It is nighttime, and Balgor has returned with a few of your compatriots in tow from one of the massive, craggy mountains that make up the border of The Rift. He is carrying Ruby and Rolland on each shoulder, and Hikaru hangs onto the back of his neck. He deposits them down by the mouth of his cave, and stand there now, examining his crystal, which is now doubled in size.
You have been standing aloof and apart from the group for some time now, contented to have it be that way until the necessary repairs are made to the ship, and you can finally get out of this accursed place.
Balgor stands and surveys the sky, not paying much attention, but in spite of himself, says aloud, "I feel a storm coming on. You may want to get inside with the others, Miss Paladin."
Armella sighs and turns to Balgor, "I used to like the rain, but here I don't think I'd enjoy it much." She begins to walk past him and stops. "Do you know about magic? How it was before?" Her concern shows blatently in her face as well as her voice.
"Storms here can be violent and full of torrent, but as benign as a bunny, or they can be whisper-calm and be as deadly as a black adder." Balgor looks at you, puzzled, but smiles. "Yes, indeed! I was around when it was just normal part of daily life....for eons."
"Could you look at this?" She removes a necklace from her pocket. "I got this a while back, and something was brought up and I need to know if something is more than I want to admit." She holds it out for him, it's the necklace that was given out during the Rite of the Alkahest.
Balgor takes it and examines it briefly. He turns it over and over again, and slowly his eyes begin to flow a reddish hue. After a few silent minutes of careful examination, Balgor hands it back to you, his eyes returning to normal, and replies "Yes, this is most undoubtedly magic. It is imbued with a charm spell that needs to be renewed via alchemic process."
"Why do you need to know? And what is the importance of this Rite of the Alkahest in your faith?"
Armella relaxes at first but at the mention of the Alkahest she stiffens. "It is- was a ritual to select a chosen person to ascend to a sort of enlightenment." Pausing she looks at the ground then up at the ceiling. "But now, it isn't. Something has decided that the church is a feeding ground." Turning away she grumbles, "And I have no idea how to fix it."
"A feeding ground, you say! Sounds like your world is upside down. So are they vampires then? Feeding on the blood of innocent church-goers?"
"Vampires? No, some weird freaky squid faced monster. I tried to find something on them in Thorin's family, the Dwarf, in their library but I didn't find much of anything. I wouldn't be surprised if they were some result of a fool fiddling in magic."
"Squid-faced monsters! My dear, you surprise me by the minute! And no, they weren't formed by some fool dabbling in magic, I can tell you that much. If what you are telling me is accurate, then what you have stumbled upon is a secret society of mind flayers."
"Born of their own volition, or born from the taking over of the mind of another living creature, these beings are an aberrant race that seeks to plant it's seeds in the soil of an unsuspecting and naive lesser group. They feed upon the brain material of living, sentient creatures. Oooh this religion of yours sounds more like a duping of the masses to me."
"Like cattle to the slaughter..."
She stares blankly for a moment, "Mind flayers...Just because they have a group doesn't mean they are everywhere. Why would I be told to destroy them if control was the whole point?"
"Hmmmm. I don't know. Who is your God? What is he the god of?"
"I follow Tarj, he is order and justice. He doesn't really have something he is over, I'm not sure if that was an old world type thing for gods."
"It was. See, I was the God of Slaughter, once. I ruled over the domain of slaughtering your enemies."
"Yes, I remember hearing that. It seems interesting that you would be over that. I hadn't thought of slaughter as being a 'godly' aspect." She sort of smiles a little but kind of shifts from one side to the other.
"As for your comment on control, mind flayers almost always tend to travel and breed as entire colonies. They are a hive mind, you see. They think as one. When they travel across the cosmos and find a world rich in..."resources," and "livestock," they either directly invade that world, our employ more subtle means of invasion."
"That would be fascinating if it didn't mean people were being eaten. I know things have to eat, but that sort of thinking doesn't go very well."
"No, no it doesn't. The biggest question I think you should ponder, Miss Paladin, is this: Just who or what is the hive mind leader?"
