Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)

Cold Visitor: Part 7 – Returning to Camp

The camp was sullen and paranoid. Lieutenant Jandis, a nervous-looking soldier with a monocle, addressed the men.

“Since the C-captain’s gone,” stuttered Lieutenant Jandis, “and I’m the ranking officer, I’m assuming command.”

Kham sat down at the table, watching the other soldiers stare at their feet. “What happened?”

“Something came in,” said Sergeant Messer. “Came right through the exterior door.” He pointed at the door that entered the mess hall. “Took the Captain, and Privates Lilit, and Pivar.”

Silas stood next to Jandis, arms crossed. Elise and Merkin stood behind him.

“It’s important we don’t close with the creature, whatever it is,” said Jandis. “I want you to use crossbows only.”

“Are you crazy?” asked Sergeant Laskin.

“What're we supposed to use,” said Sergeant Messer. “Harsh language?”

“My studies of the sample indicate that close contact with the creature or creatures might cause contamination,” said Silas.

Jandis put fists on his hips. “C-crossbows only. I want swords sheathed.”

Muttered curses rippled through the soldiers.

Kham froze. “Wait. Did you say sample? You dug up part of that thing under the ice?”

Silas’ eyes darted nervously. “We found the corpse of the creature. I took it in for examination.”

Kham shook his head in disbelief. “Checked in on it lately? If I were you, I’d double the guards at every opening and block that hole the thing made. And nobody should be traveling alone, everyone in pairs.”

“Good idea.” Messer glared daggers at the wizard. “I think Silas here is full of sh—“

Kham put one finger up. “Shhh! Do you hear that?”

“Hear what,” said Laskin.

Then they all heard it. The dogs in the distant kennel were barking like mad. Then one of them howled.

Everyone turned to look at Lieutenant Jandis. “I want you men to…”

“Dogtown’s going nuts,” said Kham. “I’ll check it out.” He kicked off of the table and ran past Jandis before he could finish his order.

Cold Visitor: Part 8 – Dog House

Kham made his way down the freezing corridor. The wind soughed loudly overhead.

He reached the kennel door. There was a savage outpouring of noise from within. With one pistol out, he unlatched the door.

Just as he opened the door, a dog’s corpse, as if jettisoned from a cannon, knocked him off his feet. Growls, barks, snarls, and screeching assailed his ears.

Jandis jogged up behind Kham.

“I don't know what the hell's in there,” said Kham, “but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is. We need reinforcements. Get the men!”

Jandis held both hands over his ears. “What?”

“It’s killing the dogs!” shouted Kham. “Get the wizard over here and as many men as you can find!”

The fight inside the kennel raged on.

“Uh…we should…” Jandis blinked, totally losing his cool.

Kham bit his lip. He took out another pistol with his free hand and cocked it.

“Kham,” said Jandis, “What the hell are you…”

Kham undid the latch and entered the kennel.

The torches had been snuffed; it was pitch black. A tindertwig sizzled to life in Kham’s hand. He threw it to the floor.

The light found a mass of dogs in a wild melee in the corner. Barking mixed with hissing, gurgling, and screeching. Dogs were being hurled about and then charged back into the fray with a vengeance.

The tindertwig illuminated parts of some thing. It was a dog, but not quite. It struggled powerfully.

Jandis poked his head into the blackness. “What's going on, damn it?”

Kham aimed both pistols. “I'm going to shoot.”

“No!” shouted Jandis. “Wait!”

From out of nowhere, a forest of yellow tentacles sprang up out of the dog. The dog slowly rose up on its hind legs, becoming more humanoid. It was wrapped in its own yellow tatters, its vaguely humanoid face glaring at him, its tentacles undulating in a wind that wasn’t there. It extended a tendril.

The tentacle snaked upwards, but instead of striking at Kham, it doused the tindertwig.

“Jandis, you got the wizard?” shouted Kham. “Silas, get your ass in here!”

Soldiers charged into the room, crossbows at the ready.

“It’s gone.” Kham lowered his pistols.

Those of the men that had gathered exhibit a pale and quiet uneasiness.

