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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | White Squad frees the final paragons and joins them to break the Empress' siege of Klaxxi'vess. Many things are revealed -- most importantly, the fact that they have fewer friends than they thought. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Colson is, as he has been, at absolute punctuality — the near exact second the time clicks over, Colson is there, ready. "Good afternoon, everyone."
A Klaxxi Vess-Guard approaches White Squad’s enclosure campsite. “Wakeners,” he rasps, almost deferentially. “The Wind-Reaver asks for you.”
"Hey," Estel says, and nods to the mantid. "Got it."
That seems like a good sign. Colson replies by murmuring a Blessing to the Light.
Anaeline looks up and nods, and then, in case non-verbal communication doesn't translate, says, "We will go to him."
Shine follows.
Malik the Unscathed, Ambersmith Zikk, and Ka’roz the Locust all watch silently as White Squad approaches Kil’ruk the Wind-Reaver. Kil’ruk dips his head in acknowledgement. “Wakeners,” he greets them.
"Hey," Estel says. "Here to help. What do you need?"
“The Klaxxi have detected the existence of another paragon. This one was kept well-hidden from us, by the Empress herself. She already has possession of it, and her Adjuncts work to destroy it even now,” Kil’ruk tells them. “They perform their sorcery in a chamber deep beneath the palace itself, and they must be stopped.
“We must remain to hold Klaxxi’vess. You must go in our stead. Find the entrance to their chamber from the ledge to the west.”
Anareline frowns. "I hope that this time we will not be too late to stop them."
Estel bounces restlessly on her heels. "Ledge to the west, got it."
Colson inclines his head.
"And we will not encounter the Empress?" Almeiria asks.
"For your sake, I hope not," says Kil'ruk. "She keeps to the upper palace."
Estel nods and traces her Fear Ward in the air.
Shine looks uneasy. He double-checks the poison on his knives.
"That, I think, is something we will have to manage," Anareline says quietly. "We cannot fight her today. If we see her, we retreat."
"Due caution, then, as we proceed," Almeiria says.
Shine nods once at Anareline.
Colson takes a cleansing breath, and seems to need a moment to steady himself, setting a hand over his heart, and tracing… a Fear Ward?
At the base of the cliffs in which the twisted, blackened palace tree is rooted, a hive-like entrance opens into the earth.
"No sign of the Empress," Anareline says, looking up at the kypari tree warily. "We will proceed below."
"Let's do this," Estel says. Oh, that's a blessing of Fortitude.
In the central chamber, a massive chunk of amber rests in a pool of sap. Four amber spires stand around it, and through each, a spell is being channeled. The sources of the spells seem to be in the deeper side chambers.
"Ah," Colson says.
Estel hits a spire with a pillar of light, which is blocked from striking it by an active shield.
"He was not joking when he said 'sorcery,'" Almeiria notes.
"The corruption is ongoing," Anareline says. "I think violence will be the best way to stop it."
"Right, so we kill the casters," Estel says.
A towering mantid in a headdress of the imperial court drones and weaves threads of magic in the air. It is so focused on its spell that it does not react as White Squad approaches, and only drops its casting with a shriek when they attack.
"One down," Anareline nods with satisfaction. "Now the others."
Shine cleans off a knife and vanishes again.
"Understood," Colson says mildly.
"Did they not expect an attack here?" Almeiria asks. "It is rather… light on defenses."
Light on Defenses is the name of the game, Almeiria.
"They're sorcerers. And have an Empress upstairs," Shine observes.
"It is directly beneath the Imperial stronghold, isn't it?" Anareline says. "They may have assumed themselves safe."
Estel summons a shadowf(r)iend and directs it to keep watch from the entrance they came down.
"Further, they likely believe we have been defeated," Anareline says, raising her chin. "And so they have no enemies in the Wastes."
"Rather naive, considering the Paragons themselves remain," Almeiria says.
"Aye," agrees Shine from the shadows.
Estel snorts. "The way these caves are angled, they can't see that their fellow channelers are dead."
"A surprise for each one," Anareline says dryly.
The small spires around the amber are dim and silent now.
"This is a rather… large construct," Almeiria says.
"I will strike it with the tuning fork," Anareline says. "Be ready, in case he is too far gone."
Shine nods.
Estel fetches a small sack of sapflies. She is ready.
Colson inclines his head, and steps back, readying his shields.
Anareline strikes the tuning fork.
The amber note resonates. The block of amber crumbles, and a small, winged mantid in ornate blue and purple regalia buzzes fitfully and then rises into the air to hover above the pool.
