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<blockquote data-quote="MarauderX" data-source="post: 2203171" data-attributes="member: 9990"><p><u><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Session 31: Guiding Angels </span></strong></u></p><p></p><p>The group stood stunned at the collection of weapons and armor that was available to them. One by one they reviewed them, discussed, and decided that they were taking them all, but only had to decide who would take which item. Taking several hours, Jerrin and Quentin each watched the celestials as they occasionally spoke to each other and watched the party. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin asked about the magic that the Litorians used and if they could help him find someone. Certainly was the reply from Felvonni, as she began searching her memory for the rituals to be done. She swatted one of the Incabulos Litorians and told him to bring her specific herbs before the ritual tomorrow at about noon. </p><p></p><p>The group rested the night in a large stone room built along the outer wall. Quentin took second watch and spent the vast majority of it staring blatantly at the two celestials as they stood quietly. Jerrin awoke for the next watch and repeated what Quentin had done. Both had found it difficult to close their eyes for fear of something happening to them. </p><p></p><p>In the morning Grimnyr used an enchantment to allow him, Thovaas and Jerrin to speak freely with the celestials. They asked the celestials where they were from and how they arrived here. The two angelic figures sang a greeting to them and said that they were pulled here by force. They said they resided in another world, one much different than this one, and that it was forbidden for them to be here. Going on, they said that they were restricted from this world after they were first made, as supposedly the brood gods claimed that the likeness to elves and humans had crossed the line of creation and were banished. </p><p></p><p>Their interest piqued, the group asked more of who had created them. Sheepishly the two heavenly bodies responded that the gods of old had fashioned them in such a way to appease their children, combining the splendor of the elves with the industrious nature of humans entwined and polished to a exquisiteness that was undeniable. The celestials’ pacifist nature ensured that they would not fight amongst themselves or with others, and their sheer magnificence would protect them from being victims. This was not to last. </p><p></p><p>Before the celestials were banished, the elders made several attempts to mollify their children. These new beings were antithesis of the celestials, and found their saintly innocence to be absolutely repulsive. The holocaust that ensued was tragic, and the celestials learned that simply existing was not enough to save them. Some of the children of the gods came to their aid and taught some to resist, and to fight as a means of protection. </p><p></p><p>Eventually, being an attempt at a surrogate for humans and the disloyal elves, the celestials were treated with disdain from the elder god’s offspring. The elder gods, not pleased with the reaction, made to destroy the celestials, as their allure had failed to appease the children gods enough to replace the existing humans and demi-humans. Instead the children of the gods intervened and had the celestials banished to the once tumultuous realm of the Abyss. Since then it had been many millennia of study, work and dedication to form a pocket of stability and hope in the vastness of the Abyss. It had expanded to encompass a portion of the realm, but still there was much to be done. </p><p></p><p>Grimnyr asked how they had come and who had brought them. It was soon understood that a Rakshasa had yanked them from their world to use them in a vile ceremony. They communicated that they were pulled through a waterfall that resided on a floating island on a lake and dragged here with the Litorians wearing the insignia of Incabulos. </p><p></p><p>The group asked more questions on the details of their world, its composition, whether they had seen the gods themselves, and if they could fly with the wings they had. The celestials answered that they could indeed fly, that their realm was one of beauty and peace, and the gods of old or new had yet to grace them with their presence as they did not reside with them in this heavenly realm. When the spell ended Jerrin found more affection for them than he had before he could speak with them. Quentin begged him to relay every word that they had spoken and asked Grimnyr if he could speak with them too. Grimnyr replied that although the celestials were striking they simply weren’t his type and that his energies were better spent elsewhere. </p><p></p><p>* * * * *</p><p></p><p>Thovaas