[Horde] Chapter Five: Session Twenty-One
Appearing Characters: Arthak Saurfang, Hartli, Nyxxa Murkthorn, Ragi, Rak'Symma, Rexxar, Sol'chi, Zar'Kaa
November 15th
As Sol’s vessel dove down into the valley and began to open fire on various enemies while Nyxxa disembarked and started to assassinate some of the hexxers. Arthak kept an eye out for threats and various dangers, while Zar’Kaa worked to draw focus to himself and one of the harpy witches honed in on him and cast a [Blight]. However, Arthak called out a warning, which gave Zar’Kaa an opening to kill the witch before the spell could entirely take hold. Symma screeched out a challenge to Ragi the Hexxer.
On cue, Rexxar appeared and buried his axe into the back of a harpy as he commanded his animals to attack.
A corrupted eagle tried to swipe at Sol, but was unable to get past the glass of the vehicle. Another harpy leaped at Nyxxa and managed to get a good slash in her side. Or so she thought, but Nyxxa was able to deflect the attack aside as she flipped over the harpy and sliced her throat.
Sol used [Arcane Hand] and sent it down to start disrupting rituals. Arthak loaded up one of the cannons and repeatedly launched the weapon in order to knock fleshrender eagles from the sky and destroying various totems and ritual sites. Zar’Kaa hefted his spear and started to leap from eagle to eagle using the teleportation effect of the weapon. At one point, he missed his mark, and started to fall, but Arthak saw him and fired a cannon shot that gave Zar’Kaa an opportunity to use the shot to regain his momentum using his teleportation. He bolted across the sky and managed to end another corrupted eagle. However, as he turned, he realized he was now out of targets. He instead looked at the ground he was plummeting towards and he managed to interrupt the fall by teleporting to a tree as he fell.
Symma started to look for Ragi, seeking out voices that sounded the most like the High Crawliac. She thought she heard one that was close, and she started to veer in its direction as Nyxxa translated Arthak’s battle plans to the eagles. And that’s when Symma saw her target. On a high ledge was a harpy, who appeared to be Hartli the Snatcher. Symma called out an alert cry as the vehicle veered towards the cliffside. There were a variety of eagle nests and freshly turned eagles. Two unturned eagles were trying to actively defend the eggs in their nest.
Hartli rounded on the ship as it appeared and released an alarmed squawk.
The harpy took off into the air and hurled a bola at Nyxxa. Nyxxa dove out of the way, and the heavy stones clonked off the side of the ship. Hartli pursued Nyxxa and tried to slash at her before flitting away.
Arthak trained the cannon on Hartli the Snatcher and channeled his fire rune through the weapon as he fired. The harpy managed to avoid the majority of the blast, but she was unable to avoid the flaming chains that wrapped around her and caused her to plummet into the cliffside.
A Crawliac Scourge harpy closed on Zar’Kaa, but the troll was able to deflect her attacks aside. Another Crawliac Scourge started to flap her wings wildly as she infused the resulting gale with wind magic. Arthak and Nyxxa were able to ground themselves against the wind as Zar’Kaa chose to ignore the Crawliac Scourge and instead focused on Hartli. He hurled his spear at Hartli and teleported down to her, where he released a barrage of attacks on the completely restrained harpy. He eviscerated both of her wings, and then pulled Hartli close to him.
He then shoved the harpy off the side of the cliff, and she screeched wildly, crying for help, until her cries were abruptly silenced as she hit the ground. He then hurled his spear at the Crawliac Skywitch that hadn’t had a chance to react. The Skywitch also slammed onto the ledge. Zar’Kaa called out a wicked war cry. Thisalee dove in at that moment and was able to clip the Skywitch with her dagger.
One of the Crawliac Bloodfeasters honed in on one of the eagles and swiped at it with her claws while a nearby fleshrender eagle leaped at Zar’Kaa. He vanished into the shadows and reappeared on the other side of the Skywitch. The eagle screeched angrily as it followed after Zar’Kaa and released a miasma of rot over the troll. Zar’Kaa felt the choking miasma wash over him and his flesh crawled. He staggered back, and he felt like he lost several years of his life.
Nyxxa also closed on the Skywitch and pummeled into the harpy. Feathers and blood spattered everywhere as the Skywitch was left eviserated on the ground, and Nyxxa then rounded on the fleshrender eagle. She tried to open a bleeding wound on it, but the creature’s blood was thick, black, and clotted, and it refused to flow.
Another Bloodfeaster continued to attack the eagles.
The second fleshrender eagle ran at Nyxxa and released its decaying breath as well. This time, Zar’Kaa and Nyxxa were able to resist the worst of the effects as another Bloodfeaster dove at Zar’Kaa and yet another started to pile on the eagles.
The Crawliac Rotspreader started to sing a sorrowful dirge directed at Nyxxa. Scant thoughts of Nyxxa’s loved ones sick, dying, and coughing up blood began to filter through Nyxxa’s mind. She then swooped towards Nyxxa and began to bite and claw at her.
Rexxar ran along the length of the ship and started to hurl his axes at the fleshrender eagles. One of them fell to the ground, dead. An axe embedded itself into the second eagle, and Puffer squealed and charged at the nearest Crawliac Scourge as Rexxar barked a command. The boar knocked the harpy to the ground and proceeded to start goring and stomping on her.
