Deeper Into The Cold

**Deeper Into The Cold** is the twenty ninth episode of *Another Bad Side Quest*. The remaining party and their new companion Sterling delve deeper into the Aetian ruins outside of Nij'a and find more than they bargained for.

## Deeper Into The Cold

### **Synopsis**

**Pre-Show Shenanigans**

* Jeremy is not feeling well and has entrusted our favorite sorcerer with Haelley to pilot for the night
* ABSQ's main character art is done by @laniekun, the world map of Palamoa by @TheBrassBailey and ABSQ logo commissioned by @KacperGilkaArt
* Music and sound made possible by Syrinscape and Epidemic Sound!
* Zach is back to remind you haw cool TableTopWorld is!
* Tell your friends about the show! Spread the love and get together to watch and enjoy the chaos

### **Part One**

As the party faced down the Dragon Flesh Golem, Quincy was the first to act as she cast *Bless* on RX, Yashani and Alaerith as they smelled ozone in the air around them while feeling a tingling as small sparks leapt across their clothes, then pulled out *Peril & Pain* and activated *Barrage*. Alaerith stuck close to Quincy as he ducked behind the nearby pillar and readied himself to cast *Firebolt* in case the Dragon Flesh Golem came closer. Yashani, seeing RX between her and the golem, leapfrogged over RX to get into melee range with the Dragon Flesh Golem, slammed her palms against the golem only to find the parts she struck were too sturdy to hit, then frustrated, activated *Flurry of Blows* and while the first hit had the same result, which Sterling commented if she was really just punching it and RX assured him she was very good at it, Yashani landed her second strike and activated *Patient Defense* as she remained at the Dragon Flesh Golem's feet.

RX asked Yashani how the golem felt and after Yashani replied “hard. . .and scaly” recommended a doctor for that as he rushed to the Dragon Flesh Golem, failed to grapple it despite a noble effort as it was too big to be grappled, then reached for the quarterstaff held in place of his longsword and slammed it across the Dragon Flesh Golem, but found the non-magical attack was entirely negated. Sterling, perched over a pillar and floating on a group of glowing blue scrolls that held him aloft close to and above the golem, asked if they were able to take on a creature of this size and after RX admitted this may be new territory for them, moved to the top of a nearby pillar, dropped *Fly* and cast Slow on the Dragon Flesh Golem as he formed swirl of glowing blue gears and the party saw as the Dragon Flesh Golem’s very breath seemed to slow to half speed before their eyes.

The Dragon Flesh Golem looked around itself as it inhaled deeply and exhales a large wave of rolling green gas towards Quincy, Yashani, Sterling and RX, with Quincy, Yashani and Sterling who coughed as they dodged the worst of it as, but RX unable to move in time took the brunt of the assault and was left *Paralyzed*. Quincy fired at the Dragon Flesh Golem with *Peril & Pain* with her prior activated *Barrage*, learning as the pistols unleashed their torrent of lightning and necrotic magical ball bearings learned that the golem was immune to the lightning energy as their blue scales absorbed the hit, while also immune to the usual incapacitating affect of their critical hits, then put away *Peril & Pain* and fired *Panache* once to see as RX did that the non-magical bullets did nothing. Alaerith ran behind Quincy to get line of sight on the Dragon Flesh Golem and cast *Firebolt,* which it seemed to be resistant to as the fire energy was partially absorbed by the red scales.

Yashani, still next to RX and the Dragon Flesh Golem, reached out to RX with a glowing red palm, like a phantom blood flow, activated *Hand of Healing* to heal him while also relieving his paralysis, told him that the *Eldritch Fist* was in the *Bag of Holding* and might be of more use to him in this fight, then turned back to the golem, struck it’s knee joint with one of her two strikes, and after Sterling called out that she could maneuver away from the Dragon Flesh Golem as the spell he used prevented it from retaliating and maneuvered behind a nearby pillar. RX stood from where he had fallen, took the *Eldritch Fist* on Yashani’s advice, put it on, smacked a nearby pillar to activate it causing the cestus to light up purple as runes across it’s plated surface began to glow and struck it twice against the golem as the amber in RX’s hand also activated, though the lightning energy RX’s amber had inflicted was negated.

