Some more would be clues surrounding the sword but nothing that has proven to be fruitful. We still seem to be stuck in a loop. We decide to try not moving towards the tower but away from it. Hector and I get the impression that we have done this before. Now looking at the sword it appears that it has an aura of all the arcanum. After some discussion and analysis of all the clues we figure out that we are in a false reality. Taranis attempts to dispel the illusion but is unsuccessful. He gets the impression that he is on t he right track but missing something so he tries again but this time using Ragnarok, but that attempt still fails. Taranis and I try again using a ritual casting involving all of the arcanum. This gets us a closer but we are stilling missing a piece. I then have one of the aha moments and I use the Phoenix gate to tear down the walls of time and space. The false reality around us finally unravels and we find ourselves standing before the tower we have spent days trying to reach.
Surrounding the tower are hundreds of creatures all in a daze of some sorts. They appear to be other horsemen who never passed that first test, stuck in limbo. Taranis and I do our best to capture the memories of these people, we figure their knowledge might be useful and if anything it would be damn interesting. We then use the Phoenix gate to unravel the loop that all of these creatures are in, at least they can die now and move on. Feeling a bit better having passed the first test we approach the tower and enter as it gates open for us.
As we enter the tower the doors close behind us and it's pretty damn dark. A voice asks us if we are ready to be tested and that the price of failure is an eternity of being trapped within. We all agree and soon we hear the shuffling of feet coming toward us and soon we see some familiar but ghostly figures. My eyes are immediately drawn towards the figures of Stephen and The Padre. It is very clear they blame me for their deaths and want explanations. There is an image of Maggie and some other guy who seemed pissed at Danno. Oddly there is also an image of Jericho. The others I could see being here, their deaths were either our fault or related to our actions against Donovan, but not Jericho, he chose to give up his life. I confront Jericho with that realization and his image fades away. It seems he was here as a clue. We all begin confronting the apparitions as they slowly move toward us with just a hint of malice in their gazes. After some deep soul searching for some we manage to clear the air with these people's death and the last of the images fades. Again the room goes dark and we hear the sounds of hooves approaching. The original four horsemen appear before us. They immediately go into battle mode and a very long and drawn out battle unfolds. Again my comrades fall prey to mental tampering and spend a lot of the fight whimpering in the corner or feeling very bad about themselves. Even with my support some find it hard to snap out of their misery. But like a lot of the fights we have had together we help each other out and in the end we win through attrition. This was another of these fights. The horsemen imbue us with some of their power and give us their swords which can be used to unravel the shell around Chicago. Taranis still high on some hormones or something shatters the swords instead and absorbs them into Ragnarok, he can still use it to unravel the barrier but I for one am extremely disappointed that he would destroy useful artifacts so easily. I had begun to wonder lately about who was wearing the pants in that relationship, I think that's been answered finally.
Cygin