The Seventh Sword
Session Fifty-Two of the Notoriety of Kings Campaign

Caladay, 11 Mizzle Month 204

This certainly causes concern. Ravenna says that the horseman cannot be Karatath because Karatath is trapped in the Aegis. Elias says that it doesn't matter whether this being is Karatath or not - whoever it is, is trouble evough! This is certainly true by the magic way in which the seven swords are vibrating. It is worse even that the Prince. The decision to use the Breath of Virtue is quickly taken and before the enemy can advance much further the seven swords are held together and a burst of incandescent energy bundles forward toward the rider.

The rider sees it coming. He calmly lifts his hand, and a black gem is obvious in his palm. Just as the party were worrying whether they are in the blast radius of this effect, the question becomes academic. The gem in the hand of the rider swallows the Breath of Virtue as if it were nothing more than a damp firework. The party look at one another as the demon horde turns and moves toward them. "Run!" yells Raza, and they discover that they cannot.

Their hands tighten around the hilts of their swords, their feet seem fixed to the barren earth. Alessandre shoots a glance at Elias. "What's happening?" she asks, her voice cracking slightly. Elias mutters something about his vision. The demon horde stops, and a hatred born of helplessness rises in each of the Chosen. The rider dismounts and walks toward you. A dark light is pulsing through the gem on his hand, and they can feel that pulse run down the length of the blade they are carrying. The rider stops, twenty paces from you and smiles. "Do you recognise me?" it rasps.

Nicos immediately lets fly with such a staggering torrent of verbal insults that would send any lesser foe reeling. The rest of the party appreciate his articulate nature and marvel that he manages not to use the same word twice, but some begin to think that this may not be the time. The rider certainly does. It has shrivelled yellow skin, sucked tight over is skeleton. Its head is ghoulish and its eyes baleful. "Do you recognise me?"

"Narramac?" asks Raza, but there are members of the party who recognise this thing. Arvan and Brack remember seeing an ethereal silhouette surround Archdruid Tular in the Plains of Acheron. That shadow ressembled this creature. And Elias remembers its eyes. He saw them in a fire in the woods outside Timberlake. A fire that Tular was talking to. How long has this thing been stalking them? Who else can it be? "Mínaris," says Elias firmly.

"You impress me. Perhaps Narramac was not such a fool to give you the blades to begin with." Mínaris pauses to let Nicos finish his latest salvo of abuse and continues. "And yet, you have not penetrated all my disguises. A creature such of myself wears many faces and plays many roles in his time." The horseman's gargoyle countenance ripples and standing before the party is Hadala Klazid's assistant Bron. It ripples again and they see the Saldarín knight Gassan. It ripples again and they see the Mannenite youth, Kagli. Then it changes a fourth time into the form familiar from Iltilmus's apartment in Sorgar - a man in his middle years with raven black hair tied in a long ponytail the length of his back, and a neatly trimmed moustache and beard. He wears a long robe of red and orange. And suddenly those who forgot that encounter in Sorgar, now remember it in every detail. Ravenna shivers.

The demons surrounding Mínaris grow impatient to hack the party apart, but he stifles them with a gesture. "If you're going to kill us anyway," says Raza, "can you please tell me who the moon gods are, I really have to know!" Mínaris regards him coldly for a moment, and then says in his distinctive whisper. "A better question would be why you cannot move to strike me. It is because the blades you carry have done their work well, and your corruption is almost complete. It is a wonder you did not guess their nature, or perhaps you did and arrogantly supposed you could conquer them. Poor Klazid, when he discovers how the knowledge he gave freely has damned you and all of the northern world. If only he had read the rest of Nallasean Etamyre's work. He would then have known. But of course, I kept that from him….." Mínaris takes a rattling breath and intones the final three stanzas of the ballad of Nallasean Etamyre.

And yet, although reclaimed with haste,
The blades were tainted, far from chaste.
The Princes sensed The Dark One's hand
In all the doom upon the land.

He had won, He turned from right
The swords of good, of hope, of light.
And now we quiver, we fear the end.
There is no force with strength to mend.

And thus the six can fight no more,
And must be kept in Shallambor.
For with them all, we cannot win
The Blades of Virtue turned to sin.

At the utterance of the last line of the verse a change comes about the blades. A shadow falls on the tip of each blade and then, one-by-one, they turn as black as night. As black as the Blade of Justice was when it was held by The Prince. Each member of the party feel as though a clawed hand has closed around their hearts and has begun to squeeze. They are short of breath, they stagger on their feat. Mínaris continues his speech.

