Session 37 - "The Serpent of the Sands" Report

Venen 7, 1247

The day dawns with the Fate-Steppers working to clean up the camp. They know Vishrak is somewhere in the desert - they just need to draw him out. Luckily, they have a plan.

As Foenix Stolnent packs all of his gunpowder together into a small explosive, the party explores the desert until they find a rocky canyon to use to trap the giant wurm.

Thais Argyri casts heart to heart on Foenix, then drinks the the growth potion the party made in Cirvai's garden, growing to double her normal size.

Then, with Micaiah Louvre, Olena, Jacob Sterling, and Foenix scattered to the edges of the canyon (most of them mounted to give them the speed they needed to cross the battlefield despite their exhaustion), Thais begins to cause a ruckus. She jumps off the edge of rocks, landing with a thump that reverberates through the ground. Her movements are loud, obvious, and obviously meant to lure Vishrak in.

Luckily for her: Vishrak is not a smart wurm.

The ground shakes violently as the desert wurm closes in, and Foenix and Olena's camels (Foenix riding on the transformed Arkeo) are unable to keep their balance, stumbling sideways and onto their knees. Jacob is safe, using the ebony fly to hover above the heads of the party and out of the wurm's reach. As this happens, Vishrak explodes out of the sand underneath Thais, throwing her off her feet.

Thais reacts instantly, picking herself up off her feet and steadying herself as she casts an aura of vitality to get this party started. Foenix coaxes Ark-amel onto his feet and charges Vishrak. Arkeo can only make it part of the way, so Foenix abandons him with a misty step that brings him alongside Thais, where he stabs his dagger into the flank of the wurm and rides the slice down its back, landing next to the paladin.

Olena coaxes her camel up too, and rides it into range of the wurm with her lance. Her howl rallying her companions to her, Olena's rage takes over as she lashes out with her lance. One of her reckless attacks strikes true, but the other glances off the monster's hide.

Micaiah, further away from the melee and up on the rocks, calls out to the others in alarm: "that thing has wings! Careful, or it may take flight!" She then casts shadow of moil over herself utilizing the spell components she picked up in Siphone-Kett to protect her and sends out Jonquil to attack Vishrak, but unfortunately it misses.

Jacob uses his malleable sorcerous abilities to quicken his casting of mind sliver, which Vishrak fails to resist, and then critically fails to withstand Jacob's lightning bolt from the staff of power in his right hand.

Angry now, Vishrak lashes out at those within reach: he swallows Thais before diving back below the sands, a cursory tail swipe knocking Olena off her camel and killing the poor beast. Olena and Foenix still manage to get a strike in on it, with Olena's hit landing true (critical hit) and Foenix's chill touch rotting a spot across its flank.

Trapped within its stomach, Thais's sun blade gives her enough light to see her surroundings, including the pit of acid that is its bile. She swings her sword into Vishrak's stomach while, smiting it once. Then twice. That's enough to force the sand wurm to vomit her out, but Thais doesn't wait to gather herself. One gauntlet shoots out, grabbing onto the creature's tail and letting herself be dragged along behind it through the underground tunnel.

Foenix and Olena, at the opening of the hole, both jump down. Both of them are slowed by the stressful journey into the desert, so Olena is forced to push herself (dash) to catch up with the wurm. Foenix uses misty step to land himself next to Thais again, and this time his weapon could not pierce any deeper (critical hit). Olena must rally her rage to catch up with the rest of them, unfortunately.

Above ground, neither Micaiah or Jacob are close enough to get to the tunnel and follow - but to be perfectly honest, both spell casters are worried about their survivability in such close quarters with the monstrosity. Instead, Micaiah prepares to cast eldritch blast as soon as Vishrak shows its face, and Jacob prepares hold monster too.

Under the ground, Vishrak continues to barrel forward through the rock, towards where it can sense Micaiah above. Its tail attack hits both Foenix and Thais, making them stumble at the crushing blow, but more worryingly the lash struck the soft, crumbling sand that makes up the walls of the tunnel hard. The walls and ceiling caving in behind it, Vishrak explodes out of the ground underneath Micaiah, where Jacob's spell arrests it in place, the untethered tiefling resting upon its frozen tongue like some delicacy.

Micaiah does not let the terror of the situation dissuade him, instead getting to his feet, aiming straight down the monster's throat, and letting off two eldritch blasts that he had held in preparation. One lands solidly, blasting a chunk of throat out (critical hit).

