"Agreed...I've always known the Abyss was different than the Material Plane, of course, but his is all far more different than I was expecting..." Aladir answers as he begins to help Milamber reconnoiter.
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"I would also urge caution, even near to the stuff. There's some kind of shimmery effect in the air around it, and I don't think it's from the heat. There might be some kind of toxic fumes coming off it."
Hurrying back to the others, Aladir wills himself visible again reporting. "The cavern floor drops on the east side of the next chamber, and there's some sort of...boiling purple lava or something. Never seen anything like it."
Aladir shivers slightly when he recalls the body slam the spider had given him. "I'll well enough, for my part. A little bruised from that spider dropping on me, but no more than that. The healing from Iona will have more than taken care of it, for which you have my thanks. " the elf answered, giving her a nod of gratitude. "Let me know when we're ready to move on. I'll scout that tunnel out before we head down it." he added, ready to turn his invisibility back on when they were all ready to continue forward.
The elf continues to hammer away at the remaining spider weird with his arrows, intent on bringing the creature down before it can do further harm to Iona.
Then keeps on firing as many arrows as he can!
Thanks very much for the update! Looking forward to continuing!
Giving a yelp of surprise as the spider lashes out at him upon landing, Aladir quickly draws upon his well of mythical power to give him a burst of speed, putting some much-needed distance between himself and his enemy.
The elf then continues to pepper his foe with as many arrows as he can!
Firing another arrow at the creature, Aladir calls a range and direction to Milamber, hoping his arrows sinking into invisible flesh also help with giving his ally a target. "Don't let your guard down, the other's likely still around!" he calls aloud, focusing his attention on peppering the one he CAN see with as many arrows as possible, no longer concerned with maintaining his invisibility. Running to the side a few paces, Aladir tries to keep a space of ten feet or so between himself and his allies; close enough to be aided or aid as needed, but not so close as to make more than one of them an easy target.
"By all means, then, let's get this party started!" Aladir says with a grin. "Be ready; I'm about to make 'em mad." he further states before he vanishes from sight again, using his prowess at stealth to sneak up to within thirty feet of the spider nearest him.
Quieter than a mouse, the elf slinks into range, draws a slow, deep breath to steady his aim, draws on his mythic power to increase the power of the invisibility effect on him, and fires!
I apologize for my absence the last few days, everyone; my eleven-month-old son was hospitalized with RSV and we just got out of the hospital last night. He's doing fine now, and we're all glad to be back at home, but it didn't even occur to me to check the thread while we were away.
Aladir hurries back to the others, letting his invisibility fall away as he nears the group. "Only two enemies that I saw, but those are going to be bad enough, I think...a pair of spiders the size of bull elephants." he reports.
GM: Aladir creeps his way forward in the cave, eyes and ears tuned for the slightest hint of sound or movement. The movements of the creature make him suspicious of being scented, so after taking quick note of where exactly the massive spiders are, he quickly, but silently, retreats to the others.
With a nod, Aladir wills himself into invisibility, fading from the sight of the others. He then moves in the direction of the caves to the northeast that were pointed out by Milamber, keeping his eyes and ears as open and piqued as he can.
Aladir nods and follows after Milamber. "I can take the lead, if you'd like, since I can walk without being seen any time I wish."
The suddenness of the rift's shrieking takes Aladir by surprise and he barely manages to get his hands over his ears, though that does very little to alay the horrendous noise. When it finally stops, he looks around at the others. "The task is done, at least. That's the important thing. The rift is sealed. Let's hope that closing it shut that infernal machine down, too." Aladir reaches out to Arueshalae through their link to make sure it is still intact.
Aladir deftly dodges around the strange black lightning, otherwise remaining silent so Milamber can maintain his concentration on his spell.
Abyss Side: Aladir's heart pounds in his chest, in spite of the relative calm around them. "Should we hold here...? Or should another of us go through and see what's going on? Although that would leave Milamber with only one guard...that would seem unwise..."
Abyss Side:
Aladir grits his teeth against the whispers of the rift, resisting the urge to make any sound to accompany his resistance, still hoping that his invisibility can be maintained.
