shadows-campaign

Editing List

Initial Read Through

Just get the facts and timeline straight. Spell out any context heavy bits. Create articles and character notes as needed.

Lorzen’s story

Have a separate, “mini-series” where Lorzen is telling his story to one of the ghosts in Tir na Nog during the festival, before The Shadows kill him. The viewer is the ghost. At the end, Lorzen says thanks for listening, gets up, and the viewer fades.

Spread who Lorzen is and his story throughout the episodes as well as other bits of lore such as the functioning of The Vigor. The first episode, Attack on Shaa Thalas, is shared between The Shadows and Lorzen?

Develop and Implement Character Arcs

Sol

Sol is lawful. His pact gives him more power and a promise to keep. The Shadow Army gives him resources and a mission. In the end, his growth is in abandoning his previously held commitments to the Shadowfel Lord and the Darkest of Shadows to save Auroratine.

Sol’s distracted mind flipping between the mission and Auroratine

• Elves are a family beyond his own bloodline. The ultimate betrayal of destroying the vigor himself will make him irredeemable, Auroratine could never talk him back, she could only be pulled in.

Add Dialogue

Add Narrator Bits

The Silence

Links

Player Characters

Tellani Sol Skullcrusher Los Eye Ripper

Non-Player Characters

Darkest of Shadows Lorzen

Auroratine Borrin Rowtree Dario

Silverside Estivan Felarathael Azarhal

Ciradyl Nabeora

Tarith Pheaderiira Urmesandra

Locations

Shaa Thalas Cereos Nero's Arc Farfield Highridge Split Rockfall

Articles

Elves Shadow Army Shadows in the Shadowfel

Info Dump

Setting

Regions are defined by race. The dwarves carve out the mountains, living inside tremendous structures; the orcs roam these mountains in semi-nomidic tribes. Elves have a capital in the Deep, the domain of the elves. Their three tribes are the wood elves, who live amongst the trees, the floor and the canopy. The dark elves that find caverns amongst the roots of the trees. High elves that build glorious structures.

Session

You’ve been given a map through the sewers of Shaa Thalas to a group of elves that are defecting. They are willing to provide the location of The Vigor.

Attack on Shaa Thalas

[!DM] An elven capital rested in twilight. Within, the high elf halls Sages left their study chambers to rest and meditate. The rustle of leaves churning through night air carried your squad silently across surrounding meadows, up to the outer walls. An owl call, a guard cough, a passing cart wheel creaking; your invading squad’s movements were nothing but echoes to these.

Entering through sewer grates, your squad remained undetected as up top the assault on the gates began as planned. You watched as halls burst to life with elven soldiers scrambling out of their dorms and out into the night. Making your way through the cramped, disgusting sewers and you made it out into a storage room.

Quiet, out of the way, just as the traitors said it would be. Straight, right, right; they told you the way to connect with a group that will know the exact location.

The party started in a basement level in the vault of Shaa Thalas The vault is managed by Lorzen.

Party go to find elf party they were to meet inside, killing a couple guards along the way. A muffled explosion from above. The fighting up top set something off. The party hoped it took a lot of elves with it.

[!DM] You slid into a side chamber for the meeting place. A group of dark elves made their presence known after some time. One individual - a scar cutting from his widow’s peak to behind his ears, dividing his hair- stepped forward. Alnebo “Lorzen has taken The Vigor for further study this night, of all nights. Here, a map. Get this done.”

Party continue their mission, killing several more guards while the ceiling shook again. Dust unsettled and created a thin cloud in the corner of the room, making the battle more chaotic.

[!DM] As you made your way, the world around you erupted in chaos. Tremors shook the foundations of the fortress. Elves began scattering, unpredictably. This was not part of the plan. This was unknown.

Though you sliced through your enemies with ease, the tremors became more severe. In two breaths, a key support cracked loudly and the walls around you collapsed, bringing the room down upon you. Cracking ceiling blocks backed by untold feet of earth crashed down upon you.

You took [most of their HP] damage. The crushing weight was unbearable. Every inch of your body compressed. Your lungs screamed for reprieve. Involuntarily, you let out your breath, gasping for air. Nothing but soil and death entered your body.

You all died.

Awakened in Shaa Thalas

[!DM] Death Death is slow. Physical death; yes. That happened fast. But true death… Having allegiance only to darkness, your soul floated about your decaying corpse.

Your disembodied senses faded slowly, like thoughts of a drowsy man nodding off in his final bed. Delirious. The void swirled around you. Deeper, you sank. Deeper still, you sank. Softly you landed and there you rested. True rest. Emptiness.

Dim specks. Blue, grey, purple; they strobe. Less dim. Less dim into brightness. Suddenly they are piercingly bright and begin to swirl. Trails of amorphous, tumultuous tides.

Geometric shapes emerge from pools of darkness and color combined. Faintly, emotions arise. Sadness, fear, hope, glee. A concatenation of voices burst forward. Familiar voices and simple idioms crash together undiscernible.

Emotions and light ebb as the tide pulls away. The waters of ethereal experience abate, leaving behind the moist shores of conscience experience.

Unable to breath, your body begins to panic and writhe in the cold, heavy pressure of dirt. You feel the pressure give way and inch your body upward. As you move upward, the soil becomes moist, eventually you are making your way up through heavy mud. Suddenly, your face breaches the surface into air. You swallow its refreshment between violent coughs, spewing blood and muck as you raise the rest of your body to the surface.

You’ve emerged from the earth. As you shakily get to your feet, globs of wet soil fall off you. You hear the sputtering coughs of the others.

Many years after they originally died, The Fall occurred and brought the party back to life. As the party unburied themselves, they were attacked by skeletons and basilisks. Basilisks petrify with their gaze, but the party managed to beat them and skeletons that must have risen with them.

[!DM] Shaa Thalas - Surfacing As the last bone’s of the archers clatter to the stones, your mind races.
I was dead. Truly dead. Then the lights…
What time is it? It’s night, but early or late?
This looks like Shaa Thala’s high elf district but these ruins are ancient.
Never mind the hour, what time is it?

Your thoughts run in circles as you explore the area.
Skeletons and zombies wander about, some stuck halfway in the soil.
Mostly elven, but the odd body of some fallen Shadows are about too.

The great tree’s silhouette looms over the ruins.
The branches are bare. Dead. The ruins of the elven capital sprawl before you. Crumbled stone, overgrowth, you are somehow in ancient ruins.

At first it looks like a statue of the Darkest of Shadows, but her pose is odd, as if frozen in an inopportune time. An investigation shows it’s actually her, petrified as a cracked, mossy stone statue. As you near her, it speaks to you: “My shadows, take the blade of myself. Find Vigor. Unleash me.” The statue crumbles in sheering blast of energy. As the rubble settles, an obsidian blade gleams in the dispersing energy.

Tellani took the blade. She seems satisfied that the Darkest of Shadows is dead, thinking she is a better candidate for that role. She doesn’t tell the others of her aspirations to take the Darkest’s place.

[!DM] Searching the ruins As the last bone’s of the archers clatter to the stones, your mind races. I was dead. Truly dead. Then the lights… What time is it? It’s night, but early or late? This looks like Shaa Thala’s high elf district but these ruins are ancient. Never mind the hour, what time is it?

Your thoughts run in circles as you explore the area. Skeletons and zombies wander about, some stuck halfway in the soil. Mostly elven, but the odd body of some fallen Shadows are about too.

The great tree’s silhouette looms over the ruins. The branches are bare. Dead.

A staircase can be found that leads to Lorzen’s quarters with nothing in it. The party figures Lorzen The room leads to the collapsed chamber. The tree itself is dead, the trees around the vicinity are dead too. Some trees are trying to grow but look sick

Entering The Deep

Sol’s Dream

As they travel along the river, a cloud of jet black streaks across the sky, travelling north west. This is from the Three Titans destroying several forms of Melanesim in The Deep.

On Sol’s first sleep after rising from the dead, he dreams of Auroratine.

[!DM] Sol’s Dream Red strands sway. Beautiful, full hair. Her head looks back and forth over pages of a book on a desk. She stops reading, looking up in question as if struck by a scent.

Her features remind you of your own, though softer. Her eye’s and yours, the same radiant topaz green eyes.

She turns around in her chair, your same eyes lock together. She sees you as you see her now. “Another?!” She whispers.

You snap awake, heart pounding.

Dinosaurs

The party fought undead velociraptors that were also brought back in The Fall. Los wonders how he could acquire some other large, undead lizards like these

Cereos Ruins

Cereos was a high elf city in the Shadow’s time, but has long since been reduced to rubble. Before their attack on Shaa Thalas, the party had met a group of elven betrayers there to gather the intel to get into Shaa Thalas.

As the party finds their way through The Deep, they come to Cereos. They were expecting a city, but instead only ruins. This makes them seriously consider there might not be a world left. Sol knows Auroratine is out there, right now, so the whole world isn’t over. But he keeps this to himself.

Party finds a fountain. A red, boiling fountain with a beautiful woman, Erinyes of the Fountain. She is fending off monsters. The party helps slay the monsters then the woman speaks to them.

She plays the victim until she gets a sense the party are evil. She is stuck hopping from fountains and wells until a portal to hell can bring her back to the nine hells and Asmodeus. She says that if they help her get back, they will be rewarded greatly down there.

They ask what she wants. She says there is a group, Squelchers of the Flame in Summergate, who have an artifact that can open portals to the nine hells. The party is not interested in the Nine Hells, they have another mission. They tell her to find another errand men and the Squelchers of the Flame is a stupid name. Eye ripper pulled all the water out of the well and dispersed it, banishing Erinyes.

As they rest, their wounds heal but leave lasting scars. They set off to try and exit The Deep be following the river further west.

Nero's Arc

[!DM] Prologue 2 As the hours slip and the sun retreats, shadows bleed across the passing trees.

Walking through the night, you push the rain soaked brush aside. Glimpses past the canopy of leaves show no stars. The world is sheathed in clouds. Carefully plodding along, unsure of the world you’ve awoke in, at least marching is familiar. The narrative of the hours are filled with small changes in the otherwise monotonous trek.

Your hand doesn’t seek the ration pouch often and portions of the occasional meal are left uneaten.

Amongst the chirping of the night bugs, the only sounds are that of crunching earth from the march and the shifting of armor and gear. Irritations on your skin from chaffing. Rashes form and everyone seems a bit uncomfortable.

No discussion of these. No banter. Just the endless march. Your foot lands in another trench of mud no one signaled. A branch slaps your face as the one in front of you lets it go. Assholes.

A unicorn is near by. The forest gets calmer. Critters are not running away. They seem to be watching you.

The unicorn, having judged them evil, leads a group of natural animals in an attack. Skullcrusher wants to kill the Unicorn but it vanishes before he can hit it

The party unknowingly is headed to Nero’s Arc. Close to the village, Iphy the dyrad will make her appearance. Dryads look like elves whose skin reflects the season so this dryad’s skin is motely and shifting, an aftereffect of The Fall. The nearby creatures give her all the awareness she needs to know the party had attacked the unicorn.

