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by Brom Van Brunt

It's Luce.
Everything is awful.
-- Cassandra

There was nothing we could do but fight. Luce... whatever he was, was accompanied by over a dozen undead creatures. Even if we ignored him, they would be a problem.

Brom turned, in fear, as Luce disappeared into the ether. Reappearing not five feet from him, he shared the look Brom did -- undying and vengeful. Brom felt a magic pull at his form, but he and the Hollow Spirit refused.

Brom and Eragon fumbled around to find Cassandra and Fathom respectively. Eragon conjured a dimension door for himself and the tabaxi monk; Brom pulled Cass with him with a thundrous step.

Cassandra noticed that Luce did not have his sword -- we had lost it, but he didn't have it either.

Brom tried, with Cassandra's help, to reach beneath the veil and feel for Luce's spirit. He... failed.
And neither could he feel Sully or Ianthe. "They're not there."

Cassandra banished Luce, and we tried again to invoke Luce. Again, to no avail. In panic, Cassandra pulled the weave and fell into it, teleporting away from the chaos. But as she left, a fell blade caught her shoulder, and the banishment. Luce reappeared, and unable to find Cassandra, Brom was his next target. The two became locked in combat, dueling to the (un)death.

Eragon regained strength, casting slow at the zombies (and Luce) attacking our group.

It wasn't until Rohrouk engaged Luce that the ghost spoke: "You left me, Rohrouk."
This, along with Cassandra reappearing on shore, angered the ghost. Luce disappeared as he seemed to head towards the wizard onshore.

Eragon almost died, as the Hollow Spirit shattered a ghostly limb to protect him from the ghosts' onslaught. "I'm not losing anyone else!" Brom resounded. Even as he felt ghostly claws hold him fast, he and the spirit within resisted. No.

We reduced them to two, Luce and his wraith companion.
Cassandra: "I love you, and I'm sorry."

It occurred to Brom that the Hollow Spirit could reach out to Luce as it did to him: "Can you save him?"
The response was almost immediate. "I do not call the dead. I am the dead. This thing is gone."

Eragon was the one to end the fight, with a concussive strike of arcane energy to his form (synaptic static). The boat was quiet as his form staggered back. We all heard the voice boom out. Deep, reverberating, and familiar -- him. "He'll come back."

It was over.

Fear

Cassandra ran. We all followed.

When Rohrouk tried to restrain her, Cassandra fought him off tooth and nail -- to no avail. Fathom separated the two, and Cassandra kept running.

"Cass, I know what you're going through!" Brom shouted. "I don't want to hurt you!" She kept running, and Brom asked the Hollow Spirit to hold her in place so the group could catch up. Cassandra broke down, and we all sought to comfort her. She protested that we should leave the Sharktooth and teleport back to the Daltavarian Sea. Though Rohrouk was vehemently against the idea, there was nothing he could do. He and Brom double-checked the ship, securing it in case they ever came back, and then returned to the group.

Safe and sound at home again

The magical circle flared to life, and in a flash of light we returned to Forcalish. Standing in the temple of Ioun. It was night there, and we all relished the heat returning to our limbs.

Brom decided to mourn at the temple of the Raven Queen, and told the group he would meet with them later.
~~A shiver ran up Fathom's spine; unbeknownst to the tabaxi, he had scryed the party.~~

Cassandra sought out the previous Champions, as they were taking lunch. Rohanna and NAME answered; Cassandra thanked them and passed on Schmeade's tidings. She then headed to the Raven Queen's temple, past Brom to check on Illilah.

Fathom changed before disappearing, off to lose himself in merriment. Rohrouk retreated to write a personal letter. And passing out from fatigue and depression, Eragon dreamt.

Eragon's dream

As he slept, Eragon saw a dark forest. Bathed in twilight and full of insects singing, the tall trees rustled. Nearby, a small boy -- a wood elf -- appeared. Crying, he staggered through the trees searching for something. "Mother! Father!" in elvish, crying as only a child does. He gave up, sinking to the ground and sobbing.

Cassandra found Brom, and the two of them mourned together, each for their own. Cassandra reminded the warlock about the Sibling Isles and his ship the Lonesome Vessel.

Continue reading...

Brom Van Brunt, Champion of the Sister Isles
01.19.20

Recourse for Revenge
01.27.20

Nightmare
02.03.20

Seditiousness, Dereliction of Duty, Impropriety, Blasphemy and Contempt of Court
02.10.20

Death Is Inevitable
02.17.20

The Dead Who Did Not Die
02.24.20

The Tree & The Warren
03.09.20

Test
03.16.20

Bad Reunions
03.23.20

The Enemy of My Friend
03.30.20

Island Hopping
04.06.20

Another Round, We Go
04.20.20

Calm, Before We Storm
01.20.20

One Last Fight
04.27.20

Deltavros, the Champion of the Seas
05.08.20

The Odyssey Champions
05.08.20

Ten Weeks' Rest
05.11.20

Die
05.18.20

Despite Spite
05.25.20

Bumps in the Woods
06.01.20

Once Upon A Witch
06.08.20

Crossover: Let Fate Guide
06.15.20

Where To Go From Here
06.29.20

Loss.jpg
07.06.20

Replacing Power & Authority
07.13.20

Question and Answer
07.20.20

Red in the Woods
07.27.20

Chasing Ghosts
08.03.20

Journey's End
08.17.20

Strong Enough
08.24.20

Loss.jpg

Fear

Safe and sound at home again

Eragon's dream

Continue reading...

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