It is unfortunate for the creature locking eyes with Lur, for though it seems to give pleading eyes, it is easy to tell that it has fallen on deaf eyes(?). Lur is a person in that he has flesh, some hair, bones and muscles, he is no longer a person in the sense of any cognizance.
After skewering the abomination, Lur quickly takes the hand closest to the blade off, turns his body and gives a hop as he bring a foot to join his hand on the hilt, putting his full strength and weight forcing the blade down through the creature's body.
Wek does his best, but he cannot avoid every single tentacle and smash.
He twists from lizardfolk shape rapidly, into a fairly large, reddish-brown snake--a Coastal taipan
Desperately, he bites the less injured abomination, assuming that Lur has done his opponent in.
The snake is slender, with large dark eyes, almost cute looking. It strikes so fast that its fangs are never seen, just a flash of a white-rimmed, dark pink mouth that fastens upon the bizarre creature.
You don’t have it...you’ve HAD it!
Finding herself in the thick of things, Princess lashes out with her staff.
Lur's stomp-stab is enough to kill the squealing abomination, causing it to finally stop squirming. He's in an advantageous position to backstab one of the abominations that is focusing on trying to nail down Uek - if you can call it a "back", since it has a face in it. It wails in rage as you turn to face it.
Uek is twisting and shifting partially in mid-dodge to try and avoid the tenebrous stabs and slams of the abominations. A lobster-like claw fastens on his shoulder and the druid cries out in pain involuntarily, before biting down on the wound (metaphorically) when his stoic discipline kicks back in. Take 1d6+1 damage.
The bleeding shoulder wound is enough to distract him from making a full transformation. Half-lizardman, half-snake, Uek lunges and bites the stronger abomination and injects its venom. That done, he reverts back to druidic form, and shudders. The involuntary transformations in an effort to dodge the lightning-fast attacks are taking their toll. Take -1 to your next Shapeshift roll.
Shattertooth is facing the last sunlover soldier that hasn't attempted to flee to the surface. This one is wielding a lance, and using it effectively to stymie the Fire Priest's flames. Again and again the lance stabs at the minotaur, keeping him on the defensive. Your next non-Defy Danger roll is at a -1 penalty, Shattertooth.
Princess attempts to strike at the sunlover soldier from behind, but the canny sunlover hears her stomping footsteps and sidesteps her at the last second. She stumbles, almost getting stabbed herself, but her bodyguard steps in the way! With a gurgle of blood, the Charmed soldier dies on his comrade's lance. This gives you an opening! (Mechanically - you get a +1 to your roll from your Charmed target, but it sacrifices your charmed target to do it.) Roll your damage, but the lance-wielding soldier manages to yank away your staff and toss it into the darkness!
Shattertooth is not used to being in melee, so he summons a curtain of flame before him to force some distance between him and the lone soldier, then gathers the flame into a spear and hurls it at the man!
Lur continues on his rampage.
Lur, with his foot already on the dead creature, easily removes his sword from it's corpse and turns the yank-like removal into a swinging over and then down arc on the next.
Her charmed soldier's sacrifice is not in vain, as Princess delivers a solid wallop with her staff. But then the sunlover grabs it and hurls it into the darkness. "How rude!" Princess declares.
Caught in melee without a weapon, the ogre concentrates on defending herself while trying to grab something off one of the fallen soldiers.
Vorgo bites down hard on the fleeing sunlover's face, tearing it off and revealing a large chunk of bony skull beneath. The reptilian spits out gore and gristle off to one side, sunlover blood covering his face. His blood is up now, and he refuses to let any sunlover soldiers escape! Gathering his weapons, Vorgo charges away from his team down in the labryinth, following the fleeing soldiers up through the collapsed hole, over rubble and boulders until...he reaches the surface.
Where he discovers that the soldiers they were fighting below were only a small part of a much larger force. A veritable army of sunlovers stare at the Reptilian that emerges from below, their weapons drawn and their armor shining in the sunlight...what do you do?
Princess, down below, is getting the worst of it in her fight against the sunlover. She's not quite able to move her bulk out of the way of the sunlover's lance stab; take 1d6 damage, Princess. However, fortunately, you're saved from follow-up damage by Shattertooth. His magic illuminates the labryinth for dozens of meters in all directions as he summons a wall of flame that twists and wraps around the human like a serpent. After forming a column of fire around the sunlover soldier, Shattertooth clenches his fist, causing it to contract and burn the human alive in his armor. The smell of burning flesh causes your belly to rumble with hunger.
