Taking Off in a New Direction. Literally, Guys. Completely Different Game.

Just a quick post to apologize for the delay between posts! There have been some crazy stuff going on in the world lately as you are well aware, I'm sure, but a lot of craziness has been going on in the life of two of our group that has put things on pause for a bit.

In short, we're taking a break from the current Pathfinder game.

We have started playing a D20 Modern campaign and we are going to share those episodes with you as we move along the journey of absolute OMGWTF?! Yes, we have often asked the DM if we can roll a "Knowledge: WTF?"

In closing, I hope you enjoy the new adventures!

In the Aftermath of the Demon

NOTE: THIS STORY IS BASED OFF OF THE PATHFINDER RPG. SOME COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN USED UNDER THE OPEN GAMING LICENSE RULES.

Storyline by Justin Groby

Compiled by Amber Manuel

Last time on Dice vs. DMs…

The companions arrived back at the Temple of Saranrae to find it half-collapsed and the clerics inside all dead. Something is going on with Osamu, but they’re not entirely certain what.

While the clean-up effort begins, Firro goes renegade to “get some answers.” The party regrouped and decided to finally go after the second seal, a task which was much easier than expected.

Tyota’s arrival at the second seal’s hiding location was not unexpected. But the arch demon that inhabited the armor called forth from the three seals certainly was…

While Tyota glared at Lilianna, Osamu vanished. “Was this what you wanted to accomplish?” Lilianna demanded.

There was a click and Osamu reappeared holding a gun against Tyota’s head.

“So you’re going to kill our only information source?” the cleric snapped at him.

Ignoring her, Osamu pulled the trigger again. The hammer released, but nothing happened. He glared at the gun and then lowered it.

Tyota’s eyes rolled back into his head and he crumbled. Firro ran over to him and rolled him over onto his stomach. Tying him up, she kept an eye on her companions in case someone else attempted to attack him.

Osamu let out a long sigh.

“You’ll get your revenge after we speak with him,” Lilianna declared.  

“No torture,” Firro interjected.

“Why not?”

“It’s not honorable,” the new paladin declared.  

“What about putting a curse on him and then threatening to not remove it unless he answers my questions?” Lilianna suggested.  

“No!”

“What? It’s not cruel or unusual!”

“Yes, it is!” Firro insisted. “It’s torturing him by letting him think he’ll be blind forever!”

“No it’s not!”

“How about we wake him up and try tasking him some questions?”

Lili stared at her, mouth agape. “Am I speaking to the same person who wrenched Zarzu’ket’s already broken fingers to get him to talk?”

Firro sighed and then started as movement out of her peripheral vision caught her attention. Osamu was moving too quick to stop as his blade thrust down towards Tyota’s head.

There was a brief, horrible pause. Firro stood and pulled her new blade in one smooth motion, holding it up against Osamu’s neck. “Don’t move!” she snarled.

Lilianna pulled out the blade, casted breath of life and said, “For the fate of the world can you wait five minutes, Osamu?! You guys do realize that the armor was separated for a reason? And he knows why!”  

With a gasp of air, Tyota came back to life.

“For the fate of the world he should remain dead!” Osamu returned.  

Gerard cast daze, but it didn’t seem to have any affect on the ninja.

Firro swung at Osamu, pushing him back a few paces despite missing with the blade.

“Shit just got real!” Gerard laughed.  

“You want info?” Osamu snarled. “You can get it at a temple in a town east of here that was burned to the ground. The armor will be there!”  

“How do you know that?”

“There was a legend from my clan, of a great warrior, one of forged a blade of ice,” he pulled out a blade and it iced up, “and one of fire.” He inclined his head to the blade laying beside the trussed up Tyota. “This great warrior only fought when necessary. He was one day defeated by a giant of a warrior wearing blackened armor.”

“And that’s where the demon is?” Lilianna demanded.

“At the shrine,” Osamu agreed. “The legend continued…every 10,000 years or so this thing would come and attack the village and destroy it until one day a great and powerful sorcerer locked it away. In doing so, it killed him. That sorcerer was grandpa. Shrine was built in his honor.

“The armor is back in my home town.”

“How do we defeat it?” Gerard asked. “Demons are immortal.”

“We can’t kill it but can imprison it,” Lilianna said, and frowned at Osamu. “It’s been in you. So your grandpa imprisoned it inside you?”

“I guess so,” he reluctantly agreed.

“And why are you just telling us?” she demanded. “We’ve known about this for a day now… Last night! Why didn’t you say anything last night?!”

Osamu grinned.

“You should be glad I love my goddess…” she snarled in returned.

“We should go to the town for the fate of our known world.”

Firro adjusted the blade away from Osamu. She was concentrating on detecting evil, but it wasn’t coming from the ninja any longer. “You can wait,” she said and focused on the evil to his left.

Osamu turned and began to walk away. “Follow if you want. I am going.”

Lilianna put a dagger to Tyota’s throat. “If you don’t tell her what I want to know about the armor I will kill you!”

Tyota gazed impassively at her. “Don’t let him get the armor,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone should have the armor,” she returned. “That’s my goal.”

A red beam came out of the area that Firro was focusing on and hit Tyota. The ninja was suddenly completely still. He looked as if he were frozen in time.

Firro lifted her blade higher as the perpetrator appeared. “It’s a quasit demon!” she called.  

“Hm, someone released a deeeemoooonnnn!” it growled in a high-pitched rumble.

Firro started to swing at it and it shrieked. “I’ve got information!!”

Her inner bard cringed at the loss of information and she pulled her swing. “What kind of information?” she gritted.

“Where it really is!”

“What really is?”

“Information doesn’t come without a price.”

She let out a growl. “What is your price?”

“A favor to be determined later.”

“I don’t deal that way,” she returned. “Either tell me what you want right now or deal’s off.”

“But I have much information you will find interesting! I won’t cause you to go against your morals, paladin!”

She attacked it, her new sword lighting up with blue white holy light. The demon fell to the ground, shrieking in agony. A moment later it disappeared. Firro stabbed the sand where it had lain. Tyota jerked and began breathing again.

“The armor,” Lilianna snapped at him, picking right back up where they had left off. “Tell me more about it!”

“Whoever wears the armor can take possession of the demon and control it,” he said.

“A relic with a demon in it?” she murmured.

“The demon uses the armor to gain a solid form. And Osamu might be right about it being at the shrine.”

