[Alliance] Chapter Four: Session Twenty-Five
Appearing Characters: Aramar Thorne, Arthas Menethil, Broll Bearmantle, Ebru, Elissa Cross, Makasa Flintwill, Muyani, Muyoh, Remnii, Samaara, Sareth/Serpentis, Seria, Tae'shara Sunwatcher, Tol'vas Moonshadow, Uther Menethil, Velameestra Windrunner, Verdan, Zap Rusthammer
June 18th
As the battle continues, Seria rushes around the corner, she sees trees begin to come to life and lashing, deviate plantlife stirs--the satyrs’ trap sprung. She skitters forward, getting ready to strike. Vel follows suit, twisting her sword behind her back as she holds a hand out and casts [Toll the Dead] on one of the nearest deviate lashers. The plant shrieks as the shadow magic destroys it, Vel’s eyes still burning a bright magenta.
Zap fires two shots at the deviate piper, but she conjures an arcane [Shield] that deflects both the shots aside. Meanwhile Nutters scurries forward to help assist Seria--cutting through several vines with a pair of trimming shears. From the darkness, a number of needles fly out at Nutters, but the clank ineffectually off his armor.
Seria hears some sort of whispers, and a clump of grass reels up and attacks her. She reels back, recoiling from some sort of assault. Remnii fires off a [Mind Sliver] at the deviate lasher that Nutters attacked, eviscerating it with a flash of shadow and light.
The deviate piper looks to Tol’vas and chuckles as she plays a haunting dirge. For a second, Tol’vas’s eyes start to unfocus as she uses [Phantasmal Force], but Tol’vas shakes off the effects of the spell. The piper laughs again and retreats further in, disappearing into the shadows.
More needles come flying from the darkness and pierce into Colonel Nutters, but he just gives Zap a thumbs up.
Elissa starts to close, taking some defensive maneuvers.
Another deviate gloomflower inches forward, and it glows momentarily as a sickly sweet mist flows from it. They momentarily have an out-of-body experience, but they mostly shake it off--aside from Nutters, who starts to seemingly malfunction.
From Tol’vas’s back, an orb of fiery energy materializes in Uther’s hand and he hurls the [Fireball] into the midst of the garden--which has now caught alight as it catches a large group of the living plants. The lashers are incinerated promptly, and two of the treants are scorched and heavily injured.
Arthas dashes into the midst of the dying flames, brandishing his axe in anticipation, and Tol’vas too charges straight for the nearest satyr--his jaws wide. He digs his fangs into the satyr, knocking him over as he gouges into him with his claws. Needles fly through the air at Tol’vas but go wide.
A treant dashes out of the fire while another swings with its thick limbs at Arthas. Vel screeches with another toll the dead at the treat that had run out of the flames, and the creature’s bark shatters as it crumbles.
A satyr attempts to ram Arthas, but Arthas catches him by the horn.
The satyr snarls and tries to shake him off but Arthas maintains the advantage and then swings at the nearest treant with his axe, cutting into it with the flaming blade.
Seria tries to snip twice at a lasher, but both her claws miss before she whips around with her tail and drives her stinger into it, causing the plant to promptly wilt.
Another deviate reveler tries to grab Arthas’s ankle from the ground, but Arthas steps out of the way. Instead, the satyr looks up at Tol’vas.
Magic starts to press on Tol’vas’s mind, encouraging his rage, but he is able to resist.
Zap tries to fire at one of the gloomflowers, but it seems to flicker and his direct shot seemingly actually missed. However, he fires again, and this time he connects, and there is a terrible screech in his mind.
Nutter’s head starts to whirl around wildly.
He looks at Vel.
He lashes out with his buzzsaw and clips Vel.
He seems to have shaken off whatever effect had been affecting him.
Uther uses [Fire Bolt] on the other severely injured treant, and it falls over dead.
The deviate piper pulls out a curved, sickle-like blade, and she whirls around into Arthas with a [Green-Flame Blade]--her blade clipping into his side with a flare of fire. She then disengages and leaps away.
The third gloomflower glows, and the mist around them turns red in their minds as Uther, Vel, Arthas succumb to the maddening visions.
Tol’vas continues to rend a satyr with fang and claw. He then howls and uses roar. Elissa runs up and cuts into a deviate reveler, her blade shining with holy energy as she cuts into him.
As if the bombardment of psychic damage wasn’t enough already, a gloomflower intensifies it, and the screaming and laughter reaches a fever pitch.
