|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Assume her burden? That doesn’t sound good.... Cup frantically considers what she knows of the angels and shieldwardens of Elysium.
The litlle gnome curtseys, bowing low in her sodden courtier outfit and lovely green shoes. “Greetings, noble Acquel. I am Calpurnia Underhall Poshkettle, a librarian. I am a follower of Desna, a lover of tea, and a singer of songs. These are my companions, the Red Arm of Absalom. I will allow each to introduce themselves. You will find us a curious team — a mix of scholars and warriors that are devoted to each other as much as we are to our missions.”
“The beautiful city of Vialesk is in danger from Baron Zemdar, a sahaugin leader intent on gaining control of this shell and the artifact within for himself. If the tides crush that fair city, much that is good and beautiful will be lost. It is our charge to investigate the artifact in the center, and report upon the shell.” Cup pauses, then decides to go for honesty. “We’re also supposed to bring the artifact back to our lodge. But if you are its guardian, we would like to seek your wisdom. Great shieldwarden, what can you tell me of it?”
She pulls out her trusty tea pot. “Also, do you take one lump or two of sugar with your tea?”
|
Sirettis sees the pearl. When Mister Peppers mentions what it is, Sirettis takes the gem. "May I use it?" The pearl seems to dim slightly as she holds it. "Just in case I need to change my racial features again..."
Sirettis draws her wand and uses it to heal the warrior's wounds.
After healing her allies, she joins the group as they approach the shieldmaiden. "These hallways have been desecrated by great evil. We have come to cleanse the area and make it a paradise once again for those who are good at heart."
|
|
Mr Peppers hands over the pearl, doing his best to hide his jealousy "Use it well."
As he heads inside and sees the angelic creature he pauses to recall what exactly she is
"All of those things are true. Miss Cup speaks well of our group and our motivations. I am Mr Peppers, a student and master both of the Arcane Arts. Additional knowledge gained here today would make my week."
|
|
Cup thinks back to her readings on The Great Beyond, and knows that Elysium is a plane of wild beauty and passion, encompassing the highest mountains and deepest seas within the Outer Sphere. It exists as the personification of benevolent chaos. Mr. Peppers recognizes that Aquel herself is a monadic deva, a stoic shieldwarden whose sole purpose was defined by whoever summoned her to the Plane of Water.
Aquel scans the party as they speak, attempting to gauge their true intentions. "Yes, why would total strangers help? It sounds as if you are mere tomb raiders, here to take what you came for and flee. If so, begone." She glowers.
When Cup dutifully breaks out the tea and offers her kindness, Aquel second guesses her original thoughts with cautious respect. "I see. I was conjured here by Cintra Eelmaster, the last priest of this temple. Before he met his end, he entrusted me with the temple’s most precious treasures until a new guardian of pure intent could be found. I have tarried here many years, hoping to find a suitable replacement. What is this artifact that you seek? And what makes you suitable to see this artifact?"
|
|
"Since I was summoned, many warlords and savages have conquered the temple, each more bloodthirsty than the last. Recently, a group of peaceful murajau took possession of the shell, and for a brief time I had hope. Alas, before the murajau could find their way to me in the inner temple, Baron Zemdar discovered the shell and massacred them all. This final act of slaughter became a stain of the soul of the shell. Now fell energy imbues several of the rooms nearby, where the dead once rested peacefully." She pauses for a moment. "As for what is required.. The bloodlust of the sahuagin awakened dark energy inside two rooms nearby. I am bound to this room and cannot leave it until I find a suitable replacement, but it is in your power to cleanse the evil from this temple. If your hearts are pure, venture into the rooms and lay the spirits to rest."
|
|
Aquel nods knowingly. "I would not just ask anyone - any total stranger," she says with a pointed glance at D.Arth, "To purify the temple. I have observed your prior deeds here and I know you are pure of heart." She points to the first room. "The first room contains a dragon tooth embedded in the wall, left behind by the brine dragon that slew Riam. For many years, the holy coral here suppressed the tooth’s evil, but now it festers and gnaws. Tendrils of pain and anguish haunt the room. You must extract the tooth to end the festering. The second room contains the body of Cintra Eelmaster, who summoned me in ages past. After the murajau were slaughtered, the spirit of Cintra became filled with hate. In death, Cintra is calling eels into his burial chamber and filling them with malevolence. Cleanse the room of these eels and lay Cintra to rest once more."
The first door opens to a long room with coral burial niches built into its walls. Near the back of the room, black growths mar the vibrant purple coral, surrounding an enormous white fang embedded in the wall of the shell.
|
|
Mr Peppers watches on, not having dealt with Celestial beings before. Bound in that one room. A powerful spell indeed.
Before entering the room, Mr Peppers takes out his ironwood wand and gives both Gallix and Uesugi a tap "If we are fighting ghostly spirits your regular armor will be useless. This armor made of arcane forces will help deflect blows."
He then follows that up with recasting a swimming spell on himself "You may want to redo any swimming magic if we're about to get into hostile territory."
|
|
“Wait...” Cup suddenly turns back to the shield warden. “Did you say that a brine dragon slew Riam? Was her name Razethka, perchance?”
