Part 56: This is the first update I have done with RightLoad instead of WaffleUploader. How the hell did I live without this?

Chapter 42 - This is the first update I have done with RightLoad instead of WaffleUploader. How the hell did I live without this?

So, off to Yaga-Shura's siege camp to defeat him and save Saradush!



Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.


Uhh... Change of plans, everyone! Kill Yaga-Shura to AVENGE Saradush!

Yaga-Shura was an intimidatingly large figure, due to being a fire giant. His army was similarly intimidatingly large.




I thought I would have to content myself with slaughtering all the weakling Bhaalspawn in the city and forgetting about you. But here you are!! Haha hahahaha ha!! I should have been the first sent after you, and now I shall prove it! Yaga-Shura shall become even greater still!!

He did not really expect to be cut.


Yaga-Shura cannot be defeated!! Men... men, destroy them! Rip the hearts from their chests and make them suffer!! I will return with reinforcements!

Two things going on here. First, that's what happen when the Cleric/Druid HLA Elemental Summoning brings up one of the three Elemental Princes it can summon, or when a Druid uses their Greater Elemental Summoning HLA. Second, note the large number of soldiers attacking my party here. Ascension makes things hard, you know.



YAGA SHURA RAAAAAAGE RAR YAGA SHURA CANNOT DECIDE IF HE WILL SPEAK IN THE FIRST OR THIRD PERSON



After a rather long battle in which I didn't have time to take screenshots...

What's going on?



Why am I back here?



HOLY SHIT WHAT'S GOING ON



Oh, hello again.


Very well... I believe I am ready.
The first step towards the fulfillment of your destiny has been taken. Yaga-Shura is dead by your hand, and the forces in play now move swiftly toward conclusion. Now you must know yourself and your past to reveal your future. Listen and be judged.
Very well... I will listen.
To look upon oneself and ask, 'What is my nature?' one must know one's origin. Your own origin is a mystery to you, god-child. You have no beginning... and without a beginning, how can there be an ending? What do you know of your birth? What do you know of your mother, of your life before Gorion brought you to the safety of Candlekeep?
I know nothing of my life before Gorion.
Your past unfolds. You would do well to heed it closely.



WAUGH WHO ARE Y- oh.


I was to give birth to one of the Children. To you. I rose my arms up and hailed my Lord of Murder with great joy at my fate. Others of Bhaal's order took me away, to hide us in the darkest temple away from prying eyes. Others of the Children were there... and when our great Bhaal died did we begin our task.



HOLY SHIT SKELETON - oh, hi Gorion. You'd damn well better not be a wraith this time.


I would slay you, my child. So Bhaal could live again.
But I and several of my colleagues had discovered the location of this temple. We attacked and stopped your mother from performing the sacrifice.
We resisted. This was the will of Bhaal, father of my child.
They were many and their magic was strong. We had little time. I killed the priestess...
He slew me, your mother.
Uhh, you were going to, you know, kill me. Do you expect to me to be all righteous-anger-y here or something, because that's not gonna happen.
I rescued you and fled from the temple even as many other Bhaalspawn babes died.



AAAA WHO NOW - d'aawwwww, aren't you just precious.


Yes. Not all the Bhaalspawn children died that night. I saved the only one I could.
He could only save one, there was no time for more. But I was there, as well.
I chose you, Asim. I could not save both of you.
He left me behind, saving you instead! And so I fled on my own, raised by foster parents in the Iron Throne. It mattered not. I killed Gorion in the end.


THIS was my mother?! How horrid! No wonder Gorion never told me!
And what of your brother, Sarevok? What if fate had not intervened, and Gorion had raised him rather than you? Would you have become as he was? Would Sarevok be in your place, now, if but for the smallest twist of fate? Is there a debt between you, then, that is yet unpaid?
Yes, there is a debt. I could have just as easily have had his life, and he mine.
We are finished, then, for now. Return to your cocoon plane... You will find part of it now open to you. Investigate, as you wish. Consider what you have learned here, today. Farewell, god-child.




