The Krarshtkid fight was a brutal but short one- they caused some costly losses in terms of licking away your precious armour in some locations, but in the end each of you took one out, besting them in skill despite their advantage in quickness and diabolical alien cunning. The ash-laden air was burning your lungs but you persevered.
You inspected the bridge and Fraud stepped across. Halfway to the end, a blob of misshapen pseudopodic tendrils and constantly forming/resorbing eyes, mouths and other body parts appeared; its essence seeming to be construed of shadow, ash, or both. It was surrounded by an indescribable anti-darkness akin to the ash suspended in the air, but neither material nor light/dark, just emptiness. That caused some difficulties but not so much as harming it. It grabbed Fraud's shield and began to eat through his armour with acid, spreading up his arm to his chest and head. The rest of you, vainly trying some weapons to no avail, ran past across the bridge (Bog nearly slipped and fell into the acidic pool to his doom, but recovered heroically and bounded across). Meanwhile Fraud valiantly broke free of its grip, losing his shield (again!) but gaining escape, and you kept it pursuing you, easily outpacing the slow glob, which Fraud reasoned to be a very corrupt gorp.
On the narrow far shore, Bog found a crumbled, hollowed-out volcanic column; some 4m tall; gaping at the end of the bridge, with one end facing the bridge exposed via a cavity in its side-wall, just wide enough for him to crawl into the column's core. Therein he discovered fragments of what he identified as a lone Uzko's skeleton, very old and barely recognizable as such. There was a feeling of wrongness but he could not discern it; yet he knew his quest was not ended. Chaos still lurked here, and he must find a way to destroy it.
You kept the shadow-gorp-thing chasing Fraud, distracting it with a well-placed arrow to an eye from Miguel, when Bog invoked his Zorak Zoran “Seal Wound” power on his mace and smashed into the gorp's body with several strong blows. This turned out to work- the goo of the abomination could not slough back together when he struck it. Finally, he dealt it a blow that cracked it into pieces and it was destroyed!
He returned with you to the hollowed column and received mental message in Darktongue and vision: “Here a hero, the Nameless Uz, took its final stand. It had a name but that is lost. It had an honour-name of the Daemon-Biter.” The vision showed its demise; a vague, shadowed Uz form battling twisted demons as it fought a desperate retreat into this spot, biting them fiercely. “It had power drawing on the Ice Age but that is mostly gone, ravaged by the power of Kajabor, all-destroyer of that Age, summoned by alien foes. But now that Chaos has been rid from this place, its last vestige of power is yours. May it serve you against the foes of this Age.” The message ended, and Bog knew you'd won your quest! He also gained a heroquest gift: The power to invoke “Daemon-Biting” for 1 MP as Folk Magic: Bite attacks do 2x penetrating damage to Chaotic demons, illuminated Chaotics, and Vadeli. Nice!!
You left the cave complex with little further incident, except that Bog (and Miguel?) needed some help wading out from Fraud before they drowned. Down in the canyon, you found Nortag Light-Taker's spirit still standing vigil on the west end. He called to you as you came forth. “You are bold and strong and fierce and wise! Four great mothers are avenged! Four Corners of Hell are free! Shall I be free, too? Does a great hero such as Nortag Light-Taker deserve rest after an Age standing sentinel? The great mothers are not here to speak of Nortag's fate. What do you think then, yezz?” You said that he should be free to rest now, and he gladly consented, wondering what rest would be like after so long. He explained that he had died in this spot defending the Four Corners against the Vadeli and their allies amongst the Godlearners (led by Yomil). “Dancing on the same web of Arachne Solara we are, even if the beat of Hombobobom is inaudible to hoomanz ears. In my Age the Sending Gods bade me carry gifts to the accursed; in your Age the living must finish the task. My gift-carrying task is done. One such task lies toward the dawn if you dare it- the accursed are dead, but their curse lumbers on; in my Age we could not scour it away. But if you seek respite this shadowed vale will give succour for as long as you need it, and the dawn will not come here until you depart .” He then vanished, acknowledging to Bog that he was “not so bad for an Enlo” and he should keep the stone tusk he used as a quest-totem item to aid him in biting the foes of this age.
You rested, one of the best rests you'd ever had, and very well-earned! Party Luck Pts now = 3! Recuperating, healing and pondering in the shadows of Four Corners of Hell canyon, you each had insights into your lives: Fraud - thinking of healing the island, he thought that he must seek the power of Froalar and Seshna Likita that is within him and within this land. Boamund- thinking of what he now knows of trolls and how wrong he had been, his status as an Uz-friend was cemented, and he lost his fear of them. He now saw them as vital allies here on Giraine and in broader affairs of this Age. Bog- was worried about how to survive without a Mistress Troll/Uzko patroness, and no access to his Zorak Zoran religion, he was uncomfortable about being independent now- but needed Uz-kind still. He decided he should lead the hunt for the Godlearner curse here that Nortag mentioned, and seek Uz help in this land to continue the fight against these strange foes of the “Third Age”, who echoed those of his Age so much-or even had, like him, returned from that Age! Perhaps Uz-kind could help him find his religion again; the hoomanz would not be of any use, but were good allies for now, anyway. Miguel- thinking of what the great mother troll of Subere had to say about Vadeli behind things; wondered how they might be combatted via ancient magics. He intuited that he needed to hunt for these powers in “Good Troll Food”- maybe Subere can help in the future if called on in the right place? He didn't think this was an extra heroquest power, but a logical thing he could try if in an area where Subere had some power.
And so you spent Sacred Time of 1622, and the new year of the Third Age, 1623 Solarum Temporum, dawned! You had new powers and even allies on your side, and were stronger again, but there was still at least half of this dangerous land of Good Toad Food left that could be explored. You wondered what the Captain was up to…
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