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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 7050715" data-attributes="member: 9546">9 Abadius, 4718 - 10 Abadius, 4718 - The Cathedral of Iomedae Made Manifest"We're staying here for the night," Kelvin announced to the others.The companions were still recovering from their battle with the Master of Serenity and the oracle, Sambethe, while Dorian knelt over Grumblejack's unmoving form."I can bring him back," the priest said quietly. "We abandoned him once. I won't do it again, but I will have to wait until morning when I can pray for the miracle I need.""Not to worry, little brother," Kelvin clapped him on the shoulder. "I will erect a magical shelter about us. It should shield us all from any prying eyes through the night. This close to that accursed church, I don't want to take any chances."Once everyone's wounds had been tended, Kelvin cast his spell, creating an opaque dome that could accommodate them all. They could pass freely in and out of it, but no one could see inside where it was dimly lit and comfortably warm. As darkness fell, clouds began to form overhead, ominous and full, with flashes of lightning leaping among them and dull thunder rumbling from within. When the rain came, it fell in sleeting sheets, but none penetrated the little hut. Still, something about the storm made Kelvin uneasy."Did you hear that?" he asked after a particularly strong peal of thunder rolled across the sky."Thunder?" Lemmy paused in his drinking. "How could we not? Damn noise'll be keepin' me up all night!""No," Kelvin shook his head. "After that. For a moment I thought I heard a cry on the wind.""You're jumping at shadows, brother," Tardeasha laughed. "All of this self-righteous sanctimony in which we find ourselves immersed is finally getting to you."Kelvin let the jibe pass, but he knew he wouldn't be sleeping well either. It was just past midnight when lightning struck the ground just outside the shelter, followed by a thunderclap so loud that the earth beneath them shook. Everyone jumped to their feet in an instant, startled out of restless slumber. The wind howled around the hut, and that's when they all heard the deafening, high-pitched shriek. The opaque plane of the dome was suddenly rent asunder as a bird the size of an elephant swooped through the top of it. Talons extended, it seized Timeon, who had rushed to Dakota's side, and disappeared through the far side of the hut. Kelvin sent a razor-sharp shard of flaming ice after it as Dakota shrieked in despair. A moment later, however, a second bird landed just inside the perimeter of the dome. Mounted on its back was a giant, fully twenty-feet in height, with violet skin and flowing white hair."How could anyone so tiny manage such vast acts of evil?" the giant bellowed. "No matter. After you've had a taste of my lightning you'll rue the day you turned to such deviltry! Ara Mathra was wise to call upon me. My flocks will deal with your minions back in Sanctum while I put an end to your miserable lives!"He raised his hands above his head and electricity crackled between his fingers. Thrusting his hands forward, he sent the lightning leaping among the Ninth Knot, sizzling and burning each of them in turn. Tardaesha, her hair still standing on end, drew her sword and rushed the giant, but he swung an enormous sword that had been strapped across his back and smashed it into her while she was still over a dozen paces away. She bounced back to her feet and charged again, blood streaming from a large gash across her forehead. She ducked beneath another of the giant's swings, then thrust her own sword into his belly.Kelvin glanced up towards where Timeon was being carried aloft, then back to where Tardaesha fought for her life. He made his decision in an instant. He flung his hands out and another flaming shard of ice lanced towards the storm giant, impaling his chest. The young mage followed this up with a fireball so powerful that it immolated the giant's roc mount before it could even think about taking wing. As the giant staggered backwards under the barrage, Roger rushed in behind him and swung his sword across both of the giant's hamstrings. With a groan, the behemoth collapsed like a fallen oak to the ground, his eyes closing as he lost consciousness. Roger drew himself up and caught his breath for a moment. That was when he heard a voice speak inside his head.'Give him to me,' it said in cold Infernal.The anti-paladin knew the voice of his patron instantly, and he didn't hesitate. He raised his sword again and drove it through the giant's heart. Dakota's priorities were different. She watched as the other roc carried Timeon higher and higher. "He belongs to me!" Dakota screamed.She raised her bow and let fly a volley of arrows. Each of them struck true, one through the bird's eye, one through its throat and one through its breast. It shrieked, opening its claws reflexively as it spiraled out of the sky. Timeon began to fall. "No!" Dakota criedA moment later, however, Timeon floated gently downwards. Dakota turned and looked wide-eyed at Kelvin."I don't know what you see in that boy," her brother shook his head. "Yet how can I deny you, little sister?"The clouds began to break apart and scatter, letting the light of the full moon shine down once more. As the last of them fled, more high-pitched shrieks sounded from on high. The companions looked upwards, prepared for another attack. They saw a flock of two dozen creatures winging towards them. They looked like eagle-headed horses...hippogriffs! They began to circle over their heads, faster and faster until finally a bolt of crimson lightning struck the flock from the clear sky. As it did so, their feathers turned black as midnight, and their eyes became blood-red. Horns grew from their skull and their claws became even more hooked and spiked. The taint of Hell was upon them. Roger looked up and smiled."You are welcome, my Lord," he said, bowing his head._________________________________________________________________Grumblejack opened his eyes and then grinned up at Dorian."What'd I miss, Boss?" he asked groggily. "Not much," the priest shrugged, "just a storm giant and his pet rocs attacking.""Whew!" Grumblejack said, climbing unsteadily to his feet. "Is that all? At least that means you still left me a few angels to kill."From the clearing, a winding set of narrow stairs led up the side of the mountain to the grand facade of the Cathedral of Iomedae Made Manifest. These were the legendary thousand steps that each prospective priest of Iomedae in the Order of Saint Marcarius had to climb. The grand facade itself was a baroque wonder of the world. It had not been carved by mortal