Silas, in silent awe, stood over the badly corpses of two interlocking dogs, that lay before him on the ground. They were connected as if they were one animal. Odd yellow appendages, recoiled and withered, were wrapped grotesquely about both bodies.

“All the dogs…they’re dead,” said Jandis faintly.

Kham holstered one of his pistols. Then he took off his lenses with one hand and wiped his brow.

“I don’t understand.” Jandis shook his head. “Why would it kill the dogs? Why not go after us?”

“Maybe it don’t like dogs,” said Kham.

“No, it’s something else.” Silas started pacing. “Maybe they can smell it. If that’s true, it just destroyed the only means we have of detecting its presence.”

“All right,” said Kham. “This room is off limits. Close it up and bar it. Nobody comes in here anymore. Althares knows the dogs won’t be needing it.”

“It’s a good thing we have the other two dogs,” said Silas. “When they come back with them we’ll have to put everyone to the test.”

Kham nodded mutely.

“Wait,” said Silas. He counted heads. “Someone’s missing. Where are my apprentices?”

“Oh gods,” said Sergeant Messer. “Elise!” He ran out of the room. Silas and the men followed behind them.

Jandis turned to look at Kham. “You saw something. You saw it, didn’t you? What did it look like?”

Kham put his lenses back on. “The King in Yellow.”

Cold Visitor: Part 9 – Breakdown

Everyone reached the mess hall simultaneously. With the door unguarded, it was a simple matter for the returning search party to make it through the barriers. Vlad and Beldin carried Ilmarė into the room.

“Where’s the dogs?” was the first thing Silas asked.

“Dead,” said Dril.

“And Orgun?” asked Jandis.

“Dead,” said Dril. “The dogs are dead. Orgun’s dead. Ilmarė’s lucky she’s alive.” Dril drew his two blades. “You’re not telling me everything, wizard. Start talking.”

Silas sneered at him. “What are you talking about?”

“For one, how long have you been here?”

“Months,” said Silas. “It’s hard to tell, with the lack of any real day or night.”

“You know something about the creature under the ice, don’t you,” said Dril menacingly.

“If you mean to imply that I am somehow not to be trusted,” said Silas, “perhaps I should ask you the same question. Perhaps you didn’t actually defeat the creature after all. Perhaps it’s one of you.”

Sergeants Calder and Yussik lined up behind Silas. Some of the soldiers did likewise.

“The dogs were our only chance of detecting the thing,” said Silas. “It’s convenient that our only means of uncovering the enemy have been eliminated.”

There was a quiet click as Kham raised his pistol and pointed it at Silas’ forehead. “Why don’t you back down Silas.”

Silas had a wand out in a flash. He pointed it at Kham’s forehead. “Why don’t you put away your pistol, Altharian.”

“Now everyone calm down,” said Vlad. “We don’t want to do anything hasty.”

“Let me know when you two are done spraying over your territory” came a faint female voice, “I think I have a solution to our dilemma.”

Everyone turned to look at the source. Ilmarė struggled to her feet, pale and drawn. “I can summon a dog. I can’t keep it here for long, but if Silas’ theory is true, it will be able to distinguish who is who.”

“It’s a trick,” said Silas. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Just then, there was a muffled yelp on the other side of the door leading to the apprentices’ chambers.

Kham lowered his pistol. Silas lowered his wand. All eyes focused on the door.

“Let me out!” shouted Merkin. “Help me, it’s in here with me!”

“Help me!” shouted Elise at the same time.

There was the sound of a vigorous scuffle. Then it became deathly quiet.

Sergeant Messer stepped forward. “I’m going to go after Elise. If she’s alive, I’ll find her.”

“No, you’re not,” said Lieutenant Jandis. “Last I checked, I’m still ranking officer here.”

Messer shrugged. “Try to stop me.” He yanked open the door. The biting cold wind shrieked into the room. The creature had torn open one of the outer doors, exposing the hallway to the elements. Messer disappeared into the hallway.

“I’m going with him.” Kham holstered his pistols and stepped over to the doorway.

“Kham,” said Dril. “You walk out that door and as far as I’m concerned, you’re one of those things. We’ll shoot you on sight.”

