"Even with the extras, these five surely will not be enough."

"It is fortunate that three were linked. We are fortunate to even have this many. We fear with any more, we risk being noticed by Zuzeca and the others."

"And you are certain, Ginan, of their intent?"

"Our calls have been heard. The portents do not lie. Their treachery is evident in the markings of the stars. Zuzeca and Impag intent to shatter our pact. Though there is yet a third."

"And we will be saved by an orb? Seems small in the face of a god like Impag, does it not?"

"A great orb."

"It will have to be enough. We are aware of the risks, Kayel. The cost of the alternative is even greater."

"You and I both know it won't be."

A vision imparts itself in the minds of Aisha, Garu, and Harmony. The discussion is accompanied by an image that has finally crystalized in Harmony's mind after all this time: Gabrielle, Ginan, and Kayel speak to one another in a familiar otherworldly forest clearing. As the talking fades, so too does the vision, and your eyes open to another familiar location.

The three of you are in a cold, stone cellar, with a teleportation circle upon the floor. Abraxas is nowhere to be seen, but you have appeared here nonetheless, much to the surprise of the strange figure that was here alone prior to your arrival.

Our Party:

Aisha Snowytail: Tabaxi Ranger/Rogue (Beast Master)
Anilith "Harmony" Domarien: Tiefling Bard (College of Glamour)
Garu: Kitsune Paladin (Oath of the Ancients)
Hyperion Voight: Reborn Artificer (Armorer)

OOC: Welcome to the party, Hyperion! To begin this adventure, everyone be sure to introduce your character and their appearance to our new party member, and vice-versa.

Garu blinks her eyes repeatedly, adjusting to the change in scenery. Looking about, she takes in a deep breath of air and assesses their immediate surroundings, stretching her arms tall over her head. She looks around her person, ensuring her weapons and armor are still secure then exhales.

"At the risk of seeming less hospitable than I mean to be, but WHO are you and what has become of our travelling companion?", Garu calmly asks this strange new face, inspecting them as she speaks.

The figure is clad head-to-toe in splint armor, a pale steel armor with intricate gold embellishments - no exposed skin.  As the party's eyes alight on the figure, it slowly staggers to its feet.  Two pale blue lights flicker into prominence beneath its visors, suggesting eyes.  Lying haphazardly on the floor not far from the stranger is a backpack, a mace, and crossbow.  Its body language suggests fatigue - or severe injury. A hollow voice echoes from it, cycling through several languages before setting on common.  His speech is slow at first, slurred.  But gradually growing more clear and quick as he speaks.

"Vakra. . . destera. . . hello. . . I . . . I am Hyperion, if I recall. But I . . . I do not know you. . . I do not know your companion.  Wait - what?"  Seemingly remembering something, he extends one gauntlet, and his mace floats from the ground to his open hand.  His helmet pivots side to side, as if scanning for some unseen danger.

Harmony blinks, looking around at the cold stone cellar she's in as she saw Garu and Aisha. But instead of seeing Abraxas too, she saw something completely armored with lights for eyes start moving. "Eep!" she gives a small scream and instantly moves closer to Garu, scared. Where's Abraxas?! Then she listens to it, surprised as the mace floated to their hand. "...I'm Harmony." she introduces herself, still confused and wondering what's going on. Hyperion would see a young female tiefling with lilac-colored eyes, baby pink skin, long pink hair, and what looks to be small curled horns painted white wearing a simple white billowy dress with sheer sleeves and baby blue frills along the bottom, gold lace trim around the cuffs and bottom of the dress; the top being more intricate with gold, teal, and baby pink decorations while wearing a baby pink beret with gold stars and pink pearls along with a gold star hairclip.

(OCC: This is what her hair color, length, and style is. Her horns are like Jester's from Critical Role as well, but painted white.)

Unlike the Kitsune (basically a fox) the Tabaxi, Aisha was like a tiny, humanoid tiger as she barely stood five feet if that. With a figure that would evoke instincts in any who were not averse to her kind. Her armor was minimal, and only covered what was nessecary, though it also seemed intentional. Instead of leather, what was covered was within small, metallic links. It was clear enough that her armor was meant to be a distraction in the same way that a kunoichi used her allure to distract men or women who were into women during combat. A large bow on her back that was almost as large as she was, and she gave off the visual of either a ranger or a fighter who excelled in bow usage over melee weapons.

