RRH11 - The Battle For Steelhold

The Battle For Steelhold''' is the eleventh session in the campaign Red Right Hand. In it, the Star-Cleavers launch their assault on Steelhold, and a fierce battle takes place.'''

Summary
Aboard the Mountain's Mist, the Cleavers arrive at Steelhold with their small army. Before they begin the attack, a figure forms from some dust and the Masked Man appears before them. He reassures them that the party is doing the right thing, and disappears. Glade and Ovar begin the attack by using magic to cause a rain of stone to fall upon the Steelhold courtyard, injuring the resident guards. Iago enters the golem he modified, and the party prepares to enter the battle. Through various methods such as flight, ropes, and just jumping down, the Cleavers and their army descend into the courtyard.

On the now battlefield, Eptol meets a female samurai, who appears to know him, and she challenges him to one on one combat. She and Eptol fight, in stalemate for a while, since Eptol doesn't want to kill her, wishing to find out more about his pre-amnesia life. Malachi bombs the enemy troops from the sky, while Resmi uses her flaming staff to take a more hands on approach. Glade uses her elemental forms as well as Utan to attack the enemy forces. Nordison leads his troops with the help of Runcray and the clockwork soldiers to battle the guards of Steelhold, and Ovar takes out the archers on the walls. Iago slowly moves forward in the Iagolem, entering Steelhold from the bridge.

With a crackle in the air, the Blood Queen appears above the door to the main Steelhold building. She claims that the Cleavers are just being used as puppets to kill her, and summons an enormous monster called the Astradaemon, a being which Glade and Sigsil had previously encountered. Malachi throws a 'stink bomb' at the Astradaemon, causing it to become nauseous. The daemon now being vulnerable, Sigsil takes the opportunity to man the cannons aboard the Mountain's Mist and fire at the creature. Iago grabs it and begins to wrestle with it. The Blood Queen begins casting spells, using the finger of death spell she previously used to kill May on Stinzen, but he manages to resist. She then summons a group of harpies who attack the airborn Malachi. The astradaemon manages to break out of the Iagolem's grapple, but Iago still has the upper hand, punching it whilst it's still nauseous. The Blood Queen teleports away.

Meanwhile, the female samurai reveals to Eptol that she is not affiliated with the Blood Queen; she is just here for Eptol. Her name is Tolena. Realising that she wouldn't stop fighting, Eptol attacks her with the intent to do some real damage for the first time. With two strikes, he fells Tolena, who, in her dying breath, reveals that she is Eptol's sister. Glade manages to save Malachi from death at the hands of the harpies using some druidic healing. Eptol aids Iago in facing the astradaemon, though Iago insists that he doesn't need his help. Before Eptol is able to damage the monster, it grabs him with his mouth, preparing to steal his soul. Rushing to save him, the rest of the party focus their efforts on the astradaemon. Iago, in his golem, smashes it with two giant fists, and pulls it towards his body as blades withdraw from the golem's arms, stabbing the daemon and putting it down once and for all.

The Cleavers finish off the remaining parts of the Blood Queen's army, and she appears to negotiate with them. She claims to regret her first attempt on their lives, and that her goal is to save the world, but does not elaborate on this. She flies back into the castle. Resmi heals up the Cleavers and their army, as they prepare to enter the castle. They open the huge door, and it turns out to be trapped. The group gets hit by a lightning spell, heavily damaging them all. Eptol decides to leave Kydumave outside, as she's too injured to participate in the final battles. After the party is healed back up using a combination of potions, Resmi's healing, and Lilium's healing, they open the door to the castle of Steelhold.

Trivia

 * Introductions: This session introduced Tolena Noir.
 * Deaths: In this session, Tolena Noir and the Astradaemon died.
 * Notable Events: This session saw the party launch their assault on Steelhold, Eptol meet (and then kill) someone from his past, Iago taking down the Astradaemon, and the party clear out the courtyard and open the castle door.
 * The following people were in the army of the Star-Cleavers during the battle: Iago Montéló and the Iagolem, Eptol and Kydumave, Resmi Val'Rance, Malachi Pensile and Compy, Glade Grassheart and Utan, Ovar Bofral and Tessara, Arrus Feign, Sigsil, Nordison Brae and The Last Bastion troops, Runcray Spurch and the Clockwork Soldiers, Stinzen, The Storyteller, Erik Of-The-Marsh, Lillium, Robwyana, and Kayeff.

Quotes
"I knew I should have brought an umbrella" - Eptol

"Back, wench! You are not even a four!" - Stinzen

''"I can't help it if I'm tasty." ''- Eptol

''"Morning." ''- Iago