Lost Shames & Clearing Names

Thumbnail for Season 2 Chapter 11 featuring Anthony

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 11: Lost Shames & Clearing Names, the voice in Ka'imi's head returned with new details about the fall of Manasami – the town that once lay within the heart of the Ebbwoods centuries ago. The murdered caretaker, who'd been falsely accused of necromancy, had a sister who was a powerful wizard – and upon returning home to find her brother dead, started down a path of vengeance.

Rather than attack the people directly, she traveled underground to a network of abandoned tunnels dug out by Frost Worms long before the city was established. Using transmutation magic, she weakened the foundation of the rock – and after years of pressure building and building, Manasami collapsed into the giant sinkhole where it rests today.

Again the voice was unsure of how this history of old was related to the curse – but he believed we'd find answers in the ruins, which was also looking more and more like where the Lodestone might be located based on early indications from Orba's compass that she received from Ichabus Altimari.

Treading deeper into the woods, uneven terrain necessitated a switch to traveling on foot – and also made it more difficult to spot traps, which we had reason to believe the Kobolds of the area had set throughout the forest.  In the distance we spotted someone we thought had fallen victim to such a trap – but instead it turned out he'd entered it voluntarily, a surprise that was overshadowed by the realization of who exactly it was.

We'd last crossed paths with Ravi Magomet just after leaving Urin-Chupa when he was stationed at a Broken Crown checkpoint – and now he was searching the Ebbwoods for someone caught up in what he thought was a conspiracy in Qotil.  He too was headed for the ruins and we were happy to have another skilled sword by our side – though it was important to Ravi that we not spook his quarry, thus preventing us from finding out why he'd come here.

Down the craggy slopes of the forest we went, the leaves changing color before our very eyes. It wasn't long before the rumors of this place being haunted became reality: tortured spirits appeared in ethereal form, wailing and pleading as they relived the horrors of the great collapse. It was hard to resist the temptation to ease their suffering, but in doing so several of us were afflicted with a Bane of the Ebbwoods – a malaise that made us feel as if they'd borrowed a bit of our life's essence.

Hurrying forward in an attempt to put their cries out of our minds, we thought we'd stumbled upon a lone Kobold scratching symbols into a tree – but it turned out to be a kind of researcher in a rather elaborate (and convincing) costume. Theokis had come to the Ebbwoods to study the reptilian humanoids – and while we got the impression he was collecting more than just data, he did turn out to be a solid source of information.

In addition to identifying several of the markings we'd spotted, Theokis confirmed that the man Ravi was pursuing, Malyk, had passed through very recently – so we thanked him for his help and made for the Ebbwoods crater, which was fast coming into view.

As if the ground had opened up to swallow it whole, the ruins of Manasami lay hundreds of feet below: ravaged structures and crumbling facades that were once home to a vibrant community, now chilling and ominous in their stillness.  Because of the near-vertical sides of the crater, the only ways down that didn't require magic were climbing or using one of the crude Kobold lifts that had been installed by these crafty creatures.

Playing it safe, we decided to take the lift in two separate groups.  First Safira went with Ravi, who took this moment of privacy to admit that he was in a stickier situation than he first let on.  When they reached the bottom, Ravi spotted something moving through the haze that looked like it could be Malyk just a stone's throw from where they stood – and not wanting to let him slip away, the two of them gave chase.

Graven, Ka'imi and Orba stepped onto the platform next – but a small pack of Kobolds emerged at the tree line and even quickening the pace of our descent couldn't get us out of range from vials of poison that they hurled over the pit's edge. Orba blocked one attack with the Shield spell, but Graven was not so lucky – and as he felt the caustic substance wash over him he began to fade from consciousness.

The effects had less to do with the poison's potency and more to do with the fact that it was sourced from a Chimera – which caused flashes of Graven's troubled past to overtake his mind.  He toppled from the lift and Orba and Ka'imi leapt after him – and they drifted to the ground with the assistance of the Featherfall spell.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: four natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by Jordan and Matt, and 2 by Erica.