Iuz Postmortem

[Andy]

The party returns -

Tetsuko noh Kuwahara, The Ace of Clubs stands up in front of the Pope, as the party leader. Her formerly expensive kimono bears the signs of Babau and other demon claws, and she’s been splattered with a fair amount of demon, ogre brains and god guts though she appears to be solidly on her feet. Her swords are clean and rest easily in their scabbards.

The rest of the party looks fairly beat up, except for Tyris=Flare who appears fresh as a daisy and Dobby who looks as if he might have just stubbed his toe.

“Your Emminence...” she begins, “I have failed.”

After a brief pause, she continues.

“I led this party, and we managed to kill only 50 demons before running out of strength.”

She pauses and turns to Moorak

“Moorak - does Iuz count as a demon?”

I'm guessing Moorak would have a mildly surprised look on his face at this point. She turns back to the pope.

“Counting Iuz’s demon form, and not counting his human form we killed 51. I await your judgement.”

[David]

NICE!

Pope Hazem is quite happy with the heroes' progress -- "while it is true, Swordswoman, that you have slain but half of the number I requested of you, those you did send back to the Abyss were among the most fearsome on Oerth and I value them at twice that of their fellows. Based on your descriptions and my own commune, I can safely say Iuz has been banished back to the Abyss. You heroes," and here she glances around the whole room, making momentary eye-contact with ALL of you, "have done Oerth a tremendous service. Not only did you break Iuz' power in Dorakaa, but you slew both his mortal and cambion forms. Surely, you must have overwhelmed him, as the death of BOTH forms severs his direct link to Oerth; this is no longer his home plane. He must return to the Abyss and can only venture forth once he regains his power. Given his weakness, there is no chance he will trouble us sooner than a decade and quite possibly a full century. In fact, were a group of heroes to travel to the Abyss now and locate Iuz, they would find him all-but helpless and easily slain forever..."

"Meanwhile, the Priests of Iuz have lost their patron and their powers. Many of his forces are already in rout and imploding as those who have ruled for decades through fear and power find themselves weak and helpless. NOW is the time to strike. Your service to me, in all fairness, is discharged. That said, I ask you as the Pope and ruler of Veluna, to enter once more into this conflict. There are three tasks in need of the abilities of heroes such as you," Hazem looks directly at Tetsuko while sort of nodding at Moorak, implying that she is in charge, rather than the pagan.

"With Iuz', his forces are faultering. Strike at them now and break their hold on the domain of Iuz now and forever! Lead an attack on the orcs and send them fleeing to the dark corners of the world. Slaughter those that bear arms until the lands north of the Whystil lake are again fit for human rulership. Especially now, without leadership and fighting amongst themselves, a little pressure can have a tremendous effect and sweep away both orcish scum and their evil overlords forever!"

"Alternatively, Iuz' demonic cohorts are now free of his dominion. That means all the fiends under his command can do as they please, wrecking havok and slaughter. Go forth and hunt down these demons before they make the lands flow red with innocent blood. I know for a fact that Iuz' two balrog generals yet remain on Oerth, seeking power and souls... And this is to say nothing of the remains of his Boneheart; you slew Althea, his highest priestess, but her rival, Halga, remains. And he has other mortal allies as well..."

"Finally, if you love your world and wish to protect it from Iuz' return, now is the time to journey to the Abyss and remove the threat Iuz poses to Oerth FOREVER. In this, I would happily offer any hero both great magics and great honors to complete this mission..."

[Jeff]

"Your Eminence, I agree. The time to act is now, and we should take the offensive as soon as possible. I would like to volunteer for a direct strike against the Old One in the Abyss. Any of you who would like to join me are more then welcome."

[Andy]

Tetsuko:

"Your Eminence, you are very kind. Surely your support and prayers aided us greatly."

She pauses and looks at the oddly behatted wizard.

"Surely though, of your three choices, there is only one truly wise choice. First, the armies of Iuz will surely be routed without strong leadership, and his conventional forces will be in disarray without clerical support and a command structure. Your armies will certainly prevail there. And, as you said, Iuz is stuck in the Abyss, giving us slightly more than nine years to finish, what I believe to be the most important - slaying his demon generals. Demons can move around the area unfettered, and especially the more powerful ones will cause the most suffering. I believe we should re-arm and return to Dorakka to destroy as many of them as we can possibly contain as expeditiously as possible."

Tyris=Flare: Looks thoughtful...looks like she wants to say something to Moorak...

[jason]

Tarnna:

" Your Eminence. I have fought two wars for you and I do not wish to do so a third time. So I will hunt Iuz down into what hole he has crawled into. "

"Tesuko I think your plan to go after the demons is sound. You and the God tainted ones among us should take on this task while those free of the taint should head into the Abyss quickley before Iuz has a chance to dig in deep and call in any favors."

[Andy]

Quick side question - wtf were final eeps - I only got +1 social for Tyr, and +2 for Tetsuko. Tetsuko also wants an honor reward from the DM.