Heralds E11

**The Heralds of Wayinar: Episode 11 -He Who Stalks**

**Cast (In order of appearance)**

Player                                                   Role

Russel E. Welch III                            Dungeon Master

Ariel Quinn                                         Rosara

Brad Marsh                                         Obi

Josh Jenkins                                      Vano

Nick Little                                       Cendrillion

Bryan Henery                                   Azathell

Russell welcomes us to the episode and reminds us he can use toes to count episodes. He lets us know that after Episode 16, we will begin the new show Emissaries of the Ancients , our Premium show. The first episode will be on YouTube, and the following episodes will be on our website for subscribers. Russell explains that we will see old and new characters and fall in love with them as much as we have with the Heralds.

Red Tie Russell interrupts and plugs our new partner, Chronos Builder 3D maps.

The Episode begins with Azathell entering Himplethorn in the dead of night. He pulls a watching guard and asks if a green-skinned Boran, a Nov Romaran Edwone, and a Minor have passed through the town. As he questions the guard, a black dagger of smoke appears in his hands, under the guard’s chin. The guard points him in the direction of Viata Bortool and her Inn. Satisfied with the provided answers, Azathell snaps the neck of the guard and stabs him in the chest which causes the body rot quickly into dust.

Before entering the Inn, Azathell puts on a friendly face. He enters and finds the place deserted except for Viata Bortool who sits in a rocking chair reading by candlelight. The two exchange pleasantries as Azathell helps himself to a drink.

Sitting down across from the old Edwone, they toast and have a conversation. He addresses the subject of the Edwed he seeks. Viata states she’s familiar with his quarry. She says his name, Vano, and calls him a “runaway”. Azathell implies that he doesn’t know what that means, but Viatta counters that she knows of Azathell’s people and what he has come to do.

He pulls out an envelope full of a powder and pours it into her drink. He offers to let her drink it so he doesn’t have to murder the whole town. She picks up the glass, then walks over to the bar. She sets it down and reaches underneath the bar to pull out another flask and set it on the table next to her glass. She smiles and then disappears.

He goes up the stairs and spies the sleeping granddaughter in one room. He pauses by the door before moving to the next where he finds Viata Bortool. She has a framed photo in one hand, and her empty glass in the other. The glass slips from her fingers and shatters on the floor. She is dead.

Rosara’s voice delivers a "previously on episode 10 " monolog, and then the scene opens with Cendrillion shifting his attention to Dolben. Dolben is still crying out for his daughter with blood on his hands. Cendrillon sends his spiritual weapon into Dolben’s chest.

Vano runs to Dolben and keeps him from falling off the cliff while yelling at Cendrillion. Obi makes the realization that Cendrillion doesn’t know about the power of the mist, and Rosara leaps across the chasm and binds Cendrillion with a Grasping Vine. Vano takes Dolben away from the others as Cendrillion and Rosara exchange threats. Obi aims their crossbow at the Prime and readies the action to attack.

Cendrillon agrees to let the group discuss what happened and let Rosara heal Dolben. Rosara heals Dolben as the spiritual weapon dissipates. The legionnaire mentions how impressed he is with Rosara, and Obi answers that they will survive more disputes in the group.

Cendrillon and Rosara investigate the area Dolben was hiding and discover a  glowing arcane circle on the ground and notice a sulfur smell. As they approach the magic dissipates. He and Rosara don’t recognize the symbols that compose the circle. Rosara says it looks like Prime magic, and Cendrillion says it predates the Breaking but he could not decipher them. When Rosara steps away from the circle, the glowl dissipates.

Vano investigates Dolben to make sure he’s ok. He discovers the blood on Dolben is his own, and believes that Dolben did not hurt his daughter. He notices the burns on his face and hands. Rosara comes beside Vano and lets him know what she found, and they compare notes. Upon hearing the stories of Prime magic being used by Vano’s people, Obi decides to toss them a vial. Vano catches it quickly. Obi wants them to collect residue that he can test. Vano stays with Dolben and sends Rosara over to collect the particles. The circle starts to glow again as she approaches it as if her presence is connected to the magic. When he touches the circle, it fades leaving only the scorched stone. She scrapes the sulfur material into the vial for Obi and confesses that she thinks she broke the magic circle.

When Vano smells the sulfur, he thinks of the Observers. At the mention of Prime Magic and Shazdog, Obi calls across the chasm that he wished “the Dirt eater” was here, referring to their companion, Gorrkarraus. Vano decides it is time to look at the circle. He recognizes the marking from his meeting with the Observers..

Cendrillon finally approaches Dolben and kneels before him. He cradles the unconscious man’s head in comfort and advises a guarded Rosara that if he wanted the man dead, he’d be dead. He awakens Dolben, who reacts in fear and starts to back up. Rosara calms him; she lets him know that Ilsa may still be alive. Dolben grips her tightly. Vano begins to sob in the background, and Rosara sends Cendrillion to him.

On the other side of the cliff-face, Obi and the legionnaire decide to toss Obi to the other side. As Obi is flying in the air, he discovers he is attached to a makeshift zipline. Rosara then uses her halberd to help him climb to the other side. With a laugh, the legionnaire then raises the bridge again. Once clear and on the ground, Obi rushes to Vano’s side. The sobbing Vano tells Obi it’s the Observer’s magic here; he is sure of it. Angrily Obi recalls Gritzern talking about how the Observers take prisoners to corner people into working for them.

