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Story Hour
Sagiro's Story Hour: The FINAL Adventures of Abernathy's Company (FINISHED 7/3/14)
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<blockquote data-quote="Sagiro" data-source="post: 5370606" data-attributes="member: 726"><p>Steeldragons, those pictures are great! I look forward to seeing more of them.</p><p></p><p>Also, here, have an update. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p><em><strong>Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 318</strong></em></p><p><strong><em>Bad Place, Good Place</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Flicker draws his sword out of the crumpled body of Glemiyal, and immediately spots a heretofore hidden goblin darting at him from the side. He slashes it across the leg.</p><p></p><p>“Ow!” cries Ernie. “Flicker, snap out of it!”</p><p></p><p>So saying, Ernie <em>dispels</em> the <em>confusion</em> on Flicker himself.</p><p></p><p>“Thanks, Ernie. Though I don’t suppose I’m also imagining that sound of footsteps?”</p><p></p><p>No, he’s not. Goblins continue to charge up the stairway outside the Iron Tower. It will only be a minute or two more before they’re flooding up the stairs.</p><p></p><p>“We’re going to have company very soon,” Grey Wolf mutters.</p><p></p><p>Ernie looks at Maglubiyet’s Fang, still spinning slowly in its column of red light. </p><p></p><p>“Tava,” he asks, looking up at the Astral Deva, “how do we stop this?”</p><p></p><p>Tava’s Echo stares at the huge dragon tooth. “With violence,” she concludes. At Ernie’s behest, she brings her own weapon down upon the Fang, but some sheath of force prevents contact. She swoops down and picks up Ernie, then hovers before the Fang so that the little halfling can strike with <em>Tava’s Righteous Fury.</em> The fabled blade is uninhibited by the Fang’s protections, and on impact the monstrous tooth tilts and wobbles, rotating off its axis. Small cracks have appeared. Heartened, Ernie continues to swing. </p><p></p><p>As Flicker gingerly divests Glemiyal of his magical possessions, a huge swell of noise comes from the stairwell. The goblins have arrived. Morningstar casts a <em>blade barrier</em> as a greeting, and while the goblins in front stop short at the sight of the whirling knives, the ones in back surge forward and push their hapless allies into the blender. Only after a few seconds of frantic shouting back down the staircase does the carnage cease.</p><p></p><p>Aravis and Flicker pick up the looted body of Glemiyal, and heave it contemptuously into the <em>blade barrier</em>. Gobbets of Goblin Champion are splattered all over the front ranks of goblin soldiers. Morningstar smiles and readies a surprise.</p><p></p><p>It doesn’t take long. Half a minute later some goblin manages to <em>dispel</em> the <em>blade barrier</em>, but as soon as the word spreads to charge again, Morningstar drops a <em>prismatic sphere</em> in the opening to the room. </p><p></p><p>Goblins are fried. Goblins sicken and die. Goblins are turned to statues, or become gibberingly insane. Most experience many of these at once. Eventually, the remaining goblins retreat back down the stairs to regroup and consider.</p><p></p><p>“Back up everyone,” calls Ernie. He takes a final mighty swing with <em>Tava’s righteous fury</em> and Maglubiyet’s Fang shatters in a spray of fragments. The red column of light in which it was spinning fades away.</p><p></p><p>Tava’s Echo lowers Ernie to the ground. Ernie bows, and the Astral Deva returns the gesture. “I am always honored to serve,” the celestial being intones, and with that, it vanishes.</p><p></p><p>In the lull that follows, Dranko brushes some goblin gore from his shirt. “Now what? I say we stroll down the stairs and kill lots of things.”</p><p></p><p>“Works for me,” says Ernie.</p><p></p><p>“Hold on,” says Aravis, shaking his head. “I want to cast a <em>sending</em> to Pewter, to find out if he’s in a safe place for us to <em>teleport</em> to.”</p><p></p><p>Morningstar casts the spell for Aravis, asking for one ‘meow’ for yes, and two for no. The return sending is two meows, followed by some long, drawn out meows, and ending with an emphatic single MEOW! Morningstar relays this, not sure what it means.</p><p></p><p>“Ah,” says Aravis. “He wasn’t somewhere safe at first, so he padded out the word count of his reply until he <em>was</em>.”</p><p></p><p>“Your cat is so much smarter than my husband,” Morningstar says with a smirk.</p><p></p><p>Dranko harrumphs, and lights up a cigar. The exhalation forms into the words “NOT FINISHED.” </p><p></p><p>“Hey everyone,” he warns. “Cranchus is telling us something.”</p><p></p><p>A remarkably lucky goblin comes stumbling out of the prismatic sphere, takes one look at the draconic Aravis, and flees in terror. It is immediately burnt to a crisp.</p><p></p><p>“Hey!” Flicker yells suddenly. “What happened to the sword? I had Glemiyal’s sword right here, and now it’s gone. Dranko?”