The Next Leg

After waiting at Castle Justheart for a few days, to make sure the brigands do not attack, the party leave and head to Stoneash. Their plan is to go to Fallcrest and take the statue of Artemus to his Guildmaster hoping he can cast Stone to Flesh. As the party travel across the land, they feel trepidatious. It is winter but there are even fewer normal creatures about than normal.

 

   The elven ranger, Elesara, feels that there may be a fiendish or undead increase in the land. Thondami feels the disquiet of the land but only discerns that undead eschew the daylight. Strangely, after some hours of travel, they find what appears to be a large footprint. The breadth and width of so large a foot would have been much deeper if it were a giant, Galin notes. Given the oddness, nothing happens during travel.   Speculating, the party believe the queer feeling is due to the death knight, the witch-king of Myth Nathar now roaming the land.

  

   That night Thondami has visions of shadowy creatures  attacking a small town.  He was able to identify the town as Stoneash. The party aren’t sure whether this maybe a past or future vision.  Coming to Stoneash, the party see the town had been attacked the previous night. A troop of soldiers was camped outside town as well, and they seem to be helping with the clean up efforts of the town. The leader of the soldiers is one of House Anasazio’s generals, Alura. She tells Galen everything that occurred. Galen’s man-at-arms is with the soldiers.

 

   The attack was from shadows, shadow mastiffs, and shadow fiends. The creatures came from the north and seemed coordinated. Humanoids slain by the draining power of shadows become shadows in a few hours. The corpses are being burned in the hope that it will stop them from returning as shadows. The shadows targeted dwarves after a while and it is believed that the shadows did that thinking that dwarves slain by shadows would come back as stronger than normal shadows.

 

   The monsters attacked at dusk, seeming to only wreck havoc. The shadow mastiffs caused great mayhem baying. While the shadows killed many people, turning them into more shadows. It appeared the shadow fiends were in control but that is confusing as one is a demon and the other undead. When the monsters fled at dawn, they went north into the swamp.

  

   The party decide to stay in Stoneash that night to help if another attack occurs and indeed another attack does come. The party meet Sir Darian Conan, leader of this province, Stoneash being it’s seat. Ilyander learns that Sir Conan’s mage was slain in the attack and that there are no other mages in town of power. Ilyander asks to go through the mage’s personal belongings, much to Sir Darian’s chagrin. Ilyander returns with Lord Galin to speak with Sir Darian and they are able to convince him to allow Ilyander to rummage through the dead mage’s room. After an explosive runes goes off from the mage’s spellbook, Galin pays Darian some coin for the damage.

 

   Thondami meets the dwarven leader, a priest of Moradin named Drunsk. Thondami aids Drunsk in blessing the bodies which prevents them from rising as shadows, two thirds of the dwarves of Stone ash were killed but only 25% of those returned as shadows due to the efforts of the priests and their lay clergy.

 

   During the evening, the shadows, shadow mastiffs and shadow fiends return. The party are able to save many of the townsfolk and notice a huge shadowy creature that seemed to be observing. They learn later that the huge creature was a nightwalker. As the party began defeating more and more of the shadow creatures, a shadow dragon swooped down on the group and attacked.

 

   The party were able to drive the shadow dragon off by throwing and hitting it with a stone enchanted with continual light. The nightwalker melded back into the night, taking it’s minions with it. It seemed to be observing and gathering information, not hostile.

 

   After the battle, when the party decide to leave, the dwarves all decide to head to Gardmore Abbey. One dwarven acolyte decides to follow Thondami, hoping to become a priest of Marthammor.