Neelah looks around in shock and wonder, as if she had just woken up from a long nap, though her eyes never closed. She grips her longspear more tightly, perhaps for comfort, and her expression blazes with intensity, fueled by surprise and a little fear. "Who am I?" she asks, with a bit of haughtiness, "Who are you? Are you the ones who imprisoned me here? You had better release me or there will be dire consequences." She steps forward gracefully and flexes her fingers as if preparing to cast a spell. "For I warn you, I wield the sacred music of the four flames, which consumes and transforms those who hear. Do not make me destroy you!"
The effort she exerts to make this speech seems to have diminished her somewhat, and she stumbles in much the same way that Yasmeena did, catching her weight on her longspear and closing her smoky eyes in obvious fatigue.
Yasmeena catches her breath, and looks at the others with an expression of wonder. "I am Yasmeena, and these are my friends Haleen and Aithaloessa. Over there is her highness, Princess Shazathared. We are also trying to escape this place, and I assure you that if you want to leave you are welcome to come with us. Do you know anything about the palace that would help us speed our departure plans?" She smiles sweetly, though wanly.
Neelah looks puzzled and a little worried as she thinks for a moment. "I am... I am Neelah." She looks around helplessly. "I fear I do not know how I got here, or where I came from. It seems like I have always been here, in this room. Perhaps something has tampered with my memories..." She looks at Yasmeena and Aithaloessa with obvious suspicion, but then shakes her head and looks around the room more carefully. "I find I am very tired. Is this your tent? May I enter?" She waits only a brief moment before lifting the flap and stepping inside, and then gasps.
Haleen looks dumbfounded in surprise, as a woman appears out of nowhere. After the attempted threat she chuckles and whispers to Yasmeena "You think she'll sing til our ears bleed?"
As Neelah changes from hostile and not knowing who she is to introduction and acting like best friends sharing a tent she warns Yasmeena "That one has some bolts loose. Be careful."
Yasmeena smiles at Haleen's comment, but charmingly nods to Neelah to avoid giving offense, confirming that it is indeed, their tent. She does blink in surprise when Neelah simply barges in, and shoots Haleen another look. "I had better keep an eye on her," she mutters with a worried expression, and follows her.
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Having wrapped up his latest tasks in Sothis Bylo had some free time. He had been collecting plane traveling forks and just needed one to the plane of fire to complete his set for the elemental planes. Remembering his issues with his trip to the plane of air he decides to travel south to Katapesh to find a better merchant for such things. Considering the distance he decided to pay for passage on a merchant ship and had a relaxing trip down the coast of the Inner sea.
Arriving in Katapesh, Bylo considers hiring a guide but realizes that he wouldn't know whether the guide he would hire would be reliable or just another thief. Besides, he wasn't in any great hurry. He had heard that Katapesh was similar to Absalom, where trade was all important. As such he felt that he should be able to find what he wanted, it just wouldn't be quick. Walking the great bazaars he was offered much that disturbed him, various slaves, drugs like the terrible pesh that he had heard of, various garments made from silks, gems and precious metals, and supposedly powerfully enchanted things. Even the food offerings were.... strange and somewhat disturbing. He passed on all of the exotic offerings. On the third day of wandering/shopping he finally found a merchant that seemed to be right. The tent was not garish like so many others, and the merchant seemed less interested in pushing his wares and more in finding out exactly what he wanted.
Bylo waited until there were no "curious" customers lingering to listen rather than shopping and explained what he wanted, a plane travel fork to a safe location on the plane of fire. The merchant nodded, serious as he considered the request. "You seek the City of Brass? Safe travel to any plane can be difficult. But the City is safer than arriving in a river of lava or elemental fire. I have one. Even with that I can't guarantee that you will arrive in the center of the city. But you should be in a safe location." He digs through a bag on his belt, pulling out several forks and selecting one, a brass fork with a flame engraved on it. Bylo haggles a little, but if the fork works it will be worth the price! Accepting the purchase he returns to his room at the inn and prays to Sarenrae to fill his prayer list for the planned trip. Gathering his equipment he pays and checks out of his room leaving the inn. He checks in at the local temple requesting a quiet room to cast his spell. He offers to take anyone else that might be interested but not surprisingly there are no takers.
