Delvindra shoulders her pack and prepared to leave, but not without taking one last, mournful look at the village.
"What about the people here? What's being done to protect them? We should take them with us to the fortress or move them to the temple. Something to get them out of harm's way."
"Around half our forces are staying here to guard the town," the knight tells Delvindra gently. "Don't you worry that they're being abandoned... but taking them to the Lich's fortress would almost certainly spell disaster; we already know that it will be the primary target of Firion's wrath. And the temple may well be a secondary target, as it is another treasure trove of arcane secrets. Right now we are evacuating as many civilians as we can to the governor's manor... it's the most fortified building in this town, designed specifically for situations like this one. His Lordship has also given us permissions to take civilians to the catacombs beneath the city if necessary, and forbidden the wraiths that haunt this land from entering until the crisis has passed."
"Good, then at least they'll be as safe as they can be," Delvindra says before turning to the other Accursed, "We should still get to Lord Akkron as quickly as possible. The sooner we're done here the sooner we can draw Firion's attention away from the Isle. Even if we can only convince him to split his forces we'll give everyone here a better chance at surviving."
Duwamilly is truly pleased with Delvindra's attention to the island's people and looks at her with affection and approval.
The mention of the need to go fast makes the ex-preceptor think about how much Lord Amir could save in terms of time... but it's probably best to save the help of the powerful Djinni for emergency situations - and for now travel with the two squads - that's why she says nothing. And as soon as the squads set off, she is ready to follow them (all the while trying to boost their morale with jokes and encouragement).
It isn't long before the two squadrons, and the accursed party, head out on the broken road towards the fortress. Each squad consists of 10 infantrymen, a ballista with two operators, an evoker, and a squad captain.
In spite of the size of the company, the soldiers make good time. Within a few hours, you find yourselves at Lord Akkron's fortress again. The Lich himself is there, overseeing the preparations for war. As you approach, he turns to look at you.
I'm glad to see that you have returned safely, he says, opening the gate and beckoning you to follow him. Come... I fear that time is not on our side. We must decide what shall be done next, and we must do so quickly.
Delvindra, accustomed to Duwamilly and Yasmina's leadership, follows Lord Akkron in quiet contemplation. She casts a glance in Cal's direction and lightly squeezes his arm. Though she doesn't know what dark mood took hold of him at Mount Celestia, she wants to remind him that he's not alone...
She also lightly places a hand on Zander's shoulder and meets his eyes with a slight nod. It's a small gesture, but a meaningful one. The trials with the dragon have finally, in her mind, fully earned the young warrior a place among her fellow Accursed.
"I'm also glad to see you again my lord!" Duwamilly smiles at the lich "That scamp Firion, is resourceful, that's for sure, but we managed to prank him yet another time all the same!"
"We have the luckblade, we have the items..." the ex-Preceptor muses aloud "What do you advise, my lord? Will you open a Gate to the ethereal plane, we go and wish the curses transferred? Or do you prefer we stays here and help you against the invasion, before?"
Cal will receive the kind gesture Del gave him but it doesn't give him any comfort with the ensuing decisions that will have to be made quickly.
"If it is possible to lock all the power into a being and then take that being's life, I believe that I have very little to lose and none that will mourn my death. I should be the one who sacrifices himself for the world."
Does everyone here have a martyr complex? the lich asks, glancing at Delvindra and Cal. But I suppose I understand the feeling. I never really expected to return from the battle against Ssyrah...
He sighs. It really is amazing how much he seems to remember of events that happened thousands of years ago.
Anyway, the blade... You will need to choose someone to attune to it in order to cast the wish... and for the purpose that it shall be used, it will indeed be perilous. If the wish is not worded with utmost care, then it WILL backfire in some way. The more specific your phrasing, the safer it will be for you. You have an important choice to make, though: do you wish to stay and aid us, or shall I send you to the Etherial Plane as soon as the blade has its master? Either path comes with its own risks.
Delvindra's cobalt skin goes light azure at Cal's suggestion. True, she had suggested the very same fate for herself but hearing it spoken by someone else was horrifying.
