Aydie cries out in pain as Elka's claws tear into her sides. She drops her dagger and raises her hands. "I see that I am no match for your strength. I yield. Will you show me mercy?"
Ulrich steps closer, but he doesn't lower his crossbow. "I would like to. Gabriella and I are faithful to Pharasma, but I do not trust that you will leave us be." He shows his holy symbol to help prove his loyalty.
"We will." Allie says, "We revere the cycle of life and death as you do. But you must give up your weapon and swear upon tour allegiance to Pharasma that you neither hinder us in future nor aid our enemies until our souls return to the Boneyard for their final judgement."
"Yes, I swear it. I apologize for performing my grim duty, and I thank you for your grace and nobility. My debt to Mictena has been repaid, but now I am in your debt. I will balance the scales before this is all done."
She lowers her hands and concentrates, disappearing in a flash of light. The giant raven caws, spreads its wings, and flies away into the Boneyard.
"Assuming no one is terribly injured, I suggest we press on and use these magical benefits to our advantage. We can come back for gemstones afterwards."
"Frankly I don't give a damn about the gemstones. I just want out of here." Allie offers in agreement. "Let's go!"
Covered in her own blood its a simple matter to set her wounds closing with a spell.
The north area of this clearing contains a large triangular shrub, while the south contains an enormous fence made of gravestones stacked 10 feet high. In front of the fence is a small bed of vivid red flowers, though clumps of dead flowers mar the tableaux. Wooden gates, each barely three feet wide, stand between the stacked gravestones.
A golden shabti inspects the dead flowers sadly. He looks up as you approach. "So, you are the intruders. I am Reedreaper, the head gardener here in Deathbower. Mictena says you are dangerous abominations who threaten creation itself. But I saw you show mercy to Aydie. I am conflicted."
"We are mortals who have ended up in the Boneyard, not yet dead." Alessandra responds, stepping forward with her hands wide in a show of good faith (the fact that her hands are her weapons is neither here nor there!) "Mictena says we disturb the order of things and the only way to fix that is to slay us at once, but she leaps to extremes and doesn't consider her situation. If this was our rightful time to die then we would have done so - to attempt our deaths now is murder, not justice. We simply want to return to the mortal world where we belong, we have no desire to slay you or yours."
Kamosh flutters over to a nearby flower, not too far from Reedreaper. He sings his little whippoorwill song to inspire Reedreaper's love of nature.
"I do the Lady of Graves will as much as any of you," Gabriella says, stepping forward and lowering her crossbow. She pulls the spiral symbol from within her tunic. "Something has been done that's wrong. We're the ones it was done to and we're the ones that need to find out what it was and correct it." Her irritation is beginning to show through. "Everyone that tries to just brush us aside is just furthering the perversion."
Knowing she'd most likely any manage to make things worse, Elká stays quiet and observes how her companions go about taking this otherworldly man's doubts away. Clearly, not everyone in Pharasma's realm is a braindead automaton - why then had they been forced to unleash so much violence upon the world around them? Maybe the Divine is to blame for all the strife in our world. Heh.
Reedreaper seems less than impressed by Allie's attempts to ease his concerns, but he considers Kamosh's song and Gabby's holy symbol. "It would seem that you follow the tenets of the Lady of Graves as well as Mictena does. I was concerned you might share the secrets of your natures and further disrupt the flow of souls, but it seems you don't know those secrets yourselves."
The shabti sadly picks a dead flower and lets it crumble in his fingers. "Mictena's fixation on stopping you is putting her entire domain at risk. I am beginning to doubt that her motivations are purely selfless. They may instead by a misguided xenophobia or pride."
He seems to come a decision, sighing wearily. "I have no wish to slay you. I don't think it would serve any purpose. I'll let you pass. I hope you can convince Mictena to stand down, but I understand if a fight proves to be inevitable."
"Will you come with us?" Allie asks quietly. "She will probably listen more to those she trusts, like you, rather than to those she considers abominations. Either way I hope you are able to help the garden - I'm sure it's beautiful."
