Episode 42

Episode 42: Hands Of God

Godslayer, bearing bulky gauntlets, allows the party a moment to reflect and reconsider their involvement with them before engaging in battle. They take a seat in front of them, still hulking and threatening, saying,

“Long, I’ve walked these lands, watching the unconscious wars and inane desires of the gods take shape. I’ve seen many attempt to break their cycles, yet far fewer meddle in the cycles of others. You are but ill fated children, set a course on the delusions of an untempered mind. You seek to decide the fate of the Gods yet you know not what your own fate has held in store for you. I took the name of Godslayer after prying free Nokdar’s Spark from within his skull whilst he was larger than Lah’Tekai itself. The strength that allowed me to break free now chains my power within, though it will be more than enough to show you what the gods have waiting for insolent children such as yourselves. I will allow you a moment to make peace and reconcile, to seek forgiveness and mercy. A chance to vow to interfere with the cycle of the Fell and the Slayer no longer. Our story is not yours to tell. Take heed and give vows or face the hands of gods” (Godslayer, Episode 42, Hands Of God).

Despite the chance to surrender and run, there isn’t much of a choice this time. The party launches into combat with The Godslayer, still sitting and taking their blows.

Gemevieve loves cautiously with Cryactum in hand to defend while Scrungus bolts forward with rage. Callisto and Ganymede move in sync with one another, mimicking each other’s steps and moves. Toraleth and Analai hang back, trying to attack and defend from afar. The Godslayer seems fairly unbothered by the hits of the Shepherd crew as they prepare their own devastating attack. Godslayer, still sitting, launches Gemevieve across the battlefield with ease as she goes to attack them. Godslayer, moving in a blur, goes immediately from sitting to standing over Callisto, bringing a heavy punch down onto his shoulder, briefly popping it out of its socket. Ganymede, from the other side of the battlefield, also cries out in pain as Callisto is hit, as he fearfully realizes they are beginning to share the same pain.

Godslayer even disappears for a round of combat, allowing the party to prepare to defend whatever they are planning. They return and unleash devastating, fatal blasts of energy onto the battlefield, almost obliterating Callisto, Analai, Scrungus, and Gemevieve. Spears of light blast through them, dealing incredible, fierce damage to the four of them, at the cost of Godslayer’s own health. Ganymede, while she is not hit, feels every bit of pain that Callisto feels. Gemevieve shields all of her damage from her using Cryactum, the shield taking the heavy radiant blast. Cryactum is overcome by the force of the blast and shatters into four pieces and falls to the ground. Gemevieve goes limp for a moment, barely processing what just happened as she tears up. The Godslayer begins to glow again as they recover all of their lost health.

Everyone goes in to rush The Godslayer, except Toraleth who is still keeping his distance, and Analai, who is suffering from shock. Gemevieve, hysterical, tries to hit The Godslayer with her crystal blades, but ends up doing nothing to them. Scrungus deals some heavy damage thanks to his Kronon abilities, but clearly not enough to phase the hulking killer. Ganymede, despite the strange phantom pain she feels, rushes in to attack The Godslayer with her Divine Weapon, the dagger Corona, but is only met with demise. Even with everyone else on them, The Godslayer grounds themself and brings heavy punches down on Ganymede, shattering her collarbones and rendering her paralyzed. Callisto also feels the sharp, excruciating pain as Ganymede falls flat on the ground, swept far to the side by Godslayer’s feet. Toraleth makes his way over to her as fast as possible in attempts to stabilize her.

Scrungus, on his last leg, goes for some more heavy hits on Godslayer, despite his low health. He taunts The Godslayer, calling them an idiot for covering their face with a mask, As Scrungus hits them, a piece of the mask fractures off, revealing pulsating skin underneath. The Godslayer challenges him directly, absolutely obliterating Scrungus with a powerful pummel to the jaw. His jaw unhooks, breaks immediately upon contact, and falls to the ground, unconscious, like a large tree falling with a thunderous thud. Kicking Gemevieve across the battlefield, The Godslayer approaches Callisto, one of the last ones able to fight.

Knowing he’s about to go down, Callisto puts all of his energy, rage and power into one final attack, sending all of his pistol suns on to the Godslayer for a heavy, radiant hit. Godslayer unleashes on Callisto, knocking him far back with an ungodly powerful punch in the face, breaking his nose and sending gushes of blood out of his face as he is thrown back. He is knocked unconscious, thrown far back from everyone.