Remnii covers some distance, and she notes Vel and Uther in particular acting strangely, but she also sees Arthas incredibly winded and struggling. She uses her channel divinity, holy light channeling into Arthas and mending his wounds, and then she casts [Mass Flash of Light].
Another gloomflower starts to assault Tol’vas mentally, and he hears an ear-piercing squeal in his ears. However he continues to rend into the satyrs.
Arthas, affected by the visions, swings at Elissa. She recoils as his axe falls heavily against her shield, the fire licking at her face.
Arthas stumbles and a hand goes to his head as he shakes the effect off. The satyr Tol’vas is rending tries to scramble onto the massive wolf’s back, but Tol’vas pins him down and the satyr curses, slashing with his hand scythe and then scrambling away.
Elissa cuts twice into the reveler nearest to her. Vel continues to get barraged by more psychic damage. The reveler flanks around Elissa and strikes her in the back with his scythe.
Seria gets assaulted by two satyrs that leap from the shadows.
Noting that Vel and Uther still seem to be overcome with anxiety and panic, Remnii enhances [Calm Emotions] and casts it. Her magic pierces through the veil of the foul miasma, ridding their mind from the fog.
However, another gloomflower glows and the mist flares once more--but only Nutters seems to be affected this time. Vel runs up to the satyr that Elissa is fighting, her blade coating with icy magic as she uses [Frost Strike] and cuts into the satyr’s back with one strike, and then a second strike that explodes with frost magic--dropping the satyr to the ground, dead.
Zap rolls off of Tol’vas and tumbles beneath the roots of the nearest treant. As he jumps back to his feet he enhances conjure barrage to quicken it. Two of the gloomflowers start to release horrifying, piercing screeches. He then loads up his gun and fires at another gloomflower, killing it, and with his second shot he kills the sole remaining ones.
Nutters seems to shake off the corrupting visions, but he seems to be trying to restart his systems.
The grapplied satyr continues to struggle with Seria as she has him grappled, landing a vicious cut across her carapace. Remnii uses mind sliver on one of the treants while Arthas hacks the other one to the ground--rounding his strike into the second treant and destroying it with a fire-wreathed blow.
He then runs straight at the deviate piper, along with Tol’vas, who is still carrying Uther. Tol’vas claws at her, and she is just barely able to deflect with [Shield]. However, the magic doesn’t save her from his fangs as he knocks her to the ground. She strikes wildly at Arthas, and tries to run, scrambling to her feet. Zap finishes off the last lasher with two shots of his gun. He stomps on it as he goes to back up Tol’vas.
Elissa raises her hand, and vines wrap around the deviate piper--restraining her. Uther shoots a [Fire Bolt] at her.
Seria continues to rip and tear at the reveler in her claws.
Vel runs around to flank the reveler in Seria’s claws and finishes off the reveler with a strike of her frost-rimed blade. Her cold snap triggers, coating the remaining satyr in a whirling snowstorm as she cuts into him as well.
The deviate reveler tries to attack Seria wildly, but he misses both attacks as the cold of the storm buffets him.
The deviate paper starts to laugh wildly as she uses [Hideous Laughter], and so does Arthas as he falls prone--cackling at whatever the satyr is.
Seria claws and strikes into the reveler several times, and Zap finishes him off with a bullet to the satyr’s skull. He then looks at the piper and fires.
Uther swings down with his hammer and finishes off the deviate piper with a decisive swing.
He holds up a mushroom. Zap grabs the mushroom and takes a bite out of it.
His pupils suddenly go wide as the effects of the mushroom take hold, and he mechanically gains the effects of the [Telepathy] spell.
Nutters also approaches Vel as she is trying to end the effects of the cold snap, and holds out a mushroom to her as well.
Vel takes the mushroom.
She does not bite into it, however. Elissa also checks on her as well as Vel drinks a potion, and Vel assures her she’ll be alright.
The group agrees to rest for a time to try and recoup some resources, and Vel sets up her tiny hut. At about the 50 minute mark a squad of deviate lashers start to scurry by. Half the party opts to continue resting as Zap, Tol’vas, Nutters, Elissa, and Vel opt to take care of the lasher swarm. They largely stay at range, Vel wielding the bow she had scavenged instead of closing in, though Tol’vas, Elissa, and Nutters take to melee.
A short time after they finish off the lashers, in the opposite direction, they see a slow-moving fenstalker creeping over to a satyr corpse and working to consume it. They take that as their queue to leave, and they continue into the Crag of the Everliving.
It starts to get a bit tight for Tol’vas, but he is able to squeeze through, and they can hear the sounds of running water. Vel creeps forward and she looks closer, and it seems to fall down into Kresh’s lair below.
