[Alliance] Chapter Five: Session Eighty-Six
Appearing Characters: Ardorbound, Beth'tilac, Elissa Cross, Fineous Darkvire, Garr, Geddon, Gilveradin Windrunner, Liiraluma, Rhyolith, Uther Menethil, Velameestra Windrunner, Victor Prestor
December 5th
The offensive continued to push its way deeper into the Molten Core. Victor swung in and cut down one final flamewalker to clear out the immediate area.
Victor pointed his sword at Fineous.
Fineous scowled.
Fineous frowned.
Luma held out a low-five for Gil, who hit it.
Fineous looked staggered and perturbed, but he sat down. Meanwhile, the Dark Iron Defender was starting to short circuit again as it looked over to Luma. Luma used [Arcane Hacking] as they pulled out their interfacing tools. They put their hand on the Defender and there was a shock of gold sand along with a jolt of electricity. They put the automaton’s head.
He flipped Fineous off, and Luma smiled as they looked at Fineous.
Something seemed to die in Fineous as Luma moved to hack the defense system next. Luma ordered Darkvire to come over to them, and he looked at Gil.
Fineous swallowed his pride and moved to sit by Luma, who said they needed his arm and his voice. Fineous wanted to know what Luma was trying to do.
The system whirred to life again.
He looked at Luma, indicating they should say their name, and Luma complied, establishing themself as the new primary administrator. Fineous said it was all their’s.
Luma adjusted their glasses.
Fineous slumped down and removed his hotsuit helmet, revealing a partially cracked monocle. He leaned against the stone.
Luma snatched the monocle off his face, mended it and sat it back on his face.
Fineous was dumb-founded as Luma headed off with the rest of the party to delve into the Molten Core. The Dark Iron Defender looked at Fineous.
The automaton flipped him off and rolled after Luma as a water elemental moved over to watch him. Vel had quickly checked on the dwarves as well as Victor and Elissa, and they all seemed to be okay for the time being.
Gil turned invisible and the group set off through the open gate. They found themselves in twisting and turning corridors that had been wrought out of elementium. The magic of the fortress was thick in every wall, and every corridor had more and more defenses.
They ended up in a massive hall that appeared to be some sort of foundry with massive anvils that were working elementium.. They passed conveyor belts, and a voice in kalimag called out a warning of intruders. The bellows started to burn white hot, and the fires of the forge themselves came alive like a massive snake. It lashed out and grabbed Elissa to attempt to pull her into the forge.
Vel darted forward and opened her jaws, releasing a [Howling Blast] from her maw on the force. She continued to keep up the assault until the temperature of the forge guttered out completely and then swung her tail around, shattering the elemental completely as the forge was left inert.
Elissa hurriedly picked herself up.
Elissa nodded and resecured her shield as they continued on and they ended up in another chamber with spongy, magma-like slugs that seemed to be radiating extreme heat. They started to head towards Luma and Gil.
Gil moved ahead of Luma and he sensed no hostility. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves about “warm” as they looked at the two of them. Gil translated.
They looked over at Vel, the massive undead ice dragon, and the words died into an annoyed grunt. Luma suggested to Gil that they superheat some of the metal to distract them away. Gil attempted to heat it up with a cantrip, but it was not enough. The slugs promptly tried to climb up on Luma and Gil, but they shook them off and backed up.
However, the slime got near the open flame, and it immediately ignited and exploded. It created a chain reaction of napalm ooze back to the rock they had been on. Vel identified that it seemed they were attracted to fire immunity. The group opted to try and flee the room, and they were able to evade the group.
They encountered a strange statue of a flamewalker with a reversed head down the corridor. As a water elemental moved through, they saw the statue swivel around and zap the creature with fiery lasers before returning to its position. In the distance was a massive elementium door.
Vel was also noted there were invisible barricades that seemed to be present to try and prevent teleporting. She used [Vortex Warp] and managed to navigate Luma to the statue so they could try and disable it.
Luma scanned the statue with their arm and conjured an illusory blueprint that allowed them to analyze the statue and disable the magic. They were successful, and the statue was deactivated.
The group walked forward, and Vel tried to warn Uther at the last second as a pressure plate went down and a pressure point erupted from the ground, releasing a string of flaming spheres as several of them started to swing around. Guillotines started to swing across the path, and elementium blocks started to drop down.
Vel quickly memorized the patterns of the obstacles that emerged and she shifted down to her visage form so she could deftly evade the spirals of fire. Uther raised his shield and charged directly through, moving fast enough that he only took superficial scorch marks on his hotsuit. Gil just walked through.
