[Horde] Chapter Four: Session Nine
Appearing Characters: Arthak Saurfang, Azgadaan, Azuka Stormbreaker, Halno, Lantresor, Levia Blackflight, Nyxxa, Sadras, Vaerux, Veena
Outland Day 7
As the group settles in, Nyxxa approaches Halno.
Halno jerks his thumb in the direction of Hellfire Citadel. Nyxxa takes a moment to realize what he's gesturing at because her vision only goes so far.
Azgadaan informs Sadras that he’s planning on turning Summerpaw into a puppy to make it easier to fit into the flying vessel. Sadras seems hesitant, but casts speak with animals to talk to Summerpaw about. After a bit, Sadras turns to Azgadaan with a small laugh.
Azgadaan nods and then uses polymorph to transform Summerpaw into a dire wolf puppy. She is still the size of a reasonably large dog, but that is still much smaller than she was.
They unfold the portable hole against the wall to give more room as well, and the group loads into Azgadaan’s flying vehicle. Summerpaw quickly adapts to her new size, and starts to wiggle around bothering other people in addition to Sadras.
Once they fly for about four hours, Azgadaan lands the vehicle and switches it back to land mode.
The group had gotten some thick, heavy rain showers as they were traveling. The water is clearly not something that should be drank. It doesn’t threaten to burn through the vehicle, but it appears to be actual acid rain.
Nyxxa hops up to the front to help navigate for the last four hours, and they start to look for a suitable place to camp for the night. Azgadaan notes a group of tall and petrified wood sinking into the blasted ground. It looks like an old glade, and he sees something clustered in the trees--like a collection of dust or a ball of lint. He gets a strong feeling of deja vu, and he realizes this may be the remnants of the forest they had found Dornaa in long ago.
The group does not see any spiders, at least.
The lighting of the sky shifts and changes unexpectedly, and during the watches, it had veered into nearly complete darkness.
Levia and Azgadaan take the first watch, but they don’t notice anything off.
Levia’s mouth flaps.
Levia leans back and kicks her boots up on a nearby stone.
Azgadaan chuckles.
As Halno goes onto middle watch with Azuka, their watch passes in silence, and they don’t notice anything significant.
Arthak and Nyxxa enter the third watch. During the watch, Nyxxa eyes Halno, waiting for him to say anything. Halno looks up from his book.
Nyxxa uses see invisibility and informs them that she checked the perimeter.
Halno walks over to Arthak.
Nyxxa nods.
He offers the odds he had discovered, which was about a collective 70% whenever he takes substantial trauma.
Halno gestures to his scepter.
Halno holds out his scepter for Arthak to grab, and Arthak takes it.
Arthak looks down to the scepter, and he observes it’s heavier than it looks like it should be. He almost feels drawn into it as he stares at it. It seems like what Halno has said is very true.
He passes the scepter back to Halno.
He looks at Nyxxa.
Nyxxa shrugs and goes back to whittling.
Arthak thinks about that revelation for a long moment.
Halno nods.
Nyxxa nods.
Nyxxa puts her whittling project on her stump and seems to disappear into the surroundings.
Halno stares at Arthak, intrigued.
Halno slow blinks at Arthak, glances at his scepter, and looks back. Arthak gives a very shallow nod. Halno sighs heavily, which is impressive given he doesn’t breathe.
Halno almost sounds defeated.
He gestures to his scepter.
Halno nods.
Nyxxa did a scope around the nearby area. She manages to hear some skittering, and she notes a spider about the size of Summerpaw. It seems to be alone, lurking around a few spun webs. It shows no interest in her.
Nyxxa reports back, but the group is not accosted by anything.
Outland Day 8
In the morning, they see curling nebulae of magic writhing in the sky as they load up to continue on their journey.
They come to rolling, rocky outcroppings and they see more blasted trees, but these ones seem to be leaning toward the west as if they were hit by something. Nyxxa observes the signs of travel. Specifically tracks that have been covered, and it seems there were individuals nearby. They had been very well hidden, but there was one hoof print-- one of a krokul. The signs seem to be pointing north.