</p><p></p><p>The party scans the room, but even with <em>true</em> seeing it’s clear that the <em>Red Harbinger</em> is gone. </p><p></p><p>Then they hear laughter, right there in the room with them. It takes a few seconds before they realize that the laughter is telepathic, and could be coming from anywhere. It continues for a few seconds.</p><p></p><p>Morningstar looks up, annoyed. “Do you have a message, or are you just amused?”</p><p></p><p>The voice of Glemiyal sounds in their heads. “Oh, I’m very amused. Did you forget where you were? This is the Crimson Maw, and I am Glemiyal, the Eternal Spirit! So… you killed a body. Very nice. Well done. Unfortunately for you, I have about thirty thousand more, so if you’ll just wait there behind your little shiny bubble, I’ll be along shortly. Something tells me that your spells and your strength will run out long before I do.”</p><p></p><p>His mental presence recedes. Flicker announces that it’s not just the red sword that’s missing; everything he looted from Glemiyal’s body is gone.</p><p></p><p>Ernie gnashes his teeth. “I really, really hate him.”</p><p></p><p>Morningstar shakes her head. “I think we just get out of here. We’ve done what we came to do.”</p><p></p><p>“But the smoke said ‘not finished,’” says Aravis. </p><p></p><p>“We should kill him again,” says Grey Wolf, “and next time destroy the sword before it goes to his next body.”</p><p></p><p>“You have a <em>Mordenkainen’s Disjunction</em> left, in the Cube, don’t you?” Dranko asks. “That would work, right?</p><p></p><p>Ernie concentrates on Tava’s Righteous Fury, hoping for guidance. In response, the sword tugs a bit at his arm – toward the doorway out.</p><p></p><p>“Have we done it?” Ernie asks the sword.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, you have,” it answers.</p><p></p><p>“The cigar smoke says we aren't,” says Ernie. “We’re not finished yet.”</p><p></p><p>“Not finished leaving,” says the sword.</p><p></p><p>Dranko rolls his eyes at Kibi. “Stupid prophetic cigars,” he grumbles.</p><p></p><p>“I’m not very happy with Cranchus right now,” Aravis agrees.</p><p></p><p>Aravis casts <em>gate</em>, hoping that will provide them an easy exit from the Crimson Maw, but it fails --- or, rather, it produces an useless opening like an empty picture frame.</p><p></p><p>“We must need to get back to the shifting portal, and go through that,” says Dranko. </p><p></p><p>The tugging on Ernie’s arm gets more insistent. Aravis peers out one of the arrow slits. The mountain atop which sits the Iron Tower is now fully surrounded by goblins, though none are trying to scale the mountain itself. The huge stairway that leads from the plateau to the Tower is clogged with soldiers.</p><p></p><p>“We’ve got to get out of here,” he says. “And I have an idea…”</p><p></p><p>Minutes later, they’re prepared. The plan is predicated on the fact that while magic flight is suppressed in the Maw, ordinary wing-flapping flight is still possible. Grey Wolf has acquired a spell called <em>flight of the dragon</em>, which causes the target to sprout huge leathery wings. He explains the spell to Kibi, who casts <em>wish</em> to spoof <em>mass flight of the dragon</em>. It works on everyone but himself; his earth mage nature prevents it. He thought as much would happen; his backup plan is to ride on Aravis, already in the shape of a flying dragon.</p><p></p><p>The party already is under Kibi’s <em>veil</em>, and looks like small rats. Morningstar uses a <em>miracle</em> to spoof <em>mass invisibility</em> as well. </p><p></p><p>With everyone ready, Aravis blasts a hole in the roof of the Iron Tower with a <em>disintegrate</em> spell, and seven flying invisible rats launch themselves into the red-gray sky. Once aloft, Kibi uses his <em>staff of illusions</em> to spoof the visuals of an <em>obscuring mist</em>, appearing at the top of the staircase, along with the conspicuous sounds of spell-casting coming from inside. As hoped, this draws the goblins’ attention away from the sky above. Even better, two goblin sorcerers cast <em>cones of cold</em> into the mist, which only succeeds in flash-freezing a dozen hapless goblin soldiers.</p><p></p><p>Following the steady tug of <em>Tava’s Righteous Fury</em>, the Company flies away from the Iron Fortress and out over the rocky terrain of the Crimson Maw. They soar over an enormous lake, around which more thousands of goblins are encamped, and then onward for another two miles, before Ernie’s sword dips downward. Still a thousand feet ahead of them, a sea of goblins is thronged around six glints of red, spaced somewhat apart but in the same 50’ x 50’ area. The heroes fly closer, and soon see that the each glint is a horizontal red portal, identical to the one that brought them to the Maw. Next to each of the portals is a tall goblin wielding a pulsing red sword. </p><p></p><p>Dranko reaches into his tentacular madness to invoke <em>true seeing</em> before diving down for a closer look. It is indeed fortunate that no goblin is both able to see invisible things, and looking up. Once within 120’, Dranko can see that all six portals are illusions, as are all but one of the Glemiyals. But there is an actual portal in the area, masked by an illusion to blend in with the rocky ground. The Company makes a hasty plan over the mind-link, casts some buff spells, and starts its assault with Ernie descending downward nearly to ground level. </p><p></p><p>He utters a <em>holy word</em>. “Yondalla!”