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Previously: Chapter 83: Crescendo
Restoration
With the flower doing its work on Gleamshroud, and he begins to become less and less of a shadow of himself, he eventually gets onto his feet, restored to his former glory, amethyst scales glittering even in the snowstorm that covers all the sunlight. He looks around, clearly trying to reorient himself about his current situation. Eventually his gaze settles on the party and Thervan, who is looking back up at him. The first thing Gleamshroud says is “Hungry… so hungry…” before saying that he recognizes the party in a distant dream. They tell him that it was no dream, but that they came to him when he was very sick, and took him away to save him and the Emerald Earth Sanctuary.
Thervan speaks to Gleamshroud, greeting him like an old friend. Gleamshroud looks down upon him asking “Is it time?” Penny asks what they mean by that, but Thervan replies to the dragon that it is not yet. Penny, along with Kal, Relic and Thistlethorn pushes for an answer from them, and the dragon replies cryptically that he wishes for things to return to the way they were once. Thervan goes on to explain that both he and Gleamshroud are remnants of the time before the Empire of Moroxia, as they both were loyal to the royal family that resided in what is now known as The Western Coast, then called the Ironforge Dominion.
As the mad queen Syele Bouchard conquered the kingdoms, uniting them into one, she had the old king executed alongside his wife and infant daughter, their corpses strung up in the town square, reminding everyone that the old time had passed. Gleamshroud fled before he could be destroyed, while Thervan pledged himself to the service of the Bouchard's in order to stay alive, but he has had hope that some day things might go back to the way they used to.
He tells the party that the dukes, duchess and thane of the other regions all wish for things to return to self government, but are holding back due to the present danger from the drow forces. The kingdom is barely holding together as it is, being ruled by a young and inexperienced queen with no heirs, in a time where regents fall at the whims of the enemy. Hopefully, in time things will sort themselves out, and if the party manages to vanquish the forces of evil, or at least hinder them enough so as to not be a threat anymore, then things will play out as they should.
Relic and Kal both say that this sounds very close to treason, but Thervan tries to calm them down by saying that he would never betray the Bouchards, but that he would be lying if he wasn’t longing for the way things used to be. Penny wonders if this is all connected to the dream she had where the king gave her his crown, but she handed it back to him. Relic thinks it is probably significant.
Thervan asks Gleamshroud if he could help patrol the Wild North, when the dragon asks to return the favor of having been rescued from a slow and painful death, something he agrees with. He is a bit disturbed by the fact that a red dragon has been watching over his territory in his absence, but the party says he came highly recommended.
Now that they have some more time available, Thervan tells the party about what he has done to deal with Malice, saying that he has already notified all the other Elder Archmages about her true nature, and that they are making sure that her privileges are rescinded, but they are unwilling to advertise her betrayal to the general public so as to avoid causing a panic, but rest assured, they will find a replacement.
Gleamshroud announces that he must feed, and tells the party to call on him if they need his assistance. They tell him about the white dragon in the area, Rimechain, but he does not smell her scent, so she is not close, but he will come if needed. He then takes off, and quickly disappears within the storm, and the last sign of him is a triumphant roar at his restored vitality. Thervan says that he too shall depart, and reminds the party that Gavriel told them to seek out his friend as a reward for finding his daughter. He then takes out a bit of chalk and begins making a teleportation circle, returning to his warm and cozy office. The party gets out of the cold themselves by entering the mansion.
Downtime
For the rest of the day, as it is still morning even though they have been gone for days, or months according to Argus and Ira, the party decides to work on their numbers and letters, checking their collected writings and scrolls, making some food, and finally taking Berry out of The Pocket Ball. Thistlethorn manages to teach him the basics of what to do and look out for, making him more competent in battle. The party spends the night, and decides to return to Ravenforge the next day to check out what this friend of Gavriel can provide.
The morning after, having eaten breakfast and recast the mansion once more, they decide to leave Berry behind to relax a bit, while they return home to see how things are holding up. Relic casts a teleport, returning them to the basement of their house, and immediately something feels wrong. The air is cold and there is a draft running through the house they can feel, and no noise comes from above. Emerging up the stairs they see that the front door has been smashed in, a few chairs have been tossed around, as well as a few windows being broken.
