Fought their way through, Barakas (Player: Adam) and Kieron (Player: John S) racing each other to see who could get to the other end of the city first, Kieron won but only by a turn.
They then charged to, and straight into the throne room of the desolate and empty keep. Here they find Maltak himself sitting there, Dark Druid of Chaos is missing his left arm and right leg from the previous encounter, replaced with branches that move independently of himself (minor creatures).
Fighting off wereboars who stood at the door way, crossing perilous paths above a chasm, Barakas finding himself covered in a horde of were rats before blasting them off himself before they could veer into their final form of he Soletaken in a clutch save.
Eventually, when engaging the Malevolent Maltak, they found themselves in a three way fight. water and fire elementals pounding on each other (thanks to some begging to Kellok of the Flames), on the other platform, One of the Sons of Tom (Werebear Scions) is fighting Savat the Talking Cat in his warg-form of a wagon-sized panther, yet Tom’s son smashes the wounded cat quickly and had it unconscious in a turn before moving on Kieron.
Kieron and Barakas savage Maltak and his minions with spells and steel in a 10+ round slog. Despite his powerful defences and spells (that left the party at near death multiple times), the final blows where struck,
Kieron was knocked into one of the holes of the floor, and then falling down into the sewers. Kieron’s fall was arrested by the power within the gem of his ancestral sword, preventing instant death, in a ‘space-x-booster-style’ landing.
Barakas melting Maltak down to memories and dreams with bars of fluidic fury of the Elder Flame himself, dropping him to the floor in a pile of ash that he soon started to heal from, rising slowly.
Before the Dread Druid could heal, the Vampire Silara arrived and drove her silver daggers into his pile, ending the tyranny of the Uni (again), by killing Maltak (again, but for good this time).
Barakas destroys the giant crystal in the back of the room with his lava-spitting-staff, and lifted the key from the druids corpse, heading down the stairs behind the sewers, finding Kieron below lost in the dark, in a shit filled outlet of the sewer system (nat ones suck, sorry mate).
The Elder One
Fumbling their way, they find a room with the bound Unicorn, who was surrounded by magic circles and leaking blood from an ever-present seeping wound. The back wall of the chamber was missing, having been dug out by what seemed like massive clawed hands.
Standing over the Unicorn was a man, drinking from the wound on her neck, and as they watched he gained the powers of chaos, shifting into a were-boar and charging, yet being crushed again by the sword and dagger play of the Assassin Kieron, and the summoned Daemons of Barakas (given the pleasure of having the company of two cheeky magma mephits).
Barakas (aided by Kieron’s amazing ability to figure out the arcanic), brakes the spells holding the Unicorn in place, and freeing her with the key.
As they planned their next move, the vision that had been haunted them since the dwarves tunnels, the horrific Elder One, had arrived behind them in the gap in the ruined wall. Speaking no words, just sending emotions of rage, contempt and violence, the thing awkwardly crawled into the room (barely fitting) as they escaped back into the sewers.
So I just started runnin’
It then shadowed them as they fled through the city with the unicorn levitating between them. They could feel the Elder One following their passage in the tunnels deeper under the city, parallel to their path but unable to get at them due to it’s size, casting spells from sewers and grates, trying to regains it’s unicorn toy.
Finally, our two heroes had to cross it’s path, and they opted to go around it, Barakas’ heroic effort at stealth barely getting him by, as the Forgotten Beast of the Under grabbed him by his shirt, tearing it from him as he fled, ending the threat to the Uni as they returned to the safety of the surface.
Silara, Savat and the Unicorn headed for Whistlefur’s glade, to begin to undertake the works to retake the forest from Chaos and Evil’s influence, while the party, with their new manacles in tow, chat to NIS HQ, and were sent a pickup by the Portal Lord Faen, who was traveling in the area.
“Is that ‘Bitch’ I smell suddenly? Oh, it’s just Thassians…”
Faen took them to Finn, who was standing on a Hill overlooking two encamped armies, One Nestorian, the other Thassian, both preparing for battle on the morrow.
- Beside Finn (Player: Isaac F), stands a group of people, some familiar, some not.
- To his right, stands a young man with short blonde hair,
- Dressed in a suit of Purple Full Plate that pulses with power,
- On his back is scabbarded a huge two handed sword with a faintly glowing purple orb in the pommel.
- To his right, stands a young man with short blonde hair,
- To the side of him, three robed figures stand, easily identified as
- ○ the High Magus of Flame (Seviok),
- ○ High Mage of Ice (Tolarion)
- ○ And some unknown human mage wearing brown robes.
- Next to them Stands the dwarven Prophet of Terranc, Oromis (Player: Henry B) and his two mouse-folk companions.
- Opposite them stands the dwarven Destriant of Life, Erak (Player: Will),
- Next to him, bringing the circle closed is two warriors, both looking a bit worse for wear and aging,
- ○ but one is easily recognisable as San Dolio, General of the Armies of Nestor
- ○ and the other could only be Sevenswords himself, The Imperial Marshall of Nestor.
An impressive gathering you find yourself suddenly standing part of, holding blood slick manacles of dark evil, bleeding from numerous wounds, covered in gore and bile and shit, and in Barakas’ case, also shirtless.