Sterling asked the group if they planned to simply pummel it until it fell or if they think they need another plan and Quincy reminded him that was how fighting worked while RX said that was the plan unless he had a better one. Sterling noticed a large stone door at the opposite end of the room from where they had entered, suggested that someone should try the doorm, then raised several glowing scrolls around him, prepared himself to do something he had never done before and cast *Magic Missile* as he touched several of the scrolls causing them to glow brighter and fly towards the Dragon Flesh Golem. The Dragon Flesh Golem, looking displeased, lumbered forward past Yashani, as she used her reaction to strike and crack its knee, then took a deep breath and exhaled another cloud of green gas towards Quincy, Alaerith and RX, with Quincy and Alaerith who coughed as they managed to avoid most of it, while RX took the full brunt of the poison, but managed to push through it's paralyzing effect.

Quincy, noticing the Dragon Flesh Golem was looking rough, pulled out *Peril & Pain* again, struck it with one of her two blasts, then turned to Alaerith and called for him to follow them to the door Sterling had pointed out in case things went sideways. Alaerith looked between Quincy and the Dragon Flesh Golem be and cast *Firebolt* before he ran to follow behind Quincy and towards the far door, unimpeded by the difficult terrain from squeezing between the pillars. Yashani slipped around the pillar she had dodged behind, as RX complimented her on how cool it looked, struck the Dragon Flesh Golem where its scales had been stitched together and begun to fall apart, activated *Bloody Smite* as her hands, wrapped in the *Necrotic Wraps* glowed a thicker, more viscous red glow and struck it with shard of red from her hand, then called out to RX and said she believed he could finish this.

RX took a couple steps back, leapt forward as he activated the *Eldritch Fist*, cursed as he missed the Dragon Flesh Golem and cracked the ground, as Sterling asked Quincy if she had calibrated her automaton recently, which was met with protest from both Quincy and RX. RX then swung around to backhand the Dragon Flesh Golem shattering through it's last working knee as it fell *Prone* and barely breathing, then activated his *Action Surge* to slammed one final punch that crushed through the Dragon Flesh Golem’s skull, leaving it a disgusting pile of black goo.

The party celebrated the defeat as RX marvelled over the *Eldritch Fist* and Yashani noted that she prefered to fight unencumbered and suggested RX should use it. Sterling called from the pillar he had landed on and requested help getting down before they continued. RX climbed up the pillar and attempted to toss Sterling over his shoulder, but was met with resistance as Sterling insisted he did not consent and wriggled himself from his grasp. RX asked if he wanted help or not, but when Sterling commented that he didn't wish to be grabbed like some animal and RX retoreted that he was not simply an automaton. Sterling refused RX’s help, started to slowly lower himself over the side of the pillar and dangled for a moment before he let himself drop, only injuring himself slightly. Sterling dusted himself off and noted the discovery of the new door to open, but added that he would not mind resting as his head hurts, while still bleeding from where he smacked his face in the dark prior to the fight, and noted from his brief time in medical school that this was likely post-concussive syndrome. Yashani asked if he would allow her to touch him and when he agreed reached out activated *Hand of Healing* and healed the worst of his wounds.

While Quincy, Yashani and Alaerith set up a small resting place closer to the new door they found, RX and Sterling poked around the Dragon Flesh Golem’s corpse and between the two were able to pull a single green, red, silver, black, blue, gold and brass scale from what could be salvaged amongst the black goo as the corpse quickly decomposed. Sterling requested that he held onto them to study and take notes while they rested and then could be split between the group, though he agreed to give RX a bonus for killing the Dragon Flesh Golem. Sterling happily sat a little distance from the rest of the group to study his scales while RX took up a post between the rest of the party and him to keep watch. As they sat and recovered from their encounter with the golem, Quincy called for Sterling’s attention and got a polite “Yes, Miss Desmar” in return that made Quincy cringe. Quincy asked that if they were to continue on together that he stop that, explaining they were not really a miss, a lady, a ma’am or a girl even. Sterling looked vaguely confused so Quincy explained that he should think of it like a parchment boat in that it may look like a boat and functioned like a boat but in the end would always be a piece of parchment. Sterling took a moment but began to understand that Quincy was non-binary and prefered they/them pronouns in reference to themself and insisted Quincy’s analogies may need a bit of work before asking if just Desmar was alright and Quincy happily agreed. In the meantime, RX walked around the room and returned to tell the party that it appeared they were now alone.

