Game-Summaries:2/8/2020 Recollections

Recollections by Ember

The battle of Windy Bluff was almost upon us and we needed to prepare. Cassio called upon our fire God Surtur for help. He denied us, I believe he did not deem the foes worthy enough of his attention. However he did tell us the God of death, Nerull, is the driving force behind the dread horde. I am not sure what to make of this news, but the Magistery must be made aware. As long as we survive to pass the news on.

We were concerned this attack was a feint and the real battle would be held elsewhere. Yet we were determined to annihilate the horde and preserve Windy Bluff and the artifact.

On the eve of battle, an unnatural fog rolled over the city and the battle field. I was able to clear much of it with my control over the weather. However my reach only goes so far. After some time we saw the dread horde emerge from the distant fog.

In preparation I called forth my fire spirit, which has taken the form of Surtur. I close my eyes and remember that Garnet is well worth the sacrifice I have made.

The next thing I knew a horde of shambling zombies followed by the dreadhorde soldiers appear out of the fog. Apparently this was only to be the first wave of their attack. The gift of fire Surtur had given me made quick work of the zombies. The soldiers were heartier but we made decently quick work of them as well. As we learned, to a fault, nothing, but fire worked to hurt these creatures. We were finally victorious only to see another mob of the living dead emerge from the fog.

We now knew what we had to do and how to damage and kill these monsters. I unleashed a storm of pure fire, which rained down from sky on the living dead. The zombies turned to scorched ash and I severely weakened the dread horde soldiers and wizards. This was a huge success. I unleashed a second storm of fire which burned away the rest of the zombies. However to our dismay it seemed to roll off the dread horde with no effect.

These abominations of wizards hit incredibly hard and almost killed my precious Garnet! A fire awakened in my belly, that I didn't even know existed. Small flames licked over my skin and blazed in my eyes. I screamed for Garnet to fall back, which he did. In my rage I reversed gravity around several of the creatures. Unfortunately Cassio went up with them, but continued to battle. We realize these wizards had cast an anti magic field and their concentration must be destroyed. Otherwise my flames were useless.

It was up to Ci and Cassio to destroy the concentration of the wizards. Which they did with a ferociousness I've not seen before. Once again my fire was effective and I seared them to the bones.

Amon was knocked unconscious and they imprisoned Cassio in a force cage so his healing was useless. Thankfully Ci was able to revive Amon. Amon was weak but I could tell by his eyes the fight had not left him.

We had been badly battered and another wave of zombies came from the other side and attacked the city. There was not much we could do, they were too far away. They were vicious and furious and crashed through to the walls quickly. We were overwhelmed and badly damaged and all seemed to be lost. Then I felt it. It was like a hum all along my body. Power. Major God-like power and in a blink of an eye white light washed over us all. The zombies were destroyed in an instant. To our surprise the dread horde was still standing. We then put a fiery end to the rest of them. Amon told us he believed it was The Yellow who sacrificed herself to save Windy Bluff by using the artifact.

In the distance we saw this hulking form emerge from the fog. This beast was enormous, with the head of a crocodile. It was carrying a giant staff and followed by several small floating figures. I remember thinking that we are doomed. There was no way we could win against these creatures.

We didn't have long to decide what to do. The creatures were barring down upon us. Do we run? Then what was this all for? Do we stay and fight? Which was clearly suicide. Ci and Cassio were insistent on staying and fighting until the end. What good would it do for all of us to die when there was still work to be done? I tried to convince them, but they refused to listen. We didn't have time to keep arguing and through our bickering.....

Amon spoke.

His voice was meek but determined. "The dreadhorde was not undead, but aberrations" he said. "This is why they did not fall when The Yellow used the artifact." He then said something which made me close my eyes and my heart stop. "I will use the artifact" he said. "Amon" we said "it will be suicide and what if it doesn't work?" He had to have faith he told us and he knew this was our only chance to save Windy Bluff and the artifact.

What do you say to your friend when he prepares to sacrifice himself for the greater good? A man who you have known for so long. A simple hermit Warlock who through divine grace turned into a divine Cleric. A man who you've fought side by side with many times over. Tears streamed down my face and I took his hands in mine and kissed them. Goodbye Amon. There is no amount of Thanks we can give you for the sacrifice you are about to make. All we can give is time.

We needed to get Amon to the artifact as quickly as possible. Cassio offered his Cassio listeed to take Amon with Haste. We watch him fly away and turn back to the threat ahead of us.

The Giant creature let out a deafening roar and slams us with a fireball. He then held his staff to the sky and it began vibrate and glowing blue. The battle ensued and was a complete blur. We were losing and losing badly. Then out of nowhere I felt it again. The hum of power through my body and a blue light emanated over everything. The creatures were all ripped apart and turned to dust and ash.

He had done it.

Amon had done it, saved us all. He will forever be remembered as a Hero. I will light a special blue flame for him in my Grove that will burn eternal. He shall never be forgotten for the sacrifice he made that day.

If we live that long, that is. As we returned to collect our fallen and The yellow. An unnatural storm rumbled overhead. It became increasingly more violent as the minutes progressed. As our gaze turns to the horizon the sea level began to swell and rise. Next thing we see is a giant mass of tentacles emerge writhing from the water......

Recollections by Cassio

Chapter 43 excerpt So you want to be a hero by Cassio

War was upon us once again, only this time it was at the doorstep of Windy Bluff. After what felt like an eternity of idle chatter and waiting in fear by both the Magistery and the conventicle it was finally now time to act. We have heard tales of nothing but death and destruction happening up north and with orders to do nothing but wait it was almost unbearable. I communed with the king of the large littles (big giants, but little spines), Surtur and he answered: He would not help us in the battle to come. His power would be with myself and ember throughout the coming conflict, and finally and most importantly: who was pulling the strings behind the dreadhorde? no one other than the former god of the dead Nerull it would seem.

