The next morning, Rina had gotten up before almost everyone - except Drake, who couldn’t force himself to rest while people in the marvelous mansion still needed help. Rina was waiting for Darrian and his family to wake up, so she went to help people in the town in the meantime. Phillipia and Alice both woke up a few hours later and helped out, as well. The demon had set about one-third of the town on fire, and about one-quarter of the homes were lost. Thankfully, the tree now made up for that.
All of the town leaders were gathering and working on their specific tasks. Some were getting ready for battle in the desert, others were helping the injured and elderly get to boats on their way to Cofamoso. Spiralhorn Handcrunch from the Beasts of Claw and Tooth had been too injured the day prior to participate in the town meeting, but she and Prettyface Quietbite were now both working on their portion of the plans, as well. Of course, Spiralhorn intended to go fight Bolgroth’s army, and Prettyface Quietbite intended to help the injured to the boats.
Rina approached the wolf-man, “So, still want to know how to get more power?”
“Always - what is this thing that is supposed to help me with that? Something you can’t talk about in a holy place…”
“Have you heard of our lord and savior, Agronoch?”
“No, can he actually make anyone more powerful?”
“He did for me,” Rina smiled.
The snake man overheard, “What’s this all about?”
Rina quickly answered, “Just explaining to him where my magic comes from, that’s all.” She began to get up to leave - hoping to not have to explain much more.
“And from whom does it come, exactly?”
“Just a handful of otherworldly beings!” She walked away quickly to avoid that conversation, “Gotta go see my son now, bye!”
Rina, Alice, and Phillipia all gathered at the entrance of the Marvelous mansion as many of the injured people were being taken to boats, and those who were healed were leaving to begin working on the town.
Darrian walked up to his mom and the other girls with Felicity as his side. While Darrian was tall and thin with more elven features, Felicity was much more cat-like. She had large feet with paws, and even her hands were more paw-like than Darrian’s. While Darrian looked more like a Half-Elf with cat features and black fur, Felicity looked more like a person-sized calico cat who could stand on two legs. Rina could barely contain herself as they approached, but waited for Darrian’s formal introduction.
“Mom, this is my wife, Felicity - she’s been exited to meet you.”
Rina smiled wide, “It’s so nice to meet you! May I… hug you?”
Felicity grinned, “Yes! I would love that!”
The two of them hugged for a moment and Rina whispered in her ear, “Thanks for taking care of my kid. And yours, of course!”
“It has been my pleasure! Though, it’s also been a decade of trying to get this man-child to do his own laundry!” Felicity joked.
“Well, if he misbehaves, just lock him in the wine cellar - that’s what I used to do with his dad,” Rina winked.
“Well, we certainly have the handcuffs for it!” Felicity laughed.
Both Alice and Phillipia looked at each other awkwardly, and Darrian had also turned red.
“We also have something for you,” Darrian said, changing the subject as he handed Alice a basket. “It’s not much, but it’s all that we had left of the crop. We just wanted to thank you for everything you did to help us.”
Alice opened the basket to find it full of “Luminus Flower.” Her eyes went wide.
“Like mother, like son,” Rina laughed, “You know, I used to grow that when you were a kid, too. It was really my only way of financially contributing to the house for a while when you were a baby.”
“I know, mom, who do you think I learned from?” Darrian joked.
A few feet behind Felicity, a 9 year old boy approached slowly and held onto her from behind.
“Oh, and this is Sebastian Jr.” said Felicity, “He’s been very excited to meet you!”
He shyly looked up at Rina, who got down closer to his eye level to talk to him.
“Hey kid, I’m Rina… I’m your grandmother,” She smiled as she held back tears of joy.
He looked up at his parents, then back to her, “My… my mom and dad always said I have a pretty cool grandma and…” he looked back at his now-crumbled home, then back at her, “they said you saved me from in there when it was burning. So, I guess… I guess you are pretty cool.”
Rina smiled again, “I’m just happy you’re safe, kid… do you want a hug?”
Sebastian Jr. just nodded and ran into her arms, she held him and they both cried a little.
"So, do you want me to call you Sebastian? Or do you want a nickname?"
He sniffled a little as he thought about it, "Um... my friends call me Bast. I think I like that."
Rina smiled, "Okay, then Bast it is."
Drake and the girls all watched from the sidelines - this was a moment they had all been waiting for in their own ways, too.
As Sebastian pulled out of the hug, Rina got a small book out of her satchel, “I bought this book in Castle Frey, all the way over to the west of the continent! It’s full of stories of heroes and dragons and magic… a lot like the stories I used to read to your dad when he was your age. Maybe if you’re really good, your mom and dad will read some to you… okay?”
He gently took the book from his grandmother and opened it - inside she had addressed it to him and his parents.
He smiled wide, “Woah… We don’t have too many books here yet! Mom and dad say all the books are really far away still!”
