Used Horse Salesman V - Meet the Manager

This splat was given to Mortimer just after the Engineers defeated Zehn and the first temple. Shades had falled in lava and was lost.
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You are not a hundred percent sure how Xelo’tah of Claire gets around. He seems to be there when you look for him, standing in a shadowy corner with a grin like a cat who has discovered the lair of the cream-golems. Today he’s standing in one of the houses in Dejune that’s empty while the roof is added. You briefly pause to wonder if he’s ever there when you can’t see him.
He spots the mantle in your hand, and manages to grin even wider, his blue skin quickly going white where it’s pulled taught. “You know, each object of the divine has some little divinity of it’s own. That’s why those of a dead god are even more valuable. But hey, you’re a guy who loves value. We’re taking a little trip. Stow the saddlebag, bringing a bag of holding on a planar jaunt never ends well. For you. I’d be fine. You Boyo? Not so much”
After the bag is stored safely, you return to find Xelo’tah has drawn a complicated series of circular symbols on the ground that you bet Laniss would kill to get a chance to inspect. Xelo’tah stands in the middle and bids you to join him. Xelo’tah starts to chant, but you notice his muscled left hand reach inside a pocket on his armor and you catch the flash of silver before you get a truly discomforting sensation of being pulled backwards through time and space.
You find yourself in a small room with a few benches. The trip leaves you reeling, but nowhere near as badly as Xelo’tah who stumbles before holding onto a wall for support. For a moment it looks like he will throw up. “Enjoy yourself boyo. I’ll meet you outside. Be nice. stand up straight and all that”. He looks like he has more to say, but stumbles out a door behind you. 
Standing by the other door is a figure in a white robe, with skin to match. It could almost be an alabaster statue except that the creature is reading intently from a thick book. “Mortimer? The Patron will see you now”. The creature opens the door, and seems to be permanently illuminated, as if it has it’s back to the sun. It puts you in mind of the lanterns that Laniss summoned.
Through the door is a church. There’s no other words for it, long aisle with red carpet over light-grey brick, stretching up to vaulted ceilings specifically designed to destroy the acoustics of choirs. Rows of wooden pews occupy the floor, and stained-glass windows let in bright light from the outside. The light isn’t sunlight, it’s too...what is it? it’s too white. The whole church has an aura of peace to it. Of tranquility.
“I happen to like it”. A marble-skinned creature, like the one you saw outside it standing behind the altar, itself closing a book. Instead of a robe, this creature wears plate armor of a pale metal, with the chestpiece modified to allow for it’s enormous wings. Rather than bird’s wings, this creature has ribbons of light streaming from it’s shoulderblades, flowing  and flapping like flags in a breeze.
“Your language is full of words that have ideas pre-attached to them, which makes this difficult, so you will excuse me. I am the Archon Balthazar, the Patron of Authority and Order. I have been your protector and guardian, and will continue to watch over you.”
“I do not owe you answers, but the curiosity of mortals is something beautiful, and should be rewarded. I employ servants such as Zay-Low-Tarth of Claire because they are useful. In my employ I can keep them in line, and keep them fighting my fight. I oppose chaos first, and foremost, with other concerns taking second place. Most other archons would object to that order, but it’s a fight that needs to be fought. The Demon lord of necromancy and the undead is a force that must be stopped, and cannot be stopped by the forces of good alone. Noble Kel, brave Zelkor, pious Bofred, the list of good gods, men and women who have opposed Orcus and died is longer than it has any right to be. You however, are a shining example of what can be done when one uses tools that are...” he pauses, for a long moment “more practical than those prescribed
“Each of the temples to the Demon Prince are warded against the forces of good. That is what they fear. That the paladins of  Nirvana and the warriors of Heaven will come charging in and smash down their doors!” He laughs, a warming sound like a good joke at a fireside. Compared to Xelo’tah’s chummy laugh, Balthazar’s seems to radiate a feeling of serenity.
“So instead, we have you and Claire and your friend Shades. I owe you some congratulations for your defeat of Zehn. Claire has already asked, and what the Anima engine is remains a mystery. If I told you I had it on good authority that it was a steakhouse, I doubt you would believe me. A pity really, it would save some time.” He laughs again.
Balthazar stretches, gesturing to the windows and the church at large. “I built this place myself, back when I was a simple petitioner. Hammered the stones and cut the glass. There was no lord here then, but that’s not why I built it. I built it to learn how stones fit together to make a church, how glass shards in their odd shape will make a window.” He looks at you hard, clearly hoping the lesson is being passed on
“The mantle of Kel is important to me. Once upon a time she was my patron, as I am now to you. I serve someone higher, but I cannot reveal their name.” he taps his holy symbol, a golden pentagon with five golden triangles extending from each side (forming a 5 point star) on a light blue background. ”This is intended to represent the sun, and it’s ability to see truth.  If it was known that a god in Heaven was employing someone such as Claire, there would be unfathomable consequences. For now, I will have Claire and his master given everything they need to bring your Lord back from death. In return, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this mantle. Many lives may depend on it. Know that as an archon, I cannot lie and will never do so. 
