[Alliance] Chapter Four: Session Fifty-One
Appearing Characters: Aponi Brightmane, Ash'alah, Baine Bloodhoof, Delas Moonfang, Elissa Cross, Feronas Sindweller, Kor'vas Bloodthorn, Maraad, Morra Starbreeze, Remnii, Seria, Tol'vas Moonshadow, Uther Menethil, Velameestra Windrunner, Yaeliura Nightwalker, Zevrax
August 17th
The party fights on as their allies cover their backs. The sounds of battle continue to intensify. A number of Sentinels dart from the woods to shoot arrows, but few make their mark. Other Sentinels move to counter them–providing cover fire.
The skies start to beat with the sounds of wings, and streaking overhead are groups of hippogriffs fighting in the sky. Arrows rain down from overhead in sporadic patterns, flitting through beams of moonlight.
Tol’vas and Uther hear a cranking noise. It’s a siege engine of some sort–one Tol’vas recognizes as glaive throwers.
Multiple glaives come spinning through the dark woods. Each of the blades are the size of a greatsword. One goes flying straight for Uther, but he is able to narrowly dodge beneath it as Ash'alah runs–the blade sparking off his shoulder pad.
Another goes flying straight at Remnii, and for a second her life flashes before her eyes, but then she hears metal grinding against stone. A massive piece of stone had materialized in front of her, and as she looks up she sees a towering, 40-50 foot tall figure. It looks at her with gentle eyes. It gently pats her head.
It then throws another stone at the siege weapons. There is some deep laughter, and they can see several other mountain giants moving through the trees. The group continues in the shadow of one of the mountain giants as it swats at hippogriffs in the air.
There are flashes of gold and silver light, and several Sentinels fall dazed. Up ahead, the group can see Delas Moonfang on her nightsaber, and right behind her, Aponi Brightmane astride a massive kodo beast.
There are more glaives flying through the woods–one striking a tree and toppling it.
An arrow goes sailing by as a ranger casts [Hunter’s Mark] on Uther. Other arrows rain down from the sky.
She holds up her totemic club, and a beam of light rains upon her. Her armor and the armor of the kodo beast glows with a sunlit radiance as she casts [Crusader's Mantle]. The kodo beast tramples over some branches to close the distance.
Suddenly, they hear a roar that almost sounds draconic--it’s the roar of chimeras. A gout of flame illuminates the sky and there are shouts in darnassian as the hippogriffs dive down to get cover from the creatures.
Tol’vas casts [Gravity Sinkhole] and drags several hippogriff riders down. Vel then activates an arcane rune in the area, and a [Sleet Storm] opens up over most of the enemies--causing mass chaos. A sentinel manages to get out of the area on her nightsaber, and she shoots at Aponi, but is only just able to nick her. Another nightsaber emerges, its rider trying to clean ice and rain off of herself.
In desperation, one of the glaive throwers is fired and the the glaive flies straight at Uther--breaking his ice barrier as sparks fly. There are calls to pull the glaive throwers back.
Seria jumps up on the fallen tree and hurls herself down at the nearest Sentinel atop her nightsaber. She tries to peel the Sentinel off her mount, but the Sentinel is able to hold on.
However, the priestess of the moon raises her hand and casts [Dispel Magic]--the storm coalescing in her hand and then bursting into a flurry of snow.
Delas casts a [Circle of Power] around herself, and then Ash’alah charges forward at the priestess of the moon. She knocks the priestess off her frostsaber’s back, and the frostsaber looks at the massive tiger with recognition and fear.
A Sentinel closes with Delas, but she is able to harmlessly deflect the strikes aside.
The priestess’s frostsaber stands up, but it is awed by Ash'alah's presence. A hippogriff rider shoots at Remnii, but both shots go wide. Levin, the thunder wolf that Tol’vas had summoned, fires a bolt of lightning at the hippogriff, and it shoots through the creature.
Uther brings his hammer down on the priestess of the moon–getting two glancing blows.
The fey dragon Seria had summoned lands on one of the stumps behind the priestess.
It sticks its tongue out and licks the side of her cheek. However, the priestess is able to resist the polymorph it tried to use. The fey dragon frowns and then turns invisible.
The priestess gets to her feet.
She touches the stream nearby, which illuminates and there is a pulse as she uses twilight sanctuary.
Her frostsaber breaks its trance and claws at Ash'alah, but is unable to land a strike. Delas’s moonsaber works on wrestling with one of the nightsabers, casting its riding Sentinel from its back.
One of the mountain giants then hurls a boulder and it crashes into one of the glaive throwers, crushing it entirely.
