giraine:summary-317

Summary 317: The Wrath of Vran (2023-04-29)

Well, that was exciting! It was meant to be very hard as this is a major foe that has been building strength here, and they had the advantage, plus cramped space did you few favours. I had expected you to have a Shade (or more) along, but it did happen eventually, and I definitely did not expect that Blood Spectre.

You go into the Big Gunge within the dead zone filled with creepy mists and those Blue Corpse Flowers, which glow eerily and moo uncouthly at night. Boamund is troubled by dreams but does not trouble you with them. He tries scrying into the tower that morning but can not get through its perimeter. So you approach, and as you draw near you throw spells on yourselves. Boamund then calls out to Sesgallah to clear the path across the mud, and she appears there with a broad smile to do so, rendering the whole area into dry, cracked mud. Bog cast sMight spells on you and you rush the tower. As this begins, the voice of The Majestic Vran, Conjurer of Truths calls from somewhere above, sarcastically welcoming you with no small amount of threat behind it. But you bash the battering ram into the door, smashing it wide open (GM note: it had 8 AP, 20 HP and that is exactly what you did in 1 blow!). As it falls, it lashes out with tendrils of searing black electricity but this does nothing more than lightly singe your hairs.

You drop the ram and Boamund rushes in, followed by Bog, then Fraud, then Shrett. Drawing weapons and casting spells as you came, you progress warily. The hallway opens into two rectangular entry-chambers; all spaces 3m high. Boamund goes into the first room, where you'd briefly dined with your “hosts” before. Bronze oil-lamps in corners cast dim, flickering light onto the room and hallway beyond. The walls are inlaid with bas-relief covered in lead, showing scenes of the Underworld and Malkioni mythology from Hell, focussing on explicit depictions of the sufferings of those in Error. An old Seshnegi inscription across the far wall reads, “Certain indeed is that there shall be penance for gross Error, if the Zzaburi wish it to be so. But do they? Question power.” An open doorway in the shape of a Law rune enters the next chamber, to the south.

Bog seems some of the other room opposite it (and you'd had a glimpse before)– the bas-relief images depict the Bridge of Swords, and the centre of the floor features a bas-relief, bronze-coated replica of a giant sword. An old Seshnegi inscription across the far wall reads, “Those who dare the Bridge of Swords will find the mettle of their metal tested. But does metal make a man-of-all? Question strength.” There is a bronze prayer-wheel in the southwest corner: a 3m tall cylinder standing on end, carved intricately with runes of many kinds.

It all kicks off when Boamund comes into that first chamber. He sees a shield-wall of three of Vran's iron-bedecked soldier minions inside the southern chamber, prepared to surround anyone entering. Behind them there is a huge demonic shadow-hound-thing. It is a simple, lamp-lit room with tapestries of old, vague scenes of warfare hung on bare stone walls, and a stone spiral staircase set into the northwest corner; plus another triangular doorway on the southwestern wall. There are three makeshift beds of dirty straw here, and various mundane possessions and signs of recent habitation. Boamund stifles beastly urges.

You position yourselves in the first chamber but they aren't drawn in. They throw spells and the demon blasts with frigid darkness at Boamund, but he is unharmed. Fraud gathers the gumption to rush their middle, and shield-bashes that man backwards just enough to break the shield wall, but he falls down with the effort. Things get worse for him soon enough, even though he is able to stand back up. Shrett shield-bashes into the warrior blocking the way into the staircase upwards, knocking him down into that space and clearing more room, although he gets back up and returns to the fray. Boamund comes to face a foe on the eastern side, and Bog leaps into the fight when he sees an opening, leaping onto the prone form of the tripped soldier by the stairs. One by one you knock their swords from their hands, although they put up a good fight and are very skilled, well-armoured opponents, whose blades magically cut deep. Events look very grim when Fraud is felled by the unrelenting, crushing cold of the shadow-thing that envelops him (and nearly Shrett), and he clings to life by a thread as its onslaught continues. Shrett manages to draw it away to the back of the chamber but now faces the soldier back there and it, with Fraud out of the battle. Boamund and Bog, though, finally slay their opponents and come to aid Shrett, dispatching the third soldier there and, after many strikes, sending the shadow-demon back to whatever hell spawned it. But Boamund's talking demon-sword is not impressed by his prowess wielding it; tough love. You inspect Fraud and easily ascertain that he will live but there is no hope of bring him back into the fight, so you must leave him. [we dragged his counter up the stairs but there's no way you'd have had time to actually drag him yet]

The stairs enter a first floor chamber after 10m; and continue upwards to the second floor. There are some robust chairs and lounge furniture distributed around, and a few decorations of odd Castle Coast stylings, with more dim lamp-light. The bas-relief walls depict scenes from the life of Malkion the prophet, with a focus on his hardest struggles. Inscription reads, “The Lawful strive to emulate the prophet and founder. But are we folly to aspire to Malkion's glory? Question wisdom.”

Four minions of Vran have formed their shield-wall here to face you, and you accept the invitation. Bog, Darkwalking still, slinks up the stairs and past the guard blocking a doorway to the southeast. As Boamund and Shrett come in to the “killing floor” between the four guards, Bog smacks into the fourth one and takes him down quickly, but not fast enough to avoid Boamund and Shrett each getting double-teamed by sword-blows. Shrett drops with a bad wound to his chest; Boamund fends off the slashes and tries to keep up the fight, but numbers have turned badly against you. Bog thinks quickly with an internal debate over whether the blessing of the Blood Sun might save you. He opts for the gamble and releases a massive, horrifying Blood Spectre that manifests from all the gore in the battle [GM note: this spell didn't take rounds for the thing to manifest; it was indeed instant and could act instantly-a very helpful thing!], right in the centre; hovering over Shrett. It is all shape-shifting wickled clawed arms and hungry jaws and blobby body. Immediately it grabs one man's arm and shreds it, feasting on the mess. Boamund, his confidence restored, pushes the fight against the other on his side. The hungry thing is merciless. It grips the next man by the leg, and he survives long enough to hurt it just a bit, but then it eats him and his flesh restores it. In a few moments, they all are spectacular messes of drained half-corpses. Bog just laughs as he watches the glorious event. Victory has been snatched via claws and jaws from defeat.

