Standing, Merelda tosses her braided blonde hair over her shoulder and smirks at the scene.
"She has the drive Innis. Can you tame the swords-woman yourself?"
She then rubs Cinder's head between his antennae, and winks at Amigail.
"I'm here for a former worshiper of Calistria who was slaying whores around the city for some unknown reason. If he survives all of this, and you help me catch him eventually, then I will help you too. Deal?"
She then moves to her sleeping blanket, chuckling softly to herself without waiting for a reply.
Innis takes Merelda's comment into her private conversation in stride "Ah! Finally she speaks as if there is a tomorrow. Curious me, it seem I might be having an effect on this dreary crowd."
Amigail is flustered when Merelda interjects and falls silent, perhaps wishing she'd kept her mouth shut.
You quickly find slumber barely even caring with your established watch assignments. The day has been long and thought of being so close to the cure comforts your minds even as your body slowly wastes away.
When you rise from your sleep some of you – as if it were possible – are even worse dried blood can be seen on the edges of your ears, eyes and/or noses.
Noone says anything but what ever comfort you felt prior to going to bed has been cast aside. You clean up your campsite and head up the road to the temple.
When you finally see the temple you see that a 20-foot high, crumbling stone wall surrounds the entrance to the temple. Even from afar the wall looks battered and bears many scars from what must have been a siege centuries ago.
A single entrance to the temple compound shows signs of once having been sealed by an iron gate, though it now stands open, like a great toothless maw. Two flickering torches are embedded into the wall on either side of the entryway.
While still weak and weary from the curse she notes that Calistria has saved her champion from the worst of it's insidious progression. The responsibility to see this done looms heavier and heavier as her fellows weaken. Whether Dark Witch or Enlightened Priestess she remains strong enough to give hope to the team.
She channels divine insight calling an augury using Hazrakul's vengful hunger as focus.
The team will continue towards/into the temple.
Channeling the powers of future insight a feeling of weal settles on Innis.
"Hazrakul Hungers Sister" Innis Bestows Merelda a divinely granted proficiency with the weapon of vengeance.
Cassandra will lead us into the temple
Frowning, Merelda scolds the others in a harsh whisper ash she pulls the hood up on her Elven Cloak.
"Hush now! No need to alert them we are coming."
"Don't trip over each other"
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Cass did not sleep well that night. It started off alright due to sheer exhaustion but early in the morning she woke up coughing blood worse than the day before. She tried to perform her morning devotion to Shelyn but found her body just wasn't up to it and gave up. She ate as much as she could and, despite her lack of trust in Innis now, did as requested and took the front.
Cass didn't quite get why they always stuck her up front, it almost made more sense to have her second due to her reach, and it made her paranoid that Innis was trying to get her killed. Still she knew she could handle the blows better than most of the others, or at least she used to, and figured the effects of the disease had to be worse on most of the others so she did not complain.
Innis notes Cassandra's skeptical glances. The warrior says little even to her fellow Shelyn devotee Lillinda who likewise finds Innis out of favour.
~The Birds are to delicate to fly with the Wasp. A pity.~
Despite their judgment they have little choice but to follow the path Innis carves for them of course.
Lililinda wakes the next morning looking almost as pale as her white silk gown. She nibbles at a bit of breakfast in silence, before retreating to magically mend and clean her once pristine garment. The tattered hem from the previous day’s travel and violence is repaired, and the blood stained sleeve cuffs from the night’s fitful coughing are bleached bright again.
She takes her place in the marching formation without a word.
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Before entering the final doorway, Merelda halts everyone and whispers loudly enough for everyone to hear. She absentmindedly scratches Cinder's head as she talks.
"Calistrians are not prone to 'please' and 'thank yous,' so take of this what you will: From here on out we are all brothers and sisters in revenge. This day we will avenge for those who cannot find vengeance for themselves. Regardless of how this day ends, I want you all to know I...will always appreciate your help in this endeavor. May the goddess bless our trials and may you all find peace in your god's embrace if we never see each other again."
She then looks at each compatriot in turn.
"Tree-master. Warrior-woman. Sword-dancer. Gentle soul."
She then turns to Innis.
"Sister. Shall we end this and find our Savored Sting together?"
Innis raises her eyebrows at Merelda's sudden heartfelt speech. A fair shade better than the paranoid and delirious state she's been in "Well said Sister. Fortune favour you all."
Grimacing again, Merelda nods and spits a glob a bloody phlegm.
"Fortune is for bad actors and worse businessmen. but I'll take what I can get right now."
