The Passion of the Caine
Kaurophon had lent them his bag of holding so that they could stuff the corpse of the halfling rogue into it. As they scurried amongst each other, administering healing magic and preparing themselves for the final encounter, the half-fiend casually looked over his shoulder. Like a beacon of avarice, the dark nexus still pulsed with power. Once again, Kaurophon threw a furtive glance behind him, were they watching? It would only take a fleeting moment before he could empower himself with its dark energy.
He heard loud footsteps behind him, “Kaurophon, we cannot proceed further. Tilly and Wathros are both gone and Rusty and Caine have precious few spells left. I know that you must be spent. We should retire in a rope trick to regain our strength.”
The sorcerer looked up at half-ogre, sympathy showing in his facial expression, but deceit and hatred fueling his soul.
This is the end. My long journey is nearly complete and my ascension to the rule of Occipitus is all but assured. Yet, the final test is not complete. I must be most careful here.
“I grieve your losses my friend, but now is not the time to rest. This Lich was most likely the final guardian of the Test of Sacrifice meaning that we are near our goal. The Rakshasha and his giant bodyguard surely were not the only agents in pursuit of Adimarchus’ mantle. There will be others, and every moment we delay improves their chances of making our long and arduous journey all but irrelevant.”
Caine, Rusty, Truhl, and Kiko approached the pair.
“But we’re hardly in a condition ta fight any more beasties! Ye may have us walking into a deathtrap!”
Kaurophon closed his eyes as if carefully considering the statement. Demogorgon give me strength! These morons will be the death of me! “I share your trepidation Rusty, for I too am low on spells and resources. However, I’m afraid that I must stick with my original estimation. And though I certainly do not mean to make light of the passing of our comrades, perhaps their deaths were a condition of the Test of Sacrifice.”
For the life of him, Caine could sense no deception from the half-fiend. In a way, he felt relieved that Kaurophon was so dedicated to returning this plane to Celestia. Perhaps there was redemption for his friend yet. “Very well, we concede your point,” the Apostle could see the reluctant nods of his fellows, “Grimm, you and Kiko take point, followed by Rusty and Kaurophon. I’ll provide backup. Truhl, you stay here for now."
The Kelemvorite assassin agreed, and the spellcasters of the party began to abjure everyone as best they could.
As Kaurophon threw a greater invisibility over himself, he breathed a sigh of relief.
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After ascending a final spiral staircase, the party reached a magnificent chamber at the summit of the skull mountain. With a hemispherical ceiling and a fully 180 foot radius, the room bore two holes which were the eye sockets of the skull. Its most remarkable feature, however, was a stream of red energy that shot straight upwards from a five foot hole in the floor. At the apex of the stream, the energy was converted to smoke which slowly streamed out of one of the eyes.
At the other end of the chamber from where they entered, stood a mummy in opulent funerary wrappings. “Adimarchus, Most Potent Ruler of Occipitus, bids you welcome to the Final Test of the Smoking Eye. A worthy successor to the throne of Adimarchus must complete only one more task. To rule Occipitus---to grasp its power and use it for good or ill---means to sacrifice everything you hold dear. The final test is this: sacrifice an ally to the plasma, and Occipitus is yours!"
In total astonishment, the party members stared at each other. This was a test only a fiend could pass for who would willingly kill one of their own friends? Who indeed . . .
A still invisible Kaurophon slid a scroll from his robes. “It is a pity that two of you are already worm food. I would love to fling each of you into the fiery depths of Occipitus!”
Quickly chanting before Grimm (with his ability to see invisibility) could close on him, the half-fiend dimension doored away.
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At the Order of the Yellow Rose, one of the final tests of the monastery was to catch a cat in the vast gardens of the temple – blindfolded. Remembering his training well, Kiko closed his eyes and listened for the faint sounds of moment.
“There! Kaurophon is on the other side of the room!”
