Kundarian Knights – Sheryl, the Fae-Touched – 21.04.2020

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Though this week’s adventure was not strictly related to Interplaner Disturbances or the Vanguard, Sheryl would not miss the opportunity to accompany her best friend Arkadius on what was probably the equivalent of her own request of asking him to help her get home to the Feywild the month before.

The job had said, There's bodyguard work in Kundar for the Hearty, which could have meant anything. Sheryl had only been to Kundar once, many moons ago, and the job then had been to help fuel a rebellion.

This time was different and she knew Arkadus would be there.

Maybe it was because the kobold nobles – “The Koboles,” Bones had said, deadpan, and they all had shared a chuckle. – had been threatened by one Lady Khaosborn. Held by proverbial knife point, they were desperate to not fall prey to her demands.

What did she want? She wanted Kundar and all of her power and splendour.

And her type wouldn’t stop there, it would only be the beginning.

The location she would meet the Kobles was one of her choosing; an ancient dragon burial ground.

The perfect place for a necromancer to lay a trap.

“Why us?” Ghesh, disguised as a hobgoblin, had asked.

“We have heard what you adventurers of Daring Heights have done outside and within Kundar,” Rottham, one of the three Kobles, had replied, eyeing them each in turn.

The unspoken fact of the matter was, most of the party did not like the kobolds of Kundar. Sheryl herself felt like there was more to the story than meets the eye – A common trait among the folk of this Plane. – and she knew different societies could be… complicated.

The Kobles had offered 300 gold pieces to each of them for their help in taking care of Lady Khaosborn. But either through Heret’s negotiation, Arkadius’ want to make the Kobles pay for the possible risk to their lives, or through the demonstration of Ghesh and Taz’s formidable combat skills, they eventually agreed upon a payment of 700 gold pieces to each of them.

Sheryl was not fussed about the amount of gold she got. She only cared that Arkadius got what he was looking for.

As they made their way out of the city the party poured over an old map. Taz pointed out the canyon entrance was a bottleneck, easy for them to get ambushed. He suggested they go around and come in from the north-east, where the sand dunes came down to the old temple ruins.

“This way too, Lady Khaosborn won’t be able to anticipate a trap for her. She would recognise Arkadius for sure,” Sheryl explained to them all. “We do not want to give her any more advantages than she may already have.”

“She has a grimoire,” Sik, one of the Kobles advised. “If you can get that away from her…”

“Hmmm,” Sheryl said, thinking a moment. “Heret, you can move pretty quickly, right? And you are fairly stealthy?”

He looked over to the Kobles briefly before answering, “I can be fast when needs must.”

The fae-bard grinned. “Excellent, I have an idea…”

Sheryl and her friends separated from the Kobles and made their way to the point north-east of the temple ruins before the Kobles arrived. Leaving their camels and Zozo out of line of sight, Sheryl, Arkadius, Bones, Ghesh, Taz and Heret silently approached. For once, Lady Khaosborn was not surrounded by minions. In fact, she was alone, which gave them pause. Heret’s keen eyes spot her spellbook strapped to her belt on her side, along with something else he could not recognise.

“Are you ready?” Sheryl asks him. He nods grimly. “Alright. Wait for the signal Bones, Arkadius. You’ll know it when you see it.” Her grin was something wicked and fierce as she looked at the others, but it didn’t stay as she turned back to Heret.

Plucking a few notes on her harp by her side and humming a counter melody, her fingers carry the motes of magic from its strings to Heret’s forearms, hands and feet, Enhancing his Natural grace to that of a feline’s. She then did the same to herself.
“Let’s go.”

They descend down the dunes, Heret doing a better job of covering the distance compared to her shorter stride. But he doesn’t go ahead, keeping to the plan she had outlined, he stays near her. As they approached the crumbling wall that was the ancient temple Sheryl whispers, “Ushemni*,” touching his back and he disappears from eyesight.

“Good luck,” she adds, and sees his foot prints continue on quickly outpacing her.

Going up to the crumbled wall, Sheryl carefully peers over. The Kobles have only just arrived, a discussion taking place in draconic, which is quickly descending into shouts of threats or pleading, Sheryl cannot tell. Lady Khaosborn doesn’t seem to have noticed their approach, which is good.

Sheryl sees Heret’s footprints have stopped by a large, decrepit sandstone statue of what could be a kobold or a dragonborn warrior, but it is hard to make out. He seems to be hesitating and Sheryl realises she could do something to help him.

