And I Still Need To Get Dressed
GAME: Telamon casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 17 DC: 19 GAME: Telamon casts Overland Flight. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23 GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26 GAME: Telamon casts Resist Energy. Caster Level: 17 DC: 20 GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26 GAME: Ravenstongue casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 15 DC: 18 GAME: Ravenstongue casts Overland Flight. Caster Level: 15 DC: 22 GAME: Seldan casts Undetectable Alignment. Caster Level: 8 DC: 20
The sky is pale with the incoming light of dawn, but the world is still dark yet. The darkness is emphasized by the mist that's rolled in off the ocean and slid all the way through the city and even here outside it. It's a quiet day, surprisingly warm but it's the sort of day where the birds are still nestled into their beds. Nothing stirs the mist save those that feel that they must. Such as the steady guardsmen at their posts.
This hour of the morning is not one that Seldan favors, but it is one to which he is well-accustomed. Swift and silent is the intent, and thus he carries with him a letter, handwritten in the style of Myrrish gentry, such as his mother taught him to write when he was small, among his other limited gear. In addition to the haversack, he carries a leather satchel such as a messenger might use, and Reunion is nowhere to be seen.
Normally, he does not favor teleporting from north of the city - there are those who know of the point he intends to use - but a departure from the usual in the interest of silence and anonymity is called for. Thus does he make his way to the clearing north of Alexandria, in preparation to take himself where he needs to go.
Cor'lana is dressed for war once more in a way that she does more often than not these days. Her enemies are, after all, behind all corners, and the stronghold in which she resides is not impervious--as none are. Her circlet adorns her head, her cloak wraps around her knee-length robes, and she wears a focused expression in addition to the slight indication of tired circles underneath her violet eyes. It is too early, for the birds are nestled into their beds and therefore... so should she.
Yet she is here anyway, outside of Alexandria, and she looks to her husband, whose arm she holds onto. "Are we..."
Her words, however, terminate when she looks beyond her husband's starstruck eyes and spots a familiar friend. "Seldan?" she asks, raising a brow--followed by a bright smile. "Are we working together on this matter?"
It's hard for Telamon to dress down, but when needs must... well, that's how it goes. And so he's dressed in dark gray, utilitarian garb, a tunic over trousers and his well-worn boots. The sleeveless overcoat over that, and the circlet that helps fuel his power set on his brow. His haversack slung over a shoulder, as he walks hand in hand with Cor'lana, the two of them quiet, sharing silent thoughts. It feels -right- to be going off to war (figuratively speaking, if not literally) alongside his bride. Neither likes to be apart from the other, after all.
As they walk, Telamon seems to be studying the air, or perhaps the skies. "Almost, but..." He breaks off as well at Lana's inquiry, and his eyes follow hers unerringly to Seldan. "Sir Seldan," Telamon says quietly, but with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Her light upon your path." Seldan turns and, on seeing the pair, surveys them briefly with a soberly thoughtful gaze. "I know not to what venture you refer, my lady." His tone, as usual, is even, steady, and calm, and he appears to take no offense to the question. "Though, not idly do any among the guild wake at this hour."
"And her light on yours as well, Seldan," Cor'lana replies. "No, we typically do not wake at this hour, either. Sunguard Zeke had a posting up..."
And those words are all that she offers, as she knows those are the key words and all that needs to be said, really. "When we are all ready to travel to Selentia, I will cast the spell," she says. "I am as ready as I will be."
Telamon studies Seldan with those calm, star-shot eyes, before bowing politely. "Wherever we go, she is there to light our way," he replies with a smile. "And no, Lana and I prefer to sleep in -- but needs must, and once again we are called." He flexes his fingers. "With any luck, this will be swift and sure... but I have a feeling it won't be. It never is."
He nods to Cor'lana. "Carry us there, love. I trust you."
Seldan is left to blink in surprise, but the oblique reference is enough to explain - enough. What exactly happened, what manner of communication, he is wholly unsure, but - they seem to know where they are going. "As you will, then," he murmurs, a touch uncertainly, and reaches to lay a hand on Telamon's arm, and on Cor'lana's shoulder, if she is to be the caster. He appears to be well aware of the space she will require, and the need to have her hands-free. "Time is short."
Interestingly, his touch proves that the mild-mannered messenger appearance he wears is entirely a sham, for what touches them is not gloves or hands, but metal gauntlets.
