GoCorral

A Change in the Wind

The group reunited a few hours later as the attack on the Museum of Power was about to begin. Barakah arrived, but was… changed. His void-bearing eyes now each had a pinprick of twinkling flame in their deepest reaches. His tentacles slithered beneath his cloak and his body radiated a new heat, making it even more uncomfortable to stand next to him. When he spoke his harsh voice now crackled and hissed like a wet log on a campfire, “I have slain the beast of the lake and devoured it.”

Hektor stared wide-eyed then gritted his teeth. What of the wards he had secretly placed upon the lake during his preparations? Had they been muffled? Dispelled without his knowledge? Put in place too late?

“Hektor you look concerned that I have seized what is mine by right and that which you tried to stop me from taking. Perhaps you do not trust me? I have shared with you my hearth and hall, wine and wives. I have told you secrets of my ancient and mighty tribe. And we have spilt blood together in battle against the great evil of our age.
“Perhaps you doubt my resolve? Then I remind you, archmage, of oaths sworn to destroy the Dragon God. And I say to you now that by my hand I will rend the demon asunder. Perhaps most of all you doubt my prowess and control? Know that so long as I live and breathe that this power is mine alone, and I wield it for my own purpose: to destroy the great god Blendegad.
“But… perhaps your worries lingers. If that is true, my friend Hektor, when the battles are won and we have cleansed the foul dragon blood from our lands, and when the bacchnals and revelries have ended. If your doubt persists… come and find me.”
Hektor clenched his fist and then slowly released it. “There’s time enough for that later. We have to work together now to get the White Orb from the Xorians. Your incessant progress towards corruption can be dealt with at a later date.”

Tactics were discussed in detail, long-term buffs were cast, and a few minutes later the party, flying and invisible, teleported into the dark cloudy sky above Nox, the capital of Xoria. Below was the Museum of Power and on its roof were perched three dragons, black, green, and white in color.

The Hundred-Handed

After a short wait everyone in the vicinity felt a great power coming from deep below. A growing sense of dread filled the air. Birds took to the sky and in the city thousands of cats and dogs cried out. The earth began to shake and moan. A circular depression appeared in a city block south of the Museum of Power. The depression grew larger and the city reshaped itself around the growing hole. Buildings slide across the ground as a magical force pushed them away from the yawning chasm. Soon a vast, dark pit opened a quarter of a mile wide. The pit stretched into infinity and at the bottom the fires of Tartarus burned. The smell of brimstone and the screams of the damned belched forth.

Three hundred hands emerged from the pit and the Hecatonchires pulled themselves up into the city. A caterwauling air raid siren joined the grinding of buildings as they continued to slide away from the pit. The hundred-handed giants steadied themselves on the north side of the pit. Hideous in appearance, they were covered in boils, scars, and burns. Each of their fifty heads boasted some grotesque deformity and their arms were constantly in motion like a writhing nest of baby spiders. Those with good eyes spied Hephaestus and Torin coming out of the hole behind the Hecatonchires.

The monsters picked up whatever was available and began hucking it at the Museum of Power. Paving stones, chunks of road, wagons, animals, people, barrels, walls, and roofs. They advanced towards the Museum of Power and all things in their path became projectiles aimed at the adamantine building. Behind them they left a cylindrical path of destruction. As the rain pounded on the Museum of Power a violet light flashed and a baritone voice thundered from the bowels of the building, “THE CITY IS UNDER ATTACK. ALL MEN TO THEIR STATIONS.”

The three dragons on the roof of the Museum of Power took flight as the missiles began pouring down. They dove towards the Hecatonchires to blast them with ice and acid and swipe at them with tooth and claw. The Hecatonchires redirected half of their attacks towards their winged assailants while continuing to pour devastation down upon the Museum as their advance continued. From elsewhere in the city, more dragon cries could be heard. Three red dragons took to the air, Invernix, Sartoria, and the armored Reaper himself, Blendegad. Following them was dark dragon that a few in the party recognized as Briasonon, the mount of Devanane that they had spared. These four dragons joined the assault against the Hecatonchires.

