Annabel Lee Ch. 1: The Angels In Heaven Above

[BizzaroStormy]

*cough* All the more reason I cannot be stopped here. Cage sits down and begins tending to his own wounds.

[Proven_Paradox]

Toryn sighs and places his hands inside his cloak--completely concealing them. It's possible he's putting pressure on his minor wound beneath it. He puts on a smile that looks somewhat forced and says, "I just wanted to talk before. What makes ya think stabbing me's gonna change 'at? I got questions. I'm hoping you'll humor me in answerin' them. Let's start with the big one. You--a being of goodness and purity, if we're to believe the stories--charged at me. Straight past the huge demon with a choke-hold on one of your mates. Straight past the man pulling animated skeletons out of a bag to attack another one of your mates. At me. I don't claim to be no saint or nothin', but I like to think I'm a pretty okay guy. An' I was jus' standing 'ere, trying to get everyone t' talk it out. Now, I could've understood it if ya'd attacked one of them. I've been hanging around this group for years, and it still freaks me out a bit when 'ey do that t' tell ya the truth. But, nope, charge at th' halfling. So, same question to you. Why?"

[Ascension]

"I'm sorry," the angel apologizes, his voice sincere, "I'm so sorry It has tainted you. You seem like a decent fellow otherwise. It's too bad... *cough* It's too bad we'll have to purge you."

[RelentlessImp]

"I'm tired of this," the Orc snarls, stalking over to the fallen, talking angel and dropping his greataxe in front of the angel's face, twisting it around so the sharp edge is directed at the angel's nose.

"Start talking sense or learn what it feels like to have fresh air hittin' your brain."

[Ascension]

"Go ahead. Kill me. More will come. The only way you'll possibly reach your goal is if Our Lord lets you."

[Proven_Paradox]

Toryn glares at the orc as he threatens the prisoner. His tone is deadly serious as he says, "Not cool, man. I got questions for this guy; if you're getting impatient, go on without me. We jumped into this without knowin' nothin' about it. That was a mistake. I don't plan to do 'at again."

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If Zurktz moves to kill the angel, Toryn will jump between the axe and attempt to deflect it.

Turning back to the angel, Toryn says, "All right. Details are everythin' here. What is 'it,' what kind of taint, an' are there ways to get rid of it other 'an dyin'?"

[Ascension]

"The Taint is the mark of The One Beyond, He Who Dwells Between The Planes. First it drives you mad, then it shapes you into one of His servants," the angel pauses for a moment and raises a shaking hand to point at Cage, "That one is doubly Tainted, for the demon within him was once a Tainted angel. The Taint does even worse things to the humans it corrupts. Only the gods can remove the Taint yet preserve the Tainted, and even they can't do it fast enough to halt its spread. Why did you think Hell was created? It's a dumping ground for the Tainted. Maybe soon it will be your home."

[Bellwether]

Asani sighs, fingers steepled at her temple. "If we all went through the Blood Gate, why weren't we all 'tainted'? I mean, you said I wasn't. Why not? Is it contagious, do I need to sleep on opposite sides of the campfire? And, perhaps most importantly..." Asani looks at the angel, frowning, then surveying the rest of the group. "You're gate guardians. Some of you are...dead. Well, three of you are dead. What's going to happen now? With the gate, with the Taint?

"I can honestly say that, though I cherish chaos, this is not what I had in mind."

[Ascension]

"The Taint can be resisted... for a time... through force of will. We can't defeat it by making the mind incorruptible, though... that's where the devils came from. Hell's policemen, they were, completely resistant to the One Beyond's Taint. We just didn't realize they were so vulnerable to the Taint of Evil. It's a prison for all of them now, the devils and the demons. You have resisted the Taint for now, but any time you pass through the Plane Between Planes, you will be exposed to the Taint again. If you walk the Planes long enough, eventually you will succumb, unless you are a Devil in human form. Or Zerachiel himself. But I do not think the Archangel would have stood by while his Gatekeepers were slaughtered."

The angel laughs. It is a pained, bitter laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Neillos:

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You recall that Zerachiel is revered as "The Hand of The Nameless God." Legend has it that he passes freely between the Heavens, the Earth, and Hell, imposing The Nameless God's will on the entire universe. Judging from the angel's words, there may be truth in this story.

Asani, Toryn:

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Out of the edge of your vision you see what seems to be a crow flying high overhead, but if you attempt to focus on it, it is no longer there.

[TeeEl]

"Now, that's most fascinatin'. I wonder if our friend doesn't know of this Taint, or if he knew and chose not to tell us. I do so hope we get back successfully now. I have some... interesting questions to ask him about it," Hiram says, idly fingering the edge of his glaive.

He gestures idly with the haft in the angel's general direction. "It's a pity we must meet under such regrettable circumstances, isn't it? I imagine you all would have plenty of interest in those questions as well. I must say, if all this tainted plane-between-planes business is as bad as you say, your folks could surely be doing a better job keeping it under wraps. We got caught up in this all rather incidentally... not that it seems to matter much to you, mind... but seems as there's others out there taking a mighty strong interest in it."

