Horkas directs the placement of the adamantine tower at the end of the canyon leading out from the waterfall pool area. (It looks like the beginning of the intestines from the stomach - not in the circular pit where the waterfall collects in a pool. =)
(Move the tower 12 squares to the right and down 1 to block off that passage. Elementals will be in the ground or walls of the passage, waiting to emerge if needed. Drop the heart 5 or 6 squares down and on the other side of the pool. My thought is all of the demons are summoned into the round pit, have a grand melee inside of it, and the handful left will be picked off as they try to come up the canyon.)
The waiting is the hard part. Time seems to drag as you remain alert, weapons drawn, every nerve singing with the tension in the air all around you.
Finally, a swirling light begins to flare in the darkness. A barely audible humming shakes you to the core, rising and falling like a vast heartbeat in the depths. The glow of faerzress gathers and brightens, creating swirling pools like holes torn in the air. A roar sounds from far away as shadows move in the depths of those pools of light. The demons are coming.
After dumping the demon's heart into the pit, Horkas would remove the infused magic and inscribe his armor with arcane energies, giving him a little edge for the impending melee battle. He then takes a position behind one of the arrow slits in their adamantine tower to wait...
Khessa feels her heart beating in unison with the pulse that is summoning the terrible Demon Lords, as she continues to feverishly take notes in her armored spellbook. 'Knowledge must be forged, to last' stands out on the cover - and she wants that knowledge, the knowledge of how it is possible to send back to the Abyss those timeless concentrates of irrational and savage cruelty, to last.
The blonde arcane warrior had already reported the theory of the ritual, the one learned from Vizeran's summary indications and from the notes of Gromph's Grimoire - now she is reporting the practice. What you see. What you feel. What you breathe, as the incarnations of the mad timeless evil manifest themselves. She hopes that that knowledge will never be needed again - but if one day someone should need it, she wants that someone to be as informed and prepared as possible.
The tall adventuress has now finished yet another note and fixes her blue eyes first on all those who are beside her at that moment, underground heroes of whom perhaps the Surface in the future will know little, but to whom it will be eternally indebted... then to those shadows moving in the depths of those pools of light...
'The demons are coming' Khessa thinks. 'What they do not know (and probably they cannot conceive, in their blind vainglory), if that this time we are ready for them'.
Towards the end of the nine hour ritual, Lunaria gathers her companions for a motivational speech, channeling her Goddess' light through her words.
"Friends, we stand here together, staring into the Abyss itself, poised to face one of the darkest threats our realms has ever known. We fight not just for ourselves, but for every soul that lives on this plane, every dream that flickers in the night, and every hope that stirs with the dawn.
These Demons seek to shroud our world in endless night, to cast aside the light and life that we cherish. But we are the bulwark against that darkness. The light--" she looks to Katryl, "and the fire, we carry within our hearts is our greatest weapon. We are the sword and the shield of this realm. And we fight for our families, our friends, and the countless lives threatened by the evil of the Abyss.
Today, we are the beacon in the dark. We are the unmovable line between hope and despair. And we will reclaim the sanctity of the darkness to forge a future bathed in light."
Giving each of her allies a meaningful look, she finishes, "Tis an honor to fight alongside each and every one of ye."
When the glow from the faerzress lights the caverns, the cleric grips her holy symbol and prays for a ward against death. She ushers everyone further back in the tunnel, well out of the line of sight of the demons that will soon be forcefully pulled into the pit.
((Katryl, Horkas, Khessa, and Traydark (and Lulu) all gain 5 temporary hit points and advantage on Wisdom saving throws. If an affected creature is hit by an attack, it has advantage on the next attack roll it makes. Once an affected creature loses the temporary hit points granted by this spell, the spell ends for that creature.
Also a reminder that Katryl has benefits from Ceremony in post #5744: For the next 24 hours, whenever the target makes a saving throw, it can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the save. Hoping this will stack with Bless @DM?))
As the group prepares, Katryl absently plays with a moonstone pendant that is now around her neck. She has her bow at the ready as well as the couple of potions she'd collected. "Don't forget with my boots I can move really fast. If the need should arise. And I've still got more fireballs, though I imagine the demons are not going to be very susceptible to fire." Otherwise, she seems rather quiet and introspective. It's not exactly the fiery fire genasi that the group has known.
