It took a while for Rain and her company to return to Baldur's Gate, which was understandable since her first group of friends had to partner up with some of those from her second group since they didn't have enough horses, but eventually they reached their destination. From what she could see Mordoc had teleported the Onyx Tower directly into the heart of the city, twisting the very nature of the air into what appeared to be a storm as lightning arched from one cloud to one of the others every now and then, while also making it look like it was eternally night out. That fact was likely to allow his troops, all of the undead who hadn't been risen in the Battle of Bones, to have another advantage over the living, in addition to all of their other advantages, such as not needing to eat or rest, just so he could fortify the area. She also heard the sounds of people screaming as they were attacked by the undead that had literally appeared out of nowhere, where those slain were revived as moving corpses, forced to serve Mordoc against their will as they stumbled around, attacking whatever living individuals they could find.
It was a sight that angered Rain greatly, that the vampire was so willing to damn everyone who stood in the way of his grand desires, be they innocent or not, and it only made her want to track him down so they could put an end to his madness, once and for all, before even worrying about the Tower.
"Rain? You've returned... and you've brought Adrianna, Kromlech, and Vahn back as well!" a voice said, where they found that Bartley, the merchant who had bought most of their loot and sold them all the items they needed for their quest, was standing off to the side, while around the container wall stood a few guards who were keeping watch on the undead so they didn't escape into the area surrounding Baldur's Gate, "Praise Waukeen, and Helm, and Lathander, and Torm, and any other god who'd like to take credit for this miraculous moment!"
"Bartley, it is good to see that you are alright." Rain replied, though she wondered just how many had fallen since Mordoc had moved the Onyx Tower into the city, releasing his undead on anyone who dared to challenge his might and raising those who had fallen since he put his plan into motion.
"As alright as one can be, given this... well, disaster." Bartley stated, which was understandable given everything that had just happened recently, in fact Rain was sure that he had been on his way to the city when the Tower showed up, maybe he was out picking up a shipment or something, "All I know is that I was outside Baldur's Gate, in fact I was coming from Beregost, when this great tower of onyx appeared in the middle of the city and sent out a ring of black lightning that created what is above our heads right now... now there's undead patrolling the streets and those who have been slain are being risen and are attacking anything, and I mean anything, that moves."
"This must be Mordoc's plan: create an army of undead to protect his interests while he waits for allies to move." Adrianna remarked, as she and her friends had been the unexpected quests of the vampire for a long time and they knew a bit about him, or how he operated anyway, and this just screamed that he had allies that he was currently waiting on, "He needs to die, before he can cause any additional damage."
Rain nodded as she and the others moved around the container wall and stared at the streets of Baldur's Gate, as a good number of houses were on fire, no doubt struck by lightning, plus there were a large number of zombies wandering around, the easiest type of undead that Rain and her friends had encountered. Such a thing meant that they were able to take all of those enemies down with ease, in fact their weapons were more than enough and meant no one had to use any of their magic to wipe out those who were in front of them, to save their magic for later. When it came to the people who had been infected by the undead, or slain by Mordoc's forces, Rain struck them had enough in the back of their necks to disable them, instead of ending their existence like they normally did, because a plan was forming in her mind and if her thoughts were right she needed them alive. Of course there weren't many survivors in the city, given everything that was in front of them, but that didn't stop her or her friends from keeping an eye out, so they could send them back to where all of the guards were positioned and live to see another day.
So of course it came as a surprise to them when they found Randalla standing alone, in black clothing that matched her old attire and definitely didn't suit her at all, before Rain noticed a pair of markings on her neck, meaning either Mordoc or his second in command had turned her into a vampire, something that caused her to sigh as she flashed behind her and struck her in the back of the neck, knocking her out.
"Fantastic, they even have the power to turn a Harper into a mind controlled puppet." Rain remarked, though at the same time she gestured to Jherek and Kharne, who had been following her to witness the end of this particular quest, as she had something in mind for them to do while she and her friends tracked down Mordoc and his second, "You two should stay here and watch over her... I don't know how long she'll be out, especially considering she's a vampire now... we, on the other hand, shall head in and track our foe down."
"Be careful, Mordoc's second is a man called Xanhast, a skilled warrior whose abilities will have only grown since the day he was turned into a vampire." Kharne stated, where he realized that this might be a worthless gesture on his part, as she was far stronger than he had assumed when he heard that Rain had been found again, and with her dragon powers he had a feeling that not even the Onyx Tower would be able to stand in her way, "He is no doubt the one who turned your friend into a vampire, so to free her you'll need to kill him... and Mordoc, just to be on the safe side, but that was the plan from the start, wasn't it?"
