Round 3
Elyda purposefully moved around the table (25ft) and then attacked the enemy male tiefling with her longsword.
Still on the ground, Verene draws the potion from her belt and drinks it, and the angry, bleeding wound slowly heals itself, leaving ashen flesh stained by blood.
Merixia rushes carefully around the table, keeping just out of reach of the woman's glaive, and draws upon the blessings that Elyda granted her to strike down her pitborn counterpart. Unfortunately, he's too quick for her, and bats her sword away with his scaled forearm.
Elyda takes the chance to circle around the other side of the table, disregarding the strong scent of rotting meat emanating from the room beyond. Arriving at her comrades' side, she weaves a narrowing net of steel around the tiefling, whose defense is skilled, but not quite skilled enough, as she attacks from several different directions in swift succession before lunging in and impaling him through the heart. He collapses onto the ground, blood already pooling beneath him.
Anevia steps through the door, firing a swift pair of arrows at the remaining threat in the room, but her target swats the first aside with her glaive and takes the second in the chest, her armor saving her.
The cultist growls, her eyes hardening as she levels her glaive in their general direction.
"Good job, Elyda!" Elliot calls from the back as he reloads his crossbow. As Merixia was defending him and the other from the front, he didn't risk a shot now. She was directly in front of the last enemy too, and it really wouldn't do to accidentally hit their friendly neighborhood cleric squarely in the back. With his luck thusfar, that was definitely in the cards!
Elliot prepares to fire his crossbow again, readying it to shoot at the sole remaining threat in the room, but the phantom glaive slashes at him once more, carving deep into his chest and knocking him back a few steps. His vital crimson life pours from his wounds, leaving him feeling colder and colder as blood loss begins to set in. Even as he falters, though, the ghostly weapon fades from existence, leaving no evidence of its existence save his wounds.
With a faint frown, Hosilla draws a bag from her belt and hurls it at Elyda. It blurs through the intervening space and splats against her armor. A burst of various sticky, stinking substances erupts over her, and hardens swiftly, leaving her unable to move her limbs with the full range she should be able to. Furthermore, to her alarm, she cannot move forwards at all - her feet are stuck to the ground.
Her attack successful, the woman takes a few steps back, content to let the heroes come to her for now.
Round 4
As she was about to acknowledge Elliot, Elyda felt the hit to her armoured chest and the impending spread and hardening of the sticky, dark substance.
"I'm stuck in this. I'll work at freeing myself. Merixia, cut down that b*~!!," she called out her ally cleric and other companions.
Gritting her teeth, Elyda angled her cold iron longsword down at the goo bonding her booted feet to the cavern floor, and, struck at it, hoping to slash it free of her.
Merixia bites her lip, looking back at Elliot. But if she goes over to help him, the woman will have time to cast another spell. "All right. But don't worry about backing me up, help Elliot when you get loose!" With that, the tiefling charges into the next room, hoping that Ragathiel's favor will let her dodge the wicked glaive.
Still on the ground, Verene picks up her crossbow, aims it at the glaive-wielding cultist, and looses.
Stumbling back against the wall and trying not to bleed out, Elliot looks back up at the others. "Don't *gasp* worry about me. Just... win the fight..."
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Thesius moves before any of his female companions, moving forwards to engage with the cultist with his enchanted morningstar. Even as he approaches her, however, she takes the chance to lunge out with her glaive, slashing furiously as he nears the door into her room, but the half-elf dodges and deflects with buckler and weapon.
Thesius rushes past her lethal blade, swinging at her in turn. With her hafted weapon still out of position, the cultist leader stands no chance against his skill, as he smashes her hip with his mace, sending her staggering back before she manages to get her glaive up to defend herself again.
Verene almost fires her quarrel, but before she can pull the trigger of her crossbow, Thesius has rushed in, forcing her to adjust her aim rapidly and causing the projectile to spark off of the wall to the left of the doorway.
As Elyda urges her, Merixia follows her half-elven companion into melee with the Baphometi inquisitor. Unfortunately, the woman's on guard, and as she rushes forwards, the hellspawn slips just enough on the bloody floor to throw her balance off, leaving her swinging uselessly around the cultist, who does not even bother to block.
Even as this happens, Elyda begins scraping off the substance that clings to her and keeps her in place.
