Cyrus sighs. "You have lost sight of your children."
He gestures to Lili to leave the medicine, then leads the party out of the house and back to the temple.
Rhugarr steps in line with Cyrus, clearly eager to get away from the old woman. There is a small crowd gathering on the sidewalk, as Gilga follows you as far as the front door, still hollering at them that they're thieves and criminals. The crowd watches you warily, giving the trio a wide berth.
As you make your way down the street on the short walk back to the temple, Rhugarr looks troubled. "I think ye got played back there, lad," he says. "I dinnae think ya made the right call confrontin' her." The dwarf's tone doesn't sound accusatory, but he does sound concerned.
Cyrus looks confused. ”Played how? It could not have been her aim to not receive charity from us, and to potentially lose her orphanage entirely? I believe she showed us who she truly is. I do fear for the children in the short term, but I believe she is simply selfish, not malicious. Still, I will make the urgency of the matter clear to Ollysta.”
Rhugarr shakes his head. "If ye say so."
When the trio reaches the temple, they are greeted by an acolyte who returns them to Ollysta. She does not look happy.
"Word has reached me there was some sort of commotion at Auntie Baltwin's. Please explain."
Cyrus feels chastised but holds his head high. He strongly believes he did nothing wrong. He explains exactly what happened, his concerns about Baltwin, the proposal that he made, and Baltwin's irrational reaction. He reiterates that had he not acted the way he did, their charity would have been taken advantage of. He makes his recommendation for rehoming the children, or at the very least supervising their care under Baltwin closely.
As Cyrus talks, Ollysta's frown deepens, until she looks genuinely angry.
"Observe. Report. Nothing else. Those were your orders, Master Blackstenius, not to confront wrongdoing. She has accused three Pathfinder agents of criminal activity with no witnesses to the contrary. So far as anyone who saw is concerned, three heavily armed individuals confronted an unarmed, crippled old woman." She holds up a hand to halt the inevitable retort. "And no, it doesn't matter that that isn't what happened. It is what people will believe. And what's worse, she knows we are onto her. Do you think she will sit tight while we inform the guard of her fraud, and leave the evidence where they can find it? By now she has had ample time to move it to another location or get rid of it entirely. Had you at least stayed after confronting her, and sent someone to fetch the guard, we could at least have arrested her. The stain on the Society's name would still be there, but we would at least have had the comfort of knowing we put a criminal in prison."
Rhugarr nods sagely. "I knew she was playin' ya."
Ollysta turns her vitriol on the dwarf. "Is that so, Master Darkshield? Then why didn't you stop him? Because if you'd stopped him, you'd have nothing to gloat about? Pathfinder agents do not fail, Master Darkshield. Pathfinder teams fail. It does not matter whose fault it was, all of you share the blame."
She turns back to Cyrus. "There is a reason I gave you the specific orders I did. Had you said nothing of Lili's findings, you could have reported back to me and I could have informed the city watch so they might perform a surprise search and seizure and find the stolen goods. Now they will find nothing, and she will have gotten away with it."
She composes herself slightly. "I have some pull with the local charities. I will inform them she is not to be dealt with. Unfortunately, instead of those children going to worthy orphanages, now I must continue sending packages to her home, lest the children suffer for your mistake. I do not doubt for a moment your heart was in the right place, Cyrus, but you must think about the consequences of your actions. The Society cannot afford to lose any more support, and every misstep that muddies our faces adds up. If you cannot be trusted to follow orders, I cannot give Ambrus my recommendation." She looks genuinely disappointed to be saying the words, but she also doesn't look like her mind can be changed. "You all have other tasks to attend to, I'm sure. Approach them with more forethought, please. Dismissed."
Lili sees Cyrus's crestfallen look and speaks up. "It is unfair of you to hold Cyrus responsible for something his player forgot about! You should be yelling at him, not Cyrus!"
Rhugarr pays for another coach. Despite the relatively short distance, it is already early afternoon, so the saved time certainly helps. You reach the address of Grand Councilmember Dremdhet Salhar in about twenty minutes.
It is immediately apparent the level of opulence Salhar wields. The structure is easily three stories, spread across at least a quarter of a city block, with another quarter taken up by the grounds, which are walled off behind two feet of sturdy stone and topped with copper spikes that glisten and gleam in the midday sun. Two guards stand on duty; they do not wear the city's livery, dressed instead in far more foreign garb marking them as being Osirian.