When the time comes, she moves to the tower to wait, also finding an arrow slot to watch from in preparation.
With Lulu much earlier:
Katryl seems confused by the firbolg's suggestion that they would celebrate. "Just how are we going to celebrate?" She felt a tiny bit overwhelmed by the whole ceremony, despite the words focused on serenity and light. "I mean, this place was beautiful. And I don't know where you even got this necklace." She pauses a moment to grab it with her fingers and glance at it. "It's just... so much. I hope I can actually be of some service somehow."
Although the genasi seems worried, she also seems pleased with having gone through the ceremony. "I can't thank you enough Lunaria."
"Ye need no' thank me, love. I ken t'was a lot. I hafta remind myself ye did no' have the time most get before deciding such a thing." Lulu's ears perk forward then press back, "And... would ye like to celebrate? Normally a bit o' drinking and dancing in the moonlight would follow, but... we can just sit here a spell if ye'd prefer."
Of her mention of the necklace, Lulu nods at the pendant. "T'was mine, once upon a time. Given to me for my dedication. I hope ye do no' mind hand-me-downs, Brightfury." She smiles then gives Katryl some space to breathe and let it all sink in by taking a small step back. "I wanted to get ye yer own stone, but... perhaps, when this business is finished, we could set it with something different. With whatever stone speaks to ye." The words are casual, but there's a weight to them. I promise we'll make it through this.
Katryl again looks surprised when Lulu explains the moonstone had been hers. She almost looks like she was going to object, but instead replies, "If this was yours and you're passing it to me, then this is the one that will speak to me, I'm sure. There will be no need for finding others later." She then tries to force a smile. "I've not really drank much, and I've danced less. But if you're willing to bear with me I'll give it a try?"
"Miss Brightfury, for ye? I would bear far more than havin' my toes stepped on," Lulu says, her smile coming much easier.
"Shall we practice before we join the others, then?" Slowly, she offers her hand out, her constellated freckles twinkling like starts in the summoned moonlight.
(Happy to keep things moving! Just going back to this til you’re ready to throw down, @DM lol!)
"Oh! I'll be very careful not to step on your toes!" Katryl says, seeming perhaps a little offended. Well, not too much! "I just don't know how to dance. I can avoid toes." She takes Lulu's hand and finds herself studying the freckles on the firbolg's face for a long moment, almost losing track of what they're doing. Her skin gets a soft glow as she does. "So, dancing?" she finally says, ready to try this. Though she worriedly narrows her eyes. "We're going to join the others for dancing too?"
(Yes, just continuing this along, but certainly don't let it hold up continuing!)
The firbolg laughs. "Just teasing, love. I've seen how graceful ye are," she says, leading Katryl closer. "And I reckon ye'll be a natural at dancing. No' like when I was learning--many a toe were trod upon."
Lulu watches as Katryl's skin begins to glow, but assumes it's because of her worry over dancing in front of others. "We do no' have to. I didnae want to assume ye'd want to celebrate with just..." The fur on her cheeks puffs slightly, ears pressing back for just a moment. Focusing again on the task at literal hand, she says, "Now, normally I'd have ye put yer hands on my shoulders, but that'd be a might bit of a stretch! So ye can place one on my hip and I'll hold the other, aye? We'll start slow."
Putting her hand just beneath Katryl's shoulder blade, guides her into a simple 3-step dance. And, to give them something to dance to, she starts to softly sing. As her concentration is elsewhere, the moonlight in the cave fades into sparkling stardust and the soft light from the Underdark flora around them begins to glow again.
The otherworldly arcane hum swells, the entire cavern begins to rumble and quake as the power surges from the heart. You can see and hear debris beginning to crack and fall as the arcane energy starts exploding out from the heart. As it reaches the zenith of its power, arcs of purple energy streak out around the chamber, tethering to portals that begin to form, each widening out. Within moments of the portals forming, swarms of every kind of fiend comes rushing through, every monster that claims allegiance to a demon lord barrels out of the portals. Terrible cries of rage and bloodlust sound in an overwhelming din as the lesser fiends and monsters spy eternal enemies and begin to rush into a grand melee. But right on their heels, the true objectives appear: the demon lords. Each one behind its own army of warring slaves rages as they are confronted, also rushing into battle, heedless of your presence in the tower.
