16.5 Bonk the Spike-Boss, Smash the Magic Bird! (Milestone - 17th Level!)

SESSION DATE: June 27, August 1 & August 15, 2026
PRESENT: Kakariki, Kemurial, Zhanis, Freya

Deep Dive

![[16.5 Bonk the Spike-Boss, Smash the Magic Bird!.mp4]]

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Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[Bonk the Spike-Boss, Smash the Magic Bird!.mp3]]
[Verse 1]
We fell right out of a magic slide, woosh and a ker-plunk
The big city gates went groan and crack, everything smelled like junk
We shook off the dirt and wiped our tears for Rory lost and gone
Met shiny rock-friend and sparkle-lady before the break of dawn
Got some fancy lenses for my peepers and a big fuzzy magic boost
Now Kakariki and Blaze are ready to clean out the devil roost

[Pre-Chorus]
Down in the stinky sewer tunnels where the rat-people hide
Popped out at the graveyard with a sneaky-peaky surprise
One two three ambush with the ice storm and the glowing blade wall
The spell-brothers got so scared they dropped their magic ball

[Chorus]
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Funniest battle that you ever heard!
A fire doggo and a green moss ball,
We zoom around and we bonk them all!
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Yes yes win with a happy word!

[Verse 2]
Marched into Slaughter Square where Gotrek made a big loud roar
Spike-Boss Arek threw a boom-ball right across the floor
Blaze did not care because fire is his middle name
Kemurial made him choke and Freya blasted laser flame
Zhanis brought the holy light that went ka-boom and splat
No more Spike-Boss standing where he sat

[Chorus]
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Funniest battle that you ever heard!
A fire doggo and a green moss ball,
We zoom around and we bonk them all!
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Yes yes win with a happy word!

[Bridge]
CRACK went the sky and reality went ker-floop
Fell in a purple sky-world in a chaotic loop
A giant two-headed bird monster floating up so high
Turned poor Freya's brain to mush and dropped us from the sky
Kakariki gave out potion juice to fix up all our heads
We stood back up and fought the bird instead

[Vocal Break]
La la la
PEW-PEW
La la la
BONK-BONK
Up in the sky
Watch the fire dog fly

[Verse 3]
Kemurial flew on a magic carpet high up in the air
I aimed my trusty sling-stone with a super-fast stare
Gave Blaze the signal and he zoomed right through the purple cloud
Chomped that big mean bird monster right before the crowd
Blaze got the final blow and saved the whole wide land
Got a shiny gold beetle scarab resting in my hand

[Chorus]
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Funniest battle that you ever heard!
A fire doggo and a green moss ball,
We zoom around and we bonk them all!
Bonk the Spike-Boss, smash the magic bird!
Yes yes win with a happy word!

[Outro]
POP back in Praag and the map is all brand new
The bad guys ran away in silly circles too
Kakariki and Blaze feel super powerful today
Time to cuddle fire-dog and sleep the night away
Yes yes
Nap time

World Anvil Journal

Oh-ho-ho! What a CRAZY, BUSY day!

First, Kakariki and Blaze came falling straight out of a big green magic slide—WOOSH! Ker-plunk! We shook off the dirt, and Blaze gave a big snort because everything smelled like smoke, cold ice, and bad trouble. The big city gates behind us went GROAN-CRACK, and everyone was looking very sad because the outer city got taken by the mean spike-people. Poor Rory-friend was sleeping under a cloth... Kakariki felt a little sad in his tummy, but we had to stay brave!

We met two shiny new friends from the Gilded Iron—Kemurial the magic rock-friend and Zhanis the bright sparkle-lady! They didn't know Kakariki yet, but now we are BEST FRIENDS! Before the big fight, Kakariki went shopping and bought shiny Psi Lenses for his peepers—so fancy! Then Kemurial put a big "No-Brain-Touchy" spell on us, and Kakariki gave EVERYONE a giant pep-talk! A big fuzzy magic boost so our bellies felt super tough! Yes, yes!

The Stinky Tunnel Ambush!

Max-wizard said mean spike-boss Arek was coming, so we made a secret sneaky-plan! We had to go down into the stinky rat-tunnels under the ground! The rat-people saw us, but they were too scared of Blaze's fiery snout to mess with us!

To be extra sneaky-peaky, Kakariki popped Blaze inside his special pocket-ball (boop!), popped up out of the sewer grate, and climbed up on a roof! Kakariki popped Blaze back out (pop!), and Feather-Freya zoomed ahead on her magic broom to spot the evil Purple-and-Gold Spell-Brothers doing mean rituals by the cemetery!

We did a ONE, TWO, THREE... AMBUSH!

• Zhanis made a giant wall of whirring blades!

• Freya made them glow like shiny fireflies!