and Jerrin left to fetch the things that were on the celestial warhorse before it had been defeated by the duergar. They found the pack easily enough and reloaded the revived warhorse with the tapestries among their other collectibles. They traveled back to the keep unmolested as Jerrin guided their way. </p><p></p><p>Back at the keep Felvonni prepared a ritual circle, carving mystical letters into the air with a curved dagger and tossing herbs onto the ground in a symmetrical fashion. She continued all morning while Quentin, Alex and Grimnyr watched. Her two remaining assistants bustled to and fro, fetching various components and pouring thick liquid in certain spots on the ground. When the viscous fluid contacted the herbs it began to form into solid symbols that glowed and pulsed as they burned away the ground in an arc around them. Thovaas and Jerrin returned just in time as Felvonni explained what was to happen. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin was to relax, to let his guard down if he could, and let Felvonni enter his mind. Once this happened he was to recall the memories of He’lander and try to guide Felvonni to those thoughts. The rest of the party was told to stand back more than fifty feet away while the ceremony occurred and not to interfere. </p><p></p><p>Felvonni took the Halfling in her arms and guided him to a half-sleep. He twitched at first, his brow furrowing in discomfort. The ritual circle flared and grew, scorching the earth and the walls of two nearby stone homes. The Litorian gripped Jerrin by the face to hold him steady as he jerked violently in her grasp. Trickles of blood flowed from his forehead as he was held in place. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin felt Felvonni push her way into his mind and it was as if a horse were trying to push its way into a rabbit hole. His mind screamed in agony at first, then the horror subsided and he stayed conscious with a dull ache. Jerrin had trouble focusing as Felvonni prodded his thoughts, seeing more than he may have liked, but he was too overwhelmed to care, let alone resist. Felvonni must have felt Jerrin slipping away and released some of the tension as she withdrew into the deepest recesses of his mind. He thought of He’lander, of his training with him and the last time they had parted. She seemed to sense this and focused on it which was like a white-hot spike into Jerrin’s mind. </p><p></p><p>Several hours passed for the ritual before Felvonni released the Halfling. Jerrin blinked several times, and he stretched as though waking from a stiff night’s sleep. Felvonni said that his friend He’lander was indeed in a dark place, somewhere that he could not escape. His soul must be troubled, she said, as it was difficult to locate him since his body may have proceeded with out his soul. Jerrin scowled and asked what she meant. She replied that he may not be in full command of his faculties at the moment, as his soul may perhaps be misplaced. Felvonni then added that the magic might be wrong as he was after all an elf and resistant to such measures of detection. </p><p></p><p>* * * * *</p><p></p><p>Quentin asked Felvonni about a lake with a fountain so that they could return the celestials to their home. Felvonni told them that the lake was not far, less than a half day from the keep. The party told her that they were going to go there immediately to see if they could return them. Felvonni begged off as she was clearly exhausted from the ritual and claimed she had much to do. Quickly sketching a path with several landmarks, Felvonni told them to be wary of the walking dead after dark. </p><p></p><p>The group left shortly and proceeded toward the lake and saw a number of unusual creatures along the way. Jerrin and Quentin escorted the celestials closely as Thovaas led the way. The light waned and they saw the lake to their west. Along the northern shore was a small island anchored to the shore by a metal bridge. Jerrin morphed into and eagle and soared over the lake to investigate more closely. He saw a solid vertical wall on the square island, and the whole island looked as it if was floating. The bridge was made to expand and contract yet still keep the island firmly moored to land. The wall was easily thirty feet high and fifty feet long. Along the north side a waterfall spouted from the middle of the wall and fell into a pool with beveled edges. At the center of the pool was a hole, and from above Jerrin could see that the fountain fed into the lake from below the pool. Since this lake had no other water sources, Jerrin determined that this was a magically made lake. </p><p></p><p>Taking another pass, Jerrin saw a figure lying down on the top of the wall. It was a duergar, and it seemed to be bored as it lay on its back and