08 - 05/18/23 : The Bell Tolls for Thee

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  In the sewers below Almanza Citadel, Cygnus confronted Cordelia about the topaz scales present on her body. Cordelia, after some prodding, revealed that they had emerged around when she had hit puberty, and likely indicated a draconic ancestor or family member; who this may have been, however, was unknown to her. She assured she would be useful during their flight and insisted that they begin moving.   The party moved forward, encountering a horrific rot troll behind the first door they found. After dispatching the creature with handy use of Eleanor's flaming blade, the party noticed that the waters within the sewer canals were still, leaving a nearby waterwheel unmoving.   Further in, they also encountered a series of valves that, once operated in the correct pattern, opened up a barred door in front of them. In the larger section of the sewers, they encountered a steel door behind which they heard voices. After a bit of confusion, they were able to determine that the voices belonged to the rescue party from the Akadian Pact, who were stuck behind the steel door and unable to open it.   Cordelia suggested finding what was causing the water blockage to see if operating the waterwheel would open the door. The party forged further into the fetid sewers and found the source of the blockage; a hydra that had made its home within. With blinding speed and tactical coordination, the party dispatched the monster before it had a chance to fight back, and with its death the water began to flow again. Frel took the time to claim one of the hydra's heads as a trophy.   With the waterwheel running, the steel door rose and revealed the Akadian team; Yunaleth Zanarkand, Draltha Frostbrand, Naomi O'Galvin, and Chesterfield Davenport, a group known internally (perhaps jokingly) as Zelem's Angels. Frel's unit passed Princess Cordelia off into their care as per the king's orders, but before they could depart, Cordelia looked back and pleaded with the party to ignore her father's orders and escape with her.   Eleanor, determined to survive and rebuild both her family's estate and her country someday, accepted this offer and climbed the ladder to join the princess. Cygnus, while conflicted, decided that his destiny was to fight Dagult alongside the King as he had sworn to do. Frel could not pass up the battle of a lfietime, and proudly declared her intent to venture on. Final farewells were exchanged, and in an effort to ensure his life was remembered, Cygnus revealed his true name; Synchrony Corundrax. Princess Cordelia asked for Cygnus to deliver her last message to her father; that while he was not a perfect father, she knew that he still tried. Cygnus agreed and left with Frel, while Cordelia, Eleanor, and Zelem's Angels departed to escape Oceanus.  

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  Before the coming siege, Dagult bestowed gifts upon Uriel's Unit from his own personal treasury to ensure they would be at their peak fighting form for the final battle. To Elandriel, Dagult gave a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Strength. Although a lesser gift than what he had prepared for Stikx and Uriel, the gauntlets would allow her to wield the Silent Treatment, Flint Farlocke's high-powered rifle, without breaking her own arms.   To Stikx, Dagult gifted a small ioun stone of abolethic origin; an incredibly rare ioun stone of mastery, which would improve nearly all of Stikx's abilities.   To Uriel, Dagult made an offer. He revealed that he had in his possession a cursed badge, once produced in large numbers by Grand Admiral Maximillian d'Varago Pontos, the first King of Oceanus. These badges had been made to bolster the power of his knights, but were also cursed to ensure their loyalty, and thus donning one something of an act of trust in one's leader. Dagult told Uriel he knew not what the curse specifically entailed and would understand Uriel's decision to not take it.   Uriel, however, accepted the Badge of the Grand Admiral. He stated that he had been through worse than curses to get where he was, and that he wouldn't get farther if he wasn't afraid of sacrifice. Upon donning and attuning to the badge, Uriel discovered that it significantly bolstered his divine powers, but the curse would prevent him from harming anyone of the line of Pontos, as well as forbidding him from ignoring orders issued by the same people. He was now comeplled to follow Dagult's word, and would not be able to bring him to harm; this extended to Uriel's half brother Renaer as well.   With the gifts distributed, Dagult led the party to accompany him to Caer Tinigal, where the siege was begun with but a single pointing of Dagult's sword. The party quickly made their way to the central court of the palace, where they came into contact with a number of animated statues that defended the throne room beyond it.   Dagult lead the charge with his powerful blade Ignus Aeternum, personally destroying one of the statues with ease. The rest of the party clashed with the constructed sentinels, and although both Elandriel's pet bear and Uriel's summoned steed Rubicante were wounded, the party was able to break through the Crown's defenses. Before them awaited the throne room at long last.  

