RECORD OF EKSTASIA ADVENTURES
CHAPTER 3: JOURNEY INTO HELL
Part 1: APPROACHING MOUNT WILLOWBEA
The party camps out on their journey to the Willowbea region. Exhausted from their journey, they take another full rest to get through the night.
Prior to going to sleep, they witness the flagless black airship appear to crash slightly west of the mountain.
Fortunately, no encounters or disruptions disturb them as they sleep the night through as if blessed by an ethereal spirit.
The next morning, they find that it is a day's hike to the base of Mount Willowbea. it is also about a day's hike to Lake Willowbea.
Randir reflects on his journey thus far, curious if he's while Dyana meditates and remembers her dream about the raven. Daeryn asks Randir if he's in- he confirms he's ready to fuck Chalkanian shit up.
They decide to make their way to Lake Willowbea perhaps to find some kind of way into the mountain.
They take the road through the foothills toward the lake.
Aelun asks Daeryn about her seeing red while fighting the Chalkies; she has a bad history with them, keeps cards close to her chest.
As they travel further toward the lake, they encounter a group of Morgan fighters headed south back to Wilmington after helping the Morgans defend against the Chalkanians. They mention that they saw a steam-ship sailing the river toward the town and how they saw the un-marked black airship destroy a Chalkie airship mid-air. The Morgan bandit captain tells the party about how they aspire to become sky-pirates if they can steal a Chalkie airship. After giving Randir some Shae Island rum, they also tell the party about the bounty on Chalkanians- king Tostig in Castle Wilmington is offering 100 gold per breastplate, helmet, swords and pikes belonging to Chalkanian soldiers.
The Morgans then ride off east, presumably to go around the lake in order to continue south.
The party continues south straight toward the lake. They have about six hours before the sun sets and exhaustion begins to set in. Strangely the climate is a little warmer the closer they get to the lake. They arrive at the lake five hours later and settle down to rest on the banks of the smaller Willowbea lake. They decide to look for a way up or into the mountain in the morning.
The spires surrounding Mount Willowbea tower behind them, Mount Willowbea itself rising into vicious storm clouds swirling around it overhead. Daeryn and Aelun look out across the lake and can see about 12 - 15 house boats dotting the lake, the night sky painting the realm around them purple and grey, as the orange glow of the house boats' hearths glittering like stars on a cloudy night. All seems peaceful for the lake-dwelling folk, seemingly un-bothered by all of the chaos in the world at the moment.
Before setting up camp, Aelun asks if Randir detects any undead nearby. he picks up on the presence of a dozen or so undead creatures within a mile radius of them. Aelun transforms into a squirrel to climb up a pine tree to get a better view of the party's surroundings. They climb a fifteen foot tall tree and can see a group of undead animals and humanoids approaching from the north chasing a Chalkanian soldier. they scurry back down to the group and turns back into their Tiefling form. As Chalkie approaches the group, they all try to hide themselves. Everyone is able to hide extremely well as Aelun casts pass without a trace on the group, basically invisible to the Chalkie and pursuant undead. The Chalkie is ripped to shreds and devoured by the zombies. The sight makes Dyana and Daeryn smile at each other but remain quiet.
The undead horde then begins to run westward toward the base of mount Willowbea. Two ghouls get stuck behind, feeding on the Dhalkanian corpse. Randir looks out over the lake as the horde swarms a docked house boat 80 yards away. The hearth-light aboard the boat snuffs out as the horde overcomes the boat. The sounds of shouting and fighting echoes down the shore toward the hiding party. The ghouls nearby finish feeding and wander around, able to smell the group but failing to find them.
The party then begins a sneak attack on them. Crouching in the shadows, Daeryn casts her hunter's mark on the closest ghoul. As she does, she's filled with rage as she thinks about the genocide her elven ancestors underwent. Daeryn calls upon the dreadful gloom of her ancestor's connection to the feywild as she draws she draws her bow and looses an arrow, striking the ghoul right in its head with an arrow. The arrow is entangled with shadowy tendrils; the shadows then absorb into it and bursts, ripping its flesh from within. her hunter's mark decimates the ghoul as it falls into a pile.
Still hidden, Aelun casts moonbeam on the other ghoul. Its constitution fails to protect it from the radiant light cast over it in a forty-foot high cylinder. Randir sneaks a little closer to the ghoul and launches an arrow from his longbow at it. the arrow just barely misses its chin. confused and shrieking from the moonbeam, the ghoul doesn't notice the arrow. Dyana discreetly casts toll the dead on the ghoul, injuring it a little bit as it fails to protect itself against the cleric's spell. the ghoul then notices Randir and moves to attack him, but Randir evades the attack.
