They finally manage to finish of the last zombies. These are not the only corpses in the room.
Three pale figures, with fine features, black clothes, and pieces of silver stuck in various places, lie in the room. A raven emblem can be found on some of their clothes.
The party pieces together that these are members of a shadow dwelling race known to serve an incarnate called the “Raven Queen”. But they—really—don’t know much else. No magic is used to learn more.
As the adventurers catch their breath, the unpleasantness of where they have arrived becomes more evident. Its brutally cold. And the necrotic energy seeping through everything saps the power of Ghen’s healing.
As in the shadow rift, their moods are also altered. Over the next 24 hours or so Nar will be strangely unconcerned, Buckthorn’s covetousness will come out (a coincidence that absent Randy may appreciate), Forge would go from being (more) disagreeable to (even more) lethargic. Lucian would at first shake off the effects before his natural paranoia kicks in. Ghen, again and somewhat appropriately, will be distracted from it all.
They continue. Moil, at least this part of it, seems to be a series of ancient black towers coated in blacker ice and connected by crumbling bridges. The towers contain remnants of long lost times, but perhaps not the great storehouse of dark lore or vast treasure that may have been hoped for. At least not the ones that the party begins to explore.
In the distance at one point they see:
a vast wall of mist suddenly rise, its roiling interior lit with a green glow. Dark tendrils lash the rubble strewn ground as if searching for something, and the sound of screaming comes faintly on the dark wind.
Forge is not pictured
Forge leads the way…in running back to a tower! The thing, the Tortured Vestige, goes elsewhere.
The shadow giant on the other hand goes right up to them. Stepping out of the darkness and attacking with its great sword and dark shadow magic. Nar calls forth a wall of fire and Forge and Ghen (practically driven to berserker rage) goes toe to toe…but the Giant is powerful. So Lucian uses some shadow magic of his own, and sends it right off the bridge.
Almost.
As the giant clings on the side, the do everything they can to push him…but he holds on. So Ghen dismisses him. As it is stuck deeper in the dark Aether, the party alternates healing themselves and trying to grease and or break off the edge were the giant was hanging to make a fall more likely.
He returns, he doesn’t fall! But they keep trying…he goes (so many saves…). Falling 100 feet into a deadly necrotic bog.
They look for shelter and discuss more healing. About 10 seconds later the shadow giant is back. And it returns the favor.
Badly wounded Forge and Lucian go over the side, landing in the deadly bog and dying fast. Ghen’s spirit goes down, but can’t do much. The other three debate: kill the giant or save the other two? The giant takes immense damage, but also dishes it out. They don’t kill it. They jump, floating down with Nar’s ring, until Buckthorn is able to pull them into a crevice above the bog.
The other two are just saved. Though, if it hadn’t been for the spirit shielding Forge, and Lucian’s necrotic resistance, they wouldn’t have been.
They find a room in a tower, ward it, and rest.
The next day they continue their exploration. They come to a tower full of corpses, that begin combining into one great mass!
Forewarned by Lucian, they mostly avoid the deadly barrow and hail damage upon it. It is dispersed soon enough.
The animated parts of ancient moil are another story. Golems of street, wall, and hearth assault the party and give no end of trouble. The wizard calls forth both a wall of fire and a zone of dark illusionary energy. The cleric uses his most powerful healing. In return the wall becomes, well, a wall, then makes a crushing tumble, the hearth explodes in flames (which the wizard kindly recharges) and the streets pound them into the pavement. The wizard is gravely hurt. But they defeat the urban golems eventually.
They continue. They find a spire now sheared off and totally open to the sky. In the middle is a wide platform, on which stone glows. They investigate. It is warded…and it’s a teleport, somewhere. Which may be useful, as by this point they think that Nar may not be able to get them back otherwise.
Then the vestige appears.
A great shapeless mist suddenly flares at the end of the bridge, its roiling mass of tendrils and ghostly faces lit from within by an unearthly green glow. A host of voices scream in a twisted chorus of pain and fear as it attacks.
They attack it, but seem to do little damage. Both Forge and Buckthorn are sucked into it, and lucky to escape. Nar comes really close to death, but with the help of the others, the wards are removed and they jump through.
Floating into another horror.