Khessa finishes writing the last notes in the heavy tome; then she calmly puts the quill away, blows a little to help dry the last of the ink, stores the spellbook back in her backpack... and, seeking comfort in Dawn's (even telepathic) closeness, she prepares for battle.
'The last word, we will not write with the quill... but with the sword, my friend' the blonde arcane warrior thinks, addressing her sentient weapon. 'Or should I say... with light?'
Looking out of one of the tower's slits, the tall adventuress smiles confidently: "It's working. They're fighting each other. Now they just have to keep up fighting to the end... until there's only one left".
Giving Traydark and Khessa’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, then planting a soft kiss atop Horkas and Katryl’s heads, Lulu gives her companions one last look over—so many precious lives held in her hands—then ascends to the top floor of the tower. Poised beneath the trap door to the roof, she drowns out all of the chaos beyond with fervent prayer to the Mistress of Moonlight.
From inside the black adamantine tower, the noble drow watches in great awe something that has never been seen before, ever. All the great demon lords facing off along with the endless hordes of the abyss, a battle of unfathomable significance to all of existence, somehow taking place in a small cave in the Underdark of Abeir-Toril. Traydark patiently waits for the battle to be over, fully expecting great Demogorgon to be last one standing. Even if they met with defeat most of the terror of the Underdark would have been dealt with and maybe there would be more powerful adventurers to finally take down the prince of demons.
(Traydark would attentively study the battle, particularly attentive to which demon lord fights and defeats which)
Katryl stays put in the tower, watching the carnage. She tries to keep relaxed as she waits for the battle to reach some sort of conclusion.
"Umm, yeah. No need to bother the others," Katryl replies quickly to Lulu. She says nothing as they go through the dance steps. And indeed, she manages to follow them well. Soon she had a feel for the simple steps.
She is a touch stiff with her hand on the firbolg's hip. And holds her hand without making any movement really. As the moonlight fades she continues the dance, just listening to the song. The diffuse glow seems to grow a bit, though penalized is just a trick of the dimming light.
Horkas directs the placement of the adamantine tower at the end of the canyon leading out from the waterfall pool area. (It looks like the beginning of the intestines from the stomach - not in the circular pit where the waterfall collects in a pool. =)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Something like this? The black blob being the tower, the red dot being where you set the heart.
(Move the tower 12 squares to the right and down 1 to block off that passage. Elementals will be in the ground or walls of the passage, waiting to emerge if needed. Drop the heart 5 or 6 squares down and on the other side of the pool. My thought is all of the demons are summoned into the round pit, have a grand melee inside of it, and the handful left will be picked off as they try to come up the canyon.)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Then with the plan at the ready...
The waiting is the hard part. Time seems to drag as you remain alert, weapons drawn, every nerve singing with the tension in the air all around you.
Finally, a swirling light begins to flare in the darkness. A barely audible humming shakes you to the core, rising and falling like a vast heartbeat in the depths. The glow of faerzress gathers and brightens, creating swirling pools like holes torn in the air. A roar sounds from far away as shadows move in the depths of those pools of light. The demons are coming.
After dumping the demon's heart into the pit, Horkas would remove the infused magic and inscribe his armor with arcane energies, giving him a little edge for the impending melee battle. He then takes a position behind one of the arrow slits in their adamantine tower to wait...
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Khessa feels her heart beating in unison with the pulse that is summoning the terrible Demon Lords, as she continues to feverishly take notes in her armored spellbook. 'Knowledge must be forged, to last' stands out on the cover - and she wants that knowledge, the knowledge of how it is possible to send back to the Abyss those timeless concentrates of irrational and savage cruelty, to last.
The blonde arcane warrior had already reported the theory of the ritual, the one learned from Vizeran's summary indications and from the notes of Gromph's Grimoire - now she is reporting the practice. What you see. What you feel. What you breathe, as the incarnations of the mad timeless evil manifest themselves. She hopes that that knowledge will never be needed again - but if one day someone should need it, she wants that someone to be as informed and prepared as possible.
The tall adventuress has now finished yet another note and fixes her blue eyes first on all those who are beside her at that moment, underground heroes of whom perhaps the Surface in the future will know little, but to whom it will be eternally indebted... then to those shadows moving in the depths of those pools of light...
'The demons are coming' Khessa thinks. 'What they do not know (and probably they cannot conceive, in their blind vainglory), if that this time we are ready for them'.