Elliot draws forth a healing potion with trembling hands, while in the other room, the woman curses, dodging back to jump up onto the bed that sits in the corner, willing to risk the attacks by the two heroes as she does so.
And indeed, Thesius and Merixia lash out as she gives them that chance. Thesius once again strikes true, smashing her square in the back and knocking her stumbling forwards as blood erupts from the flesh torn by his weapon's spikes. Merixia, meanwhile, fumbles her blade, very nearly dropping it in her haste to attack her foe.
The woman manages to get up onto the bed, but she looks thoroughly the worse for wear... though it seems like her wounds already begin to heal swiftly. With a growl, she slashes at Thesius, but despite her best efforts, he remains evasive and she cannot strike true.
Round 5
"Hold strong, Elliot," she called out as she watched him retrieve a potion from his belt.
Having no choice but to leave the fighting to Merixia and Thesius, Elyda once again angled her cold iron longsword and slashed at the remaining solid shards of goo at her feet, hoping to free herself from the floor.
Round 5
"Hold strong, Elliot,"
"I'll... try and bleed out extra heroically, just for you." The arcane apprentice lets out a chuckle which turns into a pained wince as he fumbles with the potion's lid.
Merixia grits her teeth, tail lashing furiously, as she struggles to maintain control of her rage. Use your anger, do not let it use you. Your righteous wrath is a weapon under your control. By Ragathiel, what is wrong with her today? Fighting is making her even angrier than it normally does.
Well. If she's already pissed off, might as well use it. The General of Vengeance's destructive power comes to her easily as Merixia spots an opening and lunges.
Thesius continues to close the distance on the cultist in hopes of finishing this battle so that they can tend to the injured.
Verene reloads her crossbow and moves into a position where she can see the cultist's torso and head through the door, elevated by her higher elevation on the bed, over the backs of Merixia and Thesius.
Thesius launches his own attack, but his haste in trying to knock the woman down works against him, as she bats his mace away with the haft of her weapon. Nevertheless, she looks markedly more distressed every second - she has well cornered herself.
Verene moves swiftly to get a new angle on the cultist, whose head peeks up above those of her friends, though the rapid movements of combat are distracting. Simultaneously, Merixia attempts to focus her fury into accuracy, but her weapon is foiled by an unholy magical field and her foe's armor and glaive.
Elyda finally manages to scrape off the remaining goo from her feet, and though much remains encrusted about her body, it would prove far more time consuming to get rid of it.
Anevia moves forwards, rushing to Elliot's side and taking up a position of readiness with her shortbow. She speaks to him quietly. "I told Aravashnial that I'd handle the aid - i didn't want him using a spell. I hope that's alright?"
Elliot takes a long draught of his potion, emptying the bottle and healing some of his wounds - the most severe, at least.
In the room, the cultist leader's wounds continue to heal slowly, and she turns her attention away from the heroes for a split second - long enough for them to strike at her once more, but her armor and the spell wards her from harm. She draws out a potion from her belt and drinks it. Immediately she fades out of sight - perhaps out of existence.
"I told Aravashnial that I'd handle the aid - i didn't want him using a spell. I hope that's alright?"[/smaller][/b]
"I... yes, that's probably a better idea. Maybe I panicked - though it did feel like we were losing there for a moment, and I almost went down."
After drinking, Elliot slowly pulls himself up. "What's going on in there? Are Thesius and Merixia all right?" he asks, when there's a sudden pause in the sounds of fighting.
"Thesius hit the Baphomet cultist twice, then she drank a potion and vanished," Verene reports calmly to Elliot. "I don't know what spell it was exactly, but the odds are very high that the woman is still in the same place for now." And it means they have her on the back foot: unless she had a very expensive potion indeed, if she tries to attack anyone she will simply reappear.
She nods at Elliot's suggestion. "Elyda, would you like to go in before I close this door?"
On the theory that there's always a chance, she carefully aims over her companions' heads and also takes a shot with her crossbow at the approximate location where the cultist's chest had been. But unsurprisingly, she can tell the bolt ends up a bit too high to matter.
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Merixia growls softly, glaring at the space where the enemy priestess vanished. "She's likely still here, unless the cult has a lot of money for expensive potions. Thesius, watch closely. We're too close for her glaive, but if she draws a backup weapon to attack me, you'll know where she is for a moment." Can invisibility spells hold up during combat? Merixia isn't sure.
