Session 7

After a few days dedicated to recovery from the battle with Noke and preparation for the task ahead, YFPB and Dag’s Disciples were finally ready to converge on Buzzblade’s camp. The Justicar escorted Dag’s Disciples from their inn in Amberwater to the crossroads separating the forests north of Tomara and the road to the city itself. There, they rested briefly as they awaited the presence of another adventuring group: Young, Fertile, Petite, and Breedable. WIth this, the 8 Heroes of Serulea met for the first time:

• Irene Stengard, a mysterious human warrior from the West who seemed to harbor a not-so-hidden grudge against magic
• Harlan Ceisser, another human from the West, but one who grew up in the capital city as a holy paladin of El
• Vireya, a mysterious and fiery Tiefling from the Northern wilds, who spent both her childhood and adult life exploring ruins and magical groves
• Lorien Brightquill, a notable musician and orator in the Arcane Collegium who became ostracized after speaking out about his missing friend
• Esper Starwisp, a young and optimistic druid who had been sent out from her home village early to explore the world and parse some ominous fortellings
• Bryan Omega, the youngest and most reckless son of the O’megan noble family whose lost fortunes propelled him unprepared into poverty
• Zephyra, an enthusiastic tiefling who used her inherent magical abilities to aid a life of thievery and crime on the streets of Kalzaharn
• Morren, a dour bard with a wholly mysterious past and a penchant for cruelty

Their initial meeting was somewhat confusing. Few of the adventurers were even comfortable with their own party, let alone some abrasive strangers. After some basic and halting introductions, Harlan and Zephyra realized that something was vibrating in their packs. Harlan revealed the strange black cube that YFPB had found in the study of Glowkindle’s hideout, and felt a magnetic pull towards Morren. After some light banter about a price, Harlan handed the cube over without ceremony. Morren slotted the cube into the empty space into Divine Weapon: Fourth Symphony and felt that its construction was complete.

He immediately took aim at a nearby sparrow, and upon missing wildly, felt a deep pain grip his body. His immediate inclination was to toss the gun away, but he decided to give it a chance in actual combat. Zephyra in turn took out her Essence Cards that they had acquired from the basement under the Arcane Blacksmith. Unlike Harlan, though, she was wholly unwilling to part with her prize without a ransom. Esper and Morren attempted to convince and coerce her, respectively, but she managed to rebuff the both of them. She eventually relented, and allowed the Essence Cards to be transferred to Lorien, who reviewed them with a wary eye. He noted that the cards were engraved and color-coded: Red was labeled Exou, Blue was labeled Morf, and Green was labeled Foci.

Lorien slotted the cards into Dispositor in an RBG order, and like the Fourth Symphony, his weapon was complete. Unlike Morren, though, he declined to test it on the wildlife. Following this exchange, the two groups decided they were ready to assault the camp. The Justicar provided a few more details, namely numbers and clusters of goblins, before warning the group that this will be the best chance to recapture Alkamer. The combined group set off down the crossroads to a battle that would alter the trajectory of their destinies forever.

Before arriving at the camp, the war party split across three paths by which to approach: the Justicar from the West, YFPB from the Southwest, and Dag’s Disciples from the Southeast. Their initial plan was to attempt stealth. They wouldn’t be able to get into the cave without doing some fighting, but the less they could get entrenched in an all-out battle, the less likely someone is to take a debilitating injury before the real combat begins. Unfortunately, Dag’s Disciples got unlucky. As they crept across the small river bridge, sunset casting long shadows eastward, they missed a small  goblin that was hiding in some nearby bushes.

Before they could draw their weapons, the goblin revealed himself to be a dullard, and began a friendly conversation with Morren. Attempting some subtle diplomacy, Morren befriended the creature and walked straight up to the nearest guard. A second guard, watching the exchange, was no more fooled by Morren’s antics than the first, and made to strike him. Morren successfully charmed the first guard, but the second sounded the alarm. Never one to shy away from violence, the Justicar screamed “CHAAAAARGE!!” and rushed towards an archer sentry. Irritated that the Justicar had given away the rest of their positions, YFPB also drew their weapons and entered the fray.

