With tears in her own eyes, Zoli steps forward and says, "You're much too beautiful a being to slay, but if you insist then we will disable you. If we don't, a great evil will fall upon this land.
"Understand that I am ready to stop this, if you can explain why you're fighting us, or let us know what it is you seek."
____________
Swift: Dizzying Defense
Full: Attack (with the first swing being nonlethal and the rest being lethal)
Eugeni waits to see if one of his more martially inclined companions can lay the angel low.
Gritting her teeth at the pain, Jeevika quickly moves in and takes a swing at the Planetar. Her injuries make it difficult to focus on both attacking and hiding in the angel's shadow. Granted, it could also be that Jeevika's heart just isn't in the fight...
Ryli begins calling in allies from the First World, not sure if any of her spells would have an effect on this being.
The angel swings her sword at Jeevika as fresh tears begin to run down her cheeks, even as her wounds begin knitting themselves shut. The swing goes above her head, but she then turns her eyes to Zoli, who drops her sword and buckler and staggers in place, stunned!
As Wrathblade clatters to the floor, Zoli just stands there stunned, and cries for the angel before her.
Seeing that her help is actually needed, Elthariel quickly shuffles her way into firing range and then takes a shot at the Planetar.
Meanwhile, Jeevika continues to slash away at her opponent. Zoli dropping out of the fight quickly steels her own resolve to fight. Once she finishes, Jeevika hides in the angel's shadow and then steps forward to fool her opponent's aim.
Ryli finishes her spell and glowing stirges pop in from the First World, buzzing around the angel.
They immediately dart in and attempt to get a holy meal.
Ryli begins chanting again.
The angel falls to the ground from the assault, it’s body no longer moving and covered by its four beautiful wings like one would a victim at a crime scene.
"What should we do with it now? I can not determine what is causing it to behave this way. At least not magically. Could it be blackmail?"
Ryli ends her spell before she summons more stirges. Then she speaks to the ones already present, telling them to stop feasting.
They fly off to buzz around the centaur until the spell wears off.
Zoli--as she recovers--kneels, and brushes away one of the massive angel's tears.
"What in Golarion could make that angel attack us? Especially given that Eugeni saw no charm on it?
"Jeevika, now that we have time, what do you think about casting Break Enchantment on it? We can bind it and keep it unconscious while you do."
”S-Save your magics,” a melodious voice says as the angel stirs, its wings shifting and allowing it to sit up. ”I am...free to act as I will now...”
It looks you all over apologetically, but after a moment it’s features grow stern and it reaches for its blade as it stands and asks through clenched teeth, ”Where...is Khalib?”
"...Khalib is dead," answers Jeevika cautiously. "Zoli here killed him. We then burned his body and scattered the ashes so his master couldn't resurrect him. Why do you ask?"
"What did they do to you?"
The angel grinds its teeth a moment before slamming a fist into the gilded floor. ”Khalid bound me to defend this breach, some giant named Mokmurian made years ago. He used a clever command that forced me to fight anyone who came near in total silence. However, it wasn’t perfectly worded, and upon my defeat I have now been released from its compulsion. I looked forward to driving my sword through his heart.”
It sits silently for a moment before adding ”You have my thanks, heroes, for releasing me. My name is Ayruzi.”
Zoli leaps through the air and hugs the angel around the neck. "Oh I'm so so so so so glad we don't have to kill you!" She shudders involuntarily.
Still clinging to it, she says, "Good to meet you, Ayruzi. I'm Zoli, and we're the Varisian Rangers. We've slain Khalib, and we're on our way to defeat Karzoug...or hopefully just prevent his return.
"What will you do now? Will you join us in vanquishing Khalib's master instead?"
The angel returns the embrace of Zoli solemnly, taking in her words. ”I...I need to return to the Higher Planes. But, I cannot let a risk of greater magnitude than Khalib to persist. I shall join you in your quest, if you would like, mortals.”
Zoli hops and flips back to the ground.
"Did someone cast Air Walk on me? Because I feel like my feet still aren't touching the floor.
