Session 77

## Session 77 - Side-Story, Part Twelve.

### Locations:

* Daelroch Repose, A Heavily-Fortified Manor House outside of Lampkin, Pelgate Barony.

### PC's:

* Hugh Mayne, Young Nobleman
* Bug, Orcish Spirit-Talker, late of the Sundered Lands
* Leopold Caedford, former Kellosian Inquisitor turned Investigator
* Rast Gunderwhyle, former Watchman, Caedford's partner
* Arik Sunderlands, Orcish Adventurer and member of Kellos' inner circle.

### Prominent NPCs:

* Lady Jayne Pryor, a former hostage turned assassin turned ally
* Emricht Pryor, Lady Jayne's estranged brother and Innominate Agent

## And Now...

Following some uncomfortable dinner conversation, our host is revealed as Lady Jayne's brother, Emricht. In the ensuing shock, Leo attempts to clarify the precarious situation the siblings have found themselves in. His view of the facts is, unfortunately, violently rebuffed by Emricht, still in thrall to his Innominate Conditioning. Before any further discussion can be had, Emricht vanishes, presumably leaving us to our fate...

### Unexpected Reinforcements.

As Emricht is enveloped in shadow and folded out of existence, Rast attempts to conjure the holy light of Kellos and direct it towards a mysterious source of dark magic somewhere below us. The spell fails to go off as expected, due to the unholy miasma of shadow about the place, but unexpectedly manifests a blinding figure of light in the centre of the dining room.

Momentarily, the light resolves into an armoured Orcish warrior clad in Ancient Kellosian Regalia and wielding a kind of ornamental flail.

The spell would appear to have had an adverse effect on Lady Jayne as she has taken on a badly sunburnt appearance. As Hugh tends to Jayne, Leo attempts to catch Arik up on their current predicament. Arik takes in as much as he can, but is disconcerted by Jayne's presence. Briefly, he attempts to proselytize at her, but is dissuaded by Leo, who suggests that there may be time for that later.

The armed attendants, briefly dazzled by the magical illumination, had recovered their wits enough to attack the group. Without hesitation, Arik intercepts the initial charge as Rast joins in the fray. Leo watches on at a distance, examining the guards' fighting style until he is able to give Rast some advice on technique. Meanwhile, Hugh continues to assist Jayne, who seems to be recovering quickly.

### Journeys in the Darkness.

A short time earlier, Bug is being accosted by a lone sentry. Swiftly, they are able to get the better of the sentry, sending him plummeting to the lake far below. Scrambling to the ledge, Bug sets up several sturdily-secured lines for the rest of the soldiers to follow before commencing work on getting the door unlocked. This is a doddle, thanks to having access to the guard's keys, and the group proceeds through the doorway into the dark and labyrinthine tunnels beneath the Manor.

After some back-and-forth navigating the tunnels, Bug and their retinue discover a hidden staircase leading upward. As the soldiers ascend the staircase with Bug leading the way, strange noises can be heard behind them. One soldier manages to exclaim that there's something invisible in the stairwell with them which is stealing their breath away.

In response to this, Bug conjures up a ball of incandescent light which successfully reveals an animated shadow. While the shadow immediately flees, more sounds can be heard from below. The spell may have attracted some unwanted attention.

### Pressing the Advantage.

Between Arik's full assault and Rast's able support, the guards were beginning to falter. As Jayne recovers and begins to pick off outliers with her thrown knives, this becomes a defensive withdrawal. Sensing the turning tide, Arik abandons his shield and goes on the offensive, leaping at the guards and laying about himself with his flail, smashing guards to the ground. The remainders, terrified, break and flee in blind panic.

A sudden rattling noise seems to herald to suits of armour animating, but before they can do anything, they fall apart and collapse harmlessly.

Rast asks Jayne if she's able to locate her brother. Thinking briefly, she informs him that Emricht has escaped into the Shadow Realm. She says that she can pursue him, but that the other would not be able to accompany her. Rast ask about the magical energy source beneath them, and she explains it's a vast portal into the Shadow Realm, that Emricht is fleeing towards it. Again, she says she can pursue and try and cut off his retreat, but Rast thinks it's better that they all remain together.

With that in mind and hearing about the portal, Arik offers to bless the group. With Leo and Rast joining their wills to his, he's able to break through the ancient evil all around them. Arik explains that he can help them battle their way towards the portal, but as they grow closer to it, he can feel his grasp on the present day weakening.

