The Silver Sphinx

 

“Hey! How do I get to a burg from here?“ - a polymorphed fiend infiltrator in Elysium

“When you deserve to, berk.” - Flynn, a guardian factor

 

 

Second Void Day of Savorus, 126 HR

The celestial River Oceanus, one of the largest planar pathways, was gigantic. On one side, the travelers could just barely see the shore, from which they had already moved far away - on the other side, however, there was nothing but water. If it hadn't been for the clearly visible current, one would have thought to be at sea, not on a river. The ship with the azure blue sails had cast off about an hour ago and was now pitching and tossing gently over the waves. At one point, another ship sailed past, elegant and slender, made of golden wood, with silken sails. The passengers were mainly elves and aasimar and waved over in a friendly manner. A little later, several large fish suddenly jumped up next to the bow. Morânia explained to her traveling companions that they were delphons, also known as songsharks. They looked like sharks, but had colorful skin, often covered with graceful patterns. They lived in the River Oceanus and sang with beautiful voices of many secrets of the multiverse. These delphons too sang a ravishing melody that immediately captivated the travelers - Lereia and Sgillin a little too much, for their gaze became absent and soon they were caught in a daydream. Morânia reassured the worried Jana that this state was not dangerous and would pass by itself after a few hours. Lereia and Sgillin would merely have a few pleasant dreams. However, the number of unconscious or sleeping group members now outweighed those who were awake. So Morânia got up from the cushions where she too had been listening to the delphons' song for a while, walked over to Kiyoshi and checked his condition. He was still hot as if he had an extremely high fever, and the scales on his wrists had now spread to his entire arms and hands.

Jana looked at Kiyoshi with fascination. "Is that unhealthful?" she murmured quietly.

Morânia had to smile. "As little as my horns, I suppose."

"But you've always had your horns, haven't you?" Jana shook her head doubtfully. "Isn't he perhaps ... too old for such changes?"

"Something like that may happen in later life," Morânia reassured her. "For example, it's not uncommon that the heritage of planetouched only shows when they reach adolescence. But it can happen even later."

Jana nodded understandingly and Naghûl had now also come over and leaned towards Kiyoshi. "He's very hot," he noted. "But that's probably because of the surge of dragon blood. - I hope."

At that moment, Kiyoshi's eyes suddenly snapped open and his three companions jerked back in surprise. Not only had his skin changed, but also his eyes - and in a very noticeable way. The irises were now a bright orange and the pupils were no longer round, but slit-shaped - another characteristic of his dragon blood. Kiyoshi sat up slowly, but still seemed confused and spoke a few words in a foreign tongue, maybe his native language from his home world Kamigawa.

"You've been away for a while," Jana explained.

He nodded seriously and looked around, seeming a little puzzled when he realized he was on a ship. "Forgive my ignorance," he said, "but may I ask where we are?"

Morânia briefly told him what had happened while he had been unconscious and explained that they were now sailing on the heavenly River Oceanus.

The young soldier let his now orange eyes wander over the waves. "Oceanus." He nodded. "Thank you very much, honorable Morânia-sama. But tell me, are we about to have another encounter with the bebilith?"

"I hope so," said Jana. "Because we must find him at all costs." She had taken a small casket out of her bag, which she now opened and took out a fresh, white flower. She looked at it from all sides, apparently to check that it was intact and in good condition.

"A very beautiful blossom," Morânia noted. "What kind of flower is it?"

"It is from our Sacred Tree," Jana explained with a smile. "My factol picked it for me, only he can touch the tree for longer without dying. Fascinating, isn't it? A tree that can kill almost anyone who touches it."

Morânia nodded gently. That was a common and popular story in Sigil, but outside of the faction of the Athar, many weren't sure whether it was just a rumor or the truth. She took a closer look at the flower: it was almost the size of a palm and not unlike a lotus in shape, albeit with broader leaves. It shone in a bright, pure white, and the yellow stamens inside it seemed to glow faintly even here in the daylight. Morânia felt a certain fascination, but also unease. The Bois Verdurous, the Sacred Tree of the Athar, had never made her feel comfortable. "Then ... it is true?" she asked Jana, almost hesitantly. "That only Terrance can touch it?"

