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Once again, Jack creates a master plan to generate a supply of resources. This time, humanoid corpses from the Realm of Earth.

Quote from: Jack, from DiscordThinking about the humanoid farm
Aside from going out of the dungeon and raiding a village or something (or locating another blackshirt army), our best bet is probably the Realm of Earth. There are monsters in a lot of other realms, but many are above our pay grade and those places are difficult to survive in to begin with.
Also
We need defenses that ideally can be either automatic (for safety's sake) or activatable with a button-push so that Jack can get runes. This is also handy so that we can get mostly dead things to feed vampires.
The easiest way to do that is probably electricity.
Also
Easiest way to place the facility is probably to go through the realm of change
Damian can fly us a fourth of a mile, and then the 200X scale factor will land us 50 miles away.
Which is handy because the area will be bag-accessible but won't interfere with our other projects.
---------------
I'm thinking that we hide electrical cables under a bunch of murky water puddles, install a bunch of super-thick barred windows reinforced with wire so that Jack can see everything as it approaches us, and I think we can also add some mirrors, if we shape a really thin layer of silver foil behind glass, so use those to get visuals on any tunnels that have weird angles.
-
The storm cable is plugged into a routing device that can send electricity through parts of the system, all of it, or none of it depending on what wires we connect. These wires are attached to nonconductive levers for ease of use.
Similarly, there is a plumbing system (made of pipes that can be connected to the water or blood silo piping in the bag) that we can use to hose down corridors with water or blood.
That works in more or less the same way, except with valves and fluid dynamics instead of wires and electricity.
This is essentially how our real-life plumbing works.
The bag is just a portable link to a water tower.
--------------
Our escape route is just a portal back into the mortal world, which will land us some five miles from Fort Jack. If something goes wrong, we all go through and close it behind us.
Then we can return to Fort Jack through the realm of change at our leisure.
If the area we'll be walking around in is large enough I guess we can also add air portals to tunnel back to the main escape portal.
------------------

We'll also add ceiling-collapse traps and pit traps, like we've been doing in the dungeon, but both will be directly activated by Jack's ability to magically destroy load-bearing trees.

After unveiling his plan to the others, Jack has Damian fly them one by one through the realm of Change, exiting into the Realm of Earth in an unfamiliar location. Then, they set to work building the aforementioned structure.

---

The 'farm' works as intended, with one of the long-limbed humanoids appearing every hour or so. When it does, Jack floods the nearby tunnels and then pulls a lever to electrify the water and fry the beast. Each time, he feels a minute surge of power within. They do this for five hours until Jack is no longer able to contain any more of the runic magic that builds within him. (+5 Runes)

Along with the targeted prey, their trap also catches one of the giant worms. Shortly afterwards, two more of the cricket beasts appear and begin to tear into its scorched flesh without regard for the acid beading on their carapace.

Jack, full to bursting with runic power and faced with more creatures to gain it from, spends two runes in a Runebinding and a Runeseed.

Jack concentrates. The runes etched into his body glow brighter, and a glyph appears on the palm of his hand. Frulthar, familiar, but in a toxic green instead of its usual fiery red. He touches his palm to the curved blade of the chainscythe, to which the green glyph adheres. The blade of the scythe and the length of chain attached to its haft begin to shine dully with the same toxic green colour.

Next he orders the creation of two hemispherical halves of a glass sphere, then plants a Yvet Runeseed inside. An electric blue glyph appears on the glass, and shortly a mass of vines begin to grow outwards from the rune. Jack quickly has the glass sphere sealed as the vine grows to fill the space within. Now and then, the green tendrils emit a bright spark.


Jack pulls a lever, flooding the cricket-monsters with electrified seawater. They perish swiftly, insectoid limbs twitching for several moments before stilling forever. Jack moves in and carefully removes their acid-resistant exoskeleton, enjoying the replenished power gained from death. (+2 Runes)

He hauls the corpses through a portal into Fort Jack, from which he makes a short excursion to check his traps. He returns with a live badger and two wriggling hares, along with another one that's broken its neck and one that seems to have been half-eaten by another animal as it lay trapped in the snare.

Finally, with all preparations complete, Jack gives the okay to move on.

The corridor slopes upwards and is lit by natural light. After a few bends in the path, they douse their torches and step, at long last, out of the dungeon.

The tunnel exits into a valley in the shadow of two tall, snowcapped peaks. The sun shines directly overhead, though its light is cold and the party's breath shimmers in the mountain air. Straight ahead, a short hill rises from the grass of the alpine meadow. Atop the hill, a spire of black rock stands tall and unweathered by the winds that flatten the delicate flowers scattered around it.

Jack senses it first as the party approaches the foot of the hill. A presence surrounds the hill. Something old and powerful dwells here, though it does not yet make itself known. The oppressive, malevolent presence starkly contrasts the picturesque setting of the meadow.

