Ormazd's Campaign Log

RangerWickett said:

Well that's new.

Click to expand...

Yeah, went a little off the rails in order to prevent a TPK. I had been trying for some time to find a good place to insert a side quest related to Van's background (his long-lost love being sucked into Hell when he was resurrected as a revenant). So this worked out okay.

Also, the characters needed a bit more XP before following the Torch to Ycengled.

O

Merrick completed a ritual to protect us from heat and noxious fumes.
Karuna and Van are unconscious.
In Hell, fire powers are enhanced, and teleportation no longer causes damage.

Is Baelzra stealing souls from the Raven Queen?

A funnel cloud reaches back up into the clouds, and glinting gold light in the distant hills is an arch of some sort.

There are moans, cadenced chanting, and fires. There seems to be some ceremony going on further on around the lake.

Using the ritual Comrade's Succor, Lumi and Shirazade sacrifice healing surges to revive Van and Karuna, and another ritual is cast to make us stealthy. Van uses a ritual to send a distress message to Simeon "In hell. Send help."

We head towards the gold archway built into the hillside. A giant iron gate is hanging open, with glowing red runes (not in common, but can be read by all) - "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." This, the Gate of Melsparanze leads to Dis, the second layer of Hell, descending deeply down a cavern.

Shirazade finds a place to camp, she and Karuna take watches, as they each only need to meditate for 4 hours.

We head back to where we heard the moaning, and discover that the ship we were on was torn apart during the night.

On the very distant horizon we see a city in the distance, the Bronze Citadel, central seat of power in Avernus.

We move on to site where we heard activity and discover a chasm spanned by a bridge of bones and a pit of fire. In a pentacle is a beautiful woman with long black hair. Artfully draped chains cover her body. She seems to be leading the ritual. Diabolic creatures attend her, as well as a yuan-ti servant. A line of souls leads up to the center of pentacle, maybe about 25 -- at the end of the line is a minotaur, clearly unhappy and chained. As the souls reach the woman, they shred apart.

Van is going to pretend to lead Karuna and Shirazade as prisoners, with Lumi as a guard. Merrick is going to circle around on Smelly to free the minotaur at the end of the line. The guards allow us to get over the bridge. Van embellishes our story and says he's got souls for Baelzra. The guards swallow our story and tell Van to add us to the end of the line. Van claims to be Malgar who stole the soul of the Tannarok, but the guard calls his bluff, and Van says he was just angling for a better reward.

The minotaur can tell that the party's actions are total subterfuge and readies himself. Baelzra attacks with chains, restraining party members. Her serpentine attendant dominates Shirazade. Asteron, the minotaur, heals the party AND charges Baelzra with his horns! Meanwhile, Merrick is fighting Zofia in the sky alone (on Smelly) far in the distance.

Zofia flies down with Merrick and demands that Van come with her or she will kill us all. Van chooses to protect his friends by going with her after landing the killing blow on Baelzra.

The souls in the chest and Baelzra's body dissipate while we're resting.

Surprisingly, Van approaches us with the devil Kazyk and declares he is who he seems.
Zofia planned on taking Van to Dis, to be punished for eternity. Fortunately (at least for Van) Kazyk was tasked to bring the party to Bel, the archdevil of Avernus -- Zofia was furious but allowed Van to go when he agreed to go with her after his business with Bel is settled. Van needs to see if there's any good left in her or if she is gone for good.
Merrick vehemently resists, but the rest of the party wants to leave with Kazyk and see what Bel has to offer (especially as it involves a way out of Hell).

We walk 6-7 hours unmolested, Kazyk complaining all the while that he has to walk instead of teleporting because of us. Ultimately, we approach a massive citadel, jagged, with devils everywhere and bizarre beings -- welcome to the Bronze Citadel.