However where once was a beautiful, silken haired tigress, now stood (once she arose) someone who looked haggared, and frustrated. A scowl where once a teasing smile may have been. Eyes that used to sparkle in emerald now a dull green. And her hair, despite her maintenance, was, at-least in small patches like waking up to a bad hair day. Ultimately dulling any allure she may have once had. She didn't notice the 'man' immediately. Like last time, her first concern was making sure whether T'savi had been transported with her, and where she was, as well as seeing if this was the circle beneath 'their house' or another.

It was only after she had completed her scan that she noticed the others were talking. She had assumed they were speaking to Abraxus and had tuned them out in the immediate. But once she finally looked at the man, and noticed abraxus' absence, her eyes thinned to slits, and she readied her bow the moment the mace flew to the unknown mans hand, two arrows ready to fly at a moments notice. Drrop it, or you will soon find yourrrself unable to wield it. Her face was set in an expression that could only be described as someone who had just gotten horrible news, when they were already angry, and were not about to 'deal' with any more 'problems' that day. Aisha assuming his 'scanning' had been for other reasons.

Hyperion's armored figure twists slightly at the hip, the humanoid clearly still looking for something or someone other than the three adventurers who suddenly appeared before him.  The arcane conduits on his gauntlets and belt continue to glow a soft azure in the moment of tension.  When the tabaxi threatens him, he cocks his head to the other direction.  There is is a hollow chuckle from within the armor.  He drops the mace casually, a shield instead floating to the outstretched hand.  His other gauntlet curls into a fist, and the arcane glow increases in intensity.

"I do not need to wield that mace.  I offer you the same deal regarding your bow."

Seemingly nonplussed, Hyperion nods in acknowledgement towards Harmony.

Aisha's bowstring becomes more taut, and a subtle shift in the angle of the bow, as well as the two arrows when the man seemed confident he could do it bare handed, or rather make it a stalemate via blocking or whatever his plan was in that scenario. Though a pulse of bemusement shot through her, it wasn't enough to break the stiff veneer of her visage. You arre unknown to us. You are outnumbered by us. We have faced things you cannyot even imagine. This one's .. frrriend has asked you a question. This one thinks you should be answering it, under these cirrcumstances. Aisha's height made it unnecessary to duck into a low, tense crouch. 

If Hyperion is shaken by Aisha's aggression, the helmet hides it well.

"I. . . have answered, feline stranger.  I have given my name, as asked, and I said I do not know of your companion.  You might have heard if you were not hissing so loudly."

He turns his back on the ranger, taking their surroundings in, as if he had never seen this place.  As he does, a pale blue aura flickers into existence around him, emanating in waves from the arcane conduits set into his armor.

"You, likewise, have not seen what I have seen. . . nor am I one to be cowed by numbers and unfair odds.  I am no. . .  'fraidy cat. . .  What is this place, and what were you expecting?"

Harmony watches and listens as Aisha and Hyperion spoke, a tension in the air. She heard him, thinking as she looked down, noticing the teleportation circle. "It looks like we're in a teleportation chamber, having teleported through this circle. Well, all of us, we have been traveling together as a group and we had a friend with us named Abraxas. He was with us before this, then the vision came again and it was finally all clear. Now we are here, but Abraxas isn't here with us though. Where were you before? How did you get here?" Harmony had quickly said back and asked Hyperion before anything rash could happen between the two.

For Aisha:

T'savi, having teleported into Galanov Manor with the rest of the party, shifts from a relaxed stance to a stiff tension as Aisha and Hyperion show down.

Aisha was glad that she knew where she was, and T'savi being nearby only aided in that. At the mans answer, She looked, slightly around for confirmation by the others that the man spoke true about having already answered the questions, but still, AIsha was slow to trust at this point, atleast anyone she didn't know, or know by association. Her grip lessened slightly, though the bow was loaded still. T'savi ready to act if need-be, but for now words would still suffice.

We werrre expecting our mage. Not some glow in the darrrk man. This is our home. We have nyever seen you beforre, and atleast Aisha has nyot ever heard of orr seen your kind. You arre trresspassing. Tell us how you got here, as she has asked. AIsha, glad that she wasn't the only one who harbored atleast some doubts about the man, Harmony, ever the pacifist and trusting person but the group likely needed that just as much as it needed suspicion. And we were not expecting company.