"Zander seems like a kid with a very quick mind..." Duwamilly points out [[ OOC: He is the character with the highest Intelligence score among us... ]]"He could formulate the Wish in written form (possibly having it examined from Lord Matic Akkron, once finished). In the meantime, I could attune myself to the Luck Blade (I still lack a magical weapon... so for me the sword would remain useful even once I have used its Wish). And in the Ethereal Plane, I could make the Wish simply by reading what Zander wrote and Lord Matic Akkron approved. We should be reasonably sure, like that. And no, kids," she sighs "we don't need martyrs. The evil of the curse could leak, I fear, if the single accursed died. We have already discussed this, the curse will be transferred into an item - an item that Lord Matic Akkron will then keep safe. One of the mechanical toys that I can create, for example, could do... I will prepare one for the occasion! You'll love it!" she rubs her little hands together, clearly thrilled with the idea she came up with for the toy "What do you think, kids?"
"My Lord," the gnome cleric then turns, in a softening tone, to the Lord of Shaded Isle, looking at him with grateful brown eyes "as for helping you, after all you've done for us - and considering what you're trying to prevent - you must not have any doubts. We want to help you and we will do it to the best of our possibilities. Whether to do it before pronouncing the Wish or after pronouncing it, we can evaluate it together. Your mind is certainly much more analytical (and your experience is much broader) than ours".
“What are the differences between helping you before or after?” the ex-Preceptor tries to focus the discussion, unconsciously starting to wave her wand in the air "And in your opinion, how can we be more useful to you? By staying at your side to help you in your defense? Or by carrying out some disruptive mission?"
(OOC:I appreciate that DM has been trying to gently nudge us away from a bad plan without railroading us, and Cal has certainly changed the equation in her eyes, but Didi has to at least put up one more fight before she admits defeat.)
"We may disagree on some of the finer points," Delvindra shoots a dark and disapproving look at Cal, "but I think there's some agreement that if the curses were bound to a soul, then they could be far more safely locked away than in any vault. No offense to you, Lord Akkron, we are grateful beyond words for your help and support, but the gods have placed this burden on us. We are bound together by it, us and no others. We should decide together. I count two votes in favor of binding the curses to a soul and committing it to the safekeeping of one of the gods. Duwamilly is against. Yasmina, Zander, it's up to you to decide."
"As for helping Lord Akkron and the people here, it's a simple problem. Is Firion coming for us, or Lord Akkron and his people? If he's coming for us then we need to lure him away, far away, to buy the Shaded Isle more time. If he's coming here regardless, we should stand and fight with them."
She finishes her speech with an impassioned and authoritative flick or her tail and brushes an errant lock of hair behind her ear with her ringless left hand.
Zander ponders on the discussion, being a fairly quite person.
"No person should have to through away their whole existence and an eternality away. Cal, it is noble what you offer, and I too would offer same, but I do not believe it is the right course. Duwamilly, tells us more about this 'toy' you can create."
"Lord Matic Akkron, do you believe that this proposed 'toy vessel' could work as a holder of their curses? We only get one shot at this.”
I will not stop you from trying it, the lich sighs in response to Delvindra. But I STRONGLY recommend doing nearly anything else. I have my doubts that it will be within your power... or even within MY power, to kill whatever abomination might be born from infusing that much dark power into a mortal soul.
He sighs.
Whatever you wish to use as a vessel should work... though... the item will be anything but a 'toy' after it has been infused. You must find a way to contain it as soon as the dark magic has filled it... even being near to whatever is created may prove dangerous. Before you decide what to do, though, there is one more factor at play. The wish itself will have a heavy toll on whomever casts it, both in terms of physical strength and magical power. Most of those side effects are fortunately temporary... but they are also nearly debilitating. After the spell has been cast you will barely have the strength to lift a spoon, and every spell you cast after that will cause you excruciating pain... possibly even death if you attempt to ignore that pain. These side effects will last for anywhere between two and eight days. So... if you wish to help defend the Shaded Isle, it would be prudent to wait until after Firion and his cult have been repelled to free yourselves of these curses.
"We already discussed this as soon as we met Lord Matic Akkron, don't you remember Zander? (*)" Duwanilly points out "The vessel into which to transfer the 'dark magic' of our curses can well be a common object - simply, afterwards it will no longer be common at all!"
