35 Ashan 720
Balthazar didn't know how many people he'd killed. It was hard to keep track when you got into fights as often as he did and you used your hands and feet rather than a blade. When you cut someone's head off, you know that you killed them. When you blast a hole in their chest with lightning, you know you killed them. But when you beat them unconscious and they died a few trials later from internal bleeding it was much harder to keep a grand tally... but whatever the number really sat at, he knew there was one more added to it. Then the mountain roared in pain and Balthazar thought for a moment that he would be adding two instead of just one. The ground beneath them seemed to crumble into sand and Balthazar quickly called on the wind to soften his descent to the ground. His feet touched down onto more malleable earth than they'd left from. Balthazar could feel the change in the spirit's vast command of the element as his power was taken from him.
Balthazar crossed to Yeva and Victor quickly, not waiting to see the final death throws of the great mountain monster. "Are you both alright?" He asked before the return of Falsehood stole his attention. He liked her. Better than Truth at least. Where was that bastard after all? Balthazar hoped hurting the Mountain King had hurt Truth. Ornthrus. She'd called the spirit Ornthrus. Balthazar commit the name to his memory so that if he decided to look further into the Induk he'd be able to however he also commit it to memory so he didn't have to describe it to his friends as a "big mean mountain spirit." Falsehood declared she'd be taking care of Ornthrus from now on and Balthazar narrowed his eyes at her slightly.
He didn't feel like leaving the spirit to her was the best decision but then again, who wanted it? Certainly not the mage. Balthazar's interest was elsewhere. He looked towards the body of the condemned. It sat there motionless... dead. Did any of them know where the condemned was from? Did Tio? Perhaps it was best to leave him for the little godling to find but Balthazar felt... bad about it. His attention lingered on the dead while Falsehood spoke and returned their spirit disguises to them. For Balthazar the thought of being able to suddenly combust into blue flames at will was wonderful but the reality of the gift was dampened by the regrets Balthazar couldn't quite suppress about what he'd done. Maybe with more time or more care they could have saved a life instead of taking one?
Fair work? Woe wasn't wrong. They might not have done their literal best but they'd done enough to stop the calamity and sometimes that was all you could really hope for. Woe was quick to make his departure- citing work left unfinished in a place Balthazar couldn't recall every traveling to. Balthazar nodded to the Empath but said nothing. He was a fine fellow but his mind seemed made up about where he wished to go next. Woe left in his rather impressive disguise and Balthazar took a deep breath. He knew what he needed.
"I don't know about you two, but I could use a drink. Want to come with me?" Balthazar asked Victor and Yeva with a gesture back towards the celebration the spirits had been throwing. Part of him wondered if he could find that paintbrush and snag a quick portrait on the way out but if he didn't see the spirit on the way, he wouldn't stop to make it happen. He wanted a drink that normal, non-spirit people could enjoy. "I'd also like to swipe some ephemera if we can but I think a real drink is more important."
Feedback
I think this was a wonderfully organized thread and a great story for the four of these heroes to tell going forward. I really like that it brought this unusual band together in a strange way and I enjoyed how they all had an opportunity to be of use. I do agree that it began to drag a little during the combat but I feel like that is because there is simply not much that most of these people could do against a massive rock manster. (Get it? I mixed man and monster.) So I think a lot of the difficulty from a PC perspective in the combat was that there didn't seem to be much option other than "run and dodge" for most of the mountain fight. Granted a lot of that was because Balthazar made the tactical mistake of bringing Woe to the top rather than Victor, it still did put us in a rough spot for a lot of the combat. We probably should have utilized Victor who could corrode stone more in order to free the condemned but we did not and it put both us and you (the storyteller) into a more complicated position. By the time we realized Victor's magic would be the best weapon against the induk, Balthazar and Woe had reached a perilous enough position that saving the condemned did not seem like an option. All and all though, I liked how it turned out and really want to see a Tio fallout meeting with at least Balthazar at some point.
Also lets not forget the incredibly fun spirit part fair thing that happened cause that was awesome and I'm really sad Balthazar didn't get his portrait taken.
Also lets not forget the incredibly fun spirit part fair thing that happened cause that was awesome and I'm really sad Balthazar didn't get his portrait taken.
