Lyra picks up where Kalamin leaves off, but with a smile that is both gentle and disarming. Curious, even. The velvet glove rather than the steel fist.
"No real need for threats. Given your reactions during our skirmish during which we dispatched the old fleshbag Seidarch, it was plain to see that you fear not pain or death. And of course, you are not the cause of the shadows infesting our land." She pauses, gazing at the mad priest. "Are you?"
After a moment, Lyra continues, her voice sing-song and conversational. "And yet, you seem eager to impart what you know of Toto, Grand Seidarch of fallen Abaton. Or Sotos, if you prefer. Naturally, we would rather you use your words to explain rather than your mace, so why not take the opportunity to gain new converts? Tell us. Is Sotos, this messiah, one and the same as the Prince of Gallows, or does that title refer to his jailer who we glimpsed?"
"It puzzles me you suggest Sotos may be found in my entrails. Do you liken him to fecal matter? Was Bloody Maggie truly his lover? I'm sorry, Maghda the Highblood. Was there a secret child? I would be honored to learn of Sotos and his four apostles. Maghda, Thalor, Vesha and Kalron. How does Seidarch Karvas fit in? And where might we find Karvas' heart? You hardly seemed concerned at his involuntary departure, so you may as well tell us."
She spreads her hands and grins. "How rude of me, I have not introduced myself. I am Lyra. No one, really. Consider my heart to be a fallow field to be sowed for your cause. May I have the honor to learn your name? And how came you to be in this place, with the beliefs that you hold?"
Lyra conveys genuine interest when speaking and asking of the priest's creed and lore (which is genuine for the most part, she does want to know). Eloquence Bard's Silver Tongue: Lyra has +10 for Persuasion and +7 for Deception. Her min d20 roll for those is 10, so minimum 20 and 17 respectively.
You make a show of investigating each of the vials, "drawing" sigils in the air and murmuring nonsense arcane words. However when you think the others aren't looking, you quickly unstopper them and take a quick swig.
The jet black liquid is freezing cold, with an odd non-taste sort of taste. Your head feels strange for a moment, and you feel like you've lost something. A distant piece of knowledge of a memory, but you're not sure what.
The smoky gray liquid tastes like chalk. After the sip, you're left momentarily confused. What were you just doing? Weren't you about to investigate these strange vials? You notice the unstoppered vial in your hand already, and set it down...Perhaps trying a different one would be a better idea.
The clear liquid tastes bitter. You remember what you'd just forgotten, and for a moment the world around you seems sharper.
Ilya
You begin to read through the scrolls, which are arranged in similar formats to each other. You glean the following information(summarized):
13-02:
The book is contained within a vault, laid upon a stone table with anti-divination spellwork carved into it. Under no circumstances are fluids suitable for writing (including human blood) to be brought within the vault.
Ward agents exposed to the book for extended periods of time are observed for signs of obsession or psychic contamination. Those affects are administered something called an amnestic potion and transferred to another site.
The book has a view oddities, such as containing more pages than could possibly be contained within the binding. Ward agents who read it experience feelings of paranoia, unease, and nausea. It is titled "A Chronicle of the Vae'ra ." There is no known author.
The book is a detailed account of the Vae'ra empire. It describes a culture of militarism, conquest, ancestor worship, ritualistic human sacrifice, and urban centers ruling over large slave populations. As a whole, their culture was obsessed with cycle of life and death - reflected in their arcane arts.
If the book comes into contact with a fluid suitable for writing, the account of the Vae'ra empire expands. New material most frequently describes more recent accounts of information chronicling the continued history of the Vae'ra civilization. Decisive defeats become setbacks. New persons and events are inserted. After expansion events, Ward archaeologists have discovered corresponding artifacts. Sometimes in dig sites that had already been explored.
When first recovered by the Ward, the Vae'ra empire was ended following a brutal conflict involving the Nalkir, Mekanor, and a fourth party referred to as "the Abominate." After a subsequent breach and expansion event, new material appeared in the book describing survivors regrouping and migrating further east and rebuilding their empire. Currently, the Vae'ra is described as having been crushed by the early Elven kingdoms of Kaelenor.
The Ward Overwatch Council has concluded that the resurgence of a hostile Vae'ra civilization into the modern age would constitute a grave threat to the Ward and the free civilizations of Imane.
13-03:
Y'Vessa is currently housed in a furnished room. Contingent upon continued good behavior and cooperation, she is currently granted free roam of unrestricted areas within the site.
Y'Vessa is an elven woman that outwardly displays no signs of abnormality. She and the rest of the mercenary group "Emerald Blade" developed psionic abilities and a psychic link after exposure to a Mekane relic discovered in the Thuuva desert.
The Ward captured the "Emerald Blade" members 5 years ago after their attempt to gain influence over House Lidae in Sorona.
Due to the nature dominating nature of their psychic link to their leader, each member is currently contained at a different site.
The priest sticks his tongue at Kalamin like a child might before turning his attention to Lyra with a smile. "This one understands, see? With her I will speak." He listens to her intently with the same crazed look in his eyes. He melodramatically clears his throat, bowing his head as far as his restraints will allow. "I am Meksa, Seidarch of the Bleeding Heart Temple of Glyaros. Or I was, so long long long ago."
"The Grand Seidarch is no messiah. He is our Immortal Father. Breaker of Chains. The Sorcerer-King of Abaton. And he is not the one you saw, no."
