[i][h3]The Vale[/h3][b]The Crypt,[/b]
[b]Currently[/b][/I]

With nothing more to him but blind arcane fury, the wielder of [i]Hela[/i] rained blows down upon the darkness that surrounded and engulfed him. In the chaos of the the dark, the pure pitch black, he knew not where safety or aid was, just the light that they seemed to have brought with them. Whatever purpose the golden flame had the helmed man could not say, but like a raging beast prodded he struck out again and again. His attacks found purchase, not that he could tell, and all he could do was march forward toward the flame of hope.

Unable to see her foes in the darkness, the paladin did all that she could do... and that was advance and hurl whatever spells and magic she had left, but so tapped were these resources that all she could find was a bolt of arcane magic, the sort Wick might well have known from her near infinite recall of the arts. The blast, careening wildly into the dark, gave her no obvious purchase, no resounding boom or echo. Biting her lip, she dared wonder if she should brave the void or try to hold the line, knowing the surge would at some point break through.

Their gnome company, seeing the bard disappear into the dark, called out for him only to discover no reply came.

"Where have friends gone? It is too dark! Come back, come back!"

Birbin's feet shuffled and he panted like a dog thanks to the tremendous conflict he found himself in. He danced one way then the other, only to look up just behind him to witness the paladin as she too surveyed the dark; her own face not pleased with the findings. The golden light behind them and the one in the distance were all the illumination they had and even still they were not advancing as they should be. At such a point, the wizard did all he could by firing another ray into the dark, knowing his odds of striking anything were low, but they were better than outright surrender...

"Disappointing is it that you persist, furthering only the very thing you fight against in the process." The knightly figure said as he calmly, casually stepped, "Even more disappointing is it that your entire band hasn't any idea what it wants. Some want to 'kill' me, some want to desecrate the flame, some want to enflame it, and some want to return it to its second seat."

The apparent break in their assault restored the [i]Green Man's[/i] character, giving him the breath he so needed in that moment, as well as to enkindle the ferocious wrath he fought with again. It was clear from the motion he drew up the sword that there was not going to be any time or opportunity to defend herself; all she could do was just weather the assault. The sword's blow came with a glinting green glow to the blade's leading edge and when it finished its sweep, the unearthly light vanished. Yet just as he had before against the templar, the moment the man thought he had an opportunity to exploit weakness, he did.

This time it came from the elbow of his sword-arm, crashing the plate of it into the armor of Wick as he came to reset his weapon's following swing. He had no apparent desire to kill them, he well could have in such a motion, but rather he seemed intent and content to punish them repeatedly; the reborn eladrin soul had made the mistake of reviving perhaps the most dangerous thing in the room after all.

Things turned far, far worse however, for the darkness fed into itself, more shadowy fiends raised from its black ether and their surging tide cascading down upon the vanguard with hungering fury. They swept through the ranks of their foes and like a tidal wave, prepared to rush further inland...

[hider=Effects]
Valmjr will manage to blindly strike a [i]Shadow Minion[/i], destroying the feeble creature in the process and taking a single square advance. The opportunity attacks made against him narrowly miss. Thea too will miss with her [i]Eldritch Blast[/i], unable to successfully attack the darkness. Birbin's magical mystery ray is fired at one of the [i]Shadow Minions[/i] closest to him, striking the target and defeating it.

The [i]Green Man[/i] will move out to one side, leveling an attack against Wick in reprimand for her restoring Theodore to the fight in the middle of his discussion. The longsword strikes her for 12 slashing damage, with his added smite inflicting 10 radiant damage. The second of his attacks, knowing Wick is weakened at this stage, is made as an unarmed strike, dealing 6 points of bludgeoning damage. If this would reduce her to 0 or less hit points, he will render her unconscious rather than attempt to kill her.

One of the [i]Shadow Summoners[/i] regained a use of its summoning ability and has summoned a fifth [i]Shadow Soldier[/i] near Haemar. The rest of the [i]Shadows[/i] attack, a swarm assaulting Haemar for 29 points of damage total (1, 4, 1, [i]14[/i], [i]9[/i]), two attacks of which were critical hits by the [i]Shadow Soldiers[/i]. Haemar is reduced to 0 or less hit points and is unconscious, beginning to die on his next turn. Valmjr suffers 24 points of damage total (4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 2), reducing him to 0 or less hit points and unconscious, beginning to die on his next turn as well.

[b]Score[/b]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JBiAXH4ecc]Order Amidst Chaos[/url]

[b]Map[/b]
[i][url=https://www.myth-weavers.com/map.html#id=4370]Depths of Darkness[/url][/i]

[b]Initiative[/b][list]
[*] Cesar (19)
[*] Theodore (18)
[*] [i]Valmjr (18)[/i]
[*] [i]Thea (18)[/i]
[*] [i]Birbin (15)[/i]
[*] [i]The Green Man (14)[/i]
[*] [i]Shadow Summoners (10)[/i]
[*] Wick (10)
[*] Katia (9)
[*] [i]Haemar (8)[/i]
[*] [i]Shadow Sorcerers (4)[/i][/list]
[/hider]
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