“How can you know that?” Lilianna asked him.

“The demon that was inside him destroyed our hometown. It decimated everyone and everything in its way. There was very little left and there may be something of it left inside him!”

“The demon is our priority,” Firro said.

“We can’t destroy the demon, though,” Lilianna told her. “We can only send it back where it came from. How do we defeat it?”

“There is a way to destroy it,” Tyota said. “You should let me come with you.”

Firro concentrated on him, finding him full of evil, but saying what he truly believed to be the truth.

“We can’t trust you,” Lilianna told him.

“Don’t kill him until I get back,” Firro said.

“Where are you going?”

“To pray,” Firro replied. She walked off to go pray inside the temple but didn’t even get there. She froze barely halfway there. “It’s okay to kill Tyota,” the weapon still in her hand seemed to say in the voice of the goddess Iomedae. “It is the right and honorable thing to do. He is not redeemable and will only use you and your friends for further evil deeds if allowed to travel with you.”

Firro was filled with the desire to kill Tyota. He was not redeemable. She knew it. She had hoped he had more information, however.  

She raised an eyebrow at the sword, turned around and walked back to Tyota. Without a word, she stabbed the assassin. As the lights in his eyes went out, she felt this almost euphoric feeling of vengeance. Vengeance for Kyaer, for Majet, for the clerics who had died because of what Tyota had done.

And, undoubtedly, for many others as well.

“What the hell was that?”

“Iomedae’s will,” Firro replied, meeting the cleric’s stunned gaze. Near the horses, Osamu was laughing maniacally.

Lilianna shook her head. “Fine.” Getting up, she walked over to Osamu and began speaking with him. Firro glanced down at the body of Tyota before cleaning and sheathing her sword. Then she walked over, picked up the seals, and moved to ready her horse for travel.

“Tyota was talking about the demon killing the clan,” Lilianna was telling Osamu when Firro handed her the red seal. “It’s not that far of a stretch that the seal was breaking and the same thing that happened at the church may have happened before. You have to do the right thing when the time comes.”

“The wrong must be righted,” Osamu agreed. “Where it started it shall be finished.”

She nodded in agreement. Glancing at Firro, she said, “We need to get our armor fixed before we can go anywhere.”

“We don’t exactly have time to wait for it to be repaired,” Firro replied.

“I have a spell that can summon an angel for a boon. It will require something in return, but I believe I can bargain with it to get something we both can afford.”

Firro took a deep breath and nodded.

Walking a little ways away from the horses, Lili began the spell. A few moments later a bright light announced the arrival of the celestial.

“Who disturbs me?” a voice like the crypt keeper demanded.

As their eyes adjusted, the party could make out the eight-or-nine-foot tall form of a dog standing on its hind legs. A pair of huge wings came out of its back and a massive sword was strapped to his hip.

Lilianna began by explaining why she had summoned the angel. “I would like to bargain for a boon,” she added, and mentioned the armor.

The monstrous angel seemed to think for a moment. Then, “The dark armor will be turned over to Saranrae. Do not even think to break this pact.”

“Agreed,” Lilianna said.

It disappeared as quickly as it came and, looking down, Firro and Lilianna discovered that their armor was not only restored, but appeared brand-new.

“That was fairly painless,” Firro commented.

“We need to pass through Mohito and get our magic items,” Gerard said.

“We need to check on the temple, too,” Lilianna said. “And my followers.”

“We should also check on the mine,” Firro mentioned.

“We will on the way,” Osamu said. “But we should go now.”

No one disagreed.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Price of Redemption

NOTE: THIS STORY IS BASED OFF OF THE PATHFINDER RPG. SOME COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN USED UNDER THE OPEN GAMING LICENSE RULES.

Storyline by Justin Groby

Compiled by Amber Manuel

Last time on Dice vs. DMs…

A plan to go to the southern cave in an attempt to retrieve the second seal is pushed to the wayside when Majet is brutally murdered right before the party’s eyes. After a brief chase, Firro is the first to catch up to the beast, only to find it asking for mercy.

Meanwhile, Osamu meets up once again with his nemesis Tyota. With a sudden focus of all his anger, Osamu charged the other assassin, revenge within his grasp.

When the beast gives up information, including that Tyota was meeting with Osamu, the party quickly exacted justice for the lives of Majet and Kyaer and undoubtedly countless others. Just as quickly they turned heel and rushed back to the Temple of Saranrae to aid their companion…

The ground shook underfoot as Firro rushed back towards the Temple of Saranrae on Lilianna’s heels. As they rounded a corner and emerged from the alleyway, they could see a strangely glowing blue dust settling in the distance. As it cleared, the walls of the temple came into view, a portion of them collapsed as if an explosion had gone off within.

The blue glow remained behind after the dust settled, shimmering off a man in ragged remains of clothes. He had a knife sticking out of his back and he turned as the party slowed to a halt nearby. Red and gold eyes glared at the group with malicious intent.

Then, blinking, Osamu collapsed.

Lilianna ran forward and knelt beside the fallen man. Pulling the knife out of his back, she pressed her hands to the wound and gasped at the heat pouring off Osamu’s body. Why was he so hot? It was unnatural, but he was beginning to slowly cool…

She poured her goddess’s healing power into the man and watched as the wound disappeared. When he remained unconscious, she checked him for other issues. He was dehydrated, so she gave him some of her water, working his throat to make him swallow.

Firro began to dig through the rubble for survivors. Finding the head priestess of Saranrae, she felt angry resolve convalesce within her core. The woman hadn’t just been killed. She had been brutally murdered, stabbed repeatedly from a weapon similar to Osamu’s.

Firro glanced back to where Lilianna was taking care of Osamu with a frown. His weapon was obviously bloody, but had he or Tyota done this? What in the name of Iomedae was going on?

She moved along and found two additional bodies. The other two clerics of Saranrae. Their deaths had been quick. Firro could tell someone had snuck up behind them and slit their throats cleanly.

A merciful death, considering the alternative.

These two were killed first, Firro assumed from their locations. It looked like the Head Priestess had walked into the room with Osamu and hadn’t lasted long.

Tyota was nowhere to be found.

Firro walked over to Lilianna, who was still leaning over Osamu.

“Everyone’s dead,” she said shortly.

Lilianna looked up, startled. “What? The clerics? The high—?”

