{"id":1471,"date":"2016-01-31T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/?p=1471"},"modified":"2016-01-08T04:08:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-08T08:08:52","slug":"rhiallis-graves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/rhiallis-graves\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhiallis: Graves"},"content":{"rendered":"

      Today\u2019s snippet, titled \u201cGraves\u201d, is a piece I wrote about my PC in Mark’s Pathfinder Campaign.
\n      Be forewarned, there may be mature themes and naughty language below.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n      \t\u201cThere,\u201d Mira pointed, \u201cCan\u2019t you see it? A secret door.\u201d
\n      \tRhiallis squinted. She could just make out the fine outline – maybe. Nodding, she smiled and hoped that no one could tell she was unable to see it.
\n      \tGraves sat up, straddling the pew, and leaned one elbow upon a knee, heavily. \u201cNo rest for the weary, eh?\u201d
\n      \t\u201cWe do need to regroup, but-\u201d Rhiallis glanced to Celeste for corroboration. \u201cI think we have to see what\u2019s through this door first.\u201d
\n      \t\u201cAbsolutely. We cannot leave our rear unguarded.\u201d
\n      \tSomeone – likely Sardones – snickered at Celeste\u2019s comment and Rhiallis was suddenly so weary. It was not that she did not like her companions, though certainly she cared for some more than others, but just that she missed her old life and her old friends. She missed her only childhood friends, Janvia and Guily, who she had not seen since she fled Ninyas at age twelve and were either white-haired elders or deceased by now; Gretti, Widow Hammond, and Lukila from Surdar, the first adult friends she had had, and the first people to love her just for her; Seraphina and Ema, friends who embraced the spirit of the Crusade and had trained with her, making her feel like a youth once more and had perished just weeks past.
\n      \t\u201cStand ready, we\u2019re opening it in three, two, one!\u201d
\n      \tRhiallis, pushed back from her customary spot in the second rank by the arrival of Niro, who was much more martially adept, held her blade at the ready and spared a thought for its previous owner. Kumiko, I hope you are at peace with your King in your own homeland\u2026
\n      \t\u201cDamn.\u201d Celeste\u2019s voice echoed queerly from within the chamber and as they began to shuffle in, Rhiallis could see why.
\n      \tThe chamber was small but some strange quirk of construction let sound waves bounce back and forth unnaturally. It had been looted to the gills, even the two massive marble statues had had precious metals and stones chipped off. A few smashed barrels and chests indicated that there had once been many fine treasures tucked away here – a keen eye could see the lingering impression of coins and bars in several of the velvet-lined coffers.
\n      \t\u201cDemons are greedy buggers. They must\u2019ve found this vault and robbed it blind awhile ago.\u201d Graves kicked a foot at the dusty floor in frustration. \u201cDon\u2019t think this is where they kept the Sword, though. Something like that would have to be much better hidden. No offense Mira.\u201d
\n      \t\u201cNone taken,\u201d Mira said and shrugged affably. \u201cMaybe there\u2019s another room somewhere else.\u201d
\n      \t\u201cLike, right here?\u201d Korael touched a section of the stone wall with one finger. Her nail traced the faint outline of a second secret door, scratching lightly at it. \u201cNo really, is this another one?\u201d
\n      \tMira moved forward and began to systematically check for traps. After a few moments she turned back to the group and shook her head. \u201cSeems clear.\u201d
\n      \tAgain, they lined up and readied themselves for battle. The secret door slid slowly open and musty air billowed out. Within, there was no movement and Graves stepped inside. She gasped.
\n      \t\u201cThe Sword.\u201d
\n      \tThe second vault at the heart of Drezen\u2019s cathedral held neither coin nor gem. Instead, there were five tall, armored statues. Rather than enamel, they were clad in real steel armor – somewhat dusty but otherwise untouched by age. Four flanked the chamber, proud and strong. It swelled her heart to see their valiant poses. On the south wall was a tattered tapestry in red and gold. On the north was an alabaster altar, a hunk of gorgeous cream stone that was so pure it could only belong in a holy place, and behind that, the fifth statue. A woman\u2019s form, posed to raise a metal rod, wearing steel – it was a beautiful piece. Upon the rod hung an ornate banner. Magnificently detailed needlework crafted the image of a longsword, point down, before a sunburst. Rhiallis felt her heart stop for a moment, the same surge of faith she had experienced when she had first seen the succubus masquerading as Iomedae.
\n      \tAs they filed in, Aimsley frowned and tapped Rhiallis\u2019 shoulder as if to speak. In that same moment, Graves reached for the banner and as her hand brushed the fabric, one of the flanking statues reached for her.
