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The Eye of Terror: Ascent Into Madness

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Cameron:
Cameron regards the Spire before him. The obsidian tower juts out of the rock like a needle tearing through flesh. The surface of the tower seems solid and impenetrable. But patterns ripple across the surface of it, making it look almost like a liquid with living things swirling just beneath it’s surface. It’s true height is impossible to gauge, as to the naked eye it appears to both be somewhat short, maybe a few stories, and impossibly tall, stretching into the heavens beyond the limits of normal sight. And yet, the companions can see the summit. The tip of the Spire almost looks like it was sheared off at one point. Warp energy pours through the gaping hole at the tip and flows into the sky.

Cameron rips his eyes away from the Spire as Jharm’s mailed hand slides into view from his right. He grasps it and hauls himself back to his feet. He turns and watches as the other companions emerge and land.

Back in the Labyrinth, Danyael responds to Mary’s concern with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Danyael looks up at the distant hole in the ceiling, and Mary follows his gaze as he speaks.

“We probably shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

Mary looks down. After what they had already been through, she would love nothing more than to just take Danyael and leave this place. The whole multiverse would be open to them. But she knows that isn’t how this plays out, and there’s no point trying to change it. She looks back to Danyael, her face set in determination.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Just as she finishes speaking, the tiny skeleton mage belonging to Kitharsis pops out of the recall portal and tumbles to the ground at her feet. She can’t help but grin as the little guy scrambles to his feet and stares at the hole in the distance.

“Hey there. I’ll bet you’d like to return that rune to your big friend, right? Here. I’ll give you a lift.”

Mary scoops up the small skeleton. She sees that Danyael is about to leap into the air and stops him.

“No need for that. I know where we’re going.”

Mary slides her free hand into Danyael’s, and suddenly they are in the Warp. Seconds later, they appear with the other companions. Mary sets the small skeleton down to allow him to return to his master and gives Danyael’s hand a reassuring squeeze before walking forward to join the other elementals and Cameron. She arrives just as Jharm finishes speaking. Cameron responds.

“Not just pure evil radiating from within, but raw warp energy. Whatever’s going on at the top of this Spire is responsible for the Eye’s rapid growth recently.”

As Cameron finishes speaking, Gulgrim speaks up from behind him. Cameron responds to the ork’s question.

“Yes. To the top of the spire. That warp energy rift is what’s causing all of Cadia’s problems. We have to put a stop to it.”

Mary looks skyward. Her eyes glow a bright violet as she traces the warp energy pouring from the top of the spire. It almost overwhelms her, but she keeps her wits.

“The source isn’t in the tower. It’s pulling the energy from below. My guess would be a standing warp gate in the asteroid itself. Though how they’ve kept it stable for this long is beyond me.”

Mary turns to Cameron.

“We may be able to block off whatever is allowing the energy to flow from the top of the Spire. If we do it right, we could destroy it. Maybe even the entire asteroid.”

The other elementals do not have much to offer to the conversation. Even Karyl  is uncharacteristically quiet, fiddling with his guitar and not looking at much of anything else. Cameron does a quick head count. Soul Reaver has Blooddrinker drawn and ready, Kitharsis is present, Mary brought Danyael, and Sepher has landed behind the others. Everyone is here, but Cameron still feels like something’s off.

“Why is it so quiet?”

Other than the sounds made by the companions themselves, there is no sound at all. An erie silence hangs over the area. Cameron quickly reaches to his helmet and re-engages his Voxcaster. His helmet is immediately flooded with the voices of the remaining Space Marine forces. Cameron triangulates his position with theirs and comes to a startling realization.

“The Marines… they’re fighting right below us!”

Cameron storms past the companions, away from the Spire, and reaches the edge of the open courtyard they are standing in. A massive flight of obsidian steps leads to a sealed obsidian gate below. Cameron cannot hear or see anything beyond it, but he can feel many minds. Some are human but many more are tainted by chaos. The fighting seems to be occurring right on the other side of this gate. Cameron engages his power armor’s wrist mounted storm bolter, and as expected, the shells explode before reaching the gate.

“A magical barrier. Of course. Soul Reaver. Think you can take care of this?”

Soul Reaver:
Soul Reaver nods.

"Probably.  Allow me to examine the enchantment."

Soul Reaver walks past Cameron, stopping just short of the spot that his bolter shells exploded.

