Episode Eighty-three - Mysterious Magics

General Summary

A chill rocked each sweat covered spine among the Champions of Destiny, giving a frightening cool following the heat of battle. Just then, the presence of a great evil was known beyond sight and sound. The scraping of his torn metal coffin, grated their ears as he shifted for his blade. His hand upon it, they remembered its venom, and its name. Maethelgas, they heard his sick voice whisper in their ear though they knew it to be their own. Then, in a flash they saw his blue, bloodless hand ripping from his body to assault their very person. With a start, the vision faded, a trick of the mind near a thing so evil. As the blade pulled forth, a deep pleasure filled the face of the Earl of Undeath and he set his gaze upon Arion. His white hot, blazing eyes smoked with glee and fire, red as the rotten flesh and exposed meat of his right arm, twisted and reveal what could be the end to all life and the start to a world of un-life. Maethelgas on display, they felt doomed but only Evelyn and her prisoner fell victim to the temporary madness. His white cape and old white hair took the wind then and his gaze snapped to a new member of the field. Revealed before Arion was a dark wizard who's peril for all was felt in but his visage. Just on the other side of Dane from Arion, he stood clad in dark robes. Hidden under a hood, he presented a staff with an evil gem but drew a sigil of green with his free hand. It shattered before Arion but only Sol continued beyond it. Sol, then saw before him that Annabelle's fight with Katerina, had halted. Being a chronomancer, he knew well what had just happened, time had stopped. He couldn't move, he couldn't even fight to move but his eyes were free to wander and his ears free to listen. Sol then heard, on the other side of the wall where Arion went, a thud and then a whirring he knew well; it was the exact same whirring as his haste spell. Then the sound of a slow walk presented a figure with speed at the door. Hunching, creeping, he set his gaze upon Sol. Twisting and turning that dark shadow of a man then stooped and examined Sol like a meal to be eaten and then it spoke. It spoke in a voice that was Sol's own but his elder, he heard the creature's words curl with madness and Sol started to know well the problem at hand but denied it to himself. "Am I going mad?" He asked as he looked Sol up and down in the blur that is Haste. Shaking his head he stepped off and out of view and Sol felt him examining Annabelle and Katerina, "hah, would I even know." Through his haste spell Sol heard the man speed through a whimsical song: Time is a tool you can put on a wall, or manipulate with chronomancy. The past is far behind us, The future is at my fancy. Oh What is time? It's two past eight Time to spread some hate What do you mean? There's already blood? Blood, blood, blood til all the world's red Time is a ruler to measure the day It doesn't go backwards, only one way.. Then, he abruptly stopped singing and trailed off exacerbated, "it must only go one way, one way.. it must, it must..." As he appeared before Sol again, looming on the other side of the door, he cocked his head in confusion, "am I right back where I started a hundred years ago?" "CAN I FIND THE ENDING? If it ever does.." He shouted as he turned his back and unleashed a spell that caged the Earl of Undeath. "I swear to the gods that all I ever wanted was a little bit of all time. A little bit of everything all of the time. A little bit of all time. All time and EVERY GODSDAMNED THING." He ranted before walking out of Sol view toward Arion. Faintly in the distance Sol heard, "he ruined my fun and BOREDOM IS A CRIME!" Just then, time returned. Annabelle continued her fight with zombie Katerina, Jorg seemed to turn a page of combative understanding, Evelyn and her prisoner fell victim to their fear again, and Arion saw the wizard beside him in a new position. Just then he realized that the Necklace of Prayerbeads was in the man's hand. Still shifting magically from his haste spell, a smile flashed from beneath his hood and stretched across his shadowed face. He lifted his hand then and started to cast. "Earl, I'm done playing and we're going inside." As the sigil completed, he finished a spell, "Pets Rednuht" Lightning riveted the ground all around Arion's feet but he and the zombie nearby ignored the blast with their strength of body. The man then appeared beside the Earl of Undeath with Dane in hand, the cloaked caster curled forward then as if to threaten the Earl. As the Earl looked to the wizard with confused acceptance, the wizard snaps his fingers three times and a circle of green magic whirled around them all. In another moment they were whisked away in an obvious teleportation spell. Back in the fight, Arion cut down the zombie that fell out of Sol's as Jorg reasoned with Annabelle that Katerina was gone. Accepting the hard truth, Annabelle crushed Katerina's zombie skull in with a mace and they all breathed a sigh of relief as the danger seemed to recede. Just then, Merlyn saw a threat, a group of zombies headed for town. Hurrying along, the heroes raced after