Session 17 Recap (Day 07)

In the Valley of Petrified Soldiers, the party fights valiantly against the barbarians on horseback, but it soon becomes clear that--despite their formidable skills on the battlefield--the party is faced with overwhelming odds.

Just as half of the party seems destined to fall, a brilliant shaft of golden light and a deep bass note horn blast heralds the arrival of some fantastic, otherworldly being: a raging sphere of golden flame roils above the battlefield, dozens of giant arms reaching out from it. The arms shift their appearance from moment to moment, representing humanoids and giants of all species. Motes of golden flame orbit the central mass, speeding along their trajectories while the orb is motionless and slowing down as it moves about the battlefield.

This golden orb streaks across the sky toward Carric and causes a pillar of flame to erupt from the ground. This pillar seems to cause serious damage to the barbarians nearby, but it also has the effect of healing the party members who are closest to it.

Many of the barbarians fight on, but one cries out, "Iilari’jil, Fire of Forgotten Hope, we beseech your holy flames to spare us and smite our enemies!"

The Archangel Iilari’jil responds telepathically to all, with a chorus of one thousand voices speaking as one: "Skeif of the Forests of Wyr, take up thy weaponry and return to the wilderness from whence thou camest. The fallen goddess Thelxiepeia--daughter of Pas, traitor to her kin, deceiver of men--has been honorably vanquished in mortal combat, more than the foul serpent deservest. Meantime, the likewise traitor Echidna and her spawn Scylla seek the throne, but ye shall no longer venerate this unholy bane of the Whorl. So has Iilari’jil, the Fire of Forgotten Hope, spoken, so shall it be."

At this, the barbarians begin to flee the battlefield. Several are picked off by the bolstered party, but a handful are swift enough to escape. Maul steps toward the hovering archangel and asks what they are meant to do. Iilari'jil responds telepathically, again in a chorus of voices speaking as one, "Travel to Spire Island, unveil the Plan of Pas, and lead thy people unto salvation. So has Iilari’jil, the Fire of Forgotten Hope, spoken, so shall it be."

Then, with another horn blast, the golden orb disappears in a shaft of blinding light.