"Ayruzi, do you need any healing? Or just some time? I don't know how long you've been trapped here. And do you know anything of the area ahead?
"Once you're ready, we should keep going as it seems that Karzoug is gaining strength rapidly."
"We could definitely use your help, Ayruzi," says Jeevika. "Khalib's master Karzoug could possibly return today. I suspect that the final battle is merely hours away. One way or another, our quest is likely to end very soon."
Before venturing out, Jeevika takes a moment to patch some of her wounds.
Ryli smiles in relief that the angelic being did not die. As the stirges pop out, she nods her head solemnly. "Thank you. Karzoug's return would herald an era of extreme strife and woe. Do you need anything?"
”Very well then,” the angel says as it stands to it’s full height, it’s earlier sadness replaced with a regal and steadfast resolve, ”I shall join you in your quest, and see this mortal laid low for the vile plans it has for this world. Thank you for your offer, but the wounds you delivered to me shall mend in a few moments,” it says as it spins its blade nimbly and rests it on its shoulder.
”Lead on, mortals. Let us see this through. Unless any of my own Magic’s may be of service before we move out?”
The group and their newfound ally make their way on down the corridor, coming to a large stone door that sits ajar. Beyond it lies a chamber with two vast double doors, each ten feet in width, which stand in the southern wall of this barren chamber. The face of each black stone door is covered with tens of thousands of tiny runes carved in an eerie, spidery script. The runes seem to writhe and slither about when not under direct observation.
Eugeni studies the shifting door, noting powerful conjugation magic lingering upon it. Suddenly, everyone feels their minds subjected to the labyrinthine network of tunnels that wind through the depths of the underworld below another realm—a nightmare maze of horrors and things best left unseen!
You each find yourselves alone within a dark, horrific labyrinth! The screams of unseen terrors resound off the walls of the passages near you, and raking claws, flapping wings, and ominous footsteps all seem to be approaching you simultaneously!
As you each attempt to navigate the maze, you hear in the distance a pained shriek from Olympus, followed by shrill squeaks from Lion. For a moment, you all feel the panic of being lost overwhelm you! But then, Eugeni manages to make a clever deduction that lets him navigate himself free of the horrific maze, resulting in everyone reappearing in the room next to the ominous doors once again!
Eugeni looks around once the maze spell is broken. Seeing everyone is seemingly okay, he explains his deductions. "This must be it. These doors can only be opened by Karzoug himself, powerful chaotic fiends or natives of the plane of Leng. I suppose we might have to summon something to open them for us..."
"There is a trap activated by reading the door, or trying to open it. No one look at the text please. I believe our best bet at continuing forward is to summon a chaotic evil fiend of sufficient power to open the door. Unless one of you have a better idea?"
Ryli taps Olympus with her wand while avoiding focusing on the writing on the door as advised by Eugeni.
"I could bring in a frost or storm giant, but that might not be sufficient to open the door."
Not wanting to get hit by the trap again, Jeevika sighs and steps outside the room. She notes that a frustrated Elthariel join her as well. To think, they come so far, only to get blocked by a set of doors.
"...Wait, Mokmurian was able to tear a hole in the walls... and only the doors seem trapped."
She glances at her adamantine sword.
"...Love Hurts," she murmurs before tentatively seeing if she can use her sword to get through the stone wall...
After several minutes of hacking away at the wall, which feels more difficult than it should given the adamantine blade, eventually Jeevika cleaves a hole large enough for a human to squeeze through...
...That worked?!
Jeevika quickly calls out to her allies, "I think I bypassed the doors! I can see a room on the other side!"
"Interesting. Who wants to go first?"
"Hey, good idea, Jeevika!
"I'll take a peek."
Zoli steps, Wrathblade in hand, forward and peeks through the hole in the wall.
Jeevika reactivates her daughter's Ring of Invisibility and moves to follow Zoli.
Roughly a dozen men dressed in turbans and loose robes with cloth masks over their lower faces are milling about working on the mechanism, seeming not to care about someone hacking their way in.
