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River holds Gull close and gives Gamb a truly ferocious glare. It's the most expression any of you have seen from the strange undine and it's probably a good thing that she isn't an ifrit or Gambino would be a pile of ashes on the floor by now.
She follows along behind, whispering to Gull as they go and occasionally looking up to shoot more filthy loks at Gamb's back.
At the 'inn' River puts a coin in the ifrit's hand and sweeps Gull towards a corner of the room. She doesn't even look back even when the ifrit opens their hand and reveals a wide silver coin emblazoned with the crowned spire of Light.
Benedetto makes sure Drook gets settled then lays down to rest, but he's far to tight-wound to sleep. Instead he lays awake, wondering just what's really going on, what they can do about it, counting the hours until, hopefully, most watchers will be asleep.
Corsa sighs as she sinks into a cot nearby Benedetto. "I knew coming back to the city would be difficult but it has already proved worse than I imagined it would," she she says quietly to no one in particular.
She lays in bed for a bit before she gets up and leans against the wall. Corsa begins polishing her armor, knowing she is too tightly wound at the moment to get any good rest.
Corsa, you hear a thump from outside a nearby window, and what may have been a muffled groan. You smell a whiff of brimstone.
In a troubled sleep, Gull mutters, "nid yw wedi marw ...
Drook has fallen asleep in an awkward half-crouching position. The squire had vowed to stay up all night in penance for his foolish actions earlier, but his body had other ideas.
Anan, sitting crosslegged in a corner, holds a quiet vigil for his sleeping emir. He finds the black feather to encourage wakefulness in him, and he uses this gift to watch over his companions.
River who watched Gull to sleep and then slept lightly herself, sits still and cross-legged on the mat next to the child. At the smell of brimstone her pale eyes shoot open and she glances at Corsa and then Anan.
There's a question in them as she stiffens subtly.
As you each decide to take action and investigate, the source of the brimstone smell becomes clear:
In the southern alleyway mostly reserved for smoke breaks and chamberpots, you see a flash of hunched, winged forms, and a red-hot cauldron. A few struggling elens seem to be fighting against these awful creatures. The scene is shourded in unnatural shadows, making everything blurred.
River concentrates for a moment and then fires off a blast of water directly at the cauldron before hurrying forwards. She's clearly going to try and distract from the other elens.
Benedetto silently gets out of his resting-place and goes to investgate.
Seeing... something fighting with some elens, he draws his blade and makes his way towards them, trying to get close enough to see what's actually going on before attacking.
River takes the initiative and blasts cold water at the cauldron; upon contact, the creatures all scream -- linked to the cauldron, perhaps?-- and it boils into a cloud of steam, covering the area in mist.
Bursting out of the cloud is a torrent of fire that smells even more strongly of brimstone, erupting from the mouths of the creatures (as far as you can tell). The cauldron is still burning, and you hear the sudden rattling of chains.
Benedetto slips forward, trying to take one of the winged figures by surprise as he thrusts forward with his rapier.
Benedetto, your strike hits home, and you hear a grunt of outrage and pain, almost pig-like, come from the creature. Still mostly blurred by the steam, you see the two creatures dive into the cauldron and disappear from view.
As the steam begins to disperse, you see the chains that have erupted from the ground have caught the three elens --two sylphs and an oread-- and they are slowly being dragged toward the cauldron.
Corsa rushes to assist the elens, smashing at the chains with her heavy metal tome.
Since her plan seems to have worked perfectly River fires off another blast at the cauldron and then closes in to try and draw attention.
The cauldron has been put out, and the ground closes up, as if the cauldron had never been. The chains slowly start to drag the elens into the ground as the steam disperses.
Corsa casts Bull's Strength on herself and dives to grab the nearest elen in an attempt to save at least one of them before they are swallowed up.
Benedetto looks for how the chains are locked or tied to the elens and tries to undo it as fast as he can.
Surprisingly, the chains break, even with Corsa's bad leverage and 'Detto's momentary fumbling; it appears that the magic that animates them is starting to fade. Their brittle nature also gives both of you a sizable sliver in your hand
The chains are broken, and the elens are freed, gasping with terror and adrenaline. The cauldron sinks fully into the ground, and all that remains is a warm spot on the pavement.
