Meredian's coloring changes to that of a high elf.
"Where are the crusaders?"
<<Statement. This one will wait here, unless needed.>>
We may be being scryed on. Ill carried a mark which allowed her foes to use her as a scrying focus. If they saw this place, they may scry on it after she left. We should move. Now.
Meredian too goes invisible and follows Anaxian. (See invisibility)
Inubrix follows, becoming extremely small and changing appearance to some innocuous (for the region) animal.
Anaxian and the others move up the tunnel to continue their discussion, noticing that the sparkling sensor disappears as soon as Illia- teleports away.
* * *
Unfortunately, six seconds after Illia- arrives in the caves—and far before any worms appear—a great whirring shriek tears through the air, as the same six-armed beetle demon appears beside Illia-, striking with rapid force. Clawed hands grab at her weapon, as the creature teleports around her in a rapid series of disorienting blinks, its pointed chest-arms punching holes in her armor.
Behind the beetle demon, a 20-foot flying gorilla demon appears, though it appears to react more slowly after teleporting.
Oh, hey, getting ambushed again. If I don't contact you again in a couple minutes then I'm dead! Wish me luck! Oh, and Anaxian can have proto-me if I die.
"Gosh, why are you guys always so grabby? Sheesh, taking all the fun out of bloodshed. It's no fun if it doesn't splatter everywhere!"
The Katpaskir demon attempts to shatter Illia-'s armor directly, assaulting it with six blows that she all manages to dodge well enough that they fall harmlessly.
Illia-'s eyes seem quite angry as she sees her weapons handed off... If they steal those.. She might literally chase them to the Abyss for them.
Illia- fishes out a coin and flicks it at the Katapaskr... defensively.
Monty recasts Shield of Faith.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, hey, getting ambushed again. If I don't contact you again in a couple minutes then I'm dead! Wish me luck! Oh, and Anaxian can have proto-me if I die.
"Maybe you can teleport to the middle of our enemies city. Maybe the neolithids. Perhaps they'll inadvertently help solve the problem.
Dris shifts into wind form and follows the others. ::"Well Anaxian, shall we attempt to put my plans into motion? I can head into Mendev now and see I can't convince some crusaders to take up arms against our foe. With us possibly being without Illia, we need help. Hells, I think we need help even with her, and I get the feeling your undead minions aren't going to be of any use in this campaign":: Drisquar says specifically to Anaxian, not allowing the others to overhear him.
Seeing her anger, the Katpaskir demon backs up, just slightly, and fires a green ray from its fingertips at her armor. Waves of jittering destruction course through the metal, and while Illia- manages to force her armor to hold together through force of will, it is heavily damaged in the process.
I am inclined to agree, based on what we know this far. I will have to resort to other methods. Less... artistic. More direct.
I say go. Speak with the crusaders. See what they say.
I am inclined to agree, based on what we know this far. I will have to resort to other methods. Less... artistic. More direct.
I say go. Speak with the crusaders. See what they say.
"I too vote for the use of patsies."
With a pop and fizzle, the Nalfeshnee teleports back; while too large to fit in the side tunnel, its head fills the opening, as it peers in at her, flanking with the Katpaskir demon.
The Katpaskir calls out something in Abyssal.
…And, sometime later, she wakes up. The room is small, carved from black basalt, with a heavy iron door. Illia-’s possessions are gone, and metal shackles on her hands and feet bind her to the wall behind her. Her injuries appear to have partially healed , although something is poking her with a spear, gently enough to not do any real damage through her resistance. As her vision sharpens, the creature resolves itself into a babau demon, a withered and shiny creature dripping black slime and grinning as it sees its prisoner has awoken.
”Sooo…" the demon whispers without talking, in a telepathic rasp—while Illia- has had many conversations telepathically, the creature appears to be one of the few that feels the need to dramatize its voice even when not speaking. "Shaorhaz is verrrry interested in what one of Hell’s assaaaasins is doing in his forest. Soooo interested, he has deciiiiided to let you live. Start taaaaalking, and you will contiiiiiinue to live."
Setting foot on the edge of the city, Drisquar manages to hear the faint sounds of distant song and practice at arms. As a few soldiers standing guard excitedly explain that the city was apparently recently reclaimed in the newly-started Fifth Crusade, by a team of glorious heroes blessed by the gods themselves.
Its contents appear to be a pile of stitched metal plates, the remains of Illia-'s shredded armor. At the bottom of the pile sits part of a scythe blade, awkwardly wrenched in half, into which a message has been scratched with some sort of hard metal implement or claw. The message is hard to read, but with a bit of effort appears to be written in common, consisting of the words Shaorhaz has your assassin now. Nice try, rotting tree-f***ers.