Reedreaper turns back to the flowers as he speaks. "I was created to suffer the punishment of a sinful motal prince. I came into an existence hunted by the unrelenting fiends of Abaddon. I spent several mortal lifetimes running, hiding, and watching the few friends I made get caught and savaged by daemons until Mictena rescued me. Since then, I have known nothing but peace and tranquility. I ower her to much to openly stand against her."
"You wouldn't be turning against her, you'd be helping her." Allie insists. "Look around you - this garden is withering away, it shouldn't be here and that is her doing. If we walked out of this garden now Mictena would keep the garden here until it collapsed around her. She saved you but you know as well as we do that she is proud - and she imperils your peace, your tranquillity and your home, simply because she refuses to believe that she is wrong. There are great powers in the Boneyard - if we were the abominations she claims we are then why have we not been destroyed already? Is it a test of faith, that Mictena must sacrifice something dear to her to prove her devotion? Surely it can't be - that is not Pharasma's way. Help her see the error of her ways. Please Reedreaper, you're her only hope."
Reedreaper considers Allie's impassioned plea for a few moments, then looks up. "Very well. Truth be told, I have grown discontented with eternity here in Deathbower. I have memories of the man I was created to suffer for, memories of a place called Osirion on a world known as Golarion. I know these memories are not my own, but they make me want to visit the sunbaked desert all the more and feel the hot wind on my own face. If my memories of that land are false, then let me create true ones to replace them. I will come with you and talk to Mictena. If the worse should pass, I will fight alongside you."
"Thank you!" Alessandra responds, and its easy to see that her thanks are heartfelt. "We should press on then, save any more damage."
"Should all go well, I would be interested in learning what memories you have received." Says Ulrich. Kamosh lands on his shoulder and sings gently.
Gabbi gives her sister a smile and a nod as the group moves on.
With Reedreaper in tow, you continue on through the garden. A long stretch of greenery lies ahead. The damage to the hedges is obvious here, with entire sections rotting away. Two fibrous oozes of sickly flowers and rotten leaves block your path, but you dispatch them without much issue.
The path ends at the far side of Deathbower. This wide garden shows clear signs of damage; entire flower beds are rotting and the hedges have gaps and fissures. A wooden gazebo stands at the eastern end, its wood discolored and warped. A wide wrought-iron gate stands to the west, reading "Deathbower" in backward script from this direction. Beneath this archway is a thick iron gate, shut tight.
Mictena stands in the gazebo, her skeletal face a mask of cold fury. "Mijitos, the time has come to accept your fates. For the good of the multiverse, I cannot let you leave this place alive."
Reedreaper steps forward. "Mictena, please. You have to let them go. Can you not see what is happening? Deathbower is rotting all around you. Your obsession is destroying your own realm."
There is a flash of light as Aydie appears beside the shabti. "These mortals are men and women of honor. They are victims of circumstance, not malevolent entities. Let them go."
Mictena curses in a foreign tongue. "No! They must not be permitted to escape! The Boneyard was built on carefully orchestrated processes that the dead must follow. If I let them go, then everything that the Lady has built here will unravel in an instant!"
Elká flashes Mictena her sweetest and least-offensive smile. Surely Mictena would let them pass peacefully?!
But while Elká's smile could be interpreted as 'sweet' and 'loving', the changeling's eyes are merrily broadcasting feelings of loathing and hatred for Mictena.
"And yet we are not dead." Alessandra responds, having considered her line of argument carefully. "You yourself have recognised that we should not be here. You were in Roslar's Coffer, you saw how the people there reacted, how they looked and sounded. It is not our time and you know it. Why else would you expend so much energy to move your garden here, where it does not belong, simply to thwart us. How many souls have you done that for before? I would wager my soul that you haven't ever done this before. We mean you and the Lady no harm. There are worshippers of Pharasma amongst us! All we want is to return to the mortal world, where we belong, so that in future we may return here when the time is right." She stops there, trailing away to let others add their own points.
Ellie shrugs noncomittally. "Look, crazy lady, I'm not happy at the trouble you caused us. If it comes to a fight and we put you down, I won't shed any tears. But I don't want my friends to get hurt. Let us pass, so we can find out what was done to us and fix it. Otherwise, you face the risk of there being more people like us in future. That will really destroy your precious order, won't it?"
