Cladissa rounds on Argor. "This is Galt!!" she shrieks. "Geppa is at least right in that the Venture Captains don't have a say in this."
Tears begin to stream down her face as she recalls the slaughtered. "What has become of my home?" she asks the skies.
Turning back to Geppa with a pleading look, her lips tremble as she speaks softly. "I want to end this madness. I offered Cale and the gnomes the opportunity to surrender. And instead, they killed innocent servants who were trapped with them. And Alric had the nerve to say they got 'overzealous,'" she spits the last word out. "Why should I return him to you?"
"I already said he may have been mistaken to attack you, but he was right to kill Hestram. As for punishment, something tells me Cale and the others are dead, and you've already begun punishing my Alric."
"Like I said, I will go with you. I have no real option. Either I go with you, or kill the majority of my men and possibly myself in a battle with you that we are bound to lose. Will you allow the underlings to stay here and defend this property from the mob at least?"
Cladissa slashes her hand down in a cutting motion. "Don't do that. We rescued you from the Final Blade, remember? Don't call yourself our prisoner."
She moves to the window and looks out. "Explain why the mob is even here, wanting to sack this place? You've professed to be the legitimate owners by order of the Council!"
Geppa crosses her arms over her chest. "We are, you can see the writ right there! Well, Alric is anyway, and he wants us here. I tried to explain that to the magistrate when they came, but as I said before, they don't really care what the Council says."
"The local authorities are jealous that the Council awarded this estate to Alric, an outsider, instead of one of their own from here in Edme. They own the local Gardeners, who they had whip up a mob of desperate peasants to get rid of us, so they could take this place for themselves. The Council is weak outside of Isarn...the leadership here in Edme don't fear reprisal so far away from the capital."
Geppa huffs. "If we're not your prisoners then I ask that you leave our property immediately. Take whatever proof you need to satisfy your masters, but leave."
"If you know what's good for your Society you'll free the Raven as well. He was acting at the Council's behest, and while they might not represent an immanent threat, they will eventually bestir themselves when they hear that the Society has imprisoned the Raven for executing their commands. As I said before, I do not think they will suffer the Society to exist in Galt should it be perceived as an anti-Revolutionary organization of vigilantes and murderers. You seem like good people, I wouldn't want your organization to suffer over a misunderstanding. A freed Raven would make a powerful ally on the other hand..."
”Your position is noted. If you do not wish to present your position to the Venture Captains personally, we shall at least make your stance known to them. If there is nothing more, we shall take our leave,” Argor says.
::Cladissa. We cannot right the wrongs here overnight, nor would it be wise to start a Two-Front battle. We should focus our energies on the Alliance first, this Revolutionary Madness has existed for years. The Alliance is a threat we hopefully can end with decisive action. Then we can try and right the wrongs going on here, perhaps even with Absalom at our backs.::
Thrassk nods in agreement. "We have what we came for. I don't sssee how we can help thessse people anymore for now."
The draconic Pathfinder turns to Geppa. "If he ssswearsss to leave the Sssociety in peace and to let usss handle our own dirty laundry, I will advocate for freeing your man Alric. He wasss wrong to attack our Lodge with men who might murder innocentsss, but I can sssee he wasss trying to do what he thought wasss right. Everyone dessservesss a sssecond chance."
"Thank you," Geppa replies to both Argor and Thrassk. "We will make sure those two Gardeners don't harm any more innocents. In thanks for saving my life, I will ensure that no one else in our network goes after the Woodsedge Lodge - even in revenge. I will also wait a week before reporting the Raven's fate to the Revolutionary Council."
Cladissa nods once, Argor's voice in her head reminding her that she was pushing too hard.
Still, she shakes her head sadly. "Try-- try to remember that they're all Galtan. You may think that it's okay because the Revolutionary Council decreed it, but they're still your countrymen you're killing. Murdering."
She sighs and looks at the ribbon in her hand. She begins tying it around her neck again. "I'm not talking about Hestram, obviously."
Geppa nods to Cladissa. "I always prefer to show mercy when I can."
The group is free to take anything from the Montrose Estate that they need to show to Osprey and Eliza. Once they have what they need, Geppa and Teko escort them down under the chapel and to the gateway into the Maze of the Open Road.
"Farewell," Geppa says.
"Nice fighting you," Teko adds. "It's not often that I get a challenge."