A hyjal ranger fires at Vel, but misses entirely. The hippogriff rider swoops down at Remnii, and tries to trip her up. Remnii is just barely able to stay standing--stumbling instead.
One of the glaive team members that no longer has a glaive thrower starts to open fire using a bow and arrow. Another of the glaive thrower glaives comes careening forward, but Uther erects an arcane [Shield] to deflect it aside.
The battle continues to rage as the forces fully collide.
Vel jumps up onto the fallen tree and propels herself off, disappearing as she casts [Steel Wind Strike] on several of the enemies. She materializes next to Remnii, just under the hippogriff rider.
Aponi knocks a Sentinel unconscious as she sweeps the night elf off her nightsaber.
She tries to shoo the nightsaber off, and her kodo charges into the cat’s side–throwing it across the ground. The feline roars, but opts to flee.
Levin backs up Vel and tears the hippogriff rider off her mount, tossing her to the ground. The hippogriff is critically injured, and starts to fly away with its rider. Seria continues to wrestle with the Sentinel and her mount.
Remnii casts [Spiritual Weapon], the spectral hammer swinging into one of the wounded Sentinels. She then casts [Mind Sliver] on the priestess of the moon.
Tol’vas casts [Wrath] on one of the remaining hippogriffs, but it is able to stay in the air. Tol’vas then fades into the shadows again.
Uther continues to focus down the priestess.
More glaives are launched through the air, but are unable to land a hit.
The Sentinel slashes at Uther with her glaive and magic starts to wash around Delas’s hand. The circle of power falters, and she spins her glaive around. Wispy chains of moonlight wrap around the priestess, a Sentinel, and a hippogriff rider. Their bodies go rigid as the [Hold Person] connects.
The priestess is able to break free of the spell, but her twilight sanctuary had faltered. Ash'alah leaps on the priestess and knocks her to the ground with a roar. The priestess looks a bit shaken. Her frostsaber backs up, awed again.
Both of the glaive throwers go off, and another glaive bounces harmlessly off of Uther’s arcane [Shield]. The second goes wide around Levin.
Tol’vas hurls another [Wrath] at the hippogriff and manages to knock it out of the sky.
The hippogriff rider brandishes her weapon.
Tol’vas disappears into the shadows again as another flurry of arrows is released on Uther. Delas spins her glaive and knocks two Sentinels unconscious. She holds the weapon in front of the priestess.
The fey dragon flits away and drops its invisibility as it appears next to one of the glaive throwers.
The dragon uses [Hypnotic Pattern], and the entire team starts to laugh and giggle as they reach for some bubbles that had appeared. The fey dragon then lands on the glaive thrower to examine it.
Vel runs up and over the tree, casting [Toll the Dead] on one of the riderless nightsabers before following up with a slash of her blade. The nightsaber roars in Vel’s face, but grabs its unconscious rider and opts to flee--leaving an opening for Aponi to charge towards the remaining glaive thrower on her kodo.
Seria leaves the remaining nightsaber bloodied, and it also opts to flee.
Aponi knocks one of the Hyjal rangers aside on her way to the glaive thrower. The ranger disappears into a tree with [Treestride].
The grounded hippogriff tries to claw at Tol’vas, but is unable to pierce his magically-strengthened flesh
The rider draws a silvered shortsword to attack Tol’vas as she calls for her hippogriff to get to safety.
Remnii has her spiritual weapon swing at the priestess and then casts [Mind Sliver] on the hippogriff rider. Uther brings the butt of his hammer down at the priestess. Levin runs and leaps at the hippogriff rider, knocking her unconscious.
Tol’vas then scoops up the rider and sticks her on the wounded hippogriff--able to calm down the mount just long enough to do so before it takes off. He then disappears into the shadows.
Vel runs and leaps off the upended earth, slashing at the hippogriff rider that remains as she backs up Uther. Meanwhile, Aponi trashes the remaining the glaive thrower with her kodo. The glaive team raises their weapons.
The night elves throw down their weapons, seeing just how far the tides had turned.
The priestess starts to cast a spell with a snarl.
Delas swings at the priestess, giving Uther an opening to knock her unconscious. However, before she hits the ground, Delas grabs her.
The rest of the night elves start to flee to get reinforcements. Within a few moments, Baine appears to surround the still-dazed glaive team.
Suddenly, a voice shouts “watch out!” as a glaive thrower launches another glaive at Delas. However, a wiry night elf leaps forward and deflects the glaive aside with a kick. Kor’vas lands on the ground.
Kor’vas starts to run.
Suddenly a beam of energy destroys the glaive thrower as Feronas appears.
Aponi directs the surrendering night elves to leave and retreat. Delas moves to pursue her daughter, but she puts a hand on Uther’s shoulder.
She uses her lay on hands.
