The Wrong Guys IC II

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

DM only

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Assuming there's no trouble, Llaars leads him straight to the open field where he left the group earlier. Along the way, he answers any questions to the best of his ability, but shies away from mentioning Paral.

[Ajadea]

Llaars comes back a while later with another paladin, presumably Kalan. He wields no weapons and wears no armor, though he does have a holy symbol of Aldaran around his neck. His red hair is streaked with gray, and his blue eyes fix almost immediately on Audric. "Audric, what is going on here?" he asks, not bothering with introductions. "You haven't been at the temple recently, and you look exhausted. Aamir mentioned you were at the sorceress' house. I hope you didn't touch anything there," he adds sharply. "It seems she had a certain affinity for traps."

[Savannah]

Rana, tucked in the back of the group as far away from the paladin as she can be, manages to muffle her snort of mixed amusement and exasperation at the mention of traps in the sorceress' house.

[Strawberries]

“Kalan. Thank you for having come.”Audric doesn’t bother to hide the relief in his face and tone. “I… yes, I did notice the traps, I mentioned them in the letter I sent you. I hope no one was hurt. And this has to do with that sorceress, more or less”

He takes a breath. Stop procrastinating, Audric. “These are my allies, those I mentioned in my earlier note. You already met Llaars, and those are Rana, Antal…and Shadow. This is Kalan, my mentor and my friend.” He keeps his voice carefully neutral during the introductions. He already remarked that his allies have saved his life and are good people in the note he sent a couple of days ago, he sees no reason to stress that again. He motions to the boy tied up on the ground “This is Paral, or at least I hope he still is. He has been possessed by a spirit. That…ah, that would be what I need help with. I am not sure what to do.”.

He doesn’t doubt Kalan will ask him to elaborate, and he has every intention of mentioning him that the boy was already a sorcerer. It would be foolish not to, when that is a variable that can influence the process of driving the spirit out.

[Ajadea]

"It is good to meet you," Kalan says, tone rather warm. "Audric, I cannot help you with the act of freeing this boy. I don't have the power to oust a spirit from his body through any method save the most distasteful, and somehow I don't think that is how you wish to save Paral." He is clearly fond of Audric, though at the moment he also seems a little weary and annoyed. "I know the theory, and I know it is dangerous, both for you and for the boy. He may die anyways, from the pain the spirit will attempt to reflect on to him."

Kalan frowns, and his brow wrinkles in thought. "How was this boy possessed?"

[Strawberries]

"The theory is all I'm asking help with." That, and maybe a word of advice from someone he trusts on the mess he has managed to get himself into. He closes his eyes for a moment before answering "I am not really sure. That sorceress kidnapped him, that I know for certain. We chased after her, to try and save him, and when we did find him, he was battling against the spirit’s possession. He was himself for only a couple of minutes, and he mentioned a fight, but he was delirious, what he said didn’t make much sense. Kalan - " he hesitates, then comes out and says it, in a slightly rushed voice "The boy was a sorcerer even before. I don’t know how that may affect the ritual."

[Ajadea]

Kalan seems to accept this torrent of information with relative equanimity, all things considered. "And how did you know that?" he asks. He seems to be faintly amused for a moment, but that is quickly replaced by the weariness he arrived with. "Few would save a sorcerer from a sorcerer, and I do not believe anyone has ever attempted an exorcism on one." It is difficult to tell whether he means this as a compliment or a rebuke. "I believe that Paral's innate magic may interfere somewhat with the ritual-most relevant would be that his chance of perishing would increase. Unless the spirit is unusually powerful, his magic should not make it harder to remove it. The fact he was able to communicate with you at all while fighting possession will make it easier. Clearly the boy has tremendous levels of willpower, and that can help him shed the spirit's influence over his body."

He rakes a hand through his hair. "There are some spells that will protect you, at least partially, from the spirit's influence. I don't know if you have one of them prepared..."

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Yes, I'm talking about Protection from Evil Arcane here.

[Strawberries]

Audric shakes his head "I don't." But that doesn't mean that they are out of the question yet. Almost automatically, he throws a look at both Rana and Antal, looking for any sign of recognition on their faces. It doesn't occur to him to conceal the gesture to avoid Kalan noticing: his mentor's attitude has eased his worry considerably. Though he had firmly believed that he man was open-minded enough to handle the situation, it was reassuring to witness it first hand.

He unconsciously relaxes his posture a little, and it is in this moment that he notices there's something wrong with the paladin before him. "Kalan, you look tired, too. Has something happened?" he asks, with an edge of concern to his voice.

[Ajadea]

"The sorceress possessed several magical items of unknown origin and function, and most of those were trapped several times over. Five were injured within the first few hours of investigation, despite the warning you sent. One of them is dead now. He was rotting from the inside out." Kalan is visibly disgusted by this, but by his voice you'd never know. "The sorceress is paranoid, powerful, and clearly delusional, considering that Iil'xaatha perished some 433 years ago. He had only a handful of disciples, none of whom survived long enough to see their master die, or spread his dark teachings. Audric, you never told me how you discovered the traps in her house."

[Jallorn]

That's not important, Antal is driven by the dual impulses of embarrassment, and wanting to help Paral, Can we get this thing out of Paral or not? I want my friend back.

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

Crossing his arms, Llaars just shrugs at the question. "Short answer? The hard way."

[Strawberries]

When Kalan mentions what happened to the paladins, Audric blanches, swallowing hard. "Gods." he whispers, and shuts his eyes tightly for a second to keep the sudden feeling of grief and...guilt at bay. He knows it is irrational, but he can't help to feel responsible for having put people in harm's way. He looks again at Kalan when both Antal and Llaars speak "Yes, we met the sorcerer's familiar, and then were lead to the sorceress herself. I was...caught in one of the traps when we were investigating her books" He decides to draw a veil on Antal's part in that episode, to avoid embarassing the halfling.

