Session0074

==June 30th==
With the protective field of magic above Volus disabled, the party looks through the top of the Lightspire to see a platform hovering in the sky above Volus where the field had been. Interfacing with the Lightspire's controls, Odell attempts to start a slow descent to send the city back toward the ground, but he discovers that in order to facilitate this descent, he would have to stay with the Lightspire, which would take more time than the party can afford to lose. Meanwhile, the party quickly does some magical healing, as Falgron uses magical paints to seal the entrance to the Lightspire closed from approaching reinforcements. 
A few minutes later, the corpse of an elf falls into the Lightspire from the platform above. Investigating the corpse, the party finds that they are wearing robes adorned with Morningstar imagery, and that their throat was cut prior to the fall. The deduce that they were likely ritualistically sacrificed as part of the Mornignstar's ascension ritual. Quickly finishing their healing and other preparation, the party flies out of the Lightspire and up to the platform above.
Arriving at the flying platform, the party finds a group of Inquisitors protecting Dalestinn Sarmaris, Avourel Orion, and Thalien Omadithas. The ascension ritual seems to be well underway and nearly complete, as Dalestinn is reading the Raven Queen's Rites of Ascension, and Avourel is executing devout followers of the Morningstar and using powerful necromancy to transfer their souls into Thalien as part of the ritual. Quickly analyzing the situation, Odell explains that the ritual could be stopped by preventing Dalestinn from reading the Rites, or preventing Avourel from transferring souls into Thalien. He also says that he could interfere with the ritual and siphon it to himself using the rune of divine transference if he gets close enough.
Combat begins, as the party confronts the Inquisitors. Avourel Orion summons the undead spirits of Gragnok and Djinni to fight on his behalf. Studying Avourel's magic, Pepper and Jack deduce that destroying the undead spirits would simply send them back to Avourel, not permanently destroy them. They cannot be freed until Avourel is killed or the tether between them is otherwise somehow severed.
As the battle rages, XVIII manages to take the Rites of Ascension away from Dalestinn Sarmaris, and is about to throw them off the platform, before Odell urges him not to do so, saying that he needs them. XVIII holds on to the Rites instead. 
As Thalien Omadithas joins into the fray to offer magical healing to her allies, XVIII tells her that her parents believed in her, and points out the hypocrisy of her supposed goal of peace, given the amount of bloodshed involved in her ascension. Thalien seems somewhat shaken by their words, but nonetheless continues supporting her allies, blinding XVIII with sunlight.
XVIII, blinded and weakened by sunlight due to their vampiric nature, is eventually swarmed by Inquisitors, who get the Rites of Ascension back from them and return them to Dalestinn. The ascension ritual continues, but Odell uses his rune of divine transference to redirect the ritual to himself instead of Thalien Omadithas, sacrificing a few soul coins to do so.
The battle continuing, Malkoth banishes Avourel Orion to a demiplane using a maze spell. With Avourel on another plane of existence, Jack deduces that Djinni's spirit is temporarily untethered to him, and he uses a wish spell to bring her back to life with a new body. In doing so, she is released from Avourel's control, and joins the party in battle. Shortly afterwards, Avourel escaped from the demiplane and returns to the battle.
The battle continues, as the Inquisitors are all slain, as well as Dalestinn Sarmaris. XVIII once again retrieves the Rites of Ascension. As they hold them, the Raven Queen speaks into their mind, telling them to destroy the Rites. XVIII asks why she didn't do so herself, and she says that she never got the chance. XVIII encases the Rites in a bead of force and throws them off of the platform. Shortly thereafter, Thalien Omadithas resurrects Dalestinn.
Avourel Orion, seeing Djinni has been resurrected, attempts to kill her again. Thalien Omadithas instructs him to retrieve the Rites of Ascension instead, but he ignored her, telling her that it is over. Odell convinced Thalien to stand down and stop fighting, insisting that he has a more peaceful and better plan than hers. After a brief conversation, she is convinced to surrender, and orders Dalestinn and Avourel to stand down. Dalestinn does so, but Avourel refuses, continuing to try to slay Djinni.
Thalien Omadithas unleashes the magic that she has absorbed so far through the mostly-completed ascension ritual, transforming into an angelic celestial form. In this form, she uses divine magic to weaken Avourel Orion, and Jack kills him. 
Category:SessionLog