Ray fiddles with the spindle, tracing his fingers over its cracks and facets, feeling out the threads of energy around it. "Damn. Not bad. Not bad at all." He nods his thanks to Salighara and steps back.
Bob flaps once on Ray's shoulders. [color=blue]"Never thought I'd say this, but I'm excited to get back to the Material Plane. Being home like... this"[/color] he makes an awkward flapping motion that one must assume is meant to be a gesture at his body [color=blue]"feels weird. I don't like it. When I come back, I want it to be as my true self."[/color]
|
Dellan raises an eyebrow at the raven, then inclines his head toward Salighara. "Thank you. That is our hope as well. We shall see what fate the Gray Lady has in store for us."
He nods again and stands with the others. To Argus, he says, "I fear we are in something of a spot. My spells are quite diminished, and my ability to channel Pharasma's grace is depleted. However, I do not know if we can risk resting again. Mictena arrived here ahead of us; she must be close by."
Ray shakes his head. "Yeah, if she's that close, we're not going to outrun her. I say we rest before heading out so we're at least at full strength when she inevitably comes to murder us."
Argus rubs his chin, absently noting there is no fresh stubble growing there. This place is bizarre.
"Mm. B...both good p... points. I fear Dellan may be correct, but I generally prefer to air on the side of being w-w-well-rested. What do you think, Am-manteia?"
Amanteia laughs, but her face quickly returns to the bone-deep exhaustion that she feels. She gives Argus's shoulder a squeeze. "If you would like me to be useful for more than just giving our enemies annoying acid burns, I need to sleep."
Argus pats her hand. "You sell yourself short, b..but I understand what you m-mean. We will rest. Should we rest here, or back w-with Thoot and Umble?"
Ray shrugs. "Here's as good as anyplace. I don't think she'll come back here. Seemed like Salighara made it clear she wasn't interested in turning us over. I don't think I'd say there's bad blood there, but it might make Mictena hesitate to come after us. I think she'll wait until we're on the road and in the open to attack, regardless. Tactically we're at a much bigger disadvantage then."
Argus grunts. "N-not exactly an enc...couraging thought. But yes. Let's rest here, if Salighara isn't opposed."
Salighara offers you four of the unused (since wyrwoods don't sleep) scrivener rooms for the night. It passes uneventfully.
You awaken the next day to find the Scriptorium quiet and seemingly empty. There is no sign of Salighara anywhere. It seems like she feels like she already said goodbye and "thank you".
Argus performs his morning prayers and writes in his journal, scribbling a few ideas for lyrics. He's never been much of a poet, but he knows it's important as a servant of the Eternal Maiden to not become complacent in your art, and branch out.
Once he is done, he gathers with the others at the front doors of the Scriptorium. The sense of emptiness is almost palpable, and makes him deeply uncomfortable. "L-let's get going. Eyes open. Mictena could strike at any m...moment."
|
|
Dellan took his time falling asleep. He knows there is no way they're getting out of the Dead Roads without a confrontation with Mictena. Her recruitment of Pedipalp and aiding her--however tangentially--in taking the Scriptorium from Salighara proves she's not just going to let them leave. She may even follow them to the Material Plane.
His struggle continues; how can he raise his weapon against a fellow servant? He can't. He knows in his bones he can't. Pharasma has little to say about much of anything. She cares not for the wars or heinous acts of mortals. She has no compunctions about letting a mass murderer live if it is not his time, nor about taking a newborn babe from her mother. He knows the only reason she grants him powers of healing is because they double as a weapon against one of the only things she does care about: the eradication of such things as violate the Cycle of Rebirth, namely undead.
But while his mother's stinging rebuke still nettles him, he's fairly certain Pharasma would care about him slaying a fellow servant, even for self-preservation. He chews his lip and stares at the abysmal gray skies overhead; the only break in the monotony is the hideous light of the leering face of Groetus. Dellan tries very hard not to look at Him for too long; He is a reminder that all things must end, even the gods.
Eventually Dellan manages a fitful sleep, and wakes feeling... not refreshed, exactly, but with a certain amount of resolve. He already knows what he must do in the battle to come. He has even voiced it aloud before; he will not raise a hand against Mictena, but neither will he stand by and let her kill his friends. And they are that, he realizes with no small amount of surprise. Even Raybin. He likes these people, even the judgmental occultist. He doesn't just want them to survive; he wants to survive with them.