hands, but instead by archons who adorned it with the iconography of a thousand martyrs and saints. The life-like figures all bowed in obeisance before the great and glorious undying light of Iomedae. The entrance appeared unguarded as the Knot approached. Fortunately for them, Kelvin had armed himself that morning with a spell capable of seeing the unseen. He raised one hand to stop the others. "There are three individuals waiting up there," he whispered. "Angels all, and they're carrying flaming swords.""Then by all means, let's not keep them waiting any longer," Tardaesha smiled."Wait!" Kelvin shouted, but it was too late. Tardaesha was already on the move, and the others were following her lead, but Kelvin had seen the angels casting spells, and he knew exactly what they were doing. He tried to interrupt one of them by loosing magic missiles in its direction, but his spell fizzled before it ever touched the angel. The celestials were highly resistant to magic. Tardaesha, Katarina and Roger rushed up the last of the stairs just as the three angels appeared. As Tardaesha raised her sword to strike the nearest one, she suddenly felt all of the protective magical wards she normally carried upon her just...vanish. Even her enchanted blade felt heavier in her hands. It was as if magic had stopped working altogether. That fact didn't seem to bother the angel as it slammed one gauntleted fist into her chest. She reeled backwards and could see that Roger and Kat were having the same problems. Though the angels did not seem to be able to use their own magic either, their sheer physical might was still impressive. "Fall back!" Tardaesha shouted.As she did so, however, she heard the twang of bowstrings behind her. Several arrows pierced the breastplates of the angels and the accursed creatures cried out in pain. Tardaesha turned and saw Dakota and Timeon standing behind her. Their bows seemed to have retained their magical properties. That's when it hit her. Whatever was blocking her own enchantments must have a limited area of effect."Keep firing!" she cried.Dakota and Timeon were only to happy to oblige. As they continued to pepper the angels, Grumblejack joined Tardaesha and Roger. The trio were still formidable, even without their magic, and with Katarina's stealthy maneuvering behind the celestials, striking and retreating, it didn't take long for them to fall, along with their anti-magic field. _____________________________________________________________Roger pushed open the doors of the cathedral to reveal a great open hall covered in frescoes that depicted countless saints in Iomedae's service. The ceiling rose high overhead, ending in ornately vaulted panels adorned with art that could only be called masterpiece. It showed Iomedae as the light of the sun, the wrath of the fire and the warmth of a mother's love. It expressed more eloquently than a library full of books on theology the true meaning of what it meant to worship and revere the great goddess of light and life. The members of the Nessian Knot were not impressed. They were actually disappointed that the entirety of the cathedral was made of worked stone, which would make it that much more difficult to burn to the ground. They were, however, unsurprised to see that the entrance was not unguarded.A half-dozen legion archons, similar to those the Knot had encountered on the docks, stood arrayed before them, barring passage deeper into the cathedral. "Zealots," Kelvin sighed. "They can be so tedious."He and Dorian proceeded to unleash twin fireballs upon the celestial guardians, while Lemmy started blasting earth and stone at them. Roger, Tardaesha, and Grumblejack waded in as Dakota and Timeon provided ranged support, and Katarina darted into the shadows, only to reappear behind the angels, ready to strike at their unprotected flanks.________________________________________________________________Taranea of the Ghaele, known as the Emissary in White, heard the sounds of conflict outside her door. She had originally come to the Cathedral of Iomedae Made Manifest to consult with Ara Mathra about the rising influence of Asmodeus and his minions in Talingarde. It had been her hope that something could be done before it was too late, but before she could even speak with the deva, the Vale of Valtaerna had been attacked. Taranea had been specifically ordered not to interfere in that conflict by the great lords of the azata. Still, to ignore the slaughter that had transpired had pained her greatly. She could have left days ago, but instead she had remained, waiting, unsure of what to do if the enemy got this far. She had been pacing her room, anxious to disobey her orders, when the fighting broke out literally on her doorstep. She knew what she had to do._______________________________________________________________Kelvin watched the carnage with a smile upon his face. The so-called angels were no match for his friends and kinsmen. They would grind the servants of Iomedae beneath their heels at every turn, and that prospect made him exceedingly happy. He was still lost in his thoughts when a flicker of movement caught his eye. A door had somehow been opened on the other side of the hall, and Kelvin saw a beautiful woman, clad all in white, fly from the room on great feathered wings. The others paid her no heed, and Kelvin realized that was because she was invisible. As the new arrival hovered over the melee and prepared to cast a spell, Kelvin hurled a magic missile barrage her way...only to see them simply vanish before they got within ten feet of her. Cursing himself for forgetting the damnable aura more powerful angels surrounded themselves with, he followed up his attack with a blindingly fast spear of cold ice. The angel screamed and recoiled as the spear pierced her belly. Everyone on both sides of the conflict looked up at once at the sound of the disembodied cry. Then a pair of slashes opened across Dorian's chest as Taranea appeared, her greatsword dripping blood from where it had gashed the priest. Taranea glared at Kelvin, her own golden blood pouring down her tabard. She rushed at him, sword upraised. In a panic, Kelvin hurriedly erected an impenetrable force field around himself. Taranea slammed into it, driving the air from her lungs. She hammered at the barrier in rage, but it would not yield. A snarl on her lips, she turned back to the battle....only to see that everyone of the archons was down. She bowed her head against her blade and prayed for forgiveness to Iomedae for her failure. As the servants of Asmodeus closed upon her, she had time to think that perhaps she should have just followed her orders</blockquote>

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