Thanks to the fortification of Milamber's spell, Aladir feels the bolstering of his resistance against the mental assault, continuing to keep his eyes and ears open for any danger on this side of the rift as Milamber continues his attempt to seal the portal shut.
Hearing the voice echoing in his mind, Aladir briefly reels, for a moment feeling absolutely, completely vulnerable, wondering if there is any point in maintaining his present state of invisibility. Fortunately, he pulls himself back and doesn't yet let that veil drop; even if the being speaking into their minds knows that he is present, it may not know exactly where he is...only that he's there. He doesn't, for even a moment, consider answering. After all, doing so, even telepathically, might reveal his location, right? And it was speaking to Milamber, after all, and not him.
Aladir will also use his mythic ability to will himself invisible, vanishing from the sight of the others.
The sense of oppression and sheer wrongness is nearly overwhelming, but the elf gives his Desnan symbol a squeeze as he passes through the rift, drawing strength from that connection and throwing off the worst effects of the rift. Once he has his stomach back in its place and his feet firmly under him, he looks around the area, trying to figure out where this guardian could be.
The elf gives Milamber a nod. "If any of our enemies are invisible, I'll call out where they are for the benefit of the less range-inclined among us. I also have my Fortune's Arrow, so that should come in handy as well, should any of our foes prove less than visible." For his part, Aladir will simply use his scale from Terendelev to sync his weapon up with the energies of all goodly gods and folk, though he waits until they're on the verge of stepping through before he does so.
Same for me. It's never a fun thing to have to experience.
"I'm no sorcerer, but my feeling is that Iona is correct; this machine is drawing energy from the Abyss directly out of the rift, I think. Whether it will shut down on its own once the connection is severed or if that will only prevent it from regenerating, I don't know, but either way, it's an improvement."
"It's good to have you along with us, Nilus. Aladir, at your service. I've become quite turning the hordes into pin cushions. Got a pretty good eye, too. Nice to have one of Shelyn's chosen along with us; feels like we're getting a decent number of the servants of the goodly gods on this quest."
Aladir blinks in confusion for a moment, then turns his attention to the Queen. "Your Highness, Arueshalae wishes me to inform you that someone named 'Nilus' has arrived."
Arueshalae:
With Desna's guidance, how could I lose? I'm just glad that plane-hopping isn't enough to sever the link we share! I've come to rely very much on your thoughts and conversation. Aladir uses the scale from Terendelev to make sure his bow is properly tuned to the forces of Good . "I'm good to go! Let's take the fight to them for once!"
Works for me too, so it seems to be a unanimous accord!
Initially slightly befuddled by Mustafen's genuine concern for Yaniel, Aladir's thoughts go briefly to the succubus that is both far away and as close as his own mind at the same time. If she could find a way to seek redemption, why not another? Though he keeps this observation to himself, he is glad of the Queen's observation, and Mustafen's confirmation, of that fact. Once they are out of the room, Aladir draws in a slow, deep breath. "I have no further preparations I need to make; I'm just going to use Terendelev's scale before we step through; hopefully that will give us an extra bit of oomph against anything that happens to be guarding the other side." Arueshalae: *We're going to take an hour to make sure we're ready to go, then we're stepping through the rift. I'll let you know when we're on the other side.*
Crap, I've been checking my profile page and not even looking around to notice the cookie thing that messed up the login stuff. That's why I haven't posted in so long. Very sorry! I finally realized it and have it fixed now.
"I don't think 'lucky' is a strong enough word...I think 'blessed' would be more appropriate." Aladir adds. "Oh! And one more thing, your Majesty. There are some kind of whispers coming through the rift. Outside the room the rift is in, they can't be heard, but once you're in there, they are immediately noticeable. They're subtle, but at the same time, maddening. I could feel them wearing away at my will the longer I was in their presence. I would suggest that, once we're in there, we'd best not dally in going through and sealing the rift for good."
Y'know, I can't really complain, personally, about how 2020 went. I mean...my first child was born and is healthy. Can't get much better.