Now that is an odd feeling, he thinks as he settles down to face the distant Spire of Pharasma and begin his prayers. Ever since disease took his life and Pharasma inscrutably allowed his return, he has long since made peace with his impending death. The disease that ravages him has mutated in death and rebirth; it is no longer contagious, but it is fatal. Someday he will die from it, and likely someday sooner than later. But what time he has, he decides he will hold onto with all his might. He will die someday, but he will not die here, unless it is in the act of keeping his new friends alive.
Never thought I would be one to die with my boots on, but here we are.
He smiles despite himself and bows his head in prayer to the Gray Lady. Once complete, he gathers his shield, dons his armor, and waits by the gate for the others.
Ray wakes up to Bob standing on his chest and staring at him with what he could swear is fear. Bob's always been something of a coward, but this is different, even if he can't quite place how. "Morning, Bob. Can I help you?"
Bob hops once on Ray's chest and utters a low squawk. [color=blue]"I'm scared, Ray."[/color]
Ray clears his throat. "Relax, featherbrain. If Mictena shows up, just run. She probably won't attack you anyway, even if you're not in your normal form. Professional courtesy, or whatever."
Bob pecks Ray hard in the chest. [color=blue]"I'm not scared for me, stupid! I'm scared for you! It's not your time. Pharasma led you here, into all this, for a reason. I dunno what it is--that's above my pay grade--but I know there is one. And Mictena is messing with that. There's no getting her to see it though, she's crazy. Like, crazier than you. And I'm scared she's going to kill you."[/color]
Ray sighs and does something he's never done before: he strokes the raven soothingly. "Relax, Bob. I'm not that easy to kill. We've got some tricks up our sleeves. Have some faith. Okay?"
He doesn't tell Bob about the snag in the shirt. The pebble in his boot. The small, nagging sensation at the back of his perception. The one that is quietly reminding him, albeit only semiconsciously, that he doesn't have faith. He has not been religious in a long time, even before his madness sent him into the slums of Absalom and eventually an asylum for months. He lost his faith in the gods when he lost his faith in people.
He sighs and sits up, sending the raven flapping up and onto his shoulder. "I gotta do my meditations. Try not to flip, okay? Chin up, featherbrain. We got this."
He settles into his meditations, arraying his three implements in front of him, psychically sending strands of mental power into each in turn: the carved wooden blasting rod, the small pentacle amulet that is the only thing he still has from his mother, and the bracelet of tiny metal shields. After his meditations, he dons the items, slips into his heavy armored coat, and joins the party at the gate.
He hands the metamagic rod to Amanteia when she shows up so she can make her mage armor last the better part of the day. In response to Argus, he says, "Yeah. Let's get a move on, eh? I'm down to fight if we gotta, but I'd rather just get the Hells outta this place."
You leave the Scriptorium and head in the direction that Umble and Thoot instructed you to follow after receiving your three stamps. This road looks no different from any other that you have followed thus far: dead straight, flanked by thick fog on either side, and an unchanging horizon.
After an uneventful hour, however, that changes. The road crests a low hill of thorns and dead grass before dropping into an enormous valley strewn with gravestones. The road is plain in the moonlight, but it suddenly wavers as a garden of bright flowers and high hedges rises up to block the road. From this high vantage point, the garden resembles an enormous skull adorned with flowers.
After another few minutes, you reach the garden. It completely covers the road; you would have to venture into the mist on either side to go around it, and you know from past experience that doing so would dump you back in the Boneyard. The hedges rise to fifteen feet high and are covered with huge, bright flowers: chrysanthemums, dahlias, roses, hibiscus, begonias, and more. The hedges radiate magic, and Amanteia recognizes a wall of thorns effect on them, making them effectively impassable.
A wrought-iron arch, set into the flower-covered hedge, reads "Deathbower" in an ornate script.
Not far beyond the archway, you hear low voices speaking and what sounds like clippers trimming hedges.
Ray puts out a hand and nods at the direction of the noise. "Voices," he murmurs. "What's the plan, hoss?"
Argus looks at the infinite banks of rolling fog surrounding either side of the road and shrugs, leaning a little harder on his glaive. "The only w-way out is thr-rough. Let's get this over with." He takes a deep breath and steps through the archway.
Ray grunts. He pulls out the metamagic rod and focuses some of his psychic power into his eyes; the world becomes sharper and clearer, and he puts the rod away, replacing it with his blasting rod and the adamantine warhammer. He hefts it anxiously and follows the paladin through the arch.
As soon as they are within 100 feet of the garden, Amanteia uses the rod to raise her mage armor. Then she follows the others through the archway, uncertain of what awaits them but positive that it will test their wills.
