Session 67 - Memories and the End of Time

General Summary

Time and space itself seemed to be at the very fingertips of Maximus Merilander as he stared down the Saviors of Sandpoint. The heroes faced an assassin corrupted by Chellan, the Sword of Greed, and further twisted by the power of the Temporal Bracers of Leng that he wore.   Maximus rewrote time to throw the heroes before their ally's attacks. He would rend time, inflicting streams of death on the Saviors who stood before him while frustrating their attacks by being one second behind their blows. The entire time, the face of an ethereal clock floated behind Maximus and counted toward twelve o'clock.   The heroes pressed the attack, and Jayvielle managed to run Maximus through as the assassin reached for the blade which had fallen from his hands. As blood spilled from the wound, the emerald gem in one of the bracers cracked open and engulfed Merilander in green flames. He bled, he screamed, he burned, and his body turned to ash.   In that moment, when the flames leaked out of the Temporal Bracers, a memory returned to the Saviors of Sandpoint. The memory of Janvielle Deverin, twin sister of Jayvielle. A cleric of Desna, Janvielle started out as a rather poor cleric. Like her brother, she was always willing to fight. She tended toward offensive magic and never seemed to have healing magic memorized. Jayvielle constantly drew a line in the sand and told his sister to stay behind it. The joke amongst the Saviors was who would cross the line first - their enemies or Janvielle? It was through her insistence that Jayvielle found himself converting from Cayden Cailean to becoming a paladin of Desna. That was the day Janvielle gave her brother her holy symbol of Desna.     Janvielle would pray for Quilith, hoping he would find the strength to fight the demons inside of him and become who he was destined to be. Her lack of "supportive magic" encouraged Quilith to adapt his arcane magic into healing. Kilgor noted how she kept trying to fight like him, croaking a battle roar while charging with a spiritual weapon that looked like a starknife shaped as a butterfly. Mite was always a source of entertainment for her, much to Jayvielle's chagrin.   Janvielle was devastated when Kumiko died. She knelt beside her bloody corpse, sobbing that she didn't have the magic to help her. “I’m sorry,” she repeated over and over. She knew of Kumiko's struggles, sitting in on the chats she would have with Kadrus. When Dilay left for a second time, Janvielle told Kumiko that Dilay “... has to save her kingdom. But you have to save all of them.“   But everyone, including Jatsu, recalled watching Maximus throw what looked like a black hole from the bracers. The spacial anomaly swallowed Janvielle before she could escape, and the memory of her faded until now.   The reprieve from the battle was short-lived. Time reset, and Maximus appeared on the throne as he had been when the Saviors entered the room. Chellen rested in his lap. However, things were different. The time distortion that had surrounded him was gone. His hair was grey, and the burns that covered half his body were waxy with age.   "Let's try that again, shall we?" taunted the assassin. The clock behind him had jumped to eleven o'clock.   The combat began again for Maximus and resumed for the heroes. Things felt different. Fuelled with the memory of their fallen friend and with Maximus' temporal protection inoperable, the Saviors of Sandpoint pressed the battle. Unfortunately, the clock behind Maximus struck twelve. The emerald on the other bracer turned black and sparkled with starbursts before exploding, swallowing everyone in darkness. Stars surrounded them, and the heroes watched each star blink out and die. A thin line of prismatic light appeared on the horizon and began moving toward them... or were they moving toward it? For the briefest moment, eternity and entropy met, and they realized they were at the End of All Time. The end came for them and hit them hard.   Sometime later, the Saviors were back in the throne room. They were hurt, and Jatsu was near death. But Maximus had fallen, and Mite watched as the red mist of his soul (mixed with a green light) disappeared through the doors the party had just come through.   The Champion of Greed was dead.

Rewards Granted

In Maximus' backpack hidden behind the throne:

• potion of haste
• potions of cure serious wounds (5)
• +1 composite longbow (+10 Str) with 20 arrows
• belt of physical might +6 (Str, Con)
• boots of teleportation
• cloak of minor displacement
• headband of inspired wisdom +6
• ring of freedom of movement
• scarab of protection (10 charges)
• Sihedron ring
• vibrant purple ioun stone (contains a fly spell)

Beyond the significant amount of treasure carried by Maximus himself, the value of the gemstones and precious metals in this room is significant. A single dedicated looter can spend an hour prying up gems, scraping gold plating, and otherwise scavenging wealth to the amount of thousands of gold per hour spent working in this room.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Killed Maximus Merilander of House Merilander.