Author Archives: Dennis

Previously, the heroes prepared to confront Epidemius at his second arrival on Steward’s Square in Kingsport. They were supported by Lyrian knights from the Order of the Lance, under the command of Ser Uthred Locke, by Lyrian knights stationed in Kingsport, under the command of Ser Roderick and Dame Madeline, by the crownsguard and custodians, by James and members of the Steady Hand, by Emma and her disciple Dagmær, and even members of house Sheridan.

Fourth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waning, Darkmoon is in low sanction)

Luca called out to Aurion in frustration, begging his patron to let him turn his back on the light and return to a simpler time where he followed the path of darkness and could make full use of Blackstar. Aurion, however, did not respond, but there was another voice that found Luca, eager to fill the void that the young warlock found at his core. His vision dimmed and the darkness around him filled with crawling creatures that all called out for Luca to join them.

Meanwhile, the battle between Epidemius and his forces, and the heroes and their support, was still raging. Luca, oblivious to anything but the voices that spoke to him, walked forward, closing in on battle in a dangerous way. His dragonling materialised from its invisibility and rushed towards him, flitting about him in a panic. Somewhere, in the back of Luca’s mind he heard a voice say that he still owed a debt to the sidhe, and that allying with the person behind the voice that Luca heard would disallow him from paying back that debt. Réonan was rushing forward, as well. Pleading with Luca to reconsider what he was doing. Eventually, Réonan grabbed Luca, who turned on the archmage and grabbed them in return. Réonan pleaded to the turbulent skies in a language that none of the heroes understood, while Luca rebuked Réonan’s words in a strange tongue of his own.

When Luca attempted to understand who he was negotiating with, he got a sudden glimpse of what servitude under this new master would mean. He saw himself carrying a pike, corralling naked people against a wall while they stood ankle deep in boiling water. These people were defenceless. They were trying to scramble up the sheer wall trying to get away from the pain. Some were climbing on top of one another, while one woman was standing on the dead form of a child in an attempt to stay away from the water.

Seemingly at the appeal of Réonan, the stormy sky briefly broke and a single shaft of light pierced the sky to fall upon Luca, filling his body with a familiar, nurturing warmth. A single, clarion tone, like that of a perfect tuning fork, rang forth from Luca’s chest spreading out from him. That sound drove away the darkness that surrounded Luca, and the creatures whispering within. Instead, his mind was filled with the voice of Aurion. After Aurion revealed himself to be a celestial there was no way back to the fiend for Luca. It became clear that Aurion presented himself to some as a fiend to see whether they could be persuaded to fight for justice. Those who could not be swayed, like Hejduk, would be sacrificed for the greater good.

Luca was confronted with an ultimatum; Aurion would grant him his obediences back, and in return, Luca would control Blackstar’s urges, and bring it to heel before Midinváerne. And should Luca fail, Aurion would take Blackstar and let it devour Luca’s soul.

While this occurred, Astrid was fighting against three hamatulas, and only kept going by the graces of healing magic. Quentin and Dame Pauline executed several charges through Epidemius’ ranks, and were subject to a venomous vapour that the fiend exhaled as they crashed through the infernal host.

And most disturbingly, one by one, the rat ogres were killed by the hamatulas in the same spot as the first one. Each exploded in a cloud of noxious vapour, just like the first. Their blood joined the blood of the first, reinforcing the disturbing circle and sigils among the rubble of Steward’s Square. The vapour was swept up in a thin vortex leading from the centre of the circle all the way to the eye of the storm above. Inside the storm, large shadows could be seen to move, below the storm Lady Commander Miranda and her griffon riders fought the vicious erinyes.

Something infernal was brewing inside the storm.

Previously, the heroes were approached by Epidemius in a dream. He came in the guise of father Devon and tried to convince the heroes to avoid conflict. The heroes felt more confident then ever that they should oppose Epidemius and prepared for the confrontation on Steward’s Square.

Fourth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waning, Darkmoon is in low sanction)

The portal which opened up in the middle of Steward’s Square was an enormous disk of pure darkness. A void so complete that even light could not escape its darkness, being torn away from reality and sucked into its depths, causing a bright corona which resembled the orange hue of many of the lyrium crystals the heroes had gathered.

The first creatures to emerge from the void of the portal were the familiar skaven plague priests, with their distinct white fur, strange horns, and their ragged robes, adorned with strange symbols. Each carried a bronze censor which spread an ominous smoke into the square.

