Wrath of the Righteous - Chapter One [NSFW] (ShadowPlay x Zazutobi)

[ShadowPlay]

​

For decades, demons had ruled the Worldwound. Fearsome fiends of every stripe—their mottled skin harder than iron, teeth like serrated blades, and eyes burning with Abyssal f lames—roamed the ruined lands that were once known as Sarkoris, leaving their mark wherever they went. Four crusades had attempted to cleanse the land, but each seemed to meet a worse fate than the last. Were it not for the line of magical wardstones along the eastern and southern borders, the demons would have long ago overrun northcentral Avistan and beyond.

The Fourth Crusade hadn't really ended as much as petered out, yet some refused to accept that. Amid crippling shortages and record lows in morale among the crusaders, the Mendevian war effort teetered on the brink of collapse. Though the demonic occupation of the Worldwound was growing, as was the corruption among the crusaders, a dwindling minority of paladins and priests maintained that the Fourth Crusade was still vibrant and alive, and that the turning point in the war was only a few days away.

The Fourth Crusade was anything but vibrant, but the crusaders were more right than they know about the approaching turning point in the war. It was just that the turning point was likely destined to favor the Abyss.

Part One - The fall of Kenabres
16th of Arodus, 4724 AR​

For several weeks, excitement had been building in Kenabres—Armasse was coming! Traditionally it was an opportunity for scholars and priests to come together to study the lessons of history from wars past, since Aroden's death, this holy day had become more about training commoners in weaponry, choosing squires, and ordaining new priests. Over time, Armasse had grown to encompass jousting competitions, mock duels, battle reenactments, and other festival events. In Kenabres, the festival was eagerly anticipated, for it provided distractions from the horrors of being on the front line of the war. Smiles on faces normally marred by downcast eyes and furrowed brows did wonders for city morale in the weeks leading up to the event.

Armasse was a citywide celebration, but the majority of the event, including its jousting matches and other entertainments, took place at Clydwell Plaza, just west of the cathedral. It is here that we find two unlikely women standing next to each other, a kitsune and a tiefling — they had been lucky enough to get good spots to observe the opening ceremonies at noon.

The tiefling, Saphira had a hood over her head, covering her horns. But her crimson skin, that told a tale of a heritage not of this world, was harder to hide. She wore a tight-fitting leather outfit with a small sword at her hip and a large steel shield on her back. From each of her ears dangled two earrings. As she stood there next to the foxy kitsune, she let a finger slide to her cleavage. There was a scar that she had carried for the most of her life. The demon attack, that had left her all but dead more than a decade ago, still haunted her dreams. Being an ancestor of demons didn't make her safe, nor did it make her sympathize with the fiendish invaders. Just like most others in Kenabres Saphira wanted nothing more than the evil fiends gone from Golarion.

She looked at the tall kitsune next to her. "Is it your first time here at the Armasse in Kenabres?" She asked, all but shouting to be heard over the noise of the gathered bystanders.

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko the Kitsune was idly munching on some street vendor food she had managed to get ahold of. Some sort of spicy braised pork on a skewer, it was delicious and made to an excellent snack as she watched the jousting tournament get into full swing. Usually such martial contests were not of her interest but the festive atmosphere is contagious. Dressed in a explorers outfit, loose britches, knee high soft leather boots, a shirt cinched tightly around her waist with a belt and a cloak. Aside from the fox like features she was just an everyday citizen of Kenabres. A strange mark was hidden underneath her clothing, a black half circle of fur on her lower back that was a birthmark, and a mark of her family's past. Not something just anyone saw or she cared to talk about.

Looking over as the Tiefling next to her spoke up. The Kitsune swallowed down her last bite of her street treat replying "Not my first time though its been a long time since i've been back here. How about yourself?" she asked the stranger. As befitting a sorceress Ebiko was quite personable. Easy to talk to though she herself didnt say everything that was on her mind.

 

[ShadowPlay]

While Saphira wasn't the tallest person around, she was about average height, the kitsune on the other hand, it felt like she was towering over her. But Saphira was never one to be cowered by such things. She smiled at the kitsune. "I've lived here for the most of my life. But it has been a few years since I've been in Kenabres during the festival." She admitted.

"I have......."

---

Darkness

Darkness and a falling feeling
​

Their heads throbbed with thunderous headaches. Their ears rang. They were having trouble breathing. After a few moments, the sounds of rocks clattering, coughing, and moans of pain, as well as the choking smell of dust, became apparent as their senses seemed to return, but it remained pitch black.

