Back aboard Persephone the bridge's four inhabitants sit in silence for a time. A song blares over the ship’s sound system- a medley of violin chords and music box notes accompanied by upbeat synthesized percussion. A confident voice can be heard speaking in a rhythm over the beat-
Crusin' in my Rental,
Look at my Credentials
My Dih’ say hard like a’ Ice elemental!
The scene from the ship's window had changed and once again reflects Teyathus in the dead of night. They are now high above a dense rain forest. Percival and V are seated side by side at the ship's controls. The Captain adjusts a series of dials and they begin slowly dropping altitude. "Okay this is the spot right Payne?" He asks.
"Payne?" Percival spins his chair to face Payne who is staring at him intently. "That was..." Payne begins, "An inter-dimensional portal." Finishes V, still plugging away at the controls. "Indeed," Replies the Magister. "This isn't an ordinary Airship." He says. Anemone rolls her eyes, "What was your first clue?" but Payne ignores her sass and addresses Percival.
"How did you come by this craft?" Percival raises an eyebrow, "Why would I ever tell you that?" Payne continues to watch him curiously. The orator’s voice continues over the loudspeakers-
Shout out to my kinfolk
Your lady is quite sinful
My dih’ stay hard
Like a’ Ice Elemental
My dih’ stay hard like a’ Ice Elemental!
“My dih’ stay hard like a’ Ice Elemental…” V absentmindedly recites gyrating in her seat as she pilots the craft. “V! You’ve been playing that Gods damned song for WEEKS now!” Anemone huffs, exasperatedly. V ceases dancing to shoot her an incredulous look- “You don’t like Magick Steve?” Anemone rolls her eyes, “No V- Endyllish rappers suck- no offense of course.” She hastily adds, seeing the affronted widening of V’s icy blue eyes.
"Whatever Bella… Okay kids, I got us as close as I'm gonna." Announces V. From the vantage point of the window, they are perhaps twenty ft above the treetops. "I'm here!" Aphrodite almost trips on her way back onto the bridge; she has changed out of her party attire. She is now wearing a lightly studded leather vest, and a pair of tights with black and white vertical stripes. Her princess shoes have been replaced with functional, black, combat boots. Her mythril war-hoop hangs across her right shoulder.
She saunters over to stand before the ship's dome shaped window and is soon joined by Percival and Anemone.. "Hey, Magister- over here! You are coming yes?" She asks. Payne stands and walks over to take his place on the platform beside the three pirates. "Okay- here we go." V says, and punches in a series of controls.
The air shimmers and a Portal is spawned directly in front of them- The scene on the other side of the gateway is distorted like looking through a carnival mirror, but there is a liquid quality about it. They can make out a structure just a few yards out. The building is a pyramid wrought from stone and metal- and has been overgrown with weeds and vines. At the pyramid's entrance, two hulking Cro'gal stand vigilant; both of the lizard men are wielding naginatas.
"Confound it! I had sincerely hoped that we would not have to deal with those disgusting scalies." Grumbles Payne. "Whoa there." Replies Percival, "That's racist as hell man." Payne makes a frustrated gesture at the scene in the portal. "Please! Those lizard men are savages in every sense of the phrase. And I think we both know how they feel about humans... and how they feel about Faerie blood, Mr. Grimm."
Percival shrugs, "Whatever you need to justify your racism." Anemone gives him a once over, taking in his fur lined jacket. The garment's top clasp is undone revealing a bare collar bone underneath. "We're in the middle of the rain forest, are you really wearing that here?" The Captain looks down at his garb. "What? It's my favorite. Besides what else would I wear? It's not that warm out." He replies, and Anemone shakes her head.
"How about a shirt?" She fires back and Percival looks as if the thought has never crossed his mind. He's about to walk into the portal but stops short, pondering for a moment before saying. "Hey V. change our position. We need the awe factor." Victoria gives a thumbs up and the portal abruptly closes and reopens- this time the distorted forms of the two lizard man sentries can be seen on the other side.
The Cro'gal take notice of the portal and raise their spears in unison. Anemone blinks in alarm, "Percival, what the fuck?!" He gives her a reassuring smile. "Look, we can't approach these guys timidly. We need to make an impression. Roll up like the sky people." With that he steps through the portal followed by the others.