What followed could only be described as a slaughter. Several warriors and fighters attempted to take down YFPB’s arcane slingers, but a box formation of Harlan’s shield and Irene’s spear kept everyone safe and lethal. Dag’s Disciples had less success given their positional disadvantage, and Morren and Bryan took some nasty blows. Dag fled into the underbrush for safety, and Esper successfully entrapped several archers in a large Entangle. The Justicar swung his sword in a reckless attempt at decapitation, and missed. Although YFPB was entrenched, many others were in danger. At that moment, the entire battlefield heard (and felt) the crushing stomps of something large approaching from the Northern path.

An arc of fire crested from the forest and burst on Esper’s plant vines, killing two of the three creatures trapped there. The savior revealed herself: it was Aly! And on Aly’s shoulder rode a crow - a Crow With a Satchel. Whether this was the same Crow With a Backpack that Irene had stolen the backpack from remains unknown. What is known is that the crow claimed to be someone different and pledged her support for the cause. Reinvigorated, Dag’s Disciples repositioned while landing some vital blows, and Harlan singlehandedly blocked three Goblin Warriors from harming his team. Even the Justicar managed to land his vorpal blow on the archer, killing him in a single blow.

The Crow wrought chaos on the goblins from above, stealing the Flagbearer’s banner and taunting it as she flew around. Zephyra contributed by putting two goblin warriors to sleep at once, and a combined attack from Lorien and Vireya eliminated the warriors in front of them. Harlan and Irene the one remaining, and they turned their attention to the rest of the battlefield. Esper transformed into a wolf, and brought one Goblin Fighter to the ground, arm in her mouth. Bryan attempted to end the creature, but was woozy from blood loss and managed only glancing blows on his prone foe. Sensing weakness, Dag sprung out from his hiding spot and managed to rip the throat out of the goblin, successfully stealing the kill.

From there, the fight was mostly cleanup. Dag’s Disciples again failed to coordinate a combined attack on a sleeping foe, Aly accidentally woke one up, and the Flagbearer managed to escape into the woods. But the rest were slaughtered mercilessly. The Justicar and the crow slipped into the cave entrance amidst the fighting, and soon the two adventuring groups followed. Inside, they found several dead goblin sentries that had been slashed to pieces. Further ahead, they found a wounded Justicar, who urged them ahead. Without stopping to take turns, the adventurers rushed into the dark tunnels, facing the ambush head on. YFPB took the vanguard, crushing and exploding any who got in their way. Morren and Bryan managed to push ahead and took down a goblin for themselves.

The group spread out over the main cavern. At the center of the grand expanse was what appeared to be a bottomless pit, with a small feral goblin looking into its depths. Glowing blue crystals lined the walls, and several tinkerers with crystal-tipped spears guarded their leader. The group took advanced positions, but before they could strike, Buzzblade addressed them mockingly. The Justicar declared his death sentence and his own hesitation at taking a life under El’s watch, but stood fast with his sword. As both sides readied attacks, their attention was drawn to a black wolf with a sword on the other side of the pit. It was Silf!

Unfortunately, Silf was not who had seemed to be. The wolf transformed into a large, muscular, burnt, gray man wearing a cloak with one arm. He was extremely familiar to both groups, but they were unable to identify him until he whipped off his remaining clothes. Naked and maimed, this was clearly he who they were seeking: Alkamer. During Alkamer’s monologue and explanation of how he drew the two groups together and how they somehow experienced the same Prologue, Morren (who, as a reminder, did not experience the Prologue) shot his Divine Weapon at the mage. The arcane shot careened off course, deflected by a shiny golden shield that Alkamer conjured in front of him. In revenge, Alkamer burned Dag and the Crow to ashes with his green fire. He then unleashed a warped, corrupted version of Entangle that grabbed Harlan, Bryan, and Morren. Their foes revealed, their tempers inflamed, the final battle began in earnest.

