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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6931582" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>We advanced slowly until we came to an opening which seemed to lead into a cavern. As usual, Drudge ghosted ahead and then rapidly returned. He looked wide eyed as he whispered: </p><p> </p><p>“There is an enormous cavern beyond. A slow, massive heartbeat is reverberating around it. In the distance, I saw a massive red crystal which pulsed in time to this beat. This has to be the Heart of the World. There’s a lot of other white crystals were around the cavern and several streams of red lava or boiling blood or something like that which lead from the Heart Crystal into the walls. The whole cavern is lit with an eerie red glow coming from the crystal.”</p><p> </p><p>He narrowed his eyes as he continued to whisper quickly: </p><p> </p><p>“You can hear this beat through the very walls. I saw that there were also numerous stalagmites from the ceiling. There were also jutting stalagmites from the floor. A figure in the distance was standing next to the heart; probably Leska but it’s difficult to tell from this distance.”</p><p> </p><p>It was at this point that we all heard a voice. No doubt augmented by magic. It spoke of faithful service, a trust betrayed, a treacherous lover, endless maneuvering and plotting and finally a loss of hope and a determination to plunge the world into eternal crucible of war, thus honing the people for future trials. </p><p> </p><p>However, our immediate attention was captured by the four very large red dragons standing at the cave entrance, staring at us. </p><p> </p><p>Felix immediately shouted: </p><p> </p><p>“ ’Ware! They’re undead!”</p><p> </p><p>Now that he said it, it was obvious. The dragons were indeed undead. </p><p> </p><p>We had delayed long enough. Victor surged forward and engaged one of the dragons. I managed to cast a spell of speed on the rest of us. Unfortunately, in fact we had delayed too long as suddenly a thick, viscous cloud enveloped us. It was a spell I recognized; there would also be an acidic element to this fog as well, I guessed; thankfully I had protected myself against this eventuality but others were suffering. To make matters worse, it was difficult to find out what was going on as I could barely see anyone except Longhelim and John who were next to me. Suddenly there was a shout from behind us, from Drudge:</p><p> </p><p>“She’s put a wall in front of the fog. Longhelim, you’ve got to use the Torch; Victor is getting burned, slashed, bitten and spelled to death!” </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim waited until we all clustered around him and then, using the Torch, he transported us into the cave. </p><p> </p><p>It was very much as Drudge described but it was still an incredible sight to see it physically. As I appeared, I saw that poor Victor was suffering badly against the dragons. I had managed to make myself unseen just before we had moved so I confidently forked a set of powerful lightning bolts against the dragons. The spell did cause them hurt although unfortunately, it also drew the attention of the masked figure in the distance. Suddenly, cloud of glittering motes surrounded me, revealing my location. That was inconvenient; but even more problematic was the other effect of that spell, which could cause blindness; and that was exactly what it caused to Drudge. </p><p> </p><p>Leska then cast several spells with such shocking speed and skill that it left me open-mouthed. I had never seen spell casting of such quality and it left me just staring at her as she suddenly engulfed Victor in a sea of fire. Thankfully, the warrior was well protected against this element but even so, it must have burned a bit. He had already been badly mauled by the dragons so any more hurt would be very dangerous. And finally, the whole area around us went silent. </p><p> </p><p>As if we needed any reminding, Leska was no common spell caster. </p><p> </p><p>There was another figure in the distance: Shalosha! However, not the Shalosha we knew, as she shot arrows in our direction. She also cast several spells at us at the same time, revealing a skill that she had kept secret up to that time. She had either been dominated or she had been a traitor all along. As ever, it was impossible to tell just who was on Leska’s side. </p><p> </p><p>At this point, Longhelim had engaged and managed to dispatch one of the dragons; another had bitten Victor and the warrior fell over, burning. Things were getting quite bad. Drudge was blind, Victor was unconscious and a moment later, most of us were in an area of magical silence, courtesy of Leska. </p><p> </p><p>John stepped out and cast a spell at Leska, a magical projectile made of acid. The spell was turned on back on him. It was useful to know that she had that ward running. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, Felix managed to find a hiding place behind one of the crystal columns. There, he cast his main healing spell, which not only helped Victor but also cured Drudge from his blindness. Simultaneously, the archer, as if waiting for this moment, shot his arrows and killed one of the dragons. Longhelim killed another leaving only one at this point; suddenly, Leska made a gesture and two huge, prehistoric lizards appeared. They walked on two legs, had tiny forepaws and lots of teeth. Indeed, to me, being quite close, they seemed to be nothing but teeth. A moment later, I felt a powerful, life sucking magic, which seemed to drain all the water from by body; it affected all of us; again, it was a spell I knew and it was powerful, complicated magic. The speed of her casting……</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, I managed to step next to Felix, hiding from Leska, so she couldn’t counter spell me, and then I cast a spell which froze the two lizards. A moment later, I was hit with a green beam. This magic prevented me from using or being part of any transport spells. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly we were buffeted with three balls of sound in quick succession. That was magic of such high order that I could not even describe it. It was as if a ball of energy had been concentrated and then had its very nature changed. Leska’s arms blurred as she cast the spell; she was so fast that it was almost impossible to see her cast the individual spells. </p><p> </p><p>Drudge, now able to see again, fired off a volley of arrows at her. Several of them hit her; worryingly, she did not seem concerned, plucking the arrows from her torso. Then John cast a cloud of fog around her; just as he finished, he shouted: </p><p> </p><p>“It’s solid!”</p><p> </p><p>He meant that normally, movement within the cloud would be curtailed but there were spells to get around that. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light all around us, bright as the sun. This spell came from Shalosha, who was getting to be increasingly annoying. This spell caused several burns but above all, Victor suddenly became blind. </p><p> </p><p>At this point, Leska walked out of the fog, not hindered in any way and unhurt. She repeated her previous spell and again the sound balls ripped into us. She then followed that up by conjuring an enormous sword to appear next to Drudge and engage him. Again, that was a powerful conjuration. Drudge tried to get out of the way but the sword followed him. </p><p> </p><p>Victor looked badly hurt again after Shalosha’s spell but fortunately, Longhelim moved to him and healed him with his paladin ability. Then John was able to make him see again with his magic. Drudge in the meantime, shot one of the dinosaurs this time and Victor and Longhelim managed to get rid of the last dragon. </p><p> </p><p>I tried to shoot Leska with a powerful green ray but was unable to affect her with magic. Her resistance was too strong. She then used another spell which I had never seen before; suddenly, all of our magically enhanced items started attacking us; in other words, our rings began squeezing our fingers, cloaks began to strangle us, boots became like vice on our feet and circlets and headbands began crushing our skulls. The warriors and I had a few defences against this but it still hurt; and again, it was magic I had never come across previously. </p><p> </p><p>Since I seemed to be having almost no effect on Leska, I turned my attention to Shalosha who was also very dangerous. I cast a ray which drained her badly. Felix was healing everyone as all of us were badly hurt at this time. Victor bravely moved to towards Leska but she treated him with disdain. It was very frustrating; it was obvious that she was only toying with us. I am not sure what Victor would have done even if he reached her; I was sure she had defences even if he managed to reach her. John also shot a powerful ray against Shalosha and she began to shoot arrows at us now. Either she really had become Leska’s ally or she was so dominated that it made little difference whether she truly was or wasn’t. </p><p> </p><p>Leska smiled at Victor as she gestured and an enormous group of force missiles hit the warrior. Despite this, he still struggled on to reach her, only to meet a barrier around her person. He was unable to breach it. I must confess I was not hugely surprised by this defense. It kept out all living things and it was an obvious one to use. </p><p> </p><p>At this point, we were nearly all dead again; Felix had to ask for a miracle from his god and restore us to health, at great sacrifice to himself; it was thanks to that that I finally managed to cast a powerful spell which managed to hurt both Leska and Shalosha, who finally fell over. </p><p> </p><p>In despair though, I suddenly saw all of Leska’s wounds close.</p><p> </p><p>This time Leska concentrated her fire on Felix, subjecting him to three enormous balls of energy which was made of sound. The priest reeled from each one and was left with bleeding ears and nose. The way he held his head showed he was badly hurt. She then turned her attention to John and I. She cast a spell which again sounded like a great shout, a wordless noise that spun my senses and made me feel as if my head would explode. </p><p> </p><p>When it was over, I couldn’t hear anything. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, due to John’s spell, I could still talk mentally and I shouted to Longhelim: </p><p> </p><p>“Longhelim, try to hit the red crystal with the Torch!”</p><p> </p><p>The paladin ran and did so, only to produce nothing. Still desperately searching for any further clues, I spotted the other crystals, the clear ones and I began gesticulating furiously to Victor to try to see if he could smash those. It was our only option left; it was obvious that we would be unable to hurt Leska in any way. Not only was she immortal, with her healing ability, she seemed to be invulnerable as well. </p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, when Victor saw the results of Longhelim’s blow, he was already on his way to one of the other crystals and with one swipe of the Living Blade, he shattered it! Immediately, the vivid crimson hue of the crystal around the Heart seemed to dim slightly. Everyone saw that and was immediately aware of the change. The emphasis of our attack changed immediately. </p><p> </p><p>Leska did not seem concerned insofar as we could tell behind her mask. Certainly her demeanour was still unhurried as she turned towards Felix again and cast an impossible number of force missiles at him. Despite John’s efforts to heal him and Felix’s own magic, the onslaught was such that the cleric slumped, his body burning, testament to Indomitability’s Gift. </p><p> </p><p>Drudge shot another of the crystals, again causing a slight lessening of the red crystal’s power and I managed to shoot my own version of the spell of force missiles at another crystal, not completely destroying it but badly weakening the its structure. </p><p> </p><p>At this point, she cast one of her most powerful spell; although we were not able to see her, it caused time itself to be distorted and by the time she finished, I could see that the place where Drudge had been was now blocked by a couple of magical walls, opaque to me as usual since I had magic which allowed me to see magically unseen beings or features. She was also standing next to the crystal I had damaged, using her own repelling magic to defend it. </p><p> </p><p>Not a moment too soon as Victor rushed forward but was blocked by the magic. He began prowling around the crystal, looking for a gap or weakness. I was trying to cast a spell which would allow me to get to Drudge. As soon as I did, Leska contemptuously counter spelled it as if it was beneath her notice. I moved towards the exit of the cave. Longhelim had also shattered another crystal earlier and was moving towards another. </p><p> </p><p>At this moment, I saw that someone else had managed to enter the cave; as the figure approached, I saw that it was a woman, pale and dark haired. It was difficult to tell anything else at this distance but suddenly she shouted something; I still couldn’t hear anything but a moment later, John mentally told me: </p><p> </p><p>“She says she’s Aurana Kinodel and that Shaaladel sent her!”</p><p> </p><p>I vaguely remembered seeing her in the elven king’s entourage now that I thought about it. </p><p> </p><p>At that moment, black tentacles surrounded Leska and Victor. Neither of them were affected due to defensive spells and I really hoped that she had better and more powerful spells than that in her arsenal. </p><p> </p><p>It was at this moment that I noticed that Felix was still slumped on the ground but not burning any more, which meant only one thing. I tried to run even faster to a safe nook where I could cast my spell. Leska had turned her attention to Victor, who was almost next to her but could not approach. A barrage of spells left him on slumped on the ground – again like Felix, not burning. </p><p> </p><p>I managed to get to a safe nook in the cave, out of her sight and cast a spell, transporting me next to Drudge, who had been waiting patiently within his walls. A moment later, we transported ourselves to the far side of the cave where he proceeded to run towards the red crystal while shooting at the other instead. It was all very fast and acrobatic until…..he missed. I don’t know what it was; whether the light, the uneven ground, Leska’s magic but somehow that ranger missed the crucial shot. </p><p> </p><p>This left him exposed to Leska. </p><p> </p><p>That was the last thing I saw briefly as I was suddenly enveloped in a dome of stone. Thankfully, I was able to take the form of an earth elemental and sink into the ground. Thus concealed I made my way towards her. I wasn’t sure what I could do yet, but I made my way towards her. </p><p> </p><p>I rose out the ground next to Leska and the crystal; or at least close to her, minding her defensive magic. Quickly I glanced around and saw that in the distance, there was another dome of stone; Longhelim was next to it and it had been partly smashed, with Drudge climbing out of it. Thinking quickly, I changed into the form of an iron golem, a construct, thus not subject to Leska defensive magic. In fact, I used the form of one of the bears in Leska’s palace and smashed my fists against the crystal. Numerous cracks appeared on its