Kali had written in the book the previous night that the party should meet at the Beer Forge early to discuss the removal of Imelda.
Beer Forge
After most of the party gathered, Kali entered with a quirky Mace of Disruption on her shoulder and a bright glow to her skin. The party discussed ways to “choose” the fight, and considered using the Chalice, for a controllable arena, or the forest, for safety to the city. They decided to go to the Temple of the Primal Gods, so Kali could consult with the Mother Dragon.
Temple of the Primal Gods
Kali sacrificed painted eggs to Elumir-Aruna and as she completed the ritual, she found herself in a completely dark place where she asked her question.
“How do we draw Imelda out?”
A burst of flaming Draconic writing displayed the words “You know what to do, I told you before.”
She awakened from her fugue state with a piece of eggshell stuck in her finger. Recounting what she saw, the group then concluded that it must have meant to use the tapestry from Afra to summon the “living darkness”. The group went to meet Afra to borrow the portal tapestry in order to summon the fight outside of the city.
Divine Foundry
When they got to the Divine Foundry, the group ran into Bad Company, who were arguing about a certain item that was unsatisfactory to them. Kali offered Castrin a chance in the coming fight, and they agreed to help after some deliberation and price negotiation.
Kali then went to see Afra, who was asleep at her desk. She told the group that she had all the tapestries destroyed, because they didn’t work and only secreted black ooze. Lost for how to choose a fighting place, they left to invite the Birchfield Seekers to the fight.
Birchfield Ship
The party made their way down to Bilgeport and Water Walked over to the Birchfield Seekers, who agree to help much more readily than Bad Company had. They listened to the group and formed a plan to fight in the forest along the cliff edge. The group then went back to Kali’s temple to meet with Bad Company. The group agree to a 33% share of the spoils going to Bad Company, and then the groups prepared before moving into the forest.
Forest Cliff
Bad Company invited the party to a heroes’ feast on the cliff, which gave them all a boon before the fight. The group called out to Imelda to summon her, and as the fight with her started, she was paralyzed by GB with a Hold Person spell.
The group took that minute to attack her unimpeded. As they struck her, black goop covered her with every hit until she was covered completely. Cyl took her warhammer against the shell to crack it. As it happened, the King of Secrets’ fiendish bear emerged.
The bear was attacked before leaping off the cliff edge, with Finkoo casting Featherfall on it, giving the group time to attack it before it fell out of their range. GB also cast Polymorph on the bear, turning it into a cow during the fall. Along with this damage, falling, and then the ship taking aim at the bear, it was ripped apart.
From this mess, the King of Secrets finally arrived on the battlefield. He was as large as the cliff. The battle was long and hard, with many of the group getting close to death. Saxi was hit with a Feeblemind spell, and Finkoo was incapacitated during the fight. Bad Company lost Bhelrom to a Plane Shift. Eventually, as the group finished off the King, he collapsed and a bright light encompassed the party and Bad Company.
The Beyond
The group arrived in a serene place, full of life and flowers and beautiful sights. Imelda came to greet them. She was happy, and told the group she was free of his influence. A few people stood in the background and waved. Tyrell, Earl, Amy, and Tybalt were all there; happy and content. Imelda told the group that she couldn’t do much, but she could fix a few things that had happened within the last week.
This included the Plane Shift, the Feeblemind, the Guild Hall Damage, and most importantly, the Sub Rosarium being restored. Imelda also told the group that the others, meaning the other VKTR members, would be joining them soon in the Beyond. The energy of the King of Secrets was no longer around to keep them alive.
Imelda also said she would be leaving some things for the group. The group were told they could stay as long as they like, up to 20 years. Cyl was the only one who decided to stay for a couple of hours to paint, speaking to Tyrell for a brief moment.
Cinderhaven
Kali went to see Afra and show her the returned Sub Rosarium. In that time, Kali could see that Afra had aged at least a year since that morning. She didn’t have much time left.
Saxi went to warn Oisin and Pinbol as quickly as possible. When she got there, Pinbol, already realizing what was happening, asked her to wait and let him tell Oisin after he had done more research. She reluctantly agreed and Pinbol started looking for ways to stay with his husband, or bring himself back.
Comments