Arek headed up the final staircase. He could feel the power of Mardaag with
each step he took. Minsc and Tavion followed close behind. The mages were
following a few steps down from them. All of them glowed; the effect of
Valerine's Protection from Evil, save for Arek who would fight Mardaag.
Arek entered the top of the tower and was immediately drawing his sword. He
rushed past the honor guard, who were busy with Minsc, and passed a
distracted Octavion who was dealing with Tavion. The mages were busy
fighting the mages. Victoria cast Magic Missile and Melf's Acid Arrow,
along with Melf's Minor Meteorite. Keara summoned her White wolves and
Valerine was casting Slow and Hold Person. The mages were trying to aim
spells at Arek, but were being deflected by Mardaag while Arek positioned
himself behind the beast.
Minsc was easily fighting off the honor guard. He had already killed two of the six, and mortally wounded a third. The guard he was fighting now fought too slowly. The guard was using a heavy flail that kept getting stuck in the ground when he swung it. Minsc waited for the next swing. When the flail stuck, he made his move. He stepped towards the guard and swung his sword, Lilracor. The chain that attached the shaft to flail head was severed. Minsc then swung his body with the sword and decapitated the guard. Blood spurted from the guard's neck. The next guard was startled as he stepped forward when he heard "Throw a coin in THAT fountain," come from the sword. Minsc took advantage of the shocked guard and rammed his sword into the guard's gut, spilling the guard's intestines to the floor. The last guard came at him quicker then Minsc thought a man in full plate mail could move. He held two deadly looking axes that had saw-edged heads. He swung over and over again, trying to knock Minsc off balance. Boo's head peaked out of Minsc's pocket and he squeaked to Minsc. Minsc looked down and shouted "Go for the eyes Boo, go for the eyes!!!" The hamster jumped out of the pocket and ran up the guards legs. The guard tried to knock the hamster off, but to no avail. The hamster climbed to the man's face and clung to an eyelid. The hamster slashed its claws at the guard's eyes and jumped back to the safety of Minsc's pocket when the guard tried to punch the hamster. The guard only added a black eye to the damage that Boo inflicted. Minsc took advantage of the distraction to quickly kill the guard. Minsc rushed off to help deal with the mages. As he closed in on one of the mages, he froze, as if time itself had stopped. Though he was held in place he could see the mage's hands moving about, preparing a spell. After a few short seconds he could move again, only to find the life rush out of him. He collapsed to the floor lifeless, the effect of the mage's spell.
Valerine watched in horror as Minsc's lifeless body fell to the floor. She yelled at Keara to have her wolves kill the mage that had so easily killed Minsc. Keara nodded to her and two of her wolves jumped on the mage and ripped his body to pieces. Valerine rushed over to Minsc's body and tried desperately to drag the body out of the fight. Frostbite swooped down and lifted to body up with his claws and flew out of the fray. Valerine followed after her familiar, she would stay with the body until the fight was over.
Keara directed her wolves around the floor. They were not fairing as well as she had hoped. The mages were summoning monsters to help them, and some of the wolves also tried in vain to attack Mardaag. She was running out of summoning spells, and soon she would be left to use her sling to kill the mages. She began another spell and hoped that things would soon turn in battle.
Victoria swore under her breath. This battle was proving difficult. Minsc was dead, and Tavion was locked in a fierce struggle with Octavion. Only Arek seemed to be holding doing well; not tiring against Mardaag. Perhaps his changing forms had strengthened him. The mages were extremely talented. They were casting different protective spells on themselves, causing her to have to change her own offensive spells. She'd thought about casting Fireball, but with Arek constantly moving around, that could cause damage to him. Luckily for everyone, the mage that cast Time Stop was dead. None of the other mages either could, or should no interest in casting it. They were all busy trying in vain to kill Arek and Tavion. Tavion made sure to keep his opponent in between himself and the mages, as did Arek. The familiars seemed to be doing the most damage to the mages, but even the damage they inflicted wasn't slowing them down. This would be a long battle indeed.