"Oh, I wasn't sent by Hell. I'm just getting in good with some other people, summoned help you know. Erinyes are oddly rare summons, actually, not fitting into lesser planer binding, not the maximum of strength you can get out of planar binding. And even if you wanted a ranged teleporting flying combatant around our strength level, Vrock's just totally outclass us. At-will telekinesis? Mirror-Image? Spores? Screech? Dance of Ruin! What do we get? ROPES! Life can be so unfair. Usually we're summoned for putting on a show really, if they want the faux-angelic imagery to their forces. Annnyway, we're not here explicitly to aid the druids. They just offered to pay us to take you out, and since you guys already had what we wanted, that was seeming like a pretty sweet deal. Get what we want AND a bunch of gems."
And then the Babau sits. "Hmmmmm," it ponders, "I was supposed to torture you for that information. Ifffff it's true... seems boringly simple, but mayyyy-beeeee... not sure what to do now."
"Well, anyway... What do you get to do around here? Heard Babau's were assassins and torturers, but I can't imagine an Erinyes pops in every day for you to play with, and the only thing to assassinate around here are druids, and what with how they always come back that can't be satisfying. So what kind of prey IS there?"
The babau blinks, clearly confused. "You'd willingly telllllll me about the weaknesses and strategies of your merrrrrrcenary team? But I sense no obbbbbvious lies...."
"Mostly torture," the Babau replies to the second question. "Shaorhaz brings the druuuuu-iiiids he captures here, where they do not reeee-generate, and so we torture them or decades until they give up seeeeeecrets."
And it cocks its head. "But mayyyyyy-beeee I should talk to a superior about this one."
Dris descends from the heavens in full angelic form. He tells the guards to gather all the crusaders present, and once that is accomplished, he cuts right to the chase. "I am sure there are those among you can tell I am not as I seem. True, I fell from the heavens, and I now follow a darker path, but there is a greater evil nearby which I seek allies to do battle against. An incredibly powerful demon by the name of Shaorhaz has wrested control of a fortress and seeks to bring great ruin to these lands. My companions and I wish to lay siege to his castle, and destroy this foul fiend, but as I said, he is mighty indeed. Thus, I seek aid from the most glorious of crusaders and holy warriors, those who have taken up arms against the gaping pit that is the Worldwound. If any seek to join me, and we are victorious, there will be much glory and honor in the defeat of such a vile villain."
And then he hesitates. "Of course, once my superiors have deterrrrrmined that you have told us everything, I get to torture you to death. Because that's how these things go."
Drisquar is escorted by a rather confused group of guards to Citadel Drezen, a large and fortified ruin on the city's north side. As he walks through the city streets, he sees very few intact buildings, as campfires and tents spring up in old ruins; but the city is full of life, as crusaders sing and pray surrounded by much larger groups of militia and mercenaries, nervously enthusiastic about their new home.
The main hall of the citadel remains intact, preserved from the city's destruction by the thick ceilings and rooms above it. Any pretense of a throne has been removed, as commanders and soldiers gather around hastily-built tables covered in maps and food. One of them, a half-orc in brass-plated armor, steps forward when Drisquar makes his announcement.
"I am Irabeth, Azata," she announces, "Commander of this hard-won city. For the benefit of those who cannot see through the goddess's eyes: this angelic creature is what he appears to be, but his heart has been touched by evil."
"Still, there is much we do not know about the Worldwound. The cult of Deskari does not merely seek to bring forth the Abyss; their leaders are apocalyptic in their madness, and only the more destructive and chaotic among the demonic hordes themselves seek comfort and a permanent home among Sarkoris's ruins. They say Asmodeus himself supports our crusade, though his worshippers are rarely present or welcome."
"So I do not doubt your intentions," she continues, casting a glance of warning at some of the more frightened soldiers around her. "But I do not know their purpose. Even now, forces gather for an assault on Nerosyan and its wardstones. And every hand will be needed to hold Drezen when the time comes. Perhaps you are simply one of the more treacherous demons we have been plagued with, seeking help to settle a demonic feud before turning back to fight us, stronger than ever. We have heard of Shaorhaz—his fortress is not so far from this city—but he is old and distracted, fighting the Siabrae while distancing himself ever further from Deskari's armies. Simply put, we cannot spare the soldiers, and have little reason to trust you with their lives."
"An army amassing nearby? How far? Give me their exact location. I shall go see what forces are arrayed against you, and perhaps my companions and I can offer assistance. Would that help persuade you?"
"The legions of the Worldwound," Irabeth replies. "They are not fast, or organized. It will be many weeks, or even months, before things turn violent—but the fact is, the war as we know it lies to the south, not the north."
* * *
Meredian in High Elf coloring stands near Dris. Having said nothing until this point she adds commentary,
"Perhaps we can use their disorganization against them. Disrupt supply lines, sow discourse, that kind of thing. "
With a moment of pre-natural realization
"*Sigh* Alternately, since we're a very resourceful group perhaps we can do something for you first to establish our good intentions. "