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Thesius makes mental notes of a couple of items as he quickly peruses the journal. Then he goes back to try to recall what he may know about them.
Inspiration strikes as he thinks back on Xacarba.
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Merixia listens silently for the most part, tail slowly swishing back and forth as she processes what she's hearing. "An Abyssal heretic... I don't think they would go so far as to call this Arueshelae a heretic if she only sought to serve a different demon lord or Abyssal deity. I think she may actually be seeking a change in alignment; either toward the lawful side or the good side. It's exceptionally rare, but as Ragathiel has demonstrated, it does happen." There's no way Ragathiel was born good with an archdevil and a completely neutral fire goddess as parents. He chose a different path, which is what originally attracted Merixia to his faith. He proved that people can rise above their inborn nature.
"It may be worth tracking her down ourselves and seeing what she has to say. If nothing else, she might be willing to trade information for protection from her pursuers, like Joran." She pauses as a thought occurs to her. "You know, we should bring him in here to see if he has any insights into his brother's journal. Droskar is a god of crafting, right? Maybe Joran was involved with the corruption forge."
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The Knight-Commander sighs. "Understood." She looks back to Verene and Thesius. "I agree. We need to learn more about these crystals and the elixirs, and, if possible, stop their production entirely. But that's a strategic concern for the Queen and her generals, and not something we can immediately deal with. Still, keep an eye out for any signs of more information. In the meantime... is it possible for any of you to send word to any of the high command? If, Iomedae forbid, we fail here, this information needs to get to them."
"I have been thinking about this, actually, ever since we discovered Nurah's spying." Verene's face is calm as usual, but her eyes, human and clear gray once more, shine with contained excitement at the prospect of using magic to solve a hard problem. Midway through a sentence she was translating out loud during the reading of the journal, the scale's transformation had expired, and she had changed back to her human form but finished the paragraph without missing a beat. "We took a scroll of sending from her, which works to send a message to a person known to you over any distance, even between planes. But the message must be short, and you cannot receive replies. To overcome this barrier, I had a thought. Now that I can scry, it would technically be possible to scry Queen Galfrey, wherever she is. Of course, if she didn't want to be scried on, she could very likely throw off the spell. But if we first contacted her with sending, so that she knew in advance the scrying was from us, she could choose to accept it. And once we are scrying her, the whisper spell can work through the sensor. It is tricky to hold both spells at the same time, and I might have to try more than once. But it would theoretically allow for two-way communication between our camps for up to about ten minutes at a time. We could give a fuller report and answer questions as well. Or receive instructions," she adds, clearly as an afterthought.
"At this point, I think Merixia could cast the sending, if she prayed for it in the morning, without needing to use up the scroll. Then I could also learn the spell from that scroll instead, and we would have two people able to cast it in the future. Alternatively, I have read about magical feather tokens that will take the form of a bird to unerringly deliver a short written message to a specific person, and I think I could craft one with little difficulty. The ingredients cost money, but not an exorbitant amount, and I think we could source them from what we have brought in the supply wagons. Any message that could fit on the leg of a messenger pigeon should fit on the feather token, but it shares many of the limitations of sending."
"The Blackfire Adepts?!" Aravashnial's lips twist into a snarl, and his voice is an uncharacteristically venomous growl. "If one of their number is involved in the Templars, it is no wonder the Blackwing was burned down." Anevia looks at him, startled at his raw fury, and the elf takes a calming breath. "The Blackfire Adepts are the greatest enemies of my order. They are a group of... exploiters of planar energy, often aligned with the Abyss. They revel in wounds between the planes, and in causing more. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few of them in the Worldwound."
Verene also startles at the normally even-tempered elf's suddenly furious tone. "It did seem that the demons and their allies knew to target the Blackwing on the day of the invasion of Kenabres. Perhaps the Blackfire Adepts told them that the Riftwardens were headquartered there. It sounds like it is a matter of extreme urgency to learn where the Ivory Sanctum is located, since this mage who leads both the Templars and the Blackfire Adepts in this region is producing the Nahyndrian crystal elixir there. This Xanthir Vang poses an enormous ongoing threat to Drezen and the whole Crusade. And he must be personally distasteful indeed, if even Staunton Vhane was disgusted by him, when Staunton dealt with vile demons and their practices all the time." She wonders briefly how a deceived but well-intentioned crusader, as Staunton had apparently been, could so easily and wholeheartedly go from being over-eager to fight the Abyss to serving it instead, right after witnessing the devastating consequences of his mistake. Sheer despair? It does not make much sense. But she will study the journal in more depth later.
Verene gets out her well-thumbed copy of Burkle's Compendia and the massive Book of Things Holy and Unholy to consult, as the references in Staunton's journal are occasionally opaque, but she flips through them only to confirm her memory of specifics, since Thesius is able to explain them well.
"It may be worth tracking her down ourselves and seeing what she has to say. If nothing else, she might be willing to trade information for protection from her pursuers, like Joran." She pauses as a thought occurs to her. "You know, we should bring him in here to see if he has any insights into his brother's journal. Droskar is a god of crafting, right? Maybe Joran was involved with the corruption forge."
"We should certainly ask Joran about the corruption forge. Though he may not wish to help us with it. Being an enemy or heretic to the demons does not mean a creature is necessarily an ally to us. This passage does make me curious about what could make a succubus lose her powers, though finding one strange non-teleporting succubus at large somewhere in the Worldwound seems like a difficult problem for a later time. "
"Thankfully we have seemed to have dispatched any that successfully made the transformation brought on by these elixirs. I worry what threat a dragon may have posed after such a change. If given the chance, it may be worth trying to investigate these crystals and how we might counteract them."
"Yes, the chimera was bad enough; imagine what it might have made of an adult dragon or a xacarba! They were clearly trying to empower the creatures that were already their strongest shock troops. Starting with them when the process is so dangerous seems unwise, but I suppose if the supply of the elixir is very limited, and one is a Worldwound commander with no concern for the lives of one's subordinates, one might do it that way. A 'Nahyndrian crystal of the proper purity,' with the implication that such a thing is very rare, was also what Areelu Vorlesh needed to source in order to carry out her plan to corrupt the Wardstone, according to that note we found from the lilitu Minagho to Faxon of the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth. So we know that as a substance, it is both corruptive and somehow empowering. And, if the vision we had from the Wardstone is any guide, it is a literal, physical type of crystal, deep purple in color..." Verene isn't sure if all of the command staff, especially Aron and Sosiel, have been fully apprised of the details of what happened in Kenabres before they arrived.
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Merixia nods at Verene's suggestion. "Sure, I can cast sending tomorrow. You using the scroll to learn the spell rather than using it to cast the spell is a more efficient use of our resources."
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"A demon seeking redemption?" Anevia looks seriously dubious. "I... is that even possible? No offense to you or Ragathiel, Merixia, it just seems... he's a demigod, isn't he? Are the rules different?"
"The average demon is the soul of an evil mortal - or a collection thereof - who has been made into a creature formed from the chaos and evil of the Abyss." Aravashnial muses. "It seems incredibly unlikely that one would want to seek a way out, even assuming it is possible."
Sosiel looks shrewdly at Merixia. "Ragathiel is an extreme exception, Merixia." He says gently. "Nevertheless, I can't imagine what else a 'heretic' might refer to in this context. One that serves an archdevil or daemon harbinger?"
Irabeth shakes her head. "Whatever this Arueshalae is, she's not our problem at the moment. Talking with Joran is a good idea, especially with regards to this corruption forge, but we should discuss all of the potentially sensitive information before we send for him." Verene's description of her plans prompts the half-orc to nod. "No, wait. Reach out to Irahai, instead. Her Majesty is likely protected by a number of enchantments and is busy besides. Let's not bypass all the proper channels."
