Kzrira also looks at her quiver.
I am a little short on those nice fire quenching arrows. Any chance we could get back to Katapesh to grab some more? My other arrows will hurt him, just not as fast.
She looks over at Karethas:
Not sure how many you have, but if he has gone to heal up and prepare, we should do the same thing.
Karethas mutters something about "Dimensional Anchor" under his breath and gestures back down the lava tunnel, "We should go I suppose."
By flying carpet and bronze griffon, the Heroes make their exodus from the fiery volcano. Once outside the deadly inferno and on the wooded slope, the Tempest Staff shifts and becomes Gen. The little genie hugs Karethas' arm with bright tears in her eyes. "Oh Master, I was so scared, but you defeated Jhavhul! Surely you are among the greatest wizards of the Material World!"
Varkata shakes her head and chuckles, "He'd certainly like to think so...." She sighs, her voice sober, "But, he was right. He did underestimate us... but he gets to learn from his mistake... and he's likely not too pleased that we ruined, or at least delayed, his plans."
Karethas shrugs, "It certainly was a group effort, and it appears that we have at least delayed his plans. And let's not forget that we freed our friends who were in captivity. Let's hope our allies have faired as well." He raises his hand above his head and points his fingers into the sky. Purplish bolts of force fly high into the sky and dissipate.
Purplish bolts of force fly high into the sky and dissipate.
Gen pretends not to notice as Karathas demonstrates his actual lack of mastery of magic lore. She stares up the mountain side. "Perhaps we should report to the Queen. She will want to know that Jhavhul has fled."
Kzrira will shoot an arrow into the sky, a frosty magical arrow, giving Karethas something to target with his sparkly missiles.
-----
Kzrira nods in agreement with her former bow.
Yes, that would be a wise idea. We need to see how the Queen and her companions are faring against Jhavhul's army. Hopefully the efreeti will have sensed that their leader has fled, and will do likewise, or at least will be demoralized into giving up the fight.
giving Karethas something to target with his sparkly missiles.
Spooky begins yowling for some reason. Kzrira quietens the ghostly cat down and then goads her mount skyward with Amir's carpet keeping apace. They spiral around Pale Mountain following the strange black stairs upward until they reach the summit and the unearthly ruins there. In the courtyard threescore Janni rest, tend their winged horses, and care for the wounded. Several tall misty Djinni confer at the center of the encampment with their, leader Queen Nefeshti. The Peri quickly spots you and flies up on great fiery wings to meet you. "You live. I am much relieved. Did you find Jhavhul?"
Kzrira grins.
We filled him full of holes. Unfortunately, as I am sure you are aware, he had some tricks up his sleeve. Before we were able to land the final blow, he fled to some other plane.
Varkata nods, "We survived... and we stopped him... Just not permanently."
"Still, it is a great victory," the Peri says. "Without their leader, his troops will soon scatter. You have bought us time." Nefeshti leads you back down among the ruins. Here you can see that the battle has not been easy. Nearly half the Janni lie dead or wounded along with many of their winged horses.
"The battle was hard fought, but the Efreet have retreated into the House of the Beast. Once they find that Jhavhul has fled, they will leave to their fiery plane to find him and regroup for I have no doubt that is where he went. I must journey to the center of the Pale Mountain and undo the evil he has wrought through the abuse of wishcraft.You may follow if you wish or rest. You have earned your rest. Without your bravery I am not certain that we would have prevailed."
Kzrira, still bloodied and beaten from the last fight, looks to the Queen.
I would follow you. However, I know that we have used many of our magics and are all fairly beaten up.
She pauses thinking.
I believe there is something sentient, or at least evil, in the lava at the heart of the mountain. We avoided it by staying high in the air, but it did attempt to grab onto my griffon when I was flying low and firing at Jhavhul.
Karethas states resolutely, "If you are going in, I would join you. I have used my most potent spells, but I have several rather powerful ones left. If someone here could heal those who wish to continue, it would be better."
