Natalya waves her arms and chants... and suddenly Nalathi feels much friendlier toward her, though she has no idea what the woman is trying to say. Huh. I never really took a good look at her before. "You know, guys," she says, not taking her eyes off Natalya, "she's really much nicer up close. I'm not sure we should keep attacking. I mean, she's just trying to defend herself after all. Right?"
Natalya’s look of disgust at Ziomarra’s threats are replaced with a smile of glee as she hears Nalathi suggesting that you have all misunderstood her, ”Your friend is right, it is you who should lay down your weapons…and pay tribute”. Underlining her authority, she magicks an orb of acrid green material and hurls it at Ziomarra.
Zee sees Natalya casting a spell but doesn't recognize it until it's too late. She's surprised when the glob of acid flies at her, and she flinches in pain when it smacks her.
She staggers in pain as the acid splashes her, but manages to remain standing on the rafter.
"Cățea prost!"
Zee casts a spell of her own right back.
"Well, that's not really what I..." Seeing Natalya hurl a glob of acid at one of the others shakes Nalathi out of the spell's effects. "Hey wait, you charmed me!"
Something's not right... She had me enspelled, but made no effort to keep me that way...
Teldon reaches the top of the ladder amidst the noise of spells being tossed back and forth and Nalathi's apparent change of heart... Natalya's last words ring in his ears and with this new clue a multitude of disparate facts suddenly coalesce into one clear theory...
"No, Nalathi was right before!" he shouts, "More than that Natalya the beautiful and mighty is right! We shouldn't be trying to fight her, we don't stand a chance against her; we should be giving her the honor she deserves because she is so superior to us and to everyone else. Just listen to her- can't you tell she is the heiress of the splendour* of ancient Thassilon! Quickly, friends, lower your weapons before we exhaust her great patience and forgiveness. Forgive us magnificent one- we knew naught of your greatness..." As he speaks he slowly inches along the rafters to a place where he can be seen and bows as well as he can without risking toppling into the 'filth' below.
* this "u" is a shameless ploy to find favor with the GM
"Bloody wizard's lost his mind," Joanna mutters as she moves around Ziomarra and closer to Natalya.
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* this "u" is a shameless ploy to find favor with the GM
"Fools...listen to your friend....he sees what you do not...and, indeed my patience runs thin now...throw your weapons into the lake below...and swear allegiance to me"
Poised with arm outstretched, a glowing orb of acid sizzling within her palm, she awaits your response...
"I'm not a wizard, and I haven't lost anything, I have found understanding..." he replies, then trying to make eye contact with Jo he continues, "trust me our best course of action is to recognize her greatness...."
Setting his spear across the rafters Teldon addresses Natalya, "Great one, perhaps we could simply sheath our weapons? If we throw them in the 'lake' we won't have them later if we need to stop others from attacking you in jealousy..."
A flash of anger crosses Natalya's face, "Do you do dare question my judgement? Have I not shown you how I deal with those who dare attack me? Throw your weapons down... I demand it!!!"
Outside a crack of thunder booms and echoes from the bridge above you...
Zee, apparently weaponless already, continues to glare balefully at Natalya.
She also attempts to understand what Teldon is playing at...
"I would not dare, incomparable one," Teldon responds, standing with his empty hands raised (though his spear remains resting across the rafters), "I only meant to offer our service, meager as it is, in honor of your magnificence... we have no wealth, our service is the only tribute we have to offer, and without weapons we will not even have that humble offering..."
Joanna continues to make her way closer to the raving lunatic before her. She doesn't even bother to look at Teldon, but glares at Natalya.
"Demand all you want, I'll die before I surrender."
The young priestess, who in many things has shown naivety and lack of confidence says those words with a voice that put any questions about how serious she was to rest.
Ziomarra, looking at Teldon’s overblown display of deference, you can’t help but notice that he doesn’t have the same glazed expression that Nalathi had when Natalya performed some magic upon her…so far as you can tell, he isn’t under any magical influence at all…
hmmm... I shall have to remember to read up more on religions, Teldon notes to himself, I thought Iomedae was one of the good gods but her priestess certainly seems hell-bent on murdering this ensorcelled half-wit... especially odd given her reaction when Nalathi wondered aloud about finishing off that guard...
Nobody else is close enough... I guess it'll be up to me. She steps in and slashes again.
As Nalathi steps in, Natalya attempts to throw the acid at her…but, taken by surprise at the audacity with which people are approaching her, she throws it high and wide.
Nalathi’s sword cuts into Natalya’s arm…a slash of crimson spreading along the sleeve of her shirt as she curses the pain.
Teldon shakes his head in disappointment... "Nalathi, when you kill her please make sure her body doesn't fall into the waste... if it does someone will have to go digging in there for the item, and it won't be me." As he speaks he bends down and retrieves his spear. Rising, he moves cautiously along the wall to southeast corner of the room and asks, "Joanna, does your god require you to do everything the difficult way, or is it a personal preference? And, was there a specific moment in your training when the senior priest said 'if you ever meet a woman bewitched by delusions of grandeur who could easily be dealt with peacefully make certain that you murder her instead' or was that more of an implied teaching?"
Iomedae give me strength, the wizard and I are going to have words! Long words with lots of sharp points!
Joanna ignores Teldon for now, concentrating on the task at hand. She finally gets within arm's reach of the woman and tries to wrap her up and imobilize her.
As Joanna moves to pin her arms, she shouts to Nalathi.
"Find something to tie her up with!"
Surprised by Joanna's wrestling moves on Natalya, Zee responds, "I've got these!"
Ziomarra takes out her set of manacles as she cautiously moves closer to the fight.