As the party begins to climb the hill, following an ancient trail of cracked and weathered steps, the presence strikes them one by one. They begin to look over their shoulders, casting glances this way and that. Even Phet senses it, though the supernatural paranoia that grips the others is lost on her.

Eventually they stand atop the knoll, where the presence is at its most intense. They scarcely notice how the trail ends here at the foot of the obelisk or how there is no obvious way to proceed, so concerned are they with the ancient evil that seems to be waiting to descend upon them at a moment's notice.

At chest level, the rock spire bears etchings in the mark of a handprint.

To prevent everyone from standing around awkwardly and trying to get someone else to be helpful, Jack goes ahead and puts a hand on the spire himself.

The dark stone is cold under Jack's touch, though whether from some inner evil or merely a chill acquired from the mountain air, he cannot tell. It sucks the heat from his wooden hand, and when he pulls away the graven handprint is gone as if it were never there. Only smooth black stone remains.

A cold gust sweeps through the valley, and the evil presence dissipates as if carried off on the breeze. For a moment, the only sound is the whistling of the wind in their ears.

A thought creeps into the minds of those present. A thought not born of their own minds, an alien idea placed there by some ancient magic. Though wordless and voiceless, it brings a certain understanding. 'The gate is open', imparts the thought, 'but the keeper comes'.

The Magi stumble as the earth shifts beneath them. Amidst thundering noises of crashing rock, a chasm opens nearby.

It emerges from the chasm, birthed from a womb of frozen stone. Firstly arises a pair of gigantic, insectoid legs. Another pair, longer than the first, and a third longer still. Mandibles, then, and twelve dead, beady eyes.

It rises, a disgusting creature of fear and darkness. No less than five men tall, carried on twelve legs that, though thin for its mass, are still as thick as a man's chest. Its head and thorax resemble those of a massive spider, but in place of an abdomen it carries a long, curved tail like a scorpion. Its twelve eyes seek the Magi where they stand, great fangs brandished and spilling the same venom that drips from the point of its tail. Where it strikes the earth the grass turns yellow, and then gray, and then disintegrates into dust. Armour of thick chitin plates its entire body, wrapped in broken iron chains attached to spikes that have been hammered at points into its exoskeleton.

Schizon speaks, its voice a fell whisper into the Magi's ears. "Preeeeey. Long have I waited for such a feast."

The creature charges. With every step its legs break the earth, with every stride a spray of poison ravages the land. Its voice still rings, now little but a hiss of rage and boundless hunger.

------

Statuses

---

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy. 5/5 Runes.

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Healthy

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Winterlord[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +1

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +3
Agility Modifier: -1

Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph

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SCHIZON, DEVOURER OF LORDS

AC: 20

Vitality: 60/60

Special Capabilities:
???
???
???
???

Jack takes Thorn out of the bag and kills Schizon with it.

"I think I prefer Phet."

Thorn soars through the air, its coppery point flashing in the noonday sun. Between Schizon's fifth and sixth eye it finds its mark, tearing through the chitinous armour like parchment. As Jack's declaration echoes off the rocky slopes, Thorn's head splits apart into a number of spiked tendrils that burrow deeply into the creature's flesh.

The spider appears enraged, its voice rising into a furious scream. It continues its charge, tail lashing and venom spraying. But the spear entrenched in its head is merciless, metal thorns growing and multiplying inside its body. Copper spines begin to pierce its armour from within, and its movement slows. One of its legs collapses, and then another. And another.

A final tortured scream, and Schizon collapses. The momentum of its charge carries the corpse forward, plowing a wide trough in the meadow. Forward it slides, and forward farther, slowing and slowing. At Jack's feet it comes to a final halt. Not a twitch of movement disturbs the once-great creature's death.

For a moment, all is still. No sound remains but the whistling of the wind. And then, slowly, Schizon's body begins to dissolve. Tiny pieces of chitin break off, floating upwards into the air before disappearing into nothingness. More and more fragments of its armour and body float away, exposing the network of metal and spikes that slew the beast. And then that too shatters, breaking into a thousand thousand shards of copper that cover the hilltop, glinting in the light.

Eventually, Schizon's body has disappeared completely. But one object remains, lying amidst the piles of brassy shards. A weapon. A bow, but not like one any of them has ever seen. It appears to be cast of clear smoke, with four limbs and two strings arranged in the shape of an X. The string, like the weapon itself, is completely transparent and as corporeal as as a wisp of steam.


Jack opens his book to identify the bow.

"Ialhrethnia'a

An ancient, powerful relic. A weapon of the Twelve Magi, this bow belonged to Ra'ahe, the man blessed with Rending. It acts not as a source of power but as a lens through which that of the wielder may be focused. Stronger when borne by one strong of will, the relics of the Twelve Magi adapt to the hands that holds them."

------

Statuses

---

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy. 5/5 Runes.

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Healthy

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Winterlord[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +1

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +3
Agility Modifier: -1

Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph

------

Wild Magic Testing: Revised for ethical purposes.

By "ethical purposes" I mean "to keep Dark in the land of the living."

