Lorthan growls in rage and stabs with the adamantine end of his double-bladed sword. His usual grace with the two-bladed weapon stymied from the construct's attacks, he takes advantage of its blindness and moves back after the single attack.
Zoli sighs. She puts Baern's Breath back in its scabbard and draws her adamantine scimitar.
She then holds back, not wanting to approach the flaming wall.
Invisible Eugeni slices his third arm with a small knife and begins chanting, a moment later the golem partially melts, slowing dramatically.
The only thing seeming to affect this thing is Lorthan’s weapon. Ethariel’s Arrows bounce harmlessly off of it, and Eugeni’s magic doesn’t seem to affect it as it would a normal golem if it’s kind! The statue opens its eyes and moves out from behind the wall, squeezing past its western side and then moving towards Zoli and Jeevika!
Squeezing: In some cases, you may have to squeeze into or through an area that isn't as wide as the space you take up. You can squeeze through or into a space that is at least half as wide as your normal space. Each move into or through a narrow space counts as if it were 2 squares, and while squeezed in a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to AC.
To squeeze through or into a space less than half your space's width, you must use the Escape Artist skill. You can't attack while using Escape Artist to squeeze through or into a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty to AC, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.
The statue wades through the wall of lava as if it was but a minor inconvenience, though the lava clearly damages it.
__________
Lorthan hisses and swings at the statue with a reduced number of swings, but he puts all his power behind them.
Zoli feels Eugeni's haste flow through her. She steps in to close with the statue and swirls into a blur of cuts.
Her adamantite scimitar cuts through the animated statue like through soft cheese, and seconds later it's a pile of rubble on the floor.
She flashes a grin at Gadgorin and says, "Not too shabby, eh?"
_______________
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
As the statue falls to the onslaught, the head separates and splinters.
From the chunk holding the mouth, the lips move one last time. “This... this is not the last...come then, heroes. Seek me atop Mhar Massif, if you value life so poorly. You should be honored to be the first fools executed under the banner of Shalast in ten thousand...”
A majestic cloud giant appears and looks around for a foe. It views the fresh pile of rubble, then looks to Ryli. "Sorry to disturb you. Looks like we didn't need you after all."
She then gestures and the wall of molten rock sinks back into the ground.
After seeing Lorthan bring several mighty blows to the Karzoug statue, Jeevika tightly grasps her blade with two hands to massively augment her own damage. After Eugeni Hastes her and the other Rangers, the Holy Vindicator turns her to Ethariel.
"Let's show Thassilon the collective might of the Kyoni martial arts!" Jeevika proclaims boldly with a smirk.
Ethariel smiles and nods. She draws her bow back. Jeevika steps forward and prepares to put her back into her swings.
"FOR KYONIN!" the two elves yell in their mother tongue... just before Zoli turns the statue into rocky cold cuts with her toothpick.
To her credit, Ethariel recovers much faster than Jeevika, who stays frozen in her dramatic pose for a full minute before sighing and sliding Love Hurts into her sheath.
Jeevika perks up when she notices that her head seems to clear up. She draws Love Hurts again and then sheaths her. The Ambassador repeats those actions again. And again. And again.
"Huh. When you wield a Dominant weapon, it puts you in a more... domineering state of mind."
After the fight, Eugeni studies the pool and informs everyone that after what magic Karzoug used to animate the golem, there is only enough left currently to forge one more weapon, by his estimates.
Jeevika frowns at the news.
"It should probably be Baern's Breath then," the giant elf proposes to the rest of the rangers. "As you might have noticed, Zoli is incredibly quick with her sword. So much so that she virtually never misses. Moreover, unlike myself, Zoli is almost always immediately combat ready."
Jeevika glances over at Ethariel, who appears to understand her sister elf's train of logic.
Ryli calms Kallie after the fight, then after the foal is settled down, she goes over to cast heal on Lorthan.
"There you go," she says to the draconic warrior. "Are you feeling better?"
Lorthan’s wounds heal, and the warrior stretches his shoulders and arms. ”My muscles feel tight. Hard to move. It is like I have sandbags strapped all over me...”
Ryli frowns. "Oh. I've given you my most powerful healing spell. I don't have anything that can remove the affliction."
