All right, we've deliberated long enough. There's certainly more of us here now isn't there?
If I'm understanding this right, consensus is as follows. Put this "Helmacon" in the knight's body, and have the knight join the rest of you. I guess I'm glad we're not eating his soul, but thus is kind of a grey area isn't it? It seems doable enough though. Helmacon is gonna have to be put in the sword for a little for this to work though... I think? Let's try.
You turn to the cult leader.
"Could you remake that ritual circle? Sorry about burning it. Drastic measures were needed."
He bows for a moment.
"Yes, most if the unicorn is still usable. It won't be nearly as powerful, but it shouldn't take more than an hour to get things ready."
He shouts to the rest of your followers. "All right, you heard him. Get to work on that circle!"
We should probably step outside for a bit. Being confined in this cave is getting to me.
We walk down a long hallway charred black by flame. Little more remains of those who came to kill us than a few stray bits and pieces of metal.
As we continue down the narrow passage, a chill sets in. A cold wind shudders down my spine. I realize now that I have left the magical protection created by the cultists.
The shear cold tears into our skin like a variety of heated needles. Ahead is a wooden door. It is far less large and ostentatious door, and it still is open from when our intruders arrived. How rude.
I shove the door open the rest of the way, and am greeted by a frozen wasteland like nothing I've ever seen, except in pictures. I take in my surroundings and see a deep blue ocean to our right. Is this Antarctica? No wonder it took those hunters so long to arrive.
Despite the inner heat of our newly found magic, the cold is just too much. We head back inside and close the door.
Upon our return to the chamber, I can see that our followers have made remarkable progress. Perhaps I spent more time away in contemplation than I thought.
"Ah, you're back. Did you enjoy the scenery?"
The cult leader has an amusing grin on his face.
"Well, I've never been anywhere like this before. I think I'd remember if I did."
For a single instant, an image flashes in my mind of a three headed beast imprisoned in ice.
"Well, Antarctica isn't the most popular tourist destination. To think they were able to find us here... We'll have to retreat and establish a new base of operations. We're running out of options. Perhaps that place in North America..."
He seems deep in contemplation. We probably won't get through to him for a little while. I take another look at the circle. It looks like an array of concentric circles, hexagons, and triangles. It seems quite impressive. Of course, our magical knowledge isn't up to scratch.
Time continues to pass as I gaze upon our new sword, the soul inside it, and the body it used to inhabit. I've done my best to repair the damage. Really, that bit where I tore out the heart was kind of stupid, but in the heat of the moment it seemed like the proper thing to do. Something must be wrong with me.
"The circle is complete once more. Do you need anything else?"
"No."
I place the body inside of the innermost circle. With much trepidation, I stand above it with the flaming sword held downward and at the ready.
"..."
I should really be saying something dramatic, but I never took latin or anything. At least, I don't think I did. Well here goes nothing.
"Hie thee soul of the dead. I call to the Power of the Bay."
The blood red circle begins to glow and radiate a blue aura.
"Thy name and soul are the origin. Thou heart and soul are the key. Thy blade the gate."
The previously still air begins to whirl, and I place the tip of Edgar's sword over his chest.
"Thus are the names and fates of Edgar Kay and the one known as Helmacon to be exchanged. This is our will, and that of the Beast of Bay."
With that, I shove the sword into Edgar's chest once more. I feel a strange rush of energy as a 'controlling' presense leaves me. For a moment, I see the image of some sort of flaming mammal as this being enters the sword I'm using as a conduit.
As Helmacon enters the sword, Edgar's soul is drawn into me by the void left in their wake.
I push even harder with my magic, the intoxicating feeling seeping into my skin. I have no idea how long this us taking. It could be a minute or an hour, I'm so intensely focused. With a final rush, the sword ejects its contents into the limp body, which twitches violently.
With that compIete, we take a deep breath and remove the sword, dropping it to the side. A new presense begins to stir in my mind. You can all feel it too, can't you.
Edgar's body begins to stir, but I can't tell if Helmacon is in control yet. Only one way to go about this, and that's wait and see.
"Hoo. That was harder than I thought. Give me a moment to recover, all of you. And bring me more meat if you could. That would be excellent. I'll need more time to think of questions and other requests, so take a break."
Now then, what should we do?
It would probably be a good idea to check on Helmacon and properly welcome Edgar, but anything else is up in the air.
If you can think of a good place to hide from the inquisition, I'm all ears.
We should probably ask the leader a few more questions about this Beast of Bay stuff, even if it just raises more question.
I had this done much earlier, but the files up and died on me so I had to remake it from scratch. Much apologies.