Meanwhile, nearby, Lur is yanking the dead abomination off of his blade to attack the next one. He succeeds, but in order to get into position, he steps his foot in the puddle of blood that the Abomination had been hunching over earlier. The blood suddenly animates, taking solid form and wrapping itself around the werebear's foot! You're rooted and unable to move your feet, Lur! However, you do strike true and the abomination you slashed at howls in pain and rage, turning to face its huge body toward you to focus you in earnest - which leaves behind only one abomination still trying to devour Uek.
Lur looks down at the thing holding his foot furiously. Without any thought he just attempts to jump, yanking at the grip on his foot.
Wek takes a risk and stabs at the abomination, pulling out his trusty short handled spear.
Princess grunts as the lance stabs her. Fortunately, the wound isn't that bad, and Shattertooth makes the sunlover pay for his insolence.
The ogre recovers her staff and moves to help Wek, smacking the abomination to try to rescue him.
Sadly, Tiamat’s oath stated that Vorgo could not suffer a sunlover to live, not “kill us lovers when convenient. He hopes that his death pleases Tiamat and lets out a horrible scream. The blood drenched, plate clad on fire lizard man rushes the nearest sun lover.
Shattertooth takes the fire when its finished cooking the human and drives it toward Lur's target. The sooner things get sorted down here the sooner they can drag the Flaming Lizard back down off the Surface.
But the flames are already petering out when they arrive.
The thing's mouth is closed on Uek's leg, and its tongue - which more resembles an arm than a proper organ - is pulling him down toward it. However, with the remaining sunlovers and abominations dispatched, his companions leap to his aid and destroy the thing before Uek loses anything that won't come back in the next transformation. The thing dies, horribly twitching on the floor from the onslaught, and on fire.
Nearby, Lur is struggling to free his foot from the animated blood that the abomination spilled. He yanks it free successfully, but had to plant his other foot hard in the ground to do so, and in so doing gets his other foot rooted. You're now rooted approximately a full step (~5 feet) backward from where you were, which, on the bright side, is further away from the main puddle of living blood-goo that is currently trying to burn through your shoes.
Up on the surface, the fire that was burning Vorgo's flesh without harming him was blown out instantly by the wind - along with his hope of surviving the day. Before him are more armed and armored sunlover soldiers than he could ever hope to slay; but it is in these moments of certain death that a Reptilian's mettle is tested. Tiamat's demanding worship was not found wanting this day. The paladin's scream draws the attention of the entire battle, echoing over the bedlam in all directions.
If battle were merely a test of one's valor and nothing else, Vorgo certainly would have cleaved both armies apart that day. But sadly, reality doesn't work that way. His charge is interrupted by a strike from the side of his target as he enters the threat range; his weapon is dropped, and he's lifted off the ground by a gauntlet that grips his throat like an iron vice. You're unable to breathe, and take a -1 to Strength checks.
Your vision is swaying and blurry from the blow to the head, but you're able to get a clear view of the helm of the sunlover who stepped forward to effortlessly dispatch you.
You are in the grasp of Kurtemos, the Templar of Purity. Chiefest in physical strength of the Five, who destroyed the minotaur village that set these events in motion. Though you were not present for that raid, Vorgo, word of the Five has spread through all the lands. You'd recognize Kurtemos anywhere.
Vorgo squints his eyes. The grip was crushing and any man would surely die within moments from the crush.
But Vorgo was no man.
He dislocated his jaw and slithered out of Kurtemos’ grip
Getting rooted again is more than Lur can handle at this time. He loses what composure he had left. With a roar that very much changes from a yell to a legitimate roar, Lur (the bear) begins furiously hacking at that which binds him with his new claws.
Shattertooth dashes up the rock pile when the last abomination falls, trying his best to catch up to Vorgo!
He trips himself up on the rocks and doesn't arrive as wiggly as he would like.
When he arrives he immediately recognizes the man and unleashes all his fury in an effort to isolate the fight and even the odds!
Shattertooth creates a ring of fire around the hole in the ground and the paladin that progressively pushes outward, forming a kind of isolated pocket from the rest of the troops who's numbers alone are simply too great to confront, but it is short lived.
"Wekky-wek! Are you okay, scaly boy?" Princess jiggles over to the druid's side, offering him her healing potion. She squints up at the sun streaming down from the hole. She's not certainly charging up there!
Then, Shattertooth notices the desperate look in Vorgo's eye and changes his mind last minute! He takes all the violent flame he can muster on half a second's notice and focuses it all into the man's hand!
Vorgo flexes his neck. He's not going to overpower the sunlover...he's just going to outlast him and hope that he lets go before Vorgo passes out.
