Session 15: A Cursed Adventure
General Summary
Having just seen Orryn's army marching from Breah's town centre on their mission of conquest the group retreat to the Pirate and Pipe unfortunately they are discovered and a group of rune men give chase. Bobbing and weaving their way through the town's back alleys they burst into the tavern, the runemen hot on their heels, slamming the door quickly they rush to the teleportation circle as the always present old man and the young couple quickly rise from their table, reaching the door just as it splinters they put up a barrier to stop anyone from entering. The last thing the group sees as they leave is the barrier falling in a large explosion and the old man and young couple fighting hand to hand with the runemen.
Arriving at the Dragon and Wolf in Eidover our adventurers find Hanurak at the bar he turns to greet them and Faen notices the young couple and the old man back in their usual spots. Shaking his head in puzzlement he takes a seat with the others and they tell Hanurak everything that happened while he was away. Alistair Siddig suddenly enters from a room upstairs in his usual flamboyant way greeting the group heartily but Saresh is very standoffish.
They chat quietly going over the latest events so everyone is on the same page and Rourke talks a little about his achievements, especially his abilities with the hand 'guns' hanging at his hips. Suddenly Astraea notices a shadowy figure watching them and as she looks closer Elanil steps out and walks towards the table.
"Hello sister how are you?" She asks and Astraea replies curtly with a fine. "I see Orryn is on the march, it is not unexpected, and I have Daisuke watching them closely." Sitting down at the table she starts to talk with the group.
"I have a little information for you on the locations of the keys. Firstly that sea hag you seek, Lyfalia, lives in a cove a few hours off the coast and I have heard there is a bounty from the merchants guild for her head. As for The Master he has returned from Ikel and is known to frequent The Dragon's Hoard one of Eidover's many gambling dens. All I ask for this help is to be there when you open the tomb" Astraea agrees to this and as a further gesture of goodwill Elanil returns the partially reconstructed Orb of Galthak to Astraea. With a smile she leaves the table and disappears back into the shadows. Turning to put the Orb in her backpack Astraea notices another pouch hanging on her waist. Opening it she finds the 900 gold Hanurak paid the bounty hunters with a note saying, "try to be more careful next time." With this good luck the group decide to spend their gold on some new equipment so Rourke leads them past the brothel of baked delights of Madam Bovedere's Emporium Fine Delicacies, Treats and the Exotic and into General Goode's General Goods store. Knowing the old General well Rourke orders his usual ammo while Faen enquires about some elven chain mail but finds the price a little too much. When a discount is asked about General Goode does say that he has a problem with a tax collector who is taxing him and the other merchants too much and is in opinion skimming off the top. The group say they can help but only if Goode can arm some of Hanurak's Orc army.
Heading to the dock they are taken aback slightly by how vast it is. Stretching far off into the distance in both directions the dock is bustling with fishermen unloading their catch and merchants haggling for their goods while many of the buildings are run down and obviously made from wood scavenged from ship wrecks. Walking along the dock they come to a more lavish building and entering they see the families symbol for the merchants guild. Heading over to the guild master they find out that the bounty on the sea hag is for 5000 gold if they bring its head back, accepting this quest Faen asks if Sir Phineas Cursed is around and he is directed to the Nine Hells Pantry further down the dock.
As they finish off their meals Phineas comes charging in with a lady of dubious standing on his arm. He orders wine and whiskey and sits down with a thump at a nearby table. He is very clearly drunk so Astraea walks over and takes a seat. Pouring her some wine which just manages to stay in the glass Phineas says how pleased he is to see her and after some banter between the two Astraea asks him to join them on the quest for the sea hag. Not willing to risk his ship at first Rourke heads over and joins them and with a lot of whiskey and following some persuasion on how fantastic the tale would be Phineas agrees with the help of the promise of some gold out of the reward money.
After learning that the sea hag is a very powerful being with some really dark magic such as creating violent storms around her cove and a love of quicksand and illusions from Phineas they decide to head back for a good rest at the dragon and wolf. In the morning while the others prepare with supplies and gear Faen heads to the unseen university's library and borrows some books on sea hags in the hope to learn more about the foe they are to face. Meeting everyone on board Phineas' ship, the Gorgon's Grace he settles himself with the others in the captain's quarters and while they relax he reads for the few hours it takes to get near the cove but doesn't learn much more than he already has from the day before.
