Neverwinter Knight
First Post
Ouch again! ![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 456
Adimarchus arched his back as Lok drove into him from behind, using both hands and all of his strength as he pierced the demon lord’s body with his cold iron rapier. This time the weapon sank deep, penetrating Adimarchus’s body until its point jutted from the front of his body just above his left kidney. The Prince roared in pain, and the weapon snapped off just above the hilt, smoke and ichor rising from both openings where the metal shaft entered and exited his body. Lok fell back, already reaching for his axe.
The Prince spun, bringing up the Ashen Blade to grant Morgan’s fate to another foe.
As he turned, the smoking greatsword intersected the descending arc of Beorna’s adamantine blade. Infused with the power of Helm to serve as a holy sword, this time the mighty bastard sword crashed full onto the evil artifact, driven by mortal muscle against the inexorable strength of the demon prince. Adimarchus reflexively shifted to draw off the force of Beorna’s strike, but this time he was a barest instant late in adjusting.
There was a flash of light and a scream of pain, and when they could see again, the companions could see the demon’s blade riven, with a jagged edge wreathed in smoke ending less than a foot from the end of the sword’s hilt.
“You fool!” Adimarchus shrieked. Beorna lifted her weapon to follow up with a strike aimed at the demon lord himself, but before she could unleash the blow the demon seized her, tentacles pinioning her arms as he reached out and grabbed onto her body with his hands. She too had been sheltered by a death ward, so her life force withstood the draining touch of the Prince, but his mundane strength was sufficient to lift her off the ground, armor and all, and hurl her bodily across the room. She landed twenty feet away, almost on top of the twin statues before the remnants of the throne, stone giving way before her adamantine-sheathed form.
Stunned, it took her a moment to regain her bearings.
Another arrow slammed into the demon’s shoulder. Turning toward Dannel, the Prince snarled and hurled an unholy blight at the archer, injuring and sickening him.
Mole leapt past, stabbing at the Prince as she went by. Her blow managed only a tiny gash in his upper arm, but this time she drew a response; one of the tentacles shot out, snared her by the wrist, and hurled her across the room into the dark stairwell, out of sight.
Lok came in again, hefting his axe this time. He drove the weapon into the demon lord’s chest, unleashing a blast of sonic energy as the power that Cal had infused into the weapon was released. Through that cacophonous blast the genasi thought he heard a faint crack, but he could not be sure. Adimarchus was certainly not weakened by the attack, it seemed, as the Prince lashed out with his tentacles, striking the genasi in the chest and arms, sucking more life from the warrior. Lok, weakened now almost to the point of death, still tried to hold his ground, but Adimarchus struck him solidly in the head with the back of his left hand, knocking him out flat upon his back, unconscious.
“It is over, you puny fools,” the Prince intoned. But although he continued to heal, it was obvious that the demon lord had taken a beating. Wounds crossed his body, and several arrows jutted from his torso.
He turned to Saureya. “I command you to heal me,” he said.
Saureya came forward.
Beorna fought to get back up; the room seemed to spin a bit around her, and the weight of her armor made it difficult to extract herself from the ruins of the statues. She thought she heard a whisper in her mind.
In His enemy, His destruction lies.
She glanced down, and saw a gleam of silver jutting from the still-intact portion of the bent and kneeling statue.
A whisper of rushing air and a faint gleam of light was the only announcement of Arun’s return. The paladin, finally escaping Adimarchus’s maze spell, immediately spotted his enemy—and the few of his friends that remained—and charged.
Opposite the demon lord, Beorna rose, holding Morgan’s sword, Aludrial’s Shard, bright in her hand.
Saureya extended a hand, and grasped his master on the arm. Adimarchus looked into the eyes of his slave, and reveled in the emptiness that he saw there. Battered, he let down his defenses for the instant it would take to fully restore him.
In that instant, he knew his mistake.
Saureya’s grip tightened, even as the whiring storm of a blade barrier erupted around the two. The fallen deva was too close to avoid the barrier himself without releasing Adimarchus, and he made no effort to do so. In fact, his face twisted into a slight smile as the storm of blades cut into his flesh. Adimarchus, far more durable, suffered less from the cutting blades, but even so black droplets flew from the wounds cut into his body by the spell.
“You will have an eternity to regret your betrayal,” the demon prince said. His defenses lifted again, and the magical blades began to dissolve as they impacted his spell resistance.
Arun and Beorna charged in from opposite directions, their rush perpendicular to the plane of the blade barrier. The two dwarves each carried a weapon anaethema to the Prince of Madness. Adimarchus, realizing his danger, started to teleport away, but Saureya, still locked onto him, knowing his master’s thoughts even before he did, disrupted the magic as it gathered.
