Tombs of Scoria: Episode 90

__NOTOC__
== Synopsis ==
The siege of Dragon Peak begins as the Brothers and Shine battle the lair's outer guard at the ground entrance of Dragon Peak, clearing out the defenders to make way for the army. The army begins advancing through the lair, but encounters resistance when a portcullis trap strands a battering ram squad sent in to breach the lair. Tyrael assists the soldiers, helping them to escape and allowing additional soldiers to move into the lair. The army continues fighting through the night, clearing out large portions of Scoria's lair. On the second day of the siege, the Brothers are informed that the army's advance has been halted by a slope warded with anti-magic, skilled orcish marksmen, and Salamanders from the Plane of Fire. The Brothers head into the lair under the guise of Seeming, supported by Braengang, the Wayfarers, and Shine. Anton detects Scoria, and finds she is somewhere nearby, extremely close to the slope.
==Recap==
===Siege of Dragon Peak - Day 1 (May 9th 1515)===
The Brothers stand before Dragon Peak, deliberating on the level of personal involvement they want to risk to save the lives of soldiers in clearing out Scoria’s lair. Tyrael and Anton decide to ride atop Shine, and for support as Shine strafes the lair entrance, anticipating the defenders will retreat inside Dragon Peak and allowing Drekis to capture the lair entrance. Shine casts from her robes and begins her attack. Invisibility is broken as soon as they fly close. Orcs spread out wielding bows and giants call out to other giants within the cave wielding large rocks.
As Shine flies over the defenders below, Anton wields a Wand of Fear, scattering much of the resistance. Without warning, a spell flies out from the mouth of the cave at Tyrael, revealing an invisible caster. Tyrael passes his save as he feels oblivion pulling at him, narrowly avoiding instant death. Reeling from the spell, suffers 8 damage; he decides to deploy an Ioun stone. Imrik communicates to land to kill the source of the spell, which they reason must be Scoria’s archmage to have cast a spell of such magnitude. The Brothers spot the spellcaster immediately but are unable to turn around quickly enough as Shine is committed to her attack.
Orcs and ogres perish in flames. Giants fire magical arrows at Shine, missing, but dissipating Shine’s Stoneskin. Follow-up shots strike Shine, inflicting 13 damage to her. Anton heals Shine for 7 as she turns around. Anton telepaths to Shine to bring them near the entrance, and they jump down with to confront the spellcaster. Imrik heads towards the fight. Shine lands at the entrance and begins shredding Scoria’s minions into piles of gore, as she suffers 53 damage in the process. Shine retaliates, killing most of the remaining mountain giants.
Tyrael and Anton are unable to spot the spellcaster within the lair and turn around to support Shine as she is being surrounded. Hasted, Tyrael and Anton slay orcs in a flurry of attacks. Imrik arrives at the battle and lays down withering fire with Hasted bow shots. Scoria’s minions, undeterred, continue to attack Shine. Anton severs the arms of a giant, rendering it harmless and bleeding out as he continues to skewer orcs.
Shine unleashes her gas-breath weapon, destroying most of the remaining defenders. Even with the threat of Scoria, Shine’s breath weapon kills enough defenders at once that the morale of the defenders breaks. By mid-afternoon, the outer entrance to Dragon Peak is cleared out, and the Brothers and Shine return to the army. The army’s clerics heal Shine and Tyrael back to full health.
The army stations soldiers at the entrance. The Brothers go back and forth on whether to press the attack. Imrik wishes to learn new spells for the lair crawl, but Tyrael is fearful of the Finger of Death, not wishing to risk another save or die should they wait a day. The Brothers decide to wait. Imrik casts a Scroll of Wizard Eye, sending the eye into the lait scout the first hallway of the entrance, where he sees a portcullis and seasoned orcish marksmen, who quickly destroy the eye. The Brothers call for the army to break open the entrance.
