[Pathfinder] Wrath of the Righteous, part 59: Rescue From the Fire

Respected Master;

I have neglected to mention how devoted Runa is to the tenet of redemption. You will see later how truly she exemplifies that belief.

In addition to the poor creatures the Lamashtu cultists had kept as trophies, we also found some animals that were injured but were capable of being healed and released. These Runa soothed with her natural affinity for all beasts, and when their hurts were healed she set them free. Those that were too far gone to be saved she released from this life with gentle mercy. But among those that could be healed were also several quasits. Runa offered these the opportunity to be set free, advising them to seek a path toward good and even giving them the bodies of those that had died to feed them before they departed.

Quasit

Though Runa showed them kindness and mercy, I caught a glimpse of Bohgong over Jiro's shoulder, making threatening gestures at them. What they will do next we do not know, but they did not go toward the Worldwound nor toward any city we know when they left the cave.

While Runa had been dealing with the animals, Jiro examined the journals left by the three women in the hope that they would have inscribed in them some information that would be of use to us. He learned that they had been engaged in creating abominations, which are a great delight to the Mother of Monsters. Their writings mentioned the Temple of the Ivory Labyrinth but did not give its location, which was the information we had most hoped to find.

When we had exhausted our investigation of the alchemical laboratory, we considered if we might block up its entrance somehow or in some other way prevent any enemies from reclaiming it. In the end we smashed everything we did not intend to carry out with us, and spread some loose dirt around the entrance so that if we should return their we might be able to see what manner of creatures approached the cave.

We decided that we would continue on in our search for the missing priest Jesker after we left the cave. We explored the remainder of the territory immediately surrounding the cave and then spent an uneventful night resting.

On the following morning after I had centered my mind and prepared my spells for the day, I restored charges to a wand Jiro had been carrying - or rather Bohgong, since it was he who produced it - and Jiro then gave it to Zero to use. Jiro also used a charm he knows to prepare us all for traveling in this wasteland and meeting any other demons. We did encounter a warped one creature but it proved no great challenge to us. A few hours later we found the humble wooden chapel dedicated to Erastil where Jesker had settled.

The chapel stood empty, showing no sign that it had been recently inhabited. Jiro called out to Jesker in greeting but received no response. There were footprints left by both animals and demons outside the structure.

Zosta pushed open the door to reveal the interior of the small space. There were only enough simple wooden pews within to seat perhaps twenty people. These had been overturned and scattered. The walls had blasphemous phrases and curses scratched into them, and on the small altar was a phrase referring to Delamere, tears, and fire. A statue of Erastil had been split in half. Beyond the altar lay another door, presumably leading to the priest's personal quarters.

As we stood looking at the destruction within the little chapel, all of us felt something unpleasant pressing on our will, but no one succumbed. Jiro put his lantern on his staff, and he and Zosta went toward the other door. Runa's attention was caught by a book lying by the broken statue of the god, and I went with her to examine it while Zosta opened the door and she and Jiro looked into the room. Zero remained at the entrance to the chapel, looking out for dangers.

The book bore the title 'Stag King's Bride', which I recalled had been written by a priestess of Erastil named Delamere, who was regarded as a heretic by the larger church. Delamere had espoused the belief that cities are evil and no community should contain more than fifty-three people to avoid falling into evil. Despite her peculiar belief she had garnered a significant number of followers, and her tomb lay somewhere not far from the chapel. Inside the tome we found a note clearly written recently indicating that the writer thought Delamere's beliefs were correct.

Jiro and Zosta stepped out of Jesker's room to report that it had apparently been hastily cleared of personal items. I explained to them the relevance of the book and the note written within it, and we concluded that we should seek out Delamere's tomb as that might be where we would find Jesker.

The chapel of Erastil stands very near to a chasm that falls some two hundred feet to a river of lava. Were the chapel any nearer to the rift we should have been able to feel the heat of the molten rock while standing beside the little structure. When we reached the edge of this cliff we could see that not only did lava flow along the floor of the chasm, but rivulets of it poured out of the cliff walls and flowed down like fiery waterfalls. The heat there is intense. We could see no sign of Delamere's tomb nor of any way to climb down the walls.

Jiro used his magic to protect us all from fire and then took flight and soared out over the inferno in search of more information. When he returned he reported that he had seen what seemed to be a cave opening near the river of lava, but there was no stair nor any climbing holds leading down to it. We realized that our ropes would not survive long enough to let us descend. The heat was so terrible that Runa sent her eagle back to the chapel to await our return. I expended a little of the World Tree's power to grant us all some relief from the heat, though my magic is not powerful enough to entirely resist the heat of molten rock from the world's core.