Kham pulled up the collar of his overcoat. “So shoot me then.” Then he stepped into the whiteness beyond.

Cold Visitor: Part 10 – Snowstorm

The snow was whipped into a vicious frenzy by the wind, turning everything completely white. Kham was barely able to make out Messer in all the snow.

“Thanks for coming with me, Kham,” said Messer, his eyes scanning the endless horizon of white. “Why did you volunteer?”

“Let’s just say I’m a romantic at heart. I don’t suppose you know how to track?” asked Kham.

“Track? I can’t even see the ground in all this snow!” Messer shouted back. “Elise! Elise, are you out here?”

A distant blur resolved itself into the figure of a woman.

“Elise?” asked Messer again.

“I’m here,” she replied. “I ran out after that thing attacked me. It’s out here with us.”

“She’s lying!” came Merkin’s voice. The rotund, bearded man stood on the other side of them, a few paces away. “That thing’s not Elise. It’s something else.”

“Aren’t either of you cold?” asked Kham. “You’re not dressed for the weather.”

“Don’t be a fool,” said Merkin. “We’re wizards. We prepared spells to protect us from the elements.”

Messer took a hesitant step towards Elise.

“Wait,” Kham whispered to Messer. He handed the sergeant a vial. “This is a healing potion. Give it to Elise.”

The blowing snow mostly concealed Messer’s face, but Kham could make out his confused expression. “Why?”

Kham whipped out two pistols and fired in each direction.

Merkin spun and collapsed, a red hole in his forehead. Elise shrieked and fell backwards, clutching her shoulder.

“Are you mad?” She pointed at Kham. “Incendiares globus!”

Kham dove to the side as a ball of superheated steam billowed around him. The snowed immediately doused the flames, leaving trails of steam pirouetting up from the blasted ground.

“Okay, okay, so that was a harsh way to test if you’re you,” said Kham, dusting himself off. Despite her magical retaliation, he was relatively unharmed. He looked over at Merkin, who lay dead. “I guessed wrong.”

“He was only trying to help,” said Messer. He handed Elise the potion. “Here, drink this.”

Elise reached out to take the potion, only to spew tentacles from her sleeve. The tentacles enveloped Messer’s face.

“No!” shouted Kham. He reached for two more pistols.

Snow started to fill the hole left by the ball of flames. The thing that was once Elise was partially concealed by the precipitation. Yellow tentacles sprouted from behind her, billowing like fins in a strong current.

“You are the key, Kham,” she said. There was a crunch, and Messer’s body was tossed in front of Kham, twisted into an unnatural angle. “We will not forget you.”

Then she retreated into the storm.

Cold Visitor: Part 11 – Accusations

The faintly luminescent hound sniffed at another of the men. Its eyes sparkled with intelligence. It shook its head at Ilmarė in an unnerving imitation of a human.

“I haven’t been able to summon anything on this plane,” said Silas. “Your magic must be very powerful indeed.”

Ilmarė sneered up at Silas from her reading. “Human cantrips are no match for the ancient ways. That’s what got you into this trouble with Umor in the first place.”

The men were lined up, each in turn being sniffed by the summoned hound. Each man who passed inspection was separated to the other side of the mess hall.

“According to the Turner Codex, the portal out of this place is active every five days.” Ilmarė pointed at passage in the book. “And today’s the day. So perhaps we can use this ritual to escape.”

“The only people leaving this place are the ones we’re sure aren’t…infected,” said Dril. He kept his blades out.

“How do we know YOU’RE not infected?” asked Laskin.

“You don’t,” said Beldin. “You’ll just have to trust us.”

Silas sat across from Ilmarė. “What is involved in this ritual?”

The elorii’s brow furrowed. Her features were still lacerated by the creature’s attack. “According to the Codex, we need to ring the monoliths in flame. Then, we throw pieces of silver into the fire while everyone chants an incantation. A border around the monoliths is then traced with a sword of pure metal, and an enchanted item is placed in the center. The magic should do it.”

With four men to go, the dog abruptly disappeared. It was Lieutenant Jandis and three Privates.

Dril stepped over to them. “Okay. You four are going to be separated out.”

