session 17

Stalling for Time¶

We couldn’t let Saros leave, so we tried to stall for time until reinforcements arrived. This was perhaps not the smartest thing we had ever done. It became fairly immediately apparent that these cultists were no pushovers as they began blasting us with necromantic energy. Gwen lept atop the crate, searching for an opening, while Stigs hurled debris at it, hoping to break the crate open. Ryalith, not one to be perturbed by danger, lassoed Saros mid-air around the neck and pulled him with a crash to the ground. His concentration broken, he was unable to fly further. Unfortunately for Ryalith, he blasted her with necromantic energy and lept back to his feat. Stigs came roaring in with a decisive strike of his branding smite – giving Saros a significant wound. As if the cultists weren’t enough to keep us busy, the goons who had been guarding the crate decided to join the fray as well. Gwen quickly dampened their enthusiasm with an explosive fireball – she’s really getting powerful! Several of the goons were seriously injured, and the smell of smoked fish wafted into the from the stall next door. Karel then put an end to one of the goons with several blasts of eldritch energy.

The sweetness of our initial successes soon enough turned sour. Reason went down, victim of the goons as they ganged up on it. Ryalith and Karel also both went down, succumbing to multiple blows from Saros and the other brutish goons. And though Gloopwing had made a series of stinging blows to Saros, he was still standing, and she was looking badly hurt. The situation was starting to feel dire. But then reinforcements arrived! A phalanx of Hetai burst into the room, drawing the fire of the remaining cultist, and sending several of the remaining goons (two of which had been blinded by Gwen’s deck of cards) running for the exits. Stigs then turned things around by severely wounding Saros, breaking the concentration he needed to maintain his spirit guardians spell, and Ryalith took her opening to knock him out. Victory!

With the battle over, we surveyed the scene. At least four Hetai were dead, as were the cultists. Striding towards us now was the inquisitor we first met at the gates of Astryth, her mouth tugged up in a grim smile. What did she have planned for us? And what was in that crate after all?