</p><p></p><p>Power ripples out from Ernie in waves, and the potent hatred of goblins contained in his sword amplifies the range of the effect. Hundreds of goblins are dropped stone dead on the spot, and many more are stricken paralyzed and senseless. Glemiyal is made conspicuous by the fact that he alone is still standing.</p><p></p><p>Morningstar drops a <em>flame strike</em> on the goblin champion, but this is less efficacious. Not only does Glemiyal entirely resist the damage, but he holds the <em>Red Harbinger</em> aloft, and the magics of Morningstar’s spell are wrapped around it. Glemiyal twirls the black flames around his blade like he’s making cotton candy, and with a flick of his wrist blasts Morningstar with her own spell.</p><p></p><p>“Ah,” thinks Glemiyal into their minds. “Clever. Now come down and join me. I’m waiting.”</p><p></p><p>Kibi drops a <em>spike stones</em> in a ring around the actual portal, to discourage goblins who were outside the deathly radius of Ernie’s spell from joining the battle. Aravis casts <em>mass haste</em> on the group. Grey Wolf centers a <em>cone of cold</em> on Glemiyal, but again Maglubiyet’s chosen resists the attack. Dranko swoops down and cracks his whip across Glemiyal’s face, leaving a bloody streak.</p><p></p><p>Glemiyal smiles. “If this body doesn’t kill you, maybe the next one will. Or the one after that. Either way, I’d best get started.”</p><p></p><p>The <em>Red Harbinger</em> flashes, leaving trails of red light, and carves bloody chunks out of Dranko. But Dranko is plenty tough and just a little bit mad. He smiles back at Glemiyal, while Flicker lands in a flanking position and hacks at the goblin's legs.</p><p></p><p>Morningstar sighs and tosses a <em>darkbeam</em> at her foe, and is surprised to find that Glemiyal doesn’t dodge in time. The goblin champion’s eyes are seared in their sockets, and Glemiyal cries out in pain. Kibi then pegs him with a maximized and empowered <em>ray of enfeeblement</em>. And for a grand finale, Grey Wolf quickens a <em>true strike</em> before descending and channeling a maximized acid orb through an exultant Bostock. </p><p></p><p>The sword nearly cleaves the goblin in two, and then Glemiyal’s latest body erupts in a veritable volcano of acid and guts. The remains of his body ooze out of his armor, pooling in a puddle of smoking sludge.</p><p></p><p>Dranko gloats above the remains. “Does it feel bad, getting spanked by a halfling and his friends, twice in one day?”</p><p></p><p>Then, to the nearest goblins: “Who’s next?”</p><p></p><p>Many of the goblins do in fact move closer, but are mutilated by <em>spike stones</em> for their efforts, and halt their advance. The rest of the Company lands next to the actual portal, and Dranko touches the magic ruby to its glassy surface. No pass phrase is needed to exit; the portal becomes filled with red light. Flicker starts heaving Glemiyal’s magic items through it before the goblin’s next body can claim them. The rest of the party follows, flying out of the Crimson Maw one by one, until only Ernie is left. </p><p></p><p>A voice sounds in his head: <em>Goodbye for now, Ernest. I’m sure I’ll see you again.</em></p><p></p><p><em>I sure hope not</em> Ernie thinks back, and then he jumps through the portal.</p><p></p><p>The heroes find themselves about thirty feet in the air, under a sunny cobalt sky. Off in the distance, maybe two or three miles away, is the city of Victory on the shores of Green Lake. It would appear that the goblins had been uncomfortably close to fixing the egress from the Crimson Maw! Stretched out beneath them is lush farmland, though directly below is a well-ordered apple orchard, rows of trees still a month or two away from harvest. The only oddity is a thicker cluster of the trees, breaking up the neat lines, about a hundred feet to the north. Ernie thinks he can see a building of some sort hidden inside the stand of apple trees.</p><p></p><p>Dranko touches the ruby to the portal, and it becomes an opaque sheet of glass. Ernie concentrates upon <em>Tava’s Righteous Fury</em> with the intent of destroying the portal, but all he manages is to thicken and harden the sealed-up gateway. The wizards in the party guess that this thing is now a permanent fixture of Appleseed, hovering in the air, and while the goblins probably have no way to open it from their side, they may someday find the means.</p><p></p><p>“Can you imagine how angry they’ll be,” says Flicker, “if it takes them a hundred years to get out of that place?”