Kiven ignores Abraxxus and replies to Blau "do not be hasty my coprolite friend."  "Proverbial stabs in the dark are not how we conduct such analysis."     Turning to Eya and asking "no meaning to these syllables in the demon tongue or any other?"

"Yes, we shall restore him.  Not many deserve the fate of existing as not more than stone."  Kiven's expression does not hide the intended insult to Blau.

Eya feels sick to her stomach in front of this shrine. "We need to stop this right now. It really feels so awful here and I feel like I'm going to throw up if this thing stays up. Abraxxus, will you help me find an animal to sacrifice?"

When Kiven figures out the teleporter, she says, "Very nice, this will be useful I bet. I wonder where else it teleports to however. Could someone get in here who we don't want getting in?"

Answering Kiven she says, "The words are gibberish, even in abyssal."

Regarding the statue, Eya says, "If we plan to use the stone salve, we should firmly attach the head first lest we have a literal bloody mess on our hands. Give me a second." Eya's eyes flare with arcane power as she speedily flips through her spellbook. "Okay ready. Now, someone hold this head in place and I'll fix it."

Abraxxus nods at Eya.  " I will find a suitable sacrifice, daughter of Tiadora. " He winks and heads out looking for a large enough animal to capture and use as the sacrifice. 

Knowledge Nature: 18

Perception:  20

Kiven watches Abraxxus leave and wonders if he will be ambushed by treebeard's friend upon exiting, but decides not to say anything.

The elf waits for Eya and Blau to begin restoring the stone cultist so he can pluck whatever is in its pocket out as quickly as possible, ideally asking Blau to kneel on his chest to hold him down briefly and block his view.

Eya mends the head of the "statue" using the Mending spell. "Ok, get ready," she says to Kiven. Then, once everything looks good, carefully applies the stone salve. 

As Eya does her thing Kiven casts Fallback Strategy to help guid his hand in retrieving the magic item.

Abraxxus hunts around outside of the horn for a time, but has no luck.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group work to restore the statue, placing the head back on the shoulders along with the bits and chips that have flaked off. A mending spell fixes them in place. When applied, the stone salve has a rather remarkable effect, softening the figure in a sweeping wave of color and texture reverting back to cloth and flesh.

The acolyte starts to struggle in your grip angrily while Kiven fishes out the object from his belt pouch. It proves to be a large emerald cut the same way as the Eye of Vigilance you found before.

"Mitran scum! Vetra Kali will feast on your entrails for this offense. Beg for mercy now and he may merely take your eyes!"

Kiven quickly pockets the emerald.

He says aloud but to no one in particular "ah yes, of course, more religious fervor."  "How, refreshing..."

With a bit more purpose he moves and stands over the cultist.  "I am Lord Kiven Aloro and I have come to release Vetra Kali.  Stay your anger and you may join my in this.... honor."

"Release? What lies are these!? Our lord fights on!"

The acolyte seems completely unaware of the passage of time involved here.

"You were petrified until we restored you just now, and the Mitrans took this place and sealed your 'Lord' away.  It is logical for you to doubt this, but take my associate here as some small bit of evidence.  Do you think she is with the Mitrans?"  Kiven gestures to Eya.

The acolyte frowns as he looks at Eya properly for the first time, then looks around the room with growing horror. He reaches out to the nearest bed, seeing for himself the bedding disintegrating at a touch. "I remember... I needed reagents for my spell, grabbed them, and then I turned and saw that thrice damned cleric casting his own curse..."

He swallows before asking, "How, how long has it been?"

"It's the year 254 MR. You've likely been petrified for some time. I had to reattach your stone head before bringing you back. Listen, we plan to continue the work you and your old friends started and need all the help we can get. Since we saved your life, will you work for us? I have a lot of questions about this place," Eya asks.

The acolyte doesn't answer, and instead struggles to his feet and walks out of the room, stumbling through the halls to see the destruction for himself. Eventually he turns and states, folding his arms to conceal a shaking hand, "Fine, it seems that you are telling the truth about the situation at hand. It appears that I am the last of the Sons of the Pale Horseman, that does not change my oath to defend the secrets of this place past the point of death."

