Hardcore Heroes Otherside: Episode 6

__NOTOC__
== Synopsis ==
The session begins with the party guarding a mirror-like portal at the base of a pyramid, awaiting demons that never arrive. They speculate about the portal's function and Malkis's involvement, concluding that Malkis might be using the Shadow Plane to evade detection. Van, who suspects Georg of being possessed, attempts to exorcise the demon but fails despite various methods. The party deals with the exorcism of other possessed individuals, ultimately succeeding in driving out the demons with a combination of spells and summoned creatures. With their town, Shirebrook, in ruins and abandoned after a large demon invasion, they gather resources and plan their next steps. Georg manages to move the portal, and Malakai confronts a powerful shadow dragon, narrowly escaping. The party makes preparations to defend the remaining townspeople and figure out their next move while dealing with the aftermath of the invasion and the threats still looming.
==Recap==
The session starts with a wary party guarding the mirror like portal in the bottom of the pyramid, waiting for Demons that do not come through. The party theorizes that the demons cannot come through the portal, but the party wonders why, and cannot come to a good conclusion. Van informs the party that monsters were summoned here to destroy the group from Shirebrook, and is convinced that they were summoned by Malkis himself. Van informs the party that Malkis could not have moved from the Celestial plane to the Prime Material plane without being noticed by mortal and god alike. The party theorizes that Malkis may have used the potential passage from the Shadow plane to get to the Prime Material plane unnoticed and that to use his powers like he has he had to be on the prime material plane. Georg disagrees that there's much reason to even attempt understanding the chaos god, but Malakai implies someone has to oppose him in some way else he might just keep transporting random people. They also theorize that perhaps the shadow dragon is the form taken on by Malkis.
Van asks Georg if he has been possessed by one of the demons, which Georg reluctantly admits. Van informs Georg he can create a ward that the creature cannot enter; if Georg were to back into the warded area, it may force the creature out of him. Georg ponders this, but doesn't agree right away. Malakai tries to learn the Enlarge/Reduce spell from Georg, but does not succeed. Georg attempts to learn Armor from Malakai, and also fails. After making sure they have the spell components needed the party decides to try and banish the demon from Georg, so Van casts his ward spell, and Georg backs into the area. It does not work. Georg tries to Dimension Door into it, which also fails. Lastly, Van tries to back into it, also to no avail.
Malakai finds a room, webs it, and summons the bat like monsters into it. He then kills them so Van can purify them as food. Van tries to turn undead to exorcise the demons from him and Georg, but it does not succeed. Party rests in a hopefully safe room. Next day couple more people die from starvation. Georg tries several spells to determine the source of the demon inside him, first he ESP's and finds that the creature doesn't have any active thoughts, but rather a murmuration much like a background noise, then he detects it's alignment which is chaotic evil and finally he takes his wraith form in attempt to try sucking out it's soul, but cannot discern where he himself begins and the demon ends. Van spends a long time memorizing spells while Malakai identifies the tuning fork, Georg's potion of gaseous form, and the portal. He fails to learn anything about any of the items, but tells Georg that the fork detects extra dimensional spaces anyway, the portal leads to an extra dimensional shadow plane, and that the potion is cursed. Georg lets him keep the potion. Georg sketches a map of the pyramid during this time.
After reminding himself of the way the soul works Van gathers everyone in the temple and casts enthrall, speaking about the demon cult and souls, warning the assembled people of the danger of following this path. Van then asks for volunteers from among the possessed, as he is going to try to dispel the possessing demons. He gathers four people, Georg, and himself into a small room, and then casts Detect Spirits to locate the demons. After this, he casts Dictate on the spirits and commands them to leave the bodies of the people without doing them harm. As the spell completes, all six people feel a splitting headache as the possessed spirits push themselves out of their bodies. One of the creatures hurls itself at Malakai, who resists it's attack, and then Van cuts the creature down. Malakai summons eight Shadow badgers, and the badgers tear into the demons, killing three of them. The other two demons run to the door, open it, and move out. Van charges after one and drops it, as the other one hides. Van spots the demon, who runs right back into the Shadow badgers and gets torn to pieces. The Shadow badgers dance for the remainder of the duration of the spell, and then disappear. 
