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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4290883" data-attributes="member: 143">Well, remember that Dar had 9 levels of the Battle Scion prestige class, levels that were specifically tied to the sword Valor. The chapter above represented Justice (which included pieces of Valor, after all) awakening to him, so that he could fully draw upon that nascent connection. In game terms, there wasn't much real effect, since  the ravager spawn aren't technically fiends, which most of Dar's custom PrC was geared toward facing. However, I also allowed the re-bonded sword to penetrate the ravager spawn's DR. Heh, pretty much every time Ghazaran opens his mouth, he's lying to someone. Lying when he said that he was out of tears, in the Bloodways, lying again when he told the Seer that he had one more tear, but it wasn't with him (after the first confrontation with Amurru) and lying again when he'd said that he was going to save a tear for Aerim. Those CE priests, can't trust them at all. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />* * * * * Chapter 59SECOND INTERVENTIONEven as the crumpled form of the beholder trembled its last at his feet, Ozmad stepped over it and approached the brilliant blue orb that floated over the low pedestal in the center of the chamber.  He dropped the oversized mattock, knowing that it would be of no use against the seemingly fragile globe that powered the sapphire beam.  The dagger with its blue gem was still tucked into his belt, and he drew it out, savoring the cold feel of the bare mithral against his fingers.  All of his years of planning were finally coming to fruition.  The power contained in this place was vast beyond comparison, and he would soon have possession of it.  The release of the Ravager was almost incidental to that goal, but unleashing it should give him time to collect the prizes contained within these spheres, including first of all the one that was now literally within his reach.  But even as he lifted the dagger to destroy the warding sphere, he paused.  It was not any remorse or doubt that stayed his hand, but a sudden awareness of power.  The ogre mage turned back toward the tunnel, just in time to greet the newcomer that stepped out of the blue beam into the chamber.  “You are persistent, guardian,” he said. “The Ravager must not be unleashed upon the world again,” the lich said, its voice sounding hollow from within the depths of its skull.  “You grow repetitive,” Ozmad replied.  “You cannot defeat me; your sorceries cannot harm me.”  The lich took a step forward, but paused at the edge of the antimagic field, as though it could see the invisible threshold of the effect.  The ogre let out a small chuckle.  “A wise decision.  Neither your magic nor the fell properties of your undead state will have any effect within my ward.”But then Amurru said, “I wish that your ability to use antimagic not function for the next sixty seconds.”Ozmad’s eyes widened in surprise, even as he felt the lich’s invocation take hold.  Inside his defensive field, no magic should have worked, yet something tore at his spell from within, and he could feel the familiar tingles as his dormant wards took hold as their normal function returned.  Some of them, anyway; most of the shorter-term protections he typically wore had expired since he had originally created the antimagic field.  Ozmad knew that the guardian’s power far exceeded his own; the wish confirmed it if nothing else had.  But with the power inside the blue sphere within his grasp, he could not bring himself to flee.  To buy himself a moment’s respite, he invoked a resilient sphere around himself. But even as the magic flowed at his call, he felt an invisible knife rip through it, sundering the spell.  Ozmad’s surprise deepened into a sudden fear... how could the lich have reacted so quickly, so soon after casting another spell?He realized, too late, that the lich’s dispel magic had been quickened.  The ogre tried to teleport away, knowing it was too late, even before the lich invoked a power word that slammed through his spell resistance as though it were not even there, knocking him reeling.  Stunned, he desperately tried to clear his mind enough to summon his magic.  He was strong enough so that the spell’s effect would last only a few seconds, but the small part of his brain that was not befogged was shouting that the lich would not spend those few moments idle.  Just as the wisps of mental fog were beginning to clear, Ozmad felt a cold chill that stabbed through his body like a knife.  Looking down, he saw the lich standing before him, careless of the huge arms that had crushed it once before.  Ozmad realized now that he’d critically underestimated this foe, even as the paralysis took hold, and his muscles clenched into frozen immobility.  He knew enough of the undead to know that his fate was sealed now, even as gravity took hold of him, and he toppled over, hitting the ground with a loud thump.  He could only see what was directly ahead of him, the chamber floor and a slice of the wall.  His senses told him of the lich’s presence, even before he felt its cold hands, prying the blue dagger from his grasp. “I must attend to your allies,” it said.  “But I will return for you.  You belong to this place, now.”Ozmad tried to struggle against the paralysis that held him, but he could only quiver slightly, helpless even to speak a word against the fate that awaited him.</blockquote>

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