"If Heal didn't work, then I think I have an idea of what might be required," offers Jeevika, "A Restoration spell. Unfortunately, I did not prepare one today. I will prepare one for tomorrow."
Ryli brightens. "That's good. Oh, could you prepare one more for me? I'm still feeling a bit of residual weakness from the reincarnation process."
Zoli gives a "Yoik!" at Eugeni's declaration. "OK then, before something else goes awry here, let's do this!"
Zoli stands there with uncontained excitement--almost bouncing up and down--as Eugeni performs the ritual. She places Baern's Breath into the pool and watches as it begins to glow and shimmer.
Lion, on her shoulder, suddenly begins to squeak energetically. "What? You think that's a good idea?!? Well, sure, I mean...what's the worst that could happen?" and with that Zoli gives a wide grin, says "Chaldira Zuzaristan, help a sister out, OK?" and tosses her adamantine scimitar in too, right on top of Baern's Breath.
When the second scimitar goes in, suddenly a pulse of violet light comes out of the runewell, followed by a plume of swirling steam and a low rumbling sound.
"Huh, whatcha think, Lion?"
Chitter squeak squeak!
"You really think so? Ooookay then, what the heck!"
Zoli takes pulls off the Sihedron Medallion she's worn since they defeated Nualia and then pulls the star sapphire eyes from Azaven's sarcophagus out of her pocket, and tosses them into the bubbling well.
"Oh boy oh boy of boy, this is exciting!!"
"What are you doing?!"
Jeevika's eyes widen as Zoli starts tossing junk into the Runewell. They outright harden when she starts throwing in valuable treasure. Not wanting to take any chances, Jeevika starts rapidly retreating into the corridor leading to the Iron Cages.
As she passes Ryli, the giant elf nudges the centaur on the shoulder and utters hasily, "Get Kallie somewhere safe; I don't see this ending well!"
For a split second, Jeevika seems to contemplate securing the fillie herself, but recalling how protective her grandmother has been, she ultimately decides to trust Ryli's seasoned sense of judgement.
Catching her friend's impending sense of dread, Ethariel follows Jeevika's lead and retreats. However, as if pleading for them to follow, her eyes linger on Lorthan and Gadgorin the entire time.
Ryli's eyes widen in a sudden surge of fear. "Yeah, let's give this some space," she agrees with Jeevika. She turns and gallops down the hall towards the iron cages, whistling for Olympus to follow.
As the panicky elf runs out, the Lil' Highlady calls out, "Don't worry! You haven't known me long but Chaldira Zuzaristan looks out for me, especially when I take risks! Did we ever tell you about the time under Thistletop when some Sinspawn surrounded us and--hey Ryli, you're not leaving too are you?
"Yeesh, we already tried it the normal way once, right? Why not live a little, right Eugeni? Gadgorin?"
Eugeni glides silently backward until he is at least thirty feet from the well.
The pools energy indeed changes from golden to violet, then to red, then a variety of colors before fading to its original hue. At the bottom of the pool lies a single sword.
As Zoli retrieves it, she can see it quite different in appearance to either sword she placed inside, but clearly has an adamantine blade.
Before anyone can comment, a thunderous crack can be heard throughout the entire complex as the pool splits open, a crack forming all the way through it, up both walls, and along the ceiling! A moment later, echoes of more cracks can be heard coming from the various wings! In a sudden explosive boom, the entire hall of pride and the original entrance falls away, revealing a vast, endless expanse of a twisting arcane maelstrom! And falling into that maelstrom with a cry of panic, is Gadgorin! As he is pulled away into the twisting arcane energies, his cries for help are cut short as his body is ripped apart and merges with the arcane power crumbling in on itself!
Zoli pulls out the brand new scimitar and marvels at it. "Wow, AMAZING!"
She's turning it left and right when suddenly the world is sundered.
Zoli dances nimbly back from the precipice but then cries out in horror as Gadgorin is pulled in. "NOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Eugeni, can your magic pull him back?" she starts to ask...but then she sees him dissolve and says "Scratch that, let's move!"
Jeevika starts swearing like a Chelish sailor.