stared at the open sky. Jerrin made his way back to the others who slowly proceeded along the path that took them to the north side of the lake, and would eventually intersect where the bridge met the path. Relaying what he had seen, the group decided to see if they could negotiate or otherwise talk their way into using the fountain. </p><p></p><p>The group stopped before crossing the bridge, and Quentin stayed toward the rear to guard the celestials from anything unexpected. Jerrin rode onto the bridge and watched as the duergar lazily first sat up then stood. Jerrin tried several languages, including the common tongues of several elements. The duergar looked like he was trying to understand and began saying something back that no one could understand. Jerrin then tried elven while the duergar seemed to banter on, repeating gestures. Grimnyr, attempting to translate the hand signals thought that the duergar might be pregnant and had a strange craving for pickles. Instead the winding sinews of magic could suddenly be seen, and an instant later a burst of fire erupted around them. </p><p></p><p>Thovaas led the way over the bridge, followed by Alex and Grimnyr as Jerrin placed an enchantment of protection from fire on the celestials that happened to encompass many of the group as well. Suddenly an deafening roar pounded those on the bridge. Appearing in front of them a barrel-chested duergar stood with enormous maw wide open to let the sonic attack hit them. As they focused on this new adversary, an ear-splitting scream passed next to Alex’s head. The source was a crossbow bolt that could have rattled the confidence of the most battle-hardened warrior, but Alex glanced over his shoulder at the calm Thovaas and shrugged off the fear. Alex looked at the duergar who had fired the bolt, and the scantly clad evil dwarf sneered wickedly at him. </p><p></p><p>Grimnyr moved in to engage the new duergar targets as Jerrin set his sites on the mage high on the wall. As Jerrin approached the pool by the fountain he felt the whoosh of a weapon swinging very close to him. Standing next to him was another duergar, and this one was heavily armed and armored. Quentin and the celestials were far enough away not to be harmed so he stayed near them and fired arrows with his bow. Several of his missiles found their mark and he saw sparks of electricity sear his targets. He grinned with glee. </p><p></p><p>The duergar sorcerer cast another spell from atop the wall, this time showering Quentin and the celestials with a storm of ice and hail. Grimnyr, hearing the celestials cry and Quentin’s pleading to help them, surrounded the duergar caster with an area of absolute quiet to thwart his spells. Alex and Thovaas assisted Jerrin as he stepped back from the armored duergar to begin casting his own spell. </p><p></p><p>The duergar on top of the wall ran its length and hopped off of the end, and a grotesque crunch could be heard as he howled in pain and grasped his ankle. Thovaas guided his mount to run him down as he leveled his sword. In a clean strike, Thovaas sent the duergar’s head sailing through the air and into the water of the lake. </p><p></p><p>The vocal duergar had yelled twice more, punishing Alex as a screaming crossbow bolt struck him in the arm. The vocal was attacked by Jerrin and his animal companion Tempest who knocked him to the ground with a forceful snap of his jaws. The vocal rolled into the water to escape the wolfhound, and Quentin fired an arrow into the duergar’s shoulder. Tempest reached out and clamped the duergar’s face in his jaws, crushing the rest of the life out of him. </p><p></p><p>Grimnyr ran and jumped through the air, aiming to defeat the crossbow wielding duergar in one blow. His attack went wide, and the duergar then struck him with three kicks in quick succession while he reloaded his crossbow then took a step back. Alex went toe to toe with the armored duergar and felt the hand axe dive into his flesh again and again. Alex stayed with him though, but was soon overcome from loss of blood. Thovaas charged the duergar but he and his mount missed the chance to overrun him. The duergar fighter then swiveled to see Grimnyr precariously close to the edge of the island and charged him. Grimnyr tried to resist but was instead shoved into the water. The crossbow wielding duergar smiled as he considered a point-blank shot at Grimnyr’s head, but was soon dealing with an angry paladin and irate druid. In moments the beleaguered duergar fell before them. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin rushed to aid Alex while Thovaas pulled Grimnyr from the lake. Quentin’s gaze turned immediately from the fight to the celestials that had huddled together on the ground. They watched him with some fear in their eyes, as apparently they had never witnessed violence and the ferocity of killing before. With open arms Quentin smiled and spoke soothing words though he was sure they had no idea what he said. He led them over the bridge and onto the island, and they looked at the fountain and nodded. </p><p></p><p>The group paused as Quentin and Jerrin led the celestials to the edge of the pool. They continued to the waterfall until it cascaded over them. In a moment of panic of losing them, Quentin rushed into the pool announcing his undying love and devotion to them. Tears welled in Jerrin’s eyes as the group watch the celestial angels fade from view. Then they were gone. </p><p></p><p>Quentin despaired and lay in a heap, his heart in agony. Grimnyr felt words to a new larger-than-life elegy bubble forth as he witnessed the shadowdancer’s emotional anguish. He was about to comfort Quentin when he recalled the primal sonic energy the vocal had used. Grimnyr reflected for a moment while the others pulled the duergar bodies together and recovered several valuables from them. The vocal duergar had not just been using his ability to attack, but was also likely trying to communicate. The shouts were deafeningly loud and must have been heard across the vast valley; there was no way other duergar could not have heard it when they were trained to do just that. He warned the others. </p><p></p><p>It was well after dark and the group left promptly for the keep. It took them several hours to get there, and when they did an arrow greeted them. A few shouts in elven cleared up the misunderstanding and Felvonni welcomed them back. The group stretched from the fast pace they took before settling down for the night. </p><p></p><p>* * * * *</p><p></p><p>Felvonni greeted them in the morning and asked to meet with them. The party agreed and they sat outside the temple. She told them that she received a communiqué from the other Greenbonds in the valley that had troublesome news. It was apparent that the Incabulos faction had become powerful enough to unleash darker forces against the duergar and had done so without consent. Doing so was not just dangerous for the duergar but also the Litorians. Now the night was no longer a safe time for anyone. The Greenbonds had also decided to redouble their effort to seek aid, as they Felvonni had told of contact with exceptional humans, a halfling and a half-elf. </p><p></p><p>Felvonni then relayed that the Litorian high priest, Jolenta, had asked for their help with either matter. Would they help to end the new plague that had been released by their race and protect them from the duergar? Or could they instead take on Felvonni’s task and seek out Thermoleth and ask the powerful dragon for aid in person if she was alive?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MarauderX, post: 2203171, member: 9990"] [U][B][SIZE=4]Session 31: Guiding Angels [/SIZE][/B][/U] The group stood stunned at the collection of weapons and armor that was available to them. One by one they reviewed them, discussed, and decided that they were taking them all, but only had to decide who would take which item. Taking several hours, Jerrin and Quentin each watched the celestials as they occasionally spoke to each other and watched the party. Jerrin asked about the magic that the Litorians used and if they could help him find someone. Certainly was the reply from Felvonni, as she began searching her memory for the rituals to be done. She swatted one of the Incabulos Litorians and told him to bring her specific herbs before the ritual tomorrow at about noon. The group rested the night in a large stone room built along the outer wall. Quentin took second watch and spent the vast majority of it staring blatantly at the two celestials as they stood quietly. Jerrin awoke for the next watch and repeated what Quentin had done. Both had found it difficult to close their eyes for fear of something happening to them. In the morning Grimnyr used an enchantment to allow him, Thovaas and Jerrin to speak freely with the celestials. They asked the celestials where they were from and how they arrived here. The two angelic figures sang a greeting to them and said that they were pulled here by force. They said they resided in another world, one much different than this one, and that it was forbidden for them to be here. Going on, they said that they were restricted from this world after they were first made, as supposedly the brood gods claimed that the likeness to elves and humans had crossed the line of creation and were banished. Their interest piqued, the group asked more of who had created them. Sheepishly the two heavenly bodies responded that the gods of old had fashioned them in such a way to appease their children, combining the splendor of the elves with the industrious nature of humans entwined and