They glance at the trio with bored gazes, but Cyrus notes while their stance seems relaxed, their feet are firmly planted shoulder-width apart, and their hands rest easily on the hilts of their falchions. Both their studded leather armor and their weapons look of masterwork quality, and their faces are veiled with a dark, breathable material.
They nod in greeting. "You are expected," one says with a thick Osiriani accent, and nods to another guard inside the grounds, who unlocks and opens the gate for you. He locks it shut, and a servant in colorful garb, bedecked in various silk scarves of bright hues and owning a pinched but smiling face, leads you up and into the home of Grand Councilmember Salhar.
After several confusing twists and turns in the labyrinthine hallways and vaulted arches of the massive building, he stops before a large oak door, knocks twice with a firm fist, and opens without awaiting a response. He bows deeply and waves the trio into the room.
Inside is a guest bedroom-cum-study, which is easily the size of a small house, but clearly not the master suite. At a desk the size of a dinner table, a withered, tanned old human sits scribbling feverishly on a piece of parchment, muttering under his breath as he writes. He is dressed in similarly colorful garb to the servant, though the fashion is clearly more expensive. A turban that looks entirely too large for his wrinkled head sits at a precarious angle. After a moment, he turns to you with a smile.
“Good day to you, Pathfinders. I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions. Knowing this was coming, I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject and have this to say.
“Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure. Unscrupulous tomb robbers and maligned merchant organizations cause Osirion to bleed relics into the Inner Sea—something the descendents of Ancient Osirion cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, knowing our enemies will wear themselves down. As they fall into arrogance, folly, or greed, we wait for our return to power, knowing we bear the riches of our ancestors at our feet.
“Master Salhar remains impressed by the Pathfinder Society, orating in their favor a handful of times in front of Absalom’s Grand Council, in fact. Due to previous relationships between him and the Society, Master Salhar has agreed to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to explore his family’s vaults below Sothis. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here. The servant will lead you to the basement
and show you the room.”
The Sapphire Sage’s eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he turns back to reading his writing as though he had never been disturbed. Outside the door, the servant waits patiently for the trio to follow him. Rhugarr looks from the old man to the servant, then back to Cyrus and Lili, and shrugs helplessly.
Lili's eyes grow wide at the prospect of exploring vaults. What untold artifacts and treasure could they hold?! She looks up at Cyrus excitedly and tugs at his arm. "Cyrus! Let's go!"
Cyrus opens his mouth to ask his litany of questions, then feels a tug on his arm. Lili's face is excited and impatient, and Amenopheus has clearly moved on to other tasks, so Cyrus shrugs and bows politely. "Thank you for your time, Amenopheus. You have my word that we will treat the vault with respect." He gives Lili and meaningful look and then follows her to the servant waiting at the door. "Lead the way."
As the servant closes the door behind the trio, Cyrus could swear he hears the old man chuckle before the oak door slides closed with an ominous thud.
The servant leads you down a few more twisting corridors before reaching a wide spiral stair leading downward. He takes you through several well-lit stone corridors before reaching another heavy oak door, already open, before gesturing inside.
A plain stone room greets you. It contains three chests: a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood; a red lacquered chest; and what looks to be a cube of solid steel. Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket.
Rhugarr stops once you enter the room and his face droops. "Oh, ye got tae be kiddin' me." He turns around to say to the servant, perhaps with a hint of panic in his voice, "Ah don't do puzz--" He doesn't even finish the sentence before the door slams shut, followed by the distinct, weighty click of a lock being engaged.
Cyrus spots a note pinned to the door. In sharp, cramped script, it says, "Within this room lies your quest--and your way out."
Rhugarr squints at the note, then crosses his arms impudently, muttering under his breath. "Stupid bloody tests. Stupid bloody foreigners. Stupid bloody puzzles."
Lili claps her hands and lets out a little squeal. "Oh don't worry, you ol' grump. Puzzles are my thing!" She proceeds to examine the lock on the door, the chests, the glass, and the basket.
