Brevon turns to the demon's ganging up on Arrika. "Cowards! Pick on someone your own size!" He lunges forward to attack, noticing with some curiosity that Arrika is barely harmed at all. Have we all been so blessed?
The thought is distracting enough that he fumbles his attack.
It's coming for me! And I got no big guys with weapons to protect me now. Let's hope this is enough to take it down. Fear grips the witch, but it doesn't stop her from fighting. She stares the demon right in the eyes, or where the eyes would have been if it didn't look so much like a skeleton. Succumb to my power! The pain is excruciating, but she keeps the stare without flinching, focusing as much as she ever has on taking it out.
Rukzha focus her power on the enemy in front of her an soon he falls into a deep slumber. Arrika tries to summon more creatures but the fear of being surrounded by angry demons clouded her mind, making she lose her spell. Kai strikes the demon besides him once with his fist and then with his elbow, but misses the second attack.
Brevon comes closer to the demons attacking Arrika and in his eagerness to help, he ends up hitting his own tight.
Elriel, on the other hand, manages to stab twice with his swords, almost finishing the demon in front of him.
Two demons teleports from inside the pit, one of them besides Kai and the other closer to Rukzha. The demon that was attacking Kai continues to do so, but this time with his claws and teeth. One claw and the bite are able to draw blood from the monk. The still blinded demon tries to cast a spell and Brevon quickly answers with a slash from his sword. with his spellcasting ruined, he moves away from him.
The demon fighting Arrika pursues her and strikes her repeatedly, even if only one of them is able to draw blood. The other one, almost dead after suffering Elriel's stabs, is able to teleport away before the half-elf can take advantage of the opportunity. The last demon lashes at Kai, but the power of his protection is too strong for the demons unless they are able to take advantage of a weak defense.
Brevon Fumble - On the Receiving End The attack deals damage to you instead of the target.
________________________________
Rukzha - up
Kai - up
Brevon - up
Elriel - up
Arrika - up
Babau#1 [47 dmg, wounded (-2)]
Babau#2 [2 dmg, asleep]
Babau#4
Babau#5 [5 dmg]
Babau#6 [59 dmg (10 nonlethal), critical (-3), blinded, 3 Str dmg]
Babau#7
Babau#9 [37 dmg (15 non-lethal), grazed (-1)]
Brevon side-steps past the demon before Arrika, coming to face the one opposite Rukzha. He raises his scimitar and strikes down with a determined chop, releasing the demon from the material plane.
"Rukzha!" he calls. "I'm coming!"
"Curse you for a coward!", Elriel laments the lost opportunity to kill the demon before it teleported away.
Still trying to protect Arrika, Elriel stepped up and slashed at the demon next to him.
-----------
Yay it worked! Rukzha internally cheers as she manages to take down the foul demon that appeared before her. Her joy is shortlived as another one appears in it's place. There is no end to these. Hopefully I'll be able to take it down as well. She takes a step back as she forces her mind towards the creature, looking to take it out of the fight.
Crying out at the new wounds he suffered, the monk loses no time in reacting. He strikes thrice, in quick succession, finishing again with an elbow directed at the demon's head.
"Avoid getting surrounded. The glow will protect us as long as we can do that!" Rukzha says with urgency in a pained voice, the power drawn from her hexes still affecting her.
Rukzha once more tries to overcome the demon's mind but this time it resists her effort. Kai strikes the demon behind him in quick succession and manages to bring it down, stepping over it to give Brevon an edge.
Brevon slashes at the demon's back and finds an artery while Elriel stabs once more. Arrika retreats behind Elriel and summons a companion from Kelumarion: a mighty celestial cheetah. The cat bites the demon and throws it to the ground, where it rips its flesh with one of its claws.
The babau coming for Rukzha steps closer to her and attacks with its longspear... it hits once but its thrust isn't strong enough to pierce the glowing protection. The other demon continues to attack Kai and after drawing his blood once more it falls once again into Arrika's pit.
The still blinded demon tries once more to flee and even if Brevon misses with a clumsy slash, Kai finishes the creature before it can complete the gestures. As the fallen demon between Elriel and the cheetah tries to get up, Elriel finishes it with a stab through its eye. Seeing their numbers diminish too quickly, the demon between Brevon and Kai steps away and also teleports away.
Critical - Brevon - Broad Swipe Normal damage and bleed.
Parrying Strike Double damage and +4 to your AC for 1 round.