He looked over to a small building a few dozen yards away where a handful of other therianthrope children were all waiting in anticipation for him to show off his new gift.
“Go on and play, then,” Felicity said to her son.
“Okay mommy, thank you grandma!” He ran over to meet his friends, and they all immediately wanted him to show off the stories in his new book.
“Thank you, that means a lot,” Felicity said.
“Maybe that’ll keep him from biting me every time I try to put him to bed!” Darrian chuckled.
“Just bite him back,” said Rina, “I remember when you used to bite me like that, so I’d just bite you on the ears.”
“Now that you say that, I do remember it… but I’m not sure that’s the best way to go,” Darrian said, his tall cat-ears cringing a little at the thought.
“It worked for you!” Rina responded, “It wasn’t like I bit you hard, just enough that you know how much biting hurts - that is how mother cats teach their kittens, after all.”
Felicity looked smug, “I thought you said you were ‘too civilized with your elven blood’ to be a biter, Darrian.”
“Well, I do try to keep the more… animalistic parts of me more refined. I am still part Elf, even if I don’t look it!”
Rina laughed, “While the elf part is true, you didn’t get your civilized nature from me - that was all from your dad. I was the feral one between the two of us.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me…” Darrian sighed.
Rina gently grabbed Darrian’s arm and got closer to him to speak quietly, “Hey, kid, um… is little Sebastian aging like you? You know, like a half-elf?”
“No, he’s the same size and mental age of the other kids his age - thank the gods. I wouldn’t wish this lifespan on anyone. I, uh… I’m not looking forward to having to bury my wife and child one day.”
“I understand. I had to bury your father alone.” She looked at him somberly - not with resentment, but with grief.
“I… I’m sorry, mom. I-”
“Don’t be sorry, kid. I always knew I’d have to bury him… and you, one day. I know that it’s hard. But it’s still so worth it.” She smiled gently at him, and they both moved on from the subject.
The horns of the cavalry began to blow, and banners of the different animal clans flew.
“Looks like we’re heading out in just a few hours to fight,” said Darrian.
“We? You aren’t going, are you?” Rina said, concerned.
“Yes, of course! I need to fight for my people!”
“Darrian,” Rina started slowly.
“No, mom. I need to be the leader they elected me to be.”
“And you will be… here.”
Felicity piped up, “I agree, Darrian. I, and your son, would both rather you stay. We aren’t injured or helpless enough to retreat, but please… stay with us.”
Darrian thought hard for a moment before Rina spoke again, “Darrian… I’m so happy you’re like me in the ways that you are. I am so happy you love to travel, and you’re willing to fight for everything you love, and you’re strong-headed about everything you’re passionate for. But… As someone who has lived for 300 years and has also done all those things, I need you to take it from me: the memories that matter are the ones with your family. I don’t know how much longer anything will last, Darrian. The world may be ending right before our eyes. Go enjoy being a dad and a husband while you can, kid.”
Alice picked up a spear from the ground and handed it to Darrian, “You can fight for your people from here. Defend your family, and stay on the safe side of the desert.”
Darrian looked at Alice, then to his mom, then to his wife, then to his little child reading a book in the center of a circle of other children.
He sighed, then grabbed the spear, “Okay, I’ll stay here.”
“Good, now I won’t have to worry about you when I’m out on the battlefield,” Rina joked.
“Yeah, and I don’t need her to be distracted any more than she usually is,” said Alice, “We were interrupted while killing a dragon god for her distractions.”
Just then, a witch popped into existence about 100 yards away - along with Godfrey and Neely.
Neely sighed in relief, “Thank the gods! It’s warm… and grass, and real dirt again, and trees, and-”
“Neely!” Phillipia ran up and hugged her tightly, almost knocking her over.
“Phillipia… it’s so good to see you. I need… a nap…” Neely fell asleep right there in the middle of the field.
“Oh, hey!” Godfrey announced, “I have your pet!” He pulled out a kobold from his bag of colding, but it wasn’t moving. He shook it a little, “Huh… seems this one didn’t make it!” He pulled out another that was barely alive, “Ahh! Here you go, miss Knight! A new pet! There’s not much air in the bag, though… most living things don’t last long in there!”
Rina sweated a little, remembering she’d put her own grandson in a bag of colding briefly the day before.
Now that everyone had left the Marvelous Mansion, Drake looked for a capable magic user to take over the mansion to use as a field hospital there.
“Are you going to fight with us, then?” Rina asked him.
“No… we really shouldn’t,” he looked over at Godfrey. “We are needed back home.”
“Yeah, Sullivan learned about the whole dragon killing thing. He’s not happy!” Godfrey added.
“I’m sure he will get over it,” said Drake.
“You could blame Neely, she’s the one who got the final blow, after all,” suggested Rina.
“Actually… that plan does have potential,” Godfrey agreed as he pulled out a sending stone and moved to a more private location.
