Ep. 100 My Own Worst Enemy

## Watch

My Own Worst Enemy | Khyber Shards #100 | D&D 5e Actual Play

—Pog

Ari and Esri are detained by Neya and her guards. They almost have her convinced to let them go after Lucan, but doesn't budge on wanting to have Mina stay, and doesn't recognize Thora's authority on the matter. Esri casts a blindness spell on her so they can get away, and after they flee the building, Mina balks and refuses to help them hunt Lucan. She insists that he's not a danger to anyone—in fact, there are people who are a danger to *him*. Realizing she's not going to willingly go with them, and they're short on time, Ari charms her into chasing the train with them.

Shade and Pog have chased after the falcon that was flying after bat Lucan. They arrive at the previously mentioned train, and Demise appears before them. It was her familiar that Shade had been tracking, and she's ready to go after him. The guards on the train are charmed by Lucan, and try to stop them from getting on the train. They fight their way past, Demise showing no remorse about killing them. They manage to board on time for its departure—thirty minutes before its scheduled time.

Ari and Esri arrive just in time to see it pull away, and head for Malcolm's airship instead, in the hopes that they can catch up.

## Synopsis

### Aundarian Embassy

At the Aundarian embassy, Neya grabs Ari and starts marching him away. Esri says he'll stop what's happening to her guard if she lowers the crossbow. She insists that he does it first, and he grudgingly casts lesser restoration on the guard. She sits them both down. Esri is difficult about it; she has one of her guards hauls him off the table, where he's defiantly sat himself. Neya is handed the note Ari has been trying to give her. Ari tells her that they were sent by Thora, to contact Neya about protecting Mina. Neya asks why her staff was assaulted, and Esri tells her a masked person tried to assault the person they were sent to find, so they thought someone was attacking him outside of her control.

Neya explains why the party went down as it did. She made contact with Lucan, and felt something was wrong. After she determined that he was a vampire, she put one of her agents in place to get him alone. When that didn't work, violence ensued, and into the midst of everything, jumped the Stryke Force. Instead of attacking the sword-wielding maniac, they attacked her staff. Ari offers to help with Lucan, if she'll let them, to keep her relationship with Lucan stable. She points out that he almost just tore her throat out *with his fangs*.

Neya turns to Mina and asks where Lucan is going. In a sort of daze, Mina asks Ari where they're going. Ari asks about leading them to Lucan, and says they'll keep her safe. She's confused why Lucan would be a danger to her—in fact, there are people who are a danger to *him*. Ari says they're on her side, but the fighting needs to stop. Neya says he needs the sword, and he's trying to fix the problem "with himself."

Esri offers to make it easier to resurrect her guard, but he needs his hands. Ari asks to go after Lucan; Neya says she gave him passes to get on a train that leaves in about thirty minutes. She says she's inclined to let them go, and Esri says Mina goes with them. Neya is having none of that. Mina is upset when Ari says they should leave anyway. Ari is ready to leave her behind, but Esri casts a blindness spell at the Aundarian agents, and Neya and they make a run for it.

The second they're out the door, Mina rips her hand from Ari's grasp and says she's not helping them take Lucan. She takes off in the opposite direction, Esri giving chase—Esri, *running*. Ari casts charm person on her and calls her back. She stops and repeats that they should just leave Lucan alone. It's clear on her face that she doesn't know why, but she turns and starts following him.

### The Bat and the Falcon

Shade and Pog chase the falcon. After a while, they're led to a train station. Shade tells Pog she's chasing a bird, because Lucan changed into a bat and then left with the bird. Pog questions if they did the right thing by following this bird—it might just be a regular bird—when Demise steps out from an alley right in front of them. Pog wonders if *she* was the bird. Demise tells them she had her familiar keeping an eye on the party they went to when they were trying to ditch her. Shade and Pog talk about waiting for Esri and Ari to show up, and Demise points out how convenient it is to apprehend someone in a train. She gets her hefty backpack and says she's going on the train, and if they don't want to join her, farewell. Pog tells Shade that they can't let her go after him by herself. Shade suggests that Pog goes back for their weapons, and she'll follow Demise.

The symbol of House Orien hangs over the train platform. Guards in Orien colors come trotting over and say the train is all sold out. Demise pulls Shade aside and tells her these guards are charmed by Lucan; they're going to have to go through them. Instead of killing them, Shade traps them in a tangle of vines. As soon as this happens, Demise takes off for the train. She and Shade get up to the train before some of the guards casts misty step and block their path, wielding tonfas, and attack them. Shade throws lightning at one. Demise raises a hand and a beam of energy arches out into one of the guards, causing necrotic damage. Shade sees Lucan snarl from one of the windows.

The train sparks and lifts.

Hearing the fight, Pog turns back. Shade misty steps through the doorway into the train. The passengers look perplexed—the train isn't supposed to be active, yet. The guard is front of Demise is struck with another beam of dark energy, their face gone sunken and drawn. Pog brings his echo to the train. Shade thunderwaves the guard away from her. Demise grabs the guard. The veins of his face turn black and his eyes roll back into his head; he drops dead.

When it gets to Shade, Pog's echo turns, gestures at him, and they swap places, leaving Pog standing next to her.

The train begins to move. Demise jumps past the guard, runs and jumps and catches on right as it leaves the station. Ari and Pog get in contact, and right as Ari's group rounds a corner, they see the train pulling away. Ari's plan is to meet up with Malcolm and see if they can follow. Pog asks Ari to get their things.

Demise shares her plan: they're going to flush Lucan out. Shade counter-offers with waiting for their friends. Demise is not keen on the train crashing. She tells them to just walk calmly and quietly, and not alarm the passengers. They don't need to be screaming. Yet.

They're led through a couple cars to a back storage area. Demise drops the backpack, which rattles a little, uncinches it, and flips it over. Near some cots are mundane weapons. Pog takes two. Out of Demise's bag spills lots and lots of bones. She squats down and begins shifting them around. The bones are separated into six neat little piles, and she lays a few crystals next to each one and begins a ritual. Over the course of an hour, the bones slowly knit themselves together into skeletons and stand up.

*"Now, let's hunt a vampire."
—Demise*

## Spells

* **Ari**
	+ Charm Person
* **Esri**
	+ Blindness at 3rd level
	+ Lesser Restoration
* **Shade**
	+ Entangle
	+ Lightning Lure
	+ Misty Step
	+ Thunderwave
* **House Orien guard**
	+ Misty Step

## Quotes

"Neya has a hand crossbow trained on the back of Ari's skull."
"Jokes on her; I have a pony tail."
*—Philip and Eric*

"Why were y'all—y'all? Where y'all—I can't not do it."
"It's alright. You're allowed to be from Texas."
*—R.A. (breaking character) and Philip*

"He's charmed them. They're his now. We're going to have to go through them. Are you ready for that?"
*—Demise to Shade*

"We would like them to not scream. Yet."
*—Demise*

"Who's…who is that? Who was that—why? Uhhm…"
"Force multiplier."
"I really like the way you said that and thought we understood."
*—Pog and Demise*

"I think maybe this is who Esri should have babies with, because they like the same gross stuff."
*—Pog about Demise's bones*