Daeryn takes aim on the ghoul, having moved her hunter's mark on to it. With a dreadful strike, the arrow pierces its chest, the psychic damage of the hunter's mark knocking it back as chunks of its body are blown off. Aelun moves their cylindrical moonbeam to follow the ghoul, melting down what's left of it into a pile of ash.
Aelun then runs out from hiding to check on Randir, but he says he's okay. They all head out over to the moored house boat where a battle between the boat's inhabitants and the undead is currently happening.
Among the living aboard the house boat are two orcs and a human battling two ghouls and a zombie. a pile of limbs and flesh hangs off the side of the boat, the rest of the carrion floating in the water. Randir attacks with his short swords, decimating one of the zombies. Daeryn shoots an arrow with a magic hail of thorns. One of the ghouls evades the cloud of thorns flying at the ghoul, but Randir standing near Daeryn's target takes some of the thorns in his upper arm as he moves to block. Dyana says the incantation which tolls the dead again, taking magic damage. The ghoul moves to strike at Randir who dodges the attack. Aelun leaps over with their arm extended and casts a fire bolt at it, singeing some of its undead flesh. The other ghoul goes to attack Aelun with its necrotic claw but misses. Randir strikes with his shortshort, the velocity of his swiftness causing additional damage to the undead.
Suddenly a huge bird flies from the distance. It’s Guy the Aarakocra! On his back he is carrying a youthful elf with silver hair decked in yellow and green Niminyan armor. On the elf’s back is a tiny and very old looking gnome wearing glasses. Guy stumbles a little as he lands, the elf tumbling into battle stance as the gnome lands gracefully on the ground next to them. The silver haired elf draws her rapier and rushes in to fight with Guy and the gnome. They finish off the undead, and the inhabitants of the house boat get right to fixing up the damage.
Having not seen Guy since the shipwreck, Aelun, Daeryn and Dyana all ask him what he’s been up to. He responds that he’s been all over, discovering amazing ingredients and recipes. He met the elf, Keyran, while just south of the Northeast Kingdom’s border, in Zither. The elder gnome lady introduces herself as Ridi. They explain that they are part of the resistance group known as the Shrympinatum, whose sworn enemy is the Chalkanium. When the Chalkies attacked Morgan, they were dispatched from a safehouse in Zither. They found out about the necromancer from an elder’s visions, but cannot reveal more information than that. Guy tells them that the black airship they saw was in fact Ridi and the Shrympinatum striking back at the invaders. Meanwhile, Keyran plays a sad melody on her lute. Randir approaches her and offers compliments on her playing and fighting. Keyran doesn’t respond but puts away her lute as she tells the party to stand away from the shoreline. She pulls out a tiny flute that flashes pink as she blows into it, a short melody playing from it as a pink light flashes from under the water in the lake.
The lake ripples in massive waves as the black airship rises from the center of the lake, water dripping from as it floats higher and higher. The rebels then ask the party if they want a ride to the top of Mount Willowbea.
They agree.
***
Part 2: INTO THE MOUNTAIN
The party, Keyran, Cidwell and Ridi hang on for dear life as the airship ascends and swiftly traverses the Willowbea mountains, eventually reaching the base of Mt Willowbea itself. As the ship ascends, Cidwell, who is piloting the ship, mentions that the Chalkanians have “awakened something”. The airship climbs and enters the swirling storm clouds that enshrouds most of the top half of the mountain, presumably all the way to the peak. Cidwell fights to keep the airship from crashing into the mountain, dodging cliffs and spires.
Eventually they clip a rocky outcropping and crash land on a narrow cliff, the airship teetering on falling off the mountain. Cidwell and Ridi work to try and get the airship to restart but beckon the party and Keyran to abandon ship since Ridi has only enough featherfalls for herself and Cidwell. The party jumps ship and shimmy the cliffs, trying not to get blown off the mountain by the intense windstorms.
They make it to a cave. Careful of what’s inside the cave, they slowly move in and encounter two metal constructs with molten lava cores. They battle the cores, landing blows where and when they can, eventually defeating them. An orc mage appears, at first enraged at the party; but then Guy, Trolley and Third Planet appear from around the cave’s corners and a happy reunion takes place. The party follows them deeper into the cave, the magic of the orc tribe making a comfortable environment for them to rest. Along the walls are ancient cave paintings that depict a gold dragon battling a white dragon. The orcs don’t know much about what they mean, but something about the white dragon reminds Daeryn of the Chalkanium.
