Session 76 - Fallen Ray

General Summary

45 Sov'van - contd

Stepping through the huge ornate doors the party found themselves within an enormous round room. The walls were covered in golden ornamentation as well as richly painted murals depicting visions of the Brightlands Unlike other portions of the Vault, this chamber had a roof…of sorts. Four golden pillars rose from the tops of the walls and held aloft a dome of golden tracery. The design of the interior of the dome was hard to make out as a thick black cloud of mist roiled within the space and blood-red lightning occasionally sparking through it.
Below each of these pillars stood a 8ft tall statue of an angel, in different postures and appearance, but each held a sword high in one hand, while the other was held palm up. The statue to the left of the entrance however was also different in that it’s eyes and sword both glowed light, with a beam of weak sunlight rising into the dome and that cloud of mist where it was swallowed.
The air in the chamber was thick with the smell of a musky and bitter incense that did little to cover the scents of death; voided bowels and blood. Even more horrifying was the 20ft tall wall of bones that split the chamber in half. Skeletal hands and gnashing skulls reach for the party, obscuring the ritual beyond. All that could be seen was an occasional glimpse of a low sickly green light. And much louder now that you are in the room, that sound of chanting, rhythmic yet asynchronous, it seemed to be half hisses, growls and spitting, coming from beyond the wall.
Jilken stalked into the room, but unsure of the wall, took up a position with her crossbow. Over the link she called, "Ranunkel, I think we need you to smash this thing." Ell followed, heading over to look at the glowing statue to the right of the entrance. This statue had flared wings and was wearing a one-shouldered robe of a light blue silk and at it's feet was a plaque that read, "Angel of the Dawn." It was hard to see, but Ell thought the eyes might be topaz or some other yellow stone.  
Tear slipped in and put his back to the wall holding his force pistol as Denye sent Helenwye over to look at the other statue while she stayed out in the hall. This angel stood with wings curled around himself protectively. Emerald eyes glinted from beneath a hooded, black silk cloak. Glancing down, the wizard read, "Angel of the Dark." Returning to herself she turned to Zendack and asked, "Do you know what these angels are? The Angel of the Dark and the Angel of the Dawn."
Before the priest could respond, a towering demon with onyx smooth skin and swept back horns teleported into the space directly behind Ell. The fiend had no eyes or nose, but it did have a mouth filled with row and row of sharp pointed teeth as well as long serrated claws. It tried to grab the young man but he managed to slip away, suffering only one set of strikes down his back. Tear fired off a pair of blasts from the force pistol which seemed to draw the attention of the demon. 
Ranunkel ran in a moment later and growled, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" The druid swung twice at the demon. The first blow caught the fiend in the stomach, but it caught the second fist in it's own and deflected the blow. Janora and Forest stepped into the doorway. Seeming the demon, the dog growled before trying a Banishing Bark to send the thing back to where it came from. Unfortunately the demon resisted the attack. Janora only cursed and lifted her cudgel calling up a Spirit Shroud. Pointing at the wall of bones, she chanted a phrase or two and cast Dispel Magic.
As the wall vanished it revealed the grizzly sight of this necromancer, standing in a circle of power with five corpses laying at his feet. Towers of bones on either side of the circle glowed with a sickly green light that seemed to fill the entire half of the room. His hands were raised as he chanted and thin streams of red energy rose from each of the bodies and into his chest. Jilken, who had been holding her attack, fired off the crossbow, but it only bounced off a wall of force that surrounded the corrupted Sunpriest. 
Two more angels statues were at the back of the room...as was another of the gallu demons. Zendack fired off a Sacred Flame at the creature and replied to Denye's earlier question, "I do not know about these statues directly, but they are the Archangels of Kandis, the Angels of Dawn, of Day, of Dusk, and of Dark." It was his turn to start swearing as a spectral figure drifted out of the wall. The creature was humanoid, but it's form was shadow, outlined in soft starlight. Lifiting it's hands, the void mage cast Burning Hands as a cold, black flame leapt out, catching Denye, Zendack, and Ranunkel. All three managed to drop and avoid most of the flames.     
Jilken reacted to the gallu demon in her face by dropping her crossbow and pulling out her spear. As it expanded and kindled into a sparking blade she slammed it into the creatures stomach. Spinning the weapon she clipped it in the side of the head and then brought the blade up into the creature's throat and up into it's skull. It's guttural howl was cut off and its slumped forward toward the Aiel before sublimating into black mist.