surface but it still held until literally a moment later a single arrow plinked against it, shattering the object into a myriad of pieces. </p><p> </p><p>This produced an immediate result on the red crystal around the heart. It shattered, exposing its contents to our sight for the first time. The legendary Heart of the World, or the Aquiline Heart as it was also known turned out to be a huge….well heart, much larger in size than any of us; it was lying in what was now a pool of blood which had previously been held in the crystal and pounding rhythmically. </p><p> </p><p>Seeing her last white crystal destroyed, Leska moved towards the Heart and cast a spell at John, Drudge and Longhelim. I recognized it as the most powerful of all spells which stripped magic. It did carry an element of risk as it could rebound on the caster in very rare circumstances but obviously Leska did not care. It was difficult to see the results from here but I felt fairly certain that my three friends had been stripped of all magic. </p><p> </p><p>My attention was taken by another movement. Aurana suddenly shimmerd and changed, becoming a humanoid creature with many tentacles and a completely alien mien. It was vaguely humanoid with four larger tentacles which could roughly correspond to arms and legs but that was about it. I recognized it immediately; it was the Trillith, Deception; we had last seen it in Castle Korstull where it had been Ernie the Halfling and then proceeded to animate the dragon skeleton which nearly burnt us to death. </p><p> </p><p>It was also transparent as usual, so not wholly of this plane. </p><p> </p><p>Its first action was to twitch its tentacles and suddenly there was a shout from Longhelim: </p><p> </p><p>“Something’s tried to take the Torch”. </p><p> </p><p>It must have been the Trillith since Leska had not done anything. The Trillith, as usual, were playing their own game so I put this one in a little prison of force. I was hoping that would keep it quiet for at least a few moments. After that, I moved towards the others. </p><p> </p><p>At this point, someone else appeared at the entrance of the cave. Etinifi, Leska’s former Seela partner and boyfriend made an appearance and began to move towards us. Last time we had seen him, he had been directing hostile trillith to our positions so he was no friend either. Leska did not react to his presence either so she probably considered him beneath her notice. One of the dinosaurs that she had summoned was now squaring up to John while a spell which produced a giant hand was grasped around Drudge. She then proceeded to blast the ranger with a lightning bolt as I finally arrived next to the others. A moment later, I used my last transport spell to take Drudge and Longhelim next to the Heart and Leska. Due to the size of it, she could not quite protect the artifact from our approach. I made sure that the spell allowed Longhelim a clear swing. </p><p> </p><p>The paladin looked at both of us in a questioning manner and I said to him: </p><p> </p><p>“Go ahead! We have nothing left!”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6931582, member: 6692807"] We advanced slowly until we came to an opening which seemed to lead into a cavern. As usual, Drudge ghosted ahead and then rapidly returned. He looked wide eyed as he whispered: “There is an enormous cavern beyond. A slow, massive heartbeat is reverberating around it. In the distance, I saw a massive red crystal which pulsed in time to this beat. This has to be the Heart of the World. There’s a lot of other white crystals were around the cavern and several streams of red lava or boiling blood or something like that which lead from the Heart Crystal into the walls. The whole cavern is lit with an eerie red glow coming from the crystal.” He narrowed his eyes as he continued to whisper quickly: “You can hear this beat through the very walls. I saw that there were also numerous stalagmites from the ceiling. There were also jutting stalagmites from the floor. A figure in the distance was standing next to the heart; probably Leska but it’s difficult to tell from this distance.” It was at this point that we all heard a voice. No doubt augmented by magic. It spoke of faithful service, a trust betrayed, a treacherous lover, endless maneuvering and plotting and finally a loss of hope and a determination to plunge the world into eternal crucible of war, thus honing the people for future trials. However, our immediate attention was captured by the four very large red dragons standing at the cave entrance, staring at us. Felix immediately shouted: “ ’Ware! They’re undead!” Now that he said it, it was obvious. The dragons were indeed undead. We had delayed long enough. Victor surged forward and engaged one of the dragons. I managed to cast a spell of speed on the rest of us. Unfortunately, in fact we had delayed too long as suddenly a thick, viscous cloud enveloped us. It was a spell I recognized; there would also be an acidic element to this fog as well, I guessed; thankfully I had protected myself against this eventuality but others were suffering. To make matters worse, it was difficult to find out