He moves his hands through the air, testing the invisible wall.  His eyes are narrowed in careful scrutiny.  Eventually, he takes a step back and considers his options.

It's elaborately woven.  Finding a starting point to unravel it will be difficult.

He looks down at Blooddrinker, shrugs, then swings the blade overhead in a two-handed fashion, sending it crashing into the barrier with a burst of light.  A loud crackling is heard as Blooddrinker's blade skitters against the surface of the barrier.  Beneath its edge, threads of magic are sliced apart and come undone.

Pushing against the sword, Soul Reaver murmurs a Dispel Magic spell, using the opening the blade has created to rend apart the fabric of the enchantment.

Veldanya Venalla:
The Seraphim watches as the rest of the group assembles, silently listening to Cameron explaining what they are facing.

"Why is it so quiet?"

He hadn't even realized it at first, but now he realized the same thing Cameron had.  The entire area was completely quiet outside of the quiet clinking of the assorted armors that the Companions wore.  He watches as Soul Reaver "attacks" the barrier and begins to work to dispel it.  The warriors eyes gaze around as if he expects something to happen.  Moving forward he stops behind the immortal knight.

"I think it be best we are prepared for anything.  I would be quite surprised if this does not alert someone to our presence here."

He places a large gauntleted hand on Soul's shoulder, the Seraphims hidden lips moving in a silent prayer as a shield of light springs up around Soul Reaver.

"Should anything happen Lord Reaver....focus on dismantling this barrier.  I shall see that no harm comes to you."

He grasps his large hammer in both hands and scans the area, his glowing orbs keen on spotting any potential ambush or attack that may occur from their attempt at piercing the barrier between them and the space marine army.

Shadow Chorus:
"Space Marines?" Gulgrim asked aloud, looking through the protective barrier, looking intently at it even though he cannot see anyone on the other side. "Dey more o' your gitz, or we'z gotta krump 'em?"

As gulgrim stepped off of his bike it disappeared in a flash of green lightning behind him, and as he pulled his twin Big Shootas from seemingly nowhere, he strode over next to Cameron and looked down. His red eye focused on something that couldn't be seen, and his face broke into a toothy grin.

"Lotz o gitz 'avin a scrap down dere. We'z missin' out da longer we take wif dis wall 'ere. Lemme give yer spikey boy a boost."

Gulgrim looked up toward the tear in the magical enchantment that Soul Reaver was now attempting to unravel. Stepping up next to the black clad knight, he gave Soul Reaver a quick glance before looking back to the barrier.

"Keep doin' yer fing, Spikey." he said, before unleashing a massive, bellowing "WAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!" at the magical tear, pourig pure WAAAGH!!! energy in to the hole, chaotic force attempting to rend the spell asunder by sheer mayhem while Soul Reaver's more careful dispel also does its work. Sparks of green energy danced around, attempting to devour the magic of the barrier. It may not do much on its own, but it may give Soul Reaver's dispel the edge it needs to move faster.

Kitharsis:
The little skeleton mage gives a wave in thanks as it scurries over to its master.  Kitharsis is genuinely surprised that the little mage had returned.  As the mage holds up the recall rune Kitharsis grins warmly.

"This may come in handy, little one.  Thank you for bringing it back."  Kitharsis scoops up the little mage and props it on his shoulder.  He stuffs the rune back into a pouch on his belt and rearranges a few things while he is at it.  If disrupting the captive warp gate inside the asteroid is the goal, a quick escape will be deathly necessary.

Soul Reaver slashes at the magical barrier with Blooddrinker.  That damned sword.  Once this is over something should be done about it.  Shaking his head, he joins Jharm in scanning the area for potential threats.

"See if you can patch up our golem friend, little one.  The flight up here was not kind to it."  The skeleton mage climbs over his back and hangs from one of the thick wing bones.  There is one remaining skull from the golem's previous form, centered in the middle of the wing structure on his back.  Bones shift as the skull snakes its way forward.  If a skull could look tired, this is a prime example.  The little mage places a hand on the skull's forehead.  Cracks and fissues slowly begin to repair themselves.  The skull seems to sigh as the healing energy flows over its structures.

"It would appear I'm not the only one happy to see you."  The wings shift on his back in response.

As the others work at tearing down the barrier, Kitharsis can't help but feel uneasy.  He unsheathes his horeseman's pick and approaches Cameron.

"How do the Marines fare?"

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