Mornington sits in disbelief, his noble garbs bloody and torn, the deep pain in his abdomen persists. Amarion, Crom, and Edward look upon him with a similar sense of discomfort. Edward keeps his distance from the others as eldritch flame still wreaths his body. With the fight behind them, they discuss what to do. They consider cutting the parasites from Mornington's body, but Crom voices the risk, without tools or knowledge of such operations, it could easily kill him. Amarion adds that his healing cannot be precisely applied, anything done to keep him in good health would likely undo their surgical goals.
The feeling in Mornington's gut dies down, and he feels a strength return to him. As the others help him to his feet, they decide their only option is to push on, find the stone, and get out of this icy nightmare. Crom's vision blurs slightly as he sees a glowing creature walk by. He does not feel threatened, in fact quite the opposite. A great bear with brilliant white fur, unlike any he has seen before. It looks at Crom, meets his gaze, then turns and walks out of sight down a tunnel that leads deeper. Crom knows he alone saw his totem spirit, and points his Shadow Maul toward the tunnel. The others follow him, single file, out of the icy warrens.
The tunnel continues their descent into the iceberg and ends at a poorly constructed door, damp and rotten, made of more shipwreck. It takes Crom but a breath to send splinters showering across the floor of the next chamber, they enter, lighting the way ahead. A huge chamber presents itself, echoing sounds of moving water tell of its size beyond the light. As Mornington sweeps his Lantern of Judgement they notice two huge pools of greenish yellow. Gentle waves disturb a surface covered entirely by a membrane of eggs. Icicles hang from the ceiling in all but one patch, where a large hole leads to a chamber above. Edward previously sent his Familiar Artax through the hole into this very chamber to scout. However, that was before the owl perished at the hands of Teo Ramu. The chamber has two more exits, one to the right of their entry and one to the left, that levels out into a flat, artificial floor.
Mornington wanders nearer to one of the expansive pools, leveraging the bright light of his lantern to investigate. He is relieved to find no movement within the eggs, even when they step within close proximity. As he stares at the viscous mucus that binds them together, one begins to turn. On the sphere of yellow, a pupil rolls and fixes on him, a cold, dead stare that sends shivers down his spine. He shouts in fright, beckoning the others over, but once they are there, they see nothing, and so too does Mornington. Just as his heartbeat calms, a cold intrusion creeps across the back of his mind, a lonely voice, perhaps his own, an intrusion of thought. "It is good to see you all again.... welcome".
Mornington wastes no time and tells the others, they all feel very uneasy with what he has to say. They whisper and curse over their recollection of the Unknown, the floating eyes, the way it infiltrated their minds with offerings of great power. But they killed it, they know this, Edward has an amulet made from its calcified iris. He grabs it, reassuring the evidence of the creatures death. They quickly make for the exit with the even floor, as they approach they identify the obsidian construction that forms the corridor beyond. Only the Dargean built such things, they have seen it before, surrounding the Element Stones, a shielding of sorts. As they are leaving the chamber, Mornington is compelled to look into the pool one last time. A gap in the eggs allows his lantern to peer deep into the murky depths, below the surface he sees a large obelisk, but something organic is coiled around it, pinned in place, unmoving. Edward's flame body finally gutters out, and Mornington catches up as they seek refuge in the adjoining tunnel.
They spy a soft glow of light up ahead and feel it must be the element stone. They wish to gather their strength before the challenge ahead, so Mornington uses a Cat Nap scroll he bought in Anlyth, allowing them to feel well rested in mere minutes. Amarion and Crom sharpen their weapons and tend to wounds received over the last two days. Amarion feels a presence, a divine hand upon his shoulder, as he prepares himself for the likelihood of facing another primordial spirit. He hopes that this time it'll not be so destructive. Edward feels a coldness on his chest, he reaches to find the source is his Amulet of the Planes. It's wet, slimy even, causing the frosty air to make it feel particularly cold. Small flecks of yellow have formed in the imperfections of the iris ring that form the amulet. Concerned, Edward makes a note to keep an eye on it, and keeps it tucked underneath his garments. While Mornington sits in rest, trying to savour a moment of calm, the voice returns. As the intrusion claws across his mind, it tells him that "children need a mother's warmth", it beckons Mornington to take the eggs with him, for safekeeping, to "help the inevitable". Mornington shakes his head, and with it shakes off the terror that clouds his mind, his hand left resting on his belly. The party now ready, they traverse the corridor toward the soft blue glow.
