Meyanda is caught off-guard by the gravity bomb and the detonation leaves her seriously shaken. She slowly gets her wits back, only to discover that she's trapped in a ball of force. With an inchoate cry that is blocked by the force bubble, she smashes at the barrier with her greatsword.
Fifteen too is caught in the blast and imprisoned, although the Overlord promptly starts trying to break her out again! Unable to do much she simply waits, blades ready, for the inevitable moment when the inadvertent shield falls.
Fireday manages to dodge the blast, despite his power-armor's bulk, and makes the sign of the sword.
"For Victory, For the Heart," he says. Not a bold declaration, just a reminder, to himself and the others, that Iomedae was on their side.
He chants to call on Iomedae's righteous might to even the odds between him and the Overlord, as he grows in size and strength!
"There's only one person Molly Fairlocks submits to and you're not her," Molly declares before it all turns sideways.
The explosion blasts her back a ways, but she manages to avoid being trapped. Spectral wings of light sprout from her concealed armor and the halfling rises into the air, taking careful aim with her musket.
Only Fireday and Molly escape the force bubble before it closes around them. As the warpriest uses his magic to swell in size, Molly takes to the air and fires on the Overlord, damaging the force field that surrounds it.
The force field starts to repair itself as it fires its laser rifle at Molly. She absorbs the hit harmlessly thanks to Holg's resistance spell. It swings its axe at Fireday, slicing him several times.
Holg looks worried at the overlord disemboweling Fireday "You can hold this and more my friend, trust your heart, is the moment of faith and greatness"
While he waits trapped inside the force sphere, he lets Gorum heal his champion.
Fifteen has nothing useful to say or do, so she simply continues to wait, quietly glad that Molly has moved out of range. The robot is so much bigger than her.
Hovering in the air like a miniature angel - an angel in drab browns and grays - Molly rains magical bullets down on the huge robot.
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Fireday grits his teeth as he grapples with the metal beast. He takes one hand off his weapon and lays his hand on himself.
"INHERITOR! I CALL ON YOU TO KEEP MY BODY HALE AND STRONG IN THE FACE OF THIS EVIL!"
Then he grips his weapon again and strikes at the Overlord!
Fireday manages to land one hit on the Overlord, but Molly fares better, punching four sparking holes in its chassis with her bullets!
Deciding to ignore the fully healed Fireday for now, the Overlord rockets up into the air on hidden thrusters along its chassis! It swings its axe in a deadly arc towards Molly's neck!
The force bubbles surrounding most of the party flicker and fade, freeing them to engage the robot directly!
"Holg, get me up there!" Fifteen says, her voice cool but with an unusual tone underneath it. "I must help her!"
While the axe misses her neck by a whisper, the damage it does to her shoulder isn't insignificant and blood splatters down towards the ground in a grisly shower. Ignoring the searing pain, Molly continues to fire as she hovers just a bit back from the now-flying robot.
Holg scowls as the halfling is bashed with the axe "I cannot help you there Fireday, but I can go myself!"
As the sphere of force breaks, Holg rushes up air walking to Molly's position while he casts heal on her.
With Holg unable to assist Fifteen pulls out her pistol and starts firing careful shots at joints and other vulnerable areas.
"You have to stay alive Molly." She calls. "Or I will be very upset."
"*I* AM YOUR OPPONENT HERE! FIGHT WITH HONOR AND DO *NOT* TURN AWAY!" Fireday roars as he punishes the Overlord's divided attention with an attack!
Then he follows it up by belaboring with even more strikes!
"You have to stay alive Molly." She calls. "Or I will be very upset."
"Doing m' best, Love," Molly calls back.
Unable to reach the flying robot, Meyanda enacts a prayer to Gorum, blessing the group with luck. Holg air walks up to Molly to heal the halfling as she continues to unload bullets into the Overlord. Fifteen scores two hits with her laser rifle, while Fireday's attacks don't quite get through the robot's armor.
The Overlord attacks Molly again, slicing her three times with its axe. It fires another gravity bomb from its eye, striking Fifteen and Meyanda.
"Shot from behind me Molly!" Holg shouts while saying the words for a new spell. His hand is covered with a green miasma of energy he shots to any easily exposed area of the Overlord.
"Keep shooting I will hold him entertained!" the Kellid then steps forward in front of the halfling, entering a rage and raising his greatsword to protect Molly with a guarded stance and perfect style "Come to me Unity!!!"
