“Princess Xedalli was the treasure I retrieved from one of the Astral Elves ship,” the undead vampirate Captain Gargenhale explained.
“You speak as if I’m an object,” Princess Xedalli retorted, placing her hands on her hips.
“Apologies Princess,” Gargenhale said, slightly bowing. “I was keeping her safe from the crew.” He then whispered, “They hadn’t fed in a while.”
Kai looked back as the rest of the Space Dragon's command staff approach and made introductions. “Hello, Your Highness. As it turns out, our planet is plagued by Emperor Xavan, your father’s crystal vines, and absorbing all of its energy. We’d appreciate it if he would stop that. Is that something you can help us with?”
Sighing, Princess Xedalli said, “It is, unfortunate, about the state of your planet. However, it appears we both want the same thing: revenge. My father is not to blame and lies on his deathbed. My scheming brother, Xeleth, denies me my birthright. He seized control of my father’s navy, banished me from court, and left me in the clutches of his sycophants. He orchestrated the attack on your world, bombarding it with astral seeds harvested from Xaryxis, our dying star. Once the crystal vines have drained all the energy from your world, they will discharge that energy in a beam of light back to Xaryxis, replenishing it. Xeleth instructed his minions to deposit me on your world so that, as I died, my energy could contribute in a small way to the light of Xaryxis. Fortunately for me, my ship was disabled and boarded by vampirates. Help me become empress, and I will undo the damage Xeleth has already caused your world. As a member of the imperial family, I can destroy the crystal vines by performing the ritual in the Temple of Light.”
“Excellent, we sneak the princess in and she can be flipping the switch to be turning off them crystal vines,” Kildo said, scoffing with ease.
Princess Xedalli chuckled in mirth, but then her brow creased in confusion. “Oh, you're serious. No, you will not be able to ‘sneak’ me in. There is a fleet of ships you’ll need to contend with. You’ll need an armada. So, unless you do-”
“Ahem,” Kai cleared his throat, interrupting her. “Actually princess, we are going to meet up with one now. ”
***
“Belial is watching over us,” Odium said from the pilot’s chair on the Space Dragon.
“Shut it Odium!” Kildo snapped at the cultist tiefling. He glanced at the human woman Topolah. She was barefoot, wearing thick blue robes. A blue jay perched on top of her blond hair, reaching her shoulders. She had inserted a magical device into the ship to navigate them to a place called Doomspace. It didn’t sound like a pleasant place to visit, but also the perfect location to hide an armada. A couple of weeks prior, the Space Dragon exited their sphere. It seemed they were heading toward a shining wall. However, in a corner was a dark opening they flew through. They passed into utter darkness. No stars, no planets, only black inky nothingness. Both ships, the Space Dragon and The Last Breath, were carried along by some kind of space current. Commodore Krux and Princess Xedalli reassured everyone this was normal.
Topolah announced, “Entering Doomspace in 3…2…1.”
A region of space replaced the inky blackness with a lavender hue. A gigantic field of debris, comprising of massive shards, like glass, floated in the area—a shattered sphere. Fortunately, the debris fragments were massive enough that the two ships could easily maneuver through and avoid them. Before them was a small solar system comprised of worlds and moons, where some were broken while others shattered into broken bits. They all seemed to orbit something Kildo had never seen. A black void in the center of the sphere’s space. From their angle, thin rings appeared at the edge of the black hole and were highly distorted images of an accretion disk as warped light orbited the singularity.
“What in the nine hells be that?” Kildo asked.
“The Eye of Doom,” Commodore Krux answered.
“Please be telling me that we ain’t be flying to that thing,” Kildo said.
“No, no, no. We are heading to that small moon called Aruun,” Commodore Krux pointed. “This is where the armada is gathering. My friend Warwick will be there. Take us in.”
As the ships entered orbit and descended, it became increasingly hot on the Space Dragon. Kildo saw flashes of light on the surface. Large columns were seen as arcs of lightning leaped from pillar to pillar. Descending further, a massive forest loomed. Topolah navigated the ship toward a plateau with a massive drop. Another ship, a wooden galleon, was just on the cliff's edge. There was a huge tree growing in the center of it.
Scratching his chin, Commodore Krux said, “Hum, there’s no place to land. I suggest hovering above the tree tops and dropping a ladder. Who all is going?”
“The entire command staff,” Kildo responded.
“Yeah…I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Krux replied.
Odium announced, “I’m part of the command crew. I’ll stay along with the Princess from the Empire trying to destroy our planet.”
Kai, Guo Gan, Scomatch, and Kildo descended from the Space Dragon's deck by lowering a rope ladder. Commodore Krux was last and was having difficulties due to his hippo-like bulk. On the surface at the aft section of the grounded ship, there didn’t appear to be any crew aboard.
