Sunday, November 25, 652 AU

The following morning, Fergus arrives at The Pinnacle and rejoins the party. They talk more about the plight of Kyasha’s Vale and speculate about what happened to Silverdale. If Neesha’s cult was responsible for sabotaging The Pool of Tears, could they also be responsible for Silverdale? Both Aurelia and Valya are interested in exploring the ruins.

They get more information about the moorbounders from the barkeep. The moorbounders are usually kept in check by Caranthiax, who terrorizes them back to the eastern foothills of the valley. However, the moorbounders came down from the hills in large numbers a week ago and have been ravaging the countryside ever since.

Qhask informs the barkeep of Caranthiax’s death, which comes as a shock. The party then tell the barkeep that it’s possible The Pool of Tears will flow once more, giving a brief account of what they know, and in exchange he tells the party a rumor. Apparently, Prince Calvin Fentris, younger brother of Queen Oriel, has been staying in Crystalport as an honored guest of the Daykin family, who are the rulers of the city. Last Friday, at a ceremony for the Feast of Rhoklo, someone poisoned his drink. A healer happened to be present and was able to heal him, but just barely—he’s still very weak.

They thank the barkeep for the information (Fergus seems to be more amused by the news than anything), and head for the north gate. On their way, Qhask notices someone in the crowd. A woman is standing there, wearing robes the color of dried blood, trimmed with gold. She’s wearing a blindfold of a similar color, yet Qhask is certain she’s staring right at him. Someone in the crowd walks between Qhask and the woman, and when they pass, the woman is gone. Qhask informs the rest of the party about what he saw, which they all find disturbing.

Once out of the north gate of Tavin, they make their way along the main road to Crystalport. Farms and merchants line the road, growing denser as they approach the outskirts of the city. Fergus talks to several of the farmers, who tell them more about the attacks on the train. They claim a mysterious druid leads a group of rebels who camp somewhere in the Osorin Forest, and that they’re avenging the clearcutting of the forest to make way for the train. The farmers seem conflicted about this. On one hand, they believe the disturbance to the forest is what caused the appearance of the shadowy beings in the woods. On the other hand, the train has reduced transportation time and costs for their produce, and has made goods from Eth’alorei more affordable.

After a while, Crystalport comes into view. The inner city is surrounded by a thirty foot wall, but the city has continued to grow and there are large portions entirely outside the walls. Looming over everything is the palace at the heart of the city, with tall towers capped with some reflective stone that glitters like a crystal. In the distance, the party can see Corentin’s Mirror.

When the party approaches the south gate of the city, they’re stopped by the guards, who ask them to declare any magic items they have on their persons. No one has any, aside from Aurelia’s amulet and the eggshell. She shows the amulet to the guard, who calls over a mage to check it out with detect magic. The mage peers at it a moment and says it’s divine, not arcane, and therefore not contraband. Seeing that Aurelia is clearly a cleric of Soleil, the guards seem satisfied and let them through, not bothering to check their bags.

Once inside, their first stop is the Temple of Soleil. They find it in the main square, across from the palace grounds. Inside, they are greeted by a priestess named Arabella. Aurelia asks to speak to the high priest, and Arabella leaves to check if he is available. She returns a few minutes later, then leads the party down a few hallways to the high priest’s chambers. The high priest, Cedric Daymirror, greets them from behind a desk covered in paperwork. He welcomes Aurelia and her friends to Crystalport, and Aurelia explains that she is on a pilgrimage to bring Beatrice’s remains to the main temple in the capital. She also tells him about the amulet.

Cedric is surprised—it’s common knowledge that Beatrice died in the Underdark on a quest to stop an invasion of the surface. He’s also concerned about the party’s theory that cultists of Neesha were behind the incident at the Pool of Tears.

The high priest then asks the party if they are willing to help him here in Crystalport. Apparently, every year someone goes missing in early December. Sometimes the victim is from Crystalport, sometimes they’re from Rimehollow, and less often from somewhere else in the valley. It’s not known to the general public, but the church has known about it for at least a decade. They’ve tried to discover the cause, but their divinations don’t reveal anything. The victims are usually never found, but three years ago a woman vanished, and three weeks later her body was discovered on the shore of the Blackwater. The body was waterlogged, but most disturbing was that she appeared to have been turned undead at some point.