Towards the end of the nine hour ritual, Lunaria gathers her companions for a motivational speech, channeling her Goddess' light through her words.
"Friends, we stand here together, staring into the Abyss itself, poised to face one of the darkest threats our realms has ever known. We fight not just for ourselves, but for every soul that lives on this plane, every dream that flickers in the night, and every hope that stirs with the dawn.
These Demons seek to shroud our world in endless night, to cast aside the light and life that we cherish. But we are the bulwark against that darkness. The light--" she looks to Katryl, "and the fire, we carry within our hearts is our greatest weapon. We are the sword and the shield of this realm. And we fight for our families, our friends, and the countless lives threatened by the evil of the Abyss.
Today, we are the beacon in the dark. We are the unmovable line between hope and despair. And we will reclaim the sanctity of the darkness to forge a future bathed in light."
Giving each of her allies a meaningful look, she finishes, "Tis an honor to fight alongside each and every one of ye."
When the glow from the faerzress lights the caverns, the cleric grips her holy symbol and prays for a ward against death. She ushers everyone further back in the tunnel, well out of the line of sight of the demons that will soon be forcefully pulled into the pit.
((Katryl, Horkas, Khessa, and Traydark (and Lulu) all gain 5 temporary hit points and advantage on Wisdom saving throws. If an affected creature is hit by an attack, it has advantage on the next attack roll it makes. Once an affected creature loses the temporary hit points granted by this spell, the spell ends for that creature.
Also a reminder that Katryl has benefits from Ceremony in post #5744: For the next 24 hours, whenever the target makes a saving throw, it can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the save. Hoping this will stack with Bless @DM?))
As the group prepares, Katryl absently plays with a moonstone pendant that is now around her neck. She has her bow at the ready as well as the couple of potions she'd collected. "Don't forget with my boots I can move really fast. If the need should arise. And I've still got more fireballs, though I imagine the demons are not going to be very susceptible to fire." Otherwise, she seems rather quiet and introspective. It's not exactly the fiery fire genasi that the group has known.
When the time comes, she moves to the tower to wait, also finding an arrow slot to watch from in preparation.
With Lulu much earlier:
Katryl seems confused by the firbolg's suggestion that they would celebrate. "Just how are we going to celebrate?" She felt a tiny bit overwhelmed by the whole ceremony, despite the words focused on serenity and light. "I mean, this place was beautiful. And I don't know where you even got this necklace." She pauses a moment to grab it with her fingers and glance at it. "It's just... so much. I hope I can actually be of some service somehow."
Although the genasi seems worried, she also seems pleased with having gone through the ceremony. "I can't thank you enough Lunaria."
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi
After the Ceremony
"Ye need no' thank me, love. I ken t'was a lot. I hafta remind myself ye did no' have the time most get before deciding such a thing." Lulu's ears perk forward then press back, "And... would ye like to celebrate? Normally a bit o' drinking and dancing in the moonlight would follow, but... we can just sit here a spell if ye'd prefer."
Of her mention of the necklace, Lulu nods at the pendant. "T'was mine, once upon a time. Given to me for my dedication. I hope ye do no' mind hand-me-downs, Brightfury." She smiles then gives Katryl some space to breathe and let it all sink in by taking a small step back. "I wanted to get ye yer own stone, but... perhaps, when this business is finished, we could set it with something different. With whatever stone speaks to ye." The words are casual, but there's a weight to them. I promise we'll make it through this.
With Lulu:
Katryl again looks surprised when Lulu explains the moonstone had been hers. She almost looks like she was going to object, but instead replies, "If this was yours and you're passing it to me, then this is the one that will speak to me, I'm sure. There will be no need for finding others later." She then tries to force a smile. "I've not really drank much, and I've danced less. But if you're willing to bear with me I'll give it a try?"
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi
With Katryl:
"Miss Brightfury, for ye? I would bear far more than havin' my toes stepped on," Lulu says, her smile coming much easier.
"Shall we practice before we join the others, then?" Slowly, she offers her hand out, her constellated freckles twinkling like starts in the summoned moonlight.
(Happy to keep things moving! Just going back to this til you’re ready to throw down, @DM lol!)
