Tombs of Scoria: Episode 93

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== Synopsis ==
The Brothers, Shine, Wayfarers, Vash, Braengaeng, and the forces of Drekis clash with Scoria in a final battle to decide the fate of Arcadia. The battle is bloody and vicious: most of Drekis's high level knights, Vash, Braengaeng, and the Wayfarers, are all slain. However, with the sacrifice of their allies, the Brothers are afforded vital time in the fight: Tyrael assassinates every one of Scoria's wizards; Imrik destroys Scoria's Stoneskin; Anton and Shine engage Scoria in melee, slaying Scoria the Dread. The Brothers pour over the riches of Scoria's hoard, and Anton saves the Brothers as he severs Scoria's Ring of Regeneration. With Scoria's death, and the death of every other dragon in Arcadia except for Shine, the World enters into the Age of Empires.
However, in the midst of celebration, unknown to anyone else, Anton goes off on his own to Scoria's chambers, where he renounces his oath to Velthara. Anton casts the Amulet of Velthara into the lava of Dragon Peak, but as he does so, he erupts in flames and dies as his mortal form and equipment vanishes. Furious, Velthara bellows that the Amulet sealed Anton's fate long ago, and he is now condemned to live out the rest of his undying days in her service as a scorched Death Knight. 
==Recap==
===Siege of Dragon Peak - Day 7 (May 15th)===
Anton casts and two castings of from the army’s basecamp, directing it to retrieve a harpy above the mountain. The servants drag one harpy to Anton. The harpy sings a song, transfixing nearby soldiers, but the Brothers pass their save. Anton pierces the harpy’s wings with the Spear of Rohana, expending one charge, stunning the harpy and putting an end to the song. The harpy does not have a lightning spear, prompting Anton to execute it. 
Anton casts on Imrik, Tyrael, , , , and . 
The Brothers direct some lowly soldiers to step around the corner, walking slowly down the hallway, extending forth at least 200 feet, leading into the anti-magic zone. The hallway is dark, but the entryway is illuminated by braziers. Imrik’s spell fails to pierce through the anti-magic. Tyrael directs a spear from the army to advance up to the anti-magic zone. After some tense moments, the soldiers arrive and hold their position, and seemingly nothing happens. Tyrael directs high-level rogues from the army to begin searching for traps. Imrik calls for ballistae to be moved up to the hallway to be aimed down the corridor. 
As the rogues search, Scoria reaches her head around the corner and incinerates the rogues for 121 damage, revealing that Scoria’s breath weapon is unaffected by the anti-magic. 
Anton calls for two teams of 10 soldiers: two 5th Level officers and 18 supporting soldiers, with the objective to trigger the trap. Anton addresses the soldiers, explaining their mission is to run in and pull the lever. Imrik expresses concern that the soldiers will immediately break under Scoria’s dragon fear. Imrik and Anton then call for a 7th Level knight and other soldiers, making them swear an oath to Astair that they will not disclose the information they will be told. Imrik pulls a hair from the 7th Level knight. 
The second group is told that the first group is being sent in to die under Scoria’s fire, and the second group is actually being sent to pull the lever. Anton lies to them that lever should release lava into the main chamber. He requests Lance, the fastest man in the army, to join the mission, explaining his job is to pull the lever, and that the other two groups are there to protect him.
The soldiers assemble before Scoria’s inner chamber and don their armor. Imrik casts Haste over the soldiers. The first group runs in, and their Haste is immediately dispelled, followed by the cries of their deaths. The second group follows suit with Lance in tow. As Lance rounds the corner, he is crushed to death by the rocks, revealing that the 7th Level knight successfully made it to the lever and activated the trap. 
Anton casts on the hair of Baris, the 7th Level knight who pulled the lever. He asks:
What monsters were in the room?
* Golems, Mephits, Ogre, Dragon, Dwarf. 
What part of the room was Scoria in?
* Ceiling
Were there people in the cages?
* I didn’t see.
Were arrows fired at your group?
