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With blood flowing away from his skin yet again, Tandyn advances into flanking with Cecily. "That wasn't anything important, was it? Perhaps I should have taken those Abyssal lessons..." He waits for the demon to start to notice someone's behind him and takes a swing.
"there the h-hell is Ahmose." "Ahmose? " Tandyn tries to get a better look. "Think he'll be ok?"
"Two!" Tandyn echoes triumphantly as they break their brimoraks in different ways. "I've softened this one a..." The remaining brimorak facing Tandyn spits blood at the paladin
"Gah..."
Tandyn feels the hair on his neck and arms stand on end as the demon stares back at him. Tandyn immediately recognizes what's going on. A staring contest... He narrows his gaze confidently. "I can't feel you guys!" Thawm shouts up, worry in her voice. "So far so good." He shouts back. "Aroden has protected us from most of it. There are three short fiery demon-goats up here." His hand quietly searches for his side pouch and places the wand inside. Tandyn throws Radiance again.
"Blink already..." He catches the blade and adopts a two-handed grip.
Glaring at the closer brimorak, he reaches back and hurls Radiance end over end. A moment after letting go, he rushes to lift himself up onto the outer walkway.
Radiance snaps back to his hand. "This could take a bit. Are you two ok over there?"
"A-any chance you can do that t-trick on this bunch, T-tandyn? A little j-jaunt about, say, f-fifty feet to the left w-wouldn't go amiss!" Tandyn raises his eyebrows. "Sure, but it's more of a friendly spell. I would have to go with, and they'd have to want to go. Still though, it's not impossible. We should give it more thought..." He shrugs his shoulders and turns back around to find the cultists very close and pointing crossbows directly at him and somehow backed by demon reinforcements. "There's more!" The paladin reflexively raises his
The blood on Tandyn's skin thins, parts, and streams cleanly away into his already soaking rag disguise. Sparks fly as the demon's flaming sword clangs against his chest plate. "Decent swordsmanship... swordsdemonship? Hmmm. It's clear that someone's been training them and..."
Nauseously swaying a bit after the jump, Tandyn tries his best to get his bearings. He had never teleported before. He forces himself to breathe for a moment in an attempt to control his stomach and inner ear, but he can't recombobulate himself in time. His eyes go wide as the demon starts to move. Why is it opening its mouth? The crimson wave hits them before they have a chance to react, he and Cecily are thoroughly drenched with scalding blood. The paladin represses the urge to vomit while making a mental note to thank Aroden. Finally shaking off the disorientation but still quite covered in blood, Tandyn moves carefully down the wet stairs toward the demon. His urge to say something motivating is barely repressed by his stronger desire not to taste the blood. "Mmmph MMMMM!" He steps strategically in front of the doors and stabs at the brimorak.
As the fireball goes off in the sky and Thawm's bolt soars to who knows where, Tandyn begins to reassess a great number of things. "Hmmm. So much for surprise. It should take a bit for their armies to mobilize, but we certainly don't want to fight them on our own. Hopefully that bolt didn't give out location away. If we... where did Ahmose go?"
The paladin sighs. "Most groups should leave at this point, but I have faith in us. The other tower dangerously close to the bridge is right there on the other side of the entrance. There's a good chance they'll send patrols out... but they may also focus on fortifying their fortress and checking the other tower. It's hard to say. Anyone on the ground should be wary though and be prepared to move quickly or find a way up. In any case, getting away could be a problem if things take too long, so let's make it quick. I think we're just about in range for this wand. Dorek and Cecily, come with me." Tandyn leads them into range and uses the wand of dimension door to move them to the eastern entrance tower.
if the people in the t-towers notice what we've d-done - say, if we fight a c-chimera here - they can p-probably collapse this bridge" Tandyn nods. "Right then. Let's start with the tower closest to the bridge and go from there." "but stairs would be preferred if we can find stairs within." "Well, it looks like our options are climbing, levitating, flying, and teleporting with the wand. There may be stairs, but we'd be very lucky if their forces behind the wall aren't guarding them. Perhaps I should plan to use the wand for our melee team. Thawm, would you like to trade scales for a bit? Before that though, our first challenge is getting to the wall without calling attention to ourselves. Sadly we won't be invisible, but otherwise I believe it's the same plan as before. The closest tower is near the main entrance, so perhaps that will make our approach less suspicious."