Nefshti shakes her head. " I have no ability to heal. Can your priestess help?"
Varkata nods, "I can help somewhat, though I'm more than a little depleted."
Nefshti pauses to allow Varkata to heal her gravely wounded companions. Then asks Amir to lead on back through the old gnoll caves to the heart of the volcano.
Wand of CLW: <-- 9 charges
For Karethas:
Wand of CLW: <-- 5 charges
Varkata says, "Everyone draw near... I'll heal as many as I can." She waits for everyone to huddle together as much as she can, then pulls on the heady power of the drunken hero, releasing it in a warm whisky burn..
Though Varkata is wary of drawing upon the full extent of her ability, the healing bursts mend both friend and many allies among the wounded Jann. Amir's carpet leads the way back down the slopes to the gnoll cave and once again deep into the volcano. The great chamber that serves as Xotani's Grave within the heart of Pale Mountain still throbs slowly as if it were the pulse of a sleeping giant.
Everyone stays high and clear of the ropy tentacles of molten stone that occasionally rise from the lake of lava while Nefeshti inspects the humongous skeleton of the ancient Spawn of Rovagug that remains embedded within the volcanic rock. "Jhavhul came dreadfully close to his goal through the perversion of our ancestral powers to grant wishes. The fabric of the Material Plane grows frayed here from the untwisting of reality through wishcraft. I do not know if it will work, but we must at least try using a wish to reverse the harm done here."
Karethas' brows furrow in a worried look, "Is there no other way? It sounds like mending a torn cloth by tugging on it. Could we reinforce the area in some way before using another wish?"
Nefeshti sighs and her radiant face darkens. "I do not know. I have no powerful spells nor deep knowledge of arcane lore. Were Andrathi still here, he would know what to do."
Karethas eyes dart downward as he considers the situation more carefully.
Amir shrugs slightly feeling woefully unprepared to aid in this matter.
Varkata nods at Karethas' concerns, "To be fair, that is exactly what you sometimes need to do to torn flesh."
Although not her forte, Kzrira attempts to assist the other casters.
Spellcraft:
And pretty much has no clue what they are talking about.
Varkata's mention of torn flesh brings something to Karethas' mind:
"Well, Spooky is still connected to Andrathi through their link as familiar and master. Perhaps we can use that connection to consult with him or utilize his arcane expertise. Maybe Kzrira can use her connection to Spooky to form some kind of psychic link? Although, was I'm not sure how she would do that."
Kzrira reaches up and scratches the ghostly cat under the chin, causing the familiar to purr happily.
Not sure what I can do, but it is worth a try.
With that, she attempts to talk with the cat, hoping that it is able to understand her, as she certainly has not developed her magical skills to the point where she is able to communicate with it.
To the kitten:
Spooky, what would Andrathi have done to destroy the magic that warps this place?
The translucent cat stares at Kzrira with vivid green eyes. It then raises the piercing eyes up to the great draconic skull of Xotani interred in the interior wall of the volcano. The ghost cat howls and hisses at the humongous thing then quietens and stares meaningfully at Nefeshti.
The Peri Queen nods and steam rolls across a burning cheek. "Ah, I see. I sensed Andrathi before when I first saw this creature. A remnant of his soul remains with his wonderful familiar.
"I think that he is saying that just as remnants of my Beloved's soul remains entwined with that of Spooky, Jhavhul's soul is connected to that of this ancient fiend. Until Jhavhul is destroyed, there is no way to end the threat of Xotani's resurrection..."
Karethas nods, "That makes much more sense than trying another wish, but Jhavul has teleported away. I believe he left this plane, but we have no way of finding where he went or getting to him. How long could he be gone? Do we wait for him here to prevent him from trying to resurrect the spawn again?"
Nefeshti shakes her head. "The stakes are far too great to wait and hope that we can counter Jhavhul's next move. We must find him and end this. I would guess with some confidence that he has returned to the Plane of Fire to find new allies or some cached weapon to use against us next time. Fortunately, I have spies within the Efreet capital. I can take you there. You must quickly prepare to journey to the City of Brass."
