HFM 2:
The big bulls with the glowing red eyes tried to hit Karas as he moved past Ellena, but he was too quick and his armor too tough even for their greataxe blades. The first half-fiend minotaur was completely surprised by the ferocity of Karas' attacks, even though the first swing of his claw missed. The second and third claw attacks ripped it open and it crumpled to the ground, its greataxe clattering on the stones. The second minotaur survived Karas' bites and claws but just barely.
HFM2:
SV:
Wasp:
All are blinded for 4 turns and take 12 damage.
SV: vs Karas AC 26
Wasp: vs. Karas AC 26
HFM2: vs. Karas AC 26
Babau:
vs Avelina AC 21
vs. Ellena AC 27
Avelina's powerful presence and threats affected Staunton, who looked shaken by her words.
Then came her awesome flash of energy. It enveloped Staunton and his giant wasp mount plus both minotaurs. They emerged as the light receeded, singed and smoking, and apparently blinded.
The enemies press attacks against Karas, but without sight, they flailed about harmlessly.
Somehow, Staunton or one of the other enemies managed to summon a demon into the adjacent room, a babau, which tried to bite Avelina and to stab Ellena with its longspear. The bite did not even muss Avelina's hair, but the spear stabbed into Ellena's back.
Anarya (MCAE, Veil of Heaven, Corruption Resistance, Daylight, foretell)
Round 5
Tauni (MCAE, sickened 2 of 4 rounds)
Raine (MCAE, gravity bow, foretell)
JV (Copycat, 5 lethal)
Karas (shield, AC 26, foretell 8 lethal)(heals 1)
Avelina (MCAE, Heroism, false life, foretell)
SV: (Protection from Good, shaken 3/4, blinded 3/4, 12 lethal)
Wasp: (12 lethal, blinded 3/4)
Babau
M2: (smite good on Ellena, 53 lethal, blind 3/4)
M1: (Smite good on Ellena, 81 lethal, dead)
Elena couldn’t hand out damage like Karas, but she could stand there and help him against the legion of demons. She only was able to reach the wasp, but that was enough. She sliced twice with Radiance.
Attack with mythic power attack
Damage
Iterative attack
Damage
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The sting of the demon's spear in Ellena's back lessened immediately, as Anarya took some of that pain into herself.
With a commanding gesture, she sent the chain of perdition clinking through the air towards the form of Joran Vhane. The golden manacles whirled towards the dwarf, attempting to restrain him.
(Entangle)
"Now, champions! Iomedae is with us! Feel the might of justice flow through you!" Anarya cried, as she lent mighty strength to her companions. Their muscles surged with power, their minds found preternatural clarity and focus, allowing each to channel the bestowed energy however they saw fit.
Karas:
Everyone:
Current combat:
Tauni heard the buzzing of the wings from beyond the door, and grew concerned about a foe attacking from afar. She began a basic spell to give Ellena a much longer reach.
Ellena cut into the giant fiendish wasp mount with her first attack. The second barely missed the blinded bug.
Anarya's magical chain of force wraps around Johan. Her spell bolsters everyone's fighting abilities as the tide of the battle turns.
Tauni begins a spell that will turn the paladin into a giant.
Raine smirks grimly at the site of her allies' spells and weapons finding their mark- then blinked as a new demon entered the fray. "Okay, I can work with that," she drawled, and took a short adjusting step, to be out of the reach of its spear, before peppering the babau with arrows.
Arrows of Nexavaran steel streaked towards the babau. Any extra arrows, well-- Raine wheeled to get the dwarf, Jorah in her sights. "You're next!"
Raine's first four arrows punctured one of her favorite enemies and sent him back to the Abyss. When she turned to attack Joran, her first arrow seemed to hit, but it struck the illusory copy of himself and it winked out, leaving just Joran without the benefit of his copycat self. The second arrow struck the edge of the table he was standing behind and did not hit him.
Joran shuffled closer, bound as he was by the magic chains of force. The concentrated and a shadow spread from him outward 30 feet, filling Raine, Avelina, Anarya, and Ellena with negative energy. The desecrate spell that was cast on the area hindered their ability to resist the damaging energy.
"Owrrr!!" Raine snarled as the pain hit.
Fort save with Foretell and MCAE
Save vs. channel energey, Will
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The Fervor flowed into the draconic tiefling and he unleashed his rage on the enemies ahead of him.
Staunton, already shaken and blinded, could only imagine what Karas was doing to his line of defense. He had witnessed how quickly the silver tielfing had eviscerated one of his minotaur henchmen and badly wounded the other. He could only imagine the way Karas finished off the remaining half-fiend as he heard another thud of something heavy hitting the ground. Then his fiendish giant wasp crashed into the ground, forcing him to find his feet. Then the dragon-like silver claws began to cut into his own chest and stomach. He survived, but knew he was doomed.