Scomatch began casting. A protective magical force bubble surrounded the halfling.
“Did you just cast mage armor on yourself?” Kai asked.
Scomatch’s face scowled as he snapped, “Yes, yes I did.”
“I thought that was a baby spell?”
“Still is, but even baby spells can prove useful,” Scomatch replied.
“Hello!” Guo Gan called up at the aft section of the ship.
A loud shot rang out, like a crack of thunder to the east. A pellet of radiant light flew through the air, impacting the grounded ship.
“Angry Sorrowsworn and a Nagpa coming in! Apologies in advance!” shouted a hippo-like Giff as he lumbered out of the forest. Several creatures emerged and were behind him, giving chase. Six were humanoid creatures with two deformed heads, similar to ettins with sharp teeth. Unclothed, their muscular but long and lean bodies had drooping skin, which was pinkish-grey. Their arms ended in vicious-looking hooks. Behind the hook horrors was an avian humanoid resembling a hunched vulture wearing a tattered pink tarp and carrying a walking stick with a horned skull at the top.
“Run to my friends!” Guo Gan bellowed to the giff as he passed him in the forest and headed toward the angry sorrowsworn and the nagpa.
“Who are you?” the giff shouted.
“Friends!”
“Good enough for me!”
Kildo waved to the giff with his war hammer, motioning him toward the party. He saw Guo Gan gain the attention of the angry sorrowsworn. The monk would be swarmed in about six seconds. He had to do something. The hunch-back reptilian vulture began casting. There was no telling what kind of spell this creature could conjure. Scomatch was frantically weaving his hands in an attempt to counter the spell. He nodded to the halfling in appreciation.
“Its spell is too powerful!” Scomatch yelled in warning.
Like the halfling, knowing there was a spell caster, Kildo had to protect the party from whatever spell effect that skeksis cast. It was his duty as a dwarven cleric. He then saw the magical energy from the nagpa raced toward him. It seemed like his mind was drained of everything. It was like he stared at a blank and empty white room in his consciousness. Muscle memory caused his fingers to move to conjure a protective spell. However, he had forgotten what he was trying to cast. He opened his mouth, hoping his now feebleminded brain would take over and speak the ritual. However, the only thing that came out was a single word. “Derp.”
A trail of fire charred the forest floor as it raced out from Scomatch towards the spell-casting vulture. A great humanoid comprised entirely of flame began to form. The fire within swirled tighter and tighter and moved with purpose. Reaching out, one of its hands burned the nagpa. It screeched in pain.
“Derp!” Kildo bellowed. The dwarven cleric was utterly unsure of what to do. He should be doing something but didn’t know what. He then saw the trail of the fire elemental, and knowing that fire wouldn’t harm him, he followed it. He saw four of the deformed angry sorrowsworn turn his way. Their hooked claws sliced against each other in anticipation. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he dropped to the ground and hid under his shield. He heard the creatures yelling and felt their heavy scythes bang away, blocking most of their blows. However, he felt one hook reach under his shield and smash into his plate armor.
Twirling Qiekamis, Guo Gan faced two of the angry sorrowsworn. He brought his quarterstaff between one of their legs. While smashing its groin area, the monk then noticed it didn’t have any genitals.
“This could be problematic,” Guo Gan said. Changing tactics, he punched the end of Qiekamis into the creature's center. Its entire form shuttered from the impact. It stood motionless as the monk had disrupted its life force chi. Sweeping his foot trying to trip the hook horror, the ground was slippery, and he only managed to punt a squirl, trying to get away from the battle, in the air and into the tree line.
Scomatch’s fire elemental reached in with both hands to cook the bird-like nagpa. The skeksis vulture snapped its clawed hands. The creature born of flame extinguished and went up in a puff of smoke, dispelled.
“Take these two, I’ll go help Kildo!” Kai shouted to Guo Gan and raced to the dwarven cleric. Thrusting with Wave, one of the trident prongs struck the fourth angry sorrowsworn.
A bright streak arched in before encompassing the area in flames as Scomatch sculpted the fireball spell around Kai, Guo Gan, and Kildo.
Silas joined the fray. Two cracks of thunder resounded across the battlefield, as the two hippo-like giffs fired their pistols. A musket ball slammed into an angry sorrowsworn while the other impacted a nearby tree.
“Derp!” Kildo shouted as he continued to lay on the ground, holding his shield tight as the hook horror slashed at him, trying to pry under his defenses. Another of the scythes managed to smash into his plate armor.
Realizing these angry sorrowsworn were neither male nor female, a stunning attack on their groin would be ineffective. Using Qiekamis as a spear, Guo Gan continued to smash the end into the hook horrors' chest, disrupting their chi.
