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Cassius reels at the blast of lightning that rips through him and the other defenders. For a second he can't answer the urgent queries of his team, his ears ringing and his flesh sizzling with electricity.
Even when that fades, he takes a second or two to answer, his eyes wide as he registers something is-- wrong, beyond just the pain. Something is... missing? An absence of the soul...
He shakes it off, he'll deal with it later, and stares around, willing his vision to clear. The sight of Zakat-the-storm moving away through the portal earns a bitter half-laugh from him. Zakat, of course Zakat, and the gnawing knowledge that he acted preemptively with his protective spell and didn't guard the entire team from lightning is like a knife in the gut. Fool.
There will be time to castigate himself for mistakes later as well. His team requires orders. Cassius turns so his satchel is accessible to the nearly-dead Bjorn.
"Drink the smaller curative potion within , then start helping clean up the last of these gods-and-devils-damned elementals," he says hoarsely, spitting blood along with his words. Apparently he bit his tongue when the electricity hit. "Assist other Hellknights who are in trouble."
"Vorgal! If you have a fireball or the like, then harry those groups of elementals with no allies near."
He gives a pained nod to Kayle for her healing. "Triage downed Hellknights to stabilize any who yet breathe; attack targets of opportunity."
"Ivari, target those elementals engaged with my archon."
The archon needs no audible orders and continues to stubbornly attack his foes, unbothered by Zakat's electrical storm (though the sonic took a chunk from his flesh).
Cassius quickly starts another summons, less resilient than his hound, but useful perhaps to help keep the injured breathing and destroy the remaining elementals.
No doubt Decibel will have some scathing commentary about all this, he thinks to himself, trying to clear his head of the last of the ringing. No doubt Decibel will...
...will....
He looks back. His parrot is... nothing but charred feathers. Cassius blinks, not quite able to comprehend that his small, annoying, but... loyal companion is gone.
The chaos of the battlefield slowly peters out, screams and roars and the crackle of lightning replaced by the moans and groans of the wounded and dying. You work your way around the courtyard, helping tend to the wounded as best you can, staunching seared flesh and assisting those healthy enough to be moved back inside.
Eventually a timid looking Armiger Gorzoth, accompanied by almost a dozen Hellknights of the Scourge, walks up to you, saluting hesitantly.
"Acting-Maralictor Thwait, sirs," he hesitantly stammers before shuffling behind you.
"Follow us," one growls, a maralictor by the stars on his shoulders. The other Hellknights have already surrounded your group.
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Cassius has a blackened feather in his fingers and turns it over, still feeling as though this evening has been some sort of bad dream, until he hears his name. He looks up, and forces out a salute to the maralictors he does not feel.
"Squad, fall in," he says wearily, and nods to the maralictors before proceeding where they would.
Now for the hour of judgment.
As you command, Maralictor.
Says Bjorn, scorched and full of wounds, with bloat eyes that can barely open. His robes are in so bad shape that he looks like is walking nude and his shurikens, partially melted by the continual electric shocks, went attached to his flesh.
Thats going to hurt
The squad escorts you over to where the portal formerly was, the ground becoming increasingly scorched and blackened from the defensive wards as you approach.
You see Uldrannas, now stony faced and intense, standing deferentially behind someone who you can only assume is Lictor Toulon Vidoc. A number of Hellknights and Signifiers stand guard around him. The Maralictor escorting you approaches and salutes, before being waved off.
The Lictor gazes at you piercingly for a while before finally speaking.
"That was the stormborn that you supposedly killed, I presume?" he asks, his tone even and monotone.
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Cassius curls his fingers around the charred feather, keeping it close as he walks, mechanically, to the presence of the Lictor.
He salutes on automatic.
"Yes, sir," he says, his voice near as emotionless as the Lictor's, though for different reasons. Losing one's familiar is a psychic blow, a sensation like a small but vital part of you has been scooped out and destroyed. His physical injuries seems but an afterthought in comparison.