[Ajadea]

Kalan raises his eyebrows. "I suppose that explains why a book was the one relevant item we found that hadn't been trapped." He doesn't seem to be entirely buying your partial account of the story, but he does not press the matter either. "Well, I suppose there is little I can do to stop you from this venture. Though I wasn't aware you had the capability to perform an exorcism." He sighs. "In any case, the incantation isn't particularly difficult, it's the power required behind it that makes exorcisms tricky. I'd suggest you use all the power you have at your disposal, as you are unlikely to get a second chance. You'll want Paral as far away from you as you can reasonably manage-fifty to sixty feet seems to be around what most can do. And you three," he adds, turning to Rana, Antal, and Llaars, "should be at least twice that far from the boy. We do not need to give the spirit further chances to find a new body."

[Savannah]

"Indeed we do not. Do you have any suggestions for ensuring that the spirit is destroyed once it is driven from Paral's body?"

[Jallorn]

I... Antal pauses, uncertain. He looks at Audric, and seeing the trust Audric has in his mentor, finally finishes, I have a little power, could it help? It's arcane, if that would be a problem, I learned a few minor tricks from Paral.

[Ajadea]

"Stand far away," Kalan replies in a dry tone. "An incorporeal spirit is nigh-impossible to strike. However, if it cannot find a new host within a few seconds, it will disappear, as it is functionally incapable of remaining in the realm of the living for more than a miniscule period of time. There once were weapons that could indeed destroy the incorporeal spirits, but the art of making them has been lost, I fear."

Antal's words seem to shock Kalan slightly. Given his decades as a paladin, you could have seen that coming from several hundred miles away. "A-no, the origin of the spell likely shouldn't matter. However, I have no evidence to back up my claim due to the...rarity of this sort of situation." He looks almost nervous.

[Strawberries]

Audric nods along with Kalan's suggestions. Standing back, focus all of his powers...those are all things that wouldn't be difficult to do. It is using the power itself that would probably be the hard part. But since he is the only person that can do it he sees little scope in dwelling on the difficulties so much

When Antal speaks, Audric gives him a confused look: the halfling had never explained where his powers came from, and he had always thought that arcana was impossible to learn. But that was another thing that mattered little now. He puts an hand on Antal's shoulder, squeezing slightly both in thanks and reassurance "Ah...that would be the second reason why I asked you to come here alone." he says to Kalan, looking slightly embarassed and unconfortable.

[Ajadea]

"I see. In any case, I see little point in waiting. Move Paral and cast the warding. You three will then back away. Audric, I will remain with you, to guide you through this." Kalan is remarkably non-chalant about asking Antal to cast his spell. Indeed, he seems quite composed in general, considering that his directions make him the most likely to get possessed in the aftermath.

[Savannah]

Rana looks puzzled and slightly suspicious, "But...won't that put you at risk of being possessed? What aren't you telling us?"

[Ajadea]

"I have not told you many things. But I have no more knowledge immediately relevant to this situation. I simply hope to minimize the chance of anything going wrong with the ritual."

[Strawberries]

"No." Audric answers resolutely. "You can guide me throught this from 100 feet away. There is no way I'll allow you to stand beside me while I do this."

[Ajadea]

"Without someone there to assist you, you will be, effectively, acting blindly. All told, that is about as dangerous as performing an amputation with a greatsword. You clearly want this boy to survive, or he would already be dead. Let me help you, so you don't kill him in the process of cleansing his soul."

[Strawberries]

"Of course I want him to survive. But I don't want to put you at risk for that to happen!" Audric exclaims. He draws a breath "What happens if I manage to oust that spirit, and it manages to possess you?"

[Ajadea]

"I believe you have stated exactly what would happen. I would become possessed. There are protocols for this sort of occurance, though they are rather old." Kalan shakes his head. "Given your attitude towards this, however, I believe I will step away. You need to concentrate on this, and it is clear my presence will prove at least as much of a distraction as it would a benefit."

[Savannah]

Rana hesitates, then speaks softly, "Audric, may I speak with you for a moment?"

[Strawberries]

He hesitates, then nods "Of course"

[Savannah]

"Privately." Rana turns and walks out of easy hearing distance from the group.

Err...just realized I forgot to do this in my last post, sorry, I'll have more to say after I hear back...
Ajadea

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Sense motive (1d20+4)[19] on the entire encounter with Kalan -- Does he seem sincere? And not, say, stalling for other paladins to come along?

[Ajadea]

Rana

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Kalan seems sincere. He's also worried, but you can't tell why.

[Savannah]

Rana speaks quietly, out of hearing of the rest, "I do not understand why he would put himself at risk. However, he seems sincere. This will be dangerous enough without you going in blind, and he knows more than the rest of us do. Let him help you, Audric. If he's possessed, we'll just do this whole thing again, but you'll know what you're doing then."

[Strawberries]

Audric doesn't answer immediately, but seems to think Rana's suggestion over, biting his lips. When he does answer, his tone is uncertain "I...there may be some merit in what you say" he says "But you heard Kalan: there is a real possibility that the exorcism would end up killing the host, too. That means that we can't "just do this whole thing again", there would be some risks involved. And I can't stand the thought of putting Kalan's life at risk". On the other hand, though, he recognizes that without Kalan's help, Paral's chances diminish. He looks at Rana with an helpless expression, as if asking for her counsel.