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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 7088364" data-attributes="member: 9546">10 Abadius, 4718 - Dannister Down"Come no further, serpents! Her judgement cometh, and that right soon!"The Ninth Knot stood just outside a chamber in the catacombs that was not unoccupied, as all of the other ossuaries had been. Instead, three priests of Iomedae and a half-dozen holy warriors were hold up inside. They seemed to know exactly whom they were up against, but that fact did not give them pause."For Asmodeus!" Lemmy cried, and charged into the room blasting."Since when did he become so pious?" Dakota asked Roger."Since it gave him an excuse to kill indiscriminately," the half-orc grinned.The others followed behind Lemmy, the die having already been cast. A warrior lay dead on the floor before the dwarf already, and the others were closing in on him. He formed his rock and metallic shards into the form of a massive hammer and hurled it at the foremost one, dropping him in his tracks. Roger and Grumblejack each took out another one, leaving just two of the warriors still standing. At that moment the priests simultaneously unleashed prayers of pure holy power to smite their enemies. The blast struck Grumblejack temporarily blind, but before the clerics had a chance to celebrate their small victory, Kat appeared out of the shadows from behind them and slit the throat of the nearest. As another one turned towards her, she thrust her dagger between his ribs and he fell with a wet gurgle. The last priest was hurled into the wall behind him as Lemmy blasted him from point-blank range. The remaining holy warriors were quickly dealt with by Roger and Grumblejack after he'd regained most of his sight. The only thing in the chamber, which was apparently what the priests had been guarding, was a small shrine to Iomedae upon which had been inscribed three aphorisms:“Give not into greed for it rots the soul and withers the vine. Amongst the humble shall ye find the worthy. ”“Despair ye mighty! For by your power and arrogance have ye fallen into darkness. Not amongst the lords of the earth but amongst the servants shall ye find the worthy. ”“Beware thy enemy for he stalks you like a wicked serpent ready to consume ye with fire. The worthy knows his foe – his ways and tongues. Amongst those unafraid to speak the enemy's name shall ye find the worthy. ”Dakota shook her head and scoffed before loosening her belt and urinating upon the shrine.________________________________________________________________The next room was adorned with countless intricately carved figures bowing before the glory of Iomedae. On the southern wall were the great lords of the earth, kings and dukes, knights and warriors. On the northern wall were the peasants – a farmer, a smith, a merchant, a fishermen and a shepherd.  On the eastern wall bowed the priests in all their regalia from humble friars all the way up to the great Cardinals, princes of the church.  They all bowed in obeisance before a great Iomedaen sunburst. Centered in the eastern wall just below the sunburst was a small niche, upon which lay a silver and sapphire holy symbol."There is magic here," Kelvin warned, sniffing the air. "Necromancy."Kat nodded absently, and then went about examining the walls, staying clear of the niche and holy symbol. "There's also this," she announced triumphantly as she reached out to press a small stud hidden in the image of one of the peasants. It clicked, and then a section of wall slid aside to reveal a hidden passage."Well done," Roger smiled, clapping her on the back as he reached out to grab the holy symbol.'No, wait!" Kat cried. "I haven't had a chance to check it...!"Too late. No sooner had the half-orc's hand closed around the pendant than a flash of black fire raced up his arm and coursed through his body. He jittered and jerk for several moments before he could release the holy symbol, his hand smoking and charred. "Idiot," Kat cursed under her breath. "Why don't you stick to gutting things with that pig-sticker of yours and leave the scouting to your betters?"Roger hissed painfully between clenched teeth until Dorian tended his wounds, then nodded grudgingly. "Lesson learned," he muttered."Somehow I doubt that," Kat snorted._____________________________________________________________The hidden passage led to yet another shrine, one dedicated to a martyr named Saint Angelo the Wise. Saint Angelo was a cardinal of the Iomedaen faith and also a powerful spellcaster.  In his time (which was more than a hundred and fifty years ago) he led a campaign to destroy every devil on the isle of Talingarde.  He almost succeeded. In the shrine was kept a tally of his accomplishments.   The number of devils he slew was truly terrifying.  In Saint Angelo's lifetime he slew one hundred and eight devils ranging from the smallest imp to his greatest victory against a pit fiend known only as Hekkazar.  He even fought alongside the also sainted Cynthia-Celeste (who established the abbey in Farholde). This shrine had an inscription in celestial that the Knot found interesting: “Saint Angelo travelled the world extinguishing the fires of hell. In his time he captured many tools of the wicked.  