Fear running through him, Nebbin feels his heart start to pound. The sudden realization of his powers lends him new strength, and the fear for himself turns to anger at the number of people these creatures have killed. Poor Saria, killed in their attack on the city, and of course Terendelev.
His heart continues to pound, lending unbelievable strength to his arms. He plants his feet and swings his hammer, trying to smash the demons into nothing more than rubble.
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (-2 to all when raging), DR: 1/-, Cold resist: 0
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1 (+2 Will when raging)
CMD 17
HP 34 (38 when raging)
Rage: 1/10
Effects: SUPER POWERED!
Thom is only a step behind Nebbin, crashing into the stonemason’s target with a vicious strike of his own … hoping to help the big man bring even a single babau down.
He roars a wordless, furious, desperate battle cry as the blade strikes home.
The demons leer menacingly at you until the first bite of Lucius' quarrel digs deep into flesh. The combined might of the new powers you are fueled by drop one of the babaus...the rest stare in stunned astonishment.
One by one they point in a wide circle and an unnatural and unholy darkness coils out from their palms, but the glow on your body pulsates in response and flashes once, twice, thrice, and the darkness retreats back into their grotesque appendages.
The demons chitter in confusion.
Downstairs you hear a sobbing.
Saoirse shifts her body into her accustomed fighting stance, though it looks different with a grace and lightness of step she didn't posses before. Saoirse's shield lies forgotten at her feet as she grips her sword two-handed. Saoirse dashes forward towards the monstrous Babaus fearlessly, intoning a prayer to Iomedae with a resonance that matches the swings of Radiance, leaving behind soft golden streaks of light behind each stroke.
The demons may be confused by their impotence, but that cannot last forever. <<Lord Asmodeus! Lend me your Might!>>, Lucius prays as he shoots another enchanted bolt, hoping that this blessing will last long enough to see them through.
Thom rides the torrent of fury, adrenaline, and wardstone-power ... like an implacable wave of righteous might washing towards the demons. He takes a step forward, continuing his roar as he reverses his blade's momentum into another vicious slash.
Lucius' bolt seems to fly wide at first, but is somehow nudged into a babau, causing it to scream wildly. Thom's fury leaves a hissing wound across the demon's chest while Saoirse steps in and buries Radiance into the thing's wicked heart...the longsword glows brightly for a moment and the babau disappears into floating ash.
The remaining four demons look confused and enraged, they weave a complicated gesture and four slits in reality open up. Six points of light flare from the walls where pieces of the wardstone embedded themselves, and the portals close with an audible snap.
Lucius reloads again, fury rising from within, emboldened by the shining aura. "Die, fiends! Flee back to the reeking pit that spawned you, or stand and perish!"
Nebbinn swings again, hammer slamming home with bone-jarring force as the strong power surges through his arms. He seems to have settled into a stance, hammering away as if the demons were the stone wall of a quarry and he were back on his job instead of in mortal combat.
Thom continues implacably forward, locking step with the wardstone-blessed quarryman beside him as he roars at the demons in their own tongue.
His own blade—becoming slick with dark demon blood—punctuates every shouted word with a violent song of its own.
Nebbin and Thom almost fell another of the creatures themselves!
Shifting Radiance higher, Saoirse sweeps downward from over her left shoulder as her voice carries her forward fearlessly into the next babau, "Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed are those who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter!" Not a trace of the youthful confidence Saoirse once spoke with, replaced entirely with conviction.
Pullback. Lock. Set the bolt. Aim. Fire.
Saoirse's swing splits the injured demon, the remaining start to show visible signs of fear.
The demons true to claw at you.
But their claws scrabble against the light surrounding you.
Lucius' bolt slams into a demon with resounding force.
Nebbin continues hammering.
"I think someone was crying below! There maybe more demons!"
”One demon horde at a time!” Thom rasps as he, too, continues his bloody work.