Anevia suppresses a chuckle, and Irabeth cocks a brow at her, but whatever their private joke is, they don't share it.
"Our order's interest in the Blackwing wasn't commonly known, but neither was it a secret." Aravashnial nods at Verene. "But while we can't be sure that this leader is directly involved with the processing of this elixir, it is essential that we find and destroy the Ivory Sanctum - if not personally, then certainly via other crusaders." He looks seriously at Irabeth. "I cannot stress enough the dangers that the Adepts pose even on their own. If they are able to induce power such as our friends wield in themselves, other demonic slaves, and possibly even demons, it could change the course of the war even further against us."
"None of that now." Irabeth says decisively. "I won't hold it against you here, but we don't need the morale dropping from our own command staff expressing doubts." Aravashnial pauses, then nods apologetically.
Verene's description of her plans prompts the half-orc to nod. "No, wait. Reach out to Irahai, instead. Her Majesty is likely protected by a number of enchantments and is busy besides. Let's not bypass all the proper channels."
"Very well, the sending will go to Councillor Irahai then. We must make sure Queen Galfrey is present and connected to us through the message when we actually perform the scrying, though. I do not fully trust anyone in Her Majesty's government but her. The Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth have clearly infiltrated her advisors at the highest levels. I would dearly love to know who looked into Nurah's background and pronounced her trustworthy, for instance."
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Azira stands quietly throughout the debriefing, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes fixed on some point in space well beyond the thin walls of the command tent.
A forge that could corrupt even the Sword of Valor? I shudder to think what might have happened to Radiance if she'd been subjected to that... is it possible that the vile glaive could have once been a powerful weapon for good... or that it could be redeemed? And, what of this succubus... how could we possibly trust a seducer and deceiver well enough to believe she truly sought redemption and to serve the powers of good? Meri is right though, Ragathiel did just that, and demonstrated his goodness clearly enough to be accepted among the Empyreal Lords...
Her attention returns to her immediate surroundings at the mention of the queen's advisors being infiltrated. "That is a legitimate concern," the paladin offers gravely, "one I share, in fact... but I think we need to tread very carefully when it comes to discussing such things. The third crusade become an utter failure because it fell into little more than witch hunts... and that overzealous inquisition never truly ended, despite people like my parents working to turn our attention back to the true enemies. Wherever spies have maneuvered themselves into positions of power and influence, we should do what we can to deal with them, but we must take care not to give fuel to the flames of inquisition while we do."
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"I am so, so relieved Verene is on our side rather than the demons," Elliot thinks as the planning phase continues. "Iomedae, what could you have possibly been thinking when you considered her unworthy...? I once thought it was because you needed her as a wizard. But... what if her hate turned her to evil? Were you really so desperate to want to take that chance?"
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"A demon seeking redemption?" Anevia looks seriously dubious. "I... is that even possible? No offense to you or Ragathiel, Merixia, it just seems... he's a demigod, isn't he? Are the rules different?"
"The average demon is the soul of an evil mortal - or a collection thereof - who has been made into a creature formed from the chaos and evil of the Abyss." Aravashnial muses. "It seems incredibly unlikely that one would want to seek a way out, even assuming it is possible."
Sosiel looks shrewdly at Merixia. "Ragathiel is an extreme exception, Merixia." He says gently. "Nevertheless, I can't imagine what else a 'heretic' might refer to in this context. One that serves an archdevil or daemon harbinger?"
Merixia gives the resident skeptics a wry smile. "Yeah, I would have said the same thing before the wardstone blew up in my face. It's impossible for a cleric to cast spells without preparing them first. It's impossible for a practically brand new crusader like me to face Staunton Vhane in combat and not just survive, but win. And it's really impossible for a chimera to move that damned fast. Seriously, I've never even heard of a creature with that kind of speed." She shrugs with a creak of armor. "The five of us and our more powerful enemies are all doing six impossible things before breakfast these days. At this point, I'm not willing to discount any possibility, however unlikely." A succubus seeking redemption? Why the hell not, it makes more sense than a lot of what's happened lately.
Her attention returns to her immediate surroundings at the mention of the queen's advisors being infiltrated. "That is a legitimate concern," the paladin offers gravely, "one I share, in fact... but I think we need to tread very carefully when it comes to discussing such things. The third crusade become an utter failure because it fell into little more than witch hunts... and that overzealous inquisition never truly ended, despite people like my parents working to turn our attention back to the true enemies. Wherever spies have maneuvered themselves into positions of power and influence, we should do what we can to deal with them, but we must take care not to give fuel to the flames of inquisition while we do."
"If the Queen's right hand was compromised, we'd all be dead already. I figure Irahai is pretty safe as far as passing on intelligence goes."
"Trust me, I well understand the destructive power of baseless suspicion. I do not say Councillor Irahai should be particularly suspect, and you will not see me pointing fingers at any specific person as a cultist without a solid reason, much less based on race or religion or magical tradition, or any of the similar trivialities that were treated as 'evidence' by the Iomedaean Inquisition long after the Third Crusade ended! But when we do have good reasons to suspect more than one mole within a specific organization, at least a little caution is warranted — just reducing possible failure points, if you will. Moreover, however wise her advisors, they might not ask the same questions or have the same instructions in response. So I still want to make sure Queen Galfrey has this extremely sensitive information directly from us, and a chance to respond to it personally. She took the time to send us on this expedition personally, after all." Verene considers. "It is less dire, but perhaps we should also consider spreading the word to look out for a lone succubus that has deserted the demons, and to capture and not kill her if they find her. That much — she has deserted, and they consider her an enemy — we know to be true. Otherwise, if the main army happens to run across her in the Worldwound with her options for escape limited, they might kill her out of hand, and then we would never know the full truth, whatever it is."
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"If the Councilor is a spy, then our efforts are likely already doomed." Anevia agrees with Merixia. "I don't disagree with your mistrust of the high ranks, Verene, but I also agree that we shouldn't allow mistrust to poison our efforts."
Irabeth nods. "I hate how deeply Kenabres was compromised, but I think Nurah was the exception rather than the rule... though we should probably ask her in more detail. Unless we already have?" She looks at her wife, who winces.
"I'd... honestly forgotten to ask about that too much. I figured that the names wouldn't be very important at the moment, given that we've been, well..."
"That is quite understandable." Aravashnial says gently. "But I think now would be a good time to ask."
The Knight-Commander nods gravely. "Do so before the sending tomorrow." She commands, and Anevia salutes, still abashed.
Sosiel chuckles, nodding at Merixia's explanation. "True. I suppose anything is possible nowadays."
"Certainly more than it has been since before the death of Aroden." Aravashnial agrees, and there's a moment of silence as the comment reminds the entire command staff that he alone among them remembers the Age of Enthronement. He continues. "That being said, I am not certain we should send out the message about this Arueshalae. The main armies are not this far north, and given that she cannot teleport, it seems likely that she'll remain within however many days' flight range of Drezen as it takes us to capture the Citadel."
"It could cause confusion, and I'd really rather not give any non-heretical succubi that advantage." Aron points out.
Sosiel looks thoughtful. "If she has, indeed, somehow turned against the Abyss, we should do everything we can to preserve her safety." The Shelynite says slowly. "But as Aravashnial and Aron say, I don't think we want to spread word of her too far just yet."
Irabeth looks thoughtful. "We'll table that thought until after we take Drezen." She decides. "But keep in mind, Verene, that the Queen is in the field at the moment. She may not have a lot of time to discuss what information we've discovered."