He asks the party if they would be willing to help uncover the plot before this year’s victim is taken. The hands of the church are tied up in bureaucracy, but the party is free to snoop around wherever they can. They agree, in exchange for rooms at the temple. Cedric agrees, and Arabella leads them to their new chambers. Valya makes a large donation to the church as thanks.

⁂

Their next stop is a blacksmith to repair Valya’s armor and weapons, which were damaged by their encounter with the oozes. On their way, they see a bulletin board in one of the squares with several posters:

• A woman named Maggie Cavalier wants adventurers to search the Osorin Forest for her missing son.
• A local herbalist wants a rare plant called “beholder’s eye” from the hills west of the city.
• The city guard is looking for information about the cause of the moorbounder menace

They take a note, and continue on.

Valya quickly finds a reputable-looking smithy with reasonable prices, and leaves her rapier there to pick up the following day. She asks the smith if he knows any master sword-smiths around, and he mentions the Kildare family in Rimehollow. He also mentions that one of them, Bilu Kildare, runs an academy in the city for swordsmanship. Valya thanks him.

The party then heads to the east wall of the city to talk to the city guard. The guardhouse is built into the city wall, and is well-fortified. They are stopped near the entrance by two guards. The guards are dismissive of them, and when they hand the guards the letter from Klabrog, they roll their eyes and grudgingly send another guard in to check if the captain is busy. A few minutes later he returns and says the captain will see them—he tells the party it’s their lucky day, and leads them inside.

They are lead to a room in the back, where the Captain of the Guard, a tall, imposing, yet out-of-shape man, is shouting at a group of his lieutenants while gesturing animatedly at a map of the city on a large table. He turns to greet the party and introduces himself as Captain Evan Woodmore. They all introduce themselves, and then explain to Captain Woodmore that there is a hydra in—

“A hydra?! In the city?! Where?!”

“Not in the city, sir,” says Aurelia. “It’s in Kyasha’s Vale.”

The captain visibly deflates. “Oh. A hydra in the city certainly would have been a worthy challenge, but Kyasha’s Vale is out of my jurisdiction…”

“The hydra is what caused the Pool of Tears to dry up, and it’s still there, guarding it,” says Valya. “Kyasha’s Vale doesn’t have the resources to deal with it which is why we came to you.”

“Ah yes, well, perhaps we can spare a few soldiers. We’re stretched thin at the moment, assassins in the city, as I’m sure you’ve all heard by now… But wouldn’t it be glorious to fight a hydra?” He rises even taller and gestures wildly at his men. “Surely we can spare a hundred of our best men to fight such a formidable menace? No, five hundred! Our names will go down in history! For glory!” He raises his fist. None of his lieutenants follow suit, and several glare at the party.

“Sir, it’s likely that there is no hydra,” says one lieutenant. “What proof do they have? And we can’t afford to spare any more troops—we have to protect the train, and it’s likely that there will be another attempt on Prince Calvin’s life.”

“To hell with Prince Calvin, Kargan!” shouts the captain. “There is a hydra on the loose! Why, it could rampage through the gates of our city any day now!” The party neglect to mention that the hydra has not once left the vicinity of the pool.

Lieutenant Kargan turns to the party. “Do you have any proof that this hydra exists?”

“We do,” says Valya. They show them the hydra scale and the eggshell. “This is a scale we took from the hydra’s lair, and this is its eggshell, which the cult of Neesha clearly performed rituals on.”

Captain Woodmore gasps. “Undeniable proof! Surely we must do whatever it takes to defeat such evil cultists! Every second we spend debating, the hydra claims another victim!”

“I like this guy,” Fergus whispers to the others.

Much shouting between the Captain Woodmore and Lieutenant Kargan ensues. Kargan turns to the party. “Will you excuse us?” he says as he motions for a guard to escort them out of the room.

Out in the hall, the party hear the shouting continuing. It’s difficult to make out exactly what they’re saying, but the party periodically hear Captain Woodmore shout “HONOR!” and “GLORY!” at the top of his lungs.

A few minutes later, the door opens again and Captain Woodmore motions them inside, a smile on his face. “It has been decided! I and three of our best men will travel to Kyasha’s Vale in ten day’s time. On the fifth of December, we ride! I’ve been dealing with paperwork and politics for far too long—a true warrior is not meant for a desk! It has been far too long since my sword last tasted the blood of evildoers!” He gestures to a jewel-encrusted sword handing on the wall.

