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Chapter 10: Old Habits Die Hard

Opening

The chapter opens up with the GaioCorps destroying a remote Imperial Army outpost, a week's travel southwest of Drogtown. Upon reviewing the intel within the outpost, they discover a map of all the Imperial Army's movements in the western region of Grettania. Most seem to be amassing at the mountains on the southern border, implying a future invasion of the surrounding countries. However, some seem to be heading to unusual places, such as prisons, mercenary hubs, fighting pits & organized crime headquarters. Kiara takes this intel into her inventory, then discovers a map of the Grettanian Guard's current positions. It seems that the Imperial Army used this to alloate their own resources effectively & better understand which territories were already under effective control of the Empire. She notices Gildrock, a town a few days travel from this outpost. Due to resource reallocations towards special projects & reconquest campaigns of other territories liberated from the Empire (whether by the GaioCorps or by rebel factions across Grettania), Gilderock is relatively light on posted Grettanian Guard units. The town's main export is herbalism & fishing, as it is right along a large lake. However, since the military tends to rely on different food sources beyond fishing and are more focused on magical or Goultani enhancement over herbal remedies, this town is considered to be of lower value and has a low troop presence. After Kiara shares this information with the group, Nyrus decides it may be a decent spot to lay low and gather information [give the group a reason to go to this town for their quest. Perhaps there is an unsually high military presence for this backwater town, like in Drogtown, but it doesn't have the industry or resources they would think the military is interested in. Or maybe they are missing a crucial piece of information and seek to find it there. Perhaps, in noticing the uptake of Imperial Army presence at fighting pits and organized crime hubs, they would find it useful to visit a town with a fighting pit and investigate what the Empire might be after?] Whatever the narrative reason, the gang decides to go Gildrock undercover and investigate whatever they can.  

Arriving at Gildrock

  [More story will be input to fill these gaps. For the sake of the character sheets that I already have up, I'm running the combat first]  

Combat: Viko vs. Drog

Initiative & Stats

Initiative
  • Drog: 19
  • Viko: 4 (underestimated his opponent and embracing the showboating of his old gladiator life)
HP & Spell Slots
  • Drog: 75/177 HP, 4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 3/3 3rd, 3/3 4th, 1/1 5th
  • Viko: 0/147 HP, 4/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 2/2 3rd, 1/1 4th

Round 1

 
  • Drog: Draws his greatsword (decondensed before Viko's eyes as the Rouzhai energy emanated from it) and swings at Viko four times, 20, 28, 18 & 17 (3 hit, the last one misses). Deals 28 slashing damage in total to Viko, then stands there sizing him up
  • Viko: Not having this shit, Viko retaliates with three strikes of his own, landing two of them for 16 slashing.

Round 2

  • Drog: Successfully analyzing his opponent, Drog switches to his warhammer & longsword, one in each hand. He swings 4 times, 21, 19, 31 (crit), 14 (3 hit, the last longsword strike is parried by Viko). Deals 27 bludgeoning/10 slashing (37 total).
  • Viko: Angered by the deep damage he has taken, Viko activates his Gaiodrenaline (+2 to Strength, +1 to Constitution) and unleashes on Drog with three strikes, each raging with fire. 30, something that misses, & 23. Deals 13/15 slashing (28 total) & 14/16 fire (30 total, reduced to 15 due to Drog's resistance). Viko deals 43 damage total, and does seem to notice that his fire didn't hurt him as much as he'd liked. In the stands, the rest of the GaioCorps shows concern at how this is going.

Round 3

  • Drog: Seeing no real threat, Drog shieths his weapons and begins toying with Viko. He casts Distortion Pulse (2nd level) on Viko, who resists with a great Con save and only takes 7 necrotic damage. While Drog could do more, he still wants to play with his food a little longer.
  • Viko: Casts Photosynthesis (6 Temp HP and advantage on Strength, Dexterity & Constitution ability checks/saving throws/attacks/spells) and strikes three times with his Morningstar. The first strike is dodged by Drog with his hands behind his back, but the second and third connect with lightning-infused strikes for 9/13 bludgeoning & 21 lightning (43 total).

Round 4

  • Drog: Sensing a more even match than before, Drog decides to stop messing around. He draws his Axehammer Halberd & activates an Action Surge while simultaneously activating his Gaiodrenaline (+3 to Strength), then unleashes with 8 attacks on Viko. Sensing from this fight that he is not resistant to necrotic damage, Drog adds it to his strikes; 26, 21, 19, 17 (misses), 32, 21, 15 (misses), 31. Viko narrowly parries two of the strikes in between taking the rest; 12/10/17 slashing (axe side), 10/12/14 bludgeoning (hammer side), & 20/16/14 necrotic (total of 125 damage in one turn). To the horror of his friends, Viko drops unconscious during this flurry, and is finished off as he lie on the ground with a hammer & axehead dual strike (this also ends Viko's Gaiodrenaline, but does not give him the penalty since he's already dead). The crowd cheers as Kiara screams, drawing the attention of Glibnik to their group. She tries to send a Healing Mind (3rd level) right before he dies, but is counterspelled by Glibnik (3rd level).
  • Viko: Literally dead, a demonic voice rages in his head as flashbacks of Lord Goruk's "training" (abuse) kick in. With that, the demonic power allows him to activate his Relentless Endurance ability from the grave, regaining 1 HP initially and another 16 with the demonic flame. He rises up again as Drog pretends to showboat to his audience. Drog does not immediately see this, and given everyone else's action, initiative is rerolled for the GaioCorps and the assassins. However, Viko does not seem like himself; he is in a Demonic Rage.

Combat: The GaioCorps vs. Glibnik, Drog & ARTA-5

 

Initiative & HP/Spell Slots

Initiative
  1. Glibnik: 18
  2. Viko: 17
  3. Nyrus: 17
  4. Hana: 14
  5. Kiara: 10
  6. Haku: 10
  7. Drog: 11
  8. ARTA-5: 3
HP/Spell Slots/Resources
  • Viko: 28/147 HP, 1/3 Gaiodrenaline, 4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 1/2 3rd, 0/1 4th
  • Kiara: 29/85 HP, 2/2 Wild Shapes, 2/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 1/3 3rd, 2/3 4th, 0/2 5th, 1/1 6th, 1/1 7th, 1/1 8th
  • Nyrus: 131/131 HP, 11/11 shurikens, 3/3 explosive shurikens, 4/6 sharphead arrows, 3/5 explosive tip arrows, 2/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 1/2 3rd, 0/1 4th
  • Haku: 0/117 HP, 3/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 2/3 3rd, 1/2 4th
  • Hana: 39/135 HP, 11/15 sorcery points, 3/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 3/3 3rd, 1/3 4th, 0/2 5th, 1/1 6th, 1/1 7th, 1/1 8th. Used her Ventriloquist Spit potion.
  • Drog: 0/177 HP 2/3 Gaiodrenaline, 4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 3/3 3rd, 3/3 4th, 1/1 5th
  • Glibnik: 0/111 HP, 4/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 2/3 3rd, 3/3 4th, 3/3 5th, 2/2 6th, 2/2 7th, 0/1 8th, 1/1 9th
  • ARTA-5: 0/171 HP, 18/20 antimatter rounds, 9/10 antigrenades, 10/10 plasma sword charges

Round 1

  1. Glibnik: With his preparation for this job, Glibnik has analyzed Kiara to be the primary healer and Hana as the aggressive caster. Knowing that he can take Hana in a caster's battle, Glibnik instead casts Feeblemind (8th-level) on Kiara, dealing 11 psychic damage. Kiara makes an Intelligence saving throw to retain her mind & personality, and despite the power of the spell, she overcomes it through sheer intellect and will. Glibnik shows annoyance with this and gets behind ARTA-5, casting Photosynthesis to gain 9 Temp HP & advantage on Strength, Dexterity & Constitution ability checks/saving throws/attacks/spells. He tells ARTA-5 to kill Viko before they heal him.
  2. Viko: Regenerates 20 HP. Activates another Gaiodrenaline via Action Surge (+2 to Constitution, +1 to Strength) and launches an empowered Infernal Buzzsaw (4th level) at Drog, whose back is turned. Deals 38 fire+3 Demonic Rage Bonus+7 Constitution modifier w/ Gaiodrenaline boost (48 total fire, reduced to 24 due to resistance). Charges up to Drog and pulls a full Attack action with 4 strikes; 15 (misses), 29, 21, 27. Deals 11/15/16 slashing & 16/11/13 lightning damage (42 slashing/50 lightning) and straight up executes Drog via beheading with the onslaught. The crowd gasps in disbelief, then begins cheering. Glibnik & ARTA-5 look onward in surprised horror, and the GaioCorps looks on with shock and relief. Chaotic Recovery also kicks in and gives him a 2nd level spell slot back; since he has max spell slots already, he instead expends it immediately by casting Corrosive Essence in preparation for his next attack.
  3. Nyrus: Seeing Glibnik cast two spells on Kiara and hide behind a construct, Nyrus pulls out his bow, casts Plasma Enhancement (1st level) and fires two arrows at the goblin; one misses due to ARTA-5's cover, but the other hits for 13 piercing/7 lightning (20 total). He then runs right up to Glibnik and ARTA-5.
  4. Hana: Casts Aquaflesh (1st level) on herself, then casts Flash Freeze (5th level) on Glibnik & ARTA-5. ARTA-5 resists and only takes 23 cold damage, while Glibnik fails; he takes 37 cold damage (46 initially, reduced by his 9 Temp HP that is now gone) and is frozen solid.
  5. Kiara: Casts Mind Link (1st level) on the whole group, then casts Mass Cure Wounds (5th level) on Viko for 20 HP, knowing how low he currently is. While Mind Linked, she and the others can feel the unnatural rage emanating from Viko, which breaks his connection to them. She then focuses her attention on Glibnik and ARTA-5, but moves behind Hana at the latter's request.
  6. Haku: Casts Ground Spike (3rd level) directly at ARTA-5 & Glibnik. Glibnik fails to avoid it, while ARTA-5 was directly targeted, so they both take 28 piercing damage.
  7. Drog: dead, no moves
  8. ARTA-5: Tosses an antigrenade at the clustered party; Kiara & Haku dodge for 12 radiant, while Hana takes it all for 25 radiant. ARTA-5 then unloads on Viko with its antimatter rifle, shooting twice; Viko takes both, only suffering 21 radiant damage due to his resistance. It then makes a successful Intelligence-based thaw attempt on Glibnik using excess power from its core, freeing Glibnik.

