| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"That egg looks pretty powerful. I hate to leave it here, but think we might need more time to work out how to use it safely..." muses JJ.
As his eyes dart around the room, looking for more hidden threats, they land upon the southwestern pillar....."Another hollow pillar..." he says pointing. "I hope it doesn't contain more snake-women.."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Kikinnin gives the Egg a once-over. When Maxim mentions black drak, the black beard gives Eldgammel a once-over, then gives the Egg a twice-over.
"Stand back, folks. The acid's gonna go somewhere."
Kikinnin takes a test swing, from mid-air.
If the Egg looks the worse for the whack, Kikinnin keeps hitting it, until it cracks.
If Kikinnin manages to destroy the evil Egg, he follows JJ to the pillar, and the way forward. "Let's see what lies ahead."
While the Watchers gather about the false pillar, Kikinnin looks on each of the faces assembled to face the last of the Cagewrights. "I've got some of Abadar's daily blessings still left in me. Be a shame if they went to waste, here in Shatterhorn."
The black beard produces a platinum ring, and tosses it to the halfling lass. "You're getting a good amount of attention, miss Marigold. Won't do for another demodand to hack at you like that. If you wear that ring, Abadar will see you suffer less if they target you instead of me and JJ." Kikinnin taps his right glove, letting her know he's wearing a similar ring on his pinkie.
Turning to Maxim, he considers something. "Need your expertise, Bror. I want to give you your own protection, but I don't know what kind."
Kikinnin murmurs something quietly, adding to his own protections.
The black beard thinks a little bit more.. "JJ, let's see you shielded a different way. Can't stop you from running headlong into the trouble, since we all know it's here."
"Alright, gather 'round. One more blessing."
"That's about all I've got to share. Hope it's enough."
While the others doubt on what to do about the Egg, Kikinnin has it clear. The champion of Abadar and Malachite starts to bash the black stone determined to destroy the artifact of an evil god. Despite the first swing does not bring more than a small scratch, the dwarf continues his strikes one after another, the sixteenth finally opens a deep crevice and the seventeenth finally breaks the shell disgorging the acid within!
The acid spills across the floor in a 15' wide area but quickly drains away through crevices in a few seconds.
With the shell open, the egg's magical and evil auras disappear.
Kikinnin takes on his back to protect Marigold requesting Abadar a blessing that bonds their fates together. And as he makes prayers over his axe, the protections extend one by one over all of the Watchers that stand ready for the final blow to the Cagewrights.
Once ready, the group smashes the hollow pillar discovered by JJ. Within there is a 5-foot-wide, 20-feet tall shaft with a stone ladder that climbs up into the darkness.
Some of you are still badly battered and bleeding from the last fight.
JJ rummages around in his backpack, pulling out a number of potions.
"I have to little ones and five big ones.." he notes.
Passing one of hte "big" ones to each Watcher, he then passes a second big one to Kikinnin and the two smaller ones to Marigold.
He quickly drinks his own potion
Kikinnin swigs his potions quickly, then assesses the damage still left.
The Abadarian takes as many moments as necessary to see everyone fully restored, health-wise.
When it's clear everyone is good, Kikinnin lets JJ take to the stone ladder, and follows him up.
"W-well, that's one w-way to deal with it..." Marigold remarks as Kikinnin introduces the Egg to the business end of Eldgammel. Her expression brightens as JJ passes around some healing potions they've had stashed away.
"G-good thing we kept these! S-saves some of our m-magic for later," she says as she drinks them down.
Those, plus Kikinnin's own ministrations, is enough to see Marigold's wounds completely mended and the halfling restored to her usual hale and hearty self.
"Th-thank you! I've g-got one medium potion and a couple of sc-scrolls; n-next time we can use th-those."
"And wh-while we're b-being cautious, l-let me help a l-little," she adds as she conjures a bubble of life to encircle each one of them before following the others up the ladder.
______________
The Watchers take a bath of healing and soon enough the wounds of the last fight all but disappear. Ready as ever, they start climbing the stone stairs within the pillar, one by one after JJ.
