Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2415767" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 426“I agree with your assessment, Lady Byakala,” Cal said, stepping forward.  “But nevertheless, we have not come seeking a confrontation.  Your citadel and your stone there are quite renown here on Carceri; a fiend at the Bastion recommended you to us.”“The fee for its use is a minor magical item of a specified value, or a living humanoid, per individual use.”  The marilith chuckled, sensing the discomfort that her words had provoked in them, especially the dwarves.  There was some movement among the demons hanging above; possibly a preparation for an attack. “We do not seek to use the stone,” Dana said.  The marilith regarded her coldly.  “You would not be wise to attempt your powers upon me, priestess,” she said.  She drew herself up to her full height, almost eclipsing the magical stone beside her.  “I do not enjoy parlay with clients, and even less intrusions by those who have no purpose here.  Speak your business, so I may be quit of you.”Dana and Cal shared a look, but it was Arun, to their surprise, who stepped forward.  The paladin was not a diplomat like Dana or brilliant arcanist like Cal, but he had the ability to weigh the moods and words of others, and he could likewise sense the growing tension between the two groups here that could explode into chaos at any instant.  “We seek Skullrot,” he said plainly.  “We were told that you might know its location.”The marilith did not bother to hide her reaction to the name.  “Much depends on your reply to this next question,” she hissed.  “Why do you seek the asylum?”For a moment the demoness and the paladin stood facing each other, the others on both sides deferring to the two who weighed each other, each evaluating what they could of the motives of the other.  Finally, Arun said, “A companion of ours was taken by those who serve Adimarchus.  We have reason to believe that he has been taken there.”“So the Dreaming God is your enemy, then?”Arun hesitated again before replying, but this time the marilith was inscrutable, giving no clue as to her own feelings.  Dana finally said, “We do not wish to see him escape from his bonds.”The marilith chuckled.  “Nor do I, priestess.  Nor do I.”She turned, her massive body trailing behind her as she slipped around the far edge of the broken shaft.  “The masters of Skullrot will not be as… welcoming… as I have been.”“We are determined,” Arun said, and there was nothing but truth in his voice. “So I see.  Well then, perhaps… perhaps we can reach terms.”  The demons hanging from the walls seemed a bit disappointed, but the companions were relieved as the immediate tension ebbed somewhat.  The negotiations with Byakala lasted nearly an hour, and ended with the companions handing over another portion of their magical wealth, in the form of another pair of scrolls and an attuned gemstone from Dana.  In truth, the price was lower than they’d expected, and afterward Cal had suggested that the marilith likely had some sort of grudge against the current owners of the prison.  “It may be a trick,” Dannel said, later, as they sped over the blasted wasteland that was Carceri.  To increase their speed and save time, only half of the companions rode upon the magic carpet; Dana, Arun, and Beorna were all wind walking alongside, easily pacing the slower magical conveyance.  With the lightened load the carpet was able to manage a higher speed, and they elected this time to travel at a higher altitude, trading a wider line of sight for the greater risk of drawing attention from aerial predators. “Perhaps,” Cal said.  “Demons are certainly master liars, and I doubt any of us would have been able to tell if she was weaving falsehoods.  But they do understand power, and I think that she knew that we have a good share of it ourselves.  It looks like she’s made quite a fief for herself around that magical stone, and I doubt that she’d be willing to give it up unless it were necessary.  If I were in her place, I’d not want to risk having us return to Harrowfell seeking blood.”“Perhaps,” the elf said, but he didn’t look convinced as they continued their progress high above the surface of Carceri. But this day luck was with them, and they detected nothing either in the air or upon the ground below as they made their way steadily in the direction that Byakala had indicated.  The demoness had scoffed at Cymberion’s contention that the place could only be found by one who had already visited; the site of the citadel was real and stable enough, she said; it was just magical detection that was thwarted by the potent enchantment laid upon it.  The landmarks that the marilith had described were easy enough to follow.  Almost twelve hours had passed since leaving Harrowfell when their route took them over a vast swamp.  The stench of rot reached them even flying hundreds of feet above the ground, and the misshapen growths of diseased trees jutting from the mire seemed to be clawing at them, frustrated by their inability to reach into the sky and draw them down into their embrace.   “I am real glad we don’t have to walk through that,” Mole said, bending out over the edge of the carpet to look down at the landscape passing below. “We’re going to need to stop soon,” Cal said, looking over at the insubstantial forms of Dana and the warriors floating through the air nearby.  Those on the carpet could take turns resting, but those under Dana’s spell had no such luxury. “Look!” Dannel said, pointing at the swamp ahead of them. Peering through the murk, they could see what the elf had detected, sprawled across the swamp, half-buried in mucky pools and stacked atop muddy hillocks. “Demodand bodies.  Lots of ‘em,” Mole said.  “It looks like a battle was fought here, not too long ago,” Lok said.“I wonder why,” Mole said. “The army of fiends,” Dannel said.“Yes,” Cal said, knowingly.  “We must be nearing the place where the gate between worlds was to be opened by the Ritual of Planar Joining.” “I don’t understand,” Mole said.  “When the portal failed to open, the fiends must have turned on each other,” Cal said.  “While not as chaotic as demons, demodands are nevertheless nasty, cruel, and selfish.  No doubt they were gathered here with promises of a new world to conquer, an escape from this,” he said, indicating the whole of their surroundings with a wave of his hand.  “Bring this many together, and then disappoint them…”“It looks like there were thousands of them,” Mole said. “Good thing they didn’t make it through to Faerûn,” Dannel said.“Indeed,” Lok agreed.  They progressed further over the landscape, holding their noses against the smell of decay and corruption that rose up off the battlefield in waves.  The swamp seemed endless, stretching out over the horizon as far as they could see in any direction.  Cal called out to Dana, urging her to join them upon the carpet, but the wind walking priestess ignored him, drifting out ahead of them, all but forcing the dwarves and the others to follow her.“Stubborn,” Cal grumbled. “I think we can all understand her feelings,” Lok commented quietly.  “She remembers Delem…”Cal nodded. “There’s something ahead,” Dannel said, drawing their attention forward once again.  It was not long until they could all see what the sharp-eyed elf had spotted, rising up out of the swamp ahead in the distance. It was a citadel, obviously massive even from their current range, growing exponentially more impressive as they drew closer.  The place was set atop an outcropping of rock that rose up out of the swamp.  In the garish half-light of the Carcerian sky the place had the look of baked adobe, rather than cold stone.  Skullrot comprised a thick central core, rising high up into the sky like a tower, before splitting into four spires that curved outward before coming back together, bending to almost touch several hundred feet above the mire below.  Black gobs hung on the sides of the structure, resolving into iron cages that appeared to be fixed to the exterior walls at random intervals.  Those cages moved, slightly, although there was no wind.  There was sound, at first a vague stir on the air, becoming a cacophony of screams and mad gibberish that grew louder as they drew closer.  It was as if the walls of the citadel were porous, allowing the noise to pass through clearly, and Cal grimly stated that it was not an illusion; what they were hearing was coming from inside the place. Skullrot. They had arrived at their destination.</blockquote>

Verification