Synopsis: The Cathak, Megara in tow, take the manse's control room.  With that, she opens up the hearthfire chamber to them, where the Cathak make a hasty choice... breaking the seal on a powerful Solar anathema in exchange for the Eye.  The Wretched escapes... and the manse collapses!

Players: Cathak Mas, Zuriel and Nerus

Run By: Megara (3 xp to Third Eye Blind)

 

         The essence lift rises through the mountain at immense speeds, pressing everyone into the floor. Armor or not, the acceleration is quite remarkable. It whizzes past a number of remarkable sights, sunk into the ice... there are dancing lights, and odd music at various intervals, as well as terrifically huge skeletons. The various animas, earth and fire, mingle during the trip, not hurting each other in the confined space thanks to Mas' intervention.

         "This should take us to the control room," observes Megara, "If we can take it over, I think I can use it to guide you to the hearthstone room. I imagine it's probably guarded."

 

         For once, Zuriel wishes he had chosen the Glorious Path of the Wood Dragon so that he may heal his wounds. The music, the skeletons, everything washes over him and the only thing he can feel is pain. Reaching into his satchel he retrieves a cordial and pops the cock, slamming it into the potion receptacle of his helm. With a near silent hiss, it is injected into his system and the pain subsides somewhat. Pulling his visor up to reveal his face he says, "Alright, so we secure the control room and then proceed to the hearthroom--sounds like a good plan. Let us hope the guards are not as tough as the ones we encountered before."

 

Cathak Mas looks at the others carefully, "We must be prepared incase they are as powerful as the previous ones. I doubt that the owner would put his strongest guards out yet. It is likely that those were meant to soften us up for a more formittable foe."

 

As the essences lift rises, Nerus quickly finds himself on his backside hurtling upwards. He gets his feet under himself and flicks away little bits of magma that result from the minglings of anima's away from his essence hardened skin. They do not hurt, but they make a rather unpleasant 'sizzle' sound. Using his tetsubo like a cane, Nerus pushes himself to his feet and steadies himself before following the small entourage out of the lift. Happy to leave it behind, "Zuriel do you wish me to take point? I know your far quicker than I am, but I'm unhurt, and we'd keep our best sword arms ready to strike any guardians down."

 

Cathak Zuriel slams his visor down on his face and replies Nerus with a silent nod. He readies his blades once more and performs a brief kata that ends in his blades touching and wreathing in flames: the form of the fire dragon. He may be hurt, but he's not going to make it easy on his foes. "I am ready, lets go," he says falling behind Nerus.

 

         The essence lift begins to slow, and Megara reacts to it by grabbing her hammer from her belt and hefting its weight. She looks between the men around her... and then, with a ding, the door opens out of the ice... behind her. Oops. She catches on quickly and turns; what is before the eyes of all the Dragon-Blooded is truly remarkable.

         The control room, for surely that is what this is, with its blinking panels and bleeping lights, all of which look terribly fragile, has perfectly transparent walls, creating an amazing view of the outside tundra. A couple of screens have highlighted and magnified areas of the panorama... it all looks very advanced. And, in the middle, is the materialized spirit who owns the place, very likely.

         She looks like a cross between a raksha and a god, although surely she's spiritual, not Wyld; just impossibly beautiful, in a fae-like way, but it's cold. Diamonds rim her brow in a curved line. Her hair is held in a headress-coronet of incredible, crystalline complexity. And she's holding a bastard sword made out of pure ice, hissing with chill, constantly casting mist in its wake.

         "Hello, intruders," she hisses, pointing the blade at them, clearly meaning business, "Leave now... or join me in oblivion!"

 

Cathak Zuriel seems to dance like a flicker candle in the wind as he twists and cavorts around the spirit's attacks and just as it is done harassing Zuriel, he assails back. Flames so hot they can be mistaken for plasma run from his left shoulder to the tip of his blade and just as it looks like he's about to slash at her, he feints right and slams his palm five times around her heart with a speed that would make a zephyr green with envy and ends the maneuver by stepping back to his original position. To the other observer it seems as though he never moved.

 

         With unearthly grace, the Ice Queen advances in a blur of motion to engage the two people she considers the biggest threats: the one in the power armor, and the obviously Immaculate monk. Although her sword is easily deflected by the former, the latter takes a little swipe... and promptly, fingers of ice seem to grow where it hit, looking for places in the rock that is Nerus, to crack.