• Kakariki went PEW-PEW with his sling-stones!

• Kemurial made a giant ice-storm that knocked those mean brothers right on their bums!

They got so scared they zipped away into the crowd, but Kemurial's rock-giant squished their magic circle flat! Hooray!

Bonking Spike-Boss Arek!

We snuck all the way to Slaughter Square! Kakariki asked Blaze if sneaking was a good idea using his special infernal brain-sniff, and Blaze just gave a quiet woof-grunt—that means "Let's go bonk them!"

Gotrek was roaring! Felix was swinging! Arek Daemonclaw was standing there with a bunch of ugly demon-puppies shouting, "YOU WILL PAY!"

Arek threw a big purple boom-ball at us, but Blaze is made of fire, so he just laughed! Kakariki made himself go SUPER-FAST with his zoomy magic, Kemurial suffocated Arek, and Freya blasted his magic shields away with giant laser-beams! Arek tried to chop Zhanis, but Zhanis summoned a GIANT shiny angel-light that went KA-BOOM right through Arek! SPLAT! No more Spike-Boss! The whole city cheered!

The Giant Chaos-Bird-Monster!

BUT THEN! The sky went CRACK-SNAP-SPLIT! The spell-brothers shouted that Praag was just a giant door, and WHOOSH, reality melted!

Suddenly we were in a crazy purple-and-blue sky-world! Floating right there was a GIANT TWO-HEADED CHAOS BIRD-MONSTER!

• He tried to make us scared, but Kakariki and Blaze are too brave!

• He cast a gravity spell and made us float all the way up to the sky, then dropped us back down—Ouchie!

• He turned sweet Feather-Freya’s brain into mush so she could only make funny noises (don't worry, Kakariki and Kemurial helped fix her brain later with magic!).

Zhanis put up a giant magic bubble, and Kakariki gave poor Friar Karl a tasty healing juice after he got hurt. THEN CAME THE BEST PART!

Kemurial flew up on a magic carpet! Freya shot acid-rays! And then Kakariki shot his trusty sling PEW! and gave Blaze the signal!

Blaze flew right up into the air, chomped down on that giant two-headed bird-monster, and BONKED HIM ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND! BLAZE GOT THE FINAL BLOW! BEST FIERY PUPPY EVER!

After the Big Boom!

POP! We landed back in Praag! The Ice Queen came! The giant flying Dwarf-Ship came! All the bad guys ran away in silly circles!

Even weirder—everyone’s brains cleared up, and the map changed! The whole Westmarches land we used to know isn't even there anymore... Praag is in a whole new place! Magic is so strange!

Best of all:

1. We found a super-duper Scarab of Protection! A shiny gold beetle charm for Kakariki!

2. Kakariki and Blaze feel SO SUPER-DUPER POWERFUL now! So much energy! So much power!

Now Kakariki is gonna cuddle his warm fire-dog and take a giant 100-hour nap!

Goodnight! Yes, yes!

Private Notes

The gates of the inner wall close behind you.

Not with the proud thunder of a fortress standing firm.

With the desperate groan of men shutting out the end of the world.

For a moment, there is only the sound of iron chains, splintering wood, and the ragged breathing of the wounded. Then the great bar drops into place, and with it, the last road back to the outer city is sealed.

Everything beyond that wall is lost.

The markets. The gatehouses. The shrines. The avenues where soldiers marched beneath bright banners only days ago. The homes where candles burned in windows. The streets where refugees prayed that Praag would hold.

All of it now belongs to Arek Daemonclaw.

From atop the battlements, the truth is impossible to deny. The outer city burns in patches of orange flame and sickly green witchlight. Smoke crawls over the rooftops like a living thing. Bells ring from towers no priest still tends. Somewhere in the dark, men are screaming. Somewhere closer, men are trying very hard not to.

The defenders of Praag crowd behind the interior wall in silence.

Soldiers stare outward with hollow eyes. Mothers clutch children beneath cloaks stiff with frost and blood. Priests mutter prayers that sound less like faith and more like bargaining. The proud companies that marched out to hold the first line return in fragments: broken shields, empty saddles, banners without bearers.

And among those absences, one cuts deeper than the rest.

One of your own will not stand beside you again.

There is a space where they should be. A voice missing from the argument. A shadow missing from the firelight. A name that no one quite wants to say first, because saying it makes the thing real.

They fell trying to reach Arek.

Trying to end this before the city broke.

And in their final moment, with blood on their hands and death at their back, they tore themselves away from the killing ground. Not to flee. Not to vanish into the dark. But to come home.

Their last act was not surrender.

It was return.

They appeared in the command tent among allies, among the living, among those still fighting for Praag. And there, beneath canvas stained by smoke and lamplight, they died beyond Arek’s grasp.

