Among the Stars: Realms Beyond

[The_GrinningMan]

Lightning cracks across the night sky, though there are no clouds to obstruct the glittering stars high above. Within the highest spire of the dark fortress of Malgoth, the final demonic general falls to the floor, it's blood hissing as it burns across the stone. Spellfire has charred the walls, and the room is a mess of broken stone pillars, cracked floors and torn tapestries. What had once been the dark king's grand throne room is now a wrecked battleground strewn with the bodies of your enemies. But the war is not over. Even as you begin to recover, the self proclaimed Dark King, resplendent in his gleaming black armor and obsidian crown stands upon the dais beside his basalt throne. Dark energies crackle around him like a shroud of power.

Though injured, the tyrant stands like a dark monolith of evil, resolute and unshaken by the fall of his generals. High above the glass ceiling of the chamber shimmers, and beyond the night sky seems alive with countless points of light. Some of them you know, spectacular constellations you have witnessed every night since you were children. But there are more now than ever before. Alien stars that shine brighter than any you have ever seen. A great purple-blue nebula streaks from horizon to horizon, and at it's heart, a crack has begun to form in the very sky itself. A ragged streak of brilliant light that seems to be slowly opening wider even as you stare in shock.

The Dark King clutches his great sword in one hand, raising the other above his head, fingers reaching toward the heavens as a triumphant smile parts his wicked face, "BEHOLD! The dark rift of the abyss opens to my will!! You fools have accomplished nothing here! Soon my armies will crush the people of this land, and my Empire will spread across the world!" the tyrant bellows as magic flashes between his out stretched fingers in a building spell. It is clear he has begun casting some new, powerful magic and you have only moments to act...

Spoiler: OOC

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Don't bother with initiative. You all act at the same time. The chamber is circular and fifty feet across. You have one turn to act before his spell goes off. Keep in mind this is taking place at the end of a long campaign battling through his fortress and defeating his generals. Your characters are injured, exhausted and their resources are depleted.

[1ring42]

Forest gripped his staff and spoke in cold implacable tone indicating to the party he was already beyond furious.
"You, who unleash hordes like a plague of locusts, should learn how it feels to be on the receiving end of such a plague."

He leveled the staff at Malgoth and spoke a single word in druidic. A cloud of locusts pour out of the end, enveloping the dark king and even obscuring the spectral hawk that circled over the figure.

Spoiler: OOC

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Forest is using the last 5 charges in his swarming staff to cast insect plague

[Roll=magic item survival] 1d20 [/roll]
[Roll=DC 14 con save for half] 4d10 [/roll]
First attack will get advantage from Forests reaction

[whiteflash]

"Even if you're still standing at the end of this, your empire won't last. The only way we'll be the last to resist you is if everyone else gives up hope, and why would the world do that after we write the truth of your mortality on your face?"

Jaxon chants in elven as he twirls his trident twice, causing it to glow blue, and then thrusts it at Malgoth's face, launching three blades of light at the tyrant.

Spoiler: OOC

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Jaxon uses Magic Missile from a 1st level spell slot, since I imagine that's all he's likely to have left at the eighth round of combat.(3d4+3)[12]

[Ramsus]