"The toy I had in mind" the cleric of Garl Glittergold explains "is simply one of my mechanical toys... One like the one I gave to our dear host. The toy to contain curses, however, I wanted to make it in Firion's image... A Firion approaching a sleeping dragon... Firion brays... The dragon wakes up and, angry, bites him! Firion then runs away to his starting position, the dragon starts sleeping again and the mechanical cycle repeats itself!" she giggles "You know, just to continue pranking that overpowered bully scamp a bit!"
Once Matic explains the critical issues connected to the vessel and the Wish, Duwamilly agrees: "Then it is undoubtedly better that we help you defend the island first! Just explain to us how you think best to employ us, my lord, and we will not disappoint you! You have seen how smart and resourceful the kids are, right? We brought you the Luck Blade (by stealing it from under the dragon's nose) in record time!"
"As for handling the vessel, we'll think about it. After all, it won't be necessary to contain it for long - if you're the one who opens the Gate to the Ethereal Plane, you could just keep it open..." the ex-preceptor muses aloud "The process of transferring the curses will be powerful and critical, but certainly not long, if I understand correctly: I will only have to pronounce the wish, which will have already been written for me by Zander previously. So, as soon as we have finished, you can immediately take custody of the toy-vessel, my lord. Or, if If we were to contain it temporarily, perhaps we could use the bag of holding that you kindly gave us".
Delvindra chews thoughtfully on her lower lip. Despite her adventures with the Accursed, all of this talk about planar travel and bags of holding were still mostly outside of her ken, especially when compared next to the Preceptor and the Lich.
Instead, she focuses on what she does know. That Firion's attack will unequivocally focus on the magic items he's seeking and, by extension, the Accursed. It's too dangerous for her to assist the people in the temple. Her presence will only serve to draw Firion's attention their way...
"Bait," she says without realizing she's speaking aloud, "We can lure Firion into a trap."
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Delvindra shoulders her pack and prepared to leave, but not without taking one last, mournful look at the village.
"What about the people here? What's being done to protect them? We should take them with us to the fortress or move them to the temple. Something to get them out of harm's way."
"Around half our forces are staying here to guard the town," the knight tells Delvindra gently. "Don't you worry that they're being abandoned... but taking them to the Lich's fortress would almost certainly spell disaster; we already know that it will be the primary target of Firion's wrath. And the temple may well be a secondary target, as it is another treasure trove of arcane secrets. Right now we are evacuating as many civilians as we can to the governor's manor... it's the most fortified building in this town, designed specifically for situations like this one. His Lordship has also given us permissions to take civilians to the catacombs beneath the city if necessary, and forbidden the wraiths that haunt this land from entering until the crisis has passed."
"Good, then at least they'll be as safe as they can be," Delvindra says before turning to the other Accursed, "We should still get to Lord Akkron as quickly as possible. The sooner we're done here the sooner we can draw Firion's attention away from the Isle. Even if we can only convince him to split his forces we'll give everyone here a better chance at surviving."
Duwamilly is truly pleased with Delvindra's attention to the island's people and looks at her with affection and approval.
The mention of the need to go fast makes the ex-preceptor think about how much Lord Amir could save in terms of time... but it's probably best to save the help of the powerful Djinni for emergency situations - and for now travel with the two squads - that's why she says nothing. And as soon as the squads set off, she is ready to follow them (all the while trying to boost their morale with jokes and encouragement).
Yasmina nods in agrement with Delvindra and is ready to follow along to the fortress of the Lich.
(It is almost 24 hours until Lord Amir can be summoned again.)
It isn't long before the two squadrons, and the accursed party, head out on the broken road towards the fortress. Each squad consists of 10 infantrymen, a ballista with two operators, an evoker, and a squad captain.
In spite of the size of the company, the soldiers make good time. Within a few hours, you find yourselves at Lord Akkron's fortress again. The Lich himself is there, overseeing the preparations for war. As you approach, he turns to look at you.
I'm glad to see that you have returned safely, he says, opening the gate and beckoning you to follow him. Come... I fear that time is not on our side. We must decide what shall be done next, and we must do so quickly.
