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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rchodges" data-source="post: 8778265" data-attributes="member: 7031385">Part 2: Call Forth DarknessAct 3: Thirty-one WeeksSession 27: The Knight’s GambitWeek 25:Sir Valin Darian had heard about the activities that were taking place at the Horn of Abaddon. For months, rumors had grown that there was a growing force of evil that was taking place there, with disappearances of several individuals who had gone to investigate. Sir Valin desperately wanted to go and personally stop this growing evil, but could not leave due to the demands that the War was taking. Still, even Sir Valin’s obligations could not hold back his desire to act against what he saw as a force to be repelled from the land. Sir Valin took a group of his loyal knights to discover the truth for himself.“They’re coming!”, Bebop called out to the rest of the residents of the Horn. The group worked their way towards the first-floor entrance, to watch as the group of knights began the trek up the mountain towards the entrance. Donovan contemplated the strength of the defenses at the Horn, and wondered if they would be sufficient in order to repel these intruders. Donovan realized he needed the Sir Valin Darian, descendant of the original “Victor”, in order for the ritual to proceed.After some time had passed, the group of knights arrived at the entrance to the first floor, their way in to the Horn blocked by a set or portcullis gates that were manned in the rooms on the other sides of the entering hallway. The group was standing to the side of the entrance, allowing some of the residents of the Horn to see them through the kill holes that were placed up front, but preventing the larger group in the Horn from overseeing the plans or whatever was being discussed amongst the knights. One of the knights stumbled towards the outer portcullis, striking it with his heavy weapon, “Open the gates!”“No.”, Donovan calmly responded, as he continued to stare out at the entrance to the Horn. The knight shrugged, then walked away.For his part, Donovan considered how the group would attack the Horn. Perhaps they would use magic to blow down the gates and make their way inside. Perhaps they would attempt to fight using ranged weapons through the spaces between the bars. Maybe the knights would use their physical strength in order to force the gates open. However, Donovan could not have anticipated what the knights actually ended up doing.“Love, I think they have left.”, Tamsen spoke through her mental connection, after watching through one of the kill holes. “The group appears to have travelled back down the mountain.“What?”, Donovan exclaimed. “Open the gates!”As the individuals assigned to each of the separate portcullis pulled their respective levers, the gates began to raise. Donovan rushed out to the entrance of the Horn, only to discover that the group had already travelled down the mountain, well out of sight. Donovan cursed at the discovery, “Gods damnit all!”“What do you want to do about it?”, Lucius queried.“I want you, Bebop, Kirin, and GrumbleJack to go down there, find them, and bring me back the Victor!”, Donovan growled in frustration. Bebop rubbed his hands together, “Time to get messy!”After Lucius and the others moved to the entrance, Lucius summoned several flying mounts, in order to intercept the group of knights who were now falling back. GrumbleJack unfurled his wings, and followed the others. It did not take long before the group had found the errant knights. “There!”, Lucius pointed down at the group of soldiers. At the same time, the knights began to rearrange their positions, responding to the arrival of the family from the sky. As the group closed in, Lucius summoned several Lightning Elementals, positioning them at the ends of the line of horses, and behind the center of the line. Bebop quickly dived down, jumping off the mount as quickly as possible, and began to transform into his more dangerous self. Kirin and GrumbleJack also descended and began to head towards the mounted knights.The knights prepared for their charge, but several of them found themselves entangled with the Lightning Elementals. Still, several of them, including Sir Valin, threw themselves at Kirin, while others attempted to attack Bebop and GrumbleJack. Kirin pushed back against them, but found himself assailed on multiple fronts by several of the knights. Bebop put down one of the knights, then rushed over to where the knights were amassing around Kirin, and activated Blistering Invective. Several of the knights burst into flames as their fears took hold.Kirin and GrumbleJack continued to push in on the knights, the strength of their armor being tested by the force of the lances being struck into them. Kirin’s blade savaged its way through Sir Valin, knocking the Victor to the ground, unconscious. Unfortunately for Kirin, one of the other knights took advantage of Kirin’s focus on Sir Valin, viciously wounding him, and causing Kirin to pass out from the strike. The Lightning Elementals were also summarily destroyed by the knights.Lucius flew down, summoning up a Dire Tiger to attack some of the straggling knights, while GrumbleJack continued to hold his own against several knights who attempted to overrun him. Bebop worked through the stragglers on his side, continuing to thin out the remaining ranks of the knights. Lucius called up Lucinda temporarily in order to buy himself time to apply healing to Kirin. To any who would have been watching this fight from the outside, it had become apparent that they tides had fully turned, and the knights were to be roundly defeated. There was no quarter asked or given, and none of the knights attempted to flee to save themselves. Even to the very end, each of those warriors gave themselves fully to the cause.Once the fight was complete and the group’s injuries were partially removed, Bebop grabbed all the corpses and tossed them into the Portable Hole, along with the items that they had brought with them to the fight. Sir Valin Darian had survived Kirin’s attack, just barely, and was taken back to the Horn, the last piece of the Ritual now in place.Lucius contemplated the actions that had taken place with the group that evening, as he and Tamsen laid naked in his bed together. “It seemed too easy, you know. All of those soldiers on their mounts, and we rushed in and dispatched them almost without incident.”For her part, Tamsen smiled. “Perhaps you are more of a tactician than you have been giving yourself credit for.”Lucius thought about the words said to him. “Perhaps.”Session 27 Ends.</blockquote>

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