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Consequences of the Quill (Restored 5/13/06)
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<blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 2823046" data-attributes="member: 9626"><p><strong>The Return of the Quill: Conflict</strong></p><p></p><p>The trip to the Quill’s current resting place was practically over before it started. Just like the party’s presence, this appearance of the Quill was clearly in opposition to its normal conditions. </p><p></p><p>“It would seem that Indigo’s concern about this situation wasn’t misplaced,” Danae commented as they descended through the tunnel. As they traveled, an illusion of a seemingly random creature’s head sputtered into existence for a second before fading out. Shortly afterwards, a mysterious voice spoke out of nowhere in a language that proved unintelligible, even to magical translation. </p><p></p><p>“Yes, this place practically reeks of desperation,” Tiana commented. “I somehow doubt the last epic, world-altering trials were this half-hazard.”</p><p></p><p>Finally, the party came to the very same doorway Petrach, Gurdal, and Ka’Dry’Log passed through over a thousand years ago. As before, the instant the party reached the door and first touched it, it and the entire corridor faded away. The party found themselves surrounded by the statues of gods, and except for the statues and the floor of the chamber itself, there appeared to be literally nothing beyond them, as if the room and the statues were floating alone in a void. </p><p></p><p>The chamber itself had the same disheveled look of the corridor leading up to it. The remains of an ornate hourglass lay shattered on the floor, and parts of the floor itself looked stripped away, leaving holes that revealed only the nothingness below the party. The party itself was waiting in an extension of the normally cylindrical floor on one side of the room, and as the chamber further materialized, it became obvious that there were three other alcoves at the other sides of the chamber, and they weren’t empty.</p><p></p><p>As expected, the opposite alcove contained the Strife Masters. Leading them was once again Phellis Mune, the spotty-haired were-leopard monk that the party encountered time and time again yet never had the chance to fight. He was accompanied by Affliction, who the party knew better as the plain-looking man that almost thwarted their attempt to destroy the dark moon. Also with him was a winged man of incredible beauty and nobility. Something betrayed his sinister nature, however, and Bath knew instantly that this was Allishira. The fourth Strife Master was only barely recognized by the party. He was Herbath, a gnome psion the party very briefly encountered when he was the companion to the Blade of Minds. He died almost instantly in the party’s ambush, yet he apparently came back from the dead and in a form that looked far stronger and more sinister. Speaking of once-dead enemies, the Strife Masters had a fifth in their group. She was Matkela, once a drow priestess and a cohort to the Lady of Blood. Her friend and mentor’s death and later betrayal apparently had a profound effect on the woman, as she now looked so warped that she was barely recognizable. She had mechanical limbs and armor similar to the implants the Nightmare Prince once had, she was equipped with countless psionic objects of power, and her scaly skin suggested that she was a lycanthrope like Phellis. It was as if all the other Strife Masters worked to make her a symbol of all their power.</p><p></p><p>The other alcoves had fewer enemies, but they were no less potent. The left one had a skeletal being whose equipment all displayed holy symbols of Nerull and who had an almost overwhelming aura of power and nobility. Though the party never saw him in person, this was certainly Petrach, also known as the Puppet, and the former ruler of the Undead Empire! He was accompanied by Veladoma, the vampire woman that the party reluctantly allied with when they attacked the Lady of Blood. The creatures in the last alcove were more recognizable. One was Ka’Dry’Log, also known as the Head that Rules (or, rather, Ruled,) the Claw. The party met him twice, though like Phellis, they never had the chance to fight the evil ruler before. He was also accompanied by a familiar figure. In his case, it was Khat’Shir’Mol, the orc gunner the party fought, defeated, and even killed twice before! It was clear that death would not stop him until he had this last chance at revenge.</p><p></p><p>The party sprung into action as soon as they saw their many new enemies, but Phellis calmly shook his head. “Don’t bother,” he smugly said. “The remains of some ancient ward still exist in this chamber, preventing us from entering or acting against each other. I suspect that in earlier days, this room was considered a sacred place. No action could be taken against another when the Quill was in use. I suspect that it might be different this time, though.”</p><p></p><p>Though neither The Puppet’s skeletal face nor The Head’s metallic one had any real range of expression, it almost seemed like a smile passed between the two former allies. “No, it was much different last time,” Petrach said. “I have to admit, I never thought we’d ever see this place again. It was supposed to be the greatest of blessings to see it even once. Did you imagine that we’d return to this place, my old friend?”</p><p></p><p>The Head did his best to shrug given his metal body. “How blessed were we? Maybe we had it better than most, but here we stand, our empires ruined and in bodies centuries older than nature would allow.”</p><p></p><p>“If you despise the Quill’s power so much, you’re welcome to go home and leave it to us,” Tiana snarled.</p><p></p><p>The Head laughed a hollow, artificial laugh. “And let you upstarts ruin another era of our world like you did this one? Never. Besides, if the Quill let us return for another chance, I’m sure it had good reason. Compared to what we had to endure to even get to the Quill last time, you’re lucky just dealing with us.”