It is with a deeply satisfied feeling that Judoc sees his staff pierce the illusory wall into the corridor hidden behind. And then he sees their quarry! They had nearly missed their man, but now, Judoc seizes the opportunity.

Teeth grit, Judoc leaps forward, staff raised to attack. He knows this could be another trick, or that Mika'il might be focused on raising more dead to unlife, but Judoc knows he must disrupt the necromancer's spellcasting if he is truly about to cast a spell.

OOC: Move toward Mika'il. Attack!

Magnus, who had been more or less taking up the rear, whipped his head around when the realized that they had found their quarry.

With the group already at the mouth of the tunnel, he moved to join them, shield raised against any more arcane tricks.

Gustav arrived at the same thought as the two mages but a second or two later ... he had come on guard with his shield up and was stepped forward to do what Judoc did and saw the illusion drop away. As the demon bird launches itself at them Gustav steps forward and thrusts his sword at the bird in reaction, without a conscious thought.


OOC:  12:11, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 16 using 3d6.  Sword Thrust.  FILTHY WORD ... AGAIN!
I'll burn a Hero Point and try again ...
$%&@!!!  but at least a shot at a hit ...
12:13, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 15 using 3d6.  Sword Thrust.
12:16, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 4 impaling using 1d6-1.  Thrust damage
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:49, Sun 10 Nov 2019.

Finn is a trickster at heart.  He favors deception and guile.  He's seen plenty of it on the mean streets of his home town, so if your competition is going to use it why ignore such a powerful tool.  For this reason Razzel never doubted that the oddity of the wall was some kind of trick.  And sure enough, smack dab behind it, their adversary lies hiding like some frightened small mammal.

When the bird with teeth that are more home in the mouth of a great jungle cat than a vulture launches itself at the wily thief-mage some men might piss themselves and cry out like a little girl.  But not Finn.  He's been waiting for this moment for what seems like weeks.  He came here to end this danger and fill his pockets and that fire in him has grown ten fold with the loss of his pack.  Most notably in his mind is replacing the highly valuable lost grimiore, by taking it from the cold dead hands of the elusive apprentice.

The young leader reacts almost by instinct.  Instantly his fingers begin to twitch as he mumbles a few short words in some ancient forgotten language.




OOC:
Cast a spell.  Take 1 step backwards as I do.

There is always that moment, just at the beginning of life changing experiences, where anything is possible - where the ball can roll down from the peak of the hill in any direction to set a course in motion - where you must be prepared for anything.

And prepared the group is, though some of their number still breath heavily or nurse their injuries they are ready for this fight.  Gustav charges forward, his arm brought back as pushes his way to the front, thrusting out at the demon bird just before it can get to Finn.  The blade cuts into the demon's thick, black flesh and Gustav is shocked at how his attack, which had seemed enough to take the thing down midair, is mostly absorbed by the thing's chitinous skin.

The blow is enough however, to send the thing off course, turning it's way to the right and streaking past Magnus who raises his shield, though the blackbird only soars above and beyond.

"Clypeus!"  Finn shouts, his body suddenly protected by his trickster's magic.

Meanwhile, Judoc steps forward, his staff raised...

Of course, the thing about those life changing moments is, they rarely go as you expect...

Even as Judoc brings his staff to bear, slashing downwards towards the apprentice, the man's eyes glaze over and his knees drop out from under him.  Judoc's attack hits with a meaty thwack! against the apprentice's collarbone, though Mika'il barely register's the attack as he drops face-first to the floor with a crash.

"What?"  Bjorn stops half-way into his charge, his axe raised though his hand stayed for the moment.

"Unnnnh."  Mika'il groans, his body convulsing on the floor of the cave.

Glancing back up from the swooning magician, Finn just makes out Sadda, the demon bird, swooping around a corner, a thick, black ichor dripping from under his wing...

OOC:  Out of combat mode.  Mika'il seems a complete invalid at the moment, dry heaving and writhing on the floor.  All those with Bloodlust, please roll against it not not attack him.

Finn holds up his knife as he steels himself for the attack that he is sure to come.  He is so certain of it he gambles.  And as luck would have it he gambles and looses.  The bird flies the coop and the apprentice falls face first onto the ground.