[Ascension]

"You're not supposed to know," the angel replies, "Mortals are too curious for their own good. As long as we tell them planar travel is impossible, few seriously try it. If we told them of The One Beyond some fool would try to defeat Him. Would probably get his whole army Tainted."

[JackMage666]

Neillos mostly ignores everything, and goes about healing and repacking his minions.

[Proven_Paradox]

"I don't have any intention of just givin' up and movin' t' hell. You say only th' gods can stop it? Then I'll just have to talk to a few gods. If there's a way, you better be damned sure I'll find it." His words sound confident, but his tone, not so much.

[Ascension]

"Good luck," the angel replies (with a hint of sarcasm in his voice). Having said all he intends to say he closes his eyes and waits for death.

[Bellwether]

Asani seems to sense the finality of this statement, that the conversation is over. Raising her hand, she states, "I am completely against any of you killing this angel." Though her actions may take light of the situation, her tone is serious.

[JackMage666]

Neillos, assuming that the gatekeeper died, goes to inspect the corpses of the already dead angels, looking first for valuable objects, then the bodies themselves, as they're quite valuable to him.

He lets out a number of audible "Hmmmms" and "Ahhhs" before moving onto the next in each case.

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Mainly, looking to see how strong the bodies are themselves, in initial terms of HD. If Str wants to provided to, I'd be quite pleased.

[Ascension]

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8 HD, 16 STR. One of them is headless, one of them is still alive. Their armor is non-removable. You can get two masterwork longswords off of each of them, though.

[JackMage666]

He remembers when he first found Dora and Kendra, the two Erinyes who now serve him. They looked similar to this, but only in some respects. He judges the bodies as frail in comparison, and leaves them where they lie.

He goes and piles the longswords up, as well as any loose jewellry or anything else on the already dead ones, as is accustomed for their usual practice of dividing loot.

"Anyone going to want these? I have no use for them..."

[TeeEl]

Hiram glares at Asani, then relents. "Fair enough. Say, I wonder if angels need to breathe. Got any room in that bag of yours, Neillos?"

[JackMage666]

"Umm..."

He thinks.

"Maybe. But they don't like the undead. If I put it in there, the angel will attack, and my creatures will fight back, as that's a basic command I put into them, to defend themselves if attacked. So, no. Bad idea."

[Bellwether]

Asani shakes her head. "No, no. The angels were here to guard the gate for a reason. We can't leave it unguarded." She taps her chin. "Nope, we need another solution."

[BizzaroStormy]

Why don't we just put this one down and move on? He'll likely be replaced before long anyway.

[Bellwether]

"Because I said 'no.'" Asani replies sharply. "Unnecessary, unhelpful and I just won't do it, and I will do my utmost to keep you from doing it, and if you do so I shall be very cross and likely 'forget' how to heal for a while." This is a little unlike Asani; she's not always so stubborn. But it's clear this means a lot to her and she's quite serious.

[TeeEl]

Hiram shrugs at Neillos's reply before turning to Asani. "Depends on how suicidal the fellow is.

I should care to point out, though, that the purpose to which these Gatekeepers were set involved them stopping us by means of repeatedly sticking a few feet of steel through us, so if we're keeping this one alive I'd just as soon find a different purpose for him."

[Proven_Paradox]

"And they failed at that almost completely!" Toryn says, frowning at the prospect of the angel being killed. "There ain't any good to come outta killin' him. From what he's said already, his higher ups prolly already know all about us; not like cuttin' him down'd stop 'at from happinin'. And if he comes at us again? I'll jus' kick his ass again! Killin' him won't do us no good at all. So why bother?" He pauses for a moment, thinking about what he'd just said, and turns to the angel in question to quickly add, "Ah, no disrespect or anythin'..."

[Ascension]

"I will not pursue you if left unharmed," the angel says in an even tone, with his eyes still closed, "You have my word. I have failed at that task, it is up to others to complete it now."

[Bellwether]

"There you have it. We're not killing him. Let's go." Though she appears ready to leave, she makes no movement from her spot, waiting for the others to move on first.

[BizzaroStormy]

*cough* Works for me. Anychance one of you could patch me up? I'm starting to feel kinda light headed. He stood against a tree with approximately 80% of his normally tan shirt now red.

[RelentlessImp]

Zurktz snorts, his nostrils flaring, and slings his greataxe across his back, catching the floating shield and buckling it to his waist.

"Let's head on to the golden city off in the distance once we're patched up," the orc says, taking another look at the angel, upper lip curling back in disgust. "I still say we should finish off the dead and dying; there's no point in leaving an enemy alive behind you."

[Bellwether]

Asani shakes her head at Cage, but nevertheless strides over to him. "I don't see the dead angels complaining about some flesh wounds, now!" Still, she gives him a smile to show she's merely teasing. "Tell me how this feels and if you need more." She places a hand on his forehead, letting healing magic wash over him.

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Cure Moderate Wounds
(2d8+13)[21]