The Climb

Opening

The session opens as the group enters the mall. The time of the Making has arrived, and the mall has transformed. The party descends an elevator from the 12th floor, to the depths of the first floor.

The group discusses what to expect when they hit the bottom. The elevator is silent. Not a sound can be heard outside.

Once they hit the bottom, the doors open to an empty space but filled with bodies. Cain sits atop a pile of bodies.

Cain mentions he gabbed his rules. He mentioned that his rules are actually that each floor must be guarded by

Cain's condition to let the group through is that he has to shoot one of the members of the party. Initially Yokai Moki attempts to loophole by providing her illusory form to hit, but he takes aim at Moki instead.

She backs down, not willing to give her other self up. Circeth offers itself in place, but Kimmy stands in the way. She takes the arrow, and closes her eyes, feeling melancholy. She finds herself atop the mall, looking up at the starry sky.

As she opens her eyes, the arrow wizzes past her ear. Cain curses, saying he's getting old, but that's his end of the deal. The group can go on to the elevator. They head up and hear a lot of commotion outside the door. They brace for combat but find various crypto coin supporters fighting over which coin will be the best.

The group sneaks most of the way through the room while everyone's distracted, but are spotted at the last second. Kate takes the moment to speak up and intimidate them by talking down about their crypto coins. As Kate speaks the group slowly steps back into the elevator. They hit the button and head up. Nathan prepares two bonfire grenades in the elevator.

The third floor looks different. It looks like a church has been set up here, pews and all are set. The podium is the elevator. There is one Loxodon at the podium, one which both Nathan and Circeth recognize. From the sides of the room are a fleet of paladins, barring the way.

Nathan growls. He mentions he's glad that he was expected. He's anticipating pumping Bartleby's face full of electrified lead.

Bartleby mentions his faith wouldn't let that happen, nor would his flock. His paladins step in to stop the group. Nathan throws a bonfire grenade, missing, but it spreads a fire in front of the paladins. The group easily takes them out and Nathan disposes of them by dragging them into the bonfire, glaring at Bartleby the whole time.

Bartlby taps the podium and has his choir summon a holy barrier, separating himself and the party. Nathan calls out that he's scared. Bartlby denies it, saying that he will see the retribution coming. The room on the side blocked off begins to glow with a radiant light.

Kate dimension doors to the other side of the barrier, taking Nathan with her. Kate swings at Bartlby, but misses. Nathan takes a shot at him, but misses, but then follows up by slashing with his shifted arm, cutting into him a bit.

Bartlby pulls a warhammer from under the podium and swings at Nathan, missing both times. He curses Nathan as he misses. Kate follows up with another attack. Nathan shoots with the thunder cannon, hitting.

The choir thins. Kate and Nathan feel like they're not the only group behind the curtains.

Bartlby swings at Nathan again, hitting him twice with the hammer and smiting him.

Kate attacks once more, and Nathan follows up, his arms inject a purple vial into him and take some of the liquid for themselves. He jumps out of range of Bartlby and throws a bonfire grenade at the choir. He misses but does make the arena look "utterly bonkers"

Bartleby's aura shows as spirit guardians swarm the arena, hitting Kate and Nathan, forcing them back into range.

He swings on Kate but misses. Kate attacks

As the last of his choir falls, he's paralyzed with fear as he meets the gaze of Audrey. Her hands are bloody as is her tail. Every step forward she makes, yields him backpedalling until a coral striped tail drops from the rafters, grabs him by the trunk, and throws him against the podium, saying nothing other than "You hurt my dog."

Kate sheathes her sword, but Nathan slowly steps up to him, pointing his thunder cannon at him and shooting him point blank. He then finishes off by pulling the horn that Cir twisted off of Bartlby, and impaling him with it. "I told ya I'd getcha."

Nathan asks Circeth if that's enough karma for last time. They reply it's acceptable, before Circeth helps heal Nathan and Kate.