Time is indeed short. The birds will awaken from their nest-beds soon, for there's always the ones who awaken before the dawning of Daeus's light. Cor'lana smiles at Seldan in agreement. "We have people to rescue," she says softly in agreement to Seldan's observation, and then she closes her eyes, the incantation of teleportation falling from her lips.
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Greater Teleport. Caster Level: 15 DC: 24
The world resolves, taking the group from just outside of Alexandria and into the heart of Selentia. This is an unfamiliar location for some, but for others less so. The house that Telamon went to with Andelena, Dolan, and the rest of those who had gone on that trip lies just across the street. It's a large estate, but one that is not at least unknown to Telamon.
The streets here are as empty as they were in Alexandria, and though lacking the fog, the quiet of the morning lingers here as well.
His eyes flick to and fro, and there's a tension in Telamon's body that wasn't there before. He's working now, and his fingers flex a bit as he gets bis bearings. His eyes lock onto the Calogref estate, and he nods. "Hopefully he's still there. I don't want to bring back ill news."
He looks at Lana, and something passes between them again, some silent communication, Then his eyes flick to Seldan. "Don't suppose that's where you're headed as well, Sir Seldan." Alright, he sounds a little hopeful, but this sort of thing, well, the more help you have the better.
_Truly do I walk in the palm of Her hand,_ Seldan thinks, looking around him as the world dissolves and resolves into - a place that would have taken him hours to find. _For She has sent me precisely who I needed, though I knew it not._ He says nothing of that thought, though, turning instead to the others and inclining his head. "My kin asked of me a favor," he replies obliquely, a quiet assent in itself. "A man under compulsion, set to be handed to the claws of evil." Pale blue eyes survey the pair for agreement.
"Correct," Cor'lana responds quietly, once she is settled back into the world. "My beloved husband knows all of this first-hand; I participate in this because those who are concerned with this are to be wedded. But it is a man and his mother who are both possessed. We have been asked to retrieve the son--but if we can retrieve the mother without risking the son or ourselves, we should."
She looks to Telamon. "Anything else that Seldan should know before we approach? I can shroud myself in invisibility that lingers even into combat--and I can offer that to you as well, Seldan. Fortunately, both Telamon and I are able to see the invisible, so locating each other will not be an issue."
"Two fiends known; one that possesses Lady Calogref, but subtly, and the other inhabiting her head chef." Telamon's voice is clipped. "The daughter of Aza Chidea is -not- supposed to be here, but I would be remiss to not warn you about her as well, Sir Seldan. This daughter, Rida, is a half-fiend of some sort. I have no idea what her powers or attributes might be, but it is better to be forewarned than not."
He nods to Lana. "I don't know if they've locked the place down with dimensional warding -- but I would prefer to be in and out before they even know we're here." His lips quirk up. "I have a wedding to attend, you see."
_Ah,_ the incline of Seldan's head at the information says. He listened intently to the information given without comment, cataloging it all. "It seems you know far more of the situation than I, and that you likely have a better idea of how to proceed than I. The family is hostile?"
"I don't think they will appreciate us trying to get the son out, no," Cor'lana responds, looking to Telamon. "We should probably approach as stealthily as we can. Telamon is known to the people in that house, but you and I, Seldan--they do not know of us. Or shouldn't, at least."
Telamon nods, his expression dour. "I've been here a couple times, with Dolan and Andelena. So they probably DO know me." He tilts his head, calculating. "Sir Seldan, Lana, do you think the two of you could talk your way inside, while I try to slip in undetected? Honestly, part of me just wants to cut the side off the house and grab Gale, but I think Baron Valence would get irritated about that and at some point I might have to come -back- to Selentia."
"That can I do. Your lady may accompany me, or you, as you both desire." For the first time, Seldan wears the very smallest of smiles. "Come, let us be swift. Do we stand about in a place such as this when the households awake, we shall be remarked." With that, he turns to study the house, looking not for the main door, but for a servants' entrance.
It doesn't take long for Seldan to locate the servants entrance, if only because he knows what to look for in that regard. The kitchen is the obvious choice, with its servants entrance being a sort of back door to the house itself. It shows no sign of activity as of yet. At least not from the outside.