Lili notices the following:
1. The lock on the door is damned impressive. It's beyond her skill to pick.
2. Two of the three chests (the red laquered chest and the iron chest) have sturdy locks on them. The iron-bound chest also has some kind of spell trap on it that Lili doesn't know how to disable. It will cause an area effect, but an illusory one--no actual damage.
3. She goes to touch the chest with the copper band and it feels... off. Thanks to her gnomish sensibilities, she quickly realizes it's an illusion. There is no copper-bound chest at all!
4. The jar on the table has an ornate copper key at the bottom. While the jar looks like it's full of water, it is actually a mildly corrosive acid.
5. Finally, did that basket just... hiss at you?
Lili tells the others what she sees. ”If anyone else has any ideas, I’m all ears. For now, I’m going to see if I can pick the lock on the red chest since there doesn’t seem to be any downside to trying!”
”Rhugarr, do you detect any magic?”
The lock on the chests (the ones that are real) are also beyond her abilities.
The hiss definitely sounds like a small viper of some sort.
Rhugarr nods. "Aye, all over the bloody place. The chests, the jar, the walls. Bit overwhelming, honestly." He shakes his head as if to clear it.
Lili closes her eyes and begins absentmindedly fiddling with the buttons on her vest. Her eyes dart back and forth under her eyelids. After a few moments, she opens her eyes and a shimmering, translucent disturbance appears in the air above the jar. It solidifies somewhat into the shape of a hand, which reaches down into the jar, grabs the key, and places it on the table next to the jar.
Lili waits for something to explode. It does not, which she may or may not find disappointing. The key rests on the table between the acid jar and the basket.
Lili claps her hands and looks at Cyrus and Rhugarr triumphantly. ”Ha-HA!” She walks to the table, semi-consciously staying as far away from the basket as she can, and snatches the key off of it. She tries the key on the red chest.
Lili places the ornate key in the red lacquered chest, and the key immediately begins slowly turning of its own volition. It makes one long, slow rotation, and then...
... it continues rotating.
And rotating.
And rotating.
After a full minute or so, it seems clear nothing is going to happen. There is no click, no twang, no noise whatsoever indicating anything has happened. Rhugarr steps up and tries to lift the lid, but it is still locked firmly in place as the key keeps rotating. He shrugs. "Other chest mebbe?"
He pulls the key out without any trouble and sticks it in the iron chest. The moment he turns the key, it twists, snaps, and disintegrates in his hand. He lets out a yelp and jumps back. "Not mah fault!" he cries, immediately defensive. "I didnae do it! It just--"
Before he can finish his sentence, the ironbound chest erupts in a wave of energy that strikes both Lili and Rhugarr.
Rhugarr seems to brush off whatever happened, looking around in confusion. "I dinnae get it. The Hells kinda trap was...?" His voice trails off when he looks at Lili, and Cyrus can immediately see why. Something happens then that neither the paladin nor the occultist would ever have expected to see today: Rhugarr laughs. A deep, throaty belly laugh that doubles him over.
Lili has been blasted with the color blue. It is an almost violent shade, electric and obnoxiously bright, and it is all over her face and chest.
Now Lili's problems are two-fold: she is tangled up in blue, and there are no keys left. There is only one more place she can think of that might have a key in it. She looks over to the basket, which seems to jostle a bit, and the hissing can be heard from several feet away.
Lili shoots an angry look at Rhugarr. When she speaks, it is in a shout that belies her tiny size. "Don't touch anything else! I don't need your help!"
Lili is blue for the next several minutes. That is all the trap did, so far as she can tell.
Rhugarr scowls and moves off to go stand in a corner, arms crossed sulkily.
Lili huffs in frustration. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, Rhugarr. This is frustrating. It looks like we're going to have to open that basket. I have a crazy idea. I don't want to hurt the snake so please stand as far away as you can, but be ready."
Lili walks behind the table. With a blink of her eyes and a subtle flourish of her hand, four small orbs of light appear on the other side of the table. She sets them moving in a hypnotic spiraling dance. Then she closes her eyes and begins spinning her ring on her finger. After a moment, she winks out of existence. Rhugarr and Cyrus see the lid of the basket slowly raise up...
Lili opens the lid, and a small emerald viper rears back with a hiss, then freezes as it watches the lights. Snakes have terrible vision, but the subtle warmth given off by the spell's glow has the snake watching curiously. Lili takes the time to peek inside the basket, and sees a key resting under the viper. It takes a little doing, but she manages to extricate the key without disturbing the snake, and drops the basket lid back down just as the invisibility magic drips off her like mercurial water and she becomes visible once again. She holds in her hand a steel key with a gaudy blue stone worked into the head.
