BTW, this is JollyDoc's work. I'm just posting it.
THE SISTERHOOD
In full flight, the Bright Axes soared out of the chasm and across the barren, volcanic plain above. They continued on until Caine’s enchantment expired, which by that time placed them several miles away. The group managed to find a modicum of shelter in the open wasteland, beneath the shadow of a large boulder. There they huddled together, and Ajax placed Tilly’s body before them. “What should we do?” the deva asked, to no one in particular. Wathros cleared his throat, looking at his companions. “Well, I might offer a suggestion, but I’m not sure how you will feel about it.” The others looked at him questioningly, inviting him to continue. “I have the ability to…return the dead to life, if you want to put it that way. Only…they don’t necessarily come back…unchanged.”
“What do ya mean?” Rusty asked suspiciously.
“You see,” Wathros said, lowering his eyes, “it’s not really raising the dead. It’s more like…reincarnation. I can literally create a new body for his spirit…it just won’t be the same body.”
“You mean his hair might be different or something?” Rusty said
“Not exactly,” the druid explained. “In fact, I can’t even guarantee he would still be a halfling. He might be and elf, or a human or an…orc…”
“Orc!” Rusty bellowed, “Are ye crazy? No thanks wild boy. You stick to turnin’ yerself into animals and such. Leave the real healin’ to us that knows it. I vote send him back to Jenya.”
After brief discussion, the others agreed, and Jules transported the rogue back to Cauldron, returning a short time later to say that Jenya would deal with the situation as best she could.
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They passed the rest of the day in earnest discussion, trying to decide what their best course of action would be. It was forgone that they would return to the giant’s lair, for Alek Tercival was still to be found, and the staff Alakast was yet to be claimed. The only question was, how they would do it. Ultimately, the direct approach was thought best. The back door had failed miserably, so what harm could there be in trying the front this time?
During the night, Wathros had once again performed his ritual of summoning, calling a new animal companion to him, again a rhinoceros. The creature had ambled into their camp at dawn and now stood with them as they gazed up at the massive iron portcullis before them. Above the twenty-foot high gate, a small, two-foot diameter opening seemed to lead past the barrier. Wathros willed himself into hawk form and fluttered up to the hole, alighting on its sill and peering into the darkness beyond. He did not see a tunnel below him, as he’d expected. Instead, it was a broad balcony extending out over the tunnel beyond the portcullis. A parapet stood on the far side overlooking the passageway, and a second passage opened off of the balcony itself. Standing on the platform was none other than the hill giant, Muggo, which had survived yesterday’s battle. Wathros prepared to fly back and warn his friends, but just then the giant spotted him. “Bruno!” the brute bellowed, “Intruders back! Come!” So much for the element of surprise, the druid thought, darting back to the ground.
At the gate, the remainder of the company had figured that out for themselves. Immediately, Ajax began hammering at the massive gate, attempting to batter it down before reinforcements could arrive. At Wathros’ command, the rhino joined him, ramming its massive head against the portal. Suddenly, Ajax tensed as a large shadow fell over him from behind. He whirled, his flail coming up defensively, fully expecting to see that one of the giants had somehow flanked them. Instead, he was stunned to see Rusty standing there, but the dwarf was now fully the size of a giant himself. Ajax blinked in surprise, and then saw Caine give him a smug wink. “Step aside runt,” the giant dwarf growled, and he moved into position to help bring down the portcullis.
In short order, the gate collapsed and Wathros soared into the tunnel, coming out from beneath the balcony, and wheeling about to assess the situation. Atop the platform, he saw not only the hill giant, but the last ettin as well. Instantly, the druid/hawk’s talons began to flash with electricity and a bolt of lightning crackled from thin air to jolt the two-headed giant. As the ettin momentarily recoiled, the hill giant hefted a rock roughly the size of Wathros’ current form and hurled it at the druid. The projectile slammed into the bird, rolling him end over end. By this time, the ettin had recovered, and now the beast vaulted over the parapet to land heavily in the tunnel right beside Wathros. It came in swinging its large morningstars, and again the druid was struck. Knowing he could not continue to soak up this kind of damage, Wathros began climbing into the air towards the ceiling high above.