Hanurak manages to grab Bur and heave him aboard but Rourke throwing a rope quickly to Faen just misses. Suddenly another wave comes crashing down and in front of their eyes Rourke and the entire front of the boat disappears. With the boat sinking Hanurak starts to swim ashore with Faen and Astraea casting fly on themselves and Valanthe turning into a dolphin managing to save Angar, Bur and Rourke. Getting to the shore safety with minor cuts and bruises they all look into the vast cave that is in front of them and motioning for Angar to stay at the entrance everyone else heads inside warily. Casting light on his staff Faen looks apprehensively around, a heavy oppressive air fills the room and in the centre is a shimmering pool of water. Rourke casually tosses a grenade into the water and though there is an explosion it isn't nearly as powerful as it should have been. Astraea looks into the water and Faen sensing magic there casts breath water on everyone and slowly they make their way down into the cavern below.
Pushing through a membrane that seems to hold the water back the room they enter into is bone dry with four candles on the wall heading to light them Rourke steps into the middle of the room and instantly begins to sink as music starts to play around him turning the floor below him to quicksand which starts sucking him down, he quickly lies prone to stop from sinking and Hanurak manages to quickly throw a rope to him yank him out almost pulling Rourke's shoulder out of its socket as he does. As everyone hugs the walls to stay away from the sand Rourke shouts a threat to the hag feeling a luke warm presence enter his mind as he does.
Meanwhile Faen flies over to the candles and lights them. As he lights each one a note rings out cancelling a part of the ambient sound but nothing happens so he lights them all at once and where the quicksand was, a doorway appears leading down and a small alcove opens in one of the walls. Everyone gathers around and Hanurak sees some silver coins and a desiccated heart in the alcove, which Faen tries to pick up with his Mage hand so Hanurak can stab it. Sensing this is a bad thing to do Astraea warns them to leave it but Faen yanks the heart away and casts fire bolt on it. As the flames die away they see the heart is restored and starts beating rhythmically in the Mage hand, almost dropping it in surprise Faen backs up as Hanurak steps forward and stabs the heart Astraea who has been guarding the stairwell with Rourke hears a muffled scream from down the stairs. The heart disappears and feeling they are being toyed with and losing his patience for these games Hanurak storms down the stairs into a similar looking room. Everyone follows and on the opposite wall they see a rune gently pulsing in a soft blue glow that lights the room. "Hello soldier, it has been too long and you are far from home...bring them to me and I will send you back." Whispers a voice in Rourke's head and he grabs his head as he feels a bolt of pain across his temples. Astraea looks at Rourke quizzically as Faen touches the rune and suddenly instead of their friends standing with them Hanurak and Astraea see only orcs. Quickly grabbing their weapons Hanurak strikes Rourke luckily missing and hitting himself in the face which causes him to enter his rage.
Astraea casts storm sphere which hits Valanthe and Faen. Rourke quickly realising that this must be a trick the hag has cast on his new friends tries to stop them by telling them it's is all an illusion but the trick is too strong and it doesn't get through to the two of them. Faen manages to cast mental prison on Hanurak but he quickly shakes it off while Astraea still controlling her storm sphere hits Valanthe and Rourke with scorching ray's of fire and lightning strikes from the storm sphere. Valanthe quickly manages to cast hold person on Astraea while Bur and Rourke again tries to get through to them to stop attacking. Faen realising it's a spell casts dispel magic at the rune and with a flash of light Hanurak and Astraea come back to their senses and with apologies Astraea hands over a potion of healing to Rourke. In his head Rourke hears a voice whisper "did you enjoy my game" again shouting threats Rourke heads off into another room and as the others follow they see a pillar of rock in the centre of the room. On either side of the room about midway up the wall is a crystal, with a sudden slam the door shuts and the group are thrown onto the ceiling. The pillar in the centre of the room begins to move towards them and with quick thinking Rourke shoots at one on the crystals but it passes straight through and realising it is another illusion he shoots the other crystal smashing it causing the pillar to stop unfortunately dump everyone back onto the floor. As they are standing and dusting themselves off a huge wave comes and crashes over them and when they are able to look around they see they are in a water filled room with a number of vortices around them.