The way back through the Maze is uneventful. The medusa's courtyard is as the Pathfinders left it on their way through the first time. After a short journey through the interdimensional maze the Freaks soon return to the Woodsedge Lodge. They appear on the rear lawn, and are met immediately by servants waiting for them there. The servants lead the group inside. Eliza and Osprey leap to their feet the moment the servants bring the group into the Lodge’s Great Hall, where the Red Raven first attacked Adril Hestram and drew them into this mess. Both have been nervously awaiting the return of the agents.
“You’re back!” exclaims Eliza, her face lighting up with a bright smile. “I trust you tracked the murderers to their lair?”
Osprey steps forward. “Well,” he says expectantly. “What have you learned?”
”Indeed, but not without difficulty,” Argor says as he presents the documents to Eliza. He turns to Osprey, ”This Raven was acting on orders from the Galt capital and their council to avenge Lord Montrose. It is a series of irony. The revolutionary seeking revenge in a noble, and in turn being targeted by the very Revolution he served. It is all part of the corruption inherent to their movement, really. However, it would seem that the man in the Raven’s service should be held primarily accountable for the murder of the servant staff here. Raven only was targeting Hestram, who we already suspected of treachery and, it would seem, had more targets to eliminate as well. The documents show as such. It would be my recommendation that we release the Raven in an effort to foster an alliance between himself and the Lodge here. Otherwise, the imprisonment of one of the local heroes by the organization will foster a continued divide between the Society and the local government, hampering any efforts at reestablishing the Lodge here. Especially since the man himself did not commit the murders. If we show him that not all of the Society is in league with Hestram and the Onyx, then he may prove to be a strong positive voice for future endeavors here and keep the revolution off of the Societies back, until future stabilization of the local government can take place.”
As Argor concludes his debriefing, he casts a knowing look to Cladissa, hoping she caught the weight of his final statement.
On the way back through the medusa's garden, Cladissa runs her hand lightly along the petrified statue of the spirit naga. "We should see about freeing her," she says to no one in particular. Cole meows once, and she raises her eyebrow. "Really?"
At the debriefing, Cladissa is silent while Argor recounts the information they learned. She absently fingers the ribbon around her neck when he talks of freeing the Raven, which seems like a foregone conclusion. She wasn't sure how he'd react to his time as a sloth.
When Argor makes his pointed glance at her at the end of his speech, she shrugs, then lowers her head. It had been easy to hope that things would eventually settle when she lived far away and only had her imagination and fond memories of her childhood to go by. But here, in the middle of it all, where she was going to have to allow a killer like the Red Raven to go free and continue working for a bloodthirsty Revolutionary Council that has decreed living like a noble is a death sentence. The cruel reality crushed her with an overwhelming weight.
Some small part of her decides that bursting into tears in front of everyone would be inappropriate, so she dashes from the gathering to find a secluded spot to weep for her country.
Argor watches as Cladissa flees from the group in distress. He pauses for but a moment before turning to Osprey and Eliza, ”If you’ll excuse me...” he says with a bow. He signals for Adrenia to wait with the Venture Captains as he slowly flies off after Cladissa.
He approaches slowly, and calls out quietly, almost in a whisper, ”Cladissa...”
She lifts her head and turns toward him, the soft violet light emanating from her eyes nearly faded. Now they are red-rimmed from crying. "Argor, it's... it's so bad. I never thought-- I never dreamed, even in my worst nightmares, that it could be like this."
She squeezes her eyes shut, sending a cascade of tears down her cheeks. She shudders, trying to hold it back.
"They're burning it all," she whispers through trembling lips.
”My apologies, in advance, for using some cliche euphemisms and metaphors, but this recent endeavor leans towards them quite heavily,” Argor says sympathetically. ”But, as they say, the night is darkest before the dawn. Also, like the Phoenix we encountered, perhaps, once the fires of revolution end, new life can come into this land. And perhaps we can be that life. But,” he adds, ”we must move carefully and purposefully when we do. I promise you, after all of this is said and done with the Onyx Alliance, and things can stabilize in Absalom such that we can call on them for aid in the task, I will help you in whatever way I can.”
Argor moves to console Cladissa, but the memory of what happened to him the last time he had tried that surges forward through the cloud of amnesia that are his memories, and he halts himself, his arms awkawardly outstretched as he ponders his action.
