Sensing my presence may actually have been harming the safety of the group as the Shadowmasters most certainly are hunting me, I opted to stay hidden in the shadows as our group pressed forward. But from the shadows, I followed and watched as my companions saved a Wizard's crow familiar in Phandalin from pursuing undead falcons and what appeared to be a stitched-together griffon. As it turns out, the curious crow could actually speak in the common tongue! The clever bird told a tale of his master trapped in his tower and led my companions there as I watched on from a distance.
Upon entering the tower, my companions had a run-in with what appeared to be dragon clan cultists and their four drakes. After they dispatched them, I watched my companions disable a barrier around the tower, not by manipulating its curious electrified panel, but through the power of Zex's sword crashing down upon the panel instead. When ingenuity fails, strength prevails!
I continued keeping my distance and followed them inside, just a few steps behind. They definitely did all the heavy lifting, figuring out how to use levers to ride platforms up the mage's tower and defeating undead bodyguards on the way up to the upper levels of the tower. Unfortunately, the fight was very unforgiving to my companions, and finally, feeling safe from the eyes of the Shadowmasters, I decided it was time to come forth and rejoin the group, as even more danger was surely ahead of us.
We found the crow familiar, believed to have been killed in the fight with the undead bodyguards, seemingly unharmed and sleeping in the corner of his master's bedroom . . . where we found two interesting magic items: a golden ring and a heart-shaped amulet.
Shadow, the warforged, placed the ring upon his finger and began to attune. As he did, the ring turned dark black and surrounded him with a shadow of necrosis. I'm still unsure if he is cursed or simply more powerful than before. Lefty focused on the amulet, but couldn't seem to quite figure out what it was. FeeFiFo and Sai opted for a quick nap.
As for me, since my companions were busy, I opted to approach our sleeping crow friend and offer it some food. When I woke it, it flew around the room with its eyes flashing black and blue until it seemed to return to its senses. Poor Lefty. That crow was pretty mad at him for letting him die in the previous battle. I guess being a familiar means you feel all the pains of death with none of its sting. What a curious bird!
Once the party had rested and recovered from its previous encounter, we pressed on to the final floor of the tower, where the crow familiar had told us his master was trapped. What we found was a horrible scene. The mage was giving everything he had to maintain a shield of blue magic between himself and a horrible demon-like humanoid, accompanied by a powerful multi-armed undead servant.
Also in the room was another unit of opportunistic cultists engaged in combat . . . that's when we burst in and the chaos of battle erupted. Lefty and Shadow sprang through the door and began attacking the multi-armed undead and the demon. The demon continued his assault on the mage's shield. The cultists split themselves between attacking us and the demon. The undead griffon returned through an open window and started wreaking absolute havoc, throwing bodies of friend and foe alike through the window and into each other.
Sai and I opted to strike at both parties from the shadows, darting in and out of the doorway. While I was taking shots with my bow, Sai transformed into a panther and darted in and out while dealing devastating claw attacks.
Shadow was using his new strange magic to deal incredible swings upon the multi-armed undead golem, but it seemed that with each swing, it both bolstered and harmed him. Eventually, Shadow fell unconscious during combat. Eventually, FeeFiFo and Lefty fell unconscious as well, but not before dispatching of the powerful undead multiarmed golem and all the cultists, minus their leader.
Speaking of that cultist leader, he was quite troublesome and kept dominating my thoughts with magic, commanding me to fetch him a key during combat. I wasn't quite sure who had the key, but I had no control over myself in my desire for this key. It was terrifying to be possessed like this. Truly terrifying. Only one thought echoed inside my head, Fetch him the key.
Suddenly, when things seemed their most dire and Shadow was bleeding out, the power of the ring seemed to possess him at his most desperate moment with one thought, and one thought only: fight, fight, FIGHT! This was surely our moment for victory!
. . . but it was at that very moment when the demon cut our battle short with scintilating lights that stunned everyone in his sight as he grabbed the key from the master mage of the tower (the very key the cultist leader had commanded me to obtain), and then, in the claws of the griffon, flew out the tower window cackling to himself with demonic glee, "The master will be pleased."
Sai seemed to be the only one of us unaffected by the charming illusion and took one final swipe at the escaping demon, but alas, he got away.
What is the power of this strange key, and why was it so important? Surely the leader of the Cultists will know.
No comments:
Post a Comment