Session 15: The Knight, the Beast and the Crib Arc 2

The raging battle ensues as the monstrous Drodak falls onto our heroes, with a thunderous crack of wood boards announcing his arrival. The rest of the remaining guards take action to aim their crossbows, aiding their master in any way they can from the second floor.

The entire party rushed around the abomination, dealing blow after blow before it could act. Crossbow bolts were fired, the clashing of blades echoed through the warehouse and spells were cast to both bind and wound the monster and its lackeys. But soon, after each hit was inflicted upon it, this thing´s nature would become clearer to the heroes.

Whereas before Drodak had been sporadically shifting between its knightly and monstrous form, now its dual realities seemed to be clashing and changing at a more rapid and volatile pace. Each attack the party took became an uncertainty, for they could either hit the knight, covered in dark plated armor, or the colossal wall of bristles and flesh, that no longer seemed grasp sensory pain.

Both the titanic sailor and the raven masked knight made their separate moves, always sharing both one body and a single intention during battle, to destroy their enemies, with either righteous or beastly fury.

And so it was that the beast first roared, and so did the cub inside it. With their unified cries, our heroes felt the toll of the sea suffocating them from within, drowning them under the pressure of primordial fear.

Then came the Knight, strategically turning his sight to the barbarian minotaur, the most prominent threat at the moment. He had his mark, and an easy one at that, for she could neither move nor defend herself. He took his time to prepare for the strike, brandishing his longsword with both hands high above his head. He muttered a prayer, and the blade erupted in blinding flames. In a single moment, all the other lights inside the warehouse were outshined by this single act of holy might. The impact was felt through the foundations of the building, shattering windows, sending crates and furniture falling off high stacks, cracking and sizzling the floor under Minerva´s Hoofs, leaving the mighty warrior on her knees with a massive gap on her chest, still alive by the sheer strength of her rage. The flames died out, and the warehouse was shrouded in the dim, darkened green light that bathed the rest of Nocturna.

The battle raged on, with the remaining guards showering the party with arrows while Drodak led the front assault. Botas and Cicie attacked the monster from a distance, perching over it on top of crates or shooting against it´s back, covered by the walls of wares still standing. Rhyia conjured an ice blade right at one of the alter egos, shattering in a violent frosty blast, and strangely it seemed to have hit both sides of that same coin. Valsali took the elf´s lead, shattering the area around the monster with a thunderous boom, just as effectively.

But the monster wasn’t the only thing shifting, for with every hit so to did the warehouse became more unstable, changing facets similarly to those of its owner. Pieces of debris fell from the first floor on top of Rhyia and Rufus, and the walls began to age and crack.

Minerva stood up and plunged her battleaxe deep within the monster, cutting up a sizable chunk of its chest off. It finally began to show signs of wear and tear. But like a wounded animal, it immediately bit back. Using the jagged spine of the skeletal frame perched in its left shoulder, Minerva was pierced and hooked, dragged like a fish on a line. When she reached the monster, the skeletons ribcage opened like a gaping maw filled with jagged fangs, wrapping her to the monster, who proceeded to drag her behind him, getting closer to its foes, and using a rusty anchor chained to its free arm, swinged its weapon around, breaking a hole column of crates that offered shelter to some members of the party.

It shifted back to the Knight, and his eyes began glowing crimson red, as the rest of his body lit up in embers, striking fear in the heart of some of his foes, but not Valsali, whose heart was ten times bigger for someone so short. Unfortunately, the knight was right in front of him, and the black sword came down swinging once again, now wrapped in the same embers as its wielder. The blow was not as violent as before but still took the verdan of his balance.

The room shifted again, and Rhyia, on top of the debris that fell on her, was now being lifted to the floor above her, as the corridor on top of her mended itself. As the wood planks and rock regained shape, her foot got stuck in the floor, and now she was alone on the second floor, unable to move, and being shot with arrows by the guard’s station on the opposite side of the room.

Rufus, from underneath, blasted guard after guard to provide cover, but the sounds of the battle attracted the attention of more guards outside the building, who were now entering through the front door in squad formations.

Minerva was still stuck to skeleton, and her throat felt like it was being filled with salt water. Her mind was taken from the fight, and suddenly she was in the middle of a beach once again, only this time, with a human version of Drodak a couple feet away from her, franticly trying to pull out fish net out of the water. As she approached him, he cried out for help, saying he´s trying to save his wife. Minerva aids him, using all her might pull out a pregnant Tiefling woman off the water, tied in fish nets, without being aware at the moment that outside this vision, she was freeing herself from the grasp of the skeleton. Back at the beach, she used one of her hand axes to cut trough the ropes and pull the woman out, but when she reached her, the woman was gone, and inside the nets was the monster once again, trying to hold back Minerva from plunging the axe further down its bloated belly.