Delvindra, accustomed to Duwamilly and Yasmina's leadership, follows Lord Akkron in quiet contemplation. She casts a glance in Cal's direction and lightly squeezes his arm. Though she doesn't know what dark mood took hold of him at Mount Celestia, she wants to remind him that he's not alone...
She also lightly places a hand on Zander's shoulder and meets his eyes with a slight nod. It's a small gesture, but a meaningful one. The trials with the dragon have finally, in her mind, fully earned the young warrior a place among her fellow Accursed.
"I'm also glad to see you again my lord!" Duwamilly smiles at the lich "That scamp Firion, is resourceful, that's for sure, but we managed to prank him yet another time all the same!"
"We have the luckblade, we have the items..." the ex-Preceptor muses aloud "What do you advise, my lord? Will you open a Gate to the ethereal plane, we go and wish the curses transferred? Or do you prefer we stays here and help you against the invasion, before?"
Zander keeps an eye about as he joins the party inside.
D&D since 1984
Cal will receive the kind gesture Del gave him but it doesn't give him any comfort with the ensuing decisions that will have to be made quickly.
"If it is possible to lock all the power into a being and then take that being's life, I believe that I have very little to lose and none that will mourn my death. I should be the one who sacrifices himself for the world."
Does everyone here have a martyr complex? the lich asks, glancing at Delvindra and Cal. But I suppose I understand the feeling. I never really expected to return from the battle against Ssyrah...
He sighs. It really is amazing how much he seems to remember of events that happened thousands of years ago.
Anyway, the blade... You will need to choose someone to attune to it in order to cast the wish... and for the purpose that it shall be used, it will indeed be perilous. If the wish is not worded with utmost care, then it WILL backfire in some way. The more specific your phrasing, the safer it will be for you. You have an important choice to make, though: do you wish to stay and aid us, or shall I send you to the Etherial Plane as soon as the blade has its master? Either path comes with its own risks.
"I believe that we should move to the ethereal as soon as we can. And Lord could you by chance write the best way to phrase the wish."
Delvindra's cobalt skin goes light azure at Cal's suggestion. True, she had suggested the very same fate for herself but hearing it spoken by someone else was horrifying.
"Zander seems like a kid with a very quick mind..." Duwamilly points out [[ OOC: He is the character with the highest Intelligence score among us... ]] "He could formulate the Wish in written form (possibly having it examined from Lord Matic Akkron, once finished). In the meantime, I could attune myself to the Luck Blade (I still lack a magical weapon... so for me the sword would remain useful even once I have used its Wish). And in the Ethereal Plane, I could make the Wish simply by reading what Zander wrote and Lord Matic Akkron approved. We should be reasonably sure, like that. And no, kids," she sighs "we don't need martyrs. The evil of the curse could leak, I fear, if the single accursed died. We have already discussed this, the curse will be transferred into an item - an item that Lord Matic Akkron will then keep safe. One of the mechanical toys that I can create, for example, could do... I will prepare one for the occasion! You'll love it!" she rubs her little hands together, clearly thrilled with the idea she came up with for the toy "What do you think, kids?"
"My Lord," the gnome cleric then turns, in a softening tone, to the Lord of Shaded Isle, looking at him with grateful brown eyes "as for helping you, after all you've done for us - and considering what you're trying to prevent - you must not have any doubts. We want to help you and we will do it to the best of our possibilities. Whether to do it before pronouncing the Wish or after pronouncing it, we can evaluate it together. Your mind is certainly much more analytical (and your experience is much broader) than ours".
“What are the differences between helping you before or after?” the ex-Preceptor tries to focus the discussion, unconsciously starting to wave her wand in the air "And in your opinion, how can we be more useful to you? By staying at your side to help you in your defense? Or by carrying out some disruptive mission?"
(OOC: I appreciate that DM has been trying to gently nudge us away from a bad plan without railroading us, and Cal has certainly changed the equation in her eyes, but Didi has to at least put up one more fight before she admits defeat.)
"We may disagree on some of the finer points," Delvindra shoots a dark and disapproving look at Cal, "but I think there's some agreement that if the curses were bound to a soul, then they could be far more safely locked away than in any vault. No offense to you, Lord Akkron, we are grateful beyond words for your help and support, but the gods have placed this burden on us. We are bound together by it, us and no others. We should decide together. I count two votes in favor of binding the curses to a soul and committing it to the safekeeping of one of the gods. Duwamilly is against. Yasmina, Zander, it's up to you to decide."
