[dplax]

Andrion Wilgor

*thud* *thud* *thud*

The massive blows of the shadow giants fall as Andrion's heart returns to its usual, calm rhythm. His enormous expenditure of energy has left him very weak, but still an effort is needed. He does not move. No use while he does not know what to do.

Logically thinking two things can pose a problem in getting the Holy Flame. It being a flame, and it being holy. The latter is likely to cause quite a few more problems than the former. Andrion proceeds to study his surroundings extremely carefully, cataloging anything that might be of use. He strips the dead defenders, turns out all of their pockets, slashes the fabric of their clothes open.

Blessed symbols, two broken flasks, a silver key with a flame graved on it, a flask with what seems to have blessed water in it, various weapons, all lie on the ground in front of him. First, he examines the key. It is quite small, most likely made for a very small lock. From the corner of his eye he catches the faint glimmer of the Holy Flame glint on something metallic at the base of the pillar it is on.

With a click, he turns the key and heart beating slightly faster, he pulls the small door open. Inside the hole uncovered this way is what he guesses to be the container to transport the flame. A large lantern, made of rare materials, some of which Andrion can not even identify. Clearly an elven hand had participated in its making, along with humans. The reliquary is placed on the ground, next to the items already assembled.

It is time to see exactly how holy the Holy Flame actually is. Andrion would have loved experimenting on it with spells, but he was pretty sure that the Modding Mage wanted the Holy Flame in its original state. He steps next to the pedestal and tries approaching his hand to the base of the flame, where he supposes it to be the least burning. He is unable however to test his theory on the heat it generates for he can't seem to approach the flame, much in the same way that the demon had been unable to approach him.

He loudly curses and returns back to the items in front of him. Clearly he is not pure, not good enough to touch the flame. It's a pity that all the defenders are dead. Unfortunately the demon did a very good job in not leaving anyone alive. The idea of using a summoned creature comes naturally. Andrion mouths the words for a summoning spell, but to his surprise the creature that emerges is not the creature of good he intended to summon, but an evil spirit. Frustrated, he sends the creature immediately away.

It takes Andrion long minutes of thought to realise that he might have gone down a path that no longer allows him to summon creatures that are purely good when he embraced life as a creature of shadow. Several more minutes pass, and then half an hour as Andrion's thoughts go through all the spells he knows or ever knew.

One possibility keeps turning through his mind, a spell, he has never heard being used, but a spell that given the right circumstances...of course, it never being used he did not have it memorised, could barely even remember what was needed for casting it. Although the morbidity of sleeping in such a place made him inwardly chuckle, he could not help fight down the feeling of the place not welcoming the likes of him for extended periods.

There had to be another...and then it hits him. So simple, so elegant, yet so vastly overpowered...He knew that it would be useful to memorise a wish spell before coming here. You never knew what you wanted to wish for. An Unseen Servant cast by the genie himself and as such untainted by shadow magic could prove quite useful.

Much to his chagrin, even a completely neutral creature is unable to take the flame and place it inside its reliquary, as he finds out a couple of minutes later.

Desperately more ideas are tried, but none of the holy symbols can hang around the creature's neck, for it has no tangible body. Ideas come and go, some he tries out, others he discards, until finally he finds one that works. Boiling the blessed water, into which he threw the blessed symbols creates a steam that Andrion can barely bear to touch, but the neutral summonling can easily walk into. Disguised in this way the Unseen Servant is finally able to gather up the flame inside its container.

A tense moment follows, but Andrion can thankfully lift the container by himself, the good of the flame contained inside of it. Dismissing the Unseen Servant he begins the trek back up to where the giants still hammer at the passageway.