 

Cathak Mas doesn't even hesitate as he slides under the massive form that is Nerus, slingshotting himself between his legs and using the fire on his body to slide on the melting ice. As he brings his wrackstaff up to blast it into her chin, Keledros jumps over Nerus and attempts to bite at her face, fire exploding off of the two of them as they launch their coordinated attack on the mysterious ice spirit.

 

         The spirit looks down at her chest, then starts bubbling with very evil, very creepy, very cold laughter. Maniacal. Bwahahahaha! "Silly Immaculate... tricks are for the living. Didn't you pay attention in school?" Although her sword continues to slish-slash-slice'em-in-half in the air, it's mostly showing off... feinting and lunging, and not doing much danger.

 

         Meanwhile, Megara inches away from the fight, as subtle as she can be in her Most Fearsome Armor, heading for one of the strange, icy control panels. She's behind a pillar in a matter of seconds, and the sound of buttons being pushed fills the air.

 

Cathak Zuriel is rather annoyed at this point. Perhaps the power of the Fire Dragon alone cannot harm her, but the power of the Water Dragon can. Not one for many theatrics, he does the tried and true knuckle sandwich to the kisser.

 

         As the raging fire and earth in the room buffets the ice queen, it seems to wear away her form inexorably. Yet, almost as quickly as she disappates under the barrage of fists and elements -- Zuriel's fist landing a particularly nice uppercut to her jaw -- she seems to be rebuilding. The flowing golden motes that recreate her structure seems wholly different from the manifestation of her essence, which is ice-themed; these are warm, glowing, scintillating between red, pink and, as previously mentioned, purest gold. They also seem to shape themselves into arcane sigil-shape, each and every mote, as they march up her spine, stitching her back together.

 

As the etheral creature that is as beautiful as it is terrifying descends upon them, Nerus tries get inclose. As she reals from The blow to her jaw, the Monk plants a foot on a nearby wall and pushes off for momentum. Lifting up into the air, he descends towards her, as if trying to smash her with a forearm, but it quickly become apparanty from the curling of his fingers in a claw like shape that he's something else planned. Particles of earth swirl about his finger tips and start to glow white like jade. As he falls upon her he tries to clamp down upon where her neck and shoulder meet, pouring earth essence into it's spiritual form hoping to hold it immobile.

 

         Meanwhile, out of the ceiling come what can only be described as gun turrets -- frozen gun turrets. They shoot wildly into the fray, heedless of hitting their master; in fact, she takes a hit from the ice and seems to heal from it, as it recreates her jaw, and another one to her leg as it's redirected by Mas' cleverness. Megara is fortunate, her white-hot anima burning the ice as it comes at her, and so absorbed as she is in her work at the panel, she barely even notices; the ice shatters on Nerus like a poorly made snowball; only the dog takes a significant hit, the ice working its spidery claws into its flesh.

 

         Megara frowns at the guns and curses like a soldier. Her typing increases in speed.

 

Cathak Mas having missed before, Mas continues sliding on his feet and uses his wrackstaff as leverage as he pole vaults over the the ice spirit. When he gets right above her, he puts his feet on the ceiling and pushes down, driving the staff into her skull. He then continues falling and lands on his feet, spinning to his right and striking her in the side.

 

Cathak Zuriel notes that his essence stores are less than replete and then looks up at the spirit who seems brimming with Essence. He smiles a wicked smile and slams his fists straight into her face and abdomen in an attempt to suck out her essence.

 

Cathak Mas smiles as he hears Keledros roar and charge. Keledros dives to his left and rips into her left side and takes a bite and swings both his claws.

 

         With strike after strike after strike inflicted upon her, the Ice Queen, frozen in place like her element of choice, seems to shatter a bit on the inside. Even so, despite her inactivity, the bizarre golden healing continues... having much of her essence drained doesn't seem to have slowed it down any.

         "I'm in!" says Megara, her typing ceasing for less than a second, then starting again, much faster. All of the guns whirl and fire on the Ice Queen, all at once. She is promptly encased in a block of ice. Healed, probably, but completely encased. Then the temperature in the room drops about twenty degrees (brr!). "That should hold her for another few seconds!" shouts the woman, "And I think I've cut her off from her external source... she must have been using the Eye! Shatter the block, and you should shatter her!"

         Indeed, the golden essence suffusing her is now blocked by three feet of ice. It feels around, almost curiously, then gives up and fades away.

 

Nerus drops off of the banshee... or whatever the ice queen is, just as she starts to freeze. And sommersaults towards his Tetsubo. Grasping it in both hands he stands and pivots on the balls of his feet. His massive stone club accellerating towards the block of ice in a furious backswing. As he turns towards her calls out in a booming voice, "SHATTERING FIST STRIKE!" as if the force of naming the technique with such veracity added weight to the impact.

