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Shaking off the confusion for the time being, she turns to Ehren and Hinagiku. "I could protect you from the ash, but if we end up trekking through this for an extended period it could become problematic. At most I could probably manage a couple hours of protection tops."
"It might be best to continue on the ground until things clear up more," Li'an says as she exits the shelter. "Good call on the hideaway, Ehren!"
Li'an reads the message aloud for the others. "You are right, Ehren. There is a chance, and quite a bit of risk. Perhaps flight would be best, unless you know of a way to determine how to safely navigate the corruption and instability."
"Flying seems like a reasonable alternative, but if we desire I could do a quick divination," Li'an says, "Doing so would give us an idea of how risky the ley would be."
Li'an takes out a cloth and a grabs a handful of soil, laying the cloth flat and then scattering the dirt across it as she begins to cast the divination. As the she weaves the magic, a gentle breeze begins to carry away the dust, as if it were sorting the wheat from the chaff.
"A convergence..." she says, thinking about the possibilities for dealing with the issue. "Clearly waiting isn't an option. I think we could ward the forge though to negate the effects of the convergence, however. I'll need help from an archon, and appropriate materials. I suppose I'll need to go shopping again quickly to begin gathering the components." "If we can manage to pull it off, we should be able to make the remainder of the process substantially simpler. I should let Unafe have my time today, as I'll need to work to figure out the ritual and the summoning I'll need."
Li'an takes her purchases and returns to waiting for the time to meet up with Ehren at the forge. She was interested in doing some divination in order to help get information on their travel to the Ivory Citadel, but that could wait until the evening. It would be easy enough to fit that in along with teaching Yulin how to craft.
With some time to spare the next morning, Li'an heads out to buy the supplies necessary to teach Yulin some crafting. There would be plenty of time for her to teach Yulin before they departed, given that Unafe would be working on crafting her container for the diamond. Perhaps with Ehren's help there would even be time to enchant Yulin's handywork with a minor spell like prestidigitation or dancing lights. She makes a few trips to purchase materials, including the materials for enchanting it just in case.
Ehren, Yulin: "Don't worry, pewter is soft enough to be worked by carving and hammering without heating to start. It makes a great material for beginners for that reason," Li'an says, chuckling at Ehren's response. Given his expression, she suspected he was imagining Yulin smelting metal in their house. "Absolutely, I'll get you a kit and we can go over some of the basics tomorrow after we finish at the forge. What's your favorite color?" she replies to Yulin.
Forge:
Having nearly lost control of the forge Li'an does her best not to show her concern while Yulin is present. She instead secures the ingot and then heads to join Ehren and Yulin again to aid in crafting a magic item for Unafe. Once there she takes aside Ehren for a moment. "Ehren, a moment before we go in. Today's work in the forge was far closer to spiraling out of control than I'd like to admit. It was by sheer force of will that we managed to avoid a major mishap. I am going to ask Arie to join us tomorrow, would you be willing to see if Hinagiku would as well? I have a feeling this won't get easier before it's done, and having them around would help if something happens. For all we know a powerful devil could emerge from the ingot."
Ehren, Yulin: Working on crafting the headband is a nice break from the much more arduous process of working with the Coveteous Flame in the Purity Forge. Li'an enjoys explaining the process to Yulin and helping out with Ehren where she can. Apart from providing some magic, she also works to incorporate Demetae imagery into the product. Li'an takes note of Yulin's continued interest in crafting, enchanting and magic as she answers her question. She nods at Ehren's introduction to some of the different kinds of magic. "If you would like, I have lots of books on the subject that I inherited from Aravashnial, Isilme's husband. I could bring some over and go over them with you sometimes if you like. Looking at Ehren's ring, Li'an points at it to draw Yulin's attention to it. [b]"Also, did you know that I crafted and enchanted those for Ehren and Hinagiku?" she says, giving Yulin a wink. "If you'd like to learn about how to do it, I could get some pewter and teach you out to craft a simple ring or necklace. Perhaps we could even enchant it for you with a basic spell one day if we have the time!" "What do you think, Ehren?" she says looking to her friend for his approval. Yulin was, after all, effectively his and Hinagiku's adopted daughter.
