A Rainy Night in Marthton, Conclusion

On the ground after taking a huge hit and falling twenty feet, Terik is in bad shape. But he is nothing if not a survivor, and he miraculously surges back to his feet.

On the catwalk above, Dandelion grabs his repeating crossbow and fires at Myrissa, missing her wide to the right. Still running towards the West, he tosses aside his crossbow, grips his glaive, and charges the warlock. But he misjudges her parry, and his polearm slams into the metal grating. Off balance and unprepared, he has no chance of dodging Myrissa’s attack, as she places a hand on him and sends him flying. He catches the edge of the walkway at the last second, and makes his way over to the adjacent platform. Meanwhile Kai is locked in a duel with Kyrion. Kai manages to get a few good hits in, but Kyrion is relentless. His swords strike low and knock the fighter down. Kai scrambles back to his feet and resumes his onslaught, steadily wearing the enemy down.

On the ground below, Wotan, after tossing a potion to Terik, readies a spell. He summons a dark reflection of himself right behind Kyrion, disorienting him. He then sends a spell at Myrissa, hitting her square in the chest and eliciting a roar of rage and pain just as Dandelion begins another charge. Wotan finishes his chant, and immediately teleports to take the place of his reflection up on the catwalk. Angry and surrounded, Myrissa follows suit, teleporting to the ground and firing at Terik to finish the job she started earlier.

Kai is finally making some headway with Kyrion. He is slowly starting to show signs of weakening as Kai slams away with his sword. Not one to miss out on the action, Dandelion pushes his way past Wotan to flank the enemy soldier. He summons a protective ward over Kai and himself, then slices into Kyrion’s exposed flank. Suddenly appearing hazy and insubstantial, Wotan charges through the group to end up behind Kai, and sends another bolt of energy at Kyrion. A moment later, Kai catches him off guard, and finishes him off – only Myrissa remains. Filled with rage, Terik charges the warlock as blood streams out of his wounds. And as he summons the fury of the primal elements, his attacks become charged with fire. As Kai and Wotan race down the ladder, Myrissa realizes she is running out of time. Her attacks redouble, but in the end she is outnumbered and outmatched. And soon her life is extinguished.

The party searches the dead, and claim what they can. They load up the wagon with boxes of various weapons and barrels of dwarven ale. Upstairs in the office, they find correspondence between Myrissa and Sinruth, a hobgoblin responsible for the attack on Brindol months ago. They load up and head back out into the rain, ready to be home. In victory, Fate’s Hammer has closed the first chapter of their adventuring career. Over the past year, they have shown that they can get things done. They have proven themselves as true paragons in a world growing steadily darker. It is certain that more adventures await them – but with three barrels of dwarven ale in the wagon, the adventures can wait until after the celebration.


A note from Dandelion: After a little more than a year, our party has finally made it to 11th level - Paragon Tier! We had some bumps and bruises, we've lost friends and family, and the party is substantially different than it was when we started out. But it has been a blast every step of the way, and we are excited to continue our adventures in the Vale. The stakes are higher, but Fate's Hammer never gives up. Just no more endless, dark goblin caves if you would be so kind - the last one permanently scarred the fighter.