“Everyone,” Firro said shortly. “Looks like his blade – or one similar – killed your high priestess.”

Lilianna looked back down at the still-unconscious Osamu and sighed. “I do not know what happened here, but I will find out.”

Behind them, rubble moved. A dirty, befuddled Celestine emerged. Lilianna blew out an obviously relieved breath. “What happened?”

The gnome shook her head with one hand to it. “I’m not sure… It looked like it was going to be a seriously nasty fight, so I made myself invisible. Then… I’m not sure what happened after that.”

“Are you all right?” Lilianna asked. She stood and checked the gnome out for any injuries. After a brief healing, she instructed the gnome to go find some of the guard to let them know what had happened there.

“I’ll go with her,” Firro said, her mind running ahead to her next course of action. She allowed Celestine to run ahead of her and broke off, headed for the tavern. Inside, the common area was nearly empty. She moved to the barkeep and nodded to his greeting. “The bards I normally dance with. Are they staying here?” At his nod to the affirmative, she pulled out a few gold coins. “Tell me what rooms they’re in.”

He took the coins and pocketed them. “Upstairs, first door on the left.”

“Thanks.” She turned and darted up the steps. Knocking on the door, she stood off to the side. When that didn’t receive a response, she took out her sword banged on the door with the hilt.

“All right! I’m coming!”

She listened to the muttering and cursing from the other side until he opened the door. His eyes widened in recognition and then in fear as he saw her weapon. She shoved him into the room, kicking the door shut and slammed him against the wall.

“What have you been telling people about me?” she snarled with the blade of her sword to his throat.

“N-nothing!” he stammered. “I swear!”

“My group members!” she shouted. “Have you talked to anyone about any of us?”

He shook his head, his eyes frantic. “No!”

“What about the other bards?” she snapped.

“I don’t know. Honest! You’d have to ask them. They’re in the next rooms!”

She could tell he was telling the truth. With a sigh, she slowly lowered the sword and backed off. “Talk to anyone about any of us and you’ll have to answer to me,” she snarled.

“I got it!” he said, holding up his hands.

She nodded. Feeling a twinge of conscience, she shrugged. “Have a good day.”

He scoffed as she walked out. She could hear him muttering curses on the other side of the door as she went to the next room. She felt a twinge of guilt but shoved it to the wayside. The bards had known they were coming here and then, just after they arrived, all hell broke loose. She had to know for certain who – if anyone – they were talking to. And she had to make certain they weren’t going to talk to anyone.

And after that, she needed some divine guidance.

Gerard heaved some rubble with the help of one of the civilians that Lilianna had organized in a clean-up effort. Setting it outside, he stared at the breaks in the stone, trying to discern how the wall had come to collapse. Was it an explosion? He couldn’t see any traces of components that would cause an explosion, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any…

“Where’s Firro?” he heard Lilianna ask.

“I don’t know,” Celestine replied. “She disappeared.”

Gerard looked over, curious at the new development.

“Define disappeared,” Lilianna gritted.

“She fell behind me as I ran to get the guards,” Celestine said. “When I turned, she was no where in sight.”

There was a tick of silence from the cleric. “You’re saying that you outran Firro. The bard who can dance along faster than she can run?”

“Yeah…”

Lilianna shook her head and met Gerard’s gaze with an “I’m gonna kill her” look in her eyes. He smirked.

“What happened here?”

He looked up to find a tall human male with the insignia of the city watch on his chest standing over him. From the rank on the guy’s shoulder, this had to be the captain of the watch.

“Still working on that,” he replied. “Some sort of drastic redecoration effort, apparently, but we’re still working on it.”

The man glanced around with a scowl. “I don’t know about any ‘redecorations’ but I’ve been getting reports of explosions and some person with blue wind coming off them showing up. Then people meeting your descriptions,” he said, his gaze taking in Lilianna, Alondra, and Celestine as well, “showed up here. Where’s the fifth person?”

Lilianna stepped in. “We weren’t actually here when my goddess’s temple was destroyed,” she said in an even tone. “We were chasing after a beast that had just killed one of our friends.”

“What kind of beast?”

“An Intellect Devourer.” At his blank look, she explained, “It looks like a brain on four legs.”

“I heard about that thing! Two of my guards came running up screaming like little girls about some monster knocking them over as it ran past. You all chased that thing down?”

“And killed it,” Lilianna agreed.

He nodded. “All right, but where’s the fifth member of your party?”

“She went to the tavern to gather our things from a couple nights ago,” Lili quickly invented. “We had stayed here in the temple last night, but we hadn’t checked out of our rooms.”

“Name?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Should something be wrong?” he returned.

She squared her shoulders. “My church has half-collapsed, my high priestess is dead along with the other two clerics who resided here. Of course something’s wrong! Did something happen to my friend while she was headed out to get our belongings or not?”

“I’m just getting names for my report,” he soothed.  

She visibly relaxed. “Filayne is who went to gather our gear from the tavern.” She introduced the rest of them as he jotted a few notes down with a charcoal pencil.

“All right, I’d like to talk to the fifth person. This…” He stared at the name he had written down.

“Firro?” Lilianna said.

He scowled at her. “Who’s Firro? You told me Filayne a moment ago!”

“Firro’s Filayne,” Lilianna explained. “She’s a bard who dances and that’s her stage name.”

Gerard buried a grin behind his hand.

The captain was still frowning, but nodded. “All right. I need to talk to some other people.”

“I need a runner,” Lilianna said before he could turn away. “Could you or one of your men get one for me? I need to send a message to Yenmass to the Temple of Saranrae there to send help.”

He nodded. “I’ll have someone come talk to you.”

She nodded. “May you go with the light of Saranrae.”  

They watched the man go for a moment. Then, “I’m going to sell the tome,” Gerard said. “I’ll be back in a while.”

Lilianna nodded. “The quicker we can get to the next seal and get out of here, the better. It would be best to have the tome sold now. Let me know what you find out.”

Using her hat of disguise, she gave herself a new appearance. With red hair and different features, Firro stepped into the Temple of Pharasma. She wasn’t certain if anyone here could answer any of her questions, but she didn’t trust the clerics at her temple and the ones she had trusted at the Temple of Saranrae were dead.

She wasn’t certain there was anyone she could trust anymore. Except Iomedae of course. But she didn’t have a direct link to speak with her goddess at the moment.