</p><p></p><p>But that’s a probably for another day, and most likely for the Maple Sunblade and the halflings of Appleseed to solve. For now, the Company heals up, rejoices in the fresh air, and decides to check out the hut in the apple trees before reporting to High Priestess Sunblade.</p><p></p><p>It’s physically difficult to squeeze through the dense stand of trunks, but the party is rewarded when they reach the hut and find that a small attached sign reads: “The Inn Between.” They rush inside, Ernie and Flicker leading the way.</p><p></p><p>“Dolly!” cries Ernie. “We’re home!”</p><p></p><p>“Come in! Come in!” shouts Dolly from the kitchen. “I’ve got lunch almost ready for you.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, I do so love this place,” says Ernie, breathing deeply of the aroma of fresh bread. </p><p></p><p>“Flicker! Dranko!” calls Barnabas from his customary table at the back. “Come over here. I’ve got a new card trick going, and need some suckers to test it on!”</p><p></p><p>The Inn Between is the very essence of comfort without pretention – a cross between the Golden Goblet and Ernie’s mom’s living room.</p><p></p><p>“Ernie,” calls Dolly. “I could use some help back here.”</p><p></p><p>In the kitchen, Dolly hands Ernie a spoon and points him to the spice rack.</p><p></p><p>“I’m glad to see you’re still taking such good care of your friends,” she says.</p><p></p><p>Ernie grins sheepishly. “Well, they take good care of me. They’ve brought me back to life twice!”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I know.”</p><p></p><p>“Is it going to be okay?” asks Ernie quietly. “Are the goblins going to get out of there?”</p><p></p><p>“No. Not for a long time, at least. You’ve done well, and Appleseed is safe from the Anlakis because of you. Now, what kind of pies do you think are in the oven?”</p><p></p><p>Ernie doesn’t smell any pies, but guesses his favorite. “Strawberry rhubarb?”</p><p></p><p>“Good choice,” says Dolly with a smile.</p><p></p><p>“One thing I don’t understand,” says Ernie. "You told me that one day I’d have to protect the halflings from the Anlakis, but the Crimson Maw was full of goblins."</p><p></p><p>“Ah, I see your confusion,” says Dolly. “There is something important to the goblins buried under Appleseed, from back in the days when goblins controlled these lands. The goblins don’t know that, but there is an Anlaki who does, and he promised to reveal the information about it, if the goblins would do his dirty work and wipe out Appleseed. In all likelihood, the halflings could have defeated the goblins, but their forces would have been decimated, and the Anlaki hordes would have swooped in and laid waste to the country.”</p><p></p><p>“Who is this person? And how can we find him?”</p><p></p><p>“I wouldn’t worry about him for now,” says Dolly, opening the oven and releasing a sudden scent of strawberry rhubarb. “Without the goblin armies, the nomads of chaos pose no serious threat. But you should tell the High Priestess that the Black Spear of Maglubiyet is a hundred feet below the center of Victory. If they could arrange to dig it up and destroy it, that would probably be for the best.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m honored to have been chosen,” says Ernie, adding some sage to the potatoes. “I’m not sure I’m worthy…”</p><p></p><p>“Ernest,” Dolly laughs, “it’s hard to argue with results!” She lowers her voice before continuing, and her face becomes more grave. “But, you’re not done yet. Not finished. There are more problems to solve, more evils to fight, and things are coming to a head. You can feel it, can’t you.”</p><p></p><p>Ernie nods gravely. “What is this storm? Why did Drosh flee? Can we do anything?”</p><p></p><p>“I hope so. Oh, I hope so. I can’t see, exactly, the nature of what’s coming. I don’t like the notion of Gods fleeting. I’m not going anywhere, I promise you that. I’ll stand and fight if I have to.”</p><p></p><p>“So will I!” Ernie exclaims.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes, you will. And if you do your job well, I won’t have to lift a finger.”</p><p></p><p>Dolly produces a muffin, smelling of cinnamon and rose petals. “Eat this. It will help you in your trials to come.”</p><p></p><p>Ernie takes a bite. Strength and energy* flood through him to every extremity, even to the tips of his hair. </p><p></p><p>The Company spends the afternoon relaxing in the Inn Between, eating and talking and playing games with Barnabas. When Dolly walks over to clear the table, Kibi can’t help but ask, “Do you know what the thorn in the side of Abernia is?”</p><p></p><p>“No, not the specifics. It’s very old, I think, but it’s more your problem than mine. I’m not Yondalla, you know. I’m just an aspect of her suited to this place. No, there are problems you will have to solve on your own – you and your fellow mortals. Abernia needs your help, Kibilhathur, but you will have to learn how to provide it.”</p><p></p><p>Ernie has a sudden thought, remembering Glemiyal’s first reaction to him.