Session Twenty: Gifu and Dustclaw

General Summary

- 9 of Solas -

Yarrow woke early with the emberbats and made breakfast. After having another talk with the emberbats and being pointed in the direction of the area where the trees move, Yarrow cast Goodberry and handed them out to the emberbats. They thanked him heartily and wished him luck.

Aldous untied himself and began to look around. His head ached and the voices in his head were different. They were louder, more plentiful, and a bit harsher. As he looked knowledge filled his mind. A droning dialogue about botany, trees, fires, creatures, the movement of clouds in the sky. Aldous moved around, he was critically frail now, his mind wracked with voices and pulsing with energy took much of his focus.

Everyone steeled themselves with what was to come and got down from the tree. It took some time for Yarrow and Alabaster but quickly they descended and decided on a course of action. They would head in the direction that the emberbats told them to and they would do so by conjuring eagles once more. Yarrow prepared himself, trying his best to focus to get the eagle's once more, and cast Conjure Animals getting the two giant eagle's from before. The party mounted the beasts and they once again took to the skies.

After about an hour had passed they had traversed another swathe of the Scorched Grove. They saw a a clearing in the trees ahead. As they approached they saw a large outcropping of stone peeking out of the ash. The rocks seemed to form a large ring surrounding the clearing. Yarrow threw a cookie down and waited for it to hit the ash. Aldous turned on his eldritch sight and saw 8 spots of abjuration magic in a circle at the north of the clearing. A tiny puff of ash bloomed as the cookie hit the ground but no creatures stirred. Cyrus poked his snout out of the bag of holding and asked what was going on. Alabaster pushed him back inside and they landed. The ash here was less deep and the ground was hard underfoot. This whole area seemed to be stone.

Yarrow asked the eagle's to blow the ash away with their wings before they vanished. The two worked quickly and underneath the ash were cracked tiled stones with images of vines and flowers growing around eight plates all embedded into the stone in a circle. Each plate had a different symbol on it and surrounding each plate was a ring with vines and thorns cast into the metal. In the middle of the plates was an inscription. The inscription was written in Druidic and Yarrow quickly read it and then translated for the group.

“The cycle of nature is death and rebirth, forests to ashes and ashes to earth. Stand in the compass and your proof there deliver, to the cleanser of forests, the sapling’s life-giver.”

The plates were arranged almost like a compass. The North, East, South, and West having a Mountain, Swirl, Flame, and Wave respectively. The NE, SE, SW, and NW having a Flower, Sun, Star, and Gemstone. Yarrow and Cyrus began to poke around the area while Alabaster and Aldous investigated these plates. Aldous looked and the plates all had auras of abjuration magic while the ring had an aura of transmutation. Alabaster set himself up and started to ritually cast Identify on the plate with the star symbol while Aldous pondered over the poem.

Cyrus climbed the rocks and poked around the floor. This used to be a building of some kind. Walking around he could hear a slight echo beneath the front of the grounds as if the area underneath was hallowed. Yarrow meanwhile looked at the towering trees surrounding the area. Something seemed off about them. While most seemed petrified some seemed to still live in some way. Yarrow cast Druidcraft on one making it glow and begin to creek and shudder. Maneba grew a touch scared and grabbed at Yarrow.

Alabaster finished his spell. The plate had an advanced magical glyph in it. If the plate was activated then whoever activated it would fall prey to some magical effect and then the plate would reset and become inert again. Aldous called over the others and they began to talk about the puzzle. They began to look at their resources and tried to find every element represented. They lit a match and placed the fire on the fire plate but nothing happened. Then they tried to put the fire around the rim and still nothing. Alabaster grimaced and looked over to the flower. That one should be easy enough.

Alabaster asked Yarrow for a seed and placed it on the plate. He then cast Druidcraft on the seed. As he did the ring around the plate began to glow and vines grew out and around the plate. The vines intertwined into a flower and then they grew larger and spined. The vines shot out across the ground covering the area in writhing vines and flowers. Alabaster shot back and quickly dodged out of the way. As he did the group heard a loud groaning as the large petrified tree at the front of the temple began to move.