GAME: Telamon rolls perception: (9)+25: 34 GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perception: (10)+19: 29 GAME: Seldan rolls perception: (4)+25: 29 GAME: Telamon casts Greater Invisibility. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23 GAME: Seldan casts Protection From Evil. Caster Level: 8 DC: 19
This is not the most ideal situation, but with the telepathic bond, Lana and Tel can share information without worry, and Sir Seldan is probably about as safe as it gets when it comes to 'people Tel would trust with his wife'. Swiftly, Tel glides around towards the backyard, murmuring a spell as he goes -- and by the time he's there, he's no longer visible. Swiftly he flies up towards Gale's window, and cautiously peeks in, having seen the movement and activity there.
GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/the planes: (19)+13: 32
Meanwhile, Seldan murmurs a swift prayer, and for a moment is sheathed in silver light. He seems to be acquainted with manors of this sort to some degree at least, for he, too, makes his way to the back of the house, fishing from the satchel over his shoulder a scroll with a wax seal on it. He hesitates before rapping on the door, on seeing activity inside. That isn't terribly unusual even at the early hour for a kitchen, but he does hesitate, at least for a moment.
"Telamon is headed up to the room that belongs to the son, Gale," Cor'lana informs Seldan in a whisper. "There's activity in that room already."
She casts a spell on herself, something to ward off evil on herself, as she accompanies Seldan. It's a thing that emanates out from herself, a murmured incantation followed by the soft flow of protective energy that pours out from herself. Then, for now--she waits with Seldan.
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Magic Circle Against Evil. Caster Level: 15 DC: 20
A moment after Seldan knocks on the door a servant opens that door and peers outside curiously. "Morn'." The young woman offers, her apron covered in early-morning flour and her hands dusted with it. "How may I help you ser? Ma'am?"
Seldan offers a small, apologetic smile to the woman. "I know that it is yet early," he offers politely, "But I am to deliver a message to Master Gale Calogref's hand. I hate to disturb him so early, but I am given to understand that it is a matter of some urgency, and that he will understand."
GAME: Seldan rolls diplomacy: (3)+20: 23
Cor'lana smiles brightly at the servant woman. "It is of urgent importance that we get this message into Master Gale Calogref's hand. I am afraid we cannot disclose the contents of it beyond that." Her voice is sweet and apologetic, light and lovely. However, she offers a look to Seldan that suggests they need to get inside the estate as soon as possible.
"Oh! That's odd! Please come in!" She opens the door wider, showing various kitchen staff preparing food. "We were just about to go get him. He should be almost ready!" She motions the pair through the kitchen area, the head chef notably absent and into the house beyond. "I'd show you the way but we're much too busy. It's up the stairs and in the middle. Mind yourselves."
GAME: Telamon casts Banishment. Caster Level: 17 DC: 24 GAME: Telamon rolls Will: (4)+16: 20 GAME: Telamon rolls Will: (15)+16: 31 GAME: Telamon rolls spellpen: aliased to 1d20+sorcerer+4: (2)+17+4: 23 GAME: Telamon rolls spellpen: aliased to 1d20+sorcerer+4: (8)+17+4: 29 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (19)+18: 37
Time's up. That's what goes through Telamon's mind when he sees the invisible fiend seize Gale. He just hopes Gale's dazed expression isn't because he's already lost his soul. Gripping his staff, he drives the bronze circles-within-circles head through the window with a crash, shattering the glass as he snarls, "Leave him ALONE!" before unleashing the banishment spell through the staff.
It feels like he's holding onto a length of living lightning, but his fingers remain on the staff as the room flares with silvery light, and though it does not rend the fiend entirely from this plane, it might have gotten its attention.
Or so Tel hopes. . o O (Honey, might want to get up here quickly.)
Telamon crashes in through the window and for a moment the creature he's fired off his spell at seems to flicker in its existence. Yet... it remains, and thought Telamon had gotten a good look at it before now somehow its presence is all the more real without the glass to divide them. The thing is skeletal in appearance, wearing an ever-grinning face with lich-blue flame burning within them. Its rib cage is an open thing, harboring no heart, no viscera, and in fact it spends these precious moments stuffing Gale into the space inside of itself. The man wholly unconscious at this point.
