12.2 The Day the Sky Cried Fire

SESSION DATE: May 03, 2025
PRESENT: Rory, Lim Dul, Kemurial, Freya

Deep Dive

![[Rory - 12_2 The Day the Sky Cried Fire.wav]]

Adventure Photos

![[Balor Protected by Shield.mp4]]

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[The Day the Sky Cried Fire.mp3]]

[Verse 1]
Steel rang out on blackened stone,
The forge-halls shook with a demon’s moan.
From molten depths it rose in flame,
The Terror came with death and name.

[Pre-Chorus]
Smoke curled like fingers around the spire,
Drums like thunder, hearts like fire.
And in the ash, a king stood tall—
One dwarf to hold the mountain's call.

[Chorus]
The day the sky cried fire,
When shadow fell and hopes turned dire.
He stood alone, a wall of flame,
And bought the dawn with blood and name.
We carry his oath, higher and higher—
On the day the sky cried fire.

[Verse 2]
Rory’s roar broke through the storm,
Lim Dul’s blade found its deadly form.
Freya’s eyes lit up the dark,
Kemurial struck with heaven’s spark.

[Pre-Chorus]
But none could cage the demon’s wrath,
'Til Thangrim chose the dying path.
Hammer high and armor torn,
He met the beast with oathwrought scorn.

[Chorus]
The day the sky cried fire,
When stone wept tears and gods drew nigher.
He stood his ground through flame and pain,
And earned his rest in valor’s name.
Now legends rise from funeral pyre—
Of the day the sky cried fire.

[Bridge]
We speak his name in halls of stone,
A king, a shield, the mountain’s own.
The ember's glow, the storm’s refrain,
He walks with us in ash and flame.

[Final Chorus]
The day the sky cried fire,
When dwarves stood fast and climbed no higher.
He gave his soul to break the chain,
And left behind a hero’s flame.
Forevermore, we will aspire—
To the day the sky cried fire.

World Anvil Journal

sooo... win we git into tha hall we thee a buncha dorfth down bewow uth and thay r fitin a hyuge awmy of caoth guth and bethtigorth and thtuff and thin in tha bakgwownd thereth the bawor. heth got a big puwple sheeld or thomethin pwotectin him tho we gotta figer owt how to taik that down. win we git down ther we can thee a cupla other puwple thingth tho were wike we mutht hafta taik them owt firtht tho we quikwy thet up a pwan to hav fwaya put up her dorth to git over their eethy. we all wait for her to do that and win she doeth we all go thwu and thtawt fitin.

kimiweel and dum dum go thwu firtht and thin i fowwow after them and thangwim wookth weddy to fite tho he gatherth hith wunegardth and they fowwow after me. the firtht thing i notithed wath the thkeweton widin a gotht horthe and howdin thome kinda majic thpell or thomethin tho i twied to wush him to thtop him fwom cathtin it but it dint work tho i jutht thtawted hittin tha other thkeweton wich wath gwowin wed. thangwim thwu hith hamer at the fire thkeweton and it thtund him and it maid a big cwap of thunder it kinda thcawed me a bit not gonna wie but it wath cool.

but thin tha puwple thkeweton on tha horthe muved away fwom me and wint up to kimiweel and the wetht of tha gwupe and did a hyuge atak on them maikin thome of them fall down and doin a buncha damage to them. i here kimiweel giv a comand to thomethin and jutht thin the thkewetonth horthe laid down on tha gwownd and the thkeweton wint with it tho thatth awethome. im wookin awownd at whath goin on between thwingth and i thee thethe dorfth are doin amathing work thay r gittin weel gud hith on thethe guyth and i keep thinkin to mythelf i gotta come bak here and twain with them cuth they jutht cant mith thethe guyth. i taik owt thith fier thkeweton and dwink a poshin of thpeed tho now im thuper fatht and i git up to tha other thkeweton and hit him. king thangwim ith goin nutth on thethe guyth heth doin a thuper good job fitin them heth gittin tonth of good hitth and thtuff jutht wike hith other dorfth tho i wonder who tot who. the thkeweton twied to git bak up on hith horthe and git away but i wath abel to kill hith horthe befor he cud git away tho the thkeweton dwopd to tha gwownd but wath abel to keep thtandin and thin he cathted a big fierball but worthe on tha dorfth and king thangwim and thtuff and they wookd wike it hurt a wot. kimiweel did a big ol witenin bote and took owt a buncha guyth all at onthe and he awtho awmotht tuk owt tha thkeweton to. but thin kimiweel tuk a thwing at tha thkewetin and pwitty much thent him fwyin cuz he got thucha gud hit on him. win he died tha puwple thtuff on tha gwownd thtopt gwowing tho now we jutht gota git to tha other thide and taik that won down.