 

         The impact of the blow turns the ice into so much diamondlike dust... including its occupant. At the last moment, as she fades out of existence, there is a chilly whisper on an unnatural wind: "Fools... do not... break... the seal..."

 

Cathak Zuriel had readied his blades to attack the structure and then watches as the ice queen disintegrates. All the tension built up on his muscles releases and his arms drop to his sides. Walking forward to where the ice block was he pokes the dust with his blades a bit, saddened that he was useless in this fight. At the last possible moment he uses some of the essence he stole from the queen and activates Water Dragon Form.

 

Cathak Mas looks over to his comrades to make sure they are all right before heading over to Megara. "Meg, I assume you can use this control room's functions. Can you find out where the artifact is located. I want to finish this up as soon as possible so we can tend to Zuriel's wounds."

 

Cathak Zuriel says, "*klik* I'm fine, let's just find the spear. *klik*"

 

Even the thick skinned Earth Exalt shivers as he's coated with the frozen remains of what was once the ice princess of a guardian. Nerus brushes off his arms sending diamond dust to the floor. "Seal?" He looks to Megara, and slowly approaches the console, "Megara do you know what the spirit was talking about?"

 

         "Working," Megara hums in that universally irritated drawl that all programmers get when they're being interrupted. On one of the screens, scrolling sigils in Old Realm appear and form a sort of map, kind of legible even to those who can't read the specific words. After a few more seconds of button-pushing, she announces: "Okay, good news and bad news. Good news first: I have complete control of the manse's systems, I've locked all the automata in their rooms, disabled the traps, and..." she types another line with a flourish, "The elevator will now go to the secret heart of the manse, where the Eye is. It's easy to read, its energy signature is off the charts, though there's something... funny... about it..." The floor starts to vibrate, very slightly, as does Megara's voice, with hightened tension. "Bad news: the manse's structural integrity was tied to the spirit's, and it's going to suffer total collapse in ten minutes or so. I'll stay here and try to delay it! Get to the elevator, push the middle button, and go, go, go!"

 

Cathak Mas sprints into the elevator and waits for the rest of the party, realizing that 10 minutes is a day less than he wished he had to be out of here.

 

Cathak Zuriel dashes into the elevator nearly smashing into the backwall, he's not wasting any time.

 

Cathak Nerus turns back towards the Elevator, and lopes along side Zuriel as best he can who can probably run faster wounded than Nerus can only a bit scuffed. "Is everyone ready for what might be down there?"

Cathak Mas nods slightly.

 

         Where there was previously an up arrow and a down arrow button in the elevator, there is now a button in between them, perfectly round.

 

An armoured Zuriel slams the button as he activates Consuming Might of the Fire Dragon once more. The fires around him burning a beautiful blue-white.

 

Cathak Nerus closes his eyes as the button is pushed and the performsthe quiet simple motions of the the Kata of the Glorious Earth Dragon Path. The last of his essence is spent as he finds center and hardens his skin to preternatural levels once again.

 

         Megara's voice accompanies the group, eerily, broadcasting through a speaker in the essence lift, and then the hallway sloping downwards when the doors open. From the sense of motion, it is easy to guess that this floor is halfway between the control room at the top and that entry in the 'basement', some hundreds of feet up the ice mountain. "I think it's another energy signature interfering with the Eye... there's definitely something else down there. Something else *bzzt*"

         As the group passes through the threshhold at the end of the hallway, into the massive, rounded, central chamber, her voice cuts out. In the center, bound to where the hearthstone would be, is a terrible sight: what appears to be an Immaculate monk, bald head, proper uniform for the Third Coil, with no breeding to speak of... speared into the ice, apparently through the heart, with the Eye of the Fire Dragon. The room trembles, once, violently, but the monk, on his icy bier, does not so much as shudder.

 

Nerus Emerges from the, Lift and looks around quickly. Drawing a deep breath Nerus says, "We do not have much time... We're far past caution, maybe now is the time for Faith. Let's see if we can pull it free, and take our brother to his rest..." Well assuming time permits. He takes a step towards the spear, he looks back to the other two Fire Exalts to see if they think it unwise or ask him to stop.

 

Cathak Zuriel shrugs and walks up to Nerus' side saying, "*klik* You're right, we have a time limit anyways. Lets pull this thing out. *klik*" Looking back at Mas he adds, "*klik* Warn us if anything approaches. *klik*" After that he tries to pull the spear out of the monk.

