Caraid extends a hand and fires a beam of unpleasantly bright light across the room at Hyrune.
Ceceka and Aily team up for a devastating combo attack on one of the unrisen. The tough skeletal undead is still standing despite its grievous injuries. Humerus struggles to reverse the grapple, and his stomp only knocks down the damaged undead.
Hyrune easily dodges Caraid's beam of light. He barely manages to twist out of the way of Telvir's summoned skeleton's rib attack!
Hyrune is lightly injured, but those wounds quickly heal due to his vampiric nature. Maintaining his shield spell, the Blood Lord casts a dispelling dweomer, banishing the dinosaur skeleton!
The prone unrisen tries to stand, but Ceceka reacts to slice it again and put it down for the count.
The other three attack Ceceka and Humerus.
The battle of spellcasters continues across the fray: Telvir weaves magic around a sharp stake, flinging it at Hyrune, and commands Smoke to attack.
for
for
HP 167/220
AC 35 / 37 in Mountain Stance or 39 if use Mountain Stronghold
Resistance 3 to cold, electricity, fire, piercing, and slashing damage
Fort +22, Ref +22, Will +20 (+1 vs. disease and poison; +2 circumstance bonus to Fortitude DC vs. Grapple and Swallow Whole; +2 circumstance bonus vs. being Shoved or Tripped while in Mountain Stance, +1 vs. fear)
Hero points: 2
Effects: grabbed
"Really, boss, letting go anytime now would be nice," Humerus says, resorting to a couple of blows of his own. He continues, blathering a little in a way that makes no sense to Hyrune.
As Ceceka destroys the one attempting to stand, Aily shifts to help her minion which includes a withering "Stop playing with your kills."
Caraid frowns and then turns his attention to the undead minions. Remembering the notes from the previous chamber he summons magic that would have him executed if Hyrune lives to tell about it. Fortunately he won't.
Ceceka and Aily team up to take down a second unrisen. Caraid instantly annihilates another one with his breath of life spell, its body crumbling into a pile of metallic blue-green salts. Humerus and Smoke pummel the last unrisen while Telvir manages to impale Hyrune with a hurled stake.
The vampire lord hisses in pain, pulling the stake free. As the wounds starts to heal, he sustains his shield and casts a powerful spell in an attempt to confuse all of you!
The last unrisen bites at Humerus, crunching bone in a critical hit.
Caraid is taken off guard and fires off a short beam of light.
He misses and then looks around, hoping no-one noticed just what a terrible shot he seems to be.
"Little half breed, come from seed, so filled with need, but will only bleed." Aily finds her mind clouded, thrown back into father's halls, taunted by the inane and poor rhymes of the tattered jester.
When it clears enough to allow her clarity, she charges up to the hated fang and makes a clumsy swipe, which hopefully leaves him open for a follow-up.
The spell confuses Telvir and stuns Smoke.
He fires off a telekinetic projectile at a random target!
for
HP 112/220
AC 35 / 37 in Mountain Stance or 39 if use Mountain Stronghold
Resistance 3 to cold, electricity, fire, piercing, and slashing damage
Fort +22, Ref +22, Will +20 (+1 vs. disease and poison; +2 circumstance bonus to Fortitude DC vs. Grapple and Swallow Whole; +2 circumstance bonus vs. being Shoved or Tripped while in Mountain Stance, +1 vs. fear)
Hero points: 2
Effects: grabbed, confused 1 minute
Humerus, more confused than usual, lashes out at the two slavering beasts around him -- the unrishen currently gnawing on him and the horrible hound that he knows has just been waiting for the perfect moment! His mind clears up -- as much as it ever is -- a moment later.
Ceceka is confused, lashing out at his allies and hitting Aily once. Fortunately, she and Humerus are able to finish off the last unrisen minion.
Telvir's projectile bounces off of Ceceka's armor.
Not wanting to deal with Aily's deadly blades, Hyrune casts a powerful spell to banish her to a magical puzzle room!
Telvir continues in his confusion, attacking again with his spells.
for
HP 112/220
AC 35 / 37 in Mountain Stance or 39 if use Mountain Stronghold
Resistance 3 to cold, electricity, fire, piercing, and slashing damage
Fort +22, Ref +22, Will +20 (+1 vs. disease and poison; +2 circumstance bonus to Fortitude DC vs. Grapple and Swallow Whole; +2 circumstance bonus vs. being Shoved or Tripped while in Mountain Stance, +1 vs. fear)
Hero points: 2
Effects: confused 9 rounds
Confused, Humerus rushes toward Hyrune, fists flying. "Bibbeldy-boop, blood boss!"
The fury in the maid's red eyes could burn a vampire to ash, but the reason the anger burns so hot is that THERE IS NO VAMPIRE TO KILL. Aily stands in the extraplanar puzzle room of mysterious origin looking to the paths like they are the most disgusting stains on undead underthings. Eventually she steps forward taking one...
Thankfully her keen eyes found what seems like the right path.
Caraid lets out a feral sounding growl and stops holding back.
The beam of light that leaps from his hands washes over Hyrune like the fury of a god.
Humerus ignores Hyrune's repulsion spell as he rushes towards the vampire. Unfortunately, he fails to land a hit. Caraid does, though, blasting the rival Blood Lord with holy fire! Hyrune howls in agony as he burns. Meanwhile, Telvir hurls a projectile at nothing and Ceceka slashes Smoke before finally coming to his senses.
"Let's see how you do without your magic!" Hyrune shouts at Caraid. He casts a spell to attempt to reduce the oracle's mental facilities!
