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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gfunk" data-source="post: 1056649" data-attributes="member: 1813">Session 48The Final Battle [Part 1] Nalavara at the Center Flying high over the crystalline tower, Entropy’s Non-Detection spell maintained her invisibility even in the face of the demons' divinations.  Stopping to hover over the peak of the structure, she saw a Balor, two Glabrezus, and a host of Vrocks looking to the sky with uncertainty – undoubtedly they detected an intruder in their midst but could not pinpoint her.The Alienist noted, with considerable surprise, that the demons had many of their spells active.  Had the party’s presence been anticipated?  No matter, this situation could be easily rectified.  With a gesture, Entropy brought about the most powerful abjuration she knew, the bane of adventurers everywhere, the dreaded Disjunction.  In an instant, all of the spells in the area ceased functioning and all magic items were transformed into normal, mundane objects.With the path cleared ahead of them, Joachim called upon the divine favor of his patron while Hor’ahun, Nurn, and Noir charged forward.  Completely unafraid of her quarry, the Blackguard landed in front of the Balor first, easily disarming the fiend with her greatsword.  The Psychic Warrior, hovering at the rim of the tower’s roof sent a psi blast flying through the area stunning all of the Vrocks and one of the Glabrezu.  Tumbling forward to engage the remaining Glabrezu, Nurn found that his blows were far more effective now that he was wielding the holy greatsword “Dragonhammer.”The Balor looked around in confusion and disgust.  Apparently, his foes had prepared well for this battle as he could only see two of them despite his ability to See Invisibility .  Trying to buy himself a little bit of time, he moved upward as he tried to remove his opponent’s magical protections.  Unfortunately, the spell, while effective, did not render any more of his opponents visible.----------------------------------------------In the distance, Tamion and his mistress looked on.  The Cathezar, having fought these particular adventurers on more than one occasion knew that splitting herself from the main force was a wise decision.  She gestured to the Balor standing next to her, “Strip them of their magical auras.”Nodding, Tamion flew forward, his bat-like wings propelling him forward with unnatural speed.  As was the case with Buphalthus, Tamion found that he could only see a few of his opponents.  Concentrating on the Blackguard, he removed virtually all of her magical protections.As if on cue, the Cathezar teleported directly into the melee amid the stunned Vrocks and Glabrezus – and the even more stunned expressions of her prey as they saw their long-time foe once more!  Though the demoness could sense at least four foes in her presence, she could only see Noir engaging a Balor and Hor’ahun flying at the edge of the tower.  She had seen both foes before, but where was the descendant of Dydd?Unfortunately, she had not the luxury of time to ponder the situation and chose instead to strike at her closest opponent.  Sending the animated spiked chains around her body into motion, they danced around Noir as the deadly weapons found holes in the Blackguard’s defense eliciting cries of pain and sprays of blood.The Cathezar’s head snapped up as she spied another human flying above her on a magic carpet.  This one bore the herald of the god of justice, though she was certain that she had not seen him before.  The cleric chose to avoid the Cathezar (wisely in her estimation) and engaged the Balor that Noir had disarmed, slaying him and damaging everyone with the resulting explosion of chaotic energy.From far above the tower came a cone of sonic energy catching everyone – friends and foe alike – in its cacophonic roar.  The Cathezar listened to the spellcasting carefully, it was the descendant of Dydd!  Finally, she could end this farce quickly.----------------------------------------------Twisting wildly to avoid the Entropy’s all-encompassing blast of elemental magic, Nurn stood face to face with the Cathezar – only the demoness did not seem to notice him!  The death slaad smiled at the unbelievable irony and stroke of good fortune.  Here he stood, Hethradiah’s favored servant, within striking range of Aamuel’s favored servant.Nurn hefted his holy greatsword and charged.  