Closing her eyes, she puts both her hands on the strings of her harp, feeling the vibrations of the music they can make. When she opens her eyes again they are glowing orbs of shimmering shifting orange-pink light, like the gem in her circlet. Pinching her fingers together, Sheryl pulls the psychic energy from her harp. As her eyes focus on Lady Khaosborn she decides at the last moment to throw the energy to a point just to the right of the kobold woman so Heret and the Kobles are clear of the blast.

The necromancer lets out a howl of pain as the emotions from the harp bombard her psyche. Clutching her head, Lady Khaosborn’s eyes flash black as she casts a Circle of Death at the Kobles, thinking they were the ones to toss the psychic spell at her. Several of them fall over, clutching their chests as their life energy is drained from them, but some manage to stay standing, barely.

As Lady Khaosborn clutches her head Heret moves forward, deftly unclasping her grimoire from her belt. She tries to grab it but the moment he has it he dashes away, and all the kobold woman clutches at is air. Khasoborn screams again, this time in outrage, and Sheryl revels in how well the plan is going.

“Guryan!” Lady Khasoborn shouts, clutching the only other item that hangs from her belt.

There’s an unearthly roar as out from a cave comes the giant form of an undead adult blue dragon.

A Dracolich.

Sheryl drops the invisibility spell on Heret so Bones can fly to him to retrieve the book. (“I tooketh the booketh, and then flyeth the coopeth!” the aaracocra as he flies down and back up to the ridge.) Turning back towards Lady Khaosborn, Sheryl throws her voice, fingers quickly plucking out a ditonic scale that sends the thunderous sound across the distance to Shatter in the kobold necromancer’s face.

Everything starts to move at once. Ghesh leaps off the cliff to run towards Lady Khaosborn, whilst Heret calls Zozo to him and rides back towards the necromancer, flinging his boomerang at her, whilst the Kobles attempt to retreat. But though the Dracolich’s Frightening Presence causes some to panic, they all know their target is not the undead monstrosity terrorising them. It is the necromancer controlling it.

They continue a relentless barrage against Lady Khaosborn: Ghesh hurling his javelins, Heret throwing his boomerang, Sheryl projecting her voice in Shattering waves, whilst Bones and Arkadius try to drown her in fire.

Before they can take his next move, Arkadius, Taz and Bones are beset upon by the Dracolich as it flies up to them, Lady Khaosborn riding on it’s back. She commands it to breathe blue electrical fire down upon them and Bones is instantly knocked unconscious, the grimoire falling from his hands. Taz and Arkadius hold out though, much to Sheryl’s relief. She sees her best friend look at her as he retreats, decide something, then pull out the wand he had picked up from the very enemy they were fighting now all those moons ago.

Sheryl watches as the dark wood lights up with what could only be his favourite spell, a Fireball. It shoots across and over to Lady Khaosborn on the Dracolich, who try to dodge out of the way. The orb sings with a low roar which then blossoms into a flower of hellfire. Khaosborn is engulfed in its maw and she gives a final scream as the fire eats her last breath. Her charred corpse starts to fall from the undead dragon’s back, but before it hits the ground, a bony claw snatches something from her belt. Then it turns, not wishing to fight any longer and flies off into the setting sun.

Panting, the fear of being in the presence of such a terrifying undead dragon receding, Sheryl gets up and goes over to her friend. He stands there, staring at the burned corpse of his enemy, the one who has been the cause of much distress for him over the past months. Sheryl doesn’t say anything. She just stands with him, her small hand resting on his arm for a moment before she walks off to help the others.

“Wha- What happened?” She hears Bones say, coming to consciousness after Taz fed him a healing potion. “What happened to the book?!”

“It disintegrated the moment Arkadius killed Khaosborn,” replied Taz.

“Ugh,” Bone groans, throwing up his hands. “Fine! Then I shall just have to look around here for something else to bring back to the Academy. Maybe a fossil or an etching…” Bones’ voice trails off as he stumbles away to look at the ruins of the temple, Taz just shaking his head.

I’m glad this is finally done, Sheryl thinks as she goes over to the Kobles, healing them with her words, for which they thank her.

Maybe now he will be able to smile a bit more.

The thought brings her hope as she looks back to Arkadius, a glow to her that goes beyond the heat of the desert sun.


*Ushemni = to be easily seen through or transparent, a.k.a. Greater Invisibility