Friday, June 16th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
At the campsite in the valley of the witch, Radaga, the party regroups and
discusses their next course of action. Meanwhile, Samuel tries to pry a gem
from the crown but can't. Kerri casts detect magic and the crown is quite
bright. The group decides to walk a couple of hours to set up camp elsewhere and
rest; then they will find a pearl worth at least 100gp, so Ludovic can cast
Identify. Samuel insists on carrying the crown, but promises not to try and
destroy it unless the group decides to do so.
Meanwhile, Elsewhere and Elsewhen...
Krezk, Barovia, BC 730
Back in the present, a black coach rumbles into Krezk, carrying a
blonde lady in a velvet dress,
looking sad but hopeful. She remembers that a jeweler in Zeidenberg told
her that the Red Vardo Traders could find anything, and that despite their
name they were not related to the Vistani. She enters the store and is
shown into the office of
Jacqueline Montarri. Montarri
soon enters and tells Ms. DeGrieves that she can help her find
Dr. Van Richten, and that in
fact it's a very popular request, and the Traders have a field agent
assigned to keep track of the good Doctor. Cynthia is excited by this
news, but as Jacqueline closes the door to "discuss payment," she lashes
out at Cynthia with a hidden short sword. Shocked, Cynthia pulls out a
concealed stiletto, and fights back, disarming Jacqueline with a lucky
blow. Cynthia picks up Jacqueline's sword and swings blindly, an unseen
force guiding her hand. When she opens her eyes, she sees Jacqueline's
head lying on the floor, her body slumped against the wall. But there is
no blood, her neck seems to end in smooth skin at the ribbon she wore as a
necklace. Screaming in terror, Cynthia drops the sword and runs outside,
jumping into nearest passing carriage and sobbing uncontrollably.
Friday, June 16th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
The party leaves for Harmonia, bringing Clara, the girl from the cave, with
them. Clara is very distracted, still insisting she's from a small village
near Harmonia, but she has no idea where it is. Walking back through the
canyon areas, they find
Andres Duvall tied up in one of
the manacle posts. His face is bloody and beaten.
He explains that he was attacked by goblyns two days ago, but the creatures left, saying that their master called and so they chained him to the post to let him "ripen." Leif finds some tracks; they look like the face-eating creatures they fought at the caves, and are about two days old. Samuel tells Andres he was a wimp for not being able to handle six to eight goblyns himself. Andres explains that he regrets getting involved with Valric, and he is not going to deal with him anymore. Valric wanted Andres to find an artifact but he didn't know much about it. It was a test for joining a group called the Immortals, of which Valric was a member. Kerri(?) mentioned the note about "Daegon," and Andres said that was the first clue Valric was able to give him. Andres traveled Kartakass looking for more information and found another clue, a Kartakan song called "Daegon's Child," about an evil priestess in the Arkalias Hills who takes children prisoner. Of course, being a Kartakan story, Grandfather Wolf makes an appearance, as well. So he came to these hills to find the priestess, but was captured.
Duffy chops off the top of post and ties a rope to Andres's shackles. Kerri confiscates his whip. They let him ride a horse and take him with them as he continues his tale.
The Immortals have discovered the secret of eternal life, and promised to share it if Andres found this artifact. Valric is at least a hundred years old. Andres grew up in Darkon, and spent some time with the Elves who live in Darkon's woods and learned songs with them. He envied their peaceful, beautiful, and eternal existence, and sought out the legendary Immortals to join them. He was inducted into the Second Circle in a ceremony he remembers very little about, but he shows the party the scar on his wrist made by a special two-pronged dagger during the ritual. But after this experience with the goblyns, he resolves to be done with the Immortals for good, saying "What good is immortality if you're not alive to use it?"
After hearing the whole story, Duffy frees him and Andres drinks from the chalice. With the sun setting, the party sets up camp and rests.
Saturday, June 17th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
Day breaks. Kerri wants to learn some elven lore from Andres and he
teaches her some songs(?). The travel to Harmonia is mostly uneventful.
Leif tries to teach Kukri to guard but he mishears and learns to fetch a
gourd instead. They camp overnight in a cave and when the full moon rises,
Ludovic gets very antsy and runs off into the night. Leif tells Kukri to
defend him all night long. In the morning, Kukri, panting and puzzled,
says "He just kept running."
