Date At Start Of Game: 09/02/206

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 11th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Black Hand

The morning after the siege at the Wickshine Inn the PC have three major things to investigate. They have to examine the tile that Ille was trying to retrieve from the chimney, they have to question Ille, and they have to examine Po’s hand which is still black from touching the tile. First the PC tie and gag Ille then Po examines his hand. The hand that touched the tile is almost a gray ashen color. Around the wrist the coloring fades. When Po tries to heal his hand with his healing spell it does not seem to have any effect. Po then decides to run a detect and discovers that there is a spirit living in his hand. The spell appears to be a transformation spell of some type. The wily shaman then deftly crafts a pair of gloves for his hands that have small pockets in the back. He then places pieces of the black spirit absorbing stone on the back of his hands. Po’s hope is that this might slow the effect of the spell.

The tile is made of a black stone that has been rounded and smoothed on the top edge and sides. There are several lines of verbiage in a strange angular typeface that looks very old. When Po runs a detect spell it reveals an ancient magic with a damaging effect. The PC also ask Abel about the history of the inn. He tells them that is has stood for over 40 years but seems a bit nervous about it. The PC don’t press him on it but deduce that removing the tile may return the apple orchard to health. For some strange reason only Po can read the writing on the stone. To Po the writing appears to be in Ape Man. After some discussion the PC feel that it might be because Po touched the tile that he can read it. The tile says:

The wicked shrine in ruins,
A shelter for the road-weary,
A storm sets the course,
A lush fork points the way,
Over fire, beyond the basalt,
The enemy finds the path.

The PC talk about the stone for quite a bit and come to several conclusions. The shelter line seems to be referring to the Wickshine Inn. They think the “lush fork” might be the branch from Gray Pine. Basalt is volcanic rock and the stick is pointing south to an area where there is an active but not flowing volcano. Finally they decide that since the tile is from the Dark Lord the “enemy” mentioned in the last line is likely to be them.

The PC then move on to question Ille. First the examine his belongings carefully. Po runs a detect on everything. They find some gems sewn into his robe, some very rare and poisonous spell components, and a single magical coin mixed in with the rest of his money. This coin has a flowing letter “W” or “M” that looks like a bird on one side and a waxing moon on the other side. Po detects transformation magic on the coin. The PC try flipping the coin to activate it but nothing happens. Next comes the interrogation. First they lock Ille in a room and remove the gag. Bilby conducts the investigation using his sword to threaten him. When the cagey necromancer starts to ask questions instead of answering questions Bilby runs his sword through Ille’s foot. This loosens his tongue. The PC ask how Ille found out about the tile. He tells the PC that he met a traveller on his way to Oakhurst that told him that there was a lot of power at the inn. Ille then ran a detection spell when he got to the Wickshine Inn and it pinpointed the tile. When the PC press Ille tells them that the strange traveller had a passion and drive for the Dark Lord that fascinated him. Unfortunately the only thing he can remember about this traveller is his name, that he was around 3′ tall, and that he is black colored. Ille realizes that he is now likely under some type of spell to make him forget. The traveller’s name was Malotoch. This immediately triggers a reaction from Po as this is a Raven Kin word. The word means, ?to have a crow to pluck,? or literally to ?exact vengeance?.

The Hanging

After interrogating Ille the PC head downstairs to discuss his fate with Abel. Abel is very upset about what Ille did to his staff and thinks he should be hanged. The PC agree. At that point most of the tavern empties out to the apple orchard. Abel rigs a noose and puts Ille on a chair. Before pulling the noose he removes his gag and asks Ille if he has anything to say before he is killed. Abel is doing this as a standard custom. Ille mutters something under his breath. When prompted he says louder that the Dark Lord works in mysterious and powerful ways. With that Abel moves to kick out the chair. At this point Ditmore, the Raccoon Kin merchant, and Eadon, the Boa Kin bodyguard, buckle over in pain. They try to scream but only black goop emerges from their mouthes! Po rushes over to try and help but the black goo is starting to quickly cover their bodies. Po tells Abel to knock out Ille. The PC watch in horror as the pair change into vile looking shadow demon creatures! With that Bilby steps over and finishes off Ille. Kanga opens fire on the Ditmore shadow demon while Po start casting curse spells. Cillian and Bilby focus on the Eadon shadow demon. After a brief combat the shadow demons fall into pools of black goo that bubble in the sunlight.

Exter, Ditmore’s brother, is heartbroken. He starts crying over the loss of his twin. Abel is just glad that this whole thing appears to be over. The PC then decide to leave the Wickshine Inn and to continue following Gray Pine’s branch.

Spirit Storm Session Log: Epic Tale #6 – Crimson Tears – Session #11

The Village Of Raftport

Almost three weeks later the PC reach the village of Raftport. Raftport is downstream from Shatter’s Peak. It acts as a more serious trading post along the White Cap River. When the PC enter they are surprised to see very little activity. What people they do see eye them cautiously then proceed on their business. Bilby goes into the bar and listens to some conversations while Cillian checks out the word on the street. Bilby overhears Amelia, a Fox Kin woman wearing a red cap, speaking with a Raftport constable. She is imploring the man to send some men to find her husband and boy who have not returned home. The constable explains that his men are too thin to go looking for them and begs Amelia to stay home where she will be safe. With that she leaves the bar.

When Bilby returns to the party he notices that a Rat Gog dressed in rags is watching him. He carefully ditches the Rat Gog and starts following him. He is watching the party. With that Bilby communicates with the party and sets up an ambush. As the party comes down and alley the Rat Gog slyly watches. Bilby jumps down and puts his sword to the Rat Gog’s throat. The Bat Kin then tells him to talk or he will slit his throat. To his surprise Bilby hears a voice from behind him! A low toned voice calmly states, “Please do not hurt my friend or I will be forced to hurt you as well.” As the PC round the corner they see Bilby, the Rat Gog, and what is obviously a Turtle Kin shaman with a staff. The Turtle Kin begs everyone to put down their arms. The a tense moment PC oblige. After talking with the pair they learn that the Rat Gog is named Shick and the Turtle Kin is named Drobe. The two explain that they are avatars for the Great Stone Mountain. They think the party are avatars as well as they have been watching them for some time. Shick reveals that he was actually disguised as Josia Two-Coins back at the Wickshine Inn. Drobe even claims to be able to detect avatars from a close range. Kanga knows Drobe from his initial calling when the Turtle Kin woke him up from a sleep and asked if he was an avatar. The pair reveal that the rest of their party has been killed in a nearby temple that is dedicated to Shazartza. Shazartza is one of the ancient gods who was supposedly the mistress of the Dark Lord. She is associated with fire and earth spirits as well as forges, endurance, toughness, and toiling work. Ant Kin minions from the temple meet with mercenaries in a nearby camp at regular intervals. These mercenaries are waylaying river convoys and have lately started attacking locals. The mercenaries appear to be selling people that they capture in these raids to Ant Kin from the temple. Drobe then asks the PC to look for their thought dead friends because they have again been summoned by the Great Stone Mountain. This concerns the Turtle Kin shaman as they have not been called to return since their initial callings several months ago.

The adventure ends with the PC discussing their next course of action…

Date At End Of Game: 09/29/206