Ranunkel slammed his fists into the other demon before backing up toward the door, giving cover for Tear and Ell. The young noble threw up his hands and cast Synaptic Static at the necromancer. Fallen Ray Volen winced as the noise echoed through his mind, but it wasn't enough to break his concentration on the spell he was casting. Ell tried to use a telepathic shove to push the gallu back, but it wasn't enough to get it out of range.
The corrupted Sunpriest continued his chanting, a swirling ball of black and red mist beginning to form in front of him. Meanwhile back in the hall, Denye patted out her crest feathers with one talon while the other held onto her own bowl of concentrated sunlight. Clucking her tongue in annoyance she sent a Sunbeam into the face of the void mage, burning it badly and blinding it Pulling a greater healing potion out of her bag, she handed it to her pseudodragon and sent her flying over to Jilken who bleeding from several deep cuts from the gallu's claws.
Zendack slipped into the room behind Ranunkel. As he did so, he touched his holy symbol and whispered a prayer to Kandis, casting Beacon of Hope, surrounding the party in a warm, supportive light. Likewise, Janora looking around, grabbed the pendent she received from Raven Queen and channeled the power of her goddess to seal the dead all around, preventing them from being raised again in any type of necromantic spells. 
Ranunkel turned and took a couple of slam attacks at the void mage. His first swing was wide, but the second threw the shadowy figure against the wall as Ranunkel slipped past. Tear fired off two more blasts with the force pistol as he backed over and hid behind one of the statues. The demon ignored the small goblin and took a swipe at Jilken, catching her and lifting her up, it tried for a bite, but the Aiel managed to use her spear to block it's jaws.
A buzzing sound filed the air as several swarms of large black flies crawled out of the towers of bones and took off for the party. The void mage was still blinded and casting around shot off three Scorching Rays in the direction of Ell, Tear, and Ranunkel. Somehow the ball of black flame meant for Ranunkel totally missed, but both Ell and Tear got hit, getting burned as they exploded in cold fire.
Jilken grabbed the healing potion from Helenwye gratefully and downed it, her wounds sealing themselves and color returning to her face. Gripping her spear she didn't try to escape the gallu's claws but rather delivered two spear strikes into the demon's back. It let the Aiel go and she dropped prone to the ground as the demon vaporized into black mist. She pushed herself to her feet and got back to stand next to Ell. 
The young man used his new telekinetic powers to pull Helenwye toward him before he cast Sickening Radiance centered on the necromancer at the back of the sanctum. He also managed to get both towers and two of the swarms. The swarms of insects sickened and shrunk as almost half of both swarms fell to the ground. Fallen Ray Volen ignored the effects and continued his ritual, his voice rising in both speed and volume as the ball of darkness before him spun faster and began pulsing rhythmically with a reddish-purple energy.
Denye looked across the room and considered the towers of bones that flanked the ritual. Reaching out arcane senses she was able to determine that those were providing the wall of force. She considered the bowl of fire in her hands, but wasn't sure if the radiant energy would actually affect them. Balancing it in one claw the wizard used the other to cast Shatter around one of them. The sound rang out loud and clear and the pillar collapsed in on itself as the bones crumbled. As it did so the wall of force around the necromancer seemed to flicker momentarily before shrinking to cover only the dead priest himself. "We have to break the pillars," screamed Denye, "they are powering the barrier on him."
Zendack, back out in the hall with his back pressed up against the wall, touched his holy symbol again and cast Mass Healing Word on the party, calling out, "Have faith and take heart, for the light shall overcome the darkness." He followed it by calling, "I remembered what the statues do....if we can activate all four it should turn the sun back on in here. If nothing else it will might make these undead weaker."    Janora pulled a dried purple mushroom and popped it into her mouth before both she and Forest dashed into the Sickening Radiance to grab two of the bodies away from the necromancer's circle. Rather than backing out she pulled the body over to the side and tucked herself near one of the angel statues. The name plate on this one read, "Angel of the Day." His eyes appeared to be made of ruby and was wearing a breastplate and chainmail skirt, both made from shining mithril.
Ranunkel turned to look at the void mage that was still hovering in the hall. With a resounding clap, he brought his hands together and smashed the spectral shape flat, the shadowy form dispersing into the overall blackness. Tear fired a force blast at the remaining pillar, knocking out several of the skulls. He quickly swapped out the drained power crystal and took a second shot, sending even more bones exploding into dust.
Before anyone could do anything, the black swirling mist in the dome of the room began to drop, wrapping tendrils of smoke around several of the adventurers in the room. Ell and Janora managed to shake off most of the effects, but both Jilken and Tear gained a level of exhaustion as the necrotic force. Jilken cursed and fired her crossbow at the remaining tower of bones. Realizing that the piercing damage might not do much, before she pulled the trigger, the Aiel cast Bursting Arrow so that when it hit, it exploded, destroying more of bones.