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Avelina was not expecting the sudden blast of negative energy and was thus unready to steel herself versus its power. She made an imperious "hmph" and then drew her arm back to fire a Volley of Holy Arrows at the offending cleric.
"Your power is nothing compared to that of The Inheritor! See how quickly battle has turned against you when faced with Her Champions."
Joran's negative energy chewed through the protection provided by Avelina's magic and then burned through her in a painful flash.
Avelina gave better than she got from Joran however, her own magic flying at him in glowing force arrows. But he was not defeated, yet.
Avelina's words got through to the usually stalwart dwarf, whose faith in his deity was already faltering. He looked miserable.
DC 19 will save for half damage.
Staunton sensed the end was near. Blinded, wounded, facing powerful enemies; he knew could only survive by surrendering and hoping the virtues the crusaders claimed to revere would move them to treat him with mercy and give him a chance to redeem himself. But he knew in his heart, what was left of it, that he could not face such a fate.
So he opened himself to the negative energies that gave him his power and channeled it out, knowing it would wash over his enemies and do them some small amount of harm before they ended his life. The darkness disgorged from him and spread over the area, covering all the crusaders.
Will with Foretell and MCAE
Elena snarled as she shook off the worst effects of the negative enemy through the boosts of her friends. ”Togehter we crusaders have the ability to defeat evil such as yours. Iomedae’ hand guides us,” she calls out as she moves forward and chops at the dwarf.
Attack with mythic power attack
Damage
Iterative attack
Damage
Anarya
Avelina
Raine
Tauni
Ellena's sword of light clanged against Staunton's armor and shield.
"I told you you were next," Raine said flatly, and started a rain of brutal arrows into the traitorous dwarf.
DC 23 concentration check
Despite the wave of pain washing over Tauni, she managed to finish her spell, allowing Ellena to grow to the size of an ogre.
She moved forward to get a better view of where the negative energy came. When she could see him, she casts a spell at him.
Move to E8, cast ray of frost at the dwarf.
Ranged touch attach to hit . damage
Despite the wall that gave Raine only a narrow view of her quarry, two of her five arrows found their mark in Joran.
Tauni's spell came to effect, enlarging Ellena. She followed up with a ray of frost that nipped into Staunton and turned a spot on him frosty.
Ret con: Ellena and Karas discovered, when the got within ten feet of the antipaladin champion that the power of his evil affected their courage and tested the power of their goodness to protect them.
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As the wave of foul darkness fell over the party, Anarya raised her hands and pushed back against it. The others felt the vile power wash over them, but Anarya's lifeforce shielded them from the worst of it - the radiant young woman taking their suffering upon herself.
Anarya followed the wave of darkness with a wave of light which streamed through the chamber - demonstrating to the foul denizens of the Abyss that the light was stronger. Though Staunton's eyes may have been blind, Anarya made sure he felt its power as once again the dwarf burst into flames at the touch of her healing light.
Across the chamber, Anarya's golden chains attempt to force Jhoran to his knees and restrain him there.
Karas:
Everyone:
Current combat:
Staunton:
DC 18
Joran:
DC 19
Anarya's light pushes back over Staunton and when it clears, Staunton is closer to death while all the heroes of the crusade are healed except for a few minor abrasions and bruises to Anarya.
Joran topples to the floor, but manages to cast a spell that dispels the chains binding him. He stands again and puts a hand on the door next to him.
Karas felt the wrongness in the air coming from the dwarf. His senses heightened and sharpened by the blood. He could barely stand it.
He turned on the corrupt thing in his frenzy and lashed out to rip the dwarf to ribbons.
Karas first claw raked harmlessly against Staunton's armor. His second found a weak spot and nearly killed him. His next claw attack took the evil dwarf down, and his next made sure he never rose again.
Of all the fierce opponents that stood against them, only the badly wounded cleric, Joran Vhane remained.
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Avelina maintained her archery stance, her mimed bow trained on Joran. ”I pity you, Joran. Go to the Boneyard knowing that Good has triumphed over Evil, and that all your works were in vain.” She loosed a last volley of missiles upon the last standing foe.
She let out a girlish laugh. ”Oh I made a pun! ‘Vain’ like ‘Vhane.’ Oh I should have done more with that. Oh well.”
Joran's face seems to lose all color as the force missiles pummel him. He drops to his knees, casting his hammer away and out of reach. "Do not kill me! Please! I beg you! Spare me!"
