate that my pursuer has turned back, there not much water around here and I hear those fish-men lose water pretty quickly. But for some reason I have begun to take a keen interest in these outcroppings, my work so far has uncovered about one or two a day.
It was after I started my research that my dreams became more vivid and fanciful. They turn in to nightmares when I fear that my dreams will cross over in to reality. I hear that reality acts a little different around here and it’s beginning to unnerve me. The last dream I had was where I imagined raising my arms and reaching for infinity, my body began to harden and it felt as though I were shooting upwards.
Today I have not done any work, my dreams have become repetitive and I continue to dream of becoming a spear that shoots upwards from the ground, perhaps I should head back to Sigil. I’ll leave it for a few days, I feel very heavy and tired.” <End of journal>.
“Aargh, another berk who aspires to reach beyond.
– Rilmani patrol leader, discovering a budding spire and ordering it knocked down
When will they learn?”
