Dark Rumblings

[Anastasia]

Not now there isn't.

[Ebiris]

"We're all clear," Marie says to Alicia, lowering her hand.

"In that case I'll open a gate back to Sylica near one of our prisons. Ferry them all through to be stripped and held before the paralysis wears off," Alicia asks, opening a gate back to Sylica at a designated arrival point in an underground fortress. Various celestials are on guard there but Marie is able to provide her credentials as she starts tossing fallen Sharrans through the gate for processing.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Marie: 515/515
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 31), extended mind blank (CL 31), greater arcane sight (CL 31), extended repelling shield (CL 31), bibliotheca arcana (CL 31), extended nondetection (CL 31), sensual blessing (CL 31), extended ray deflection (CL 31)
Defences: AC 93 (touch 35), CMD 76, spell resistance 45, energy immunity (electricity, negative energy), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting), protective aura, nondetection (DC 46), ray deflection
Stat buffs/penalties: +11 shield AC, +15 insight knowledge, +25 perception
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, greater arcane sight, scent, low-light vision, tremorsense 60, blindsight 60, perception +71
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/8/8/8/7/7/6/6/6/7/6/3/2
Limited SLAs available: Limited wish, radiant assault, heal, meteor swarm, time stop

Avatarlicia: 582/582
Active spells: Extended nondetection (CL 32), many moments of prescience (CL 31), ghost touch weapon (CL 31), epic mage armour (CL 31), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 32)
Defences: AC 69 (touch 32), CMD 73, spell resistance46, status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +13 armour
Perceptions: Darkvision 60
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/13/12/11/9/9/11/8/7/7/7/6/7/4
Duskblade spell slots: 6/17/17/16/9/6

[Anastasia]

Assuming nothing else challenges you, plans here?

[Ebiris]

Marie and Alicia will return to Sylica, the detachment I asked Syala to send out will go into the place via the basement Taldeer was attacked and comb it for anything we missed.

Meanwhile we'll get the rest of Taldeer's story, and the Sharrans will be properly secured/imprisoned and interrogated by NPCs.

[Anastasia]

Okay.

Meanwhile...

"Still, that is troubling," Antenora speaks up, "Sharrans always seem to recur, to be crushed again and again at best."

[Ebiris]

"She has a knack for finding that mixture of talented and nihilistic to fill her ranks," Alicia agrees. "Still, that's at least one cell that won't be causing any more trouble."

[Anastasia]

"It's also too close to home for my tastes," Taldeer speaks up, "I've not heard any rumblings, but Sharrans have a way of infesting places without being seen. I got lucky to find them in Coolwater."

"So they do," Syala muses. "So they do." Slowly looking over to you, "Alicia dear, I think we need an agent back in your lovely homeland."

[Ebiris]

"I have faithful there of course, but it sounds like you have something more specific in mind?" she asks Syala.

[Anastasia]

"Taldeer makes sense," Syala looks to her, "Are you interested and what do you think, Alicia?"

Taldeer blinks at that.

[Ebiris]

"She does have a temple to run as well," Alicia points out. "Though certainly if you catch wind of anything suspect I'd appreciate hearing about it. We can offer you more direct support to intervene when necessary."

[Anastasia]

"I will let you know," Taldeer says, Though Alicia is right, I have duties to Mystra."

[Ebiris]

"Hopefully the cultists we captured will have useful information we can use to find others, or at least thwart any plans they had in motion," Alicia says as the twelve in question are being secured elsewhere on Sylica to be questioned slash mind probed.

[Anastasia]

"Hopefully. I think you got lucky - I doubt they fully appreciated who Taldeer is," Emmaline speaks quietly, softly, "If I were doing it and I identified the personal friend of a deity, I would personally petition Shar for more aid, as I would fear exactly what happened. An avatar is a terrifying opponent."

"We did," Antenora interjects gently, "We got luck."

"...we." Emmaline says it just as softly, "The interrogations may even be fruitful."

"I hope so. I'll see to the interrogations," Antenora says, vanishing a moment later.

Once gone Taldeer looks about, "This place, this is Sylica?" Taldeer asks, "It feels otherworldly, like Dweomerheart but without the sense of being home."

[Ebiris]

Rather reserved from Emmaline considering she was willing to fight Alicia directly, nevermind an avatar. But still... "In truth I thought it was a trap. The bait was just too perfect, I at first thought those shadows must have been a credible threat on their own, then next that Shar was going to send an avatar of her own out in response," Alicia says.

Antenora's departure just misses Marie's own arrival as the tulani teleports in. "I'm back!" she calls. "Feeling better, Taldeer?"

"Mmhmm," Alicia hums at her proxy. "We'd just covered how she was ambushed, it seems like more poor luck than anything else," she tells Marie. "But yes," she adds to the elf, "Specifically we're in my palace, Liberton." And indeed past the foliage of the garden slash courtyard high white stone walls can be seen arching up, the graceful architecture of the palace surrounding them. "It won't feel like home to you the way Dweomerheart does, not unless you pray to me a lot more than just the once," she smiles faintly. "But regardless you're always welcome here."

[Anastasia]

"Then we really did get lucky,' Jessica murmurs, "Hopefully this is the extend of the Sharran rot here."

Taldeer merely smiles back at that. "If it's not the limit of it, then I suppose we'll all have things to do."