Deltavros, the Champion of the Seas

We turned from the sarcophagus to face the undying spirit of Deltavros. Spear in hand, worn swinging at his waist, and helmet onto his face, the hero engaged. Confident.
 
"K'hari, what will you sacrifice to protect those you care for?"
 
Cassandra's voice rang in response: "Brom, Fathom, Rohrouk, it's me!" Pulling at the weave, she took the sound from her three allies, casting deafnessness on them. With great trust (from all but Rohrouk), they allowed the magic to course through them.
 
Deltavros' response was to pull back his spear. With a crackle of lightning the king hurled his spear of lightning, nearly decimating Rohrouk and Brom in the process.
 
As Rohrouk leapt forward to engage Deltavros, Brom raised a hand to cast: first, absorbing elements from the king's spear of lightning, then calling upon the dead. Brom and the Hollow Spirit spoke in unison: "Too many have sacrificed too much for us to fail!" They invoked the dead, the haunt of the hollowed.
 
Cassandra yanked at the fabric of magic, leading Rohrouk to disarm Deltavros of his horn.
 
"May you face the monsters that hound you in your dreams, Eragon" -- just as Deltavros rid himself of the hollowed nightmare. Reaching out, Deltavros placed a hand on rohrouk only to mentally transport him to the deck of a ship, with Deltavros' crew and a kraken (the Fathom-God).
 
As Rohrouk pulled himself back into the battle, shaking himself of the vision and of Cassandra's blindness, Brom advanced with his staff and the spirit to fight the king.
 
"Do you inspire your men to follow you, Rohrouk Argiid?" Calling his warhorn back to him, Deltavros gave it a resounding blow to call two of his ghostly allies to help him. And as Fathom moved to engage Deltavros, a hand reached out to press hard into Fathom's face, who saw only a glimpse of a room at night with a gorgeous human woman.
 

The Champion

And it was all over in an instant -- with Eragon's hasted magic, in a dervish of sword slashes and attacks, dueled the ghost of Deltavros.
 
And Lord Rohrouk Argiid was the victor. A flash of light erupted from Deltavros, engulfing the room to blind everyone before revealing a tomb, now ghost-less.
 
Quiet washed over us, nervous at how close to (re-) death we had gotten.
 

Deltavros' treasure

From Deltavros' sarcophagus, we took the hero-king's treasure hoard:
 
Deltavros' warhorn, the symbol of winning the Odyssey.
 
Deltavros' spear (The Spear of the Ancient King).
 
An amulet in the shape of a crescent moon (The Lady's Favor), which Cassandra took.
 
A ring nestled beside the hero-king's body (The Ring of the Dauntless hero).
 
 

More than treasure

As Cassandra investigated the tomb and recovered the warhorn, Rohrouk headed back into the tomb's gauntlet to find the kobolds. He found only cut rope, and the lopped-off hand of a kobold (perhaps gnawed off by its owner in desperation).
 
Brom and Fathom checked out the side chambers of Deltavros' tomb. The first was covered in carvings depicting the hero's adventures; the second contained the rest of Deltavros' treasure -- a mountain of gold.
 
Cassandra prepped her magic to teleport us back to the temple of Ioun on Forcalish, as we had planned. Yet every time she tried to draw the teleportation circle, the marks would not hold to the stone. The tomb would not let us leave that way.
 
In our indecision, Deltavros reappeared in a white mist. This time appearing as a retired veteran, in his armor as he should be remembered. Deltavros' grin was friendly.
Rohrouk: no no no, we passed the test
Deltavros: I have no more tests for you
 
He complimented Rohrouk's swordsmanship
 
Rohrouk: what do you want from us
Deltavros: what is next for the Fatecarvers?
 
Rohrouk wants to leave, to get what he really wants back in Argiid. Deltavros not-so-threateningly said he would let us leave when he saw fit
 
Cassandra asked about the Odyssey, and why it existed in the first place. The four keys -- all tests in their own right. The odyssey, ours, was a test of who could be the most brutal, the most violent.
 
Deltavros - I don't have an active say. The odyssey is a test of nothing but greatness. In a way, it tests your destiny, and the greatest of your fate. Yada yada the world is your Odyssey yada yada.
 
Cassandra, who turns a blind eye on what is right.
 
Deltavros: I, like many, am a complex man. I did not create the odyssey, but I still celebrate it. Just as it celebrates date.
 
Brom: then where are the karekedai?
Deltavros: I don't know
 
"And if there is nothing else, I will let you be on your way. I am glad it was you. All of you. Keen, strong, and you see the world for what you wish it to be."
"I have lifted the magical barrier. Live well, my friends. Live gloriously."
 
Rohrouk gave Deltavros the blade of the traitor prince.
 
Deltavros: I was a passable father, I think. Not so good at it as other things.
 
Brom:are you dead? Do you see the dead? What of those we left behind?
 
Deltavros: they live on in you. I see them in you
 
Cassandra: and when you tried to bring so and so back
 
Deltavros: I cannot answer that, at the behest of the Raven queen. It is not so easy, to snatch back life from the ink black sea. I could not claim him again.
 
C: how did you get there
 
D: a deck of cards, the blood of an ancient creature, and a woman who would not stay dead.
 
F: will we see you again?
 
D: live amazingly, and then, perhaps.
 
Cass drew the to circle, and we all stepped through
 
We appeared in the center of the library of Ioun, surrounded by books. Warm, yet still quiet. A young halfling acolyte jumped at our magical arrival. Putting the pieces together that we were the Victor's, she jumped up excitedly to spread the news. Eragon jumped to the rescue, calming her with suggestion. She mentioned the temple of the Changebringer is our end, as it was the feast to start the odyssey.
 

Temple of Beginnings and Endings

As inconspicuously as possible, we make our way to the Temple of Ioun the Changebringer. It was to no avail; as we made our way people noticed, and after a while calls followed: "The Fatecarvers are here!"
 
Finally, we had made it, entering inside to speak with someone. As casually as could be, Cassandra spoke: "Where do we deposit the Horn of Deltavros?"
 
"This seems like the most auspicious of moments for something to go wrong. We want to avoid that."
 
Something was wrong. Then Cassandra: "You must be Kofsa, or Trickster." Rohrouk moved swifting, swinging out his leg to try and kick her to the ground. His attack was interrupted with a flash of light before the woman disappeared. Now the Fatecarvers were on high alert.
 
As Brom asked Cassandra about what to do, a door within the temple creaked open. A halfling woman -- the high priestess! -- uncertainly stepped forward. "Usually, when the Odyssey is over, word is sent ahead of time so we can prepare the celebration. It will be fast, but give us the horn and we will do our best." With some apprehension, Cass handed over the horn.
 
"Congratulations Fatecarvers. You won the Odyssey."
 
Cassandra messaged the Shortreef to tell them of our victory. The message back was worrying -- "we are being chased, but are faster; we will make it".
 

And the Raven Queen

At the behest of Brom and Rohrouk, the group left the worn at Ioun's temple to check in at the Raven Queen's sanctuary. As we neared, the bells of Ioun's temple pealed out across the city. It was official -- we had won the Odyssey.
 
Inside, work was actually underway to dismantle the Odyssey braziers. All are out, and Brom asked what was going on. An acolyte confirmed that three had been lit: the Karakedai, the Rust-Scale Clan, and the Fatecarvers. Brom rescued the effigy for the Champions of the Sister Isles: "I'll have to take this home for them."
 

And Bahamut

And so, we returned to the Temple of Bahamut to regroup with Herbayer and sleep. Tomorrow (or the next day?), we celebrate.