Not being able to ask for divine guidance from her own goddess was seriously hindering her actions. Okay, honestly, she was still acting on pure instinct and adrenaline from the shock of waking up next to her dead husband. The bards were certain to never trust her again, let alone work with her, and she was acting like a paranoid delusional type. But who could she trust? Anyone could be one of those things.

It had been living inside Kyaer. It would have stayed in Majet if it hadn’t been discovered that something was wrong with her. Who else could be walking around with one of those things lodged inside them? It had spoken of bringing people home to a family. How many of those things were running around?

When a priest approached her, she allowed him to guide her to a seat. People were leaving the temple from a ceremony, she assumed as she turned to the man. She had seen him before when she had come to see Majet, and was doubly glad she had disguised her features.

When Gerard walked away, Lilianna noted that Osamu was stirring. No, scratch that. He had probably been awake for a while now. She grabbed him under the shoulders and began dragging him out of the rubble to a more secluded area. She didn’t want anyone to overhear her while she questioned him.

“Need help with that body?” someone called.

“No, thank you,” she returned quickly and hefted him easily over her shoulder. “I got it.” She set him down a good distance from the main work area and frowned when his eyes stayed closed. “I know you’re awake,” she snapped.

He took a breath and opened his eyes. Stared at her for a moment before looking around.

“What happened?” she demanded.

He shook his head.

“Corpses are all over the place and you’re the only one left alive,” she told him.  

“Bad juju powder?” he muttered.

She glared at him. “My high priestess is dead and so are the rest of the clerics who worked here. The temple is half-destroyed! What! Happened?”

“I am just as confused as you are,” he told her.

She could tell he was telling the truth but there was something else, too… Casting a spell, she noted that there was something dark hidden within him. Some sort of evil deep in his aura. But he wasn’t evil himself. Just…something inside him…

“We’ll come back to this,” she said as the work shifted their direction. “For now, help clean up because I have a feeling you’re connected to this mess.” She held out a hand to help him to his feet.

Gerard walked past a red head shifting rubble near where Lilianna and Osamu were working and tapped the cleric on the shoulder. “Found a buyer for the tome,” he said when she turned. “Thought I’d talk to you and Fellatio about what you want since it’s a trade in goods.”

“It’s Firro.”

He turned to find the redhead looking at him.

“Do we know you?” Lilianna asked.

The redhead pulled a hook up over her head and looked at them. In a flash, Firro’s face appeared.

“Why are you disguised?” Lilianna hissed.

“I’m incognito at the moment,” Firro said, the red-headed guise settling back over her.

“Hi Incognito,” Gerard said. “I’m Gerard.”

“Why didn’t you stay with Celestine?” Lilianna demanded as Firro’s visage disappeared behind the red head disguise.

“I had questions I needed answered,” Firro replied. “And besides, I didn’t say I would go with Celestine.” She paused. “Okay, I said I would go with her, but I didn’t say I would stay with her.”

“Where did you go then?”

“Around.”

Lilianna growled in frustration. Osamu and Gerard glanced at each other.

“We’re gonna go get a drink,” Gerard said. Without waiting for a reply, they left.

“Well, you shouldn’t have gone off,” Lilianna continued without sparing them a glance. “We need to go get the seal now.”

“I think we’re being set up,” Firro replied to that, lowering her voice. “I don’t think we should go without more questions answered.”

“The angel I spoke to said the seal was in danger.”

“Imminent?” Firro prodded.

Lilianna paused. “He…wasn’t that specific.”

Firro blew out a breath. “I don’t like it. But…it does appear to be the only clear path left.”

“Exactly!” Lilianna said with the air of someone finally getting what they wanted. “We need to follow the path that we have!”

“Okay,” Firro grudgingly agreed.

“Celestine, go get supplies and the horses ready. Meet us at the tavern when you’re done.”

“I don’t think I should go in the tavern,” Firro said.

Lilianna stared at her. “What did you do?”

“I got answers to some of my questions,” Firro said evasively.

Lilianna rubbed her temples. “It’s not like you can’t disguise yourself!”

“There’s a certain number of people in our group. Just because one of them changes their features doesn’t mean certain people aren’t smart enough to figure out that’s the same person.”

“Then go help Celestine with the horses,” Lilianna snapped. “Wait! Promise you won’t go anywhere else but the stables and the tavern.”

Firro grinned. “I promise.” She fell into step with Lilianna and broke off near the tavern door. The moment Lilianna stepped in, Firro heard, “We already told your other companions – the guys over there – that we didn’t talk to anyone about any of you! Okay?”

Three hours later the party entered the foothills of the mountains. Above them dark thunderheads had gathered and rolled as if the massive clouds would let loose at any moment.

“There shouldn’t be a storm at this time of year here in the desert,” Alondra said. “We should find a place to camp before it starts.”

“Look at that,” Gerard said, pointing.

Off to the side was a section of worked stone carved into the side of a foothill. The party made its way up the slope towards the ruins. There were scars in the carved stone pillars, most of which littered the ground.

“There was a battle here,” Gerard said. “Nothing recent. But it looks like some sort of magic carved this portion of the stone out of the ground. Over there looks like something heavy hit it.” He looked across the ruin, his gaze taking multiple scars in the stone. “There’s a door. At least…it has handles like a door.”

The tall stone was one solid piece with no cracks where a set of double doors would normally have them. Two handles rested in the center of the stone beside one another.

“Szarkai,” Firro said, walking up to them. Nothing happened. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handles and pushed. Nothing. Pulled. Nothing. She turned to Lilianna, who tried with the same result.

“The symbol here,” Lilianna said, studying the green circle with three crescent moons beside it on one side. “It’s ancient. The tome Kyaer gave me had this symbol. It was the symbol of Aroden.”

“Iomedae’s god before she ascended to become a goddess herself,” Firro said, picking up the story. “Aroden was the god of all humans, but he was killed. She took over.” A thought occurred to her. “Maybe Celestine should play the lyre? I don’t know how, but she does, right?”

“It’s worth a try.”

Firro pulled off her pack and took out the lyre, handing it over with regret filling her at the memory of her husband. Celestine strummed the strings once and then began picking out a tune that none of them had ever heard before. It was a hauntingly beautiful melody and expertly played.

Before Celestine, the doors cracked and shifted open. She kept playing, her hand moving as her gaze stared fixedly, as if in a trance.