The entrance is like a tunnel -- walls incredibly thick. We pass through 14 layers of walls, with siege weapons and everyone looking, but no one stops us. At the center, we enter the main citadel. There, we find a huge throneroom, more like a military command room. Bel (pitfiend) is at a large table.
Bel says he's heard of this band of heroes, and wants us to get him a certain soul, signed over to him -- Drakus Coaltongue. Oracles and seers have given him information which he will share if we take on this task. (Van is tasked by Raven Queen to end Leska's quest for immortality, suggests it is related to Drakus' missing soul.)

Roav, a pit fiend who has worked closely with Leska, is one of Bel's agents. Bel also offers us some protection from his minions (including Roav) - Van tries to find out who owns Zofia's soul, Bel won't talk, but seems not to have it. Bel wants us to find Drakus's soul in "one year and a day" or else Shirazade must give up her soul to him. She refuses, but Van offers his instead.

In return for being sent back to Seaquen - find and return to Bel the soul of Drakus Coaltongue in one year and a day or else the soul of Van goes to Bel. If returned in 183 days, Bel will answer 3 questions about Zofia's status as honestly as possible. Additionally, he offers 1) protection from Devils with the Mark of Bel -- any harm a devil under Bel inflicts on us will be returned to them sevenfold. and 2) knowledge gleaned from seers and oracles.

Bel makes each party member step forth and receive a sigil mark on his/her forehead.

We appear in the living room of Crystin in the middle of the night, in her apartment attached to the temple. She had the halberd of Laurabec, but gave it to Simeon. A clue to the location of the Hammer of Thunderbolts is reportedly written on the halberd.

We report to Simeon - reclaiming the torch is still a priority, need to defeat Ragesian forces or they will conquer soon.

Rhuarc - half elf, mother Taranesti, father possibly a knight of the Aquiline Heart

Examine the halberd - some writing etched into it. Send it to metalsmith to clean it up and make the writing legible - this will take 2 days.
Hammer of thunderbolts - associated with Moradin or Kord.

Warn Simeon about the Monastary of the Two Winds and biomancy.

Elves living near Seaquen all left to help the Taranesti elves and almost all have perished. Shirazade tells the others about the torture and genocide of the Taranesti by Shaaladel in Shahalesti.

Rhuarc has the black scimitar Shaalguenyevar, which means "bright shadow."

Party members hit the library and do some investigating -- try to puzzle out the meaning in the oracles' words.
Karuna: gate of summer's sound
Lumi: heart of history -- a place, extra dimensions(?), Earth is alive, nothing else lives, time is a tangible dimension, as measurable as length and depth
Shirazade: talks to Simeon about the fate of the Taranesti and her twin, Talberon.

Etched on halberd's blade: "greed of Brightblade" -- Brightblade is the name of a dwarven clan who were shunned for selling their mine to elves (Eladrin). Last Brightblade mine located to the west of Shahalesti a (dwarven) generation ago - 150 years
Van goes to schmooze with eladrin in Seaquen to ask about Shalosha (daughter of Shaaladel) and the mine -- contained something the elves wanted that the dwarves didn't care about. Has his fortune told (*not sure how much of what i wrote down was accurate):

Represent Balance
Status quo is Power, first it must be attained
Resist becoming involved because of courage
Propelled into action by Sanity
Goal is Defeat, Courage hinders, Despair propels

While discussing our next course of action, Lumi suggests swinging by Gate Pass to pick up the Living Blade. “Surely a weapon that can kill Trilliths would be good to have.”

Shirazade implores the party to visit the Ycengled forest at once, to see if they might encounter the spirits of her kin. Van responds by suggesting the Taryavar River, which, according to superstition, carries the souls of cursed elves.

Lumi chimes in again. “If we continue on this path, we may find Trilla, and there might be Trilliths around. Gate Pass is on the way to Ycengled.”

Van realizes, with some hesitation, “Er, We might have to kill Reogar to take it from him.” He explains the circumstances under which Reogar earned the Living Blade, which is tied to the forest of Inennotdar and the lives of the Seela.

“Wait, if we took the Living Blade, I’d have to bond with it? And then I’d be responsible for a whole race of people? Maybe we should just get this Reogar guy to come along with us. I think it’s worth having around. I feel strongly about this.”

