The Nineteenth Session (SEASON FINALE!!!)

The group sets out on the final stretch of their journey to the Methwood. A peaceful fourth day has them feeling ominous that something is about to happen. They begin airing out their problems to one of the guards, even though he keeps reminding them he's not a therapist, and typically responds with "damn bro, that's crazy" though no one picked up the hint. On the fifth day, Aoth realized they had stopped hearing the ambiance of wildlife, and grew very nervous. Travelling for an hour of near silence, they came to a blockage in the road where three trees had fallen. The guards all got out of the carriages to begin moving the trees, when four of them were immediately shot and killed in an ambush. Fifteen assassins revealed themselves in the trees on either side of the road, while six Ebony soldiers came out from camouflage covers and blocked the road past the trees. The team of Ebony Shadowhunters stepped into the road behind the caravan, boxing everyone in. The Midfall guards took a defensive phalanx position, gathering around the first two carriages where everyone was sitting.

The leader of the hunters speaks, “This is it. The end of the line. You’ve evaded us long enough while we played tracker and ran our tests to see what kind of groups we were dealing with. Those games are over. You know what needs to happen." at which point, Shag, who had just woken up from a nap, jumps out of the carriage with an ale in hand, sipping it as he calmly walks toward them. "I hope you're coming out here to tell us you're going to cooperate.Those boys are coming with me, or else there won’t be a single one of you who is ever heard from again.” the Hunter said to him. Shag stops, says "Well, I'll show you something else that's coming to you" and casts Thunderstep, sending an explosion toward them while magically stepping back into the carriage. At that moment, Ragnar and Lyn beckoned for the group to jump out and make a run for it on 3. Following the plan, they burst from the carriages, as the Midfall guards formed a tortoise phalanx around them, moving with them to cover them from the assassins' arrow fire until they got to the fallen trees. Jumping over the trees, Ragnar jumped off the last one, landing forcefully with a power strike from his axe, forcing the blockade of soldiers to split from their formation, allowing Lyn to charge in and force them out of the way enough for an opening. As soon as the opening was there, everyone else charged through, sprinting past and down the trail. Quickly enough, the Hunters on horseback caught up to the group, along with five assassins in the trees, at which point Bashak and Haldes stayed back to hold them off. Bashak used a power stance with a massive weight shift to knock one of the hunters completely off his horse, and began chanting a battle haka. Haldes did a flip off a tree to trick shot some of the assassins. The rest of the group continued to run down the path.

A few minutes further, they heard the remaining four horses gaining on them, as two hunters jumped off their horses in the middle of the group, cutting off Shag, Yief, and Halrek. Vissella immediately pulled Aoth and the boys with her as she used Misty Step to put distance between them and the hunters as the two remaining on horseback passed the ones who stopped to battle. Continuing to sprint for a couple more minutes, Vissella stopped as she heard the horses getting closer. She grabs Aoth and kisses him, and tells him “Get them to safety. It’s all up to you now. I’ll do everything I can to hold them back, and if I die, it’ll have been for the greatest cause I can think of. Azrael will welcome me with open wings, and I shall wait for you, the Dragon’s Shield, to join me when your work is complete, as you too have proven your heart belongs there. GO!” Aoth holds her, touches her face, and then runs with the boys, as Vissella turns and draws her rapier, standing strong.

Meanwhile, Shag, Yief, and Halrek battle against the two hunters who cut them off. While they all manage to land hits, their foes are the toughest they've fought yet, and don't falter; striking back hard and landing blows on Yief and Halrek, who uses his agility to minimize the damage from his hits, just avoiding a blade to his torso. He disengages, running behind a rock to attack from a distance. Shag unleashes large waves of his eldritch power, casting powerful spells against the two foes, while an enraged Yief swings with power strikes even the hunters have trouble being braced for.