The murals that adorn the walls of this irregularly shaped room depict scenes of serpentfolk engaging in carnal pleasures and offering sacrifices to an aspect of their dread god, who appears as an enormous serpent with multiple heads—some vaguely humanoid, others snakelike. A human woman lies atop a black crystal slab in the middle of the room. An enigmatic figure looms above her—a scrawny white-skinned humanoid dressed in black robes, with a vaguely bird like face, large dark eyes, a long neck, and six spindly arms. It waves its arms over the woman, as though unleashing some invocation.
Of course, you have been to Karran-Kural and this is not the first time you see a spell-weaver, but it is indeed the first time you witness one alive! In one of its hands, the spell-weaver holds a metallic forked rod.
The woman clutches a black gem against her chest.
The three ceramic urns contain the mummified remains of three serpentfolk pureblood clerics, their desiccated remains suspended in sawdust, their organs placed in clay canopic jars at the bottom of each urn.
The woman seems comatose rather than dead.
This is Embril Aloustinai, the high-priestess of the Cathedral of Wee Jas in Cauldron, and now one of the Thirteen.
You have learnt quite a lot about spell weavers all through your adventures: spell weaver.
They do not talk but communicate through telepathy, in the rare cases they attempt communication. They are able arcane casters, capable of casting more than one spell each turn (they just need to devote as many hands to cast as the spell level of the spell to cast).
Their mind is shielded against intrusion and result very difficult to read. They are in fact immune to mind-affecting effects, on top of having spell resistance.
They are never seen without their chromatic disks, they use as some kind of arcane bonded object to cast more magic. No one other than them can use them, as they explode if picked up by other creatures.
As he climbs, JJ, aware of the others protective wards thinks about his own protections. Even as he climbs, he feels the blue light within him swirling trying to find ways to protect him from what is likely at the top of the tower.
"I don't think she is dead...yet" he mutters. Then his eyes focus on her rather attractive face. "Ut oh... that is the high priestess of Wee Jas.. She was definitely in bed with the cage wrights."
I wonder what it would be like to be in... concentrate JJ
Still, she appears to be a damsel in distress, so JJ dashes forward, Alakast in hand. "Stop your workings or face me!" he commands.
Marigold's Round 1
"ಕೌಲ್ಡ್ರನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಮದು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ರಹಸ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹುಲ್ಲಿನ ಹಾವು!?" Marigold exclaims in exasperation as she too recognizes the woman's face.
"Is everyone of import in Cauldron secretly a snake in the grass!?"
Though she expects either Kikinnin or the spellweaver itself to push the matter to violence, Marigold decides to wait and see what the response is to JJ's command as she moves into the room and readies herself...
At the first directly hostile action from either the spellweaver or one of her allies, Marigold will cast Blessing of Fervor.
AC = 36/16/35
HP = 238/238 (-15 from Chaos, at least, -27 from blade)
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Divine Bond(Holy, Speed)
Smite = 4/7
Channel Positive Energy = 4/7
Lay on Hands = 14/15
Kikinnin does his utmost to put his thoughts in place, for both the Wee Jas priestess, and the Spell Weaver. Separately, they speak in his mind as two mysterious adversaries to Abadar's Way, hers a black and imminent danger, the weaver's an alien desire. Together, he only knows that their dark alliance is a grave threat.
"Creature. I don't know what you want here, but your days of dealing with that woman have come to an end. We don't want to fight you, but you're not welcome here, in Shatterhorn, or any part of Golarion, for the work you've done with the Cagewrights. If you have somewhere to go, go now. Leave the woman with us. She's about to meet her god."
Kikinnin raises Eldgammel, speaking Embril's name to Mark her for Abadar's wrath , then brings the Axe down, watching for the Spell Weaver's reaction to the violent pronouncement.
JJ is fast to face the spell weaver, raising his staff menacingly.
