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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4083635" data-attributes="member: 3285">Madness in Freeport - Part 24: The Yellow SignVlad burst open the door.  They had last reached the summit of Milton’s Folly. The ceiling was angled toward the center of the room and ended in a six-sided glass enclosure that stuck four feet above the stone roof. A raised platform supported a slender stone column upon which rested a crystal that shone yellow light through the glass and out into the night. Milton Drac, Melkior Maeorgan, and a ssanu stood in front of the platform. The tower shook ominously, and the platform and column began to glow with a bright, yellow light. The stone throbbed with magical power as a beam of light shot through the crystal and out into the night sky. It blinded them for a moment“As I said,” said Drac, “you are too late. The Yellow Sign is now corrupting the minds of all those fools in the harbor below. Soon they will leave here and spread the glorious madness of the Unspeakable One throughout all of Onara! Ha, ha, ha, ha!”“I don’t believe it,” said Ilmarė.  “He’s monologing.” They caught a glimpse of what the lighthouse was projecting on the clouds: the Yellow Sign hung in the air over Freeport.“Now, we can turn our attentions to you,” continued Drac. “Since I have been trying to kill you for many months now, an agonizing death seems more than appropriate. Which do you prefer? Being flayed alive or slowly bleeding to death as carrion pick at your bodies?”“Is this some sort of quiz?” asked Kham.  “How about D, none of the above.”“I guess we shall just have to kill you now!” shouted Drac.  “Get them!”Melkior crossed his arms and drew two wicked-looking knives from their sheaths.  “I’m going to enjoy this.”The ssanu lifted a crossbow. “You ssshould have lissstened to me when I offered you that deal, Vlad,” it said.  “I would have granted you a merciful death.”“Brock?” asked Vlad in disbelief.  A crossbow bolt warped away from Vlad’s magical shield.  “I knew it was a trick!”“The name isss Gorn,” said ssanu formerly disguised as Captain Brock Wallace. “Remember it well.  It isss the lassst name you will ever hear.”Beldin charged forward, only to have Melkior block his path.  “Not so fast, stumpy,” he snarled.“Let’s see how hardy you really are, dwarf,” said Drac, “When your blood is turned to poison!”  He pointed at Beldin.The Amulet of the Serpent around Beldin’s throat glowed green.  Nothing happened.“What?” said Drac in disbelief.“Looks like not all ssanu agree with you,” said Beldin. He blocked one of Melkior’s knife strikes with his shield.With one bound, Kham cleared the distance to the crystal.  “I know what you’re trying to do,” snarled Drac.  He pointed a finger. “But it will be difficult if you’re bli—AAGH!”One of Ilmarė’s arrows shivered from Drac’s shoulder.  She had interrupted the spell.  “Stop that wench!” he shouted.Beldin faced off against Gorn.  The ssanu swung high with its falchion, but Beldin blocked the blow with his shield and retaliated by slicing Gorn’s arm with his axe.Vlad shoved Melkior backwards with his shield so he could have room to maneuver.  In close combat, Melkior had the advantage with his daggers.  But with enough distance…Kham kicked the yellow crystal off of the pedestal.  “No!” shrieked Drac.  He dove through the air and caught it just before it hit the ground. The energy that had been focused through the crystal, without anything to channel it, warped and snaked through the air towards the top of the lighthouse.  A shockwave blasted outward.Everyone was knocked flat as the glass enclosure exploded.  Kham struggled to his knees.  The energy pulsed outwards in an invisible wave, making each crawling step an effort.He reached the pedestal a second before Drac did.  Then with a slow smile, Kham placed the Jade Serpent of Yig on the pedestal.“Nooooo!” shouted Drac.The energy from the lighthouse surged through the idol of Yig.  Suddenly, the yellow light transformed into a calming, green glow.  Another blast of energy exploded outwards from the pedestal, but this time only Drac was affected.  The blast hurled him out of the lighthouse.  Drac withered even as his body flew backwards, disintegrating in the ocean air.Gorn and Melkior were dead.  There was nothing but silence. Even Freeport was quiet.  Kham limped over to look out at his city.Vlad walked over beside him.  “Is silence a good thing?” Ilmarė bit her lip. “If this is anything like Vestalanium, they won’t be silent for long.”There was a low roar.  It was the sound of people, thousands of them, shrieking and hollering.  Beldin fell to his knees.  “We are too late.”Kham started laughing.  “Have you gone mad too?” asked Ilmarė.  “The Yellow Sign has destroyed their minds!  We’ll be lucky if we can get out of here alive!”Kham was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.  Finally, he calmed down enough to speak. “You don’t understand.  That’s not Freeport going insane.  That’s Freeport partying!  We just gave them one hell of a show!”“Great,” said Ilmarė.  “Freeport was crazy enough to begin with.”</blockquote>

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