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Juraan raises his palms with his arms straight to try to show the couatl he does not want to fight it
If communication appears to be an ongoing problem. JJ starts to work through his impressive array of languages to see if the creature understands any of them...
He starts with the most likely, and (if necessary) ends, nervously with abyssal.
Common, Celestial, Draconic, Sylven, Undercommon, Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Halfling, Infernal, Abyssal.
:
Maxim watches and listens as the confused creature invokes innate majicks to defend itself;
"Reckon it's got the fear o' us... Invoked a Magik Circle 'gainst Evil - powerful 'nuff spell. Like a protection but in a broader radius."
The gun-mage hangs back as the rest of the group attempt to calm the creature.
Maxim casts his eyes once more o'er any other nearby cysts for potential treasures held within;
:
Kikinnin listens to Maxim, as he elucidates on the couatl's recent casting. Hands still right where the creature can see them, he backs up slowly, letting the others' words sink in.
The black beard does eventually point to the empty cyst recently occupied by the winged lizard, hoping the spellcasting creature is intelligent to put two and two together.
Under the repeated efforts of the Watchers to calm down the couatl the specially inspiring figure of Ryan seems to finally settle him down. Looking to one side and another it slowly seems to recover from its confusion. When it talks, it does in Celestial which the group generally seems to dominate "You do not seem demons at all..."
"You healed me..." the serpentine body of the couatl coils, then it does not talk but you hear its voice in your heads Where I am now? This cannot be Celestia...
Looking around them, Ryan spreads his arms wide trying to encompass the whole, "We've been told this is Occipitus, a great battle was fought in Celestia between the forces of good and evil, and a cataclysm occurred ....
Ryan passes on what he knows about Occipitus.
"These ...cysts.." says JJ "Seem to contain the remains of celestial warriors whose...remains.. have resisted the corruption of this world. When passing the one that held you I noticed movement so we thought to release you. "
He pauses with a smile.
"Actually, you are the second we have met here and released. The first was back at the cathedral."
"We're doing out best to set things right here. It's been a slog so far."
"Y-yes...we're here to t-try and r-regain control of Occipitus for the side of g-good," Marigold chimes in.
Then, with tone of both curiosity and dread, she adds, "Wh-what do you remember? C-can you tell us, please?"
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Maxim refocuses and nods in agreement at the words of his companions, chiming in with his own, slightly more mercenary, thoughts;
"Like my companions say its been a hard road to date, one that any boon or ree-ward ye'd see fit to bestow upon your brave rescuers, would be mighty well received!"
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"M-Maxim! We just woke him...er, her...them? We j-just woke them up!" Marigold hisses at her more practical-minded friend. "It'd b-be like...if s-someone broke you out of p-prison or dispelled an enchantment and th-then immediately hinted you should c-craft them something as p-payment for the trouble!"
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Maxim shoots the halfling a look of feigned innocence;
"Hell's Teeth Lil' Miss - someone broke me out of gaol, I'd be mighty obliging to them! An' am sure as skit that our scale'd friend here feels exactly the same..."
"There was indeed a large fight. An unexpected attack" explains the couatl "We battled for hours... the last I remember was seeing Haloen's crystal trumped shattering the air from the skies..."
The creature coils again carefully observing Maxim. Instead of answering it let's Marigold talk with the dwarf "I do understand now... I owe you my life" the couatl takes three feathers from its body and extends them to Marigold with its mouth. You hear him in your heads again I can depart now to my home to fully recover. But if you ever find yourselves in need, use one of these to bring me to your plane by calling my name: Tiluklatl
The feathers can be used as free material in a planar ally spell.
JJ overs the Couatl a friendly wave. "We're just glad to have been able to help you Tiluklatl. I hope you fully recover soon."
He gestures to the path of light, aware that the team has little time to linger.
"I'm sorry, but we are pulled onward by this light, and cannot tarry. I'd love to hear more about your home though. Did you come from Celestia?" he asks, but his feet are already once again on the path of light.
"Th-thank you very much Tiluklatl," Marigold replies, carefully taking the offered feathers. "H-hopefully we won't ever have to use these b-but we'll k-keep them safe. I'm g-glad we could help you," she smiles, probably for the first time since arriving on Occipitus.
Kikinnin looks around, warily, expecting any moment during their conversation with the couatl to blink back to the beginning of the Path. It leaves him plenty distracted from the conversation at hand, so he leaves the cordial exchange to those more suited to speaking the celestial tongue.
"Yeah, Tiluk, we might very well take you up on your offer of support, but I imagine for your current condition, you'll want to see yourself to a safer place, for now. We, on the other hand, have to push forward here, so we'll take our leave."