--------

-Tiny chips of mithril, maw-fang, and orichalcum (leeching first, magelight if the material cost is insignificant enough)
-Little bits of iron, copper, silver, gold, and steel if we have it.  (leeching and magelight)

-A bell
-A matchstick just as the last bit of wood burns away.

Jack has Keli equip the Helm of Focus, Ialhrethnia'a, and the ring of will in order to Shape a few chips of magical metal: Mithril, maw-fang, and orichalcum.

Then he has Adium test his magic with each of them in turn.

Leeching imbued with mithril: The targeted pool of water disappears, and the wet dirt surrounding it becomes a shining silver metal. Testing reveals that the metal is not nearly as hard as mithril and is seemingly mundane silver.

Magelight imbued with mithril: Metallic Magelight hardens as it lances through the air, a solid spike of silver lodging into the frozen earth nearby. Again, it has no obvious abnormal properties.

Leeching imbued with Maw-Fang causes the water to disappear, replaced by a viscous, bubbling black acid that slowly eats a pit into the dirt.

Magelight imbued with Maw-Fang acts as normal, but upon impact a bubble of black acid pops, spreading the vile fluid in a short radius.

Orichalcum acts as mithril did, but with mundane bronze instead of silver.

Iron, copper, gold, and steel act exactly as bronze does but with their respective metals.

The bell creates an effect similar to the Stormchime, though the noise is deeper and less powerful.

He attempts to imbue his magic with fire from a matchstick, but succeeds only in burning his fingers. The timing is impossibly strict, and after several attempts he gives up on attempting this method.

With a sigh, Phet taps the Broken Soul to Halt's body. The giant previously contained within the charm melts away, and the essence of her vampiric party member takes its place. With a deep breath, she transforms.

She has flesh again. Blood. Organs. But none of them are her own. She feels...vulnerable, with so many soft body parts exposed to damage. But the long claws protruding from her fingertips are not soft, and her movements are so quick and fluid as to confound the eye.

Damian offers his neck, and she bites. His blood tastes sweet. Succulent. It takes all the willpower she can muster to pull her fangs from his flesh without bleeding him dry.

It happens swiftly. Vampirism, a disease without cure or antidote, takes hold of the Winterlord. The transition from is excruciatingly painful, but not lethal.

Short claws replace his fingernails, little more than an inch long. But his movements are just as swift as Phet's, and his bite just as deadly.

---

Jack brings the two new vampires into the Realm of Earth, where he sets them upon the eyeless beasts that dwell therein. The monsters pose little threat against the three Magi, who restrain them long enough for Damian to drink their blood. With each feeding, his power heightens. His claws lengthen, his movements quicken, and his thirst grows ever stronger. By the eighteenth, he can barely control himself.

As he eagerly sinks his fangs into the nineteenth eyeless beast, the bloodlust abruptly recedes. He casts the dead creature aside and stands up, reveling in the taste of blood. Now he has reached the height of his power. Though he still feels the bloodthirst, it now serves him instead of he serving it.

The claws at his fingertips are six inches long, and his fangs no longer fit into his closed mouth, protruding between his lips. His movements, when he wishes them to be, are impossibly fast; not even a blur can be seen as he appears to teleport around the room. With great strength and terrifying savagery, he rips into the stone wall with his hands. He twirls his hand, and a vortex of blood rises from a puddle on the ground. He flicks a finger, and the vortex transforms into a fluid lash that strikes outwards with a crack.

Moreso, his status as Winterlord seems to have affected his vampiric abilities. His claws glisten with ice crystals, frigid to the touch. When he moves, a cold wind follows in his wake. As he 'teleports' the wind follows with sufficient speed to throw companions across the room. The whip of blood freezes solid mid-lash, falling to the ground and shattering into a hundred fragments of crimson ice.

---

The party that remains behind in the mortal realm notices something strange. Behind the now-ruined hill on which they stand, another one rises. This hill is perhaps twice as tall, and atop it stands an identical black stone. A path winds forward, up the hill. No one can recall either the hill or the path existing there a moment ago.

------

Statuses

---

Damian, Lord of Ice and Blood[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +9

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

Frozen Talons: +3 unarmed attack. Can make up to three unarmed attacks in one turn against the same or different targets. If agility is hindered in any way, make only one unarmed attack.

Fell Wind: You are able to move with short bursts of blinding speed. +8 agility, immunity to single-target attacks, and can teleport once per turn to a location within 30 feet if unobstructed. A cold wind drags nearby objects with you and scatters them at your end location.

Feeding: You can drink the blood of a living organism once to heal two minor or one severe injury.

Hemomancy: You gain +1 unarmed attack for every minor injury you currently suffer from. You also gain the ability to manipulate spilled blood and freeze it into ice. Finally, you can manipulate the blood within a mortal organism, though you must succeed on a contest-of-wills roll. However, the organism only uses half of its usual contest-of-wills bonus for this roll.