"Everyone, form a circle and link hands! Eugeni, Blood Money-Limited Wish-Plane Shift us out of here!" the giant elf orders as she quickly moves herself into formation and belts Eugeni with Heal to... heal his prior wounds from Blood Money.
Eugeni nods, and casts the spells as quickly as possible once everyone is in posiiton. . as his spell completes, he shifts the group to Elysium.
As the spell begins to take effect, you can see other wings and chunks of Runeforge break apart and dissolve into the broken magic of the realm. It almost appears that you won’t make it out in time, but Eugeni’s magic whisks you away just in time! You find yourselves in a field of green grass as far as the eye can see.
Elthariel falls to her knees, mourning the loss of yet another of her original companions. Lorthan kneels silently beside her, quietly offering his own attempt to comfort her in his own sadness.
Ryli stands a distance apart from the mourners, allowing them time and space to grieve. The relief of surviving and the sudden loss of another companion mix to make the affair bittersweet, but she cradles Kallie in her arms and nuzzles Olympus.
The peaceful green fields eventually draw her attention, and the feeling of a warm sun on her skin and coat. She closes her eyes and enjoys the sensation, letting Kallie giggle and squirm in her arms. She hadn't felt the sun in this life, and it was completely new to her foal as well.
Finally being free and away from that place, and connecting to the much larger Wheel and forces of nature was cathartic. Despite the grief nearby, she couldn't help but sigh in joy and relief.
The sound of her voice in her ears is breathy and light, waking her from her reverie. Her eyes flutter open as she suddenly realizes her behavior within that realm of sin. Her cheeks redden with extreme embarrassment.
"Oh, what was I doing? I was... oh, that wasn't..." she turns from the others and gallops hard along the field. Now separated from the Iron Cages, its lustful influence was far lessened -- the constant heat and desire lifted.
Her hard gallop slows down slightly, but she keeps moving.
Zoli blinks twice, realizing that they are all safe...all except for Gadgorin.
With the back of her hand, Zoli wipes a tear from her cheek. "Och, Lion. Ik tink dat wy it soarte fan dûnsjen bliezen. Ik bedoel, ik bin net folslein wis, mar ik tink dat dizze grutte, wrâld-skerpe eksplosive wierskynlik wiene fanwege ús eksperiment. Sa, lykas, wreide it letterlik." The mouse squeaks a bit, in protest.
Hesitantly Zoli walks over to Ethariel and Lorthan, putting her hand on the elf's back. "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. We--Lion and I--ummm, we were sure that it would be OK. We'd...I'd never have done anything to intentionally harm Gadgorin. If there's anything I can do..."
Elthariel just sighs, ”I know. I know,” she says before standing and walking off a ways and stands silently looking off to the horizon.
Lorthan chimes in ”Let her have some space. We have been through a lot the past day. But,” he scowls and looks sternly down at Zoli, ”But that was reckless. And cost a good man his life. That is on your shoulders,” he says pointing a clawed finger at her before going to stand watch over Kallie.
Zoli opens her mouth, then closes it. She looks around. It'd be nice to talk to Setsuna about this. She'd have understood! Or even Old-geni. I mean, New-geni won't hold a grudge...but he's not much of a shoulder to cry on either.
Seeing that Ryli has run off, Zoli turns to Lion and says, "I don't blame you, you know. We were both doing the best we could, right?"
Then, out of curiosity, she draws her scimitar--the weapon that was no longer Baern's Breath--and tries tentatively swishing it around, getting a feel for it.
Ooooooh, it is a beauty!
Deep in shock from what almost happened, Jeevika slumps to her knees and stares blankly at the grassy ground. However, Elthariel's crying quickly causes her to snap back to reality. For what feels like an eternity, Jeevika simply glares at Zoli. The giant elf grits her teeth angrily and occasionally moves her mouth as if on the verge of saying something.
However, when Lorthan and Elthariel seem to... let Zoli off gently, Jeevika forces herself to calm down. She takes a moment to cancel her Frightful Aspect spell and then reaches a dainty hand into her haversack. A few seconds later, Jeevika pulls out the thick Kailani Arcane Family Workbook. After sifting through several pages, the Holy Vindicator finds what she wants.