Kikinnin rightfully marks what is the correct path to the spell weaver, and mightily swings at the helpless woman opening a long wound on her.
At that moment Marigold readied spell triggers and brings a blessing of fervor to the party.
The spell weaver responds stepping away and starting to cast a spell, which is responded by JJ stepping forward too and hitting him hard, although the holy damage does not seem to affect him.
The alien creature seems distressed by the hit and the spell is lost.
A familiar face pops in, out of invisibility, the half-serpentfolk Ydersius prophet Ssythar Nahazir. He is casting another heightened slow spell at Kikinnin, JJ and Marigold "Do not wasssste your wordsss dwarf. The thing isssz mute. Now itss your time to die in the name of Ydersiusssz!"
The serpentfolk still bears many of the open wounds from your recent skirmish.
If that was not enough of a trouble three shadowy figures emerge out of the urns and attack at you!
JJ avoids the necromantic hand, but the other two incorporeals touch Kikinnin and Marigold sapping their vital strength.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As the shadows rise Maxim burns one of his lesser spells in response
One of Smaug's barrels fades spectrally and he moves forward before blasting a shot at the shade menacing Marigold!
Marigold's Round 2
Marigold hisses as her strength is drained away by one of the dark shadows and takes a step up next to Kikinnin. She grits her teeth and attempts to channel holy power...
...as she and her allies become enveloped in a holy aura!
______________
JJ steps closer to the spellweaver. "I said stop that, and put your wraiths back in their jars"
As the cloying magic of the serpent-priest washes over him, JJ feels his celestial blood fight back against it. Light against darkness, the shades dance around his limbs, the blue light holding the foul magic at bay.
Alakast, oddly reluctant to exert itself at the spellweaver still crashes into it again and again.
Trusting in Kikinnin, if the spellweaver drops, any extra attacks will go against the priestess.
I've not added any bonuses, but if the spellweaver drops then
+2 to hit/damage from favored enemy (human) may apply to priestess and
+2d6 to damage from holy may apply to the priestess.
If she is an outsider (especially an evil one, or one from the abyss) then the +2 from favored enemy may be increased.
AC = 36/16/35
HP = 238/238 (-15 from Chaos, at least, -27 from blade)
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Divine Bond(Holy, Speed)
Smite = 4/7
Channel Positive Energy = 3/7
Lay on Hands = 8/15
Kikinnin howls as his strength is sapped away by the greater shadow. When he reviews the room, seeing more shadows, he debates pressing his attack on the reclining priestess, with plenty of threats floating nearby. He wants them all to suffer Abadar's disdain for the undead, so he channels His energy, hoping to burn out all three.
"Not sure how many touches I can take from those shadows..."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Maxim overloads his gun with magic while turning around the wall, which fortunately protects him from attacks of opportunity, and discharges the trigger blasting badly the ancient serpentfolk spirit!
Marigold steps aside, enduring the slowing magics and protecting the Watchers with a holy aura.
JJ continues the spell weaver's blowing, connecting three times with Alakast, leaving a couple of arms badly bruised, then hitting with fervor a last more devastating strike on his head!
Kikinnin's holy golden key starts to shine, and when it does it, the shadows start to burn in sacred flames despite the unhallow that protects the area. The shadow already blasted by Maxim, it is fully consumed and completely disappears!
The spell weaver starts casting with all his 6 hands ensemble. While 4 of them draw the gestures of a confusion spell, the other two cast a protective spell making eight images of himself appear around.
Ssythar unfolds a scroll "There is no hope for you. Ydrasil's temple will be your tomb" and reads it evoking a cone of crushing despair that hits you all, including Embril.
But Marigold's holy aura perfectly protects the Watchers from the ill magics!
The surviving shadows keep their attacks on their victims.
But this time, Kikinnin's faith and fervor stops the shadowy hand. And despite the other one puts its hand on JJ's heart, the incorporeal serpentfolk discovers too late the young man's death ward protects his vital energy.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
JJ stands for a moment, almost taken in my a mass of confusing thoughts. But JJ is not just any celestial blooded boy. JJ is a Scion of Surabar himself. The will of his esteemed ancestor is strong against such tricks and with valiant effort, JJ keeps his focus.