---

Jack hands Ialhrethnia'a to Katherine, and the party continue onwards up the path.

   The trail of broken stone snakes its way up the tall hill, its rough surface treacherous underfoot. As they ascend, the mountain air loses its bite and a warm breeze sets in. Strange - the surrounding mountain slopes are covered in snow, while this hill is still green and flowering at the same altitude.

   Before long they arrive at the hill's apex, where the path ends before another black stone obelisk. A powerful presence can be felt here, as Schizon's could before its attack. This one seems less voracious, less evil - but a far cry from friendly. They can sense it taking notice of them, watchful but unconcerned. Caring no more for the Magi than the ants that crawl among the flowers.

   The indent of a handprint is marked onto the obelisk at chest height.

Quote from: JackI stick my hand in the handprint.

The obelisk is warm, not cold as the last one was. So warm, in fact, that after several seconds Jack is forced to pull his hand away from the dark stone. As before, its surface is smooth as glass.

It does not take long. The air becomes warm, then hot, then sweltering. Harsh sunlight beats down, far too harsh for such a high mountainside. A mighty screech tears through the blistering air, and the guardian descends.

Twelve great wings, gleaming gold in the sunlight, fold close to a shimmering serpentine body. Long black claws dig into the melting earth, attached to the end of four powerful legs. Bloodred eyes stare out from beneath twelve pointed horns, and wisps of flame curl around rows of wicked teeth. The dragon lashes its tail, laden with golden scales and easily twenty feet long.

Enkavma raises its head and roars again, loosing a torrent of flame from its jaws. The sunlight is somehow even hotter, and those party members that have skin begin to feel it blister.

------

Statuses

---

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy. 5/5 Runes.

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Healthy

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Lord of Ice and Blood[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +9

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

Frozen Talons: +3 unarmed attack. Can make up to three unarmed attacks in one turn against the same or different targets. If agility is hindered in any way, make only one unarmed attack.

Fell Wind: You are able to move with short bursts of blinding speed. +8 agility, immunity to single-target attacks, and can teleport once per turn to a location within 30 feet if unobstructed. A cold wind drags nearby objects with you and scatters them at your end location.

Feeding: You can drink the blood of a living organism once to heal two minor or one severe injury.

Hemomancy: You gain +1 unarmed attack for every minor injury you currently suffer from. You also gain the ability to manipulate spilled blood and freeze it into ice. Finally, you can manipulate the blood within a mortal organism, though you must succeed on a contest-of-wills roll. However, the organism only uses half of its usual contest-of-wills bonus for this roll.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: -1


Ialhrethnia'a: Influenced by its wielder. +3 will, attacks using it count as magic attacks.
Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph

------

Enkavma: Last Dragon of Sunlight

AC: 22

Vitality: 60/60

Special Capabilities:
???
???
???
???

Keli attempts to shape the ground to block the sunlight.

Adium waits for Jack to finish before he channels his entire body into a magelight attack against the dragon.

Damian, suspecting the dragon might be resistant to cold, makes three quick unarmed attacks against the dragon with his claws, then teleports back to safety.

Pricey conjures an javelin before throwing it at the dragon a bit far from the range while giving a bit of time to move back more

Attack Rolls

Keli: 10 + 4

Damian: 17 + 3, 11 + 3, 6 + 3

Pricey: 16 + 4

Adium: 8 + 6 +  11

Enkavma(Sun Lord): 4 + 5
Enkavma(Sun Lord): 7 + 5

---

Keli concentrates, willing a structure to form from the dirt and stone beneath her. The ground rises into a dome above her head, protecting the party from the majority of the sun's heat.

Damian leaps forward into a series of slashing blows with his claws, his arms moving faster than the eye can follow. Despite the blows' ferocity, Enkavma's armour of scales deflects them all. Damian kicks off the dragon's hide and dashes back to the safety of the dome with the speed of a thunderbolt. A cold wind follows at his heels, kicking up a cloud of dust on arrival.

Pricey conjures a razor-sharp javelin and hurls it towards Enkavma. The blade, though sharp enough to pierce straight through a man, bounces harmlessly off the dragon's scales.

Jack steps into the bag and out into Fort Jack. Snatching up a hare, he touches his palm to the animal's forehead. A glowing violet rune appears there, and he drops the hare to return to the fight.

With one fluid motion, Jack opens a portal to the realm of ice. Simultaneously, he has the contraption contained within his knapsack begin to spill a torrent of water onto the hilltop. The water begins to steam on contact with the blistering ground and most of it runs off down the hillside, but the flow is endless and lost fluid is swiftly replaced.

A blizzard issues from the portal, but when met with the burning air outside swiftly melts. The rent continues to spew powerful winds, but not one of the haildrops or snowflakes makes it more than ten feet outside.

Adium charges his magic. After only a few moments his limbs have begun to burn with the energy trapped in his veins, but he persists. The pain intensifies, spreading into his chest and head. When at last he can bear it no longer, he channels the energy into a Magelight strike.

