Terra Nullius: Session 9: The Ghost of Raske (Part 5)

Key Points:

Roan arrived on the battlefield, scoring several kills against animated suits of armor. These kills were then, usually, claimed by Trajan (much to Roan's anger).
Trajan himself was an impressive force, killing several fire elementals, and wrestling with a suit of animated armor in order to clear a path for Kembu. Trajan seems a different force in combat, hints of an ancient ancestry showing through.
Kembu, injured severely, pushed through the pain and ensured that a man and a woman escaped from the inn unharmed. He has killed several fire elementals, and attempted to rescue Rukkevinta.
Managirl, Del, and all her animals did battle with a skeleton mage on the second floor. The skeleton mage had some powerful magic, taking down Managirl at one point and leaving the girl with a concussion. Roan eventually came to their aid, but in the end, the kill belonged to Managirl. Through their efforts, a little girl was saved.
Rukkevinta had been discovered wearing her Red Wolves costume, and also with her guts ripped out. Much to the dismay of many of the party members, she was dead, and the latest victim of Nerva.
The group searched the inn for other survivors. Trajan found a couple knocked unconscious, while Del found eight people who had been hiding and trapped in the cellar.

The fire at the inn was put out thanks to the efforts of Del's grasping tides and the makeshift firetruck Klein helped put together. In the aftermath, several things were clear...

Nerva was the cause of the inn at the fire.
Kembu, Roan, and Managirl all had injuries after the conflict. Some were more severe than others.
Klein briefly checked on Roan while Del checked on Kembu. The two offered their aid and medical expertise in very different ways.
Roan revealed to the group that he had caught Nerva's trail and chased him through the village, but it ended when Nerva blew up a house by using the gas oven.
Managirl and Trajan both sensed a vibration in the air, a message left to them from Nerva. In it, Nerva demanded that the group hand over the remaining Red Wolves, or he would raze and burn this town to the ground with a dragon. After hearing this, Trajan swore he would kill Nerva if he had to in order to stop the man.

The party ventured to the site of the explosion where Roan had last seen Nerva. From there, they followed the trail using a combination of investigative work from Del and Klein's mana radiation detector (used by Managirl).

Trajan followed behind the girls on foot, while Kembu and Roan followed in the truck. Before leaving, Kembu advised Sheriff Oku to evacuate the town, and asked Klein to prepare for the worst case scenario.

The trail ended at an estate located ten minutes outside of town. The party, then, approached the building from different sides in order to ambush Nerva, who was detected inside.

With a small group of animated armors, Nerva was hiding out here until the drop off time.
Roan took a shot, but much to his dismay, he had killed an animated armor, but not Nerva.
Trajan fearlessly leaped into the house, where Nerva proceeded to beat the shit out of him. In seconds, Nerva had left Trajan dying on the floor.
Managirl came to Trajan's aid, attacking Nerva. Roan also took some shots at Nerva.
Del, Kembu, and all the animals came in through another entrance, where they did battle with several suits of armor.
Angered by Roan, the wounded Nerva attempted to take out the sniper. He would knock the sniper into dying in the end, but not without suffering several wounding shots.
Trajan was revived by Del, and with the help of Managirl, Trajan dispatched the remaining animus inside the estate.
When cornered and near death, Nerva summoned a terrible elder dragon. For all intents and purposes, this thing seemed real. It was not as majestic as in the stories, instead, something terrible and corrupt (a cancer dragon).
Ballsy as hell, Managirl attempted to shoot around the dragon at Nerva at the request of Del. Her attack was successful, and she knocked Nerva into dying.
The dragon seemed to find this amusing, and dissipated after Nerva was defeated.

Del revived Roan with some magic, even as Managirl attempted to get a 'cute' picture of Roan and Nerva unconscious.
Del, with a lot of effort, managed to stabilize Nerva and keep him from dieing.
Roan drew a gun on Nerva, then, and was going to finish him off. Del and Trajan argued against it.
Roan, in the end, unhappily relented, but swore that only bad things could come from this. Kembu had a discussion with Roan off to the side. The two expressed opinions back and forth, and in the end, Roan's frustration and tension only grew.
Managirl looted Nerva. Hollar.

New Items:

Nerva's PDA.
Nerva's wallet (state identification card, 5 GP, expired coupon, photo of Nerva and Otho, sandwich shop rewards card, business card for the Lucky Cat Inn.)
Ring of Dragons (Level 7 Rare, Ring)
This simple brass ring looks like a dragon circling to bite its own tail.
Properties:
-You can speak, read, and write Draconic.
-You gain telepathy that works within line of sight, but only to converse with dragons.
-Evil dragons within a day's travel know the direction and distance to the ring.
-Power (Illusion) Daily (Standard Action)
--Effect: The illusion of a dragon of up to Gargantuan size appears in an unoccupied space within 40 squares of you. It can make sounds and can move within its space. Each of its defenses is 10. The illusion lasts until the end of your next turn, until an attack hits it, or until a creature touches it or enters its space. An Insight check (DC 20 + one-half your level) allows a creature to determine that the image is an illusion.
--Sustain Minor: The image persists until the end of your next turn, and you move it up to 10 squares.)

Current Objectives:

Complete the Middleman's Second Job: Escort Dr. Klein to Quiet Mountain to investigate the mana reactor there.

Terra Nullius