Listening at Jek's casual explanation of what the Gods' plan for them, Dageron's grim demeanor grows ever darker. Finally, when his time to speak, he adds, "I learned that Vader has no roots we can exploit, nor weaknesses known even to the Gods. He is all he seems to be, and moreover, has no reason to refrain from utterly destroying this entire world. None. It is a means to an end for him, and even his ultimate purpose here is beyond our reach. Also, the AURYN amulets were our only succor from enemies knowing our every movement... regardless how it may have seemed otherwise." He takes in a deep breath. "Jek, you say we must release something far worse than a Tarrasque empowered by a Triforce? What is required to accomplish such a thing? How do we even get to Atlantis? Would we make that journey first, then take the Triforce, or the other way around?"

Jek looks at Dageron, but has resolve in his eyes. He nods in agreement with his questions. 

"Those are all fine questions, and they have crossed my mind as well. We will need to find some answers to them. But I did not want to dare ask the Bright Lady any more questions. The AUYRN being lost is unfortunate, but.... I did not want to lose another friend." Jek says, looking to Darla. 

He continues "Let's take things one at a time. Next, what of the empress? Do we still wish to revive her? Did anyone learn anything that will help?"

... Dageron hesitates a moment, then adds. "I was told the sanctity and effectiveness of the AURYN communications is held together only by the fleeting spark of the Princess. Somehow, her immortal soul continues to safeguard that means of communication, even in death. If we can bring her back - properly - it may mean the others' use of the network won't be compromised in time. A thing implied to be inevitable by the Goddess who spoke with me."

Shirin looks at the others, listening to their findings. Then he includes, "I was told that the Triforce of Courage is the key to releasing the Tarrasque's destruction. I wasn't certain what was meant by this, but I assume now it is what we need to release this Apex Predator."  

Slade scratched his chin a moment, then addresses skraih..

"So as to raisin her royal highness, what's ta be involved in that then? Anythin a fella like meself can be doing te help?"

To Shirrin and the others.

"All this talk of tarrasques is bad enough, meself is fearing ta think of whatever might be worse'n that. Any ideas what it might be?"

Skraih looks at Slade, then the rest of the group as they discuss.  

"You and yours.  Conversed, with the goddesses.  Would have.  Then, the spirit...of the Fallen.  To see if she will.  Return."  Skraih says in answer, taking a deep breath and standing with a ruffle of her feathers.  "What to do, you can?  Cannot.  It is in higher hands.  Now."  

"Then we must do what we can and leave the fate of the princess to the gods. Every waking moment we spend not moving toward our goal, Vader inches closer to is. If he were to loose that tarrasque, something tells me he would have no interest in releasing the Apex Predator to stop it. Being so close, we have the advantage. Let us not waste it." Shirin stands up, gathering himself.

Quote from JFCapps >>

Skraih looks at Slade, then the rest of the group as they discuss.  

"You and yours.  Conversed, with the goddesses.  Would have.  Then, the spirit...of the Fallen.  To see if she will.  Return."  Skraih says in answer, taking a deep breath and standing with a ruffle of her feathers.  "What to do, you can?  Cannot.  It is in higher hands.  Now."  

 Jek looks a bit confused at Skraih. "Wait, are we going to talk to the Child-like Empress now? Is that what you mean? Let's do it! How do we do it?"

Jek nods at Shirin's statement. "Yes, if it brings balance, that would be something Vader probably wouldn't like. But we should learn what we can before we leave. Right?"

Skraih leans forward, the expressionless expanse of her beak coming closer to Jek's shadowed-face.  

"One of your Order, did ask the Goddesses?"  Skraih said as she checked the integrity of the lines of the sigil.  She rose, lighting more sage and dropping it into the middle of the triangles.  "A soul.  Convincing, it may take.  Remember, too, motivations, of the dead.  They may not be the same, as the living."  

Skraih reached into her pocket and through a handful of gold dust into the sigil, then pulled out a vial of violet liquid and sprinkled it in the midst of the triangles.  

"Who.  Speaks for, Order of the Phoenix?"  Skraih says as the room begins to go dark again.  

Jek looks to the others, seeing if someone else will speak up. He reaches up to his neck, to where the AUYRN sat for a brief time. Then he steps forward. "I'll speak for the Order, I suppose. " 

He will step forward and says "Hello, can you hear me? Are you there? It is me, Jek Utinni, of the Order of the Phoenix. I'm sorry we couldn't protect you, but we got away! Just like you wished. Most of us, anyways." 

I hear you Jek Utinni.  The void answers.  Everyone in the room can hear, though the voice is barely a whisper in the wind.  Loyal to the AURYN you have been, and to your mission.  It warms this soul to know you have made it so far, and that you have stayed true to the AURYN as you have.  With your escape, you have honored my sacrifice.  

Amitola, who this whole time has stood blank. Zoned into her own thoughts, knowing the weight and confusion she now holds. She still hasn't even picked up her letter from where it has sat upon the ground. Finally coming to her own senses after hearing much talking, and realizing more things are still happening around her. The blank look of concern never leaves her face, not sure of her thoughts. Shaking her head, she grabs her letter, gives it a gentle thankful kiss, and places it back to where it has been for years. She then begins to listen to conversation around her. Realizing Jek is speaking with the Child-like Empress, and hearing the emotion in Jek's voice as he speaks made her pause, she also feels slight pain for him when he reached for the AUYRN that was no longer there. She decided she would bring up what she had been told later, for now, she would wait, and let them speak.

