Sapphire:Sessions:20201017
Chalker makes a throwing motion and, using his magnetism, moves Magekiller over Intrinsius and around, striking Jumpsuit in the back. JS drops to his knees, raising his hands to the heavens; a glow envelops him as he pulls power from the anchor. Two of the dark halflings flank Chalker; one swings wildly at Chalker, the other at Intrinsius, and both miss. The other two DHs stand to either side and slightly in front of JS. Shawna interposes herself in front of the "borehole" in her Utter Dome and she begins to glow. Intrinsius attacks JS; DH1 parries one attack but DH2 fails and Intrinsius delivers a solid hit.
Chalker pulls Magekiller halfway out and plunges it back in, then steps toward JS. Shawna sends the "friendly stone force" to attack the DHs. Overcoming the "will" of the anchor, she sends a force blast at JS. Eyes glazed, JS screams "pleadingly" and appears to shrink. DH1 swings at Intrinsius and misses. DH2 attacks Intrinsius, whose parry causes DH2's sword to crack. DH3 attacks Chalker (who parries) and almost fumbles his sword. DH4 presses up against Chalker's left arm ("tried something that didn't work"). JS's glow dims slightly; he gestures with his left hand to no apparent effect. Intrinsius strikes DH1 twice; his opponents armor looks like light leather but has the damage resistance of chainmail.
Something rips Magekiller from Chalker's grasp and pulls it out of JS's back. DH4 gets behind Chalker and tries to jump on his back. DH3 swings, Chalker parries, and DH3's sword shatters. DH1 lands what should have been a critical hit on Intrinsius, but his sword shatters and Intrinsius is only bruised. Chalker re-establishes control of Magekiller, but something else also has hold of the dagger. Intrinsius (since his opponent is now unarmed) drops his weapons and strikes DH1 hard with karate. Shawna uses the power from the anchor to disintegrate all the dark copper on JS and the other four DHs. The dark copper turns into many puffs of smoke, and Shawna "senses surprise from somewhere."
Chalker steps sideways and chops JS's neck (where there is no visible armor, but the DR of chainmail). JS collapses "like a deflated balloon"; around him smoke swirls and then is sucked away. Intrinsius judo-throws DH1 at DH2; the latter dodges, DH1 hits the floor and goes limp. DH2 tries to grab Intrinsius, who throws him to the ground on his back. DH3 draws a belt knife, failing a fast-draw; Chalker shakes his head at him. DH4 fast-draws a knife; Chalker nods at him. Shawna increases gravity on all the DHs by a factor of six; JS is "squashed like a beach ball," DH3 falls to his knees, and DH4 struggles to stay upright.
DH2 tries and fails to rise. As if through molasses DH3 lunges at Chalker; Chalker lets him hit, then tells him "Good job." DH4 seems to just stare in Chalker's direction (looking past Chalker toward the anchor, he had "tried something and failed"). Intrinsius picks up his weapons; they seem to jump into his hands. The other force holding Magekiller fades by half.
Chalker stabs DH3 in the vitals; DH3 collapses. Intrinsius sheathes his weapons. DH2 manages to sit up, tearing muscles in his back; Intrinsius utters a sympathetic "Ouch." Shawna senses two of the four portals (or "gates") linked to the anchor; one is on a schooner in Gu-Win harbor.
Magekiller is now under Chalker's control; the other hold was from the anchor's automatic defenses. The anchor sent out an alarm lasting three seconds. Chalker finishes off DH2, then checks on Tara.
Shawna exerts her will to destroy the portal on the schooner; a tremendous explosion seems to shake reality itself. Shawna tightens her control on the anchor.
Tara wakes up. Intrinsius casts Minor Healing on DH2 (who is still pinned to the floor). The other wounded DHs are dead.
Chalker examines JS. The jumpsuit is made of a slippery material ("plastic or vinyl") woven through with what was dark copper thread (now turned to smoke). His Penetrating Vision into JS's corpse verifies that this was a dark halfling. There are "empty spots" inside the body; the heart and liver are enlarged and there is an extra heart above one thigh, and there is an extra organ that other DHs he's seen did not have. Chalker finishes peeling JS's armor off.
