Cryshal-Tirith

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Araklusta

Jun 15, 2019 3:57 pm
Jun 15, 2019 3:57 pm
Cryshal-Tirith
The behir climbs, hardly slower on this vertical surface than sprinting across the frozen town below. With each surge of lightning from the tower into the lizard’s feet, blue and purple streaks ripple across its smooth scales, as though a storm cloud is caught within them. Fortunately, the shocking energy stops there and does not pass on to the riders.

Within a terrifyingly short time, the behir reaches the top of the tower where a wide windowed balcony is set into the structure’s face. Wind whipping his white hair about, Nym hops down from the behir into a neat roll and bounces to his feet. Once Alalla follows, the behir ducks back out and vanishes from view.

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 15, 2019 4:03 pm
Jun 15, 2019 4:03 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Nym already holds a fine rapier in one hand and a throwing dagger in the other. "Well, my part of the deal is complete. Now you help me get what I need." He gestures to the room before them. "But first we need to deal with these."

Three crystal statues in vaguely humanoid shape rise up from the floor. Behind them is a grand, full-length mirror. The statues move to attack, their club-like limbs sparking with lightning.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/30/dc/ae/30dcae9bf15c3139fad11a8f9c6450f1.jpg

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 15, 2019 7:33 pm
Jun 15, 2019 7:33 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla says nothing and takes the last potion from her belt. She downs it, then draws her sword and sets it aflame.

Al gains 26 hp.

HP: 139/154
AC: 20
Last edited June 15, 2019 7:41 pm

Rolls

Potion of Superior Healing - (8d4+8)

(44132211) + 8 = 26

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 15, 2019 8:20 pm
Jun 15, 2019 8:20 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Nym disappears from sight, and a bare second later one of the crystal guards jerks weirdly as a hole appears in its chest. The dark elf’s invisible rapier does incredible work, leaving the magical construct barely functioning. How does he move so quickly?

"I remember these things." Nym’s voice comes floating from nothing. "Mind their shocking touch." The injured guard wails away with its club-like arms, but the strikes cannot find purchase on the elusive drow.

Alalla has worse luck as the two remaining guards advance on her. She takes several painful hits, each one accompanied by a stinging jolt of lightning (Al takes 25 bludgeoning and 22 lightning damage).

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/ea/b1/88eab19d52063945f871f3438b5399ec.jpg

Rolls

Nym vs guard 1 (adv) - (1d20+14, 1d20+14)

1d20+14 : (9) + 14 = 23

1d20+14 : (5) + 14 = 19

Dmg to guard 1 - (1d8+9, 7d6)

1d8+9 : (4) + 9 = 13

7d6 : (4614564) = 30

Guard 1 vs Nym (2 attacks, disadv) - (2d20+6, 2d20+6)

2d20+6 : (1216) + 6 = 34

2d20+6 : (511) + 6 = 22

Guard 2 vs Al (2 attacks) - (1d20+6, 1d20+6)

1d20+6 : (14) + 6 = 20

1d20+6 : (13) + 6 = 19

Dmg to Al (bludgeoning, lightning) - (1d8+4, 2d6)

1d8+4 : (7) + 4 = 11

2d6 : (51) = 6

Guard 3 vs Al (2 attacks) - (1d20+6, 1d20+6)

1d20+6 : (16) + 6 = 22

1d20+6 : (17) + 6 = 23

Dmg to Al (bludgeoning, lightning) - (2d8+8, 4d6)

2d8+8 : (15) + 8 = 14

4d6 : (1645) = 16

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 15, 2019 8:44 pm
Jun 15, 2019 8:44 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla sets her feet and cuts at one of the 'healthier' crystals, putting enough reach and power into her swing to slice clean through the one Nym had been working on. Another swipe of her sword is blocked, but the last cleaves through the top of the crystal, sending it flattering to the ground.

Crystal 2 takes 37 slashing 25 fire damage (lethal) and Crystal 1 takes lethal damage. Retcon spending the superiority die on that crit w/ DMs permission cuz I misread the HP.

HP: 92/154
AC: 20
Last edited June 15, 2019 8:55 pm

Rolls

Attack 1 v crystal 2 - (1d20+10)

(5) + 10 = 15

Attack 2 v crystal 2 - (1d20+10)

(12) + 10 = 22

Damage - (1d10+5, 2d6)

1d10+5 : (7) + 5 = 12

2d6 : (22) = 4

Damage reroll - (2d6)

(51) = 6

Sweeping attack v Crystal 1 - (1d10)

(7) = 7

Attack 3 v crystal 2 - (1d20+10)

(20) + 10 = 30

Damage - (2d10+25, 2d6+12)

2d10+25 : (109) + 25 = 44

2d6+12 : (43) + 12 = 19

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 15, 2019 8:58 pm
Jun 15, 2019 8:58 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
A moment later the third guard drops with a flurry of devastating pokes through its chest. Nym becomes visible once more and sheathes his weapons. Trodding upon the broken shards of crystal littering the floor, he approaches the large mirror. He takes a moment to admire his reflection and straighten his hair.