Penny immediately casts a sending to Arin just to make sure that she is okay. She replies immediately that she escaped when she was notified by the party, took Rod to Jen and they both went to a safe location. Penny shares this with the others, and they are relieved that she is unhurt. Wandering through the house reveals that there are no signs of things being stolen. Thistlethorn decides to head outside to Oakenward to see if he and the horses are all right. Luckily he seems unharmed, and he tells her the tale of the intruders, Lord Vaelen, who came in the night after Arin and Rod had abandoned the place in all haste. The horses also ran away due to the commotion, and there were a few children venturing into the house, but Oakenward chased them away with his voice. He looks forward to them returning home when they are done with their tasks, as he has little desire to be alone, but he will remain a watcher over the house. Thistlethorn tells him they will be sending some repairmen to fix the damages, and so he promises not to scare or harm them.
After confirming that the Doom Blooms are unharmed, the party heads into the city, finding a carpenter and a glassmith who can repair the damages to their home. For a combined price of 5 silver pieces, they promise to have it done by end of day. Afterwards, they try to find the home of the man they are sent to see for their reward. Heading to the western part of the Cloud Ward district, they come across a grand mansion several floors tall. A closer look reveals that the columns and trims are decorated with subtle but intricate designs of dragons. They ascend the grand staircase and knock on the door stopper which is also of dragon design.
A shuffle comes from within, with a voice saying that they are coming. Eventually the door opens, and an elderly man, looking to be from Manath, with long purple robes and a silver white hair and beard looks up at them, asking how he may be of service. They tell him that they were sent by Gavriel, prompting him to gesture for them to please enter his home. Penny decides to take out the monocular and look at him, discovering that he is really a massive Bahamut in disguise. She decides to keep her cool for now, introducing herselves along with the others as the elderly dragon-man names himself as Fizban.
Fizban asks if they would like some refreshments, and then wishes for some snacks and drinks for himself and his friends. A tray of various baked goods and cookies, as well as coffee, tea and milk appears in his hand, with him gesturing for them to follow him. He sits it down on a table as the party takes a seat in the surrounding chairs. He joins them, and wastes no time, saying that he was told that he could be of assistance to them.
He explains to the party that the Wish spell is the most powerful spell, and one that is difficult to acquire, not because it is secret or hidden, but because it cannot be taught by someone by themselves. It has to be passed on from someone who has already unlocked its secrets. He says that he would be willing to help Relic and Penny both unlock its secrets, while also offering something for the whole group as well. One by one, he leans forward and touches the temples of each member of the party. They can feel something unlocking within themselves. Penny learns a new spell, while Relic, Kal and Thislethorn all can prepare one more spell per day.
They thank Fizban for the gift, and when he points out that Thistlethorn is a follower of Faunus, she is ecstatic that someone else has heard about him, as he is not a god many people know of. Fizban laughs, saying “not yet perhaps” under his breath. He asks if they would like to see his gardens. They all follow him to a greenhouse that is attached to the back of his home, with a big statue of a stag, a form commonly associated with Faunus. Thistlethorn begs for a stone from the garden to take with her, and offers one from her own forest in return. He gracefully accepts, placing her rock by the feet of the statue of Faunus. Around the greenhouse there are six yellow birds flying that look pretty much exactly like Pip who was following Granny around. One of them lands on Thistlethorn's finger, introduces himself as Jesk, asking about her.
Penny in the meantime leans towards Kal, warning her that Fizban is not a human. Her voice carries more than she’d like, with all other people in the room looking at her. Fizban just smiles, saying that he was wondering what that little contraption she was looking through was for. He doesn’t seem offended or hurt, just interested in the party. Thistlethorn, having seen him do a lot of powerful magic for less, asks if he can help her find out anything interesting about the small statue of Faunus she found in the feywild. He says “I wish my friend could discover what is special about this” while holding it, and then gives it back. She suddenly realizes what it does, as it will enhance her natural healing. Kal’s pendant also appears to enhance healing that she gives to others.
Seeing his power and his potential, Thistlethorn asks for one final boon, to help remove the affliction she and Penny suffers from. Considering it for a moment, he agrees, wishing away the damage that lingers after the experiment gone wrong. Penny wonders if he could also remove her bad luck, but he kindly says that he doesn’t wish to meddle too much with the affairs of his colleague.
