"This is an eldritch horror. Something beyond time and the known plane. Be careful, it latches on your mind if it can.", she says as her staff misses its target.
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"Good point, Sarlai. If you can start with Dispel Magic, I'll follow with Break Enchantment if it doesn't work."
Tia activates her communication ring to speak with the others. "It seems he is possessed by something. But it is not arcana as far as I understand. I can try a break enchantment spell, but I'm not sure it will work."
Tia casts mending as necessary on Sona. "Don't worry too much about the weather. I choose this place because you can't really go wrong when planeshifting here. You see, planeshifting is not as precise as teleporting. You usually land within a few hundred miles of your intended destination. I know of a better place on this plane. A nice beach in sunny weather with a small creek of clear water. But trying to planeshift there would mean 80% chances and landing in the ocean a hundred miles from the coast. So when we are finished talking here, I can teleport all of us to that place. I will need to rest and recover before we can planeshift again, unfortunately." She follows on Sarlai questions. "Please, start answering Captain Pallas questions then go back to when discovered that universe seed and everything you did or learned afterwards. Then I will consider taking you with us when we teleport away and we can think about what to do with your loved one."
"Good. We can go to a safe place I know. And it's not going to be on the Lady's plane. Please everyone join hands."
Tia had taken copious notes, asking questions and recording all she could about the fascinating story of this Hell Hound. "Thank you very much for your hospitality and help.", she replies to Rosa. "If my camarades agree, I think we can find our way out ourselves. I could planeshift all of us back home, including master Duvalier." She glances at the cowering Duvalier and looks at her companions. "What do you think, Sona and Viri and you, Captain Pallas ? Shall we go home with our quarry?"
"I have to say I am impressed by you efficience. But I suppose it should be expected." Tia reclines in her chair, thinking about the next steps while she pulls out a notebook. "I have nothing about music. But while we have to wait in here, I would prefer to use the chance I have to get more from the mouth of the horse, if you pass me this expression. You see, I was born a librarian and I would like to hear more about you. How you came to your powers, got bound to your Blade, anything about your life that you would deem worthy of sharing with me."
"Well, here is what this fine fellow looks like." Tia proceeds to describe the image of Duvalier they were shown during their mission brief by the Lady. "And I think this may help us get into the right direction."
Tia had supported her team to the best of her abilities, turning aside a blade here, moving a blade there for the blade to strike deeper and trapping any demon close enough into ice. Following Sona in the tent, she makes her way to the tent. "Thank you, Mistress Luminass. You appear to have been correct in your evaluation of your enemy's weakened state. And I do not regret having fought this battle alongside you and your troops." She sits in a chair and accepts the food: "If you could spare a moment to restore some of the depleted abilities of my companions, we would be grateful. Most of those injuries we sustained trying to free you from the trapped altar. A clever trap I have to say, as disarming it seemed to trigger your enemy's arrival." She looks at Sarlai Pallas and gives her a small nod. "As our new companion indicated, we are on the lookout for one individual in this plane. Any help to locate him would be appreciated."
I'm here. Had a long Sunday and couldn't post during my day at work today. I'm in the process of posting.
As Sona and Rosa and the rest of the team take the fight to the demon, Tia hovers in the air, hands spread. A very faint spiderweb extends from her hands and extend 30 feet around her and connects to both Rosa and Sona. As the blows are exchanged, she reaches to the different threads and lightly touches them, contracting them of extending them. Like a puppeteer, those small impulse push or pull her companions by millimeters, causing blows targeting them to miss by the width of a hair.
Tia quickly communicates with her companions. "I think we can help her, but not to the risk of our lives or our mission. If we see we're loosing, we can cut our losses and teleport or plane-shift away. What do you think?"
As the Demon Lord appears, Tia flies in in contact with Sona and the injured Giant Lady from Hell. Melani, mist now., she calls. Just before she touches her intendad targets, you hear a muffled sound from inside Melani familiar satchel and a 20' bubble of fog surrounds Tia. Then Tia touches Sona and Rosa and Dimension Door them back outside the structure a little to the side of the entrance but not too far from it.
Liliandra, Viri, we are just to the left side of the entrance. Join us quickly. We need to get the Hell out of here. The 20' radius mist remains defiantly in front of the Demon Lord, obscuring its vision and providing some sort of cover for Viri and Lilandra.
This is not a demon! This is BAPHOMET the Demon Lord. We need to get out and away, NOW.
Tia eyes widen as she realizes what's going on and she calls out to her companions using their telepathic bond. Sona! The altar! It has a demon bound in it but it functions as a trap. You can disable it! Viri don't stay in the altar aura, it will drain you for nothing. If Sona fail to disarm the altar, I will move in and dimension door Sona and the hurt lady out of the altar's aura.
Tia waits for Lilandra to heal her before following Viri into the building. "What did you find here ?" she says as she tries to understand what is going on in the room.. "Oh, ooooh. Who is that? Do you need help?"
"Wait, the altar. That's where the problem is. It's still draining everyone around it. We need to move her out of here."
Tia lands bloodied and battered and proceeds to cast haste on the party.
Lilandra, could you heal me? As in the heal spell. My eardrums have ruptured and it will affect my spellcasting. I could do it myself but I prefer to keep it in case you are the one needing it.
Tia orients herself but takes the blast in full and staggers half-dazed, ears bleeding.
Tia gets the pouch from Viri and tries to activate it with the password provided: "Tutu" and fishes out any object in the pouch.
"If you allow me, the spell I can cast will ink us so that we can speak mind to mind." Tia casts telepatic bond.