Iphy appears to them. “Unicorns are beautiful creatures, gifted to this plane by the gods to ward off evil. Yet you struck. This unicorn protects the forest and life. I am not as interested in life as I am my forest. The corrupt have infested my land. Though the great change have led many away, some remain to defile and enslave my lot. Should these invasive vermin be exterminated, I would reward the saviors of my land.”

Iphy asks party to kill the remaining people of Nero’s Arc so there’s no one living near her tree. She is limited in range from the oak tree that is there. When people from the west came to settle there, they built their houses around the tree.

The party arrives, attracting the few people there to greet them. The party immediately starts killing everyone. Borrin Rowtree is left standing, but still fighting.

Skullcrusher says he fights well for an old man. Borrin says Skullcrusher fights like shit for an orc. Tellani tells Skullcrusher to just kill him already. Skullcrusher decides to spare the man.

Skullcrusher offers to pay the man a split of whatever they get if he will follow along and teach them of the world. Borrin, being a shit farmer and everyone else being dead, agrees.

Iphy returns to her tree. She carves out a saddle from the bark, giving it to the party as payment.

Borrin tells them the nearest settlement is Farfield, but he hasn’t been outside of Nero's Arc since the fall. He’s not sure what happened, but he can lead them there.

Gnoll Encounter

The party encounters some gnolls on their way to Farfield. In combat, Tellani feels a craving and begins to weaken until she slays one of the gnolls. It’s just a few and the fight is inconsequential, but after the fight a rock clatters on the ground. After the fight, Tellani‘s hunger fades. This will be inconvenient if it gets any worse. She does not tell the rest of the party.

The Tower

The party continues to walk to Farfield, but along the way approach a lone tower on the outskirts of town. Dario will know the PCs are coming with several alerting/scrying trinkets scattered around the area. Pebbles shift around on the ground as the party approach’s the tower.

The door swings open as they arrive and Dario greets them. He introduces himself as the most successful magic item fence in Edous. He is quick to point out that he has a wide range of powerful artifacts that protect him. Even if they did manage to kill him, glyphs would destroy the tower and all in it if Dario is attacked. Dario is well connected and there are many factions that would be very displeased with anyone that ended his services.

He has taken over this long abandoned tower after the fall. The Fall disabled a lot of his hoard, so he is looking to rebuild out of the way of any Titans, so has come to Farfield to lay low and get his bearings.

Dario is aware of the gnolls encroaching on the village and would prefer they did not. It may draw too much attention, and besides, he likes to visit occasionally. Never know when you need a fresh body. He will offer some loot if they can turn the beasts away. He doesn’t want to spend the resources himself.

Farfield

Gnoll Camp

Dario says he spots gnolls most frequently due north, so the party heads out to track them. They discuss asking Dario about what has happened since they’ve been dead, but decide they best not reveal that information about themselves to anyone yet. Coming across another troop, Skullcrusher intimidated them to lead them to the main camp.

At the main camp, one gnoll, Therg, is brought over that spoke some broken common. He tells them of a trial they’d have to undergo before anyone will speak with them. Skullcrusher fought an armanite as a challenge and beat him.

[!DM] Prologue As the armanrite is dragged away to rest, the gnolls converge on you. They paw you, sticky drool slathering your arms. A gnoll shaman rubs burning ointment in your wounds. A particularly demented looking gnoll offers you a broth of flesh and bobbing eyes. He giggles insanely.

Therg tells the party that their god, Yeenoghu, has gone quiet The gnolls are now totally without direction, their one bond now broken, they’ve begun fighting amongst themselves (more than usual). Several demons have been shifted to the material plane in the fall, eventually taking command of the disorganized gnolls.

The party tell the demons they can go raid another village, but Farfield is under their protection. There is also a powerful artificer nearby that does not appreciate their presence. These are not threats, it is advice on how to stay alive in this plane that they suddenly find themselves in.

The Tower

Returning to Dario, the party tells him the gnolls will not attack Farfield. Dario mentions his age and no successor to carry on his work. Skullcrusher takes an interest in hearing Dario‘s woes. Dario says his contacts will likely fight over his scraps after he dies of old age. He will leave behind nothing. No one cares about his name, only what he can provide them.

Pleased, Dario pays them each a magic item.

• Los got a decanter of endless water
• Tellani got a potion that abates the hunger for a combat
• Sol got a healing potion
• Skull Crusher got gauntlets of strength

In addition, Los had three teeth ripped out and exchanged for onyx implants that focus his necromancy

• Allows him to raise undead armies

Trying to complete their mission, they ask about Lorzen. Dario tells them Lorzen can be found in Tir na Nog. He explains that Lorzen founded the great city thousands of years ago, but it sank also thousands of years ago. Its a well known legend, but Dario suspects it to be true. Borrin tells them the route there would be through Highridge to the south.

Farfield

After discussing it, the party decides it might be practical to make a good impression on the first civilization they’ve come across in this new time. They decide to send Los’s undead into town at night, run in to slay them in sight of the townsfolk, and be hero’s. Skullcrusher agrees with this, but only if they don’t actually kill the townsfolk. One of the undead makes it into the Thatcher home, killing the now middle-aged Jenny in front of child Garland. Skullcrusher feels slightly responsible for this.

A man named Apollo introduces himself to Sol. He acts very respectful to Sol. Asks where Sol came from. Tells him to go to Solar. Auroratine has had visions of him and wants to meet him. The bloodline has spread across the entire world. Auroratine, the second aasimar of their chain, was born and brought the most worthy together. She has visions of them and draws them into their new family estate. They’ve been preparing, unsure of what exactly. Then with the Fall, they knew. Now, with the rise of the original aasimar, they can complete their mission. The mission is to restore their lost god, but Auroratine has more answers. Sol listens, but does not commit to going, or caring.

Before leaving town, Skullcrusher takes Garland to Dario to mentor. He sees Dario as strong and needing someone to mentor and this assuages his guilt about Garland‘s mother/wife. To Skullcrusher, this is a sign of respect to Dario.

Highridge

Leaving for Highridge

The party spends a night at Dario‘s before heading to Highridge.

[!DM] Prologue Los, blood seeps from your new, onyx teeth. Swishing water from your decanter washes the taste away for a moment, but those moments are spent mostly agonizing in the outhouse.

Tellani, rotating the vial in your palm, the darkness swirls and resettles. Breaking your thoughts, the Darkest of Shadows whispers “Gallyway… Lorzen… find the vigor…” You throw another blanket over the blade, laying down to block out her voice. Incessant bitch.

Sol, you contemplate your conversation with Apollo. Your dreams return to visions of the red haired women. Uncomfortable, you shift to your side, facing west.

Garland sits on the edge of the bed, staring at his dangling feet. Skull grunts, “these are so fucking cool.” The orc flexs his fist in the new gauntlets. The young boy isn’t able to sleep; remembering the horrible scene of that undead killing his… “the lady,” and the shuffling thumps of this orc doing even more pushups and punching his palms. “Demons are gunna be my bitches.”

They leave the tower and travel to Highridge. Before arriving to the gates, Borrin tells them he isn’t keen to go through Highridge. He had skipped town after Snider was taken down, has no friends there, and probably people will be upset. The party tells him to wait outside the city until the party gets the lay of the land.

Shadows in Highridge

Nearing the gates, they see no guards. Entering the city, it is eerily quite. The streets are empty. Exploring the streets, they are quietly signaled into a house by two commoners. They were scouting for provisions but a troop of drow are about and the scouts don’t think they can make it back without being spotted.

The party asks what is going on and the commoners explain. Drow are coming out of the deepest caves. The city has fled to the furthest regions for safety, the dungeon. They are able to keep the drow at bay, barely. Patrols kill the drow on sight.

The party goes outside and confronts the scouting drow directly. Sol tries to speak with them in elven. However, these drow speak a distant cousin of the language and communication is severely limited.

The drow try to explain they want to make peace with the people of this city. They were merely defending themselves as they were trapped in the cave.

Yty and more drow came up, on their way to the dungeon. At the same time, a few armed men burst out of the dungeon to retrieve the commoner scouts. The armed men from the dungeon began attacking the drow and fighting broke out between the two factions with the party in the middle.

The commoner scouts are knocked out by the drow. The party begins to just kill everyone, drow and commoners alike. Yty and the remaining drow retreat to the mine once more.

The party sees the two commoner scouts are still alive. They decide to use them to gain access to the dungeon. The survivors must have brought a lot of valuables with them into the dungeon, it would be good to loot.

Upon dragging the bodies to the dungeon and lying, saying they saved them from the drow, they are let in. Inside, they see too many armed men to safely wipe them all out, especially after having just fought the drow.

Unable to loot the entire city at once, they device another plan. They convince the people they will go slay the drow commander and rid their city of the threat for good. The survivors agree to give them rest and gear for the combat. Borrin catches up with them in town. He had come in on his own when he heard the fighting. They leave the city. The dispute between drow and the remaining citizens of Highridge is left to be resolved on its own.

Apollo in Highridge

In the following days, Apollo comes upon Highridge, following Sol at a distance. He fights several undead outside the dungeon. The survivors inside tell him they’ve been unable to leave to resupply due to the threat of the undead. He hears of how the party took their supplies and left to take down the drow.

Apollo follows the lead to the mine, to see if Sol has been defeated by the drow. He is more receptive to the drow’s pleas for peace and finds himself talking to Yty.

[!DM] Prologue Yty stared at the potpourri within her enclave of the caverns, deep under the world above. Eyes half closed, her focus was entirely on the sensations brought to her mind by the scents. Blunt, musky odors. Twinges of sweetness. Experiences no more or less important than memories, pain, or the myriad shades of emotions.

Tremors of the earth interrupted her trance. Events developed rapidly. Visons were had. Pillars collapsed, people died. Sheer rock wall ripped open to a tunnel.

Yty and her cadre entered the passage, only to have the earth shift once more. They were sealed off from their people. Marching forward, the air grew lighter. They were approaching the surface.

Shouts in alien tongues echoed down tunnels of rock. Forms of strange creatures receded into the bright light ahead. When they emerged from the mine, they were met with chaos and arrows. Elation of being the ones who had breached the surface was deafened by the need to defend themselves from these odd inhabitants.

These are good-aligned drow that follow Eilistraee. The drow did fall from the dark elf betrayal of the race but the drow have fragmented in the underdark, following different gods. While they were able to find the surface world, the tunnels collapsed behind them. Now trapped in Highridge, they wish to make peace with the surface realm. But Highridge was killing the drow on sight, then they barricaded themselves in the dungeon. So Yty attempted to approach the dungeon, but came upon the party.

She tells Apollo the party were not just killing drow but commoners as well. Her scouts seen them go into the dungeon and leave town the next day with another man and a gnoll.

Apollo concludes the undead attack on Farfield and these undead is no coincidence. Sol is traveling with a necromancer, and is wreaking havoc wherever he goes; killing and taking advantage of innocent people. Apollo decides he needs to stop Sol, and races off south to catch up with him.

Split

[!DM] Prologue The Fall has been hard. Bodies pile up on the edges of towns. Victims of sudden transformation. Or the beasts that followed. Or victims of the terror, panic, and selfishness in their fellow survivors.

The Fall has scattered many people to run from the dark. Others embrace it.