"Ufff...sss...thank you, Princess," says Wek, rolling up weakly to take the potion. He slides the concoction down to his gullet smoothly, the duckweed and fish on his hide quivering.
Wek thinks, and considers making a terrible bargain. He kneels and begins to pull a watery sphere out from the air itself, speaking to it in low tones.
"Spirits of water, you know I am of the marsh. There is a pool of masonwort blocking our way, and our enemy is above, one who has slain our tribe. Only you can carry a liquid within yourself without harm."
He pauses.
"Do this for me, by my right as Druid of Fallen Soor of the Marshes. Take up the masonwort-liquid into your being. Siphon it into the helmed man above who is strangling my compatriot. You will have freed our passage and slain our great enemy, and you shall be remembered and celebrated as the weapon of our wrath. Then you may go. And I shall pay the price."
Down in the ruined labryinth, Lur is furiously swiping at the animated blood that's hissing at his feet, and scatters it far and wide in his rage. A few red seconds later, and your feet are free and clear once more, barbarian. The animated blood appears to be too scattered to effectively muster itself into a threat.
Overhead, the minotaur is injuring himself in his haste to scale the rubble quickly - take 1d4 damage, Shattertooth - and then casts spells in rapid succession. The immolator's body self-ignites with the force of his rapid yanking on the Weave, blowing off him in the wind as quickly as it appears. The fire wave scatters the troops in the immediate vicinity around the Templar, but the Pure One is unfazed, even when Shattertooth redirects the fire in on his hand. When the flames get close enough to touch his armor, they redirect - funneling in small rivers of fire up his armor and through the visor of his helmet. Vorgo, you are close enough to see that the fire is specifically funneling into his left eye, an eye that glows red when the fire is fully consumed.
Attempting to dislocate your jaw, Vorgo, does no good but to injure yourself further - take 1d6 damage that ignores armor from Kurtemos' retaliatory squeeze. With the last desperation of strength, you manage to pry open the fingers a half-centimeter, preventing yourself from blacking out but not freeing yourself.
Below, the druid communes with old forces of Water that even the wisest of sages do not fully understand. Recognizing the truth of the druid's desperation, the elemental agrees - but it will not happen instantly. The elemental first has to reach the masonwort, then rush to the surface - the Templar and yourselves will have acted once or twice more before your attempt at water-poison will take effect.
Bleeding and panting, Shattertooth catches the man's eye and peers into his soul!
Lur lets out a ferocious roar of victory that echoes out and over the hills. He then looks around for his next victim.
Working your rage out on the blood cleared your mind a little. I'll bank the bad effect from that roll for a surprise later, mark an XP - but you're still able to discern what's happening around you.
Shattertooth, your brief glimpse into the flames of the Templar's soul reveal a staggering depth of blackness within. It's like peering over the edge of a well that goes far further down than you anticipated. You almost lose yourself in the oblivion of the singular truth that you witness there.
Kurtemos fights for no less than the complete obliteration of the entire Universe.
I see you, Kurtemos! I see your soul! You fight for Oblivion, and the purity it brings, the purity of Nothing!
With the splash of well timed clarity, Lur roars once more and charges toward the others. He knows there must be more enemies where everyone else is. As he crests the hill, he sees the figure holding Vorgo and that is all he needs, a challenge. Lur continues his charge down at Kurtemos. Lur raises a paw and puts his full momentous weight as he swings down, aiming at Kurtemos' head, neck, chest area.
Vorgo attempts to break free again, flexing his way out of danger
He bursts free and retreats a bit. He’ll kill this sun lover, but maybe not at this exact second.
Wek opens his eyes after his draining ceremony to see the shocked sunlovers gazing at him, covered in abomination blood as he is.
Nice roll, Shattertooth - unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have any effect. The Templar's will is legendary; and anyway, what you've proclaimed doesn't seem to ruffle him in the slightest.
What does disturb him is the sudden release of his grip about Vorgo's neck. The paladin summons all of his Tiamat-granted willpower and yanks with the utmost of strength he can summon, causing the iron squeeze to loosen the slightest bit. Vorgo falls to the ground in a heap, and crawls a few feet away before struggling to his feet.
Kurtemos is watching the paladin crawl. His helmeted gaze slowly lifts to Shattertooth. You can almost see the battle-calculations rolling across his visor like stormclouds across a sky.
Then, the Templar laughs. Not a long and drawn-out chuckle, but a quick bark of amusement. Hefting his weapon, he turns his back on the lot of you, dismissively.