Their body is not a trophy.

Their weapon is not held over the wall in mockery.

Their name is not his to claim.

Whatever else was lost in the outer city, that was denied him.

For a moment, every soldier who heard of their stand remembers what courage looked like before the dark swallowed it.

Then the drums begin.

Low at first. Distant. Steady.

Not the rhythm of a charge.

The rhythm of a funeral.

Across the captured districts, one by one, the fires shift. Shapes move in the streets. Chaos banners rise over the ruined towers. The enemy is not rushing the wall. They are arranging themselves. Displaying themselves. Letting Praag look upon what has been taken.

Upon the highest gatehouse of the outer city, a new banner unfurls.

Arek’s mark.

Black against the firelight.

Around you, the last defenders of Praag begin to understand.

The first wall has fallen.

The outer city is gone.

There will be no rescue from beyond it. No clean retreat. No second army cresting the horizon. There is only this wall, this night, and the enemy gathering in the ruins.

Then a horn sounds from the darkness.

A single rider comes forward beneath a ragged flag of truce. His horse stumbles through ash and frozen mud. His face is hidden behind a rusted helm, but his voice carries clearly enough when he reaches the killing ground before the gate.

“People of Praag,” he calls. “Arek Daemonclaw has taken what your strength could not hold. At dawn, he will take what remains.”

The rider turns his helm toward the battlements.

“Those who kneel before sunrise will live to witness the new age. Those who resist will be carved into its foundation.”

Then his voice lowers.

“And to the warriors who came for him…”

The rider points toward you.

“He remembers. He saw the one who stood before him. He saw courage. He saw defiance. And he saw that even your bravest could bleed.”

No one speaks.

The wind moves over the wall, carrying smoke, snow, and the stink of blood.

Behind you is the last heart of Praag.

Before you is everything you failed to save.

And somewhere in the burning dark, Arek Daemonclaw is waiting.