“It also wouldn’t be appropriate for two kings of Pennislovica to be a part of an invasion of another country - certainly one we’re currently trading with,” added Drake.
Rina nodded, “How long will you stay before you need to go back?”
“We will leave shortly after you do,” he answered, putting his hand on her face, “...be safe.”
Rina stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him, and he ardently kissed her back - in front of the entire city. Everyone clapped - some out of teasing, some out of genuine celebration of their ‘official’ union. This was considered to be quite the hard launch for their relationship, but Rina wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Yeah, I just got a sending reply from Sullivan,” Godfrey started - still oblivious to Drake and Rina, “He didn’t buy the whole ‘Neely killed the dragon’ thing. So, I guess we will have to actually explain ourselves. Why is everyone clapping? What did I miss?”
Shortly after, Rina got a sending from Mayoay:
“Rina, exciting news! After the death of the dragon, the prophecies are changing! Look at your scrolls and tell me what you think! I’m excited!”
Sure enough, the text on the pages had changed:
Travel through the blood red sands
To the hidden grove
Wait for dragons shadow fall
To find her sky alcove.
Within the twisting palace paths
Of the amber capital
Opened only to a courtesan
Twists the last dragon cannibal.
Meat of bear
Death in Mud
Lightning Sword
Drunken Blood
End session
Upon reading the prophesies, The Bound determined that the first one was almost certainly referring to something in the Drysky desert where they were to march later that day.
"There is an oasis in the middle of the desert," Packfriend said, "We know the army of Bolgroth will be coming straight from the north, but they may also find it advantageous to go there. We should try to get there first - if we can take the oasis, it will give us some cover from the elements."
"Then I think we should go that way," said Phillipia, "if we opt to just fight in the desert we are at a higher risk. Anywhere we can get out of the heat and sandy wind of the desert will be better."
The rest of the party agreed, and the snake man spoke up, "We are depending on you, The Bound, to lead us through this. You have much respect as an adventuring party, and have proven you can make short work of both devils and Bolgrothians."
Packfriend's spine hairs bristled, "I am the leader of the army here. I'll follow your lead, but not your orders."
"We respect you and your knowledge of this area," said Rina, "I will defer to your judgement with strategic topics."
He then began to order everyone to move out, and the party said their goodbyes.
Drake had been working on a few things for them, "I made 7 withersalt arrows, and I should be able to make more arrows by the time we see each other again." He handed the arrows to Rina, "Also, I made this-" He pulled out a cube with handles on opposite sides and pulled the cube apart to reveal a crystal. "Cast a spell into the crystal, throw the cube wherever you want the spell to go off, then use this detonator to open the cube to cast it." He handed Alice the square remote-like object for detonating the cube, "This will work for any level of spell, and it will work as many times as you need it to. I also have this-" He handed a scroll to Phillipia, "It's the Sunburst spell. It will take a talented caster to use it, but at least one of you will be able to, I'm sure."
"Wow," started Rina, "You're good."
He looked at her and smiled, "Yes, very good."
Rina was also able to cast a 3rd level Fireball into her small, empty spell stone, "It's the last thing I really have of Kin, he left it with a revivify spell on it that we used to save Lloyd after the Everbleed Bowl. I'm glad it's still useful."
"Though, he'd probably be mad that you didn't put a healing spell on it or something," laughed Alice.
"Such a cleric," Rina replied somberly, "I hope he's doing okay... it's been just over a month since he up and left."
Alice sighed, "A lot can happen in a month... we know that."
Their attention then moved toward the desert and the small army they were leading.
"Maybe we can pick up more people along the way?" Alice asked Packfriend.
"Yes, many people want to fight for our country."
"Good, I'm an expert at getting people to do what I want!"
Rina quickly handed off Volvagia to Darrian before leaving, "I can see, hear, and speak through her. So, if anything happens you can contact me at any time. Be safe." She hugged him one more time as Volvagia started nipping at his ears, "Yeah, she does that. I've lost countless earrings. Maybe let Sebastian Jr. play with her for a while - maybe at least one of them will learn some manners!"
They both laughed and she waved goodbye as she and the rest of The Bound made their way to the front of the pack.
Phillipia's new Kobold friend was tagging alongside her and Neely, "Yay! I get to adventure with queen Neely!"
"For the last time, I don't want to be your queen."
"That just makes you more worthy!"
"I can just put him into the jar with BustAMoves," said Phillipia.
"Is that how that works?" Alice asked hesitantly.
"Maybe if you put the kobold into the elephant's mouth they can both fit in there," Rina suggested.
"In it's mouth? Yes! Yes, let's do that," said Neely.
"Not that BustAMoves should eat him, necessarily.."
"No, of course, but... you know... if it happens..."
Phillipia pulled out her familiar's jar and told BustAMoves to pull the kobold in with her. An elephant trunk sprung from the jar and wrapped around the kobold, then pulled it in.