GAME: Seldan rolls strength: (11)+6: 17 GAME: Seldan rolls 1d3+6: (2)+6: 8 GAME: Telamon casts Dimensional Anchor/Quicken. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26 GAME: Telamon rolls ranged: (11)+10: 21
"My thanks, and I shall." Seldan does not waste time working past the kitchen and into the main house, glancing back to be sure that Cor'lana follows before starting for the stairs.
It's the crash of glass that gets his attention first, and he snaps his head back, then forward. "There is trouble. Come, swiftly now."
He touches his chest, and murmurs in sildanyari, "Hurry." The armor shows itself, in response, the clothing melting away in a flash of blue and silver light to reveal its true, pearlescent form. He then reaches into the haversack at his back, Reunion near-instantly in his hand, and _bolts_ up the stairs with impossible speed, slamming through the door into Gale's room with a splintering of wood.
GAME: Telamon casts Greater Shadow Conjuration. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26
Well, this has gone sideways. Again. It's a common peril when adventuring: no plan survives contact with the enemy. Still, Telamon won't give up, not here, not now. He promised. A fast-chant of 'Gespar sedu hese!' and a greenish beam slams into the fiend, locking him in place here on the material plane.
It's not going anywhere, and as Seldan stages what could be described as 'dynamic entry', Telamon opts for some support. "Let's improve the overall culture here, shall we?" Besides, it'll probably irritate the fiend even -more-. "Anungal," he chants, "Silig gissu, namsimug gesse." Smoke begins to billow from his palm, pouring out, thickening. Something is -there- in the smoke -- a delicately muscled arm, a shifting, serpentine body. Then the smoke clears to reveal a lovely woman-angel, half willowy winged elf, half serpent, with flowing ebon hair and violet eyes, holding a lute. Deliberately, she begins to play, the shimmering tunes washing through the room, lightening the hearts and spirits of Telamon and his friends.
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Haste/Quicken. Caster Level: 15 DC: 24 GAME: Ravenstongue casts Hold Monster/Persistent. Caster Level: 15 DC: 24 GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+15+4: (19)+15+4: 38 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (7)+18: 25 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (19)+18: 37 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (2)+18: 20 GAME: Seldan rolls knowledge/the planes: (14)+12: 26
Even as the pressure suddenly ratchets up, Cor'lana maintains her calm demeanor. Seldan is here, one of the two best men she can think of for fighting demons. All she needs to do is set him up for victory.
When he bolts ahead of her, she follows after him with the urging of quickening magic on her lips, making her all the faster. Once she arrives inside of the room, her violet eyes fall onto the fiend and the poor soul stuck inside of it.
The follower of Vaire cannot abide a cage. She'd told a dear friend of hers just that only two days ago. It is for the captive man's sake and to put the fiend right where Seldan needs him that a sparking word, full of magic, falls from her mouth, in time to a natural pause in the music of the angelic woman who so resembles her. "Hold."
The magic washes over the fiend and fixes it in place. The enchantress setting it up for the man who will bring the fiend low.
GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+haste+2-4: aliased to weapon1+charisma+1+2-4: (17)+24+8+1+2+-4: 48 GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+haste+2-4-5: aliased to weapon1+charisma+1+2-4-5: (4)+24+8+1+2+-4+-5: 30 GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+haste+2-4-10: aliased to weapon1+charisma+1+2-4-10: (5)+24+8+1+2+-4+-10: 26 GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+haste+2-4: aliased to weapon1+charisma+1+2-4: (6)+24+8+1+2+-4: 37 GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+sedmg+2: aliased to 1d8+9+8+8+2: (8)+9+8+8+2: 35 GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2: (4)+9+8+2: 23 GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2: (8)+9+8+2: 27 GAME: Telamon casts Telekinesis. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23
_The sense of danger had been spot-on_, Seldan realizes when he bursts into the room in a spray of splinters. _How did Zeke know?_ No time to ponder that question, though, as the dirty-old-man voice bursts from the blade in Seldan's hand. "Eeeee hehehehe I was going to yell at you, buy, but I guess I'll forgive you this time. Are we going after it, or what?"
"Carefully, Kanian, it has an innocent in its clutches. Strike, but do not injure than man within." A cooler head prevails.
Seldan sets to work, then, with a snarl. "In the name of the holy Dreamer, let him _go_!" and while the need for caution forces one strike wide, the blade follows, unerring and true.
The lillend continues to play, the notes washing over the trio as the angelic creature flies over to outflank the fiend. It -- she -- smiles at Seldan encouragingly over the fiend's shoulder, as if to cheer him on. Hopefully it'll help.
