Corrin steps forward and gently nudges the pool with his foot. A look of concentration fills his face as he reaches up and scratches at his head You know...The shine to this pool was a lot brighter when we walked in. And then-
Loxley snaps her fingers and points at Corrin, a look of confidence and pride displayed across her face. That's right! The demon had cut her hand with her dagger and, I am assuming this next step, dropped what appeared to be blood, into the pool. A few moments later this strange creature crawled out from the pool. But the more important part is, I think, the radiance of the pool had diminished. Perhaps the radiance of the pool indicates how much She waves her hand in the air, her gaze staring off as she thinks. She stands still, hand held high, and then blinks and looks back at everyone.Perhaps the radiance is an indicator as to how much power, for lack of a better word, this pool contains. Maybe, if we can get some blood, we could run this pool out of power?
"Hmmm.... Tamm muses
"Are we going to end up summoning more demons if we pour blood in?"
"well probably yes."
He began with a frown patting Dewdrop's head for a moment.
"But if we are all here surrounding it, I doubt anything that starts to form out of it we can down quickly while its trying to form."
"Oooh! Yes!" Zeldana said with a smile and a nod. "If it has enough power it will actually summon things. Also they aren't demons, they're sin spawn. Abjurations." Zeldana explained to Sazzat. "I think it would be worth it to try and take all of the power out of this pool. We can't leave it for poor others to come along and find it. Thus fate says that it is up to us!"
Yeda walks back over to the pool with the group, unsheathing her greatsword again and pointing it at the pool.
So... you need me to hack up whatever comes out of here to bit? Don't let it get away, and that seems easy enough...
Loxley approaches the pool, taking a deep breath and exhaling it.
”I can’t be completely sure if it will summon more spawn without knowing the full ritual details, but we should be prepared. Once drained of its power we should be able to render the pool unusable to any others who would attempt this again.”
The arcanist draws her simple dagger and readies herself. She looks around at the others one last time to make sure there are no other ideas or objections.
"Wait Loxley." Zeldana said as she stepped up. "My magic doesn't work upon Sin spawn, at least what I have at hand, and my martial abilities are... well they lack luster. Yours dwarf mine in comparison and any magic you have left would be better than any of the mind effecting ones I have." She explained as she held her hand out for the dagger. "Let me help, that way I won't be a hindrance to you all?" She asked.
Loxley regards Zeldana, than nods and holds the dagger out to the witch.
”We have your back.”
Loxley moves back and readies her bow, arrow notched with a shimmer of magic sheathing it’s metal tip.
"Are you going to put your own blood in the pool?" Tamm asks.
"Yes." Zeldana answered with a nod. "Blood is what activates it, a sacrifice must be made."
When Zeldana brings up sacrifices Tamm picks up his new raccoon friend and puts him on his shoulder.
"As long as you're not looking for any of our blood." Tamm says firmly.
"But I'm ready and I've got your back if something crawls out of that pool."
Everyone steps up and surrounds the pool, reading their weapons and looking to each other for comfort and confidence in their decision to raise up these sinspawn from the pool.
Zeldana reaches up and places the blade of her dagger against the palm of her hand, and pauses a moment, collecting her thoughts and preparing herself for the pain that will accompany the act of cutting. Breathing in and out, she forces her racing heart to a slow, steady beat. Finally she opens her eyes, looks at the pool, and draws the steel across her hand.
Blood instantly pools in the heart of her hand, filling it. She squeezes her hand, and gives a slight flick, allowing several large globs of blood to fly from her and land into the pool.
THe moment the blood touches the strange, orange waters, it catalyzes with a violent surge under the water. Dark and light green lightning bolts flare out from beneath the still water, causing ripples and waves to form just under the surface.
As you stare, a wave of emotion overtakes your senses, just for a moment. Rage fills your mind. The sense of the vengence upon a kill, the overwhelming desire to kill, to destroy, to burn it all to the ground, hits you. You want to lash out, to release the pent up aggression within your soul. But, as fast as the rage hits, it has subsided, leaving behind a hollowness, as if the rage had burnt out all of your other emotions.
The lightning bolts flare and subside, and with every bolt, the outline of a creature, a sinspawn, forms. First the outline of the shape, head, legs, arms, torso, is created. then the inside musculature and bones, filling in from the backside to the front. Large and small, the bolts of hellish green flash and form. In a matter of mere seconds, the blood has transformed from droplets and into a horrendous spawn of legs and arms. A final surge of energy from within the waters forces the creature to open it's eyes, while at the same time the orange radiance from the pool has lessened.
Tamm stabs the nasty thing with his newly found dagger.
"Gahhh!!!!"
The twang of Loxley's bow rings as the magic infused arrow flashes across the mere feet between the arcanist and the emerging spawn.
x3 = 9
Yeda thrusts he large blade down into the newly formed demonic body...
After pulling the blade up she looks at her teammates.
Great! How many more of these do we have to do?
"The pool dimmed." Zeldana pointed out. "The orange radiance has faded some. I cannot say how much longer it will be, but I think we should keep going." Zeldana said. "Once this pool is out of power maybe I can find out a way to keep it from getting more power... I think it may have something to do with emotions... This one may be attached to the emotion of rage. You all felt it as well yes?" She asked.
"I didn't feel anything." Tamm says.
The raccoon on his shoulder shakes his head as well.
I did, but the stabbing really helped. Honestly it wasn't as intense as my usual battle rage...
"We didnt even have a chance to move."
Corrin offered sounding... a bit disheartened. He adjusted his position and reared back with his spear clealry preparing to strike much faster this time.
Yeda raises her greatsword again, pointed downward at the pool.
"Be ready, we need to dim the pool even more." Zeldana told them.
