She nods before sighing a little, "I'm fine....just sit down and relax and stop fussing at me. I'll be okay." She says as she tries not to sound so defensive.
Shaking her head she wraps an arm around Rhy's waist as she finds a place at the table to sit together. She pulls out a chair for Rhy before seating herself. Looking at Arista she says, "If I seem like I'm overly fussy with you I'm sorry, but that's just part of showing that I actually care about what's going on with you, and I'll relax once we get through this and finally get you back home with your little girl where you belong."
She just sighs and shakes her head, but refrains from saying anything else. This wasn't really the time or place to discuss more personal matters.
Bhaverra serves meat strips, baked potatoes and bread. "Even though you feel it often, Arista, you are not alone."
"Tell them, Bhaverra," Kyne urges. "It may ease your own burden."
"After all, she does look like she is yours," Astria says, nodding at Ylrhea.
"Yeah, let's just clear the air with that so we don't have to keep wondering," Ylrhea says.
Looking very confused now she asks, "What? What do you mean?"
"Fine," Bhaverra says dourly. "A lifetime ago, I lived on Valania with my family. We were a close knit group consisting uncles, aunts, cousins. I had a husband and a young daughter, who would probably be your age if she indeed survived. One day, we were assaulted by the Green Circle...a woman named Parthenia accused us of heresy, though we worshiped no god, save for Nivi Rhombodazzle. Her acolytes burned down our modest church and our homes. They put everyone there to death, but I managed to escape with the help of my uncle, Tharzon. He died from his wounds several hours later and I dared not go back."
She sighs. "I never went back there, so I know not what happened. My thirst for revenge waned when I wandered into a town, nearly dead from hunger and thirst. An elderly Asmodean cleric took me in, fed me and sheltered me. I worked as his indentured servant for twenty years, but he was not a cruel master. Upon his passing, he left his wealth to me and I journeyed to Zahvroma, guided by the Dark Lord. He wished that I bring about order by any means necessary. I abstained from the devilry that others practiced, being more worldly than they, I suppose. Geoff came, Kyne in tow, promising to make Lysse an ordered place...though the Baron had done a fair enough job without resorting to religious reasoning. However, I was naive and Geoff was eloquent enough to fool me for a while. And that brings us to now. Happy, Kyne?"
The dwarf nods and turns to Ylrhea. "So what's your story?"
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"Enough to make me wonder if Bhaverra is my mother now," Ylrhea says before explaining about being orphaned and brought up by the Green Circle. She tells her entire tale as everyone eats, leaving out no detail. "And that's that."
Bhaverra nods somberly. "We can look into it, if it would set your mind at ease, but I have accepted that my family is dead and am not keen on reopening old wounds."
Genelle turns to Sadhana. "I would be grateful for any help in the matter."
Tesia just fists her hands on the table but doesn't say anything, worried about stoking Arista's anger further...if this new insight into the evils of what Elder sister didn't already incite it.
Arista's face grows dark, "Well...it seems we have more in common than we even first thought. Parthenia...or Elder Sister as she came to call herself is the one that trapped me in the shard for over five hundred years until the lot you see before you came to my rescue. While I lay sleeping and unaware my family went to $hit apparently, though Tesia there took care of her...or at least so we thought when we sought out Nethy's help to destroy her. Somehow though....since she's such a clever bi+<#, she somehow had a backup plan and is back in Valwick and has the capability once again to do either great good, or great evil...even though she is currently without power...and we have to decide somehow wether to let her live or finish her off once and for all....I don't even know how I feel about most things anymore...I don't know what to think or how to feel...I've lost most of my family and what little I have left is in danger of being utterly destroyed so if I seem anxious or angry or whatever....that's why." She says letting out a deep breath as everything comes whooshing out of her at once.
"Let's just focus on Geoff for now," Bhaverra says, eating her food slowly.
More playing with her food than eating it by this time she says quietly, "I had to....she was going to kill him and I couldn't let that happen. I was basically raised to respect and revere the leaders of the green circle....I just....I couldn't lose more family...." She trails off her train of thought as she leans her head on Rhy's shoulder and gets quiet again.
Feeling bad for bringing up things that caused Tesia more grief she gets quiet as well and just nods at Bhaverra. She cuts her meat up into little pieces and eats it slowly, along with the potato and bread as she tries to calm her increasingly fragile nerves.
She just nods as well while sitting there quietly as she tries to absorb everything.
Bhaverra glances at Tesia. "There are reasons I don't talk about things, Kyne. This is one of them."
Shifting her eyes to look over at Bhaverra she shakes her head, "No...it's okay. It's not good to keep stuff inside...it's just...we've been so busy that a lot of things haven't had time to sink in just yet and it's made forgetting about other things easier....but the past never really goes away...but if we just shut it out and try to forget about it, it'll just bite us in the ass later. In moments like these when things are a little calmer and things have a chance to surface it's better to face them than run from them. Besides...even though a lot of horrible things have happened....some really good things have happened too. It's not all death and sadness....there's joy too and peace sometimes. It's not about what we go through, but why we go through it. What we learn from it. I have dealt with some pretty crappy stuff....but I've also been given the most beautiful gift I could ever have been given in Rhy." She pauses to look up at her beloved and tilt her head slightly to kiss her on the cheek, "I have found the most wonderful friends and family in the most unlikely of places and what I thought was going to be my doom...actually turned out to be my salvation." She says as she smiles a little and pokes at her food.