________________________________
Rukzha - up
Kai - up
Brevon - up
Elriel - up
Arrika - up
Babau#2 [2 dmg, asleep]
Babau#4 [31 dmg, grazed (-1), bleed 7]
Babau#5 [5 dmg]
Rukzha's voice changes to match the harsh tongue of the demons. She speaks to the demon in abyssal. "It's over. You can't pierce our protective magic. All the other demons are dead or down. You are all alone and now you'll die painfully, but not to be sent to the abyss, but to go to heaven and eternally burn in holy flame!"
She switches back to common, this time with urgency in her voice. "Brevon, finish the downed demon before it can stand up! Then we should surround it to prevent it from escaping." She then draws her dagger and takes a step closer to the enemy.
Elriel smiled as the demons surrounding Arrika fell to their blades.
He strode over and got in front of the half-orc witch to keep her from being attacked.
-----------
Seeing the slumbering demon upon the ground, and Elriel cutting down the other still standing, Brevon steps forward and carefully slices the sleepers throat.
Rukzha successfully intimidates the demon, who grabs his spear even tighter while shaking a bit while Kai moves in the middle of the room, ready for the demon inside the pit if it decides to teleport close to you. Brevon finishes the sleeping demon, barely evading an attack, and Elriel moves swiftly to protecting Rukzha, also stabbing deeply.
Arrika sends her celestial cheetah after the demon on the other room and almost brings it down. Wounded, surrounded, and almost alone, the babau tries to flee to the other room but Brevon is quick in his retribution, sending it to the ground. The other one inside the pit teleports away from the building.
You can finally breath slower now that you are alone in the room. Arrika checks on Irabeth and confirms she is still alive, even if unconscious. The power infusing your bodies starts to fade, even if not completely... a portion of it remains deed inside you.
None of the demons left anything of worth behind, their spears being nothing if not common, but the dead cultist had a couple interesting possessions. You find three scrolls of dispel magic, a +1 scythe, an amulet of natural armor +1, a cloak of resistance +2, a ring of keys, an assortment of onyx gems (350gp), and 32 pieces of gold.
You also notice six wardstone shards embedded in the walls still glowing.
Weapon: A weapon enhanced by a wardstone shard gains the evil outsider bane quality, and is treated as being made of cold iron and as a good weapon for the purposes of overcoming a demon's damage reduction. The shard cannot be used to enhance ammunition in this manner, but can be used to enhance a weapon that fires ammunition; doing so causes the weapon to impart these qualities to the ammunition as it is fired.
Armor: A suit of armor enhanced by a wardstane shard gains the spell resistance (13) armor special ability, but only against evil outsiders. Against demons, this spell resistance increases to 17. A nonmagical suit of armor also gains a +1 enhancement bonus as well.
Critical - Brevon - Bad Parry Double damage and target is disarmed (longspear).
Elriel sat down on his haunches and just panted for a bit. Still infused with energy, he din't know what to make of things.
Their mission seemed complete and for that he was proud.
He pulled himself up, sheathed his weapons, and went around making sure the demons were dead and that everyone was OK. There would be time enough later to loot the place.
He was concerned about Irabeth, "Can someone check on her? I think she's still alive."
Sliding over next to Arrika and Irabeth, he checks Irabeth's pulse and checks her for bruises and scrapes. "Yeah, she's alright, looks like. If we have some more time I can treat her to save magic."
"I've got a Healer's Kit in my Haversack." he explains.
"Wow! That was incredible." Rukzha is fascinated by the power humming through the air and elated by their victory.
Reminded of Irabeth she curses and rushes over. "Oh s~*@, sorry. Irabeth." She quickly touches her to heal the paladin.
"Alright, yeah that works too. " Kai sniffs.
Once Irabeth rouses, Kai kneels beside her and asks, "How are you feeling? It looks like you got the wind knocked out of you real good."
He'll give her a moment to answer and offer a hand to help her to her feet.
After which he'll ask Rukzha, "How much power do reckon is left in those pieces... of Wardstone? That was a serious explosion. Was it s'pose to do that?"
Breathe.
Brevon's eyes are closed. Colors swirl in the darkness. The sound of his breathing, rising and falling, is the only noise he hears. The weight of his armor, shield, and sword are his only concern. He remembers his dream, the first one, the one that started it all. The rising sun appearing across a vast ocean of blackness, burning through the void and piercing his soul.
Slowly, he opens his eyes. His sword gleams, like the rising sun.
"Radiance." The words comes to his lips, unbidden. This is its name. He simply knows it to be true.