As the party enters the town, they pass a child crying in a luminescent shell with a black mark on it’s side. Someone explains that elementals attacked their village during the fall. A group showed up out of no where and saved them, but Gomer‘s cat, Inky, turned into a weird snail. It must have attacked their saviors because they slew it. After defeating the elementals, the group disappeared.

The party goes to the blacksmith, Honorless, to look at his equipment. Honorless is a disgraced soldier that has moved here to restart his life with his son. But word travels and the town has been hard on him and his sone.

Honorless refuses to sell to them, saying Split needs it more for it’s own protection. Now is his chance to redeem their favor. Though, if they can find his son, Khendahl, he may sell to them. Khendahl has been missing since a day after the fall.

Tellani says, “So you’re alone in here?” Lorz shuts the door. They kill Honorless and loot his store.

As the others are sifting through the inventory, Sol reads some pages from a diary in Khendahl’s messy room. The boy had been obsessed with this girl in town. After the fall, the boy had gained wild magic. He wrote that he would impress the girl with it.

Sol reasons that the boy summoned the elementals. The rest of the party say it’s time to go, so they begin to leave town. On the outskirts of town, they come across Khendahl, camped out in the woods.

They slay the boy, who had grown in power since summoning a few elementals a couple weeks ago. In the boy’s crude tent, Sol reads drafts of love letters to the subject of Khendahl’s obsession. The boy spelt out that if he cannot have her, the whole village will burn for how they treated him and his father. Sol tosses the pages, uninterested in this village or it’s people.

The party leaves Split. Shortly after, Apollo finds the corpse of Honorless and his ransacked shop. Apollo is catching up to them.

Rockfall

Road to Rockfall

[!DM] Prologue Los grimaces as he slides the his new greaves over a shin sore that has split open. The breast plate thankfully bends just away from the other sore festering on the center of his torso. With clenched jaw, he tightens the straps and looks up to his ghoul standing nearby. The swaying, rotted body turns its head toward him. No, Los thinks. It’s not looking at me. These husks don’t look at people. It’s just an empty stare. Isn’t it? As the question begins, the corpse glances elsewhere toward Tellani. Equally meaningless, Los concludes. There’s nothing special about her, and he dismisses the thought.

Tellani slides the Darkest of Shadows back into it’s sheath after cutting some rope to re-secure the load in the wagon. She turns around to see if Los is suited up and ready to continue. Took him long enough, but it seems he’s just finishing up. They should continue.

Los’s rotting gets to the point others notice. His skin turning a pale grey. He is becoming aware the Darkest Blade is important to him, it pulls his soul inside. Sol has another vision of Auroratine, asking him to come to Solar. All can be mended. It’s an important time.

On the trail, nearing Rockfall, the party fights a gorilon, spider, and yaun-ti who were coordinating their attack. These creatures do not typically work together, the party notes. This is odd. There’s nothing to be done about it though, so they continue.

Next, the party encounters a young copper dragon residing on a hill outside of town. The dragon introduces himself as Tuvrod Earthchin, the mayor of Rockfall. He tells them everyone in town was transformed in the fall. Many were lost to their creature natures and fighting broke out. Being a wyrmling, unable to fight the monsters, he fled to the cliffs. He’s been growing rapidly in the following weeks. He wants his town cleared of these creatures but is still too weak to kill them alone.

Again, the party devices a plan. They accept Tovrod’s mission to clear Rockfall and ask him to help. Tovrod readily says he will help with the battle by taking all the flying creatures. They intend to kill him immediately after clearing the town, when he is weakened by combat.

Rockfall

Entering the village, they see some of the houses are destroyed. Monsters roam the streets, eating the remaining bodies of the villagers that hadn’t turned evil. As they enter town, a merchant runs out from one of the buildings, pleading to be saved.

He claims to be from Gallyway and was traveling to Zatar when the fall occurred. All of his wares were destroyed by creatures in Rockfall but he managed to hide in town. Having nothing to trade, the party leaves him be as creatures come up to them and fighting breaks out. The merchant runs north. Unknown to the party, the merchant is Kayla, now a doppelganger.

They fight the band of disparate creatures, led by a lamia that is controlling their minds. During the fight, the lamia takes over Skullcrusher, urging him to go to the mansion in town.

[!DM] Prologue The pools of blood began seeping into the trampled ground of Rockfall as the battle subsided. Shaking his head, Skullcrusher kicked the corpse of the Lamia so hard it’s chest caved in. The ugly goblin wants to read books or something. The weird man is out to prove himself. The little woman, thirsts for blood. But not Skullcrusher. No. So many things in his way, he wants to destroy them. The crunch of his enemies bones under his boot, destroying them completely as he stomps closer to what is his. Nothing stops Skullcrusher.

Rage builds within him with the thought of the Lamia trying to control his mind. Why did it want him to go to the mansion? It doesn’t matter. Whatever is there will die. It’s bones splintering like shards of glass. He’ll tear it limb from limb and howl. Nothing stops Skullcrusher! He’ll eat your arms!

With the streets cleared, the party go to clear the mansion.

In the mansion, they find a caravan log. The mansion was owned by a man who was facilitating the slave trade from Gallyway to Zatar that the Salt Mercenaries disrupted. Then, a massive creature attacks. During the fight, it breaks out into the street. Tuvrod swoops down to help.

When the creature is finally slain, Tellani throws the caravan log on the ground. Los encourages the dragon to read it, it will be interesting to him to discover that the town asshole was a slave trader years back. Tuvrod, distracted by reading the log, is surprised when Skullcrusher leaps forward to attack.

As the party begin battling the dragon, Apollo gallops into town. He calls out to Sol as an evil-doer, not worthy of the family name. With the unexpected additional foe, the party begins loosing the battle.

However, being in Rockfall, they are effected by the curse set upon it by the fall and begin to take on monster characteristics.

• Skullcrusher - Charge: If the creature moves at least X feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra Y damage.
• Tellani - Chilling Mist: While it is alive, the creature projects an aura of cold mist within X feet of itself. If the creature deals damage to a target in this area, the target also takes Y cold damage.
• Sol - Heated body: 9 fire damage to enemies hitting with a melee attack
• Los
  • Turn Resistance: Los and his undead get advantage on saves vs Turn Undead
  • Legendary save: Once per long rest, can flip a saving throw from failed to succeed.
  • Spell recovery: 1d8 level in spell slot back per short rest

Using their newfound strengths, they kill Tuvrod and Apollo. With the last creature in the town that was changed, the curse is cleared. They rest in town.

Sol reveals his full origin and the dreams of Auroratine. He says these attacks may not stop until he deals with his family in Solar.

They continue their journey to Gallyway.

Gallyway

[!DM] Prologue Lorzen lounged in his hammock, one foot dangling out, tapping the wall to sway him. He ashed out his pipe into a rusted cup. Though no one lived here but him, he wasn’t a pig and liked to be reasonably clean. He thought back to times long ago. The city was filled with life, music, laughter. Now, mostly just stagnant water and a doddering old elf. His eyes got heavy and sleep was gripping him when the shaking began. A book on the end of a shelf tipped over with a thump. The pieces of his game board rattled. One fell to it’s side, rolled to the floor, and shattered. Lorzen tried to stand, but the shakes had become so violent, he got twisted in his hammock and fell to the floor.

Making his way outside, they sky was filled with brilliant colors. In astonishment, Lorzen looked down at his pipe. He hadn’t smoked muddled hogweed. This was actually happening. More violent shakes from the earth bucked him against a wall. Bracing himself, he watched as the vast city he had once watched get plunged into the waters rose. Water gushed down the streets and alleys in powerful waves, spilling over into the river and surrounding land. Temples, houses, the university, all the glorious buildings and gardens he had lost so many years ago emerged from the receding water. His pipe clattered to the pristine stone street that had been a broken mess of stones and memories just moments before.

Nothing stays buried for long, he thought with a smile.

Just outside the city limits, Captain Patten and some guards are fighting creatures. Captain Patten wears a red fabric around his arm, a keepsake from his daughters that saved him from the Salt Mercenaries. Since he was spared, he’s lived on the straight and narrow, even raising through the guard ranks.

Patten will say they’ve been having to keep random groups of monsters at bay since the fall, a group every 7 days or so. Will tell the PCs that Silverside will want to see them right away as they are the only travelers from the East so far. Silverside is the governor of the city.

They are led to Silverside. Patten informs Silverside of the travelers and the governor is eager to meet them. He asks them if they are in town for the fair next week. They say no. Silverside says it’s an ancient tradition from Tir na Nog. The timing is harsh, with the fall. But all the more important it is to celebrate and find joy.

He asks about where they are from. They respond vaguely, saying North. He asks about what they’ve seen in their travels, how are the other cities? They tell him Farfield has suffered transformations of many of their people. Attacked by undead. But survives. Highridge has drow in the mines and the people holed up in the dungeon. Split has elemental’s attack them, but are otherwise ok. Rockfall has completely been overrun by monsters. Even an evil dragon that they had to slay.

Silverside begins to ask more questions of themselves. What business do they have in Gallyway, for one. The party tries to lie their way through, but Silverside is an old hand at trickery and deceit and sees through their lies. He tells them Gallyway remains strong, nearly unscathed. They have their full force of guards that are more than capable of dealing with anything, or anyone, that means Gallyway harm. A veiled threat, the party understands.

Silverside gets them to speak candidly about needing to speak to Lorzen. Silverside explains, Lorzen has been the sole inhabitant of the sunken district ever since it sank thousands of years ago. The sunken district has risen from the waters in the fall. It’s buildings returned in restored condition. Lorzen has enclosed the ancient city in a shield, keeping creatures, and people from entering. Thexidore, Silverside‘s assistant, was sent to speak with Lorzen a few times. Lorzen is hesitant to align himself with anyone or allow people to move in, in fear the district is sunk again, killing more people. Silverside doesn’t care to get in the party’s way about their business with Lorzen, it’ll help him claim the district if the bubble is dropped. He’ll never admit that publicly and will call it a travesty. Though, being a pristine city of ancient magic would swing the power of the ailing region toward Gallyway. Of course, Silverside would use this power to help the confederacy recover from this storm.

Silverside says if they’ve made it from Farfield to here, they are certainly capable people. But Lorzen has been around for millennia, and they likely are not equipped for any “discussions” with Lorzen. He says, whatever their business, if they are looking for work, there is a matter they may help with. Ships have mostly stopped docking those that do carry tales of being pirated. Wants the pirates dealt with so he can begin sending exploratory vessels out. Of course, any loot the pirates have, while technically belonging to Gallyway, have already been chalked up to as missing… There are a number of special request items that were on order the party may find particularly valuable.

The party agrees to stop the pirates. The loot may help them when they confront Lorzen. They plan to stop in Solar while they are out. They don’t want any of Sol‘s family dropping in while they meet Lorzen. Silverside helps them charter a vessel that will be an obvious target for pirates.

They board the ship Silverside provided them and sail off toward Solar, attracting the pirates along the way.

Estivan

[!DM] The deck rocks, the water brakes against the hull, you know the layers of wind flow based on the flaps of the sails. Deckhands see Skullcrusher standing mid ship, taking it all in. You are back in your natural habitat.