For the first time, you see the mad priest scowl. "The Abominate's hordes fell upon our lands like a tidal wave. They killed those of the Nalka that had not yet ascended. But the Seidarchs, the Thaumavor, and Sotos himself are so easily dispatched. We near apotheosis. Killing us will not be our end."
"So they take us. They shove us through the planes far from Imane, all the way to the Prince of Gallow's cursed realm of Alagadda. Meksa sees things that make his mind too big for his head." He says with a small chuckle. "But I'm here again because of you." He says, almost with reverence. "With each of the Highblood's rituals, another Seidarch is brought back."
"Karvas was an ally, but not a friend. I will show you where you might find his core. His heart. While we walk, I will tell of you the Thaumavor."
Lyra's voice and expression remain lighthearted and indulgent, emotions she certainly does not feel at the moment. She trusts her allies to take care of all other logistics and remain vigilant of further threats as she pursues the conversation with the talkative mad priest.
"By all means, Meksa, let your words flow as you lead us to Karvas' heart. Tell us of the Thaumavor. Tell us of this land of Abaton over which Sotos was once Sorcerer-King. And of the cataclysm Maghda the Highblood foretells if Sotos 'is not allowed' to return."
She sounds a quick chord on her dark harmonica, as if a flourish to spur on Meksa's words.
Lifting the Seidarch from the chair, you gently push him out of the room, following his lead as you takes further down the hall. "Of Abaton I will not speak, for I was not there when it fell. I was on Glyaros, releasing the Red Death upon our enemies." He says followed by a giggle. "How their skin boiled and burst." Then his face becomes grim.
"Thaumavor Kalron was the mightiest warrior of the Nalkir. As we cast off the chains of the Vae'ra and defended our lands from the blasphemous legions of Mekanor, he was the one who lead our armies. Vesha, the Coiled Shadow...Our poisoned dagger in the dark. No mark can escape their fate once she has been tasked with their death. Even today, she weakens our enemies from within. To Thalor and Maghda, the task of seeing the Grand Seidarch's return was left to. Thalor is clever, and it was he that figured out how we might be freed from the Hanged King's realm of Alagadda."
"Maghda...The Highblood. She was a Vae'ra princess you know? And yet so grand was Sotos - once a mere slave - that she fell in love with him and his cause."
As he speaks you pass through the flesh encrusted halls, until eventually he stops next to a small open room. The fleshy-vines that seem to pulse with energy all lead into here, snaking towards an object at the rooms center. With a broken gem casing sits a massive, beating heart. The core of Seidarch Karvas.
"If you do not allow Sotos return. The doom that fell upon the Old World will come again. The Abominate may be gone, but his lieutenant remains. As Meksa understands, he has already made his mark upon your empire, in the dark lands to the west."
Trusting that her friends will do what is needed with Seidarch Karvas' heart, Lyra continues her focus on keeping Meksa occupied with lore and philosophy.
"What fascinates me most," she continues conversationally as if the mad priest were not bound by rope, "is how inevitably the ends justify the means in your beliefs. Creased Princess Maghda's brow when I broached the topic." Lyra brings the dark harmonica to her lips to sound a complex minor chord.
"I am hearing that Vesha the Coiled Shadow assassinates with poison. You speak without remorse of slavery, an insidious evil, once prevalent in your land - since you refer to Sotos as 'once a mere slave'. You chortle at the suffering of others, including those afflicted by this Red Death you unleashed on ancient Glyaros, your victims' skin boiling and bursting. All for a greater purpose, I suppose? Unless the suffering itself was the end?"
"And if not, if there are nobler ends. Such as forestalling the doom which you and Maghda assure us will befall our land as it once did yours if we 'do not allow Sotos to return.' In service of these greater ends, you view any means as justified? Slaughter of warriors who once held this fort? Necromantic reanimation of their corpses by Karvas, and Maghda before him with the red and white elves following her?"
"In the Silvermane estate, where Maghda forced us as unwitting catalysts to summon you and Karvas, were inscribed the words 'Be unbound from moral tethers. Do as you will, to whom you will.' Maghda disavowed such dark philosophy as emblematic of those who once opposed Sotos, yet it becomes clear to me that such words in fact reflect the very cause she and you so righteously profess. Tell me true, Meksa, do the ends justify the means?"
"Gods,"Ilya mutters, reading through the information on the scrolls. That book couldn't be left here unguarded, but at the same time she was leery about trying to take it with them. This woman however, Y'Vessa...They needed to free her.
While Lyra entertains their guest, she speaks quietly to the others. "There's someone else being kept here. An elf. If these Nalkir haven't already broken into the vaults and killed her, I'd like to try and free her."
"...There's also a book we should probably take with us. It's dangerous, but more dangerous to leave unprotected I think." As they walk the halls of the underground compound, she looks for plates next doors, searching for "13-02" and "13-03."
Kalamin nods to Ilya, "We'll find both, after we deal with this heart."
While Lyra continues to prod the priest for information he approaches the beating heart, briefly stopping to inspect the broken casing it occupies. Why did Karvas put it here of all places?
As is becoming clear with his strange and broken mind, the priest fixates on something specific you mention, turning up his nose. "Our power is not Necromancy." He declares, with something like offense in his tone. "Meksa supposes you may be forgiven for such a mistake, for the art was lost with the Old Word. We do not control the flows of life and death as others do. Ours is the power of flesh itself: Carnomancy."
