Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4409205" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 85</p><p></p><p>PORTAL</p><p></p><p></p><p>Maricela’s agonized scream echoed across the square, and became words of power, an invocation that sent a raging <em>flame strike</em> down upon the Ravager. If sheer grief and hatred could have empowered the spell, it would have reduced even that monstrosity to a cinder; as it was, it scorched the dense hide covering its shoulders and the back of its head, but did little else. </p><p> </p><p>Sultheros stepped forward, and raised his staff. At the call of the eldritch magic within the artifact, another elemental rose from the ground in the middle of the square, a massive thing of the deep earth, its body covered in the displaced flagstones like blotches on its skin. This one was greater than the pseudonatural monster that Dra Mak Mor had conjured earlier; it stood taller than even the Ravager, and the ground shook as it stepped forward, sixty thousand pounds of earth gathered into ambulatory form. </p><p></p><p>The Ravager was not interested in it, but it could not easily get around the thing, so it went <em>through</em> it. </p><p></p><p>The two titans collided in a violent clash. For a moment it looked as though the Ravager might actually lose the initial contact, as the elder elemental smote it across the side of its head with a massive fist. But the Ravager merely lunged and dug its claws into the elemental’s body, then pulled it into a close embrace. The elemental was too big for the Ravager’s jaws to seize hold of it, but it still managed to tear free a considerable chunk of its squat head. Clods as big as boulders fell from its body as its claws dug deeper, tearing big rents in the elemental’s body. </p><p></p><p>Allera was unaware of the battle raging a stone’s throw behind her. Fighting through the disorientation and pain that had followed the collapse of their spell-weaving, she had reached out again for the full power of her healing magic. Exhausted as she was by the lengthy ritual, grasping the power was more like trying to get hold of a rushing river than the usual soft, welcoming flood that she was used to. But grasp it she did, and as she surrendered herself to that flow, she once more reached deep inside herself and parted the barrier that separated worlds. </p><p></p><p>Another <em>gate</em> opened, but unlike the dramatic portals she’d opened in their last clash with the Ravager, this one seemed almost muted, a doorway opening with a white glow, its brightness overshone by the continuing radiance of Maricela’s <em>daylight</em> spell. The whiteness grew, until an opening the size of a barn door hovered before her, a few inches above the ground. A shadow appeared within that luminosity, a vague shape that took on humanoid form as it approached its threshold. </p><p></p><p>Allera felt the cost of holding the <em>gate</em> like a knife rubbing against the boundaries of her consciousness, but she forced herself to ignore it. She paid the price, maintaining the portal until the other could reach her. </p><p></p><p>He stepped through. Clad in a flowing robe, he bore only a large shield, a slab of metal the size of a serving board, covered with a simple drape of pure white cloth. An ageless wisdom shone in his eyes, and something else—peace. </p><p></p><p>That did not stop him from looking over Allera’s shoulder and taking in the decidedly <em>un</em>peaceful scene resolving in the open space of the square behind her. The newcomer shook his head. </p><p></p><p>“You two just can’t manage to stay out of trouble, can you?” Licinius Varo asked.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4409205, member: 143"] Chapter 85 PORTAL Maricela’s agonized scream echoed across the square, and became words of power, an invocation that sent a raging [i]flame strike[/i] down upon the Ravager. If sheer grief and hatred could have empowered the spell, it would have reduced even that monstrosity to a cinder; as it was, it scorched the dense hide covering its shoulders and the back of its head, but did little else. Sultheros stepped forward, and raised his staff. At the call of the eldritch magic within the artifact, another elemental rose from the ground in the middle of the square, a massive thing of the deep earth, its body covered in the displaced flagstones like blotches on its skin. This one was greater than the pseudonatural monster that Dra Mak Mor had conjured earlier; it stood taller than even the Ravager, and the ground shook as it stepped forward, sixty thousand pounds of earth gathered into ambulatory form. The Ravager was not interested in it, but it could not easily get around the thing, so it went [i]through[/i] it. The two titans collided in a violent clash. For a moment it looked as though the Ravager might actually lose the initial contact, as the elder elemental smote it across the side of its head with a massive fist. But the Ravager merely lunged and dug its claws into the elemental’s body, then pulled it into a close embrace. The elemental was too big for the Ravager’s jaws to seize hold of it, but it still managed to tear free a considerable chunk of its squat head. Clods as big as boulders fell from its body as its claws dug deeper, tearing big rents in the elemental’s body. Allera was unaware of the battle raging a stone’s throw behind her. Fighting through the disorientation and pain that had followed the collapse of their spell-weaving, she had reached out again for the full power of her healing magic. Exhausted as she was by the lengthy ritual, grasping the power was more like trying to get hold of a rushing river than the usual soft, welcoming flood that she was used to. But grasp it she did, and as she surrendered herself to that flow, she once more reached deep inside herself and parted the barrier that separated worlds. Another [i]gate[/i] opened, but unlike the dramatic portals she’d opened in their last clash with the Ravager, this one seemed almost muted, a doorway opening with a white glow, its brightness overshone by the continuing radiance of Maricela’s [i]daylight[/i] spell. The whiteness grew, until an opening the size of a barn door hovered before her, a few inches above the ground. A shadow appeared within that luminosity, a vague shape that took on humanoid form as it approached its threshold. Allera felt the cost of holding the [i]gate[/i] like a knife rubbing against the boundaries of her consciousness, but she forced herself to ignore it. She paid the price, maintaining the portal until the other could reach her. He stepped through. Clad in a flowing robe, he bore only a large shield, a slab of metal the size of a serving board, covered with a simple drape of pure white cloth. An ageless wisdom shone in his eyes, and something else—peace. That did not stop him from looking over Allera’s shoulder and taking in the decidedly [i]un[/i]peaceful scene resolving in the open space of the square behind her. The newcomer shook his head. “You two just can’t manage to stay out of trouble, can you?” Licinius Varo asked. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
Top