The Silver Sphinx

 

"Victory favors neither the righteous nor the wicked; it favors the prepared."

Olympian proverb

 

 

First Void Day of Decadrus, 126 HR

Naghûl hummed softly as he arranged drinks and a few snacks on plates for the guests. He had baked small moonberry tarts and prepared Ýdalir breads, toasted shepherd's bread topped with spinach, fried onions and finely sliced Ysgardian smoked bass. He had provided fresh water from the Plane of Water, grape juice and a glass of Fairy Dust for each, a refreshing drink mixed from glimmer water and a dash of raspberry liqueur. There was also a bottle of mead on the little table for Sgillin. As always when it came to cooking or baking, Morânia didn't interfere. That had been Naghûl's territory for a long time, and she had no ambitions to dispute it. The guests they were expecting were Sgillin, Lereia, Kiyoshi and Jana. They wanted to discuss the upcoming journey to Broken Reach, and although Morânia would not be coming with them, she could still help with the planning. Besides, she had a vague feeling that the Envoy might awake. She couldn't explain it, she sensed it on a spiritual level, which Rhys called “the vibrations of the Cadence”. Her factol often had premonitions of this kind, concerning the big picture as well as very specific things, which led some to believe that the tiefling woman was clairvoyant or had a sixth sense. But it was Rhys' lasting, profound connection to the Cadence of the Planes that gave her this gift. As a factotum, Morânia was still a long way from reaching that point - and her vocation as a paladin of the Morninglord had often given her other tasks than to walk the Path of the Cadence. Tasks that were noble and important, but not necessarily conducive to inner and spiritual balance. However, she did not struggle with it. Everyone had their own path and she was quite satisfied with hers. So she sat relaxed on the divan, which stood next to the dining room entrance, and watched Naghûl arranging the food. He placed the glasses and plates on small tables next to the Olympian stools that surrounded the water basin in the atrium.

The atrium ... Morânia shook her head once more, smiling. Naghûl had not been living for long in the spacious apartment, which boasted such luxury. Factol Erin had only recently provided it to him, and it was exactly what one would expect of quarters that were a gift from the factol of the Sensates: a tasteful mixture of luxury and Olympian classicism. On entering, one was greeted by a large main room with a basin of about knee-high, clear water. The centerpiece was a marble statue of a unicorn rising from the water. A cozy fireplace gave the room warmth and atmosphere, perfect for cool evenings. The bathroom was also a highlight of the apartment. The door was decorated with a mosaic depicting a beautiful mermaid, emphasizing the maritime theme of this room. A large bathtub was set into the floor, big enough for up to four people, with a carefully carved stone dolphin as an eye-catcher, water flowing out of its mouth at the command word. The well-stocked library was a room that Morânia would probably use more than Naghûl. She had been interested in all kinds of religions, cultures and planar history since she was a child and sometimes liked to retreat to read in peace. The kitchen, of course, was Naghûl's realm and apparently equipped with everything a cook and baker's heart desired. Not that Morânia would have been able to judge that, but since her husband had almost fallen all over himself when he had first entered the kitchen, she assumed that the equipment was extraordinary. The kitchen door, too, was decorated with a magnificent mosaic, this one showing two colorful peacocks. The dining room, like the rest of the apartment, was inspired by the splendor of the Olympian realms of Arborea, with columns, laurel motifs, and a fresco depicting a landscape on the slopes of Mount Olympus. The large room was clearly designed to invite and entertain quite a number of guests. In addition, there was a bedroom and a guest room. All in all, there was no doubt that Naghûl's new apartment was a true masterpiece of Sensate interior design. So it was no wonder that he gave a tour of his new home when Lereia, Sgillin, Jana and Kiyoshi had arrived. He started in the atrium, showed the bathroom and the library as well as the kitchen and dining room, explaining the materials used and the different art styles with great enthusiasm.

“I'm really in the wrong faction,” Sgillin murmured after the tour.

Lereia meaningfully raised an eyebrow. ”And in more ways than one.”

The half-elf just waved it off and Naghûl laughed heartily as he led his guests back into the atrium and asked them to take a seat on the padded stools that stood there. He also invited them to help themselves to the drinks and food that he had arranged on small side tables. While Lereia and Sgillin did so immediately, Kiyoshi took a seat but apparently waited until the host drank as well.

Jana, on the other hand, seemed more interested in the basin in the center of the atrium. “May I plunge my feet into the water?” She held up her bare left foot, from which she had already slipped off her black ankle boot, as if to demonstrate.

“Sure, go ahead,” Naghûl said and took a seat next to Morânia. He reached for a glass of Fairy Dust, raised it in a toast and then came straight to the point of their meeting. “So ... the journey to the Abyss. I assume that not everyone is fully prepared yet?”

Lereia nodded. “Correct. We should discuss some precautions.”