Arun and Beorna each yelled a dwarven cry of battle, fused with a deep invocation to their respective gods, as they struck.
Two holy blades pierced Adimarchus’s body.
The demon prince staggered, and fell away from Saureya, crumpling to the ground, his face frozen in a look of dark despair.
Adimarchus arched his back as Lok drove into him from behind, using both hands and all of his strength as he pierced the demon lord’s body with his cold iron rapier. This time the weapon sank deep, penetrating Adimarchus’s body until its point jutted from the front of his body just above his left kidney. The Prince roared in pain, and the weapon snapped off just above the hilt, smoke and ichor rising from both openings where the metal shaft entered and exited his body. Lok fell back, already reaching for his axe.
The Prince spun, bringing up the Ashen Blade to grant Morgan’s fate to another foe.
As he turned, the smoking greatsword intersected the descending arc of Beorna’s adamantine blade. Infused with the power of Helm to serve as a holy sword, this time the mighty bastard sword crashed full onto the evil artifact, driven by mortal muscle against the inexorable strength of the demon prince. Adimarchus reflexively shifted to draw off the force of Beorna’s strike, but this time he was a barest instant late in adjusting.
There was a flash of light and a scream of pain, and when they could see again, the companions could see the demon’s blade riven, with a jagged edge wreathed in smoke ending less than a foot from the end of the sword’s hilt.
“You fool!” Adimarchus shrieked. Beorna lifted her weapon to follow up with a strike aimed at the demon lord himself, but before she could unleash the blow the demon seized her, tentacles pinioning her arms as he reached out and grabbed onto her body with his hands. She too had been sheltered by a death ward, so her life force withstood the draining touch of the Prince, but his mundane strength was sufficient to lift her off the ground, armor and all, and hurl her bodily across the room. She landed twenty feet away, almost on top of the twin statues before the remnants of the throne, stone giving way before her adamantine-sheathed form.
Stunned, it took her a moment to regain her bearings.
Another arrow slammed into the demon’s shoulder. Turning toward Dannel, the Prince snarled and hurled an unholy blight at the archer, injuring and sickening him.
Mole leapt past, stabbing at the Prince as she went by. Her blow managed only a tiny gash in his upper arm, but this time she drew a response; one of the tentacles shot out, snared her by the wrist, and hurled her across the room into the dark stairwell, out of sight.
Lok came in again, hefting his axe this time. He drove the weapon into the demon lord’s chest, unleashing a blast of sonic energy as the power that Cal had infused into the weapon was released. Through that cacophonous blast the genasi thought he heard a faint crack, but he could not be sure. Adimarchus was certainly not weakened by the attack, it seemed, as the Prince lashed out with his tentacles, striking the genasi in the chest and arms, sucking more life from the warrior. Lok, weakened now almost to the point of death, still tried to hold his ground, but Adimarchus struck him solidly in the head with the back of his left hand, knocking him out flat upon his back, unconscious.
“It is over, you puny fools,” the Prince intoned. But although he continued to heal, it was obvious that the demon lord had taken a beating. Wounds crossed his body, and several arrows jutted from his torso.
He turned to Saureya. “I command you to heal me,” he said.
Saureya came forward.
Beorna fought to get back up; the room seemed to spin a bit around her, and the weight of her armor made it difficult to extract herself from the ruins of the statues. She thought she heard a whisper in her mind.
In His enemy, His destruction lies.
She glanced down, and saw a gleam of silver jutting from the still-intact portion of the bent and kneeling statue.
A whisper of rushing air and a faint gleam of light was the only announcement of Arun’s return. The paladin, finally escaping Adimarchus’s maze spell, immediately spotted his enemy—and the few of his friends that remained—and charged.
Opposite the demon lord, Beorna rose, holding Morgan’s sword, Aludrial’s Shard, bright in her hand.
Saureya extended a hand, and grasped his master on the arm. Adimarchus looked into the eyes of his slave, and reveled in the emptiness that he saw there. Battered, he let down his defenses for the instant it would take to fully restore him.
In that instant, he knew his mistake.
Saureya’s grip tightened, even as the whiring storm of a blade barrier erupted around the two. The fallen deva was too close to avoid the barrier himself without releasing Adimarchus, and he made no effort to do so. In fact, his face twisted into a slight smile as the storm of blades cut into his flesh. Adimarchus, far more durable, suffered less from the cutting blades, but even so black droplets flew from the wounds cut into his body by the spell.
“You will have an eternity to regret your betrayal,” the demon prince said. His defenses lifted again, and the magical blades began to dissolve as they impacted his spell resistance.