Kikinnin takes his place by Marigold's side, and tries to keep up the pace necessary for staying on their course.
Reminded by both JJ and Kikinnin, Marigold is quickly pushed to keep up with the path of light, saving the group from a new bounce back. Tiluklatl performs a regal reverence to you all answering to JJ while he moves forward "Indeed, I live in Celestia. Or I used to at least"
As you move forward you observe Tiluklatl plane shifts to his home plane and disappears from Occipitus.
The beam of light directs you through the Cysts for more than half an hour, forcing you to turn to one side and another, and fighting with lesser inhabitants of the planes that pose no challenge to your current combined might.
After a turn of the light to the north you suddenly start to hear a low muttering coming from ahead and to the right. Between two cysts you spot five human-shaped figures cloaked in black. One of them holds a skull aloft, while the others look around as they lean on their shovels.
They don't seem to have noticed you as of yet.
The ritual the one with the skull is performing matches with that of speak with the dead.
You do recognize some symbols on the woman and the men. They are the symbols of Pharasma, the Lady of Graves, goddess of Death, Birth and Fate.
Kikinnin's skin flushes red, as his eyes trace the decapitated head down its spine, to the winged body lying on the ground. Good thing they didn't unearth the couatl...
The black beard prepares for the inevitable conflict.
"There's no dearth of evil in this land..."
Kikinnin almost overlooks Kaurophon, the man's seedy slipping into the blind spots of their travels, but always there. He reminds himself to plant one eye on Marigold for the Lantern bearing, the other on the would-be ruler of Occipitus.
"They're sp-speaking with the dead," Marigold whispers, eyes wide. "I r-recognize the ritual!"
"Well... maybe they are like us, hoping to ..." he shakes his head, unconvinced even by his own thoughts.
Hoisting Alkast, and having learned at least a little of the art of discretion, rather than charging forward he creeps toward the spellcaster using the cysts for cover.
Kikinnin hears JJ's attempt at empathy, and finds himself wondering morbidly which of the Watchers would be the one to hoist the skull and spine of an angel into the air in a gesture of victory.
The boy's mind is way too chipped. Need a polish cloth, smooth it to a shine. Or Time, maybe. Yeah, probably that.
When JJ takes off, Kikinnin doesn't object much at all. If they need to return to the beginning, in trade for seeing these corpse desecrators brought low, so be it.
Maxim eyes the grave robbers with a scowl, before moving forward alongside JJ;
:
Kikinnin hears Maxim's attempt at sneakery, and finds himself wondering if the blond beard is intentionally trying to step on every one of the squeaky cysts, or if he's just one unlucky dwarf.
A couple of the humans seem to spot Maxim on his approach while they are too distracted to see JJ hiding behind the Cyst. They draw their daggers "You dwarf. How have you arrived here? Get out of this place before we have common troubles!"
Meanwhile Marigold walks forward slowly to attempt avoiding a bounce back.
Daggers drawn, Kikinnin sees no reason for Maxim to be the sole center of attention. "Common troubles is right. How'd you find your way to Occipitus? I'm sure you could find better things to do than desecrate an angel's dead body." The black beard continues on the path, but measures the distance between him and one of the humans, should hostility erupt.
The woman with the spined skull at hand grimaces at Kikinnin's appearance "You better explain us first how you are yourselves in this plane. Why do you feel able to judge us for our methods when you know nothing of what are we doing and why?"
Kikinnin pauses in his march, minding his place on the Path, and watching Marigold's processional, timing it as best he can to avoid being ripped away from his current position.
"Well, I guess we're as obligated to you as you are to us, to explain why we walk the land of Occipitus. This land was never meant to turn evil, and you decapitating an angel for his head seems a worthy thing to judge."
Kikinnin lets his Look measure the priestess.
JJ continues to creep forward. In case talk turns to trouble.
I wish I could see into their hearts as Kikinnin seems to be able to.
"We're here to p-purify this place," Marigold calls out as she continues following the Lantern's path. "If we c-can, anyway! Wh-who are you and wh-why are you sp-speaking with the dead?"
You feel a strong aura of evil on the woman.
"Ok. My name is Velasia and these are..." she points to the other men around her "...my acolytes. Our stance here is also incidental. We seek an ancient artifact. Pharasma told us the angels fallen in this plains knew the answers we seek. They were years dead already when we arrived, so we are just conducting the ritual to get our answers"
Due to the distraction created by the group and his extreme skill, JJ is able to advance unnoticed from behind the Cyst.
JJ continues to slip past the group, using the distraction and small bits of demonic terrain to hide behind.
Maybe we can avoid a fight here...
He is ready if things turn sour though.