"I am Hypatia from the Archive. I have worked with master Oliandro for quite a long time. We are investigating what happened with master Oliandro. He was sent away on a project and we cannot contact him anymore. At his place, we found photos of you and a young girl. We come here to know if he has contacted you or this girl or even left you some documents. Lastly, we have also a pouched locked by a password and thought either your name or something else he could have told you could help us figure it out."
Tia eyes loose focus as she starts putting two and two together. She smiles openly for the first time: "Well, we may be onto something. Both Viri and Lilandra found pictures of a woman with a girl around 12. I've never heard of Oliandro having a wife or a daughter but he was quite secretive outside work. And while I don't know the woman, I know of the place where the image has been recorded. It's called Millies Bake house, I've been there once or twice and it's just a few blocks away." She stands up and dusts her hands: "Those people were dear to him so he may have left something to them. Or they may help us find the opening word for that pouch. So my suggestion would be to quickly wrap up here and then go look at the Bake house."
With the help of Melani flying under and around every shelf and piece of furniture, Tia searches the documents of the main room and bedroom for anything related to psy research.
When asked by Viri, she stops and thinks about her time working with Oliandro and what her told her about. If she knows the name of his spouse or daughter, she will use them to test as a potential passwords.
"I'm ready as well. I keep all my mission equipment in my office anyways." Tia points to the pack and staff that she has brought with her in the meeting room. She shoulders it and moves with the group.
Tia raises her head from the file on the plans suggested by the research team: "I'm all for looking at the quarters of the research team. And I suggest we start with those of master Oliandro. I know where both his office and lodgings are." She point to a page on the file and passes it around: "Look here, all the research suggested is Arcana based. Except that one item: it proposed to 'link' the baby universe to the psychic grid of the city, whatever that is. This is going off the grid and was suggested by Oliandro himself." She considers Lilandra last suggestion as well. "As for Ashkren Duvalier, it also a good idea. I'm no good at scrying in any form but if we find ourselves stuck after our first search on the research team, we have that option. I still suppose that if no one knows where he is, it means he is protected against scrying. A strong enough arcane caster can do it."
No pb, I'm not lost. Sunday was very busy, so I waited for the evening (right now for me) to post. Tia will want to start with looking into the research team first, because she knows one of them.
"Very good point, Sona. And thanks for being forthright, My Lady. If I understand correctly, the most important point is finding the research team and what happened with this artifact. Of course, we'll look into the issue with Team Alpha 9 but the first two points should lead us to unraveling the whole thing." Let me have a look at the report of the tests, maybe Melani and I can figure something. Tia starts reading through, taking a few notes here and there and conversing with Melani. "I think I have something. It helps I know some of the people who have written that one I think. That part is typically the way Master Olandro writes."
"Oh, and before we jump to the rest. I think you should all know I worked with Master Olandro for quite some time a few years ago. So if we find them I should be able to see if there's anything wrong with him. I don't think I ever worked or met the other four members. Do any of you know them ?", she asks. "And if we keep on this subject, maybe we could pay a visit to their offices or homes. You told us they may have been compromised somehow. Could it be possible that this happened before they left?"
"Well it looks like an egg. But the question is then what bird is inside. Could it be a miniature demi-plane or the home of a creature ? Melani, do you have any idea ?" The pen on the table turns back into its dragon form. It flies up and around the projected image before landing on Tia's shoulder. The two of them stat conferring in a mixture of draconic and elven.
Tia computes the information: Good melee, limited arcane, healing and various protection available. Trapped somewhere with no way of escape? No it wouldn't work, they had their gems of recall. They could come back here unless only planar travel was blocked. "Do you know if they had any short range teleportation or movement available: Dimension Door, Teleport, ethereal travel for example?" "And by the way, do you know if all the exit pills were used at the same time, one after another or some early and some late in the mission?"
Tia quickly looks at the items in the pouch, identifying each of them easily.
Turning to Sona and Viri, she offers to check the magical items of their pouch as well. Once that is done, she signs and return the receipt and picks her journal again while she listens to the mission brief. At the mention of the total destruction of Team Alpha 9, Tia stops taking notes and sits straight in her chair. She exchanges a look with her teammates while digesting the news. Then she raises a hand and asks: "Maybe I should know, but could you remind us who were in team Alpha Nine. I would also prefer if we could access to their files or at least a document detailing their capacities and their standard tactics. Whatever happened out-powered or out-smartened them. So the more we know about what they could do and did not seem to work, the better we can perform."
Tia closes her cheap novel and pockets it.
She opens her journal at a new blank page and extends her right arm. The small dragon on her shoulder walks down to her hand where it stops, shimmers for a moment and turns into a beautiful golden ink pen.
"No idea why we're there, , she whispers to both of her companions. "but it's an alpha meeting room. And it's good to meet both of you again."
No pb. Tia can prepare a second Mage armor each day. I will change my spell list to reflect that. It will last 16 hour. Tia has mainly mind affecting spells in addition to her hexes as well as telepotation/dimension door and plane shift. She can also provide back-up healing with a Major healing hex and acces to heal and raise dead. And as a warning Sona, Tia's familiar is a diminutive (7 inches long) dragon. :)
Tia was working in her office down in the Archive when the message came calling her team to the meeting. From there she only needed 5 minutes to reach the meeting room and her belongings were in the small pack in the lower drawer of her desk.
Taking a step away from the mirror, she reached into the bag, and pulled out a headband that she pined to her head, and a pair of silk mittens.
"Are you ready to go Melani ? We’ve got a meeting to attend."
Once she reaches the meeting room, she takes the chair the furthest away from the display and sits. Waiting for the rest of the people to arrive, she lays her journal on the table, takes out a dog-eared book and starts reading.
Hi every one.
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