Sunday, June 18th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
The party travels uneventfully toward Harmonia, still somewhat suspicious
of Andres and Clara. Clara asks Ludovic if he can see "them watching." At
first he's confused, but for a moment sees many eyes where she is pointing,
then they are gone. She says that they are always watching. Ludovic
begins to fear for his sanity, especially since he continues to have
strange words pass through his thoughts, such as "wood, rope, and red
cloth."
Monday, June 19th, BC 707
Harmonia, Kartakass
The group makes it back to Harmonia by the south side of the city walls.
They pass through a group of beggars. Samuel cuffs one in the ear, and Leif
gives them some money. Samuel approaches the toll gate walking and talking as
an old man. The guard says it would be 1gp to enter, plus 10gp for not
knowing the oath. Samuel says (in his old man voice) that his son said it
would be only 3gp. The guard says no, it's eleven. Samuel asks where the
Meistersinger lives since his son is his Valet. The guard tells him where and
Samuel says, "OK, so that's 3 gold, right?" and the confused guard slips and
says yes, so Samuel pays only 3gp.
Andres helps buy a pearl for Ludovic to cast his identification spell. Kerri, Ludovic, and Samuel go with him to get the pearl and other supplies. Ludovic buys some rope, hypothesizing that the strange thoughts in his head are warnings of what he might need. The charismatic Andres helps barter down some masterwork hammers for Samuel. Then he bids the group farewell, Kerri gives him back his whip, and he buys a small butterfly pin for her from the jeweler. He says he plans to run somewhere safe that the Immortals won't find him, maybe change his name and settle down. Kerri recommends Blackburn's Crossing, Mordent.
Meanwhile, Duffy and Leif take Clara to the temple of the Ancestral Choir, but they can't help. The priest recommends a doctor of the mind, and tells them there is a renowned one in Gundarak. While they are talking, Clara looks at some bas-relief sculptures on the wall. Despite her previous claims of speaking only Vaasi, she mumbles distractedly in perfect Mordentish, "They tied me up and led me through a cave. Then they left me with the wolf." Duffy and Leif are shocked by these apparent lies, although later they realize what she said was true, although very incriminating when taken out of context. Luckily, (a miracle really), the priest believes Duffy and Leif, not known for their negotiation skills, over the girl, since she's obviously not quite right in the head.
Outside, the group collects together and Clara switches back and forth between Vaasi and Mordentish, still claiming not to know Mordentish, or where her village is. Kerri makes a tea elixir of Hermitshawl Spores to calm her, but overdoes it a bit and knocks her out for a while. Samuel advocates leaving the girl here or "putting her out of her misery". The group refuses either option and doesn't leave Samuel alone with her. Duffy and Samuel go get three rooms at the inn. Duffy and Leif suspect Clara is becoming the witch.
Ludovic casts Identify in the evening, examining several of the group's items. Duffy's hilt wrap is something called a Shadowleech Knot; it infuses the weapon it's attached to with magic, but is powered via a sacrifice. Leif's staff is the Staff of Knightshade, crafted specifically for the hero Knightshade, it is dedicated to the protection of his order. The magic silver short sword from the cave is known as Renier's Bane, it magically enhances the skill of the wielder (+1 enhancement). Radaga's bracers have no name. They were crafted from the bones of a great hero who marched into the den of the undead, it gives protection to the wearer (+1 enhancement). The Witch's Staff was crafted by the witch Radaga. It looks like a simple walking stick, but is capable of powerful blows. When attempting to identify the crown, Ludovic has a vision. He sees a king with the crown leading an army. The voice of an old man says, "The Crown gives prowess in battle, strength, endurance and speed, but only for those with the heart of the king. Only those who are pure of heart can carry it from its resting place."
During the night, Duffy sees something moving at the foot of his bed. It looks like it went into his bag, but he can't find it.
Tuesday, June 20th, BC 707
Road to Harmony, Kartakass
The party leaves Harmonia in the morning and travels north towards Gundarak.
Carrying the still unconscious Clara, they pay the toll and are on their way.
Leif goes along with the group easily; he's infused himself with hope that his
mother might still be alive when he returns.
They reach the Halfway House in the early evening and Clara starts to stir. Clara says she can see six pairs of eyes, despite there only being five other people in the party. They rent three rooms and Kerri performs. Kerri sings beautifully and Leif wonders what his mamma will think of her and his new friends. At night, Kerri is unsettled to notice Samuel staring at her in her sleep. Unbeknownst to her, he fears she may be turning into what he is, or worse. Clara has a nightmare, and is calmed with some more tea. That morning, Duffy discovers that the hilt wrap is the thing he saw moving and that it's sucking his blood at night.
