Session 83: Kardar

General Summary

13th Unndilar 836PD   Orlando peeks through the doors and quickly spots the huge hulking figure of Kardar in the corner of the next room. He indicates to the Unbroken where Kardar is and steals himself before pushing the doors open to rush the ravager.   Kardar summons dark spirits to guard him, punishing those that try to engage him in close combat. A stabby stabber rushes out of the other corner of the main room, frenziedly stabbing Quill 5 times. Kardar pulls his Ruin’s Wake, the vestige spear of Gruumsh, and guts Orlando with it before closing the door on the rest of the Unbroken. But Sabali pushes back, and claps his hands to draw the sound from the room, covering Kardar and Orlando’s screams of pain in silence. Zeni summons several large purple tentacles to try and restrain the ravager, but they are no match for the brutes’ strength.   Krak as a spider had gone further into the room and found several orcs heading on their way to fight with their Slaughter Lord. (Un)fortunately, one of them stepped on the spider-Krak, creating an impromptu wild shape land mine that blasted the orc prone as Krak was damaged back to his Kenku form.   Simeon dispels the dark spirits surrounding Kardar, and Raphael blasts him with his cold eldritch magic. Orlando pulls himself off Kardar’s spear, dodging Zeni’s tentacles and gets his breath back outside the room. Quill still rages on in the face of death by the flurry of slashes from stabby stabbers and spears.   The dwarf barbarian finds new strength as Simeon polymorphs him into a Giant Ape, now Kardar can pick on someone his own size!   Zeni slows several of the Orc bodyguards attacking Krak, and Sabali puts one fully asleep with his poison coated sword. Raph and Ape Quill land heavy blows on the ravager lord, as Kardar moves out of the silence to call down a storm of raging fire on the party. The flames singe Simeon enough to break his concentration on Quill’s ape form, leaving him vulnerable.   Sabali cools himself with his potion of frost giant strength, he nearly grapples Kardar but the orc lord is blessed with the divine strength of the Ruiner. Fire continues to fill the room as Zeni bolts down a bodyguard, and Kardar strikes flames against Raph and Quill, bringing the Winter Knight near death and the Bounty Hunter unconscious. But not for long as Simeon’s Aid brings them both back from the brink.   Krak continues to keep the worst of the ravager forces at bay single handily, his wild magic summoning fairies that explode a stabby stabber. Orlando cocks his hammer back on Bayou, violently firing a hole right through Kardar’s arm holding the spear that gutted him earlier. The Lord of Slaughter is breathing as heavy as the blood is poring from him.   Kardar pulls on the greatest of his last betrayer magics, the power of his rage is so strong it breaks the reality surrounding Sabali. The silence in the room drops with Sabali disorientated, Kardar moves into the middle of the party and swigs a healing potion to prepare for a final onslaught.   A deep guttural word is released from Kardar’s bloody mouth, Zeni can’t counter the unholy magic that blinds and deafens everyone bar her and Simeon. Raph is not blinded but Quill and Sabali’s are stunned as well. Fate has swung into the slaughterer’s favour.   Simeon restores Orlando’s sight and he promptly peppers Kardar, whilst Raph shouts out over his deafness a cold hex to weaken his strength. Krak rushes through the room, raging anew to unleash dark tendrils that strike against Kardar and the dwindling orc forces.   Kardar presses his advantage, taking another potion giving him more life to take lives as he spears Quill and Orlando down unconscious. Zeni slides through the large Simeon to unleash twin orbs of lightning on Kardar and a bodyguard. Simeon uses his enlarged frame to protect Quill and Orlando’s downed bodies. The reality breaking magic on Sabali teleports him outside of Simeon’s reach, and the force of it knocks the tabaxi unconscious.   It’s now one on one with the Chosen Ones of Winter and Ruin, Raphael and Kardar. The Slaughter Lord’s spear skims Raphael’s new cold armour, triggering the most powerful cold rune of defence inscribed, but the fiery rage inside Kardar braces him against the worst of it.   In the blinding of the cold rune blast, Raphael leaps off the hulk’s knee, he rises face to face with Kardar, and slices Frostweaver across his neck. The flood of blood nearly knocks Raph down, and the orc’s face continues to rage in the dying of its light. Kardar’s song of battle was a short tune that is now a long silence.   Kardar, the last and greatest of the 3 Slaughter Lords to ravage the plains of Tal’Dorei, is dead!