Continuing his assault, the youth batters the spellweavers again and again.
JJ has seen this trick before. If Kikinnin were in a position to help, he'd be happy swotting images, but instead he closes his eyes, focusing on the Spellweavers sounds and motion...
"I'm Master Mu!" he says.
Some of the rest of the Watchers may remember Master Mu, a character from the Beatinator comic. An elderly man who even the mighty Beatinator can never lay a sword, axe or fist to. In one especially memorable page, he blindly leaps from island to island amidst a flow of hot lava, encouraging the (now friendly) Beatinator to "follow in my footsteps".
Not including any bonus to hit or damage here. If the spellweaver goes down, then rather than extra attacks going on the sleeping woman, they will go on the wraith.
As one shadow fades, Maxim turns his attention to another. Reloading his pistol with alchemical cartridge , he smiles in satisfaction as the ammo turns spectral upon loading into the barrel imbued with Ghost Touch.
Levelling Smaug he targets the shadow menacing Marigold and Kikinnin and fires!
With closed eyes, JJ gives a lesson of prescience, feeling his enemy rather than seeing him. The young man attacks with the heart rather than the hands, and Alakast strikes twice, leaving the spell weaver badly injured, and pushed by Marigold's fervor, he surprises with a last swing that finally knocks down the spell weaver to the ground!!!
Overloading his gun, Maxim points at the next shadow. Usually the incorporeal nature of the creatures protect them against any kind of precision damage, but guided by his arcane magic, the powder blasts the undead as if it was a blast of force magic directed at is very essence. The red shadow fades away consumed by the magic and skill of the cunning merchant!!!
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
AC = 36/16/35
HP = 238/238 (-15 from Chaos, at least, -27 from blade)
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Divine Bond(Holy, Speed)
Smite = 4/7
Channel Positive Energy = 3/7
Lay on Hands = 8/15
Kikinnin takes a moment or two to bear witness to the battle about him. He watches JJ single-handedly take down a multi-handed spell weaver. He watches Maxim obliterate a greater shadow with his barrelcraft. He stands in quiet awe as each of his companions shed divine light, a blessing brought on by Marigold. This is our purpose. None but the Watchers were meant to be here, confronting this deep kind of evil. We'll see this through, yet.
The black beard is torn. There's still a greater shadow mere feet from Marigold, and there's still a snakeman spitting verbal venom, and trying to back those words with fell magic.
"Careful, miss Marigold. If you need to, step away from the shadow, and let it challenge me or JJ. Of course, I won't object if you have another trick up your sleeve, like this shine of yours, to see the shadow ripped apart." Kikinnin turns to Ssythar, stepping closer to the enemy, and letting Eldgammel cast its retribution against a foe foolish enough to remain nearby.
"You chose your fate, Snake-Man. You could have sought safety away from here, but it looks like Shatterhorn will be your mausoleum."
edit:
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Marigold's Round 3
Marigold easily shrugs off the feeble attempts to cloud her mind and maintains her focus on the battle at hand. Hoping to finish off the shadow she takes a step back and directs a blast of searing light at the creature!
Kikinnin sentences Ssythar for death, cutting cleanly his head, then following up with more swings that leave little thing for the worms. The lifeless body hits the ground loudly!
Marigold takes some distance from the remaining shadow, just to blast it hard with a ray of powerful light. The brightness is just true poison for the incorporeal that disappears as the light consumes it in a myriad of intense beams.
Without the other enemies, the helpless Embril is no menace to the Watchers.
Your enemies left many powerful items in their fallen bodies.
