(Cydra) Great Conflicts

[jensun]

Having read further through the thread its apparent that the party did attack the Bastion after the TPK but not very successfully. Then some of them agreed to attack it again on Vuivuvi in exchange for shiny shiny loot.

Also, just spotted this little exchange which really should have alerted us to Inoke becoming the next Arrow.

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Marius tells the others, I have a proposal.

They are thunderstruck by the boldness of it. Surely Marius approached a few others first, just as he approached Cluma; but the thrill that passes through all of them as he speaks the name telepathically is completely genuine.

That is a very interesting idea, Prayzose admits.

A page out of your own book, Marius replies.

And by right of trial by combat... Dekrasode lets the thought trail off.
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[Krafus]

Thanks for the party's current stats, Jester. Now could you give us the stats of the Arrows of Law (I think you know who I particularly want to see)? Pretty pretty please?

 

[the Jester]

Thanks for the party's current stats, Jester. Now could you give us the stats of the Arrows of Law (I think you know who I particularly want to see)? Pretty pretty please?

If the party manages to defeat them, I'll even post them in here.

But if not, I'll still post them over in the RG no-player-lookee thread.

Which means, of course, that the battle isn't over yet.

Which means- not yet! Not yet!

(Ok, maybe a peak of something over there in the rogues' gallery...)

 

[Knightfall]

Excellent stuff, J.

I kind of figured the traitor was going to be Inoke. He was really against attacking the Bastion of Law. Part of me thought it could have been Horbin, but he's just not radical enough to join Prayzose and the rest of the Arrows.

Can't wait for more,

KF72

 

[the Jester]

Run To Where??

Can't wait for more,

KF72

You're in luck, cause here's an update!

***

How are we doing on resources? Prayzose asks the other Arrows of Law through their telepathic bond.

Fine for now, answers Dekrasode, and there is a general rumble of agreement.

Marius’ mental voice comes loud and clear through the link: Don’t forget- do not hesitate to either call for aid or flee to fight another day. And remember, another day to us can be an instant to them, thanks to my temporal manipulations. We must not underestimate these people!

Cluma snorts telepathically. For my part, I am eager to face our enemies in battle again. They have bested me before, but the Rod of Seven Parts is assembled in my grasp. They will not escape the wrath of Order this time.

Do not let your anger overwhelm your good sense, Lord Alyth warns.

He will not. Though it broadcasts its message on a different mental channel than the telepathic bond that the others use, the Judge of Worlds is nonetheless able to both hear their conversation and project itself into it- though it rarely speaks up. The Rod has made him a perfect servant of Law.

Indeed, Cluma agrees.

They will not be able to maintain a unified front against us with the things that they care about under attack, predicts Lord Alyth.

***

Over a rather different telepathic link, Inoke says, We can end this all now.

Is that a threat? Thrush snaps angrily.

How’s the fight going? Inoke replies.

***

How indeed. Our heroes are- somewhat- cheered by the return of Graz’zt, who appears with a balor beside him. “Get out of here, you’re of little use,” the demon prince- or is it our old friend Veil?- snarls.

Unfortunately, simultaneously, the wing of angels beside Prayzose leaps to the attack. Please, get out of there, we could call some sort of truce, Inoke cries over the link, but it is background noise as the celestials slam into the party, a combination of blows and spells, most notably a blade barrier that slices through one room of the battle (which now extends throughout several chambers). The party keeps duelling them, and Sybele cries a warning over the link.

I’m going to make it a little crazy, guys! She grins. Try not to use your spells if you’re too close to me!

With that, she uses one of her Chaos gifts and initiates a wildzone.

Then she rushes as close as she can towards Prayzose.

Marius, meanwhile, fires spell after spell at Alcar. His puncture rebounds off of Alcar’s spell resistance, but several of his quickened seeker missiles strike true, and all of his quickened magic missiles slam into Alcar as well.

Over the telepathic link shared by the Arrows of Law, Dekrasode calls out, I’ve engaged Lester and Orbius. They were not prepared for our reception. They should be easy prey.

Simulataneously, Wankerman grimaces as he runs one of the angels through. “It’s regenerating!” he complains.

