The Delesian Incident V: A Ram Caught in a Thicket

The battle continued between the mighty Milon and his three opponents, but a subtle shift had occurred in the battle with the surprising successes showing that Ator had seen the death of stalwart Krastor and was showing their cause favor. Milon turned to the strongest of his opponents, a tragoi and struck a mighty blow which might have felled a normal man. Keteros loosed a bullet into the room and caused his mark to bleed. Simaratos began a song about Ator meting out cleansing justice to defilers and several in the room wailed in agony as their ears began to bleed, including the tragoi that Milon had struck and the Caliban priest.

One of the tragoi struck at Keira and another came for her with a killing blow. As she was struck down she fired an arrow point blank into the tragoi in front her and he fell backward at the top of the stairs.

As Keira bled out on the marble, she whispered "It is good I have come to cleanse my lady's house" and passed.

The priest pulled out a black sickle that seemed shaped from black smoke crystalized and chipped into cruel edges and came for Keteros, who saw him coming and loosed a sling bullet at him. The priest sliced at Keteros with the cruel sickle and did grievously wound him, but Iason took the opportunity to strike him with his staff with great force. Milon struck the tragoi again, dazing him; as he swayed more blood poured from his ears as Simaratos' song ended him. Another screamed in pain and yet another died as Ator's vengeance was made real through Simaratos's song. The caliban priest's ears bled though he made no show of suffering.

Keteros steeled himself for his imminent death at the hands for priest, but his hand closed around a vial of Eknoi fire, and he flung it hoping in his haste it was hit its mark. The vial shattered on the ground at the priest's feet, a sharp odor and nothing for a brief second. The priest moved as if to strike but the substance caught flame and consumed him as he howled with rage. The sickle and staff clattered to the floor, the ram's balls burned away but the staff itself unharmed.

Iason and Milon each landed a mighty blow against his next opponent, Iason shattering the skull of a degenerate man with his staff and Milon breaking the neck of the dazed tragoi as he knocked him down the stairs. More screams as Simaratos' song lashed his enemies with Ator's fury. Two satyrs and a wounded degenerate man fled south into the room from whence the priest had come. Milon deftly knocked a controlled priestess with one movement, and Ketero killed the last enemy in the room.

Iason, Simaratos, Milon and Keteros debated whether to return to Deles and bring a contingent to rescue and cleanse the temple or search the last rooms. Buoyed by their unexpected success they decided to finish the job lest the satyrs molest the imprisoned Delesians and the newly liberated priestesses. The satyrs without support cringed and groveled for their freedom, promising the treasures of the caliban priest if they let them go "he brought many powerful items from the underworld" and promising that it was {behind a door that doesn't appear to be a door.}

Milon and Keteros debated just killing them anyway, or making sure they could find this treasure before letting them go. Simaratos asked if they had been agents of this foul god or had been pulled in like the priestess's had been. The satyrs cackled "kill us or don't Reshpu wins either way. Reshpu always wins. You defeated us today, but you will grow old and infirm and die. He is the great leveler: all eventually grow old and sick and die." and fled with surprising alacrity from the temple. "We should've killed them then, I suppose" Simaratos said with self-deprecating irony.

They entered the southern door to find what had once been the high priestess of Bira's chambers. They rolled up the carpet to find only tile, looked under the sofa in one corner. Keteros was drawn to a niche which stood empty and Simaratos to the statue of a beautiful youth. Simaratos wondered aloud if he or the statue of the youth were more beautiful as the words of the satyrs picked at him. I suppose one day I will be old and no longer beautiful and this statue will always be beautiful, but would I appreciate a perfect summer day if I had never felt the bite of winter cold? Ikatrus teaches us that each season serves its purpose and that the fields must be harvested that a new crop can grow in their place." Milon caught his mood and pointed out that Krastor did not grow ill and die, but died valiantly protecting others. Keteros chided them for taking their words seriously as he ran his dexterous fingers under the lip of the niche, "fanatical horseshit, see if those in the slums or the thieves guild suffer privation, disease and death the same as those in their megarons. The orphan who has no one to perform the ritual and the merchant who can pay for the maintenance of his grave. They tell themselves lies, do not let their lies become your" a click sounded and the niche gave way to another room filled with amphorae of wine and a chest filled with times ."truth." Keteros finished.

Keteros cautiously entered searching for traps, but the room was as it appeared. Three amphorae of fine wine, dedicated to Ikatrus, a high quality sword and shield, 4 phials of unknown liquids, a set of pan pipes, a lyre and a bow and quiver.

Iason eyed the gifts from the underworld and shuddered.