</p><p></p><p>The taunting and posturing between the four sides continued until, at last, the artifacts materialized in the center of the room. Inconveniently, the Book of Destiny appeared a distance from the Quill, and all sides realized that since both were necessary for either to be useful, this fight would be much more difficult than even their expectations prepare for.</p><p></p><p>And then, all at once, it started. The barriers were gone, and the free for all began. Not everyone even went for the artifacts immediately. Some of the less able combatants, like Danae and Herbath, remained behind to wait for the right moment. Elsewhere, Bath and Allishira ignored the artifacts entirely to begin their own personal feud.</p><p></p><p>The first to successfully obtain the Quill and Book were Tiana and Phellis, respectively. Tiana quickly ducked to the back of the party, letting Tonaca protect her magically. Phellis tried to gain similar support from his fellow Strife Masters, but he was a step too slow. Petrach effortlessly held him magically, letting Veladoma retrieve the Book. Before she could do a thing with it, however, she became the fight’s first casualty when Tal, Herbath, Affliction, and Khat simultaneously focused their fire on her, reducing her to her gaseous form almost instantly. Robin scooped up the Book and quickly passed it to his safest ally, Danae, before being overwhelmed himself. “Tiana, pass the Quill to Danae, quickly!” he shouted as he fought of several attackers.</p><p></p><p>Tiana hesitated. She certainly wanted her ally to have the Quill more than their many enemies, but the words of the Sisters echoed through her. Nonetheless, she anxiously decided to trust her companion for now and threw the Quill at Danae. Danae was prepared for this opportunity and quickly erected a Prismatic Sphere around her, protecting her long enough to write the first words into the Book in over a thousand years. It was hard to see exactly what she wrote in the middle of a battle, but Tiana strained to get a glimpse regardless. She groaned inwardly when she saw that the first two words written were what she feared the most, “Lady Memory.” One way or the other, the biggest unknown factor in this situation just took priority.</p><p></p><p>Before Danae could write a second line in the book, however, she was ambushed by two powerful forces. First, Ka’Dry’Log took advantage of his golem-like body and passed into the sphere effortlessly. As he began his attack on her, he was joined by Phellis, who by now had recovered from Petrach’s spell and transformed in his were-dire leopard form for the first time in the party’s experience. He used his monk skills to evade most of the sphere’s effects and quickly joined in on the brutal attack on Danae. In a matter of moments, the brave and intelligent wizard was no more!</p><p></p><p>Her killers each quickly stole one of the artifacts and then, not trusting the other, fled back outside of the sphere. Instantly, they were under attack by the enraged remainder of the party and all the competitors. Phellis anticipated this, however, and quickly tossed the Quill to Allishira while he ducked out of the battle long enough for Matkela to heal his wounds. The Head, who was surrounded by a furious Tal and a greedy Puppet, tried the same trick, but he didn’t count on the Strife Masters’ numbers and unity. Herbath, clearly prepared for this, telekinetically caught the Book in mid-throw and sent it to Allishira as well. Before anyone, even Bath, could stop him, Allishira grinned evilly and wrote his own contribution in the Book!</p><p></p><p> At this point, Allishira and his Strife Masters seemed unstoppable. Not even Bath could do much to defeat her rival, especially as long as he still had all of his fellow Strife Masters to support him, and as long as Allishira held the Book and the Quill, he could make the future worse and worse for those opposed to Bas. And yet, as invincible as he seemed, all it took to stop him, for at least a while, was a word. Specifically, it took the word of Tonaca, a man who didn’t even come from this world, yet whose faith in its people’s inherent goodness was no less weak from it. With one word, Allishira was seemingly cast out of the chamber, leaving the artifacts again unattended.</p><p></p><p>A scramble again started, and it had a further casualty. Herbath tried to claim them for himself this time, but the Head wasn’t going to fall for that trick again. With almost unheard of speed, Khat fired a half dozen rounds of ammo into the tiny gnome vampire, and The Head quickly finished the job. Like Veladoma, Herbath wasn’t technically destroyed, but he was certainly rendered irrelevant for the sake of this battle.</p><p></p><p>Before The Head could take advantage of his victory, however, he was trapped himself in a force field projected by Affliction. Bath, now lacking any noteworthy targets, focused her attacks on the fallen emperor, giving Robin and Tiana the chance to scoop up the artifacts and toss them to Tal. Instead of using the artifacts himself, however, Tal quickly placed a hand on his ally and teleported both of them inside Danae’s own prismatic sphere. While Robin kept his eye on Phellis and the rest of the Strife Masters, Tonaca began to write.</p><p></p><p>An unsettling calm briefly filled the melee. Of all the heroes, Tonaca’s interest in the world was the most unknown given that he alone didn’t truly consider it his home. The pause was only a brief one, however, before the battle resumed. </p><p></p><p>Of course, with the exceptions of Phellis and The Head, traveling through the prismatic barrier of an arch-mage was far too risky to attempt, even for artifacts like the Quill and Book. Affliction, however, solved this in his usual logical way. If there was literally nothing below the floor of this cavern, one can easily fly under the floor and enter the sphere from below! To demonstrate this theory, he dived over the edge of the cavern, sprouted metallic wings almost instantly, and then fired a disintegration ray under the dome, creating a small but usable hole. Affliction, Khat, and Puppet quickly moved to gain access to the book, with the rest of the party’s enemies following right behind. </p><p></p><p>But Tonaca wouldn’t let evil get control of the artifacts so easily, nor would he die just as Danae did. If nothing existed below this floor, then the answer was simple. He merely dropped the Quill and Book down the hole, into the bottomless void!