We prepare a sending ritual.

“What tidings, Reogar? Our patchwork crew suffers greatly when facing Trilliths. Need Living Blade if possible. Want to join us?”

“Sorry, can’t leave, busy. Fighting to free Gate Pass.”

We visit Simeon before setting out on our journey. Katrina, the flirty fire mage, is there, and brings news from Gate Pass.

“General Ashok Danava has taken Gate Pass. Some of the noble, heroic citizens of Gate Pass have gone underground and have been striking the Ragesian forces, disrupting supplies, assassinating leaders, and basically making it very hard for the Ragesian army to maintain any sort of peace, as well as stopping them from striking east into Shahalesti--that is, if that is truly what they intend to do.

“It’s a little strange. Leska devoted an entire army to the city of Gate Pass.”

"Do you have any theories on why that is?" someone asked.

Katrina shook her head. “It could be for symbolic reasons; after all, it’s the only city Coaltongue took, and then subsequently lost.”

Simeon seems heartened that our party made a decision, once again in search of the Torch. Lumi pulls out her Lens of Discernment and gazes at Katrina. Nothing special.

Katrina says tell Rantle “His big sister is worried about him.” If we get to Gate Pass, we agree to pass on her sentiment.

We take our leave.

As soon as we are far from earshot, Van gets the group’s attention. “I don’t trust Katrina. On many occasions she knew about events that we had not shared with anyone. I’ve spared her an interrogation because I have no evidence that she is spying for the enemy, and I may just be paranoid. I tell you this because if we somehow encounter agents of Ragesia within the forests of Ycengled, it will indicate to me that she has betrayed us.”

Before we leave, the minotaur Asteron wishes to consult the oracle. He vanishes in a flash and finds himself in a chamber with three cloaked figures. “I am Asteron, priest of Kord. I come to you for simple answers to deep questions.”
“Where is the Torch of the Burning Sky located?” he asks. “We cannot tell you.”
“Why not?” - “It is blocked from divination.”
“Does Rhuarc have Coaltongue’s soul?” - “We cannot tell you.”
“How do we repair the Torch of the Burning Sky?”
“The soul of the Dragon must be reborn and reattached. Look to the echo of the soul.”
There is a flash, and Asteron returns. “The Torch and Rhuarc are well guarded.”

“Maybe he’s in a place that’s not like other places.” blurts Lumi.

“The Soul of the Dragon... Probably Syana, who was killed” suggests Van.

“What if it refers to Drakus Coaltongue?” says Karuna.

“The echo of the soul... Bel’s prophets said that Syana weeps the echo of Primordial souls,” Shirazade offers. “Perhaps we need to restore Syana to fix the torch.”

We summon eagles and fly toward the Nallanthes river. Flying along, we find a cave entrance. We follow the river deep through the earth and come out on the other side. Determined to press on, we follow the river. Subterranean beasts fall to our spells without consequence. After a day of travel we reach the edge of the forest.

The trees are gnarled and twisted. The few leaves remaining on the trees are withered, and shadows grow deeper than they should be at midsummer. No rustling of leaves or bird calls comes from the woods. Instead, the scraping jangle of chains, strung around the ashen trunks, a monument to the Teranesti murdered by Shaladel. Shirazade looks grim.

Inside the forest it is quiet, dark, and snowing. Our light is dampened by the strange magic that pervades the area. Merrick casts a ritual to warm us up, and then Asteron leads the way through the disconcerting silence. Suddenly, a child darts into view and then disappears just as quickly. Following a giggle, Lumi paces forward, sword drawn. She sees a large black obelisk, and near it stands the strange child, staring at the group. Lumi alerts the party. “Do you see this?”

As we advance toward the obelisk, the child darts off into the forest again. Covered in moss and ravaged by time, it is a waypoint that lists directions and distances to nearby elven cities. Although he left no tracks, we try to follow the child, stepping into a clearing.

There is a deafening clamor. Walking tree trunks come shambling out of the woods. Mighty branches clutch at the air. As they clambor towards us, chained to the rotting bark of one of the trees we see the dessicated corpse of a doomed elf.