Watch. Learn. She thought as she paid extra attention this time while she squeezed her hand and let the blood drop into the pool.
Tamm looks at the raccoon on his shoulder and whispers "Here we go again...."
The raccoon sitting upon Sazzat's shoulder bumps its body into Sazzats head, and gives a quiet chitter in agreement.
The same process starts as before, Zeldana holds her hand out and squeezes her fist, forcing blood to come to the fore and drip slowly from her hand into the orange waters.
The green lightning flashes instantly to life as soon as the drop of blood makes contact with the water, and you all feel that same sudden surge of barely contained wrathful intentions within your mind. your body responds to it, your heart beats rapidly, your chest tightens from the rush of frustration and anger, the intense need to unleash this emotion upon the world.
And yet again, as fast as your body responds to this visceral reaction, the emotion is gone, having been spent.
The body that grows within develops the same way as the previous one, heady, limbs, torso...green lightning and malevolence.
It opens it eyes
And again, everyone except zeldana attacks the creature. Sazzat, Yeda, Corrin, Loxley, all converge upon the helpless sinspawn, and easily removes the thing from existence.
The body, still within the pool, simply breaks apart, unraveling as the lightning energy that created the sinspawn now consumes it into nothingness.
the radiance of the pool has dimmed darker, to a subtle orange color, like the sun setting on a clear day, the last rays of light upon the horizon as day gives way to night.
"Maybe I felt something that time...."
Zeldana shivered as the feeling took over again. She did not like this at all. But she forced herself to watch the pool, and the sin spawn forming. She needed to know, to see.
Great, so now it's spent? If they wanted to summon from it again, it would take considerable effort? A full rebuild?
Yeda slings her sword over her back, signaling that she wishes to move on, if possible.
Loxley didn’t want to use more arrows then needed so she drew her sword and readied herself. As the creature began to rise she and the others quickly dispatched it without mercy. As the pool dimmed to orange she watched it with a carful gaze.
Loxley chances a look up at Zeldana to make sure she was still okay and wasn’t pushing herself to much.
You both intently watch how the blood acts as a catalyst towards the creation of the sinspawn. But you deduce that everytime the blood is dropped into the orange waters, and the outward expression of wrath-inducing feelings, that the structure itself acts as a strange magnet for those souls that die with wrathful intent, or have wrathful actions. You figure out that the power source is certain types of souls, drawn from a wide area, much larger than this mere room that contains the well.
plus, you also learn that there is enough of these souls left to create another sinspawn, but, there will be a remainder of souls.
and, in order to destroy the well, you need someone strong enough to fill this well with holy water and then set the water to boil for 24 hours.
Watching the witch’s eyes Loxley gives her an understanding look.
”if you want to stop, or take a break, we’ll understand. I can do it.”
She offers Zeldana an out, but won’t push it if she wants to continue.
"There seems to be at least one more sinspawn left." Zeldana said breathing a bit heavily. "But we have a greater problem. This pool will continue to pull souls who have died with wrathful intent or from wrathful actions into it, powering it more. To stop it completely we need someone who can fill this pool with holy water and set the water to boil for a full day and night." She told them.
"There is only one left, I believe I can take it." Zeldana said with a slight nod.
"boiling holy water? A large undertaking but necessary. Im sure the church above us would help."
He added getting ready to strike again, He held a slight frown for the young women so helpfully offering her blood again and again. After this it was goodberry time
"Do you have any idea of who made this 'Hot Tub of Rage'?" Tamm asks Zeldana.
"It seems like powerful magic to just be laying around in these tunnels under a glass factory."
When she gets ready to summon another his spawn he readies his dagger for another strike.
"They wouldn't be alive any longer." Zeldana told Tamm. "These pools are from ancient Thassilon." Zeldana tried to explain. "Alaznist was the runelord of Thassilon, the one of wrath. It was likely this pool was made by her command, but I cannot say for sure."
"Are we ready for the last sinspawn?" She asked the group.
Yeda re-takes her position, with sword unsheathed and pointing downward into the pool.
Yes, ready.
”I’d have to concur with her.”
Loxley added with grim nod.
Raising her dueling sword again she readied herself and echoed Yeda.
”Ready.”
Once again, everyone stands ready around the pool, and Zeldana allows a little bit of blood flow out of her hand and into the pool.
The sinspawn comes into being in the same fashion, lightning and flashes of light, the radiance of the pool flashing brighter briefly before finally subduing until a dull glow suffuses the shallow well. The same rage, anger at someone, anyone, anything, fills you briefly. And once again, as fast as it comes on, it subsides.
The sinspawn opens its eyes, and once again everyone stabs viciously at the abberation, killing it instantly.
The radiance of the pool has been dulled considerably, but still has a subtle sheen to it. It still holds a modicum of power in its reserves...
Great! Any more of them in here Zeldana, or is it finally time to move on?
Yeda looks around at the group. Sweat is starting to form on her arms.
Zeldana dropped down to her knees, placing her hand upon the stone of the pool leaving behind a bit more of her blood. "Y-yes..." Zeldana answered as she calmed her breathing. "It was so strange. I've felt mad before of course, we all have emotions. But never something like that... how does one even get that angry?" She asked.
"Good thing we made the pool safer for the time being, but there still might be dangerous creatures down here in these tunnels."
"I say we head back up to that tunnel intersection and try the passage to the east." Tamm suggests to the others.
Yeda sheaths her greatsword and follows Tamm. Sounds like a plan!
" how does one even get that angry?" She asked.
"With help I would dare say.
Loxley moved to Zeldana's side as she sheathed her sword."Are you okay? Do you want to continue?"
She pulls a strip of cloth from her pack and offers to wrap the witch's hand.