</p><p></p><p>His enemies were frozen with shock for just a moment, and the first to react to this sudden reversal was his own ally Tiana. Void or no void, she dived without hesitation over the edge of the chamber, catching the Book and Quill in mid-flight. Affliction chased after her, but the others were uncertain about what would happen if they fell too far in this strange realm and remained in the chamber. Tiana hastily wrote her own future into the Book before it, the Quill, and she vanished out of sight.</p><p></p><p>Exactly what Tiana finally encountered on her descent would never be known, for she was never seen in this reality again. Even though she had the ability to fly from a magic item, by the time she got the chance to use it, it was apparently too late. The artifacts, however, were far more difficult to destroy or otherwise remove from the world. A few moments later, the Book and the Quill re-appeared exactly as they did the first time and exactly in the same place. The fight would continue on, but as the mad rush for the items of power began, Tal noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The hourglass that he had previously assumed was broken nonetheless was filling up. By the look of things, it was almost half full, suggesting that this melee would definitely have an ending after all.</p><p></p><p>Before either artifact could be grabbed, however, Affliction decided to use his plan a second time and disintegrated the floor under the artifacts! They fell before they could be caught by anyone else, giving Affliction brief control of both artifacts. However, he didn’t take into account one of the weaknesses of his plan: between the holes in the floor and the open edges of the chamber, there were plenty of openings to attack him. Even with Phellis and Matkela fighting to protect their ally, a hail of magical attacks and bullets rained down on the already wounded NAHULI, followed immediately by a vengeful Bath eager to even the score from their last fight. Before Affliction could write a word, his body was utterly disintegrated, leaving nothing but a barely visible cloud of nano-machines. Again the Book and Quill fell, but this time they were caught by Robin, who flew underneath Affliction while the rest of his enemies attacked him from above. He was obviously the next target of the hail of weapons, but unlike Affliction, Robin conveniently had an avenging angel between him and his enemies. He still barely survived the constant barrage of magic and projectiles sent at him (and the cloud that was once Affliction was completely destroyed in the attack as well,) but Robin was able to get his words into the Book before he finally could suffer any longer, and his unconscious or dead body silently fell to join Tiana. </p><p></p><p>It was obvious to all who remained what would happen next. Just like before, as soon as Robin reached the edge of the plane, the Book and Quill would return to the chamber. If they returned to the same location as last time, however, they would start falling immediately, thanks to Affliction’s handiwork. As quickly as possible, everyone prepared to grab the artifacts the instant they returned and before they fell out of reach again. It would just be a matter of timing. Surprisingly, the one to grab both artifacts out of the air was Khat! He laughed triumphantly over finally getting the chance to get his revenge on the “heroes” that killed him twice, and as The Head moved to protect his servant from harm, he prepared to write.</p><p></p><p>However, once again, his moment of triumph was snatched away, and this time neither he nor anyone else in the room saw it coming. From seemingly out of nowhere, Prince Khaspar’s ghost emerged and quickly floated into Khat’s body! Khat’s laughter was suddenly replaced by something far more twisted and cruel.</p><p></p><p>The Head, however, was not about to let Khaspar succeed. He didn’t know the former servant of Bas as well as the party did, but he learned quite a bit about him as a result of Khaspar’s attempts to sabotage his empire. In fact, he remembered that Khat himself described the symptoms of his master’s “sickness” in a way that greatly resembled the ghost’s own form. He didn’t want to destroy his own servant, but he’d be damned if the monster responsible for so much of Khat’s suffering would be allowed to use his body as a tool. With one swing of his axe, Khat was dead, and his body no longer useable by the evil ghost.</p><p></p><p>“Get him!” an angry Tal shouted, and for a brief moment, friend and foe alike worked together. Khaspar was as much an enemy to the orc and undead empires as he was to Methosilang, and Bas’ worshippers were well aware of his own treasonous actions. Khaspar, like the vampires before him, couldn’t be killed in a battle like this, but the destruction of his ectoplasmic body would prevent his return by several days, long after it would relevant. </p><p></p><p>Only one set of hands focused on the Book and Quill while the sudden flurry of violence took place, and it belonged to a being thought defeated. With a laugh, the returning Allishira claimed the artifacts for a second time! Attacks were inevitable, but they were too late. By the time anyone could even come close to harming him, he wrote a second passage!</p><p></p><p>“How is this possible?” Tonaca asked. “My holy word should have sent him out of the plane entirely. He shouldn’t have been able to return for another 24 hours.”</p><p></p><p>Oddly enough, the Puppet answered his question. “What makes you think we can even leave this plane?” he snarled. “We’re not home right now; we’re in the Quill’s demi-plane. If it’s like the Rift, I’m guessing he can’t leave this place any more than we can. You spell likely sent him just to the edge of the void, and it was just a matter of time before he found his way back.”