"The fight here was not too difficult, I hope." Tandyn looks relieved, relaxes his posture, and whispers a quick 'Thank you' to Iomedae. "Well first off, it's wonderful to see you're unharmed." He hugs Cecily for a few seconds before stepping back and taking up his usual disciplined tone. "The fight itself was interesting. The caster made images of himself - we should look into that. Our eagle friend helped thin them out. That caster was also able to teleport like a demon with the help of a wand, but Aroden put an end to that so now it's ours. Let's see... I was burned three times, granted one of them was from Ahmose. Oh, and it turns out Ahmose is not to be trifled with in melee. Overall, we're in good shape, but I really should find a way to be less flammable. Now, I believe the plan is to take the towers and probably face the chimera in the process. Do we want to lure it out first or deal with it whenever it sees us? Do we have anything to prepare us for that ice breath?"
She's probably dead. "'Probably?' We don't know?" Tandyn rushes to the northern edge of the gorge. "Thank you for checking. We must look closer. I doubt the baroness would go out so quietly or without a fight."
"Sir Tandyn, should we engage the Chimera? Or first regroup with the others?" "Regroup, but that sounded very close." Tandyn begins moving to the north side of the bridge.
"Cecily's gone?? We need to know if she's with the chimera. Ahmose, see if you can spot her from the air. Oh, and mind the chimera."
He punches his Medal of Valor with his left fist while spinning Radiance into position. He steps forward and begins to swing.
A rhythmic series of clangs resounds down the hallway as Tandyn charges with magical celerity at the shrewd slippery scorching sorcerer. He raises Radiance to strike and...
...obliterates an image. He glares again.
Somewhat singed and having unusually strong feelings about not accidentally damaging this particular doorjamb, Tandyn decides it would be better if he were on the other side of the sorcerer. He attempts to run by one friend, through another, and finally over his enemy.
Once in position , he glares at sorcerer and holds Radiance poised to strike.
What? How? Somehow the eagle had disappeared into the flames and reappeared unharmed. Sarenrae?
The cone of flames lap around paladin's invisible form which pivots and lowers to mitigate the searing pain.
Tandyn opens the third door to see several overlapped and rather surprised-looking sorcerers and... The eagle! It's back! He grins an invisible grin. It takes a moment for Tandyn to realize that the sorcerers are looking right through him like a window. He uses the brief pause to assess the situation. We're outnumbered... and there isn't enough room to get Cecily and Dorek in here..." The paladin focuses his mind on the fourth door behind the sorcerers acutely sensing and taking in every aspect of its presence. For a brief moment of pure inspiration, it is as if he and the door are one, a doorman if you will. Tandyn grasps this fleeting transcendent juncture and harnesses their combined powers to unleash a new ability. The door opens. . Tandyn steps up to the sorcerer swarm. Heh... better door than a window... how did they know...
Tandyn braces himself as the bridge starts to groan. Oh no... oh no no no... A little too aware that walls and roof could collapse, he quickly opens the second door and continues his advance... to another door.
Tandyn proceeds to the next door!
"Excellent idea Cecily. Let me just adjust adjust the rags on your arms a bit... there... That should move a little better.
Tandyn adorns himself with rags including a makeshift hood. While placing his obviously Iomedaean shield in his backpack, he accommodates Aroden's polite request for one of the four invisibility potions that happen to be stashed there. "Oh... we should probably use these too, eh?" He hands one to Cecily and Thawm.
Tandyn moves up and gently tries to open the door.
Back with Nurah:
Tandyn spends more time listening to Nurah before replacing her freshly cleaned gag as diplomatically as he can. He instructs those guarding her that while he is confident they will prevail, she should be freed and allowed to leave if things take a turn for the very worst. "Well, you all make excellent points. It sounds like we all agree that we want the bridge. The beasts are the biggest threat to it, so ideally we would take them out as well as anyone else defending the bridge without the other areas even knowing we've arrived." He looks down at the map and then back at the view. "After that, well, it depends on how things develop. We may need to take the towers if they notice and start bombarding the bridge. Otherwise we should take out the demons at Paradise Hill since that entire army can teleport behind us if we attack the other army to the South. Once we attack Paradise Hill, we should expect that every area may know we're here and will be on high alert or even attacking us, so perhaps we can make use of its fortifications and any freed prisoners." He squints to try to make out some details in the distance and debates asking to borrow Ahmose's telescope. "Until then, we need to be able to send messages to our army from the field without grabbing too much attention. I suspect the sound of that horn would carry for miles, and guarantee that even that three headed thing will know where we are. Granted, we should certainly use it once that's already the case. I suppose could light up Radiance as a signal and keep other areas from seeing it with a cloak or something. Any other ideas?"