“Wait a minute,” said Jandis. “I’m the Lieutenant, you can’t—“

“Yes, we can,” said Vlad. The other soldiers stood behind their Milandisian kinsman. “We’ll keep you in the armory for now. It’s just a temporary precaution until Ilmarė can summon another hound.”

Jandis looked around for support.

“Wait a minute,” said one of the other soldiers. “I don’t want to be locked in the armory with him! What if he’s one of those things?”

“We’ll be right outside,” said Beldin. He wasn’t very convincing.

The men grudgingly shuffled inside. Dril sheathed his blades.

Silas turned back to Ilmarė. “I think we can gather up the supplies.”

“There’s just one thing,” added Ilmarė. “It takes five minutes for the incantation, and several more for the chant by everyone else. The more people we have chanting, the faster the portal will open.”

“If there’s going to be an ambush, that would be when it will attack.” Dril closed the door to the armory as Jandis and the other men filed past him. Then he and Beldin pushed a table against the door.

Vlad addressed the remaining men. “Calder, I want you to dig up as much oil as you can find. Yusik, gather up all the silver pieces amongst the men and put it in a sack.” He dug into his own pockets and tossed a handful of coins onto the table. “Sergeants, your men are always in sight of each other. Hop to, soldiers!”

Glad to have something to do, the two groups scattered.

“What about the sword of pure metal and the enchanted item?” asked Sergeant Laskin.

“We’ll take care of that.” Beldin leaned on the door where Jandis and his men were temporarily imprisoned, arms crossed.

Kham stepped into the room. He dropped Messer’s corpse onto the ground. “Elise was one of them. Merkin and Messer are dead.”

“Damn it, Kham!” shouted Dril. “I told you that if you came back, we would assume you’re—“

Then the armory exploded.

Cold Visitor: Part 12 – Fire

“The still!” shouted Sergeant Laskin. “We must have forgotten to empty it!”

The explosion hurled Beldin and Dril to the ground. The table that blocked the doorway was in splinters. Flames licked into the mess hall.

“The men!” Beldin struggled to his feet and made for the armory despite the blaze.

Dril put one hand on his shoulder. “Nobody can survive that. Nobody human, anyway.”

Calder’s men returned with oil from all of the lamps.

“What the hell happened?” asked Sergeant Calder.

“We’re leaving!” shouted Vlad. “Yusik, do you have the silver?”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Yusik held up two sacks full of silver coins.

Vlad turned back to the men. “All right. Gather up all the supplies you can. We are abandoning ship. Let’s show these outlanders what the Green Griffins can do! Move people, move!” He pulled a cloak over his shoulders.

Dril stepped over to Kham, both hands on the hilts of his blades. “I find it odd that everyone was killed out there except you.”

Kham turned his back on him as the men made their way to the exit. “Me too,” was all he said.

Cold Visitor: Part 13a – The Ritual

The nine granite monoliths jutted up out of the snow like fingers, stabbing heavenwards in accusation for a past transgression. The obelisks were in a V-shaped formation, with the men lined up nervously in the center.

Ilmarė stood at the front next to Silas. She held the book up in front of him, but refused to let him hold it. The elorii didn’t trust a human, much less a human wizard, to such an important task.

Vlad nodded to Yusik. “Sergeant Yusik. Spread the oil!”

Yusik and his men ran around the perimeter of the obelisks, pouring oil in a circle as they did so.

“Think this’ll work?” asked Beldin.

“It better.” Dril finished loading his rifle. He cocked it and scanned the horizon.

Sounds of drawn steel and cranked crossbows mingled with the roaring of the wind. Weird howls and barks echoed in the distance.

Silas began chanting, reading from the Codex. It sounded like gibberish to the men, an ancient tongue only Silas, Ilmarė, and Kham understood.

"I imprison thee with enough fire to encircle thine nine gates,” read Ilmarė, “lest ye forget who defeated thee."

She pointed. Silas muttered “sempiternus flamma” and a flame appeared in his hand. He tossed it to the ground, igniting the oil. It spread in a roaring circle around them.

“Here they come!” shouted Vlad. “Get ready!”