• The outer city wall, and that which it protected, is gone. Only the inner city of Praag remains.
• After the somber moments, Kakariki finds himself falling uncontrollably out of a green slide, with Blaze right behind him. They both stand up and shake off the dirt off them. Kakariki looks toward Blaze and says "Blaze, I don't know where we are or how we got here, but here we are!" Blaze growls slightly and sniffs the air. They look around and see Kemurial and Zhanis. He can tell they're both also of the Gilded Iron. He knows of them, but they don't know him. Kakariki introduces himself to Kemurial first, then Zhanis.
• Maximillian Schreiber says they're struggling to consolidate. He wants us to meet him this evening to talk about the next steps in the siege, after taking time to mourn those who were recently lost. Rory's body lays nearby under a cloth.
• The group takes a moment to do some shopping to restock on supplies before we battle Arek Daemonclaw himself. Now that much of the city has been razed and claimed by Arek's forces, things are much less likely to be purchasable now.
• Kakariki takes a moment to buy one pair of Psi Lenses.
• Zhanis goes to a shrine to pray to her god to try to get some inspiration.
• We're able to get enough time to take a Long Rest.
• Afterwards, Kemurial casts Mind Blank on himself, Zhanis and Kakariki. Kakariki uses his Inspiring Leader feat to give the group 21 temp HP.
• We regroup with the rest of the command.
• We make our way over to the new command post area, which is situated at the river bridge.
• We find Ulrika and Max at the tent. Gotrek and Felix are nowhere to be seen. They say they hope we've recovered and reprepared. As it stands, they say all we can do is resist. However, they believe that tomorrow, the Ice Queen will arrive, though they're unsure whether they'll be enough to turn the tide. He also says the Spirit of Grugniis on its way, which could tip the scales in our favor. That'd be a massive asset. Max says he feels the weave pulsing. He says he's sensing another ritual. If we can target the two casters, perhaps whatever they're summoning can be prevented. He says they believe they know where they'll be setting up their ritual, and that in response, our side is planning a strategic fallback to prevent greater loss. This should allow them to get us right into the thick of battle with the casters and Arek without needing to trudge through heaps of battles to get to them.
• The plan is that tomorrow, their final assault begins. We know we can't hold them. They'll begin a slow street-by-street slaughter of what remains. However, if we do our feigned retreat and coax them into the path of least resistance, they believe they can funnel them up the main road and lead them into our trap at Slaughter Square, where hopefully we can fight Arek. They believe the ritual will take place just north of the square itself. There has been too much cult activity in the area for there not to be a ritual ready to go. We're to pop out of the sewer system near the cemetery close enough to ambush the ritual casters before heading down into the square to confront Arek head-on.
• We spend some time talking about the specifics of our plan.
• After much discussion, we head out.
• We overhear reports coming in about losses at the walls, and encouraging reports of places holding firm despite overwhelming odds. A well defended position can do amazing things. Eventually, we hear the reports from the spies of movement near the cemetery. Arek has entered the city center. Max looks at us and says it's time to strike at the twins. As soon as we strike them down, immediately go for Arek. The Ice Queens army is closing in, too. If all goes well, things will converge all at once.
• We head through the sewers. We see signs of Skaven, but they don't seem to bother us.
• We find the exit and are able to shift the sewer grate aside. One at a time, we pop up out of the sewers.
• Freya volunteers to scout ahead. Zhanis gives her a Potion of Invisibility, which she drinks, then hops on her Broom of Flying and does her thing. She forms a telepathic link with Kemurial before she heads off. A couple minutes later, Kemurial says she told him she sees the cemetery. There's been a massacre. Buildings destroyed. Pockets of fire in the rubble. There seems to be another mass of cultists. It's a large square at the end of a 50' long walkway that ascends some short stairs. At the top is a mass of cultists. She sees the twins. She reports areas of cover all over the place. We should be able to get within 100' of them without being seen. She says there are 50+ cultists. She does see any other dedicated magical practitioners other than the twins. Others could be hidden, though. She thinks she can guide us along a path if we stay close to the ground to get close.
• Since we're trying to be stealthy, Kakariki uses his Companion Ball to temporarily store Blaze within it.
• Freya guides us to a position atop a building within about 80' of the twins. The wall on the top of this building is about 5' tall, which is high enough for Kakariki to pop Blaze back out again without him being noticed, so he does exactly that.
• Kemurial summons an earth elemental using his Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals.
• We each Ready an action to get the surprise on them. Zhanis prepares Blade Barrier. Kemurial prepares Sleet Storm. Kakariki prepares True Strike to get two attacks with his sling shot with Magic Stone. Freya prepares a high-DC Faerie Fire.
• We fire off our planned attacks. Blade Barrier first. Kelmain Blackstaff (purple caster) fails his save, but Lhoigor Goldenrod (gold caster) saves with a Nat 20. Freya's Faerie Fire goes off next. They all fail! Kakariki goes next with his True Strike attacks. Both hit! Quite a lot of damage, too. Lastly is Kemurial with his Sleet Storm. Both the casters fail, causing them to be knocked Prone AND lose their Concentration! Perfect! INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Freya - Fireball on the enemies. They all fail their saves!
    • Friar Karl - Orison on Kemurial and Kakariki.
    • Zhanis - Jumps down 15' off the building, taking a couple damage in the process, but she maintains her Concentration on Blade Barrier. She moves forward a bit more and uses a Scroll of Flame Strike, hitting both the casters. Both of them fail yet again! She then drinks a Potion of Invisibility.
    • Kelmain Blackstaff - Casts Dispel Magic on Sleet Storm, dispelling it immediately. Then he says "Quickly, to me brother!" and moves into the Horde of Cultists.
    • Kakariki - Jumps down off the building and sends Blaze flying forward while Dashing at the same time. Blaze flies 5' off the ground in front of Kelmain. Kakariki uses True Strike at Kelmain, hitting him, but the Horde of Cultists takes the damage instead because he's standing within their space. Kakariki uses Wrath of the Pack to have Blaze attack using his Signature Attack, which also hits the Horde. Kakariki uses his Bonus Action to fire a second time, which would've hit, but Kelmain uses Shield to prevent it. Kakariki then moves behind some cover nearby.
    • Kemurial - Casts a Fireball into the fray, doing some good damage to them all!
    • Lhoigor Goldenrod - Stands up and moves into the Horde, says "I am with you, brother!" and then casts Healing Word on his brother Kelmain, healing him for 41 HP. Then he targets Zhanis with a multiattack, but all three Radiant Burst attacks miss her!
    • Horde of Cultists - Multiattack at Blaze with poison daggers, which would hit, but Kakariki uses Feral Reflexes to increase Blazes AC by 2 for that attack, which is enough to make it miss.