The roars of the beast grew louder, sending more crates down on our heroes, both Cicie, and Botas were knocked to the ground. When the Crow man opened his eyes, the raven feather that he held on to since he came to this kingdom began to move from inside his armor, finding a gap in the metal beaked visor to exit out. The feather shined and was replaced with the figure of a dark mantled woman with a ceramic white mask concealing her face. She helped Botas stand back on his feet and pointed to the monster. A single gold tread shot from her fingertip and touched the monstrous belly, reviling the silhouette of the infant inside of it. A choir of voices echoed inside the crowd’s mind, chanting an enigmatic advice “These souls were lost, their treads cut long ago, now used to shock them out, swinging like corpses in the gallons, deprived of destiny, stuck in stasis. Help them move on, with every action…expect reaction. The easiest path sometimes is not the right one”. The woman disappears and no one else seemed to acknowledge this brief and mysterious presence.

Our heroes continue to push through, Rhyia, unable to free herself, cast a spell that held the beast in place for a moment. With this opportunity, our heroes attacked with all their might, and both monster and knight shed their share of blood. But there was one last cry. Grabbing the minotaur by the neck, Minerva was thrown onto the ground, in the direction of the rest of her compatriots. It ran towards them, and cried one last agonizing time, for all of them to ear.

Most succumbed to it, and their minds drifted to another vision, this time inside Drodak´s office, with his wife, Marta, lying on the bed. But they were not alone, for a ghostly appearance, identical to that of the corpse in front of them, was gently resting in Drodak´s left shoulder. And beside this tragic sight was a wooden Crib, empty in the corner of the room. Drodak´s eyes flashed purple, his shirt stained with blood from the runes carved in his stomach. His maniacal rants progressively slowed, being replaced by the slow approach of the blade, ever closer to the corpse´s round belly. Minerva stopped the ritual, holding the man down, while Botas drew his sword and tried to break the Crib, only to be stopped by a pair of gold threads, wraping around his wrists.

Valsali noticed that Cicie was in shock, but it didn’t seem to be paying much attention to events in front of her, rather, she was frantically looking back at her shoulder, like someone was right behind her. The Verdan tried to reassure her, but with the chaos ensuing in the room, he acted upon the sailor instead, leaping in front of Drodaks face, persuading him to stop. “You have to stop!” He said “Take it from me, we cannot always save those we love. We will always try, but we won’t always succeed, because it’s not just up to us. You must let go, for yourself, and for them”. These words reached the ears of the grieving husband, and the purple blaze in his eyes dissipated. “I have carried them” Drodak repried “I have carried them for all this time. I could have saved them, he told me so, that this was the only way. I kept them alive, but I can no longer recognize them. I can’t recognize myself!!! Marta…tell me what to do”. The ghostly appearance seems to try and reply, but no one hears her words, and Drodak doesn’t seem to even recognize the presence of her spirit. The golden treads move to Botas´s head, and he ears those same words again “The easiest path sometimes is not the right one”. Then one of the treads connects his head with the ghostly appearance, and her words become clear to him. As a Kenku, coping voice´s comes natural for him, and so, Botas replies the ghost´s pleas, using Marta´s own voice “You have to let go…im sorry to have left you alone for so long, but life is always filled with the unexpected. Sometimes it can bring you pain, but it can also bring much joy too, just like our little one. You can´t always carry the word on your shoulders, you are not an anchor. You are a husband, a father, your own self, don´t throw that away. It’s time to let go. We are all tired, our child is tired…put him to rest” as she points to the Crib.

Reality hits back, only the monster remains, not hostile, holding its belly, trying to peel the child off. Botas, with some field experience, slashes with pression in the cesarean section, sticking his hands in the belly, trying to pull the infant out. Rufus dispatches a couple more guards, before focusing on healing the monsters’ wounds. Rhyia sees an opening to free her foot, jumping down one floor, in order to futtering curing the beast with the help of Valsali. Minerva tries to aid Botas to pull of the child, by grabbing the crow man and pulling like in a game of tug of war, but such strength was to much, as the fetus´s head became detached from the rest of the body. Botas could now see the face of the child, or what was left of it, which was only the vague silhouette of the skull underneath, and a single blacken hole where its mouth should be. The monster became furious but focused its rage by piercing its own stomach with one of its arms.

As this happened in the front, the back of the monster seemed to be partaking in a separate and unvoluntary birth of sorts. The back bent and bloated, as a pair of faming wings slowly pierced out of it.

Drodak, aided by Martas skeletal hands, ripped the rest of the malnourished and necrotic fetus out, that came splatting down on the floor, followed by a wave of blood and moldy Viscera.

Botas saw one last gold tread, encircling both the head and body of the child and proceeding to extend further in the direction of the office above him.