After they completed their rest and patched themselves up, the group moved to the new door and investigated, but Sterling was the only one who truly understood what was to be found, noting there were no handles. He also noticed deep carvings of runes, made of a mix of Infernal and old Aetian and explained out loud that there was likely a opening phrase that the runes would point to. Sterling took a moment to translate the runes and found a riddle that read

*"Though I walk,*

*Though I talk,*

*What am I?"*

RX asked if a machine might be the answer, though Sterling doubted it, asking if it could walk or talk. RX pointed out that he could, but Sterling noted RX was an outlier in that. RX spoke to the door to give his answer as Sterling warned against too many guesses, citing the door could be trapped and they might only have so many attempts before it went off. Yashani suggested Sterling could try giving a random answer and Quincy warned against tempting Sterling into accidentally dying. Sterling noted they could make their occasional guesses, but suggested not saying them in ancient Aetian or Infernal to avoid possibly setting off the door assuming any of them could speak those languages. RX noted he could speak Infernal while Quincy added they knew some conversational Elvish but assumes it wasn't relevant. RX walked closer to the door and gave his prior answer “machine” in Infernal, but the door remained closed.

RX explained his confusion by the wording that there were things it could do, but did not say what it couldn't do and noted that there was something missing to it. Sterling pointed out it was phrased as though the thing should not be able to walk or talk and answered “I am alive” in Infernal, but the door remained closed still. Quincy tried to look around the door for more writing, but without knowing anything about Infernal or ancient Aetian found nothing and groaned that they were bored. As Sterling thought more on it he spotted the familiar blue glow of the sentience of his spellbook in his peripheral, visible only to him, and told him that the riddle was not that hard. When Sterling asked for the answer the book told him he had to solve his own problems and reminded him it was watching before the glow faded from his view. RX noticed as Sterling’s mouth moved, but did not quite catch the words he spoke.

Yashani commented that Sterling and Alaerith both had magical aptitude and wondered if an illusion can walk and talk and RX tried to say illusion in Infernal to the door, but yet again, nothing happened. Sterling suggested it might be a play on words and Quincy noted that rivers “run” and “babble” and RX tried yet again, but nothing happens. Yashani went on to suggest a human, or a mortal or even an immortal, but none of the answers worked. Quincy, impatient, smacked the door with their hand and suggested blowing it down like they did with the one they came in through, but Sterling warned that they could be warded and dangerous. As the party continued to struggle, going back and forth between guesses and arguing about breaking down the door, Alaerith cast *Enhance Ability : Fox’s Cunning* on himself and as the magic settled and cleared his mind, stood in front of the door to inspect the writing, tilted his head to the side as he repeated the riddle, slowly said out loud *“Here”* and the large stone doors creaked and groaned as they pushed open into another dark hallway.

As the party looked on in amazement several of them congratulated Alaerith on the success, who continued to stare in shock of being seemingly correct, while others were stuck pondering the relativity of the statement. As the scent of dust and mold wafted out of the hallway, RX noted that while they were not good at riddles they had more to explore and led the group through the hallway.

### **Break!**

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### **Part Two**

The party continued deeper into the ruins, past the riddle door and found angular, almost geometric architecture with carvings along the wall familiar to Sterling, but strange to the party, and the hallway well cut from red stone, lit by the *Driftglobe* as it hovered over Quincy’s head. RX asked Sterling if there was anything he coudl tell the party about the place and Sterling mostly shrugs and called it rudimentary aetian. Quincy noted their surprise that Sterling didn’t jump at the opportunity to give a long winded speech, but Sterling assured them he was vibrating with excitement, which RX tested by placing a hand on his shoulder. Sterling pulled away from the touch as RX said he was simply testing the truthfulness of the statement and Sterling recalled not being literal around RX. Yashani noted they should try being more quiet and Sterling agreed, but noted a thin layer of dust on the ground that has been undisturbed knowing that no one had been down this deep before them.