The tree opened glowing eyes and pulled from the ground. Sound echoed from the trunk of it, it was speaking in a Primordial tongue that only Aldous could understand. "You have chosen poorly and since you do not look like Te-" The creature stopped and looked to Yarrow. The silence overtook everyone for a moment. In Druidic the tree asked, "Why do you take this form Gifu?"
Yarrow blinked for a moment and then reached up to his antlers. "I am not Gifu and I do not claim to be him." The tree nodded in understanding.
"That explains your failure. A test of strength is in order then." The tree reached a hand high into the air but the Tola on the ground put his hands up, "Wait! We do not have to fight! I was sent her by the White Stag to save this grove!" The creature stopped and looked hard at Yarrow. Then with a great step it brought itself to the compass of plates and writhing vines. It reached down and touched the plate making the vines wither and pull back into the ring. The tree then stood back up and looked around.
"Why have you brought these others with you if they are not Tenders?" The creature asked pointedly.
"I am not a Tender either! These are my friends and they are helping me since my quest is hard. Why are you here?" Yarrow asked the tree.
"I am bound to test the strength of those who I see that would enter the temple." The creature stood and recited the words almost mechanically.
"Bound? By who?" Yarrow asked but the tree said nothing. It stood there in silence for a while before Yarrow pieced it together. He could not talk about certain things. "Well what's here in this temple?"
"I am bound to test the strength of those who I see that would enter the temple." The creature stood and recited the words again.
Yarrow thought and thought and then an idea came to him, "You said that you have to test the people you see enter. Can you just turn around and ignore us to let us by?" A more oppressive silence overtook the area. The tree moved as if to speak but no words came out. After a few movements the great tree turned and moved back to place except this time facing away from the compass of plates.
Yarrow clapped and hopped towards the compass and grimaced at the text before him. "Actually can you help us with this part?" The Tola asked.
"I am bound to test the strength of those who I see that would enter the temple." The creature stood and recited the words almost mechanically.
"Well we can be friends after all this right?"
"I am bound to test the strength of those who I see that would enter the temple." The creature stood and recited the words almost mechanically. Yarrow pouted a bit and then moved closer to the tree.
"What's your name? Can I know that?" The Tola asked excitedly.
"The Druids call me Oakheart."
"I'm Yarrow it's nice to meet you." Yarrow said cheerfully getting what amounted to a chuckle out of the tree.

With the surprise guardian out of the way the group went back to testing out their theories. They made flames dance on the fire plate but nothing happened. The poured water over the plate with the drop but nothing happened. They cast dancing lights over the sun plate but nothing happened.

Growing frustrated Alabaster cast Druidcraft on the flower plate again. Once more the vines grew out onto the plate, a flower bloomed, and then vines shot out across the field writhing and trying to grab people. Thinking for a moment Alabaster focused his Druidcraft on the ring of the Sun plate. Vines grew out of the ring and onto the plate and then a magnificent light shone suddenly threatening to blind those that did not shield their eyes. Turning Alabaster cast on the one with the Star symbol. The vines grew out and then began to glow and a strange sensation came over Alabaster, one he resisted but that threatened to strangle him.

Oakheart began to quietly chuckle at the group. Reading over it once more Aldous advised Alabaster to do the fire plate next. Alabaster readied himself and cast on the ring. Vines shot out and engulfed the plate. The plants formed a webbing of sorts over the plate and a sapling began to grow. Then in an instant a barrage of fire emanated from the plate and the vines turned to ash. The plates sunk into the ground and the inscription began to recede revealing a staircase heading underground. Yarrow turned to Oakheart.

"After we do this you're not going to hurt anyone are you? what are you going to do after this?" The large tree swayed back and forth for a moment.
"... After this I wish to regrow the forest and return it to its former state." Oakheart said calmly.
Yarrow pouted a bit. "You didn't answer my first question." He said under his breath. "Alright Good bye Oakheart! We'll see you soon!" Yarrow shouted. Oakheart nodded still facing away from the group.
"Good luck little one."

---

The group descended into the temple. As they did so Maneba decided to get into the bag of holding in case anything happened. That way they could provide support if need be. The area below here was filled with ash and dust. The air was stale and as the adventurers made their way down they saw that the walls and doors were made of dark carved stone.

As they came down the stairs there were two doors. One to the left and one to the right. Aldous and Alabaster opened the one on the right. It was dark so Alabaster cast Dancing Lights and looked around. It looked like a storage chamber of some kind for the Tenders. Their robes and ornaments hanging from shelves. Aldous grabbed a robe and began to change. Yarrow and Cyrus went to the left and this seemed to be a storage room for food products. The barrels and crates were either empty or had rotting grain or seeds in them. Yarrow took the scenes and moved on.