He continues, but his words lose all energy and he falls into mumbling as he wrings his hands and stares at the ground in shame.
Treasure found in F18: The liquor cabinets in the area near where Joran ended up were stocked with a particularly potent dwarven ale—each of the 20 bottles
was worth 150 gp.
The room where Staunton fell appeared to be his chambers. This spacious bedroom was immaculate to the point of spotlessness.
The bed sheets were tight against the mattress, and no splinters marred the floor near the well-used sparring dummy in one corner, despite its obvious heavy use. An inkwell, a blotter, and a black quill sat atop an otherwise bare desk, with a three-legged stool pushed out of the way underneath. A single large chest sat at the foot of the bed.
The contents of the locked chest consisted of treasure Staunton’s gathered over the last year, and included 633 cp, 1,427 sp, 5,786 gp, 376 pp, nine garnets worth 100 gp each, a pearl of power (2nd level), a rod of metal and mineral detection, a scroll of divination, a set of stone-carved dwarven figurines worth 600 gp, an expensive pair of vases worth 250 gp each, a silver coffer worth 350 gp, an elixir of climbing, a potion of neutralize poison, a wand of nondetection (23 charges remaining), a dose of oil of life crafted from a cure serious wounds potion and the quicksilver from a philosopher’s stone. Despite these incredible treasures, the most valuable object in the chest may well be Staunton’s journal.
The journal will provide valuable historical information about the fall of Drezen. To this day, scholars still debate the identity of the person responsible for the city’s loss, and this journal finally provides definitive proof.
Other notes of interest include the following.
• A list of dozens of sacred and holy weapons and armor he and his brother have successfully tainted through the use of something called the Corruption Forge located below the castle.
• A description of the Sword of Valor, including Staunton’s frustration over Aponavicius’s desire to keep it as a mere trophy and not to attempt the banner’s corruption.
• Several detailed pages of how he hopes to someday torture Irabeth for “ruining nearly everything” when she confronted him almost a year ago in Kenabres.
• Notes on the shadow demon Eustoyriax, an unusually powerful shadow demon who came to Drezen a few weeks after Staunton fled here from Kenabres. The shadow demon arrived in the possessed body of a crusader named Maranse (a man the diary records as now being long dead after having been turned over to the succubus Kiranda) , and bore gifts from a place called the Ivory Sanctum—five elixirs of distilled power brewed from powdered Nahyndrian crystal. The notes explain how Staunton volunteered to take one of the elixirs to test its strength before Aponavicius used one, and of the powers the elixir unlocked in him . The notes go on to describe the grisly deaths the elixirs inflicted on the dragon and xacarba servants Aponavicius tested them on, and that only the chimera Soltengrebbe survived the transformation. The notes conclude by revealing that the shadow demon Eustoyriax remains here in a chamber below the citadel, where Aponavicius has placed him in charge of protecting the Sword of Valor.
• The Ivory Sanctum is the central stronghold of the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth in the Worldwound, a fortress led by a man named Xanthir Vang who also happens to be the regional leader of the Blackflame Adepts. Staunton records his sole meeting with Xanthir Vang, and indicates he would rather not meet him again—apparently something about the man particularly revolted the antipaladin.
• Finally, Staunton mentions a special prisoner who’s been kept in the Drezen dungeons—a succubus by the name of Aureshalae who was captured by Aponavicius. Staunton knows the succubus is some sort of Abyssal heretic and that the marilith wanted her kept prisoner until a special oubliette in the Rasping Rifts on the Abyss was ready for her. The fact that the succubus escaped not long after Aponavicius left Drezen in Staunton’s hands is a major point of worry for the dwarf. He’s sent several minions out into the Worldwound to track her, noting that her loss of certain demonic abilities is the one saving grace and hoping her inability to teleport or become ethereal will allow his agents to find her and return her to Drezen before Aponavicius finds out she’s managed to flee into the wilds of the Wounded Lands. The final note in the diary talks of how he hired an annis hag cultist of Sifkesh to track her down as well, and that if this final attempt fails, he intends to seek out Arueshalae himself once “this matter with the so-called heroes of Kenabres is settled.”
Once the heroes of Kenabres recover from their fight with Staunton, they can question Jhoran. He is cooperative and tells what he knows without appearing to attempt to lie. He has been troubled by the defeat of the forces of the Worldwound and has been losing his faith in Droskar. He has been studying the texts of his religion non-stop, casting lessor restoration spells to keep fatigue at bay.