Masterwork scimitar
masterwork com posite longbow (+2 Str bonus)
20 arrows
empowered wand of idiocy (as per the empowered touch of idiocy spell; 12 charges)
wand of poison (Fortitude DC 16 negates; 8 charges)
scroll of dominate person
headband of Charisma +2
Ring of Thirteen
silvercage pendant (15 gp)
pouch of 10 pp
Bracers of armor +8
ring of protection +4
masterwork dagger
forked metal rod (focus for plane shift spell attuned to Carceri)
Headband of intellect and wisdom +4
wand of enervation (16 charges)
magical mantle
Ring of Thirteen
potion of owl's wisdom
platinum bracelet with 13 cages shaped charms (750 gp)
gem (750 gp)
silver unholy symbol (500 gp)
tiny chest (50 gp)
pouch of diamond dust (stoneskin spell component; 250 gp)
This gem can be used to cast magic jar. A caster using such a spell traps his soul in such a gem but then can possess alive bodies nearby, trapping their souls in the gem. A protection from evil spell blocks this possession though.
This is the tiny replica of a secret chest spell. By concentrating in the replica (standard action) an arcane caster could retrieve the linked chest back from the Ethereal plane.
Each of the urns contain one valuable previously owned by one of the serpentfolk priests preserved here.
Salve of slipperiness in a snakeskin-wrapped flask (1,000 gp)
Vial of silversheen (250 gp)
Golden headdress with emerald and golden topaz inlays (2,500 gp)
Kikinnin cleans Eldgammel off, before touching it to his forehead, and sheathing it for now, despite its insistent glow to do Abadar's bidding, if only for a little while longer.
The black beard returns to the prone form of Embril Aloustinai. What would Kythel have to say about this? Kikinnin looks to the others. "I struck her once, but it didn't rouse her. What kind of spell did the weaver lay on her? The Cagewrights busy backstabbing each other in their final hours, eh?"
He waits, hoping to be done with this, but knowing there are better minds in his midst.
"Maybe she had sent her mind out questing across the planes to try and consult with her dark lord?" suggests JJ.
"That spellweaver was a tough old nut. Those magical bracers and ring must be pretty powerful to deflect Alakast as often as they did..."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"You gonna take something of the Weaver as a trophy? You could impress your ladyfolk with a lucky weaver's foot. They might not believe you, otherwise..." Kikinnin speaks to JJ, while looking down on Embril, trying to decide... things...
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"I don't think that Sara would really like the claw off a six armed spellweaver. And Celeste would likely find it gross... no... maybe a dwarven woman would be impressed, but not a human one." grins JJ.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Fair enough." Kikinnin smirks. "That old half-elf Celeste travels with, what was his name... Eidi? That one was odd enough, he might find some interest in studying the corpse. Maybe. Might even try and bring it back from the dead, and offer it a cookie and a conversation." The black beard keeps his eyes on Embril, as if anticipating her waking up.
JJ leans closer to the priestess, trying to see if she still breathes at all.
"You don't think she is one of those vampires do you.." he asks nervously.
Still, that doesn't stop him from securing her hands tightly.
"If she does wake up, we really don't want a death-priest at our backs now do we. But what to do with her?"
He looks at the amulet of the planes that the group found earlier and then at the tuning fork. "Do you think these might work together? Would they take us to the source of all the troubles."
JJ finds the priestess has no breath and no pulse. Yet he noticed already when the group entered, that she is not dead. Her cheeks look with a healthy color and her body is warm and stable. It is like some kind of suspended animation.
The metal rod has hellish rivulets, and by all you know, it is most probably the key component the Cagewrights were using to visit Carceri and extract the few demodands you have fought from there. Of course, now in your power, you could use it as well to make the trip to the prison plane yourselves.
There is an exit to the south. Some of you might have noticed there is a name from your list of Cagewrights that still has not been crossed.
"Xokek. We're missing that ash-man. The one who took Keygan. Marigold mentioned something about a Mansion he's holed himself up in." Kikinnin looks at Maxim and Marigold. "Don't suppose you know where to find his front door?"
"U-um, the g-gem there...you can use it to c-cast a Magic Jar sp-spell," Marigold points out. "Th-that might explain why Embril is th-the way sh-she is right n-now..."