Cladissa's response to Argor's unexpected offer of comfort is a fierce embrace. She squeezes him hard, wrapping her arms around his torso. She buries her face in his tunic, which muffles her sobs and creates a damp spot as the fabric absorbs her tears.
She allows Argor to hold her as she cries. She cries as she mourns the loss of her simple dreams. She cries for her treasured childhood memories, forever tainted by the images of blackened, gutted ruins in the place of art and architecture. She cries for the future, of the monumental, hopeless task ahead of her. And she cries for her countrymen who will die as the Revolution continues its bloody work that she will not be able so save.
She slowly pulls away from Argor, wiping her eyes and noticing the dark wet spot she created on his shirt. "Sorry," she says softly, sniffling, as she tries to pat it dry.
Argor holds her as long as she needs, and smiles playfully as she pats at the tear splotch on his chest. With a wave of his hand, the tears evaporate instantly. ”No apologies are necessary,” he says as he reaches up and wipes away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. ”We can not change the world in a day. But we can take steps to make it better.”
His smile begins to fade, as Argor’s face takes on a strange expression. He looks out over her shoulder to the night sky over top of the Maze and the gardens.
”Indeed, but not without difficulty,” Argor says as he presents the documents to Eliza. He turns to Osprey, ”This Raven was acting on orders from the Galt capital and their council to avenge Lord Montrose. It is a series of irony. The revolutionary seeking revenge in a noble, and in turn being targeted by the very Revolution he served. It is all part of the corruption inherent to their movement, really. However, it would seem that the man in the Raven’s service should be held primarily accountable for the murder of the servant staff here. Raven only was targeting Hestram, who we already suspected of treachery and, it would seem, had more targets to eliminate as well. The documents show as such. It would be my recommendation that we release the Raven in an effort to foster an alliance between himself and the Lodge here. Otherwise, the imprisonment of one of the local heroes by the organization will foster a continued divide between the Society and the local government, hampering any efforts at reestablishing the Lodge here. Especially since the man himself did not commit the murders. If we show him that not all of the Society is in league with Hestram and the Onyx, then he may prove to be a strong positive voice for future endeavors here and keep the revolution off of the Societies back, until future stabilization of the local government can take place.”
As Argor concludes his debriefing, he casts a knowing look to Cladissa, hoping she caught the weight of his final statement.
As Argor and Cladissa rush off, the Venture Captains turn to the remaining Freaks.
Osprey shakes his head. "So it's confirmed then...it was Hestram who took out Montrose. Knowing what we know now, I need to reveal some top secret information to you. Montrose was a Venture Captain and also a member of the Decemvirate. The other four names on Hestram's list are also Venture Captains and members of the Ten. Their identities should be among the most well protected secrets on Golarion. I do not know how Hestram got ahold of them, but it doesn't matter now."
Eliza clenches her hands into fists and shakes her head. "That Raven bastard murdered my servants! I can't just let him go."
Osprey interjects, "Eliza...Argor is right. We can't afford for the Maze to become inaccessible, or for all your work here to have been for nothing. I know it's personal for you, but the Raven doesn't matter now. We have to protect the Society."
Eliza looks furious. She takes several moments to master herself, and then slowly nods. "You are right of course...Sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me."
Osprey thinks for a moment and then says, "We have Hestram's body locked away upstairs. I will summon a trusted agent here so that we can interrogate the body. It may not reveal anything we don't already know, but it's worth a try. In the meantime you all need to rest up and recouperate. We'll be sending you back out soon enough. We can't let Hestram's agents succeed in taking out more members of the Ten."
”My apologies, but can someone tell me what these ‘Ten’ and ‘Decemvirate’ are?” Adrenia asks. ”The organizations of mortals and their hierarchies are often quite...nonsensical.”
She places a comforting hand on Eliza’s arm and adds, ”If it would make you feel better, ma’am, I could repeat the entire conversation that was held earlier about the Raven.”
Argor holds her as long as she needs, and smiles playfully as she pats at the tear splotch on his chest. With a wave of his hand, the tears evaporate instantly. ”No apologies are necessary,” he says as he reaches up and wipes away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. ”We can not change the world in a day. But we can take steps to make it better.”
His smile begins to fade, as Argor’s face takes on a strange expression. He looks out over her shoulder to the night sky over top of the Maze and the gardens.