Wednesday, June 21st, BC 707
Road to Harmony, Kartakass
Clara wakes up seeming more spacey & drugged. When asked if she brewed
the tea correctly, Kerri replies, "We used to give it to horses. Maybe I
should have used three spores instead of five." By evening, they reach Skald
and everyone enters the town to get two silver daggers for Samuel. In town,
they pass Malvoni's store, just like they left it. He doesn't appear to have
returned. The group discovers that the toll is only one sp through the
northern bridge. A bargain! They set off on the four-day journey to
Gundarak.
Thursday, June 22nd-23rd, BC 707
Gundar Road, Kartakass
During some uneventful traveling, Taige says "Can we get to Invidia so I can
get out of here?" He is convinced that he can warn Bahkolis and himself of
the treachery of the Witch of Loupet and prevent his own death.
Saturday, June 24th, BC 707
Gundar Road, Kartakass
Leif teaches Kukri to heel. That evening, everyone is awakened by wolves
howling in the distance but it stops suddenly. Leif speaks with the
animals to find out why. It's Grandfather Wolf. Kukri wants to go and
Leif tells him not to. Kukri starts to wander off, but Leif calls to him
and he reluctantly comes back. Leif climbs a tree and a howling and
rustling occur east of them headed from the north to the south. Samuel,
Ludovic and Duffy(?) hear a great thumping sound, and Samuel and Ludovic
investigate. They see a HUGE wolf, the size of a small
house, walking South. The forest parts for him, and closes behind him.
The group wisely decides not to pursue.
Sunday, June 25th, BC 707
Gundar Road, Gundarak
By mid-afternoon, they reach the border of Gundarak, and Samuel can't cross
with the crown. It seems stuck in midair by an unseen force. The others
try, but can't cross either. With the permission of the group, Samuel
tries to smash the crown with his mace but the mace passes through with the
crown intact sitting on top. Examining the inside of the crown, Ludovic
sees an inscription that appears too powerful for anyone of them to cast.
Leif finally is given the crown and holds it for the first time. He
ponders for a moment and believes Kukri to be more pure of heart than even
he. Kukri carries the crown through, and the group follows.
The road soon forks, and they remember that the keep lies on the less traveled road but they take the other road toward town, hoping to find out a bit about the doctor first. The town of Teufeldorf is heavily fortified, with a large black twisting tower in one corner. The guard speaks in the same language as Davvyd, Luktar, which Kerri has somewhat picked up. The guards say that Heinrich is a good man and good doctor and as best as Kerri can puzzle out, "For a sick body, see the hospice, but for a sick head see Doctor Dominiani."
It is nearing nightfall and the group goes to the Doctor's keep, finally taking the less traveled road. They smell sweet flowers, and feel a chilly wind coming off the mountains, carrying pine and spruce smells. It looks like a storm is brewing. Off in the distance, they see an old castle with two spires that glow blue when hit with lightning. There's a small crypt on the way. Samuel and Ludovic stop to investigate. There's a sense of dread and foreboding around it. Samuel wants to go in, but Ludovic wants to wait until morning. They rejoin the group at the door of the keep.
The door is adorned with wolf heads, with a knocker in the mouths. They knock. A voice speaks through the wolf's head and invites them in. They enter and meet Dr. Heinrich Dominiani. He hypnotizes and talks to Clara and then sends her off with his assistants (who look like monks). Clara's last words before being sedated by the monks are, "rope, wood, and red cloth." The same words have been floating through Ludovic's mind for days.
Heinrich studied at the University of Il Aluk and asks where "Dr. Carpetello" studied. Duffy tells him he studied at the University of the Mists, which Heinrich has not heard of. Heinrich does know Saulbridge Sanitarium and a doctor there. Duffy tells Heinrich what he remembers of Saulbridge from when he and Leif and Ludovic visited there on the trail of the Mordentshire Miser. Samuel tells him that Ludovic is crazy and hears voices and sees things. Ludovic does not deny it, but refuses help at the moment. (?) The doctor admires Kukri; he has a penchant for wolves.