Benedetto quickly checks the freed elens for injuries. "What happened? Did you see what brought forth those creatures?" he asks when he's reasonably certain they're okay.
The two sylphs, looking like brother and sister in their twin terror, are still far too frightened to say anything. After a moment of staring at you, they both perform a strange snapping motion, turn into mist, and sail away, quick as a breeze.
The oread takes a few calming breaths. He sits up, and replies to 'Detto, "It was an elen, wearing an iron mask. The mask looked like one of your demons - an 'efreet'. They were covered up in robes and red gloves, but it looked like someone from the Temple, to me."
As he says this, he notices the aura of knighthood about you, impossible to ignore even when you are not actively wielding your authority. "Are...you from the temple, sir?"
Benedetto shakes his head. "I... don't exactly see eye-to-eye on them these days."
It didn't take much to put together the pieces of this puzzle, but he didn't like the picture it made. Fanatics of the Cauldron Lady, no doubt.
He looks up to the Phoenix's sign. How could both of these things be Volcano?
Benedetto shakes his head slightly and returns his gaze to the oread. "Do you have somewhere safe to stay? Somewhere you can get to quickly?"
"This temple seems nasty." River says, looking suspiciously at the ground where the cauldron vanished. "It had better not take Gull."
She'd quench Volcano itself if that happened...
Benedetto shakes his head. "I... don't exactly see eye-to-eye on them these days."
It didn't take much to put together the pieces of this puzzle, but he didn't like the picture it made. Fanatics of the Cauldron Lady, no doubt.
He looks up to the Phoenix's sign. How could both of these things be Volcano?
Benedetto shakes his head slightly and returns his gaze to the oread. "Do you have somewhere safe to stay? Somewhere you can get to quickly?"
The young adult oread makes a gesture of gratitude, though none of you are sure which of the aspects of Forest it might be referencing. "I will be returning to the Elder, my friend." He is much more at ease, now that he knows you are not part of the Temple. "Will you and your friends join me tomorrow night? We can surely feed you and trade news with you, as thanks for saving my life."
River is naturally light on her feet, but her attention is clearly not focused on the temple and she keeps wandering out of the shadows by accident.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure if we'll be available tomorrow night. If we can make it, though, we'll come," Benedetto replies to the oread.
Once said oread has departed, Benedetto leads the way to the temple. He takes the back streets, remaining in the most shadowed places as he goes. For a paladin, he sure knows a lot about how to move about unobserved...
'Detti stay well-concealed, but none of you are used to the many shadows that lurk in the bricked alleys that branch off the templeroad. The looming, classic architecture makes it difficult to find your keep your bearings. It feels too quiet, too deserted on the streets.
As you reach the half-way point of the long, flat courtyards that surround the Temple, you see a slow movement before you. Cackid, the sylphan urchin, stands up from his hiding place behind a stone grotesque. "One of the Council members wants to see you." He looks around and shivers slightly, his stoic street-kid facade cracking for just a moment. "It's not safe out tonight." He recovers quickly, clears his throat and says, "Will you follow me to the secondary Council chambers?"
Benedetto glances at the others, a question in his eyes he doesn't quite want to voice. Was this an opportunity to figure out the mystery of what was going on... or a trap?
He looks back to Cackid and nods. "Of course," he says.
If it was a trap... well, a trap would be another way to get to the bottom of things. You just had to make sure not to die in it.
The sylph boy nods back with a small smile, happy that you are choosing to agree. A slight tension goes out of his shoulders. "Come this way, then."
He takes you away from the main staircase of the Temple, toward one of the many side stairs. These are narrower, more discreet. As you climb tier after tier, the blessed torches and candles that line the border of the Grand Temple seem to spread out below you. The burning points of light are reflected in the holy obsidian a thousand-thousand times, the huge structure almost seeming like a miniature Volcano itself.
Cackid brings you to the sixth level. . He again takes you away from the main doors, taking you all the way around the the back of the tiered pyramid.
The door is a small one, just a single door of polished wood. There used to be two statues flanking this entrance, but one has recently been removed, leaving only the base. The Warrior aspect of Volcano stands whole and untouched to your right.
