The Lord’s Tower

With an ear-splitting roar, the umbral dragon lowered its head, beat its wings, and flew screaming down directly at Tomas. It withheld its breath weapons as it flashed over the party, but raked its claws at Tomas’s head. He ducked, and the claws narrowly missed. He heard the rush of its passage, and felt the cold air batter him as the mighty wings beat. But something just felt a bit off, and as he squinted up to draw a bead on the great beast, for just a moment he could see the morning sun shining through it. “It’s an illusion!” he cried.

The others were glad not to have another enemy to worry about, but a little too busy to celebrate. They’d been ambushed by Gargoyle Brutes on their flight to the Lord’s Tower, and were doing their best to beat them off. Erin stepped up (well … floated up) to the one who was still left near them, and swung her flaming sword in a dazzling flurry of sweeps and jabs. Unfortunately, the gargoyle’s four stone arms managed to parry every blow. Surrounded by foes, it split its attacks among them, but found it hard to focus on any one target; it managed to claw Laori, but missed both Erin and Asyra. Another of the Brutes came flying in and charged at Asyra, but she nimbly spun away from its attack. Her spiked chain was a blur around her as she whipped it at the gargoyle over and over, sending chips of stone raining down on the roof below. Tomas fired off a volley of arrows at the newcomer; most flew over its head, but one sank directly between its eyes. Any normal creature would have been dead, but the stone gargoyle kept fighting, the arrow shaft protruding from its forehead.

Shadowcount Sial had cast Greater Invisibility before the battle began. Now he flew over to aid his acolyte, swinging his Vicious spiked chain at the gargoyle threatening Laori. It struck the beast between the shoulder blades, and a flash of disruptive energy reverberated between the gargoyle and the Shadowcount. No one could see the wound that opened on the Shadowcount’s chest, but they heard his voice cry out: “I offer up my pain to Zon-Kuthon!” Laori knew that her boss was suffering on her account (and knew that that meant she would be expected to also suffer later). She swung her own spiked chain above her head and slammed it into the skull of the gargoyle the Shadowcount had just hit. The stony head crumbled, and even as the gargoyle fell, she flew a few feet forward, chain still twirling, and slammed it into the lone remaining gargoyle. One of its arms fell off, and it followed its brother down to crash into the slate roof below.

There were dozens more stone gargoyle adorning the eaves and peaks of Castle Scarwall, but for the moment no more of them left their perches to attack the party. As everyone else paused to catch their breath, Jax flew forward towards their intended destination: The Lord’s Tower. This was the highest spire of mighty Scarwall; its parapets towered at least forty feet above the balconies below, with a smaller central room extending above that. As he gained enough altitude, Jax could see that there was an opening into that top room. It had no door – just a yawning opening into darkness. He, too, had cast Greater Invisibility on himself, and wasn’t too concerned about being spotted as he drew near. He landed lightly on the tower’s parapet, and leaned forward to peer inside the dark tower.

He looked down into a deep, open shaft. There was no floor to the upper room, just an opening into the larger tower below. Dim light filtered into the tower from arrow slits arrayed along its walls, although there were no stairs or platforms for anyone to shoot from. Indeed, there was no way to get from the floor some forty feet below to the opening where Jax stood, other than flight. The stone at Jax’s feet was deeply scored, as if by great claws pulling some huge beast over the lip of the opening, and Jax shuddered to think of what had made them. The light that managed to enter through the arrow slits barely seemed to penetrate the gloom of ancient evil that lingered inside. Jax could see a puddle of rainwater collected on the floor below, and a bed swathed in moldy, rotten bedclothes; the bed hung a few feet above the floor, suspended by chains hanging from iron support beams set into the walls. Along one wall, a large gilt throne sat upon a low dais, before several sets of manacles fastened into the floor. A series of small alcoves were set into the tower’s walls in an ascending spiral; each held a statuette, or art object – or a polished skull. Jax took all this in in an instant, but his eyes were scanning intently for any sign of danger. He gave a small sigh of relief as he saw that the room below was empty.

Suddenly, the air around him became freezing cold. A wall of ice began to form in a hemisphere that would create a dome around the upper room – and seal the opening into the Lord’s Tower. Jax was right in the space where the wall was forming, unseen by whatever was attempting to create it. He shuddered, and shook himself, and the delicate crystalline ice shattered before it had a chance to harden. He heard voices in the air around him, muttering in a language he couldn’t understand, but which was still somehow familiar. Another dome of ice began to form, but crumbled due to Jax’s unwitting interference. Yet a third dome formed and shattered. Jax’s eyebrows were coated with frost, but he was unharmed.