Six figures of what were once men stumbled and writhed through the snow. There was Orgun and Penser, Yellow tentacles waved like excited hairs on skin. Mingled with the men were four of the dogs. Wet tendrils trailed from their sides. But by far the most terrifying thing was a towering, yellow man-like form, all sloughing flesh, crusted over by frost.

“Sweet Althares, it’s actually gotten bigger,” gasped Kham.

“What the hell is that?” asked Dril.

Crossbows snapped and bolts sang out, whistling through the air.

“Hold the line!” shouted Vlad. “Nothing gets in!”

"I imprison thee with ten pounds of silver,” read Ilmarė, “lest ye forget who kept thee."

She pointed again. Silas muttered, “magis attrecto” and pointed. One of the bags of silver coins was launched into the air, spraying its contents as it circled halfway around the obelisks.

The dogs leaped through the flames, snarling and squealing. Beldin hacked one down with his axe.

Tentacles shot through the smoke and snow, yanking a man off his feet and beyond the safety of the pillars. He screamed hideously.

“Faster with that silver!” shouted Ilmarė.

Vlad blocked a gush of yellow tentacles with his shield. He hacked blindly outwards and, judging by its shriek, connected with something.

“I’m trying!” Silas snapped back. He pointed at another bag of coins. It spun in a circle, showering silver into the flames.

Dril took aim with his rifle.

Two shots rang out, but they weren’t from Dril.

One of the humanoid things fell backwards, the ruins of its head splattered across the snow.

“Why aren’t you taking the shot?” Kham asked Dril as he drew two more pistols.

“It’s gone.” Dril scanned back and forth, staring down the sight of his rifle. “I lost track of it.”

Another one of the dogs yelped. Somebody screamed. It was meant with an inhuman wail.

“Then spoke Illiir,” read Ilmarė. She addressed the men. “All together now: We praise his name, stilling the song of the birds and quieting the call of the beasts, even stopping the breath of the air. “

“The King in Yellow?” asked Kham. “It’s huge! Even with all the smoke and snow, where could it possibly go?”

The men repeated as one: “We praise his name, stilling the song of the birds and quieting the call of the beasts, even stopping the breath of the air. “

The ground rumbled beneath them.

“Oh, no,” said Dril.

Cold Visitor: Part 13b – The Ritual

The ground exploded upwards as a shower of yellow tentacles flailed everywhere. Men screamed as they were tossed effortlessly into the air.

“Stop that thing!” shouted Vlad.

A strand of yellow shot out around Laskin’s throat. It whip-snapped him across one of the monoliths, smearing the remains of his head across the granite like chalk.

Beldin roared and struck backwards with his axe, hacking one of the creatures off at the knees. It fell to the ground face first.

"Keep chanting!” shouted Ilmarė. “I imprison thee with ensorcelled metal,” she read, “lest ye forget who bound thee!"

Silas pointed at Vlad’s dagger. He traced a circle around the perimeter and the dagger cut a path, slicing through snow, smoke, and corpses.

Kham fired two more pistols at the King in Yellow. The blasts barely penetrated. Yellow tentacles slapped him sideways, like a parent chastising a child. He stumbled in the snow.

Dril took aim at the King in Yellow’s head and fired. The shot penetrated, but tentacles spiraled up to reform the hooded head again. A tentacle speared through Dril’s thigh. With a yelp, he fell to one knee.

Soldiers were dying everywhere. Tentacles snapped necks, speared through their torsos; those were the lucky ones. Vicious, fanged mouths appeared at the ends of yellow tendrils, gnawing on men’s faces.

Vlad skidded in front of Ilmarė just as more tentacles snapped at her. He bashed them aside. “Keep going!” he shouted.

"I imprison thee with a pure blade,” read Ilmarė, ”lest ye forget who wounded thee!" She turned to Silas. “Silas, now!”

“But it’s in the way!”

“Silas! NOW!”

Silas pointed at the blade and lifted it high in the air. The hooded figure’s head snapped upwards.

Silas pointed back down and the dagger fell, fell, fell gaining speed in its descent. It plunged into the head of the King in Yellow and went deeper still, burrowing to its core.