Cyrus leads Rhugarr into the far corner of the room to watch whatever cockamamie scheme Lili has concocted. Despite their years together, he still doesn't understand her magic. She just closes her eyes and plays with one of her old ... what does she call them? ... implements, and then stuff happens. Frankly, it makes him a little uncomfortable. His powers are granted to him by his goddess; hers are just ... innate? The fact that he is able to continue healing himself or striking down a wicked foe reassures him that he remains on the righteous path. How does she know what she is doing is right?
These thoughts consume him while he watches Lili vanish, the basket lid rise up of its own accord, the snake mesmerized by Lili's lights, and another key floating out of the basket. He catches himself holding his breath and gripping his hammer until his knuckles turn white. He has just begun to force himself to relax when the basket lid closes on the viper and Lili pops back into view. His breath escapes him in an involuntary sigh.
He may not understand it, but he can't argue with the results. He shakes his head and chuckles a bit at the look of amazement and accomplishment on Lili's face. "Well done, Lili."
Lili feels her invisibility wear off just as she closes the lid over the snake. "Ha! I can't believe that worked!" She sees the familiar look of discomfort on Cyrus's face, and, as always, he quickly replaces it with one of pride. Lili does a little skip and walks back to the red chest. She tries the key in it.
Lili slides the lock into the keyhole on the red lacquered chest and gives it a turn. It clicks open. When the chest doesn't explode or do anything awful, she swings it open. Inside, she finds a single item: another key. This key appears to be of exquisite make, and is carved into the shape of a scepter.
Lili looks up in the direction of the click. "Well, this is interesting. We have two keys but only one lock. I'll see if I can get that key down."
Unfortunately, as useful as the spell has proven to be thus far, her mage hand doesn't quite have enough strength to break the string. It looks like it may be fishing line or something with a similar tensile strength.
Rhugarr rubs his chin. "Mebbe ye could shoot it down? I dinnae have any ranged blades--er, any ranged anythin', fer tha' matter--but a deadeyed shot might do it." He suddenly remembers he's supposed to be sulking and quickly goes back to it.
Lili mutters to herself when the mage hand fails to retrieve the key. "I was afraid of that." You see the hand make a little shrug gesture before winking out of existence.
She nods at Rhugarr. "I suppose it's worth a try, but that's a tough shot." She pulls out her crossbow, aims carefully, and fires.
Thwip-thunk!
Like a master archer, Lili snaps the thread with a well-placed crossbow bolt.
The key falls down, bounces off the lid of the red lacquered chest, and clatters onto the cobblestone floor.
You now have two keys: a scepter key, and this new one, a plain brass key.
Lili spends a minute with each key, eyes closed, fingers running over the contours, absorbing and reading the psychic energy stored in each.
Lili senses nothing of psychic significance from either key, though she does feel their tie to their respective keyholes: the brass key feels connected to the iron chest, and the scepter key feels connected to the door.
Lili opens her eyes and winks at Rhugarr. "I told you puzzles were my thing." She confidently approaches the iron chest, inserts the brass key, and turns it.
Rhugarr harrumphs but says nothing else in reply.
The iron-bound chest swings open with no fanfare or big to-do--barely a whisper of the hinges even--to reveal two items. One is a weather-beaten scroll which, when unfurled, appears to be a map of a large swath of burial sites within the city of Sothis. Several of the sites are marked. The other item is a wand.
After concentrating on the wand for about a minute, Lili learns it is a wand of knock with 11 charges.
Lili claps her hands and whoops with delight. She pulls the map and wand out of the chest and shows them to Cyrus and Rhugarr. "This is what we came for. That was fun!" She then uses the final key to open the door.
The door swings open, and the servant from before stands just outside holding a small hourglass. It hasn't even reached the halfway point. He looks up with a small smile. He glances at Lili, splattered with blue, as if making a mental note of it. "Very good, sirs and madam. Any items you may have found in addition to the map, you may keep, though I do request you return all keys. And don't worry about the blue, miss. It will fade in a few minutes. This way please."
