S10 Finale: Ex Astris - 28/06/2022 - A Kavel Perspective

Mountains Seem Smaller

…

Tim and Sampson are dead.

Kruger, mercifully survived the battle.

My Iron Strong Bros followed me to the Dawnlands to discover the Mysterious Mountain. I had to tell them that the journey was unfortunately a waste, since that mountain, I discovered, is not actually a mountain.
Despite that, and more things, they chose to stay and join me at Fort Ettin, where I had carved out a corner of the Training Yard for Iron Strong Company based strength training.

My bros looked after Kavel’s Corner during my many adventuring absences and seemed to fit in, despite the issue of them being werewolves.
During the invasion, they remained to defend their new home, and defend it they did paying the ultimate price. Now, it is just me and Kruger who remain. Poor Kruger still hadn’t regained his spirit after having the lycanthropic curse removed.
At one point, Kruger was hiding from us. We had to track him down and bring him back to us. We persuaded him that removing the curse was the best solution for him. Kruger was devastated about killing an innocent whilst under the control of the werewolf bloodlust. So, removing the curse would at least prevent the same thing happening again.

Some point later, I took my bros to Kundar for a masonry job and a change of environment. They enjoyed themselves, Kruger especially, which was wonderful. They agreed to stay for a while to do more work. Things were going great, and I was optimistic for Kruger spiritually making a full recovery. Then Kundar was hit by githyanki dragons, and now Tim and Sampson have been killed by the same gith. Kruger has lost two brothers who were his main support system. I need to do more for my remaining brother, his emotions are hard to read. I suspect he wants vengeance on the remaining gith. Maybe this is good? Maybe I should take him to visit the Temple of Selune? Kruger, Tim and Sampson had benefited from the temple before.

My thoughts drift from one consequence to another, as I now think how young Beets will not be able to benefit from Tim and Sampsons’ tutelage on controlling the beast’s fury. Comrade Ivan has lost training partners too.

For what it is worth, Fort Ettin has lost its goliath werewolves. I gathered that, for a time, when my bros revealed their werewolf forms, people would give Kavel’s Corner a wide berth. Perhaps now, with the changes to Kavel’s Corner that I will implement with Kruger, people will think fondly of my lost bros?


Comrade Rex

Alan, the T.Rex almost died.

Our giant lizard friend was the western wall’s ground defence against the horde of gith and their commander. There was a spiked moat and a water filled moat in front of the western pond by the wall. Alan was camping in the foliage by the pond and surprised us with his presence.

My comrades and I, on the battlements, rained down spells at the marching horde, and bashed invisible gith infiltrators. Alan, much later in the battle, was joined by our vampire allies, and our mind flayer allies and their dogs when the horde crossed the first moat, but Alan, who had killed entire gith units, was being slashed repeatedly by gith blades. When we saw this, we decided to go and help Alan. But, that’s when we heard the swooping direction change in the sky above, of an adult red dragon, as a ballista bolt hit its target and sent the dragon crashing onto the southwestern tower. The archers stationed there scrambled. The battlements shook. The red dragon’s right armpit had a large bolt stuck in it. The wing was unusable. The dragon bled heavily, but was still alive.


Dragon on the Tower

I was closest to the dragon. Fifty odd feet away from it. The dragon was observing its surroundings. I could see the realisation in its eyes that it had enemies before it. But before it could puff out its chest and ready what red dragons are famous for, an arrow loosed from far behind me, from Kalta’s longbow, and struck the red dragon in its uninjured wing pit. The dragon roared in pain as the purple worm poison that Silvia earlier passed to Kalta to coat some arrows with, did its damage. Kalta was not done. The speed at which she loosed three more arrows was phenomenal as more poison coated arrows made the red dragon scream in agony - I thought at that moment that Sorrel had competition for fastest and deadliest archer.