"Looks kid cramped in there," said Alice as she stared at the barely-fitting kobold in the little jar.
"Eh, he'll be fine," Phillipia shrugged.
Neely sighed, "No one ever wants to know how Neely feels about all this!"
Rina gently hugged Neely as they walked, "We do care. I'm sorry, Neely. I haven't been as good of a friend to you as I should be. Alice scolded me yesterday for not asking how you were doing. I'm not always good at showing that I care about someone. You deserve better, and I'll try to work on that."
"Wow... thank you, Rina. That was... strangely heartfelt."
"I care about you, too, Neely!" Phillipia said, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Gah, okay. Thank you, no more hugs, please. This one's not so bad, but it's hard to walk and hug at the same time."
Phillipia hugged her tighter.
Marie and Gunther then joined The Bound at the front of the army as they got to the edge of the desert.
"We think it would be a good idea for some of us to fly in there," said Gunther, "Marie and I can fly, and we can cast fly on Longneck, too."
"I can turn into a giant bird and carry some people," said Alice, "and someone else can ride my broom, too."
"Since you and Rina have the blending telepathy, I think probably Rina should be on the broom," Neely suggested. "If something happens to one of us, the other will know."
Rina nodded as Alice handed her the magic broom. She straddled it, tried to take off, and nearly immediately fell off. She only got high enough for it to hurt when she fell.
"Ow! Okay, get back on the horse, Rina," she said to herself as she pulled herself up from the sand. This time she was able to take off normally.
The sand was mostly normal in the desert for the first couple of miles, until rusty-red blotches of sand began appearing here and there. Most of the blotches also appeared misty and sentient in some way. Alice could swear she heard the sound of thousands of screams of little souls within the bloody areas.
The Bound and the remaining Fearsome 5 members were flying about three times faster than the army was walking, which gave them ample time to scout the path to the Oasis.
The heat, wind, and sand was difficult to navigate through on the ground. Those on the ground had it worse, and were travelling slower. Which meant that they had more time exposed to the elements, and any were getting harmed just by being in the desert.
The flyers got to a rocky outcrop in the desert which was going to be difficult to navigate through. Alice barely fit through the area as a giant bird, but all were able to make it to the other side. There, they saw a bit of movement. Alice opted to fly high above the rocks to get more of a bird's eye view, while Rina stayed closer to the ground to watch the mysterious movement more closely.
They saw a large centipede like creature, known to be harmless but cumbersome creatures to avoid. They watched as it moved by the path opening of the rocky area, then saw something else. Within a flash, as red tentacle pierced through the head of the centipede, then sliced it in half. They could now see that this sharp tentacle was one of many attached to a globular orb of red mist. Its many tentacles moved like spider legs - it could have been mistaken for a spider if one was far enough away.
Rina flew up to the others to discuss a game plan.
"Anyone know how hard those centipedes are hard to kill? Is this something we should try to fight?" asked Neely.
"They're not too hard to kill," Phillipia answered, "but that doesn't mean the orb is not dangerous."
"Gunther, go back and let the army know how to navigate through these rocks. By the time you all get here, we will have taken care of this thing," Rina said.
Gunther nodded and flew back in the direction of the traveling troops.
Rina used her Beast Speech to communicate with Alice, as well.
"I think someone should cast dispell magic on it," Alice suggested, "It's not a creature - it's constructed somehow. I can just tell by the way it moves and acts."
"I can cast it, but I don't want to get close enough!" said Neely.
"If you cast it into the cube we can just drop it," Alice answered.
"I can go down there and grab it after it goes off," said Rina, "Assuming the spell will work, I shouldn't be in terrible danger for few seconds."
They commenced with the plan, dropping the cube with a high leveled Dispell Magic spell in it. The creature saw the cube immediately, wrapping its tentacles around it, appearing to try to figure it out.
Phillipia used the detonator and a blast of energy came from the cube. The tentacle orb collapsed, and all of its body turned to mist, leaving behind just a few metal-looking scraps.
Rina flew down on the broom and scooped up the cube. As she got closer to the metal scraps, she could see that most of them were more like congealed blood that had hardened into metal. In the center of the pile was what looked like a compass. After a moment, its needle began to turn and spin. The compass, itself, then began to whirl around and collect red sand again. Rina could hear the screams this time, and the newly-reanimated orb quickly stabbed her in the leg.
She quickly flew upward out of its reach, her leg was bleeding which dripped onto the ground. The creature piled itself onto the blood, seeming to wanting to consume it. It followed the blood drops as they lured it away from the army's path. It tried desperately to get to Rina as they went. It would jump from high ledges, then fall back down - splatting into a puff of mist, then putting itself back together again to follow them. The army had enough time to get through, though, and the flyers turned back to the path once Rina's leg stopped bleeding.
They were still ahead of the army by a couple of hours when they could finally see the edge of the oasis. A giant cloud that extended up into the sky hundreds of feet gently loomed over a patch of fertile ground. Grass, trees, and a lake with wildlife all around it could be seen - even from far away.