* No.
Was it worth it?
* I died afraid.
The Brothers update General Mameyo on the events that transpired. Mameyo consoles Anton, but the two refocus on the task at hand. The army sends sappers, diggers, and a high-level Wizard to work out the functioning of the anti-magic field. The army’s rogues work through the area and find no traps. The diggers begin to chip away at the words of power etched into the stonework.  
As the dwarves begin parting the stone, Scoria’s fire breath rips through the hallway, incinerating the assembled workers and wizard, revealing that Scoria’s minions from the other side also began parting rocks, creating an opening for Scoria to breathe through. The Brothers ask Shine to squeeze down the hallway and unleash her breath weapon to melt the rocks. A soldiers reports that the stones are mostly unaffected and that Shine will need to be within 50 feet to effectively begin melting stone. Tyrael gives Shine the Ioun stone and asks her to move up and begin melting the stone. 
Shine moves up and begins melting the rocks, as all the surrounding stonework begins to melt. The melting takes time, but it is slowly done as Shine melts the first 20-foot section of anti-magic. A soldier rolls a light stone down the hallway to track the progress. Scoria’s forces seemingly do not respond, as Shine destroys the remainder of the anti-magic. Imrik asks how much stone is left, to which Shine reports more than 10 feet remain. Imrik casts , clearing through some of the stone. Shine asks whether she should remain to monitor the situation, but the Brothers decide to retreat with Shine to rest. Soldiers stay behind to watch the hallway with three ballistae pointed at the entryway. 
Imrik tests on Shine, it doesn't work. On the way back to camp, Tyrael helps bait some magma elementals out of the lava for the 7th Level knight to battle, and Imrik assists with arrow fire.
=== Siege of Dragon Peak - Day 8 ===
The Brothers return to the precipice before Scoria’s inner sanctum. The Brothers see that the soldiers and ballistae are all incinerated. Imrik, frustrated, has a soldier peak the corner, where follows shortly thereafter Imrik sees the rocks have been adjusted in their placement. Imrik casts and he begins clearing through the rocks. 
Anton an elephant, directing it to clear the rocks. As the elephant begins to move some rocks, Scoria attacks the elephant with her claw, dealing 24 damage, and follows with another claw attack for 37, killing the elephant. In the wake of the elephant's death, the Brothers see that a 12-foot area has been cleared.
The party retreats one final time, ending the eighth day of the siege.
The Brothers use the Rod of Splendor for the members of the assault team and the Queen and the generals. The atmosphere is somewhat festive, but people drink sparingly as the assembled warriors look at each other knowing not all of them will survive the next day. Tyrael addresses the attendees, acknowledging the sacrifices Drekis has made, and those of the Brothers themselves.
=== Siege of Dragon Peak - Day 9 ===
The Brothers, Shine, Vash, Braengang, and the make their way up through Dragon Peak, accompanied by Anton’s clerics, forty knights, and five Wizards. 
Long buffs and items
 on , on - Imrik
 - the Brothers, Jack, , and Lord Kohn
 - Brothers, Wayfarers
 - Brothers. 
 - Imrik (5) and Jack (3)
 - Brothers and Jack into nondescript soldiers
Wand of Lightning given to Lord Kohn
Wand of Fire, Wand of Paralyzation, Wand of Fear and Wand of Missles given to accompanying wizards.
Wand of Fear and Wand of Missles 
Scrolls of Dispel Magic to Lord Kohn and the other wizards.
Scrolls of Fire Protection to Brothers and one to the knights.
Anton tells the spellcasters that Scoria wears a Ring of Spell Turning, warning them to not target Scoria with any spells. Anton casts on Imrik. Imrik wakes up without issue and re-memorizes spells.
Anton’s clerics begin casting , increasing the power of his spell casting. 
