One-Night Strand

Thumbnail for Season 2 Chapter 47 featuring Jordan

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 47: One-Night Strand, the room settled into a relative calm after the last banished goliaths faded from view, leaving each of us on different levels of the towering expanse of the holding pens.

Reconvening on the bottom floor, we spared only the briefest of moments to acknowledge our achievement before Graven expressed a pressing concern – that without destroying the two halves of Q'usñi's relic, the god of light would always have a potential foothold to reestablish himself in this world by appointing another cleric.

Not wanting to risk the Shade Assembly's curiosity getting the best of them, Graven collected the pieces and dropped them into the glowing fissure that he had already intended to be their final resting place… before Aswan's lust for power proved too strong to resist a fight.

A curious thing happened, however, when the relics came to rest upon the arcane magma.  Seemingly defying physics, the metal shards simply refused to submerge – and seconds later a sizable hole was punctured through the ceiling where a great radiant rope descended to attach itself to what was left of Q'usñi's symbol.

This divine strand was far too potent for any mundane weapon to contest, and with the walls of the holding pens crumbling down around us there was only one option left: protect Orba long enough for her to ritually summon her reaper's scythe.  Rumik sacrificed his body to the falling debris while Graven and Sascha kept the strand from pulling the relic free – ten minutes of agony during which Orba spoke her incantations until she could finally wield the weapon of extinction.

With one effortless slice that stood in contrast to our brute-force methods of stalling for time, Orba severed the strand… and with it the last vestige of influence that had manifested here in the desperation of a meddling god. The holy relic disappeared beneath the bubbling surface, but the integrity of the chamber had passed the point of no return – and if we couldn't find a way out quickly, there was a good chance we'd be permanently entombed.

The entrance to the holding pens was sealed shut thanks to the activation of the soul shelter, but luckily we discovered a cell that had deteriorated enough to reveal a hollow wall.  Contained within was a dented pipe – similar to the one we'd used earlier to sneak inside, but smaller… and transporting liquids rather than gasses.

Prying open one of the panels gave us access to the interior – and with no way to know where we'd be deposited but no other viable alternative, we exchanged skeptical glances and hopped inside.

As the sounds of destruction faded behind us, we cascaded down the chute in an accelerated single-file line – sometimes inescapably scraping against the toxic sludge clinging to the walls, which was especially irritating to Sascha… who found himself paralyzed by carrion crawler mucus for the latter half of the ride.

Eventually we were dumped into a runoff basin, which wouldn't have been particularly dangerous except for the fact that it was preceded by a 50-foot drop – and a lack of ability to position oneself resulted in Orba showcasing a spectacular belly flop that knocked her out cold on impact.

Her reaper form meant she couldn't be revived, only stabilized – but a much-needed stroke of good fortune followed when Sascha was able to see past some illusions on the shores of Finlock Forest; fake rocks obscuring kayaks that we could "borrow" to facilitate our escape.

Crossing the bay now in the opposite direction, we looked back to see smoke rising from the Shade Assembly… and we could only guess at how much damage we'd caused when the pens collapsed.  Keeping a low profile for a bit seemed prudent, so after sending Rumik off as a mind spike decoy, we settled back within the foggy harbor to lick our wounds.

It was here that we were finally able to have a heartfelt conversation about all we'd been through, all we'd accomplished… and all we'd lost.  Sascha serenaded us with a song of mourning on his bagpipes, and we vowed to do our best to reunite the once great il-Vigo clan… with one honorary tiefling member in the fold.

Completely spent in all ways physical and emotional, we set watches and slept – but it was during Graven's amblings that a shadowy silhouette appeared in the fog, and we waited to see who might be approaching.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: four natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by Jordan and Steve, and 2 by Talon.