</p><p></p><p>“I hope Yoba is okay!”</p><p></p><p>Dolly makes a face, and Ernie goes pale.</p><p></p><p>“No, no,” says Dolly. “She’s fine. It’s just that…”</p><p></p><p>“I’ll bet she’s mad,” Kibi interrupts. “That you didn’t bring her to the Crimson Maw with you."</p><p></p><p>“No,” says Dolly. “She’s not mad, because Ernie never told her about it. Did you?”</p><p></p><p>“No, ma’am,” says Ernie sheepishly.</p><p></p><p>“No matter,” says Dolly. “That’s another thing that’s not really my business.” </p><p></p><p>As she walks back to the kitchen, Ernie cradles his head in his hands. “Killing goblins is easy. Relationships are hard.”</p><p></p><p>…to be continued…</p><p></p><p></p><p>* <strong>>> His <em>Strength of Yondalla</em> power has been augmented; now, once per day, he can assign 12 points to distribute between his AC and his Strength, as sacred bonuses. The augments last 1 round per level</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sagiro, post: 5370606, member: 726"] Steeldragons, those pictures are great! I look forward to seeing more of them. Also, here, have an update. :) [I][b]Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 318[/b][/I] [b][I]Bad Place, Good Place[/I][/b] Flicker draws his sword out of the crumpled body of Glemiyal, and immediately spots a heretofore hidden goblin darting at him from the side. He slashes it across the leg. “Ow!” cries Ernie. “Flicker, snap out of it!” So saying, Ernie [i]dispels[/i] the [i]confusion[/i] on Flicker himself. “Thanks, Ernie. Though I don’t suppose I’m also imagining that sound of footsteps?” No, he’s not. Goblins continue to charge up the stairway outside the Iron Tower. It will only be a minute or two more before they’re flooding up the stairs. “We’re going to have company very soon,” Grey Wolf mutters. Ernie looks at Maglubiyet’s Fang, still spinning slowly in its column of red light. “Tava,” he asks, looking up at the Astral Deva, “how do we stop this?” Tava’s Echo stares at the huge dragon tooth. “With violence,” she concludes. At Ernie’s behest, she brings her own weapon down upon the Fang, but some sheath of force prevents contact. She swoops down and picks up Ernie, then hovers before the Fang so that the little halfling can strike with [i]Tava’s Righteous Fury.[/i] The fabled blade is uninhibited by the Fang’s protections, and on impact the monstrous tooth tilts and wobbles, rotating off its axis. Small cracks have appeared. Heartened, Ernie continues to swing. As Flicker gingerly divests Glemiyal of his magical possessions, a huge swell of noise comes from the stairwell. The goblins have arrived. Morningstar casts a [i]blade barrier[/i] as a greeting, and while the goblins in front stop short at the sight of the whirling knives, the ones in back surge forward and push their hapless allies into the blender. Only after a few seconds of frantic shouting back down the staircase does the carnage cease. Aravis and Flicker pick up the looted body of Glemiyal, and heave it contemptuously into the [i]blade barrier[/i]. Gobbets of Goblin Champion are splattered all over the front ranks of goblin soldiers. Morningstar smiles and readies a surprise. It doesn’t take long. Half a minute later some goblin manages to [i]dispel[/i] the [i]blade barrier[/i], but as soon as the word spreads to charge again, Morningstar drops a [i]prismatic sphere[/i] in the opening to the room. Goblins are fried. Goblins sicken and die. Goblins are turned to statues, or become gibberingly insane. Most experience many of these at once. Eventually, the remaining goblins retreat back down the stairs to regroup and consider. “Back up everyone,” calls Ernie. He takes a final mighty swing with [i]Tava’s righteous fury[/i] and Maglubiyet’s Fang shatters in a spray of fragments. The red column of light in which it was spinning fades away. Tava’s Echo lowers Ernie to the ground. Ernie bows, and the Astral Deva returns the gesture. “I am always honored to serve,” the celestial being intones, and with that, it vanishes. In the lull that follows, Dranko brushes some goblin gore from his shirt. “Now what? I say we stroll down the stairs and kill lots of things.” “Works for me,” says Ernie. “Hold on,” says Aravis, shaking his head. “I want to cast a [i]sending[/i] to Pewter, to find out if he’s in a safe place for us to [i]teleport[/i] to.” Morningstar casts the spell for Aravis, asking for one ‘meow’ for yes, and two for no. The return sending is two meows, followed by some long, drawn out meows, and ending with an emphatic single MEOW! Morningstar relays this, not sure what it means. “Ah,” says Aravis. “He wasn’t somewhere safe at first, so he padded out the word count of his reply until he [i]was[/i].” “Your cat is so much smarter than my husband,” Morningstar says with a smirk. Dranko harrumphs, and lights up a cigar. The exhalation forms into the words “NOT FINISHED.” “Hey everyone,” he warns. “Cranchus is telling us something.” A remarkably lucky goblin comes stumbling out of the prismatic sphere, takes