Sterling took a moment to cast *Locate Object* as he pulled out a scroll, read off the words that glowed, form a pointed arrow that drifted down to lay flat against the ground and pointed in the direction of an infernal summoning book, as he assumed there weren't many down here and he was unfamiliar with the particular book he was looking for. Now knowing the book was about 600 feet southwest of them, and a full level down, Sterling told the party as much. Before they headed off Quincy requested a bit of chalk and Sterling pulled out a number of options before Quincy frustratedly asked for just plain chalk which he handed over. As the party moved down the hall and around a corner to follow Sterling’s magic sense, Quincy marked the walls to keep track of where they had been.

As they walked, the light from the *Driftglobe* did not always as the brightness shifted growing dimmer and brighter. Sterling felt his connection to the Æther was unstable here, inconsistent and like nothing he had felt before. As Alaerith and Quincy felt the same feeling, with Quincy more perturbed than the others having only recently connected to the Æther at all, Sterling casts *Detect Magic* creating a bright glare of light as Sterling found strong Divination and Enchantment magic from all the walls and floors. Sterling leant into Alaerith, explained his feelings about the area and asked for help and Alaerith agreed as much as he could to help identify the source. Sterling saw the familiar glow of his spellbook come into the peripheral of his vision who then noted something had a telepathic bond to the whole area. Sterling asked if they were still on the other side of it and the spellbook told him the magic wouldn’t still be here if they weren’t.

Quincy asked if the others could feel the sensation and while RX noted an odd static to the air, Yashani focused and felt something akin to a thick smoke in the area and noted it could be dangerous to them if they stayed for too long and suggested they leave. As they continued to move, Sterling explained his feat that something had a telepathic connection to this place, that Divination means they were watching and the Enchantment could be the strangeness in the air and had affected them already. Sterling advised them not to anger whatever they were walking through and to tell him if they feel anything strange so he could dispel it. Quincy noted they already felt uncomfortable, but there was not much to do about that and insisted they move faster. Sterling seemed to connect the dots on what was going on with Quincy, and when he patted them on the shoulder saw a flash of the spellbook’s light at the corner of his eye, but let it go for now as they kept moving.

They turned left and right and left as they continued through the hallways, following Sterling’s sense of *Locate Object* and entered a large room, grander than the hallways, lined on either side with sculptures of people in ancient Aetian armor and geometric shapes put together to make plate armor across their forms. As they stepped into the room and pass the first set of statues, Quincy paused to look up at the armor and was caught frozen as they are suddenly wracked with fear and left *Frightened*. As Sterling started to tell the group to keep their eyes down and when he realized Quincy had stalled at the first statue asked if they needed help. Quincy stuttered out an attempted reply and seeing that Sterling didn't hesitate to cast *Dispel Magic,* instantly leaving Quincy no longer frightened. Quincy thanked Sterling quietly as a wave of warmth overtook them comfortingly, and the rest of the group noticed the sparks of red and streaks of magma in Quincy’s hair glow brighter. As Quincy ruefully said they would stop looking at walls and urged everyone onward, Alaerith quietly took Quincy’s hand as they moved on.

The party and Sterling continued deeper into the ruins, making more turns and down a set of stairs as Sterling follows the sense of his *Locate Object,* while Quincy continued to mark the walls with their chalk. As they continued, the party was met with a disorienting feeling, almost claustrophobic the deeper they got, but Sterling reminded them to breathe as normal and they would be fine. The hallway dipped into a staircase that lazily circled itself until they reached a new hallway that opened up at the end to a small 20 foot by 30 foot room that was empty, but for another hallway entrance on the opposite side. Sterling’s *Detect Magic* instantly pinged that this room was not as simple as it seemed, that it gave off an air of Transmutation magic and warned them it was coming from the floor. Quincy asked what Transmutation was and Sterling attempted to explain, using an example of a witch turning a person into a frog. Quincy noted that in the stories it was usually a prince, which RX called a strange analogy, but Quincy insisted they got it. Sterling explained that this was that type of magic, but that magic coulod also make wards and the like. He added that lizardfolk he met were rather good at it and held up the shrunken heads as examples. Quincy rounded back to ask if he meant to say the floor turn things into other things, but Yashani said that the magic may have turned the floor into another thing.