Innis laughs "Well then you lot fit the profile quite perfectly. We all know I'm the only one here with a lick of business sense and a far better actor by a league. Fortunate for you I am a wellspring of luck."
[dice=Perception][/dice]
After her moving speech Merelda and Cassandra move ahead with the rest of the group cautiously trailing behind. Nearing the entrance Merelda holds her hand up signaling everyone to stop. Focusing she pauses for a moment and then points towards the entrance indicating someone or something is moving on the other side of the entrance.
Cassandra and Merelda are made invisible and told to "Handle the situation inside" The rest of the team will follow in after a moment
Merelda will move quickly ahead of Cassandra to take advantage of the invisibility...
Innis holds her powers close as the team enters the building behind the invisible vanguard.
When she was made invisible Cass reached out a hand to where Merelda had been as moment before and said, "We should stay in physical contact for the moment Merelda since we can't see each other." As they began their advance Cass kept an eye out for trouble with her glaive deftly balanced in a one handed grip.
Unsure where the other is Cassandra and Merelda move as deliberately as possible hoping not to bump into the other. They make it to the entrance way and peer around to see...
To the right of you two guards can be seen sitting on a bench against the crumbling wall. They do not appear to have noticed either of you as they sit at the wall conversing on the tenets of Maramaga. Within close reach their scythes also lean against the wall.
Merelda moves deliberately to the one on the left, quickly but with an eye out for traps or illusions...
If nothing appears abnormal, she charges for a nasty strike with her invisible great axe!
~Innis coughs a bloody reminder that time is of the essence~
Cassandra realized when Merelda struck and quickly charged the second of the guards.
The axe flashes into sight just as the wicked edge of Hazrakul rips through the exposed neck of the cultist guard. He barely has a chance to gurgle out a bloodied whimper as he slumps over.
His companion beside him stares in horror as his eyes affix on the dead man who blood now begins to spray out of the severed artery. It is the last thing that he sees as Cassandra's glaive quickly ends his life as well.
The harbringers of death stand there waiting for others to come but nothing can be heard or seen coming to the aid of these two guards.
Two buildings can be seen in what remains of this courtyard. The first is a crumbling square tower appears to have no windows and stands beside the entrance.
The other building located in the southwest part of the courtyard is a leaning, ramshackle one-story wooden building that appears to be of new construction. Again you see no windows, but a thin plume of smoke rises from a square hole in the building’s flat roof.
Also in the courtyard directly south of you a large gaping hole can be seen. Beyond the hole, you see a hall that leads into the temple.
Taking their success as a nod from her Goddess, Merelda touches her fingertips to the fountain blood and draws a line from her forehead down to the tip of her nose, smiling evilly. She then add double lines of blood on her cheeks. She turns to Cassie.
"Get the others inside here and hide the bodies and clean up the blood with magic. Cinder and I will scout around quickly."
Indicating the gaping hole in the ground, she wordlessly sends Cinder off to check it out, and Merelda will approach the tower near the entrance looking for more enemies or traps.
The team moves into the courtyard. Innis notes the two dead cultists. It seems Sister Merelda is On The Hunt, already moving to the next building. She motions for Amigail to assist the inquisitor while Cassandra stands on guard or perhaps frozen in place having murdered a man in cold-blood.
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Lililinda quickly goes through the work of cleaning up the scene, speaking her magic words a quietly as she can.
Amigail stealthily stomps and clanks her way over to Merelda, wincing once she finally arrives.
Merelda winces at the fighter's noise and waves her off with a harsh whisper.
"You stay and guard the others with Cass. I'm only taking a look."
Amigail freezes in mid-clank, caught between a Calistrian and...another Calistrian.
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"Just do it."
Amigail catches Merelda's glare and gulps. Eventually, she's able to move again. Returning somewhat stealthily to Innis, the swordswoman whispers, "Merelda says she and Cinder have things in hand."
Innis nods silently accepting Amigail's report.
~She better hurry my gifts won't last forever~
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=)
Merelda moves a little faster into the tower.
Cinder flies off to the pit and Merelda with her harsh gaze sends the loud marching Amigail back to the group.
Merelda finds a single door on the south face of the tower. The door does not seem to be locked or barred but before opening it she continues around the east side of the tower but finds nothing.
As she does this Lililinda continues to clean the blood stained wall erasing evidence of the fight while Kirzon and Cassandra stand in the middle of the temple grounds. From where Cassandra stands the gaping hole in the ground drops into darkness and a ghastly stench wafts up from its inky depths.
Kirzon is unable to sense any auras in this area.
Finding nothing outside, Merelda will try to quickly enter the tower.