Both groups opened up into a large room with carved pictures in the floor and walls. The floor had an image of two circles flowing into one another. The walls had images of different people interacting with large and foreboding beasts. A Mapach in armor riding a giant mole. A Luma soaring with a great bird. A Cervan with antlers reaching out to, what looked like, Oakheart. A Jerbeen Bard presenting food to a great toad. A couple Vulpins who looked to be dancers bandaging up a giant snake. The last one caught Yarrows attention, a large Gallus with antlers talking with the White Stag.

Yarrow came over and inspected the carving. Cyrus went over to the dancers and did the same. Alabaster pulled Maneba out and asked them about the Tenders, mainly about the leader before Gifu. Maneba confirmed that the leader before Gifu was a Cervan named Dustclaw. Looking out they also noted that the carving of the Gallus with the White Stag was of Gifu.

At the South of the room were two double doors. Opening them up revealed a bedroom of sorts. Aldous recognized the layout. It was almost the same as the layout in Gifu's room back in Ashbarrow. They searched around the room. The bookcases were all empty, the bed was made, and large statues of featherless birdfolk were around. They all had the same pose with talons cupped as if to hold something. Yarrow placed a cookie in one statues hands. Cyrus and Alabaster while looking at them found a loose brick each behind separate statues. They pushed them in and the wall on the west side of the room swung open revealing another hallway.

This area was a bit more narrow. Coming into the hallway they could feel cold air hitting them and looking around they saw several empty jail cells. This was a place for prisoners. The party grew a little on edge from this and continued on. At the end of the hallway were stairs leading down.

---

As they got down the stairs Aldous and Cyrus were in the lead. A door was to the right of the landing but they ignored it seeing a large room ahead. As they stepped forward to their right was a long hallway and at the end of it a wall of weapons, armor, and on a pedestal a long crystal spear. Cyrus walked on the ceiling ahead of Aldous as they both made their way into the room. As Aldous made it about halfway down the hallway a stone under his foot sank and two portcullises fell from the ceiling on either side of the hallway.

Cyrus panicked and Aldous looked to the items in the room. Summoning a mage hand he tried to grab the crystal staff but his spectral hand went through it, it was an illusion. Alabaster and Yarrow went over and investigated the portcullis. The area that it dropped from was still open so they worked together to lift it and held it open. Cyrus and Aldous got the other side so Cyrus could pop underneath and then the two exited the hallway.

Once freed the group made their way into what looked like a crafting room. A few of the same statues from earlier were here along with benches and tables that were lined up against a wall with various tools on them. Alabaster went over and picked up a crystal ball that had an arrow etched into the bottom of it. Aldous looked and saw small carvings on the benches in a sequence with matching symbols on certain tools. Hammers had dots, Knives had two dashes, tongs and pliers had triangles, and the only crystal ball had an arrow. On the desks themselves the symbols were in an order with empty circles in between them. Dot, Dashes, Triangle, Arrow seemed to be the pattern. Aldous made a note of it.

The party then split ways. Aldous and Alabaster went through the door near the stairs and Cyrus and Yarrow went through the door at the north of the crafting room. Aldous and Alabaster ended up in a large library filled with empty shelves and ripped, burned documents, and the same statues. Growing curious Alabaster cast Identify on one just to make sure nothing could happen. The statue itself was a golem of sorts filled with designs of transmutation magic. At the core of it however was a power source and once that felt magically very familiar to Alabaster. As the spell focused on the statue Alabaster could hear a distressed young voice emanating in his mind.

"P-Please Master Dustclaw! I-I'm sorry, n-no, what are you doing! S-stop I-" "P-Please Master Dustclaw! I-I'm sorry, n-no, what are you doing! S-stop I-" "P-Please Master Dustclaw! I-I'm sorry, n-no, what are you doing! S-stop I-"

The voice repeated over and over in Alabasters mind until he broke concentration on his spell. The thing that powered these statues were the same as the gems he had.

Meanwhile Cyrus and Yarrow found themselves in a large room that seemed to house a craftsperson. Again the desks here had the same pattern of symbols.

Both groups continued through until they found themselves in a small chamber. This chamber had an Altar to Altus, the Enduring. The Altar is the Strig god raising a lightning bolt to the sky. At his talons was a large bowl and beneath that a metal ring covered in relief images of vines pushing against each other from each side. Yarrow went over to one side and cast druidcraft on the ring. Vines shot out from one side and writhed over the bowl and the altar. Alabaster went to the other side and cast druidcraft as well. Vines grew from his side and as they came into contact with the others they wrestled and fought on the altar eventually forming together and blooming.

