Beth, the maker goddess, made them a questionable, but nutritious breakfast, and it was roughly an hour until the arrival of the unwelcome visitors.
"If there's anything you or a friend would like to donate, I will make use of anything! I love doing experiments... Right now, I want to determine the iron level of someone's blood just by tastnig!"
"I eat a lot of Liver," said Rina, "I could give you a vile."
"Oh, would you?!"
Rina held out her arm, but Beth turned around with a gigantic knife.
"I'll just... put some in a bottle myself," Rina said, pulling out a small empty potion bottle.
"Remember, Alice..." Rina started, "... in Mt. Ivatim there were the 4 Murals of the gods?"
"Sure, Rina... We know Therius was on there, and Phesoi, and probably Beth."
"Yes, and the murals seemed to depict the fall of each god, somehow. Therius's library got flooded in the end."
"So, what was Beth's, again?"
"...glowing swords surrounding her," Rina answered quietly.
Rina and Alice looked at each other with dread, and were silent through breakfast.
The party all set up their trap, not sure exactly what was coming.
Alice set up her Druid Grove, a 90ft cube of magic right in front of the door to the evergrub.
Since the last meeting with Enoch and his brothers, Rina could feel that she could manifest the darker parts of herself into physical form: the devilish side of her, her shadow. She cast the spell and her shadow tore from the ground and stood to face her. It was only her outline, with a pointed tail and devil horns. It was a void, and only her eyes - her elf eyes - could be seen as an identifier.
"You will help them on the ground while I fly," Rina commanded her shadow, "Unleash your fury."
The shadow, wielding Rina's melee weapons - a whip and a chainsword - disappeared within the fog of the Druid Grove.
Neely gave everyone inspiration before casting Fly on herself and Rina. Rina then used one of her Rites to gain back some magic. Volvagia clinging tightly to her shoulder.
Then they waited.
Phillipia and Bustamoves stood near Alice within the back 30ft of the Druid Grove.
From the highest point in the Grove, Rina could see someone approaching quickly - three figures: one who stood tall, and two who scuttled near the ground.
"Are they... dogs?" Rina thought to herself.
As they got closer, Phillipia and Alice could begin to see the three of them come into view. The two dog-looking creatures were not dogs, they were angels - just like the ones who appeared in the crack in the sky. They were being commanded by a cloaked figure who stood about as tall as Rina.
Rina could see the figure kneel down at the edge of the grove, and cast a small spell. They then stood up, and whistled for the two crawling angels to go toward the evergrub.
They both ran into the grove, and one immediately got stuck in the lichen brambles.
The tall figure then disappeared, unable to be seen.
Phillipia and BustAMoves went after the angel who did not get caught, trying to prevent it from getting close to the evergrub.
Neely decided to wait to act until necessary, and it quickly became necessary.
From out of the shadows a black, flaming knife came straight down toward Alice. She dodged it the first time, but not the second... or the third, fourth... but an end took the 5th - saving Alice from death. Alice had been stabbed by the hooded figure 4 times with their dark blade, and almost went down. Neely's quick thinking allowed her to heal Alice just in time. The other Ent that Alice had awakened took swipes at the figure and hit them.
"Fuck," the party could hear a feminine voice from the hooded figure, "why won't you just die?!"
Immediately, Rina recognized the voice, "Anna...? Anna Talley?"
She then disappeared after taking damage from the ents.
"You won't get away from me this time... does this feel familiar?" Rina cast a fireball in the general area that Anna had run to, and hit her hard enough to make her yell in pain.
"Fuck you, all!" Anna screamed back, her hood then fell, and they could see her face - now with two small devil horns curling up from her head. She disappeared again, and ran as far as she could from Alice.
Alice was now paranoid, and decided to be in defensive mode by waiting for Anna to approach her again - holding her attack.
Neely used a shield spell on herself, and stayed out of sight - just how she liked it.
Phillipia and BustAMoves continued to attack the angel that did not get stuck in the brambles, the other was still unable to escape.
Anna tripped as she got stuck on one of the brambles.
"Raz... your turn to help," Rina reached into her contract and tapped into Razakeen's withering, necrotic, salty powers. She concentrated it into an eldritch blast containing a fireball. Rina aimed and fired, hitting Anna with an eldritch blast shaped like a pillar of salt whose necrotic energy seemed to suck all of the humidity from the air. A fireball of necrosis exploded from Anna, and splattered onto the angel who was trapped in the lichen. Anna was bleeding and hurt, unable to heal her wounds.
"You meddling pigs!" she cursed as she disappeared again.
Phillipia, still fighting the loose Angel, was no so lucky to see the black knife before it struck her, Anna reappeared as she stuck the knife in Phillipia's side. "How does it feel to have been sent down here by your loving aunt, Phillipia?"
Phillipia stood silently in pain and shock, staring into Anna's eyes.
"You know, I think we're cousins. But who cares about that? I died, and you are still here. For now!" Anna pulled out the knife and raised it to strike Phillipia again, but BustAMoves ran over to take the damage for her. After a couple of strikes from the dark knife, BustAMoves had fallen. Phillipia used the last of the strength to pull her elephant back into it's Iron Flask to heal, before she was stabbed many more times by her cousin.
Just then, Rina's elf eyes showed themselves to Anna, and her Shadow Self forced its way between her knife and Phillipia, saving Phillipia from death. Anna pushed the shadow away, and laid on the ground to cover herself with the unconscious Phillipia in hopes of not being targeted.
"I can still see you..." Rina taunted as she zeroed in on Anna with her new Eyes, "You won't disappear this time."
Rina used her witch bolt to rain down lightning onto Anna, not even touching Phillipia. Anna tried to disappear, but the lightning zapped her before she could.
Rina's shadow lifted Phillipia up and away from Anna, and took a swipe and Anna with its ice cold chainsword, slicing through Anna with a cold shock.
Alice ran over to Anna, and called down her own lightning spell - hurting Anna even more.
Anna stood up, ready to retreat, "You all will pay for this!"
Suddenly, Neely divebombed into Anna from the air.
"No you don't!" she yelled as she stabbed her dagger directly into Anna's heart - causing her to explode into goo, and the angels to immediately die.
Alice ran up and healed Phillipia, Rina hovered down to the ground and collected some of the devil goo in an empty potion bottle.
"I bet Beth would love some of this stuff!" Alice said excitedly.
"I got to see the bitch die twice in 10 days," Rina smiled. "I feel so honored."
Neely just stood there, holding the dark weapon, awaiting what may come next.
End session