“Hey tiny, pick on somebody yer own size!” The ettin turned around, all four of its eyes going wide as a gigantic dwarf bore down on it, swinging a massive axe. The ettin managed to raise its own weapons defensively, and even grazed the dwarf with one of them, but Rusty came on, swinging wildly, finally opening a deep gash in the giant’s hide. Ajax was right behind him, coming in low, beneath the ettin’s defenses as Rusty distracted it. Above them, they heard lightning crash again as Wathros continued to hurl his bolts at the hill giant, trying to prevent him from joining the fray. At that moment, the ettin’s eyes grew even wider as the giant dwarf began to fly (thanks, again, to Caine) and rose above its heads towards the balcony. As the two-headed beast gawked upward in disbelief, it failed to see the charging rhino headed its way. Its attention was quickly refocused as the rhino’s horn buried itself in the ettin’s belly and emerged from its back. With a toss of its head, the rhino threw the lifeless giant to one side.
Muggo tried to ward off the ascending dwarf, using the high ground to his advantage, but the constant barrage of lightning from above distracted him, and before long he found himself flanked, with Rusty before him, and Ajax behind. The giant tried to maneuver towards the upper passageway, hoping to make a fighting retreat, but the exit was cut off, and it the two companions made short work of the monster. As the giant finally fell, Ajax quickly began looking for new enemies, knowing the huge fire giant was still unaccounted for, but then, his ears heard a noise he thought he would never hear again…singing, but not just any singing. No, this was the combined voices of the heavenly choir, and it was getting louder, coming from further down the lower tunnel.
Jules heard the choir as well, and crept curiously from beneath Caine’s robes. In an instant, Ajax had rejoined them, and together they moved slowly down the tunnel to where it opened into a large chamber. The walls of the circular, domed room were carved and polished with exceptional precision and skill to look like cascades of petrified liquid. Several metal disks on the ceiling, sixty feet above, provided a pearly illumination. The center of the room was occupied by a bizarre, thirty-foot wide, seven-foot tall metal and stone sculpture made of truncated pillars, short ramps, suspended slabs of stone, and a total of twenty chairs with triple armrests. Emerging from a passage on the far side of the chamber, Ajax beheld three beautiful women, with skin of emerald green, and long, golden hair. From their backs grew great, white, feathered wings, and each of them bore a great, silver trumpet. The middle one also carried a golden chalice. The deva immediately recognized them for what they where…trumpet archons!
Watching invisibly from the opposite tunnel, a scowl creased Caine’s unseen face. This was due partly to his inherent mistrust of celestials, and partly to Nidrama’s cryptic warning about her ‘false sisters.’ Of course, with celestials, that could mean anything. Perhaps the deva had had a disagreement with the archons, and been insulted. The outsiders tended to have such fragile egos anyway. Even an imagined affront could be enough for one to denounce another. As he pondered this, Ajax stepped forward to address the trio.
“Holy sisters,” the deva began, speaking in the celestial tongue, which of his companions, only Caine understood, “I am Ajax, of the Bright Axes. My companions and I have journeyed here seeking the paladin Alek Tercival. Do you know him?”
“Greetings, champion of goodness,” replied the archon bearing the chalice, in a voice that was lovely and melodic, but speaking in the common tongue. “We commend you and thank you for cleansing this ancient and sacred site from the taint of the terrible creatures that have laired here. Indeed we know the holy champion that you speak of. He has served us in the past, and even now is away on a mission for the cause of righteousness. We expect his return at any time.”
As the archon spoke, Ajax tried to listen beyond her words, searching for any sign of stress or dishonesty in her voice, but he could find none. She seemed to be truthful and earnest. “My lady,” he began again, “we have recently encountered one of your brethren, a movanic deva called Nidrama. She warned us of great evil here, and told us to seek a weapon of great power…a staff called Alakast. She said it could be found in the lair of her, your pardon, ‘false’ sisters.”