The spell cast, Bylo feels himself pulled across the planes. While he didn't have a lot of experience he had traveled a bit. He arrived, and was initially confused. He was standing.... in a brass boat, on a river of lava? He takes a seat and looks around, studying the area. It wasn't what he expected. To one side he sees a lava falls, just like water except burning lava. While he was resistant to fire Bylo was fairly certain that he'd be dead really quick if he'd landed in that lava. He wonders if he'd have been able to speak the words of his safety spell to whisk himself back before he died? Probably not!
Wondering about the spell, and the fork, he realizes that he was gripping it tightly. He tucks it into his spell component pouch and forces himself to relax. After all, he seemed to be safe, and the show was quite impressive. Maybe this boat would take him to a port at the City of Brass? As he waited he felt a wave of some sort of power pass through him. He didn't know what it was, but it didn't seem to do any harm and he actually felt invigorated by it. He moved a hand to his chest to grasp his holy symbol and gave thanks to Sarenrae for his safe passage to another elemental plane.
Yasmeena returns after a little while, still looking very fatigued. "I put her in a chair in the sitting area, and she's already unconscious. By the Dawnflower I dearly wanted to join her, but I thought we should discuss what happened." She smiles sweetly to Shazathared. "Am I right that you granted Haleen's wish? Do you know exactly what it did-- or does it not work like that?" She looks over at the reflective brass surface from which all of the reflections have been appearing. "And are these various reflections part of that wish, do you know?"
She briefly scrutinizes her companions. "All of us do look a little different, but it's hard to put into words. A sort of aura of majesty, a glow of purpose. Or maybe I need to sleep as much as that Neelah woman did!" She laughs. "Do you feel as if you've changed somehow as well?"
“I’m not sure,” Aith says, more cautiously than one would expect, which is a sure sign that one might have to take cover at some point in the near future. “There’s definitely a bit more of a … a tug, or coil, of energy, but I’m not sure what it means. If it’s enough for a new spell, or … if it’s just enough to put that little bit more behind the usual, in the way that I can sometimes manage already.”
“Have we really been transformed by Haleen’s cri de coeur? Even by the standards of my people, the heroes we hear about in tales…” It’s a long, long time ago, she knows, and the sorts of things in them are hardly known today. A prickle of possibility shivers down Aith’s spine, her arms, but it’s not an entirely comfortable feeling, especially if one thinks about the sorts of challenges the legends faced down.
Which brings her back to the brass walls she’s continued to watch somewhat nervously since that strange … living reflection? emerged out of them, while Yasmeena settles her. Speaking of old tales, one hears of certain cursed mirrors… Should they expect a copy of each of them? Then again, this Neelah doesn’t seem to be that, exactly. Something like, or a composite, shaped by who knows what influences? Should Aith expect a memory of her old mentor in the Alkenstar guard to step forth? She hopes not. Kolga was wonderful, for training a guardswoman, but entirely too much of a dwarf to approve of the wild mage-ing around that Aith’s been doing since she left the city in the wastes. It would be awkward.
And speaking of leaving…
While Yasmeena watches her reflection her face turns into someone else's. "The secret of the brass ship is in the divine fire that guides its way. Light the prow or the waiting post with the flame that cannot be quenched."
“Did one of the other reflections mention a brass ship? With a mooring post of some sort? Did I miss something, because I don’t remember seeing anything like that since we left Kakishon,” she muses. She eyes Shazathared’s fountain with a thoughtful look that her friends might well worry suggests she’s considering whether there’s a magical way to set water on fire.
Fortunately for everyone else’s continued sanity, the mage looks away s something else occurs to her, with a sinking feeling perhaps prompted by the icy weapon at her hip, which probably doesn’t appreciate this trip to the plane of Fire. “Oh no. You don’t think – there was that pool of magma and a stream in one of the rooms where we first arrived. Especially now that we have a flying carpet – though I’d be happy to use my spells if you like – you don’t think if fly over that stream that we might find a metal ship bobbing happily somewhere further downriver?”
"Well, that river of lava had a pier and a plinth where nothing was on top. But we don't have any divine fire, do we?"
Havong a brass ship instead of squeezing four people on that not four people big carpet to fly over lava.
Yasmeena shakes her head sadly. "No divine fire here, alas." She thinks for a moment. "Although, Neelah did say something about wielding the sacred music of four flames. Maybe she could summon some? It might be worth a try, I suppose."
