After Aravashnial consulted with the other mages and the priests in camp, it was determined that there were two options to deal with the curse afflicting Asami. The first options was for Sosiel to cast a spell on her to remove the curse. But this held the risk that it would free Eldrazi from within her and enable him to go out into the world and continue his acquisition of power. The second option would be to perform a lengthy ritual that would expel Eldrazi and send his spirit on to its intended afterlife, and might also do so for the remnant of Conshru's spirit that existed along with him. Asami was given the choice of which method to use. She decided that she preferred the ritual, even though she knew it would be uncomfortable or even painful for her, because she felt grateful to Conshru for helping to shield her somewhat from Eldrazi's efforts to take control of her body and she wished for him to be able to move on to the next form of his existence.
While she was still able to function freely, Asami recharged a curative wand that Jiro carried. Then she submitted to being prevented from spellcasting and having access to her spellbooks removed so she would be unable to threaten her friends and allies during the night. That evening Jiro researched and concluded that the impostor Iomedae they had met in the chapel had probably been a succubus, perhaps the same one Asami had seen, since the false goddess's powers had resembled those succubi could manifest. The Knights received news that Aegon and Darra had decided to return to Kenabres and try to either stop their old friend Abel from serving the demon-worshippers, or if he wouldn't turn his back on them Aegon was determined to slay him.
Aravashnial and the other wizards prepared to perform the ritual on the following day. He asked Jiro to look through some of the things Horgus Gwerm's men had found in Drezen for some necessary herbs. Asami remained bound and gagged during this time so Eldrazi would have no opportunity to escape. Aravashnial teleported back to Kenabres to collect some additional supplies and had to spend much of the rest of the day recuperating after he returned. Runa prepared a sermon for the next morning.
When morning arrived, Runa gave an impassioned sermon advising the paladins to be wary of false gods. Aravashnial then prepared a ritual circle that was meant to be large enough to contain any spells that Eldrazi might cast in an effort to get free. Asami could feel him struggling to overcome her so he could flee, but Conshru held him back so he was unable to master her. She was placed in the center of the circle and restrained there. Runa came and sat beside her so she could use her divine ability to lend Iomedae's aid to her comrade. Zosta, Jiro, and Shim also stood by as well, and Bohgong kept an eye on Kirara in case Eldrazi was somehow able to use her link with Asami to his advantage. Aravashnial warned everyone that they might find the ritual disturbing, and that it would probably be painful for Asami.
As the ritual progressed, Asami sensed Eldrazi trying to break free and Conshru trying to suppress him. Conshru's aid meant that for much of the time she was able to resist Eldrazi's efforts to control her, but at one point Conshru's aid wasn't enough. Eldrazi summoned a ball of fire centered on himself and hence on Asami, blasting the entire area inside the ritual circle with an inferno. Yet somehow despite the impressive intensity of the flames it did far less harm that it should have and none at all to Asami. Eldrazi had protected himself from the fire, which also protected Asami, and Conshru had somehow absorbed some of the heat so that Asami's friends were not badly burned. Jiro had linked himself to everyone and absorbed some of what injury they did suffer, though he couldn't extend that protection to the forty paladins who stood in a protective ring around the boundaries of the circle where Asami writhed in pain.
As the flames engulfed them, Shim witnessed two faces in the flames. One, who appeared to a be a human with a small goatee and hair forming a widow's peak on his forehead, looked very angry. The other was a smaller face accompanied by some sort of reptilian creature. The halfling was smiling and seemed to be drawing the flames into himself. When the flames had receded, Asami called on her special divinely-granted power to resist Eldrazi's influence another time and he was unable to do anything else.
Three hours later the ritual was completed. Jiro saw two spirits rise from Asami's prone form. As both separated and began to fade from sight, the halfling bowed slightly toward the young man. Then the halfling ascended toward the heavens, while the human disappeared into the earth in the direction of the Abyss.
