Rudrik growls and, using the power of Nime's spell, lumbers across the space with incredible speed, reaching Sarn just on the heels of Theo's fire attack.
Shenuska grins to herself and prepares again. Sarn is not going to find this easy!
Calendula steps forth and throws her long arms at the cult leader with a series of loud pops!
Nime's limbs go rigid and her blue hair forms a corona around her head as the lightning strikes her. Her natural resistance to electricity being the only reason that she's still alive. Even so, it's a moment before she can do anything.
Once she is capable of action, the undine realizes how badly she's been hurt and knowing that she can't help her friends if she's dead, sets to healing herself.
Sarn dodges most of Theo's breath, but Calendula and Rudrik pummel him. The high master flickers across the room again and tries another spell, but Shenuska expertly counters it once more. "Stop doing that!" he shrieks as he quickly heals himself again.
Once again, empowered by Nime's spell, Rudrik rushes across the room to batter the cultist.
Calendula pursues, blood still dripping down the length of her blade
Calendula and Rudrik batter Sarn, but as he is about to fall, a magical contingency infuses him with healing energies, keeping him conscious--at least for now!
Shenuska decides to end the fight in one swoop and invades Sarn's mind, tearing at his thoughts with her own.
"You will not move!" Nime declares to all the enemy combatants.
Frustrated at Sarn constantly moving around, Theo let the flames rise in his claws. If he couldn't get at Sarn with his claws, then so be it.
Theo’s flames falter against Sarn’s spell resistance, but Shenuska punches through it and literally blows the High Master’s mind! The cult leader’s eyes roll into his head and he falls, blood streaming from his eyes and ears. With his death, the rest of the worshippers of Doloras will no longer be a threat!
Nime looks perplexed. "Does that count as moving?" she asks. She shrugs and then moves to tend the wounds that they have sustained.
Rudrik pauses, then sheathes his unbloodied sword.
"Did my best," he says as he returns to Nime's side. "Makes it a little harder, fighting to knock 'em out without trying to kill them, but I'm tryin'."
"Thank you for trying," Nime says, touching the large man's arm. "But please don't put yourself in extra danger for my sake."
"It is a commendable effort." Shenuska agrees. "But I would not treat cultists of a demon queen as people likely to be redeemed."
She examines the items with an appraising eye and hands the scrolls to Nime. "These will free the Sihedron Heroes. When the time comes, I trust you to know what to do with them."
She throws a lesser amulet to Rudrik and the greater one to Calendula, before offering the final one to Theo. "These will harden your skin and prevent blows." She says. "The spectacles would be useful for a wizard, but not us. The shield is valuable and potentially useful, should be ever need to dispose of an obstacle. Perhaps you should wield it Calendula. Does anyone object if I claim the belt?"
"I'll trust you to handle all the magical mummery," says Rudrik to Shenuska. "What, um, should we expect from the Sihedron heroes? I don't really... know much about them, how can we be sure they're on our side and not controlled by one of the Runelords?"
To Nime he says gently, "Eh, at this point the kind of magic our enemies are throwing is always gonna get me in trouble. Swinging with my pommel and the flat of my blade doesn't really make a meaningful distinction in how much danger I'm in."
"I'll do it for you," he says, raising his bevor so that he can look into Nime's eyes seriously.
Theo carefully took the offered amulet between draconic claws, thinking to himself that he really shouldn't be surprised that picking up small, valuable, and shiny objects would be instinctive muscle memory for a dragon's body.
"I doubt many of the runelords are still in play at this stage," Theo said, still not reverting to human form, "and I have the feeling that the Heroes came here before Alaznist really got going. Although I don't think that makes much difference when she's able to travel through time. Either way; I know Viorec will stand with us barring anything but full-on mind control."
"It is a commendable effort." Shenuska agrees. "But I would not treat cultists of a demon queen as people likely to be redeemed."
Nime considers Shen's words. "Perhaps. But if a demon queen herself can be redeemed then I don't believe that anyone is beyond redemption."
"I'll do it for you," he says, raising his bevor so that he can look into Nime's eyes seriously.
The undine smiles at Rudrik and leans in delicately to place a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Thank you," she says. "That's sweet."
"It is a commendable effort." Shenuska agrees. "But I would not treat cultists of a demon queen as people likely to be redeemed."Nime considers Shen's words. "Perhaps. But if a demon queen herself can be redeemed then I don't believe that anyone is beyond redemption."
Shen concedes the argument with a gentle shrug. "I would say there is a long way from a Demon Lord who kills other demon lords to Dolores, but you're right."