His eyes wander around the room, briefly watching the paladinas he investigates Karvas' heart. His gaze grows distant, and he begins to speak again - seemingly on another tangent. As your conversation goes on, his mental state seems to trend towards something more stable. He still bears marks of oddness, sometimes switching between speaking of himself between first and third person. But the crazed looks and oddly timed giggles abate.
"In the later centuries of our war with the bronze legions of Mekanor, I recall a broken piece of mural from the walls of Amari-Ram being brought to Glyaros. As reviling as the Mekanors were, they knew and understood things the rest of us did not. There was a poem inscribed upon the mural piece." His flick to Lyrawith a smile, "You seem the type that might like it."
"And then there three cities for the three Old Gods Their bodies scattered and sundered to the corners of Imane In the sands of the desert with sun glinting off alloy lay the sister Mek with the first of the great Rams upon her back The trees of the jungle bore witness to the signing of the pact Between the first sorcerers and the brother Scarlet, giving rise to Maljur and Kural, resting in different realms And at the edge of all of Abaton curled the rotting corpse of the sister Yaldrana until the misstep of a wayward slave revealed her And of course there was the fourth, but of them we will not speak."
"It's fascinating is it not? Three mighty civilizations backed by the power of gods themselves, clashing in a war that spanned the continent. But what drove us to such conflict? We had been free from the Vae'ra for 200 years before this great conflict. And yet at Harumar our three armies collided for the first time. Why? Meksa was always devoted to the Grand Seidarch's designs, to his plans for Imane. But it wasn't until the second piece of the mural was brought to me, which contained a previous verse of the poem, that I truly understood his motivations."
"And before the Old Gods fought their war in the heavens and broke the sky And laid the foundations for the next civilizations of Imane There were once four. Four gods and their four heavenly cities But of the fourth was committed an act of heresy In raw defiance of the oldest laws that underpin our world And as the world came apart, his siblings acted They cast out their fourth and labeled him as unclean The Abominate, the Defiled, the First Heretic He fell from the heavens and landed deep in the waters of the West Drowning while the war in the heavens raged on unabated."
As he speaks the last word he falls silent, waiting expectantly to see if you reach some conclusion. "Do you see it? The true chains that were inflicted upon us?"
Ilya You pass 13-04 and 13-04, their designations listed on stone plaques above the doors. Further down the hall at its very end, you see a sealed door labeled 13-03.
Kalamin The broken casing is made from some kind of ruby gemstone, sitting on a pedestal somewhat similar to the control mechanism for the platform which brought you underground. As you look closer, you see a slight gleam through gaps in the fleshy heart. Karvas' heart seems to be attached or wrapped around something smaller, a crystal orb...This looks like it may be the "main stage" for the arcane sentience Ilyaspoke of.
Lyra's harmonica-darkened lips move subtly as she commits both poems to memory. Yet her eyes and expression remain a mix of curiosity and challenge.
"So four gods. Three to shape three ancient lands - Mek, Scarlet and Yaldrana, and a fourth cast down for heresy in the west as the Abominate. The Defiled, inciting war. And it is this Abominate's lieutenant who has since called undead to overtake Baria to the west? And overthrew the Selenic Knights?" She glances at Kalamin. "Or do you not know, Meksa, because your summoning skipped the intervening time? Yet you seem to suspect..."
"Yet one thing remains unclear to me. Why will the return of Sotos, your sorcerer-king of Abaton, save our world now from this encroaching fate? And why is it the only thing that can save us. I suppose all creeds profess justifications for their redeeming inevitability. Let me hear yours, Meksa."
As she speaks Lyra tries to recall (or comprehend) two things: - First, has she ever heard of any of this lore before?? - Second, Maghda's raising of he Red and White Elf corpses as undead seemed like Necromancy. Is Meksa calling that 'Carnomancy'?
"Looks like we found your arcane friend Ilya..." Kalamin says, drawing a dagger from his belt. "I'm guess Karvas' heart is wrapped around it to suppress it? Control it maybe?" Using the dagger, he starts working to try and free the monster's heart from the pedestal while trying to inflict as little damage as possible.
As he works, he continues to listen to the mad priest speak. "They used you to continue their war. That's it then?"
Not a hint of it. Passive Insight(14). You would realize that given how there's no mention of any of these civilizations, figures, or deities anywhere else, either this is all one massive leg-pull, or some extremely powerful force or group has prevented this forgotten history from being remembered.
A spell such as what Maghda is typically accomplished by imbuing corpses with some poor mimicry of life, and that the spellcaster then exerts their will over. Meksa seems to be suggesting that their magic works by a different mechanic, directly controlling the flesh.
"This one understands," Meksa says with twinkling eyes as he looks to Kalamin. "Even as they lay across Imane with their bodies broken by their celestial war, still they yearned for more conflict. So they gave us power, and strength. And through our bodies, at the cost of our lives, continued their battle."
"This will always happen. Even now, your not-gods scheme and manipulate. Use you and this land towards their own ends. The Grand Seidarch will break these chains forever, by balancing the scales. For all mortal kind, he offers the power to challenge even the most powerful of beings: apotheosis."
He turns back to Lyra.