Shirazade calls out a warning to the group. Van creates a mystical shield of blades. Karuna charges one of the creatures--undead treants--but the awkwardness of its shambling throws him off. Lumi lashes out and tries to sever the chain holding the corpse. One of the trees opens its terrible maw, groaning, summoning a trio of saplings. They burst from the ground and charge in, battering Shirazade.

Van steps forward and lashes them with a chain of his own. Merrick blasts one of the saplings with a lightning bolt, which explodes into splinters. Another sapling holds down Shirazade for further punishment, but she stands fast and unleashes a divine rebuke upon two of the treants, courtesy of the Raven Queen. Karuna delivers a powerful sweep kick which snaps a branch off one treant and nearly severs a sapling in two. Asteron charges another treant. Lumi focuses her martial ability and attacks the chain tree, but her blade is deflected by the ancient, rock-hard bark. The elder treant retaliates with a crippling blow which knocks the wind out of Lumi. A number of saplings burst out of the ground, grabbing at Karuna, and but he deftly avoids them.

Van shouts a warning to Asteron, who steps out of the way as the tiefling summons a dark rain that pours down. Merrick unleashes an elemental storm. Shirazade creates three holy beacons shimmering amongst the black rain, searing the murky treants, which are instantly disintegrated. Karuna is knocked down by a sapling, but he snaps it in half with a focused kick. Lumi’s blows are repeatedly turned aside by the chain treant. Its giant roots burst from the ground and pull her to the ground, pinning her as it viciously batters her with its oaken limbs. The knight is injured, but Shirazade blesses her, calling on the divine potency of her blood. Asteron charges across the battlefield and engages another foe, who summons more saplings.

Van swings his terrible scourge at another treant. Merrick blasts the elder treant with a powerful lightning blast that knocks it off its roots! Shirazade’s eyes blaze with silver fire as she gazes at a treant, which writhes and collapses under her radiant glare. Her divine corona expands, engulfing another tree. Karuna kips up and moves to dispatch another lesser treant, which buckles under his assault. Lumi struggles to her feet and flails against the monstrous oak that has restrained her; her sword erupts with mystical flame and her powerful strike connects. Asteron destroys another sapling. The giant treant continues its assault on Lumi, and Karuna’s quarry retaliates with a necrotic surge.

Van moves to flank the elder treant but his spell is deflected. Merrick calls more lightning. Shirazade manifests the blood spirits of her murdered kin. The trees are not affected but Asteron, honored by the hallowed energy, is emboldened. He brands his foe with a rune of destruction, calling down lightning. Karuna channels his ki energy into a firey burst, scorching the monsters, and is attacked in return.

Van cannot penetrate the chain treant’s bark, but Merrick’s lightning finds its mark. Shirazade emits searing beams of light, vaporizing the tree that towers over Karuna, allowing him to shift his focus to the ancient oak. Lumi slashes again with her flaming blade, and the giant tree shudders, chains ringing. Asteron splits more firewood, sending a sapling flying. The giant tree flails wildly, slamming into Lumi and Karuna and sapping their life force. It steps away and Lumi steps in, striking it with a backhand swing.

Van’s black flail drags the elder treant back into the fray as Merrick launches himself and Asteron through the air with a gust of air. Shirazade blasts the thing with a column of holy fire. Karuna misses. Lumi hacks it again powerfully. Asteron curses as he swings and misses at the retreating monster.

Van steps back and destroys the ancient treant with an eldritch bolt. The battle is over.

“The poor child,“ says Lumi. “We should bury her.” The group agrees. Van wonders what could animate the trees in such a foul place. Karuna suggests it’s just vengeful spirits.

The party decides to rest in the forest, but the dark energy saps their will. They will carry on, wary of what terrors might befall them as they continue deeper into the woods.

Resting in the forest proved difficult. Even the sounds of our footsteps and the light of our torch seemed dampened by the eerie surroundings.