Finn watches the bird wing away swiftly.  In one last ditch hurrah to do battle rather than chase this damned abomination Finn yells, ”Coward!  We got four plates.  Two from the tower an' we found a pair here.  Come take 'em an' open the jail, but I don't think you got the guts!”
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Sun 10 Nov 2019.

Gustav is as surprised as anyone... but something in his mind clicks and he moves to Bjorn .. Don't hit him , he may have been possessed and will have much of use to relate.

This is it, Judoc thinks, the final battle between Mika'il and the group who has gathered to stop his mad scheme. Expecting some kind of trickery, Judoc nevertheless lunges forward to disrupt whatever spellcraft the apprentice is preparing. But even Judoc isn't prepared for what happens next. Mika'il slumps to the ground, even as Judoc brings his staff down on the now seemingly defenseless mage.

He holds his next attack, however, and nods his head when Gustav says to hold. "He may be able to tell us how to destroy the blackbird, too," he says.

Dropping into a crouch, he checks on Mika'il. This isn't the first time Judoc has dealt with someone who had been possessed by evil.

OOC: Crouch. Wait for Mika'il to stop retching and heaving.

Though Finn taunts the demon bird, the thing swoops around a corner to the left and disappears without so much noise as a flutter of a wing.

Mika'il however, seems to groan louder to make up the difference.  Judoc rolls the apprentice to his side and is shocked to see the difference the last few seconds have made.  The only color left to his face are the deep pools of black that puddle underneath his eyes, the rest, including his lips have been completely drained to a pale ivory.  His face and lips are dry and cracked, with blood trickling down his lower lip from a particularly bad split where the skin pulls away from itself.  He seems to be unable to open his eyes, though he manages to force out a single word through his wailing.

"Water."

Judoc has never seen this before, though the sight rings true with words he had heard in one of his discussions.  "When a wizard treats with a devil it corrupts both the magic and the man, leaving him a hollow shell of his former self, if indeed, he can ever break with that dark contract at all."  Judoc shudders, remembering Baron Raisalter's words even as the unwelcome image of Professor Loke transforming into the demon Agares forces itself on his mind.

OOC:  Everyone (including Bjorn) passed their bloodlust check and no dice on getting Sadda to come back and fight.  Feel free to question Mika'il as you guys desire, though it may take a while for him to be in a fit state to answer questions.

Gustav hands Judoc a canteen of water.

Judoc watches Sadda fly off. He had considered casting a spell to chase after the demon, but Mika'il likely has important information. Too, Judoc is not eager to have another one-on-one melee, with a crowd of skeletons or some other foe.

Accepting the canteen Gustav gives him, Judoc cracks it to Mika'il's lips to give him a swallow of water. The sight of the apprentice shocks the Templar student. Mika'il's possession has left Mika'il a husk of a man. Judoc thinks of Loke, and of Alevius. Loke had worked on Cleppo's mind for months. Sadda had been able to corrupt Mika'il far faster, with a more hands-on approach, it seems.

"Tell us what happened to you," Judoc asks, his attention wholly focused on Mika'il. "And what can we do to help you and your people?" In truth, Judoc has little desire to help the necromancer, but if Mika'il can tell them more of Sadda, the information can help the group destroy or banish the demon.

"What happened?"  Mika'il nearly spits.  "You.  You've ruined everything."  With an extended wince, Mika'il pushes himself into a sitting position against the wall of the tunnel, completely ignoring Judoc's question.  "You kept the bull and tiger keys from me and refused to die.  I spent much in my effort to trap you, one stone, three keys... It was brilliant.  Sadda said he would help me but he seems to have revoked his support, filthy thing."

Mika'il looks up at Judoc, scowling.  "Go on then, I'm what you came here for, no need to draw it out."

Finn stares at the sunken, exhausted, almost ruined form of their adversary.  He doesn't trust this a bit and its written all over his face.  With his mouth in a half snarl and his arms folded over his chest defensively Razzel begins cautiously.  ”One stone?  Three keys.  What'z that mean?”