The walls on either side of the altar shifted and began to recede. A colder wind blew over the party and stale stagnant air assailed them once more. They could now see their breaths and the sound of murmuring could be heard from down the stairs into the room below that seemed to slightly glow from an eerie blue light. Then the party heard three loud bangs from above, the temple shook, and dust fell from the ceiling around them. They looked at each other concerned.

They decided that it must be Oakheart and Alabaster prepared to use sending to him. Aldous told him what to say in Primordial trying to get Alabaster to just mimic the sounds.

"What caused the banging, speak slowly."

"Gifu comes to defend his hold"

Alabaster tried his best to repeat the message to the group and Aldous quickly pieced it together. Yarrow then approached the stairs and knocked on the wall.

"Hello we're coming down, would you like a cookie?" Yarrow asked tentatively. A loud deep voice bellowed out from below.
"I have no need for food! The horned beast comes swiftly! Let my force be known! Hahahahahaha!"
"Are you sure you don't want one..." Yarrow said as the group descended into the room below. The room was large and about 30 feet in height. Large columns cut the room apart. The air was ice cold and snow and fog could be seen as the group walked. The floor here was covered in frost and the tiles on the floor had strange glyphs of different symbols carved into the stone and caked with blood. Towering in the middle of the room was a mass of ice and snow. At the top of it was an antlered Cervan fused to the ice, his frost burned flesh pulling from the ice behind him.
Alabaster looked at the Cervan and then pulled Maneba's head from the bag. "Hey is this Dustclaw?" He asked the Gallus.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Maneba slammed themselves back into the bag. Yarrow stepped forward. "Hey are you Dustclaw?" The Cervan's eyes snapped to the Tola and then to his antlers.
"Gifu? GIFU! GIFU! YOU WILL PERISH HERE NO MATTER YOUR FORM!" The Cervan cried in anger as he pulled his arms from the ice. The glyphs on the ground began to glow and an oppressive air of cold overtook the room.

Cyrus moved forward along the sides of the walls and cast Slow but the creature brushed off the effect. Aldous moved forward, running across the glyphs with abandon, he could see the staff in the creatures back. He had to have it, he had to study it. As he ran across a triangle on the ground several icy talons, claws, and tendrils reached up and grabbed him. The appendages held him down and stopped his movement. The creature looked down at Aldous in disgust and outrage. Aldous looked back at the creature and using his new staff cast Command but the creature again seemed to dismiss it. Yarrow stepped forward, avoiding the glyphs, and spoke.

"I am not Gifu! Even Oakheart said so! Would Gifu offer you raisin cookies?" The creature twisted in rage.
"YOU CANNOT FOOL ME! YOU HAVE BOUND THAT CREATURE TO YOUR WHIMS AS YOU DO WITH EVERYONE! I WILL DESTROY YOU HERE!"

Alabaster ran forward as well hitting another triangle and getting grabbed by ice appendages of his own. Snarling in frustration he looked up and cast Shatter at the creature. A loud explosion could be heard from the magic as shards of glass went flying. The creature seemed unphased and almost mentally detached from his body as he raised his arms. The Cervan's hands pulled from the ice and, digging into the frozen flesh of his torso, began to pull open his chest with his hands. As his chest cracked and ripped apart the tip of a glowing crystal could be seen. The Cervan screamed and a bolt of energy shot out at Yarrow. Yarrow braced himself as best as he could as a massive blast of cold and ice tore into him. Yarrow looked around and cast Conjure Animals asking the fey spirits to send him the bird creatures from the beginning of their journey into the grove. Four large birds appeared around the beast, each with serrated beaks with dripping poisons.

As the party got into the fight with this creature they heard a cry of pain from above and a wave of magical energy washed over them. The party then heard the sound of stone grating against stone from up above. Aldous and Alabaster looked at the ground and, remembering the order from before, instructed Cyrus to walk the pattern out. With his mobility it took but an instant and as he stepped the creature seemed to calm down. Dot - Dashes - Triangle - Arrow. Seeing results Cyrus moved as fast as he could and performed the sequence two more times. Each time a shudder went through the Cervan until eventually his eyes closed and he began to mimic the actions of crafting at a table before him. The arms grabbing Aldous and Alabaster lowered and the two were free. Yarrow covered his antlers and did the pattern himself, instructing his birds to do the same. As they moved two statues made their way down the stairs. One towards Alabaster and one towards Yarrow with what sounded like more of them in the distance.

