Session 3 - In Which Indecision Drives Action

The warriors paused in thought while the storm raged around them, forming a brief vigil for Tarkrim's departure. After a moment, Ramfell stepped towards the gem which the fallen creature had left, gauged its weight with a light toss, then placed it into his bag. Upon doing so, a thin light erupted from him which rose gracefully into the storm, seemingly towards the center, their goal. Looking around him, it became obvious that only he could see the new leyline and soon alerted the others.

Ashpaw kicked at the large sack which Krusk had tossed in their way, revealing several objects. Vulcan's attention piqued, and he tore at the bag for a quick moment before ripping a large maul from its innards and brandishing it with a look of satisfaction. He swung the hammer through the air, producing a lightly audible boom similar to the sound a heavy stone makes the moment it strikes water.

"I had thought it lost beneath this damnable dust!" He said, grinning.

A few more items were quickly fished from the sack, yielding a shield for Minas, a studded leather harness for Ramfell, and a small dagger, which Ashpaw spun with a characteristic smile before sheathing it and attaching it to his belt. Mahog, who saw nothing familiar within the bag's contents, suggested that they press forward into the darkness, towards the coruscating center.

The young warriors pushed through the ruins and tornadic dust until it became clear that they stood in a broad lane which had to have been used for transport directly towards their goal. The further they went, the thicker the dust became until the obfuscation was complete, an amorphous black wall which drove sideways under the intense wind. Bracing their faces against the stinging onslaught, the seven warriors pushed through the cloud and into the blazing sun.

All but the eldest two were aghast at the sight ahead of them. An entire city, complete of nearly everything but roofs and citizens, lay spread out before them in the cusp of a hurricane's eye which rose from the ground to the very ceiling of the sky in what seemed like a lazy twirl for its immensity. Ramfell's gaze followed the light emanating from his pack, which now arced and flickered, as though a string in the wind, towards an obsidian tower at the city's very center.

Hours of walking towards the center did much to unnerve the group's sense of security. So exposed under the morning sun, they watched for any movement, expecting ambush. Not until they reached the road which encircled the tower's plaza did the broad lane finally end. Across the ancient street, immense, maintained gardens filled the space between pillars, boasting large, gnarled trees which bore new and strange fruit. Mahog explained that he and Vulcan had been stealing fruit from these trees between patrols to sustain themselves in this wasteland.

None had time to wonder which patrols Mahog had meant before Torym whispered fiercely. "Enemies!"

They quickly stole to the edge of their lane to formulate a plan. It became quickly clear that the "patrol" consisted of two of the constructs which they had encountered previously when they fought with Garnt and Krusk. Partially cowed by the previous fight, the group began to argue ceaselessly about how to approach the two or whether to approach them at all. Some suggested charging in at them to catch them before they created more lightspawn. Others argued stealth and simply waiting for them to pass. Still others wanted to try to separate the two, using Torym's range and speed to keep one of them busy until the rest of the group had dealt with the other.

Unable to reach a resolution, the frustrated Ramfell broke from cover and walked determinedly at the pair. Angered, but forced into action, the two Gnolls sprinted from cover and passed him, surrounding the two guardians almost immediately. Spotting the rest of the party beyond the edge of the corner building, the rearmost of the two guardians spun what could have been considered its head and opened a rift of burning light between itself and the warriors who had yet to engage. The ground erupted as they dove away from the blast, leaving behind a miniature city of fractured obsidian in their wake.

Forced to engage, the four remaining warriors encircled the two creatures, using the tower wall to corner them. Immediately, both constructs made a familiar mewling before peppering the battlefield with a total of eight fresh lightspawn. The new creatures tore at their surroundings, grasping at the dust at their feet for substance. Seeking to drive the guardians into each other, Ramfell charged the nearest, swinging menacingly. Seeing opportunity, Gunjir, the Hobgoblin slammed the handle of his axe into the side of Ramfell's target, throwing it off balance before turning his own motion into a powerful swing against the far guardian, hitting it square in the middle and digging a deep gouge into its armor. Unprepared for such an assault, the creature careened backwards, striking the tower wall with a loud crack.

Gunjir, Ramfell, and Minas cornered the two constructs while Ashpaw, Torym, Mahog, and Vulcan mercilessly slaughtered the half-formed lightspawn, herding them into a solid group before dismantling them one-by-one. To break free from its corner, the forwardmost construct spun its heavy arms under itself before stopping them abruptly. The weight of the swing launched it into the air, over the heads of the two axe-happy warriors, above Minas' vigilant spear, and into the midst of the remaining four.

Keeping with even temper, the four expanded to accommodate the creature before descending upon it unmercifully. Within moments, they had cracked its core. Remembering their last encounter, they dove away from the guardian as it exploded dramatically, trying to recover in time to deal with the remaining threat. Seeing opportunity, Gunjir and Minas ducked under one of the remaining construct's meteoric swings before striking it in unison, denting its exterior deeply and knocking it free of its balance. As it fell towards Ramfell, he widened his stance before whipping his axe into the guardian, leaving a deep crack in its side as he sent its body bouncing towards the remaining lightspawn.

A low whine escaped from the dying construct before it fell into the midst of its allies and erupted, vaporizing them in the shockwave.

Panting as they regained their surroundings, the warriors looked at the two new gems in the craters as symbols of their victory. They raised their weapons to the skies and howled in triumph.