"I don't care much about him being entertained as long as he ain't swinging that fecking axe at me!" the halfling snaps as the healing Holg has just done is mostly undone by said weapon. She pulls back another five feet as the cleric inserts himself between her and the giant robot.
Having learned from previous experience Fifteen dances out of the way of the Overlord's gravity bomb and and continues firing at it.
The Overlord robot resists most of Holg's disintegrate spell, but between three more laser blasts from Fifteen and even more bullets from Molly, the robot finally falls, crashing to the floor. *Submit--BZZT! S-s-sub...mit...* it sputters before the light goes out of its eye.
"Well done!" Casandalee chimes in from within her computer screen. "Unity will be severely hampered now. If your resources are drained, I would suggest you rest and heal. When you are ready, you should head to the astrogation deck so that you can access the computer core to destroy Unity once and for all!"
Fifteen is waiting with arms outstretched when Molly descends from on high. She gathers her wife into her embrace, not bothering for once to bend over and have the embrace at Molly's height.
"I was worried for you." She says softly.
Holg releases his rage once the robot gets broken. Lowering his arms, he breathes relieved "Good fight Overlord. Our Lord in Iron is pleased"
The gorumite raises his symbol and uses his last channel to help the party.
Then, he puts his hand on Molly's head "If we are going to rest, then let me treat that paleness..." and casts restoration on the halfling.
He further heals Molly.
"So... how about getting out of this place as Casandalee suggest?" Holg taps his belly "A last dinner before we fight the Big Fake Iron God"
Fireday lets out a cheer as the metal monster collapses.
"Shouldn't we just make camp here in the ruin? Returning to the surface may give Unity more time to try and recover from the blow we've dealt it."
Molly melts into her wife's arms as the celestial wings vanish."Yeah, I could do with a bit of a rest," she says in a soft voice, resting her head against Fifteen's shoulder.
"Not going to lie, was a bit worried m'self," she whispers. "You can only push the luck'o the folk so far before it bites you in the arse."
"We are resting." Fifteen says in a voice that brokes no disagreement. "We could fall back to the command center and secure ourselves there. It would be the safest option."
She carries Molly as far as she can without uttering, or allowing, a word of protest.
The command center proves a safe place to rest, with Unity's influence diminished so much. You awaken feeling refreshed and more powerful than ever, ready to put an end to things once and for all...
Holg observes how caring Fifteen carries Molly to where she can be attended. When he has tended all the injuries, he leaves the couple for their musings. It was a reverent moment for all of the Red Talons, to win the glory or to perish on the attempt.
The Kellid looked for his own quiet corner in the campsite, sorting all the stuff they have scavenged and throwing it into piles, sharing each part with each of the people in the group "Here you have all your parts of treasure. If I die, send my part to Viv in Torch. Just keep my sword and let it rest forever in Scrapwall, were we defeated the mighty Hellion"
The man, a true barbarian of the Numerian plains, takes sit then in another quiet place and stabs his greatsword in the center of a circle he draws with powdered silver. He places inside the valuable skymetal minerals from his part of the share. Then, he kneels before his blade, and looking down starts to recite prayers through the course of minutes "Our Lord in Iron, tomorrow will be our day of glory, I call your herald so you can witness the final defeat of the vile machine that dares call himself an Iron God. Accept this offering of metal and I promise you a fight like it has rarely been seen before. Together we will defeat the false god as we made with Hellion before!" as he completes the casting of greater planar ally, but trying to negotiate the appearance only when they fight Unity. Because one does not bother Gorum for anything other than a good fight, and Holg knows so.
After that, Holg attempts to have a good sleep, taking his part on the watch, of course, and wakes up the next morning as fresh as possible.