"We haven't seen any way branching from where we came and we're definitely at a dead end here. A dead end with very nice company, but we won't get any further here."
"So, why not backtrack and see what we can make of that lava river? Besides that the labyrinth of fire curtain chambers is the only thing we haven't explored. Am I right?"
"Agreed. And now we have a plan!" Yasmeena claps her hands excitedly, though still a bit wanly. "I do think I need to rest first, though. Perhaps we should set watches, just in case? I'll sleep in the sitting area, so that if either of our guests stir I will wake."
Once the shifts are decided, Yasmeena retires to the tent and falls unconscious almost instantly.
"We just had a rest!" Haleen protests.
She follows Yasmeena and drags her out of the tent again. Then she kicks that newcomer 'politely' out of the tent too, as a precondition to pack up the tent into Aithaloessa's backpack. Once that is done she adresses the marid princess.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality and this refreshing sparkling magic. We will be on our way now to find a way out for us, you and this ever growing number of people who seem to be stuck here."
"I hope we'll meet again very soon."
Unshered on by Haleen the party backtracks the way they came.
As this leads through the camp of the Azers and the Bodak there is a short chat in order, to tell that the huge worm is dead and there is also a dead efreet further up. This reveals, that an efreet was the leader and sponsor of this expedition, which throws that expedition group into disarray and a discussion if or how to proceed.
But that is none of the party's concern and so you travel on, avoiding the traps and coming to this nice flame curtain area you started from.
As learning by burning works very well, everyone remembers the correct order of the passages, even though they are labeled in Ignan. After the entrance room there is the one with the jackal symbol on the roof, then snake, then dragon, then lizard. So far all rooms you have already visited when you appeared here the first time.
But the passage to the river of lava would mean a serious burning, and so you continue in the correct order.
Next is a vulture on the ceiling in an empty room.
Then a scorpion - A small niche in the wall holds a perpetually burning flame with no visible fuel source.
Next room is a salamander - A large harp constructed of ivory and copper sits in the northwest corner, its post in the shape of a veiled maiden.
After that, it goes back the same way through scorpion and vulture to lizard, this time the passage to the river of lava being the next in the given order.
A low brass landing with a short plinth standing at its northern edge extends along one wall of this large chamber that is otherwise filled with a bubbling pool of bright red molten lava. A wide tunnel extends to the north, from which the lava issues in a languid flow. A single lancet archway extends from the landing to the east but is backed by a curtain of crackling flame. Most menacing of all the chamber’s features, however, is the wide swirling vortex of lava that occupies its western wing, pulling the liquid rock in an inexorable whirlpool of infernal heat and death.
A small niche in the wall holds a perpetually burning flame with no visible fuel source.
"Look there!" Yasmeena cries. "Could that be divine fire, like what the first reflection was talking about?" She reaches for it, but her trap-wary heightened senses feel the heat before she grasps it. "But how to carry it? I have no lamp or brazier."
A large harp constructed of ivory and copper sits in the northwest corner, its post in the shape of a veiled maiden.
Yasmeena takes the harp, and plays an experimental chord on the strings. "This instrument has a lovely sound," she says happily, before stowing it in the magic bag. "Oh! I hope it's not cursed!" she adds, with a little "oopsie" expression.
A low brass landing with a short plinth standing at its northern edge extends along one wall of this large chamber that is otherwise filled with a bubbling pool of bright red molten lava.
"Well, here we are at the plinth you remembered, Haleen. Shall we try to place that bit of divine fire upon it, and see if that does anything?"
Neelah irritably wakes when Haleen pushes her out of the tent, cursing under her breath, but she does seem refreshed from her brief nap. "Very well, I will accompany you, at least until we can find a way to escape this place," she says when the group explains their plans. "It may be that my powers over flames will aid you in this endeavor. Just so long as you do not take my help for granted!"
When they reach the room with the scorpion and the perpetually burning flame, Neelah speaks up. "Allow me," she says, and reaches out her hand. Stoically, she endures the damage and carries the flame. "This plinth you mentioned, it is not far, is it?"
Aith is uncharacteristically quiet on the way back down to the labyrinth they arrived in, something pressing against the inside of her thoughts and her magic that she can’t quite place. It feels a bit like it’s encouraging her to push even harder against her limits, and she wishes she were back home where she could find a safe place to see what Haleen’s wish has done, exactly.