fwaya opind anuther dor to tha other puwple awea and we wint to work over their. i wint thwu firtht and their wath a n m e wite there at tha dor tho i tuk a thwing and BOOM he ded tho i wint to tha midel of tha puwple gwowing thtuff wher ther wath a maje cathtin a thpel wike that thkeweton but thith guy ithn a thkeweton jutht a maje but win i twied to hit him he uthed that thame sheeld thpel that fwaya utheth tho it maid me mith him. all tha majeth awownd and won other bethtigor thing turnd on me and thtawted atakin me wich i gueth i shuda ekthpektid and thethe guyth hit me with thtuff that i cant shake off vewy eethy wike motht other thingth. thin evwywon elthe caim thwu the powtel to help owt and im gwad thay did cuz thethe guyth hurt awot akshuwy. kimiweel hath a thpel to pwotect him fwom evel thingth and dum dum ith chanting and fwaya hath fierballth but there not fierballth there athidballth i think. thin that maje thath cathtin the puwpel thtuff cathted a cone of code on uth and that hurt awot to and cot a buncha uth in it inwuding king thangwim and hith wunegardth. that cone of code awmotht kild me tho i gotta be thuper caweful. i thwing a cupla tiemth at tha puwple maje but im not ath wekweth thith tiem. the maje put up hith sheeld thpell agin but i twy agin and hit him tho i uthe my weppinth thpel to bwind him and do more damage and it thtill dint kill him tho i mwike thcwew it i gotta taik thith guy owt now tho i uthe my akshin thurge to giv me thome n r g and taik anuther thwing at the maje and wukiwy i hit him and taik him owt. but thin win he wint to tha gwownd the puwple thtuff he wath cathtin or watevr formd up into a orb and fwoted up into tha are pwitty hi up abov uth. i wook awownd wike wat am i thupothd to do and win i thaw king thangwim heth wike i got it go taik cawe of urthelf tho i uthe my watht thwing to twy to hit tha bethtigor nektht to me but i mith him and then i taik off tord fwayath dor to heel up befor heddin bak into tha fite.

i thee kimiweel win i git thwu tha dor and thtand nektht to him and thin we here a big boom of thunder agin tho im wike ooh thangwim muthta took care of that orb thing. i wookd over tord the bawor and shur nuff the puwple baweer that wath awownd him dithapered and the bawor thayth COME MEAT UR DOOM and im wike yah ur abowt to. n e way thin i thee tha bawor teweport tord are fwindth and thin fwy up in tha are and im wike oh ok thath how were gonna pway thith gaim. kimiweel put hith thord up to my nek and i wook at him wike Y R U DOIN THITH WE GOTTA BAWOR TO KIL but thin he heeld me with tha thord and im wike oh thath awthome thankth and it maid me feel tho much beter and thin kimiweel heeld himthelf to and wint thwu tha dor to join the fite. i can thtill heer dum dum chanting in the dithtance heth all wike OOH WE OOH WEE OOH WEE OOH i dont no wat that meenth but it theemth to help him hit thtuff and ith workin now cuz win i git bak i thee him takin owt thome majeth. fwayath cathtin her athidball and thtuff and doin gud damage to tha bawor and watnot.