The plucky mage-thief ponders the situation for a moment and decides on a course.  He speaks stoically.  ”I'm gonna be straight Mika'il which is more than you des'rve.  I got no desire to kill you.  I had 'nough 'a war 'tween our peoples an' killin' you dont get us closer ta peace.”  Now Finn lowers his gaze, his icy cold stare shooting daggers.  ”Cooperate an' you go home.  But I will put you down if ya gi'mme no choice.  Put your hands like this.”


OOC:
Rather than go back and forth at the speed of 1 question or action per day I'm trying to keep things moving by posting everything relevant that I can think of.

Finn is instructing Mika'il to place his hands abreast of one another behind his back, as if I were about to handcuff him using modern TL9 handcuffs.  Then Razzel will cast a spell to melt the stone around us.  If it works the stone will move around both of his hands.  I am essentially encasing both of his hands in a block of stone for two reasons.  1, it makes casting harder.  2, it makes escape harder.

When I am done getting answers from Mika'il gag him so he cant speak.  Make it clear if he gives me reason to think he's going to cast spells I will cut out his tongue.

Frowning, Judoc looks carefully at Mika’il, considering their defeated opponent. If this was truly their goal, why does Judoc get the feeling that there is still fighting to come? They still need to destroy Sadda if possible, he knows, and if they don’t, the blackbird will no doubt seek others to tempt with its promises of power or revenge or whatever its honeyed bait is.

”We came here to stop you. Kill you if we needed to, but only if it comes to that.” Judoc looks closely at Mika’il. Is the necromancer now in his right mind? Is he still obsessed with opening the doors to Perdition?

He looks over as Finn prepares his spell, and satisfied that they are on the same page, Judoc turns back to Mika’il. ”Yes. One stone and three keys. We have four icons in total. Which is the stone, and what makes it different from the keys?”

Frowning, he says, ”What exactly is Sadda, anyway? A demon? Did it escape from the prison? What did you intend to do once you opened all the prison gates? We know you didn’t care about your people. You let them die after you released that giant lizard and didn’t try to save them. Was it power you were after? Or something else?”

Magnus held back when their adversary offered up his life. They had done it, cornered him, beaten him and now they could go home. They were all still alive and mostly uninured. Of course, they still had that bird to worry about.

"We're not gonna kill'em?" Magnus seemed confused. "You want to drag him all the way back to Megalos?"

Magnus was not especially blood thirsty by nature, at least not for one of his kind, but he wondered what sort of process this man would face back home, if any. Would he be tortured for information? Some spell cast on him?

Whatever it was, it would be a long trip with an enemy mage to watch night and day.

Mika'il looks at both Finn and Judoc with a sneer of derision at their first questions.  "It's a fucking expression.  Throw one stone, set one trap, and I get both of your keys and the one at the end of the crypt...  Enough to open near every cell upstairs.  Think of the treasure."  Mika'il coughs and spasms, his face suddenly writhing with pain.

Finn takes the moment to trap the necromancer, and though he does not volunteer his hands, it still proves to be a simple matter.  Judoc and Bjorn each grab one hand, shoving them hard against the stone.  Even Judoc, who is no stronger than the average man finds the apprentice gives little resistance.  Finn begins shaping the stone behind him so that it swarms around his arms and hands, encasing him fully up to the bicep.

In the brief struggle, Judoc hears the grating of stone on stone from within Mika'il's robe, and after a brief search, the mage withdraws two more gold tiles, one each of a bear and an eagle.  It is this motion which draws the most protest from Mika'il who struggles briefly and in vain, his arms completely enveloped by the cave wall behind him.

"Sadda is of the underworld."  Mika'il begins talking again once the moment has passed, his face whitened from even his meek effort.  "He came to my master long ago, just after I had come to him to be trained."  Mika'il pauses a moment, his breath pained, though it seems that the talking puts him at ease.

"Then when you killed Haj-Umr, Sadda came to me...  He has untold knowledge from ages past...  He was instrumental in discovering how to open the cells and he taught me how to hide myself from the undead with a simple spell.  He aided me when the cost of spellwork was too high, when digging the tunnel stalled he helped me open the way..."

Mika'il's voice is almost in awe, though his body is slumped, his eyes rolled back and closed as if sleep-talking.