What she does know is that Ragathiel gave her a gift years ago, when she first started dreaming of an armor-clad man with five fiery wings. A spell that she never has to pray for, one that comes just as naturally as her hellborn pyrotechnics. One that will allow her to strike true no matter what as long as she has some idea of where her enemy is.
The tiefling starts chanting the divine words, her sulfur-yellow gaze never leaving the spot where her enemy vanished. Attack me and Thesius will know where you are; don't attack me, and I'll hit you regardless of your potion. Heads I win, tails you lose.
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Thesius prayers to Desna while swinging into the space the cultist once stood in hopes that they have not gone far.
Taking quick stock of his and Merixia's conditions, he shouts, "Verene close the door and only open it if one of us is coming through!"
Thesius' morningstar leaps out, and he feels a solid crack of bone and flesh beneath its spiked head. Blood erupts from the air, and a body thumps to the ground... though it remains invisible for a few moments, the enchantment fades swiftly.
===
Before she could heed Verene's words, the once-invisible female's blood stained the cavern floor and she came into view; unmoving.
Seeing that Anevia was beside Elliot and Verene was near the entrance of the other chamber, Elyda cautiously positioned her sword to slash away some of the goo from her armour. She could not afford to be so encumbered by the hardened resin and not at her best to help in the fighting.
"How does everyone fare?" Elyda called out to her companions, attempting to stocktake the injuries.
===
Thesius’ blow lands just in time for Merixia to cut off her incantation and avoid losing the spell. ”Wow. Nice work, Thesius!” She firmly ignores the part of her howling for the cultist’s blood, that wants to behead her just in case. That’s not what civilized people do, and by the all the gods and angels she will be civilized even if it kills her. ”Chief Sull will be happy that you used his gift so well.”
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Verene checks herself on the threshhold as she is about to obey the instruction, lowering her crossbow. "Oh. No need for the door, then. Good job, Thesius. And Elyda, for taking down the other one."
She looks over the body of the tiefling cultist for anything interesting or valuable, aware even as she does so that she's putting off investigating the evil-smelling southern room.
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Searching the room reveals several objects of note - a long, heavy locked box that sits under the desk, a bejeweled book emblazoned with a bull's head on its cover (a glance inside reveals it to be a book of prayers to Baphomet), and a handful of gold coins inscribed with similarly profane symbols as the ones that the heroes had collected in Millorn's cave - from the drow woman.
Uziel's equipment isn't especially noteworthy - his curved shortsword (still stained with Merixia's blood), his studded leather armor (stained with his own blood), and a light crossbow carved with abstract labyrinthine patterns.
His human leader, however, has more interesting fare. Aside from her chain shirt - itself crafted with notably less skill than the ones of the warpriests above - she has a milky-white potion, a single flask of alchemist's fire, the wand she used to nearly kill Elliot, and her glaive - itself the work of a master craftsman.
Careful searching reveals two more items of significant interest. The first is a carefully rolled piece of paper - a letter written in Taldane, it seems. The second is a key hanging from a chain on her belt.
Aravashnial enters the larger room gingerly, his staff tapping slowly to ensure he's not going to trip over anything. "Apologies, Elliot... are you injured? Anevia offered to help, that I might be able to preserve my spells for threats on the surface."
She sighs before the emberkin can respond. "Fat lot of good I ended up doing, anyways. Not exactly doing my best work of late." She makes her way over to join Aravashnial, mist still billowing from beneath her feet.
Horgus slips into the room as well, and a faint sneer - or is it a smile? - twists his lips as he surveys the area. "This is where she killed them to cement her grip." He says after a moment, eyeing the bloodstain on the table.
Once she's cleaned her sword, Merixia begins searching the body of the cultist. "Hmm... nice glaive, not so nice chain shirt, potion, alchemist's fire, wand... hello, what's this?" She pulls a rolled up piece of paper out of the woman's belt pouch and begins reading. "Well, well. We have the boss lady here."