[b]"Our apologies for the rough ride, Your Majesty; we didn't realize there were such protections in place here. We've slain everyone we've seen to slay on this side of the rift. We have yet to cross over to the other side to investigate it."
Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope you've all had a great day!
Arueshalae:
We'll get it activated in a moment. I've just found a secret passage and I want to make sure there aren't any unpleasant surprises waiting for the Queen's arrival After making sure the others are with him, Aladir begins creeping down the hidden passageway, on the alert for any sign of danger. A passage so well-hidden could easily be either unguarded entirely, or guarded exceedingly well.
"Half a minute...I think there's a door hidden over here..." the elf declares, moving to the eastern wall of the room.
Aladir follows after the others, bringing up the rear as he has been doing and keeping an eye on their flank.
Aladir's ears perk slightly at the mental conversation he's having with their succubus companion, even from this distance. "Arueshalae sends a warning that there might be Nalfeshnee guarding the other side of the rift. I'm going to assume that's some type of demon, but I haven't a clue beyond that. Milamber?"
Aladir follows behind, acting as rear guard and keeping an eye on their flank, an arrow nocked to the string of his bow as they move. Seeing as they have a few minutes of quiet, he turns his attention back to his ever-present mental companion. Arueshalae: It seems we've won the day this time...there aren't any more demons rushing up to try and decorate the walls with our entrails. We must wait for Queen Galfrey to arrive before we can do anything more, though...there is an open rift to the Abyss here that needs closing and, unfortunately, that requires someone on both sides of it.
The telepathy you bestowed upon me will work even when we're on different planes, won't it? I suppose I'm going, whether it does or not. While I'm always glad for your company, I'm honestly glad you aren't coming with us on this part of the mission. I'm glad you don't have to see or experience any direct reminders of who, and what, you used to be.
"Unfortunately, it seems we have little choice but to notify the Queen that we are ready for her to come close the Material side of the rift. Unless we want to scout the Abyssal side a bit before we call for her. I doubt sincerely that she'll be traveling by conventional means; more likely she intends to teleport or something to get the task done more quickly."
The elf nods slowly as he eyes the machine from his position of safety, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Yes...yes, you're right. We clearly don't have the means, in and of ourselves, to destroy this abomination, and it seems like doing so is going to require us going to, as you say, a very unfriendly place." he answers, huffing out a breath. "It's too bad we can't get any intel on what's on the immediate other side of this rift...I'd like to know if there's anything unfriendly waiting for us."
All the talk of magic and such is over Aladir's head, having never seen himself as more than a simple bowman. He scratches his head for a moment, then, recalling his link with Arueshalae, reaches out to her. "My sincerest apologies for taking so long to get back to you! We all made it through the fight in one piece, I'm happy to say. We're trying to figure out how to stop this infernal machine...no pun intended. It seems to have some kind of self healing abilities, though. I don't suppose you'd have any ideas? he asks, describing the machine and their surroundings in detail, including the open rift.
Aladir quickly hurries through the machine with the tear in the rift, doing his best to tune out the whispers filtering through it, to join Milamber where he is so that he can help search for any way to work on the machine. "I don't have a mind for machines, I'll admit, but I have a sharp eye. I might be able to point out things that could help you know where to work."
"Aah...that's much better...I can hear myself think again." the elf sighs in relief. From this position, he attempts to shout to Milamber. "Milamber, are whispers of the rift in the chamber you're in? If you need any assistance in there, please say so!"
"Gah! Of course, you're right...this accursed whispering, I can't even think straight! I'm going to get out of this room before I'm driven mad!" the elf says, quickly moving to the adjacent room, but still close enough to the others to hear the conversation.
" We have the Lexicon, do we not? Could we not close the rift and stop this infernal whispering that's emerging from it and then destroy the refinery in relative peace?"
Aladir seems to notice the sound of the whispers from the rift grow more prominent in the sudden silence following the end of the combat. "We need to get out of this room before the Rift drives us insane!" he says to the others as he reappears, dismissing the invisibility and moving swiftly to the floor next to the corpse of Ursathella to search her body before leaving the room. "Milamber, is there any chance of us actually closing the rift?" he asks as he searches.
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