Silken touch

[Anastasia]

You soon come on them - veiled women, each wearing heavy cloaks with hoods, and pale blue veils obscuring their faces.

But your perception is enough to see.

Scarred, ruined faces. Faces once perhaps beautiful, now nothing but grotesque memories. They look up, see you and keep going, faster than before.

[Ebiris]

Alicia's own features are well concealed by her cloak, and she lets them go past without argument.

I'll use Greater Foresight's free action 1/round divination to see if it tells me if they'll present a threat to Alicia's aims here within the next 8 hours the spell covers.

[Anastasia]

They will not.

[Ebiris]

Then they merely pass one another without interacting further.

[Anastasia]

Onward. To the city - a cramped collection of windtorn buildings, of roads that often become dead end ponds of collected water. Of avenues where people hurry, save for those robed, masked followers of Talona, who march in processions. At the entrance to town, the road is filled with corpses on both sides - sickened creatures, bloated and dead.

[Ebiris]

Alicia and company hurry too, flitting into the town and finding themselves an isolated alley to begin with.

So Jessica, your leads said the Man of Winds was underneath this town? Shall we explore the caverns, or interrogate the locals?

[Anastasia]

Rains pound down as you three huddle in it, filth here along with a dead, rotting

I don't like it up here - Talona's doing too much and I think we run a risk of trouble if we linger above. At least below may be more sequestered from events in the city.

[Ebiris]

Alicia gets a feel for the space below the city through her tremorsense in that case...

[Anastasia]

You can feel it - lots and lots and lots of caverns. Stretching onward and beyond, no end of them in sight. Many of them have creatures within them, no less.

[Ebiris]

Nothing particularly stands out to her, so Alicia merely picks out a route they can access from within the town that isn't particularly guarded and leads them towards it.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 8 > [d100=8]

As you walk?

Piteous beings of this place, I am Talona, your goddess. In four hours I will release a plague on this town that will slay every creature here. I shall only abate my wrath if I am Karendis. It is a knife that drips green poison.

Any who escape will be given this disease and die on the roads they flee on. Their souls will serve me forever.

This is your first and only chance to save yourselves, people of Windglum.

[Ebiris]

Well.

What did Alicia say earlier about how she wouldn't mind competing if Talona gave her a reason?

That's it. Right there.

She just looks at Syala and Jessica from under her hood as if to say 'really?'

[Anastasia]

What an arrogant sow of a goddess. I know that look, Alicia. That's the we're going to make her regret everything she just did look. It's so sexy when you get like that.

Wanton slaughter and disease if her demands aren't met? Even if there's only one innocent soul in this place that deserves respite, she goes too far.

Also please remember I'm RIGHT HERE, Syala.

Sorry, Jessica.

[Ebiris]

Alicia smiles wryly under her hood at that exchange.

"Come along then, we have a plaguemaiden to chastise," Alicia says aloud, boosting the power of her dance of the unicorn back up to full strength as she steps out of the alley they've hunkered in and starts approaching the silent area of Windglum.

Fear not, Windglum. I am here.

Her hood sweeps back, her miniaturised sword grows to full size in her hand, and she glows with a holy nimbus. There's no subtlety now, only challenge.

Divine aura is in effect, 50 foot radius DC 32, daze function.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Alicia HP: 831+20/831
Active spells: Many moments of prescience (CL 38), extended mind blank (CL 39), extended nondetection (CL 39), greater heroism (CL 36), extended ray deflection (CL 39), epic mage armour (CL 36), sensual blessing (CL 36), greater foresight (CL 38), keen edge (CL 36 on sword), dance of the unicorn (CL 36), extended greater anticipate teleportation (CL 38), repelling shield (CL 38), freedom of movement (CL 36), greater visage of the deity (CL 36), recitation (CL 36)
Defences: AC 87, CMD 113, spell resistance 51, 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 54), freedom of movement
Stat buffs/penalties: +4 morale attack/skills/saves, +10 armour AC, +25 competence perception, +7 insight AC/ref, +4 str, +2 dex, +4 con, +2 int, +4 wis, +4 cha, +1 natural armour AC, +9 shield AC, +3 luck AC/attack/saves
Perceptions: Arcane sight, 5 mile tremorsense/blindsight/scent perception +87
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/16/16/14/9/9/15/9/9/5/8/4/7/7/6/3
Duskblade spell slots: 6/23/22/23/11/7/16

[Anastasia]

Jessica takes a moment to push back her hood and draw a breath in. Her unspoken voice is louder than the constant rain, louder than the sound of water on water, of howling winds that speak of lamented days past.

Fear not, for the shadows have seen enough.

Syala tosses her cloak aside entirely, her radiance freed. Blessing of the Twelve is in hand as she follows alicia.

Fear not, I'm here to smash in the face of a boring, boorish goddess who thinks she's worth more than the pile of her mother's shit she crawled out of.

For one moment the rains cease. The city is silent everywhere, as of every resident has drawn in a fearful breath. Then the winds erupt in a maelstrom, every wind pitted building here quaking and the howling like that of an unleashed tornado.

Who dares? Three little whelps dare challenge the Lady Of Poisons? Then suffer, city of Windglum. Die at your pitiable savior's feet!

The rain turns a sickly shade of amber, falling harder and harder every moment.