</p><p></p><p>Bath growled. “Well, I know one way to get rid of him.” So saying, she tackled her nemesis in mid-flight. The Book and Quill went flying, preventing anyone from paying further attention to the fight. The last thing Tal saw was Bath and Allishira grappling their way downwards into the void. Neither could penetrate the other’s defenses effectively enough to do any real damage, but they still could compete in a test of strength. And as long as they were grappling each other, they were unable to fly, making their destination inevitable.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, while most of the party and the Strife Masters were distracted by their ally’s battle, The Head seized his chance. Quickly he grabbed both artifacts and prepared to write. As he began his entry, he ignored the attacks from his rivals (his body was immune to most of their spells anyway,) and smiled nostalgically to himself. The last time he had this chance, he needed the power of the Book to even understand how to write! And since then, his wisdom and might increased beyond what even he could dream of. Well, he won’t let his second opportunity to go waste, nor will he let the loss of everything from his empire to his last loyal servant go to waste.</p><p></p><p>No sooner did he finish his entry, however, when The Puppet finally removed his oldest rival. His magic couldn’t directly hurt The Head’s golem-like body, but the floor he was standing on was another story. One blast of infernal fire later, The Head was sent plummeting to the void that claimed so many already. However, just as The Puppet moved to pick up the Book and Quill, which The Head dropped as he scrambled to find a handhold in vain, Tonaca eliminated this threat as well in the simplest way possible; he merely turned undead. The look of amusement The Puppet had at the very possibility such a thing could affect him was replaced by one of fear and horror when the might of Tonaca’s faith actually was successful! The Puppet was sent fleeing over the edge, and for one last time Petrach and Ka’Dry’Log were together as they met their ultimate fate at the edge of the void.</p><p></p><p>With time running out, it appeared that there were only four survivors to fight for the artifacts: Phellis, Matkela, Tonaca, and Tal. With much of the chamber destroyed and only a few safe places remaining, the fighting intensified and the Book and Quill changed hands quickly. The first one to reach the artifacts after the loss of The Puppet was Phellis. Matkela quickly moved in to protect her ally as Phellis quickly inserted his own interpretation of how the future should be.</p><p></p><p>Tonaca and Tal responded with as many powerful attacks as they could muster so late in the battle, but as soon as he finished his writings and things looked dire, Phellis simply charged in front of her defender, tossed the artifacts to her, and then became her protection! By the time Tal forced her way past him, she managed to contribute to the Book as well.</p><p></p><p>Between Tonaca and Tal, however, the surviving party members were able to wrest the artifacts away from Matkela long enough for Tal to grab them and write his own addition into the Book. But it was a costly victory. Tonaca absorbed the attacks of Phellis during the entire exchange, and even with his healing magic he barely had enough energy to stand. Even worse, as soon as Tal finished his writing, he faced the full wrath of Matkela, who was briefly paralyzed thanks to Tonaca. She, like Phellis, had long reverted to her lycanthropic form (a were-snake, in her case,) and between her natural powers and her half-machine weaponry, she had enough power to slay the unfortunate wounded sorcerer in a matter of moments!</p><p></p><p>Tonaca, suddenly left alone, quickly backed to the edge of the chamber. As Phellis smiled and watched, Matkela descended on the priest. She raised her many weapons and was just about to finish him when a greatsword flashed and neatly cut off her head.</p><p></p><p>Bath had returned. She took only a moment to glance at Tonaca and confirm his safety before she flew at the wounded Phellis. Phellis, realizing that he suddenly was at the disadvantage, looked at the draining hourglass, gave one last smirk, and leapt off the side of the chamber, deciding to risk the void instead of the angry celestial.</p><p></p><p>Bath quickly gathered the Book and Quill after seeing the hourglass had enough sand for one last entry. As she did, Tonaca asked, “How did you survive? I thought the void claimed you.”</p><p></p><p>Bath shook her head. “Allishira and I fought to the edge of the plane. I just happened to be forcing him down from above at the time. As soon as I saw that he disappeared, I got back here as soon as I could. I suppose it’s not the ultimate victory that I wanted, but at least I know that when we matched our wills, I was the strongest. It will have to do for now.”</p><p></p><p>So saying, she took the Quill and Book and finished her entry just as the hourglass filled. And, once again, things started to change….</p><p></p><p>OOC Notes: Expect the final update next weekend. It will include the actual entries into the Book of Destiny, the epilogue of the campaign, and a bit of a teaser for my next one, which should begin early April depending on my player recruitment efforts. But there will be more on that next week. </p><p></p><p>As for the entries, four of the six entries by the characters were submitted by the players. The other two, along with the NPC entries, were made by me. I decided before I got any entries how to handle the number and order of entries. Basically, there would be six entries plus the number of required entries. Everyone who submitted an entry was required to get one, and I decided one of the NPCs definitely would get an entry as well. Anyone want to guess who? So, four submissions + the obligatory NPC + the random six entries = the 11 entries we ultimately got. All sixteen competitors (including Prince Khaspar) had an equal chance of getting an entry, and I didn’t remove anyone from further entrees until they got two, though the only one to end up getting two was Allishira. </p><p></p><p>The lives lost during the fight, however, were mostly for the sake of story convenience. At the level the party was at, nothing short of a TPK would have permanently destroyed them, and the power of the Quill more than rendered any deaths irrelevant anyway.