When I looked down one of the side passages leading out of the room where the evil pool stood, I spied her, peeking around a corner at the far end of the next chamber. I relayed this information to my companions through our rings and moved up the steps onto the dais by the entrance so that she would not be able to see me.
An instant later a cloud of greenish gas filled the space below the dais. Runa began to cough and retch before she moved outside the area the gas filled. I could not see him clearly, but I also heard Bohgong, who was still in the form of a large ape, cough very loudly and harshly from the opposite side of the ritual chamber. I spoke to the hound archon who had come at my call and still remained with us, asking him to pursue Chorussina into the next room. I descended the steps from the dais and began to work my way along the wall parallel to the main entrance, attempting to remain out of Chorussina's line of sight and also to avoid stepping into the gas cloud. My past experience of such a foul-smelling gas was not pleasant.
Zosta warned us that Chorussina was casting a spell, though of course she could not recognize what it was. She and Jiro had stepped out of the gas cloud, protected by Jiro's purifying aura. As soon as she saw the tiefling casting, Zosta charged into the room where Chorussina waited. I could no longer see or hear what happened there, but through the ring I heard Zosta say that Chorussina was surrounded by duplicates of herself.
As I moved closer toward the corner of the room that Bohgong had earlier been staring at, the white ape moved closer, wearing an expression of fury. He began to speak, his words directed toward the seemingly empty corner. He spoke in the language of our people in Jinin, but in a very ancient dialect that I could not quite make out. I could only recognize words that sounded like "chosen one" and "guardian."
My attention was drawn away from Bohgong when large hailstones began to plummet from above, pounding me and Kirara like heavy stones being poured on our heads. Only Zosta and the archon escaped the bludgeoning hail, for they were in the next room with Chorussina. The floor became covered with ice and hailstones. Runa entered the next room, escaping the difficult walking surface, leaving only me to negotiate it. Bohgong suddenly lunged toward me, looking enraged. His gaze seemed to me to be directed at my person. Disturbed by this, I cautiously navigated my way across the slippery floor to the opposite corner. The white ape began to pummel something with his fists. I could see nothing, but sparks issued from his blows and he was not striking the wall. Some invisible object stood between him and the structure of the chamber.
My companions later told me that they saw a tattoo on Chorussina's leg flare into flames and leave a scar behind, and she called another storm of icy bullets to rain down upon the same space that had previously been afflicted with them. I was sorely wounded and Kirara was now so badly injured that I feared she wouldn't survive. I managed to pour a curative potion into her mouth and get her to swallow it as I cradled her in my arms, cursing myself for not advising her to assume her mist form before we entered the ritual area.
I only peripherally noticed when my companions called out that Chorussina had been knocked down and the assault by Zosta, Shim, Jiro's spirit weapons, and the hound archon had been successful in destroying all of her illusory duplicates. From the corner of my eye I saw Bohgong collapse and transform back into his monkey form, lying inert on the floor of the chamber. Jiro came running out of the room where the others still attacked Chorussina, racing to Bohgong's side. He cast a spell upon the small monkey, but though his magic healed any physical injury, the monkey did not revive. Zosta ran into the room as well and asked Jiro, "Is he dead?" to which Jiro replied, "No." He rose to his feet, spreading his arms and beginning to turn - and then he too collapsed and fell forward onto the floor.
Zosta ran to Jiro's side, kneeling to lift him up. Runa also ran into the room. While Runa examined Jiro, Zosta rose and came to give me a healing potion, for I had given my only potion to Kirara. Shim affirmed that Chorussina had again used a short-range teleportation spell to escape, but with both Jiro and Bohgong unconscious and myself and Kirara very badly hurt, we had no heart to continue pursuing her. Runa expressed her concern that if we left her behind she would resume the ritual to destroy Drezen, but despite my anxiety over Kirara and Jiro I was able to calm her fears a little by telling her that Chorussina likely still had several days left to complete the ritual and wouldn't be capable of doing so alone. Runa's efforts to disrupt the pool by pouring holy water in it would also delay getting the ritual restarted.