Shawna pinpoints the second portal inside a wagon in an encampment in the countryside, 60 miles away.
Shawna extends an aura of Fear to all the dark halflings in Gu-Win. In the bay, all the DHs caught in the wreckage of the schooner either drown or die of terror. In the city, the DHs are merely "impeded" by the Fear.
Intrinsius senses that his pet flame "wants to help Tara." He pulls the flame from his pocket and approaches the elf. Something "burns away" from Tara; she takes a deep breath as warmth flows through her body, then nods gratefully to Intrinsius.
Leaving Tara to guard Shawna, Chalker and Intrinsius go to the armory. All the weapons here are fine or very fine (the latter contain dark copper). Intrinsius claims the one magic sword, and Chalker picks up a very fine shortsword. They check on Loop and Cal, who are both okay and have nothing to report.
Chalker wants to check out the door he couldn't see through. This time he peers through the dark field. Past the door is a landing and a tunnel to the right. He opens the door and steps through, and the field dissipates. There is a switch beside the door. The tunnel is straight, 6 1/2' high, and wide enough for two DH. There are no side doors. Chalker figures the tunnel runs 3/4 mile to the docks.
Chalker tells Intrinsius there's no dark copper in his magic sword. "I hope it doesn't turn you into a dark halfling." "Yeah, they're short."
Some force from the astral plane is slowing Shawna, but not seriously. She succeeds in warping the wagon portal; it does not explode, but it is unusable and would take quite some time to repair. She catches slight feedback from her effort, and uses a bit of energy to refresh herself.
Chalker walks counterclockwise around the sphere. The wall seems to be 15' thick, but he knows it can't be more than 2' thick. In the fourth quarter the wall only seems 5' thick and he finds a sliding switch sunk 1" into the wall. The area is a sphere within a cube. The fourth quarter is paved with concrete and the walls are retractable. There is a 15' wide "roadway" leading away.
Shawna asks Intrinsius, "Why aren't you in the fighting?" Intrinsius: "Is there still fighting? Do you want me to go there?" Shawna looks away. Chalker: "Where is the fighting?" Shawna extends her senses; 45 of the elves are around the dock, 30 are scattered and moving, possibly being pursued. Chalker, Intrinsius, Loop, and Cal take the tunnel to the docks.
Shawna locates the third portal "north of here somewhere." The fourth she locates precisely, north-northwest of Gu-Win among some standing stones within a "power point." The portal is "freshly placed but not active yet." Nearby are 24 dark halflings and a "strong" human mage. One of the DHs resembles Jumpsuit.
Chalker opens a door with a slap and the four emerge into a warehouse. They hear sounds of battle and shouted commands in Elven and DH. Some humans are fighting alongside the DH but the elves are trying not to kill humans. Chalker counts four dead elves and six dead DHs. The DHs are moving as if impeded, and many of them have pain in their expressions. He easily sees the DHs' tactical weak points. Intrinsius thinks the DH are trying to get to the warehouse.
Chalker orders Loop and Cal to bludgeon the humans in the head, but try not to kill them. He tells Intrinsius to attack the weaker DH first. Every DH has at least 10 humans around them.
Willing flame to surround his body, Intrinsius sprints toward four DH. Chalker orders Loop and Cal to block for him as he runs toward another group of DH. One DH has different markings on his clothing; Intrinsius veers toward that group, drawing his katana and his new magic sword.
Cal and Loop are blocking quite efficiently. One DH freezes in panic when Chalker draws his new sword. Intrinsius stops and shouts to the humans, "Stand down! I'm not here for you." All six humans turn and run away toward the city, leaving two DH facing Intrinsius. One DH (Leader1) curses in its own language.
