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Seedy mutters a prayer, pointing his staff toward the red hunter limned in magical fire. A beam of searing holy light erupts from the end of his staff, streaking toward the hunter.
He then takes advantage of Xanno's speedy magic to move up behind the intact section of the wall to avoid reprisal.
------
It takes heroics Seedy but Seedy hits with powerful searing light.
He then melts a bit despite hiding behind the wall of ice.
The inner section of ice finishes melting.
The Black Captain moves up to the drake and takes advantage of the other wights clawing at at it to find an opening and makes two quick slashes.
The second blow is a crit, poofing the drake. The captain seems to steal some lifeforce before melting a bit in the heat.
Initiative:
Seedy 64/91
Black Captain -64 | Fabulous|
Zanderel 107/114 | Concealed |
*Wall 14/40
Green Stalker Wight | -86 | Concealed | Stunned 1
Yellow Stalker Wight |-56 | Concealed
Xanno | 74/78 | Concealed |
Blue Hunter Wight| -77| Fabulous
Red Hunter Wight -94| Fabulous
Jaqard 115/125 | Fly Heroism Concealed |
Zanderel is up!
F, CF, S, S
Lightning arcs through the undead, The black captain takes the brunt of it, and as a final bit of spite blows a warhorn before being destroyed.
And a pair of corpses rise up, that red spite in their eyes.
The green stalker and blue hunter also go down!
Blue explodes, but no enemies are nearby.
Green makes a final stab at Jaqard.
Despite the heat and smoke, the wall of ice holds!... Barely.
With the commanding wight gone the yellow wight leaps forward at the nearest target, Jaqard, and attacks.
Initiative:
Seedy 64/91
Zanderel 88/114 | Concealed |
*Wall 1/40
Yellow Stalker Wight |-100| Concealed
Xanno | 74/78 | Concealed |
Red Hunter Wight -94| Fabulous
Jaqard 83/125 | Fly Heroism Concealed | 3x Fort 24
Orange Wight
Purple Wight
Xanno is up!
Both of the new wights get zotted.
The red hunter fires a trio of arrows at Jaqard.
But misses all 3 times.
It nearly melts but keeps on fighting.
Initiative:
Seedy 64/91
Zanderel 88/114 | Concealed |
*Wall 1/40
Yellow Stalker Wight |-100| Concealed
Xanno | 61/78 | Concealed |
Red Hunter Wight | -109 | Fabulous
Jaqard 83/125 | Fly Heroism Concealed | 3x Fort 24
Orange Wight -14 | Concealed
Purple Wight -14 | Concealed
Jaqard is up!
Jaqard only suffers a little bit and manages to get 1 hit on yellow who still stands, and follows it up with a pair of misses as he smolders.
The 2 new wiggts swarm Zanderel the best they can with their claws.
Zanderel gets clawed once, mostly weathering the assault as Purple steals some life force.
They both burn.
Then a flickering Magic flows over the undead, seemingly cooling them off a bit as the smoke thickens. They close their mouths and stop pointing and shouting in Necril as the smoke thickens.
Initiative (Round 4)
Seedy 64/91 | Concealed |
Zanderel 78/114 | Concealed | Fort 17
*Wall 1/40
Yellow Stalker Wight |-100| Concealed
Xanno | 61/78 | Concealed |
Red Hunter Wight | -109 | Fabulous
Jaqard 61/116* | Fly Heroism Concealed | Drained 1
Orange Wight -29| Concealed
Purple Wight -23 | Concealed
[b]Seedy & Zanderel are up!
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Zanderel coughs through the smoke, clearing his lungs though the smoke burns. He moves to get closer to Seedy, moving his hands through the most iconic of spellcasting gestures.
The bead of fire that floats through the obscuring smoke is hard to see, but the resulting detonating stands out even through the blazing forest fire.
The Orange wight collapses down to just a regular corpse after the healing, but the purple one is unaffected!
Seedy coughs and burns a bit.
Zanderel coughs and finishes off the purple wight with a massive fireball
The wall melts, Zanderel melts a bit.
With a small amount of work you're able to finish off the remaining wights.
With the threats down you're able to collect the adamantine shield and escape the wildfire.
Once out in the open, you see that the undead army has been nearly wiped out. A combination of Freedom Town’s forces, your defenses, superior tactics, and the wildfire made quick work of most of the undead.
Mahja finds you shortly after the battle, mildly wounded but generally well. She carries a joyful look on her face and the head of one of the powerful wights in her hand—a trophy to take back to Urgir.
Mahja Firehair unleashes a bellowing laugh. It almost sounds like a howl as it echoes throughout the valley.
“Well, I think we managed to stop the undead. If there are more, I’m sure we could take them, but I think we’ve earned a bit of rest for the moment.” She holds up the wight’s head, its eye sockets filled with a jet-black emptiness and thick, dark ichor dripping from its torn neck. “I think this one will fit well among the nine broken skulls in Urgir. I’m sure Ardax will be pleased to—”
The head’s eyes flare to life with the all-too-familiar red glow typical of wights. Almost instantaneously, the light shifts to a dark purple hue and a loud hissing begins to emanate from the head. The symbol of Sarenrae pinned in Mahja’s hair glows bright and a horrified realization flashes across her face. Quicker than a flame burns dried grass at the height of summer, Mahja pulls the head in to her chest and turns away while yelling As she throws herself to the ground to cover the head, the hiss becomes a deafening pop and Mahja becomes enveloped in a pitch-black light. The light is gone in an instant, leaving Mahja’s unresponsive body thrown about on the ground.
Seedy's ministrations are of no help. The foul undead bomb has rendered her completely dead. Judging by the amount of negative energy her body absorbed it's pretty clear her actions saved your lives.
Other burning Sun Orcs catch up to your group and there is immense grief among them. They do believe your explanation of her death and hold you no ill will.
Eventually Uirch finds you and seems in a surprisingly good mood. "Thank you Pathfinders for answering our call. While the losses today were tragic, there is also hope among the Burning Sun hold. First,
the undead forces were defeated and Belkzen will remain safe for the time being. The other reason for hope is that Mahja’s body bears a Vow Mark..."
Seeing a lack of understanding in your faces. "Orcs believe that they can challenge a god in the afterlife in a process referred to as the Crucible. An orc can declare a vow shortly before their death. Upon dying, the orc can challenge a god directly for godhood. If the orc wins, the god is slain, and the orc can claim divinity to become a god themselves. If the orc loses, their soul is destroyed, and they can’t be resurrected or move elsewhere in the afterlife. An orc undergoing the Crucible always manifests a symbol, like a glowing scar, known as a Vow Mark. "
Uirich nod and smiles and simply states. "Mahja’s body had a Vow Mark on her neck, showing that she’s undergoing the Crucible."
Continuing "We'll stand vigil over her body while she completes the Crucible. This could take days or even months, but it is an exciting time for the Burning Sun hold."
There’s a party in Freedom Town that night as people celebrate the destruction of the undead army, the saving of the town, and Mahja’s undertaking of the Crucible.
The mood is one of joy and hope, even with the death of Mahja. You are celebrated as heroes of the Battle of the Burning River and earn fame and respect among the Burning Sun hold.