Session 33: Ivasar

*"Abandon all hope..."*

The four of us overlooked a desolate hellish landscape that echoed Sacena.  Standing atop a cliff we surveyed around us, familiar but unnerving… it was not my home but a shadowy copy.  Where the river would have lay, a dry chasm cut through the landscape.  Tunnels erupted throughout the land, leading to the corpses of massive worms.  Some had been killed by spears while others were turned to stone.  But all seemed to crawl to the crater, where the inner city would be if it were Sacena.

No doubt a massive battle had occurred here.  The dead lie scattered everywhere, monstrosities, humanoids, scorpions large as houses crisscrossed the landscape.  In the fog of the distant mountains there seemed to be a faint buzz of activity.  But the book of Yearning and Sacrifice pointed us south, towards a bright circle of grey light, standing out among the gloom, untouched by the litter of death.

What else was there to do?  We started out towards the circle, the book beckoned us and  Ember was adamant.  The gloom obscured our vision, but we made out groups of flying creatures patrolling in the sky.  A faint buzzing filled our ears.

Passing by one of the scorpion-like insects, we investigated.  I could discern nothing except that the scorpions were not creatures but constructs.  The Duegar wore uniforms, and seemed to be unified in fighting the elves, but the Shadar-kai seemed to be of two different sides.  Some bore the symbol of Ishtar, and the others something else, but seemed to be less corrupted.

Continuing on our way we came across a monstrous creature, not one of the human-faced worms but something from the fey.  It once flew as evidenced by its wings and long tentacles hung beneath its huge bulbous belly and massive maw.  I peered into its maw and although it was long dead it still gave me the shivers.  But indeed it was from the Fey, a bespoken one, an unnatural creation, created by ones of great power to serve them.  The magic spark was plain to see in its mouth, the same insignia on the back of the leshen that attacked the Hooded Lantern’s at Templar’s Gate, the symbol of the Winter Queen of the Fey!

But from the gloom a shadow golem appeared no doubt attracted by our noise.  I cast a quick moonbeam, cutting through the light, causing it to bellow in pain, but the shadows soon reformed.  With great stealth, Viter hacked at the shadows carving out smoky chunks.  Gimurt resolutely stood his ground, pounding away to great effect.  Ember bathed it in sacred flames, burning it away.  The golem let loose with a cone of shadows engulfing Viter and Gimurt but to little effect, with the experienced adventurers shaking off the worst of it.  Viter finally finished it off, piercing it through the mouth and deep into its head.

Unfortunately our fighting and fire had attracted the attention of the buzzing creatures which resembled a cross between a dragonfly and a wasp.  We quickly hid and bore into the corpse of the huge bulbous insect.  On their backs rode the Shadar-kai, but they looked different from those that we fought earlier.  Two of them wore armour and carried spiked chains, but the third was unarmored and without a weapon.  They spoke in disparaging tones about Duegar but they seemed to think that we were enemy Shadar-kai.  Ember was unable to hold her stomach and choking on her own bile she coughed and drew their attention. Alerted they prepared a spell of Detect Magic and moved closer to Viter and Gimurt.  With their spiked chains they tore at the rotting flesh exposing Gimurt but he burst into action and hammered down.  While playing dead Viter had his javelin taken and tried to get it back, flailing around at first, but then grabbing the Shadar-kai and tumbling into an ungainly tussle.

The battle was vicious, with many wounds exchanged.  Magical energy crackled through the dimness and Shadar-kai spiked chains entangled and bit deeply into flesh.  Things were looking grim until I was forced to unleash a freezing cone of cold, turning one into a grotesquely twisted icicle, turning the tide.  Ember followed up with a well timed blast shattering another.  The Shadar-kai caster sensed the advantage slipping away and seemingly summoned a flyer with its armband and fled.  Searching them we found written orders, to search for the “Orb of the Shadar-kai”, apparently a small sphere of cold iron.

We finally came to the circle of grey light but found it actually to be paved stone.  Here and there little automatons kept the circle spotless.  The scene felt alien yet familiar, reminding us of a town square.  Gimurt recognized this place as Scragglers’ Market in Sacena, but now known as Slaughterstone Square.  A place with a well earned name and of ill omen, as a horrible monster made of metal preyed on all living that pass through.  Here as well, a massive construct covered with metal spikes, and amongst them impaled creatures of all sorts.  Its heavy steps clanked on the stone, full of the promise of violence while it patrolled methodically.

The book beckoned us to the middle of the square and we made a mad dash towards the middle where a pool of water lay.  It moved to intercept us, picking up speed and ghostly apparitions extended from its armor, howling in terror.  But before we met it stopped and almost seemingly nodded to Viter and returned to its patrol.

The pool was actually an illusion, a deep hole. At the bottom were three symbols engraved in the stone.  One was the symbol of the Vox Somnia, what Lacrecia Mattias had named Viter.

A barrier blocked us from getting closer.  But what lies beyond?