\n      \t\u201cIt\u2019s not even,\u201d Aimsley said, even as the thing shifted forms before their eyes, bashing Graves with an amorphous limb. \u201cMagic.\u201d
\n      \tThere was no time to question her, no time to think. Graves was trapped by some queer adhesive and the others had leapt to her defense. A weapon became stuck to the thing as well and Rhiallis hesitated before drawing Snowblood\u2019s Vengeance.
\n      \t\u201cMimics!\u201d Sardones cursed. \u201cThey\u2019re mimics.\u201d
\n      \tA second formless limb struck at Mira; one of the armored statues on the opposite wall had animated as well.
\n      \tDrawing the cold iron longsword she wore on her off-hip was awkward, but she managed and free it from its sheath and charged into the fray. Somehow, though the statue-mimics were slow as molasses in winter, she could not connected. Twice her blade caught nothing but air upon its finely honed edge.
\n      \tTo her left, with a feral squeal that was at once gleeful and terrifying, Mira slid betwixt the legs of one statue and dealt it a blow that – were it a living humanoid male – would ensure the beast never reproduced in a traditional manner (boom go da nuts). It slumped almost imperceptibly and did not move again.
\n      Spellfire blazed to her right and as Rhiallis swung again, she overcompensated for her previous attacks and missed again. Roaring, Graves freed Radiance from the sticky goo and surged forward with holy energy flowing from her every pore. Radiance ripped through the thing\u2019s flesh, burning the fiendish spirit and sending it to whatever hideous afterlife awaited it. Rhiallis\u2019 eyes were drawn to the glimmering golden blade as if it were a magnet and her golden eyes were made of steel.
\n      After a moment to check that everyone\u2019s wounds were tended, Aimsley and Sardones cast their arcane sight around the room to detect the presence of magic aura.
\n      \u201cSee?\u201d Aimsley nudged Sardones, who nodded. \u201cIt isn\u2019t even magic. That can\u2019t be the Sword of Valor, it isn\u2019t enchanted at all. Nice, but just\u2026yeah, not magical. And The Sword is an artifact of the church. It should be blinding.\u201d
\n      \u201cLike that sword,\u201d Sardones jutted his chin toward Radiance, which Graves was wiping clean. \u201cOr those teeth. Or that bloody book in your pack, Rhiallis. That could do some permanent damage, its so bright with auras. Good thing you keep it hidden, mostly.\u201d
\n      \u201cIt sure bruised Jensen\u2019s ego, at least.\u201d Mira snickered.
\n      Rhiallis glanced down at the jawbone hanging around her neck. It was a tremendously powerful object, but it paled in comparison to the Lymrian Discourses, safely wrapped in several layers of silk inside her enchanted pack. At least in there it won\u2019t blind the unwary ally who attempts to detect magical auras, though perhaps it would make an unpleasant surprise for any enemy doing the same, she thought with a mischevious smile.
\n      \u201cSo, it isn\u2019t The Sword. Damn. But this chamber – this has to be where it belongs. This is where we gotta bring it when we find it.\u201d
\n      Celeste nodded. —
\n      \u201cAnything other than us magic in here?\u201d
\n      Aimsley cast her gaze around once more at Korael\u2019s question and then pointed to one of the four flanking statues. It had not animated upon approach, so it remained tall and proud where the two that had were now slightly slumped. Niro began unstrapping the buckles and piling the pieces neatly at the base of the statue.
\n      \u201cThe others?\u201d
\n      \u201cNo. Just that one.\u201d
\n      \u201cIt was made for a paladin,\u201d Sardones said, drawing a finger along the finely etched steel chest piece. \u201cIt seems that it will grant divine protection and allow him to heal more often.\u201d
\n      Him<\/em>, Rhiallis pursed her lips. Naturally, he thinks only men are real paladins. Three capable, competent – no, extraordinary, incredibly talented – female paladins standing in the same room and he says him that way. <\/em>
\n      \u201cHeal more often, eh?\u201d Graves crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side in the manner that indicated she was mulling something over. Rhiallis\u2019 eyes moved briefly to Radiance in its scabbard at her friend\u2019s hip and then with difficulty she dragged her attention back to Celeste and Graves, who were discussing the armor\u2019s fate.
