eliminate with extreme prejudice...
Plot Developments
- DeWitt betrayed the party, claiming Greedites and Envites were making a move on the observatory as part of an ambush he'd set up. Instead the Dark Three rushed into an ambush, one set by the Ordo.
- Renato was caught in the Ordo bombings, losing his life. His soul was given short reprieve by Astraea, who desperately clung to it despite the pull of the Dark Powers. Yet no force in Creation could forestall his pact long, and he was entombed for all eternity in the black, soundless vacuum of the Vale's eighth tomb.
- Thanks to the events DeWitt set in motion, Asmodeus was able to confront Isabella and Minka in a dark place not of Othyr, baiting the Maidenmother Crone to rescue her. He underestimated the witch, however, and she managed to gain the upper hand. Yet when she might have slit his throat and ended it all, she hesitated, and he nearly knocked her head off with his ruby rod- the Hellheart.
- Isabella was saved by the Maidenmother Crone, who reaffirmed her belief she had chosen the prophet wisely, where as Asmodeus chided her for putting all her eggs in one basket-case. Though Isabella was loathe to leave the avatar and her love, she had little choice, and managed to slip away as both were lost to her forever.
- Diana, with but a handful of Solis and the mad astrologer, were forced to defend the tower from a small army of Ordo drow, who emptied out of the Ruins in order to annihilate any legitimate threat to their end game. The party had poked and prodded their last, and it was time to destroy them all.
- Isabella, with a humanoid Astraea, rode Minka through the drow hordes, resorting to mobile attacks to stay alive and sustain the observatory long enough for the Solis to piece together an unlikely victory.
- Through the Starry Maiden's leadership, some genius artificing and Strangeheart replacing a fractured focus crystal were the Solis able to pull victory from certain defeat. However, Tiberius grew mad with the power, as every obliterated soul was drawn into the Void, utterly destroyed, finding neither Hell or Heaven, and momentarily sating his hunger. Though Diana tried to play mother and offer him gifts and promises, Tiberius was beyond her influence, and Astraea was forced to step in. Her life-giving energy met his soul-crushing beam.
- The phalanx of city guard stormed the Ruins, killing fleeing drow as they went, and nearly stormed the observatory themselves upon seeing the light show between Astraea and Tiberius. The princess was able to ease their fears, and garner command, the captain honoring her station and offering his aid in escorting the prisoners and preparing them for questioning.
- Diana congratulated her frightened and battered flock for all they'd done and assured them many more victories in the future. They were not so stupid as to believe they would have won without the firepower of the Tiberian Cannon, but she made no promises as to its use in the future...
- Strangeheart, having been reeled in by Diana and Astraea's combined meddling, forsook the sorceress forever more, entering a state of extreme dormancy and taking on the qualities of large, burnt-out quartz- robbing her of all his power. Astraea warned he would seek another more suited to his own ambitions.
Experience: 5600 xp (124,481 total; LEVEL UP 19)
New NPCs
Asmodeus: The Prince of Lies, the Deceiver, self-proclaimed King of Hell and Lord of the Nine Treacherous Archdukes, wielder of the Ruby Rod, dark master of the subterranean labyrinth known as Gehenna (Helldark) cornered the Prophet in a black realm of his making and nearly claimed her life, if not for the desired interference of Hecate's only avatar. Isabella slipped through his fingers, but the Maidenmother Crone was destroyed in the process.
Captain Sercer: The vampiric captain of the city guard in so far as the Ruins are concerned, who honored the command of the princess, save when it suggested opposing the law of the king. Offered his local dungeon for her uses.
Hand of Doom (prisoner): The only surviving drow warcaster, captured for torture and questioning.
Ordo Drow (prisoner): A surviving drow assassin, captured for torture and questioning, and potentially an object of Sleria's deviant fascinations.
Returning NPCs
Deloth DeWitt: Traitor through and through, he appealed to the Asmodeans in the Chapel of Gluttons and spoke with his father, the Archduke, who gave him a task in order to return home. He succeeded, tricking the Dark Three back into the Ruins, where they might be ambushed by waiting Ordo and Asmodeus might have a turn with Hecate's one and only Prophet. He presumably returned to Hell.
Sleria Dovili: Sleria remains loyal despite the treacherous nature of her mother's kind, even charging hopeless odds to protect Diana.
Alistar Huma: The mad genius and sage astrologer met the Maiden at the observatory, resolved to convert the telescope into a light-focusing cannon to repel the drow forces.
Hellheart (Cinell): The ruby Heart was seen topping Asmodeus' imperial-looking scepter, and nearly bashed Isabella's brains in if not for the intervention of the Maidenmother Crone.
Maidenmother Crone (dead): The avatar of Hecate, only woken shard of the goddess's consciousness, was murdered protecting Isabella, leaving the Prophet without a shred of guidance.
Strangeheart (Tiberius): The purple amethyst had a achieved a perfected, weaponized state, but was robbed his meal of the city, the kingdom, then the world by the interference of his sister and his keeper. He then went into an extreme dormancy, intent on finding another more suited to his own aims.
Next Session
108b: The Saspish Observatory momentarily secure and under the protection of the city guard, and living evidence of the Ordo within their possession, the Dark Three, now with Astraea in their ranks, prepare to make their case to King Dante Il'spana and officially establish the Cultu Solis, that is, if they can...
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