Verene looks down at the map and mentally plots the last known position of the Queen's army against their own location of Drezen.
"Point taken. The spell will last only about eight minutes, and Her Majesty's time is also limited. And this Arueshalae would have to have flown several hundred miles south to be in any reasonable range of the army's main forces. We should stick to the most crucial topics. Nurah, the progress of the siege, and the Nahyndrian crystal elixir brought from the Ivory Sanctum." She takes up the Compendia Historiae Naturalis Abyssi and flips through it to a specific page bookmarked with a scrap of saddle leather.
"Speaking of which: while going through my copy of the Compendia again the other night to see if there was any description of demonic chimeras, I found a curious abbreviated reference citing Faren's Codex of Manifestations Most Vile. I do not possess the original text to check — most copies were burned during the Third Crusade, and the remainder are now very rare — and Burkle does not use the word 'Nahyndrian' at all, but according to him, the Codex claims that when a demon lord is murdered, its life force continues to exist in the solidified form of a crystal. I do not know why it should be phrased as 'murdered' and not 'killed,' but Burkle is usually scrupulously precise in his quotations and paraphrases of other authors. If it is true, I can imagine that this concentrated life energy could be a source of exceptional power, and equally great corruption. One vague reference is not definitive, of course. But that is my best guess, at the moment, about what 'Nahyndrian crystal' actually is."
She closes the precious books and tucks them away. "I will include you and the others in the message spell, of course, Lady Irabeth, and repeat what is said back to everyone present if needed. If you or anyone have a summary or brief message you would like to get through to the main forces, please prepare it in advance. With that said, I am ready at any time to try examining the magical effects on and perhaps speaking to the freed Keystones of Lozeri."
”If you think that just talking to the Keystones, without using any magic, might bear some fruit,” Azira offers, “I’d be glad to help with that.”
Verene nods gratefully. "That would be wonderful. I think we should try that first, after bringing them around with healing magic. If ordinary methods of persuasion fail, and it seems to me that the compulsion on them is still in effect, I do have a few scrolls of dispel magic, and perhaps Merixia, Master Aravashnial or Master Vaenic might have similar spells available to them as well." She looks hopefully at the three named.
"So... we continue our assault on the castle... when exactly? Are we putting it on hold for until after we do the sendings? Opposition in the castle was fierce. We would be going in with either reduced spells or less wardstone power to make this magically possible. Unless we rest multiple days." Elliot says, thinking that, by the goddess, he could sure use that right about now. Maybe when he woke up, he would be more alert to follow the strategizing - and maybe more able to digestief the shoking implications of non-evil succubi.
"Tomorrow morning after trying to make contact with the Queen's camp, I thought. Merixia and I will each start out with one less of our most powerful spells, but on the other hand, perhaps we could use the broken wall to enter and need not start by expending a spell on a dimension door to get in as we did today, so for me it would be a wash. I would still keep one dimension door in reserve in case we needed a quick exit, of course."
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Verene nods gratefully. "That would be wonderful. I think we should try that first, after bringing them around with healing magic. If ordinary methods of persuasion fail, and it seems to me that the compulsion on them is still in effect, I do have a few scrolls of dispel magic, and perhaps Merixia, Master Aravashnial or Master Vaenic might have similar spells available to them as well." She looks hopefully at the three named.
Merixia nods. "I'm not the spellcaster you are, but I would be happy to give it a try with the wardstone power I have left for the day."
"Tomorrow morning after trying to make contact with the Queen's camp, I thought. Merixia and I will each start out with one less of our most powerful spells, but on the other hand, perhaps we could use the broken wall to enter and need not start by expending a spell on a dimension door to get in as we did today, so for me it would be a wash. I would still keep one dimension door in reserve in case we needed a quick exit, of course."
"One less spell isn't a dealbreaker for me. If worst comes to worst, we can always leave early like we did today. I would very much like to investigate the armor Verene saw with the false Sword of Valor. Maybe there's a suit that would fit me, or magically resize to fit me! This banded mail just isn't getting the job done." She's pretty sure that that last Keystone wouldn't have landed a hit on her if she had better armor.
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"I also assumed we'd go back in tomorrow after attempting to communicate with the queen's camp," Azira agrees. "I--begrudgingly--admit that pressing further with our spell casters' resources depleted is not tactically sound, but we do need to stay as aggressive as we can afford to be. We can't give them any more time than necessary to organize and bolster their defenses, or for that succubus to cause mischief..."
A scowl creeps across the aasimar's face and her hand reflexively moves to Radiance's hilt. "Sh!t... the succubus--the one that we know is bad. We've taken away her play things. She'll surely want revenge, and new play things. We should spread word through the camp immediately for everyone to be on guard against her wiles: wary of any unfamiliar face, looking for confirmation of the identity even of familiar faces, those sorts of things. Perhaps we could have those able to detect magic patrolling the camp, checking for illusions and enchantments? We probably can't set up a giant protection from evil spell over the whole camp for a couple days, right?"
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Thesius' attention is pulled between the journal and the conversation at hand. As they talk, he offers what he can of his findings from the journal and to the conversation at large, but finds much of what he might offered is unsurprisingly being covered by Verene. He had always appreciated her insights and they continued to prove of great value to not only him, but the crusade at large.
"I can help talk to Nurah. She may feel more comfortable with me there," he notes when it's clear Anevia would be making inquiries of her.
At the suggestion of increased vigilance, he nods. "I need only a couple of hours to rest thanks to my ring. With that in mind, I was planning to keep watch over Nurah and Joran. They both have the potential to be key assets in our future moves."
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"I'm somewhat familiar with the name, if not with the specifics..." Aravashnial acknowledges, sounding irritated with himself. "But if your speculation is correct, Verene, that leaves us with a few questions - why use the term murdered, how is it different than merely 'killed' and... which demon lord - or lords - were 'murdered' to create the crystals that were used on Vhane and this chimera?"
Irabeth looks at the two wizards. "I'd like you two to do what research you can when you're able on that - it's not an immediate concern, but it is something that we should look into when we have the chance. But for now, it's mostly academic."
She nods at Verene's comment - invitation? - about the spell. Clearly, she'd expected she would be present, though at least she doesn't seem annoyed that Verene felt the need to invite her.
"Try getting rid of the enchantments on the Keystones, then." She continues. "If you can't, well-"
"Whatever information you'd get would be suspect." Anevia interrupts her wife, who looks at her. "Sorry, but it's true. A succubus could be feeding them information telepathically even now." Sosiel and Aravashnial nod their agreement.
The Knight-Commander sighs. "Well, I trust you to do what you can, but keep in mind the source." She winces at Azira's realization. "Dammit, you're right. Did you sense anything evil on her?" She asks the other paladin. When Azira indicates that she didn't, the half-orc grimaces. "We don't have a lot of people who can sense magic here. Most of us who can use spells are paladins."
"Creating such a spell wouldn't be terribly practical, if we could do it at all." Aravashnial says. "Though it wouldn't be a bad idea to set up magic circles around the more critical areas..." He sighs.
"Would she risk coming out here?" Aron asks. "Especially with all of us on alert and the Keystones rescued?"
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Hmm, that's a good question. Merixia ponders it for a moment. "On the one hand, she fled rather than face us, so she might not be the bravest demon around. On the other hand, if there's somebody left in there with sufficient authority to organize the surviving demons, they might order her out here." She shrugs. "I think increased vigilance is a good idea as long as everyone gets at least some sleep. If the worst happens, we'll need fresh, well-rested soldiers to deal with it."
