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Chapter 77- The Reckoning of Captain Vanifer

  “It be looking like some kind of perverse shrine to fire,” Kildo said.  Leaving the gantry with the lava children behind, the party moved north into a circular shrine area.  There were seven pillars, carved with images of flames as if there were enough real ones already, that circled the room with two next to a stone slab of black basalt.  Going past each, they were inscribed with names.  The Prince of Elemental Evil, All-Consuming Fire, the Eternal Flame, Deliver of Burnt Dreams, The Blazing Sea, Burner of Worlds, and Giver of Life. 

“Can you tell anything about who they worship?” Kai asked.

Studying the altar, there was an inscription.  Kildo read. “Someday, there will be only fire.  Someday, everything will burn.  That be sounding like Imix, the primordial archomental of fire.”

“Figures, and we are about to pee on his parade.”

To the southwest was a smaller round room with a luxurious feel.  Couches and chairs with a thick rug, but its original design was covered in soot. To the northeast, a privacy screen covered the majority of another rounded area.  Moving past the awning, it was a bedroom with a large bed, two tables, and a small cabinet.  Around the room were six risqué pictures of men and women in racy, suggestive positions.  While soot covered most personal bits and bobs, they left little to the imagination.

“I know that artwork,” Kai said, entering the area and pushing past the dwarf.  The paladin then began to take down and roll up the canvas. 

“Ye be needing to get yerself a girlfriend,” Kildo said shaking his head.  He then began to search the cabinet.  Inside was a pouch of coins and a potion with red, healing liquid.  “Now, this be better treasure.”  

Exiting the shrine Imix to the northwest, the group entered a titanic cavern, at least one hundred feet high, filled with flowing magma like a river.  A rough, uneven causeway went through the center to the middle of the cavity. At the end was another altar with two bent black, glassy rock pillars.   Thirty feet beyond the altar was a gargantuan stone colossus.  Its head was thrown back in agony.  Tears of lava streamed from its eyes and poured out of its mouth.  

Near its feet was a hellfire engine.  It was a gigantic metallic, hellish device with a central horned face with two smaller ones beneath it.  The central mouth shot jets of powerful flames through the ceiling to places unknown.  Metal plates protected the contraption with three-pronged steel claws sticking out its side.  Four titanic wheels allowed movement and would crush anything short of a giant into pulp. 

To the side of the altar stood a seven-foot tall, fully armored myrmidon.  Flickering fires shot out of every joint.  Its plated visor was up, and a raging bonfire of flames was inside.  The entity was made entirely of fire.    

Kneeling in front of it was a tiefling woman.  She retained her ancestors' physical characteristics, with curved horns, a non-prehensile tail, pointed teeth, and cloven feet.  Her skin color extended past normal human color into a red hue.   Rising, she turned to the party.  Her eyes were solid orbs of black and likely had fiend blood in her veins, like a devil, a sulfurous odor held in the air.  It was Captain Vanifer.

“Oh, you little sea monkeys are here,” Vanifer spat.  “Just like a bad copper piece, you just keep showing up.”

“I prefer you reap what you sow,” Kai replied, gripping Wave.

“Reap what I sow?” Vanifer scoffed.  “You and your ilk make me a villain.  Look at me.  You call me devil. You call me demon.  By my looks alone, you condemn me.”

“No, your actions doomed you by taking our crew and selling them as slaves.  You’re the villain,” Kai said.

“Villain, slaver? Ha!   I’m not the only slaver.  You need to look no farther than the end of your dwarven cleric’s nose.  The greatest slaver in this sphere is his brother.  Dito Hammerhand,” Vanifer said.   “We were trying to make the world whole.  Restore the vacuum that the dead god Nusen left.  Then you and your little party came along, and what did you do?  You randomly put that Green Dragon of the Woods in his place!  Queen of the goblins.  Do you even know what evil you unleashed?  The goblinoids have all turned wicked.  You corrupted their society.  The drums of war have started.  Hundreds of thousands will die, probably millions.  You started the Endless War.  I’m not the villain.  You and your murder hobos are the villains of this story, and the irony is you don’t even see it!”

“Me brother’s operation on the Rock of Series be shut down, permanently,” Kildo said, stepping next to Kai.  “Besides, ye were going to be unleashing Imix into the world and let it all burn,” Kai replied.  “I don’t see any heroism in that.”

Vanifer stood silent for several heartbeats.  Motioning to the fire elemental myrmidon and to the hellfire engine, shrugging her shoulders, looking over the party, she scoffed, “I prefer a real villain to fake heroes.”