Baaawoooooo

The horn blows from the crow’s nest. Pirates. Fear rolls across the crew. You stand sturdy against the spray of a high wave, against the sudden panicked motion. You remain calm. Your hand find the hilt of your weapon. This is the calm before the storm. You lose your weapon, the scabbard flailing in the wind. This is the calm before your storm. You step forward.

Roll init.

Skullcrusher steers the ship to ram the pirate vessel, then swings onto it’s deck on a rope. Pirates engage with Sol, Tellani, and Los. Skullcrusher and Estivan dual, gaining respect for one another in their abilities. The rest of the party finish off the rest of Estivan’s crew and Sol swoops into Skullcrusher’s dual. Skullcrusher has the pirate king at his mercy, when Sol kills Estivan. Skullcrusher is engraged, but does not attack.

With the pirate captain dead, the party commandeers the ship. Skullcrusher calls the ship Dreadnought. With Skullcrusher’s vast experience at sea, he and the rest of the group continue on to Solar, sending the Gallyway crew back except any that want extra gold.

Solar

[!DM] Prologue Ship boards creaked with the shifting of the salty waters holding it afloat and Skullcrusher’s pacing steps. The oricish outline swayed in harmony with the sea, lost in memories. Holding strong against the tug of the ship’s wheel, as it thrashed wildly during the collision with the pirate vessel, chaotic sounds of combat from all sides slowly attuning the single chord of Skull’s victory over his enemies, blood running down the sides of the ship in tears washed with waters of the coastal sprays, the familiar aches of rope burned in his palms from swinging across the bow on the riggings. Oceans are an indomitable beast, and yet Skull found a sense of home in the continual struggle. Skull gazed up to the skies.

Under brilliant rainbows, shadows remain.

Beyond the clouds, the pin-prick light of stars arced across the heavens throughout the night, unseen. Below, Sol also turned in his sleep. “Come,” the fire-haired woman beaconed. Her eyes, damningly beautiful in their naivety, squinted in earnest. “Whatever you’ve done, where ever you’ve been: Solar is your home. All can be atoned. We are family.” In restless sleep, his hand reached out, thumping against the wall.

Truth lies beyond the thinnest of veils.

On the opposite side of the cabin wall, Tellani collected her dark thoughts. The bow, the scared wimps pumping weak blood through their trembling bodies- the soothing rock of the ships as they cradled one another… something occurred then. A passing glimmer over choppy waters or the keen register of a shouting voice… Something before this. Before even the darkness. Something serene.

In the dominion of Light

“Go back,” the Darkest of Shadows commanded from the blade from which she was entombed. “Go back to Lorzen. He has The Vigor to bring-” Tellani muffled the blade back into it’s sheath, tossing it in annoyance back on top of her pack. To calm the subtle outburst, she clenched her fists, evoking the comforting dark shroud around her.

Darkness prevails.

Eye Ripper lounged back. The pirates had not been that difficult. No serious threat and nothing gained. His ghoul, guarding the door to his chamber, shambled uneasily in the rocking ship. Glancing at the unease of his mindless servant, Ripper angrily turned another page in his tome of study. In a clean slice, the edge of the parchment cut deeply through his finger pad. Blood did not seep through. Pain did not register. Ripper spent a mere moment looking at the dangling bit of flesh from his digit before ripping it off and flicking it across the room in disinterest.

All spawned from darkness for which is owed

The course edge of Eye Ripper’s finger bone simply turned the next page in his single-minded study. After reading another passage, he looks over in contemplation; toward the wall, past it, to the sheathed blade on Tellani’s pack.

Darkness assured, all things all told.

The party decide to dock quietly at night and slip into town unnoticed. They see the cathedral on the hill. That must be were Auroratine is.

They sneak in through the bell tower. Finding the church dark and the halls empty, they make their way to the main chamber. There, Sol comes face-to-face with Auroratine.

She tells him it’s been many generations since this family has seen an Aasimar. Sol was the first and only, until Auroratine was born. Now the furthest of the family flock to her. She and Sol have dreams of one another, so they are aware. She knows the family history as they are so proud of it. She sent Apollo, one of the mighty of the relatives, to meet Sol and bring him back to the fold.

Auroratine tells him Corellon, their deity, is gone. Felarathael, an angel of Corellon’s and the source of their celestial lineage survives. He has come down and needs their help.

If their family returns all of their power, giving it to Felaratheal, he can ascend to godhood and take Corellon’s spot. Despite the numbers of family that have come, it’s not enough. With Sol‘s immense power and purer blood, Falerathael will have what he needs.

Sol asks how it is done. Auroratine tells him they would lay aside Felara. They all perform a ritual which would takes a couple days of study to for Sol to memorize. During this, when Auroratine and Sol sacrifice themselves by stabbing themselves in the hearts, Felarathael will gain their power.

Sol rejects the idea of sacrificing himself to a being that abandoned their family until he needed their lives to gain more power.

Auroratine flinches. As if in a moment of doubt, but then faces Sol again, determined.

Auroratine: I’ve seen you. We’ve been watching too. We’ve seen the things you’ve done. You come from a different time- a different world. But you’re here now. Born anew! This is a glorious opportunity that very few get. All the horrible things you’ve thought and done, can be absolved in one act. When we commune our strength with Felarathael’s, you will be helping bring light into this world. Since you were born- since I was born- all of it has led to this. To us. Here, now. This is what Corellon would have wanted.

Before Sol can continue to persuade her, Felarathael appears through a wall.

Felarathael: Corellon had power. Not the swing of a sword or the thrust of a spell. True power. He was a god. I stood before him. I was worthy. What is a mere mortal, in the scheme of things? A miracle? Every one of them. Ultimately consequential? Mostly no. Some are. You, Solonariwan Tofusi, are. A single act can raise you up. Even from this depth, you are at now. Prove that you are worthy.

Sol rejects this as several of the mighty family members pour into the cathedral. Tellani’s urge takes over and she attacks. Auroratine shouts for them to stop, but fighting breaks out and Sol attacks Felarathael.

Felarathael sheaths Sol and Auroratine in an impenetrable barrier with him.

Felarathael: If you will not rise to your potential willingly, perhaps I can still extract a portion of your power. Auroratine, we must do it now.

Sol fights with the angel, who barks at Auroratine to perform her part of the ritual. As she lays there, knife to her chest, Sol calls out for her to stop. She hesitates.

Tellani, Los, and Skullcrusher fight the group of mighty family members. They come from all different lands and have unique abilities that challenge their own combat prowess. Just as they manage to finish killing the family, Sol’s encounter climaxes.

Sol strikes a fatal blow to the weakened angel and the barrier drops. Auroratine had not followed through with her sacrifice, listening to Sol. Now, with the bodies of her family before her, she is horrified.

The rest of the party tells Sol they have to leave as the noise seems to have woken up the town and they are in no shape to wipe out a whole village. Sol, staring at Auroratine who sobs in grief, freezes. The party tells him to take her or not, they need to leave now. Still unmoving, they pull Sol away, leaving Auroratine behind. They glance at one another one last time before the party slips back onto the boat and take off.

Sol contemplates what happened as they sail back toward Gallyway.

Risen District

Arriving

[!DM] Prologue “I never did trust Za’Laufrine.” Lorzen sat still on a bench, seemingly mumbling to himself. But through his closed eyes, he spoke to a cloacked figure far away. “A torn book can have its pages rebound.” The shadowy form shrugged and held up a piece of parchment. “It’s a metaphor, Vic. I grow tired. We will speak again soon, but I am still here.” They both made a hand gesture before Lorzen opened his eyes. Shuffling back through the vacant city, the memories of all those he had lost flooded him. The people, the love, the magic. His memories so vivid, as if they were real, kept him company as he made his way.

Nearing Gallyway, a small boat rows to the Dreadnought with a messenger from Silverside. The party can’t dock in Gallyway. They are known outlaws at this point, or will be soon enough and Silverside needs to distance himself from them. Silverside is happy the pirates are dealt with and the party is given some additional valuables. He still wants Lorzen to allow them to occupy Risen District in whatever way possible. If the party were to make that happen while they talk to Lorzen, the reward would be immense.

Skullcrusher has Borrin paddle back to Gallyway with the messenger. His orders are to find a crew to come to the Risen District and help them sail their ship to wherever they go next.

Landing on the other side of the river, the party climbs up to a road that leads into the newly raised city. The barrier blocks them from entering. As they test the barrier, trying to break in, they spot figures moving in the streets. Faintly at first, then more figures appear, fading into existence.

The ghosts roam the city happily, attending a fair. It’s the stupid fair of Tir na Nog Silverside had asked if they came for. A guard appears before them and says all are welcome during the festival. They decide not to tell Silverside how easy getting in was.

Festival

As they walk toward the center of the city, the fair has taken over the streets. They come across several scenes and encounters with these ghosts.

A light moves from stone to stone down the paved street, each brick illuminating briefly then slowly fading as it jumps to the next in a playful streak. The giggles of a child echoes as the form of a elven boy materializes, chasing after the light. With great triumph, the small boy catches up and stomps on the currently illuminated brick. The light plumes out of the stone in gentle arcs. A breeze shakes hundreds of colorful flowers free from the trees surrounding the boy. They twirl around him then dissipate in the air. When the flowers are gone, the light returns to a stone further down the road. The boy spots it and the chase begins anew down the street. The scene evaporates as the boy runs down the road, leaving behind only fading laughter.

A group of people in strange clothes gather around a man on an overturned crate. He is shouting jokes and vulgarities at the people, who laugh and holler back. His hat is ridiculous. Bells affixed to the end of dangling fabric jingle, as he rolls his head, laughing. With a snort, a bit of snot droops from his massive nose. He wipes it away with his sleeve, causing the nose to turn sideways like a door handle. The crowd is a mix of laughter and grimaces. The fool inspects this situation with crossed eyes, then twists his nose back into place in exaggerated motions. Rolling his head in stupidity again, he stops suddenly having spotted the party.

[!Dialogue] The Fool: Oy, ya gangly group! Thinking ya can jus’ march past, lookin all glum and bitter? Nah, yar a special lot. I gotta question for ya’s. Answer and win a prize. If I stump ya, which shouldn’t be too hard, yull pay the price. What say ya? Eh? No matter, there’s no choice.

The party is frozen in place, and forced to answer a riddle.

[!Dialogue] The Fool: I don’t have eyes but once I did see. I once had thoughts, now white and empty.

They refuse to answer, threatening The Fool instead. The Fool says that is not the correct answer. While they are released from their hold and the crowd and fool disappear, Sol is left suspended an inch of the ground. Unable to walk, they tie a rope around him and pull him along with them.

Three mischievous children tip over an occupied outhouse.

The annoying fool has amassed another crowd at a corner. His clothes have changed. His hair a bit more ragged and white, but still with the oversized nose. Finishing a tale about an unfortunate donkey, he goes for a swig of his mug but it is blocked by the nose. He tries sipping from one side of his mouth, the other, lapping it up with an outstretched tongue, to no avail. Cocking his head back to the sky, he attempts to pour it into his mouth but only makes a mess. Frustrated, his reaches up with his free hand and lifts his nose up as if on a hinge allowing him to finally take a deep drink from the mug. Satisfied, he lets go of his nose, letting it slam back down onto his face. Reveling in the crowds enjoyment, he rolls his dumb head again with jangles from his hat. Despite trying to avoid attention, he again spots you

[!Dialogue] The Fool: Oy, yous agin? Always lurkin ‘round, are ya? Well, I see ya ‘n yur not gitten ‘way till ma question’s answered. Never resting, never still. Moving silently from hill to hill. It does not walk, run, nor trot. All is cool where it is not.