The buzzing of the black flies rose as they flew in circles, confused by the radiation of Ell's spell. It was enough to drop one of the swarms, but the other injured swarm escaped the radius and started swarming around Denye, but she was managing to keep them off her. Janoroa's zombie didn't have quite as much luck as the third swarm settled all over it and started chewing on the undead flesh. Ell fired off an Eldritch Blast at the bone tower and managed to collapse it. As he did so the dome of force over the necromancer faded and excitedly, Ell fired off two more Eldritch Blasts at the man himself. The first was too fast and got caught in the fading shield, but the second one hit him square in the back. It wasn't enough to get Volen to drop the spell he was casting and annoyed, Ell used his telekinetic power to shove the insects swarming around Denye back into the sickening radiation.  
Fallen Ray Volen ignored the party, his chanting rising to a crescendo as the ball of energy began spinning even faster and solidifying. Both Denye and Janora tried to Counterspell, but neither were able to gather enough arcane power to disrupt the higher level spell. With a final motion he tossed the sphere into the air and turned to survey the party. What they saw was horrific. The necromancer was still wearing his priestly robes, but they were in rags and covered in blood. Some of that blood was likely his as it seemed that he had somehow removed all the flesh from his skull and neck and opened himself down his chest revealing his ribcage below. His eyes flashed with a sullen red light and his voice cracked as he asked, "Why do you fight this? I seek only to bring peace to the world. Soon all will be one and you will all bow before my master's will."
"Forcibly seeking to impose your will on others is never right," responded Denye, before firing off another Sunbeam at the necromancer, scorching his robes and blinding him. Zendack was still staying out melee, but cast another Healing Word on Jilken, before shooting a Sacred Flame at the insects crawling all over the zombie. 
The necromancer only growled and pointing a bony hand at Janora. The witch was surprised when the pinky finger shot off in her direction, but she was able to duck and the bony digit went flying over her head. Still in Ell's Sickening Radience, both Janora and Forest felt another wave of exhaustion and dizziness. Over the link she called, "Will you drop this spell? We need to get in there and beat him down." Without waiting for a response, she sent her mount over to the last angel statue and after confirming that it was the Angel of Dusk, had the dogesus slobber all over the open palm. Adding water seemed to be what was needed, and the angel's sword and eyes lit up, sending a second spear of light into the swirling darkness above. Cheered, Janora turned to the statue near her and cast a Firebolt into the statue's palm. This statue as well lit up with power, sending a third spear of energy up into the dome.
Still blinded, the deathlock fired off three grave bolts at Janora, Denye, and Ell, but all of the blasts went wide. As Denye cursed him and muttered things about needing to aim lower, Ranunkel used his Earth Glide ability to walk through the stone wall, avoiding the crowded doorway. Looking down at the last angel statue, the rocky druid pulled off a bit of his outer shell and set it gently in the angel's hand. The statue's eyes began to glow as did it's sword. A fourth beam of energy shot off into the darkness and a moment later there was an explosion of light that burned away the mist, and returning sight to everyone in the party. The Fallen Ray swore, "No, no, you do not understand. This is how it must be. You shall not stop us, the Master is coming and will claim this world for his own as it was always meant to be."
Tear of Midnight Sorrow fired a pair of force blasts at the corrupt priest, but only the first blast struck the foe as one of the swarms of insects descended on the goblin and he started swatting them away. The other swarm, still in the Sickening Radiance, dropped from the deadly energy. Not wanting to get close with Ell's spell still up, Jilken sent two of her own bolts at the priest, the first striking him in the calf, and the second in the shoulder. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any effect on the spinning ball of darkness. 
Ell looked at the situation and sighed before dropping the Sickening spell. Getting a bit closer, the warlock attempted to drop a Mental Prison around the necromancer. At first it looked like it would succeed and lock him in place, but with a flash of his eyes, Fallen Ray Volen shattered the spell. The corrupt priest managed to clear his eyes from the Sunbeam and looked in Ell's direction. In his head, Ell heard, "Ah boy, you think you can cause me pain? You have no idea of the flavors pain can come in. Here, let me show you." A blast of necrotic energy flew from Volen's outstretched hand and struck the young man in the stomach, stunning Ell as a wave of weakness washed over the young man.
Keeping a close eye on the necromancer, Denye edged around the room to eye the spinning ball of death. It had grown to be almost 4 ft across. Over the link she called, "We've got between 15-30 seconds before that spell completes. We need to bring him down so we can deal with it."
Janora replied, "I'm fairly sure it's a portal into the Abyss. If it opens, those demons we fought earlier will be the least of our problems." 
