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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 480438" data-attributes="member: 41">Coldeven 7, CY 59317:  The ghost in the machine.Heydricus searches the crypts fruitlessly for any signs of his friends, then discouraged, he returns to the Aiman to tell him what has transpired.  Showing the mark of compassion, the Aiman offers to shelter Heydricus' remaining followers (all four of them) and keep them hidden.  But for Heydricus, sadly, he can do no more.Prisantha and Elijah follow the despondent sorcerer as he slinks out into the wilds of Tenh, and hunts for a suitable hiding place.  They watch over him for a while, but can find no way to communicate.Desperate for answers, the duo trapped in the border etheric use a monster summoning to call one of Prisantha's hound archon friends to her side.  The archon greets her joyfully, and calls to mind their stunning victory over Zinvellon and his Balor ally.  Pleasantries are exchanged, and the archon is introduced to Elijah.  He gives his mortal name as Valor, and offers her a blessing from the Most High Mount Celestia.  He is familiar with their environment.  He tells them that they are on the plane connecting the Prime Material with the elemental regions.  He does not know how they might return.  When told about the motes, his ears perk up, and his tongue lolls out of his mouth involuntarily.  He gives a joyous yip, and dances in circles, wagging his tail.  "Emotes!  Here!"  he shouts, "can you take me to them?"They lead the way, their journey made easier by the fact they are unhindered by the narrowness of the passage.  When the archon spies the emotes, he whines under his breath, and tells the women the following:These are celestial emotes.  They originate from Mount Celestia, and inevitably each one embodies one of the Holy Virtues.  The Mountain is a difficult climb for the souls of Good folk who find themselves there.  One can only ascend as high as he is righteous.  When a soul fully embraces all the myriad lessons of Ultimate Law and Goodness, he merges with the plane in a joyful reunion, ceasing to be.  It is the highest goal of all of Mt. Celestia's inhabitants, petitioner and celestial alike.  When a soul shows an unusual amount of Virtue, sometimes a part of their essence remains behind, as a glowing bulb of light.  No one is sure why, but the emotes themselves seem intent on helping struggling aspirants along, causing them by the merest touch to be filled with whichever Holy Virtue the past-petitioner embodied best in his afterlife.That one Emote should be found away from Mount Celestia is a miracle, but that this many would gather in the Prime . . . the archon begs to be dismissed, explaining that once again Prisantha is involved in some mystery that his superiors would be overjoyed to learn about.Before he leaves, the archon suggests that some mortal wizards can communicate across the planes using their scrying abilities, and perhaps Prisantha might do the same . . .Of course!  Prisantha and Elijah travel ethereally to Heydricus' hiding spot and watch with a poignant amusement as he attempts to dress his own burns, his big hands fumbling with the y'ttre cloth.Prisantha scrys  him using drinking water pooled in Elijah's cupped hands and is then able to communicate with him via message.  Heydricus is glad to hear that they are safe, and suggests that they might use their etheric state to scout the dungeon.  The main concern is that non-corporeal undead exist partly in the etheric.  Prisantha replies that if any non-corporeal undead are spotted, she will swiftly teleport away.The etheric duo, once again trapped together in a land far away from their companions, venture back to the Tenha mines to have a look around.  They make careful notes of their observations, but no sooner have they entered into the Iuzian-held part of the mine than they spot a desiccated man, dressed in ancient garments and clutching a heavily jeweled rod of office.  The man seems very real, not ghost-like at all, for all that he is shrouded by a black aura.  He leaps forward, and as Prisantha teleports away, he clutches her arm, coming along for the ride.From Heydricus' point of view, his restless and pain-filled slumber is disrupted by the sudden appearance of a misty, black-shrouded undead creature that smells of grave-dirt, cruelty and rot.  He leaps to his feet, and draws his sword.  The thing recoils as if cut by a pair of invisible blades, and when Heydricus leaps at the foul creature, his sword blow dissolves it into strips of impotent mist.  Confused, Heydricus looks around him for some explanation of what just transpired, but can find none.Elijah sheathes her swords, and suggests to Prisantha that they rest here, next to Heydricus for the night.The next day, another scry and message later, they teleport to Chendl, to try and get help from the Royal Academy of Magic.  Appearing ethereally in the middle of the greatest school of magic outside of Greyhawk City might not be the wisest thing to do, but fortunately, the wards set against etheric intrusion are set to warn, not kill.  The good news?  Prisantha is able to contact a mage who can restore her and Elijah to the prime, but the bad news?  The mage is Mina, Prisantha's rival at the Academy.  Mina glowingly overcharges Prisantha for her spell-casting services, guessing rightly that the desperate enchantress will have no choice but to submit to her magical price gouging.-----Next:  An unexpected reunion makes strange bedfellows of two very handsome men!  And one of them is Heydricus!  Curst is joined in his Eternal Rest!  Who dies?  Who doesn't?  Read on . . .</blockquote>

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