Arek slashed at the incoming claw of Mardaag. This was proving to be interesting. Not once had the pit fiend used its abilities to attack him, only his claws and tail. It almost seemed hesitant to fight Arek. The Holy Avenger glowed with a fierce light, and every time Arek scored a hit on the fiend, it let out a shriek of pain. His sword had been forged to be a bane on all things unholy and since the party had been protected for Evil, the beast could only attack him. When Arek finally went on the offensive, it would be an easy battle, as long as his friends protection spells held up. What he wanted to do first is to get Mardaag to kill the mages for his friends. Now he only had to get the fiend mad enough.
Tavion recoiled from the attack put forth by Octavion. This whole battle had been defensive, countering every attack that Octavion made. Octavion's sword, the Unholy Blight, flashed in Tavion's vision. All he could do was to bat away any strike at his body. Tavion was losing this fight and Octavion knew it. If something didn't happen fast to change the way things were going, he would lose.
While his mind was on the fight at hand, Octavion did notice that Tavion was now in between him and his own mages. He took a brief moment to nod to one of the mages before pressing on his attack. The mage began casting a spell directed towards Tavion. Now all Octavion had to do was to hold Tavion where he was.
The mage began chanting; summoning the energy needed to cast the desired spell. This particular spell was one of his favorites. While he was good at summoning creatures to his aid, he was very good at banishing his foes.
Arek paused to see a bright light come from one of the mages and head directly toward his brother. "LOOK OUT!" Arek screamed in warning, but he was too late. Tavion had enough time to turn and look at the incoming spell before he vanished into thin air. "TAVION!!!" Arek screamed. He pulled out his throwing axe and flung it at the mage. The mage, who was laughing at his success, stopped to see his death approaching as the throwing axe decapitated the mage. The remaining mages seemed to stop instantly, intent on watching to see if Arek would throw the axe again. Arek returned his attentions to Mardaag. Knowing that he needed to kill the fiend soon to deal with Octavion, Arek quickly went into action. He used his ability Call Upon Holy Might and then closed with the beast. Arek hacked off limb after limb that defended the creature's midsection. He then rammed his sword into the fiend's gut and cut a long gash into the creature. Arek then rammed his gauntleted fist into the gash and ripped the fiend's demonic heart out. He tossed it to the remaining mage that was in the service of Octavion. The instant that the heart touched the mage, the mage began to disintegrate as the heart too disintegrated. The beast fell to the floor and seemed to implode, sending a shockwave through the floor. The tower began to shake and the roof seemed to explode off of the tower. Arek and the mages rushed to the side, looking for a possible way down.
"There is no escaping this tower Arek, you were doomed to die, one way or another the moment you set foot in here," Octavion said. He let out a laugh which was soon silenced when Victoria spoke.
"Look," she screamed, "that dragon that we saved, its waiting for us. Come on, let's go!"
"You three go ahead, take Minsc's body and get him revived. I'll take care of Octavion, then I want to go look for wherever Tavion might be. Hurry, I'll be fine, I'll come find you soon." And with that Arek turned his back on the mages to face Octavion, who was standing, posed for battle, a few feet away from Arek. The mages jumped on to the dragon and flew off.
"So now you get what you wanted Octavion, you get to fight your teacher, the person who taught you everything you know. Let's see if you truly are a paladin, or still just a lowly Squire." Arek feigned a lunge at Octavion. All around the top floor lay rubble piles as the walls collapsed as the tower itself crumbled. Octavion blocked Arek's attack and thrust his own sword. Arek batted the attack away. Octavion then slashed and Arek blocked, locking the two blades together. Both glowed with a fierce brilliance that repelled the other sword. Sparks flew every time the swords touched. Each time Arek pushed, his former Squire pushed back. Each fighter was putting everything they had into the fight. It would only be a matter of time before the one or the other made a costly mistake.
Victoria and the other two mages flew away from the tower on the dragon they had saved, and in turn saved them. They landed a short distance from Nashkel. They ran as fast as they could into the town to find the nearest temple. They reached the Temple of Helm in Nashkel and as she entered the doorway she looked to where the tower stood, just in time to see it start to collapse.