Expected me to be dead, eh? Sorry to disappoint you.
Don't be a fool, Asim. I cannot express my relief at finding you alive after all the carnage this monster and his army have wrought here. My own escape was a narrow one. Once the walls were breached, Yaga-Shura thundered through the city almost too quickly for us to react. I tried to get the Bhaalspawn out... but it was too late. Yaga-Shura seemed to think you were in the city and was eager to seek you out. He... slaughtered them all, and there was nothing I could do. A mere handful of peasants and myself escaped the destruction and fled. I was at a loss... I had no idea where you were until I heard your battle, when I returned as quickly as I could. Saradush... destroyed. And everyone I tried to protect for so long, all dead. At least you killed Yaga-Shura. May he rot in Hell as he deserves!
You said you had information on Yaga-Shura's allies?
Yaga-Shura did have allies. They were all Children of Bhaal... and they number amongst the most powerful of your kin in all of Faerun. One of them was named Illasera. It was she who hounded my protected Bhaalspawn earlier and forced us to flee to Saradush, but she left weeks ago and disappeared into the elven forests.
That one I also killed. What others are there?
I know them by name only: Abazigal and Sendai. They are intent on killing all other Bhaalspawn in the land, and with their combined power they are unstoppable.
Why are they doing this? Do you know?
I wish I knew. It could be that they believe they will gain power. Perhaps they intend to become gods, themselves. Regardless, they will bring only chaos if they have their way.
That doesn't explain why blame is falling on Bhaalspawn everywhere.
It does, actually. Bhaalspawn *are* responsible for the destruction, after all. And they spread the rumors further so that fearful and panicky people do half their job for them.
They're not so tough if I've already killed two of them.
You... you are a powerful man, Asim. Perhaps they might be a match for you together, but individually... individually you could possibly defeat them. You could stop all of this! I know of two places here in Tethyr where Yaga-Shura's allies have their power centered, where they are building terrible armies for whatever ultimate purpose they possess. I... I can show you where these enclaves are. Yes! And surely you could enter these places and attack these monsters individually! It is dangerous, but it is the only way!
Very well... I will do what I can.
I have one more ally that I can call upon, although I have been reluctant to involve him in the past. If there is a chance that all this killing can end, however, then I have little other option. He runs a monastic order in a remote village in the Calim Desert... it will serve to both hide you from retribution as well as serve as a base from which you can attack the enclaves of Abazigal and Sendai.
I suppose that will have to do.
Here... I will mark the map to show you where the village is. It is called Amkethran. I will go there now and speak to my friend, Balthazar, and try to arrange things for you. We cannot linger here. We will speak further in Amkethran. Make your way there as soon as possible. I have marked it on your map. Be careful, Asim. You are my last hope... and perhaps the last hope of anyone in Faerun, whether you care about it or not. I will see you in Amkethran.

LOOK AT ALL THESE LOOT PILES. SO MUCH KILLING OF INFINITELY SPAWNING ENEMIES _{Yeah okay so three of these belong to party members who kicked it during the battle but still.}



Nice loot from Yaga-Shura. Runehammer, Shield of the Order, and Shuruppak's Plate.

In the aftermath...


What's the matter, Minscy? Did you lose (snicker)... lose (giggle)... lose something?
You! The tiny, tricky gnome! Minsc knows it was you who stole Boo! You cannot fool Minsc! What is that bulge moving about within your trousers?
This bulge here? Why that's (ha-ha) that's nothing. I'm just happy to see you, Minscy. (giggle) Oh, those tiny feet tickle so.
I hear Boo's frenzied squeaking! Ho-ho! He is growing angry, little man. Release Boo from your drawers lest his sharp teeth nibble on your naughty bits in his outrage!
Boo would never do such a thing... uh, at least I hope he wouldn't. Actually, now that I think about it, that's a chance I'm not willing to take. Here you go, Minscy - Boo's yours again, safe and sound.
Ah, Minsc and Boo together again! Jan, you are not worthy of having a miniaturized giant space hamster scampering loose in your pants.
Ah, I suppose there are precious few of us indeed who are truly worthy of that particular honor.


Such a thing would be a nightmare indeed - Minsc could not even fit into your tiny clothes! I have no wish to walk naked through these strange lands...
Just our minds were switched, Minscy. You were me and I was you. Oh my... what if it wasn't a dream? What if it was real? What if you're really me, and I'm really you? Suddenly I feel sort of funny... HAMSTERS AND RANGERS AND HEROES TOGETHER!
What is this? The puny gnome speaks with the wrath and rage of a Rashemeni warrior! Boo, I am confused...
I AM FED UP WITH YOUR WILY TRICKS YOU uh... uh... PIPSQUEAK! GIVE ME BACK MY HAMSTER, OR uh... uh... OR FEEL THE WRATH OF MY uh... uh... THE WRATH OF MY MIGHTY uh... BOOT! (Yes, that will do.)
Can this be true? Am I but the sneaky little Jan inside Minsc's great, big body? ... No! This is not right! Minsc is not Jan... Minsc is Minsc! Minsc is Minsc, Boo is Boo and you are a naughty, naughty gnome!
Okay Minscy, settle down. You win. Just a little existential prank is all - no hard feelings I hope. (Hmmm... I really thought that would work...)
Your trick may have worked, tiny one, had Boo not saved me from my confusion. Boo thinks, therefore I am. Remember that before you tempt my wrath by trying to steal my hamster again!

Yyyyyyeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Anyway, I figured out IMPROVED ALACRITY



Oh come on why do I have to stop at the oasis I'm not tired or anything.



Oh son of a BITCH.


Is there to be a trial? May I defend myself? I mean, I'll do that if you attack and most likely kill you all quite horribly, but I mean in the legal sense.
He really will. If I don't first, that is.
You are guilty, Asim. Of this there is no doubt. And we will not risk your further endangerment of us all. You are a spawn of Bhaal and responsible for the destruction of the city of Saradush. Your execution has been ordered, Asim. May the gods have mercy on your soul.

NO. _{God Improved Alacrity is fun.}



What the fuck is this sword all about. Oh, and my execution was ordered by royalty. Oh, and there was now a bounty on my head. Just like old times.

Sorry for the terrible update schedule - swarm of papers/finals/job hunting/apartment hunting all at once!