Astvanor Session 116 (7/14)
Jul. 16th, 2023 08:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cinaedSession 116: 7/14 (Day 31 of Veksdan)
Hava casts Mass Cure Wounds on Yolov, Genesis, Diana, Wrenvar, Juniper, and Elidyr. She also summons a spectral tentacle of her own, striking out at the shadow creature but missing as the tentacle’s shadows creep further into the room.
When the party tells the queen and the others to leave, Wrenvar protests that she is not leaving while any of her people are in danger. Daveena rushes to her and whispers something to her that makes her infuriated.
Az runs closer to the queen, wincing as the shadow creature slashes him in the back, and casts Scatter. The air quivers around everyone but Asa at the queen’s table before he teleports them outside the banquet hall and as far away as possible.
Audacity immediately runs over and grabs the damaged orb on the table before he turns and strikes the nearest tentacle hard enough that it dissipates into nothing.
The shadow creature approaches Asa and Adrin and rends Adrin’s side with a claw before it also claws Asa, tearing across her chest and her dress. The other remaining shadow attacks Hava twice as her Spirit Guardians sear into it.
Yolov casts Wither and Bloom on Asa, changing the damage to the shadow creature attacking her to thunder. Her purplish bleeding slows as some of her wound closes, and she looks over to him with a soft smile.
Diana stands, wobbly from exhaustion, and gets a few feet away from the tentacle’s shadow. She calls over to Adrin, who raises her head and bellows out a stream of acid at Marion, burning his clothes and skin as he flings up his arms to defend himself. Adrin bites his arm for good measure.
Galowen goes closer to the shadow attacking Hava and then casts Ice Storm on Marion and the shadow creature by Adrin, sending hail down on their heads. The hail begins to melt as the shadow disappears and Glyn charges and rams into Marion, who takes the hit but manages to stay standing.
Marion holds the pulsating stone in his hand for a moment before he tucks it in his pocket and murmurs soon, it will be soon, but that meanwhile he is getting irritated. As he begins to cast a spell on Asa, Yolov instinctively casts a counterspell and stops a lightning lure that would have dragged her to Marion.
Marion’s eyes narrow before he casts Cloud Kill on most of the party, a poisonous cloud curling into Asa, Az, Yolov, and Adrin’s mouths, though Adrin is unaffected as the others’ lungs burn.
Hava casts Mass Healing Word on Yolov, Az, Diana, Adrin, and herself before she shoots at Marion with her bow. The arrow flies true, but Marion manages to keep concentration on the Cloud Kill.
The shadow sweeps over Audacity, who shakes off its weak poison with contempt. He’s tried worse poison with Juniper over the last week.
Meanwhile, Az breathes in the poison and disappears in a puff of mist as he reappears behind Marion and reaches for his hair to cast a spell on him. As he does, two shadowy appendages seem to wrap around Marion as a shield, looking like the shadows creeping through the room. Az casts Vampiric Touch, healing himself as Marion tries to yank himself out of his grip.
When Marion turns around to slap his hand away, Az rips the mask off his face, which reveals features that look like his portrait but are furious and covered in acid. Marion glares at Az before he hits him with a singular bolt of eldritch blast.
Audacity runs to the remaining tentacle and punches it twice before it strikes him back.
The remaining shadow is destroyed by Hava’s Spirit Guardians before it can attack her.
Yolov manifests Es near the remaining tentacle and then looks at the unmasked Marion. He says coldly, “You mentioned becoming something great today. Anyone who denied you power before was right, because you have squandered the power you have. You are going to be nothing more than a footnote in Avisian history books.” Then he casts Psychic Lance.
The psychic damage dazes Marion while Adrin bites him from behind and Asa escapes out the nearest broken window. He seems to be distantly and dissonantly dissociating as Galowen approaches him and swings out with his sword. Both blows hit, the second one flashing with divine light.
Hava winks at Galowen before she studies her friends, making sure they seem all right, before she sends her spectral tentacle to slap Marion across his cheek, ice burning his skin, and then casts Guiding Bolt at Marion. It strikes him, a radiant glow forming around him.
Az sends three eldritch blasts at Marion, all three hitting him and knocking him against Galowen’s blade as Audacity destroys the tentacle and begins to run towards Marion and Yolov casts another Psychic Lance.
This time while Marion takes damage, the spell doesn’t incapacitate him as Es floats after Audacity, muttering that he might be cooler than Es thought. Still a dumbass though.
Marion hits Az with an eldritch blast and hisses that he needs to give that mask back. When Az says it’s garish and he’ll burn it for kindling, Marion growls that it’s metal.
When Diana tries to cast Silence on him, he counterspells her. Adrin lunges forward and bites Marion again as Marion hits Az with another eldritch blast.
Galowen strikes Marion, both sword strikes carving into him with another divine smite and then knocks him backwards into Adrin’s mouth with his shield.
Marion strikes Az again with eldritch blast, ordering him to give back the mask. A very injured Az says no, leaning against the table and remembering arguments with his siblings. Marion teleports in a puff of shadow to the corner of the room.