thin i notithd the wunegardth awe thtandin awownd thomethin and i wook a witel cwother and thee ith king thangwim but heth in to peetheth wat the hek happind to him did tha bawor do that howy cwap. that weewy gith my bwood boiwiwoiing tho i thpwowt my own wingth and fwy up awmotht into thith baworth fathe and jutht thtawt goin nutth on him with evwythin i got. kimiweel heeld me but im thtill kinda hurtin a bit tho i uthed my awmorth majic thpell to catht miwwow imaje to maik it hawder to hit me ethpeshuwy with thith bawor. thethe maje guyth keep thwowin ithe nifeth awownd and they ekthpwode hurting kimiweel and dum dum ith twying to taik them owt. the bawor gwabth kimiweel with hith fwame wip and pullth him up in tha are and thin twieth to hit him with hith witenin thord but he mitheth and then the bawor dwopth kimiweel down to tha gwownd. that muthta hurt kimiweel weel bad cuz kimiweel thtandth up and heelth himthelf agin but thin he cathth witening bote but with athid wike fwaya tho ith a athid bote i gueth n e way it hith the bawor and doeth thome good damaje to him. dum dum ith thtill goin OOH WE OHH WEE OHH WE OOH and fitin tha majeth on tha thide. ath thoon ath he taikth won owt he goeth to the nektht jutht down tha wine. fwayth cathtin her athidballth fwom behind the piwwar.

my nektht thwing ith a thuper good won tho i uthe the bwinding thmite agin to do more damaje and bwind tha bawor. that felt vewy gud to me and pwobabwy not vewy gud to tha bawor cuth it wookd wike it hurt. the bawor twieth hittin kimiweel agin but thith tiem he mithd cuz kimiweel uthed hith sheeld thpell tho the bawor turnd to me and twied to hit me with hith witening thord but gueth wat it hit won of my miwwow imajeth inthted haha thukth to be u. but thin tha bawor teweporth away and we cant thee him but we can thee the hith fier fware up and we can here him kinda gwunting and woawing wike heth powerin up or thomethin. i wook down and thee kimiweel thpwowtin hith own wingth wich ith thuper cool and the fwieth up nektht to me. dum dum can thee tha bawor fwom wear he ith and thaid he thinkth the bawor heeld himthelf tho tha wunegardth yell to uth that we need to uthe tha hamer. i wook at kimiweel and am wike u thtill got tha hamer and heth wike yup tho we both no wat to do. i tell him ill do wat i can to hold him off wile u git the hamer weddy and heth wike ok tho i taik off tord the bawor. i do wat i do betht and hit tha bawor with evwything i got agin and evin uthe more bwinding thmite for the damaje and to bwind him agin.

thin tha bawor twieth hittin me with hith fier whip but it hith my miwwow imaje tho he twieth to hit me with hith witenin thord but gueth wat it hith my watht miwwow imaje and i jutht wook at the bawor wite in hith fathe and am wike uh oh u mithd me. kimiweel dwinkth a poshin of thpeed and geth weddy to wok thith baworth thockth and tho he fwieth over and thwowth the hamer at the bawor. win the hamer hit the bawor it made the wowdetht cwap of thunder i evr herd and it awmotht thtund me but i wath abel to shaik it off but tho did the bawor but now tha bawor hath a wune mawk on it. i dont no wat it meenth but it cant be gud for tha bawor. kimiweel giveth me anuther gud heel and thin thith tiem he thwingth that hamer at the bawor. dum dum taikth owt the watht maje and thin utheth hith thord to catht fwy tho he can join tha fite with the bawor. fwaya popth bak owt fwom behind tha piwwar and shooth thome athid wayth at tha bawor and won of them hith thuper gud. thith bawor ith wookin vewy hurt tho thin i thwing wike cwazy at him and git a thuper gud hit and gueth wat heth gettin anuther bwinding thmite hapy birtday bawor.

well turnth owt the bawor had a gift for uth ath well cuz that thwing killd tha bawor WOO HOO but thin he thtawted wike woawing and gwunting and shakin or thomethin and thuddenwy he ekthpwodid. the nektht thing i wemembew wath waikin up on tha gwownd with dady karl thandin nektht to me wich ment he pwobabwy jutht thaved my wife after tha ekthpwoshin tho i thank him and he helpth me thtand up.

