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A wail of agony ascends from the last paladin of Shiver as the necralith falls and its paired spirits flow outward to begin their journey to the Shadowfell. As the ritual falters the arcane field holding Lairess Kallios's body fades away, dropping the black-clad form into the pool below. The woman catches herself, falling to her hands and knees in the shallow water. "I'm alive," she gasps with a surprised look on her face. "I'm alive!"
Throughout the halls lie the bodies of the fallen, many of them former soldiers of the alliance.
Victor moves to attend to the woman on the ground and turns to address the group.
"I know I've said it a lot, but please trust me on this. Whatever this person was before; it has a chance to start a new life."
After making his plea to the group, he returns to the woman and says quietly "Try anything dumb, and there won't be enough of you left to put back in a ring."
"Well aren't you sweet," the woman states drily as she glances back up at Victor. "Breathing is enough ambition for me for now. Being mortal again is harder than it looks."
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Felix fixes his grip on his sword, tenses is muscles as if ready to strike, but then relaxes. His trust in Victor has gotten them this far. Despite having the face of the enemy, it seemed different this time. Choosing to trust Victor, Felix turns to tend any wounded soldiers who may still yet be alive.
For Clan Horgus, this is the sum of their existence: to raise their gods and to reignite the Dawn War. Dereth's aim is different. His goal is to recover the Daevasoul of Bahamut, which would give him all of the divine powers of the ancient Daevas. Valasae, the Daeva of Bahamut and Dereth's onetime lover, was sealed into the Threefold Land along with Irtheddonis during the final battles of the Dawn War. His designs after that point are less clear, although he has made allusions to building an army for what he has in mind: an army that includes his enemies as well as his allies.
Your most recent battles took you into the heart of Mount Kor Dal, where Dereth is enacting the ritual to bring back Irtheddonis. The cost has been high and includes the life of the dragon lord Khagdosmus, who challenged Dereth to single combat and lost due to the treachery of another dragon lord, Irthosisk. Your armies managed to push back the forces arrayed outside the mountain, however, and the fighting moved inside the volcanic mountain.
There, you found a temple made to the nascent goddess Shiver, one of Dereth's strongest allies. After a long battle, you managed to strike down the ritual and kill one of the body of Sillessa Kallios. Circle, the remnant of the lich Aggarethal, has possessed the body of the Lairess Kallios. Your battle revealed that the spirits of the twin goddesses were not in their bodies, however, meaning that Shiver is still at large in some form.
Lozhen pauses for a moment, assessing the energies in the room to attempt to answer Grath's question with more certainty:
A look of anxiety and disappointment crosses her face and she shakes her head sadly. She, too, is growing weary "I... don't think so. Not completely. I hope we've slowed them down a little... maybe. But there is still something...bad going on here."
Through the necromantic energy suffusing the site, you are able to feel the steady beat of Mount Kor Dal's volcanic heart as it thrums in time with the primordial ritual to reawaken Irtheddonis. The necromantic aura suffusing the temple of Shiver is different, likely a lingering corruption from the presence of the goddess. Left unchecked, such a strong desecration is likely to raise further undead over time.
Felix's search for survivors doesn't turn up anyone.
Circle stands up unsteadily in the pool of water and climbs out before looking at the party. "What should we do now?" she asks.
Grathurtorm draws in a loud breath. We kill a titan before it’s born again Grathurtorm starts to search the right corridors for a path deeper into the mountain, and deeper to the ritual.
And if there is relevant lore to where we would need to go.
"I think, first, we should try to collect ourselves as best as we can without wasting too much time."
Looking around the room, Victor notes that he, as well as the rest of the party, eager and driven as they may be, have been pushed to the breaking point.
"We've dealt Shiver a blow, although I'm not sure how much of one. We need to regroup while we can and follow up with the strongest options we have."
As Grathurtorm explores the remainder of Shiver's temple, he continues to find additional iconography worshipping the goddess including the motif of the two becoming one, casting off the mortal shell in exchange for unity and eternal life. He locates two additional passages out of the temple. One is not particularly noteworthy, but from the other he feels waves of heat unusual even within the volcanic mountain.
While historical records speak of Mount Kor Dal being a stronghold of Clan Horgus, he can't recall any that give details about its interior.
"I'm backing Felix up on that unusal passage. Any interesting markings around in that hall?"
As the party moves toward the heat-filled passage, the twinned motifs of the temple of Shiver give way to more traditional Clan Horgus architecture, almost as though the temple was inserted into an existing structure. The hallways are wide to allow the passage of giants and titan-sized statues are interspersed along the passageways. Nothing about the passageway helps to explain the increasingly hot temperatures.
After about a minute of travel, you see an area where a portion of the hallway has collapsed on the left-hand side, leaving a wide hole in the wall. The heat quickly intensifies as you move in that direction.
"It must have taken some considerable effort and time for Shiver's cult to have dug out that temple."
Victor turns to Circle and tries to ascertain her capabilities in the event of a fight.
"I understand if you're a little unsteady on your legs, as it were, but I don't think the trouble is over yet. We'll do our best to keep you safe, but we don't have the energy to protect you. Do you have any way of defending yourself?"
Lozhen's keen hearing picks up a sound in the distance. Indicating the direction with a wave of her hand, "I think there's something going on. Sounds like fighting!"
Circle looks at Victor unsteadily, "I'm not sure. There's so much I can't remember...I'll try to stay out of the fighting. If I do get in trouble, there are some things I can try."
Grathurtorm listens for the sounds that Lozhen described.