“We praise his name,” shouted Ilmarė, “roaring!”

Then all became white.

Cold Visitor: Conclusion

The void around Kham lurched sickeningly, and he wondered if Ilmarė did the right thing. But then, quite clearly, he heard Corinalous’s voice chanting, and it was as if a hand had grabbed him by his throat and pulled him forward. There was a piercing pain in his chest at the sudden transition between planes. Then he felt the wound begin to heal, and he opened his eyes to the familiar, stable world he knew.

Across the clearing, Corinalous held Fleshripper high over his head, chanting hoarsely. Suddenly, he plunged the sword down into the flame of the campfire, which swelled upward as if to consume the blade. Within the fire, a vaguely manlike form took shape.

Turning, Corinalous plunged the sword beneath the waters of the bubbling spring, where its form was surrounded by another humanoid shape, this one made of water. Corinalous raised the blade on high, where a swift, cool wind sprang up from nowhere to swirl around the blade. Finally, a massive, rocky shape rose up from the earth in front of Corinalous, and the Altherian grasps Fleshripper in both hands as he prepared to smash the sword, now glowing a deep crimson color, against the creature.

Then he stopped. "I spent my life bound to this blade, and I never knew the power it held. Now…" His jaw trembled, and he looks at you for the first time since your return. "I can't…I can't—" Abruptly, his face twists into a grimace of raw hatred, and from his mouth came the cruel, vicious voice of the King in Yellow. “We are awakened now! It is too late! Your quest is for NOTHING! Now, feel the wrath of Divine Vengeance!”

Corinalous pointed the sword at Kham and began chanting again, growling the words of his spell through clenched teeth. Somewhere in his eyes, Kham could see a deep well of terror and remorse, but the rest of Corinalous’ mind and body were overcome with rage.

Kham reflexively drew his pistols, then lowered them. “Dad!” he shouted helplessly.

Vlad shook off the malaise of the planar travel. “That’s it,” he snarled. “I’m going to kill him.” The being composed of roaring flames danced toward him.

“He’s possessed!” shouted Beldin. He was stopped short before the elemental composed of rocks and dirt rumbled up to him.

“Child of Osalian, I don’t wish to harm you.” Ilmarė drew her thin blade as a dust devil swirled around her. “But I will if I must.”

Dril frantically reloaded his pistol as the elemental composed of water sloshed towards him. “What am I supposed to do to this thing, mop it up?”

With a roar, Vlad charged the fire elemental head on. It hissed and crackled in response. “My blade is called Forged in Fire,” shouted Vlad as he plunged Grungronazharr into the elemental’s torso, “for a reason!” The fire elemental sputtered and disappeared.

Beldin blocked a teeth-rattling blow from the earth elemental. He hacked back at it with his axe, but was only rewarded with a small rock fall. He hooked the axe onto his belt and drew a morning star instead.

“Let’s see how you like good old-fashioned dwarven stonemasonry!” Beldin grabbed the hilt of his morning star with both hands and slammed downwards onto what might have been the head of the elemental, if it had such things. A crack formed. Beldin slammed into it with his shield and the elemental exploded into dust around him.

Ilmarė whirled backwards as the air lifted up bits of sharp rock, slicing at her. Her thinblade smacked one of the pieces of debris out of the air. Then another. Soon the stinging attacks became a frenzied onslaught, and the sounds of stone on metal were replaced with Ilmarė hissing through her teeth in pain.

“I can’t,” said Kham. His pistols were lifeless in his hands. “I won’t…”

Dril fired. The blast opened a whole in the water elemental, but it filled in immediately. With a surge, it splashed over him, engulfing his head in water. He reached for his blades.

Vlad swung his sword towards Corinalous’ head, but the older man was filled with an unnatural vigor. Fleshripper jerked in front of Corinalous to protect him. The two were locked in a deadly embrace, snarling at each other. Then Corinalous effortlessly shoved Vlad backwards.

Beldin stepped in front of him. With a mighty swing of his morning star he batted Fleshripper from Corinalous’ hands. The blade skittered to the ground.