"As for helping Lord Akkron and the people here, it's a simple problem. Is Firion coming for us, or Lord Akkron and his people? If he's coming for us then we need to lure him away, far away, to buy the Shaded Isle more time. If he's coming here regardless, we should stand and fight with them."
She finishes her speech with an impassioned and authoritative flick or her tail and brushes an errant lock of hair behind her ear with her ringless left hand.
Zander ponders on the discussion, being a fairly quite person.
"No person should have to through away their whole existence and an eternality away. Cal, it is noble what you offer, and I too would offer same, but I do not believe it is the right course. Duwamilly, tells us more about this 'toy' you can create."
"Lord Matic Akkron, do you believe that this proposed 'toy vessel' could work as a holder of their curses? We only get one shot at this.”
D&D since 1984
I will not stop you from trying it, the lich sighs in response to Delvindra. But I STRONGLY recommend doing nearly anything else. I have my doubts that it will be within your power... or even within MY power, to kill whatever abomination might be born from infusing that much dark power into a mortal soul.
He sighs.
Whatever you wish to use as a vessel should work... though... the item will be anything but a 'toy' after it has been infused. You must find a way to contain it as soon as the dark magic has filled it... even being near to whatever is created may prove dangerous. Before you decide what to do, though, there is one more factor at play. The wish itself will have a heavy toll on whomever casts it, both in terms of physical strength and magical power. Most of those side effects are fortunately temporary... but they are also nearly debilitating. After the spell has been cast you will barely have the strength to lift a spoon, and every spell you cast after that will cause you excruciating pain... possibly even death if you attempt to ignore that pain. These side effects will last for anywhere between two and eight days. So... if you wish to help defend the Shaded Isle, it would be prudent to wait until after Firion and his cult have been repelled to free yourselves of these curses.
"We already discussed this as soon as we met Lord Matic Akkron, don't you remember Zander? (*)" Duwanilly points out "The vessel into which to transfer the 'dark magic' of our curses can well be a common object - simply, afterwards it will no longer be common at all!"
"The toy I had in mind" the cleric of Garl Glittergold explains "is simply one of my mechanical toys... One like the one I gave to our dear host. The toy to contain curses, however, I wanted to make it in Firion's image... A Firion approaching a sleeping dragon... Firion brays... The dragon wakes up and, angry, bites him! Firion then runs away to his starting position, the dragon starts sleeping again and the mechanical cycle repeats itself!" she giggles "You know, just to continue pranking that overpowered bully scamp a bit!"
(*) See post 1081 and next ones
Once Matic explains the critical issues connected to the vessel and the Wish, Duwamilly agrees: "Then it is undoubtedly better that we help you defend the island first! Just explain to us how you think best to employ us, my lord, and we will not disappoint you! You have seen how smart and resourceful the kids are, right? We brought you the Luck Blade (by stealing it from under the dragon's nose) in record time!"
"As for handling the vessel, we'll think about it. After all, it won't be necessary to contain it for long - if you're the one who opens the Gate to the Ethereal Plane, you could just keep it open..." the ex-preceptor muses aloud "The process of transferring the curses will be powerful and critical, but certainly not long, if I understand correctly: I will only have to pronounce the wish, which will have already been written for me by Zander previously. So, as soon as we have finished, you can immediately take custody of the toy-vessel, my lord. Or, if If we were to contain it temporarily, perhaps we could use the bag of holding that you kindly gave us".
Delvindra chews thoughtfully on her lower lip. Despite her adventures with the Accursed, all of this talk about planar travel and bags of holding were still mostly outside of her ken, especially when compared next to the Preceptor and the Lich.
Instead, she focuses on what she does know. That Firion's attack will unequivocally focus on the magic items he's seeking and, by extension, the Accursed. It's too dangerous for her to assist the people in the temple. Her presence will only serve to draw Firion's attention their way...
"Bait," she says without realizing she's speaking aloud, "We can lure Firion into a trap."