Last Session 41>> into this session 42 ((recap))
We rejoined our party last session, just as they finished off the countess in a long and fierce battle… one that has required not only strength, but cunning and willpower, to overcome all obstacles, and destroy her once and for all…. It was a time to rejoice, or at least it should have been, because in but a moment all that changed.
Scarlett decided to scout out the room she stood nearest to, and wasn’t prepared to see the mountain of corpses that were very disrespectfully thrown into a heap in the corner of the room, all drained of blood, or in the process of bleeding out, their blood gathering and heading towards a single walled area off to one side of the room… much like behind the altar…. yes, this was another funnel for blood to trickle into and collect somewhere else…. A location that was about to become very apparent to Ophi.
After taking a moment to loot the remains of the countess, and the guards, the countess personal chest was also searched, and with it, came a trap, which was triggered the moment someone other than the countess, touches the chest.
Upon touching the spike covered chest, it sprung open, and showed the person nearest to it in gold coins, but this actually was a curse in the disguise of a blessing, as the at of opening the chest also triggered the self destruction of the dark tower.
There was a loud groaning, as the walls began to move ever so slightly, being dislodged more and more by the second. The ceiling above the party cracked in many places, releasing parts of it to come crashing down, narrowly missing all of them…. the whole floor shook violently, this was no ordinary tremor, it was time to make a quick exit!!
Zrin collected what gold he could do safely, and then he too began to flee.
On the way out the countess domain, one of the walls to the side of Ophi, breaks open to reveal a bloody reservoir, literally… it was the dungeon heart, and the beating was growing fainter and fainter, as the destruction of the tower became more frequent and stronger.
Finally, the heart split open like a ripened fruit, and blood gushed from it’s form, covering the floor in yet more blood, and made the level of blood rise, which in turn made various severed human body parts begin to float to the surface of it.
Ophi done all she could to hold back from being sick at this gruesome sight, and tried her best to conjure up a town portal to free her and her companions from this cold and now falling apart tower,, but her efforts were thwarted by an unknown force.
Meanwhile, Scarlett engaged with a group of Blood Clan guards, who were taken by surprise at first, but soon reacted to the threat they were facing, and the battle was on, all the while the tower was coming down around the parties heads.
Once the guards were dispatched, Scarlett moved on further towards the exit of the countess domain, they knew that portals would not work here, and so fled on foot as far as possible, before noticing a strange swirling blood filled gem, embedded into a stone pillar…. which was NOT there before now.
The stone gave off a red glowing energy, and as Ophi got closer to it, she looked at her town portal only to see the runes on it had turned red.
Zrin brings up the rear, with Aurora, who had swept up her sisters body into her arms, and was slowly making her way towards the steps of the countess domain, but the weight of Blaise was obviously slowing her progress.
At the same time, Rhyker picks up the body of the recently slain Aleric, and carries him with him also, but finds it no real bother.
For a moment, while rocks fall across the lower level of the tower, the party try to figure out the gem, the pillar its inset into, and what it meant…. in the end they decided to destroy it, and move on…. but hitting a tiny inset gem on a stone pillar was no easy feat, and it took the party a few tries each to break the gem and pillar, and flee to the steps leading up from the countess domain…. But not before Ophi tried again to cast her town portal scroll…. and failed once more, as the powers within were blocked by something else.
On her way out, Ophi made a quick visit to one of the side rooms, which was located along the main hall, to one side, and once there opened two chests, and at her own risk, gathered the items from within them both…. She too then rejoined everyone, dodging falling rocks as she makes her way to the exit.
The party slowly began to ascend the spiraling stone staircase, narrowly avoiding a huge cave in as the ceiling above them fully gave way, falling down the middle of the stairs, taking out the steps below which they had only just traveled upon…. as the heavy rocks smashed hard into the staircase, leaving very little but rubble and debris everywhere…. the party climbed higher to the next floor, running for their lives, some taking some big damage along the way, and others not so much.
Stepping out the staircase into the next floor, the party knew the route out and quickly followed the cold halls towards the next staircase, which, when they got there, realized it had another one of those pesky towers with the red gem inside of it, which needed to be dealt with…
Again, it wasn’t easy, but the party managed to break the second pillar and flee to the upper floor, where another gem was surrounded by a group of Devil Kin, in a deep worship of the stone pillar that appeared near them, with yet another of these fiery gems.
Battle ensued, and the devil kin were wiped out fast, however, the gem inside of the pillar was still active, and needed to be destroyed if the party were to escape to safety once again.
The tower was now shaking more violently, and more frequently, and the walls now began to crack around the party… damaged stone slabs would begin to buckle, and break, and fall inwards, towards those inside the tower.
With sheer desperation, the final stone was broken, and the hold over Ophi was lifted, she quickly jumped into action, and conjured her portal, at which point everyone still able to walk and breathe, was told to go through it to safety…. and they did so… narrowly avoiding the moment where had they taken but a minute or two longer…. their bodies would have been crushed under a mountain of dirt, wood, and stone.
Luckily, everyone managed to escape the tower, not unscathed by any stretch…. but this was not a happy moment, as they may have been alive still, and gained some nice treasure, but, they lost Aleric and Blaise to the cursed wretches of the tower itself, and that made this a very bitter-sweet feeling for sure…. A victory yes, a needed victory, sure….. but was the price to pay for this victory, too high?… for some that might just be the case.
The portal began to destabilize almost as soon as the last person stepped through it to safety, the tower was standing no more, and as such, the portal had nowhere left to fully form, and so just ceased to be…. along with that evil place.
Rhyker placed the body of Aleric down for a moment, and eventually placed him into the care of Akara, who prepared his body for the ceremony to come.
Aurora took Blaise to Kashya, who performed a few last rites for her fallen scout inside of her command tent, and then together with help of some Rogues, took Blaise and Aleric’s body by pull along cart, over the the funeral pyres which they had previously made, just for this moment, but hoped that they would never have to use them at all.
And so, we rejoin our party right here in the encampment… Scarlett has retired for part of the day, thinking only for herself… but the others stay up and help where they can, cleaning and cleansing the bodies, before helping the sisters in wrapping the bodies, and finally helping to set up all of the final funeral preparations… it was to be their final goodbye.
Act One: Episode 42 – No Time To Waste!