all tha n m eeth awe pwetty much wotht without tha bawor tho the wetht of them awe eethy nuff to kill thinthe they wotht there will to fite.

no mowe tewwow.

we go bak to tha dorfth and thay hav a wittel theremonee for there king who died in tha fite fitin for hith peepel and there home and there hithtowy. ith wath a vewy moving thing to thee and they thaid he wanted to be bewied hear in the thitadel.

kimiweel pullth owt tha hamer and the dorfth wook at him wike they r thupwithed it dint kill him. he thaith it thtill hurth to tuch it but the dorfth r thuper impwethd and thome of them evin wook wike they are wike bowing down to him. kimiweel finishd wat king thangwim wanted to do. i no if the king wath abel to do it himthelf he wud hav but kimiweel ith pwobaby the nektht betht perthon to do it heth a gud weeder no mater wat dum dum thinkth.

hawgwim giveth a thpeech abowt the fite and he thankth uth and thtuff and he tellth uth to have a bite to eet and wetht up and hell do thomethin for uth tomowwow so we go eet and thtuff. the dorfth are tweeting uth thuper gud but u no they did weel gud in tha fite to it wathnt jutht uth who fot.

we get thome thweep and win we wait up we go bak to meet the dorfth and hawgwim. thay gaiv uth tho much muny i witerawwy cant cawwy it all i gotta figer owt wat to do with it all. they awtho gaiv uth a thord cald a thun bwade and thome powrful majic awmor and a buk. tha buk teecheth u how to be thtwonger and im weewy the onwy won who cud uthe a buk wike thith but ith funy cuz im the won who cant weed vewy gud. thith will be intewethtin to twy to weed thith thing haha.

the dorfth taik uth awownd and thtuff and ath were walkin we here thome voitheth comin fwom a halway. we wook and we thee a cupla dorfth thtandin awownd tawkin and we withen to them and we here them thay thomethin abowt thith it onwy the firtht eko or thomethin and the other won thaith the twue thcweem ith thtill comin and wonderth if were weddy. and thin the dorfth turn into thome olbino human witherdth and thay do u think thay underthtand wat theyv done and thin teweport away. we cudnt thtop them.

wat ith that abowt dwaugnir. can u help uth figer it owt pweethe thankth.

Private Notes

• As we enter the hall, we see two giant armies clashing. A protective barrier has been set up by the dwarves. King Thangrim Firebeard is surrounded and protected by his runeknights. Battle is raging. The Balor stands out, as one might expect, and is surrounded by a purple dome. Around him are the bodies of zealot dwarf warriors, the first to try to stop him. The enemies are picking at their bodies. North and south of the Balor's initial position are two other purple lighted areas. The Balor's barrier seems to move with him, but the two separate purple areas are more of just magical pulses emanating from someplace rather than moving.
• Thangrim looks out and says the magic is here again. No one can touch the Balor until we bring down its protections. We need to get Thangrim and his hammer to those two purple areas to bring down the Balor's protective shield/barrier. Our initial plan is to have Freya cast her Shadow Portal ability to open a door to one of the purple barriers and move all at once through the door. INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Kemurial - Hold turn to wait for Freya to open her door, then move through it.
    • Lim Dul - Use Interdict for Shadow Shroud to increase AC, then will move through the portal once it opens.
    • Freya - She opens her portal/door near where we entered and sets up the other end to the southern purple area. She then uses her Innate Sorcery and moves through the portal herself.
    • Dwarf Army - Moves up and attacks as necessary.
    • Rory - Rage, move through portal, charge purple skeleton, push 10' away, attack other red glowing skeleton. Pushing the first skeleton out of the purple ring didn't interrupt the barrier's magic. Instead we see the skeleton maintaining the barrier is tethered to the ring and channeling his magic between the two outer purple barriers.
    • Flaming Skeleton - Attacks Rory, does minimal damage.
    • Enemy Army - moves around the barrier. Flanking position?
    • Chaos Warriors - Attacks Rory, some damage taken.
    • King Thangrim FIrebeard - Moves through the portal, throws his hammer at the fire skeleton, when it hits it emits a clap of thunder as it stuns the skeleton. Nice!
    • Friar Karl - Moves through portal to join the fray, cast Orison on Kemurial and Lim Dul.
    • Wolf Reaver Dwarves - Moves in and attacks the Chaos Warriors.