Next came the hulking form of rat ogres, standing twice as tall as a man, with the weight and musculature of two, thoroughbred oxen. Not all of the heroes were familiar with these brutes, and to those who saw them for the first time, it seemed like their composition was just… wrong. None of their body parts seemed to belong together, but rather looked as if they were stitched together from spare parts by a deranged puppet master. No two rat ogres were alike; each had a unique set of jagged scars from where the parts had been fused together, had been lashed, or patched up. Some of them had limbs replaced with crude weapons or implements; a forearm replaced by a crude spike, or heavy maul, a leg replaced by a blunt peg. All of them were deliberately disfigured in a horrifying way. The rusty staples which held their limbs attached to their torso strained to contain a noxious vapour which was swelling up from inside of them, eager to escape through the cracks.

Each rat ogre had a beady-eyed skaven on its back, secured in a leather harness which allowed them to drive the ogre. They were armed with a simple crossbow, and a wicked whip with which they lashed the beast they rode into a frenzy. On occasion, the rat ogre would attempt to reach back and snatch the skaven in retaliation, but their crudely engineered bulk did not afford them the dexterity, keeping their task master safe in its harness.

Several figures flew out from the void into Steward’s Square and immediately took to the sky to harass the griffon riders. These were spoken of in sacred texts as Erinyes, and known to commoners and nobility as Furies. Their bodies were hard and muscled, clad in decorative armour that accentuated their wickedness. They flew on black wings, streaked with fire, and carried wicked weapons. They seemed a dark reflection of the celestial warriors who were often depicted in churches and cathedrals dedicated to the gods of the light, and whose statues adorned the halls of the Senhadrim that the heroes had discovered.

Following the flight of the Furies came a march of infernal shock troops known as Hamatulas. Their muscular frames stood over seven foot tall and their torso, shoulders, arms, and legs were covered by spiked, metallic carapace that looked a lot like the interlocking plates of traditional armour. The razor sharp spikes varied in sizes, ranging from half an inch to up to a foot in length, and the hamatulas moved in a way that left no doubt that they were able to weaponise the spikes to a frightening and lethal effect.

Finally, the buzzing of a thousand insects welled up inside the minds of the heroes and those who stood with them. A large, lumbering beast emerged from the gate, carrying the Lord of Decay in an elaborate saddle.

The beast was enormous and dense, built like a bison, but ten times the weight. Covered in thick, brown hide, with a mane of shaggy, reddish fur, it had chitinous plates running along its spine from its forehead to its blunt tail. Short and powerful legs ended in cleft hooves, and its broad, muscled torso dragged along the ground. Metal barding was added to its head, shoulders and hips. Sunken eyes sat beneath the barding, and a curved horn protruded from it. Long tusks jutted outward on either side of its jaw, and swept low to the ground like the handles of a wheelbarrow. The tips of the tusks were fitted with metal and a barbed chain ran between the tips. This beast was bred for war, but it was also clear from the mucus which dripped from its muzzle and the puss which had crusted around its thick, enflamed eyes that it was suffering from an awful malady. Its flesh was riddled with bloated pustules teeming with the undulating eggs of parasites that seemed ready to burst open.

The rider had a wiry torso, with long arms and slender fingers. He wore a ragged robe of scarlet, opened at the front to reveal his brittle skin, sickly pale, like the colour of spoilt milk. His belly was swollen, with a large, jagged gash across it, spilling his guts across his legs like links of sausages that are long past the point of consumption. His legs seemed to be of different sizes, one larger than the other, as if afflicted by a severe case of a gout, swollen to an almost almost grotesque size.

The skin on his bald head was the same sickly pale colour, and was so thin as to chap and crust around the beady eyes, hooked nose and bloodied mouth. The skin seemed stretched so tight, as if it was a flimsy mask which did not quite fit. A row of small, sharp horns pierced through the skin where hair should be, and the back of his head was a mess of strength growth that had the colour of spoilt meat.

Bony branches grew from somewhere at the top of his back which looked like the antlers of a stag, but more twisted and gnarled. Trinkets, talismans, and animal bones adorned the antlers.

Epidemius surveyed Steward’s Square briefly, before writing something down on a long piece of parchment with a dirty quill. The buzzing of insects grew louder. The skaven moved in from all sides of the square.