Most he destroyed but a few he could not unmake and so he saw them safely put aside. Behind the Angels in Iron they are forever kept safe. ”A hallway beyond the shrine ran past another ossuary, as well as an empty chamber which held a mural of a great king ordering the building of shrines and temples to Iomedae. At his command knights, architects, masons, stone cutters and laborers worked tirelessly to glorify the Shining Lady.  Above the king was an inscription: “Attend my servants!  Who is a greater lord than I?”"More puzzles and traps," Kat sighed as she examined the mural. After a moment she tapped the letter 'e' in 'servant' and then nodded in satisfaction. "Disarmed," she announced."Tasks and tests set before the new clergy, no doubt," Dorian said. "Only the worthy would be able to advance past them.""Or just the damned clever," Kat grinned.They crossed through another ossuary, one apparently reserved for priests who had, at least once in their lives, returned the dead to life. Kat wanted to search it, but Dorian reminded her about the ghostly paladins and told her they couldn't waste time on such nonsense. Kat reluctantly agreed. The corridor they'd been following abruptly ended at a chamber that appeared to be largely empty and featureless. What few adornments to be seen showed priests of Iomedae studying and engaged in scholarly pursuits. From an archway on the far side came the sound of soft chanting."Come to us, O martyrs, in this our darkest hour."It repeated again and again. Cautiously, Dakota approached the arch. As she drew closer, she saw an inscription written in Celestial above the lintel. "Who is thy enemy?  Who is the lord of the nine?  Know him  as he knows himself or be consumed with fire."Before she could really consider the meaning of the scripture, her eyes were drawn to the room beyond. It appeared to be some sort of private library. Stacked everywhere were books and records.  Further, upon one of the tables sat a glass coffin and inside was the incorruptible corpse of Saint Macarius himself. Yet that was not what had gotten Dak's attention. Instead it was the large man that knelt in prayer before the casket. He looked as if he would stand well-over ten feet in height. He wore silver breast plate, and a large shield lay close at hand. A gleaming sword hung from his belt. He turned his bearded face towards Dakota, and his eyes glowed like golden fire. The symbol of Iomedae that hung from around his neck burned like the sun in miniature. He rose slowly to his feet, and as he did so, Dakota's heart quailed. She took an involuntary step backwards, her hand going to her mouth at the frightful aspect of Lord Abbott Earnan MacCathlain that stood before her."Stand back, girlie," Lemmy growled, shouldering Dakota aside. "If yer too afraid to look at the big, bad sun-priest, then let a dwarf show ya how it's done!"Grinning through his beard he hurled a barrage of earth and stone at MacCathlain, but no sooner had the debris left his hands than three ghost martyrs emerged from the walls and lunged for him and Dakota, as well as Dorian, who'd come up from behind. The ghosts' touch pierced the armor of the three as if it were made of paper, withering the flesh beneath. A moment later the Lord Abbott's booming voice called out in prayer, and a wall of whirling blades appeared amidst the trio, ripping and slashing into them. Kat leaped at one of the ghosts, knowing that her attacks would be largely ineffective, but still hoping to distract its attention away from her siblings. Her gambit worked as the spirit turned to engage her, allowing Dakota and Timeon to put several ghost-salted arrows into its back. A moment later, Roger, Grumblejack and Lemmy had joined her, helping her to keep the ghosts at bay. Dorian took the opportunity to stagger away from the fight, weakened as he was by the combined assault of the ghosts and the blade barrier. That was was exactly the moment that MacCathlain unleashed a holy-powered prayer upon all of the companions, smiting them where they stood. As they were blasted aside by the spell, Dorian struck one wall...hard. He crumpled to the floor and lay still. The first of the ghost martyrs went down under the archers' assault, and then Roger dispatched a second one. The last one managed to grab Lemmy once more before Timeon put an arrow through its eye, sending it back to Iomedae. The Knot turned as one towards the Lord Abbott, just as he called down a column of holy fire upon them, catching Dakota and Roger's cohort, Al in the brunt of the blast. "Help Dorian!" Dakota shouted, slapping the little dwarf hard on the back.Al nodded and started across the room as Dakota returned fire at MacCathlain, putting an arrow into his shoulder. Al reached Dorian and knelt beside the unconscious priest."He's still alive!" Al shouted triumphantly."Something I intend to remedy immediately," MacCathlain growled.He spoke another prayer, and a second flamestrike descended upon both Al and Dorian. When the flames abated, nothing remained of the two but smoking ash.Dakota opened her mouth to scream Dorian's name, but then an icicle the size of a longsword sprouted from her chest. It instantly vanished again, but the damage had been done. Blood flowed freely. She glanced up at MacCathlain to see cold mist still rising from his outstretched hand. For her part, Kat took a more practical approach. Though Dorian's