"The Purity Forge was once a forge used for desecration of weapons and artifacts of good. It happened before I was back, but the group managed to consecrate it for good instead by dragging a celestial ley line to this location and connecting it directly to the forge. Now it has the power to cleanse and purify evil items and artifacts, and is used aggressively by the crusaders to do so." "Right now Ehren and I are working on making a ring," she says before turning to answer Unafe. "If yesterday's progress is the measure, then yes, I think so. I'm cautiously optimistic, anyway." Turning back to Yulin, she answers her question about the templars. No sense missing the opportunity to teach her a lesson about the dangers of cultists. "They're a group of cultists who worship Baphomet and are working with the cultists of Deskari against the Crusaders. They like to pretend they're crusaders and steal information or trick people into doing bad things. The worst of them is a lady in green, an elf, who once tricked Staunton Vhane into making Drezen vulnerable to the demons, and who helped him destroy the wardstone in Kenabres at the start of the Fifth Crusade several years ago. As spies they like to play to whatever they think you want or want to hear. That's why it's always important to pay attention when someone new wants to befriend you suddenly and somehow says things that sound really good, maybe too good to be true. Especially if they say it has to be kept secret for some reason."
"Good morning!" Arie chimes, zipping in ahead of Li'an. "So sad we couldn't find Külə yesterday! It was a pretty grove though." Turning to Myrna she flies up to her and pokes her in the chest. "You need to give Gaiwan some leave!" she says, doing her best to look imposing and in command. "He missed out on such a nice walk yesterday!" Li'an enters behind Arie with a chuckle, enjoying the Lyrakien's perpetual high spirits. "You'd better listen to her, she's serious Myrna! And Good Morning," Li'an says joining everyone after having prepared her spells for the day anew. She listens to Myrna give a description of the discussion she and Hinagiku had with Val and nods. "That sounds like a good plan. Remember that Arie can provide some magic to keep us stealthy, as long as we can make the trip within 3-4 hours," she adds, with Arie nodding in agreement. "As for when we should leave, we'll be starting day two of dealing with the artifact today. We made good progress on it yesterday thanks to Ehren's control of the ley. I'm hopeful we'll have it finished in a couple more days," she says. "I would very much like to finish before we leave. I can spend some of the time in the evening doing divinations or other magic that might come in useful for investigating the situation to help out." "Maybe you could come with Ehren and me to witness the work we are doing in the purity forge if you'd like Yulin, of course you'd need to be on your best behavior, Joran's very grumpy," she says with a wink. "Of course today might be a bit boring, we're just going to be smelting an ingot."
Li'an looks at Ehren and sighs with relief as she takes the closed and shielded box and places into her bag of holding. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised it put up so much of a fight given how evil it is. It's a start. Your mastery of the ley is definitely proving invaluable in this battle," she says, noting how Ehren had been able to push the forge's purifying flames beyond their normal limits. "I think we did a good job of weakening it and preparing it for the first smelting tomorrow." "I am going to go rest," she says. "Even without the need to sleep, this fight is quite taxing." She walks with Ehren to the forge's exit, stopping briefly when she sees Joran. "We are done and the area is cleaned up. We'll be back tomorrow at the same time. Thanks for making time in the schedule for this, Joran. I appreciate it." When they get out of the keep she waves at Ehren and takes off into the air, vanishing after a moment as she casts an invisibility spell. While it might come off as slightly paranoid, she wanted to make sure there was no chance of Narikopolous coming after the candelabra before she finished the purification. Given the artifact's power, it was likely only the shielding and nullification from the box that had kept her from divining its location so far, so every time they spent the day working it there was a possibility she might be able to determine its whereabouts. She flies home quickly and places the box within its hiding spot, then sits down to meditate for the rest of the day. Auraelia (Day 1): Auraelia, freed from any duties with Li'an busy working at the forge with Ehren, decides to spend some time visiting Joren that day, encouraging Gaiawn to come along. "Gaiwan, you should take some leave! At least for a few days," she'd badgered him that morning when he woke up. She'd spent the night nearby, knowing he could use the company more than Joren since Joren was staying with Ehren and Hinagiku. Once Gaiwan is up and about, she "Come on! We're going to visit Joren, and then go for a walk. He could use some friends, and you could use some fresh air!" she says, tugging on Gaiwan and pointing towards the door.