The group heads into the elevator, and goes up. The center of the room has a boxing ring, fog surrounds ring. The group hears stomping as the crowd yells "What are we? We're alphas!"

The lights shine before being shut off by someone casting the "Off" spell in the audience. Kate joins in switching the stage lights on and off at random, before Tate comes out in a boxing ring. This is the same man who killed the other members of the Shadow Wizard Money Gang. Circeth and Green step forward. This fight is personal. Moki stops them before they enter the ring and delivers a motivational speech to them.

Green looks up to see the robes of the fallen members. He mentions that if they can get the robes back, they can bring the members back too. Moki nods and tells him that he knows what he has to do then.

They enter the ring and Circeth attempts to cast hold person on Tate. He uses a legendary resistance to avoid being grasped. Circeth attempts an attack but misses, flustered by the resistance.

Tate holds a Karate stance before opening in a flurry of punches. Green deflects almost every punch, blocking the last. Seeming dissatisfied, Tate action surges and attacks four more times, hitting half of them.

Green wastes no time and retaliates, hitting back with an attack of his own, forcing Tate to burn another resistance to avoid a stunning strike.

Tate retaliates with a tail attack which Green slaps away.

Circeth casts Symbiotic Entity and sheleighly.

Tate makes four attacks on both Circeth and Green. He nails Green in the temple. He also hits Circeth

Green takes out his bong staff and splits it at the top. A beam of energy shoots out from the top as he casts Shadowblade He then makes two attacks on Tate using the staff, hitting with the second strike.

Tate strikes back at both of them, hitting Circeth.

Moki notices that there are some preparing to interfere with the fight. Moki prepares to join.

Tate reaches into his robes and pulls out a joint. Green and Circeth realize that this is the most rancid thing they ever made. He blows a stinking cloud over the arena.

Green uses his staff to ignite the cloud and swing at Tate, hitting. Circeth follows up by casting blight, casting a huge amount of necrotic damage. Tate is now visibly bloody. He casts the second wind and then hits Circeth twice.

The mushrooms recede from Circeth as her symbiotic entity fades. Green swings at him, and then finishes him off with a one-inch punch with a delayed fireball, burning him, and downing him.

He lays on the ground, a smouldering mess on the ring. Circeth fetches the robes and hands them to Green, before looking back at Tate.

They reach out and touch his body, and his body immediately grows into a menagerie of flora.

Circeth helps Green out of the ring as he carries the robes. The group heads into the elevator as Katrina calls out telling the crowd they can keep their gym, just that it'll be under new ownership.

As the doors open on the next floor, there's only one person in the room. All that stands in between is Angarth. He uses his battleaxe as a cane.

He mentions that he thinks everyone knows how this is going to end.

Kate and Moki step forward. Moki feels a sense of familiarity being back on the battlefield like this. In a sense it feels like home. Like how she fought other musicians.

The group prepares to square up.

He sighs and says "It doesn't have to be like this." before he closes the gap, just about to swing at Moki, before he's stopped as Skab holds his shard of Excalibur.

Skab calls out "I invoke the rite to become the strongest." For the first time, the group sees the radiant silhouette of a child sitting upon his shoulder.

Katrina's eyes go wide, knowing what the rite entails. She calls out "This isn't how it was supposed to go."

Skab calls out that Katrina's amendment was to switch candidacy.

Kate also knows the rite, knowing that it forces Angarth to answer the call, otherwise he loses his divine strength.

Skab says "That day, if I hadn't told her to run. I always wondered if we'd have come to blows." He then slowly walks up to Angarth and Squares up.

"Y'know. None of that matters. I'm taking my home back today."

Angarth goes in for a clinch, but Skab ducks it and uppercuts into Angarth's stomach. Neither gain ground, but are just exchanging blows. Skab seems to have gotten used to his body as the tubes and wires have begun simulating muscles as they ebb and flow with shots being taken.

For a moment, Skab seems to be holding his own very well, until he's hit with a headbutt from Angarth. Skab seems to hold against it well, pushing both of his fists together into a big uppercut, pushing him back.

