They follow you meekly as you explore. The next room of note appears to be a finely appointed room serves as a study, a shrine, and a bedchamber. The walls are decorated with staggeringly detailed maps of a world made of mazes, over all of which looms a horned demon with a pentagram branded into its forehead. A large chest sits at the foot of an oversized bed to the southwest, while a short passageway to the north ends at a nook with a chair set before a crystal lens the size of a fit that is set into the wall. A table strewn with alchemical equipment and archaeological tools sits to the north. The most striking object on the table is a strange metallic framework that holds a heart-sized purple crystal at its core. Bits of what appear to be scorched and partially melted stone cling in lumps to the softly glowing crystal. As Gorn opens the door a wave of magic energy washes over everyone except for Nash!
Gorn also feels a spell trying to affect him.
Inside you also see four cultists aiding a giant sized horned human woman who is working on a crystal.
You feel a strong connection to this woman. You feel like she is related to you.
"Curses, intruders. I will have to stop the process to kill you. How inconvenient."
She casts a spell and a vertical curtain of whirling blades shaped of pure force springs into existence.
You take
Varda sprouts wings and flies upward to within a few feet of the top of the blades, preparing to draw her bow.
Gorn-Rel kills over.
Sensing some kind of connection to the large horned woman, Na'shok hesitates. "Who are you? I feel like we've met before."
"I am Hepzamirah, nephilim daughter of the great King of Beasts, Baphomet. You have no chance against me."
"The King of Beasts? If Baphomet was speaking the truth, that makes you my half-sister. Step aside, sister, it's you that stands no chance. We will defeat you and finish what we came here for."
"Oh I have a brother? Good, you will become another sacrifice just like all my other siblings to the greatness of Baphomet. Maybe you'll fetch me even greater power."
With no way to use the scroll of Heal and with Vard distracted, Gorn-Rel focuses his ki to knit his massive wounds.
He then focus' his divine energy to bring the order of his will onto the beings in that room.
Na'shok retrieves the scroll of heal and hands it to Larissa along with a mote of divine power to bolster her.
Nash and Larissa put together a concerted effort to heal Gorn of his injuries to much success. Gorn lays down the law on the cultists and nephilim inside.
The cultists shrug off Gorn's spell and it does nothing to Hepzamirah.
"I am protected by Baphomet's grace you fool."
The cultists each cast a spell, bombarding the party with chaotic energy!
Hepzamirah moves and points at Varda. A beam of eerie dark fire shoots out at her.
Gorn-Rel ignores the cultists' prayers.
He looks at the swirling death in front of him and times his leap through it.
Amazingly, he goes through without a scratch, and begins to beat the second cultist with his fists.
He then focuses his ki to speed his reflexes.
"You won't be sacrificing anyone today, sister." Na'shok says as he grabs Larissa (and Varda if she's still on this side of the wall) and steps sideways between worlds to arrive on the other side of the blade barrier.
Gorn charges forward, pummeling the cultist. Though battered, the cultist is still standing. Nash teleports the rest into the room, bypassing the barrier of blades.
Varda quickly recovers from Nash's teleport and flies upward a few feet before unleashing the power of her bow upon the evil woman.
Varda hits with almost all her shots and one does massive damage, though all of them do less than normal.
C1 will cast a spell blessing his fellow cultists and his mistress.
The others step closer to their mistress and heal themselves.
Hepzamirah steps closer to Varda, swinging her large pick.
Gorn-Rel gets up close and personal with C2 and Hepzamirah. (AH, 35)
He focuses his inner strength to ignore the damage reduction of Hepzamirah. His punches and kicks alternate between Hepzamirah and the cultist.
With a surge of speed and power, Na'shok brings his weapon up parrying one of his giant half-sister's powerful blows.
Despite his myriad magical defenses, Na'shok still suffers a nasty wound. He reels back with Soulshear, channels his divine spark, and strikes back with a vengeance.
Gorn drops a cultist and lands every blow on Hepzamirah. Nash does as well. However his half-sister is powered by pure abyssal energy and keeps fighting.
