by Tim "James Swift" Suitor
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| photo by Brianna Meisser |
After a long day competing in Rhiassa, we heard there was trouble, so a group of us began to mill around by the tavern and the stage, awaiting a portend of what was to come, and sure enough, it arrived. A mildly hostile warrior woman of the Order of the Saintly Shadow arrived to warn us of a Necromantic Coven or Sect that has cropped back up. She was seeking allies who might be able to help defeat them, and was willing to use this as a test to see if we were worthy to help her. Yeah, one of those. These Necromancers have been stealing corpses, still saveable people, and turning them into powerful undead using cruel soul magics.
We departed and quickly encountered some of these undead fairly quickly. While
we were able to defeat them, they regenerated ad nauseam. We weren't able to
rend the Undead, or keep them down, leading to them flanking us as the party
continued down the path. We followed a trail of undead to a necromantic ritual
with a Circle of Undeath ripping the life from any who contacted it, containing
another ritual circle holding a necromancer. We were harried by undead as we worked
to deal with the first circle, and when it was disrupted it released the undead
still inside.
The second circle protecting the necromancer had four parts
to it, skulls and candles rining it with four bones, each carved with a word of
cruelty. Agony, Despair, Deceit, Avarice. Eventually, we figured we could begin
dismantling the protections for the Necromancer, by countering the points of
cruelty with their opposite. Generosity to best Avarice, Truth to beat Deceit,
Hope for Despair, and Soothing to calm Agony. The final circle fell, and… and
we defeated the Necromancer. I believe.
It was a long night, and I am still tired, so I am sorry if
anything was glossed over or inaccurate. I am weary from a long Queen of Hearts
weekend, and still have a bit of a headache.
Our guide, Angelique of the Order of the Saintly Shadow
made sure we were aware this was only the start, more of these Necromancers
await, and we may have proved ourselves to her, enough at least. If she can
point us towards an evil to put down, I’ll take it.