...

Rolls

Nym vs guard 3 (3 attacks) - (3d20+14)

(51620) + 14 = 55

(Adv) - (3d20+14)

(172020) + 14 = 71

Dmg to guard 3 - (3d8+43, 7d6)

3d8+43 : (277) + 43 = 59

7d6 : (2565252) = 27

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 15, 2019 9:21 pm
Jun 15, 2019 9:21 pm
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla watches, face cool stone. As usual. Her sword is still flaming and her grip still tight. She knows she could call on Torm and command Nym to stay and fight her. She could fill him with light so he couldn't slip away invisible. She could kill him quickly. She'd done things like that before.

With an internal slew of curses she douses the flames and sheaths her sword. She could kill him, but probably not. Not alone, and not if she wanted to have the strength to make it through this tower after. What in the planes have you gotten yourself into, you sword-for-brains?

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 12:45 am
Jun 16, 2019 12:45 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Nym chuckles for a moment without explanation, then he speaks an arcane phrase: "Sabah Al-jeer." The view in the mirror suddenly changes to show a small library.

The drow clucks his tongue and puts a hand on the mirrors surface, then swipes to one side. The view changes again, this time showing a prison with a battered man kneeling in prayer. Everard? Another quick swipe. A bright room with a pedestal, over which a shard of crystal gently floats. Nym hesitates here, then with trembling hands swipes once more.

This room Alalla recognizes, for it is the grand hall of the Temple of Tempus. But its windows are dark with crusted ice, and awful scribbles deface the statues and floor glyphs.

"This is the one. This is where I need your help. There is an item I need you to retrieve for me. You’ll know it when you see it. I’d warn you of all the dangers, but I don’t actually know what they are, so you’ll just have to be quick." His finger hovers over the glass. "Are you ready?"

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 16, 2019 1:38 am
Jun 16, 2019 1:38 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Well at least it wasn't the crystal. Still... hopping through unknown dangers for something for Nym? He did say that after she retrieved it Belhifet wouldn't be a problem. Not that Nym could be trusted.

"That's really the best you've got for me?" Alalla folds her arms. More internal cursing. "If you wanted quick you should have worked harder to get Zenithral here. But yes. I'm ready."

Second wind.
Last edited June 16, 2019 1:57 am

Rolls

Second wind - (1d10+11)

(1) + 11 = 12

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 2:19 am
Jun 16, 2019 2:19 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Nym grins and taps the mirror’s surface.

Immediately the mirror becomes an actual doorway. Nym folds his arms and waits for Alalla to enter.

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 2:20 am
Jun 16, 2019 2:20 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
As soon she passes into the entombed Temple of Tempus she feels the mirror-portal close behind her. Then she sees more clearly the toppled pedestals that once held prized relics of Tempus’ followers. She sees the enormous statue of Tempus himself standing with each foot on the saddle of a warhorse. Between the horses is a great door with intricate runes. Standing at the door is Revered Brother Poquelin.

The archdevil Belhifet.

Belhifet

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 2:22 am
Jun 16, 2019 2:22 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
His back is to her, but she would know anywhere that shaved head, those peculiar robes, and the exotic smell that lingers about him. He pauses in his perusal of the door, then turns to face her. He actually seems somewhat surprised, but the he straightens.

"You’ve changed, Alalla." His voice is as smooth as ever. "You have found a deity to take you in, yes? Strange, how that happened only after the blessing I bestowed on you."

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 16, 2019 2:45 am
Jun 16, 2019 2:45 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla stops with a start. She should not be surprised at all, but she is. Nym.

Her hand on her glaive is tight, but as Poquelin speaks she actually finds herself relaxing. Commenting on her blood, and a god accepting her oaths? Torm had viewed her whole life before accepting her oaths. He had already accepted orcish clergy, and Keggruk and others would be paladins before too long.

The comment might have sent her writhing some time ago, but now it seems almost trite. Belhifet is smarter than her and commands more power, but he doesn't know everything. He does have flaws.

Al feels like she should have something clever and sassy to say, but Zenithral is really the one who is good at that. Instead she narrows her eyes. If he thinks he is getting to her, he shouldn't have any trouble monologuing on his own.

Belhifet

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 3:16 am
Jun 16, 2019 3:16 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
His eyes on hers, it feels as though he may be reading every thought that crosses her mind. He shakes his head sorrowfully. "And so your hubris grows. I tried to point you to the right path. I tried to give you correction. But you stubbornly refused every opportunity, yes? And the tree that will not bend to the wind must break."

He reaches into a pocket of his robe and pulls out a small black coffer with intricate silver enamel. From the craftsmanship it must be worth a fortune, never mind whatever might be inside. He flips the clasp up and down several times with his thumb, considering.