“We know of whom you speak,” the first archon replied, “Nidrama has been a guardian of this region for many years. She is a noble spirit. While it is true that we are the guardians of Alakast, we do not know of these ‘false’ sisters that you speak of.” For a brief moment, Ajax thought he detected a quaver in the celestial’s voice. “We have been charged with the safe-keeping of Alakast,” the archon continued, “until a true champion of goodness arrives to claim it.”
By this time, Rusty and Wathros had entered the chamber, and now the priest spoke up, “My ladies, we’re at yer service, and we ask that you consider us worthy to claim yon staff.”
The archons offered the dwarf beatific smiles, “While we do not deny the goodness in you, nor the nobility of your actions in destroying the giants, we must be sure of your purity and sincerity. Let he who would claim Alakast first drink of the Amaranth Elixir to prove his spirit.” She offered forth the golden chalice.
Caine had had enough. It was plain to him that something was not right here, and he wasn’t about to trust these archons any more than he trusted any other celestial. He quickly conjured another invisibility sphere to cover Jules, but as he did so, the lead archon’s eyes locked on the sound of his voice. “You have been false with us,” she said to Ajax, her voice taking on a hard edge, “You seek to hide things from us.” With a gesture she called forth a nimbus of blue light that surrounded and outlined the invisible form of Caine, rendering his location obvious to all. Drawing himself up, Caine shouted to Ajax, “Step aside. If these women are whom they claim to be, then let them submit to our test. I shall have Jules examine them for the taint of evil.”
“How dare you!” the lead archon shouted in anger, and the eyes of her sisters reflected her outrage. “We will not be questioned by the likes of you! You have shown yourselves unworthy to claim Alakast. Be gone!” With that, the trio vanished.
“Damn ye, wizard!” Rusty bellowed, rounding angrily on Caine. “That’s twice now ye’ve driven away those intent on helpin’ us. What’s wrong with ye?”
“I have to agree with Rusty,” Ajax said coldly, “Why must you deliberately antagonize potential allies.”
“Are you blind as well as deaf?” Caine shouted, as close to anger as they’d ever seen him. “Our other so-called ally, the deva, warned us they were false. Then, when I only suggested that they prove their sincerity to us, the leave. Obviously, they are corrupt.”
“Nothing here is obvious,” Ajax replied. “In any event, false or true, they hold the answers to both Alek’s and Alakast’s whereabouts. We have to go after them.”
Caine could not deny this logic, and so the group quickly headed for the passageway the archons had emerged from.
They found themselves in another large, well-crafted chamber. Six white pillars with capitols shaped like slender hands supported the twenty-foot tall ceiling. A three-foot diameter crystal globe was embedded halfway up on each pillar. The hollow globes were half-filled with bubbling, transparent liquid that seemed to replenish itself as quickly as it drained out of a hole in each globe’s base. A the bottom of each pillar, a silver spigot allowed the liquid to drain down a narrow gutter to collect in a basin in the floor in the room’s center. There, the liquid turned a deep purple color that evaporated as quickly as it was filled. A golden chalice sat on the basin’s rim. Immediately, Rusty rushed over to the goblet and seized it, raising it to his lips. “To show our faith in you, holy ladies!” he shouted, and then drained the chalice in one gulp. As his companions watched in shock and awe, the dwarf’s arms immediately began to expand and ripple with increased muscle mass. Veins popped out all along his biceps and forearms. He fairly radiated strength and power. Strangely though, he found his thoughts a bit muddled, and cloudy. Nothing he could put his finger on though, and he shrugged it away, drunk on his newfound vigor. “You see!” he snarled at Caine, “Ye’re faithless! They was right! Ye’re not worthy!” Without another word, he turned and moved towards a pair of steel doors leading from the chamber, and as he approached them, they slid quietly up into the ceiling. Beyond lay a long hallway, lit from above by more of the glowing discs. Rusty did not wait to see if his friends followed. He merely set off down the corridor, towards another set of doors at the far end. “Come on,” Ajax said in resignation, starting after the priest, but pausing to imbue himself and Wathros with the ability to see the invisible before he went.