Like the sounds of a hundred tormented souls, an ear-piercing screech proceeded the metal cannon, firing a plasma-like ball of energy.  Kildo threw up his shield as it exploded in the middle of the party.     

Shaking off the blast, Kai charged across the causeway toward Vanifer, the fire elemental myrmidon, and the hellfire engine. 

“Oh please,” Vanifer scoffed as she cast.  A twisting pattern of color weaved through the air. Kai slowed and then stopped.  He gazed longingly and stared at something unseen.  

Running behind the paladin, Guo Gan smacked Qiekamis on Kai’s back.  It broke him from Vanifer’s hypnotic pattern. 

Metal crunching stone proceeded the fire elemental myrmidon’s seven-foot form approach.  Shutting his visor, the flames could still be seen inside. 

Reacting, Kai thrust with Wave.  All three points were stopped cold on the elemental’s heavy armor.  Ignoring the attack, the animated suit of armor brought his heavy scimitar down with heavy ‘whooshes’ as the elusive monk weaved to the right and left.    

Being natural sprinters, Kildo followed the fighters.  He cast, Toll the Dead.  The myrmidon was unaffected as the roaring of the flames dulled its sound.  He then chanted as a spiritual weapon of a spectral war hammer appeared thirty feet ahead of him. 

A frigid globe of cold energy streaked from Scomatch’s fingertips.  The globe encompassed Vanifer, the fire elemental myrmidon, and the hellfire cannon.  The nearby lava had a thin coating of frost for a moment before immediately melting. 

As if reacting to the cold spell, flames blazed from one of the hell cannon’s mouths, melting the ice around Vanifer and the elemental.    

Leading with Wave, Kai lunged with his trident. All three prongs struck the myrmidon’s heavy plate armor.  There was an audible ding as it failed to penetrate the metal. 

“Hah!  What a worthless tuna!” Vanifer laughed.  She slashed with her dagger, causing a gash on the paladin’s right arm.

Qiekamis thrusted in.  Its end smashed into Vanifer’s left shoulder.  She snarled as Guo Gan swiped with his quarterstaff.  Her dagger deflected the attack. The monk performed a hook-kick.  Vanifer leaned away from the strike. 

The fire elemental’s massive scimitar ‘whooshed’, causing Guo Gan to back-step to avoid the weapon.  

Kildo saw a massive energy building in the hellfire cannon.  The effect seemed to heal both Vanifer and the flaming armor.  It was a mountain of metal, and it would take hours to try to bash it into scrap, if that was even possible.  He had to get rid of it and had just the spell.  Casting, a long wobbling note began to increase in pitch and then a ‘chirp’ as the hellfire engine winked out of existence, banished. 

“You stupid dwarf! What have you done!” Vanifer screamed. 

Scowling at the insult, Kildo sent in his spiritual hammer, which bashed into Vanifer’s back.  Snorting in satisfaction, it was then he saw the last of the flames shooting upward from where the hellfire engine once stood.  He also perceived that the flowing lava began to slow.  A cooler crust started to form.  While scorching, the temperature in the room felt just a little cooler.  Something was happening with the magma.    

A thin green ray shot from Scomatch’s finger.  Vanifer curved snake-like from the beam, avoiding the disintegration spell.   

Kai was waiting with the Wave Motion Gun.  The trident’s three prongs struck forward with incredible swiftness and power.  Vanifer was hit in the chest as radiant damage coursed up the weapon shaft.  “Sorry Charlie!  Want to stab me with your dagger again?”

With the hellfire cannon banished, the room decibels significantly decreased.  The sounds of cracking stone replaced it.  Twenty firenewts emerged from the lava lake.  They were the size of a slim human and were like lizardfolk with simpler faces and large, inky-black eyes. Their orange-red skin appeared eel-like.  They had long feet and chicken legs with reversed knees.  Each wielded an obsidian scimitar with a similarly made sheath and small shield. 

“The nine hells!” Kildo exclaimed as six of the salamanders charged him.  Three on each side.  He retreated, throwing up his shield. He commanded his spectral war hammer to bash into Vanifer. The flame salamander’s weapons came screaming in and bounced off his barrier and plate armor.  Though many in number, their skinny nature didn’t make them very strong.

The firenewts used the same tactic on Kai.  They surrounded the paladin and slashed wildly with their scimitars.  Each attack was either parried, blocked, or absorbed by Kai’s armor. 