Again, the party is frozen from moving until they answer The Fool. One of them tries to answer with “A breeze”. The Fool laughs in glee then shouts they are wrong.

When they are released, Los discovers his speech is garbled and he cannot talk effectively. This limits his ability to cast spells.

An overweight town guard, panting heavily, chases someone who nears the party. Skullcrusher trips the guard to help the person escape.

Tinkling bells behind you send dread into your heart. The fool. You turn to look. From his crate, he is in the middle of a skit where he had finally shrunken his nose to a normal size, somehow looking even uglier now. “Aaah, aaaaaah!” He primes himself for a doozy of a sneeze. Children surrounding him, wriggle in excitement. “No, it’s gone,” the fool says after a pause. The children moan but it is cut short by a sudden, violent “KACHOO!” The sneeze sprays the children, soaking their clothes and wetting their hair. Laughter and disgust. After lowering a soaked rag from his face, the joker’s nose has popped back to large by the force of the outburst. “Dang’nabbit!” Another wave of laughter from the little ones over this man’s embarrassing idiocy. They too, must be idiots to be entertained by this nonsense.

[!Dialogue] The Fool: Oy! Oy! Came back agin, did ya? Can’ git ‘nouf of me, ey? I got lot’s’a fans ‘er, wanin ma time, but I kin give ya’ one more. What does man love more than life? Fear more than death or mortal strife? What the poor have, the rich lack, and what contented men desire? What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves? And all men carry to their graves?

Frozen in place again, the party discusses for a while, then provide an answer. Nothing. The Fool balks, saying perhaps they are not as stupid as they look, then releases them.

Borrin finds a crew

On the messenger boat, Borrin asks the man where he can find a crew for the Dreadnought. Roping up in Gallyway, Borrin immediately heads to the dock tavern he was told about. There, he meets Ten-Toes and Slug the first and second in command of a rag tag group of sailors. Ten-Toes brazenly talks fairly freely about their crew’s situation while Slug seems to be nudging him to hold his tongue more. Borrin listens to get the background on this crew, before he offers them work.

Their captain has left their port, which was then taken over by sea creatures. They had to abandon the island, they don’t know where their captain is, so they are looking for work.

Borrin reveals he works for the group that slayed Estivan. They’ve taken over his ship but are not interested in bounty hunting any remaining crew.

Ten-Toes divulges, to Slug‘s annoyance, that they are the remaining crew Estivan left behind on the island. The pirate goes on to complain that Estivan deserved to get de-throned. Estivan had lost an entire crew and ship recently, then took all the highest ranking, most experienced men with him to plunder after the fall. When the sea creatures came, he was thinking of leaving anyways.

Borrin sees the opportunity and tells them his boss is looking for a few extra hands. With this crew’s experience with Estivan‘s ship, they could be great men to have aboard.

Lorzen

The party finally makes their way to the center of the city; a large circular pavilion. There, Lorzen sits on a bench, admiring the fair. He is aware of the party but has clearly lost his mind.

Lorzen mistakes them for The Wardens. They ask him where the Vigor is. It’s in the underdark, beneath Shaa Thalas. The drow still have it, but it’s magic has changed in the fall. Which allows him to detect it, but has stripped him of his immortality. He’s afraid he may be loosing his mind as well.

Skullcrusher says “Oh no, that’s too bad. Tell us more about the vigor. What can it do?” Lorzen explains the Vigor is the heart of the first elf. It still beat and was believed to be the source of elves’ longevity. Once every 750 years, the lifespan of an elf from before the attack on Shaa Thalas, it can be attuned to and grant immortality. It’s been 3 millennia so three more uses could have occurred, another coming up very soon. If they find the vigor soon, it may be primed for use, assuming the drow used it at every opportunity as soon as they could.

Los Eye Ripper says they have all the information they needed. Tellani is not able to resist her hunger, or doesn’t care to, and tries to kill Lorzen. A shield of invulnerability appears, blocking the shot. 4 stones float up that power the shield.

[!NOTE] OPTION 2: LORZEN TELLS THEM EVERYTHING As they approach, Lorzen speaks openly to them. He knows of them as officers in The Shadows. He knows they are there for The Vigor. But he speaks as if it was that night, long ago.

He was the keeper of artifacts, a prized one being The Vigor. The heart of the first elf. It still beat and was believed to be the source of elves’ longevity. Once every 750 years, the lifespan of an elf, it can be attuned to and grant immortality.

Now Lorzen begins speaking as if it were after the attack on Shaa Thalas. He explains the treachery of the drow shattered the elven alliance, and with it, stripped down the long lifespans of all elves to only 180 years. It was dark elves that led the Darkest of Shadows and her army to attack Shaa Thalas. Lorzen escaped the collapsing basement through a ladder. However, when he got to the surface, he saw the shadows attacking. Running away with the Vigor in hand, he came upon a group of dark elves that he asked for help, not yet knowing of their betrayal. They moved to capture him so he used the Vigor only to keep it’s magic away from the dark elves. They took the Vigor and imprisoned him underground where they had all moved. When the curse of their race befell them, turning them into Drow, it had made sunlight unbearable to them. After many years in a prison, being tested for the limits of his immortality, there was an earthquake, shattering the prison.

He speaks as if he were still in the prison. “What now?” he grumbles. “115 years, 5 months, and 3 days in the clutches of the dark elves. What more do you want from me?” His voice directed not toward you, but to the gods in disdain. He spots the party and is confused. “Are you The Wardens?”

Lorzen realizes they are not The Wardens then explains they appeared and helped him escape from his broken cell.

It’s been 3 millennia so three more uses could have occurred, another coming up very soon. .if it still works.

Tellani asks where the Vigor is now.

Remaining text:

• He knows the artifact is their only possible hope and it is the eve of a new millennium (of the item’s use). Something has changed however in it’s function. The Fall had rid him of the immortality, now he can be killed.

• The drow had kept The Vigor under intense magical protections to prevent it’s location from being scryed. However, with the fall, Lorzen has noticed a faint signal. There’s chaos swirling the drow as the curse of sunlight has been changed. The Vigor’s protections from scrying have slipped occasionally. Still, it takes a powerful mage to detect and many have lost their magical intuitions and abilities with The Fall. Only with the vast time span with which Lorzen has observed and studied magic could he weather the storm and be able to hear the signal through the winds of change.

• Why tell the Shadows of the Vigor’s location? It has already been held captive for millennia in the worst of conditions. The Fall has stirred the pot, but throwing more agents of disorder can’t hurt more then has already been done. Lorzen is confident light will prevail, good will triumph. But sometimes it needs an opportunity to slip through the cracks as chaos fights with itself.

• If the PCs kill Lorzen, his last words will be: !!! Unfinished branch !!!

Lorzen Fight

Four stones from the pavilion glow with magic. They emit a beam to Lorzen casting an impenetrable shield over him that The Shadows must de-activate before they can attack him. However, the four glow of the stones that are powering the shield, move from stone to stone. The party remembers seeing a boy chasing a similar magical effect stomping on it to temporarily deactivate it. These glows move away from each other so the party have to split off and each must deactivate a stone. Once each glowing stone is stepped on, Lorzen’s shield should lower, at least for a while.

From the edges of the pavilion, ghosts of city guards and giants move in to stop The Shadows. The guards shoot arrows at them as they dash away from Lorzen toward the glowing stones.

Skullcrusher runs toward a giant and some guards who are protecting one of the glowing rocks. As he nears, he begins to grow as large as the giant, plows through the guards, and begins grappling with the giant.

Sol sees another giant pick up a large rock and fling it at him in a tall arc. Sol begins an incantation for a spell that will stop the rock, but his words are muddled from the curse of The Fool. He tries jumping out of the way of the rock, but it clips his shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Los gets to an unguarded glowing stone, but floating an inch off the ground from The Fool’s curse, he is unable to stomp on it. As he struggles to stomp on the stone, a guard rushes him with a sword. Los lifts his hand and the guard is stopped in his tracks, taking a step back as his skin and muscle are blasted off. The corpse does not fall though, instead, steps forward from his back leg as a zombie beholden to Los.

Tellani’s glowing stone is surrounded by guards who stand in a row, nocking another volley of arrows. She stands still, waiting until they loose the arrows, then begins running toward them. As the arrows near her, she cloaks herself in a dark mist that quickly dissipates taking Tellani with it. The arrows clatter uselessly on the stone ground. The archers shout in surprise as Tellani reappears in a cloud of darkness behind them. Instead of going for the glowing stone, she lunges into the formation, slicing them down as they are unprepared with empty bows.

Skullcrusher out-strengths and out-wrestles the giant, lifting him up side down by his waist. Stomping over to the glowing stone, Skullcrusher pile drives the giant’s head down with a sickening crunch, deactivating the first of Lorzen’s four glyphs.

Sol stands up from the ground and ignites his sword in flames. He rushes up smites the giant that had flung the rock at him. The giant, hurt but still standing, turns from the blow and begins running away in terror. Sol stomps on the stone, its glow fading beneath his foot.

Los commands his zombie guard to deactivate the stone. The zombie takes a step and stands on it with no particular force. Los angrily issues another, more specific command to stomp. The zombie nods, then stomps hard, deactivating the stone but breaking his leg and falling over.

Tellani, slicing through the stomach of the last archer, is covered in blood. She jogs briskly but easily toward her stone and leaps the last distance, deactivating it with her heavy landing.

With his shield falling, Lorzen is vulnerable. The Shadows run toward him; Tellani teleporting through mist, Skullcrusher barreling down, Sol rushing with his sword ablaze. Skullcrusher gets to him first, and knocks the old man down with such force his body bounces off the cobbled street. Lorzen groans in pain. Turning to face them as the continue to approach.

Skullcrusher motions for the rest of The Shadows to stand down and they crowd around the battered man on the ground.

Skullcrusher: He’s been alive longer than we’ve been dead. Let the elf say his last words. Lorzen: Yes, and in all those years, the sun has risen after each night. Our lands shrouded in the shadows of the Fall, the faint light of hope has been extinguished. And yet… above the clouds on the darkest of days, each morning the sun still rises. This world will see the break of day-

A giant, ebony hand erupts from the ground beneath Lorzen, lifting him up laying its palm. Several of its jagged, wicked nails stab through Lorzen as the hand wraps its fingers around him. As the ancient wizard’s body releases a dying gurgle, Tellani steps forward, holding a clenched fist up. She relishes in the moment, grinding her palm to pulverize Lorzen’s body and squeeze every bit of his essence out.

Skullcrusher seethes at Tellani for not following his order. The barrier around Tir na Nog disappears.

Skull Island

Travel

[!DM] Prologue The Shadows follow Borin around the outskirts of the Risen District in silence. Each contemplating their own fate.