what was going on as I could barely see anyone except Longhelim and John who were next to me. Suddenly there was a shout from behind us, from Drudge: “She’s put a wall in front of the fog. Longhelim, you’ve got to use the Torch; Victor is getting burned, slashed, bitten and spelled to death!” Longhelim waited until we all clustered around him and then, using the Torch, he transported us into the cave. It was very much as Drudge described but it was still an incredible sight to see it physically. As I appeared, I saw that poor Victor was suffering badly against the dragons. I had managed to make myself unseen just before we had moved so I confidently forked a set of powerful lightning bolts against the dragons. The spell did cause them hurt although unfortunately, it also drew the attention of the masked figure in the distance. Suddenly, cloud of glittering motes surrounded me, revealing my location. That was inconvenient; but even more problematic was the other effect of that spell, which could cause blindness; and that was exactly what it caused to Drudge. Leska then cast several spells with such shocking speed and skill that it left me open-mouthed. I had never seen spell casting of such quality and it left me just staring at her as she suddenly engulfed Victor in a sea of fire. Thankfully, the warrior was well protected against this element but even so, it must have burned a bit. He had already been badly mauled by the dragons so any more hurt would be very dangerous. And finally, the whole area around us went silent. As if we needed any reminding, Leska was no common spell caster. There was another figure in the distance: Shalosha! However, not the Shalosha we knew, as she shot arrows in our direction. She also cast several spells at us at the same time, revealing a skill that she had kept secret up to that time. She had either been dominated or she had been a traitor all along. As ever, it was impossible to tell just who was on Leska’s side. At this point, Longhelim had engaged and managed to dispatch one of the dragons; another had bitten Victor and the warrior fell over, burning. Things were getting quite bad. Drudge was blind, Victor was unconscious and a moment later, most of us were in an area of magical silence, courtesy of Leska. John stepped out and cast a spell at Leska, a magical projectile made of acid. The spell was turned on back on him. It was useful to know that she had that ward running. Thankfully, Felix managed to find a hiding place behind one of the crystal columns. There, he cast his main healing spell, which not only helped Victor but also cured Drudge from his blindness. Simultaneously, the archer, as if waiting for this moment, shot his arrows and killed one of the dragons. Longhelim killed another leaving only one at this point; suddenly, Leska made a gesture and two huge, prehistoric lizards appeared. They walked on two legs, had tiny forepaws and lots of teeth. Indeed, to me, being quite close, they seemed to be nothing but teeth. A moment later, I felt a powerful, life sucking magic, which seemed to drain all the water from by body; it affected all of us; again, it was a spell I knew and it was powerful, complicated magic. The speed of her casting…… Thankfully, I managed to step next to Felix, hiding from Leska, so she couldn’t counter spell me, and then I cast a spell which froze the two lizards. A moment later, I was hit with a green beam. This magic prevented me from using or being part of any transport spells. Suddenly we were buffeted with three balls of sound in quick succession. That was magic of such high order that I could not even describe it. It was as if a ball of energy had been concentrated and then had its very nature changed. Leska’s arms blurred as she cast the spell; she was so fast that it was almost impossible to see her cast the individual spells. Drudge, now able to see again, fired off a volley of arrows at her. Several of them hit her; worryingly, she did not seem concerned, plucking the arrows from her torso. Then John cast a cloud of fog around her; just as he finished, he shouted: “It’s solid!” He meant that normally, movement within the cloud would be curtailed but there were spells to get around that. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light all around us, bright as the sun. This spell came from Shalosha, who was getting to be increasingly annoying. This spell caused several burns but above all, Victor suddenly became blind. At this point, Leska walked out of the fog, not hindered in any way and unhurt. She repeated her previous spell and again the sound balls ripped into us. She then followed that up by conjuring an enormous sword to appear next to Drudge and engage him. Again, that was a powerful conjuration. Drudge tried to get out of the way but the sword followed him. Victor looked badly hurt again after Shalosha’s spell but fortunately, Longhelim moved to him and healed him with his paladin ability. Then John was able to make him see again with his magic. Drudge in the meantime, shot one of the dinosaurs this time and Victor and Longhelim managed to get rid of the last dragon. I tried to shoot Leska