"I'll bet against it. We've been stuck here for how long?" Haleen objects "You think Jhavhul can linger in one of the better districts of Katapesh City and no one doing something about? But whatever you like, just let's get going."
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"Assuming no one wants to go shopping or sightseeing here we could go back to our world and see where we end up this time." Haleen comments. "Bylo?"
"Katapesh? Check on Rayhan?" Haleen objects. "When Jhavhul escaped, he did into the garden of our wizard friend."
"Yes, please. No crawling through this place anymore!"
"My issue is with this 'close by'. It would be embarrassing to end up on aunt Erna's freshly planted tulip plot. Or find ourself in another prison of some kind."
"We could ask that bronze giant - Karambagya was his name, rightß - to see if it is possible to leave the place again, or at least where the exit would be." Haleen suggests. "Once it is confirmed that we CAN leave then we need to fetch our Marid Princess." "And about that plane shifting - where are we going to end up when using that? Also it might be worth taking a tour of the city when we're here already."
"Someone would need to know that you're stuck here to blame it on the city. Whom did you tell you're going here, that will actually care to look where you got lost?" Haleen inquires from Bylo.
"Magic, how wonderful - I feel like new." "So we're at the mercy of this Grand Vizier. I'm no expert on those fire world folks - are they known for being mercyful?"
As Aithaloessa doesn't make a move, possibly because the dragon turned her into a crispy piece of meat, Haleen retrieves the artifact and hands it to the dragon in hopes to not share the Elf's fate.
The surprise is a very unpleasant one and Haleen would really like to give that asshat of a dragon a piece of her mind, but... she doesn't believe she can afford that. Instead she looks worried at Aithaloessa, who doesn't look like she will hand over the artifact herself.
"Congratulations. What are you going to do with that guy?" Haleen inquires through the fog.
Haleen moves up to the giant, stabs at him and retreats again as she doesn't intend to stay in reach of that axe.
With no one willing to move the hostilities into the physical realm, Haleen waits what happens.
"Who holds it, and who pours?" Haleen inquires, and her stance makes it clear she is volunteering for neither.
"... maybe holy water?" Did you bring some?"
While Aithaloessa takes her turn on taking on that stoned look while watching tremendously powerful magic, she inquires from Bylo "What's a sacred draught? An ale fresh from the barrel at a temple of Caiden Calean?"
"Just for the record: I'm no true believer of whatever this here is for."
Haleen pricks herself in the finger and tries with how little blood this will work.
"There we are. How much blood?" Haleen asks pulling out her cold iron dagger, pointing it at Bylo with a mischievous smirk.
"Such a nice solid pyramid seems to be a good thing to be between me and a fire spitting dragon." Haleen comments.
"About what?" Haleen asks curiously.
"You think that flying lizard is stupid enough to come in here and be trapped with us?" Haleen inquires.
"Mysterious face on the brass being mysterious. I guess we have to sacrifice you somewhere here to get a fire orb." Haleen replies to Bylo with her first attempt at an interpretation.
"It beats climbing." Haleen encourages herself on her climb of invisible stairs up to the tower height looking with envy on Aithaloessa.
With that said, he just slightly bows with respect, and moves towards the temple to pass the night "Are you coming with us Haleen?" Haleen ponders the request. "I'd prefer to stay here. My blade is not that helpful when it comes to those genies. So my desire to charge into battle with the next one after this defeat is rather limited."
Haleen takes a serving after Aithaloessa gave the cardboard pudding a magical work over. "Thank you." She still thinks it is lame of the gods not to provide better, but what she has left in her backpack isn't prime anymore either.
After Haleen talks Ohrmizd out of a janni captain gear set to wear until her own stuff somehow reappears, she starts feeling more like herself again. "What's the situation outside and where to go with all those people?"
"I know you are still busy saving the world from this Jhavhul, but before you move on, do you have some magical healing to spare for for Ahmad, Nubia, Khalid, Darius and me?" Haleen inquires, redirecting their attention to the issue at hand.
"Jhavhul has led many citizens from Kelmarane as well as Princess Almah and Garavel as prisoners out of town. I guess he took them with him to the Pale Mountain."
"This time I can't deny that I need rescuing. Can't fight an army on my own - I have tried it though." Heleen replies. "The key is with the efreet guards outside. You haven't by chance found my stuff?" Haleen is very uncomfortable with the situation. No armor, no weapon, and her once fancy clothes are mere rags hanging from her maltreated body. Her self image doesn't fit with being on this side of the rescue.
"I hope someone has. Because my desire to eat cardboard porridge is rather limited." Haleen replies to Bylo. "I wonder why the gods, when their faithful ask for one of the bare necessities of life don't get something better than that. Or is it the priests being stingy with magic input and the bland porridge the result?" she inquires.
Well rested Haleen crawls out of their section of the tent. "What's for breakfast?"
"The only real nice place here was the garden. Everything else is just too hot to be comfortable. Also it's full of new corpses, old corpses, ghosts, or those fire giants. There might be some nice places higher up but they probably have their own occupants that we don't want to deal with yet." "Or the fountain with the marid princess. That was nice too, but the way there is rather long." And Haleen might have forgotten how to get there with all that labyrinth like floors.
"I'm not against calling it a day, but I'm sure we can find a nicer place, maybe with a view and less blood, gore and debris." Haleen comments.
Haleen shakes her hands to get the toad goo off and checks where else it splashed. "One magical cleaning please."
Haleen grabs the toad with each hand at one end and holds it out for execution. "Can someone please kill that thing?"
"Ha! Got you."
Haleen tries another approach. She jumps the toad, trying to grab it.
"Ouch."
Haleen, sped up with dance magic charges the toad. But the toad is really evasive.
Hearing the funiture move Haleen tries the door and opens it.
Haleen makes sure her hands are deep in her pockets.
"Could you set fire to the inside of the chamber without us opening the door?" Haleen inquires from Aithaloessa.
"That translucent guy Yasmeena and Aithaloessa successfully sucked up to. Right behind that door." Haleen points to the main entrance of the palace that they used to enter the building.
"Well, a feat of most prisons. Way easier to get in than out. But where to now? There are still a few doors unopened, but how far do we want to go in this basement to find the flickering candle?" Haleen pauses for a moment, and then adds "Or we go back to that giant and demand him to be more specific about what we are searching here actually."
"My best guess would be straight from hell. And even though this place seems rather close to that - temperature wise - I'd prefer not to explore further in THAT direction." Haleen jokes.
Haleen gets the impression like the elf could know that from practical experimental experience rather than using a figure of speech. She looks at Aithaloessa with suspicion.
"Thank you. Much appreciated."
On the plus side, the devil charging in, closes the distance for Haleen, without her being clawed at.
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