The corridor opens into an almost square room, its symmetry and hard angles display the precision of Dargean architecture. At its centre lies a rough pillar of stone, carved markings cover its frosty surface, glowing with a cold light. They gather around the Element Stone, and Edward steps forward to contact his patron, Xarturas. "Edward, I know what you ask of me... but remember... what I ask of you... destroy... it...". The voice within his head takes over and speaks using Edwards body, the infernal language is one that triggers the stone's defences. The glow intensifies as a wailing voice fills the room. Ice walls begin to rise in a snowflake-like pattern, centred around the stone, separating the party. A humanoid figure forms above the stone, made entirely of ice, a halo of icicles arcs from its arms and over its head. The form looks female, a primordial of water, but solid as glass, screaming in eternal anguish. Amarion attempts to talk it down, using the primordial language he learned in the Order of the Ancients. But the elemental being lifts one arm as a spear of ice forms in its hand. "I must stop the pain. I must stop you!"
Everyone jumps to the side except Amarion, who lifts his shield as the projectile smashes into shards upon it. Crom and Amarion waste no time, wielding their weapons in a retaliating assault, they carve great chunks of ice from its body. Mornington backs up and remembers the terrible strength Unknown bore upon them. He reaches down to a pouch on his belt and retrieves a potion, as he knocks back the warm amber liquid he feels a burning fire travel down his throat. A heat fills his muscles as they swell, making his clothing taut, the great strength of a Fire Giant surges through him. Edward steps around their new adversary to look at the element stone, as expected a series of Spell Glyphs encircle its peak. Edward's patron gifts him with the eye of the Rune Maker, allowing him to instantly read and memorize the sequence, the aim of their quest fulfilled. Unknown backs away from Crom and Amarion and seamlessly merges with one of the ice walls formed during its summoning. It travels through it as easily as a person walks through rain, emerging on the other side to face Mornington alone. The Bard draws his Coral Scimitar and attacks his opponent, his extra strength can be heard in the impact as a crack forks out over the creatures leg. The elemental responds by forming another projectile. "The parasite must be frozen!" The icicle is dodged deftly by the noble bard, and a huge mound of ice forms on impact, clearly meant to freeze him in place. Edward shouts out to Mornington to jump back, as he does he turns to see a hot spark of energy spiralling towards him. Narrowly missing him, it finds the corner of the room where the Primordial stands. A roar of flame engulfs it, a haunting scream rips raw as the body of the elemental creature melts in the intense hellfire. In a flash of heat that shakes the room, the Elemental is completely gone, and so too are half the icen walls. Hot water rushes forth, spilling out across the floor before quickly cooling. Mornington picks himself up, thrown by the fireball, he is now soaked through to compensate. They all exchange looks and wonder... should they destroy the stone? Before they each spill their answer they feel a sound like distant thunder rumble through the iceberg. Then shortly after another sound, a scream... a roar? They run.
Doubtful of the structural integrity of the iceberg, they make haste to get out. Crom's feet carry him at a great pace compared to the others, but suddenly he's overtaken by Edward. But the warlock is not running, he is being dragged by something around his neck, his amulet! The cord is now embedded in an imperfect, pale yellow sphere. Not a sphere, an eye, reformed around the hardened iris. As its magical flight tries to break it free, it drags Edward to the floor of the great cavernous chamber. The cord finally snaps and the eye soars toward one of the spawning pools. It plunges beneath the surface, through the membrane of eggs. Ripples emanate outward, but the surface never calms. A mound starts to swell at its centre. The membrane splits as something huge emerges from beneath...
