On the other hand, Arthur and his band who were sent on a mission to retrieve Dyrnwyn arrives, disappointed to find the battlefield empty, arriving only to dead bodies and already finished battle.
Arawn congratulated Arthur for arriving and thanked his actions which bore them the fruit of Etlym's strengthening and the enlisting of Dyrnwyn's aid. As they talked, the gates leading to the inside compound of the white tower fell, destroyed by their newfound allies- the giants. But even though they have defeated the dark army, their journey has just begun.
Episode 23: Palladium
After the gates fell, they immediately walked ever so cautiously to the entrance, as if they were expecting an ambush and a series of defensive countermeasures. But to their dismay, they were met with a silent, unresponsive ground and a brilliant yet still white tower.
"A tower that ascends to the heavens" As Arthur describes it. Yet their problem is soon forgotten as a new one is found. The gate is protected by a barrier, activated through the gems that decorated its surface. This was demonstrated when one of their gigantic soldier was easily blown away by the gate's defensive measure. Arawn saw through the group's worries and told Arthur to raise his sword.
Arthur sent him a questioning look. The demon king enlightened him with the sword's history and its main function- to grant freedom. Once he has finished listening to the explanation, he stepped forward and raised Dyrnwyn in front of the massive gate.
"Dyrnwyn, give me strength. Open the gates to the truth!", with his courageous voice filled with loyalty for his teammates, the sword granted his call for help and glowed blue. The gems on the gate responded by sending out a red glow, opening the gate and granting them passage to the white tower.
Once the gate opens, the group went inside and was immediately greeted by intense heat. Arawn explained to them that this place used to be a furnace intended for the burning of human life force. From this furnace came the necroms and the golems.
They continued their journey until they reached a gigantic crystalline object, which was introduced as the "Obelisk", an object so powerful that if activated, could erase their very existence from the surface. Fearing for its activation, the group left the place and continued their exploration. However, as they reached a small clearing, the magma from below started to reached out to the surface forming what looks like a flood.
The group feared for their survival. But as if an answer to their prayers, they were all teleported to an unknown destination before the flood of fire could harm them. Sadly though, this event did not come without disadvantages. The teleportation spell is used to separate them into three different party. The first party is consist of Arthur, Arawn, Ogam and Riannon. The second paired Octavia and Morgan together, while the last decreed Llyr and Rathty to journey together,
Back in the first group, Riannon grew worried for their other companions and tried to convinced everyone to go search for them. However, Arawn enlightened her that it would be too much of a trouble to go search for them and will only expend their energy not to mention their time. Furthermore, Arthur added that he know that the others will make it to the top and that he trust them to hold out on their own.
Understanding the situation, Riannon accepted it and they continued their adventure once more.
The second party landed in a narrow hallway, immediately attacked by a lightning spell cast by, probably, the tower's defense mechanism. Fortunately, they escaped this by entering a rather spacious room. As they entered the dark area, they were greeted by an almost familiar laugh, with the voice greeting them, informing them how he waited for them.
The owner of the said voice finally made his appearance and was identified by Octavia as, Creon, Londinium's Mayor. The other responded how nice it is of her to remember him. Thus he summoned the light and revealed the area as a Colisseum. As he told them of this, golems and dark forces appeared, giving them no other choice but to fight for survival.
And finally, we came to our last group. Llyr and Rathty found themselves in a similar starting point. But this time, they evaded a group of golems and found themselves in a room which houses the Cauldron of Rebirth or the Urn of Ressurrection. They had a bit of emotional retellings of their history before they decided to destroy the Cauldron for their honor as well as for vengeance of their desecraded ancestors.
Meanwhile, Arawn and his party came upon a huge area housing a simple altar. In its center though lies a familiar foe, their first antagonist- high priest Drwc. The nearly rotting priest mocked them, and laughed at them. Arawn angered the priest by calling him "Avaricious". But their enemy merely laughed at them and threatened them by his knowledge of Riannon's true name. However, Riannon merely replied that she is not afraid.
Arthur then challenged him to a duel which only tickled Drwc even further, declaring that he could not be killed by anyone. Before anyone could react, Riannon complained of a dark presence, which was immediately recognized by Arawn. Hastily, he ordered Ogam to stop him, but it is too late, Drwc has already activated the Obelisk, releasing Gravitas, God's Gravity, among them, causing considerable damage and pain to those who possess magic.
But amidst their seemingly hopeless situation, Ogam found a way to stop Drwc. He commented that by destroying the tip of the obelisk, they could stop the flow of Gravitas into their world. To do this, they must split up. Arthur told him that they should go, as this is his and Riannon's battle. Reluctantly, Arawn left, stating that he will not say goodbye or farewell.
Once the two men has left, Arthur positioned himself to attack Drwc but before he could land a blow, Drwc has already uttered the deadly curse. "I order upon your true name to take my body's pain and infliction". This order caused Riannon to faint as Arthur has already attacked Drwc with Dyrnwyn. Seeing seeing his sister faint is enough to temporarily stop the battle as Arthur rushed to his sister's aid.
On the other hand, Riannon was sent back to her own realm and there, he met her true self- "Primula". After Primula encouraged her, she regained back her consciousness, ready to join her brother once more in a redeeming match.
Next Episode- Episode 24: Gravitas
No comments:
Post a Comment