Tandyn nods. "Well said Cecily. And Dorek, you're several times more courageous than you realize. One reason my code instructs me to be 'first into battle' is to inspire others to be brave enough to fight. Try as I may, you're often already there no matter how alarmingly powerful the demon is. When the time comes, I know where you'll be. I just wanted to make sure you won't have regrets when your not-so-great grandfather dies." "And I suppose that brings me back to Nurah... Was this what all the 'gestating evil' talk was about?"
Tandyn carefully positions himself to talk with Dorek while also keeping a watchful eye on Nurah. "That's quite a lot to consider. Your wards are certainly welcome, but that's clearly not the main thing here. What's the etiquette for this? This seems rather impolite, so please forgive the bluntness: may we kill your grandfather? As in, is that ok with you? I feel like we should have your permission? Should it be: may we please kill your grandfather? Is that more respectful? Cecily, help me out here... so far it doesn't really speak to the depth of emotion I'm sensing so perhaps... wait... does this mean you're gestating?" Tandyn looks to Nurah for clarification.
"Nurah, hear me when I say this... when I was young, a demon slipped past the ward, killed my friends, and left me gravely wounded. Rather than let that trauma destroy me, I think my mind was altered to help me cope. I'm still coming to terms with that, but its mercy is not lost on me. Among your tools was a wand that can modify memories... you see where I'm going with this. With your permission, I could help you forget or alter the worst of Trezbot's atrocities. It wouldn't change that they happened, but in a way his memory is all that survives of him. Would you care to kill him a little more?"
"Just a moment..." Tandyn nods at Dorek and returns his attention to Nurah. ”If I gave you information then I would be tortured and then put to death.” "Oh..." Tandyn crouches down to be at her eye level. "So, you fear them more than you trust us? That's... well... that's completely understandable. This Trezbot person sounds no better than the demons, and I wish he'd faced justice for it. Hells, when the demons killed him it may have even felt like liberation. That's horrible... but it does help explain things. Thank you for all you've shared." "I would ask you to think carefully about how you've been treated here. You betrayed us, but you're alive. We have limited food, but you are fed. You know more, but you haven't been forced to give it up. We'd like for you to help us, but you won't be threatened. Despite what you've done, we've put effort into offering you a path to redemption. You've been bound and gagged, but only so much as to keep us and you safe. But, I get it. You've been hurt... badly. It makes it so much harder to trust anyone or even see when people honestly care about you. We've offered a way for you to start earning our trust, but it sounds like you've offered another. Tell me about this 'evil gestating in our midst.' If the lead is good, I'll consider it the first step on you path."
Tandyn pores over the map occasionally glancing up to see if he can spot each landmark. "There are a number of choke points. I expect they'll use them to their advantage, but it also means we can divide the map into defensible zones... well... if it weren't for teleporting and... that." His eyes track the chimera. "I'm not sure if we can avoid its notice, so we should have a plan to deal with it rather soon." "Maybe we should also see if Nurah is feeling any more helpful today." Tandyn nods and follows Aroden to find her. "Good morning Nurah. We've just arrived outside Drezen. This... this is a pivotal moment for you. You get to decide your fate. Now I'd rather like for you to work with us and begin to repair your soul, but I know that decision won't be easy for you. You've seen horrible things. You've done horrible things. There's a lingering temptation to return to the demons. You must have seen yourself as one of them... but I don't. You were a crusader. You've known what it's like to love and trust others. And while some people will betray that, there's only hatred and fear between demons. You've seen it. Will they heal or defend you when you're injured? Will you be safe when they have no use for you? How will they they treat you as you age? You are not immortal. You are strong today, but what will they do when you are not? They will tear you apart as soon as it suits them." "No, our side isn't perfect. But we're certainly better to each other. Think about when you were a child. Would a young Nurah have survived a moment with the demons? There were people who cared for you just like the rest of us. We were all fed and protected at least enough to survive, and well, we should use our strength to provide that for all those who need it now. It's who we are. And while a demon may see that as weakness, we are stronger than them for it. While they're busy literally eating their own, we are supporting one another to build a world that can support us back. It's a better future, and this is your chance to redeem your spot in it."
Moving quietly before the first light, Tandyn performs a comprehensive set of stretches followed by an extended version of his daily prayer for guidance and protection. He carefully repacks his gear and then goes on a slow, thoughtful walk between the tents. After passing each tent at least once, he returns to the center of camp to prepare some breakfast rations and wait.