"Ah, this is your home?"  Hyperion's voice betrays his surprise.  "That would explain your aggression.  Keep your arrow notched, if it puts you at ease."

He turns back towards the party.  His posture is still relaxed, neither threatened nor threatening.

"I. . . just awoke here.  Did you perhaps miss me when you took ownership of this place?  Or perhaps your mage bungled something with his teleporation magic and brought me here?"

His free hand reaches towards his face, one finger tapping on the side of his helmet as he thinks.

"I do remember portals being involved in that fight. . . the last fight I was in.  But whatever happened, its mostly a mystery to me.  Might have gotten hit kinda hard.  Tell me, how goes the reclamation of Ersetu?"

Garu steps forward, one hand on her holy symbol, the other outstretched. 

The fur on her neck stands as she calls forth a prayer to Tylyn to use Divine Sense. "Bringer of Light, show us the essence of this soul who stands before us." 

For Garu:

Harmony had heard Aisha, very glad and relieved that they were back at their home. Then she listened to Hyperion, thinking and shook her head. "We had spent time cleaning this house when we got it and I don't remember having seen you before. I don't think so. Last I remember, we were all together after we luckily did what we needed to do and he never mentioned anything about bringing someone to our house. Reclamation of Ersetsu? Where is Ersetsu?" Harmony had asked him, wondering if he is a native of this world or from somewhere else like they all are.

"I get no sense of evil essence from you which does not mean you mean us well but means you are not undead. To whom do you pledge your loyalty? I get the sense from your appearance you are someone who fights for a cause." Garu looks over the armor worn by Hyperion for any distinguishing markings she might recognize.

Hyperion sighs in consternation.

"Ersetsu?  I suppose I must have been teleported, then, if you are ignorant of it.  That's good - must mean we were successful in closing the portals and keeping the invasion from spreading.  Though. . . I can't remember exactly what happened."

He turns to focus on Garu again.

"Well, I am glad I'm not evil.  Would have been a terrible surprise to me. . . ." He pauses, giving Garu's question some heavy consideration.  "I . . . am not sure.  Naturally, I fight to stay alive.  I imagine dying is unpleasant.  I also suppose I don't like watching the weak and innocent suffer - present company obviously doesn't include such individuals."

 If not for the recent visions, and all the other cascading events, Hypers specific comment would have wring a wry chuckle from the felines lips, but she just couldn't muster the energy or the willpower. Aisha tried to think about the situation, but her mind was too overcome with 'needs done' to posit that purrhaps Abraxus had been replaced in the grand scheme, so unfortunately, she couldn't voice any such words. Despite her lack of humor, after Garu's stunt, and the .. .. she assumed, males, response - her bow was loosened until it was in its neutral position, returning her arrows to their place. T'savi's muscles loosening when her mistress' did.

A sigh, laden with the unwanted burden of the world escaped her throat, before finally voicing her conclusions. Well who or whateverr he is, Aisha no longer thinks he's a foe. And no longer cares. Aisha is going to lay on something soft. Let us get out of this dusty cellar atleast if we are going to talk more. Aisha is tired in the head - And we have much to deal with. And we still have nyot gotten anything that a soldier in a city wouldn't already have. she said, alluding to the fact they had yet to find even a single item of power outside of some scrolls, not liking their chances against what they will eventually have to face without them.

Regardless, AIsha whispers into T'savi's ear, telling the panther to go get someone the party knew from their mutual contacts at a certain place, and bring them here, so they could inform them of events, and get supplies flowing. Before walking upstairs, looking for the first soft thing that would allow her to lay on was at.

"You do seem quite exhausted," Hyperion agrees as Aisha leaves for a place to rest.  He turns to Garu and Harmony.

"I'm not going to move through your home without an escort, I imagine.  I would like to talk more, as I can already tell I am quite lost.  I am something of a healer, tinkerer, and warrior, if you would like to trade your information for my services?  Whatever your jobs are, it seems as if it hasn't been an easy task."

Garu INT: 17
Harmony INT: 11

For Harmony:

Much of the manor appears as you left it, though a faint layer of dust covers most of the building. Your rooms and belongings have remained intact, including Aisha's bed, which she moves toward as Hyperion awaits a response.