Session17

**The defeat of Xian Torres and Shri's Rescue**
 * 4-26-13 **

As we move in closer on the rooftop, a semi-circle of undead rise up around the altar as if paying homage to their dark god. Skeletons, zombies, and a large wight. Back on the ship... they see the storm eases up around them, and they watch the clouds start to concentrate in on the mountain. Captain Whitestrake looks at Thorn, "Usually when stuff like that happens... your friends are involved. Should we move in?" Thorn nods and they fly in closer to the mountain. As they fly, they can make out another new feature that came to life on the Destiny... a dome of glass at the bottom of the ship.

Up on the mountain, Mali calls down lightning from the storm around them into the mass of the undead, eliminating some of the crowd. Dom moves up with Erevin and tosses a bomb to start clearing a path. Erevin fires arrows along the same path. skeletons and zombies clear away. Yuki moves way forward and sends out a massive wave of energy, dropping 3 more skeletons and a zombie. Sir Reston chases after her, "Wait, not so fast little lady. I have short legs." Azarius and Thirteen move up near Erevin and Yuki.

Drawn by Yuki's massive wave of damage, the undead turn and gather, advancing toward us. The large wight throws his own negative wave vs Yuki's happy rose-white light heart motes.

Melloran goes in to gnaw on a skeleton while Mali calls her lightning down on the wight. Wren launches an arrow and Kale strikes into a skeleton. Erevin moves forward to protect Yuki, and attacks the wight.Yuki sends out another wave of positive energy dropping several around them. Sir Reston rushes up to Yuki's other side. Azarius backs up and sends a fire sphere rolling through the crowd of undead.

The wight sends out another vicious wave of negative energy. The zombies and skeletons move in and attack. The chaos of battle is everywhere.

Mali calls in lightning, taking down the wight. Wren breathes out a wave of cold, dropping 3 advancing skeletons. A bleeding, hurt Erevin charges forward, climbing up to the altar, before Yuki can heal him. "Wait! Erevin let me hea... Erevin! You Idiot!"

Up by the altar is an older human wizard with a powerful staff, a heavily armored dwarf with a golden axe, an armored human with a sword, an elf with a glimmering blade with gems, and a plate male wearing individual with a golden scepter... there is light coming out of the visor of the helm, and we can't tell if it's a man or a woman.

Yuki rushes in behind Erevin while Sir Reston stays to fight off the undead, holding them back from her. Azarius sends his fiery sphere through the crowd.

Battle continues to rage in the field, and more skeletons start popping up.

Wren throws out a fireball from her necklace, decimating the 5 skeletons moving in, freeing Kale to protect her from the one who made it close. Erevin moves protectively over Shri, and attacks the mad wizard. The other heroes are surprised to see him. "Who are you?" "Erevin Moonsong, and yourself?" "Jaren Glinset" Yuki whips her ribbon up and with a mind of it's own, it ties into a pretty bow on one of the skulls to help her climb up. It pulls her upwards as if it had a mind of its own. Azarius continues to roll his sphere of fire, killing all in it's path, and sends out waves of magic missiles. The ship arrives to drop Posy and Thorn off on the side. Posy sees hundreds of maimed and moaning ghosts, occasionally one of them rises up as a skeleton. The two of them charge in heroically with Posy sending a skeleton into dust.

Xian Torres rages with a dark magic energy, but the other wizard steps forward and draws the energy into his staff. Yuki feels a god leave the world... the madness fades from Torres's face, leaving him calm.

Everyone sees and feels horror and madness. Yuki feels as if she is being drawn and quartered by an undead horde. Azarius feels as if his tentacles are strangling him to death. Mali looked down to see a unicorns beautiful golden horn impaling her through her chest. Yuki, Azarius, and Mali seem to shake it off. Erevin sees the heroes around him change to orcs that stab into Shri, and he becomes infuriated, moving aggressively to protect her. Wren feels herself fall through ice and be pulled into water, beginning to drown. Thorn is buried under golden coins, sparkling gems, and a large treasure chest. Posy feels all alone as everything vanishes around her with nothing to fight.

