Session 126

Heroes (lvl 18): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

678 Spring

The Heroes reach the battlements of Kal-Saitharak, where the battle for the Gorgon’s fortress begins in earnest. Siege projectiles rain down upon the walls, threatening to bury them beneath stone and rubble as they fight their way through the defenders.

Ballista operators unleash their deadly weapons while Orogs hold the battlements, determined to prevent the invaders from advancing. The Heroes battle through the defenders, gradually weakening the Gorgon’s defenses.

But as the enemy lines begin to falter, the Gorgon’s forces unleash their monstrous reserves. Cadaver Collectors join the fight, bringing fresh terror to the battlements. The battle grows ever more desperate, but the Heroes press on.

At last, they reach the gate mechanism and succeed in activating it. The great gates of Kal-Saitharak begin to open, allowing the allied armies to advance into the fortress.

Then the light begins to fade.

A dark shadow spreads across the battlements, blotting out the sun. A terrible roar splits the sky, shaking the walls and silencing the battlefield.

The Heroes look up.

Raizhadik, the Gorgon’s dragon, is coming.

Session 125

Heroes (lvl 18): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

678 Spring

The assault on the Black Defense Tower begins with the Heroes cutting their way through the Orogs barring access to the tower. Once the defenders are defeated, they enter the ancient structure and face the true defenses within.

Golems guard the tower’s interior, while magical traps turn every step into a threat. The Heroes fight their way deeper into the tower, overcoming its constructs and surviving its deadly defenses until they finally reach the crystal core that powers the tower.

They destroy the crystal.

The effect is immediate. The tower begins to crumble around them, and the Heroes race to escape before the entire structure collapses.

They emerge from the ruins as the Black Defense Tower falls.

Across Kal-Saitharak, the consequences are already becoming visible. The magical reinforcement sustaining the fortress walls begins to fade. For the first time, the great walls of the Gorgon’s fortress are vulnerable.

The allied armies are ready.

The assault on Kal-Saitharak can begin.

Session 124

Heroes (lvl 18): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

678 Spring

The allied armies advance across the Black Plain, but the Gorgon’s forces make their final stand before Kal-Saitharak. The Heroes are confronted by a host of fire giants, and a brutal battle erupts across the blackened plain. After a hard-fought struggle, the giants are defeated.

With the way cleared, the armies reach the immense walls of Kal-Saitharak.

There is little time to prepare. The Hand of Azrai arrives before the assembled forces and demands the Heroes surrender. They refuse, unwilling to bow to the Gorgon or his master.

As the siege begins, the Heroes discover that the fortress is protected by more than stone. The Defensive Black Towers are channeling powerful magic into the walls, reinforcing them against the allied siege engines and making a conventional assault nearly useless.

The Heroes realize that the towers themselves must fall before the walls can be breached. They begin planning an assault on the Defensive Black Towers.

The next battle will begin there.

Session 123

Heroes (lvl 17): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

677 Winter

The allied armies reach the Petrified Valley, but there is no time to rest. The valley is a graveyard of stone, filled with the petrified remains of those who came before them. Here, the Gorgon’s forces make their stand.

Medusas emerge among the ancient statues, turning the battlefield itself into a deadly maze of stone. Among them stands a Hierophant Medusa, wielding powers far beyond those of her kin. But the greatest threat comes from a creature born of the Abyss: a Balor that descends upon the battlefield, bringing fire and destruction with it.

The entire valley becomes a brutal battle. The Heroes fight their way through the medusas and the Balor, refusing to let the Gorgon’s forces halt the advance.

When the last enemy falls, the Petrified Valley finally falls silent.

The way forward is open. The armies gather once more and continue their march toward the final battlefield.

Ahead lies the Black Plain.

LEVEL UP!

Session 122

Heroes (lvl 17): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

677 Winter

The advance of the allied armies continues, but the Gorgon’s forces are waiting. The Heroes find themselves fighting across a poisoned landscape, where the earth itself seems hostile to those who cross it. From the wasteland emerge savage gnolls, their demonic kin, and finally a monstrous Goristro that tears through the battlefield with terrifying strength.

