Alturiak 2, 1489
Dre'zel my love,
Ignoring JoJo’s question about any of them feeling sick, Huarwar continued as he walked off, “I think it would behoove you to come and speak with Avarice.” Then he turned to JoJo and added, “If you see my mother, tell her I love her.”
“I’m taking you back to her,” JoJo insisted. “You don’t have a choice in this.”
From the shadows of a nearby building where I had withdrawn, I cast Hunter’s Mark on Huarwar.
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Huarwar replied, smiling up at JoJo, “I’m sure you could pick me up and carry me to my mom, but I have business to conduct here first.”
While JoJo continued to negotiate with Huarwar, which culminated in the cultist agreeing to 'return to his mom' after completing his mission, which he had admitted involved freeing Levistus, I seethed with visions of them encountering Hell’s Teeth as they entered the Caves of Hunger. I had told her to seek shelter nearby and protect the pack, but I knew her instinct was that of a warrior and feared she might try to prevent these cultists from following after us. Finally, I could tolerate this banter no more, and cried out, “Huarwar! How did you get in here? How did you get past the guards?”
“There was only a single warrior guarding the entrance,” Huarwar claimed. “He died valiantly, standing over an older, deceased man.”
“Is that the only manner of man or beast you encountered?” I demanded.
“Who else?” Huarwar asked.
Appeased, I lowered my bow and dismissed him.
As the cultists departed, I noticed two gargoyles stirring atop the Tower of Divination.
Taimen, seemingly panicked or confused, reached out mentally for direction, wondering if we should attack, follow, or leave. I informed her that I could track Huarwar anywhere within the next hour, and proposed that we might be able to deter the cultists by destroying the nether oak, preventing them from acquiring wands.
We decided to follow Huarwar, and as we rushed to catch up with the cultists, we spotted Kingsport in the library.
Just as we caught up with the cultists, we were halted by four levitating Magen, who peacefully approached and told us we needed to return to our homes because of the curfew.
Huarwar tried to convince the Magen that they were on some official business, but the Magen were unconvinced and drew their weapons. This seemed like a good opportunity to whittle down the cultists, perhaps to their demise, without alerting Avarice to our obstruction.
Gosse drew his eldritch wand and missed a Magen. It was an easy shot, and I suspect he missed intentionally. Taking advantage of my Hunter’s Mark, I decided to aim for the other side and shot Huarwar twice from the side of a nearby building. Talyth cast Twilight Sanctuary and began floating above us while her Shield Guardian smashed the cultist. JoJo stubbornly picked up Huarwar and apologized to the cultist, who spat on him. Two Magen floated into the air while the other two engaged. One slashed into JoJo and was smashed by Rowan’s staff. Taimen stabbed the other with her trident. A cultist paralyzed JoJo and Huarwar, and another cultist cast Inflict Wounds on the barbarian.
Gosse missed again with his eldritch wand. Maybe it wasn’t intentional. Circling up to the building’s roof, I shot the cultist who was paralyzing JoJo twice, and the Shield Guardian squashed him. The cultist's corpse froze in ice and shattered. Talyth cast Spiritual Weapon between the floating Magen, whacking one with the tiny tornado of swirling colors. JoJo shoved Huarwar into his backpack and traded slashes with a cultist. Dodging a Magen, Rowan cast Thunderwave, glancing two cultists with the blast. Taimen stabbed the Magen again with her trident. Four icicle Spiritual Weapons appeared, stabbing JoJo and the Shield Guardian, but missing Talyth. A Sacred Flame descended upon Taimen. The two gargoyles descended, landing next to me, and I hopped away down the side of the building.
Finally entering the fray, Gosse drew his rapier and stabbed a cultist. In the middle of the fight myself, I warned my companions of the gargoyles and shot down a nearby cultist, dashing by and snatching the arrow from his chest before he froze and shattered on the ground. Then I shot the arrow at Huarwar and grabbed onto JoJo’s belt, hoping to reach Huarwar. The Shield Guardian yanked JoJo’s backpack off him, along with Huarwar, and smashed a nearby cultist. Talyth blasted a gargoyle with a Guiding Bolt. JoJo was slashed by a Magen and a cultist as he ran toward the gargoyles. A Magen slashed Huarwar, who froze and shattered on the ground, where Princess Skullcrusher stomped the corpse to bits. I heard a Magen’s voice in my head whisper, “Return to your home,” but I resisted its command. Rowan cast Earthbind on the gargoyles, but they resisted. As Taimen disengaged on Princess Skullcrusher, she cast Shatter, glancing the two gargoyles. A cultist hit Talyth with Inflict Wounds. A Magen slashed a cultist, and a gargoyle swooped down and grabbed the same cultist. As the gargoyle began to fly away, Taimen smited it, lopping off a huge hunk of stone as it rose into the air. Meanwhile, the other gargoyle swooped down and swatted Taimen with its stone claws.
