Game table

Initiative

Anax attacks the wraith with a dagger but the wraith is resistant to being hurt by such a mundane weapon which slides easily into his ethereal form, blade, pommel and arm. Anax screams as the wraith sucks his life force from him through his arm inside the wraith.

Duke sets Kitty down gently on the ground so as to cast a prayer to the sky. "I compel thee to a dual with me!" The wraith ignores Duke's commanded performance and flies on. Then as a bonus, he prays a protection spell of Sanctuary on the priest. "Anax! Don't fight him. Xoch' will rescue you!"

As the two paladins rush forth to save the cleric, the weariness of the party shows stretched over the faces of the heroes. There is nothing that the adventurers can do to stop the wraith and maybe even their quest to save Maztica. Their energy is spent.

The unconscious warlock awakes to hear the sound of her husband's familiar battle cries but she can do little. She reaches up to the waist of her protective paladin and touches the jade amulet that hangs there from his belt. Through her magic connection to her patron, Kitty invokes the god-rune of Uhti in the nexus of her own church.

There is a blinding light that fills courtyard and ears as a great rush of wind drowns out the music of the arches. A figure in white robes and flowing blonde hair with two white feathers braided sets forth. She stamps a jade staff onto the stones of the courtyard floor, letting our a crack of Mother Maztica and invokes a command that thunders, "STOP! IN THE NAME OF MAZTICA, STOP!"

The wraith dissipates, releasing Anax. Xoch' tries desperately to support the now free falling cleric, but only manages to steer his fall back to the church cloister where the party stares with blank faces. Caine calmly steps forward and casts a Featherfall spell that eases the clerics body to the ground, much to the relief of the greatly concerned Xoch'. He sees the cleric is safe and does what he can to stabilize him and then looks around to see the cause of his rescue. He sees her. He immediately recognizes the woman. She was the same glowing beautiful figure that led him over the fay bridge to the tent of Kiltzi and Qotal, those gods that charged him with aiding their daughter to heal the land. She appears to him to be still incredibly beautiful, even in this mundane world.



Kitty smiles from ear to ear. She gazes remotely at the shining presence and says sleepily to her husband who is now cradling her neck and holding her hand, "Duke! Look! It's Ana all grown up. Isn't our daughter so divine? She looks just like you." With that statement, her energy is drained and she falls back asleep.

Xoch' steps forward and bows to the figure, prostrating himself before his goddess. "Uhti, I serve thee."

After gently setting his love's head cradled upon his lap, Duke looks up for the first time to where his wife was looking, at the figure. He gasps. "Sister!" He takes a deep draw of air to fill his lungs that has had the breath taken away from them. Then from his lowly seated position, he sternly admonishes the figure that Xoch' has deferred to. "Quezali, how doth thee come here? Our parents left you in that Far Payit asylum so many years ago. You have been in a coma for as long as I remember. The last time I saw you there, I cried into your shoulder, believing you would never awake from your mental break."

"I know brother. I saw you. I felt your pain, but I feel all of Maztica's pain. That was more than a little girl could understand or take. You must believe me Kalu. I have always loved you and our parents. I do not blame them for sequestering me away. I found ways to travel the ethereal. I became the Mistress of Darkness, only able to engage with the world through possessing other little girls, and then red prophets, and now finally I can astral project my own body here. Yes, I still sleep in Far Payit, but one day with the rising worship of Uhti in Maztica, I may yet be able to ascend enough to do something about Maztica's pain. I have brought all of you together for this purpose, to retrieve the Chalice of the Gods from the vampires, but I see that the quest has wearied you all."

Dukes looks back to his wife, remembering what she said.

