To the Victor Belong the Spoils, Part 2

General Summary

Returning to Arbour Kingdom empty handed left Tiff, Rico, Raffyr, and Elliot with all the motivation they needed to finally break Elyon out of West Haven. After a few questions to the gods Elliot left for the plains just north of West Haven, preparing to stake out the area waiting for The Sovereignty's armies to leave for war. Some time later as the sun began to set on another day in Pandora the rest of the group arrived, somewhat shocked to find no evidence of troop movement from the massive city. Though they had little time to question such events as the more perceptive group noticed something strange both north and south of them. To the north a massive, shimmering group of spectral creatures quickly approaching the city. To the south was a ship flying the colors of Captain Senriel! Knowing that the city may soon be under siege they had little time to wait for the perfect moment, instead rushing to the walls, disguising themselves as citizens attempting to evade the approaching armies to gain entrance into the city proper. While their plans before had been broad they became singular in focus knowing the city would be under attack soon. Elyon must be saved and the vile temple that stood as the symbol of Nihilus' rule must be destroyed. With renewed resolve the group found a place to hide away so they could make themselves invisible. All around them on the streets people were rushing past either looking for a place to hide or heading for the walls to defend the city. At The Dusk Chapel people were being ushered inside to hide within its fortified walls among the many loyal servants of Nihilus. With the help of foggy memories from Elliot and a vague description from Elyon the group made their way inside among the crowd and snuck upstairs. Unfortunately for them it seems either Nihilus or one of his guards had predicted people plotting with invisibility just as they had, the guards were alerted and quickly began to flood the room. The party had little qualms about fighting with the servants of Nihilus as they searched, though were severely slowed down as multiple of Nihilus' massive undead abominations joined the fray! Partway through the grueling battle the party was able to identify Elyon hiding scared in her room. After a few moments of consoling Raffyr chose to leave with the little one leaving the other three to destroy the temple. Elliot shouted a warning to an old 'ally' Asher, though she didn't seem to take the hint. So drastic measures were taken instead. Tiff spread a mass of black tentacles through the room which crushed many of the civilians and acolytes sheltering in the temple to death, leaving the few survivors to dodge through the writhing forest of corpses and escape into the war outside. Elliot then began to systematically destroy the supports of the high ceiling in the temple, causing it to come crumbling down, leaving naught but rubble as remains. After removing the unhallowed ground that flowed through the temple, adding hallow of their own the party left a final calling card before leaving. A massive oak tree to stand among the remains of the temple and the deceased.
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West Haven was very suddenly besieged by two massive forces. One a group of inquisitors on a crusade to root out evil in Pandora. The other a group of ghosts hoping to take revenge for their wrongful deaths. Both slammed into the city as night fell, forcing the forces of The Sovereignty who were left behind as a garrison to split their attention. On both fronts they were decimated, taking massive losses and very quickly being forced to flee the city itself. The forces, unable up until this point to get into contact with their Sovereign, hoped to meet up with what they expected to be The Sovereignty's victorious forces at Stag's Redoubt and return to West Haven to recapture the city, but all they found were the shambles that remained of The Sovereignty forces resting in Saltmarsh. Back in West Haven, a victory had been won over the owners of the city, but there was no clear victor yet as the ghosts and inquisitors clashed. The battle lasted through the night, where the ghosts were forced to retreat as the sun began to rise, giving the inquisitors a moment of reprieve. But they were caught off guard as the ghosts returned the next night. Both armies battered at this point made a final push to destroy the other as dawn approached on the second night. The only result of these all out attacks were mutual destruction. The already tenuous bonds holding the ghosts together broke and they scattered to the winds, some who had been newly raised during the battle remaining in West Haven continuing to haunt its citizens while others returned to the great plains under the guidance of their leader. But many still scattered back to whence they came, no longer confident that the Great Banshee Queen could offer them the revenge they seeked. The inquisitors on the other hand fell apart as their leader fell in battle, struck down in the early moments of the second night while the army was still attempting to regroup. Those of the great crusade in Lathander's name who survived the second night went into hiding. Some were too scared to fight, others hoping to take a more personal approach to their efforts to root out evil. Many who wished to continue the fight in secret staying within the city their brothers and sisters and arms lost their lives in, but a few scattered to other parts of The Sovereignty.