Cladissa has to marvel at the man who had comforted her in her moment of despair. So much the same, yet so different. She studies his face as he stares into the distance. So much had happened between them, so much pain. She reaches up and caresses his cheek. "Argor, I... I haven't forgotten. We're going to get her back. Nothing's more important to me. Not even this."
She slips away from him and heads back to Osprey and the others.
Argor grabs her hand before she goes, ”Wait.”
He turns to face her, his head hanging down. ”I...I have something to confess. From the moment the Raven attacked us, my mind has been a tumultuous cloud. Through it all, from his attack in the Hall, his surprise attack against you, the Medusa and her puppets, Teko, and the Grey Gardeners, there was always concern for one thing and one thing only that kept me focused.”
”You,” he says as he lifts his golden eyes to meet Cladissa’s violet ones.
Cladissa stares in shock, her eyes wide as her heart suddenly pounds so hard in her chest it feels as if it could break her ribs. She takes an unbidden step toward him, her legs going so woozy that she could almost envision falling into his arms. A moment, the catch of her breath, and she feels herself leaning, falling, letting him catch her...
"No," she says -- not harshly, though she shakes her head vigorously. Her arachnoid appendages extend behind her to keep her stable and on her feet as she takes a step back. "No, you belong to Imrizade. She's counting on you-- us. And I'm--"
Her hand reaches to the heavy bauble on her chest, but she suddenly realizes it's not the brooch but the Absalom medal. The brooch was... somewhere else. Her swirling emotions made it hard to think. "I'm... whatever. It doesn't matter."
Argor makes no motion, just continues to stare into Cladissa’s eyes, ”Maybe. Maybe I did...before I changed. Before I became this...new me. Ever since, when I look back on Imrizade and my time together, it seems hazy...immaterial...like so many other things when it came to my old self’s greed, ambition, and lust for power. I know she is counting on us, me in particular...but it doesn’t change the way I feel...now,” he says as he gives her hand a gentle squeeze and takes an actual physical step towards her.
”And it does matter. You, matter.”
Is this really happening? Why am I not putting a stop to this? her mind races while her heart pounds so fast that it's making her dizzy. Shock and surprise paralyze her; he is close enough she can feel his breath on her cheeks still moist from crying.
She shakes her head once more, feebly. Parts of her mind, rational parts, scream in protest, urging her to move, reminding her of how she has someone waiting for her. But I broke it off, she thinks, incredulously. She had thrown back the brooch, and even though he left it behind, something about her infatuation with him had snapped at that moment. That moment that she...
Cladissa gasps. This time her legs, all six of them, do give out and she falls into Argor's arms. She rests her head against his chest, breathing heavily in astonishment at the impossibility of the moment.
She looks up at him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. ::How do you feel, Argor?::
Without saying a word, Argor leans down and kisses Cladissa in a moment of total passion. Without even realizing it, he begins floating up into the sky above the Lodge, their forms lost in the inky blackness of the night sky.
All sensation surrendered to the kiss. She felt it with her whole being, he filled her senses completely that she no longer even felt her feet touch the floor, so complete did he hold her in her arms.
Time stretched the moments into hours, or perhaps compressed hours into mere minutes. Time was hazy as everything else in the world except the sensation of his lips on hers and his arms around her body.
Cladissa's mind felt hazy in the dreamy euphoria, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness in the embrace. The passion Argor conveyed sent tingles up and down her spine and raced to the very tips of her toes.
She reaches up and runs her fingers through his hair and then slides her nails lightly along his cheek...
”My apologies, but can someone tell me what these ‘Ten’ and ‘Decemvirate’ are?” Adrenia asks. ”The organizations of mortals and their hierarchies are often quite...nonsensical.”
She places a comforting hand on Eliza’s arm and adds, ”If it would make you feel better, ma’am, I could repeat the entire conversation that was held earlier about the Raven.”
"The Ten or the Decemvirate are the leadersss of the Sssociety. They are our hidden massstersss, and we are duty bound to protect them ssso long asss we are Pathfindersss."
... And recoils in horror as she imagines the feel of her claws digging into his flesh. A panicked "Mrrowwrrr" escapes her throat followed by a hiss and a spit.
She twists and leaps away from him as his scent fills her nostrils. She plummets briefly, but snags a tree branch with her sharp talons and pulls herself onto the limb. She keeps moving, bounding and leaping from branch to branch until she hits the soft ground.