Before the Erinyes engaged the griffon riders above the city, Lady Commander Miranda signalled for the squadrons lead by Ser Roderick and Dame Madeline to secure Queensbridge and Tiverton Street, while Ser Uthred took his squadrons to protect the Elysian Street. The crownsguard and custodians guarded many of the smaller entrances to the square.

Just as Ser Roderick and Dame Madeline was about to engage a host of skaven moving south from Tiverton Street, arrows were being loosed from one of the rooftops, revealing that James and the Steady Hand had moved to join the fight. Quentin moved the Morvrayne riders into formation in order to charge the ranks of rat ogres and hamatulas, and Emrys summoned a collection of crude golems to keep the rat ogres from advancing.

Emma and her disciple Dagmær arrived at the square from Queensbridge and used their connection to Sedna to drown and freeze the skaven which were climbing up from the ancient waterways in sewage.

Chakuq had put himself into a position to take out one of the plague priests and was emboldened by the charges that Quentin and the Morvrayne riders had performed on Epidemius’ forces to get closer to another plague priest he had marked.

One of the rat ogres had been seriously injured by an onslaught of magic and the opposition from the golems, and to everyone’s surprised, the remaining rat ogres turned on it and bludgeoned it to death, only for it to writhe and explode in a cloud of noxious fumes. It was not immediately clear what the rat ogres gained from turning on one of their own.

Luca had felt frustrated throughout the fight. The impotence of being cut off from Aurion was getting to him. Finally, he called out to Aurion in an attempt to renegotiate his agreement of servitude. Emrys and Neamhan, who was standing nearby Réonan heard them gasp and stare at Luca in disbelief. “No, Luca, don’t do it…” they could be heard to say in shock.

Previously, Neamhan flew to the camp of the Beauclair delegation to deliver Quentin’s letter to Lord Dorian, to find that Highlord Gauthier was critically wounded, and Lord Dorian was suffering from burns sustained during an attack of the Cult of the Dark Queen. Epidemius reached out to the heroes through their dreams, arriving at the Careless Wanderer in the disguise of father Devon to persuade them not to seek out a confrontation with him.

Fourth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waning, Darkmoon is in low sanction)

Somewhere in the distance the bells rang five times as the heroes stood silently in the doorway of their respective rooms, looking out at each other through the dimly lit corridor. Astrid stood in the doorway of the common room she was staying at, wearing nothing but her small clothes and her new sword strapped to her back, seething with anger. Behind her several Morvrayne riders were snoring soundly, asleep in their cots, ignorant of what had just transpired for the Heroes of the White Eye.

Emrys quietly stepped into his luxurious room, leaving the door open, indicating that the rest were welcome to come inside to discuss their shared dream. Neamhan wanted to know who Pazuzu was, and Luca explained that it was a demon that was older than the Dark Queen herself. It was also the demon who slipped out of the abyss and freed Tharizdun from their chains. He explained it in a way that was supposed to mean something to Neamhan, but sadly she was as confused as before she had asked.

When Emrys mentioned that Epidemius would be a tougher opponent than Xamael, it was clear to some that Astrid was still deeply affected by the fight they had with the Dreadlord. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks. It was only when Quentin said it was important to check up on father Devon at the Temple of Pholtus that Astrid snapped out of her anger. Eager to focus on something else, she offered to accompany Quentin, and they got ready and made their way downstairs. They found that Lauryn was already awake and preparing the dimly lit tavern room for the coming day. She got a modest breakfast to take with them before they stepped out into the cold and quiet morning. They made their way to Steward’s Square while Kingsport lay under the tenaebrific blanket of a heavy darkness.

Meanwhile Emrys suggested that Neamhan make sure she got her rest, as she had not been back in Kingsport for more than two hours. They returned to their rooms to resume their rest. All except for Emrys, who had retired early and had enough sleep. Instead, he continued to commune with Toruviel to see if he could gain any insights into Epidemius.

Emrys learned that Epidemius, before his fall, was Epidemael, a messenger for Labolas Enoreth, an important Seldarine deity. He was charged with the protection of the realms in the astral sea, but like so many celestial warriors in that war, he became corrupted by his exposure to the abyssal forces. First he had been an agent of energy and movement, after his fall he became its opposite; an agent of entropy and decay.