For now, though, she might need as many of her spells as she can hold onto, and she’s not sure her friends would appreciate experiments in just letting magic have its head.
Neelah’s gracious offer in the scorpion room startles the elf out of her reverie, and as the fiery reflection reaches for the niche, Aith offers, “Oh! Um, I can offer a ward easily enough. One moment, please.”
After that, Aith manages to focus a bit more on where she’s going. She takes a moment to assess the harp before Yasmeena stashes it away. With a nod, she confirms, “I’m sure it’s safe. If I’m reading its aura properly, it should allow you to touch the heartstrings of those who hear you even more directly.”
When the room with the lava pool opens up in front of her again, with a plinth on which Neelah can set the fire she’s carrying, Aith tentatively approaches the molten stone to try to get an estimate of how much clearance is necessary before it would get uncomfortably warm on one’s feet. “We might want to unroll that carpet, too. One of my favourite spells will carry me aloft anyway, and if we need another, I can take a minute with my spellbook.”
"Would you please put the fire there?" Haleen asks of Neelah pointing to the plinth.
Neelah respectfully bows from her neck to Aithaloessa (with a hint of surprise, maybe?) when the elf casts her spell. She carries the fire without further complaint, even seeming to enjoy holding it and staring into its light with a strange smile on her face.
When Haleen directs her to place it on the plinth, she complies with only a brief moment of hesitation.
Yasmeena unrolls the carpet and excitedly stands upon it, beckoning Neelah to do the same. She recites the command phrase and claps with delight as it picks the two of them up with ease.
The flame continues burning now just sitting on the plinth, but nothing else happens - on this side of the lava river.
Bylo notices that the pier slowly moves away. The boat moves toward the magma fall and finally into it. It is a sight to behold, when the lava flows down the sides of the ship over the windows. Behind the river flows in a curved tunnel and the boat slowly moves along.
On the other side cheerful playing with the flying carpet distracts everyone until about five minutes later a brass barge emerges from the tunnel.
Initially Bylo is worried. Will the boat be destroyed when the magma pours onto it? He readies his 'escape' spell and watches the ceiling but then relaxes when he sees the lava flowing down the sides and over the windows. This brass boat is a true marvel!
On the other side he sees several women (human/elven looking mostly?) waiting, playing with a flying carpet? While he isn't where he was expecting this trip was at least very interesting so far! He stands to greet the strangers, checking his appearance and verifying that his holy symbol is easily visible. "Hello ladies. Did you call this boat? It just started moving by itself."
Looking up from the preparations to explore by their own power, Aith answers the new arrival cheerfully. He’s riding quite the interesting vessel (What is it with planar travel and ships? Maybe she should think about building one for herself, to keep up, if she’s going to be gallivanting in the outer spheres for a bit? Or maybe a flying chariot, or something?), and he seems more talkative than a xorn, which is a promising sign.
“Hello! Or should I say, ‘Ahoy there?’ I’m still quite new to larger vessels, which is beside the point. Are you our captain? Or have you also offended an irate, ambitious efreeti warlord? It seems to be a bit of a theme, recently.”
As the barge gets closer, she spots the man's holy symbol, and guesses he's not one of Jhavhul's servants. Blazing glory of the sun aside, Jhavhul doesn't seem like someone too keen on Sarenrae and her followers.
Yasmeena waves. "How nice to hear the familiar sounds of the old country again! It feels like it's been ages since we saw anybody from the Prime Material plane. How did you come to be piloting this brass barge for us?" She sketches a florid curtsy. "I am Yasmeena, and this is Haleen and Aithaloessa. Over there is Neelah. What is your name?"
Bylo smiles at the questions but shakes his head. "I almost wish that it were so, but no I'm not the captain or pilot of this craft, wonder that it is. I've sailed a good bit back on Golarian. I even started this trip out with a short sail from Sothis in Osirion down the coastline to Katapesh. I needed the focus component to plane shift, and was supposed to arrive in the City of Brass. If you're experienced with plane travel you know it isn't exactly perfect in targeting.... But previously I was able to at least see my target to know how to get there! Since I seemed to be safe on board I relaxed and enjoyed the view. A lava fall and a river of fire! Truly a marvel. When the boat started moving I was hoping it would take me to a port at the City."
