While the battle seemed to slowly go in their favor, Raknesh witnessed two events that could change things again:
firstly Prizzard apparently misused his power and fell on the ground. One of their heaviest hitter down with so many enemies still ready to fight was a dire setback.

He quickly send Rocky to fly and check on the man.

Himself closed the distance between him and his protégé, but not fast enough to prevent the boy from getting wounded.  But the boy proved capable of handling things, once more.

"Jett! Try go get back to us" he told the wounded man, firing arrows at the enemies surrounding him.


ATT 1: 28 DMG 22 (arrow 9, fire 6, holy 7)
ATT 2: 20 DMG 25 (arrow 14, fire 3, holy 4)
ATT 3: 34 DMG 27 (arrow 11, fire 4, holy 11)

Prizzard's pseudodragon does get the opportunity to attack one of the warriors who falls down limply at being stung. Tanzy gets away from her enemies with ease and Ulthol obeys his wife's commands to offer aid, rushing to help where he can. Jett, still struggling, heeds Raknesh's call and stumbles towards the rest of you, half dead. Raknesh's arrows pierce his targets and kill one of them.

During all this the pale skinned warriors suddenly seem to obey the halfling's command to stop and they drop their swords and stiffen, awaiting further instruction. Halek gives a whoop of triumph and a grin splits his face. Well done Fin! Well done! Now, quickly before it's too late, tell them to kill themselves!

ooc: Roll spot please everyone

Stefan: Raina directs you to a one story rooftop and slides off you, Loden doing the same. You notice to your surprise that all of the warriors in sight (which are many) have suddenly stopped fighting and are holding perfectly still, letting their weapons drop to the ground. What the devil is going on? Raina murmurs. The townspeople are taking advantage of this opportunity to run for their lives while they can. It appears the death toll has been quite high.

Fin looked completely astonished that they actually obeyed his commands. When Halek tells him what to say next, he didn't hesitate and orders them to take their own lives. It's only after he's given the command that a look of horror crosses his face, for Fin has realized what he has just done. Evil or not, he has condemned these warriors to death, an act he will now have to live with for the rest of his life. He says in an almost inaudible whisper "I'm sorry".

Alison is slack jawed as the halfling commanded these creatures to commit suicide and they obeyed him. She took stock of the situation and muttered "Whatever he did to them, lets not have him do it to us, shall we?"

Pseudodragon Spot: 28
Readied another sting attack if another approaches.(23, 1+poison)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:49, Wed 13 May 2015.

Stefan waits eyeing the frozen enemies to see what they will do.

"Well... that's unsettling" commented Raknesh as the consequences of Fin's order took place.

"Rocky, go and find Stefan. Tell him we need his healing powers. And see if there is some warriors left around. Or people in need of help."

He himself moved toward Prizzard.
"Any of you two know some healing?" he asked to the pair they were trying to save.

17:25, Today: Raknesh Kaltash rolled 23 using 1d20+17. rocky spot.

17:25, Today: Raknesh Kaltash rolled 21 using 1d20+17. raknesh spot.

A chill tingled down Tanzy's spine as the worriers obeyed Finn's order. Whatever was inside the little man was more powerful then she'd imagined.

Turning to their fallen companion she approached cautiously so as not to disturb the dragon guarding him. "I have a couple healing potions," Tanzy offered. "They might help a little but he'll definitely need the professional attention of a healer..." she looked at the newcomers hopefully. If Prizzards little dragon allows it she will give him the potion.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:00, Thu 14 May 2015.

The tiny dragon nods, but keeps its eyes on the surrounding enemies still

ooc: Hee hee! The dragon is so cute! I want one :)

The warriors take their blades up and immediately plunge their blades into their hearts in unison, hundreds of pale soldiers falling to the ground in pools of blood. It is horrific and yet necessary.

Stefan, Rocky finds you and informs you from Raknesh that they are in need of your healing, you can see from where you are they are not far and Prizzard's dark form is lying motionless.

Tanzy's potion at first does nothing but Halek grips the man's legs and closes his eyes in concentration. I will try to amplify it he mutters. A moment later his eyes flutter open but he is still limp and unmoving.

