Session 115: The Valley of Death

General Summary

24th Brussendar 836PD   The final 3 corrupted Eladrin continue to hold out against the Unbroken’s assault, as one unleashes a circle of death that it had maintained concentration to cast when Enessa opened the door. The necrotic energy waving through her and Orlando’s bodies, but they provide an effective target of distraction for the Eladrins’ attacks.   Simeon survives the second Eladrin’s strikes of negative energy, and swaps again with his duplicate to avoid a deadly slash of their longsword. Then Simeon returns in kind as he charges back into the duel with Emberwind, gutting into the Eladrin and burning it with it’s Heart of Fire to punish the creature’s resistance to his spells.   Enessa and Ussi help open up the other Eladrin to the group’s attacks, as Raphael and Raven form an effective double team in taking down two of the Eladrin. Raphael’s cold eldritch magic and strikes of Frostweaver bring them to the brink for Raven’s holy arrows to send them terminally from this fey realm.   Arthur claims the final Eladrin in combat with Simeon for his own, as the chilling touch of his magic crushes the creature’s head and turns them into dust.   With the scouting party dispatched, the Unbroken hurriedly clean up the signs of battle and the dead in the valley to not raise any immediate suspicion for the next wave of enemy forces.   Simeon and Raphael bore the brunt of the Eladrins’ floods of necrotic energy, and they greatly receive the healing magics of Enessa’s spirit and General Talos’s medical kit. The General receives another sending from his troops that the next wave will be inbound soon, an overwhelming horde of 80 outsiders, and a corrupted giant Gug.   With the valley as best cleared as they can, Raphael casts a major image of the Eladrin undertaking their scouting duties as a further ploy to their next ambush. They assume their previous positions in the top and bottom mausoleums, and wait until the majority of the Outsider forces get into the firing line of the valley.   As they planned, Raphael initiates a devastating bombardment across the Outsiders and Gug, evoking a freezing sphere around them. Just only 12 of the 80 outsiders survive being frozen dead in the frigid globe of cold energy.   Those unlucky to survive face a continual barrage of Raven’s conjuring volley of celestial arrows, and then the sickening green radiance of Arthur’s magic halves the few that remain. Although those dwindling survivors soon learn to avoid the worst of Arthur’s fireball unleashed from it’s condensed bead by Fugit.   The party soon pick off the few straggling Outsiders, but the Gug poses a grave challenge as its wounds begin to heal with the dark gifts of Tharizdun. Before it can fully recover from the assault, Enessa, Orlando and Raven pierce into its healing wounds with their bolts and bullets.   The Gug smashes through the pillars and piles of bodies in the valley, and stomps on Orlando as the closest source of its ire. Then the multi-limbed aberration grapples and swallows the gnome in its huge fanged jaws that bisect its torso.   Orlando, momentarily laments being in the dissolving belly of a fey beast again, but this embarrassing experience is put to good use as he knows to compensate his restrained aim. He finds the right spot and blasts a deadly internal shot into the monster.   Arthur uses the effective necrotic magic of his chilling touch to halt the Gug regenerative abilities, whilst Simeon causes it to expand its legendary reserves to resist his death tolling.   Before it can move onto the next ‘meal’, Enessa fires a flurry of arrows from Death’s Whisper, with the final killing strike landing down its monstrous maw.   The Unbroken survey the swathes of dead corruptions across the desert valley, a small victory, but how long can they stay amongst the living…?