Duwamilly, delighted, stands to her full (very small) height and announces: "Well, kids! So... school trip it is!" and she takes out a mysterious-looking cube from a pocket, with arcane glyphs on each side "So, the side number 3... excellent choice, Yasmina, dear! It's a destination that I find curious and relaxing at the same time! I'm sure you all will like it too!" she delicately touches the chosen side, starting to stare fixedly at an empty alcove nearby... and all of a sudden, the alcove seems to halve in depth, because at that point a bizarre thing happens. It's as if reality, there, were nothing more than an incredibly realistic painted cloth - and the cloth was torn in the middle, then separated, revealing behind... a completely different reality!
Now, from past the middle of the alcove, there is a window onto an endless silver sea. Soft gray clouds moved slowly in the distance, while strange dark streaks twisted violently through the sky, anchored in ends so distant as to be completely out of sight, their middle parts revolving agrily like pieces of string rolled between a child's fingertips.
Not too far away (or so it would seem) in that impalpable and bizarre sea, there is a circle of pools of colored light that flicker like radiant, spinning coins.
"Well!" the gnome rubs her hands, satisfied "Ready for your first trip in the dimension of dreams? This is the Astral Plane, kids! Come in and enjoy the sensation of being able to breathe pure fantasy and move with the power of thought alone! Only ," she once again raises a little warning finger "don't go too far! For today, we'll settle for a one-minute trip! After that, the communication portal would vanish... and we'd stay there, no longer able to talk to the High Priest. Who knows if we could appear to him in a dream? We have to try, if by chance he dares not to welcome us... Well, anyway, the trip... where was I? Ah, yes! The colored pools! beautiful, right? Look at them... But don't go into them! We don't have time for that, today! They are portals to yet different dimensions! They are very interesting to go through, but the same consideration as before applies... if we did, we would probably miss our audience with the High Priest!Aside from that... come on in and enjoy! When do you think something like this will happen to you again!?"
The enthusiastic Preceptor is the first to set a good example, literally 'diving' into the silvery sea - a sea in which she does not sink, but floats, as if weightless. "See?" she inhales a generous breath of... of a silvery substance which is not air, but which makes her seem serene, while her eyes become more dreamy "And to move, for example, if I start thinking that I want to go to there, towards all those beautiful portals..." and then, as she says it, her body begins to float in that direction, without needing her to do anything "Just be careful, intelligent people move faster here... So, if you're a misunderstood genius, temper your thinking a little as you move, okay? And now, come on, what are you waiting for?"
Tom's eyes dilate as he gazes into the dimensional rift, reflecting the countless stars of the Astral Plane. Every hair on the tabaxi's body erects as he is both wonderstruck and terrified by the sight... it is a similar tingling sensation to the thrill one feels before leaping from a diving board. Heart a hummingbird's wing, he gingerly reaches a paw out to touch the portal.
Cal grips his golden rod instinctively as he too gazes into the twilight abyss. He would not dare lose his opportunity to rid himself of his accursed thoughts and desires. Not for some trip to the unknown. Too much evil here to leave unvanquished.
The red-haired half-elven girl simply stands with her mouth slightly open, mesmerized by the sight of the astral sea, then slowly moving towards it, barely hearing what the ex-preceptor explains, then turning to smile warmly at the gnome. "This...this is wonderful Duwamilly."She says with excitement in her voice, then, throwing caution to the wind, she gracefully dives in after the gnome, laughing softly as she effortlessly slides through the astral sea. "Truly wonderful, but what other places would you be able to take us to?" She asks with eager curiosity as she comes up to the ex-preceptor, almost bumping into her, avoiding it in the last moment by the force of her mind, blushing slightly as she looks over at Duwamilly. Yasmina had never been to any school, and yet she felt like a school girl now with her teacher showing her the wonders of existence.
The tip of Delvindra's tail stills and it uncoils from her leg as she stares, transfixed, into the rift. Part of her wants to rush in, to feel the freedom of unfettered motion, to be truly one with her body.
But something stops her.
The initial wonder on her face shifts to sadness and poorly veiled longing.
"You shouldn't play with illusions in here. It's disrespectful."
"But it is no illusion."The red-haired half-elf turns in the astral sea to say with a soft laugh to the worrying tiefling, quite enjoying the sensation of floating around with only her mind setting her limits. "It's not an illusion right?" She the turns and asks her new teacher.