A slight pause, and then Cassius says, blankly, "He was... smaller the last time we met, sir."
Bjorn salutes the maralictor, but remains silent. He is not sure about why a tone of reproach is used at them.
Hey, we reported all the details to our Vicarius, including that the Zakat we killed was an humanoid.
No one told us that was Zakat real form and power.
Kayle promptly falls in and returns the salute. Kaylee stands silent unless instructed to speak.
This is unsettling, I thought he was a threat in his human from form but now ...
"Indeed..." the Lictor replies dryly.
"I'm assuming you can hear this Vicarius Torchia, so I won't bother being indirect," his voice raises slightly, though probably unconsciously.
"If your little plots ever cause the death of my men again then there will be one less Order in the Hellknights."
"I'm sure he'll be duly intimidated," responds a surprising voice. Saren slowly walks up beside you, his bronze skin covered in lichtenberg figures and his Signifier mask burnt off. There is a subtly shifting of poses as the Hellknights of the Scourge shift, turning their focus from you to him and gripping their weapons a little tighter. You can see the muscles still twitching beneath his metallic skin, but he stands straight, and as tall as his short stature will allow.
"I'm sure," the Lictor gazes at Saren levelly before nodding.
"Well. I don't suppose any of you might know what the gift your friend left behind might be?" he asks, gesturing to a melon sized smooth black sphere sunken into the impact crater.
Standing by in his rigid way Ivari responds instinctively to the revelation of the sphere, casting his sense towards the stone to detect evil or chaotic energies.
Vorgal knowledge fails him, so he stays quiet, letting the much more eloquent Cassius speak. Well he tries to keep quiet, but gasps as the object is revealed. Vorgal pays a half mind to responses and focuses his attention on the sphere.
Casts Detect magic and knowledge arcana at round 3
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Cassius's lips thin just a bit at the explicit dressing-down, but he makes no response, merely salutes once more to the Lictor with a solemn nod. If he were in the other man's boots, he would feel no differently, he imagines.... from the Lictor's perspective, his citadel was just attacked due most likely to the presence of Cassius and his team. It's just one thing to add to the heavy taste of failure he feels at the moment.
When the stone is pointed out, Cassius blinks. "No, sir. I would wager nothing good. I will inspect it; if I may offer well-intentioned advice, sir, please draw the bulk of your men back. If it is a trap, better that only myself and my squad should pay the folly of it."
He tries to catch Gorzoth's eye, and order him back a good distance as well with a wave of his hand. At least the dwarf does not appear hurt.
Turning his attention to the black sphere, Cassius approaches gingerly, giving a tired nod to Vorgal at seeing him perform the preliminary magical investigation.
Cassius copies the initial spell, casting detect magic from about twenty feet away from the sphere.
"Before we touch the damned thing, I want us all healed up as best we can," he says in a hoarse, tired voice to the rest of the squad. "Bjorn, I fear we're about to abuse that wand of yours. Though I commend your foresight in purchasing it."
Once the worst injuries are patched up, Cassius gingerly approaches the sphere, picking his way through the crater's rubble.
Assuming he sees nothing like writhing tentacle beasts ready to rip out of the sphere, Cassius starts studying the sphere in earnest, glad for the mental distraction.
The Lictor makes a curt gesture with his hand and several Signifiers come up to you, healing magicks washing through you.
After the brief ministrations all the other Hellknights except for Saren retreat a respectable distance, and eight Signifiers begin casting a ritual spell. Just a few moments later the mages nod to the Lictor, who in turn nods to you.
"Begin your examination then," he calls.
Spellcraft: Judging by the flickering runes and the aura of abjuration being given off by the sphere, you'd say that it is some sort of spell trigger, which will activate the runes you see below. Interestingly (though unsurprisingly) enough, the runes seem to have the same style and pattern that you saw in the tattoos on Zakat and Imazi. You recognize several of the lesser runes denoting protection and defense.