Erin had also begun flying towards the tower, although she had no idea that Jax was ahead of her. She saw the strange blue-white domes begin to form and then crumble, and wondered what magic was at work. She landed on the parapet’s edge, then heard Jax’s voice from the doorway ahead of her: “There’re some sort of spellcasters flying around us – be ready!” The others saw Erin flying forward and began to follow, although they were not able to catch up, and remained somewhat below the level of the Lord’s Tower’s parapet. Most headed straight for the Tower, but Nat veered off for the protection of a pair of smaller, lower towers to the east, keeping a spell ready should any enemies appear.

Which they did. A huge creature appeared in the air above Erin. It appeared to merge the most horrifying aspects of a carrion-fed insect and a withered cadaver, and moved in unsettling lurches as it stabbed down at her with its scorpion-like tail. It missed, then immediately vanished from sight. Seconds later another appeared behind Erin. It slashed her with its fangs and stabbed with its stinger, although she managed to parry its claws. Nat let loose his prepared spell, and hammered it with a volley of Empowered Magic Missiles before it, too, disappeared. However, his brief glimpse had been enough to tell him what they were facing. They’d fought one of these before, during one of their visits to Hell. It was a Bone Devil, and fighting just one had been bad enough; now they were facing two.

Make that three. Another appeared near Asyra, stabbing at her with its stinger from ten feet away. The barb sank deep, but its poison didn’t seem to be a concern to the kyton. Erin knew there were enemies on two sides of her, but couldn’t see either of them. But she’d learned much over the past months, and now she called upon Iomedae to Smite Evil and closed her eyes as she used the skills she’d developed in Blind Fighting to lash out at the Bone Devil that had been closest to her. Her first two swings met nothing but air, but then the third resulted in a satisfying rattle of bones.

Tomas was also shooting blind. He hadn’t yet reached the tower, and was still some ten feet below the level of its lip. He’d seen one Bone Devil appear briefly above Erin’s head, then another behind her, just above and slightly ahead of his current position. Trusting his memory, he pulled a handful of adamantine arrows from his quiver and began shooting. The first arrow drew a shriek of pain from some unseen source. The second brought that source into view momentarily as it tumbled limply to the roof below, before its body was recalled to Hell. Tomas redirected his aim to the spot above Erin, and his final arrow vanished from sight as it struck its invisible target.

Nat, over on the far towers, wanted to take the guesswork out of his spellcasting, so he pulled on his Red Mantis mask and activated its See Invisibility power. As he surveyed the skies around them, he could see not three, but four Bone Devils. Wren, Laori, and Shadow all had the same idea, and each put on their masks as well. Jax, seeing Erin fighting behind him, did the same, with the intention of coming to her aid. As he was pulling on the mask, he saw a creature pop into view on the floor far below. Like the Bone Devils, this was something they’d encountered before: a Barbed Devil. But as Jax activated the mask’s power, he caught his breath as he realized that the Lord’s Tower was not as empty as he’d thought it was. A huge, black creature floated in the air not ten feet in front of him! It had broad bat-like wings and gripped an enormous scythe in its clawed hands. This could only be Nihil, the Ashbringer. Her eyes glowed red, and despite his invisibility, her gaze was fixed on him. She swore some oath in Infernal, and although none could recognize the words, its Blasphemy was unmistakable. Most shook off the spell’s effects, but Jax and Tomas were dazed by the unholy outburst.

Erin heard the oath from inside the tower, and realized there were too many enemies she couldn’t see, so she also pulled on her Red Mantis mask, ignoring a painful slash from the Bone Devil above her as she did so. Nat, with a clear view of his enemies, conjured an Elemental Wall of electricity that slanted down from the devil above Erin to the one fighting Asyra. Asyra, guided by the popping sparks, swung her spiked chain at the invisible enemy in the wall, and made solid contact. 

Wren flew up until she was high enough to be able to see through the door of the upper room into the tower. Thanks to her own mask, she had a clear view of Nihil floating just beyond Jax, and she prayed to Pharasma to call down Destruction on the devil. Nihil shook off the worst of its effects, but still seemed injured. Shadow, off to one side, focused on the Bone Devils; he cast a Lightning Bolt on the one near Tomas, then cast a Quickened Vanish on himself, just to be safe. Laori pointed her Sound Burst wand at the same one, and it began to bleed from the ears.