With Lulu:
"Oh! I'll be very careful not to step on your toes!" Katryl says, seeming perhaps a little offended. Well, not too much! "I just don't know how to dance. I can avoid toes." She takes Lulu's hand and finds herself studying the freckles on the firbolg's face for a long moment, almost losing track of what they're doing. Her skin gets a soft glow as she does. "So, dancing?" she finally says, ready to try this. Though she worriedly narrows her eyes. "We're going to join the others for dancing too?"
(Yes, just continuing this along, but certainly don't let it hold up continuing!)
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi
(I was waiting for Traydark, but I can move it on later for sure.)
The firbolg laughs. "Just teasing, love. I've seen how graceful ye are," she says, leading Katryl closer. "And I reckon ye'll be a natural at dancing. No' like when I was learning--many a toe were trod upon."
Lulu watches as Katryl's skin begins to glow, but assumes it's because of her worry over dancing in front of others. "We do no' have to. I didnae want to assume ye'd want to celebrate with just..." The fur on her cheeks puffs slightly, ears pressing back for just a moment. Focusing again on the task at literal hand, she says, "Now, normally I'd have ye put yer hands on my shoulders, but that'd be a might bit of a stretch! So ye can place one on my hip and I'll hold the other, aye? We'll start slow."
Putting her hand just beneath Katryl's shoulder blade, guides her into a simple 3-step dance. And, to give them something to dance to, she starts to softly sing. As her concentration is elsewhere, the moonlight in the cave fades into sparkling stardust and the soft light from the Underdark flora around them begins to glow again.
https://youtube.com/shorts/SfRHwirr6A0?si=n3Z18GD1ZAaPsvBR
The otherworldly arcane hum swells, the entire cavern begins to rumble and quake as the power surges from the heart. You can see and hear debris beginning to crack and fall as the arcane energy starts exploding out from the heart. As it reaches the zenith of its power, arcs of purple energy streak out around the chamber, tethering to portals that begin to form, each widening out. Within moments of the portals forming, swarms of every kind of fiend comes rushing through, every monster that claims allegiance to a demon lord barrels out of the portals. Terrible cries of rage and bloodlust sound in an overwhelming din as the lesser fiends and monsters spy eternal enemies and begin to rush into a grand melee. But right on their heels, the true objectives appear: the demon lords. Each one behind its own army of warring slaves rages as they are confronted, also rushing into battle, heedless of your presence in the tower.
Khessa finishes writing the last notes in the heavy tome; then she calmly puts the quill away, blows a little to help dry the last of the ink, stores the spellbook back in her backpack... and, seeking comfort in Dawn's (even telepathic) closeness, she prepares for battle.
'The last word, we will not write with the quill... but with the sword, my friend' the blonde arcane warrior thinks, addressing her sentient weapon. 'Or should I say... with light?'
Looking out of one of the tower's slits, the tall adventuress smiles confidently: "It's working. They're fighting each other. Now they just have to keep up fighting to the end... until there's only one left".
Horkas watches and evaluates the battle as it rages, gaging the relative strengths and weaknesses of the armies and their demon lords.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Giving Traydark and Khessa’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, then planting a soft kiss atop Horkas and Katryl’s heads, Lulu gives her companions one last look over—so many precious lives held in her hands—then ascends to the top floor of the tower. Poised beneath the trap door to the roof, she drowns out all of the chaos beyond with fervent prayer to the Mistress of Moonlight.
From inside the black adamantine tower, the noble drow watches in great awe something that has never been seen before, ever. All the great demon lords facing off along with the endless hordes of the abyss, a battle of unfathomable significance to all of existence, somehow taking place in a small cave in the Underdark of Abeir-Toril. Traydark patiently waits for the battle to be over, fully expecting great Demogorgon to be last one standing. Even if they met with defeat most of the terror of the Underdark would have been dealt with and maybe there would be more powerful adventurers to finally take down the prince of demons.
(Traydark would attentively study the battle, particularly attentive to which demon lord fights and defeats which)
Katryl stays put in the tower, watching the carnage. She tries to keep relaxed as she waits for the battle to reach some sort of conclusion.
"Umm, yeah. No need to bother the others," Katryl replies quickly to Lulu. She says nothing as they go through the dance steps. And indeed, she manages to follow them well. Soon she had a feel for the simple steps.
She is a touch stiff with her hand on the firbolg's hip. And holds her hand without making any movement really. As the moonlight fades she continues the dance, just listening to the song. The diffuse glow seems to grow a bit, though penalized is just a trick of the dimming light.
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi