Cataclysm

cy4862 - Jan 28th - 29th

Vetrick and the rest of the party are in the tent talking to Gallor Galliath. The king of the island of Nyrn reveals that, despite appearances, he is actually supportive of what Vetrick is trying to achieve in the free citadel. As the conversation continues Gallor reveals that he has placed a spy in the midst of Muziel’s entourage. The spy is Madrigal, currently held captive by the Arch Demon council that Morikand summoned.

"It took me years to plant the spy," Gallor Galliath explains, "but once there he fed us much information. Muziel has found a way to absorb the primal power of Promethius in much the same way as a vampire would draw blood from a victim. This he learnt from Gresil. Apparently the librarian does something similar with knowledge. Trouble is that Muziel is now dependent on consuming this power to survive; he is a primal junkie that must consume to survive…"

Vetrick assumes that Muziel has taken the child along to breed; perhaps to produce other primal beings so that he can feed.

Morikand flies the Leaky Bucket back to the palace at Nyrnik. Morikand sets to work to create a pentacle beneath the palace grounds and after this the entire party head for the temple of Malakar where Vetrick wants to question the high priest. Along the way Xaian Lau realises they are being watched by unseen trackers and Nalgron hangs back to try to spot them.

At the gates of the temple Vetrick orders a gardener to fetch the high priest. It is early evening and Masiltar is preparing the midnight mass but comes to see Vetrick.

"Talk to me about Void-wielding assassins," Vetrick says bluntly.

Masiltar shrugs. "What do you expect baron. You have a towering arrogance if you believe that my master is going to forgive or forget what you did."

Vetrick controls his anger and they head back to the palace. He asks Morikand to use the soul compass to find Mosanra, a general defeated by Orbelain twelve years ago in the Bretonian civil war, and Morikand locates the soul to the north.

Nalgron visits the Willowstar temple where the high priest Stygor tells him about the glowing ruby called Willowstar’s Tear. "It will affect your mood and protect you in times of danger," Stygor says, "and when in danger she will aid you."

Morikand shapechanges into a Marraq but fails to find the mind of Mosanra.

Without warning the tell tale hiss of an arrow passes close to them. As it thunders into a nearby cart there is a shattering explosion as it is blasted into oblivion. It is Void magic! They scatter into cover and draw weapons but the sniper remains unseen and fires a second arrow into a wall, which explodes into nothingness.

Morikand casts demonic shield but the next arrow obliterates it. Xaian Lau moves out and tracks the spirit of the archer; a spirit that is intent on putting an arrow into Vetrick. Morikand spots the archer after a fourth shaft is launched. He casts fireball at hits the man squarely in the midriff, the blast illuminating the target instantly. The victim shrieks in agony as Morikand follows up the attack with the Marraq telepathic skill of dominate person. He stops the archer firing just as the Cohort rip him to pieces.

Albar Jaster casts spot traps on the body, which reveals the body is laced with them. A clear Malakarian symbol can be seen.

Nalgron diverts the party to the Cracked Tankard, home of the Guild of Assassins where they sit with Gramen, the guildmaster and talk about the Malakarians. Gramen agrees that unsolicited murder is bad for the city. "Because they bring them through the temple they are impossible for us to track…or for you to tax for that matter." Morikand says that he will build walls around all the temples to prevent such infiltration but Gramen offers his services on a more practical level.

"Ok do what you have to," Vetrick says.

Later Nalgron sneaks close to the Malakarian temple. It is three hours after midnight and the worshippers are departing after midnight mass and sacrifice. The assassin can sense others of his kind close by and indeed feels the icy hand of one of Gramen’s men on his shoulder. "Watch but do not intervene," the shadow says.

It is impossible to see what happens next but Nalgron is aware of silent violence inside. Four carts trundle up to the main entrance of the temple and the unconscious bodies are loaded onto them. Some are bruised and have minor injuries whilst several are dead. A couple of explosions illuminate the inner temple until, finally, two large hooded killers drag Masiltar, the high priest, out into the open.

His fingers are broken, his knees are shattered and a gag prevents him from speaking or casting spells. Gramen studies the priest impassively and orders them to take the entire temple to the palace.

In the throne room two hundred battered and bruised bodies are laid out before Vetrick in a heap. He toys with the idea of slaying one in ten but Xaian Lau gently reminds him that if he lets any live they will simply come back to trouble him in the future. Vetrick slaughters every last one of them, using his blade Scar to crush their temples. Masiltar, the broken high priest, is the last one to die.

Next morning Albar Jaster and the party are at the empty Malakarian temple. The priest casts call lightning but the effects are minimal. All agree that it must be destroyed because with the altar still functioning it will be possible for Malakar to move priests, and soldiers, through into Nyrnik.

Vetrick uses the Art of Being to clairaudience Malakar. The sibilant voice of his enemy returns to him as the god is aware of the connection; "You can kill a million of my priests and I will still destroy you…" Vetrick severs the link.

Morikand enters the temple and can feel the pregnant power of the altar. He realises that Malakar can see directly through into the empty temple and indeed Xaian Lau senses that Malakar is pouring power into the altar to destroy it – and anyone within miles of it. The arch demonologist senses the primal attack and casts time stop to buy himself valuable minutes. The party prepare to evacuate but Morikand makes a great sacrifice for them; he casts permanency on the time stop thus losing a portion of his soul in the process. The result freezes the point of explosion in time until dispelled.

They return to the palace to rest. Morikand posts five of his Cohort to guard the temple whilst he works on a way to move the altar or destroy the temple.

Next afternoon he summons a leviathan from the Plane of Towers, a demon built from granite towers twenty feet into the air. He fails to bind it and the party find themselves in a fight. Nalgron and Xaian Lau have their wrists caught by the creature as they attack. Xaian Lau frees herself but the demon begins to crush Nalgron’s wrist and slowly take his soul.

Vetrick channels his anger onto the demon and with his triple-demonic greatsword executes a shattering blow that blasts the demon’s body into a million pieces whilst he takes the soul forever.

Next Morikand and the party return to the temple and try to create a pentacle of travel around the altar. His subsequent attempt to move it fails. His attempts to banish the altar also fails.

As a Marraq he links with Vetrick’s mind, their idea is for Vetrick to absorb the blast using the Art of Being, their minds synchronised telepathically.

Morikand cancels the time stop.

There is no noisy explosion, just a shroud of darkness as Malakar’s Void energy destroys the altar in a cataclysmic maelstrom. A million charged pieces of altar scatter through the citadel, each one unmaking everything it touches within a radius of two miles.

Morikand and Nalgron are hurled to the ground as daylight floods in all around them. There are no screams of pain just anguished howls of bemusement as the citadel that was is no more than a handful of scarred ruins. The sea pours into the vast crater as the two men kneel on a slab of rock high above the rushing water. The full extent of the devastation becomes evident. No one building remains intact. The entire inner citadel, noble quarters, palace, and merchant quarters are gone. Only a small section of the harbour wall remains like a folly to remind people that a citadel once stood.

The survivors number hundreds. Many of them drown as the tidal flow breaches the empty harbour and rushes in to the crater. This leaves small islands of rock or towers that poke from the surging water. The survivors cling to these islands in much the same way as Morikand and Nalgron, the two men recover themselves as best they can but their minds are stunned by the death toll.

Morikand eventually speaks; "I am finished with Grayhawk now…"