As Delvindra speaks, she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"My dear child,"a gentle voice says behind her. "There is nothing unholy about taking some joy in life. Our Lord will not hold it against them if they take a few moments to have some fun."
As she turns to see who spoke, it is none other than the High Priest himself!
The elf dressed in white gives the assembled petitioners a friendly smile, and you all get a sense of gentleness and compassion radiating from him. But, there is also a hint of sadness in the white-haired elf's grey eyes.
"May Ilmater's blessing be upon all of you, travelers! I am High Priest Alaion Grewynn. Now please, tell me what troubles have brought you all from so far to visit our temple? My brothers and sisters have told me that you suffer from no common maladies."
Cal has a slight grin when seeing the high priest,
"I have a desire to be a force for good and protection of the weak, but I am pledged with these thoughts of brute violence and sometimes blackout in times of danger. Please have mercy on me."
Cal also drops to one knee and bows before the high priest.
Yasmina had never seen an elf with a beard before and she can't help but chuckle briefly as she watches him coming up behind the tiefling. "Looks like it's time to meet with the old man." The red-haired half-elven girl says to her new teacher. "It was fun though, thanks for showing me this." She adds with a warm smile, then using her mind to make her way back through the gate and back into the temple of Ilmater, coming up together with the others, As the bald brown-skinned man kneels and explains why he's here Yasmina takes half-a-step back, hoping there would be no blackouts until he had left the temple at least. She looks up at the high priest, her golden eyes studying the bearded elf for his reaction. If he could help that man there might be hope for her too.
Duwamilly is delighted by Yasmina's enthusiasm. She really seems to have returned to the days of her beloved profession, when she was happy to help young, vulnerable and developing minds to blossom into balanced people, from whom maturity and awareness had not taken away all their original curiosity and innocence.
'Perhaps I am still a Preceptor after all - albeit unpaid, cursed and wandering,' the gnome finds herself thinking, for a moment. 'After all, a great truth about Garl Glittergold is that he always gives, he never takes away - except, possibly, for a momentary joke and to give back much more. Thanks, Garl, you're really the best! I never met a god like you!'
"I'm really pleased, Yasmina, honey, that you enjoyed the trip so much! Unlike Tom!" the former preceptor can't hold back a giggle "Look at him, over there - he tries to touch the portal with his little paw but he doesn't trust himself to enter! You can't touch him, Tom, dear! It's immaterial! It's like an area of the space... only it's not in any space! It's a passage area! Come on, come with us! Don't tell me they cheated you too, with that saying that 'curiosity killed the cat'! You know what? And It's all made up! They try to make cats believe this because otherwise, with their boundless curiosity, they would progress more than us humanoids! Don't let yourself be fooled too! Come with us!"
“Were you asking, Yasmina, sweetie?” Duwamilly returns to focus on the only schoolgirl who trusted enough to enter "Ah, yes, other places... There are some magnificent ones... I'll take you to see them, to celebrate the resolution of our problems! The cube can help us take you to the Feywild, where the seelie fey have established the Summer Court! There you really feel like... 'living in color', compared to anywhere else in the Multiverse! Anywhere else I've seen, at least. Or we can reach the sacred mountain of Mount Celestia! It rises from a shining Silver Sea to heights barely visible and utterly incomprehensible, with seven plateaus marking its seven heavenly layers! The angels, there, tend to be a little... fiscal, I must say, but deep down they have a good heart. If once we wanted strong emotions, we could take a trip to Avernus, the antechamber of Nine Hells of Baator... I remember a kind of grinning old man who offered me a boat trip on the River Styx... On the one hand, I would have been curious to accept... but you know, the inhabitants there too are very strict... you never know what contracts they're trying to get you to sign... and, unlike angels, they do not have good hearts! Or, if you really want to completely change your perspective, the cube can also lead to the most alien place you can imagine: the Far Realm. Do you like spices, Yasmina? I do! However, spices enrich a dish if used in the right dose. If you accidentally drop half a bag of spices into the pot... you can perhaps use the dish as a chemical weapon, but certainly no longer as a meal. Well, the Far Realm is that pot. It broadens your horizons, seeing it once... but I'll tell you, I continually had the impression of going crazy over there... it was all too... too much. I didn't stay there long. It gives me the impression of a reality to be investigated only in small doses".
