Ea, praying to Pharasma, sends a wash of healing energy out across the room - it leaves the machines untouched whilst closing the wounds across Titania and Grayface... and, bolstered by the healing energies, they continue to strike hard against the automata - both, now in their rhythm, smashing their opponents to smithereens...
Meanwhile, the Steward is now fully operational once more... and, as the spawning machines whirr into life once more, it promises that control will soon be restored...
"I'll help you fix this, Steward!" insists Yasmin, and she attempts to offer whatever help she can.
Rallos keeps the pressure on the automaton he is facing.
This is getting ridiculous...
Titania shears the second of the birthing chambers into two equally sized fragments of cleaved metal... and, in the glow of the emerald spire, Yasmin sees the patterns that the Steward is manipulating... thrusting her hands into the waves of energy she tries to restore order where all is chaos...
...and needs to concentrate as once more, with a horrific clanking of energies, the chambers issue forth three more automata.
Ea, her holy symbol still warm with energies, pulses once more...
...and Grayface, his blade angled to defend himself, smashes against this latest attacker.
Yasmin tries to block out the distraction of the next wave of machines. "We're getting somewhere . . . I think?" Yasmin not very confidently keeps trying to help the Steward.
Tot comes out from behind the ice wall and engages the clanking monstrosity that had gone after Ea.
"Rallos! Ea! Keep that other one off of Yasmin," she shots before trying to hack the latest opponent apart.
Titania's blade bounces harmlessly from the armour of this latest automaton - it is, more so than the machines that came before it, particularly robust - and its weapon moves faster than ever before... Fortunate then that Yasmin is learning the intricacies of the control panel... it is becoming increasingly obvious what the Steward is attempting to do here - and Yasmin's hands move quickly to assist it...
Rallos does his best to distract the machine from Yasmin's actions by unleashing a flurty of strikes with his blade.
Ea moves toward Grayface and heals him, praying to Pharasma so her friend doesn't visit her Eternal Gardens too soon...
Rallos carves a deep furrow into the automaton's armour... and, invisible as he is, is ignored as the machine marches towards Yasmin - it's blade slashing at the sorcerer. Whilst, at the other side of the chamber, the automata slash at the warriors of the group...
The steward, maybe sensing that things are taking a turn for the worse, tries to reassure the friends, "Nearly got it... nearly there..."
Ea doesn't waste time and sends another greyish wave of positive energy to heal her friends
Rallos flicks hus blade at the automaton as it passes by him.
He then steps forward a pace and lets loose a flurry of hardened steel and demonic curse words.
Yasmin, watch out!
Yasmin gasps as the automata strike her while she's distracted. She desperately resolves to help the Steward finish the job.
Ea's healing is the only reason Tot remains in the fight. She slashes at the automaton again and again, determined to reduce it to scrap.
Rallos, Titania and Grayface all strike hard and sure against the relentless automata... their weapons finding purchase through weaknesses and openings in the armour - leaving two of the machines crashing to the floor, which is close to unnavigable now with the amount of metal wreckage scattered around, whilst the remaining guardian is jolting and clanking badly...
...Yasmin, working with the Steward's guidance, moves control of the Creche ever closer - but still the machines at the south and north of the chamber clank and whirr... more automata are surely coming...
"I swear, we've almost got it!" Thankful as her allies get the machines off her back, Yasmin continues her assistance to the Steward.
"Oops." It seems she momentarily lost the thread of what she was trying to do.
Rallos runs to put himself between Yasmin and the automaton. He jabs his blade at tge golem.
We can't keep this up...
Tot lets out a gasp as the automaton hurts her badly. Ea's healing had kept her in the fight, but now? Now she was certain that she'd die. Her only hope lay with Yasmin and the steward. Even if she downed the opponent she faced, she was too hurt to last much longer.
A final wave of healing energy cure some of the friends wounds.
But will it be enough?
Fate will tell.
Titania, her weapon now a blur of death and destruction, smashes the last of the standing automata to pieces - her blade cutting clean through the machine's midriff and sending it tumbling to the flagstones... yet, even as she does so, more metal monstrosities are stepping from the spawning chambers that remain operational. These ones are larger still than any which have come before and move with terrible menace...
Suddenly surrounded, Grayface raises his blade in defense... against a blow that never comes. Simultaneously with each other, these new constructs lower their glaives and retreat to their 'coffins' - whilst the light fades from Steward’s eyes, and his voice emerges from the web of stones orbiting the Spire, “You have done well, children of the Patrons. Now I have the power to restore my people. I can give you the rune you need to reach the prince’s palace. And should you ever need a cup of tea or a place to relax, you will be welcome at the Sanctum".