Amir furrows his brow at this direction of action, Can I...er...WE...survive on the Plane of Fire?
Varkata nods, "I believe you can. My wish granted me immunity... and the ability to adapt my companions to travel with me.... Though, I admit, I asked for it thinking we might be dragged there involuntarily."
Nefeshti looks earnestly at Amir. "Can you survive on the Plane of Molten Skies as it is sometimes called? Definitely not. However, we are bound for the City of Brass and the Efreet have had to make some concessions to keep non-fireborn slaves and merchants alive. The Galley Quarter is uncomfortable, but not usually lethal. The Great Bazaar is accessible to mortals with only minor protection from the great heat. Should we have to visit other areas within the Efreet capital, well, a shield of souls keeps residents somewhat sheltered within the Eternal Furnace, but you will still need some magical protection."
Karethas shrugs casually, "I can protect myself, Varkata should be fine, and Amir should be fine within the City. Kzrira's protection is dependent on the presence of a fire-based elemental or genie, so that is an issue. Perhaps a teleport to the Night Stalls is in order before we depart. Didn't we pick up some items of value in that bottle? We could use that to buy an item of minor fire protection. It would cost us a day, but might be necessary."
The radiant Peri nods. "I do not believe a few days will make much difference. Bear in mind that even the legendary markets of Katapesh cannot compete with the wonders of the Great Bazaar of the City of Brass. Mundane coins will do you no good there however. Gold, silver and copper become soft and difficult to work on the Plane of Fire. Bartering in magic is common. The Efreet also deal in darker trades, but I would not allow that."
Kzrira nods in agreement.
Yes, something to keep me from getting fried would be beneficial. I don't know whether such an item would be more or less costly in the Brass City. The are more needed there, but also undoubtedly more common. On the other hand, we do have a fair amount of magic that could be exchanged. Perhaps they would be willing to trade. For instance my armor is made of mithral. While it is nice, I am just as capable of moving normal speeds in most any other medium armor. Also, that little axe we found would probably fetch a fair price in most markets.
Karethas nods, relieved that there is time to prepare. "Then let's get a good nights rest. I will memorize Teleport to get us to Katapeshto stock up, and then..." He shakes his head in disbelief, his facade of casualness breaking. "Then we will shift to the Plane of Fire. Visiting a demiplane is one thing, but going to an entirely different plane of existence is another. The rest of you may not realize the scope of the what is going to happen, but very few denizens of the prime material plane ever travel to other planes. In all of my studies, I am not sure that any of my professors ever visited another plane of existence. I may not ever progress far enough in my arcane abilities to take us to another plane. We are lucky that Nefeshti can get us there. "
Varkata asks, "Would we benefit from getting more Magic items to trade, then? Things we could bring to the Bazaar?"
The Peri listens to your plans as you emerge from the caves at the base of the volcano. "What is rare here may be common there, but I do not expect that scrolls and potions will last long on the Plane of Fire."
"Go rest in Kelmarane. You have earned it. I will stay here with my army and make sure that the Efreet have truly gone. I will meet with you tomorrow evening and then we shall complete our plans for hunting down Jhavhul."
Amir offers a mumbled ,thank you as the enormity of the day and what is to come plays out in his mind, Well shall we return to the city for a small break?
Varkata bows to the Peri, then nods at Amir's question, "I don't know if I'm overwhelemed by what we just did, or by what we're going to have to try to do next... but either way, I'm too sober to think about it and in definite need of a decent tavern."
The flight back to Kelmarane by untiring flying carpet and statue, is uneventful. The sun sinks behind you as you finally reach the near abandoned village once again.
Seeing no sign of returning gnolls or other problems in the town proper, the heroes fly to the monastery to be warmly greeted by Hadar, Hadra, and the other survivors. Qilue waits patiently for you to be greeted and tell your tale though it is clear that she is fretful for news of Faelar.