"Lust, Sloth, Covetousness, Greed, Envy, Pride, Wrath. These are the only virtues of the Great Dark. Did you think the Dark Lord could hold the swords for as long as he did and not corrupt them? They were his weapons in the Great War. They destroyed all the seas in the northern world. They brought my Master to the edge of victory! And now they must return to their rightful home. They will spearhead the next invasion. Faith in Karatath grows. Within days he will be free, and then the Enceinte will not hold his forces. The Gates of Perdition will burst as was foretold by the elves themselves. Now you must decide what part you intend to play in this."

"The Blades of Sin have you now. You cannot continue to hold them and escape that fate. So you have two choices before you. Retain the blades and become warriors of darkness in the service of the Master, or cast them down. Sever the link, and be destroyed. Either way the Blades of Sin are mine. Choose!"

Nicos casts the blade down immediately. He glares at Mínaris defiantly. As he lets go it feels as though a part of his soul has been torn away with the Blade of Faith. He has been bonded to this sword for more than a season. It has left its mark on him in many ways. But as the sword falls to the ground, the conflict and the strife that has beset him since entering the Great Dark. The sense of Lust is gone. He feels free, for the first time since winning Narramac's quest. Despite his impending demise, he can't help but feel exhuberant.

A moment later Elias's sword clatters to the ground next to it. Its blade disappearing into the hilt for the last time. Alessandre's follows immediately, as she was only waiting to see what Elias did. The connection they held with their swords is also gone. Then there is a pause. Arvan throws his sword down, breaking the cycle. Then there is a longer pause. "What of you three?" asks Mínaris. "Do I take it you wish to join me?"

Raza looks at the sword in his hand. In the back of his mind he can hear Nicos cajoling him, forcing him to drop the sword. But he needs the sword? What is he without it. And yet, the truth of Mínaris's words are apparent. He can feel the creeping evil of his blade - his Blade of sin - affecting his mind. He can sense that if he does not rid himself of it then he will no longer be master of his own actions. He hears a thud as Brack gives up his blade, and Raza follows suit.

Ravenna is the hardest the nut to crack. She wants to keep the sword. This is the most difficult decision she has ever had to make. And yet, she knows what she must do. At the last possible moment she too forsakes the power of the Blades of Sin. She is bereft, and continues to stand with her allies. She glances over her shoulder. The kiln that contains the portal stone is only two hundred yards away. If they can reach it, they may yet have a chance to survive.

The shock of breaking the link with the Blades of Virtue have sent the party reeling, and for a moment they do not have command of their own senses. Mínaris sends forth tendrils of dark energy and gathers up the seven swords. The look on his face is one of pure glee. Ravenna shakes her head. What they have done, what they have delivered in to the hands of evil is not something they can do anything about any more. The important thing is to escape, and the portal stone is the only way to accomplish that. She turns and runs, and commands the rest of the group to run with her.

As they run, Ravenna casts a circle of protection from evil, reaching up and tapping the Weave. Again there is no nausea but Ravenna stumbles as though she had just met the eyes of the dark lord himself. Arvan who was trying to help shield Ravenna is overcome with sickness and has to be supported by Brack, but still they run. They run on. Ravenna distributes the seven leaves to each party member, and everyone places one in their mouths.

"You fools!" calls Mínaris. "There is no escape from this place. I have a mind to make your deaths swift, do not anger me!" Then he gestures and his hoard of demonic cronies on land and air swarm toward the party. The horde on the ground is made up of misshapen ape-like demons with elongated arms and ferocious teeth; they are accompanied by monstrous creatures, over twenty feet in height with huge emaciated bull-like heads. They look as though they have sufficient power in them to wrestle a dragon. Then the vulture-demons in the sky swoop toward them. What can they do except keep on running?

Their winged adversaries descend. Elias and Arvan to their best to protect the weaker members of the group, but they have all been raked by claws more than once by the time Ravenna has cracked open the kiln and pulled the portal stone from it. The vulture-demons take to the sky, giving the party a welcome respite. Welcome until they notice the reason. The horde is upon them.

Nicos has to battle four of the ape demons. Everyone else also has to contend with the massive bull-headed creatures. The fight does not go well. As Ravenna takes the unremarkable stone from the kiln, grinds the stem of the clover of it and intones the words "Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor!", the rest of the party fan out around her.

Bereft of the Blades of Virtue, the party's fighting prowess is distinctly below par. None of them possess weapons enchanted enough to injure these creatures and quickly resort to defending themselves as best they can until Ravenna opens the portal into the Greymere.

