Infiltrating Castle Ravenloft
Dramatis Personae:
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard of Valor and Bae'qeshel of Lolth, the Silver Tongued Siren, Knight of Summer
Charlotte, Aurora's violet Faerie Dragon familiar
Eurydice, the Faerie Dragon Feylock, formerly Aurora's familiar
Aiden, Eurydice's Sprite familiar
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard of Valor and Bae'qeshel of Lolth, the Silver Tongued Siren, Knight of Summer
Charlotte, Aurora's violet Faerie Dragon familiar
Eurydice, the Faerie Dragon Feylock, formerly Aurora's familiar
Aiden, Eurydice's Sprite familiar
Dervish, the Kasathe Brass Dragon Fighter and Dragon Blood Sorcerer, Knight of the Erl King
"Shadewing" Corvis Cairunis Umbrusalarim, the Shadow Elf Hexblade Warlock and Knight of the Raven Queen
Cloak, Shadewing's Empty Cloak familiar
Alfred, Shadewing's Raven familiar
Alucard, the ancient all-powerful wizard; formerly Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party; also know as Cinder, the ancient power that is said to destroy every world
Cloak, Shadewing's Empty Cloak familiar
Alfred, Shadewing's Raven familiar
Alucard, the ancient all-powerful wizard; formerly Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party; also know as Cinder, the ancient power that is said to destroy every world
Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin of Pelor
Aerathema, the Wood Elf Druid
Narg, there's really no way to describe Narg, Narg is just Narg
Elder Vish, Dervish's friend and mentor from his world, Knight of Spring
Sil'ilos'anon Braz'Dracon, the "Drow" Warlock Blood Mage of Lolth, and the new DEATH
Ralliakkan, the Drow Rogue, Knight of Fall
Ceidil Rein, the Human Champion who serves as Eurydice's Knight
Mara Nemestk, the Human Champion who serves as Ceidil's Knight
Comrades we have lost:
Pharin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Conjurationist Wizard and Priest of Lolth- returned to Faerun
Andolin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Fighter/Beast Master- returned to Faerun
Lothar, the Sovani Smith and semi-Cleric of Moradin, High Priest of Lolth, Cleric of Istus, forced Cleric of Asmodeus; Kas Reincarnated - sacrificed to resurrect Alucard
Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party- fractured himself into 4 parts to prevent cult from taking his soul
Willow Liadon, the Eladrin Arcane Trickster- sent to Elysium through a trap and was never heard from again
Elder Vish, Dervish's friend and mentor from his world, Knight of Spring
Sil'ilos'anon Braz'Dracon, the "Drow" Warlock Blood Mage of Lolth, and the new DEATH
Ralliakkan, the Drow Rogue, Knight of Fall
Ceidil Rein, the Human Champion who serves as Eurydice's Knight
Mara Nemestk, the Human Champion who serves as Ceidil's Knight
Comrades we have lost:
Pharin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Conjurationist Wizard and Priest of Lolth- returned to Faerun
Andolin Braz'Dracon, the Brass Dragon-Drow Fighter/Beast Master- returned to Faerun
Lothar, the Sovani Smith and semi-Cleric of Moradin, High Priest of Lolth, Cleric of Istus, forced Cleric of Asmodeus; Kas Reincarnated - sacrificed to resurrect Alucard
Oryn Talus, the ancient and mysterious halfling who has employed the party- fractured himself into 4 parts to prevent cult from taking his soul
Willow Liadon, the Eladrin Arcane Trickster- sent to Elysium through a trap and was never heard from again
NOTE: Things will be mostly from Aurora's perspective. Anything in italics is from a third person since the bard can't be everywhere at once.
***** Lacysnows 27, CY 710, City of Brass
We got bored with Sigil after a while and decided to head to the City of Brass. It was cold, and we didn't see anyone. As we looked around, something skittered across the road... we didn't stick around to find out what it was.
I put Nystul's Magic Aura on my Lolth Blade to mask its energies and shifted us to Dis. Things were much more normal in the Nine Hells. There were a few more guards than normal, but otherwise, it looked pretty much normal. We spent the rest of the day shopping.