polished to a exquisiteness that was undeniable. The celestials’ pacifist nature ensured that they would not fight amongst themselves or with others, and their sheer magnificence would protect them from being victims. This was not to last. Before the celestials were banished, the elders made several attempts to mollify their children. These new beings were antithesis of the celestials, and found their saintly innocence to be absolutely repulsive. The holocaust that ensued was tragic, and the celestials learned that simply existing was not enough to save them. Some of the children of the gods came to their aid and taught some to resist, and to fight as a means of protection. Eventually, being an attempt at a surrogate for humans and the disloyal elves, the celestials were treated with disdain from the elder god’s offspring. The elder gods, not pleased with the reaction, made to destroy the celestials, as their allure had failed to appease the children gods enough to replace the existing humans and demi-humans. Instead the children of the gods intervened and had the celestials banished to the once tumultuous realm of the Abyss. Since then it had been many millennia of study, work and dedication to form a pocket of stability and hope in the vastness of the Abyss. It had expanded to encompass a portion of the realm, but still there was much to be done. Grimnyr asked how they had come and who had brought them. It was soon understood that a Rakshasa had yanked them from their world to use them in a vile ceremony. They communicated that they were pulled through a waterfall that resided on a floating island on a lake and dragged here with the Litorians wearing the insignia of Incabulos. The group asked more questions on the details of their world, its composition, whether they had seen the gods themselves, and if they could fly with the wings they had. The celestials answered that they could indeed fly, that their realm was one of beauty and peace, and the gods of old or new had yet to grace them with their presence as they did not reside with them in this heavenly realm. When the spell ended Jerrin found more affection for them than he had before he could speak with them. Quentin begged him to relay every word that they had spoken and asked Grimnyr if he could speak with them too. Grimnyr replied that although the celestials were striking they simply weren’t his type and that his energies were better spent elsewhere. * * * * * Thovaas and Jerrin left to fetch the things that were on the celestial warhorse before it had been defeated by the duergar. They found the pack easily enough and reloaded the revived warhorse with the tapestries among their other collectibles. They traveled back to the keep unmolested as Jerrin guided their way. Back at the keep Felvonni prepared a ritual circle, carving mystical letters into the air with a curved dagger and tossing herbs onto the ground in a symmetrical fashion. She continued all morning while Quentin, Alex and Grimnyr watched. Her two remaining assistants bustled to and fro, fetching various components and pouring thick liquid in certain spots on the ground. When the viscous fluid contacted the herbs it began to form into solid symbols that glowed and pulsed as they burned away the ground in an arc around them. Thovaas and Jerrin returned just in time as Felvonni explained what was to happen. Jerrin was to relax, to let his guard down if he could, and let Felvonni enter his mind. Once this happened he was to recall the memories of He’lander and try to guide Felvonni to those thoughts. The rest of the party was told to stand back more than fifty feet away while the ceremony occurred and not to interfere. Felvonni took the Halfling in her arms and guided him to a half-sleep. He twitched at first, his brow furrowing in discomfort. The ritual circle flared and grew, scorching the earth and the walls of two nearby stone homes. The Litorian gripped Jerrin by the face to hold him steady as he jerked violently in her grasp. Trickles of blood flowed from his forehead as he was held in place. Jerrin felt Felvonni push her way into his mind and it was as if a horse were trying to push its way into a rabbit hole. His mind screamed in agony at first, then the horror subsided and he stayed conscious with a dull ache. Jerrin had trouble focusing as Felvonni prodded his thoughts, seeing more than he may have liked, but he was too overwhelmed to care, let alone resist. Felvonni must have felt Jerrin slipping away and released some of the tension as she withdrew into the deepest recesses of his mind. He thought of He’lander, of his training with him and the last time they had parted. She seemed to sense this and focused on it which was like a white-hot spike into Jerrin’s mind. Several hours passed for the ritual before Felvonni released