Jeevika walks over to Zoli and kneels next to the smaller woman. The elf points to the open page of her book.
"See that baby right there?" Jeevika says softly. She is pointing to a very realistic sketch of a Half-Elven child who resembles what Setsuna might have looked like as an infant. "That's Shion. My youngest. Setsuna's baby sister. She was born last month. A surprise but lovely parting gift from my Vince before he passed."
Jeevika's fingers trace upward to two more portraits. Two pretty Half-Elven women. Twins. Setsuna and her sister Attica or Sabrina - Jeevika has liberally used several variations of both names for the latter.
"Setsuna, Attica, and Vince are all gone. Both my twins were murdered, and I have no remains to bring them back. Nothing to bury... Vince died of old age, so he is truly gone forever. It's just me and Shion. Oh sure, my parents are watching her right now. In fact, I think my father is technically your brother? Ryli was Rileon Senior; Dad is Rileon Junior. Anyway, yes, my parents would be there for Shion if something happened to me. So would my brothers. Shion would grow up with a big, loving family. She would inherit Vince's and my considerable assets, so her needs would be met for as long as she lived. However..."
Jeevika abruptly closes the book.
"That does not change the fact that Shion was nearly orphaned today."
Jeevika stands up and sighs.
"I believe that you understand that particular pain all too well, Zoli."
The Holy Vindicator lets the point sink in.
"We all make mistakes. Believe me, I am very aware of that reality. However, the important part is what we learn from them and what we do to make amends. As such, in the future, I hope that you are more careful with your decisions and more mindful of their potential and very real consequences."
With her piece said, Ryli's granddaughter walks off to join Elthariel and leaves Zoli to her thoughts.
OoOoO
Together, Jeevika watches the horizon with her new friend. As her gaze follows Ryli and Kallie, the Ambassador finds her eye starting to water. She feels something well up in her throat.
"I wake from this dream, but I can't tell you the things that I've seen.
I'd leave it behind, if I could just change her mind.
I can't believe the things that you are telling me.
But something deep inside makes me feel this really isn't a paradise...
Jeevika turns her head toward Elthariel and continues her song.
Familiar to me, did you cross over an eternity?
We're both so alone, a warmth that we'd never known.
So stay with me, before our world starts crumbling.
Cause something deep inside makes me feel this really isn't a paradise...
With a heavy sigh, Jeevika gently takes the sacred ring off her left ring finger and carefully examines the magical trinket. Such a simple thing and yet... With a whimper, the Ambassador gently clutches the little treasure and begins to tremble.
I'm falling asleep, all the promises that I meant to keep.
The sweetest of dreams, was my life just taken from me?
If I return, if I could change from what I've learned...
We'd never have to hide; everything would be alright in this paradise."
And then, at last, Jeevika Kailani allows herself to cry.
Scimitar in hand, Zoli's jaw hardens as she realizes what Setsu's mother is getting at. "Hey! Don't blame me if your life's in danger, I didn't ask you to come to the Runewell.
"We're up against an ancient Thassilonian runelord and whatever army he's summoning up. Sure, I took a risk there but I've had to take a lot of risks so far, or we'd all have died a long time ago. Some will pay off, others won't. Setsu understood that! You think she didn't try some risky shit along the way with us?!?"
The rune on her forehead flares as she speaks. I mean, that was kind of a needless risk, right? She asks herself, before answering Well sure, but who'd have thought it would cause such problems either, right? It was just throwing a few extra things in a well.
"Anyway, I've been a part of this party longer than anyone--or just as long as Eugeni, depending on how you count it. You're more than welcome to stick around here, but remember your place!"
As Zoli rages at her, Jeevika pauses and starts... laughing.
Laughing like she just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Firstly, I am not angry that I nearly died. I am angry because someone I trusted and considered a friend nearly orphaned Shion. There's a difference, Zoli."
"Secondly, Setsuna took risks, yes. However, they were calculated risks. Even if some were flawed, her decisions were always backed by some semblance of logic. Setsuna had her moments, yes, but my daughter would have never just tossed junk and precious treasure into a pool of raw, unstable magic just because.