Round 2

  1. Glibnik: Recognizing the GaioCorp's devastating power and extremely desperate, Glibnik moves away as far as he can and casts Infernal Star (9th level) on everyone except ARTA-5 and Nyrus, as he can't hit Nyrus without hitting himself (35 fire damage per ball). Hana, Haku & Kiara have 3 saves to make, while Viko has two; Hana makes 0/3 of her saves and takes 85 fire damage (105 fire damage reduced by her 20 Con save from Aquaflesh), Haku makes 2/3 of his saves and takes 69 fire damage, Kiara makes 0/3 of her saves and is knocked unconscious by 105 fire damage, Viko makes 1/2 of his saves and takes 25 fire damage due to his resistance. Once these land, Glibnik fires the final ball at Nyrus, knowing full well that it will also hit ARTA-5 and knows he can take it. However, Nyrus succeeds on his Dexterity saving throw and dodges the fireball completely; ARTA-5 isn't so lucky and takes 26 fire damage due to his resistance.
  2. Viko: Regenerates 23 HP. Seeing the commotion in the stands and Glibnik isolated, Viko fires a Gamma Gaze (2nd level) at the goblin. Glibnik casts Shield as a Reaction, barely deflecting the blast that would've surely killed him with the added Corrosive Essence. Pissed, Viko fires a Plasma Shot as a Bonus Action at the goblin, scoring a critical hit and shooting the wizard out of the sky with a fatal 26 fire damage. Having dealt damage to someone else, Viko's Chaotic Recovery kicks in and gives him another 2nd level spell slot, recovering what he just spent.
  3. Nyrus: Casts Plasma Enhancement (1st level) and engages ARTA-5 with two Grapple Blade melee strikes, dealing a disappointing of 11 damage due to ARTA-5's resistance to all the damage types dealt. Disengages and runs back towards his friends.
  4. Hana: Casts Organic Mending (2nd level) on herself and Kiara, healing her friend for 15 HP and herself for 7 HP. This brings Kiara back up from unconsciousness. She then uses Quickened Spell (2 sorcery points) to cast Maelstrom (6th level) as a Bonus Action on ARTA-5, now that Nyrus has moved away from it. ARTA-5 fails his Dex save, takes 53 cold/slashing damage, and is caught up in the maelstrom.
  5. Kiara: Casts Call Lightning (5th level) on ARTA-5, who is trapped in the maelstrom with disadvantage on its Dex save due to the highly-conductive grapple. It fails, but only takes 13 lightning damage due to its resistance. She then casts Healing Mind (3rd level) on Hana to heal 19 HP, as thanks for healing her back to consciousness. Her Mind
  6. Haku: Casts Rock Throw (1st level) to strike ARTA-5, but it misses due to the maelstrom's erratic movement.
  7. Drog: dead
  8. ARTA-5: Seeing clustered targets and unable to land an appropriate shot with the maelstrom's movements, ARTA-5 tosses three antigrenades at the party. Due to the movement, only one lands by them; Nyrus succeeds and takes no damage, Hana succeeds and take 12 radiant damage, while Kiara & Haku fail and take the full 25 radiant damage. Hana maintains concentration on her maelstrom, but the blast knocks Kiara out again. ARTA-5 then nat20s his Strength check and escapes the maelstrom, dropping to the ground 20 ft in front of the party.