“You came not a moment too soon, Wakeners,” the mantid rasps. “The Adjuncts would have destroyed me as I slept.”
"I am pleased that we were in time," Anareline says solemnly.
“I am Xaril the Poisoned Mind. I have heard the dark whispers of the Empress through the minds of her Adjuncts. She fears her own undoing, but fear itself is her undoing. She has gone beyond the edge of madness.”
Xaril buzzes and lifts his head, antennae twitching. “The Klaxxi speak to me!” He listens for a moment to some signal inaudible to the others. “Yes, Council. I have heard the Empress’ intentions. Her reign must end.”
Xaril hums and listens again. “Tell me no more, Council. I will see my old home with my own eyes. I would gaze upon what Shek’zeer has wrought.” The mantid alights briefly on the shattered amber beneath it. “Come, Wakeners. There is much punishment to deliver for the empire’s crimes.”
"Sapflies?" Estel offers.
“We have no time to waste. Meet me outside.” Xaril buzzes into the air again and then out of the chamber and up the stairs.
Colson watches with a neutral expression, the Light still glowing faintly in his hands.
"No time to waste, got it," Estel says, putting her sapflies away.
"Perhaps he is one of the younger ones," Almeiria says to Estel.
Anareline watches him go, and then turns to follow. "It may prove to be unwise, their connecting this one to the Empress's mind. Unwise for them."
Xaril waits outside, where the cliff ledge crawls with beetles and giant black and red scorpions. “Wakeners,” he says. “First, hear my great triumph: Before I was cast in amber, I made a great gamble. I realized the amber could perform a miracle that I would never achieve, not even with a thousand years of careful experimentation.
“And so before I became a paragon, I injected myself with dozens of lethal poisons. The life-giving properties of the amber protected me as I guessed, and time did the rest.” Xaril spreads his wings and buzzes briefly with a sound that might be laughter. “Now I can handle any poison I desire without fear.”
Colson blinks once at the mention of poisons.
Anareline raises her long eyebrows. "It is good your gamble succeeded."
Shine eye(s) Xaril and then checks his blades again.
"Oh, damn. Nice." Estel nods in approval.
“I will make a weapon for the Klaxxi,” says Xaril. “A toxin more potent than any the empire possesses. I will need you to bring me the stingers of the scorpions on this ledge, and wings from the scarabs. Also collect the dreadshade flowers that grow nearby.” He points a claw at a spiky scarlet lily. “But do not be tempted to taste them, Wakeners, or there will be no waking you. Be swift!”
Almeiria glances at Colson. "You can handle poisons, I hope?"
"Yes," Colson says mildly to Almeiria.
"I know the extent of my own ability to handle poisons," Anareline says, lowering her head slightly.
Estel puts on an extra pair of gloves over her current gloves and starts cutting wings off of scarabs. After they kill the scarabs.
Anareline already has metal gauntlets on. She is careful not to touch her face.
Shine shadowsteps behind a giant scorpion and dodges its stinger.
Colson has his gauntlets, and he takes out a bag labeled NOPE to set the deadly dreadshade flowers into.
Almeiria stays well away from anything poisonous or venomous.
Beyond hitting them with her sword, so does Anareline.
"If this Xaril does know the Empress's plans, we may be able to regain an advantage," Anareline says as they fight.
"Yes," Colson agrees.
"Does she have plans, aside from kill everything?" Almeiria asks.
"That is what I would like to know," Anareline says. "Or even if not, in what specific manner is she planning to kill everything? Then we will better know how to stop her."
"As a plan, 'Kill everything' is a little loose. There are probably specifics." Shine nods at Ana.
"Oh, a Golden Lotus," Colson says, with reverance, as he carefully handles the flower.
"Well, I got a lotta scarab wings," Estel says.
Colson closes his NOPE bag carefully, with a [Cleanse] over himself. "I have a remarkable number of poisonous flowers," he says calmly.
"If we are poisoning the Empress," Anareline considers. "Then I hope it works."
When they return, Xaril awaits them among a mismatched assortment of amber vessels presumably scavenged from his erstwhile underground prison.
"Poison can be a great danger, especially when it is unexpected," Colson says, as he empties out the NOPE bag.
Shine offers a couple of scorpid stingers to the mantid.
Almeiria offers nothing and simply waits.
Anareline hangs back a little, having been more of a killer than a collector.
Estel has laid her scarab wings flat on top of each other on the inside of a little sack. She sets that down, then removes her spare gloves and turns them inside-out.
