Ketheric Thorm, Chosen of Myrkul
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"It sounds really nasty up in there, doesn't it, Y/N?"
Astarion winces as yet another blast sounds from the room outside the fleshy hall you two were in. The vampire had been tasked with keeping you safe and away from the fight against Ketheric Thorm.
Though.. with how he's holding onto you, you'd argue he's a whole lot more frightened than you are...
"We should help them." You huff, trying to pry the vampire's cold hands off of you; they were really chilly, actually.
"Help them? Are you out of your mind? This is a dangerous enemy." Astarion goes on, his voice high to really get his panic across.
"Well what are we gonna do if everyone dies? We can't just leave them to die? We'd be next!" You argue with equal emotion, also hoping to get your point across.
"You- no I'm not agreeing with a kid." Astarion scoffs. His hand latching onto the scruff of your collar to keep you close by.
"Let go, I'm going to get him." You huff, squirming against the restraining hold.
Astarion lets out a 'tsk' at your determined behavior.
"If you think you can outrun an ancient vampire you'd be dead wro-" Astarion started with a sense of fake superiority. That is before you'd channeled a new spell out of pure desperation. With a swift, brand new, cast of Misty Step, you were out of his grasp and bolting into the underground chamber.
You hear Astarion yell after you, giving chase, no doubt. No matter, there would just be more allies to fight this supposed foe with.
You don't even get how Kethric is putting up such a fight, most old men do at a wrong gust of wind... mhh.
Your thoughts were quickly corrected as you spotted the said 'old man' knocking Lae'zel off the strange fleshy platform he was on. His armor gleamed in the icky light of the arena. Or... would this be a basement?
Shadowheart was rushing to cast a healing spell on Lae'zel, Gale was firing magic missiles like a lost man, and Wyll was in the middle of freeing some lady with huge white wings.
It was chaos, all in all.
Halsin spotted you first, seeming furious at your disobedience to the party's orders, though he couldn't catch you as you sprinted by him to slam a spell into Ketheric's face.
The man let out a growl of agitation as your Shocking Grasp hit him. A quick wack of his gauntlet had you flying off the platform in a similar manner to Lae'zel.
You land with a grunt, just knocked against the head enough to hear everyone's call out for you as an echo.
"Ignorant child, turning my own troops against me. You must think you're so special." Ketheric lands beside you with a heavy thud of his armor. The metal sheen an acidic green now due to the pit of strange, dangerously glowing, puss behind him.
You were about to speak up at his mean remark but were stopped as his metal gauntlet grasps your chin.
"And you'd be right. You are." The old elf growls in your face. You really can't tell what message he's trying to get over here. Mixed signals only the gods can decipher.
Karlach dares to throw a swing of her axe right behind Ketheric. Of course, the man grasps her axe with his free hand as if it doesn't even phase him. Unbridled strength on show... You're usually not a fan of showing off but he's really got a way with it.
"Don't you find that cowardly, hellion?" Ketheric spits with disdain, shattering Karlachs axe with his gauntlet (and likely some magic). The metal shards flying all over the place, a slight nick to your cheek included.
You're starting to get a bit concerned that your chins in the same hands as that. Chin explosion... mhh.
Before you could stop imagining such a gruelish sight, your head is thrown to the side, and back onto the floor you went. A harsh kick to the gut tells you that Ketheric hasn't, in fact, gone soft.
The party stops their frozen stuppor at your previous crash and flies back into action. Gale is surprisingly the first to cast and instead of the offensive spell you'd expected of him he pulls you out of Ketherics range with a magic vine.
"Y/N. What were you thinking?!" Gale shouts in worry, helping you up now that you're in his range instead.
"Uh... gotta help you all. You're welcome." You hum with a slight sarcastic undertone.
Gale looks like he wants to smite you, though being a wizard and lacking a melee weapon, that's highly unlikely...
"You stay right back here, young-" Gale starts in a scolding tone, his brown eyebrows furrowed into clear worry and anger. He, however, can't finish his sentence as a green ball of magic shoots out from Ketherics hand, aimed at any close by party member.
You and Gale get tackled by none other than Halsin in bear form as he'd been running up to you regardless.
The bear let's out a loud, worried sounding growl. A large paw holding you down by the chest.
You give a nervous smile, trying to get out from under the wildshaped elf. Though, as expected, your form is little to no match for a damn bear.
You're actively fighting Ketheric Thorm and the sabotage your own party is committing.
Seriously, if they'd just focus on the actual enemy you'd be way safer. Bunch of idiots if you ask me...
A nagging little voice in your head seems to laugh at that, but you ignore it.
Halsin clearly wasn't paying attention to the actual fight as he didn't even look up at Ketherics attempt at a pounce.
The armored elf had aimed for Halsins furry neck.
Obviously, being the sorcerer prodigy (cough cough) that you are, you couldn't let that happen. So, with a spell you didn't even know existed, you pulled a magic sword out of thin air. Or well, wherever all magic come from, Gale hadn't told you yet.
Ketheric had a split moment to register your summon before you blocked his slash with your own, new blade.
The magic metal clattered harshly against his. The weight of such a slash weighed on you heavily, you're quite sure the only thing keeping you standing was adrenaline.
The old elf let out an impressed scoff. You could see a hint of challenge glint in his eyes.
Halsin was about to try and intervene once again, to your utter dismay. Yet... you were surprised by the feel of a gust of strength. The warm sensation rippling through your body and into your very muscle tissue.
A fortifying spell. With a quick glance you can confirm Shadowheart had kept her head in the game and actually played in on the new strategy of you having a blade.
With new strength and resolve you block another swing from Ketheric, your own magic aiding you in your movement.