On the other side of the room is a beautiful woman standing in front of an altar and as they approach they can see various magical items strewn about showing that she is clearly conjuring something. Rourke who has clearly had enough of being messed with swims over to her and as he does she suddenly turns showing her true form, paralysing him with fear he tries to resist and after a few moments does manage to recover and with a new anger building in him attack but in his haste just misses her with his knife.
Faen meanwhile unleashes an acidic chromatic orb while Hanurak moves in closer and with a battle cry everyone feels a renewed vigour. Rourke again attacks and stabs her repeatedly in the chest but she lashes out hitting him hard. Astraea tries to cast disintegrate but fails as flashbacks of her time drowning in the plane of water cause her to momentarily lose concentration. Suddenly the vortices start moving closer to Astraea, Hanurak and Bur. Hanurak and Astraea manage to swim away but Bur gets caught and is shredded as the water turns red around them Astraea and Hanurak look at each other in shock, while 2 sharks appear next to the hag having been attracted by the blood in the water. Rourke again starts stabbing away at the hag while Faen quickly banishes one of the Sharks to a desert. Hanurak tries to speak to the shark to get it to help them then seeing Rourke's desperate struggle goes into a rage.
The hag looks at Rourke as his knife digs in again and smiles. Time seems to slow for him as he sees her bringing her hand up and touch his chest and he blinks out of sight. He finds himself in a field on a sunny day and in the distance he can near cannon fire instantly knowing where he is he runs in the direction of the gunfire towards a hilltop with men in similar clothing to himself.
Back in the cavern the others see Rourke disappear but they don't have time to dwell on it as the shark ignoring Hanurak's words charges at Astraea and attacks her managing to recover from the shark's onslaught she casts three rays of fire blowing the shark to bits. Again the vortices move and they clip Astraea, Faen and Valanthe. They all manage to swim away with minimal damage and Valanthe turns and casts blight on the hag. In retaliation the hag casts mind spike on Hanurak which Faen manages to counterspell just in time. Hanurak swims at the hag and hits her with his hand axe while she casts another spell which Faen again counters and Astraea casts immolation on the hag. The vortices move towards Faen Astraea and Valanthe who again manage to dodge them Valanthe again casts blight which interrupts the hag's concentration enough for Rourke to be brought back just as he was about to greet his friends again. Back in the cavern Rourke looks around realising he is back and quickly takes aim and shoots the hag three times in the chest. Hanurak becomes frightened of her as she turns slowly and casts death glare on him but because of his Orc abilities he manages to resist the worst of her attach but is greatly weakened. Faen again casts chromatic orb and she again casts death glare on Hanurak who with another great effort tries to resist but fails and kills him but his barbarian sensibilities kick in and he comes back attacking her with his hand axe. Seeing the tide turning for her the hag moves away and seeing an opportunity to end it Astraea casts haste on Hanurak and Rourke. The vortices move hitting Hanurak and Rourke knocking Hanurak unconscious again but he manages to quickly recover. Valanthe feeling the tide turn against the group she speaks the words of the healers of her tribe and manages to heals everyone while Rourke shoots the hag twice in the shoulder. Now seeing the bigger threat the hag casts death glare on Astraea who faints from seeing the hag's true form while the hag herself manages to counter Faen's chromatic orb causing it to fizzle out in his hand. Hanurak moves in closer to her and again hits her with his hand axe before raging she attacks him back and again knocks him unconscious but with one last great effort he manages to come back again.
Meanwhile the vortices move again hitting Faen and Valanthe. Drawing from a great strength she didn't know she possessed at seeing her friends falling in battle Valanthe lets out a cry as she casts blight on the hag. The black mass moves from her hand towards the hag who tries to run but she becomes enveloped and the mass begins to worm its way into the various wounds on her body and she begins to shake violently as the blight turns all her organs to jelly. With a cry Rourke slices her cleanly through the neck and grabs her head holding it as the great hero Perseus once held Medusa. Putting it in a bag and tying it to his waist he at last seems satisfied. Quickly looting the cave and Valanthe healing Astraea they head back through the various caverns which are ordinary caves now that the hags spells have been removed. On the small beach they see the waves beginning to subside and with a call to Phineas to come and get them they begin to load the treasure onto one of Faen's magical discs. Rourke cuts up the hags body which is quickly beginning to rot before their eyes and Valanthe freezes a cube of water basically making a crude freezer for the parts. Giving Angar their condolences on the death of his friend they all head back to Eidover giving Angar his and Burs share of what they were promised and following some more negotiation they give Phineas his share as well, they say their goodbyes for the time being and head to the Nine Hells Pantry where they do manage to sell the hags body for some gold.