After gathering up the keys, he leads the party back out of the lower level and into the main hall to the front door. Rhugarr's brow furrows. "Dinnae we need ta talk ta tha' bloke with the funny hat again? Er, Ameno... Amenem... Anemonefuss?"
The servant gives him a small glare. "Lord Amenopheus has left for the day on business. You have the map, which I believe is all you need, at least according to m'lord. Have a fine afternoon." He gives a sweeping bow as he opens the front door. His words are nothing but polite, but his tone suggests strongly that it's time for you to leave.
After being ushered out the door, Cyrus laughs. "Well done, Lili! If you hadn't been there, Rhugarr and I would have starved to death in that room!" He takes a look at the position of the sun. "We're making good time. Fancy a walk to the Ivy District?"
You make good time; it is not even late afternoon as you enter the Ivy District and head toward the townhouse of Zarta Dralneen.
You arrive before a magnificent gothic mansion towering three stories in height. Unlike the councilmember's manse, however, this is not an estate; there is little yard to speak of. The sidewalk stretches right up to the heavy stone stairs. The front double doors are a night-black ebony, with a brass chain ending in a prickly cone serving as the door chime. A pull sends a tinkling of music through the house that can just be heard through the impressive doors. Within a few moments the door is answered by a tall, broad-shouldered man in the most tight-fitting livery you've ever seen. It leaves little to the imagination.
The servant says not a word, but beckons you to follow him with a wave of his hand. Led through well-appointed sitting rooms, ballrooms, and a grand stairway granting a view of an elaborate study, the PCs finally arrive on the third floor of the house, at the door of Zarta’s personal study, which lies beyond her bedroom. Knocking upon the door and announcing his presence, the servant opens the darkly stained wooden door.
A large intricate carpet dominates the marble floor in this sitting room. A chaise sits along the north wall and a desk spans the southeast corner, its chair positioned with its back to the southwest corner of the room. Three comfortable chairs are positioned around a small, low circular table.
Sitting at the desk is a striking woman of clear Chelish descent, with long black hair, heavy-lidded eyes, and thick, pursed lips that regard the trio as she sits behind her desk. A small, playful smirk tugs at the corners of her mouth without ever quite becoming a true smile, and she eyes each of the trio in succession with a slow deliberation that borders dangerously close to uncomfortable. Rhugarr, in particular, looks wildly unhappy to be under her gaze.
She waves a hand at the servant as if buzzing away a fly. “Aldor, you are dismissed. Close the door behind you and attend to your other tasks.” She then turns her attention to the group. “It’s always so incredibly adorable when I see a fresh-faced batch of Pathfinders. I mean, look at you scrumptious little teacakes. I could eat each and every one of you up.” Zarta looks pointedly at Rhugarr when she says it, and the dwarf looks like he's going to collapse in on himself like a black hole. “I assume this isn’t a pleasure visit since most of you are terribly overdressed for that manner of occasion, so that must mean you are here for that trinket Valsin has been nagging me about. Seems I can’t get that man around these parts anymore,” she gestures, sliding her hand down her body and widening the gesture to sweep out and across the room as if her home were a secondary thought. “On the plus side, he always sends me all the precious new recruits."
She taps her blood-red lips. “Many think we in Cheliax serve and worship devils, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, we use the creatures for their power. They serve us and we sculpt their power in our own interests. The world must come to terms with the order of things. People need to know their place and operate accordingly. It is the only way to make order from this chaotic world. Too many people stretch too far beyond their station, making waves and eroding the true order.” She sighs exaggeratedly, as if the very idea of it were physically exhausting.
The entire time she's talking, occasional, seemingly random booms, thuds, and crashes can be heard coming from behind the double doors on the west wall, presumably leading into her bedroom.
Lili notices the halfling giving the party the stinkeye. She recalls the red-haired woman from before. "Don't look, but I do believe we are being watched. Could be my imagination, but this is the second time I've seen someone."
Lili walks towards the double doors. "What is going on in here?"
Cyrus nods at Lili. "I saw him too. We need to watch our backs."
Cyrus nearly panics when he sees Lili walking toward the doors. Fortunately, he has much longer legs than her and is able to catch her in just a couple of strides. He gently but firmly takes her hand and leads her away from the doors. Lili briefly protests but eventually relents. "Excuse my friend, Paracountess. Sometimes her curiosity gets the best of her."
