Before the party separates to start the Ritual, the Queen channels to heal both her and any other injured members of the party.
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"Thank you for saving my life, all of you." the Queen says after being healed, and after having the blanks in the story filled in. Hearing that Vanthor was brought low as well, but survived, she reaches into her pack and begins to rummage round for something... "I know I have more in here...somewhere...ah ha! There it is!" and out she pulls a small blue velvet bag with gold drawstrings. She opens the bag and retrieves a hexagonal medal with a white castle on a field of red with gold trim. Handing it to Vanthor, she says, "Normally there is more ceremony for this but...In honor of your exceptional vigor and for rejoining the fight against a demonic foe that had nearly extinguished your inner light, I award you this Righeous Medal of Vigor. May it serve you in times of need as you have served the Crusade!"
Having already called upon her spirit bond in preparation for defense while performing the ritual, Galfrey is ready when the demon appears suddenly upon her side of the rift. Having just witnessed Rue's departure before the demon arrived, and Irion's subsequent arrival, she knows things must be bad on the other side. She wastes no time on speculation and stands her ground before the mammoth demon, thinking she must keep it from going back, until the others have enough time to do what it is they must do. She see's the dark energies seeping from its claws and knows that is not normal for its kind. She mentally calls to her bonded spirit to shift the enhancements on her blade somewhat to better aid in her defense. Not fully as she also knows these creatures have thick layers of fat and dense layers of muscle underneath and it will be difficult to land telling blows if she isn't precise enough. She swiftly calls out with her ability to smite evil and she connects on a primal level with the demon. As it feels that holy power, it shudders and it's eyes widen just a bit at the Queen. With barely a thought, she activates the power in her boots to hasten her actions for a moment and then swings her blade in a blinding series of slashes, focusing on accuracy over power.
She scores several hits that leave wicked wounds upon the demon's corpulent body, but as she suspected, not every blow was effective. She hopes the heroes can join her soon. This is one fight they don't want to miss! she thinks as she sets her jaw, expecting one hell of a fight.
The mission is not just the gate. It is the elixir production as well don't forget. We must find out how they make it, and stop its production by eliminating the methods and those responsible. That cambion Arueshalae described was near some sort of strange alembic like device.
We did a some discussion in private, but only once. The details will be hard to remember as that meeting was almost 20 years ago. What I remember most was when she talked of her father, Rhenel, and his farm where she grew up just south of Kenebres. His death at the hands of demons is what spurred her desire to be a crusader. Specifically she mentioned the demon that killed him was a lilitu. She said she had never talked about this with anyone other than me. Perhaps we can use that.
Pondering the details of the mission, as she laid out before leaving Drezen... Mission Details:
The new revelation from Arueshalae, that the rift is so very close yet seemingly unguarded, gives the Queen pause... So little opposition there. She may have gone invisible again but even so, perhaps we can search elsewhere for Ursathella, and find out more about the crystals and the elixirs in the process. I hope Arueshalae will continue to scout the rest of the Fane so we can see what we are up against. Then she repeats the thought to the rest of the group, using Arueshalae as a go between.
The queen then quickly speaks the words to a spell to help ward off electric energy upon her person.
The Queen draws her breath slow and exhales, holding her longsword tightly in her grip. "Have you called upon your sword spirit yet Vanthor? For this fight we have coming, we shall surely need their assistance."
Galfrey moves to the center of the party before invoking the power of Iomedae to heal. The heroes are all bathed in a light that both warms and comforts them.
The Queen hoists Vanthor up and carries him closer to cover and Dojen. With a prayer to Iomedae, the Queen raises her sword and light streams from it to heal her allies.
Calling upon Iomedae as she rushes the giant, the Queen unleashes her inner power to smite her foe.
The giant roars in pain as the long sword tears loose a large chunk of disease ridden flesh.
Foregoing healing herself in order to smite the demon on Vanthor. Galfrey rushes forward into the melee activating her boots of speed once more. Her blade flashes out and across the demon's already wounded underside pulling loose the things entrails and spattering gore in a wide arc.
The Queen, calls to Iomedae again with a burst of healing light and warmth, filling both paladins with hope. Still sorely wounded herself, she swiftly touches her chest and lets further radiance knit her remaining wounds closed. While not completely without pain, she feels much stronger and ready to carry the fight to to the enemy.
"Smite them Vanthor! Smite them in the name of the Light!" the Queen shouts!
Initiative:
Party Health Report:
The Queen shakes her head as she gets to her feet. "You clever man!" she breathes. Then she sees the terrible beasts bearing down on them, and even at this distance she knows she has little time before they arrive. She raises her sword to the sky, shouting, "Iomedae!अपने प्रकाश के साथ हमें भरें!" celestial:
"Iomedae! Fill us with your light! And light radiates outward in a flash, healing all those bathed in it.
Then the queen touches her hand to her heart. A soft glow briefly lights under that touch and she heals further still.
She sets her feet, ready for her enemy.
As soon as the door is pushed open by the Queen, she manages to take just a step onto the stairs before she halts and scans the room for evil. Something is off, and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and with gooseflesh.
Reaching out a hand to grasp Dojen's shoulder, Queen Galfrey utters a prayer to The Inheritor, "धन्य न्याय की रोशनी मैं तुम्हें प्रार्थना करना, मुझे नुकसान से इस बहादुर आत्मा को ढाल देना" Celestial:
"Blessed Light of Justice I implore you, let me shield this brave soul from harm." A warmth briefly pass through Dojen and he is well aware that the queen has cast the Shield Other spell upon him. The Queen favors Dojen with her now familiar grim smile, "You will not take another blow like that again I hope, but should it happen take heart, for we stand as one." She then draws her blade and concentrates for a moment, before speaking with a clear voice "I call upon my bond with the celestial spirits! Grant my blade the strength of order and justice against these fiends we fight!" Her blade flashes brightly with a white light signaling the acceptance of the spirit's power.