Skeletons emerge and swarm over Wren, who still believes she's drowning. Mali is near her, and throws vials of holy water over the skeletons to try and draw them off of Wren. One takes a big splash, and falls to dust, a couple of others go toward Mali.

Erevin swings at the "orcish" mad-wizard. Yuki's ribbon is just helping her up when Yuki sees the look in Erevin's eyes. He sees her as a drow... "Erevin!" she cries, dispelling the madness spell upon him and she and the others fade back to normal in his vision. Thorn and Posy shake off the effect and charge back into battle, smashing more of the skeletons!

The swarming skeletons around Wren grab onto her and try and tear her apart, as the lead skeleton keeps Kale busy away from her. Xian Torres negates Yuki's sanctuary, his taloned hand shattering the protective aura as it grabs onto her throat. "Did you really think that would protect you from me?" Yuki looks up at him shocked and scared... that had never happened before!

More skeletons stand up on the field. Wren finally manages to shake off the madness, and sends Cirdan out in his dance to fight for her while she struggles to break free of the surrounding skeletons' grasp on her. One of the skeletons grabs onto Mali.

Shri looks up to see Erevin over her, "Erevin?" she murmurs, still a little dazed. He touches her, "We're not safe just yet..." He leaps from the altar to land beside Yuki, stabbing into Xian Torres who is still choking Yuki. Yuki manages to heal herself through the struggle. Azarius uses magic missiles to kill the skeleton clutching Mali who falls to the ground as she is released.

Thorn weaves through the field, and teams up with Sir Reston, dealing death after death as they go. Posy moves in toward the crowd of skeletons still around Wren, and smashes one of them to dust. Dominic and Melloran manage to clear another area around them. The group of heroes by the altar move in to aid against Xian Torres, who wields Yuki like a club to strike Erevin.

Wren is pinned to the ground by a circle of skeletons who continue to shred her and try to pull her apart. Cirdan continues to fire on his own, trying to help her. Kale wades into the circle and smashes one of the skeletons holding onto Wren. Posy smashes another, trying to help free her.

Erevin slices into Xian Torres's arm that's clutching Yuki's throat. She channels the healing of Sune over herself, Erevin, and the group of heroes. Azarius rolls his sphere of fire through the battlefield, dealing death one by one. A skeleton pins Mali to the ground and Ursus rages into a bear and smashes it into dust, freeing her. Kale and Posy continue to clear the circle around Wren with Cirdan's help. Wren barely clutches to consciousness.

Cackling like a madman, Xian Torres throws Yuki at Erevin, "If you want her, you can DIE with her!" Erevin leaps forward to catch her, rolling her away from the oncoming blast, placing himself between her and Xian Torres lightning blast. "No, Erevin!" Yuki cried, clutching onto him a little tighter, bracing for the blow. Behind them, Ganeth, the dwarven hero throws himself into the lightning bolt to protect them both. A giant hole is blasted through his chest, spattering blood over Erevin and Yuki. His compatriots scream, "NOOOO!" Mali calls lightning on Xian Torres, but he deflects most of it. Erevin sets Yuki down gallantly and goes back in, blades whirling, joined by the other heroes who are enraged with the loss of the dwarf, all of them lashing out at Torres in full force. Torres explodes, his body shattering in a bright light with 27 pieces sailing out into the sky.

Kale and Cirdan finish off the last skeleton on Wren. Kale picks her up into his arms as she barely clings to life. The storm breaks up, and the battlefield falls quiet as the last couple of skeletons fall. The first ray of sun shines down. Erevin scoops up Yuki as Glinset heads toward the altar. Erevin stops him with a clasp of his arm in greeting and victory. The two go to release Shri together, while Yuki steps away, walking down from the alter and away from the lovers' warm reunion. She looks to heal their friends. Kale carries Wren up to Yuki who heals her, "Wren! What happened to you?!" "ice breaking... drowning... skeletons swarming..." The priestess hugs her tightly!

