Session 27: The Hunger and Despair of Eveningstar

Session Recap: The Hunger and Despair of Eveningstar

  Dragging the unconscious Aelira Duskfall from the Haunted Halls, the Stormhorn Guardians convinced Buttons that she was a threat to the Halls, earning a wary, blinking farewell from the beholder. Yet freedom was brief. Outside, Purple Dragons recognised the young daughter of House Duskfall and demanded her release. Lucky stepped forward, the Songbird’s voice weaving calm, insisting it was not Aelira, that there was nothing to fear. The soldiers, uncertain but swayed, withdrew, arguing among themselves as they left.   Aelira, still limp, was brought before Lady Tessaril Winters in Eveningstar. The Lady of the village, weary and distant, listened as the Guardians explained the danger of the girl who bore Famine’s shadow. Confused, Winters agreed, suggesting coldly that they “handle it quietly.” The cleric attending her flinched at the command.   Behind the tent, the Guardians executed Aelira, steel finding flesh. But Aelira was not alone. Famine erupted from her dying body, the Harbinger’s presence consuming the air, drawing breath and warmth from all around. Grass withered beneath his feet, and Despair’s laughter rippled like a cold wind through the camp.   Lucky stepped forward, believing the Comet’s promise demanded his trial alone. He transformed into a mighty crab, claw against blade, holding the Harbinger of Famine in a stalemate as the world around them died, the air growing thin, the trees bowing in submission. Yet Famine did not fall.   The Harbinger called upon his sister, and from within Colmir, Despair re-formed, tearing herself free in a cloak of chains that lashed into the Guardians. She forced spells from their lips, turned their powers against each other, and the battle became a dance of fear and desperation.   Around them, the camp broke, soldiers fleeing into the Haunted Halls and the dark forests, leaving only the Guardians and the Harbingers in the ruin’s cold embrace.   In the moment of near defeat, Lucky, the Songbird, made a desperate offer. A life, in exchange for peace. Solas, under the hidden shield of Death Ward, agreed to play the sacrifice. The Harbingers, watching the cleric fall lifeless, accepted the offering and turned away, vanishing into the mists with the dawn.   Solas rose, breathless but alive, as the Guardians realised they had survived an encounter with two Harbingers. They had seen their strength, their hunger, and the fragile path to victory.  

Yet as the wind shifted over the ruins of Eveningstar, a whisper remained, clinging to Lucky's mind like frost:   “A life was promised, Songbird. It was not given. One day, the debt will be paid.”