Paladin Level 4
Well done! Valiant efforts all around. Blah...blah ...this Good stuff is really more difficult than those Priests make it look. "Is it? I'm fairly certain it's just caring about other people mixed with a little discipline to do something about it... And as for how I talk, well, treating others with respect and maintaining a dignified image were part of the training." "If we can't seal it could we block it? Perhaps collapse the cave?" "Perhaps an explosion?" Tandyn looks directly at Ahmose while he rolls on the ground trying to hold a plate in the right place while his arms contort to manipulate a buckle.
Tandyn breathes a sigh of relief. "Splendid! They actually dispersed! Impressive performance everyone." His hand slides the hemolymph mixed with sticky bomb residue off Radiance. "That wall over there's... certainly concerning. I suppose we should check it out, but I'd prefer to be ironclad first..." He unpacks his full plate, looks around for help, and begins re-donning it.
Tandyn blinks with astonishment. The swarms were dispersing. The queen's flight had been cut short. The entire battle had simplified greatly. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he pushes forward with his gaze locked on the queen. Cautiously watching from behind his shield he finally sees his moment and delivers a quick upward slash.
As the queen thuds to the ground its maddening noises start to infiltrate Tandyn's mind. It is only by the virtue of his Medal of Clarity and the sludgy tackiness of the regrettable wax clots lodged in his ears that he is spared.
Slightly alarmed at the queen taking flight Tandyn jogs further into the cave while looking up at it. "Foul insect... you should have never crawled out of the Abyss! By the will of the inheritor, you shall be purged!"
Tandyn reaches back and throws Radiance up at the queen. As it arrives, it launches into a zealous assault of holy slices and stabs.
If the queen can be found and slain then the remaining swarms will disperse.” "There's the queen! If she dies, the swarms should disperse!" Tandyn places a hand on Ahmose's shoulder "You've got this."
He turns and approaches the giant disgusting wet insect while drawing Radiance. "Ugh... this is... Well, let's hope it washes off..."
"Alright, final preparations before we descend this... rope? Well, that's handy." Tandyn thinks for a moment. "Cecily, would you mind if I tried that wand?"
"Thank you. You make that look so much easier..." "Dorek, look this way for a moment."
Once the rope is long enough and tied off, Tandyn volunteers to descend first.
"Many thanks Aroden. Your preparedness continues to impress. I will try to reserve it if possible." Tandyn carefully nests it in his side pouch. He begins to doff his armor and glances around for some assistance. "I think we have our plan then. We will try to quietly approach the queen. If we must fight swarms, rather than defend directly I will seek to distract them without alerting even more... like... well.. like bait. I assume Dorek and Cecily will be doing the same while the rest of you focus on destroying them." He looks to Sosiel and Aravashnial "If either of you can assist with these swarms, it could help a great deal."
"Vescavors? That was it! Yeah it sounds like them. Like most demons, they're hard to burn, aren't they? I wonder if there's some way to lure out the queen, or if we'll have to try to sneak in..." Thawm wonders aloud. "The name seems so familiar. I'm sure it was mentioned..." He stares at the foreboding hole in Anevia's armor. "Let's see.. they're hard to burn, require sneaking, puncture armor despite being very small, and perhaps won't like smoke. We should probably have a solid plan for this one. I doubt I can slice each member of a swarm, and it sounds like this heavy armor will be more of a burden this time." He looks to Aroden and Sosiel. "Do we know anything else about them? Do we have what we need to destroy them?"
As Tandyn begins to walk the grounds he feels a gentle tugging at his mind, he feels compelled to spend some time here and correct some of the wrongs of this place. So many wrongs here... and only some of them can be corrected... Tandyn starts by focusing his cleaning spell on the many difficult-to-scrub details of the altar. "Can you hear my thoughts?" He wonders as he paces around the altar looking for anything he'd missed. "Is this about the temple, the crusaders, the demon, all of it, or more still?" He continues on to cleaning the platform around the altar. "And I suppose I still don't know who you are... a crusader's ghost perhaps? The clerics say Iomedae is very direct. Oh, and why just reach out to me? I'd like to see some sense to this..." He continues to ponder the questions while bringing the corpses to the temple for last rites. As he commences the burial prayers, he pushes the endless questions from his mind. He makes it through several before relapsing. Who knows who these ghouls were before they were ghouls? Perhaps they're all crusaders... what else would make sense? He stops. One of these must be Soltil. "Thawm, would you mind performing the rites for the cleric of Sarenrae?"
Tandyn bears the kobold statuette on his shoulder as the group leaves the silenced chamber. "Impressive battle everyone! And the music! Say, would you mind sharing your talents with the army down the cliff? We'll probably be working up here until morning, and it will certainly lift their spirits." I will work to cleanse the chapel of demonic presence." Tandyn nods. "Cleaning and burials in service of the goddess. There's much to do. I think I saw some shovels in the stable..."
