Part 85: Desperate Gambits
Chapter 64 – Desperate Gambits
The Hour is Late
Video: The Hour is Late
(Zandalor) The hour is late.
A hero was lost.
And the enemy approaches.
To render all in fire.
Aleroth! I’ll guard you yet!
May deliverance alight! 
As I become your aegis!
(Lucian, the Divine One) And that's when I met this stunning elven girl, Eleanalessa. O, I remember it well!
Yes, she was very high maintenance - had to end a war between her people and the dwarves just to be able to steal a kiss - but she was more than worth it!
Of course I had the Demon of Lies to slay, so I was forced to cut my stay short.
Zandalor can be quite insistent, but I don't need to tell you that! 
Not every day you ... Wait! ... Did you hear? Who approaches?
(Spectre) The plane of Hypnerotomachia, I have found it! And there she is: the object of my pursuit.
(Dragon Knight Yara) You are referring to me? That’s the Divine over there, you know. I do not seek the Seven Gods’ whelp, I seek you; the last heir of Ouroboros! Ah, how good it is to be here in this empire of dream, desire and fruition where one is truly omnipotent. Alas, that those possibilities are but ephemeral illusions long as I remain caged in the darkness of a hostile realm. Maybe you should tell us who you are before we continue this conversation. I am nothing, where once I was. My name: an omen, my actions: roots of awe and fear. Yet this matters not. Not until I am free again. To get here, that was nothing; for I know this place well and as yet retain an inkling of my abilities. In Rivellon I am weak, but in Rivellon I must be strong once more; see my undead legions walk before me.
If it is indeed the breeds of the abyss you hanker for, I believe it best you be kept shackled.
You speak before your turn, sacred incarnation. You have not yet heard my terms. 
I will take you away from here, Dragon, and bring you to the city of Aleroth – where my true self rots away deep beneath the cobbled streets, kept alive only by my dormant powers. Free me and I will free the Divine in turn. ...
The Hour is Late
(Spectre) The plane of Hypnerotomachia, I have found it! And there she is: the object of my pursuit. What are you, spectre? And why do you seek me out? Why does anyone seek you out, the questing knight? Be they beggar, bishop, or baron: they need your gifts. Alas, that those possibilities are but ephemeral illusions long as I remain caged in the darkness of a hostile realm.Reader Participation
Free me and I will free the Divine in turn.1. How should Yara respond? (This is poll is only for curiosity’s sake about how the readers would respond.)
a) “Say no more! If that is what it takes to bring Damian’s bane back to Rivellon, I will follow your lead.”
b) “Anything to get out of this gods-forsaken place.”
c) “Lucian mistrusts you, which makes me suspicious of you as well!” (Default = 1 vote)