Arvan is the first to fall. He is beaten to unconsciousness and near death by the bull-head. Were it not for one of the demon's wicked claws from missing his prone form Arvan would have been little more than an a smear. Nicos fares almost as badly. He realises that he cannot defeat these foes and slowly lights his pipe while fencing them off with a free hand. Then a dagger lands at his feet. "It's magical!" calls Ravenna. Nicos quickly tries to pick it up, but it burns him and he drops it. He curses Ravenna. Part of him believes that was deliberate. The end cannot be far away now. Brack, Elias and Raza are horribly injured in the first pass as they fight to the sound of Ravenna's enchantment. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor.

Alessandre's sword darts futilely against the massive creature. She is battered by the lesser demon. Then the greater hits her once. Twice. The first blow smashes her to the floor. The second punches through her torso leaving a hole the size of a man's head. Blood fountains from her mouth as she is thrown back ten feet, landing lifelessly on the ground.

"Alessandre!" Elias calls in a mixture of desperation and grief. He sees her lying there, but he cannot leave Ravenna. She has to continue the spell or they are all dead. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. Nicos falls to a battery of fists. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. Raza manages to pour a healing potion into Arvan but then he too is beaten to the ground, where he lies still. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. Brack takes a pounding. Elias takes more punishment and is left so dazed he cannot heft his sword. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor.

The portal is opening now. It is little bigger than a dinner plate, but it is there - a swirling grey disc. Hedwig sweeps down and through the opening. At least part of Elias is safe. The portal grows a little bigger and Ravenna forces Snowy through. And then the demons stop, and part as if some invisible force is moving through them toward the party.

Arvan gets to his feet and joins Elias and Brack in looking to this new threat. Seven skeletal warriors clad in thick armour are striding toward them. They are each wielding seven magical blades. They recognise the hilt. They are the new masters of the Blades of Sin! The skeletal knights raise the swords and point them towards the party. Ellamon Esthenai Uldarsé Halmiris Shallambor. The portal will not open in time. Elias, Arvan and Brack glance at one another. If the corruption of the Blades is anything as powerful as the real thing, they have no hope of escape from now. The blades are pointed toward them, and a shadow falls over the conflict.

As soon as the blades are touched together they are forced apart. A black snow-like substance sprays out of them engulfing the party, the demons and the knights. Where it falls on the head and shoulders of Brack and Elias the black snow has absolutely no effect; but where it lands on the flesh of the demons and knights it turns to flame and begins to burn them."What's happening?" asks Brack. Elias doesn't know, but he has an inkling that Narramac had something to do with this. Perhaps he intended it all along.

The demons begin to flee the caustic blizzard as Ravenna yells, "We're good to go!" The portal is open wide enough to step through. Ravenna has been happily oblivious to all these events. So she hasn't seen the knights. And she doesn't see Mínaris - their only enemy who seems completely unaffected by the blizzard galloping toward them on the black unicorn.

Arvan grabs Raza and leaps through the portal with him. The druid and his load fades slowly from sight as though engulfed by a thick fog. Brack grabs Nicos and throws him through, then turns to see if he can be of any help. Elias is looking at the prone form of Alessandre. Ravenna runs forward to collect her, but Elias waves her back. "I'll do it!" he yells angrily, and takes a sip of Dralcarnus's healing potion. Ravenna motions Brack through the portal and the dwarf dives to safety as Elias runs forward (toward Mínaris) and scoops Alessandre into his arms.

She is so light, and he is quickly covered in her blood. He is under no illusions. She is dead. Ravenna calls upon him to hurry Mínaris is nearly upon them. She gets ready to attempt to counter-spell the dark sorcerer. Elias turns toward the portal and grabs Ravenna with a free arm bundling her toward it. "I can walk!" she yells. "You're going to do something stupidly heroic," he observes and flings himself and Ravenna toward the portal.

Mínaris is fast, but he is not quite fast enough. The pair hear him slam into the portal as if it were a stone wall. He bellows with rage and screams after them: "You think you can run? You think there is any place you can hide after what you have done here? The Greymere is no salvation! Hear me! Your king lies an inch from death. When he dies it will be my time! I will grind your home to dust! I will turn Norandor into a reflection of the Great Dark! I will find all those you cherish and make you wish they had simply died. This is not over! We will meet again in Uris! My time will come!"

Mínaris's voice echoes around the them, until movement and sensation become too much for Elias and Ravenna, and they drift into the welcome arms of unconsciousness.

The end of The Seventh Sword
The Adventures of the Chosen of Narramac continue in The Empty Chair
Ellyboodle next appears in The Fist of Maglubiyet

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