Pre-battle spells
 - Brothers and Jack
 - Brothers and Jack
Oil of Slipperiness - Brothers
 - Jack
 - Anton
 - Imrik
 - Imrik (7)
 - everyone
 - Brothers, Wayfarers, 6 knights
 - everyone (5HP)
 - Jack (7 -> 19str)
Imrik gives everyone the signal to read the Scrolls of Fire Protection and deploy the Ioun stones as he casts .
The knights lead the charge.
== The Battle to Decide the Fate of Arcadia: The Brothers, Wayfarers, Shine, and the Forces of Drekis vs. Scoria and Her Minions ==
Round 1
* The Spear breaks through the precipice. Tyrael and Anton deploy their Ioun stones following behind.
* The Spear clashes with the Stone Golems, which are there to halt the advance. The Spear wins initiative and attacks, dealing 9, 15, 21, and 15 to the first golem. 
* Tyrael activates his Cloak of the Cheetah and flys over the knights, bounds to the southern wall of the chamber, hovering 30 feet in the air beneath a balcony. 
* Anton engages the golems, dealing 15 with his spear, and destroying the first golem with the Moonblade.
* The Golems turn to face Anton, destroying 2 charges of Stoneskin.
* The Ogre swings at Anton, destroying another charge.
* Imrik casts Disintegrate to clear the way. Vash and Pola guard Imrik as the trio moves up to the precipice.
* Shine squeezes through the corridor to reach the battle.
* 10 Greater Gargoyles drop-down atop Jack, Imrik, Pola, Vash and Lord Kohn. The Gargoyles destroy Jack’s Stoneskin, with one strike critically striking Jack for 26. The Gargoyles destroy 4 of Pola’s Stoneskin charges, and 2 of Lord Kohn’s. The Gargoyles swipe at Imrik’s Mirror Image.
* The Spear kills the Ogre and the Golems in the entryway. One of the Knights notices Mephits descending on them and cries out.
* Imrik calls out for Shine to breath-weapon the gargoyles, feeling it is of dire importance to get into the fight quickly
Round 2
Vash backs up to move the zone of fire protection off of the Gargoyles.
Five streak towards Anton, and are absorbed by his Ioun stone, lowering the charges from 28 to 27.
Tyrael flies up to the balcony, where he spots 4 invisible spellcasters. He into the cage. The spellcaster casts at Tyrael, but they are absorbed by Ioun stone. Tyrael stabs with Ifan, instantly killing the spellcaster as the poison wracks and shuts down their vital organs. Tyrael sprints to the next set of cages, slaying another spellcaster.
Jack disengages and flies up into the hole
A Gargoyle attacks Jack, dealing 12; Jack passes a save against poison. 
The Spear begins to falter under Scoria’s dragonfear, suffering -2 to Hit and Damage, but rush ahead to Zarthan, hacking him to pieces before he is able to cast his spell.
Anton flies up to a Mephit, killing one outright, and killing another, landing on the ground by the knights.
A spellcaster reads a scroll, dealing 20 damage to a Knight with .
Shine breath weapons the gargoyles; all pass their save, suffering 48; all survive. Braengang is caught within the fire but saves, surviving at 1 HP.
Imrik fires at the Gargoyles, but they are unaffected by his ordinary arrows.
Pola attacks, but misses.
Lord Kohn casts , striking 5 Gargoyles for 21; some save, taking 10 and surviving at 1 health, and the rest die.
A spellcaster casts at a Knight, dealing 5.
Braengang turns to face the Gargoyles and fires, but the Gargoyles also prove immune to the +1 arrows fired from his +2 bow.
Vash’s readied attack strikes an incoming Gargoyle, dealing 11. 
The Gargoyles destroy Pola’s Stoneskin, but she avoids the 2 attacks afterwards. One Gargoyle strikes Imrik, destroying a charge of Stoneskin. The Gargoyles attack Vash, dealing 14.
Another Spellcaster deals 5 to a Knight with .
Smoke Mephits breathe atop Anton, destroying charges of Stoneskin and blinding him. The Smoke Mephits kill Braengaeng and breathe atop the Knights.