"At least that's what everyone said," the sorceress replied. She looked up from the flower, grinned a little and shrugged her shoulders. "To be honest, I wasn't brave enough to test the truth of it myself."

Morânia smiled. "That was probably wise. The tree ... well, the whole temple ... forgive me for saying it so bluntly, but they've always been a bit creepy to me."

"I can show you around," Jana replied with a smirk. "I'm sure you'll find it enlightening."

"Yes, I'm sure I will." Morânia had to laugh a little at the idea. "I rather guess your friends will kick me out immediately."

"Ladies, please no debate on principles," Naghûl interjected. "We have a mission ahead of us, no missionary work."

Jana grinned with amusement. "I wouldn't want to lead your wife astray, Naghûl. At least not until this is over."

"Don't worry," replied the bal'aasi, spreading her feathered wings briefly. "You know, we are in Elysium. Rarely my god is closer to me." She raised her arms, put her head back and then called out: "Praise be to the Morninglord! Praise be to his light! Praise be to Lathander, the Prince of Elysium, now and for all eternity." As she lowered her arms again, she winked briefly at her husband. The fit occasion had been too good to leave it unused.

Naghûl sighed and hung his head a little in a mock dejection. "How naïve of me ..."

Both Morânia and Jana laughed, but Kiyoshi kept his face deadly serious. "No missionary work? How disappointing," he said. "And I was so keen to introduce you all to the light of the Harmonium."

"Well, what the Harmonium wants is basically all well and good," Morânia said. "Perhaps you are sometimes a little ... restrictive." She raised her right hand and brought her thumb and forefinger together. "Just a little bit."

"And a little too religious," Jana added. "A little."

Naghûl grinned. "And a little - but really only a little - too serious."

"Being funny is harder than I thought." Kiyoshi took a deep breath and sighed.

Morânia had to smile. "It's fine, we understand each other. After all, my faction strives for harmony a lot. More from the inside than the outside, but still ... And your factol is a really good man. Well, he's a paladin, he must be good." She winked at Jana at these words.

Naghûl apparently decided to lend a little support to the Athar, who was underrepresented in this debate. "Oh yes, but what does your faction really want?" he teased Morânia. "Actually, no one knows what the Ciphers want, except maybe the Cipher themselves."

"Come off it, Mr. Sensate," she replied with a laugh.

Naghûl pursed his lips and seemed pleased with his little ironic jab, but Jana sighed softly. "Well, if a good deed doesn't come our way soon, I'm afraid we'll only be left with debates on principles."

Morânia smiled. "But the debate - or cultivated discussion from time to time - about our philosophies is as much a part of the planes as heavens and hells."

"That's all right." Jana nodded. "I'll probably still have to get used to it. Sometimes I'm too sensitive."

"Yet, Jana," Naghûl replied good-naturedly. "But you'll get to grips with it. A few more years of being part of a faction and you will grow a thicker skin. It was like that for all of us."

Kiyoshi looked seriously at his scaly arms. "My skin seems to be getting thicker at an alarming rate."

His remark made Morânia smile. She noticed that Kiyoshi's comments were often funny when he didn't intend them to be. On the other hand, when he deliberately tried to use humor, it usually backfired. She glanced at the brass-colored scales. "It certainly looks impressive."

Naghûl nodded in agreement. "The scaly look suits you, my friend."

At that moment, the captain signaled the crew to slow down and Morânia stood up to take a look over the railing. "Ah." Her face brightened. "Here comes our good deed, it seems."