Panic sets in as she realizes she's in an unfamiliar area, fenced in, though she spies a gap in a tall hedge. She starts toward it, but the scent of cool water and a powerful thirst draws her first toward a calm pool nearby. Clinging to the shadows, she slinks along the edge of the wall to reach the clear pool. She sticks her head over the still water, planning to lap up a refreshing drink, but she catches her reflection, nearly fully feline..
That's not me... Not anymore. Thats. NOT.
No, but am! her reflection distorts to one of nightmarish beauty. It cackles, then lunges at her.
Cladissa splashes and sputters in the water, staggering to her cloven feet. Leathery wings flap agitatedly on her back.
NO! No, I beat you! You're gone, you're not real! she screams in her mind as she recoils from her own body. She stumbles backwards, nearly falling, while dainty hands with blood-red nails explore her obscene curves in horror.
Blindly, she runs, trying to escape her own body. She slams into a hedge, is pushed back by the branches, finds another gap, and moves through. She stumbles and staggers through the maze blindly, wildly, terrified.
Cladissa suddenly stops in front of a stone naga. A shadow of a midnight-black cat is perched upon the statue, glaring at her with his yellow eyes.
"Stop it," he says, simply.
"Look at me! I'm changing! I'm back to being this demon again!" She holds up her arms and flares out her leathery wings.
"You're changing again, yes. Why don't you look at yourself?"
She looks down, Cole's smooth voice calming her, and blinks her eyes. She was back to normal. Or, at least, her most recent normal. Had she even changed at all?
Wait. There it was, the formula's buzzing, but it was different. Muted. No longer the painful mutagen but something softer. Although no less potent. "It's still working," she tells her familiar.
The cat nods, and sits down on the statue.
She closes her eyes, envisioning herself as a sculptor imagines his final work before ever working with the clay. She settles down, needing to empower her magic, making it stronger than ever before in order to deal with the challenges ahead. The tingle in her mind expands and opens up new pathways, increasing connections and speeding her firing synapses.
She opens up her eyes, and the lavender energy spills out. "Wow. That was pretty neat," she tells Cole.
Then she gasps as her mind recalls recent events. "I kissed Argor!"
Cole collapses down off the statue.
Adrenia nods, ”Ah, so they are the superior officers of the Society. Under-“ Adrenia pauses, then blushes, ”Understood. Hehehe.”
”Cladissa...” escapes his lips as he watches the feline form of Cladissa leap from his arms and into the tree near them.
The serum...
He considers flying after her once more, but ultimately decides he had harassed her enough for one night. Anymore emotional strain could prove dangerous for both of them. He then turns and floats back to the shared room he shares with Grommesson. He sits on the edge of the bed and catches his breath a moment as he ponders what had just happened.
He then replenishes some energy into his staff, takes his spellbooks and seeks out Eliza. ”Lady Eliza. Do you perhaps have a private arcane library on hand here? I am in need of some time, resources, and privacy for a short time tonight and tomorrow.”
After receiving her answer, he floats out to return to the maze to release the naga from it’s bound state.
After updating her master to the updates she has received from Osprey and Eliza in his absence, she flits away so he can focus on his studies. She finds herself waiting patiently in the garden for Cladissa to return to the Lodge, stretching out under the night sky and leaning back on her elbows as she looks up to the stars.
She spots Argor flying towards the maze, and moves to intercept him. ”Sir! I...I think Cladissa is inside. And she may be in need of some time alone...or rather...apart from you...I don’t mean to offend...”
Argor nods in response to Adrenia. ”No offense taken. I shall wait a good distance away until she departs. I have something to do within before I go to sleep. Thank you.”
He hovers a long distance away, to the furthest point he can and still see the entrance, and waits silently.
Meanwhile, Adrenia returns to her lounging spot and waits for the other lady of the group.
Cole vanishes in a puff of mist and rematerializes where he had been sitting. Acting as if he hadn't suddenly slipped from his perch, the sylvanshee eyes Cladissa as she begins hyperventilating in her rising panic.
"That's a very unexpected move," he comments stoically in their shared secret language.
Cladissa tries to measure her breathing as she wrings her hands. "I know!" she responds in like fashion. "I was in shock; it was such a surprise. He consoled me, and then he held me, and it felt nice. He's so different now. But still the same. It's... strange, how he can be himself but so different. Caring. Well, about others, that is.
