The War Without End – Episode 1.19
In the aftermath of the battle with Leannapazrak the Med-Jai are left attending to their wounds. The few remaining Kobolds have scattered and are no longer a threat, so the companions recover the Cup of the Blessed Sun, along with the body of a female paladin that they find in a sacrificial pit beneath the altar, and then depart from the stronghold.
They head back into the forest, travelling until nightfall before stopping and making camp in a small clearing.
Shortly after dawn, they are disturbed by sounds of something large moving towards them through the undergrowth. They ready themselves for trouble.
Moments later there is a bestial roar and a tall, green-grey creature, with powerful arms and a large mouth, bursts into the clearing. It appears to be a Half-Troll Grey Render. With a loud bellow it lumbers toward Baratus.
Before it can reach him Sa’ara leaps into its path and Baratus turns invisible.
A fierce struggle ensues. Though her blades are scarcely able to penetrate the Grey Render’s thick hide, Sa’ara keeps it distracted, dancing around it and nimbly sidestepping its attempts to grab her.
Fortunately the magic of Growler and Elsabeth is rather more effective. Growler throws magic fire seeds that explode on impact, while Elsabeth repeatedly scorches the Grey Render with burning rays.
Suddenly the beast lunges towards something unseen. It grabs thin air and tears at it with its claws. To everyone’s surprise, blood spatters on the ground.
“Baratus?”
There is no reply.
Fearing the worst, Sa’ara, Growler and Kai drive the Grey Render back and, after another barrage of scorching rays from Elsabeth, it topples and crashes to the ground.
Growler and Elsabeth rush over to the growing pool of blood and find Baratus’s invisible body. Growler removes Baratus’s magic ring and the cleric reappears. He is in a bad way. They do their best to revive him.
Meanwhile Sa’ara and Kai hear the sounds of flapping overhead and further crashing in the undergrowth. More trouble is on its way.
With only moments to spare they get Baratus stabilised and conscious. He puts on the ring and once again he turns invisible. Then Growler wild-shapes into bear-form and Elsabeth transforms herself into a medium sized Golden Dragon.
No sooner have they done so than three Fensdreg Ogre-Trolls emerge from the forest.
A fierce battle commences.
Over the next few minutes, waves of trolls and ogre-trolls of the Fensdreg tribe assault the clearing. The Med-Jai valiantly stand against them. The Bear-Growler, Sa’ara, Shredda and Kai hold the front line, while the Elsabeth-Dragon bombards their foes with scorching rays, lightning bolts and fireballs, and Baratus bolsters the companions with healing and magical protection.
As the fight goes on, though the waves of Ogre-Trolls are repulsed and the bodies of fallen Fensdreg pile up around them, it is only a matter of time before the Med-Jai start to weaken.
Sa’ara disembowels an Ogre-Troll with a series of swift cuts to its abdomen. It falls and she staggers slightly. With her left side and thigh slick with blood, it is increasingly difficult to remain standing. The last Troll nearly finished her.
Nearby, where the fighting is thickest, Shredda and the Bear-Growler are engaged in savage combat.
Sa’ara hobbles towards them but suddenly a cold, cloying miasma of darkness descends and a group of three figures step out of the forest. It is the tribal chieftain, Thaler Fensdreg, and his two sons. All are winged Half-Fiend Trolls. The unholy blight chokes Sa’ara and leaves her sickened and retching.
“You will not escape me this time Baratus” Thaler threatens.
As the new arrivals advance into the clearing, the Bear-Growler finishes the Ogre-Troll he was fighting and charges them.
While the Elsabeth-Dragon, Sa’ara and Kai finish off the remaining Ogre-Trolls, Growler and Shredda enter into a ferocious struggle with Thaler and his Half-Fiend sons. It is a violent conflict and neither side is able to gain an advantage.
In an effort to help tip the fight in Growler and Shredda’s favour, Elsabeth seizes any opportunity to hurl magic into the fray. At one point she calls down fire and lightning from above causing Thaler to recoil, but when it subsides the chieftain rises up again.
In the end it is Shredda who falls. Poisoned by dark magic and savaged by one of Thaler’s sons, he collapses lifeless to the ground. The Bear-Growler lets out an agonised howl and leaps at the offending son in a wild frenzy, mauling him and tearing his throat out.
At this, Thaler desperately tries to reach his stricken son. In his wrath he calls out to his god Vecna and utters fell, blasphemous words of diabolical sorcery that should never be spoken. So terrible are they that dark clouds boil across the sky and all who hear them are shaken. Of the Med-Jai only Elsabeth is able to stand against them. She discards her Dragon shape and weaves the last of her magic into a final lightning bolt, but it is not enough. Thaler’s remaining son overpowers her before her friends can aid her.
Ignoring the Med-Jai, Thaler strides to the body of his fallen son and lifts him into his arms. Great wings unfurl and beat powerfully as he rises up into the air. His other son follows, taking the unconscious Elsabeth with him. Rapidly they flap away over the treetops.
As soon as Growler realises they have Elsabeth, he wild-shapes into an eagle and flies off after them. Kai, Sa’ara and Baratus are left standing in the clearing. They can only watch as the winged shapes disappear into the distance.
They wait for Growler to return. Time passes.
To Growler’s surprise, his pursuit of Thaler leads him to the lair of Legagog. Remembering their last encounter with the spiders, he dare not follow any further.
Some time later, back in the clearing, Baratus receives a mental communication from Legagog’s daughter.
“My father’s apprentice has your friend. Meet our representative on the road and give it the rod. If you do this you can have her back.”
The companions are not happy with this proposal but have little choice other than to comply. Baratus surrenders the rod to Kai, who is determined to do whatever it takes to get Elsabeth back. The three head off towards the designated meeting place.
When they arrive, they find a colossal spider waiting for them. Warily they give it the rod and it scuttles off.
They try to follow it but it moves quickly through the forest and soon outdistances them. Once again they are left to wait.
To their relief, Legagog remains true to his word, healing Elsabeth of her wounds and releasing her a short while later. However before she is allowed to leave the spider’s lair, Legagog “borrows” her meta-magic rods from her.
“Think of it as payment for saving your life, my dear” he chuckles.
Though the rods are of great value to her, Elsabeth has little choice but to let him have them. She departs with Legagog’s laughter echoing through the forest behind her.
Meanwhile, Growler has returned to the clearing to find the others gone and Shredda’s body lying where it fell. Solemnly he offers prayers to ease the passing of his loyal friend and begins a ceremony that will summon another creature to be Shredda’s successor.
Notes:
As a result of the encounter, Elsabeth and Baratus have both lost powerful items to the worshippers of Vecna.
