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Voidwar (Causeway / Theris)

"That, was Glourke, a mean son of a bitch, and won of the professional hit men that Rotmonger likes to employ on a regular basis... And its Rotmonger who put the bounty on your head, 75 Sovereigns if I'm remembering correctly." he said. "So you could use all the help you can get to keep the various bounty hunters, mercs, and other scum of that perfectly shaped rear" he said.
 
"And what, pray tell, is your price?" Castiana asked, skeptically. "Adrian, begin searching the bodies for anything of value. We could use it far more than the likes of them could." She looked back at Daniel. "Do you know where the Rotmonger is? How we might find him?"
 
Adrian complied, checking over the least pleasant of the bodies first, i.e the ones he roasted alive.

Daniel shrugged "Very few people have ever seen the man, let alone met him.. heck for all I know he might be a she... Glourke might know, but we're not in the best condition to take him on again" he said.
 
Adrian managed to recover 200 gilders, a couple of masterwork longswords, and a masterwork light wooden shield, along with a tanglefoot bag and a container of flashpowder.

Castiana sighed. "If you want to join us, then I'm going to need some assurances that you won't jump ship the second you spot another strumpet that catches your fancy. Are you prepared to give such assurances?"
 
Adrian packed up the loot, holding up the tanglefoot bag and flashpowder. to inspect them.

Daniel grinned at the paladin "my dear you wound me... what must I do to prove that I am sincere?" he said.
 
"Tomorrow, we shall take you to the Temple of Luminai," Castiana said. "There you must take an oath before the goddess. But for tonight, we yet have business to attend to."

Castiana led them the rest of the way to the home of the psychic, which was in the bottom of a building that was leaning significantly, apparently having sunk into its foundations. "Now, if she were any good," the paladin said as she held up her hand to start knocking. "She would-"

"-already know I have visitors?" A deep, alluring voice said from the shadows. A woman stepped out, wearing nothing but a midnight-blue, semi-sheer robe that was partially open in the front, to reveal her deep cleavage and matching panties. Her hair was a dark copper, and her eyes were an almost-violet blue. "You are correct in that regard, Castiana."

"Alright, you live up to your reputation. My compliments," Cas replied.
 
Adrian jumped a bit when the woman came from the shadows, an involuntary spark coming to his fingers, especially after their last encounter. he was however able to keep himself from drawing any weapons. "my lady" he said, offering the woman a deep bow.

Daniel meanwhile had spotted the woman hiding in the shadows, and grinned when the half elf jumped upon her 'sudden' appearance. He copied the bow, much smoother.
 
"We should go inside," Anyara said. "We have much to discuss."

Inside, the companions found that Anyara's home was humble but practical. The decor was to be expected; crystals, tomes of magic, runestones, and other arcane sundries were arranged about the place, though everything was tilting to one side. "Mind the slant, this place is not entirely stable," The nearly-nude psychic said.

She indicated a small table with four cushions set about it, with steaming herbal tea prepared. Castiana removed her sword belt, and sat down.
 
Adrian looked around at all the magical paraphernalia, his eyebrows climbing up the more he saw. He turned to face the woman, his eyes naturally drawn to her cleavage and panties, he forced his eyes up to her face. "you seem to be a powerful practitioner" he said.

Daniel meanwhile ogling both the women before him, paying more attention to Castiana, but not neglecting Anyara in the least.
 
The two women exchanged glances, waiting for the men to sit down. Upon this, Anyara began to speak. "I have been expecting your arrival, but not simply because of my abilities. It was merely the logical outcome of events that I have been aware of for some time. Swordsister, you have been sent to investigate the disappearances of a number of young women, yes?"

Castiana nodded. "Do you know what has become of them?"

"Sadly, I have an idea, and the truth is that many are no longer amongst the living, and many more will soon be departing." She let her words hang in the air for a tense moment.
 
Adrian felt the breath catch in his throat and he sat forward, his eyes going cold and intense. "What do you mean by that" he asked, his voice quiet, yet his words were crystal clear. The change in his demeanor was extreme to say the least, as any threat to his mistress caused such a change to occur. It was a part of his conditioning within the order.

Daniel felt a shiver go up his spine at these words, which was made worse by the half elfs words.
 