  • Round 2

    • Freya - Three Eldritch Blasts, TWO OF WHICH CRIT! The third also hits, but wasn't a crit unfortunately. Then she takes cover behind the wall at the top of the building.
    • Friar Karl - Orison on Kemurial and Kakariki.
    • Zhanis - Casts Fireball into the fray again. The Horde saves, but the two casters both fail! Kind of a low damage roll, but they take it all at least. Moves next to Kakariki near the rubble for cover.
    • Kelmain Blackstaff - Casts a spell, and at the end of the spell cast, Kelmain and Lhoigor are gone. The Horde of Cultists immediately disperse into the rest of the crowd in the city.
  • Combat over.
• Kemurial has his earth elemental raze the ritual circles to the ground, and does so easily.
• The group decides to continue toward Slaughter Square carefully, looking out for trouble along the way. Kakariki sends Blaze out in front because Blaze has Keen Hearing and Smell and Kemurial sends his elemental ahead as well due to Tremor Sense.
• Kakariki uses Blaze's Consult Hell ability to see whether our plan to move forward stealthily for the purposes of gaining an advantage over Arek Daemonclaw and his entourage in the upcoming fight is a good idea. Blaze doesn't bark, signaling that it's neither a good nor bad plan. He seems indifferent about it.
• We choose to continue stealthily anyway. As a group, we succeed on our stealth checks, and move forward to encounter Arek Daemonclaw.
• We move through the city streets as quietly as we can to avoid other encounters. The close we get to Slaughter Square, the louder the sound of combat becomes. We even hear Gotrek roaring! As we push our way through the crowd, our stealth allows us to get close to Slaughter Square while blending in with the army around us.
• We see a huge battle being waged in the square just ahead. Arek is within a large mob of Bloodletters. Gotrek and Felix are seen at the southwest fighting back the Chaos army. Max and other casters are near where we find ourselves, with Ulrika on the opposite side.
• Arek Daemonclaw calls for challengers. We approach, pushing through the crowd stealthily. We emerge in the rubble-covered stone courtyard just north of a tall fountain.
• Arek stands within his posse of bloodletters, ready for a fight. INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Arek Daemonclaw - Moves with his posse up to Zhanis, yells "YOU WILL PAY FOR INSOLENCE!" and drops a Hellfire Orb centered on her, catching her, Blaze and Kemurial in it. Kemurial and Zhanis save, but Blaze does not. However Blaze is immune to Fire, so only takes the Necrotic portion of the damage.
    • Kemurial - Casts Sleet Storm over Arek and his bloodletters. Arek saves, but the swarm does not. Bonus Action to activate Innate Sorcery. Grabs cloak and flies westward near Blaze. Has his earth elemental move under/within the swarm, unburrow and multiattack the swarm, but neither attack hits. Arek uses a Legendary Action to use The Siege Breaks. All of his enemies within 60' (which is all of us currently) needs to make a Wisdom Save or become Frightened until the end of Arek's next turn. Kakariki and Blaze are immune to Frightened, Zhanis as immunity from Heroes' Feast apparently, and Kemurial and Freya both make their saves. He then moves up to Blaze and attacks him with his Dread Blade, hitting for lots of damage. Blaze fails a Con save, meaning he has a Blood Curse that prevents him regaining HP until the end of Blaze's next turn and will take extra damage the first time he takes damage. Arek then moves away back into his horde.
    • Freya - Innate Sorcery, uses her staff to do a Wall of Force to separate Arek from his horde.
    • Horde of Bloodletters - Hellblade Frenzy on the earth elemental, missing.
    • Zhanis - Casts Conjure Celestial on top of Arek. Arek saves, but still takes damage!
    • Kakariki - Action to cast Haste on himself, moves Blaze up to Arek into the Sleet Storm and Celestial. Saves on Sleet Storm, can't be healed from the Celestial because of the curse. Kakariki uses Hasted Action to attack Arek using True Strike, missing. Bonus Action to use his bracers to attack with True Strike again, missing a second time. Blaze uses his Signature Attack and hits Arek, but Arek uses a Reaction to negate 20 of the 19 damage, essentially making the attack fully negated.
    • Friar Karl - Beacon of Hope on all of us except the earth elemental, then moves west away from the group.

  • Round 2

    • Arek Daemonclaw - Moves out of Sleet Storm and Celestial and continues up to Zhanis, uses Mark for Slaughter on her, meaning the next time she takes damage from Dread Blade, she'll take extra damage.
    • Kemurial - Command on Arek, makes save. Has elemental burrow.
    • Freya - Casts Heightened and Quickened Disintegrate as a Bonus Action. Arek fails, but uses one Legendary Resist. That's one fewer he has! Uses Action to activate Staff of Power to cast Lightning Bolt at Arek, who fails his save, and does not choose to resist it. Freya moves west toward the edge of the courtyard.
    • Horde of Blodletters - Uses entire turn to move out into the crowd.
    • Zhanis - Moves the Celestial over Arek and herself. She gets max healing thanks to Beacon of Hope. Arek makes his save on the Celestial and still takes half damage. Nice. Casts Haste on herself, moves away from him, then casts Toll the Dead, but Arek saves. Arek's Legendary Action to use Break the Shield Wall, making us each make a save or take damage, get pushed, and fall prone. Blaze saves for half damage and none of the other effects, but Kakariki fails. Luckily he's not pushed back very far, but is still prone. Arek moves up to Zhanis to take a Dread Blade attack as part of this Legendary Action, and misses.
    • Kakariki - Stands up, Blaze moves in and gets healed by the Celestial (max healing thanks to Beacon). Fiendish Form on Blaze for a minute, then tries to use Chains from Hell to restrain Arek and cause fire damage, but he saves, taking only half fire damage and isn't Restrained. Blaze takes a Signature Attack, but misses. Hasted Action to attack with True Strike, missing.
    • Friar Karl - Stands up, hits Freya and Kakariki with Orison.