Gunther flew up to The Bound, "Marie, Longneck, and I need to land soon - our magic doesn't last as long as yours. You scout the oasis and come back to tell us if it's safe to rest in. For all we know, the The Kingdom of Bolgroth already has an army sitting there waiting for us."
They nodded and Gunther flew back to the army with the rest of the Fearsome 5.
The Bound approached the oasis with caution, and found it to be mostly peaceful. There were little fish gently swimming in the water, a raven chasing a squirrel away from her stash of nuts, and butterflies gently landing on the many flowers that grew.
"Look on the north side of the oasis," Alice said to Rina - who then translated.
"Seems like a big swipe of blood," said Phillipia.
"A... swipe?" Neely asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, like a long smudge... like something dipped a giant paintbrush into blood and wiped it all over the grass," said Phillipia, as everyone looked at her in horror.
"One of us should go down there and investigate," Rina said, "I can go if you want since I have the broom, but I'd rather not go alone. Last time I went off on my own I almost got assassinated."
"We should only send down one person," said Alice, "I think Neely should go - she's he lightest and can move fastest on the broom."
Neely agreed begrudgingly, and swapped places with Rina - taking the broom and letting Rina onto Alice's back.
Neely gently floated down and landed on the far edge of the oasis. The rest of the group could see her look disgusted, and dry heave like she was going to throw up.
She quickly got back onto the broom and flew up to meet the other girls, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that! Brains are my least favorite part of a person to see."
"That smudge is a person?" asked Rina.
"Two people, in fact," Neely answered, "I think they were scouts like us, but from the north instead of the south. They looked like they had on Bolgrothian garb."
"We need to find a way to see what is causing the danger without actually putting ourselves in danger," said Phillipia. "The smudge looks like its coming directly out from the lake - whatever is in there, that might be what killed them."
"The prophesies did mention something like an oasis," said Rina, "something about a dragon being there."
"Another god?" Alice asked, "What if it's the red dragon?"
"We are in a desert of blood," Phillipia said, "It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case."
"I can send down Khoshekh to scope things out for us," Rina suggested. "If something attacks him, he respawns the next day."
Rina swapped Neely for the broom, once again, and summoned her strange fey cat. She dropped him gently onto the ground at the edge of the oasis, and they waited. Khoshekh sauntered up to the lake and drank a little water he the began cleaning himself. For a moment, nothing happened - silence. Until the water of the lake sunk in, as if something large had been dropped into it. When it splashed back up, from it appeared a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and golden, she was nude and stood tall on the water's surface. She walked across the lake to the little, black cat, and leaned down to pet him.
"You aren't from here, are you?" She picked him up and looked up at the sky - she could see The Bound clearly. "Come down here and discuss things with me - unless you'd like to end up like your friends here," the woman gestured to the blood streaks to the north.
The girls all landed, Alice stayed in her bird form while the others approached.
"We aren't with them," Rina said, "I just want it to be clear, we don't intend you harm."
The woman's eyes narrowed, "I know that you lead an army. They, also, were bringing an army here. What makes you different from them?"
"We do technically have an army following us," said Phillipia, "but they don't want to come here to hurt the oasis. They just need a place to stop and rest."
The woman sat down on a grass mound that built itself up to meet her as she sat. She held Khoshekh in her lap, gently petting him - but she held onto him in a hard and slightly menacing way.
"How am I to know you won't just destroy this place like they were planning? They said they intended to harvest all of the trees and water - depleting the lake and everything around it for their war."
"How long ago did that happen?" Neely asked, pointing to the blood.
"Oh, that was only about 10 minutes ago. They were only here a few minutes and already took out some of the trees," Maeve gazed somberly over to two stumps near the northern edge of the oasis.
"The people with us are the therianthropes," Rina started, "they are respectful of nature and the land."
"And what stake do you have in this, my home? I know of you, The Bound. I know that you are now considered god killers. Tell me, have you ever done anything to harm a dragon?"
They paused a moment, "Yeah, I mean... We were kinda the ones to kill Axis," said Phillipia.
"Well, technically that was Neely," said Rina.
"What the hell, Rina? We just talked about you being a better friend," Neely wined.
"You're right, I'm sorry... yes we were responsible for that, but it was for a good reason," Rina explained.
The woman held Khoshekh a little tighter, "So, you're just murderers, then? This makes you evil?"
"Well, a wise otherworldly being once told me that no one is just one thing," said Rina.
The woman just raised an eyebrow, not convinced. She released Khoshekh and stood up, "I suggest you leave this place, and do not consider bringing an army here. I will not be as kind to them as I have been to you."
"Wait! Please," begged Rina, "we were sent on a mission by Therius to do this." She pulled out the book of godly knowledge from Therius - his last gift to them before his soul departed, "He told us that we needed to release the dam of magic flowing through the world, and we needed to kill gods to do it. But we don't just kill anyone, we only do so for those who have done truly evil things."
