“Get to the chopper!” Kai bellowed.
Kildo stared in disbelief at the sight before him. The gloom of a pale blue twilight encompassed the entire area. It was still warm on the island of Scarlet Peeks, and there was plenty of light to see from the moon and stars even with the missing sunlight, but the phenomenon seemed impossible with the now dark sun. Running citizens were being snatched by slithering tentacles and dragged out of sight as they screamed, clawing at anything to prevent their demise. Massive pale green vines erupted, causing the ground to shake. It was all he could do to maintain his footing. A door from a tavern flew open. A man screamed in primordial fear before ropelike tentacles wrapped around him. There was a blinding flash of light. His skin sucked in on itself, and all that remained was an emaciated corpse, as if all his life force was drained like water out of his body. The feelers snatched him back inside. Peering through the window, similar scenarios were playing out. He then saw movement from the shadows. Humanoid, plant-like blight creatures, not of this world, were made entirely of thick, rope-like appendages. They shot out in every direction, entangling the patrons and draining their life forces. There was nothing to save them as they were drained in bright flashes. What else could Kildo do, but run?
Guo Gan moved over to the tavern door and slowly closed it as the screams continued. Pulling it shut, it gained the creatures’ attention. They charged, crashing through the door and windows to get at them.
Three astral blights cut off Kildo and Scomatch from Kai and Guo Gan to the north in the alleyway. Heavy footsteps reverberated as the tavern’s door was ripped from its hinges. A larger, astral blight pushed its form through the opening as brick and debris gave way to its emergence.
The three blights whipped their tentacles at them. Kildo threw up his shield, blocking them, as the halfling without any magical defensive capabilities was immediately entangled.
“Take my hand if you want to live!” Scomatch bellowed as Charmander jumped up and down nervously on his shoulders, very apparent to the danger.
Kildo grabbed Scomatch’s entangled hand. He heard a loud crack. As fast as blinking, they were north of Kai and Guo Gan passed the alleyway. However, they went from the frying pan into the fire. They were now on the main road. To the north were two destroyed buildings with a massive lime-green crystalline vine growing up from the ground. To the far west and the dock where their hammerhead spelljammer was, the Space Dragon waited in the water. However, between them and their goal, more astral blights emerged to surround them. To the north, east, and south were more groupings, all including a larger astral blight and four human-sized ones. He could see Kai and Guo Gan on the far side of the southern grouping. The fighters would soon be surrounded in the tavern’s alleyway.
They were heavily outnumbered and the creatures were using swarming tactics. Kildo cast, Spirit Guardians. A low, rhythmic pulsing began to emanate from the ground. White light came from rubble. Fog rolled out fifteen feet from the cleric. Small wisps of air arched out. Longer tendrils began to form.
Fighting back-to-back, the party’s fighters faced off against eight astral blights, with two of the larger variety. Kai, guarding Guo Gan’s rear, lunged with Wave. Its’ prongs sunk deep into one. It exploded in bright light. Nothing remained.
Guo Gan twirled Qiekamis around and around to keep the creatures at bay and moved north toward Kildo and Scomatch. Without any thought for their self-preservation, a blight charged in. The monk's staff smashed into its skull. It burst in bright light. As the quarterstaff came around, it struck another. Trying to continue to clear the way, ropy tentacles grappled the elf. The monk’s blood fury tattoos ignited as the two draining energies fought their magical pitch battle.
“Kai!” Guo Gan called out.
Turning, Kai saw the monk entangled. Thrusting with Wave, the prongs stabbed into the astral blight holding him. It burst into light. The paladin turned to the largest rope creature and stabbed it with Wave through the right leg and into the ground. He pinned it as Guo Gan moved past him.
The five astral blights to the east slithered to surround Kildo and Scomatch. The dwarven cleric’s spirit guardians blasted holes in them as they approached. It barely slowed them down.