She takes off after Kor’vas as Remnii calls after her to be safe. Remnii uses [Cure Wounds] on Uther and the group continues to run. They encounter a small group of Sentinels including Yaeliura, and she gestures toward Mount Hyjal.
The group continues in the direction she had directed, and the din of battle starts to get muffled by the thickening woods. Tol’vas leads them through the thick trees, but suddenly–the sounds of battle are completely gone. The darkness seems to be getting darker.
There’s no sound of wildlife.
There is an unmistakable scent. Tol’vas growls.
Tol’vas turns, but as he does, all his companions are gone. There is a thick, deep purple mist around him.
Remnii clasps her staff close to her, and as she looks around, she’s also alone. Remnii stops.
Seria prowls, her nose to the ground, but she looks away at a noise–when she looks back, she’s alone.
As Vel looks around, she is also alone.
Uther, astride Ash'alah, stops. Ash'alah senses something is amiss, and a thick, violet mist pours in–obscuring his companions from him.
A familiar figure steps from the mist. He is tall and wearing armor much like he did before the group’s exodus. It’s Victor. Half of his body is covered in scales, a horn bursting from half of his skull, and a malevolent blade in his hand.
Vel continues to walk through the mist, her eyes narrowed. It seems she doesn’t move at all, until finally she sees a figure in the mist. It’s a large figure with another astride it. There is a long, spiked tail, with two wings. It’s a black drake, and astride it is a humanoid figure. He has a familiar tabard and armor, and he has black scales on his face. It’s Victor.
Vel snarls.
Victor draws a molten greatsword.
As Seria continues to walk, there is a roar, and suddenly a dragon lands before her. It has black and red protrusions coming from its body, and it opens its maw to reveal fangs as it prepares to strike.
As Tol’vas looks around, he chuffs.
Two bright red eyes appear in the mist, and a massive black form lumbers towards him. Tol’vas’s heart drops. It’s a druid in the form of the pack. It has jet black fur, and fiery markings with bone piercings in its ears. It’s Alpha Prime.
Alpha Prime howls.
Remnii continues to clutch her staff, treading carefully through the mist. A voice calls to her in a sing-song voice. There is scraping of steel on stone, and it seems to come from every direction. Remnii hitches her skirt up and starts to run. She finds herself quickly turned around, and she collides with a figure.
It’s Velhari. Her eyes are bright and green, and she raises her blade to bring it down.
The dragon lunges at Seria and tries to take a bite out of her. Seria raises her claw and tears across the side of the dragon, which releases a tortured scream. Seria pounces on top of the dragon, trying to bite it.
Alpha Prime continues to stalk around Tol’vas. Tol’vas looks around, but everything looks very real. Tol’vas opts to start to run, and Alpha Prime lunges after him. However, it does not seem like Alpha Prime is able to find him.
Vel narrows her eyes, and she quickly determines there’s an illusion at work. She enhances a [Dispel Magic] and hurls it at Victor, dispelling the illusion and revealing it to be Uther on top of the drake.
In Uther’s vision, he sees Victor hold out a flame that washes harmlessly over him.
There’s a waver in its voice.
Uther starts to approach as the dragon narrows its eyes, and rushes towards Vel. With two devastating strikes, the hammer slams into her with a bright flash of holy energy, and Vel screeches in pain.
The phantasm of Velhari continues to stalk Remnii.
Meanwhile, Ash'alah backs away from Uther’s target and roars–standing firmly away from her.
Alpha Prime turns towards Tol’vas and roars as he leaps towards him. Tol’vas rips open a portal as he casts [Banishment]. Alpha Prime vanishes.
Uther is confused and frustrated as Ash’alah backs up.
Meanwhile, on Vel’s side, she sheaths her sword, and starts to walk away. Uther starts to shout out the names of his comrades–using the ability of Light’s Vengeance to make his voice hyper loud.
Seria hears a ripple in the illusion, and it sounds like Uther. She shifts out of her animal form, and then casts [True Seeing]. Seria sees all of her friends around her–and she sees Elissa with her blade over Remnii.
Around them are a dozen satyrs dancing. The nightmare dragon is none other than the fey dragon that Seria had summoned.
In Remnii’s vision, Velhari raises her blade, but stops as a sound ripple echoes through the illusion.
Seeing the image’s hesitation, Remnii casts [Antimagic Shell]. In an area around her, the mist dissipates–revealing Elissa.
As Vel starts to walk away, she suddenly feels a sharp pain. There’s a cut on her side, and then there’s a hard slam–and she goes spiraling to the ground. Seria had seen one of the satyrs carve into her side and ram her back down.