Once the gear has been collected and everything sorted out Shen turns to the business at hand. "So, send a message to Xotl and speak with him tomorrow, or today? It might be worth looking through the archives to see if we can find any more about him or his family?"
"I wouldn't mind waiting," Nime says. "But since I would like to avoid it all together, my desires should be ignored in this case. We need to do what we need to do. My sensibilities should be tertiary."
"It's kind of like when you take your best friend to a restaurant that serves Keleshite cuisine and they don't like Keleshite food? Pestering them to make a menu choice is really fruitless - and yes I know that they use fruit in Keleshite cooking, but that wasn't meant as a pun. They're not going to like anything you choose. Pick something for them and move along to the rest of the evening."
"I suspect that if we flip Xotl, he's going to want results immediately. He's been waiting long enough as-is. If you wanna dig in the archives we should do that tonight and then contact him tomorrow," suggests Rudrik.
He flips his bevor back down and says to Nime, "On the up side, we're hopefully going to get this guy freed from the shackles of his envy."
Research today then and deal with the Palace tomorrow. Shenuska decides. "If we're taking on Belimarius we'll need to be fully prepared anyway."
The library contains a wealth of information on a myriad of esoteric subjects, but there is nothing to be found about Captain Xoxl.
You rest overnight, preparing to return to the Palace Miasmora...
The next morning Shenuska goes out into the city until she finds a patrol of the Emerald Guard. "Please convey a message to Captain Xotl that High Master Sarn is dead." She asks, maintaining politeness. "We will be coming to speak with him shortly about the best way to deal with the Rune Giant problem."
------------------
She is as good as her word and, allowing a couple of hours for the guard to finish their patrol, arrives at the Palace Miasmora with everyone, including Ieldana in tow.
"The Captain is expecting us." She breezily informs the guards at the entrance, while casting an interested look around to see if the golems have been repaired.
Shenuska sees the one golem that survived the previous battle is still intact, but the other one remains destroyed. This time, four Emerald Guards flank your group as Captain Xoxl warily approaches you, still bearing some faint scars. "You want to speak about the rune giants in the city? Well, then speak," he says bluntly.
"There's that, and some other matters, concerning the Emerald Guard's financing." Shensuka says with a very slight emphasis. She holds up a piece of paper upon which Xotl can recognise his own writing. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more privately?"
Xoxl's eyes widen slightly. He gestures to the other guards. "Stay here. Watch them." Then he bids Shenuska to follow him into his private chambers. Once there, he shuts and locks the door.
"Okay. What's your plan? You're going to blackmail me to avoid telling my secrets to the runelord?"
"That would be one solution. Or I could provide a solution that would benefit us both." The psychic replies. "Belimarius will never fulfill her promise to you, you must be aware of that by now. She is Runelord of Envy and giving another their heart's desire is the exact opposite of anything she would ever do. But if there were to be a new Runelord, one who actually stood for the virtues of rulership, rather than the vices. Well then I would be Runelord of Altruism and it would be practically my duty to complete such a task."
She holds up a hand to forstall Xotl's next comment. "I will be honest with you. While I, or one of my companions, likely has the power to cast a wish spell, none of us know it at the moment. So it would be impossible to fulfill your wish immediately unless Belimarius keeps scrolls of it somewhere in the palace. However as Runelord of Altruism I would certainly owe a debt to those who helped me ascend to my place, and such debts would be repaid as soon as we returned to the temporal world and circumstances allowed."
Her words come out with superb flow and eloquence thanks to the magic of the Fluttered Wing which Nime passed her as she entered the room.
Xoxl considers Shenuska's words carefully, his mouth a hard line. At length, he sighs. "It is true. Belimarius has promised to grant me what I wanted for so long, dangling it in front of me as a prize that I can never quite reach. None have ever come to me and offered me that prize willingly, without guile. If you can truly do what you say, then perhaps it's time I show the runelord what years of envy can do to a man."
At Xoxl's treacherous words, the crystalline blade of Tannaris begins to hum with a high-pitched tone. "Xoxl! Traitor! You will not turn on your master!" it hisses as it attempts to take control of the half-elf. The guard captain's hands tremble as the sword tries to force him to draw it and attack Shenuska, but with a growl of fury, he resists its compulsion. Instead, he removes the Sword of Envy from his belt and casts it across the room!
"I'll need a new weapon. But I am ready to fight by your side."