Jek smiles at hearing the Child-Like Empresses voice. He takes a deep breath before speaking again. "While we are appreciative of you sacrifice, there a many things that still need to be done. And, we have a prophecy. Part of it reads: 

Let not the Empress lie there cold
Last light of the world afore it grows old
Weak and mourning, like Atlantis gone
Chaos won't rest, but marches on.

We might have a way to bring you back, if you are willing. We need you and your light in this world! Can you come back? Will you come back?" Jek says, pleading.

The room goes dark when Jek utters these words, and he disappears from the circle...

You hear the disembodied voice of Jek "Umm, so do I just.... Walk out or.... I'll just start walking." 

Jek appears as he walks out of the the Sigil on the ground. "Hey everyone! So, some news. Umm, where to start. Oh, History. So, apparently Hyboria was born from the ruins of a world called Fantasia. It was molded from the gods of the gods. We are the heroes who were been born to save it from the darkness. Now, I asked if she would come back, but that's not how it works. Her days are over, but a new Childlike Empress has been born and must ascend to the throne and retake the Ivory Tower. She couldn't tell us who the new Childlike Empress is, but she is being sought by the light and darkness. She has to be found and defended at any cost, that is how we will repay her. The other bands, Twilight Embers, Dawn Guard, Adromeda's Answer need to help us with this as well. We are all apparently part of a never ending story."

Jek looks to Dageron and says "Before you ask, I did ask her about the Amulets. Atreyu lives, and we will find him in time. He should be able to help us. And the communication will be protected through the AUYRN's through the new Childlike Empress as well." 

Jek looks to the others now and says. "I asked her about the Apex Predator. She said... hang on, it was a good one, let me remember word for word." He stops, and positions himself dramatically.

"A voice like thunder, foot steps that shatter buildings. Truley a King of Monsters. Balance. It's name is... Godzilla!" Jek uses Minor Illusion right as he says Godzilla to make the sound of a thunder clap. 

  Amitola steps toward Jek, a sort of worry in her step. She begins to speak, louder than she ever has to make sure all hear her clearly, however still looking at Jek. "Jek, you said the Childlike Empress had mentioned the other bands, that's what the goddess had mentioned to me, however she mentioned a specific band. The Twilight Embers, we must reach them, or they will die. We have to figure out how to reach them, and soon."

Saying this out loud only made her realize more that there are multiple lives that lay in her hands. She then looked down to her feet and crossed her arms, not knowing how soon they could reach the other band. "I fear the worst if we don't. I have very important information other than that as well, there is one of them that is not loyal to them, amongst them is a traitor. If we, don't reach them before it is too late, this is my fault, their deaths are upon my hands. She showed me their fate if they are not told, we must warn them, it is up to them to listen or not, but we must tell them."

Jek stares at Amitola, then realizes he's still holding his pose. He stands up straight and dusts himself off. 

He will walk up to Amitola, reaches up and pats her arm. "It is not your fault, and it is not on you alone. We are here, and it is on us all." He stops and thinks for a second "Last I heard from Greko the Green, the Twilight Embers were trying to help the refugees from Hyrule Castle to get to King's Landing. How far is that from here? But.... We can't let Ganondorf get ahold of the Triforce of Courage. Once we get the Triforce, the Tarrasque is release, then we need to release this Godzilla, which means we have to get to Atlantis? Umm... I think we need a map. I don't know where anything is." He looks to Skraih "Do you know where Atreyu is, is he already making his way here?"

Dageron shakes his head. In his gruff voice, he replies to Amitola, "Not a priority. Let us send a messenger and have them work it out for themselves. The Empress didn't even tell you who the traitor was, did she? That is a wasteful task in light of how close we are to the Triforce of Courage. We need to stay focused. Retrieve the Triforce, free the Tarrasque, then go find and free the Apex Predator, so that it and the Tarrasque can fight out their issues. It sounds like that is the order of things we must do. What I wish to know, is what can we do with the Triforce once we have it? is it a weapon? Does it have specific powers or spells stored within it? If so, if it has Wish or Miracle, we can ask for an AURYN amulet back, resolving that issue." He looks at their hosts, "Do you, or any resource in your library know, what the Triforce of Courage actually does?"

Shirin nods in agreement, "Dageron speaks the cold truth, Amitola - The Twilight Embers must wait, or decide their own fate. Our duty is to the Triforce of Courage and containing the Tarrasque. Do we have means to identify the Triforce with a spell?" 

Jek looks to Dageron and Shirin as they speak. His head slumps at the realization. He gives Amitola's arm a reassuring squeeze. 

With a sigh, he says "You both are right. We have our mission, we must trust our compatriots to there's. They have Greko the Green and Rumble of Hunger with them, among others. They should be able to handle themselves. That being said, we need to get them a message as soon as possible. If they happen to be in our path, I think we need to stop and help them."

To Dageron, he will say "Sorry, I don't think I was clear. The Childlike Empress said that Atreyu should be able to help us in getting a new Amulet."

To Shirin "I don't know if it's a spell or not, but I can occasionally tell what a item does. I can't do it over and over, but I can do it once or so a day."