Two of the firenewts stayed in the middle of the lava field.  Their hands started to weave.  They were casting.  A beam of crackling energy raced and smashed into both Guo Gan and Kildo.  Pushing through the pain, the dwarven cleric maintained concentration on his banishment spell of the hellfire cannon.

Continuing to press Vanifer, Guo Gan hit her with Qiekamis.  His blood-fury tattoos lit up and tried to absorb her life force.  Flames roared, preventing its magic from taking hold of her.  The monk positioned himself between her and the fire elemental myrmidon.  Its heavy scimitar sliced through the air missing. 

“You guys better save me after I save your asses!” Scomatch yelled as he cast Vitriolic Sphere.  A glowing ball of emerald acid streaked over the battlefield and exploded.   Vanifer and the fire elemental myrmidon were struck.  Fourteen of the firenewts shrieked and writhed and thrashed in agony as their scales melted.   Only the two magic-using flame salamanders to the east and another five encroaching on the wizard’s position remained.  Not liking his precarious spot, the halfling turned and ran south back into the alter area of Imix.   The firenewts followed.

“Four out of five dentists say trident will kill you,” Kai informed Vanifer as the paladin unleashed the fury of the Wave Motion Gun.  All three prongs thrust deep into her chest. 

“You cursed brat!  Look what you've done! I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world, what a world!” Vanifer called out as her body was consumed by flames as smoke rose into the air.

As Kildo watched Vanifer melt, a crackling beam of energy flew over the dwarf’s head.  Turning his gaze to the firenewt spellcaster, he cast, Toll the Dead.  Dolorous bells surrounded the salamander, and to emphasize the point of the spell, his spectral war hammer bashed into the face of the creature.  Blood, thick as lava, burst.  Its body sank back into the slowly hardening molten lake.   Gripping his war hammer and shield straps tighter, he ran south to help Scomatch with the remaining firenewts.

Lunging with Qiekamis, Guo Gan smashed the end into the fire elemental myrmidon knocking it back.  Disengaging from the melee, the monk sprinted down the causeway to aid Scomatch. 

Steadying itself, the fire elemental slashed with its heavy scimitar.  The blade crunched into Kai’s armor and roared to life, engulfing the paladin in flames.  However, the blaze was repulsed by his Efreeti chainmail. 

Igniting the Wave Motion Gun, Kai trident lunged into the fire elemental myrmidon’s helm.  The helmet went flying from its body.  Flames erupted from its neck.  The fire elemental dropped its heavy scimitar as the armor shook violently before collapsing into a scrap pile.

“Come on guys!” Scomatch called out from the south.  “These fire geckos are almost on me!”

Kildo watched as Guo Gan passed him, sprinting for the halfling.  The firenewts were converging on the mage.  They wouldn’t be able to reach him in time.  The dwarf then saw a glowing one-foot diameter ball being tossed straight up into the air by Scomatch.  The fire lizard’s scimitars came thrusting in as the ball exploded, covering the entire area in acid.  The five creatures shrieked as their scales melted, exposing muscle, organs, and bone.

Stepping over the pile of still liquefying goo, Scomatch said, “Never mind.”

“If you had them, why were you frantically calling for help?” Guo Gan asked.

“Because I didn’t want to waste my last spell.”

The party’s eyes turned to the last firenewt caster.  Seeing it outnumbered, it hissed as it dove into the lava.  The surface began to solidify behind it, forming a hard, cooling crust.

“All right people, this isn’t over!  We still have the hellfire cannon!”  Kai yelled. 

“Nay lad.  I don’t be feeling its presence anymore.  It not be fighting to come back.  It be banished back to whatever level of hell it be coming from,” Kildo said.  He then saw Guo Gan touch the hardening lava lake.  The magma was no longer moving and was starting to settle.  He also noticed that with the jets of flame and the hellfire cannon gone, the area was much quieter. 

Kai noticed this, too, as he said, “Something isn’t right.  Everything is cooling.  We need to get out of here.”  The paladin began motioning to the group to hurry out. 

“One moment lad. There has to be something of value here,” Kildo commented, examining the altar. 

“We can’t wait around.  This place might collapse,” Kai said, strapping Wave to his back.  “Everyone get to the Space Dragon!”

Seeing Guo Gan begin searching, Kildo followed.  He found the location of Vanifer’s remains.  Nothing but ash remained of the tiefling captain.  Even her dagger was nothing but dust.  The armor from the fire elemental myrmidon was heavily burnt and seared.  It wasn’t worth the effort to see if the metal could be reclaimed.  Moving to the backside of the altar, there was a carefully camouflaged panel in the stone.   Working it open, there were ten finely cut gems of no small value.  Pleased with his find, he turned back, and Kai and Scomatch were no longer seen.  Guo Gan continued to search for anything of value.  He then saw that magma had stopped flowing from the gigantic colossus in the middle of the cooling lava pool.  There was a shift in the natural order of this ‘sun’. 

