The Council of Mythos - The Final Chapter

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa Heartshield and Parrn, along with their allies, have been tasked with halting the dainty yet mighty Asena Alucard while the Council themselves deal with Alistar, the Erlking of Wrath. Having just barely defeated a normal erlking themselves even when they teamed up as seven against one, the group is obviously worried that even the combined godlike power of the eight mages will not be enough to stop the deadly fey warrior, not to mention the powerful army he has called. Every fey creature in the world except Sakura Ashmond has answered Alistar's call, and The Forest of War will be the sight of one of history's bloodiest battles in centuries.

Parrn and Hemet sit together, carving the erlking up for their dinner on a table while their hosts make rather loud and passionate love on the floor above them. Hemet looks over at the gnoll. "I'm...I'm scared, you know? I'll admit it. Alistar scares the sh*t out of me. He didn't so much as give his own comrade a chance to explain himself before he tore his head off. And I'm his enemy now. I'm a little worried that not all of us will make it out of here alive."

Meanwhile, in Castle Mythos, Nissa is about to receive grave news. Justin pushes his glasses up his nose and looks expectantly at Arios, who sighs and removes his helmet. "Nissa...there's something you need to know. If any of us fall in the battle against Alistar, the group has resolved as a whole to let those individuals remain dead. The Council of Mythos is nothing but a destructive force that the world no longer needs, the future has shown us that. We spent so much time fighting each other, and the world was our battlefield. The people caught in the crossfire...Jazi was once a proud city and Mys'tai has not been spared either. To'ko's guards were used and hurt, and there's now a crater where The Forest of Death used to be. This power that we have is a curse given to us by the Seven before we were born, and we hate it. So...we will use it one last time to fight Alistar, but if any of us are claimed in that fight, we will stay dead. That includes me."

[Diachronos]

Nissa is quiet as she looks over at Tiana, watching the girl play with Sofia. "...Have you told Tiana this? If not, were you planning to?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios shakes his head. "No. But I will tell you that this doesn't mean I'm giving up either. I want to survive. I want to grow old with you and raise both our daughters together. You and Tiana and Celeste...you're all giving me something to fight for. Something to live for. I promise you, I'm not going to throw my life away needlessly."

[Diachronos]

"You'd better not, or I'll find a way to follow you to the afterlife just to slap you." Despite her attempt at a smile, she has a hard time masking her worry. She hugs him and rests her forehead against his chest. "Stay safe, okay?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios nods and glances over at Sakura. The witch looks confused for a moment, but when Arios nods his head towards Nissa her eyes light up.

"Oh, right! Nissa, I got you something pretty special. Here." She digs around in her robe for a moment before pulling a small container out from between her breasts. She opens the container up and a wormhole appears. Sakura sticks her hand in the wormhole and rummages around for a moment before pulling out a beautiful bow made of the finest wood. She hands it to the half-elf.

The bow is a +5 corrosive speed longbow that adds the wielder's Dexterity to its damage.

[Diachronos]

Nissa carefully accepts the bow, running her fingers over the wooden shaft. "It's a beautiful weapon. Thank you, Sakura... but, why give me something like this all of a sudden?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Sakura smiles. "Uh, duh! Because you saved me from Taurus? I know I never got the chance to thank you properly for that, but that whole nightmare is over because of you. This is the least I can do for you."

[Diachronos]

"You didn't have to go this far for me, though." She slings the bow over her shoulder, nestling it into the familiar space where she kept whatever bow she happened to be using. "Well, I suppose this is about to become the end of the Seven. After that... well, we still don't have a proper handle on the Black Sun, and I'm tired of having them in my hometown."

[NeoSeraphi]

Justin adjusts his glasses. "Nor do I. And because of that, I arranged for young Princess Amora to come here in secret. I plan to instate her as the temporary Queen Regent of this area after we kick the Black Sun out."

[Diachronos]

"She's probably the best one to take control of the city until we can reform a proper senate. Not to mention that I kind of owe her after Sarkhan's earthquake spell destroyed what was left of Jazi while we were escaping..."

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana walks over with Sofia and looks at Nissa. "Mother, I forgot the lettuce at home. Can we go to the market?"

[Diachronos]

"Of course we can, Tiana." She puts her arm around Tiana's shoulder and smiles at Sora. "We should be back before too long. You're not planning on heading out right away, are you?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios shakes his head. "Max and Orion are still making their preparations. We won't move on the Forest of War until tomorrow."

[Diachronos]

"Okay. We'll at least get to spend a little time together before we have to head out for Asena." She turns and heads toward the market with Tiana to pick up some food for Sofia.

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa heads to the market where she finds a familiar silver haired temptress...in a jumpsuit drinking from a bottle of water as she does some squats.

Elaina looks up and waves. "Hey, Nissa! How are you today? Gonna spend some quality time with your hubby before the final battle?"

[Diachronos]

Nissa almost instinctively moves herself between Tiana and Elaina when she spies the enchantress. "That was the plan. We might not have another chance for a while, so we were going to spend some time together as a family while we have the opportunity. Right now, though, Tiana and I are finding something for her pet rabbit."

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina smiles and nods. "Mys'tai sure is nice this time of year! But I can't wait to get back home to To'ko. What about you, Nissa? What are you going to do after Alistar is defeated?"

[Diachronos]

"I haven't decided. Most likely help get rid of the Black Sun that have taken control of Mys'tai."

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina stops squatting and drops to the ground, doing push ups as she wipes the sweat off her brow. "Sounds good. Be careful in the Forest of War, okay?"

[Diachronos]

"I will. You and the others do the same, okay?" After saying her farewells, she heads with Tiana into the market, looking for a vegetable vendor.

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa arrives at the vegetable vendor without incident.

[Diachronos]

Nissa purchases some lettuce for Sofia, gently petting the rabbit as she holds a leaf out to her.

[NeoSeraphi]

The bunny nibbles the leaf and Tiana holds her carefully, paying close attention to make sure she's not squeezing too tight or in danger of dropping Sofia.

[Diachronos]

Nissa pets the rabbit again and smiles at Tiana. "We haven't had much chance to talk lately. How have you been doing, Tiana?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana smiles. "I'm good! My teacher approved me to play in their next recital! You remember? I was talking to Father about it right after he brought you back to life, but he refused to go because his heart was still broken."

[Diachronos]

"I remember. I'm looking forward to attending it, and I'm sure your father is as well."

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana beams in delight. "You mean it? You're not going to be too busy?"

[Diachronos]

"I shouldn't be, and I'm sure I can make time to attend the recital. I don't think I caught the time when you brought it up before, though. When was it again so I can make sure I don't miss it?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana smiles. "Its next week, at three PM on the 30th."

[Diachronos]

Nissa returns her daughter's smile. "I'll make sure to be there. It's at your school, right?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana nods happily. "But...if you're at the recital and I'm at the recital...who's going to look after Sofia?"

[Diachronos]

"Oh... that's, uh... that's a really good question. I'll ask around to see if anyone can watch after her until we get home."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn waves away the concern and says (Common) "He no concern, just another prey. Alocer guide us in battle against foe, He insure we succeed. You scare of other prey?" He grinned, the touch of insanity in his eyes, before continuing. (Common) "We use bones from prey to kill Tarrasque next." He looked at their spoils from the Erkling and pondered how to cook each piece before he got up to get a pot to slow roast the rump.

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana's look of happiness turns to a look of anger. "Mother! The first thing you think about when you go anywhere is 'who is going to take care of Celeste?' Y-you don't think of Sofia as part of your family like you think of me and my sister, do you? Sofia is just a rabbit to you isn't she? I thought you of all people would know how to treat animals better!"

She sniffs and sits down in the street, hugging her rabbit to her chest.

Nissa realizes that Tiana is upset because she wants Nissa to be more like her first mother (Jacob's wife), whose love of her rabbit is the main reason that Tiana began to like animals so much in the first place.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet thinks about what Parrn has said carefully. "But is that really all you want out of life, Parrn? Just hunt and move on to stronger prey until you die? I mean, it's a noble goal, and one I've pursued my entire life, but lately with all the crazy stuff that's been going on around us I can't help but wish for some more...stability. Maybe a nice family to share my pursuit with."

[Diachronos]

Nissa sits down and puts an arm around Tiana's shoulders. "I didn't mean it like that, Tiana. She is a part of the family, just like you and Celese, and just like your father and Ghellin. I know she means a lot to you, and I want nothing but the best for her, just like I want the best for you, your sister, and your father." She pets Sofia, feeling the rabbit's soft fur under her fingers. "What if we brought her with us to the recital? I'm sure she'd love to hear your performance too."

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana looks up. "Really? We can do that? Well...she does seem to just sit still and listen every time I'm practicing. I think she likes the sound, at least. Okay!" She wipes her eyes and perks right back up.

[Diachronos]

"Well, I don't know the rules about bringing animals into the place, and I can almost guarantee that they won't let Ghellin inside, but I'm sure we can find a way to bring Sofia in."

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana nods and walks back to the castle with Nissa. When they arrive, Nissa finds that all the members of the Council are in various parts of the house. Any one of them are available for a conversation if she so chooses.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn looks straight at Hemet and says "Gnoll not like hairless ones. Killed mom when born, fought litter to live. Not kind like hairless ones. So will hunt, maybe mate, maybe lead tribe. But always hunt."

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet sighs. "If you say so. Well, just try not to get yourself killed against Alistar."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn shrugged at the concern and began to cook some of the meat for tasting, saying "Alocer will protect." matter-of-factly. When it was done cooking he tossed a piece to Asena so she could get some food in her belly.

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena and Courtard gather around Parrn eagerly for their dinner, and after a few minutes Taalia and Lars join them in the kitchen. Seeing the feast that Parrn is working on, Lars's face turns green and Taalia quickly begins cooking some chicken for everyone that is not a cannibal to eat.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn hums as he cooks alongside Taalia, not seeing the problem cooking a sentient prey. Meats meat after all, especially to his companions. Once they have their fill he moves onto the rest of the meat since he wouldn't have time to hunt later probably. From each cut he takes a portion to taste and eat so he'd get his fill in the end.

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn feels quite satisfied with his meal, though his annoyance at being denied the chance to hunt Ly'reis properly only strengthens his resolve to bring Alistar down.

[Gunhaven]

After dinner, Parrn sat down with his wolves and said "Where we fight? Can't wait to taste Alister's flesh."

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet shrugs. "Soon, I'd guess. We need to wait til we hear back from Nissa and Jalessi first."

[Diachronos]

Nissa heads over to Alicia once it's apparent the whole council is there. "Are you nervous about facing Alistar again?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa approaches Alicia, who is currently kneeling before the picture of her father, deep in thought. As Nissa waits for her to finish, Alicia remains silent, unmoving. She seems to be praying, or having some kind of silent conversation with her father.

The witch opens her eyes and stands up, turning around and nearly bumping in to the half-elf behind her. "Oh! Nissa! You scared me."

When Nissa asks Alicia if she's nervous, Alicia shakes her head. "All he can do is kill me. The curse is broken, that's all I ever wanted. I wanted the ability to choose my own destiny, to be able to think and feel what I wanted to. My whole life has been following a script, and every time I wanted to move away from it, my jealousy got the better of me. The Envy in my heart was like a chain, locking me to The Destroyer. I couldn't leave his side because I wanted him to notice me so badly, and every time one of the other bitches in our group even laid eyes on him my heart burned with rage. ...And then you showed up."

Alicia sits down in a chair. Nissa realizes that her body looks very different. Her arms are much more slender and feminine, and her legs look a lot less toned. It seems like she's gained a little weight, and her face has lost its traditional glimmer of sweat.