Frowning, the tiefling casts a brief spell and reads the letter out loud. "By all the gods! Areelu Vorlesh herself is after the wardstone!" Merixia looks up at her comrades. "That's the Architect of the Worldwound, a powerful Sarkorian mage and cultist of Deskari. They say she's become more demon than human now." She keeps reading, finishing the letter. "Yaniel was a paladin and heroine of the Fourth Crusade. Radiance was her sword, a holy avenger. Went on a one woman crusade into the Worldwound after a disagreement with her superiors and rescued a bunch of captives from the demons."
Thesius nods an acknowledgement to the others as he allows himself to slump down to his knees, allowing his heavy arm and heart time to recover. He was not use to swinging the heavy mace and the burn in his arm reminded him of that.
Softly words of prayer escape his lips to Pharasma and Desna, for he wishes no one to the side of the evil gods. It is during these prayers that he realizes the fallen in front of him had somehow been healing and he leans in closer to make sure that she is not continuing to do so.
Thesius takes up the morningstar in both hands as he sets a weak, but determined look upon his face. With a final prayer to Pharasma, he swiftly slams the morningstar down upon the cultist's head to end her life and suffering.
Verene winces slightly at the crunch of bone from the other room, but continues putting useful items in a little pile for everyone to look at if needed. When she and the others have collected everything, she mutters an arcane word and examines the potion and wand first while Merixia reads the letter.
"The potion is a slightly stronger healing potion than the ones we have found or bought so far. This wand is what she used to attack Elliot with a glaive made of force, and it has seven charges left in it."
She listens to the letter as Merixia reads it out loud for the benefit of everyone, including Aravashnial.
"Areelu Vorlesh personally conducted the ritual that opened the Worldwound, just after she escaped from her Sarkorian jailers when Aroden died," Verene adds, focusing on the facts and trying not to show the cold despair the letter engendered. "Whatever she wants - or wanted - with the Wardstone, it cannot be good for the world, and from the explosion and pillar of fire we all witnessed two days ago... she may have already accomplished her goal."
She pauses. "Does anyone recognize the initials S. V.?"
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Elyda moved in a stilted way due to the remaining hardened resin, but she wanted to assist in any way she could until the substance could grow brittle enough for her to break it off once and for all. She read the letter when she asked for it (and after Merixia and Verene had taken their turn) and looked over the items and considered the information contained in the letter.
She hadn't realised that she had grown thoughtful after the reading that Elyda merely nodded her head at the other's assessment. She remembered something else regarding Yaniel, and shared it steady and solemnly with her companions,
"For Yaniel's criticisms of the crusaders, her superiors Lord Hulrun and First Sword Knight Nestrin Alodae threatened to excommunicate her, which led to her one-woman assault on the demon forces. When she returned, with her judgemental pride ground away; her superiors began to accept that the truth is what they needed to hear."
She pauses. "Does anyone recognize the initials S. V.?"
"Apologies, Elliot... are you injured? Anevia offered to help, that I might be able to preserve my spells for threats on the surface."
Elliot slowly straightens himself as Hosilla falls and his most critical injures mend. "I'll live. At least my guts aren't hanging out anymore!" he moves a bit stifly and winces when he tries to move the muscles that were just deeply cut into. "And it's fine, Anevia; your gambit paid off. We got her without using Master's spells. Mostly thanks to Thesius and Merixia, it seems."
He nods gratefully to the pair and listens to the sharing of information.
"I can't be sure... but if I had to bet, I'd say they stand for Staunton Vhane. He is the traitor dwarf they attribute the fall of Drezen to. If that's correct, it seems he's worked his way up the ranks to assume command of the demon citadel. Along with Areelu Vorlash and that Demon that killed Terendelev, it seems there's a lot of high-profile enemies involved with this..."
He makes a warding gesture to Sarenrae. "Goddess preserve us."
Anevia approaches Merixia. "Can I look at it?" After a moment, she looks through it. Her face darkens at the mention of Staunton Vhane. "Could be Vhane, yes. It's been some time since we last heard from the Hammers of Heaven... I'm more concerned with the fact that there're still - apparently - active demonic safehouses in Kenabres. Nyserian Manor, the Tower of Estrod, and some place called Topaz Solutions - an alchemy store, maybe?"
Aravashnial grunts, surprised. "The Tower is a home to these Templars?" The blind elf shakes his head grimly. "If we get the chance, when we're on the surface, I think we should look into it. The Tower's been in the hands of independent researchers since its owner died a couple years ago."