“We probably need to use evil damage,” Baron Lillamere says. He grimaces in distaste. “But- thanks, Gerontius!- I might have a thing or two that will help...”

Sybele cracks her whip at Marius but curses when it goes right through him. “He’s not really there!” she cries.

And I can see silver cords- they’re astrally projecting, Alcar adds, switching back to telepathy. Which means that we can’t really kill them right now.

Lillamere grins. “Well, even if Marius isn’t there, maybe I can get him anyway!” He draws on the magic that flows through his veins and casts a maximized seeker missiles, which flies first towards the chronomancer’s projected image- and then bounces back, rebounding from Marius’ spell turning! The missiles blaze into Lillamere, but his spell turning reflects them back! For a moment there is a blazing volley of energy bouncing back and forth between them- and then the spell drains away.

Emperor Prayzose, High Priest of the Light, steps up to Baron Lillamere. “I am truly sorry,” Prayzose says, and proceeds to pummel the argent savant nearly to death with his mace. In only a few seconds Lillamere is fearing that he’s dead meat, and then he feels a psionic power scrabble at his mind. Fortunately, he has mind blanked himself, and the power shatters against his mental shield.

Still... Ouch! Lillamere thinks painfully, staggering back. “This isn’t working! Let’s get out of here!” he cries.

Chakar leaps in at Prayzose, covering Lillamere’s retreat and once again attempting to use his Quivering Palm technique. Again the High Priest parries his strike, catching it on his mace. Chakar telepathically tells the rest of the party members that are still on the link, He is hard to hit. The dwarf stands fast against him, though.

“I agree with Lillamere!” cries Gerontius, tumbling in and dealing killing wounds to one of the angels. Yet the wounds keep healing. And the celestials themselves have begun casting a series of terrible spells- implosions and destructions. Our heroes shrug most of the effects off, but even those who survive suffer terrible pains and wounds.

We need to go somewhere strong in the power of Chaos, Sybele tells the others telepathically. We need to choose our battleground!

The Abyss, Graz’zt/Veil offers.

Somewhere friendlier, Sybele answers, like that plane with the guys who like to drink a lot.

Then Prayzose pronounces a dictum. The word, forged of primal Law, reverberates through the chamber- and caught in Sybele’s wildzone, it is twisted and turned until everyone’s weapons begin to glow.

“What?” Prayzose says, startled. Then he casts a sunburst, which does seem to work properly.

Wild magic, Marius declares over their link. Well well. We will have to find a counter for it. From outside the area of the zone, he casts a disjunction, shutting Sybele’s power off. But that is fine with our heroes; it enables them to escape.

“I’m ready to plane shift us out of here!” Alcar announces. Several members of the party are converging on him, but only seconds behind them come the angels- and Alcar is not fighting angels of his god. I am sorely tested, he groans inwardly.

Complications, Dekrasode tells the other Arrows of Law over their link. I cannot be certain...

“We need to take out Inoke,” Chakar says grimly.

“We’re ready too!” Lillamere cries. And then he and several of the others bunch up as he casts plane shift, vanishing and reappearing in a rich forest. The smell of soil is strong. Grass stands almost thigh-high beneath and around our heroes. Huge trees with shaggy red bark loom overhead. A great bird squawks somewhere overhead, and the growl of a huge bear rumbles in the distance.

“We need to superior teleport to the others,” Lillamere says. “Damn, this isn’t going according to plan. And still no word from Hyliss.”

Prayzose telepathically tells Inoke, I think that your friends are going to try to kill you.

What? Inoke sounds startled.

Listen to them, Prayzose replies sadly.

Over the link that Inoke shares with the party, Chakar spits, Traitor.

Inoke, a plane and half a world away, winces and sighs. “Fine,” he says aloud, his voice wan. He stands up and brushes the sand from his thighs. The beautiful islander girls lounging about look at him curiously. He initiates a schism. Then he repeat it telepathically, over two different telepathic bonds simultaneously: Fine. My vacation is over.

“Uh, Lillamere, before you teleport us,” Wankerman says, “you should look behind you.”

