We return to our heroes aboard a boat/barge piloted by the ogre Jarold down the River Tinsley. Jarold hands out gifts to his new friends/passengers:
- To Barclay, a large nugget of fool's gold.
- To Kodrak, some flax seeds, a burnt toy, and a diagram on how to make a ball.
- To Raehendra, a bottle of perfume.
- To Renn, a vial of will-o-wisp remains.
- To Sentie, some hot peppers, hot sauce, and capsaicin.
The voyage takes two days, during which they pass several elven towns and villages. Eventually, they arrive at what appears to be an open field—although the river ahead of them is roaring, divided by some invisible structure. Jarold docks the boat, and the party disembarks.
Renn casts see invisibility and sees not only the bridge in front of them (which explains the river's behavior) but also a walled city, now falling to ruin. Everyone hears a commotion on the other side of the bridge, and Renn sees a door shattered by three creatures.
Our heroes battle a modified/upgraded Barrowghast, Sword Wraith Warrior, and Specter. The Spector is quickly destroyed by Sentie, and the Sword Wraith Warrior is taken down by a few hits from Kodrak, Raehendra, and Renn—but the Barrowghast takes many hits before it drops. Then it rises again and takes several more hits before Sentie dispatches it. Unfortunately, most of those hits release plumes of poisonous gas, harming everyone around the Barrowghast. After the battle is over, Renn heals most of the party's wounds.
Hazephas the imp appears and invites our heroes into Rixiilliandrias' invisible tower. They meet Najima, who seems to be some kind of...invisible secretary? Then the party is escorted to a small theater where they enjoy snacks and a stage magic performance by Rixiilliandrias—who asks that they call him "Andrias".
Barclay explains everything to Rixiilliandrias, with help from the rest of the party, in hopes that Andrias can fill in the blanks. Rixiilliandrias explains that Myrinul was, at one time, a center of magical research until they made the connection between the ever-increasing earthquakes and their work. Myrinul was shut down, and everyone swore a "soul-oath" not to divulge certain things. (In short, Rixiilliandrias is willing to help but cannot directly intercede in areas involving his soul-oath—including the dead god.) Rixiilliandrias also explains that his research and experiments at Myrinul involved the runic spell pages. They granted him his long life, though they drew that life force from the people of Pallistae. Rixiilliandrias is now doing what he can to destroy the undead and make the city habitable again. He also explains that his magical experiments led his wife, Miela, to leave him, and his brother-in-law, Kajh Falkor, to desire a longer life and eventually resort to vampirism. This was centuries ago, but it is clear that Rixiilliandrias is depressed from the loss and death of his wife, not to mention guilt at the many lives he took.
At this time, they sleep while a manic Rixiilliandrias rebuilds the teleportation circle to Githis. He soon wakes our heroes and takes them through a series of teleportation circles—which should make them untraceable—and then drops a scrying device into the Githis circle. A circular screen opens, showing all that the scrying device sees.
The scrying screen is blank for about twenty seconds, but in time they discern light. The scrying device is moving on some kind of device, through rooms and hallways that are strangely rounded, with skeletal protrusions. Everything appears uncomfortably organic. Features that look like pores or organs dot the walls, leaking some liquid. Eventually, the scrying device is deposited on some crates in a small room.
Nearby is a table and a cultist in purple robes. On the table are a lantern and a glowing body, the only sources of light in the room. The body appears to be speaking. Sentie can read its lips: "—emissaries from Casseval...still unknown. Feore sends...a Corusene cardinal...he is a cousin to their king."
Our heroes realize that the body is that of Dimir, the exploded viceroy of Falxmed. It appears to have been sewn back together, though roughly.
The cultist asks, "when are the emissaries to arrive?" Dimir's body responds, "the first of Haws." That is almost exactly a month away.
The cultist doesn't say anything, but seems to be waiting for something—or someone. Out of the shadows glides a skeletal figure, dressed in fine clothing, floating several inches above the ground. Its eyes are a flaming, baleful blue. The figure moves its jaws, as if speaking, but without lips Sentie cannot translate.
The cultist nods and says, "and what of the meddlers, the ones who killed Vict Falkor? Tell me about them." The body of Dimir says, "two humans.... An elven priest of the night. Their leader is Kodrak, a dwarven lord. There is the daughter of Wendlaf's imprisoned business partners, the gnomes. She may be seeking revenge...perhaps funding their group. It is unclear how much or how little they know." At that, the body ceases glowing and seems to relax. The speak with dead spell has ended.
The cultist says, "this matches the accounts of those slaughtered at the watchtower. As you inferred, Benefactor." The cultist bows. The skeletal simply floats there, as if lost in thought.
Eventually, the skeletal figure produces several scrolls from its robes, places them on the table, and begins talking. The cultist frowns and says, "but I had hoped to be present for the return of The Endless and Timeless One." The skeletal figure speaks for some time and the cultist appears relieved. He puts his hands together in gratitude.
The cultist takes a scroll and casts sending from it, then speaks: "the Cassevallan and Feoran guests arrive the first of Haws. The ritual must be completed by the third. Do not keep them waiting." He pauses for a reply and casts from another scroll. This time, he says, "if necessary, we can make our Lord fully corporeal after he is brought through. A search for the horn is already underway." There is another pause, and a third sending: "yes, I can vouch for the Benefactor. I'm placing you in charge for now. I'm being sent to Fellsdare for a secret coronation." A final pause, and the cultist looks at the skeleton. "It is done."
The skeleton briefly speaks. The cultist replies, "no, they understand secrecy. They will wait for word from me. If there is a problem, they know to march on Fellsdare and we will meet them there." The cultist puts his hands back together. "If you don't mind my asking, what kind of coronation did you have planned?" he asks.
The skeleton makes a brief motion and a slash appears at the cultist's throat. Blood sprays across the table. Another motion from the skeleton lops off the cultist's hands. The man crumples to the floor in a pool of blood.
The skeleton waves and the walls fade away. Apparently, they were illusory! In the distance, on (what they assume is) the actual wall, there is a massive orifice filled with swirling magic. Everyone experiences an ominous, sinking feeling in their guts—even through a scrying device, this orifice exudes some terrible magic.
Near it are a couple of blueish creatures with tentacles on their faces. They begin to hover closer but the skeletal figure holds up its hand. The blueish creatures drop to the floor and bow deeply, then proceed to walk. Clearly, they are not accustomed to walking and it must cause them some discomfort. Nevertheless, they approach the cultist's body and crack open its skull, then devour its brain.
The skeletal figure turns away, its body language not expressing disgust but mere disinterest. It glances in the direction of the scrying device, and for a second it feels like the figure is staring our heroes in the eyes—before it performs a hand movement and the device goes black.
Rixiilliandrias suggests that they return through the teleportation circles immediately.
Soundtrack:
- Daniel Pemberton, The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, Vol. 1 (2019)
- Daniel Pemberton and Samuel Sim, The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, Vol. 2 (2019)
The Main Cast, our player characters:
- Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
- Aevyr, his imp familiar
- Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
- Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
- Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
- Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)
The Supporting Cast, non-player characters:
- Hazephas, imp, familiar of Rixiilliandrias
- Jarold, ogre
- Najima
- Rixiilliandrias of Pallistae Starling-on-Tinsley, wizard
- Unnamed Cultist
- Unnamed Lich (The Benefactor?)
- Unnamed Mind Flayers
See the full cast list at Campaigns in Elsemorn—now with photos of the miniatures used in the game!
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