Upon hearing Delvindra claim that it is an illusion, Duwamilly laughs: "You don't tell lies, Delvindra, you naughty girl! Why don't you come here with us, if it really is an illusion?"
And replying to Yasmina: "No, it's not an illusion, we are really in the dream dimension!" and she begins to rotate on herself, as in an infinite somersault, giggling in the midst of the immaterial silver waves "In fact, we will have to return soon, or the portal will close... leaving us here! Obviously I would still have a way to bring you home... because the cube can also lead to our dimension, that of mortals, the Prime Material Plane! But we better not risk losing our audience with the High Priest... Oh, what do you say, honey? Oh, you're right! He's arrived! See? Time flies when you're having fun!"
The unusual cleric barely has time to exit the portal as the last one, before it vanishes as if it had never existed. Hearing about the problem explained by Cal, she comes closer, while he is on his knees, trying to console him: "Oh, poor dear... You'll see, it's nothing... If you only knew how many difficult kids have had the same problem as you... It's just a matter of learning that others deserve no less respect than you, of putting yourself in their shoes..." then, gripped by the suspicion that perhaps the High Priest wants to deal with the matter in person, she takes a step back "Anyway, Mr Grewynn here, who was kind enough to come especially for us, will also tell you! Come on, listen to what he tells you... Pay attention, good boy..."
After that, the gnome looks at the old elf, with great trust in the depths of her brown eyes, waiting to see him promptly solve the problem of the bald, brown skinned man with the lean physique.
Anyone happening to look would see Delvindra wince at the mention in Avernus and the Nine Hells, her tail rapidly coiling around her right leg and squeezing as tightly as a boa constructing it's prey...
The elf closes his eyes and places a hand gently Cal's head. For a moment, he stands still. He barely seems to breathe. Suddenly, his eyes open, and a look of shock appears on his face.
"My son," he says. "Show me the weapon that you wield... your heart is pure, but I can sense the darkness that tries to take hold."
He holds out his hand to take the weapon (I will go ahead and assume that Cal gives it to him), and examines it for a few moments, carefully turning it over in his hands, whispering something that you cannot understand under his breathe. After what feels like an hour, but was likely less than a minute, he looks up from the rod of lordly might and looks Cal directly in the eye.
"The weapon that you wield... it holds incredible power... but... look closely at this mark," the elf points to a symbol etched into the gold-plated surface of the magical rod.
"My son... what you have in your hands is one of the most powerful, and dangerous, weapons ever crafted... it bears not just a symbol, but some of the cursed essence of the dark goddess Loviatar! It hungers for suffering, both that of its enemies and its wielder. It is little wonder that the priests could not sanctify this weapon... it has been cursed not by mortals, or even immortals; the curse your weapon bears was bestowed by the will of a twisted divine power! Tell me now, how did you find yourself in possession of such a thing as this?"
Cal reluctantly hands the rod over. Once he hears about the omen he response, “This weapon was wielded by the murderous scum that took my wife and baby girl away from me. Since that day I have made the promise to extinguish all evil from this world by force. This weapon will allow me to accomplish this goals. Please remove this curse if it truly exists.
"What you ask is difficult," the priest says. "But not impossible, it may take some time to prepare an appropriate..."
"Or I can free you right now!" a raspy voice booms through the cavernous temple, cutting the High Priest off mid-sentence. The voice sounds almost as if it is coming from everywhere, and yet from nowhere at the same time.
Several priests let out cries of horror as the air shimmers by the chamber's entrance, and a dark figure materializes out of thin air... along with six people, three men and three women, wearing dark robes that instantly mark them as cultists of death.
The High Priest's calm and friendly demeanor instantly fades away as the servants of darkness appear.
"Your arrogance knows no limits!"the High Priest growls, his eyes glowing with holy wrath as he stares down the intruder. "How dare you defile this sacred place with your presence, Firion?"
"I am simply here to offer these poor souls a way out of their present predicament," the man says with a low chuckle as he steps towards you. "After all, is it not obvious that their afflictions are beyond any mortal power to cure?"
He pauses, making brief eye contact with each of you. And you can feel a chill run through your very souls as you meet his icy gaze.
"I acknowledge that Ilmater and his followers are great healers; perhaps even the best. But what has been made by the gods cannot easily be unmade, even by the hand of another god. No... you do not have the power to save them. But..." he pauses a moment for dramatic effect. "I think that I have a solution. The dreadful curses that they endure cannot be lifted... but perhaps they can be transferred. See now... I have brought six devotees, willing to sacrifice and take on the curses that these poor innocent people now bear... and all that you must do, dear friends, is give these items that have so troubled you to me."