A small sandbank came into view, overgrown only by a few palm trees. One could hardly even call it an island. There were two people there, a man in his early thirties and a girl of about twelve, both of them dressed neither poor nor pompous, but wearing practical, seaworthy clothes. The man beckoned the ship closer and even from a distance Morânia could see that parts of a wrecked raft or boat were lying on the sand. The captain immediately had the crew steer to the sandbank and drop anchor. But neither he nor the crew went ashore.

Instead, the avariel looked at his passengers. "My friends, I assume this is your task."

Naghûl nodded. "Then let's give these two a hand."

He himself, Kiyoshi, Jana and Morânia disembarked, while Sgillin and Lereia continued to slumber peacefully in the soft cushions, enchanted by the song of the delphons, the unconscious deva in fox form at their side.

Kiyoshi bowed to the two castaways with folded hands, while Naghûl gave them a friendly wave. "Sharess' blessings," he called out. "Can we help you?"

The girl, who had been sitting by the water and playing with a crab, jumped up and waved cheerfully. The man standing next to her smiled warmly. "Greetings, dear travelers. My daughter and I are on our way to the realm of Peraine. Unfortunately, a current wrecked our raft on these stones here. Could you possibly help us to repair it? Regrettably, we no longer have any tools, they lie at the bottom of the Oceanus."

Naghûl nodded. "I think we'll be able to improvise a little."

The two smiled with relief, but Jana looked helplessly from Naghûl to Morânia and Kiyoshi. "I don't think I'm very good at fixing things. Especially not when they're heavy ..."

"Oh, don't worry," Morânia encouraged her. "You can just hand us things. Let's first see what else is on the ship that could help us."

"Oh yes, let's take the ship apart." Jana promptly looked much more cheerful. "That's something I can do."

The man gave her a doubtful look, but then smiled politely. Morânia stifled a grin as they walked back onto the ship to find the stowage. Sometimes Jana really was a little peculiar. Below deck, they found some solid wooden planks, ropes, nails and tools, and the captain kindly provided them with everything. The two castaways helped them carry the things from the ship to the beach.

Kiyoshi looked from the planks and tools to the remains of the raft. "Is anyone among us a carpenter?" he asked.

Morânia, Naghûl and Jana shook their heads, but the man nodded. "I know a little about that."

"If you instruct us, we will be happy to carry out the appropriate work," the soldier suggested.

The stranded man nodded and immediately explained what steps were needed to repair the raft. Morânia followed his instructions as best she could and Kiyoshi also swung the hammer diligently. The bal'aasi had the impression that, although he was not a carpenter, he had a great deal of experience in manual work. Jana, on the other hand, stood next to him and seemed quite overwhelmed by the man's explanations, but at least made an effort not to get in the way. Naghûl, who was also not particularly good with his hands, confined himself to fetch and carry or had a large, summoned green hand hold the planks and logs so that the others could work better. After about two hours, the raft was actually repaired. The two castaways thanked them warmly.

"We were happy to help," Morânia replied with a smile.

Naghûl nodded. "That's right. Have a good trip, friends! But phew, now I'm thirsty."

Morânia had to laugh because her husband hadn't really done much work in purely physical terms. He had left the heavy lifting to the magical hand, the rascal, and now he acted like an exhausted carpenter after building a house. His theatrical streak extended to all aspects of life, she thought to herself with amusement.

The girl waved goodbye as they went back on board. "Peraine's blessing be with you!" she called after them.

Jana waved back, confidently ignoring the religious greeting. "Be careful, do you hear?"

"We'll do our best," the man promised.

As the ship set sail again, the passengers leaned against the railing and watched as the two no longer shipwrecked climbed onto the raft and set off too.

Jana looked hopefully at Morânia. "And now we're ... getting somewhere?"

"That's right," the bal'aasi explained and added in response to the sorceress' troubled look: "Don't worry, it really works. Come on, let's sit down, you'll see."

Naghûl and Kiyoshi had already taken their seats again next to the two dreamers and the deva. The tiefling had drawn water from the Oceanus with his eternally cool beer mug from the Plane of Ice, which he now drank with relish.

