Party
- Brann — Dwarf Barbarian (Dave)
- Deanna — Human Paladin (Myk)
- Sylvester — Halfling Rogue (Ben)
- Tenoch — Lizardfolk Druid (Gaz)
Adventure
The mortician asked the party to leave and said they aren’t welcome. When Brann stated they couldn’t do that his voice became guttural and he commanded his two-headed dogs to attack. Sylvester and Tenoch rush around the outside of the building to ensire there’s no route for the moritician to escape whilst Brann competently faces the dogs and Deanna keeps the mortician occupied with her Abjure Enemy Channel Divinity. As the dogs are defeated the moritician pleads for mercy and is tied to a chair for questioning.
The moritican seems naive and unreceptive to the party’s questions about the zombies they faced, but is increasingly desperate to be freed and for the party to leave. He reveals that he’s seen the creature that’s abducting the townsfolk, the Abductor, and that it’s a denizen of the Gloam. Argus was an apprentice to someone who discovered the Gloam and is able to tell the party many things about it:
- there are several Gloam crossings in the nearby vicinity (in the shadow of the Father Oak, at the Resting Place and he later reluctantly reveals the doorway at Shadowbrook Manor).
- Gloam crossings are fickle, most will be closed by light. They are only open for certain durations at certain times with each seemingly having its own patterns.
- the Abductor must either know more crossing points, or be able to cross at will. One time Argus saw the creature pass into the Gloam down an alley but was unable to find the crossing point with his magic.
As Argus revealed more and more to the party in an attempt to be freed the guttural voice took over, stated ENOUGH and the apprentice’s head exploded in a shower of blood leaving his naked skull clattering to the floor. As the party discussed what they had learned Tenoch saw the skulls eyes light up with flame and it leaped into the air surrounded by green flame!
Sylvester heads straight out of the door and quaffs a potion of superheroism as Brann, Deanna and Tenoch engage the creature which shimmers and blurs from some magical effect. Brann keeps asking the creature questions, trying to get “under its skin” and it declares itself to be Tazimack’s apprentice.
Brann, Deanna and Tenoch harry the creature and land several blows as it makes its way for the upper stories of the building, causing it’s magical defence to drop. The chattering skull is felled by a ranged sneak attack from Sylvester as it approaches the stairs.
Regrouping the party decide to head upstairs and see what might have drawn the skull creature up there. After initial scouting attempts by Sylvester were thwarted by darkness Brann heads up and finds a study with parchments strewn across a table and a book case atop which sits a strange shrine; a painted image of a red-robed man and a young Argus. Folded slips of parchment are tucked underneath the painting and a strange forked stick sits atop a torn piece of red cloth in front.
Brann senses the forked stick is magical and moves to pick it up. As he touches it an apparition of the red-robed man steps out of the painting and grows to full size. With the party having joined him in the room Brann engages the apparition in conversation. It demands the artefact be returned and insists it cannot be removed from this place.
Brann calls to “RUN” and the party tumble over each other to get down the stairs only to see the apparition dropping through the ceiling to meet them at the bottom. Brann tosses the artefact to Tenoch for inspection. Sylvester is overcome with braveness or stupidity and, drawing his magical rapier, engages the apparition. Tenoch and Ethan (who’s still in the room, despite his player’s absence) discern that the artefact looks like a dowsing rod and has divination magic about it. The creature wails and transforms into a horrifying visage which strikes fear in Brann, Deanna and Sylvester whilst visibly ageing Deanna by decades.
Brann calls for his companions to flee, tumbling gracefully through a window of the building and hoping the apparition is bound to this place. Tenoch follows the lead, runs up the stairs and exits through the window in the study with the artefact still in hand. Deanna exits through the door.
The apparition pursues Tenoch and the artefact, but Tenoch shifts into a wolf’s form and bounds away as Sylvester continues to harry the apparition. The apparition moves directly through walls in pursuit of the artefact but cannot keep up with a wolf and is struck by Deanna as it passes her. Tazimack’s apparition then possesses Deanna and tries to lure the party back to the mortician’s shop, calling for help. Tenoch senses something is wrong and Brann is unable to bring himself to approach the building so the two continue to retreat. The possessed Deanna stumbles into the moritician’s shop and asks Sylvester to fetch the others, stating they should rest here for the night as she is too injured to continue.
After some back and forth Sylvester relented and tracked down Brann and Tenoch, bringing them back to the mortician’s house. There they spoke to Deanna and Tenoch put the clues together and determined she was likely possessed by the apparition, particularly once she started asking about the artefacts location. He decided to strike and three on one the party bested Deanna soundly. As her body fell to the ground the apparition remained standing in her place and continued to fight.
Brann and Tenoch fled the moritician’s shop carrying Deanna and headed to the churches, calling for Sylvester to join them. Knowing he wielded a magical blade, Sylvester fancied his chances and remained to battle the apparition alone. He scored several blows but it only took one touch from the apparition to drain Sylvester of life. The Halfling’s body and the items he carries join the felled zombies and the shattered skull of Argus on the floor of the moritician’s shop…