“Why ten days from now? Why not today?” asks Fergus.

Captain Woodmore makes a face of realization, as if Fergus makes a great point, but Lieutenant Kargan interjects. “We need to prepare for the captain’s absence. I will serve as Captain of the Guard while Captain Woodmore is on his journey.”

“It won’t be for long,” says Captain Woodmore. “I shall defeat the hydra or die trying!” Lieutenant Kargan gives the party a big smile from behind Captain Woodmore’s back and mouths “thank you” at them as they are again escorted out of the room.

⁂

Back on the street, Fergus smiles. “Well, that went better than expected. Captain Woodmore seems to know what’s really important.” Everyone else agrees, relieved that someone is taking the threat seriously (except for Valya, who stresses that this is a really bad idea). They decide to spend the intervening time training, and split up to pursue various errands.

Valya goes to the Kildare Academy of Swordsmanship and takes lessons from Bilu Kildare, practicing with her double-bladed scimitar that she does not yet have the skill to use in combat. Bilu is a severe, strict teacher, and Valya learns a lot on her first day.

Qhask heads to a relatively quiet square to practice his archery and agility training.

Aurelia returns to the Temple of Soleil and meditates in a quiet room, with sunlight streaming through a skylight in the ceiling. During her meditation, she experiences a strange vision:

First, Aurelia sees a fiery object streaking through the night sky. It’s not the sun—it’s much smaller, and it has a tail. A comet?

Then the vision changes. She sees a familiar tiefling in white robes—Beatrice. She is suspended in a void by two chains with shackles, one on each wrist, each extending out into the void as far as the eye can see. Aurelia cannot tell what the chains are connected to. Beatrice is struggling against the shackles with a look of immense pain on her face… or is it concentration? Aurelia can’t tell if Beatrice is being pulled apart by the chains or if she is trying with all her might to pull the chains together.

The vision changes one last time. Aurelia sees a woman, her eyes closed, her skin damp, lying on her back. Suddenly, the woman opens her eyes, and Aurelia sees with horror that her eyes are milky white, with no pupil or iris.

Aurelia finds herself back in the meditation chamber, puzzled and disturbed by her visions. What could they mean?

Fergus, meanwhile, visits the farmers outside the gates of the city to learn more about the situation in the valley. He learns a few things. First, that Caranthiax usually terrorizes the moorbounders back into the foothills of the eastern mountains whenever they make their way back onto the plain, and that the farmers don’t know why she hasn’t done this already. Second, no one is sure if the druid leading the attacks on the train can really be trusted—if he and his followers live in the Osorin forest, why don’t they get attacked by the shadows? Are they in league?

⁂

Later that day, Qhask and Fergus realize that they never told the town guard what they know about the moorbounders. They return to the guardhouse and are directed to speak with Lieutenant Kargan.

“You know,” says Kargan “I have to thank you for getting Captain Woodmore out of the city.”

“And why is that?” responds Fergus, suspicious.

“Captain Woodmore has never been good at his job. His head is perpetually in the clouds… sometimes I feel like all I do is babysit him and put out the fires he starts.”

“So you think you can do better?” asks Fergus.

“Oh, I know I can do better. I’ve gotten to where I am through hard work. Do you know what it takes to make it to my position as a commoner? Captain Woodmore got his job handed to him on a silver platter. He’s never been in a real fight.”

Qhask can practically hear the record scratch in Fergus’s head. “Wait… Captain Woodmore is a noble with no combat experience?!”

“Were you not aware? One needs connections to become Captain of the Guard. In any case, I believe you’re here because you have information about the moorbounders.”

While Fergus’s mind is reeling, Qhask fills Kargan in on the details of Caranthiax’s demise. Kargan seems genuinely shocked and distraught by the news. “I had no idea… and you say the fiends are potentially still lurking in the mountains? I’ll have to divert even more troops. Thank you, truly, for the information.”

⁂

That night, the party gather at an inn where Fergus regales the patrons with songs, trying to work in as much anti-aristocratic content as he can without raising too many eyebrows. They trade information about what they’ve learned—Aurelia is disheartened to learn that Captain Woodmore is a bureaucrat with delusions of grandeur. Valya had already suspected as much. “He’s going to get eaten by the hydra,” she points out.