Jana hugged her knees and grinned. "If only we could travel like this in Sigil."

Morânia laughed. "That would be nice. And no evil being would get ahead." She glanced at Kiyoshi. "Your factol's dream."

He nodded seriously and Jana giggled a little. "So, how does it work now?" she then asked. "Are we just ... there shortly?"

"Something like that." Morânia nodded. "Wait and see, you'll soon understand."

The voyage continued, and at first glance the journey went on unchanged: the wind was mild, the sun was warm but not scorching, and the ship sailed gently on the waters of the Oceanus.

But after about half an hour, the captain called out: "We have just entered Mishakal's realm, my friends. We are no longer sailing the Oceanus, but the river Niloa."

Jana straightened up eagerly and turned curiously to the railing. While they were still wondering how the captain had been able to determine their new location so quickly, they saw that the river was suddenly much narrower: they could see both banks again. On the left was a lush forest, on the right a pleasant undulating landscape. Morânia, Naghûl and Kiyoshi also stepped up to the railing next to Jana. Soon they saw a small stone building coming into view on the shore ... but something was wrong. Not a soul was to be seen. The earth on the shore was torn up and rumpled.

Naghûl frowned. "What's going on there?"

"Maybe we should take a look ..." Morânia said worriedly.

The others seemed to share her uneasy feeling at the sight, for Naghûl nodded immediately and put his jug away to exchange it for his staff. Kiyoshi put on his helmet and pulled out his naginata, while Jana waved to the captain. "We have to get ashore here," she called to him.

The avariel nodded and gave order to anchor.

Jana glanced anxiously towards the shore. "Do you think we'll have to ... fight that thing?"

"Quite possible, unfortunately," Morânia said with a sigh, glad that she hadn't taken off her armor and was now ready for a fight. "Let's go and see."

The ship was able to anchor relatively close to the shore, so they did not have to use a dinghy, but the landing stage was unfolded instead. Naghûl and Jana muttered some short incantations and cast a few protective spells over the group before disembarking. They cautiously approached the house and saw that the earth around it was churned up, as if a very large creature had scraped it up with claw-like legs. From the building - it appeared to be an inn - no sounds reached their ears, no laughter, no voices. Stables could be seen further back, but they could neither hear horses nor see a stable boy. It was almost deathly quiet, but a faint, foul smell hung in the air.

Jana wrinkled her nose. "It smells like ... I don't know ... disgusting."

"Sulfur." Morânia looked around warily. "It smells like a fiend ..."

Kiyoshi nodded gravely and the bal'aasi had the impression that he was no stranger to the stench. As they got even closer to the building, they noticed that the door had been torn off its hinges. The door frame had been enlarged into a gaping hole where something big had simply torn down the wall.

"By the grace of the Morninglord ..." whispered Morânia.

She and Kiyoshi moved forward a little, weapons drawn, while the two sorcerers stood behind them, ready to use their arcane powers. Then they heard a noise behind the corner of the house ... Morânia tightened her grip on her sword Heaven's Fireand heard Naghûl muttering the first words of an incantation behind her. She was already raising her blade when a figure emerged from behind the building - but it was only a frightened, elderly woman. She looked completely distraught and her whole body was trembling. As bebiliths were not shapeshifters, this was obviously just a harmless inhabitant of Elysium who had been lucky enough to escape with her life. Morânia quickly put the sword away and took a few steps towards the woman with her hands raised reassuringly.

"Don't worry," she said. "We haven't come with malicious intent and we want to help. My name is Morânia. Who are you?"

"Elinda," the woman managed to say. "I ... am the landlady..."

The bal'aasi nodded gently. "I understand. Elinda, please tell us: Is there a bebilith here? A fiend?"

"No ..." the landlady replied tremulously. "No, but there was one here. Yes, a terrible monster! It attacked us ..."

"Is anyone hurt?" asked Naghûl. "Is there anything we can do for you before we follow this beast?"