Finally, their savior comes: Benoa flies out from the fog and knocks Godslayer over and far away from everyone, scooping up everyone safely onto his back. As Benoa collects everyone, Godslayer is left in the alcove of Lah’Tekai and begins to rip the mountain apart from the inside out. The mountain crumbles down as Godslayer screams, reigning destruction over the whole island where the mountain once stood. Benoa flies over to the Shepherd and drops everyone off, following them all as they all begin to make their way towards Kahlessi. With Ganymede, Callisto and Scrungus unconscious and Cryactum in pieces, Gemevieve breaks down sobbing, with Toraleth trying his best to comfort his friend. They are being brought to Kahlessi so that the High Priests can offer their healing to them.

When they dock as Kahlessi, Benoa goes and gets Rayna, the High Priestess of Earth, who immediately rushes to help. She promises that Scrungus, Callisto and Ganymede will be in good hands, and she even has an idea of how to mend the broken Cryactum. Using a source crystal that Gemevieve has been holding on to, and some of Benoa’s ancient draconic fire, the crystal melts over the shield pieces, the molten rock falling into the cracks and fusing them together with a weld mark. Hugging Benoa, Gemevieve begins to feel a bit better, offering to help Rayna help stabilize the unconscious heroes. Toraleth also goes, offering to stay with them for a bit.

Meanwhile, on the Shepherd, Wood, Baird and Taylansta haven’t heard anything about what happened, staying underneath the whole time. They’ve been frantically looking for clues in Taijinn’s readings about where Wood’s Divine Weapon is. They’ve come across a page in his journal, written in a strange, undecipherable language in invisible ink. Frustrated, Wood and his friends emerge from under the boat, trying to figure out what to do next with this information they can’t figure out. Seeing as they have been docked in Kahlessi, Taylansta suggests that maybe the High Priest of Water may be able to help them figure it out, considering he had the journal in the first place. They head over to the floating temple out on the water and meet with Wisper, the short axolotl Salrin priest, who is floating in the water when they approach. Wisper takes the note from Wood, noting that this one was not written by Taijinn, but rather a sailor who also borrowed the journal some time in the past. He helps decipher it, and Wood is able to figure out what it reads: “Azure sky’s full moon glitters on cobalt sea. Shoreward ship’s ancient mariner comes home”. Wisper notes that the “cobalt sea” probably refers to a place called The Hostrea Arch, a name that seems so familiar to Wood but can’t quite place where he’s heard it before. Wisper mentions that there is also a boat departing for The Hostrea Arch from Kahlessi soon if they need any assistance. The group thanks Wisper for their time before heading out again, meaning to bring this up with Railund. On their way back, the memories hit Wood hard; Wood remembers that The Hostrea Arch is where he’s from, the very place where he grew up before Methandi found him. He snaps to attention, realizing he must have forgotten his home after being away from it for so long. Wood regains his excitement, detailing how wonderful of an adventure this will be for history’s sagas.

They meet up with Gemevieve on the way back as she leaves Rayna with Benoa, Toraleth and the unconscious heroes. She explains a bit of what happened, showing them the mended version of Cryactum, mentioning she’s not actually a Crystron but instead a Crystal Apphines, and detailing what happened with The Godslayer. Wood tries to uplift her low spirits, offering her to accompany them on their next quest to The Hostrea Arch. They all head back to the boat and meet with Railund, who also mentions that Praxis will be accompanying them as well while Cici is to stay in Kahlessi to stand guard if Godslayer appears there. The Shepherd can’t leave the port until the unconscious party members are nursed back to health, so they must take up the offer of the other adventurers who are travelling from here to The Hostrea Arch. Wood and Praxis seem thrilled about their quest while Baird and Gemevieve seem a bit more cautious. Either way, the five heroes prepare themselves for the upcoming trip, preparing for both the good and the bad to come their way. Wood makes a promise to make his father, Vyck Taiji, proud as he travels.

From a reasonable distance, two people are watching the Shepherd, debating amongst themselves. One of them questions whether or not it’s truly him, if that’s really Wood Taiji they can see. The other one assures him crudely, saying that no one else acts the way he does. The two strangers make their way towards The Shepherd.