Vel then timed her way through the flaming guillotines as she turned it into a dance, narrowly avoiding the blades as they swung by her. Gil, meanwhile, teleported his way through, and Uther continued to rush right through the guillotines. However, a guillotine cut his shield on the sharp end and Uther braced himself against the blade and was sent sliding across the ground. The sheer force left his muscles straining and fatigued, but he managed to roll through to the blocks.
Vel shifted into mist and she managed to squeeze herself through the blocks without any effort. Uther continued his rush approach, and he dove under the blocks. Meanwhile, Gil continued to try and teleport through, and he narrowly avoided the trap.
They were met with the giant elementium door that does not seem to have any discernible way to open.
He threw a firebolt at the door, and it was not effective. Vel tested it with her claws, and it was also completely ineffective, and the door was completely air-tight.
Vel growled to herself.
She again returned to her visage form and opened her spellbook so that she could quickly memorize [Knock]. Gil, meanwhile, looked at the runes of Ragnaros in front of the door, and her attention shifted toward her brother.
She was clearly annoyed by the entire situation. Uther stepped forward, and the rune that corresponded with his brand lit up.
Gil also stepped forward, and the symbol lit up, and the door opened half an inch.
Vel snapped her book shut.
Vel shifted into her mist form and slipped under the door, and she saw a massive audience chamber with an abundance of creatures. There were powerful elementals that had gathered, and they were in the midst of a heated discussion. The first one was a strange humanoid-like elemental who was about 12 feet tall, they had long black horns and decorated hair with burning jewelry. Their lower body was instead a soot cloud, and Vel identified it as an efreet, which was a type of djinn.
On the far side, Vel saw another elemental creature that was easy 60 feet long. It was curled up and dangling from a molten filament. It had 8 limbs, some of which was sharp claws. It was arachnid in shape, and she was dangling in a web of fire. Dozens of other inferno spiders skittered in the web.
Another lumbering form agreed patience was called for. But at the center were two familiar figures: Baron Geddon and General Garr.
Vel turned back to the door, and she noted there was a stone pedestal that seemed to be a control to the magical bridge and the door. She shifted back into her visage form and she started to try and hack into the door control.
She placed her clawed hand upon it, and she activated it. The runes on it lit up. Right as she was about to finish the combination needed, her senses went off as two strands of burning web launched at her. The Duchess Beth'tilac attempted to get an ambush on her.
She felt the burning web wrap around her and yanked her towards her.
Vel activated her bladesong at the exact moment to catch the creature’s mandibles, rendering the attack ineffective as the door began to open. A much smaller cinderweb spider attempted to bite Vel as well, but was unable to puncture the flesh. However, it was on her.
The rest of the party charged in as the door released them.
Gil raised his bow to the air and released a [Conjure Volley] that rained down over the court in a hail of cold icicles across the court aside from Beth’tilac.
Geddon roared and the air in the chamber started to heat up. A lava spout appeared right over Uther, Victor, and Luma. It swirled into a flaming tornado. Victor was able to evade the brunt of the attack, but Luma was caught up into the lava spout. It then swept over towards Gil, carrying Luma with it.
Beth’tilac released a chittering sound, and dozens of cinderweb spiderlings descended on burning webs and started to attack the group.
Vel shifted to her draconic guise as arcane runes lit up around the battlefield and then exploded into a barrage of ice and frost. She roared, but was still entangled in the web of Beth’tilac.
Garr started to lumber forward toward Vel.
He started to slam onto the ground and the rocks began to crumble. Vel was slammed into the ground and hit her head, rattling her enough that the draconic form crumbled away. However, as Garr threw a magma ball that exploded against Beth’tilac, as he had not anticipated Vel to abruptly shrink.
Geddon looked at Uther.
He drew a sigil that resonated with the sigil branded in Uther, and he cast [Living Bomb]. It seared him briefly, but it simmered and did not explode.
Luma teleported out of the fire tornado with [Far Step] and fired at Geddon. Geddon started to manipulate the elemental magic in the air, and the group felt an acute fever wash over them. Uther rushed toward Geddon, and he felt the fever burn, but when he stopped, the magic began to subside.
Duke Ardorbound began to hurl fire at Gil, but Gil was able to fully absorb the assault. Adorbound squinted.
He took up his blade and floated upward, opting to hurl the fire at Uther instead. However, they both went completely wide.
Victor rushed toward Beth’tilac and launched himself into the air. He drove his sword into her abdomen several times, and the massive inferno spider hissed as ichor seeped from her body.