Delvindra moves her body in between the Interlopers and the High Priest. Her tail uncoils from her leg and thrashes aggressively, calming into a slow sway as she instinctively moved into a defensive stance.
Duwamilly allowed herself to be frightened for a moment by this sudden supernatural apparition, but her fearless (and curious) gnomic nature soon takes over again. She hides for a moment behind Yasmina, who has wisely remained behind, whispering to her: "Excuse me a moment, dear... I'll leave you alone immediately" and, unseen, she murmurs a short prayer to her beloved Garl Glittergold.
After that, the gnome, smiling, comes forward: "It's very nice of you to want to help us, Firion, dear... You really must be a good boy!" and she stealthily activates the cube's power - not to open a portal, this time... but to send the next creature she touches with the object to another Plane of Existence - in particular, she believes that the Far Real could be a good destination "I will gladly give you this stupid object - if the object accepts you... You know, it's an inheritance... It must be passed on..." she sighs "This is how they tricked me... Reach out a finger and touch it, honey... If the stupid thing accepts you, it will be yours in no time!"
(OOC: If Firion actually touches the object, he is instantly Plane-Shifted to the Far Realm, to the most dangerous and disturbing place Duwamilly can remember from that crazy reality - unless he succeeds on a DC 17 Charisma Saving Throw)
(OOC: Well, if he doesn't buy it, you can't say I didn't try with all I had!)
If Firion agrees to touch the Cube, then decides to attempt the Saving Throw (he might not even attempt it, if he believes that the effect he is feeling is the cube trying to connect to him... up to the DM) and is successful, so he stays there instead of going on the Far Realm for a crazy vacation, Duwamilly makes a disappointed expression: "Oh, the cube doesn't want you... Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing personal... Maybe the cube is too distracted now - we'll try again next time! Thank you very much for your interest!"
(OOC: 3? Great! It could have been much worse...)
Duwamilly, delighted, stands to her full (very small) height and announces: "Well, kids! So... school trip it is!" and she takes out a mysterious-looking cube from a pocket, with arcane glyphs on each side "So, the side number 3... excellent choice, Yasmina, dear! It's a destination that I find curious and relaxing at the same time! I'm sure you all will like it too!" she delicately touches the chosen side, starting to stare fixedly at an empty alcove nearby... and all of a sudden, the alcove seems to halve in depth, because at that point a bizarre thing happens. It's as if reality, there, were nothing more than an incredibly realistic painted cloth - and the cloth was torn in the middle, then separated, revealing behind... a completely different reality!
Now, from past the middle of the alcove, there is a window onto an endless silver sea. Soft gray clouds moved slowly in the distance, while strange dark streaks twisted violently through the sky, anchored in ends so distant as to be completely out of sight, their middle parts revolving agrily like pieces of string rolled between a child's fingertips.
Not too far away (or so it would seem) in that impalpable and bizarre sea, there is a circle of pools of colored light that flicker like radiant, spinning coins.
"Well!" the gnome rubs her hands, satisfied "Ready for your first trip in the dimension of dreams? This is the Astral Plane, kids! Come in and enjoy the sensation of being able to breathe pure fantasy and move with the power of thought alone! Only ," she once again raises a little warning finger "don't go too far! For today, we'll settle for a one-minute trip! After that, the communication portal would vanish... and we'd stay there, no longer able to talk to the High Priest. Who knows if we could appear to him in a dream? We have to try, if by chance he dares not to welcome us... Well, anyway, the trip... where was I? Ah, yes! The colored pools! beautiful, right? Look at them... But don't go into them! We don't have time for that, today! They are portals to yet different dimensions! They are very interesting to go through, but the same consideration as before applies... if we did, we would probably miss our audience with the High Priest!Aside from that... come on in and enjoy! When do you think something like this will happen to you again!?"
The enthusiastic Preceptor is the first to set a good example, literally 'diving' into the silvery sea - a sea in which she does not sink, but floats, as if weightless. "See?" she inhales a generous breath of... of a silvery substance which is not air, but which makes her seem serene, while her eyes become more dreamy "And to move, for example, if I start thinking that I want to go to there, towards all those beautiful portals..." and then, as she says it, her body begins to float in that direction, without needing her to do anything "Just be careful, intelligent people move faster here... So, if you're a misunderstood genius, temper your thinking a little as you move, okay? And now, come on, what are you waiting for?"