"As f-for finding Xokek's m-mansion...I'm honestly n-not sure," she sighs. "If I understand the m-magic right, there's only one entrance, a p-portal somewhere on this p-plane. Only those d-designated can enter..."
"So...if we break the gem... does that kill her?" asks JJ.
"Or do we need to kill her body first, and then smash the gem?"
Either way, he makes sure her body is tied up and all items removed from it. If nobody suggests otherwise, JJ advances on the gem with an intent of destroying it.
"I'm not s-sure," Marigold sighs. "The g-gem may just be the v-vehicle to cast the sp-spell, not the actual m-magic jar itself. And, uh...if her s-soul is in the g-gem, then that m-means she c-could use it to t-try and possess s-someone else's body, p-putting their soul in the g-gem and her own in that p-person's body..."
Maxim scowls at the mention of Keygen;
"Aye. We've a reckonin' with Ghelve's kidnapper. No mercy there..."
The gun-mage turns his attention back to the soul gem;
"Any soul trapped therein could be mighty grateful o' their release too..."
He smiles and rubs his fingers together in the universal sign for lucre...
JJ smashes the gem, one and one more time, until it finally breaks under Alakast's might, shattering in a myriad of pieces.
Embril breathes deeply and awakes, suddenly sitting herself and looking at you confused. Wounded and deprived of any equipment, she looks for her holy symbol and her belt pouch, but finding no materials for her magics, she just grimaces and surrenders her hands down "You!"
"Damned Watchers, if you had not been protected, I could have possessed one of you and offer its body for a trade to Asmodeus in Hell" she looks at you with a mixture of fury and giving up.
"My, my, you do get around, don't you? Wee Jas, and then mixing with Adimarchus and now wanting to trade with Asmodeus. It's like you are looking for something you just can't find." he says sadly.
"But I can almost guarantee that each of them wants a bit of your soul now."
He offers a sad smile.
"But I think Pharasma wants to have a word with you first."
"As f-for finding Xokek's m-mansion...I'm honestly n-not sure. If I understand the m-magic right, there's only one entrance, a p-portal somewhere on this p-plane. Only those d-designated can enter..."
Kikinnin remembers something Marigold and Maxim mulled over before.
"You two were vexed by some conjuration magic in the same room as the Endless Decanter." Kikinnin turns from his friends to his enemy, speaking directly to Embril Blackheart.
"He's there, isn't he? Xokek, your fellow Cagewright? No better place to put a portal, to be safe. Well, down here for you roaches. Tell me true- is the last Cagewright skulking in the chamber with the basin? We might be inclined to commute your sentence, bring you back to Cauldron, where the city could reclaim its sense of justice, by trying you for your crimes. It wouldn't be a comfortable life, living behind bars, but it would still be life." The dwarf manages barely to remain civil in speaking with the evil woman.
"You Abadarians, always so civil, if it was for you, people will not know about true freedom." the woman tries to bite back laughing, but really, she is in no position of force "Xokek truly dislikes every other form of life. I will not mind you destroying him, for if it was for him nothing will remain. Yeah, he likes to hide in the basin"
The woman then offers a cocky smile "But do not think this dies here with us. Even now I feel Adimarchus' madness permeating through reality. I am sure even you can notice his influence. While he is alive, imprisoned, more adepts will rise to complete were we failed. The Lord of Madness will come back sooner than later."
Kikinnin regards Embril with new eyes. He recalls Kyan, and her madness, and can't help but wonder if Embril's evil was something lesser, before it grew. The black beard looks to his friends.
"I don't know much about evil, other than to strike it down where it's found. This woman is obviously afflicted. Mad, maybe? It's not the same madness that took Zenith, I think. I don't know." Kikinnin looks tired of a sudden. "If we find Xokek, we'll have our reckoning," he nods to Maxim, in agreement. "What do we think should happen with Embril here? She's knowledgeable about Carceri, and what might have come to pass. She might redeem herself, even now. I don't know."