Drodak remained still, its body finally gave out. And with a much deserver moment of calm and triumph, our heroes sigh with relief at last. It was short lived…

The back of the gargantuan corpse burst at last, reviling a blazing blood-soaked knight, with burning ethereal wings, an incandescent longsword, and a raven-shaped visor revealing only the eerie purple glow of the eyes underneath it. The figure remained still for a moment, resembling a statue or a chess piece, floating in place a couple feet above the ground, before locking its gaze to the remains of the infant, being currently held by the crow man. In a flash, the knight moved to strike the pawn, and the red-hot steel slashed through the fighter’s armor, knocking him back. With the infant held in his arms and blood dripping down his beak, the crow man mustered what strength he had left to lift himself up.

In that moment, his purpose was clear, and so he decided to tread the destined path. As fast as a bolt, he darted towards the stairs, reaching the second floor in mere moments, while his companions did everything in their power to push back the Knight. The building itself, once a reflection of its former owner, was now nothing more than a broken shell, rapidly collapsing around them. Each step Botas took could prove to be a fatal mistake, as the corridor he was treading on shattered beneath his feet. Using the falling debris to gain momentum, he leaped forwards, surpassing the chasm forming behind him.

With its mark on the run, the Knight took flight. Rhyia tried to bind it to the ground, muttering a spell under her breath, but the shackles shattered with a single beat of its red wings. Valsali tried a different approach, to attack not the body but the mind, sending a wave of fear into their enemy, the angelic monstrosity flew upwards and towards the other side of the building, displaying its unnatural speed. Rufus shattered another of the guards, seemingly unfazed by the current events, blindly fulfilling their duties. He missed its mark, for there was one remaining rook place on the second floor. In an attempt to endeer the crimson angel further, the warlock summoned a dome of darkness around the creature, blocking his sight completely.

Botas kept running, traversing the suspended corridor that lead to the other side of the building, where the office laid in wait. Even without sight, the red angel tried to approach the office in his own accord, flying blindly forwards. Its flight came to an abrupt stop when its sword hit the rails of the corridor suspended in the middle of the room. With a more precise awareness of its surroundings, the knight made his move. He blandished its weapon, once again burning brightly, enough to be seen even under the shadows cast, and smited the bridge he standed on, sending debris falling on our hero’s bellow, and leaving another obstacle in the fighter’s path, another chasm, masked by a dome of darkness, and guarded by a blind angel. All our heroes focused their aggression on the dark orb above them, even if they could not see their target. Most attacks were in vain…most…but not all.

Rufus, the caster of this darkness, could see clearly through it, sending two powerful arcane blasts towards the unsuspecting creature, piercing its shoulder, and breaking one of its wings. It was on its last feathers, desperately keeping afloat. Its desperation was palpable, making it more dangerous than ever before—for in desperate times, desperate measures are taken. The angel didn´t know where he was, but he felt the bolts, the direction they came from, and in a desperate attempt, it grabbed their sword like a javelin, imbuing all the power it could muster. The crimson menace hurled the weapon at Rufus, and like a lightning bolt, it crashed down at his feet, erupting in radiant flames. The explosion severely wounded the warlock, knocking him unconscious.

With the shadows dissipating and its vision returned, the winged knight faced against the Kenku once again. It lunged towards Botas, punching violently towards him, only to miss him by mere inches, hitting and breaking the rails of what remained of the suspended bridge. Botas ran around it, and the angel turned back, desperately trying to punch a hole through the bird’s skull. A quick and perceptive bird, its prayer was, for the pawn of the raven queen ducked the blow had leapt towards the chasm, soaring through the sky and reaching the other side.

The angel spread its remaining wing, preparing to leap upon the crow like a bird of prey, when suddenly…its head was pierced by an ice knife, slicing from one temple to the other. It was Rhyia, finally with her target in sight, as cold and calculated like the blade she summoned, she waited for the right moment to strike down her foe. The arms of the red angel grew limb, but still it kept trying to walk forward, an effort in vain. It lost its balance, falling off the rails of the bridge. It was only then that Rhyia unleashed her frustrations. With a sharp snap of her fingers, the blade shattered into a thousand pieces, and the crimson angel crumbled into ice before it even touched the ground.

Botas kept running, darting towards the office, but a single guard remained standing behind him. Valsali unleashed a volley of arcane shards in the direction of the rook, knocking out the metal helmet, reviling and undead Asimar with burning purple eyes underneath. The guard fired, and only by a miracle or fate itself did the bolt not hit its mark by mere inches, hitting instead the head of the already deceased fetus mid run. The guard prepared another shot but didn’t get the chance to fire, for he was hit with a javelin in the neck, thrown by Minerva all the way from the first floor, with such might that the head of the necrotic guard was ripped off his shoulders and projected against the wall the spear got stuck in.

In a final rush, Botas entered the collapsing office, he lunged towards the Crib, placing the child inside, and for a moment…silence. No more falling debris, just the sound of the music box playing one last time. When it stopped, the front half of the office collapsed onto the first floor, blocking the front entrance to the warehouse, and leaving Botas literally hanging off a cliff.