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  Within the throne room, King Roderigo awaited with bated breath as he listened to the sounds of Dagult and company dispatching his constructed defenses. Renaer and Bonziel, still wounded from the fight on the bridge, stood by as well.   Cygnus and Frel soon arrived, with the former delivering news of Eleanor's departure, as well as Cordelia's survival and final message. This drove King Roderigo into a solemn introspective, in which he bemoaned his attitude for most of his rule. He stated that it had began with him 'sneaking into' the royal family as an experiment in which he wished to view the gradual entropy of a kingdom pushed into decline. This statement established Roderigo as a being that was very, very old; Cygnus correctly guessed that Roderigo himself was Cordelia's draconic ancestor.   Roderigo had been content to watch Oceanus crumble as part of his fascination with the forces of entropy and decay, but the birth and maturation of his daughter Cordelia had made him realize too late that life and growth were magnificent forces as well. However, the realizations had come too late, and he had gotten too deep in the sinking ship he himself had created.   Dagult arrived soon after, with both Uriel's unit as well as Arlok and Zarr in tow, and the two sides spoke briefly. Dagult assured that the conflict would only end with Roderigo's head rolling, and Roderigo accused Dagult of destroying the very kingdom he fought for.   Renaer spoke to Uriel, mourning the end of Uriel's freedom with this final act of solidarity with Dagult. Uriel again maintained his desire to see things through to his own ends, to which Renaer replied by merely readying his blade.   Frel announced her presence to those in the throne room, and issued a challenge by throwing her looted hydra head directly at Dagult, who batted the thing away with a blast of force. Roderigo grew tired of the bantering and decided to show his real self, transforming into his true form of an ancient topaz dragon and announcing his true name of 'Fantorath'. With the transformation, the battle begun in earnest.   As most of the two sides gathered in the center of the throne room near Fantorath to do battle, Dagult used Misty Step to ascend to the podium surrounding the throne and engaged his son Renaer one-on-one (while batting away attacks from Cygnus and Bonziel).   Frel allowed her sword to take to the air, and then began wrestling Elandriel's pet bear. Elandriel bravely stood her ground in the face of Fantorath's draconic might and fired shot after shot, trying to end the tyrant's life with all of her fury. Uriel likewise poured his divine might into terrifying strikes against Fantorath, who suffused the area with necrotic energy to prevent any living thing from healing.  

