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Ohalia smirks at Sara. "In life, I was the First Emperor's greatest general. My voice echoed across many a battlefield, leading our armies to victory. And to the victors went the spoils of war."
The valkyrie's eyes roam up and down the brawler's muscled body with approval.
Zhi narrows her eyes at the woman's easy capitulation, but doesn't say anything.
She rolls her eyes, however, at Sara's flirtations.
Zhi looks over at her wife.
She looks away.
"We have a ritual to accomplish, Ladies. Let's get started."
Perhaps her annoyance can be explained by the inability to assist in performing the ritual. Perhaps.
Sara titters and kicks one of her legs up, clicking her heel against her ass.
"Military women make me," she breathes, locking her gaze with Ohalia's, "weak at the knees. If I fall, do you promise to catch me?"
Zhi's interruption catches her off guard. Clearing her throat, she agrees. "Yes. Let's to it."
"We're all going to need to help," the rogue says, eyeing the ritual implements before looking at Zileska. "This looks like something you know about. Care to take charge?"
Zileska gives Sara a quick smooch as well and says, "Favor's returned - if that golem or any of the numerous other things we'd fought had got their hands on me, I'd be pounded into pâté."
~~~~~~~~~~
As the scenario with the valkyrie develops, Zileska goes through her things for her various ceremonial objects, and starts looking about the space for the best place to put the incense, the right spot to stand for the invocation, and any possible natural light that could illuminate the proceedings.
"I can probably do this..." she says, "... though it'll be a little odd given the many Abadaran sigils and devotions here."
(This might succeed since we have the shabti ritual knowledge and Ohalia's help?)
Zhi turns to her wife, surprise evident on her face. A moment later it transforms into a smirk.
"I won't even let you fall in the first place," Ohalia purrs, stepping closer to Sara.
You spend an hour attempting to perform the ritual, but there's just too many gaps in your knowledge and the occult power overwhelms you. Zileska is exhausted, and she feels the esteem of her peers has diminished.
As the group realizes the ritual has failed, Zhi looks around at the others nervously. "Why do I feel that something bad happened? Are we going to try again?"
Sara spends the entire first hour distracted by Ohalia, talking away, teasing, flirting, as well as much of the second. But when called for, she performs to the best of her ability.
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This time, the ritual succeeds! The lights dim then fade into darkness, obscuring the tomb. The faint sound of plate armor shifting clacks nearby, followed by a deep voice whispering, “A visitor? I do not know how you are here, but it is not safe. You can do no good here—only attract harm.” As the voice continues, a window seems to open into a dimly lit cell, blurry as if looking through a sleepy eye. Inside, a creature that seems as much machine as human sits on the ground and looks back with steely, featureless eyes. “I cannot give what you seek, only help you escape. Send a message to those who—“ The speaker ceases abruptly, and the window snaps closed, only to reopen as a glaring yellow eye. Its pupil darts about, then more than a dozen similar eyes seem to snap open in all directions.
A hissing, feminine voice calls out in alarm. “Overseer! Something has slipped through. Meddlers. Schemers. Let us see who intrudes.” A flabby, purple hand with a yellow eye in its palm reaches out of the darkness but falls short before it can grab hold. The speaker cries out in pain, the hand recoils, the eyes grow distant, and different scenes appear briefly as a wind whips up in all directions.
First the distant eyes briefly rearrange themselves into a starry constellation of a person, but these then slide about like pearls on a dark cloth before being poured into a bag. The bag appears at the belt of a man, featureless but for the spear he carries and the faintly glowing script that covers his body. He gazes down from a rooftop at the machine man from earlier before diving down into a dark pool. The pool’s ripples become the contents of a mug held in a skeleton’s hands as it blows to cool the liquid. A clatter distracts it, and it gazes over to see a four-pointed crown toppled on the ground. As the skeleton crouches down for a closer look, the four points resolve into obelisks in a vast cemetery. The vision’s perspective zooms toward a blank gravestone whose rocky texture fades to parchment that’s folded upon itself several times, sealed with a glob of wax, and slipped through the mail slot in a wooden door. It lands inside a wooden-floored home with the letter’s seal facing up, the wax imprinted with a watchful eye. The machine man stoops to pick it up, idly rubbing the base of his hand where a ring might rest. Then the machine man collapses, a spear in his leg and the tattooed figure visible just inside a nearby room. In a blink, both figures are gone, but at the same time the room feels all the more real.