He jumps through the waterfall and tumbles to the other side. He checks himself for damage, and then looks further down the hallway. There are more glowing mushrooms, but they are all blood red. The vegetation is all black and wilted, their veins bright red.
Tol’vas presses his large, wolf body through the waterfall and blocks the stream of water, while the rest leap across beneath him, and they too all see the bright red, eerie, corrupted plantlife.
Zap takes the lead, followed by Tol’vas, and they can see a massive creature illuminated in the chamber beyond. It’s similar to one of the fen stalkers, but it’s covered in a layer of black and red fuzz that makes it resemble a horrible, tormented creature. It is likely the creature called Verdan, and they can hear talking in the chamber ahead speaking Darnassian.
Vel and Zap try to sneak ahead, but Vel reaches a threshold and winces. The first thing she sees is a creature that may have once been a night elf. He’s a massive abomination, easily 20-30 feet long. He has the upper torso of a night elf man, as well as long serpentine heads jutting out from various points on his body. He has two sets of arms, and a serpentine body.
All six heads look to Vel, and next to him is a satyr with a long, greying beard and hair. His flesh is a pallid purple, and he has twinges of red at the tips of his horns.
The force of the threshold fades at the invitation.
Tol’vas growls as he enters into the chamber, followed by Vel.
The man looks at the group.
The plant-life starts to echo to his rage.
Serpentis and all his heads hiss with anger and hatred, and the plantlife starts to whip into a frenzy. Arthas rages and then charges in.
He runs straight for Verdan, but the ground itself reaches up and grabs onto his legs--slashing up his flesh.
He slices into Verdan, and the fire of his axe starts to burn the wet and soaked moss strewn across the elemental’s body.
A lasher behind Remnii fires at her, but it gets redirected to Zap.
The nightmare satyr starts to cackle and unbridled glee enters into his eyes.
Tol’vas is overcome with a massive wave of remorse as his eyes fall on Serpentis, but there is also certainty in his mind that this is the right course of action.
The nightmare satyr weaves some foul magics and casts the [Confusion] spell over the group. However, only Nutters seems to be affected.
The satyr then looks at Tol’vas.
There’s an uncomfortable feeling in his mind.
Elissa cuts through one of the nightmare lashers and then starts to run towards Serpentis, but there doesn’t seem to be any slashing at her feet. However, vines wrap around her, and catch her in its coils.
Tol’vas bites into a lasher and follows after Elissa. The vines ravage at him, but he uses [Blink], and appears right in the satyr’s face. The satyr smiles as Tol’vas bites at him, but the satyr dodges.
Remnii tries to [Mind Sliver] the lasher nearest her, but the lasher somehow resists. Meanwhile Verdan engulfs Arthas, and Tol’vas is blasted out of his pack form as he is zapped by a nightmare wisp.
Vel uses bladesong and then jumps up onto the wall as she casts [Slow], spectral chains wrapping around Serpentis, Verdan, and one of the wisps. Uther runs forward to attack Verdan, swinging his hammer around into the massive creature. The hits are solid, and each strike sloughs off pieces of vines. Serpentis tries to cast [Haste], enhancing it to cover both himself and Verdan, but Vel counters it.
Zap finishes off the lasher on Remnii and Seria also enters the field, scurrying up to Serpentis.
There are whispers echoing around the lair, but everyone seems to hold steady.
Arthas shouts very loudly and manages to break free of Verdan’s grasp.
Bolstered by his dad’s war cry, Uther shouts and swings into Verdan with his hammer ablaze with radiant energy. Remnii uses mind sliver on Verdan. Elissa uses [Blink] out of the entanglement and reappears behind Tol’vas. She swings into Serpentis, knocking his concentration off and the vines recede.
The nightmare satyr reaches into Tol’vas’s mind and tries to draw out the druid’s darker side, but Tol’vas is able to resist. He then tries to use his touch of confusion, but again, Tol’vas resists, and the satyr snarls in frustration.
Seria unloads on Serpentis, while Verdan tries to engulf Arthas and Uther. However they manage to avoid him. Zap fires two shots at Verdan, and one digs into his vines.
Tol’vas casts [Banishment] through the scythe, pushing the spell and ripping the satyr from the material plane. Tol’vas waves as the satyr gets hurled into the Nether.
Tol’vas then shifts into his worgen form with a howl.
Vel casts [Toll the Dead] on Verdan and then races along the wall, slashing into one of the lashers.
The group winces as Serpentis uses [Divine Word], and Elissa grabs her chest for a moment and starts to stagger.