I prefer to be at full HP too, and with the signifiers help, the charges spended are cut to 11 (2 for each, 5 for me, waiting for Kayle if she needs more..
Bjorn breaths relieved, as the magic vanishes the worst of the wounds, leaving only some bruises after the regenerative spell stops.
I'm a team player, so my resources are yours too. After all, I'm not able to use it myself. Answers the big warrior to Cassius. Then, he focus his attention to the strange sphere.
Damn, that stomy-boy sure got a fixation on us. Why don't they just call some bear-devils and command them to take the thing with them to the Hell?
I am ready, but i am afraid I wont be able to do as much healing as I would like.
I fear for our safety after seeing what Zakat is capable of but justice demands retribution
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Cassius bows respectfully to the Signifiers who help with the healing, inclining his head towards them.
Briefly, Cassius meets Saren's eyes across the still-smoking battlefield. His numbness over losing his familiar is somewhat tempered by the relief at seeing the winged man alive-- he certainly didn't expect to, after that blinding blaze of light. He would love to speak with the more experienced Hellknight, to ask him what had happened or if he has any insights into Zakat's nature, but Lictor Vidoc is watching and expects the investigation to proceed without any further dallying, he is quite certain.
Studying the orb, Cassius's brows draw together in bemusement. "Protective magics," he says, slowly. "I would have expected evocation, certainly. What manner of thing has our enemy left in our midst? Something he didn't want hurt, apparently."
Cassius circles the orb, still confused. Anything Zakat left, or caused to be here, must by its very nature be destructive and spell bad news for the Order. Can Zakat think they will be foolish enough to touch it and release some horrible threat from within? --And yet, they may have to touch it, if only to move it out of Vidoc's courtyard: Cassius highly doubts the Lictor wants a mysterious, magical, and probably malign sphere sitting in his fortress.
"Vorgal, do you see these runes?" he asks the other man. "Did not Imazi and Zakat have similar markings, as tattoos? Are they Varisian, I wonder...?"
Cassius looks at the sphere, deep in thought.
Vorgal, having not noticed the runes himself. He pulls out a pad and starts copying them down while mentally trying to decript them.
He will also cast read magic, to see if that helps him understand the runes.
Bjorn looks around while thinking in the recent combat.
Those elementals where strange creatures, and the warrior realizes that not even with his armor in place would be an easy task to take on them. Their attacks are too fast to dodge, and to potent to simply iron plates to block, not to say that any metal will make the shock even worse.
And Zakat was comanding a whole platoon of them, as if they where simple expendable minions. Bjorn wonders what kind of mess they got stuck.
As the arcane among them muse over the object Ivari offers his findings, "neither evil more chaos touched..." As Cassius and Vorgal investigate Ivari scans the outskirtz of the camp nagged that they are being watched...
-Posted with Wayfinder
Ivari turns to the lictor and clasps his hand in salute, My lord. As pressing as this situation is I am concerned we are open to observation and threat of another assault. Perhaps normal guard duties should resume while we look into this matter?
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Cassius looks over sharply at Ivari's words, before he realizes Ivari is addressing the lictor. He frowns slightly, looking out at the other Hellknights.
"As Signifier Thien says, sir. It is possible this is some elaborate... distraction, designed to absorb our collective attention while something else comes."
The Lictor glares around at his men and raises his hand, snapping his fingers surprisingly loudly. Uldrannas strides off to harass the men into position, his face set in an ugly glower.
Vidoc returns his gaze to you and gestures you to continue.
The summoning is successful and the dretch does as instructed, placing a rather grotesque hand on the sphere. As far as you can tell, nothing changes.
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Cassius frowns, and, in Infernal, orders the dretch to lift the sphere, in order to see just how heavy it might be.
"It's clearly extra-planar," Cassius says with his face drawn in his tight, frustrated worry over the whole situation. "Given Zakat's-- affiliations-- something from the Plane of Air seems not improbable. But it pains me to say I don't know its purpose or nature, beyond an educated guess it is most likely a triggered spell, ready to go off at the correct command. I cannot imagine it is benevolent in nature."