Indeed, for a gate has just opened, and a strange elfin figure with eyes o’ gold and hair o’ silver gestures at it. “Hurry!” the elf exclaims. “They’ll be after you in seconds!”

“Who are you, and why should we trust you?”

The elf grins. “You don’t have a lot of choice. But I assure you, I am here to help.”

Lillamere makes a decision. He takes a deep breath and walks through the gate. Quickly, Thrush and Wankerman (the two party members with him) follow.

The elf chuckles and walks after them. As he steps through the gate, it collapses.

“Where are we?” Baron Lillamere says in wonder.

Our heroes- for they are being led in through several different gates by several different beings, but they are almost all here- are battered and bruised, bloodied and wounded, but for a moment they all forget their aches. The place they are in is beautiful. It is an idyllic glade, with a sapphire sky above a riot of colorful flowers and many different trees and plants. Bees buzz happily and butterflies flutter through the air.

“You are in a demiplane,” announces a new voice.

“You!” declares Alcar. The speaker is a green-skinned man with blue hair. He smiles at Alcar. He holds a long staff with a glowing gem at each end.

“You know these guys?” asks JJ.

There are several of them- the gold-eyed elf, the green-skinned man, a swarthy fellow with a sooty apron and a massive hammer at his side, a set of triplet elven women all wearing a silver rose, a man dressed in purple robes with a third eye in his forehead, a woman bearing an hourglass constructed from bones (including what appear to be two elven skulls), a blue-skinned baby, a man wearing a tool belt dangling with bizarre implements, a nondescript man bearing a rapier at his side and a brooding fellow with a shield and sword each of dull black metal.

Our heroes, one by one, kneel as they realize that they are before the so-called ‘New Gods’. These are Froth, the god of rape, necrophilia and cowardice; Zelman, the Emerald Mage, god of illusions; Tade the Maker, god of smiths and artisans; Garnet, the Triple Goddess, the lady of family, siblings and multiple births; Boccob, god of magic and knowledge; Coila, goddess of time and relentlessness; Carella, the goddess of humor, eccentricity and rebirth; and...

Who are the other three? wonders Lillamere as he bows. And why are they helping us?

Next Time: Nothing much, our heroes just chill with some deities.

 

[omrob]

Smackdown

Awesome update...

some notes

I remember us going for a couple of rounds and dropping a few angels, that got resurrected and healed, Marius and Prayzose weren't having too much effect cause they wasted some spells in the wild zone.

I also remember Prayzose getting caught in a wild magic reverse gravity, and then some of Marius's spells as well.

Of course the disjunction got maximized and doubled or something and did take out a lot of our equipment

Then Prayzose sunburst blinded a bunch of us.

But yeah, it was pretty much our plan to pull out and regroup after we destroyed the Wrath of Law, to try and get some surprise back. I remember how fun it was weakend as we were to still hold these guys off...

BTW I think this battle stretched over like 3 sessions.

 

[Angel of Adventure]

Over the telepathic link shared by the Arrows of Law, Dekrasode calls out, I’ve engaged Lester and Orbius. They were not prepared for our reception. They should be easy prey.

. . . uh, I didn't see that coming . . .

 

[the Jester]

Where did they go? demands Cluma angrily.

Beyond our reach, at least for the moment. Wherever they have run to, it is beyond even my ability to discern them. A mental sigh from Prayzose.

Perhaps you are reluctant to bring your full power to bear on the question, suggests Dekrasode, but the Emperor’s reply is instant.

Of course not, he snaps over the telepathic bond that links the Arrows of Law. You should know full well that I do nothing halfway. Once this battle became unavoidable, I put my all into it!

Yet you have regrets, Lord Alyth points out.

Of course I do! Some of these people are my friends, and all of them could have been allies if things had worked out differently! But that doesn’t change the fact that, in the here and now, they are enemies!

Cluma thoughtfully interjects, Perhaps if we took them from a different now, we might be able to make them allies...

No, Marius responds immediately. I have tried that before. Merely a Lester from another time proved... untenable. Imagine if they joined their analogues- we would double our opposition. It is not worth the risk.*

We must press our advantage, Prayzose sends. Our assault on their homes is not sustainable. In a matter of days or weeks our troops will be overextended. We must finish this quickly.

