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"They never are, are they?" the Warden muses, then thinks for a bit. "The Captain informed me you checked on the Prisoner, what was his status?"
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"Imprisoned." Xeros answers.
"Beyond that." the Warden immediately answers.
"Literally radiating malevolence! There was absolutely no doubt of either the power or overwhelming evil it represents." Yelenn elaborates.
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"Yeah, speaking of, exactly what is that thing?" Princess Stabbity asked at the mention of the 'prisoner.'
The Warden nods. ”I would expect nothing less, any sacred symbols carried by those who engaged him were noted to be mangled just by his presence, but this wasn’t noticed by the bearer till after, even if they didn’t actually interact with him.” she then turns to Seranna. ”Shuko the Drifter, one of the Marauders, a group of Fiends with no connection to any known Fiends or Lower Planes invited into our reality. Extremely evil, they could warp a mortal into a full fledged Fiend with just a touch. Extremely difficult to kill too. Shuko especially so. Impervious to poison and disease, if he was slain by spell or weapon his essence subsumed the soul of his killer, granting him life anew. Hence his second name, and the measures we took to stop him. Or at least stall him till a way to slay him safely could be worked out.”
She stops, tilting her head to look around at everything, at nothing. ”Guess they never found a satisfactory method.” Sighing she looks back down at the group. ”So! What did the bastard have to say? Is he enjoying his accomadtions in his extended stay?” she asks with a bitter smirk.
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All this talk of geography and the past was lost on Mylyna, it meant little to nothing to her though the thought that the Mother's didn't always have a home was surprising. She noticed when Vael seemed to feel sick after Mylyna told her story and slithered over closer. She stopped when she saw what Vael almost did and was relieved when she stopped. She came up behind Lady Vael and leaned in against her back, wrapping her arms around the stabbity Lady in a gentle embrace.
"I... don't recall having any conversation with the prisoner," says Yasmin. "Maybe he was asleep?"
”Huh. It’s possible, but with having no interaction in who knows how long, even longer than I’ve been here if the cell worked right, I figured he’d jump at the chance to chitchat. He was rather talkative beforehand.” The Warden states.
"Was he," says Yasmin. She turns, her brow furrowed, as she thinks. "Well, he couldn't have escaped, even if someone else came to his prison before us?"
Xeros shakes his head. ”You were the first ones to enter the key room since the key was put in there.”
The Warden nods. ”His cell was placed in a pocket dimension completely separated from this plane of existence and period of time. Without the key to make it coterminous with this plane and time, there is no way to get into the cell.”
"Oh there was definitely something there, as dark and corrupt as you describe." Yelenn confirms, "But for whatever reason, he didn't attempt to communicate with us, not that we hung around for any extended period of time."
”Hmm,” Hmm she lets out as she starts to tap a finger to her lips. ”Is it... possible he died? I know that’s just me being optimistic, but sleeping through visitors? Hmm, unless he was trying to astral project...”
"Would you like us to go back and check?" Yelenn asks hesitantly.
”If you would be up for it? I mean, there’s not else we can do. We being me and the Captain of the Guard, you I assume can leave without much difficulty?” The Warden asks, the look on her showing she wasn’t asking for something simple. ”I’ll attend too, of course.”
"Certainly, it's not far. We can go look. Is there anything we should look for, in particular? How can we tell if he's still in there?" asks Yasmin.
"Uh, if his body is still in there? The cell prevents any type or mental or magical travel so even if did try to project his conscious it wouldn't get far, even if it was able to leave his physical form." she answers as she starts to walk around the statue.
"So, when we-oh," The warden stops and lets out when she gets around the statue, looking at what remains of the alcoves. "... this is what you were trying to tell me." Her voice was flat.
"Once a prison, now a grave." Xeros simply states as he had multiple times before.
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"Yes." Yelenn says quietly. "If there were others here with you that were in those.....I'm sorry." she says, gently resting a hand on The Warden's shoulder.
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The Warden raises her hand to Yelenn's. "There are... there were... there were... they were right there... I just talked to them... they..." she begins, her heavier breathing making it difficult as bits of brightness begins to swell out of her chest before being sucked back in.
"Thank you, Awakener." she finally says as she breaks out of her ramble, her eyes were dull rather than glossy, but her skin seemed to be a blue many shades lighter.
Xeros looks about, obviously fidgeting about something before finally asking, "Was Shivinii-"
"Yes," she cuts him off, "Shivinii joined us here. She wasn't the type to let her friends do something like this on our own. I wish she had. She wasn't a priest or a wizard. She was a diplomat."
Her answer causes the guard to lower his head, a low dull screech leaking out his mouth before raising his head again. "It's okay, they're all sleeping now. They're having good dreams. Xeros has no doubt."