Lord Rhyolith ripped a hunk of his obsidian armor off his body and hurled it at Gil. It slammed into him, wrapped around him, and hardened, petrifying him. He continued to lumber towards Gil.
Two magmakin appeared near Garr, and Duchess Beth'tilac webbed her way into the air. She launched webs at Uther and Luma, but they missed. Beth’tilac attempted to bite Vel, but her fangs deflected off her [Shield]. A magmakin launched magma at Vel and Victor, but it was ineffective.
Rhyolith caused a volcano to erupt from the ground.
Vel, meanwhile, used [Blink] to untangle herself from the webs and she flipped to her feet. Seeing Victor had arrived and momentarily distracted Beth'tilac, she spun her blade around and drove it upward into Beth’tilac’s abdomen with a devastating strike that caused the inferno spider to release the most unholy, pained screech that she ever heard.
Vel ripped the sword from the spider’s abdomen with an explosion of ichorous blood. She smirked.
She attempted to weave webs to ensnare Vel, but she pirouetted out of the way.
The volcano suddenly erupted and a gout of fire flowed toward Uther. Vel held out her hand and pulled ice crystals down to it, hardening the lava and rendering the volcano dormant. The fire tornado continued to move, but as it slammed into Gil, the obsidian on him liquified again and fell off, but he was restrained in the tornado.
Luma triggered an overdrive and used [Mass Cure Wounds] over the group.
Some of the larger spiders leaped off the ceiling, their abdomens glowing and swelling. They burst into isolated explosions as more cinderweb spiders launched on everyone.
Gil teleported out of the fire tornado and he aimed his bow at Ardorbound. He impacted with an explosion of icy energy. The damage splashed over to Rhyolith, and it was once more absorbed by the armor. Gil fired a [Lightning Arrow] at Rhyolith and Ardorbound.
A magmakin slashed at Uther, but he was able to [Shield]. Geddon transformed into a surge of lava that washed over Uther and Luma. He threw both Uther and Luma in front of him as he passed. He then punched Uther with a fiery fist, and set him on fire. Uther staggered as Geddon continued to punch him.
Duke Ardorbound took a pyroclasm stance as he flew towards Gil. Gil was able to deflect the first blow aside with his bow, and as the second blow slashed across Gil’s throat, he used [Silvery Barbs] to rewind time and evade the more devastating blow. However, he felt his immunity and absorption from fire carved away.
He swung again, and he felt the blade carve through his resistance as well.
Lord Rhyolith stomped forward to close on Gil, who was knocked to the ground. More liquid obsidian fell on Gil, but he was able to roll out of the way and it sloughed onto the ground next to him.
Garr burrowed through the ground and erupted next to Victor. A massive fissure in the ground opened beneath him and Vel. Vel dove under Beth’tilac, but Victor tumbled into the fissure.
Ardorbound unleashed a flurry of attacks on Gil, and he was knocked to the ground, dead, as Rhyolith and Ardorbound stood over him.
Beth’tilac scurried away from Vel and fired two strands of webbing at her. The attack went wide. Beth’tilac then consumed the spiderlings that were on Luma.
She then bit Luma.
Victor launched himself out of the chasm as shadowflame wings appeared behind him, and his eyes turned a bright, angry orange.
A [Mind Blast] shot through Beth’tilac as his command radiated out and he tapped into something deep, and dark. With a fury, he rounded on Garr, and slammed his blade into the elemental. Garr staggered.
Uther was on the ground burning, and he felt the life leave him as he saw the elementals close on his allies, in desperate need.
Gil’s consciousness was starting to slip, and his eyes rested on the Demon Soul, feeling the failure in the moment.
Uther, meanwhile, thought of Skye, and the fact she was waiting for him.
He needed to make it through. His friends needed to make it through. Uther ran through the stages of grief in his mind as his awareness drifted. Anger at himself, because he should have been stronger. A voice, in that moment, came back to his thoughts.
What is strength?
He believed it was the people around him.
Vel screeched as she realized her loved ones were dropping around her. Luma realized the tides were turning.
But before Uther’s breath left his body, devotion surged through his body. In a column of light, the fire around Uther turned into a radiant light. He was picked up, as if by radiant hands, and a crown alighted above his head, and wings extended behind him.
A radiant image in his hotsuit.
He raised his hammer over his head and released a surge of Light as he used [Mass Flash of Light]. With the power of divine intervention, it washed over Gil, and he reached a hand out to his fallen friend.
Gil was thrown and confused, but he nodded, and he felt himself brought to his feet.
Uther turned to Geddon and slammed his hammer into the elemental.
He slammed his hammer into him again.