"I wanted to like you. You were the one that The Black Knight actually needed. You took steps to free all of us, and as I noticed that, I thought that the two of us could be good friends. We had the same goals after all. But instead I ended up hating you. Attacking you. Wanting everything you had, feeling like you had stolen my place in the world. It was stupid. This whole curse has been nothing but grief on all of us. The Immortal most of all, since he knew each of us before we knew each other. What happened at Sarini Gorge...that was where it all began. At that moment, when we were backed into a corner and we had to rely on each other for the first time in our lives, that was when the curses in our souls took hold and we all turned on each other."

She was silent for a long moment. "It was brilliant, really. The curse stayed dormant long enough for me to get to know everyone. I had been on duo missions with The Phoenix, The Black Knight, The Puppeteer, and of course I had known The Immortal for years. I knew each of them just well enough to care about them, and that was all the curse needed. It turned my feelings of friendship and trust for The Black Knight into a sick infatuation, and it turned my feelings of trust and sisterhood with The Puppeteer and The Phoenix into a sense of betrayal and hatred. I felt more alone than ever, even more than I did after my father died. I left my church behind, left my faith behind, left my mother behind...and I buried myself in the Council. I forgot everything else. Nothing mattered to me but him, and my Envy."

Alicia picks up the sword that Arios had given her and looks down at it. "And you got rid of all that. So thank you. I'm not nervous. I'm going to use the power I have to save the world and avenge my fallen comrades, and if I fall, then I will go to Mechanus with a smile on my face knowing that I sacrificed my life so that humanity could be free from the curse of our vices."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn yawned after their meal and said "We missed gnolls in forest... Will find after hunt I think. Now nap though." With that he gathered up the meat, dumped it into his Haversack, and moved to the living room to rest a bit.

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn sits down and Asena walks up to him, resting her head on his lap. As Parrn strokes his companion's fur, he hears his lord's voice in his head.

"This is the turn of the tide. The world will fall to ruin or rise to grace based on your actions. Parrn, I trust you to do as I have said and protect Heartshield. If you fail, then all of the prey in this world will perish, and the Great Hunt will finally come to an end."

[Diachronos]

Alicia's lack of hostility is a surprise, albeit a welcome one. "I'm glad I could help, though I wish there was more I could do to help with Alistar. My group's going to have our hands full with Asena, though."

She rubs the back of her neck. "Listen, I... I might not make it through this in one piece. If something happens to me, can I trust you to make sure my husband doesn't do something reckless?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Alicia chuckles at that. "Sounds like someone hasn't been doing their homework! You're worried about yourself when you have no reason to be. Or did you honestly think The Black Knight would reverse his decision to keep you from coming along if you were in any serious danger?"

She leans forward, a smile on her face. "Asena Alucard is very powerful. That much is true. She can even stand up to a God of Sin. But the Power of Order is absolute. It has rules and restrictions, and the Alucard line was prevented from becoming abusive through those restrictions."

She lifts her hand up, raising three fingers. "Restriction number one: Anyone with the Power of Order is physically unable to take a sentient life. Period, the end. Asena can crush your body to bits but she has to leave you breathing, if unconscious."

The witch continues. "Restriction number two: The Power of Order's strength scales quadrilaterally with the number of enemies faced. In other words, if you, your little chimera, your gnoll friend and his two pets all attack her at once, she'll be much much stronger than if you faced her by yourself. However...The Power of Order is completely ineffective if the wielder receives any assistance. If Asena is helped by her butler, or by Alistar, or by any of the flunkeys in Alistar's army, the Power of Order will cease to function."

Her nail polish reflects a bit of light as she wiggles her third finger. "And finally, restriction number three: the Power of Order cannot be used to harm anyone who has surrendered. If you start to feel like you can't win, you can always yield. Asena will be unable to raise a hand to you after that, though of course she could still halt your advance if you tried to sneak past her to help The Black Knight."

Alicia giggles. "So, what do you think? That was useful information, huh? Just consider it a present as thanks for saving me. With this, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to deal with Asena properly."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn nodded in understanding, laying his head against Asena's and saying (Gnoll) "I will protect the fellow Hunter and Actor, my Lord. I will end Alister with Your blessing and devour his heart in Your name. I will insure that Your Hunt never ends until You deem it complete for Your disciples." As an added thought he double checked the position on his pack mates, minus Arios, Hemet, and Nissa since they should be all in the same city as he.

[Diachronos]

Nissa frowns at Alicia's first comment. "Well, to be fair, most of the foes I've been dealing with since I met the Council haven't had that kind of limitation, so the possibility never crossed my mind. But I appreciate the information."

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn checks on his comrades.

Lars is in the house with him. Asena is currently somewhere to the west, very far away. She is alive and stable. Viperia is in To'ko, that much is certain. She appears to be very well too.

Alocer's voice echoes in his mind. "If you trust in the power I have given you, as well as the power of my High Priest, you should have no trouble against this prey. Just consider this a reward for all your hard work. The most exciting hunt of your life!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alicia smiles and nods. "Well then, I'll talk to you later! And don't worry, The Black Knight has taken note of everyone's last requests, so if any of us fall, he'll make sure our remains and affairs are in order."

Nissa still has plenty of time left in the day to speak to anyone else in the Council if she wishes.

[Diachronos]

After looking around at the other members, Nissa heads over to Max. "I heard your appetite's been a bit more under control lately."

[NeoSeraphi]

Max looks up as Nissa walks over to him. "That's correct. Can you believe I used to insist that everyone call me 'Maximillion'? Geez...what an attention whore I was."

As Nissa approaches, she can see that Max's make-up, flamboyant hairstyle, and stage costume are all gone. The man before her is a quiet looking brunette with his hair combed back and hanging at his shoulders. He wears a simple blue robe, and the only trace of his old outfit is the white gloves that grace his hands. "I used to want everything I could get my hands on. Food, drink, women, men, but the thing I wanted more than everything in the world was attention. I wanted everyone's eyes on me. The entire world was my stage, that's what I told myself. But still, there was one person who never gave me that attention, and that was...him."

Max chuckles. "Arios and I were never that close. He was too busy looking after Alicia. Especially after her father died, that girl was left a shell of her former self. Sakura and Justin got to stay by his side because they knew him well, and of course Cassandra had her hand in everyone's pockets. Orion, Elaina and I all got shoved to the side. It was a little disheartening for everyone, but for me it was downright insulting. I thought that I was being told I wasn't worthy, that she was somehow more important..." He shakes his head. "Well, there's no need for me to go on and on anymore. I'm sure you're quite sick of my voice by now. Needless to say, yes. My appetite is finally satiated. Can I help you with something?"

[Diachronos]

"Believe me, I understand the feeling better than you might think." Somehow, Max's change in personality had eliminated a lot of the anger she'd felt toward him; knowing that they'd been compelled into their roles by the Seven may have something to do with that.

[NeoSeraphi]

Max smiles. "Well, despite our previous differences I hope you can trust me enough to work with me. By the way, did Sakura give you that bow yet? Mind if I take a look at your quiver?"

[Diachronos]

"Not completely, but knowing that the Council wasn't acting like their normal selves is a big step toward fixing that rift." She glances back at her quiver when he mentions it. "Um... sure?" She hands the quiver to him.

[NeoSeraphi]

Max touches the quiver and it glows blue for a moment. "Please, draw an arrow and nock it," he requests, handing the quiver back to her.

When Nissa draws the arrow and strings it, it disappears in her hand. She can still clearly feel it, but it has become invisible.

[Diachronos]

Nissa blinks and stares at the space where the arrow was. "Invisible arrows?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Max nods. "An experienced archer like yourself shouldn't need to see the arrow to aim it, you can aim the bow itself. However an invisible arrow will be much harder to avoid, giving you a distinct advantage against Alistar, should it come to that. I'm not telling you to pick a fight, but I know that you'll probably charge in if it looks like Arios is in trouble. So, good luck."

[Diachronos]

"Hopefully it doesn't come down to that. In any case, these are going to be a big help if we have to fight any more erlkings. Thank you, Max."

[NeoSeraphi]

The illusionist nods with a smile and goes back to work.

Nissa still has time to speak to the other Council members if she wishes.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn nods and whispers "Thank you my Lord. I will always have faith in You, He who has given me and my tribe purpose all these years and will continue to do so for generations to come." He idly scratches behind Asena's ears as they relax before anything happens.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet sits down next to Parrn and closes his eyes, seeming to be deep in thought. After a moment, Parrn realizes that his holy symbol is glowing. He must be communing with Alocer. Hemet opens his eyes after a few minutes. "We need to go, lad. Alocer has given us new prey to hunt." He picks up his rifle and stands up, marching out the front door of the mansion without waiting for Parrn to follow.

[Gunhaven]

With a grin Parrn whistles for his wolves and follows after Hemet. Before he leaves the house he called out (Common) "Back later! Hunt calling!" With a grin he catches up to Hemet and says "We hunt Tarrasque?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet shakes his head, his gaze turning upwards. When Parrn follows it, he spies an enormous red dragon hovering in the sky. The creature spots them looking at it and turns, flying away towards a nearby mountain range. It lands in one of the caves in the peaks.

Hemet wordlessly charges towards the mountain range.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn looks exactly like a kid in a candy store as he follows alongside Hemet. At seemingly random times he checks his weapons, making sure his musket is loaded and his sword is ready for the challenge. He wasn't prepared entirely to take down a dragon but knew he could do it with Alocer's blessing.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet and Parrn arrive at the base of the mountain and begin the slow climb to the top. They attach pitons and ropes and begin their ascent.

Give me 5 Climb checks and 2 Constitution checks to make sure Parrn doesn't get fatigued from all the work

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn slowly makes his way to the cavern at the mountain's summit. The climb is hard, and he slips a few times, which slows his progress, but he makes it. Hemet helps pull him up to the top and they turn to face the cavern. Hemet lights a torch and they enter, finding some tracks on the ground.

"Want to see if you can follow these?" the high priest offers.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn paused and considered if he could get his wolves up here as well. If possible then he'd lead the pack into the cave, if not then he'd accept it for now with plans on using Alocer's blessing at some point in the future to keep his wolves by his side at all times. He was confident in his ability to track some prints either way and followed them.
[roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

The wolves cannot scale vertical cliff faces, so they must stay at the bottom of the mountain.

Parrn follows the tracks into the cave, peering around at the claw marks and burns all over the place. The creature is likely wounded, attacking its surroundings in pain and frustration. Wounded prey is not as fun to hunt, but of course an order from Alocer is absolute, and a dragon is still a dragon after all.

Parrn finds a split passage and is unable to sense the tracks any longer...the dragon must have started flying here. To the left or the right?

[Gunhaven]

Parrn took a breather at the split before he kept an ear out for possible struggle or flapping wings. If he couldn't determine by that means he pulled out a gold coin and flipped it. Alocer would guide him either way, even if the coin lied.
[roll0]
Also a coin flip, 1 is right and 2 is left: [roll1]

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn heads left and starts to walk for a while, before reaching a strange looking door. The door glows blue with Elven runes inscribed into it.

"Warning: Do not Enter. Temperature inside dangerous for humanoids"

[Gunhaven]

Parrn turns to Hemet and says "We enter?" He had no time for learning language of prey after all.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet examines the runes carefully. "I don't think so. It might be better for us to go back the other way. I can't read these runes and I'm not one to chance going somewhere I ought not. Besides, don't you think if the dragon went through this door we'd see more burns or claw marks near it?"

[Gunhaven]

Parrn couldn't question that logic and double backed for the right path.

[NeoSeraphi]

They head to the right path and find more burns and claw marks. Parrn also finds a few scales with red blood on them. It looks like the dragon is really badly injured.

Parrn follows the path until he finds a cavern, where he spots a small black throne with a pink cushion, and the young werewolf child sitting there. Her feet are propped up on the bleeding injured dragon unconscious beneath her like a foot stool. She sips her tea and raises her gaze to the gnoll.

