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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pedestrian" data-source="post: 3900638" data-attributes="member: 40208">Session 11: Evil endsSo, they’d left the arty room after a bit of a chinwag. There wasn’t nothing there worth having, so they’d gone back to the big room with the green pool. He’d volunteered to swim in and have a look at whatever was in it, and Xerxes had waited on the side, his shock gloves at the ready. What would that be like? Anyway, so he’d swam in the green glop. It was cold, but not like snow, more it made him cold, sucked the heat right out of him, made his arms stiff. After a bit of a struggle he’d reached the thing, which turned out to be a lion. Sol had fought lions, in the pit, but nothing as big as this one. A shaggy great brute, with paws as big as Sol’s chest. Sol struggled to the surface and waved to Xerxes before plunging beneath the goo again. It was tiring work.Xerxes, the flash git, had just appeared beside him – magic – and the two of them had pulled the big lion, which was pretty light. Until they tried to take it from the pool, that was. They just managed it. Even out of the green stuff, the lion stayed still. It looked pretty dead, unless you noticed the rise and fall as it breathed. Xerxes flipped out his book – a funny looking thing, all black leather and blue letters – and flipped to the exact page he was looking for. Uncanny, a word from a book, was how Sol thought of it. Xerxes always knew where to look in books. He said that it was only in the Book, with big letters, and that it was more to do with the Book than Xerxes.Dire LionDire Lions are throwbacks its trueTo a time long before youThey live and hunt in pridesThe man chooses sidesWatch out for when they runAfter you as their claws are no funThink you this rhyme silly?Pay attention when there is grass and hillyXerxes read aloud, shrugged and turned the book to Sol. There was a picture of a lion, much like the one on the floor. “I thought it might tell us something about this lion in particular but… well, I guess the book doesn’t go into specifics. Though…” Xerxes crouched down by the lion “This one seems a little overweight.” Sol shrugged. Not sure where a lion would get pies at in this place. Xerxes suggested they try taking the lion to the black ball, and so they dragged the heavy thing along the floor. Sol was relieved the lion was well out of it. It’d probably be real angry when it woke up.They got the lion to the ball, but nothing happened. Sol tried raising the lions paw, a hard effort, what with the animal being so stiff, to touch the globe. Still nothing. He looked at the weird chunk of crystal, and shivered. All the little lions dancing around it set him on edge. Casually, he reached around his back to his axe, unbuckling it. The weight of it was good. A real thing, his axe. Not like magic, like this big ball that ate lions, or the stuff that was eating up Xerxes. Steel.He swung, quick as anything, both hands on the haft, sharp edge plunging down, he could see it, the blow connecting, the black stone splitting, the magic breaking. There was a ringing crack, and the shock of impact shuddered up his arms. The orb looked much as it did, unharmed. No, wait, there, a crack. The tiniest scratch. It wasn’t unbreakable. Steel was stronger. He grinned, ignoring Xerxes horrified expression. The axe came up for another swing. The room went deathly cold. He turned, lowering the axe across his chest, a guard.A thing lurched into the room. It was spindly, yellow and stank of rot, wrapped in bit of old dead lion. Where its eyes should have been were only two spots of fire. Sick, green fire. Was that what smelt of rot? It hissed words, and the stink got worse. “Intruders. Your dare trespass in my domain? Explain yourselves.” It came closer. Sol wanted to say something, but his tongue was too heavy.“Oh venerable one,” Xerxes was a smooth talker “we have come in search of you. We hear you aim to wreak havoc on Elsir Vale to aid the Red Hand. We have come to tell you that you do not need to help them anymore.”“Do not have to help them? Who speaks such? I do not have to do anything. I choose! This is my choice!” The dead thing’s face twisted, the green fires flickered, bony hands twisted into claws.“Why? Why do you choose to help the Hand?” While Xerxes did the talking, Sol edged around the corpse. One clean stroke and he could lop of its head. Problem solved.“Why? Why? Foolish, weak thing of flesh. I will lash you to my table, feed your flesh to my lions!”“We cannot allow you to act as you please. This land flourishes, and we will not let you make it into a wasteland such as your demesne.”“Allow? And who are you to oppose me? I do not see the heroes of brave Rhest reborn before me. No, no, only weak, stupid playthings of fate. Tell me, living ones, how do you intend to defeat me? With steel? With spell? I am eternal, I am undying. I have rejected false gods, spurned death, rebuilt life anew."“This day your unlife is is revoked, what is left of your soul will go to its final resting place of oblivion that all creatures such as you deserve!” Xerxes yanked the phylactery from his neck, and made to smash it against the black stone ball. With his other hand, he expunged choking darkness onto the Ghostlord, tendrils such as had torn through the goblin zombies earlier, but the ancient undead shrugged off the assault.“Enough of meddling flesh! I will have my charm and then I will cleanse all the Vale of life!” The fires of its eyes, blanketing Xerxes and Sol in rotten flames, incinerating the comatose lion. Xerxes was spared the worst of it, and Sol just grunted as he leaned in to attack the Lich.There were secrets in stone. Secrets passed down from the gnomes to the hobgoblins who conquered them. Secrets taken into the arena. Secrets Sol knew. Steel was stone. Flesh could be made as stone. He shifted his feet, felt the power of this old place, rocks hewn by hand, not magic, stone old as the world. He swung forward, slamming his axe into the Ghostlord’s shoulder, shattering it.The creature slumped, half-broken, but would not quit. Xerxes danced the phylactery in buffeting blue winds, trying to crack it open. The Ghostlord lashed out with its good arm, but was too weak.The axe rose, the mountain fell, the Ghostlord was no more.</blockquote>

Verification