:
As the eloquent undead rises, Maxim is gripped with an unearthly fear and stands stock still, teeth gritted and eyes wide...
" The nature of the Test is yours to found" answers the mummy to Ryan, the neck crakles as he turns to Kikinnin "What, so obviously. I am the Proctor of the First Test"
JJ hides behind Maxim, his teeth chattering in fear. Even the presence of Kikinnin in not enough to reassure him after the most recent battle.
After half a minute of conversation.. he asks.
"May we speak with the agathion before making our decision?"
Turning to the others, while keeping both the dwarves between himself and the mummy he murmurs "Nothing here can be trusted. What if the "demon" is really the celestial in disguise? I think Marigold has the right of it."
The Proctor stares at JJ for some seconds before answering "I am here to judge your Test, not to answer your questions"
Kikinnin weighs the undead's words, speaking for an absent ruler, so decides to proceed through the door leading to the avoral agathion. They're already encountered a leonal agathion, and Kikinnin favors the celestial line.
"We're here to pass a Test, not play the executioner. The way to show Occipitus that it should tip in favor of Good over Evil, we demonstrate one of two things here- slay Evil, or spare Good. I aim to do the latter."
He no longer wants to hold audience with the mummy lord. He wants to know why there's a celestial agent willing to participate in a Test proctored by a mummy lord.
JJ nods to Kikinnin's wisdom.
"I'm curious too, though remember this used to be part of something much holier than it is now... The celestial may have been trapped here ever since ... that battle that Marigold dreams of."
"This Proctor doesn't seem out of place, somehow.", Juraan muses, oddly unaffected by the fear that gripped JJ.
"Nothing is as it seems. That's the only thing that seems certain here." Juraan whispers back to JJ.
"I will stay back here and guard the rear against the demons and our competitors in the Test" offers Kaurophon.
The Proctor just stares silently while Kikinnin opens the eastern door.
Hundreds of tin bird cages hang from the ceiling of this chamber. In the end of the otherwise featureless room is a circle of powdered silver. Inside is a forlorn-looking creature with a hawk like face, white bird wings, and taloned feet.
Kikinnin doesn't look back at Kaurophon, though his words draw his attention against his will. He steps forward to address the avoral agathion.
"Halalia, I presume? My name is Kikinnin, and these are my companions. Are you here of your free will, or has the Proctor imprisoned you here? You are a creature of heaven, but this place is no longer a part of the greater whole."
The agathion slowly raises her head "Who is the Proctor? How do you know my name?" the avoral creature looks distrustful at Kikinnin "Are you my jailers?"
: 1d20+8 1d4
As the eloquent undead rises, Maxim is gripped with an unearthly fear and stands stock still, teeth gritted and eyes wide...
... for a second, then bolstered by his bror's doughty presence swallows his fear.
The gunmage listens as his companions as they mull the next course of action. When they decide on the apparently more righteous path, the dwur shivers one final time and follows his bror through the door...
At Kikinnin's words he tips the nod to the bound outsider, adding his own mustard to the holy warriors introduction;
"Heaven nor Hell... This place ain't neither, but smacks o' both... What say ye Birdy? You been duped like the rest o' us?"
Kikinnin's hand reaches for his beard, tugging on it for his concern. He hadn't expected to be confused for a jailor.
"So you've been jailed here. I feared that might be the case." The black beard heartens to hear Maxim join him in introductions. He turns to the others to inquire of them.
"I should have known better of a mummy lord. How do we free her?" Kikinnin looks to the others as bearers of such knowledge that might release the agathion.
Ryan starts to speak up as Kikinnin enters the eastern room containing the avoral agathion. Hold up, don't we have to slay the occupant to pass the test? preferring not to murder something without cause, Ryan follows behind. Ignoring Kaurophon's words.
Stepping up to answer the agathion's query. "No, we are not here as your jailers, no as your executioners as the proctor of the first test of Occipitus has led us to believe. However, answers we do seek and your freedom as well, should it be within our power to grant. "
JJ steps forward, speaking in Celestial.
"Здраво, јас сум Џ. Како дојдовте овде?
He pauses, waiting for an answer before continuing.
"Што знаеш за Тест за владеење на Окипит? И на Адимарх - тоа е поранешен владетел?"
Again he pauses, waiting for an answer before continuing.
"И дали знаете како можеме да ве ослободиме?"
"Hi there, I'm JJ. How did you get here?"
<pause>
"What do you know about a Test for rulership of Occipitus? And of Adimarchus - it's former ruler?"
<pause>
"And do you know how we might free you?"
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Maxim continues to mull the situation and interplay, erring perhaps more on a stance that suits his neutrality;
:
:
"Worth rememberin' that this here is a test. Seems to me that fir once we're takin' everythin' at face value, and I believe that warrants a degree o' caution... given the duplicitous nature o' encounters past, not to mention the distrust o' our guide. Just because Birdy there looks all heavenly an' such, don't mean it is..."