Argus passes through the archway. This wide, neat garden has short grass studded with tastefully arranged clumps of wildflowers. High hedges blooming with bright flowers surround the triangular space, with two gaps: an iron arch to the east, and an opening with a brick-lined walk to the southwest.
He immediately sees the source of the gardening noises: there are four golden skinned humanoids tending to the hedges. Their faces are painted black and white to resemble skulls and they wear white tunics. They look up when you enter, put down their tools, and the one closest to you says, "Mistress Mictena said you would be coming. It is our honor to stop you."
These are shabti, fascimiles of wealthy or powerful mortals seeking to escape judgement for their sins upon death. Grown from broken bits of mortal souls, shabti endure whatever cosmic punishments or labor might await their creators in the afterlife unless they're discovered and freed by psychopomps. It seems likely these were freed by Mictena and thus will be unwaveringly loyal to her.
Shabti do not age, are immune to undeath, and resist level drain. They can cast suggestion once per day.
#4 walks calmly toward Argus, points a finger at him, and says in a gentle voice, "Your weapons and armor are of exceptional quality. You should remove them so that they do not become damaged." Argus is suddenly struck by how reasonable a suggestion this is.
Yes! The weird golden man is right! Argus sets down his weapon and begins meticulously taking off his armor.
#1 also approaches and speaks to Ray. "Your friend has the right idea. You should follow his example."
On the contrary, Ray thinks the idea is b&%!+@#! and he will not be complying, thank you very much.
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (0 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor)
Creature #2 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (0 damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia sees what Argus is doing and immediately recognizes it as the same spell that broke her brain yesterday. "Suggestion! He is useless to us! Just kill them!"
She rushes in to the garden, tucks herself behind her allies, and releases her signature burst of golden dust right next to #4. All of the gardeners except #3 are instantly covered in glittery dust.
#2 and #4's hands rise to their eyes and they let out cries of anguish and fury.
#2 retreats along the hedge wall, trying desperately to clear the dust from his eyes.
#3 moves next to #1 and speaks calmly to Amanteia. "The flowers here would look so lovely in your hair. You should find a dozen red roses."
Creature #4 (0 damage, blind [4 rounds])
Creature #1 (0 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [10 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage, blind [4 rounds])
Creature #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
"Go f@%@ yourself."
Argus shakes his head. "Foolish of me, bringing such decent armor into this place. What was I thinking? Captain Rumford would have my head for this." He continues muttering to himself as he starts unstrapping pauldrons.
Ray tries very hard not to slap Argus for being so weak-willed.
Ray has no idea what the Hells these things are so he just steps forward and raises his blasting rod. "And I have the honor of killing your dumb asses." With that, he launches a gout of flame at #1 and #3.
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|
Dellan cocks his head. "Shabti. Beings shackled by wealthy mortals to take divine punishments in their stead. Let me guess: Mictena freed you?" He doesn't wait for a response. "I am sorry you were caught in the middle of this mess, but my friends do not belong here; they need to return home to stop whatever calamity has befallen Roslar's Coffer from happening anywhere else. I cannot let you harm them." He moves up to stand next to Raybin and touches his shoulder. A shimmering barrier pops up around the occultist before vanishing from sight.
#1 and #3 both duck Raybin's gout of flames, and neither seems to be even singed.
#4 vigorously blinks and rubs his eyes, trying to clear them of the dust. He stumbles away from the sounds of the fight but doesn't seem like he has regained his sight yet.
#1 steps forward and throws two punches at Dellan. The first penetrates Dellan's magical protection and lands directly on his temple. Dellan immediately feels woozy from the blow.
The punch was perfectly placed; Dellan finds that he cannot move his limbs or even speak
Creature #4 (0 damage, blind [3 rounds])
Creature #1 (0 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [9 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage, blind [4 rounds])
Creature #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (28/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC, stunned [1 round])
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia was pleased she removed two of the shabti from the fight temporarily, but now they have evened the odds. Wishing she had more effective spells, she fires two missiles at #1.
#2, like #4, is unable to clear his eyes of the dust. He stays away from the action, trusting his companions to take care of the intruders.
#3 steps up to Ray and throws two punches, but Ray dodges them both like a prize fighter.
Creature #4 (0 damage, blind [3 rounds])
Creature #1 (7 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [9 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage, blind [3 rounds])
Creature #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (28/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC, stunned [1 round])
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray scowls at the creature and the flames that should have cooked it. "F$~#ing monks," he growls. He steps back and fires a ray of white-hot flame at the shabti that tried to punch him.