Fergus’s performance goes well, and he makes 1 gp in tips. They decide to head back to the temple for the night. Fergus excuses himself and says he will join them later. He heads to a different part of town, waits in a particular square, and is soon approached by a hooded figure. He gives a password, and the figure pulls down their hood. It’s Harmony. “Good to see you here, Fergus.” She leads him through a few more streets to an unmarked door and raps on it in a few times. A sliding slot on the door opens, and a pair of eyes scrutinizes them for a few moments. Then the slot slides shut and the door opens.

Fergus is led inside into a common room of sorts. About a dozen people are here, including one whom Harmony introduces him to.

“You can call me Perrit,” says the man. He’s in his forties, with short brown hair and a stern face. “Harmony says our ideals might be aligned. What do you think of the way the nobility has been managing Whitestone Valley?”

“Well, I think they don’t care about the people at all. They just extract as much wealth as they can and leave everyone to fend for themselves. They’ve got half the town guard protecting one guy just because he’s the Queen’s brother, and meanwhile they’ll only send four people to deal with a hydra that’s guarding the most important source of healing magic around!”

Perrit smiles. “I like your enthusiasm. Harmony has informed us of the hydra situation. It is such a shame the way the ruling class chooses to prioritize. Now, what do you think of the Wood Scorpions’… methods?”

“Well, forgive my asking, but was it you who tried to assassinate Prince Calvin? I think you have to do what you have to do to make the people see that the nobles aren’t invincible.”

Another smile. “Fergus, I’d like to ask you for a favor. But it’s something I can only ask if I can trust you to keep a secret. My friend here”—he gestures at a tall, bald man in red robes with runes tattooed on his head—“will ensure that you do not speak of what we are about to discuss.”

“Sure!”

“Excellent.” The man steps over and begins casting a spell. A few moments later, a faint aura of light glows around Fergus, then vanishes. The man steps back into the corner.

“Now, Fergus… Yes, we are responsible for the attempt on Prince Calvin’s life. He has been staying with the Daykins for over a year now, and they’ve been using taxes taken from the people to throw lavish galas in his honor and impress the other nobles with their ostentatious wealth. It’s obscene. Our assassin failed. But they’re throwing another gala this Friday, and I would like you to distract the town guard while we do what must be done. It needs to be something big, something that will tie them up for an hour or so. Harmony tells me you’re very resourceful—I’m sure you can think of something.”

“Oh, I have a couple of ideas. What happened to the last assassin?”

“The previous assassin is no longer relevant.”

“Oh. I see.”

“I trust in your abilities. We’ll be watching you with interest, Fergus.”

“I’ll do my best. Oh, and if you know a woman named Maighan O’Toole, will you tell her I said hi?”

Perrit smiles one last time. “If I meet such a person by that name.”

Fergus is ushered back out into the street, and returns to the temple.

Monday, November 26, 652 AU

Everyone accompanies Valya to the blacksmith to pick up her newly repaired rapier, and then to the leather district where she drops off her armor for repairs. Then they head to Maggie Cavalier’s house to get more information about her lost son.

Maggie Cavalier greets them at her door, and ushers them inside. She is clearly distraught, and mentions that her son, Elias, liked to go to a clearing in the Osorin Forest where his father used to meditate. She’s warned him lately not to go, because of the rumors of the shadows, but one morning she found his bed empty, and she assumes he snuck out around sunrise. He didn’t come back by sunset, and she’s worried something horrible has happened to him.

They ask where the clearing is, but Maggie can’t explain very well. They get a vague idea anyway, and Qhask thinks he should be able to find it without too much trouble. Maggie also tells them that Elias is likely wearing a red tunic.

They head to the east gate of the city and head for the forest. It only takes a little over two hours to make it to the forest. As they get closer to the tree line, the farms become more and more sparse, until they are walking through uncultivated grassland. Qhask thinks he catches a glimpse of someone following them, but no one else sees anything.

The forest is dark and eerily quiet. Aurelia casts light, but that only seems to deepen the shadows. They get the feeling that this is no longer a place where the sun is welcome. Qhask leads them to where he thinks a clearing is likely to be, based on the topology of the forest. As they walk through the dense foliage, they can almost hear whispering voices.

After around half an hour of searching, they see light up ahead. They find a clearing, and as it comes into view they see seven mossy standing stones. The sunny clearing stands in stark contrast to the shadowy forest. In the standing stones they see a young boy in a red tunic. He’s initially scared of the party, and tells them he’s not going to fall for any more “shadow tricks”, but seems to believe that they won’t harm him when they prove they can enter the circle of standing stones.