“Very good, Wakeners, very good. Did you feel the venomtail’s sting for yourself? Such lovely pain.” Xaril gives the buzzing laugh again. “Scarab wings can be crushed into a beautiful, fine white powder. Inhaled or ingested, it cuts the soft innards like a thousand diamond claws. And a single drop of pure nectar from the dreadshade blossom will stop a kunchong’s heart. Sometimes the simplest or most beautiful things are the deadliest.”
Anareline raises her eyebrows. That did not sound all that simple.
Xaril clicks his mandibles. “Wait some moments. I will prepare the toxin.” He turns toward the assorted vessels around him.
"Oh, for sure," Estel says, grinning at him.
"I know someone who would adore this mantid," Almeiria says. She considers. "Besides Estel."
Estel laughs.
Anareline settles back to wait.
Time Passes
A group of winged Klaxxi Vess-Guards descends from the dark sky, one by one. They wait in twitching silence nearby.
“Now,” says Xaril, and turns back to the group. “My creation is ready. Before we go to Klaxxi’vess, I wish to look upon the empire. And I wish to announce my return. With this.” He lifts a pot in his claws. “Come, fly with us and help to rain devastation on the empire’s rot. Each of you take one of those small pots. We will fly over them and you will drop them from the skies on the imperial forces. They are quite safe to handle, I assure you.”
Colson continues to wait patiently, with no sign that he has been waiting. He inclines his head, and waits for Anareline to select a pot.
Shine double-checks his gloves carefully.
Estel has been taking notes in a little notebook. She puts that away and accepts a pot. "Great."
Ana looks very skeptical at 'safe to handle', but she accepts a pot of poison. She keeps it far from her face.
Colson takes a pot of poison carefully.
Almeiria makes sure it is properly closed and secured before picking it up.
Shine selects a pot, handling it delicately.
The Klaxxi guards buzz helpfully forward, each toward a member of White Squad.
Colson doesn't make a face. This is fine. He can be carried by a giant bug.
As they pass over the corrupted palace tree, Xaril wonders, “How many years have passed since I first entered the slumber? This vess, the palace, my Empress. All have changed.”
The sha-blighted land unfolds before them. “Is this white blight the work of the sha?” buzzes Xaril. “I see now what disease spreads across our civilization. The infected must be purged!”
"Yep, it's the work of the sha," Estel confirms for him.
As a pot is dropped and a cloud of toxin erupts on the ground below them, mantid voices can be heard shrieking or buzzing dismay. Another, from the direction of the palace itself, drones angrily above the field.
”I see that my slumber was brief,” says Xaril. “I recognize Zor'lok, voice of the Empress. Her obedient little pet.”
“The Empress orders the Swarm much too early!” says Xaril. “Another sign of her chaotic delusions. I can feel the evil that taints their minds. We will end this madness.”
“Our work here is finished for now. Let us deliver news of our victory to the Klaxxi Council. They await our return.” He and the guards bearing the members of White Squad bank in the air and head toward Klaxxi’vess.
There's a flicker of relief in Anareline's eyes when she returns to the ground. She may be willing to be carried by giant bugs, but it is still sometimes uncomfortable.
Once on the ground, Xaril turns to them. “Thank you for returning me, Wakeners,” he says. “Though I fear our war has only truly begun.”
"You 'fear?'" Almeiria asks, eyeing him.
"You're welcome!" Estel says to Xaril.
Colson sets a [Cleanse] over each member of White Squad, himself last.
"Thanks, Cole," Estel says to Colson.
Colson inclines his head to Estel. "Of course."
Shine checks his gloves again, just in case.
“Wakeners,” says Ambersmith Zikk. “Kor’ik seeks you.”
"Kor'ik! Okay." Estel heads over to Kor'ik, waving.
The little wingless drone still stands at the foot of the central spire, gazing up at the swirling sha corruption that eddies around the amber. He turns as White Squad approaches. “Soft ones. You are here.”
"Hey, Kor'ik. Don't look too hard at that, yeah?" Estel tilts her head in the direction of the spire.
Kor'ik regards Estel and clicks his mandibles slowly, inscrutably.
"We are here," Anareline says. "How can we help?"
Kor’ik gestures imperiously with a claw. “The beacon in Amberglow Hollow has been tampered with. Before the signal cut out, the Klaxxi’va detected another paragon nearby. They believe he is hidden in that wretched swamp, Duskroot Fen. I will meet you there to set up a temporary beacon until I can get Amberglow operational again. You will wake the paragon and then you will help me.”
"Sure thing." Estel gives him a thumbs-up.
At the western foot of Kypari Zar stands a dismal swamp. Mist lurkers shamble through the greenish miasma that hangs above the algae-slimed water.
