Bramandin Falls

Recovered from the shock of the surprise attack, the companions took stock and tried to decide what to do.

Hopes of confronting Bramandin were at a low ebb, and there was some talk about attempting to interfere in the building hostilities between Skufruss and the Elves.  After a while, Hildraft hit upon the idea of trying to Scry for their foe once more, this time boosting the magic with all the extra power he could bring to bear. In addition, the attempt would be assisted by the presence of two items previously possessed by the assassin; the corpse of a Death Hound, and one of the bronze discs recovered from the head of the not-trolls he'd sent against them in the Desolation.

It occurred to Surya that the Mageguild of Reital, thoroughly cowed after the defeat of Vane the Mace, should be able to furnish the loan of a Crystal Ball to further enhance the spell, and went off to visit them with this in mind.

While he did this, Sack set to work on his sleeve gun, with an eye to improving the punch of the darts, and Hildraft used the chance to get off a few suitable prayers to Kord.

They then gathered everyone together and spent an hour or so practicing the process of leaping into and out of the Bags of Holding, a trick that allowed them to Teleport the entire party with Sack's Helm in one move. Their rough plan was to get a good look at the surroundings when they Scried Bramandin, use a Gate to open a way to where he was, and scrag him!

Once all the components were assembled, the group gathered around the Crystal Ball and Hildraft cast his Scrying spell. The ball of glass instantly went black, and then slowly cleared, revealing an image. To begin with, only the primary target - Bramandin - was visible, but as the ball cleared, more and more was discernable.

The cambion mortal hunter was standing on a cobbled street. His tall, wiry frame was garbed in form-fitting armour, not leather nor metal but something else, light but strong-looking. A curved sword was scabbarded on his back, and several peculiarly-shaped and sharp objects were suspended from his belt, balanced on the other hip by a coiled whip. He had his arms folded and did not look pleased.

The scene deepened and widened, and they could see he was standing on a street of odd-shaped buildings, staring at a pile of ashes... "Sigil!" shouted several voices at once, and Hildraft cursed loudly. The one place in the Multiverse that no-one can Gate into! Frantically, the dwarf unpacked the wooden apple Xerxes had provided, and spun around to run towards the doorway out of the room they were in. As he reached it, the purple energies gathered, and he vanished through and into the City of Doors, closely followed by the others.

Sigil, The Outlands, 7^th October 1601

Emerging from the portal half a city away from their target, the companions were not dismayed; they'd practiced this. Leaping into the Bags of Holding, they were caught up by Sack who promptly Teleported them across Sigil to the vicinity.

He dropped Hildraft and Surya in one place, Inveros and Moonflame at another, and landed himself in a third, bracketing the cambion in three directions.

Cautiously, the three groups peered around the corners of their respective buildings. Bramandin was contemplating the heap of ash and rubble that had been his premises in Sigil, and had his back to Surya, Hildraft and Sack... A chance not to be missed.

Carefully, Sack drew the Blade of the Sun and Bloodfang, and stood them against the wall next to him, before bending Asildur's bow and nocking an arrow.

Surya and Hildraft counted to a hundred, and then sauntered around the corner. Surya spoke, addressing Bramandin. "Would you like to buy some insurance?" Hildraft was already casting.

The cambion whirled, shock on his scaled face, his hand flying to his shoulder for his weapon. As he did so, a tower of roaring flames howled down onto him from above, invoked by the magic of Flame Strike. Instantly, a scintillating aura of light surrounded the assassin, into which the crackling flames seemed to be drawn and dissipated harmlessly. But only half the blaze was physical fire; the remainder was moral - holy fire of Kord himself. Those flames bit deep.

Seeing the spell succeed, Sack had dropped the bow, siezed his blades, and was already running. As the flames dissipated, he and Surya reached the cambion practically together.

The surprise was total. Four swords flashed in the murk of Sigil's almost constant rain, and a rain of blows descended on their target. The assassin's head collapsed into a bloody pulp as the two warriors took out the frustration and apprehension of being hunted on the one responsible. Bramandin was dead before he hit the ground.