“We are traveling to Broken Reach,” Naghûl explained. ”Probably via Plague-Mort. A succubus named Red Shroud rules this hellish fortress. But not an ordinary succubus. This lady is over two thousand years old and can even prevail against demon lords. And she is not only powerful, but also extremely treacherous and cunning. Therefore, I have already made some preparations. First: She loves poisons, and the more unusual a poison is, the more she appreciates it as a gift. We have the very rare poison of the rainbow jellyfish and the Lady's Kiss at our disposal to keep on her right side should the need arise.”

Lereia listened carefully and took notes as always. Jana had taken off both boots and was bathing her feet in the water, making a soft splashing sound, but she was obviously listening to Naghûl as well. Sgillin had lit a pipe and Kiyoshi winced slightly as the smoke wafted over to him. Morânia suspected that his dislike was partly due to the fact that his senses had sharpened since his dragon-blood transformation.

“Secondly,” Naghûl continued. ”Should we need a safe place in or near Broken Reach, a place to gather strength, I will create an Astral Shelter for us. Thirdly, should things get really, really tight we will plane shift to Arborea without delay.”

“A brief question,” Sgillin interjected, blowing another smoke ring into the air. ”Could you explain what an Astral Shelter is.”

“The Astral Shelter is a small pocket in the Astral Plane,” Naghûl explained. ”I can create it with a rather powerful spell. Only I and people I explicitly designate have access to it. The disadvantage is that it takes about an hour to prepare. So, I will do this only if we don't have a reasonably safe place.”

“That sounds very powerful, Naghûl,“ Lereia said, impressed. “Just like the plane shift.”

“And how do we get out of the shelter again?” Jana asked skeptically. Apparently she didn't know the spell.

“We just leave it through the exit,” Naghûl explained patiently. “We then reappear where we entered.”

“Please don't forget to summon the exit,” Jana said lightly, splashing her feet in the water. “And I don't think I want to plane shift either.”

“That's a not unfounded reservation,” the tiefling admitted. ”A plane shift always carries a certain risk. But we prefer to shift to a reasonably safe plane than to end up on the slave market of Broken Reach or Plague-Mort.”

“I once heard that something like that can go dramatically wrong,” Jana interjected. ”And that you then ... well, arrive in pieces on the other plane.”

Morânia had to smile. This story was a little exaggerated, but she had admittedly had some unpleasant experiences with plane shifting. However, she left the explanation of arcane matters to Naghûl and listened quietly.

“It's not that bad, Jana,” her husband explained. ”It's like this: you determine a destination plane, and then you may or may not be lucky. You can arrive five to five hundred miles from your intended destination.”

“Yes, but just imagine what happens if you arrive a hand's breadth too low.” The sorceress emphasized the statement by raising her left arm. ”Then half of you is stuck in the floor.”

Naghûl shook his head. “No, in the worst case in the water, but not in solid ground. Therefore, everyone should take a hood of water-breathing with them.”

But Jana didn't stop. “Or imagine, if one half of you wants to go five hundred miles to the left and an arm and a leg want to go to the right, then ...” She left it at that, but raised her eyebrows in earnest.

Morânia realized that Naghûl was running out of patience. “No, Jana, please. We remain as a whole and do not get stuck in the ground.”

“Yes, let's hope so,” the sorceress replied with concern.

Thankfully, Kiyoshi now raised his hand and interrupted the discussion. “Are we going to pretend to be miners?” he asked. “If we pretend to be there for the black mithral?”

“Oh dear.” Lereia sighed. “Unfortunately, I know nothing about mining and metals.”

“We're just there to mine the stuff,“ Sgillin reassured her. “Kiyoshi will be the expert.”

“Hm.” The young woman nodded and looked down at herself somewhat unhappily, as she was of very delicate build.

“I don't even know at which end I should hold a pickaxe,” Jana pointed out.

“You won't be mining anything,” Morânia assured them. “Access to the mines is strictly controlled.”

“Exactly, we travel there to acquire the stuff.” Naghûl nodded. ”And when transporting black mithral, it has to be guarded. You are hired mercenaries, Kiyoshi is the expert, and I will probably do the talking.”

“Forgive my ignorance, honorable Naghûl-san,” the Harmonium soldier spoke up again. ”But I still have two questions. First, how can I prepare for my role? And secondly, shouldn't we all dress in a more aggressive way?”

Naghûl nodded. “First of all, try to find out as much as possible about black mithral and how to manufacture it. Ask your factol; a faction like yours would certainly have records on the subject. The Godsmen may also know something about it. As for our equipment, we should choose dark armor or robes that match the style of the Abyss or Plague-Mort. Red is also popular, and of course details such as metal thorns, ornaments in a demonic style, Abyssal runes and symbols ... things like that. We should also ask our factols for trade goods: items that are not so easy to get and of high value. We may have to bribe people.” He paused and then sighed deeply. “I have a bad feeling, friends. Never have I gone to the Abyss better prepared than now.”