 

         The spear comes loose from the ice without too much trouble, and pulls up, through the monk, without any resistance at all. Indeed -- there is not so much as torn clothing when it comes completely free; and in the instant that it does so, essence previously sunk into the ice on the floor pulses golden, once, in a very complex sigil, before floating up above the fallen monk's head and turning into a white, miniature version of said symbol.

         The monk's eyes open-- and there are no pupils. Instead, they blaze with golden heat. "What is the Essence of the Sixth Dragon?" His lips do not move, but the question is nonetheless transmitted to the two with their hands on the spear.

 

Cathak Mas rushes forward when he sees the spectacle and looks at his comrades in confusion. "Guys, hurry up, we don't have much-" Realizing his friends are not moving, he looks at the Eye with a look of intrigue as he realizes they must be paralyzed from some sort of trap.

 

Cathak Zuriel immediately answers, "That which resonates with yellow jade." Then he retracts it and says, "No wait, that can't be right. Or is it? No, it can't be that simple." He lifts the spear absently and scratches his head with a finger as he does so. Riddles are hard!

 

 

 

"What is the essence of the 6th dragon?" Nerus looks to Zuriel and says, "I'm fairly certain we'll hvae to name /what/ it is that Resonates with Yellow Jade." Nerus says as he tries to think, "Anathema probably hid it here, we should probably try to think what kindo f heretical answer they would demand..." And he's wrapped well up in the riddle... not at all aware that he's held imobile yet.

 

         The monk sits up, abruptly, and shifts into the Lotus position, floating a few feet in the air. He looks between the arguing Immaculates with a slightly superior smirk -- then his unnatural, glowing golden eyes study Mas. They narrow, very dangerously, as he muses to himself. His voice is as deep as any ancient Earth Immaculate's, but with an odd overtone to it that just doesn't sound normal.

         "She loved me... and I spurned her... and she kept me here. I was her /battery/." Glancing at the walls of the Ice Mountain's Heart as they rumble again, his smile widens. "And you killed her... and freed me. I thank you, Princes of the Earth." There's the ultimate ironic nastiness in his tone as he voices the title.

         "I will repay the debt I owe you by sparing your lives..."

 

Cathak Mas looks at the monk. "What did you do to spurn such a person? And what are you?"

 

         The monk flicks his eyes to Mas again and stares, harder, seeming to penetrate unnaturally. "Cathak," he breathes, his voice coming in a powerful rumble, "I am more than you ever will be. I am more than she could handle. Your turn to answer a question: where are you all from?"

 

Cathak Mas looks at the monk hard before responding, "I am from the Vermillion Legion, if that is what you are asking."

 

         "And your proper name, brave Cathak?" the monk continues, crisply. It is as though, as time passes, his mind is waking up -- his words are much clearer now, faster in coming. The earth awakens and grows life... "

 

Cathak Mas says, "My name is Cathak Mas. What is your name, strange monk? And, what are you, for you are obviously not a mortal being."

 

And suddently It's like Zuriel isn't even there, and Nerus just talking to himmself, mystically compelled to keep riddling through this puzzle, "What is the essence of the sixth dragon! There is no sixth dragon....." He pauses, " mean yes there are more than six dragons total... but as for the great elemental dragons there's only five? So are these like the six dragons of something else entirely? Like the six dragons of seven seas... Dammit Nerus think!" He slaps his cheeks in rapid succession, completely oblvious to Zuriel answering it right next to him.

 

Cathak Zuriel snaps out of it and looks at the spear then back at the so called monk. His eyes narrow, though of course no one could see that. If the spirit was able to take him out, then maybe a combined effort of Mas and himself can do it. What to do, what to do? To the Underworld with it! This being is unnatural and most likely Anathemic, he MUST die.

 

         "Now I can answer YOUR question," says the strange monk cryptically, still not turning around to face Zuriel, though surely he's aware that he's there. "I am what I am, and what I am is..."

 

Cathak Zuriel runs up and slamming the spear point first into the ground, he vaults into the air to slam his foot down, hopefully, into the monk's "valour" as some Celestial Monkey practitioners might call it.

 

         The monk says a word, but his body cannot say it -- in response, even as Zuriel's foot is going towards his nads, he turns into a flock of about a hundred birds. They billow in the space where he once was, their fine feathers perfectly golden and blue.

 

Cathak Zuriel watches as the sorceror turns into birds and glares once more at the thing. He pulls up his visor and takes in a lungful of air. Using most of his remaining essence he spits out a gout of fire at the flock of birds. Gout really is the wrong word. It is a torrent of searing white plasma that leaves the scent of ozone trailing it.

