Session 6

## Plot

Christine is flabbergasted that this guy is serious. She asks him if he actually blames her for everything that's happened. Delkona is rendered even more furious, asking her if she plans on standing there and lying to his face. Christine tells him that the cult murdered innocents, and so they got what they deserved.

With that Delkona draws his blades, which are quite odd looking, that being skinny and serrated, and states bluntly that he's not going to talk anymore. It's time for blood. Christine shrugs, and tells him that she was merely delivering retribution for a group of people that didn't deserve what they got. Delkona curtly claims that he is doing the same, and then he says nothing else.

Christine draws her blade, but Draven interrupts her, saying that this is a bad idea, and she doesn't have to fight him alone. Christine tells him not to worry about it; if he was the one that was supposed to protect the Green Hand, he obviously isn't very good at his job. If things get too hairy, she'll just ask for help-though she doubts she needs it.

She heads towards him hesitantly, though he is sure to oblige her with the first move. His attacks are aggressive and acrobatic, involving various flips, impressive displays of speed, and excellent footwork. Christine fights him to the best of her ability, thinking them of around equal strength. However, it soon becomes apparent that they are not anywhere near equals. Delkona's probing attacks suddenly become much more accurate, his movements much more sudden and devastating. She finds herself unable to keep up with his incredibly dexterous moves, and finds herself on the back foot.

Cedric and Draven, meanwhile, are getting very nervous while watching this. Draven cringes with each cut Delkona drives home. He mentions to Cedric that they should probably consider intervening if Christine can stand a chance. Cedric thinks of this, knowing that interfering with a duel is extremely taboo in his culture. However, he could not bear to watch a friend get killed while he stands idly by, and he soon steps in to help.

The timing could not be more impeccable. Delkona disarms Christine, and prepares for a killing blow. He finds himself with a facefull of shield, as Cedric boldly places himself between the two. Draven provides some backup, slamming Delkona's face back into the shield and bodily dragging him off of Cedric.

Shaking his head to reorient himself, Delkona merely laughs at these additional challengers, stating that if he wishes to die as well, then he will be perfectly willing to oblige. The three battle Delkona alone, with Draven providing momentary assistance- though it is clear that he is far out of his league, swiftly being tossed aside by Delkona and slashed deeply across the chest. Vicora, seemingly useless, simply sinks to the ground and begins to mutter under her breath, drawing hopelessly on the ground.

While the two manage to have Delkona on the backfoot initially, he manages to eventually accustom himself to fighting two opponents, and changes his tactics accordingly. The fight ends very suddenly.

Delkona slashes a thinly-trunked tree in two, shoving it towards Cedric, who is momentarily flustered. He leg sweeps Christine, sending her falling to her knees, and quickly moves on Cedric, knocking his shield away from him. He slams him to the ground, stabbing through the openings in his armor and giving him a grievous wound in the arm. He backflips over Christine, tossing one of his blades in the air, and stabbing the other through her back. Her vision turning blurry, Christine looks over to the state of her other two companions, where she is startled to see Draven standing with a crackling ball of purple energy between his hands, his eyes wide with concentration, and veins popping out of his forehead.

Draven, for his part, is forced to wait while this ability is charged, watching while his friends are utterly stomped by their opponent. Delkona seems unaware of Draven's current state, and moves to finish off Christine, retrieving his blades. Draven is unable to wait any longer, and releases the bomb towards Delkona. Right before this, a flash of light blue appears by Vicora, and she disappears. Similarly, Cedric and Christine are taken away before it can land, with a comforting voice telling them that everything will be alright.

Cedric awakens some time later, a worried Vicora sitting close to him. She rushes over to him, relieved that he has finally awoken. The pair are soon visited by their benefactor: a young-appearing elven man named Learan. Learan is calm, quiet, collected, and polite, and he assures Cedric that he is quite safe here. Learan checks his bandages, and states that Cedric is making an excellent recovery.

Soon afterwards, Christine awakens, though she does so in a less calm manor. She yells out in a fearful manner, breaking out into a cold sweat, realizing just how close she came to death. Learan and Vicora hurry into her room, where Learan gives her the same promises he gave Cedric not long before. He offers her a sedative to calm her down, which she takes, and falls back into a deep sleep.

She awakens not long after, panicking and hyperventilating. Her dreams are haunted by Delkona, the Raven Queen, and the cold, sweet embrace of death. She staggers out of her bed, hallucinating. She finds herself in a large cavern, a huge light blue crystal with a waterfall coursing down it in the center of the room. Suddenly, a hand grips her, and she is faced with Draven, who immediately offers soothing words of comfort to her.

As she breaks down in his arms, Draven promises that no matter what, he will have her back, just as she will have his. They will always be together, through thick and thin. Evidently, they have become quite close in their few days spent together. However, even Draven's words of comfort do not soothe Christine's failure of confidence completely, and she finds herself no longer believing in the Raven Queen's teachings.

Over the course of the next few hours, the party come to bearings with their surroundings. Learan's lair is large and spacious, with many passages and many more rooms. There are meditation rooms, libraries, cellars, bedrooms, training rooms, and many more. Learan himself is quite courteous with his guests, providing them with necessary refreshments and offering words of encouragement. Christine, Cedric, and Draven are not so sure that they can trust this man who is so generous to them for no reason, but Vicora assures them that he is the real deal, stating that in the month that they were out, she has spent quite some time with him.

As the session draws to a close, the party is treated to a refreshing dinner of spring and berry salad in Learan's dining room, with a an opening in the cave side revealing fields of grain and a beautiful, golden orange sunset in the distance. They don't know what they'll do next, but at least they still have each other.

(June 23rd 1 month time skip-July 30th, 443)

David's Rating: 9.5