High Priest

High Priest is an encounter in High Tide.
==Enemies==
* Adar High Priest (High Priest) (150 Gold, 150 XP, 150 Energy, 1 HP)
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
As you approach, the temple's occupant emerges from the shadows that concealed it while you battled the courtyard's guards. It looks vaguely amphibian, but lacks any of the humanity that you've seen in the island's merfolk inhabitants. Likewise, its movements seem simultaneously smooth and awkward, like a being of natural grace and agility forced into an alien body.
It draws up short a dozen paces away from you, regarding your group with its head held at an unnatural angle. Those strange red eyes never move, but you're sure they don't miss a detail on anyone.
The creature moves its jaw silently and seconds later a voice emerges, out of sync with its lipless mouth. It's a strange, silken thing that sends a shiver up your spine. Words stretch out or condense, seemingly at random, creating one of the most bizarre cadences you've ever heard in your life.
"Yoooooou." A taloned finger raises to point at you. "You are thhhhhhhhe one whowould taaaaaakkke the sworrrrd."
You glance over to Jonas, who looks confused, and then to Marna. Her eyes are focused just behind the creature. You follow her gaze and it takes a moment to realize what's caught her attention: The creature's shadow is moving, clutching its hands and turning its head.
The finger is still pointing towards you and you remember that you were just addressed. "I'm sorry. What?"
"Oh, yes." Jonas sniggers. "You sound like you just stepped off the page of an epic poem."
There is a rumbling hiss of irritation and the being sneers, revealing rows of fish-like needle teeth. "You are. The Waaaaaaaayfareeer. Heeeere forthe sword."
Jona looks at you with a raised eyebrow. "The Wayfarer?"
You can't help but shrug. Everyone else seems to know more about who you are and what you're supposed to be doing than you do yourself.
The creature's lips part in a snarl. The fingers snap out, displaying wicked claws, and the moving shadow surges forward a second before its owner leaps straight at you.
As you spin away, searing magic chews up the ground where you stood. You respond in kind, a wave of blue fire flowing out from your hands, but it washes harmlessly around the creature. A shield spell?
All three of your weapons are raised in defensive positions, and each person in the trio moves away from one another in an attempt to flank the creature. It shifts its weight, head swiveling to keep everyone in view. Each time your enemy turns its head, the shadow's head moves in the opposite direction.
As the standoff continues, you begin to see a pattern. Whatever this thing is, it's constantly adjusting to keep itself between you and the mouth of the temple. Not Marna or Jonas. Just you.
You catch their attention and jerk your chin toward the door. You fix each of them with your gaze in turn and look pointedly at the creature. They nod, and you hope they've understood.
"NOW," you shout, and all hell breaks loose.
Marna charges in, fast and hard, her war hammer swinging down like a divine instrument of vengeance. The creature holds its hand in front of it, fingers outstretched, and the glowing shield appears in the air again. The hammer rebounds as soon as it hits, throwing Marna back by a few feet.
At the same moment, Jonas uses the opening to aim his ballista and fire. The arrows streak past your enemy and instead slam into the ground, piercing the shadow.
The shadow itself doesn't show any reaction to being hit with the arrows, but the creature arches its back and roars in pain.
You're already in motion, taking advantage of the distraction to sprint towards the open doors of the temple, dashing past the being and its terrifying shadow. There's the sensation of something passing close by your head, but then there's another pained cry and you're inside the temple.
It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, but details begin to emerge. In the center of the room, reflections in a glassy surface catch your attention. You walk towards them and realize you're looking at a crystal sword hanging a few feet above the ground from a stand.
Within each of the blade's facets, different scenes -- not reflections like you first assumed -- are playing out. In one, you can see the battle outside as viewed from straight above. Another shows you with your entire family, all of them still alive and happy. Yet another piece of the crystal shows a monstrous shape moving slowly in near-total darkness, glowing red eyes the only identifiable feature.
Clearly this is the sword that amphibian thing was referring to. And if you're this "Wayfarer"? Well, that means you're supposed to take it.
Your fingers only tremble a little as they wrap around the hilt.
===Conclusion===
Jonas is sitting on the ground, the dazed look on his face probably tied to the gash on his forehead. The shadow is straining to reach him, though held in place by half a dozen ballista bolts in the ground.
Marna, meanwhile, is being forced to retreat one step at a time as she wards off inhumanly fast blows. The woman can swing her hammer as fast as you can a sword, but even her speed and strength is barely enough to keep those wicked claws at bay.
As you stride out of the temple, the sword literally blazes as its blade is touched by the sun. The creature turns to look back at you, hissing as it raises its hands to shield its eyes.
Your sword lashes out, tearing into the shield spell suddenly in front of you as light bursts from the blade. Claws slice through the air before you can strike again, sending up a shower of sparks as you move your weapon to block.
Your next attack cleaves deeply into another shield of energy. Your follow-up thrust isn't even slowed by the energy in the air, as though the sword is adapting to the magic it encounters.
The creature falls back, stumbling, and then a handheld ballista bolt slams home into one of its knees. You look over your shoulder and see Jonas, still in a seated position but holding his weapon. He smiles stupidly and waves, shouting too-loudly, "He's all yours, killer!"
Your opponent falls to the ground snarling. Before it can recover, you rush forward and slam the sword home. The blade punches through its body and into the ground, and the creature's howl is cut short by a flash of light.
When your vision clears, the strange being is gone.
A flicker of movement in the blade draws your attention as you wrench it free from the ground. Inside one of those facets, the strange creature who fought you and your cohorts to a standstill is raging against the crystal surface.
"That's certainly unusual." Marna's voice startles you. She's peering over your shoulder at the blade. "He really doesn't look happy to be there, does he?"
"Not even a little bit." You turn and walk over to Jonas, offering him your hand to help him up. "Come on."
Marna appears on the gnome's other side, helping steady him as he stands. "What now, ‘Wayfarer'?"
You look around the courtyard and then down at the sword in your hand. This weapon had to have been your goal. An artifact of this power wouldn't be stumbled upon by accident.
Now it's time to move on.
"We gather the crew, go back to the ship, remember our dead and put as much water between us and this place as we can."
"And then?" Jonas's words are only a little slurred.
"No idea." A smile tugs at the corner of your mouth. "I suspect the wind will take us where we're needed next."
Category:High Tide