Elias Cavalier explains that he likes coming to the circle because it reminds him of his father, but that he was unable to leave because there are frightening shadows in the woods. Aurelia assures him that the shadows won’t harm them and that they’re going to return to Crystalport.

“I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere,” says a voice from the shadows.

“Who’s there?” asks Aurelia. Valya decides to sneak into the woods and surprise the unknown man.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re in our way. But not for long.”

As Valya stalks through the shadows, a figure suddenly leaps out from behind a tree and stabs her in the shoulder with a dagger. Valya cries out in pain, and her attacker—now revealed to be a man wearing a black cloak and the symbol of Neesha around his neck—fires a ray of frost into the clearing.

Aurelia tells Elias to stay behind her in the circle while Qhask fires arrows at the cultist and Fergus retaliates with dissonant whispers. The cultist, dodging from tree to tree, laughs at Aurelia. “Too frightened to step into the dark, priestess?” Aurelia tries to hit him with a fire bolt, but misses.

Valya has more luck hitting the cultist, until another dagger attack brings her down. The cultist gives a cruel laugh. “Who’s next?”

Qhask and Fergus manage to land a few hits on the cultist, and soon it looks like they have the upper hand. However, they begin to hear the whispers from the forest grow louder, and several shadows join the fight. They swipe at Fergus and Qhask, leaving behind icy wounds and sapping their strength.

Aurelia decides to bring out the big guns. She holds up her holy symbol and channels Soleil’s might, and a flash of light kills two of the shadows outright and reduces the third to a wispy, fragile state. “Sssssunbringer…” whispers the shadow in anger. Elias looks wide-eyed at Aurelia.

Another few attacks and the cultist is brought down. To everyone’s horror, the remaining shadow slithers into the cultist’s body and animates it, taking stumbling steps toward the party and swinging the dagger wildly. But the shadow is weak, and after a few more attacks the body falls down, motionless, and a wisp of black smoke filters out of his mouth and vanishes.

Aurelia revives Valya, and then everyone gathers around the cultist’s body. They remove his hood, and make a disturbing discovery—they’ve seen him before. He was one of Klabrog’s men!

“Has he been following us since we left Kyasha’s Vale?” asks Valya.

“It seems so,” says Aurelia.

They hear more shadows whispering angrily in the trees, so they return to the magic circle and rest for a while. They note that the circle of standing stones is quite old, and that each one has a different symbol carved into it, just barely visible after centuries of wear. Six of them represent the six principle gods of Castalia, but the seventh is a strange rune that none of them recognize.

After everyone has rested (except for Fergus, who was too disturbed by the whispering—ironically for someone who spent the battle casting dissonant whispers) they leave the circle, with Aurelia in the lead and carrying a stick with a light spell before her. No shadows dare to attack them, and soon they are out of the forest and back on the grassy, sunlit plain.

Another few hours, and they have returned to Maggie’s house. She thanks the party profusely and offers to reward them with 4 sp, but the party declines.

⁂

Aurelia returns to the Temple of Soleil to speak with Cedric about their encounter. Cedric is very concerned that the sightings of shadows aren’t just rumors, and that they physically manifested and attacked them. He seems to remember something, and urgently asks Aurelia to accompany him to the temple library.

Once there, he searches through the books until he finds a large, ancient tome. He pulls it off the shelf, brings it to a lectern in the middle of the room, and flips through its pages, muttering to himself. “Ah, here it is. Aurelia, look.”

Aurelia peers at the book and sees drawings of shadows eerily similar to the way they appeared in the forest. Cedric continues, “I knew this whole shadow business sounded familiar. It’s been so long since I last read of the heroic deeds of Beatrice’s company. Shadows appeared in her time, too, though they were seen north of the mountains, around the entrance to the Underdark where she met her fate. People reported seeing them for months before anyone knew anything was wrong… but what they are harbingers of, I do not know.”

“Thank you for this information. Though it is troubling.” says Aurelia.

“Indeed. I truly hope the events are unrelated, though the signs appear similar.”

Aurelia returns to her meditation. Meanwhile, Valya returns to the Kildare Academy to resume her training, and Qhask continues practicing his archery.