"(Wolf) Oh? You're here, are you? Well now, that's not something I was expecting..."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn waves at Asena and says (Wolf) "Hello again! Alocer sent us on a hunt." He turned to Hemet, motioned to the dragon, and looked confused. At the same time he whispered (Gnoll) "Alocer guide my blade to Your prey. Allow me to hunt in Your name and fell this prey You have chosen for us." and drew his trusty temple sword.

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena raises an eyebrow. She looks down at the dragon under her feet. "You mean this? Go right ahead and take it. Not much of a hunt to claim a fallen beast for yourselves, but who am I to tell you how to worship?" She pulls back one foot and kicks the beast forward, it lands unconscious in front of Parrn.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn grabbed his holy symbol and closed his eyes, whispering (Gnoll) "I have a feeling You wish me to fight Asena and not this sleeping beast. But..." into it. Still he jammed his sword into the unconscious dragon's heart. Prey was prey after all and he'd have his meat and scales.

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn's blow strikes true and the dragon's heart stops.

[Gunhaven]

With blood still dripping from his sword Parrn gives the dragon a test tug and whispers to Hemet (Common) "Hunt too easy. Alocer say anything?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet doesn't answer Parrn. He's staring straight ahead in shock.

When Parrn looks up he sees an old, silver-haired human wearing a black vest and white gloves. The man is currently holding a platter in his left hand and refilling Asena's tea cup with his right.

Asena sips the tea and sighs with content. "Acceptable as always, Valkenhayn. Now, would you please show our guests out?"

Valkenhayn grins and sets the platter down, tugging his gloves tight. "But of course, Lady Alucard. I shall dispatch these intruders at once. They shall regret ever stepping foot in Castle Alucard."

He raises his right hand and snaps his fingers. There is a loud noise from the ceiling, as the whirring of a motor echoes through the room. A large white sphere with a rough surface drops down from the ceiling, suspended on a pole about fifty feet overhead. It begins to shine and its light reaches every corner of the chamber. Valkenhayn's grin gets even smugger as he leaps forward to attack Parrn.

Initiative (V): [roll0]
Initiative (H): [roll1]

[Gunhaven]

Parrn grins at the sudden appearance of a living foe, saying (Gnoll) "Alocer grant me the strength to best this foe in Your name." He matched the butlers attack with a quick change to deflect blows and bring the butler down.
[roll0]
Also in case it's needed: snake style! [roll1]
Trip! [roll2]

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet raises his rifle and fires a shot at the butler, who quickly charges in to knock Parrn off his feet! Valkenhayn leaps into the air and his shoe rips apart to reveal a sharp clawed foot that slashes Parrn across the chest and tries to knock him to the ground.

Hemet attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Valkenhayn attack (You can't use Snake Style while you're flat-footed): [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Trip: [roll4]

[Gunhaven]

Parrn laughed as he fell, saying (Common) "Good! Alocer be pleased when you fall!" He then hopped right back up, fluid as the snake, and struck forth with his rapier in an attempt to pierce the second heart this day.
Swift: Activate Animal Focus (Bull) for +6 Strength. If I can't do Snake Style then -3 on the below since my AC won't survive the attacks otherwise.

Move: Stand up from prone, possibly trigger AOO.

Standard: Stabbing attack!
Rapier Normal Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

Immediate (probably applied versus that AOO?): Snake Style! [roll3]
Trip: [roll4]

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet reloads his weapon and takes another shot, which the butler barely notices as he drags Parrn back to the ground.

AoO: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Trip: [roll2]

Then his full attack (+4 to each if Parrn is prone)
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
Damage (on each hit): [roll8]

[Diachronos]

Nissa waves to Max as he leaves before turning to locate Justin. "...Sora told me that you all agreed to refuse being brought back if you fall against Alistar."

[NeoSeraphi]

Justin is sitting alone, writing in the book Nissa always sees him carrying. When she appears before him, Justin takes off his glasses and puts them in his shirt pocket, rubbing his eyes. The set of lycanthrope teeth around his neck jangles as he shifts restlessly, closing the book. "You are correct. Even if we should all survive, the Council itself will be dissolved, and we plan to destroy the secret techniques we have created to use arcane mythic magic, so that no one else can use it. Then we will go our separate ways and live out our lives in quiet peace."

[Diachronos]

"Why, though? I thought you all were aspiring to make the world a better place... Do you believe removing mythic magic is the best course?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Justin nods solemnly. "After seeing what the future was like...and being killed by the God of Sin that our magic created...none of us believe any one human deserves this kind of power. Arcane magic cannot be taken away like divine magic. There is no one to stop you from abusing it, no one to pull the plug if you've gone too far. The only person who can stop you is someone of equal or greater power. And for us, that's...each other. We were already on this path when you met us, the path of forming our own little street gang that did whatever we wanted and dared others to try and stop us. We were absorbed in Sin and power, and that is not something we ever want to deal with again."

He sighs and picks up the book, which Nissa knows is full of observations about her and other people (scorn, mostly, from what he's said while reading it) and hands it to her. "If I don't make it, give this to your husband, please."

The title of the book appears to be "Live and Die by the Blade - The Tale of Two Warriors".

[Diachronos]

Nissa looks down at the book. "I'll make sure he gets it... but you're the Immortal, right? Isn't it kind of your thing to make it through whatever fate throws at you?" She gives him a nervous smile, hoping that that or what she said would help to lighten the mood a bit.

[NeoSeraphi]

Justin puts his glasses back on, pushing them up his nose. "I'm not afraid to die anymore. Now that I've finished my memoirs, I can go on to the next world with a clear conscience." He smiles down at the book fondly. "The two of us had a lot of adventures together before we met you. Hunting trolls, stealing from goblins, causing avalanches, snowboarding down a mountain mid-avalanche, getting lectured by Alicia after snowboarding down a mountain mid-avalanche, getting yelled at by Max and Orion for not inviting them to go snowboarding down a mountain mid-avalanche, causing another avalanche, snowboarding down that mountain mid-avalanche..." He chuckles and then turns away. "I hope the two of you are very happy together, Nissa Heartshield." He heads upstairs to his room.

There is still time for Nissa to speak to any member of the Council she wishes.

[Diachronos]

Nissa tucks the book into her bag after Justin leaves. As curious as she was to read it, he'd trusted her to deliver it to Sora, and that didn't inherently give her a right to read what was in it.

After some thought, she seeks out Orion; not once since she'd gotten involved in this had she ever had anything resembling a real conversation with the vampire.

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion is in the basement, working in what appears to be his private laboratory. When Nissa knocks on the door, he calls for her to wait just a moment before opening it. Nissa notices the door is locked on a chain that keeps the door only open a small bit. When he realizes who she is, he unlocks the chain and opens the door, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him before Nissa can see inside.

"Well, now. Nissa Heartshield. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Orion asks in his usual polite but not quite friendly manner.

[Diachronos]

Nissa steps back to let him out when he opens the door. "I figured this might be the last chance I'd have to talk to any of the Council members, so now was probably the best time to actually meet you instead of us just bumping into each other."

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion chuckles. "I'm flattered. I'd shake your hand, but you know. Vampire. So...I'm sure you're worried about the outcome of tomorrow's battle. Well, you can rest easy. I already spoke with Cassandra, and your husband is not going to die tomorrow. That's a nice little benefit of having a friend who can tell the future."

[Diachronos]

"I'm not just worried about him, it's... well, everything. If either of us fail, then the world is pretty much doomed. Plus my daughter is insisting on joining the fight, and I don't want to put her at risk."

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion is silent for a moment, before he continues. "If you think, even for a moment, that your daughter is 'at risk' when you, the eight of us, your gnoll friend, and your pet raptor will all be there protecting her, then you must really be ready to be a parent. You shouldn't always assume the worst, Nissa. That's how hatred is born. People assume the worst about necromancers and vampires and then stereotypes are born based on how the jerks of the group have acted. Keeping a positive attitude is important, in all things."

[Diachronos]

"Well, given everything that's been going on for the past few months, assuming the worst is a habit for me at this point. But you're right, there's no sense in getting worked up for nothing."

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion nods. "I promise, if your little girl gets hurt, I'll fix her up good as new for you. Okay? Now let's see that smile. We're counting on you too, you know."

[Diachronos]

Nissa raises an eyebrow. "When you say 'fix her up', are you talking about healing her or raising her as an undead?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion crosses his arms. "Hey, hey! What did I say about assuming the worst? Anyway, I couldn't raise her even if I wanted to. If she dies, her birth mother gets her turn to raise her, that's how half-breed souls work."

[Diachronos]

"Sorry." She glances past him at the door. "I'm not interrupting your work, am I?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion glances back at the door. "Oh, what, that? It's just a lifelong project. It'll never be finished. I can spare time for you, don't worry about it."

[Diachronos]

"A golem of some kind, I assume?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The half-orc nods. "I've been collecting the body parts of dead women for close to ten years now, stitching them together, the eyes from one woman, the lips from another, the skin from a third...searching for each piece until I can finally create a being of true perfection and beauty. It's pretty disgusting to look at, which is why I work down here in the basement where there's no blood or foul smell to interrupt the others."

[Diachronos]

"Um... a noble goal, but your methods are a little... well... morbid."

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion laughs a little. "You know, crafting golems requires a lot more transmutation magic than necromancy. The only reason I ever studied necromancy to begin with was to learn how to preserve body parts after they were past their expiration date. It's important to me though, so I'll never stop hunting for the right parts. Though, you don't have to worry about me preying on you, haha. You're quite an interesting woman, Nissa, but visually...eh, well, I've just seen better."

[Diachronos]

Nissa sighs. "I'm never going to hear the end of it... Well, I'll let you get back to your project."

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion nods and waves to her as he goes back into the room.

There is still time for Nissa to speak to any member of the Council before she sleeps...

[Diachronos]

Nissa heads back upstairs. She'd already seen Max, Justin, Alicia, and now Orion. Sora was likely going to be home with her and Tiana that night, so they could spend time together before bed.

After some consideration, she heads to locate Elaina.

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina is in the kitchen washing dishes. She looks up as Nissa enters. "Oh, hi Nissa! Be careful, don't stand next to that stove, there's cookies baking in there." She finishes washing the dishes and quickly picks up a broom to start sweeping as they dry. "Oh, I heard about Tiana's recital and took the liberty of reserving eight tickets, you can bet that all of us will be there to support your little girl on her big day! What should I bring for her team? I don't think the parents would like it if I brought something sweet but I know the kids would. Are there any healthy snacks that kids actually like eating? Ooh, celery and peanut butter! Good talk, good talk." She keeps sweeping vigorously.

[Diachronos]

Nissa can't help staring at the enchantress. "Okay, I'll bite... who are you and where did the real Elaina disappear to?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina looks up in confusion. "What are you talking ab-" She looks down at her wrist, checking a watch that Nissa has never seen her wear. "Oh no! The boys' basketball game is about to start and the cookies aren't done yet!" She walks over to the oven and opens it with a hopeful look on her face before slamming it shut. "Argh! Okay, I can improvise here...I could go to the market and pick something up, but I can't just leave the stove on while I'm gone. I could ask one of the others to watch for me...but the boys are playing, Sakura is cheering, Alicia is refereeing, and Cassandra would just give me a look that said she knew this would happen. Ugh! This is the worst day ever!" She darts over to the pantry and opens it up. "Hmm...it would figure that we're out of all the foods Sora likes, he hasn't been back here in weeks. Looks like Orion's been too busy with work to stock up too. If I bring out one of Max or Justin's it'll look like I'm playing favorites..." She bites her lip, looking lost.