Aoth and the boys continue running for nearly ten minutes, before a thrown javelin whizzes just past Darkwind's head and splinters against a nearby rock, with a shard flying out and hitting Applaudicus on his left eye, cutting his cheek and eyebrow. The leader of the hunters, now horseless, stops about 15 feet from them, and begins to monologue. “I must say, for a group of ragtag idiots, you’ve made me have to run around these countries more than I cared to. Your defiance…I respect it. Even if you’re the reason I’ve been able to follow you all this time. You see, ever since the first time we ever encountered one another, when you shielded those boys from my attack…you were marked. A deep magic that burned a curse into your veins that you didn’t even know was there. And I could feel that curse. It led me straight to you, no matter how hard you tried to evade me, no matter how clever your schemes were. Yet even then, even in the face of a death you couldn’t possibly overcome, you stand strong. Had you been born on our side, you could have been quite the soldier. But alas, here you fall. The last barrier between me and the last hope of the Draconian people." he says, drawing his sword. "Die well, Dragon’s Shield.”

Aoth responds "You're damn right I'm a shield!" and casts Shield of Faith on the boys, though by a touch of Alehel and Azrael, the shield grows into a wall of light between Aoth and the hunter. The hunter charges his sword with Hex energy, and the two clash. Applaudicus begins to pull Darkwind away, but Darkwind starts crying, yelling “I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU! I CAN’T LOSE ALL OF YOU! I CAN’T SEE MORE OF MY FAMILY DIE!” prompting Aoth to turn to him and say "Your destiny is bigger than me. You have a great power, and you MUST survive. You'll be okay, I promise." Darkwind chokes back a sob and nods, and turns to run with Applaudicus. Seeing them get further away, the hunter gets frantic, yelling "NO! NO! NO!" as he beats on Aoth's shield. Once the boys are out of sight, Aoth lets himself breathe out, and in that moment, the hunter shatters the shield. Aoth is knocked back to a knee, but puts his hand on his shield to push himself back up, draws his hammer, and summons his spiritual glaive. The two begin to duel, trading blow for blow in an impressive array of strength and skill.

Meanwhile, Shag, Yief, and Halrek continue their battle. Yief successfully protects Shag from a number of hits from one of the hunters, but left himself open in the process, and was badly hurt by the other hunter. Shag was able to continue to deal a great amount of damage due to the protection, badly burning one of the hunters before disengaging and running to find cover near Halrek. The hunter he burned chased him, however, and hit him hard enough to stun him. Realizing he was Shag's last hope, and possibly Halrek's, Yief found a second wind, hitting the hunter he was battling with a terrifying flurry of blows, with the final blow being an immense upward swing that cracked the hunter from under the jaw, finally killing him. In his adrenaline rush, he surged toward the other hunter, swinging recklessly in a last ditch effort to save his teammates, and successfully landed a killing blow. They briefly collapsed with exhaustion, but were met by Ragnar, Lyn, Bashak, and Haldes, who had overcome the soldiers, assassins, and hunter they were fighting. They all looked banged up, but quickly got up and continued running to catch up with Vissella and Aoth.

Continuing their battle of weapons and magic, Aoth was hit by a piece of the hunter's lightning attack, which he stopped to quickly heal himself from. However, upon charging after healing his injuries, the hunter found an opening and struck Aoth on his right shoulder, the left part of his abdomen, and then maneuvered behind his shield and brought his sword down on Aoth's arm, severing it at the elbow. Aoth fell to his knee as he started to bleed profusely, his vision blurring in and out. The hunter stands over him. “And thus, finally, the shield falls. And with that, I will find the princes, and destroy the last of hope. You, your group…you thought you were Sentinels of the Free, but freedom shall fall to Dread. And its sentinels with it!” He yells as he raises his sword for a killing blow. However, before he can swing, Applaudicus sprints out from behind a nearby tree, slicing at the break in Grimgard’s armor at the back of his knee, causing him to drop to a knee. He quickly rolls away, grabbing Aoth’s shield to protect himself. About 15 feet down the road, through his vision coming in and out of blur, Aoth sees Darkwind, with the Draconian Kingsword in his hands. The blade begins to glow, and Darkwind begins to charge fire in his hands. The fire turns white and runs up the length of the blade, as Darkwind yells “A king doesn’t run, and a king never leaves a man behind!” Before yelling “Burn” (Agyol) in Draconic and slashing, a wave of fire flying off the end of the blade, hitting the hunter directly in the chest and knocking him back 10 feet through the air, landing prone. The hunter's armor is melting into his torso, causing him to scream out in pain, as third degree burns cover his face and arms. Aoth finds his strength and stands. His hammer is too heavy to lift with one arm in his weakened state, so he draws Durindana, and limps over to the hunter. "I may be the shield, but HE is the sword." he says, and plunges the blade into the hunter's chest, in the exact spot the hunter once threw his javelin into Aoth's chest. "Now you know how it feels." Aoth leans in to say, feeling the heat radiating from the armor as the hunter breathes his last breath.