Without hesitation, the monk sprinted to the other end of the chamber and executed a flawless flying kick. Unprepared for the assault, Kaurophon had to abandon his current spell and duck or be flattened against the wall.
As Rusty noisily followed the Monk in his spiked full plate armor, Caine (also invisible) whispered to Jules, “My friend, it is time to depart. Return to Truhl downstairs and instruct him to flee if he sees Kaurophon again.”
Both the Apostle and the Archon shared an empathic link, so Jules could feel the great sadness welling up in his companion. But now was not the time to argue. With a flicker of acknowledgement, the ball of light disappeared. Caine quickly approached Grimm, “Grimm, we have only known each other for a short time but I must ask you a great favor. You must throw me into the pillar of plasma, else Kaurophon will kill us all! I was a fool to trust him . . .”
Grimm looked at Caine in bewilderment and began to say something, but the Apostle cut him off, “There is no time for discussion! Do it now!!”
Hoisting Caine up with one of his heavily muscled arms, the Planar Champion darted to the plasma pillar and, whispering an apology to Kord, threw him into its flaming depths.
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Caine felt intense, excruciating pain as the plasma quickly vaporized his skin and flesh. For a moment, he recalled the tortures that the drow subjected him to so many years ago, then he knew no more.
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The five angelic beings stood equidistant around a pool of flowing silver as they saw the half-ogre send the Apostle of Peace to his death. All were silent, until one of them spoke, “The time is nigh, my brethren. We have been empowered and given authority by an unprecedented number of deities for this task. Tyr, Torm, Ilmater, Lathander, Eldath . . . all have sanctioned, nay commanded, this course of action.”
His four fellows looked at the speaker with veneration. Though each of them was the epitome of celestial perfection, the speaker was maimed beyond reason. Missing an arm, several long and deep scars criss-crossing his well-muscled torso, and with half his face burned by something horrific, Jeremiel was unique among the Seraphim. Sent by the Lords of Good to defeat Entropy, the Solar had nearly fallen to the depredations of a mighty Atropal before he had banished it back to the Abyss. Although he could have easily healed his wounds, he kept them as sign of obeisance.
Simultaneously, all of the Celestials concentrated as their divine auras intensified and like wisps of smoke, their waves of energy entered the pool one by one.
Jeremiel spoke first, “It is my wish that the will of Tyr, the god of justice, be done. Let this mortal’s life be spared.”
The others followed in turn.
“In the name of Torm, the True and the Brave, patron of those who face danger for a greater good it is my wish that this mortal’s life not be sacrificed in vain.”
“I wish that this Apostle, who is the willing sufferer, the one who takes the place of another to heft the other's burden, to take the other's pain, be relieved of his own pain by Ilmater, the crying god.”
“To precipitate the renewal of Occipitus and the birth of a new plane of good, it is the Morninglord’s wish that this mortal, too, be reborn.”
”Caine, the Apostle of Peace, who has forsworn violence against all living creatures shall never be without Eldath’s blessing, that is my wish.”
With their task complete, each of them solemnly left the scrying pool. Jeremiel finally stood alone, staring into the pool reverently. Finally, he too ascended to the heavens, “The will of the Lords of Good be done.”
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The next thing Caine knew, he was standing a few feet from the plasma stream. Apparently whole and uninjured once again, he nonetheless felt different.
The mummy stared at the Apostle, “The Test of Sacrifice has been completed and a new successor to Occipitus found. Use your powers for the greater glory of Adimarchus!” With that, the undead creature disappeared.
“Nooooooooooooooo!”
Kaurophon could not believe what was happening. All his well laid plans were ruined. He had planned every intricate detail of his deception for months only to have it foiled at the last possible second by this idiot! He would kill them all. Perhaps then the Test of Sacrifice would be reset.
Still invisible, he drew another scroll out of his robes and cast it. A thin, green ray sprang from his invisible hand and lanced out to strike Rusty. With monumental effort, the Cleric avoided disintegration but began coughing up blood for his trouble. Still huffing and puffing, Rusty had just crossed the center of the room as he tried to make his way over to where Kiko was still having no luck connecting his blows with Kaurophon.