When they get to Ehren and Hinagiku's place, she calls to Joren, who is helping Yulin with chores. "Joren! Come out! Lets go for a walk!" She'd found out about the unicorn named Külə from Li'an's friend Isilme. He lived in a grove outside Drezen not far from the Menhirs, and she was curious to meet him, so now was as good a time as any. "We're going to meet Külə, a unicorn! It'll be fun!" she exclaims, clearly as interested in meeting him herself as she was to possibly introducing the two to him. No matter what it'd get their minds off the past few days.
When they reach the grove, she guides them in, then calls out, hoping to attract the unicorn's attention. They were already known to be hard to find, and Külə was even more of a recluse than most of his kind from what she'd heard. Li'an said Isilme still reached out to him via sending from time to time though, so she hoped mentioning Isilme would help. "Helllooooooo, Külə, are you out there? My friends, Joren and Gaiwan came to say hello! Isilme mentioned to Li'an that you were around here. I'm her companion, and my friends and I wanted to come say hi and meet you!"
The story she'd heard about him was that he'd suffered terribly under the cultists and had been saved by Isilme and the others in the group. With help from Isilme (and a trip to heaven apparently?) he'd been able to overcome the trauma and horrors of his past, and she hoped maybe if she introduced Joren to him it might help him to deal with the experiments he'd suffered at the hands of the Lamashtan cultists.
"I could do a divination, yes. It's a good idea. I will do so after we are done at the forge for the day. If Val has anything that belongs to Rue we might be able to make use of that in scrying as well."
"Rue is alright, and she will try to seek safety, but she doesn't wish to return to Drezen. Perhaps the best bet to talk to her would be to enter Val's dreams and try to meet with her if she tries to reach out to Valaria. Then we could exchange more information," Li'an explains once the spell is complete. "For now I think we should try to get things accomplished for the day as planned."
"Thanks for the second scroll," she says as she takes it from Myrna. "Hopefully we won't need it." Li'an puts the second scroll away and unfurls the first in preparation for using it. " I'll reach out to her now and then we can decide what to do." "Agreed, Ehren. Hopefully they haven't figured out anyone knows where they are. Even if they realize Jaruunicka is dead, that's not necessarily going make them concerned about infiltration or assault. Lets reach out to her now and get an answer."
Li'an raises the scroll and recites it, making use of her understanding of magic to force the scroll's completion despite it being divine magic. Sending: "Rue, we returned to Drezen // safely. Val is here too // Can return you with teleport // Will scry you for location // Acknowledge and respond."
"I believe we should bring her back here and spend some time preparing. She will want to see Val, and we can't really risk going to the sanctum without some level of preparation. I also think taking anyone but ourselves would be ill advised. We barely avoided serious casualties the last trip." Li'an says.
Turning back to Unafe, she listens to her explain that she was going to have new apprentices. "That sounds like a great idea," Li'an responds. "Perhaps you can train them while I work on the ring then, and hopefully I can finish around when they're ready to start assisting you?" "Another possibility for speeding your crafting might be to get a set of Amazing Tools of Manufacture. They're quite potent magical crafting tools that would do a lot to speed up your work. Though they might be a bit expensive to procure."
"Hmm, that's a problem," Li'an says thinking about it. "It's bad enough how constrained the time on the purity forge is, but I didn't think the container would be as intricate as you're describing. Let me think on it for a bit. Anyone else have any ideas as to how we might help Unafe complete things more rapidly?"
With everyone else turning in, Li'an heads back home to pore over tomes on magic crafting and the planes, preparing herself for the looming battle against the accursed candelabra.
With Joran and Unafe at the Forge:
"I had planned to begin working tomorrow, so that isn't an issue. Irabeth is aware of this task, as Ehren and myself will be working to reforge the artifact Covetous Flame. I believe it will take us four days to do so, based on my understanding of the artifact and the goal of purifying and forging a ring from it. My apologies for not scheduling this in advance, we have been dealing with other issues since we returned with the artifact. You are welcome to come watch us purify it if you'd like. Turning an infernal artifact into a force for good will be so satisfying!"
