Despite the gravity of what had happened, Ghustil quickly recovered, and now looked at them warily, taking a step back towards the exit.
"One more step, and your head flies."
She looked at Eden, and scoffed, "You think you can threaten m-"
Her words died out in her throat, a Dismantle easily claiming her life as her confused soul attached itself to Eden, her body falling limply to the ground, the head following a moment later.
Lae'zel clutched her head, fingers gripping her hair, "No, this cannot be possible. I followed the protocol, I was supposed to be rid of the parasite!"
Her eyes, frantic, looked into Eden's own, and she continued, "You! You know what happened, don't you?"
Eden nodded, but did not give her an answer, "And so do you, but you still need to accept it."
Lae'zel burst out, "Heresy! I will not have you doubt my Queen!"
Eden offered her a small smile, deciding not to point out he had given no such suggestions.
Deluding herself, Lae'zel kicked Ghustil's corpse, "Hshar'lak! She must have been a traitor! We must inform the Kith'rak of this Creche."
She stormed out, and the others looked at each other, but seeing Eden follow, they did so as well. Eden did notice Astarion discreetly steeling some of the tadpoles however, sharing discreet glances with Sylfine.
They quickly reached the 'office' of the commanding Kith'rak of this Creche, and seeing such a large group of non-humans approach, she exclaimed, "Istiks in my Creche! You must be mercenaries hired to find the weapon. Speak then, have you found it?"
Lae'zel frowned, and said, "They are with me, venerable Kith'rak. I must warn you of a most urgent issue, you have a traitor in your Creche?"
The Kith'rak, captain of this Creche, was a female Githyanki with a large scar running over one of her eyes. She looked at Lae'zel with her remaining eye filled with scorn, and said, "A traitor, really? And who would that be?"
In her current state, Lae'zel failed to pick up on the ridicule in her voice, and truthfully answered, "Your principal healer! She tempered with the Zaith'isk, and made a mockery of Vlaakith's protocol!"
The Githyanki Captain smiled haughtily, and said, "Heavy accusations, especially for one such as you."
While Lae'zel looked on the verge of exploding, Minthara unexpectedly spoke up, "Does it amuse you to mock her faith?"
The Githyanki Captain gave her a side eye, dismissing her words easily, "Know your place, Istik."
Minthara merely rolled her eyes to Eden, asking aloud, "Can't we just kill them?"
The other Githyankis in the room tensed up, which Eden ignored as he held up a hand, saying, "In due time. There's still more interesting things to do here."
The Githyanki Captain looked at the two challengingly, saying, "The Istiks we tortured said you had the Astral Prism. I would have taken it if you offered, but I'm not against skinning you while doing so."
Lae'zel, whose fury only reached greater heights with every passing second, unleashed her fury, sending a flying knee straight into the Githyanki Captain's chin, a surprising move for a Githyanki that took her by surprise.
Sylfine leapt at the two wolves present in the room, her hand turning into a claw as she slashed at its side, opening a long bloody gash, before slamming her hand into the face of the second one. The skull was the hardest bone in a wolf's body, but Sylfine's Ki-enhanced palm still stunned it.
Karlach followed, finishing off the first wolf with a swing of her sword, and injuring the second one with a second swipe.
One of the other Githyankis present in the room, the only mage going by his robes, attempted to cast a spell, but magical vines sprouted from the end of Wyll's glaive, interrupting him as they latched onto him and dragged him forward, only to be met with a Ray of Frost to the face.
Minthara, despite being close to the Githyanki Captain, instead opted to head for the door, holding up a hand as she magically immobilized the Githyanki standing next to it, stopping him from warning the rest. He did not stay paralyzed for long as an arrow struck him in the neck, killing him.
Finally, Shadowheart, while shaking with fear due to the wolves, had grown accustomed to fear by now, and still managed to resist it as she stabbed her lance into the belly of another of the Githyanki, prepping for a second strike to the throat.
The Githyankis were not mere goblins however, and were all Tier I. The one facing Shadowheart dodged the second strike, and drove the pommel of his sword into Shadowheart's belly as he unsheathed it.
The others also rushed at the group, three of them surrounding Minthara while the remaining two headed for Eden. Big mistake.
Dodging their strikes, Eden used Cleave several times in a row, killing them effortlessly. As for Minthara, despite being surrounded, she dodged between the attacks, and only let the attacks that did connect do so with heavier parts of her armor, while lashing out at them with her twin maces.
The Githyanki Captain was the one with the worst performance however, as Lae'zel did not even draw her weapon, tackling her down instead as she pummeled her. She tried to resist, but Minthara and Eden quickly finished the few other Githyankis, while the other killed the last wolf, allowing them to all gang up on the captain.
They mostly let Lae'zel do the work however, as their Githyanki companion brought down hell upon the poor Githyanki Captain, showing her superior strength.
Lae'zel only stopped hitting half a minute after the Githyanki Captain was killed.
That did not stop her from picking up the Captain's sword, which was a Rare Silver Greatsword, and the group decided to head deeper into the Creche, since the rest were probably waiting for them anyway. Lae'zel wanted to go because she hoped to convince the Inquisitor in there of her innocence.
Delving deeper inside, they quickly reached a large wrought iron gate, already opened, with a squad of Githyankis waited for them. The were five of them, one in each corner of the room, and a final one in the center.
