"Greetings, Alana. I trust you are recovered?"
"Ugh... how long have I been out?"
"Well. That is why I have come to speak with you... You were rendered unconscious during the battle with the demon. The rest of us were able to defeat it, but Malouf struck the final blow."
"Uh-oh. Did he get all demony?"
"Not at first, but everyone was concerned about how killing the demon would affect Malouf's behavior. Past experience did not bode well for anyone. We began healing ourselves when Synchromie arrived, claiming to have teleported here from Beeblebrox's tower through the Mirrors."
"Ummmm... how come no one healed me?"
"Well. Brecaryn reminded everyone that they had left the mirror covered. How did Synchromie get through? Leeto and Flerm were sent back to the ship with your body to check on the mirror. Meanwhile, the remainder of the party continued to search the temple for artifacts to show the Tanaroans."
"So they brought me back to the ship to heal me?"
"I do not know what occurred on the ship, other than the fact that Leento said that the mirror was safe. Meanwhile, the group's fears were confirmed. Malouf began to act strangely. He shoved me, disregarded our safety, and promised Synchromie death. After searching a few rooms, a Zebu priest guarded by zombie dogs was located. Malouf immediately demanded to be "set free". The demon had possessed Malouf's body! Overcoming his shock, the priest promised to help if Malouf would first aid him in defeating us. Malouf agreed and promptly killed me."
"Killed you? But Snow... you're sitting right there."
"Hush child. Let me finish the story. Luckily for the party, instead of freeing the demon, the priest trapped it in a pentagram again. Certain objects were needed to perform an exorcism. Not giving in to despair, the remaining party members agreed to get these objects while the priest held the demon-possessed Malouf. Brecaryn sent her owl familiar to find and bring Leeto back while Josy stayed to keep an eye on the priest. Recognizing Brecaryn's owl, Leento and Flerm, rushed back from the ship."
"Wait... they rushed back to the ship without healing me?"
"Well. After some trouble, the necessary objects were found. The demon was exorcised. Malouf passed out, dropping the sword. Taking up my corpse and leaving behind the accursed sword, Leento led the group to the cave entrance, but it was blocked. More trouble was to be found. The High Priest would not let us leave so easily. It quickly became apparent that they would have to find and kill this priest if they hoped to leave the cave. The priest who had performed the exorcism was now targeted by his own people. He allied himself with the party. With his help, they were able to resurrect me in the same manner that Josy was able to resurrect Flerm when he was killed. After all, they are priests of death."
"Yeah, and he's still recovering from being dead. His body is weaker than it had been, you can tell. How are you holding up."
"I.. am fine."
"Good. But Snow, you knew that you were in trouble. You could have used my help. Why didn't you come back to the ship and heal me?"
"Remember, at this point the cave entrance was blocked. Let me continue. We had finished my resurrection and were heading towards the area where we expected the High Priest to be. Suddenly, Malouf ran from the group. The call of the sword could not be ignored. He ran to it. I chased him, but could not stop him. Once again, it was in Malouf's possession. He was truly in anguish but it seemed there was nothing to be done. At Brecaryn's suggestion, the Zebu priest tried a spell to separate the man from the sword. This ended fatally for him. The sword would not allow itself to be removed and Malouf killed the priest. Resigned, the party pressed forward without our guide. After fighting many undead we found ourselves facing a series of traps:
The first was a room with a series of lettered tiles on the floor. With the rest of us trapped, Brecaryn had to jump on the right tiles, to get across the room."
"Huh. I think i saw that in a movie..."
"What?"
"Nevermind."
"After a false start, Brecaryn realized she needed to jump on the tiles that spelled the word DEATH since it was created by the Zebuian death-worshippers.
After getting across that room, we had to face several more traps. We had to direct a giant skull hanging from a chain in front of a large fan using a series of levers. We had to arrange four large stone wheels in the right order according to the sick philosophy of the Zebuians. And Malouf and I had to hold back a horde of undead while the rest of the party deactivated a series of enchanted statues.
Finally we found the High Priest and defeated him. The room was stripped of all artifacts that could be easily carried. Considering what this venture has cost us, these artifacts had better prove their worth with the Tanaroans."
"So we got what we came for, anyway. So how long was I out? An hour?"
"Two days."
"What?! You let me lay here unconscious for 2 days? We have three healers in the group!"
"Alana, what you did was very foolish. There was no reason to let that demon free. Because of your actions, I was killed. And as far as these things go, that was a better outcome than it could have been. The rest of the group is very mad at you. Only Synchromie, who was not here when you did what you did, was willing to heal you, and she and Leento argued about it for 3 hours before he would even allow it."
"Allow it? Who does he think he is?"
"Alana, just be careful. It is no good for there to be strife within our group. Make amends with the others, and do not act foolishly."
"But I wanted to kill the demon, to show Queen Morwyn that I am ready to become a member of her calvary!"
"And yet, the demon easily defeated you. You are not ready. You must stay with us, and learn from us. You will get your chance."
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