Throbbing with a buzz, Tellani keeps replaying the kill. Such a powerful soul, such powerful energy; squeezed from the old elf’s body like a plump lemon. The rush excites her but her racing mind leads to wondering when can she get this feeling again.

Auroatine had abandoned Sol. She abandoned all of his plans for them. They could have done so much had she not been so stupid and seen what he was offering her. She was devoted to Felarathael. She is capable of devotion, but to him? To that worthless being? Sol looked up from his plodding feet, toward the horizon. She’ll see, eventually. They’ll all see.

Skullcrusher hung back, excusing it by stepping on a bug on the way. This group is no army. He cannot trust Tellani. Sol is distracted. Eye Ripper’s fucking nose fell off. The Shadows are dying. Skullcrusher felt for the first time an odd sense of futility. Which enraged him. He twisted the bug’s mangled corpse deeper into the ground and stomped back up to the head of the pack.

Leaving the city on their small boat they took to shore, they row toward the Dreadnought. On the way, they see lights crossing the bridge to the Risen District. Silverside has already sent people out to investigate.

After being hoisted up into the Dreadnought, Borrin is waiting for them. Borrin explains these men are the remnants of Estivan‘s crew.

The party and this new crew start sailing west immediately to avoid any contact with Silverside‘s men. When they are away from the shore and secure they are not being pursued, The Shadows talk to this new crew.

They are led by Ten-Toes with Slug second in command. Ten-Toes tells them Estivan left to stalk the seas, seeing great opportunities in the fall. He took much of the crew and officers with him, leaving behind the lower grades to hold down the fort. Ten-Toes was left in charge. Behind him, Slug.

However, sea creatures have taken over their hideout and they had to abandon the island, leaving behind much of their equipment, weapons, and personal effects.

The Shadows discuss their plans. They need to get back to Shaa Thalas, which they might be able to sail to. Skull Island is on the way. They can stop by and loot the pirate hideout.

They set sail for Skull Island.

Skull Island

The pirate hideout is built into a cave system on the island. In the caves, The Shadows fight kuo-toa, Sahuagins, and water elementals as they move through the pirate’s den. Getting to Estivan‘s room, they find a Marid, a water genie along with some sea hags.

It is an intense fight, but Tellani, Sol, and Los take out the sea hags. Skullcrusher fights with the djinn, and stands over him victorious. However, Skullcrusher spares the djinn.

The djinn, calling himself Azarhal explains that the Fall shifted The Kragg out to sea. Parts of cities fell into the ocean, dropping untold fortunes. He is leading this crew there to retrieve these treasures.

Azarhal respects Skullcrusher‘s mercy and is honor bound by the code of his people to grant The Shadows one wish. As they discuss using it to get the vigor, Slug interrupts and says he and the crew think it’s fitting they have a feast. There’s far more food here then the remaining men can eat. They should celebrate The Shadows’ victory. Skullcrusher agrees and everyone takes a break to search the den and inventory the treasures as a feast is prepared.

Skullcrusher approaches Azarhal alone and says he doesn’t care about the vigor. Sol is too distracted by his personal issues. Los seems to care more about himself then the mission. Tellani is the only one that really seems focused, but she seems to have ulterior motives

He wishes to stay at Skull Island and have the djinn help him take over the seas once more. The djinn respects Skullcrusher‘s goals, thinking they could indeed be good partners. Azarhal says “It is so,” and snaps his fingers. Azarhal is now tied to Skullcrusher.

Skullcrusher gathers his crew and Azarhal then goes to confront the rest of The Shadows. He finds Sol and Los and begins telling them he is taking over Skull island and The Shadows will be allowed to leave. He says the wish is gone.

Tellani has been on her own, sifting through a room, looking for hidden treasures when Ten-Toes enters the room. He makes crude comments to her, and she murders him without hesitation.

Los is furious that the wish has been wasted. Stepping into the room, Tellani tells Skullcrusher he can’t just leave The Shadows. She tosses the head of Ten-Toes to the side. Skullcrusher clenches his teeth.

Skullcrusher tells her there are no more Shadows. They four are all that remain and the group itself is fractured. Why do they even want the vigor? To bring back some bitch stuck in a knife? They are free to do whatever they like in this new life but it won’t be on his island. He’ll give them their share of the loot here, but if they don’t leave, this isn’t a fight all three of them will survive.

Sol, Los, and Tellani begrudgingly grab a few items from the treasures then leave. Skullcrusher sends them off with only two crewmen on a small boat that will only take them to Farfield, they’ll have to be on foot from there.

Return to Shaa Thalas

Farfield

Los dies on the voyage back to Farfield, but reforms in Dario‘s tower where Tellani and Sol are staying before they depart for Shaa Thalas.

[!DM] Prologue The soft sways of the ship gently rocked Eye Ripper’s hammock. Despite the depth of his slumber, the hobgoblin snapped awake as his heart flapped wildly. Los had been contemplating this possibility since he noticed his body decaying; finding hidden moments to deposit his rotted guts into the sea, or behind thick bushes. He’s had time to come to grips with it but in the face of impending death, he was ashamed there remained a certain panic. Within moments, the hammock’s undulations slowed; the weight it barred turning to ash, shifting through it’s netting.

Not in sleep, not in life, but somewhere, Los felt conscience. A brilliant red point of light radiating out into blackness is all he saw. His thoughts continued in the absence of life, “Where am I? Is this death? How long will I remain this way and what is that light?” Astonished, he received a response. “Eye Ripper. What has happened?” It was the voice of the Darkest of Shadows. “Did she kill you?” As he searched for the words to respond, he is pulled into the red point, inside which he saw a small, unlit sleeping chamber with stone walls.

His guests resting, Dario scaled the tower steps to his own chamber. Passing the room of the woman with the odd weapon, his aged eyes barely perceived the dark mist flowing from under the door.

Black droplets percolated and meandered about Tellani’s room. Lazily, over minutes or hours, the vapor formed into ambiguous clouds. Clouds of the dark mist shifted, aligning into a vague figure, refining slowly into a vacant ribcage, an empty skull, and boney fingers. Mesmerized, the shade of Los “Eye Ripper” caressed the handle of the artifact weapon. “My phlactery. Eternal life bound to this. Cursed with that woman inside.”

A being devoid of life; drippings of flesh across an empty ribcage beneath robes stained by the juices of lost organs. Eye Ripper’s empty eye sockets, burning with latent energy, scans the prone body of a female clutching his phylactery. The being called Eye Ripper withdraws to an empty chamber to consider it’s new life. The blade, housing his unfortunate companion, Darkest of Shadows. The blade brought him to his true form. If he is to live, the blade must be preserved. He’ll have to get rid of that other soul or be bound to her for eternity as well.

Garland is adapting to life in the tower with Dario. Sol, Tellani, and Eye Ripper head out from the tower toward Shaa Thalas.

Nero’s Arc

On the way to Shaa Thalas, The Shadows, minus Skullcrusher, come across the first occupied village they seen after rising from the dead. Nero's Arc is now overgrown with the central tree and Iphy has taken over. Iphy does not interfere with their passing as they head to their next waypoint, Cereos.

Cereos

They arrive on the outskirts of the ruins of Cereos.

[!DM] Prologue Boom Muffled explosions of the surface fight as the Shadows battled elven forces under Shaa Thalas. Boom Hands erupting from fog-dampened soil, into cool, eerie night. Gasping for air, The Shadows tear themselves from earth into a new world. Boom Sharp, dark fingers burst through the suspended body of an ancient elf in the center of a forgotten city. Blood pours down in supple, maroon pillars. Boom Ships collide as an orc stands steady at the wheel. Boom Eyes snap open from another restless sleep of the assimar, after visages of his lost ancestry. Boom His book slams shut as the litch arises for night to continue his trek. Spells and schemes swirl from the edges of tattered pages in preparation for battles to come. Boom Beneath a towering lifeless tree, a doorway bursts open followed by a hoard of screaming drow. Men, women, and children scatter into the trees. Boom Birds take flight over the canopy of a dead forest. An infrasonic vibration shudders across the empty, brittle branches.

The group spot a two-legged undead lizard the size of the tower of Farfield chasing a drow girl, Ciradyl. The girl is running toward the group, shouting in panic, but she trips. Just as the massive lizard’s powerful leg is about to stomp on her, a unicorn bursts out of the tree line, scooping the girl up. Now the lizard’s claws scratch the unicorns hindquarters as it races to bring the girl to safety.

This chaotic scene is headed straight for the three Shadows. Los mentions it would be nice to have that lizard as a minion.

The three shadows knock the unicorn down from a distance. Ciradyl is thrown off, tumbling away. The lizard catches the unicorn, and begins quickly tearing it apart as it desperately tries to escape and teleport the girl to safety.

Moments after the lizard thrashes the unicorn to death, Tellani leaps towards the monster and slays it. Los is furious with her, having destroyed his chance to take control over it.

As they argue, Ciradyl begins running away in the distance. Before she makes it to safety, Los shoots her with a necrotic bolt, killing her instantly. If he can’t have the lizard, he’ll take her instead.

Shaa Thalas Base Camp

Nearing Shaa Thalas, the Shadows find several bodies of drow in scouting gear. They examine the bodies, commenting that these appear to be similar to the drow in Highridge. That is, they do not fit the description of drow

Finally they arrive to the tree, under which is the entrance to the underdark that holds the Vigor somewhere in it’s depths. From a distance, they can see a small group of drow similar to the small girl have taken up camp near the foot of the tree. Los sends his owl in to scout it out, as they will need to get past these drow to get into the underdark.

The owl comes upon a tent where a woman Nabeora, pleads with another woman to allow another scouting party. In the exchange, Los picks up the story of why this camp is there.

The Eilistraee drow are among a small group of survivors. Eilistraee drow, long having their own corner of the underdark away from the followers of Lolth, had rushed to the surface after The Fall. The new urge to feel the moon’s glow overpowered their senses, forcing them through the upper chambers of Lolth drow that blocked the passage to the surface. The lolth drow were attacking from the rear as the remaining untrained drow raced to the light. In the confusion of entering the surface world under siege, Nabeora‘s daughter, Ciradyl, had entered the treeline as monsters emerged from the forest. She must have been chased far enough from Shaa Thalas that she couldn’t find her way back, which wouldn’t be hard as the thick canopy quickly makes navigating by sight of Shaa Thalas nearly impossible for a child. After fending off the surface creatures, they set up camp. The Lolth drow were still weakened by the surface world so have not pursued them further. They’ve lost a a few of the precious numbers they have left already looking for Ciradyl, and cannot afford to send more. They say they are going to move on to the group that is setting up shelter in the high elf district.

After explaining this to Sol and Tellani, they devise a plan to avoid unnecessary fighting. Sol releases Ciradyl from his control and they send her into the camp to cause a distraction. Nabeora and the rest crowd around the little girl, capturing her. In the commotion, the three shadows sneak around to the base of the tree of Shaa Thalas and enter the under dark.

[!DM] Prologue The three Shadow slip into the dark path leading down beneath the tree. Tellani notices Sol looking back, toward the forest. As if looking for someone. Eye Ripper glances at Tellani’s scabbard.