Hephaestus rose off the ground into the air and shot beams of light at the three red dragons. The holy energy turned their wings into sieves. Three crimson necks snapped towards Hephaestus. An energy shield erupted from his bubble armor protecting the lame god. The trio of red dragons split off from attacking the Hecatonchires to focus on Hephaestus. The great smith gave a sooty grin, enjoying the challenge that such a fight would present.

Unleash the Old Ones

Barakah swept aside the cloak covering his arms and torso. A mass of writhing tentacles emerged from beneath the thick cloth. The pseudopods seemed to shriek as Barakah surged forwards to intercept the white dragon, Shivara, as she swooped down for another pass at the Hecatonchires. Barakah tackled it and brought it down to shatter upon a rooftop. His red-hot tentacles raked the dragon leaving bubbling burns.

The dragon roared and breathed frigid ice upon the tentacled giant. Barakah grinned and weathered the storm with Eathirilu’s enchantments. Shivara began to struggle to escape Barakah’s many-armed grasp, but he held tight. The fire burned hotter and hotter upon her skin until she turned into an ashen cloud.

Barakah let out a yell, victorious. The ash lifted up off the rooftop and formed a dark dragon-shaped cloud. Shivara was not dead! Only defeated. How had she survived? It dawned on the party that Blendegad must have drained her blood and turned her into a vampiric dragon. The cloud floated away and settled above the front left corner of the Museum. Barakah growled and looked for his next target.

Hektor and Eathirilu began moving towards the Museum. Zelus summoned an earthquake in an eastern neighborhood of Nox to add to the chaos consuming the city. Danar and Tagenadi watched the fight between Hephaestus and the dragons, hoping for an opening. As they watched, more gods showed up.

Ares and Aphrodite emerged in a shower of golden light. Aphrodite pointed an accusatory finger at Hephaestus, “You locked me up in your volcano with your filthy iron chains! Well, look who has rescued me from your cruel touch!” She swept her arm to Ares and caressed his chin.
Hephaestus spat, “Ha! You whore of a goddess! I should have known that this scum would take you from my home once more while I was distracted! I’ll put you in your place!” Hephaestus thrust his palm at Ares and a gout of flame shot forth, engulfing the glittering golden armor of the war god.
The fire subsided and Ares smirked, untouched. “We are both gods of fire, brother. You cannot burn my skin. But let’s see how yours fares against my spear!” Ares lunged forwards and the two gods became locked in a battle that more resembled a ferocious storm than anything else. Aphrodite clapped her hands and giggled gleefully as her two lovers sparred.

A golden spear shot down from the sky and glanced off Aphrodite’s hand as she covered her tittering mouth. Aphrodite gasped as Athena floated up from below, idly spinning the spear in her right hand. “Sorry. Did I get you there?” Athena said contemptuously. Aphrodite shrieked, electricity crackled in her perfect, divine hands, and she launched herself at Athena.

The Olympians were coming to fight, but all their old grievances were flaring up once more.

The dragons fighting Hephaestus seemed to shrug and then moved upon the Hecatonchires instead.

Barakah channeled his dark power and tunneled through the void to appear directly atop the black dragon, Kovan’rorshac. He fell on the dragon’s back and ripped at it with fiery hot tentacles. “Weren’t his tentacles acidic before?” thought Hektor to himself as he flew towards the Museum. “I only hope he can be contained after this.”

Kovan’rorshac scrapped his back against buildings and flailed at Barakah with his wings, tail, and limbs. All in vain. The black dragon met the same fate as the white, turning into an ashen cloud that floated to the Museum, alighting upon the back left corner.

More Olympians showed up. Apollo and Artemis came as a pair, shooting arrows into the fight between Hephaestus, Ares, Aphrodite, and Athena. “Cease this foolishness! We must unite against the real threat!” The raw power scorched the city below. People fled in terror as errant blasts turned buildings into craters.