As they continue on, they come to the sight of a former ambush. There are more blasted sideways trees, and suspended between two of them are the remains of a fel orc with its limbs drawn and cornered. There is another corpse that seems to have tried to crawl out of a pit. There are bonestrippers picking at the slain orcs, as there are about a half dozen fel orcs that had fallen prey to all manner of traps.
There was no fight here.
The group continues further south and avoids any further remnants of that.
As they continue, the blasted trees fade away, and they come to a wide, steady incline. Any trees that were here were once since transformed into ash, and all that remains was rolling, red, broken rock. They see something a bit puzzling--many sources of light to the north. There are bright red crystal formations jutting from the broken earth. There are easily over a dozen visible from their location.
Azgadaan recognizes the mountain range, which was where they had first encountered Remnii.
The group settles down to rest for the night and Nyxxa seeks out Lantresor. He is sharpening his blade and observing the crimson crystals in the distance.
Lantresor raises a brow.
There is a subtle flick of Lantresor’s tail.
She grins.
Lantresor nods.
Lantresor stands and turns to Nyxxa.
Lantresor smiles and glances down at his own weapon. He picks it up and spins it in his hand.
Lantresor smiles.
He runs two fingers along his blade, and it bursts into flame. Levia, Azgadaan, and Arthak watch curiously.
Nyxxa closes and gets a good hit in before falling back into a defensive position. Lantresor rebukes, but she is able to deftly avoid the first two flaming strikes. He moves with a surprising amount of speed, and he shoves her back and then swoops under her feet. She staggers backward, and cracks Nyxxa upside the head with his tail. Everything goes fuzzy for a moment.
Lantresor follows up deftly, swinging once. Nyxxa just barely avoids it, but Lantresor smacks her in the side with the flat of his blade, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the ground. Lantresor flips his blade around and offers a deep bow as he extinguishes the fire on the sword.
Nyxxa, once she got her air back, collapses laughing.
He smiles and offers a hand to Nyxxa, who accepts and pulls herself to her feet.
He also offers for Nyxxa to sit and meditate with him, which Nyxxa accepts. Later on, Levia absolutely lightly teases Nyxxa for getting beat by Lantresor. Nyxxa is just giddy.
Levia furrows her brow.
Levia shakes her head.
Levia goes on her tiptoes and peels Nyxxa’s blindfold up.
The rest of the night is fairly slow, and nothing eventful happens.
Outland Day 9
Azgadaan seemed really interested in the crystals in the distance, and the group opts to go investigate them in the vehicle. Halno recognized the crystals as magical fonts of energy, but Azgadaan notes they are hyper-concentrated mana crystals.
The hair on the backs of people’s necks stand on end, and the air is thick with power. Nyxxa uses detect magic, and as she reopens her eyes she notes some of the nearby crystals scintillate with energy. There is a crackle of red lightning that courses through her entire body, and knocks the spell off.
Nyxxa seems to be almost smoking.
Arthak lights the cigarette off a burning cinder of Nyxxa’s hair and passes it off to her.
Azgadaan, upon further investigation, observes that the air seems to be destabilized. The ones closest to them seems to have a mana flare ability. The air seems to consistently change, and the closer they get to the crystals, the more severe the effects may become.
There is one crystal that is bigger than all the others a little ways in, and Azgadaan opts to creep the vehicle forward to investigate. Nyxxa follows, and the energy around Nyxxa starts to respond further. Her hair starts to stick up more, and more, and more until static, red electricity courses through her. It doesn’t hurt this time, but she almost glows. And then she starts to spark and a beam of electricity zaps the console of the vehicle. Both Levia and Azgadaan get zapped lightly.
Azgadaan chuckles.
There are interesting things about the rock formations. Some of the red crystal formations look like claws or horns, and some are positioned in a way that appear to be almost plateaus in a sense. Then they see something atop one of the flatter crystals. There is the unmistakable shapes of bones, as well as massive bran in ches and pieces of Legion technology.