:
The gun-mage eyes the avoral agathion as JJ engages it in what he presumes are questions on its favourite romantic novel or some such;
"My experience that somethin' imprisoned is either a victim o' opression or a perpetrator of foul deeds. Which are you I wonder..?"
You sense no lies on the agathion's words, but it seems to distrust the group.
The avoral agathion looks concerned at Ryan, then his expression notably relaxes when it hears JJ's speech "Знам малку за тоа што се случува. Бев повикан и заробена во овој круг пред околу две децении од страна на моќен хуманоид. Претпоставувам волшебник. Ве молам, ослободи ме за да избегам. Треба само да го скршиш сребрениот круг во подот" after listening the rest of the questions it ads "Кој е овој Адимарх и Окипит?"
"Whom is this Adimarchus and Occipitus?"
"The victim" the avoral succinctly adds to Maxim.
JJ starts forward with a keen expression on his face.
"He says the silver circle is what keeps him imprisoned. That he was summoned here around twenty years ago."
Turning to the agathion he adds.
"ಆಡಿಮಾರ್ಕಸ್ ನಾನು ಬಿದ್ದಿರುವ ಖಗೋಳವೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದೆನು. ಅವನು ಬಿದ್ದಾಗ ಸೆಲೆಸ್ಟಿಯಾದಿಂದ ಈ ಪ್ರದೇಶವನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡನು. ಈ ಪ್ರದೇಶವನ್ನು ಅಕಿಪಿಟಸ್ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇದು ಈಗ ಪ್ರಪಾತ ಭಾಗವಾಗಿದೆ."
He stops himself just before the circle.
"I think we should do it, but stand ready in case he turns into some type of demon that was in disguise." Reluctantly he adds.
"What does your aura sight tell you of him Kikinnin?"
"Adimarchus I think was a celestial who fell. And when he fell he took this area from Celestia with him. This area is called Occipitus and is now a part of the abyss."
Kikinnin steps forward, and breaks the silver circle on the floor.
"Alright, there you go, Halalia. If you are what you appear to be, then you are free, and we are likely readying to fight a mummy lord when we pass through that door."
Kikinnin repeats himself in Celestial, as it seems to relieve the avoral agathion somewhat.
Maxim scowls as his companions heedlessly free the celestial, grumbling under his beard;
"God's be darned! Clearly we ain't learned nuthin' from past duplicitous encounters!"
With a shake of his blonde head the wizard checks over his gear, awaiting the next development...
The agathion nods at JJ when he explains about where the group is "Многу демони толку длабоки во бездната носат љубезно лице, но сите негови илузии и лаги"
"Many a demon so deep in the Abyss wears a kind face, but it's alll illusion and lies"
The avoral looks suspicious when Kikinnin approaches, readying herself in a clear position to fight back. He seems surprised though when the dwarf simply breaks the silver circle. Without relaxing her position she says "Perhaps I was wrong and you are not agents of evil, but I will not wait here to see you wrong me. This is my time to come back to the Elysium"
After the freeing event, the avoral agathion does not lose more time and starts to walk back then teleports out of the room. The agathion appears among those of you at the Proctor's room. Then she teleports again and you lose track of her.
The way towards the next door lies free before you.
As the angel departs, Maxim's black mood does little to abate;
"Well Hell's Teeth. Off Birdy flies without ne'er a please nor thank-you... or re-ward o' any kind! Guess they don't teach the correct etiquette fir thankin' rescuers in Elysium!?"
The gun-mage shoots a withering look between his bror and JJ;
"Next time you saints let me do the negotiatin'. Maybe I coax a price fir freedom from 'em afore you and Surabar have an inklin' to be all charitable like..."
Kikinnin raises an eyebrow. "Negotiate? During a Test? I can't imagine what you must have been like with your teachers." The other side of the black beard's mouth raises in a half-sneer to offset the already-raised eyebrow.
Kikinnin moves to the opposite door, and readies to move through. "Well, let's see what's ahead. Unless you want to slay the bebelith? I'm all for that extermination, if it's trapped like the agathion was."
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Maxim shakes his head;
"Lessons I been taught tell me to always negotiate when yea've the upper hand. Like we did with the heavenly bird there..."
The blonde beard theatrically gestures toward the next door;
"Nah. You two would likely bake it a cake or give it a mandible massage...As long as it talked all purty to you... Lead on bror, hopefully its a room full o' gems and coin for our good deed."
"The trouble I see in that, is that you'll lose a hand, when someone craftier than you lets you think you've got the upper." Kikinnin looks Maxim over, in a slightly different light. Negotiating over the fate of an angel? Some things aren't up for bargaining, bror. That way lies selfishness, and corruption...