She looked at the book, then back up to Rina, "If what you say is true, then you would not mind being subjected to a truth spell."
"I would," Rina said immediately.
"Same here," echoed Phillipia.
"Yes, me, too," said Neely.
Alice screeched.
"She said 'yes of course'," Rina translated, "Though, you can speak to animals, too, so you probably didn't need me to tell you - sorry."
The woman looked at her, "Yes, you're right. But thank you."
"Of course, um... What is your name?" Rina asked, "I just realized we hadn't asked."
The woman squeezed the remaining drops of water from her long hair, "Maeve. Now, please follow me."
She walked onto the lake and fell backwards into it. They lost sight of her for a moment, before a giant red dragon appeared in her stead.
"Is that... another creature? Or is that her?" Phillipia wondered out loud.
"That's the Dragon woman... that's who Siske told us about months ago!" Rina recalled as she jumped back on the broom.
The dragon goddess, Maeve, then flew straight up into the air, penetrating the cloud cover above them.
They all followed, for a moment the clouds stung their eyes as they were swept up into them. They kept going higher and higher, eventually they could see the entirety of the Oasis - along with the two armies headed straight for it. The army of Bolgroth was marching from the north, and the army of Basta'Thrope' from the south. Both armies seemed to only be a few hours away.
They continued to rise higher and higher, the air was thinner and the desert was no longer visible beneath them.
As they rose up through this cylinder of clouds, small flying creatures started appearing near them. Small wyverns greeted Maeve as they flew upward, birds and bats also flew high up in this magical safe space.
"Hey Maeve, who are they?" a bird asked her on their way up.
"Maeve! We missed you!" a bat squeaked.
Many creatures came to greet her, and they all spoke so the entire group could understand.
The clouds eventually began to form into solid objects, many took the shape of nests for the flying creatures to live in. The group arrived at the top, where a road of rainbows appeared seemingly from nowhere. The dragon form of Maeve landed gently onto the road, she was much more slender and graceful compared to Axis.
The Bound landed behind her, and she transformed back into her human form, "We will take you to see Zak, he will cast the zone of truth spell."
They followed her past large nests and small homes made of clouds and rainbow crystals. Many creatures greeted her with excitement, or curiosity about the newcomers she had brought.
"What do you think of my home?" Maeve asked them as they walked.
"I love it here!" Rina was grinning from elf ear to elf ear, "I love experiencing new things, especially new places. This is beautiful!"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," answered Phillipia.
"Other than my fear of heights," Neely swallowed as she looked down, "I think it's... really awesome."
Alice squawked in approval.
Maeve lead them to a gazebo full of little nests, and a hummingbird zoomed up to her and spoke with a quickness that few could even understand, "MaeveOhMyGoshItsSoNiceToSeeYouWhatAreThesePeopleDoingHere-" he sat on her finger and paused, taking about a dozen tiny breaths before flying and speaking again. "IfMagicIsWhatYouNeedI'veGotYouWhaeverYouNeed!"
"I need to ensure these people will be truthful."
"OkayWhateverYouSayMaeveOneTruthSpellComingRightUp!"
Zak the hummingbird cast zone of truth, and Maeve began a similar line of questioning as before, "What does your army want with my oasis?"
The party had the chance to attempt to fight the effects of the spell, but they all decided to let it take affect.
"They just want a place to rest," said Rina, "they have no intention of harming this space."
Maeve thought a moment, "It is... very good of all of you to be so cooperative with this spell. Thank you for that. Now, explain your part in the death of another of my kind."
"As we mentioned, Therius instructed us to kill at least 5 gods," Rina said, "But! We don't want to harm anyone who is not harmful. We already met Beth, the maker, and she loves us!"
"Yeah, we did her makeup and everything!" said Neely.
"Look at the legs she gave me!" Phillipia said as she stuck out her bug foot.
"My eyes, too!" said Rina.
"She gave me a new arm!" Alice squawked.
"What stake do you have in this war that I see on my doorstep? I see a fierce army to the north, ready to cut down everything in its path. Then I see an army of a few poor souls doomed to the sands. What does The Bound have to do with this - this never ending war of souls?"
They were all silent for a moment, then looked at Rina.
"My son... He's one of the leaders of the therianthrope people. He's the one I'd do anything for. I sold my soul for him, I killed gods for him, and now I fight for him. It's this, or watch him and his people suffer forever."
Maeve was silent for a moment, but spoke gently when she answered, "Everyone must make sacrifices. Everyone is someone's child. Many will die by tomorrow's end, regardless of who their mother is."
"Well, his mother is talking to a god to beg her to let his people use a bit of land as a respite. Not many other mothers are doing that," Rina answered.