Then he reaches into his bag and pulls out the gem. He holds it against his cheek for a moment and says that he thinks it’s time, darling. Then he smashes the pulsating gem onto the ground.
Both Galowen and Diana breathe in poison as a rich, deep cloying smell that’s almost like a perfume strikes them and something tears itself out of it. A long, spindly arm pulls itself out of the shards and then reaches out a hand to Marion.
Marion takes the hand and says, “There you are, my dear,” before the spindly, inhuman creature presses against him and seems to absorb into his skin as he falls to his knees and begins to twist and writhe. His bones snap and crack loudly as he transforms from a person into this horrifying abomination. There is reddish ichor dripping in place of his hair while he turns towards the group as this frothing, strange form.
The abomination roars in a high two-voiced shriek at the party.
Hava heals some of Az’s injuries and then faces this new aberration. She fires off three eldritch blasts of her own at it, striking it right in the meat of one of the shoulders as it howls in rage.
Az follows suit with eldritch blasts, slamming it repeatedly into the wall.
Audacity abandons his previous plans as he watches this transformation. He can tell it’s gained strength from this fusion. He gestures at the banquet table and the wine and water and other various drinks twist out of their glasses and slam into it.
The creature shrieks in pain as Yolov takes advantage of his friends not being in melee and casts Lightning Bolt from his staff.
Diana positions herself closer and breathes out her last fire breath at it. The smell of burning blood fills the air as Adrin rushes over and bites the abomination. She gets it by the throat and won’t let go, growling.
Galowen strides forward, sword at the ready. Adrin has yanked the head down, offering a perfectly positioned kneeling abomination for Galowen to decapitate it in a gory spray of blood. It makes one last gurgling sound as its head rolls away and it collapses to the floor, dead.
Everywhere in the ballroom there are sprays of blood, overturned chairs, scorched and ruined places where the fireballs struck the tentacles.
As Audacity runs up a pillar and gets the last orb for safekeeping. Hava casts Greater Restoration on Diana, who asks if they can take the head with them. Everyone gives a resounding no as someone begins to slam against the front door.
Before anyone can do more than turn towards the sound, Kresh slams down the door with a cracking of wood. He, Taion, and Maeve rush into the room at the ready. She immediately lowers her bow and then rushes and embraces Hava before she asks what that is, wrinkling her nose at the corpse.
Hava says that’s what happens when resentment festers. Then she introduces Taion to Maeve, which Maeve somewhat dryly says she figured out as he sung her praises the entire time they were racing to the palace and asks if he’s her boyfriend. Hava tells her that he is before she kisses him.
People are beginning to reenter the ballroom, including Daveena, Elidyr, and numerous personal guards flanking the queen. She asks who cast that teleportation spell and everyone gestures towards Az who was distracted trying to figure out what he can take from the body for Juniper.
She confirms that he’s Lord Turen, and when he says that he is, she tells him and the others that while she failed her people today, he saved them. She owes them all a great debt, and when everything is cleaned up and dealt with– Here she pauses and looks at the destruction, sighing that it will have to happen elsewhere. Still, she wants to thank them personally, without a banquet.
When Diana worries aloud they’re in trouble, Wrenvar clarifies that the crown owes them all an incredible debt. Anything that they wish from her she will grant.
As Az bows and thanks her, Yolov opens his mouth to speak. He gets distracted by Asa throwing herself at him and apologizing for overstepping but she’d thought they were going to die. It has been a very long day.
Yolov wraps his arms around her and shakily says that he was worried and asks if she’s all right. When she confirms that she is, he assures her that she didn’t overstep, stammering a little before he admits that he doesn’t know what he’s doing as he cups her face in his hands and kisses her with adrenaline-fueled intensity.
Galowen gasps, and Hava giggles and says she did the same when Asa kissed Yolov.
After Daveena looks at them from the nobles and grimly mouths that he will speak with them later, Audacity finds a mage guard who is picking up broken orb shards and cursing to himself. When Audacity hands him the two relatively unbroken orbs, the man thanks him and says these are expensive and time-consuming to replace. He doesn’t blame them, they obviously needed their magic, but it is going to be a lot of work.
Genesis appears next to Az, remarking that they almost died. Az apologizes for bringing them into danger, and they say that it’s the least dangerous place they’ve been in lately, then clarifies that that is a lie. They invite Az back to their place, and Hava overhears and invites everyone along.
The guard also sighs that there will also be a search and rescue for the kidnapped princess as Az slips away for a moment to steal a few things for Mixie.
Then they head to Genesis’ place to rest and recover. As they walk, Audacity nudges Galowen and says that he was really cool. Galowen thanks him and says he was pretty cool too, earning a small smile.
Everyone has drinks and recovers.
It’s only after Asa falls asleep against Yolov that he remembers he wanted to Send to Kalia. He only saw snatches of her conversation with Galowen and still doesn’t know her goals, but if she was working for the Sworn Edge, Marion seems to have betrayed her.
He casts Sending, asking if Kalia can answer him, if she’s all right and if she can tell them where to come find her.
He gets a response back immediately that is almost incoherent with rage.
“Those two-timing pricks. I will tear each and everyone of them apart. Come find me!”