As impressive as Kalta’s rapid volley of poison arrows were - the dragon still drew breath, and intended to prove the point. The dragon puffed its chest, curled its neck, and then extended its open mouth towards us exhaling an incredible wave of fire breath. We were all caught in its blaze - especially me at the front… and Silvia too…

Silvia was hurt bad, clothing scorched and some blotches of skin bubbling a little. My allies behind me were hurt too, though Glint as a fire genasi was less hurt than others, and I - was alright. Battlerage, conditioning and dexterity saw to my continued good health. If not for comrade Derthaad’s useful Aid spell invigorating us all before combat commenced, I feared Silvia would have required healing assistance. Despite her condition at the time, Silvia did not pause, “you’ve got this brother,” she said to me, looking at the thankfully unbalanced red dragon before us - its poisoned injuries taking a huge toll on it, “kill that bitch!” and then Silvia, thanks to the Fly spell Sparks had earlier casted on us, flew away from my side. Silvia flew over the relative safety of the battlement, and launched straight towards the horde leader, all by herself. If I could turn back the clock, this was the point at which I would have stopped her from leaving my side…


We’ll Get Through This Brother

“I may need your help getting there. We’ll get through this brother,” Silvia said to me, hugging me before it all started up here on the battlement, where I wished she had never left.

Up on the battlement, she proved herself as much as she ever needed to. She came to my side, blocked an invisible attack meant for me, and thrust her trident, Shadowclaw, into the invisible gith who attacked. Together with Glint’s Scorching Ray attack, they killed the bastard gith. There was no need to prove anything else by flying towards the horde solo…

…

Things had started relatively well. Although comrade Derthaad’s powerful Storms Sphere spell was magically countered away, we learnt there were invisible gith where we stood. When Silvia and Glint killed the first gith, we learnt they had suicidal thunder magic tied into their shields, which when unleashed tore them apart and tore into the surroundings. Painful lesson, but learnt early, as comrade Sparks was thrown off the battlement by the force of the explosion, and his familiar Mac was killed. Glint used the Feather Fall spell to save Sparks from falling to the ground. As Sparks disappeared from line of sight, we heard a whistle from where he disappeared. Flying into the sky, and landing within shooting distance of a gith infiltrator, back on the battlements, was a now flying kenku. Sparks then fired repeated Eldritch Blasts that sent the gith backwards ten feet with each concussive blast. The gith was blasted off of the ramparts and down to the ground below, dead on impact. I was very impressed with comrade Sparks, and he had given me an idea!

Glint and Derthaad casted the spells Hypnotic Pattern and Storms Sphere - un-countered by hidden foe - and kept the horde back for a while, while I made use of the Inspiration I got watching comrade Sparks. I began grappling gith, dragging them to the rampart and tossing them over to the ground below. I was enjoying indulging what felt like light grappling to me. Perhaps I wasn’t taking things seriously enough? If I didn’t overindulge myself, maybe I would have chased Silvia later, and instead I would have been the target for the horrible spell the horde commander used?

…

Rather than follow Silvia to the horde, as my protective instincts urged me to, I instead followed her words, and I went to ‘kill that bitch.’ The injured dragon was on its last legs, blood spluttering from its mouth, eyes glazing over. I ran over to accelerate its demise, and as I got within seven feet of it, I leapt into the air off of my left leg, and sprung my left knee forward into the side of the dragon's head, bludgeoning its temple. The impact made the dragon wobble towards the outer wall, and it toppled over, and hit the ground dead. The dragon’s fiery hot corpse rolled into the large pond, causing the pond to boil a little. This was terribly pleasing to me. But, I wished I hadn’t done this. I wished I had chosen to fly west in pursuit of my red-headed, human comrade…

…

Dust

I turned my eyes from the bubbling pond, and slightly sinking dragon corpse, and I saw a thin green light make contact with comrade Silvia in the chest.

We all heard Silvia’s voice in our head, “Sorrel… I’m sorry.” Silvia’s thoughts came to us, because Glint had magically connected us all telepathically before battle commenced with the spell Rary’s Telepathic Bond.