Time is on our side, Marius points out wryly. Those of us who need to rest and refresh spells and psionics, let’s away to my chronoplane.

A mental nod comes from Cluma. Only a few moments will pass here, he thinks over the link, while you will have several days to prepare.

Yes, Marius acknowledges. We can refresh all of our disjunction buffers and contemplate whether there are any changes to the plan that we should make.

Lord Alyth adds, The enemy is putting up more of a fight that expected. I am impressed. My plane had dozens of generals of Chaos, but few came near the powers of these ones.

They are hardly generals of Chaos, Prayzose points out. Most of them do not even realize how strongly they are aligned with the forces of Chaos.

Lord Alyth’s tone is dry. They are generals of Chaos, whether they know it or not and whether you choose to admit it or not. It is on them that the hopes of Chaos lie. They must be destroyed.

That is the one thing that is not in dispute. Eagerness bleeds into the link from Cluma, or perhaps it is the Rod of Seven Parts that he wields. Either way, the other Arrows feel it, and the adrenaline already surging through their veins signs with enthusiasm.

We simply have to find them first, Prayzose nods. Upon our return from Marius’ chronoplane, I will contact Master Control.

***

The ruins of the city of Goldstone, Dorhaus

The quickling sergeant races past the slow big folk with contemptuous ease. None of them can catch him! He is simply too fast for them to see-

The lightning bolt is a bit of a surprise, but he still manages to fling himself out of the way, evading it completely. But then there are four arrows crawling through the air at him. He jumps to his feet and rolls out of the way, but there are more of the humans coming in at him from the left. In the air to his right he sees the spellcaster that threw the lightning bolt at him unleash a trio of magic missiles at him, and these cannot be dodged. They pepper his body with wounds.

There are too many of them, he realizes. I must tell the King.

He zips off at high speed, and in less than a minute he reaches Malford, who is atop the fortified roof of the old jail, which now serves as his headquarters here. To Malford’s back, the valley pinches off and rises steeply into the mountains. Before the self-proclaimed God-King the battle is visible: his rows of elven, half-elven and gnomish troops, along with the dwarven auxiliaries, behind the ruins, with the advance force of mixed orcs and humans fighting house-to-house against the oncoming force.

“Thereisavast hordeofthe enemymylord,” the sergeant says, consciously slowing his speech to a crawl. “EvenIwaswoundedby oneofthespellcasters thattheenemyhasdeployed. Isaworcswith sunpowderweaponryintheranks oftheenemy butnotatthefront. Iamworried thatourValonianorcish alliesmaychangesides whentheyseeforces oftheirWarlord.”

Malford absorbs this, a frown on his face. His fists are clenched at his sides.

“IsawForinthianImperial forcesincludingtrained drakessiegeweapons swordsmencavalrywithlances dwarvenengineersafewgiants andsomecagedbeasts thatIdidnotrecognize. Alsotheforces hadbothclericsandwizardsorsorcerer withtheminthe ranksandIsawmanyof theirwoundedpeople beingpatchedupand sentbackintobattle.”

“Numbers?” Malford asks tightly.

“Iamnotsure. Icouldnotgetafullcount buttheyoutnumberus significantly. Iwouldsay theyhaveatleast tripleournumbers andtheyhaveexperiencedpowerful officersthatare considerablymoreformidable thatwehadanticipated.”

The gnome takes a deep breath. “Thank you.” He continues to watch the battle, and the quickling sergeant shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Finally- after about two seconds- he can’t bear it any more, and he speaks up.

“Sirwhatshouldwedo?? Icancarryamessage foryouifyoudesire...”

Malford nods. “I know. Here.” He hands the quickling a potion. “Drink, it will heal your wounds. And then return to your unit.” He smiles kindly. “They need you... Quaffalar, isn’t it?”

“Yesmylord,” the sergeant answers, surprised that the God-King would remember his name.

“Retreat if you must, but make the enemy pay for every inch that they take,” Malford says grimly. “We will probably need to fall back to our first defensive position in the mountains above, but we won’t do it without giving them a bloody nose. Now I think I had best go to the orcs.”