Another thing that Emrys learned was that Toruviel was an aeromancer, and was used to flying, of soaring through the sky. This was the reason Toruviel felt a kinship to Epidemael. Emrys intimated that he feared falling to Epidemius, but Toruviel assured him that as long as he wielded the blade, he would never fall. “An aeromancer never falls,” the blade claimed. Toruviel took that moment to remind Emrys of an outstanding task of opposing a dark moonblade.

When Quentin and Astrid arrived at the clinic adjacent to the Temple of Light they found father Devon standing at the foot of the bed that Pip was laying in, her body broken and bruised. He explained that he had been roused by bad nightmares that evening, of burning rings of fire shooting across the sky. They spoke to him in a multitude of voices, and though he did not know what they were, or what they said, he knew that they frightened him.

Quentin explained that the heroes had dreams too, and explained what they had experienced and urged father Devon to leave the clinic and find shelter elsewhere. Reluctantly he agreed and planned to ask to rent a room at the Silver Cross.

Pip woke up and asked why Quentin had come. Quentin gave her a noncommittal answer, and asked what had happened to her. She explained that vandals had come to her shop to smash up its stock. She had tried to stop them, but was outnumbered. She claimed, wearily, that she had recognised one of the vandals, a young, handsome Daerlan lad who she had seen hanging around the butcher shop. She also claimed, but without much certainty, that they had brought some sort of monster to the shop. After inquiring after Céleste, who Quentin assured Pip was safe, Pip fell back sleep.

Back at the Careless Wanderer the smell of roasting boar came wafting through the tavern from the open kitchen door. It would not be ready in time for the heroes to depart, but should all go well it would be waiting for them when they would return. Emrys noticed that everyone was anxious in their own way.

When Quentin and Astrid returned, the Morvrayne riders greeted their lord with a Beauclair song of cheer, which Quentin felt somewhat uncomfortable with. He stoically accepted the greeting and joined the heroes. Emrys confessed his trust in the group’s ability to make it through the upcoming ordeal, and shared what he had learned about Epidemius.

Upon Quentin’s arrival, Neamhan showed the letter which his father had given to her. He shared the news about the attack with the Morvrayne riders, and a wave of consternation went through the group. Quentin assured them that they did the right thing in riding for Kingsport, and all but Dame Pauline felt more at ease.

Luca suggested that the group move to the Cathedral of the Platinum Father on Steward’s Square to await the arrival of Epidemius. Before departure, Neamhan took the time to write a letter to her loved ones back in the mountains of Ard Thoradun, updating them on her travels and progress. With the help of Wojciech, Quentin retrieved his horse in order to take his place among Dame Pauline and the Morvrayne riders.

At the square, the heroes found that Ser Roderick Corbray, a knight stationed out of the Correntine ward of Kingsport, and a man the heroes only had the occasional interaction with, had positioned himself, together with Dame Madeline of Ashenvale, a squadron of knights, and a squadron of armsmen, in front of the cathedral. Réonan was there, as was Lady Commander Miranda together with two other griffon riders, eight squadrons of crownsguard, and two dozen auxiliary custodians. Dame Madeline greeted Emrys and told him about her joy of the return of Ser Florian Ironwood to the Order of the Lance, considering the heroes as directly responsible for that fact. Ser Roderick put a stop to the casual conversation, the tension in his voice palpable.

The square was quiet despite the number of troops in and around it. At the eleventh bell Chakuq climbed up the side of the cathedral to get a vantage point, just in time to see the arrival of Ser Uthred Locke, standing at the head of eight squadrons of knights. Through an intricate system of clarion trumpet calls, Lady Commander Miranda directed the forces on the ground, to man the barricades that shut off the square, and to patrol the main thoroughfares leading to it.

Tension filled the air, and dark clouds began to form overhead. Nerves and anxiety was palpable among the defenders as the time was nearing of Epidemius’ arrival. Slowly, snow started falling from above. Astrid seemed to be the only one that became more relaxed as she witnessed the storm brewing, a stillness coming over her.

As the bells struck twelve, the tension could be cut with a knife, and the sound of rushing air could be heard as a large, oval rift opened up to a black void in the middle of the square. The void was so dark that it sucked in all the light around it, causing a corona of menacing light along its edges. Simultaneously, hundreds of pairs of glowing, red eyes opened up on rooftops, in alleyways, in windows, and from lifted drain covers. A trumpet from above, sent troops wheeling in different directions, responding to the orders of the Lady Commander.

Epidemius had arrived.