Ryan watches the exchange between the grave defilers and the dwarves
For the moment racking his memory for what he knew of Pharasma, he knew she despised the undead would she send such as these to question the dead?
"A-artifact?" Marigold blinks, looking surprised.
Are they talking about the Lantern? Or the means to gain control of Occipitus?
"Huh...w-well, you c-can't blame us for wondering, what with the uh...w-way you're going about it and all..." she stammers, feeling uneasy and unsure on how to proceed.
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Kikinnin sees the Shimmer, and sighs deeply.
Occipitus, you are a fell land. You glimmer scenes of Celestia in the Cathedral, then you allow the imprisonment of an agathion and the desecration of an angel, all in the name of Tests. Are you just a reflection of what wanders your land, or are you malicious? You feel malicious. Nothing good seeks you out, only half-fiends and evil priestesses...
"Velasia, our paths crossing is unfortunate. We've been given a task to see this land restored to its former glory, and you taint the land by your very presence. Your heart is black. If you have what you came for, this knowledge pulled from the dead, then leave. Now. If you intend on roaming this land a while longer, then we're at odds. Draw your weapons, and let's see whose God triumphs today."
The black beard brings his Axe to hand, and readies himself for the fight, should the grave diggers not disappear the next moment.
Maxim's retort to the grave-robbers dies on his lips as his bror takes the focus from him.
The gun-mage eyes the group before him as they interact with first Kikinnin, then the others as the Watchers arrive en mass.
:
At his bror's final words he grimaces and his hand hovers o'er his pistol;
"Make yir play Velasia... Walk away or fill the void in these graves... Either's fine with us!"
Velasia smiles to Kikinnin "We are almost done. If you give us a couple of seconds..."
Then she asks to the head "And tell me, where is it that the Lens of the Blacksun was sent?"
The head moves the mouth and surprisingly words are formed in response "It was sent to be guarded at the Home of Feronia in the Citadel of Brass" Velasia seems satisfied and looks back at Kikinnin, then throws the head at his feet "You see. We are done now, and we can leave"
She produces a scroll from a case and unrolls it while her men close up around her...
It takes every fiber of Kikinnin's being to remain in place, as an angel's head rolls up to his feet. His forearms strain in expectation, his right leg slightly back, and coiled to begin a charge.
So much evil in the world. So much evil here, on this plane. Abadar, give me strength to remain focused on our current Path.
"May your future treat you with as much respect as you treated this dead angel."
Kikinnin waits just a little longer. He looks balefully at Kaurophon, his own personal monkey-on-one's-back. That's right. Hold your tongue. No way you could justify this to me, half-fiend. Don't waste your breath.
Marigold flinches as Velasia tosses the angel's head at Kikinnin's feet and tenses up, expecting a fight...but relaxes slightly when her companion offers only cold words in reply to the obvious antagonism.
Good...she must have some sort of darkness to her from what Kikinnin said but Pharasma isn't...isn't wicked. I don't want to interfere in her work if it's genuine.
Her thoughts then immediately turn to this so-called artifact, the Lens of the Blacksun.
Have we heard of such a thing before?
JJ remains quiet, glad for once that a fight can be avoided in this fell plane. He grins quietly to himself at Kikinnin's words though.
The rat catcher has a way with them, that is for sure.
Ryan holds his tongue as nothing comes to him concerning Pharasma's tenets to deal with this situation. Like Marigold hesitant to interfere with a true divinely inspired quest.
You have never heard of the Lens of the Blacksun, but you do know Feronia is a half-divinity of Fire and Destruction, and the Citadel of Brass is located in the Plane of Fire.
Perhaps some books my hold information about the lens.
Velasia reads the scroll and her group plane shifts disappearing from your presence. Without opposition the group is able to catch up with Marigold that has advanced with the lantern some meters ahead.
"I am glad you were able to leave aside your godly quarrels for once" comments Kaurophon from the back of the group "We have short time, I am sure our rivals are taking us feet ahead"
You move forward for many more meters turning to one side and another, until you reach a point where the beam of light ends pointing to a section of the ground. As you approach, the section lights in a circle.
When you step up inside the light circle you all are teleported, leaving the Plain of Cysts and appearing in clearing in the of a fibrous forest.
There another mummy lord proctor is present. It speaks as you appear: "Heed the words of Adimarchus. You have passed the Test of Resolve. Attend to the wisdom of Adimarchus! Let neither riches nor weaponry, neither allies nor enemies, tempt you from your course. Instead, spread such distractions before your rivals. The lantern shall guide you to the final test: the Test of Sacrifice. Your ascension to the throne draws nigh!"