Armella opens her mouth but pauses, "That is a good question, perhaps I will ponder on that. Thank you for your insight. I apologize if I have come off as standoffish. I'm not overly fond of the idea of hunting down artifacts that may cause more harm then help."
Balgor smiles, and a twinkle passes his eye. "Sometimes, my dear, it is easy for people to run amok with such items. But in context, don't you think fighting fire with fire would be the best course of action? Like lighting a backdraft to stop the flames in their tracks."
His eyes go suddenly wide as he thinks of something. "Oh! And just a feeling, my dear, but if you ever feel puzzled in your pondering about who the hive mind leader is, just look to the stars!"
"Perhaps, but not everyone should have such power as it does have a tendency to corrupt. I don't want to see Hikaru or anyone in our group become someone I have to hunt down later." At the suggestion, Armella tilts her head, "Stars? I've never been one to study the heavens, but I will bear that in mind for the future."
"Well, not all magical constructs deliberately corrupt. Only the user becomes corrupt because they themselves choose to do it." Balgor sighs aloud. "Not all things are as black and white as we hope them to be. Ahhh well. Let us get inside. Looks like we have a violent storm headed our way."
Balgor following in after Armella, thinks inwardly to himself, "there is definitely something about that one, something I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe someday perhaps..."
***
After exploring the temple with Ruby she will make her way to the large building that has become overgrown but is a little more like a temple in her mind since there aren't giant dragon statues.
Finding a spot that isn't too dirty she'll sit on her cloak, she's not in her armor since the place seems deserted. "And so we've left one odd place and ended up in another," she mumbles to herself before going through her prayers to Tarj.
It is quiet and serene here. The light from the sun seems to bend through the broken windows and warms the spot you sit upon. Small eddies of dust blow about here and there with the afternoon breeze.
After finishing the recitable prayers she pauses and listens to the wind before opening a new thought. "I have no idea what I'm doing but I know I have to stay with this group. Our movements are actively taking us away from the church so I can't investigate anything. What am I supposed to do? Stay, or leave? I could try and find Emma and join with her, or stay and hope that things continue smoothly. I don't know anymore" She tries to force herself to remain calm but her frustration at everything has been eating at her for a while.
The whisper is faint and the words in her mind and heart are barely audible...not even a whisper of a breath--as if the eddies of dust could snuff it out. "Look to the Stars...," it says, "for therein is your answer."
"Seek my word, and you will find your deepest desires. Only knock upon my door and you will find treasures."
Stiffening at those words, "Stars? I want to understand. I want the knowledge to know what is going on. If I am going to be a tool at least give me something to do." The frustration coming back and thinking of the other advise given, she gets up and paces around her cloak. "If that old man is messing with me or if this is a test of faith....I've probably failed. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to come here" Armella lets out an exhausted grump and plops back down on the ground.
"The Star, look to the Sacred Lodestar..." comes the whisper more pronounced this time. "The Stars referred to are the Sacred Lodestar. Look to that Holy Scripture, study it out, read it, and cry unto me in prayer once more."
Armella drops her head in her hands. "I've been neglecting my duties." Getting up again she picks up her cloak and brushes it off. "Maybe I'll go to the library that Ruby mentioned and study there" Taking a deep breath she turns to head out of the building. Pausing at the door she looks back into the greenery of the old building. "May He shine His light upon my path" Armella leaves the building to go back to her room for her copy of the Lodestar.
As you are departing from the manor house/lesser citadel, you hear something on the air...something flying and falling....fast....toward you....
Confused she looks up and sees Balgor flying through the air. He lands hard in front of the citadel and runs inside quickly.
Armella jumps away in shock when he lands and runs inside. Deciding that her studying can be put off a few more minutes, she goes back inside and calls out "Balgor? Are you okay?"
Balgor turns to you briefly and replies, "I must visit with the king and queen. They require my audience." He stops for a moment, and looks at you keenly. "Did you look to the stars?"
