Chapter 7 - Epilogue
Elwood dove around the corner just as the fireballs flew past him.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, PRIEST!" the demon bellowed.
Scrambling down the hallway, Elwood found a small room, closed the door, and murmured an incantation. He would be safe and hidden for the moment. He sat down and started rummaging through his pack. He found some of Sister Inez Marie's ointment and applied it to his wounds. Most healing potions and salves caused an intense burning sensation as they do their healing, but the ointment he gets from Sister Inez Marie produces a warm glow. "I need to pay her more for this stuff." Too bad it couldn't heal his aching joints or shortness of breath; he was just getting too old to be running around like this.
One more time, he's in a dungeon below a Temple of Pain. How long has he been doing this? Years? Decades? He remembered the first time, back when he was young. Anthony, Cole, Dreya, Seline, Stachys, and himself thought they had finished the job. But the cult was wide spread, and over time more temples would arise, luring innocents in through their front doors with their false promises, all while performing sickening and despicable rituals below. And each time, Elwood's temple would send him to investigate and shut it down.
"SHOW YOURSELF, PRIEST! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME FOREVER!"
As the demon shouted up and down the hallway, Elwood thought back to those days. "I wonder where my old friends are now? We were a good team, but I guess we all had our own paths to follow. I could use them right now." Truth be told, after their adventure into the Temple of Pain, Elwood became more and more of a zealot, and they probably tired of him. "When this is done - if I survive - I should try to find them, reconnect, and try to make amends." Too much self-righteousness. Too much wine. A lot to atone for.
"YOU'RE ALL ALONE! EVERYONE ELSE HAS ABANDONED YOU!"
That was the plan. Once the party rescued the prisoners and recovered the artifact, Elwood ordered the team back to the local Flyspamon temple with their charges. In turn, Elwood would delve deeper and deeper beneath the temple, leading the dungeon denizens away to allow the others to escape, and all the while searching for this demon, the true power behind the cult. The church provided him with good men and women on this mission, but they were too green to face this. He recalled the anger in Sonja's eyes when he told her to lead the rest out while Elwood would stay behind. "I didn't come here just to run away like a dog with my tail between my legs!" Elwood returned her glare. He held her in high regard, having proven herself to be brave and resourceful over these past few missions, but she had only been out of the seminary for a few years, and Elwood had seen too many of his comrades die. "Your duty is to protect the innocent. Plus it's imperative that this artifact gets back safely to the High Priestess. If that doesn't happen, all is for naught." She stood firm "Then you should lead us back, not stay behind and get yourself killed." No. The Demon was here. This needs to end, now. "You have your orders. Lead the others and the artifact back to safety. I have my own orders to follow." This wasn't necessarily true. The High Priestess would have his head if she knew what he was up to, but there was no way he was going to withdraw now.
"YOU ARE KNOWN TO ME, ELWOOD THE BLUE, PRIEST OF FLYSPAMON! YOU HAVE BEEN AN IRRITANT TO ME FOR TOO LONG!"
Elwood smiled. "You are known to me too, Azantyl Kalunth nez Dynacht" he murmured to himself. It took years to decipher everything, but every time a Temple of Pain was dispensed with, Elwood would gather all scrolls and writings he could find. He made personal visits to anyone mentioned in any writings for "inquiries". "Call it what they really were," he admonished himself, "they were inquisitions." Yet more to atone for. Eventually he and the sages at the Flyspamon temple figured out the real evil behind everything, even discovering the Demon's true name. With this knowledge, he made preparations. Elwood took out a cloth and cleaned off Margon's mace and sprinkled holy water over it. Over the years he had the mace magically enchanted, imbuing it with his own essence. Recently he had an additional enchantment placed upon it. He could see the runes delicately inscribed in the mace's head - runes that spelled out a particular demonic name. This would be the last time he would yield this weapon. He'll return it to the church when he's done. He hoped it would be given to Sonja, but that's not for him to decide.
"YOUR WORTHLESS AND WEAK GOD CAN'T PROTECT YOU!"
Elwood had sought out items of protection too; an amulet, a ring, a cloak. Besides, he was no wet-behind-the-ears-acolyte. He had been a cleric for close to thirty years; only the High Priestess and a handful of others in this region were more powerful. As powerful as Azantyl was, Elwood definitely would be able to bloody the Demon's nose. He softly incanted a spell, and he could feel Flyspamon's blessing and protection flow into him. He then brought out two potions and a scroll. He needed to be precise about this. First the violet potion, then the green potion, then finally read the scroll. He hoped the sages were right, and that this, and his faith, would be enough. Otherwise, it would be a very, very short battle.
All preparation done, Elwood silently said a prayer. Not a spell nor an incantation. Just a simple, humble prayer.
Elwood rose up, adjusted his helm and shield, then kicked the door open
"DEMON! I'M A PRIEST OF FLYSPAMON, AND THROUGH HIS DIVINE GRACE AND POWER, YOU'LL BE BANISHED TO THE ABYSS WHERE YOU BELONG!"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Sat 09 Mar 2019.