Rhadaya turns giving Tes a light kiss on the cheek in return, rubbing her back gently, knowing her current state of mind.
After everyone finishes eating, Bhaverra cleans up. "Kyne, go to the barracks and keep the soldiers distracted. Genelle, start escorting the clerics up to Lysse, most of them know how to hide their alignment from others. Astria, get the townsfolk settled down and get the more cooperative ones to start leaving."
The other three nod and head out. Genelle stops and looks back at the group. "Good luck."
After a moment, you hear some conversation coming from another room. Bhaverra gathers her belongings. "I'll take you to Geoff's sanctum and, from there, you're on your own."
Sādhanā takes everything in in silence, slipping Ylrhea's hand in hers as the possibility of Bhaverra being her mother comes to light. While this may not be the best time to explore it, the idea of finding her love some links to her past was something she couldn't leave unpersued.
"Then you'll have it." she replies to Genelle. "We all bear that woman a debt of vengeance. She may be responsible for the deaths of my family, yet between what she did to both of us, it brought Ylrhea and I together, for which I will be eternally grateful."
"We may be dealing with a different Parthenia now," Ylrhea says. "I'd rather leave the bitterness of the old one behind. Nethys destroyed her...that's good enough closure for me."
"I certainly hope so, love."
Looking at Bhaverra she nods, "Alright...we'll take care of it." She listens to what Ylrhea says but says nothing further about it. She was still too angry to think about it at the moment and they had other things to deal with.
Tesia nods, but like Arista she remains quiet about Parthenia. She wouldn't know how she would react or feel until they saw her again, so she decided to push it to the back of her mind for now and concentrate on the task at hand.
Sighing as she gets up and holds out a hand for Rhy she says, "Well...let's go kick some evil ass and save some people."
Bhaverra waits for everyone to leave her room before walking down the hallway. She goes to another set of stairs leading down. Before long, you come to a black door adorned with two crimson pentagrams. "He's in there. I don't know if the door is trapped, but I'd try and detect magic first. I need to help Astria get the townsfolk organized, so it's up to you now."
She looks at Ylrhea for a moment. "Be safe...all of you."
She looks at this woman who could possibly be one of her best friends mom and nods, "Yes ma'am."
"Yeah...sure..." Ylrhea says before inspecting the door.
Ylrhea determines the door is locked and trapped by a spell.
"Well, he's thorough," the gnome remarks, taking out her tools.
Tesia nods and looks over the door as her eyes shift to perceive magic.
Tesia detects a lightning bolt spell on the door, but Ylrhea quickly scrapes off the symbol below the doorknob and unlocks the set of doors.
"Ready?" Ylrhea asks.
She pulls out her sword, "As ready as we can get I guess, but perhaps we could use a little buff before going in...or should I wait on that? We have no idea what all we're gonna have to go through before getting to him."
She nods, "Yup"
"If it'll last a few minutes we should do it now. Shorter we " Sādhanā says drawing Oblivion.
Nodding she closes her eyes for a brief moment and takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly, "Sarenrae, give us strength to rid the land of this disease." She says before opening her eyes, "Alright, let's go kick the $hit out of him."
Eldan moves to the front of the group and pushes open the doors.
As Arista begins her blessing, Sādhanā draws a wand and begins to cast a spell repeatedly, focusing on each member of the group, thier skin toughening to a bark-like texture as she does.
As the others begin casting, Rhadaya does s well, a whispering incantation that sends a swirl of air whipping around the group, generating a field of cool air around each of them.
As everyone starts casting their defensive measures she takes out a wand of her own and begins touching it to everyone as she says, "May the light of Sarenrae protect us all."
Once she has touched everyone with the wand she turns to her husband and puts her hands on him, "Protect my love from evil."
Looking at everyone she asks, "Alright, are we ready to go then?"
Drago held up his hand as Sādhanā went to cast the spell on him. "I can cover myself, take care of the others." With a single word and gesture, the Dhampir's skin hardened like that of an oak tree.
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As the doors swing open, you see two large metal figures standing in the middle of the room. Behind them, you see a human male, dressed in black robes adorned with crimson pentagrams. "So, you have come. Bhaverra has misled you and only seeks conflict. I wish to bring order to Essyl and Lysse. Your minds can perceive such a thing, can they not?"
He glares at the group. "No, you cannot. You only see bloodshed as a means to an end. You are the very savages I wish to protect the world against."
Initiative:
Roll-off:
Round 1: Sādhanā, Arista, Cyna, Tesia, Eldan, Geoff, Rhadaya, Drago, Iron Golems, Ylrhea, Lea, Alethiro
She openly scoffs at him, "Your God is a liar and so are you."
Sādhanā knows that iron golems are resistant to all damage except adamantine, they possess a poisonous breath weapon which they can unleash quickly, their strikes are enhanced and they are immune to spells that allow for resistance, spells that deal electricity damage slow them, spells that deal fire damage heal them and rust attacks affect them normally.