  • Round 3

    • Arek Daemonclaw - Bonus Action Mark for Slaughter on Zhanis, misses an attack on her, then hits, doing lots of damage to her. She is cursed with Blood Curse, meaning she can't regain health points until the end of her next turn and takes extra damage the first time she takes damage, and because she was marked for slaughter, she takes extra damage. This also causes her to lose Concentration on the Celestial. Not good. Another attack at her misses.
    • Kemurial - Casts Suffocate on Arek, which hits, Restraining him. He also can't breathe and will begin gaining levels of Exhaustion soon if not dealt with. Flies up and over the Wall of Force for protection.
    • Freya - Uses Revelation in Flesh for Glistening Flight, then Heightens Disintegrate at 7th Level at Arek, who fails but burns another Legendary Resistance. That's two Legendary Resistances down! She then flies away over the Wall of Force. Arek uses a Legendary Action to use The Banner Falls Forward. He gains movement speed, has advantage on attacks against Frightened creatures, his Dread Blade gets more powerful, can immediately move and attack again if he drops someone to 0 HP. Then he takes an attack with Black Iron Cleave, hitting both Zhanis and Blaze, knocking Zhanis unconscious.
    • Horde of Blodletters - Climbs over the barrier to reenter the courtyard.
    • Zhanis - First Death Save is a failure (0 successes, 1 failure).
    • Kakariki - Peeks around corner, healing Zhanis with Healing Word, True Strike at Arek hits, then uses Wrath of the Pack to give Blaze a chance to attack, which misses. Hasted Action to use his sling again at Arek, hits, and another Wrath of the Pack attempt. This time, Blaze hits, knocking Arek Prone. Then Blaze does his own attack and hits. Kakariki ducks behind cover again.
    • Friar Karl - Moves up, provides more healing to Zhanis, then moves away again.

  • Round 4

    • Arek Daemonclaw - Fails to remove the Restrained condition. Bonus Action to Mark for Slaughter on Zhanis
    • Kemurial - Uses Celestial Revelation to manifest Heavenly Wings and flies above the Wall of Force and casts Tasha's Mind Whip on Arek, but he saves and just takes half damage instead. Earth elemental moves under the Wall of Force and toward Arek without unburrowing. Arek's Legendary Action is to use Fell Word on Zhanis. Zhanis uses a Luck Point to give herself Advantage, and succeeds!
    • Freya - Uses Staff of Power to cast Wall of Force as a dome directly on the horde of bloodletters. This should keep them in place! Then she flies over toward the fountain and Quickens and Transmutes an upcast Fireball into an Acidball at 5th Level, catching only Arek within it. Arek fails and takes the damage. He's Bloodied! Arek uses a Legendary Action to use Lunge to make a Dread Blade attack at Zhanis, which thankfully misses.
    • Horde of Blodletters - Yells angrily.
    • Zhanis - Stands up, uses Action to cast Conjure Celestial at 7th Level over herself, Arek and Blaze. She then uses her Hasted Action to Disengage and move far from Arek. She uses her Bonus Action to quaff a Potion of Supreme Healing. All the healing she did was maxed thanks to Beacon!
    • Kakariki - Bonus Action to imbue three pebbles with Magic Stone. Action to attack Arek, hits, but Arek negates all the damage with a Reaction. Hasted Action to attack Arek, misses. Blaze's attack also misses. Great turn. Arek's Legendary Action is to use Lunge on Blaze, and misses.
    • Friar Karl - Orison on Zhanis and Freya.