Hmmm, if there is fighting here that means one of two things: either allies have breached further than we have and we should hasten to their aid; or Clan Horgus’ alliance has crumbled and there is infighting. If so, I want to watch. Grathurtorm’s mouth widens into a toothy grin, and he clambers to the hole to investigate. It’s getting hot, hopefully everyone still has fire protection
Victor nods, after taking a moment to catch his breath,
"I agree. We have to finish what we came to do, and whatever is happening down there might provide us an opportunity to strike that we should not waste"
Siythe listens for the sounds as well
After hearing the sound of fighting Siythe tightens the grip on her glaive.
"Let's hope it's allies. Yes, I still have my fire protection from my armor."
At Grath's remark about fire protection, she looks momentarily distant and murmurs "Ifrit, old friend, I think this is where you come in."...
As you pass by the collapsed portion of the wall, you feel a tremendous wave of heat coming from the tunnel beyond. The tunnel is massive in size, and one of the giants from Clan Horgus would easily be able to pass through. It appears wholly unlike their architectural efforts, however. Instead the tunnel appears to have been melted from otherwise unworked stone. From where you are standing, the heat is immense and stifling. A bend in the tunnel prevents you from viewing its destination, but you can tell that a low source of red-tinged light is in that direction.
The heat rapidly decreases as you continue on toward the sound of battle. You find yourselves entering a vast cavern that is split in the center by a crevasse over which rises a bridge made of stone. On your side of the bridge, a large statue gives homage to a winged serpent. On the other side of the bridge, a group of alliance soldiers are battling against a Clan Horgus titan and his Malak minions. Zaar is among them, but despite his leadership the fighting has turned desperate.
Heroes win Initiative!
Victor looks to Felix, Grath, and Siythe after spotting Zaar and his forces on the other side of the chasm,
"You need to get over there and reinforce that squad! Help establish a front and Lozhen and I will come around over the bridge."
As he says this, a warm breeze begins to blow from the hall they came from. But, it was not the same hot, stifling air that they had felt just a minute ago, but an energizing gust that began to lift the party off the ground.
Area burst 3 within 10 squares: Each creature in the burst can fly 12 squares as an immediate reaction. Until the end of my next turn, each target can fly 12 squares as a move action
"Looks to me like that bridge may be rigged. Maybe we can find a way to use that to our advantage later. I think it'll hold our weight if we don't do any crazy jumping around on it, but I don't suggest anyone stand there longer than you need to." So saying, she floats forward on the wind provided by Victor's spell, firing a potshot from her staff at the Titan before her form dissolves into a firefly swarm.
thunder damage, target takes a penalty to attack rolls (6) until the end of my next turn.
As soon as his enemies are spotted, Grathurtorm's hammer is in his hand and he is ready to fight. Grathurtorm tries to take stock of the situation;
but Victor's response and spell is too quick and he is forced to improvise his attack. Riding the warm desert updraft he clears the chasm and lands next to Felix and the Titan.
Clan Horgus shall fall by my Maul! Learn to fear the might of Ugrimm's new dawn and it's warlord, Grathurtorm!
He raises his maul and strikes at the titan, a blow meant to hearten his allies and the soldiers who can see him.
As Zaar begins to charge towards the titan, he notices the others dropping down from above in front of him.
The dragonborn stops in his tracks, and a look of despair transforms into resolve on his blood-caked face.
With revived furor, the scaled beast lets out a bloodcurdling draconic scream as he prepares for the incoming onslaught.
The Horgus Flame giant before you shrugs off your small, weak attacks and shouts a triumphant cry, as he is energized by the presence of additional foes. He swings his sword in a huge arc at his enemies.
The Malak dwarves shift their ranks to meet the new foes attacking them as a clap of thunder rolls through their ranks.
The thumping from the north grows louder as two frost giants enter the chamber. They are dragging large sacks behind them in one hand and carry a boulder in the other.
The allied soldiers are heartened by the appearance of additional allies, but their unit commanders shout for them to repel the frost giants: the boulders they carry would do great damage to their formation.
NE Malak Swarm damage taken: 32
SW Malak Swarm damage taken: 0
N Frost Avalanche damage taken: 0
S Frost Avalanche damage taken: 10
As the battle rages on, you notice arcane energy beginning to build up around the statue to the west as it crackles with electricity.
Coming up behind the monster, Lozhen conjures a swarm of fierce biting insects in the space between the titan and his nearest ally. The damage may be minimal, but the distraction, she hopes, could provide the boost her friends need.
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No longer the sole person near the big fiend, Felix is going to shift stances, and deliver a heavy attack.
Melee Basic Attack Roll:
Melee Basic Damage Roll:
Turn Breakdown:
Move: None.
Minor: Change to Unfettered Fury Stance (-2 to hit, +8 damage)
Standard: Melee Basic with Power Attack (-2 to hit, +9 damage)
Strength of Ten, Close Blast 3:
Attack Damage:
Victor finishes closing the gap between himself and Zaar, letting loose with two rapid waves of flame before alighting next to one of the enemy squads pinning the dragonborn down.
"It's been awhile since I've seen you in a real fight, my friend! I hope you haven't lost your edge!" Victor chimes in as the flames subside, showing a grin so subtle it would be easy to miss.
ACTIONS:
MOVE: Still have move 12, landed at end of turn
STANDARD Burning Spray (vs reflex)
MINOR Burning Spray (vs reflex) (once per encounter, Quickened Spellcasting feat)
Out of the corner of his eye, Zaar senses movement from one of the swarms. He instinctively swings down the battleaxe in retaliation.
After hearing Victor's voice, the towering dragonborn quickly slices through another acting swarm, shouting back, "Well, if I've lost that edge, I'm sure you're reforge me in fire soon enough!"