"I promise you, he has done more than merely conjure undead in those lands that were once his home" The priest says darkly. "While the Scarlet embodies nature, and gifts life, and the Steel embodies progress, and gifts technology, and the Flesh embodies death and gifts continuation -- the Abominate also came to embody an integral piece of our souls. Yes...The First Heretic embodies the chaos of creation, and gifts control. And it gave this mastery over reality itself to the Darkstar, plucked from the flock to become a god amongst mortals."
"There are many things Meksa has missed since his imprisonment, but I have walked Imane long enough again to understand the current world. The Thaumavor do not believe it is him, they said he is gone, vanquished by your not-gods after our final stronghold fell."
"But they never met him. The Grand Seidarch sent them into hiding long before they ever got the chance. But Meksa met him. Yes...He came to Glyaros. I would recognize his touch upon the world anywhere."
Kalaminmake a strength check, as the heart seems almost suctioned to the surface it rests on.
Leftenant tried to follow the conversations between Lyra and Meksa; the banter, the ramblings. He remained quiet but mindful. He wasn’t sure he understood most of it. Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t believe any of it.
The world he knew was his reality. The tales he knew, Imane’s history, the service he made, the gods that answered when they pleased; that was real. This, was fantasy…and a sick one at that. The veteran’s mind couldn’t justify or align the contradictions Lyra pointed out. And Meksa didn’t provide enough coherency to persuade the soldier’s opinion on the matters.
But likewise, Ilya’s pleas to release a prisoner or obtain a book resting here didn’t sit well with the Ranger. While he did not agree with slavery and confinement of the innocent, he had no reason to believe those that were a part of this Watchers organization didn’t have their justifications.
“What makes this woman and this book so important we need them yet so dangerous they were placed here by the Watchers?I for one am unclear on the reason. Can you please enlighten me, Ilya?”
What he needed to act one way or another was further proof from SOME reliable source. It had yet to materialize.
From a few feet behind the melodious mistress he asks, “Meksa, why come to this place? Why here? Is it so necessary for the heart to be here or would another location provide as much of what it needs to continue on?”
With that, he simply looked on as Kal worked at the heart. Unsure even if that was a good course of action. For how was Meksa going to react?
Lyra attempts to make sense of (and remember) what she is hearing, though she cannot be certain if this is deep, lost lore or the ravings of a madman.
"You say this Darkstar was the Abominate's lieutenant? You have met him, Meksa? In Glyaros? Tell us of that meeting. How shall we recognize him?"
"Further, you claim he was a mortal plucked to become a god. That the gods use mortals as thralls to carry out their unending war with each other. That Sotos is our only hope of salvation, throwing off such divine bonds. Yet in so doing, do you not raise up your own god with his own bonds on mortals? You murder on his behalf, spread disease gleefully, and override our free will so we may become unwitting catalysts for the apotheosis of Seidarchs."
(Lyra leaves all dealings with Karvas' heart or any prisoners to the others for now).
"Dangerous to them is as simple as 'we don't understand this, therefore it's dangerous.'"Ilya says flatly, surprised that she was having to justify this. "They had me in one of these compounds, do I seem like a danger to all of Imane to you?"
"The book...It seems to related to this whole mess, it chronicles one of these civilizations. The Vae'ra. And it seems to confirm much of what Meksa is saying, it even mentions this Abominate. It looks like its a way for their civilization to be brought back, which is why I don't want to leave it here unguarded. We're already having to deal with one resurgent nation hell-bent on reclaiming their former glory, we don't need another."
The priest snaps his attention to the old soldier. "This facility housed an annoying entity that could exert its will upon certain aspects and defenses. It made clear that one of those defenses was turning this place into a smoking crater." He shrugs. "So Seidarch Karvas left his heart to smother it, keep it quiet and docile while we settled in."
"Tell you of the meeting? Yes. Yes." Meksa says, nodding as he returns his attention to Lyra. "The battlefield itself bowed to him as he appeared. His soldiers split like a ravine to make way for him, and Meksa remembers feeling his brain boiling just looking at him."
"You see, most mages in this world are just that. Sorcerers. Wizards. Warlocks. They have some particular leaning towards the arcane and study, practice, or are bequeathed the knowledge to perform the slightest bit of magic. The Seidarchs. The Thaumavor. Even the Ozirmok, Sotos himself. We are this way."
"But the Darkstar...He is something else. You will not mistake him for anyone. The world shapes itself around him. He tore through what remained of my forces like they were ants, then hurled Meksa through the planes, into the Hanged King's realm."
He shakes his head as well as he can in his bonds. "You mistake me. The Grand Seidarch will not be our god. The Seidarchs and the Thaumavor will not alone be gods. All mortals of Imane will be raised into divinity, and never again shall we be playthings."
"This cannot be done without sacrifice, without toil."
Kalamin steps away from Karvas's heart entirely. "Did you say, turn this place into a smoking crater?"He looks towards the others with incredulity on his face. "Now what?"
The priest snaps his attention to the old soldier. "This facility housed an annoying entity that could exert its will upon certain aspects and defenses. It made clear that one of those defenses was turning this place into a smoking crater." He shrugs. "So Seidarch Karvas left his heart to smother it, keep it quiet and docile while we settled in."
"Tell you of the meeting? Yes. Yes." Meksa says, nodding as he returns his attention to Lyra. "The battlefield itself bowed to him as he appeared. His soldiers split like a ravine to make way for him, and Meksa remembers feeling his brain boiling just looking at him."