Armella looks towards the front, "I did, I have been negligent of my personal studies and I plan to rectify that. I have gotten too focused on insignificant things and must realign myself with what is important. I appreciate your words" She smiles at him and then back towards the door, "I hope your um visit goes well and that nothing is amiss" Bowing slightly she turns to go back outside.
Balgor takes a moment and smiles a genuine smile. "Well, we shall see. We shall see." With that, Balgor makes his way into the inner sanctum.
Armella heads back to the ship to study up on deck if it's still a nice day, continue wandering around.
***
After Armella met with Hikaru, she wanted to pray again about the Lodestar to see if she could get any more answers. She wants to be a better Paladin.
Finding a quiet place in the local woodland, you spread out a mat and begin to pace, thinking on what you should pray to Tarj about.
Armella thinks about everything the past few days. Her talks with Ruby, Hikaru, Balgor, and her previous out reach to find understanding. Things were changing rather quickly but so far not in a bad way. She just had no idea how to move forward. "I need to be better. I can do better. My faith is strong enough I don't need signs, just guidance." Armella mutters to herself before sitting on her mat. Taking a deep breath she clears her mind and focuses on the Lodestar words.
The dark chaos beckons.
Succumbing to that wry whispering art swallows the soul in endless black torment.
The mouth of the great gaping beast.
Turn away from that night which is pitch.
Stretch forth and reach for His brilliancy.
He shall shine His light upon your path unto prosperity.
These verses stick out to you the most as you sit pondering in the woodland.
Armella sits slightly uncomfortable at her thoughts. Thinking about the possibility of the group going to Hell but also thinking that it could also be to avoid the same pitfalls that others may have run into that has led to the current church. "Maybe I should think how far up it goes. Just to avoid the same fate." Armella mutters to herself, admitting something she had been avoiding thinking about for a while.
The wind blows, a breeze rustling through the trees. It has a chill touch to it, as if something is reaching out to you. You ponder further mute verses from the pages of the Lodestar.
Risen from ash, thou formed of clay and salted tears of millennia.
Abandoned by the eternities.
Thou people whose steel; whose hands and minds are one with Tarj.
The guiding hand of the Triad speaks His tongue.
Knowledge.
Governing the mighty nations of abundance.
Rise up, shake therefore thy raiment from the dust and grasp onto thy fortune.
A passing thought goes through her mind, 'maybe the world should burn and be purged of all its corruption and started fresh...'but she quickly shakes off that thought.
Law and Order, our perfection.
Anarchy and Chaos, our destruction.
Achieve all that we are and can ever be.
Repel the heathens who obstruct thy enlightenment.
Ensure the illumination and reverence of Tarj the Wise.
The Grand Elixir of Life Beacons.
Great will be His succor until the dawning.
The day of enlightenment.
You feel a whisper, the faintest of touches to your mind and heart. You have read and studied my word, my child. What do you desire most? Ask it, and you shall receive...
Armella thinks of her many questions; is the church completely corrupted? Does she have a calling to redeem it? Is Hell where they are supposed to go? Taking a deep breath she decides to ask "If the church is infiltrated and the church runs the the world, does everything need to be cleansed?"
You feel the wind weft and wane around you. You feel a peaceful warmth flow over you. It is the early evening, and the sun is setting. You and your fellow Paladins must cleanse the evil out of your hearts first, and then you must go forth and cleanse this infiltration from the body of the Church.
***
Once awake from her dreams that last night on Dolor, Armella found a decent amount of alcohol. After drinking a bit she went outside, lay out on the grass staring at the stars and talking/thinking out loud at Balgor where ever he is. "Hey. This is me directing all my thoughts and energy at you. Can you hear me you bizarre old man? You ruined my nice dream by asking about stars. Well now I'm staring at the stars thinking about you. Helllloooooooo you grumpy old man!"
Balgor is startled from his own sleep, hearing your call to him, and comes out of the temple. "Oh dear, what have I done now?" He makes his way to your location. "The grumpy old man is here. What can I do for you, Miss Paladin?"