Jiro then cast a spell that would permit us all to fly, and I granted fire resistance to Kirara as Jiro's spell had not included her. With that we flew down toward the terrible river at the bottom of the chasm.

The lava flowed into the cave in rivulets, making shallow grooves where it melted the stone of the floor. There were also several deep pits in the floor, which the lava streams curiously seemed to be avoiding. There were no pillars nor stalactites or stalagmites within the cave, which made it easy for us to spy Delamere's crystal casket. Seated on top of the casket was a haggard human man we recognized as matching the description we had been given of the missing priest.

As we entered Jesker rose to his feet, saying in a weary and sorrowful voice that he had brought shame upon himself and his family and betrayed his god. We realized he meant to throw himself into the lava that flowed past the coffin. Runa called out to him that there is always room for redemption, and Jiro stated that Jesker was not in control of himself and some outside influence was affecting him. I could see that Jiro was preparing to cast a spell.

Jesker slumped down upon the crystal casket and began to weep. As he did so a creature emerged from within his body. This creature seemed to be made of two beings melded together, one demonic and the other angelic. It had four legs, and its leathery wings were partially covered in white feathers. It was as tall as Runa. This demon flew toward us and screamed a string of obscenities and blasphemies at us that were so distressing I found myself dazed and my limbs grew weak. Kirara was rendered completely immobile where she hid inside my pack.

Shachath demon

Jiro recognized this demon variety as a shachath from his extensive reading and gave a rapid description of what it could do. The demon immediately vanished from sight as it tapped an unholy symbol it wore. Runa called on Iomedae's power to sanctify her weapon and moved away from the rest of us in an effort to draw the demon's attention, for Jiro had told us it could become invisible and we assumed it was still present. As Runa moved she called encouragements to Jesker, who still wept atop the coffin.

Jiro surrounded himself with an aura that would dispel evil creatures. As Runa approached the coffin where Jesker rested, she suddenly felt a force push her, shoving her down into the stream of lava. Zero began to perform to inspire us and Zosta shouted to Runa that she should fly up, for we were all still under the effect of Jiro's flight spell.

To my relief the daze caused by the demon's blasphemies left me and I immediately used more of the Tree's power to enable myself to see invisible things. But this did not help me to locate the demon. Knowing that like many demons it was capable of summoning lesser demons to its aid, I cast a spell I had prepared to prevent it from summoning anything near to us.

Runa flew out of the lava, burned badly but still able to resist. She called on Iomedae's magic to grant herself greater strength to offset the weakness the shachath had caused. We felt ourselves further heartened when Bohgong used a wand to cast a blessing upon us. Zosta asked if the unseen demon had re-entered Jesker, which Jiro denied. Jiro had cast a spell that would allow him to find the demon by sound rather than sight, but he also could not locate it. He summoned a magical weapon to himself to prepare to fight the demon. Zosta flew to me and grasped me about the waist in the event the demon should try to push me into the lava, for which I was very appreciative.

Then Jesker suddenly toppled off the casket into the lava, screaming horribly once before falling silent. We all feared for his life, as he had appeared so weary and weakened. Zero ceased his recitation and ran toward Jesker. Inspired by what the demon had done to Runa, I granted myself the ability to reach out and lift Jesker out of the lava, laying him at Zero's feet. Runa flew to land beside him and sacrificed some of her magic to heal him, but he was still barely clinging to life. She channeled some of her goddess's healing power to pull him away from the edge of death.

Holy symbol of Iomedae

Just as Jesker's life was spared, Jiro located the demon hiding under the lip of the pit beside the casket. He put his hand on the evil monster, using his evil-dispelling aura to force it to return to the plane from which it had come.

With the shachath gone, we all pooled our knowledge to remember what such demons were capable of. The demonic possession had severed Jesker's connection to his god. He would not be able to restore that connection without atonement. We asked him what he wished to do and he expressed that his desire was to atone, which we determined could be best done in Drezen. I will use my power to teleport myself, Jesker, and Runa back to the city to find someone to help him in this quest. The weakness inflicted by the shachath has mercifully passed, and once Runa and I return we will continue our own quest to find the lair of the Ivory Labyrinth.

Holy symbol of Erastil

Next: part 60, Eagle Rock