He bends in a proper bow to Yasmeena's curtsy, "Sorry for my rudeness. I am Bylo Afir, Apostate of the Dawnflower. Or just Bylo to pretty ladies and friends. No, to my knowledge I haven't offended any irate, ambitious efreeti warlord. But the day is young! Should I be trying to offend your irate, ambitious efreeti warlord? I'll need to know a few more details before I commit to such actions!"
"No inviting more people into the tent." Haleen reminds Yasmeena.
"Tent? Is it fireproof? If not perhaps you should come aboard."
Yasmeena listens carefully to Bylo's account, and if she is suspicious of his veracity in telling such an outlandish tale, she gives no sign of it.
Convinced for the time being that this apostle is indeed what he seems to be, Yasmeena looks at Haleen and Aithaloessa and shrugs. "Well in any case, our irate, ambitious efreeti warlord is not here with us and this particular time, though we seem to be somewhere associated with him. His name is Jhavhul, and though we have never met him, he has vexed us at every turn with first one inescapable demiplane and now apparently another. We have not seen any other path out of these vaults in which we now find ourselves, so we are hoping this brass boat of yours will carry us deeper into the palace, where we will try to convince whoever is in charge to let us return to Kelmarane." She smiles at Neelah as an afterthought. "And release a princess from captivity, of course."
"I am also happy to meet a member of Sarenrae's church, for it has been some time since I attended a ceremony for our holy mother. Have there been any major revelations in the past few months? Praise her." Her tone may seem flippant, but she performs a proper bow of obeisance as she speaks that demonstrates she has at least seen one of the Dawnflower's rites of cleansing before.
Bylo considers Yasmeena's question. "Revelations from Sarenrae?, indeed praise Her. None that I'm aware of at the moment. I was working assisting the temple of Pharasma in Wati, Tephu, and that area. Had some issues with some cultists and representatives from the church of Nethys but eventually was able to work things out. I had a little free time and felt drawn to learn a bit about plane traveling. On second thought that might have been inspired. I mean, I've always had an interest in languages and have learned quite a few including from other planes. But it wasn't until I finished the work in my home Osirion that I wanted to see other planes."
"You mentioned a princess in captivity? Were there guards too numerous or powerful? Or magical wards? From your words I did not sense that you released her. ?? As for returning to the prime plane, I always prepare an 'escape' spell to return myself home. It only works on one person, but after a rest I could prepare Plane Shift again to take up to eight people. But I did want to see the City of Brass before I went back home. As for this boat, I'm not sure how it works. I sat down to enjoy the view and the boat just started moving. That's why I asked if you had done something to summon it. If we can figure out how to activate it maybe there are other destinations that it can go."
"I bet if we find the dude who told us how to operate the boat, he wants to come along too." Haleen states, rolling her eyes.
"Is there a place on the boat, where it would look sensible to put that flame?" she inquires, pointing at the eternal fire on the plinth.
Yasmeena says "If you take this magic ring," "You can carry it yourself without risk of injury, if you like." She smiles sweetly at her friend, and then at Neelah.
Neelah glares at Haleen. "If I'm not wanted here, just say the word and I will happily remain behind! I am sure there are others with whom I can travel who will appreciate what I have to offer." She points at Bylo with her sharp chin. "This one, for instance, speaks kindly and respectfully of me." She doesn't dwell on her example, but begins to pace and fumes for a moment, breathing hard in annoyance.
Curious about what looks like a continual flame Bylo reaches for it. He can feel the heat but carefully takes it anyway. "One of the Dawnflower's blessings granted to me is a minor resistance to flame. Curious item this. It looks similar to a Continual Flame spell, but that spell doesn't actually burn."
He glances at Neelah when she speaks obviously angry words, "Neelah? Of course there is room for you on this boat as well. Take my seat and I'll stand if need be. The Dawnflower's blessing is for all that will accept it."
He moves to the spot and tries to place the eternal flame in the holder.
Haleen looks at the ring Yasmeena offers, admires it shortly and then takes it and puts it on her finger. As she turns back, that new dude grabbed the flame already.
“I’m fairly sure that you are in the City of Brass, or at least somewhere under it,” Aith chimes in, as the conversation swirls around her. “We seem to be held by the same bonds that hold our princess captive, perhaps as a useful side effect, from her captor’s perspective. Functionally, it seems to be some sort of curse on this complex of vaults, powered by an artifact somewhere above.”