“Butsiriftheyturn onusyouareamighty prizeIdon’t thinkthatitissafe foryoutogotothem!”

“If I am there,” Malford chuckles, “I can prevent them from turning.”

***

Spell, the Delphinate

Zeebo is enjoying the services of his favorite girl when he hears the explosion. It is prefaced by a long, loud, whistling, rumbling sound. Then- BOOOOM!!! It is incredibly loud.

“I’m sorry, dear, but I think something has spoiled the mood,” Zeebo says. He removes himself from her sweet embrace, throws on a robe and hurries to the window. He can hear the sounds of screams and cries. Drawing the curtain aside, he gasps.

An entire building has been obliterated. Only a crater, probably 20’ deep, remains. Two of the neighboring buildings are aflame, and the storefront across the street shows massive cracking and damage. Four people lay dead- in fact, torn to bits- in the street between the storefront and the crater.

The whistling sound comes again. Zeebo’s eyes slide to the left and he sees a thin metal needle flying through the sky at unbelievable speed.

“Oh no,” Zeebo says.

Zeebo! comes a sending, clearly from Estelias, Hurry to Transmuter’s Park, we’re gathering defenders here. There are more of these things coming in from Law! They aren’t magical!

I’ll be there as soon as I can, he replies. Gulping, he hurries to the dresser to get dressed.

BOOOOOM!!!![/B] There are more screams from outside.

Oh no, Zeebo thinks again. Estelias says they aren’t magic, whatever the hell those things are. That means that the antimagic defenses won’t do anything against them. What the hell are they, and who is shooting them at us?

The whistling starts again outside.

The City of Brass, Elemental Plane of Fire

The great flaming steed rears and snorts flame. It is the glowing red of hot coals. Pasha Amhari Ifroobil leaps onto its back and grips its mane tightly.

Instantly the beast begins wildly bucking, attempting to hurl Ifroobil from its back. It screams and bellows, belches out a great gout of white-hot flaming plasma, and even rolls over to attempt to crush Amhari Ifroobil beneath its blazing weight.

But the would-be Archomental retains his tight grip, squeezing the flanks of the beast of Sustarre with his legs. He uses crushing force; he knows full well that the beast must be subdued if it is to serve him. And, for this hunt, he wants to have a truly incredible mount.

Amhari and the beast wrestle, bruising and beating each other for almost an hour until, finally, it ends. The efreet padishah has his legs locked around the beast of Sustarre’s neck, and its flanks are heaving and smoking with exertion. All around in the blazing Orange Waste, blobs of white-hot plasma burn where the beast spat them out. Slowly Amhari Ifroobil begins to stroke the beast’s head, cooing gently to it. He whispers to it, and as he does so its breathing calms. Its eyes lose their rage and take on a calculating, greedy look. And when, slowly, Amhari unlocks his legs and stands up with it, it tips its head to acknowledge its submission to him.

Amhari Ifroobil grins. He has his mount.

***

Faerieland

The leShay smiles slowly to himself. Before him, a pool represents the possibilities swimming around his target, Sybele. She does not show up directly, but the movements of Amhari Ifroobil make it obvious.

The time is coming. At the moment of maximum distraction, Sybele will die.

Next Time: Back to our heroes!

*Quite some time ago- in fact, iirc it was 1-2 THREADS ago in the story of our heroes- Lester received word that a one-armed version of himself had shown up in his regular haunts looking for him, claiming to be his brother. The party was puzzled, but ultimately dismissed the incident as some sort of weird trickery. Though the pcs still don’t have any clues about this, and have in fact prolly completely forgotten about the incident, it was an analogue of Lester from another time stream that Marius was trying to manipulate and use against ‘our’ Lester.

 

[Angel of Adventure]

I remember that guy! He popped up in Agent's of Chaos, near the beginning. I just thought he was a simulacra. An analogue, huh? Maybe he's still around and I show him my new arm. (Bet he'll be green with envy!)

 

[SpadeHammerfist]

bump!

Hello, is anyone out there, did you do a TP&NPCK and there's no-one left to tell the world what happened!?