"Ugh," Estel says, pulling a scarf over her nose and mouth.
Shine looks less impressed about wading in this than he did with wading in the sea.
Almeiria, too, does not seem pleased to be here.
Colson's armor ploinks against enormous stalks of strange flowers. The paladin's expression is as neutral as ever. "The plant growth here is remarkable, and unusual," he says.
"I hope the wetland has not disrupted the amber," Anareline mutters.
Colson takes note of the mushrooms nearby with a botanist's interest.
Beneath a tangle of roots, against the base of the tree itself, another block of amber lies half-submerged in the mire.
"Let's see if he's alive in there?" Anareline says, holding up the tuning fork.
The filthy water boils and the amber chunk lurches and rises fitfully from the muck before crumbling to disgorge its paragon. Who promptly disgorges a bunch of amber liquid.
"You good?" Estel asks. Oh, that's a blessing of Fortitude.
The paragon lifts his head and takes in his surroundings. “It seems my work begins immediately. You have come to a dangerous place, Wakeners.”
"This fen?" Anareline asks. "Is it… especially dangerous?"
"Oh? It isn't just dangerously foul?" Almeiria asks.
“Today,” says the Swarmkeeper, “you learn that no one can be trusted in times of war, Wakeners. Even those closest to the Klaxxi are susceptible to corruption. Who knows how long this traitor has been corrupted? He must be destroyed.”
Colson blinks.
Hisek the Swarmkeeper cocks his head. “You appear confused. Do you not see the traitor in our midst? Allow me to adjust your vision. This may disorient you momentarily, Wakeners. It is always difficult the first time your eyes truly see.”
He weaves a gesture in the air, humming, and abruptly the world looks… different. The same scenery is more complex and multilayered, as though they are “seeing” it with senses beyond their eyes. Each of them, and Hisek the Swarmkeeper himself, shimmers with a misty light.
“Now you will see,” says Hisek. “Traitors hide within our ranks.”
There is a splashing sound as Kor’ik approaches. “I see the paragon has been awakened,” he rasps. The little drone is swathed in a foul, shadowed cloud that seems to steam gently from his carapace.
Hisek the Swarmkeeper says, “Kor'ik! How long have you worked for the Empress?”
Estel turns. "Ah, shit. Really?"
Colson exhales slowly.
Kor'ik freezes. He cocks his head and looks among the group, then says in a rush, “The paragon does not speak truth, Wakeners! His mind did not survive encasement! He cannot be allowed to live in this madness. The Klaxxi will want him put down.”
“The only madness here is your own, Kor'ik,” says Hisek. “Did you really think you would go unnoticed forever? You will not deceive us.”
“You and the Klaxxi are fools!” shrieks Kor’ik. He draws a hooked amber blade and leaps toward them. “Your arrogance will be your end! Empress Shek'zeer will destroy you!”
Anareline leaps in front of the others with her shield as Kor'ik attacks.
Colson murmurs a prayer to the Light, as bright golden wings sprout behind him.
Almeiria wastes no time in turning on Kor'ik, as cold and emotionless as if this outcome had always been inevitable.
Shine shadowsteps.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Estel mutters, and hits Kor'ik with a pillar of light. "I didn't see it."
As he dies, Korik hisses, “Empress Shek'zeer knows your plans. Your treachery will be punished….”
Colson shakes out his right hand as if he had been struck there — no blade did, not this time. He presses a thumb against his palm, and breathes slowly and deeply.
“You will see more of this,” rasps Hisek the Swarmkeeper. “War is never pretty. The Empress’ corruption is far-reaching and subtle. There is much work to be done. We need to begin repairing the damage Kor’ik wrought.”
"I had no idea," Anareline says. "Is that why the ritual failed, I wonder?"
Colson sets his hand over his heart, tracing a Fear Ward. "Light preserve us."
"He had been in charge of the beacons," Almeiria says. "He had time to set up such a thing."
Hisek nods. “Kor’ik has been sending signals to the Empress for weeks. Everything the Klaxxi have done, the Empress knows about."
"Subtle," Estel says. "You're not kidding. I didn't sense the Sha from him at all. Damn."
"He was involved in so many of the wakenings of the paragons," Anareline says quietly. "He knew everything."
"Even the most faithful can fall," Colson says quietly.
“Kypari Ik will be the first to receive news of Kor’ik’s demise,” Hisek says. “It would benefit us to make sure that message does not reach the Empress. Destroying the Whisperers and beacon there will buy us time to come up with a plan before the Empress can act.