Rosara seems to react to this. Vano confronts her, lifting her into a hug. Obi goes to Dolben’s side and lets him know they don’t know what happened to his daughter, but places blame on the Observers. Dolben is in shock with everything going on around him.

Vano, in turn, has a meltdown, blaming himself for this mess. Giving Dolben his pistol, he angrily points it to his head, asking Dolban to end him. In turn, Dolben drops the gun and grabs the barbarian by his beard, demanding that Vano not run away, that if it is his fault to fix this and get the child back. Obi swears retaliation, and Vano begins to return to himself. They will have revenge and end the Observers for what they do. Rosara says she will be with them but thinks this won’t end well.

Cendrillion silences them and brings their attention to him. He demands they tell him about the Observers. Obi offers the burnt letter from his captain’s study with the Observer symbol. Cendrillon discovers it’s the reverse of his order’s insignia. As he describes this, Obi keeps telling him just to turn the envelope around, that it’s not upside down. Cendrillion presents the symbol burnt into his hand to illustrate his point further. The symbol on the paper is the opposite of his brand. He concludes that this is a faction against the original Observers who have served to watch for the Heralds. Vano confirms that the symbol on the letter matches everything the Observers have sent to him. He provides the information he can remember about the Observers. His contact was named Vorne.

Cendrillon pieces it all together from his teachings, and the name comes to him. Vorne is a demon. Stunned, the group watches Cendrillion reach into his bag and draws forth an eye with small, writhing tentacles connected to it. He slams it into his head and becomes transparent as he leans forward.

The sky turns dark around them, and great storms form. They hear a wailing and a screeching  from the bottom of the cliff, and looking down, seeing the broken, smashed body of the creature Obi kicked over the side, begin to melt. Its bones begin to rise and climb upward toward the group on the cliff, clambering and tumbling and turning. There is a cracking and a breaking of the stone on the very wall; it begins to rumble and shake. Atop of the cliff, a skeleton slams down, its bones bursting, and then they begin to writhe, pulling towards each other, and it begins to rise up again. Its bones are so broken that it just crumbles into a small heap. Another ear-piercing shriek and the world stands still.

As he fades and leans forward, Cendrillion has a vision.

Russell describes it beautifully *“You’re standing on the sky. Beneath you, you see Gregoor-Sheav stretched out in a vast*

*plane. The edges of the continents fall away with the curve of the earth, and you see, at the top, on the*

*northern side of the planet, a sliver of darkness, blotting out all the stars in the night sky. The edge of the*

*void, where space stops, and nothing begins. You stand there for a moment, and then sounds and smells*

*and sights begin to twist and morph in your vision, and your vision swirls once again, and you find*

*yourself standing on a plane. [thunder] The sky thunders and cracks. It is black, it is blotted out,*

*completely. Thunder rages, but you cannot see it, and it gives no light. You feel the earth rumble and*

*shake, explosions and fire, raging, you hear the…the…you hear the whinnying of horses, the screech of*

*creatures, the crash and the grinding of metals, and the…the clang of armies and shouts, confusion and*

*death all around you, and then, out of the night sky, you see a burst of light, and something slams into the*

*ground like a meteor with a burst of flame, leaving a circle of symbols on the ground that are identical,*

*and you see a large, hulking shape, 12 feet tall, rise from it. It is burning, wreathed in flame entirely, only*

*a single sliver of darkness down the center, like the pupil of a snake’s eye, and the rest of the creature is*

*flame. It steps forward, and the ground shakes, it leaves flame and fire behind it, you hear screams and*

*shouts of terror, the earth rumbles, you blink, and you’re standing on the cliff again.”*

As he returns to the world, Cendrillion is no longer transparent. The group looks to him and then to the pile of goo that was once a monster climbing the cliff. Obi asks what Cendrillion did. He reports that he has discovered that Vorne was involved in the Breaking. Obi and Cendrillion convince Rosara that the Observers must be stopped. The legionnaire interrupts them and points out that the cultists are on their way and that the party must move on. They drag Vano across the bridge. The legionnaire informs them that he cannot abandon his post, but there is a large Nov Romaran encampment ahead. Dolben knows the trail and leads them. Rosara thanks the legionnaire and is embarrassed by his affection towards her. Ahead, Dolban confirms that they intend not to join her army. Further on the trail, they spot the legion and formulate how to avoid the force of troops.

Cendrillon is convinced that Rosara can persuade the Nov Romarans that they are her captives. Dolben, Cendrillion, and Vano surrender to Rosara. Obi slides down a hill and hides. As a guard comes up, Rosara surrenders to them, and the Captain welcomes them to the custody of the Nov Romarans.

Russell closes the episode inviting the viewers to a special twitch stream Spawn of Chaos is doing for Extra Life fundraiser. It is a One-Shot episode called, The Litcher. It is a Halloween special that parodies a popular show that shall not be named.

He plugs Premium subscriptions available on our website. He plugs Questline, our sponsor. He welcomes viewers to like, share and subscribe and reminds us that “Chaos awaits us in the dark.”