The metal clattering was starting to hurt your ears but you pushed on, trying to ignore how easily the general was pushing you back with his powerful swings.
You slip along over the gross floors of this cavern, your shoes doing little to help keep you steady and in place.
"You don't think that sword will stay forever, do you?" Ketheric sneers with an undertone of amusement, the crinkles around his eyes become prominent as he flashes a bare teethed smirk.
You don't talk back now, there's little place for it. You need that guy dead and buried.
Seeing a small opening between his swing and your block, you take it. Propelling yourself up with a gust of wind right out of your palm to get an aerial advantage.
The elf is just a moment too late to register your move as your crash your blade down vertically onto the small crevice of his armor that exposes his neck.
Discolored blood splatters over your blade and your face. It stings slightly. Sure enough, this guy's undead, so that's likely a cause.
Ketheric let's out a pained roar. Throwing you away from him with a harsh tug. His gauntlet goes for his wounded nape, his stature going from confident to shaking.
Though that he's still standing says a lot. He isn't some normal elf general, and being undead doesn't explain it either.
You go to brace yourself for whatever might come next right as your magic sword shatters to dust in your hands. The metal fluttering away as mana dust.
Ketheric let's out a pained cough, a new trickle of blood staining his beard.
He throws you a last stare of shock at your unbridled audacity before his facial features distort. Eyes glowing a sickly green.
"Thou dares to strike mine chosen? The chosen of Myrkul?" The gaping glowing hole you're supposed to call Ketehrics mouth echoes the words.
Damn, this unknown entity speaks just like that Withers guy...
The body of Ketheric Thorm twitches for a moment, making his armor clatter.
"It is thy end. Prepare for your passing!" The voice bellows out. A slight hiss to it, reminding you of the large pool of acidic green liquid right in this very chamber.
The connection you make wasn't all that wrong as a magic hand drags Ketherics body into the pit. Green mist pools out of it with menacing magic aura.
Lae'zel was quick to grab you and look you over after your fight with Kethetic, though she has little time to truly assess you as a huge, boney hand emerges from the pit.
The hand is followed by the rest of a skeletal form. You're getting the feeling that this guy is really important...
"... Myrkul..." Shadowheart whispers, seemingly having passed the religion check for once.
The rest gets no time to speak as Myrkuls avatar swings his large scythe, almost cutting you into two equal Y/N pieces. Y and N.
"Everyone get back!" Minthara yells. You're unsure whether she knew about this little detail yet because she looks severely shocked. Never meet your idols, huh?
"I'd say this is a good time to leave, wouldn't you, darling?" Astarion tried to persuade you, as if his nicknames ever worked.
The skeletal being roars, blasting another spell your way. Clearly it's mad at you specifically, which obviously means you should be the one to end it. Heh, duh.
"Do not." Minthara holds you back by the shoulder, her grip like iron, likely due to her gauntlets.
Her message is clear, you shouldn't do this alone. And she wouldn't let you either.
Fine then. Together it was.
With a quick snatch you grab Astarions bow right off of his back and charge up a shot. Infusing the arrow with a bolt of light magic, in hopes that it does something to a clearly dark looking being.
The arrow bolts right into the eye hole of its skull, making the God raor out in anger. His skeletal hand ripping it from his socket.
It tries to snatch you right off of the ground but you jump out of the way, Lae'zel hacks off a finger with ease. This beast may have size and power but it lacks the speed that made Ketheric an actually fearful foe.
The rest seems to have a similar thought process as they start fighting. Gale throws a hail storm which you worsen by throwing in a blade storm.
This time the skeletal hand does manage to wack you, but you manage to hand onto its joint.
With a sudden confidence, you summon yet another blade. Can't be overused if it's the second time, right?
As the avatar of Myrkul swings you around to try and get you off of its hand, you use the momentum to jump onto its hooded skull.
Jabbing the sword into its eye proves ineffective, though it just has to look epic.
You hang onto the swords hilt instead since it's stuck in it's head, your other hand letting out a shocking grasp into the other socket.
The next roar sounds really pissed...
With a crack, Karlach seems to have broken one of its bones. Perhaps not so smart, to be made out of a breakable material alone...
Shadowheart suddenly pulls out a strange glowing mace, the light casting quite far.
At the same moment, you hear a rip and a harsh flap.
A gust of wind whooshes past you, a feather landing right on your nose.
It seems Wyll had managed to get to the winged woman. Her own battle roar matches Myrkuls in intensity.
Youre swooped off of the skull in a flash of white and silver.
You're not even able to catch her look before she drops you onto the floor to roll back to the rest.
You sit up with a slight dizzy afterfeeling of that swift rescue, just to see Shadowheart charge up some insane beam of light right as the aasimar prepares a divine smite.
You don't know where this coordination is coming from because she sure as all hells doesn't do this with the party...
A blinding beam of light leaves the glowing mace right as the aasimar chants her smite.
Myrkuls avatar roars out loud as the two heavy attacks land on him without possible defense.
The lightshow was truly spectacular but did it actually work?
The smoke and golden residue simmer away to show a clearly busted skeleton being. It's bones charred, bruised or broken.
You were wishing to go for the finishing blast but the avatar falls apart and drops Ketherics half dead undead body back onto the platform with a weak splat.
His form looking less intimidating now that he's bloody, bruised and broken...
Rejected by his God for failing.
The gods were always cruel.
wellllll.... I mean... it's a part. Yea. I don't really know.
Im planning to keep Ketheric alive for obv more Plat!Yan reasons, but I mean, I could just kill him if anyone likes that more.
Also I got into game design! So yea no free time once again but it's way more fun! If anyone knows any good C# tutorials do spill.
Anyways have a nice day/night and I'll see you next time!