Firro looked inside the chamber as a familiar presence touched her. Her prior days spent as a paladin rushed back to her. “I am not worthy,” she murmured sincerely.

The chamber, which had halfway fallen in on itself, was filled with Iomedae’s presence. She quickly divested herself of the sword she had bought when she began her descent into the shadowy realm of spying. She held it out to Gerard, who shrugged and took it. Then she stepped inside, her gaze going to a raised pedestal. Atop the pedestal was a sword sticking out of a carved stone slab.

Light grew inside the chamber. Firro watched as Celestine walked into the room. The light grew more as she continued playing.

Firro began to pray to Iomedae, seeking guidance. Perhaps here, in this chamber filled with the goddess, she could reconnect with her. Celestine walked up to Firro and in words that she felt she should not understand said, “I offer you what you seek but understand that once you pull the sword, you must stay the course.”

The words didn’t sound like any language Firro had ever heard, but somehow she understood them. Celestine pointed at Firro. “Once you pull the sword, I will give you what you’re seeking but understand it has a heavy cost in return.

“The choice…is yours.”

Firro stared at Celestine as the gnome’s eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed. Lilianna immediately knelt at her side. Firro’s gaze was drawn to the sword and she found herself stepping around the gnome towards the steps beside the pedestal. As she started up them, she found each one harder to take than the last until she was finally at the top, breathing hard, standing over the sword. Its hilt was blue wrapped with gold and its lustrous blade contained four blue gems, each one smaller than the next.

She could feel the weight of the atmosphere around her, could feel the weight of the decision resting on her shoulders. If she took this sword, there was no turning back. If she took this path, she would have no choice but to follow it for the rest of her long, lonely life.

The path she never should have stepped away from to begin with.

She grabbed the hilt and heaved. It slid out easily on a gust of wind that filled the chamber. Raising the sword straight up as a beacon for her god, Firro felt the atonement wash over her. She no longer felt any remorse, regret or guilt for past decisions. She no longer felt guilt over the death of her husband. She felt ready to continue on the path of Iomedae. She felt ready to avenge Kyaer’s death in Iomedae’s name.

Lowering the sword, she stared at it for a moment in awe. She couldn’t yet bring herself to set it down or sheath it. Looking at the pedestal it had so recently occupied, she saw a green jade seal with the same marking as the one on the door: a circle of green with three crescents beside it on one side.

Turning, she walked down the steps and held the seal out to Liliianna. “The second seal,” she said.

Lilianna’s fingers closed around the seal but she hesitated with a frown. Releasing it, she met Firro’s gaze. “You hold on to that.”

Inclining her head, Firro stuffed the seal down her armor shirt. Then she took off the hat of disguise. “Anyone want this?” she asked. “I no longer need it.” Could no longer use it knowing the deception it created.

Celestine raised her hand eagerly and Firro tossed it to her. The gnome immediately put the hat on and it became a barrette.

“We should head back,” Lilianna said. “Do you all think we should head back to Yenmass?”

“What about the tome?” Gerard asked. “I have something being made that won’t be ready until tomorrow.”

“Then we go back to Mohito.”

Firro stepped across the temple’s threshold and hit her knees as pain worse than anything she had ever felt before gripped her body. It was as if her bones were trying to rip away from her and burst through her skin. She braced herself on her hands to keep from collapsing from the pain that was so agonizing she couldn’t utter a single sound.

“Firro?” Lilianna said. “Are you okay?”

Firro finally managed to gasp in a breath. The torturous pain slowly began to recede. “Ow! That…hurt!” she breathed dumbly.

There was a moment of silence. “Why the language change?”

“What?” She leaned back on her haunches, panting as if she had just run all the way back to Mohito. “What are you talking about?” She wiped away moisture from her eyes and found blood on her hands. Had blood come from her eyes?

“You’re not speaking in common anymore,” Lilianna said. She turned to Gerard and said something that Firro didn’t understand. He shook his head.

“What did you just say?” Firro asked.

“You didn’t’ understand that?”

“No.”

“You’re speaking in celestial,” Lilianna explained.  

“Why would I be speaking in celestial?” she said. Osamu muttered something and Firro glanced at him. She understood that!

“I need rest!” Lilianna said.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Firro said.

Gerard nodded. “Let’s start back—”

The dark clouds finally burst, drenching the area with a heavy downpour. Lilianna sighed. “No use going anywhere now,” she muttered.

“I’ll take first watch,” Firro said. Assuming she could sit through her watch, that was. She wasn’t going to be able to fight much today, that was for sure!

“I’ll make a fire,” Lilianna said and headed back into the temple.

The rain continued to drench the area through Firro’s watch. When Osamu finally took over for her, she barely had the strength to pull her pack off her back before she fell into the deep trance that served her kind as sleep.

Sometime later, Firro jerked out of the trance. She looked around for the source of what had disturbed her. Gerard was standing at the entrance on watch. He was standing extremely still. Too still.

Movement had her looking over. Lilianna frowned and pointed at the fire. Looking, Firro saw that the flames were frozen, as if they had been painted on a tapestry.

Beyond the fire a jade shimmer appeared and coalesced into the specter of a knight. “You must not allow the seals to come together!” the specter announced. “That you would bring him here is troubling enough!”

“Who?” Lilianna asked.

“Him,” the knight said, pointing to Osamu. “He has a demon inside of him. The armor could release the demon. The three seals cannot come together!”

“Three? We thought there were only two,” Firro said.

“There’s three,” he said with cold assurance.

“Where’s the third?” Lilianna asked.  

“Perhaps we shouldn’t know if they can’t come together,” Firro pointed out.  

“Wise advice.”

“What armor do you speak of?” Lilianna asked.

“The armor comes forth with the binding of the seals. We died to divide them before. YOU MUST NOT ALLOW THEM TO COME TOGETHER!” he boomed.

The cleric and the paladin exchanged a worried glance.

“The last seal is already on the move. You must keep it away from the others. Hide them again.”

“Where?”

“Find a place,” he said. “That he and she are together is a bad thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“The armor can only be brought forth by a high cleric, her,” he said, pointing at Firro, “and the seals.

“Why me? Because I’m a paladin?” she asked.

“No. Because you are what you are.”

She remembered the words from the monster. “Szarkai?”

“Drow,” he said. “Albino Drow. That’s what Szarkai is.”

She frowned, still not understanding the importance of her peculiar ancestry.