As we followed the river, we spotted a procession of glowing ghostly elves. Shirazade and Lumi stepped forward and called out to them. At the sound of their voices, the spirits broke off and passed through bodies of the two heroes, striking them to their very souls.

Asteron spoke in a whisper. "The genocide has scarred the forest on a spiritual level. It's as if the forest itself craves vengeance on the Shahalesti." Karuna shuffled awkwardly and suggested we return to the river's edge, with Merrick's fervent agreement.

Asteron was surprised by a bird-like entity that rose up out of the dead leaves and flew off. "What was that?" No one else saw it.

We came to the mouth of a black cave, from which poured the river's waters. Karuna climbed a rise to get a look around, and spotted a clearing; within the clearing, a group of arrow-riddled corpses drew his attention. We decided to go investigate. "If I die, I'm going to be upset," Merrick quipped.

We cast ghost walk, and the stealthier members of the group snuck around through the woods while the more heavily-armored ones lumbered toward the clearing.

Asteron's hesitance proved warranted as Karuna and Van spotted three Shahalesti snipers hiding in the trees. Karuna lead the attack, catching the archers unaware. A barrage of stones and spells sent our enemies reeling, but they responded in kind. Another handful of soldiers, who had been well hidden in the trees, rushed out to join the fray.

The fight was short and brutal. Our mettle, especially Merrick's spells, proved stronger. The Eladrin captain ordered his men to retreat, vanishing into the underbrush, but Van had taken care to knock a couple of them unconscious.

The soldiers gradually woke. "Tell us everything we want to know." Van glared.

Karuna stepped in. "What are your orders?" "The shining lord Shaladel has sent us here to scour the area while our batallion sets up to the south of here." They were reportedly looking for the torch.

When the soldiers wouldn't divulge any more, Shirazade murdered them in a rage.

Karuna spotted a strange fairy ring--a circle of mushrooms, weeping blood. As Van looks forward to investigate, he notices his flail begins to drip with blood as well. "Strange..."

Shirazade looked up from the bloody scene of carnage she had wrought. She calls to the spirits of the wood: "This is just the beginning of our vengeance!"

We returned to the caliginous cave. Entering its dark mouth, we found ourselves in a subterranean complex. Merrick wanted to continue to follow the river. Karuna wanted to explore deeper into the caves. Shirazade wanted to head North, in the direction the Eladrin search party had been travelling. Van suggested they use a ritual to decide.

As we explored deeper into the cave, Shirazade's keen senses picked up a strange feeling, and we gradually became aware that the cave was somehow linked to--no, tainted by--the shadowfell. Creepy red eyes peered at us from the gloom and then vanished; disconcerted, we hurried on.

Paranoid, perhaps justifiably, Merrick caught Karuna when he made a strange choice of words, and said he was "drawn" to the south somehow. Weighing in, Van suggested we continue up the river and see if Karuna's compulsion became more pronounced.

It did. In addition, Asteron, Lumi and Shirazade were being drawn to the North. Discussion was being made while Merrick walked a short distance into the woods ahead of us. The halfling came back in a fury, having seen what appeared to be Karuna's naked corpse abandoned in the woods, and accused Karuna of being a doppelganger. When we looked, everyone saw something different: a corpse; writhing snakes; a pile of dead leaves.

Shirazade cast corpse light, and the whole forest was wreathed in green flame, signifying that the forest itself was undead. Van's mind was blown, but Asteron was unsurprised.

Karuna felt filled with hatred as they move further from his chosen destination. The forest didn't want him to be there.

We decided to camp for a while. In the middle of the night, Asteron was awoken by his watcher ritual. Soon after, we could hear wolf-like howls from the forest, and a posse of strange elves, translucent and glowing blue, clad in wolf-skins surrounded us.