Zosta lifted up Jiro and bore him out of the chamber, followed by Runa carrying Bohgong, and Shim dragging the corpse of Hosilla. I stumbled along behind them with Kirara in my arms. When we ascended from the subterranean area we found many of the paladins settled into the rooms of the Citadel. We were immediately surrounded by an escort. I suggested that perhaps we could take Jiro and Bohgong to the chamber Arushalae had escaped from, which held the peaceful aura of Desna, but Zosta then offered that perhaps the grove Jiro had created outside might benefit him more and I realized that she must be correct. My own thoughts were too muddled by worry.
Irabeth walked with us as we made our way to the grove, and we told her as much as we could of what had happened, reassuring her that the ritual had been interrupted. At some point Shim left us, going off with Horgus Gwerm. We heard that there had been a third murder in the camp committed by the mysterious assassin, but I didn't pay much attention to the details.
Zosta sat down next to a tree, cradling Jiro in her lap. I settled down next to her holding Kirara in much the same manner. Runa began to sing to Jiro, songs of rest from battle and restoration from wounds, which were quite beautiful despite not being of elven composition. After a little while Bohgong inhaled a deep breath and woke, murmuring something in the Tien tongue but too low for me to make out his words. He stumbled, then demanded to know what had happened, first in Tien and then in the western tongue when Zosta complained that she couldn't understand him. He took hold of Jiro and began to slap his face, attempting to wake him. Zosta tried to push the monkey away but Bohgong dodged her hand. He took another deep breath and with effort assumed his enlarged form, then shouted loudly, "Wake up!" Spittle from his mouth flew onto Jiro's face.
Jiro suddenly awoke, looking up at Bohgong. "I was looking for you," he told the angry ape. Bohgong returned to his monkey form, clearly still disoriented by his period of insensibility. Runa asked Jiro if he wanted any food or water, and Jiro asked for tea. Runa got up and hurried off to obtain some hot water. When she returned, apologizing that she doesn't know how to make the tea in the way that Jiro makes it, Bohgong took over preparing it. When Jiro began to speak about what had happened, Bohgong told him that they should speak privately. I remarked that perhaps it would be wise if the rest of us better understood how their relationship functions, as I know very little about the spirit world and the others know far less. To this Bohgong responded that if Jiro chose to tell us more later he would not object. With that Shim arrived, and he and Runa went off to learn more about the latest murder. Zosta also rose and departed, and I picked up Kirara and bore her off to my tent to rest.
Shim was able to determine that the murdered man, Rogan by name, had been slain in his sleep by a blade that resembled the spears borne by the babau. We had suspected that babau might be responsible, and the fact that the bodies had all been mutilated after death seemed to confirm this, for this is a custom of such foul demons. Shim had also asked that some of Horgus Gwerm's staff identify the magic items carried by Hosilla and the cultists, and a number of items had been added to Gwerm's stock. We took the vials of healing oils that the cultists had carried. I am now better prepared to care for my own health without relying so much on Jiro's hexes.
After his strange fainting spell Jiro seemed a bit disoriented and distant, as if he had been away from his body far longer than a few hours. His unconsciousness seemed to me similar to when a wizard attempts to identify the properties of an overwhelmingly powerful artifact, and Runa remarked that to her it resembled the effects of direct contact with a deity. We will have to wait for Jiro to tell us more when he is willing.
Shim has suggested that perhaps we should all learn an uncommon language that our enemies are unlikely to know so that we may communicate without fear of being overheard. We will have to consider what language that may be. Perhaps I can learn it first and teach it to the others.
Now I must turn to inscribing new spells in my spellbook. I have acquired a scroll that will allow me to become invisible and remain so even if I direct harmful magic against an enemy, which I hope will be useful when we descend again to face the shadow demon. I have also exchanged my enchanted belt for another that will help me to better withstand injuries. And I am able to inscribe a second spell in my book, one of those that I learned during the time that Eldrazi invaded my mind. His presence was unwelcome but not entirely without useful result. If I am to complete both spells this day, I must begin now. I will write again when I have more to tell.
Next - Part 48: Deadly Shadows
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