Feeling around in the darkness, it was evident that there was rubble all around them. Their bodies were covered in dirt and filth. Despite the general aches and pains, neither of them were seriously hurt or damaged. Saphira's darkvision told her that she was in a large underground cavern, one wall of which was an enormous mound of rubble. With her in the darkness was the Kitsune she had met at the fair. What was her name? The headache was making thinking hard. The air was filled with dust, and now and then small rockslides of gravel tumbled down the mound.

"Fuck! What happened? Where are we? And who are you?" She asked, too confused to understand as she tried to stand on the gravel. "I think I hit my head."

 

[Zazutobi]

The next thing Ebiko knew she was in darkness and hurting. Slowly pushing herself up onto her knees the Kitsune looked around, her low light vision wasnt as clear as Saphira's but she got the gist of what was going on. They appeared to be underground, in a large natural cavern too. Dust and rubble slid off her as the Kitsune stood up slowly on shaky legs. A voice she barely recognize snapped her out of her stupor.

"What? Who?" she muttered shaking her head. Trying to get her thoughts in order before she nodded saying "No idea, im Ebiko though."The Kitsune looked around trying to understand where they had ended up then work backwards from there to figure out what the hell happened.

 

[ShadowPlay]

"I'm Saphira by the way." The tiedling said, "I can see just fine, but can you see anything? It's quite dark down here, I think I have a torch in my backpack." She said as she pulled out a torch and started to light it with her flint and steel. Having something practical to focus on made the hurt subside. "There you go." She said once the torch was lit, handing it to the kitsune. The torchlight showed them a large cave with rubble everywhere. But the light also did something else, it brought back memories of the events that had led up to them being here.

Armasse officially began at noon, with the blessing of the festival by Lord Hulrun himself, ruler of Kenabres. The crowd gathered in Clydwell Plaza quieted as the aged inquisitor took the stage, clad in shining, resplendent armor. He cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak, a bright light shone from the west, as if the sun were rising from the wrong direction. Hulrun's shadow fell huge and distorted across the cathedral's facade. A moment later, the sound of a thunderous explosion ripped through the air and earth, along with a violent tremor.

To the west, the fortress known as the Kite—the location of Kenabres's wardstone—had vanished. In its place, a brilliant plume of red fire, lightning, and smoke erupted into the heavens.

A moment later, a powerful roar accompanied a welcome sight rising from the crowd—Kenabres's greatest guardian, the ancient silver dragon Terendelev, who had until that moment been attending the opening ceremony disguised as a human. Above, another form appeared, as nightmarish as the dragon was breathtaking. A humanoid shape three times the size of any man, with skin coated in fire and lightning, gripped a flaming sword and whip. The creature's identity was immediately obvious: Khorramzadeh, the Storm King of the Worldwound, had come to Kenabres!

As the ground continued to shake and disgorge demons into the streets, the dragon and the balor lord clashed above. The fight was over in a few harrowing moments, as the balor cut deep into Terendelev's body, swooping down to strike the dragon and arresting her charge. A few more blows, and the titanic duo spiraled downward toward the crowd.

The sight of the dragon smashing into the facade of the Cathedral of St. Clydwell is one no witness would ever forget. At that moment, a titanic demon erupted at the far end of the plaza, reducing several buildings to ruins as it smashed into this world. The rift it created shot across the plaza, and this time there was no escape—it opened below the feet of both Ebiko and Saphira as well as countless others, angling away into darkness.

Even as they fell, the dragon noticed their plight. Though she saw death standing over her, she seized this final chance to save a few more souls. After she uttered a few arcane words and stretched out a bleeding talon, the unlikely duo felt her magic take hold of them, slowing their plummet into the darkness as if they were feathers falling into a pit. Yet the fall remained as inexorable, and as the kitsune and the tiefling drifted downward into the depths, the last thing they saw was the Storm King standing before the ancient silver dragon, his sword lashing out and cleaving full through her neck. As her severed head fell, the rift above slammed shut, and the light of the world above was gone.

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko shook her head saying "A bit, give me a minute." she began to recall a spell when the tiefling produced a torch for her. The Sorceress took the kind gesture and nodded as she took the torch in hand looking around. IT was a large cave with rubble from the city. This brought back the memories of what happened. The Inquisitor taking the stage before a tremor shook the earth. The Wardstone had been engulfed in a red plume of magic before lightning and smoke poured towards the sky.

