Orhan 4 Day 63 TE 6051

We sleep in the dungeon of doom.

Orhan 4 Day 64 TE 6051

We are taken before the Dragon Lord. He wonders if we were really so foolish as to rob his treasure. Kier plays dumb.

So the Dragon Lord talk to his evil portal demon. It tells him about the crown. "Really? One of Them thinks he is the heir?"

The portal leaves.

Kier claims the crown by right of blood. The Dragon Lord is amused and thoughtful.

"Well, if you are a king you must be able to judge the character of men. You must also have minions of great courage and skill."

"So, we'll just have a contest, with a wager."

"Your companions against my companions."

Oathar: "You mean your Lugraki companions? or your demon companions?"

"It wouldn't be fair to the Lugraki would it?"

"Your group versus ..." Several demons that come over. 1 Pale V (winged), 2 Pale IV, 2 Pale II (winged), 2 Pale I.

A demon shows up with all of our stuff. The only rules are that no one may leave the pit untill one side is dead.

Two minutes of preparation is agreed upon.

During the two minutes of prep, the demons summon reenforcements. 2 more Pale I, 1 more Pale II. Meanwhile, Kier and the Dragon Lord sit in the observation booth sipping wine and eating chesse.

The Dragon Lord says, "Fight!"

Mortal combat ensues. It's hard all around. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that everyone covers themselves in glory, and spends lot's of fate points. The God construct wanders around and heals people throughout the combat. He's quite useful.

We win!!!

Even the imps are cheering us. The Dragon Lord scowls and one of the imps implodes. Kier, inquires if we actually had a deal.

"Let no man say that the Dragon Lord does not heed to his deals, but beware my good Emporer, you face more perils than you imagine. If you think this crown will hold off Lorgalis, you may be in for a rude shock. But never the less, I wish you well."

We leave. Then, after we leave, Kier puts the crown on. Then there's a green glow from the crown. We are all surrounded by the green glow, and a big rumbling begins, the sky above clouds up, it starts pouring rain, and streaks of light come down from the clouds. It's an essence storm! Every one takes damage, and the essense users regain some power points.

A flash occurs, and we all get transported to the middle of a courtyard of some castle. Kier shots out in a great voice, "I have returned. The Sea Drake lives again." The courtyard fills with water which forms a column that lifts him up 100 feet into the air. The neon green of the helm lights everything, and he is one with the lightning and the storm. Another flash, and he transforms into a flying sea drake. The drake bellows and breaths and sprays water all over. He turns back into a person and comes back down.

The doors of the castle open and a number of soldiers pour out into the court yard cheering the return of the king. Kier turns to them and says, "Our country has been invaded. It is time to cleanse it. Sound the call to duty!" More soldiers arrive and trumpets keep coming out. At one point, up on a wall, Kier turns and a priest Arnak scurries away along a battlement. Kier raises his hands and a giant column of water smashes the priest Arnak flat, who then drowns.

They throw open the outer doors of the castle and Kier and the soldiers stride out into the city. There's a blinding rain and still some streaks of powers. Jack and Vallandra glow bright green. He heads for the main temple of the priests Arnak. He shouts, "Begone!" Water comes up from the ground, covers the first story of the house, and starts swirling around the house. The entire structure crumbles and gets sucked into the glowing green whirlpool.

The rain starts tapering off, and the glow starts going away. Then he looks quite tired and wet. D. catches him. We escort him back to his castle. The crown has transformed from a giant sea drake into a simple golden circlet.

Welcome to seventh level!!!

Orhan 5 Day 30 TE 6051

We fight several battles over the next weeks against Lugraki, Ulor forces, and mercenaries of the Priests Arnak. Kier mostly just explodes the enemy forces. In this time, Kier is busily picking up loyal Halyssa forces, but over time Kier gets more and more tired. He doesn't sleep at night. He keeps muttering about how his country has been invaded, and he must get rid of them.

We help, but there are lot's of forces out there and the crown is driving him harder and harder. We consult with Anton who basically says, "The only way to save Kier may be to disable the crown." Jack's friend has an idea. "It's not temporary, but seems to be the only way to save him." "There could be a way to disable the overreaching crown functions that relate to the integrity of the kingdoms." His friend isn't clear on how permanent this is. His friend thinks he understands where the nexus is from which the crowns derive their power. We would have to go to the forge of Arion, where the crowns were all made. The small powers, immune to mentalism, immune to poison etc., remain.