But the real reason why she can't let it be is because -

- because -

- because she had one ally who helped at all when her people were being torn apart by a plague of magical monsters. One. Out of the half a dozen people who have professed to be wishing her and her people the best. She hadn't expected them to drop everything, but - most of them were Lawful. She expected - something. Them to hold to the spirit of their word, instead of just the letter.

They wrote apologetic letters about how they hadn't heard anything about a plague that causes magical otherworldly monsters to explode out of people, and wished her good fortune, and that was that.

Maegar Varn, Chaotic Good rogue, who never promised her a damn thing, fucking helped. He didn't know what she was dealing with, didn't have any idea how to efficiently stop it, but sent her healing wands and two healers and half a dozen men to help her run the hospitals tidily. This seems like it shouldn't be very much, in the wake of a terrifying pandemic (poisoning, actually, as she later discovered), but. It was enough. It was what she needed.

His soul has been captured in one of Vordakai's gems, trapped, waiting to be devoured for power. It was his wizard, his lieutenant, that had been snatched for his spellbook.

Sivetrys is not Lawful. Lawful is, in her experience, mostly a thing that people use to make pretty scaffolds to lie to themselves with. There is no oath that binds her to kill this lich, but she's going to do it anyway, because damn it, she is not letting someone like that remain as fucking lich food.

But all of the logical reasons she mentioned earlier are why she's convinced herself this isn't suicidal and insane, so.

She will, to anyone that asks, go with those.

His tomb is underground, inside a Forbiddance, hidden by an extremely antiquated Mage's Private Sanctum, but they know where it is. Teleports within a certain radius outside of the Forbiddance are redirected to a killing chamber below - obviously they haven't tested the exact range of that one - but they know about it, and have a confirmed marking of where it doesn't reach, and can as such avoid it. Vordakai himself doesn't have teleportation capabilities, anymore, but his lair is set up to deal with them.

Most people would not take this as a challenge, but most people are not a sorceress with seven castings of Stone Shape per day, and the ability to use Summon Monster V to summon earth elementals to map out the edges of the Forbiddance, and the shape of the tomb inside. This is a solvable problem. She makes a network of tunnels, hidden under her own Private Sanctum, and will have a perfect, tidy map of this place eventually. She will know the exact edges of the Forbiddance, where this damn lich likes to make his lair inside, and, importantly, where he puts his undead servants, so that those can be quietly removed from the equation before the main confrontation with their master. It is tedious, methodical work, but she can tolerate that just fine, thank you. It is something to do while waiting to see if Lastwall is going to lend her a fucking paladin to kill this thing, or if she is going to need to teleport to Vigil itself to shake them down for their lich slaying expertise.

Probably, they'll help. She's providing the teleports for it, and is doing all of the footwork for getting this done properly. All the research, all the lair finding and mapping, all of the logistics of getting down there and introducing a sword to its jeweled fucking skull. Lastwall wants their paladins to circle up just as much as she does; this is a perfect excursion for one, adventuring party and setup provided in advance. And if Lastwall won't lend her one, fine, she'll go looking in Absalom, or Andoran, or - look. This is what paladins are for. This calls for one. She doesn't think she'll need to actually kidnap one, because paladins are themselves, but it is ostensibly on the table. Just highly unlikely to come up, when straightforward cooperation is clearly the way to go.

There's a rumble of - something, deep below, as Sivetrys is carefully mapping the lair with occasional summoned earth elemental assistance. Their cleric, Tristian, is also present, providing her Undeath Sense to figure out where minions are located in said lair, and Hide from Undead to, well. Hide from undead, which they are quite fortunate Vordakai prefers over living slaves. Ekundayo lingers nearby in his typical hunting-silence, unwilling to leave the two squishiest members of the party to flirt with undeath by themselves in a hole. Linzi and Jubilost are not present; they are doing demilich related research and preparation.

".... That came from the direction of the Teleport Trap chamber," offers Sivetrys, in case her companions do not have a systematic three dimensional map in their heads about what is where relative to where they are. (Ekundayo probably does, Tristian probably doesn't.)