They eat dinner without the doctor, who joins them for dessert, rice pudding. They talk about situation with Akriel and such and the crown. Heinrich tells them that he was preparing for an expedition to find the crown. Samuel throws the fake crown onto table in front of Heinrich, but to Samuel's dismay, it magically changes to the real crown in midair, leaving the fake crown back at his belt. With the cat out of the bag, they decide to test if Dr. Dominiani has the "heart of the king." Heinrich puts on the crown and Leif sees that his staff veers away from him and Heinrich is protected. The doctor is overjoyed that the crown is found and he will soon be reunited with Akriel. He agrees to talk more in the morning.
Monday, June 26th, BC 707
Dr. Dominiani's Keep, Gundarak
Everyone goes to sleep in the doctor's guest tower, but they keep watch.
During Samuel's watch, he wakes up Duffy early so he can go out. Samuel goes
downstairs to go investigate the crypt in middle of the night, but the door is
locked. He goes down to the kitchen and finds it full of rotting food. In the
sleeping quarters finds four "monks" lying down, motionless underneath blankets
in very neatly made beds. He wakes one up, but it ignores him. Realizing why,
and realizing that they have ignored him all along, Samuel bashes its head in
with his hammer. It's a zombie. He kills the other three "sleeping" and takes
a head upstairs to show the group.
The group mobilizes and begins to explore the house. Duffy "examines" all the locked doors and finds that they open pretty easily. There is one vial of blue liquid in the monk bedroom on a shelf. The liquid radiates magic of the enchantment school. In the kitchen, there are two crates, mostly empty but with remnants of spices. A third crate has fresh food: figs and pheasant. There are also three barrels; the first holds fine wine. The second and third are filled with black soil. When spilled over, the soil gets stuck in some cracks in wall, revealing a door that leads into a cylindrical secret room. The room has a mound of black-brown tar in the middle with beetles flying about. Leif recognizes it to be bat dung. They close the door and back out.
Downstairs, they find a room with lots of bottles full of liquid and a chemical stench. Kerri detects no magic in bottle room; she picks up some parchment on a table. The top sheet says "The Powers and Abilities of The Crown of Souls." But the second sheet says only "death", the third page "death," and so on down the stack. Kerri feels a bit woozy but shakes it off. Inspecting the bottles, Kerri takes some that seem useful: Hazlani quovusp root, Forfaran cat's tongue root (a truth syrum), hen bane, ether (which the monks used on Clara), "cure light wounds" (but suspiciously, it doesn't glow with magic). There are several bottles labeled Formula A, B, C, etc. Just in case, she scoops up the formulas corresponding to the first letters of each of their names.
Also downstairs, they find a library with lots of books. It is very dusty. In one book, "Flowers found in Barovia," is a key! Leif finds a map of the whole world from before the Great Upheaval. It looks quite different than the world they know. Several of the nearby countries have been labeled with a name or symbol:
On a chair whose back was toward Leif (Creepy!) he finds a black quilt with strange runes on it. He picks it up with his staff, but leaves it behind. There is the smell of recent smoke. Next to the chair is a table, where Kerri finds two worn gold coins. There is a book on the table, "Life or Death: A History of the Crown of Souls," that explodes and burns Ludovic when he opens it. After it is unlocked and read, they find a note: "You didn't think I would leave such an important document here, did you, Akriel?" Leif finds a book entitled, "The Legend of the Dark Lords," which he takes to read later. Ludovic finds some letters.
Tuesday, June 27th, BC 707
Dr. Dominiani's Keep, Gundarak
Morning has broken. In the corner of the Throne Room, they find a secret room
with a coffin, which they smash and burn. In a room upstairs, they get
attacked by a bunch of bats. Ludovic kills several of the bats with an ice
burst (?) while the others run for safety and slam the door behind them. They
consider going to the crypt now but look around the stables first. Night seems
to be falling earlier than expected. In a locked room near the stables, they
find a weapons rack of rusted old weapons, and a keyhole. The key from the
library fits, revealing a small semicircular room with a ladder that
apparently leads to the park outside.
Leif and Kukri stay behind. Leif starts to read his new book about the dark lords and finds out that the Dark Lords are imprisoned by the land, but given great power within their domain. Some domains are as large as a kingdom and some as small as a house or room. The others explore outside, and find the garden is full of people and "monks". The people seem sick, with vacant expressions. Ludovic and Samuel kill all the "monks", over Duffy's protests that they shouldn't. Kukri tells Leif that it is ok and that he can defend himself. Leif goes up the ladder and starts to explore. In the back of the garden, Leif finds a cave behind the waterfall with people chained up in it. Some of them are undead, and Leif and Samuel destroy them.