"Others have come to me with the same counsel in the past. The fact that I still draw breath attests to the fact that I followed that counsel at the right times." comes the Queen's weary voice. Pausing to weigh each word properly before speaking, she lets out a slow breath and continues "Leading up to the rift, I expect we will face opposition, but opposition we can handle I believe. I have faced many horrors over the last century and I am not ready to let the weight of this task fall on your shoulders alone. You will be needed on the abyss side of the rift to complete the mission objectives. That leaves me to handle the material side. I have chosen to stay on this side of the rift for the very reason you have so aptly stated. The Crusade still needs me." Naeri stops her quiet playing and looks up to Queen Galfrey, saying almost offhandedly, "You could just let them clear the way to the rift first, before you come in to begin the ritual. That way there would be less risk for you, my Queen." Her smile is one of satisfaction that she proudly shares with the room. Galfrey grimaces just a bit before replying "I had thought of that, Naeriphalithe, but I believe I can be of better use in helping to secure our position than of just sitting back and hoping it goes well." her voice taking on a bit of a growl toward the end. "But I let you, my champions, decide for I merely request to come with you and not demand it." she says in a calm manner.
Queen Galfrey clears her throat and speaks to those assembled. "Friends. From what you have told me, it is clear what we need to do, at least for now." She gestures to the runic inscribed copper plates in the center of the table, "These are but a portion of the greater tome, and if we meet with success here it will go far in the deciphering of the overall book." She steps back and begins to pace as she details her plan to you all. "First we must travel to the Midnight Fane, where these Nahyndrian crystals are being refined. We must search for the methods by which the demons and their allies are creating these elixirs and then destroy their tools, their resources and if we can find them, the inventors. I mentioned we, because I intend to accompany you on this mission. Second, we must close the Midnight Fane Rift. We will go over the details of the ritual soon but suffice to say you will not require the assistance of any other caster for this. Tiq says you are all more than capable and that is enough for me. I will be handling the material side of the ritual and I would ask you to handle the abyssal side. Once the rift is closed, you will remain on the abyss side for the third part of this mission. I offer you a scroll of plane shift for when you are ready to return home, so don't have fear of being stranded there. The third part of the mission has two important goals you can complete in whatever order you deem best. The first goal is prevent the Worldwound's attempt to secure an alliance with Nocticula and the second goal is to find where in the Midnight Isles the Nahyndrian crystals are coming from and put a stop to that operation."
Just as Naeri is about to continue, the Queen interrupts the sprite with a gentle raise of her hand. Her piercing eyes look around the room at each face as she speaks, "Before we continue, we are aware that you recently made some discoveries of your own that could very well affect further discussions. Tell me the details of these discoveries."
Taking a quick look around the room, and at the long oval table in the center that is perfect for spreading a map on or pouring over documents, Queen Galfrey nods and gestures to you, "Please gather 'round this table. It is perfect for what I have to show you." As you all comply and gather, she nods her head to her men, and they quickly take up station outside the door and close it. "We have one more who will be joining us soon, so don't be alarmed for she is with me." says Queen Galfrey in a reassuring tone. Suddenly appearing next to her, as if on cue, is what appears to be a tiny elven courtier, not much more than a foot tall, dressed in a fine white dress complete with jewelry and hair done up like a princess. The queen smiles at her, and it seems genuinely affectionate as she says "Please allow me to introduce Lady Naeriphalithe, a liminal sprite associate of mine. Please call her Naeri. She is here to help me explain the situation." As the tiny sprite beams a smile at each of you, she curtsies and bows her head regally while the queen produces a pair of thin copper plates from a large travel bag upon her hip. The queen sets them in front of you for you to inspect. "We have recently come into the possession of a very rare and dangerous tome, called the Lexicon of Paradox. That same book, according to my more scholarly friends..." she pauses and shoots a look toward the tiny sprite, "is what was used to create the Worldwound in the first place." She lets you digest that for only a moment before she continues, "Thanks to the actions of a brave group of mercenaries led by Venture-Captain Varian Jeggare of the Pathfinders, his tiefling accomplice Radovan and the half-elven paladin Oparal, the Lexicon is now in crusader hands. We have fully restored it and what you see before you is just a small portion of the artifact." The two plates are densely inscribed with runes, incantations, and equations, and the languages used vary widely.
Naeri then speaks, and she has a melodious voice that carries well despite her small stature, "We believe the pages before you concern a ritual than can, in theory, be used to shut down a small rift between the Material Plane and the Abyss." she pauses to gauge your reaction and then continues, "I expect you have questions so feel free to ask them now.
Her smile is nearly a grimace at the official greeting, yet smile she does. They now the urgency and still they... she stifled the negative thought before it could fully form. "Please stand. We have no time for formalities. Let us quickly get to a secure and private room." she says with an even and measured tone.
The Queen stands tall, as tall or taller than any man among her retainers. There is no hesitation as she quickly snaps her view to where the citadel guards stand their posts at the entrance to the citadel itself. Her hand on the pommel of her sword, she takes long, rapid strides toward the guards and the citadel. To their credit, the guards remain level headed upon seeing their sovereign suddenly appear, and snap to attention and salute. I hope this goes quick - Galfrey thinks to herself - We don't have much time and we can't afford to stand on formalities this close to the end! Acknowledging the salutes with barely more than a nod, she stops in front of the guards, firmly planting her feet and says with authority, "I am here to meet with Sir Brightholme and his fellow heroes. It is an urgent matter and they are expecting me."
"We will come to you. Where will you be?" Comes the quick reply via another sending spell. |