Scoria, slate grey in color, takes her first action, taking a swipe at Anton’s Ioun stone, destroying it. Scoria swipes at a Knight, missing, and bites at a Knight, dealing 38. Scoria hovers in the air, seemingly without flapping her wings.
Tyrael attacks the spellcaster before him, killing him, and runs to the next cage, swinging at the last spellcaster, killing the caster. Tyrael leaps down to the chamber and runs up to the cages along the eastern wall.
Pola retaliates, slaying 2 Gargoyles and wounding a third.
Vash attacks, slaying a Gargoyle.
Scoria, Hasted, unleashes a second flurry of attacks, knocking off 3 of Anton’s Stoneskins.
Round 3
Lord Kohn acts first and casts , killing the two Gargoyles before him. He moves down the hallway, suffering two attacks of opportunity, destroying his Stoneskin.
Jack spots a wyvern above him and calls out its presence. Jack critically strikes the wyvern, dealing 29 damage, and strikes again, dealing 31, killing the wyvern.
Two spellcasting squires cast Scrolls at Anton, 31, removing his Stoneskin, interrupting Anton’s spell.
The Gargoyles attack, dealing 12 to Vash.
A spellcaster emerges and casts at Anton, dispelling Oil of Slippernyness, , and . It then dispels the Knights’ Scroll of Fire Protection and their Righteous Wrath of the Faithful.
Pola finishes off a Gargoyle.
Anton’s spell is canceled. He retreats along the wall back towards the hallway.
The Knights charge at a Golem, dealing 39. The Golem punches back, killing a Knight. 
Vash destroys a Gargoyle
A spellcaster casts a Scroll at a Knight for 17.
Smoke Mephits dive bomb the blinded Knights, dealing 1 and 5 damage.
Tyrael Blinks into the cage above him, attacking spellcasters and slaying 2 of them. Tyrael dashes down the corridor and sees a spellcaster with Mirror Images, covered in Stoneskin. Tyrael runs back up the hallway and waits.
Shine acts, killing two gargoyles.
The Wayfarers and Imrik run forth into the chamber. Shine squeezes behind, following.
Imrik draws his Bow +2 and removes 1 Stoneskin from Scoria.
Scoria hovers forth and attacks Imrik, with two of her claws, hitting Mirror Images, with the third destroying a Stoneskin charge.
Tyrael attacks the spellcaster apprentice in front of him, slaying it. Tyrael dashes down the corner and attacks 3 times, removing 3 Stoneskin charges.
Imrik fires at Scoria 15 times, shredding her Stoneskin after the ninth shot. Imrik drops his Bow of Speed and draws his Bow +2.
Scoria attacks Vash, killing him. She then bites at Pola, missing.
Round 4
Imrik and Pola move into the chamber. Pola readies an attack for Scoria.
Imrik shoots at Scoria, hitting her and dealing 7.
Lord Kohn fires a at the Mephits, hitting 3 of them and Scoria, dealing 24 and killing them, with Scoria’s magic resistance dissipating the spell.
Tyrael slashes at Balaerius with Ifan, critically striking him for 12, interrupting his spell and destroying Stoneskin. Tyrael swings with Frostbrand, destroying another Stoneskin.
Balaerius stands there, doing nothing.
Jack flies up to Scoria, but misses with his two attacks.
The Knights finish off the golem.
Shine enters into the chamber, taking an attack of opportunity, losing Stoneskin, but makes her attacks at Scoria, striking her with a claw for 16, critically striking with a claw for 11, and biting her for 27. Scoria’s lashes out at Shine, dealing 15 to Shine and destroying the Stoneskin. Scoria’s Fire Shield breaks.
Mephits blow smoke at Imrik, destroying his illusions, knocking off a Stoneskin charge, and blinding him.
Scoria launches a claw attack at Lord Kohn, dealing 14, and follows up with another claw, critically striking him for 14. Seeing he is still alive, she bites him, and somehow misses.
Imrik blind-fires at Scoria, missing.
Pola makes her readied attack at Scoria, missing.