As Vel shouts her name, and Elissa is able to push through.
Nutters, the confusion no longer holding him, shakes it off and attacks Verdan. Meanwhile Seria unloads on Serpentis at the same time Arthas swings into Verdan. The peat on Verdan starts to incinerate.
Out of the corner of Vel’s eye, she swears she sees the shadow of a cloak and smoldering skeleton, but as she looks there’s nothing there.
All of Serpentis’s serpent heads lunge down at Seria, knocking her out of her scorpid form. He is released from Seria’s grapple and his heads round on Vel. However, she finishes off the lasher and blasts a [Frostbolt] into Serpentis’s face before retreating along the wall.
Nightmare wisps continue to zap Arthas and Tol’vas, meanwhile Uther steps back and looks up at Verdan the Everling.
With an uppercut with his hammer, he swings straight into the elemental creature’s chest, and peat and dirt go flying. The vines shudder and start to collapse in on themselves, dropping to the ground. The fire catches across his body, and he explodes in a small explosion of peat and moss, and the oppression of the lair starts to fade slightly as the vines go limp.
Uther looks at Serpentis and points.
He starts to close, and then quickens [Green-Flame Blade] as he swings his radiant, burning hammer into the massive serpent lord.
Now that the vines had receded, Remnii creeps in and casts a [Mass Flash of Light]. She tries to [Mind Sliver] Serpentis, but he is able to resist. Arthas finishes off the injured wisp and then races to Serpentis’s other side, slashing into his scaled body.
Serpentis is looking more and more panicked with each moment, and Nutters moves to help Tol’vas with the dodgy wisp. In fear, he bites at Uther with a flurry of bites. Vel darts in and lands a glancing blow before dancing away.
Meanwhile, Tol’vas uses [Blink] to teleport over to Remnii after failing to finish the final wisp. Seria casts [Wrath] on Serpentis, which glances off his panicked, writhing form.
Tol’vas holds his hand out and conjures a [Sunfire] straight on Serpentis while enhancing a [Wrath]. He brings the scythe down, and the radiance intensifies and sends the massive man reeling backwards.
He tumbles to the ground and looks towards the ceiling of the crag.
His hand reaches out to anyone, but then his arm goes limp and it is caught by Uther. The paladin gives it a reassuring grip as the mutated night elf breathes his last. The oppressive nature of the nightmare fades--at least in its most acute sense--and Tol’vas feels the banishment seal the satyr away in the Nether. For now.
Elissa goes over to sit down, and Vel hurries after her after having seen her clasp her chest.
Tol’vas investigates the rest of the room.
The group is able to navigate their way safely back as the corruption of the caves are momentarily blunted. Vel is hovering around Elissa the entire time.
He grabs a spear.
Ebru looks to the rest.
He mutters something about strange names from the east in Darnassian.
Some of the druids that had been retrieved seem to be recovering, but they seem to be quite dizzy and in a stupor.
Muyani returns with Samaara, and Samaara immediately checks on Remnii--who is casting [Prayer of Healing].
Tol’vas opts to go with them as well as Aramar and Makasa as the rest of the group rests and recoups. Zap cooks some lashers up into a salad. Vel approaches Tae’shara hesitantly and the shorter elf asks how things went, and Vel admits that she was tapped on resources and she hates to ask.
She takes Vel’s hand allowing the other elf to mana tap some mana from her. She winces.
They opt to give Arthas and Elissa a rest.
Broll looks down at Zap.
Aramar also opts to help the group, replacing Elissa for the time being after he, Tol’vas, and the rest of the guardians return back.
They head to the northern chamber that Anacondra was protecting, and Vel finds another threshold. However, Muyoh hurries them in, and the force allows her to enter. Inside, they find a stone bed with simple hand-made pillows under the head of a slumbering druid. He has long silver hair, and is clearly deeply in slumber.
Gentle water trickles in from every direction, and Muyoh and Muyani take their positions.
The group nods, and Tol’vas conjures four fey. They look almost satyr-like in appearance, but their features are more goat-like, and their horns are more bioluminescent.
They look very familiar to the members of the blood sisters they had encountered in the Shadowlands in Hakkar’s realm.
Aramar casts [Inner Fire] on himself, Uther, Vel, and Seria, and thin crowns of fire appear over their heads.
The two tauren begin to cast their spell upon the slumbering form of Naralex, and nature magic starts to intersect over him. The group watches, and waits. They wait 10 seconds. 20 seconds. And then there are the sounds of battle from beyond the chamber. At about 30 seconds, there is flickering in the water, and serpentine forms come in every direction.