"How like you this world is. Blind to truth. Blind to reason. Blind to the inescapable doom that will befall existence should I fail!" Belhifet’s voice rises to a strained shout by the end, loud enough to cause Alalla’s ears to ring.

He calms himself with a deep breath and closes his fingers about the coffer. "And so they must be shown, yes? They all must be shown. You thought you saw unspeakable things in Avernus. In my home. But when you see those horrors split this world like an overripe melon, you and all the rest will see and understand what me and mine have been bleeding for over millennia."

His eyes burn as he stares into Alalla’s. "And then we, the heroes, will finally receive the recognition we are due. That I am due."

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 16, 2019 3:52 am
Jun 16, 2019 3:52 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla glances at the coffer when he produces it, then only watches it out of the corner of her eye. Was that what Nym was after? Or was it all a total lie, and she is just a distraction while he gets the crystal? She growls inwardly. She hates all this intrigue.

"I'm full of hubris? But you're after recognition? Do you even hear the words that come out of your mouth?" Yikes. A tree to break, indeed.

Belhifet

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 4:24 am
Jun 16, 2019 4:24 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Belhifet sighs. "I have things to attend to, and your mewling bores me. The barbarians are proving more trouble than they are worth." He holds up the coffer, front towards Alalla. "But I cannot have you pestering me. You never had the heart for this. How fortunate that you accepted the one I fashioned for you."

He flips open the lid on the coffer, releasing a power within that leaves like an expanding cone of black and white that leeches all color from everything it touches. Though Alalla has never before seen an anti-magic field, she knows what it is when it falls upon her. Her enchanted cloak falls drab about her shoulders. Her empowered weapons lose their luster. And her heart, Bilewing’s heart...

The heart turns off.

Alalla is reduced to 0 hp and is dying. She cannot succeed on death saving throws.

Belhifet sets the open coffer on the ground before Alalla. So close, and yet she is powerless to close it. He leans close to murmur in her ear. "I hope you enjoy whatever heaven Torm has for you, yes? Because eventually when I arrive with the hosts of the Nine Hells to conquer it, I may keep your soul as a trophy. Alongside your husband’s, yes?"

Belhifet

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 4:27 am
Jun 16, 2019 4:27 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
The archdevil turns away and walks toward the mirror, shedding his mortal form as he goes. He does not look back as he passes trough the mirror, and then Alalla is left alone in the hall with only the black coffer for company.

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 16, 2019 5:07 am
Jun 16, 2019 5:07 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla falls to her knees. She isn't surprised. Not really. Belhifet has had a heavy hand in her life since he met her, and it has always been the upper one.

She tries to catch herself as she tips forward, but her arms refuse to work. She falls onto her front, unfocused eyes barely seeing the artifact on the ground in front of her.

A tear leaks free. She'd come all this way, and for what? As her mind starts to haze, her own words echo in her mind.

"Perhaps I'll add devil vanquisher to the list before the end. Or perhaps not."

"Maybe we'll just be the first line of soldiers on the battlefield- maybe we were always meant to be..."

"Soldiers die, Zenithral. It's our job."

Yes, she knew it would end like this. Hope is not one of her virtues.

As her eyes close, one last phrase returns to her, spoken after she had sworn her paladin oaths. "There's so much work to do still... but if I die tomorrow, it won't matter. I've done enough."

Some measure of peace comes with that, and she doesn't fight her closing eyes.

Still. My poorest death yet.
Last edited June 16, 2019 5:12 am

Nym

Araklusta

Jun 16, 2019 5:15 am
Jun 16, 2019 5:15 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Fine boots enter Alalla’s darkening vision. Nym squats down on the other side of the coffer from her. "Ouch! That looks like it hurts. I told you that after you helped me get this, Belhifet wouldn’t be a problem to you or me anymore. To you, because, well, I knew you would be dead. And to me, because once I use this nifty little box to steal Crenshinibon for myself, a mere archdevil won’t be a threat to me either."

He chuckles darkly. "A deal is a deal isn’t it? Aren’t I a drow of my word?"

A single black finger comes down to rest on the top of the coffer’s lid. "Or would you not mind if I lied just this once?"

He flicks the coffer closed.
OOC:
Al can make a con save, determining how much hp she comes back to.

Alalla

gardensun

Jun 16, 2019 5:17 am
Jun 16, 2019 5:17 am
Re: Cryshal-Tirith
Alalla gasps as her heart begins to beat again. Her hand darts out and grabs the coffer then stuffs it into her bag. "Not if I have anything to say about it," she growls, standing. Her voice fills with divine energy and she commands, "fight me."
[ +- ] Champion Challenge
That should be an action to put the thingy in the bag of holding and a bonus action for the Challenge. Will probably action surge.

HP: 92/154
AC: 20
Last edited June 16, 2019 1:51 pm

Rolls

Con save - (1d20+10)

(15) + 10 = 25

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