Episode 99: A Murder of Crows

Joining forces with the Chief Regent and the students of Nightstone, the Heroes of Bingle are set for a massive conflict with the invading demon hordes. But as crows continue to gather around the battlefield, do they herald something much, much worse on the horizon?

##### DM/GM Intro

It started as a simple Dungeon Run, but it has become a test of heroism. These 5 adventurers could never have imagined that walking into an abandoned dragon's lair would lead them to this moment. Facing off against a horde of demons the fate of an entire city in the balance. Some are born heroes, some become heroes, and some have heroism thrust upon them. So it was with these heroes of Bingle,when they found The Secret Keeper's Amulet and became the most important people in all of Aïn. For Aïn is a world in peril and its erstwhile protectors, the 100 foot tall elementals known as The Wardens, are missing. 300 years ago The Great War of Ideas ended and 5 champions of the realms gave up their lives to transform into the Wardens . Everything that came before, all knowledge, advancement and understanding was lost. Only a few memories remained hidden in the subconscious of the Wardens waiting to be unlocked and the key to unlock those secrets was The Secret Keeper's Amulet. So, with the help of a group of wizards known as the Natural Order, the heroes of Bingle traveled across the realms tracking down the Wardens and investigating the group that had captured them. They found the lightning infused Storm Warden held by a mad scientist inside a floating sky tower, the fiery Inferno Warden trapped by an amphibious warrior at the bottom of the sea, and the aqueous Typhoon Warden guarded by a cunning thief inside a bubbling volcano. All of these cites and all of these opponents overseen by the shadowy spellcaster Kalkata Theed, the Ashen Mage. The team managed to defeat members of that cabal and free each of those 3 Wardens, but not before Theed was able to extract their power and use it for her own nefarious purposes. Atop Skyscorcher Peak the Ashen Mage challenged the heroes of Bingle offering Fahima Tadhg a place by her side. But the proposed alliance angered one member of the cabal who retaliated by smashing a strange urn. The resulting blast allowed the team to escape but unleashed a terrible scourge upon the land. Demons, appearing out of nowhere roam the countryside laying waste to anything in their path. Though none of these vile creatures seem familiar, the heroes of Bingle did encounter a Demon Lord before. As they approached the Dwarven stronghold that led into Skyscorcher Peak they were mysteriously transported back in time, 22 years, and deposited into bodies that were not their own. While displaced in time they tracked down an ancient treasure; gold, jewels and the hilt of a weapon called the God Slayer Blade. They investigated a castle on the Isle of Rum, a dark and disturbed location situated on an island near a body of water that drove sailors mad. An island relocated, it is said, by the Quake Warden himself. There they uncovered a mystery that led them into a pitched battle with the Lord of Crows, a sinister being of malice and hate. Fortunately they managed to banish it back to the dark dimension from whence it came. That trip to the past is also when Uggo began his journey toward becoming a Paladin of the Candle Queen. After rescuing a group of captives from a vicious band of Yuan-ti, Uggo introduced one of them to the Goddess of Truth extoling the virtues of devotion and offering a path away from rage. After returning o the present, Uggo made his own powerful choice to turn away from rage and embraced the Candle Queens warm glow.