"The next thing I knew, he was kissing me and we were floating and then--"
"You said you kissed him," Cole interjects.
Her hands fly to her lips, touching them, remembering the sensation of his mouth, his breath. "I did. Oh, gods, I kissed him back, didn't I?" She paces around the stone garden like a caged animal.
"How did it make you feel?" her familiar asks.
She stops in mid-stride and glares at the feline. "Shouldn't you be able to tell?" she snaps at him.
His yellow eyes narrow and he leans forward on his perch. "Of course I felt it. But I want to know if you realize how you felt."
Her mouth drops open. Cladissa flashes back to that moment, but recoils quickly from the searing intensity. She then probes a bit more cautiously, trying clinically examine the event from an outsider's perspective.
It was still terrifying.
"No. Not going to, no. Uh-uh, nope." Mentally, she slams an iron cage around the memory and buries it underneath several thousand castings of stone shape.
Cole stands and stretches, his long tail swishing vigorously. "Really? That's your solution? I'm sure it will work perfectly."
She gestures wildly. "It's Argor! Ar-Gor. As in, the guy who belittled me, tormented me, killed people, hurt Jannicke, and crushed his unborn child, among other things."
Cole sighs, then leaps onto her shoulders. "And yet, you had the courage to love him all the while. Platonically, of course. You never left, though you had plenty of reasons to. And when his world caved in and he fell to pieces..."
"... I was there to pick him up and put him back together," she whispers. She grabs the cat on her shoulders and cradles him, hugging him tightly to her. She had done more than just put him back together, though. She had coaxed his mind from the deepest depths of despair by showing him a way that isn't full of spite and hate, consumed with revenge. So he came back different, but better. Maybe the Argor he would have been if he had a nurturing childhood; if his life as an orphan hadn't left him bitter and grasping. Someone no less driven, but tempered with kindness. Someone she could love.
She snaps out of her reverie. "No, no. I couldn't do that to Imrizade. Absolutely not."
Cole's heavy lidded eyes crack open as he looks up at her from where he's being cuddled. "What is Imrizade?"
Cladissa pauses for a brief moment of confusion, but his meaning dawns on her. "A Blakros."
"Exactly." Cole fades into mist again and reappears at Cladissa's feet. He trots over to the statue of the naga, and looks up at it. "Sorting out your emotions about Argor will obviously take some time. Why don't we get started on something that will do good immediately?"
Cladissa nods, actually relieved for the distraction. She sits down cross-legged and begins the ritualized connection, wherein she learns the secrets of the strange entities that have sent Cole to her.
========================
Some time later, she stands with a head full of new knowledge and power. She turns toward the statue of the naga. "If she's still under some sort of control, we're going to have to get out of here pretty quick," she says. Cole meows in agreement.
She backs up to a moderately safe distance, then picks up a handful of soil. Biting her lip, she spits a small bit of blood into the earth and mixes it together. She then blows on the mixture which is picked up in a swirl of energies that streaks to the statue of the naga and encircles it in a violet glow.
”Cladissa...” escapes his lips as he watches the feline form of Cladissa leap from his arms and into the tree near them.
The serum...
He considers flying after her once more, but ultimately decides he had harassed her enough for one night. Anymore emotional strain could prove dangerous for both of them. He then turns and floats back to the shared room he shares with Grommesson. He sits on the edge of the bed and catches his breath a moment as he ponders what had just happened.
He then replenishes some energy into his staff, takes his spellbooks and seeks out Eliza. ”Lady Eliza. Do you perhaps have a private arcane library on hand here? I am in need of some time, resources, and privacy for a short time tonight and tomorrow.”
After receiving her answer, he floats out to return to the maze to release the naga from it’s bound state.
Eliza nods. "Come with me," she says. She leads Argor to the lower level of the Lodge, across to the east side of the Lodge. She takes him into the library. The Revolutionary Mob heavily plundered the library of the Woodsedge Lodge when the Pathfinder Society formally abandoned it decades ago, and Eliza is only beginning to restore the collection to its former glory. She’s amassed plenty of historical documents and maps, but the assembly has little direction at the moment.