Guy cooks up some delicious food that fully restores the party’s health and Trolley and Third Planet play relaxing and inspiring music. They feast with the orc tribe of Ogvak, which is composed of mostly sorcerers and fighters. The elder orc wizard matriarch Baurazz asks to speak with the party. She speaks about the dead not staying dead and that an ancient evil has returned, but how or why she does not know. She asks the party to step through a portal to the para-elemental plane of ice to meet with someone who knows how to reach the source of this evil.
Baurazz also then asks to see the turquoise longsword that Aelun took from the mimic chest in the woods days ago. She then activates the latent magic within the sword which harmonizes with Aelun’s druidic essence. As a result, Aelun now has proficiency with longswords and can use this specific turquoise longsword. Baurazz tells Aelun that the blade will be most useful in the coming battle against evil.
***
Part 3: INTO THE REALM OF THE NECROMANCER
Baurazz, after bestowing the blessing of attunement to Aelun, passes away. Her body is taken to a fire where it is cremated by the orc mages, it animating into a zombie whilst burning away. The orc Dhethral opens up a scroll and gathers ritual implements and guides the party down to another part of the caves. Here on the wall are runes and the infernal word for ice. Dhethral casts a plane shift ritual with the help of some of the sorcerer elders and opens up a portal to the para-elemental plane of ice.
The party teleports to the ice realm where they wander the frozen world, almost freezing to death. They discover a small hut. Inside the hut is a yeti who is friendly toward them. The yeti’s name is Brelceth, and he was tasked by an ancient god to watch over a portal to the nine hells. He mentions that he was tricked by a group of soldiers in white and red armor who then went on to the city of Dis. He allows the group passage through the portal, and they are whisked away into the second level of hell.
When they arrive, they are in the outskirts of Dis. Rusted iron castle ruins and corpses litter the landscape; they battle hellhounds and make way for the closest castle. When they arrive a massive door opens up and they enter a courtyard in the rusted castle. They battle ghouls, zombies and skeletons in the courtyard. They investigate to find a hidden door which leads them inside the castle. Anubis reaches out to Dyana and tells her that they’ve found the necromancer’s hidden castle.
***
Part 4: THE NECROMANCER’S CASTLE
Entering the castle, Tarry Crew is stumped by what appears to be an empty area. They eventually find and open a hidden door, leading them inside the first floor of the castle. Making their way through, they do well to avoid several undead and fight an animated armor and two death dogs. Keyran paralyzes one of the armors with her bardmagic cast from her lute.
They find a room with a strange pool with several maroon-colored substances swirling inside of it but skip it, having seen more undead creatures there. They draw out the ghouls and skeletons and fight them in another chamber. They eventually return to the room with the strange pool they skipped before and fight another animated armor as Dyana casts Turn Undead to drive away the undead swirls inside the strange pool.
The party then delves deeper into the castle and finds another hidden room wherein is a small horde of treasure guarded by two ghouls and a skeleton. They put down the undead and collect potions, gold, silver, many gems, and a Chalkanian level 4 spell scroll for summon elemental.
Aelun then finds yet another hidden room by opening a lever which opens a one-way revolving door that’s been cleverly hidden in the wall. They find several Chalkanian soldiers inside the room who’ve been trapped there for days. Randir triggers the door mechanism and spins Aelun back into the hallway.
Tarry Crew then continues their way to another door which they’d skipped over earlier. They open it and find a healing pool and then a puzzle chamber beyond there. It takes them a little while but they solve the puzzle, fighting mephits that were summoned by failure to solve the puzzle on their earlier attempts. The door opens and they find stairs that lead to the second floor.
There they uncover what appear to be ritual preparation chambers leading to one main chamber with a gravity-loop well. Dyana jumps into the loop, bouncing up and down and having fun. On either side of the gravity room are two circular rooms, one holding a gargoyle and the other one being empty. Tall slit-shaped windows look out onto the city of Dis beyond. They destroy the gargoyle and then a ghast materializes in the other room. As they fight the ghast, it summons more and more ghouls. They successfully put down the undead.
Daeryn finds a red crystal on the floor and picks it up. It transmits a magic vision to Daeryn where she can see across the multiverse back to Ekstasia. The crystal emits a purple light that leads to the center of the gravity-loop (Tarry Crew dubs it the “Fun Hole”). As the party approaches the fun hole, crystal in hand, the stone flies from Daeryn’s hands and unlocks an interdimensional portal (surrounded by ethereal words in celestial that are actually a teleportation spell leading them through a sigil sequence that targets Ekstasia) through which everyone steps through (Dyana leaping first).