Rusty approached the second set of doors, and again, they opened before him. The far, northern portion of the square room beyond contained a platform connected to an L-shaped ramp. A strip of bas- reliefs depicting gaunt, magic-wielding, six-armed creatures decorated the base of the platform. Each creature in the scene held a disk in its lowest set of arms, represented like a shining sun. A white marble throne with triple armrests sat upon the platform itself. As Rusty entered, he saw the strangest creature he’d ever laid eyes on standing near the throne, apparently in conversation with itself. The creature appeared to be made of mirrored glass, and had no facial features at all. It was naked except for a loincloth and a pair of soft boots. Hanging from its belt were what appeared to be two jagged shards of broken glass, one roughly the size of a sword, the other, a dagger. Ajax was right behind the dwarf, but with his enhanced vision, he saw that the three archons also stood upon the dais.
“You intrude here at your peril,” the lead archon said, “Leave now, and never return!” Though Rusty could not see the celestials, he could guess where they stood. Resolutely, he ascended the ramp, and then kneeled at the top, bowing his head. “My ladies,” he said solemnly, “please see that we are worthy. I have tasted the elixir, and felt its power.” Ajax felt his blood run cold as the first archon invisibly reached out one hand and placed it upon the kneeling priest’s head, “Yes,” she said, almost hissed in fact, “I see now that you are indeed worthy.” Rusty felt a sharp stab of pain in his forehead, and then a voice spoke directly into his mind, “You are mine, now and forever. You will defend us with your life, at all costs.” Of course he would, he realized. After all, he really had no choice.
As Ajax watched, the archon became visible, and she favored him with a cold smile. At the same moment, the mirror-skinned creature made a subtle gesture, and six identical images of it appeared, moving as it moved, making it impossible to see which one was real. Just then, Caine burst into the room, “I told you!” he shouted, and then he spoke an incantation, conjuring up one of the force spheres that he’d used in Cauldron to protect Maavu, and trap the breathdrinker, aiming it for the archon that he could see. However, no sooner did the sphere appear, than it popped out of existence like a soap bubble. Apparently, these outsiders were resistant to such magics. This could be bad. As this thought crossed his mind, the mirror-thing leaped off the platform and moved menacingly towards him, its jagged weapons in its hands. But as it approached him, the calming aura which constantly surrounded him apparently took effect, for the creature slowed its attack and merely cocked its head curiously at him, before turning towards the door where the remainder of his friends stood.
Ajax rushed up the ramp, heading for the platform to Rusty’s aid, but he had only gone halfway when the other sisters appeared, linking hands with the first. All three of their gazes locked on the deva and a flash of energy surrounded him. When the light cleared, Ajax found himself encased in a glowing cage of force, with no way out.
Wathros fluttered into the chamber and saw to his horror that half of his companions had already been neutralized. Seeing the darkly beautiful women standing with linked hands, he summoned an ice storm around them, hoping to confuse and disorient them. Unfortunately, two of the sisters were completely unaffected by the storm, and could be seen to be standing in bubbles of clear air. The third was caught, but instantly, Rusty was on his feet, and cast a dispelling field, causing the storm to vanish as quickly as it came. Oh yes, things were certainly looking bad. Before Wathros could act again, he found himself face to face with the mirror creature, which he recognized as a being called a nerra, a native to the para-elemental plane of mirrors. Fascinating as this information was, it didn’t help him much when the nerra slashed at him with its wicked weapon, opening up a deep wound, which bled profusely…much more than Wathros would have expected it to. The druid immediately took flight back down the passageway, but found the way blocked by the sliding door, which would only open when a creature of sufficient weight stood on the floor before it. As he had fled, he gave a last command to the rhino, ‘Kill!’ The huge beast rushed forward, slashing and stamping at the near, but only managing to disperse several of its illusory images.