Heading back toward stables, they see that the horses are safe. Leif chats it up with them and asks if the stables are safe to leave Kukri in. One horse says, "a scary looking man passed through those doors. He looked very scary and evil." Another horse confirms, "Yes he was." Unbidden, words float through Ludovic's thoughts, "rope rope rope, bag of sand."
Further exploration reveals a room under the castle's tower. It leads to a long hallway. At the end of the hall, Samuel sees a scary statue of a vampire. The entrance to some kind of laboratory is hidden underneath the statue. The lab has four alcoves, and in the middle is a cauldron. In a cage they find a snarling goblyn and let it out to fight it. To their horror, they see it's wearing Clara's clothes. They sedate her and Kerri gives her some Forfaran cat's tongue root to find some answers. They find out that the crown turned her into goblyn.
In one of the alcoves, they find the Crown itself and a letter to Akriel, detailing a plan to invade Kartakass with an army of goblyns created from the patients in the garden, using the Crown to lower the border. Oddly, it is signed Daclaud Heinfroth. On a shelf Samuel finds a magically cold bowl of ice, cooling a clear liquid in a jar as well as several labeled vials: "tears of a ghost", "powdered essence of a vampire's love", and "strands of weariness". Leif eventually finds some notes on the powers of the Crown of Souls. Samuel tastes a tiny bit of the cooled liquid; it tastes meaty. (Unbeknownst to anyone, it is chilled cerebral fluid). Nothing can be done for the girl, so Samuel puts her out of her misery. She doesn't resist.
They are about to leave when they see that where their rope was tied, the exit is now blocked by the statue. A mist pours down from a grating in the ceiling near Ludovic and forms into the shape of Dr. Dominiani. Teeth bared, the vampire attacks, grabbing Ludovic and sucking some fluid from the back of his neck. Climbing up on the ceiling, he drops down on Duffy and his touch drains away his life energy. Ludovic is locked in a contest of wills with the vampire whose voice reverberates in his mind, spurring him to attack his friends. Thinking quickly, Kerri pours some water into Leif's chalice to throw at the undead horror, but Samuel, Duffy and Leif pummel him with their magic weapons and he retreats into mist form. They give chase into the throne room and see him standing in the red light of the stained glass window bathing in the moonlight, which seems to heal him. Kerri splashes the chalice water on him, which burns his flesh. Ludovic continues to fight off his mental influence, refusing to be dominated. Samuel tries to push him out of the healing light but he dissolves into mist again and flees as dawn breaks.
Wednesday, 28th, BC 707
Dr. Dominiani's Keep, Gundarak
The party runs toward the crypt to finish the vampire in his weakened state.
Only Kerri notices a cluster of bats circling the tower and the others run too
far ahead to hear her. She flies up to tower, magically sprouting bat wings.
The bats ignore her as one of their own and she flies inside and sees a stone
coffin and a hanging gold brazier and other treasures including a helmet and
runed sword. With a wooden stake at the ready, she bravely pulls open the
coffin and stabs Heinrich in the heart! She pours more chalice water on him
and it seems to sizzle. Kerri pushes the doctor's whole body out the window
and it dissolves under the sunlight. Only the wooden stake clatters to the
ground far below.
Meanwhile, back in the crypt, Samuel charges through a ghostly figure trying to block his path and sees a casket in a room that feels full of dread and evil. Opening the casket just a crack, he's pulled inside with great force. He is trapped inside and all he hears are voices moaning "voish-laka." Ludovic stops to talk with the ghost outside the crypt, who says "The spirit of the vampire will take all! Do not go in! It will make you one of them!" Leif smashes the coffin with his mighty strength hoping that Kerri wasn't too far behind to see his muscles in action. With each blow of his staff, the coffin bleeds and Samuel's voice screams in pain. Eventually it dissolves into a puddle of blood, and Samuel is inside covered with goop. Leif thinks he might have heard a thank you but isn't sure. Exploring the rest of the crypt, they find only a bunch of old bones.
