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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Droid101" data-source="post: 1796796" data-attributes="member: 942">None of the buildings were much higher than two stories, but Damaré, Jezda, and Felix held their ground on their respective rooftops.  Damaré and Jezda were both behind ballistats.  Felix was checking over his flintlock longrifle.Down in the middle of town square Eltharion, Bink, Blaze, Grog, and Ogrim stood.  Eltharion had previously cast protection from acid on everybody in the square.  Bink had polymorphed himself into a troll.“You think this is a good time to try these out?” Eltharion was holding his laser pistol and the other, stranger futuristic weapon he had stolen from the Kendri Starseal in the future.“Maybe later,” Ogrim grunted, looking over his own laser pistol.Gordon was off by himself, on the other side of a building.  He was waiting, hoping the dragon would be drawn in to attack him, as he was alone.Around mid day, everyone was getting restless.“Why hasn’t Gordon gotten another message from Brolin?  What could be the problem?” Bink wonders aloud.Just as he says this, the Heroes see several dark forms atop the buildings surrounding them.  All of them are humanoid wearing dark concealing cloaks.  They all have crossbows aimed down at the party.  There is about ten of them in all.  One of them stands up; a familiar face.“How inconvenient for me to show up, just before you have to fight a dragon,” Dendybar muses.  “I just love catching you off guard…”“I’ve heard enough…” Eltharion pulls out the strange futuristic gun and fires it at Dendybar.((To my surprise, I assure you.  I was thinking “Eh, he’ll probably miss.”:: Dice roll… ::  “I got a 19, plus my dexterity and base attack, that’s a 38.”“D’oh…”  So then, I was thinking “Eh, he’ll make his save.”  Fort DC 22, not so bad.  I look to his Dendybar’s character sheet.  Fort save +6.  DOH!  I always roll big deal rolls in front of the PCs.:: Dice roll… ::  “Dude, there’s no way he makes it on a roll of a 5, right?” The PC asks me, as I watch my villain go bye-bye.))A huge blast of bluish-black rippling energy flies at Dendybar.  Time and space ripples around the point of impact-Dendybar’s chest.  Finally, it looks like the very space around him folds in, and Dendybar is gone.A volley of crossbow bolts pelts into the party.  Everyone dodges for the most part, and they burst into action.  Ogrim, Blaze and Grog immediately sprint toward buildings, to try to climb up and kill the assassins with crossbows.  A form materializes about 40 feet above Eltharion and Bink; the spikey-haired dark elf, Kev’Zen.  A glowing psionically charged dagger appears in his hand, and he throws it down toward Blaze.  Repeat three more times.  Blaze stumbles to one knee, his body weakened by the sharp stabbing pain of the blade, and the subsequent stabbing pain to his mind.  The wounds are horrible; blood leaks from his armor at every crevice.Bink casts haste and then touches Eltharion to cast fly on him.“Go get him,” Bink says as he does so.  Eltharion obliges.  He holds his blades forth, the Moon scimitar and the Sun sickle.  The light from the Sun and the mysterious power of the Moon blind and stun Kev’Zen, who plummets to the ground.  Eltharion looks down at him, smiling.“Prepare to die, dark elf scum,” Eltharion muses.Far above them, a seemingly small shape passes overheard.  A voice is heard from one of the roofs a few hundred feet away.“The dragon, the dragon!” Felix can be heard faintly shouting.Something crashes down right next to Kev’Zen’s prone body.  Another body.  Slams down hard, after having been dropped from over 500 feet up.  The body is completely mutilated.  Huge bite marks and ripped flesh cover the once-human.  It’s also covered with acid burns.  A broken bow lands a few feet away.Blaze heals himself, staggering to his feet.  Ogrim and Grog start climbing nearby buildings, to get to the cloaked rogues.  Most of them start running, after seeing Dendybar die and Kev’Zen fall, stunned.Eltharion cuts into Kev’Zen ruthlessly.  Stunned, he can’t really put up much of a defense, but doesn’t stop moving yet.Kev’Zen regains the ability to move normally, and with an evil sneer, he manifests a power, and vanishes from view.“Damn!” Eltharion curses, kicking the ground.“That’s the least of our troubles,” Bink says, pointing to the dragon’s faint form dive to below their sight.A few seconds pass, and they hear, from Gordon’s location on the other side of the building, a great inhalation, and then a splashing and sizzling sound.  The great green dragon then flies up over the building.The thing is terrible, in every sense of the word.  Not only it the monster huge, it is terrifying.  Everyone is notably shaken from seeing the great beast.  Several dweomers are apparent, as well.  The dragon is moving way too fast.  It also appears as though there are several different images of the dragon, side by side.  Couple all that with the image of the dragon being blurred, and the Heroes were mightly worried.Eltharion ran toward the river, trying to look scared.  Bink cast fly.  