[Diachronos]

"Um... Do you need some help?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina spins around on her heel. It's very apparent from her expression that she completely forgot Nissa was there for a moment. "What? No! I don't need anyone's help! I can take care of this castle and everyone in it by myself, thank you!" She sets the broom down and grabs some glasses from the cabinet, filling each of them with water. "Alright, the boys need to stay hydrated, so I'll bring them some water, and then when I get back the dishes should be dry so I'll put those away and right as I'm done with that the cookies should be done, so maybe if I tell Alicia to call a few extra fouls the game won't be finished until they have a chance to cool, then I need to head to the market to pick up something to cook for dinner..." She carefully balances four glasses of water on a platter and heads outside.

[Diachronos]

Nissa stares after Elaina as she leaves. Either her Sin had completely changed her personality from how it used to be, or she'd hit herself with one of her own enchantments. May as well keep an eye on things in here, she said she couldn't leave the stove unattended, after all... She checks on everything Elaina had been preparing on the stove, before glancing in the pantry to see if there was anything she could make to help out. Did Elaina know about Sora's real preferences?

[NeoSeraphi]

The pantry seems to contain a type of raw meat Nissa has never encountered before, preserved in ice buckets, as well as berries and fruits, a few vials of tree sap, what appears to be a wax trap that catches flies, some potatoes and box of raspberry chocolates.

[Diachronos]

Nissa glances at the meat before shaking her head and looking over the fruits and other ingredients.


Um... Profession (cooking) to see what could combine out of what's in there? [roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa's complete lack of cooking skills and experience tells her that there is no way anything in that pantry belongs together.

As she looks around, Elaina comes back into the kitchen, her robe gone as she darts to the counter in only her pink bra. She begins towel drying the dishes and putting them into their proper place, her eyes glancing down at her watch every few seconds.

[Diachronos]

"That's it, when this is over I'm going to get some actual cooking lessons..." She looks out of the kitchen to see if Elaina is coming back before heading to check on the stove and oven again.

She stares wide-eyed at Elaina's state when she comes back in. Deciding not to comment on it, she picks up another towel to help with the drying. "What's the rush, Elaina?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina puts the dishes up and looks over at Nissa. "Well, I have to finish these dishes as quickly as I can so I can go out, pick something to buy for dinner, then come back and actually cook it before it gets too late and everyone just goes and does their own thing. If the dishes aren't clean before dinner then we won't have anything to eat on..." She absent-mindedly raises one of her hands and points to the broom on the floor. It leaps up and begins sweeping on its own as she starts to put dishes away and then she gasps and slams her fists into the counter. "No! Damnit, I screwed up! Argh, stupid magic!" She snaps her fingers and the broom falls over onto the ground.

Elaina starts crying, covering her face as she sobs into her hands. "This is...so hard..." she whimpers, tears streaking down her cheeks.

[Diachronos]

"...You're trying to get used to doing things without relying on magic, is that it?" She puts a hand on the enchantress' shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up for not being able to do everything by hand. You're used to having the convenience, and getting out of the habit is going to take time."

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina looks up at Nissa, and then steps back out of her reach, sniffing and wiping her eyes clean. "You don't know what it's like. I may have been cursed, but everything I did was still my Sin. If I don't break this habit then I'll just fall back into my old ways! First it's charming a broom to sweep up because I'm too busy to do it myself, and then the next thing you know, I've got a mansion with forty servants all compelled to stand around and open my doors! I'm lazy, I admit that. But I've seen what happens when it gets out of control. I'm trying to change myself for the better, but no one's on my side, Nissa! Everything I've done is way worse than what Max or Orion did, and even if they say they understand, none of them have really forgiven me!"

[Diachronos]

Nissa opens her mouth to respond, but she gets an idea. She reaches into her shirt and pulls out the amulet Michael had given her. "Do you think this might help? It won't do anything for enchantment spells, but it'll limit your ability to use other magic. Or there's always the option of not piling so many things onto yourself that you get overwhelmed."

[NeoSeraphi]

Elaina looks down at the amulet in recognition and starts to reach for it, but then she sighs and shakes her head, gently closing Nissa's hand around it. "It's easy enough to simply restrict my ability to rely on magic, Nissa, but that's not really changing anything. I need to develop this discipline voluntarily. I need to have the power and choose not to use it by default. That's the only way I can be sure I won't go back to the way I was."

She opens the stove and pulls out the cookies, waving her hand over them as they sit to cool. She closes her eyes and rests her head against a wall for a moment before quickly jumping out of it. "Damn, the market, that's right! I'll catch you later, Nissa!" She snaps her fingers and a new robe appears on her body as she charges out the door.

Nissa still has time to speak to the other Council members, though Sakura appears preoccupied with the boys' basketball game.

[Diachronos]

Seeing that everyone else is busy, Nissa seeks out Cassandra.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn whispers (Gnoll) "I wish I had a second chance to please You on this hunt, my Lord." as the last kick connects and he falls down unconscious but not yet dead.

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa finds the drider mage in the parlor where she always is, gazing into a crystal ball. "Oh. Hello, Nissa. How are you doing? Concerned about Elaina, a bit revolted by Orion, curious about Justin, relieved by Alicia, and still trying to come up with a way to convince Tiana not to come with you tomorrow, is that it? Well, at least after this final battle it will all be over."

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet sees Parrn fall to the ground and quickly drops his rifle, putting his hands in the air. Asena sips her tea and nods to Valkenhayn, who picks up Parrn and leads Hemet off the mountain. Once there, he sets the gnoll down and returns to his post. Hemet kneels down and restores Parrn's vitality. "Well, that could have gone better," he mutters, looking upset. "That butler was so fast, I couldn't even see his attacks! And he took you down almost instantly."

Parrn is healed for [roll0]

[Diachronos]

"You've pretty much got it." She leans against the wall with a sigh. "You seem a bit more, um... collected than the last time I saw you."

[NeoSeraphi]

"I created a simalcrum," the woman explains, pointing across the room to an exact replica of her writing furiously in a notebook. "That creature intercepts half the information I receive and writes it down for me. I can easily process the other half. It's an inelegant, temporary solution."

[Diachronos]

"I see... well, a temporary solution is still a solution. Once this is all over, there isn't really anything to keep you from finding a more effective alternative."

[NeoSeraphi]

Cassandra nods. "Looks like your friend bit off more than he could chew. What was his name again? Parrn? He's knocking on death's door right now."

[Diachronos]

"Wait, what? What the hell was he trying to fight?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Cassandra steps back and pulls up an image of a gray-haired butler for Nissa to see in the screen. "A warrior from the Dark War, a man that Clavis Alucard dispatched to personally drive back Alistar. His name is Valkenhayn R Hellsing, and he currently serves Asena Alucard as her butler."

[Diachronos]

Parrn, what were you thinking trying to fight Asena on your own? "Where is Parrn now?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Cassandra looks back into the crystal ball. "He seems to be safe. The man let him go, they should be heading back to Mys'tai shortly."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn shuddered and coughed up some blood before he nodded. He then pulled out his wand and began the task of patching himself back up as he looked at the cave. After a moment he said (Common) "Door #2 have help or more harm? Or we find way to get pack up here?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet shakes his head. "We should just head back to the city. Our real hunt starts tomorrow. Let it go. We went in there expecting to face a dragon and we faced something that killed a dragon instead. We were outclassed."

[Gunhaven]

With a sigh, Parrn nodded and began the trek back down with the occasional stop to heal himself. He hugged his wolves once he met them again and whispered (Wolf) "I will return with you, my friends. We will taste that heart before we rest for good."

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn and Hemet return to Marx Manor by nightfall. If there is nothing else Parrn would like to do today he should get some sleep.

[Diachronos]

"At least he made it out alive." She sighs and rubs her temples. "And here I thought Asena might be manageable after what Alicia said... oh well, we'll find some way to get through that."

[NeoSeraphi]

Cassandra shakes her head. "The person that attacked Parrn will not be present at the forest tomorrow. He guards the estate."

[Diachronos]

"That's a relief." She glances back toward the door. "Now that I think about it, I should probably check in with Jalessi, Celeste is probably giving her a hard time by now."

[NeoSeraphi]

Cassandra nods and goes back to what she's doing. As Nissa leaves the estate she has just enough time to see Justin pass a basketball to Arios who jumps into the air and dunks it hard through the hoop as Max and Orion groan. Sakura jumps onto her feet, waving a pair of hot orange pom poms. "And the Dynamic Duo remains undefeated!"

The game starts to break up and everyone goes back inside, though Sakura stays outside to pick up the glasses and tray that Elaina brought out.

[Diachronos]

Nissa claps as Sora gets the ball through the hoop and waves to him before heading to locate Jalessi.

[NeoSeraphi]

Jalessi is at Marx Manor, sleeping next to Celeste on the couch.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn considered his options before finally assuming hairless ones closed shops when the sun set. With his mind set he bunkered down in the middle of the living room with his wolves on either side, rotating watch as the trio slept the night away.

[Diachronos]

Nissa smiles and tucks Celeste in. After giving the sleeping infant a kiss, she quietly closes the door and heads back toward Castle Mythos to meet up with Tiana and Sora.

[NeoSeraphi]

When Nissa arrives at Castle Mythos, she comes upon her daughter eagerly listening to a bedtime story from her father (something about snowboarding down a mountain mid-avalanche). Arios kisses his daughter good night and she curls up in his old room as he quietly shuts the door behind him.

When Arios realizes Nissa is there, he winces and raises his hands quickly. "S-Sorry, she was really tired. I didn't want to move the poor girl back to Marx Manor or our house, she was ready for bed."

[Diachronos]

Nissa shakes her head. "It's okay. She'll need all the rest she can get for tomorrow..." She bites her lip for a moment before sighing. "I don't want her to go with us tomorrow, Sora. Even if Asena can't kill us because of the restrictions on her power, I don't want to subject your daughter to this kind of violence if it can be helped."

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios gives Nissa a serious look and then nods. "That's your right as her parent. Go on and head to sleep. I'll put Tiana in a coma so she won't wake up until after Alistar is already dead. It's going to take me an hour or two."

[Diachronos]

"I don't know if that's the right thing to do, though, she was insistent on helping us when she found out that we're going after Alistar... What about you? Do you want to let her help?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios laughs. "I don't want you to help," he reminds her. "I certainly don't want to let my little girl anywhere near this."

[Diachronos]

She nods and leans against the door. "...You know she's going to be pissed at us for making her stay out of the fight, right?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios laughs. "Better a resenting and rebellious daughter than a dead one, Nissa. Now get some sleep. You're going to need it."

[Diachronos]

"Okay." She kisses him on the cheek. "What about you? Last minute business with the Council to take care of?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios stares at her. "No...I'm going to put Tiana in a coma...so she won't wake up tomorrow...I just told you that. Are you feeling okay?"

[Diachronos]

Nissa blinks and shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. Sorry, it sounded like you weren't going to be back tonight." She hugs him. "I'm staying at my mother's tonight, Jalessi and Celeste are already sleeping there."

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios nods. "See you in the morning then."

----------------------------------------------------------

In the morning, Nissa and Parrn awaken to find a group of mages sitting at the table. Taalia is looking very nervous as she quickly dishes out as much food as she can cook. "I-I've never met a group of people with such different tastes in foods! Um, Arios, you wanted the smoked bacon, right?"

The Black Knight, not wearing his helmet but decked out in his trademark spiked full plate, nods with a grin. Taalia sets the plate in front of him.

"Erm...and Max, you said you just wanted...some raw meat?" Taalia asks, looking sick at the idea. Max tilts his hat with a winning smile and the elf grimaces as she places a plate of raw chicken in front of him.

"Right, erm, Elaina, you wanted the...very expensive...raspberry chocolates that I had to wake up the baker to get at this hour?" Taalia asks, her mouth staying completely still even though Nissa can tell she's suppressing a glare. Elaina bows politely as she takes the plate and sits down.

