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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rchodges" data-source="post: 8575677" data-attributes="member: 7031385">Part 2: Call Forth DarknessAct 2: Taking the HornSession 16: Meeting and Beating the NeighborsLooking at the creatures, Donovan quickly responded in Abyssal, “I take it you are a guardian of Vetra Kali Eats the Eyes?” The large creature appeared to stare at Donovan with curiosity before it responded. “Why are you here?”“I am here to break the seal binding Vetra Kali.”, Donovan realized he was dealing with a Dread Wraith.The creature paused the advance of its minions at that point, while continuing to advance on Donovan. The creature switched to Infernal, then continued speaking, “Who sent you?”“I have been tasked to this quest by the High Priest of Asmodeus.”, Donovan responded, also switching to Infernal.“Who are you?”“My name is Donovan Thorn.”“Who are these people who are accompanying you?”“They are my family.” Donovan felt his breathing increased as the creature continued to approach. He cursed himself silently for not having already prepared some Ghost Salt.“I assume these minions of yours are necessary to complete your task?”, the Wraith was now speaking in Celestial.“Indeed, they are my family.”, Donovan repeated, this time in Celestial.The Wraith seemed to be amused with Donovan, pulling itself away and appearing to smile. “And what does someone like you know of the ritual to free Vetra Kali?”, it asked, this time in Sylvan.“Not nearly enough, unfortunately.”, Donovan replied in Sylvan. “I had hoped to find the Elf Aiden Kael, to see what insight he had gleaned.”A dark chuckle came from the Dread Wraith. “Aiden Kael may have escaped from me, but he did not escape from the other guardians of this place.”Donovan sighed, “Disappointing. This means we will have to find the answers within the walls of the Horn.”The Wraith drifted about the room considering what had been said thus far. “What do you know of the residents of the Horn?”, it spoke once more, this time in Boggard.Tamsen heard the familiar grunts, and prepared to activate her magics once more, when Donovan raised his hand slightly to her. Slowly, he croaked out a set of words that amounted to his admission that he had only begun learning the Boggard language.The Wraith seemed amused at this, “In fairness, it was my most recent language as well.”, it responded in Common.“So, how do you wish for us to address you, Guardian?”, Donovan asked the Dread Wraith.“My name is Ezra. As you surmised, I am also attempting to see Vetra Kali restored to this world.”Continuing to look around the room, Donovan noticed a small stand that held an emerald very much like the one that Halthus had delivered to the group. Fumbling through his coin purse, Donovan pulled out the emerald and said, “I suspect the ritual is connected to these two stones.”Ezra saw the emerald in Donovan’s hand and rushed forward to where Donovan was standing. “Where did you find this stone?” Donovan could feel a chill setting in to him from the proximity of this creature.“When we restored Halthus to his form, he revealed to us that he had grabbed the emerald before being turned to stone.”, Donovan replied while trying to hold back a shudder.Ezra fixed his gaze on the flayer. “Halthus, yes, of course. Your assessment is correct, Donovan. The emeralds represent the eyes of Vetra Kali, and are a part of the path needed to seize control of the Horn.”“So, is another emerald still within the Horn?”“When I was observing the tribe of Boggards, I sensed a familiar emanation radiating from down there. Perhaps you should investigate further.”, Ezra appeared to smile, as he floated away from Donovan.“In for a copper…”, Donovan thought to himself. “Lord Ezra, you mentioned that other guardians had caught Aiden Kael. Who are these guardians you speak of?”“Ah, Hexor and Vexor. What a wonderful pair of Cuestodaemons!”Recognition flashed in Donovan’s mind, “The creatures from the mural, the ones bound with the collars, correct?”Ezra appeared to nod, “Yes indeed.” Ezra floated over to a pair of iron plates, “These plates allow someone to control those two, when used in conjunction with their collars.”“Will you allow me to have those plates, Lord Ezra?”“Yes, Donovan. But I expect for you to not use them unless necessary. If you have any skill at communication, you should be able to get these two to aid you in your task.”Donovan nodded, and pulled the plates from the pile of treasures. Looking back at his family, Bebop was practically licking his lips at the sheer wealth that was to be had. “Thank you for your guidance, Lord Ezra. We will return once I have recovered the other emerald.”The group left the hidden chamber, returning to the room that had contained the altar of Vetra Kali. From there, the group explored the rest of this floor of the Horn, while carefully checking for additional secret doors. While hidden places were discovered, including the teleporter on the third floor there was still something missing from the map.Ezra reappeared from the dimensionally disconnected room and looked at the group as they continued to tap on the walls nearby, “What are you all doing?”, Ezra intoned.