In regards to the summaries, these are for players convenience and interest, and not for characters. While the summary here describes everything that happened this session, by no means do your characters know anything besides what they were present for.
Session 31:
It was on! Tisiphone the Avenger, one of the three Fury leaders of House Huma, came with a vengeance against Nailo, Dante, Alisaadi, Izaki and Aeryn. She claimed the murder of one of her sisters would bring three deaths upon the group. And she didn't come alone, bringing with her six giant condors, a gnarled harpy archer named Fulkerion, and a devilishly stunning fiend named Elsibeth.
Tisiphone wasted no time in attacking Nailo, releasing a blur of claws and scourge swipes that, if not for some spell-sacrificing by Nailo, would have critically wounded him. Even so, he was hurt, and withdrew to the ground, conjuring shadow orbs in which to conceal himself. For a long time after the condors dove into the shadows, hoping to catch a piece of Nailo in their beaks, but none ever did. Fulkerion continuously shot her arrows into the shadows, as well, though still to no avail. Frustrated, the harpy archer used her captivating song in attempts to lure him out and render the other group members useless, but all managed to resist. Then Tisiphone opened her mouth and released a supernatural dirge that captivated Dante, Nailo and Alisaadi. Dante and Nailo were able to break free, though Alisaadi remained trapped in a perpetual rerun of all her past sins until the Fury chose to stop singing.
While Nailo distracted Tisiphone, Fulkerion and half the condors, the devil Elsibeth and her three condors tackled the rest of the group. At first Elsibeth was quite confident and indeed the initial attacks of the group proved ineffective. However, they quickly caught on, and several melee and magical encounters with Dante, Alisaadi and Aeryn left the devil fleeing upward. Not before she summoned three of her infernal brothers, bearded devils straight from Torment. The first botched its attack, the second was struck by one of Nailo's chaotic orbs, and the third met a quick demise at Izaki's hands, Seven Caged Tigers destroying the fiend in one slash! Alisaadi shouted for Dante to go on after Elsibeth, while she, Aeryn and "Big Brother" finished off the wounded bearded devils and bothersome condors. However, he didn't get the chance, as Elsibeth flew off and Nailo did something explosive...
Tired of the shadow orbs hiding her prey, Tisiphone removed a wand and attempted to dispel the situation. However it proved ineffective, which only infuriated her more. She cast a Devil's Eyes spell to see through the darkness and entered to attack Nailo once more, a brutal barrage that left the Shadow Lord nearly robbed of his mortal coil. The two traded words within the shadows, which ended with Nailo screaming something about Tisiphone being aligned with the demons and planning to kill the entire group. He drew all his chaos orbs to him. They disappeared into the darkness and suddenly the shadow bubble popped, resulting in a pillar of flame and mushroom cloud. A wave of heat washed over everything, followed by a billowing, choking black smoke. Nailo was gone, Tisiphone most likely with him, and the battlefield effectively blanketed. The condors scattered, Elsibeth continued retreating, and Fulkerion desperately entered the smoke to seek her mistress.
Dante took Alisaadi and Izaki by the hand and led them through the black, Aeryn following behind and covering their trail with several holy spells meant to blind and distract. He led them to Lastlight, entering the town limits just after sunset.
Meanwhile, Sev was off hunting the Hound of Saspien, determined to rid the land of such evil. Following Owl, with Fox on his back, he made his way over the hills and to the marshy regions just south of Lastlight, the Murder Mounds as they were known. Both animals wished Sev luck as he slipped into the murky water and wound his way through the labyrinthine swamp, riddled with sinkholes, moss isles, mud, muck and fumes. He came to a gigantic dam in the center of the swamp and found enough tracks and traces to establish it as the lair of the Hound.
However, mid spells, the Hound caught on to Sev's presence and traded cold words, promises of his death, scolding for his foolishness to follow the monster. The two fought, both proving capable of tremendous might, though the wounded Hound was quickly bested and ultimately defeated. Sev collected the monster's fangs and claws and ventured further into the lair, discovering a hoard of treasure from past victims and something quite disturbing... bodies, hundreds of them, sunken into the mud and making up the infrastructure of the great dam. Sev began the laborious work of a mass grave, asking forgiveness for the hasty burial and offering hope that they would find peace. Indeed, after the burial was complete, the air in the marsh seemed to lighten and the water lose its bloody tint. The land seemed eased, as if a wound had been healed.