The first blow took the Cathezar completely by surprise as the blade drew a deep gash across the demon’s face.  Trying in vain to take a defensive position, the Cathezar was instead struck again and again by Dragonhammer.  The chance of dropping such a powerful demon within such a short time was a feat that could normally be accomplished only by avatars and the most powerful abominations.However, in this case, fate conspired with circumstance to yield that very incredible outcome.  With a look of absolute shock in her eyes, the mighty Cathezar finally fell.  The blows had been administered with a weapon of unadulterated goodness, rendering the wounds absolutely permanent and beyond the reach of her powerful regenerative ability.The party members cried out in excitement as their despised foe fell for the last time.With this turn of events, the party found that their remaining opponents fell easily and swiftly.----------------------------------------------After more than a day of travel, the companions had traveled completely around the Bastion – once again arriving at the entrance to the structure.Joachim gazed at the central Node with trepidation, “It seems that there is only one more way to go.  Are you ready?”By this time, Noir, Entropy, and Hor’ahun also felt the feeling of attunement mentioned by the High Inquisitor.  Exactly how this occurred or what it meant was not clear to any of them.However, they all knew that their final and greatest challenge awaited.  With great anxiety they slowly approached the magnificently luminous beacon of light.  Their forms slowly melted away as they entered its depths.In seconds, Joachim, Entropy, Noir, and Hor’ahun found themselves in a very different place.Nurn, on the other hand, found himself on the other side of the Node having walked through it without result.----------------------------------------------Nalavara, continually aware of all living creatures in the Bastion, surmised their intentions as the companions prepared to enter the central Node.  The ancient wyrm, ravager of the great forest nation of Cormyr and slayer of Vangerdahast, its most powerful War Wizard, began to ready herself for the final conflict.----------------------------------------------There she stood, the object of their long quest.  Little in their lives or experiences prepared them to comprehend the size of such a creature.  Standing over 60 feet tall and stretching 80 feet from head to tail, Nalavara took nearly the entirety of the small chamber with her considerable bulk.The very surface of this chamber was positive energy incarnate as pure soulstuff rolled on the ground like a shallow pool of green water.  In the distance, behind Nalavara, they saw a small stone tower with a diminutive humanoid figure at the summit.The dragon’s ancient eyes fell upon the quartet of humanoids that had entered her chamber.  Yes, they were invisible but her incredibly perceptive senses rendered that fact irrelevant.  Opening her maw, she spoke and the room reverberated with the volume of her voice,“WELCOME TO THE FONT OF LIFE, THE CENTER, THE VERY BASTION OF UNBORN SOULS!  IT IS NOW MINE, IT IS MY MOST PRECIOUS HOARD, THUS I HAVE RECHRISTENED IT AS MY BASTION OF BROKEN SOULS.  EXPLAIN YOUR TRESPASS, AND YOU MAY YET LIVE.”At first the party members could only gape in awe at the dragon standing before them.  Entropy, however, found her voice first, “Mighty Nalavara, it seems that your consumption of newborn souls has caused the birth of soulless children on the Prime.  Not that I really care or anything, but some people,” the Alienist gestured towards Joachim, “are not particularly pleased with this development.”“DO YOU THINK I CARE THAT THE SOULSTUFF I CONSUME CREATES A VOID OF LIFE IN THE MULTIVERSE?  NAY, FOR I HAVE BECOME THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR!  THE LIVES I CONSUME ARE PURE AND UNTAINTED BY INCARNATION, AND MY MEALS ARE ALL THE MORE SWEETER FOR IT!”“YOU WOULD DO WELL TO JOIN ME HERE, INDULDGING YOUR OWN INNER DESIRE TO LIVE FOREVER.  THINK ON IT – YOU COULD COME AND GO AS YOU DESIRE, BRINGING NEWS TO ME OF THE EVENTS OF THE OUTER COSMOS.  IN RETURN I OFFER YOU YOUR LIFE, MY FRIENDSHIP, AND POSSIBLE IMMORTALITY!”Though both Joachim and Hor’ahun openly scoffed at the demonic wyrm’s offer, Entropy and Noir paused.“Immortal you say?” Noir’s mind raced with the possibilities.  Here, in the Bastion her soul could not be claimed by even the greater gods!  