We had two weeks to prepare and prepare we did. I spent most of my time recruit friends and allies from Avernus and bolstering the local garrisons at Windy bluff. Master Ci spent his time marshaling the garrison of Shanjiu Keep and leading scouting parties to track their movements. Friend Ember literally moved the earth and land to prepare the battlefield for the horde's arrival. Coating the landscape with tar and oils, she made mountains and trenches to funnel their forces into choke points. Amon went to work finding out about the artifact itself. It would appear The Yellow was already here at Windy bluff guarding this thing called "the Edifice" It appeared to be a large stone hand jutting from the floor as large as a throne. Amon went on and on about it's importance or some such but I paid no mind. As soon as he confirmed we could not move the item we had more pressing issues at hand.

Preparations made the dawn of battle was upon us. Many heroes would be forged this day.

The dreadhorde was impossibly large, and that was not counting sea of thick fog covering their large numbers. Ember simply waved her hand and changed the weather around us to disperse the fog, and with that the first wave was upon us. A contingent of these dreadhorde soldiers and the zombified remains of the townsfolk we abandoned came rushing toward us. True to the reports, these soldiers shrugged off everything that was not the flame. Fortunately for our side, Ember was in rare form. Sending waves of flames into their ranks, and providing boons to Ci so his arrows struck not only true, but made their mark. With our first wave done Victory was short lived as wave after wave of these beasts crashed against us, and we repelled them at every juncture we could.

As we were contending with antimagic fields summoned by a contingent of Dreadhorde Arcanists a horde of zombies must have made it inside the city. There was a huge explosion of light and power from Windy bluff. Amon mentioned something akin to a "turn undead on a massive scale" Whatever it was, every undead for miles and miles around the city simply ceased to be. The dreadhorde despite this massive discharge of holy energy was unaffected. A knowing gaze told us what we all knew, The yellow had used the artifact and she did likely not survive it's activation. There was little time to mourn though as another wave of the dreadhorde pushed through. Floating high above their numbers a Dreadhorde General commanded more waves of Soldiers and Arcanists. The unending fight was beginning to take it's toll on us all, and there was no end in sight.

Ci myself Ember and Amon knew this was not a fight we could win. as the third wave of Dreadhorde approached, we argued over who should flee to warn the order and who would fight to the bitter end. To think there were people as stubborn as myself in our ranks.

Amon's eyes lit up and shouted to us "I understand now....They are Aberrations! Not the undead. That's why the Turn did not work on them. Hold them off the best you can" With that I summoned a Cassio Listeed and he raced off to Windy bluff as the third wave crashed into us.

Ember devastated their ranks with magic that tore literal Fissures into the ground, Ci danced through their ranks like the wind, and I the magnificent Cassio Lista brought all the flames of House red to bare. Their forces decimated we looked to the form of a Gigantic beast with the face of a crocodile erupt from the Fog of war. This was a Dreadhorde God-Eternal It towered above the battlefield with 4 Generals at it's side. I gave both Friend Ci and Ember knowing looks, this would be our end. As the battle waged on, blasts of energy and suicidal explosions from the generals first brought down Ember, then friend Ci. if it was not for my Protective aura's I would have perished long ago. The last one standing I was about to meet my end when a massive blast of blue energy washed over all of Windy bluff. The dreadhorde in all of of an instant screamed and cried out as they turned to ash around us. We had done it. We had survived.

We found Amon in the Edifice. The stone hand crushing his body like a ashen logs after a nights fire. It appeared The Yellow had suffered a similar fate. Removing his body from that monstrosity we had no time to mourn or grieve. The warning bells began sounding once more. What is that? Tentacles?

Recollections by Ci

Another Battle, another terrible loss. I write these words in haste, for though the Dreadhorde has been stopped, another threat rises from the water. Nessune and Amon gave their lives to stop the horde but as a writhing mass of tentacles and rising waters approach the town, I can only hope that their sacrifices were not in vain. We did learn more of the enemy we face, and hopefully, this knowledge can assist our brothers and sisters in their defense of Pardor Pass: the Dreadhorde soldiers and casters are Undead, their Generals and Eternals are Aberrations. We learned they are vulnerable to fire, though immune to all other kinds of damage, and we learned their numbers are almost endless.... Each wave we faced contained more dangerous foes. Should we have to face another Eternal, may the Mountain help us, I am not sure we can defeat it again. The chill and force of its blast still brings a shiver to my spine. I am not a stranger to fear, indeed no true warrior is.

Before this battle, however, I had not known despair. When the towering crocodile visage on the horizon approached, and brave Cassio and I agreed to fight to the last to give Amon a chance to reach the artifact, I truly had no hope. No hope for myself, nor my friends, nor for the town. When I fell, as I thought for good, I did so content in the knowledge that I had done all I could, but bittersweet in the surety that it had not been enough. When I awoke to find Amon had succeeded, and the Horde was destroyed, I felt no joy or relief. I knew it had likely cost Amon everything, and thought that if that is the cost of success, can we ever hope for a final victory against this enemy? There is no time to contemplate these thoughts, however. The rising waters are my feet now. We have sent word to the Keep calling for reinforcements, though I know not who may be able to assist us. I know I will face this battle as the last, willing to fight to the last to give us a chance, but I am not sure I can hope for such an outcome. The Mountain help me, I am not sure I will hope ever again.