\n      \u201cI mean, Niro\u2019s plate is enchanted anyway,\u201d Celeste was saying in her most reasonable voice. \u201cBut he doesn\u2019t have the power to Lay Hands on anyone anyway. I say Rhiallis should have it. She\u2019ll make the best use of its power.\u201d
\n      \u201cAgreed.\u201d
\n      Korael paused, unbuckling the mundane plate from a different statue, and smiled. \u201cShe is the one most likely to make good use of that skill.\u201d
\n      \u201cIts just too bad it wasn\u2019t a short sword,\u201d Mira patted her weapon hilts. \u201cBut I think you\u2019re right about that.\u201d
\n      The party commenced denuding the statues, though only afterward Rhiallis began to feel strange about doing so for the armor was not just common loot, as adventurers might claim. It was part of the holy chamber\u2019s decor, it rightly belonged to Drezen and in her restored state, would likely need to be returned. At least, for now, <\/em>she thought, sliding another piece into her sack, the enemy cannot make use of it against us. We can discuss gifting it back to Drezen after all this is done and we rule the city again.<\/em>
\n      Sardones was chomping on an improvised meal of dried beef sandwiched between two hunks of trail bread with globs of innocuous-looking beige-colored garlic mustard dribbling down his fingers when Graves suggested resting in the secret chamber rather than the cathedral, as they had intended.
\n      \u201cOnly one exit,\u201d Niro said, thoughtfully. \u201cDefensible.\u201d
\n      There was not much room to spread out, but the vault was the most secure place they had come across since entering the Citadel. Those taking later watches rolled out their beds and tried to get comfortable. Rhiallis no longer needed to sleep, though she knew sometimes she would still lay and close her eyes and sleep, if only for the comfort the ritual afforded her. She found that she no longer required food or water either, but whatever energies fueled her instead could not satisfy the need to do the simple tasks of life. If she did not, Rhiallis knew she would only feel more alien and \u2018other\u2019. And Iomedae knows how often I\u2019ve dwelled on feelings like that before\u2026 being so similar, and yet just so\u2026 inhuman.<\/em>
\n      \u201cI\u2019m gonna sit up on that altar,\u201d Mira said quietly, \u201cKeep watch from the high ground.\u201d
\n      Aimsley chuckled and motioned to the back corner. \u201cI want to stay out of the way, back here.\u201d
\n      \u201cI\u2019ll be just by the door then. We can switch later, if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * * <\/center>
\n      The hours dragged on.
\n      Soft sighs, snoring, and the shuffling sounds of sleep echoed like thunder in the silent citadel. Rhiallis closed her eyes briefly, trying to push them out of her mind. She was a social animal and craved good company, but at that moment, she wanted few things more than an hour or two of privacy – real privacy, without a few thousand people in tents all around her as far as the eye could see – and maybe a hot, lavender-scented bath.
\n      And Viggo, <\/em>she forced her eyes open. Always Viggo.<\/em>
\n      Shadows stretched long and languid across the stone floor and upon the walls, cast by mage spells and enchanted objects rather than candles or torches. She frowned, tilting her head. For a moment, she thought one had rippled much as it would if a breeze caught a flame and set it to flickering.
\n      In the next heartbeat, it occurred to her that there were neither flames nor breezes in this chamber and her pulse quickened. Like with Mytra\u2026 those shadows!<\/em>
\n      \u201cThere\u2019s a shadow moving here – a shadow in the shadows!\u201d Her cry sounded louder than she intended and as she drew her blade, moving closer to her allies, Rhiallis said a silent prayer to Iomedae.
\n      \u201cGraves!\u201d Mira leapt from her perch.
\n      It all happened so quickly.
\n      One moment, sleeping peacefully. The next, chaos. Not one, but three shadows infiltrated, slipping through the very floors to run their icy fingers up spines. Sardones fled to a corner, leaving Graves alone with two of them, and though one focused on Celeste, it was the commander who took the brunt. Already in a weakened state, she fought valiantly – for nothing less would do for Ivy Ellen Graves, Commander of the Knights of Kenabres, Captain of the Seventh Armored Division.
\n      The paladins channeled holy energy but these shadows seemed stronger somehow, a heartier breed that resisted the light. The mages spelled them with fire and force missiles even as Korael and Niro slung arrows and blades at them.
\n      It was not enough.
\n      When the battle was over, when the shadows were just shadows once more and the vault was as silent as a crypt, nothing they did was enough.
\n      Graves was dead.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n\"Signed,
\nNote: Image is “King Jagiello Statue Central” by (Mulligand) from SXC.hu; edited by me<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Today\u2019s snippet, titled \u201cGraves\u201d, is a piece I wrote about my PC in Mark’s Pathfinder Campaign.       Be forewarned, there may be mature themes and naughty language below. – \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –       \u201cThere,\u201d Mira pointed, \u201cCan\u2019t you see it? A… <\/p>\n

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