Heading to the merchants guild they drop the bag on the desk of the quarter master who looks inside and is very impressed that they actually managed to kill the hag. They get their reward and he asks for their details so he can get hold of them if anything else interesting comes his way. They agree to help for the right price and leaving where they can be reached they all head back to the dragon and wolf.
As they approach Rourke takes his leave saying he needs a few cold drinks and hot women to relax him after such a battle and with a nod he walks off in the direction of the bakery. As the others enter they see Saresh and Alistair deep in conversation and seeming to be getting on better than they were earlier with a wave to let Saresh know that they are all back safe they head up to bed for a good nights rest.
Arriving at the Dragon and Wolf in Eidover our adventurers find Hanurak at the bar he turns to greet them and Faen notices the young couple and the old man back in their usual spots. Shaking his head in puzzlement he takes a seat with the others and they tell Hanurak everything that happened while he was away. Alistair Siddig suddenly enters from a room upstairs in his usual flamboyant way greeting the group heartily but Saresh is very standoffish.
Silas' Throne Room
Leaving Saresh with Alistair the rest of the group head to see the King and as they head through the main square of the town Andre sits at the fountain and takes a sip from the refreshing water. "I have to leave you my friends I met a group of dwarves who say they may be able to help me in finding Noah. I am sorry but I have to know if my brother is truly alive." The group sadly make their goodbyes and continue on to the King where they meet two guards who clearly appear to have groggily come around from a nap as they approach. After being questioned to their business and the Kings letter being shown the guards finally allow them access and they enter a grand courtyard leading into a great throne room with King Silas, George Grover and Solaire a paladin of the church of sunlight and a strangely dressed man standing behind.
They quickly tell the King what they have found out around Orryn's plans and Astraea hands George the receipts and letters they took from the water temple in Breah. The King and George are outwardly disappointed that Orryn has betrayed them and asks if there is any way to stop him. Faen does tell them a little of what Cuivie told him about destroying the rune men and the sacrifice in souls that may be needed, but he was firm in his belief that it should only be used as a complete last resort. The man standing behind the King is nodding to himself and the group take note of his unusual garb, especially his weapons that resemble nothing they have seen before.
"We need to recover these segments quickly with your Paladin gone, I feel you will need more help. This is one of my best men," says King Silas as he waves for the unusual man to step forward. "This is Rourke a man from the west." With a tip of his hat Rourke introduces himself and asks the King of any other assets he has that could aid them. The King admits most of his force is fighting raiding parties in the north or stationed on the border with the City State of Viken but he would send his own guard to cause distraction and chaos on the rune men while they march and if possible take back Breah.
Taking their leave the group head into town with Rourke the group talk more about their battle plans and where they should go next. As they approach the nearest bar a group of men start harassing a bar maid there, Rourke approaches and manages to intimidate the young men even inventing the concept of tipping as he gets them to leave the young girl some money for her trouble. While this is going on Chloe says goodbye to everyone and hopes to see Faen very soon as she leaves with her father. They all sit at the table and the waitress brings them a round of drinks on the house in thanks.They chat quietly going over the latest events so everyone is on the same page and Rourke talks a little about his achievements, especially his abilities with the hand 'guns' hanging at his hips. Suddenly Astraea notices a shadowy figure watching them and as she looks closer Elanil steps out and walks towards the table.
"Hello sister how are you?" She asks and Astraea replies curtly with a fine. "I see Orryn is on the march, it is not unexpected, and I have Daisuke watching them closely." Sitting down at the table she starts to talk with the group.
