WotR NPC - Aravashnial's page

"Yes. Stay alive..."

Sorry, I thought Kord had the skill and was waiting for him...

"A demonic bull's head? Are you certain!? Describe it to me!!!" says an overexcited Aravashnial. Eamch's description does nothing to calm his mood, to the contrary. He walks back and forth, agitated, with some of you running around him to prevent him from tripping or crashing his head.

"And they didn't carry swords, but glaives and gauntlets! By Her grace, could I have been right!? All the mocking I've suffered... And here is PROOF!" he says to no one in particular, as you are all standing behind him...

"These two are agents of the Ivory Tower, servants of Baphomet, disguised as iomedans to infiltrate Kenabres!"

"We'll need to carry their bodies to the surface, for proof."

"Perhaps I can try something. Get me facing the entrance."

Once in position, Aravashnial gathers his thoughts, then exhales, transforming his breath into a soothing chant. He blows as he signs, and a small blade of fire appears, and rises and dances as he chants and blows. Soon, a small fire appears, and through it you see two eyes of yellow flame open.

Feeling the heat with his hands, Aravashnial looks satisfied and speaks to it in a tongue like a roar. The fire elemental turns and goes into the cavern. You see the yellow glow of its flames as it bounces off the cavern walls, casting tall shadows.

A few seconds later, it is back, and speaks to the elven wizard.

He turns to you as the fire grows smaller and disappears: "It seems to think the fungus was already dead... But he burned it to be sure. It should be safe now!"

He looks a little glum and proud.

"This sounds like a great idea!" blurts out a spastic Aravashnial.

"With the First Crusader, anything is possible... Hulrun's Witch Hunters burned many..."

The blind elf doesn't seem to understand that you are all ready to leave. He seems lost in his thoughts.

"When Aroden died, his protection from the Abyss was removed, and it is theorized that Golarion moved into alignment with the Abyss, in 4606. The Worldwound was opened by the demon Deskari and the witch Areelu Vorlesh. Demons poured out, and overran the nation of Sarkoris. The Worldwound grew larger, and larger, and it became clear to the entire world that the demons would not stop at the border."

"the First Mendevian Crusade was not called by the Church of Iomedae until 4622. I mean, there was some fighting before that, but nothing truly official. Aroden had died, and the world took a while to recover. New churches were rising... And competing."

"Numerous countries joined in. Not all of them with the best reasons. But their numbers and organizational strengths added greatly to the defending armies, and soon the demonic forces began to be pushed back towards the Northmounds. It sounds nice and clean, when presented like this, but in truth, it was a messy operation, with a lot of infighting, friendly battle, massive losses of soldiers just pushed forward without a good battle plan, and, more importantly, exposure to new energies that were unknown."

"It probably was the deadliest crusade, and the survivors came back with their body, their spirit or their soul tainted, sometimes all three! Mendev was liberated at a great price, and the First Crusaders failed to find a place in a now peaceful land. The most visibly touched, it is said, moved to the underground. I think these statues were built by them..."

"Or their children..."

"I wish I could see those statues..." says the elf with a sigh.

"Some people said they had been scarred, mutated... Others said they had turned into demon-touched monstrosities..."

Staring at nothing, the blind elf offers: "These must be statues of the first crusaders! It is rumored that many of them were exposed to unholy energies which... warped them. They hid in shame under the city. Do these statues show... signs of taint?"

"I might agree Kord, but si is staying here for 18 hours. Who knows what's happening up there? Who knows what creatures lurk down here..."

"Stopping? Now? I'm pretty sure it's not even noon on the surface. You want to stop for how long?"

Kord will recuperate his spells at dawn.

"What happened?!"

"This is so like you Horgus, but you have to realize this is madness. We don't know what lies underneath Kenabres, and we need to stay together if we are to survive. You'll just have to accept that it will take longer!"

Though he can't look at the man, you see the elf is truly angered at Horgus. More than the situation warrants...

"Insects! Locusts! These could only be Deskari's minions! Beware their evil powers!" says the blind elf as he trails the group with Anevia, the blind supporting the crippled.

After Anevia has spoken, the blind elf follows, his voice filled with scorn: "You should give the man a break Anevia. After all, you're as useless as I am, and they could just leave you here to rot..."

Remaining sitting, he rips a piece of his sleeve and wraps it as a makeshift bandage. "I am Aravashnial. I am afraid I have nothing but bad news..."

"Horg- Just great... Better and better..." says the elf, now sitting.

"I'm afraid all is lost. I saw the Storm King itself!'

The kneeling man is an elf. He raises his head as he hears voices. You can tell he's been savagely injured to the head, as it is covered in blood: "You're right, the demons have broken in. They swarmed the Plaza..."

He moves a hand and mutters an incantation and produces a coin. The copper glows red then emits a warm light: "What? I- Can't see?"

He raises a hand to touch his face and his shoulders slump.