"You see, most mages in this world are just that. Sorcerers. Wizards. Warlocks. They have some particular leaning towards the arcane and study, practice, or are bequeathed the knowledge to perform the slightest bit of magic. The Seidarchs. The Thaumavor. Even the Ozirmok, Sotos himself. We are this way."
"But the Darkstar...He is something else. You will not mistake him for anyone. The world shapes itself around him. He tore through what remained of my forces like they were ants, then hurled Meksa through the planes, into the Hanged King's realm."
He shakes his head as well as he can in his bonds. "You mistake me. The Grand Seidarch will not be our god. The Seidarchs and the Thaumavor will not alone be gods. All mortals of Imane will be raised into divinity, and never again shall we be playthings."
"This cannot be done without sacrifice, without toil."
Lyra sounds a haunting chord on her dark harmonica and hums the coda of an ancient poem.
And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise...
She pauses as the lyric trails off and shakes her head at Kalamin, not having any idea how to safely destroy Seidarch Karvas' heart without triggering the alleged cataclysm. Lyra hopes that one of her other companions will have an idea.
Taking a deep breath, she responds instead to the mad priest's suggestion that Sotos' foretold apotheosis will raise the mortals of Imane to be gods.
"It is a vast thing to suggest that all we mortals shall become gods, Meksa. I am not certain it is for the best. I mean, have you seen how some people are? You think raising all of them and all of us to deity status is going to end these wars that you feel the gods have compelled us into?"
Ilya joins Kalamin at the pedestal, looking down at the beating heart. "We might be able to talk them down. Make it think we're a unit sent from another site to resecure this one." She nods towards the bound priest. "It helps that we have a Seidarch tied up."
"Knowing it's name first would also help though...Surely there's a report somewhere that mentions it. Help me look?"
Her intention is to go back through the first two rooms, looking for any writings that mention the name of the orb-bound intelligence that controls the site.
"As good a plan as any I suppose,"Kal mumbles, taking a last look at the oversized heart before following Ilya back to the two offices they found. "Yell if that one tries anything funny."He says to LT and Lyra as he leaves, pointing at the tied up priest.
Lyra picks up where Kalamin leaves off, but with a smile that is both gentle and disarming. Curious, even. The velvet glove rather than the steel fist.
"No real need for threats. Given your reactions during our skirmish during which we dispatched the old fleshbag Seidarch, it was plain to see that you fear not pain or death. And of course, you are not the cause of the shadows infesting our land." She pauses, gazing at the mad priest. "Are you?"
After a moment, Lyra continues, her voice sing-song and conversational. "And yet, you seem eager to impart what you know of Toto, Grand Seidarch of fallen Abaton. Or Sotos, if you prefer. Naturally, we would rather you use your words to explain rather than your mace, so why not take the opportunity to gain new converts? Tell us. Is Sotos, this messiah, one and the same as the Prince of Gallows, or does that title refer to his jailer who we glimpsed?"
"It puzzles me you suggest Sotos may be found in my entrails. Do you liken him to fecal matter? Was Bloody Maggie truly his lover? I'm sorry, Maghda the Highblood. Was there a secret child? I would be honored to learn of Sotos and his four apostles. Maghda, Thalor, Vesha and Kalron. How does Seidarch Karvas fit in? And where might we find Karvas' heart? You hardly seemed concerned at his involuntary departure, so you may as well tell us."
She spreads her hands and grins. "How rude of me, I have not introduced myself. I am Lyra. No one, really. Consider my heart to be a fallow field to be sowed for your cause. May I have the honor to learn your name? And how came you to be in this place, with the beliefs that you hold?"
Lyra conveys genuine interest when speaking and asking of the priest's creed and lore (which is genuine for the most part, she does want to know). Eloquence Bard's Silver Tongue: Lyra has +10 for Persuasion and +7 for Deception. Her min d20 roll for those is 10, so minimum 20 and 17 respectively.
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Glyptemis
You make a show of investigating each of the vials, "drawing" sigils in the air and murmuring nonsense arcane words. However when you think the others aren't looking, you quickly unstopper them and take a quick swig.
Ilya
You begin to read through the scrolls, which are arranged in similar formats to each other. You glean the following information(summarized):
13-02:
13-03:
The priest sticks his tongue at Kalamin like a child might before turning his attention to Lyra with a smile. "This one understands, see? With her I will speak." He listens to her intently with the same crazed look in his eyes. He melodramatically clears his throat, bowing his head as far as his restraints will allow. "I am Meksa, Seidarch of the Bleeding Heart Temple of Glyaros. Or I was, so long long long ago."
"The Grand Seidarch is no messiah. He is our Immortal Father. Breaker of Chains. The Sorcerer-King of Abaton. And he is not the one you saw, no."
For the first time, you see the mad priest scowl. "The Abominate's hordes fell upon our lands like a tidal wave. They killed those of the Nalka that had not yet ascended. But the Seidarchs, the Thaumavor, and Sotos himself are so easily dispatched. We near apotheosis. Killing us will not be our end."
"So they take us. They shove us through the planes far from Imane, all the way to the Prince of Gallow's cursed realm of Alagadda. Meksa sees things that make his mind too big for his head." He says with a small chuckle. "But I'm here again because of you." He says, almost with reverence. "With each of the Highblood's rituals, another Seidarch is brought back."
"Karvas was an ally, but not a friend. I will show you where you might find his core. His heart. While we walk, I will tell of you the Thaumavor."