“If you have a means of escaping yourself –” There’s an odd pause as the elven mage tries to find the right words. “I’m honestly not sure what I would recommend, if only because I couldn’t say what might happen if you try. If it is actually curse magic holding us here, I worry that it might be quite vicious about expressing its displeasure at attempts to elude it.”
Aith’s eye does have a bit of that gleam in her eye that people get when a disaster unfolds in front of them. She certainly doesn’t want anything terrible to happen to Bylo if he tries his luck, but she couldn’t honestly say that she wouldn’t want to take notes in the worst case. Sensing that that curiosity might be a bit too visible on her features, she hastens to add, “We should certainly put our heads together about freeing the princess and ourselves, and getting to the City proper.”
She clambers onto the boat to take a look around.
Neelah, only slightly mollified, sniffs and accepts Bylo's offer to sit in his seat. She glances out the side at the molten lava in which they are floating and smiles broadly, suddenly lost for a moment in her own world.
Yasmeena tenses as tempers flare in the group, but breathes a sigh of relief as the conflict seems to fizzle out. She follows Aithaloessa and the rest of the group on to the brass boat, hoping not to provoke any further disagreements.
Bylo listens to Aith's explanation, curious about the magic. He knew of magic to bind a creature from plane shifting, but not an actual curse. "So I guess it's a good thing that I'm patient, and that the lava falls was a fascination the likes of which I'd never seen. My return spell, Homeward Bound is a kind of dismissal that sends a person back where they came from. Not as useful as an actual Plane Shift, but much simpler too. It also has the advantage of not needing a planar tuning fork. My collection of those has set me back a few coins."
Feeling the heat of the orb even through his resistance Bylo looks around for a place to put it similar to what was on the dock. "Under the city you think? Well that's not bad for a plane shift then. I've read that you can enter the plane you want but be hundreds of miles from where you actually want to go. Might need a teleport or something after the shift to get where you actually wanted! So, this boat didn't go really fast. Where would you ladies be from? Yasmeena mentioned Kelmarane, are you all from there?"
Haleen also enters the boat.
The place to put the flame is obvious. The brass barge has a high prow at each end. Placing it at one end doesn't do anything and placing it at the other - the one towards the tunnel - sets the boat in motion again.
A slow travel back through the tunnel and through the lava fall leads Bylo back and the others the first time to this end of the barge travel options.
Most of this huge chamber is filled with a lake of molten rock, save for a landing with an ascending stair in the southeast corner. The ceiling soars high overhead, to a height of a hundred feet—from this height plummets a massive cascade of magma. The roar caused by this flume of molten rock is deafening and vibrates the very walls of the chamber, throwing off thousands of globs of lava that careen about the room like burning hailstones.
Bylo stares again at the lava falls, smiling wide at the spectacle. "Truly amazing, even having gone through it once."
Once they are back to the other side he scans the room, noticing the stair that he hadn't been aware of before. "So that may be the exit you were looking for? I was too interested in the falls to even notice it before."
The start up the stairs leads through the hail of lava, then the stairs take a turn and it is not clear where they lead.
Bylo looks up the stairs with some concern. "But that hardly looks safe. Even immune to fire a hail of it like that could knock one off of the stair. Off that they'd have such a wonderful conveyance as this boat but not protect someone exiting it to ascend there. A simple roof made out of the same substance as this boat would have made this perfectly safe."
Neelah gazes up the staircase with slitted eyes. "It is no cause for concern," she lies, "for my song will protect all of us from the fire as we climb. We must simply move quickly."
Yasmeena obviously frets, despite Neelah's assurances. "Maybe we can ascend using the carpet and other means of flight instead? That way if we are struck, at least we are less likely to plummet into the lava?" She shudders to herself, remembering the last time they all experienced a great fall together.
Bylo glances at the ladies, then at the area around the boat. "Looks like we'll just have to dash across the open area. Might sting a little, but I wouldn't want to risk a flying carpet! Scorching it might destroy the magic! I'll try it first, just to see how hot those embers really are."
Unless someone objects he does as stated, says a quick prayer to Sarenrae and tries to run to the closed stairwell.
"Go, now!" Neelah says with a voice like a whip cracking. She begins to sing a crackling melody and runs after Bylo.