Pale blue light streaks through the air, meeting golden scales on Enkavma's flanks. Though much of the light is turned away by Enkavma's armour, some pierces through. The dragon roars in pain as a lance of light burns into skin and flesh, and one wing of twelve hangs limply at its side. (-6 Vitality)

Adium collapses beneath the dome, barely conscious. With a start, he realizes that he cannot breath - the water here is nearly two feet deep, and lying prone the surface seems so far away. He tries to stand, but his legs refuse to obey - the surge of power has wrought havoc on his body.

Enkavma rears up on its hind legs, the water barely reaching its ankles. Raising its head, the dragon roars to the sky. A torrent of flame reaches heavenwards, and the sun burns even hotter. Now the snowflakes barely make it out of the ice portal, and exposed skin begins to redden almost immediately. (Intensify +1)

And then from the burning sky fall two pillars of light. They crash down with the heat of a bonfire and the force of a falling boulder, leaving two wide craters in the ground. Fortunately, neither are close enough to damage the party or their protective dome.

------


Statuses

---

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy. 5/5 Runes.

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Head injured, hest severely injured, arm severely injured, arm severely injured, leg severely injured, leg severely injured, drowning.

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Lord of Ice and Blood[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +9

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

Frozen Talons: +3 unarmed attack. Can make up to three unarmed attacks in one turn against the same or different targets. If agility is hindered in any way, make only one unarmed attack.

Fell Wind: You are able to move with short bursts of blinding speed. +8 agility, immunity to single-target attacks, and can teleport once per turn to a location within 30 feet if unobstructed. A cold wind drags nearby objects with you and scatters them at your end location.

Feeding: You can drink the blood of a living organism once to heal two minor or one severe injury.

Hemomancy: You gain +1 unarmed attack for every minor injury you currently suffer from. You also gain the ability to manipulate spilled blood and freeze it into ice. Finally, you can manipulate the blood within a mortal organism, though you must succeed on a contest-of-wills roll. However, the organism only uses half of its usual contest-of-wills bonus for this roll.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: -1


Ialhrethnia'a: Influenced by its wielder. +3 will, attacks using it count as magic attacks.
Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph

------

Enkavma: Last Dragon of Sunlight

AC: 22

Vitality: 54/60

Intensify: +1

Special Capabilities:
Intensify: Instead of taking an action, can use Intensify to increase the heat of the sunlight. Beginning on the next turn, all attacks have a permanent, stacking +1 to rolls.
Sun Lord: As a bonus action, can cause two pillars of fire to descend on separate areas of the battlefield. Each has +4, modified by Intensify.
???
???

Adium grabs the water around him with his left hand before shaping it so it goes to either sides of his head, hopefully letting him breathe.

Quote from: Jack, action from DiscordJack thrusts with the blade.

Adium grabs the water around him and, imbuing his magic with the fluid, begins to shape a breathing bubble.

Jack, consumed by a sudden fit of madness, pulls out Shattered Eternities. He weighs the knife in his hand, its ancient blade thrumming with power.

The words of the void god echo in his mind. The voice speaks so clearly and loudly, he could swear he heard it out loud.

"Do not thrust with the blade."

"Do not thrust with the blade."

"Do not thrust with the blade."

Jack thrusts with the blade.


Only twice before has this blade struck down the wall between the realm of mortals and the Thirteenth. Once, in the distant past, when the Thirteenth god lived and his realm was unbroken. And again, in the domain of the Void, wherein dwelt a god to prune such lunacy before it bore its rotten fruit. There is no god here.

There is nothing here.

There is everything here.

The sky bends into shapes he cannot comprehend, stained with colours he cannot hear. The land shrivels in pain and contorts in joy. What is this place?

A voice, familiar but alien.

 "It is me."

What place is this?

"I am it."

Pla̴ce wha̵t ̶t̶his̶ ̶is̴?̴

"I am you."


W̴̨̡̠̟̝̘̖͙̋͑͋̈́̄͋̄̆̏̚͠ȟ̢̢̖͕̳̓͂͌͆͌̎̾̊̊̕t̴̰̱͉͎͉͓̼̦̯̮͎̤̐̈́̀͜ͅh̝̞̤͓̯͈̖̒͜i̜̍̓͛̇̅͜s̴̨̛̳̱͎̝̩͕͚͕͔̝̪̈́̓́̀́̒̂́̍̍̑͝ ̢̻̳̻̦̩͔͚̳͂i̵̝͓͗͋͊̈́̏́̐̏̄̑̉̏͘͘ṣ̶̼̰̞͎̤̮̽̌͌̓̍͆̕͘̕͠l̶̨̖̱̜͓͚͓͓̠̯̤̽͊̄̇̽̃͐͑̓̀͂͘a̴̡͍͕͍͉̪̺̣͉͓͍͓̅͊̃͊̿̌̏̂͗̏̑̕͘͜͜͝͝ͅc̴̨̡̳͈̔̈̑̈͆͒͂͂͑̕e̵̖̩̪̺̟̩̰͔̭̠͈͓͍̫̾̉̃̒́͗̌̕͝ ̵̡̻̦̫̝̹̰̩͉̂̏̾́̽̓͗̅͂̉̚̚͝å̫͍̩̱͐̇̃̆͆̌̈̀͆̓̚͠ţ̵̟̈́̈́̽̍̑̒̀̏̂̋̽́͒͘p̴̨̛̺͙̯̪͎̬̦͍̺̥͋̿̽̋͊̈́̔̾l̲̀̀̈͑̈̈́͋à̴̢̺͉̱̲̰̱̞̮̺̈̃̇̐̓́̏̾̒̆͗͠?̵̰̖͍͇̙̞̎̇̊̃̾͠ͅ

