Aerois - Chapter Fourteen: The Storm Wall

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

 Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**The Storm Wall** is the fourteenth chapter of the Aerois campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel between 18th October and 20th December 2020, and consists of nine episodes.

*In Chapter Fourteen, it's time for Quill to face The Valley of Storms again! He and the party reunite with an old friend, and embark on the trials of the Temple of H'esper. But they're not the only ones seeking its secrets...*

## Summary

The party is plagued by dreams and visions as they recover from their recent ordeals. The Stormchaser heads towards Voksar and The Valley of Storms, a place that has called to Quill for months. They know that Johan, the fisherman, awaits them there as does a weapon, and possibly some answers. As they approach Voksar, however, they see the magnitude of the storm that now engulfs the continent. Nova reveals a prosthetic magitek wing that she has made for Quill and, although hesitant at first, he takes wing and soars the way he could only remember until now.

The airship plunges bravely into the storm with Aila at its bow, just as Quill has seen in a vision, channelling the lightning that strikes the ship into her own body. Each time she is struck, she is wracked with intense pain, but is also taken to a different place in front of a Divine, a true god from a time before Aerois lived. The god speaks to Aila many times and eventually reveals that he had once fought against Hadar. He gives Aila a gift – a belt that gives her superhuman strength – and his name, Thor. The airship lands, mostly intact, at the Temple of H’esper in the eye of the storm and Rohan is there to meet them.

After fighting against stone golems, answering a riddle and finding a magic book, they find a room where Quill speaks with his past self and feels the power of H’esper with him.

They later find a room full of strange pipes anda strange young girl commanding large magitek constructs that resemble crabs. The party moves into the room before being trapped by the young girl, who is actually a powerful mage, in a force cage. After defeating the constructs and the mage, they manage to take her prisoner before she manages to escape. The party solves the puzzle with the wind pipes and this activates an elevator in the adjacent room that takes them to the next challenge: The Trial of Aeons set by the arcanist, Faedris Celedor. Using two portals: one that leads to the past and one that leads to the future, the party must force Faedris’ future self to surrender and grant them the Blessing of Ages. The party splits between past, present and future to solve the riddle and passes the test, gaining the arcanist’s blessing before resting and moving onto the next test: the Trial of Power.

While they are resting, the party is confronted by an image of Xarkira, the lieutenant of Kalus Valkyrian. Xarkira had originally been the cause of the Tempest Dragon’s suffering 500 years ago in the previous war between the Valkyrian Empire and Aerois. She proposes an alliance, offering the party the choice of information on how to destroy the Tempest Dragon, the cause of the storms, and a potential problem for both sides in the coming conflict, or a way for Xarkira to complete a control spell that will allow her to take control of the Tempest Dragon. The party refuses her, telling Xarkira that if she is so desperate that she should come and do it herself.

In the Trial of Power, the party battles against an enraged and corrupted sphinx. The party is split up,solves the puzzle, defeats the sphinx and sets his spirit rest. The Champions are given a blessing and allowed into the inner sanctum to face the terrible Tempest Dragon.

They find the Tempest Dragon, a primordial being, driven mad and in a nightmarish coma. It is near to breaking free of the magical chains that bind it and they quickly begin to cleanse the corrupting magic that plagues its mind. Mid-battle, Lucius suffers from an attack of fear following his recent ordeal, but eventually overcomes it to do what he must – it is clear that he has been trying to hide his fragile mental state from the rest of the party, however.

Johan, able to enter the dragon's dream, along with Aila, Nova and Lucius, slay the nightmare creatures, while Sentry and Quill heal the corrupted magic and remove Xarkira's binding devices. Finally free of the nightmares and the corruption, their friend Johan bids them farewell and vanishes, his essence becoming one with the dragon's. The Tempest Dragon reveals its name as Johandrius, and presents Quill with a powerful spear, a Spear of Oracles, and a promise to aid the party when called upon. The storms that have ravaged the land of Voksar for so long have now ceased.

(As they rest and dream on the Stormchaser, the party suddenly finds that they are in a shared dream – each of them is a type of toy, summoned by Valla’s wish. They work together to make their way out of Valla’s bedroom, fighting against the pet snake, Xarkira, and worried about being seen by servants, or the faithful hound, Max. Valla is sad because her mother, Siaska, is away all the time and she does not want to do her homework or learn how to be a queen: she just wants to have some fun. Her father, a stern but loving Kalus, tries to impress upon her what her duties are and why she must do them. After trials and tribulations, the toys make their way to the living room where they are involved in hours of play until Siaska makes her way home. She tells them that Valla’s power is increasing and that they can remain toys if they wish – they all elect to go home because the world needs them to stop Kalus and Hadar. Siaska tells them that there is more of the loving father (that they have seen in this world) in the Kalus in their own world than they realise. She sends them back to the Stormchaser to resume their adventures.)

## Major NPCs

List of major NPCs encountered in this chapter.