This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Session 15: The Fallen House of Marrow ====== ===== The Ambush in the Clearing ===== ==== The Thief and the High Mage ==== The party is suddenly surrounded in the woods by six figures. **Moss** quickly reacts, using his magic to transform **Vesper** into a giant ape to even the odds. During the chaos, **Gimbol** sends a frantic message to **Durim**, urging him to come to their aid. A mysterious figure manages to steal the gauntlets—the transformed 🗝️ **Scepter of Oaths**—from **Jin**'s hands. The thief vanishes, only to reappear beside **Parsons**. **Moss** attempts to invoke the **Crown of Stars**' "Mandate of Heaven" to stop **Parsons**, but the artifact remains cold and unresponsive. **Parsons** retaliates with a devastating //Finger of Death// on **Moss**. **Moss** narrowly survives the strike, and **Parsons** retreats with the stolen scepter. **Durim** arrives just as the dust settles, but the enemies are gone. ==== Lessons in Power ==== That night, **Vesper** takes the watch with **Durim**. **Durim** reveals that an **Anchor** can unlock specialized abilities when attuned to the correct artifact. He explains that the artifact tied to the God of Death, **Valzeruun**, is a cloak—the 🗝️ **Mantle of the Silent Judge**—which **Parsons** is currently using. The following morning, **Vesper** shares this revelation with **Sol**. Curious, **Sol** communes with her own artifact, which responds with a display of raw power, firing beams of energy that cause a small explosion in a nearby tree. ===== The Ruin of Lunaris ===== ==== A Ghost from the Past ==== The party continues their journey north, stopping at a small town halfway to **House Marrow**. At a local bar, **Jin** is approached by a man—the brother of a fallen comrade from **Jin**'s old group. The man presses **Jin** for answers about his brother's fate. **Sol** notices **Jin**'s distress and intervenes to distract the man. The man shares grim news from the south: **Lunaris** has been completely taken over. He describes a city covered in ice, a dragon perched upon the manor, and the streets littered with bodies. ==== The Gambler's Return ==== A stranger at the bar begins questioning **Jin**, demonstrating an unnerving ability to read minds. **Jin** admits to a past failure: his group had been tasked with protecting a town from a demonic presence, but the demon offered a wager instead. **Jin**'s group put him in charge of the roll; he gambled their souls and lost. The stranger chuckles, and **Jin** recognizes the voice—it is the same demon. As the stranger speaks of making another wager for the party's souls, the bar begins to wither and rot. The demon reveals it has already taken one of the party's sacred groves. **Jin** refuses to gamble again. > I'll be here if ever you decide to be brave. The demon vanishes, leaving the bar in a state of advanced decay. The party decides to press on toward **House Marrow**. **Sol** speaks with **Kaelen Cross**, who promises to send scouts to investigate the situation in **Lunaris**. ===== House Marrow ===== ==== The City of Fog ==== As the party nears the gates of **House Marrow**, the vegetation dies away, replaced by grey, undead wildlife. The massive gates, usually sealed to contain the undead within, stand wide open. A thick fog rolls in as they enter. The buildings are sagging and twisted at unnatural angles, and the streets are swarmed with undead. Deep within the city, a pulsing red glow emanates from the center. **Gimbol** spots a bandaged figure in armor diving into a building after cutting down several ghouls. ==== The Marrow Resistance ==== The party navigates the city using **Moss**'s //Pass Without Trace//, narrowly avoiding giant undead constructs that seem to be herding the lesser ghouls. They encounter a group of survivors hiding in a building. The group is led by **Leara Marrow**, the niece of **Lord Corvin Marrow**. After **Sol** is initially mistaken for an undead due to her spectral glow, the party convinces **Leara** of their alliance. She explains the dire situation: * Safehouses throughout the city are marked by bone lanterns. * **Lord Corvin Marrow** has descended into madness and paranoia. * He has locked himself in the cathedral with the 🗝️ **Chalice of Concord**, fearing the **Ashen Coven**. ==== The Cathedral ==== The party sneaks toward the cathedral, finding the surrounding field choked with sentient, moving vines. **Moss** attempts to commune with the plants, and they seem to part for the party. However, as they reach the doors, the vines betray them, lashing out and wrapping around their legs. **Jin** and **Gimbol** manage to force the locked doors open just in time. They descend into a fog-filled stairwell. At the bottom, they find a door slightly ajar, revealing **Lord Corvin Marrow** hunched over the **Chalice of Concord**. {{tag>session}}