48: The Abyss Gazes Also

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## Summary

### Miasma

Cat relays what the voice told him to the rest of the party. With a renewed sense of urgency, they know they must hurry to rescue Tai, whom they suspect has been taken somewhere beneath the village. Plagued by an uneasy feeling emanating off the Wrath in the tunnels, they predict it may be coming from an area near the gnomon, or perhaps beneath it.

The party bids their farewells to Rhodos, who must return to the Elders’ Lodge, but promises to do what he can to thwart the cult’s plans. The group heads through the tunnels to the east, where they seem to lose track of time before coming across a hooded figure ahead of them. Curiously, the cultist does not seem to react to their presence, and they confirm it is merely an illusion after Bran throws a rock at it and it disappears. Having dispelled the illusion, the group finds itself in a round chamber with a massive hole in its center.

They descend, and come upon a labyrinth carved into the depths of the earth. As they make their way deeper, they notice Wrath collecting on the floor and walls, and for the first time, the party at large hears the voice of Wrath, speaking now to taunt them.

### Exchange Interrupted

Eventually, they make it through the maze, and reach yet another tunnel. As they move further underground, though, Cat can link back up with his bat familiar, which has been watching over Tai since they split up. It’s in the chamber that awaits them at the end of the final tunnel, and what it sees is a grim scene:

Brother Phobos stands with a dark robed and hooded figure before Vallor and Tai, and at the center of the room is a raised platform infested by Wrath, seemingly growing out of the earth itself. They appear to be talking, but the bat cannot hear them, and suddenly, Vallor is being forced to consume more of the ichor, to everyone’s horror. Deciding not to waste any more time, the party rushes in, with Mahi casting silence on the center of the room as a preemptive measure against whatever Phobos and Mother have in store, and Tira using the dazzling flash of the Moonsilver Glaive to blind them for good measure.

The party makes quick work of Phobos with the help of some gadgets Tai brought, and while they deal with the woman who must be Mother, Vallor succumbs to the Wrath. Tai retreats, getting closer to one of the tunnels at the edges of the room, and she and Mujie have another exchange.

Mother removes her hood and reveals herself as Corinth, who appears to have sacrificed her eyes to the God of Light. It isn’t long before another revelation, however: the woman who used to be Corinth is now a mere puppet of the entity living beneath the village.

The “God of Light” shows its true form, a dark winged creature with many shapes and many purple eyes. Luca uses moonbeam, and the creature wearing his mother’s face merely laughs before turning its gaze upon Mujie, Luca, Cat, and Tai, nullifying their magic entirely.

## Quotes

#### *FINALLY, A SINISTER MONOLOGUE:*

> “I suppose the game is over, then, now that I have you here. Vallor, the son of a saint. And you, Lucarius. I have waited eons to taste the blood of another champion.”
>
>

*—Siffir's Eye*