Session 460 – A Banshee Wails

 

The Story So Far

Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.

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Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.

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They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.

This is the continuation of Session 458 – The Complete Works of Shakespore.

14^th of Ilvin (Winter) 729TR

The heroes have been exiled after committing robbery, murder, and blasphemy in their home Kingdom of Rethem. Now, under the orders of the new Apalankh, the Agrikian Primate of Harn, Ryobi, has been pardoned and recalled; his exile is at an end. However, the warrior monk has good reason to suspect a trap and will act accordingly.

The travelers have arrived in the port City of Cherafir in the Kingdom of Melderyn. They are allowed to stay temporarily in the main city, avoiding the squalid Alienage.

Location: City of Cherafir in the Kingdom of Melderyn.

Part 1 – Demons on the Docks

Ryobi wanders Cherafir with a subtle but well-concealed disdain, noting many shrines and churches dedicated to the so-called weak “good” gods, Larani, Sav K'Nor, and Peoni. Near the docks, he detects a familiar whiff of brimstone. Suddenly, out of a burst of orange flame and smoke, a demon appears, wreathed in flames and wielding an enormous rusty chain. The fiend locks eyes with Ryobi and, after a deep breath, exhales a blast of Balefire, striking the heroes who dodge and inadvertently incinerate an innocent mother and daughter nearby. Then another demon appears and releases another breath of Balefire, targeting Ryobi and turning more innocents in the path to ash.

Ash identifies the demon's weakness to cold iron and frost. Fortunately, the party is well-equipped to fight these fiends from Balgashang. Although burned and badly bruised by the demon’s chains and horns, the heroes destroy the first demon, and it vanishes in a burst of sulfur and flames. The second demon is much more challenging, and only Vinzent’s sacrificing some of his vitality and his powerful magical healing prevents Ryobi from being torn apart. Eventually, the demon is defeated; however, Ryobi and Ash are both barely standing.

Part 2 – Intimidating Glare

Shortly after, a squad of city guards and Order of the Lady of Paladins knights arrives. The knights are shocked by the death and destruction, the appearance of demons, and the presence of Ryobi, a warrior monk from Agrik, a god proscribed in Melderyn. As Ryobi is a foreign visitor in transit, this detail is usually overlooked, provided no crimes are committed. Nevertheless, Ryobi can’t resist some subtle intimidation of one of the junior knights.

Frustrated, the knight commander decides to confine the Party to the alienage, the city’s walled foreign district, for the rest of their stay. Luckily, the heroes' ship to Western Harn departs in a few days.

Ryobi is convinced that one of his many enemies has summoned demons in a feeble attempt to kill him. Most likely, the demon was conjured by priests of the Order of Hepra the Mace. Besides their talent for foretelling, they are also known for demon summoning. Ryobi once murdered one of their priests and hung his corpse from a tree as a gruesome display, though he has since been “pardoned. Clerics of Agrik are not known for their forgiveness.

Location: Near the border of the Kingdoms of Kanday and Rethem, northwest of Selvos.

Part 3 – A Fine Welcome

As Ryobi is suspicious of the reception he might receive in Rethem, and especially in the City of Golotha. They decide to enter the Kingdom secretly. They arrive at the port of Selvos in northern Kanday in disguise and don't stay long, making their way into the northwestern hills. The heroes have been in these hills before, having captured the then Agrikian Primate of Harn’s pet Tiger (refer to Session 365 - Tiger Hunting).

As they approach the border, a pack of Skaigeth Hounds with hooked claws spots them. These muscular, four-legged Ivashu, equipped with legs tipped with bony, scimitar-shaped hooks, hunt together in a pack, surrounding Ash and nearly gutting him. Though they fight fiercely, they are eventually killed.

The travelers secretly cross the border from Kanday into Rethem and head to Bendes Castle.

Location: Rylosin Forest, Northwest of Arketh Keep in the Kingdom of Rethem.

Part 4 – The Companions of Roving Doom

The travellers spot eight men on horseback. They are an octad of Companions of Roving Doom, knights and warriors, and they appear suspicious. The heroes try to avoid them but are chased. The pursuit begins.

The trio moves through dense forest, avoids a mob of Agrikian worshippers burning a heretic at the stake, then sets a gully filled with scrap wood on fire as a distraction. Eventually, by nightfall, they lose their pursuers after crossing a small marsh to safety and passing over a small river undetected.

Part 5 – Dismal Ruin

The party emerges from the woods and spots a ruin, the remains of a structure from the days of the Corani Empire, beside a small frozen-over lake. They, of course, investigate. It starts snowing, and the explorers hear a howl of wolves. Suddenly, a ghostly pack materializes and savagely attacks the heroes. The phantom wolves fight as if they are chasing prey, flanking the heroes and making full use of pack tactics. The party is badly pressed; Vinzent’s Mirror Image saves his life, and Ash and Roybi are covered in blood from many bites. Ash sounds the artifact he acquired in the desert continent of Hepekeria, the Bell of the Sun God. With a massive burst of sunlight, the bell rings and weakens most of the pack, destroying several phantoms. It also awakens something much more powerful nearby.

Part 6 – The Banshee

From the small lake, a ghostly, vaguely female form appears and glides toward the heroes. Suddenly, the spectral undead lets out a soul-perceiving scream, weakening the heroes. Ash engages the Banshee to keep it distracted while Ryobi finishes off the Phantom Wolves, and Vinzent frantically provides magical support healing. The Banshee’s mere touch causes the heroes to shake with fear, and she proves to be a formidable opponent. Ryobi and Ash weaken it slightly, but they are trembling with terror and remain vulnerable to the undead’s soul-crushing touches. Unfortunately, Vinzent starts falling behind in his healing. The heroes are losing, as the spectral undead lets out another deathly screech, and although Ryobi and Ash remain standing, Vinzent is near collapse.

The heroes decide to flee and make a run for it. Vinzent casts Expeditious Retreat, and Ryobi's monk training makes his escape easier. Unfortunately, Ash is nowhere near as quick, and the Banshee pursues, nearly killing him with its touch of death. Luckily, Vinzent casts Haste, granting Ash the extra speed he needs to escape. Soon, the heroes are beyond the haunt's range and are shaken but alive. Maybe someday, they will return.

To be continued.

Created Content

Nothing this week.

Related Reports

Companions of Roving Doom.

Balefire.

Order of Hepra the Mace.

Player Characters

Ryobi - Human - L16 Monk

Background - Temple Guard.

Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.

Ash - Human - L16 Thaumaturge

Background - Weaponcrafter.

Archetypes - Alchemist/Vestige Hunter.

NPC Companion

Vinzent - Human - L16 Bard

Background - Cursed.

Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.