Terendelev the silver dragon and guardian of the city, the fight with the Balor Lord and even her death as she saved the two of them from falling into the earth. Where they found themselves now. "Terendelev's dead." Ebiko said softly. Her draconic bloodline calling out in a bit of misery with this fact.

"Demons in Kenabres. That was the Storm King of the Worldwound himself. How did this happen? I thought the Wardstones were supposed to keep them away." she said shaking her head. The Kitsune was a bit stunned with these events to be sure. "We need to get topside." She declared looking towards Saphira.

 

[ShadowPlay]

The memory was slowly coming back to Saphira. And like Ebiko, she found herself struck with grief remembering the beautiful silver dragon's last moments. She could feel a tear running down her face. "Dead. Terendelev is dead and the demons are here. This is bad. Very bad."

The ceiling and far walls of the vast cavern receded into darkness. On one side, the wall had collapsed in an enormous mound of rubble - here and there, the arms or legs of victims who didn't survive the fall, protrude. It is clear that Ebiko and Saphira wasn't the only ones to fall into the cave, most wasn't as fortunate as the two of them. But three did survive. The first among the survivors were a human woman that seemed to have broken her leg. The next was an elf man. He seemed more or less unharmed, but his eyes were milky white, indicating his blindness. The last was a middle-aged human man. He wore fine clothes, fitting for a nobleman, and he had several cuts and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed.



In the back of the cavern, a disturbing shape loomed. Nearly the size of a horse, what appeared to be an immense black spider crouched silent and still on the ground.

 

[Zazutobi]

With the memories returned and the situation at least somewhat understandable. The Kitsune turned her gaze around seeing more of the dead that fell into the hole with them. But there were some survivors as well. One of them with a broken leg and other blind. Then her gaze turned towards the Spider and without hesitation ran over to place herself between the three survivors and the spider.

Reaching to her belt the Kitsune produces her rapier. "You can fight right? Looks like we have company and not the Drow Whores with honey kind." The Kitsune calls out. Her actions were brave but she was relying on Saphira to join in not quite sure of herself just yet in a melee.

 

[ShadowPlay]

Saphira also saw the spider and drew her sword and her shield from her back. "I can fight." She acknowledged as she took position next to Ebiko. It was a brave move for the kitsune, with no armor and just a rapier to defend herself.

The spider didn't move. It was totally motionless, as if waiting for the dynamic duo to make their move.

"I can put a javelin in it." Saphira said as she took out a javelin from her pack. "Perhaps that will make it move?"

 

[Zazutobi]

As Saphira moved over next to her, the Kitsune was glad to have a partner. She wasnt a competent frontline fighter after all. But she was pretty dodgy when she wanted to be. "A Javelin could work. But let me start things off."she said with a smirk. The kitsune raised her hand making a gesture, with a whispered work green energy formed around her hand before it shot out towards the spider to initiate combat.

Jolt Ranged touch roll:15+3=18
Jolt damage roll:2

Initiative Roll:14+2=16

 

[ShadowPlay]

Saphira nodded with respect at the magical prowess of her newfound friend as the magic jolt of electricity scorched the spider. However, the spider was still motionless. "Ehhh. You hit it. I ... I think it's dead. I mean, it looks like it was dead all along?" She burst out laughing at the absurdity of their actions towards a dead spider.

Map

 

[Zazutobi]

The Kitsune frowned as the magic jolt of electricity hit the creature. Yet it remained motionless and Saphira called out the idea it was dead already. Sighing she put away her rapier saying "Well that spoils my heroic moment."Shaking her head the kitsune returned her attention to the injured individuals checking out the woman with the broken leg first. "How bad is it?" she asked not really able to heal her. But she would have to do what she could at the very least.

 

[ShadowPlay]

Saphira put her sword away again and said, "Well, it looked good and heroic. I'm sure the next dead spider will be terrified about us."

She turned to look at the other three survivors to see how badly they were injured.

The woman with the broken leg made a grimace. "I will survive. But it hurts like hell. And I won't be able to move very fast." She looked at her quiver of arrows. "I've only got four arrows left, but my sword arm is still strong and precise." She said. "I'm Avenia by the way."

