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Sisyphean Attempts at Self-Improvement #1097362 added September 14, 2025 at 4:01pm
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The Battle of Kyriel (Part I)
With five days until the anticipated arrival of Ethelbert’s forces, you focus on shoring up your defenses. At Harborcrest itself, you purchase two off-the-shelf, standard-issue stone golems, and hire a company of 100 mercenaries to bolster your forces. Azura chooses to send away those townsfolk who cannot fight. They travel northeast along the Seaside Highway to the nearby town of Wakefield.
After finding and destroying a demon concealed against the outside wall of Harborcrest and realizing that it’s capable of opening portals to The Abyss, Big-E puts his Divine Sense to use by riding Big-D through random streets of Kyriel, looking for any similar demonic presence. Meanwhile, Reggie receives a pair of enchanted gauntlets with a note from Korrigan. Caught off-guard by an argument with Thogun over stealing Big-E’s sending stone, Reggie dons the gauntlets which teleport him to Korrigan’s location and the two chat for a bit. Big-E and his father Elgin also have some father-son bonding time, where they talk about Ethelbert. While both hope he can be saved, Elgin worries it may be too late for that.
The next day, Rupert returns from his research project with some useful information. You learn there are many, many different species of demons. There are also some high-level demons to watch out for in particular, and you learn that Demon Lords cannot leave The Abyss except through very specific gateways and artifacts (which is presumably why Ar’unath is so focused on obtaining The Well and The Way). You also realize the risk inherent in carrying the very things Ar’unath is after on your person, so you purchase three lead-lined boxes. One is empty and placed in the Harborcrest vault as a decoy, while The Way is buried in the forest behind Harborcrest, and The Well is buried in the tunnels underneath Harborcrest.
You also learn more about the portal demon you discovered at Harborcrest, which is called an Alkilith and can create permanent portals to The Abyss if left undisturbed. Thankfully you destroyed the one at Harborcrest before it could gain a foothold, and you encourage Azura to send scouts to scour the city for side effects of an Alkilith’s presence. Thogun, meanwhile, is surprised to see that Kinea and the other followers of Riazsa have traveled from their small town of Norwood to see Riazsa in person. Oblivious to the danger and supremely confident in Riazsa’s power, Tho encourages them to at least watch the coming battle from the cliffs near Harborcrest, far from the city.
The third morning, you meet with Azura and Nestis and those in charge of the city’s military response, who point out three areas of Kyriel where people reported experiencing the side effects of an Alkilith. But just before you set out to investigate, you spot the first of Ethelbert’s forces cresting the hills to the west of Kyriel. As more of his mercenary army converges on the city from the northwest and north, you realize that Ethelbert has arrived two days earlier than anticipated, and he’s already effectively surrounded the city.
Rushing into the city, you successfully destroy one of the Alkiliths, but then hear sounds of demonic fury and chaos coming from the other two locations. As you move through the city, you witness two Goristro demons - the huge, siege engine beast you fought in the reception hall of Azura’s estate - each flanked by two Balor demons, which wield flame whips and fire swords. They also happen to be one of the demon types that Rupert mentioned to you were very bad news.
Instructing Kyriel’s forces to destroy the Alkiliths and close the Abyssal portals, you tackle one of the Balor demons and quickly find yourselves outmatched. You deal a massive amount of damage in just a couple rounds, but a single attack from the Balor’s fire sword bloodies Reggie and the Balor then grabs him and carries him into the sky. The Goristro demons start to steamroll the city, smashing through the city gates to allow Ethelbert’s mercenaries into the city proper. As the invaders begin to raze the city, storm clouds gather and heavy rain starts to fall.
The Balor holding Reggie drops him after targeted spells from both Big-E and Thogun loosen its grip, which causes Reggie to tumble back toward the earth, eighty feet below. Just before impact, he’s caught by an inbound Korrigan, who lets Reggie ride on his back as he carpet-bombs a company of Ethelbert’s forces with white-hot lightning. The Balor turns its attention to the new draconic threat and, thus distracted, gets hit in the back with a wind javelin as Riazsa and three other storm giants emerge from the harbor waters, to wild cheers from Kinea and the other storm groupies on the cliffside.
After some strong initial successes, it becomes clear that Kyriel’s defenders are outmatched by Ethelbert’s mercenaries. The tide of the battle turns after an hours-long siege, and the invaders begin to overwhelm the city. With Kyriel’s defenses essentially expended, you now face down the remaining 2,000 mercenaries, two rampaging Goristro, four Balor demons... and Ethelbert himself.
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830 words
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