With Gaiwan:
Arie for her part opts to stay and help Gaiwan. Once he's eaten she helps get him to his barracks and plays a song for him to help him feel at ease after the day's events. "Rest and I'll stay in case you need anything. Pulura would be disappointed if I ran off the moment we returned to Drezen."
Crafting Info and Rolls:
The Breaking of the Covetous Flame (Day 1):
Li’an had been waiting for this opportunity since they had seized the Covetous Flame, the source of the corruption and murders at the Devil’s Rest. The artifact was the work of devils, the prize of the Narikopolus family, one their heir likely was still desperately seeking. Buried within stone and shielded from scrying, she had been saving it for when she had the time to turn her attention back to it. Due to her Brijidine nature, Li’an loathed devils in a way few could fathom, and so the thought of purifying it and turning the artifact into a force for good appealed to her greatly. It was the greatest insult that could be done to the devils, even more so than destroying it outright. She had learned enough from Joran about the Purity Forge to know that reforging it would be difficult but doable. Joran had accomplished the same with a minor Duergar artifact for the wizard Xanderghul before he fled. Enchanting herself with a ward against divination, she heads to her home begin her preparations. She enters and goes to the portion of the stone wall in which she’d entombed the box that was designed to nullify the infernal candelabra. Molding the stone with the power she’d gained back on Apostae’s Tear, she gently removes the box. With the box in hand she enchants herself with invisibility and heads quickly towards the keep and down to the Purity Forge. Once there she gathers the tools necessary, setting them aside. The task would need to proceed in three phases. First, she would need to work the candelabra on the purity forge to concentrate and isolate the artifact’s power so she could separate it. Next she would need to remove the excess material and work the core of the original artifact into its new form, a ring. The final step would then be the purification of the ring itself, the true challenge in the crafting. Bracing herself, she opens the box and grimaces in disgust as its accursed flames spring to life. Grabbing it with tongs, she plunges it into the celestial flames of the purity forge, the artifact hissing in response. The candles are first to suffer from the purifying flames, resisting only briefly before melting away, extinguishing the purple flames that had been present. The artifact itself seems to fight to break free of the flames, but Li’an keeps control of it, plunging it further into the forge. She works with Ehren, hammering it repeatedly to break the artifact’s spirit. Though simple in theory, the strength of the Covetous Flame’s corruption makes it a challenge, and it takes hours to work the mass of the candelabra into an unrecognizable twisted mass.
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The Breaking of the Covetous Flame (Day 2): Li’an meets with Ehren on the second day to resume work, bringing the box back and carefully unpacking it in order to prepare for the day’s work. Unlike yesterday’s battle against the artifact, today’s work would be slow but simple. Their goal was to smelt the mass formerly known as Covetous Flame into a single ingot of the infernal silver it had been crafted from. This would further separate it from its original identity, simplifying the final act of purification and transformation. Once they’ve loaded the crucible, Li’an spends most of the day tending it within the forge, monitoring the tediously slow melting process. Ehren comes and goes, providing his oversight and advice, as he was familiar with crafting a broad array of magical items. As the end of the day nears, they work to prepare a mold for the ingot, bathing it in holy water and blessing it before pouring the molten infernal silver in and bathing it in holy water again. Finished for the day, she thanks Ehren again as she packs the now cooled ingot into the box and seals it for the night before heading back to her home. --------------------------------------------
"For now you should rest Gaiwan," Arie says, "take some time to recuperate from our adventure!" "I'll be back in four hours then. I need to go shopping for supplies so I can start dealing with the Covetous Flame. Before we leave Drezen again I would like to rework it on the Purity Forge," Li'an says. "I can also handle selling off the things we don't want from Caerwen" Before excusing herself, she asks Unafe for some of the materials she'd stored up for crafting a robe, hoping to make use of them to purchase a couple items she was looking for. Specifically a massive tome on spellcraft that had been recommended to her as a reference, and an Armillary Amulet, a magic item that could further enhance one's understanding of magic further. She would need every advantage she could get for the battle with the artifact, as she doubted it would go down without a fight.