This parlor has broad windows that look over a flower garden and neighboring homes in a carefully manicured community. A large harp and several chairs stand about the room. A vaguely humanoid shape made of metal lurches to life with the grinding whir and frantic ticking of hundreds of gears.
Melodie pulls the Scion's Dagger and hurries forward to strike at the golem! Once again her blow rings with sonic power.
Zhi spares just a moment to take in her surroundings before drawing her blades and moving to flank with her wife.
"Releasing pent-up frustrations, Princess?" she says with a laugh as she strikes at the construct.
Sara yanks Ohalia's cape and throws it onto the mechanic monstrosity's head in an attempt to blind it.
"Sorry love, I'll get it back to you."
Ohalia seems briefly surprised when Sara yanks her cloak, but then laughs when she sees the dirty trick the brawler pulls. "Ha! Well played!"
With its vision obscured, Zhi is able to score a critical blow with her blade. Melodie follows in her wife's wake and delivers a resounding strike with her sonic-empowered dagger.
Safina sinks two crossbow bolts into the badly damaged golem's body. The construct shudders and explodes in a shower of razor-sharp gears and debris!
With more time to look around, you see an artful, framed display of wands on one wall. Doors exit the room to the east.
Melodie is too slow to react and gets thoroughly lacerated by the golem's death throws. Her thin blood pours like water out of the many wounds as she turns a pleading glance at Zileska.
"Help?"
Zhi nimbly rolls clear of the blast and looks up with satisfaction on her face. That quickly shifts to horror when she sees Melodie covered with bloody slashes. "No!"
She's at her wife's side in an instant, handing her a potion pulled from her backpack. "Drink this," she demands as she hands Mel a small vial with a red ribbon around the neck.
"Now this," the small vial is followed by what seems to be a regular healing potion.
Melodie swigs down both potions with the practised skill of someone who has swallowed a lot of potions in her time. The blood flow slows and she takes a deep breath before looking mournfully at her clothes.
"This was my favourite coat." She says, trying to coax a smile from her wife by poking a finger through one of the holes and wiggling it comically.
"We should move." She adds. "This isn't right - we need to find out where we are and what's going on!"
Seeing the blood flow cease and that Melodie hasn't suffered any permanent harm, Zhi takes a long breath and leans in to touch her forehead to her wife's. "And this is my favorite wife." she whispers. "I'll buy you another damn coat."
The rogue gathers herself together and looks around the room. "Anyone have any idea where in the nine hells we are?"
She begins moving around the room, looking over the contents and getting a good look out the windows.
Ohalia shifts uncomfortably. "This place has a strong vibe that makes my stomach churn. I've experienced it before while traveling the planes. I think we may be in someplace aligned with law and order--Axis, perhaps."
"All the more reason to find out what's going on then!" Melodie says, heading for the northern door out of the room. Once there she waits for her wife to check it, before opening it to see what's beyond.
"Axis? Why would we be in Axis?" Zhi asks as she follows Mel to one of the exits and looks it over carefully.
Zhi doesn't find any traps. The door opens onto a broad hallway that connects all of the ground floor's rooms. Stairs lead up to a second story. The front door is made of aging wood with a brass mail slot about two feet off the ground. This is the same room you saw in the last part of your vision.
Recognizing the room from the vision, Zhi walks over to where the mail-slotted door stands. She looks around for any evidence of the wax-sealed letter.
There is no sign of the letter in this hall.