Whether it was due to Buzzblade’s ferocity or Alkamer’s spells, the group struggled far more in this fight. Goblin archers peppered Harlan and Lorien as a Goblin Mage tossed dangerous fireballs from a far cliffside. The tinkerers shot pointed blue bullets at Bryan and Vireya. Buzzblade held the wounded Justicar off with ease, and the girls hanging back on the upper path were unable to land attacks from so far away. Morren warned the Justicar back, and, taking the bard’s advice, leaped back to assist Bryan with dispatching one of the Tinkerers. Harlan took the opposite path to take down the other.

The fighters continued to suffer attacks. Irene was charged by a Goblin Fighter who managed to wound her. Bryan and the Justicar took down the Tinkerer, but were brutally wounded in a single whirlwind attack by Buzzblade. Harlan was shot twice after taking down his Tinkerer, and Morren wasted time trying to throw his stale beer onto Buzzblade. Alkamer continued to support Buzzblade from afar with strange, foreign spells that none of the adventurers had ever seen or heard of before, including strange marks and necromantic influences. Little by little the adventurers managed to fell their foes. But not without cost.

In another brutal assault, Buzzblade slashed both Bryan and the Justicar into unconsciousness. Harlan was again wounded climbing the steep cliffside to the archers and mage. In a series of heroic actions, Esper entered the melee against Buzzblade to revive the Justicar, who in turn stabilized Bryan. Upon reaching the remaining archers with Lorien (who had run along the upper path), Harlan brained one and turned his attention to the mage. In a moment of sheer, suicidal desperation, the mage detonated the fireball at his feet hoping to take Harlan with him. His hope was misplaced. Not only did the mage manage to kill the other Goblin Archer as well as himself, Harlan survived the point-blank explosion, standing and conscious.

The only goblin remaining, Buzzblade became the focal point of all 9 allied fighters. Alkamer, for all his intimidating magic, shield, and strength, was in essence ignored entirely as the group concentrated everything they had on the bandit leader. Their efforts were extraordinarily successful, dealing over 130 damage in just a few rounds through a combination of eldritch attacks, starry wisps, flaming bursts, punches, katana swings, and two kinds of arcane gunshots. Alkamer at one point floated across the pit to become directly involved, but was still sidelined as both YFPB and Dag’s Disciples smelled blood in the water. In rage, Alkamer released a crushing force on those around him, dropping Esper, Justicar Wargreaves, and the unconscious Bryan to the ground.

But it mattered not. With so many ranged magical attacks striking Buzzblade, it was a wonder he lasted as long as he did. Irene struck the final blow, leveraging her wrathful hex and an arcane shot from above to end the goblin leader. With his death, they fulfilled their bounty, but they were beyond exhausted and out of resources. They also finally realized that they had ignored the man they had really come to apprehend, and he remained wholly uninjured. Alkamer likely could have killed them all in that cave, but he instead reacted rather strangely. He began laughing. As he laughed, all the light in the cave vanished, covering the fighters with a magical darkness that even those with darkvision could not pierce.

For a moment, all they could hear was Alkamer’s laughter. Then for another moment, deadly silence. The silence was destroyed with an explosion of light and warping sound as a massive vortex opened in the space where the bottomless pit had been. Alkamer continued to laugh as he dove backwards into the pit after thanking the adventurers for their help. The portal, a glowing blue vortex of pure energy, was clearly unstable, and the jungle cave quickly began to collapse. The Justicar grabbed Buzzblade’s dead body and fled, warning the others to the same. Unfortunately, falling rocks and landslides made escape nearly impossible for both parties.

Only one party could escape the cave through the entrance at most, so both parties were faced with the choice of trying to escape or jumping into the portal after Alkamer. After some intense discussion amongst falling boulders, Dag’s Disciples jumped into the vortex, leaving YFPB free to leave the cave and claim their bounty. From here, the groups diverged, and El only knows the next time they’ll see each other again.