Using devils for their power? Madness! They are devious, patient creatures. It is folly to think you can control them for long. He gives Zarta a long look. You are here on Society business. Get it done and get gone.
"Thank you for receiving us. Indeed we are here to retrieve the Society's property. If you would be so kind as to hand it over, we will be on our way and out of your hair."
Zarta gives the paladin a wolfish grin. "I am afraid, in this case, your ravishing little friend has the right idea." She stands up, stretches languidly, and holds the pose just long enough for it to be... distracting... before walking to the double doors into her bedroom and scowling at the door. Even her scowl is alluring. "My poor bedroom will be in utter disarray. Not that things have never gotten... aggressive in there" she smirks playfully "but I usually leave my things unbroken. Little bastard probably destroyed the posters of my bed. Hand-carved by an Irrisen witch, mind you. Very expensive." She sighs wistfully and shakes her head, turning back to the trio and nodding toward the bedroom doors.
“A servant is greatly misbehaving. You’re going to have to deal with it in order to get the trinket.” She goes over to the desk in her study, opening a drawer and drawing out an exquisite silver letter opener shaped like a dagger. “You might need this to get it to submit,” she offers with a sly grin.
Cyrus scowls. These nobles really get off on forcing people to jump through hoops for their amusement. This is not what the Pathfinder Society was supposed to be. Dawnflower, help me. Without a word, he snatches the dagger from Zarta's hand and heads for the door. "Let's just get this done."
Lili catches Cyrus's arm. "Wait." Turning to Zarta, she says, "What kind of creature is through that door?"
She closes her eyes and spins her ring on her finger for a few seconds. Purple psychic energy flows out of it and surrounds her small body. As she opens her eyes, the energy dissipates and her body seems to waver and jump from place to place. "Okay. Let's go."
Zarta shrugs. "See for yourself." She unlocks the bedroom and swings the door open, ushering you inside.
Zarta’s bedroom is decorated in the colors of Cheliax—ebon black and crimson red. Silk, rare woods, and carefully carved marble compose every bit of furniture in the room. Goose down now litters the room, covering almost every surface and the silken shreds of the cushions that contained it lie about like flayed skin. A post on the massive screened bed is snapped in half, collapsed on the bed and drawing the screened curtains into a ripped slope of formerly fine cloth. Vials of perfume and crystal jars of other cosmetics sit smashed on the marble floor around the dresser. A prominent fixture in the room, a large “X” made of stout wood sits along the west wall, complete with leather shackles and chains. A table sits to its left strewn with various items intended for pleasure, but outwardly resembling implements of pain.
Amid the wreckage in the room, a small winged humanoid with dark gray skin and red eyes struggles with a heavy iron box with several keyholes on it, shrieking furiously as he grapples with it to try and open it. It shrieks obscenities in Infernal and throws the box down on the stone floor, apparently in an attempt to break it open. The box chips the stone and bounces once before clattering to a stop. The creature--clearly an imp, a lowly being of the Nine Hells--raises his tiny fists to the sky, shouting in fury, before dive-bombing the box and smacking it hard with his little fist.
He notices the party and shrieks furiously at them. From behind them, they hear Zarta say "Good luck!" before the door shuts and they hear the distinct click of a lock falling into place.
Lili quickly describes what she knows about imps.
After a long day of feeling not quite in his element, Cyrus eyes the imp and finally feels a surge of purpose. He hands the dagger to Rhugarr. "I shan't be needing that." As he pulls his hammer off his back, he turns to the imp. "Imp! In the name of my goddess, Sarenrae, The Dawnflower, The Cleansing Light, The Healing Flame, I sentence you to banishment from the material plane. You and your kind are not welcome here! You are an abomination and I am your end. Come, and meet your fate."
The imp takes one look at the iconography on Cyrus's armor and shrieks in both fear and rage.
[color=green]
Imp (0 dmg)
Cyrus (21/21 hp, Smiting A b$%*@(TM) )
Rhugarr (11/11 hp)
Lili (18/18 hp)
[/color]
The imp snarls at the burst of holy power radiating from Cyrus's aura, then grins wickedly and vanishes from sight.
Cyrus looks at his companions. "Spread out. It can't stay out of sight forever."