"I'm somewhat familiar with the name, if not with the specifics..." Aravashnial acknowledges, sounding irritated with himself. "But if your speculation is correct, Verene, that leaves us with a few questions - why use the term murdered, how is it different than merely 'killed' and... which demon lord - or lords - were 'murdered' to create the crystals that were used on Vhane and this chimera?"
"Yes. And how many more can they source?" Verene murmurs grimly. But she nods assent to Irabeth's request to save further research and speculation for later.
"Sh!t... the succubus--the one that we know is bad. We've taken away her playthings. She'll surely want revenge, and new playthings. We should spread word through the camp immediately for everyone to be on guard against her wiles: wary of any unfamiliar face, looking for confirmation of the identity even of familiar faces, those sorts of things. Perhaps we could have those able to detect magic patrolling the camp, checking for illusions and enchantments? We probably can't set up a giant protection from evil spell over the whole camp for a couple days, right?"
"Creating such a spell wouldn't be terribly practical, if we could do it at all." Aravashnial says. "Though it wouldn't be a bad idea to set up magic circles around the more critical areas..." He sighs.
"Would she risk coming out here?" Aron asks. "Especially with all of us on alert and the Keystones rescued?"
"On the one hand, she fled rather than face us, so she might not be the bravest demon around. On the other hand, if there's somebody left in there with sufficient authority to organize the surviving demons, they might order her out here." She shrugs. "I think increased vigilance is a good idea as long as everyone gets at least some sleep. If the worst happens, we'll need fresh, well-rested soldiers to deal with it."
"I agree with Master Aravashnial's assessment. The camp is too big for a simple ward against evil to be practical. Now, a circle eighty feet across could become hallowed ground and provide exactly such an effect for the most critical areas, if we had a cleric capable of casting the ritual, twenty-four hours of uninterrupted time, and a thousand gold crowns' worth of herbs, oils and incense. But we currently have none of these, although Merixia may be able to handle the first sometime soon. And so far as I know, short of multiple hallow rituals being cast together, it would be impossible for any mortal magic to protect an area of the size of the whole camp. Smaller wards, that we can currently cast on a place like the command center, will last less than ten minutes each."
"I think that particular succubus has been stung, and will be too wary to immediately venture into the heart of our camp to retaliate. Still, there are plenty of spellcasting demons still left in the citadel, and it is a good idea to sweep the camp looking for active illusions and enchantments that should not be there every hour or so. I am willing to take a turn at it, and I am sure some of our other magic users could too. Telling everyone to be wary of unfamiliar faces that are not our six Keystones or Joran is a good idea as well. Especially if they look a little like Iomedae... But asking everyone to re-confirm their own comrades' identities all the time, and to be wary of even familiar faces? Now that seems like an ironclad way to spread paranoia and destroy morale. And it is somewhat pointless, since succubi can read minds to know code phrases and the answers to specific questions."
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"With my own need for sleep shortened, I can assist to a large degree with Verene's suggestion. I should be fine after about two hours of sleep. While I would like to keep an eye over Nurah and Joran, we could make sure someone with the ability to detect magic is there when guards shift. This would free me up to help perform sweeps through the camp while we're not actively taking back the keep," Thesius offers.
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Irabeth allows the trio to speak their pieces without interruption, though she does occasionally nod. "I think that alerting the camp to new faces is wise, although, as you say, there's a definite chance that any demon attempting to infiltrate us would masquerade as one of our number. I'll trust you seven to organize a regular scan for illusions." She looks at the four spell casting champions, Riftun, Sosiel, and Aravashnial.
"Sosiel," she continues, "give me your assessment of the risk that a demon will try to infiltrate us, given what you know of demonic tactics and what our friends have said."
The Shelynite rubs his chin - remarkably well-groomed even after all that has happened since the army left Kenabres. "Staunton is dead, and with him the one with the most personal drive to get rid of us. Even though the rest of the demons probably won't teleport out, that is an option for them. For him - well, he knew you were here, and he would've had to fly off on his familiar, absent greater magic than we think they have available.
"Shadow demons are typically very keen on infiltration, though. I'm not sure how many there are in the Citadel, but Eustoyriax might come out to do so... assuming he's willing to abandon the Sword of Valor for any length of time. He might not be - another demon might use such a choice to discredit him in his superiors' eyes." Sosiel frowns. "But we don't know how potent he actually is from Vhane's journal. Still, I'd hazard that it won't be more than a single demon who tries - and that whatever this Janeamine did to hide her evil aura, it's probably unique to her."
Irabeth nods. "Alright. Is there anything else you want to report?" She asks the champions.
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"Not really. I would like to bring Joran in for questioning, though, and I plan to build a pyre for Staunton after that." Merixia hesitates slightly. "Given that I don't know the dwarven prayers for the dead... may I ask Joran if he wants to attend? Bound and under guard, of course. I don't know what their relationship was like, but asking might help with turning him to our side. A bit of kindness, you know? Plus nobody wants Staunton Vhane's ghost hanging around. Proper funeral rites can help prevent that." Dwarves probably bury their dead, given their relationship with earth and stone, but that's not really an option when you need to prevent enemy infiltrators from retrieving the corpse. Burying the ashes will have to do.
Verene shakes her head. "Nothing further to report. I think that would be a kindness, Merixia. I want to do what I can for the Keystones, speak to Joran and Nurah about the corruption forge and Nahyndrian crystal, and walk around the inner fortress with my object-locating spell up to see if I can triangulate the approximate location of the Sword of Valor underground. After that, I will be free to keep watch over Nurah and Joran while occasionally sweeping the camp for magic for the rest of the day."
When they are released to go to their next tasks, Verene seeks out the unconscious Keystones in the medical tents first. She casts detect magic and spends a few minutes identifying each magical effect or item currently on the deceived soldiers. This woman is Pisha, and this man is Beren... Those were the only two names I heard.
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Thesius shakes his head. "Nothing that comes to mind at the moment. I will report back if that changes."
"Once I check in with Nurah and Joran, I'll plan to get some rest before giving tending to my daily rituals. Once that is done, I will spend the rest of my time tending to guard duty until we're ready to strike once more," Thesius offers. While he would not mind attending Stuanton's cremation, he felt it better he take the time to prep himself for what was to come so that the others could get the rest they needed.
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Irabeth considers the tiefling's request with regards to Staunton's funerary procedures, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You can bring Joran to the site of his pyre, but the soldiers are going to want to see it. Gods know I am. We're doing well here, but this? This will definitely help steady our freed prisoners' morale. A lot of them probably saw him personally, so knowing Vhane's gone'll do them good."
Sosiel thinks. "We should do our little funeral tomorrow afternoon or the like. Make a bit of a to-do about it, you know? That'd be the best way of getting everyone together. It might also help sway our prisoners a bit, help them see that even the worst tyrants can fall."
The Knight-Captain nods firmly. "Good. All of you are dismissed, then. Go get what rest you can. We'll need you prepared tomorrow."
Thesius will check in on Nurah and Joran before heading to get what rest he needed. After getting his allotted sleep, he will perform his dance to Desna before finally moving to guard duty while the others rest.
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Apparently Irabeth would rather wait to question Joran, then. Merixia salutes, then exits to where Staunton's blanket-wrapped corpse is lying. She picks it up with an apology to the crusaders outside ("I'll come back to clean up the blood once I've got this in a safe place!") and hauls her bloody bundle off to where the army's critical supplies are under constant guard against enemy infiltrators. "Please keep an eye on this along with the supplies. It's the body of Staunton Vhane, and Commander Tirabade wants a public funeral for him tomorrow."
