The Lays of the Thirteen Claws League - Session 94

       Our last session was Thursday (2021/04/15). This is another sort-of-IC retrospective by Bert, the party's thief locksmith-turned-bard. Bert himself pulled a sicky, so that his player could try out a new character, Anubesia of Ultioch, for the fight with the lich. I give +1 character point (XP) for those players who submit a summary for me to post here on the blog. 

    The Lays of the Thirteen Claws League

Canto 8:

Part 6: 

In the morning my fever broke I was

free: but my visions they, strangely, remained;

and in my heart I knew this was because

all my dear friends had withstood the sustained

assaults of the lichess and had refrained

from disarray nor flight: battered and tossed

by battle their formation was maintained

by courage, honour, loyalty: at a cost:

until poor berserk Hemmu in the mist got lost.

So, Yvor cried out for the them to regroup

they couldn’t see their chief but they could hear

him, and so his proud voice rallied the troop

and drew them to him so they could stand near

each other, shielding each other from fear

and threat, like they’d stood together before

but the Foe used sight advantage to steer

herself to the party’s weak spot once more

where she began to burn Warian on the floor.

But Yvor heard and stepped over with his shield

protecting the wounded monk from murder:

barely standing, the knight still would not yield

he blocked her blows then took the fight to her

and he managed to drive the foe further

from his friends, but, then,  at that dramatic

moment the Lichess began to murmur

a foul spell: yet another traumatic

vision gripped Yvor, thanks to the Lich’s magick.

The Holy Warrior joined Yvor’s fight

with the walking corpse in the corridor

while it danced into and out of their light

with a sword and flame in two of its four

arms and both found that they could not score

a hit on it: they were at an impasse.

Meanwhile, wild Hemmu, in the mist, got more 

lost: she could hear her foe fight but alas

could not find it to vent her rage on, the poor lass.

Lady Miao stood guard over the fallen

companions, lest the lichess returned

to continue her slaughter of those men

    – through the battle the cat woman had learned

to beware the lich’s jumps: though she yearned

to fight, she did her duty all the while

and stood by her true friends who had each earned

her loyalty.  She crouched, in a crab walk style,

to ease their defence she dragged them into a pile. 

The clash of arms thundered

Sounding the knell

So, the Lichess itself was now at bay

the paladin and the knight both fought true

so the beast sought to stay out of their way

in the mist and the dark it was hard to

run it down, but they did all they could do

to deliver the win when there was a bang

which heralded the return of Hemmu

she’s found the lich and the air itself sang

as her hammer against metal skin made a clang!

The clash of arms thundered

Sounding the knell

Living and dead were sundered

Summoned to Hell

Anubesia threw away caution

and charged all out to join with her berserk

friend to claim her holy right’s due portion

of the kill – it is good to share the work -

the thing was anathema to her kirk.

Meanwhile, Lady Miao decided the hour

had come to finally wipe off the smirk

on the foe’s face and cause her to cower:

three women versus the lich: slain by girl power!

The clash of arms thundered

Sounding the knell

Living and dead were sundered

Summoned to Hell

This is how The Lich Marquessa fell.

Gahrol – near death herself – landed a strike

the blows were landing, beginning to tell

Adam Aesalor completed his own hike

through the mist and cast his mightiest spell

the paladin then threw her spear as well

and Miao Miao tried to cut off the foe’s arms.

One of its legs crippled, it nearly fell.

No more column of fire came from is palms:

Clearly the fiend was running out of magick charms.

The clash of arms thundered

Sounding the knell

Living and dead were sundered

Summoned to Hell

This is how The Lich Marquessa fell.

Now spearless, Anubesia’s sickle

cut through ribs and Miao’s fine magickal sword

    – reliable for her in this fickle

world – which had cut through the foul undead horde

conducted us to this song’s final chord.

Amid Hemmu’s hammer’s loud percussion

Mr. Stabby sang and arranged and scored

the final note – striking with precision

bringing the self-willed unlife to its conclusion. 

The clash of arms thundered

Sounding the knell

Living and dead were sundered

Summoned to Hell

This is how The Lich Marquessa fell.

This is how The Lich Marquessa fell.