LongestRoad Run22

• Entered the catacombs! A great big fight!
  • Beholder behind a wall of force, his antimagic field filling the room
  • Two elder black puddings (oozes), dripping with stuff-destroying acid
  • Tendriculous, ready to om nom nom
  • 4x horde scarab hellswarms, ready to burrow into your FLEEESH
• Michael began chopping at a stalactite above one of the puddings to fall and smoosh
• Teris SUGGEST'ed that the beholder close his eye
  • When it did, another monster appeared in the room- a 12-headed cryo monster based on a remorhaz! Ready to breathe lots of lasers and break lots of weapons!
• Cryoremorhaz breathed at Oraine, she saved herself through a classy defensive shift and wasn't totally killed outright
• All hell breaks loose- walls of fire, lots of dragon breaths, antimagic going on and off
  • Querca gets schlorped into the ooze and a lot of her stuff melted
  • Sil and Teris both get chomped by the remorhaz's head, but Ezel CONFUSE's it so it charges around madly
  • A couple forcecages get dropped on Ezel and Oraine (with poison)
• Ellowyn disintegrates the wall of force and Michael and Sventukothar take care of the beholder (which hates you)
• Vin uses his death attack, what a good boy! Umm... but well at least his bestow curse helped.
• Party members gathered, treasure scooped, on to the next room with the Brass Orb
  • All the orbs start vibrating, wanting to be brought together; party runs upstairs to Fellithysaar to show him and then SHOOP they are transported
• CORRIDOR OF TRIALS- a hallway with eight gates, each representing one of the lesser dragon gods; each demanding a free sacrifice
  • Aastilabor, Goddess of Wealth - "Let he who has great wealth sacrifice it freely to the Hordemistress." Michael loses 10,000 gp
  • Hlal, Goddess of Humor - "Let he who inspires others sacrifice it freely to the Keeper of Tales." Evathyth loses bardic inspiration
  • Tamara, Goddess of Life - "Let he who heals the wounded sacrifice it freely to Her Mercy." Querca loses all healing ability
  • Aasterinian, Messenger of Io - THE GM ACCIDENTALLY SKIPPED THIS ONE BUT I SHALL TELL YOU ANYWAYS - "Let he of great knowledge sacrifice it freely to Io's Messenger." Someone WOULD HAVE lost all knowledge skills.
  • Lendys, God of Justice - "Let he who brings justice to the wicked sacrifice it freely to The Balancer." Michael loses his SMITE.
  • Chronepsis, God of Fate - "Let he who sight does judge his fellow sacrifice it freely to The Watcher." Ellowyn becomes blind (for real).
  • Garyx, God of Destruction - "Let he who wields the flames of destruction sacrifice it freely to the All-Destroyer." Ezel loses his ability to cast any fire spells.
  • Falazure, God of Decay - "Let he who lives and breathes sacrifice himself freely to the Night Dragon." Vin dies.
• HOLY SHIT A MASSIVE BATTLE IS STARTING! A long open-air temple with two altars at the back- black and white- and tons of demons pouring in. Also, a 50s-housewife demon. Also, Team Tamara has become evil. Marcus, Senyo, Eryuul, and Aezma attack the party.
  • Dammit the room is teleport/dimdoor proof.
  • Michael opens up a can of holy whoopass with Holy Word
  • Aezma counters with some BLASPHEMY
  • Ezel unexpectedly attacks the party
  • Suddenly Armatt (Michael's mom!) and a FRIGGIN ARMY of celestials WHOOSH in and bodyslam the demons! Armatt bodyslams Itessa, possibly for a makeout fight, and Ezel is freed! Team Tamara gets taken down! "KEEP GOING!"
• Party presses on a little farther, but the demons and celestials reach a stalemate- and there's no time!
  • The gold orb starts thrumming at Sil, filling her whole body with what sounds like her favorite drinking song. She starts belting it out, and then suddenly WHAM! The Bauriars appear, high five her, and make a wedge to push on!
  • A little farther, another stalemate- the silver orb starts thrumming at Michael, a melody he'd been picking out on his Tiny Violin; he starts playing (really well) and WHAM! Zeroth and three lillends- the mayors of Freehaven and another that Ellowyn had chatted up- appear, fighting and BARD'ing! A hole is made!
  • A little farther, Ellowyn feels the bronze thrumming and crackling; does a fireworks cantrip and BAM! Cybilenemarea appears with Archmage Serahn and Vitaria strapped to his back, they start a'roaring and a'zappin and a'shootin! A big hole is made!
  • A little farther, copper starts thrumming at Querca; she eats a delicious goodberry acorn and Leon-Hai appears! He wades joyfully into the fight, throwing guys into other guys, using Godly Smash powers, etc. A good time! A hole is made!
  • A little farther, brass starts thrumming at Teris, reminding him of THAT ONE TIME... he starts telling a story and BAM! Fellithysaar appears, throws a HUGE gush of fire, smashes a bit of Querca's wall of thorns, and a way is clear! GO GO GO GO GO! "One of you will have to bring all 5 to the altar- and you'll know what has to be done!"