Caraid shrugs off the spell without comment and unleashes another gout of holy fire!
Another pause to contemplate the patterns, then with a single step, Aily appears back into the fight. Her red eyes find first her blood lord. Seeing he is still breathing, she then turns to the leech who sent her away. "Your magic is weak." her velvet voice is full of mocking disdain.
Smoke is in better shape than Telvir. The dog lopes up to Helrun n on his own, flanking with Humerus.
Telvir fires off a spell!
for
HP 112/220
AC 35 / 37 in Mountain Stance or 39 if use Mountain Stronghold
Resistance 3 to cold, electricity, fire, piercing, and slashing damage
Fort +22, Ref +22, Will +20 (+1 vs. disease and poison; +2 circumstance bonus to Fortitude DC vs. Grapple and Swallow Whole; +2 circumstance bonus vs. being Shoved or Tripped while in Mountain Stance, +1 vs. fear)
Hero points: 2
Effects: confused 8 rounds
Humerus flinches! Realizing the horrible, vicious awful bone-chomping horror has finally decided to try to dismember and devour him, Humerus strikes first! He moves around the annoying vampire in his way and attacks Smoke!
Ceceka struggles against the repulsion field around Hyrune but is unable to get through it. Frustrated, he grabs a javelin from his quiver and hurls it at the vampire, scoring a hit! As Aily finds her way out of Hyrune's extradimensional prison, Caraid blasts Hyrune with another beam of searing light. The final strike proves too much for the Blood Lord to take, and with a hiss, his body dissolves into a cloud of mist and flows into the nearby coffin...
"Open the coffin!" Caraid commands, reaching into his extra-dimensional bag and producing a simple wooden stake as Smoke bounds over to grab the slab of juicy meat which also falls out of his bag.
"Time to end this."
Coming out of his confusion, Humerus shrugs.
"You got it, blood boss!" he says cheerfully, pulling open the coffin as he flinches away from Smoke.
Aily nods to her minion from her position behind her lord, her dagger still out just in case.
You find Hyrune lying helpless in repose in his coffin. It's a simple matter to drive a wooden stake through his black heart and end his miserable existence, once and for all.
***
The death of a Blood Lord is a noteworthy event in Mechitar, but not an unusual one. People soon feel free to openly speak of their many grievances against Hyrune, and it’s clear that he was deeply unpopular but feared. In a few days, the citizens adjust to the changing political climate, and for many, you are the “rising stars” Hyrune so bitterly commented on. While Geb, for the moment, seems not to have much time or interest in speaking you again, another powerful undead leader certainly does.
Kortash Khain has had all he can take of Mechitar, Geb, and the surface world. The ghoul king prepares to return to Nemret Noktoria, but he invites you to visit with him once last time before he departs. Through the disembodied corpse that serves as his Voice, Kortash thanks you for your assistance during his time in Mechitar. He says that you are welcome to visit the streets of the "greater city" of Nemret Noktoria at any time in the future. Whether or not Geb’s decision to reinstate the nation’s tithes to Kortash’s people is imminent, Kortash notes—speaking in his own voice for the first time—“Ghouls never hunger for long—not so long as flesh exists in the world above.”
Telvir bows with the appropriate obeisance to the ghoul king, "One day, perhaps, we will visit your great city."
Caraid also bows, while privately vowing to never visit the ghoul city if he can possibly avoid it!
Thanks, blood boss," Humerus blithely exclaims. "That sounds really nice!" The skeleton doesn't have any flesh to worry about the ghouls eating, not that it would likely occur to him even if he did.
Aily's watchful eyes study the Kortash's Voice as it speaks, cooly distant but ready in case it chooses to try and end future rivals. Her breath does drawn in as the creature stops in front of her and offers her a stunning onyx statue of a flaming steed. She can almost feel the untethered, rearing and driving across the streets with his mistress riding on its back.
She looks up, and gives the Voice a true nod of respect before taking the treasure, making it disappear in the folds of her apron.
Part of Ceceka is intrigued by the idea of visiting Nemret Noktoria. For once, he'd be the one lusted over by thousands. Sure, they'd want to eat him up, literally, but that feeling of being wanted and desired does warm his heart a little.
"I'd be honored, High Priest. "
As usual when they have time, Humerus goes out to relax at Aily's very firm suggestions. If he happens to learn something during this time, he definitely brings it back. He's not sure why Aily yelled at him last time he came into her room to tell her, but it likely had to do with her lack of clothing and Caraid's similar state.
He decides to wait outside their door, ignoring the noises coming from inside, to tell her what he's learned without interrupting her. He begins humming tunelessly to himself.
In the aftermth of their victory, TElvir hosts a number of academic symposia in their lair. The meetings mostly focus on embalming, but touch on many of the necromantic arts.
Caraid calls in favours, bribes, woos, charms and (thanks to a certain lovely maid) blackmails, threatens and even in one particularly stubborn case assassinates. He works for months, relentlessly, until at last he has done everything he can do and there is nothing left to do but see if Geb responds.
While Humerus uncovers a secret about the Celebrants, Tevlir works to increase his personal celebrity, doing so with great success!
Meanwhile, Caraid and Aily campaign tirelessly through Mechitar for several months, recruiting powerful supporters to their cause. His hard work pays off as a new faction emerges: the Proclaimers. Geb himself approves of their work, granting them a permanent headquarters in the capital city!
Telvir spends some time repairing relations with the Celebrants and Reanimators.
Humerus follows suit with the Builders League and Export Guild.