"This isn't about the Lady's design. This is about you and your ego," Gabriella says bluntly. "It's about your conceit that only you can prevent Her system from collapsing. I hate to be the bearer of image damaging news, but Pharasma doesn't need you to fulfill her role. Her methods are in place and will be until the final prophecy is completed. The idea that it will all collapse if you don't take action is absolute self-aggrandizing b~&!@@!+. We're the ones that have been manipulated and we're the ones that will find out who did it and how."
"We have also helped this realm plenty." Ulrich adds. "We have laid to rest the souls of our fellow townsmen, crippled the tooth faerie infestation, saved Kishokish of the nine-eaves from a Wihsaak, and we restored Salighara to her proper position after Pedipalp opened the dream gate to bring forth nightmares (a plan which we do know was of your design). So I will say this as calmly as I can. 'We have earned our right to go home.'"
Mictena hesitates, her face clouded with consternation. It seems your words are having an effect. "No! Your existence goes against everything I stand for. Everything I was created for. I am an agent of creation. I must fulfill my responsibilities, no matter the cost."
"That doesn't mean you pick a path and blunder down it blindly, devastating everything in front of you," Gabbi argues back. "Fine, you kill us; What then? You haven't discovered what or who caused this in the first place. Unless it's stopped, it's going to happen again. And again. And again. And you'll be stuck here in this rotting garden dispensing violence against those that have already been violated." The inquisitor shakes her head. "That's not the Lady's plan for you and deep in your heart you know that. You need to let us pass so we can find who did this and keep it from happening again. That's the only way forward."
Mictena looks around, as if seeing the devastation of the garden for the first time. She lets out a heavy sigh. "You're right. This is not the way. I let pride cloud my judgment, and the results were nearly disastrous. I cannot believe I was so wrong in my asssessment of the situation. You may pass, mijitos. I hope this is the right decision." She looks to Reedreaper. "You wish to leave as well, si? You are a free soul. You may do as you please. I hope you find what it is you are looking for, amigo."
The catrina gestures, and the gates exiting Deathbower swing open.
Gabriella glances at her sister before shouldering her crossbow.
She then looks at Ellie and gestures for her to lead the way through to open gate. "After you," she says with a smirk. She looks over at Allie again.
"Thank you." Allie says, offering the catrina a grateful smile.
As Ellie takes the lead Allie falls in next to Gabbi, one hand snaking out to entwine with her sisters.
"Hopefully we can actually leave now!" She says, "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really missing the sun!"
The moment of tension twists and turns in such strange manners that Elká finds herself moving forward as if afloat. Then - if not batted to the side like a pest - she lets go off all the tension and fears that had held in her a vice ever since they had all woken up in this strange place, and offers Mictena a hug. For once, a situation had been successfully resolved without the use of violence and deadly force. For once, reason and sense had been victorious, and at that moment, Elká's heart beats a rare positive song. "Thank you! You won't ever come to regret letting us go, Mictena."
Not quite a vow, but a promise nonetheless.
Mictena awkwardly pats Elka on the shoulder. "I certainly hope not, child."
As you prepare to depart, Reedreaper bows to Mictena. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I hope you will be well in my absence."
Aydie inclines her head as you exit the garden and step back onto the Dead Roads. The air wavers behind you, and when you look back, Deathbower has vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
As the last obstacle fades behind and the Dead Roads continue ahead, a shimmer ripples through the sturdy ground. Cobbles and dust roil and twist together into a tall, thin figure swathed in a patchwork traveling cloak. Beneath the cloak’s hood, the figure’s raven-like head, obsidian feathers, and eyes that gleam like pale marbles are visible. The figure extends a taloned hand, and all at once, details of the journey past—the way stations, the garden, the Boneyard itself—all seem reflected in the mirrorlike surface of the creature’s eyes.
An androgynous voice echoes from within your own chest. "Hail and well met, travelers. Your journey has been a wearying one, but it ends now. I will usher you to the home you seek." The figure extends a hand, and the road seems to slide along quietly underfoot at an effortless pace.
The dhampir's eyes narrow only slightly at the appearance of the cloaked figure. "Hello, Barzahk," she says, recognizing the psychopomp. "Aren't you going to try to set things to 'right' by killing us as well? So far, everyone we've met here has been singing to Mictena's tune. It's been most trying."