Arun and Beorna charged in from opposite directions, their rush perpendicular to the plane of the blade barrier. The two dwarves each carried a weapon anaethema to the Prince of Madness. Adimarchus, realizing his danger, started to teleport away, but Saureya, still locked onto him, knowing his master’s thoughts even before he did, disrupted the magic as it gathered.
Arun and Beorna each yelled a dwarven cry of battle, fused with a deep invocation to their respective gods, as they struck.
Two holy blades pierced Adimarchus’s body.
The demon prince staggered, and fell away from Saureya, crumpling to the ground, his face frozen in a look of dark despair.
Neverwinter Knight
First Post
It ain't over yet... 
Richard Rawen
First Post
Neverwinter Knight said:It ain't over yet...
Still, Hope is a lot more plausible now than a scant update ago!
Blessings
M < > <
Richard
Solarious
Explorer
Oh, they still get the honor of tangling with Adimarchus' spellcasting, Impolsion gauntlet side of the deal. Aurn can still be reduced to a crumpled oozing ball on the ground! It was only a Maze spell! Yeee! 
And lest people forget, unless Adimarchus is reduced to, or below, -10 hit points, his demonic aspect is gonna come back, although it will prove difficult to for him to heal up unless he teleports away. Which shouldn't be too much of a problem if there is a lull in the battle.
And how in the name of the seven hells did Beorna sunder an artifact? An Artifact, for crying out loud! Those have complicated and convoluted destruction terms, not just 'hit me hard enough and I'll shatter' deal! Why? WHY? Oh, the indemi-humanity!
Aurn can still be reduced to a crumpled oozing ball on the ground! It was only a Maze spell! Yeee! And lest people forget, unless Adimarchus is reduced to, or below, -10 hit points, his demonic aspect is gonna come back, although it will prove difficult to for him to heal up unless he teleports away. Which shouldn't be too much of a problem if there is a lull in the battle.
And how in the name of the seven hells did Beorna sunder an artifact? An Artifact, for crying out loud! Those have complicated and convoluted destruction terms, not just 'hit me hard enough and I'll shatter' deal! Why? WHY? Oh, the indemi-humanity!
Lazybones
Adventurer
They just don't make artifacts like they used to, I guess...Solarious said:And how in the name of the seven hells did Beorna sunder an artifact? An Artifact, for crying out loud! Those have complicated and convoluted destruction terms, not just 'hit me hard enough and I'll shatter' deal! Why? WHY? Oh, the indemi-humanity!
Or maybe the weapon's formula for destruction was, "must be sundered in the Abyss by a dwarven priestess of a good god using a holy adamantine weapon". Seriously, while the sword is referred to in the text as an "artifact", it's not much more than a +5 sword (the immolation effect is pretty cool though), not intelligent or anything that would require special treatment in my opinion. I ruled that she could destroy it, but if she hadn't had cast holy sword on her adamantine weapon, naturally the sunder would have had no effect. And if that isn't sufficient justification, naturally the all-powerful Dramatic Plot Device Effect (otherwise known as Rule 0) takes precedence.
I was going to wait until tomorrow to post the conclusion, but to heck with it, here goes:
* * * * *
Chapter 457
A great rumbling shook the entire chamber. Arun and Beorna staggered back, as a cloud of black vapor rose from the demon lord’s body, coalescing into a figure that took on a golden glow as it solidified into coherent form.
“The angel-aspect… it is still a threat!” Cal shouted.
The alternative manifestation of Adimarchus took on solid form, rising up higher into the open air of the chamber, out of the reach of Arun and Beorna, who rushed forward to face it. Arun, still empowered by Dana’s fly spell, rose up to meet it, and Dannel continued his barrage of arrows, which zinged off of the demon prince’s wings even as they became substantial.
But Adimarchus, or what was left of him, had clearly had enough of the fight. The angel-form was also seriously wounded, and rather than remain to confront his foes, the Prince shimmered and vanished.
Looking down at the ruined body of the Prince’s demon-form, the companions wondered at the ultimate fate of their adversary.
“What happens now?” Arun demanded, turning to Saureya.
The fallen celestial shrugged. “The fate of Occiptius is not mine to determine.”
Mole, who emerged from behind the sundered stone throne, somewhat drained but otherwise intact, was the first to notice the other change.
“Morgan’s body… it’s gone!”
* * * * *
High above the surface of Occipitus, in fact almost directly above the chamber where he had battled the companions from Faerûn, Adimarchus rematerialized. The angelic countenance of the demon lord was savaged by the blows he had suffered. The sacred markings that covered his flesh, already profaned by what he was, were further mangled by gashes and tears. Droplets of golden ichor trailed after him as he rose higher into the sky. He had a tired look about him, his earlier anger fading now into resignation, for now he had to live.