Zoli scratches her head, and then pops back to talk to her fellow Rangers.
"Oh! There are some weird peoplish things in there working with some crazy machine. I can't be totally sure, but the way they cover their faces and their loose robes are spot on resemblances from a play I saw once: Lovers Leng, by Dariun Duvenhall!
"I suspect they're actual plane-traveling Denizens of Leng. If so, they use these strange black ships to travel the planes in search of slaves.
"I wonder what Karzoug is doing, working with them?"
"...Nothing good," answers Jeevika as she becomes visible again. She suddenly appears to be... quite terrified. The Holy Vindicator takes a few seconds to center herself. "I've dealt with creatures like them before; they're related to those Old Gods that seem to like my family so much. In fact, for that reason, they might know who I am."
With a sigh, she sheaths her sword; with Zoli and a Planetar around, it's not like she is really needed on the frontlines.
In very/surprisingly polished Aklo, Jeevika approaches the creatures and tries talking with them, "Greetings, Denizens of Leng! As the former Champion of Lord Bokrug the Water Lizard, I have an inquiry to ask of you. What exactly is your purpose here in Xin-Shalast?"
Zoli stands next to Jeevika, not sure what she just said, but smiling in the hopes of improving the Denizens' disposition.
Isn't that one of those languages Setsu used to use when she talked in her sleep, or got stressed out? Man she has a weird family...
Without turning its attention from its work, the nearest one says ”Ang aming layunin dito ay ang aming sariling, Bumagsak. Ngunit hindi kami nagdadala sa iyo ng masamang kalooban. Pumunta ka sa iyong daan, at iwanan mo kami, at maaari kang maging mapayapa,” it adds with a brief sidelong glance towards Jeevika before resuming its job.
After a long moment, Jeevika sighs and gestures for Zoli to follow her back to the others. Once there, out of the sight of the Denizens, the Holy Vindicator pulls out her chalkboard and some chalk. After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she writes...
"Despite their nonaggression, I don't think we should leave them be," she says via text. "Firstly, going by that door, they're allied with Karzoug; that alone should be reason enough to stop them. Secondly, besides Father Bokrug and Lord Yig, I've found creatures associated with the Old God mythos to almost always be... highly malicious."
As she cleans the board, the nervous elf takes a moment to clear the tears from her monochrome eyes.
"Admittedly, I might be a bit of a reptile Old God apologist," she writes in acknowledgement. "However, we all saw how Azathoth manipulated Setsuna. I've also dealt with another. Much less powerful but far more cunning. He manipulated my eldest Attica toward terrible ends. If his plan had succeeded, we most likely wouldn't be talking. In fact, we probably wouldn't even exist."
She clears the board again with trembling hands.
"I don't know what these creatures are planning, but their alliance with Karzoug and my past experiences with the Old Gods make me think it's nothing good..." Jeevika finishes.
Eugeni goes to take a look. After retreating to the other room, away from where the Lengites can hear them, he says, "Besides the reasons Jeevika mentions, what if Karzoug is on the other side of the portal thing they are working on? What if they are working to return him at this very moment?"
"Who wants to lead the attack?"
Zoli grins. "Hold my Andoran Pilsner."
Zoli thinks for a second, and then points and suggests "Let's all walk in to there. Why don't Ayruzi and I take up the front, with yall right behind. Then--if they don't come after us first--we can rush them."
Stepping up imperiously beside Zoli, who seems much smaller compared to the giant sized angel, Ayruzi looks over the robed figures with a scowl. ”Perhaps. But, they do not seem aggressive at this time. Maybe they aren’t truly aligned with this Master of Khalib of which you speak. And if so, perhaps we should focus our energies there. One thing I’ve learned in my sons of battling fiends of the Abyss and Hell, it is that evil turns on itself to suit its own ends.”
"...Eugeni, perhaps could you put your big brain to work and deduce what they're doing? You've been able to discern quite a few important details today," proposes Jeevika. "I at least want to know what they're plotting with that crazy machine."
If Eugeni agrees, Jeevika accompanies him.
+my knowledge skill bonus