• Rush to the altar- and Sil suddenly knows what to so. She sets them on altar-grooves; they start to lift and spin around her, flooding her mind with confusion and nausea and a sense of herself ripping apart
  • Her skin is glowing molten; gold trickles down her side; she falls down, dead. And an elf.
  • Also, Bahamut is not there.
  • Silara wings in, shocked at Sil's death; hands her back to Michael after a minute and goes to finish the summoning.
  • "Oh excuse me," TOM shoves in and whispers something in Sil's ear
• SIL: Sitting in TOM's kitchen with a dinged up stock pot of scrying in the middle of the table showing the fight. He explains that since evil always cheats, Zahn and "that young Pazuzu fellow" managed to find a way to do it with four orbs. But she sees that it's erratic and limping (he has, at this point, taken the altar with Pazuzu guarding him).
  • TOM reveals that with four, either the summoning will kill him, or Tiamat will when she rises. Unless... rolls Red Orb over to Sil.
  • Sil lowers the orb into the stockpot, and the scene fades away
• In real life: Zahn has taken the altar and started summoning, Pazuzu guarding him; not going well at all; suddenly a ghostly figure of... Sil?... appears and sets the red into the groove.
  • Silara has finished her summoning; a huge platinum flash bigger than one can imagine as Bahamut wings into the sky.
  • A long few moments later- Zahn finishes his, and Tiamat takes the sky with a terrible roar
• B&T prepare to square off, when TOM sighs, leaps into the air, and takes them both by the jaw (one of Tiamat's five). She tries to blast him with her other four heads, but it rolls off him and dissipates. He lands again, B&T following, transforming respectively into a strong and craggy fighter with shiny, shiny armor; and a gorgeous woman in a slinky dress shifting in color between her five types
  • TOM waves his hand and the battle disappears, except for Marcus, Senyo, and Eryuul (not evil anymore); and for Zahn at other altar
  • "Now son, rules are rules, and you get to go first"
  • Bahamut rezzes Vin, takes Sil into his arms, and closes his eyes for a moment
• SIL: In front of two mirrors, one reflecting herself as an elf, the other a wyrmling gold dragon. Bahamut explains that what she did sundered her; and only one "self" can be saved
  • She chooses dragon
• In Bahamut's arms, Sil transforms into a wyrmling gold dragon; and her eyes open. She shifts into her alt form (looks like regular Sil) and he sets her down
• Bahamut also restores all things sacrificed
  • "The Orbs are bound to you... it would be my wish to reabsorb their power, if you choose to give them to me"
  • They are being offered before he even finishes speaking; Ellowyn: "We've seen what danger these things can do"
  • Then abruptly, "Now... I would give you the wish of your heart, if it is in my power to give it."
    • Querca: for him to plant her last holy seed somewhere safe. He will plant it in the courtyard of his most besterest temple on Celestia.
    • Vin: "I could make his scales a more pleasing hue?" He is unsure and begs time to consider, Bahamut peels off a scale and hands it to him. WOOOOOWW
    • Evathyth & Oraine: safety for their people. Bahamut promises forever friendship/alliance with neighboring gold dragons.
    • Michael: for his father and mother to be together again. "It is done."
    • Ezel: to save his sister. Bahamut is unable to act directly since it is outside his god-sphere; there are no metallic dragons there or temples to Bahamut, priests, etc; but he gives Ezel the power to save her by creating a new phylactery for him (now his mom won't be able to control him)
    • Ellowyn: the long life of his bronze dragon heritage. "Yes; perhaps in your long lifetime you will find a way to make whole your race once more."
    • Teris: doesn't want anything, so Bahamut gives him a scale for a rainy day or whatnot.
    • Sil: for her family to be together. Bahamut grants "a charmed life" for her children until they reach their majority; and for their children, and their children's children.
• Tiamat's turn! She stalks (oh god her butt swaying omg so hot) over to Zahn
  • "Boy, give me those orbs at once!" "No." ?!@?@?@??@?@!!!!
  • Conversation with Sil: Evil has to be controlled, this is the pinnacle of his life's ambition; so uh, goodbye possibly forever? Gotta go do god stuff?
  • "BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY" "AIEEE WTF. Um I could make a better future for them?" "GUILT GUILT GUILT BE IN THEIR LIVES INSTEAD." "okay."
  • Zahn gives the orbs to Tiamat, she and Bahamut both fly off
• TOM gathers the group together, "Well, you've all done so well, but now there's even more to do: a war is picking up force in the Abyss, and some of you have some personal stake in it, eh?" Elbow, elbow.
  • Ezel: "One last thing, who are you?" "Oh come on now, if you really need me to answer that, you're not my best student ever. Oh yeah by the way not going to have time to teach you two now; got to spend some time with the kids. Hope you didn't leave anything you need in the house."
  • Io (TOM) sends them back to Fellithysaar's lair to rest and recover.

POST GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Querca and Oraine both leave the party to go home- Fell teleports them since he likes you guys
• Evathyth makes a brief trip home as well but returns
• Party visits Bahl Lok again to sell some items and retrieve Nula; she'd been Soul Gem'ed, but Zahn had stolen it from Pazuzu and hands it over
• Zahn wants to save his mom
• War in the Abyss to deal with
• NEXT TIME ON... THE LONGEST ROAD!