You must always be mindful that you will need to think about what to say, if you wish people to follow you. Lies may one day come to the surface, but the truth is resolute.” He taps his holy symbol again. “This symbol links us, from the archons of heaven to the warriors of axis to the servants of the Hells. Take this symbol, and the name of Balthazar, of The Patron and spread our word. Truth, leadership and pragmatism will lead you to victory. Now go, Claire cannot abide it here, you should leave him in discomfort no more”
You head back through the church, and into the room you arrive in, then you are shown through one more door. Xelo’tah is here in a small antichamber, and his smile has completely vanished. He’s drawn another circle on the ground and hurries you into the center. The same chanting, and this time you distinctly catch Xelo’tah manipulate a silver rod in his pocket.
This trip is quite the reverse. When you arrive you feel faint, like the air is barely thick enough to breath and the horizon wobbles in a horrible manner, as if you’re as drunk as you were at the party. Xelo’tah on the other hand looks quite refreshed. 
This time you’re standing on solid ground, and everything is painted in greyscale. The grass beneath your feet looks wrong somehow, and the surrounding hills are oddly shaped, to say nothing of the sky. Above you, clouds sky and stars all swirl like water going down the drain and the sight makes you regret eating so much jerky for lunch. 
Around you a dozen kytons are at work on different tasks, all centered around a great machine. The device seems to be made of glass, looking like part loom, part broken window and part nightmare. The whole thing is about 100 feet long and 30 feet high, and the component parts move around each other, giving the whole thing a roughly egg-shape.
“Behold, the Anima Engine!” Xelo’Tah’s grin is back, this place is obviously to his liking. Seeing your expression, he laughs
“Nah, just kidding boyo. This is the Planar Constructor. We can use it to build anything that exists anywhere, if we’re careful. Come over here, and meet our leader”
Xelo’Tah’s leader is a strange creature. A 9-foot tall creature of metal and flesh is standing by a pile of silver shards, inspecting them intently. The creature has three legs and four arms, all of which are covered in blades. In the center of the creature sits a human torso, fleshless and fatless with tubes and clamps binding it to the machine. The thing is unnatural and somehow painful to behold, as if the creature radiated suffering.
“Mortimer, Interlocutor Chattur’gah. Interlocutor, this is Guardsman Mortimer”
You are pretty relieved that the creature does not try to shake your hand. Instead it speaks in surprisingly clear common
“Mortimer. I see you again, and I suggest that you do not remember me. I am indicating the Planar Constructor. The machine I describe has rebuilt you before, and I will allow it to do so in the future”
Cattur’gah motions you over to the silver shards
“The shards before me are able to resonate with impressions. I will now ask you to pick up a shard, and I will tell you to think of your Lord so that I may restore him”
Xelo’tah chimes in “The machine will rebuild the Tengu’s body, boyo. From there we use a shard to attenuate the new body with the soul. The soul thinks the new body is it’s old one, and will cross through the planes to re-unite with it. From there, we shift the body back to the material plane. Clean. Neat.”
You take a silver shard, and at once feel a headachle, like someone is rummaging around in your mind. You remember Shades. Crushed under a pile of rocks in the mouth of doom. Cleaning his rifle at the dinner table in Calaelen. Swapping tales with Hengsha down by the docks
“I think that will be enough, Mortimer. I will tell you that the Constructor is now ready, and that I will restore your Lord. I suggest that you wait with Xelo’tah, and I will command him to transport yourself and your lord back to your abode. I will reassure you that your lord will remember nothing of what happens here”
The silver shard is placed in the machine, and the level of activity quickly rises. Kytons adjust clamps and chant and use their chains to manipulate hard to reach levers. Chattur’gah approaches the machine, and places the silver shard on a pedestal. The Constructor springs to life, the metal and glass pieces whirl around each other, and the air is so thick with magic that it smells like Laniss’s tower.
In the center of the machine you see a flickering, like flames of a black fire. Over a few moments the flames grow and bend until they solidify with a sharp ‘pop’ into the shape of a Tengu. Shade’s body is hanging suspended 15 feet in the air, perfectly still.
“Engaging the soul return now” shout one of the Kytons. You see silver fire begin to lick it’s way around the edges of the machine, and is soon joined by purple lightning. It looks impressive, but you notice Xelo’tah’s grin vanish, replaced with a expression of shock, then fear
“Everyone get down” is shouted a little too late. The machine seems to implode, as the peices rush towards the center and Shade’s still form. Then with a crack of thunder the device explodes outwards with purple and silver flames. You see half a dozen Kytons be consumed by the flames, and a snarl from Xelo’tah reveals him to be struggling with a 2-foot long shard of silver imbedded in his throat.
After the wounded are taken care of, Chattur’gah comes to find you. “I will tell you that I am surprised. I have few ideas as to what happened here. I will not patronise you to suggest sabotage or foolishness in regards to the shard. I will look in to this, but I will tell you that you or I have made an enemy somewhere, and I knows that they mean us no good will. I will also be unable to restore you to life for some time, should you be slain.”
It’s hard to tell, but Chattur’gah looks pensive. Xelo’tah leads you away in silence, mostly because he is missing most of his throat. You are returned to Calaelen without further incident, although you’re forced to do so without your lord.