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"If we don't take care of them now, they'll continue to be a problem," Lina says. "Let's take down the other ones quickly, then deal with her. I'll see if I can't get a little closer to where I can pick out a weak point on one."
If nobody objects, then Lina ducks into the shadows.
Azlana tells the others that they are going to conduct an ambush, and that they don't have to participate if they don't want to, but if they do, to please wait for Lina's signal/attack. She assumes that Shayde will catch on and participate as he sees an opportunity.
Azlana moves forward till she is within 30 feet of them, with a good sightline for shooting. She waits for Lina's attack, planning to shoot one of the cultists as soon as Lina moves.
Not being stealthy, and not particularly wanting to be close to the melee, Haruto will wait out of sight until the others launch their attack before joining in.
Lina draws her weapons, puts her fingers to her lips, and whistles, the sound cutting sharply through the night. In the next beat, before the cultists can react she throws her starknives at the nearest one.
Shayde and Stalker stay hidden for the moment, though they try to find a hiding place within 25 feet of their foes. Shayde takes a moment to eye the strange woman carefully, memorizing her movement patterns and picking out weak points in her armor.
As soon as Lina signals, Azlana attacks the closest cultist.
Surprise Round:
(+2 if evil outsider)
(+2 if evil outsider)
First Round:
(+2 if evil outsider, rapid shot)
(+2 if evil outsider)
(+2 if evil outsider, rapid shot)
(+2 if evil outsider)
When the others attack, Haruto fires some magic missiles at one of the cultists.
three cultists fall, and the rest pale, running away the moment they don't think themselves outnumbering thier targets. The woman snorts.
"Pathetic."
she draws her glaive into her hands with a bit of a twirl.
"Back for a rematch?"
Azlana draws an arrow, getting ready to shoot.
Why are you fighting anyway? Aren't you a follower of Shelyn?
If she isn't willing to talk, Azlana is more than willing to fight her, but she waits to see if Haruto's hunch was correct and she is willing to talk.
the woman snorts.
"Perhaps a long time ago. Her nievity sickens me."
The naivety of ... your past self? And now you have found a better way? I follow Shelyn myself, so I'm interested in your perspective.
Azlana's grip tightens on her bow, feeling that the conversation is going towards fight rather than redemption.
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Hanna growls lightly as she moves in, trying to stay out of reach of the winged woman as she goes to her other side, intending to let Azlana do the talking, given her personal religious stake in the matter.
She’s perfectly willing and comforted by their offering of mercy, but she’s also ready In Case it falls on deaf ears.
"my past self, and sheyln. There is no "better way". The world is going to fall apart and no-one can stop it."
the woman's grip on her glaive shifts slightly, but she hasn't attacked yet.
"Is it naivety or courage that you lack?" Haruto interjects. He's as focused and serious as you've ever heard him, his tails spread behind him as he strides forward. "It takes courage to stand for something. Courage to make a difference in the world. Shelyn knows this. It is not naivety but courage that has sustained her through thousands of years of trying to reclaim her brother from the darkness. It is not naivety but courage that has kept Desna shining in the blackness since the beginning."
"We all have a choice. We can take a stand, we can shine as stars in the darkness... or we can fade into the blackness. No one notices or cares about a little more darkness in the night sky... but they see the stars. And many notice when a star goes out, or when a new star appears."
He stops, looking straight at the winged woman. "So which will you be? A star? Or lost in the dark?"
Indeed, Haruto speaks truth. Though many say that religion is naive, it is the strength of believing in hope and goodness even when the world around you looks dark. It is knowing that there will be a happy ending to your story if you just keep working at it and turning the pages.
Giving in to despair... that is the naivety of the new bride at the first argument of her marriage, thinking that her relationship is ending. If she continues to work at it, it can grow into something surpassingly beautiful and bring joy to her and many others.
Too often we all want to give up in the middle of the journey and never glimpse the promised land because we encounter obstacles and begin to doubt that it exists. And yet, the people who bear the burdens of the journey are the happiest by far, because goodness and beauty and joy wait for all of us if we persist in seeking them.
the woman's eyes narrow, and she gestures with her glaive.
"just... stop. Leave."