“Where’s the secret door?”, Bebop blurted out.“According to my estimates, Lord Ezra, there should be a staircase near here. For some reason, we have not yet found the seam that would open up the passageway to us.”, Donovan elaborated.“You’ve heard the expression that you have to take one step back in order to take two steps forward?”, Ezra mused. “Now you have another reason to go visit the Boggards.” With that, Ezra returned to the hidden room.“Back to the first floor?”, Tamsen asked the group.General assent came from the group, and the party used the third-floor teleporter to return to the first floor. From there, they traversed back down the steps to enter the cave beneath the Horn.Returning to the cave, the group reinvestigated some of the areas that they had previously visited. While down there, Donovan made a crude attempt to give a greeting to a group of Boggards that were watching them from a distance. He wasn’t sure if they returned the greeting, or if they were threatening to eat him. Donovan shook his head, determined to get more practice in on this language.Spreading out around the caves, the group continued to search for secret doorways. Bebop’s eyes caught sight of a darkened area on one of the cave walls, something he had missed before. “I found something!”, he called out across the caves.As the group caught up to his position, Bebop pried the rock wall away from the staircase that was hidden beneath it.“Yes, this matches up with the rest of the floors.”, Donovan checked his maps. “We should be able to take this all the way up to the third floor.”Lucinda unsheathed her weapon at her master’s command, and began proceeding up the steps slowly.Arriving at the third floor, the group stumbled out into a room with a large dome above it. A partial wall separated this room from another, and two fur covered creatures could be seen standing against the wall. Seeing the family, the creatures approached, one of them speaking in Abyssal.“I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid I need to disembowel you now.”Hatred filled Donovan’s eyes, as he spoke back in Abyssal, “Hexor and Vexor, have you so quickly abandoned your charge to Vetra Kali? Is it not your duty to see to it that he returns to this plane?”“What does one such as you know of Vetra Kali Eats the Eyes?”Flashing the emerald before them, Donovan replied. “I know a little.”The creatures exchanged glances with each other, then looked back at Donovan, “We are charged to protect the Sanctum, to ensure that only those who are loyal to Vetra Kali are granted access. We failed this charge once, when the soldiers came and slew everyone.”Donovan pressed on, “Have you seen an Elf recently?”“He was so weak, such easy prey.”, the Cuestodaemons laughed at their accomplishment.“He was here to break the seal and restore Vetra Kali to this world!”, Donovan responded in an accusing tone.Hexor and Vexor seemed momentarily taken back by this information, but their nature still reveled in the act, “Prey trying to escape is such a rare delicacy, sir.”Moving the rest of the way into the room, the group noticed the additional staircase. “This is the staircase to the Sanctum you are guarding?”, Donovan asked the Daemons.Hexor and Vexor nodded, “We are unable to travel up there.”Donovan realized that he had still been speaking Abyssal the entire time. When was the last time he had ever spoken Abyssal for this length of time? “Do you two speak any other languages besides Abyssal?”“We also can speak in Infernal.”, they said, in Infernal.Hexor focused his gaze on Donovan, “We also can communicate via telepathy.”, the voice rang out in Donovan’s head.“That could indeed prove useful.”, Donovan replied to the telepathic communication taking place.“Indeed sir, and we are able to communicate this way anywhere within the Horn!”, Hexor was very excited with sharing this information.Vexor suddenly teleported himself directly behind Halthus, “And move anywhere we wish within the Horn.” Vexor moved close to Halthus, sniffing the air near him, before whispering “Failure.”Donovan nodded. “I guess the only way we are going to discover the truth of the Sanctum is to go up there.”As the group began walking up the stairs, Hexor also sniffed Halthus and whispered, “Failure.”The group began the long and arduous climb up the circular stairway to the Sanctum. First fifty feet, then one hundred, then two hundred.“By the gods!”, Donovan exclaimed, “How high do these stairs go?”Bebop laughed, “Poor Donovan, you should never skip a leg day!” For his part, Bebop was carrying Tamsen up the stairs as he walked.Donovan shook his head in confusion. “Is this what a leg day is supposed to feel like?”As they arrived at the top of the stairs, the smell of ozone was strong in the air.Carefully peeking out from the top of the stairs, Lucinda reported seeing some sort of moving electrical ball.Donovan handed an elixir to both Bebop and Lucinda. “This should protect you against the electrical part of that creature’s attacks.”They consumed the Elixir, and then headed out into the area. Bebop had already consumed a Mutagen on the way up the stairs. The two of them set out into the main Sanctum area, as Lucius, Tamsen, and Donovan remained in the stairwell.The Lightning Elemental floated along the ceiling, but responded when the two of them entered the main Sanctum area. The creature continued to fly in circles around the ceiling of the Sanctum, diving down from time to time in order to strike the intruders. The Elemental lacked any tactics or cunning, choosing instead to lash out to whatever creature was closest to it.Lucius caused an Evolution Surge in Lucinda, and wings spouted from her back. She took to the sky to face the Lightning Elemental head on. Bebop consumed an elixir to cause him to Enlarge Person, and then also attempted to fly up to where the Lightning Elemental was located.Lucinda and Bebop continued to take advantage of opportunities to attack the creature as it continued to circle about without any thought for self-preservation. Lucius applied Haste to the combatants, and Donovan whispered words of hatred into his crossbow, causing it to take on the familiar sickly purple glow that his rapier had shown in the past.Just as the Lightning Elemental caught sight of the remainder of the party hiding within the stairwell, Bebop caught the creature once more off guard, and the final damage caused the Elemental to discorporate, the remnants of its form landing on the ground with a wet thud.Donovan applied healing to both Lucinda and Bebop, although the damage inflicted to both of them was minimal.Bebop grabbed a vial from Donovan’s satchel, then moved over to the remnants of the Elemental. He proceeded to collect a sample of the fluid that remained after the creature was no longer animated, then handed the vial back to Donovan.Donovan accepted the vial and shrugged, “I hope this is the ‘blood’ that was being referenced in the schematics. I imagine the energy that has coalesced around this area altered the Elemental in some way.”The group took a closer look at the altar and seal in the room. While nothing stood out about the objects, it was obvious that the altar had been used for sacrificial pursuits. The group also came across a huge disc like object on the floor. “The Silver Seal.”, Donovan said what the group was clearly thinking.Having finished this task, the group went back down the stairs, first moving to the third floor, then taking the other staircase all the way down to the cave.“We should go back over all of the areas down here, perhaps we missed something the first time around.”, Donovan suggested.“You know, we should look around for growing areas. I can imagine there’s a lot of places where we could start growing some exceptional drugs around here.”, Bebop responded with excitement.Donovan looked back over the cave area. “Drugs? Here? In this darkness?”“Of course! We even have a group of individuals to work the fields.”, Bebop pointed at some of the Boggards.Donovan rubbed his forehead. “Ignoring the fact that the lighting here is terrible for almost all illicit drugs, I’m not sure we really want growing production to be controlled by someone who already has a drug addiction.”Bebop snorted, “On the contrary, this keeps us from having to pay them!”Lucius chimed in, “I’m going to go search the huts.”, then left with Lucinda.Donovan continued, “If you want to produce addictive substances, your alchemical skills will produce far more results than you could simply by growing something and hoping for the best.”Bebop thought about what was said, then him and Tamsen followed behind Lucius.When the group arrived in the hut area, Tamsen detected magics coming from two of the different huts. It was about this time that Zikomo showed up.Lucius queried the Shaman, “What is in these huts?”Zikomo pointed at one of the huts, “This hut belongs to you, great warriors who defeated Kumanda!”With that, Bebop entered the hut and searched for everything in there. He recovered several magic items of interest, but chose to hold onto them until Donovan could analyze them.Lucius continued, “What about this hut?”, pointing at the other one that Tamsen had sensed magic within.Zikomo began speaking in Boggard to the member of his tribe that was living in the hut that Lucius had pointed at. Some sort of argument took place, and then the Boggard fetched a sack containing some miscellaneous items which Lucius took.“Walk with me, Tribe Leader Zikomo.”, Donovan walked up on the group, then led Zikomo away.As the two of them walked, Donovan suggested to Zikomo that he move the tribe up into the first floor. Zikomo seemed concerned about why Donovan would make such a suggestion.“There’s no mud up there, Zikomo likes the mud!”“We can add mud there, if that’s what you want.”“Why would you want us to live up there?”“This is our home now, you should be able to stay up with us, so we can all protect each other.”It was clear that Zikomo was nervous at Donovan’s proposal. Donovan was unsure of why the Boggards would be afraid of them, but perhaps the truth of it was that him and his family just represented creatures that would normally be hunting them. Trust would not be easily given, so it would seem.About this time, the rest of the group showed up at the temple area where Zikomo and Donovan were speaking.“Tell us how to make your Vision Juice, Zikomo.”, Bebop insisted.Zikomo began to go through the ingredients in the compound. Donovan quickly realized that such a compound would quickly have detrimental effects on a creature. He imagined that Zikomo was probably completely addicted to this formulation by now, despite the harm it was doing.Indeed, even as Zikomo was attempting to show the concoction to Bebop, he began applying it to himself, and ingesting the contents. Zikomo’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell backward onto the ground, apparently passing out.Donovan grumbled, “Well, so much for any more conversations today.”Suddenly, Zikomo sat up, his eyes white. “The cave of the blue slime conceals your future. Discover the truth or fail at your master’s charge.”Zikomo began dancing around the temple, screaming at chanting, laughing with glee. He reached his arm up, as if reaching for the heavens, and then stopped moving. A moment later, Zikomo looked around at the group, apparently confused at what was going on.“Are you alright, Zikomo?’, Tamsen asked with apparent concern.“What’s going on?”, Zikomo looked around.“You said something about the cave of the blue slime? Where is this place you are referring to?”“Oh, yes yes! I know of this cave you speak of.” Having said that, Zikomo led the group to another section of the cave area.Moving south back to a section of the cave that had previously been visited, the group came across the “blue slime” that Zikomo had spoken of in his vision. Paying close attention to this area again, the group discovered what they had once thought was a simple crack in the wall. Tamsen pressed one of her Dancing Lights into the crack, and it then became obvious that the crack continued on further into the darkness.“Pooky, go check it out.”, Tamsen pushed her bunny into the crack, where it pushed its way slowly into the extremely small space. After a while, there was a small squeaking coming from the hole where Pooky had entered.Tamsen was excited, “Donovan, Pooky found a skeleton holding a pouch and a book! I think it’s what you are looking for!”“Can Pooky bring it back to us?”Tamsen gave some instructions, and Pooky grabbed one of the objects. Lucius followed up by summoning several other creatures that were able to work their way into the hole in the cave and recover the remaining objects. Once Pooky appeared at the entrance to the small section with the book, Tamsen grabbed both excitedly, hugged Pooky close, and then handed the book to Donovan.Donovan was thrilled when he first received the book, kissing Tamsen and thanking her. His eyes rapidly flipped through the pages the tome titled “The Dirges of Apollyon”. He knew this was priceless in its own right, and then to find the handwritten section at the end of it was even more exciting for him. However, as he read the details written into the sides of the pages, the excitement drained from his face.“Seven months.”, Donovan finally said. “The Ritual takes seven months to complete.”Silence fell over the group. No one expected the ritual to be easy, but how would they hold this dilapidated temple for the duration of the ritual?Lucius’ creatures were able to obtain a pouch from the skeleton, in which was contained another one of the gems. “Alright, Donovan, let’s go show this to Ezra.”Donovan nodded, and the group returned to the hidden room where Ezra was residing.Upon arrival, the Dread Wraith looked over the party, “What did you discover in your search?”Donovan held up the two gems, saying nothing.Ezra appeared to be quite pleased, then looked around the treasure room. “All of this is yours.”Bebop was thrilled beyond words. He stripped off his shirt, then kicked a large sack of coins across the floor. He threw himself onto the pile of treasure, rolling around in excitement. A moment later, he dashed back over to Tamsen, and the two of them began to make out with each other as he started to pull her clothes off.Stopping as the two of them were mostly naked, Bebop looked over at Donovan, folding his hands together, “Please, Donovan?”Donovan looked incredulously at Bebop, “Seriously, Bebop? Right now?”Bebop nodded excitedly, and Tamsen pulled herself against Bebop.Donovan shrugged, “Sure, whatever.”Bebop picked up Tamsen, then threw the two of them into the nearest pile of loot.Donovan rubbed his temples, then looked over at Lucius, “Let’s see if we can find any items of a magical nature. We’re not going be able to carry everything obviously; but we can bring the most valuable items back with us.Lucius and Donovan began to work their way through the piles of treasure that has been stored in this room. Donovan calculated that there were hundreds and hundreds of pounds worth of gold and silver. Lucius located several different items that were radiating magic and brought them over to Donovan.Donovan began the process of identifying the interesting items, while trying to block the sound of squealing coming from Bebop out of his head.Once the group had completed the tasks they had set out to finish, the family instructed Halthus to wait behind, and left the emeralds with Ezra. From there, the family returned to Farholde with the goal of preparing for a very long stay within the Horn.Session 16 Ends.</blockquote>

Verification