The four travelers are deposited directly in front of the two Cro'gal as the gateway disappears behind them. The lizard men are truly a sight to behold. Where Nyxxa's reptilian features accentuated her sensual beauty- making her all the more exotic, the Cro'gal are saurian and distinctly beast-like in appearance. As far as Percival knows, Nymphs and Cro'gal are about as different as can be.
Both Cro'gal easily clear eight ft. in height, with saurian snouts and bulging muscles beneath their scaly, green, exteriors. They wear varying patchworks of modified body armor with metal, open-face, battle helms. They brandish their spears with a snarl, and Percival raises both hands in a non threatening gesture.
"We are not here to fight." He says, in Dhass. The Cro'gal on the left peers at him before wrinkling his nose distastefully. "Faerie... Roc not trust Faeries." His voice is low and gravely. "I'm not a Faerie- I'm human." Percival insists- stepping closer so that they can get a better look at him. "See?" he says. The other Cro'gal grunts- "You do look human. But your eyes- Faerie eyes... and your smell." He sniffs. "Faerie smell."
Anemone stands beside Percival, She makes direct eye contact with the Cro'gal who had just spoken. "We are human. I am human, and we mean you no harm." She speaks in a clear, commanding voice. The lizard man replies, "Maybe so- still- Grok not trust humans very much." At this, Anemone pulls the gorgon head medallion from between her breasts.
"I am Esebel Stheno of Titania. The Sthenos along with the other K'satya houses fought and died alongside Cro'gal resistance fighters during the War. Together they were able to free many of your kinsmen from being thralls of the Oppressors." She says, sounding every part the soldier and prodigy that Percival knows her to be.
Grog says, "You... are a Stheno? Your family is honorable. I fought beside them once in my younger years." Aphrodite gasps, "You fought the Oppressors? But that was over a century ago!" Anemone makes a visible effort not to roll her eyes, but Roc says, "Cro'gal much longer lived than humans. Sometimes five hundred years." His gruff voice is unusually kind when addressing the young Khalish girl.
"Wow!" Aphrodite sounds absolutely elated, and Payne raises a questioning eyebrow. "Please forgive me Miss. Athantus- but my Dhass is poor." He ventures. "Oh! Roc just said that Cro'gal can live up to five hundred years!" She replies in Gamroth Common. Payne tilts his head to the side, "Uh.. which one is Roc? They look exactly the same" He asks, and Aphrodite gasps, covering her mouth. "Gods! You can't say that!"
Percival turns back casting a judgmental look at Payne. "Yeah, wow...." Payne is unembarrassed, and proceeds to fiddle with his dueling cane. "We are sorry to intrude, but we need to get in this pyramid. There is something that the last inhabitants left that belongs to us." Anemone says. Grog ponders for a moment before responding. "The humans who worked here... They did strange things, and then abandoned this place. Friends of yours?"
Anemone shakes her head. "No, but they are known to our... friend, Magister Payne. The humans in the pyramids were alchemists- scientists." A low rumble sounds from Roc’s diaphragm, "We are not ignorant to the ways of man as some think us to be... but what those men did here. It was not science." The Cro'gal's words are weighted with the specter of secret practices, forbidden rites, and something very-very dark.
Finally Grog relents, "Very well- you may enter and search. We not, harm you as long as there is no mischief." He casts a meaningful look at Percival. Anemone bows in thanks, and the four of them walk between the two sentries and enter the pyramid. The first room is completely barren and like the building’s exterior is lit by torchlight. The sigils painted on the stone walls have been vandalized. The glyphs have been covered by pictographs of Cro'gal warriors doing battle with, and vanquishing their foes- tall, slender, humanoids with golden skin and white eyes.
"What kind of laboratory is this?" Asks Anemone, casting an uncertain gaze around the chamber. "This was once a stronghold for the Oppressors, Miss Stheno. The laboratory is hidden deeper within these walls. What better place to study alchemy and ancient magick, than a Desmavali Pyramid?" Payne ambles over to one of the drawings, and runs a hand across it. "As you can see, our scaly friends have taken it upon themselves to... redecorate."
The indicated drawing depicts a mass of Cro'gall burning one of the golden humanoids at the stake. "They really don't like Desmavali- why use this place as a lair?" Aphrodite's question is colored by her distaste for the gruesome scenes. "My guess would be they consider it a victory to occupy the space of their old enemy." Payne replies, directing his self satisfied smirk at Percival. "I simply love being right, Mr. Grimm. I suspected it- but those Scalies confirmed it- you're partially Desmavali... you're a hybrid."