He wades back into the ranks of his army, heading in the direction of some front line of this war, where gibbering and squeals can still be heard - along with the clashing of steel and the screaming of sunlovers. Behind him, the ranks close, and you hear Kurtemos bark an order in the sunlover humans' language. The soldiers form ranks and lower their weapons at you, in more number than you can count. Many of them are grinning in anticipation at killing something they perceive to be easier than their abomination foes.
With incredible strength, the werebear heaves his way to the top of the hole, but his feat took too much time. He arrives at the surface at roughly the same time as Uek's water elemental - as Kurtemos is withdrawing. Angrily, the barbearian lurches forward, swinging his weapon about wildly - but he merely decapitates a sunlover soldier that ran ahead of the others to engage him.
As this is happening, the water elemental sinks into a puddle, flowing swiftly along the ground toward the army. It's obvious to Wek - this is Kurtemos' army, or at least he's a ranking member. There's a good number of them surrounding the hole - and I mean surrounding, on all sides - as well as a force of more abominations in the direction that Kurtemos went.
You're all about to be engaged in melee combat and flanked on all sides. What do you do?
"Damn fools are going to get themselves killed. Shame--they were handsome, too." Princess sighs. She turns to Wek. "Unless we want to die too, I suggest we retreat now."
"We've moved the masonwort...onward, into the drider's den," says Wek in agreement. "Vorgo! Lur! Shattertooth! Fall back!"
Wek heads past the former puddle, skirting its damp, reeking borders.
Shattertoith grabs Vorgo to help him toward the hole in the ground. He says to them both, I know you need to kill them all, but we need to love through this so we can fight another day, so let's go!.
He says to them both, I know you need to kill them all, but we need to love through this so we can fight another day, so let's go!.
Lur hunches his shoulders, completely depressed by his new allies words. He was dense, but not dense enough to think he could win versus an army. His true enemy had retreated too though...so Lur would as well. Another day tin can...another day...
Our makes his way back, following his compatriots.
Vorgo, do you listen to the minotaur's entreaties and follow Lur back down to the labryinth, or die on the spears of the sunlovers?
You don't know. Your powers don't operate like a computer program, where one action will instantly, reliably and predictably produce a certain result. It's more like serving a mortal king or lord, in that Tiamat's moods shift and vary from day to day, and she is the ultimate source of all of your holy powers. Your decision might offend her due to your violated oath, and you know what might happen according to your faith - or she might be secretly relieved that her champion will fight another day. There's no way of knowing for certain. It's up to the whims of your goddess.
Vorgo sighs. If he loses his magic, he'll be useless to the Dragon-mother. If he dies, he'll be useless to the Dragon-mother. If he stays, he'll definitely die but if he flees he'll only maybe lose his magic.
He locks eyes with each of the sunlovers that move in, especially Kurtemos. Enjoy this extension of your life, for it is only temporary. It shall be Vorgo's face that you see before your death. Each of you!
And then he scurries away.
You sense that as long as you are fully dedicated to wiping out the army that stymied you, your powers remain in effect - for now.
Following Uek down in the labryinth, you are able to pass the former masonwort puddle harmlessly. It appears the water elemental successfully gathered up the poison into its own body.
The hallway has doors on either side in the hallway past the puddle, and the door on the left is faintly ajar. There's a distant light source coming from far down the tunnel straight ahead. Which do you investigate first, whomever is in the lead?
This seems like a good time for an End of Session move! Certainly enough has happened to warrant a Session's worth of time. From the SRD:
When you reach the end of a session, choose one your bonds that you feel is resolved (completely explored, no longer relevant, or otherwise). Ask the player of the character you have the bond with if they agree. If they do, mark XP and write a new bond with whomever you wish.
Once bonds have been updated look at your alignment. If you fulfilled that alignment at least once this session, mark XP. Then answer these three questions as a group:
Did we learn something new and important about the world?
Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?
Did we loot a memorable treasure?
For each “yes” answer everyone marks XP.
Other moves that may be of interest right now:
You usually make camp so that you can do other things, like prepare spells or commune with your god. Or, you know, sleep soundly at night. Whenever you stop to catch your breath for more than an hour or so, you’ve probably made camp.
Staying a night in an inn or house is making camp, too. Regain your hit points as usual, but only mark off a ration if you’re eating from the food you carry, not paying for a meal or receiving hospitality.
Subtract your current level+7 from your XP.
Increase your level by 1.
Choose a new advanced move from your class.
If you are the wizard, you also get to add a new spell to your spellbook.
Choose one of your stats and increase it by 1 (this may change your modifier). Changing your Constitution increases your maximum and current HP. Ability scores can’t go higher than 18.
You can say "Yes" to the "loot a memorable treasure" question, since you're discovering some magical items in the next room (spoiler!)