The elven forms melt away until they are all wolves who attack the sleeping party (although asteron, karuna & shirazade are awake).
after defeating the creatures, more howls sound in the night. a silvery glowing wolf appears. its throat is cut and bleeding though it is wearing a a jeweled collar and strange cloth wrappings.
when the silver wolf is vanquished, its body dissipates and only the collar and cloth wrappings are left. the "cloth" is really superfine chainmail and the collar is made of gold with red gems. both have a crescent moon symbol, which is of the shahalesti house of Kiirodel (Irana Kiirodel is the chief adviser of Shaaladel).
One of the spectral hounds is Malhun, the blood wolf.

north -- We are more and more certain that we're headed in the right direction (except karuna).
rising from the center of a clearing is a circle of stones (a henge) with smooth black surfaces, covered in runes. There is movement in its center, including some armored elves.
There is also a stoic man with the head of a lion and a linen kilt. van determines he's a kind of celestial (from another plane, servants of good deities, but can be summoned), standing guard.
We step back and cast the ritual Ghost Walk, in order to get a better look. stealthy party members move closer (van, karuna, merrick). There are four humanoids: wizard, beast from feywild in plate, 2 eladrin. One is a member of the solei polancis (super-elite shahalesti). plated beast standing next to wizard, tries to speak but wizard shushes him, studying the symbols on the stones intently. van tries to hear what they're saying or see what they're looking at, but can't make out the runes the wizard is studying.

flashing lights start up again - wizard performing a ritual. van thinks it's an enchantment or alteration ritual.

We decide to watch what they're doing, but stealth fails. The celestial calls out that we should reveal ourselves, so we move forward as a group.
The wizard steps up and says they're working for shining lord shaaladel and hewants us to come to their camp for questioning.
Lkendreis gives up at the end of a short fight instead. When questioned he says the following: he is in charge, performing a ritual to keep taranesti away from here, commanded by shaaladel. They have been camping in this henge for concealment, in search of travelers (not this party) - people carrying a valuable package, recognizable by the darkness of their skin. don't know where they're from, only that they were coming here.
short discussion on what to do with the prisoners with shirazade, merrick, lumi and van in favor of killing them. lumi executes them. karuna is not happy with this decision, and says he's starting to question the honor of the group.

a fox the size of a wolf darts out - examines us. blue runes on its skin glowing under its fur. elf woman steps out of the forest - red hair, leather armor, carrying a battered sickle and a bow.
Fayne - "you are not friends of the shahalesti. who are you?"
says the forest is beyond help, van tells her we're trying to find the Torch of the Burning Sky -- she'll help us if we prove our trustworthiness by rescuing a prisoner from the shahalesti. her name is Liat, being held at shahalesti compound in the south, a fortified garrison. threatens us when we mention Trilla.

Fayne will lead us to rescue her friend who's being held prisoner -- at a certain point Fayne stops and says she won't go any further, there are wards she cannot cross.

karuna has stopped feeling the pull to the south.

stealthily advance in the direction of the garrison. proceed one at a time to maximize stealth. van summons a raven to scout ahead and report what it sees: wooden palisade (100'/side), 2 gates on adjacent walls, about 100 troops, a few dozen huts and tents, ditch dug around, platforms with archers, caged prisoner, chained and gagged, in center.

plan to cause a distraction at each corner (where the archer platforms are positioned), while merrick sneaks in to get Liat. as karuna approaches his position, he is stopped by shahalesti who tell him they know where we are and we need to come out. likewise for other party members, though van spots his group and melts back into the forest. karuna and shirazade go with the soldiers. merrick keeps moving and is shot by 6 archers, vanishes, and reappears inside the gates.

Kisnit - leader of shahalesti troops - says he wants to talk and come to a peaceable agreement, mutually beneficial. Asteron, Lumi, Shirazade and Van come forward. kisnit has a table and chairs brought out and invites party to join him. says they haven't found the Torch, but they think it's in Phorros Irrendra - legendary hidden city in Ycengled. wants us to infiltrate the city and lead them in. says we'll win shaaladel's allegiance against ragesia.

merrick, while sneaking towards the cage, sets a tent on fire, but the light of the fire give him fewer shadows to hide in and he's spotted. he is attacked and causes a ruckus. the rest of the party can hear the commotion and van determines that now's the time to add fuel to the fire, telling shirazade that he thinks we should do what we did to the other shahalesti we met and attacks with black rain, while shirazade calls up a buffeting wind.