Flying across the multitudes of planes and realms, Tarry Crew now finds themselves on the third floor of the necromancer’s castle.
***
Part 5: NOSFERATUS, GENERAL OF THE USURPER, DEMI-GOD OF UNDEATH
The party has determined that they are truly back on Ekstasia, in fact are high up and close to the mountain peak of Mt. Willowbea, storm clouds raging past the open slit windows. They decide to rest and they do so they experience the following visions:
DAERYN
You vividly see your grandfather tending to a small crop of tobacco and herbs in the garden of the home in which you lived in by the Almeruya River. You notice along the fence several gardening implements- shovels, rakes, hoes, things for tilling the land and planting seeds. You then notice a sword of some kind leaned up against the fence as well. As soon as you take notice of the sword, your grandfather shouts "ouch!". He's cut his hand on a thorn or sharp root of some kind. You notice the blood curling down his hand. The blood is black and thick like ichor. He freezes in place, unmoving as you try to approach him. He doesn't seem to notice you. You call out to him, but it seems as though he's a statue, frozen in time. The thick ichor-like blood is dripping into the hole where he was gardening. You peer into the open earth and see a pool of the same black ichor blood. It no longer appears that the blood flows from his hand and into the earth, but the opposite seems to be the case- the ichor is flowing from the earth and into his hand as if in reverse. He then calcifies into a frozen ashen effigy that blows away with the wind, the ashes like snowflakes that scatter and melt. You try to collect the icy ashes of your grandfather but there is no way to contain so many tiny particles; the few that you can grasp immediately melt away. Looking back down at the pool of ichor you see at the center of the pool is an evil seed- a corruption left in Ekstasia long, long ago by something much more sinister and evil than you could ever imagine (which, having witnessed the genocide of your people, is certainly saying a lot). You look over at the sword leaned up against the fence, walk over to it, and take hold of it. As you grasp the blade's hilt, an icy-burning sensation consumes your arm. The blade seems to want to guide you beyond the garden and into the world, the pain of vengeance seeking to corrupt your heart. The freezing-burning sensation then permeates your entire body- you sense pure evil flowing from the pool of ichor that has consumed your relative. You fight the gravity-pull of the sword beckoning you to leave the garden, but you know the source of the evil is the seed within the pool. You fight and fight, slowly approaching the pool of ichor in tiny labored steps. As you look beyond the garden fence, you see the world of Ekstasia completely frozen in rime ice within a catastrophic ice storm. You then look down at the pool, and with all of your remaining strength strike down at the seed of evil. The seed seems to dodge your attacks, but with dexterous maneuvering you are able to land a fatal blow. Once your blade pierces the seed, the land beneath you is rent asunder and a massive chasm is opened. Falling into the abyss, you experience universes of swirls of elements and colors, and then the darkness of shadow overtakes your perception as you wake up in a cold sweat, white knuckles tightly grasping your shortsword.
RANDIR
You find yourself back in the forest of your upbringing by the Broken in Zither. You stand among the other children of the Broken, the firstborn of the elves when the settled Zither. You walk through the forest, crossing familiar stones and roots, eventually coming to the Dreaming Tree, the tree that took you in after having been abandoned by your father as a baby. The Broken do not look at you or seem to notice you at all, and you once again feel completely alone. The Dreaming tree is blighted, darkened by a pale corruption that is killing its leaves and branches. The pact you made with the tree that gave you a new lease on life manifests itself as you see clearly the family which you were denied a life with. You see your human mother, emaciated and suffering, yet still full of love for you. She smiles at you even as your father's hands slither around her neck and drowns her in a crimson-colored pond. You now see your father strutting about town in the regalia and heraldry of a wealth obtained through lies and charlatanism. He turns to you, grinning with a defiant facade of false dominance, and although you've never met him in your adult life, you once again ponder what you'd do should you ever actually meet him. The hunting and combat skills you've learned from your brethren can be used for protecting the innocent from the dangers of the dark woods, sure; but they can also be used for revenge. You feel a deluge of rage against this man who represents everything you've come to hate in this life. You see your father, an elite elvish socialite leading an army that vaguely appears to be the Chalkanium, but composed entirely of elves. The army is so numerous and massive that it looks like a tidal wave, a tidal wave of revenge, a tidal wave that consumes the entirety of Ekstasia. You feel the same waves of pain and anger within- the waves are the same crimson color of the pond your mother was murdered in. You suddenly are back in the forest. You follow a trail of blood as if a predator has made off with prey, and eventually come to the same pond once more. You peer into the crimson-pond, bones of a skeleton partially buried in the silt and algae. You then catch your reflection- however, it is not yourself that you see. Your reflection appears to you as your father. In a fit of rage you punch the still water on the red pond, causing ripples of hatred and anger to splash over the edges of the pond. You try to avoid touching the water- the little bit that has splashed on you feels like acid eating away at your body. Despite your best efforts, the water then consumes you as you feel the tides of fate pull you into a direction of which you are unaware.