Using that knowledge, Quincy took the remainder of their chalk, flicked it out onto the floor and saw it skitter harmlessly across the tiles and rest towards the middle of the room. RX pulled out his borrowed staff and began to tap the four tiles closest to the mouth of the hallway. As Sterling reache out to stop RX from continuing, RX disappeared and then reappeared on a tile right beside the mouth of the hallway six seconds later. Sterling called for everyone to stop doing things as none of them has done this before, and when RX retorted that Sterling wasn't doing anything told them to stay back. Sterling cast *Fly* on himself, started to fly to the other side of the room, but when he got halfway across had the immediate sense of Evocation magic and only just manages to dodge the line of flame that bursts from the walls on either side of the room. Sterling called back that the floor may not be the only thing they need to worry about, while Alaerith, tried to examine the tiles closest to the hallway mouth, but found no discernable difference between the tile that teleported RX and the others that had been safe to touch.

As Sterling flew, he saw the familiar glow of his spellbook’s sentience as it warned him they have a problem and as Sterling’s concentration on *Fly* dropped he did as well as he hit the floor and disappeared. Six seconds later, Sterling reappeared and landed on another tile before disappearing once more, repeating several time until Sterling landed on a corner tile and finally comes to a rest, banged up and bruised but mostly intact. RX recommended that if Sterling planned to move again to let him know and Sterling noted that he might be able to reach the other hallway and find a way to possibly disable the floor’s magic. Meanwhile, Quincy pulled out the bag of ball bearings they acquired from Cofin in *The* *Underbelly* and pulled one out, but was halted by RX who had an idea.

RX asked if Sterling trusted him for the little time they knew each other and Sterling replied no and asked for an explanation. RX reminded Sterling how he lifted the fork from Sterling’s hand with his mind and explained that Sterling was just a larger fork. In response Sterling flipped through his spells and when he found he did not have *Levitate* prepared accepted RX’s idea. RX reaches out with one hand and as his eyes flashed purple he focuses on Sterling and activated *Telekinetic Movement* as he began to lift him. RX started to push Sterling safely into the opposite hallway, but halfway felt a resistance, like something was trying to pull RX’s connection to Sterling away, but managed to push through. While being lifted Sterling’s *Eldritch Scarf* pulled a trowel from the folds of the scarf at Sterling’s will, dropped it to the floor and as it hit a tile it disappeared. Six seconds later it reappeared and disappears once more a number of times, gaining speed with each appearance and disappearance until finally, with a loud crack the trowel broke the sound barrier, embedding itself into a tile in the middle of the room and remained there, with Quincy and Sterling left *Deafened* by the noise.

Sterling cast *Message* and told RX that he couldn't hear and RX responds, staticky and stilted as RX focused on keeping Sterling aloft, for Sterling to grab for the doorway and pull himself in. After letting Sterling down in the hallway across the room, RX turned to the party and said he could do the same for everyone else except himself. Yashani asked if they should assume the floor was still dangerous as both Sterling and the trowel found places to land, but RX pointed out that it would appear they both got lucky while Quincy looked on in confusion unable to hear them. Sterling cast *Message* and told RX that he still could not hear anything and RX responded for him to wait there. Quincy asked if they were saying something and Yashani reached out to place a hand on Quincy’s shoulder and activated *Hand of Healing* to relieve the deafness. On the other side of the room, Sterling started to checks the new hallway to see if there was a way to disable the floor, but found nothing of the sort. RX waved Sterling down, and when Sterling cast *Message* back to ask what is going on, replied he would send Yashani over to cure his deafness.