death was shocking, if the rest of them didn't want to join him they were going to have to do something about that damnable priest. She crept stealthily through the gloom of the chamber, clinging to the shadows as if they were a second skin. She reached the Lord Abbott just as he began casting another prayer. Before he could complete the incantation, she drove her dagger into into his back. He bellowed in pain and turned his glowing eyes upon her. When Kat met his gaze, her bowels turned to jelly and she turned and fled back into the gloom. Timeon knelt next to Dakota, and when MacCathlain turned his attention to Kat, the young squire let fly his arrow. It struck the priest in the neck. He reeled for a moment before regaining his balance, but by that time Roger had reached him. The big half-orc thrust his sword upwards, smiting the Lord Abbott with the power of Asmodeus. MacCathain doubled over, bleeding heavily. He knew his time was just about done. He turned his fearsome mien upon Roger and, just for a moment, the anti-paladin quailed. He stepped back, but then three arrows fired from behind him and took MacCathlain through the heart. He groaned and sagged to his knees, shrinking as he died. Roger looked behind him, prepared to thank Timeon for his timely intervention, only to see Dakota sitting propped up on the squire, but with her bow still in her hands.______________________________________________________________Grumblejack hefted Dorian's still-smoldering remains over his shoulder. There was nothing else for it. He had been their only priest, and neither the anti-paladins nor the inquisitor could raise the dead. No, Dorian had been a friend to Grumblejack and so the ogre took it upon himself to carry him on to the conclusion of their mission.The bones that the Lord Abbott had been standing watch over were indeed those of Saint Macarius. When Dakota first grabbed them triumphantly from their sarcophagus, she shrieked and dropped them a moment later, her hand smoking and scorched. Katarina solved the problem by carefully raking the holy artifacts into an extra-dimensional bag of holding using the blade of her dagger. Among the books in MacCathlain's private library was a tome that revealed the secret of the three sacred flames of the Vale. Any petitioner who could complete the three-fold test of the fires would become a divine spellcaster of Iomedae. Thus, by extinguishing the flames, the Knot would be able to deprive the Iomedaens of a fresh supply of priests. There was also a journal written by Saint Angelo amid the stacks, which detailed the building of some sort of vault. There was a cryptic message at the end of the excerpt: "The vault is sealed with the names of the first, the teacher, the founder and the maker."The vault itself was not difficult to find, as it lay just beyond the library. The huge door was covered in celestial script that read, "By the four names, cursed be he who unleashes what is bound within."That was not the most obvious conundrum, however. The problem was with the pair of imposing metal statues of angels which stood before the door and animated to life when the Knot approached. Immediately each of them breathed out a cloud of toxic green gas from their mouth holes. Dakota inhaled the mist and began choking and gagging, a terrible weakness suffusing her body. As the golems loomed over her, her companions sprang to her defense. The mithral guardians struck with the force of battering rams, but the combined might of the Nessian Knot was more than a match for them. They beat back the golems until they lay in gleaming, mithral pieces. "This seems easy enough," Kelvin said, reading the inscription on the door. "I assume the first refers to the original occupant of this vale, which was the phoenix. So, Suchandra. The teacher was the angel who mentored Saint Macarius, Ara Mathra. The founder was old Macarius himself, and the maker is Saint Angelo, the one who created the vault."No sooner had he spoken the final name than the vault door swung ponderously open.The large vault was filled with various items taken from Asmodean temples and holy sites across Talingarde. The religious paraphernalia included holy symbols, sacred athame, robes, and helms, and included many wonderfully wicked items of infernal workmanship. Three items in particular drew the attention of the Knot. The first was an ornate chalice decorated with numerous bloodstones."Ah, this must be what the vampire prince wanted so badly," Kelvin smiled, lifting the cup.The second item was a full length mirror made of bone and obsidian. When Kelvin peered into it, he saw two skeletal-looking fiends peering back out at him...bone devils! Upon closer inspection he saw that they actually seemed to be sleeping...or dead. Though intriguing, he had no time to determine the purpose of the mirror. He had Grumblejack tuck it into a holding bag for further study once they'd completed their work in the Vale. The final item was a blade of black iron engraved with infernal glyphs. It had not hilt, but its tang was wrapped in leather so that it might still be wielded. Roger felt strangely drawn to the sword, and when he wrapped his hand around it he heard a sinister voice whisper inside his head."Remake me," Helbrand said.</blockquote>

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