Lyra's voice and expression remain lighthearted and indulgent, emotions she certainly does not feel at the moment. She trusts her allies to take care of all other logistics and remain vigilant of further threats as she pursues the conversation with the talkative mad priest.
"By all means, Meksa, let your words flow as you lead us to Karvas' heart. Tell us of the Thaumavor. Tell us of this land of Abaton over which Sotos was once Sorcerer-King. And of the cataclysm Maghda the Highblood foretells if Sotos 'is not allowed' to return."
She sounds a quick chord on her dark harmonica, as if a flourish to spur on Meksa's words.
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Lifting the Seidarch from the chair, you gently push him out of the room, following his lead as you takes further down the hall. "Of Abaton I will not speak, for I was not there when it fell. I was on Glyaros, releasing the Red Death upon our enemies." He says followed by a giggle. "How their skin boiled and burst." Then his face becomes grim.
"Thaumavor Kalron was the mightiest warrior of the Nalkir. As we cast off the chains of the Vae'ra and defended our lands from the blasphemous legions of Mekanor, he was the one who lead our armies. Vesha, the Coiled Shadow...Our poisoned dagger in the dark. No mark can escape their fate once she has been tasked with their death. Even today, she weakens our enemies from within. To Thalor and Maghda, the task of seeing the Grand Seidarch's return was left to. Thalor is clever, and it was he that figured out how we might be freed from the Hanged King's realm of Alagadda."
"Maghda...The Highblood. She was a Vae'ra princess you know? And yet so grand was Sotos - once a mere slave - that she fell in love with him and his cause."
As he speaks you pass through the flesh encrusted halls, until eventually he stops next to a small open room. The fleshy-vines that seem to pulse with energy all lead into here, snaking towards an object at the rooms center. With a broken gem casing sits a massive, beating heart. The core of Seidarch Karvas.
"If you do not allow Sotos return. The doom that fell upon the Old World will come again. The Abominate may be gone, but his lieutenant remains. As Meksa understands, he has already made his mark upon your empire, in the dark lands to the west."
Trusting that her friends will do what is needed with Seidarch Karvas' heart, Lyra continues her focus on keeping Meksa occupied with lore and philosophy.
"What fascinates me most," she continues conversationally as if the mad priest were not bound by rope, "is how inevitably the ends justify the means in your beliefs. Creased Princess Maghda's brow when I broached the topic." Lyra brings the dark harmonica to her lips to sound a complex minor chord.
"I am hearing that Vesha the Coiled Shadow assassinates with poison. You speak without remorse of slavery, an insidious evil, once prevalent in your land - since you refer to Sotos as 'once a mere slave'. You chortle at the suffering of others, including those afflicted by this Red Death you unleashed on ancient Glyaros, your victims' skin boiling and bursting. All for a greater purpose, I suppose? Unless the suffering itself was the end?"
"And if not, if there are nobler ends. Such as forestalling the doom which you and Maghda assure us will befall our land as it once did yours if we 'do not allow Sotos to return.' In service of these greater ends, you view any means as justified? Slaughter of warriors who once held this fort? Necromantic reanimation of their corpses by Karvas, and Maghda before him with the red and white elves following her?"
"In the Silvermane estate, where Maghda forced us as unwitting catalysts to summon you and Karvas, were inscribed the words 'Be unbound from moral tethers. Do as you will, to whom you will.' Maghda disavowed such dark philosophy as emblematic of those who once opposed Sotos, yet it becomes clear to me that such words in fact reflect the very cause she and you so righteously profess. Tell me true, Meksa, do the ends justify the means?"
Lyra is genuinely curious.
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
"Gods," Ilya mutters, reading through the information on the scrolls. That book couldn't be left here unguarded, but at the same time she was leery about trying to take it with them. This woman however, Y'Vessa...They needed to free her.
While Lyra entertains their guest, she speaks quietly to the others. "There's someone else being kept here. An elf. If these Nalkir haven't already broken into the vaults and killed her, I'd like to try and free her."
"...There's also a book we should probably take with us. It's dangerous, but more dangerous to leave unprotected I think." As they walk the halls of the underground compound, she looks for plates next doors, searching for "13-02" and "13-03."
Kalamin nods to Ilya, "We'll find both, after we deal with this heart."
While Lyra continues to prod the priest for information he approaches the beating heart, briefly stopping to inspect the broken casing it occupies. Why did Karvas put it here of all places?
Kal Investigation: 18
As is becoming clear with his strange and broken mind, the priest fixates on something specific you mention, turning up his nose. "Our power is not Necromancy." He declares, with something like offense in his tone. "Meksa supposes you may be forgiven for such a mistake, for the art was lost with the Old Word. We do not control the flows of life and death as others do. Ours is the power of flesh itself: Carnomancy."
His eyes wander around the room, briefly watching the paladin as he investigates Karvas' heart. His gaze grows distant, and he begins to speak again - seemingly on another tangent. As your conversation goes on, his mental state seems to trend towards something more stable. He still bears marks of oddness, sometimes switching between speaking of himself between first and third person. But the crazed looks and oddly timed giggles abate.
"In the later centuries of our war with the bronze legions of Mekanor, I recall a broken piece of mural from the walls of Amari-Ram being brought to Glyaros. As reviling as the Mekanors were, they knew and understood things the rest of us did not. There was a poem inscribed upon the mural piece." His flick to Lyra with a smile, "You seem the type that might like it."