"I have a little information for you on the locations of the keys. Firstly that sea hag you seek, Lyfalia, lives in a cove a few hours off the coast and I have heard there is a bounty from the merchants guild for her head. As for The Master he has returned from Ikel and is known to frequent The Dragon's Hoard one of Eidover's many gambling dens. All I ask for this help is to be there when you open the tomb" Astraea agrees to this and as a further gesture of goodwill Elanil returns the partially reconstructed Orb of Galthak to Astraea. With a smile she leaves the table and disappears back into the shadows. Turning to put the Orb in her backpack Astraea notices another pouch hanging on her waist. Opening it she finds the 900 gold Hanurak paid the bounty hunters with a note saying, "try to be more careful next time." With this good luck the group decide to spend their gold on some new equipment so Rourke leads them past the brothel of baked delights of Madam Bovedere's Emporium Fine Delicacies, Treats and the Exotic and into General Goode's General Goods store. Knowing the old General well Rourke orders his usual ammo while Faen enquires about some elven chain mail but finds the price a little too much. When a discount is asked about General Goode does say that he has a problem with a tax collector who is taxing him and the other merchants too much and is in opinion skimming off the top. The group say they can help but only if Goode can arm some of Hanurak's Orc army.
An agreement is reached and upon leaving Rourke heads to Perlis in the nearby brothel to see if he can get any dirt on the tax collector. Not much is learnt but Rourke is confident that he will get information in a few days from his sources.
Perlis
The Nine Hells Pantry
The pantry is fairly easy to spot with its flaming number nine at the entrance and walking in a man greets them and quickly seats them. Looking around Hanurak sees two men screaming at each other behind a counter about the best way to cook owlbear. Everyone orders food and drink with owl bear steaks for Rourke and Hanurak while Valanthe has a risotto and Faen orders fairie dragon, with a mild look of disgust at this Astraea orders Sphinx scallops. As the group wait for their food they learn from the waiter that the restaurant is always looking for adventurers to bring back exotic meats and that after overhearing their conversation he tells them that the Brothers who own the restaurant Jourdain and JP Romsey specialise in exotic foods and are offering a substantial sum to anyone that can bring them Sea Hag to prepare for a distinguished guest. As they finish off their meals Phineas comes charging in with a lady of dubious standing on his arm. He orders wine and whiskey and sits down with a thump at a nearby table. He is very clearly drunk so Astraea walks over and takes a seat. Pouring her some wine which just manages to stay in the glass Phineas says how pleased he is to see her and after some banter between the two Astraea asks him to join them on the quest for the sea hag. Not willing to risk his ship at first Rourke heads over and joins them and with a lot of whiskey and following some persuasion on how fantastic the tale would be Phineas agrees with the help of the promise of some gold out of the reward money.
After learning that the sea hag is a very powerful being with some really dark magic such as creating violent storms around her cove and a love of quicksand and illusions from Phineas they decide to head back for a good rest at the dragon and wolf. In the morning while the others prepare with supplies and gear Faen heads to the unseen university's library and borrows some books on sea hags in the hope to learn more about the foe they are to face. Meeting everyone on board Phineas' ship, the Gorgon's Grace he settles himself with the others in the captain's quarters and while they relax he reads for the few hours it takes to get near the cove but doesn't learn much more than he already has from the day before.
The Gorgon's Grace in dock
While on board Rourke manages to persuade two of Phineas' crew to join them for some extra gold a mute sailor called Angar and his friend Bur. As the group nears the cove they get into a smaller boat which can wind its way more easily through the many whirlpools they see littering the sea in front of them. With Faen and Rourke navigating, Angar steers the boat fully towards the shore. They pitch wildly in the stormy water and Astraea almost loses her balance but manages to hold on. Approaching the island they see rocks covering the coastline and notice there is no easy way to get ashore just as they hit a particularly bad patch of white water. Faen and Bur are washed overboard by a huge wave.Hanurak manages to grab Bur and heave him aboard but Rourke throwing a rope quickly to Faen just misses. Suddenly another wave comes crashing down and in front of their eyes Rourke and the entire front of the boat disappears. With the boat sinking Hanurak starts to swim ashore with Faen and Astraea casting fly on themselves and Valanthe turning into a dolphin managing to save Angar, Bur and Rourke. Getting to the shore safety with minor cuts and bruises they all look into the vast cave that is in front of them and motioning for Angar to stay at the entrance everyone else heads inside warily. Casting light on his staff Faen looks apprehensively around, a heavy oppressive air fills the room and in the centre is a shimmering pool of water. Rourke casually tosses a grenade into the water and though there is an explosion it isn't nearly as powerful as it should have been. Astraea looks into the water and Faen sensing magic there casts breath water on everyone and slowly they make their way down into the cavern below.