Erevin pours his healing potion into Shri, bringing her back to concious. "Erevin? Am I dreaming? Is that you? ... How did you find me?" He lifts her off of the altar into his arms, "You think just because you go to another world that you could hide from me? I would track you across worlds."

We find out that she's been here for about 1 month while months have passed by for us. She met the heroes here weeks ago. Glinset feels bad that his people did not welcome her warmly. They found her strange with her dark skin. Shri says that she had heard that Xian Torres was a powerful wizard and she went to seek him out to try and get him to send her home... Glinset says that he tried to turn her from that course and had explained Torres was evil and mad... but she is a slippery one and had gone off on her own during the night.

The heroes are grateful for our aid to rid the world of such a mad-wizard who had laid so much waste to many cities. The strange plate male wearing figure with the scepter approaches us, "Thank you for coming to this world. I also am not from this place... but that ship of yours can't remain here... but before you leave, I would give you all gifts. Choose one of your magic items, and I will enchant it for you." He touches each item with a golden light from his scepter. Mali chooses her staff. Posy chooses her nose ring. Thorn chooses his daggers. Azarius chooses his rod of empowerment. Wren chooses Cirdan. Erevin chooses his armor. Yuki chooses her ribbon. Shri is a little roughed up, but seems to be okay. We say our thanks and good byes and return to the ship. We hear a gruff voice, "What am I doing here?" and we turn to see the dwarf... we welcome him as a hero of Destiny. "I was afraid when I left my people that it was the last time I would see them... I'm King Gareth of the Dwarves" The winged figure of Destiny appears to welcome him and puts him in charge of security, he shall be "The Protector".

We head for home, going back by the tentacle sphere so near to our world. We enter our sphere and take to the water to appear more normal. We go down to check out the new half-globe glass dome under the ship. We find a social bar that still has some alcohol. We can see fish around us outside of the glass. There's tables and a kitchen. Everything is dusty. Saben and Thirteen volunteer to fix it up... we decide to have them drop us off on the docks and move back out to sea to keep the ship out of sight.

Coming Up... we have:

1) The convocation of people in foreign heraldry and the disposition of the map. Representatives have come from: -Myth Coramanth - Lady Horitsu Lionspaw and her party -Damara -Merchants of Sembia -Algoran -Thesk -Rashemen - the land of witches north of Thay -Sambril, the Queen of Impiltur, she travels a lot with no real permanent home *These are the countries that surround Thay and would likely be the most directly effected by the outcome of the map. 2) The release of the people trapped in the portrait paintings of Szass Tam. - Lazouril, Zulkir of Enchantment, Gracie, his servant, Dmitra Flass, and Bellana's brother, Belltra

3) Erevin and the drow - where have they hidden? what about their insinuations toward Shri?

4) Azarius curse - how to free himself. Amara's rescue. Marriage prospects.

5) Wren - Loch's rescue. Raven and the sarcophagus. Aspen?

6) Thorn has the black mark hunting him. Grandpa Falco and sister Marigold to rescue.

7) Posy has the prophecy of the smallest bear who is supposed to help Uther and Ursus's clan.

8) Mali needs to rescue Esme, find the unicorn's son, and deal with the red fungus.

9) Crucible - the chimera creator. Mari Moonsong's strange urge to go across the sea.

10) Yuki has to rescue Rue and Ori. Strange things/unsettling rumours in Waterdeep - cooler temperatures, the unexplained sudden death of Cralto, as well as the book still in Waterdeep. Dealing with Sune vs Shar. Her father's cross-dressing (A.V. - Priestess of Sune mantle). A boyfriend!

11) Ghaundaur and the drow gods Cultists who attacked Vivian during the carnival of masks play Azarius's curse Tentacle Sphere close to our world Mindbreaker / Devourer of Souls released from the sarcophagus - cult of Ghaundaur

LEVEL to 6! YAY!

Decide to prioritize to the map and the gathering of people, dealing with the paintings and possible drow information in the meantime. Rescue Amara from the spheres.