A new hill

[Anastasia]

Queen kneels. Her fingers turn into roots and slip into the stone like it's merely loose dirt, spreading far and wide. "I will," she says, "The stone will not lie to me."

You don't sense and caverns or movement int he stone, beyond Queen's roots. They're spreading hundreds of feet a second, forming intricate networks of roots.

"A test, a bluff or the unknown." Sulia reasons, "Unfortunately it's a devil, so an overly elaborate scheme is possible." Her voice is tinged with an open hint of distaste, "Rather than playing guess the diabolical mind, let's assess if the other choices could be true." Sulia focuses as hunks of broken stone from the tomb are moved aside, beginning to clear it out.

[Ebiris]

"Thank you," Alicia says to Queen. "The outlook doesn't seem positive but there's enough uncertainty we should at least try and assuage all doubt. The thing is were the Guardian to enact some kind of bluff against us, by the nature of their powers they could make it perfect and we'd have to hope for a flaw left out of 'fairness'. The devils would be more limited, and the fact I can't detect any other caverns past this one is a point against that - they wouldn't be able to actually interfere with the guardian's domain without consent. And lastly, the presence of an artifact or sufficient divine power would have allowed them to simply gate out of here. I don't believe Bel can have retained his former status as Lord of the First with it transferred fully over to Lixer, but if he obtained another seed before this one it's mathematically possible he would have ascended past demigod status and be capable of it," she runs through the possibilities before them.

[Anastasia]

"The stones speak of a great cataclysm," Queen interrupts. "Fire scorched the outer stones and the tomb collapsed."

[Ebiris]

And I can't tell anything about the collapse from tremorsense? No rubble or buried chambers?

[Anastasia]

The tomb's so broken that only a few little pockets remain, now that you glance at it. Nothing devil sized. It's like all the stone broke apart from top to bottom.

[Ebiris]

"That matches what I can feel with tremorsense, other than this void there's only a few little pockets amidst the rubble, nothing meaningful for miles. No, I think by now we have to accept that things are as they appear to be," Alicia says after a moment's testing the ground under her feet. "Lets take our leave."

[Anastasia]

Sulia turns away, face a thundercloud of dismay. "Our former Lord of the First is owed a debt now," she says, "We shall have to repay him."

Queen's roots curl back within seconds, ripple-smooth as her hands become hands once more.

[Ebiris]

Bitterly disappointed herself, Alicia leads the way back out through that black portal.

[Anastasia]

Thus you emerge out, and a Gate is easily cast if you desire it.

[Ebiris]

"The Guardian is gone," Alicia tells the guardian's servant before doing so.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Alicia HP: 724/724
Active spells: Many moments of prescience (CL 35), extended mind blank (CL 36), extended nondetection (CL 36), greater heroism (CL 35), extended ray deflection (CL 36), epic mage armour (CL 35), sensual blessing (CL 35), foresight (CL 35), keen edge (CL 35 on sword), dance of the unicorn (CL 36)
Defences: AC 71, CMD 93, spell resistance 50, energy immunity (fire and cold), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, poison, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, disintegration, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 51)
Stat buffs/penalties: +4 morale skills/attack/saves, +10 armour AC, +25 competence perception, +2 insight AC/ref
Perceptions: Arcane sight, 3 mile tremorsense/blindsight/scent perception +81
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/16/16/15/8/9/15/9/8/3/8/7/5/7/5
Duskblade spell slots: 6/23/23/21/11/7/14

[Anastasia]

"So it is done," The servant says at last. "Good."

[Ebiris]

"If you say so," Alicia doesn't think it's very good at all. But she opens a gate to Sylica, mainly so they can get themselves back into Queen's stairway through the door there. It may prove important for what comes next.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Alicia HP: 724/724
Active spells: Many moments of prescience (CL 35), extended mind blank (CL 36), extended nondetection (CL 36), greater heroism (CL 35), extended ray deflection (CL 36), epic mage armour (CL 35), sensual blessing (CL 35), foresight (CL 35), keen edge (CL 35 on sword), dance of the unicorn (CL 36)
Defences: AC 71, CMD 93, spell resistance 50, energy immunity (fire and cold), status immunity (polymorph, petrification, disease, poison, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, disintegration, energy drain, ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting, and fear), nondetection (DC 51)
Stat buffs/penalties: +4 morale skills/attack/saves, +10 armour AC, +25 competence perception, +2 insight AC/ref
Perceptions: Arcane sight, 3 mile tremorsense/blindsight/scent perception +81
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/16/16/15/8/9/15/9/8/2/8/7/5/7/5
Duskblade spell slots: 6/23/23/21/11/7/14

[Anastasia]

Once there, Queen takes a moment while Sulia adds, "All the more reason to hurry," she says.

[Ebiris]

"Yes. I'd been leery of trying this possibility but needs must," Alicia says once safely inside the second infinite stair and away from prying ears. "We need to reach the spawning stone on Limbo."

[Anastasia]

As you do?

"The spawning stone," Sulia says, "That will be no easy task. I've heard Ssendam's been known to interfere when others try."

Aunt Alicia?