  • Round 2

    • Death Knight Aspirant (dark skeleton with purple magic) - Moves toward Kemurial and casts Destructive Wave (Con Save, 5d6 Thunder and 5d6 Radiant or Necrotic, half as much on save, prone on failure). Kemurial fails his save, taking full damage and falling prone.
    • Kemurial - Casts Command on the horse the Death Knight is riding, commanding it to grovel, the horse fails its save, Kemurial stands up and attacks the skeleton with Sacred Weapon on his weapon. He does enough damage to get a charge on his weapon!
    • Lim Dul - Attacks the Death Knight Aspirant with his lance, doing some decent damage.
    • Chaos Warriors - Attack the nearby dwarves, doing some damage to them.
    • Freya - Casts Faerie Fire on a group of the Chaos Warriors and the Death Knight Aspirant, but also catches three dwarf allies in the cast. Almost everyone fails the save except one Chaos Warrior and the Death Knight Aspirant, the one we actually wanted to fail the save. Still pretty good overall. Converts sorcery points to spell slots.
    • Dwarves - Crits the Death Knight! Decent damage. Another crits one of the Chaos Warriors. Nice! ANOTHER CRIT FROM A THIRD DWARF! AND A FOURTH ONE CRIT! WHAT IS GOING ON?!
    • Chaos Warriors - One attacks Rory, hitting him once.
    • Rory - Two swings at the stunned fire skeleton, taking him out. Drink Potion of Speed, move 10' toward prone Death Knight Aspirant, hasted attack hits.
    • Enemy Army - One hits Rory three times. Ouch. Others attack the dwarves. The army continues moving past the purple areas.
    • King Thangrim - Moves up and attacks a Chaos Warrior and gets a CRIT! Man these dwarves mean business. I'm glad their on our side!
    • Friar Karl - 2x Orisons again.

  • Round 3

    • Death Knight Aspirant - Horse stands up, DK uses half his movement to stand, and the other half to remount the horse. He has the horse Disengage, but Rory is able to take an Opportunity Attack, taking out the horse and stopping it and the skeleton in their tracks. The skeleton is able to remain standing, and then says "Death to you all!" before casting Hellfire Orb on the largest group of foes, catching several dwarves, including King Thangrim, as well as Freya, Kemurial, Lim Dul and Friar Karl. 6d6 Fire PLUS 6d6 Necrotic. Yeowch!
    • Kemurial - Moves up and casts Lightning Bolt toward the Death Knight Aspirant and others, doing MASSIVE damage, very nearly taking out the Aspirant and actually taking out everything else he hit. Sweet! He then proceeds to CRIT the Death Knight Aspirant with his Booming Blade, killing it and causing the purple magic stuff to dissipate. One to go before engaging the Balor himself.
    • Lim Dul - Uses his Invoke Hell: Grand Strategist ability to order the King, a couple of his guard dwarves, and Freya through the portal/door without provoking opportunity attacks. He drops his Shadow Shroud and begins chanting instead. He tells Kemurial and Rory to kill the remaining Chaos Warriors, then move through the portal, before moving through the portal himself.
    • Freya - Drinks a Potion of Healing and casts another Shadow Portal to get us to the other purple barrier thing.
    • Dwarf Allies - Attacks enemies, does good stuff. But some unfortunately perish in the fight.
    • Rory - Kills remaining Chaos Warrior, then moves through the portal. With his remaining movement, he moves through the new portal to the northern purple barrier place, one-shot crits an enemy just outside the door, then moves in and misses the purple magic guy channeling this magic barrier.
    • Mage Apprentice - Fires twice at Rory and misses twice.
    • Bestigor - Moves up to and attacks Rory, hitting him once doing a bit of damage.
    • Enemy Army - Takes out some of our allied dwarves.
    • Mage Apprentice - Two missed shots at Rory.
    • King Thangrim - Has his apprentices cast Healing Word on him, then moves through Freya's portal. His runeguards also follow him.
    • Friar Karl - 2x Orisons on Lim Dul and Freya, then moves through the portal.