The dried blood is really starting to itch, but she did give her word that she would clean up the puddle outside of the war room. So the priestess grabs a bucket of water and goes to make good on her promise. Then it's finally time for a bath! Or, well, a couple buckets of lukewarm water, a rag and a bar of soap. At least the camp has plenty of the former thanks to Merixia and Sosial's create water spells.
Bath done, she bundles up her filthy armor in a sack and heads for the tents to find her boyfriend. If she asks nicely, maybe Elliot will use his magic to clean it for her. Otherwise it's going to take hours to get the banded mail into a wearable state. And there are still rescued Keystones to disenchant, wounded to be looked after, and camp chores to be done.
Verene studies the dominate person effect on the unconscious but stabilized mercenaries until Merixia arrives, whereupon she shares her findings with the priestess. Would it be easier to tug on them, slide the effect off of them entire, or try to unpick the spell itself like slicing a binding rope?
Once Merixia has done what she can for them, she brings out the scrolls they had found in the Gray Garrison and begins reading the first one over one of the Keystones whose mental enslavement is still in effect. The scroll's magic feels sedate, even tame compared to the jolting threads of power she is now used to plucking and weaving; it is something like a housecat compared to a tiger. She takes her time and opens herself to any brief, cold flashes of how the sentence of the crucial activating chant is meant to be slower here and faster there, how the original scriber would have put the emphasis on this syllable instead of that one.
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The Keystone in question, a Varisian woman named Pisha, looks distinctly disturbed compared to the rest of her counterparts. However, before she can answer any questions, she visibly wilts, her eyes drifting shut as she sags and collapses into the arms of one of the nearby guards who is quick enough to catch her.
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"Cat dirt," Verene mutters as Pisha appears to come back to her senses for a moment, then promptly relapses into unconsciousness. She had not thought the succubus would know right away that her enchantment had been dispelled — although no longer being telepathically connected to the demon or subject to its "I forgot about the backlash from severing the mental connection of the profane gift. I had not thought the demon would know right away that her domination had been ended. Perhaps there is information they have that she is afraid of us finding out.
"Unfortunately, I think we have no ability at present to undo the profane gift ourselves, without it harming them. It is not quite a spell, but something older and deeper than that, and it cannot be dispelled by normal means.
"Well. Losing the succubus's favor probably won't take all of them that hard. But she and all of them will need strong restorative magic to regain full use of their faculties. Nothing outside the boundaries of what Merixia can pray for now. Still, no longer being telepathically connected to the demon or subject to its suggestions is probably better for Pisha in the long run. Better unconscious in safe hands than being a demon's puppet."
Verene looks Pisha over for physical injuries remaining after being checked out by the camp's healers, and heals her with the curative wand if necessary.
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Elliot does his best to remain cogniscent of the further proceedings of the meeting, but it is clear to anyone paying any real attention that the magus is completely spent and struggling to keep up, showing obvious lapses in concentration like nodding along but asking for a repeat of what was said a few moments later. Yet, if he were completely honest with himself, the level of meticulous planning and spellcraft on display here was probably beyond him even on a good day. Maybe if he had continued focusing purely on the arcane could he have offered some worthwhile support to Verene and Merixia in their communication efforts with the Queen... but that ship had sailed. Now, all he could really do was to protect them as they made their preparations.
Regarding the succubus, he similarly has little to add. The suggestions for communication and camp protection were all good. "...Maybe we are overthinking our approach on this Arueshalae? If I were her, regardless of whether I were truly wanting to convert from my demonic ways or just an intended spy to be inserted among us, the last place I would want to go is an active warzone between the demonic and crusader forces. Everyone here is pretty much guaranteed to be on edge and there is a lot of fighting taking place. It's hard to think of a *less* safe place for a demon to be in. If we want to meet her, the best thing to do seems to be to simply win the fight here and establish order, then wait for her to contact us. Or perhaps Thesius, as Desna's chosen, can pray to his patron for guidance on how to find her. If she is truly a worshipper of her, perhaps Desna herself is willing to bring her to us. I know, I know. Perhaps it is crazy and perhaps I am overstepping a line to assume anything from a god. However, these events have all been extroardinary, and each of us *has* already had contact with our respective patrons. Assuming our shared dreams back in Kenabres were real."
When the meeting is dismissed, Elliot feels relieved, intending to rest his weary bones straight away even if it was but midday. He does his best to straighten and smile to Merixia when she approaches him to help cleaning with her armor which he...
...Does manage to do, squeezing pretty much the last bit of energy he had into cleaning it for her. There was still a certain shyness to the magus as he helped her get out of it, which felt like a strangely intimate act to perform alone with his girlfriend, even if it was technically entirely functional. "Here. I think I got everything with the cantrip," he eventually says, trying to keep the blue fumes from his hair. "I... need a bit of rest now but maybe we can, ah, go for a spar tonight or such?"
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Oof. Poor Elliot looks exhausted. Sometimes Merixia forgets that not everyone had the benefit of Father Darian's hellish stamina training. "Thank you so much, Elliot. Get some rest and I'll wake you up for dinner." She leans over to kiss him on the cheek. "Later tonight we can do something a little calmer than sparring, okay?"
Once her boyfriend has headed for his tent, Merixia drops her sack of armor off in the tent she shares with Verene and Azira, then goes in search of the enchanted Keystones. She gets there just in time to see one of them collapse unconscious. "Oh my gods!" The cleric rushes over to take the woman's pulse and check her breathing. She seems stable enough for now.
"Cat dirt," Verene mutters as Pisha appears to come back to her senses for a moment, then promptly relapses into unconsciousness. She had not thought the succubus would know right away that her enchantment had been dispelled — although no longer being telepathically connected to the demon or subject to its "I forgot about the backlash from severing the mental connection of the profane gift. I had not thought the demon would know right away that her domination had been ended. Perhaps there is information they have that she is afraid of us finding out.
"Unfortunately, I think we have no ability at present to undo the profane gift ourselves, without it harming them. It is not quite a spell, but something older and deeper than that, and it cannot be dispelled by normal means.
"Well. Losing the succubus's favor probably won't take all of them that hard. But she and all of them will need strong restorative magic to regain full use of their faculties. Nothing outside the boundaries of what Merixia can pray for now. Still, no longer being telepathically connected to the demon or subject to its suggestions is probably better for Pisha in the long run. Better unconscious in safe hands than being a demon's puppet."
Cat dirt? That's a new one. And here Merixia thought she had heard all the Taldane swear words by now. "I can try and restore her later on. For now, though, I think it's more important to try and remove the charm spells." Having charmed people in camp is a lot more dangerous than having comatose people.
Merixia reaches out to the sea of stars in her mind, plucking a dispel magic and focusing it on the closest non-comatose Keystone. She doesn't have Verene's delicate touch with magic. She just puts as much power behind the spell as she can manage and hammers away as if she were breaking down a door.
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Neither Pisha nor her male counterpart are any more injured than they were when the heroes left them after beating them into unconsciousness, fortunately.
The next morning, Irabeth summons the champions to the command center in order to begin the efforts of sending word to the Queen and her staff. She, along with Anevia, Sosiel, and Aravashnial are waiting there to hammer out the final details.
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Verene goes and speaks with Joran and Nurah separately about the corruption forge and supposed heretic succubus mentioned in Staunton's journal. She probes delicately about Joran's aspirations and regrets to see how they might try in the future to motivate him to change, and tries to plant a few subtle seeds of hope that he even has a future without Staunton.
