This week on Dungeons and Dragons...new member to the group?

Still on the boat after the soul of 12 Trees passes on, the ring on Lukas’s finger begins to glow with runes appearing and reappearing, pulsing with the beat of his heart. Aralon senses the necrotic energy coming from it. He and Άdus are able to sense that the algorithms seem to have been severed. Άdus senses the energy of a powerful wizard and a connection made, allowing the Zhentarim to scry on the group.

Vorn notices the moons have aligned and summons Luna to help on the difficult path ahead. On her shoulder appears a small dragon… Quark.

As Άdus continues to study the ring he quizzes the group asking if we are familiar with the name Hallia. Lukas summons her, to right past wrongs. Her soul appears to the group wanting to pass on peacefully, and offers us information on the Zhentarim and answers Lukas’s queries about his father. Telling us about the elven trees in the forest in Silvanest as well as Hades Horn.

She talks to Vandal about Zerubbel and his seeking of a wonder of the ancient world, The Cult of the Dragon and Tiamat.

Agrippiana and Lukas pray for the soul of Hallia, allowing her to pass on, having done her best to rectify her past wrongs. We reach the island and after warnings from Άdus, the group get off the boat, the mountain of black glass towering before them. Vorn suffers the effects of the place, feeling drawn to evil, but just manages to resist and maintain his senses. The group is greeted with a path of glass that cracks under their feet. Pools of congealed blood with crawling larvae, the souls from the lake, taken as tools for Orcus. The cries of children, sacrifices to Orcus, fill the air deafening the group. Acidic smells permeate the air, ash falling from the sky - the leftovers from the burnt victims of sacrifice. Amidst the noise, the group hear voices coming down the path, we all hide. 6 cultists come up the path, talking about their plan to burn our boat. The group set on the cultists quickly, the nature of the shadow-fell means that our spells are different. Lukas uses a lighting spell which instead fires bolts of blood down on the cultists.

As the group defeat the cultists, a scream slices through the air, the island cracks and splits, they merge into the ground, becoming one with the island. We walk up the incline following the path upwards to the mouth of a cave entrance. We hear the booming voice of the Baylor, taunting and calling to us, shaking the ground. The cave is dimly lit, showing pools of bubbling blood, giving the cave a red hue. We walk through the cave surrounded on either side by un-dead, chewing and chomping on thousands of corpses, though they pay us no heed. When we reach the top, a foul wind hits us and we come upon a massive bridge of obsidian, with a huge cavern below, blood boiling and bubbling below us. On the other side of the bridge sits a huge winged horned beast sitting upon a throne of bones, Errtu, the Baylor.

The group try to distract Errtu as Aralon and Vorn attempt to sneak around to the back of the throne to save Aralon’s sister. The group try to appeal to his vanity but he is not in the mood to listen. With his massive long sword and whip, the group begin to pummel him with all they have, Mushu’s fire resistance saving them from the worst of the fire damage. Luna deals the final blow on the Baylor and yet as he falls, he emits a sinister laugh… As his body disintegrates, he explodes into a burst of fire, killing Arnor and Mushu and badly injuring others.

Aralon and Vorn have made it to the cage containing his sister, badly emaciated and connected with magical tendrils to the scroll of Glasya. Aralon attempts to break the magical connection between the two in order to save her after Vorn has unlocked the cage.

As Errtu is temporarily defeated, the cave begins to shake and rip asunder. The rest of the group gather the injured members and make their escape. Vorn and Aralon are on the last orb and attempt to break the connection and the glass columns above them collapse, causing the ground to collapse beneath them. Vorn is able to jump away with only time either to grab Aralon or his sister… He chooses the sister, pulling her successfully to safety… Aralon, falls through the floor, looking up at Vorn with a smile on his face. He was able to save her after all…

Άdus makes a dash, running towards both of them, managing to break the magic and grab the scroll. Transporting the group back to the ship…

There is a long pause as the group, some injured and some dead, quickly healing themselves. Aralon is revived by Agrippiana, able to reunite with his sister. The years of torture and slavery had caused her mind to weaken and she recites a twisted poem over and over.

Arnor is able to sail the boat and the group travel back to the material plane, heading back to the city of Daggerdale for some needed respite.

A Few Weeks Later…

The group are in the centre of the town, regaling each other with their recent adventure, as a wagon rolls up to them. Inside is the entertainer Davros, whom the group had met in the city previously. “Well Aralon my friend, have you made your decision?” The group look to Aralon confused, as he and his sister make their farewells to the group. They will travel with the group of entertainers and finally have the happy life they have craved for so long. As Arlon climbs into the cart, he sits beside the driver, a strange devilish looking fellow. He turns to see Lorkan who greets him with a grin, “Are you ready to go… Dad?”

The wagon rolls gently away as the group look on.

…adventures

“Ahem” The party turn around to see Άdus waiting to speak to them. “Well… I can see there is maybe an opening for a new member to this.. group?” “It seems my associates detected that I have lost my way, become emotionally attached to the group… So... What do you think?” Some of the group discuss and agree to allow Άdus to travel with them.

And so a new chapter begins for our adventures, with much more ahead of them…

Well done Glen Mullane!