Cyrus did the pattern again and then cast a new spell that made a wall of sand appear making it more difficult to descend the stairs into the room. Alabaster fought the statue before him and Aldous made his way, avoiding the glyphs, towards the back of the creature. Yarrow called out to the creature.

"Hi Master Dustclaw. How can we help you?" The creature with his eyes closed turned towards the noise and tilted his head.
"Ah yes, Taru could you please bring me the supplies I asked for earlier. Thank you."

The beast seemed to be in a world of his own driven to fantasy by the glyphs. The birds continued to do the pattern. Then the party heard more statues getting caught in the sand wall above. They also heard a voice, gentle and calm, making a bemused chuckle.

Cyrus helped fight the statue on Yarrow as Alabaster did the same with his own. Aldous meanwhile grabbed a knife from his pack and started to climb the mountain of ice. The cold bit into his flesh as he slowly made his way up. Yarrow called out to Dustclaw again.

"What happened to Gifu?" He shouted at Dustclaw making the Cervan's face contort. "Gifu... Gifu! he.. betrayal.. my tools... my work!" The creature began to move shaking Aldous a bit on his back. Then the sand wall disappeared in a flash and the voice from earlier could be heard clear as day.
"Who is in my temple?" The voice asked sternly.
"Noooo one" Yarrow blurted out.
"Hmmm."

Seeing the creature start to pull out of his daydream Cyrus cast Phantasmal Force placing an image of Gifu in the middle of the room. Dustclaw's eyes shot open at hearing Gifu's voice and then seeing an image of him was too much. The creature screamed shaking the walls and a deluge of ice and snow froze the middle of the room. Aldous held on and used this time to carve out the staff encased in ice behind the Cervan. Alabaster looked to the statues and the antlered Gallus on the stairs and, thinking back to a ranger he met long ago, asked for help from a spirit companion. A spectral cat appeared and threatened the statues and the Gallus. Yarrow seeing who he assumed was Gifu and the army of statues panicked and grabbed the Griffon claw from around his neck.

"Hey are you evil and or not good and did you actually meet the white stag?" Yarrow asked hurriedly. The Gallus rolled his eyes. "How is one so powerful and yet so foolish." Yarrow pouted.
"Rude." He gripped the claw and pointed it towards the stairs and a bolt of lightning shot out, destroying the statues each one bursting with small screams or moans, and shooting up into the temple. A terribly rumbling could be heard throughout the room and a mass of loose dirt began to pour from the hole in the corner of the room. Gifu patted down his now damaged robes.
" So you're the one who has been taking my identity?" Gifu said looking at the Tola and his poorly covered antlers.
"No. Well not on purpose." Yarrow looked away annoyed at everyone's assumptions. Gifu smiled warmly and raised his talons. His eyes and head glowed with a soft light and then a beam of energy shot from his talon and burned into Yarrow's skin.

Maneba popped their head out of the bag of holding after hearing Gifu's voice. Looking around they became terrified once again but saw Aldous climbing the hill of ice. Reaching out with their magic they cast Healing Word on him to help in some way before retreating back to safety. Yarrow commanded the birds to stop doing the pattern and instead for them to attack Gifu. One ran over and pecked at the Gallus. Gifu didn't even try to block the attack assuming the creature would be weak. But up close he could see what the creature was and as his arm began to turn to stone his gentle gaze snarled into rage. Cyrus saw an opportunity and cast Silence centered on Gifu. Yarrow transformed into his avatar form of White Stag and stomped on the ground, a mist filled the area and cruel thorned vines came from that mist and held down onto Gifu.

Aldous seeing a chance grabbed at the staff and, with a desperate pull, rended the staff from the Cervan's back. The Cervan's eyes went dark and he screamed out in pain. The body grew stiff and froze and the ice under Aldous began to crack and break. The creature crumbled into fragments and Aldous did his best to turn around and glide down to the ground. Aldous hit the ground safely and ran behind one of the pillars. The body of the creature gave off a last magical sigh and three shadowy images taking the Cervan's form apparated.

