13 The Fading Finally help has arrived. The rest left Seonbi and I, their own obligations apparently above finishing this mission and seeing Ulman's geas spell broken. Joining us on this venture is Nadia, a likely young lady who seemed to be looking for her father, the adventurer's paragon Drago, and had been misguided into coming her with the group from Hope. Second was Mardani, a Bard of Tiefling origin, perhaps they'll be of help discerning the nature of this place? Zallin and Frank, a Lizardfolk and Dwarf respectively, lead just behind, in heated discussion about hygiene products of all things, and last was Linh, a young lady who had an air of experience about her. Also blind, which was a concern, one that was proved to be needless with how she carried herself later. Moving on at last, having been more of less restricted to the very first chambers thanks to the encroaching rot that enrobed the place like a horrific blanket of plagued flesh, we set off toward where we'd been headed days ago, though not before Nadia checked the chambers nearby. A fair but sadly fruitless venture, but worthwhile nonetheless if it saved us even a minute in this godless place. Nadia possessed an amazing ability to blend into the darkness as if invisible. Had I not been mentally linked with her via telepathy, I'd have lost track of her entirely. The others save for Linh certainly did, relying on me to communicate while she report her scouting back. The undead had thankfully not refilled the chambers from which we emptied them, making moving on easy enough. Until we came upon... the rats . I still shudder at the memory. They were huge, as big as the predators that normally spared the time to hunt them and save us all the trouble of looking at them. There had to be at least a dozen, and another came out, seemingly their broodmother, to make sure the job was done. The fight went on for longer than necessary, considering how the little horrors were so weak, but their swarm tactics proved capable of taking us down quickly until Seonbi came in and cleared their numbers with his impeccable spellcasting. The greatest discovery in the room was a bust of Orcus, shielded by some kind of force that succeeded in holding my entire weight as I leant into it. There must either be something very valuable, or very dangerous wherever this statue leads. Note: As mentioned in prior journals, the statues in this temple all have some kind of teleportation linked to them, allowing spellcasters to use them to move about faster. I for once envy the arcane and divinely gifted of my fellows. Moving through the chambers revealed more dangers of this place; undead that explode in a shower of plaguestuff, and traps. We actually discovered a whole pool of the stuff, though I may have caught something from trying to gather a sample. If only I had some tools, but I'm sadly not an alchemist. Hopefully Ulman will take interest in this and compensate me for the trouble. After finding a great collection of intact books, and fighting off yet more of the hideous things, we rested, then investigated yet another statue. It nearly cost Seonbi and I our lives in that very moment, as when we arrived, we were set upon by animated guardians hurling lighting like they were small gods. The return was a close call, my vestments partially singed, but with the help of our allies, we returned to clear the chamber and get closer to our goal. More books found, one of which we originally sought, and a few of monetary and intellectual value. Another statue forward, and we came across a cosy little reading room, and the final books to our collection. And something more, something dreadful. Our rifling through the tomes had come across a journal, with notes written on the edges denoting a hidden code in use. ----- Page 1: This is a terrible idea. Page 17: There is an error in the mathematics at this point. Page 22: Did you even read what the ToD says about this being? Page 23: “I do not think this would be enough Page 25: “Because of the vow of silence, that’s why. Page 26: So are you. Page 27: Because no one is going to be left alive to read it anyway, that’s why. Page 29: We should stick to what we do; attacking demons is work for warriors, not healers. Page 40: I had a strange dream last night, and the god told me that my help would be necessary for this project. Although I still think it is ridiculous to write the notes in code. Page 40: Very well, but I still think it is ridiculous "1–26–9–18–1–24" --- I wonder what this 'ToD' refers to, possibly 'Tome of Demons' if I'm to strike a guess. In any regard, the numbers were related to letters, as Nadia quickly figured out, and while I was still in the midst of calculating the letters, she uttered the word, the name , Azirax. The moment his name was called, he appeared and fell upon us in a rage at having interrupted whatever foul and infernal plotting he was conducting wherever in The Pit that he came from. Nadia took the initiative, grabbing those nearest to her and teleporting back out, leaving myself, Seonbi and Linh to fend for ourselves, and it was nearly the end of us as it struck out at the only means of escape. I thank our luck that Seonbi is more fortified than he looks, and somehow survived the blows struck upon him, though he still fell to the ground moments before I too suffered blows that nearly caused me to black out. Linh was our saving grace, but she took the wrong statue by mistake, and we ended up separated from the party. Nothing would make us go back the way we came, forcing us to try another route. A note for later, this chamber consists of four statues on each point of the compass. North goes back to the reading room where the demon was summoned, east takes you to a chamber you cannot leave if infected with pestilence of any kind, and south returns you to the eastern corridor at the temple's entrance. Linh and I became temporarily trapped, upon discovering the nature of this room as Seonbi attempted to leave with us and went without us by accident. I blacked out while trapped in there, succumbing to whatever coursed through my veins thanks to my contact with the glowing green muck eating its way through these once-blessed halls, waking to familiar faces. Our searching had recovered unmarked potions, and scrolls capable of cleansing us of corruptions, and after a quiet journey home, we handed over the books to Ulman, Nadia took those of use to her, as we parted ways with our lives and plumper pockets. I shall have to seek help, if I'm to ever go back there and resolve the mysteries in those halls. There's still much I haven't seen, but I dare not attempt it at my current power, nor will I travel with an unprepared party when the undead ignore my mind's assault. Another day, for certain.