Meanwhile, Telamon is being frustrated. Invoking his telekinetic spell, he gestures, starlight sparkles appearing around the fiend's chest. "Ah, -shit-! I can't pry him loose! It's like he's jammed in there tight... Lana, keep him locked down! Don't let him get out of your grasp!"
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Limited Wish. Caster Level: 15 DC: 24 GAME: Ravenstongue casts Shield/Quicken. Caster Level: 15 DC: 22 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (19)+18: 37 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (7)+18: 25
Seeing the lillend going to inspire Seldan, Cor'lana does much the same. She gathers up the magic within her, lets it run through her body.
"I have a small wish--to see Seldan become an even greater hero."
The words crackle from her mouth with power, and her wish comes true. Silver-hued magic licks at Seldan's form, empowering him, enabling him to write another page in his ongoing defense of the people against the fiends that he is called to defeat.
Satisfied with this, the sorceress murmurs a quick string of words for protection, another flush of magic flowing over her form and becoming transparent when it settles into her skin.
The fiend continues to stand there idly, held by Cor'lana's spell. Then, as if in unison, Gale ceases to breathe, and the fiend's right hand twitches. It's a bad sign all around.
GAME: Telamon rolls heal: (3)+1: 4
GAME: Seldan rolls heal: (8)+13: 21
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Heal: (5)+2: 7
GAME: Seldan rolls heal: (18)+13: 31
GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+4+2+1-4: aliased to weapon1+charisma+4+2+1-4: (11)+24+8+4+2+1+-4: 46
GAME: {*} Seldan rolls reunion+se+4+2+1-4-5: aliased to weapon1+charisma+4+2+1-4-5: (14)+24+8+4+2+1+-4+-5: 44
GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+4+2+1-4-10: aliased to weapon1+charisma+4+2+1-4-10: (17)+24+8+4+2+1+-4+-10: 42
GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+4+2+1-4: aliased to weapon1+charisma+4+2+1-4: (1)+24+8+4+2+1+-4: 36 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Seldan rolls reunion+se+4+2+1-4: aliased to weapon1+charisma+4+2+1-4: (11)+24+8+4+2+1+-4: 46
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2+4: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2+4: (8)+9+8+2+4: 31
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2+4: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2+4: (2)+9+8+2+4: 25
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2+4: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2+4: (2)+9+8+2+4: 25
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+2+4: aliased to 1d8+9+8+2+4: (8)+9+8+2+4: 31
GAME: Seldan rolls perception: (10)+25: 35
GAME: Telamon rolls perception: (3)+25: 28
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perception: (2)+19: 21
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perception: (17)+19: 36
Seldan watches Gale closely, cool even in the midst of battle, even when the blade in his hand is yelling in a thousand voices for the demon's blood. It's quite the excited cacophony, really, but the paladin stands firm in the midst of it, watching the human he has trapped as he stops breathing. "I cannot kill it swiftly, only through force," he tells the other two. "I must do so to release him without harm. Lady of Wisdom, guide my hand and heart, that I do no more damage than I must."
Backed and guided by the magic that washes over him, he inclines his head in thanks to those that surround and support him, then slashes with impossible speed, literally cutting the fiend to ribbons.
"Swiftly now," he tells the others as the fiend begins to disintegrate under the sword's power. "Take him and take us from this place. Something else comes."
GAME: Telamon casts Greater Teleport. Caster Level: 17 DC: 25
As the fiend crumbles, Telamon growls, "Thus always to the Tyrant." Then he's running forward, grabbing Gale's shoulder as Cor'lana rushes to his other arm.
"Yes, I can feel that coming, too," Cor'lana replies, going to join the group and going to take hold of Seldan and Telamon both by the shoulders to complete the teleportation circle. Her eyes sparkle as she looks up at Telamon. "Take us home, my starborn king." <Sylvan>
The lillend folds her wings around the group as Seldan grabs on as well, and Telamon shouts out his incantation. "Anungal, kaskal nu siten, ula'ulla!"
And a sphere of shimmering light wraps around the small group, and in an instant they are gone -- reappearing in the grassy meadow just outside of Alexandria. Safe for now.
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perception: (4)+19: 23 GAME: Telamon rolls perception: (16)+25: 41
-End