“And while you are there….” He pauses thoughtfully. “Kypari Ik is one of the locations that houses Empress Shek’zeer’s offspring. In their juvenile state, as they fight for supremacy in the swarm, the young are reckless and difficult to control. They are also quite deadly. Swarmborn are hatched with a highly toxic venom that diminishes in potency with age. That venom can incapacitate even the strongest and most skilled fighter. I would like you to bring me some of it.”
"More toxins," Anareline nods.
"Do these things, and be safe, Wakeners," says Hisek. "I will await in Klaxxi'vess."
Anareline nods, and turns to go.
Colson murmurs another prayer, as he follows Ana.
Estel removes her scarf when the scent of the swamp diminishes. She looks irritated.
"Kor'ik has been with us since the beginning," Anareline says with a sigh. "He would have reported all he knew of us to the Empress as well."
"Yes. As the Church was corrupted by Twilight's Hammer, so too were the Klaxxi lost to the Empress' sha-corruption," Colson says, with a deceptive calm. The Light burns around his gauntlets.
Anareline turns to Colson with a slight frown. "Your church still stands, and so do the Klaxxi."
"Yes. The Light will have its Retribution, and we will cleanse the corruption within," the paladin says.
"He has seen us in combat," Almeiria says.
"He knows our capabilities," Anareline says, tilting her head to Almeiria. "So we must assume our enemies here do as well."
"Any faithful may be lost to fanaticism and corruption," Colson says calmly. "It does not mean that we are powerless."
Anareline looks to Colson. "I trust the five of us, and at least now we have one who is able to see through their disguises."
Estel refreshes her Fear Ward.
The black gouge in the earth that runs along the foot of Kypari Ik is near-blinding with the eerie radiance of the sha.
Estel puts on another pair of gloves over her gloves to collect mandibles dripping with deadly venom. These go in a ceramic bowl.
The amber spire at the center of the clutch burns with the white sha-light.
"There…" Anareline says. "That must be what we are to destroy."
"The crystal at the base, yeah?" Estel nods.
Almeiria begins to channel her magic, pushing away some of the Sha corruption to make the tower easier to access safely.
Shine nods and fades again to keep watch for more of the mantid Whisperers.
"It is a simple matter to shatter it. Amber is not an exceptionally hard material," Colson says.
"Go for it, someone with a sword," Estel says.
"Then we will smash it," Anareline says, and steps forward to do just that.
Almeiria's hand comes away trailing Sha-smoke, and she shakes it as if removing a cobweb.
At Klaxxi’vess, Hisek the Swarmkeeper stands with Xaril the Poisoned Mind at one side of the circle. The courtyard is eerily silent, the usual persistent drone ceased.
“Wakeners,” Hisek greets them gravely. “You have done well. Information is power. Those with the most information hold the most power. You have struck a blow today. And there is information in the swarmborn venom, too. It is not only an additional weapon; it will also tell us what stage the swarm is in.” He gestures at Xaril, who moves forward to accept the venom samples.
Estel gives Xaril her bowl of mandibles.
Xaril tastes a venom sample, clicking thoughtfully. His antennae twitch, and he tastes a second sample. “Very curious,” he rasps. “The venom is in its advanced stages, but it doesn’t seem to be losing potency.”
“Troubling,” hums Hisek in agreement. “A problem we will consider. But Wakeners, the Unscathed wishes to speak with you now.” He indicates with a claw where Malik waits near the Ambersmith’s racks of weapons.
“Wakeners!” says Malik the Unscathed. “We have learned that Grand Empress Shek’zeer is troubled by the Poisoned Mind’s escape and his strike against her forces, and by the loss of her spy.” He buzzes angrily for a moment.
"So she has already learned," Anareline says with resignation.
“She is massing an army in the shadows of the Heart of Fear with orders to crush Klaxxi’vess,” says Malik. “We have been fortunate to hold out here this long, but we will not survive a siege of this scale.”
He straightens and spreads his wings. “Wakeners, you have been invaluable to our efforts. Now you will see the purpose of the paragons. Come, take your rightful place on the field among us. To battle!”
Estel removes her extra pair of poison-handling gloves and tosses them on the ground. She's littering today, it's fine.
The Light continues to burn around Colson, crackling over his armor periodically in Holy lightning.
"To battle," Anareline says grimly.
Shine nods.
"Right," Estel says. "Let's do this."
Colson prays to the Light, settling a Blessing over them all.
Malik the Unscathed waits at the foot of the stairs that lead up to the imperial palace. “The Klaxxi have spoken. The Empress will fall,” he says. “Are you ready, Wakeners?”
Colson adjusts his gauntlets, a muscle jumping in his jaw once.