Exiting the Murder Mounds, Sev found Fox waiting. During the battle, the Hound had goaded Sev by informing him that it sensed the goblin's friends in mortal danger, danger in which he couldn't possibly save them from. The battle over, the sins of the Hound undone, the Archdruid of the North began making his way toward the unnatural storm raging miles away, figuring that was probably where his friends were. However, out of respect to Fox and sadly realizing he couldn't reach his friends in time, he walked in a giant fox form. After several hours, they began to converse, Sev revealing himself to be Archdruid. Fox was skeptical at first, but then mentioned something about an Archdruid of the West not being too far away.
Sev shifted into bird form and took flight, Fox on his back, heading for the western Archdruid, who Fox said lived in a castle where the mountains met the wood. In several hours, they arrived at a large castle with perfectly tended gardens in some places and more romantic, wild gardens in others. Dozens tended the grounds, among them moving trees and plants! Sev landed and was met by two beautiful, pale druids, who, like Fox, hardly believed he was the Archdruid. After being informed that Scrin was dead and that he was his successor, Sev was confirmed by the Archdruid of the West, come down in a giant bat form and transformed into a similarly handsome and pale human. It wasn't hard to see that he was a vampire, who introduced himself as Dabian Calalas.
Calalas assured Sev that he had made peace with his conflicting natures and befriended plants and fey, the embodiments of natural and unnatural that somehow coincided in perfect harmony. He welcomed his fellow archdruid into his home as honored guest and the two began to plan for the uniting of the Houses and the defeat of the demon lords.
On the outskirts of Lastlight, the group was met with some questions from two curious guards, but Aeryn magically forced them both to sleep, everyone much too tired to answer questions or dilly-dally. Aeryn led the way to look for an inn, Izaki smirking at the magic display and Dante rolling his eyes, placing the men back in their toll booths, then following behind the pair.
However, Alisaadi made her own way through Lastlight, finding it cold, dark, foggy, and barren of any activity. All the the streets empty, the shops boarded up, every door barred and window shut, and not even a light on in any house but one at the end of a row of larger-than-normal village houses. Alisaadi melted the lock on the gate and entered the yards of the largest manor in town, where a 3rd floor window was lit, and knocked on the door. The light immediately went out.
Rebuffed, Alisaadi walked back into town, muttering it was the worst she'd been to. As wolves howled in the distant hills, another voice was heard along with the tiny pattering of feet. A little elven girl, with red hair, freckles like starry constellations, and brilliant blue eyes called Ali back to her manor in a frantic series of tugs. She warned it wasn't safe to be out at night, especially with HIM being about. She ushered Ali back to her house and up her creaky stairs, when the girl's father awoke. The girl pushed Ali into a closet and had a quick conversation with her dad, revealing there-in that her name was Rees and that her father, while stern, loved her dearly and feared for all their safety after dark. When he was back in his room, Rees snuck Ali up an even creakier flight of stairs, at first quite noisily, then completed with the deftness of a wizened adventurer (a Dex roll of 9, then a roll of 20).
Rees welcomed Ali into her cozy room with many books and explained the one the town was most afraid of, as if vampires weren't enough, was the Minister. Not a real minister, as the name would have had Ali believe, this was a devil of great power, acting as an emissary for the Dark Gods to the vampire Houses. However, the Minister had found it amusing to take residence in Lastlight, if not just to terrify the townsfolk every night. Rees mentioned that once, when her father was young, there were celebrations at night and people went walking and drinking even after the sun set. No more. The Minister had robbed them of their cheer and their feelings of safety and contentment.
Ali tucked Rees in and gave her some motherly advise. Rees told her she was just resting her eyes and that spare linens were in a closet outside. When Ali returned, the girl was asleep, and she watched over Rees like a dragon mother would her child until she herself dozed off.
And in a place far from dreamland, Nailo awoke to blackness. Soon after his familiar Taras joined him and the two were subject to all manner of horrible torture, as their bodies, minds and very souls fell victim to burning fire, poisonous gas, freezing cold, acid and electricity. They were brought before one of the mightiest of gods, most displeased with Nailo's lack of progress for the dragon agenda. More pain. More suffering. And then Nailo was given one last chance. He was returned to the world but, as Taras weakly warned before Nailo passingly insulted the dragon god, changed. They were now OWNED by Kultuss and to prove the point Nailo lost a good bit of his constitution for his sharp tongue. Taras, fully cowed, informed Nailo of someone who might be able to help them retrieve Onyxia and his gear from House Huma... Daithrak the Black. He said that Nailo was now marked and all dragons would recognize he was on a mission from God. The two set off with new purpose.
(Wow a lot happened last session. Hope you all had fun! Haha snd the Sev/Ali commentary during the battle between Nailo and the Fury was classic.)
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