8-26 The Temple Report

General Summary

5/13 +++++-42 -13 Look around to find the recordkeeper, Salah. Get details, find him and convince him that they are allies. “There is no way to harm him. The inner sanctum is magically sealed, the only way in is through the front door where he will have every opportunity to rend your souls from your bodies before you can even take a step towards him,” He will bring them to the records room and pull a bookshelf away from the wall to reveal a hidden compartment with the black book. “The cult believed this to have been lost in the struggle, but it found its way back to me.” The book tells of the events of the mercenary campaign and the rituals that the star could have been used for including the ritual of Ascension in which Athrun sacrificed his followers at 4 statues in the inner sanctum of the temple followed by one on the star itself. A crate labeled “Records and Written Works” was delivered, a normal shipment, but inside it is a book labeled “For Friends” “Smuggled inside my normal shipment of Records and Written Works was this book” It is hollow and inside is a collection of 10 small amulets and a note.   He tells them that he's smuggled copies of just about all the potentially useful information before handing it over to the leadership. It’s gone through a friend to a hiding place off site but I never got the chance to sort through everything.   +++++Sona and Escher return to the summit having already checked the place after a run in with a white furred rabbitfolk. They exchange information. Escher with Athrun’s power, we may be able to find the real Mercury or Legato. They may be able to force the Deep to retreat. It seems that Athrun and Mercury shared a bond with the ephemera. Mercury was being made to be the commander of the Deep’s forces, Athrun as the conduit for its power. With Mercury’s death, the creatures of the deep attacked wildly and broadly instead of precisely as planned. Legato was caught in that as well, some part of his and Mercury’s spirits intertwining due to the circumstances of his death. Legato leading from within and Mercury leading from without. But neither has ever wrested complete control of the ephemera, only being able to generally push it towards easy targets. And even with both of them corrupted, they seem to rarely agree. Which tells us that the deep likely has not subsumed their souls entirely. Were they truly gone, I do not believe that their forms would need to be the ones leading the creatures. Perhaps if their souls were roused or even freed, they could help us turn the tide. Though I don’t know if it will be possible to get both of them out of the deep and also use the godhood as a weapon, and you know Sona and I had a deal so I have an obvious opinion for the direction we take. Either way we need Athrun’s power at our disposal.” Sona: “Based on what we found, combined with this book, I believe we may be able to reverse the ritual and bring his godhood back into the star. If I’m right, we need to shed his blood on 4 of the statues in the inner sanctum, then the star itself.” (Show statues 1, 5, 6, 10).       +++++Sneak through the temple to find the star in Maddox’s office and prepare to fight Athrun. Star is inky black, purple, and gray. Revan shows up to help. Zulex gives Revan his amulet.