After the grueling fight, collapses to her knees. The brutal beating she'd received had left her bleeding from several wounds and limbs quivered from over exertion.
"Is... is it really over," she begs the others. It looks as if a stiff breeze could topple the diminutive fighter.
As the automata are under control once more, Yasmin can only let out a gasp of joy. "Steward, you did it! And not a moment too soon--we were getting desperate on the battlefield."
Though as the Steward's voice moves to the stones orbiting the Spire, Yasmin admits to being confused. "Has your soul passed into these stones? Will you be able to create a new mechanical body to inhabit once more? Or are you trapped once again in an unmoving body?"
"Soul? I had not thought of my consciousness as a soul... I am an 'existence', a collection of thoughts and extrapolations... I shall ponder on this a little more..."
There is a momentary silence before the Steward's voice returns, it is a strange sound hearing it come from the many stones in orbit around the spire... the volume and pitch phases up and down as clusters of the stones move closer or farther away, "In time, I shall use the Creche to restore all of the Sanctum's staff - and yes, I do believe I shall treat myself to a new body"
"And you? What will you do? Below are the Pleasure Gardens and beyond that, the Prince's Palace... you will ensure those are ready for the return of the Patrons? I would join you but I have much to do".
Yasmin nods as if she had expected this information all along. But inside, she feels surprised by the extent of the Prince's holdings.
"Hm . . . the pleasure gardens and the prince's palace? Can your presence extend to those levels as well? It would be helpful to understand who or what has taken residence in those depths. Malicious undead and their masters, for instance--we believe they are using these depths as a base for their operations. Or perhaps you might have a map of those levels?"
"Please, Yasmin, can it wait? I don't think I can last through another fight," Tot pleads.
"Oh! I'm so, so sorry." Yasmin realizes that she's been neglecting her companions who have bled and nearly died to protect her. "I didn't mean to go now, of course. Some healing magics and recovery time in the baths are in order, yes?"
That would be most welcome.
Aye, this fight has run us ragged....those blasted things were tough...almost like they were adapting...weird.
Shakily, Tot climbs to her feet.
"Baths... baths sound good," she mumbles as she follows the others back to the palatial baths.
The steward's voice once more sings from the orbiting stones, "The Sanctum and the Creche have always kept their interests here... it is - was - forbidden for us to travel to the lowest reaches unless specifically demanded to do so by the Patrons. I'm sorry, all I can do is to give you the means to travel directly to the Prince's Palace - unless you wish to experience the Pleasure Gardens? But first, you are injured and, I have little doubt, exhausted... please, return to the Sanctum and recuperate - your passage through here is, and shall always be, safe... Massage One, Beauty Two and Server Two await you".
...and it is true, travelling back through the chambers that once seemed so hostile is a benign affair - already small machines appear to have been put to work cleaning and sweeping away the detritus and debris left by the Iron Creche's resistance. Back at the Sanctum, the baths - and a selection of exquisitely prepared foods - await.
Tot spends a long time in the baths, luxuriating in the soothing waters and pleasant perfumes. She spends even longer napping as she waits for the others to finish after she's out. The soft robes nearly swallow her as she sleeps curled up on one of the divans.
Once everyone's bathed and they have a chance to sit and eat together, Tot looks up from the soup she's been dipping her bread in at the others.
"Have you ever felt that you wasted years of your life?"
"Yes, yes I have," says Yasmin as Titania begins chatting. "I spent years caught with a man I didn't actually love. I still feel bitter thinking about it, but I wouldn't exactly say it was a waste . . . I wouldn't be what I am now without that part of my life. What's troubling you, Tot?"
"I've– I've spent eight years being a Hellknight. I learned discipline, to fight, to watch my comrade's back, and– and how to torture people. I've spent almost a third of my life as a Hellknight, but–" her voice trails off as she looks down and wraps her arms around herself.
"I can't heal people. I can't fix things. All I know how to do are to kill and destroy and hurt. I can make a man howl without leaving a mark, but I can't do anything constructive. I've spent my life thinking that everyone else is undisciplined and slaves to their baser selves, and that I was helping to enshrine Hell's perfect order, but what have I really been doing? What am I supposed to do now," she asks as tears fall from her face into her mostly empty soup bowl.
Only most of my life...having been an outcast and constantly being the object of hatred....I gave up on trying to find a home. Thankfully, I found some friends that are closer to me than my own family...Rallos says as he changes out of his shirt. Numerous scars criss cross all over his torso, some dating back many years.