As the group presses on towards the portal, guided by Jayne, they begin to hear strange, dry whispering sounds coming from the walls all around them.

### Onward and Upward.

Spurred on by the sounds behind and below them, Bug and the soldiers redouble their progress up the stairs. Reaching the top, the guards spread out, with one discovering a sturdily-reinforced secret door. As the sounds behind them continue growing closer, Bug charges the door, splintering the boards but failing to break entirely through.

After two or three attempts, there's enough of a break for Bug and the guards together to pull the door apart. They emerge into a shadowy corridor and head towards the sounds of battle, believing it to be their allies.

### Into The Darkness.

The whispering around the group grows louder as shadowy claws emerge from the cracks in the walls around them. Arik, Rast and Jayne to what they can to keep the clawed forms at bay, but eventually, the group's forward passage is entirely blocked by swarms of clawed, shadowy humanoid figures. Forming a defensive circle, all five do what they can to clear the passage ahead of them while guarding their back from rear attacks.

Leo has grabbed a torch from a sconce and, after lighting it, lunges at the shadows, trying to keep them back. Rast summons luminous golden chains and entangles several shadows, pinning them in place against the walls. Arik's brazier, flail carves a swathe through them as they slowly advance. Hugh, who has grabbed an ornamental candelabra, uses it to set a nearby tapestry alight. The light fills the room and momentarily allows the group to surge forward.

In the light from the blazing tapestry, the group see Bug and the soldiers advance. Seeing Hugh's actions, Bug sets fire to an item of furniture and uses it to drive the shadows back, allowing the guards to form up with the rest of the group.

Thus reinforced, the group is able to continue driving forward. While they're able to keep the shadows at bay for the most part, almost all are suffering minor wounds and cuts from the shadows' claws and exhaustion is beginning to become a factor. Many of the soldiers are on the verge of collapse. Rast suffers a grievous wound and, in trying to heal it, Arik finds himself unable to take a breath. Bug is able to drive the shadow back with a fragment of flaming door and can restore Arik with magic, but in doing so, seems on the verge of unconsciousness before transforming into a small, sandy-coloured wildcat. Hugh has lost his candelabra and is slashing desperately about him with a sabre and a silver stiletto from Evie's handbag.

Jayne declares suddenly that her brother is nearby and shadow-teleports away to confront him. Leo anxiously cries out, "We need to drive forward! We can't let her confront him alone!" Everyone rallies for a final surge forwards as Rast and Arik conjure a holy light to cover the groups' rear.

This final push eliminates the last of the shadows, as the group collapses in a small ante-room and catches their breath. Like Arik before him, Hugh has suffered some kind of wound and is unable to catch his breath. Rast, low on resources, leans heavily against a wall and tries to recoup some of his energy. Leo moves over to try and help him. Most of the soldiers have fallen. Arik, nearing the end of his ability to help, invokes Kellos and a radiant glow fills the room, healing everyone who can be helped, filling us all with a holy vigour.

### Gathering our Reserves.

The group elects to send the soldiers who remain back. Their weapons are unable to affect the shadows for the most part, so they are given directions back out and are told to rejoin their allies and do what they can to protect the barony and the Pryors. After the soldiers leave, the group moves on, finding a dark staircase leading down. Rast informs us that the magical source is at the end of the staircase. Arik sense a horrible miasma of dread all down the staircase and explains that he cannot follow us, but can act to clear our path. He conjures up a shaft of light which pierces the shadow and holds it in place while the party descends. Hugh seems trepidatious, but Leo is able to reassure him.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we can hear Emricht and Jayne arguing. Emricht is delivering a villainous monologue, "We are on the verge of ultimate success, targeting multiple Baronies across Terrinoth..." Jayne seems unable to speak, gasping and wheezing as though she had a punctured lung. Rast can sense her gathering dark magic towards delivering a counter-attack. There is, he states, a source of powerful evil in the room.

### Sibling Rivalry.

Beyond the double doors is a massive, roughly cylindrical room. It is dark and chilly. Dead bodies lie scattered about. In the room's centre is a dark rift like a pool of blackest shadow. Several black tendrils reach out from the pool to tether themselves to Emricht. The siblings had obviously been battling, but have reached an impasse, with Emricht making speeches and Jayne trying to catch her second wind.

Behind Emricht, there are a pair of huge, free-standing shadows. Without taking his eyes from his sister, Emricht gestures at the shadows, and then at the heroes.

"Kill them," he commands.

### Continued in Session 78...

*10xp*

*(370xp Total)*