So much has changed. This was not the mission. To each the original objective was long abended, yet they are fueled by new desires. Find the Vigor. The three shadows enter the underdark.

Underdark

Tarith

[!DM] Prologue Eye Ripper, Skull Crusher, Sol, Tellani- You’ve swept these lands from east to west and back again like a violent tsunami crashing ashore a battered town, pulling it’s buildings and people out to the dark sea with it. And now this darkness circles the drain, down through the gates of Shaa Thalas, through cavernous passages.

Oily moisture drips from the stalactites, as a metronome setting the pace of your decent into the underdark. Piles of bodies and pools of blood from recent battle help navigate through monotonous tunnels. Plodding through claustrophobic channels, the rocky walls open widely quite suddenly. You enter a crafted stone hallway, with lit sconces, yet are swiping through layered sheets of delicate spiderwebs.

“Truth lies beyond the thinnest of veils” Words of the Darkest of Shadows. This had better end with “Darkness prevails.”

The initial passage into the caves had long ago been crafted into fine halls. Chambers and quarters from ancient times. Bodies of mostly Eilistraee drow litter the floors. As the party descends deeper, the fallen they find begin to appear to be warriors instead of civilians.

It isn’t until they arrive to the first well-kept chamber that the three shadows encounter living drow. A grand staircase leads down to a long hallway with pillars crowding on either side. Well armed drow in fine armor dart from the pillars, pressing on the Shadows and taking shots. The three shadows enjoy the challenge of tearing through them. They were world class warriors before the fall, and have only gained more knowledge since.

They clear the hallway, remarking these were just the foot soldiers. Rooms an either side contain documents revealing the recent movements of drow soldiers. Most of the drow forces have left the entrance chambers for the ceremony were they use the Vigor on a fourth drow, but it is unclear who. A map shows where this ceremony is to take place. They must get through a large room that is part of this entrance chamber, before they can access pathways around the deeper upper chambers of the underdark. There, they only need to cross a chamber marked “Pheaderiira”, then they have a direct path to the ceremony.

The Shadows press onward into the last large room of the entrance chamber. Emerging from a narrow passage, they find themselves in a vast, opulent room. In the center of the room, a colossal statue of a spider looms, its obsidian eyes glittering with malevolent energy. Clutched in its legs, hundreds of pulsating egg sacs throb with life.

[! Dialogue]
Sol: Disgusting.

Before them, a figure steps from the shadows, her silver webs decorating her dark armor catching the faint light from the corridor. Tarith, one of the immortal drow, stares at the intruders with icy disdain. She holds a pair of wickedly curved scimitars, their edges humming faintly.

[! Dialogue]
Tarith: You trespass in a place forbidden. You seek what does not belong to you. Turn back and tell whoever is your leader not to interfere in drow affairs or I will show you why they should listen.

Tellani, a predatory grin spreading across her face, draws the ebony blade.

[! Dialogue]
Tellani: I’ll show you our leader.

With a guttural snarl, Tarith charges. Her movements are a blur of motion, her scimitars flashing with deadly precision.

Sol meets her assault head-on, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks. Los, muttering an incantation, unleashes a wave of necrotic energy, forcing Tarith to momentarily back away.

Tellani, seizing the opportunity, cloaks herself in a shroud of shadows, disappearing from sight. The air crackles with energy as Tarith, her eyes scanning the chamber, whispers a word of power. A bolt of lightning streaks across the chamber, narrowly missing Sol but slamming into one of the spider egg sacs. It explodes in a shower of gore, unleashing a swarm of monstrous spiderlings that descend upon the Shadows with chittering fury.

Los, struggling to fend off the spiderlings, cries out in alarm as more drow soldiers reveal themselves from hiding around the room. Tarith suddenly appears beside Sol, her blades flashing. She moves with impossible speed, a whirlwind of death enhanced by a spell of haste woven around herself.

The chamber becomes a chaotic battleground. Sol, his movements blurring with celestial energy, trades blows with Tarith. Los, his skeletal form weaving through the fray, blasts both drow and spiderlings with bursts of necrotic power. Tellani, a wraith in the shadows, strikes with deadly precision, her blade tasting blood with every thrust.

As the battle rages, more and more egg sacs burst open, the chamber swarming with monstrous arachnids. The Shadows, their strength flagging, fight with the desperation. But Tarith seems tireless, her attacks relentless.

The tide begins to turn when Sol, his celestial heritage burning bright, forms a blinding sphere of radiant energy. The light catches Tarith off guard, forcing her to break away from the fight, her dark armor smoking. The spiderlings, their rudimentary minds overwhelmed by the holy power, skitter in confusion, some bursting into flames.

Los, seizing the opportunity, focuses his necromantic power, twisting the life force of the fallen spiderlings, contorting their forms into grotesque undead monstrosities. The reanimated creatures, driven by Los’s will, turn on their former kin, their clicking mandibles snapping at the living spiders with macabre hunger.

Tarith, her wounds smoking but her movements still swift, darts back into the fray. Her haste magic diminished greatly but she remains naturally quick and nimble. She dances around Sol, her scimitars a blur as she seeks an opening in his defenses.

But the Shadows are ready for her. As Tarith lunges at Sol, Tellani, cloaked in shadows, steps forward, intercepting the drow warrior. Their blades meet in a shower of sparks, the clash echoing through the chamber.

For a brief moment, their eyes lock. Tarith, her face contorted with a mixture of rage and surprise, sees her own bloodlust reflected in Tellani’s cold gaze. It is a fatal distraction.

With a roar of triumph, Tellani throws her weight against Tarith, driving the ebony blade through the drow’s neck. The drow warrior stumbles, her footing lost on the uneven ground. For a heartbeat, she struggles to stand back up, but her life’s essence lifts from her body and is drown into Tellani’s lips, nourishing her thirst.

[! Dialogue]
Tellani: Almost as good as the old man’s.

Silence descends upon the chamber, broken only by the hiss of Los’s newly aquired undead spiders. The Shadows, their chests heaving, gather around the drow’s body.

[! Dialogue]
Los: I can’t raise her if you take her essence, Tellani.
Tellani: Ok.

Tellani wipes her blade clean on the tattered cloak of a fallen drow, her eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction. The path to the Vigor is open.

Pheaderiira

The stench of death clung to the Shadows as they pushed deeper into the Underdark. The echoes of their victory against Tarith faded behind them, replaced by a heavy silence broken only by the drip of water and the distant scuttle of unseen things.

[! Dialogue]
Sol: This place…it feels wrong. Twisted.

Tellani, her fingers tracing the bloodstains on her blade, shrugged, her eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger.

[! Dialogue]
Tellani: Wrong? I rather like it.

Los adjusted his pack and consulted the map.

[! Dialogue]
Los: The next chamber is marked “Pheaderiira.” Likely another obstacle in our path.

They emerged into a vast, cylindrical cavern. The air hung thick and heavy, a cloying sweetness mixing with the underlying musk of decay. Above them, the ceiling was lost in darkness, the only light emanating from bioluminescent fungi clinging to the walls.

Strung across the center of the chamber, a massive web shimmered, spun from a substance that seemed almost metallic. Dozens of cocooned forms hung suspended, their outlines vaguely humanoid, their struggles long since silenced.

[! Dialogue]
Sol: What is this place?

A cold laugh echoed from the darkness above.

[! Dialogue]
Pheaderiira: Welcome, little morsels, to my parlor. You seek the Vigor? Such ambition.

A figure descended slowly from the ceiling, her form draped in shimmering webs. Pheaderiira, her features striking yet cruel, her eyes burning with cold amusement, landed gracefully on the web, her weight barely disturbing its intricate structure.

[! Dialogue]
Pheaderiira: I am Pheaderiira, priestess of Lolth, second only to Urmesandra. And you… you will make a fine addition to my collection.

Before the Shadows could react, Pheaderiira raised her hand, a cruel smile twisting her lips. Strands of purple energy shot from her fingertips, weaving themselves into a binding net of magic.
The purple energy ensnares Tellani and Los, pulling them onto the web. Sol manages to leap back, narrowly avoiding the magical snare.

From the darkness above, dozens of spider-like creatures, their bodies a grotesque fusion of drow and spider, scuttle down, their multiple eyes glinting with malice.

The spider creatures swarm down upon the Shadows, their sharp limbs stabbing while they slash with their swords. Los, his skeletal form offering little protection, grits his teeth as his undead spiders fend off the attacks. Pheaderiira’s twisted minions are hesitant to strike at the spiders.

Tellani transports herself out of the webbing, to a ledge and kills several of the drow-spider hybrids.

Pheaderiira, her laughter echoing through the chamber, gestures again. This time, a wave of pure force slams into Tellani, sending her crashing against the cavern wall.

[! Dialogue]
Tellani: (Spitting blood) You will pay for that!
Pheaderiira: Such spirit! I do so enjoy breaking those who resist.

With a final, chilling laugh, Pheaderiira descends from her perch, landing gracefully on the web near a struggling Los. A wave of toxic green gas erupts around her, filling the air with a sickly sweet odor.

Los, immune to the toxin due to his undeath, breaths in the fumes mockingly from his magical snares. Undead spiders swarm over him, coating the priestess who initially refuses to defend herself from them. As they begin piercing her body, she reacts, and begins ripping them from her body, destroying them.

Just as the priestess rips an undead spider from her face, Sol, who had evaded the webbing and snuck into position, launches up at her. His sword bursts into flames mid-air, then he plunges it Pheaderiira’s chest, piercing her heart and erupting out her back.

A look of surprise, then agony, flickers across the drow priestess’s face.
Her grip on the web loosens, and she crumples to the ground, her blood staining the silvery strands crimson. Tellani drinks her essence. The remaining spider creatures, their mistress slain, scatter into the darkness, their chittering fading into the distance.

Los, now free from the dissipating purple webbing, approaches Pheaderiira’s body. Tellani, already out of the webbing and faster on her feet, runs to the priestess’s corpse first and consumes her essence.

[! Dialogue]
Los: You need to stop this, Tellani! I can raise them! Tellani: You don’t need them. Los: You’re of better use to me dead.

Tellani smiles and tightens her grip on the ebony blade as Los reaches for her, his fingers crackling with necromantic energy.

[! Dialogue]
Sol: Enough. None of us will survive to get The Vigor alone. Let’s finish this.

Sol, his face grim, gestures toward the passage beyond the web. Tellani, wiping her blade clean, sheaths it with a sigh. Los clenches his fists, but lowers them in an angry silence.

Together, the three Shadows press onward, leaving the macabre tableau behind them. The Vigor is finally within reach, but the final confrontation still awaits.

Urmesandra

The air crackled with anticipation as the three Shadows slipped through a hidden passage and into the ceremonial chamber. The stench of incense and blood hung heavy in the air. Dark rituals had unfolded within these walls for centuries.

The chamber had a twisted beauty to it, much like the drow themselves. Carved from the rock of the Underdark, it was both opulent and menacing. Sconces cast flickering shadows on the walls, illuminating murals depicting scenes of conquest and sacrifice in gruesome detail. At the far end of the chamber, an altar of black marble stood bathed in an eerie, pulsating light. Upon it laid a male drow. His eyes, filled with fanaticism, were fixed on the figure before him.