DYANA
You awaken amongst copper-colored rows and rows of bushes, appearing to be some kind of vineyard. You hear the sweet lilting voice of your lover playfully calling for you to come find them. You leap to your feet, as you have not heard this voice for so long that you believed that you'd forgotten it, however something deep within your soul recognizes it. You follow the sound of their blissful laughter, turning corners throughout the vineyard here and there, yet still you are unable to locate your lover. The laughter slowly becomes maniacal, and eventually you come to a dead end within the labyrinth of grapevines. In front of you now is a burnt corpse impaled on a jagged crystal shard. Within the shard is fire- infernos that consume entire world-systems. You look down at your body- your body is consumed by the very same fire. You look up in the sky and can vaguely see the human who did this to you, though you cannot make out their face. You have travelled far and long in the multiverse and your memory has waned substantially, though you have not forgotten the loss you've felt. The flames that envelop you begin to spread out and ignite the vines that make up the vineyard surrounding you. Eventually all is consumed by fire- fire that burns, fire that destroys- everything has been consumed by the fire except the human. Your hatred to this human and all their machinations, their so-called inventiveness, their arrogance, all of it fueling your fire. Suddenly, as if from the void, emerges the jackal-headed, crow-winged god of death, Anubis, surrounded by a halo of rainbow-colored flames. The opposite flames of destruction seem to curve and swirl around and away from Anubis as they slowly walk towards you. They place their hand on your shoulder. "Fear not even death." Anubis is your center amongst the infernal chaos of hatred. Looking back up at the burning skies, the human and his legion of inventors appearing as tongues amongst the flames. He glares at you, the burning arrogance, utterly and foolishly defying both nature and death. You suddenly see him yoked by the One Who Conquers, the lord of the nine hells. With a sort of divine pity, you resolve to free him from mortal existence. The flames around you transform into the same rainbow-colored flames that surround Anubis. You raise your hands and mutter the words of casting TOLL THE DEAD, Anubis helping you cast the spell. All of his inventions and machines are melted into a singularity that then takes the shape of a bell. The bell is then struck by a lightning bolt tossed by Anubis, and the humans explode into rainbow-colored flames before completely disappearing for good. The flames eventually die down and you are left standing with Anubis in a charred landscape. Though you have defeated your foe, the world has been destroyed in the process. In the area where the burnt corpse impaled upon the crystal shard formerly was, there is a small flower beginning to sprout and blossom. You watch as it then grows into a forest, and you sense the rainbow-colored fire contained and balanced within your chest. Anubis speaks to you once more as they slowly disappear: "Know you then, the difference between justice and revenge."