***** Lacysnows 28, Potidaea
In the morning, Dervish opened an iron flask he'd picked up while we shopped, and out came Rikkle- the dude we met briefly right before I put on the corrupted ring. He decided to help our defenses by making explosives, so I helped them find what they needed in Potidaea. Of course, we had a shitload of gunpowder and cannons in one of the long-abandoned rooms in the College.
Vish was bored, so he went drinking in Dis. Shade and I went to the Shadowfell to go shopping. A shopkeep offered us draws from the Deck of Many Things; Shade and I declined, but Eurydice and Ceidil decided to draw. Eurydice got the Sun and the Rogue; Ceidil drew the Knight, and Mara joined us; Mara decided to draw and got the Gem, Jester, Star, Sun, Balance, and Vizier. Overall, it was a lucky and rather dull set of draws.
***** Needfest 4, CY 711, Free City of Greyhawk
After our week of preparations, we met Alucard in the City of Greyhawk and learned that he was the one who had been turned into Eurydice's enemy by the Deck. Thankfully, she had wishes, so she was able to wish he didn't hate her, saving her neck.
We were going to Castle Ravenloft to find the scroll, and we had a wayfinder that would take us to it. Alucard said there was no way we could sneak around and there'd definitely be a small welcoming party waiting for us. He would keep Vecna occupied while we tracked it down.
Alucard began chanting and our scenery became star-like for a moment, then the sky darkened and howls of rage echoed around us. With an abrupt lurch, we were in an old, decayed, decrepit, landscape, and there were vultures circling overhead. Standing in front of us were some twisted-looking pit fiends and balors. One of Narg's tattoos flashed, he vanished, and all of them were dusted.
With them out of the way, Alucard ran forward, right into a pillar, and vanished. We found ourselves looking at a pair of big stone doors. Shade began reading some of the runes on it, and of course, they were fucking exploding runes. Eurydice, Ceidil, and Mara went down instantly, but I revived them quickly. The pillars began to rumble and change. Shade attacked one of the pillars and it attempted to steal his sword. Some undead creatures began to appear around us, and Shade dusted a few of them. But there were more pillars and more undead rising. This didn't look good.
Dervish said it was time for one of our bombs, and dimension doored up. I grabbed Mara and stuck her on my broom, and Ceidil and Eurydice grouped together. We dimension doored up too, and Shadewing shadow stepped up. Because Dervish loves being a pain in my ass, he began arguing over who should drop the bomb. Then some of the creatures below us began to fly. Shadewing said "drop it," and Dervish and I both dropped bombs...
Had Eurydice not used a wish, I would have dropped mine right on her head. Everything in the courtyard area we were in was demolished instantly. Oops? Ceidil and Mara were hit by falling debris and died again. Those two were fucking useless.
Vish said an earthquake was coming, and a couple seconds later we felt it as Alucard and Vecna burst out of the rubble. As they engaged in a fucking insane battle, Dervish figured out the general area of the fucking scroll. He took Vish and Shade to sneak around to find it. Before leaving, Shade tossed a spell at Vecna to prevent him from healing; hopefully, it would do Alucard some good.
Alucard grabbed Vecna and began flying; the sky started shifting and twisting violently, growing darker as it moved. Suddenly, the sky seemed to expand, then collapsed in on itself, before exploding in a flash of light. I could just make out two figures falling in opposite directions.
Shade and Dervish found the scroll, and I grabbed Ceidil and Mara's bodies. Dervish attempted to use a word of recall, but it didn't work; then Eurydice and I both tried to plane shift to no avail; Dervish finally managed to punch through whatever was blocking our magic.
***** Needfest 5, Free City of Greyhawk
The sun was rising as we arrived back where we'd met Alucard in Greyhawk. Three minutes went by before a portal opened up and Alucard fell out. We could see Vecna for a brief second before it closed. Things hadn't gone expected, but we'd gotten the scroll, so I guess mission accomplished.
Alucard explained to us part of how the Outsiders were turning the Beacons red. They'd created Mantles for their mortal followers- Knights and Emissaries, just like the fae had. This gave them something of a foothold in our realm and let them fuck with things.
By this point, only a single Beacon remained that wasn't red- the one in Blackmoor. We were in no shape to deal with the Beacon today, so we decided to rest for the night before heading to Blackmoor.