 

Cathak Mas runs to the elevator and yells, "Quick, we don't have time, we gotta get out of here!" Keledros runs to Nerus and attempts to lift him onto his back and run to the elevator as well.

 

         As the birds turn and flee at great speeds, the leftover essence from the sorcery makes itself known: it is clearly, unquestionably, the symbol of the Wretched, etched in golden fire. It mingles with the ozone... then gone. The birds, meanwhile, escape through tiny vents in the ice, providing air to the hearthfire chamber. And the whole structure shakes ominously with a great deal more violence than any previous time.

 

"Sixth Dragon!" Nerus bellows, getting agitated now, completely trapped in his own little world... Not even concious of the dogdragon trying to tug him away and throw him up over his shoulder. "There is no sixth dragon! Now you're just making stuff up.... The essence of the sixth dragon is it that sun you hereticlaly worship? Is it?" Nerus asks yelling at the ground now as he is facing it after being tossed across the back of the mighty beast. Once they are in the hall way the haze starts to clear and Nerus stares at the ground a bit disoriented and confused, "By Pasiap's swollen left nut! What the hell happened!"

 

         As people exit the Heart chamber into the corridor, they can hear Megara's frantic voice, overlaid by the sound of her frantic typing. "There's no time! I'll meet you outside! Take the elevator up if you think you can fly out, or live through the descent down the mountain, or take it down and climb that escalator if you can manage! I've opened the lower door as well! If there's anything else you need me to do, tell me no-- hey, what's with all these birds?" The sound of two thousand wings flapping fills the intercom.

 

Cathak Zuriel takes some time to recover from his Breath of the Fire Dragon, but he is much swifter than his cousins and quickly catches up to them as he runs like a zephyr. "*klik* Good to have you back, cousin *klik*," he says to Nerus as he overtakes them and then answers Megara's voice, "*klik* Anathema! *klik*"

 

         "Should I pursue? I think I could keep up," Megara queries earnestly as the sound of wings flapping fades.

 

Cathak Mas yells, "He is too powerful! You have to get out of here ASAP! If we don't make it out, we need someone to warn people of the anathema!"

 

"I am Sorry..." Nerus says as he slides down off the back of the dog and finishes his sprint to the lift, "I am, sorry... I almost got us all killed. Thank you Cathak Mas, and thank you Keledros. I owe you both much." He says humbly as he smacks the down button once the last person is in.

 

The lift shoots straight down into the depths of the mountain. Seconds seem like hours, but finally the group arrive at their destination and the lift doors open. Zuriel is a flash fire as he runs out with the spear as fast as his legs can carry him, which happens to be quite fast. "*klik* Keep going, we're almost there *klik*," he screams frantically as the group runs the length of the circle to the base of the escaltor.

 

Cathak Mas follows just behind looking back nervously at Nerus as he sees parts of the ceiling collapse just behind him. Tearing it up the escalator, he can see the exit there and sprints out looking back as he hears the manse nearly explode inwards. Seeing nothing but a cloud of icy dust, he holds his breath as he sees Nerus almost not make it, but by some divine grace, the explosion pushes him the last yard out of the destruction, and Mas falls onto his back. Thinking how much he missed the ease of war

 

         The incandescent form of Megara streaks out of the sky, born aloft on transcendent wings of flame like a phoenix. She lands beside the party. "Is everyone all right?" The presence of the spear, with its matte black cover hanging by strings from its length, tells her of the mission's... relative... success, and about that, she asks no questions about that, not yet.

 

The snow is almost blinding as the group sprints from the Manse. Reverberating echo of the ice cracking just before it splits appart, is easily more chilling than the cold air. It is the sound of doom that is hot upon your heels, And for the second time today Nerus is covered in a spray of diamond like dust and shards, and propelled by an explosion he lands, actually just about even keel with his compatriots. He is not hurt, but his reserves of essence and will are totally sent. Looking up at the sky that is serenely oblivious to the powerful magicks that were worked in this place and that followed its collapse the monk says, "Would any of you think less of me if... I just stared at the sky for awhile?"

 

Cathak Mas says, not even looking over, "Not at all, Nerus, not at all."

 

         After resting for a few moments, all the while snowed upon by diamond dust of ice, the group gets up and makes the trek back to the rondevoux point. In several hours, the airship arrives, and whisks the battered, exhausted but triumphant party back towards Greyfalls. It is a long journey, but a heady one, and without sightings of any little blue and gold birds.  Their existence, elsewhere, doubtless causing trouble, casts a great pall on the victory, though...