AELUN
You sit on the shores of Moonshadow lake, the lake you’ve watched over for years before setting off to find your mother. It is night time, and your druid circle are all asleep nearby at the makeshift camp. Tonight is the double full moon- both moons in the sky appear as a duo of cyan and ivory sentries standing on opposite ends of the sky from each other. You look out into the water and can sense the water-dwelling creatures and plants that live in a balanced ecosystem among each other. But something unexpected happens- the two moons slowly turn red, and from in between them, at the apex of the night sky above, an ancient white dragon, blood spattered and smeared across its face and claws, is diving straight towards you. You stand up, summoning what strength you have to repel the incoming danger, but nature does not respond. It's as if the appearance of the ancient white dragon has interrupted your connection with nature. It suddenly splashes down in the water in front of you, the massive waves caused by its touchdown turn red like blood as it impacts the shore where you and your circle are. All goes dark for a moment, and when you come to, gasping for breath, you notice all your druidic companions have been washed away. The dragon makes eye contact with you as the water begins to boil. You see massive fish kills rise to the surface- the lifeblood of the earth spreading and expanding like an invasive algae bloom. The two moons, now both red, collide with each other and send a dark light down to the dragon, empowering it somehow. You once again call out to nature, but to no avail. The dragon starts to walk toward you, but its feet are stuck in the mud. It takes another step, this time ensnared by the revolting of roots and vines. Without doing anything, you watch as the earth and its plants consume the dragon, tearing it to pieces and tossing the chunks of its corpse near and far. The head lands near you like a massive boulder tossed by a giant. The head then oozes a dark vapor- the vapor infects the landscape and you turn around to see a creature even more giant and terrifying than the ancient white dragon- a massive tangle of dead trees, roots, vines, thorns and such- the mangled corpses of the creatures and beings of the forest mixed in with the roots. Its evilness seems to be unstoppable as it rampages across the planet. In its footsteps, vegetation and life ceases to be and nothing is left but dead earth. The rampaging beast disappears beyond the horizon, but you still sense something, a light, a small warmth. The sky suddenly turns to daylight, and the world feels like an empty tomb. You see in the dead patches of earth where the beast had traversed, new growth. The elements harmonize- something has interceded, but you cannot see nor say what. Wind carries seeds across the plains; the fires balance the ecosystems. The waters nourish the plants, and the minerality of the dirt feeds both the flora and fauna of the land. All of this happens around you, the feeling of balance returning, and you turn around to come face to face with your mother. “Find me, my child. I am alive.” She says, before turning into a tree at the bank of a newborn river.
Tarry Crew awakens from their rest and ventures into the third floor. (They also level up to lvl 5). Since the third floor of Nosferatus’ manor was moved to Mt. Willowbea on Ekstasia in the past somehow, there are no creatures or undead here, save for one: the ghost of Shavinatus Hama, the vampire hero who overthrew the evil Ilium Guk. He bestows Tarry Crew with several magic items so as to empower them in their fight against Nosferatus. They thank Hama and wish him to be at peace to which he replies that once Nosferatus is destroyed then he, Hama, will be at peace.
He shows them to the Bell of Bloodrust and they ring it, opening a magic door that leads to a staircase carved into the side of the mountain. Following it, they come to the summit where a series of Chalkanian soldiers and occultists surround Nosferatus himself, as well as the statue of the petrified Hama with one eye missing and the other shining brilliantly. From the shining eye up to the sky is a vortex of clear air. Swirling around the vortex is dark energy, the source of the storm clouds which are shielding Nosferatus from the sunlight.
Dyana catches a glimpse of Anubis as the Bone Rod of Shavinati bursts with arcane sunlight. Layers of shimmering divine barriers surrounding Nosferatus are dispelled, and he is now vulnerable to mortality.
The battle ensues. They take out several of the Chalkanian soldiers and are able to disrupt the concentration of the Chalkanian occultists. Randir is surprised by the presence of Chalkies and the vampire necromancer. Have they been working together the whole time?
Col. Werdell, a powerful Chalkanian commander, confronts and nearly kills several of the party. They do their best fighting the necromancer, badly damaging him thanks to the presence of the Bone Rod. Keyran goes down in the fight as well as Daeryn, bleeding out, but not dead. Aelun uses the Turquoise Longsword and drives it into Nosferatus’ eye. He turns to ashes and is vanquished. The turquoise sword dissolves as well (save for the hilt), having fulfilled its use in destroying the necromancer as prophesized by the Ogvak orc tribe.
Daeryn and Keyran are stabilized. Col. Werdell of Chalkania pushes Dyana off of the mountainside, but Dyana is caught by Cidwell’s airship the Hurricane. Col. Werdell leaps onto the deck of the airship and duels with Dyana. Dyana, summoning all of her remaining strength, grabs Col. Werdell’s face and drains her of her energy. She then cinematically kicks Col. Werdell in the chest, sending her over the deck of the airship and plummeting to the land below.
The last remaining Chalkanian occultist shouts that they cannot stop the "inevitability" and throws himself off of the summit peak.
The Bone Rod of Shavinati disappears as the storm clouds are slowed and eventually fade away entirely. It’s is a beautiful sunset viewed from the top of Mt. Willowbea.
Victorious, the party boards Cidwell’s airship and are flown down to the Ogvak caverns where the orc tribe awaits news of their win. They celebrate, elated that the dead at large will remain dead and the threat of the necromancer is gone.
Meanwhile, machinations of the Chalkanian Empire continue to unearth dark powers hidden throughout Ekstasia…
END BOOK 1.
TO BE CONTINUED in BOOK II...