"This may be your best choice." Shenuska says, offering the man Sarn's kukri. "It is enchanted with powerful effects against spells. Useful against the Runelord I think. We will need time to prepare, a few minutes. Do you trust your men or should they perhaps be sent on a patrol of the palace walls?"
She leaves the room, returns the Fluttered Wing to Nime with a smile and gives a significant nod.
"Let's get prepared everybody. Does anyone have a spare weapon for the captain? I think a kukri is lighter than he's used to."
”If need be, he can use my sword and I’ll use my old gladius. Suboptimal but I might get in a couple hits.”
As the team got ready, Theo set up his own defensive enhancements. "Don't look at me - my spear's probably worse than Rudrik's gladius. Even if I had it with me; I left the thing back in Magnimar."
”If need be, he can use my sword and I’ll use my old gladius. Suboptimal but I might get in a couple hits.”
"One of you should use Sarn's kukri, it's a dangerous weapon." Shenuska replies. "Would that suit you better Rudrik? Hopefully Tannaris will be available again soon."
"I'll use the kukri. Your juggernaut can keep his blade," Xoxl says, eyeing Rudrik's armor appreciatively.
Thankful that the man doesn't wish to use her walking-stick/glaive, Nime nods.
Xoxl dismisses the other guards then leads the way up the stairs to Belimarius's throne room. The Runelord of Envy sneers imperiously at you. "Captain Xoxl! What is the meaning of this intrusion? Where is your sword of office?"
"I'm done following your orders!" Xoxl snaps. "I will not be denied any longer. Today, runelord, you die!"
"Impertinent rat!" Belimarius snaps. "You'll pay for your betrayal!" Before you can react, she casts a mighty spell to stop time for herslef. To your eyes, the runelord just seems to vanish, and even true seeing does not reveal her--it seems she is using a similar mind blank trick as Xanderghul!
Shenuska and Ieldana both move swiftly to spread themselves apart and avoid the likely wrath of the Runelord. As Shenuska moves her heightened senses pick up disturbances in the air that can only be the Runelord and a cruel grin steals over her face as she lashes out with her own magic to strip the Runelord's protections.
Ieldana, alerted to the Runelord by Shenuska's telepathy, covers the area in shiny black particles which are oddly beautiful. Iron Shen meanwhile soars into the air and floats next to the Sihedron, currently devoid of targets.
Once the Runelord's position is revealed with Shenuska's spell, Nime focuses a clap of thunder on the woman.
Theo was about to start transforming into his draconic form when Belimarus was revealed and he quickly launched a fireball at her before his metamagic rod fused into his form.
EDIT:
Shenuska is able to dispel Belimarius's mind blank spell, revealing her location to those who can see invisibility. The runelord disbelieves the shadow glitterdust, causing the spell to not affect her. However, the psychic is still able to direct the rest of you where to aim your swords and spells.
The runelord weathers Nime's thunderburst with minimal impact, and she dodges some of Theo's fireball, absorbing the rest of the energy without harm.
"You can't dodge it forever," Nime calls out as she claps her hands together.
Rudrik moves to the indicated location and starts randomly waving his sword around.
"Here? Over here?"
Calendula rushes around opposite Rudrik, counting on her arm's elasticity to keep her out of reach of Bellimarius.
Shen's dispelling burst removes her invisibility and mirror image effects, in addition to her mind blank. Thus revealed and exposed, Rudrik and Calendula converge on her, both scoring critical hits! Xoxl moves in as well but misses by a wide margin. A whilring field of force around Belimarius deflects his blade back at him, but he dodges his own weapon.
"Argh! You little pests!" Belimarius spits, clutching her bloody sides. Her wounds are swiftly healing before your eyes. She casts a powerful spell, banishing Calendula to an extra-dimensional labyrinth. "Leave this place and do not return!" she commands Rudrik, her voice laced with the power of suggestion.
The runelord resists Nime's thunder blast.
Rudrik is about to sheath his sword, but the many magical protections on him keep his wits about him for the moment.
Rudrik casually chops at Belimarius, not really concerned too much about the magician's defenses, as he's pretty sure that he could just chop through her halbard if needed.
Belimarius cries out again as Rudrik's blade casually rips through her magical defenses. The runelord is clearly badly wounded now, not to mention outnumbered and outmatched. She holds up a hand. "Enough! I've no wish to die to you miserable louts. Let's negotiate terms of surrender!"
"Drop the halbard," growls Rudrik, leveling his sword point dramatically at her throat. Then his eyes slide sideways behind the slits in his helm's visor to glance at Nime, then at Shen, waiting for the ladies to start the dialog.