"You are me."


Jack looks into the mind of a dead god, and finds it both empty and full. Empty of reason, empty of logic, empty of presence. But full of madness, and full of power.  
And full of hate.

The knife is gone. The others are gone. The dragon is gone. The hill is gone. Only Jack remains, watching as the rent expands and the dead god consumes the world. As he consumes the world.
His hands reach out, grasping every mountain, every ocean, every tree. They pull, breaking the mountains and draining the seas.
He has no hands.
The rent expands.
His eyes look out over his world, and where his gaze lands new rents appear.
He has no eyes.
The rents expand.
His heart beats twice, and the sound of live becomes death.
He has no heart.
The rents expand.
The world is gone. Only he is left. And the Twelve. But soon they too fall to him.

Only two remain. First the servant. His servant. The one-handed man, the cripple, the one who failed him. It smiles, expecting a reward for its aid.

Then there was one. Only the other. The one who broke the wall, who let him in. The god that was slain. The one they called Jack. The one they called Githain. Himself.

Then there were none.



---



The end.

WELL
I WASNT FOLLOWING THIS CLOSELY BUT HERE COMES A BIG F TO YOUR CAMPAIGN

You all see this? This is my cosmic reset button. Just one press and Bam.

---

Attack Rolls

Jack: 17 + 7
Pricey: 7 + 5
Other Jack: 18

Enkavma(Sun Lord): 8 + 5, 4 + 5

Will Rolls

Adium: 7 + 6

Katherine: 8 + 6

Damian: 15 + 5

---

Adium reaches out and closes his fist. The water slips through his fingers like sand through an hourglass, but enough remains for his magic to take hold. The fluid parts around him, opening a shallow canyon of water through which he can breathe. Before he's finished the coughing fit that consumes him, Phet has bounded over and pulled the mouth of the knapsack over his head. Adium disappears into the bag.

Violet light shines Jack's palm, and a rectangular shield of energy materializes in the air above the remaining party. It shimmers with the same purple glow. With his other hand he twirls Shattered Eternities, and from a rent in the walls of time tongues of lightning flash forth. They lash out at the golden dragon, burning its wings and scorching its scales. (-3 Vitality)

Katherine raises her arms, and a series of explosions hurl crimson blood towards the dragon. None of it reaches the beast's hide - only a sticky residue is left as the water within is vaporized. The torrent of blood that spews from the party's knapsack at Jack's command meets the same fate.

Pricey points his axe at Enkavma, and the head explodes into dozens of tiny metal shards. Few of them contact the dragon, and none get past its iron scales.


The great dragon rears on its hind legs and raises its wings. With a mighty gust it beats downwards, lifting its back limbs off the ground. For a moment, it appears to be taking flight.

Freezing wind howls, and gray clouds form out of a clear sky. Driving rain obscures the battlefield, sizzling into steam on contact with the burning ground. Hailstones pelt down, splashing into the several feet of water that cover the hilltop. Damian hovers atop the surface, the air around him shimmering with magic. Enkavma roars in anger and, unable to gain height in the midst of the storm, returns to the ground.

A fleeting sense of victory is followed closely by dread as the dragon opens its jaw. It roars again, and this time the sound is fire. A torrent of flame sweeps the battlefield, cutting through the wind and water like a honed blade through flesh. Fortunately for those assembled before the dragon, its aim seems to be poor. The fire streams past the short earthen shelter that protects them, searing their eyebrows with its heat.

If anyone was counting, they might have noticed that only five people remained within the shelter. The rock groans and crumbles before them, the storm screams about them, and above them brilliant explosions fill the air as two great pillars of fire smash into Jack's magical shield.

------


Statuses

---

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy. 5/5 Runes.

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

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Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Head injured, hest severely injured, arm severely injured, arm severely injured, leg severely injured, leg severely injured, drowning.

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Lord of Ice and Blood[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +9

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

Frozen Talons: +3 unarmed attack. Can make up to three unarmed attacks in one turn against the same or different targets. If agility is hindered in any way, make only one unarmed attack.

Fell Wind: You are able to move with short bursts of blinding speed. +8 agility, immunity to single-target attacks, and can teleport once per turn to a location within 30 feet if unobstructed. A cold wind drags nearby objects with you and scatters them at your end location.

