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These creatures enjoy spreading nausea and sickness, either via their spell-like abilities or through violence—in fact, they are one of the primary sources of demonplague throughout demon infested lands. Gibrileths particularly relish the taste of partially liquefied, diseased flesh, and many keep infected victims in pens like cattle for periodic snacking, allowing their sickness to season them properly before feeding. Gibrileths rise from the souls of mortals who deliberately encourage the spread of disease or sickness, many of whom died of disease themselves.
A gibrileth is approximately 10 feet in diameter, with a wingspan of 16 feet. These foul, bloated demons typically weigh about 2,400 pounds.
The Crunch
Because of their amorphous form, they are not subject to critical attacks, or precision damage. They are spell resistant, and immune to acid, disease, electricity and poison. They are somewhat resistant to fire and cold. They shrug off much physical damage unless it comes from a source of good. Their attacks spread demonplague, even attacks they make with a weapon.
Oh lover, I don't have that connection with her since we haven't shared the blessing. Also I would have to shift back to the material to reach her mind without the blessing. I will move back into the other room, and try top contact her from there.
Rue floats back into the room with the empty chests and attempts contact with Yaniel.
Through the link they share Vanthor lets his friends know about his concerns about Yaniel. "Can this be her? Her return would certainly be a boon to the cause against the demonic horde but could it be her? Be weary of deceit. I know not what game may be being played here and to what end. If it is her the Queen should easily ask her something they alone shared that will pierce any disguise."
We did a some discussion in private, but only once. The details will be hard to remember as that meeting was almost 20 years ago. What I remember most was when she talked of her father, Rhenel, and his farm where she grew up just south of Kenebres. His death at the hands of demons is what spurred her desire to be a crusader. Specifically she mentioned the demon that killed him was a lilitu. She said she had never talked about this with anyone other than me. Perhaps we can use that.
The primary concern is the Gate. This turn of events pulls us from that. I yearn to go to her aide and save her, if it truly is her, but if we fail quite certainly all is lost. As you yourself said my Queen there are hard choices that need to be made in dire times. We should fulfill what we came here to do and perhaps you can call upon the help of others to come back and bring her home when and if we succeed. Yaniel had a warrior's spirit as few have and she would agree that the importance of the mission raises above everything else. What say all of you?
The mission is not just the gate. It is the elixir production as well don't forget. We must find out how they make it, and stop its production by eliminating the methods and those responsible. That cambion Arueshalae described was near some sort of strange alembic like device.
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"I feel that we must clear this fortification first my friend. We have no need of being followed through the portal, as they could hinder our quest. I am also loath to leave Arueshelea, Argos and the Queen to face unknown threats. If that allows us the opportunity to solve this mystery, such is the will of our divine patrons."
While the other heroes work out their different opinions, Rue floats north east to another unexplored area of the Fane.
The north wall of this otherwise empty room is covered by a strange contraption. Two three-foot-diameter discs of glass float amid a network of glowing metal rods extending from the walls, while between the discs sits a small table covered with glowing runes.
Despite the murky nature of the ethereal, Rue spots something of interest in the table. It seems to be a secret compartment, though her sharp eyes pick it out after just a moment. She silently shifts back to the material plane and carefully opens the compartment, sure it is devoid of traps.
Inside the compartment, wedged tightly, is a ring. She closes the compartment, leaving the ring where it was, but making note of it to her friends once they are done discussing things through her mental link.
Seeing as everyone was distracted by their own thoughts, Rue decided to peak one more time at the room with the legendary paladin, but she also wanted another look at the Midnight Fane so she traveled through that room first while on her way.
She floated into the massive room with the floor to ceiling contraption and the huge curtain of energy. She was surprised to see Ursathella there, pacing in the air back and forth, talking to herself. The lamia matriarch didn't seem to notice her, and Rue sighed a little sigh of relief. She didn't want to give things away just yet.
Sounds being somewhat muffled from the material to the ethereal, Rue had to concentrate to hear Ursathellas words in detail. She had to silence her friends to do so... Be still a moment my loves she purred mentally. I am trying to listen to something and your thoughts are a bit distracting at the moment.
The lamia's voice became clearer... "They should be here...They must be here...I am the Commander of the Midnight Fane! They are here...The should be here...They must be here...They are here..." came the loud mutterings from Ursathella.
This went on for some time, until she turned abruptly with her weapon at the read, though not toward Rue but away from her.
"HaHA!There you are!" exclaimed the lamia with a wild grin. Almost as quickly as it appeared, the grin disappeared and the loud mutterings returned, "They should be here...They must be here...I am the Commander of the Midnight Fane! They are here...The should be here...They must be here...I am the most trusted Harem Guardian for Areelu Vorlesh herself! My Mistress is BUSY!?!They are here..."