A silverish mist then appears, and materializes into Morra Starbreeze. The mist shoots outward as she slams it into the ground. The mist dissipates–the clearing and the satyrs now revealed.
Levin is nowhere to be found.
There is clapping.
A satyr steps forward, revealing the satyr corrupter that had been trying to corrupt Ash’alah. Zevrax.
Uther’s eyes fall on the clear wounds on Vel from where his hammer had fallen, and realization dawns. Then fury.
One of the satyr shadowdancers runs for Tol’vas with a [Shadow Blade]. Morra holds up her hand.
Morra casts [Beacon of Hope], and then seems to almost vanish for a moment as she appears next to Remnii with her blade drawn.
A satyr tries to swipe at Uther with a shadow blade, but is unable to land a good hit. Another satyr closes on Vel as multiple of them start to double team her.
Tol’vas howls as he starts to shift into the form of the pack and launches himself at one of the satyrs. The shadowdancer is knocked on his back as Tol’vas starts to maul him.
Morra looks up at Tol’vas, and her eyes flutter for a second as she takes in what exactly happened.
Remnii casts [Death Coil] on Vel, and the wounds on her body promptly knit together. Morra also sees that, and she processes it again.
Vel gets to her feet and draws her sword again. With a snarl, her eyes go magenta and she uses [Steel Wind Strike], knocking one of the satyr tricksters to the ground as she rematerializes over her.
Zevrax casts [Confusion] over the fey dragon, Tol’vas, Uther, and Ash'alah. Everyone is able to resist the spell completely. Zevrax looks a tad perturbed as he a steps around the clearing.
One of the satyrs looks up at Tol’vas in fear as he flails his weapon at him ineffectively. Another satyr trickster uses [Green-Flame Blade] on the fey dragon, which licks at Tol’vas as well. A third one goes for Vel with another green-flame blade–getting under her defenses.
A satyr goes for Morra, but she headbutts him to deflect him aside.
Seria casts [Moonfire] on Zevrax, which promptly lights him up. Laughter in Tol’vas’s mind starts to intensify as something else Zevrax had done starts to pierce through his mind. Seria follows up with a [Wrath].
Ash'alah goes for the satyr that Vel had knocked prone, trying to pin her to the ground. Uther, meanwhile, swings at a shadowdancer–and his shadow blade promptly drops as he loses concentration. With another swing, the satyr drops.
The fey dragon looks at the group around Uther and Vel.
It uses [Hypnotic Pattern], and all its allies are able to resist as several of the satyrs wind up dazed.
Morra conjures a [Spiritual Weapon] that swings at the satyr under Tol’vas as she then whirls around and hits Zevrax. Elissa joins her mother in engaging with Zevrax. One of her strikes gets deflected to Morra.
Tol’vas continues to bite and maul the prone shadowdancer. He then howls loudly, using [Roar]. Morra carves a moon in the air and wipes her cape over it. It spreads out over the group as she uses twilight sanctuary.
Suddenly, there are heavy footsteps and Maraad comes barreling through the underbrush. He strikes the satyr next to Zevrax, knocking it aside.
More satyrs cackle in the woods as Maraad turns around to deal with them. Remnii uses [Mass Flash of Light].
Vel looks at one of the incapacitated satyrs and starts to move towards it, magic coating her fangs.
He slashes at her, distracting her long enough that the spell fades before she could bite. Frustrated, she drives her sword into the prone trickster instead.
The satyr shadowdancer Tol’vas had pinned teleports out of his grasp and then tries to hide in the shadows of the trees. However, Seria and Tol’vas still see him.
Elissa drives her blade into the nearest satyr.
Holy energy surges through him, and he evaporates. Elissa carries the momentum over to Zevrax. She strikes him with the backside of her shield, and he is sent stumbling to the ground.
The fey dragon uses its bewildering breath on the nearest trickster. She uses [Hideous Laughter] on Uther and Tol’vas as she starts to laugh, but no one else laughs.
Seria takes a step away from the nearest satyr, and the satyr headbutts her. She stumbles, and with a growl she transforms into a bear and lunges back at him in a flurry of fang and claw.
A satyr trickster follows Vel and uses a [Green-Flame Blade], but she blocks the attack with shield. Another satyr wakes the dazed shadowdancer, who goes at Uther–but is unable to land a hit.
Zevrax looks at Elissa.
He tries to use thought corruption, which she resists. He reaches out, but Morra grabs his hand.
Zevrax looks at her, realizing his mistake.
Ash'alah continues to rip and tear into the prone trickster, who then uses blink to get away from the massive tiger. She then swings at Seria with a [Green-Flame Blade] but she misses, too hampered by her wounds.
Uther swings twice at shadowdancer, and he explodes into holy light.