As Joanna moves onto the platform, Natalya slashes at her with her blade, but her weapon merely bounces from Joanna's armour. Moments later, she stumbles to a kneeling position pinned by the priestess and shrieking with fury.
Natalya wriggles and slides to break from Joanna's grasp; her movements are lithe and graceful...and it takes her mere moments to turn Joanna's strength against her...Natalya breaks the grapple, grips Joanna and wrestles her to the edge of the ledge...attempting to throw her into the sewage pool.
Zee watches the two women wrestle, and she sees Natalya manages to turn the tables on Joanna. As Natalya rolls on top in their struggle, Ziomarra casts another spell at Natalya. She dangles her set of manacles enticingly.
All this fuss over some old artifact... If I just take it, we can be out of here. Looking for an opening in Natalya's defenses, Nalathi reaches out to grab the shard around the woman's neck.
However he might feel about Joanna's approach to handling obstacles, Teldon clearly does not wish the filth below upon her... He steps forward and uses his longspear to try redirect one of Natalya's arms before she can force Jo off the platform.
Joanna feels her feet slide to the edge and tries to break free and regain control of the situation. Alas, it was not meant to be. She feels one of her feet lose it's footing and knows that it's only a matter of when. She takes a deep breath and prays that she'll be able to hold it long enough to get out of the pool of filth.
This didn't go as planned...
Her other foot slides off the edge and down she goes.
After hitting the sludge, she stands and makes her way to and up the ladder.
Joanna falls some fifteen feet or so then lands in the filth with a tremendous splash...standing, trying her hardest not to breath and putting a brave face on the situation, she makes her way to the nearest ladder...
Whilst Natalya tips Joanna off the ledge, her defences are lowered enough for Nalathi to slip inside and loop the necklace with the metal shard from around her neck. The ex-Tower Girl shrieks with rage, "MINE...MINE...MINE", slashing wildly at Nalathi with her blade.
...and then Ziomarra steps forward with manacles given as a gift or an offering...
...but the trick is not as effective against Natalya as it had previously been against the weak-willed sorcerer...and the manacles remain untaken in Ziomarra's outstretched hand...
Again and again, Natalya rages, "MINE...MINE...MINE" and then, lunging forward attempts to snatch the necklace back from Nalathi.
Teldon quickly wracks his brain for ideas of spells or alchemical compounds that might help return Natalya to her senses...
Still holding out hope for a resolution that doesn't involve death, he tentatively swings his spear at Natalya's feet hoping to trip her...
Joanna shakes the stars from her head and climbs back up to the platform.
Zee puts her set of manacles away and fixes Natalyta with her unnerving glare again.
As Natalya reaches a hand toward the shard Nalathi is now holding, the wayang slashes at it.
She then steps backward, out of reach.
Tears start to well up in Natalya’s eyes, she screams and spits, ”MINE!!! Give it back!!! It was me that found it….you don’t deserve it…you could never be good enough for it you damn Guttersnipe!!!”, she steps forward and tries to grab it again.
Flailing wildly at Nalathi, she suddenly doubles over and, very noisily, vomits into the sewage pit below…
Figuring that it has to work eventually, Zee casts daze at Natalya again.
Joanna, reeking of muck, filth, and things she does not want to think about reaches the top of the ladder and tries to wrap Natalya in a bear hug.
"Nalathi, she'll chase you for the relic; head down to solid ground and we can worry about restraining her where there's no danger of falling or being submerged in waste..." Teldon calls out as he carefully begins to make his way back towards the ladder.
Clawing at the air where Nalathi was, Natalya gasps for air and then...under Ziomarra's spell, kneels perfectly still at the edge of the platform...with the softest of voices, she whispers, "So very beautiful..."
"Good idea." She puts the amulet around her neck with one hand and sheaths her sword with the other. Hopping from one beam to another, she heads toward the ladder.
Seeing that Nalathi is on board with leading Natalya to solid ground, Teldon continues moving.
"You have a head start! Go!" Glaring again at the dazed Natalya, she fixes her with yet another evil eye...
Zee then follows Nalathi, gingerly balancing on the rafters. As she moves, she unwraps he bladed scarf from her neck, holding it in one hand. She continues to eye Natalya warily, waiting for Joanna's next lunge.
"Do you still have those manacles?"
Joanna asks as she tries, again, to immobilize Natalya.
For a moment, Natalya lapses into lucidity, "Wait!!! What? What is this place..."...but it is short lived, attempting to stand, she stumbles, her eyes roll back and she topples, a dead weight, over the side of the platform... Crashing into the sewage below, splattering filth up the walls, the sewage rises and falls in violent waves... And, in the middle of the pool, Natalya floating... Spread-eagled, utterly unmoving and face downwards...
From the top of the ladder Teldon hears the splash on the other side of the wall but can't see who went down, or why. "Who fell?!?" he shouts, hesitating for a response before deciding on an action...
Zee gawks in surprise at Natalya falling into the cesspool. Teldon's question snaps her out of the morbid fascination. "It was Natalya, but... I don't think it was an act!"
Still smarting from the acid burns, Zee thinks a moment about jumping into the pit to save Natalya from drowning, but then thinks better of it. She moves as quickly as she can to the platform in the fireplace so that she can descend the ladder.
"I think she's drowning!"
"Joanna, we have to rescue her!"
She had just turned to face Natalya and the others to climb down the ladder when she sees the woman fall. Despite Ziomarra's reaction, Nalathi is unconvinced. "I don't know... She seemed awfully keen to get this thing back. If you want to fish her out go ahead, but I'll stay at a distance just in case." What she doesn't bother to voice aloud is that she also has no inclination to get closer to the muck than she needs to.