How curious. thought Rue, bemused by the odd behavior of her new enemy. I have a bit of news lovers! Listen to this... and she proceeds to pass on all she has seen and heard.
The party's rest time goes uneventful. The Fane is silent in all rooms with the exception of the grinder room with the rift itself constantly whispering in strange chaotic voices and giving off the slight crackle of energy.
As the heroes wake, 'Rue is tangled with Irion, Vanthor is on watch, and Queen Galfrey is leaning against Dojen who is propped up against a wall next to Argos who is also awake.
Argos and Vanthor have been conversing telpathically for the past few hours while everyone else was asleep. Several times the floating Kirin had to stifle a laugh or a sob at one story or another. How the crusaders had made it this far, after the last crusade's debacle, he could only credit to his new friends' amazing mettle and intelligence.
Argos speaks softly to everyone's mind "Good morrow friends. Tis' time to close this rift and head to the Midnight Isles. I am anxious to put this place behind us, but the idea of traveling through the Abyss has me just a bit... on edge. Let's be quick about preparing and get this over with." His apprehension is clear. Brave as he may be, the task ahead is understandably daunting, and it looms for you all with a sense of real dread.
Concerns of the risks the Hero's of Drezen must face weigh on Vanthor's mind. He thinks about all the possible path's the group has before them. It comes to him that it would be safer and more prudent to have Arue move through the portal first and alone to scout the area first. She should raise no alarm being who she is and she can send back information telepathically. Either she can step back through the portal when she finds out the information she needs or she can use the Spherewalker's staff to shift back to the primal plane. Vanthor informs Queen Galfrey that it would be benefideal to call to all the Alliance forces,amassing all the items that the forces of evil used against us and reforge them using the SouldForge.
With a swift kiss on the lips to each of the heroes, even the Queen(who is surprised at first but not resistant), 'Rue at last comes to Irion, "Well dear heart, if this is to be our last kiss, I do hope you will remember me fondly." she says with a wry smile. Not allowing him time for a response, she crushes him in an embrace and forces him to surrender to a much more lingering kiss.
As the moments pass and the kiss continues, the rest of the party just begins to feel uncomfortable, when slowly she begins to draw away from Irion. "I know you worry, but I will be fine." she says in her sultry voice.
She quickly takes to the air and wings her way to the portal. She lands just before the crackling curtain of chaotic energy, and she tentatively stretches out a hand to touch it. The black and red fire and electricity doesn't seem to hurt her, though there is a brief flash of uneasiness as she feels great evil wash over her. Forcing herself past the fear of returning to a place she dreads, she steps through the curtain and disappears... only to be immediately shunted to the opposite side and into the Abyss.
As she looks around her arrival destination she notices the walls and ceiling of this natural cavern are encrusted with a tangle of razor sharp purple crystals, each of which shimmers with a soft, nauseating glow.
She can also see beyond her arrival cavern, where it leads through a short tunneled opening, into a vast domed cavern with more tangles of purple crystals. A mound of crystals towers twenty feet high in what appears to be the center of the other chamber.
Well my loves, it seems empty here. I'm going to try to come back now.
Steps back through, instantly appearing on the material side, again feeling just a moment of discomfort as the evil of the curtain threatens to seep into her body upon contact.
"It looks like we are ready to go from my point of view." she says with a satisfied smirk, her hands resting on comfortably on her hips.
Thank you Arushalae for your bravery and companionship. We will endeavor to succeed in our mission if only to reunite you and Irion. Vanthor smiles fondly at his friends. I ask you all to consider your part in this mission. Most likely we will suffer greatly if not pay the ultimate price for what we fight for. We will win the day for we have something to fight for. We fight for those innocents who cannot fight and we and we fight for each other. Our enemy sees this as a weakness but it is our strength. Let us join together as one fist to strike our enemy down with, one mind to avoid their trickery and keep one step ahead of them at all times and one heart to hold strong in the direst of times and lean on each other when a helping hand is needed. The enemy cannot fathom this notion. Their strength is mad chaos and self elevating scheming. The enemy does not know or understand the very notion of love, self sacrifice and companionship. This may help us in the future. Remember there are a number of factions we face. There is not a chance that they look at each other as we see each other. They simply can't. It is antithetical to them. It may be all we need to do to survive this is to pull a few of the many stray threats that holds their heinous horde together to rend their union and break them. That would be as deft a strike as we can make if my understanding of them is correct. Hold strong my friends. As one we can win the day. With that Vanthor kneels to one knee lowering his head in deep respect for the champions who stand before him. He then quickly raises, unsheathing Radiance and uttering a heart felt prayer to Iomedae, turns and strides confidently through the portal.
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Vanthor can sense the overwhelming evil coming from the wall of energy the moment he steps foot in the grinder room. The closer he gets the more potent it becomes. He was here fighting Ursathella just hours ago and so focused was he then, that he could ignore it. Now, he must focus again...