She also tries to get Nurah's impressions of how the day had gone, if there is anything she would change the next day, and how the halfling bard is feeling about continuing to help them. She would like Nurah to come to see — even if she cannot admit it yet — that through cooperation and prosocial behavior, a better world and life are possible; something more than the Abyssal brutality of all against all or the indifference and oppression she had experienced before that. But actions and consistency are more important than feelings. She does not hope that Nurah can go from a malicious spy to a warrior for the Crusade right away, or maybe ever; but she can at least be a reliable ally to it.
After this, she scans the camp for suspicious magic and then, leaving all the scales and Wardstone shards along with Radiance and Righteous Eclipse behind in the bag of holding, goes with a squad of paladins to circle the fortress with locate object attuned to artifact-level magic objects. She takes a copy of Aron's map, so she can mark at which points around the perimeter she feels the artifact directly in front of her inside the fortress.
For the remainder of the day, she guards Joran and Nurah along with Thesius, leaving only to do whatever camp chores are hers on the roster and to sweep the camp for magic occasionally. After preparing some statements for Queen Galfrey and Counselor Irahai, and writing in her journal as usual, the final thing she does before bed is to use the last of her grasp on the Wardstone power to send as much of it into the wand of dimension door as she can: a cold bright trickle that leaves her mental fingers numb.
Before preparing the rest of her spells for the day, Verene readies her scrying and message, so that when Merixia uses the sending, she can perform the scrying and hopefully message to the Queen soon after, on whatever timetable Merixia specifies. Since the Keystones are going to require more spells to help them than anticipated, especially from Merixia, she isn't sure if she should prepare mostly combat spells or mostly attempts to dispel the succubus's magic.
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.
Once rested, the previous day, Elliot assists his sister recharging the wand. He is about to finish retraining his arcana with his master as he hesitates - holding this wand gave him some ideas for practical applications in combat. "Verene? Do you mind if I hold onto this while we're fighting in the castle? I think it can be used for more than just getting us in and out quickly."
Afterwards, he joins Merixia for dinner and takes it easy the rest of the day, enjoying what remained of it in the mess tent with the soldiers and the stories shared around the fires in the night.
The next day, he joins his Sister for her rounds as they visit Nurah, Joran, Akravesh and the previously captured cultists and Tieflings to see whether they could nudge some of them back to more noble lives.
At some point, he takes a deep breath. "Hey... sis? I've been wondering. It seems that lately, whenever I seek out either of you, you and Master Aravashnial are almost always spending time together. Is... there something... um, going on between you?"
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"Verene? Do you mind if I hold onto this while we're fighting in the castle? I think it can be used for more than just getting us in and out quickly."
Verene listens seriously to Elliot's description of the potential combat applications of the teleportation wand. By the end, she wears a positively fiendish little smile, as visions of Elliot appearing in the enemy's back line to immediately engage their fragile spellcasters dance in her head. "Of course I do not mind. Keep it and use it in health."
***
At some point, he takes a deep breath. "Hey... sis? I've been wondering. It seems that lately, whenever I seek out either of you, you and Master Aravashnial are almost always spending time together. Is... there something... um, going on between you?"
Verene chokes on a sip of the intensely strong coffee she prefers in the mornings and barely manages not to spit it everywhere. When she is done coughing she turns an astonished eye on him and protests, "Elliot, what on earth can you mean? I have hardly spoken a word to Master Aravashnial outside of command meetings these last four or five days!" Then she also colors a little, and looks away.
In a lower tone she admits, "I am afraid I have been avoiding him, in fact. It is only— it is very awkward, this business with the Wardstone. Not that he has been anything other than perfectly pleasant and helpful! He is the picture of professional courtesy. But I know how I would feel if I spent decades and decades studying a subject, only to have a rank beginner leapfrogged past me in a matter of weeks due to a freak accident. It is mortifying to be treated like an expert when an actual expert is standing right there. And the one time in this entire expedition we have spoken in any depth, he seemed sad, and distant; or maybe just homesick for Kyonin, I truly don't know. It felt like nothing I should pry into, in any case.
"So whatever you have imagined is going on, please know it is the opposite. He is being polite about it, but I think he simply does not like me, and I cannot even blame him." Verene does not over-examine her disappointment at this fact. She is used to making friends easily; being politely disliked for something not her fault stings. It also makes her inclined to be overly cheerful and polite in response. Elliot has probably picked up on that tension.
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Merixia catches the Keystone in front of her as he passes out, gently lowering him to the ground. "I have a feeling that this is going to take a lot of restoration spells. Here's hoping the army packed enough diamond dust to cast them." Look, she really needs to upgrade some of her gear, okay? It's going to take 100 gp a pop to help these people.
After the Keystones have been seen to, the cleric goes to check on the wounded and find out what camp chores need doing. Merixia might be a Hero these days, but that doesn't mean she's above peeling turnips for dinner or helping keep the camp clean. (Cleanliness is vital in the Worldwound, where demonplague is a constant danger.) Later on she gets the chance to eat dinner with Elliot and enjoy some quiet time together.
As she goes about her morning routine, Merixia decides to hold off on preparing spells until she talks to Irabeth and the rest of her friends.
"Good morning, everyone! Before I pray for spells today, I need to know whether we're going back into the keep or taking a day off. Judging from how a couple of the Keystones reacted to losing the succubus' profane gift yesterday, all of them are going to need restoration spells. I can't prepare enough high level spells to do that and be in top form for combat."
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Once all of their meetings and discussions have come to an end, Azira and Wulfric spend the remainder of the touring the camp. The sword-knight shares word with the soldiers (sword-knights and rescued prisoners alike) of Staunton Vhane's death, and impending funeral, and the rescue of the Keystone mercenaries, along with a warning to be wary of new faces, and to refrain from any new romantic entanglements, until the succubus is dealt with. While she does so, Wulfric watches the soldiers reactions, looking for any sign of charms or compulsions.
After eating dinner with Korryn and hearing about how the scouting patrols are faring, the paladin heads to the infirmary and exhausts the rest of her healing ability before turning in for the night.
As is their daily practice, Azira and her loyal retainer rise just before dawn, wash and dress themselves, and head for the area where they lead morning prayers. Azira leads the singing of several sacred hymns as the first red light of dawn breaks over the horizon, then kneels with Radiance held before her--her holy symbol draped over its guard--and offers up prayers to the Lady of Valor as the morning light rolls over them. When she finishes, Wulfric steps up to deliver a rousing oration of a passage or two from the Acts of Iomedae, followed by a reading from the book of war prayers.
Upon completing the morning service, the two move quickly to the mess hall where they split a small, round loaf of leftover bread which they hollow out like an edible bowl and fill with the porridge on offer. Unlike most mornings, they do not sit and eat with the others arriving from morning prayer but take their food and eat it as they walk to the command tent for the attempt to contact the queen's party.
When questions begin about plans for later in the day she offers, "I know we have a funeral to perform, Keystones in need of magical liberation, and that spells will be needed for this morning's communication, but I still firmly believe that we need to continue pressing the attack. This is not a normal siege where we can starve them out with time; a prolonged siege works in their favor as we will struggle to replenish our stores and maintain morale while they can easily teleport in supplies and even reinforcements. Right now there's likely to be some confusion, perhaps even strife, as their leadership adjusts to losing Staunton and everyone and thing else we killed or captured yesterday... we should be aggressive while we have this advantage."
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The rituals and spells cast to communicate with high command go fairly well, with a mostly complete report going through. The Queen does, however, request that they send further reports to one of her staff members, whom she trusts. Nurah's betrayal clearly troubles her, but the halfling's confirmation that she was the highest-placed agent of the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth and the heroes relative trust in her leads the monarch to accept the information as factual.