Having gotten more than they could hope for from the encounter, Fizban eventually says that he doesn’t want them to waste their entire day with an elderly man, so he walks with them to the front door, saying that he wishes them good luck on the journey ahead, and their current “mission”. That last part he says with a wink in his eye.
Old Scars
Back out on the street the party says that they should probably head back to the mansion to wait for Karga, but Kal is reluctant. She asks if Relic might be able to teleport her someplace else, somewhere he hasn’t been and somewhere she herself hasn’t been for a long time. They ask her where and why. Kal is reluctant, but eventually tells them she wishes to visit the Northern Tribes, where she fell. Relic is willing to try, but warns them that it might be a cold and wet experience. Kal says that she is willing to try if the others accept. Wanting to help their friend, Thistlethorn places the owls in the bag of holding until they arrive, just in case, as they all gather around Relic. With a whirlwind of magical energy they disappear from the city street.
Pain. Confusion. The teleporting doesn’t go as well as they hoped, as they feel they have a hard time reaching the proper destination, but suddenly they emerge in a snowy landscape. Around them are several burned down buildings, with a few mounds of snow where it would appear bodies are lying where they were killed. Kal recognizes the place immediately. They have arrived at the place where Kal fell from grace. Thistlethorn takes the owls out, allowing them to stretch their wings.
“Do you feel it?”
Kal can feel the lingering presence, but only Relic feels it too. A heaviness over the area, the traces of the influence from an evil god. Kal explains that this is where she went when she was in the army under Thaddeus Ildrex, causing her to do unspeakable acts, making her into something different than she was before. Ildrex, being a follower of Yana, has a way of influencing people around him to feel the “thrill”, which makes them act as he wishes. Kal was never a follower of him or Yana, but still felt the pull.
Kal knows that Yana is not a god that has regular shrines built by people with wonderful statues and bowls for offerings. Yana’s shrines are the battlefields of old, battlefields where the horrors of war have shown themselves. This place has become one, and Kal shall use it against her. She sits down in the snow, taking out a knife as an offering, and tries to get in contact with Yana. The others look on while waiting for something to happen.
Kal finds herself on a large battlefield surrounded by fighters in the middle of killing each other. A tall woman with flowing red hair dresses in armor with a beautiful golden helmet stands in the midst, looking straight at Kal. Yana. She speaks to Kal. “Ah. Finally you come, child of the storm. How may I be of aid?”
Kal says that she does not wish for her aid or counsel, but she comes with an offer. She wishes to challenge Yana to a duel. Let Kal face her champion, Ildrex, and if she defeats him, Yana is to sever all ties to her and let her be. If Ildrex wins, and manages to defeat Kal, she promises to pledge herself to her service for the rest of her days. Yana looks at her, consideringly, asking when. Kal offers to do it right here, right now, but Yana wants to make it more interesting, offering up the opportunity for her allies to help her, if Ildrex can bring two allies of his own. Kal considers it, asking the others what she should do. They tell her that they are with her until the end.
Kal turns back around, facing down Yana, saying that she agrees. Yana says that she will need some time to prepare Ildrex, and the two agree that the fight is to take place at noon the next day, but she will give Kal one boon. She will tell Ildrex to use a different weapon than Blackrazor, since she doesn’t want Kal’s soul to be taken from her. Yana withdraws from Kal, returning her to the cold landscape. She tells the others about what was agreed, and then asks if they might help her with one last thing before they leave this place.
The party spends a few hours gathering up the corpses of the fallen into a pile, and then sets it on fire to give them a proper funeral. Kal gives a blessing, while Thistlethorn places an offering of stones with each corpse. Penny plays a melancholic tune on Harmony as part of the funeral. Kal gives some extra attention to two of the bodies, with Thistlethorn making some pretty flowers and snow sculptures for them. The uneasy feeling persists all up until their departure.
That evening they decide to have a Heroes’ Feast, including Berry and the owls, as Berry will join them in the duel the next day. Kal has a hard time sleeping, knowing that a lot of things will change for her after tomorrow, no matter which way it goes.
Ildrex
The next morning, having eaten a proper breakfast and prepared their spells, the party eventually ventures out into the snowy landscape when noon approaches to face down Ildrex and his allies. Udall has heard their prayers, and so a snowstorm is blowing. They walk a bit away to an open area where there are little obstructions, and wait.