Eliza walks to the rear of the library where she unlocks an elegantly carved wooden door. Inside is a smaller, secret library. "This is my private library. I ask that you not go rifling through my confidential things, but you are free to use the desk and writing supplies. I am a wizard, so I should have everything available that you might need. I will wait outside in the library, I also have some reading to do." Eliza’s trove includes secret Pathfinder Society missives, dossiers on local politicians, and several magic scrolls.
She backs up to a moderately safe distance, then picks up a handful of soil. Biting her lip, she spits a small bit of blood into the earth and mixes it together. She then blows on the mixture which is picked up in a swirl of energies that streaks to the statue of the naga and encircles it in a violet glow.
The stone slowly recedes from the naga's flesh, like frost melting with the Spring thaw. The green serpentine form of the guardian naga is revealed, slithering a bit as she comes awake. The naga turns her human-like face towards Cladissa. She starts to cry. "You came back for me. Thank you! I'm so sorry for what Condria made me do to you and your friends earlier."
Tears still rolling slowly down her face, she says "My name is Volyanni. What is yours?"
Cladissa smiles proudly, glad she made the right choice. Cole meows beside her. She was tired, sore, and a tumult of emotions lurked just beneath the surface, but right now her heart surges in the moment she realizes she saved someone from slavery.
"I'm Cladissa d-- Velorryan. Pathfinder, but one of the good ones, I hope you'll see."
She takes a step closer, the joy in Volyanni's voice alleviating her fear that she might still be under some sway. "I'm glad to save you, and relieved that you're free now. Do you know how she did it?"
"She is cursed somehow. She can not truly be killed. When I was captured the men who had me were shocked to see her, they said they already killed her once. It seems any who she turns to stone become her slaves for all eternity. She will be back sometime soon I think. We need to get out of here before she reforms." Volyanni looks about the ruins worriedly.
"I am allied to another pathfinder. She is a Venture Captain named Kyalla down in the Mwangi Expanse. That is why I am here actually. I think there is a plot to kill her or do her harm. I saw some Bekyar cultists sneaking around her camp in the jungle, and tried to follow them, but they captured me. They knocked me out and when I woke up we were here in a battle with the medusa and her servants. She managed to petrify me, and the next thing I knew I was fighting you and your friends against my will."
Cladissa gulps and agrees to leave the stone gardens. Following the scent trails easily, she listens closely to Volyanni while she walks and the naga slithers
"I know!" she exclaims when Volyanni mentions the plot against Kyalla. "We were unfortunately too late to help Montrose, but killing him is what got Hestram killed. The other Pathfinders you fought are back at the Lodge. You should talk with them, since I'll bet we're planning our next move."
She steps out of the maze and freezes when she sees Adrenia waiting just outside.
With a concerted effort, she forces her limbs to move again. "Are Osprey and Eliza still inside? I've found someone they probably want to meet," she tells the archon.
Volyanni follows Cladissa out. "Okay. I need to get back to the Expanse if possible. I thought I was too late, but maybe there is still time for me to help Kyalla..."
"Better to go in force," she suggests, her voice still tight.
Seeing the naga accompanying Cladissa, Adrenia stands and nods. ”Yes, they are,” she replies before turning and falling in beside Cladissa as they return to the Lodge. ”For the record, if you need to talk...you know, girl to ‘girl,’ just let me know. I realize your options are limited, with all the men on the team. Perhaps even Eliza could join in.”
Seeing the naga already freed, and headed for the Lodge with Cladissa, Argor takes advantage of Cladissa’s momentary pause to get a head start and returns to the Lodge to Osprey and Eliza, joining them in waiting for the trio’s arrival. ”Cladissa is returning. She released one of the medusa’s victims, the naga, and is en route to the Lodge with them.”
Cladissa stops for a second and studies the diminutive angel. A small flash of distrust crosses her mind -- Adrenia is Argor's familiar, after all -- but she shakes it off quickly. He was different, and nothing could better illustrate that than his new angelic familiar.
"Uh, I guess that's..." she trails off when she catches a glimpse of Argor just before he moves inside of the Lodge ahead of them. Just the sight of him causes her heart to pound.
Though distracted, she tries to finish the conversation. "Sure, girl talk. We'll talk. Yeah."
She shakes her head clear. "Wait. What? I'm sorry, do you want to get to know me, or do you want to talk about..." she points back and forth between her and the direction Argor went.
”Maybe a bit of both,” Adrenia responds with a playful wink.