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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jkason" data-source="post: 6532006" data-attributes="member: 2710">Their fight ranges for what seems like an eternity, but though they lose both blood and momentary sanity during the row, the only others who lose their lives are the demons.The party stands a moment, catching their breath, the limp and broken bodies of the demons still, the cavern quiet once again. If their commotion would draw other opponents, it seems to have done none for now. They are gathering themselves together again when the catacombs themselves tremble with what sounds like a bellow but feels like an earthquake. Pebbles fall from the cavern roof, but the tunnels hold, and then the wave is gone. "The Demonscope!" Kutholiam whispers, his eyes wide and terrified. "We have no more time!"The man runs. Past the demon and knight bodies, past the party, down the hall before they even realize he seems to have gone quite mad. The fliers take to the air in pursuit as the others run slightly behind. For his apparent age, Kutholiam is far more spy than anyone would have guessed. They twist and turn through the tunnels, through bands of light and darkness, stench and putrescence. Bodies, burned and skewered and desecrated, of humans and demons. Once, a band of demons turns with surprise to see the party charging forward. Just before battle is joined, however, everyone stumbles as another bellowing earthquake hits. The demons cower, uncertain if the newcomers have caused it, and then their eyes widen in surprise as they blink out of existence. Whether the demon wards are coming back or simply fluctuating, it's one less fight and one minute closer to the dying artifact.Finally, Kutholiam stumbles to a breathless halt in a large room. At its center stands a ring of stones with three depressions. Each holds what appears to be a reliquary of some kind. "The Demonscope is still intact, but with the shards in place, it shouldn't be--"The old man's pondering is interrupted at the center of the stone ring erupts, a massive, clawed arm shooting out of the smoke and steam at its center. That it's accompanied by another bellowing earthquake makes clear the source. Magical energy flares, and the enormous arm falls back out of sight. Though they had but a brief glimpse of it, Relic, Sylvain, and Anaerion all recognize the shape of a Balor demon. "If it's broken through that much, we have barely any time left. We have to discover what's gone wrong with the --""Too many, all wrong," comes a cracking voice, drawing the party's eyes to someone who must surely have been a knight, but whose haggard appearance and clearly broken mind suggest him to be nothing of the sort any longer. He sits in the corner with three more reliquaries, shuffling them about as if to try discerning one from the other. "And the order. I've forgotten the order. Maybe the words, but they all turn fuzzy in my head..."[sblock=ooc]Okay, there's a part one. This is the endgame, trying to re-entomb a Balor demon in the scope. You're welcome to interact with the knight or try stuff out with the scope if you like, or if you're all over it, I'll do another expository dump in a few days to finalize things. In the meanwhile, hopefully this is a reasonable placeholder while I try to start tracking down numbers. [/sblock]</blockquote>

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