Session 102 - The Battle of Bosum Strand
Gale sustained her mass flight power, despite the great strain it placed on her magical reserves, and her concern about an approaching storm which even now was sending wisps of cloud scudding over the night sky. With her help, the unit were able to approach the great golem, and saw that Lavanya was still crouched atop its head.
She had proved to be very dangerous and her mind-bending powers would be even more deadly in a fight three-hundred feet up.
As soon as she saw them heading closer, she stood and waved them away, shouting words that were lost in the winds that buffeted them as they flew.
Rumdoom was uncharacteristically cautious: He was nursing many wounds from their fight beneath the hill, and a fight with a slender young woman was one he felt no shame in walking (or flying) away from. But the rest of the group were determined to ensure that Lavanya did not gain control of the colossus.
Uru also reminded them about the 'hole to the underworld' that the golem had opened up. Korrigan said that they would have to worry about that later.
"The problem with ignoring long-term problems is they can sneak up on you," said Uru.
"And then you end up with a load of dead children hanging from a tree," Leon added. He then asked the others to give him the chance to speak to Lavanya. But even as he flew closer she began to magically manipulate him and would have succeeded in turning him against his friends again had Matunaaga not distracted her from her spell with a well-placed shot. With a snarl, she hurled another, lesser charm which filled Rumdoom's mind with imagined fears and caused him to peel away from the others.
Leon touched down on Borne just a few feet away from Lavanya. Bracing his mind against further enchantment he gently suggested to her that her situation was hopeless - that she should surrender and allow herself to be placed under arrest. Lavanya scowled and said that she was very angry that he had betrayed her. Then she launched a mental attack that caused Leon flee for his life - right off the top of the golem.
As he fell, Leon saw his life flash before him. Not just past events, but future ones too. At some point in his later life, he would learn that someone was twisting the very fabric of time at the very moment he confronted Lavanya.
Meanwhile, the desperate struggle went on without him. Before she fell under a hail of blows and bullets, Lavanya was able to twist Rumdoom's mind too, and he followed Leon to the ground, bouncing off the golem's chest as he went.
But this was just one of the possibilities, Leon learned. Someone, somewhere, somewhen offered him the chance to alter course of events. Lavanya might be rescued; she might hurl herself off the golem; she might escape before they came after her; or she might surrender without a fight.
Leon chose the last option and the fight never happened. (The following night, everyone would dream about it.) Lavanya surrendered and allowed herself to be placed in mage cuffs and flown away from the golem. Uru landed on Borne's shoulder and clambered down to the cavity in his chest.
Messages had arrived from Stover Delft and the Old Stag. Stover wanted the unit to make haste for Hotel Aurum. The Old Stag wanted to see Leon at the first available opportunity. Light rain was falling. Gale was exhausted. She would not, in any case, have flown the unit so close to the heart of government - she was a wanted terrorist after all. And so she wished them luck and bid them farewell.
Leon was standing apart with Lavanya, exchanging a few quiet words with her. The rest of the had a hasty discussion about what to do with him now that they had learned his true identity. Rumdoom said, "I never trusted him in the first place. Weirdly, I trust him more now." Korrigan came to a decision with a nod of his head. He trusted Leon. They would work with him for the time being and try to prevent him from being arrested again.
Meanwhile, Borne was on the move, stomping down the hill towards the city. Uru reported his findings. He felt sure that the cavity represented a weakness. A massive blow could destroy the monster. Leon immediately thought of the eschatologist bomb. With a daring plan in their minds, Rumdoom, Matunaaga and Korrigan set off to the Hotel in the wondrous carriage they had looted from Kell. Lavanya was with them and Conquo stomped along behind. Leon travelled as fast as he could, fey-stepping across the rooftops of the Nettles to try and cut the golem off. Korrigan had given him a messenger wind so he could stay in touch with them.
At the Hotel, the unit learned that the Danorans had departed in haste as soon as the golem appeared and had already sailed out of the harbour. Luc Jierre remained in custody, however - he who had sent the messenger to the Bleak Gate. There was no time to question him, however; the king had convened his court in the lobby of the hotel (ease of evacuation being more important than posh furniture at this stage).
The King also had a plan: He wanted to use his Rites of Rulership to banish the colossus from his kingdom. The ritual was lengthy and demanding and would expose him to attack, so it had been decided he would perform it from the deck of the RNS Coaltongue - assuming of course that they could lure Borne to the harbour. The king was more than happy to let the unit try their plan first, and while they dashed to pick up the dwarven bomb (and drop Lavanya off at the RHC cells on the way) Delft went to round up as many leftover New Years fireworks as he could find (with the suggestion from the unit that he try Blander Waryeye the House Elf who had a workshop full of pyrotechnics).
Borne had stopped moving near Parity Lake, where it was joined by the Stanfield Canal. Leon did his best to help evacuate people calmly, having tried and failed to communicate with the golem. Uru scuttled all over its surface and established that it was extremely well-defended against mundane and magical attacks. Then he went back to the chest cavity and worked out where best to place the bomb.