Aoth immediately falls to his back, at the same time Darkwind collapses in exhaustion. The rest of the group shows up, having reached Vissella just as she delivered the killing blow to the hunter she was fighting, and Vissella cauterizes Aoth's arm. She gives him a healing potion, and after drinking it, he passes out. Shag, Yief, and Halrek pick up his arm and shield.

Aoth wakes up about fifteen minutes later, being carried by Yief and Vissella, just as they're about to enter the mouth of the Methwood. He starts to limp on his own, but Vissella catches him, putting his arm over her shoulder to support him. They walk in, and are immediately surrounded by wood elf archers who drop from the trees. At this point, Darkwind wakes up, and the archers realize who the group is. They begin to guide them through the woods, and when Shag realizes they're passing a number of trees they've passed already as if they were going in circles, one of the elves raises his hand and the trees around them begin to warp. They realize it was an illusion. Continuing for about 20 more minutes and through a series of different illusions, they ultimately come to an incredible sight: a settlement built into the trees, with architecture resemblant of both Everleaf and Draconia. They are greeted by a golden haired wood elf woman, and a 13-year old golden haired wood elf boy next to her, followed by a group of elite looking soldiers in Draconic Military armor. "Welcome to Sanctuary. I am Reina, this is my son Raiden. I lead the Goldenborn. We've been waiting for the princes to arrive. You’ve all done a great deed, not just for us, but for the world. We can’t even begin to show you the gratitude you deserve. You’ve done more than save 2 boys, you’ve saved the hope of an entire kingdom. We will keep them safe. No one can find them here, and they will be trained in the arts of our people. Come, we can heal you and help you resupply. But while these boys are the key to the future, it appears you may be the key to saving lives in the present, and you are needed where you came from. We will make sure that you are properly outfitted to do so. For now, rest. You’ve earned it.” she says.

The group is healed by an order of clerics, and then they drink, feast, and rest. Yief finds their smith, where he uses the gauntlets of the hunter to forge Aoth a replacement arm with a movable elbow joint, that his shield can attach to. Ragnar addresses the group, saying he's proud of the fine warriors they've become, and that they've grown from the ragtag idiots they set out with. He officially dubs Aoth The Dragon's Shield, dubs Yief The Grey Hammer, dubs Halrek Shadowdart, and dubs Shag Silversong, saying their quest is worthy of legacy. Vissella says she communicated with Fish via messenger hawk, and that he would meet them in Luthcheq where they would wait for the fleet, as he had some ideas to go with Yief's design.

The following morning, the boys come to say goodbye. They hug everyone, and say that it's going to be strange not being on the road with them, and they've gotten so used to the group. They then say that they understand that the war needs to be addressed, and that they know the group will help a lot more people. They say they'll miss everyone, and wish them luck, thanking them for saving their lives and giving them a new start. Vissella tells Darkwind to keep being brave, and that she knows he'll learn to control his power, because he's already learned who he truly is. The group, now adopting the name the hunter gave them, The Sentinels of the Free, set out to return to the Free Lands.