By Tymora...
Tom's eyes dilate as he gazes into the dimensional rift, reflecting the countless stars of the Astral Plane. Every hair on the tabaxi's body erects as he is both wonderstruck and terrified by the sight... it is a similar tingling sensation to the thrill one feels before leaping from a diving board. Heart a hummingbird's wing, he gingerly reaches a paw out to touch the portal.
Daisy would have loved this...
Cal grips his golden rod instinctively as he too gazes into the twilight abyss. He would not dare lose his opportunity to rid himself of his accursed thoughts and desires. Not for some trip to the unknown. Too much evil here to leave unvanquished.
The red-haired half-elven girl simply stands with her mouth slightly open, mesmerized by the sight of the astral sea, then slowly moving towards it, barely hearing what the ex-preceptor explains, then turning to smile warmly at the gnome. "This...this is wonderful Duwamilly." She says with excitement in her voice, then, throwing caution to the wind, she gracefully dives in after the gnome, laughing softly as she effortlessly slides through the astral sea. "Truly wonderful, but what other places would you be able to take us to?" She asks with eager curiosity as she comes up to the ex-preceptor, almost bumping into her, avoiding it in the last moment by the force of her mind, blushing slightly as she looks over at Duwamilly. Yasmina had never been to any school, and yet she felt like a school girl now with her teacher showing her the wonders of existence.
The tip of Delvindra's tail stills and it uncoils from her leg as she stares, transfixed, into the rift. Part of her wants to rush in, to feel the freedom of unfettered motion, to be truly one with her body.
But something stops her.
The initial wonder on her face shifts to sadness and poorly veiled longing.
"You shouldn't play with illusions in here. It's disrespectful."
"But it is no illusion." The red-haired half-elf turns in the astral sea to say with a soft laugh to the worrying tiefling, quite enjoying the sensation of floating around with only her mind setting her limits. "It's not an illusion right?" She the turns and asks her new teacher.
As Delvindra speaks, she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"My dear child," a gentle voice says behind her. "There is nothing unholy about taking some joy in life. Our Lord will not hold it against them if they take a few moments to have some fun."
As she turns to see who spoke, it is none other than the High Priest himself!
The elf dressed in white gives the assembled petitioners a friendly smile, and you all get a sense of gentleness and compassion radiating from him. But, there is also a hint of sadness in the white-haired elf's grey eyes.
"May Ilmater's blessing be upon all of you, travelers! I am High Priest Alaion Grewynn. Now please, tell me what troubles have brought you all from so far to visit our temple? My brothers and sisters have told me that you suffer from no common maladies."
"High priest, my apologies. I..."
Delvindra bows her head as her voice trails off.
"You are right, of course, Ilmater seeks to reduce the suffering of others. What could be further from suffering than joy?"
Cal has a slight grin when seeing the high priest,
"I have a desire to be a force for good and protection of the weak, but I am pledged with these thoughts of brute violence and sometimes blackout in times of danger. Please have mercy on me."
Cal also drops to one knee and bows before the high priest.
Yasmina had never seen an elf with a beard before and she can't help but chuckle briefly as she watches him coming up behind the tiefling. "Looks like it's time to meet with the old man." The red-haired half-elven girl says to her new teacher. "It was fun though, thanks for showing me this." She adds with a warm smile, then using her mind to make her way back through the gate and back into the temple of Ilmater, coming up together with the others, As the bald brown-skinned man kneels and explains why he's here Yasmina takes half-a-step back, hoping there would be no blackouts until he had left the temple at least. She looks up at the high priest, her golden eyes studying the bearded elf for his reaction. If he could help that man there might be hope for her too.
Duwamilly is delighted by Yasmina's enthusiasm. She really seems to have returned to the days of her beloved profession, when she was happy to help young, vulnerable and developing minds to blossom into balanced people, from whom maturity and awareness had not taken away all their original curiosity and innocence.
'Perhaps I am still a Preceptor after all - albeit unpaid, cursed and wandering,' the gnome finds herself thinking, for a moment. 'After all, a great truth about Garl Glittergold is that he always gives, he never takes away - except, possibly, for a momentary joke and to give back much more. Thanks, Garl, you're really the best! I never met a god like you!'