Round 3

  1. Viko: Regenerates 26 HP. Casts Corrosive Essence (2nd level) as a Bonus Action, then casts Gamma Gaze (3rd level) at ARTA-5, dealing 22 radiant damage (unhindered by resistance) and finishing off the android. Chaotic Recovery kicks in and restores a 5th level spell slot; since he has none, he instead casts Twinfire for the first time on the arena's guards, killing them instantly. The conscious members of the GaioCorps witness this and after some dialogue that implies he will attack them next (he doesn't speak, but he roars at them), they immediately focus on their rampaging friend, rather than the battered & inactive android in front of them.
  2. Nyrus: Fires two explosive arrows at Viko, knowing that they'll need to do enough damage to knock him out. However, he hesitates on each shot (this is his friend, after all), which gives Viko enough time to dodge them both. Worried, he moves in front of Kiara.
  3. Hana: Casts Organic Mending (4th level) on Haku & Kiara, giving them 29 HP each. She then Quickened Spells (2 sorcery points) to cast Flash Freeze (5th level) on Viko, attempting to restrain him. However, as the water coallesces around Viko to freeze him, his rage and power literally burn through the attempt (nat20 Con save), incinerating the moisture and only dealing 16 cold damage as he roars. Worried, she spreads out of the cluster, takes a defensive stance, and looks towards her friends.
  4. Kiara: Seeing what is happening as she comes to, Kiara attempts to calm her friend, but realizes that she doesn't have the energy (spell slots) necessary to cast the Pacifying Blast that could calm him down; she can only stop incoming attacks with Deflect Aggression or Mind Stall. Realizing she has no choice and that her Mind Link is already broken, Kiara tries to cast Brain Wave (4th level), but it misses due to her hesitation. She casts Mind Link (1st level) to link her up with her friends.
  5. Haku: Jumps down and casts Stone Cell (4th level) around Viko, who succeeds on his Dex save and is not trapped. "Come on man, don't make us go all out." Haku pleads.

Round 4

  1. Viko: Regenerates 24 HP. Seeing all of his friends, Viko's inner self tries to make a Wisdom saving throw to regain his senses, but fails. Instead, Viko casts Photosynthesis to gain 5 HP and advantage on Strength, Dexterity & Constitution ability checks/saving throws/attacks/spells. He then charges forward with his morningstar and attempts to swing madly at Haku 4 times; however, Kiara casts Mind Stall (3rd level) as a reaction to protect Haku since they are Mind Linked, and successfully stops Viko's hostile intentions/attack. [Alternate reality: all hit despite Haku's dodging efforts, and one crits. 18/19/11/15 bludgeoning & 17/14/18 fire damage (112 total). Obviously, this drops Haku, but does not kill him outright. The others see this and realize that if Viko's not holding back, they can't either; Hana is especially angry to see him drop her husband like that. Chaotic Recovery kicks in and he gets an 8th-level spell slot, which he immediately expends by casting Infernal Rain above the coliseum, turning the sky red and literally raining fire from it. Many of the remaining audience members are killed by these rain drops, and the party makes Dex saves to avoid them; Hana & Kiara fail while Nyrus passes, which pushes Haku close to death's door & downs both Kiara & Hana. This would then become a 1v1 between Nyrus & Viko, which could go a number of ways.]
  2. Nyrus: Casts Plasma Enhancement (3rd level) as a Bonus Action, then casts Javelin Bolt (4th level) on Viko for 22 piercing/50 lightning (56 total due to Viko's piercing damage resistance in this rage & his 5 Temp HP).
  3. Hana: Uses Quickened Spell (2 sorcery points) to casts Water Gate (4th level) as a Bonus Action on Viko, who fails his Dex save and is trapped. Then, she hydrokinetically launches her Ventriloquist Spit potion on Viko, who fails the Wisdom save and is finalyl subdued via mental domination by Hana. Since the rage ends by these conditions, Viko immediately falls unconscious for 5 hours.