Yet another babau falls, inexplicably to them but clear as the light surrounding you to the group, and the last one trembles in fear. The eyes on the rancid face dart between each of you, as it tries to figure its next move.
Down below, a howl of terror comes ragged, the voice sounding familiar.
Saoirse turns towards the last remaining Babau as her grip on Radiance tightens, her voice echoing as Radiance suddenly flares up with white fire bathing the blade, "Back to the pits for you hellspawn!"
Her body rushing forward as Radiance slashes towards the Babau.
Lucius lowers his crossbow, confident that his allies can dispatch one cowering, sniveling demon. He peeks back over his should and begins pivoting on his heel, trying to determine what is going on downstairs.
Thom obliges Lucius, roaring as his longsword falls once more.
Radiance slices deeply through the demon, while Thom's strike doesn't quite seem to come home. The vile creature whimpers in pain.
"Aero!"
Seeing the group has things well in hand, the panicked Nebbin turns tail and flees downstairs to help his companion.
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The prisoners! Lucius knew he should have just killed them...and then Nebbin goes running past. Sigh. His strength and conviction are admirable, but he may need...adult supervision. Lucius follows, perhaps not as quickly, but with haste all the same.
but he may need...adult supervision.
A voice drifts up the stairs, somehow managing to sound right next to you yet far away. "You weren't ALL protected!" The female voice dissipates in evil laughter.
You find Aero slumped in a corner of the room, your worst fears appear to be true. But as you approach, you notice his chest rising and falling, shallowly. When you look in his eyes, the spark of intelligence and sanity are gone, replaced by something blank and afraid. A whimper escapes his lips.
Meanwhile...
Upstairs, the remaining babau gains some courage from the sudden thinning of the crowd. It swipes at Saoirse, drawing sparking lines across the golden nimbus surrounding her. The strike does not hurt her at all, and the babau realizes its fate.
Oh no!
"Oh, no! Aero!" Nebbin rushes toward the man.
He looks at Lucius: "What do we do?!"
The prisoners are all afflicted too. They didn't rise up against their captor. "What in Hell's name happened in here?"
Lucius will kneel down, slapping Aero across the face - lightly at first, but with increasing force if he doesn't rouse.
If that fails, he will attempt to cast infernal healing - It is unlikely to work against a non-physical malady, but it is worth a try. Lucius may be a priest, but he lacks the comprehensive healing powers distributed by the 'higher' deities to keep their servants in line.
"Fetch Thom."
"Yes, sir!" Nebbin responds and turns to fetch the masked man.
Saoirse ducks under the desperate swipe of the Babau's claws and swipes Radiance upwards as she straightens back up. Her sword cutting deep into the creatures torso as she screams out all the adrenaline she has built up from the day's combat.
Thom steps around the back side of the babau, pinning it between himself and the winged paladin. His rage is a brutish, vengeful mirror to Saoirse's righteous wrath, and his blade crashes into the babau only seconds behind hers ... twin death sentences.
Saoirse and Thom finish the infernal creature together with one blow.
Aero's attempts to heal the muttering man fail and his slaps don't do much more than temporarily interrupt his soft ravings.
The boards of the floor creak once again as you shift your weight. The sounds of battle and other living beings a noisy absence upstairs. Downstairs, the only thing breaking the silence is your breath and Aero's unintelligible mutterings.
"Thom," Nebbin gasps, breath coming heavy after his dash back upstairs. "Lucius needs you! Something's wrong with Aero!"
Saoirse gulps down a deep breath as the last of the demons is reduced to ash, the scrolling angelic symbols along her neck slowing down as her body slumps slightly. When Nebbin's voice springs up from the stairs, Saoirse looks towards Thom and jerks her head towards the door. "Lets go!" Despite her exhaustion, Saoirse rushes towards the downstairs with Thom towards Aero.
At Nebbin's words and Saoirse's urging, Thom spins on his heels, clanging out of the room and down towards Nebbin.