"Finally, Miss Tileani, if Setsuna was here, do you have any idea what she would have done? How she would have reacted to your... shenanigans? What she would say to you? The instant you all arrived here, Setsuna would have yelled at you! She would have cursed at you with a vocabulary that would make a Chelish sailor blush! She would have questioned what you had been thinking! Setsu would have pointed out that the star sapphire you foolishly burned could have paid for the spell to restore Shalelu. Unlike Lorthan and Elthariel, she would have held your hairy feet to the fire about how your actions caused a good man to lose his life and how you're just ignoring that fact. And above all else, she would have emphasized how you nearly handed Karzoug victory on a silver platter!"
The elf's gaze hardens into diamond.
"You knew Setsuna for six months. I knew her for over thirty years. So kindly do us all a favor, and stop projecting."
Jeevika smiles saccharinely and promptly takes her leave. Even if Zoli says something else, she is ignored.
As the two of you argue, Lorthan carefully sets Kallie back to the ground and picks his weapon back up, turning towards the pair of women. Before Jeevika turns to leave, he comes crashing down between the pair, having used his powerful wings to take flight a short ways to land heavily.
”Enough!” he yells, his eyes alight with an inner fire, and small tendrils of smoke rising from the sides of his jaws. He turns his gaze first to Jeevika. ”You think we are letting her off lightly!?!? No! Right now, my honor is the only thing holding me back from making her put that sword of hers to the test,” he says through clenched fangs. ”You four saves our lives. And we will repay that debt.”
”Lorthan...” Elthariel says, her voice shaking. He seems to either ignore her or not hear.
He then snaps his head around to Zoli. ”But only if you never make such a reckless mistake again! Gadgorin was a good man. Descended from Kings! Normally honor would demand he be avenged, but our debt and the fact that perhaps, hopefully, his soul escaped that place and he is now with his ancestors is all that keeps me from doing so.”
He then turns back to Jeevika, lowering his weapon as he speaks, ”Don’t ever assume that we are ‘being easy’ about this sort of thing. We have lost more than you could ever fathom. And we are just barely getting by...”
He then throws his weapon down between you and moves off towards Elthariel, where he sits with a heavy thud. She approaches and sits beside him. After a few minutes, she leans her head against his arm, trying to calm the beast of a man down from his trembling, but now silent, rage.
Jeevika finds herself wanting to object, but... she ultimately nods in acknowledgement to Lorthan's points and holds her tongue. Being nearly 150, she knows when to let sleeping dogs lie. Clearly, everyone needs time to cool down.
Even Jeevika herself...
With a sigh, the Ambassador casts her prepared Air Walk spell and uses it to get some much needed distance from it all.
As Jeevika forces herself to meditate, she finds herself thinking...
Perhaps, in the end, I am the one projecting...
"The water has already flowed under the bridge. None of us are perfect and those living in glass houses should not throw stones. We have a much more pressing and important mission than apportioning blame for mistakes. If we allow ourselves to be divided by loss, then Karzoug has already won."
"Now - We must return to Avistan and make ready to confront the Runelord before it is too late. I think we could all use a bit of rest and time to cool off, then in the morning I will take us back."
Again, Jeevika ultimately nods in acknowledgement to Eugeni's points. While she might not agree with everything the tusked arcanist has to say, the Ambassador is self-aware enough to concede that his last point is very, very true. With nothing left to do until Eugeni can change his spells, Jeevika spends her time reflecting on what has likely been the second most trying week of her life.
Ryli hears the distant sound of raised voices across the fields, so she turns back. The matter seems to have settled by the time she returns, so she says nothing that might spark emotions again.
She feels a pang of hunger and realizes that they will need to start eating again. She gathers Kallie up and allows her to nurse, sitting a respectful distance away.
"How much time do you think we can spare?" she finally asks. "I feel no particular need to go back right away. Kallie will be walking soon, and will be much more self-sufficient when that happens."
She then looks around at the faces of the grieving. "And maybe some time of peace will do us all some good."
"I for one intend to get black out drunk at least once, and then to go on a shopping spree before we head off to face probably doom in the defense of people who don't even know we exist." Eugeni pauses and then winks uncharacteristically at Ryli. "I might even try on a centaur body if you are still interested."