Ajax tried in vain to find some weakness in the prison that encased him. Finally, he turned in resignation to Caine. “Flee while you can. Take the others with you.”
The sorcerer gave him a wicked smile, “To the Hells with that, my friend. Do I look like a celestial to you?” With that, he produced a pool of slippery grease directly beneath the nera’s feet.
Rusty knew that he was being mentally dominated by the archon, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was compelled to obey them, no matter the cost. Still, his mind and his will tried to find some way to subvert the compulsion, yet still follow it to the letter. Turning towards a small door on the far side of the platform, he called to the sisters, “Follow me, my ladies. If ye’re wantin’ protection, then it’s best I lead ya out of here to a place of safety.”
The nerra deftly maneuvered out of the grease trap, and behind the rhino. It had no desire to face the beast head to head, so instead, it followed the hawk that could cast spells. There was something about that one, and the outsider knew it had to be dealt with. Meanwhile, one of the sisters glared maliciously at Caine. “You have cast your last spell, sorcerer!” she spat, and then, joining hands with her siblings once again, she summoned a second force cage, this one solid, without bars. Caine was now trapped as surely as Ajax, and his magic could not penetrate the surrounding force field. As one, the sisters began to laugh, delighted in the trap with which they had completely ensnared the hapless adventurers. Their laughter was abruptly cut short, however, when three thousand pounds of enraged rhino came hurtling over the platform towards them. Rusty turned and saw the animal at the last moment. He ran to put himself between the beast and the archon it was charging. Dropping his shoulder, he slammed into the rhino, trying to bull rush it to one side. However, the sheer mass and momentum of the animal was too much to overcome, and the giant-sized dwarf merely bounced off, suffering a wicked thrust from its horn for his trouble. Head lowered, the rhino slammed into the nearest sister, lifting her from her feet on the end of its horn, and then slamming her back to the floor to be trampled beneath it hooves. As the archon died, her appearance began to change. No longer was she a beautiful, angelic celestial, she now appeared to be a withered crone, with a pair of hairy antennae sprouting from her forehead, and giant moth-like wings replacing her feathered ones.
Wathros quickly began healing his injuries, using his magic to staunch the steady blood loss. Just as he’d completed the process, he heard stealthy footsteps approaching from behind. He turned, seeing the multiple images of the nerra closing fast. Desperately, he flung a bolt of lightning at the creature, only to have it bounce harmlessly off. In a panic, Wathros decided to shift forms again. The one that came immediately to mind, was that of his companion, a rhinoceros. As his new guise took shape, the door behind him slid open, and he backed into the chamber with the Amaranth fountain. The nerra wasted no time, and charged him, slashing into his flesh again with the jagged glass, causing another blood spray to fountain forth.
On the one hand, Rusty felt a grim satisfaction at the death of the treacherous ‘archon,’ but on the other, his compulsion forced him into action. Knowing that archons were supposed to be goodly creatures, he called upon pure holy power to smite the rampaging rhino, knowing the celestials would not be harmed. But to his surprise, the remaining two sisters screamed in pain and outrage as the holy smite exploded. “Fool!” the sisters shouted. “Kill the beast with your weapons! Forget your magic!” Then one of them uttered a guttural incantation and immediately the rhino began to shake its head in confusion, and then turned on Rusty. Both of the sisters then vanished from sight.
Wathros took the offensive, ripping and tearing at the nerra, but again only managing to destroy illusions. For its part, however, the near continued to deliver deadly attacks. Wathros was again losing blood fast. The druid backed several steps away from his deadly foe, and then summoned a second ice storm, successfully enveloping the nerra within it this time. From the throne room, one of the sisters watched the battle down the hall from her invisible hiding place. The druid was the last foe to be dealt with. Though she had little doubt that Gaflon could ultimately finish the pesky priest, she would take personal delight in helping to hasten the process. She began moving down the passage towards the conflict, when suddenly she heard thundering hooves behind her. Curse the beast! Would it never die?!