A gargantuan beak-like head breaks the surface, countless eyes covering its pale pink flesh. Unblinking balls of intense yellow, pupil-less, they see nothing, or everything? The head opens wide into a cavernous maw, filled front to back with an army of teeth, row upon row of swords ready to rend. Thrashing tentacles rise from the water, some lined with suckers, while larger ones end in mouths like that of a lamprey. The largest of the tentacles have dragged up something with them, great obelisks that the creature is pinned to with giant nails. The obelisks look Dargean, but far more intricate and complex than any of the element stones. As this horrific sight erupts into view, with it comes an ear piercing roar. The parties senses are filled with daggers as foul air blows across their bodies, stringy saliva raining toward them. Before he can take his hands from his ears, Edward feels something wrap around his ankle. With alarming speed he is dragged across the ground by a tentacle, straight toward the monstrosity. Another wraps around Crom's waist as he runs forward after Edward, he brings down his Shadow Maul with a wet smack and the grip loosens enough for him to break free. Amarion charges forward, calling upon his divine magic as a shield of faith shines around him. Mornington enters the scene of chaos and the intruding voice speaks again...
"I am known by many names, to those who try to comprehend me... I am the Great One, the All Seeing, the Unknown, the Kraken of the Hourglass Sea! If not my brood, your life is forfeit."
Mornington darts forward, briny blade in one hand, his lantern in the other, illuminating the horror they face. He slices one of the tentacles as inky blood splats a dark contrast upon the ice. Edward is lifted from the floor, now dangling above the wide maw, hundreds of teeth awaiting his fall. He conjures arcane agony into his palms and fires them at the creature, colliding with its head to no reaction. He drops, and time slows for him, has his devilish luck come to an end? A crunch of teeth and metal, Edward turns in a spin, his arm catching on teeth before he collides hard with the ground. Eggs from the spawning pool wash up around him, and he peers up in disbelief. There stands Amarion, his unbreakable shield wedged into the jaw of the creature, not allowing its mouth to close. A moment later it snaps shut as the shield is forced out, teeth breaking upon it. Amarion's blade sings across the creature's face, the glow of Dawn reflecting in its many eyes. Crom assaults the other side of it's head, as he swings his Shadow Maul he charges it with necrotic energies of the Shadowfell. It crunches into the aberration, darkness spreading across its slimy skin. It's head rears revealing an underside covered in eggs, all of which jitter with internal movement.
Tentacles sprawl out from the pool, lashing at the party. One however, is coated with eggs suspended in slime, and launches them onto the ground behind the brave heroes. Parasitic worms wriggle inside, and it's only a matter of time before they hatch. One of the tentacles latches onto Amarion's leg and drags him prone into the body of water. Crom swings his maul again, edging forward looking for an opening to help the Paladin. Mornington rushes up to the pile of eggs, slashing and stomping to try and kill as many as possible before they swarm. The Unknown recedes back into the water, dragging Amarion to greater depths. Crom grabs one of his hands and pulls him free of the tentacles grasp.
Moments later, on the other side of the chamber, the leviathan emerges from the second spawning pool. Clearly connected to each other, and the sea beyond. It roars and thrashes, the great obelisks smashing into the walls of the chamber. A rumble crescendos into the sound of tumbling ice, the tunnel they entered from caves in, blocked by white boulders. Mornington feels something terrible, a painful twist in his gut, a sharp pain in his lower back. His eyes wide and bloodshot, his mouth begins to foam. He awkwardly steps over the eggs he had just been attacking, not by choice, but by force. He loses control of his body as he shuffles towards the unerring gaze of that which controls him. "It is inevitable... do as I bid. We have gorged on many worlds, and the cosmic parasite is almost full... A great metamorphosis is upon us. How lucky you shall be to bare witness"
Purple energy flies past Mornington and strikes the mass of tentacles ahead of him. Crom and Amarion then pass, running headlong to face the creature once more. Its jaws close, the teeth lacing together like infected stitching, and its neck swells rapidly. Suddenly, a jet of acidic bile sprays out of an agape maw, a great font of dark ink covers the four of them. It sticks, it burns, shrieks of pain mix with grunts of agony. All but Edward are blinded as the substance claws at their eyes and corrodes their skin. Edward hears the grotesque popping of eggs hatching behind him, he turns quickly to fire eldritch blasts. They find their target, killing the fresh worms that writhe toward him. Crom and Amarion, unaware of their surroundings, are defenceless to react as they are swept from their feet, lifted high into the air by powerful tentacles. Edward turns back to the fray, and sees them both fall, flailing as they plunge. Crom's magical cloak sends a shower of petals out in an attempt to distract, and Amarion clutches his shield in the hopes it will save him as it did Edward. Two walls of teeth close around them with a sickening crunch. Edward sees the glow of Dawn Shard engulfed, only Mornington's shaking lantern lights the feeding. Inside the creature's mouth, Crom grits his teeth in a bloody, red grimace. His sight returns burning, and he winces at the teeth that puncture numerous holes into his body. He looks around to see Amarion has lost consciousness, his glowing sword illuminates an undulating gullet behind him. Crom knows they have mere seconds before they plunge into a corrosive stomach. With little room at his disposal, he shunts his maul into the gums that surround him, but the mouth remains closed.