Yashani confident in her physical ability instead activated *Step of the Wind* and jumped nimbly from the first hallway, to the tile with the trowel, and then into the hallway with Sterling. Yashani then placed a hand on Sterling’s shoulder, activated *Hand of Healing* to relieve him of his deafness, as well as some of the damage he took previously. As Sterling commented that Yashani was becoming his favorite, the two looked again, and with certainty were sure that there was no way to deactivate the floor's effect and told the rest at the start. Back at the start, RX asked Quincy and Alaerith who would like to go first and Alaerith gestured to Quincy. RX took the same stance as before, and with more confidence this time, lifted Quincy into the air and slowly across the room. Right before the trowel a portion of one of the walls turned a bright red and with only a moment to react, Quincy managed to just barely dodge a blast of fire that skimmed past their stomach before safely ferried to the other hallway. Quincy joked that that would go lower on the list of Quincy’s favored transportation than carriages and Sterling agreed.

As RX turned to Alaerith, Alaerith notedhe had an idea and noted that his newer transportation magic might be better otherwise RX would be stuck. Alaerith took RX’s hand and with a flash of a blue lightning bolt above them, the two disappeared with a loud boom as Alaerith cast *Thunder Step* and they reappeared in the opposite hallway with the others. Alaerith quickly looked over RX to make sure he was alright when they arrived and RX easily accepted his inspection as he had grown used to it from several people. As the group begins to move on, Sterling cast *Detect Magic* once more, while relying on his memory of where the *Locate Object* sense previously pinged the book’s location to keep them on track. Sterling confided in RX who asked how he recalled their path in comparison to where Sterling had said the book was when they started and the two discussed mathematical theory and their route before assuring themselves that they were very close and headed in the right direction. Sterling’s *Detect Magic* revealed the Divination magic was still around and he reminded the party to walk respectfully as that usually helped to make things easier. Quincy told him to tell that to the “fuck you floor tiles” behind them and Sterling conceded to that, but still asked that they did not appear immediately hostile to whatever they might come across.

As they continued onward, making more turns and down more stairs, Yashani and Quincy noticed a thickness to the air that clung to them as they moved through it. As they exited the hallway it opened up into a 30 foot radius, round room with 100 foot ceilings, with mirrors all around the room with deliberate positions creating almost a pillar of light that landed on a pedestal, tilted towards them that revealed an ancient looking book, bound in strange leather and smelled of something foul. Sterling immediately sensed Necromany magic deeply woven into the book and warned the party not to touch the book and to avoid the pillar of light. RX asked if the floor was trapped and Sterling replied that nothing seemed to be magically trapped, and assured that the only thing magical, outside of the general aura of Divination, was the book. RX asked if the light was a part of it and Sterling noted it was simply a pretty display.

Quincy, over *Ob’s Charm*, confirmed that the party was not planning on letting Sterling touch the book and RX said none of them should. Yashani clarified that she did not think it mattered who touched it, but she was not going to let him keep it and RX said they could discuss it when they leave. Sterling noted that when they do grab the book things were likely happen and Yashani asked if they might instead touch it with a stick. RX offered that as much as Sterling reminds him of a fork, the book looked an awful lot like a plate. Sterling agreed the idea was good and suggested RX bring it to him so he could place it in the magical folds of his *Eldritch Scarf* to keep it safe. RX countered with an offering that the party had a *Bag of Holding* that might be even safer, but Sterling insisted on the scarf. Yashani said over *Ob's Charm* to put it in the *Bag of Holding* and RX told Sterling they were his hired help and would like Sterling to trust them on this. Sterling said there was no reason for them to want this unless they were planning to double cross him and insisted that the book goes in his *Eldritch Scarf*, end of discussion or they would not be paid. Yashani said that was alright with her, but that only prompted Sterling to ask why they were here if money was not the point and connected that the party was also here for the book. Yashani said they did not want it for the same reason he did and Sterling knew she was being honest, if not entirely forthcoming. Sterling asked why they wanted it if not to read it and Yashani said they were keeping it from people who did. Sterling asked she not be vague, growing frustrated when she only described them as “bad people”, and when he insisted on details Yashani explained that these people burnt *Kra’Kash*.

