Chapter 7-204: The Burning Shroudzone (1/2)
The people going into the Shroudzone were naturally far more limited than those going into the Firezone itself, because we were going to be fighting undead, and Burning Undead at that.
Of the Hall forces, I directed them not to penetrate the Shroudzone deeply, and to focus on encircling it and pushing any forces back from the edge that they saw, but not to risk any incorporeal or flying forces the Shroudlord sent out.
We had proven that we could deal with millions of his troops and minions over the past ten days or so, but he hadn’t sent out any Burning Dead, because there was little point to it during the day, and the greater portion of the force behind us hadn’t fought during the night.
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Binder/4 (6). +1 Charisma and Strength, 26/16. Use Nog Mastery to +1 Base Charisma, now 15 (27). Constitution Mastery/5, +1 Con. Extra Spell Known, Binder/1.
Pact Theurge/4, +1 Theurgic Level to Binder/4 (7), +1 Binder Spell Known (IV). Feat, ESK II, Binder. Mastery Extra Evolution/3. Str base +1 through Nog, to 14 (17).
Clavus finished Blessed, +d6 Holy damage to Evil, in Slot Zeben. Slot Akt, Bane of Legends, would start tomorrow. It would take thirty days of Naming Karma to finish.
Bard/4, +1 Charisma and Strength, 28/18. Nog to base 16 Charisma, 29. Feat was Skill Focus (Song). Mastery was Sublime Chord Mastery/4, the Aria of Anywhere, a Dimension Door or Interdiction effect.
Minstrel/4 (7). +1 Charisma and Strength, 30/19. Nog Base Charisma to 17, 31. Feat Extra Spell Known I, Minstrel. Mastery Sublime Chord/5, the Refrain of Spelldeath, a Dispel or anti-Casting area effect Song.
Lore Theurge/4, +1 Theurgic Level to Minstrel, +Minstrel ESK (IV). Feat ESK II, Minstrel. Mastery Holy Scourge/4, Smite Evil twice a day with spells. Nog Str+1 to 15, Str 20.
Inquisitor/4 (7), +1 to Wisdom and Constitution, 26/28. Judgement twice a day. Feat ESK III, Inquisitor. Mastery Eyes of Heaven/2, +120 Range. Nog Wisdom to base 16, 27.
Going into the Shroudzone, Artificer/4 (6), +1 Intelligence and Dexterity, Craft Homonculus Feat. Bonus Artificer Feat, Wand Mastery. Purchased Exceptional Artisan, -25% Karma cost making magic items, Extra Bombs Mastery/2. Nog +1 Wisdom to base 17, 28.
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The landscape had the true Elemental, hellish beauty, going beyond Charlands to a true Fireland.
Both Fire and Negative energy were everywhere. The temperature was above the boiling point, and a normal human could literally ignite if a hot gust of wind went by.
I only had one more Blighting to do to finish my Ritual, and my skin was now crimson with highlights of its original pale shade. No horns, thank you. There was a lot of Fire pumping in my heart, and elements of my Bloodline were really reacting to it. They seemed to be taking portions of the arcane and holy energies I was using in my magic, and integrating them.
It was possible to Awaken a second Bloodline at Ten, and hybridize them, creating your own unique Bloodline. Alas, I was still a Six, but the process seemed to have already started.
My Shroudborn link seemed to be protesting all this, and was doing something with my excess Karma, as if waiting for step two and the Ceremony of the Frozen Soul. I could only roll my eyes and consider Whatevah, while having the distinct impression that the souls in the Shroud had never done anything like this, either, and were really eager to see where all this was going.
In other words, I was doing a great job, and now I was finally going into a Shroudzone all topped off with intent to finish it. There was a clear sense of vengeful expectation from the Shroud above me.
The rock was too black, without exception, vivus lingering on it and leaving jarring white stains behind on it. In contrast, lava was everywhere, with pools and streams and firefalls and lakes and rivers of the stuff flowing here, there, everywhere, burning fluid contrasting to the light-eating black rock it left behind when it cooled.
The landscape was cracked and shattered, full of canyons and passes, splits emanating more molten light from below that played off the dark clouds above in hues of hate and anger. It wasn’t actually bright, but it definitely wasn’t dim, and if you were close to a lava river, there was actually plenty of illumination.
Fumaroles spurted up here and there irregularly, sometimes on repeated locations, sometimes exploding up out of the ground randomly with little warning. Lavaplumes jetted up all around, while occasional walls of flaming lava gushed hundreds of feet into the air along cracks suddenly opening in the ground, whose glow slowly cooled as they fused back together, waiting for the next spurt in a new random direction.
It definitely had a fell, deadly beauty, and we were definitely filming it all. There wasn’t exactly a lot of filming done in the past under the Fireshroud, and certainly none that was current.
Oh, and we killed everything we came across.
There was nothing truly living under the Fireshroud. Even the Fireborn here were infused with negative energy and basically turned into undead versions of themselves. Ash Elementals replace Lava Elementals, Pyre Elementals replaced Fire, and the Magmen, Mephits, Salamanders, fireworms, firedrakes, and the like were all the same way, cross-infused with negative energy and turned into skeletal, gaunt versions of the living versions... but even stronger and more relentless, and hungry for life energy.
I was utterly pleased to give them all the benefit of my anti-undead power, particularly Positive Edge and Necropotence. An extra +14 damage per Shard was not something to ignore lightly, and even if they were undead and had some resistance to default Cold... I had Penetrating Cold and Sacred Magic. They effectively had no resistance whatsoever to me.
Dancing shadows, firewraiths, witchfires, scorched bones, cauldronborn, forgesealed, pyre knights, lavacrusted, wisp spectres, burning bones, furnace crypted, the Hate Tempered... the list of fiery undead didn’t stop as they gathered for us in their numbers.
This Shroudzone actually wasn’t that big, only extending for a few miles around the massive volcanic caldera that sat astride the supercell beneath Yellowstone, venting fiery ash into the thick Shroud above. As this hadn’t been a populated area, the undead here were those that had died in the surrounding area and been drawn here, for the most part, including both sapients and creatures.