XXVII. Swords of Light, Swords of Darkness
General Summary
Coming down the stairs, the party engaged in battle with Xuom and two other Cloud Giants that they had overheard discussing escape. The fog cloud the Giants put up made it hard for anyone to land hits, and in addition half the party was exhausted after having been resurrected. Luckily, the Emboldening Bond they felt with each other made up for any weaknesses they may have been feeling. Xuom came charging out of the cloud and began battering Lady Kohinoor, targeting her specifically with an unwilling Waythe. As Achilla knocked the other two Giants to the ground, Alizeh and Akwele did massive damage to them, with Akwele chaining one of them to the ground and spearing his asscheeks. Dev, Mathazar, and Kohinoor worked together make sure Xuom couldn’t flee the battle as he had done twice previously. The two other Cloud Giants surrendered after the onslaught by the Triple A’s, but Xuom refused to, even going so far as to willingly burn his hand after Dev cast Heat Metal on Waythe, refusing to let go until the pain became too much for even him to bear. Once he had dropped Waythe, Xuom finally surrendered as well, faced with a situation he could not leave. Remarking that all they had wanted to do in the first place was leave, the Giants agreed to give the party information in exchange for being allowed free passage out of the area. Valoryn considered killing the Giants despite their surrender, but gave pause when he thought about having to deal with losing Lady Kohi’s good will, and the headache that would come with it. Reunited at last with Waythe, Kohi attuned to him as Dev questioned Xuom. Xuom told the party that he and his companions had chosen to leave at this opportunity since King Snurre had been killed, and that rearranging the Giant Ordning was a lost cause to them. When Dev asked about Obmi, Xuom told him that Obmi was trusted among the Fire Giants because he had been Snurre’s chief advisor, and a very loyal one at that. He remarked that Snurre had inspired loyalty among all that had followed him, but that he didn’t expect the same of Obmi, who on top of being a Dwarf was headstrong and sure to offend the Fire Giants at some point. When asked about an alternative second-in-command, Xuom suggested that Lieutenant Boldo, Snurre’s previous second-in-command, would probably come to mind, though he had been thrown in the dungeons as punishment for a disagreement with Snurre. Xuom continued to tell the party that the Drow were intending to use the Ashmaker to bring the Empire to its knees. Two priestesses commanded groups of fourteen Drow each, but didn’t get along with one another. One of them was familiar to the party: Alevdra. She had among the Fire Giants for many months. The second priestess, Nedylene, had shown up about a month ago. Lady Kohinoor asked if there was a way to prevent the gate the Drow planned on using to teleport the Ashmaker to Ivargrad from working, to which Xuom replied that the gate was not yet operational. Lava was being used to charge it in the volcano below. He asked if the party planned on going down there, and supplied that the volcanic terrain would make the lower levels dangerous. In addition, he warned the party that Snurre had made an extraordinary alliance with two Red Dragons living down there. Having answered all of the party’s questions (and more), Xuom and the other two Cloud Giants assumed gaseous forms and ascended through the ceiling. Pausing to search through the surrounding rooms before making their way downstairs, the party found some gold in one room, and a blocked door to another. Akwele, Mathazar, Achilla and Alizeh worked together to try and break the door down, but were no match for the Giants on the other side, who had blockaded it. The Giants wanted nothing to do with the party and said that they would make their own way out as the group left to check other rooms. After peeking into a forge and an important-looking tomb, Valoryn stepped away from the rest of the party as they went to check another room. He had noticed that the empty cell he had seen someone in before was now dark. Using dancing lights to illuminate it, he saw an hooded figure cowering in the corner and decided to have a conversation with him while the rest of the party was distracted.
“Water, please...”The old man had a raspy voice. Using mage hand to pull the man's hood down, Valoryn revealed a gaunt figure with a long, white beard and matching hair, which was pulled out of steel grey eyes and heavy brow. Valoryn asked the old man what he’d done to warrant getting locked up.-Old Man
“I’ve done detestable things. To anyone who got on my bad side.”The man asked to be let out of the cell, but Valoryn declined, wanting to get more information out of him.-Old Man
“How do you do your terrible deeds?”-Valoryn Nightshade
“Why ask a question you already know the answer to? You know me, Valoryn.”Valoryn asked the old man’s name.-Old Man
“I’ve gone by many names, but the one I go by most recently is one you know well. I’ve already carried this burden, Valoryn. I’m not a competitor, I’m a predecessor. It’s a part of me as my own hands. How could you give up your own hands?”The old man held out his hand. The blade Valoryn had been seeking appeared it. Nightshade.-Old Man
“So what is this, some passing on? If you have that, you shouldn’t be stuck in here.”-Valoryn Nightshade
“I can only go where the blade carries me. I’ve lived a long life. It once spoke to me the way it speaks to you. You’ll find yourself the way you found me someday. It’s the way of the Nightshade. It will choose, it will use until it has nothing left to use. Then it will choose another. This sword will take so much from your enemies...and then it will take everything from you.”-Old Man
“You sound like you don’t want me to take it.”-Valoryn Nightshade
“Would you want someone to take your hands? It’s like knowing this is the last sweet drink you’ll ever have. Would you give it up so easily? That’s the way of it. The essence of it. Has it been worth it? ...yes.”Valoryn opened the cell door and attacked the old man with a dagger. As the old man fell, everything around Valoryn went pitch black. He heard a light step behind him and, feeling the old man behind him, tried to defend against the attack. The old man had some fight left in him yet... After a rapid but intense battle, Valoryn’s blade ran through the old man’s heart.-Old Man
“Good luck...”The shadows of the blade enveloped the old man and he dissolved into darkness. Valoryn smirked and kept eye contact as the old man died before him. Finally, Valoryn had reunited the two essences of Nightshade. Returning to the party, Valoryn suggested to Akwele that his nickname should now be Darkest Deeds. Deciding that there would be no need to speak with Alevdra given the information they had received from Xuom, the party opened one final door and descended into the second basement. At the end of the hallway were large iron doors with the word death carved upon them, encircled with images of dragon’s heads in relief. A piercing call sounded from the caverns beyond, answered by another…-Old Man