the Halfling. Jerrin blinked several times, and he stretched as though waking from a stiff night’s sleep. Felvonni said that his friend He’lander was indeed in a dark place, somewhere that he could not escape. His soul must be troubled, she said, as it was difficult to locate him since his body may have proceeded with out his soul. Jerrin scowled and asked what she meant. She replied that he may not be in full command of his faculties at the moment, as his soul may perhaps be misplaced. Felvonni then added that the magic might be wrong as he was after all an elf and resistant to such measures of detection. * * * * * Quentin asked Felvonni about a lake with a fountain so that they could return the celestials to their home. Felvonni told them that the lake was not far, less than a half day from the keep. The party told her that they were going to go there immediately to see if they could return them. Felvonni begged off as she was clearly exhausted from the ritual and claimed she had much to do. Quickly sketching a path with several landmarks, Felvonni told them to be wary of the walking dead after dark. The group left shortly and proceeded toward the lake and saw a number of unusual creatures along the way. Jerrin and Quentin escorted the celestials closely as Thovaas led the way. The light waned and they saw the lake to their west. Along the northern shore was a small island anchored to the shore by a metal bridge. Jerrin morphed into and eagle and soared over the lake to investigate more closely. He saw a solid vertical wall on the square island, and the whole island looked as it if was floating. The bridge was made to expand and contract yet still keep the island firmly moored to land. The wall was easily thirty feet high and fifty feet long. Along the north side a waterfall spouted from the middle of the wall and fell into a pool with beveled edges. At the center of the pool was a hole, and from above Jerrin could see that the fountain fed into the lake from below the pool. Since this lake had no other water sources, Jerrin determined that this was a magically made lake. Taking another pass, Jerrin saw a figure lying down on the top of the wall. It was a duergar, and it seemed to be bored as it lay on its back and stared at the open sky. Jerrin made his way back to the others who slowly proceeded along the path that took them to the north side of the lake, and would eventually intersect where the bridge met the path. Relaying what he had seen, the group decided to see if they could negotiate or otherwise talk their way into using the fountain. The group stopped before crossing the bridge, and Quentin stayed toward the rear to guard the celestials from anything unexpected. Jerrin rode onto the bridge and watched as the duergar lazily first sat up then stood. Jerrin tried several languages, including the common tongues of several elements. The duergar looked like he was trying to understand and began saying something back that no one could understand. Jerrin then tried elven while the duergar seemed to banter on, repeating gestures. Grimnyr, attempting to translate the hand signals thought that the duergar might be pregnant and had a strange craving for pickles. Instead the winding sinews of magic could suddenly be seen, and an instant later a burst of fire erupted around them. Thovaas led the way over the bridge, followed by Alex and Grimnyr as Jerrin placed an enchantment of protection from fire on the celestials that happened to encompass many of the group as well. Suddenly an deafening roar pounded those on the bridge. Appearing in front of them a barrel-chested duergar stood with enormous maw wide open to let the sonic attack hit them. As they focused on this new adversary, an ear-splitting scream passed next to Alex’s head. The source was a crossbow bolt that could have rattled the confidence of the most battle-hardened warrior, but Alex glanced over his shoulder at the calm Thovaas and shrugged off the fear. Alex looked at the duergar who had fired the bolt, and the scantly clad evil dwarf sneered wickedly at him. Grimnyr moved in to engage the new duergar targets as Jerrin set his sites on the mage high on the wall. As Jerrin approached the pool by the fountain he felt the whoosh of a weapon swinging very close to him. Standing next to him was another duergar, and this one was heavily armed and armored. Quentin and the celestials were far enough away not to be harmed so he stayed near them and fired arrows with his bow. Several of his missiles found their mark and he saw sparks of electricity sear his targets. He grinned with glee. The duergar sorcerer cast another spell from atop the wall, this time showering Quentin and the celestials with a storm of ice and hail. Grimnyr, hearing the celestials cry and Quentin’s pleading to help