Samen smiles ruefully. "How certain can I be? We all felt the call of the Lady when her grim spell took hold, did we not? We all still have souls prone to her aspects of wrath and malice. I could scan his mind and read his soul, but then you'd have to trust me, wouldn't you? What I can tell you for sure is that her power and sway has been greatly diminished universally and her weapon destroyed, but if you wish to know his heart, I suggest you ask Sophia. She will be far more capable of responding with utmost confidence."
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Benedetto watches Drook and Gull until he has to pay attention to where he's going again. Riding up to the canopy reminds him of just... was it yesterday? The day before? So much has happened it's hard to keep track...
He tries to shake off the thought and focus instead on the present. There's a lot going on, and then there's Dowanhowee's question. He obviously isn't the one being asked, but it does get him thinking about what he knows about his new companions. Samen seems quite... certain about a number of things, but how can he *really* know?
Benedetto puts the thought aside for now. There are people who need help, and he has a lot of work to do to help them. There'll be time for deep philosophical thoughts later.
Aisling, Dowanhowee does not embrace you - she seems to sense you are not the type for such open displays of affection from relative strangers. "You are a companion of these others, yes? I believe you were the one who gave that stirring speech atop the Temple, weren't you? Are you a priest of Sky?"
"My companions are dead due Moon madness. These people saved me from inquisition cell." Aisling nods to the old ele, appreciating the restraint
"I am Her representative, my parents were priests, I was trained as an retrieval agent for The Temple. Now...I guess I am the only remaining priest. How did you find the speech?"
----
A bit later after Dowanhowee asks for Ibinu to be subjected to the spells of divination.
"You should let Ibinus actions speak for him. You don't know me either and yet you're not subjecting me to such indignity. I saw him in his dark form and I saw him now after he's back. They are not the same. It was same with Moon and me, moonme would gladly kill you without pausing for thought. Such as they were. If you knew him before, and he looks and behaves the same, you can be sure the madness has left him."
Gabe steps from the shadows where he feels most comfortable to lend his support to Samen. "I have full confidence in this transformation magic. I too was subject to something similar though I didn't pass beyond the veil... Where once I was both Ifrit and Shadow, I am now only human playing good host to a bit of shadow of which I've grown quite fond." The inky black of his eyes seems to quiver like it's laughing silently at that last statement. He continues, "In my experience, these transformations follow closely to the personal whims of the individual. So if the core of Ibinu is a servant of the Lady, what can we do? It seems though that was a growing corruption that has been cast off in death."
"My companions are dead due Moon madness. These people saved me from inquisition cell." Aisling nods to the old ele, appreciating the restraint.
"I am Her representative, my parents were priests, I was trained as an retrieval agent for The Temple. Now...I guess I am the only remaining priest. How did you find the speech?"
She smiles. "I found it...inspiring. It certainly helped that the Dark literally opened up and showed something beyond a few seconds earlier, but you found the right words to match the occasion."
She laughs, a warm sound with fair amount of pleghm behind it. "Trust me, when I hear old windbags go on for candles at the Council, I appreciate meaningful words."
Ibinu observes all the others say their piece. "I appreciate the honest words, and the votes of confidence." He pauses. "And the votes of 'we'll see'. Anything is better than assuming I still have cauldrons and spears floating around in my brain."
He takes a sip of his tea--far too bitter for his taste--and suppresses a wince. "That being said, if you still don't trust me, Dowanhowee, I'm willing to leave while you make plans with the others. Say it now, because you can't trust someone by half. You either choose to trust, or choose to cast me out." He keeps his eyes on his tea, the words calm and mostly neutral.
Dowanhowee looks into her own tea, though no easy answers lie within the bitter brown depths. Then, with sudden conviction, she looks up, meeting Ibinu's eyes. "Then I choose to trust. I see where hatred and division ended up - with blood on the streets. We will walk a different path. Together." She holds out her hand in a orean warrior's handshake; Ibinu grips her wrist in return, and it is settled.
Business-like now, she settles in to answer Ibinu's question. "We need two simple ingredients to make the ritual happen, and with great fortune, they are in the same place." Her tone is wry. "The unfortunate part: you need to kill two corrupt Prime Elementals, one of earth, and one of air. They are located in a region of great chaos, between Uknukhiphidwala and Scamaillálainn."
"I know we ask much of you, but it would be a great service to us. My grandson would be accompanying you, as a show of support." Hakka says nothing to this.
Gabe ponders the implications of traveling to a planar border. "We had enough of a challenge simply navigating Uknukhiphidwala though that might have been the fey influencing our journey. Do you know what challenges this chaotic region might present? Walking through a planar forest is easy enough. Huge trees everywhere but still air to breathe and light to see. I would imagine the elemental earth plane would not be so friendly to the average elen."
"No, Gabe, sky...clouds...plane of air. If anything, you will have too much air, and too little earth to walk on."
Aisling corrects
"But air elementals are bad news in an empty space." he adds
"Do we know what kind of elementals? And do we absolutely have to destroy them? Or even fight them."
"Regardless of the hostility of the environment, the hostility of the elementals will be dangerous enough. Forgive me if I missed something, though. What ritual are we talking about? The Oreads to the north are just fine where they are."
"We need the might of all the races on our side if we're going to make a final push toward Light. If Moon's other plans around the Branch Library and those lenses are failing, then we need to strike before things get even worse. The last time Moon took the fight to us, the death toll in Hearth was several thousand people."