Caine watched the battle unfold helplessly. His friends were going to die, most assuredly, unless he could find some way to aid them. Aid them…wait! That was it! He called to Jules, and the little archon obediently came forth. “Go to Wathros,” Caine commanded, “Help him in any way you can.” Caine sensed the archon’s affirmation, and watched as it teleported out of the cage.
Rusty vaulted over the edge of the platform, desperate to catch up to the rhino before it killed another one of his charges. So focused was he on the pursuit, that he failed to notice the grease spot on the floor before the hallway, and slipped in it, going down hard.
Wathros was bleeding like a sieve by now. The nerra continued to land blows against him, while avoiding any in return due to its illusory defenses. The druid shifted to his true form, hoping to heal some of his wounds with the transformation. He was going over his options, when suddenly, Jules appeared beside him, blasting forth beams of searing light at the nerra. One of the blasts scorched away another image, but the next two apparently struck the nerra itself, for the creature screamed in pain. Drawing its glass-like dagger, the creature did something seemingly impossible. Touching the surface of the dagger, it’s whole body simply disappeared into the glass, leaving the weapon momentarily suspended in mid-air, before dropping to the floor to shatter into a hundred shards.
Meanwhile, the rhino had caught up to the archon, but not being able to see her, it passed right by. As it passed, the sister reached out and gently touched it, but the animal reacted as if it had been struck a mighty blow, for the touch of the woman had literally sucked a portion of its strength from its body. She then slashed at the beast with her bare hands, which had somehow become claws. The rhino wheeled about, slashing at her with its horn, driving her back several paces…straight into Rusty, who had by now regained his feet and rejoined the melee. “I’ll handle’em!” the dwarf growled, shoving the woman behind him, then moving forward to bury his axe deep into the rhino’s hide.
The sister began to move away, content to let her thrall deal with the rhinoceros, or die trying. She really didn’t care which. The druid still waited. She would finish him herself. However, as she approached, she was struck in the chest by several scorching beams of light. These beams apparently emanated from a glowing ball of light hovering near the druid. What new sorcery was this? In a rage, the woman charged the elf. Wathros tried to bring his scimitar to bear, but the archon was far stronger than she appeared. She wrapped her arms around him like steel cables, lifting him from his feet and crushing him against her. “That…will be…your last…mistake…” Wathros gasped into her snarling face. Concentrating, the druid shifted forms one final time. A moment before, the archon held a frail elf in her embrace, but she now found herself locked in mortal combat with a slavering grizzly! Desperately, the sister began draining strength from the bear, but then she felt the searing pain of the light blasts again as Jules circled behind her. She struggled in vain to free herself from the bear’s grip, but Wathros only squeezed harder, until finally she collapsed into unconsciousness. Allowing his feral nature to run free, Wathros lowered his jaws to her throat and snapped her neck with one bite.
“Noooo!” Rusty shouted as he saw another of his protectorates fall. In a rage, he redoubled his attacks against the rhino, slashing and hacking until the animal finally crashed to the floor, dead. The dwarf turned in all directions, searching for the final sister, but then he heard her disembodied voice from behind him. “Cover my retreat!” she hissed, “I will go now!” “No!” the priest roared, “You must allow me to protect you!” He tried in vain to reach for her, grapple her so that he might carry her to safety, but she was gone. Wathros and Jules heard the flapping of her wings as she passed, but they had no way to stop her, and no real inclination. The battle was ended, for now, and they still lived…for now.
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With no one to protect any longer, Rusty emerged from under the spell of the ‘archons’, which were now revealed to have been a covey of half-fey hags of some sort. Eventually, the force cages imprisoning Caine and Ajax expired, freeing the exalted champions. The companions immediately set about searching for any sign of Alakast, and in a small living area beyond the throne room, hidden in a secret niche, they found the holy staff, wrapped in silk. Wathros held it up before him, examining its intricate carvings of angelic creatures battling demons. They now had the weapon Nidrama had promised, but for what foe was it intended, and where was Alek Tercival?
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