Ray's ray misses #3 high and burns a hole in the southern hedge.
#4 spends another few seconds blinking and rubbing, then he turns to look toward the party, having finally regained his sight. #1 throws two more punches at Dellan. The first one connects and threatens to continue to steal his freedom to move.
#1 has found Dellan's sweet spot; he still can't move .
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (7 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [9 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage, blind [3 rounds])
Creature #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC, stunned [1 round])
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia groans to herself. Dammit, Argus, we could really use your help right about now.
She shakes her head, moves past Argus (who has moved on to awkwardly loosening the leather straps that secure his breastplate), whispers a quick apology to Dellan, and sends a color spray past him to envelop #1 and #3.
Dellan resists the sensory overload of Amanteia's spell. #1 does as well, but #3 drops to the ground in a heap.
#2 shakes off the blindness.
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (7 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [8 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage)
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [7 rounds], blind [10 rounds], stunned [11 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC, stunned [1 round])
Ray (27/27 hp)
Bold may act.
It is absolutely mind-boggling how often his magic proves utterly worthless. Like, basically every damned fight they've gotten into in this hellhole.
Nothing like a few pounds of meteorite metal to wreck some smarmy a@@$&~~'s day though.
He moves past the completely derped-out shabti on the ground in front of him and steps up to #1, swinging the adamantine warhammer in an attempt to end this nonsense.
#4 charges Ray and lands a punch across his chin .
Ray briefly feels his limbs go numb, but he fights through it.
#1 also takes advantage of the flank, landing two punches on Ray .
Creature #4 (0 damage, -2 AC [1 round])
Creature #1 (7 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [8 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage)
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [7 rounds], blind [10 rounds], stunned [11 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC)
Ray (13/27 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia cannot believe how poorly this is going. She feels her spells dwindling, and she has a strong suspicion that she is going to need them.
On the other hand, having extra spells is of no use if they are all dead. She fires two more missiles at #1.
Amanteia's spells slam into #1. Blood erupts from his mouth and ears; he is still standing, but just barely.
#2 charges Ray and lands a vicious blow .
Ray's face is a disaster, but at least he can still move.
Creature #4 (0 damage, -2 AC [1 round])
Creature #1 (16 damage)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [7 rounds])
Creature #2 (0 damage, -2 AC [1 round])
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [6 rounds], blind [9 rounds], stunned [10 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage, +2 AC)
Ray (7/27 hp)
Bold may act.
With one of them finally down, Ray steps back from the other two. With a clear shot, he decides to try at another flaming bolt from his blasting rod.
The tide swings back in the party's favor suddenly, as Dellan puts #1 down with a mace to the face and Ray nearly one-shots #2.
#4 moves up to Ray and throws two punches, but the first is wild and the second bounces off of Ray's magical barrier.
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (22 damage, unconscious and dying)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [7 rounds])
Creature #2 (13 damage, -2 AC [1 round])
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [6 rounds], blind [9 rounds], stunned [10 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Ray (7/27 hp, +2 AC)
Bold may act.
With two down and a third looking real bad, Amanteia feels comfortable saving her spells. She steps between the two men so she can use them as cover while getting a clear shot at #2, drawing her crossbow as she moves, then fires...
... and immediately regrets it.
#2 grits his teeth through the pain of his seared flesh, then steps up to Ray to try to put him down. Unfortunately (for him), the pain is too much and his strikes are panicked at best.
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (22 damage, unconscious and dying)
Amanteia (29/29 hp, 1 dex bleed)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [6 rounds])
Creature #2 (13 damage)
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [5 rounds], blind [8 rounds], stunned [9 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Ray (7/27 hp, +2 AC)
Bold may act.
Ray swings the hammer at #2 to try and finish it off.
Amanteia sees #2 wavering and sends an acid splash his way in hopes to put him down before he can do any more damage.
Amanteia's spell does minimal damage, but it is enough: #2 falls.
Creature #4 (0 damage)
Creature #1 (23 damage, unconscious and dying)
Amanteia (29/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp, compelled to remove armor [5 rounds])
Creature #2 (19 damage, unconscious and stable)
Creature #3 (0 damage, unconscious [4 rounds], blind [7 rounds], stunned [8 rounds])
Dellan (22/34 hp, 1 str damage)
Ray (-1/27 hp, +2 AC, unconscious and dying)
Bold may act.