This fight was going far worse than I had hoped. Instead of the Magen and cultists wearing each other down, they were both concentrating their attacks on us. And we could not allow these gargoyles to escape and inform Avarice of our intentions.
Gosse stabbed a cultist and disengaged. Drawing my arrow of elemental slaying, I shot the fleeing gargoyle, and it exploded in the air. The cultist it had carried plummeted to the ground, where he? instantly froze. Spinning around, I shot the other gargoyle while the Shield Guardian grabbed and smashed it. Talyth struck a cultist with her mace and hit a Magen with her Spiritual Tornado Weapon. Wincing in pain, JoJo cut down a Magen and slashed the last cultist. Rowan cast Call Lightning, blasting the two floating Magen. Taimen smited the gargoyle. A Spiritual Icicle Weapon stabbed the Shield Guardian.
Gosse smashed the last cultist's head against Talyth’s foot, knocking him out. With two arrows, I dropped the nearest armed Magen and hit a floating Magen. Talyth’s Spiritual Snowflake Weapon hit a floating Magen. The Shield Guardian smashed the last gargoyle, and it crumbled to pieces. JoJo engaged the floating Magen, hacking them both down.
With the battle over, Gosse bound the surviving cultist as Rowan moved their Call Lightning toward Skydock Spire.
As we approached the tall spire, its double doors slammed shut.
Talyth grabbed a miniature skycoach she found in a bottle hanging from a ruined skycoach.
Cultists appeared in the spire’s windows, and I shot three of them, who froze and fell out of the windows, shattering as they crashed into the street far below.
Talyth urged Taimen and Gosse to crawl into the bag of holding, which she grabbed before casting Invisibility.
Rowan bombarded the roof with Call Lightning, punching a hole through it and striking Avarice.
Aiming from a much shorter, adjacent building, I shot Avarice twice, hid, and moved.
The Shield Guardian and JoJo rammed the spire’s double doors. The Shield Guardian took a door off its hinges as it continued into the spire, where more cultists awaited.
Circling the spire on Princess Skullcrusher, Rowan continued to blast the roof with Call Lightning.
Inside the spire, ten Spiritual Icicle Weapons appeared, three stabbing the Shield Guardian and four stabbing JoJo. The three Sacred flames descended on the Shield Guardian and two on JoJo.
Outside, a massive, glowing blue spectral hand appeared and grabbed Rowan from Princess Skullcrusher, lifting them twenty feet into the air.
Talyth reached the roof, and Taimen leaped from the Bag of Holding and cast Hold Person, paralyzing Avarice.
Inside the spire, the Shield Guardian and JoJo smashed through the cultists.
Outside, Rowan transformed into an earth elemental, but couldn’t break free of the massive hand.
On the roof, Taimen charged Avarice, smited the albino Tiefling, but vanished into a cloud of snowflakes!
Suddenly, the giant hand disappeared, and Rock-Rowan fell twenty feet, smashing into the ground.
Inside the spire, the Shield Guardian was pummeled with Spiritual Icicle Weapons, and JoJo was paralyzed by a cultist. The Shield Guardian slammed a cultist as it cast Inflict Wounds. Three more cultists descended the stairs and hit JoJo with Inflict Wounds. Having descended to the ground floor of the nearby building, I shot down a cultist engaged with JoJo, and JoJo was freed from the paralysis. The Shield Guardian flanked a cultist and smashed them twice.
A sphere of ice surrounded Avarice, but Talyth cast Misty Step and appeared inside the icy sphere, hitting Avarice with a Sacred Flame. Gosse leaped from the Bag of Holding and ran his rapier across Avarice’s throat before kicking her off the roof.
As the Tiefling fell, her frozen corpse shattering on the ground far below, Taimen appeared beside Gosse.
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