You have Leveled Up!

You are now Level 32.

478500 / 496000 XP to level 33.

+1 Epic Save Bonus

+1 CHA

HD: 1d8+10 = 16

+1 Bluff, +1 Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate, +1 Knowledge (Nobility), +1 Perform (Dance), +1 Sense Motive, +1 Spellcraft

New Warlock Ability:

Eldritch Blast improves to 17d6 (19d6 with items).

DR improves to DR 7/Cold Iron.

New Marshal Ability:

Grant Move action 3/day

New Minor Aura:

Accurate Strike – Add CHA bonus to rolls made to confirm critical hits.

You have Leveled Up!

You are now Level 33.

580400 / 496000 XP to level 34.

+1 Epic Attack Bonus

HD: 1d8+10 = 13

+1 Bluff, +1 Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate, +1 Perform (Dance), +1 Sense Motive, +1 Spellcraft, +1 Use Magic Device

New Feat:

Sexy is the New Strong

Prerequisite: CHA 20

Benefit: Use CHA instead of STR when making attack and damage rolls.

You have Leveled Up!

You are now Level 34.

478500 / 496000 XP to level 35.

+1 Epic Save Bonus

HD: 1d8+10 = 16

+1 Bluff, +1 Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate, +1 Perform (Dance), +1 Sense Motive, +1 Spellcraft, +1 Use Magic Device

New Warlock Ability:

Eldritch Blast improves to 18d6 (20d6 with items).

Bonus Feat:

Epic Invoker – Gain one Dark invocation, or two invocations of lower levels.

New Invocations:

Ravage the Mind (5th) – You may use Probe Thoughts at will, though its range is reduced to touch and the victim must be paralyzed, helpless, or otherwise unable to resist your prolonged touch. If your victim fails their saving throw, you may also alter their memories as per the spell Modify Memory. Victims who are normally immune to mind-affecting effects are not immune to this intimate invasion, though they are still entitled to a saving throw and spell resistance as per the standard rules.

Cunning Insight (6th) – The dark powers favor you with a brief glimpse of the near future, allowing you to plan a countermeasure to any dangers you face. You gain an Insight bonus equal to your Charisma bonus on all saving throws for a period of 24 hours. You also gain this Insight bonus to your attack rolls for the duration. These bonuses can never exceed your invoker level.

New Marshal Ability:

Major Aura improves to +3 bonus.

New Major Aura:

Motivate Urgency – Add bonus x 5’ to base land speed (+3 bonus is +15’ to land speed).

As we moved to dock with the Hidden Palace, I looked over the various boxes that the Voice of the World threw up in front of me. I’d gained three levels from that fight, which was, to be frank, insane. But then, we did fight an entire flight of dragons, so perhaps it wasn’t unexpected.

The bonuses, however, were quite nice. The ability to use my Charisma instead of Strength for melee attacks meant that I could bring my weapons to bear more easily. Despite the bracers I wore giving me a +12 to my Strength, it was still my lowest attribute at 22, while Charisma was easily my highest at 50, followed by Dexterity at 37. I was suddenly far, far more dangerous than I was before that battle.

As we neared the island, I saw the heaping carcass of the great wyrm still slumped over the walls of the little keep. The fact that the island was still in the air impressed me, since the dragon was just about the same size as it was! If that beast had fallen on my ship, then I don’t doubt it would have been wrecked.

Of course, the island didn’t get off without damage. The outer walls had fallen where the dragon landed upon them, and his head had smashed a hole in the keep itself. However, those were just cosmetic parts of the greater whole that was the island. The core magic stood strong.

“A red dragon with white wings, like an angel,” I murmured, as I beheld the corpse. “Even with everything I’ve seen, I’d never expected to see the like, face to face. How did such a thing come to be, I wonder?”

“This was Kulrys, known as the Blessed Bastard, my Queen,” Sanvi said as she appeared at my side. She had hidden belowdecks during the fight, her particular spells being not much use against dragons. “His sire was said to be a powerful red dragon born in the abyss itself. This dragon, whose name has been wiped from all memory, fought against the solar angel, Xathanael, and conquered her.

“However, Xathanael was not slain, but rather captured by the wyrm, who took her to use as a toy, hoping to break her spirit and corrupt her. Xathanael’s lover, Rufeal, upon hearing of his love’s fate, swore to rescue her. Leading a force of angels, he descended upon the dragon’s lair.

“There, he found Xathanael, her wings broken and body bruised, as she was forced to endure the wyrm’s girth in her womb. The dragon mocked Rufeal as he pulled out of the angel, his lust spent for the moment, replaced by a lust for battle. Enraged at seeing his love defiled so, Rufeal and his companions attacked the dragon and smote him down with righteous fury, though they lost two of their own in the battle.

“Yet their vengeance did not end with merely slaying the dragon. They tore apart the dragon’s corpse in a ritual that lasted three days and nights. And, when it was done, the dragon’s Name was forgotten by all, mortal and immortal alike. It is said that only the Overgod, the one above even the greatest of gods could remember the dragon’s name, yet even should they speak it, no lesser beings could comprehend the words.

“Even Tiamat, Goddess of Evil Dragons, and the one to whom the wyrm paid homage, forgot the dragon’s name. This caused the dragon’s soul to be rejected from the afterlife that awaited it at his goddess’s side. The unnamed soul was cast out, into the endless layers of the Abyss, without form, without even a name.

“What came of it after that, no one knows, or, if they do, they refuse to say. Some think that the soul wanders the abyss, seeking a new name, and a new body to go with it. Others believe that the soul was consumed by the demons of the Abyss, mistaking it for a wayward soul of unusual power. And a few believe that the dragon was forced to reincarnate into another world as a Twice-Born, removing the soul from this world entirely. But only the Overgod knows for certain.

“What is known, however, is that Xathanael’s defilement did not end with her tormenter’s death. For as her body and mind recovered from the tortures she had endured, her belly swelled, and eventually produced a dragon’s egg, to the shock and consternation of all. After all, while such things rarely happened, it was known that the union of a male dragon and a female celestial would produce a half-dragon celestial born of the mother’s womb like a normal child, not with the mother being forced into laying a dragon egg!

“A great debate sprang up, wondering what to do with the egg. Rufeal and many others wished to see it destroyed, so that the last trace of the dragon might be wiped clean from the world. But Xathanael was a mother, even in such troubled circumstances. She saw the child as innocent of the father’s cruelty, and wished it to be spared.

“In the end, it was decided to wait until the dragon hatched from the egg, and decide the creature’s fate then. And so, Kulrys was born of a dragon egg laid by an angel. His red scales marked him as having the lineage of his father, but the white, feathered wings showed he was not his father’s child. Divinations were cast, and showed that the child was free of the taint of his father’s evil, or the touch of Tiamat. Thus, Kulrys was spared, and blessed by Bahamut, God of Dragons. He was allowed to grow and go his own way in the world, though he would ever have to combat the mistrust and hatred his red scales engendered in those who knew not his inner self.”

Sanvi turned to look down upon the dragon as we stepped off the Will of Winter, and onto what remained of the keep’s walls. “And thus, the story of Kulrys, unique amongst dragonkind, comes to a close. That he fell to mortals, when even archdevils dared not fight him on even ground, is as close to a miracle as one can get without true divine intervention. I did not think it could be done.”

Siora and Vestele met us in the courtyard, nest to the dragon’s maw. Siora laughed as she pulled me close. “Oh, Mel! You should have seen it! Vestele was amazing! She killed the dragon!”

Vestele laughed as she joined the hug. I yelped slightly and swatted their hands away, as they’d started to do more than just hug me. Which only caused the sisters to laugh harder. Finally, Vestele smiled. “Oh, I got lucky, honestly. I did not truly expect the spell to work, but I knew that there was a chance that it would. Fortunately, Beshaba laughed at the dragon today.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. One did not casually invoke the name of the Goddess of Misfortune, after all. But as I followed Vestele’s gaze, I saw she had good reason to. Sitting in the center of the courtyard was a dragon’s heart, roughly the size of a man.

I knew instantly what spell she had used to end the dragon. It was the Heartclutch spell that I’d seen her use before. But that was a spell that relied on overcoming both a creature’s Spell Resistance and their Fortitude saving throw, as I recalled. For a even a normal great wyrm, much less one as old as Kulrys, to fail that save, without being in my aura that penalized non-fey’s saves? That was clearly misfortune of an epic scale for the dragon.

“The dragon also was kind enough to leave all its equipment behind when it died,” Siora said. “Of course, I don’t know how much of it we might actually be able to use any of it, since several of the pieces look to be made specifically for dragons, like the fittings over his claws, or the steel in his jaws. But, at the very least, it should be something that we could trade to other dragons for suitable treasures.”

I nodded slowly, going over the implications, and the possible ways we could use a great wyrm’s personal equipment. “Or we could track down Oriel, and see if she can set up the ritual we used to empower our gear in Izrail. But that is a concern for another time. The dragons may be gone, but this is not over yet.”

“She’s right,” Fartooth called, running over from where the Kobold’s Guile was also docked. “The dragons retreated, but I believe the hounds stayed behind. Or were left behind. Either way, they have marked an area of blackness on the ground below. I believe it to be the same as the Tiny Hut spell we’ve used in the past while camping.”

“Yes, that is what I thought, as well. Which means that, in that space, they’ve negated the effects of the wind and snow. It is a challenge. Perhaps a desperate one, but a challenge nonetheless. They think they can beat us, if they force us close.”

Vestele frowned, and shook her head. “I don’t know if they actually think that. If they saw Kulrys fall, then surely they know we are more powerful than they first believed. They cannot be stupid enough to think that they can succeed where a flight of dragons failed, can they?”

Sanvi sighed. “The wind and snow obscured much of the battle. Depending on where they were in the fight, they may have only seen the siege weapons at work, and seen some of the spells at play. Defeating a being like Kulrys so quickly is no mean feat, of course, but some of your abilities are known to them already. Specifically, they know that you, Vestele, are a cleric, and must prepare your spells ahead of time, while your sister’s spells are more of a bewitching nature, and not the type to deal instant death.”

Siora chuckled darkly. “And most clerics, even those of dark gods, don’t go around preparing too many instant death spells. Actually, clerics of dark gods have to prepare any healing spells they want to use ahead of time, rather than being able to trade a prepared spell for a healing one, so they have even less flexibility if they wish to keep their allies in the fight than a righteous cleric. Vestele, how many killing spells do you still have left?”

The priestess considered that for a second. “With the level of foes we expect these archons to be? Five. Though two I’d need to be close enough to touch them. And I have a casting of Dominate Monster prepared as well, should it be needed. But I doubt any of them will work without Mel’s aura. We can’t rely on misfortune striking our foes repeatedly in the same day.”

I nodded. “That is why we do not rely upon our gods to give us luck and good fortune. We earn our good fortune through planning and action. We’ve all grown stronger, thanks to this battle, but they would not have tried to force a close-quarters battle unless they had some plan.”

“That plan will likely center around Mumiel, and her ability to take on other forms,” Sanvi said, gravely. “She is a twisted, perverse creature. She has unlocked the secret of not just shapechanging into other forms, but altering those forms as well. I once saw her take on the form of a Medusa with the blinding beauty of a Nymph. All who looked upon her and were not turned to stone risked being blinded. Another time, I saw her become a Mindflayer with the acid of a Black Pudding, so that even as she attempted to extract a creature’s brain, their equipment melted, and became useless.”

She paused, and then said, “And all that is before one takes into account her other spells. She has some spells of her own design, variations of the Black Tentacles spell. They are twisted, as she is, and play into her fetishes. Do not let yourself get caught if you don’t wish to be violated by them.”

I stopped, and just took a moment to process that. “Right. And in close quarters, avoiding the tentacles will be all but impossible. Then, in that case, we kill the mage first, and hope that ends whatever spells she has. I have a feeling we’ll all be drinking to forget this fight tonight.”