His speech is moving, and the Queen nods her head along with it, in full agreement. When he raises his sword in prayer she does the same. Her smile beams across the room. She knows this is a hero worth fighting for.
As Vanthor strides with confidence through the portal he is immediately shocked by its intensity and it overcomes his resolve. He feels bile rise in his throat, but before he can shudder or gag, he is transported to the other side. Now...for the first time...he is truly in the Abyss.
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Irion listens to his friend's heart-felt words. Although he agrees with much of what is being said, he cannot help but twinge at the selflessness he hears in his heart. Arueshalae. When I started this campaign, I was as committed to the righteous cause as my friends here. I wanted to sweep the evil back into the Abyss and seal the Worldwound forever. More than safeguarding lives, it was the right thing to do. I now find I have ulterior motives. Finding you here, witnessing your personal journey, falling in love...I find these more important to me. My stake in our success is now more personal. I know not if I should feel shame for this, but I do feel guilt. Vanthor and the others are doing this for countless others. In my heart, I know I am doing this for you, for us. I know my happiness compared to the souls of millions is selfish, but I have never been effected by emotions like this so strongly before, never felt this much conviction. Perhaps I have a moral flaw. I fear that I have failed you. You, who has thrown off the dark chains which held your heart captive, only to fall in love with an elf whose own soul is unworthy of your triumph.
Or maybe...just mabye, this is why we fight. We fight for more than mere lives, but for how those lives should be lived. We fight for love, for passion, for stolen kisses in intimate moments and for love in the throes of passion. This is what I will hold onto as I continue this fight, that what I feel in my heart, that in my soul...that you Arueshalae, are worth fighting for. I love you, more than I ever knew I could. Thank you for this precious gift.
"I am an elf of few words Vanthor, but I believe in you and our quest. Let us finish this so that the land can heal and souls can once again live in peace."
With a gentle caress of the succubus's face, the elf walks through the chaos riven portal.
Looking at the others walk though the portal, the warpriest murmurs a quick prayer to his father.
"Your Highness, ladies, Argos, ... thanks for all you have done in the name of all that is right and holy. I hope to ...ah...see you all again. You know, um later or ah..after."
That's it? THOSE could be my final words? Man that sucks. How is a bard supposed to make any of that sound cool at all? Nope, can't be done. Not at all. Vanthor had a cool speech, Irion made out with a demon and I say 'thanks'? AAUUUUGGGHH! I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!!
With nothing more to say, the human steadies him mind against the chaotic torrent he is about to face.
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As the rest of the party appears in the arrival cavern, they find Vanthor down on one knee and reeling from the experience, barely able to speak.
It takes a few long moments for him to gather himself but he does recover. After his short ordeal, the heroes have a good idea what the rift can do if it catches hold on them. Everyone is tense, but ready to finish this.
With the gift of the telepathic bond still present between the party members Vanthor prepares to lift the scroll into the wall of chaotic energies. He first asks his friends to keep their eyes alert for anything that would interrupt this first part of the breaking of the Fane. He also again calls to Iomedae to give him strength for me musts not fail. I am ready my friends. Let us begin. Drawing Radiance, perhaps to prepare for a hasty defense or perhaps for comfort as in this foreign plane he seeks anything to keep him close to his god, he grips the blade tightly holding it steady at his side. With his other hand he raises the parchment with confindence into the Fane stealing himself for what needed to be done.
Reviewing the spell in his mind, Dojen waits for the rift's dark energies to darken the scroll before casting.
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'Rue and Vanthor each hold a copper page from the Lexicon of Paradox. Through the benefit of shared thoughts, they are able to thrust their pages into the rift energies simultaneously. The moment they do so, the rift shudders and starts to darken.
They both feel tremendous evil wash over them, but they fight the debilitating effects for the moment.
Barely a breath passes by though before an enormous, corpulent demon suddenly appears next to Vanthor. The fiend has the hideous head of a boar and arms ending in fatty, four-fingered hands. Before anyone can act, a feeling flushes through Vanthor and he just knows that the beast has an unholy aura about it that threatens to sap the strength of anyone attacking it in melee.
Just as that thought begins forming in Vanthor's mind, the demon strikes out with a claw...
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...and rips it down his leg! Pure chaos floods into him and he feels not only pain but a twisting and churning uncertainty come over him.
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The huge demon is so fast, even with its great bulk, that it is able to attack again before Vanthor can do anything. This time it attacks with both of its huge claws and bites him fiercely! The party can see that the creatures claws have black fire seeping from them, much like the fire of the rift.
Vanthor tries to stand strong against the overwhelming assault but for all his desire to resist his life force simply ends. He feels the comfort of his god embrace him and only is saddened that he could not do more to prevent the rest of the parties deaths at the hands of the vile beast.