Once the mummy completes its speech the lantern orientates itself and points somewhere among the forest fibers. When you look through to see where exactly, you do discover the beam points directly to the skull in the middle of the plain, a 50 miles travel from your current location.
"Well... that is cheerful. I still say when this is over we should come back and see what we can do for the poor fallen there." sighs JJ.
Looking out, he rolls his shoulders.
"The sooner we do this sacrifice test the better. Though I like the name of this one not a bit."
He shivers for a moment. "I hope they don't make me cut off a hand or something yucky like that."
"S-sacrifice...and there's the sk-skull..." Marigold murmurs, looking truly uneasy.
What sort of sacrifice will this place ask of us? Of me?
"It...l-looks like it's quite a ways off," she finally says after a moment of silence. "Unless we h-have some other means of t-travel it's going to t-take us a while to reach it..."
"I am glad you were able to leave aside your godly quarrels for once."
"We're in Occipitus because it's a quarrel our gods want us to take up, Kaurophon. Velasia was just one quarrel too many at this moment."
"Heed the words of Adimarchus. You have passed the Test of Resolve... Your ascension to the throne draws nigh!"
Kikinnin feels all kinds of unease as a mummy tells them they are close to claiming a throne in the lands of Occipitus. He looks at Kaurophon with a side glance, another source of his unease, before turning back to his fellow Watchers.
"Do we have to worry about that Black Sun, down the road? We missed a chance to kill Dhorlot, and I still wince to think on it. Velasia was evil, no doubt in my mind, but I haven't decided if we were meant to stop her from seeking the Lens the angel informed her on."
Kikinnin turns to Kaurophon, reluctantly. "What do you know of the Test of Sacrifice? Has your knowledge run out? Did you think you'd come this far?"
"Unless we h-have some other means of t-travel it's going to t-take us a while to reach it..."
Kikinnin nods, does his best to shove aside the tired thoughts of another long march.
"Like JJ said, the sooner we're done here, the better. Suppose we're walking, eh? No magic to see us from here to there in the blink of an eye?"
Kaurophon muses his words before giving an answer to Kikinnin "If what we have discovered about Adimarchus is true, he payed a large toll to become the ruler of Occipitus. As the creator of the Tests, it is only to expect that the last test will involve something carrying a lot of pain." he makes a pause before answering the last part of the question "Indeed I had total faith you would be able to break through the first Test and reach as far as it is needed"
The plane traveler points then to the skull "It will take us a few more days to traverse the plains in here, so we better resume our trip before our rivals pass us"
JJ sets off. But he sidles next to Kaurophon for a while. "What more can you tell us of these rivals?" he asks.
Maybe this place is getting to me, or maybe Kikinnin's suspicions are just being repeated too often, but something is starting to seem fishy about him.
Ahh, it is just this place getting to me. He's had our backs the whole way so far, and uncle Alek would be dead if he had not killed those demons.
"I d-don't know anything about the B-Blacksun but I do know that F-Feronia is a...a half-god, of f-fire and destruction," Marigold offers. "And the C-Citadel of Brass is on the P-Plane of Fire."
"So long as they don't want to move in here..." quips JJ
"Looks like they would fit in fine though."
Kaurophon turns to JJ "We already have dealt with the succubus. But there is still the group leaded by the rakshasa renegade. It might be we are ahead of them anyway, as it did not seem anyone had passed the tests before us... or maybe they just perished to the multiple dangers of Occipitus"
"We have been walking for many hours now... but we better do not stop here in the fibrous forest." Kaurophon points at the house-sized tangles of fleshy, ropelike plants that feed off the layer's surface around you. Although they are not living creatures, these tangles of fibers slowly attempt to tangle around you with their tendrils when you stay more than a few seconds on the same space.
Kikinnin clasps Maxim on the shoulder, as the Watchers begin their final push on the plane. "Keep those eyes of yours sharp, like your tongue." The black beard's gloved hand holds the blond beard back a little, giving Kaurophon a chance to distance himself ahead of them, for a moment.
"Hoe dichter we bij dit doel komen, dat meer van de vijand is dan dat van ons, we moeten onze waakzaamheid verhogen. Als we wisten dat we het niet meer nodig zouden hebben, zou ik het hoofd van de slang afslaan voordat ze de kans kreeg om ons te bijten."
"The closer we get to this goal which is more the fiend's than it is ours, we need to step up our vigilance. If we knew we didn't need him anymore, I would strike the head off the snake before it had a chance to bite us."
Kikinnin slips back into more casual conversation. "Wouldn't mind a pinch of tabac, if you have some to spare." He wrings his hands, and stretches his arms, bringing the upper body a little blood before the lower body demands it during the march.