"Justin, you just wanted some fresh fruit?" Taalia asks, holding up a plate of sliced apples and a banana. Justin's arm stretches ten feet across the room as he grabs the plate and pulls it back in front of him with a polite, "Thank you".

"Orion, you were looking for...erm..." The elf woman blushes furiously. Orion stands up with a seductive grin. "Have no fear, my sweet. It will all be over shortly. Just expose that delicious neck to me." "O-oh my, Lord Orion, I'm a married woman..." Taalia whimpers, gazing into his eyes as she starts to pull down the neck of her blouse.

A fireball to the back of his head interrupts the pair of them. Taalia shakes herself free of his domination and gasps, quickly covering herself back up. "If I have to make do with tree sap, then you can make do with blood packets!" Sakura yells, looking to be in a very bad mood as she chugs a bottle.

Orion glares at her and sits down, pulling out his own substitute and slurping at it with distaste.

[Diachronos]

Nissa comes into the kitchen, hugging her mother and husband. "What's everybody doing over here? I thought you'd have all met up at the castle..."

[NeoSeraphi]

Justin pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We did. However, you and your canine friend neglected to make your appearance...on time. After waiting for quite a while, we decided to check on you as a group, and you were still asleep." He sounds annoyed, as usual.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn grins and says (Gnoll) "Was wearing Top Hat's hat and head while playing fetch with Coward's head in my dream." He breaks down into a hyena's mocking laughter before pulling out some slow roasted Erkling rump to eat with his wolves, doing a double take at Max's choice and deciding maybe not all hairless ones had strange tastes in food.

[NeoSeraphi]

Orion stares at him. "It's a bit odd for you to be casually threatening someone that almost killed you."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn shrugs at the fact and adds (Gnoll) "That's why it's a dream. I also killed that damn butler for the werewolf. But first pack takes care of Alister, then can hunt other prey." His tone is serious but his grinning face reveals the true end of this play of theirs.

[Diachronos]

"That may be because nobody told us to meet you at the castle."

[NeoSeraphi]

The group finishes their breakfast and head outside, where Arios draws his blade and cuts a hole into another dimension. He and the other Council members walk inside without a word, and Hemet follows them.

[Gunhaven]

With a deep breath in, Parrn sends his wolves in before following himself.

[Diachronos]

Nissa says her farewells to her mother and steps through with Ghellin.

[NeoSeraphi]

The group appears inside of a dense red fog, the scent of blood heavy in the air. And the feeling of blood. The texture of blood. The color of blood.

Nissa realizes quickly that the air itself is actually gaseous blood. It's incredibly hard to breathe and even when she keeps her mouth shut as she inhales it through her nose it burns going down.

Justin pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Interesting. It would seem we are expected."

Arios steps forward solemnly. "Yeah. He left a message for us."

Parrn strains to see what they are looking at, before he realizes that the forest's pathway is littered with fey corpses. Thousands and thousands of them. It would seem that in order to create this haze...and send a message...Alistar has murdered every single other fey left in the world inside his own forest.

Orion steps forward, shaking his head. "Nothing to be done now. Let's get moving."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn stretches slightly as they walk, drawing the rapier. To no one in particular he says (Gnoll) "Alocer guide us so that we may end this prey's life, less he kills everything else and denies You Your Hunt." To himself he silently prays for the wellbeing of Heartshield over all others, knowing he is the one that matters most in this play.

[NeoSeraphi]

After walking through the haze for a few minutes, the group hears a high-pitched female scream. They pick up the pace just quickly enough to arrive in a clearing and see Alistar, seated on a throne of bone, lift Tiana into the air and rip her throat out with his teeth.

[Diachronos]

Nissa's eyes widen in horror at the sight of her daughter's throat being torn out by the erlking. The horror quickly turns to rage, and she charges at him with a furious snarl, Ghellin at her side.


Animal Focus: Tiger and Bear
Attack: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]/[roll3]

Ghellin's attacks:
1st Talon:
Attack: [roll4]; Crit Confirm: [roll5]
Damage: [roll6]; Crit Damage: [roll7]
Precise Strike: [roll8]
2nd Talon:
Attack: [roll9]; Crit Confirm: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]; Crit Damage: [roll12]
Precise Strike: [roll13]
Bite:
Attack: [roll14]; Crit Confirm: [roll15]
Damage: [roll16]; Crit Damage: [roll17]
Precise Strike: [roll18]
1st Claw:
Attack: [roll19]; Crit Confirm: [roll20]
Damage: [roll21]; Crit Damage: [roll22]
Precise Strike: [roll23]
2nd Claw:
Attack: [roll24]; Crit Confirm: [roll25]
Damage: [roll26]; Crit Damage: [roll27]
Precise Strike: [roll28]

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa charges forward to attack Alistar, and goes right through him. Alistar and Tiana disappear, as booming laughter can be heard behind Nissa.

The real Alistar steps out of the trees, looking at Arios. "True seeing, Sora? Really? You're no fun at all."

The knight glares at Alistar. "You may be a warrior, but you're still fey, scum."

[NeoSeraphi]

Alistar smirks and steps back into the trees. Arios and the others all quickly rush after him, but as Nissa and Ghellin charge forward to follow, a loud thunderclap accompanying a vicious lightning strike block their path.

Asena Alucard floats down from a tree on her umbrella, landing on the ground, still prim and proper as ever, though with a look of menace in her eyes. "So sorry, but this party is by invitation only. Your Game is over, Players. You have won. Congratulations. Now be good and go back to the Audience, where you belong. I'm afraid the stage for the final act is already full, and none of you will be there when the curtain falls."

Hemet shifts uneasily, but he raises his rifle and steps up next to Parrn. Asena and Courtard growl at the witch, and Ghellin's teeth gnash together furiously.

Asena's normally expressionless face tilts ever so slightly, her lips curving into a barely noticeable grin. "How utterly foolish."

The aura that Nissa saw before returns, though it is much larger and crackling with power now. It more closely resembles when Asena blew a hole in the God of Sin's chest. "Your reliance on others will be your downfall, Hunter," she comments, looking at Parrn with disdain. "Such a shame. I had high hopes for you when we met. But it looks like you're nothing more than another face in the crowd."

Initiatives:
Asena: She's going first.
Hemet: [roll0]

[Diachronos]

Nissa shifts her feet and levels her sword at Asena. "This isn't over until Alistar is dealt with. I don't know why you choose to help him, but we're not going to just sit back and watch while that monster runs loose."


[roll0]

[Gunhaven]

Parrn gathers himself as he shifts from view, if it matters to a witch. He knew she was a prey now but still sounds somewhat sad as he whispered (Gnoll) "I will drink your blood, Asena. My Asena will be the true and rightful bearer of that name, not a witch who tricks and lies to get what she wants." Promise made he drew his temple sword and grinned with far too many teeth at the coming prize for his devotion to Alocer over all else.

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena raises her hand. "Come at me with everything you have then! I won't tolerate any half-hearted attempts. And time is not on your side..."

A glowing black aura surrounds the group and a group of shadowy tendrils appear, each one driving itself into the skin of a party member. A white number 60 appears over each individual's head and begins ticking down.

After 10 rounds, each of you will be reduced to -1 hit points automatically with no saving throw. This condition cannot be removed even with a wish."

[Gunhaven]

Courtaud is the first to charge the witch, teeth snapping at flesh. Closely at his heels, Parrn and Asena attack in a snap of teeth and a flash of sword. Then Courtaud bites in tune with Asena as she bites twice in turn. Finally Parrn flashes his sword as he hacks at the trickster three times and bites once.
Alright, all hits and no trips. Horde Charge (+2 Damage on the charge attacks), Power Attack (Parrn two handing his temple sword). Divine Power grants +4 Damage.
Asena:
Swift: Coordinated Charge
Full: Bite [roll1]
DP Bite [roll2]

Courtaud:
Full: Charge Bite [roll3]
Swift: Snapping Bite [roll4]

Parrn:
Swift: Coordinated Charge Hack [roll5]
Full: Hack 1 [roll6]
Hack 2 [roll7]
Secondary Bite [roll8] + [roll9] Vicious, [roll10] backlash against 11 Temp HP from DP
DP Hack [roll1d8+28

In addition Imprinting Hand learns any possible weaknesses.
Total Damage: 146!

[Diachronos]

Ghellin charges in as Nissa draws the bow that Sakura had given her, taking a few shots at Asena.


Nissa:
Damage 1: [roll0] plus [roll1] acid
Damage 2: [roll2] plus [roll3] acid
Damage 3 (speed enchant): [roll4] plus [roll5] acid

Ghellin: His natural weapons are effectively 3 sizes larger than normal (1 from animal growth, 2 from strong jaw)
Talon 1: [roll6] plus [roll7] fire
Talon 2: [roll8] plus [roll9] fire
Bite: [roll10] plus [roll11] fire
Claw 1: [roll12] plus [roll13] fire
Claw 2: [roll14] plus [roll15] fire

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet raises his rifle to fire but the gun doesn't go off. He looks down, confused, only to find that the haze has wet his gunpowder, rendering it useless. Hemet dumps the powder out in frustration and adds some dry powder. Before he can take aim, though, Asena spreads her umbrella open in front of her, forming a shield. "Defense Order," she states, and a barrier surrounds the witch. She closes her eyes and begins to chant in a language as old as time itself. It looks like she's charging up for a devastating attack!

Defense Order: Instead of 50%, all attacks this round only deal 10% of their damage to Asena, and if she would take more than 4 damage from a single attack, she instead takes 4 damage.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn paused for a second before he had a crazy idea. Almost casually he said (Gnoll) "I wish Asena, the witch, was a normal little girl." After his utterance he and his wolves attacked again in snapping teeth and hacking slashes.
So using Amazing Initiative and Wish probably, maybe? Then Full Attacks and Snapping Flanks for everyone!
Asena:
Swift: Snapping Flank [roll0]
Full: Bite [roll1]
DP Bite [roll2]

Courtaud:
Full: Bite [roll3]
Swift: Snapping Bite [roll4]

Parrn:
Swift: Snapping Bite [roll5] + [roll6] Vicious, [roll7] backlash against 5 Temp HP from DP
Full: Hack 1 [roll8]
Hack 2 [roll9]
Secondary Bite [roll10] + [roll11] Vicious, [roll12] backlash against 11 Temp HP from DP
DP Hack [roll13]

27 more damage!

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn utters his wish and Asena chuckles. Her eyes open and she stops chanting, her entire body glowing red. "You seek to use the power of the gods on me? Hah! The gods are nothing before me!" She raises one hand and says, "Infection Order!" Parrn and his wolves are covered in a cloud of mist. Closing her eyes and repeating "Defense Order", her body returns to its barrier state and she continues chanting.

Infection Order: Parrn and his wolves are infected by Asena's Infection Order for 3 turns. While this Order is in effect, whenever Parrn or his wolves roll an odd number for their damage (before it's been reduced, just the number on the dice plus the bonuses), they instead deal 0 damage.

[Diachronos]

Nissa hesitates when Asena begins chanting. She was preparing for some kind of attack, and it was unlikely that it was one they wanted to be subjected to. She whistles for Ghellin to pull back, and touches the amulet around her neck while speaking its command phrase.

Activating the amulet's mythic antimagic field. Hopefully whatever she's doing isn't an enchantment effect or something that doesn't count as magic

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa activates her amulet and feels the bow in her hand become much heavier, the weight of the very fine wood materials something she is not used to. Ghellin's claws grow dull and Parrn's sword loses some of its shine. However, Asena and Hemet seem completely unaffected. Hemet raises his rifle and fires three quick shots, while Asena continues chanting.

Indeed, the Power of Order is not magic. Asena's ability to control nature is not like a druid's, it's closer to a divine being's ability to shape the plane they rule over.