merrick heals Liat, then blows the bottom of the cage out and goes in to get her and they get on Smelly and escape. van teleports, shirazade turns into a cloud of ravens that fly to the forest edge, karuna dodges arrows and runs, lumi and asteron charge their way out and everyone meets back up where we left Fayne.
happy reunion between the taranesti elves, then they lead us away down secret paths to a taranesti camp. says these are half the survivors. rhuarc was here -- traveled to phorros irrendra, he is still there. he is of mixed blood, shunned, jaded by his past, father a knight of the aquiline cross. his companions are Ironel (double-bladed sword) and Quiloth (whip). carrying a large box, seems to be taking orders from Rhuarc. heard them speak of the "grand manor" and "emerald peak".
the brightblade mine has some energy or magic that the eladrin want.

forest has been cursed for 40 years. same time the fire forest stared burning. goblins hired by shaaladel to set fire to the forest to force the elves to choose a side. shaaladel was attempting to make his own torch and consolidate power.

to find Phorros Irrendra: leave the light behind, follow the nallanthes river west - beach with black sand. create a bonfire to the east or wait for sunrise. follow the shadows into the passage. at every fork, create another fire and always have the light behind you, hold the light ahead of you to find your way out.

in the morning we go back to the cave. asteron casts light and we follow our shadows down into the darkness. lumi can see dark lines of energy flowing in the passages. halfway in and out of the shadowfell, like an extended entrance.

after an hour a huge creature steps out - 4 arms, demonic face. "at last, mortals unafraid to wield the fire of the the torch!" lumi uses her lens: Daukron - the glabresu - a demon known for tempting mortals with power, she whispers to shirazade.
Demon says rhuarc is hiding and wasting the power of the torch. we fight the demon and as he falls back into the abyss, he calls, "he hides in the grove of fallen hollows."

enter a grotto where faint light filters in from above. 40' and 80' tiers and a stairway that goes up the back of the grotto...

we are not on the material plane, but not in the shadowfell.
leaves are translucent, never seen these kinds of trees before. less gloomy, though still dim.

Grand Manor: massive tree with dwellings built into its branches, etc. trees grown around it.
From our vantage point, we can see the emerald peak up ahead.
most of the buildings are not in good condition - Karuna and Shirazade spot one that is in better repair than the others. head toward it -- 2 rope bridges -- after a short debate, though Merrick offers to fly us across one at a time, we just head over and the bridge collapses on one side. Merrick, Karuna, and Asteron catch their balance, Lumi and Shirazade fall but hang on. A dark skinned elf with purple hair and a whip pulls herself up to Karuna, another one next to Merrick with a double-bladed sword. Merrick and Karuna try to tell them we're not looking for trouble and just want to find Rhuarc. they don't know where he is. Shirazade angers them by insisting they do. Van diplomacizes them: says we're searching for the torch, not looking for a fight. They said Rhuarc (and they say his name with some venom) gave them treasure in exchange for the Torch. we start to back away, trying not to further antagonize them, though Asteron wants to ask them some more questions. Van determines that the dark elves had different motivations that Rhuarc. They tell us that Rhuarc may have a lair in a place called "the Forge" and say they've been guarding the body of our former tyrant and just want to leave. Have Coaltongue but they don't care what happens to his body now. they've been hiding for a few months.
go into the house, no body is obvious when we make a search. Ritual to detect hidden door, which isn't trapped. find a coffin-sized metal box -- contains a corpse with a metal plate separating the head from the body. there's a hole in his clothes where presumably the golden stake was driven through his heart, but the skin is smooth. body is fresh.
Asteron casts a ritual to see the corpse's last sights: wakes up because he heard a noise, a half elf stabs him with a stake, laughs it off, then Rhuarc's sword comes around and decapitates him.
We divvy up the body (to shirazade) and head (to merrick) for transport and put them in separate bags. as we are discussing our options, an arrow strikes the ground between Lumi's feet, as another one comes through the window, missing Van. Van suggests that Asteron smash down the back wall so we can head toward the other bridge. Shirazade peeks out the front door and sees a figure all in black in a tree with a bow, shooting at us. hits him with her fiery glance, dazing him so he falls out of the tree. when we get down to the ground, he's gone but we follow his trail to a stone building with a stone bridge leading to the door where we see him ducking in. follow him into what appears to be an abandoned forge. as we enter the building, the floor falls out from beneath us, burying most of us in rubble, 40' deep. Van calls out that we are friendly. all whooshed up by Merrick.