  • Round 5

    • We begin hearing cracks, as if a frozen lake cracks underneath us. Kislevites horn begin blaring. The Tzarina's army has arrived! Arek turns toward the sound. High above the city, the clouds begin to churn. We see the Spirit of Grungni appear. Shells tear through the Chaos lines. Warriors are being scattered throughout the streets. For the first time, uncertainty crawls across Arek's face. He hasn't yet taken Praag. He might be trapped inside of it.
    • Arek Daemonclaw - He begins casting a spell. Kemurial casts Counterspell at 6th Level, which works to prevent whatever he was trying to do! Uses Mark for Slaughter on Blaze.
    • Kemurial - Potion of Speed. Flies up into the Celestial for healing, and attacks Arek. First attack hits, doing max damage! Hasted Attack misses. Earth elemental surfaces and attacks Arek twice, missing once and CRITTING the other! However, Arek negates 20 of the 27 damage. It's still something. Arek uses a Legendary Action to use Lunge at Kemurial, missing.
    • Freya - Casts a Hastened and Transmuted 5th Level Scorching Ray as Acid Rays at Arek. Three of five rays hit with one CRIT! Though the crit was just one above minimum damage. Ah well, it's still something! Then she casts three Eldritch Blasts at him, all three hit with another CRIT thrown in!
    • Horde of Blodletters - Big mad.
    • Zhanis - Moves herself so she can move her Celestial away from Arek, then back over him to trigger its damage, doing JUST ENOUGH damage to take down Arek! She channels radiant light onto Arek. It pierces through him, marbling his skin with glowing radiant energy before an explosion emanating radiant light from him, leaving nothing but scrap. A shout rises from the square, radiating outward from this courtyard and reaches the rest of the city. High above Praag, untouched by the battle below, with the explosions and rippling torrents of ice, the twins stand, looking down upon us all. "The path closes. Then we step between paths. Space bends, time opens, and the Changer waits beyond both. Praag was never the destination. Only the door." We each feel a ripple in time and space around us. Reality changes. We're no longer standing in the streets of Praag. Everything goes black. Suddenly, we find ourselves in what can only be part of the Chaos Wastes. A demiplane of the Chaos Wastes, filled with the corrupt blues and purples that are all-to-familiar to the worshippers of Tzeentch. At the center of the platform we find ourselves on is a gargantuan champion of Tzeentch, robed and armored with clawed hands, wielding a staff. The creature has two heads. It's a greater demon of Tzeentch. It's a Lord of Change.
  • Phase 2 of the battle begins
• INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Lord of Change - Starts with Terror Overwhelming. Everyone makes a Wisdom Save or becomes Frightened. Kakariki and Blaze are immune to Frightened. Freya and Friar Karl both fail. Kemurial and his elemental save. Those who failed take Psychic damage at the start of each of their turns and can retry the save at the end of each of their turns. Then he flies 50' off the ground and west toward Friar Karl. With Haste, he moves past Friar Karl and lands, then casts Lightning Bolt at Friar Karl and Kakariki. Kakariki saves. Friar Karl fails. We both fail our Concentration checks, so Beacon of Hope and Kakariki's Haste drop, causing Kakariki to become Incapacitated for a turn.
    • Kemurial - Moves toward the Lord of Change, and Dashes to move a bit further.
    • Freya - Takes some Psychic damage from Terror Overwhelming, then casts Dispel Magic on the Lord of Change, dispelling his Mirror Image and Haste. Like Kakariki, he becomes Incapacitated thanks to losing Haste! Freya spends Sorcery Points to cast Mind Sliver, but it saves. She moves away from the Lord of Change. Freya then succeeds on her save on Frightened!
    • Zhanis - Casts Glove of Invulnerability and moves inside it.
    • Friar Karl - Moves away from the Lord of Change just enough to be able to get Kakariki in range of Beacon of Hope, casts it, then moves into the Globe of Invulnerability.
    • Kakariki - Incapped. Does nothing. Blaze Dashes into the Globe of Invulnerability.

  • Round 2

    • Lord of Change - Incapped. Does nothing.
    • Kemurial - Casts a Heightened Command on Lord of Change, who fails his save, but uses a Legendary Resistance to succeed instead. Moves earth elemental toward the Globe of Invulnerability. Lord of Change uses Legendary Action to target Zhanis with Baleful Gaze. Zhanis needs to make a Wisdom Save or be Paralyzed, and succeeds!
    • Freya - Moves toward Globe of Invulnerability, casts Misty Step to get most of the way there, then moves inside it. Lord of Change uses Legendary Action to cast Psychic Bolt on Zhanis, and misses!
    • Zhanis - Uses Staff of Power to cast Cone of Cold. Lord of Change seems Resistant to Cold damage, but still takes some.
    • Friar Karl - Takes Psychic damage from the Terror Overwhelming, dropping Concentration yet again on Beacon of Hope.
    • Kakariki - Haste on himself, moves into Globe, Hasted Action to fire at Lord of Change, missing. Sends Blaze to Lord of Change and has him attack, hitting. Bonus Action to use Hidden Step to turn invisible.