"No. Your unpleasant fate these past ages has been a failing of my own hospitality, and for that I apologize. Dying has missed you once, and the understanding of that failure is far more pressing now than an attempt to repeat it. Mictena fears for creation. She is young and feels all the world’s fate upon her shoulders. She has not accepted that the making of destiny is a craft for mortal hands. Ours is but to polish."
"That's what we've been saying all along," Gabbi says with a shake of her head. "So you're sending us on to ... where? Hopefully somewhere we can get a bath - we're in sore need of it."
"I am speeding your journey back to whence you came. Roslar's Coffer on Golarion. Though you may find it much changed from the home you remember." Barzahk turns to regard Reedreaper. "And I shall guide you to the destination of your choice."
"Osirion," breathes the shabti.
"Everyone there's dead," Gabbi intones, her eyes turning downward. Her hand grasps her sister's tighter. "Of course it will be changed. No need to wait any longer, speed us along."
"We just want to go home." Allie adds, returning the pressure. "Reedreaper, I hope you find what you're looking for. You deserve it."
Even as the ground rolls away beneath them Allie can feel something inside herself, a soft rumble, almost a growl, calling to her from ahead.
"Wait. Barzahk. What can you tell us about our mother?" She asks, suddenly hopeful. "Can you tell us where she is? Does she know about us?... Is she proud?"
Gabbi tenses as Allie asks about their mother and her eyes close, part of her not wanting to hear an answer.
"Her soul has been judged and gone on to its final reward," Barzahk intones impassively. "She is no longer under my purview, thus I cannot provide you the answers that you seek."
"Do you know what the judgement was?" Allie asks, daring a final question on the subject.
"All I can say is that she received the reward that she earned in life. The Lady's judgments are never wrong."
Allie shoots a glance at her sister that is full of mixed emotions, but doesn't press the conversation any further. Indeed she barely speaks again as the Dead Roads whirl away beneath them.
These aren't mortals we're talking to. Breathe in, breathe out, and remember - he might look like a humanoid, but he isn't one. Elká compartmentalizes her emotions and sighs. "If you say so," the changeling says in defeat. "Will you be gone once we arrive back 'home'?"
The first beams of sunlight in what seems a lifetime arc from the horizon. The Dead Roads ahead begins to shift out of focus in contrast to the morning sun. The masked figure turns back but pauses. "What has been done to you has never before been done in this creation. I can sense more of these deep wounds in the Boneyard and will seek them out. Perhaps I will send these same confused souls to you. But what you are and why you are I cannot answer. I make this request: learn this thing, that I may know it, too. Safe journeys, travelers. Take these with my blessings."
Each of you finds a cloak of fine raven feathers draped over your shoulders.
Reedereaper bows to you. "This is where we part ways. Our time together was brief, but I am grateful to have shared it with you. Perhaps we will meet again."
Ulrich thanks Barzahk furtively. He is struck with an equal measure of fear and awe. Yet it seems that Pharasma will not smite this necromancer this day. He has now seen the mask of the one who will meet him in death, and this image has a lasting impression upon him.
"All I can say is that she received the reward that she earned in life. The Lady's judgments are never wrong."
Gabbi's face hardens slightly and she pulls her sister closer. "So you won't tell us," she says, her tone short. "I can't say I expected anything else. Rarely do the Lady's servants place any value on a soul's feelings."
The woman shakes her head trying to move past her frustration. "Sorry, that wasn't fair. We appreciate your assistance. We will meet again. Although, hopefully, it will be a long time from now."
She puts her arm around her twin and kisses her temple.
Allie squeezes her sister's hand in response but doesn't do anything else until Reedreaper makes his farewells.
"Thank you Reedreaper. We couldn't have done it without you. I hope Osirion is everything you wish for."
As she receives Barzakhs gift Allie removes her crimson cloak with a slight look of sadness, to replace it with the raven feaths - which she easily recognises as a more powerful version.
"Let's go home." She says, plucking up a brave smile for her sister, Ellie and their other companions.
"Although I don't know what we'll find when we get there..."