"And then there three cities for the three Old Gods
Their bodies scattered and sundered to the corners of Imane
In the sands of the desert with sun glinting off alloy lay
the sister Mek with the first of the great Rams upon her back
The trees of the jungle bore witness to the signing of the pact
Between the first sorcerers and the brother Scarlet, giving rise to
Maljur and Kural, resting in different realms
And at the edge of all of Abaton curled the rotting corpse of
the sister Yaldrana until the misstep of a wayward slave revealed her
And of course there was the fourth, but of them we will not speak."
"It's fascinating is it not? Three mighty civilizations backed by the power of gods themselves, clashing in a war that spanned the continent. But what drove us to such conflict? We had been free from the Vae'ra for 200 years before this great conflict. And yet at Harumar our three armies collided for the first time. Why? Meksa was always devoted to the Grand Seidarch's designs, to his plans for Imane. But it wasn't until the second piece of the mural was brought to me, which contained a previous verse of the poem, that I truly understood his motivations."
"And before the Old Gods fought their war in the heavens and broke the sky
And laid the foundations for the next civilizations of Imane
There were once four. Four gods and their four heavenly cities
But of the fourth was committed an act of heresy
In raw defiance of the oldest laws that underpin our world
And as the world came apart, his siblings acted
They cast out their fourth and labeled him as unclean
The Abominate, the Defiled, the First Heretic
He fell from the heavens and landed deep in the waters of the West
Drowning while the war in the heavens raged on unabated."
As he speaks the last word he falls silent, waiting expectantly to see if you reach some conclusion. "Do you see it? The true chains that were inflicted upon us?"
Ilya
You pass 13-04 and 13-04, their designations listed on stone plaques above the doors. Further down the hall at its very end, you see a sealed door labeled 13-03.
Kalamin
The broken casing is made from some kind of ruby gemstone, sitting on a pedestal somewhat similar to the control mechanism for the platform which brought you underground. As you look closer, you see a slight gleam through gaps in the fleshy heart. Karvas' heart seems to be attached or wrapped around something smaller, a crystal orb...This looks like it may be the "main stage" for the arcane sentience Ilya spoke of.
Lyra's harmonica-darkened lips move subtly as she commits both poems to memory. Yet her eyes and expression remain a mix of curiosity and challenge.
"So four gods. Three to shape three ancient lands - Mek, Scarlet and Yaldrana, and a fourth cast down for heresy in the west as the Abominate. The Defiled, inciting war. And it is this Abominate's lieutenant who has since called undead to overtake Baria to the west? And overthrew the Selenic Knights?" She glances at Kalamin. "Or do you not know, Meksa, because your summoning skipped the intervening time? Yet you seem to suspect..."
"Yet one thing remains unclear to me. Why will the return of Sotos, your sorcerer-king of Abaton, save our world now from this encroaching fate? And why is it the only thing that can save us. I suppose all creeds profess justifications for their redeeming inevitability. Let me hear yours, Meksa."
As she speaks Lyra tries to recall (or comprehend) two things:
- First, has she ever heard of any of this lore before??
- Second, Maghda's raising of he Red and White Elf corpses as undead seemed like Necromancy. Is Meksa calling that 'Carnomancy'?
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
"Looks like we found your arcane friend Ilya..." Kalamin says, drawing a dagger from his belt. "I'm guess Karvas' heart is wrapped around it to suppress it? Control it maybe?" Using the dagger, he starts working to try and free the monster's heart from the pedestal while trying to inflict as little damage as possible.
As he works, he continues to listen to the mad priest speak. "They used you to continue their war. That's it then?"
Lyra
"This one understands," Meksa says with twinkling eyes as he looks to Kalamin. "Even as they lay across Imane with their bodies broken by their celestial war, still they yearned for more conflict. So they gave us power, and strength. And through our bodies, at the cost of our lives, continued their battle."
"This will always happen. Even now, your not-gods scheme and manipulate. Use you and this land towards their own ends. The Grand Seidarch will break these chains forever, by balancing the scales. For all mortal kind, he offers the power to challenge even the most powerful of beings: apotheosis."
He turns back to Lyra.
"I promise you, he has done more than merely conjure undead in those lands that were once his home" The priest says darkly. "While the Scarlet embodies nature, and gifts life, and the Steel embodies progress, and gifts technology, and the Flesh embodies death and gifts continuation -- the Abominate also came to embody an integral piece of our souls. Yes...The First Heretic embodies the chaos of creation, and gifts control. And it gave this mastery over reality itself to the Darkstar, plucked from the flock to become a god amongst mortals."
"There are many things Meksa has missed since his imprisonment, but I have walked Imane long enough again to understand the current world. The Thaumavor do not believe it is him, they said he is gone, vanquished by your not-gods after our final stronghold fell."
"But they never met him. The Grand Seidarch sent them into hiding long before they ever got the chance. But Meksa met him. Yes...He came to Glyaros. I would recognize his touch upon the world anywhere."
Kalamin make a strength check, as the heart seems almost suctioned to the surface it rests on.
Leftenant tried to follow the conversations between Lyra and Meksa; the banter, the ramblings. He remained quiet but mindful. He wasn’t sure he understood most of it. Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t believe any of it.