one look at the draconic Aravis, and flees in terror. It is immediately burnt to a crisp. “Hey!” Flicker yells suddenly. “What happened to the sword? I had Glemiyal’s sword right here, and now it’s gone. Dranko?” The party scans the room, but even with [i]true[/i] seeing it’s clear that the [i]Red Harbinger[/i] is gone. Then they hear laughter, right there in the room with them. It takes a few seconds before they realize that the laughter is telepathic, and could be coming from anywhere. It continues for a few seconds. Morningstar looks up, annoyed. “Do you have a message, or are you just amused?” The voice of Glemiyal sounds in their heads. “Oh, I’m very amused. Did you forget where you were? This is the Crimson Maw, and I am Glemiyal, the Eternal Spirit! So… you killed a body. Very nice. Well done. Unfortunately for you, I have about thirty thousand more, so if you’ll just wait there behind your little shiny bubble, I’ll be along shortly. Something tells me that your spells and your strength will run out long before I do.” His mental presence recedes. Flicker announces that it’s not just the red sword that’s missing; everything he looted from Glemiyal’s body is gone. Ernie gnashes his teeth. “I really, really hate him.” Morningstar shakes her head. “I think we just get out of here. We’ve done what we came to do.” “But the smoke said ‘not finished,’” says Aravis. “We should kill him again,” says Grey Wolf, “and next time destroy the sword before it goes to his next body.” “You have a [i]Mordenkainen’s Disjunction[/i] left, in the Cube, don’t you?” Dranko asks. “That would work, right? Ernie concentrates on Tava’s Righteous Fury, hoping for guidance. In response, the sword tugs a bit at his arm – toward the doorway out. “Have we done it?” Ernie asks the sword. “Yes, you have,” it answers. “The cigar smoke says we aren't,” says Ernie. “We’re not finished yet.” “Not finished leaving,” says the sword. Dranko rolls his eyes at Kibi. “Stupid prophetic cigars,” he grumbles. “I’m not very happy with Cranchus right now,” Aravis agrees. Aravis casts [i]gate[/i], hoping that will provide them an easy exit from the Crimson Maw, but it fails --- or, rather, it produces an useless opening like an empty picture frame. “We must need to get back to the shifting portal, and go through that,” says Dranko. The tugging on Ernie’s arm gets more insistent. Aravis peers out one of the arrow slits. The mountain atop which sits the Iron Tower is now fully surrounded by goblins, though none are trying to scale the mountain itself. The huge stairway that leads from the plateau to the Tower is clogged with soldiers. “We’ve got to get out of here,” he says. “And I have an idea…” Minutes later, they’re prepared. The plan is predicated on the fact that while magic flight is suppressed in the Maw, ordinary wing-flapping flight is still possible. Grey Wolf has acquired a spell called [i]flight of the dragon[/i], which causes the target to sprout huge leathery wings. He explains the spell to Kibi, who casts [i]wish[/i] to spoof [i]mass flight of the dragon[/i]. It works on everyone but himself; his earth mage nature prevents it. He thought as much would happen; his backup plan is to ride on Aravis, already in the shape of a flying dragon. The party already is under Kibi’s [i]veil[/i], and looks like small rats. Morningstar uses a [i]miracle[/i] to spoof [i]mass invisibility[/i] as well. With everyone ready, Aravis blasts a hole in the roof of the Iron Tower with a [i]disintegrate[/i] spell, and seven flying invisible rats launch themselves into the red-gray sky. Once aloft, Kibi uses his [i]staff of illusions[/i] to spoof the visuals of an [i]obscuring mist[/i], appearing at the top of the staircase, along with the conspicuous sounds of spell-casting coming from inside. As hoped, this draws the goblins’ attention away from the sky above. Even better, two goblin sorcerers cast [i]cones of cold[/i] into the mist, which only succeeds in flash-freezing a dozen hapless goblin soldiers. Following the steady tug of [i]Tava’s Righteous Fury[/i], the Company flies away from the Iron Fortress and out over the rocky terrain of the Crimson Maw. They soar over an enormous lake, around which more thousands of goblins are encamped, and then onward for another two miles, before Ernie’s sword dips downward. Still a thousand feet ahead of them, a sea of goblins is thronged around six glints of red, spaced somewhat apart but in the same 50’ x 50’ area. The heroes fly closer, and soon see that the each glint is a horizontal red portal, identical to the one that brought them to the Maw. Next to each of the portals is a tall goblin wielding a pulsing red sword. Dranko reaches into his tentacular madness to invoke [i]true seeing[/i] before diving down for a closer look. It is indeed fortunate that no goblin is both able to see invisible things, and looking up. Once within 120’, Dranko can see that all six portals are illusions, as are all but one of the Glemiyals. But there is an actual