We had heard Silvia’s last thoughts, before all that was left of our comrade was Shadowclaw, and some dust. The person who needed to hear these words, my human sister, was off infiltrating Gadenthor. But maybe none of us should have heard this, because I could have followed Silvia towards the horde, and maybe I would have taken the Disintegrate Spell and laughed off its effect. But, I didn’t and now my friend, and sister’s girlfriend, is dead. No body to even mourn.


The Battle Raged On

If there is one good thing that could be said about the battle, it is that my comrades carried on as professionals. I was proud to fight alongside them on the western wall.

Kalta’s arrows continued to find their mark. Derthaad continued to bombard the horde with lightning, and Glint killed the leader and some surrounding gith with a Fireball spell. I was very proud to see Glint, when diplomacy isn’t an option, lose his combat averseness. I did, however, not have the mental fortitude to pay him that compliment when a moment arose. I too carried on like a professional, but I could not claim to be unaffected by my emotions.

With Sparks’ Fly spell still affecting me, it was at this moment that I flew towards Alan the T.Rex to provide him aid. Sparks retrieved a tomb that the gith leader had on their person, and at the same time managed to grab Shadowclaw, for which I am most grateful.

Derthaad and Glint both casted the Wall of Force spell that prevented Alan’s attackers from continuing to slash into him, which gave us time to drag our huge, lizard comrade back behind both moats, where comrade Sparks was able to magically heal Alan. But the battle raged on around us. Despite the protection of the Walls of Force, we faced danger as we worked, and soon had to recommit ourselves to the horde as it tried to breach the wall in numbers.

Alan had to retreat within the walls for safety. We regained our positions on the battlements. My ranged comrades hurled spells or loosing arrows at approaching gith, and I hurled them off the wall if they Misty Stepped and appeared where we were. It was non-stop for several hours. Even our immortal allies, the vampires, could feel the toll.

At half past four in the morning, dawn broke. The vampires transformed into bats and left us. We now had a weak spot at the northern part of the west wall. The gith spotted this, and rushed to fill the gap. They were so very close to breaking through in large numbers if not for the sound of a thunderous rumbling noise from the north.


The Korvak Tribe

The centaurs had arrived, and Mendel and his team’s efforts at recruiting them proved to be invaluable. The centaurs swept through the gith horde, mowing them down in a wave of hooves and spears. What was a stalemate, which the gith could win through attrition had turned into a winnable battle.

We didn’t realise at the time, but Sorrel’s team achieved a good result at their task - the gith had lost control of Gadenthor and had to leave. This combined with the wave of centaurs resulted in the gith horde around the walls routing. The centaurs ran down as many stragglers as they could, and in the end, as promised, had first pick of the loot.

My comrades and I stood on the western wall; the victors. But, none of us had an esprit de corps that resembled what a winner would. My comrades and I all looked at Shadowclaw, silently.


Immediate Aftermath

Through magical means, everyone at the Fort heard that Coll was safe, but would remain in Gadenthor, in permanent control. I would have had more time to give my sympathies to Velania, but I found myself unavailable.

I found Kruger. Us brothers embraced. We were proud of our fallen brothers, but pride was overshadowed by our sorrow. We Iron Strong are masters of not letting emotion control us. We master our minds to stay focused on our goals. Mastery of emotional reaction is one of many tools in our strength training. But, right then, as individuals, we were becoming overwhelmed by grief. Together, we provided comfort to each other, and by doing so, by being each other’s support; we were coping better.

After so long with us; (Sampson, Tim and I) being Kruger’s support, I had time in the moment to stop and appreciate how wonderful it was to have Kruger support me.

I wanted to check on my friend Mendal in the city. But, I would have to wait for him to cast Sending. After a few minutes though, I had to ask Kruger a favour, “Kruger, bro. I need to find sister Sorrel. Silvia… is dead. Come help me find Sorrel, please?”