===1510-01-04===
After the demons are exorcised, the party starts making plans for getting everyone home through the portal. They decide to take the strongest members with them first, so they can move the portal. Van makes an announcement to the people they are about to leave, but they will come back with food for the rest of them soon, this seems to give people hope. Mother Ellyse refuses to leave the remaining townsfolk. Georg reduces Malakai, Van, Jeeves holding Chester, and Lady Fanny Kougler to fit in his pack, and then prepares to teleport all of them to the portal. He scries on the room, only to find dozens of shadow demons stepping through the open portal, one by one. Georg confers with the party and they decide to still go ahead with the plan, he then teleports into the room. He blinks right next to the portal and steps through.
From the prime material side, Georg closes the Portal to the Shadow Plane using the deactivation phrase. The brick wall that had blocked the entrance to the portal room is torn down. The party comes to the realization that they have been gone for days, and the demons have had all that time to move through the portal. Georg dimension doors to the surface, and the party sees smoke rising from Shirebrook. Georg conjures his phantom steed and rides towards Shirebrook, seeing several scattered demon, both in shadow form and in material form. Many of the buildings have burned down, and the door to the keep has been knocked down. They take Jeeves and Lady Fanny to Aldric's tower, and find that Tyrus Bellows's sword is missing. They find no people left in the city or the keep. They see a few demons, but come to the conclusion that the town is abandoned.
The party tries to figure out how many demons could have come through the portal. Realizing that Shirebrook, their hometown is abandoned and burning, party grows quiet and contemplative. Georg estimates that the number is between 3000 and 5000 potential demons. The party, now in an empty Shirebrook, raids the treasury and takes the gold with them. The party debates how to lighten the load to be able to carry it, and Van puts the king's crown on Malakai's head, who feels relieved. The party debates whether or not reducing the portal could cause a catastrophic result to it, as well as ways to prevent possession by the demons. Van offers the queen's crown to Georg, who politely declines. 
===1510-01-05===
The party sleeps on the issue, and the next day Van uses a reflecting pool to scry on the cleric in Thornwood, and learns that the temple in Thornwood has been burned to the ground. Van informs Georg, and then Georg lets Van know that he doesn't think the portal should be reduced again. Georg scries into the portal room, and then reduces the portal. Georg goes down to the portal, picks it up, and then tests the portal after he has moved it. The portal still works. He collects it and take it back to the surface.
Malakai polymorphs into a bird, and flies to the Shadow Mountains, with the intention of speaking to Malkis. He finds the area he had previously traveled, and finds worked stone similar to what he had seen in the shadow realm. He turns back to a human and talks a few steps forward, listening. He hears nothing. He yells out for Malkis, as he continues forward and to the left to an arched stone passage. He sees several male and female figures carved on either side of the entryway, which he determines to be the gods in a portrayal of the creation of the world. Malakai moves into the entryway and finds a fork in the passage, one to the left and the right. He takes a coin, and flips it to decide which way to go. As the coin hits the ground and make noise, he hears a deep voice saying "Who are you?" Malakai steels himself against a feeling of fear as a dragon like head comes forward out of the right passage. It has midnight blue, black, or grey scales, and everything behind the head is lost in shadow. Malakai backs out of the passage....
Van casts an augury, and fails to find an answer as to whether or not teleporting with the portal would be dangerous. Georg and Van run to Shirebrook and place the portal in a wagon before it enlarges, and then put it in the courtyard of the keep. Georg scries on Misty Rapids and finds out that it is yet untouched, but that the town is aware of the demon invasion. The people there are arming themselves and setting up barricades. Van and Georg decide to teleport there the next day when Malakai returns. 
As Malakai backs out of the passageway, the dragon inhales deeply and a cloud envelops him, draining his life force. Malakai shifts into an eagle and tries to fly out of the cavern, but the dragon casts a spell and all of the magical effects on Malakai disappear. Malakai runs away and casts a spell, and 6 different copies of Malakai appear. Malakai sprints out of the cave in a panic as he shakes off the effect of a spell from the dragon. The dragon runs out of the cave and takes flight, as Malakai casts a Fly spell and attempts to escape below the tree line. Malakai flees in horror as he hears the screams of not one, but three Shadow dragons overhead. He wedges himself in the nook of a rock and hides to cast invisibility, and then keeps running. Malakai breaks from the cover, and the dragon dimension doors right next to him. Malakai manages to escape as he hears the dragon call his name, shrieking in the distance.....
Category:Hardcore Heroes Episodes
Category:Georg Episodes