Merhora "Eclipse Hawk" Layla Human Gloom Stalker HP: 32/96 Concentrating on: Hunter's Mark (on Malgoth) (1 hour) Conditions: -- Merhora, shrouded in shadow, turns from her last kill to face Malgoth. This horrid man had been responsible for so much death. Today death would come for him. He taunted them, but her reply for him was in the form of an arrow of darkness aimed at his foul heart. She prayed to Golden Horus Osiris and Neith that they would find their mark and put an end to this before whatever he had conjured up came to pass, for she'd never seen or heard of anything like this before in all her travels and battles. As she loosed a second arrow she gave another soft prayer. In hopes that if whatever it was Malgoth was doing came to pass that her allies would survive it. Though they were strong folk she knew. If anyone could survive such things, prayers or no, it would be them. Spoiler Show So I don't know what the lighting conditions are here. Merhora would be a good distance from the others and using her darkness aura. If this puts her in Darkness and Malgoth doesn't have some non-darkvision way of seeing her, that makes her invisible to him. So I would have advantage on these attacks in this case. So I'll roll them as such and the GM can just note whether that applied or not. Bonus action to move Hunter's Mark on Malgoth. I would assume she had already cast it much earlier in the fighting. Let me know if you still want me to expend a spell slot on it here for some reason (in addition to the ones spent pre-game I mean). Attack 1: (1d20+12)[32] advantage: (1d20+12)[27] damage: (1d8+7)[8] + (1d6)[2] radiant if crit: (1d8)[3] + (1d6)[2] Attack 2: (1d20+12)[22] advantage: (1d20+12)[26] damage: (1d8+7)[11] + (1d6)[6] radiant if crit: (1d8)[3] + (1d6)[3] I assume Malgoth is humanoid. But if he's a Monstrosity or Fiend both attacks deal an extra 4 damage. If he's undead both attack deal an extra 1d8 damage, which I'll roll here just in case. If Undead attack 1: (1d8)[7] if crit: (1d8)[1] If Undead attack 2: (1d8)[5] if crit: (1d8)[1]

[Gryndel]

Stars above, usually an encouraging sight to the eladrin wizard, seem to disturb her for a split second. Heaving a resigned sigh, Velina tries to counter the spell being cast by the dark king.

Gripping the wand in her hand, she releases a charge from it to invoke a Fireball targeting the foe.

Spoiler: ooc

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Counterspell roll (reaction) (1d20+5)[17]
Fireball Dex save for half DC15 (8d6)[31]
Also, for diviner she gets 2 portents, 1 of which has reasonably been used in our depleted condition. So I'll just roll 1 here. If it's 8 or lower she'll use it as his save vs the Fireball.
(1d20)[9]

AC 15
HP 14/42

[Tallytrev813]

Raven applies pressure to his bleeding shoulder as the Dark one speaks.

He had to act fast - He ran up to Malgoth quickly, slashing at him with his Scimitar

Spoiler: Action - Attack with Scimitar of Wounding // This will be long because i need to know if my first attack hits to know what im doing...

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Attack: (1d20+8)[20]

Damage: (1d6+5)[10] (Magical)
Sneak Attack: (4d6)[15]

//(If Crit): (1d6+5)[8] + (4d6)[12]

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***If that MISSES - Use LUCKY point - (1d20+8)[10]
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IF HE IS TOO FAR FROM ME TO ATTACK, My bonus action is Dash to get to him, then use all remaining movement to run away.


Bonus action: Attack with Moon-Touched Scimitar

Attack: (1d20+8)[23]

Damage: (1d6)[6] (Magical)

If no sneak attack has been applied yet and this hits: (4d6)[13]
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I'll use my remaining movement to move away from the guy as far as possible and take cover if any is available. I do not need to Disengage as a Swashbuckler.

If my Scimitar of Wounding HITS - He takes 1d4 bleed damage on his turn, and makes a CON save DC 15. If he succeeds he stops bleeding, if he fails he continues to bleed 1d4/turn repeating con saves after the dmg to end it. These stack as i hit him.

[The_GrinningMan]

Malgoth seems unbothered by the swarm of locust that appears around him, his manic eyes intense as his magic builds. The magic missiles that stream toward him impact his armor, leaving little more than dull scorch marks on the gleaming metal. The dark king begins to laugh, but the sound it cut short as first one arrow, then another pierce his armor. They drive deep into his body but fail to disrupt his casting even as blood leaks from his mouth. He turns a glare of hatred toward the darkness where the arrows came from just as a fireball erupts behind him, singing his hair and burning his exposed skin. The scimitar strike that follows scraps a line across his armor, but still Malgoth holds his casting.