Meanwhile, Horgus grumbles. "Damn him. A cultist? Him?" He coughs. "Kandro Nyserian, who owns the manor... he borrowed money from me recently - behind on his payments, too. He wanted to buy your wife's sword, Anevia."
The young woman goes still, startled. "Oh." She shifts uncomfortably before turning to the others. "We should probably look for Radiance - if we want to make sure that the cultists can't 'corrupt' it."
"Yes, we definitely should. The church will want it back. Too bad none of us are paladins." Merixia resumes her search of the body. "Aha! A key!" She removes it from the dead woman's belt and holds it up for the group to see. "Now we just need to find the lock it goes to. If we're lucky, it goes to a room or chest where the cult keeps its valuables, sword included."
Having pondered who could be the mysterious SV, and hearing both Elliot and Anevia, Elyda added her little bit of knowledge,
"I recall something Loskar Truesteel told me when I first arrived in Kenabres. There was a group of dwarven mercenaries that betrayed the Crusade for the Worldwound. Staunton Vhane was their leader. So, I agree with Elliot and Anevia that more than likely the initials are his."
The young woman goes still, startled. "Oh." She shifts uncomfortably before turning to the others. "We should probably look for Radiance - if we want to make sure that the cultists can't 'corrupt' it."
"I agree. Radiance should not fall into the wrong hands. We must find it."
Thesius rises and listens to the words of his companions, making note of the new tidbits about Vorlesh and Staunton that he did not know. AFter slowly taking stock of the room and it's belongings, he points at the heavy locked box under the desk and responds to Merixia, "Could it be to that?"
"I can't be sure... but if I had to bet, I'd say they stand for Staunton Vhane."
"Staunton Vhane..." Verene mutters to herself. "Now where have I heard that name recently...?"
"Now we just need to find the lock it goes to. If we're lucky, it goes to a room or chest where the cult keeps its valuables, sword included."
After slowly taking stock of the room and its belongings, he points at the heavy locked box under the desk and responds to Merixia, "Could it be to that?"
Verene nods, looking speculatively at the key and box. "Hopefully the sword will simply be in this lockbox. It did sound from the letter as though 'Hosilla' had already taken possession of Radiance, and it seems reasonable to assume this cultist was in fact her, since we found the letter on her, and the traitor Forgotten outside also mentioned someone by that name. As for the places named here... I can't help feeling that that's the kind of thing it would have been useful for the crusaders to know about and investigate weeks ago, and now is of limited utility to anyone. And if we can't find a safe place to hole up or a way out of the city for ourselves, a search for left-behind 'evidence' of cult activities will certainly be a moot point."
Nevertheless, she tries to remember anything useful about Nyserian Manor, the Tower of Estrod, or Topaz Solutions.
"A legendary sword once wielded by a famous paladin..." Elliot mutters, looking at the key and the large lockbox with great anticipation. "It should be quite something, then. Is it really not possible for anyone but another paladin to make good use of it?" he wonders.
Thesius rises and listens to the words of his companions, making note of the new tidbits about Vorlesh and Staunton that he did not know. AFter slowly taking stock of the room and it's belongings, he points at the heavy locked box under the desk and responds to Merixia, "Could it be to that?"
"Good eye! It could be, let's find out." Merixia moves over to the desk, stepping around Uziel's corpse, and pulls out the box. She puts the box on top of the desk and tries the key.
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The key fits perfectly into the box, which swings open to reveal a true treasure trove. There's a small leather pouch with a vast assortment of gemstones, including three small chips of lapis lazuli, two bloodstones, a citrine, and a white pearl. Two scrolls lie alongside what is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the box - another, long, slender darkwood case. Inside that box, a golden longsword gleams faintly in the dim light of the chamber's hanging ember lamp. This, undoubtedly, is Radience.
Anevia lets out a low whistle at the sight of the blade. "Impressive. Impractical-looking, but impressive nonetheless."
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"Wow," Merixia breathes as she lifts the legendary sword from its case. "Radiance itself." She places the sword on the desk where everyone can see it. "I vote that Elyda wield it. She follows Iomedae and knows how to use a longsword. The church will probably want it back when we reach the surface, but there's no reason to just carry it right now when we could put it to use."