"----!"
He stabs around the corner at the demon.
"Leaving so soon?" Tandyn glances around and spots the demon next to his helpless friends in the quiet room. "There!" He gestures with Radiance and chases after it. "It's about to kill ----!"
AoO:
"Leaving so soon?" Tandyn glances around and spots the demon in the quiet room. "There!" He gestures with Radiance and chases after it. "Hey! Stop staring at my -------! He glares, reaches back, and again launches Radiance into the fray.
The paladin stares directly back into the demon's gaze and quips "-------!" He walks steadily forward out of the silence. His eyes stay locked on the demon as he draws Radiance. "You shall answer to the Inheritor." Tandyn hurls Radiance at the nabasu.
"You k-know, you might want to t-think about joining us. We'll need e-everyone we can get for the march on the C-citadel, and you're probably s-safer doing a d-day's march surrounded by h-holy warriors than you would be doing a w-week's march alone through the W-worldwound." "We would love to have you join us. There will be plenty of demons to slay, and an entire castle to reclaim. Whether you're looking for righteous vengeance or lost riches, this is the chance of a lifetime. What's more, it could make this land safer for those you care about."
"Oh, Amelia, you should know that with that equipment you're only pair of spiked gauntlets shy of passing for a Templar of Baphomet. I have a pair here I barely use if you're interested." "E-excuse me, Tandyn - before we g-go, do you think I could get another l-look at that one we killed, with the m-mace? He l-looks a bit like me, and I d-don't think I'd need that much to d-disguise myself as him." His crimson eye blinks as he begins to count off the similarities from memory. "I mean, we've b-both got the grey skin, f-fangs, horns, all t-that - I'd probably just n-need a glass eye... those w-wings... a few d-dozen pounds... Anyway, we have some m-magicians, plus the s-scales - those could help m-make up a lot of the d-difference. I bet they k-know him in Drezen - I could s-see if I could get into the g-gatehouse, open up the g-gates for the army. What do you t-think?" "That's an incredibly brave plan. I can't say if it will be needed, but I don't see the harm in being prepared. We shouldn't split up, so let's all head back there. It's further from exterior doors which could make for a better defense against a flying demon. Perhaps we should consider barricades or traps as well." Tandyn leads the group back through the building to the room in the corner.
"Survivors! Thank the goddess. Let's get you healed up and..." Tandyn quickly interposes himself between the door and the recently freed woman's escape. "Woah. Hold on. We haven't checked the courtyard yet, there's still one more flying man-eating statue somewhere out there, and perhaps this demon you mentioned. We are already demon slayers of at least a little renown..." He gestures to some of the party's medals. "but we can't protect you if you run off. Please let us protect and guide you to the paladin army just down the cliff out front." "Now it sounds like we need to be organized. We need everyone healed up and well-equipped. Please look through the extra armor and supplies we've brought with us... The gaze attack you mentioned is concerning, so we need to be extra careful. Our most vulnerable may even need blindfolds just in case. The half-nabasu had wings, so I assume the demon will too. It will be more dangerous to face it outside and even more so on that cliff face... but we have no pressing need to face it out there. And finally, there could be something else in the courtyard. I'm inclined to have our scouts quietly find out what we're dealing with..." "Now, while we prepare, I want you to tell me about you and your group. Are there more crusaders somewhere in need of help?"
"...!" Tandyn exclaims.
"Did I d-do something wrong, T-tandyn? I'm s-sorry - you wanted to s-see what he knew, if there were more p-prisoners." He grimaces, avoiding the paladin's gaze. "I should have t-thought of that - I'm s-sorry." "I'm not sure we'll know. I thought they might be picking off members of another group of crusaders somewhere out here. And Thawm's right about their lies... Perhaps we'd see through them, but we can't just take the information. It's why I asked. And yes, you did a great job. He needed to die either way." Tandyn let's out a frustrated breath. "Oh... a pennon!" His tone shifts violently. "Here... I think they tie on like this." As Dorek tries and fails to talk, Tandyn's eyebrows raise a bit. He takes a step into the room and immediately notices the sounds of his armor cease. He does a small, normally noisy jump. He smiles at his other companions and shrugs. As Dorek skillfully tinkers with the lock, he helpfully produces the key that they had found just in time to be irrelevant. He silently pats Dorek on the back. He takes his typical position in front of a door, nods to his companions, and opens it. |