"No, Gabe, sky...clouds...plane of air. If anything, you will have too much air, and too little earth to walk on."
Aisling corrects
"But air elementals are bad news in an empty space." he adds
"Do we know what kind of elementals? And do we absolutely have to destroy them? Or even fight them."
Dowanhowee cocks her head for a moment, listening. She then replies, "I do not know if these corrupt elementals need to be killed, but they need to be neutralized. One is responsible for the near-death of the Elder in the Black North, and the other is the heart of Sky's Tears."
"I'm sure you know better than I exactly what protections one would need against lightning, acid, poison, and other dangers of the planes of earth and air. I'm sure Captain Dove has ideas, as well. He always does," she finishes with a wry smile.
Benedetto sits back and waits for the answers to all of the questions. He'd have asked them himself if the others hadn't. He does look over at Hakka for a long moment when Dowanhowee mentions he'll be coming along.
Hakka returns your stare. Not quite frowning, but certainly not smiling.
Benedetto gives him a nod then looks back to Dowanhowee. "Earth and air is definitely an unusual combination. We'll have to prepare carefully for both if they're in the borders between them--for all we know, we could go from fighting on solid ground to mid-air."
He looks at the rest of the group. "I have a feeling you'll be more use thinking of the challenges of this kind of fight than I. I've fought the Dark and Moon's madness, but not elementals."
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Samen mutters to himself quietly. Earth and air...
He collects himself a bit, but seems pale and ashen. "If we are to do battle on the boundary between Earth and Air, we are to encounter Dust. I had an old 'friend', Stof, who was a dust elemental. He was characterized by hatred, malice, and power beyond your imagination, only matched by his patience. Our corrupt gods will be hard enough to kill, but a mere misplaced footprint could spell our immediate suffocation. Water is an effective counter measure, but the best strategy is to leave it alone."
Typically smug and full of bravado, Samen is now clearly and visibly experiencing a dread beyond death.
"Did you get the better of this 'Stof', or should we be expecting a visit?" Ibinu is peering at you, clearly trying to understand more of what has you so shaken.
"We left him buried deep in the ground. Which is to say no, we did not get the better of him. Unless some fool unearths him and the very angry smoke demon we left with him, he shouldn't be a threat. I don't fear him specifically, but if he is representative of what we will be facing, this will be tough plowing indeed."
"Perhaps it would be better for the Oreads to march the normal, slow way? We still need to figure out about taking down the breathless barriers around Light."
"We can prepare for the fight since we know in advance what we're fighting. I specifically cannot fight elemental very well, I studied them some, but they lack the anatomy to significantly hurt with small weapons. So, I'll depend on the elements and stocks of alchemicals. Unless someone knowns how to change elementals into something more suitable."
Aisling says shrugging.
"My training regarding guardians of temples was somewhat lacking since we, I mean Sky priests, couldn't conjure some."
[ooc]you are still a relatively 'new' character. If you want to make a small tweak or two, I would not be opposed[ooc]
Dowanhowee nods at Samen's comment, but continues, "There is another concern. Captain Dove's reports say that wide swaths of southern undine villages have been obliterated by Sky's Tears, which is larger and more active than ever before. Our elemental researchers believe that this planar conflict is fueling the destructive power of the Tears, and that things will get even worse if nothing is done."
Benedetto nods. "I'd suspected from the description that they might have some effects we don't want."
He looks to the others. "It'd be a good... shakedown fight, I guess? We haven't really fought side-by-side more than the, uh, little bit under the temple, and we're going to want to get more practice before Light. We'll want to train together, of course, but a real battle will show us gaps no amount of training would uncover."
He pauses. "If we live through it."
"We could train together now, maybe against paladins and priests or their summoned help?" suggests Aisling
"No, Gabe, sky...clouds...plane of air. If anything, you will have too much air, and too little earth to walk on."
Aisling corrects
"Right, right. Earth elemental, plane of air... and air elemental I suppose. It would do to not get those mixed up. Hopefully the Uknukhiphidwalan influence is enough to give us an edge on the air being." Gabe lapses back into silence to reorder his thoughts given the correction. All thought is silenced though as even Samen is intimidated by the task at hand. He's had more dealings with elementals than anyone else I know. If he suggests an alternate path, it would be a good idea to consider it.
"Perhaps the drakes at the library might be able to impart the knowledge we need? Though it might be... painful... to return there. It was one of the last major places we spent any time with our lost companion who will not be named." At the last remark he looks to Aisling in deference to his wishes to not name Abnaki aloud.
From Dowanhowee's descriptions of these corrupt elementals, you think there maybe be negative/inverse energies at play as well. In addition to Dust, you have a feeling that there will be elements of Void and Antimatter present. (this translates to needing something like Life Bubble to breathe, and Death Ward to protect against all the negative energy radiation. The Temple would be a good place to research ideas and find enchanters)
**
With a knowledge verging on divine revelation, you are sure that a vital piece of Sky can be found somewhere in the heart of Sky's Tears that Dowanhowee just mentioned. You'll have to pray and meditate upon the path that will get you to where you need to be, but you are more certain than ever there is a path.
Benedetto nods. "I'd suspected from the description that they might have some effects we don't want."
He looks to the others. "It'd be a good... shakedown fight, I guess? We haven't really fought side-by-side more than the, uh, little bit under the temple, and we're going to want to get more practice before Light. We'll want to train together, of course, but a real battle will show us gaps no amount of training would uncover."
He pauses. "If we live through it."
Hakka is still staring at you. "Battle also shows us the cowards."