Returning to the keep, they see Kerri glide down from the tower on her bat wings, wearing an ornate helm and carrying the runed sword. She fills them in on her vampire slaying. They climb up to take a look at the marble boxes that were in the tower chamber. Two of the chests are trapped with poison darts (Kerri identifies the poison as Hag's crepe - good for headaches in small doses, but large doses are bad. She knows not to touch it with hands.) Duffy works his magic with the locks and traps. Kerri detects no magic. One chest is filled with nonmagical gold coins. They are not worn like the two they found the other day. Samuel opens the second chest, it is filled with gold as well. Samuel then opens the third chest, it is filled with gems. In the fourth chest, Samuel finds platinum pieces. In the end: 2200 gp, 900 pp, and a bunch of gems (about 2000 gp worth). Each person's share is 180 pp, 400 gp, and 400gp worth of gems. Kerri's runed sword is magical but the helmet isn't.
Breathing a sigh of relief they stay at the keep for a day to rest and relax. Going back to library, Ludovic and Samuel find a book on pine trees, a novel called The Dead Travel Fast, and a book entitled The Eight varieties of Lycanthrope. Duffy holds on to the crown.
Kerri and Ludovic go to Teufeldorf, while the rest of them stay on the outskirts of the town waiting for them and protecting the crown, to tell the townsfolk that the doctor is missing and to help the people in the park. There are no bookstores, no potion stores, one general store, and a gem smith. Ludovic considers inquiring of the wizards at the Twisted Tower, but decides against it. While waiting, Leif reads a little more in his book about the dark lords. There is some speculation that there is no place in the world untouched by the dark lords' influence.
Thursday, 29th, BC 707
Dr. Dominiani's Keep, Gundarak
Stuck with the crown, still in the past, and apparently betrayed by Akriel,
the group decides to head toward Skald for some answers, and sets off on
the four-day hike.
Friday, June 30th, BC 707
Gundar Road, Gundarak
The beginning of the trip is uneventful.
Saturday, July 1st, BC 707
Gundar Road, Gundarak
Leif tries to teach Kukri how to guard again but didn't succeed. Maybe
next week.
Sunday, July 2nd, BC 707
Gundar Road, Gundarak
Someone notices they're not healing as quickly anymore. Perhaps it is because
they're in Gundarak and not Kartakass?
Monday, July 3rd, BC 707
Skald, Kartakass
The party arrives in Skald, taking the third toll bridge this time, which
is only one copper piece! (Bargain bargain! 1 sp total for the group!)
They try to get a room at the somewhat seedy "Fireside Feeshka Inn," and
overhear that Meistersinger Clieous won the singing contest for mayor once
again. Someone remembers that a Mr. Lukas is the owner of the Old Kartakan
Inn! Based on Heinrich's map, they suspect he's a "dark lord!" Knowing
that they are walking into the wolves' den, they go back to the Old
Kartakan Inn, and as hoped, Akriel is there drinking from a goblet at the
bar.
Following her warily into the secret room where they met before, they give her the note from Heinrich, revealing her involvement in his evil scheme. Her face starts to crinkle and she transforms into a dashing gentleman. Leif is really freaked out by this. He's going to have to double think where his crushes go from now on or just not have them at all. The former Akriel introduces himself as Harkon Lukas, Akriel's father. He suspected she was plotting against him as usual, and took her form to find out more of her plans. He also tells Leif he would appreciate not to be hit in the groin again and briefly turns into "Jacob" and back into Lukas again. He reveals that he uses that face when he doesn't want to be recognized, and that the real Jacob is a bard in Harmonia that was duped by Akriel once.
Ludovic notes that he's wearing a magical cloak, magical bracers, and many other trinkets. When asked about the Immortals, he mutters, "You are working far from home, Wizard King." He tells them that The Immortals is another name for The Kargatane, a secretive group loyal to Azalin Rex of Darkon. He tells them that the Crown is not linked to his family. But it is very dangerous and he cannot allow it to stay in Kartakass, but he is unable to do what must be done. South of Kartakass is the Misty Border of the world, where the Crown came from, and where they can throw in to be destroyed. They now resolve to take the two-day journey to the mist to throw away the accursed Crown.
Tuesday, July 4th, BC 707
Harmonia, Kartakass
A day of uneventful traveling leads them back to Harmonia. Duffy and Kerri
come up with a wild thought to explain their trip to Kartakass. They
remember the last thing that happened in the present, and the strange
objects that Ludovic has been thinking and wonder, have they never left
Juste's Theater? Have they been performing in a play without their
knowledge all this time? And for whom? What evil beings would watch such
a play? They spend a few moments trying unsuccessfully to prove or
disprove this theory, but in the end resolve to see their task through,
regardless, hoping that if they are correct, ending the play will end their
imprisonment. The spectre of this theory will hang like a shadow over them
for their remaining time in the past.