“You were bred through magic,” he said. “For one purpose and one alone. To bring the armor back. You must not allow this!”

“What about a good person in the armor?” Lilianna asked.

“Nothing good can come of this armor. It will taint any person attempting to bear it, no matter how good they are.”

There was a long moment of silence. Then, “Thank you for this information,” Lilianna said.

“Grave warning,” Firro muttered.

He nodded and shimmered away.

“What should we do? Attempt to split them up?” Firro said.  

“I’m not certain. If the third is already on the move that means it could be anywhere.”

“Well, I don’t trust the clerics at the Iomedae temple in Mohito so we can’t ask them for assistance.”

“Why not?”

“Remember Rock? Remember how he was always rubbing his shoulder? The cleric I spoke to when I asked about atonement kept rubbing his shoulder exactly like that. I think Zarzuket’s hanging around.”

“I thought he was dead,” Lilianna said.  

“No, I’m pretty certain he’s alive,” she replied. “Atop that, the cleric told me he couldn’t do the atonement spell I was seeking and directed me to come here, to this temple in order to find redemption. I was in shock and not thinking straight when he told me that, otherwise I would have realized that wasn’t right. So I spoke to a priest of Pharasma in disguise with a hypothetical situation, he told me that the components of the spell aren’t that difficult to come by.”

“Maybe the priests at your temple don’t know the spell,” she suggested.

“That’s possible,” Firro conceded. “But I don’t believe in coincidences, and the way he was rubbing his shoulder was exactly the same way that Rock had!”

“Is something wrong?” Gerard asked.

Lili sighed. “Nothing about this is right,” she muttered. Getting up, she stepped outside to pray.

“You guys ok?” Gerard asked Firro. “You were asleep then you were suddenly sitting up.”

“You weren’t moving a second ago, either,” she told him.  

“Huh?”

She just looked at him and shrugged. “I’m not sure what happened.”

“Uh, ok…”

Firro settled back down and said a few prayers herself.

“Wake up!” Lilianna shouted, jolting Firro out of her trance again. It was just beginning to become light outside with the first rays of dawn.

Getting up, Firro drew her weapons just in case and walked to the entrance of the area. Seeing Tyota duck something Lilianna threw at him, Firro darted forward and into the fray.

From behind her came a red crackling ray of energy that just barely missed Tyota. Good. Their companions were up as well. Lilianna cast a spell and a burst of holy light came out of her, washing over Firro without a problem. Around them appeared a couple of shadowy people, holding their hands over their eyes. One had collapsed and lay unmoving.

Jade green light caught Firro’s gaze. Looking down, she saw that the disc hidden down the front of her armor was glowing. Beside her, a similar red glow was coming from beneath Lilianna’s armor.

There was a blue glow coming from a bag at Tyota’s hip. With a grin, he lashed out at Firro even as Lilianna ran towards the open desert.

Firro dodged, but the blade cut her. As her blood spilled, the seal melted a hole in her armor, shooting a beam of concentrating green into a spot nearby, where it met similar beams of red and blue.

The sky darkened overhead. Armor, black as night with oil oozing off it appeared in the center of the light. There was a giant ruby in its center, flat but encompassing the bulk of the breastplate.

Beside her, Tyota began laughing maniacally. “Finally! At last I’ll have my revenge!” A huge scar running down his face appeared, made all the more macabre by the smirk on his lips.

Firro began to dance, rushing as quick as she could past him, shoving her weapons into their sheaths as she went. She grabbed the armor and yelled, “Speedy come quick!” As she began to run with the armor, it whipped around and pulled her back towards Tyota. She fought it, but the pull of the armor to evil was strong.

Gerard darted to her side and cast something on her. She felt stronger, as she had in the tavern the very first day they had arrived.

Then Osamu stepped out of the temple. As one, their eyes were drawn to him as he walked calmly over to where Firro was struggling with the armor. She felt the nasty, dank, greasy feel of evil surge in the air as his eyes turned red and yellow. A bluish aura surrounded him, pouring off of him like steam. He easily pulled the armor away from her with a hand that looked more like a claw.

The armor expanded and grew as something rushed out of Osamu. A concussive blast knocked Firro off her feet. When she looked up, there was something residing in the armor. It was as if a spiritual being had taken up residence, its orange, red and black aura swirling. She knew with a sick dread that this was some sort of arch demon, and not just any demon. She couldn’t be certain which, but knew that it had a name.

It wasn’t just some random peon.

It was the leader that moved the peons around.

All hope of keeping the seals separate forgotten, Lilianna ran back and began casting. Firro felt a wave of healing energy wash over her.

With a scream of rage, Tyota charged the evil incarnate. His blade went through the demon, without any immediate effect. Then the world exploded in black fire, burning Firro where she lay on the sand.

The demon and armor began to shrink in on itself, outlying bits of it rolling inward until it imploded with a small thunderclap. The clouds immediately parted and disbursed as if they never were.

In the immediate silence, Firro looked to see the seals were lying in the sand, glinting innocently in the sunlight. She looked down to find that her armor had a seal-shaped hole in it.

Looking up, she saw Tyota glaring around at her and her companions with disappointed, angry gaze.

Lilianna was the first to recover. “It’s your own fault, you idiot!” she snarled at Tyota.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Betrayal and the Beast

NOTE: THIS STORY IS BASED OFF OF THE PATHFINDER RPG. SOME COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN USED UNDER THE OPEN GAMING LICENSE RULES.

Storyline by Justin Groby

Compiled by Amber Manuel

Last time on Dice vs. DMs…

While Kyaer and Lilianna delved into studies on celestial legends and lore, Firro, Osamu, and Gerard split up in an attempt to find Theris. Only one did, and he was shot three times for his efforts.

Regrouping, the three managed to get Osamu back to the Temple of Saranrae for healing. Lilianna and Kyaer still hadn’t cracked the secret within the tome and with exhaustion tugging at them, everyone found their way to their beds.

But a full night's sleep wasn’t going to prove possible for everyone. Firro awoke to her husband lying dead beside her, and shortly thereafter everyone was awakened by a gunshot. Majet had broken into Firro’s room, having feared that Theris had found Firro during the night.

Uncertain what had happened to Kyaer, the group nonetheless found themselves at the Temple of Iomedae for a pre-dawn funeral…

The sun broke over the horizon, its first rays warming Firro’s skin. She remembered the way they had felt the first time she had felt them and knew with absolute certainty in which direction her path lay.