All Rain did was nod her head as she started to walk towards the Onyx Tower, as Mordoc, in his infinite stupidity, had put in a front entrance to the previously impenetrable structure, meaning they could just waltz inside like they belonged there and didn't have to worry about entering through one of the Elemental Planes. While she did so, however, energy rolled off of her body as her friends found that she was changing into her full humanoid dragon form, showing them that she was taking this seriously, especially when her first group of friends recalled the dangers in the Tower. On the inside they found that the place looked exactly the same as when they explored the first floor, which told Rain that everything she had seen during her first visit had to be identical this time around, and, sure enough, they found that the stone gargoyles were back and ready to do battle. As Rain readied herself, which involved raising the Onyx Blade as she shifted her stance, she and the others watched as the gargoyles stopped for a few seconds, studying them for some odd reason, before they landed off to the side and knelt as they lowered their heads, as if they were bowing to their master.
This was all the confirmation that Rain needed, the blade she was carrying was literally the key to the Onyx Tower, a tool to end Eldrith and seal the Tower, but this also revealed a third path, that it labeled it's owner as the one who rightfully owned the Onyx Tower, meaning the golems might do the same thing.
"This reminds me of the last time we were here... that massive golem just gave you the Onyx Blade." Adrianna remarked, though as she said that she and everyone else followed after Rain as she recalled the map of the layout that she had built during their visit to this place, allowing everyone in the original group to see that everything was quite literally the same as they remembered, all of the walls and corridors were in the same place, as well as the traps.
"The spirits sensed that I'd kill her, and kill her I did." Rain stated, as she recalled that fight like it was yesterday, a foe that none of her friends could defeat or even lay a finger on, while she, still a novice in comparison to her friends, had laid the spirit of hatred and vengeance to rest, all thanks to the power of her weapon.
Borador and the others of the second group glanced at each other, as this was news to them, especially give the tales on how Eldrith fell, before they understood why Rain never bothered to correct anyone when she heard them tell how her and her friends beat the Betrayer. Even with that fact in mind they glanced around at the gargoyles as they walked by, as it was so weird to see so many act like this, in fact Borador realized that the amount of stone creatures was enough to keep a team of experienced adventurers at bay and totally take out groups of lesser adventurers. Adrianna pointed out all of the golems that she and the others had fought, where many of them stepped out of the way and knelt as Rain passed, as it sure seemed like the Tower was welcoming it's true master home, before she realized that Rain's eyes were closed while they walked. It was almost as if she was being guided by the Tower itself, a spirit that only she could see, and that was only the beginning as Adrianna, Kromlech, and Vahn watched as a trail of marble started to form in their friend's wake, where everyone watched as it spread out to the walls and ceiling, like the very nature of the Tower was responding to her will or her desires.
In addition to that they watched as the golems changed as well, their metallic bodies turning into onyx with markings that were made out of marble, while retaining their ability to move rather well, and the gargoyles grew in size, getting close to a human's size, something no one was worried by since everything was under Rain's control, or at least that seemed to be the case right now. Borador noticed that the traps that were scattered throughout the Tower sunk into the ground, almost as if they knew that they weren't needed anymore, though he was more amazed that Rain was capable of traversing the Tower's floors like it was nothing, especially since she and her friends had been here only once before. While they walked everyone stopped gripping their weapons as they fully understood the fact that Rain was in control of the areas of the structure that they were walking through, so no one had to worry about being attacked by the golems or gargoyles. With that in mind the group was able to reach the forge that happened to have another massive golem, who remained still as the changes took hold of it as well, before Rain headed up the stairs, walked through an area that seemed like an abode with how peaceful it was in comparison to the lower levels, and headed towards the summit.
There, standing where Eldrith had been the last time Rain's group had been here, was none other than Xanhast, a human warrior who carried a large shield and a sword, though he, too, was a vampire, given what happened to Randalla earlier, something that caused everyone to ready their weapons as he turned to face them.
"Rain Shine, I am glad you made it this far, as I was worried that I might not have a chance to fight you, or your friends for that matter." Xanhast stated, as if he was the bigger dog right now and that they should be afraid of his power, though she wasn't convinced, not after beating the stuffing out of Mordoc earlier, before he chuckled as he raised his shield and sword without delay, "Some of you are worth adding to my harem, the rest will be made to serve my master."