Elinda fought in vain against the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Most ... most of them are dead ..." she managed to get out. "They lie ... slaughtered inside the guest room. But over here ... two are still buried." With a trembling hand she pointed to a pile of stones and broken beams not far from the destroyed entrance.

Morânia felt a mixture of grief and anger choking her throat. Such carnage, caused by a fiend, here in Elysium ... Where everyone was supposed to live in peace, quiet and safety, here in the middle of paradise. It was not only terrible and unimaginable, it was also a sacrilege against everything that made up this plane, against the very essence and the core of goodness. But at the moment there was no time for mourning, no room for these feelings. The task at hand was to help those who had been buried; she could think about everything else later.

Naghûl also nodded resolutely. "Good, we have to rescue them! Maybe they're still alive."

So they hurried to the place where individual stones, wooden beams, but also larger pieces of brickwork lay in a heap, where the bebilith had torn the door off its hinges and destroyed an entire section of the wall. The hole revealed the interior of the building, and the sight of the guest room made them all shudder: Tables and chairs had not only been knocked over, but partially smashed, with broken glass and food scattered everywhere. It was a scene like in the Great Gymnasium recently, but with the difference that there had been several victims here ... Morânia recognized four bodies on the floor, all lying motionless in large pools of blood.

"They're beyond help," Elinda explained, sobbing. "Too much blood lost ... plus the poison of the fiend ..."

She was right. Morânia knew that, even if the thought was hard to accept. It was just like with Jalkim, and there was nothing more they could do for these people. But they could try to save the two who had been buried. So Morânia pushed away all other horrible thoughts, grabbed one of the stones and threw it aside. Then another, then the next ... She focused on helping at least the two people underneath the rubble. The others also lent a hand without saying a word. Kiyoshi stroked a tattoo of a koi carp with his hand and, strengthened by this, also began to lift aside large stones. Jana took a spade that was lying around by the stables to use it as a lever. Naghûl didn't really seem to know where to put his hand and instead conjured a magical green hand that lifted larger beams and carried them aside. Soon, a low groan could indeed be heard from beneath the rubble.

"Carry on," Naghûl said. "I'll try to pull the person out with the magic hand."

As more stones were removed, an elf emerged - he had been lucky and was lying in a gap in the rubble. He was injured, but not so badly that his life was in immediate danger. After Naghûl's magical hand had pulled him out, Jana took care of splinting his leg while Kiyoshi and Morânia tirelessly continued to clear away chunks of stone. Finally, the second buried person emerged: a petite catlike felidal with light gray fur. She too had been very lucky and had only suffered moderate injuries. Morânia laid her hands on both the elf and the guardinal and called upon Lathander for his favor. The healing energy flowed warmly through her palms, the elf's leg, already splinted by Jana, and the guardinal's bruised shoulder healed to the point where she could leave them both in Elinda's care with a clear conscience. Just as Morânia was about to say a few reassuring words to the felidal, she felt her hackles raise. A horrible aura could suddenly be felt nearby. And shortly afterwards, she heard a cracking sound from the corner of the house. It was as if something big was moving there ... then a clacking sound, like mandibles. She immediately straightened up and drew her sword, Kiyoshi was already at her side with his naginata drawn. Before Jana or Naghûl could cast another protective spell, long, spider-like legs could be seen and the bebilith came crawling around the corner. Without hesitation, Naghûl sent several magic missiles towards it and Morânia charged at the fiend to prevent it from getting anywhere near Elinda or the wounded persons. The demon's chitinous armor reeked and steamed as Naghûl's arcane energy struck, but strangely, the bebilith did not move, made no attempt to attack in turn. Morânia did not slow her pace, however, and a moment later she reached the monster, Kiyoshi at her side. But when she raised her sword and the young soldier swung out with his naginata, the fiend backed away, even raising its two front legs defensively.

"Don't," the bal'aasi suddenly heard a voice in her head. "Please don't ... hurt Abaia ..."