They almost look like nests.
Nyxxa hears something. It's the sound of wingbeats getting closer. And closer.
Azgadaan uses his spyglass to look closer at the nests, and they look to be about the same size as a rylak nest.
Then they hear the sound of metal tearing. Talons, each one the size of a greatsword, buries into the edge of the vehicle, and the vehicle starts to get lifted off the ground. Dust is flying in every direction.
Nyxxa goes for one of the exits of the vehicle, and as she looks up, she sees a massive bird-like creature with dappled green feathers. It is paying the small group no attention, as it caught its meal. However, it is not alone. There are three other smaller ones flocking around.
Pieces of armor plating are shedding off the vehicle in every witch direction.
Nyxxa scrambles out and climbs onto the roof of the vehicle. She is able to stay balanced. She draws her glaives and starts to carve into the creature’s talons. She is trying to stun it, but the roc seems to be holding it together.
Halno sends his raven familiar fluttering off out of danger. Veena’s eyes start to glow, and she casts telepathic bond on the group before she flies out of the vehicle.
Lantresor also climbs out after Nyxxa and starts to carve into the roc, but it continues to resist the stuns.
Sadras also climbs onto the roof of the vehicle and starts to wallop into the roc’s talons. Summerpaw, meanwhile, stays in the portable hole.
The roc’s talons tighten into its prey, and its massive beak comes down and clips Nyxxa’s shoulder. She is able to wiggle out of the way before her shoulder dislocates. The roc sails further upwards, and the other rocs start to veer closer to investigate.
Arthak also climbs on top of the vessel. He starts to lose his balance, but he digs his sword into the roof to catch himself. He rages as he works on climbing onto the roc.
Azuka pops out of the vehicle and throws a dagger at the roc.Vines curl around the dagger as it digs into the roc, but they don’t seem to be able to take hold.
Azgadaan looks at the roc through the windshield and he casts hypnotic pattern from his instrument. The roc seems dazed and its wingbeats slow, and it then starts to fall. Azgadaan gets into the portable and calls for Levia to close it so they could preserve Summerpaw (and also Azgadaan). She does.
The vehicle crashes into the ground with the roc falling on top of it. There is crashing and screeching tearing of metal.
Halno staggers to his feet and casts arcane hand to start punching the roc in the face. Sadras also gets up and runs over to a rather injured Azuka and feeds her a potion.
Nyxxa gets up and starts to carve into the roc with her glaives. Blood is starting to seep from the creature.
Summerpaw is very confused about everything and starts to lick Azgadaan, who forces the portable hole open from the inside. Summerpaw is looking out of the hole from behind him curiously.
Levia looks banged up and is on the ground, but she’s alive. Azgadaan clambers out of the vehicle.
Halno continues punching the roc with his arcane hand and then shoots an acid chromatic orb into the side of its head. He feels the magic of the surrounding area crackle, and beams of red lightning empower the blast before backlashing. The roc convulses and falls over dead.
Azgadaan takes a look at the vehicle and it appears the steering is completely locked up. Arthak goes to check on Azuka, but then Nyxxa hears a noise.
Like a low, rumbling growl.
She brings her blades up and the group looks up. They see something crawling across the crystals, its bright red skin blending in with the crystals. Two hungering heads look downward. The other rocs are flying away, but this new creature had arrived with ravenous interest. Its fanged mouth is slathered with bright, acidic bile, and its not alone.
Others start to emerge now that its primary predators have been chased away.
They look strikingly like rylaks, and yet nothing like them.
Sadras whistles for Summerpaw and as the wolf runs by she heaves herself onto her back. Lantresor nods at Arthak and rushes after her. Arthak sends a telepathic message to Levia via the link and asks her to pay special attention to Azuka’s condition. Levia nods and readies her shield.
The first mutant rylak soars downward and brings its talons down at Azgadaan. It then rears one of its heads around and a stream of noxious smog streams from its mouth and over Azgadaan, Nyxxa, and Levia. Azgadaan is immune, but the others start to cough, and the rylak then brings its tail around at Levia. It then leaps back into the air.