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LordVyreth, post: 2823046, member: 9626"] [b]The Return of the Quill: Conflict[/b] The trip to the Quill’s current resting place was practically over before it started. Just like the party’s presence, this appearance of the Quill was clearly in opposition to its normal conditions. “It would seem that Indigo’s concern about this situation wasn’t misplaced,” Danae commented as they descended through the tunnel. As they traveled, an illusion of a seemingly random creature’s head sputtered into existence for a second before fading out. Shortly afterwards, a mysterious voice spoke out of nowhere in a language that proved unintelligible, even to magical translation. “Yes, this place practically reeks of desperation,” Tiana commented. “I somehow doubt the last epic, world-altering trials were this half-hazard.” Finally, the party came to the very same doorway Petrach, Gurdal, and Ka’Dry’Log passed through over a thousand years ago. As before, the instant the party reached the door and first touched it, it and the entire corridor faded away. The party found themselves surrounded by the statues of gods, and except for the statues and the floor of the chamber itself, there appeared to be literally nothing beyond them, as if the room and the statues were floating alone in a void. The chamber itself had the same disheveled look of the corridor leading up to it. The remains of an ornate hourglass lay shattered on the floor, and parts of the floor itself looked stripped away, leaving holes that revealed only the nothingness below the party. The party itself was waiting in an extension of the normally cylindrical floor on one side of the room, and as the chamber further materialized, it became obvious that there were three other alcoves at the other sides of the chamber, and they weren’t empty. As expected, the opposite alcove contained the Strife Masters. Leading them was once again Phellis Mune, the spotty-haired were-leopard monk that the party encountered time and time again yet never had the chance to fight. He was accompanied by Affliction, who the party knew better as the plain-looking man that almost thwarted their attempt to destroy the dark moon. Also with him was a winged man of incredible beauty and nobility. Something betrayed his sinister nature, however, and Bath knew instantly that this was Allishira. The fourth Strife Master was only barely recognized by the party. He was Herbath, a gnome psion the party very briefly encountered when he was the companion to the Blade of Minds. He died almost instantly in the party’s ambush, yet he apparently came back from the dead and in a form that looked far stronger and more sinister. Speaking of once-dead enemies, the Strife Masters had a fifth in their group. She was Matkela, once a drow priestess and a cohort to the Lady of Blood. Her friend and mentor’s death and later betrayal apparently had a profound effect on the woman, as she now looked so warped that she was barely recognizable. She had mechanical limbs and armor similar to the implants the Nightmare Prince once had, she was equipped with countless psionic objects of power, and her scaly skin suggested that she was a lycanthrope like Phellis. It was as if all the other Strife Masters worked to make her a symbol of all their power. The other alcoves had fewer enemies, but they were no less potent. The left one had a skeletal being whose equipment all displayed holy symbols of Nerull and who had an almost overwhelming aura of power and nobility. Though the party never saw him in person, this was certainly Petrach, also known as the Puppet, and the former ruler of the Undead Empire! He was accompanied by Veladoma, the vampire woman that the party reluctantly allied with when they attacked the Lady of Blood. The creatures in the last alcove were more recognizable. One was Ka’Dry’Log, also known as the Head that Rules (or, rather, Ruled,) the Claw. The party met him twice, though like Phellis, they never had the chance to fight the evil ruler before. He was also accompanied by a familiar figure. In his case, it was Khat’Shir’Mol, the orc gunner the party fought, defeated, and even killed twice before! It was clear that death would not stop him until he had this last chance at revenge. The party sprung into action as soon as they saw their many new enemies, but Phellis calmly shook his head. “Don’t bother,” he smugly said. “The remains of some ancient ward still exist in this chamber, preventing us from entering or acting against each other. I suspect that in earlier days, this room was considered a sacred place. No action could be taken against another when the Quill was in use. I suspect that it might be different this time, though.” Though neither The Puppet’s skeletal face nor The Head’s metallic one had any real range of expression, it almost seemed like a smile passed between the two former allies. “No, it was much different last time,” Petrach said. “I have to admit, I never thought we’d ever see this place again. It was supposed to be the greatest of blessings to see it even once. Did you imagine that we’d return to this place, my old friend?” The Head did his best to shrug given his metal body. “How blessed were we? Maybe we had it better than most, but here we stand, our empires ruined and in bodies centuries older than nature would allow.” “If you despise the Quill’s power so much, you’re welcome to go home and leave it to us,” Tiana snarled. The Head laughed a hollow, artificial laugh. “And let you upstarts ruin another era of our world like you did this one? Never. Besides, if the Quill let us return for another chance, I’m sure it had good reason. Compared to what we had to endure to even get to the Quill last