Armella looks up at him and starts to try to get up but falters and ends up flopping back onto her back. "All I want. Is to be a normal, righteous person. To follow the path before me unwavering no matter the trials. And now I have to eat my words because feasting is important. Feasting on the words of Tarj in his great land of light" Armella rolls over onto her stomach and tries to push herself up again but doesn't put enough effort into it. "And then you! You show up saying 'look to the stars' and here I am, looking at the stars, that look a lot like grass......" She trails off and picks at the grass.
"Have you been at the bottle, Miss Paladin?" Balgor raises an eyebrow at you. "I can bring you another, if you'd like," he offers.
"At the bottle? That's an odd name for a place...Oh, you meant that, oh okay sure, more is good, more knowledge is good, all one with knowledge. In the garden of the minds...."
Armella shuffles onto her knees and sits staring past Balgor. "You could actually hear me, huh? Just like Tarj can. I don't want more than one god though..."
Swaying slightly she focuses on Balgor's face, "Are you going to make Hikaru one with you like Tarj becomes one with his followers?"
Balgor laughs. Not a mocking, derogatory laugh, but a good, full, and hardy laugh. "Goodness, no! He will forever be my greatest patron, and to redeem and requite his agency and individuality well forever be his blessing." Balgor leans down and hosts you up, putting your arm around his shoulders. He begins to walk with you toward the airship. "If he fulfills my commands and does my will, he will sit by my side in the halls of Pandemonium."
Armella stumbles along "I don't want to kill my friends, even if magic destroyed the world, they can't help what they are...But He will hear me and I'll be punished again." Armella trails off again, mumbling nonsense, "The light will feast on my soul...In the stars my answer is...You grumpy old man with the weird smile..."
Balgor looks ahead, his mind heavy with long memory. He remembers well a time when he disobeyed his own god. "I was once punished for disobedience to MY patron deity." He let's the statement hang in the air.
"Did they put you in spikes too? That's not fun, it hurts..."
"Worse." He states dryly. "But I don't want to make you hurl with the details."
"I'm not weak, I've done things, but no one believes me. If I disobey I could get them killed. But if I die then they won't find them, That's an option. But that would just put me in an awkward position...I don't have much choice in this, do I? Follow orders, follow orders...following orders. Whales! There were whales of light in the clouds. They were pretty, but odd even for a dream."
"Let us focus on living, my friend. You have that choice before you still. Take your mortal life one day at a time. Remember," he says, giving you a sideways glance, "you're only born once, but you live for days." He trails off, letting a cool night breeze catch his face in the wind. He thinks for a minute. "You know, when I disobeyed my patron deity, Erythnul--the ORIGINAL God of Slaughter, many of my friends perished in the act. But it was not my fault for their perishing. They were behind me in none but support 100%"
"I don't think I can do that, I can't kill Him, He'd know if I wanted to and send more Paladins. You are from a time when gods could die. I want my mind to be one with Him, but it won't line up with this. Maybe I should sleep...And talk to them about this...Or not, they don't care what I think..." She sways slightly and looks at Balgor, "You're a nice grumpy old man, but why do you say to look at the stars?"
"You can do anything you put your heart to, Miss Paladin. I am from a time when gods were REPLACED. I merely overtook Erythnul with my own will, and became the new God of Slaughter. It wasn't easy. But I did it." He pauses, confused and filled a pensive air. "Maybe you should sleep. You're very drunk, you know. As for your friends...." He pauses again, his eyes sad and lonely in his long years. "They hear you more than you give them credit for, I think. I don't know why I say 'look to the stars'...it's more of a feeling really."
"Sleep...Don't show up again, it's a very odd thing to have you switch faces unexpectedly." Armella begins to drift slightly, "Hands and minds are one with Tarj....." And she promptly passes out.
"Ohp!" Balgor catches you, and with little effort, lifts you up over his shoulder gently. He carries you up to his place in the temple instead of the airship. When he arrives at the upper level, he carefully lays you down on his cot. Covering you with a blanket, he watches the partial portion of the planar gate as it flickers and wavers, pinning for his home....
"There is something about her..."