He pinches at the bridge of his nose. "Isn't there an old tale of some Azlanti fortress that, after decades of war, was ultimately breached by some cunning ploy of monsters concealed within a model horse?" he mutters to nobody in particular.
He misses the snarky response that Decibel would make to that, too. Cassius sighs and lowers his hand from his face, turning to the no-doubt-displeased eye of the Lictor.
"Unless you give orders to the contrary, sir, I will see to it that this is taken off the grounds of your Fortress, as I do not imagine you wish it to remain here. Is Paralictor... Is Paralictor Malachai still with us?"
He was relieved to see Saren, but now scouts among the faces for the man who is in charge of their entire mission.... The idea of going to Druma to celebrate their 'defeat' of Zakat when he is quite obviously no longer dead seems like something that is probably no longer going to happen, to Cassius-- though conversely, they cannot simply blow off the Drumans. He wishes to see if Malachai can provide insight into whether they will proceed still to Druma, or if-- as Cassius would personally wish-- they could instead make all haste back to the Order of the Gate, that more senior Signifiers could inspect this orb.
Hopefully, Malachai is still alive...
Ivari nods respectfully to the Lictor and then returns his attention to the proceedings around the orb.
As Cassius muses about the fortress Ivari offers, I thought it was Thassilonian... Otherwise the paladin stands vigilant waiting to see what happens next...
"I think not. The artifact will remain here for study." the Lictor glares "I feel I have lost more than enough men to have the rights to such."
"That is unwise sir," Saren responds offhandedly, "The Gate has much more... advanced methods than any you could employ, and either way, it was gifted to them, not you, making it their personal property. It would be unlawful to take what is rightfully theirs."
His voice goes hard and flat on that final sentence.
"But Acting-Mararlictor Thwaite does raise a good point. Where is Malachai?"
"He is recovering from his rather substantial injuries," the Lictor growls, "Do not try and turn this into a game of jurisdiction."
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Despite the discipline drilled into him in Hellknight training, Cassius briefly gapes at the Lictor's words.
"Sir--" he begins in protest, and then remembers himself, takes a deep breath, and tries to continue more respectfully.
"Sir, I speak with gravest respect when I say that it is not my desire to turn this into an issue of jurisdiction. I seek to know the commands of the leader of my mission-- regarding not merely this item, but our overall mission, which has been thrown into chaos by tonight's... encounter.
"Secondly, regarding the-- artifact, as you put it-- and with all due respect, Maralictor Saren, I must take issue with it being called a "gift". If it is a gift, it is one I would gladly return to its lunatic of a giver, who has no cause to love my squadron and I. Can any of us seriously think he left this item here out of goodwill? It is extraplanar, most likely tied to the Plane of Air-- my gut tells me it is a weapon, one left here to be used against us. Perhaps a gateway to allow Zakat to call more of that stormforce-- perhaps something else entirely. But I will swear to you by the name of my family, Lictor, that when I say I would choose to take it from your grounds, it is not out of any desire to deprive you and your Order of glory, or to cheapen the deaths of your men: rather, it is to hopefully prevent any further deaths of those same men, if my fears hold true.
"As Maralictor Saren points out: the Order of the Gate has the tools and expertise needed to analyze this object, even if I myself do not. I respectfully adjure you, sir, to permit this object to leave your grounds. If, as I fear, it is designed to wreak some horror upon its environs, then my duty bids that I take it upon myself and my squad, not leave it to do gods-knows-what to your men. Sir."
I think despite the intricacies of the situation, Acting-Maralictor Cassius has the right of it sir.
The Lictor is silent for an uncomfortably long time, staring at you with a neutral face and angry body language.
"Fine. Do as you will," he waves a hand dismissively, "But if any more of my men die due to your lack of foresight, then I will exact reparations."
