The Battle for Brackenford
Lord Alric and his thrall guard
The chained oak loomed. Limbs creaking. Fog rolling in. Citizens hiding. Brackenford holding its breath.
Lord Alric stepped forward. Armor faded and dingy under years of grime. Took the heart artifact and set it into his chest as his breastplate glowed.
The fight
- Thorne (random soldier, hero) attacked first. Alric parried.
- Edward dealt the last blow to the chain — the resulting shockwave from the forest stone pushed everyone back 10ft.
Took the brunt of the forest stone shockwave and was incinerated to blue dust.
“The first of many to fall, but also the first to rise.”
- Ruasar hit Alric with his 4th blast of lightning, arcing it with his finger.
- Alric fell, burned and defeated.
- In the distance, a piercing scream — Alric had taken the lives of two innocents (one of the guard’s wives) for his own. Heals through this power.
Pulling the heart
Lorien Painbearer used Lay on Hands to burn the connection between Alric and the heart artifact.
- Alric went rigid, then limp, held up by Lorien.
- Lorien glowed with divine energy, pulled the heart out — cracking ribs, suction.
- Lorien heard souls uncounted screaming in the soul-stone heart.
- A thump as the heart drew toward Lorien’s chest.
- The heart sank into Lorien’s chest with Ilmater’s blessing. Lorien feels the constant howl of souls echoing in his head, dulled by Ilmater’s protective light.
“If you would carry this pain, let it not be alone. You are strong and I would walk beside you.”
Lord Alric became even more haggard. Wept openly as he found peace one last time. Cisco comforted him, holding him and patting him while telling him it would be alright.
Lord Alric — last words
“I did it for Brackenford. The curse now belongs to you, Lorien. May you be stronger than I was.”
Cisco robbed Alric during this.
A metal ring that rotates around itself with a fixed carriage inside. Lifted from Alric’s body.
Finally at peace.
After
Ruasar made an arcana check and saw a connection from the heart to people in Brackenford — the thickest line going toward the manor.
Lorien Painbearer had a vision of standing in the manor’s great hall before a wizened crone:
“The heart lives in you now noble knight, but it is mine by right! Come challenge me.”