"Thanks 'Trix!" Arie says as she grabs a cup and pours some water into it and floats over to hand it to Gaiwan. "Here, drink!" "Thanks Ehren, I am glad Pulura saw fit to return us safely! I wasn't sure if we'd make it when the Shemhazian attacked." Arie stops to consider how odd that sounds. It was certainly more of an adventure than she'd ever had in the worldwound before. "Since we're staying here instead of going to the infirmary," Li'an says, kneeling down next to Gaiwan, "we might as well take care of any possible diseases."
"Of course, Ehren," she says, nodding at the druid. With him focusing on healing the two, Li'an sits down and rubs her arms, trying to drive away the chill of the blizzard that was still clinging to her. The cold was intensely painful now. She couldn't imagine being trapped in a blizzard for an extended period in her current state. "Oh Ehren, I didn't see you!" Arie says, seeming a little flustered. "Do you have any way to provide them with some food or drink? Gaiwan needs clean water, he hasn't had anything to drink since whenever the troop last stopped to drink before he got separated. Food would be good too! I can't summon anything else, I'm entirely out of magic!"
Arie releases Gaiwan gently, setting him down. "There's lots to share!" Arie says to Unafe, her mood clearly lightened with their successful arrival back to Drezen. She does a quick spin, her wings fluttering as she shakes off all the snow from the blizzard. "There will be time to talk, but we need to get to the infirmary first! Gaiwan is in bad shape as I couldn't make any clean water and food for him. And Joren was being experimented on by cultists of Lamashtu! Meet us over there! Li'an can you take us over to the infirmary now? Myrna, Beatrix, you should join us there too! I'm sure Gaiwan will want to know what happened. I can make it so Li'an can take us all in one go if you want." "Let me know when," Li'an says, getting ready to teleport to the infirmary.
Having braced herself for the blast of cold again, Li'an manages to keep her concentration as she teleports them away. Arie for her part once again manages to stay with Li'an, avoiding being blown away.
"Quick, let's get out of here before another decides to join us!" Arie calls out, flying up to the ledge where Gaiwan and Joren are waiting. With a look of satisfaction, Li'an follows after her, flying through the dissipating remnants of the wraith she'd banished. "Up here, Unafe!" she calls, waiting for her to jump up to join them. Once up top Li'an looks at the extra visitor. "One more to travel with us?" she asks Arie. "Yes, this is Joren, I saved him from some cultists of Lamashtu. We will need to get him home as well!" she says matter-of-factly. "Don't worry too much about having an extra passenger, Pulura blessed me with the ability to carry friends and allies along. Once we get out I will put Gaiwan in safety and then you can teleport us out." "Very well then. Unafe, Arie, Gaiwan, Joren, when you all are ready, grab on to me, and then you do your thing Arie!" Once prepared Arie releases the sanctum and prepares to pull Gaiwan to safety so Li'an can teleport them away.
Li'an looks at the creature that floats through the wall and almost immediately recognizes it as some form of undead wraith, most probably a white wraith. "It's an incorporeal undead, probably a white wraith!" she calls out to Arie and Unafe. "It's definitely a white wraith, but a wraith is a wraith is a wraith!" Arie replies. Li'an summons forth a wave of holy energy that fills the room, then quickly channels a heal spell and steps toward the wraith to unleash the potent magic upon it. Arie follows up by releasing a wave of holy energy of her own, a second flash filling the room with the colors of an aurora briefly.
Li'an frowns as the cold hits her and the wind begins to bite. A fire storm would have been fine, but this was truly abyssal. "Stay close," Li'an says to Unafe as she heads towards Arie's light quickly.
When Arie sees Li'an and Unafe closing she waves her mace at them and beckons towards the entry. "Come quick, something is out here!" She flies in the door to avoid the worst of the wind and continues waving towards them. "Watch the first step!" she says, waiting to bar the door behind them again. Li'an heads in and grabs Unafe's hand, lifting her up to avoid falling into the pit within the door, then prepares to head upwards.
Auraelia:
Auraelia steps out into a blizzard and is somehow completely unsurprised. "Stupid Abyss, of course it has to take a parting shot!" she thinks to herself. She braces herself up against the nearest tree, her wings fighting against the wind and snow.
Without anything but a description of a few feet of snow around Arie, she tries to focus on the Lyrakien herself, counting on Pulura's guidance to help her teleport succeed in reaching her in that accursed land. Putting her hand on Unafe's shoulder, she looks at him and nods, before pulling them through space towards the Stonewilds.
