| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Stepping up to the door as she takes it in, Sādhanā puts together all she's learned about the old gods of Zahvroma.
"Anakhelm, Werdon, Curchanus, Imosbe, Inaea and Tajal" she says looking at the statues and inspecting the spots to find where each belonged within the hierarchy of old gods and new. "Four in the second tier, two in the third." she says beginning to place the statues in their slots in order.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You hear the sound of ancient gears grinding and the doors begin to part. You see a darkened chamber beyond the door and it smells of really, really old dust.
Arista crinkles her nose at the smell before casting daylight on her shield just in case and walks into the room.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"This is a lot stranger than I had imagined it to be." Fae says uncomfortably, trying not to feel like she was talking to a mirror.
"What did you imagine?" Lea asks curiously.
As they step into the darkened chamber, the Anizari tattoos all along Sādhanā's body begin to glow, shedding a wan light reaching out about 5ft in every direction.
"It feels ancient in here." she says in a hushed whisper.
She nods her head in agreement as the light from her shield shines into the darkened room, "Yeah....and creepy too."
Ancient machinery lines the room with a strange, smooth table occupying the middle of the chamber. Two indentations, which appear to be hands, are the only feature on the surface.
"Different I guess. There are more of us than I'd expected for one. Then there's all the things that witch tried to put in my head, our head? I'm not really sure." Fae tries to explain.
"I suppose that would be me," Lea says. "I didn't expect to be here either."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Curious as ever, she tries placing her hands in the indentations on the table before anyone can stop her.
Nothing happens as Arista touches the table, except for her disturbing the dust on it.
Sighing she picks her hands up as she looks at Sadhana, "Any ideas about this oh wise one?" She says a bit increasingly even though Sadhana truly seemed pretty knowledgeable about most things.
Sādhanā frowns, staring at the table silently for a bit. "I'll give it a shot." she says stepping forward and placing her hands in the indentations, reaching out with her will, using the contact to channel her desire to protect their home.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Tell me about it." Cyna says scratching the back of her neck nervously. "I'm still not sure what to do about meeting long lost family for the first time." She says with a light sigh.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"I think it's supposed to go like this." Fae says staggering forward and wrapping her two doppelgangers in a hug. The cleric's eyes begin to tear up and she asks. "This is real right? It's not another twisted joke?"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Cyna faltered then. She had feared being blamed for her sisters misfortune. The thought of being feared, hated or despised by her own blood made her feel sick for reasons she didn't yet understand, but at that moment she cracked the rough exterior she had spent so long constructing. "Yeah, this seems about right.'
"It's real." She manages to say, holding back her own tears. Cyna had a soon to be rescued fiancee, assuming Sienna didn't blast her own way back to her, a family that loved her unconditionally and friends that would do anything for her even when she felt she didn't deserve such favors. "It's real." She says again reassuring herself more than anything else.
She scratches her head, "What about these other statues? I still have six of them. They have to go somewhere.....don't they?" She asks, thoroughly confused by everything in the room.
She looks in their bag with a confused look on her face, "Well I thought there was another box. Maybe I was wrong...." She says as she shrugs her shoulders.
Tesia walks around inspecting all the strange machines.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lea bristles a little as Fae embraces both her and Cyna. She calms down a second later and sighs. "Yes, this is pretty real."
Tesia doesn't notice anything off about the machinery, most of it far beyond what she knows. As Sādhanā attempts to activate the device, she feels a tugging at her magical powers. Before she can pull away, the machine absorbs the spells she had prepared for the day. The machines make a distinct sound and glow a brilliant blue for a moment, lighting up the room. However, the machines stop soon after, the blue light turning into a dull grey.
"Oh dear...." She says, "Of course it couldn't be that easy. Nothing can ever be simple in this damn place." Sounding a bit frustrated as she can't comprehend how to make it work and stay on. "What the hells are we supposed to do?"
"Destroy the shard at the bottom, maybe?" Ylrhea suggests.
She shakes her head, "I....I don't know what to tell you. These machines are far beyond my understanding and not like anything I've ever seen before."
She sighs, "I suppose so.....Sadhana.....are you okay?" She asks as she looks at the magus.
Sādhanā's eyes widen in shock as she steps back. "$#!+ this thing just.....ate the magic right out of my mind." she says with an expression tinged with horror.
She shakes her head, "We can't take out that shard right now. All those nasty beasties are down there with that thing and....and this thing just what....sucked all the magic out if you? We can't fight them like this....but at least now we know what it does." She says as she tries not to think about the advancing threats on their home.
"Spells aren't the only thing I can do. If we need to destroy the shard so be it. I'll just have to cut my way through them without spells. If we need to destroy the shard to restart the machine, then that's what we'll have to do." Sādhanā says with flash of intensity in her eyes.
Fae eventually pulls herself together and releases her sisters. "If I'm free does that mean the witch is dead?" She asks.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Witch?" Cyna asks. "Oh, Elder Sister. Yes. She was killed by a few of the others upstairs I believe." Cyna answers wiping the wetness from the corners of her eyes.
At hearing what happened to Sādhanā, Rhadaya involuntarily takes a step backwards. Unlike a lot of spell casters she knew, magic wasn't something somuch learned or studied, or even a force of nature she controlled the way Tes did. It was part of her very being, her blood and body and soul. The idea of any magic capable of draining that from her, and the thought of what it would feel like sends a small shiver of fear down her spine.
Going to Sadhana she puts a hand on her shoulder as she looks her in The eyes, "I know you're more than your magic.....but it's not about that. It's about fighting smarter, not harder. I am well aware of our time constraints....but I also know what those bastards are capable of and I'm not willing to risk losing you anymore than anyone else in my family that I love and care about.....please don't ask me to do that. I have some defensive spells, but nothing like you have. We have no bloody idea how many of those bastards are down there and I'd rather all of us be at full strength when we fight them. Please.....please don't put yourself at risk this way." She says as she chokes back more tears. Her damn emotions were just running away with her today...but she couldn't help it. How could she choose between her family back home and the family right in front of her? She just couldn't do that, she just hoped Sadhana could understand what she was trying to say. She just wanted everyone to stay safe and come back home. It was bad enough that they lost Sienna....at least they knew where to find her now....she didn't want to risk losing Sadhana too. She lightly squeezes the magus's arm as she pleads with her.
Tesia goes to Rhy and puts her arms around her wife, "Don't worry baby, I'm not letting you near that thing." She says kissing her love sweetly on the forehead as she reassures her.
"Alright, no unnecessary risks. I promise. If we have to fight so be it, but I won't go charging down there looking for trouble before we're ready ok." the magus responds putting an arm around Arista's shoulder.
She nods as she sniffles a bit, "Okay.... and I get to take the time to buff us and everything as much as possible before we engage them. I think our focus should be on destroying the shard and getting back up here to activate this thing so they all go 'poof'....okay?"
Rhadaya closes her eyes for a moment, taking solace in her wife's arms, the one place in all Vasaria that would always make her feel safe.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tesia just holds Rhy in her arms, letting the steady confidant beat of her heart do the talking for her. She would never allow anything to harm her love again.
Sādhanā recalls that the Tower was build by the Green Circle and the table was probably meant to be used by a druid. She is sure that her arcane energy was converted into divine energy as the machines are still running, albeit at a slow pace. Still, it seems strange that the table did not react to Arista.
Lea had no feelings toward Elder Sister. On one hand, Elder Sister was Lea's creator...or mother. On the other, she made people suffer. The barbarian figured the two cancelled each other out and she didn't have to care about Elder Sister in the slightest.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
She looks at Sadhana, wondering what she figured out about the strange contraption.