With the last rights done, her friends slowly trickled away to attempt to finish their night’s rest. Firro stayed behind, shocked, slumped to her knees as she prayed to Iomedae over her husband’s grave.

In the shadow of two days, Firro found her lost love and lost him again; this time forever. Despair was a familiar emotion, but it was not the one she felt the most in this moment.

It was shame.

Shame that she turned away from her life over something as trivial as ancestry. Shame that her path lead her husband to his death. Shame that she could not protect an innocent elf. Shame that she could not face what she was.

She had given up her entire life because of one lie that she couldn’t wrap her mind around. And now everything good left from that life was gone.

She couldn’t get Kyaer back, but she sure as hell was going to get the rest of her life back. And she would smite the evil root that lay at the core of the problem.

No matter what it took.

After a few long minutes, she stood and addressed one of the clerics who had remained behind. “I would ask one more thing of you,” she said, still staring at the fresh grave. When he remained silent, she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “I seek atonement. I strayed far and know I have done wrong. I wish to realign myself with Iomedae and return to her service.”

“Perhaps you should rest before you make any decisions.”

“I don’t need sleep,” she returned quickly. “Believe me when I say I am fully awake and prepared to return to Iomedae’s service.”

The cleric took a deep breath and inclined his head. “We unfortunately do not have the materials for what you seek here. However, if you truly seek redemption, you may go to a place in the southern mountains, where it is rumored that Iomedae herself once touched the world. It is a holy place, and it is said that if you go there, you may be cleansed.” He rubbed his shoulder as if it ached.

“May I have the directions to this place?” Firro asked.

He gave them, and Firro noted that the directions matched the ones that she had received from Kyaer. She didn’t bother to say anything as she thanked the cleric. He rubbed his shoulder again as he walked away.

After spending another hour in prayer at the foot of Iomedae’s altar, Firro went back to the Temple of Saranrae to collect her things. She pulled on her armor mechanically, going through motions she went through every morning without thinking about them. When she had all her weapons and gear stored about her person, she stared into space for a moment.

She blinked and found herself downstairs. How had she gotten down there? She couldn’t really remember, and it wasn’t really important. There were a few clerics up and about at this time of the morning, and she flagged one down to inquire about breakfast. Even if she didn’t feel hungry, she knew she had to fuel her body. Plus, eating gave her something to do while her companions finished sleeping.

She was halfway through choking down her meal when Gerard and Osamu came down the stairs. She nodded to them as they sat at her table with their breakfasts.

“What are we doing today?” Gerard asked.

She cast about and kept her voice low. “We should go after the seal,” Firro said

“I agree,” Osamu said.

Majet’s arrival had the table falling silent. She walked up and asked Firro how she was doing. Firro just stared at her and then went back to her breakfast without bothering to answer.

“So…what are doing today?” Majet asked.

“I think we’ll wait until Lilianna comes down to discuss,” Firro said and shoved the last of her breakfast in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed on autopilot.

The gnome sighed. “Oh-kay…”

After a while, Lilianna came down. As she walked down, Majet again asked what they were doing. “Lilianna’s here,” she said with Firro glared at her. “So let’s talk already!”

“I think we should go after the seal,” Lilianna said as she and her two companions sat at the table. “But I think Majet should stay behind and look for Theris. Look,” she specified. “Don’t engage.”

“Are y’all sure you don’t want me to come along?”

“It’s best if you don’t,” Lilianna replied. “Celestine will accompany you. Do not engage,” she repeated with a stern look at her bard companion.

The gnome bard inclined her head and then frowned at Majet. “Wasn’t your hair orange yesterday?” Celestine asked Majet.

Firro looked closely and noted that the bright orange of Majet’s hair looked washed-out. Faded.

Majet looked down at her hair. “Wow, look at that!” she said with false surprise.

Lilianna and Firro exchanged a look. “Is there something you need to tell us?” Lilianna asked.

Majet shook her head. “No.”

Firro scowled at her. She couldn’t quite detect what was off, but there definitely was something. “Seriously, if there’s something going on…”

Majet looked around at them and then smiled. “Well, it’s been fun traveling with y’all in the many different ways I have. Good-bye.”

They all jumped as Majet’s head exploded. Blood and brain matter covered the shocked group. The back half of Majet’s skull was completely gone, but the front half had a hole in the forehead, centered between the eyes.

It was exactly like the wound that was in Kyaer’s head.

As the party watched, Majet’s brain expanded in size to about three feet tall, grew muscular legs like a wild animal’s, and ran away, slamming open the temple doors by the sheer force with which it hit them.

Realizing it was the thing that had killed Kyaer, Firro jumped up and ran after it, drawing her weapon as she ran.

“That was an intellect devourer!” Gerard said as Firro disappeared. “It stays in a dead body for about seven to eight days until the body shuts down. It’s immune to just about everything!”

Jumping up, Lilianna, Gerard and Alondra ran after Firro. Gerard commanded his raven Poe to go up high and do a search for the brain-beast.

Firro noted the beast was kicking up dust behind it and used a trick she knew to increase her speed. About eighty feet outside the temple, Gerard passed her up and kept going. People screamed as they spotted the monstrous brain on legs. It knocked down a crowd when it ran through them, and trampled down a guard who had paused in an attempt to draw his weapon. The morning streets quickly became pure chaos.

Firro kept her gaze on it as it ran between legs and around carts, determined to catch it before it could get away. It had killed two people that she knew of, two innocent people. It would die for killing innocents!

She slowed when it disappeared into thin air. Seeing footprints in the dirt, she concentrated on following them, slowing down even more to keep an eye on them.

Ahead of her, Gerard stopped and began casting. The crowds, ground, and the monster were all suddenly covered in glittering golden particles that reflected the sun’s rays with intense effects. The people in the crowds began screaming as their eyes were blinded by the bright, sparkling powder.

The beast ran on, invisible except for the glittering particles on its back. Poe dove at the thing, attempting to hit it. A brilliant flash of light tore the air right before the monster and an angel appeared. Swinging its celestial weapon, the angel attempted to kill the evil creature. The beast skidded as it stopped it headlong flight, narrowly avoiding the celestial blade. The angel and the light disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

With its way clear once again, the beast ran through a crowd of people and turned a corner into an alleyway. Firro ran after it, slowing as she came to the corner it turned down. She cast darkness and then she peered around the corner.