“Oi! We need to be leaving this place, and the quicker, the better,” Kildo shouted to the monk.

Noticing the same cooling effect, Guo Gan nodded.

Leaving the area and passing through the altar room to Imix, they crossed the gantry and back where Rukh Glitterstone, Dexy and Connie of Dexy’s Midnight Runners, and Gyne were held.  They found Kai and Scomatch.  The ring of fire was gone, and the crew members were free.  However, they were still worse for wear and sweating profusely.  While the heat had lessened, it would still prove deadly.

They returned to the platform and hit the small podium's up arrow.  As before, Kildo heard a progressive whine beginning.  He felt a tingling throughout his body.  It was like a thousand thousand needles pricked everything from his head to his toes.  Everything went dark, like falling asleep.  An unspecified period of time passed as he was jolted awake from a deep sleep.  He felt disoriented.  His eyes opened.  Exiting the cave, the massive stone bridge was to the west and the only other plausible direction.  He was still alive along with everyone else. 

Crossing the bridge, he peeked over the side.  The once raging firestorm below was all but spent.  On the other side, the flaming warship of Captain Vanifer was no longer there.  The only thing remaining of the fireship, which wasn’t fire, was the large, iron prison cell they previously found in the belly of the ship.  A massive pile of ash surrounded it. 

Kildo also noted it was much darker than before.  Glancing at the two halves of the sun; each had cooled drastically.  If anything, they were deteriorating. 

“Oi!  This thing be shrinking!”

“I know.  Run!” Kai bellowed. 

In the distance, the Space Dragon loomed.  Resembling a sea-going sailing ship, its front bore a resemblance to a hammerhead shark, with a flattened hammer-shaped front section.  They saw Silas, their hippo navigator, waving franticly at them as they approached.  The meaning clear. Hurry!

Boarding and moving to the bridge, Silas bellowed, “You killed the star!”

“Can you get us back to our planet?” Kai asked, ignoring the comment.

“Yes,” Silas answered, throwing up his hands in indignation.

“Odium, get us out of here,” Kai ordered.

“Aye aye captain!” Odium said.  The ship’s engines revved and powered up as the hammerhead pulled away from the sun.  The vessel turned sharply as it throttled forward. 

Kildo looked at a monitor and saw the sun become smaller and smaller.  However, he was unsure if it was due to distance or because it was shrinking.   

“By Belial’s horns, how did you manage to extinguish a sun?” Odium asked. 

“That be on me,” Kildo said, grunting in annoyance.

“Good job, star killer,” Odium snorted.

“Shut it Odium!”

 

***

 

After several days, the planet of Faerun was visible on the bridge’s monitors.  Orbiting, the Space Dragon entered the atmosphere as the familiar archipelago came into view.  The entire planet was in a perpetual status of twilight.  Landing on the ocean a way out and sailing the rest of the way into Scarlet Peeks, there were a number of people wandering around with various light sources.

Disembarking and walking down the pier, the dockmaster came to meet them with a large lantern shining in his hands.  Recognizing the party, his tense demeanor relaxed. 

“Thank the gods you have returned!”   

“What’s been happening,” Kai asked.

“Since the sun was swallowed in the middle of the day, this damn place gets crazier and crazier.”

Kildo swallowed hard.

“Stars began falling, and if that wasn’t enough, it gets even better.  Crystal vines started to shoot up from the ground.  A massive one went straight through the blacksmith forge the other day,” the dockmaster said.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but there was a dull roar in the distance.

“Is the volcano erupting?” Guo Gan asked.

“Oh no.  Not again,” the dockmaster lamented. 

Screams of panic echoed throughout Scarlet Peeks.  Small crystal vines snaked the ground as citizens fled.  A massive crystal creeper shot straight upwards.  It illuminated the area in pale blue and dark white light.  The invasion was happening everywhere the party could see.  There was no escaping it.

“Rigga guard us,” Kildo muttered.    

 

 

Vanifer’s bedroom and alter area

·         6 risqué pieces of ‘art’ 25 gp each

·         Elixir of Health

·         750 gp

·         10 gems worth 1,000 each


Party Split:

·         10,900 gp / 5 = 2,180 gp each

 

·         Welcome to Level 15!

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