Auraelia:
"I think that's them," she says excitedly, looking up at the scrying sensor. "Wait here, I'll go outside quickly. Once it's safe I'll bring you outside! We're going home!" Auraelia floats down from their alcove and unbars the exit, flying out of cautiously. Once out she looks for any obvious threats while trying to pick a location that works well for the scrying sensor to get a view of the surrounding area. Holding her mace aloft, she prepares both to defend herself, and also to enchant it to provide light if necessary to make it easier for whomever was scrying to describe the area.
Back in the scriptorium, Li'an stands up and prepares herself as Myrna finishes the scrying ritual and begins observing Arie. "Are you ready Unafe?" she asks, knowing there was real danger involved given the risk they were taking in teleporting in nearly blind. She looks at Myrna expectantly, waiting for the description she'll need to attempt the rescue.
As Myrna and Beatrix prepare for the Scrying, Li'an focuses on restoring her magic, knowing she'll need every bit of magic she has to retrieve Auraelia and Gaiwan safely. Auraelia Sending:
"We're still alive here! I'll wait for your scrying attempt. I can't exit until you cast it, but will be ready!"
With Unafe: "Just let me know when and I can help out as well. I'll have some free time once we get Arie and Rue back," she says. "I am going to go prepare to meet with Myrna and Beatrix," she adds. "If you can, I'd appreciate if you could come along Unafe in case something tries to attack us while I work on teleporting us back out."
"Oh, and while we're filling your schedule with things to do," Li'an says with a mischievous grin, "and before I forget, anyone have any ideas what we can do with this?" Li'an opens one of her bags of holding and reaches in, using prestidigitation a couple times inside the bag before pulling out the Riftdrake Head that Unafe had acquired for them. "Still fairly fresh!" She cleans the head one more time to avoid making a mess and then drops the 250 lb skull to the floor. "Ehren, Unafe, your opinions on the subject would be helpful too. I know we haven't had any time to figure out what might be done with it."
Auraelia:
"Gaiwan, you have to drink, even if the water is tainted. Pulura guided me to you, this isn't the time to give up!" Auraelia once again conjures up water, though as usual it quickly turns putrid. She conjures up simple cloth to strain it and holds it out to Gaiwan. "Please!"
Li'an listens as Unafe and Valais discuss the moaning diamond. "I am happy to help research some as well. I also am hoping you have access to some books on the Plane of Fire. I'm trying to understand my connection to the plane, and the significance of a Three-eyed Ibis and a Carnelian gemstone." "Also, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate your aid in appraising some of these items we brought back from Caerwen. We have a lot of information about the Fort that we can share now, including information on the fate of Jaruunicka"
"I can cast sending directly without a scroll today, I just can only do it once today, and would need someone else to scry," she says, reassuring Myrna. "Rue went ahead as she's quite a powerful adventurer in her own right, one blessed directly by Desna. She nearly killed a Derakni outright with a volley of arrows during the fight at the tower. I think it's worthwhile to craft a scroll of sending either way, as it could come in quite handy in the future." "Four hours sounds good Myrna. I'm happy you're able to help Beatrix. Gaiwan is still alive last we heard, so there's hope yet we can bring him home with Arie."
"We can get around the issue with a sending. That will allow her to know that the scrying is coming. It's an extra cost, but easily worth it to ensure it succeeds. Perhaps Sosiel can provide us with another sending today?" she replies, noticing Ehren's discomfort with his missing eye. "Do you want us to seek a regeneration spell for your eye? It shouldn't be harder to fix than Aravashnial's eyes were. I'm sure we could procure a scroll in Nerosyan with a bit of time and effort." Turning to Unafe, she thinks for a moment."I can carry three with me, but apparently Auraelia is able to put others in some form of stasis to carry them with her. I'm not sure how many she can do that with. It would certainly be good for you to come along to buy time in an emergency. We can't act before this afternoon, but we can at least start getting all the pieces in order. I can handle a sending to Rue once we've gotten Auraelia. I think Hinagiku is right that we should regroup with her as quickly as possible and bring her back. For her sake and for Val's. Assuming we can do a second scrying, we could do a similar trick, doing a sending first, scrying, and then teleporting in to pick her up." "Once we have them saved, I would like a few days to try to work at the purity forge. I'll need your help Ehren, but I think I know how to rework our prize from the visit we paid to the inn a while back. I don't think it'll take me more than four days to accomplish my goal."