Dealing with the Keystones is harder, but between both Merixia and Verene, they are able to be cleansed of the succubus' influence - and most of them don't even fall unconscious! Of course, this is because she doesn't seem to have retracted their gifts, meaning they're still potentially compromised.
They do offer a bit of insight into the status of the Citadel, but it's not a lot - they were mostly kept in the chapel of the Inheritor as Janeamine's playthings. They do warn the heroes that she's more than she seems - more powerful than most succubi.
Since the last four Keystones did not seem negatively affected by a magical backlash at the moment their mental chains were broken, Verene suspects the succubus has not cut them loose entirely. She checks them, and for good measure, the two freed yesterday, for any still-extant magical effects with detect magic, and makes sure there is a record of which ones still have the profane gift lingering around them. Once the domination is removed, all six can be fully physically healed safely, and she makes sure they are, calling on Sosiel for assistance as needed to spare Merixia's healing capabilities for possible use later in the day.
With as much sensitivity for their recent captivity and their mental states as possible, she questions all of them about the specific capabilities and defenses of their succubus captor — what makes her unique — along with any useful information about the layout of the building, its contents, and the other inhabitants. Thamyris helps by emerging from her hair to solemnly greet each one in his peeping voice and assure them that with his powers of observation guarding the camp, they will be safe from any more demons.
She also asks the gentle Shelynite to keep them company and offer counseling or other priestly help if needed. Along with the two Keystones who have been freed both from complete control and the telepathic connection, and then had their mental faculties restored, he can also keep watch over the four others for any 'off' or odd behavior. She requests, but does not command, that all six of them remain together in a separate medical tent for at least the next full day, with meals and any comforts they request, like baths or clean clothes, brought to them there. Though Verene does not say this, she hopes that twenty-four hours from now, the succubus will be dead, and they will not need to worry about her telepathic connection and suggestions for anyone any longer.
When questions begin about plans for later in the day she offers, "I know we have a funeral to perform, Keystones in need of magical liberation, and that spells will be needed for this morning's communication, but I still firmly believe that we need to continue pressing the attack. This is not a normal siege where we can starve them out with time; a prolonged siege works in their favor as we will struggle to replenish our stores and maintain morale while they can easily teleport in supplies and even reinforcements. Right now there's likely to be some confusion, perhaps even strife, as their leadership adjusts to losing Staunton and everyone and thing else we killed or captured yesterday... we should be aggressive while we have this advantage."
"I do not mind trying to enter the citadel again today, as long as everyone is aware that we will be starting out at a comparative disadvantage, and may have to return to camp earlier than yesterday. I will also need some extra time after reporting in and breaking spells on the Keystones to get my own spells in order for another infiltration. It's true that time is on their side, not ours, but I also think one day of delay is unlikely to be decisive either way."
Verene contributes what she knows of Dwarven religious and funerary practices, at least as performed in the Five Kings Mountains, to the preparations. In specific, she believes that usually during the funeral, the deeds of the deceased, good and bad, are sung out in triumph or in sorrow for all to hear, and then the living petition the dwarven god of death, Magrim, to find fulfilling work for the soul in the afterlife, and to repair and restore a damaged or tormented soul to be ready for return to the world. If Magrim does see Staunton's soul at all, instead of Baphomet immediately claiming it, his intercession would be very necessary. Most importantly, the remains of his body — in this case, the ashes after he is burned — should be interred in stone. A tomb in a cave is preferable, but a cairn of stones will do in a pinch.
During the funeral, she will participate in a group song, in Dwarven or otherwise, if it is decided one is appropriate. Verene does not add her voice to any praying or petitioning, but does use the opportunity of the crusaders and prisoners all gathered together and holding still to check absolutely everyone once more for magical auras that should not be on them, particularly enchantments, illusions and transmutations.
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"Elliot, what on earth can you mean? I have hardly spoken a word to Master Aravashnial outside of command meetings these last four or five days!"
"Really? Oh." The magus looks away. Before these things started he'd only had his adoptive sister to worry about. He'd played the role of protective brother at times if he felt the next guy trying to hit on Lyra was of the bad sort, and it usually came as a sort of relief if that didn't work out. But now... if he was honest with himself, he was... disappointed? "I must have accidentally happened upon you two at the wrong moments to the point where I'd started to assume. I'm sorry."
"So whatever you have imagined is going on, please know it is the opposite. He is being polite about it, but I think he simply does not like me, and I cannot even blame him."
At this, however, he blinks in wide-eyed surprise. "Really? Well... at the risk of making a fool of myself twice, I don't think Aravashnial dislikes you, or he wouldn't have offered to help you on the studies so often. Especially if it were true that he felt threatened on his area of expertise by you." Unsure what else to say, he turns to leave. "It's just... from what I know of the both of you, my impression is that you've both lived somewhat lonely lives laced with significant hardships. You're both great people and I believe you deserve to be happy, especially in these uncertain times." And with that, he leaves.
"I know we have a funeral to perform, Keystones in need of magical liberation, and that spells will be needed for this morning's communication, but I still firmly believe that we need to continue pressing the attack."
"I understand where you're coming from, Azira, and part of me feels the same way. However, yesterday I almost died twice in the span of minutes, and that was with us going in with all our magical protections active as well as succesfully catching the demons off-guard. I just don't feel like going in with having both our casters out of all or most of their spells is a very wise idea. Unless the majority of the group feels otherwise," Elliot responds, offering his opinion. "Though, if we don't need to worry about prisoners to get out, that would make leaving and entering easier."
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"I understand where you're coming from, Azira, and part of me feels the same way. However, yesterday I almost died twice in the span of minutes, and that was with us going in with all our magical protections active as well as succesfully catching the demons off-guard. I just don't feel like going in with having both our casters out of all or most of their spells is a very wise idea. Unless the majority of the group feels otherwise," Elliot responds, offering his opinion. "Though, if we don't need to worry about prisoners to get out, that would make leaving and entering easier."
Hmm. Both sides have a point here. Merixia frowns, thinking. "I had to use all three of my fourth level spells for sending and restorations. That means I won't have crusader's edge available, which is definitely going to make fighting demons harder. On the other hand, I get Azira's point about keeping up the momentum." What to do, what to do... "Mimics aren't that tough, right? We could pop into the chapel, go investigate the not-so-secret room with the false Sword of Valor, kill some mimics. If we're still good to fight after that, most people don't put their strongest warriors on door duty. We could go clean out whoever's guarding the main entrance to the keep. Maybe ask Nurah beforehand if she knows who's likely to be there."
Merixia is so, so thankful that Verene is well-versed in dwarven religion. (How does she know all this stuff? Amazing.) Since the wizard knows more about the actual rites than she does, Merixia goes to speak with Joran Vhane.
"Morning, Joran. We're going to hold a funeral for your brother today, as best we can with who and what we've got available. Would you like to come? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but if you do, you're welcome to do so." From what she gathered while talking to him the previous day, it seems that Joran and Staunton's relationship was... complicated. But sometimes people want to see their family members laid to rest even so. "Verene says she knows the burial rites of the Five Kings Mountains dwarves. I'm sure she would welcome your input though. She always wants to learn more about everything."
During the funeral itself, Merixia remains respectfully quiet, armor polished as much as the battle-scarred steel will allow. Once the speaking part is over and the body thoroughly burned, she helps a group of similarly muscular crusaders (and maybe Joran) build a cairn to inter the ashes.