Even Castiana was taken aback by the sudden change, though Anyara was unfazed, though if that was because she knew it was about to occur none could say. The psychic turned her head to him. "There is an evil which threatens this entire world; the Void. The Void... is not a god, nor a Power in the conventional sense. It is the embodiment of entropy, and it is the end of all things. It holds sway over all manner of aberrations, from twisted Voidspawn to more insidious and powerful creatures. It is calling to them, preparing them to overtake the world and plunge all of us into darkness..."

Castiana shook her head. "So, in addition to the threat of the Lower Planes, we have this... Void, to contend with? What does it want with the young women?"

"To breed them," Anyara said, and a look of horror came over Castiana. "The Voidborn are seeking to spawn as many of their kind as possible, using us as their incubators."
 
Adrian remained seated, though the air around him crackled with odd sparks of energy. "can they be killed?" he asked, his gaze locked on Anyara's.

Daniel scooted a bit back, putting a little bit of distance between himself and the magus.
 
"That depends on your definition of death, I suppose. Their physical forms can be destroyed, if that is what you mean. Of course, vanquishing them is not easy; they can roughly be divided into two groups, the numerous and the powerful. However, I believe that their foothold remains small, and they can yet be defeated. Their actions are centered in the Reach."

"How do you know all of this?" Castiana asked.

"My mistress, she who taught me all I know, had been aware of this fact for some time. With her death, I have taken up her mantle."
 
Adrian nodded his head, settling back, and at least some of the tension oozed out of him, some. The crackling energy around him diminishing to a crackle every so often.
 
Anyara continued. "The Voidborn are gathering humanoid females, but are not yet numerous to do so directly. They are acting through proxies, mainly from races that dwell in the Deep Haunts. Serpentfolk and drow, I believe. Both races have the slaving experience to gather sufficient quantities of unwilling subjects. Of course, once they have reached sufficient numbers, the Voidborn will of course turn upon their allies; the drow especially would undoubtedly make excellent incubators."
 
Adrian leaned back, entering a meditative posture to calm himself, and then remembered something. In his visions he had seen, the girl that he had slept with had been involved, a darkness had taken her. He looked up, his eyes intense again as he looked at everyone around him. "I think I know someone that they are going to go after, and soon" he said.
 
Castiana turned to look at him. "Who do you believe that it should be?" She asked. "Is it one of us?"

"No," Anyara said. "It is not. He is thinking of someone else..." Adrian realized she was reading his mind.
 
Adrian nodded at the Psychic, "i've been having visions, of dark beings taking those that I am following, and last night the woman that I slept with was in them, the same dark beings taking her to." he said. He let the words stay in the air.
 
"Having visions, you say?" Anyara said. "If you do have the capacity to glimpse the plans of these creatures, then I can assist you, help you to gain a better view of what their plans are. This could prove invaluable."

Castiana, however, had more practical concerns. "Who is this woman?" She asked intensely, clearly concerned.
 
"Her name is Giselle, she's one of the... employees at the busty mermaid" he answered her, returning his gaze to Anyara. "you say that you can enhance the visions... how?" he asked, his interest clear.
 
Castiana's cheek visibly pulled at this news. "Not Giselle..." When the others looked at her, she said, "I've... we are friends. It is possible her being targeted is more the result of her involvement with me than you. She's a sweet but fiery soul; in fact, she'd make an excellent Sword Sister."

"You should go after her," Anyara said. "Take the horndog with you; I must stay here and work with Adrian on exploring his visions."
 
Adrian nodded taking out a potion vial filled with a glowing golden energy, handing off to Castiana. "Potion of heroism... it should give you a boost if you need it", he said, before crossing his legs in the lotus position, "tell me what to do" he said, directing his attention to Anyara.

Daniel stood up, brushing off his pants "well, shall we?" he asked, offering his arm to the paladin with a smirk.
 
Castiana once more rolled her eyes at Daniel's antics, and took the potion from Adrian. "Thank you," she said, and headed out the door, brushing past Daniel.

Anyara was now alone with Adrian. "Tell me more about your visions," she said. "I must know the details to help guide you in improving their accuracy and interpreting the results."
 
Adrian nodded his head and took a deep breath. "I'm on the trail of my mistress, Teleyna, and my sister." he said. "Since I have started on this trip however, I've been having visions of dark figures devouring them." he finished.
 
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