He strides back into his citadel, his small honor guard following him.
"Well done. That was easier than expected," Saren sighs, wiping a slightly perspiring brow. He sighs and you can see him sag slightly, his shoulders drooping and the point of his scimitar digging into the blasted earth.
"Well, I guess I should go... clean up. Or at the very least get some clothes on..." he chuckles quietly and nods to you before slowly trudging off to his quarters.
"You need me just come and get me. And let me know what you're going to do with that orb," he calls back over his shoulder.
That is what I call a silver tongue!
So, what are you planing to do with that odd ball? It creeps me out.
Syas Bjorn when they are left alone, at least by the commanders.
Do you really want to bring this with us to our order citadel?
I really don't like politics nor schemes, thats why I carry a straight big sword.
Vorgal remains quiet through the discussion, confident in the written word but much less so in the spoken word. He smiles thinly as the Lictor concedes and then pumps his fists as the rest of the commanders walk away.
"That was intense! Well done Ivari and Cassius, I thought we had no chance." Vorgal wonders briefly if he should have spent more time with people, instead of in books, but the thought passes for a more pressing one.
"Now that we have it, any ideas on how to dissect it?"
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Cassius sags a little too, unconsciously mirroring Saren, when the Lictor grudgingly accedes. He turns to speak to Saren, then registers the man's injuries, nudity, and everything else. He settles for a nod to Saren.
"Of course. If you have any insights into this situation, as to what transpired here tonight... I would love to hear them, but take what time you need, sir," he says to Saren, letting the other man go.
Then, he turns to stare once more at the black orb. In Cassius's mind, it is acquiring a certain malevolent presence, like an oily tumor, a black spot on his personal world.
Not enough that their mission to Druma should have been made a mockery by Zakat's swift and terrifying reappearance.... they had known he would likely appear again, but Cassius hadn't counted on so soon... now, on top of that, he has this-- object. The mystery of it, the burden of trying to make a correct decision in the field with incomplete intelligence and the lives of Hellknights riding on it.
The Academy has not prepared for him for this, he thinks grimly.
He beckons the squad closer, feeling able to speak somewhat freely for the first time since the Lictor demanded an accounting.
"Thank you for your support there, Ivari," he says, exhaustion plain in his voice. "And Bjorn, as for your question... I would rather not bring it within the gates of our citadel, no. But closer, so that more senior wizards than I might study it. As for how we will dissect it... or handle it at all... I wish that I knew."
Cassius permits himself a brief rubbing at the bridge of his nose before continuing, his voice a bit more crisp: "I can only assume Zakat chose to attack due to our presence here-- that this was aimed at us, and not at our hosts, the Order of the Scourge. If anyone feels differently, offer your reasoning to me.
"My second assumption is thus: that Zakat would not have willingly left any item that benefited us. This is, therefore, either an intentional trap of some sort, or, if we are very lucky, something he did not wish to leave here. I doubt the latter, but I will entertain the possibility at least.
"As I said to the Lictor: I think this object is meant to harm us, somehow, even though I can detect only protective magics on it. I fear that taking it with us is dangerous-- but I see no other option. Duty demands that if it is dangerous, it travels with us-- as we are likely the ones who brought this attack upon Citadel Demain-- and not be left behind us. If any of you have opinions on my assumptions thus far, speak freely."
Cassius rubs at a section of his skin that was seared by the lightning blast, even though it has been mostly healed. "My instincts say to return, with the orb, to our own citadel, with all possible speed. That said, until we have direct orders from Paralictor Malachai, I am hesitant to simply disregard our overall mission. Druma is not likely to be well pleased if we just... fail to show up to their important ceremony. At the very least, message must be sent to them presenting our apologies and warning of Zakat's reappearance. If Paralictor Malachai is too injured to issue orders in this regard, I will attempt to see that such a message is sent."
"For travel, I intend to purchase or requisition some sort of little wagon, and carry that orb inside, wrapped in heavy cloth. If it is perhaps a scrying focus, then we shall blind it as best we can."