***** Needfest 6, Eru Tovar
We were going back to where it all began. The place we needed to go for the Beacon was the same place where the gala Oryn held that brought us all together had been. Of course, the spell to get us there didn't fucking work. We ended up 240 miles away, in the smoldering ruins of Eru Tovar. Shade found a shadow road, but it went about 100 miles in the wrong direction, so that was fucking helpful.
I did a legend lore to see if I could find the exact location of the Beacon, and to see if maybe it was a key to stop the cults; the results were fucking weird. "The Gate lies beyond the mountains, where you're unable to see. The door is locked and has been for an eternity. The key is gone far from its homeland."
We decided to use the Ethereal Plane to get to the Beacon, and discovered that the Beacon's light ran all the way to the very core of the world. Suddenly, Eurydice hissed and a cloaked figure appeared. He babbled as he spoke, not completely making sense: he didn't expect us to come here... we just got our Mantles we don't even know the power we have... why would we come here... we're barely a feast... it'll give us to its god. Then he began floating toward us. I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here.
I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here. Dervish began launching arrows at him and only hit him once. Black ichor oozed from the wound instead of blood. As the ichor ran down his arm, he began looking more twisted, and we were suddenly shunted out of the Ethereal Plane.
"If I kill you here, I can eat your souls," he said, cackling madly.
Eurydice sent Ceidil and Mara to Potidaea so they wouldn't die again. Shade, Dervish, and Vish all managed to hit him- and thankfully he missed them in his attempt to return fire. I attempted to feeblemind him, but it didn't fucking work. A bright purple flame began to surround him, and suddenly there were four of him- fucking mirror image. Time slowed as the other three of him appeared; he hit Shadewing once and Shade looked bewildered; he grabbed at Vish; then he hit me hard.
Aurora went insane from the blow and keeled over, a gibbering mess. Shadewing exchanged blows with him briefly, before Shade was hit with madness, and keeled over, in just as bad of shape as Aurora. As Shade crumpled, the man vanished.
We got bored with Sigil after a while and decided to head to the City of Brass. It was cold, and we didn't see anyone. As we looked around, something skittered across the road... we didn't stick around to find out what it was.
I put Nystul's Magic Aura on my Lolth Blade to mask its energies and shifted us to Dis. Things were much more normal in the Nine Hells. There were a few more guards than normal, but otherwise, it looked pretty much normal. We spent the rest of the day shopping.
***** Lacysnows 28, Potidaea
In the morning, Dervish opened an iron flask he'd picked up while we shopped, and out came Rikkle- the dude we met briefly right before I put on the corrupted ring. He decided to help our defenses by making explosives, so I helped them find what they needed in Potidaea. Of course, we had a shitload of gunpowder and cannons in one of the long-abandoned rooms in the College.
Vish was bored, so he went drinking in Dis. Shade and I went to the Shadowfell to go shopping. A shopkeep offered us draws from the Deck of Many Things; Shade and I declined, but Eurydice and Ceidil decided to draw. Eurydice got the Sun and the Rogue; Ceidil drew the Knight, and Mara joined us; Mara decided to draw and got the Gem, Jester, Star, Sun, Balance, and Vizier. Overall, it was a lucky and rather dull set of draws.
***** Needfest 4, CY 711, Free City of Greyhawk
After our week of preparations, we met Alucard in the City of Greyhawk and learned that he was the one who had been turned into Eurydice's enemy by the Deck. Thankfully, she had wishes, so she was able to wish he didn't hate her, saving her neck.
We were going to Castle Ravenloft to find the scroll, and we had a wayfinder that would take us to it. Alucard said there was no way we could sneak around and there'd definitely be a small welcoming party waiting for us. He would keep Vecna occupied while we tracked it down.
Alucard began chanting and our scenery became star-like for a moment, then the sky darkened and howls of rage echoed around us. With an abrupt lurch, we were in an old, decayed, decrepit, landscape, and there were vultures circling overhead. Standing in front of us were some twisted-looking pit fiends and balors. One of Narg's tattoos flashed, he vanished, and all of them were dusted.
With them out of the way, Alucard ran forward, right into a pillar, and vanished. We found ourselves looking at a pair of big stone doors. Shade began reading some of the runes on it, and of course, they were fucking exploding runes. Eurydice, Ceidil, and Mara went down instantly, but I revived them quickly. The pillars began to rumble and change. Shade attacked one of the pillars and it attempted to steal his sword. Some undead creatures began to appear around us, and Shade dusted a few of them. But there were more pillars and more undead rising. This didn't look good.