the group as their sidekicks were left behind. As she ran away, Annabelle heard Jorg decided that he wanted the farmhouse, following his original intention for moving into the region, and heard him kill their captive with an axe to the head. Evelyn had searched Katerina's body and looted what she could before the pair ran to catch up. They all jogged several miles on and come midnight, they encountered the zombies. As the party closed to range, as the zombies neared a farm-family get-to-gather, they saw that the group of zombies were being lead by a woman who turned to reveal that her left eye was glowing gold with phantasmal energies. As they all grew near, the glowing faded and she quickly came to realize that she was completely surrounded. In the flash of a moment the zombies stopped and turned on her, and they all committed to battle. With their new ally, they party easily defeated the brain-starved zombies and as they settled, Raven head a voice enter her mind and speak. "I will return you to my fold." She would later learn the voice was that of Trilorgaen's. In the end, the woman from far afield joined them as she had a bone to pick with Vecna for capturing her soul. Later, in the safety of an inn, they would come to know that she was like them. She had died fighting a demon and would fit in to their suicide squad quite easily. However, along the road to town the party encountered a jovial little fellow. His name was Mister Mxyzptlk and he offered Arion fond greeting. Though Arion wouldn't allow a song, the little man gave a poem that was a trick. He offered a sword and when Arion struck dirt with it, it destroyed the Outlands. In the end, with the creature naming himself and Arion friends, the incident was completely undone at Arion behest. The creature did ask however, that in the future Arion help him kill his enemy who was going to die in an orphanage. When they asked whom his enemy was, he stated simply that it was Dane's son. Back at town the party were greeted by the mayor as the forth hour of the morning struck. Though he was attempting to banish them from town, the party eventually realized the mayor was being controlled by Vecna. They came to think it was the man's dagger, which they held on to, but Vecna had made them an offer. He tried to sweeten his deal with each of them but alas he could not find purchase. Vecna offered, "Champions of Destiny. Oh how I've waited for this moment. Some ninety years ago you disrupted the workings of my lieutenant's dungeon, slew an incubus under my protection, and freed a source of power I long coveted. In truth, I admired your gumption; it reminded me of others who have tried what you are trying. Low I admire it no longer. You are standing in the way of my conquest. Establishing undeath in this region will provide me with what I need to usurp the local pantheon. Thus, I offer you more. More then plot of my order, which will give life everlasting, I offer you godhood. I will need gods, when my betrayal is at hand, Entropy will quiver before our collective might, and all will know our cosmic betrayal as we become the gods of all." Back in town they rested at the inn for much of the morning and got some well needed sleep. Come the afternoon that headed to the nearby goblin warren and broke its magical forcefield. Tricked into freeing a quasit named Viletongue, he offered to conquer the worlds but was immediately slain by Arion and Raven. The party then defeated the goblin leader, Grom Hellscream and watched as a host of goblins fled into Arion's trap that he had rigged from the dungeon's trapped statues. As the goblins burned, the party chucked at a long adventure coming to their favor at last.

Rewards Granted

362xp

Missions/Quests Completed

Quest Vecna's Eye Continued, Sidequest Forlorn Founding Continued

Notes

Notable Party Damage:

Aldrich has a horrible burn scar on the left side of his neck in front of the ear from an azure fire elemental summoned by Seldra Tylmarande. His armor and shield are extremely claw marked from many Lizardfolk. His shield has a large fist shaped dent in it from when he was crushed by a Sacred Statue.
Noted Effects: Horrible Scar (Neck). You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar. Missing.
Annabelle has a hole in her armor and healing wound on her right abdomen from a kobold's arrow. She has a scar on her left abdomen from an attempted assassination.
Noted Effects: Minor Scar (Left Abdomen). The scar doesn’t have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Arion came from Arda with a scar that won't seem to heal.
Noted Effects: Minor Scar (Head). The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Katerina has bruising on her ribs from falling when she was lit on fire by a kobold. She was turned into a zombie.
Noted Effects: Is dead.
Sol has tear marks across the back and chest of his shirt, as well as down the sleeve, from the claws of lizardfolk. He was shot in the stomach by a beholder's enervation ray and it left a burned hole in his clothes. He has a scar across his right jaw from a nail that was shot at him in an explosion.
Noted Effects: Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.