You waste little time- Boamund bandages up Shrett so he can limp back up the stairs behind you, braving the pain of effort. The Blood Spectre goes up first, with Bog and Boamund in front of Shrett. The landing of the spiral staircase opens into a second floor chamber; continuing 15m up to the cupola. The prayer wheels here spin slowly, eerily and silently on their own, pausing occasionally on a rune as if it were of great importance. There is an eerie ambient, homogeneous grey light here. Another doorway is to the southeast. Sir Balaur, the bodyguard of Vran, stands in the middle of two other soldiers presenting a challenge. You rush them. The monster makes short, screaming work out of the man in a doorway to the east, and Boamund faces Balaur with another man to his side on the north. Shrett calls in a shade to back you up. Sir Balaur is indeed a match to any of you, swinging his iron greatsword with heroic skill, and Boamund is barely able to keep his two opponents at bay. But Bog's conjuring joins that fight now, and Sir Balaur and his comrade meet horrible ends. Boamund, however, can no longer hold back the hungry feelings that have haunted him for days. You watch in stunned wonder as he drops to all fours, roaring and twisting out of his armour as his form reshapes into that of a semi-humanoid lion; a Penjang like Shrett's late father! He rips into the throat of Sir Balaur's body, joining the blood-feast of the Blood Spectre. You let them have their moment.

The way is clear to ascend the final flight of stairs to the cupola and see what Vran has waiting for you. Shrett and Bog send the Shade and Blood Spectre up first, and they immediately are hit by a very powerful Banish spell that rips them out of this world, back to theirs. Vran delivers a villainous monologue, promising that you will regret transgressing on his domain. As you ascend, you see that the spiral stairs open into the southwest corner of a circular pillared chamber under a stone rotunda, with a glowing triangular scarlet crystalline structure set in its centre above, with large Infinity and Mastery runes in silver to either side. [this crystal emits the three-blazing eyes of the Demon of the Book of Eyes outside!] There is a Magic rune inlaid in obsidian on the centre of the floor under the crystal, and braziers, grimoire-holding bronze stands, and squat stone pedestals carved with grimacing skeletal faces surrounding the rune, which glows softly. The walls' frescoes have been whitewashed and partly painted over: the fresh scene in lavish colour and detail depicts a tower of human bones rising over a landscape of blasted rock and geysers of fire.

Vran stands at the far end of the cupola. He is a tall, thin man, with long fingernails, black hair on the sides, bald on top; a corkscrewed black beard; and pale, red lips. He wears thick fur coat with iron runes (Death, Fertility/Life, Infinity, Mastery, Magic) stitched onto it. Most of this just looks like a standard Zzaburi does, but there is something more to him, beyond his intimidating presence.

You hurry into the chamber, with Boamund showing his incredible leonine speed as he comes for Vran. Bog is there first, hitting Vran from the shadows and dealing him a wound in surprise. Boamund's rapid series of clawing and biting tears open Vran's stomach and he falls to his knees, calling in out in apparent panic to Vivamort! Aha, another of his evil allegiances is revealed! Bog tries dumping some of his Styx water onto Vran but this just causes Vran to laugh, that you do not understand. He seems to casually disregard his well-being now, taunting that “this mortal shell means nothing.” But he tries to put up a fight, reaching for Boamund with fingers ending in black seething electricity [GM note: yes, in actuality Boamund would strongly suspect this counts as Rokari-type magic he is vulnerable to; everything here he would see as that kind of enemy, which drives his hunger and fury]. He hangs on for a while, taking numerous wounds, but does not manage to release his most fiendish spells. Bog(?) delivers the final blow that brings him down. Boamund rips into his corpse, but that vanishes into nothing, leaving just his robes. So what was he, or is he? You muse over this; Vran continues to be an enigma. He sure did act like you expect a vampire to.

Shrett tries hitting the dome with various arrows but it is impervious to all but extremely hefty weapons. Bog casts flames over the grimoires, and they burst into a pillar of flames with screaming, moaning demonic faces that grimace down at you as they float up through the top of the cupola in a vortex of smoke. Shrett takes Vran's robe. Bog's maul easily smashes the obsidian Magic rune on the floor, and Shrett's Sense Sorcery spell sees that some magic fades around there. It is probably a ritual circle for conjuring things here, and then the dome must be able to emanate magics to the outside world, you figure. Boamund gallops back downstairs to eat more, as there's nothing left here after he licks up the last splashes of Vran's blood. Bog and Shrett join to try to smash the dome, but it is obvious that this will take a long time with more people and gear, and you lack that. There may be more things left to do here.

And we will find out next game! If Colin can't make it, we can still play, as it seems likely that Fraud will remain out of action for some time (but there might be something else like another Shade to play, if this is needed and he does show up).

Keep note of your current spells etc. None are gone just yet… I missed more than one key fact, in particular that Boamund's Sprout Arms spell did not go away so he has 2 extra front claws and +1 action still! (BTW, his Penjang form uses his Unarmed skill for combat; it mainly uses all of his relevant skills&stats where appropriate)

-John