⁂

Fergus, meanwhile, has other plans. Once the rest of the party is asleep, he sneaks out of their quarters at the temple. He returns to the Wood Scorpions hideout, and is let in at Harmony’s request. Once allowed inside, he speaks to Perrit. “I have an amazing plan for a distraction, but I’ll need some help.”

Perrit raises an eyebrow. “Oh? And what plan might that be?”

“I think I have a way to kill two birds with one stone. We’ve got that hydra in Kyasha’s Vale, right? And we need a distraction in Crystalport, right? Well, why not teleport the hydra into the town square? That’ll occupy the guard for a good while.”

Perrit’s other eyebrow raises. “That is… Marex, how feasible is that?” The man with rune tattoos on his head furrows his brow, as if doing intense mental calculations.

After a few moments, he speaks in short, clipped sentences. “The standard teleport spell requires a willing target. Arcane gate doesn’t have a long enough range. The true gate is far beyond our capabilities. It’s not promising in my estimation.”

“Thank you, Marex.” Perrit turns back to Fergus. “It’s a nice thought, but I’m afraid we can’t help you. You’ll have to think of something else.”

Fergus looks at Harmony, who shrugs, and then back at Perrit. “Sure, I can think of something else.”

“See to it that you do—this might be the last gala the prince attends in Crystalport before he returns to the capital. I would rather it be the last gala he attends, period.”

Fergus nods, and is escorted back out onto the street. He makes his way back to the temple, and sneaks back into his room, with no one the wiser.

Tuesday, November 27, 652 AU

That morning, before they even have breakfast, Fergus receives a sending from Harmony. “This is Harmony. Think hydra idea is great. Remembered info I came across. Vargrath Keep might have teleportation tablet. Meet out back twenty minutes.”

Intrigued, Fergus meets Harmony behind the temple. She explains that Vargrath Keep was owned by some rich family before it was mysteriously abandoned, and that they were known to keep expensive artifacts and curiosities in their family vault. Rumor has it that among those artifacts was a tablet of teleportation, which they could use on the hydra. As far as she knows, it’s still there—Crystalport has never formally investigated the place and the locals are too afraid to approach it.

“Unfortunately,” Harmony finishes, “The tablet can only send its target to a teleportation circle. And the only teleportation circle I know of in the city is in the court of the royal palace.” She gives Fergus a conspiratorial smile.

“That’s fantastic. I’m sure my friends will come with me if I tell them I heard rumors that Neesha cultists are using the place.”

“Yes! I can get a boat to bring us there as soon as everyone else is on board.”

And so, under the false pretense of investigating cult activity, the party agrees to explore Vargrath Keep.

⁂

Fergus and Harmony sell the party on the idea pretty quickly. They say there are just a few cultists using Vargrath Keep as a base, and that they can just go up there, clear the place out, and be back before mid-afternoon.

They head down to the docks on the northern end of the city, and Harmony introduces them to an old sailor named Morgan Green. He agrees to take the party as far up the Osorin River as the rapids will allow for 25 sp.

Once out on Corentin’s Mirror, far enough away from land, Morgan casts unseen servant to help him manage the sails. “My father taught me that. But don’t tell anyone!”

It only takes them four hours to reach the river and travel a few miles upstream. Vargrath Keep is within sight, high on a cliff overlooking the dense conifer forest that crowds around the river. Once they can go no further, they anchor the ship. They discuss their plan, and they all agree to have as early a start as possible the following morning so they don’t have to worry about being in these woods—or the keep—at night. They spend the rest of the day training. Aurelia meditates, Qhask fires arrows at the trees, and Valya practices the techniques she has been learning at the academy.

Wednesday, November 28, 652 AU

Early in the morning, they disembark and enter the dark forest, leaving Morgan behind to mind the ship. They make it only a hundred feet before they hear the moaning of the undead. Qhask sneaks forward to investigate, and is shocked at what he finds. He calls the rest of the party forward.

What they find is a zombie, but it doesn’t attack them. It can’t, because all the skin on its arms, legs, and head has been flayed back and affixed to a tree with dozens of nails. The skin on its chest is unflayed, but someone has carved “GO BACK” into it. The zombie wiggles its limbs ineffectually at them.

“This is… monstrous,” says Aurelia.

“We should put it out of its misery,” suggests Valya.

Aurelia agrees, and burns the zombie to cinders with a few fire bolts. “These cultists have to be stopped.”

