Session 28: A Song of Hunger and Despair

General Summary

In the last session, the party decided it was time to leave the Haunted Halls, knowing their location was advertised to the War Wizards. Upon boarding the ship, they encountered an entity dressed in sheer gossamer sheets, the vague details of the body beneath barely visible. It began by staring at Shadow, then at Solas. Sensing something unholy, Solas held back as the entity vanished and reappeared around the Harbinger of Hope.
  The being spoke only to one party member at a time, isolating them to offer wealth, power, and riches. Shadow became the recipient of a display of power as Power Word Pain was cast by the being on him. Solas rushed outside – despite his long rest being interrupted in order to save the agonised screams of shadow. His attempt to dispel the magic affecting Shadow assisted as a rogue feather tickled Shadow on the neck.
  The Avatar would continue to seek them one by one and each refused the temptation of power and riches, continuing toward Collinwood. In a final attempt to prevent the Deck from escaping her grasp, the Avatar of the Pale Night, an Obyrith Demon Lord drained the ship of its magic. Undeterred and confident she posed no immediate combat threat, the party escaped the boat, leaving the Avatar frustrated. Travelling on foot, they reached the sunny glade of Collinwood. The Avatar did not, or could not, follow. Children played games and gardeners smoked pipes in this idyllic forest town, dominated by a manor on the hill and a crypt behind it. Earl Bryton Taysith (who dislikes being called Lord) appeared visibly frustrated. His attempts to scry Solas had repeatedly failed. In the Earl's private study, the party delivered the Deck. Lucky, sliding it away from Solas, handed it over. “She waits. Not the dragon; the one behind her. The Pale Night. She’s bound, thanks to a little trick I played. One thread of magic, one perfect moment, and she can’t quite reach me. But if that spell ever snaps...” DM Note: This didn’t come up in the evening, and I failed to clarify it but I did want to communicate that Earl Taysith pulled several cards from the deck millenia ago that led to his ‘conveniently enduring’ status – but the final card – Flames; resulted in bringing about the Pale Night to seek his demise. He instead pulled Collinwood into an effectively pocket dimension where he is now trapped – and the Pale Night awaits his exit.
  The party obtained a wealth of information from the Earl: • Melkerech convinced a dragon called Nalavarauthatoryl to make a deal with the Pale Night, the demon hunting the Earl. • Nala sought revenge against the Obarskyr family. Melkerech enabled this by creating seven Ghazneths, demonic creatures siphoning Harbinger energy leaving the Queen vulnerable. The first was Suzara, mother of the first king of Cormyr. • Nalavarauthatoryl's death at the hands of King Azoun IV ended the Ghazneth line. Melkerech’s plan to take revenge on Maeve through them failed. In the library, Solas recognised a book binding similar to one in his backpack, taken during a book robbery in Berdusk. It bore the symbol of Deneir and matched bindings from Adzerak’s library. The book was said to contain a treatise on the creation of an Eighth, which fascinated Melkerech. The book may be hidden in the Berdusk thieves' hoard, with Melkerech, or in the ruins of Barrenstone, Adzerak's lair. Summary: Melkerech found a way to defeat the Harbingers indirectly, by siphoning their power into other beings. This plan failed. He later became obsessed with the Eighth, and the missing book may contain clues to defeating both the Harbingers and the Queen. The party ate and rested, except for Dofaroc, who was cursed with sleeplessness. He sought Solas, who prayed and removed the curse. Bob rested using the magical tapestry. Taysith confirmed the ship was out of fuel and gifted the party a bag of magical orbs, enough for a week's flight. Later, a cart arrived bearing a plague victim from Eveningstar. The party cast remove curse, healing the woman fully. Debating their next steps, they chose not to intervene with the military incursion of the Vigilant Path, Solas’ sect of Helm. Instead, they decided to investigate the spread of the plague in Eveningstar. Flying the Hope above the town, they spotted the eastern tower and hovered near the roof. Through a trapdoor, they encountered a powerful undead, which Solas drove away with divine power. Exploration they found a chest with a device inside with a button upon the top, resisting the urge to push it. Bob spotted furtive movement; a clawed, muscular hand slipped from a dark alley. The undead and plague creatures below were twisted, Thornspawn and Briarbound, their roots traced to Pestilence.
  Undead & Fey Abominations in the same town? Once again - theres more than meets the eye; How will the Guardians manage - next time in When you wish upon Eveningstar