Sometimes we have time to learn from our mistake, or ta make amends. Sometimes we change our view of the world, sometimes we are set in our ways. For years I believed that people were doomed to die, that I was doomed to die and that they should accept it like I accepted my ultimate Fate. Worshipping Pharasma, I considered calling the deceased back to the land of living a sin, not as awful as using corpses for necromantic purposes and chaining them to Undeath, but a sin all the same. This fight was tough. One of us could have died. I prayed Pharasma for the gift to call back one of you from the Eternal Gardens. She granted me that prayer.If she wanted you to stay dead, she wouldn't have bothered. Then maybe, I'll be the one to die today, and the magic will be useless. But at least I tried. At least I understand why people cherish another, why they refuse death as a finality. I understand that Death can be frightening to most.
Sister Zalinsel pauses, and speaks again, in her usual emotionless tone
People changes, Tot. At least you changed for the better.
Yasmin has no words to offer. She simply slides closer around the table they are sitting at, and slides an arm around Tot to give a comforting hug.
Tot just nods at Ea's words and leans into Yasmin as she comforts her.
"Sorry I'm such a bloody, soddin' mess," she mutters as she wipes away her tears.
Tears are not a sign of weakness. it means you have a soul. You can change who you are...and the people around you can help you change.
"I thought souls weren't supposed to hurt or be so frightening," Tot says with a chuckle.
Never ask a Pharasman priest his or her opinion about souls if you want to be still able to sleep. Only a goddess can judge with impartiality. Everyone, mostly, has a good and a bad side. Saints are as rare as sinners. And what makes a saint in certain cultures create a sinner elsewhere, or later in time.
Grayface has been brooding the entire time since the group returned to the Sanctum, whilst others have been able to find some comfort in the luxury offered here, the warrior has remained somewhat distant. Barely talking, he has spent more time focussing on his blade and the nocks in his armour than he has talking to his companions... and finally, his words like gravel falling against metal, he talks, "Friends... in good faith, I don't believe I can travel further with you. I remain troubled by my travels apart from you - the more I dwell on those days, those long days hunting along the Sellen, the more I am sure that there are more out there... more would profit from other's misery... and then I ask myself, what good am I doing here?"
"Profit from others' misery." Tot winces as she hears the words. They could, after all, describe the hellknight orders and House Thrune all too well. She stays silent, unable to answer Grayface's question.
Yasmin, who has been obliviously enjoying a massage from Beauty Two, suddenly jolts upward. "Wait, what are you saying? You're doing a lot of good here! We couldn't have made it through that chamber of automatons without you! We're going to find that undead threat together and take it out so the people of this land can travel freely again! Is that not doing good?"
The sorceress starts looking to the others for affirmation. "You guys agree right? Right?"
Grayface's mind, however Yasmin may seek to change it, is made up - and noting with some degree of apology that, in his mind, Titania does not truly represent the tyranny imposed on to Fort Inevitable, "So we free the fort from the threat of the undead... why? So that the people of the fort can bridle beneath the yoke of the Hellknight? So that they can play the part of the readily sacrificed pawn in whatever machinations the various orders plot against each other?" Grayface is quite determined, "No... no, not whilst I can still swing my blade... my calling is elsewhere - our paths will cross again, I promise... but for now, this must be good bye..."
I understand, my friend. You feel your Fate isn't tied to this place anymore. I was happy to see you again, and I will be happy to see you once more. Now give us a big hug before you walk your own path, and I'll bless you, and pray Pharasma to keep you safe, wherever you may roam.
Yasmin lets out a forlorn sigh. "I can see it in your eyes. You're determined. I just hate to see you go. I was just getting used to having you back, Gray. You're always welcome here, you know. You might find that the answer to whatever troubles you is not out there, but right here." She comes up close and stretches out on her tiptoes to lay a kiss on Gray's scarred cheek. Stepping back, she tries to smile, but has to wipe away a tear. They had gone through a lot together, and she had missed his reassuring presence more than she'd realized.
Tot manages to wish Grayface safe travels and good luck, but it's clear that whatever his intentions, his words are bothering her a great deal. A pang of jealous rips through her as she sees how much Yasmin would miss the big man, and immediately looks away as she tries to quash the resentment gripping her heart like a vise.
They knew this man far longer than they did you, Tot. Why not stop wearing your heart on your sleeves and get over it, hmm? You're a Hellknight, and everyone's gonna judge you for it. No since whining about it now.