Thunder booms outside the fortress and Malgoth’s casting seems to reach it’s zenith. His arcane chanting becomes a manic laugh as he clenches his upraised fist and power flares in the air. The glass ceiling cracks and shatters above, raining shards down on the party, and the crack in the sky splits open. A blinding white light that turns the night into day erupts from the celestial opening. Light and heat roll across the land, tossing everyone from their feet and flinging them against the floor of the throne room. The sound and light rob each adventurer of their senses, and a disturbing feeling of vertigo causes many to wretch and clutch at their stomachs. Prayers and curses are shouted to the gods as chaos erupts all around the tower roof. It is as if the universe itself has exploded in a violent barrage of color, light and sound.

Then just as suddenly as it all began, it stops.

The silence that follows is deafening as your senses slowly return and you take in your surroundings. It is immediately clear that you are not where you were a moment ago. The broken throne room of Malgoth’s dark fortress is gone, as are the stars above. Instead, the sky is a brilliant azure blue streaked by wisps of white clouds. The sun above is a brilliant, crystaline white, and the light it provides is soft and without glare.

Instead of a hard stone floor, the group is sprawled across a field of soft, mossy grass and leafy shrubs that seems to stretch on in all directions around them, the tall grass rippling in a gentle, warm breeze. To the west rise jagged hills with cliffs of reddish-pink earth, and to the northeast a forest of trees spreads long, weeping branches out to the horizon. The only sign of man-made construction lies just t the south no more than a few minutes walk from where the group lays in the grass. A platform of pure white marble rests within a semi-circle of spires made from the same stone, each one topped by a dimly glowing green crystal.

At the center of the marbel platform lays the body of Malgoth, still clad in his dark armor. His obsidian crown and greatsword are discarded on the ground near him, and wisps of dark smoke rise from his body. He is not moving, and he shows no signs of life.

[Gryndel]

The chaos of combat always accelerates Velina's constant concentration on her surroundings. Focusing her attention on the immediate area around her, a minuscule mote of awareness remains alert to distant sensory input.

Noting in great detail the relative effect that each attack has on their mutual foe, she sees the overall result fail to interrupt the ritual of Malgoth. As her senses suddenly shatter into oblivion, a brief regret of such a short life is her last thought.

Only her eyes move at first, scanning the sky with insatiable curiosity. Her head shifts only slightly to allow her vision to ensure that all her companions are present and still alive. The remainder of her senses start sending the minutiae of data that she quickly collates into understanding and acceptance of being elsewhere.

Likely the last to make any effort of rising from her back, the grass under her and the breeze around her cradle the elf's body in comfort. Laying still, her mental process surpasses that of most creatures as her temporal awareness expands to encompass infinite future possibilities.

Focusing this back to the present requires only an instant of recalling the past. Rising slowly with a groan of pain, she manages only to prop herself up on her elbows as she looks around. Scanning the hills briefly, the forest draws her attention. It's existence invigorates her enough to sit up, though she can't suppress another groan of pain. This brings the circle of spires and platform into full view.

With obvious effort, Valina stands and says in elvish, "Fascinating," then continues in common, "such powerful magic wielded by such evil is certainly a threat to all life. We've been flung from our known existence to this place and time, wherever and whenever we are now."

Joining the others to advance toward the platform, she falls back slighty, "Before much else occurs, I strongly suggest we pause for a brief respite from our efforts. Perhaps that structure will be suitable for a resting point?"

Seeing the body of Malgoth on the platform, crown and sword lying nearby, she tenses and moves close cautiously. Accessing all her knowledge and utilizing her mental prowess, she attempts to gain more understanding of the current situation and conditions.