With a quick, silent prayer, he returns it to its sheathe, gently patting its pommel, then turns his attention to Irabeth. "Here, I can be of assistance," he says as he lays a palm on her forehead.
"How much power do reckon is left in those pieces... of Wardstone? That was a serious explosion. Was it s'pose to do that?"
"Yes, I believe it was. It is a gift. A message. A sign of our destinies." He turns to Rukzha and Arrika. "What do you make of these stones?"
"We destroyed an artifact. That's bound to release a lot of power. Still, I'm surprised by the results. I did not anticipate that we would be infused by its power. I got to study and experience more so I'llcan better predict the outcome of things. Anyway, it's a good thing it happened as it did. I feel somehow stronger now. Let's see if I can figure out what power is left in these shards." She studies them for a minute then sighs. "I'm sorry, I can't figure it out right now. Maybe I'll be able to do so in time though. I sure hope so."
With her head still spinning a bit, Irabeth looks around with tears in her eyes, "You did it! I almost can't believe, Iomedae blesses you all! I was always hopeful but in face of all the madness and chaos we've faced so far, a tiny part of me was actually doubting we'd be able to finish this mission... I must pray to the Inheritor to thank Her for this blessing." she gets on her feet before continuing, "Thank you everyone, I'm feeling much better now." she says as she also heals herself with her own divine power.
Once she is done, she turns back to you, "Even if our most important mission is finally completed, this war is far from over... we need to go outside and see how our crusaders are facing the enemy! I'd love to cleanse this place and claim it for the light once more but we have more pressing matters!" she guides you once more downstairs and outside and you are able to see many crusaders standing in front of the Grey Garrison.
Most of them are wounded and their numbers are clearly diminished, although you see no signs of any demon alive. After Irabeth talks to officer in charge, she comes back to you. "I believe I must thank you even more... our men were losing the battle but it appears that a couple minutes ago the demons simply lost their willingness to fight, almost as if they were afraid of something... I believe they somehow discovered about your success and despaired!"
Elriel was humbled by the entire series of events. He still seemed to be floating and his senses were somehow heightened.
He spoke to Irabeth in a low voice full of reverence, "You can't possibly believe that all of this was our doing. Surely, we had help from above. I think the Lady you pray to had a lot to do with what happened. There was no way we could have defeated the babau demons. I heard one of them is strong enough to take down a full unit."
He looked at the paladin, "So what do we do now? Surely the fight is not over and I feel that our lives were spared for a reason."
He looked up at the sky, "I think someone up there thinks we're not done. What happened to us was for a reason. I'm not sure what but I'm willing to hang around and find out."
He looked at his companions, also glowing with power, "I didn't mean to speak for all us. What are your plans?"
"Indeed. What has transpired could be nothing short of divine providence. The Light, the Everflame, Our Lady of Rebirth, has joined in the righteous cause of Iomedae and filled our cups overflowing."
Brown kneels before Irabeth. "Commander, I pledge my blade to your service, for it is clear to me now that this is Sarenrae's will." Rising, he smiles toward the others. "What now? Now we determine just how blessed we are. We press our advantage, drive the line forward, take the fight to the enemy. But the enemy is cunning, and will not relinquish their territory any easier than we would compromise ours. We will need all our hearts and heads together, I believe."
Rukzha shakes her head slightly at the others suggestion that the gods carried them on their back through the fight. "I don't think the gods is what made us win that fight. At least not directly. When the wardstone was destroyed it's power was somehow transferred to us. We used that power to defeat our enemies. Hopefully we can keep on using that in the battles against the demons. I feel like the initial burst of power is quite different from what remains in us now. Still, the luck of the gods is certainly on our side. I'll add my prayer to yours. May the Everlight and the Inheritor bless our battles to come so we'll continue to succeed." She looks skywards.
"The escaping Babaus must have spread the word of what happened after the Wardstone was destroyed. Maybe that's why they lost their will to fight. That said, I believe you are overly optimistic Brevon. We now know the reason all the greater demons retreated from the area. Vorelesh was aiming to blow up the wardstone in a twisted explosion, taking out everything nearby, including the reinforcing armies. Now that that is no longer going to happen. They might come back. We still fight, but we must be careful. The enemies might have momentarily withdrawn, but they might also become many times stronger and more cunning than what we've faced so far. I'll of course remain with you and do my best to fight the demons as well." Even when speaking of caution, Rukzha is determined to finish the fight. She's also intrigued to see how the effects from the Wardstone will develop and if they'll encounter any other phenomenons anything remotely like it.