Tyrael makes 4 attacks at , destroying 4 charges of Stoneskin.
Jack attacks Scoria, but misses.
Shine claws at Scoria, dealing 13, missing with her second claw, and biting her, dealing 27.
Scoria shreds Lord Kohn, killing him, and knocks Jack unconscious out of the air; Jack dies as he hits the ground.
Scoria reaches her head down the corridor to bite at Anton, missing.
Imrik hits Scoria, dealing 5 damage.
Round 5
Scoria acts first. Scoria descends close to the ground and unleashes her breath weapon for 130 damage. Pola is incinerated and dies. Imrik’s Fire Shield fails its save, and he suffers 45 damage. 
Tyrael slashes with Frostbrand, hitting Balaerius, then slashes with Ifan, triple critically striking him for 12 and interrupting his Spell
Reinforcements from Drekis arrive as Scoria’s breath weapon is unleashed, with 27 of 36 Level 7 knights incinerated, rendering most of Drekis’s 7th Level Knights now dead.
Anton charges in, striking Scoria, dealing 14 with the Spear of Rohana, then unleashes a Vengeful Smite with Moonblade, dealing 25.
Imrik fires at Scoria, but misses.
Shine misses her first claw, hits with her second for 11, then rolls a natural 20, critically biting Scoria for 74, ripping open Scoria’s neck, killing her.
One Knight is crushed to death as Scoria hits the ground. Shine claws at Scoria a few times to make sure she is truly dead.
Tyrael continues to strike at Balaerius, destroying the wizard's Stoneskin. Balaerius's triggers, recasting Stoneskin.
Knights charge down the hallway to engage Balaerius.
Round 6
Balaerius casts a spell and disappears from sight. Balerius attempts to out of the cage, but he plummets to the ground below the cage and dies.
Combat End. Wayfarers, Braengaeng and Vash are dead. Scoria the Red is dead.
Imrik takes a moment to assess the situation, he thanks Shine for her bravery and the vital role she played in slaying Scoria. Shine replies back, expressing her gratitude that the Brothers turned away from the evil of the Dragonbane Weapons. Imrik remarks that perhaps the two of them could grab a drink sometime in the future. Anton checks his amulet for Scoria and finds her nowhere. Anton directs the soldiers to continue clearing the lair, but nothing of note is found. Anton draws his Sword of Sharpness and cuts Scoria’s head off and her ring fingers off, as her two rings, a Ring of Spell Turning and a Ring of Regeneration, fall to the ground. Anton collects the rings, preventing Scoria from regenerating. Anton continues barking out orders, declaring all red dragon scales property of King Tyrael McGary. 
As the Brothers come to Scoria’s Hall of Spears, they see all the magical loot from the other Dragons of Arcadia that they expected to find but never did. The Brothers realize the other dragons had been paying tribute to Scoria to be allowed to live in Arcadia, meaning was likely an alter ego of Scoria. Anton orders Scoria’s throne shipped to Mistrya.
The Hall of Mirrors is a small room with plenty of mirrors all pointing at the throne and a huge closet with human clothes and jewelry. The last room is a lava bed with a thin walkway leading into it. 
=== A Fiery End ===
Some time later, Anton walks to Scoria’s chambers alone. Surrounded by lava, he kneels down, thanking Velthara, but saying he is going to decline to go to Solum, asking to be relieved of his clerical duties. 
Velthara’s booming voice shouts in Anton’s mind, 
Anton takes off the Amulet of Velthara and casts it into the lava, renouncing his oath. As the Amulet bursts into flame, so does Anton's flesh. Anton is incinerated utterly as his burned body disappears, leaving nothing behind except burn marks on the ground where he once kneeled, with his equipment disappearing along with him. Velthara yells out that the Amulet sealed his fate long ago, and that one way or another, he will serve her. Velthara condemns Anton to live out the rest of his undying days in her service as a fiery Death Knight. 
Tyrael and Imrik search for Anton, but they are unable to find him.
Category:Tombs of Scoria Episodes