The Book Of Friendship

by XombieSlayr

Friendship Quest IX: The Secret Hideout

Summary

Having finally found the secret lair of The Heralds Of The Manticore, our heroes battle Vorthian and his cultist minions to stop their evil plans once and for all.

Let's Quest!

We join our heroes now in a long golden gem encrusted hallway. As you walk, the only sound you hear is your own hoof steps (except for Lord Borax who has feet.) As you reach the end of the hallway, you arrive at a massive archway where the low drone of chanting can be heard.

*Sprinkles peeks into the room. She sees several cultists hauling large wooden buckets full of blood. Their pouring the blood into a large marble basin. Other cultists draw magical symbols onto the floor, while a few others pour magical sage and ashes in a circle around the basin, preparing for some kind of dark ritual.

*Strudel charges into the room, her axe drawn. The cultists all look at her in alarm and demand to know how she got in there.

*Sir Awesome follows after and charges at the the large werewolf cultist. Drawing her magic sword she cleaves a large gash across his chest, dealing 14 damage. He falls to floor and calls for Cynax to come and help.

Cynax, the jackal headed cultist from the beginning of the game runs into the room, panting. He apologizes for being late then states that all your efforts are in vain as they're only a single step away from completing the ritual which will resurrect The Manticore.

*Strudel goes into a Barbarian Rage and swings a powerful blow at Cynax. It's a critical hit, dealing 25 damage. He reels back clutching his wound, and the other cultists spring into action and attack your group. They start circling you, their hands crackling with dark energy.

*A cultist touches Sir Awesome dealing 5 damage.

*Princess Platinum gathers a massive cluster of cystal ice magic in her horn. It glows and shines like a white hot sun, as she fires a giant flaming Ice arrow at the werewolf cultist who then explodes in a shower of gore.

*Sprinkles turns her lute into a crossbow and fires an arrow at the nearest cultist. It strikes him right in the face, dealing 25 damage. He falls to his knees then falls flat on his face as blood leaks everywhere.

Cynax is enraged and finally strikes back. Huge bolts of dark energy arch out across the room from his hands as everyone takes 19 damage...except Sprinkles and Lord Borax.

*Sprinkles had used her agility to leap onto a nearby scaffolding and avoided the attack. She fires another arrow and it plunges deep into Cynax's liver dealing 19 damage. She fires two more that both sink into his chest, dealing 5 damage each.

*Lord Borax was lifted from the ground at the last second by his loyal Pegasus, Siren Song. She flaps her wings gracefully as she holds him aloft. Lord Borax whips out a large M16 Machine Gun and just spray and prays the shit out of Cynax, dealing 20 damage.

Cynax staggers back as blood spills heavily from his many wounds. His breathing grows shallow, as he falls back clutching at his wounds. He says he needs a minute, then white lightening crackles from his fingers, healing and knitting his many injuries. He gains 17 health.

*Sir Awesome sneak attacks him from behind stabbing Cynax through his chest dealing 10 damage as he falls to the floor, bleeding heavily and nearly dead.

Just as you are about to attack him again, you hear the stomping of metal plate mail on the stone floor. Vorthian kicks down a hidden door and enters the room, enraged. Red energy swirls around his hands as all the blood that was spilt from the cultists flys in streams through the air into the marble basin. He then approaches Cynax, and berates him for failing him. He clenches his fist and Cynax crumples like a paper ball as all of his blood flys out of his wound and empties into the marble basin. Its almost completely full.

*Lord Borax collects some of Cynax's blood to use in an Alchemy experiment which we will explore more of soon. He stashes the bottle of Cynax's blood away in his underwear, and no one is aware of it.

*Sprinkles uses her Pony Sense and finds a chink in Vorthian's armor. She fires an arrow from her crossbow which hits him for 12 damage. Blood leaks from the wound.

Magelight screams out to stop attacking, but Sprinkles attack has already landed. Magelight's Smarts prove correct as Vorthian uses the same spell to stream the blood from his wound into the basin.

He then channels a torrent of blood in his hand which forms into a solid spear and throws it as Strudel. It hits Strudel in the side, dealing 9 damage.

*While Treeminder heals Strudel, Savvy conjures a massive geyser of water which she aims at Vorthian. It hits, dealing a critical hit of 25 magic damage. He's knocked back by the blast, but quickly retaliates with a shower of blood spears.

*Princess Platinum uses her magic to summon a large ice wall which protects Savvy form the spears as they all stab into the wall, before melting into blood once more.

*Magelight steps forth as her eyes began to glow and burn with white fire. She holds her staff aloft as a gigantic ball of divine energy forms in front of her, white energy swirls and crackles from around it, smashing apart stone and marble as she launches it directly at Vorthian. It hits him hard as he's sent flying back into a wall, smashing it apart as holy fire engulfs around him, dealing 19 damage. He seems woozy as he stumbles forward, his armor cracked in several places.

Vorthian reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Earth Star, which is now a red charred husk of its former glory. He squeezes it and a massive amount of electricity shoots out of it, sparking and crackling all over the room as it electrifies the blood basin. The blood inside boils and bubbles and begins to overflow. Red energy begins to swirl around the ritual.

Vorthian staggers forward and laughs as he leaps into the blood basin, and stands inside it, the blood reaching up to his ankles. He clenches his fists as his armor starts to crumple in on itself, as he's suddenly crushed and blood pours and gushes out of the crumpled remains into the basin, overflowing it as it spills onto the floor form the sides.

The room shakes as the blood boils violently as magical energy explodes from it. You see a blinding white light as your knocked from the impact into the far walls. You stumble and fall as you try to get up, and you see the Earth Star floating in the air, swirling with blood energy, as a hole rips in the fabric of reality.

Entering through the portal, walks a large female four legged creature, emitting an aura so powerful that you can't even move in her presence. She has the body of a large horse sized jackal, her beautiful but devilish mare's face is crowned by a spikey mane. She roars showing off her rows of razor sharp teeth. She also has wings and a scorpion tail, with two jagged horns atop her head. Her eyes burn red with hate, as she looks over at you.

She taunts you in a deep but beautiful voice. She says she is The Great Manticore and that she is thankful for you releasing her. She then says she will gather her power by consuming and destroying all she sees, and then open the portal to her realm and destroy the world in a torrent of demons and death. She tells you to enjoy your last moments.

She turns and flexes her muscles before floating up in the air, her wings unfurling as she climbs higher.

*Sir Awesome takes her magic sword and throws it at The Manticore. It hits but deals no damage as it sinks into her magical body and vanishes.

The Manticore ignores her, as she crashes through the temple ceiling and soars off into the now dark and wicked looking skies, directly towards Earth Star Village.

As you look on in horror, you suddenly see The Earth Star Guardian stumble and fall into the room, bound in magical chains, that fall of her in broken links as she picks up the charred black nearly destroyed Earth Star, and holds it close to her heart.

*Sprinkles and Treeminder rush over to her to see if she's alright. She says she was held prisoner, for the sake of fueling the Earth star for their plans. She escaped a few minutes ago, and tried to find her way out. She begins to weep tears onto the Earth Star which begins to shine and glow. You see the star repair itself magically as it hovers into the air and floats in front of The Earth Star Guardian, its light seems to warm the entirety of the dungeon, as all the damage everyone received is healed instantly.

The Earth Star Guardian tells you that we must all journey home to Earth Star Village and stop The Manticore before she unleashes her evil onto the world. You all agree and swear to stop the Manticore. She smiles as she uses the Earth Star's magic to open a portal home. You all go through it, as Lord Borax and Siren Song mysteriously slip away from the room.

But what are they up to? Find out next time on Friendship Quest!