Varda narrows her eyes and continues to unload.
Varda lands one shot on the nephilim. In desperation she turns her fury on Gorn.
Fight On (Su): With an order or a determined look, you spur a wounded ally to keep fighting. As an immediate action, you can expend one use of mythic power to allow a creature other than yourself that is reduced to fewer than 0 hit points to remain conscious and alive. The creature can't die from hit point damage until after the start of your next turn. You can extend this effect for 1 round at the start of your next turn by expending another use of mythic power as a free action. Though the creature can't be killed by hit point damage, any damage it takes still applies to its current hit points. When this ability's effect ends, the creature falls unconscious or dies if its current hit points or other circumstances would otherwise cause it to do so. The creature must be within 30 feet for you to start or extend this effect.
Gorn he would have fallen if he did not feel his divine father's energy flow from Varda into his damaged body.
Two of the divine prince's blows are particularly mighty.
With his sister distracted, Na'shok presses his attack. "Send father my regards!" he roars as he strikes.
Despite being at death's door, Gorn keeps fighting. His unarmed strikes powered by divinity finally strike down Nash's half sister. Nash obliterates a cultist.
Rent by pickaxe and horn, bloody beyond all recognition -- it seems impossible that he could still be living let alone standing -- Gorn-Rel steps towards a cultist.
Varda flies over the wall and down next to Gorn, calling on Torag's power as she never has before.
Varda flies over and channels the power of Torag, healing many of Gorn's wounds. The remaining cultists step forward, their hands glowing with dark energy.
They both touch Gorn before he rips one of them apart.
Their spells cannot touch the prince given his divine power even in this weakened state.
Na'shok charges forward to bring down his sister's remaining pawns.
Nash finishes off the remaining cultists!
Before you can loot Hepzamirah's corpse it rips open, collapsing in a shower of corruption as the smoking, ghostly image of a towering horned demon spills up from her rapidly decaying remains.
“Mortal worms! You have destroyed my daughter. But even in her failure, she proved of use to me, for while you toyed with her, I took from your mewling patron one of her own! Know, fools, that none of those you value are safe from me. Even your goddess Iomedae knows my wrath, for I have claimed her herald as my latest plaything, stolen from her as you whiled your time away in the Midnight Isles. And now, I do the same to you! When I am done with you, your bones shall join those of millions more within the walls of my Ivory Labyrinth!”
The demon's form then starts becoming a real physical form! Yet just before the demon lord can do so, the shadows suddenly darken around his form, then rush in and surround him in a vortex of violence. Flesh begins peeling away from Baphomet’s frame, and a horn suddenly snaps off at the root. The demon lord shrieks in pain as a familiar, feminine voice speaks from the shadows.
“No, lord of slain daughters. This is my realm, and these are my guests. You are the intruder here, and your bones shall decorate my palace walls if you choose to remain!”
Baphomet shrieks again, but then his form shrinks away and vanishes as he chooses instead to f lee from Nocticula’s presence. With the demon lord of minotaurs gone, the shadows congeal before the PCs, granting them a glimpse of Nocticula’s feminine curves somewhere in the darkness as she speaks one final time.
“And so you have done it. I must admit, I’m a touch surprised. You have more in you than I suspected. Rest assured, mortals, that your enemies will claim no more of my realm’s blood for themselves. Yet you have made a greater enemy than the children of gods tonight, and I suspect you will be facing Baphomet again. Were that I could be there to watch. I must say, I’m not sure who would prevail in such a clash! No matter— the way to the Midnight Fane and your homes on the Material Plane lies before you. You have but to step into my shadow to be on your way home.”
+1 Glaive x4
Amulet of Natural Armor +2 x4
Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds(10 charges) x4
Wand of Shield of Faith(CL 6, 10 charges) x4
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds x4
+3 Large Fullplate
Blancher(See OOC for details)
Amulet of Natural Armor +3
Headband of Wisdom +6
Fasciculus Labyrinthum(See OOC for details)
10150 gold
You feel a bit of your sister's power flow into Soulshear. It now has the properties of a belt of thunderous charging as well.