Auraelia:
"I think our best bet is to wait. Li'an should be able to teleport to us and get us out. I don't believe I can safely navigate us out of the Stonewilds," Auraelia says apologetically. "She was able to take the entire squad back to Drezen safely when she reached out, we'll be fine once she is rested. I'll let you know when she reaches out to me again." Li'an, w/Hinagiku Present: "I have a better idea now, it involves drawing power from the Plane of Fire, and is tied to the vision I had the first time it happened. I need to do more research to understand it better though." Li'an listens to Hinagiku's description of Arie saving yet another person. It didn't surprise her that she'd do something like that even while in the Stonewilds barely surviving. She was very lucky, but eventually with all the horrors out there, her luck was bound to run out. They needed to get there before that happened. "I do think we should go after Auraelia first. Rue is far more capable of taking care of herself, and Val mentioned she's going scouting for now. I want to go as soon as I've regained my magic."
Auraelia:
Auraelia settles in near the edge, remaining hidden and remaining on guard for any intruders.
Li'an:
"You should rest up some more Val," Li'an says. "I am going to head back to my place and rest until morning."
Auraelia:
"Don't worry about me, I don't need to sleep, and we're up above the entry, so it will be hard to break in and get to us if something finds the entryway. Get some rest, you are no longer alone," she says, giving Joren a smile. Li'an: Li'an awakes from her exertion to see Val asking if she and Myrna are alright. She nods at Val and gives her a weak smile. "Just tired, I figured out a way to borrow power when we are in danger, but it takes everything I have to control it for even a few moments. I am glad to see you up as well, Val." Turning to Myrna, "You just waking up as well Myrna?" she asks.
Auraelia: Auraelia nods at Gaiwan, feeling sympathy for his situation. When Joren finishes, she tosses the remaining food and water down to the bottom of the pit.
Auraelia:
Auraelia frowns as she looks down at the summoning spell failing again. She was certain she it would hold this time, but the Abyss was simply stronger than her magic in this area of the worldwound. "We fled from the Shemhazian, it's been many hours since then," she explains to Gaiwan. "The others were unable to find us and I have yet to be able to find a way out of the Stonewilds." She makes sure to repeat herself in Hallit for Joren. "I am Auraelia, it is a pleasure to meet you Joren. This is Gaiwan. I am glad I was able to save you, Pulura must have guided me to the cave, as I was close enough to hear your cry for help and get there before they completed the ritual. There is plenty of food and water, though I wish I could offer it untainted. This foul water and bread is all my magic can manage here. We may need to hold out here for a day before the others can reach out to us again. I received a sending from Sosiel in Drezen, so Li'an was able to reach Drezen safely with the other troops. I am optimistic she will send another message tomorrow." Using her simple creation magic, she creates a small wooden bowl and a hempen mesh to put atop it, then pours the foul water through the mesh to attempt to filter it somewhat.
Auraelia: Once inside with the door barred, she reconfigures the space to make it difficult for anything that breaks down the entry to reach them immediately as happened with the Shemhazian. Instead she creates the space with the door 15' down the wall of a 40' pit, and then makes a nook at the top out of line of sight of the door to rest in. That way if anything broke in it would need to be able to fly up before it was able to see them. Once in the nook, she retrieves Gaiwan and their new companion from the space, looking to heal the kellid's wounds and to check on Gaiwan. After healing their wounds, she sets about attempting to summon food and water again.
"Are you alright?" she asks the man she'd rescued from the cave.
Auraelia: With no choice but to rest, Auraelia descends quietly into the canopy, seeking a place to place the entrance to her extradimensional space.
Auraelia:
Auraelia takes off higher into the sky, attempting to make use of the altitude to try to gain a better view of the surrounding terrain.
Auraelia: Once above the canopy, she attempts once again to gain her bearings. She would eventually need to find a place to rest, though she hoped to at least leave the Stonewilds before attempting to do so again. She scans the horizon first for any obvious landmarks or threats, then attempts to determine the quickest way out of the Stonewilds.
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