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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PHDungeon" data-source="post: 5051893" data-attributes="member: 86320">Session 7:  Capture the FlaggWe had caught up with Flagg, and Starke generously donated experimental suits to aid us in defeating him.  They were instrumental in our victory but they could have used some fine-tuning before being used in the field.Starke used his mechanical scouts to follow Flagg’s minions back to an abandoned temple of Rao.  Every night they would pour out of the structure into the city spreading death in their wake.  We had already wasted a night in resting and only had a day to prepare before more lives were lost.Derren surprised me.  Starke had told us to seek the help of Sturgleson, but on Darren’s suggestion we made our way to the library.  Although he was led there partially by his libido he also had what turned out to be a very good reason to go.  The head librarian there was the daughter of the mayor, if we could convince her of how dire the situation was it would be easier to get the help of the mayor.  It was a sound plan, so we followed him.On our way there a trio of Golden Lion Knights waylaid us.  The cloak that we had claimed from the bodies of fallen defenders in Winterhaven was of their kin and they wished to take it back. Once again Derren’s glib tongue was a boon rather than a curse.  He was able to convince them to let him keep the cloak at least until after we were able to defeat Flagg.  Not only that, Derren proved his worth by convincing them to join the fight.  It was almost like he was another person.  For once, I was impressed by the man.Derren was able to convince the librarian that we would be able to save the city, and her clout helped us convince the mayor who committed many of the city guard to our growing army.  Now prepared, we had nothing to do but claim our suits from Starke and begin the siege.  Starke wished a report and I have included it here:To put it plainly Victor, I do not know whether these hindered us more than helped us.  As soon as we reached Flagg’s hideout we started experiencing problems.  If I were to guess it may have something to do with the way that the Elemental had been bonded to the armor.  Every few seconds the suit would send painful shocks through my body, especially when jostled in the heat of battle.  A suit that injures its wearer every few seconds is useless. If these contraptions are to be viable you will need to find a way to bind the elemental better.  At the end of the battle, Torfinn’s elemental had even managed to escape.It was not a long report; it did not need to be; though I felt it should be longer than saying:  We would have done better putting on suits of rusted scrap.The fight started in the crypts, we were attacked by a large contingent of Flagg’s troops.  Our own army engaged them and we cut through quickly into the inner chamber.  There we were greeted by more of Flagg’s possessed and something new- a  possessed, beserker ogre.  I was able to place some good shots, which only drew its attention to me.  Luckily, I had been able to damage it enough that one of my allies brought it down just as it was about to charge me.It was then that Flagg appeared, a feral beast of a man with a very large axe.  His first target was me and he leapt towards me unexpectedly burying his axe into my shoulder and knocking me down.  I knew I could not face him alone, after picking myself up my only choice was to try to run.  Unfortunately my desperate escape proved to be my downfall, the last thing I saw was Flagg’s axe descending to cleave me before I fell.When I awoke again Torfinn was standing over me holding an empty potion.  The fight seemed almost over to my addled mind.  After ensuring that I was stable he rushed back into battle.  The suit continued to shock me as I got to my legs, seriously Victor these things are crap and barely any good in a fight, you have to strengthen the bonds used to trap the elemental to the power core.Flagg was badly wounded and Torfinn, Bjorn and Derren were closing in; the boys were wounded as well but they had our prey outnumbered.  Flagg’s eyes shot towards the other room as he heard singing, waiting only long enough to confirm that the Golden Lion Knights had been victorious and were now coming to our aid, with several parting shots and an impossible leap Flagg exited the room and started running up the stair deeper into the chamber, Derren leapt up after him and gave chase, disappearing up the stairs.Flagg had been able to strike down both Bjorn and Torfinn before escaping.  Yelling at our re-enforcements for a medic I climbed out of the accursed suit and ran to help my comrades.  We had to pry Torfinn out of his suit as his elemental had fled, but both him and the cleric were up and nursing their wounds when Derren returned. Flagg was dead, but not by Darren’s hand.  Someone had killed him quick enough to not been seen by the pursuing party and escaped a dead end room leaving only tokens of Loki as clues.The day had been won but not entirely by us, and considering the mark of our benefactor on Flagg’s body, I fear we may have a new foe to face rather than a friend.  I look forward to a long rest and the soothing task of crafting at my workshop.  Perhaps some new potion belts for the group, I am sure I saw an ancient Bal Thur design in one of Starke’s books.  I will also talk to Derren about his attitude, the fool seems intent on killing himself, but I can’t let him commit suicide without some warning.  At least not until after his debt has been paid.I did spend most of the following days in my room, and I am pleased to report that I was finally able to master manifesting my familiar, Cullen.  Though a little late for this mission I am sure he will prove his worth in the future.  He is a scout homunculus and made entirely of crystal and is about the size of a small rodent.  When not flying around, he takes the form of a simple crystal statuette I had made during my time as a blacksmith.  The only regret I have is that I will no longer be able to easily disguise the fact that I am a sorceress, but I feel the benefits out-weigh the potential problems.</blockquote>

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