cinaed

Session 176: Day 28 of Saedan (12/5)

Az watches Elathias vanish, trying to figure out if he’s teleporting away like Az sometimes does. He’s seen how Elathias engages in combat, attacking and then hiding, but it’s notably aggressive in that Elathias wants to attack them. He would never move too far away from his iron army and teleportation would only take him as far as sixty feet away.

Az decides to focus on getting Audacity out of danger and casts Dimension Door, taking Audacity’s unconscious body with him away from the constructs.

One of the ballistas attacks again, one firing at Galowen and one at Hava, but both attacks miss.

Hava casts Mass Healing Word, healing all of the Hooligans, before she draws her father’s longbow and uses one of her acid arrows at the ballista that just fired on her. She strikes it in a vital spot. The ballista’s arm breaks and then the ballista explodes. Hava wonders out loud why she hasn’t used her bow more often.

Galowen looks up at the construct in front of him, which looks slightly dented. He stabs up with his sword, striking both times with radiant light and ice gleaming on the blade.

Elathias reappears, growling out that he should have killed Galowen when he had the chance, even though he didn’t want to, before he sends four Eldritch Blasts slamming into Galowen.

Audacity opens his eyes and stands up before he looks in Elathias’ direction and casts Fireball. The last ballista is destroyed, the shards looking like they should cut Elathias to ribbons, but are repelled like opposing magnets.

Elathias swears under his breath. He turns and bares his teeth at Audacity and says that they don’t have to do this. The great part of this is that it’s optional. It’s all optional. Every part of worship and life and every piece of it is optional. They could choose to walk away.

“You could too,” Yolov tells him.

Elathias says he could, but he’s choosing something greater.

The spider construct attacks Galowen, but Hava’s Twilight Sanctuary blunts some of the damage before the golem slams its fist down upon Galowen.

Yolov has been muttering under his breath, clearly doing some calculations before he tells everyone to stand still and casts Wall of Ice, shunting all of the enemies to one side of the wall and destroying one of the spider constructs. Even invisible, Elathias is caught by the Wall of Ice.

Then he calls out to Elathias that he claims that his patron was supposedly the one worthy of him, he wonders if his patron will feel the same when they stop him and free the souls.

Elathias, turning visible on the other side of the wall, hisses in pain and says that his patron is just a means to an end, a tool to be used, his boss understands. As Audacity mocks him for having a job, Elathias sends four Eldritch Blasts towards Az, hitting him three times.

Then he Misty Steps towards his golem and casts another spell towards Az, Medrash, Adrin, and Audacity. A red gleam flashes in his eyes as he commands them to drop down and kneel. Az feels the spell try to take hold of him and his own eyes flash an otherworldly Fey shade as he turns the spell around on Elathias.

Elathias drops prone as Az smirks across the battlefield at him.

Audacity glances at Az with an amused twinkle in his eye as Az throws a few Eldritch Blasts at the remaining constructs. The first blast hits the golem, the second on the other one as Az says that they have experience with dealing with pesky patrons. If Elathias had come to them before, they might have helped him. Az says that maybe if he can speak again before the rest of the group kills him, he can beg them.

Beyond the haze of the charm on him, there is a sincere fear in Elathias’ eyes.

Hava can see the two golems towering over the wall of ice and aims at the golem closest to the wall, exploding it into shrapnel. A huge portion of the wall is destroyed as the shrapnel lands harmlessly around Galowen and Diana. Then she casts another Mass Healing Word.

Galowen casts Misty Step and teleports to the other side of the Wall of Ice. Then he looks at Elathias prone on the ground and casts Faerie Fire on him and the closest golem. Green light outlines them both, preventing any future tricks with invisibility.

Audacity grins at Az and Galowen because his life is so much simpler now. His hands, coated in ice, send a spray of ice crystals through Hava’s Dawn, and paralyzes Elathias as Hold Person takes effect.

Yolov moves towards the wall, peering through it to see past the remaining golem to Galowen and Audacity standing side by side. He sends Es closer to the two and gives Galowen a solemn thumb’s up before casting Haste on him.

Az sends his Eldritch Blast towards Elathias, dissolving the charm but with Elathias still trapped by the Hold Person. Elathias continues to look furious, straining against Audacity’s spell as Az looks patiently expectant.

Hava takes aim at the other golem, her arrow striking it as it looms over the wall. Then she drops concentration on Dawn and casts a powerful Healing Word on Galowen to allow him to get to Elathias without injury.

Bolstered by Yolov’s Haste, Galowen moves across the battlefield to stand in front of Elathias. He casts Hunter’s Mark on him before he prepares to strike down three times, his sword gleaming with ice and radiant magic.

Kneeling before him, paralyzed, his expression twisted in a mask of fear that Galowen has never seen before, a look he never wore during the worst day of Galowen’s life, is the man whose responsibilities and work killed Galowen and Hava’s father. Elathias has been the right hand of the movement that has brought untold calamity to the world.

Now he is there, kneeling before Galowen. Galowen kicks him down onto his back, his final sword strike going through Elathias’ open mouth. The combined might and fury of his divine magic explodes Elathias’ face and head, splattering bone and blood all over Galowen.

Galowen thrusts the sword deeper into the rich soil now damp with blood.

Nothing feels particularly different as the other Hooligans dispatch the last two constructs. Then slowly a summer breeze rolls over Galowen’s shoulders. He can see stretching out on either side of him, two silhouettes, one a tremendous elk, tall and strong, and the second a humanoid figure, probably a woman.

He doesn’t see anyone there or feel a physical approach. But there’s a sense of completion that washes through him as the two silhouettes get closer and then dissipate. He’s killed Elathias and protected this land. He’s protected a great amount of the world.

Galowen still has his hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, tears streaming down his face. His tears land on the ground beside his sword and Elathias’ ruined body.

Hava and Audacity approach. Hava stabs one of her father’s arrows into Elathias’ body as well, before she leans over and whispers in Aquan to Audacity that if Audacity doesn’t fuck Galowen tonight, she will.

Audacity doesn’t respond even as he takes Galowen’s glasses off and cleans them before putting them gently back on his face.

On Elathias’ corpse, they find a few daggers but nothing personal. In one of his pockets, however, Audacity finds the item Elathias stole from the Col’Far, essentially a magical wedding ring. It is made of a dragon’s claw and other material and reeks of necrotic magic.

Audacity carefully tucks it away in his bag.