portal in the area, masked by an illusion to blend in with the rocky ground. The Company makes a hasty plan over the mind-link, casts some buff spells, and starts its assault with Ernie descending downward nearly to ground level. He utters a [i]holy word[/i]. “Yondalla!” Power ripples out from Ernie in waves, and the potent hatred of goblins contained in his sword amplifies the range of the effect. Hundreds of goblins are dropped stone dead on the spot, and many more are stricken paralyzed and senseless. Glemiyal is made conspicuous by the fact that he alone is still standing. Morningstar drops a [i]flame strike[/i] on the goblin champion, but this is less efficacious. Not only does Glemiyal entirely resist the damage, but he holds the [i]Red Harbinger[/i] aloft, and the magics of Morningstar’s spell are wrapped around it. Glemiyal twirls the black flames around his blade like he’s making cotton candy, and with a flick of his wrist blasts Morningstar with her own spell. “Ah,” thinks Glemiyal into their minds. “Clever. Now come down and join me. I’m waiting.” Kibi drops a [i]spike stones[/i] in a ring around the actual portal, to discourage goblins who were outside the deathly radius of Ernie’s spell from joining the battle. Aravis casts [i]mass haste[/i] on the group. Grey Wolf centers a [i]cone of cold[/i] on Glemiyal, but again Maglubiyet’s chosen resists the attack. Dranko swoops down and cracks his whip across Glemiyal’s face, leaving a bloody streak. Glemiyal smiles. “If this body doesn’t kill you, maybe the next one will. Or the one after that. Either way, I’d best get started.” The [i]Red Harbinger[/i] flashes, leaving trails of red light, and carves bloody chunks out of Dranko. But Dranko is plenty tough and just a little bit mad. He smiles back at Glemiyal, while Flicker lands in a flanking position and hacks at the goblin's legs. Morningstar sighs and tosses a [i]darkbeam[/i] at her foe, and is surprised to find that Glemiyal doesn’t dodge in time. The goblin champion’s eyes are seared in their sockets, and Glemiyal cries out in pain. Kibi then pegs him with a maximized and empowered [i]ray of enfeeblement[/i]. And for a grand finale, Grey Wolf quickens a [i]true strike[/i] before descending and channeling a maximized acid orb through an exultant Bostock. The sword nearly cleaves the goblin in two, and then Glemiyal’s latest body erupts in a veritable volcano of acid and guts. The remains of his body ooze out of his armor, pooling in a puddle of smoking sludge. Dranko gloats above the remains. “Does it feel bad, getting spanked by a halfling and his friends, twice in one day?” Then, to the nearest goblins: “Who’s next?” Many of the goblins do in fact move closer, but are mutilated by [i]spike stones[/i] for their efforts, and halt their advance. The rest of the Company lands next to the actual portal, and Dranko touches the magic ruby to its glassy surface. No pass phrase is needed to exit; the portal becomes filled with red light. Flicker starts heaving Glemiyal’s magic items through it before the goblin’s next body can claim them. The rest of the party follows, flying out of the Crimson Maw one by one, until only Ernie is left. A voice sounds in his head: [i]Goodbye for now, Ernest. I’m sure I’ll see you again.[/i] [i]I sure hope not[/i] Ernie thinks back, and then he jumps through the portal. The heroes find themselves about thirty feet in the air, under a sunny cobalt sky. Off in the distance, maybe two or three miles away, is the city of Victory on the shores of Green Lake. It would appear that the goblins had been uncomfortably close to fixing the egress from the Crimson Maw! Stretched out beneath them is lush farmland, though directly below is a well-ordered apple orchard, rows of trees still a month or two away from harvest. The only oddity is a thicker cluster of the trees, breaking up the neat lines, about a hundred feet to the north. Ernie thinks he can see a building of some sort hidden inside the stand of apple trees. Dranko touches the ruby to the portal, and it becomes an opaque sheet of glass. Ernie concentrates upon [i]Tava’s Righteous Fury[/i] with the intent of destroying the portal, but all he manages is to thicken and harden the sealed-up gateway. The wizards in the party guess that this thing is now a permanent fixture of Appleseed, hovering in the air, and while the goblins probably have no way to open it from their side, they may someday find the means. “Can you imagine how angry they’ll be,” says Flicker, “if it takes them a hundred years to get out of that place?” But that’s a probably for another day, and most likely for the Maple Sunblade and the halflings of Appleseed to solve. For now, the Company heals up, rejoices in the fresh air, and decides to check out the hut in the apple trees before reporting to High Priestess Sunblade. It’s physically difficult to squeeze through the dense stand of trunks, but the party is rewarded when they reach the hut and find that a small attached sign reads: “The Inn