"I'm really pleased, Yasmina, honey, that you enjoyed the trip so much! Unlike Tom!" the former preceptor can't hold back a giggle "Look at him, over there - he tries to touch the portal with his little paw but he doesn't trust himself to enter! You can't touch him, Tom, dear! It's immaterial! It's like an area of the space... only it's not in any space! It's a passage area! Come on, come with us! Don't tell me they cheated you too, with that saying that 'curiosity killed the cat'! You know what? And It's all made up! They try to make cats believe this because otherwise, with their boundless curiosity, they would progress more than us humanoids! Don't let yourself be fooled too! Come with us!"
“Were you asking, Yasmina, sweetie?” Duwamilly returns to focus on the only schoolgirl who trusted enough to enter "Ah, yes, other places... There are some magnificent ones... I'll take you to see them, to celebrate the resolution of our problems! The cube can help us take you to the Feywild, where the seelie fey have established the Summer Court! There you really feel like... 'living in color', compared to anywhere else in the Multiverse! Anywhere else I've seen, at least. Or we can reach the sacred mountain of Mount Celestia! It rises from a shining Silver Sea to heights barely visible and utterly incomprehensible, with seven plateaus marking its seven heavenly layers! The angels, there, tend to be a little... fiscal, I must say, but deep down they have a good heart. If once we wanted strong emotions, we could take a trip to Avernus, the antechamber of Nine Hells of Baator... I remember a kind of grinning old man who offered me a boat trip on the River Styx... On the one hand, I would have been curious to accept... but you know, the inhabitants there too are very strict... you never know what contracts they're trying to get you to sign... and, unlike angels, they do not have good hearts! Or, if you really want to completely change your perspective, the cube can also lead to the most alien place you can imagine: the Far Realm. Do you like spices, Yasmina? I do! However, spices enrich a dish if used in the right dose. If you accidentally drop half a bag of spices into the pot... you can perhaps use the dish as a chemical weapon, but certainly no longer as a meal. Well, the Far Realm is that pot. It broadens your horizons, seeing it once... but I'll tell you, I continually had the impression of going crazy over there... it was all too... too much. I didn't stay there long. It gives me the impression of a reality to be investigated only in small doses".
Upon hearing Delvindra claim that it is an illusion, Duwamilly laughs: "You don't tell lies, Delvindra, you naughty girl! Why don't you come here with us, if it really is an illusion?"
And replying to Yasmina: "No, it's not an illusion, we are really in the dream dimension!" and she begins to rotate on herself, as in an infinite somersault, giggling in the midst of the immaterial silver waves "In fact, we will have to return soon, or the portal will close... leaving us here! Obviously I would still have a way to bring you home... because the cube can also lead to our dimension, that of mortals, the Prime Material Plane! But we better not risk losing our audience with the High Priest... Oh, what do you say, honey? Oh, you're right! He's arrived! See? Time flies when you're having fun!"
The unusual cleric barely has time to exit the portal as the last one, before it vanishes as if it had never existed. Hearing about the problem explained by Cal, she comes closer, while he is on his knees, trying to console him: "Oh, poor dear... You'll see, it's nothing... If you only knew how many difficult kids have had the same problem as you... It's just a matter of learning that others deserve no less respect than you, of putting yourself in their shoes..." then, gripped by the suspicion that perhaps the High Priest wants to deal with the matter in person, she takes a step back "Anyway, Mr Grewynn here, who was kind enough to come especially for us, will also tell you! Come on, listen to what he tells you... Pay attention, good boy..."
After that, the gnome looks at the old elf, with great trust in the depths of her brown eyes, waiting to see him promptly solve the problem of the bald, brown skinned man with the lean physique.
Anyone happening to look would see Delvindra wince at the mention in Avernus and the Nine Hells, her tail rapidly coiling around her right leg and squeezing as tightly as a boa constructing it's prey...
The elf closes his eyes and places a hand gently Cal's head. For a moment, he stands still. He barely seems to breathe. Suddenly, his eyes open, and a look of shock appears on his face.
"My son," he says. "Show me the weapon that you wield... your heart is pure, but I can sense the darkness that tries to take hold."
He holds out his hand to take the weapon (I will go ahead and assume that Cal gives it to him), and examines it for a few moments, carefully turning it over in his hands, whispering something that you cannot understand under his breathe. After what feels like an hour, but was likely less than a minute, he looks up from the rod of lordly might and looks Cal directly in the eye.