Alabaster tapped his gloves together and with a smirk cast his own Lightning Bolt up the stairs at Gifu. As the energy shot up it hit Gifu in the back and then up and through the other corner of the room. A deeper rumbling could be heard and dirt poured down covering Yarrow and the sounds of earth shifting filled the room.

Gifu looked at his arm and his current predicament. With a scowl he began to wild shape and slowly turned into a howling torrent of air. His new form escaped the grasp of the vines and he no longer needed to worry about his arm. Cyrus seeing this cast Witch Bolt as hard as he could. Gifu moved forward and as he did so Yarrow rammed him with his antlers. The two fought in the same space as Cyrus tried to keep focus on Gifu.

Aldous used his appraising eye on the item. It was an artefact of great power that could contain, imprison, and tap into the powers of those contained within. Right now it contained something that gave it its essence of primordial cold and ice. Aldous looked at the staff with great fascination and looked at the others fighting. They would never let him keep this. The voice in his head agreed.

Cyrus continued his witch bolt on Gifu. Alabaster cast Cloud of Daggers to hit Gifu and Yarrow bit at the form that Gifu had. Between the combined efforts Gifu returned to his original form. Yarrow began to tap out in Tola.

"Surrender" The White Stag stared down Gifu who snarled.
"No" Gifu said, Alabaster looked over and saw the shambles of ice and tapped out his own message.
"The Borealis is no longer here"
Gifu's eyes went wide and he looked around. In common he screamed, "What? that is an incredibly dangerous artifact who has it!?" Yarrow snorted and tapped out, "Probably a homeless man."
Gifu looked horrified and with the White Stag before him he decided to flee. Taking attacks from all sides Gifu made it most of the way up the stairs before Maneba, hearing Gifu once more, came out from the bag. They cast entangle on the area and vines held Gifu in place.
Then in a rush the group looked as Aldous flew away. Out of the room and out of sight up into the temple with the staff and alone. Cyrus saw this and cast Fly on himself to give chase. Alabaster and Yarrow watched as their two teammates left. Yarrow then turned to Gifu and shifted back into his form. He cast Tidal Wave on the Gallus knocking him prone.
Alabaster meanwhile cut down the only remaining statue, its last cries echoing out around him. Gifu turned and looked at Yarrow. He tried to cast something but the effect didn't occur as Yarrow shrugged it off. Looking down the Tola saw a ring on Gifu's talon. One that looked very similar to the ones that Wolne and Albert had.
Reaching down Yarrow got onto Gifu's talon and tried to take the ring off. "No, Stop!" Gifu screamed out as the Tola pried the ring free. A jolt of magical energy shot up through the Gallus's veins. Gifu wailed out in pain as his eyes lit up with electrical energy and his mind was wracked with damage. After a moment it was over and Gifu laid there motionless and drooling. Still alive but not present.

Cyrus easily caught up with Aldous, "What are you doing?"
"I-I don't know, I need to go. I need to examine this!" Aldous said flying over a mound of dirt.
"You could examine it with the group." Cyrus said calmly.
"No, they'll put limitations on me! Too many! I'll give it back when I'm done I just need answers!" Aldous screamed.
"Answers to what?"
"Answers to the fires! I want to know where my spellbook came from! Who sent it? Why? This is my life's work I need to see this staff unhindered!" Aldous was frantic. While he was moving as fast as he could it was obvious that Cyrus was slowing down to talk to him.
"How far are you planning on going? When are you going to stop?" The dancer said weaving in between the spaces of the temple.
"I-I don't know. Far enough! I just need a few hours with it! Come with me! You can always out pace me or over power me and take the item back! Please! Just give me some time with it!" Cyrus shook his head.
"Fine but afterwards we go back to the group and you only get a half hour!" Aldous looked incredulous at the offer.
"Half an hour isn't even enough time to attune to it! Just one hour!" He begged. Cyrus thought for a moment and then nodded. They shook hands and then made their way out of the crumbling temple.

Yarrow looked down at Gifu who was now a slobbering mess. Alabaster looked over and saw the Cervan shadows sapping the strength of the birds until they withered and died of weakness. He ran up and stripped Gifu of his weapons. Then quickly tied him up and threw him in the bag of holding with Maneba. Another rumbling went through the temple and Alabaster looked to Yarrow. The ring had the mark of Kren, the Sly on the inside. Yarrow showed the ring to Alabaster who nodded and the two began to run out of the temple as it filled with dirt.

Report Date

26 May 2020