Cackid waves you inside, and says he will wait to escort you back when you are done. Inside, you knock the dirt and snow from your boots in a small antechamber. The next door, this one banded with iron, is opened before you reach for it - armored sylph guards are suddenly pointing you toward the next room.
"Come in, and warm yourselves by the fire," says a cultured, reedy voice from the room. " Early Warrites can be just as cold as winter itself, wouldn't you say?"
River seems somewhat suspicious, but that doesn't last long under her usual distraction and she's soon charting a meandering path around the room looking at everything, although she occasionally remembers to throw a narrow eyed look at the room's occupant.
Benedetto is wary the whole way in, though he relaxes just slightly when he sees the Warrior statue intact. Though... signs that there's a serious schism in the Temple are not good to say the least, but given what they'd seen that night, he's not at all surprised.
A painfully thin sylph, just on the cusp of middle-age, sits near the stone fireplace. He pushes his dark, lank hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ears. His pale face regards each of you with a lantern-owl gaze.
"I am Captain Dove, commander of the Temple Guard. I am also one of several voices on the Council. Others of which are true fire-breathers, at times."
He smiles, his face somewhere between warm and smug; the dancing shadows from the fireplace make his features difficult to read. "I believe I already know roughly who you are, but I would prefer to hear it in your own...mode of expression. What are your names, if I may ask?" He steeples his long fingers in a pose of attention.
Quite a bit runs through Benedetto's head at the revelation of this elen's identity. Did he know about Benedetto's past? Did he know about followers of the Cauldron Lady doing... whatever they'd seen earlier? What could he want them for? ...deniable assets?
"Benedetto Laguardia," he says aloud, giving the Captain a slight bow. "I was in Light, and tried to get some of the people out of it when the madness happened. Next thing I knew I was waking up in a snowbank, with some of these people. We gathered a few others on the way here."
River ignores the man - she's behind him now anyway, and focused on him rather than his words.
"It is astonishing how often I hear stories of that caliber from our many refugees. Almost as if Moon enjoys creating these random events...or perhaps that is his "Smiling" personality?"
With an abrupt change in subject, he asks, "How are you finding Hearth so far, Signore Laguardia? Has it changed since the last time you've been here?"
Benedetto blinks in surprise at the change in topic. "It's... different," he replies guardedly. "The Phoenix symbol, the refugees, new buildings... a lot has changed. It seems... tense."
Dove nods at your assessment. "Astute." The owl-gaze narrows, and he asks, "Why is the Phoeniz symbol the first thing on your mind?"
"Besides the fact that it's really obvious coming into town?" Benedetto asks. He briefly debates lying, but... well, he gets the feeling this Captain already knows something. "I've... felt something of a connection with the Phoenix recently. Aren't they sort of a symbol of hope? We could really use that of late..."
Dove laughs, a short sound somewhat like a squawk. "Depends on what each elen is 'hoping' for. But I'll concede the point nonetheless. A symbol of hope..." He looks toward the door to his office, a faraway kind of look...
"But hope can only flourish under gentle circumstances, Sir Laguardia. Thwarted hope quickly becomes anger, and retribution." His gaze wanders to the floor, the same polished obsidian as the rest of the Temple.
"If you and your companions wish to help this town, you will meet my agents at the downward steps tomorrow evening. For now, stay safe." His attention seems to be focused inward now, and you think you have been dismissed.
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Hope is exactly what you need when circumstances *aren't* gentle, Benedetto thinks to himself, but for now he simply nods his head and turns to leave.
Corsa lets out her pent-up breath in a growl of frustration as she crosses the outer doorway into the cold night air. "That was harder than I thought it would be. I have some bad memories in this town." She begins stomping down the obsidian steps.
"What I don't like is the signs of a schism in the Temple," Benedetto whispers once they've gotten some distance. "Especially since what we saw was probably the work of Cauldron Lady zealots. Now is hardly the time for fighting ourselves."
"What is schism?" River asks. Once the concept is explained she frowns. "Like cracks in ice. Bad. Elen fall into the dark. Lost. Moon's fault?"
She doesn't seem sure about the last bit.
"Hmmm... more that the cracks were already there, Moon was just the hammer that opened them wide," Benedetto says with a sigh. "Let's go get some sleep. We've got one contact, and maybe in the morning we can follow up with that oread we helped. Best to get multiple perspectives on this, I think."