  • Round 4

    • Mage - Fires two Arcane Bursts at Rory, and both hit. They're Force damage, which Rory isn't resistant to, so Rory takes full damage. Ouch!
    • Kemurial - Moves through the first door, then closes it behind him to end that version of the spell. He then casts Protection from Evil and Good on himself.
    • Lim Dul - Moves through the second portal to join the second fight. Activates Boots of Springing and Striding, continues his chanting, moves toward the channeling Mage and attacks him, missing.
    • Freya - Moves through her portal, then casts Fireball at a large group of enemies, doing lots of fire damage and taking out tons of them. Nice! Then she drinks another Potion of Healing.
    • Dwarven Army - Still taking care of business.
    • Channeling Mage- Cone of Cold on just about all of us. Rory fails the save, taking all its damage. Big ouch. That leaves Rory hanging onto life with just 14/119 HP remaining. Rory will have to think about retreating for a bit to heal up some.
    • Bestigor - Would have hit Rory with an attack, but Rory uses his last cast of Shield to help keep himself alive long enough to retreat to heal.
    • Enemy Army - Does what they do, taking out several dwarf allies.
    • Mage Apprentice - A couple attacks at Rory, but both miss.
    • Rory - Takes two non-reckless swings at the channeling mage. His first attack would hit, but missed because the mage casts Shield again. The next one hits, doing good damage, and Rory pumps a Blinding Smite into it, doing more damage and blinding the mage. Rory then uses Action Surge to get more attacks, hoping to take out this mage. He does so on the next hit. When the mage drops to the ground, the purple magic he was channeling manifests into a purple orb that rises 40 feet upwards. Rory thinks about throwing his Javelin of Lightning at the orb, but remembers that King Thangrim is near and believes this is where Thangrim comes in with his hammer. Rory looks toward the portal/door, takes his last swing at the nearby bestigor, just missing him. Rory then uses his Hasted action to Disengage through the door with only 14 HP remaining and ducks behind Kemurial.
    • Mage Apprentice - Can't see him, not sure what he does this turn.
    • Bestigor - Can't see them.
    • Mage Apprentice - Can't see them.
    • King Thangrim - Can't see him, but he hears another clap of thunder like last time, so Rory assumes he threw his hammer at the orb, shattering it. As he hears this, he looks toward the Balor, whose barrier is now gone. The Balor looks toward Thangrim and says "Come meet your doom!".
    • Friar Karl - Can't see him, but he heals a bit and steps through the portal.