The blind elf offered his shoulder to the woman. "I might not be able to see, but I can still be of use as a support. I'm Aravashnial."

The last of the survivors huffed, almost unnoticeable when Aravashnial spoke. "I'm Horgus. I'm not a fighter, so I demand that you keep me safe in this forsaken hole." At hearing his name, the woman, Avenia nodded in respect and the elf seemed almost embarrassed. "The two of you." He said to Ebiko and Sophira, "You seem capable. Lead the way."

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko nodded as Anevia introduced herself and the blind elf offered to be her support. Im Ebiko, pleasure to meet you both." Turning her attention to the last man she narrowed her eyes for a moment. "I feel like I have heard your name before. Apologies, yes of course we'll get everyone out of here." Ebiko said trying to be diplomatic for the moment. STanding up she held the torch in her left hand leaving her right free for spells for the moment.

"Since I dont have earth elemental blood in me, we'll just have to continue along and hope we can find an exit somewhere." Ebiko said pointing the way forward. She decided to start heading west past the corpse of the spider.

 

[ShadowPlay]

Someone more perceptive than those gathered in the cave at that moment, would have noticed that the elf seemed to react to Ebiko's name. Though he didn't say anything or let on what he knew. But both Ebiko and Saphira could feel the cold air between Horgus and Aravashnial. It was clear that the former had little to no respect of the later.

The tiefling nodded at the three other survivors. "I'm Saphira. I must say that I wished that we had met under better circumstances."

She raised her shield and drew her sword. "I will take the front. Even with that large spider dead, whatever killed it could still be lurking around." And with that she called upon the powers of the outer rifts and a visible armor of what looked like impenetrable demonskin formed around her. She began moving forward.

But once the party got within ten feet of the spider corpse, two very large maggots emerged and decided that they wanted them for dinner.

Map - Round 1

Now with added light source from a torch.

Initiative:
23 - Anevia
16 - Saphira
14 - Giant Maggots
3 - Ebiko

Actions and Dice rolls. Round 1

Declare your actions and roll the appropriate dice. If you have conditional reactions, like - I attack that creature if... - then also state them here. I will make a summary of the round with the monsters' and our actions once everything is solved and then move on to next round.

[ 1d20-1 = 14 ] Initiative - Giant Maggot
[ 1d20+6 = 16 ] Initiative - Saphira
[ 1d20+2 = 3 natural one1 ] Initiative - Ebiko
[ 1d20+7 = 23 ] Initiative - Anevia

Saphira will stand her ground and ready a strike to hit the first maggot that gets within her reach.
Avenia, having only four arrows left will draw her sword and try to move 15' to stand behind Saphira on her left side.

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko unaware that someone reacted to her name would focus on the situation at hand. The spider may be dead but that did not mean there were not many more of then out and about. Not something she was particularly keen to find out. Standing behind Saphira she watched the Tiefling summon a visible armor to encase her body. "Oooh thats impressive."she remarked. Having an interest in magic as a whole. Her bloodline may have been draconic in origin but she did find other sources of magic to be equally interesting to study.

They moved towards but as soon as they got close to the corpse two large maggots emerged. The Kitsune shuddered and raised her torch saying "Gross, lets take care of this."

Initiative:5

Without missing a beat the Kitsune raised her hand towards one of the Large maggots. A gesture and a word tapped into her inherent magic power from her bloodline sending a jolt of energy towards her targeted foe.

Ranged Touch Attack Roll:12+3=15
Damage roll:1

 

[ShadowPlay]

Avenia moved with her broken leg while drawing her short sword. She was trying to get into flanking position behind the maggots.

Saphira readied her strike to hit the maggots and when they moved, she swung her sword, not hitting anything at all. However her armor and her shield protected her from their attacks.

Ebiko's magic, cracked in the air, electrocuting one of the maggots. Even with the powerful display of arcane powers, the foul creature managed to stay in the fight.

OOC

Maggot #1 - damage 1
Maggot #2 - undamaged

Anevia would try to get into flanking position and attack the closest creature. But with her bad leg, she wouldn't get into flanking position this round.

Saphira would try to hit one of the maggots with her sword.