Sara rolls out of the way and avoids getting her dress ripped to shreds, but takes a bad hit to her back all the same.
"Don't think I can make good on that promise to get your cape back, beauty," she winces.
"That's okay. You can buy me another one when we finish here," Ohalia says, offering a strong hand to help Sara up.
Zileska is all too happy to channel healing power once again after the construct explodes.
"The foundation of an empire is an exercise in law," explains Zileska, "whether to bring order to lawless land, or tyranny to a free region. It makes sense that the tomb of the Empire's founder would have a lingering connection to the idealized construction of 'law'. Especially as Taldaris' quest to create empire was one heavily influenced by the notion of bringing other neighboring lands to heel."
"But wasn't he supposed to come to us? This doesn't make any sense. And how are we going to get back?"
The rogue shakes her head in frustration as she moves to another set of double doors and checks them for traps before opening them.
"Can I buy you dinner as well?" asks the anarchist as she is pulled upright. In her heels, she overcompensates and accidentally lands against Ohalia's chest. She blushes and walks away, pulling her hair down.
"We'll find a way," she promises, grabbing Zhi's forearm reassuringly. "Even if we have to fight everything between here and the other side. But I am not getting stuck on the Plane of Law, eef." Sara shudders.
"Even if we have to fight everything between here and the other side. But I am not getting stuck on the Plane of Law, eef." Sara shudders.
Sara's strength on her arm brings back memories and she flushes slightly and clears her throat. "Yeah, you and me both."
"You can do whatever you'd like with me," Ohalia says, grinning at the "accidental" contact with Sara.
Zhi finds no traps and opens the doors. A rectangular table with legs carved like rearing lions stands in the middle of this room. The walls bear delicate painted designs of blue, green, and gold. A glass-fronted cabinet contains numerous elegant plates and goblets.
Two creatures lurk here among bits of broken tableware. Elongated and deathly pallid arms protrude from these creatures' smoky bodies as they slither silently through the air. Spying you, they hiss and move to attack!
"Ooh, nice table. That would go great in a dining hall. Or for a quickie. Either or both."
With that snarky comment out of the way, Zileska notes that these wispy creatures are probably undead or extraplanar or both, and deciding not to take too many risks, she gifts Sara with a death ward.
This spell does not remove negative levels that the subject has already gained, but it does remove the penalties from negative levels for the duration of its effect.
Death ward does not protect against other sorts of attacks, even if those attacks might be lethal.
"Shall we dance?" Zhi asks Sara with a smirk before intoning her spell of speed. Once the spell is completed, she taps her heels and moves past one of the shadowy figures to give the warrior a flanking partner.
Sara steps into place opposite Zhi and forcefully punches the thing in what she imagines its face to be.
"That should leave it seeing stars," she mutters.
Sara's punch strikes something solid in the creature's smoky body, and it reels, shaken and stirred.
The blind creature lashes out with its claws, and the other one flies forward to attack Sara as well. Their claws rake her flesh and threaten to drain her willpower.
Melodie focuses her voice and willpower on one of the creatures and attempts to crush its mind.
"Retreat into the corner and lie on the floor." She commands.
The creature turns towards Melodie briefly, but it doesn't seem to understand what she's saying.
Seeing that language doesn't work, Melodie makes shoo-ing motions, indicating that it should move away to the wall.
Sara grimaces and batters the blind thing between her and Zhi, squishing it under her heel.
Not noticing her wife's attempt to shoo away the second creature, Zhi taps her boots and moves to trap it between herself and Sara.
She then stabs at it with her blade.
The creature writhes and dies under Sara's heels. Zhi stabs the second one, though it doesn't seem to have any vital spots for her to sneak attack.
"I've enchanted that one!" Melodie calls, hoping to call off the attack in time. Then her wife stabs the creature and it's clearly at least a little too late!
"I thought you wanted a cat?" Zhi counters with a laugh. "Not some kind of floaty, misty, shadowy ... thing."