Tyrael takes to the skies with Shine to look for any traps atop Dragon Peak; Tyrael is able to spot two rockslide traps. Tyrael sends the army away as he and Shine disarm the two traps. At night, the Brothers and the army’s leadership discuss plans to send in lower-ranked troops as fodder to absorb the brunt of Scoria’s planned defenses before sending in their stronger units into the lair. A knight approaches the Brothers, saying she is willing to die for Drekis, but asks them for their guidance to have the best fighting chance. She asks if there is a way to detect Scoria if she were right around the corner. Anton advises the knight of Scoria’s dragon fear, but Imrik tells the knight of Anton’s unerring ability to detect Scoria. Anton assures the knight he will send scouts to the best of his ability should Scoria change her position. Anton detects Scoria and finds her circling above Dragon Peak, high in the sky.
The army sends in tower shield-bearing knights and a battering ram squad to destroy the portcullis blocking the army's advance. Imrik one of the men who head in. Anton and Imrik rest to recover spells. Tyrael, awake for the operation, quickly receives words that as the soldiers began knocking down the first portcullis, a second portcullis dropped behind the soldiers, after which a hidden spellcaster emerged with multiple Lightning Bolt scrolls, wreaking havoc. 
Tyrael is consulted on how to proceed after the first failed breach attempt. Instead of offering a plan, he decides to through the portcullises himself and calls for a fresh detachment of soldiers to join him. Wielding Ifan, he heads into the lair and slices a ten-foot wide passage for the soldiers to move through. The surviving heavy troops from the first wave retreat through the breach. Tyrael spots a shield covering a gem in the wall, deploys an Ioun stone and decides to help the soldiers engage the 7th Level orcish marksmen guarding the portcullises.
He kicks down the carved portcullis and spots a spellcaster, moves back and calls for the soldiers to charge through. The portcullis falls atop the spellcaster, disrupting his spell. Tyrael stands back as the soldiers of Drekis pour through and dispatch the orcish marksmen and the spellcaster. As orcish reinforcements arrive to combat the army, Tyrael stows an invisibility ward and turns invisible and joins the fray. 
Combat: Tyrael vs Scoria's lair guard
Tyrael past the battle and begins killing orcish defenders. A heavily banded door on the left of the champer opens, revealing a dwarf wielding a massive shield guarding an old woman. The old woman casts at Tyrael, which he avoids as he Blinks atop the dwarf, killing the dwarf in 3 attacks. The old woman calls out in Mistryan that Tyrael McGary has arrived.Tyrael turns invisible and begins to back up. Down the hallway, orcs and trolls, lead by a single human are arriving into the chamber. 
The old woman casts into empty air as Tyrael slays the spellcaster and looks down the shoddy-build corridor behind the mage. He calls for retreat.
Drekis sends in units with fire and spells prepared to clear out the trolls.
=== Siege of Dragon Peak - Day 2 ===
The next day, Anton awakens and is able to see Scoria circling high above Dragon Peak in the skies observing events unfolding below. Imrik casts and on the Brothers to look like ordinary knights and disguises himself as an archer, additionally using Seeming to cover the slate grey of their Stoneskin. Anton casts to the room in which Scoria was meeting her subjects. The Brothers are updated on the layout of the lair as the army continued clearing the lair through the night, during which hostile clerics and spellcasters were also killed. The Brothers decide to bring Shine with them into the lair, call the and to support them in the attack. They direct soldiers to clear the way in front of them, Anton guides them with a spell. The temperature is uncomfortably warm as ambient heat from nearby magma chambers warms the surrounding area.
Reports come back that the main hall of the lair eventually comes to a steep slope, guarded by salamanders from the Plane of Fire, with more orcish marksmen on platforms to impede the army's advance. The Brothers decide to clear the way with Shine. As the Brothers come to the spot of furthest incursion, Anton detects Scoria and finds her alarmingly close, somewhere within the mountain. Anton casts , seeing nothing untoward. With Scoria’s close proximity, the Brothers decide to coat themselves in Oil of Slipperiness. Anton casts and Imrik casts .
Anton has Shine throw a darkness stone up the ramp, which immediately turns off, then turns back on towards the top of the ramp. Anton has a soldier use a snap candle within the area, which fails to respond. The Brothers determine that the ramp is guarded by an anti-magic effect. Anton attempts to the anti-magic, but fails. Imrik reads a scroll, but it fails to dispel the anti-magic. Imrik tries another scroll, but the anti-magic remains. With Scoria so close by, the Brothers contemplate how to overcome the obstacle before them.
Category:Tombs of Scoria Episodes