time, you’re lucky just dealing with us.” The taunting and posturing between the four sides continued until, at last, the artifacts materialized in the center of the room. Inconveniently, the Book of Destiny appeared a distance from the Quill, and all sides realized that since both were necessary for either to be useful, this fight would be much more difficult than even their expectations prepare for. And then, all at once, it started. The barriers were gone, and the free for all began. Not everyone even went for the artifacts immediately. Some of the less able combatants, like Danae and Herbath, remained behind to wait for the right moment. Elsewhere, Bath and Allishira ignored the artifacts entirely to begin their own personal feud. The first to successfully obtain the Quill and Book were Tiana and Phellis, respectively. Tiana quickly ducked to the back of the party, letting Tonaca protect her magically. Phellis tried to gain similar support from his fellow Strife Masters, but he was a step too slow. Petrach effortlessly held him magically, letting Veladoma retrieve the Book. Before she could do a thing with it, however, she became the fight’s first casualty when Tal, Herbath, Affliction, and Khat simultaneously focused their fire on her, reducing her to her gaseous form almost instantly. Robin scooped up the Book and quickly passed it to his safest ally, Danae, before being overwhelmed himself. “Tiana, pass the Quill to Danae, quickly!” he shouted as he fought of several attackers. Tiana hesitated. She certainly wanted her ally to have the Quill more than their many enemies, but the words of the Sisters echoed through her. Nonetheless, she anxiously decided to trust her companion for now and threw the Quill at Danae. Danae was prepared for this opportunity and quickly erected a Prismatic Sphere around her, protecting her long enough to write the first words into the Book in over a thousand years. It was hard to see exactly what she wrote in the middle of a battle, but Tiana strained to get a glimpse regardless. She groaned inwardly when she saw that the first two words written were what she feared the most, “Lady Memory.” One way or the other, the biggest unknown factor in this situation just took priority. Before Danae could write a second line in the book, however, she was ambushed by two powerful forces. First, Ka’Dry’Log took advantage of his golem-like body and passed into the sphere effortlessly. As he began his attack on her, he was joined by Phellis, who by now had recovered from Petrach’s spell and transformed in his were-dire leopard form for the first time in the party’s experience. He used his monk skills to evade most of the sphere’s effects and quickly joined in on the brutal attack on Danae. In a matter of moments, the brave and intelligent wizard was no more! Her killers each quickly stole one of the artifacts and then, not trusting the other, fled back outside of the sphere. Instantly, they were under attack by the enraged remainder of the party and all the competitors. Phellis anticipated this, however, and quickly tossed the Quill to Allishira while he ducked out of the battle long enough for Matkela to heal his wounds. The Head, who was surrounded by a furious Tal and a greedy Puppet, tried the same trick, but he didn’t count on the Strife Masters’ numbers and unity. Herbath, clearly prepared for this, telekinetically caught the Book in mid-throw and sent it to Allishira as well. Before anyone, even Bath, could stop him, Allishira grinned evilly and wrote his own contribution in the Book! At this point, Allishira and his Strife Masters seemed unstoppable. Not even Bath could do much to defeat her rival, especially as long as he still had all of his fellow Strife Masters to support him, and as long as Allishira held the Book and the Quill, he could make the future worse and worse for those opposed to Bas. And yet, as invincible as he seemed, all it took to stop him, for at least a while, was a word. Specifically, it took the word of Tonaca, a man who didn’t even come from this world, yet whose faith in its people’s inherent goodness was no less weak from it. With one word, Allishira was seemingly cast out of the chamber, leaving the artifacts again unattended. A scramble again started, and it had a further casualty. Herbath tried to claim them for himself this time, but the Head wasn’t going to fall for that trick again. With almost unheard of speed, Khat fired a half dozen rounds of ammo into the tiny gnome vampire, and The Head quickly finished the job. Like Veladoma, Herbath wasn’t technically destroyed, but he was certainly rendered irrelevant for the sake of this battle. Before The Head could take advantage of his victory, however, he was trapped himself in a force field projected by Affliction. Bath, now lacking any noteworthy targets, focused her attacks on the fallen emperor, giving Robin and Tiana the chance to scoop up the artifacts and toss them to Tal. Instead of using the artifacts himself, however, Tal quickly placed a hand on his ally and teleported both of them inside Danae’s own prismatic sphere. While Robin kept his eye on Phellis and the rest of the Strife Masters, Tonaca began to write. An unsettling calm briefly filled the melee. Of all the heroes, Tonaca’s interest in the world was the most unknown given that he alone didn’t truly consider it his home. The pause was only a brief one, however, before the battle resumed. Of course, with the exceptions of Phellis and The Head, traveling through the prismatic barrier of an arch-mage was far too risky to attempt, even for artifacts like the Quill and Book. Affliction, however, solved this in his usual logical way. If there was literally nothing below the floor of this cavern, one can easily fly under the floor and enter the sphere from below! To demonstrate this theory, he dived over the edge of the cavern, sprouted metallic wings almost instantly, and then fired a disintegration ray under the dome, creating a small but usable hole. Affliction, Khat, and Puppet quickly moved to gain access to the book, with the rest of the party’s enemies following right behind. But