As the two of them argued, Quincy heard a voice in her ear that she recognized, Esmeria saying *"ruin"* in her singsong voice. Quincy winced and asked if Sterling knew what the Order of Ruin is as they begin to hyperventilate. Yashani heard the voice next and likewise recognized it, and as Sterling’s *Detect Magic* picked up a new magic presence in the area, Quincy’s body tensed up completely and dragged in ragged breaths, before they slammed themselves back against the nearest wall, dropped down to sit and curl in on themselves as a panic attack took them over. Alaerith crouched down to try and help Quincy as Sterling cast *Mage Hand* and grabbed the book in an attempt to bring it close enough for his *Eldritch Scarf* to reach. Midway , a tendril of black, necrotic magic lashed out through the Æther against Sterling, but he kept his grip on the book and brought it towards them. As Yashani said she wanted to try something with the book Sterling read on the front, in Infernal, the word *Minauros*, which Sterling recognized as the third layer of *Nine Hells*, also known as the *Pestilent Bog*.

As Sterling asked Yashani what she wanted to do, Sterling heard the voice of Esmeria as it drifted through his mind and called for ruin as well. After asking if they heard that voice, Yashani told her the person behind the voice would kill her and told Sterling to let her lock the book. Yashani took the book, summoned the orb of *Ki* into her palm as Chuluu had showed her, pressed it into the cover of the book and after the light cocooned the book in a red glow it solidified into a sturdy chain just before Sterling’s Eldritch Scarf reached out and grabbed the book as it swallowed it like a large mouth. RX said they should all move and asked Quincy if they could walk, and when all he receives was a stuttered and panicked reply scooped Quincy up and led the way back down the hallway. As they went, they spotted a shadow down the way, the familiar form of Esmeria who greeted them and noted they had been running for some time. Sterling asked who she was, but was ignored as Esmeria also commented that they lost “pretty boy” and Quincy weakly warned her off of mentioning him. Sterling insisted on knowing who she was and when RX introduced her as Esmeria “Stormguard'' Esmeria corrected him with “Esmeria Elevera Swornguard, at your service”. Sterling asked if he was supposed to recognize that name but was brushed off as Esmeria told them to give her the book. Yashani asked what book and Sterling asked why she wanted it. Esmeria angrily told Yashani that she would not have come if she didn’t know it was here and when Yashani asked where her “friends” were and told her they were coming.

As Quincy started to come to their senses, still trembling painfully and scared but able to breathe, RX said he had to put her down and did so. Esmeria said that they could give her the book or she could kill all of them and take it, threatening to send them to the seventh layer of Hell herself. In an attempt to stall Esmeria, Sterling insisted they didn't have the book and found the room empty, but instead offered her his shrunken heads and cast *Tasha’s Hideous Laughter,* but resisted his effect. Sterling tried to sell her on the shrunken heads, but unamused Esmeria told them she didn't like to be messed with and disappeared into the sand. The group took the opportunity to turn and run back for the room with the tiles, but Esmeria reappeared, grabbed Sterling, knocked him *Prone* to the ground and pinned him there with her knife to his throat. In a moment of clarity and team work, Sterling cast *Mage Hand* to press the dagger away from his throat as RX activated *Telekinetic Movement* to yank Sterling out from under Esmeria and back onto his feet as they continued to move. Esmeria called out that she was tired of messing around and Quincy responded to fuck off while RX replied that they didn't appreciate it either. Quincy turned and cast *Cause Fear* as she attempted to summon their shadow, but Esmeria laughed as she brushed it off.

As they continued to run, Esmeria called out for “Robert”. Quincy and Sterling both asked who that was before Sterling confirmed that they didn't know either. As they kept running, they entered the hallway leading back to the room with the transmuted tiles and felt an immense pressure like what Quincy and Yashani had sensed before, but thicker. Sterling asked why they didn't just hand back the book and Yashani replied that these people wanted to use it to destroy the world. The group, minus Sterling, soon caught the familiar scent of death and saltwater that they smelled back in *Krapjess,* as they saw floating down the hall the deathly figure of the Reaper.

1. ↑ One of the magic cestuses retrieved from the corpse of the Rusk, Captain of Cold Iron in "Morto".
2. ↑ An ability granted to him by the gifted *Ring of the Sand Runner* from Kaziyea.
3. ↑ On realization that Sterling had two concentration spells in effect, *Detect Magic* and *Fly,* he needed to lose concentration on one of them.