Isklexi
First Post
Nightmare's Last Stand
As the constables climbed the last rickety stairs onto the deck, they heard a faint, wretched noise echoing up from the hold. Looking back down the gaping hole left by the boiler's explosion, they were greeted by a terrible sight illuminated by their sunrods and starlight. The maimed malice beasts shambled to their feet once again and abruptly began vomiting forth a stream of viscous black slime. The noisome black ooze formed ropy tendrils that pulled in and ripped apart the corpses in the hold as it began surging up the ragged hole to the upper decks. The constables fled to the ship's aft as the monstrous thing shaped limbs and heads from the mangled remains of the malice beasts.
The towering horror blasted the constables with a cloying black mist from its many mouths, bringing several of them to the brink of consciousness. The monster also assaulted their minds with constant whispering and despair. Even the dead Eschatologists bent to the creatures whim as its dark ooze seeped into the bodies, turning them into scrabbling terrors of claws and teeth. Irony quickly moved to bolster her allies and fend off the beast's psychic assault. Several of the other constables moved to the ship's bow to flank the monster. Kaea focused his magic towards striking down the animated corpses while the other focused their efforts on the the beast itself.
Just as the constables were moving to engage the terrible monster, an other twist unfolded. A massive crustacean breached from below the water and latched onto the Cherno Bezna's hull. To the party's consternation, a hatch on the creatures shell opened, and a team of fey warriors wearing featureless black masks joined the fight. Irony quickly recognized the masks as identical to the one worn by the Archmage Cornell in Nalaam. She realized these warriors must be associated with the Endless Vigil. The vigil captain immediately ordered his subordinates to engage the monster saying, "Our quarry has revealed itself at last. Move to flank and destroy it. It shan't escape us again."
With the help of the unexpected reinforcements, the constables were able to vanquish the final horror of the Cherno Bezna. While the Vigil mystics ritually purged any remains of the nightmare beast and burned all of the remaining bodies on the ship, Irony briefly questioned the Vigil captain. The Satyr revealed that they had been hunting the nightmare monster for some time. It had eluded their hunt by possessing the malice beasts that the Eschatologists had captured. According to the Vigil captain, the boundaries between Lanjyr and its reflections, the Dreaming and Bleak Gate, are weaker in the Malice lands, and things will occasionally slip through.
With the threat ended, the constables towed the heavily damaged Cherno Bezna to the docks for impounding. Tomorrow the A-team will need to meet with Gale while the B-team must escort a group of diplomats. For now, Irony decided to keep B-team in the dark about the Endless Vigil, but Calaphax's influence is becoming harder to ignore. The constables still have work ahead of them, and none can say what tomorrow will bring.
As the constables climbed the last rickety stairs onto the deck, they heard a faint, wretched noise echoing up from the hold. Looking back down the gaping hole left by the boiler's explosion, they were greeted by a terrible sight illuminated by their sunrods and starlight. The maimed malice beasts shambled to their feet once again and abruptly began vomiting forth a stream of viscous black slime. The noisome black ooze formed ropy tendrils that pulled in and ripped apart the corpses in the hold as it began surging up the ragged hole to the upper decks. The constables fled to the ship's aft as the monstrous thing shaped limbs and heads from the mangled remains of the malice beasts.
The towering horror blasted the constables with a cloying black mist from its many mouths, bringing several of them to the brink of consciousness. The monster also assaulted their minds with constant whispering and despair. Even the dead Eschatologists bent to the creatures whim as its dark ooze seeped into the bodies, turning them into scrabbling terrors of claws and teeth. Irony quickly moved to bolster her allies and fend off the beast's psychic assault. Several of the other constables moved to the ship's bow to flank the monster. Kaea focused his magic towards striking down the animated corpses while the other focused their efforts on the the beast itself.
Just as the constables were moving to engage the terrible monster, an other twist unfolded. A massive crustacean breached from below the water and latched onto the Cherno Bezna's hull. To the party's consternation, a hatch on the creatures shell opened, and a team of fey warriors wearing featureless black masks joined the fight. Irony quickly recognized the masks as identical to the one worn by the Archmage Cornell in Nalaam. She realized these warriors must be associated with the Endless Vigil. The vigil captain immediately ordered his subordinates to engage the monster saying, "Our quarry has revealed itself at last. Move to flank and destroy it. It shan't escape us again."
With the help of the unexpected reinforcements, the constables were able to vanquish the final horror of the Cherno Bezna. While the Vigil mystics ritually purged any remains of the nightmare beast and burned all of the remaining bodies on the ship, Irony briefly questioned the Vigil captain. The Satyr revealed that they had been hunting the nightmare monster for some time. It had eluded their hunt by possessing the malice beasts that the Eschatologists had captured. According to the Vigil captain, the boundaries between Lanjyr and its reflections, the Dreaming and Bleak Gate, are weaker in the Malice lands, and things will occasionally slip through.
With the threat ended, the constables towed the heavily damaged Cherno Bezna to the docks for impounding. Tomorrow the A-team will need to meet with Gale while the B-team must escort a group of diplomats. For now, Irony decided to keep B-team in the dark about the Endless Vigil, but Calaphax's influence is becoming harder to ignore. The constables still have work ahead of them, and none can say what tomorrow will bring.
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