Irabeth motions around before addressing you, "I'm really please with your willingness to help, but for now I have no immediate mission for you. This attack on the Grey Garrison was utterly important but even so it cost us a lot..." she points to the wounded men close to you, "... it will take time for them to properly heal and, even then, we'll still be quite short of men of arm an offensive against the demons."
"We still have a ruined city around us and, if the Inheritor blesses us, many more souls to rescue. I've heard news that the Mendevian army is head to Kenabres so the plan is simply to survive until the army arrives. Until then, you are free to do as you wish... there might still be a couple demons on the streets, survivors to be rescued, and perhaps fortifications to be made... I'm not sure if the Defender's Heart would be enough to hold all of them plus the army..."
Irabeth is interrupted by a running crusader reaching for her, his face pale, "Commander! We need you right now a couple blocks west..." the soldier then notices how he spoke to his commander and starts to stutter, "s...s...sorry c...commander! I...I meant not to disrespect. After the attack, we've found a building that still bore a couple cultists... when we managed to overcome them, we noticed... it is terrible, commander..."
"Say no more, soldier, led us to this place..." Irabeth follows the soldier and motions you to follow her. After a couple minutes walking among ruins and corpses, both from crusaders and from demons, you reach a wide but low building, a wealthy house. You leap over the corpses of cultist to reach a central room, still lit by torches. In the middle of the room, you see a terrible vision...
All the furniture was pushed away from the center except for a large table where a naked woman is restrained by chains. She is awake, but the shackles around her wrists, ankles, and neck prevents her from leaving the place... instead she screams in anguish. Her body is covered in profane symbols painted with blood. Speaking of blood, there is plenty of it around the room, rushing from the throats of more than two dozen corpses around the table... among the corpses are women and men of all ages, babies, children, elders... aside from the stench of dirt and blood and the staleness of the air, you can feel a palpable evil still permeating the room.
Irabeth is speechless with the whole scene...
All the furniture was pushed away from the center except for a large table where a naked woman is restrained by chains. She is awake, but the shackles around her wrists, ankles, and neck prevents her from leaving the place... instead she screams in anguish. Her body is covered in profane symbols painted with blood. Speaking of blood, there is plenty of it around the room, rushing from the throats of more than two dozen corpses around the table... among the corpses are women and men of all ages, babies, children, elders... aside from the stench of dirt and blood and the staleness of the air, you can feel a palpable evil still permeating the room.
Irabeth is speechless with the whole scene...
Elriel immediately took out his blades and watched the naked, bound woman. He checked to make sure that there was no other threat in the room, making sure that everyone else was dead.
He addressed the woman in chains, "You must some powerful demon, to have killed everyone while still bound. But here's where your reign of terror ends."
The half-elf cautiously walked over to the woman, keeping his distance, his blades out ready to slit her throat once he was close enough...
"Get ready to go back the abyss you came from..."
tag?
"Elriel, I'm sure the cultists we saw are responsible for the slaughter. They probably chained her down to preform some profane ritual on her. If she was a willing participant in the ritual I don't think she would have been chained." Rukzha says as she carefully approaches the woman while studying the woman, trying to make sense of it all. She's careful to avoid stepping on any of the corpses.
As she gets closer she does a brief chant to bolster herself before she scans the room for magic, trying to make sense of it all.
Understanding lits up in Rukzha's eyes and she makes a grim smile. "It appears they were trying to bind a demon into the body of a mortal. We have to determine if it was successful and the demon is now in there or if the woman is still herself. It feels like something isn't quite right here. I hope that means the ritual wasn't successful."
Understanding lits up in Rukzha's eyes and she makes a grim smile. "It appears they were trying to bind a demon into the body of a mortal. We have to determine if it was successful and the demon is now in there or if the woman is still herself. It feels like something isn't quite right here. I hope that means the ritual wasn't successful."
Elriel did not veer away from his chosen path, "Nonsense, I'll tell you what's not quite right. The demons are known to be deceptive. I say we kill this... thing and let Pharasma sort this out."
He gripped his shortsword tighter as he neared the bound woman, "C'mon, demon. Try and convince me not to kill you right here, right now."
The pain was intense and Hedda knew pain. She honestly didn't know how she was still conscious. It felt like something had tried to consume her and tear her apart all at the same time. Her eyes began to roll back into her head when people entered the room, at least she thought they were people. She wills herself to focus on them and it seemed like they were talking to her or about her, she couldn't quite tell as her brain tried to make sense of what was happening.