Tonaca wouldn’t let evil get control of the artifacts so easily, nor would he die just as Danae did. If nothing existed below this floor, then the answer was simple. He merely dropped the Quill and Book down the hole, into the bottomless void! His enemies were frozen with shock for just a moment, and the first to react to this sudden reversal was his own ally Tiana. Void or no void, she dived without hesitation over the edge of the chamber, catching the Book and Quill in mid-flight. Affliction chased after her, but the others were uncertain about what would happen if they fell too far in this strange realm and remained in the chamber. Tiana hastily wrote her own future into the Book before it, the Quill, and she vanished out of sight. Exactly what Tiana finally encountered on her descent would never be known, for she was never seen in this reality again. Even though she had the ability to fly from a magic item, by the time she got the chance to use it, it was apparently too late. The artifacts, however, were far more difficult to destroy or otherwise remove from the world. A few moments later, the Book and the Quill re-appeared exactly as they did the first time and exactly in the same place. The fight would continue on, but as the mad rush for the items of power began, Tal noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The hourglass that he had previously assumed was broken nonetheless was filling up. By the look of things, it was almost half full, suggesting that this melee would definitely have an ending after all. Before either artifact could be grabbed, however, Affliction decided to use his plan a second time and disintegrated the floor under the artifacts! They fell before they could be caught by anyone else, giving Affliction brief control of both artifacts. However, he didn’t take into account one of the weaknesses of his plan: between the holes in the floor and the open edges of the chamber, there were plenty of openings to attack him. Even with Phellis and Matkela fighting to protect their ally, a hail of magical attacks and bullets rained down on the already wounded NAHULI, followed immediately by a vengeful Bath eager to even the score from their last fight. Before Affliction could write a word, his body was utterly disintegrated, leaving nothing but a barely visible cloud of nano-machines. Again the Book and Quill fell, but this time they were caught by Robin, who flew underneath Affliction while the rest of his enemies attacked him from above. He was obviously the next target of the hail of weapons, but unlike Affliction, Robin conveniently had an avenging angel between him and his enemies. He still barely survived the constant barrage of magic and projectiles sent at him (and the cloud that was once Affliction was completely destroyed in the attack as well,) but Robin was able to get his words into the Book before he finally could suffer any longer, and his unconscious or dead body silently fell to join Tiana. It was obvious to all who remained what would happen next. Just like before, as soon as Robin reached the edge of the plane, the Book and Quill would return to the chamber. If they returned to the same location as last time, however, they would start falling immediately, thanks to Affliction’s handiwork. As quickly as possible, everyone prepared to grab the artifacts the instant they returned and before they fell out of reach again. It would just be a matter of timing. Surprisingly, the one to grab both artifacts out of the air was Khat! He laughed triumphantly over finally getting the chance to get his revenge on the “heroes” that killed him twice, and as The Head moved to protect his servant from harm, he prepared to write. However, once again, his moment of triumph was snatched away, and this time neither he nor anyone else in the room saw it coming. From seemingly out of nowhere, Prince Khaspar’s ghost emerged and quickly floated into Khat’s body! Khat’s laughter was suddenly replaced by something far more twisted and cruel. The Head, however, was not about to let Khaspar succeed. He didn’t know the former servant of Bas as well as the party did, but he learned quite a bit about him as a result of Khaspar’s attempts to sabotage his empire. In fact, he remembered that Khat himself described the symptoms of his master’s “sickness” in a way that greatly resembled the ghost’s own form. He didn’t want to destroy his own servant, but he’d be damned if the monster responsible for so much of Khat’s suffering would be allowed to use his body as a tool. With one swing of his axe, Khat was dead, and his body no longer useable by the evil ghost. “Get him!” an angry Tal shouted, and for a brief moment, friend and foe alike worked together. Khaspar was as much an enemy to the orc and undead empires as he was to Methosilang, and Bas’ worshippers were well aware of his own treasonous actions. Khaspar, like the vampires before him, couldn’t be killed in a battle like this, but the destruction of his ectoplasmic body would prevent his return by several days, long after it would relevant. Only one set of hands focused on the Book and Quill while the sudden flurry of violence took place, and it belonged to a being thought defeated. With a laugh, the returning Allishira claimed the artifacts for a second time! Attacks were inevitable, but they were too late. By the time anyone could even come close to harming him, he wrote a second passage! “How is this possible?” Tonaca asked. “My holy word should have sent him out of the plane entirely. He shouldn’t have been able to return for another 24 hours.” Oddly enough, the Puppet answered his question. “What makes you think we can even leave this plane?” he snarled. “We’re not home right now; we’re in the Quill’s demi-plane. If it’s like the Rift, I’m guessing he can’t leave this place any more than we can. You spell likely sent him just to the edge of the void, and it was just a matter of time before he found his way back.” Bath growled. “Well, I know one way to get rid of him.” So saying, she tackled her nemesis in mid-flight. The Book and Quill went flying, preventing anyone from