Asami and those who had performed the ritual were all exhausted afterward, as was Kirara. Asami was taken to her tent to rest. But she could feel that the two entities were gone from her mind, and her link to the element of wood that had been partly suppressed since Eldrazi possessed her was now as strong as it had been before she touched his burnt spellbook. He had also left knowledge in her mind of several spells that she could now prepare just as though they were written in her own spellbook.
The following day with Asami and Kirara recovered, the Knights prepared to return to the chapel. They planned their spells and infusions carefully to withstand the succubus, assuming that they would meet her again once they reentered the Citadel. Jiro's research had given them a good idea of what she could potentially do. To better protect themselves from any reinforcements she might have, they took along a squadron of twenty-five paladins and five of the Crusaders who had been freed from the demons.
When they reached the doorway at the end of the long corridor where they had fought the gargoyles, the Knights found that some of the defenders had crudely restored the doors there. Shim checked them for traps and found none. As he did this, Asami suddenly had a strange sensation that something was wrong in the forest, but she couldn't articulate this to her friends except by saying that something felt wrong. Shim and Zosta kicked one side of the double doors open. To their surprise, a large wagon lay on its side in the passage beyond. Zosta immediately began to wonder aloud how it had got there, since there was a closed portcullis behind it that had been damaged so it couldn't be opened.
As the Knights wondered where the wagon had come from, it transformed before their eyes into a large creature that seemed to be made of wood. Jiro realized that it was a kind of elemental, but of wood. It had a distinctly female appearance. Its branch-like arms ended in wooden blades like swords and its facial expression was one of anger. Jiro recognized that the elemental was also unusual in that it was a denizen of both an elemental plane and of the Material Plane.
Jiro had begun to fly just before they reached the doors, and had told the soldiers with them to form a line behind them. He called out to them to hold their fire. Zosta, who had been determined to attack anything she encountered to avoid being dominated again, fretted when she heard Jiro give that order, but she reluctantly refrained from leaping at the wood elemental. Jiro moved closer to the elemental and spoke to it, telling it that the Knights had no quarrel with it. Asami also moved closer to tell it that they had no wish to harm it. Jiro had seen that something in the Worldwound must have corrupted her. The elemental seemed to be struggling with something within herself. She spoke angrily, proclaiming that mortals had corrupted everything and destroyed half her grove. Asami and Jiro both assured her that the Knights had come to remove the corruption, but first they needed to go farther into the Citadel. Runa moved behind Asami and laid her hand on the elven wizard's shoulder, extending one of Iomedae's blessing to make her words more convincing. The elemental didn't perceive this as a threatening move.
Asami stepped even closer so the elemental could see the faint wood graining in her complexion. In response, the elemental's blade-arms transformed into hands with long twig-like fingers. She extended one hand toward Asami, the fingers growing even longer and thinner as they reached out to touch her heart, her head, and the hand that held her wooden spellcasting sword. Asami's mind filled with the elemental's memories: of the demons' arrival at the Worldwound, of the destruction of the elemental's grove on the Material Plane, of being captured and tortured. At the same time the elemental could see into Asami's mind and perceive her affinity for wood and for green growing things. As Asami's friends looked on they saw her sword transforming into different types of weapons, shifting rapidly from one shape to another.
The elemental withdrew her fingers. Asami put her hand on the elemental's arm and cast a spell that would encourage the growth of plants. The elemental grew even larger, and where before she had appeared somewhat faded she now looked healthier. Jiro congratulated her on overcoming the corruption the demons had afflicted on her. She said, "I will help you," and reaching behind her she destroyed the portcullis that barred their way. Asami told her, "I will find your grove and do whatever I can to restore it, this I swear." She knew she could find it; the elemental had shared the memory of its location with her. Jiro told her that she could rest in peace and safety outside the Citadel. Zosta ran back to let the soldiers know that the elemental would be coming out. One soldier ran ahead to let Irabeth and the rest of the army know.
Several people had appeared at the other end of the passage. Asami couldn't see them clearly, but some of her companions recognized them as the fallen Crusaders who had fought on behalf of the impostor Iomedae two days earlier. Runa stepped past the elemental to address them, calling upon them to abandon their false goddess and turn to the side of good. Jiro followed her, telling the elemental that she didn't have to fight if she didn't choose to. Then he addressed the men behind her, saying that they didn't have to be the Knights' enemies. Shim also moved toward the men, noting that where there had been four of them previously there were now five.
