The Metamorphosis

The Expeditionary Force travels to the lands of the Legion of Albion on the invitation of Elector Elizabeth Pendragon to attend the trial of Jacob Goblar, the Cataphract who used deadly force on the unarmed Lady Alecto in 1292 BA. Upon their arrival, they once more encountered the vampire Lily Dale. Having regained her memories and powers, she told them her tale; she was a vampire working as an archivist in Lyverva when it was destroyed. She used her powers to save as many people as she could, but her body was destroyed in the resulting magical explosion, as was her masters. However, as she is such an old vampire, the blast was not enough to kill her, but with the higher magics gone, her regeneration was painfully slow. The awakening of the higher magics of Ásaterra woke her before she was ready, which is why she was unable to use most of her powers and why she could remember nothing of her past. Many were suspicious of her, but she earned the trust of a few of the Expeditionary Force members by aiding them in tracking down the fragments of an amulet which could be used to purge Spyder of Daemonic influence. She also asked for help regarding her master and sire, Trent Silk. She said that he was acting irrationally and violently and that she believed there was something wrong with his vampiric binding. The Force agreed to investigate it for her.

The Expeditionary Force focused their efforts on seeking out the pieces of the amulet. It was originally created by an ancient daemon hunter and used to purify those corrupted by Daemonic energies. However, a daemon had stolen it and broken it into pieces. The hunter spent the rest of their life searching for it, but only ever found one. With Lily’s information, the Expeditionary Force they attempted to retrieve all of the pieces of the amulet, while having to defend themselves from the daemonic forces sent by Spyder and Alecto, who were drawing near.

   While the camp was at lunch, a woman calling herself ‘Lorelai’ approached them, claiming to be Spyder’s aunt, despite her young appearance, and asking if they knew of her whereabouts. The woman’s nervous disposition and poor attempts at lying raised the suspicions of many party members, especially Dante and Vivian of the Circle. They quizzed the nervous woman, but their questioning was interrupted by the arrival of none other than Trent Silk. He tried to reason with some of the less hostile faction members, explaining that he had believed they had kidnapped Lily, and that his only goal now was to discover who had destroyed Lyverva. However, on smelling Lorelai, he suddenly attacked, claiming that he’d smelt her scent before; when the library was destroyed. The factions tried to intervene, eventually driving Trent away, leaving a distraught Lorelai who claimed to have no understanding of Lyverva’s destruction. Although they were unable to learn much from her, there was one word that she accidentally let slip: ‘the Fae’. Meanwhile, the trial of Jacob Goblar was held, and it was decided that he would be executed. The next morning, the Expeditionary force assembled, and Jacob was led out by members of the re-established Templar Order, under the command of Grandmaster Robert, to be executed by his former Cataphract comrades. However, in a shocking turn of events, before the Cataphract executioner could behead him, she was stabbed in the back by one of the templars, who cut Jacob free. All of them fled, hotly pursued by the faction, but they escaped. Later, the factions encountered a gravely injured Grandmaster William under attack from more of his brother’s templar forces. The factions rescued him, and he explained to them that his brother had decided that magic was too unpredictable and must be purged; even lumomancy. Templars with magical resistance had turned on their brother order and killed many of them under the command of Grandmaster Robert himself. The Expeditionary Force aided William and helped him to escape his brother’s troops.

   Finally, the factions managed to locate the last piece of the amulet, guarded by the trapped spirit of the ancient daemon hunter himself. The amulet was reforged by a grafter of talismans and was ready to be used against Spyder. The factions geared up for battle and took to the field to confront Alecto and Spyder and their daemonic army. The fight was hard, but Conrad of the Guild succeeded in exorcising the daemon possessing Lady Alecto. However, during the battle the amulet was stolen by Nykterion of the Guild and his lover Suli for reasons unknown. Nkyterion had transformed Suli into a vampire like himself earlier that day, which several faction members had vehemently opposed. Furious, several members of the Force hunted them down using Suli’s binding item. Nykterion attempted to trade the amulet for the binding item, but somehow violence broke out, and both he and Suli were slain…or so it appeared. Unbeknownst to the factions, Nykterion had broken his bonds, setting loose his true vampiric power. His ‘corpse’ suddenly disappeared into mist, and he vanished, leaving the factions shaken. Returning to the battle with the amulet, they were finally able to subdue Spyder, and purge her of the daemonic influence which had overtaken her.

Whilst in the lands of Albion, members of the faction’s Legion members were approached by the Legion of Albion, who asked for their help in winning possession of the settlement of Silverton over the Legion of Karak Anor, who was also staking a claim. They argued that the town had valuable silver resources which they needed in order to fight off bandits in Broad Oak Forest.

When the factions arrived in Albion, they were approached by a woman calling herself ‘Ellaria’, who presented the Guild with a mysterious box. They were charged with protecting it for two days and not opening it, a task at which they succeeded. When Ellaria returned, she revealed her true identity as the Western Councillor, Susanna Magrino, and she gifted them with a devotional item as a reward.

The Circle of the Arcane were also approached by a member of their faction; Sanoleth Myg’den of the Heluder, or ‘witch hunters’. They were tasked with helping the Circle improve relations with Albion by hunting down a group of rogue necromancers who had broken the laws surrounding resurrection, a task in which they succeeded.

### Outcome

Spyder and Alecto were both freed from their daemonic influence, but Alecto was traumatised to the point that she retired from the Expeditionary Force. Spyder, in shame, retreated to the Webway Tavern. The factions discovered the truth about Lily Dale's history, and that there was something wrong with Trent Silk's Binding. The met Lorelai, and learnt that she was connected to Spyder and the destruction of Lyverva; and also that she may be connected to 'the Fae'. The faction came into conflict with Trent. The newly reformed order of Templars split into two factions; the followers of Grandmaster Rober (the 'True Templars'), who believe that magic must be purged, and the followers of Grandmaster William, who use lumomancy. Jacob Goblar escaped justice, joining forces with the True Templars. Suli was killed by her own comrades, and the Expeditionary Force is in search of Nykterion who waits somewhere out there, unbound and seeking vengeance.

The Guild of Croesus earned a devotional faction item, and the approval of Councillor Susanna. The Legion are left to decide whether Albion or Karak Anor should have Silverton. The Circle of the Arcane impressed the Heluder. The Dark Sun forged strong relations with the vampire Lily Dale.