Kikinnin opens the door, and proceeds onwards, unless something looks daunting, or forbidding, or perilous. He'll allow for the keener-eyed to understand the way is clear, if needs be.
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JJ smiles quietly to himself as the two dwarves try to defray the building tension within the room.
This whole place is getting to us. Sometimes it's good to have a couple of gruff types who don't mind reminding us of where we come from and that not all is doom and gloom.
Still pale, he gestures towards the other door.
"Anyone know much about bebelith demons? Anything we should be aware of? I take it they don't have lips as sweet as Liuvash? But I'm sure there are other terrors they hold that it would pay to be forewarned about."
Frescoes depicting a black-feathered angel in battle with hordes of demons and devils cover the walls of this room. Where the wall meets the ceiling is a sentence carved into the granite, repeated over and over again as it encircles the room: "Know who made you."
The room's only other feature is a tall stairway leading to a dais. On the dais is a lantern attached to a four-foot pole by a short length of chain. A string of red sigils glows in mid air, surrounding the dais at a ten-foot distance.
As soon as you march into the room, the Proctor appears in a flash of light and starts screaming at you "Fools! Don' t seek a reward you don't deserve! Return and begin anew!" it points energetically back through the corridor you came from.
Marigold jumps, startled by the Proctor's sudden appearance.
"Y-ye gods! I wish I could just p-pop around like that," she gasps but then gives the Proctor a stony look. "We're n-not going to go b-back and k-kill some other nice angel or agathion that you m-might've called here. B-but if we have to kill s-something then we could go p-pay the bebelith a visit..."
She looks at her companions, to gauge their feelings on the matter.
Or knowing Kikinnin he's like to decide that *you'll* do just as well as the bebelith...
Kikinnin looks the Proctor over. The blinking ability of the mummy gives him deep pause. I start swinging, you'll just disappear, then return. You'll wear us down, and we'll become more vulnerable. We don't know enough about the Tests to know when we'll be able to rest again. You benefit from my doubt, Proctor.
"Fair enough. You asked us to murder something, and we found no reason to do so with your prisoner. So we'll follow through, and kill your pet."
The black beard turns to lead his companions back to the other door, and the true confrontation. He does, however, look over his shoulder to address the mummy lord.
"If the end result of this is to sway Occipitus to Rule by the Good, you'll have no place here, undead. You should know this, and you should anticipate your own banishment... or destruction. If this Test is truly fair, you have no choice but to witness our success or failure, as long as we don't raise a hand against you, eh?"
Kikinnin returns to the foyer, half-expecting the mummy to pop up again.
He waits for the others to ready themselves, then opens the door, leading to the bebelith demon. Its name is unimportant, as he hopes it will soon lie dead on the floor.
"Know who made you?" mumuses JJ out loud.
"I never knew my parents. Well, maybe when I was just a babe.."
He shakes his head, taking the quotation to heart.
"Let us see if we can put at least one demon to rest then. And if this place can be born back to Celestia, so much the better."
He heads toward the door.
The Proctor keeps hurrying you to go back until you all abandon the room. Once back at the Antechamber, Kikinnin opens the other door.
"Less I can make mysel' a target o' this thing the better.... Anyone got an inclination what this thing we're about to throw down with is vulnerable to..."
"That bite sounds nasty..." winces JJ.
"Is there anything you can do to protect us from it before we go in? Say a prayer to Abdar maybe?" asks JJ hopefully.
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"Um...I c-could do a few things," Marigold offers. "A p-prayer to Sarenrae and a call for some p-protection against the w-wicked. Oh! And for f-faith to shield anyone that w-wants it..."
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"I can help with that as well, yet did I hear right this thing is as big as an elephant?"
thinking on the size of the trouble they are facing, lays a hand on Kikinnin's shoulder "With great trouble, great strength shall be required as well."
After some quick preparations, the party ventures into the next area of the Test.
This chamber contains a series of wooden platforms that form a network of bridges, seemingly connected by fine silken cords. A door is at the far end of the chamber. The ceiling is thirty feet above, and the floor, covered in spikes, is thirty feet below.
In the middle of the platforms stands a spider the size of an elephant, the dark blue arachnid rears up on its six hind legs to raise its barbed and razor-edged front claws.
Before the spider notices, Kikinnin and Juraan are ready to react!
AC = 32, Smite, Protection from Evil
HP = 104/104
Weapon Equipped = +2 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = PfE, Prayer, Smite Evil
Kikinnin stiffens up as he lays eyes on the bebelith. That's... huge... He looks down on his Axe, wondering if it still Flames.
He whispers to Abadar for His guidance. Then he looks over the side of the platforms, to the spikes 30' below. "The creature's likely gonna try and throw us down there. Save us for later feeding."