It was sitting there as if it were a dog. “All right,” she heard in her mind. “I’m tired of this game he wants me to play. What will it take to get you to quit chasing me?”

She stepped into the alleyway and faced it full-on, gripping her weapon in her hand. “Die!” she snarled.

“Hmm…That’s too difficult a request.”

She palmed a flask of acid from her pack. “Who’s had you playing a game?” she demanded.

“Yeah,” she heard in her mind. “Okay. I’ll trade my life for the information you want. Who’s had me playing this game? The real problem. The one who’s had me impersonating Theris all this time.”

“What?” she breathed. She hadn’t known someone was impersonating Theris! Was all this a mix-up? Was Theris not behind everything after all?

She heard running footsteps behind her and then a curse. Gerard’s voice began chanting another spell. Another set of footsteps that sounded animal came around and then Alondra’s voice called out.

“Firro! Where are you?”

“I’m here,” Firro replied distractedly.

“Are you okay?” she demanded.

She eyed the monster before her. “For the moment,” she replied.

One last set of footsteps came around the corner. Then Lilianna stepped inside the dark orb, her arms stretched out before her. Firro grabbed her wrist and stepped in front of her. She felt Lilianna put a hand on her arm and grip tight.

“What’s going on?” the cleric demanded.

“It’s giving me information,” Firro said quickly.

“What do you need to know?” it asked in her head.

“What’s the real problem?” she said aloud.  

“Well,” it started, drawing out the vowel, “the real person that’s running this show right now – that I know of – is a man clad in black called Tyota who offered me the most extraordinarily beautiful people who I could ever want to bring home to show the folks.”

Firro blinked. Tyota was the same guy who confronted them just the other night! “Where is Tyota?” she prompted aloud.

“At the Temple of Saranrae, of course.”

Back at the Temple of Saranrae…

Osamu picked up Majet’s body as his companions ran out of the room. She had some interesting artifacts on her and he wanted to make certain he got first dibs. He started to walk away but stopped as a tingling at the base of his spine warned him of a threat. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

He was being watched.

He turned and looked around. His gaze caught on a section of the wall as the shadows there changed colors. Fading into solid reality appeared the same guy from the desert.

Tyota. The traitor. The liar!

He threw the body at the Tyota and pulled his sword. “What do you want?”

“You still have that killer instinct I see,” Tyota smirked.  

“What the hell do you want?” he shouted.  

“Want? Oh, no. No, I don’t want anything, Osamu. I’m here to give you something, actually. Something I thought that, in all the time I’ve watched you since you left the clan, you would have already.” He tossed something at Osamu, a powder that easily cleared the distance between them.

Osamu inhaled on reflex and something deep down within him sparked. His body began to quiver as from the very depths of his soul arose a burning, fierce fury. Pulled deep from the same well where he drew his ki, a hurricane of energy and absolute blood-lusting rage boiled over. His breathing deepened, his fingers tightened on the hilt of his weapon, and his muscles bunched as they filled with scalding hot adrenal instinct. Osamu let out a primal roar as he charged the lying, deceitful impostor.

There was no question in Osamu’s mind that Tyota was a dead man. It was only a matter of time.

Back in the alleyway…

Firro tried to think. She was still wading through a fog in her mind, but there was something she needed to know. “Why’d you kill my husband and not kill me?” she demanded of the beast.  

“You’re too important,” it told her.

She was taken aback, both by the easy confirmation of her suspicion that this beast was her husband’s murderer and by the thought that she was important to its quest. “Why?” she demanded.

It seemed to sigh. “Don’t you remember the note about it?”

She shook her head. “What note?”

“The note I wrote you,” it said impatiently.

Patience snapped. “What! Note?!” she shouted.

“The one from the earlier town,” it said dismissively. “Something about leadership…and protecting shit…and stuff. And finishing szarkai.”

She stared at it. She was getting the impression that… “You think I’m that thing? Szarkai?”

“No,” it told her, and leaned towards her. “I don’t think you are. I know you are.”

She frowned at that and shook her head. There were other things she needed to know and she had a feeling she wouldn’t get a straight answer out of it about szarkai. “So Tyota’s running the show?”

“Yeah,” it sighed. “He’s probably meeting up with your friend right about now.”

“Shit!”

“What?” Lilianna demanded. “What’s wrong?”

“Osamu’s in trouble!” Firro dispelled the darkness so they could see who she was talking to.

“Hey Firro what’s—” The new voice cut off suddenly as the beast began speaking inside her head as well.

“You’re not a crazy person, are you?” it asked her.

“What?” she said aloud.

“I heard another voice inside there. You’re not one of those are you?”

“No!”

Four earth elementals closed in around the beast, completely surrounding it. They were all about Gerard’s height.

“What is going on?” Lilianna demanded. “Why haven’t you killed this thing?”

Firro realized they had only heard her side of the conversation and quickly filled in the blanks.

“You should go to the cave very soon,” it told Firro in under common. She frowned at it, but before she could ask it another question, it stood and stretched.

“Well I’m going to go now,” it said in common. Then, “Sorry about your husband.”

Fury rose in her at the reminder. The fury wasn’t just for Kyaer, though he was the bulk of it. It was for Majet and for every other individual who had felt the affects of this type of creature. It was nothing but evil, and it had to die!

She threw the flask of acid at its feet so that the burning liquid splashed up onto it. “I never said I was going to spare your life!” she snarled, and raised her sword.

The earth elementals struck, slamming the brain-beast with their fists. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Then a pure golden spear of light from Lilianna’s holy symbol shot out. The beast fell and did not move again as blood pooled around it.

“C’mon! Let’s go!” Lilianna shouted.

With one last look of contempt for the beast, Firro turned and ran for the Temple of Saranrae. With them was a lioness that for some reason resembled Alondra.

The Drow didn’t bother to ask where they had picked up the lionness. Her mind was full of questions. How much of what the beast had told them was a lie and how much was truth? How much danger was Tyota to Osamu? What was it between the two of them? Was it really Tyota pulling all the strings or was there something even bigger going on? Was it a good idea to head to the cave when it had to have been this beast that told them to go, both as Kyaer and just a few moments ago as itself? Why did it want them to go there so badly?

And why the hell had the cleric of Iomedae rubbed his shoulder, just like Rock had before he turned on them?

TO BE CONTINUED...