Nodding, Denye turned to the corrupted priest and fired off another Sunbeam into his face, burning and blinding him once more. Zendack edged into the room and keeping concentration on his Beacon of Hope, the cleric cast another Mass Healing Word over the party, before pointing at the necromancer and casting Toll the Dead. As the somber peal surrounded Volen he screamed as he put his hands to his ears and cried, "You fight for no reason. Give in, join me and help to usher in eternal peace." 
Ignoring him, Janora attempted to use Dispel Magic to destroy the proto-portal. She couldn't quite summon enough to destroy it, but she was able to disrupt it enough to keep it from growing for a few moments.  Cursing, she sent Forest over to snap at the necromancer before running over so she could mount and they could back up. The bite only got robes, but as the dogesus rushed away, the corrupted priest raked jagged claws down Forest's back. The zombie, stiil under Janora's control slammed fists against the flies crawling all over itself and managed to smash them all.
Pissed off, the necromancer lashed out again at Denye with his claws. It would have struck her if she had not called up an arcane Shield, golden feathers knocking his arm away. Ranunkel rushed the corrupted priest and attempted to grapple him, but the priest slipped out of the druid's grasp uttering, "What are you? How can you be alive if you have no flesh?"
"You just have no idea what forms life come in" growled the dwarf in a gravelly voice, "now come here and hold still." He tried again to grab the necromancer and this time he was just that much faster and caught Volen around the waist. Tucking his pistol into a holster, Tear pulled his Shatterglass sword and ran for the foe screaming and cursing the man in Goblin. The blade caught him in the stomach and shattered, sending glass shards through his innards. As the necromancer screamed, Tear brandished the hilt and screamed back as the sword reformed.
The sound of scrabbling and bone clicking on stone could be heard out in the hall leading to the sanctum and several of the party turned in time to see a number of zombie wolves run in from elsewhere in the complex. Jilken only swore and activated her spear of lightning before rushing at the necromancer and delivering three solid blows.
Shaking his head, Fallen Ray Volen tried to clear his eyes, but remained blind. He was also unable to break free of Ranunkel's grasp, his claws not finding purchase in the druid's rocky form. Frustrated, the necromancer turned and spit in Jilken's face, casting a Blight spell on the elf. A familiar sense of dryness swept over her and she lashed out with the spear again, striking him in the side of the head with the butt end.  
Eyeing the portal globe, Denye decided she had another round before worrying about it so turned her attention back to the necromancer. Still concentrating on her bowl of fire, she sent another Sunbeam straight into his face. Volen howled in rage and pain as he struggled in Ranunkel's arms. Zendack ignored that fight and turned to face the zombie wolves. Lifting his holy symbol, he spoke in a loud, authoritative voice, calling out, "Be Gone." Sunlight flashed from the symbol as he used Turn Undead, and all the wolves vaporized into dust.
"I was going to make friends with them," groused Janora, before turning her attention back to the still opening portal. Gritting her teeth, the witch tried to dispel the portal again but couldn't do more than freeze it in place again. Ranunkel just held onto the necromancer and squeezed tight, grinning as he heard a couple of rib bones crack. Tear followed it up with another two strikes of his shatterglass sword, causing the corrupt priest to hiss and begin swearing again in Abyssal.
A moment later two bubbling masses began forming and humping up oozing in the hall outside. Before they could fully form, Jilken caught the corrupt mage under the jaw and forced the sparking blade into his skull and breaking his neck. Both bloody oozes dispelled as well, splashing congealed blood over those in the doorway.
Unfortunately it didn't seem to have an effect on the opening portal but before it could get any bigger, Denye snapped a Resilient Sphere around it. "This should hold it for a minute, but someone else needs to think of a way to destroy it when my spell breaks." As they watched, the ball of darkness seemed to implode in on itself before expanding into the a ring filled with wavering blackness.
"Yeah, that is a portal to the Abyss," Janora sighed, "I can close it, I think, but I need to recover some power." Pulling out a small golden bowl and her obsidan blade. Rolling up her sleeve, the witch muttered a few words before drawing the blade down her arm and opening a deep cut, allowing blood to roll down her arm and into the bowl. Just before his Beacon of Hope faded, Zendack cast Mass Cure Wounds on the party, sealing their wounds and giving the party a boost in energy.
Gathering her arcane powers, Janora nodded to Denye to drop the Resilient Sphere and as it vanished she hit the portal with her best Dispel Magic. Perhaps because it was finally a complete spell and more familiar to the witch, or perhaps just her stubbornness, this time was much more successful and she was able to dissolve the portal.

Report Date

28 Jul 2023