Feeding: You can drink the blood of a living organism once to heal two minor or one severe injury.

Hemomancy: You gain +1 unarmed attack for every minor injury you currently suffer from. You also gain the ability to manipulate spilled blood and freeze it into ice. Finally, you can manipulate the blood within a mortal organism, though you must succeed on a contest-of-wills roll. However, the organism only uses half of its usual contest-of-wills bonus for this roll.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: -1


Ialhrethnia'a: Influenced by its wielder. +3 will, attacks using it count as magic attacks.
Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph

------

Enkavma: Last Dragon of Sunlight

AC: 22

Vitality: 51/60

Intensify: +1

Special Capabilities:
Intensify: Instead of taking an action, can use Intensify to increase the heat of the sunlight. Beginning on the next turn, all attacks have a permanent, stacking +1 to rolls.
Sun Lord: As a bonus action, can cause two pillars of fire to descend on separate areas of the battlefield. Each has +4, modified by Intensify.
???
???

It's been about a year since the last turn, but since we were on the penultimate boss and having received positive responses from some of the players, I'm reviving this game. Hopefully, we can finish it this time. A brief explanation of the scenario follows, since we've all forgotten by now.

The party are currently fighting Enkavma, the penultimate boss. Enkavma has 51 out of 60 health left.
Enkavma can summon pillars of destructive light from the sky. The party is protected from this by Damian's blizzard, Jack's runic barrier, and Keli's earthern shelter. The battleground has been flooded and is simultaneously being pounded by Damian's blizzard and scorched by Enkavma's sun magic. The blizzard keeps Enkavma from flying.

Adium is currently drowning in the water and is almost dead from expending all of his energy in a failed magic nuke.
That's the current scenario. Equipment is mostly listed in the turns, but Jack has built a few extradimensional structures. Notably, a 'farm' where he can trap monsters from the Realm of Earth and a safehouse called Fort Jack, located somewhere in the world and accessible from the bag of holding.

That's about it. Players, feel free to post again.

----------------------------------

Adium uses the healing items in the bag to survive. He looks around inside the bag to see what other items they have.

Hey there, what have I've missed?

/nullpost

Not much, to be honest. A more detailed writeup of the scenario and what's going on follows, which I should have included in the last post but oh well.

Scenario

     The hill on which the battle is taking place was once grassy, but is now cratered and scarred by the fight. The sun is unbearably hot, in excess of sixty degrees Celsius. The ground is covered in an endless supply of water pouring from the bag of holding, in some places deeper than the height of a man. A blizzard smothers the sky, its wind and rain doing little to keep back the searing heat of the sun. At times, pillars of searing light fall from the sky and blow holes into the ground, vaporizing nearby water.
Enkavma is lightly injured, but the winds of the blizzard keep it from flying. It has demonstrated the ability to breathe torrents of fire, call down the flaming pillars, and spend a turn intensifying the sunlight to empower itself.

Jack, Phet, Keli, and Pricey have taken cover underneath a makeshift shelter of shaped earth. Jack has summoned a magical barrier above them, protecting them from the pillars of light and the winds of the blizzard. Adium has escaped into the safety of the bottomless bag, and Damian is flying nearer to the dragon.

Characters

Explanations of the capabilities of each character follow.

Jack

Original power is Crushing. Additional abilities:
Jack is an ironwood dryad and has two souls, one green and one blue. He can feed on the corpses of humanoids to regain health.
Jack has Shattered Eternities, enabling him to open portals between the twelve alternate dimensions. He has also constructed a complex mechanism inside the bag - allowing it to spray a basically unlimited amount of water, rocks, or blood at will without making another portal.
He has two animals bound to his control: Jack the acid-spitting snake and Bubbles, a hydra the size of a large dog.
He can propel sharpened, iron-hard leaves as an unarmed attack and control plants. He also has a complex system of rune magic, allowing him access to several magical effects, the ability to grow magic plants, and imbue weapons with certain magics.

He currently has a runic mechanism set up that will, upon being targeted by a lethal attack, teleport him away from the battlefield and sacrifice a small rabbit in his place.

Damian

Original power is Sparking. In Damian's case, this creates cold fire. Additional abilities:
Damian is a Higher Vampire and has also been chosen as an acolyte of the god of winter. This means that any magic he casts is imbued with cold and empowered, he can manipulate winds to fly, can create or disperse blizzards, can make three unarmed attacks in a turn, and can move so fast in a near-teleportation that he is nearly immune to many attacks. He can also drink blood to regenerate, gain attack power for every injury he suffers from, and freeze the blood inside an opponent.
He has the Crystal Mace, which turns objects it strikes into solid crystal. However, it slowly does the same to its wielder - his hand has begun to be affected. Finally, he is immune to cold damage, resistant to fire, and has a talisman that produces concussive blasts when he casts magic.