Gustav is confused by Mika'il's words ... but obviously Judoc and Finn have it well under control.
He stands back slightly and looks around, wondering if this is another trap of some sort, but he listens closely as he can.

Judoc's face flashes red with anger at Mika'il. "Nah, I figure we leave him bound and gagged with the women of the village," he says. We can let them decide his fate."

The lure of treasure tempts Judoc. Though not a greedy man, he does find himself wondering what might be sealed away behind those doors. Treasure, no doubt, if they are strong enough to defeat the vaults' guardians. But surely Sadda has its own reasons for trying to unlock the vaults, and if it is to free others like itself, the threat of loosing other demons into the world isn't worth the reward.

When Mika'il mentions the spell to make himself invisible to the undead, Judoc looks over at Finn and raises his eyebrows. Sounds like a handy spell to know. "Sadda sure was accommodating," Judoc says. "What's in it for Sadda? Why is it so generous with its knowledge? And where's the tunnel?"

Mika'il's eyes narrow at Judoc's threat, though he does not respond at the possibility of being dumped back in the village of al-Hassan with women to shepherd over him.

Instead, he shifts his weight, his arms retreating somewhat from the wall as Finn shifts and shapes the stone and earth with his spell, forming a set of conjoined gloves behind his back.

"Sadda enjoys powerful people.  He has no magic of his own, but unlimited knowledge of it.  I imagine he enjoys sitting on a perch of power of his own making..."  He glances up at Judoc, not understanding for a moment but eventually continuing.

"We dug the tunnel you chased me through...  The Amalgam Golem blocked our way into the underground of Perdition and had already killed two of our men.  Rather than face it directly, we started digging around...  though it was taking far too long...  In the end I used my magic with the assistance of Sadda, near boundless energy, to open the way forward."

OOC:  You guys ran through it pretty quickly, but it was apparent that the stone and earth at the bottom of the stairs had been dug and there were tools of digging as you ran by.  The other opening (shaped stone) led to the golem.

Finn listens to Judoc speak and he is glad for it because the wily mercenary has many of the same questions.

Next Magnus voices the thought which he knew would come.  Finn sighs, clearly troubled by the delicate and complex situation.  ”I don't know what I want to do with him.  He may not make it out alive if he don't get right.  But if he's a good boy I'd like ta see 'im go home.  To his friends an' family.  Make a change for the better an' stop war mongerin'.”  Razzel pauses for a moment heavily burdened by a thought.  ”But takin' 'im home is interestin'.  I'm sure the Cap'n would love ta put 'im on trial.  But I think that's bitin' off more than we can chew.”

Again the professional mage asks a series of questions for which Razzel is highly interested.  He pauses his line of queries and all thought to take in the answers fully.  After the responses come and Finn has digested them he can hold back his lust no longer.  Since yesterday when his pack and pile of treasures was forever destroyed he has thought of few things other than replacing them, one by one.  Now the immensely coveted spell books, the recipes to show a wizard how to bend time and space, are within his reach.  The agent of the Row asks causally.  ”Where are your books Mika'il.  Show me.”


OOC:
Search Mika'il for any other valuables thoroughly.  In fact remove anything and everything off his body except for clothing.  And remove his shoes.  Going forward he can walk around barefoot.  Someone with an axe can destroy his shoes right now.

My intent is that once we are done talking here Mika'il will lead us to his books and other treasure.  If his response is to tell us to F off, make it clear that we will find it with or without his help.  It'll just take longer without, and without he's going to die immediately.

Also, ask where our horses went.

And, where are the rest of the men from the village.  Where is their camp.

"My books..."  Mika'il looks up at Finn and though he is simply repeating the words there seems to be a deeper question within, as if he is trying to determine Finn's reasons for the request.

"I brought little with me.  The men brought tools, food an equipment and I was stuck with mostly Haj-Umr's tools of magic and his research.  Of course, he took that all home with him when he left, along with the tattered book in Old Elvish which we found in the imam's room...  He took it home to translate it you know, to see if he could divulge how the vaults worked and what would open them...  If only he had realized the secret of the keys then and not taken two away..."

Mika'il pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts before continuing, the quirk of a wry, forced smile on his lips.

"I have nothing for you to take.  I searched your equipment last night, hoping to find the bull and the tiger, though when I found Haj-Umr's translations amongst your things I thought perhaps he had made some progress that I had not, or else divined another way to open the cells of Perdition.  It seemed he had made little, though it wrote in detail the folly and greed of the Keepers which Sadda had already made clear to me.  I left that book up on the base of the elf statue upstairs before you chased me.  The little we found in the vault with the giant lizard was taken from my room, the men of the village gone...  And I know not where your horses are...  They mean less than nothing to me, they fled when I broke through the door of the stables."

Disbelieving, Finn riles through the apprentice's pockets and garb, though he feels nothing excepting the sharp hips and individual ribs that protrude from his tight-wrapped skin.

"I have nothing."  Mika'il's smile widens, finally recognizing Finn's greed for what it is, his lip splitting and oozing an opaque pink that clumps on with the rest of the congealed blood on his face.  "Open the cells upstairs and you will find the treasures I too seek."

”We’ll get the horses back. Once this rain lets up, Aiah and I can search for them.” Judoc folds his arms across his chest and looks down at the captured mage.  Truthfully, he wants to be done with the man as soon as possible, and whether they return him to the village or drag him all the way back to the fort is all the same to Judoc.

Then, he says to the others, ”Listen, I’m rather curious to know what’s in those cells, too. Think we could risk it, though, with the threat of, say, more demons like Sadda to run loose? Or another giant monster like that lizard?”

Judoc scowls down at Mika’il. ”I say we head back to the fort, let the captain know what we’ve found.” He rubs his chin. ”But we need to deal with Sadda as well. It’s obvious that it played both the necromancer and Mika’il like well-tuned flutes, using them to further its own scheme. Demons are deceitful and care only for themselves, but they can be destroyed, just like anything else.” Folding his arms, Judoc says, ”When did you realize Sadda was pulling your string like one of Haj-Umr’s puppets? Your master was a great man once, before Sadda corrupted his heart with greed.”

OOC: Judoc will argue for tracking down Sadda and slaying it if possible. Then, once the rain lets up, he and Aiah can scout for the missing horses.

Finn listens to the man speak.  He is certain that he is about to hear what he has waited for, at long last, the location of the this man's spell recipes.  The only question ahead is will he cooperate in revealing its resting place.  But as often in life that Razzel has become accustomed to even at this relatively young age, it does not go as planned.  Finn stands there in disbelief, his face showing shock and pain.

Wait???  What???  Did he just say he doesn't have them???!!!, the mage-thief thinks incredulously.  Finn is heart broken.  Sadness, grief and intense anger well up in him in a flash.  He had counted on so deeply upon replacing his lost books by those of the apprentice, and now this!

Razzel retreats a few paces and reels in the turbulent swirls of negative feelings.  He wants to kill this man.  Murder him in the most gruesome way.  After all, it is his men who burned up his books.  He listens to Judoc speak and nods at the mention of retrieving their horses.

Now Finn gathers himself and pushes the dark urges away.  They have no place here and at the command level.  A leader consumed by hate will come of no good.  He clears his throat and addresses Mika'il.  ”Now that Sadda has left you, what will it do now?  It has no magic.  It cannot open the doors without you and the plates.”

Judoc's question is perhaps not rhetorical, though Mika'il does not answer, instead narrowing his eyes towards Finn instead.

"I cannot pretend to know exactly what he will do, though that way..."  He nods his head towards the left passage down which Sadda fled, "Goes on to the end of the Keeper's crypt.  The undead there are powerful, and even my spell was not enough to hide my presence...  It is also where I traced the other key to...  Perhaps he has gone there to start collecting them on his own."

With the fight seemingly over, Rondald starts to see what he can do for the injured. Once that is done, he forsakes diplomacy to search around the room, listening with interest about news of his mules, and frustration about the escape of Saddam.

"If Sadda has no magic of his own, he would be extremely vulnerable about now. Perhaps we should chase him. But I would not trust our prisoner..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:08, Sat 16 Nov 2019.