Harmony and Fergus look at each other nervously. Are there actually cultists here? That wasn’t part of the plan!

They begin ascending the hills, and after half an hour of strenuous climbing they find themselves facing the keep. It’s footprint is roughly diamond-shaped, with two of the walls flush with the edge of the cliff it’s built on. The other two outer walls meet at a corner in front of the ruined grounds, among shattered glass and fallen masonry. The entrance is at this corner, and appears to be shut tight. There are five stories of windows.

They decide to bank on stealth. Valya takes a grappling hook out of her pack and throws it through a third-story window. It catches tight, and she climbs up, motioning for the others to follow. One by one, they all climb the rope and enter the keep.

They find themselves in an old bedroom, lit only by the sunlight streaming in through the broken window. It appears to have once been a bedroom, though all the furniture is half rotted through after decades of exposure to the elements. There’s an attached bathroom, and a large set of double doors that they presume leads into a hallway. There’s a faded portrait on the wall of a man, a woman, and a young girl—below the portrait, the frame reads “Cecil, Lena, and Iris Sharpe.”

There’s not much of value left among the debris, but they do find a steel box under the bed. It’s locked, but Aurelia doesn’t detect any magic coming from it, so Qhask forces it open with a crowbar. Inside, they discover a small velvet bag with several gems, a stack of old letters bound in twine, and a silver hairpin with several gems set into it. Qhask pockets the items for later inspection.

Next, they carefully open the double doors and discover it does, indeed, lead to a hallway. It’s dark, damp, and the carpet is half full of holes and patches of mold. There are sconces along the walls that once held torches, but they are now empty. There are several other doors, but all are closed.

Valya decides to inspect the door across the hall. She places her ear against it, and listens. She hears something! There are two voices, one raspy and one gutteral. The gutteral voice asks “When do you think the food will be served? I’m starving.” The raspy voice responds “Patience, Hamog. Tharruk would never make his guests wait for long. And he always serves delectable food before the festivities.”

Valya returns to the others and whispers what she heard. Presuming the inhabitants are undead, they decide to bust down the door and catch them by surprise.

Valya kicks down the door and finds a room very similar to the one they just investigated, except it’s occupied by a ghoul and a skeleton. They seem surprised to see Valya, and don’t have time to react before the rest of the party fires arrows and magical attacks at them. They quickly retaliate after that, though, and the skeleton is barely hurt—it seems resistant to nonmagical damage. The ghoul swings a large battleaxe at Valya and Harmony, and the skeleton backs into a corner and starts casting necrotic bolts.

It doesn’t take long before they’ve killed the ghoul, and the skeleton, surrounded, raises its hands. “I yield!”

“What are you doing here? Who is Tharruk?” asks Valya.

“My name is Xatriq,” replies the skeleton. “I am an honored guest of Tharruk, master of this place. You will regret what you have done here! You will regret harming me!”

“We heard you talking about “festivities”,” says Aurelia. “What were you referring to?”

“Oh, Tharruk is planning something big this year. So many years of progress, and after all this time, it comes to fruition! The world will change, mark my words! You’ll be sorry then!”

“Tell us exactly what is going on here,” says Valya. She points her sword directly in Xatriq’s face.

“Gah! Please, I beg you, do not harm me! If you leave me be, I promise I will not tell Tharruk of this! And I can tell you things, dark secrets to make you powerful, if you free me—”

“Enough!” snaps Aurelia. “Do you have anything useful to say?”

“I’ve never been privy to the exact details of Tharruk’s plans, but if you only free me I can—”

“This skeleton is useless,” says Valya.

“Agreed.” Aurelia casts a final fire bolt at the skeleton, and it disintegrates into ash.

They don’t have much more time to think before they hear a voice from the northern stretch of the hallway. “It’s not often our food delivers itself to us.” Aurelia and Fergus, who have been in the hallway for most of the battle, see a handsome man, seemingly in his twenties, approaching them with a smile. However, he’s probably much older—they know this because his smile reveals razor-sharp fangs. “Hey! My name is Leander, right-hand man of Tharruk. I’m sure he’d be delighted to meet his… unexpected guests.”

“Uh, guys? I think that’s a vampire,” says Fergus.

Leander frowns. “Don’t make a scene. I really don’t want to have to clean your blood off the walls.” ❦