Chalker thrusts his new sword into Leader2's vitals and leaves it there. Intrinsius salutes the two DH, "Now, time to die." L1 smiles, his sword "glowing with a dark copper sheen." Intrinsius attacks, striking twice. [He makes a Health roll and misses a Will roll, and gains a 4-point pool of energy pulled from his victim.] "OMG, I'm a necromancer!"
Chalker invokes Flame On! and stabs DH1, who drops. Intrinsius is hit but his flames damage his attacker even more. [Shawna crits on Power Investiture; the JS gets 'fidgety'.]
Intrinsius crit fails Major Healing, does a slight amount of damage to himself, and smells brimstone. Chalker badly hurts L2. Intrinsius uses the 4-point mana pool to cast Major Healing on himself. [This "dark spiritual energy" was corrupt, and later he will need to pray to Santash for purification. "Well, there is darkness within us all."] One DH turns and runs away from Intrinsius toward a group of humans. L1 gestures.
Chalker pulls both swords out at an angle, and L2 drops. He hooks Intrinsius' belt knife. Intrinsius finishes off L1. Chalker puts the knife in the runner's butt. Intrinsius chases down the runner.
DHs all flee from Chalker and Intrinsius, and the elves engage the DH. Some of the humans fight. Chalker kills 4 DH, Intrinsius kills 7 DH. Over the next five minutes, they clear the warehouse area. They notice the blown-up schooner 30 yards off the docks; one of the dead DH in the water wears a jumpsuit. The elf leader tells them there had been 30 DH in the area, so 13 of them have fled. Chalker: "If I'm not mistaken, we're supposed to kill all of them."
Over the next hour, elves herd DH into Chalker and Intrinsius' path to be killed. Intrinsius' pet flame is very happy to fry the DH (increased power from Phor).
Shawna [crit] vaporizes the portal and the power point. She is made aware the power point was once dedicated to Asseraah; she re-dedicates it to Santash, and Yasseph approves. She is assured that all the DH in the area were obliterated and the human mage was "translated to Dar." Shawna feels somewhat fatigued, but she [crit on Will] maintains control of the anchor. She locates the fourth portal, which is "very well protected" in Cliff Hollow. It was the original entry point to Erethel for the DH.
Intrinsius counts on his fire to help keep humans away, and continues using non-lethal force against them. Chalker's objective is to kill the 30 remaining DH over the next two hours. All DH react with fear to Chalker's new sword. Elves use magic to track down hidden DH.
At the end of the two hours, the last of the DH is dead. The elf leader thanks Chalker and Intrinsius. Chalker asks if the DH influence has worn off of the humans; EL says they are still under some influence. 24 humans are injured, six dead; 14 elves were killed. In total, 85 DH were killed. Chalker realizes there are 14 DH unaccounted for.
Chalker sends Cal and Loop to retrieve the jumpsuit from the water. He directs EL to get the humans to go back to their normal lives, and send rangers to search out the remaining DHs.
Shawna's prayer invokes Santash, Solash, Yasseph, Gauder, and Dar. The anchor point allows the DH to remain on Erethel. Their entry point was through Cliff Hollow, and there is "weakness/darkness" there. Shawna speaks at length with Yasseph; "Asseraah must be cast down. Asseraah, Aup, Aaoo and their cronies endanger our world's existence." Yasseph: "The dark halflings that have come here will be transported to Dar's realm."
Shawna writes in her journey book, Come to the Chamber of the Sphere.
Chalker takes Cal and Loop to the armory to pick out new weapons, then loads up Tiny Wagon with the rest.
Intrinsius prays to Santash for spiritual purification, and he is perfectly cleansed.
Chalker speaks with Roo. Chalker: "We should go to the dark halflings' world." Roo: "A message, delivered to their world, in person -- are you volunteering to take a message for Mensep? You are the best qualified of mortals. Fate and fortune go with you." Chalker: "I will deliver the message. I feel strongly about that." Roo: "The god of messengers will contact you. They need to be informed... no dark halflings that have come here will return." Chalker: "I'm confused." Roo: "Even in your confusion, you are wiser than most."