Sins of the Saviors
Players present: Elora (Sally), Azalyn (Shelley), Bastian (Casey), Sirilenda (Melissa), Orden (Mike)
Elora appeared on a flat, desolate plain, thankful to be out of the burning acid fog. Cold winds bit at her flesh, while a featureless purple-gray sky above lit the ground in unnatural tones below. She listened carefully for any sound, but heard only the strangely loud echoes of her boots crunching the pebbled ground underfoot. A small distant mound disrupted the flat horizon, though whether it was far or near she could not say. With no other mark to give her guidance, she started toward it.
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| Hound of Tindalos from Leng |
Orden, meanwhile, sought advice from the revelation quill. In answer to his first question, about Elora's current location, the pen scribbled a short, four letter word: Leng. Orden recognized the name from his earlier training: Leng was an obscure dimension in the outer planes, where time ran irregularly, and distance was deceptive. He recalled that the most prominent inhabitants were the so-called denizens of Leng, alien creatures that had no love of creatures from the prime material.
Elora kept walking toward the distant mound, but could not tell if she had made any progress. A human voice interrupted the monotonous sound of the wind; a plea for help echoed across seemingly great distance. With all the reverberation, she could not locate the direction of the voice, but suddenly as she turned an older man came upon her, begging for help and also pleading with her to run. At times the man would babble incoherently, or strike himself, so Elora watched him suspiciously. He named himself Farlen, said that they must be in Hell when Elroa asked, and begged her to help him escape. She considered his pleas, but an unnatural baying interrupted her thoughts. Without further warning, three alien looking hounds approached the pair, gazing with huge, soulless eyes. Elora nocked an arrow to her bow.
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| Alkaryon |
A volley of arrows pierced the first hound through the chest, knocking it lifeless to the ground. Elrora's honed senses alerted her moments before Farlen swung a clumsy fist at her, shouting "I'm sorry, its not me!" The blow glanced harmlessly off her armor. The hounds, apparently chastened by the swift death of their brother, teleported away. Elora then leveled her bow at Farlen, who cowered on the ground and made meaningless noises. After a moment, his gaze drifted behind Elora, and she saw dread reflected in his eyes. She glanced over her shoulder to see a massive iron-walled fortress looming close, where moments before only featureless plain had been. It's great metal gate lay asunder and intricate spider webbing draped the entry. From the shadow filled doorway of the inner keep, giant spindly spider legs crawled forth.
Back in Runeforge, Orden rested, along with the rest of the party, so that he could prepare a planar ally spell to summon a Deva capable of plane shifting them to Leng. From the quill, they learned the name of the angel they would need, Alkaryon, and then performed the ritual. When summoned, Alkaryon bargained with Bastian and Sirilenda, and once he learned of their quest to slay a lich, he offered his services at a reduced rate. Orden then cast scrying to visualize her location for teleoport once they arrived in Leng.
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| Leng Spider |
The scrying window showed Elora battling with a spider the size of an elephant. She fired her arrows true, but the thick shell of the creature absorbed the strikes. Quickly the spider advanced and bit her, injecting it's venom into the wound. The poison coursed through her body, creating horrific hallucinations and draining her life. The visions convinced her that Farlen was the spider, so she filled him with arrows. He fell to the ground, lifeless. In her few moments of lucidity Elora managed to damage the spider enough to drive it off, but the venom continued its grim work, and seemed likely to drain the last of her life away.
Bastian arrived in time to use lay on hands and heal the poison. The party then hastily assembled around Alkaryon and plane shifted back to Runeforge...