Dagult closed the gap between himself and his eldest son with blade alight, and Renaer reacted quickly to raise his shield. Flames sputtered from Dagult's sword and scorched the ground as he repeatedly struck the Troll Skull emblazoned on the shield, but as he stepped back to launch a spell, he was surprised by Renaer taking the offense and stepping forward.   Dagult narrowly avoided a slice at his throat and raised his own shield to deflect Renaer's following blows. Renaer's flames burned brightly, even in the face of an impossible situation, but his father's defenses were frustratingly stubborn. With a shout, Renaer did the unexpected and threw his shield at Dagult, throwing the would-be king off balance for just long enough to him to step forward, launching a gauntleted punch that connected squarely with Dagult's jaw. Dagult staggered and blood trickleed from his lip, but he was prepared for the renewed assault.   As Renaer brought his katana down for a decisive blow, Dagult swung his own blade up with vigor and fury. Renaer was the one to stumble, and Dagult followed this with a strike that sundered plate and drew blood from Renaer's side, before a wave of force pushed Renaer onto his back against the marbled floor. As he tried to scramble to his feet, he found the tip of Dagult's blade pointed directly at his throat, his father standing over him in imminent victory.   "Why must it always end like this, Renaer? Why do you spurn me, when all I wanted was to give you the world? What would your mother th-"   "Don't!" Renaer sputtered. "Don't… don't you dare talk about mother. Everything she did for you, and this is how you repay her? Fire, war, and this? Did she even die of her illness, or did you lie about that too? Did you do away with her when she was no longer useful to you?"   Dagult swung his fist in the air, and a blast of force slammed into Renaer's face, like a disciplinary strike. "I am many things, Renaer. Perhaps I am even the tyrant you believe me to be. But I will not stand here and allow you to insinuate that I slew the love of my life. Do you think I felt otherwise? I will tell you of my heart when we lost Alethea; I died that day, Renaer! A piece of me left this world, and will never return. And here I stand, a blade pointed at the greatest gift she ever gave me, ever bestowed to this ungrateful world, and you believe I feel anything but mortified?"   "Oh spare me, Dagult. I know you. For all your pretty words and poetics, I know better. This is all for you. It has ALWAYS been about you! You and your deluded dreams of being the next Overking, and passing the crown around like a toy to fit on dolls that you made yourself." Renaer spat a glob of blood at Dagult's feet. "Once you run me through, it'll be Uriel next, won't it? Your next pet project? He deserves more than being groomed to be a king! We should have played together, shared drinks together, lived as brothers, and instead my first and last sight of him shall be at bladepoint? How does that not feel like a failing?"   "All I wanted, Renaer, was to give you the opportunities to seize your natural gifts, and share them with-"   "I don't want your vision!" Renaer yelled back angrily, even as blood stained the cloth beneath his armor. "The greatest day of my life was when I decided to turn away from your plans and make myself into a man that I wanted to be. And I have! My friends, my real family, all of them love me for Renaer, not Ambermantle. Everything I have, everything I cherish, I built without you!"   Renaer suddenly shuddered and hung his head then. "And yet even now, I'm dancing to your inane tune. I came here to my death, just to stop you. I'm going to lose everything, because I wanted to save others from you. And I couldn't. Oceanus will burn, people will die for a throne built on lies, and I won't even be able to save my brother from you. Well I hope my death serves a purpose, Dagult. I hope you remember me forever. Everything I am, everything you didn't want, is because you made me this way."   Dagult's eyes narrowed, his lip quivered, and a single tear stung his eye. For a moment, all in the world ceased to exist save for the broken man at his feet. Dagult remembered the boy that once lost teeth and scraped his knee, and his blade point lowered to the ground. "Renaer. My son. I regret many things, but I do not regret the man you have become. You have crossed oceans to fight for what you believe in. You have stood against the impossible for that which you cherish. Even if I never hear another kind word from you again, it is worth it to see you become a paragon worthy of your mother's wishes for the world. I wish you could see the pride I hold for you, even if we must be enemies."   Dagult began to turn away from Renaer, but his eyes caught a glimmer. With reflexes defying his age, Dagult raised steel and deflected the razor sharp edges of Bonziel's returning boomerang, which flew back to her hands. Sweat flecked her forehead, blood and grime caked her armor, and her eyes glowed furiously.   "Is hate all that will motivate you, Renaer?" Dagult asked as he looked over at his shoulder, his left hand aglow with flame. Renaer looked on with widened eyes as he fought to remain conscious. "So be it. I will make you the man the world needs you to be."   Renaer screamed aloud as Dagult turned back to Bonziel, and from the would-be King's palm erupted a torrent of all-consuming flame, cascading forward like a flash flood from the hells themselves. The roaring inferno consumed all before it and drowned out the sounds in the palace, even as Renaer's face was frozen in a mournful yell. Renaer struggled to rise, using his katana to brace himself, but still his body failed him as he fell to the ground again. When Dagult's flames subsided, nothing was left behind save for the boomerang and a small golden ring.   Renaer sobbed silently on the marble flooring, unable to muster the words to condemn his father to the deepest pits. Dagult merely strode forward and picked up the golden ring to examine it for a moment, before looking back to Renaer. He stepped closer, pocketed the ring, and then traced a magical sigil in the air. "If you wish to stop me, Renaer, then you know what you must do. Farewell, my son. Make me proud."   The sigils vanished, as did Renaer, and Dagult turned back to the task at hand with blade held aloft. There remained a dragon to be slain.

  Growing in fury, Fantorath attacked with reckless abandon and without care for the presence of allies, catching both Uriel and Cygnus alike in a torrent of necrotic breath. He then tried to go for a fatal bite against Uriel, who was pushed aside by Stikx utilizing all of the might his small frame could allow. Stikx, glad to sacrifice his life for Uriel, was snapped up by Fantorath and swallowed whole, dying nearly instantly. Stikx's death filled Uriel with rage, but also inflicted a strong lethargy upon him as Stikx's casting of haste ended.   Frel managed to defeat Elandriel's bear and pushed her strength to the limit as she fought Arlok and Zarr at the same time. Although she was able to gravely wound the former, she was caught with her guard down and struck down by the goliath's mighty swings, and was only saved from death by being caught in one of Fantorath's errant telekinetic blasts. She was launched from the palace windows and into the sea waters below, her fate unknown.   The fight raged further on, with Dagult's attention turned to Cygnus after teleporting Renaer away. Fantorath seemed near the end of his fortitude, but would surely not give up the fight without causing as much destruction as possible…