He readies an attack, but he feels small. Too small to smash back, if the thing's legs are able to avoid his blade. "Someone able to pull off that trick the greyskin slaver did, back in Ball-Hamtuggin? We need to fight on even terms here."
"Alas, while I can make myself larger I'm unable to do so to anyone else. Perhaps it will draw that things ire, likely as not. While I try to survive the frontal assault, feel free to pick it apart from the flanks."
making sure he has a bit a room surrounding him. "iustus verax"
a blue light centers around the key Ryan is and expanding outward so that Ryan is momentarily lost from sight. before reappearing much larger than before.
School transmutation; Level cleric 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Your height immediately doubles, and your weight increases by a factor of eight. This increase changes your size category to the next larger one. You gain a +4 size bonus to Strength and Constitution and take a –2 penalty to your Dexterity. You gain a +2 enhancement bonus to your natural armor. You gain DR 5/evil (if you normally channel positive energy)
Kikinnin marks the evil bebilith and looks menacingly at it with sure ill intentions.
Juraan makes something heroic.
The bebilith finally spots the dwarf breaking into its land, the arachnid moves within its webs and spits a mass of webs at Kikinnin.
The net lands over the dwarf whom immediately gets entangled to the stony solid ground.
Meanwhile Ryan says a blessing and immediately grows in size pushing back both Juraan and Marigold.
Marigold's Round 1
Though standing near the back of the group Marigold is just able to squeeze past Ryan and JJ and get into the room proper. Taking advantage of the bebilith's distance, Marigold decides to try and soften it up before it has a chance to advance on her friends...
"ನಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲೆ ಅದು ಮುಚ್ಚುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಂಚೆ ದೂರದಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಲು ನಾವು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಬೇಕು!"
"We should try to wear it down from a distance, before it closes on us!"
Maxim moves to where the other platform begins , the raises his pistol toward the distant demonic spider.
"Seem's no-one can tell me what yonder aracnidemon is susceptible to... Reckon I'll have to try a few an' see what sticks!"
With a scowl he utters words of power - casting a spell ;
"Zuur Pijl!"
"Acid Arrow!"
Upon completion of his spell a sizzling arrow of corrosive acid flies from the barrel of his pistol toward the huge creature;
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JJ smiles to himself, preparing a bit of a surprise for the giant creature. Stepping onto the wall he stands prepared to defend the unwebbed Kikinnin.
Ryan steps into the room behind Kikinnin and then his next step brings him face to face with the large arachnid demon. , Shield ready Ryan swings his mace at the creature. Hoping to distract the demon long enough for his companions to finish it.
AC = 32, Smite, Protection from Evil
HP = 104/104
Weapon Equipped = +2 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = PfE, Prayer, Smite Evil, Bull's Strength
Kikinnin stands silently, fuming. Not sure what I expected. Miss Marigold warned us about more webs..
Before he takes any further action, he tries to liberate himself from the tangle of demon web.
"This is no good. I'm stuck strong. Might try to burn through it again... Ryan?" Kikinnin watches as the colossal cleric closes the distance within a breath.
"Ryan, you've grabbed a tiger by the tail! We've got to strike it as one!! Keep your distance!! Your armor, man!!"
"Don't worry Kikinnin, I'll stop it getting close to you." calls out JJ as he waves his staff about in a menacing manner.
"Or you could rip the damned webs from my back..."
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Before Ryan enters the antechamber, Juraan casts a spell (to everyone's benefit): « יאָגעניש » . .
Juraan (in a bit of heroic inspiration) casts two spells in rapid succession.
"Don't twitch, Kikinnin!" I will try dissolving that webbing. After protecting you first, of course.
First he touches Kikinnin with a spell: « მჟავის წინააღმდეგობა » . .
Then tries to dissolve the webbing on Kikinnin with an acidic sphere:
"Don't get too close to Kikinnin for the moment!"
« მჟავა სფერო » . .
Juraan casts a spell hasting the cauldronites!
The bebilith is crushed by Marigold's Holy Smite but it does not seem to leave it blinded.
Maxim's acid arrow strikes on the massive creature and starts to partly melt its arachnid meat.
JJ remains on place, undecided to reach the creature or help Kikinnin.
Ryan suddenly hops in appearing in front of the strange outsider. His mace seems to fail, but all of a sudden Juraan's haste and the prayer kick in and the mace breaks through the creature's defenses. The mace deals less damage than expected, barely a scratch.
Kikinnin is unable to break through the webbing, so Juraan comes to his help, with a quick resistance followed by an sphere of acid to destroy the webs.
The bebilith comes for Ryan!
The arachnid bites the enlarged man's shoulder, then tears his armor and shield into pieces with its claws!