Kikinnin looks ready to return to the Basin Room, and figure out the magicks therein, but he figures they have a responsibility to attend to regarding their prisoner of war.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Wh-why would you turn your b-back on Cauldron and your g-goddess?" Marigold asks softly. "S-some people just want to w-watch the world b-burn, s-some want p-power or w-wealth and all the th-things they afford. B-but the f-first doesn't r-really fit with what I kn-know about you and the s-second...well, your p-position surely c-carried weight, r-right? So wh-what's your story, Miss Alousinai?" she asks, genuinely seeking to understand.
Maxim nods, soot signed brows furrowing;
"Looks like we got the measure o' ye but good. Like my friends here are intimatin' you picked the wrong side in this here conflict darlin'. We're slowly breakin' the whole darn thing apart. Have been since day one..."
He eyes Embril with a hard stare;
"Like Lil' Miss an' my Bror are touchin' on Miss Alousinai. You still got time to back the winnin' horse in this here race. Knowledge is power, so impart us with what you know, an' maybe you'll come out o' all this all the better fir it."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
JJ nods, happy to see that his ideas about redemption are finally starting to take hold with the Watchers.
"Best chance you are going to get. An eternity in Hell does not sound fun... at all. Whether Phrasma will ever take you back, only she knows, but you could start to make amends. Her ledger never closes until the very end.."
"What I know... what I know is Adimarchus must be liberated" she covers her eyes for a few seconds using her hands "It's fate"
"He is hold in a prison in Carceri" her eyes open wide and she looks as if she could not see you "The gods shall listen if I offer them one of your souls. No, all of your souls. They shall listen. They shall free Adimarchus..."
"Do you know any magics that can heal her mind?" asks JJ of Marigold.
"I mean... she sounds totally delusional."
"I don't think that's something that can be healed. It can be... ended... but she's beyond help. I think." Kikinnin looks at Marigold, as JJ entreats her to help. While he does, he walks up to Embril, and thunks her unconscious, so they might decide her fate without interruption.
"We keep her from any of her possessions, we don't leave her unattended. We should all agree if her time has come to pass into the Boneyard. I vote to end her. Not her suffering, just her. Once she's slain, whatever pacts she's made will probably come due." The black beard shudders at the possibilities.
...
When the Watchers are ready, Kikinnin traces their steps back to the Chamber of the Basin, and the Aura which awaits them, hopefully. Knowing Xokek was, and still is, a dangerous foe, Kikinnin doesn't object to a decent rest, before trying to crack the Aura egg, in case the others are feeling weak in their own magics.
Maxim mulls the situation, before chiming in;
"I've access to a mighty powerful spell. Grants a limited wish. Might just be enough to mend her shattered mind? Never cast it, so don't know iffin' it comes with conditions like them the Djinn o' fable grant... Willin' tae try it though."
"Um..."
Marigold thinks about everything she knows of Embril and all of the interactions they've either had or that she's witnessed involving the wayward priestess.
Has she gone mad...been enchanted...or is this who she really is?
______________
Based on previous experiences and the visions permeating her own dreams, Marigold determines Embril has been maddened by Adimarchus influence, exerted in desperation from his prison.
Maxim could make the priestess sane again, but while the madness continues passing through the planes, she, and more people, will continue getting increasingly mad around.
Kikinnin observes his companions' studies on the woman, increasingly worried that madness has become the call of the day. "If you manage to restore her mind, would that mean she'd see reason enough to walk away from her worship of Adimarchus? Is the madness just one of his 'rewards'?" The black beard gets to tugging, out of frustration, and a little impatience, now that the risk is becoming clearer.
"I...I th-think so, b-but...I c-can't guarantee how long it'll l-last," Marigold finally says. "It's Adimarchus' influence, s-seeping through the l-layers of reality. As l-long as he l-lives, his influence will s-slowly corrupt minds...s-some fast, s-some sl-slow, I'd s-say. It p-probably depends on the p-person how l-long it would t-take..."