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Into the Icy Darkness: The Great Demon War
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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1300593" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p>END OF THE DEFENSE OF MEPHYS:</p><p></p><p>The small housecat that Siabrey found, that had previously been glowing blue, spoke, stating its name was Xanadu, and that he really was a half-elf wizard trapped in a cats body. The entire village was stunned, as the cat now walked up and down in front of the largest of the idols, recounting his tale.</p><p></p><p>HE had once been a powerful wizard, a guardian of these lands, when the “ice demon” the old man spoke of arrived and began gathering forces some time ago. Xanadu went to confront the monster, only to be felled, and cursed to have his intelligence trapped in the idol now recovered by the PCs, while his mind was trapped in the body of a cat. When pressed by Tess, he states he’s not sure if he can reverse the process… he would need to journey to his home further north, near Obash, to find out.</p><p></p><p>Naturally, there were questions as to how he ended up <em>south</em>, Xanadu promptly grumbled about “nice travelers saying, ‘ooo.. look at the kitty! Lets take him to Holstean!’” before stopping and remembering exactly what Siabrey had done for him. </p><p></p><p>Hearing that he’s met the ice demon before, Tess and the others (save Siabrey, who is still recovering from the poison) ask him about the ice demon’s origins. He replies, to the dismay of Lucius, that the ice demon is none other than <em>Ananias himself</em>.</p><p></p><p>Xanadu explained that Ananias, during his last days as king, had made war against the growing power of the nascent Empire. Priests of Tarantor in Holstean had given him access to darker powers, and in order to augment his forces, he’d sold his soul to a demon who would in return give him power over cold from the mountains above and the ability to call and command the darker creatures therein. This power was concentrated in a black iron staff, crowned with a large half diamond and a “fire stone.” </p><p></p><p>Ananias bound the demon somehow within the staff, a breach of their deal, and was thus burned into his present form; a gaunt, tall humanoid, snow white and winged, cursed to forever walk the earth looking for a way to finally rest. In the meantime, the creature would attempt to amass gemstones, hoping to find the proper gems to regain the staff.</p><p></p><p>The party immediately becomes frightened, and demands of Xanadu whether the black staff they gave to the Countess was the same staff the demon was bound to. Xanadu says that it sounds more and more like Ananias’ staff, but he can’t tell for sure. Tess and a slowly waking Siabrey ask Lucius if his mother’s s mages and the like could have detected the evil in the staff… a tearful Lucius replies that if his mother’s own magical ability could not detect it, none of the others likely could either. The boy starts to break down after this.</p><p></p><p>The broken Lucius receives a visitor later than night… an eagle, sky blue with crimson wingtips. Party members recognize it as a male blood eagle, native to the highest reaches of the mountain passes. It sits patiently at his feet, and the two watch each other into the night.</p><p></p><p>When the party awakes the next morning, there is a note from Lucius, that he “needed time to think about recent events, and my course in life,” and that he would be back by evening…</p><p></p><p>In the morning also, a contingent of riders arrives from Kulloden. It becomes apparent that the rider that the party saved rode to Kulloden instead of Holstean, and now 50 of the Baron of Kulloden's finest warriors ride into the city to bolster its defenses.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1300593, member: 15043"] END OF THE DEFENSE OF MEPHYS: The small housecat that Siabrey found, that had previously been glowing blue, spoke, stating its name was Xanadu, and that he really was a half-elf wizard trapped in a cats body. The entire village was stunned, as the cat now walked up and down in front of the largest of the idols, recounting his tale. HE had once been a powerful wizard, a guardian of these lands, when the “ice demon” the old man spoke of arrived and began gathering forces some time ago. Xanadu went to confront the monster, only to be felled, and cursed to have his intelligence trapped in the idol now recovered by the PCs, while his mind was trapped in the body of a cat. When pressed by Tess, he states he’s not sure if he can reverse the process… he would need to journey to his home further north, near Obash, to find out. Naturally, there were questions as to how he ended up [I]south[/I], Xanadu promptly grumbled about “nice travelers saying, ‘ooo.. look at the kitty! Lets take him to Holstean!’” before stopping and remembering exactly what Siabrey had done for him. Hearing that he’s met the ice demon before, Tess and the others (save Siabrey, who is still recovering from the poison) ask him about the ice demon’s origins. He replies, to the dismay of Lucius, that the ice demon is none other than [I]Ananias himself[/I]. Xanadu explained that Ananias, during his last days as king, had made war against the growing power of the nascent Empire. Priests of Tarantor in Holstean had given him access to darker powers, and in order to augment his forces, he’d sold his soul to a demon who would in return give him power over cold from the mountains above and the ability to call and command the darker creatures therein. This power was concentrated in a black iron staff, crowned with a large half diamond and a “fire stone.” Ananias bound the demon somehow within the staff, a breach of their deal, and was thus burned into his present form; a gaunt, tall humanoid, snow white and winged, cursed to forever walk the earth looking for a way to finally rest. In the meantime, the creature would attempt to amass gemstones, hoping to find the proper gems to regain the staff. The party immediately becomes frightened, and demands of Xanadu whether the black staff they gave to the Countess was the same staff the demon was bound to. Xanadu says that it sounds more and more like Ananias’ staff, but he can’t tell for sure. Tess and a slowly waking Siabrey ask Lucius if his mother’s s mages and the like could have detected the evil in the staff… a tearful Lucius replies that if his mother’s own magical ability could not detect it, none of the others likely could either. The boy starts to break down after this. The broken Lucius receives a visitor later than night… an eagle, sky blue with crimson wingtips. Party members recognize it as a male blood eagle, native to the highest reaches of the mountain passes. It sits patiently at his feet, and the two watch each other into the night. When the party awakes the next morning, there is a note from Lucius, that he “needed time to think about recent events, and my course in life,” and that he would be back by evening… In the morning also, a contingent of riders arrives from Kulloden. It becomes apparent that the rider that the party saved rode to Kulloden instead of Holstean, and now 50 of the Baron of Kulloden's finest warriors ride into the city to bolster its defenses. [/QUOTE]
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