Mornington wipes away the bile that coats his face, blinking heavily to see once more. Empty space lies ahead where his companions once stood, and the Great One is rearing its head back to swallow. Mornington still feels the fiery strength coursing through his veins, and he has control of his body once more. He drops his sword and lantern, and he runs full tilt. In a moment of heroic athleticism he leaps with incredible power, soars through the air, and collides with the beak-like snout of the Kraken. He grabs a hold where he can, teeth, nostril, boots bracing against gum. He lets out a sustained shout of effort as he pries the jaws apart, all the while the head thrashes to remove him. As teeth part, his wounded companions are revealed within. Somehow mustering enough breath after his exertion, he calls upon the melodies of the weave, delivering words of healing to his companion. Amarion wakes with a gasp and slides his arm from a tooth that impales it. Reacting to the dizzying situation he finds himself in, he calls upon the thunderous might of his faith. With a loud boom he strikes the widening gullet of the Kraken, and the three adventurers are launched from the maw as it blasts open. Their hearing returns long after they collide with the floor of the cavern. Edward looks upon them, jaw slack with disbelief. The warlock snaps out of it, conjuring more projectiles, but the creature slips beneath the surface before he can let them loose.
The party get back to their feet, Mornington retrieves his dropped items, Amarion channels his divine magic to heal his many wounds, and Crom shoulders his maul and walks back to the first spawning pool. Predicting correctly, the unnatural abomination bursts from the water thrashing. Worse for wares, the party contend with another barrage of tentacles, and Edward backs away out of reach. He takes his haversack, reaching deep into its hidden volume, and retrieves a black candle. Desperate times, desperate measures. He produces a flame in the palm of his hand and lights the candle as he sets it down on the floor. An oily blackness fogs his vision, and he hears his patron call out to him... "My soldiers will help you Edward, but you made me a promise...". The warlock replies to his master, his words drenched in reluctance. "You can have the stone, but first help us kill this... thing". As the candle flame burns, a rift opens above it. A tear in reality through which two entities step forth from another plane. Glistening waxy skin, one of red, and one of blue, twisting horns sprout from their elongated heads and long tongues dangle from cursed smiles. Red carries a sword of ice, while Blue carries a sword of flame. To Edward's immediate disappointment, the flame sword devil runs straight for the Element Stone in the next chamber, while the other remains to face the Mother of Worms.
A battle line forms, two men and one devil, slashing and beating tentacles back with vigour. Mornington can still hear echoing whispers swirl through his head, convincing him that his world is doomed, and he is helpless in saving it. He looks around the chamber, trying to anchor himself. He finds himself fixed on the ceiling, a ceiling covered in hanging icicles. Many seem to wobble each time the creature's body impacts upon the iceberg. He puts away his sword and replaces it with his flute, ready for a signature flourish. As he blares the shrill note from his instrument, arcane energy builds at the ceiling above the Kraken's head. The note crescendos to its peak, cuts as silence reigns for just a split second, then an almighty boom reverberates through the space. A dozen large icicles break from the ceiling and cascade down upon the writhing mass below. Sharp ice pierces slimy flesh, and inky blood spills from the creatures wounds, its head thrashing at the affliction.
With the aberration distracted, a flurry of attacks fall upon it. Flesh freezes under the infernal blade of the devil soldier, bruised skin caves to necrosis at the behest of Crom's Shadow Maul, and divine thunder strikes true as Amarion's faith manifests. Just as they feel the battle is turning in their favour, the Kraken's throat swells for the second time. All five figures who stand before the Mother of Worms are doused in thick acidic bile. A lesson learnt from the first occasion, only one of them does not turn in time to avoid its blinding effect. However, blindness matters not when your life is in the balance. Edward, at the back of the pack, falls to the floor unconscious, lines of acidic smoke rising from his limp body. Mornington takes in the horror around him, his companions reeling in pain from the projectile vomit, his own light near to fading. He brings his flute to his lips, concentrates on the harmonies of the weave, and brings forth power yet shown by the heroic bard. A beautiful sound washes away the despair, the fear, the horror of the situation before them. Resounding hope swells in all who hear it, and Mornington is the beacon for them to follow.