The vulture-like nagpa began casting another powerful spell. Green energy began to form around its clawed fingertip.
As before, the halfling frantically weaved his hands to counter the enchantment. Scomatch yelled, “Kai! Its spell is too powerful! Look out!”
The paladin dove into a nearby bush as a thin green ray struck a tree behind the triton. It turned to grey dust.
The nagpa’s beady eyes narrowed at Scomatch and then brightened. As his clawed fingers cast, he said, “Humm, you are a powerful caster. You come join me, and I will teach you how to properly counter a spell, yes…yes.”
Scomatch’s eyes began to swirl as he became charmed by the bird-creature.
Spitting dirt, Kai eyed the trash bird. He ran toward the nagpa. The angry sorrowsworn slashed and cut with their scythe-like hands. They raked the paladin’s back ferociously. Pushing through the pain, Kai lunged at the nagpa. Two of Wave’s prongs struck the creature. Radiant damage coursed through the weapon as the nagpa shrieked and feathers burned.
A bright streak sailed, and a fireball exploded on the battlefield. Scomatch sculpted the spell around the party and the nagpa.
“Derp!” Kildo called out as the angry sorrowsworn continued to slash and bash him. One hooked his shield, allowing the others to strike underneath. His plate armor the only thing keeping him from being wholly eviscerated.
Disengaging from the two angry sorrowsworn he was fighting, Guo Gan charged the nagpa. Qiekamis came crashing downwards and bashed into the vulture’s beak, cracking bone and stunning the creature.
Kai came in with the Wave motion gun. The prongs sunk deep into the nagpa as more radiant damage coursed its length. Gurgling blood as it died, the smell of cooking chicken and burning, dirty feathers filled the air. Yanking the trident free, the paladin charged the four angry sorrowsworn attacking the dwarven cleric. Stabbing the two-headed creature in the back with Wave, Kai killed one.
Another fireball landed from Scomatch as flames continued to scorch the forest. The immediate area was blackened and charred. As the effect dissipated, one of the two angry sorrowsworn that Guo Gan had engaged lay on the ground smoldering. The other one, understanding who had been casting the fireballs, charged straight at the halfling.
Kildo continued to engage the three angry sorrowsworn. With one just killed by Kai, he could better keep his shield between himself and their hooked hands.
Seemingly more intent on slashing the dwarf, they failed to see Guo Gan come from behind. One of Qiekamis’s ends bashed into one of the angry sorrowsworn heads, and then the monk brought the other end up and smashed into the other. There was an audible ‘crack’ in each skull. The creature dropped.
Something grabbed the top of Kildo’s shield as he lay on the ground. Strong, he resisted, but he then saw his friend Kai. Healing energy washed from the paladin into the dwarven cleric.
“How are you doing buddy?” Kai asked, helping him to his feet.
Grateful for the help, Kildo wiped some drool from his mouth and said the only thing he could. “Derp.”
The crack of thunder echoed over the battlefield as the two giff fired their flint-lock pistols at the angry sorrowsworn charging Scomatch. Both missed.
“Stop that!” Scomatch bellowed as he threw a chromatic orb filled with acid. It splashed across the front of the encroaching creature. “I’m practically deaf, and that's the reason why my counter spells were failing!” Seeing that the hippos were ignoring him and reloading their guns, a silvery mist surrounded the halfling as he disappeared and reappeared thirty feet away.
With Kai and Guo Gan by his side now, Kildo only had one thought: to protect his friends. He swung his war hammer, but a hook-horror’s hand-scythe parried it.
The two angry sorrowsworn slashed at Kai and struck the paladin.
In retaliation, Wave thrusted forward into the chest of one of the creatures. Its two heads looked despairingly as it died.
Guo Gan twirled Qiekamis and missed with a wild swing but struck another angry sorrowsworn a moment later. His blood-fury tattoos ignited, absorbing some of its energy.
Kildo swung the war hammer sideways. It struck the angry sorrowsworn but didn’t do any damage as he seemed to forget how to use his weapon.
Reeling from the monk’s blows, Kai lunged with Wave. Its prongs sunk deep into the side of their remaining opponent. Blood spurted from the mortal wound as it dropped to its knees and slumped over dead.
An acid-filled chromatic orb flew right past the last creature. Scoffing, Scomatch lamented, “Well, that was a waste of a spell.”
Their pistols reloaded, the two gifts aimed and fired at near point-blank range. A slug from each blew a hole in each of their two heads. Like a puppet master cutting a marionette's strings, the last angry sorrowsworn collapsed.
Kai and Guo Gan helped a drooling Kildo back toward the wooden ship with a tree growing out of the middle of it.
After introducing the party to the giff, Kai asked, “Who might you be?”
“Appreciate the help back there. I’m Admiral Warwick. Welcome to the war.”
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