“Be staying near me!” Kildo shouted, throwing up his shield. He felt their tentacles attempt to wrestle around his defense.
“Oh, thanks to you, I’m not going anywhere!” Scomatch shouted back.
Glancing over his shoulder, Kildo saw the halfling entangled by the rope-like appendages. He struggled to free his hands through their entanglement and began casting, Fireball. The entire area around them was engulfed in flames. Six of the astral blight withered in the fire before popping.
A humanoid blight from the south alleyway charged Kai. Bracing the trident into the ground, it erupted in light as it impaled itself on the end.
The sound of stone crunching followed the approach of the two large astral blights from the south. They converged on Kai. Their massive ropes didn’t attempt to entangle the paladin but bashed into him. The triton went flying as their appendages smashed into his armor. He spat blood as he rose. He was gravely wounded.
“WHAAAAAAAA!” Guo Gan screeched, as he came charging in with Qiekamis. His quarterstaff smashed into the groin of the large blight that just struck Kai. Turning, the monk lunged at another large creature encroaching on the two fighters. The staff sunk into its creature’s heel. Using its weight against it, the monk toppled it over. The elf then helped the paladin to his feet.
“Look out!” Kai shouted. He pushed past Guo Gan and thrusted with Wave. The prong sunk deep into an astral blight, running from the alleyway and attempting to entangle the monk. It ruptured in light. Kai turned his attention to the downed large astral blight. He stabbed Wave into the creature’s head. It erupted in a white-hot flash.
The remaining large astral blight from the east stomped toward Kildo and Scomatch. The dwarven cleric’s spirit guardians blasted into the creature, but it didn’t slow. Throwing up his shield and standing in front of the halfling, Kildo braced himself for the onslaught. He heard ‘whooshing’ and what felt like steel girders smashing into his shield. Kildo’s arm went numb. His teeth slammed into one another. It felt like his brain had smashed into the back of his skull. Nausea course through his form and threatened to bring up his stomach’s contents. He focused remaining on his feet. He persisted through the pain and stood, but his spirit guardians fell as his concentration was broken.
The northern group of astral blight scurried in.
“Time to burn out these dickweeds!” Scomatch called out as a fireball ignited the area in flames. Four humanoid blights burned and burst. Fire ate at the two larger blights from the north and east.
Kildo cast, Toll the Dead. Dolorous bells rang around the nearest large astral blight, but being plant-like, it didn’t seem to affect it. Maybe talking to plants has no effect, being without ears. Changing tactics, he chanted as a spiritual weapon of a spectral blue war hammer materialized. The hammer bashed into the creature but bounced off its thick, ropy hide.
In the southern alleyway, Guo Gan brought Qiekamis downward from overhead. The quarterstaff smashed through a blight’s ropy head. It burst brilliantly. Sweeping the sentient weapon, it smashed into the nearby, large astral blight’s groin, stunning the creature.
Kai stabbed another humanoid plant from space with Wave in the chest. It burst into light. Turning, the paladin hurriedly moved northward toward Kildo, and Scomatch engaged with a large astral blight. He lunged with his trident, which slid off the creature’s ropy body.
Ignoring the paladin, the blight brought down its massive limb downward. Kildo threw up his shield but was smashed hard to the ground like a peg pounded into the dirt. He was hurt, bad. He barely remained conscious. Every part of his body hurt, except maybe his right elbow. He prayed to Rigga and was answered as he glowed with her healing energy. He sent in his spectral war hammer, which bounced off the blight's thick hide.
Another large astral blight stomped from the north. A mighty ‘whooshing’ sound proceeding its limbs smashing into Kai. His armor was the only thing protecting his entire form from being crushed. The triton was now more black than his usual blue.
Clapping, a wave of thunder rolled out from Scomatch. It blasted into the two large astral blights and smashed into a massive crystal vine. The structure didn’t heal, but the damaged area grew with it.