Empowered by his magic, Mornington is a font of healing. He heals his own grievous wounds to great effect, and then moves towards Edward to save him from the brink. A sound rumbles through the iceberg, this one far more forceful than the last. They can feel it, especially Amarion, the Element Stone is destroyed. Right on queue, with all the time they could muster, the portal opens for the Devils to return. As the fiend among them slips back to a far off plane, a smile still on his twisted visage, the dark candle's flame snuffs out. The iceberg begins shaking, its structural integrity clearly failing. Icicles start falling from the ceiling, and the two warriors stare into the widening maw of the Kraken as it lunges toward them. Crom quicksteps out of reach, but Amarion is not so lucky. As the jaws crunch his limbs, puncture his armour, rend his flesh, his light fades. Crom screams in a fit of intense rage. "Not again", he thinks "you didn't kill him the first time, and you won't this time". Crom empowers his Shadow Maul, dark energy swirls along the length of the dragon spine, culminating at the largest vertebrae at its head. He swings forth, a huge arc of shadow paints the air black before it slams into the head of the Kraken. Death spreads across it's face, eyes bursting, one, two, three. Yellow eruptions of gore as the darkness spreads across pale flesh. The mouth opens as the lower jaw goes slack from the impact. Amarion's limp form ragdolls to the floor. The creature's tentacles start thrashing wildly, its head rocking side to side as a gargling screech rings out for all to hear in deafening volume. Its neck starts to swell, but then it spreads beyond, its whole body ballooning as it grows to grotesque proportions. As it reaches critical mass, the eldritch horror before them bursts in a shower of dark gore, raining acidic insides across the whole party. The iceberg rumbles again, and this time it doesn't stop. They need to leave, if only half of them weren't dying.
But in the moments of darkness, light shines ever brighter, and as Mornington's beacon of hope empowers him, he raises Amarion from the clutches of death. In turn Amarion's divinity helps bring strength to Edward and with little said between them, they all run for the last exit, but not before Crom pockets a couple of Kraken teeth he finds in the viscera... "Well you've got to take a trophy!" Icicles and now much larger chunks fall from the ceiling. They need to make a quick escape as they run through the ice tunnel, hoping it leads to the surface. Edward, no sooner than waking up is knocked out cold as he takes a blow to the head from falling debris. Crom slings the poor urchin over his shoulder, and they all run for it. The tunnel is blocked by a cultist barrier, they smash through and beyond see crates, barrels, and mining equipment. The chamber has two exits, a tunnel and stairs carved from the ice, they rush up the stairs into a chamber with more of the cultist belongings scattered around, they can now see the light of day filtering in. They follow the light to the nearest exit and are free from the falling ice. The iceberg however, is sinking, leaning at a considerable angle. They revive Edward, who gasps in the fresh sea air. The party see the Lanalith, the elven ship that brought them here, approaching the iceberg, the fog that had surrounded it now cleared.
They have one last thing they wish to do before they leave and they rush along the supposed coast of this frozen isle. They find the caged remains of Captain Gregor and smash Teo Ramu's arcane focus, the red crystalline skull with silvered eye sockets. Tossed to the air, Crom swings wide and smashes it into a thousand pieces. The spell is broken and Gregor's spirit forms visible before lifting from his skeletal remains and through the cage. He thanks them for their great kindness, and his spirit joins swirling grey clouds above. Then the clouds shift and form an image, clear to all the party. They see a large smiling skull, staring down on them, and feel within them something strange. A blessing... a blessing from a god! A soul has rightfully been returned to Torog, the God of Death, and he has rewarded them for it, and they know this, they feel it.
With a touch of the divine upon them, they use one of their magical artefacts to leave the sinking ice. The ancient elven folding boat helps them traverse the treacherous waters between them and the Lanalith. They meet with the much larger vessel and are pulled aboard, clasped hands bringing them to safety. Behind them, the Frozen Isle sinks to the depths of the Hourglass Sea, if only their memories of its horrors could sink as easily.
Next Session. 102
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