The elemental took hold of one of the double doors she had been blocking and pushed it into the broken wall so it covered the spiked pit, making a crude ramp that someone could climb over. Then she turned toward the five men and sprayed them with sharp splinters of wood, wounding almost all of them. Shim commented, "So you're disguised as one of them!" Zosta lunged forward, glad to have a target to attack. She missed her attempt to trip one man but dealt him several blows. Four of the soldiers rushed up to surround her and and returned her blows. The fifth soldier ran away toward the chapel.
Runa granted Jiro, Zosta, and Shim the ability to move suddenly and Shim ran out into the pillared large chamber looking for the fleeing soldier, which he had identified as the disguised succubus. But she had vanished. Jiro stepped into weapon reach of the four fallen Crusaders. Zosta tripped one man and stomped on him, leaving him unconscious. She had already knocked out another man. Asami drew her wand and sent three missiles of force into one of the two who were still on their feet. As she did this the elemental extended her roots deep into the stones of the floor and told Asami, "The one that ran is in the chapel, and another is with her that was not there before." When Asami had thanked her, she said, "If that is all I will take my leave." Asami nodded gratefully and the huge elemental withdrew from the area and passed through the long corridor.
One of the men on the ground called out, "In the name of Iomedae!" and swung at Runa, but the effort was too much for him and he fainted. Zosta took down the third man. There was no opponent left standing. The Knights looked at each other. Asami shared with them what the elemental had told her. They suspected that the "other who was not there before" was likely another summoned babau, as the ability to summon such demons was one known to be possessed by succubi. Should they wait until the duration of the summoning expired so the succubus would be alone? But they worried that she would teleport away if they waited too long.
Shim made sure the fallen Crusaders wouldn't die, and some of the soldiers outside were called in to carry them out in the hope that eventually they could be freed from their mistaken devotion to the succubus. Asami cast a spell on everyone to allow them all to communicate silently with one another. Jiro channeled healing power to Zosta and Runa, who had both been injured in the fighting, then drew a wand. Shim began to move toward the chapel. As he did so, a babau suddenly appeared behind him, dropped its long spear, and attacked him.
Everyone moved among the pillars, prepared to fight the demon. Asami cast a spell to protect them from evil, extending it to herself and Kirara, Runa, and Zosta. Shim had moved toward the demon and was too far away for her to cast it on him, and Jiro already had such magic protecting him. The babau had appeared at the opposite side of the chamber from the entrance to the chapel, near another doorway the Knights had yet to explore. When Shim approached it, a woman's voice spoke from beyond it. Her words couldn't be made out, but Shim responded, "That sounds like a good idea." Those who were closer to him realized that the succubus must be beyond the small doorway and she had cast a spell on him, probably to dominate his will as she had done to Zosta before.
Runa moved toward Shim and cast the same protective spell on him that Asami had cast on her, preventing the succubus from giving him any new commands. Jiro also moved into the same area, bringing with him a circle of protection from evil creatures that further inhibited the succubus' power. Then Zosta bounded over her friends to get into the area where the succubus was and grappled with her despite the fact the succubus was hovering above the floor. Jiro ran into the area behind Zosta, calling out mentally to the others, "Keep her controlled and keep the babau out!"
The babau moved into a corner outside of the area the succubus was in and began to cast a spell toward Shim, but nothing visible happened. Runa's protective spell still surrounded him. Asami cast a protective circle on herself and moved closer. The succubus attempted to teleport away, but Jiro was prepared for that. He countered her spell, keeping her trapped in Zosta's unfriendly embrace. Zosta pinned her in place. The succubus said, "You could help me!" in a voice filled with frustration, clearly speaking to Shim, who said nothing. Asami cast a spell at the babau and it disappeared, sent back to the Abyss. While she did that, Zosta and Runa finished off the succubus.
Next: Interlude
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