Into The Wildlands
The carriage driver, shouts back to them whether or not he should be turning around. He is definitely not comfortable remaining outside the protection of the city walls, in the wilds over night. He stops the carriage and the group discusses their strategy. It is perhaps too far to the nearest town of Amphail, which they deduce that Lady Mara will probably target in her quest for a child sacrifice, to her demon benefactor. Perhaps she has already got there and chosen her victim. Rushing there might not be helpful. Better to cut their losses and lay in ambush, for Lady Mara on her return to Waterdeep, where they are sure she will want to watch her conquest over Messick and Azula.
The carriage driver has already turned his carriage around and is heading back, at speed, for the safety of the walled city. Only fools and protected caravans remain in the wilds for too long. The group decides to lay in ambush. They find among the rolling hills of the surrounding landscape a nice spot and Messick orders his dog, Justice, to start digging. In no time, the dog has excavated a comfortable cave with a small mouth looking across a small valley in between the rolling hills.
On the other side of the small valley, they have Justice once again, excavate a small alcove, making it appear to be another cave. To complete the illusion, Azula stone shapes a statue of Messick, posed, as if in prayer and contemplation before a fire, which they set. They retire back to the other side of the valley and keep watch from their darkened cave.
A Decoy Messick
The night passes until eventually, the Messick and Azula are aware of several shapes crawling through the tall grass towards the decoy cave. It is too dark and the creatures too obscured by the grass to determine exactly what they are but they are definitely closing in from multiple angles towards the statue of Messick. From the safety of their cave, Azula summons several small gnaw demons to attack the creatures. The demons glow a bright blue, illuminating the grassy area, making them extremely noticeable.
The fight is quick, with spears thrown and the demons, dying with small crackling sounds and flash of blue light. During the fight a lone stalker approaches the decoy and throws a spear. It hits the statue with a metallic clang, and the spear drops to the ground. Now that the illusion is found out, the lead creature makes a noise and calls to the others and they quickly retreat away, stalking through the grass the way they had come. Done with the ruse, Azula dismisses her demons, telling them that they are free to do as they wish. The demons skitter off in an excited ecstasy. That is until the spell wears off and they are drawn back into the abyss. Azula, smirks at her cleverness.
The next morning, the group decides that whatever they do, Lady Mara will definitely be sending her envoys of demons to enact her revenge. After some debate, they decide they much rather face Lady Mara and her patron demon, on their own terms.
Demanding A Duel
They find a large hill with very little surrounding it, affording it a good long line of sight. They stand upon it's peak and, through the sending stones, call out to Lady Mara. They tell her that they will no longer run. They will no longer hide. They will stand here until they are met by her and her demons. Here they will take their stand and whatever happens they will accept their fate.
They stand there, each taking a portion of the horizon to scan. They wait until it seems perhaps that Lady Mara will not take their challenge.
That is until, there begins the lightest of rumblings below the hill upon which they stand. Gunter is the first to feel it. The rumbling grows into a shaking. Gunter decides perhaps being on top of the hill is a bad idea. He runs down the hill just as two massive creatures come up out of the ground at the top of the hill. The elemental demons are part earth and stone and part elemental energy. They immediately grab for the group, capturing Azula.
Azula is smashed repeatedly into the ground, as the drow falls unconscious.
Gunter, who had run off of the hill, smiles slightly at his own wisdom of not staying on a rumbling hilltop. But his moment is short lived as several small demons rush along the ground towards him. They spark with electricity as they begin to surround him. Gunter is able to hit them and eventually kill them, but with each hit they spark electricity back to him and soon he is felled by the demons.
Princess Elora is able to summon faeries and the faeries are then able to polymorph the group into a herd of tyrannosaur rexes. Now, as massive creatures they begin holding their own in the battle while Princess Elora also plants a totem and begins her healing power for the group and at the same time summons her giant wolves to aid in battle.
Death Comes For The Group....Several Times
Each of the group has a moment where they are close to death, some several times.
Finally, when the group seems to be running low on their collective health, the tide of battle seems to turn as one of the massive earth demons is felled. Seeing this though, Messick sees in the distance, Lady Mara demanding something of her demon patron. She points to the group in anger. The demon takes flight and with one swoop into the battle decimates the giant wolves.
It would seem the battle is not won yet.
Seeing Lady Mara in the distance, the group decides that their dying acts should be the death of Lady Mara. Each begin to make their way to the, now undefended, Lady Mara. But none of them get their before Princess Elora's massive parliament of giant owls.
The owls approach a clearly panicked Lady Mara. She holds an amulet around her neck towards the fast approaching owls. The ground opens up underneath them and tendrils of dark energy flow up and grab 6 of the owls out of the air and they are pulled down into the dark earth below. The ground closes back up, sealing the dead owls inside...but they are summoned creatures, so don't feel too bad for them.
The Death Of Lady Mara
The remaining giant owls descend upon the screaming Lady Mara. The group pauses as they can only see a flurry of feathers, claws and blood. The screaming abruptly stops and the owls separate and fly back into the sky, leaving only scraps of material which used to be Lady Mara.
With that they turn their attention to the late Lady Mara's pact demon. Gunter throws a hex at the demon but the demon easily avoids the spell.
They are in trouble.
But the demon simply stops, smiles at the group and slow claps. "Thank you. This has been very entertaining. This has worked out much better than I could have hoped for." The demon vanishes.
With all the demons vanquished and Lady Mara killed, the Messick calls for the giant owl with Lady Mara's head. The badly mauled head is given to Messick and he casts speak with the dead. He chastises Lady Mara.
Messick stuffs her head in a sack. He will have more to say to her yet.
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