—- round 4 init —-
Lady(Song, Buffs, 11hp + 31temp)
3 Dwarves(charmed, -10NL), 1 Dwarf (uncon/prone)
Pallicea(confused,13hp), Cujo
Celembriar(PvE), Archon(PvE, -19, poison -3CON), Ant()
Aeliexes(confused)
Pfvaarsk(PvC), Arbiter
The ant stares at the monk, almost daring him to try.
With its antennas twitching and taunting…
...always taunting...menacingly.
The ant twitches twice at the archer and heads toward the fray.
The battle drags on with Aelexies shooting summoned ants and the hound archon unable to land a final blow. Palecia is severely mauled by vampiric touches but finally with blade and lightning from Phavaarsk she drops. The dwarven miners snap out of their stupor and follow back to the fort.
War council with Cobb Greenleaf at Fort Trevalay to send party to scout the Hollow Hills
Ischorian is not fooled by the ploy of the medusa-ghost and casts magic missiles. Celembriar shrugs “I guess negotiations are over.” and summons a shield archon. The ghost hisses in frustration and commands three elementals to attack as she moans in abject horror. None of the party is affected due to the bolstering auras of the celestials nearby. She retreats to the lava pit with the angel and archon in pursuit. Aielexes peppers her with arrows and the elementals move to attack the party. Celembriar hands his elemental bane sword to Pallicea “Girl, use this!” after she strong jaws the wolf.
The wrath of Elacnida is turned to disappointment as she is blinded by striking the holy archon while doing some damage with her corrupting touch. She retreats underground, leaving the party to contend with the elementals. Elacnida “DIE!!!” emerges from the statue of Dendrick, using his eyes to strike at Ischorian, but he is expecting her and does more kingslayer damage to the Spy Master in the exchange. Pallicea and Cujo flank her but their teamwork is not as effective as usual. “You are finished!”. Finally, the deva cuts down the ghost from above. Pfvaarsk detects a smile as the ghost departs, and realizes she will reappear from the statues in a few days. The last elemental is toppled and the party rests for a few moments to contemplate what had transpired.
--Chapter 5 - Prisoners Of The Blight--
Once the medusa ghost was dispelled, and time passed as the party waited to confirm this was true, divinations and research into the notes and evidence moved swifter than the party imagined from the Council.
Talks have already begun to end the war, though the party imagines this will take some time. As Karburtin explains, Even if the war were to end tomorrow it will take some time for the dwarves to reequip and prepare for a war against the Ironfang.
Karburtin arranges a remote conversation with your friends in Fangwood and Longshadow. You will find that the Ironfang have consolidated their hold over Nirmathas south of Longshadow, having turned Phaendar into their new stronghold.
Without your team to fight them, your allies have done their best to keep them at bay, spreading rumors of the Ghosts of Phaendar and striking at Ironfang resources far and wide.
Karburtin looks at you seriously on hearing this news and promises to find aid for you wherever he can.
You find yourself welcome in the Greathammer stronghold and spend your time training and preparing for a return to the war against the Ironfang. Before you have time to chaff at the delay, Karburtin Lightbrand summons you to his home.
"Kind friends," Lightbrand says, rubbing the curls of his short beard with concern. "You have done us such a great service in past weeks that I wish I could bring you better tidings. Prince Gorm has dispatched not insignificant material aid—weapons and armor—to your allies, but alas, I must be frank. Our beloved Sky Citadel does not have the numbers to provide you with any military assistance. The prince considers you friends for life, but we cannot jeopardize our homeland by sending our small defensive forces on an offensive mission. Surely you understand. That does not mean we are unwilling to help, however. I have just finished extensive research on the Onyx Key, the artifact stolen from our vault, and it is indeed the weapon your enemies now use to move their troops unseen. The device creates a network of extradimensional tunnels—it’s a fascinating process, truly. My ancestors suspected the artifact relies on some great power source or hub positioned outside reality, and once opened a gate to it using the red sardonyx shard from the artifact’s base. But in the process, they unleashed terrible monsters that ravaged our city."
"I believe the Ironfang Legion has succeeded where my ancestors failed, conquering this hub and now using it as a central stronghold from which they direct their invasion. I’ve been divining, trying to locate the sardonyx shard for you, so you too can open a gate to the hub. My most recent spells found it deep within the heart of Fangwood Forest, but soon thereafter a powerful magic began shielding it from my spells. To me this implies only one culprit: the Blight."
Karburtin pauses here to refill your drinks and answer any questions you may have regarding the Onyx Key and its history with the dwarves. He continues after.
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Pallicea shakes her head. It does not matter. They must be stopped before they do more damage to the forest and all those who dwell within its confines. as she raises her hand to stop the dwarf from refilling her wineglass.
I suspect we are having this conversation as a dwarven army is less likely to be successful marching into the Fangwood when a smaller, stealthier team is needed. I have heard only rumors of the Blight. And none of them good. What can you possibly know?
"You surely know of the legends of the Fangwood’s diseased heart: tales of cruel, corrupted fey and trees that shift and trails that change once travelers pass. This is the work of the Blight, or more precisely, the Darkblight, which is both a disease and a place—the realm of a corrupted fey ruler called Arlantia. But it was not always this way. Not so long ago, the Fangwood was dominated by a collective of fey called the Accressiel Court, ruled by a powerful earth goddess named Gendowyn. Of course, ‘goddess’ is something of an honorific. She was powerful, but hardly divine I think. Regardless, my ancestors sought her council in the past on matters of the earth and seasons. Arlantia once sat at Gendowyn’s right hand, and it was the earth goddess’s Accressiel Court that was overthrown and perverted into the Darkblight."
Karburtin snorts.
"We know only that we cannot contact her, nor can we find her. The Darkblight twists magic, especially divinations and conjurations. The only dwarven warrior to return from the Darkblight crawled back bearing a lock of the earth goddess’s hair, and with powerful divinations through that we learned she was alive and somewhere beneath the earth. But we have long since run out of hair to use as a focus for our divinations."
He adjusts his glasses.
"Once Gendowyn was a powerful fey in her own right, but she also once commanded the Fangwood’s thousands of fey creatures. If even a fraction of them remain loyal to her after these centuries, then they could form an army she might place at your disposal. Surely that could help you stand toe-to- toe with this Ironfang Legion."