After waiting for what feels like forever, a whirlwind of dark energy suddenly appears in front of them. Thaddeus Ildrex, his wife Xara and a dragonborn warrior emerges. He looks at each member of the party, and then speaks to Kal directly.
“I am so looking forward to you taking your rightful place with us. I was told to spare you, but I cannot promise the same courtesy for your friends.”
Blackrazor is on his back, while he is holding a shiny and extremely sharp looking greatsword. Kal stares back at him, and simply says “You die today.”
Ildrex holds forth his sword, and takes on a terrifying presence. The party can feel Yana’s influence growing stronger, granting her champion strength in the upcoming bout, looking more intimidating somehow, and also a lot more confident. Berry runs forward, making a roar at the enemy, hoping to intimidate them, but holds back, waiting for them to come within range.
Kal immediately takes control of the storm above, turning it into a thunderstorm. Xara tries to counterspell her, but Penny counterspells Xara, allowing the spell to go through. Kal blasts both Ildrex and Xara with a lightning bolt from above, but they sense that both of their enemies resist some of the damage. Thistlethorn casts heat metal on Ildrex’ armor, causing him to take damage, but Xara takes the opportunity to dispel the magic.
The dragonborn soldier who is assisting them suddenly changes stance, and they all see Penny concentrating on keeping him under control with her charms. She forces him to attack Ildrex instead, getting in a few good hits, but they can sense that these strikes too are resisted. Ildrex turns around to heal Xara for a bit, using healing hands, and then walks towards Berry. He looks at Kal, saying “I know this hurts you”, smiting the owlbear several times, but he manages to endure.
Xara uses a ninth level spell to cast time stop on herself, emerging from outside of time with several spells to protect her, and also having healed a bit, judging by the discarded potion bottle. She gets a little closer to the fight now that she is warded, to help counterspell any effects they try to throw onto Ildrex. Relic does his best at countering her spells, but with her new wards there is little he can do. He instead decides to throw out some area of effect spells catching them all in it.
After a little back and forth, Xara casts out a cone of cold, which Penny is caught in, causing her to lose concentration on trying to keep the soldier charmed, and so he breaks free, going to attack Berry who is already very low on health, but Thistlethorn is trying to keep him up and fighting long enough to get him into the Pocket Ball by summoning a bear totem, giving a bunch of temporary health, while also enhancing their strength. Kal also loses concentration on the storm above, evening out the playing field a bit. Ildrex still stands strong, absorbing blows left and right, while also healing himself a fair bit.
Ignoring Berry, Ildrex eventually moves towards Kal, striking her several times with his greatsword. To her horror, she realizes that the wounds cannot heal magically, making the sword a lot more dangerous than previously assumed. Also, every time they attack Ildrex, they take psychic damage. Kal is suddenly very thankful that she decided to agree to this fight instead of the one on one she proposed. Relic fires a devastating disintegrate spell at both Xara and Ildrex, managing to break Xara’s concentration on the ward, allowing her to be attacked again.
Thistlethorn also sees the danger of the sword, and decides to cast heat metal on it instead. Ildrex manages to hold on to it, but enraged, he tosses it aside, and to the horror of everyone, unsheathes Blackrazor instead. He strikes at Kal, blasting her with divine smites, but luckily she is resistant to those. Blackrazor suddenly casts haste on Ildrex, making him even more dangerous, with Ildrex screaming at Kal that he will kill her, too caught up in the thrill to care about the limitations from his god.
Relic, seeing what is happening, makes a desperate gamble, casting dispel magic at Ildrex, removing the haste. Ildrex is stunned by the sudden lethargy. Seeing an opening, Thistlethorn immediately runs forward and tries to wrestle Blackrazor away from him. Thanks to the bear totem, she manages to remove the sword from his grasp, taking it into her hands. The sword talks to her.
“Hello! Would you like to destroy something today?”
She doesn’t reply to the sword, ignoring its attempt to lure her in, her main focus being to take it away from its owner. She then drops concentration on heat metal on the other sword when she sees Penny run towards it to pick it up. Penny takes it and hides it in the bag of holding, removing it from play for now. Ildrex sees all this, but is powerless to do anything. The dragonborn soldier is fighting one on one with Berry, but it is not looking good for him.
Ildrex, shakes himself out of his lethargy, and looks at Kal.
“It’s not over yet.”