Hemet attacks:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena continues chanting, but she raises her palm and whispers "Law Order." There is a flash of light and everyone in the group feels a chill. The pressure in the air rises and forces them down to the earth. Hemet drops his rifle and falls to his knees.

Her chanting intensifies. It seems like her big attack will come soon.

Every non-lawful character in range (so all of you) must make a DC 25 Fortitude, Reflex, and Will save. Failing any of them means you are stunned for 1 round (drop what you're holding, take no actions). Chaotic creatures take a -2 penalty on each save.

[Diachronos]

Nissa deactivates the amulet when it becomes apparent that it's not affecting Asena.


Fort: [roll0]
Ref: [roll1]
Will: [roll2]

[Gunhaven]

As Asena and Courtaud are stunned at such insolence from their meal, Parrn presses on. He concentrates, drawing upon all of Alocer's might to grant him the strength to power through these curses and bring down the imposter.
Parrn:Amazing Initiative for another attack. Not using bane since it'll be a higher chance of 0 damage (unless it doesn't apply in which case
+ [roll0]
+ [roll1]
+ [roll2]
+ [roll3]
+ [roll4])
Full: Hack 1 [roll5]
Hack 2 [roll6]
Secondary Bite [roll7] + [roll8] Vicious, [roll9] backlash
DP Hack [roll10]
AI Hack [roll11]

All of that for 42 (40 after reduction) damage.

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena's eyes open wide as her chanting ceases. "Attack Order - Clownish Calendula!"

She raises her hands towards the sky and gravity begins to stop working. Slowly, the rest of the group floats up with her, until they are 100 feet in the air. "This is the end!" An enormous bolt of lightning wide enough to encompass the entire clearing strikes, electrocuting everyone in the radius, and then they all fall to the ground.

Everyone takes 30 points of damage (not electricity damage because it's not magical) and then [roll0] falling damage. If you succeed a DC 25 Reflex save, you half the falling damage and remain standing. Otherwise you are also prone this round.

As before, Attack Order leaves Asena vulnerable. She takes full damage this round, but not more than 40 from a single attack.

[Diachronos]

While Nissa tries to get the feeling back into her body after Asena's attack, Ghellin charges back in to attack.


Ghellin:
Talon 1: [roll0] plus [roll1] fire
Talon 2: [roll2] plus [roll3] fire
Bite: [roll4] plus [roll5] fire
Claw 1: [roll6] plus [roll7] fire
Claw 2: [roll8] plus [roll9] fire

[Gunhaven]

Parrn and his wolves fall to the ground, Courtaud the only one with cat like reflexes and landing on his paws. While Asena and Parrn get back to their paws and feet Courtaud bites at the witch, Parrn quickly ushering a second attack from his companion.
Courtaud:
Full: Bite [roll0]
Swift: Sic Em! [roll1]

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet scrambles to his feet. Asena takes pause, seemingly returning to her base state, but not taking any offensive or defensive actions. She gazes at Parrn expectantly.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn chuckled and said (Wolf) "Waiting for me? So kind..." He then launched his attack once more, biting and hacking at the obvious trap with little concern.
Might as well keep the bane going!
Asena:
Swift: Sic Em! [roll0]
Full: Bite [roll1]
DP Bite [roll2]
(105)

Courtaud:
Full: Bite [roll3]
(126)

Parrn:
Full: Hack 1 [roll4] + [roll5]
Hack 2 [roll6] + [roll7]
Secondary Bite [roll8] + [roll9] Vicious Bane, [roll10] backlash
DP Hack [roll11] + [roll12]
(344!)

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena chuckles as Parrn comes at her full force. "Attack Order - Pirouette."

There's a small flash of light and suddenly Asena is a few feet away, and Parrn's sword is heading towards Nissa instead!

Thanks to their scent ability, Asena and Courtard detect the trap and manage to reposition and get their attacks off. Parrn, on the other hand, can only stop himself from killing Nissa with a Reflex save.

[Diachronos]

Nissa gets to her feet and picks up her bow, while Ghellin rips into Asena again.


Talon 1: [roll0] plus [roll1] fire
Talon 2: [roll2] plus [roll3] fire
Bite: [roll4] plus [roll5] fire
Claw 1: [roll6] plus [roll7] fire
Claw 2: [roll8] plus [roll9] fire

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena looks angry. "Even the gods of this world bend to my will! Fate Order!"

A deck of tarot cards appears above her head, shuffling. A card appears above Nissa's head (The Lovers), above Parrn's head (The Hermit) and above Hemet's head (The Emperor).

Parrn must fight alone this round. His wolves cannot help or provide any teamwork feat benefits.

Hemet deals 50% less damage to females this round (total of 25% to Asena because her 50% is in effect.)

Nissa is healed to full health.

[Diachronos]

Nissa draws an arrow. "Not anymore." She and Ghellin resume their assault.


Nissa:
Attack 1: [roll0] plus [roll1] acid (8 total)
Attack 2: [roll2] plus [roll3] acid (9 total)
Attack 3: [roll4] plus [roll5] acid (12 total)

Ghellin:
Talon 1: [roll6] plus [roll7] fire (20 total)
Talon 2: [roll8] plus [roll9] fire (16 total)
Bite: [roll10] plus [roll11] fire (14 total)
Claw 1: [roll12] plus [roll13] fire (11 total)
Claw 2: [roll14] plus [roll15] fire (12 total)

All together: 102 damage

[NeoSeraphi]

...Meanwhile, somewhere else...

Arios slashes his blade wildly, opening a portal to Hell in front of him. Alistar's attack flies right into the portal and it closes.

Elaina falls back, holding her broken arm carefully while Orion shouts orders to his army of dead.

Arios raises his blade to attack the monstrous fey, but then a floating being..or beings appear.

Arios looks up in confusion. "The Lovers?"

The creatures' eyes shine and then a bolt of lightning strikes Arios, flinging him one hundred feet in the air. As he lands on the ground with a sickening crunch, Alistar towers over him. Arios tries to roll out of the way as the blow comes, but it connects, and Alistar's axe shines with blood.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn laughs at the trick and says (Wolf) "An actress! And you said you weren't a part of this play! But your part ends now, trickster!" He draws fully upon Alocer's power as he goes at it alone, hacking wildly at the nearly defeated witch.
Parrn:
Full: Hack 1 [roll0] + [roll1] 36
Hack 2 [roll2] + [roll3] 42
Secondary Bite [roll4] + [roll5] Vicious Bane, [roll6] backlash 33
DP Hack [roll7] + [roll8] 36

and because I think I have the points: Amazing Initiative and Sudden Attack for two more!
Swift: Hack 1 [roll9] + [roll10], Bypass all DR 41
Extra Standard: Hack 2 [roll11] + [roll12] 42

185!

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena staggers back, looking down at her chest in surprise. Blood?

"This...isn't over...I must...rest!"

She collapses. The way is now clear!

[Diachronos]

Nissa lowers her bow as Asena collapses. She closes in, drawing her sword as she does so, and stops for a moment to check the girl's state. After making sure that she's not going to be getting up any time soon, she turns to the others. "Come on, they can use all the help they can get."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn grins and licks the witch's blood from his sword. He let his bane toward the little girl subside and whistled for the wolves to come along. As he stepped over the girl he made a promise to himself to see her join her father and mother.

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa, Hemet, Parrn, and the animals continue onward, until they finally reach another clearing where they see utter chaos.

Alistar and Arios are currently locked in physical combat while Elaina lays in a bloody heap on the ground. Justin is trying to defend Cassandra from a swarm of insectoid wasps while Cassandra concentrates on maintaining a barrier around the entire forest. Orion's undead army is fighting with a horde of insectoid spiders, while Sakura is rapidly burning away their webbing that they're spinning all around the group. Alicia is currently kneeling at Alistar's feet, a spiked collar around her neck attached to a leash in Alistar's off hand. Alistar holds up a greatsword in one hand and chuckles in amusement as Arios's Gargantuan weapon clashes at it again and again without even dazing the larger man.

[Diachronos]

Nissa draws her bow and one of the cold iron arrows she'd picked up for their hunt for Ly'reis. She nodded to Ghellin, and as the raptor charged the erlking she started firing at Alistar.


It just occurred to me that Nissa should be getting 3 attacks before speed since her BAB is +11 now... oh well, we beat Asena without it.
Animal Focus: Tiger and Mouse (Imp. Evasion)
Nissa:
Attack 1: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2]/[roll3] plus [roll4] acid
Attack 2: [roll5]/[roll6]
Damage 2: [roll7]/[roll8] plus [roll9] acid
Attack 3: [roll10]/[roll11]
Damage 3: [roll12]/[roll13] plus [roll14] acid
Speed enchant: [roll15]/[roll16]
Damage: [roll17]/[roll18] plus [roll19] acid

Ghellin (including +2 from charging):
Talon 1: [roll20]/[roll21]
Damage: [roll22]/[roll23] plus [roll24] fire
Talon 2: [roll25]/[roll26]
Damage: [roll27]/[roll28] plus [roll29] fire
Bite: [roll30]/[roll31]
Damage: [roll32]/[roll33] plus [roll34] fire
Claw 1: [roll35]/[roll36]
Damage: [roll37]/[roll38] plus [roll39] fire
Claw 2: [roll40]/[roll41]
Damage: [roll42]/[roll43] plus [roll44] fire

[Gunhaven]

Parrn grins and yells (Common) "Knocked out daughter! You next, prey!" With a hyena's mocking laughter he and his companions charged toward the insectoid spiders to try and free up people to concentrate on the important thing.
Also Imprinting Hand and a knowledge check for these insectoid spiders? [roll0]
Asena:
Swift: Coordinated Charge
Attack [roll1]
Damage [roll2]
Trip [roll3] + 26

Full: Bite
Attack [roll4]
Damage [roll5]
Trip [roll6] + 22

Courtaud:
Full: Charge
Attack [roll7]
Damage [roll8]
Trip [roll9] + 22

Swift: Snapping Flank
Attack [roll10]
Damage [roll11]
Trip [roll12] + 18

Parrn:
Swift: Coordinated Charge
Attack [roll13]
Damage [roll14]
Intimidate [roll15]

Full: Hack 1 [roll16]
Damage [roll17]
Intimidate [roll18]

Hack 2 [roll19]
Damage [roll20]
Intimidate [roll21]

Hack 3 [roll22]
Damage [roll23]
Intimidate [roll24]

Secondary Bite [roll25]
Damage [roll26] + [roll27] Vicious, [roll28] backlash
Intimidate [roll29]
Trip [roll30] + 16

[NeoSeraphi]

The insectoids are swarming faster than anyone can take them down. Since Parrn and Nissa arrived, their numbers have jumped from 30 to 45.

Parrn does kill two of them.

[Diachronos]

Seeing the horde's increasing numbers, Nissa turns to start dealing with them.


Nissa:
Attack 1: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2]/[roll3] plus [roll4] acid
Attack 2: [roll5]/[roll6]
Damage 2: [roll7]/[roll8] plus [roll9] acid
Attack 3: [roll10]/[roll11]
Damage 3: [roll12]/[roll13] plus [roll14] acid
Speed enchant: [roll15]/[roll16]
Damage: [roll17]/[roll18] plus [roll19] acid

Ghellin (including +2 from charging):
Talon 1: [roll20]/[roll21]
Damage: [roll22]/[roll23] plus [roll24] fire
Talon 2: [roll25]/[roll26]
Damage: [roll27]/[roll28] plus [roll29] fire
Bite: [roll30]/[roll31]
Damage: [roll32]/[roll33] plus [roll34] fire
Claw 1: [roll35]/[roll36]
Damage: [roll37]/[roll38] plus [roll39] fire
Claw 2: [roll40]/[roll41]
Damage: [roll42]/[roll43] plus [roll44] fire

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa, Ghellin, and Hemet work together to try and fight back the horde, collectively killing 5 more enemies. Sakura roasts 10 on her own, bringing the number down to 28. But then they swarm even more, and now there are 60 insectoids of various types (wasps, spiders, ants).