Aftermath

Viko remains unconscious for 5 hours, which gives the GaioCorps enough time to heal their unconscious friends and loot Glibnik & Drog's bodies. However, before they can get to ARTA-5, the Grettanian Guard arrives and charges in to assault them with melee and ranged attacks. Too exhausted to engage in another fight, Kiara uses the Pellet of Teleportation taken from Glibnik to escape to the woods they camped in the night before they arrived here. They restraint Viko with metallic bindings transmuted by Haku & Hana, and after they set up camp, take a long deserved rest while they process what just happened. Meanwhile, the Grettanian Guard recovers ARTA-5 and informs the necessary chain of command, which eventually reaches Garen's ears and informs him of the assassins' failure. ARTA-5 is taken into military custody and studied for his eventual use as a imperial asset.  

Alternate Ending (Kiara's nightmare if she didn't use Mind Stall)

This battle effectively becomes a 1v1 between Viko & Nyrus, a rematch of sorts from their first meeting. Given that Viko has taken down all his friends and killed several innocent bystanders, Nyrus doesn't hold back. 

Initiative

   
  1. Nyrus: 16. 16/131 HP, , 10/11 shurikens, 0/3 explosive shurikens, 4/6 sharphead arrows, 1/5 explosive tip arrows, 1/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 0/2 3rd, 0/1 4th
  2. Viko: 5. 30/147 HP, 1/3 Gaiodrenaline, 4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 0/2 3rd, 0/1 4th

Round 1

  • Nyrus: Casts Vibrosense (1st level) and tosses 2 explosive shurikens at Viko (one hand has a regular shuriken mixed in 1 misses, but the other crits for 20 piercing/26 thunder damage (18 total due to Viko's piercing resistance). Then moves far away from Viko to stay out of melee range, knowing that he can't take him head on
  • Viko: Regains 19 HP. Then uses his Second Wind as a Bonus Action to regain 20 HP. Then casts Gamma Gaze (3rd level) at Nyrus, but the nimble assassin dodges out of the way thanks to Vibrosense. Angry, Viko does not get a Chaotic Recovery since he didn't hit anyone, and begins charging towards Nyrus. 

Round 2

  • Nyrus: Casts Plasma Enhancement (2nd level) on an explosive arrow, which connects with Viko for 11 piercing/7 thunder/13 lightning (25 total due to Viko's piercing resistance). Not taking any chances, Nyrus fires another one, dealing 8 piercing/10 thunder (14 total due to Viko's piercing resistance). Dashes to the other side of the arena to draw Viko away from their friends
  • Viko: Regains 23 HP. Gets as close as he can to Nyrus and casts Gamma Flame (2nd level), but Nyrus completely dodges it again. Viko is extremely frustrated now, and gets no Chaotic Recovery.

Round 3

  • Nyrus: Runs past Viko with a super dash (80 ft, movement & Bonus). On his way, he does a flip and casts Barrel Bolt (3rd level) for 28 lightning damage against Viko, who failed his Dex save and takes it all. However, Nyrus remains closer to Viko than he's comfortable with.
  • Viko: Regains 25 HP. With Nyrus finally in range, Viko casts Photosynthesis to regain 3 Temp HP and advantages. He charges forward and unleashes four strikes; three hit with one critting (26 fire/30 slashing for the crit, 16 slashing/17 fire, 15 slashing/7 fire, & 14 slashing/5 fire). Nyrus senses the crits power and uncanny dodges it, taking 102 total damage from the assault. Having finally hit his target, Viko's Chaotic Recovery kicks in, regaining a 1st level spell slot and expending it with a Chaotic Lash. However, Nyrus dodges it.

Round 4

     
  • Nyrus: Heavily wounded from that attack and desperate to get away/end this, Nyrus casts Bolt Grenade (2nd level) and drops it as he super dashes away from Viko. Viko resists with a Con save and only takes 3 lightning damage/loses Temp HP, barely holding on but still standing. Desperate, Nyrus uses his speed and Bonus Action (since in a way, he did attack Viko as he ran off) to toss one final explosive shuriken at Viko. However, the raging Viko dodges it. 
  • Viko: Regains 26 HP. Casts Gamma Gaxe (2nd level) at Nyrus, who uncanny dodges. 27 radiant damage initially, reduced to 13. 
 

Round 5

  • Nyrus: Exhausted, desperate & demoralized as Viko just keeps coming and keeps healing, Nyrus fires his last explosive arrow at Viko with Plasma Enhancement (2nd level). As if by some miracle of the gods, he crits for 24 piercing/24 lightning (36 total due to Viko's piercing resistance). This is enough to finally drop Viko, knocking him out of his rage and knocking him unconscious for the same 5 hours as the original timeline. 

Aftermath (Alternate Timeline)

Nyrus attempts to gather his friends as best he can. However, the Grettanian Guard arrives before he can loot any of the assassins, and the nightmare sequence ends as Nyrus gives a valiant last stand against the soldiers (dying in the process.)
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