Banish Lessons

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 33: Banish Lessons, the iron sentinel at the temple's front entrance saw through Safira's disingenuous prayer – and after taking an ominous posture, swelled with arcane energy.  A quiet popping noise sent our ranger to another plane of existence and the stone defenders patrolling the moat began to converge… a sign that it was now or never to spring into action.

As the others tried their luck with the words of worship, Graven spotted a familiar dwarven face peeking over the second floor balcony – and after Erland slipped inside, he ascended to discover Barbara and Dane engaging in some kind of ritual at the altar to Heptactor.

Preventing us from interrupting the process was another construct that threw down a protective wall of force – so to have any chance at stopping them in their tracks, we needed to locate the source of the temple's power as was described in Emmitt Nesbitt's shit-list contract.

Orba made herself as elusive a target as possible by casting both mirror image and blink, which allowed her to get a look at the interior and find a small arcane lock fitted into one of the supportive pillars.  Strewn about the room in piles of waste and rubble were small geometric shapes buzzing with abjuration magic – and it seemed that the right combination of pieces might be the key to deactivating the outer defenses.

This would be welcome news to Graven and Safira, who were dodging destructive blasts and watching the slow procession of golems work their way up to the bridge. They took solace in knowing that any eyes on them meant more room to maneuver indoors, but the diversion wouldn't last forever – and there was no telling what might happen if the devotees upstairs got what they came for.

Still, bouncing back and forth using *terminal rebound* and embracing her hardiest *animus* form bought us quite a bit of time – and Erland rummaged through the wreckage to find nine enchanted fragments scattered across all three floors. When Orba detected the last of three locks, we inserted the pieces and heard a low hum of what we hoped was deactivation – confirmed by those outside, who watched the constructs begin to crumble.

The wall of force was dispelled and despite Dane's best efforts to fend him off, Erland ripped the book of prayer from the altar it lay upon.  Unfortunately, however, a partial connection between these fanatics and the god of order had already been forged – and when the link was severed, the potency of the energy was enough to scatter them to dust… obliterated here at the temple they'd risked so much to reach.

When Graven laid eyes on the scene, he filled us in on what may have transpired – a ritual to anoint Barbara and Dane as *sibyls*, which are a kind of cleric-in-training until Heptactor can determine who is worthiest among them to become a full-fledged cleric.

Their fate was regrettable – the latest in a string of offenses that cemented our opinion of the meddling gods – but completing this task did put Graven into Q'usñi's good graces, allowing him to siphon power from his counterpart that he could use in any impending showdown.

That plus a smattering of spell scrolls and valuables made for a decent haul, but we needed to catch our breath before continuing any further.  With its power drained, this ruin seemed like as good a spot as any to rest and despite the ever-present consideration of time, we still had a little cushion before Pockets was set to arrive at the isthmus.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: six natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 by Anthony, 2 by John, and 3 by Jordan.