Angarth snorts and adjusts the cuff of his suit before it dissipates entirely, as he enters divine rage and begins the fight for real.

He makes four attaks on Skab. Skab attempts to block the first four with his stop-sign shield, but it's destroyed and ripped off. He then stabs into skab with the butt of the axe.

Skab's metal starts to fall off but the tubes are holding. Angarth jumps back and prepares his signature move. A charge into an overhead stake.

Skab recognizes this, and prepares only one attack. He prepares his good arm. Pistons release and heated metal spikes shoot out from the knuckles. As Angarth charges, he jabs at Angarth's armpit and the pistons fully release into Angarth's armpit.

Angarth recoils and Skab loses his arm.

All that's left is Skab's left arm with a telephone on it.

Flashback, we see Skab taking a call and he's making a request, saying he knows how to get everything back. Leaving voicemail after voicemail. He has been casting divine intervention every day for the last 3 weeks. Calling everyone who was laid off from the mall.

Flying down from the floor above are a tiefling in hot topic gear, a high elf, some monks, Sbarrow's workers, and a former angel from VS.

Everyone from the party is also filled with divine energy.

Skab then casts Spirit Guardians, as a Cleric of the City (Mall)

With the divine intervention, everyone is able to join the fight as it supersedes the condition of the rite.

Moki opens with a Psychic lance, but Angarth makes his wisdom save. Kate takes a swing and misses.

Nathan shoots him with the thunder cannon, chipping at his shoulder.

Circeth casts Moonbeam and blasts him with it.

Kimmy rages and hurls her hammer at Angarth, hitting him with one of her throws. Green shoots with his shotgun but it doesn't seem to do much.

Ken moves in to begin mending Skab's arm. He gets a little bit of the way but he needs time. Katrina steps in between them to give them space

The group Skab called in also makes an attack

Angarth makes a move to push past everyone to get to Skab. Kate swings at him as he runs past her. Halting him in his tracks. He slams his axe at the ground quaking the ground

Katrina picks Skab to help him avoid damage

Moki attempts to curse Angarth, but he saves against it. Kate attempts to negative energy flood to hit him, dealing necrotic damage. Nathan attempts to shoot him again but misses Circeth moves her moonbeam to attack him Ken has restored about half of Skab's arm.

Katrina jumps back 60 feet with Skab. Ken joins. Kimmy makes two attacks, dealing critical damage on one of the attacks. Green follows up with a singing bell strike, lowering Angarth's AC

Skab's backup attacks as well.

Angarth charges past Circeth whose spores do damage, and Kate's sentinel hits thanks to Green twisting luck, allowing her to hit.

Angarth, using his free arm, picks Kate up by the head and fastballs her toward Katrina and Skab. Katrina gets hit with the impact. Kate takes damage as well and is knocked prone.

Moki responds with two strikes from her rapier. Angarth then picks Moki up and throws her at Skab and Katrina, but misses them and hits Moki against the wall, which knocks her prone.

Kate gets up and charges as close as she can get to Angarth before he closes in on Skab.

Nathan runs back to Ken and Skab. He then assists with the repairs. Together they manage to fix Skab's arm and also help him up to his feet. It's not a complete repair, but it's something

Circeth moves the moonbeam back onto Angarth

Kimmy swings at him twice, but they don't seem to do anything Green attempts an attack but misses Ken fire bolts at Angarth, landing a critical hit Skab's group also attacks, doing some significant damage.

Katrina, finally being able to attack, charges against Angarth. She lands a solid punch on his chest, not only enough to push him back, but for a crater to appear on the ground at the point of impact.

Angarth finally drops to one knee as the punch knocks the wind out of him. His rage fades away.

Kate asks if they did it. Katrina responds that they did enough of it.

Katrina speaks to Angarth, telling him it's time for some change. Angarth solemnly agrees.

Skab's group opts to hold the fort to make sure nobody follows up