Draelik hurls himself toward Arion, his mirror mask fractured, revealing a singular, wide eye filled with desperate hunger. The obsidian sphere pulsates, its violet light bleeding into the wood of the pier, causing it to liquefy into abyssal sludge.
Draelik
Give it back, spirit. You are but a flea wearing a corpse, unworthy of the power that binds the stars.
Arion Touvengard
This creature reeks of the Void, yet he lacks the strength to claim it. His arrogance will be his undoing.
Arion Touvengard
You offer only decay, Draelik. Your master's reach into Etheria ends here, with your failure.
ID
Stand down, both of you! I will not have this harbor consumed by your madness!
The pier groans as the shadow-rot spreads, and the City Guard Captain stumbles, her boots sinking into the shifting, semi-solid platform as she desperately levels her spear at the shimmering teal energy radiating from Arion.
“Arion deftly dodges away from Draelik, looking closely at Draeliks form to ascertain if this is his real body or simply a shadow clone”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +0)
Arion pivots on his heel, his movements fluid and unnervingly precise as he side steps the lunging Draelik. He shifts into a low, defensive stance, teal energy crackling along his arms as he scrutinizes the council member.
Arion Touvengard
The way he moves, the lack of true weight, and the way the shadows cling to his outline. This is no physical form. He is a projection, a hollow vessel for the Void itself.
Arion Touvengard
You are not here, Draelik. This is but a whisper of a coward hiding behind a mask of glass.
Draelik
He sees through it. No matter. If I cannot claim the blade, I will bury him beneath the harbor itself.
Captain Halloway
We need to retreat! The entire pier is dissolving!
Captain Halloway scrambles back toward the ship, his eyes wide as the wood beneath him liquefies into bubbling, ink-black sludge. The City Guard Captain lunges forward, spear tip wavering, caught between the spreading rot and the ethereal battle unfolding before her.
+ Scene Quest Added
Escape the collapsing pier and reach the safety of the ship
“Arion channels more cleansing magic to push back the remnants of rot Draelik brought forth with his now shattered magic seal. "If you truley wanted to claim my blade tou shouls of came in the flesh, not a fading imitation"”
SUCCESS (Superb Arcana, rolled +2)
Arion Touvengard
If you truly wanted to claim my blade, you should have come in the flesh, not a fading imitation.
Arion slams his free hand into the muck, the teal light erupting from his veins like a geyser. The radiance washes over the pier, singing with the intensity of an ancient star. The creeping, ink-black void sludge shrieks, bubbling violently before it is violently purged, bleached white and brittle by the onslaught of holy arcana. Draelik recoils as his dark manifestation begins to fray at the edges, his mirror mask spider-webbing with cracks as the pressure of the cleansing pulse forces the shadow back into the ether.
Arion Touvengard
It is not enough to just push him back. The rot is deep, and the harbor structure is failing regardless. I must stabilize the foundation, or these fools will sink into the abyss before I can even cross the gangplank.
Captain Halloway
By the gods... the sludge is turning to stone!
Quest Complete
Escape the collapsing pier and reach the safety of the ship