"Do you think he might have caught someone uninvolved?" asks Tristian, breaking the round of silence as all present (non animal) party members digest the implications of it.

"We haven't verified that his trap extends above ground, we've just been playing it safe, so..."

Both Neutral Good, and extremely squishy, members of the party look at their 'Don't get themselves killed' chaperone.

Ekundayo is painfully aware that he knows exactly what both of them want to go do, right now, even if it could in fact get them all killed and blow their cover for this operation. Even though they only have three out of their usual five non-animal party members present, and that this Stone Shaped hole in the ground is too small to have all of their animal companions present. (Both are guarding the entrance of the tunnel.) But he also knows them, and knows that if he says No, they will listen. This choice will ultimately be his.

Their ranger is a pragmatic, professional man, who thinks in risk factors and long term tactical implications. If they act, it should be quickly, so as to cover their own actions under the guise of - whatever is going on down there. And they should act, because they do not want their enemy to gain resources of a teleport capable spellcaster, or Vordakai breaks his containment. But then, it could also be a trap.

It is not, ultimately, a hard decision.

"We go," he says firmly, and that is that.

They relocate to the part of their tunnel system closest to the explosion; it turns out to be the result of a tunnel collapse. There's a part of the tomb that's now cut off from the rest.

This makes what to do next very obvious. They Stone Shape themselves an opening to the now cut off part of the tomb, and Ekundayo is the one to go through, bow in hand. (Demiliches have permanent True Seeing. Actual stealth is a better shield than Invisibility, and he's under Hide from Undead regardless. Not that the latter is foolproof, when dealing with a lich.)

What is on the other side?

There's a (frankly somewhat unsettling) half-elf with huge white wings. She's wearing a bandolier full of iron vials, clothing and backpack both full of pockets, and a fancy headband and less fancy other magical items,

a very pretty half-elf in shiny mithril armor and an unnaturally blank expression on her face, wearing a string of coins around her neck,

and a human swordswoman, who sees them first and shouts something in Tianji, gripping her sword tightly.

Then she starts coughing horribly.

(All 3 of them have arrows stuck into them, and the winged elf is also clearly struggling to breathe.)

Alive, but injured. And they speak a different language. Inconvenient, but manageable.

He takes a potion one might recognize as a healing potion from his belt - one of the mass produced, bright red ones. He mimes drinking it, then rolls it over to them, keeping his hands away from his quiver. His bow stays in hand, but it's only a threat with the arrow.

Then he steps out of the way of the passage, motions towards it with his head, and clearly prepares himself to hold this spot. Not from them, but from - whatever is on the other side of that collapsed passage. Even with the language barrier, his intent is obvious.

'Go. I'll cover you.'

-She looks at the other half-elf, automatically, and then remembers that this is no longer an available action.

She makes - well, it's unclear if she makes eye contact, but she looks at her third party member, and whispers something barely audible, and reaches down to grab one of the potions.

She nods jerkily, grabbing the other healing potions. She drinks one and gently tips the other to the armored half-elf's mouth, and then pulls on her hand.

...she looks back at the rubble sadly as she is led away from it.

Their strange new archer ally is a silent, stealthy guardian. He does not currently need to turn anything into a pincushion, but he is ready to.

(He'll be the last through the hole, naturally.)

And crammed on the inside of the passage, is a blonde hooded man, carrying an emblem of Sarenrae.

Behind him is another half elf, this one with coppery-red hair.

"Are these all the injured?" the cleric of Sarenrae asks, first in Taldane, and then, at their incomprehension, in Celestial.

...She frowns, like she's been presented with an impossible puzzle.

"Our wizard was dominated by a demilich, and hit our cleric with an icy prison."

She speaks in a slow, emotionless register that barely rises above a whisper.

Ah.

"I'm sorry." Celestial makes this very clearly a 'condolences,' sorry, not a 'I am personally responsible' sorry.

The half elf behind him sucks in a breath at the news, but doesn't say interrupt.