  • Round 5

    • Balor - Uses a Bonus Action to Teleport 60' toward King Thangrim. Rory hears the beating of wings, so he knows the Balor is flying. It uses its Flame Whip to attack King Thangrim, hitting him and pulling him up 25' in the air, then proceeds to attack him with his Lightning Blade, doing MASSIVE damage to him, downing King Thangrim. With King Thangrim wrapped up in his whip, he simply pulls King Thangrim into two pieces, killing him. King Thangrim's hammer drops below to the floor next to Lim Dul.
    • Mage Apprentice - Can't see him, but it casts Ice Knife at Lim Dul, missing.
    • Kemurial - Kemurial turns to Rory and puts his blade up to Rory's neck. Rory takes an instinctive step backward, but Kemurial's blade releases healing magic, and it feels good. He heals Rory for 40 HP. Nice! He then heals himself for 30 HP using Lay on Hands before stepping through the portal. He picks up King Thangrim's hammer, but as he does so, he takes 6 Lightning damage, which is able to bypass his immunity somehow. He feels a current of electricity flowing through him, but is able to hold on to the hammer for now.
    • Lim Dul - Continues chanting, now for the third time, and attacks a nearby enemy with his Lifestealing weapon, critting it once and triggering its Lifesteal property. Nice!
    • Freya - Casts a 5th Level transmuted Fireball as Acidball. 10d6 damage and she rolls FIVE ONEs. C'mon! At least he's not resistant or immune to Acid damage! She then converts a Pact Magic slot to 2 Sorcery Points before moving away from the Balor.
    • Dwarf Allies - Does what they do, taking out some enemies and also taking casualties.
    • Bestigor - Takes a couple swings at a dwarf, killing him.
    • Mage Apprentice - Attacks Kemurial with Ice Knife, which would've crit if Kemurial didn't have Adamantine armor! He takes minimal damage from the attack.
    • Rory - Steps up to the door, sees the Balor, uses Bonus Action to sprout his own wings, step through the door, flies upward to meet the Balor and takes a couple swings at it, hitting once. All the damage seems to go through. Rory then uses his Hasted action to cast Mirror Image in hopes that'll keep him alive long enough until next turn when he can hopefully do some more damage.
    • Enemy Army - Same as last time.
    • Mage Apprentice - Casts Ice Knife at Kemurial, missing him, but Kemurial does take damage this time from the explosion.
    • Runeguards - Throws their axes at the nearby mages and some attack the Bestigor. Some hit, some miss. One even crits, dropping the Bestigor!
    • Friar Karl - Casts Minor Heal on Rory.

  • Round 6

    • Balor - Attacks Kemurial with his Flame Whip, hitting him and doing lots of damage even though Kemurial is immune to Fire damage. This triggers Rory's Sentinel ability, allowing him to take an opportunity attack. Rory hits, doing some decent damage to the Balor. The Balor pulls Kemurial 25' up in the air with the whip. It then takes an attack with its Lightning Blade, but misses thankfully.
    • Mage Apprentice - Attacks Lim Dul with an Arcane Burst, which would hit him but he uses Shield to shake it off.
    • Kemurial - Casts Healing Word on himself for some good healing, then stands up from prone. He then transmutes Lightning Bolt to cast Acid Bolt instead. The Balor uses a Legendary Resistance to resist it, but still takes some of the damage. Nice! Then Kemurial moves closer to Friar Karl.
    • Lim Dul - Continues chanting, attacks a Mage Apprentice with his lance, hitting it and CRITs it, doing enough damage to take it out! He then moves next to another mage.
    • Freya - Steps up from behind the pillar and casts a 4th Level transmuted Fireball/Acidball on the other side of the Balor such that it doesn't hit Rory. The Balor uses his third (and hopefully final!) Legendary Resistance to succeed on his otherwise failed save, and takes some Acid damage, then she steps back behind the pillar.
    • Dwarves - They don't do well this round apparently, taking some losses.
    • Mage Apprentice - Casts Arcane Bursts at a dwarf, hitting with both.
    • Rory - Rory takes his attacks non-reckless this time. The first one CRITS! Rory of course pumps a Blinding Smite into it for extra damage, doing massive damage to the Balor. His second attack also hits, as well as his Hasted attack. Nice round for Rory this time!
    • Enemy Army - They attack.
    • Mage Apprentice - Attacks Lim Dul with Arcane Bursts, but both miss.
    • Runeguards - Yet another CRIT from one of these dwarves! Great damage all around, even taking out a couple of the enemies. Two of them carry both halves of King Thangrim's body back through Freya's portal.
    • Friar Karl - 2x Orisons on Kemurial and Rory.