The tower shook more violently then before and Arek felt his body start to fall. He swung one more attack and this time caught Octavion under his sword arm. His sword lodged itself in Octavion's ribs and probably part of his lung. The Fallen One dropped his sword and looked at Arek in disbelief. Instead of removing the sword from the dying man, he grabbed onto Octavion's body and used his transport ability to take them both to the Plane of Bhaal.
Minsc was easily fighting off the honor guard. He had already killed two of the six, and mortally wounded a third. The guard he was fighting now fought too slowly. The guard was using a heavy flail that kept getting stuck in the ground when he swung it. Minsc waited for the next swing. When the flail stuck, he made his move. He stepped towards the guard and swung his sword, Lilracor. The chain that attached the shaft to flail head was severed. Minsc then swung his body with the sword and decapitated the guard. Blood spurted from the guard's neck. The next guard was startled as he stepped forward when he heard "Throw a coin in THAT fountain," come from the sword. Minsc took advantage of the shocked guard and rammed his sword into the guard's gut, spilling the guard's intestines to the floor. The last guard came at him quicker then Minsc thought a man in full plate mail could move. He held two deadly looking axes that had saw-edged heads. He swung over and over again, trying to knock Minsc off balance. Boo's head peaked out of Minsc's pocket and he squeaked to Minsc. Minsc looked down and shouted "Go for the eyes Boo, go for the eyes!!!" The hamster jumped out of the pocket and ran up the guards legs. The guard tried to knock the hamster off, but to no avail. The hamster climbed to the man's face and clung to an eyelid. The hamster slashed its claws at the guard's eyes and jumped back to the safety of Minsc's pocket when the guard tried to punch the hamster. The guard only added a black eye to the damage that Boo inflicted. Minsc took advantage of the distraction to quickly kill the guard. Minsc rushed off to help deal with the mages. As he closed in on one of the mages, he froze, as if time itself had stopped. Though he was held in place he could see the mage's hands moving about, preparing a spell. After a few short seconds he could move again, only to find the life rush out of him. He collapsed to the floor lifeless, the effect of the mage's spell.
Valerine watched in horror as Minsc's lifeless body fell to the floor. She yelled at Keara to have her wolves kill the mage that had so easily killed Minsc. Keara nodded to her and two of her wolves jumped on the mage and ripped his body to pieces. Valerine rushed over to Minsc's body and tried desperately to drag the body out of the fight. Frostbite swooped down and lifted to body up with his claws and flew out of the fray. Valerine followed after her familiar, she would stay with the body until the fight was over.
Keara directed her wolves around the floor. They were not fairing as well as she had hoped. The mages were summoning monsters to help them, and some of the wolves also tried in vain to attack Mardaag. She was running out of summoning spells, and soon she would be left to use her sling to kill the mages. She began another spell and hoped that things would soon turn in battle.
Victoria swore under her breath. This battle was proving difficult. Minsc was dead, and Tavion was locked in a fierce struggle with Octavion. Only Arek seemed to be holding doing well; not tiring against Mardaag. Perhaps his changing forms had strengthened him. The mages were extremely talented. They were casting different protective spells on themselves, causing her to have to change her own offensive spells. She'd thought about casting Fireball, but with Arek constantly moving around, that could cause damage to him. Luckily for everyone, the mage that cast Time Stop was dead. None of the other mages either could, or should no interest in casting it. They were all busy trying in vain to kill Arek and Tavion. Tavion made sure to keep his opponent in between himself and the mages, as did Arek. The familiars seemed to be doing the most damage to the mages, but even the damage they inflicted wasn't slowing them down. This would be a long battle indeed.
Arek slashed at the incoming claw of Mardaag. This was proving to be interesting. Not once had the pit fiend used its abilities to attack him, only his claws and tail. It almost seemed hesitant to fight Arek. The Holy Avenger glowed with a fierce light, and every time Arek scored a hit on the fiend, it let out a shriek of pain. His sword had been forged to be a bane on all things unholy and since the party had been protected for Evil, the beast could only attack him. When Arek finally went on the offensive, it would be an easy battle, as long as his friends protection spells held up. What he wanted to do first is to get Mardaag to kill the mages for his friends. Now he only had to get the fiend mad enough.
