The Beauty of the Garden

[Yerkan of Elish]

I take the form of a gray-bearded street magician.

"Consider now the heart of illusion, which is the manipulation of darkness and light to create visions and cause effects without the need for 'reality'. Even the minds of the greatest deities can be fooled by well-formed and well-planned illusory effects, for masters - such as I - can weave light and darkness so well that reality itself will be unsure of its composition.

"Consider also the heart of poison, which flows through my veins in the form of Quicksilver and Adamant. If my lungs can breathe madness, my heart can beat death, and my muscles overcome paralysis, are you to believe that there is much that I cannot do with poisons and toxins? Stand ye still, otherworldly creature. Feel free to watch our show; but we would like to know who stands in our audience."

I work a debilitating neurotoxin of mind-slowing, paralyzing light through Durin's lantern and through my own illusions, hoping to slow the shadow-creature still further and weaken it to our observations. It will be integrated directly with the light and dark, so that the creature cannot feed without also consuming poison.

[Diamond Master]

YERKAN OF ELISH VS TINY SHADOW
Tier: Campaign God vs Hero Deity
Domain: Poison vs Darkness
Weakness: ??? vs ???
Equipment: None used vs None
Circumstance: None vs Time-slowed
Spell: Illusions vs ???
Allies: AIiCE, Ptah, Durin vs ???
Insight: Poison the Water vs None

[Yerkan of Elish]

Oh, I might as well use the Loupe Estoc as well, so that I can at least learn about it when I do manage to corner it with my poisons.

[Diamond Master]

Let's bring this to a roll.

[Diamond Master]

Shadow rolls 12

Yerkan rolls 10

Your plan is sound in theory. The shadow even slides out to listen to your magician's spiel, a dark disc on bright diamond.

The shadow creature moves slowly enough, clearly responding to the poisoned light. As your estoc reaches for the Shadow, it slips away along a dimension perpendicular to your thrust, slipping right between particles of the universe to escape, leaving only the faintest touch in your dagger's reserve.

You are unsure whether you'll get a reading, or if the trilobites will interfere.

[Yerkan of Elish]

Curses. Well, I got a reading of one thing, even if the Estoc does not give me much: I saw which way it went.

I set up various tools to triangulate the direction in which it vanished, to see which dimensions it is using for its travel.

[Great Thrash]

Yerkan, what can we do to decrease the risk of analysis with that dagger's sample?

[Yerkan of Elish]

"Blood.

The Loupe Estoc runs on blood, but this sample is meager. Lacking. There is no life here, no energy. In Rivenrock, a mere touch would be enough for me, as I could stare into the innumerable data of the ether. Here, however, I get mere blood. Empty water. I need some way to extrapolate this. To gain knowledge without having it."

I mark down everything that I can learn about the creature, even the most trivial of facts. I then lock the door of my makeshift studiolo beneath the Throne of Thrash and pore over every book that I can, every legend, every description of the anatomy of every known creature that casts a shadow. For me, time seems to slow as I absorb even the tiniest details and ponder the ramifications of every datum.

[Great Thrash]

I don't think you're going to get any blood out of a shadow. Or out of paperwork, for that matter.

[Yerkan of Elish]

"As an Artifact meant for use by and on gods, the concept of Blood here is somewhat extensible, Avalanche. And of course I shall get no more blood from the 'paperwork' as you say, but I must make do with what I have unless someone is planning on assisting me in attaining more data."