Session 36: Is that thing Beautiful?

The party found themselves scattered as danger approached the farmhouse. Garuman was far down the road with his loyal companion Marouk, having lost the tracks they were following. As he contemplated returning to the group, Marak suddenly began barking with unusual agitation, pulling urgently toward the farmhouse. Something was terribly wrong.

Inside the farmhouse, Tak and Shei faced a nightmarish creature—a beholder, its massive form floating in the air with multiple eye stalks writhing around a central, unblinking eye. The moment that central eye opened, a wave of cold energy washed over them, and they felt their magical abilities simply cease to function. The anti-magic field extended in a massive cone before the creature, rendering them vulnerable. The beholder's first attacks came swiftly, its massive maw snapping at Tak repeatedly, though the paladin managed to dodge the crushing bites.

Shei attempted to warn Tak about the nature of the anti-magic field, explaining that staying outside the creature's direct line of sight might offer some protection. He tried to flip a table to create a makeshift barricade but struggled with the heavy furniture. In desperation, Shei called upon darkness to shroud the area, but the magical shadows dissipated where they touched the anti-magic cone, creating only a partial sphere. The beholder's central eye winked, and the darkness vanished entirely.

The creature's eye stalks turned toward Tak, and three different colored rays shot forth. A brilliant beam of disintegration energy, a gray petrification ray, and a sickly paralyzing beam all targeted the paladin. Through remarkable reflexes and fortitude, Tak managed to evade or resist each deadly effect, though the close calls left him shaken.

Outside, Garuman heard Marak's warning and began racing toward the farmhouse with his companion. Tinky, initially oblivious to the danger, heard the sounds of combat and rushed toward the building. He attempted to bolster his allies with encouraging words. Shei felt a surge of confidence from his companion's support.

Inside, Shei finally managed to flip the table with a tremendous effort, creating cover behind which he could hide. Tak pressed his assault on the floating horror, his axe biting into its thick, scale-like hide. The beholder retaliated by turning one of its eye stalks toward Tinky, who had just entered the fray. A sickly green ray struck the small adventurer, poison coursing through his veins, though he managed to resist the worst of its effects.

The beholder's assault continued relentlessly. Its anti-magic field flickered briefly before returning to full strength. Tak was struck by a poison ray that left him weakened, while Tinky took a devastating blast of rust-colored energy that nearly felled him. A black ray drained the very moisture from Tak's legs, condensation gathering on his armor as his life force was pulled away. The party was being systematically torn apart.

Garuman finally reached his horse and mounted it, urging the animal forward with desperate speed. Tinky, badly wounded, called upon healing magic to mend his injuries while huddled beneath the table. The beholder's light blue ray struck him again, though he managed to partially resist its slowing effect. Shei, recognizing the dire situation, decided to summon aid—a Spirit of Death, a spectral entity that could exist even within the anti-magic field since it was a physical summoning rather than a pure magical construct.

The ghostly spirit materialized, wielding a spectral scythe, and immediately engaged the beholder. Meanwhile, Tak activated a spiritual shroud around himself and launched a furious assault. His axe struck twice, and he channeled divine energy through his weapon in a devastating attack. Radiant light blazed as bile-blood sprayed from the creature's wounds. In his fury, Tak severed two of the beholder's eye stalks, though the creature's remaining eyes continued to function.

The beholder attempted to destroy Tinky's cover by biting the table with its massive jaws. In a heroic moment, Tak bashed the table with his shield, pushing it out of harm's way and saving it from complete destruction. But the beholder's retaliation was swift and terrible. Multiple eye stalks turned toward Tak, and a brilliant ray struck him. The paladin staggered but remained standing. Then a second disintegration ray hit him squarely.

Tak fell to the floor, his body beginning to disintegrate into ash. Tinky watched in horror as his companion crumbled away, leaving only his axe behind. In a fit of rage, Tinky crawled toward the ashes and attempted to strike at the beholder's eyes with his daggers, but grief clouded his attacks and they failed to connect.

Tak's spirit rose from the ashes of his body, and above him, he saw cracks forming in the sky. His deity, Sirnai, appeared and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She asked if he was content with his time or worried about his friends, offering him choices for his soul's path. She could bring him back, though it would disrupt the natural flow of his journey, or he could move on to her Eternal Domain. She presented him with options to return as a different kind of warrior, but Tak needed time to consider.

As Tak's spirit contemplated, the battle raged on. Garuman finally reached the farmhouse, his knowledge of such creatures telling him of their dangerous nature. He flew through a window on magical wings, attempting to banish the creature from existence, but the beholder resisted through sheer force of will. Garuman repositioned outside while the Spirit of Death attacked with its spectral scythe, dealing wounds to the creature's essence. The beholder retaliated by putting the spirit into a deep, magical slumber.

The creature turned its attention to Tinky, its massive jaws clamping down and rendering him unconscious. Shei moved to the doorway, firing blasts of energy that struck the bloodied beholder. The creature was clearly weakening, but it remained a deadly threat. Garuman unleashed devastating magical fire and lightning, his attacks empowered by divine radiance.

In the realm between life and death, Tak made his decision. He stood from his prayer, walked to his spectral axe, and placed his hand upon the blade. Without words, he released himself, choosing to move on rather than return. Sernai watched as his spirit began to rise, then gathered the wisp of silver light trailing behind him and expelled it throughout the battlefield.

A wave of warmth enveloped the surviving party members. Tinky felt life surge back into his body, healing his grievous wounds. Garuman felt his magical power amplify dramatically. Shei found himself freed from the pretrifying effects that had held him. Most remarkably, the beholder itself was suddenly blinded and stunned, Tak's final gift to his companions.

Garuman seized the opportunity, flying back into the farmhouse and unleashing a barrage of magical attacks. Bolts of lightning and spheres of fire struck the helpless creature, while a column of radiant moonlight burned it continuously. Tinky recovered and began healing himself and Garuman. The creature attempted to fight back with its eye rays, but its attacks were weakened and ineffective.

Shei attempted one final spell, though it failed to connect. The beholder, still under the effects of the radiant moonlight, began to melt. After being struck by multiple devastating attacks and weakened by continuous radiant energy, the creature tried to turn away but forgot about the moonbeam above it. It looked up, and the radiant light consumed it. The beholder disintegrated with a final snarl, attempting one last bite at Shei before collapsing to the ground in a puddle of dissolving matter.

As the creature died, Tak's axe rose into the air, hovering for a moment before flying out through the broken window toward the east, as if called by some distant purpose. His bag fell to the floor, glowing softly with the quest items he had carried—a map, mysterious eyes, strange flesh, a blackened piece of tree, summoning handles, and a coin. The party stood in the ruined farmhouse, victorious but forever changed by the loss of their companion and the heroic sacrifice that had saved them all.