van summons a lesser planar ally and orders it to locate the person - reports that he's moving somewhat back the way we came, so we keep following as best we can.
Come to a clearing - looks like it was once a garden, ringed by statues of elven deities and lesser deities. smaller ring of religious items and mausoleums. black and purple flowers everywher.

Karuna calls out that we just want to talk, sees a figure in the shadows of a building, holding something up in its hand. Asteron creates light, can see motes of pollen? floating in the air -- when he moves forward through the flowers, clouds of spores choke him. Van determines that the black flowers are a kind of lotus and the purple ones are keshweed, both extremely poisonous. 4 undead come out and surround Asteron, Lumi moves to his side. the figure in black leather (the real one), shoots at us throughout the battle and gets away in the end.

We chased the figure we thought was Rhuarc, crossed a river and his trail led to a house on a hill. Heading up the hill we saw him running away. What a surprise.

Riding smelly, Merrick and Lumi try to cut him off. Lumi attacks only to realize it is a duplicate and the real Rhuarc shoots her from the balcony and destroys the bridge they're on.

Everyone charges into the house trying to reach Rhuarc. Merrick flies in the top window and finds himself trapped in a cage of force with a demon. The others make their way up the stairs as quickly as they can.

The seconds tick by. The party cries out for Rhuarc to slow down and talk, but he isn't having any of it.

Rhuarc vanishes into thin air, but Karuna is unimpressed. He pleads for Rhuarc to listen. Rhuarc replies that he has vowed to protect the torch with his life.

Van is chagrined. "Surely one man can't protect the torch as well as six," he bellows. "Leska seeks the torch and we can't allow it to fall into her hands; If necessary, we will destroy you to keep it safe." Rhuarc refuses to listen to reason. The party tries to defeat him but momentarily he flees again.

Everyone goes out the window.

Then, Rhuarc jumps off a cliff.

Lumi jumps after him and grabs him. They crash to the ground. Lumi is knocked unconscious, but surprisingly, Rhuarc makes sure she isn't dying. He seems impressed by her dedication.

As the others make their way down, Shirazade asks him what he wants to do with it, and he explains that he simply wants to keep it hidden.

He doesn't think we're good enough to protect it, but after some discussion, Merrick vows to return it to him once their noble purpose is complete. He seems to trust the halfling's pledge and hands over the torch.

Rhuarc admits that he is in possession of the soul of Drakus Coaltongue. After some bargaining, and a heartfelt explanation of his lost lover's plight, Rhuarc agrees to give the soul to Van, on the condition that he brings Zofia before him sometime in the future.

Rhuarc departs and the party rests. Van disenchants his old Stone of Flame (now in Lumi's possession, after being carried by Alain) and turns it into an amulet that will protect the wearer (and, importantly, his possessions) from scrying. Merrick gets the amulet and holds onto the torch.

Then the party headed to the Temple of Echoed Souls, where Rhuarc reportedly separated Trilla's soul from the torch (thereby deactivating it). We hope that her soul might still linger in the temple, allowing us to fix the torch.

As we ascended the stairs to the temple, bells began to toll loudly, announcing our presence for miles around. Karuna knocks, and he and Lumi open the large doors. The bells stop tolling.

As we enter, facing a large mirror, glowing circles appear beneath us on the floor, and a brown-skinned man in crimson robes appears in the mirror. He warns: "The one called Forty-one controls the temple now, and will destroy you if you enter."