Spoiler: OOC

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Arcana, history and investigation have the same bonus, and not sure which (if any) apply here, I'll roll once.
(1d20+8)[18]
Perception also (1d20+4)[16]

AC 15
HP 14/42

[Ramsus]

Merhora "Eclipse Hawk" Layla Human Gloom Stalker HP: 32/96 Concentrating on: -- Conditions: -- As the glass falls upon them, Merhora shields her face instinctively even though the few shards that get past just plink off her mask. As she regains her senses she slowly and cautiously gets up, not wanting to make any sudden movement in case there are any creatures nearby to be alarmed.... or in case she has any broken bones or sprains it'd be best not to put her weight on. After spending a few moments assessing the situation, both externally and internally, she does one last full sweep of her eyes around the scenery. Then walks over to Malgoth's body and shoots a dozen arrows into it just to be safe. To the others she says, "We should cut off the head and burn the body to make sure nobody raises him from the dead later." Perhaps an odd thing to say if they haven't been battling necromancy their whole life.

[1ring42]

Forest looked around at this new landscape wistfully, the green expanse making him slightly homesick. However after a bit of listening to his compatriots, he spoke, slowly and thoughtfully his voice rumbling like a distant waterfall.

"Yes and then mix his ashes into the soil. It's only right if nature gets its due after his ravages.

He took out a small pouch which contained a large seed. "And this way the end of a monstrous tyrant can be the start of new life.

As for finding a respite, I still have enough energy for one more transformation, if we need a scout.
<Spirits if you are still with me, tell me what weather do the winds bring>"

The last phrase was in druidic as he gestured from the familiar earth to the alien sky.

Spoiler: ooc

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casting druidcraft

[whiteflash]

"Cutting off the head sounds good to me. And the sooner the better. As painful as our last few attacks looked, he still had enough in him to finish his spell, so why is he dead now? I don't really trust this."

Jaxon stabs his trident into the earth and draws a handaxe, and carefully advances on the corpse with his shield ready. If he meets no resistance, he chops off the head as quickly as possible.

[Gryndel]

Looking around the slab first, then the pillars, Velina searches for hidden secrets, lore, runes, or any information. She thinks the dismemberment and proposed burning of their enemy's remains is gruesome, though likely better than leaving it rest. She looks at each of her friends in turn, pausing a moment on each face before gracefully lowering herself to a sitting position. She pulls the darker hood of her dark green robe over her head, then folds her hands inside the sleeves and rests them on her crossed legs.

Gazing down a few moments, the wizard chuckles softly and mutters in common, "Nothing I like more than a good mystery," she looks up with a fey grin and a mischievous twinkle in her emerald eyes, "and we've just experienced a most mysterious fate, being plopped into a complete conundrum. A scouting mission seems wise Forest, but I suggest that nobody should be alone." She looks pointedly at Merhora and Raven.

[Ramsus]

Merhora "Eclipse Hawk" Layla Human Gloom Stalker HP: 32/96 Concentrating on: -- Conditions: -- Merhora gives Velina a wry smile and comments with good-natured sass, "Awwwww. Want me to hold you hand?" Spoiler Show I'd like to make sure we loot though body, but I've been waiting to say we do that until the GM confirms nothing stops us from decapitating and burning it.

[1ring42]

The firbolg nodded. "Of course, the strength of the pack may be the wolf, but the strength of the wolf is the pack. And how a stand of birches can sustain winds that would fell the mightiest oak. I shall keep watch from above over whoever scouts with me."

He nodded as if it was settled as he went back to casting his cantrip, seeking insight into how the weather might turn.

[Gryndel]

Velina chuckles softly at Merhora, shaking her head slowly, "No thank you, but I do think you should help scout the area."

Once attention turns to loot, Velina says, "I think nobody should touch either of those dark items. At least, not yet."

She casts Mage Hand to move Malgoth's sword and helmet close to her. Pulling out her spellbook she begins to ritually cast Detect Magic.

[Tallytrev813]

Raven crouches in the ready position as the setting instantly chances. He quickly looks around...

Spoiler: Perception, if needed, for the new area)

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(1d20+6)[16]

He relaxes for a moment. I'm not exactly sure what just happened...but i cant say im disappointed were not in that place anymore... He looks over the corpse of the Dark Sorcerer, and begins to approach it. Well, clearly there's something going on - im not convinced we simply...killed him. That easily...

Raven looks over the corpse and checks it for anything valuable before the others cut the head of it off.