"Excellent. I will have a place to put my things then."
Over the next month, Arueshalae(and any others who wish to help) work on renovating the shrine into a proper temple. The she-demon has a look of calm on her face as she uses her time in doing good works.
Also during these few weeks, the three mages research the forge with great interest. After the third week, Samar-Rel comes up to you with some notes in hand. "Well as it is, we can revert the forge on our own. It does take materials that we do not have. I know of where to obtain them, but they are not cheap. But other than that, it is very easily done. However the same cannot be said of a ritual to convert your demon friend. While it does not take much in the way of materials per say, it takes something else. The ritual we have come up with, will take some sacrifice. Someone or someones will have to sacrifice a certain amount of life energy."
"Thank you, Samar-Rel. I had the utmost confidence that you could manage this feat."
Gorn calls his allies together and tells them of the ritual to purify the demon
"I think we all should sacrifice a little energy, that way the burden is borne by all."
"Oh, of course."
Na’shok nods in agreement with Gorn’s proposal. He was reluctant to sacrifice his strength even for a short period but recognizes the merit in securing the succubus as an ally.
Varda nods at the others. "What exactly will this ritual do, though; do you know?"
"I do not understand the specifics, but the forge infused blessed items with demonic power and now blesses demonic items. I think the ritual may do the same, replacing her demonic nature with a celestial one? My hope is to render her uncertain redemption moot by changing her essence. I prefer certain results to uncertain ones. My brother will explain the ritual in greater detail. Samar-Rel?"
While working on the temple, Aen pulls Arueshalae aside. "I believe, if you give me a sort of girft an anarchy, and I preserve it for you, it may help you on your path. Do you have such a gift?"
Listening to Gorn, Aen nods. "If it is deemed safe, I will undergo the ritual."
"Yes, according to our research it should do as my brother says. But remember this is all theorycraft so for all we know it could not do anything or make her into an Old One. So I would not guarantee certain results."
"Yes, it would require you to stay on the path of good, but I believe in you. I would like it very much. It is good to see you again. You have helped me far more than I deserve."
"I think we should press forward. Let us perform the ritual."
It does take a few days to procure all the material components, but it is goes without incident. The three mages have the party stand around in a circle surrounding Arueshalae. They start a strange chant, first in abyssal, then in celestial.
As the ritual completes you can see Arueshalae receive a sharp pain and she doubles over for a moment and keeps standing. A beam of light, seemingly from the sun focuses itself on the she-demon and then a bright flash with seems to envelop her. It does subside though and now you can see the difference. Her bat-like wings are now feathered albeit a dark black color. Her skin is a noticeably
paler red than it was. And best of all, she has a look of serenity on her face. "Did it work?"
You both see flashes of red and fire raise up around you and then it all goes black. You see a dark shadow of a figure. It is very large, with many horns. It wields a wicked glaive. It seems to just be staring at you. "She is mine. You will not take her." It says in an inhuman and deep voice. You then wake up, on the ground staring up into the bright blue sky.
You all see Varda and collapse on the floor right after the ritual is completed. "Are they alright? Are they hurt?" Arueshalae asks with worry. A few moments later though they both blink as they awake.
Aenthurien rushes to Varda and Larissa.
"I don't know if they're ok, yet." Glancing at Arueshalae, he nods. "You appear different. Something has definitely happened."
Gorn-Rel looks to the two wizards and the sorceress for confirmation, speculation, and analysis.
"I'm... alright, I think," replies Varda, accepting Aenthurien's help to get to her feet. She turns to the (former?) demoness. "Who did you serve? To whom were you bound?"
They look fine, perhaps a bit shaken up. But otherwise normal.
"Like I said, theorycraft. We did not expect that to happen. But it is not surprising either." Samar-Rel replies.
"I think their fine." Aen says, after looking over Varda and Larissa.
"What sort of effect did it have on her? Can you measure it?"
"We would have to run some tests, but possibly."
"She certainly looks different", Na'shok says stating the obvious. "Run your tests. I'm curious what we've accomplished."
"I'm... alright, I think," replies Varda, accepting Aenthurien's help to get to her feet. She turns to the (former?) demoness. "Who did you serve? To whom were you bound?"
"A marilith called Aponavicius was who I served originally. Her lord was Baphomet. Why?"
The mages nod and have Arueshalae follow them for tests. Days later Samar-Rel gathers everyone together with the results. "Well as far as we know, she is no longer a demon, at least not a full one. She is not a celestial either. She is more or less in-between. What this means exactly other than certain spells working differently we do not know yet. We will have to do further research."
"I believe we should continue the other precautions as well."
Before you head off, Arueshalae meets up with you. "You said you would accept the gift? Is that still true?" If Aen accepts, she will give Aen a +2 to dexterity.
The walls of this rocky gorge rise up in nearly vertical cliffs of jagged stone to either side, joining in a sheer cliff to the north. Mounds of rubble—much of which appears to be fragments of statues of crusaders and demons—lie in heaps near the gorge’s end.
You can see through the illusion of the sheer cliff! Behind it, a few dozen feet away you can see the sanctum. You also see two huge constructs seemingly made up of fossilized bones right behind the illusory wall. They have horned shoulders and tyrannosaurus-skulled hands.
"The cliff is false", Nash explains. "Larissa, grab my shoulder. I will lead the way through."
"There is an illusion covering the entrance. It also has guardians. We should prepare before we attack."
Aen nods to Gorn, pulling out a myriad of flask. "Here, you should find these helpful."
Aen feeds Gorn's habit and the party moves to engage the golems.
Arueshalae starts up a sweet song about friendship lasting forever.
"Na'shok will you increase our speed?"
Nash looks at the prince in disbelief after he guzzles enough magic to glow like a bonfire and then asks for more.
"If it's necessary. I won't waste my power if it's not needed to destroy these toys."
Varda attempts to identify the creatures, then raises her bow and fires a few test shots at them.
All of Varda's shots bounce off the bony hide of the golem she is firing at.