The second rylak charges at the small trio. It claws at Levia and it too opens its maw. Its jaws roil with bright green, chaotic shadow. It too whips its tail around, which strikes Azgadaan, and it then leaps back into the air as well
Levia’s eyes turn pure black and roiling shadows appear around her left hand. She draws an elvish rune and she smacks it with her shield, and the same rune appears in front of the three rylaks. Lighting courses around Levia with an arcane flare from the crystals, but she is able to avoid it. She then quaffs a potion.
Nyxxa also drinks a potion as the poison burns in her veins and she tries to put some distance between herself and the others so the rylaks can’t get them all in one shot again. She drops into a defensive stance. She is able to purge the poison.
Azuka closes on the last rylak and uses her blood curse of binding, but the rylak is able to shake it off. She curses and then tries to attack it with thorn whip. The whip grabs the rylak and drags it closer. It tumbles and is knocked prone at her feet. She then backs off to get into a better position.
The crystals are pulsing with magic, and one of them sparks, forcing the rylak nearest to Azgadaan to the ground.
Azgadaan gets to the center of the field and then uses steel wind strike. The air around him shimmers and he disappears. Three images of him appear and smack each rylak before he fully materializes next to the rylak that had been grounded by the effect.
Halno punches the nearest rylak with his arcane hand as he casts bone shield. Ancient bones jut out of the ground and start to whirl around him.
The rylak that Azuka had knocked prone gets up and snarls at Arthak as it bites at him. Its other head opens its maw, and a bright green liquid oozes from its jaws before it blasts it through Arthak and Azuka. They are able to avoid the brunt of it, but Azuka winces in pain, barely staying up. It then swings with its tail, but Arthak is able to grab the tail and shove it aside. It then leaps back into the air and soars overhead.
Arthak roars and goes giant as he pursues the rylak. The first strike goes wide, but the second strike lands true. He then uses action surge and continues to cut into the rylak, bringing the beast low with a crushing blow to its skull. He then runs to the legion transport and climbs ontop of it before launching himself at the flying rylak. He swings down and grabs the rylak by the face. Both of them plummet to the ground and fall prone.
Nyxxa charges in and strikes into the newly grounded rylak. She appears uncharacteristically manic as she carves it into pieces. An afterimage of the rylak flows into her, absorbing into her tattoos as she consumes part of its soul.
Another rylak soars down and knocks Sadras off her mount and then barrels toward the group. Lantresor too is thrown aside as three more rylaks enter the field. One of them claws at the arcane hand and then opens its jaws to emit a swirl of roiling shadow. It then lashes around with its tail, which strikes into Halno’s chest, bringing him down. The arcane hand drops, and the rylak soars on top of a cliff.
Another rylak jumps on Azgadaan, raking at him with its claws, and fel fire roils in its jaws as it breathes a cone of flame. It lashes around with its tail, which slams into Azgadaan’s chest, and it leaps into the air.
One of the new rylaks leaps at Nyxxa, and it also breathes roiling fel fire. It whips around with its tail and knocks Nyxxa off her hooves and to the ground. Arthak closes on that rylak and smashes into it with his blade.
Levia enhances holy light to twin cast it on Arthak and Nyxxa, bringing Nyxxa back into the game.
Halno opens his eyes and takes stock of the situation, and then turns invisible before starting to climb away from the combat as he chugs a potion.
Azgadaan also drinks one of his potions (the potion of supreme healing!) and then telepathically asks Nyxxa if she’s okay with polymorphing. Nyxxa refuses, but she suggests Azuka. Azgadaan confirms and then backs away from the rylak closest to him. It claws at Azgadaan, but Azgadaan polymorphs Azuka into a crocolisk, and Levia into a devilsaur. He then crawled back into the vehicle for cover.