Hercules and Hermes came. Having an inkling of why the fight was occurring, the two half-brothers attacked the dragons that flocked around the heads of the Hecatonchires. The dragons broke off from the many-armed monsters and engaged Hercules and Hermes. The brave Olympian duo fought back to back against Invernix, Sartoria, Blendegad, Briasonon, and Cordax. The Hecatonchires marched on, continuing to rain stone after stone upon the Museum of Power.

Danar saw the embattled Olympian brothers, Hercules and Hermes. He rushed to help. Pouring his most powerful magic into his axe, Danar brought it down upon Invernix. His strikes ripped through the dragon’s scales. Invernix let out a roar and turned into an ashen cloud. He floated away towards the east.

Barakah sought to aid Danar in his fight against the dragons. He rushed at Sartoria, Invernix’s wife, but found himself repelled by a strong force. He struggled against the enchantment warding him away, but he could not move an inch closer to Sartoria. Seeing Barakah’s problem, Danar hefted his axe and charged Sartoria. He dispatched her as swiftly as he did Invernix. She too turned into an ash cloud and drifted eastward.

Hostages Can Be Healed

A teleportation pop drew the party’s attention to the sky. King Jevaninada, Darudanano, Barejando, and Jittehalong had arrived. They had two bound and gagged captives with them. Hektor’s kidnapped cohort, Bart, and a woman that only Tagenadi recognized.

“Dana!” Tagenadi shouted the diminutive he used for his sister, Danaranena, who had been missing and presumed dead since Tagenadi escaped Xorian captivity.

The woman screamed through her gag. She wore a pearl necklace with an emerald pendant and beautiful clothes made from seaweed, fish scales, and sea shells. On her feet were sea-green flippers.

Jevaninada said, “If you do not quit our city immediately then your servant and your loved one will be executed!”

Tagenadi held himself back from charging in. Danar circled around, ready to charge at the slightest signal from his allies. Eathirilu growled. Hektor weighed the options. Retreating was not a realistic option. Engaging would certainly result in the deaths of Bart and the other woman that Tagenadi knew, but death was temporary. Bart and the woman could always be brought back.

Hektor shouted, “We can resurrect them! Don’t worry about the consequences! Attack!”
“So be it!” Jevaninada shouted back. Barejando and Darudanano bit into their captives and bled them dry before dropping their anemic corpses to the city below.

Danar, Tagenadi, and Zelus descended upon the dragovinians. Barakah sniffed the air. His otherwordly senses picked up on two invisible dragovinians, an archer and a mage, who split off from their companions. He lunged upon the invisible archer, attacking with his tentacles. The fiery strength had reverted to acid. Wu’s flesh melted away. He restrained his impulse to scream as the Beast ripped him into pieces and devoured them. Wu, who had so often been a thorn in the Exiles’ side, was defeated by the nose and tentacles of Barakah. Hektor rushed to where the bodies of Bart and Danaranena had fallen. He collected the mangled remains in his portable hole before continuing his flight to the Museum of Power.

Without the surprise and numbers, the Xorian team could not contend with the Exiles. After trading a few blows, Danar knocked Jittehalong unconscious. The other Xorians were injured while Zelus kept the Exiles hale and healthy. Jevaninada called for a retreat. Stanton flew in to grab Jittehalong’s body from a rooftop. While he was invisible, the party had prepared for this and readied divination magic to find him. Tagenadi charged the albino halfling mage and caged him in with his martial skills. Stanton was trapped and Barakah descended. The sand giant’s body count increased. Having lost Wu and Stanton, the dragovinians fled the field. They left Jittehalong to her fate along with the whole city of Nox.

The party decided to throw Jittehalong’s unconscious body in Hektor’s portable hole and deal with her later. They weren’t sure if they wanted to kill her, but they definitely wanted to take her magic items as loot. The bodies of Bart and Danaranena were collected as well for burial or resurrection.