#49 End of Za'zimlas | End of Aerlian

Location: Mantol-Derith

Summary:

Party enters the secret door and follows a series of tunnels until an explosion separates them
- Dibrael, Mylz, Skjorn, and Sarith are left to continue alone while the rest find another way through
the path opens into a large cavern where Aerlian is waiting out of reach
- Aerlian gives a short speech, taunting Dibrael and insulting Zaz
Zaz reveals himself, looking worse for wear, and approaches the party with a weapon in hand and no recognition

Zaz tosses a psiknife at Skjorn's feet and Aerlian immediately targets him first

Mylz realizes they're communicating and tries to break Aerlian's concentration, in case he's casting a spell over Zaz

the battle is tough with Aerlian out of melee range

as a wizard, Skjorn does a significant amount of ranged damage
- Aerlian hurts Skjorn significantly before Dibrael *Commands* him to target the paladin instead
only Mylz is willing to attack Zaz; she specifically tries to disable him from being able to hurt the party

once Zaz hits half health, Aerlian gets frustrated and finally comes down from his perch with a melee weapon

Dibrael and Aerlian never take their focus off each other, both declining rapidly in health
Mylz hits Aerlian's wing with an acid vial and Dibrael slashes his sword at the wound, breaking the wing and leaving Aerlian in agony

Zaz targets Sarith, who is alone so he can still make ranged attacks

Sarith panics and, having no other option, lashes out at Zaz; he does critical damage
Mylz notices but before she can rush to Sarith's aid, Aerlian calls Zaz over for backup
Mylz feeds Dibrael a much-needed potion instead, nearly fully healing him
Skjorn shouts, "I cast Obliterate Twink!" and casts Hold Person on Aerlian

Dibrael goes in for the killing slash, but Zaz jumps in the way and takes the hit, knocking him out

Dibrael goes Fallen Mode, and Aerlian weakly attempts to mock him: "Aren't aasimar supposed to have wings? Like, isn't that your gimmick?"
- Dibrael stays quiet, expression unchanged, and Aerlian becomes filled with terror
Aerlian surrenders and begs for his life, insisting that he'll accept Zaz, trying to appeal to the mercy he's seen Dibrael show before
- Dibrael raises his sword anyway and, knowing that he's lost, Aerlian spits out one last insult: "I can't believe you'd all go to such lengths for a useless piece of shit like him."
Dibrael pauses, drops his sword, and instead casts a spell that brutally tears Aerlian to shreds, leaving his corpse in pieces

Dibrael notices a gem - THE gem - has fallen to the ground from somewhere on Zaz's person; he smashes it

Zaz wakes up and immediately begins sobbing in Dibrael's arms
Sarith slowly approaches, feeling terribly guilty and also needing to see for himself that Zaz is "okay"
- Sarith is also kind of afraid Dibrael's going to kill him for hurting his boyfriend on purpose (after that display with Aerlian...)
- to Sarith's surprise, Dibrael waves him over and pulls him into the hug
- he doesn't blame Sarith for fighting for his own survival; he's just glad they're all safe

Mylz uses her sending stone to contact Elwyra; the party is close by and reaches them soon

there's a wide variety of reactions to the gore on the ground
Ellie and Mylz hug, and Jorlan and Shoor check on Skjorn
Jorlan uses the Blingdenstone teleportation stone to get the entire party out of here

Previous | Next