Prizzard, you waken to find your psuedodragon and your companions gathered round. You feel so incredibly weak that you cannot move a single muscle, not even your fingers or toes. The most you can do is slowly turn your head, even breathing is difficult. You feel your magic drained from you completely. You are about as helpless as they come but at least you are alive. Don't get too excited yet Halek warns. You may die yet, though I hope to avoid that.

Suddenly he is interrupted by the sight of a female figure stumbling towards you from the piles of bodies. Everyone sees this though some see it sooner. As she approaches most of you recognize Ezran to your shock! For Fin and Bryon she is a dark skinned beautiful woman. Fin, you remember her from the previous town, the woman who was possessed. Jett especially gasps for those who know them knew he was her lover. J-Jett, I'm s-sorry... she pants. Then you realize why she is stumbling. A black dagger sticks out of her chest up to the hilt. Jett rushes to her, yelling in panic but it is too late. She collapses before he can get to her and falls dead to the ground. Her blade and wounds perfectly match the pale warriors and Fin, you realize to your horror that she too has killed herself at your orders. This poor innocent woman who had been taken captive by the enemy.

Bryon was at the end of her patience when the pretty girl collapsed in death. "Alright I have had just about enough of this. Someone had better tell me what is going on here and quickly."

The sight of the girl was too much. Fin collapsed to the ground sobbing into his hands. "Halek... please ... fix me." he tries to catch his breath between sobs as he pleads. "Nobody should have this find of power."

The dragon looks at the rock as it approaches then whizzes away before turning to Raina.  "They need me, Do I need to return after I use up what healing magic I have left?"  He will pause long enough to hear her reply and nodded as he once more takes to the sky, flying quickly to the group and backwinging before settling beside them. "What happened, who is..." He begins before seeing Prizzard on the ground, which causes his slitted eyes to narrow.  "What did he do to end up this way."

The tiny dragon addresses everyone through telepathy, first looking to Stefan, then the newcomers, and finally addressing everyone else on his masters condition. "On his part, magic-induced hubris. As for the rest of this.. likely more hubris either way you look at it. We ate on the bad side of a necromancer who calls herself a goddess and at even be one. And after that we defiled one of her temples, many followers, and angered a few of her associates.. As for his condition: movement seems out of the question, even breathing is difficult, and he cannot feel any magic in his body. Healing magic may be useless without Haleks assistance. In fact.." It quickly crawls into his robe and soon drags out a small rod. "This should help his body recover slightly faster." It is a Rod of Bodily Restoration.

"Damned... Ezran..." whispered Rakesh as they recognized her.

"How did she get here so fast?... "
Hitting dirt with his foot he swore and cursed.
"I should have tried to save her at the house..."

"We can store the body for resurrection in masters bag, but I feel that even death would not release the grip our enemy has on her."

Bryon is now confused further, "A necromancer? A goddess? A temple?" She quirked her brow as Althol, "I believe these folks are just mad enough to befriend us." Turning back, "Alison and Althol Romtree. Husband and wife. Pleased to meet all of you."

Stefan: Raina gives you the go ahead and says she'll meet you soon.

Everyone: Halek gives the poor halfling a hug and looks very sad yet very determined. I will fix you Fin. Soon. I'm so sorry you had to do that but it was the only way. The entire city would have been wiped out and they wouldn't stop there. You saved us all and as tragic as Ezran's loss is, you had no way of knowing she was here.