Morânia had to smile, because she knew exactly what he meant. They had stumbled into the Abyss a few times before – most recently even together with Sgillin, Lereia and Kiyoshi, when they had found the deva Ybdiel. And indeed, they had never been so well prepared.

“Because of that you have a bad feeling?” Lereia asked uneasily. “I think we'll still have plenty of opportunities to improvise.”

“This could also be a chance to develop our gifts further,” Sgillin interjected. ”The environment would be perfect for a body swap if things get dicey.”

“Just sensing soul signatures works very well for me now,” Lereia explained. “But I didn't dare to do anything else since the incident with Ambar.” She sighed, and it was clear that the matter with the accidentally severed soul of her factol still weighed heavily on her.

“You could practice it on those who are sentenced to death,” Kiyoshi suggested abruptly and completely matter-of-factly.

Morânia frowned in disbelief at this statement, and Lereia also looked over at Kiyoshi in horror. “No!”

“Why not?” the young soldier asked, unperturbed.

“Because I won't rip the soul from anyone unless it's absolutely necessary,” Lereia declared energetically. “That would be torture.”

“Kiyoshi,” Naghûl interjected gravely. ”A soul that is torn apart in Sigil can't find its way to the planes. That really isn't an option.”

“Then outside of Sigil?“ the young man relentlessly developed the thought further. “People are also sentenced to death in Kamigawa.”

“That makes no difference to me,” Lereia declared firmly.

“Kiyoshi ...,” Sgillin prevented another remark from the soldier. “She won't do it ... no matter on what plane.”

Morânia was about to explain to Kiyoshi the moral ambiguity of ripping souls apart when she sensed it. The Envoy awoke, just as a vague premonition had already whispered to her. She could just utter an “Oh ...” before her body belonged to the archangel.

“What?“ Naghûl turned his head to her, then he seemed to realize. “Oh! She awakens.”

Fortunately, they had prepared some questions for this case. She couldn't see it, but Morânia knew exactly that her eyes were glowing in that white light again. “Ask and you shall be answered,” she heard herself speak with a reverberating voice.

Kiyoshi rose respectfully, as he always did in the presence of a kami, while Lereia looked questioningly at the others. They nodded encouragingly, and the young woman turned her gaze to Morânia.

“Do the bearers of the three swords Memory, Hope and Sorrow belong to the Chosen of the Prophecy?“ she asked.

“Yes,” Morânia heard the Envoy reply.

Sgillin asked the next question. “Does Lord Valiant know about these swords?”

“No,” the bal'aasi heard herself give the relieving information.

“Is one of us here a bearer of one of these swords?“ Sgillin also asked the next question.

“Yes,” the Envoy replied.

To Morânia's surprise, the archangel's soul had not yet withdrawn. As on the last two occasions, she seemed willing to answer more questions. But on both those occasions, she had been in the House of Visions. Outside of the house, the Envoy had never answered more than three questions ... And that was why they hadn't prepared more than three either. A slight panic was now spreading among her friends. They seemed to be feverishly pondering, then Naghûl was the first to come up with a question.

“Are one or more of the following items in Sigil: Memory, Sorrow, the Memory Stone or the Sorrow Stone?”

“Yes,“ the Envoy replied, and still she remained present.

“Is one of us the bearer of Hope?” Kiyoshi asked, quick-witted.

“Yes.” One last answer, and then Morânia felt the archangel's soul withdraw. She held on to the armrests of her stool to stabilize herself. As always, when the Envoy awoke, she felt a slight dizziness afterwards.

“Five questions outside the house,” Lereia said, pleased. ”That was good.”

Naghûl nodded in agreement as he rose and came over to her to give her a gentle kiss.

Morânia smiled weakly. “Thank you. It seems I can keep her awake a little longer now. But I think ... I need to lie down. I'm incredibly exhausted, just like last time. And I'm not coming with you to Broken Reach anyway. It's too risky, and not just because of my paladin status. Just imagine if they would sense the archangel's soul ...”

“Of course,” Lereia said sympathetically. “Get some rest.”

Sgillin nodded at her. “Yes, sleep a bit.”

Morânia rose slowly. Even the way to the bedroom suddenly seemed arduous. Answering more than three questions had already been tiring in the House of Visions. But here, outside the house, she felt a heavy exhaustion now. Naghûl gave her a questioning look, but she gestured for him to stay. The others still had a lot to discuss, and she wanted to be alone anyway – and above all, she wanted to sleep.

“I wish you success and luck in your further planning and the blessings of the gods,” she said. Her gaze lingered briefly on Jana. “Or whatever.”

The Athar didn't seem to take offense at the remark and waved to her as well as the others, while she went over to the bedroom. Morânia just managed to take off her boots as she sat on the edge of the bed. Then she lay down and no sooner had her head touched the pillow than she sank into sleep, as if the ground beneath her had become liquid and was swallowing her up.

 

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played January 6, 2013