Estel reapplies her Fear Ward on herself. "Yep. Gotta be."
"What, now? Right now?" Almeiria asks, mostly to herself.
"I am ready," Anareline says, her eyes blazing fiercely.
Shine nods again. He looks ashen but grimly focused.
"Vanquish evil, protect the innocent. Walk in the grace of the Light," Colson says, like a prayer.
Malik the Unscathed mounts the first steps. “Who holds this swarm? Show yourself! Answer to the Klaxxi!”
Atop the stairs, an attenuated figure in ornate dress spiders forward. “Treasonous Klaxxi,” he rasps scornfully. “Her Magnificence was right about you.”
Malik the Unscathed says, “Speak your name, puppet, that our annals will be complete!”
The figure makes a mocking bow. “Grand Vizier Zor'lok, voice of the Empress.”
“Your ‘Empress’ will fall,” Malik tells him. “The Klaxxi have pronounced judgment. Stand aside or be brushed away.”
Imperial Vizier Zor'lok raises his voice. “The Klaxxi are to be disbanded, by the will of the Empress.”
“Blasphemer!” cries Malik the Unscathed, and leaps into the air to hover above the Vizier.
Imperial Vizier Zor'lok gives a buzzing-humming laugh. “The desperate Klaxxi have resorted to digging up fossils. Very well: let us finish this.”
Estel Shields Malik.
The Vizier raises his arms and makes a rending gesture in the air. Estel’s shield winks out, and Malik the Unscathed is literally torn apart.
Too late, Colson sends out a Hand of Protection — it dissipates.
Oozing fragments of Malik’s carapace rain down across the steps.
"Shit," Colson curses, with feeling.
Anareline pales.
Shine makes a strangled noise of dismay.
Imperial Vizier Zor'lok rasps, “‘Unscathed,’ indeed.” He raises his voice again. “Forward! The Klaxxi reveal themselves as traitors. Decimate them, and leave nothing behind!”
A thousand chittering, clacking voices rise above the battlefield behind them.
"The Klaxxi are fulfilling their proper purpose," Anareline says. "We still stand."
Shine turns toward the battle now raging behind them. He nods.
Almeiria swiftly turns towards the battlefield. "I am more concerned about ourselves," she says. "We must survive this."
"Stand in the Light, and be seen as we are," Colson says, another sort of prayer, as the Light burns in his eyes, golden and bright in Divine Favor.
Estel Fades, moving to put the stair-post at her back.
Anareline turns to cut a path through the army of imperial mantid.
Kaz’tik the Manipulator and the kunchong Kovok are in the trench immediately to the south of the palace tree, fending off a massive winged fighter with the aid of Xaril the Poisoned Mind.
Estel immediately Shields Kovok.
"Kovok!" Anareline cries, and dives into the fray. She is… trying to defend a kunchong that is five times her size at least.
Colson doesn't hesitate as he sends out a Holy Shock to his bug son.
"We got you!" Estel calls to Kaz'tik.
Kovok chitters triumphantly as their enemy falls.
Kil'ruk the Wind-Reaver descends from the sky to slash viciously into some nearby imperial warriors.
A wave of almost overwhelming terror washes across the battlefield, raising thin screams and cries of panic and rage from all sides. The mantid clash furiously. Near the center of the trench, a giant sha-creature has spawned, and is locked in battle with Hisek the Swarmkeeper, Ka’roz the Locust, and Iyyokuk the Lucid. It radiates palpably icy dread.
Colson gasps, and encases himself in a Divine Shield.
Shine cries out. And then shadowsteps into the fight.
Anareline flinches, her ears drooping. And then she charges in.
Estel's Fear Ward is burned away by the wave, and she rushes after Anareline and Shine.
Colson breathes slowly and carefully, a Hand of Protection held ready as he sends out a holy shock at the manifestation.
Almeiria spends several seconds unable to call her magic. Her steps forward are stumbling and tentative.
Colson’s Hand of Protection closes over her, full of compassion.
Estel switches to the Light against the Manifestation of Terror.
"I will go home again," Anareline mutters to herself, as she fights the largest sha she has yet faced in this land.
Shine hurtles back and forth in a killing spree, as if he thinks he can dodge the terror by staying in motion.
The Manifestation of Terror falls before the combined onslaught of White Squad and the paragons. It collapses into smoke and vanishes, and the miasma of fear over the battlefield is lightened.
On a nearby ridge above the trench, Skeer the Bloodseeker, Rik’kal the Dissector, and Korven the Prime clash with a behemoth kunchong, which sprays a noxious amber pheromone vapor around itself.
Anareline charges in to fight the kunchong, larger than Kovok.