Wednesday, July 5th, BC 707
Mistwood, Kartakass
At the edge of the Mistwood, the group is disheartened to see hills where
the mists should be, according to the map, but they keep trodding. Kukri's
services are required again to get the Crown across the border. In the
distance, they see a village with a swirling storm of mists on top. The
wind builds as they start to approach the village, which an old sign
declares to be "Homlock." Rows of skeletons form a wall around the town,
which Samuel tries to walk through, hoping they'll ignore him, but they are
not fooled by his cold body, and attack. He proceeds to smash them, but
for each one he destroys, many more take its place. Eventually even he
concedes it's hopeless and they look for a way around the wall. Kerri
flies over the town, seeing a church on the ridge behind the town. She
meets up with the others and they scale the ridge.
There is a bit of discussion between investigating the temple or simply jumping into the column of mist descending from the storm above to the ridge. Most of the group wanted to jump right in, but Samuel wanted to investigate the church and the others decided to give him an hour to do so. Duffy couldn't believe he was actually going to follow Samuel, but noted that Samuel had actually been right a few times recently. The church turns out to be infested with goblyns and undead, including more of the flaming skeletons. Kerri flies up to a window and sees a captive man being tortured by the skeletons, with a snarling goblyn suspended over his face. The group attempts to rescue the victim. Kerri flies in the window and whips the goblyn to death, despite her fear of the flames. Leif pulls the man to safety beneath a bed while he and Samuel smash the skeletons. Ludovic and Duffy are delayed by a group of hanging zombies out front, who cut their nooses and attack. Samuel catches a fireball full in the chest but fights on, heedless of his own safety. Duffy reaches the battle just in time to dodge another fireball that comes within inches of sending his gunpowder up like a Rokushiman firework.
After the battle, they talk to the man they saved, wary for any more deception. His name is Hardok Cann, a member of an Order known as the Knights of the Circle. They are the sworn paladins of Belenus, the god of the Sun, and defenders of the land of Avonleigh, who are currently locked in battle with Mudar Absang, Grand Caliph of the Southern Empire, an evil king known to use the dark arts in battle. Hardok was sent by Lady Kateri Shadowborn, the leader of The Circle, on a mission to confirm a rumor that the necromancer of Homlock had crafted a weapon for the Caliph. Leif remembers that they have a journal of someone named Alanna Shadowborn found in the haunted town of Southmoore.
Hardok traveled here to Homlock from Avonleigh, which lies fifty leagues to the east, and he found that the necromancer, who once had a tower here, did in fact make the weapon, in the form of a crown, but was killed by the Caliph when it was completed. But after finding this information, he was unable to return home. The river he had followed to get here had disappeared. Thinking it a trick of the necromancer, he returned to Homlock, but the town was infested with monsters, and he was captured. He fears something terrible is happening, and for the first time, he feels disconnected from his god, and this land.
After freeing Hardok, they look around the rest of the temple, finding his weapons in one of the rooms. They reach the main chapel, which seems to be decorated with bones, and find that some sort of ceremony is taking place, with the witch Radaga, now a rotting undead creature, playing the organ and some undead horror leading the ritual. The party, along with Hardok Cann, storms in to put a stop to her evil once and for all. Samuel tangles with the ceremony leader, who drains his energy with each touch, while Ludovic blasts the altar with a burst of magical ice, killing the goblyn assistants. Duffy takes aim with his new musket from across the vast room and blasts the witch in the chest. Seeing Kerri's beauty, Radaga is enraged at what she has lost in her dark pacts, and dispels the magic spell covering Kerri's scars. Leif takes advantage of the distraction to beat her with his staff. Duffy runs her through with Ezra's Mercy, and Samuel throws one of his hammers at her, which lodges in her forehead, slaying her.
But as soon as she falls, a mist pours out of the crown and infuses her body, twisting it into the shape of a goblyn which rises and speaks. It thanks them for slaying Radaga, last of the Daegons, a line of evil necromancers. With her death, he is finally free from inside the crown. When asked who he is, he responds, "I am Daglan, the first Daegon, and now you will die!" He raises his arms to cast a spell, but the crown leaps up to block it with a blinding flash of light.
...
When the light fades, they hear roaring applause. As they had guessed and feared, they are on a stage, and the red curtain falls.
Previous