In a deliberate attempt to impale his opponent, Kai unleashed the Wave Motion Gun. Massive radiant damage traveled down the trident’s length. As the light dissipated, the large astral blight was gone.
Lunging Qiekamis like a spear, the tip ripped through the large southern astral blight’s abdomen. In a sweeping motion, Guo Gan tore massive, ropey strands from the creature. His blood fury tattoos lit as it dehydrated the space plant. It burst, flickering out of existence.
“Get to the chopper!” Kai bellowed to Guo Gan, pushing Kildo and Scomatch westward ahead of him.
As Kildo ran, screams continued to fill the air as the citizens of Scarlet Peeks were running, but most were quickly pounced on by the astral blights. Their tentacles draining their life force. There was nothing the cleric could do. He cursed banishing the demon hellfire engine back on the sun. He caused the sunlight to extinguish. He caused this invasion and all of the death and destruction. Whatever evil Dito Hammerhand put into this world, he had just magnified it by a billion-fold. It would have been better if he had never left the halls of his home.
Scomatch hairy feet slapped stone. He sprinted forward ahead of the party westward to the docks and the hammerhead spelljammer, the Space Dragon. Pushing his way through the fleeing citizens, he yelled, “Out of the way poors, I’m a high-level wizard!” The halfling skidded to a halt six seconds later as he cursed, “God damn it!”
Catching up to Scomatch, Kildo saw Scomatch’s concern. Another set of four astral blight, led by a larger one, maneuvered to block their escape to the docks. Casting Flame Strike, a vertical column of divine righteousness ignited from the heavens. Fire engulfed the blights. Two burst in the flames. Glancing over his shoulder, he commanded his spectral hammer to follow.
As the blights were recovering, Kai charged in with Wave. The trident sunk straight into its chest, bursting before the prongs met it through the other side.
Ropy tentacles shot out from its companion’s mouth and entangled Kai. The large astral blight came right behind it and smashed its massive limbs into the paladin.
Turning his attention to help free Kai, Kildo felt a colossal impact tremor. It continued. The lamentation of trees, as their branches broke, issued in the emergence of a titanic astral blight at least four times as large as the biggest creature they’d seen. It was coming.
“Forget me! Get to the chopper!” Kai bellowed.
Guo Gan ran and swiped with Qiekamis, taking off the head of the astral blight grappling with Kai. In a burst of light, the paladin was free. “Scomatch, we are leaving!”
As Kildo ran west toward the pier, the halfling had stopped as he cast. A great eruption of earth and debris began to coalesce and formed an earth elemental. A collection of rock, stone, and dirt the size of a small hillside came to life. It sprouted arms of connected stone and dirt with hands made of boulders.
“Stop that large dickweed!” Scomatch bellowed to the earth elemental momentarily before a silvery mist outlined the halfling. He appeared thirty feet from them and on the western pier. His bare feet slapped the wood as he boarded the Space Dragon. The elemental engaged the remaining large blight from the north. It ripped vines from its body, as the blight blew holes through the earthen summon entity’s form.
Kildo snorted to himself. That halfling was resourceful. Kai and Guo Gan were ahead of him to the west. As he ran after the two fighters, another grouping of four astral blights with another large leader came at them from the south from another alley, having just finished off a group of fleeing citizens.
Charging the party, Kai intercepted one of the astral blights and stabbed it with Wave.
The larger one pushed past the others and lashed out with its limbs. Kai and Kildo were both struck by the sweeping attacks.
From the deck of the Space Dragon, a bright streak flashed, and flames were sculpted around the party as Scomatch cast, Fireball. The four humanoid astral blights burst into light. Further to the east, the earth elemental tore through its blight opponent. It exploded in a blinding flash.
The docks of Scarlet Peeks were going to be overrun, especially with that colossal astral blight picking up speed and heading toward them. He heard Scomatch yelling for his elemental to engage the space titan. The earth creature held out his hands to tackle nothing short of a mountain. The behemoth stepped and crushed the elemental like a dirt clod. Kildo commanded his spectral war hammer to intercept, but it’d be like trying to stop a rolling boulder. He looked around to see if there was anyone he could save, but he only saw dead, dried husks of former inhabitants.