"The weapon that you wield... it holds incredible power... but... look closely at this mark," the elf points to a symbol etched into the gold-plated surface of the magical rod.
"My son... what you have in your hands is one of the most powerful, and dangerous, weapons ever crafted... it bears not just a symbol, but some of the cursed essence of the dark goddess Loviatar! It hungers for suffering, both that of its enemies and its wielder. It is little wonder that the priests could not sanctify this weapon... it has been cursed not by mortals, or even immortals; the curse your weapon bears was bestowed by the will of a twisted divine power! Tell me now, how did you find yourself in possession of such a thing as this?"
Cal reluctantly hands the rod over. Once he hears about the omen he response, “This weapon was wielded by the murderous scum that took my wife and baby girl away from me. Since that day I have made the promise to extinguish all evil from this world by force. This weapon will allow me to accomplish this goals. Please remove this curse if it truly exists.
"What you ask is difficult," the priest says. "But not impossible, it may take some time to prepare an appropriate..."
"Or I can free you right now!" a raspy voice booms through the cavernous temple, cutting the High Priest off mid-sentence. The voice sounds almost as if it is coming from everywhere, and yet from nowhere at the same time.
Several priests let out cries of horror as the air shimmers by the chamber's entrance, and a dark figure materializes out of thin air... along with six people, three men and three women, wearing dark robes that instantly mark them as cultists of death.
The High Priest's calm and friendly demeanor instantly fades away as the servants of darkness appear.
"Your arrogance knows no limits!" the High Priest growls, his eyes glowing with holy wrath as he stares down the intruder. "How dare you defile this sacred place with your presence, Firion?"
"I am simply here to offer these poor souls a way out of their present predicament," the man says with a low chuckle as he steps towards you. "After all, is it not obvious that their afflictions are beyond any mortal power to cure?"
He pauses, making brief eye contact with each of you. And you can feel a chill run through your very souls as you meet his icy gaze.
"I acknowledge that Ilmater and his followers are great healers; perhaps even the best. But what has been made by the gods cannot easily be unmade, even by the hand of another god. No... you do not have the power to save them. But..." he pauses a moment for dramatic effect. "I think that I have a solution. The dreadful curses that they endure cannot be lifted... but perhaps they can be transferred. See now... I have brought six devotees, willing to sacrifice and take on the curses that these poor innocent people now bear... and all that you must do, dear friends, is give these items that have so troubled you to me."
Cal grips onto the rod ready to activate it, “Know one shall have this weapon except for me!”
Delvindra moves her body in between the Interlopers and the High Priest. Her tail uncoils from her leg and thrashes aggressively, calming into a slow sway as she instinctively moved into a defensive stance.
Duwamilly allowed herself to be frightened for a moment by this sudden supernatural apparition, but her fearless (and curious) gnomic nature soon takes over again. She hides for a moment behind Yasmina, who has wisely remained behind, whispering to her: "Excuse me a moment, dear... I'll leave you alone immediately" and, unseen, she murmurs a short prayer to her beloved Garl Glittergold.
After that, the gnome, smiling, comes forward: "It's very nice of you to want to help us, Firion, dear... You really must be a good boy!" and she stealthily activates the cube's power - not to open a portal, this time... but to send the next creature she touches with the object to another Plane of Existence - in particular, she believes that the Far Real could be a good destination "I will gladly give you this stupid object - if the object accepts you... You know, it's an inheritance... It must be passed on..." she sighs "This is how they tricked me... Reach out a finger and touch it, honey... If the stupid thing accepts you, it will be yours in no time!"
(OOC: If Firion actually touches the object, he is instantly Plane-Shifted to the Far Realm, to the most dangerous and disturbing place Duwamilly can remember from that crazy reality - unless he succeeds on a DC 17 Charisma Saving Throw)
If a Deception roll is needed: 16
(OOC: Well, if he doesn't buy it, you can't say I didn't try with all I had!)
If Firion agrees to touch the Cube, then decides to attempt the Saving Throw (he might not even attempt it, if he believes that the effect he is feeling is the cube trying to connect to him... up to the DM) and is successful, so he stays there instead of going on the Far Realm for a crazy vacation, Duwamilly makes a disappointed expression: "Oh, the cube doesn't want you... Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing personal... Maybe the cube is too distracted now - we'll try again next time! Thank you very much for your interest!"