paying further attention to the fight. The last thing Tal saw was Bath and Allishira grappling their way downwards into the void. Neither could penetrate the other’s defenses effectively enough to do any real damage, but they still could compete in a test of strength. And as long as they were grappling each other, they were unable to fly, making their destination inevitable. Meanwhile, while most of the party and the Strife Masters were distracted by their ally’s battle, The Head seized his chance. Quickly he grabbed both artifacts and prepared to write. As he began his entry, he ignored the attacks from his rivals (his body was immune to most of their spells anyway,) and smiled nostalgically to himself. The last time he had this chance, he needed the power of the Book to even understand how to write! And since then, his wisdom and might increased beyond what even he could dream of. Well, he won’t let his second opportunity to go waste, nor will he let the loss of everything from his empire to his last loyal servant go to waste. No sooner did he finish his entry, however, when The Puppet finally removed his oldest rival. His magic couldn’t directly hurt The Head’s golem-like body, but the floor he was standing on was another story. One blast of infernal fire later, The Head was sent plummeting to the void that claimed so many already. However, just as The Puppet moved to pick up the Book and Quill, which The Head dropped as he scrambled to find a handhold in vain, Tonaca eliminated this threat as well in the simplest way possible; he merely turned undead. The look of amusement The Puppet had at the very possibility such a thing could affect him was replaced by one of fear and horror when the might of Tonaca’s faith actually was successful! The Puppet was sent fleeing over the edge, and for one last time Petrach and Ka’Dry’Log were together as they met their ultimate fate at the edge of the void. With time running out, it appeared that there were only four survivors to fight for the artifacts: Phellis, Matkela, Tonaca, and Tal. With much of the chamber destroyed and only a few safe places remaining, the fighting intensified and the Book and Quill changed hands quickly. The first one to reach the artifacts after the loss of The Puppet was Phellis. Matkela quickly moved in to protect her ally as Phellis quickly inserted his own interpretation of how the future should be. Tonaca and Tal responded with as many powerful attacks as they could muster so late in the battle, but as soon as he finished his writings and things looked dire, Phellis simply charged in front of her defender, tossed the artifacts to her, and then became her protection! By the time Tal forced her way past him, she managed to contribute to the Book as well. Between Tonaca and Tal, however, the surviving party members were able to wrest the artifacts away from Matkela long enough for Tal to grab them and write his own addition into the Book. But it was a costly victory. Tonaca absorbed the attacks of Phellis during the entire exchange, and even with his healing magic he barely had enough energy to stand. Even worse, as soon as Tal finished his writing, he faced the full wrath of Matkela, who was briefly paralyzed thanks to Tonaca. She, like Phellis, had long reverted to her lycanthropic form (a were-snake, in her case,) and between her natural powers and her half-machine weaponry, she had enough power to slay the unfortunate wounded sorcerer in a matter of moments! Tonaca, suddenly left alone, quickly backed to the edge of the chamber. As Phellis smiled and watched, Matkela descended on the priest. She raised her many weapons and was just about to finish him when a greatsword flashed and neatly cut off her head. Bath had returned. She took only a moment to glance at Tonaca and confirm his safety before she flew at the wounded Phellis. Phellis, realizing that he suddenly was at the disadvantage, looked at the draining hourglass, gave one last smirk, and leapt off the side of the chamber, deciding to risk the void instead of the angry celestial. Bath quickly gathered the Book and Quill after seeing the hourglass had enough sand for one last entry. As she did, Tonaca asked, “How did you survive? I thought the void claimed you.” Bath shook her head. “Allishira and I fought to the edge of the plane. I just happened to be forcing him down from above at the time. As soon as I saw that he disappeared, I got back here as soon as I could. I suppose it’s not the ultimate victory that I wanted, but at least I know that when we matched our wills, I was the strongest. It will have to do for now.” So saying, she took the Quill and Book and finished her entry just as the hourglass filled. And, once again, things started to change…. OOC Notes: Expect the final update next weekend. It will include the actual entries into the Book of Destiny, the epilogue of the campaign, and a bit of a teaser for my next one, which should begin early April depending on my player recruitment efforts. But there will be more on that next week. As for the entries, four of the six entries by the characters were submitted by the players. The other two, along with the NPC entries, were made by me. I decided before I got any entries how to handle the number and order of entries. Basically, there would be six entries plus the number of required entries. Everyone who submitted an entry was required to get one, and I decided one of the NPCs definitely would get an entry as well. Anyone want to guess who? So, four submissions + the obligatory NPC + the random six entries = the 11 entries we ultimately got. All sixteen competitors (including Prince Khaspar) had an equal chance of getting an entry, and I didn’t remove anyone from further entrees until they got two, though the only one to end up getting two was Allishira. The lives lost during the fight, however, were mostly for the sake of story convenience. At the level the party was at, nothing short of a TPK would have permanently destroyed them, and the power of the Quill more than rendered any deaths irrelevant anyway. [/QUOTE]
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