When he gets into the downstairs room, his black eyes quickly take in the changes since they went up, then he kneels down next to Aero. He slips off his gauntlets and gloves, checking the man's pulse, breathing, and lifting each eye-lid.
"Whats wrong with him?"
Thom's ministrations surely help his body, but the man is still limply sitting and muttering unintelligibly. Once in a while his eyes widen in a shock of horror.
"Maybe we should bring him back to Irabeth? I mean, we should probably tell her what happened here, right? And she can probably heal him!"
Thom nods, "It's a better plan than I've got. We should bring everything we can."
"Something from the Abyss is inside his mind. I suspect the same would have happened to us, if not for the protective influence of the broken Wardstone. I cannot do anything for him. Perhaps the healers at Defender's Heart can do better. The rest of these wretches should be put out of their misery."
The group searches the rest of the Garrison, finding the corpses of the demons and their affiliates. Various magical items , weapons, and armors are found. Keeping in line with the horror of the situation, crusader bodies are also found in terrible poses, and shrines or remembrances to good gods, especially those of Iomedae, are torn or vandalized.
Making their way back to Defender's Heart, supporting Aero between them until Nebbin easily sweeps him up over one enormous shoulder, the front of the building seems odd. There isn't any sense of guarding. The guards posted at the front seem somewhat lax (although that could only be in comparison to the days prior). As soon as you go to the front entrance, the door is opened and an air of celebration greets you.
Anevia greets you with a smile and a large mug in her hand. "We know you succeeded! Come in and tell me and Ira! Wait...what's wrong with Aero?" her tone of voice changes and her face falls as she sees Nebbin's load.
She brings you in and takes you to your rooms first, where you deposit Aero, and she sends an aide to find a cleric. She brings you to the same meeting room where Irabeth launched your mission to the Garrison. She is still busy, commanding the remnants of the city still weighing on her, but she greets you warmly and waves away her fluttering spies and aides. She motions you to sit and says "The wardstone's destructive wave of energy forced back much of the demon forces...for now. While I would like the full report of what happened in there, it is sufficient for the day (and night). Queen Galfrey is still on her way and is probably a few days out still. Rest. Recuperate. Revel. We will talk more later."
Lucius inwardly disapproves of the lax guards and the celebratory atmosphere. Destroying the Wardstone was a victory, but of the 'cutting one's losses' variety. Many demons were banished, but there is now very little restraining the Abyssal forces once they regroup.
Once they are situated in their quarters at the Heart, Lucius will requisition some paper and ink. First, he writes a detailed report of their mission to the Garrison, in exacting detail, as only one accustomed to Chelaxian bureaucracy can.
At the conclusion of his report, he requests that a detail be sent to investigate Nyserian manor. Finding Lord Nyserian's body inhabited by a Vermlek only raised more questions about the Ivory Templar 'safehouse'.
Following this, he begins writing several variations on the same letter - a rough report of events so far: the destruction of Kenabres, the loss of the Wardstone barrier. These he addresses to his superiors in the Church of Asmodeus, and the leadership of several prominent orders of Hellknights: the Scourge, Gate, and Pyre. One, somewhat optimistically, he sends to the court of Queen Abrogail II. To the Church, he provides the most detail and the least modesty. To the Hellknights, he stresses the need to restore order. To the Queen, he suggests how grateful and indebted the people of Mendev (and the Inner Sea as a whole) might be if Imperial Cheliax came to the rescue.
These are folded within paper envelopes to protect them on their journey, and dispatched with the next available messenger to Nerosyan, and from there to Egorian and throughout Cheliax.
Then he will bathe, and change, and again send his clothes to the tailor to have the bloodstains cleaned out and the holes mended.
If anything remains of the evening, he will spend it in meditation/contemplation/prayer, rather than reveling. His mystic awareness has been expanded, and he must explore and understand it.
Thom stomps up to the gates of Defender’s Heart, the power suffusing his body from the wardstone filling him with an energy he wouldn’t have anticipated after the grisly carnage of the Garrison. The sight he encounters isn’t what he expected.