One large astral blight remained around them. Kai lunged with Wave. The trident struck the creature in the left leg. The weapon shredded its limb, and it could barely move. “Get to the chopper!”
Guo Gan nodded, sprinted the rest of the way, and leaped from the docks onto the Space Dragon.
As Kai turned to flee, the large vine creature whipped out its ropy limbs, knocking the paladin to the ground. Vines tried to grapple him.
Scomatch cast, Abi-Dalzim Horrid Wilting. In an instant, the moisture from the astral blight engaged with Kai shriveled up. It burst into nothing but light a moment later.
Kildo reached Kai and helped him up. He chanted, “Life is death, death is rebirth, rebirth is life.” Massive healing energy course into the paladin, sealing all but a few minor wounds. “Go lad! I be right behind ye!”
Kai’s longer legs quickly left the dwarf behind. Impact tremors continued and getting closer. Kildo could almost feel the titan astral blight breathing down his neck. He reached the wooden dock.
“Kildo! Don’t look back! Run!” Scomatch called out from the ship as he sent another fireball flying.
The spell ignited and was sculpted around him. Kildo knew the creature was close, too close, and only obscured in the flames. The entry plank was just over sixty feet away.
“Kildo! It’s right on you! Jump! Now!”
Turning his momentum, Kildo leaped the five-foot distance from the dock to the Space Dragon. His armor was too heavy. He didn’t anticipate the weight. He was falling.
Two pairs of hands grabbed him. “We got you!”
Looking up, Kai and Guo Gan were hauling him onboard.
“Punch it Odium!” Scomatch yelled.
The Space Dragon began to rise from the water. The gargantuan astral blight punched with its ropy limbs. They crashed into the ship’s hull, knocking everyone to the ground. The spelljammer continued to rise, leaving the creature behind.
Kildo looked over the side of the ship. Its hull was severely dented but still seemed intact. As they rose, he could see massive crystal vines crisscrossing worldwide. There was no place left untouched. Going below deck, Kildo helped treat the wounds of the party members.
Finishing, Kildo said, “Right, I be wanting each of you to get some rest so…” Scanning the room, Kai, Guo Gan, and Scomatch were sound asleep. He smiled to himself as Scomatch’s snoring filled the room. Not a bad idea, he thought, as he found a comfortable chair and closed his eyes. He too was snoring soundly a minute later.
***
“Captain Kai! We have a vessel on an intercept course,” the hippo Silas called out, bursting into the room.
“Can we outrun it?” Kai asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
“No, it’s an astral elven ship. Our ship is damaged, and there is no way to escape it,” Silas replied.
Leaving the sick bay, the party made their way to the ship’s deck. Another vessel came into view, approaching fast. It looked like some wasp-like design with large outstretched wings. There were several figures on deck. It stopped suddenly as it pulled alongside. There were nine ape-like chimps with leather wings attached to their wrists and ankles. Also, three figures that resembled elves climbed onboard. They looked like normal elves but had a starry gleam in their eyes.
Their leader said, “Surrender immediately.”
“Let’s start over. Hello, my name is Kai.”
The astral elf snorted, “I did not ask your name. We can do this the easy way or the fun way. Surrender immediately. Weapons on the ground and hands in the air.”
“There is no need for a confrontation,” Kai said, placing Wave down at his feet.
Smiling smugly, the astral elves pulled out handcuffs.
“Oi, I’m not be laying down me weapons to a bunch of pointy-eared space fairies and their flying monkeys. Identify yerself and what authority ye be having to be boarding our ship,” Kildo demanded, folding his arms hard across his chest.
“The fun way it is.” The astral elves pulled their swords.
“So much for diplomacy,” Guo Gan sighed.
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