A presence alerted him, and he turned, fury rising again into his features. His angry shout filled the air. “Occipitus is mine!”
Something manifested in the empty expanse of the Abyssal plane’s skyscape. The golden glow that suffused the plane’s dome began to coalesce, much as Adimarchus’s spirit had left his demon form to return to the second half of his shattered personality.
“I destroyed you once, and shall again!” the demon lord shrieked. “Occipitus is mine!”
“Occipitus rejects you,” came a Voice from Everywhere.
Golden light flared through the sky, and the Prince screamed.
* * * * *
“What’s happening?” Mole asked. They could all see the disturbance wrought in the sky above through the opening at the top of the Skull, and those sensitive to such things could feel the roiling currents of power that trembled throughout the entire plane.
“Judgment has been rendered,” Saureya said, and for an instant there was a hint of emotion in the fallen celestial, a hint of what he had once been.
They looked down at the body of the fallen Prince. Adimarchus’s demon form started to shake, and the dwarves reached for their weapons, fearing that their foe was not yet destroyed. But before they could close a shaft of pure brilliance shot down from above, lancing through the opening, striking the fallen lord. The companions staggered back, shielding their eyes from the radiance. It lasted only a second, and when it was over, all that had been left of the Prince of Madness was gone.
“It is over,” Saureya proclaimed.
“We’ve won?” Dannel asked, incredulity evident in his voice.
Beorna was helping Lok, who groaned as he stirred. “What about the priestess?” she asked, looking up at the deva.
“She returns,” he said.
“She had a second plane shift memorized,” Cal said.
“And Morgan?” Arun asked.
A hint of an ironic smile twisted at the edge of the fallen celestial’s mouth for a moment. “I would have though you would have known that answer,” he said.
Cal nodded. “Will we see him again?”
“Perhaps. If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that nothing can be foreordained.”
“What will happen to you?” Mole asked.
The deva shrugged. “Whatever it is, that, too, will come in time.”
“I cannot believe it,” Arun said, his sword lowered at his side. “We just took out a demon prince.”
“Ah, come on, you didn’t really think we were all going to just come here and die, did you?” Mole asked, a wide grin plastered on her face.
The companions passed around a look; that had seemed a far more likely outcome than their current victory.
“It feels… empty, somehow,” Dannel said, coming forward to join them. Beorna jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
“Let it all go, elf,” she said. “We’ve won a mighty victory today. There will be more darkness tomorrow, no doubt; but this day, the world has been changed.”
“Look!” Mole cried, pointing upward.
They all craned their heads, sheltering their eyes as another bright shaft of light stabbed down through the opening in the skull above. But this was not another temporary release of power like the one that had wiped away the remains of Adimarchus. It took them a moment to recognize it for what it was, for while it was something common to their reality, it was something foreign to the Abyss.
“It’s the sun! The sun is shining!” Mole exclaimed.
“Toril’s sun, shining in the Abyss?” Dannel whispered to Cal. “Doubtful, to say the least.”
“Just enjoy it,” the gnome replied, with a grin. “Whatever it means, it is better than before, no?”
“Hodge would have liked to have seen this,” Arun said. Beorna leaned up against him, taking his hand in hers.
The companions stood there, close in each other’s company, letting the healthy glow of golden rays wash over them, driving away dark memories, and filling them with the hope of a new day.
THUS ENDS “ASYLUM”, AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE SHACKLED CITY ADVENTURE PATH
* * * * *
Thanks again to all of the readers who have read and posted feedback on this story. I truly do appreciate it!
Solarious
Explorer
Bah! BAH HUMBUG, I say! Aurn survived everything! EVERYTHING! Without a single death notch in his soul! There is no justice in this world!
Still, Adimarchus screamed. But that's such a pittance of a consolation prize. :sad: Oh well, can't win them all. Tell me when ya start writing the 'Age of Worms' path, k? I looks to be icky and distasteful. You know I like that kinda stuff.
Aurn survived everything! EVERYTHING! Without a single death notch in his soul! There is no justice in this world! Still, Adimarchus screamed.
But that's such a pittance of a consolation prize. :sad: Oh well, can't win them all. Tell me when ya start writing the 'Age of Worms' path, k? I looks to be icky and distasteful. You know I like that kinda stuff. 
Dungannon
First Post
Bravo, Lazybones. I salute you on a job well done and a story well told. Now I must wait on the sidelines again and wait for you to get the bug once more and pen another epic tale of action and adventure, hope and despair, love and loss.
Enjoy your respite while I await your return. I remain, as always, your fan.
Enjoy your respite while I await your return. I remain, as always, your fan.
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