with a powerful green ray but was unable to affect her with magic. Her resistance was too strong. She then used another spell which I had never seen before; suddenly, all of our magically enhanced items started attacking us; in other words, our rings began squeezing our fingers, cloaks began to strangle us, boots became like vice on our feet and circlets and headbands began crushing our skulls. The warriors and I had a few defences against this but it still hurt; and again, it was magic I had never come across previously. Since I seemed to be having almost no effect on Leska, I turned my attention to Shalosha who was also very dangerous. I cast a ray which drained her badly. Felix was healing everyone as all of us were badly hurt at this time. Victor bravely moved to towards Leska but she treated him with disdain. It was very frustrating; it was obvious that she was only toying with us. I am not sure what Victor would have done even if he reached her; I was sure she had defences even if he managed to reach her. John also shot a powerful ray against Shalosha and she began to shoot arrows at us now. Either she really had become Leska’s ally or she was so dominated that it made little difference whether she truly was or wasn’t. Leska smiled at Victor as she gestured and an enormous group of force missiles hit the warrior. Despite this, he still struggled on to reach her, only to meet a barrier around her person. He was unable to breach it. I must confess I was not hugely surprised by this defense. It kept out all living things and it was an obvious one to use. At this point, we were nearly all dead again; Felix had to ask for a miracle from his god and restore us to health, at great sacrifice to himself; it was thanks to that that I finally managed to cast a powerful spell which managed to hurt both Leska and Shalosha, who finally fell over. In despair though, I suddenly saw all of Leska’s wounds close. This time Leska concentrated her fire on Felix, subjecting him to three enormous balls of energy which was made of sound. The priest reeled from each one and was left with bleeding ears and nose. The way he held his head showed he was badly hurt. She then turned her attention to John and I. She cast a spell which again sounded like a great shout, a wordless noise that spun my senses and made me feel as if my head would explode. When it was over, I couldn’t hear anything. Thankfully, due to John’s spell, I could still talk mentally and I shouted to Longhelim: “Longhelim, try to hit the red crystal with the Torch!” The paladin ran and did so, only to produce nothing. Still desperately searching for any further clues, I spotted the other crystals, the clear ones and I began gesticulating furiously to Victor to try to see if he could smash those. It was our only option left; it was obvious that we would be unable to hurt Leska in any way. Not only was she immortal, with her healing ability, she seemed to be invulnerable as well. Fortunately, when Victor saw the results of Longhelim’s blow, he was already on his way to one of the other crystals and with one swipe of the Living Blade, he shattered it! Immediately, the vivid crimson hue of the crystal around the Heart seemed to dim slightly. Everyone saw that and was immediately aware of the change. The emphasis of our attack changed immediately. Leska did not seem concerned insofar as we could tell behind her mask. Certainly her demeanour was still unhurried as she turned towards Felix again and cast an impossible number of force missiles at him. Despite John’s efforts to heal him and Felix’s own magic, the onslaught was such that the cleric slumped, his body burning, testament to Indomitability’s Gift. Drudge shot another of the crystals, again causing a slight lessening of the red crystal’s power and I managed to shoot my own version of the spell of force missiles at another crystal, not completely destroying it but badly weakening the its structure. At this point, she cast one of her most powerful spell; although we were not able to see her, it caused time itself to be distorted and by the time she finished, I could see that the place where Drudge had been was now blocked by a couple of magical walls, opaque to me as usual since I had magic which allowed me to see magically unseen beings or features. She was also standing next to the crystal I had damaged, using her own repelling magic to defend it. Not a moment too soon as Victor rushed forward but was blocked by the magic. He began prowling around the crystal, looking for a gap or weakness. I was trying to cast a spell which would allow me to get to Drudge. As soon as I did, Leska contemptuously counter spelled it as if it was beneath her notice. I moved towards the exit of the cave. Longhelim had also shattered another crystal earlier and was moving towards another. At this moment, I saw that someone else had managed to enter the cave; as the figure approached, I saw that it was a woman, pale and dark haired. It was difficult to tell anything else at this distance but suddenly she shouted something; I still couldn’t hear anything but a moment later, John mentally told me: “She says