You healed, rested and feasted before leaving St Thosos the next day to return to Arvonesse, with the agreed plan to tackle the Cathedral. On the voyage skirting the reefs in the Baron's galley, you rested more and some of you focused on treasures you'd obtained from the tower ruins. In short, Maugis had scrolls for the sorcery spells of Tap Water and Transform Flesh Into Bronze; Boamund was attuning to his very nice ring (St Gerlant's order's folk flame-magics; Fraud was hesitantly learning his Venom spell; and Miguel was relishing the growing connection with his Sculpt Bronze magic.
At the rendezvous point with the Nolos navy and entourage, you again met smily Omen and the Ouori, one of whom (an old friend) spoke to Ahappi: “Ahappi the Warlord and Monster-Slayer! Your name brings us mirth! Remember me, I am Gumthunooreebou of the Trenchward tribe, yeah! My King Sumbinaroomeesh sends me to you again, and I enjoy the honour! We hear of your victories against the Uzelu! You dared confront them in sunken Arvonesse and lived! Wow! So our King has dreamed and seen a vision from Magasta, yeah! You are his hero among the land-people and sailors, we know it to be true! So our King sends me to you to ask for help! When your fight with the Uzelu is done, seek us out and help us with our troubles, yeah! Our harems weep of their slaughtered pups, but I will tell you more of this when the time is right! Be mighty, yeah!” –Pleased, Ahappi consented to come seek them out for help, although Gumthunooreebou went out of his way not to pressure him and said maybe the Ouori would find them at Aria's Well instead.
You boarded the Nivla and dove into the depths for a second time; this time, the Thaumanauts were very serious and tense, business-like, focused on getting you safely to your target. The Uzelu surely had something ready for you, everyone knew. And they did not disappoint. As you approached the sea floor, Cataldo warned that they'd spotted shapes in the gloom, amidst clouds of blood. You prepared by the exit gate, casting sorceries. Sharks came first, circling the Nivla, and soon followed by sea trolls that banged on the enchanted ship's hull. But Maugis threw two sets of Palsy spells that crippled most of them, and Marozia unleashed a Repel Shark curse that got rid of the sharks. By then, you were ready to pounce on the remaining sea trolls. And again, Ahappi proved his deadliness against them, leaving only one able to flee as they were routed; the rest were slaughtered, with Fraud pinning one down and Jacobus proving his magic halberd's worth by slaying another. Ahappi grabbed some heads as trophies and the Nivla landed, then crawled through the kelp walls into the ruins and soon stopped as some invisible force prevented it from drawing nearer.
You finished some more blessings and left the Nivla, with Marozia and Salvi again remaining to watch over it. A second assault by what must have been the Uzelu was waiting for you: first a mob of crawling crustaceans converged on you, then Disruption spells came out of the blackness (from unseen foes). Jacobus threw a Cast Back spell on all seven of you that sent the spells back on their casters, after many rounds of suffering their volleys (and Heal spells from Miguel plus Jacobus keeping you moving!). That stopped the curses while you kept moving. Then you realized that these enemies had been driving you onwards, toward at least three hidden things whose eyestalks poked out of camouflaged hiding places (three critical Perception rolls saved your butts there!). You outmanouvered them all, and the path was now clear for you to march for the cathedral. Had the sea trolls not been ready to stop you, not able to, or not caring if you reached the Cathedral? Regardless, they were left behind and no further Uzelu foes emerged.
Crossing the outskirts of the Cathedral, with its low dome visible now in the distance, you saw that the landscape was different. There was no magic shield here encircling the Cathedral grounds, but something changed- the water was colder, more still, and devoid of life– bits of dead things hung in the waters, rotting and pale. Dark thoughts entered your minds, as the realization grew that Makan did not hold sway here. (Some of you grew apathetic, and thus lost the ability to use your Passions!)
[ASIDE: *Cataldo spoke to Maugis as a fellow Zzaburi, relating new information. He assumed that the others would not care about such matters as non-Zzaburi, but not caring if they overheard: he had learned that this Cathedral belonged to the True Malkioni Church; the main church of the Godlearners/Jrusteli/Middle Sea Empire. This church controlled what was left of the Traditionalist Seshnegi Church of the immediate pre-Godlearner times. Cataldo had seen reports that this Seshnegi Church (the former Cathedral before conversion to the True Malkioni faith) was based here on the grounds of a former Arkati Church, but details are lost to time. At the Closing/Shattering, the True Malkioni Church of Arvonesse was led by Cardinal Wotring'ishbar; the Witness of Arvonesse– Cataldo added snarkily, “a title that turned out to be all too ironic”. His fate is unknown; history after the waves of the Shattering hit Arvonesse/Seshnela is of course absent.*]
Yet still the Cathedral emanated light from its grand windows around its dome and from along its central spire. As you came close, some of you swam up to those windows and found them impenetrable: the amber light coming through there was solid, as if it were gold– or frozen sky. These windows were strange, though, seeming to have a current or wind that moved behind or within the glowing energy.
You did find, however, that the Cathedral had huge twin double doors, made of wrought gold and carved with old scenes of Malkioni glory. Rings on the doors showed the only clear way of opening them, and there was no sign on the sea floor around them that they had been opened anytime recently. This job did not seem easy so you inspected the perimeter of the Cathedral and saw that the opposite side had what might have been doors, but this area had collapsed into solid rubble.
Returning to the doors, with some effort your strongest three managed to drag one open. The same static, glowing energy that covered the windows revealed itself in the entryway, and the waters were held back here. You, too, were hard-pressed to enter, with Miguel needing to be dragged in, and even that only being possible with Fraud's invocation of the wind-magic of the Foestopper Fan of St Lelbic. It was indeed some kind of wind that swept the interior of the silent grey stone halls, just inside the thin layer of amber light that clung to the stonework. Beyond this strong draft, the air was still and smelled of rot, hearkening back to the doom-laden waters outside the Cathedral. There was a great circular hall, dark beyond the glow of the dome, and ahead of you was a wide, short flight of grand stone stairs into an upper interior chamber where deep darkness held. To your right and left the circular hall continued around the dome, with shadowy hints of large alcoves; presumably shrines to “Ascended Masters” (saints). The dome was still intact along the roof, with ancient Hrestoli frescoes showing through, depicting major events in the life of Saint Hrestol himself, featuring very non-Rokari themes such as Joy, flagrant hedonism and grand showiness, and caste mobility.
You had to pause in awe to take in this sight: an essentially intact Second Age cathedral of the accursed God Learners! And a bastion of the hated Hrestoli faith, so close to the lands of the Rokari! What wonders might be preserved here!? But something was surely wrong, too…
Indeed, the wrongness struck you now.
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