Grimm looked at Caine in confusion. Apparently, the Apostle had lived, though one of his eyes appeared to be on fire as it gave off thin wisps of smoke. Obviously something had happened, but Caine still radiated his holy radiance, so it could not be all bad. The Planar Champion’s mind began to race with the possibilities.
Adimarchus was a Solar, the most powerful celestial there is. Therefore this test must involve a personal sacrifice, not murder! What have I done? Perhaps if I give myself to the flame . . .
For Grimm, the chance to be blessed by an entire plane of existence or to even control it was worth the risk. Eagerly, he stepped forward into the pillar of plasma.
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Like Caine, Grimm began to scream from the unbearable temperature as the plasma began to super-heat his armor and boil his skin. Unlike the Apostle however, the half-ogre had a far higher injury threshold. Nevertheless, his smoking body merely fell through the pillar and at the feet of Rusty.
“Lad, what in the Nine Hells do ya think yer doing!?” The Cleric stopped his dead run as he kneeled down to administer healing magic to the still breathing Grimm.
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By Demogorgon, this is too good to be true.
Casting quickly, Kaurophon placed Kiko, Rusty, and a prone Grimm in the area of a cone of cold. While Kiko dodged the evocation adroitly, Rusty and Grimm were slammed by the freezing spell full force. Rising to his feet and brandishing his war axe, Rusty charged the half-fiend in a frenzy – Grimm was slain before he could administer his cure spell.
Caine looked at the rapidly deteriorating battle with horror. In his mind’s eye, he imagined a giant hand appearing from the ground out of the very fabric of Occipitus to grapple Kaurophon.
Nothing happened.
What was going on here? Do I have control over Occipitus or not?
It was then when Caine got his first whiff of brimstone from his eversmoking eye. Without time to worry about such trivialities, he ran towards Kiko and began casting a transmutation. Suddenly, the monk grew to double his size. “Kiko, subdue Kaurophon! Resist the urge to kill him – we must prove that we are better than fiends!”
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With his enlarged size and limbs the size of small tree trunks, Kiko launched a powerful sweep kick which surely encompassed the whole area where Kaurophon was standing. To his pleasure he heard a resounding thud as the half-fiend hit the hard stone floor. Acting with a renewed sense of urgency he began to feel around the floor until the Monk felt a vaguely humanoid form. He picked up Kaurophon and put the half-fiend in a bear hug.
This is still not over, not by a long shot.
Kaurophon began concentrating as a malevolent field of energy began to surround him. Rusty and Caine paused in consternation, a blasphemy! Rusty screamed first, “Kiko, stop the bastard from casting that spell or we're all doomed!!”
Thankfully, the warning came in time as a swift punch to the kidneys disrupted the Sorcerer’s concentration as the spell died on his lips. Unfortunately, this distraction forced Kiko to remove one his arms from Kaurophon who adeptly slipped free from his grasp as he dimension doored away.
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Kaurophon waited in absolute silence at the other end of the chamber. He knew that the Monk could hear even the slightest noise so he forced himself to breathe quietly.
The party slowly fanned out in the room, trying to pinpoint Kaurophon’s location. At one point, Rusty wandered a little too close to the plasma pillar. Then, everyone looked to one corner where spellcasting was going on.
All of a sudden, without warning, Rusty felt a woosh of energy from his side as something extremely powerful was trying to push him into the plasma. Thankfully, with his low center of gravity and heavy armor he managed to resist. Else, Karuophon’s telekinesis spell would have sent him to share Grimm’s fate.
With their opponent’s position revealed, Kiko once again ran towards the invisible fiend as his elbow smash sent Kaurophon crashing to the ground. This time however, the Sorcerer did not rise as the Monk had beaten him into unconsciousness.
The Test of the Smoking Eye was over.