The rylaks start to swarm on Levia, seeing this new threat and potential meal. Azuka the crocolisk snaps at the nearest rylak, and then smacks it with her tail. The rylak stands up, panicked, and then bites and claws at Nyxxa. It whips its tail around at Azuka, poisoning her. It then leaps into the air. Nyxxa carves into it as it retreats.
The rylak next to Levia starts to carve into her with its full range of attacks before swooping around in anticipation of another strike. Meanwhile, Halno’s raven lands on the transport to take cover.
As one of the rylaks swoop away, Lantresor leaps upon it and makes his own full range of attacks. He is able to moderately wound it before he leaps off to continue aiding Sadras in covering the group’s flank.
Azgadaan peeks his head out of the transport and casts mind sliver on one of the rylaks, and its two heads start to fight over what to do next for a moment. He then casts blessing of kings on Levia.
The remaining undamaged rylak had seen Halno disappear, and it starts to look around for his escaped meal. But then it looks directly in Halno’s direction, and it starts to claw and bite and lash in Halno’s direction. One of the strikes nearly hits, but it glances off of a shield spell that Halno erected, causing his invisibility to falter. Its claw then connects, but Halno is just barely holding on. The rylak then takes off to fly away again.
Halno casts polymorph on the rylak, and the magic washes over it, but whatever mutations the creature has causes the spell to reflect back at Halno. Suddenly, Halno is turned into a mouse, though his bone shield is still swirling around him.
Nyxxa stays where she is and uses some of her stolen energy to ease her wounds, and then she tries to duck behind Arthak to obscure herself from some of the other creatures.
A rylak swoops at Levia, snapping and slashing, before sailing off again.
Halno, as a mouse, scurries into the debris and tries to hide.
Arthak activates his frost rune and then picks Nyxxa up. He runs at one of the nearest rylaks and hurls Nyxxa into the air. She grabs onto its jaw, but drops one of her glaives in the process as it makes a move to bite her.
Levia, still a devilsaur, bites down on the closest rylak. She swings around and pulls it to the ground while her tail slams into a second rylak. She roars.
Azuka the crocolisk scurries forward, and her mouth opens expectantly as she waits for one of the flying rylaks to plummet.
Meanwhile, as Halno the mouse buries himself in the rocks, Azuka’s tail swings around and knocks some of the rocks off. They tumble down onto Halno, which both knocks him out of his mouse form and leaves him laying unconscious on the rubble.
The rylak that Nyxxa is holding onto opens its jaws and breathes a crackling beam of lightning. Nyxxa lets go to dodge and grabs onto the other head, however, it misses again as Nyxxa flips around on top of it. However, the tail of the creature whips around and nicks her. The rylak starts to fly away in a panic.
Nyxxa jumps off of the creature, and Arthak is able to catch her as the rylak flees. He sets Nyxxa down and hucks a javelin up at the remaining rylak. The first one goes wide, as does the second one. He then chugs a potion.
The rylak swoops down at Halno’s unconscious body and one of its maws scoops Halno up while its second maw breathes fire in Arthak’s face. However, he is able to barely stay up. The rylak’s tail whips around, but the tail beats harmlessly against Arthak’s armor.
It then flies up into the air with Halno.
Arthak clips the rylak with his blade, but the creature is able to soar away.
Nyxxa draws her bow and fires off at the retreating rylak. It shrieks in pain and drops Halno, who crashes into the ground.
Levia continues to rip apart the rylak in her jaws, and then charges after the fleeing rylak. Azgadaan uses mind sliver on it, and Azuka follows up, leaping after the rylak, grabbing it, and dragging it to the ground where she proceeds to try and death roll with it. The rylak breaks free from her and tries to jump into the air again, but Azuka snaps at it again, and there is a crunch before she death rolls again and proceeds to rip the rylak’s head off before she starts to eat it.
Levia roars and then collapses on her side in exhaustion. Azgadaan drops the concentration on the polymorph, and Azuka is on the rylak, digging into its neck. She blinks and pulls back, then just… wipes her mouth and gets off the corpse of the creature before spitting out the gore that was still in her mouth.
Levia is laying on the ground just looking at the sky.