Colson hurls a hammer of Light at the center, to heal the paragons, and harm the kunchong.
Shine leaps in to stun the giant creature. No pheromones today, thx u.
Estel keeps her distance as she Shields the paragons. She looks at Almeiria.
Almeiria, still shaken from the Sha, aids in the attack, though her magic is noticeably weaker than usual.
The kunchong staggers and falls with a literally earth-shattering crash.
A less powerful shield of Light encases Colson, as he steps as gracefully as he can to keep his footing.
Anareline steps back and raises her sword in a salute to the paragons.
Skeer salutes her back with his spear likewise upraised.
"We return to Klaxxi'vess," rasps Korven. "We have done what we can today."
"Understood," Anareline says, and turns to her team.
Colson inclines his head.
"Okay," Estel says. "Okay, we all here?"
"Aye," says Shine to Estel.
"I am here," Colson says softly.
"Yes, let's get back to safety," Anareline says, checking over to make sure each of the five seem unharmed.
Almeiria picks herself up from where the kunchong's fall left her, having lost her balance. "I am here," she says, though she doesn't sound happy about the exact location.
Estel nods and traces her Fear Ward in the air in front of Almeiria.
In the courtyard at Klaxxi’vess, Kil’ruk the Wind-Reaver stands grimly among his fellow paragons. “The siege is broken, for now, Wakeners. Thanks to your aid.” He pauses and there is a sense that something passes between him and his silent fellow paragons.
“Very well,” Kil’ruk says. “You only understand part of our order. You were outsiders, and have been treated as such. But now you are Wakeners, and your deeds have earned you the trust of the Klaxxi. It is no longer appropriate that we keep our secrets from you. Walk with me.”
Estel straightens up.
Colson waits for Ana to start walking before he does.
"Certainly, Kil'ruk," Anareline says, moving to the mantid's side.
Estel follows after Kil'ruk.
Kil'ruk the Wind-Reaver leads the way across the courtyard toward the sealed gate in the foot of the nearby tree. “We mantid are an elder race. The pandaren you associate with — they are but children. They have their role to play.”
Colson's expression is Very Neutral as he walks with Kil'ruk.
Anareline tilts her head, nodding slightly in understanding.
Kil’ruk gestures and the gate unfolds like insectile wings. He leads the way into a tunnel that descends beneath the tree. “Each cycle, our young swarm their walls. The pandaren slay the weak. The strong return. With each generation, we grow ever stronger.
“Before your history began, our empire was vast. We shared this world with our sister kingdoms, Ahn'Qiraj and Azjol-Nerub, connected in the vast depths below. Our Gods were many, and powerful. We mantid worshipped the seven heads of Y'shaarj.”
"Oh." Estel winces.
Anareline's expression also goes very blank.
“Great was the Old One, and terrible was His wrath. He consumed hope and begat despair; He inhaled courage and breathed fear. When the usurpers came — the ones you call ‘Titans’ — Y'shaarj was destroyed.” Kil’ruk leads the way into the great hollow chamber beneath the tree, where Klaxxi Vess-Guards stand watch over a clutch of eggs in a bank of amber fluid. “His last terrible breath has haunted this land ever since, but the shadows he left behind are mere whispers of his former glory.”
He leads them across the chamber to the far wall. Carved there is a picture of an insect-eyed, tentacle-faced being. To either side, its carved tentacles unfurl amid chaotic, jagged clouds.
“I tell you now,” Kil’ruk says, “because you have earned this warning. Your gods are not our gods, outsiders. If the Old Ones ever return, we mantid will once again stand by their side. The wisest among you will do the same.”
Shine is staring at the carving on the wall.
“That is all that needs to be said. Remember what you have learned today.” Kil’ruk looks them over. “The Klaxxi’va may never accept you fully. Their xenophobic minds are closed to the possibility of useful outsiders. But I, for one, have been proud to fight beside you. Your presence, and your assistance, do us great honor.”
"I am pleased we have earned your trust," Anareline says carefully, pointedly looking at Kil'ruk and not the disturbing carving. "Thank you for sharing this with us."
Colson gives Kil'ruk a respectful bow, holding it for an extra beat.
Kil'ruk bows, in a slightly more disturbingly jointed manner than Colson.
Estel bows in return to Kil'ruk. She is silent.
"So He was slain by the Titans…" Almeiria murmurs. "That explains a lot about the Sha…"
Estel nods to Almeiria.
Shine turns slowly to look at the others. His gaze falls on Almeiria.
Estel watches Kil'ruk.