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"Ever the optimist, eh Captain?" The Warden says as her grip tightens around Yelenn's hand. "They were robbed of the centuries they were still owed, watching civilizations rise and fall, families lines grow wide and deep, all the joy and tears that come with it. They didn't even get the dignity of fighting back. They were slaughtered in the cribs like babes. And I delivered this fate unto them." she continued in a hollow tone.
Taking a deep breath she lowers her hand from Yelenn's. "Shall we press on?"
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Her hand instinctively moving to gently rub the Warden's back in silent comfort, Yelenn nods taking the lead in heading back to the prisoner's chamber. She understood what it was like to lose absolutely everything at once.
Once Yelenn begins to move the Wardens takes another stilted breath before clenching her fists. "Right, no sense in lingering. There's only one thing left to be done, onward then." she says with a forced conviction.
Reversing their tracks through the shattered hall and into the watery passage, the lonely guard in the water being gifted a long stare by the Warden as they pass, the group is back in the great hall in no time, and once more before the door. Once it removes itself the Warden saunters past Yelenn, her silver eyes glaring at the creature trapped in the pillar. "Bastard, h-wait..." Then she stops.
"Where did his color go? Is... doesn't he look like... could it have really been that long?" she murmurs quickly before hustling over to the pillar, hastily stepping to side to side in observing the silent prisoner. "Are you kidding me?! He's a f!@$ing fossil!"
The brightness once again ignited within her chest and began to spread out. "So when did you give up? Tell me. When did it finally sink in? Go on, try and taunt me, you rather enjoyed doing that. You thought you were going to win this one, like you had everything else. But you didn't, so tell me. When did you decide? That you had lost? You. Lost. TELL ME!" she howls at the prisoner. And then promptly collapses, leaving those bright swirling motes of white and black floating in the air unattended before they sunk back down to the Warden, their disappearance into her flesh heralding another ragged gasp for air.
Yelenn catches her middle collapse this time, almost expecting it. As the wisps of her soul recombine with her body, she waits for the Warden's eyes to open. "It's okay, you...collapsed again. I know how awful this must all be for you but you need to try to stay calm. Your body can't handle you losing control right now." she says, gently brushing her hair out of her face.
The Warden’s eyes flit around before focusing on Yelenn’s face as she comes back. ”Again? Why does th-nevermind, you’re right. After finding out the monster my closest friends and the Captain’s clan sacrificed themselves to stop is dead I got excited. It was foolish and most unbecoming of me. I will not allow it to happen again.” she says in a quick and mechanical tone. ”Thank you for catching me by they way” she adds after realizing Yelenn was holding her, some color returning to her face.
Seranna stiffed when she suddenly sensed someone behind her. Before she realized what was going on she felt someone’s more than ample bosom pressed against her back and a pair of arms wrap around her front. It was Mylyna. Seranna couldn’t say what brought on this bout of physicality but it was honestly a welcome change. This place was so strange and scary, and the Warden’s realization that she was truly alone in this new world only reminded Seranna of the group’s own precarious position. They were alone on this infernal island. They had been condemned to spend the rest of their lives here, a place where the greatest evil their world had ever seen slept. A place where the greatest tragedy of the ages had occurred. She wanted to flee, to run away, to find some sort of sanctuary, but she knew there was none to be found. Seranna, her husband, and all the others were trapped here, and had it not been for Mylyna panic might have set in at that realization.
Seranna smiled faintly as she patted the back of Mylyna’s hand, interlacing their fingers as she leaned her head back to look her in the eyes, “Thank you darling. Things are going to be better. We are going to make things better, I promise.”
It was a lie, but it was an important one. Seranna was a convincing liar, and she needed to convince herself of this more than anyone else. She didn’t believe it, but maybe if the others bought into it, with time she would too. She had to admit it seemed to be working. Holding Mylyna’s hand on one side, and gripping a curled tentacle on her other she was optimistic about their chances, even as they moved back toward the jaws of oblivion.
The Warden’s sudden outburst did well to dispel that optimism however. Things only got worse when she collapsed to the ground and those strange orbs swirled around. Though they seemed to revive her, everything she had said about the demon left quite the impression upon Seranna and thus her eyes cut to Zogith who dedicated his full attention to the Warden, watching her every move with a level of suspicion that was difficult to mask even for a cyclopean cephalopod.
“So wait…he died of what, boredom? Or is he hibernating?”
“I think the Warden’s health takes priority over these questions.” Zogith stated plainly, “Her brief deaths cannot be good for her long term health. Occurring in this place only puts her and us at greater risk.”
“Wait-“ Seranna gave a wide eyed look at Zogith and once again the pair seemed to engage in an unspoken conversation, “Um, right. Maybe we should get the Warden away from the unspeakable, ageless, evil.”
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"Anytime," Yelenn says, smiling once she sees her recovering. "If there's one thing we've quickly figured out is that the best way to survive this place is to have someone else to hold on to."