them, surrounded the duergar caster with an area of absolute quiet to thwart his spells. Alex and Thovaas assisted Jerrin as he stepped back from the armored duergar to begin casting his own spell. The duergar on top of the wall ran its length and hopped off of the end, and a grotesque crunch could be heard as he howled in pain and grasped his ankle. Thovaas guided his mount to run him down as he leveled his sword. In a clean strike, Thovaas sent the duergar’s head sailing through the air and into the water of the lake. The vocal duergar had yelled twice more, punishing Alex as a screaming crossbow bolt struck him in the arm. The vocal was attacked by Jerrin and his animal companion Tempest who knocked him to the ground with a forceful snap of his jaws. The vocal rolled into the water to escape the wolfhound, and Quentin fired an arrow into the duergar’s shoulder. Tempest reached out and clamped the duergar’s face in his jaws, crushing the rest of the life out of him. Grimnyr ran and jumped through the air, aiming to defeat the crossbow wielding duergar in one blow. His attack went wide, and the duergar then struck him with three kicks in quick succession while he reloaded his crossbow then took a step back. Alex went toe to toe with the armored duergar and felt the hand axe dive into his flesh again and again. Alex stayed with him though, but was soon overcome from loss of blood. Thovaas charged the duergar but he and his mount missed the chance to overrun him. The duergar fighter then swiveled to see Grimnyr precariously close to the edge of the island and charged him. Grimnyr tried to resist but was instead shoved into the water. The crossbow wielding duergar smiled as he considered a point-blank shot at Grimnyr’s head, but was soon dealing with an angry paladin and irate druid. In moments the beleaguered duergar fell before them. Jerrin rushed to aid Alex while Thovaas pulled Grimnyr from the lake. Quentin’s gaze turned immediately from the fight to the celestials that had huddled together on the ground. They watched him with some fear in their eyes, as apparently they had never witnessed violence and the ferocity of killing before. With open arms Quentin smiled and spoke soothing words though he was sure they had no idea what he said. He led them over the bridge and onto the island, and they looked at the fountain and nodded. The group paused as Quentin and Jerrin led the celestials to the edge of the pool. They continued to the waterfall until it cascaded over them. In a moment of panic of losing them, Quentin rushed into the pool announcing his undying love and devotion to them. Tears welled in Jerrin’s eyes as the group watch the celestial angels fade from view. Then they were gone. Quentin despaired and lay in a heap, his heart in agony. Grimnyr felt words to a new larger-than-life elegy bubble forth as he witnessed the shadowdancer’s emotional anguish. He was about to comfort Quentin when he recalled the primal sonic energy the vocal had used. Grimnyr reflected for a moment while the others pulled the duergar bodies together and recovered several valuables from them. The vocal duergar had not just been using his ability to attack, but was also likely trying to communicate. The shouts were deafeningly loud and must have been heard across the vast valley; there was no way other duergar could not have heard it when they were trained to do just that. He warned the others. It was well after dark and the group left promptly for the keep. It took them several hours to get there, and when they did an arrow greeted them. A few shouts in elven cleared up the misunderstanding and Felvonni welcomed them back. The group stretched from the fast pace they took before settling down for the night. * * * * * Felvonni greeted them in the morning and asked to meet with them. The party agreed and they sat outside the temple. She told them that she received a communiqué from the other Greenbonds in the valley that had troublesome news. It was apparent that the Incabulos faction had become powerful enough to unleash darker forces against the duergar and had done so without consent. Doing so was not just dangerous for the duergar but also the Litorians. Now the night was no longer a safe time for anyone. The Greenbonds had also decided to redouble their effort to seek aid, as they Felvonni had told of contact with exceptional humans, a halfling and a half-elf. Felvonni then relayed that the Litorian high priest, Jolenta, had asked for their help with either matter. Would they help to end the new plague that had been released by their race and protect them from the duergar? Or could they instead take on Felvonni’s task and seek out Thermoleth and ask the powerful dragon for aid in person if she was alive? [/QUOTE]
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