"That said, it doesn't appear that I have any chance of restoring this place on my own, much less getting rid of you, so lets talk. What exactly are your intentions here? What did the Mitrans do to my lord?"

Blau speaks to the restored acolyte "He has been sealed away behind Mitran magic and ritual. Our task has been given by my Lord Asmodeus to restore your Lord into the world, as the balance demands. Your part to play in this restoration is yet to be determined, but there is no doubt that you are needed by Him. Consider that you are essentially the High Priest of Vetra-Kali now and all the responsibilities that will entail to bring worshipers back to His Temple."

The acolyte is silent for a moment, "The prince of devils would never do such a thing without something to gain. What is the cost of this assistance? And don't tell me that bit about balance again."

Nodding, Blau agrees "He does want something for this effort - use, control and protection from the Tears for the chosen acolytes and representatives, to bring MItra and his followers back to the level they belong. For far too long has Mitra dominated the pantheon, and driven into hiding or destroyed all other deities, even those of Good. Use of the Tears will cripple the fools and redress the balance. What Vetra Kali chooses to do after the bargain is struck, as long as it doesn't interfere with Asmodeus' tasks, matters not to us. For this we will perform the necessary rituals to release your God."

Abraxxus heads back out after having no luck.  He soars quietly above the ground looking for a sacrifice. 

Survival: @Kyrroeth game_die
Result: 1d20 (20) + 2
Total: 22

Eya shakes the acolytes hand in return, "Trust me, our goals align for now. Your god is trapped behind a powerful seal. We know how to release him. That's what you want, right? We saved your life, and only ask for your support to accomplish this goal. For now, do you know how the teleporter works? All the phrases and where they lead? Can someone potentially sneak into this place from outside using it? Do you know how to reach any further floors above this one? And what else can we find here that could help us?"

 Abraxxus heads off, this time swiftly spotting a plump mountain goat. Swooping down on it, the half dragon manages to snap it up, flying back with it to the temple, with the confused and frightened animal crying out beneath him.

At the temple, the acolyte hesitates before accepting Eya's hand, "My lord would wish to see the tears put to proper use regardless. My name is Halthus, sometimes called the Flayer thanks to a little party trick I do with some of the prisoners. By teleporters I assume that you mean the thrones? I know there are at least three, but can tell you nothing else. Acolytes like myself were not allowed to study or use them. I don't think anyone can sneak in from outside, but I cannot answer that question with certainty."

"As to getting to the floor above, I assume after all this time the Miasma is not functioning? Aura of green flame around the mountain? No? All right then, in that case there are three ways. With the Miasma down, it is possible to simply climb or fly, there's a landing platform above us. It is incredibly difficult to climb, suicidal if you're not well trained in such, but it can be done. I would assume there are a lot of traps defending that platform, if the Mitrans did not destroy them all."

"You could simply teleport up there, but I don't know the right word, and since you're asking I assume that you don't know either. And finally, there is the spiral, a hidden staircase that heads all the way up to the top. I'm afraid I do not know where the entrance to it is."

Halthus pauses to think, "As to things that would help you, it looks like most things were destroyed or taken, at least on this level. From what I saw, the hall of murals is mostly intact. There are a few useful rituals encoded there. I can help transcribe them. They were used to summon and bind useful creatures. Not daemons mind you, nothing that special."

"And then there's Hexor and Vexor, they might still be around. I assume the Mitrans destroyed them, but if the Mitrans didn't destroy their name plates as well, they would have been brought  back to this plane after a time. They're brothers, ceustodaemons bound to protect this place. If they are still around, they might be reasoned with using the same offer presented to me, they might be impossible to reason with after so long alone here. I honestly do not know, the only way to be sure an encounter with them goes well is to find the amulets with their names on them before encountering them. Anyone with them in their possession can command them utterly. The high priest kept them hidden along with the temple's wealth."