Arcturus2 wrote:Traveler Monk will spend the rest of the day in meditation. He reflects upon the day's events.
He is unsure whether to tell his companions the exact nature of the vision he experienced that afternoon..
He decides to seek out Orbyn and ask his advice.
When he finds Orbyn, he relates the general details of his vision of the Goddess Esmariah to his friend. He refuses to say the name of the demon; it is safer and wiser to never speak such things aloud. Instead, he uses his stick to scrawl it in the dirt outside the Chinese Laundry..
ZEXKALLITH
When Orbyn has read the name, Traveler Monk erases it with his foot.
"Master Orbyn, I have never heard of this abomination before. I do not understand what involvement this demon has in Pestilence. I fear that Sherriff Virgil and his companions are in grave danger beyond what they can handle.. I fear there are evil forces at work which might claim not only their lives, but their souls as well."
He pauses, considering..
"Esmariah would not give me a task larger than I can handle. The Goddess loves her children. But I fear this matter is far graver than the Sherriff suspects. What course should I take? Should I reveal this vision to the good Sherriff, or was it for me alone to bear?"
What does Orbyn advise?
Orbyn admits he has never heard of the demon who's name they dared not utter. “I am an asimar,” he says. “My mother was a deva, one of the celestial beings. I am blessed with the memory of 1000 lifetimes. Like a vault of akashic records, I can access certain memories from past lives. But I must enter into a trance. I think that for us to know the answers to the riddle, you must accompany me on this humble and sacred journey.”
The elder monk spends some time preparing a paste from several ingrediants in the kitchen of Xim's boarding house. When he is finished, he makes a small fire in the backyard. He sips from a bowl of the green concoction and passes it to Traveller. Orbyn meditates for a time. Then he begins intoning the ancient syllables of primordial speech.
A new scene unfolds within the Traveller's psyche. He is transported to an ancient fire-scorched battlefield at the base of a gigantic dark tower. “This is the planet K'ruul, in the time of the Abyssal wars,” says Orbyn. “We are in the epoch following the dawn of time. It is when the demon reaver hordes of the abyss threatend to engulf all known civilized worlds.”
Orbyn stands up, a crazed look in his eyes. “I am a foot-soldier in the army of the mortal defenders. We have laid seige to the stronghold of the demonlord Zexkallith. He is a commander in the fiend army. Widely-regarded as cunning and merciless, he weilds a black sword known as Souleater, a wicked blade that tasted the blood of millions.”
Suddenly the landscape is lit up with a massive bombardment of rays of light flashing out of the dark smokey clouds. The lights are divine rays and they burn away the reaver hordes. The fiends scream as they sizzle. “An immortal defender known as Grathis has developed the ability to call divine lightning upon his foes.”
A low rumble is heard and and the land begins to tremble, like an earthquake. Then a massive explosion as the dark tower is reduced to rubble. “There has been a ritual conducted by a cabal of immortals. They have destroyed the dark matter spire. Zexkallith's body was annihilated, but his energy force remained and wandered, seeking a new vessel to control.”
Then the scene changes. They are in a meadow on a sunny springtime day. Wild flowers dot the tall grasses. Orbyn' s voice changes again, “I am Kathryn of Bilge, a sage domiciling in a cottage on the Antonar countryside. Zexkallith's energy force wandered far and wide through out the continuum. It has at last come to rest, studying a sad and accursed cyclops. It is Pierce, and he works in an Eladrin circus touring the Feywild. Zexkallith saw an opportunity and seized it, possessing the downtrodden cyclops. Using their combined power, the magic of the fiend lord and the bewitched brawn of the cyclops, they have become a force to be reckoned with.”
Then the journey is over and Orbyn is himself once more. He and the Traveler are again back on Xim's backyard patio. Orbyn bends over and pukes.
Home
lay on hands using Actual first aid as somatic component.