At RHC HQ, the unit went to the evidence locker to pick up the diffused bomb. They also grabbed the Golden Icon of Avilona (and while they were at it, Matunaaga picked up the Golden Icon of Nem and Uru purloined the Cracked Cauldron). The quartermaster objected strongly, waving unfilled paperwork at them, but he was countermanded by Korrigan and they left with what they needed. They took the wondrous carriage to Parity Lake. The colossus appeared to be taking no notice of anything or anyone, just staring out across the city, having stomped every building in its path into rubble.
Xambria remained in charge of Conquo. There appeared to be no sign of the demonic possession that once afflicted her and the unit was only too happy to have their help. Conquo took the eschatologist bomb in his huge arms and, using the power of the Golden Icon of Avilona, flew up into Borne's chest cavity. The golem glanced downwards but did not otherwise react. It took Uru several minutes to reset the bomb. He timed it to explode in ten minutes. Then, with the alchemical admixture beginning to gurgle, Conquo took Uru in his arms and leaped out of the cavity, to be caught by Matunaaga's telekenetic power and gently lowered to the ground.
Uru's second mistake was in his timing of the bomb. As soon as they had landed it exploded with full force, sending a jet of rainbow energy arcing a hundred feet in front of the golem, who was blasted onto his back half into the lake, half onto the warehouses around the lake which splintered like kindling. It turned out that Uru's first mistake was in thinking that the bomb would harm the golem. Enraged, Borne clambered to his feet, batted at its chest for a moment, before looking around for the source of the attack.
Delft gave the order for the first burst of fireworks to be set off and Borne stomped angrily in their direction, crushing more buildings and the final bridge over the canal. Before he reached the site of the launch, more fireworks went off downstream and Borne chased angrily after them. The unit jumped back in their carriage and made best speed towards the docks, arriving well ahead of the golem. Heavy rain had begun to fall and thunderclouds had gathered.
There was panic and confusion at the dockside. Only a few ships were in the harbour, and these were undermanned. Crowds of people were trying to force their way onto two transport ships while Thames Grimsley and some of his dockers tried to calm them. Korrigan took charge, got the crowd's attention and drawing on his own reputation and popularity with the common folk, persuaded every able-bodied seaman he could to volunteer for service with the fleet and take part in the defence of their city.
The King and Harkover Lee were already aboard the Coaltongue. The golem was drawing near, his footsteps causing the ground to quake. As they dashed for the flagship, Captain Rosalyn Taylor hailed them from her ship the Freux Rogue. She and her crew had not joined the Danorans when they left the harbour but had stayed behind to help the Risuri against this unknown threat. But the port authorities would no longer give them leave to cast off, so Korrigan intervened again and added another, very capable ship to the miscellaneous vessels that now defended the Coaltongue and the King.
On board the Coaltongue Geoff Massarde (who had sobered up quite quickly) explained some of the features of the ship while the unit placed themselves where they hoped they would be most useful: Uru headed for the engine room; Matunaaga the forward turret; Korrigan the command deck; Conquo close to the King and Minsiter Lee. Rumdoom tried to help too. He suggested to one of the gunners that they put all of the guns on one side to get a better shot, when it was pointed out that the ship might have to move, and then there would be no guns on the side facing the golem. Rumdoom nodded and sidled away. Hooded, Leon kept out of sight of anyone who might recognise him, placing himself where he could use the ships magical brand if necessary.
With no more fireworks to distract it, the angry golem stomped on the battery that had launched the final display. Then a roar of cannon from the ships in the harbour caused it to surge out towards them, where it grabbed the nearest, the Avalanche and shattered it like a toy. At this sight, the veteran captain of the Coaltongue clutched at his chest and keeled over. Marshal Korrigan assumed command.
The king's ritual began, and an arc of green light snaked out from him and began to weave itself around the Colossus. It immediately focused its attention on the flagship and it took all of the skill of the crew to keep their distance. It was made all the more difficult by the presence of a fey weed in the harbour which clogged up the propellers and slowed all of the vessels down. How it had got into the harbour was anybody's guess. (Anybody except Uru, who had introduced it some months ago in an attempt to mess with Black Star Mining.)
Unaffected by the weed, and unharmed by the barrage of the fleet, the golem eventually drew close enough to the Coaltongue to strike the deck with its huge fist. The ship lurched, several crew members perished and gobs of witchoil spattered to the deck. These rose up to form wailing monstrosities that by their very presence visibly sapped the green, life energy of the ritual. At once, the unit sprang into action and did what they did best, dispatching these horrors in double-quick time, before helping the crew to get away from the colossus.
The Freux Rouge finally struck the golem with a broadside that drew its attention long enough for the Coaltongue to establish some distance. Then Matunaaga fired a shot that drew the golem away from the Freux Rouge. Just as Borne headed back towards the Coaltongue both the storm and the king's ritual reached their crescendo. There was flash of blinding green light and a clap of thunder and the next moment, both the storm clouds and the golem were gone.