"Violet, excellent. We were wondering where you went."
"Yeh- and how you ended up down here."
"Oh, we ended up just sliding down the wall at the tower. Looked around some. We were just about to enter that building over there." She pointed to the building they were talking about.
"Where are Sera and Jordan?" Violet tipped her head, to where they waited. The four of them crossed over, Violet conducting her usual examination. Asriel felt incredibly nauseous. Worryingly, these doors- despite their imposing stature- were unlocked. Opening them, the six quickly slipped inside- wanting to continue to avoid detection.
However, the instant Asriel did, he doubled over throwing up. Very few things were capable of eliciting such a violent and reflexive reaction. Braced against the wall, concern and confusion coloured everyone else.
"Asriel, are you-?" Silver recovered enough to speak first.
"Desecration." Taking a moment, he threw up again- only speaking once he knew there was nothing left. "Poisoned... divine influence. Tiresias give me strength..." Eventually, Asriel pulled himself upright, giving his head a shake. "…I'll… I’ll be fine. Let's... take a look."
Shadows smothered the temple’s interior in entirety. Black drapes stifled the atmosphere, adding gloom and anxiety. Torchlight offered ember glow to everything inside. Stenches of hot pitch, sulphur and decay- laced with fresh acidity- cloyed the air within. Paintings, once brilliant in their beauty, now displayed defacement. Across the way, an altar stood- black candles dripping waxy malevolence, twisted illumination to the epicentre of evil. Scarlet cloth draped on the altar stained dark. Something laid upon it. Behind, something affixed to a cross. Chancing a closer look, Asriel moved to the altar.
Laid upon the altar itself, the badly-violated corpse of a cleric. Broken, soaked in pitch. Possibly immolated. What a horrible death. Forcing himself steady, he looked to cross before him… And was sorry he did. Crudely crucified, rib cage torn open, coated in pitch- hung another figure. One Asriel recognized. A Scout-Paladin of Petra, one of the three deities Tiresias recorded the lives of. Making a gesture, he could barely tolerate the sight, it sickened him so...
"Violet? What are you doing?.." Four pairs of eyes looked to her, but Jordan spoke- snapping Asriel out of his haze. Horrified yet hypnotized, she stood beside the goatman. Drawing down a tattered, yet relatively-intact sapphire sash down from the gnarled body. Etched into the fabric, the symbol of Petra... and a secondary icon. A dark rose, encircled by silver thorns. The image seemed familiar to the bardic paladin, somehow.
"...I always wondered why he never came home..." Even their voices sounded smothered, stifled in this space.
"....You knew this paladin?" Skepticism coloured Asriel's tone as he moved closer- the others staying a little back.
Looking up at him, there was a hard stare on her face. Quietly, she raised her right hand... then twisted it, placing her sling on display. Woven into the fabric, a dark rose encircled by silver thorns. "Tahnlan Silverthorne." Something about the venomous way she spat out his name gave Asriel pause- he just erred. Probably badly. "This is... was... my uncle. And my role model... To the point that I had wanted to take as close to the same path he did."
"I'm sorry." Nothing Asriel- or anyone- could say would make this better.
"Least I now I know, why he broke his final promise to me... To come home, with stories and treasures from his travels." She turned away, eyes stinging again. Deep emotional silence swept over the scene. Fate really had it out for Violet, didn't it? "Desecration, you mentioned?.. How do we ease that for you?"
"Hmm? Right. Desecration. If we... Clean it up a bit, that will help. Help them... move on. And myself be... less poisoned. Desecration is harmful."
With a gentle nod, all of them began working on cleansing the chapel. Asriel and Violet took the body of Tahnlan down- setting him beside the cleric. Silver drew back the drapes. Sunshine and wisps of fresh air spilled in, helping a little bit. Jordan did his best to clean off the defacement of the paintings. Sera and Thorin began clearing some of the destroyed furniture, moving it aside. Their next step would be to take down the crucifix, and start working to reverse the desecration.
Interesting... Observing silently from the priest's quarters above, a figure stood in the shadows. Normally the guardians would have attacked on sight- but they were stayed by their master, wishing to see how this would play out. Curiosity took a deeper turn, when a pair approached the altar. So, they knew this individual? Possibly this information could come in handy later... Torturing them, should they be isolated and kept alive.
Once cleaning began, that was when the observer made their move. Releasing the guardians, the group heard the flapping of wings- just before Asriel ended up ensnared in a net, drug away from the altar. Another net came for Violet, but she tumbled aside. Two tar creatures came forth from above- reeking of hot pitch and sulphur. Swooping down low, they lashed out with khopesh swords, slashing at Asriel, Jordan and Sera. Needle-like spines of fire rained down, burning everyone on the ground. Cries of agony rang out, curses thrown in several languages. Asriel detangled himself, falling back to join the group- but the devilish tar creatures knew how to ensnare him. Sera's arrows splashed against one of the devils, it screeching in pain upon impact. Just after this, one of Violet's stones punctured it, rivulets of tar-like blood oozing to the floor. The devil was pulled to Jordan and Asriel- puncture wound healing over somewhat. Laughter rang out from above.