Between.” They rush inside, Ernie and Flicker leading the way. “Dolly!” cries Ernie. “We’re home!” “Come in! Come in!” shouts Dolly from the kitchen. “I’ve got lunch almost ready for you.” “Oh, I do so love this place,” says Ernie, breathing deeply of the aroma of fresh bread. “Flicker! Dranko!” calls Barnabas from his customary table at the back. “Come over here. I’ve got a new card trick going, and need some suckers to test it on!” The Inn Between is the very essence of comfort without pretention – a cross between the Golden Goblet and Ernie’s mom’s living room. “Ernie,” calls Dolly. “I could use some help back here.” In the kitchen, Dolly hands Ernie a spoon and points him to the spice rack. “I’m glad to see you’re still taking such good care of your friends,” she says. Ernie grins sheepishly. “Well, they take good care of me. They’ve brought me back to life twice!” “Yes, I know.” “Is it going to be okay?” asks Ernie quietly. “Are the goblins going to get out of there?” “No. Not for a long time, at least. You’ve done well, and Appleseed is safe from the Anlakis because of you. Now, what kind of pies do you think are in the oven?” Ernie doesn’t smell any pies, but guesses his favorite. “Strawberry rhubarb?” “Good choice,” says Dolly with a smile. “One thing I don’t understand,” says Ernie. "You told me that one day I’d have to protect the halflings from the Anlakis, but the Crimson Maw was full of goblins." “Ah, I see your confusion,” says Dolly. “There is something important to the goblins buried under Appleseed, from back in the days when goblins controlled these lands. The goblins don’t know that, but there is an Anlaki who does, and he promised to reveal the information about it, if the goblins would do his dirty work and wipe out Appleseed. In all likelihood, the halflings could have defeated the goblins, but their forces would have been decimated, and the Anlaki hordes would have swooped in and laid waste to the country.” “Who is this person? And how can we find him?” “I wouldn’t worry about him for now,” says Dolly, opening the oven and releasing a sudden scent of strawberry rhubarb. “Without the goblin armies, the nomads of chaos pose no serious threat. But you should tell the High Priestess that the Black Spear of Maglubiyet is a hundred feet below the center of Victory. If they could arrange to dig it up and destroy it, that would probably be for the best.” “I’m honored to have been chosen,” says Ernie, adding some sage to the potatoes. “I’m not sure I’m worthy…” “Ernest,” Dolly laughs, “it’s hard to argue with results!” She lowers her voice before continuing, and her face becomes more grave. “But, you’re not done yet. Not finished. There are more problems to solve, more evils to fight, and things are coming to a head. You can feel it, can’t you.” Ernie nods gravely. “What is this storm? Why did Drosh flee? Can we do anything?” “I hope so. Oh, I hope so. I can’t see, exactly, the nature of what’s coming. I don’t like the notion of Gods fleeting. I’m not going anywhere, I promise you that. I’ll stand and fight if I have to.” “So will I!” Ernie exclaims. “Oh, yes, you will. And if you do your job well, I won’t have to lift a finger.” Dolly produces a muffin, smelling of cinnamon and rose petals. “Eat this. It will help you in your trials to come.” Ernie takes a bite. Strength and energy* flood through him to every extremity, even to the tips of his hair. The Company spends the afternoon relaxing in the Inn Between, eating and talking and playing games with Barnabas. When Dolly walks over to clear the table, Kibi can’t help but ask, “Do you know what the thorn in the side of Abernia is?” “No, not the specifics. It’s very old, I think, but it’s more your problem than mine. I’m not Yondalla, you know. I’m just an aspect of her suited to this place. No, there are problems you will have to solve on your own – you and your fellow mortals. Abernia needs your help, Kibilhathur, but you will have to learn how to provide it.” Ernie has a sudden thought, remembering Glemiyal’s first reaction to him. “I hope Yoba is okay!” Dolly makes a face, and Ernie goes pale. “No, no,” says Dolly. “She’s fine. It’s just that…” “I’ll bet she’s mad,” Kibi interrupts. “That you didn’t bring her to the Crimson Maw with you." “No,” says Dolly. “She’s not mad, because Ernie never told her about it. Did you?” “No, ma’am,” says Ernie sheepishly. “No matter,” says Dolly. “That’s another thing that’s not really my business.” As she walks back to the kitchen, Ernie cradles his head in his hands. “Killing goblins is easy. Relationships are hard.” …to be continued… * [b]>> His [i]Strength of Yondalla[/i] power has been augmented; now, once per day, he can assign 12 points to distribute between his AC and his Strength, as sacred bonuses. The augments last 1 round per level[/b] [/QUOTE]
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Sagiro's Story Hour: The FINAL Adventures of Abernathy's Company (FINISHED 7/3/14)
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