  • Round 7

    • Balor - Attacks Kemurial with his Flame Whip, but misses thanks to Kemurial's Shield spell. He turns his attention onto Rory with his Lightning Blade. It would've hit Rory, but Rory's Mirror Image takes the hit instead. He then teleports away behind a pillar. At the end of its turn, we hear the Balor roaring as we see its flames seem to flare up or something from behind its pillar.
    • Kemurial - Uses Celestial Revelation to sprout wings to allow him to fly! He flies upward toward Rory.
    • Lim Dul - Uses his lance to attack a couple of Mage Apprentices, dropping both. Nice! Lim Dul calls out that the Balor healed himself. Then the Runeguards yell "You must use the hammer!"
    • Freya - She can't see the Balor, but she can see the Balor's light from its flames coming out from behind the pillar it teleported behind. She fires off another transmuted Acidball. This time the Balor doesn't have Legendary Resistances! But NOW it decides to make its save. Of course... Anyway, still some good damage though!
    • Dwarf Allies - Doing things.
    • Rory - Looks to Kemurial and says "I'll hold him off as good as I can until you get here with the hammer!" then flies toward the Balor. Rory unleashes three non-reckless attacks, all of which hit. Rory boosts one with Blinding Smite, blinding the Balor as well as doing extra Radiant damage to it.
    • Enemy Army - Does what they do.
    • Runeguards - Retreated back through the portal to assist their army elsewhere.
    • Friar Karl - Casts Guardian of Faith at the portal.

  • Round 8

    • Balor - Attacks Rory at disadvantage (Blinded) with his Flame Whip, which would've hit, but Rory's Mirror Image gets hit instead. He attacks Rory with his Lightning Blade at disadvantage, which would've hit but instead hits Rory's last Mirror Image. Woo! Then the Balor makes its Con Save to end the Blindness effect on himself.
    • Kemurial - Drinks a Potion of Speed then flies over and takes out the Hammer of Fate once again before attacking the Balor with it. He throws the hammer at the Balor, hitting it. When it gets hit, everyone except Kemurial needs to make a Con Save as we hear a massive thunder clap as we avoid the stun effect. The Balor and Rory both save, preventing the stun, but the Balor now has a rune marking it. The throw does lots of damage to it as well. The Balor is near death! Kemurial then targets Rory with Healing Word. Then he uses his Hasted action to attack the Balor with the hammer again, swinging it this time.
    • Lim Dul - Moves toward the Balor and activates his lance to cast Fly on himself.
    • Freya - She moves within line of sight of the Balor, then casts Scorching Acid Ray. Four of the five hit, and one CRITS! She does some great damage with these rays. She then converts some spells.
    • Dwarf Allies - They do stuff.
    • Rory - More non-reckless swings. The first misses, but the second CRITS! Blinding Smite! Lots of damage, which kills him. But as he's going through his death throes, he lashes out once more at everyone around him, doing tons of damage to Rory, and missing Kemurial. He then proceeds to explode, catching everything within a large radius in the explosion, causing Rory to go unconscious and fall, immediately failing one Death Save. Luckily it also killed all enemies within the same area. This gives Friar Karl time to move in and cast Minor Heal on Rory, bringing him back up.
  • All the enemies instantly lose morale. We rout them easily. Combat over.
• We've ended the Reign of Terror, though we haven't ended the war.
• The dwarves hold a ceremony for the life of King Thangrim Firebeard. He'll be interred here in the citadel.
• The Hammer of Fate that Kemurial still has continues to spark and do damage to him. The dwarves are surprised that it didn't kill him immediately. Because of his ability to so expertly wield the hammer without it having done much to him, the dwarves view him as a hero, and some even seem to almost be worshipping him in a way. Well deserved, Kemurial. You've just saved many a dwarf's life, and probably more.
• Hargrim thanks us all and gives a speech in both his dwarven tongue as well as common so we can understand.
• They feed us and pamper us. We get a full rest.
• TNGBU.
• The next day, they reward us handsomely.
• As a group, we're walking through the halls and feasting and whatnot before the final discussion of what's to come. We hear two voices as we pass a hallway. We see two dwarves talking, one says "This was but the first echo." The other says "The true scream is still to come. Are they ready?" The illusion of the "dwarvish" figures drops. Two albino human wizards stand before us. "Do you think they understand what they've done?" They then teleport away.

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

• 380,000g (!)
• Sun Blade (6000g)
• +2 Armor (Friar Karl)
• Manual of Gainful Exercise (Rory)