She paused. She knew that bebiliths were not capable of speech, but communicated telepathically instead. She had just never 'spoken' to one of them before. The words in her mind sounded strangely distorted, unpleasant as one would expect from a fiend - and yet somehow ... helpless. She cast a quick sideways glance at Kiyoshi, not really taking her eyes off the demon. "Did you hear that too?" she asked quietly.

The young man nodded gravely, and as no further magical projectiles were hurtling towards the bebilith from behind her, Morânia assumed that Jana and Naghûl had also heard the voice. She eyed the monster warily.

"Please..." she heard the voice in her mind again. "Abaia is not an enemy."

Morânia slowly lowered her sword. "Abaia? Is that your name?"

"Yes. Name," came the telepathic reply. "Abaia confused. Abaia seeks angel."

The bal'aasi immediately tightened her grip on the sword hilt. "Why?" she asked forcefully. "What do you want from the deva?"

"Abaia wants to help." The monster raised its forelegs again, almost like a peaceful gesture, as if to emphasize that it was not being aggressive. "The deva ... weak. Abaia wants to help. Doesn't understand why. But wants to."

Morânia dared a cautious glance backwards, towards Naghûl. She could tell by the look on his face that he suspected the same she did: The angel's spark was now apparently breaking through more strongly, beginning to influence the bebilith's behavior, even its alignment. She also noticed that its dreadful aura was weaker than back in the Abyss, weaker than she was used to from demons in general. The holy, celestial energy was obviously beginning to override the fiendish one.

"Please," she heard the voice in her head again. "Abaia wants to help."

"It might be worth a try," Naghûl said.

Morânia nodded slowly. "If the spark is really influencing the bebilith ... Yes, perhaps it really does want to and can help Ybdiel."

"The deva is still on the ship," Jana said. "Should ... we go get him?"

She hesitated for a few seconds, then the bal'aasi pulled herself together. "Yes. Let's risk the attempt. Naghûl, would you fetch the basket with Ybdiel from the ship? The rest of us will keep the ... keep an eye on Abaia."

Naghûl nodded and walked quickly down to the shore where the ship was anchored, while Morânia and Kiyoshi stayed close to the bebilith. Jana stood protectively in front of the wounded persons and Elinda, who was still trembling all over. The bal'aasi did not take her eyes off the demon. Although, as the granddaughter of a deva and paladin of Lathander, she believed in the power of good more than almost anyone else, she also knew that hope and faith should support and strengthen, but never blind. Abaia may have been positively influenced by the spark, and at the moment it honestly meant it. But it was still a fiend who would only change gradually, if at all. Then Naghûl returned, carefully carrying the basket in which the angel lay, transformed into a snow fox. He set it down gently in the soft grass and then - not without hesitation - took a step back. Morânia and Kiyoshi positioned themselves to the basket's left and right, while Jana stayed with Elinda.

"There he is," Morânia said to the bebilith. "That's the deva. He was transformed so that we can transport him better. His name is Ybdiel."

The demon approached slowly, almost timidly, it seemed. "Ybdiel ..." they heard the telepathic voice in their minds.

Naghûl nodded in agreement and they let Abaia draw closer, tense, wary, but willing to give it a chance. The bebilith slowly approached the basket standing on the ground and carefully lifted one of its spider-like forelegs. Then it touched the deva very gently - and suddenly there was a bright blue flash of light in which Abaia disappeared. It took Morânia a second to realize that Ybdiel was gone too. The bebilith had triggered a teleportation spell and disappeared with the deva.

 

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played July 14, 2012

 

- The players of Sgillin and Lereia weren't there that evening, so the two of them fell asleep to the delphons' song.

- Peraine is a goddess from the German role play system DSA (Das Schwarze Auge) which I shamelessly implemented in my Planescape setting. Because Planescape so beautifully allows it.

- The river Niloa and the other places that will appear soon are actually in Principality, the realm of an unknown deity, but I have moved them to Mishakal's realm for this story.