Excitement. Revelry.
After the events of the day, it’s an emotional shock … and the young crusader has trouble processing everything. He weathers the congratulatory greetings, uncomfortable with the attention, until they are back in their quarters tending to Aero. Finally out of the limelight, and surrounded only by his comrades and Anevia, he removes the dinged and scratched hound’s mask and the blood-and-sweat soaked padding underneath.
Here he stands, unwilling to leave Aero’s side until he can personally and fully brief the cleric on what he knows of Aero’s condition. Hesitantly, regretfully, he then makes his way to Irabeth’s command room … but only after replacing his mask.
In the command room, Thom is stoic during a quick, casual debriefing, nodding thankfully at her orders for recovery. Before he leaves, however, he steps towards her, pulling the note they found in the second story of the Garrison.
”This was in one of the rooms, sir.” he rasps as he offers it to her, ”It seemed like something you’d want to see.”
——
After the debriefing, Thom likewise retires to his room. It’s a small, sparsely-furnished cube given to crusader recruits during their early career. It’s completely lost on him that all he’d likely have to do is ask to get better accommodations. After painfully stripping out of his gear, armor, under-armor, and clothes, he sits on the edge of his bed in only his loincloth … black eyes staring blankly at the wall.
He sits this way for hours. Moving little. Thinking little. Just emotionally grappling with the events of the past week and their unbelievable culmination a few hours before. No answers seem to come but one. Whatever this whole thing is. This body. Its mysterious power. The overwhelming presence in the back of his mind. Whatever this thing was with the wardstone.
… none of this was an ending, but only the beginning. The young man doesn’t realize when he begins weeping. Alone. In his room.
Nebbin seems stunned by the attention as everyone stares at them as they enter.
Why's everyone staring? Do they know we turned all gold and light-y? Are we still glowing?
A quick glance down dispels that concern, and he brings Aero to his room.
The queen's coming? Wow. I wonder if I'll get to see her. I wonder what she looks like! I bet she's really beautiful. Like a princess ... but older. Not old, though. Like a mature princess!
As the others depart, he let himself be swept up in the press of celebration, smiling awkwardly as seasoned crusaders slap him on the back and fending off the women who clearly have let their excitement overwhelm them into trying to steal a kiss.
Eventually, he finds himself back in his quarters, exhausted and wondering what could happen next. He picks up the hammer, to put it away properly after just leaving it on the floor so he could see what was happening with Aero.
I never thought I'd use this to smash a demon, he thinks. But soon it'll be back to rocks. I think that'll be much safer.
His attention is caught by a flake of iron on the head of the hammer. Wiping it away, he's momentarily horrified as more flakes begin to fall off the maul, his heart pounding furiously until he realizes the damage seems to be only superficial. On both sides, a perfect circle -- like a halo -- has formed, shining gold inset into the cold iron of the earthbreaker.
Saoirse gives a half-smile as she sees Defender's Heart come up into view, breathing a sigh of relief as her body walks forward with the remaining vigor of youth she possess. Shifting her pack once again, Saoirse watches as the rest of the group heads off on their own after the short debriefing but doesn't mind, knowing she had her own routine to take care of. Taking a brief few minutes to head back to her room and quickly set aside the layers of armor and padding, leaving herself in sweat and blood soaked linen clothes. Quickly changing into her last set of fresh clothes, Saoirse steps back out into the hallways and heading to check on Aero.
Seeing that Aero is being taken care of, Saoirse heads off to grab a bottle of some ale, not bothering to check what, and a mug. Saoirse works her way through the crowds and back up the stairs eventually finding her way up from a balcony to the rooftop. Hanging her legs over the edge, Saoirse looks up towards the open sky as she pours her first cup and lifts it to her lips the way she, Father, and Captain Miphos' crusaders used to celebrate significant victories. "To victory..." drink "To the dead..." drink "To the living..." drink "To Iomedae..." drink
Her private celebration ritual continuing until the bottle is empty...