When she hears the half-elf or was he an elf, address a demon, she tries to turn her head to look and pain shoots through her body again. "Where's demon?" She rasps. Her voice is raw from screaming. She had tried not to but in the end she had lost all control as the pain overtook her. "Must kill it. Free me and I'll help."
When she hears the half-elf or was he an elf, address a demon, she tries to turn her head to look and pain shoots through her body again. "Where's demon?" She rasps. Her voice is raw from screaming. She had tried not to but in the end she had lost all control as the pain overtook her. "Must kill it. Free me and I'll help."
Elriel scoffed, "Ha, good one, evil spawn."
He surveyed the room with his sword, "Look around demon. There's no one left alive but you. You killed these people and I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Any other tricks up your sleeve...?"
-------------
Even in her haze, Hedda finally realized that she was one being addressed as a demon as there was no one left alive in the room. "I'm no demon!" she practically spat, her voice filled with disgust at the thought. "And I have no sleeves. I'm naked if you haven't noticed."
Irabeth moves forward and puts a hand on Elriel's shoulder. "I'm not sure what happened here, Elriel, but I sense no evil inside her. This whole place reeks of the profane but her soul is still her own..." To the woman, she added, "You on the table... I'll release you but don't do anything abrupt. You are under our custody until we are able to figure out what happened here and who you are. Do you agree to cooperate?" Irabeth waits for the woman's answer before moving around to look for some sort of keys.
She founds none so she turns to Elriel once more, "Elriel, could you use your tools on the shackles?"
Hedda's voice cracks again as she agrees to the conditions, "Agreed. Not sure what I could do anyways."
"It's good that there is no evil in her. At least one life was spared. We should look for the positive, even in this awful place."
She moves over to the woman and studies the markings. "I wish I had more time to study these markings so I could better counter the magic used by the demons and their cultists in the future. However that doesn't have priority now, we should free her from her bonds. Luckily they are not magical."
If Elriel attempts to open the lock she'll cast guidance to help him out. "Let my magic help sharpen your senses so you can easier get her out."
Elriel sheathed his blade and went to work on the woman's shackles, "I trust you Irabeth."
When Rukzha offered help, "I think I'm Ok. I've seen these shackles before. However, if you want to help, please watch her. I still don't trust her."
Once freed, he handed the woman his cloak, "Here, cover yourself."
tag?
He turned to the others, "Do we trust her enough to give her a weapon. I could lend her one of my shortswords..."
tag?
"What makes you think I trust you?" she mutters. Hedda hated being vulnerable and nothing made you more vulnerable that lying naked and chained. She searched for her inner rage just in case but she was dismayed to find that she was all tapped out. Her ordeal had drained her of all resources.
She grudgingly takes his cloak and wraps it around herself. Now he's probably thinking I owe him something.
"Whether you trust me or not, my stuff has to be around somewhere. It's not like I wandered in here naked and unarmed."
Irabeth answers to Elriel's question, "Hum, better not... I still believe she isn't corrupted by the demons but that doesn't mean she is trustworthy..."
Meanwhile, Hedda notices a pile in the corner of the room, where she recognizes her gear. Irabeth's eyes follows her... on the top of the pile rests a beautiful greatsword, even if clearly used a lot, still covered in dried blood. She turns to Elriel, "Elriel, please accompany her."
Meanwhile, Hedda notices a pile in the corner of the room, where she recognizes her gear. Irabeth's eyes follows her... on the top of the pile rests a beautiful greataxe, even if clearly used a lot, still covered in dried blood. She turns to Elriel, "Elriel, please accompany her."
Elriel was not surprised at the request but a part of him regretted giving Hedda the cloak to cover herself. She seemed to fit the stereotype of a beautiful fighting maiden from up North, blonde hair, fit body, and all.
Still the young girl posed a striking figure as she sauntered in front of him.
He lightened up some, "I still don't trust you but you can sure wear a cloak. I'll give you that."
Hedda gritted her teeth but she kept walking and didn't turn around. "My, aren't you the charmer. Look all you like if you must but anything more and you'll have a problem."
tag ?
Before gathering her stuff Hedda asks, "I'd prefer to wash off this blood before getting dressed. Do you all have a place I can do this or do I just do it here with my waterskin?"
tag everyone
Brevon's skin flushes with heat at the sight of the wild woman's figure. He lowers his eyes to spare her any embarrassment, feeling strangely guilty at the realization he'd found another woman attractive. Not that he hadn't come across many pretty girls on his journey north. He just hadn't found many naked and bound in chains.