The one in the center was dressed in an ornate armor, and held himself with an air of superiority. This, obviously, was the Inquisitor. He was standing next to a small platform, Githyanki in design.
[Name: Ch'r'ai W'wargaz]
[Title: Inquisitor of Vlaakith]
[Perks: Tier I, Perfect Sentry, Psionic Empowerment, Tough]
[HP: 260/260]
[MP: 520/520]
[Strength: 30]
[Agility: 25]
[Physique: 26]
[Intelligence: 32]
[Wisdom: 28]
[Resistances: None]
[Weaknesses: None]
Seeing him, Lae'zel immediately exclaimed, "Inquisitor! I have grave news for you!"
Ch'r'ai did not look hostile. His hands stayed far from his weapon as he raised one, halting Lae'zel as he said, "Patience, Lae'zel. We have been waiting for you."
Lae'zel was about to ask something, when the air behind the inquisitor shimmered.
A large spectral figure appeared behind him, that of a Githyanki woman adorned with a crown. Her eyes shone with an intimidating light as she looked down on the world.
Her voice, magically enhanced, boomed, "So you are the Omen of Death."
Eden looked up at the projection, his expression of anything other than disdain as he replied, "And you're the bitch queen of the Githyanki."
All the Githyankis present, including Lae'zel, glared at him in shock and hatred, while Vlaakith looked considerably calmer, if not amused, "Ah, yes, I heard of this arrogance too. You truly do not recognize your betters."
Eden scoffed, "My betters? Have you deluded yourself into actually believing you were a goddess? Do I have to remind you you are nothing but a lich?"
"Oh, is this what this is about then? Divinity?"
As she said that, three more figures appeared. Shadowed at first, but they quickly became more detailed. They all were larger than Vlaakith, although one did seem ever so slightly smaller than the other two.
The one in the center looked like an orc, with shadows rolling off of his body. His muscular, or even tyrannical body, was covered with a mate black armor. Strangely, he had a gauntlet around his right hand, but none on his left.
On the right was a thin and much more unassuming man, hidden behind black robes. He looked like he was on the verge of death, if not dead already. He also wore a golden amulet that seemed to shine ever so slightly.
Finally, on the left, was the smaller one of the three. He had a manic grin as he looked down at Eden, his expression feral. His lips had been chewed off, presumably by himself, and ten teardrop-shaped red beads hovered around his head, almost like a crown.
None of them had statuses for Eden to peer at, but he did not need them to know who these were, or understand how powerful they were. These were Quasi-Deities, the Dead Three: Bane, Myrkul and Bhaal. They all released a powerful aura, each different, but all attempting to instill fear into those around them. Eden was the only one unaffected, everyone else standing frozen.
Bane looked down at him arrogantly, as if he was nothing but an ant, and sneered, "This mortal stole a part of your power? You are turning into a joke, Bhaal."
A set of illusory daggers suddenly manifested around Bhaal, rotating dangerously around him as he licked one that stopped in front of his face, splitting his tongue open as he said, "Oh, I want to kill him. Tear his skin off, have his innards greet the outside world!"
Myrkul leaned forward, peering at Eden as he rasped, "You heard the echoes… Dangerous. He must be killed."
Eden looked between the three, then at Vlaakith, and asked, "That's it? Projections?"
On the side, Gale warned in a low voice, "We are talking about gods here, maybe that irritating them is not the best course of action?"
Eden looked back at the group, and saw a mixture of concern, craftiness, defiance and confusion. That last coming from Sylfine, who looked between Bhaal and Eden.
Smiling, more to himself than to them, Eden turned back to the projections, and fired a Dismantle at Vlaakith's image.
They were only projections, but Cursed Energy happened to be made to hunt spirits, so as the invisible blade passed through Vlaakith, it tore a visible slash through her projection as she gasped.
The Dead Three immediately stopped their bickering, all turning their attention to Eden as they chanted as one, "Kill!"
It was no mere word. As it was spoken, the weave undulated, before it spread beyond. The very world was moved by this word, as if it held power over it.
And all this power washed over Eden, incapable of moving him in the slightest as he leapt forward.
The usually arrogant Vlaakith looked utterly frightened as Eden leapt at them, and although he should not be able to touch them, Vlaakith's image was split in half as Eden's hand passed through her.
Her image dissipated with a painful screech, while Eden arrived in front of the three Quasi-Gods. Seeing him approach, Bane scoffed, raising his right, gauntlet-clad hand, his fist clenched as an orange shield appeared in front of Eden stopping him.
"Oh, how I wish I could see that soul of yours be broken, bent over… but I'll have to leave that pleasure to the demons."
Shattering the barrier Bane had created, Eden did not see the three communicate in any way, yet they spoke as one, "I wish to banish you to the last layer of the Abyss!"
This time, three spell circles appeared above-head, each with six concentric circles, and overlapped over one another, making it hard to distinguish between them.
[Wisdom Check…]
[Wisdom Check Failed!]
Eden's eyes widened a little at the notification, before he grinned and said, "I will send an invisible slash at you, called Dismantle."
He felt the space around him constrict him, as if to swallow him. Actually, it was taking place in a fraction of a second, but Eden's Talent, while not shielding him the effects, did slow down his perception of time at the prospect of danger.
"Dragon Scales. Repulsion."
Eden's vision turned completely dark, and he felt his body being thrown through the folds of space as he left one last sentence behind, along with one single attack.
"Paired Falling Stars."