Map - Round 2

Dice rolls

[ 1d20+0 = 2 ] Maggot vs. Saphira
[ 1d20+0 = 13 ] Maggot vs. Saphira

------
[ 1d20+3 = 21 ] Anevia attack [ 1d6 = 3 ] Damage
[ 1d20+5 = 23 ] Saphira attack [ 1d6+2 = 8 ] Damage

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko watched the maggots lash out at Saphira thoroughly glad she wasnt on the front line. Instead raising her hand and with a whispered word cast another jolt towards the undamaged maggot. Trusting Saphira or Anevia to finish off the damaged one.

Jolt Attack Roll:4+3-4=1

However with the darkness and having to hold the torch in her left hand. The Kitsune was distracted and recited her spell wrong causing it to fly off uselessly into the spider's carcass dissipating immediately.

 

[ShadowPlay]

Avenia struck the maggot with her shortsword, damaging it, though not fatally. But the next stab from Saphira, killed off one of the milky white critters.

The remaining maggot tried to no avail to get a bite out of Saphira's tasty flesh.

The elctric jolt from the kitsune didn't prove more than a flashy distraction for the maggot.

OOC

Taking a step to the right, Saphira would try to attack the maggot again with her sword.

Avenia would try to get in an advantageous position.

Map - Round 3

Dice rolls

[ 1d20+0 = 15 ] Maggot vs. Saphira [ 1d6 = 3 ] damage
------

[ 1d20+5 = 14 ] Sapira attack [ 1d6+2 = 7 ] piercing dammage

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko would move to the north west trying to get a good position on the remaining maggot and once again casting jolt. Figuring it best to save her more potent spells for deeper in the cavern.

Jolt Attack Roll:16+3-4=15
Jolt Damage Roll:2

 

[ShadowPlay]

Avenia finally manages to get into a good position as Saphira and Ebiko slices and electrocutes the final maggot.

Saphira muttered several guttural syllables that few, if any, of the other four survivors understood. The abyssal language was not that common a language to speak for most common folk.

Avinea nodded, "Well. You did quite well both of you." She praised both Ebiko and Saphira.

Saphira turned to Avenia, "That looked quite painful walking around on that leg like that. If you want, I could try to heal it." Trying to swallow her pride, Avenia nodded, "That would be very nice of you." She said.

As Saphira and Avenia spoke, Ebiko noticed two, hand sized, pieces of silver lying on the ground. At a closer inspection, Ebiko immediately recognized them as scales from a dragon - could it be scales from Terendelev?

 

[Zazutobi]

Ebiko watched as the last Maggot fell and sighed. "And this is why I study ruins and not caves. Least skeletons are not as creepy." she muttered. Looking over as Saphira and Avenia spoke, seems the tiefling had more skills than just being attractive or good with a blade. But then her eyes drifted noticed two pieces of silver on the ground. Ebiko kneeled down and picked them up almost reverently. "These must be from Terendelav." she muttered. Remembering the Dragon's last act was to save her and Saphira while they fell. It was a sad thing to be sure, but she shook her head. Dragon's materials were powerful objects, and in this case more sentimental than anything else. She would put them into her pack for now for safe keeping.

 

[ShadowPlay]

The second Ebiko touched the two scales, she was filled with an understanding that came from somewhere beyond this realm. The scales were powerful with magic, far beyond what would be expected of a simple dragon scale. Though holding two would make both inert, holding one would give the owner powerful abilities. One had the powers of cloudwalking, allowing the owner to levitate up to three times per day. The other one gave the powers of disguise, allowing the owner to alter their appearance.

Saphira pulled out a wand and used a single charge to heal Avenia. While it didn't restore the woman's leg to working condition, Avenia could now move around without assistance and without further hurting herself.

 

[Zazutobi]

The scales were imbued with magic, which made sense with them coming from one of the Metallic Dragons. They were exceptionally powerful individuals after all. She regarded the two for a few moments making note of the magic locked within them. Her own draconic blood resonating before putting them into her pack for now. Better to save them for when they really needed.

Going over to check on Saphira and Anevia she said "I think Saphira and I should lead the way, who knows what else we'll run into down here. Can you keep the other two with you and follow behind?" she asked Anevia.

 

[ShadowPlay]

Avenia nodded. "We will stay in the back. But if you find any arrows along the way, I would very much like to have them. I'm a decent shot and wouldn't need to hobble around like a cripple if I just had more than these few arrows." She said at Ekibo's request.

After healing Avenia, Saphia hefted her shield again and drew her sword. "Alright let's go."

There seemed to be two paths ahead, both leading in the eastern direction.