Kil'ruk watches them back, politely inscrutable. It is hard to read that bug face. After a moment he rasps, "I leave you for now, Wakeners." He bows again.
Estel nods to Kil'ruk.
Colson bows back, respectfully.
"The last breath of Y'shaarj," Anareline says quietly.
"'The shadows he left,'" Colson repeats in some form of agreement or commentary. Unclear.
"Answers I had not expected to receive today," Anareline says, raising her eyes to the carving. "And we will need to remember their loyalty."
"There is always wisdom in understanding another, no matter what banner or belief they hold," Colson says mildly.
"So things have gone from bad to even worse," Estel says, looking at Anareline.
Anareline turns to Estel and Almeiria. "Can they do that? Curse an entire land with these spirits… with a breath?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure." Estel grimaces.
"Does their loyalty extend, then, to Squiggles? I imagine so," Almeiria says.
"I would think," says Shine quietly to Almeiria. "Aye. They would have chosen… Squiggles."
"So we think this is true, not mythology," Anareline shakes her head. "And he did say the Old Ones, so I assume that includes the others."
Colson inclines his head. "I believe the mantid are connected to the Light. It is not surprising they are also connected deeply to Shadow," he says, ever a man of certain understanding of the world.
"He said they would follow if the Old Ones return. The mists maybe kept them from knowing? About… Squiggles? For which we should be grateful," says Shine.
"There was always Void present in the Sha," Almeiria says. "But something about it struck me as… off. Now we know why."
Anareline considers Almeiria for a moment, and then turns to Shine. "I think they should not hear it from us, considering… though Squiggles seems quiet these days."
"Worship of Squiggles could empower, and so I agree, it cannot be spoken of," Colson says.
Estel looks at Anareline. "We've bought a bit of time, I think, killing that huge-ass fear Sha. We should go home. At least for a bit."
Shine nods at Estel. Very nod, much agree.
"I believe that Estel is right. This place grows more dangerous for us all," Colson says mildly.
"Yes," Anareline says. "I think we have earned their trust, and what may be considered friendship with some. They will not begrudge our return to our hive. I will tell them we will return, to fight the Empress."
Estel looks visibly relieved. "Yeah. Thanks."
"I, for one, would like to discuss what we have learned with the Lorewalkers," Almeiria says.
Colson inclines his head to the priestess.
"Aye," says Shine. "That's a good — aye."
"That would be wise," Anareline nods. "I believe few must know of this. But even so… we still have a common enemy in the Shek'zeer, in the Imperial mantid."
"Yes," Colson agrees. "That is certain."
"If the Titans… slew this one, but not the others… I… don't know what that means. Do they have facilities here in Pandaria, or… not?" Almeiria murmurs.
"Facilities?" Shine asks Almeiria.
"For sure they do. We've seen one." Estel folds her arms. "In the Mogu'shan Vaults."
Colson nods. "Yes, in the vaults," he agrees.
"Ah, yes, the titan machines," Anareline nods. "The ones repurposed by the mogu, unfortunately. We do not know how extensive, but they are there."
"Ah, that Engine," Almeiria says, nodding. "But if that was not for imprisonment then — and does this mean the mogu were also left by the Titans, as so many other races, to oversee the machines?"
"Weren't they a stone race?" asks Shine.
Colson blinks. "That would be consistent with other origins, but the mogu have not demonstrated actions that are consistent with a caretaker," he says carefully.
"Stone races do seem to be a calling card of our dear Titans," Almeiria says. "Then perhaps they were corrupted, as were the vrykul."
"They seem as though… they might be of titan origin, looking at them," Anareline considers. "And perhaps it means something, that the titans slew Y'shaarj here, and everywhere else they built prisons."
Shine nods at Almeiria, and then at Anareline.
"Hm," Colson says.
"Maybe they saw how the death of Y'shaarj… shadowed the place," Shine suggests. "And decided not to do it elsewhere."
Estel snorts.
"The danger of death versus the difficulty of imprisonment," Colson says slowly. "That could be."
"I would think it far worse to leave them alive if altruism was the goal of the Titans," Almeiria says.
"They surely had reasons," Anareline says. "One does not build things like Ulduar and the structures in Silithis on a whim."
"Or perhaps one does," Almeiria objects. "We have no notion of how powerful the Titans may be."
"Are we dismissed?" Estel asks Anareline. "I'm ready to get out of here."
"Yes, let's go," Anareline says. "I will speak briefly with Kil'ruk before I leave, to assure him we stand with them against the Empress."
Colson inclines his head to Anareline. "Light be with us all, and calm winds, fair seas." The words are accompanied with a Blessing of Kings.