"Yes, she believes that Uhti is the projection of the child that she bears. I have never appeared to you brother, for fear that you would recognize me too soon, but she took advantage of your Zone of Truth, and asked of me to show her my true form. I had been her patron as Mistress of Darkness and called myself and her and anyone of my followers, Uhti, What Issues Forth. In that way, we are all the children of the Goddess of Love and Qotal, the benevolent father. She caught me off guard and I revealed my true form to her. She so believed that her child was Uhti that she mistook me for her. Even when she projected Ana's image to you in the Waterworks to save you from the curse, and you described Ana's features correctly back to her, much in contradiction of her memory and description of me, she persisted in believing in me as her child. In a way, she is still correct. Ana is the child of avatars of the gods. Ana is my sister in that regard. I am the love child of the gods through our parents, the high priest of Qotal and the high priestess of Kiltzi. You to a lesser extent, since the gods did not possess our parents when you came along. Still, Qotal abides in your heart, no matter how much you have given to Kitsune, and quite possibly more, since Kiltzi abides in hers. We all are Uhti, what comes forth to save Maztica. You were my heroes.

But alas, the time is not right. You are heroes all, but you have other troubles you need to solve now. I shall find other heroes to finish this quest for the Chalice. I release you all.

Duke, you must return Kitty back to the new town that she named after me. I am there already. You allowed one of my red prophets to establish a church there. I will watch over Ana and protect her as much as I know you will. You will go to the ends of Maztica to seek her protection, I know it. I foresee it."

The party of adventurers stir but are silent. There are perhaps more questions now than the answers given should allow. Acolytes of young girls take the hands of all the adventurers who can stand, and carry those with unusual strength those that cannot. They walk around the arches singing praises to Uhti.

A Uhti
Ti Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

Alas one day I went to sea
I left home far behind me
And now I’m lost, so gone and lost
Not even gods can find me

Out here they got a god for rain
For wind and mountain stone
But when you’re lost, there is no god
You look to fairness, Uhti onn.

Eh Uhti
An Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

On sea and stoney mountain top
For ev’ry cause, a god to try
That plies their gifts in trade for us
To gnash our teeth, to wail and cry.

E’ha gifts life itself as breath
And sends us forth to seek our fame.
To c’alicue we finally go
To trade our life, our death the game.

Tum Uhti
Teo Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

We all have lost our loves somewhere
No use to hope, to seek, to dare
The gods do not have answers more
They strut and wail much more than care.

Steadfast the stone, primordial sea
Needs not these sacrifices
To judge a man’s morality;
So fair are nature’s vices.

Eh Uhti
An Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

Alas one day I went to sea
I left home far behind me
And now I’m lost, so gone and lost
Not even gods can find me

Out here they got a god for rain
For wind and mountain stone
But when you'rr lost, there is no god
You look to fairness, Uhti onn.

A Uhti
Ti Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

A Uhti
Ti Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

A Uhti
Ti Uhti
Alle tinqui’um

Instead of a courtyard of stone, there now appears a central vaulted common room with food and wine and beds. A sullen bard plays sad music of tales long past from his homeland in the jungles south where the green people live in the One Tree. A druid in the robes of the Spore stands up and rushes to help the weak, taking a particular interest in the goliath. They recognize each other and hug. A jaguar knight standing guard lets down his scowl and greets his fellow brothers in arms.

Walking up to Stormslayer, Uhti draws forth the black blade from his scabbard and takes the evil sword away. "The curse of your prophesy is lifted. Go home to your people and dream of large women."

To Kon, Uhti says, "Your debt to me is paid. Plutoq need not remind you of it any longer. Your family asks of you. They request you come home to the mountains where you began. Stay clear of the Church of the Dusk, lest its bishop torment you. I shall arrange for another to right the Pyramid of the Gods. I will have a certain griffin rider escort you home, dear one."

Looking back to the stoic owl, Uhti says, "You are a true man of Qotal. I give you charge of the last Quetzalcoatl. He needs you."

Quezali raises a flagon of wine that is handed her and sees that every adventurer takes one from the attendants so that no adventurer fails to drink her potion. She smiles graciously and with practiced nobility. The spell of rest that she casts over the room is alluring. The music and the scented candles complete the magic and unbinding. The quests and geas all fall away. The illusion that all is right locks into place and Uhti's stiff and saccharin smile is complete. Her benevolence is believed. The party cheers to her and disbands.