Pushing through a membrane that seems to hold the water back the room they enter into is bone dry with four candles on the wall heading to light them Rourke steps into the middle of the room and instantly begins to sink as music starts to play around him turning the floor below him to quicksand which starts sucking him down, he quickly lies prone to stop from sinking and Hanurak manages to quickly throw a rope to him yank him out almost pulling Rourke's shoulder out of its socket as he does. As everyone hugs the walls to stay away from the sand Rourke shouts a threat to the hag feeling a luke warm presence enter his mind as he does.
Meanwhile Faen flies over to the candles and lights them. As he lights each one a note rings out cancelling a part of the ambient sound but nothing happens so he lights them all at once and where the quicksand was, a doorway appears leading down and a small alcove opens in one of the walls. Everyone gathers around and Hanurak sees some silver coins and a desiccated heart in the alcove, which Faen tries to pick up with his Mage hand so Hanurak can stab it. Sensing this is a bad thing to do Astraea warns them to leave it but Faen yanks the heart away and casts fire bolt on it. As the flames die away they see the heart is restored and starts beating rhythmically in the Mage hand, almost dropping it in surprise Faen backs up as Hanurak steps forward and stabs the heart Astraea who has been guarding the stairwell with Rourke hears a muffled scream from down the stairs. The heart disappears and feeling they are being toyed with and losing his patience for these games Hanurak storms down the stairs into a similar looking room. Everyone follows and on the opposite wall they see a rune gently pulsing in a soft blue glow that lights the room. "Hello soldier, it has been too long and you are far from home...bring them to me and I will send you back." Whispers a voice in Rourke's head and he grabs his head as he feels a bolt of pain across his temples. Astraea looks at Rourke quizzically as Faen touches the rune and suddenly instead of their friends standing with them Hanurak and Astraea see only orcs. Quickly grabbing their weapons Hanurak strikes Rourke luckily missing and hitting himself in the face which causes him to enter his rage.
Astraea casts storm sphere which hits Valanthe and Faen. Rourke quickly realising that this must be a trick the hag has cast on his new friends tries to stop them by telling them it's is all an illusion but the trick is too strong and it doesn't get through to the two of them. Faen manages to cast mental prison on Hanurak but he quickly shakes it off while Astraea still controlling her storm sphere hits Valanthe and Rourke with scorching ray's of fire and lightning strikes from the storm sphere. Valanthe quickly manages to cast hold person on Astraea while Bur and Rourke again tries to get through to them to stop attacking. Faen realising it's a spell casts dispel magic at the rune and with a flash of light Hanurak and Astraea come back to their senses and with apologies Astraea hands over a potion of healing to Rourke. In his head Rourke hears a voice whisper "did you enjoy my game" again shouting threats Rourke heads off into another room and as the others follow they see a pillar of rock in the centre of the room. On either side of the room about midway up the wall is a crystal, with a sudden slam the door shuts and the group are thrown onto the ceiling. The pillar in the centre of the room begins to move towards them and with quick thinking Rourke shoots at one on the crystals but it passes straight through and realising it is another illusion he shoots the other crystal smashing it causing the pillar to stop unfortunately dump everyone back onto the floor. As they are standing and dusting themselves off a huge wave comes and crashes over them and when they are able to look around they see they are in a water filled room with a number of vortices around them.
Faen meanwhile unleashes an acidic chromatic orb while Hanurak moves in closer and with a battle cry everyone feels a renewed vigour. Rourke again attacks and stabs her repeatedly in the chest but she lashes out hitting him hard. Astraea tries to cast disintegrate but fails as flashbacks of her time drowning in the plane of water cause her to momentarily lose concentration. Suddenly the vortices start moving closer to Astraea, Hanurak and Bur. Hanurak and Astraea manage to swim away but Bur gets caught and is shredded as the water turns red around them Astraea and Hanurak look at each other in shock, while 2 sharks appear next to the hag having been attracted by the blood in the water. Rourke again starts stabbing away at the hag while Faen quickly banishes one of the Sharks to a desert. Hanurak tries to speak to the shark to get it to help them then seeing Rourke's desperate struggle goes into a rage.
