Story 2/8

The session started just after a deafening scream was heard from the keep after the alter in the guard barracks was disturbed. The group talked for a minute, and entertained the idea of posing as corrupt city guards and claiming they had thwarted an attempt to disturb the altar (the StarWars plan as it were). They sent Hawkmoon to scout, and she saw a black swirly cloud moving towards their location.

They decided to run and regroup nearby. After having a few minutes to regroup, they decide to put Andor's armor on Beorn, and have Beorn try the StarWars plan with Monashe and Geistsabel as prisoners.

When they reach the guard barracks, they find a cloaked figured adorned with tons of random objects (skulls, trinkets, orbs and such). He is examining the altar but not touching it. Beorn and Monashe walk up, and they do a pretty good job convincing him of their plan. Unfortunately, Monashe accidentally describes a Shardmind, which are very rare, and it raises the man's suspicion, The man says they are going to torture Monashe (the fake prisoner) for information, and that Beorn (the fake guard) will get further orders at the keep.

With the StarWars plan starting to unravel, Monashe kicks a turkey leg bone on the ground at the altar, and Beorn shoots an arrow at the man. Combat starts, and the man takes his first opportunity to disappear and summon 4 black crystal warriors. The black crystal warriors bear resemblance to the black crystal in Beorn's vial. Once destroyed, the warriors break into 2 smaller shards. The group discovers that hitting the crystal warriors/shards with the Green Vials seems to damage them. The group uses Green Vials to dispatch every single smaller shard, leaving black puddles of water on the ground.

After the fight, they find no trace of the man. Monashe discovers that when you put the black water on fire, it extinguishes the fire and crystallizes. He takes 1 vial of black water for later. The group decides to go towards where they think Amaras is. They run into some city guards under Amaras on patrol, and they take them to Amaras.

Amaras and his team of about 130 have set up a rudimentary wall out of overturned carts and rubble. There are small skirmishes between them and nefarious people in the keep, but no major engagement yet. Amaras's group doesn't have the siege equipment required to realistically break into the keep.

The group tells Amaras about what they found, and he is pleased with their information. He is upset that they hired a betrayer (Andor), but the group decides to pay Andor 50 extra gold and release him from service, and Amaras arrests him right after. Beorn suggests they get into the keep with StarWars version 2, but Amaras has a different plan.

Amaras found a sewage tunnel of stagnant sludge that isn't being guarded from the outside. He wants to take is men and attack the front of the keep, which he knows will fail to open the gate from the outside, but it should draw attention that direction. He then wants the group to enter the keep through the sewage tunnel, and open the gate.

The group decides the sewage tunnel is the better plan, and they make preparations to enter the keep.

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