Before Vanthor meets his fate divine guidance gives him a chance to try to avoid the lethal blow. As an immediate action he uses sudden block.
Rolls for the ToC 1)
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As the first blow strikes out, Vanthor's incredible reflexes take over and he tries to block with Radiance. His block fails but he sees an opening for his own blade in the demons defenses and he twists Radiance and thrusts it outwards...
...and his blow doesn't land well against the thick hide of the beast with any appreciable damage.
A light fills Vanthors vision. He seess the divine radiance of Iomedae before him, but she shakes her head and with a stern look, she says "Now is not the time for us to meet. You have much yet to do champion. Go back and finish your work." and with that his vision fades to dark.
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Vanthor attention fades from the warm radiant grace of Iomedae to be wrenched back to the torn and battered body that once held his spirit.By the gods. Mortality hurts.
Bergetta see's her friend fall in a titanic assault from the demon and immediately moves forward to engage. Using amazing initiative she moves forward then the silver crane maneuver to attack the creature without the chance for attacks of opportunity and activating her boots of speed she attacks.
'Rue feels the pain from her friends as they are collectively shocked by the vicious attacks that felled Vanthor. Quick as she can, she flies through the curtain with no thought for her self. As she appears on the other side she instantly sets her sights on the giant Nalfeshnee towering over the fallen from of Vanthor and the brave fighting stance of Bergitta. She spreads her wings wide and proceeds to spin about in place causing shadows to ripple across her body in ways that confuse and confound the enemy demon.
The giant demon is so caught of guard by her wild movements he falls back into the rift unprepared and is instantly shunted to the other side.
She recognizes the demon as a worshiper of Baphomet, Ibaheniel. She knows he is quite powerful, but he seems even more powerful than she remembers. He must have benefited from a Nahyndrian elixir she thinks to the group.
The power of Desna flows from the risen succubus and Vanthor's eyes flutter open.
Vanthor feels the magical aura that Arue radiates and stirs to wakefulness. He instantly uses LOH on himself. then as he stands he uses a channel to further heal himself boosting and the party with Beacon of Hope.
Dojen wastes no time grabbing the rod at his hip. He funnels divine energy into himself, transforming a spell of protection into one of pure positive energy. He kneels and thrusts that power into Vanthor. The paladin has a sense of de ja vous as he hears, "Now is not the time for you to meet your god. You have much yet to do champion. Now stand up and finish your work."
Let's see some 'Oradin' do that kind of healing!
Having already called upon her spirit bond in preparation for defense while performing the ritual, Galfrey is ready when the demon appears suddenly upon her side of the rift.
Having just witnessed Rue's departure before the demon arrived, and Irion's subsequent arrival, she knows things must be bad on the other side. She wastes no time on speculation and stands her ground before the mammoth demon, thinking she must keep it from going back, until the others have enough time to do what it is they must do.
She see's the dark energies seeping from its claws and knows that is not normal for its kind. She mentally calls to her bonded spirit to shift the enhancements on her blade somewhat to better aid in her defense. Not fully as she also knows these creatures have thick layers of fat and dense layers of muscle underneath and it will be difficult to land telling blows if she isn't precise enough. She swiftly calls out with her ability to smite evil and she connects on a primal level with the demon. As it feels that holy power, it shudders and it's eyes widen just a bit at the Queen.
With barely a thought, she activates the power in her boots to hasten her actions for a moment and then swings her blade in a blinding series of slashes, focusing on accuracy over power.
She scores several hits that leave wicked wounds upon the demon's corpulent body, but as she suspected, not every blow was effective. She hopes the heroes can join her soon. This is one fight they don't want to miss! she thinks as she sets her jaw, expecting one hell of a fight.
Feeling like a one trick pony , Argos concentrates and casts defensively as he fires off his familiar haste spell to enhance himself, Irion and the Queen before flying out around the great grinding machine to position himself for a gore attack. As he starts his flight around the machine, the giant demon whips one of its long arms out to strike at him with a vile claw.
Argos lets out a pained snort as the demon leaves a bloody row of claw marks on his hindquarters. The wound burns deeply and Argos struggles with the pain as he flies round as planned.
Bergetta moves without thought. The Queen has fallen. Rage erupts from her but she is too disciplined to lessen her efforts in what she must do. She steels herself against the obviously overwhelming evil and corrupt force that is facing the party. Easily an overwhelming challenge for the whole party. Knowingly Queen Gelfrey paid with her life for the momentarily delay of the inevitable destruction of the entire party. She prepares herself awaiting for the party to strike as one.
Desperate to end the fight and drawl attention from the beast she uses amazing initiative to move into position and strike at the demon as best she can. , , , .
roll to confirm