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The traitor falls silent, thinking. "It's not a place that welcomes folk not aligned with the Abyss, if you take my meaning. Some magic is... hindered. It's harder to think, to act..."
"There's an unhallow spell that covers the whole area." He continues. "Stops anyone other than worshippers of Deskari, I think, from teleporting in any way. No going in and ambushing them down there." Joran chuckles darkly, but there's no mirth in the noise.
"Anyways, the first thing you see when you go down the stairs is the prison, with a cage around the bottom of the stairs." He hesitates. "There's a few undead down there. A few specters bound there from the fall of Drezen, in the prison area."
He frowns. "Then, further to the east, there's the communal prison. Higher value prisoners get held there. Definitely a few who are still around... though the most important one somehow broke out. A succubus called Arueshalae, I gather. Staunton was furious. He personally executed the demons he'd set to guard her. Not really sure why she was so important, but there were rumors... some sort of betrayal of the Abyss." The priest shrugs.
"To the south of the highest security cells is the torture room. Usually Vakrashek and their crew hang out there - babaus. Usually at least two, but as many as six can be there. There's a vampire who spends time there, too - Theruk Nul, a priest of Shax. Don't know too much else about him, though."
He swallows, frowning. "Any chance I could get some sort of drink?"
The priest shrugs. "Staunton was disillusioned with Torag and the rest. Forge's ashes, he didn't even much care for the Dark Smith. Kept on trying to convert me to demon worship of one sort or another." He snorts. "Couldn't even keep his decision on which one to worship."
He sighs. "I can tell her what I recall, but Magrim's priests held their own counsel, often. More than that, I doubt the Taskmaster would spare attention to a dwarf who betrayed his vows to his younger brother."
At this, however, he blinks in wide-eyed surprise. "Really? Well... at the risk of making a fool of myself twice, I don't think Aravashnial dislikes you, or he wouldn't have offered to help you on the studies so often. Especially if it were true that he felt threatened on his area of expertise by you." Unsure what else to say, he turns to leave. "It's just... from what I know of the both of you, my impression is that you've both lived somewhat lonely lives laced with significant hardships. You're both great people and I believe you deserve to be happy, especially in these uncertain times." And with that, he leaves.
"Well... Thank you. For your concern." Verene manages not to make it a question, as she stares in bafflement at Elliot's retreating back. Do I seem lonely? I don't think I am. I don't have time to be lonely. More to the point, why would her brother apparently think she and Aravashnial just needed some kind of nudge to... Ridiculous. It would not be unreasonable to call him handsome, but so are Thesius and most of the male knights, and she has never considered any of them in a romantic light. He could be three hundred years her senior! She doesn't even know the man!
Annoyingly, instead of moving on to any of a dozen more pressing problems, her analytical mind whispers, You know that he likes wild food, and doesn't like horses. That he is fussy and sometimes over-cautious, but intelligent and kind. That he has a dry wit and has been a good mentor to Elliot; that he cares about his country and his family back home. That he is grieving, and homesick. That is natural, having lost so many friends and colleagues very recently with the destruction of the Blackwing, or simply over the years as the result of outliving them. But romance would not solve that kind of loneliness, whatever Elliot thinks. Nothing will, except time and distance. As for you, you already know you are not cut out for either real love, or cheap and temporary imitations. Some people are basically selfish and happier single, better off putting their energy into work and causes and friendships that do not ask too much of them. Like you.
"Thamyris." The thrush, who has been perched in his preferred position under her hair on one shoulder, makes a kind of inquiring chirp. "Am I lonely?"
Thamyris pauses longer than she would like, but finally whistles a short phrase and says, "No. We have a strong flock. It is mixed, like the best ones are. You and me and Friend-Thesius. And now Friend-Elliot, and Friend-Merixia, and Friend-Azira. And friend-knights. Many have joined our flock."
He considers further. "And... yes. Our old mixed flock is gone. Friend-Sibylla and Friend-Prosper and Friend-Arthek and Friend-Eithne and Friend-Iris. That is sad. We miss them."
"We do," Verene agrees, though her throat is tight. She scratches under his neck feathers gently. "But we go on."
"We go on. And we add more. Whenever we can. To make the flock stronger. Yes?"
Verene hesitates. She can feel his bright and beady stare, even without looking at him. "...Yes."
One thing is clear. She has been acting oddly enough for Elliot to notice, and that must end. She will stop avoiding conversation with Aravashnial in order to mitigate an awkwardness he might not even feel. She will ask for his insights on the Wardstone power, on Soulshear and the corruption forge, and on several spells she has been mulling over in her mind, as she had meant to at the start of the journey — she has already worked out how to make a usable form of scrying, but now she is thinking about how to structure one to contact extraplanar entities for information. Above all, she will treat him with the same professional courtesy he has shown her, and not make him feel disregarded. That is the least she can do.
He swallows, frowning. "Any chance I could get some sort of drink?"
"Of course." Verene stands and brings him a cup of coffee from her most recent pot, as well as one of the cold, clear water produced by Merixia and the other priests to take care of the army's water needs each day — in case he does not like coffee. She had not brought any ale or other liquors, but if and when the army breaks open the expensive Dwarven ales Staunton had been hoarding, she will see he gets a share. "So... dark whispers that prey on the mind. No teleportation. Incorporeal undead — specters — to start. Up to six babaus, and a vampire in the torture prison. It sounds about as cheerful and welcoming as one would expect from an Abyssal dungeon."
She pauses. "What did the rumors say about how exactly this Arueshalae betrayed the Abyss? Even if there was more than one story, I am interested to hear them all."
Verene nominates one of the Dwarven-speaking paladins from the Knights of Kenabres for the job of leading the brief ceremony, since no dwarves are available or willing.
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He tugs on his beard, then shakes his head. "No idea about the rogue demon. I didn't pay it much mind." He snorts. "But I doubt it's anything more than internal politics."
The funeral is... not exactly a celebration, but neither is it terribly solemn or even excessively respectful. The former prisoners - the soldiers - are still viscerally furious with the dwarf's behavior, and even the relatively professional paladins look... stern, at best. Staunton had played himself as a paladin of Torag for too long, and it's entirely possible some of the Knights of Kenabres remember his activities at the time.
After the Dwarven-speaking paladin finishes the ceremony, Irabeth speaks. "Thanks to our champions, we have won a great victory." She begins. "But they alone would not have sufficed. You all have done far more than anyone could reasonably have asked of you, riding through the Worldwound - or," she looks at the soldiers, "enduring the torment of being prisoners to the demons for so long. You've fought against Sarkorians, against demons, and against undead. You've kept the enemies of all Golarion on the back foot, and with Vhane's death, we grow ever closer to reclaiming Drezen and the Sword of Valor."
She looks over the audience solemnly. "But our work is not yet over. There are still more demons and their slaves within the Citadel. While I trust our champions to deal with the greatest threats, there may yet be attempts to attack us. I must ask you all now to continue the fight, remain vigilant against any signs of attack, and stay strong against any fears that our enemies might use against us. We have struck a great blow against the demons. Let's keep them off-balance, shall we?"
The soldiers and Knights alike lift their voices, crying out the victory that they had taken part in. With that, the ceremony is dismissed, and the command staff reunites to speak with one another.
"So. We've done a fair bit of... administrative work." Irabeth says to the heroes. "Do you think you're ready to strike at the demons today?"
"I am ready." After breaking the remaining Keystones' domination, Verene had studied the rest of her spells while the pyre for Staunton Vhane was being prepared. Immediately before approaching the broken wall on the fortress' western side, she casts or activates a half-dozen magical protections and effects, leaving her in the overlapping kobold form again.