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Raijan slices off some of the dragon's loose flesh, and Korug brings his weapon down on it once more, splitting its head further down to the broken bones! With the remaining hand under Kaspar's influence, nothing remains to hinder the Pathfinders, save Koth'Vaul's constant stream of profanity.
In the alcove of the cave Kalkamedes was straining towards is another magic circle, this one looking more fresh. In it lies what appears to be a beautiful elven warrior woman, breathing faintly, clothes matted with dried blood. Koth'Vaul's rage only seems to increase when the team goes on that direction.
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Tinker looked to the new figure as they approached. "Well now, looks like we can add a Ghaele Azata to the list of things that do not belong in this area. As least she is friendly and does not want to rip out our throats, unlike the demon." he said, pulling his rapier out from the crawling hand.
"Pleased to meet you. he said in celestial with a bow before switching to common for the others to hear "Are you here to deal with Mr. Evil, Wicked, Mean, and Nasty? he added, pointing to the demon.
"You kiss your mom with that mouth? he sneered in celestial towards the demon. Listening to the curses in Abbysal, he made sure to start learning the language from its curse words, and had an ample supply of them.
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Seren's head is not having a particularly good day, being filled with images of itself popping like a grape and repetitious pleas for assistance. Add this to the fact she just shoved a spirit out of her body and all-in-all this moment in time is not a good one for her.
"I got it... probably." With a breath to steady herself she resists the urge to just go lean against the walks through the circle Kaminari just broke, pulling out her cure light wounds wand as she goes.
Despite being a bit distracted she manages to trigger the wand on the Azata. "I think I like gnomes even less now. They're all secretly demons. I hope this lady is as nice as you say." And seeing the wand didn't heal for much, she'll try and get a second use off or good measure.
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After a bit of healing, the azata gasps and sits up. She looks around at the assembled company, sees Kalkamedes, and grins. "Thank you, mortals," she says in a melodious voice. "I am Sulianna the Luminescent. I suppose you all wonder what is going on. You appear to have discovered the true nature of the Lying Horns-" Koth'Vaul's shouting has only gotten louder upon realizing the azata is awake, "-and if you know this place belonged to the Thrallkeepers, he has likely been here for millennia. As such, his wards have been degrading, to the point where in a few weeks, he could be free to wreak his havoc. I could not let that happen, so when I learned of it, I came to intervene. I was ambushed by his undead dragon, however, and pushed into his circle. I managed to teleport away, as the circle was not attuned to me, but not before suffering many wounds. I got into this circle to escape the dragon, but it locked me here and suppressed my magic. At some point I must have passed out from my wounds, but before or after then I managed to send a call for help to any mortals in the area." Kalkamedes has stood still in front of Sulianna this whole time, as if he has reached his destination. "It did not have the exact effect I had counted on, but it seems to have worked. I can restore him now."
Sulianna stands up, casts a spell on herself, and touches the sleeping Pathfinder's forehead. After several seconds, he sags and his eyes flutter open. He looks about in tired confusion. "We may have to explain this to him as well," Sulianna says. "But it remains to be seen what we should do with Koth'Vaul. With his circle degrading, I can banish him, or perhaps kill him. While I would not enjoy defeating an all but helpless foe, he is a very powerful demon who must not be let loose. What say you, mortals?"
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Korug puts his arm on Kalkamedes to steady him as he wakes up, and unties to rope. "Good morning there sleepy head! Boy, have you lead us on some adventure. You're lucky you had me around to save your hide a few times." He turns to Sulianna next "Can you tell us more about Koth'Vaul and his intentions. For that matter, what about yours, what god do you serve?"
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"None in particular, although I would work to fulfill the cause of any who seek to uphold purity," Sulianna replies. "Usually this tends to be Desna or Cayden, given their predilection to Elysium." Kalkamedes shakes his head. "This is the place I've always dreamed about, for the past few weeks, but I've never gotten here or remembered it before. My thanks are in order, I suppose, Pathfinders. But I heard there was a demon, what shall we do with it?" Upon noticing Kalkamedes is once again functional, Gamin expresses his happiness and thanks and requests to be returned to his friend's hand.
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"Well,"Kaspar ponders only a brief moment, "there is very little difference between killing the demon and banishing it. For all the good it does. *Cough cough* I would opt for killing Koth'Vaul: at least that way he can't report back to the Abyss. Even so, I'll leave the decision to someone who has a complete opinion. Extraplanars leave no corpses, after all..."
The severed undead hand is gently grasping the wizard's left shoulder. Kaspar doesn't seem unnerved in the slightest. On the contrary, even.
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"Given that your being here helped balance things out, if he goes, so must you." Tinker said. " While your actions have helped keep Koth'Vaul from running rampant, those that trapped him here has done far greater damage, leaving him bound like this. There is the possibility that there are other places like this that a demon is waiting for the wards to break."
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"He wanted to pop my head! So I don't particularly want to get close enough for him to do it. Whichever of those options lets us get rid of him while standing as far away as possible, I'm all for it." Seren has in fact navigated herself in the group so everyone else is between her and the large demon.
When Gamin asked to be returned Seren will pull him off her massive collect of random gear, pat him on the hilt, and hold him out towards Kalkamedes. "You have a nice sword, he's pretty good at climbing."
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"He is not at liberty to attack or harm anyone outside of his circle, even if they are in his reach. It is certainly possible more are about, and I was going to leave anyway upon finishing this. That said, I believe I will banish him, but I am no longer able to do so. Thus, I will grant one of you the power. Are there any who would be so brave?"
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"Very well, I will do so. I can not allow a creature of that power to be able to run rampant once the wards break and there is the rest of this area to search in the hopes of finding old magics that might need to be contained by the Archive." Tinker said as he raised his hand and pointed a finger at Koth'Vaul.
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Tinker and any others who want to step forward and concentrate their channeled power at Koth'Vaul. He roars and gives you all one last, baleful glare before he disappears, presumably back to the Abyss from whence he came. The party lead Kalkamedes and Sulianna back up the lift, across the dais, which Korug and the azata need help to cross, and, after several hours, back to the Pathfinder's cabin. It is there that Sulianna once again expresses her thanks before teleporting away. "Each of you have been given a spark of my power. Use it wisely, as you will only use it once." Kalkamedes likewise thanks you and begins to write down what happened, as described by Gamin and the party. When Sheila Heidmarch arrives, she, too, congratulates everyone and bids you tell her what happened.
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Raijan manages a creditable bow before Sulianna departs.
Sheila, I've got to give you credit. You sure can pick 'em. Talking swords, Lying Horns, zombie dragons, trapped azatas - the incompetent bandits were the most normal thing we found! I swear, you could ask someone to go get you a bottle of wine and they'd be attacked by Aroden's ghost!
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"Well, as I have said, I didn't know exactly what you were getting into. You all handled yourselves admirably in facing down a creature far out of your league," Sheila says curtly. "And as for the last time a VC asked recruits to fetch a bottle of wine, they happened upon a lost Pathfinder's journal and were then attacked by little more than a plague of insects and a few cocky Aspis agents. No need to exaggerate. It is rare for Pathfinders to become muddled in unnecessary and unexpected conflict."