Tavion recoiled from the attack put forth by Octavion. This whole battle had been defensive, countering every attack that Octavion made. Octavion's sword, the Unholy Blight, flashed in Tavion's vision. All he could do was to bat away any strike at his body. Tavion was losing this fight and Octavion knew it. If something didn't happen fast to change the way things were going, he would lose.
While his mind was on the fight at hand, Octavion did notice that Tavion was now in between him and his own mages. He took a brief moment to nod to one of the mages before pressing on his attack. The mage began casting a spell directed towards Tavion. Now all Octavion had to do was to hold Tavion where he was.
The mage began chanting; summoning the energy needed to cast the desired spell. This particular spell was one of his favorites. While he was good at summoning creatures to his aid, he was very good at banishing his foes.
Arek paused to see a bright light come from one of the mages and head directly toward his brother. "LOOK OUT!" Arek screamed in warning, but he was too late. Tavion had enough time to turn and look at the incoming spell before he vanished into thin air. "TAVION!!!" Arek screamed. He pulled out his throwing axe and flung it at the mage. The mage, who was laughing at his success, stopped to see his death approaching as the throwing axe decapitated the mage. The remaining mages seemed to stop instantly, intent on watching to see if Arek would throw the axe again. Arek returned his attentions to Mardaag. Knowing that he needed to kill the fiend soon to deal with Octavion, Arek quickly went into action. He used his ability Call Upon Holy Might and then closed with the beast. Arek hacked off limb after limb that defended the creature's midsection. He then rammed his sword into the fiend's gut and cut a long gash into the creature. Arek then rammed his gauntleted fist into the gash and ripped the fiend's demonic heart out. He tossed it to the remaining mage that was in the service of Octavion. The instant that the heart touched the mage, the mage began to disintegrate as the heart too disintegrated. The beast fell to the floor and seemed to implode, sending a shockwave through the floor. The tower began to shake and the roof seemed to explode off of the tower. Arek and the mages rushed to the side, looking for a possible way down.
"There is no escaping this tower Arek, you were doomed to die, one way or another the moment you set foot in here," Octavion said. He let out a laugh which was soon silenced when Victoria spoke.
"Look," she screamed, "that dragon that we saved, its waiting for us. Come on, let's go!"
"You three go ahead, take Minsc's body and get him revived. I'll take care of Octavion, then I want to go look for wherever Tavion might be. Hurry, I'll be fine, I'll come find you soon." And with that Arek turned his back on the mages to face Octavion, who was standing, posed for battle, a few feet away from Arek. The mages jumped on to the dragon and flew off.
"So now you get what you wanted Octavion, you get to fight your teacher, the person who taught you everything you know. Let's see if you truly are a paladin, or still just a lowly Squire." Arek feigned a lunge at Octavion. All around the top floor lay rubble piles as the walls collapsed as the tower itself crumbled. Octavion blocked Arek's attack and thrust his own sword. Arek batted the attack away. Octavion then slashed and Arek blocked, locking the two blades together. Both glowed with a fierce brilliance that repelled the other sword. Sparks flew every time the swords touched. Each time Arek pushed, his former Squire pushed back. Each fighter was putting everything they had into the fight. It would only be a matter of time before the one or the other made a costly mistake.
Victoria and the other two mages flew away from the tower on the dragon they had saved, and in turn saved them. They landed a short distance from Nashkel. They ran as fast as they could into the town to find the nearest temple. They reached the Temple of Helm in Nashkel and as she entered the doorway she looked to where the tower stood, just in time to see it start to collapse.
The tower shook more violently then before and Arek felt his body start to fall. He swung one more attack and this time caught Octavion under his sword arm. His sword lodged itself in Octavion's ribs and probably part of his lung. The Fallen One dropped his sword and looked at Arek in disbelief. Instead of removing the sword from the dying man, he grabbed onto Octavion's body and used his transport ability to take them both to the Plane of Bhaal.