This thought further thrills him, and he attempts to silently recite the alphabet backwards.
At least she isn't a demon.
"Privacy. I'll give you privacy," he says almost imploringly as he turns his back. As he does, he tries to introduce himself, speaking the practiced line with amazing alacrity.
"I am Brother Brevon Sabor, acolyte of the Everflame, devotee of the Dawnflower, servant of Sarenrae, bless her fair and noble name. We are defenders of Kenabres. And you? A victim of some demonic experiment. Do you feel well enough to walk?"
Before gathering her stuff Hedda asks, "I'd prefer to wash off this blood before getting dressed. Do you all have a place I can do this or do I just do it here with my waterskin?"
Elriel crossed his arms and watched the woman intently.
It was a few seconds before he realized what he was doing, "No, no. You don't have to wash yourself here. We are staying at the Defender's Heart. You can come with us as long as it's Ok with Irabeth."
"I'm Hedda and things are still a little hazy." She switches out Elriel's cloak for her own, giving another flash of naked skin to the room.
Hedda walks back and stops beside the half-elf. She hands his cloak back to him and then pauses, as if the next words were difficult to speak, "Thank you...for my freedom and the use of your cloak."
tag ?
"I'm ready to leave this place if it's ok with all of you."
"I'm Hedda and things are still a little hazy." She switches out Elriel's cloak for her own, giving another flash of naked skin to the room.
Hedda walks back and stops beside the half-elf. She hands his cloak back to him and then pauses, as if the next words were difficult to speak, "Thank you...for my freedom and the use of your cloak."
The elf nodded, "I'm Elriel and always ready to lend a cloak to naked girls." He winked, "Next time you know."
Hedda raised an eyebrow, "Next time? How often does this happen to you all?"
tag ?
Brevon tries to rub the back of his neck, forgetting there's plate in the way. The clang of metal slapping metal causes him to jump, though hopefully no one notices through the armor.
"We've seen more than a few inexplicable, unexplainable, downright uncanny occurences these past days. A naked woman hardly seems the strangest. And yet, you're not just any woman. You seem to be the object of some experiment, yes? We should get you back to Defender's Heart and have our holy priests attest to your health, both physical and spiritual."
"Will your priests need to see the markings on me? Or maybe one of you - to see if you can tell what they were trying to do?" She looks at Brevon, "You said that you are a god-follower, yes?"
tag Brevon
During the night, you were attacked by a group of demons and cultists. You were the single warrior among these people and even if you resisted you were eventually overwhelmed... you don't remember nothing else, but you recognize the slain corpses around the table as of those you've rescued.
Irabeth nods at Elriel's question, "Yes, lets bring her back to the Defender's Heart. Hedda, please cooperate, we only wish to help you but as you might understand, you're found in terrible circumstances... we can't risk the safety of anyone." She motions you all to move as she stays behind and instructs a crusader, the one who led you there, to burn the corpses.
Rukzha doesn't feel any attraction to the naked girl. At first she felt just curiosity mixed with revulsion at the bloody runes all over her body, but once she noticed how the other men looked at Hedda, another feeling started to dominate, jealousy. Is that what it takes to draw the attention of men? Showing some skin? Maybe I should rip up my costume further? I must admit, the only thing on my mind lately has been death, demons and searching for ways to deal with them and other problems we come across. It would be nice to feel something else for a change, something more pleasant.
While Hedda is busy getting dressed and gathering her belongings, Rukzha gets to work on herself. She gets out her dagger and cuts off her other sleeve, revealing a lightly tattooed arm beneath. "Sorry, I should have done this earlier, but I need to bind the power from the wardstone in a form so I can better use it. I know this is a weird place to do it, but I want to take advantage of the time while we are getting ready anyway."
She proceeds to quickl cut markings on her upper arm, on the other one than had gotten the four leaf clover earlier. Her hand is remarkably skilled, sure and effective, despite being her offhand, almost as if it's guided by magic. What previously was a shapeless dark figure is suddenly transformed into looking like a black cat and it looks remarkably like it's standing on top of shards of broken glass.
After she is done, Rukzha replies to Hedda. "As I already said, the markings are there to draw a demon into your body. I would love to study them further, but I fear I won't be able to use them for much good. It might be better to wash them off, so the enemies can't use them against you somehow. Maybe a powerful demon could leverage them to more easily get control over your mind or body for example. I say to wash them off."