The boy then turns to Raknesh. Don't blame yourself Raknesh. Going into that house could have been suicide. It is not your fault either. During this Jett still grips her limp body, crying softly over her form. At mention of resurrection Halek shakes his head. We could try I suppose but I doubt it will do any good. Her body has been tainted for so long with darkness that there's no telling what we would bring back. It would be risky and if we did bring back the evil it would be very powerful. It could be suicide to even try. By now Raina and Loden have arrived upon the scene and Raina puts a sympathetic hand on Jett's shoulder. They arrive just in time for Bryon's introduction and the beautiful blonde woman nods in greeting. Raina, pleased to meet you as well. You are impressive to survive the battle as you did. I hate to do this but we could use your help. As you can see we are embroiled in a bitter battle and our failure will mean the world's end. I don't feel too guilty pressing you into helping under the circumstances. We are caught in a battle between two ancient goddesses. There was a dark goddess named Shaelis and a light goddess named Mirian, sisters. They each had followers in ancient times until the other gods were born and they eventually fell into obscurity. Without worship, they sank into a slumber until they would one day be reawakened to remind the world of their power and glory, one of good and one of evil. Well Shae has already awakened due to an act of ignorance... Halek stands then and glances at Raina. It was me. I woke her on accident by my presence. You see I am her son. he sighs tiredly. This will come as a surprise to some of his own party as well. Our quest is to waken Mirian so that she may battle her counterpart. This requires we visit several temples to obtain the means to awaken her.

"Only a true resurrection would reduce the risk enough."
"Master knows of Haleks blood and trusts him yet. Simply being descended of evil does not make one evil."

Raknesh took the rod but looked at it with a somewhat perplexed face.

"I'm not good with magic tools..." he began "Someone else should use it"

He then listened to Halek's tale and, indeed, felt a bit suprised.
Not only because of Hale's lineage, but also because he thought it was their intervention at the buried place that had caused to Goddess to stir.

"Don't worry, you are not the only one to blame. And we will do all we can to return things to normal."

He nodded to the couple "You are welcome to join us, but what happens next is a best dangerous, probably worse."

Bryon looked at Althol and carried on a silent conversation. They knew each other so well they could speak with their eyes. She laughed, "You're all so serious. I think we will join you if for no other reason than to lend some levity to your otherwise mundane quest." She nudged Althol, "Don't be such a stick in the mud, my darling, lend your voice."

Raina takes the rod and uses it on Prizzard. Unfortunately you still can't move but you can at least talk a bit. You really did yourself in this time and Raina says as much in a chiding voice.

Halek looks at Raknesh with a sense of relief. Perhaps he feared judgment about his true identity.

In response to his wife's request Althol grins. Of course my dear he laughs. But then you always had voice enough for the both of us when you wanted he gives a teasing grin. I will do all I can to help in all seriousness though. If those things are to be unleashed on the world how could we stand by and do nothing? Raina looks pleased at this and soon introductions are made. The town itself is half in ruins. It looks like after all the chaos it will not be the ideal place to stay. Loden (a dangerous looking dark haired man) informs you all that there looks to be a small village a few hours off. Halek proposes you head there and await Prizzard's recovery before heading to the next temple. We might as well try to cleanse Fin while we're at it. If he hadn't been able to shake off his possessor things would have gone very differently. We can't afford to wait any longer, no matter how dangerous it is. I am sorry Fin. he looks sad. At this Jett picks up Ezran's bloody corpse, his face haunted and grieved. I'm taking her with us. We need to bury her, and not in this hellish place.

ooc: I'm going to start another chapter soon so finish up here, take your time if you like. Let me know the plans for the next week while they get things in order for Fin's cleansing and Prizzard heals.

"Spend a week or two with us and you'll see why we are so serious," Tanzy replied to the new woman tilting her head towards Jett and his fallen love as well as the other casualties in the village. "Your company is most welcome," she added with a friendly smile "but in fair warning events like these are very common when you travel with this group." She wished someone had warned her when she'd first met them in a similar battle.

The information about Halek's background was a surprise but at the same time made sense. Tanzy had no less faith in him then she'd had before they knew who his mother was.

Loden's suggestion of recovering in the next village was a welcome idea. "I can go find us a wagon" she suggested looking doubtfully at Prizzard who had yet to speak or move. "I don't think riding on a horse is an option..."

Bryon shrugged, "What's life without a little excitement every now and again?" Which is her way of saying she is not dissuaded.

Prizzards eyes are mostly open and his head is moving slowly as he looks around and listens, but let's his familiar do the "talking". He obviously has no plans for the time ahead aside from recovery, possibly practicing control with Halek if time allows.