Cassius pauses, then sighs heavily. "As your squadron leader, I apologize for my poor choice of preparatory spells. I acted hastily in casting a spell against fire-- I was overconfident, and did not possibly think Zakat would face us again so soon. We are only fortunate that none of us died due to my poor choice there, but I might have saved us much pain.
"There are observations I would make individually about our tactics, but I feel this moment is not the time. We have greater worries at hand than performance review. Does anyone have objections to the course of action I have laid out so far? The burden of decision rests with me, but I would still hear your thoughts."
Kayle remain quiet until the group is alon.
If I may offer my opinion, I believe we should wait til we are back at our citadel before further investigation.
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Cassius nods gravely to Kayle's words, but muses privately that his summoned devil hadn't been able to budge the orb.
"We will have to see if we can move it, first," he sighs. "I will touch it first, as I will not order one of you to do something I am not willing to. Should I die, disappear, become catatonic, or anything else, command defaults to Kayle."
Cassius takes a deep breath. With one hand tightly clutching the charred feather, he reaches out and touches the black surface.
Wait cries Vorgal, hopefully before the cassius touches the orb. Do you have anymore protection spells ready? I know you helped out Bjorn earlier.
Ivari shakes his head, Not only is Vorgal right, sir, but the reality is that of anyone here it is I who is the most likely to walk away from such an attempt were it to go poorly. Being blessed by the gods as I am has its benefits in this case. It should be me who tries to move it.
After a profound sight, Bjorn steps forward and adds:
Are the wards still in place? The ones that protect against electrical shocks I mean. If that the case, its logical I'm the one for the task.
Damn Zakat and all his planar ancestors.
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Cassius pauses, frowning, looking around to his team.
"No," he sighs. "No more protective wards."
His gaze flicks between Ivari and Bjorn with a frown.
"Bjorn is still protected from lightnings, yes. I trust more to that ward than I do to the gods, no offense meant. Very well; you have my permission to attempt to move it, Bjorn."
Bjorn moves with decision to the center of the crater, puts his hand on the black sphere, and then he tries to lift it swiftly.
Damn, I just wanted to be a border guard in duty, shuting down local bandits and the like... and look now, tring to lift a life-treatening artefact by a strange outsider, that barely anihilates an entire Hellknights post, has left just to mock us.
The only sound the big man makes before lifting the ball, is a large .
Bjorn touches the sphere and instantly yells, his body shaking and convulsing, but unable to let go. Invisible electricity flows through him, and smoke rises from his skin.
But also: markings begin to appear. Tattoos raise up over his bare chest and shoulders, at first faint and thin, but gradually growing bolder and more colorful.
Eventually the shaking stops and Bjorn falls to the ground, unconscious.
On instinct Ivari rushes to the man and pulls at him as though to look him over,
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Cassius swears an especially nasty curse in Infernal when Bjorn is raaged by the electric shock, darting forward-- but not touching Bjorn, as his body is live with the current.
"Hellknight Bjorn!" he shouts, unsure if the man even lives or whether lightning creates the parody of vitality.
"What in the name of Asmodeus's burning, bitter throne is the meaning of this? The Varisian scribbles now mar his flesh?"
I stalk my prey. I see them gather after what appears to be a hard fought battle. I wait for the opportune time, I quietly and swiftly draw my now and nock an arrow. I take a deep breath and let it fly, aiming for Cassius.
+1 dex damage
21 damage total.
With no warning an arrow embeds itself into Cassius' back, just to the inside of his shoulder blade.
How many round of Greater Invisibility have I used? When near the end, I simply re-up my invisibility.
I look down upon my enemies, the arrow sticking out of my target. He is still standing, but I view that as failure. In rapid succession, I let three more arrows rain down up the battlefield, all targeted at the Hell Knight Wizard.
Total damage this round 50 + 21 from surprise round = 71 damage.