"Not until we know you are not adding to the darkness here," Haruto states, firmly.
"even if I gave my word, what reason would you have to believe it? And what kind of change of heart can you truly expect in one short conversation? I will do as I please."
She returns her glaive to a more neutral stance, plunging the blade into the ground and leaning on it.
"I'm not attacking first. But I'm also not swearing. To either side.
I will believe it. If you give me your word, we will leave you in peace.
If she does so, Azlana says
Thank you. My name is Azlana. I hope that you will feel welcome to call upon us in the future. I would personally enjoy having you as a companion and friend.
She waits to see if the woman will offer her name as well, and if she does, she smiles and tells her how good it is to meet her. Then she leaves, as she said she would.
"i'll give you this- i'll stay out of this for a while. If you show me that this place has a chance, I'll talk more. Until then."
the woman flaps into the air, fully intent on leaving.
After hitting the target, Lina's starknives spun through the air and came back to her; she plucked them out of the air like it was nothing. She holds the magic starknife against her chest, looks at the woman, and puts up a finger. "One chance. I'll give you one chance."
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The woman chuckles.
"that's one more then you should give me."
She pauses a moment.
"and... Hosilia. Perhaps, just perhaps, we won't dissapoint each other."
Shayde slips back into view, sheathing his sword. He had nothing to say at the moment, but figured he might as well at least come out of hiding, if there was not going to be a fight.
Haruto nods silently as Hosilia flies away. He watches as she departs without speaking.
Azlana also hopes that they did the right thing, but somehow it feels right. If Hosilia was bent on evil, then they would have to confront her again, but for now, she believed that she wasn't going to harm anyone, and ... just perhaps... she had a chance at redemption.
She suggests that they proceed towards Defender's Heart.
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"I hope she doesn't become a problem," Lina says, mostly to herself.
Before leaving, she goes to the dead men, searches them, and destroys any unholy symbols they carry.
Haruto nods. "Let us regroup with the city's remaining defenders and see where we may be of most use."
once the party sets out again, it feels like no time at all until the party makes it to defender' heart- massive, stone inn that was almost entirely unphased by the attack. The place has been fortified with crude barricades, with several guards readied with crossbows.
Lina doesn't approach shouting and cheering, but she isn't too careful about it either, calling to the guards, "Thank the Goddess! I am a servant of Desna, please, we have two prisoners of the demonic horde, civilians who need shelter, and information for your commander!"
a bolt flies over lina's head- a very obviously deliberate miss, but also an obvious warning.
"put down the weapons, and we'll come out to talk!"
They look a little jumpy. We'd better do as they say. Perhaps the prisoners should go first so we can keep an eye on them?
She looks to Lina to see if she agrees.
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Lina flinches when the bolt goes over her head. "You should be more careful, you could hurt somebody doing that." She shakes her head. It briefly crosses her mind to claim that her starknives aren't actually knives, but holy symbols, but reason wins out against her irritation. "Fine. I hate the idea of being unarmed in a warzone, damn it. You two--" She points at the tieflings. "Don't try anything funny."
She draws her starknives, but she doesn't drop them; she sets them down carefully. One of simple steel she had been carrying for a year now, the other, tarnished gold. When she sets the gold starknife down, it transforms back into a longsword.
"Now, would you please go get your superior--better yet, how about you go find Irabeth Tirablade and tell her that her wife is here?"
anvina steps forward a bit.
"I, uh, no. Silverstrong. We're friends."
she calls up, and a few of the guards start muttering.
"Fine, keep your weapons "
a few people standing guard bicker a while over where anvina is and who these people were and how they know her and since they're letting you in now maybe it'll be faster to go in and explain yourself.
"I uh. It was in the note. Sorry "
anvina nervously rubs the back of her head.
Shayde de-manifested Stalker for the time being, the shade flowing back onto the ground and becoming as a normal shadow. He kept his weapons sheathed, but didn't drop them, wordlessly accompanying the rest of the group, quietly lurking at the fringe, and keeping an eye on the prisoners.
Lina picks up her weapons. "It's fine. Let's go."