The hag looks at Rourke as his knife digs in again and smiles. Time seems to slow for him as he sees her bringing her hand up and touch his chest and he blinks out of sight. He finds himself in a field on a sunny day and in the distance he can near cannon fire instantly knowing where he is he runs in the direction of the gunfire towards a hilltop with men in similar clothing to himself.
Back in the cavern the others see Rourke disappear but they don't have time to dwell on it as the shark ignoring Hanurak's words charges at Astraea and attacks her managing to recover from the shark's onslaught she casts three rays of fire blowing the shark to bits. Again the vortices move and they clip Astraea, Faen and Valanthe. They all manage to swim away with minimal damage and Valanthe turns and casts blight on the hag. In retaliation the hag casts mind spike on Hanurak which Faen manages to counterspell just in time. Hanurak swims at the hag and hits her with his hand axe while she casts another spell which Faen again counters and Astraea casts immolation on the hag. The vortices move towards Faen Astraea and Valanthe who again manage to dodge them Valanthe again casts blight which interrupts the hag's concentration enough for Rourke to be brought back just as he was about to greet his friends again. Back in the cavern Rourke looks around realising he is back and quickly takes aim and shoots the hag three times in the chest. Hanurak becomes frightened of her as she turns slowly and casts death glare on him but because of his Orc abilities he manages to resist the worst of her attach but is greatly weakened. Faen again casts chromatic orb and she again casts death glare on Hanurak who with another great effort tries to resist but fails and kills him but his barbarian sensibilities kick in and he comes back attacking her with his hand axe. Seeing the tide turning for her the hag moves away and seeing an opportunity to end it Astraea casts haste on Hanurak and Rourke. The vortices move hitting Hanurak and Rourke knocking Hanurak unconscious again but he manages to quickly recover. Valanthe feeling the tide turn against the group she speaks the words of the healers of her tribe and manages to heals everyone while Rourke shoots the hag twice in the shoulder. Now seeing the bigger threat the hag casts death glare on Astraea who faints from seeing the hag's true form while the hag herself manages to counter Faen's chromatic orb causing it to fizzle out in his hand. Hanurak moves in closer to her and again hits her with his hand axe before raging she attacks him back and again knocks him unconscious but with one last great effort he manages to come back again.
Meanwhile the vortices move again hitting Faen and Valanthe. Drawing from a great strength she didn't know she possessed at seeing her friends falling in battle Valanthe lets out a cry as she casts blight on the hag. The black mass moves from her hand towards the hag who tries to run but she becomes enveloped and the mass begins to worm its way into the various wounds on her body and she begins to shake violently as the blight turns all her organs to jelly. With a cry Rourke slices her cleanly through the neck and grabs her head holding it as the great hero Perseus once held Medusa. Putting it in a bag and tying it to his waist he at last seems satisfied. Quickly looting the cave and Valanthe healing Astraea they head back through the various caverns which are ordinary caves now that the hags spells have been removed. On the small beach they see the waves beginning to subside and with a call to Phineas to come and get them they begin to load the treasure onto one of Faen's magical discs. Rourke cuts up the hags body which is quickly beginning to rot before their eyes and Valanthe freezes a cube of water basically making a crude freezer for the parts. Giving Angar their condolences on the death of his friend they all head back to Eidover giving Angar his and Burs share of what they were promised and following some more negotiation they give Phineas his share as well, they say their goodbyes for the time being and head to the Nine Hells Pantry where they do manage to sell the hags body for some gold.
Heading to the merchants guild they drop the bag on the desk of the quarter master who looks inside and is very impressed that they actually managed to kill the hag. They get their reward and he asks for their details so he can get hold of them if anything else interesting comes his way. They agree to help for the right price and leaving where they can be reached they all head back to the dragon and wolf.
As they approach Rourke takes his leave saying he needs a few cold drinks and hot women to relax him after such a battle and with a nod he walks off in the direction of the bakery. As the others enter they see Saresh and Alistair deep in conversation and seeming to be getting on better than they were earlier with a wave to let Saresh know that they are all back safe they head up to bed for a good nights rest.
Comments