Alistar chuckles as he looks up. "Oh look, Sora. Your pretty little wife is here. I hope she's been worth all the trouble and suffering you've dealt with for ten years."

Arios glares at him and swings his blade in a barrage of cuts at the air. Alistar raises his weapon to block, but none of the attacks even come close to hitting him. He looks around, confused, as eight new portals open in various spots around him. "You cheeky little..."

Arios opens a portal on the ground and drops through it, then charges out of a portal above Alistar, ripping into him past his defenses, before dropping into another portal at his feet. Then the portal to his right glows and Arios appears, slamming his fist into the fey's cheek, before darting into the portal to his left. They both close. Alistar roars and swings his weapon in a wide arc, aiming to hit anything that would come out of any portal, but instead all of them close. Alistar looks around, breathing a little heavily. Silently, a new portal opens up behind him. Arios creeps out and taps Alistar on his left shoulder. When Alistar looks behind him Arios swings his blade to the right and hacks deep into his shoulder.

[Diachronos]

Nissa looks around and finds the source of the insect swarms: the nest hanging overhead. She whistles for Ghellin to come back, then focuses on her mythic power to call down a bolt of lightning to strike one of the portions holding it up.


Mythic call lightning, dealing [roll0] damage to the tether holding the hive in place. If it matters, the damage is half electricity and half sonic.

[NeoSeraphi]

The nest shakes and the signal's tune changes immediately. Forty insectoids immediately stop what they are doing and rush for Nissa.

As she braces herself for the stings of death...again...she hears an odd sound.

From behind her! Nissa turns to see...her daughter, playing the hand made flute Nissa gave her with all her might. The sound is loud enough to disrupt the signal, and all of the insectoids have halted. If Nissa and Parrn spend their next turn clearing up the last of the spider webs, they'll have a clear path to Alistar!

[Diachronos]

Maybe that was a bad idea... The sound of flute music makes her turn, and she nearly drops her bow in shock upon seeing Tiana there. How had she gotten here? Wasn't she supposed to be unconscious?

Still, there was no sense in questioning it right now. She turns and sends a line of flames into the webs, directing it to clear as much space for them as possible. She sends Ghellin to stand by Tiana and defend her.


Casting fire snake to clear the webs, directing it to keep it from hitting any allies. Fire damage if needed: [roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa's spell clears the path! However, with the way Arios and the others are positioned, there is only one square adjacent to Alistar within reach right now. Parrn or one of his wolves can go in this round, but they'll be going in alone.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn laughs as the path clears to Alister. Seeing his chance he and his wolves charge forth with Alocer granting them the courage to continue the hunt despite the obvious dangers.
Also Imprinting Hand and a knowledge check for Alister? [roll0]
Asena:
Swift: Coordinated Charge [roll1]
Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]
Trip [roll4] + 26

Full: Bite [roll5]
Attack [roll6]
Damage [roll7]
Trip [roll8] + 22

Courtaud:
Full: Charge [roll9]
Attack [roll10]
Damage [roll11]
Trip [roll12] + 22

Swift: Snapping Flank [roll13]
Attack [roll14]
Damage [roll15]
Trip [roll16] + 18

Parrn:
Swift: Coordinated Charge [roll17]
Attack [roll18]
Damage [roll19]
Intimidate [roll20]

Full: Hack 1 [roll21]
Attack [roll22]
Damage [roll23]
Intimidate [roll24]

Hack 2 [roll25]
Attack [roll26]
Damage [roll27]
Intimidate [roll28]

Hack 3 [roll29]
Attack [roll30]
Damage [roll31]
Intimidate [roll32]

Secondary Bite [roll33]
Attack [roll34]
Damage [roll35] + [roll36] Vicious, [roll37] backlash
Intimidate [roll38]
Trip [roll39] + 16

[NeoSeraphi]

Every single one of Parrn and his wolves' attacks miss. The fey looks over at them with annoyance and raises his greatsword. His swings are extremely precise, and even when they seem to go wide Parrn can't seem to escape them entirely.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

[roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

[NeoSeraphi]

Parrn goes down and Alistar chuckles madly. His eyes turn back to the warrior in front of him. Arios looks in surprise to see Tiana there. "It's dangerous! Nissa, get her away from here!"

Alistar glares at him. "Hey! Don't take your eyes off your opponent!" He slams his foot into Arios's side, not even flinching as one of Arios's armor spikes goes right through his foot and leaves a gaping, bloody wound. Arios groans and staggers back, and Alicia raises one hand. A gate opens up behind him and a celestial creature floats down, heals Arios, and vanishes.

Arios slowly picks himself up as Alistar grins and kicks him again.

[Diachronos]

Nissa retreats back beside Tiana, with Ghellin moving to her other side. "Tiana, what are you doing here?" She raises her bow and fires an arrow at Alistar. "How did you even get here to begin with?"


Hit: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]/[roll3] plus [roll4] acid

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana gives Nissa a look and nods to the insectoids, standing perfectly still in the air as she keeps playing. The look in her eyes obviously says "Do you really want me to stop playing long enough to answer?"

[Diachronos]

She nods and turns her attention back to Alistar. How in the world were they going to contribute to that fight? And what was going to happen if Tiana had to stop playing?

She looks over to Sakura, to see if the nymph was still capable of fighting.

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa looks over to Sakura, who is now standing with her hands clasped together and her eyes closed. She appears to be chanting in Draconic.

"Oh heart of flame, burning inside with the passion of love and battle! I call upon you to bring ruin upon those who stand in our way! Lay waste!"

Her eyes snap open and she raises both hands. "Ashmond's Dark Firaga!"

An enormous ball of black fire gathers inside of her outstretched palms and she launches it at the hive, completely incinerating it. Hundreds of corpses drop to the ground, including the queen's.

[Gunhaven]

With the leader down and the teeth snapping at air, Asena and Courtaud take the opportunity to move back and guard Tiana. They knew that they could protect the small hairless one from insects and hopefully that would give Arios the peace of mind to finish the battle. Parrn meanwhile bled on the ground.

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena and Courtard step around Tiana, as the insectoids in the air and on the ground fall down. It appears that their queen's death has resulted in all of them perishing. Alistar looks surprised, and he leaps forward, dragging Alicia with him, as he heads to fight with Sakura. The witch gasps and starts to back away, as Justin dashes for her and slams his fist into the ground, creating a wall of earth 10 feet high and 10 feet wide. Alistar pulls his fist back and punches through the wall, shattering it instantly.

[Diachronos]

Nissa unleashes another volley at Alistar. "Tiana, if things get bad, I want you to run. If I tell you, get on Ghellin and get yourself out of the forest as fast as you can."


Attack 1: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]/[roll3] plus [roll4] acid
Attack 2: [roll5]/[roll6]
Damage: [roll7]/[roll8] plus [roll9] acid
Attack 3: [roll10]/[roll11]
Damage: [roll12]/[roll13] plus [roll14] acid
Speed enchant: [roll15]/[roll16]
Damage: [roll17]/[roll18] plus [roll19] acid

[NeoSeraphi]

Nissa hits twice. She immediately feels the backlash. A burning sensation as she is struck by pure hatred. Her legs feel weak in the presence of this behemoth. He looks over at her and starts to advance. His blade glints with fury as he raises it over Nissa's head.

Arios starts to rush forward, but he's too far away to intervene. He screams out to her as she involuntarily shuts her eyes, waiting for the blow to come. She hears the sound of impact, but feels no pain.

"Tch. Got in my way again?" Alistar asks. Nissa opens her eyes to see Justin standing in front of her, arms spread wide, with Alistar's blade sinking into his left shoulder. Alistar looks annoyed. He grips the blade in both hands and slashes it downwards, cutting the changeling's body in half. He collapses, looking up at Nissa with a smile. "Remember what I said about you having no friends? Well...as far as I'm concerned, you had at least one. I'm...glad we met."

The light leaves his eyes.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hemet closes his eyes and clasps his hands together in prayer. "The hunt is not over yet. Alocer, grant this boy the strength to go on. Miracle."

Parrn slowly gets to his feet. He is at half his max health with 1 temporary negative level.

[Diachronos]

Nissa feels her eyes stinging as she looks down at Justin. Why had he sacrificed himself for her?

She pulls back from Alistar, bringing Tiana with her, as Ghellin lunges at Alistar.


Withdraw action away from Alistar, Ghellin's going to step in and make a full attack.

1st Talon:
Attack: [roll0]/[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]; Crit Damage: [roll3]
2nd Talon:
Attack: [roll4]/[roll5]
Damage: [roll6]; Crit Damage: [roll7]
Bite:
Attack: [roll8]/[roll9]
Damage: [roll10]; Crit Damage: [roll11]
Claw 1:
Attack: [roll12]/[roll13]
Damage: [roll14]; Crit Damage: [roll15]
Claw 2:
Attack: [roll16]/[roll17]
Damage: [roll18]; Crit Damage: [roll19]

[NeoSeraphi]

There is dead silence as the Council watches Justin fall. Alistar nimbly dodges out of the way of the dinosaur's attacks, before looking around in confusion. "What the hell are you all looking at?"

The silence finally breaks with the very last noise that Nissa expected to hear in this situation...laughter. Sakura cracks up, laughing her ass off as she shakes her head and buries her face in her hands.

Alistar looks very disturbed by this. "What the - I just killed one of your comrades! I sliced his f**king throat open! What's so damned funny?"

From his feet, Alicia starts laughing too. She shakes her head in disbelief, pounding the ground and coughing a bit. Alistar growls and yanks on her leash, which only causes her to laugh more.

"You too? Grr...I am the God of Wrath! I just killed one of the most powerful mages in the world! You WILL respect and fear me!"

Cassandra chuckles herself, lowering her hands. The barrier around the forest falls. "I'm so sorry, my dear. We do respect and fear you, honest. It's just that...well, you have no idea what you just did, and that's beyond hysterical."

"What I just did?" Alistar asks, blinking.

Alicia lifts her head. "Yeah. It's priceless. You know, even in the future, where all your plans come true, and The Destroyer becomes the God of Sin, one of the most feared and hated beings in all history, he still didn't kill The Immortal."

"That's right! He and I were longtime sex buddies, he and Alicia were close friends who had saved each other countless times, and he worshipped Cassandra as a goddess, but he had no trouble killing each one of us and making us into devil puppets for his new world. But not Justin." Sakura comments, shaking her head.

Alistar stares at the two of them. "Wh-what are you saying?"

Max sits back against a tree, any and all tenseness in his face at the severity of their opponent gone. "They are saying 'you dun goofed', old boy. You call yourself a God of Wrath? You haven't seen Wrath yet!"

Arios steps forward. He throws his sword to the ground and slams his fist into his chest. The black hellknight full plate shatters in an instant, collapsing to the ground in a million pieces. Alistar turns and stares at his odd behavior.

Arios raises his foot to take another step, and suddenly he's in front of the small demon girl, still playing her flute. He looks down at her. "Tiana. We will discuss your punishment when I get home."

Tiana's eyes are wide at her dad's serious voice. "O-okay Daddy," she replies, not even able to call him 'father' like she normally does. Arios scoops her up and teleports away.

In a moment he's back. He looks at Nissa. "Oy! High Priest!"

Hemet looks up from where he's treating Parrn's wounds in surprise. "Er...ya mean me, lad?"

"Take my wife, that gnoll, and their pets and get as far away from here as you can. Now!"