When everyone is up, the gorumite already has a heroes' breakfeast accompanied by good tears to wine "For everyone to celebrate the day of the final battle"
CL 17 (CL 18 with cold spells), Concentration +22 (+23 with cold spells)
Orisons (4)
light
divine guidance
mending
detect magic
Level 1 (7/day + 1 pearl of power)
true strike - D
3x shield of faith
remove fear
remove sickness
sun metal
blessing bead (CL 1) - bless
Level 2 (6/day + 1 pearl of power)
spiritual weapon - D
align weapon
martyr's bargain
supress charms and compulsions
surmount affliction
* tears to wine (10 min/level, +10 Int/Wis skill checks)
staff - lesser restoration (1 charge)
Level 3 (6/day)
* magic vestment - D (+4)
2x resist energy communal (10 min/level)
dispel magic
invisibility purge
lead blades
healing bead (CL 5) - cure serious wounds, remove blindness/deafness, or remove disease
staff - cure serious wounds (1 charge), remove blindness/deafness (2 charges), remove disease (3 charges)
Level 4 (6/day)
divine power (+5)
protection from energy, communal
blessing of fervor
freedom of movement (10 min/level)
* greater magic weapon (+4)
restoration
Level 5 (6/day)
flame strike
air walk, communal (10 min/level)
breath of life
life bubble
true seeing
plane shift
Level 6 (5/day)
blade barrier (Ref 21)
2x heal
* heroes’ feast
greater dispel magic
Level 7 (4/day)
disintegrate (Fort 22)
particulate form
resurrection
waves of ecstasy (Will 22)
Level 8 (3/day)
earthquake
frightful aspect
holy aura
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Fireday shakes his head at Holg's words.
"You won't die, Holg. You're easily the most powerful one in the group, and we'll survive so you can plant the sword in Scrapwall yourself. Then we'll forge a new one for you, even better, out of Unity's metal carcass!"
He claps him on the shoulder.
"Thank you, for being my friend all this time. We may have very different faiths, but we've been brothers in battle through it all."
His prayers are much quieter and simpler than Holg's grand ritual, as Iomedae really only granted him the blessings he needed for battle and little else, but he does cast a divination spell, asking the Inheritor to advise him for the battle to come.
After resting and joining in the breakfast the next day, he dons the powered armor and makes the sign of the sword before giving the group a thumb's up.
"All I ask is that we don't march into Unity's presence immediately. I have some spells that will need time to cast before battle is joined, so I can focus on the actual fight."
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A dystheist at her core Fifteen spends the night the only way she wishes to, holding Molly. The two speak deep into the night about very little, speculating whether Val has finally been asked out by Danton from Torch's village store, about friends from their previous journeys and laughing together at stories of their old exploits.
Finally, as they settle down for the night, Fifteen speaks quietly for her wife's ears alone.
"I don't know what will happen when we face Unity, Molly. It is my creator and I worry there might be something inside me which lets it command me still. I just want you to know that I love you. No matter what happens tomorrow, and if I don't survive then my love will follow you until the stars themselves fall from the sky."
Molly's worship, for it can be called nothing else, is directed entirely towards her wife. In every touch. Every gaze. Every spoken and unspoken word.
"I don't know what will happen when we face Unity, Molly. It is my creator and I worry there might be something inside me which lets it command me still. I just want you to know that I love you. No matter what happens tomorrow, and if I don't survive then my love will follow you until the stars themselves fall from the sky."
Their soft conversation is elevated in volume with the small woman's voice.
"Don't you start talking like that!" she declares, her ire clear. "You are not going to die, damn you! You and me will live through this 'cause I'll not have it any other way!" The halfling sits up, uncaring that she's drawn everyone else's attention. "If you have the nerve to die on me, love of m' heart, I'll never forgive you. So stop that s&%%e right now!"
Fifteen doesn't say anything, she just pulls Molly to her and holds her tight.
Holg smiles and responds Fireday's clasp by holding him strongly through the shoulders "Indeed my friend! We are brothers in blades and what can be more perfect than such a camaraderie!" the Kellid pushes the wine skin to the android's chest "Take, let's have a drink together to celebrate and remember this moment of unconscious bravery!"
The man sees Fifteen and Molly are occupied enough one with another, but he extends the invitation to Meyanda "Came, sister in arms and faith, let's prepare for the battle ahead"
As Fireday, Holg will also like to use the blessings of Gorum over the party, casting before entering the core life bubble to protect the party from gasses, communal resist energy twice to protect them from cold and electricity, communal protection from energy to protect them from fire, and communal air walk to make sure everyone can take to the air and fight. Finally, he casts shield of faith and freedom of movement and extended lead blades on himself.
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When you are ready, you return to Divinity's bridge and take the lift down to the astrogation deck. Here, Divinity’s navigators not only charted unexplored space, but also processed the incredibly complex calculations needed to properly create wormholes though space with the Divinity Drive.
