"Not a species- set of species?- I have encountered before, no. Well. One lives and learns."

“They aren’t so much a species like mortal races are.  They’re a type of outsider, you know, from an afterlife plane?  The Abyss in the case of demons.”

She doesn’t have time to give her introductory speech for ‘adventurers that came to the worldwound without knowing anything about demons’.  She needs to focus on what is relevant.

“Of their combat abilities… your speed seems sufficient to evade their more physical attacks and spells.  Is your will strong enough to consistently resist mind control?  (A few types of demons have some powerful enchantments.)”

If the answer is yes, then Terendelev will figure out how to point her at the most pressing area… securing the Wardstone is the highest priority.

"Of that, I am quite confident."

“Excellent, I think that is the single biggest danger if you aren’t familiar with demons.”

“I am going to secure the Wardstone, it is a powerful artifact that normally blocks demons’ ability to teleport.  The chasm Deskari has opened has unseated it and I think dropped it into the caverns beneath the city.  Will you accompany me?”

Terendelev lowers her back and leans to suggest hoping on for a ride.

"Very well." Occlus is accumulating a significant number of questions for after the fight is over. This is why she wanted to visit the library, dammit. Back on to the flying lizard.

Terendelev flys up, looks over the chasm, then dives down into it.

The chasm opens into a cave system with glowing fungi and subterranean flora that could apparently grow in nearly lightless condition.  There are traces of a variety of fauna, such as shed carapaces of giant insects.

Lying on its side is an immense glowing monolith.  Outwardly it seems fine, but within there are souls practically at war with each other, with a minority outright struggling to break free of the monolith.

She will get down to inspect it more closely. "This is your Wardstone, then?"

"Yes.  It was created with the help of Angels at the end of the failure of the 2nd Mendevian Crusade against the Worldwound."  She'll elide exactly what form the Angel's help took.

"One standard Wardstone alone merely bars demons in a  300-foot radius, but there are multiple Wardstones.  Adjacent linked Wardstones form a line barring demons from teleporting in or across it.  They can cross on foot, but it weakens and stuns them long enough for patrols of mortal soldiers to take them down.  Something must be very wrong with it for demons to be able to freely teleport into this city."

"The defect is internal. I sense a struggle within, conflict."

That's right, Darth Occlus does have some unusual sensory/detection ability or spell.  Well, if she's already sensed that much...

"A number of Angels voluntary sealed themselves within the Wardstones to power them.  Their wills should be of one accord, focused and united on defending against the demons.  Something must be very wrong..."

If Darth Occlus focuses, she may realize that the outward appearance of the Wardstone is masked by an illusion, a great red scar throbs across its surface.

"One reason I generally prefer to avoid sacrificial rituals, especially ones that enable the victim to continue in some form. People are changeable."

She will reach out to touch the Wardstone, flexing her power in an attempt to dispel the masking.

Something about the Wardstone rejects her touch with a crackle of energy, but it does disrupt and dispel the illusion in the process.

“What did you… oh.”  

That was an illusion she dispelled.  The Wardstone was already very badly damaged.

“There is a team that travels between the Wardstones to periodically perform rituals to maintain them.  …this might be worse than they can deal with.  For the time being we need to guard it from further corruption by the demons.  Will you be able to hold this position?  I plan to ferry more people down.”

"I believe so. Do try not to get infested again. I'd prefer not to be blamed for whatever happened here if you died."

It took Deskari himself to infest her!  Oh wait, was that a joke?  She sort of roar chuckles at it.

“I should be back quickly with reinforcements.”

Then once Terendelev has left, Occlus will settle in for a brief meditation. She keeps part of her awareness focused outwards, of course. She should be able to sense anything approaching well before it presents a threat to her. Perhaps not if it teleports in. But she's still confident in her reaction times in that case.

However, she is more interested in the Wardstone, and the fight that takes place within. What can she glean from these sacrificed 'angels'?

Half of the Angels stand firm to their duty, they are prepared to hold their position within the Wardstone as long as is necessary.  Indeed, were it not for the other half of the Angels, they could perhaps hold the Wardstone indefinitely, their minds are both subtly and overtly different than mortal humans.  They are able to track and hold to their commitments with a will almost no mortal could muster, and their emotions, intentions, overt desires, and subconscious reflexes align with a consistency unlike any Darth Occlus has encountered before, save perhaps for some of the most emotionally stable and ideologically committed Jedi.

The other half of the Angels are divided, but have a single unified demand, they must be let out, one way another.  Some of them are filled with rage, longing to unleash their fury on the demons that have warped them so.  Some are filled with despair, longing for an end one way or another.  Others feel hatred, not just for the demons, but also for the mortals they pointlessly swore to protect nearly a century ago.  Overall, their minds are actually almost identical in structure to those of the faithful Angels, save for a few key twists and warps within them.

Their struggle resonates beyond this Wardstone, given time to fester, it might effect other Wardstones, eventually corrupting the entire Wardstone line.

Can she reach into the Wardstone and affect any of these beings? Not that she necessarily intends to do so immediately, but she would like to confirm whether such a thing is possible for her. Obviously it was possible for whoever caused this damage.

The Wardstone rebuffs her.  She’ll need to use a lot more force, or maybe use some kind of tool that can penetrate it’s defenses.

Good to know. She won't press the issue for now.

Does anything seek to interrupt her vigil before reinforcements arrive?

There are some monstrously sized centipedes creeping around not to far away, but for the moment they seem repelled by the glow of the Wardstone or maybe the daylight streaming in from above.

Terendelev is back in a few minutes, with two people held in her claws and one riding on her back.  She drops them off and is off again.  She calls as she flies off.

"I might be slower with the next group of reinforcements depending on how much help is needed on the surface."

"I've saved my smite if any demons look particularly troublesome... "  Wait if she's the monk from earlier she probably doesn't need the help, but Seelah should still list all her resources.

"...and I still have two lay on hands left if you need any healing."