Razethka is the reason we can breathe down here! Is she playing us for fools?
Cup waits patiently for the Shieldwarden’s answer.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
“Very well, then.” Cup bows to Aquel. So what is Razthka’s motivation, here? Is she trying to make up for her kin? Find out what happened here? Or something else? Whatever it is, this is something to take note of for later.
“Let’s go take care of Cintra, then. Thank you again for your information, Aquel.”
|
|
Mr Peppers takes the wand from Uesugi and taps it to his dull grey katana.
. Then pulls out yet another wand and repeats the process.
"You have one minute of evil and undead slaying power, go!."
He then taps the second wand to himself quickly and heads in behind the samurai, eyes a glow... searching.
|
|
Mr. Peppers doesn't detect that the brine wyrm's tooth is magical, but he does notice something odd as he steps into the room.
On the walls, ceiling, and floors, you notice dark tendrils forming and beginning to expand out from the dragon's tooth. The effect looks similar to the black tentacles spell, but it seems to subside when you move away from the tooth and only return when you approach.
|
|
D.Arth holds a palm out and, using nothing but his mind, wills the dragon's tooth out of the coral wall it had been stuck in for decades. The tooth falls to the ground with a mighty thud, and the tentacles retreat.
Mr. Peppers does sense a magical aura on it after all: a moderate evocation aura.
Aquel watches on from the main chamber. "That's an impressive and useful technique," she says to D.Arth, taking note that the room is now cleansed.
|
|
Mr Peppers smiles and almost reaches out to pat D on the shoulder, but remembers his penchant for not touching people and germs "Great work D, you saved some of my precious arcane energy for another threat. Now pull that thing over here so I may have a closer look, there's some pretty strong magic on it!"
After it is retrieved, tall, dark and stellar runs his eyes over it for a few moments, hefting it as he looks it over. "Magical weapon that adds in acid when you strike your foe. Not sure if its something any of us prefer to use but a big club none the less."
He then heads for the next room before their magical protections fade.
|
|
The coral door to the next room eases open and an eel whose tail got stuck while trying to swim under it escapes ahead. A large mound of coral in the center of the room rises up to form a burial slab, upon which rests a single mummified corpse wrapped in seaweed. Thousands of eels swim in circles around the slab.
|
Gallix peers into the room swarming with eels. "Well that doesn't look too nice," he says, taking in the sight. "I wonder if some of that good kind of energy we used back in Saringallow would work here too. I think I've heard about that being helpful when dealing the dead stuff too, not just demons and devils and what not. Does that sound right, Cup?'
|
|
“If they’re undead, then yes positive energy can work. I am just trying to think what might clear some malevolent, mummy-grooving eels...” Cup studies the body on top of coral bier. “If the eels are still here, years after Cinta’s death... Then Cinta’s spirit is still active. There is something still holding him here, not letting him receive rest. We need to figure out just what that is.” She turns to Mr. Peppers. “What do you make off the magical aura of this place?”
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mr Peppers looks at D and nods in thanks for the delivery, then shakes his head at bit at a closer look of the mask Does he realize that masks are creepy as hell? Probably.
He heads to the eel room with the others, poking his head inside while his magical sight remains. "Hrm lets take a look. Man that's a LOT of eels. Slimy. Nasty. Eels."
|
|
Cup doesn't recall a whole lot about Cintra Eelmaster, just that he was a priest whose staff was made of eels themselves!
Just as the party is observing the strange eel nest, the thousands of water snakes begin to coalesce into a ball. The ball sprouts four limbs, and the mess of eels soon take on a humanoid shape, the entire body crackling with blue energy. The fifteen eels making up one of its hands point a finger at Uesugi threateningly, and push a powerful wave towards him.
D.Arth
Mr. Peppers
Uesugi & Longjing
Cup
Sirettis
Eel Man!
Gallix
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
♫ In the waters of deep
Where brine dragons dwell
T’was a priest named Cinta
Who guarded the sprial shell
But now Cinta’s undead
And his eels a gruesome crew
Events have come to a head
And things are going all to hell
Because the eels will come for you
So we must rise up;
Band together if we can
Hear the song of Cup;
Defeat the eel man
Let’s rise to battle,
See what fate reveals
Time to test our mettle
‘Gainst the evil evil eels! ♫
Then she casts glitter dust upon the eels.
|
|
Mr. Peppers seems to know a thing or two about Sir Eels, specifically that he resists any damage type other than slashing and is immune to electricity. Cup adds that while the creature has standard bite and claw attacks, these attacks transfer a painful electric jolt to whoever they hit. Oh, and the creature can launch eels out from its body too!
Each eel is covered in a fine golden dust, invading their thousands of tiny eyes and ruining their sight!
D.Arth
Mr. Peppers
Uesugi & Longjing
Cup
Sirettis
Eel Man! (Blinded)
Gallix
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mister Peppers quickly blurts out what he knows about the eel-man so the others know how best to continue. He gives Miss Cup a nod of satisfaction when he sees her glitterdust take hold. "Good call there."
He then unleashes a barrage of glowing missiles that streak through the water like it was merely air, each one thudding into the mass of eels.