Nodding at Seranna and Zogith's assessment she asks, "Do you feel strong enough to walk or would you prefer me to carry you?"
”That’s one way to think of it.” She starts answering Seranna, ”Magic that disturbs time in anyway is very volatile, but if you contain it to demiplanes and the like where there was no time to begin with it’s much more manageable. To an extant. Reversing is out of the question, as is halting the flow. But accelerating? That’s something we could do. So we did. I believe our most accurate estimates placed it as one hour outside, normal time, equaled eight hundred and ninety-four years in the cell. So however many centuries, millenia, aeons? However long we were down here for, multiply it by that for him.”
”That’s wise.” she responds to Yelenn’s statement. ”I’d prefer you to carry me. I am a creature of comfort.” she unabashedly states.
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With a smile, Yelenn nods slipping an arm under her legs and slowly standing up. "It will probably be smoother if you put your arm around my neck. If we face anything dangerous I'll set you down next to Seranna, to free myself up to fight."
”Understood,” The Warden says as she does as instructed, gently hooking an arm around the Scholar’s neck and gripping her shoulder. ”Have you encountered anything dangerous down here so far?”
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”Right, you’ll be safe with me and Zogith should anything happen. Just don’t expect me to carry you.” She said teasingly.
“You mean besides the ageless abomination in the corner over there?” Seranna asked when the Warden inquired about dangers, still a little staggered by this woman’s audacity. She thought she was used to being pampered but the Warden practically told Yelenn to carry her…Missed opportunity.
“There was a very nasty fall on the way in, but otherwise it’s been relatively smooth sailing, if you’ll uh, pardon the expression.”
"-but otherwise it’s been relatively smooth sailing, if you’ll uh, pardon the expression.”
"Noted," The Warden responds with a smirk as she looked to Serrana and... she guessed that was Zogith. "And yes, other than Shuko the Garden Ornament."
As if seemingly having to weigh a heavy decision on her mind she shifts her eyes up before closing them and nodding. "Very well, you are pardoned."
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Yelenn pauses tilting her head for a moment as she ponders. "You weren't referring to the figure of speech just now were you? I mean it makes sense....language evolves, words gain additional meaning or less direct meaning but when you say 'pardoned' you say it in the capacity of Warden of this entire place don't you?" the scholar asks, letting her intellect explore the exchange.
"Yes." She simply answers.
After she adds "I may not know entirely what she was talking about, but she hasn't done anything that I've witnessed to warrant a sentence of any sort, so I was being courteous."
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"I'm sure it is greatly appreciated." Yelenn responds with a little smile, as she proceeds, carrying the Warden in her arms. "The entire island....and I use that term loosely because it doesn't really conform to any geography I've ever seen before, is filled with dangers. We've encountered sea monsters, animates archaic armor bent on killing us, an entire illusory town....all before even setting foot down here."
"Still, the prison itself has been just... Xeros and you, really," says Yasmin. "I mean, there's a 'normal' house up above, but here it's been... quiet."
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”An entire illusory town? Marvelous. Granted I take it since you know it’s illusory the town no longer exists in its former capacity?” The Warden asks, content to lay her head against Yelenn’s chest and rest as she carried. ”Really, just us? Granted I can’t say I’m surprised, but still. Captain of the Guard, thank you for not doing your job and killing these intruders.”
”You’re welcome.” Xeros happily replies.
Smirking, she stops as an eyebrow arches, ”Wait, someone built a house on top of the prison? Of course they did.”
"The town seems to be full of creatures that are unusual but friendly. They behave as if they are just... typical townsfolk."
”People that live in a town tend to do that, yes.”
”What sort of creatures?”
"I'm not sure. They look uh... roughly humanoid but with a hunched posture, a distended jaw that opens outward, and their skin is kind of grayish-white. Taloned hands. Long tongues," says Yasmin.
”Hmm, that could be a couple of things, I’ll think on it when we get out. Of course it’s entirely possible they’re something that emerged during my slumber and so I would have no knowledge of them. Fascinating nonetheless, hmm...” The Warden muses, her curiosity piqued.
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"Oh and the sea is filled with aquatic undead." Yelenn says calmly.
”... cause of course it is. Was the sea monsters lonely?” The Warden responds with a sigh.
A little chuckle escapes Yelenn at the sarcasm. "So at least the sea monster's something familiar for you."
”It’s possible, I studied numerous denizens of the sea while we were settling on where to construct the prison. But the denizens of the deep are numerous. What was this one like?”
"Massive, only glimpses of it really, at first from underwater while our ship was being destroyed, then a distant view of it's coils from on the beach." Yelenn replies. "crocodilian face......fast as hell and powerful enough to splinter a ship like it was a pile of kindling."
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”Fascinating. And that you survived? Even more so.” The Warden remarks while raising a finger to poke at the Magus, as if to test if she was really there. ”Sea monster. Or maybe even a type of dragon? Did you see what color it was?”