Session 67 (18. 03. 2020)

The following morning, Telum Veritas marched off to assault Oris's mansion. Vincent cast his illusion on everyone, making them appear like servants, then they initiated their plan. With most of the group in their two portable holes, Lia and Arundare flew invisible towards the mansion. They successfully evaded notice despite the many guards on patrol, then Lia teleported them into Arundare's room, which proved empty. They released the others from the holes, and the group crammed into the small room.
When the outside hallway proved empty, they began to move. There were multiple ways of accessing Oris's throne room; they chose to pass through the balcony over the Great Hall, through the guest quarters, then down a staircase to the foyer area. They headed off towards the balcony, and encountered their first obstacle: two elemental guards in the hall, discussing the prison break and Oris's reaction to it. They would have to pass through the balcony in full view of them. Though the group had their servant disguises, it would have been suspicious if all seven of them walked through at the same time. Isadora and the still-invisible Arundare went ahead, getting little more than a glance. The others had the idea to repeat their portable hole trick, with Vincent, Lia, Penrose and Obediah all piling into a hole so Morgyn could carry them through, his small frame hidden by the railing.
Unfortunately, Obediah tripped and fell into the hole with a loud thud, which immediately got the guards' attention. Morgyn quickly pocketed the folded-up hole, then pretended to be looking for his glasses on the floor as the two guards thundered up the stairs. They angrily questioned him in Terran, which he didn't understand, blabbering on in Gnomish. Isadora came to his aid, telling the guards that they were both new, and he was always causing trouble. He managed to cast a spell without their notice, calming them down and letting the two of them pass.
Now in the guest quarters, Morgyn quickly began to unfold the hole and let everyone out, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from behind the corridor. He barely had time to shove the hole back in his pocket, when an older servant rounded the corner and noticed them. She demanded to know what they were doing there. Isadora's story that they had been sent to clean the guest quarters no longer held up, as this lady happened to be in charge of the servants. She also questioned who they were, as she certainly hadn't hired them. Just as things were about to turn ugly, Arundare sprang into motion, grabbing her from behind and choking her out. They dragged her unconscious form into the nearest room and locked her in a closet.
Morgyn finally released the others, who came stumbling out of the hole, gasping for breath. They quickly searched some rooms, with Penrose pocketing some valuables and Isadora cutting a grand portrait of Oris out of its frame for later use, to the confusion of everyone else. Then they finally moved down the stairs at the end of the hallway, and came to the foyer before Oris's throne room. The huge double doors were guarded by two elementals, whom Lia quickly banished.
They barricaded the doors to the Great Hall, and noticed that the threshold of the throne room was enchanted with a dispelling effect. Morgyn suppressed it with a spell, letting them pass through without losing their disguises. The throne room was before them, seemingly empty. However, as they turned to try and barricade this door as well, it closed on its own, and a menacing laugh echoed in the room. Oris had been waiting for them.
He saw right through their disguise, and beckoned Isadora closer, who wordlessly complied, marching towards him with the others in tow. He told Arundare that Aisha would die a horrible death for his betrayal, right after he was done killing all of Telum Veritas. He summoned two giant elemental guards, and the fight began.
As Penrose went to distract one of the guards and Vincent turned the other into a cockroach, Obediah and Isadora rushed forward to strike the dao himself. Oris responded with a dreadful psychic scream, directed at both Obediah and the cockroach, returning it to its original form. He threw saktihina dust at Isadora from a satchel, but she evaded it. Seeing this, Penrose targeted the satchel and managed to slice a hole in it, and the dust began to flow out.
Oris raised a stone wall in the middle of the throne room, splitting the party in half, with Penrose, Isadora, Arundare and Obediah on one side and Vincent, Morgyn and Lia on the other. As Lia, surrounded by a whirlwind that for the time being only inconvenienced her own teammates, struck the wall with thunder, Isadora flew around Oris on her carpet, wrapping a chain around his legs. He vanished however, and reappeared on the other side of the wall.
Morgyn attempted to curse the dao, but he shook it off. On the other side, Penrose and Arundare whaled on one guard, Obediah on the other, while Isadora took the opportunity to search around the throne and found a locked chest. The guard took down Obediah, but he got back up, exhausted yet determined to fight on.
As Lia's spell hit again and the wall was critically damaged, she whipped around and shot lightning on the dao, her Tempest abilities overwhelming his natural resistance. With a scowl, he dropped the wall just as Arundare dealt the killing blow to one guard. Then he unleashed his psychic power once again, casting their minds into horrifying nightmares. Lia, Isadora and Obediah were all knocked unconscious. Vincent, barely hanging on to consciousness, managed to heal Lia before Oris finished the job and knocked both him and Morgyn out.
With so many of them down, the situation looked grim. Lia, freshly awakened from nightmares by Vincent who now lay dying next to her, gathered her strength and managed to lock Oris in place, paralyzing him. Arundare finished off the remaining guard before hurrying to Morgyn's side with a healing potion, while Penrose did the same to Isadora. She got up, and saw that Oris was now a helpless target. She swung on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and brought it crashing down on him, dealing a tremendous amount of damage. Arundare walked up, and finally killed him.
The next few minutes were spent catching their breath, as Morgyn healed everyone. They heard no guards banging on the door. The throne room was empty now. They had won, with no casualties.

Characters

Lia Caerdonel (Fanni)
Morgyn Witpicker (Bart)
Vincent Benedict Stanton III (René)
Penrose Stares (Frida)
Isadora Castillo (Max)
Arundare (Phil)
Obediah (NPC)

Locations

Geocrancis
Oris's mansion

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