Blaze got the scroll out and got ready to cast gate when the dragon went into the water.Eltharion turned when he reached the river.  Ogrim pulled out his laser pistol and fired, taking out one of the mirror images.  Eltharion did the same, destroying another image.  The dragon, if it could smile, did so, as it landed in the midst of everyone.  He cast a spell, a fireball streaking toward Blaze and Ogrim.  The fire enveloped both of them, though they were able to dodge out of the way of the brunt of the blast.  The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh filled the air.  Another fireball flew at Bink, who dodged out of the way as well, taking only minimal damage.Bink cast dispel magic and then magic missile at the dragon.  The blur, the images, and the haste of the dragon were successfully dispelled.  The bolts slammed into the dragon.  The dragon didn’t flinch.Partially surrounded, the dragon turned to Eltharion.  I hope you know how to swim, morsel, the dragon thought.  It took to the air and flew at him fast, too fast.  Eltharion had no time to jump into the river first.  The dragon placed a giant clawed hand into Eltharion’s body and pushed him into the river, diving in with him.Blaze cast gate, opening a portal directly under the surface of the water.“I banish you to HELL,” Blaze said with authority.  And so he did.Eltharion and the dragon were expelled onto dry land, surrounded by barren gray wastelands.  Firey explosions and volcanic activity could be seen off in the distance.  The sky was covered in dark, black clouds.  Eltharion and the dragon fell to the ground quite unceremoniously.“Uh oh…” Bink’s troll-mouth said.  Bink took to the air and flew into the gate himself.“Don’t close it until we get back!” Bink yelled as he went in.Eltharion was flying out just as Bink was flying in.Bink landed right next to the dragon.  He chuckled and shot a volley of ten magic missiles into it.  They pelted him, but didn’t seem to bother him much.Troll morsel… I know how much you love acid… the dragon thought.  He went through his normal routine.  He closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and let the acid fly.  A huge stream of sticky acidic liquid spewed forth, completely engulfing Bink, who didn’t even attempt to dodge.  He grinned at the dragon, and flew up out the gate, completely undamaged.  The dragon looked on in shock.Bink emerged from the river and Blaze immediately closed the portal.“Whew…” Bink said as he let his spell end, returning to human form.“Glad that’s over…” Eltharion said, soaking wet.“Who was this, I wonder…” Blaze said, looking down at the body the dragon dropped.“He was carrying a bow?  Sounds like Brolin Flystrigth, one of the king’s knights.  Maybe that’s why we didn’t get another message from him,” Bink reasons.Damaré, Jezda and Felix have since left their rooftop posts and gathered in the town square.“That’s Brolin all right.  Not that I can recognize him, but the armor, the seal, that was him.  I think I’m going to be sick…” Felix turns away.  Grog come running back from around the building where Gordon was stationed.“Gordon doesn’t look much better…” Grog said, holding up Gordon’s polished sword.  “This is all that isn’t a puddle.”Bink went around to investigate himself.  Sure enough, that sticky acid was everywhere.  Half of the building Gordon was standing by was melted away, as well.  Nothing was left of Gordon, not armor, not flesh, not anything.  Bink returned to the group.“Sorry Felix, I know you were close with them,” Bink said.“No kidding, I can’t believe this.  The king is gone, the knights are gone.  Adlai and I are the only ones left…” Felix sits down on the ground in a bit of shock.Suddenly, the blade Grog was holding vanishes, and a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes appears next to Grog, wearing basic white clothing.“Hello everyone.  I’m Helian,” the man says.“Isn’t that the name of a town?” Eltharion asks himself, nobody listens.“Who are you?” Bink asks the man.“I am the blade, and the blade is me.  Gordon has wielded me for many years.  I was saddened to see him fall,” the man explains.“Interesting.  Well, we’re sad as well.  Felix can wield you until we get back to the castle and figure out what to do next,” Bink says.“That will be fine.  Felix was a close friend of Gordon.  I would like that, very much,” the man vanishes, and the blade reappears, this time in Felix’s grasp.  Felix sheaths the blade and stays seated, pondering.“Let’s let the townspeople know that they can come home.  We need to get back to the castle, in cast Velkvir actually did take over Wallace’s body.  We don’t want another imposter running around,” Eltharion says.  The group goes to the refuge spot for the town and lets the elders know it is safe.The following day, Bink uses his staff of size alteration to make everybody small, and teleports back to Brunswick.“Let’s find Adlai,” the group marches toward the castle.Is Velkvir in the king’s body?  How can they get him out?  How can a magic jar work on a deity?  These questions and others will be answered next time.</blockquote>

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