Dervish said it was time for one of our bombs, and dimension doored up. I grabbed Mara and stuck her on my broom, and Ceidil and Eurydice grouped together. We dimension doored up too, and Shadewing shadow stepped up. Because Dervish loves being a pain in my ass, he began arguing over who should drop the bomb. Then some of the creatures below us began to fly. Shadewing said "drop it," and Dervish and I both dropped bombs...
Had Eurydice not used a wish, I would have dropped mine right on her head. Everything in the courtyard area we were in was demolished instantly. Oops? Ceidil and Mara were hit by falling debris and died again. Those two were fucking useless.
Vish said an earthquake was coming, and a couple seconds later we felt it as Alucard and Vecna burst out of the rubble. As they engaged in a fucking insane battle, Dervish figured out the general area of the fucking scroll. He took Vish and Shade to sneak around to find it. Before leaving, Shade tossed a spell at Vecna to prevent him from healing; hopefully, it would do Alucard some good.
Alucard grabbed Vecna and began flying; the sky started shifting and twisting violently, growing darker as it moved. Suddenly, the sky seemed to expand, then collapsed in on itself, before exploding in a flash of light. I could just make out two figures falling in opposite directions.
Shade and Dervish found the scroll, and I grabbed Ceidil and Mara's bodies. Dervish attempted to use a word of recall, but it didn't work; then Eurydice and I both tried to plane shift to no avail; Dervish finally managed to punch through whatever was blocking our magic.
***** Needfest 5, Free City of Greyhawk
The sun was rising as we arrived back where we'd met Alucard in Greyhawk. Three minutes went by before a portal opened up and Alucard fell out. We could see Vecna for a brief second before it closed. Things hadn't gone expected, but we'd gotten the scroll, so I guess mission accomplished.
Alucard explained to us part of how the Outsiders were turning the Beacons red. They'd created Mantles for their mortal followers- Knights and Emissaries, just like the fae had. This gave them something of a foothold in our realm and let them fuck with things.
By this point, only a single Beacon remained that wasn't red- the one in Blackmoor. We were in no shape to deal with the Beacon today, so we decided to rest for the night before heading to Blackmoor.
***** Needfest 6, Eru Tovar
We were going back to where it all began. The place we needed to go for the Beacon was the same place where the gala Oryn held that brought us all together had been. Of course, the spell to get us there didn't fucking work. We ended up 240 miles away, in the smoldering ruins of Eru Tovar. Shade found a shadow road, but it went about 100 miles in the wrong direction, so that was fucking helpful.
I did a legend lore to see if I could find the exact location of the Beacon, and to see if maybe it was a key to stop the cults; the results were fucking weird. "The Gate lies beyond the mountains, where you're unable to see. The door is locked and has been for an eternity. The key is gone far from its homeland."
We decided to use the Ethereal Plane to get to the Beacon, and discovered that the Beacon's light ran all the way to the very core of the world. Suddenly, Eurydice hissed and a cloaked figure appeared. He babbled as he spoke, not completely making sense: he didn't expect us to come here... we just got our Mantles we don't even know the power we have... why would we come here... we're barely a feast... it'll give us to its god. Then he began floating toward us. I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here.
I told Shade to get us the fuck out of here. Dervish began launching arrows at him and only hit him once. Black ichor oozed from the wound instead of blood. As the ichor ran down his arm, he began looking more twisted, and we were suddenly shunted out of the Ethereal Plane.
"If I kill you here, I can eat your souls," he said, cackling madly.
Eurydice sent Ceidil and Mara to Potidaea so they wouldn't die again. Shade, Dervish, and Vish all managed to hit him- and thankfully he missed them in his attempt to return fire. I attempted to feeblemind him, but it didn't fucking work. A bright purple flame began to surround him, and suddenly there were four of him- fucking mirror image. Time slowed as the other three of him appeared; he hit Shadewing once and Shade looked bewildered; he grabbed at Vish; then he hit me hard.
Aurora went insane from the blow and keeled over, a gibbering mess. Shadewing exchanged blows with him briefly, before Shade was hit with madness, and keeled over, in just as bad of shape as Aurora. As Shade crumpled, the man vanished.
All maps by Anna B. Meyer
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