Below the ground, Thais, Foenix, and Olena are buried in sand. Thais fights her way out, using her aura of vitality to heal herself up, while Foenix uses the bag of holding to scoop enough sand out of the way to free himself.

Olena, unfortunately, was knocked over in the chaos, and the weight of the sand is too much for her to free herself from. She stokes her own rage to keep herself in the fight, but the others have to help her out of the collapse.

Micaiah, recovered now from the earlier shock, takes aim again down Vishrak's throat. She fires off another two eldritch blasts, and Jacob feels as his spell becomes less a restraint and now a prop. The sand wurm is dead.

Working together, the party frees Olena and cuts off the head of the gargantuan sand beast. They use the dried logs strewn on the canyon floor to make a makeshift skiff, and lug it back towards their campsite.

When they get there and take a moment to breathe, it becomes immediately obvious that it is impractical to carry the head with them back to Brillante. Jacob suggests asking Felisis to help, as his son Corin was the one to give them the mission.

He gives Micaiah his holy symbol to the Boy of Good Fortune, and Micaiah places it around his neck as he plays a song, hoping to call out and invoke Felisis (critical success).

Felisis appears, and is more than willing to help. After some showmanship that includes having the Fate-Steppers throw a cloth over the head that causes it to disappear, Micaiah asks to speak with him.

Felisis agrees, and the two step away. Micaiah asks Felisis to help break his pact with Beauson de'Bete, which Felisis seems unsure if he can do. Then, Felisis looks down at Micaiah's feet and makes a noise of concern, stepping back from the warlock.

On the sand below Micaiah's feet, a glowing line begins to spread out until there is a long, horizontal strip of magic in a brilliant gold-red between his sandals. It begins to rotate, the ends of the line drawing a large 10 foot by 10 foot circle before it stops. Other lines begin to be drawn, criss-crossing between Micaiah's feet until he stands on an infernal pie chart with six even slices - and him in the direct center.

The rest of the Fate-Steppers notice and approach quickly and on high alert.

The handsome man with the well trimmed beard and fashionable attire rises out of the pit, all smiles and cool warmth. He asks when Micaiah plans on heading back to Brillante, as he sees that Micaiah has continued to head further east and that is not in the direction of Brillante, and he needs Micaiah by his side.

Beauson warns him not to do something he'll regret, clearly knowing what Micaiah was planning. When Micaiah tries to play innocent, he roars up, taking on his monstrous, fiendish form: a bipedal tiger with clawed hands affixed backwards upon his arms. He reaches out and grabs Micaiah around the neck, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.

Thais rushes forward with her sword to engage, but the edges of the circle will glow red hot, rebuffing her and anything that try to cross into the summoning circle. She strikes at it uselessly, before beginning to pace around the exterior of the circle agitatedly.

"Micaiah de'Louvre, you have stated your intent to break our pact," Beauson intones angrily - but, then a smile crosses across his face. The tension in his shoulders relaxes, but he does not let go of Micaiah, and he continues on almost casually.

"As you have not even attempted to come to the bargaining table with anything but the stick that is the Boy of Good Fortune," here he either gives the god a withering glance. "And a rather flimsy stick at that, you have stepped into a loop hole that I had preferred not to use."

To the rest of the party, he turns and gives them an apologetic shrug.

"I meant to allow you all to continue on your little adventures unimpeded. Even send this little dove," here he strokes Micaiah's hair, his strange claws tangling in the warlock's locks. "back to you when I was done. But now I have no choice."

He waves his free hand over the circle, and in the center where the lines converge, it begins to crack open like a flower. Heat and howling screams - the likes of which no one has ever heard - pour out. It is a cacophony of agony and fire.

Beauson swings his hand over the opening, Micaiah still dangling from it like a scruffed kitten.

"I'll be seeing you soon," he says, smiling, and drops Micaiah, the sometimes-tiefling hurtling into the portal.

As this happens, there is a flash of golden light as bright as the sun. It hurts to even think about - far less look at - but when it fades and sight returns to the party.... Micaiah and Beauson have both vanished. The sand has crystalized, becoming a perfect glass slab with the infernal runes still cooling upon its surface. But beyond that and Micaiah's pack still sitting by the camp fire, there is no sign that she was ever even here.