Hemet grits his teeth and quickly scoops Parrn up, whistling to Asena and Courtard as he gives Nissa a look and nods for the exit.

Alistar growls and raises his sword. "Hey, where do you think you're going, pre-ARGH!" He looks down to find Arios's fist in his stomach, and then he flies back fifty feet and hits a tree trunk, snapping it in two as he collapses to the ground. Arios looks down at his hand, which is now bleeding from Alistar's Revenge aura.

"Max. Orion."

The two mages tense up and stand straight. "Y-yes?" "N-need something?"

"Give me your power. All of it."

Max and Orion look at each other with a frown, but then Max gives a shrug of helplessness. "As you wish." "Whatever you want, Arios."

Max raises his hand and a glowing white light appears. It swirls around, forming a rotating helix that shoots forward into Arios's body. Orion does the same, though his aura is black.

Arios absorbs their magic and clenches his fists. Alistar slowly gets up, picking up his greatsword and looking angrily at Arios. "What's that Sora? Finally getting serious?"

"My name," Arios replies, slamming his palms together. "is Arios Heartshield! I am not the little boy you met ten years ago! I am The Black Knight, the Mercenary of Hell! I am a warrior, and I will kill you, Alistar!"

He separates his palms and drops to his knees, pressing them into the ground. "Heartshield's Forbidden Art - Planetary Devastation!"

In an instant, a black aura sweeps through the ground, coating everything for miles around them. All of the trees in the forest instantly shrivel up and die. The grass grows brown, the flowers wilt. Birds fall out of trees and cicada hums are silenced. After a moment, the forest they were standing in is now indistinguishable from the desert that Nissa met the banshee in. The same magic that cursed the earth?

Arios stands up. His arms look like they belong on a giant, not a half-elf. He has grown at least 10 feet taller, and probably gained over 2000 pounds. Alistar stares at the behemoth in front of him. "Heh. Killing me won't erase your Sin, Sora."

Arios snaps his finger, and the black blade he had created to spar with Justin appears out of nowhere, instantly growing to fit his new size and dropping into his hand.

"All this hatred. Just because I was the one who taught you that ritual? The ritual you taught to Jacob Revane ten years ago? The ritual that killed your parents?" Alistar asks, grinning from ear to ear.

Arios takes a step forward. The ground shakes.

"You seem upset. Does it bother you when I bring up how your selfish actions and conspiring with demons caused you to lose the two people who cared the most about you, and then in order to run from that you closed your heart and blamed the girl you loved? Despicable, truly despicable. And now you've killed an entire ecosystem just to gain the power to avenge one death. Thousands of plants and animal lives taken in an instant. For what? For this?" Alistar shows no signs of fear or remorse as he taunts Arios.

"Heartshield's Black Blade...of Disaster!" Arios raises the weapon and slashes it forward. Alistar's laugh echoes through the empty world as he chokes on his own blood. The erlking dies at the Black Knight's feet.

[Diachronos]

Nissa helps Hemet with Parrn as they hurry away from the area. She forces herself to keep looking forward, out of fear of just what she was going to see if she turned around. As they leave the clearing, Nissa grabs onto the others and triggers her boots to bring them back to her home in Mys'tai.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn blinks in disbelief. When they arrive in Mys'tai he immediately fishes out the locket Arios gave him, as well as his other trinkets from the various pack mates. While he's most concerned with Heartshield's health, it can't hurt to check on the rest of his mates while he's at it.

[NeoSeraphi]

All of Parrn's pack members are alive and well. Hemet glances back at the other two. "Damn...so that's what it's like to have the power of a god, huh?" He looks down at his rifle. "I guess...hunting the tarrasque might be as high as folk like you and me can aim, Parrn."

Tiana is sitting in her room petting Sofia. She looks up at Nissa when Nissa enters the room to check on her. "Mother! What happened to Alistar?"

After about ten minutes, Arios enters the mansion. Taalia looks surprised. "O-oh! Erm...Arios you're..not wearing a shirt!" she comments, covering her mouth as her cheeks flush red. Arios ignores her, his black slacks now ripped into a pair of shorts that barely provide any modesty. He walks into Tiana's room. "...It's over. It's finally over. The Seven, everything. The world can finally rest in peace."

[Diachronos]

Nissa sits down beside Tiana and hugs her. "He's gone now, Tiana. Your father's dealt with him, and he's not going to hurt anyone anymore."

When Sora finally returns, Nissa gets up and hugs him. "I'm happy to hear that. Now we can move on with our lives." She looks down at the floor. "I'm... I'm sorry about Justin..."

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios sighs and looks down. "It's...okay. His friendship is a treasure that I will never be able to replace, but I'm going to honor him rather than grieve. I'm going to make the world a better place, the way the two of us always envisioned it would be. ...Lately, with me leaving the Council and spending so much time with you and Tiana, we didn't have much time to hang out together. Maybe...maybe he was starting to think that our friendship didn't mean as much to me anymore. Or maybe he hated me for it? I just wish I had the chance to tell him how important he was to me, and to hear him say that back. It's a little selfish, but I just want to know that I meant as much to him as he did to me, you know?"

[Diachronos]

Nissa thinks for a moment before pulling back and setting her bag down on the floor. She digs through it until she finds the book that Justin had given to her the day before. "He asked me to give you this in case he didn't make it. At the time I thought he was just being overly cautious, but..." She holds out the book to him. "If the things he's said to me lately are any indication, you were one of the most important people in his life, right up until the end."

[NeoSeraphi]

Arios takes the book from Nissa. He looks down at it and reads the cover, smiling. "You...stupid idiot, Justin," he mutters, a tear escaping his eye as he quickly wipes it away. "I was always the one who was going to fall in battle. Why would you leave me behind?"

He sighs and turns around. "I'll...be at home. Tiana, you're grounded missy. No leaving the house except for school. Or to pick up food for Sofia. Or to get something for dinner if we're out of food. Or if there's an emergency and you need to leave the house. Or to visit your mother's grave. Or if it's a really nice day and you want to go for a walk. You know what? If you want to leave the house, just ask your mother, she'll let you know if it's okay." He walks away. Still the doting father, even though his words were heavy with grief.

"So...you actually managed to pull it off,"

Parrn turns around to see a young witch drinking tea and sitting on a cat umbrella that has morphed itself into a chair. "You not only won the Game and prevented the world from being destroyed, you even reached above to drag the gods of this world down beneath you. You have truly, finally, freed humanity to live on its own, with no interference from dragons or fey. Even the mages, once as demonic and twisted with Sin as Lamashta Herself, have surrendered their power voluntarily. An impressive showing."

[Diachronos]

Nissa starts to follow as Sora leaves, before deciding against it. Right now he probably just needed a moment alone.

She turns back to Tiana. "As upset as I am that you ran headlong into danger like that, you did an amazing job, Tiana. If you hadn't arrived, we'd likely have suffered a lot more injury than we did... how did you get to the forest, anyway?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana scratches the back of her head sheepishly and holds up an odd-looking jewel. "It belongs to Father. I was so worried about what Alistar might do to you that I went upstairs and I...erm...I took the hinges off the door to the attic. Father sealed that door against all kinds of powerful magics, but he didn't think to protect it against a normal every day thief. That's actually pretty typical of him, I guess. Inside the attic was a box. There was only this jewel, and a letter."

Nissa's Spellcraft succeeds. The jewel apparently is designed to teleport the person who holds it to...Nissa's location. It is a teleport ability that always drags the user to Nissa.

[Diachronos]

Nissa chuckles as she picks up the jewel. "Yeah, that sounds like him alright." Her eyes widen slightly when she realizes what the effect of the jewel is. Why in the world would he have something like this, and where would he have even gotten it? "...Tiana, did you take the letter that was in there as well?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana blinks and reaches into her pocket. "Yes, but it's addressed to Father," she replies, holding an envelope out.

The envelope indeed has "Arios Heartshield" scrawled onto it, and looks like it has not been opened. There is still a stamp on the back.

The name is written in Arios's handwriting. He addressed the letter to himself.

[Diachronos]

Nissa takes the letter and turns it over.


Perception: [roll0]
Linguistics: [roll1]


When she recognizes her husband's handwriting, she picks up the still-sealed letter and the gem. "Well, we should probably put these back where you found them. And put the door back on its hinges before your father finds out."

[Gunhaven]

Parrn turns and lets loose a hyena's mocking laughter at Asena's disbelief. He then grinned at her and said (Wolf) "Of course the actors won. Mates are strong together, even when I'm the reckless one. Besides, Alocer isn't done with me yet." He jerked his head in the general direction his trinket said Arios was and said, with mostly joy, (Wolf) "Alocer has tasked me with protecting him and I will do what I can do to continue such a task. I can't turn down a decree from my Lord, no matter what it may be."

[NeoSeraphi]

Asena raises an eyebrow. "You fought so hard to obtain your free will, and you would use it to blindly obey a god? I will never understand you people. Still...the only reason I helped The Seven was because I have lived too long. I have seen war, famine, death, disease, and drought. I have seen the worst that humans, fey and dragons have had to offer. Endured the worst. I have been defiled, tortured, used and discarded by men and women and dragons who simply felt that I was there for their pleasure. But in all this time, all the time I have watched...has that ever really been a life?"

She sips her tea, and then she does something that Parrn doesn't expect. She smiles. Not a coy smile, or a smirk. A happy, slightly toothy smile that lights up her whole face, betraying her age. "I guess...I've never had a friend before. Not someone I could talk to, anyway. I'm interested to see this new world. So then, Parrn. Any time you want to go on a hunt, I hope you think to ask me to come with you. We pack members should stick together, right?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana looks up at Nissa with wide eyes. "Won't he find out anyway when he asks how I got to the forest? Or...you don't want me to lie to him, do you?" She covers her mouth in shock.

[Diachronos]

Nissa sighs and shakes her head. "No, I don't want you to lie to him. If he asks, we'll tell him the truth."

[NeoSeraphi]

Tiana looks happy with that. The two of them head back home and fix the door.

Nissa, Tiana, Arios and Celeste live comfortably for many many years. Arios remains in contact with the Council, but true to his word, they stop being the center of his life and he seems genuinely happy being a traveler and hunter with his wife. The two of them forage out into the wilderness when Celeste is old enough to be trusted to look after herself for short periods of time, and the family is on the move, living on the lam and exploring everything the world has to offer.

Tiana meets a wonderful young man and falls in love with him, and she becomes a hell knight, like her father. She lives in Mys'tai, taking up Lars's position after he dies, and defends the city from the diabolists and their twisted pacts.

Celeste shares her mother and sister's love of animals, eventually becoming a horse breeder and buying some land to let her horses mate and graze and roam free. She has a few dogs to keep the wolves and the like away from her herd, and is content to simply sit in the grass and watch them live in front of her.

And they all lived happily ever after.

[Gunhaven]

Parrn pauses in thought before he spoke again, calmly and slowly. (Wolf) "Alocer has given me everything. Without Him I would just be another blind devotee of Lamashtu, existing just for chaos and destruction. While Alocer is evil like her, He has gifted the Greymane's with the order necessary to exist against such hardship."
He tangles his hands in his wolf's fur and nods toward Hemet before continuing. (Wolf) "He may be the high priest but Alocer has given me the task of hunting that which others can't or won't. So if He asks me to perform some seemingly impossible I have no choice but to follow His order. To do otherwise would be heretical and grounds for me to hunt myself. It has certainly helped that I don't want to settle down and raise a family like Hemet. Gnolls are violent from the second we leave the womb. I'd rather hunt, maybe convert fellow hunters to the true Lord of the Hunt."
He shrugs and smiles at Asena and ponders for a moment. He then grinned and said (Wolf) "We were going to end up hunting the Tarrasque eventually. With you at our side and hunting with us then I'm sure we can down it with ease and claim the greatest prey for Him."