Maeve nodded, "You may use a small portion of my land in the oasis for your army. You are not to harm any wildlife, you are not to allow any of your people to touch the cloud barrier, and you are not to reveal my location or my presence here in any way. Do not speak of me, this place, or our conversations."
"We can definitely agree on that!" Phillipia said, "I'm also an army general, I'm the niece of The Queen of Asmery. I can make sure they stay in line."
"Good," Maeve said sternly. "Zak, you may let down the spell. We're good here."
"OkayMaeveThanksForVisitingItWasReallyNiceToMeetYouAllYouAllAreGreat-" he perched on his nest and breathed heavily for a few moments as they left.
Maeve walked them to the edge of the rainbow road, "You can fly your way down - I will watch you from here. Just remember, if any single one of your soldiers breaks my rules, it means death to them all - including you."
She phased back into her dragon form and flew back toward the town of clouds. The Bound jumped down toward the oasis - and the impending battle.
They could see that both armies were much closer now, and rushed to get to the therianthropes. Gunther was standing in front of Packfriend - trying to prevent him from marching forward into the oasis.
"Look, The Bound will be back any minute. We asked them to scout, let them come back with the information we asked them to scout for."
They landed at the tail end of the conversation and Alice broke out of her wildshape, "Man, that's the longest I've ever stayed an animal. That's a lot of work!"
"We have scouted the area, and we are able to use the oasis with some conditions," Phillipia said.
"What conditions? Why are there conditions?" Packfriend asked.
The girls looked at each other, unsure what to say.
"It's just too dangerous outside of certain parameters," Alice explained. "Don't destroy anything, and don't fly above 100 feet while under the cloud."
"But, we need to dig trenches, cut down trees, and -"
Rina cut off Packfriend, "In this instance, we are technically your superior officers. I've deferred to your judgement before, you need to defer to ours now."
Packfriend's hair bristled, "I know you think your son's a hot-shot, and you think you know so much about us. But I've seen plenty of people like you who just end up treating us like any other animal! You think you know what's best, you don't!"
"You don't have to get your tail in a bunch - you can go, just be respectful of the place."
"But why does that matter to all of you? What's going to happen if we just go in there and do what we need to do?"
"I actually do care about all of you, that's why I'm telling you that you just need to be careful here, and trust us with this," Rina tried to explain.
Her voice just made him madder, "You know what? If it's going to be like this, then we just won't go! We will fight this battle from the desert!"
Packfriend began ordering the people to move away from the oasis, but Gunther and Marie were not following.
"What's really going on?" Gunther asked.
"We trust you guys, but we also just want an explanation. Maybe we can convince him to come back," said Marie.
Rina looked to the other three to explain, so Alice did, "There's impassible traps that will kill you if you go too high or disturb too much of the grounds. If you don't do this, you will be giving it up for Bolgroth's army, then they will have the upper hand."
"Their army is equidistant to you from the oasis," said Rina. "If you want to survive this, you need to book it there now."
Gunther flew over and dropped in front of Packfriend, preventing him - and the army - from moving forward.
The bound watched them argue, watched Gunther spread his large eagle wings to block Packfriend from moving. Packfriend threw insults at Gunther, calling him a monster for being a manticore.
"I've earned my place!" Gunther roared loud enough for the entire army to hear, "You lead them this way, you lead them to death! You want a war? Go into that oasis and fight a war! And keep yourself in check - captain."
Packfriend's hair bristled again, but he turned around and began walking toward the oasis, waiving the army to follow. He pushed past Rina, bumping her hard as he walked by.
"Keep a close eye on him," Rina said to Gunther, "If he seems like he will be a liability, I won't hesitate to cast Geas on him."
Gunther laughed, "Then he'd have to do whatever you said for a whole year! That would be fun to watch!"
Packfriend's ego pushed him through the sand faster, which also spurred the rest of the army to walk at a brisker pace. They got to the oasis first, before Bolgroth's army, and took care to respect it as they were told.
"I still say we need trenches," Packfriend continued to argue with Gunther as the army was setting up camp.
Alice overheard, "I can regrow some trees and I can reshape earth - as long as we leave things as we found them, and this place overall remains untainted, we will be fine."
That was enough to quell Packfriend's ego, and he felt as if he still had some control over his army.
As they looked out the northerly end of the oasis, they could see two members of the Bolgrothian army thunderstepping toward them. They stopped at the edge of the oasis, looked around, then retreated back to their general.
"Scouts," said Phillipia, "They all know we're here now. At least we got the oasis before they did."
"Glad to have you here, Phillipia," said Rina. "It's been great to have someone with military experience. I don't have the most level head in these situations."
Phillipia smiled, "Yeah, it's been fun to travel with you guys."
"Fun?!" Neely yelled from behind them, "What part of this has bee fun?"
"You're a queen now, Neely!" said Alice with a grin.
"I don't want to!" Neely yelled again.
They all laughed, but then quickly got somber again.
