Last Session 39>> into this session 40 ((recap))
At the beginning of last session, our brave few had just encountered the countess of blood, for the very first time, and although she was less demonic and more human in her appearance, she was in fact far from a humane creature, and her legend of being obsessed by blood, was about to come to light.
Aleric had already moved in far too close, to challenge the countess, and her bodyguards, but just as that moment came about, Scarlett, eager to protect her comrade in arms, fired off her held shot from one of her beloved crossbows, narrowly missing one of the dark rogues that stood out on the flank.
With that series of quick events passing, the time for any chit chat was now over, and the time for fighting had come to take its place.
Both sides seemed equally matched, except for the countess, who clearly was in a league of her own compared to anything within that room at the time.
The enemy launched their attacks onto Aleric, who had been blinded by fury, at seeing the death of a fellow assassin, bled dry, on some form of corrupted altar to darkness.
Aleric threw caution to the wind, but it was too late for him now, as blow by blow, the countess and her retinue of guards, sliced into the assassin, and took him down, ending his life there and then with a swift whack to the neck with a bow stave being used like a club.
Alerics death rallied our group of adventurers to push harder, they refused to let him die in vain, and so the fighting became more intense and drawn out, with neither side really gaining any form of advantage over each other.
The countess employed her tricks of the mind, to try and sway the thoughts of the party, she summoned her roaring firewalls to burn and immolate them, and she made many deep cuts on the party members, causing them to bleed as they stood there defying her will.
Ophi managed to conjure her warmth globe, summon a wall of forceful gale force wind, which had the strength to blow many enemies and friends back by quite a distance, all at once, but it was soon shut down by the countess ability to remove certain effects.
There was little hope of winning the fight with things as they were, the countess was too skilled, her armour thick, her blade vicious, her tricks aplenty… That was until one key moment, when that lonely Paladin who wandered into the camp not too long ago, and randomly joined the party to aid them in their quest to hunt for Blaise and kill the countess, stepped forward bravely into the middle of the fray, and called upon the power of the Zakarum – and within but a moment, a glorious bright light shone from him like a beacon of hope, covering the entire area in a warm glowing aura, which soon became much hotter to the touch, as his enemies would soon come to see for themselves.
As time went by, one by one the enemy numbers dwindled, and it was clear that the party stood a chance, but cleverly the countess cut off some of the party from the rest, and they could no longer aid in the fight properly.
Baxter took a more backseat healer/supporting type role this time, and brought forth his trusty oak sage, which naturally invigorated and buffed the entire party…. with a bit of careful footwork.
The battle ebbed and flowed, for or against both sides, but eventually the rest of the guards fell to the precise attacks being dished out by the party, and soon the countess stood there alone, she claimed the mind of the brave Barbarian, who stood there in her way, now he had to fight for her, and did so the only way he could.
Not long before this, Ophi also fell to the mind tricks and charm of the countess, and there were some side switching going on, but she too broke free of the mind altering effects.
As the battle neared what looked to be a win for the party, the brave Paladin fell to the deep cuts made by the serrated blade of the countess, and he did go down also.
Scarlett seized the moment, bravely dashing past the countess and dodging her attack, as she moved with desperation to help out the fallen member of her group, she refused to let another one die in this place.
She got as far as she could, and then she activated her town portal scroll, before kneeling down and trying to lift a very heavy Rhyker off the ground, and drag him with her, but her strength (or what little she had of it) at that moment – failed her.
With nobody under the control of the countess now, one by one, they exited through the portal to safety, eagerly awaiting their other party members to follow after them. It took some time, and a bit of luck, but eventually, Baxter was able to with an unexpected level of strength, grab a hold of Rhyker, and lift him into the air, meanwhile Scarlett used a potion to help heal the wounds and revive Rhyker that way, but he returned weaker than he is usually, and so Baxter took Rhyker, and himself, through the portal, Aurora dashed through and Scarlett went through too… Everyone managed to flee from the countess, except for…. Aleric.
Back in town, the party quickly sought ways to heal, and opted to rest up fully before deciding what to do next, putting what had happened out of their mind for now, they spoke with Deckard Cain, who handed over the ring Ophi had asked him to identify for her, not too long ago.
Warriv also approached Ophi with a familiar looking glowing orange bird feather, which Ophi was all too happy to accept.
Whilst handing over the feather, Warriv also mentions to everyone that Francis has left the camp while they were gone, he had left everything he didn’t want or need inside of the party shared chest, and has headed for Kingsport, to get passage back east to the jungles of Kurast… back to his rocky little abode, which is the place he calls home.
Mere moments later – Scarlett begins to feel a burning sensation within her chest, her lips and mouth go all dry, her mind laser focuses on the countess, she sees images of her face, etched into her brain, and vows that she will kill her, and ALL other demons she encounters…. He vow is a solemn one, and one she plans to see through to the bitter end.
The party all head to their designated beds inside of the sleeping quarters within the camp, and bunk down for the night… They plan to be ready to face tomorrows challenges when tomorrow finally arrives, but for now, they are recovering from yet more trauma, and after the resting, they are hoping to gain a little clarity, and perform various tasks around the camp to help improve their body and soul, for the challenges they are to face.
Late during the night however, a cloaked figure approaches the encampment, and just as he reaches within short bow range, he throws back his hood to reveal himself, the guards situated near the bridge decide he is no threat, and let the newcomer in, where they talk to him about the problems in this region, how their homes have been invaded, how they have lost many loved ones, friends and relatives alike, and how they plan to retake their home, even if they die trying….. but for now they must grow in strength, and the guards explain about the current group that is within their walls, helping them to defeat the evil that has befallen the land, and that he should talk to them when they awaken.
So, onto our current scene….It’s early morning hours, the sun barely has come up, and the rest of the camp is still… yet the party are awake, and are active within camp, training however they can with the time they have left.
Scarlett is designing things which could be useful,
Baxter, Rhyker, and Wulfstan are combat or reflex training,
With the help of Ophi’s mentoring… Nix is able to climb to the peak of her evolution.
Act One: Episode 40 – Showdown With The Countess