Urmesandra. Matron mother of this drow stronghold. Wielder of the Vigor. Her gaze was cold and predatory, her features sharp and angular, her eyes like chips of obsidian. She moved with the speed of old age, but with conviction and inner strength. Her thinning, white hair flowing behind her like a living shadow. In her hands, she held aloft a pulsating organ. The Vigor.

**Urmesandra:** (Her voice a silken whisper, sharp as a viper’s fang) You dare interrupt the induction?! You overestimate yourselves. Lolth will enjoy tormenting your souls for eternity after I’ve ripped your body apart a thousand ways.

The male drow on the altar, his eyes blazing, sprung from the alter, lunging at Sol. His movements were a blur as he unleashed a torrent of blows, his blades aimed at any vulnerability he could find in Sol’s defenses.

Sol, his own movements met the attack with effortless grace. His sword, a blur of fire and steel, clashed against the drow’s weapons, the chamber echoing with the clang of their duel.

Tellani, her eyes glowing with dark energy, moved to flank Urmesandra. Shadows danced around her hands, twisting and coalescing into tangible tendrils of darkness. The shadows lashed out, wrapping around a nearby group of drow guards, their movements stifled, their weapons falling useless to the ground. With a flick of her wrist, Tellani tightened the grip of the shadows, the drow guards gasping, their faces turning purple as they strained for breath. Her attention then snapped back to Urmesandra, the shadows shifting, ready to ensnare the Matron.

Urmesandra, a cruel smile playing on her lips, raised her free hand. A wave of power, dark and primal, washed over the chamber. From the ground around her, spectral figures, their forms twisted mockeries of humanoid shapes, materialized with a chilling wail. These guardians, their eyes burning with cold fire, moved to intercept Los’s shambling horde, their spectral blades passing through the undead flesh, leaving trails of frost in their wake.

Los, unfazed, directed his undead horde towards the male drow battling Sol. The ghouls and ghasts, their rotting flesh impervious to pain, swarmed the warrior, their claws tearing at his armor, their teeth bared in grotesque grins.

The male drow, his movements faltering under the relentless assault, stumbled back. He parried a blow from Sol’s flaming sword, but a skeletal hand shot out, grasping his throat, its icy grip draining the life from him with every passing moment.

Sol, seeing an opportunity, gathered his strength and unleashed a devastating blow. The air shimmered with celestial energy as his sword became a beacon of light, cleaving through the drow warrior’s defenses with an audible crack. The warrior crumpled to the ground, his body dissolving into dust.

Urmesandra, her eyes narrowed in fury, turned her attention fully on Sol. But before she could unleash her full power, a figure dropped from the ceiling, landing between her and the Aasimar. It was a creature out of nightmare – a hulking monstrosity, face a demonic interpretation of a drow warrior, its body a brutish, hairy bulk with limbs tapering into boney, drow hands and feet. Its four eyes, burning with a malevolent light, fixed on Sol, its mandibles clicking in anticipation.

Sol, his expression grim, met the creature’s gaze. He raised his sword, the flames dancing higher, his resolve unwavering. He would face this new threat, for the Vigor was within reach.

The battle raged on, a whirlwind of steel and shadow, fire and fangs. Tellani, a wraith in the darkness, used her magic to drain the life from Urmesandra, her shadow magic preventing the Matron from healing her wounds. Her blades danced, each strike leaving wounds that smoked and festered, defying the drow’s attempts to heal.

Sol, moving with the speed of a striking serpent, dueled the monstrous hybrid. Each of the creature’s four eyes tracked his movements, anticipating his every strike. But Sol was too quick, his movements unpredictable. With a final, desperate cry, the creature lunged, only to be met by a blinding flash of light. Sol, his hand engulfed in flames, channeled his celestial heritage, unleashing a wave of pure energy that engulfed the creature. It screamed, a sound full of pain and rage, before collapsing, its body consumed by holy fire. It was a desperate gamble, for the effort left him vulnerable, his energy depleted.

Los, his voice a dry rasp, directed his remaining undead to attack Urmesandra. The ghouls and ghasts, driven by his will, surged forward, their rotting claws reaching for the Matron.

Urmesandra, surrounded, fought like a cornered animal, her movements still fluid despite her wounds. She unleashed a wave of poisonous gas, a green cloud that filled the air with the stench of decay. Los, his undead form offering him protection from the deadly vapor, pressed his attack, his skeletal fingers crackling with necrotic energy. He unleashed a bolt of pure darkness, striking Urmesandra in the chest. The Matron screamed, a sound full of pain and fury, but it was a death rattle. She stumbled back, her hand clutching at the wound, her eyes wide with disbelief. She collapsed to her knees, the Vigor falling from her grasp. The three Shadows, their chests heaving, their bodies battered and bruised, watched as she breathed her last.

With Urmesandra’s dying breath, the uneasy truce between the three Shadows shattered. Their eyes, filled with a mixture of exhaustion and a predatory hunger, locked on the prize – the Vigor, had fallen to the floor lying unguarded near the alter.

Tellani, a blur of dark energy, was the first to move. She embraced the shadows, her form dissolving into a wisp of darkness that shot towards the altar. A wave of cold washed over the chamber around her, frost forming on the walls. Sol, his celestial fire a stark contrast to Tellani’s chilling aura, recoiled as the cold bit at him, his movements momentarily hampered. Tellani, her own body wracked by the pain of Sol’s burning presence, pressed her advantage. Shadowy tendrils snaked out, protecting her from the brunt of Sol’s heat, allowing her to close the distance.

Los, his skeletal face contorted in a rictus of determination, raised his hands. A bolt of lightning, crackling and alive, arced across the chamber, striking Tellani with a deafening boom. The force of the blast knocked her off her feet, sending her crashing to the ground, the Vigor just out of reach. Sol, caught in the periphery of the blast, cried out as the lightning scorched his flesh, the smell of burning ozone filling the air. He slumped to the ground, his vision blurring.

Los, capitalizing on the chaos, directed his Wight and ghouls to attack. The undead, their movements a grotesque mockery of life, surged forward. Tellani, struggling to rise, was engulfed. Claws raked, teeth tore, but Tellani, fueled by a primal hunger, fought back with a ferocity born of desperation. The shadows answered her call, lending her strength. She rose to her feet, the shadowy energy coursing through her veins, pushing back the tide of undead.

Suddenly, from the passageway they had entered, a figure entered the chamber in a flash of radiant light. Auroratine, her eyes blazing with celestial fire, raised her hand, unleashing a wave of energy that slammed into one of Los’s most capable minions. The magical construct, unable to withstand the divine assault, shattered, its fragments dissolving into motes of light.

Los, momentarily stunned, turned his attention to Sol. He muttered a word of power, his voice dripping with malice, and a wave of psychic energy slammed into Sol’s mind. Already weakened from the lightning blast, he cried out, his hands clutching at his head as his will faltered. Auroratine, seeing Sol’s distress, unleashed a torrent of divine fire. Los, his skeletal form offering little protection from the searing flames, staggered back, his robes smoldering. He raised a hand, muttering a word of power, and a shimmering barrier of arcane energy appeared, deflecting the remainder of the blast.

Tellani, wracked by one of the relentless ghouls, felt the familiar pull of the grave as she fell limp to the ground once more. The ebony blade clanked to the ground, just out of reach of her bloodied and bruised hand. But with a flicker of the memory of surviving in the shadowfel, she refused to let her body give out. Her hand twitched, then her fingers extended toward her fallen dagger. She remained surrounded by Los’s undead, but the litch had not yet realized she lived. If she suffered anymore blows, she knew there would be no getting back up.

She had little choice. Going for the blade would draw the lethal attention of the litch and his minions yet again. She chose to delay her plans for the dagger and the Darkest’s soul within to win the greater victory today. Drawing on the last vestiges of her power, Tellani’s form shimmered, becoming one with the shadows; invisible to all.

Sol, his mind clearing, his anger burning brighter than the flames that danced around his sword, charged towards Los. He moved with a speed and ferocity he hadn’t known he possessed, his blade aimed at the lich’s heart. Los snaped a scorching sphere of fire between him and Sol, which exploded with white hot heat, knocking him back. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, lighting it in an orange flash.

Tellani, unseen, unheard, moved like a ghost through the battlefield. The Vigor, pulsating with latent energy, was within reach. She could feel its power, a siren song promising her everything she craved. Her fingers brushed against the cool, smooth surface of the beating heart, which quivered at her touch.

Auroratine, her attention focused on Sol, moved to reach his side. Los saw his opportunity. He unleashed another fireball, a roaring inferno that engulfed both the Aasimars. Sol, his reflexes honed by countless battles, managed to dive out of the way, the flames licking at his back but failing to find purchase. Auroratine, her movements less agile, cried out as the flames scorched her flesh. Before she could recover, a ghoul lunged, its rotting claws finding the flesh of her soft cheeks, its touch draining the life force from her. She crumpled to the ground, gripping her face in agony. Her light was fading.

Quickly, Los surveyed the room. Tellani’s body and the Vigor were missing. However, the ebony blade, his phylactery, laid abandoned on the floor. Not wasting another moment, Los ignored the Assimars and snatched the dagger up, its weight thrumming with dark energy.

Sol seeing Los disengage, ran to Auroratine, lifting her limp body up in his arms. Her wounds poured blood and her flesh smoldered. He carried her to the stairway up, their figures disappearing slowly with each step.

The Vigor in hand, Tellani slipped away as silently and unseen. Finding a nearby corner she melted into the shadows. The heart’s supple meat promised a cure to the hunger. In a savage tear, Tellani began consuming the Vigor in it’s entirety. Each mouthful of tough, spongy wetness sent waves of revitalization through her body. Her wounds healed, and after the gruesome affair, her hunger was satiated.

Exhuasted but desperate, Sol did not stop until he carried the body of Auroratine into the light of the surface world. Throughout the trek, his divinity reached out in searching branches, creating threads to his match. As the sun burning bright above the overcast skies, it’s light and warmth trickled through to the pair. Her head rocked. Her eyes opened. She looked up at him.

Epilogue

Tellani

Tellani runs off to gather her strength. Her goal remains to get the Darkest Blade. Kill the Darkest of Shadows. Become The Silence‘s avatar. Kill the Shadowfel Lord, taking his power to tear portals between planes and use it to destroy all of the Shadowfel.

Los

Secures his phylactery then begins seeking out ways to raise a massive undead army.

Skull Crusher

Skullcrusher leads the pirating side of the business while Azarhal brings in high value magic items, selling off some to Garland.

Sol

Stays in Shaa Thalas with Auroratine and the Eilistraee drow. Having given up on his mission for The Vigor to save Auroratine, he looses his sense of direction. He finds a new purpose, helping the drow and other elves that migrate to Shaa Thalas to rebuild the great elven society that once was there.

Escaping the Lolth drow by breaking through to the surface was a wondrous victory. The Eilistraee drow found they could survive the surface world after The Fall. The refugees found safety in the high elf ruins as the remnants of their army met their end at the base of the tree. These survivors made peace with the nature around them they’ve never known. As the drow prospered, they restored portions of Shaa Thalas to its former glory. High above them, amongst the empty, rattling branches: a tiny bud sprouted.