There is no respite. The entire day becomes a brutal battle, with the Heroes fighting not only for their own survival but to keep the path open for the armies following behind them.

At last, the enemy is defeated. But the road ahead remains impassable. The ancient causeway has been shattered, leaving a deep and dangerous gap between the allied forces and the road beyond.

Rather than abandon the advance, the Heroes turn to cunning and magic. Working together, they find a way to repair the broken causeway and restore the passage. Stone is brought back into place, magic binds what remains, and slowly the ancient road becomes passable once more.

The armies begin to cross.

With the way forward secured, the great host resumes its march. Ahead lies the Petrified Valley, and beyond it, the heart of the Gorgon’s domain.

Session 121

Heroes (lvl 17): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

677 Winter

A year passes since the gathering at Seaharrow. In that time, the Heroes' lives continue to change even as the war against the Gorgon enters its final stage. Several of them have welcomed heirs into the world, while others await the births that will secure the next generation.

For Deet, however, the question of children remains far more complicated.

Seeking an answer to her curse of infertility, Deet turns to her sister Alyona, High Priestess of Kriesha, and asks her to intercede with the goddess. Kriesha answers—but her blessing comes with a terrible price. For seven years, Deet will be fertile, and during those years she must bear at least three children. The first two may remain hers. The third, however, must be surrendered to Kriesha. Should Deet refuse, the goddess promises that the first two children will bear a terrible curse. It is a gift, but one that binds Deet's future to the will of the goddess.

Then, in the winter of 677 MR, the armies of Cerilia begin their final push toward the Gorgon's Crown. The war has raged for years, but now the time has come to bring it to an end. The united armies of the continent march together, with the Heroes at their forefront.

Their first battlefield is a vast expanse of burning wheatfields. The Gorgon has set the land ablaze, turning the countryside into a killing ground. Smoke fills the air as flames race across the fields.

The Gorgon's forces meet them there.

At their head stands a Death Knight general, supported by terrible Brazen Gorgons and an army of savage Orog berserkers. The battle is brutal. Fire consumes the fields around them while steel and sorcery tear through the opposing armies. The Heroes fight at the heart of the chaos, breaking through the Gorgon's forces and finally driving them from the field.

The first battle of the final campaign is won.

But there is no time to rest. Beyond the burning fields lies the next obstacle: the ancient Broken Causeway, the road that leads deeper into the Gorgon's lands.

The army marches onward.

Session 120 - Start of Season Five

Heroes (lvl 17): Amani, Deet, Gunnar, Hassan, Regall, Ryel

676 Winter

The Heroes gather at Seaharrow, where the great kings and queens of Cerilia assemble for what may be the final council before the war against the Gorgon. The gathering is not only political. Three marriages are celebrated, binding some of the continent’s most powerful rulers together as the armies prepare for the final campaign: Hassan marries Nura, Gunnar marries Siobhan, and Amani marries Wilros.

Amid the celebrations, Ryel has a quiet conversation with Anomander. They speak openly about Ryel’s ultimate fate. Ryel appears increasingly determined to take Anomander’s place in the Shadow World, becoming the guardian that keeps the darkness contained. Anomander does not oppose the idea. In fact, he continues to support it. His greatest desire is to become mortal again and return to the “real” world, leaving the Shadow World behind.

Ryel also seeks out Thalion, determined to understand the mysterious lord’s true motives. Thalion gives him a simple answer: he wants the Gorgon defeated. Nothing more. He has spent too long watching Cerilia suffer under the Gorgon’s shadow, and he wants the continent finally free of his menace. Once the Gorgon is defeated, Thalion says, he will leave Cerilia—“to join his father.”

Anomander, meanwhile, confronts Amani over her decision to marry Wilros. He is convinced that the marriage is yet another manipulation by Thalion and urges Amani to stop allowing others to decide her future. When Anomander threatens to leave her side, however, Amani turns his own argument against him. If he truly believes that she must make her own choices, then he must respect the choice she has made—even if he disagrees with it. Her words convince him to stay.

Finally, the kings and queens gather for the war council. Old alliances are renewed, promises are made, and the final military plans are agreed upon. Across Cerilia, the armies are ready.

The march against the Gorgon is about to begin.