The world he knew was his reality. The tales he knew, Imane’s history, the service he made, the gods that answered when they pleased; that was real. This, was fantasy…and a sick one at that. The veteran’s mind couldn’t justify or align the contradictions Lyra pointed out. And Meksa didn’t provide enough coherency to persuade the soldier’s opinion on the matters.
But likewise, Ilya’s pleas to release a prisoner or obtain a book resting here didn’t sit well with the Ranger. While he did not agree with slavery and confinement of the innocent, he had no reason to believe those that were a part of this Watchers organization didn’t have their justifications.
“What makes this woman and this book so important we need them yet so dangerous they were placed here by the Watchers? I for one am unclear on the reason. Can you please enlighten me, Ilya?”
What he needed to act one way or another was further proof from SOME reliable source. It had yet to materialize.
From a few feet behind the melodious mistress he asks, “Meksa, why come to this place? Why here? Is it so necessary for the heart to be here or would another location provide as much of what it needs to continue on?”
With that, he simply looked on as Kal worked at the heart. Unsure even if that was a good course of action. For how was Meksa going to react?
Lyra attempts to make sense of (and remember) what she is hearing, though she cannot be certain if this is deep, lost lore or the ravings of a madman.
"You say this Darkstar was the Abominate's lieutenant? You have met him, Meksa? In Glyaros? Tell us of that meeting. How shall we recognize him?"
"Further, you claim he was a mortal plucked to become a god. That the gods use mortals as thralls to carry out their unending war with each other. That Sotos is our only hope of salvation, throwing off such divine bonds. Yet in so doing, do you not raise up your own god with his own bonds on mortals? You murder on his behalf, spread disease gleefully, and override our free will so we may become unwitting catalysts for the apotheosis of Seidarchs."
(Lyra leaves all dealings with Karvas' heart or any prisoners to the others for now).
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
"Dangerous to them is as simple as 'we don't understand this, therefore it's dangerous.' "Ilya says flatly, surprised that she was having to justify this. "They had me in one of these compounds, do I seem like a danger to all of Imane to you?"
"The book...It seems to related to this whole mess, it chronicles one of these civilizations. The Vae'ra. And it seems to confirm much of what Meksa is saying, it even mentions this Abominate. It looks like its a way for their civilization to be brought back, which is why I don't want to leave it here unguarded. We're already having to deal with one resurgent nation hell-bent on reclaiming their former glory, we don't need another."
Kalamin stops working on freeing the heart for the time being, looking to Meksa as he awaits the answer to LT's question.
The priest snaps his attention to the old soldier. "This facility housed an annoying entity that could exert its will upon certain aspects and defenses. It made clear that one of those defenses was turning this place into a smoking crater." He shrugs. "So Seidarch Karvas left his heart to smother it, keep it quiet and docile while we settled in."
"Tell you of the meeting? Yes. Yes." Meksa says, nodding as he returns his attention to Lyra. "The battlefield itself bowed to him as he appeared. His soldiers split like a ravine to make way for him, and Meksa remembers feeling his brain boiling just looking at him."
"You see, most mages in this world are just that. Sorcerers. Wizards. Warlocks. They have some particular leaning towards the arcane and study, practice, or are bequeathed the knowledge to perform the slightest bit of magic. The Seidarchs. The Thaumavor. Even the Ozirmok, Sotos himself. We are this way."
"But the Darkstar...He is something else. You will not mistake him for anyone. The world shapes itself around him. He tore through what remained of my forces like they were ants, then hurled Meksa through the planes, into the Hanged King's realm."
He shakes his head as well as he can in his bonds. "You mistake me. The Grand Seidarch will not be our god. The Seidarchs and the Thaumavor will not alone be gods. All mortals of Imane will be raised into divinity, and never again shall we be playthings."
"This cannot be done without sacrifice, without toil."
Kalamin steps away from Karvas's heart entirely. "Did you say, turn this place into a smoking crater?" He looks towards the others with incredulity on his face. "Now what?"
Lyra sounds a haunting chord on her dark harmonica and hums the coda of an ancient poem.
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise...
She pauses as the lyric trails off and shakes her head at Kalamin, not having any idea how to safely destroy Seidarch Karvas' heart without triggering the alleged cataclysm. Lyra hopes that one of her other companions will have an idea.
Taking a deep breath, she responds instead to the mad priest's suggestion that Sotos' foretold apotheosis will raise the mortals of Imane to be gods.
"It is a vast thing to suggest that all we mortals shall become gods, Meksa. I am not certain it is for the best. I mean, have you seen how some people are? You think raising all of them and all of us to deity status is going to end these wars that you feel the gods have compelled us into?"
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles | Xarian(Fighter1): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Ilya joins Kalamin at the pedestal, looking down at the beating heart. "We might be able to talk them down. Make it think we're a unit sent from another site to resecure this one." She nods towards the bound priest. "It helps that we have a Seidarch tied up."
"Knowing it's name first would also help though...Surely there's a report somewhere that mentions it. Help me look?"
Her intention is to go back through the first two rooms, looking for any writings that mention the name of the orb-bound intelligence that controls the site.
Investigation: 4 w/Bless or 15 w/Bless and help
"As good a plan as any I suppose," Kal mumbles, taking a last look at the oversized heart before following Ilya back to the two offices they found. "Yell if that one tries anything funny." He says to LT and Lyra as he leaves, pointing at the tied up priest.
Helping Ilya investigate.