When the team discovered that Uggo's brother Brakka had entered into a strange symbiosis with the demons that appeared near Thorn, they journied to the city of Uggo's birth to investigate. To save the citizens from calamity Uggo was forced to dethrone his brother and take control of Thorn, but to show his people a path away from rage required a momentous sacrifice. Giving up his barbarian abilities Uggo converted to a full Paladin of the Candle Queen, albeit one considerably weaker and more inexperienced then his teammates. When the team returned to James's hometown of Terlis they found the demons coordinating in a way they had not yet seen. Assaulting the city en masse, the creatures decimated the Shantytown beyond the walls and overwhelmed Terlis's Northern gate. As a safety precaution all magic had been outlawed in the city, but the heroes of Bingle chose to violate the Moratorium on Magic to beat back the demon horde and provide the city an all too brief respite from the violence. They prevailed upon the Chief Regent of Terlis, Persta Samuels, to lift the Moratorium and allow the students who spell craft at Nightstone Abbey to aid in the city's defense. But Samuels was convinced that the heroes were criminals themselves as they had been framed for a murder they did not commit. She ordered them detained and only Uggo and Siv were able to evade capture. Lily, James and Fahima were thrown into an underground prison alongside Jorl, a long suffering merchant who had been arrested for associating with them. Siv and Uggo ran back to Nightstone Abbey where their allies, wizards of the Natural Order named Hermil Fesh and Torvalt "the timid", were researching ways to assist in their quest. But Siv and Uggo were furious, they railed at the wizards inaction and threatened to side with the demons if Fesh did not convince Persta Samuels to release their friends. Meanwhile James, Fahima and Lily made their case to the Chief Regent from inside jail presenting evidence and perspective for both their own innocence and the efficacy of the Moratorium. But at the very moment Samuels was ready to declare her verdict, burrowing demons erupted from under the floor large and terrible creatures that slaughtered the prison guards and nearly killed Samuels herself. Luckily the team was able to escape from their cells and battle the vile monsters. Rushing out of the prison they quickly became aware of the scope and magnitude of this new demonic invasion. Across the skies winged fiends visited destruction on the city bombarding buildings with sonic blasts, plucking towns people from the street, and butchering the city guard. The heart of Terlis was under seige. Across town Siv and Uggo noticed this as well, realizing they sent Hermil Fesh into a warzone they dashed out after him finding the wizard under assault from a vicious creature with icy claws. When Siv arrived he received the brunt of the attack and became infected by a wicked poison that froze his body solid. Reluctant to run the gauntlet of demons back toward Abbey, Uggo and Fesh carried frozen Siv away from the worst of the invasion and into the basement of Orcish things, the Orc themed novelty shop on the outskirts of town. There in a candle lit cellar an Orcish cleric healed members of his community in secret. It did not take Uggo long to recognize this cleric was Floryog the same Orc he had met time traveling 22 years in the past and introduced to the Candle Queen. While Floryog was shocked by the revelation he agreed to heal Siv and allow Fesh to remain sheltered in the basement. But Siv's return to his normal temperature was not without its side effects, though alive and alert, his Tabaxi fur now carried a bluish tint that did not fade.

Split and separated by some miles both factions of the heroes of Bingle decided to make their way back to Nightstone Abbey to regroup. Upon arrival they found Torvalt "the timid" had already gathered the students to await instructions. they congregated inside the spacious foyer at the entrance of the Abbey. Persta agreed to lift the Moratorium and allow magic users of Nightstone free reign to engage the demon invaders with every evocation they could muster. But the heroes of Bingle were not so sure, they worried that leading the charge to defend the city could be their end. That instead of risking their lives they should once again flee Terlis and leave the citizens to resist the demon horde on their own. For on his way back to Nightstone Abbey, Siv had spotted something that sent a chill up his freshly thawed spine. Crows...behaving strangely, otherwordly, as if sent to observe, to spy. Heralds of an evil they had seen before, the Lord of Crows. James decided to risk madness in an attempt to question his dark Patron, Shothragot. The warlocks benefactor revealed that the demons were hunting for the God Slayer Blade, the very hilt the team had retrieved from a Terlis vault. They considered ridding themselves of it, or using it as bait to lure the demons away from the city ultimately, they decided to stand with the citizens and defend Terlis. To use the firepower of the assembled  students of Nightstone to beat back the horde and strike down a powerful Demon Lord. As we ended last week, Persta Samuels made an impassioned speech rallying the spell casters to fight for Terlis, for Aïn, for justice then she extended her sword and pointed the arcane army out into the dimming light of dusk.