Here, she would finally be free of the Revenancer, the Red Knight, Tyr – the whole lot of them!  Finally, she could craft and execute her plans with impunity.A wide smile crossed Entropy’s face as she considered the possibilities.  What greater conquest could she place at the feet of Kiaransalee than the Bastion of Unborn Souls itself?  None of her foes could strike at her in this place, not even the mightiest Seraphim!  And besides, she could complete her research on a Far Realms portal without harassment.Seeing the opportunistic expressions on his companion’s faces with increasing alarm, Joachim decided to settle the matter for all of them, “Foul creature!  Do you think we would abase ourselves before you and murder countless preincarnate souls?  Your time has come, for the descendant of Dydd is among us and we will smite you in her name!!”Nalavara’s visage immediately contorted into one of homicidal rage at the mention of her ancestral enemy, “THEN YOU SHALL ALL DIE!”----------------------------------------------The depth and breadth of combat experience of all the companions would far exceed that of even a sizable army, but Nalavara had existed long before any of them, having battled Dydd herself in centuries past.With a mere flick of her claw, Nalavara brought about one her innate powers and her foes felt the air around their bodies become moist as the very water was leeched from their bodies.  The dragon began gesturing once again as four meteors came into being, slamming individually into Entropy, Joachim, Noir, and Hor’ahun.  Finally, she inhaled deeply and exhaled a blast of fire of astonishing heat and ferocity.Entropy, Joachim, and Noir stood passively as they accepted the brunt of the blast.  Of course, these seasoned adventures had warded themselves appropriately with Joachim totally immune to fire and Entropy and Noir protected by a (now greatly weakened) energy buffer.Hor’ahun, however, was a slightly different case.  Subjected to a Greater Dispelling while fighting the Balor Tamion, the Githzerai’s resistance to fire had been taken down.  Though he was fast, executing a brilliantly timed backflip to avoid the incoming conflagration, the Psychic Warrior could not escape the cone and was consumed within it.When the fire subsided, Hor’ahun’s charred corpse came crashing down.Her initial barrage successful, Nalavara paused to appraise her opponent’s reactions.Entropy strode forward and rose her arms as she recited the verse she had been told by the druid at the Church of Elements so long ago, “In the name of Dydd, whose blood is my blood, who slew your heart, feel again the pain of your heart’s demise!”The entire room became suffused with a ruby red glow as Entropy’s body began to pulse with energy after reciting the mystical phrase.  Nalavara’s countenance turned to one of shock and horror as she stood rooted in place.Smiling, the Alienist continued, “And feel the embarrassment of your spell's demise!!”Conjuring forth a Disjunction, Entropy looked on in satisfaction as Nalavara’s myriad spell defenses were peeled away in an instant.  Inexplicably, the tower behind the wyrm disappeared as well and its occupant fell 60 feet, yelping in pain as she fell to the ground.Immediately, Noir and Joachim charged as they tried to break through their foe's considerable natural armor.  Though many of their blows failed to penetrate, trickles of blood began to flow down the dragon’s flanks.  Entropy ran up to her ancestral foe, casting Irresistible Dance and discharging the spell.  As if an earthquake had overtaken the room, the chamber shook as Nalavara began to sway back and forth.Knowing that her foe could not dodge, the sorcerer fired a double-empowered Cone of Cold causing large patches of frozen scales to appear on the dragon’s face and neck.  While Noir continued to stab Nalavara mercilessly, Joachim conjured up a Blade Barrier  around the wyrm’s head, but the blades bounced off harmlessly, unable to bypass Nalavara’s innate magical resistance.Before Entropy could cast another spell, the trio heard the sound of casting in the distance.  Apparently, the humanoid who had fallen from the tower, a kobold as it turned out, had produced a scroll.The results were immediate and dramatic as Nalavara stopped dancing and looked down with utter contempt upon the ants trying to slay her.</blockquote>

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