Rak’Symma flew off the vessel and harnessed her magic into a [Chain Heal] that leaped back and forth between Nyxxa and Zar’Kaa with a flurry of glowing, electrified feathers. One of the Crawliac Scourge harpies tried to swipe at her, but she was able to dodge.
The eagles began to claw and bite at the harpies, and two of them were immediately torn from the sky and mauled.
Another fleshrender eagle tried to claw at Sol through the window and then released its decaying breath over the vessel. A Crawliac Bloodfeaster tried to claw at Sol. She succeeded, but was instantly frozen by the blow-back from Sol’s ice barrier and shattered into the side of the cliff.
Sol used [Devastating Hand] on the fleshrender eagle and slammed it into the side of the cliff with an explosion of violet lightning.
The harpies continued to attack the eagles, and the mother eagle started to bleed profusely. However, the father eagle eviscerated the harpy that had attacked him and fluttered over to his mate and tore that harpy out of the sky as well. He then looked at another harpy and shrieked, which caused the harpy to flee. Another harpy managed to open a bleeding wound on Zar’Kaa.
At that moment, there was a keening call from the other side of the battlefield. Ragi the Hexxer and four more fleshrender eagles had started to join the fray.
Zar’Kaa started to focus on the Crawliac Rotspreader as Ragi started to utilize her blood magic. It seemed her head feathers had literally been dyed with blood, and she started to channel the blood of those around her. Symma started to cough up thick globules of blood, meanwhile Rexxar’s hood darkened as he started to bleed from his eyes.
Arthak switched cannons and he fired a shot at Ragi. He scored a direct hit on her, but then an illusion shattered as one of her mirror images broke. He fired again, and once again, a mirror image shattered.
Nyxxa looked over at the Rotspreader with an uncanny smile.
With her first strike, she cut into the harpy’s gut, stopping her song. And she then started a flurry of attacks on the helpless harpy. One of the Crawliac Scourges tried to buffet Symma to the ground, but she was able to resist the blowback as she continued to cough up blood.
Sol steered the vessel around and tried to ram it through Ragi and her fleshrender eagle contingent. Two of the eagles scraped at the hull of the vessel, taking the blowback of ice magic. However, the force of the ship definitely did some damage, and one of the eagles was knocked out of the air.
One of the fleshrender eagles used their decaying breath over Rexxar and Puffer, but they were not phased by the rotting miasma.
The male eagle tried to staunch his mate’s bleeding, but was unable to do so as he looked up at another freshrender eagle that had appeared and screeched.
Ragi flew to the front of the ship and honed in on Sol. She slashed at Sol, and Sol used cutting words to reduce the damage as the frozen magic splashed over her. She struck again, finally breaking through the enchantment. Suddenly, her blood-drenched hair reared back and wrapped around Sol. She pulled him out the front of the vehicle as she started to strangle him with her hair.
Rak’Symma enhanced her magic to use [Lesser Restoration] and purge the blood from her throat. She then flew back to help protect the eagles against the fleshrender.
Another fleshrender eagle used its decaying breath over Rexxar and Puffer. However, yet another one chose to go for Arthak instead. Rexxar started to cough through the stench of the fleshrender eagles and he commanded Puffer to back off. He then took out two axes and hurled them through the air as he used [Conjure Barrage] through all the fleshrender eagles before him. One of the fleshrenders fell dead and tumbled off the side of the ship. Puffer finished off another one.
The remaining harpies continued to attack various individuals, but were fairly ineffective.
Puffer managed to charge through another fleshrender eagle. Rexxar hurled his axes again, one with fire and one with acid, and he hurled them at Ragi and the Crawliac Scourge that had arrived to back her up. The Scourge dropped from the sky, dead. However, the axe shattered the last of Ragi’s mirror images.
The Crawliac Rotspreader was able to shake off the stunned effect and began to sing again as she attacked Nyxxa. One of the remaining Crawliac Scourges managed to slash into Rak’Symma.
Zar’Kaa tried to finish off the Rotspreader harpy, but she was just barely able to hold on.
Ragi started to try and bore her hair into Sol’s bloodstream, but she was unable to get a good hold. Sol used [Devastating Hand] on Ragi to blast her off him, and he managed to grab onto the edge of the ship and slide himself back into the pilot seat. He then tried to ram the ship into Ragi, but she was able to fly up and out of the way.
Nyxxa was able to finish off the Rotspreader and brought her glaives slicing through to the fleshrender eagle. With a devastating blow, she brought the eagle to the ground, dead. She then looked to the remaining harpies.
The harpies hurriedly shook their heads and Nyxxa opted to fly off towards Ragi.
Rak’Symma conjured a lightning storm with [Call Lightning] and summoned it over Ragi as she maximized the damage the spell could do.
Ragi used [Blink] and she and the other harpies started to try and flee. However, the warband was able to stop her escape and back her into a corner. Rexxar threw his axe at Ragi and pinned her to the cliff with his axe.
Symma called upon the storm she had summoned, and the lightning struck down to the head of the axe and surged through Ragi’s body. Ragi screamed, but then fell silent. The rest of the fleshrender eagles were able to be dispatched and the remainder of the harpies chased off or killed.
The Highmountain eagles looked over to Symma to thank her, and the female eagle expressed that something about Rak’Symma felt familiar despite them having never met before.
He looked over his own nest, as well as the others.
The eagles nuzzled into Rak’Symma, and Rexxar retrieved his axes and then gave Symma a nod.