  • Round 3

    • Lord of Change - Casts 8th Level Reverse Gravity on all of us. All but Kemurial fail their saves. We fall upwards to the top of the cylinder, which is 100' tall. He then immediately drops Concentration, ending the spell and causing us to fall 100' down Prone. Ouch. Friar Karl can't Concentrate on anything today, so Beacon of Hope is gone. Kakariki maintains Concentration on his Haste. Zhanis maintains Concentration on Globe of Invulnerability.
    • Kemurial - Steps out of the Globe and casts Suffocate, missing. Uses Keoghtom's Ointment to heal himself, then converts Sorcery Points.
    • Freya - Stands up, casts Scorching Ray at 4th Level, hitting five times. She calls out that Lord of Change is Resistant to Fire. Converts Spell Slot. Lord of Change uses Legendary Action to charge up something that causes purple lightning to surround his body.
    • Zhanis - Uses Spell Scroll of Flame Strike, Lord of Change fails save. Lord of Change uses Legendary Action to use Psychic Bolt on Friar Karl, hitting and knocking him Unconscious!
    • Friar Karl - First Death Save is a success. One success, no failures. Legendary Action to use Baleful Glare on Freya. She uses Luck point and makes her save.
    • Kakariki - Stands up, Hasted Action to administer Potion of Supreme Healing to Friar Karl, Action to cast True Strike. First attack hits. Lord of Change appears not to be Resistant to Radiant damage! Wrath of the Pack, but Blaze misses. Bonus Action to use True Strike again, missing. Blaze attacks and misses. Lord of Change uses Legendary Action to

  • Round 4

    • Lord of Change - Cast Feeblemind on Freya. She uses her last Luck Point to roll with Advantage, but still fails. Her Intelligence and Charisma scores become 1. She can't cast spells, activate Magic Items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. She can, however, identify its friends, follow them, and even protect them. He then flies up 40', provoking from Blaze, who hits and applies another Hellish Wound for two total stacks right now.
    • Kemurial - Takes out Magic Carpet and uses Magic Action to activate it, then flies up to Lord of Change. Attacks with Foresight Scimitar, which hits and does MAXIMUM damage since it's the first time he's hit Lord of Change. Healing Word on Blaze. Legendary Action to use Baleful Gaze on Kemurial, and Kemurial makes his save.
    • Freya - Fires her crossbow, hitting!
    • Zhanis - Scroll of Flame Strike. Legendary Action to use Psychic Bolt at Kakariki, which would hit but Kakariki Reacts with Shield, causing it to miss.
    • Friar Karl - Orison on Kakarikia and Kemurial. Legendary Action to Psychic Bolt Kemurial, missing.
    • Kakariki - Blaze flies up to meet the Lord of Change. Action to cast True Strike. First attack hits. Wrath of the Pack, Blaze's attack hits, knocking the flying Lord of Change prone, causing it to fall 40'. Blaze Dashes to fly back down. Bonus Action second attack, hits. Wrath of the Pack again just to let Blaze take another attack. This time, with Advantage. And he CRITS! And wouldn't you know it, this little fiery hellhound fella Blaze got the final blow on the Lord of Change!
  • Combat over.
• The powers of Chaos on this plane ripples through the Lord of Change, obliterating its very being. We hear the twin brother's voices. We carry the path back with us. Change has always belonged to "him" (presumably Tzeentch). Everything goes dark. When light returns, we find ourselves back at Slaughter Square where Arek fell. As we look around, we see the armies of Kislev recovering their wounded and dead. We see and hear explosions in the distance, along with ice shattering, battle on the fringes. What we understand is that the city has repelled the attack, but the armies have scattered across the planes of Kislev. The hundreds of thousands of enemies have scattered, but the siege itself has been repelled.
• The Tzarina returned. The Spirit of Grungni returned. The combination of their forces and the city's shield have scattered the armies. Where one singular army was marching against Praag, now many smaller armies march upon Kislev.
• We meet with Maximillian Schreiber, Ulrika, Gotrek and Felix. Most of the city is destroyed. The Citadel remains and much of what's inside the inner city walls as well, but the outer city is mostly destroyed.
• It has come to the attention of everyone that everyone almost has a veil lifted over their eyes and consciousness. Kislev and Praag are now located where they SHOULD be on the map, as opposed to the citizens believing otherwise.
• The entirety of the Westmarches that we've come to know and love seems not to even EXIST on this plane of existence. Interesting stuff!
• Kakariki and Kemurial assist with a ritual to remove Freya's Feeblemind effect, and the others will help her find her way to the Gilded Iron in Caer Ferric.
• The rest of us stay back to see what loot we can find.

That's the end of this story arc! Beau did a fantastic job with it. Very fun, very interesting stories we experienced in the Westmarches. We discuss how to proceed after this session. We decide to continue with these characters are this level, pushing a bit further into this story because we feel it'll be fun to explore the fallout of the Siege of Praag and the revelation that The Westmarches weren't exactly as they seemed!

And we leveled to 17th Level!

Adventure Loot

• Rod of Security (Kemurial)
• Enspelled Weapon (Arek's Destructive Wave) (tentative)
• Scarab of Protection (Kakariki)

Loose Gold Found

Total:
Converted:
Split:

• Gold has been split