The crew exits the outer chamber and begins traveling the stone hallway as the conversation continues. "So given that your father is the esteemed yet very human Admiral Wedge- it stands to reason that your faerie blood comes from your mother. But she would also have been a hybrid correct?" Percival rolls his eyes. "Yes- she's half. I don't know what you want me to say. My dad's military- he liked to throw his dick around."
At last the Party enters another large chamber; this one differs greatly from the other room. The sigils lining the walls have not been drawn over- from the looks of the place, the Cro'gal have taken care to avoid this place entirely. All four sets of eyes are drawn to the spectacle in the center of the chamber. There is a giant pillar with a statue affixed to it with iron chains as if being restrained. The statue is a massive humanoid with four muscle bound arms seemingly held to its side by the chains.
A multitude of red crystal spikes penetrate the giant's stone flesh as if in torture or execution, and his face is contorted in what could be agony or ecstasy. "Wow... someone had to spend a lot of time making that. They obviously enjoyed themselves way too much- They probably got a boner from it." Percival comments, making a face and taking in the bizarre sight. Anemone eyes the statue distrustfully, "I'll say this, if one of you activates a trap that makes it so that thing animates and we have to fight it- I'm punching you as hard as I can."
Payne blinks quizzically, "Hey! I found something!" Aphrodite yells from across the room. The three of them follow suite and are soon standing in front of a metal podium- upon the podium is a plain board with letters and numbers along with the words "yes" and "no" printed in Gamroth Common. A triangular cursor with a glass center rests on the board's top corner. "That's one of those medium boards." Says Aphrodite, "You know, the toy for those edgy, sulky types who try to use them to summon Desmagoria?"
Payne retrieves the cursor and places it on the board. "The irony may be quite intentional in this case. Even toys like this have their root in the arcane, after all." The Magister speaks, "Reveal." and the letters on the board begin to glow with red light. Anemone casts a quick glance back at the immobile statue before returning her stern gaze to Payne's activities "Careful."
Payne's left hand hovers over the cursor and it begins to move, it stops over the letter "N" magnifying it through the glass before moving on to "A", and then "M." After several more stops the cursor ceases movement leaving the party to consider the message. "Name the lord of divine agony, and enter?" Percival recites. "What kind of 'Alchemy research firm' are you dealing with, Payne?"
Payne tilts his head thoughtfully, "An ancient one, Mr. Grimm. I must admit that I have had very little contact with these gentlemen for many years." Anemone glares at him, "I thought you said this was your laboratory. What are we doing here?" She hisses. "Peace, Miss Stheno. I apologize for withholding but I assure you that everything is in order. I was... excluded from this little club many years ago, so a college of mine infiltrated their dealings on my behalf- and now they've all mysteriously vanished."
Percival nods toward the board, "So you know the answer to this little riddle then?" Payne looks mildly abashed. "Unfortunately Mr. Grimm- this is a new addition. However it won't be hard to figure out, obviously 'the lord of divine agony' refers to one of the Ada." Payne regards the statue behind them. "If I had to wager, I would say the answer is Promethus. In the stories, he met a similar fate to our friend back there as punishment for teaching magick to early man.
"In fact..." he adds, "Promethus has always been a bit of a patron for those of us who seek knowledge." and with that he once again places his left hand directly over the board. Payne manifests a translucent mage hand directly below his physical one and at his instruction it begins moving the cursor, spelling out the name "P-R-O-M-E-T-H-U-S". At this, the board's glowing letters flare and go dark as the entire room begins to vibrate.
A sudden commotion brings the party's awareness back to the center of the room. The massive pillar is alight with glowing red sigils, which shift and spread to the bound statue. The rumbling intensifies and the giant statue's eyes open to reveal glowing red orbs, the construct flexes against the iron chains and they break apart like wet paper. The stone behemoth falls forward but catches himself with two of his four appendages. Slowly, he stands before turning to face the party.
"Thanks, I hate it." Says Anemone. She snaps one of the fingers on her right hand activating the ring on her middle finger. Translucent, aether-armor encases her athletic frame. She snaps one of the fingers on her left hand and a translucent war hammer is conjured into both hands. Aphrodite readies her mythril hoop which becomes encircled with dancing golden orbs. Percival draws both of his Hexguns, pointing them directly at their new foe. "Okay... looks like we're doing this now."
As The construct braces and begins running at them- Anemone sighs and says, "The absolute worst."
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