she’s Aurana Kinodel and that Shaaladel sent her!” I vaguely remembered seeing her in the elven king’s entourage now that I thought about it. At that moment, black tentacles surrounded Leska and Victor. Neither of them were affected due to defensive spells and I really hoped that she had better and more powerful spells than that in her arsenal. It was at this moment that I noticed that Felix was still slumped on the ground but not burning any more, which meant only one thing. I tried to run even faster to a safe nook where I could cast my spell. Leska had turned her attention to Victor, who was almost next to her but could not approach. A barrage of spells left him on slumped on the ground – again like Felix, not burning. I managed to get to a safe nook in the cave, out of her sight and cast a spell, transporting me next to Drudge, who had been waiting patiently within his walls. A moment later, we transported ourselves to the far side of the cave where he proceeded to run towards the red crystal while shooting at the other instead. It was all very fast and acrobatic until…..he missed. I don’t know what it was; whether the light, the uneven ground, Leska’s magic but somehow that ranger missed the crucial shot. This left him exposed to Leska. That was the last thing I saw briefly as I was suddenly enveloped in a dome of stone. Thankfully, I was able to take the form of an earth elemental and sink into the ground. Thus concealed I made my way towards her. I wasn’t sure what I could do yet, but I made my way towards her. I rose out the ground next to Leska and the crystal; or at least close to her, minding her defensive magic. Quickly I glanced around and saw that in the distance, there was another dome of stone; Longhelim was next to it and it had been partly smashed, with Drudge climbing out of it. Thinking quickly, I changed into the form of an iron golem, a construct, thus not subject to Leska defensive magic. In fact, I used the form of one of the bears in Leska’s palace and smashed my fists against the crystal. Numerous cracks appeared on its surface but it still held until literally a moment later a single arrow plinked against it, shattering the object into a myriad of pieces. This produced an immediate result on the red crystal around the heart. It shattered, exposing its contents to our sight for the first time. The legendary Heart of the World, or the Aquiline Heart as it was also known turned out to be a huge….well heart, much larger in size than any of us; it was lying in what was now a pool of blood which had previously been held in the crystal and pounding rhythmically. Seeing her last white crystal destroyed, Leska moved towards the Heart and cast a spell at John, Drudge and Longhelim. I recognized it as the most powerful of all spells which stripped magic. It did carry an element of risk as it could rebound on the caster in very rare circumstances but obviously Leska did not care. It was difficult to see the results from here but I felt fairly certain that my three friends had been stripped of all magic. My attention was taken by another movement. Aurana suddenly shimmerd and changed, becoming a humanoid creature with many tentacles and a completely alien mien. It was vaguely humanoid with four larger tentacles which could roughly correspond to arms and legs but that was about it. I recognized it immediately; it was the Trillith, Deception; we had last seen it in Castle Korstull where it had been Ernie the Halfling and then proceeded to animate the dragon skeleton which nearly burnt us to death. It was also transparent as usual, so not wholly of this plane. Its first action was to twitch its tentacles and suddenly there was a shout from Longhelim: “Something’s tried to take the Torch”. It must have been the Trillith since Leska had not done anything. The Trillith, as usual, were playing their own game so I put this one in a little prison of force. I was hoping that would keep it quiet for at least a few moments. After that, I moved towards the others. At this point, someone else appeared at the entrance of the cave. Etinifi, Leska’s former Seela partner and boyfriend made an appearance and began to move towards us. Last time we had seen him, he had been directing hostile trillith to our positions so he was no friend either. Leska did not react to his presence either so she probably considered him beneath her notice. One of the dinosaurs that she had summoned was now squaring up to John while a spell which produced a giant hand was grasped around Drudge. She then proceeded to blast the ranger with a lightning bolt as I finally arrived next to the others. A moment later, I used my last transport spell to take Drudge and Longhelim next to the Heart and Leska. Due to the size of it, she could not quite protect the artifact from our approach. I made sure that the spell allowed Longhelim a clear swing. The paladin looked at both of us in a questioning manner and I said to him: “Go ahead! We have nothing left!” [/QUOTE]
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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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