“No!” shrieked Corinalous.

Beldin held the spiked weapon over his head for a brief instant. Then he brought the morning star down on Fleshripper with all his might.

A dark crack appeared in the center of the blade, slowly radiating outwards like a spider web, before Fleshripper shattered into a hundred pieces.

Suddenly the sky, already dark with the gathering dusk, became pitch black. There was a sound like rushing wind, and shapes rose forth from the shattered sword: ghostly images of dwarves, hobgoblins, and men, all of them twisted, black and evil. And in the center of them all was Ophelia val’Tensen. She snarled in hatred.

“Do you think it matters?” said Ophelia. “You have freed us, but I will not go to the Judgment of Nier alone! You will be destroyed, all of you!” The shadowy forces surrounding them draw their weapons.

Then the last rays of the setting sun broke through the gathering clouds. The shadows from Fleshripper halted in mid-stride. One by one, they were sucked away, screaming as they went.

Ophelia val’Tensen looked about in bewilderment, until her eyes fixed on the sun, focusing on something invisible. “No! No! My Lord, I have served you faithfully! Illiir have mercy! Illiir, please!”

A burst of brilliant light enveloped her, and she was gone. Then the fragments of the sword glowed with light, and one by one the souls of the forces of good within the blade strode forth. Each one looked towards the sun, their expressions content as one by one they marched into oblivion.

Finally Medricas val’Assante appeared. “I thank you, my friends. The curse is broken, and all of us can finally go home to the paradise of the gods. But I sense that you have much yet to do in the land of the living. Thus, I leave you a gift. Use it to fight evil wherever you may find it.” A shimmering light flowed from Medricas and enveloped each of the companions.

Then he turned to gaze at Nubuto, who appeared at his side, blinking in the fading light. The paladin nodded to the dwarf, and the two of them faded away as the sun finally set.

Corinalous looked down at the shattered pieces of the sword. Kham, tears staining his face, wordlessly embraced him in a hug.

When they finally separated, Corinalous addressed the others. “My friends, I cannot thank you—or apologize—enough. All of Onara owes you thanks. I have lost many years of my life to the power of that blade. But at least I shall lose no more. There is not enough in the world to repay you, but I will do what I can."

“The curse is finally broken,” said Beldin with a satisfied smile. “How do you feel, Kham?”

Kham blinked back tears as he looked up at the sky. “Whole,” he said. “Whole and clean.”

A single snowflake slowly floated to the ground. Kham put his tongue out to catch it.

“That’s strange,” said Ilmarė. “It never snows in Freeport.”

Kham took a swig of wine laced with ghoul juice.

Chapter 31: Vengeance in Freeport - Introduction

This is an adventure set in the Freeport setting, "Black Sails Over Freeport," written by William Simoni and “Vengeance in Freeport” by Bret Boyd. You can read more about Arcanis at http://www.onaraonline.org. Please note: This adventure contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

• Dungeon Master: Michael Tresca (http://michael.tresca.net)
• Beldin Soulforge (dwarf fighter) played by Joe Lalumia
• Kham Val’Abebi (val rogue/psychic warrior) played by Jeremy Ortiz (http://www.ninjarobotstudios.com)
• Nauris Drilian (human rogue/ranger) played by Mike Best
• Sebastian Arnyal (dark-kin sorcerer) played by George Webster
• Vlad Martell (human fighter) played by Matt Hammer

I’ve always felt that players get far too comfortable with adventures, just assuming that monsters sit around in dungeons waiting to die. I figure that as PCs get higher level, they should be reminded that they’ve made enemies, and that those enemies have enough resources to hurt their family and friends.

This session reminded our heroes just how vulnerable they really are. It took some doing though; Vengeance in Freeport is more interested in having PCs solve a mystery than putting them in any danger, so I amped things up a bit. And if you see real-world parallels to what’s happening in Freeport (questions of “offshoring” and terrorism), that’s not an accident. What might surprise you is just how the PCs pick sides.

In the midst of all the bombing, politics heat up between orcs and humans. And finally, we find out just what happened when Captain Scarbelly didn’t deliver that staff of defense to Kenzil the Evoker.