"Too long has passed, since my devils and I had a chance to play..." A woman's voice cut through the chapel... almost seductive. Almost. "Please, do put up a fight... I enjoy watching my victims tire themselves out."
"I guess narcissism is a requirement to join these guys." Acid splashed against the devil closer to the group- it screeching an unholy cacophony of incomprehensible sounds. Silver moved beneath the devil, slashing at it with his broadsword- but missed. Thorin and his mordenkrad had similar results.
"Evidently." Another stone punctured the devil, she smart enough to stay hidden under the priest's quarters. Another unholy cacophony, it swooping down to slash at her- but it missed.
"These damned things... Before we all burn to death, split off!"
The fight descended into a two-fronted battle; on one side, Asriel ended up slowly burning- ensnared in their nets just as fast as he would escape, caught between the tar devils. Jordan and Violet would wear them down, vials and stones melting and puncturing their hideous forms. On the other side, Sera, Silver and Thorin faced a new enemy- a devilish creature covered in spines. It would swoop in, slashing at Silver. Anytime Sera attempted to mark it, it seemed to shake them off. Every now and again, fire would fill the field- setting Asriel and Jordan alight, since they seemed to be the weaker of the two sides. Laughter rang out every so often, the woman in the shadows enjoying the show. Commands rang out, her devils quick to obey. Her laughs began to wear off as the ranged fighters in the group wore her devils down. Growls of infuriation rang out when Jordan melted one of her devils- one last unholy shriek crying out before tar splattered everywhere.
"Focus on the blue-haired ones! They are your greatest threats!" Half-truth cried out from the woman's lips. Her real threat was the unseen one- the one hidden below. But taking these two out would make it easier to force their hand. Obedient, the spined devil went to slash Sera- but Silver had other ideas. Forcing its attention onto him, The People's Broadsword cleaved through its pitch-sticky flesh- removing one of its arms. It let loose another hail of fiery needles- but none of them were affected. The creature screeched in anger. Thorin's mighty mordenkrad swung through the air, a sickening crunch ringing out. Two more water arrows pierced it, the devil recoiling in pain.
Meanwhile, Asriel looked worse for wear ensnared in the net again. Panting heavily, the heat was getting to him. Blood and tar matted his fur, pain racking his body. Jordan wasn't looking too well either, being pushed away, and set aflame. It was getting harder to hit the devil...
"Asriel... How are... you doing in there?"
"I've had... Better days." His voice was heavily strained.
"One healing infusion, coming up then." Shattering one against himself, Jordan made a risky decision- and rushed to Asriel's side. Just missing the khopesh's slash, the other infusion shattered against Asriel's body- cooling and soothing relief to the goatman. "Just hold on... A bit longer, Asriel..." Jordan's decision cost them. From above, the woman laughed- fire hailing down. Two cries of agony rang out- Jordan falling to hands and knees, Asriel looking exhausted.
"Jordan! Asriel! Hold on, we'll be there soon!" Thorin was cut off, more fiery needles tearing through him. Groaning, he fell to a knee. Sera was looking pretty torn up as well.
Witnessing all this unfold, Violet loaded her shot. She needed to aim this right, because the others wouldn't last. Edging forward, she let her stone loose- piercing the devil's chest. This one too, let out a cacophonous shriek before seeming to explode in a tarry mess. Asriel and Jordan were grateful, they could now fall back for a moment and recover a little. Diving out, she moved well clear of everyone else, turning on a heel and prepared another shot. Whipping it up toward the silhouette standing in the shadows. However, the woman anticipated this; Violet felt the searing heat, and herself thrown to the wall. Growling, Violet couldn't quite focus... but took her shot. A woman's gasp of pain satisfied the Hin.
"How dare you?! You're going to pay for that!" Tendrils of fire erupted beneath Violet's feet- but the dexterous hin danced amidst the flame, infuriating the woman farther still.
While Violet rendered herself the target of the woman’s ire, the devil found itself caught in Silver's aura- being slowly sniped down by Sera. Thorin crossed the chapel, doing his best for Asriel and Jordan- who also helped themselves recover from the grievous wounds sustained. Together they targeted the woman, and made it easier for her to unleash deadly-accurate stone throws. At one point the woman fell back, healing herself. But Violet didn't mind- climbing atop one of the drapes, she continued from there. Below the others bolstered her efforts, giving the hin every chance they could. Eventually, the woman's screams rang out, silenced one last time. From there, it was much easier to take the spined devil- death came quick.
Panting, the six of them looked exhausted- but exhilarated. Barricading the doors, the group sat in silence, allowing Asriel a chance to undo the desecration inflicted upon this chapel. Violet shed a couple silent tears for her Uncle Tahnlan; Sera draped an arm around Violet, giving silent comfort. Afterwards, everyone took a chance to fix themselves up. Little was said during this time- trying to come down from a combat high took a lot of effort. This time, Violet donated the material for Jordan's infusions. Eventually, cleaned up and healed up, the group looked to one another.
It was time to storm the tower. To find Nazin Redthorne, and settle the score once and for all.
Chapter 18- Chaotic Assault On Highdell, Exploration