Thesius moves to the doorway and sighs with relief upon seeing Elliot doing better. They had all thankfully survived. It is then that he remembers that they are as of yet, not necessarily out of danger.
"We still have a doorway down here that we have yet to explore among whatever else is above us. We may want to move swiftly or at least keep stay wary as we explore what we have come across so far."
As he speaks, he moves to the closed door to stand guard. He offers Elliot a soft smile as he moves by him.
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Elyda's eyes lingered on the revealed, golden blade named Radiance and she stared in awe at it.
Tearing her attention from the longsword. Elyda cast Read Magic and looked at the first scroll and then the second, reading the contents contained on the parchments.
"This scroll grants someone greater vitality and stamina."
"And, this scroll can cure all diseases."
Returning to the discovered blade, Elyda heard Merixia nominate that she hold/wield it until they reached the surface and Elyda smiled; the pleasure crossing her face.
"I would be honoured to hold, protect and wield Radiance in the name of the Lady of Valour. If you all grant me this..." Elyda waited until all had viewed the legendary sword and all voiced their agreement , then she lifted the blade off the desk.
Looking closely at the golden longsword, Elyda cast Detect Magic on it.
For just a moment, as Merixia holds up the golden sword to the companions' view, Verene's expression twists. She turns away briefly, petting Thamyris, whose feathers are all fluffed out. He chirps at her anxiously, but if she replies it is not in words.
Within a few seconds she turns back, calm as usual. "Of course, it is fitting that Elyda carry and make use of the sword."
Her attention goes to the door Thesius mentioned. "When we came in, I caught a whiff of something vile wafting from that southern door, so let us be careful. Hopefully it is just another garbage pit or a latrine. Perhaps it would be good to heal again before we go anywhere."
Within a few seconds she turns back, calm as usual. "Of course, it is fitting that Elyda carry and make use of the sword."
Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
With Verene beside her, Elyda caught a fleeting look and a slight stiffing of the body in the human lady wizard upon gazing on Yaniel's longsword. Quietly/discreetly, Elyda addressed Verene,
"I noted your unfavourable reaction to Radiance. I do not wish to cause you further pain by openly wielding this holy blade. I do not want to pry, yet I wish to understand. Why does it cause you such anguish?"
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Topaz Solutions isn't a familiar name to her, however. It does sound like it would be an alchemist's shop or something similar, but that's as far as she can guess. Given what she knows of Kenabres, that probably means it's in the Northgate area, but she could be very wrong about that - alchemists are in demand virtually everywhere.
The Tower of Estrod, however, Verene knows quite well, as it was one of the places she briefly considered studying languages when that first took her interest . Niuna Estrod, its owner and namesake, was a historian and scholar who had arrived from Absalom two decades ago now, to record the history of the Crusades. When she returned to Kenabres, Verene discovered that the old man had died of food poisoning a couple years back, in 4711, and the tower itself was being rented out to wizards, alchemists, and other scholars as a laboratory. From what she can recall, the most recent one to rent it was a minor mage from Nerosyan... what was her name again? Not important enough at the time to remember, it seems.
Staunton Vhane was a commander of a dwarven mercenary group known as the Hammers of Heaven, a group in good standing in the Crusade. Though they were believed to have been worshippers of Torag, last year a half-orc paladin named Irabeth discovered that he had betrayed the Crusade, though it was unclear when the treachery first began. This was, to her knowledge, the first actual proof that demonic cults had infiltrated into Kenabres within her lifetime. Of course, most of that is simply hearsay, as she wasn't actually in the city at the time. Supposedly, though, he fled by flying north on the back of a fiendish dire wasp after Irabeth did battle with him.
Elyda's touch causes Radiance to emit a single, warm note of Heavenly music, and it shifts slightly, becoming better balanced and sized for her than it had been moments before.
Anevia blinks, eyes widening. "Uh... wow. A very special sword, by the looks of it."
Meanwhile, Thesius approaches the other door, which has been left open a crack. A stomach-churning stench wafts from behind the door, of rotting meat, and something even less palatable, which makes Thesius' neck prickle uncomfortably, as some deep instinct tells him there is something wrong about the foul odor.
"I do not hear anything within the room, young Thesius." Aravashnial notes. "Though the reek is... quite something."