"That army is like... five times larger than ours," said Neely.
"And they have pillars that can create a lightning storm, apparently," Rina pointed at four totems that were emanating lightning magic. Each totem was a tall pole, with a bear on the top, a wolf under that, then a set of wings, and another bear at the bottom. The four of them lit up, and each began shooting lightning into the air. Above their army, they were brewing a giant storm. The totems were being held up by giant yak-looking creatures, and many of these creatures were also carrying more people.
Two of the red-headed, brawny generals then thunderstepped directly in front of The Bound.
One of them immediately spoke with no emotion, "We have come to declare war on Basta'Thrope'. If you surrender, we will have mercy on you. What say you?"
The girls looked at each other a moment, all shaking their heads.
"Your silence indicates to me that you are not surrendering. Too bad."
"No, we are here to end this," said Phillipia.
"You think tomorrow ends a many thousand year long war? You are mistaken."
"We already said our peace, what else do you need?" Alice demanded.
The man scanned all of them, "Which one of you is... Rina."
They all looked around, a bit shocked.
"Me, I'm Rina," she answered.
"I have a message for you."
He paused a moment before he reiterated it: "He is as cold in his heart as he is on his icy skin."
"She has a boyfriend now, so that's none of our concern anyway!" Alice yelled.
Rina narrowed her eyes, but did not respond.
"Have a good night's sleep, The Bound. See you in the morning."
The two of them thunderstepped away just as fast as they came - leaving footsteps of melted, solidified, metallic sand.
Small tents had been erected and a fire was lit on a stony outcrop a few yards away from any greenery. The army of therianthropes were laughing and singing, but sometimes it would all go silent at once - as if they collectively thought about the death they were to face the next day. Then they would find a way to talk and laugh again, before there would be another silence.
"The night before war is always strange," said Phillipia. "Everyone is a little too loud, then a little too quiet. It's eerie... I'd rather try to sleep through it."
Alice spent some time planning her Druid Grove for the morning, then slept in, and Rina made her Tiny Hut.
"Extra magic protection is always nice," commented Phillipia as she laid down on the ground inside the hut.
Rina tuned into Volvagia's senses to check on things in Deepscratch. She instantly felt the pain of her spine being pulled, and could see that Sebastian Jr. was carrying her by the tail and showing her off to his friends.
"Cool! My grandma let me keep her baby dragon!"
Rina spoke through the mouth of the dragon, "Bast! Stop torturing the dragon, please!"
He stopped and flipped the dragon over, holding it Simba-style, "Woah, the dragon can talk!"
"No, kid, it's me - your grandmother, Rina. I can use magic to talk to you with the dragon. Just be nice to her, please. She's being incredibly patient with you."
Rina could feel the exhaustion in the little dragon's body as she experienced being the pet of a 9 year old for the first time.
"Go to bed, kid. It's night time."
He sighed, "Okay... This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
Volvagia was dropped to the ground inside of Drake's marvelous mansion - which he had left with one of the Aspects who could continue to sustain its magic in his absence. She then curled up in a little basket and fall asleep - cutting Rina off from her senses.
Rina then journaled, and began to write a letter to Enoch. The rest of the party were nearly fully asleep, when a mysterious cold air filled the space.
"Rina! Good to see you again!" Enoch appeared, flamboyant as always.
"Enoch! I was just about to write to you. It's good to see you again - without your brothers this time."
"Yes, this time I wanted to talk to you alone."
"Someone told me today that you have a cold heart," She smiled up at him sarcastically.
"Well, that is true! Listen, I know you've done a great job at killing the gods. But we really need to talk about that. Turns out, which gods you kill can have crazy ramifications and-"
He was cut off by a bit of bright magic striking him through the Tiny Hut, almost causing him to fall down.
"Are you okay?" Rina asked in a worried tone, "I'm honestly surprised you can be here at all, you said you'd die in Bolgroth."
"Yes, I wasn't sure I could come talk to you tonight, especially here. But-" He was cut off again, but this time it seemed to be more of a sending that hit his mind than a magical attack.
"Um... It seems that I'm not the only one who wants to talk to you tonight."
A bright light of energy burst through Enoch, shattering him through time and space - and bringing The Bound along with him. They all floated through a liminal space of only light. Nothing was discernable. No up or down, no depth, only light. They were spinning as if gravity didn't affect them.
Then, slowly, they stopped spinning. They suddenly found themselves standing on what looked like completely reflective glass. The sunset could be seen in clear view, the light of it reflected off of the glass like a pool of rippling water.
They heard a voice - soft but powerful, and weeping, "Is it not just... so beautiful? So much so, that you'd do anything to keep it this way?"
They turned to see the Lord of Hell, himself, Luminus.
End session
Next: Day 77 (S62)
Enjoying our campaign? I'd love to hear it! Please email me and let me know: rina.af.slb@gmail.com
You can say anything, even just "hi" :)