Rain found that she wasn't even needed for this fight, as eight adventurers were more than enough to bring down the dark figure who was blocking the way forward, because he could only focus on so many at a time, one or two to be honest, and it opened holes in his defenses for the others to exploit. In addition to that he didn't want to damage the ladies anymore than necessary, while they, in turn, punished him for turning Randalla and thinking that they would be easy to turn into minions of a cowardly vampire king and his twisted servants. Sure, Xanhast had powers to restore his health so he could continue, but it only prolonged his suffering as the adventurers beat him down, breaking his weapon and shield before dealing all sorts of damage to his now unprotected body. Unlike some enemies or foes Xanhast said nothing as he was beaten, in fact he remained silent as Rain's friends tore him down and killed him, releasing those he had turned so they could return to their former lives, at least in Randalla's case since they had no idea who else had been turned by his hand.
With that done Rain stepped forward and approached the Onyx Gate that was up here, the same one that her friends had used before they were separated, before finding that it was now connected to a new position, the Plane of Shadow based on what she was feeling, causing her to full shift into her humanoid dragon form as she passed through the gate, alone, and found herself in a shadowy realm, standing on a copy of Eldrith's peak.
"You?! How could you be here?!" a voice asked, where she found Mordoc standing nearby, with a new blade that looked like his old one, meaning he must have really liked his rapier before he became a vampire, before she found a black pillar that looked like it was made of souls resting near him, "It hardly matters now, however, for the Tower's Core is mine! I, alone, can draw upon the power of the Onyx Heart, now bursting with the souls of those in Baldur's Gate, which means you won't be able to beat me, Rain Shine!"
"How sad, you are still under the delusion that you can beat me." Rain replied, where her power surged outward and hit Mordoc in the chest, knocking him backwards a little, though at the same time she found that a dark lasso linked him to the Onyx Heart, something she severed by swinging her blade through it, causing the vampire to look at her in surprise as he realized that she could, in fact, bring him down.
As that happened, however, Mordoc watched as the material of the floor shimmered, where he watched as the pure white version of Eldrith's peak seemed to change in some manner, before realizing that Rain was holding an onyx blade, even if it made him wonder how it had taken so long for him to realize that particular fact. Such a thing made him realize that his claim to the Tower was false as well, because she held the key to the Tower itself and he could see that the power was in her hands now, meaning everything he had done to Baldur's Gate could be undone in an instant. As he considered that Mordoc started to pack up, as he needed to put some distance between them so he could get through the gateway Rain was standing near, because once he was on the other side he could escape and lay low until he was sure his opponent had given up looking for him. In the next instant he paused as Rain revealed her true form to him, the dragon form that she used to beat Aizagora some time ago, and before the vampire could move Rain released a torrent of white flames at him, bathing him in flames as they tore into his body, reducing him to ash in no time.
Once she was sure that the vampire was dead, and his influence was gone, Rain reverted to her humanoid dragon from as she stepped through the gate, as she had one more thing to do before they could celebrate their success over Mordoc and his foul plans. As everyone turned towards her Rain lifted a hand into the air and severed Mordoc's spell, freeing the city from the undead plague he had released on them, while also drawing all of the undead back into the Plane of Shadow as she freed everyone who had been infected since Mordoc moved the Tower into the city. In the following instant Rain focused on what needed to happen next and Adrianna felt the magic in the air vibrate, where she and the others moved to the edge of the roof and glanced over the edge, finding that there was a magical circle surrounding the Tower's base, as if she was planning on moving it again. They had no idea where she would place the Tower, but anywhere was better than in the middle of Baldur's Gate, and it wasn't long before a flash of light pierced the air as she moved the structure, but to their surprise everyone reappeared in the city, near where Randalla had been left with Jherek and Kharne.
In the following seconds a flash appeared in the distance, in the direction of Seer's Cove, informing them as to where Rain had moved the Tower, before they heard a roar as Rain, in her dragon form, pierced the clouds and descended on them, shifting back into her hybrid form as she landed near the group.
"The deed is done: Mordoc SeLanmere is dead, his forces are crippled, and the Onyx Tower is no more... rather, the Ivory Tower stands on Seer's Cove." Rain stated, as she had named the reborn structure based on it's color, not it's material this time around, since she felt that the 'Marble Tower' didn't have the same ring as the 'Onyx Tower' or 'Ivory Tower' did, to which she smiled as she found that the people of Baldur's Gate cheered for them as Randalla came to, "Come on, let's go celebrate the end of an adventure."
She had no idea what the future might hold for her and her friends, but after everything Mordoc had put them through, not to mention her first group of friends, but she knew that some time relaxing was necessary before they worried about what the future held for them and the rest of the world.