On the floor of the tower, the Barbed Devil was hopping angrily from one foot to the other, frustrated that his mistress had summoned him to appear way down here instead of on the parapet above (DM: whoops). He was not totally helpless however, and he called forth Order’s Wrath to punish Wren and Jax for their non-lawful behavior. The Bone Devils continued harrying the party. The one behind Erin again popped into view just long enough to bite and sting her. The one that Laori had injured returned the favor, raking her with a claw before stabbing her with its tail. The two caught in Nat’s Wall flew out to escape: the one above Erin simply flew up and around, before popping into view just long enough to bite and sting her. The other attempted to do the same thing, but Asyra was ready for it. As soon as it began to move, she slammed it with her spiked chain. It flew over her head, but the kyton’s lightning-fast reflexes let her hit it again, and then again as it moved behind her. Lifeless, it tumbled to the roof below.

Inside the tower, Nihil’s selection of targets was limited by her narrow field of view through the open doorway. She could see Jax’s aura standing in the doorway, and new if she moved up to get a broader view he’d be able to attack her as she cast any spell. So she stayed where she was and cast Horrid Wilting. Jax, Erin, and Wren were all wracked with pain as all the moisture in their bodies suddenly evaporated. Their flesh withered, cracked, and began to turn to dust. Erin collapsed onto the Tower’s parapet (luckily she wasn’t still high above the castle’s roofs), and Jax and Wren were brought near death.

Nat saw Erin fall and Jax and Wren stagger, and knew that something inside the Tower must have been the source of the attack. He flew at full speed until he had line of sight through the Tower door, and saw Nihil moving forward. He gathered an Empowered Orb of Light in his hand and flung it at the Ashmede Devil. It hit her full in the face, exploding in a blinding flash. The intense light burned more than her skin – it burned her retinas, blinding her temporarily. That gave the party a brief respite that they badly needed. Shadow hit one Bone Devil with Maximized Magic Missiles and Laori blasted it again with her Sound Burst wand, and it returned to Hell to rejoin its brethren. Wren crouched down to cast Heal on Erin and the paladin opened her eyes and struggled to a sitting position. Jax, near death, flew away from Nihil as fast as he could, quaffing a healing potion as he retreated to Laori’s side for more healing. Tomas belatedly donned his Red Mantis mask. The last remaining Bone Devil clawed at the newly-revived Erin before Asyra smashed its skull. Nihil, shaking her head as she tried to clear her vision, flew forward and under the floor of the parapet, out of sight and targeting from the party outside.

Erin stood, using Lay On Hands to heal more of the damage she still suffered. “We have to go after her,” she said grimly, then tightened her grip on her sword and flew into the tower. She saw Nihil hovering near the ceiling, and the devil’s glare of hatred told her that her vision had returned. Nat was hot on her heels, continuing across to the far side of the tower (well out of reach of that nasty scythe Nihil was wielding) before he cast another Orb of Light at the devil. This one failed to blind her, however. Tomas followed, and fired an adamantine arrow into Nihil’s chest as he flew backwards across the room. Then he yelped in pain as the Barbed Devil, all but forgotten on the floor far below, zapped him with a pair of Scorching Rays. Asyra flew in behind Erin, then to Nihil’s side. Her spiked chain missed, but Nihil’s scythe almost sliced Asyra in half. Jax, newly healed by Laori, followed suit; he went to the other side of the devil, to flank her, but he too missed – possibly because her scythe almost eviscerated him as well.

Nihil was backed against the wall, surrounded by enemies, with no chance to cast spells without being hit from all sides. She was scorched and bleeding, but had no concept of surrender. She glared at Erin, recognizing the holy symbol of Iomedae around her neck, and let out a bellow of rage. Her Unholy scythe flashed. Erin managed to block the first blow with her buckler, but the next swipe of the reaper’s blade ripped across her midsection, and her entrails began to bulge out. Erin’s eyes went wide as she gasped in pain, then Nihil swung the scythe one last time. It slashed her throat, almost beheading her, and the blood pulsed for but a few seconds as Erin’s lifeless body floated down to the floor below.

“No!” Nat screamed, and hammered Nihil with another Orb of Light. Tomas, fighting back tears, fired arrow after arrow into the Ashmede Devil. The first struck her in the eye, killing her, but he kept pounding her body with arrow after arrow as it fell to the floor. The walls of Castle Scarwall reverberated with another silent wail of anguish as yet another of its Chained Spirits was destroyed. But at what price?

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The PCs earned 17,066 XP, putting them at 301,368 XP and level 14. They need 425,000 XP to reach level 15.