12.21 - The Second Battle of Last Rest, Pt. 1

General Summary

Alarm bells ring out. Demons at the gates. Captain Barksdale takes the town guards and a contingent of heroes to the east to fend off shadowy foes swarming over the walls. Bronwen, Grunk, Hazel, and Riven race to the south, to investigate reports of a demonic presence emanating from the Church of Ilmater, Robin spriting towards the Library to pick up Elfriede and his skiff.
The first heroes to arrive at the church see the aftermath of what transpired between the possessed townspeople, blood spattered across pavestones and freshly-fallen snow. They spot four remaining commoners, possess by demonic spirits, tied and gaged outside the chapel door and hear the sound of conflict inside. Suddenly, a dark miasma ripples out from the church, four tendrils of darkness connecting with the possessed humans and transforming them into massive, multi-limbed mutations--Draegloth--which immediately set upon the heroes.
Meanwhile, in the chapel, as Eliana and her companions make to pass through the portal after Pim, Domokos reaches out to pull the demonblade from the desecrated altar, hoping to rid the town of its demonic presence. As he does so, and the blade comes free, the portal shifts and collapses in on itself, darkness and fire contracting and then expanding outwards as the very stone of the building begin to buckle inwards towards the sucking vortex. In a flash, Matthias is beside Shloopurr and Domokos and thunder steps them both backward, landing on the top of the still-standing belltower, as the entire church collapses inwards on the now much larger rift to the Abyss.
After a short but grueling battle against the Draegloth's razor-sharp claws and gnashing canines, Robin and Elfriede arrive on the skiff and turn the tide decisively in the heroes' favor. All seems to be well in hand... Until the sound of grinding of metal and the clanging of ancient chains reverberates up from the portal, its darkness suddenly wreathed in gouts of flame as a being made of fire and shadow rises from the rift--a Balor from the deepest reaches of the Abyss.
The Draegloth, at once elated and terrified, flee before the ancient one and race towards the Ogre Gate, one falling to Riven's blade and Bronwen's bow but the rest making it to the walls of the town. Matthias, alone on the belltower, is wreathed in the Balor's flames, its whip of fire catching him and pulling him through the air to crash at the monster's feet, unconscious--and then its sword of lightning strikes down on the man's broken body, eviscerating him and burning the life from his eyes, his patron fading away to nothing with a faint sigh.
The next swing of the Balor knocks Domokos to the ground, the brazen Hobgoblin commander having charged up to meet this most worthy of foes head on. As Domokos struggles to get back to his feet, flitting in and out of consciousness, Robin flies by on his skiff and drops off Shloopur, who immediately rifles through Domoko's pack while he's down, drawing forth the demonblade, and snapping it in two with Snicker-Snack.
As the curse blade is broken, the portal to the Abyss closes shut, leaving behind a ruined chapel, a fallen Matthias, and a very angry Balor.
Shloopur pull Domokos away from the flames. Robin flies by on his skiff once more, his daring areial maneuvers managing to scoop up those still living and narrowly missing the Balor's whip as they retreat back behind the town's walls.
Behind them, the Draegloth swarm over the town's defenses, following by a moving wall of shadow and flame.
+3 Songs of Glory: Domokos & Shloopurr for closing the portal to the Abyss +2 Songs of Glory: Bronwen, Grunk, Robin, Riven, Hazel, Matthias — for defeating the Draegloth/wounding them grievously, giving the guard at the gate a chance to hold them at bay +1 Song of Glory: Elfirede [for loaning his character to the fight] Fallen Heroes: Matthias Feybound

Report Date

19 Jul 2024