Adium

Adium is the Mageking and also the Heir of Reformation. His base power is Leeching.
His innate abilities allow him to create and manipulate a destructive energy called Magelight, using it for powerful single attacks or wide-ranging AoEs. He is able to sacrifice his own lifeforce, channeling his health into even more devastating spells. When an attack misses him or fails to penetrate his armour, the floating stones and earth that surround him launch themselves towards the attacker in a high-velocity attack. He can consume magical items or the flesh of magical beings, converting it into flesh for himself, and imbue magic with any element simply by holding an object in his left hand.
He can also, using his shield and talisman, change the shape of stone and rocks and in doing so convert them into solid bronze.

Phet

Original power is Rending.
Phet has been turned into a lich, granting her immunity to poison/necrosis/insanity/supernatural fear. Healing potions and magics will harm her instead. In place of this healing, she can scavenge bones from corpses and add them to her own skeletal body to replace damaged ones.
While she is wearing Tristan's Cloak, she cannot be killed. The cloak - which is currently protected underneath her armour - can be destroyed with fire or tearing. If the cloak is destroyed or removed, she will be deanimated and return to a pile of bones. Destruction of her skull during this time will result in her final death.
She holds the Chain of Winter, allowing her to cast shards of ice and freeze water as a magic. She also has the Chain-Sickle, the chain of which can be manipulated mentally, and the Broken Soul, which is able to store the soul of a defeated creature and later turn the wearer into that creature. Finally, she has the Anchor Amulet which imbues her magic with brine.

Pricey

Pricey's original power is Conjuring.
Pricey does not currently have any particular innate abilities. He does, however, have two magic weapons: Cleaver, which summons a spectral clone of itself and can be used for two attacks in the same turn, and the Splintered Axe, the head of which can explode into high-velocity shards of metal at the wearer's command. Finally, he has Nalr's Bracers, which grant him telekinesis.

Katherine

Katherine's original power is Bursting. She is the Red Queen, giving her access to several blood magic related items.
The Blooded Coin can be flipped to channel power into either the Blooded Knife or the Blooded Rings and empowering the chosen item.
The Blooded Knife steals a small amount of the damage dealt to enemies.
The Blooded Rings allow Katherine to touch an ally, healing their injuries and taking on half of the damage healed herself.
The Blooded Circlet empowers her magic and imbues it with blood.
Lifeplate heals some of her injuries at the end of every combat.
Finally, Ialhrethnia'a is a bow whose attacks function as magic. They increase in power with the will of the wielder. The Blooded Circlet affects its shots, imbuing them with blood.

Keli

Keli's original power is Shaping. She does not currently have any particular innate abilities. Her equipped magic items afford her the following powers:
The Bladed Orichalcum Bow causes opponents struck to bleed, sapping health for a duration.
Whisper is an arrow that can be fired to bind its target with chains of shadow and conceal the shooter in darkness for the remainder of the turn. After being shot, it returns to her quiver.
Finally, the Clockwork Bracer can be used to slow down the passing of time in an area, on a target, or imbue magic with time freeze.

Next, I'll try to expand on the inventory the party currently has available that is not in the status. I'll admit that this has been mismanaged and some items may not be included - but hey, none of us remember them anyway, right?
A reminder that each character can equip one Major Talisman and one Minor Talisman.

Inventory of the Bag

Major Talismans

Shajarazimnir - A shield that provides +3 willpower and can be used to summon a wall of wood that, at the beginning of next turn, explodes outwards in a cloud of sharp cloud of splinters.
1x Golden Medallion(+4 will)
Desert's Tooth - Slowly turns the wearer more monstrous as they kill their enemies.
Diadem - Greatly empowers the wearer whose will is strong enough. Destroys the wearer whose will is weak.
Helm of Focus - +3 will, +2 AC. Magic is more precise.
Veil of Shadow - +5 willpower, less likely to be targeted by enemy attacks. Gains +3 AC against energy or non-physical attacks.

Minor Talismans

2x Ring of Willpower
3x Assorted Useless Rings

Armour

4x Suit of Orichalcum Armour
4x Orichalcum Shields

Weapons
6x Orichalcum Swords
Firekeeper (Bow): +7 attack. Standard arrows(Not Whisper or the Arrow of Pestilence) explode on impact, igniting objects and damaging enemies in a short radius.
Shadowbane: +4 attack, creates AoE bursts of light when striking the undead.
Arrow of Pestilence: This arrow, when shot into a creature's hide, will summon a horde of flying insects such as scarabs, locusts, and wasps to dog the subject and inject a potent toxin to strike the brain. When the poison has run its course, the arrow returns to the shooter's quiver.

Structures

Snake-operated tanks: Jack the snake controls valves connected to several massive tanks of water, blood, and rocks in the Realm of Earth. At player-Jack's verbal command, any one of these can open and spew forth their contents from the mouth of the bag.

Fort Jack: A safehouse located somewhere in the real world, accessible from a portal in the bag.

Monster farm: A trapped tunnel located in the Realm of Earth from which the party has harvested the native monsters.