After making quick work of one more batch of gargoyles guarding the deck's entrance, you step forward into what Casandalee tells you is known as the star chamber. This room is a massive sphere nearly two hundred feet in diameter. A ten-foot-wide gantry extends out to a device-covered platform in the spherical chamber’s center. Glittering metal objects lie scattered across the chamber’s base far below, while sparkling galaxies hover in the air all around, along with several large and incredibly detailed planets, all slowly rotating around the room’s center point.
The planets depict Golarion's star system, and the representation of Golarion istelf has a point of light shining at the location of Silver Mount, from which a thread of light emerges to create a cage-like lattice surrounding the planet. This lattice is slowly twisting and growing more complex with time.
As you are getting your bearings, an enormous blue and yellow dragon rises up to perch on the central platform. This dragon twists and whips with near untraceable speed. Its horns, crests along its neck, and wings emit a glow like starlight. "Visitors. I am Becrux of the Stars. Why do you come to disrupt my work?"
"We have come to destroy Unity." Fifteen says simply. "We have no desire to disrupt your work."
Becrux sighs. "Now, why'd you have to go and say a thing like that? I'm working for Unity, so I suppose I have no choice now but to destroy you!"
Holg looks impressed at the planetarium and points to Golarion asking the dragon "What does that lattice enveloping everything mean?"
But quickly things switch to something more of the interest of the Kellid: fight!
"That is disappointing." Fifteen says, snapping off a burst of shots from her pistol. She learned her lesson about charging in alone against powerful enemies some time ago.
Meyanda wiggles her sword slightly on her shoulder and says, "You'd think at least one of these fools would try to talk their way out of trouble, but no. Well, more fun for us!"
Space seems to warp around the dragon as Fifteen opens fire on it, causing some of the laser blasts to miss. Those that do strike the creature do no harm to it, as it appears to be immune to fire!
"Fools," the dragon grumbles. She exhales a cone of burning flames upon you, though Holg's spell keeps you safe!
"That we may be, but fools can defeat a dragon just same," Molly declares before taking aim with her musket.
Fifteen is caught napping, or rather examining her pistol, as though surprised that it was so ineffective. Luckily the huge blast of fire gets her attention and she rushes forwards, drawing her blades as she goes.
Holg grimaces as he takes the blast at full. Fortunately, Gorum protects him and comes out of the breath unscathed and running in rage while drawing the dragon-bane greatsword and using his weapon mastery for an improved vital strike "Good Becrux of the Stars, let's see who deserves more to fight with Unity!!! Look at me Gorum! Uaaargh!!!"
Fireday, seeing danger readouts in his visor before the strange fire actually reaches them, has just enough time to dodge and minimize the damage.
"It's every Sword-Knight's dream to slay an evil dragon! INHERITOR! WITNESS ME!" he crows as he joins the others in charging through the air at Becrux.
Despite the entropic energy surrounding the dragon causing her bullets to veer slightly, Molly finds her mark on each attack, wounding Becrux. The dragon's armor and magical defenses ward off most of your blows, save for Fifteen's and Holg's. While Holg doesn't score a critical hit, the Gorumite's smite still leaves the dragon badly wounded!
Roaring in anger, the dragon focuses her wrath on Holg, quickening a haste spell and then laying into the cleric!
In position to do some real damage Fifteen lets loose.
She hits vital spots, repeatedly.
Fireday joins Fifteen in striking at the dragon!
While her wife is hitting the dragon's vulnerable spots, Molly is struggling to hit at all as the field of chaos surrounding the beast is turning aiming into a real challenge.
Holg is devastated by the dragon attacks, but rather than looking for protection, the Kellid seems enjoying as ever and emboldened despite all the blood around. He raises his blade using his weapon mastery and destructive smite again "Death or Glory Beacrux!"
Once again, you meet your opponent with overwhelming force. Despite the dragon's resilience, between Fifteen's devastating strikes to her vital spots, Fireday's jabs with his weapon, Molly's bullets, and a brutal, glorious blow from Holg, Becrux falls!
At the bottom of the star chamber, directly below the central platform, lies a sizable hoard of treasure. It contains 8,009 cp, 7,136 sp, 7,488 gp, 590 pp, 21 moonstones worth 20 gp each, powdered diamonds worth a total of 4,000 gp, a suit of armor of insults, a lantern of revealing, a ring of shooting stars, a wand of lightning bolt (35 charges), a rocket launcher, a red force field, nine gravity grenades, a prismatic access card that can be used to unlock the doors to area, and a currently empty portable hole.
Once you are ready to press on, you take the lift here down to the computer core...