Episode 25
Travelling south, the party cannot help but notice several odd smoke trails rising high into the sky before being dispersed by the wind. The rolling hills of Kinfeld hide the origin, but over time it becomes clear that the sources of the smoke are moving to and fro across the countryside. Heading toward the nearest, the party tops a hill and sees two ruined villages in the valley below. One, to the south, appears completely abandoned, but a few people can be seen in the other, gathered around a partially burned inn. The party approaches carefully.
They find a small group of survivors, many badly wounded, who describe a series of horrific attacks. First came the "smokers", sending multi-colored columns of smoke into the sky "like signals", says an old farmer, still clutching an ichor-stained pitchfork. They circled Koren, the village to the south, for a whole day; that night, the demons came. Specific descriptions are impossible to come by -- in the darkness, they were assaulted by countless varieties of magic, ambushed by tiny dark figures with ragged claws, and saw friend and family shredded by huge four-armed terrors. The survivors barricaded themselves in the sturdiest building in town...until the diggers showed up. Perhaps a dozen, all badly wounded, survived that night, fleeing to Glenfil (this village) at dawn. Yesterday, most of Glenfil fled north, leaving only a healer and a few men to protect the wounded. A few demons attacked last night -- but today the smoke appeared again, and they fear the worst.
After healing the worst of the wounded, the party rallies the villagers and offers to escort them north to safety (Locsendel, a small town about three days to the north). They make their way north, but before long notice the columns of smoke are moving up behind them, moving at a frightening speed.
Forced to camp in the open, Alamar uses Plant Growth to form a rough circle of brush and grasses. They keep a close watch, and are not disappointed. Several waves of demons assault them. They repel the first wave (composed of the weak hairless demons) easily; unfortunately for them, the next wave is a pair of digging demons, hulking beasts with skin that seems made of stone. They slay several villagers before the party can bring them down. As they fall, another demon appears out of thin air: nine feet tall and bright green, with scaly skin and strange, insectoid limbs. Its voice echoes in their minds, a hissing promise that their souls will be harvested and claimed for its glory. The party has other plans for their souls, however, and quickly dispatches the demon.
Several minutes later, they notice that the demonic corpses have not disappeared, as summoned creatures are wont to do. But if they weren't summoned, how did they -- uh oh.
The next several days pass quickly: the grateful villagers are escorted to Locsendel, and the party turns back south to find more demons to kill. Two days later, they spot several columns of smoke, moving rapidly. Climbing a high ridge, the party looks out over the rolling hills of Kinfeld. The demons seem to be moving north, emerging from Feldale Pass before spreading out across the countryside. Beyond Feldale Pass rise the high mountains of Velland. Reasoning that the origin of these demons must lie there, the party heads south through Feldale Pass. They spot another column of smoke only a few miles distant, but it is moving too fast for them to pursue.
An army of demons isn't hard to track. The trail of claw marks, hoofprints, tail marks, and dead villagers leads south, then turns east and climbs along a narrow path into the mountains, ending at an imposing stone building set into the base of a high cliff. A pair of spread-eagled, disemboweled human corpses on either side of a large, open doorway decorates the otherwise drab façade. Following a trail of dried blood and ichor, the party enters, passing through a long hall set with pillars, each bearing another decaying, tortured body, until they spot sunlight issuing from a large room ahead. Magnimiliar sends his raven Malagen ahead to scout, but the bird is quickly pelted with Magic Missiles and retreats in a cloud of feathers.
The party storms the room, ready for combat...but all they find is a scared and disheveled young woman in the robes of a junior wizard. Once convinced the members of the party are not demons, she introduces herself as Mary Tellaunce, scholar of the Academy of Thaumaturgy. She tells a harrowing tale: the master's top apprentice, forbidden to cast a powerful conjuring spell, tried anyway -- and opened a gate to the Abyss. The master found her and the gate in the summoning chamber and tried to intervene. Somehow the master was killed, and the life force from his death fueled the spell, making the gate permanent. A flood of demons emerged from the gate, killing everyone in the school -- except the senior apprentice and her companions, who slew or drove off the demons. More demons keep coming through, usually fleeing the school immediately. Those who remain were quickly slain by the senior apprentice, a spellcaster of great skill. Mary is sure she would be killed if her presence were known -- the apprentice is quite evil and vengeful. Fortunately, she has been able to hide in a secret chamber for the weeks that have passed since the demons first came.
"What's the name of this apprentice?" Magnimiliar wants to know.
"Seriya," replies Mary, looking at him curiously. Around the party, faces become grim.
"The half-demon who sacked Moonglow Temple," hisses Alamar.
"The sorceress who attacked the village of Carinth, killing dozens," adds Thorald.
"The fiend who kidnapped Coral and sent us her finger," grumbles Magnimiliar.
"The woman with the beautiful dark hair," murmurs Jonetello, "and the luscious--ouch! Quit it!"
The group decides to approach the summoning chamber and parley--or fight--with Seriya. Mary guides them down a short hallway, through another immense room, and points to another corridor leading west. "Right down there," she whispers, fearfully clinging to the wall.
The party advances slowly down the hallway, spells and weapons ready. A smell of rotting meat mixed with salt fills the air. Before long, they see a room ahead, lit by a disk of pulsating blue light six feet in diameter. At the base of a disk lies a headless body -- a man, apparently, in rich wizard's robes. Blood flows from his neck into grooves on the floor which channel the red fluid into pentacle-shaped channels encircling the gateway suspended in mid-air. Across the room, beyond the gate, are three figures: an elf, clad in the black robes of a priestess, but lacking any holy symbol; a brown-haired human woman, wearing chain but lacking the practiced stance of a warrior; and a tall woman, human, black-haired, regal, stern, and beautiful, dressed in armor of dark metal and holding a glaive with a black blade, encircled by shadows that writhe around her, spinning like a tiny whirlwind. "Dara," mutters Jonetello. Seriya is nowhere in sight.