He confirmed that the Sword of Valor was kept in the dungeons below. He knew of areas that lay in the dungeons below, up to a point, and described what he knew about the creatures that guarded the first ten rooms or so. He knew that the Sword of Valor was kept somewhere deeper in the dungeon beyond the areas he’s visited. He knew that one of the citadel’s most important prisoners—a succubus named Arueshalae—recently escaped, and that Staunton was so furious at her escape he had the two kalavakus demons who were guarding her executed, but he was not sure why the prisoner was so important (although he'd heard rumors that she was a traitor to the Abyss, Joran didn’t really know what that meant and didn’t really believe it was possible for a demon to turn her back on her nature).
He also described working on corrupting various good aligned magic items using something called the corruption forge, which was in the areas below that he had worked.
The maps on the walls around the area where Joran was studying his religious texts showed planned invasion routes used by the demons to cross into Mendev, Numeria, and Ustalav—these were all quite out of date, but they were still quite valuable to the crusaders as historical documents that provided insights into the tactical mind of a demonic warlord.
Anarya:
Avelina:
Ellena:
Karas:
Raine:
Tauni:
By going through a garrison and ascending steps, entry was gained to the base of a tower. The outer ring contained disused siege engines. A chamber at the center of this level was furnished as a study and a bedroom, but it looked as if the room’s inhabitant left the area quickly and recently. Scraps of parchment, notes in some books that had fallen behind a bookshelf, and other clues suggested that the room was once the home of a powerful priestess of Deskari, and that she had relocated somewhere under the citadel and hoped to bring the entire city down into rubble using some sort of ritual.
Further exploration revealed a stairway leading to higher levels of the tower. An open-air terrace looked out from the northwest side of the citadel, its interior shattered and broken. A pile of treasure lay gathered in the southeast corner, while a narrow band of stairs was half-seen just above the nearby rubble choking its entrance. The mythic chimera Soltengrebbe used this broken tower as an aerie and nest.
Ascending to the top of the tower revealed that the tower’s open rooftop seemed to have once featured a goldand-ivory inlay of a conjuration circle, but only the faintest remnants of the magic circle are visible today.
Ellena followed the others as they secured the upper level and catalogued the impressive array of magical items they had found. As they described the journal and map findings to her, the paladin set her jaw. ”Id say we rest one evening to allow everyone to refresh their spells, and then we delve into the deeper dungeon. It sounds like we may wait too long as their evil plan might come to pass. I have no doubt the Inheritor will guide the way forward for us!”
Raine exhaled with relief as the battle closed. She stretched and wiggled her fingers, and then her whole arm, as the tension of drawing a bowstring what felt like dozens of times in less than a minute risked causing a cramp.
"That was good work, everyone. I agree with Ellena-- catch our breaths, for those of ya that need it. Me, I'm not yet out of arrows," she cracked with a small smile.
"Anyone mind I grab these arrows?" she said, crouched in the massed treasure. "Quiver's handy too. Bloody nice armor if I were the sort to go in for clankin' around in steel."
Raine grabbed a handful of gold coins and let the wealth roll through her fingers, shaking her head a little.
" 's strange. Never thought I'd see all this in one place like this. A king's ransom, back in the normal days, eh? And yet it's all tainted, with the deaths of all the good folk this was likely stolen from. Ripped from their corpses. All of... this..." and Raine kicked at the pile of coins, sending wealth rattling around the chamber, "...it doesn't bring back the defenders of Kenabres."
Still, she wordlessly slid the arrows into her quiver.
Despite the assurance the paladins could hold the night shift down, Raine still took a customary shift. "Just don't feel right to sleep all through, with the uglies waiting. 'Sides, some of them might could teleport, right?"
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Anarya runs her hand over the ghost touch armor recovered from the chimera's hoard. The armor takes on a golden sheen where her fingertips brush the surface, fading after a moment like breath on a mirror. "This armor seems like it would suit me - especially as the armor I wear now isn't yet enchanted." She regards the armor for a moment. "I wonder what warrior wore this to battle the chimera, hoping it would protect them. I hope it protects one of us better."
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Avelina found a seat and placed herself gently down on it, crossing her legs and looking herself over for any injuries or blemishes to clean. ”With the loss of Joran and Staunton, the enemy will be reeling. We must not let them have too much chance to regroup. The Inheritor is With Us, and She will keep us safe.”
As time allows, Tauni examined each item, describing the arcane auras around each as she went. When she came to the books, she started thumbing through one. Then reading passages. Before long, she was seated cross-legged with a ring of books and scrolls around her as she got absorbed in the content.
Having told the story of how the heroes defeated Staunton Vhane and his brother and the other defenders of the Drezen Citadel, the community took a break for a shared meal of celebration. After enjoying the potlatch ceremony to celebrate the milestone of the heroes of old, the older folks chatted in comfort while children raced around playing as if they are heroes fighting demons and monsters.
The next day, after enjoying leftovers from the feast, the community gathered around the storyteller to hear him begin the next part of the story.
"When the dwarves built the citadel, they planned to tunnel under the fortress, for dwarves are ever more comfortable underground than above it. But they never had the chance. After the they captured the citadel, the demons themselves dug below the massive structure to create spaces for special rituals and to forge new weapons. They also had a special forge that would take the holy weapons and armor of the crusaders and corrupt their magic so they would serve the side of evil rather than of good. This is where they stored the Sword of Valor, the holy relic that had helped the crusaders hold the fort until Staunton removed it. But they had it protected with traps and monsters.
"The only way into the dungeons was down a long stairway that descended 40 feet below the citadel. Along the walls were carvings of demons and twisting strings of runes. Although demons can see in the dark, many who served the cause of evil could not. So the way was lit with dim light from patches of pulsating, luminescent red lichen brought from the heart of the Worldwound, growing in patches along the walls and ceiling.
"After resting and recovering, the heroes gathered at the stairway and began the descent into the dungeon. With each step the atmosphere soured like milk left in the hot sun. The air smelled foul, like sulfur and rot. They heard faint sounds like whispering voices, never loud enough to understand individual words. These voices made it hard to concentrate and infected each who heard with doubt and fear that had to be consciously mastered. All of the dungeons affected those of good and lawful intent as if they were in another plane where evil and chaos reigned and where goodness and order could not abide for long.
"Thus begins the next chapter of the great story."
Abyssal Infusion: The dungeon is strongly chaostic- and evil-aligned; lawful and good spells and spell-like abilities are impeded. On planes that are strongly aligned, a –2 circumstance penalty applies on all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based checks made by all creatures not of the plane’s alignment. The penalties for the moral and ethical components of the alignment trait stack.
• Unhallowed: An unhallow effect (CL 20th) suffuses the dungeon. A dimensional anchor is tied to it that affects all creatures save for chaotic evil worshipers of Deskari.
This includes the effect of a magic circle against good effect. All creatures within the area gain the effects of a protection from good spell, and good summoned creatures cannot enter the area either. Protection from Good effects: all in the area gain a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by good creatures. All in the area are immune to all attempts to any attempts to possess or exercise mental control over the target, (including enchantment [charm] effects and enchantment [compulsion] effects, such as charm person, command, and dominate person).
• Whispers of Madness: Demonic spirits haunt the walls of the dungeon, and while their constant whispering never becomes loud enough to allow intelligible speech to be heard, the constant susurrus grates on the mind. At the start of every hour spent in the dungeon, non-chaotic-evil creatures must succeed at a DC 14 Will save to resist taking 2 points of Charisma damage as the whispering slowly drives them mad—a creature that takes an amount of Charisma damage equal to its Charisma score becomes afflicted by a random insanity (GameMastery Guide 250). This is a mindaffecting sonic effect.
Karas reeled at the taste of the corrupted dwarf's flesh but the rage made sure the vile being stayed down. Blood dulling the silver sheen of his scales, he stepped back out into the main room as the other dwarf surrendered. Seeing red he tok a step before his love's light struck the rage from his vision and he could think clearly again. His formed shifted back and he breathed heavily as he eyed the living dwarf.
Once they had secured him and took cleared the treasure from the rest of the keep, he was kept from sleep by Raine's words and stepped out into the night to watch with her. He followed her wordlessly for almost an hour before finally piping up.
"Coin can never bring back lives." He looked out into the distance as images of Her played in his mind. "but, it can make the lives of survivors easier maybe."
He breathed a heavy sigh and looked back to the camp of crusaders, "You think about what happens when were done with this quest? I mean, if were not dead anyway."
”Ive never thought that long about what happens after. Assuming we succeed, I figure the Inheritor will need our help in other ways. There’s always more demons and devils that need slaying,” the paladin declares. .
"Rebuild Kenabres," Raine said laconically to the question. Then took a breath and elaborated a bit.
"Whole city's gonna need a lot of effort to get it back to right. The demons are cleared but a lot of the actual buildings... the streets... that'll be good work, though. Won't mind doing that."
A brief smirk at Ellena's answer, and a nod. "Yeah, if monsters need my arrows, that's fine too. But I'd like... I'd like ta build stuff. Someday.
"How about you, Karas?"
*
At the mouth of the stairs leading down, Raine's nose wrinkled. "Smells like Asmodeus's b%$&%@!@ down there. Not that'd I'd personally know. It just feels... wrong. Anyone hear all those-- those little-- voices? Or is that just me? C'n we do anything about that?"