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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7916405" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 258, Part OneThe Axis of RevolutionRounds 6-7Across Elfaivar and the rest of Lanjyr, Gupta’s worshippers cried out in horror and agony.  But the unit knew that death, for Gupta, was often a mere inconvenience, and, thankfully, so did her worshippers. Though pained, they did not die en masse as they might otherwise have done. Despite the proximity of the deadly energy tendril, and despite Korrigan's injuction to stay out of this fight, Linia arrived next to Gupta’s prostrate form. She tried to reach in to grab her, but was repelled.The Coaltongue lost forward momentum, as the plane of fire had been removed, but at least the Revolution could not fire her cannons.  Quratulain’s boots lost power entirely and she plunged towards the ground. Thankfully, their sacramental immunity had been restored and all she did was scour a huge groove in the ritual site. She fired her blaster from prone and took out a third lantern golem; Rumdoom destroyed a fourth. Now there was only one left.Borne arrived where the Death pillar lay, having been blasted out of its moorings when Av was destroyed. The colossus stooped and gently lifted it. Nicodemus removed the icon of Av, and replaced it with the icon of an unknown plane. “Anyone who doesn’t follow the Ob’s plan will die!” said Kai, reading tha planar traits.“Jiquus!” said Xambria. She recognised this set-up from the Convocation. It was the uncompromising solution put forward by the Watchmaker faction!Korrigan swapped out Jiese for Etheax and Conquo released the fire pillar.  But he could not move back to the Air pillar as he wanted to, because of the golem’s immobilizing ray.  Leon teleported both Conquo and Korrigan over there.   (They didn’t have Caeloon in hand yet, but they needed to replace the pillar to stop the Coaltongue from sinking.)“I see you have a plan of your own,” said Nicodemus. “I told you earlier, imitation is flattery.” He paused for a moment to pull out a spectral cigarette. “You think you’re fighting me, but you’re using my own methods. Oh, we might have different goals, but at the core, you agree with me: this world needs to be changed. You already voted with us how we should do it, too. So let me be the first to say it. Welcome to the Obscurati, constables.” The cigarette glowed brightly as he put it to his ghostly lips.“Do not delude yourself,” Korrigan replied. “We are here to repair the damage you have done, and provide a new, free future for the people of this world.”Back up on the Revolution, Uru left the goings on in the infirmary behind, and shadow-stepped through the bulkhead, finding himself in confined crew quarters.  He stepped through to another, identical room, before taking a different direction and coming out on what he correctly guessed would be a passageway linking all the crew quarters together.Having reattached the fire plane of his choosing, Korrigan now found himself able to direct the point of origin of an enormous pillar of fire.  He picked a spot beneath the Revolution. Her tail section was engulfed in roaring flames, but her arcane defences were sufficient to avoid all but superficial damage.A soothing voice now echoed throughout the vessel.  Uru recognised it as the voice of Han Jierre. “You are all doing very well,” he said. “Your part in our Grand Design will remembered. Just keep doing as you’re told and all will be well. Ignore the flames.  Our vessel is sound. Repair crews, please report to the rear gantry.”At that, the passageway was suddenly filled with running halflings and gnomes.  Uru snuck past them on the ceiling and found a ladder heading down.  Why didn’t I just shadow-step through the deck? he thought to himself.Now the Revolution fired its guns again: a broadside against the Coaltongue which ripped a hole where the sick bay had once been; and a second, aiming each of its starboard turrets straight down at Rumdoom, Conquo and Korrigan!Both Conquo and Korrigan were knocked flat, and the integrity of their armour was severely challenged. Conquo was badly hurt; Korrigan less so. Rumdoom, however, emerged completely unscathed. Nothing was able to harm him!  He swung his hammer and destroyed the last lantern golem.Quratulain tried to draw a bead on Nicodemus, but Borne was in the way; Leon asked Uru to describe the place where he was, and then teleported into the Revolution alongside him; Conquo flailed about on the ground, unable to get up. Matunaaga had covered a huge distance across the ritual site, and now threw himself into the air to level another mind slice at Nicodemus. Nothing seemed to happen.  They all knew his name; they knew his real name was William Miller. But still, nothing.  (He remembered his old vision – of taking aim at a shining star that became the glowing tip of a cigarette. But he had eschewed firearms in favour of relying on his own body and mind. Did he need a gun after all?)The energy tendrils swung back over Korrigan and Conquo.  Linia placed her hands on Gupta’s recumbent form and closed her eyes. Gupta’s eyes open and flared with energy.  Arcs of lightning played around her as she rose to stand without moving her limbs.“Friends in high places?” said Nicodemus.  “Time to introduce you to another old acquaintance.  For balance, you understand.” He drew out another artefact - a clergy one this time - and used it to perform a second summons. This one they also recognised, from Uriel’s vision near the Perpetual City: a greater demon, powerful enough to slay the Hierophant and sunder his staff. The clergy must have imprisoned it again, after they used it against him. It flew on wings of shadow and infernal fire caused its massive form to shimmer; its great, flat head was something like a cross between a shark and a rhino and waves of pure malice radiated from it.Worse still, now that the Death pillar had been replaced, the Ghost Council Swarm joined the fray. It swooped down to beset Korrigan, Conquo and Rumdoom with an oppressive moan that affected both in mind and body. Poor Conquo was very badly hurt. Once again, though, Rumdoom was completely unharmed.  He crowed heartily, “You’re dealing with the Avatar of the End!” and charged at them fearlessly.Korrigan helped Conquo to his feet; stoically sticking to the plan, Conquo pulled up the Air pillar as he stood.Borne was on the move again, urged on by Nicodemus, but for now Nicodemus appeared to have abandoned his ritual in favour of disrupting theirs. In two strides, the colossus was across the battlefield and raised its foot, threatening to bring it down where Conquo and Korrigan were standing. Certain death if they remained where they were.[ATTACH=full]118319[/ATTACH](Image taken just before Borne crossed the battlefield to stomp on Conquo.)</blockquote>

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