She heads in, saying, "Please, I need to speak to your commander."
as the group enters the inn, the place is quite lively. Civilians, merchants, and city guards have all taken shelter here, and the disaster seems to have brought out the best in some, many working to help others they're in the inn with. The guards the party to wait once they get inside the entrence, and soon return with a half orc clad in heavy armor. Anvina nearly runs forward, but flinches, looking at the half-orc. The two stare at each other quite a while. Anvina eventually mouthes something to ilbereth, who raises an eyebrow.
"it's... it's me. Not entirely sure what's happened bu-"
she gags slightly as ilbereth suddenly picks her up in a hug.
"missed you. I count myself lucky you survived. I'll work to undo whatever black magic this is, don't worry."
after the two talk for just a few moments, she looks to the party.
"thank you, so much, for bringing her here safe. Ilbereth, acting commander of the eagle guard."
she offers a hand to the party.
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Hanna takes it, grinning "if it weren’t for how much I’m sure you’ve been through i’d Say you wouldn’t believe how glad I am to see you all here, that there are still people here to fight for and that you are indeed fighting” she collects herself after a moment of giddy relief "sorry, where are my manners, I am Harannra'Prexijandilin, or Hanna, as most people call me, I am a capable arcanist and warrior, happy to help however I can
Azlana is relieved to see Anvina accepted. She had told her it would work out, but it had just been a hope.
She smiles and shakes the hand of Ilbereth/Irabeth and then slumps at one of the tables in the common area, the stress of trying to be strong and take care of so many people finally catching up with her. When the barmaid approaches she asks for water, some bread and stew, and inquires about open rooms for her party.
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When Anvina reunites with her wife, Lina feels part of her constant thread of anxiety come undone. She needs a moment to collect herself, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. She adjusts her scarf and begins to speak.
"Commander, sir," she says, using 'sir' in the gender-neutral respectful sense. "Lina Weaver, at your service. Uh, if I may--all of us were in the center of the mess when the attack first happened--that's how we survived, when the plaza collapsed, Terendelev cast a spell to let us survive the fall, along with a couple of others, and we landed in the undercity. There's an entire massive network of tunnels down there, and there's people, living down there. The, uh, the descendants of the early crusaders, if you're familiar at all with the stories, their appearances are strange, but they've created a home down there, these mongrelmen, and they want to help fight for Kenabres."
Haruto smiles at the scene, though his gaze is focused on the ceiling rather than the reunited couple. It takes him a moment to notice when Ilbereth offers her hand to him in turn, but he takes it and gives it a single shake.
"Ueto Haruto, though here in the West you would say Haruto Ueto," he introduces himself, staring past rather than at the half-orc.
Azlana finds quickly that the food is surprisingly cheap, considering, and that there are indeed open rooms the party can use. Seems you'll be able to rest here. And with the number of merchants thar have taken shelter, there are people to buy and sell from.
Ilbereth nods as she listens to lina. "the first descendants want to help? Splendid! I'll send a detachment to speak to them at once. At far as trendalev goes... well, it's a tragedy indeed, but we have to press on. Have you anything else from your expirences I should know about?"
Ilbereth looks to azlana and the person she's talking to.
"thier food, drink, and lodging will be paid by me personally."
Lina nods, thinking over the events of the past few days. It's really only been two days? "There were, are, demoniacs in the city, trying to sabotage Kenabres. They've been here a while, trying to convince some of the first descendants to help them and preparing the city for this attack. They had a few safehouses, let me see..."
She confers with her party members and once they come up with the note they found in the caves, reads off: "Nyserian Manor, Topaz Solutions, and the Tower of Estrod. I would have looked into it, but I wanted to be sure the civilians that were with us got to safety. There was...in your home, Anvina was attacked by an orc that seemed to appear from nowhere, I think he was a magic user. And then there's this." She taps the gold starknife, not drawing it lest she look threatening. "In this same note, it said that it was stolen, that it was Yaniel's sword? When we found it it was a longsword, but when I pick it up it turns into a starknife," she explains.
Azlana is grateful that Lina remembered to arrange something for the mongrelmen, and thanks Ilbereth for paying their tab for the night. She adds what she can to their report, telling them of the unfortunate lawlessness they have encountered, and encouraging patrols.
She asks if someone can take charge of their prisoners, and goes up and gets some sleep as soon as she is able.