January 3
Late Morning: The group returns to the Well of Demons, and decides to approach the door directly to the east. They notice the sound of sharp, high-pitched barks before opening the door. On the other side, a small group of gnolls and their hyena watchdogs engages the party. It is, frankly, a fairly feeble effort, and the PCs make short work of the creatures. A quick search of these barracks uncovers some gold and a +2 Cloak of Resistance. The party takes a short rest and moves into a hallway heading south.

Afternoon: The PCs listen at another door, this time again hearing the hyenas, but also the twang of a bowstring followed by thud and tortured squealing, followed by harsh barking laughter. They open the door and see the walls of a chamber covered with faded murals that depict minotaurs in combat.

A barrier of hay bales divides the long room. In the northern portion of the room, a large boar is chained to the floor inside a pen. Arrows jut from the trapped creature, and the floor around it is covered with splatters of blood. Hyenas encircle the pen, trying to bite the boar. The party quickly moves to attack the hyenas and defend the boar. Pype notices a second entrance to the room further down the hall that would open behind the gnolls, and dashes off down the hall hoping to surprise them.

At the same time, while the rest of the group engages the hyenas, Ionoa leaps into the makeshift pen and summons shamanic spirits to help calm and heal the boar. Just as Pype arrives at the other entrance, Phaean launches a fireball at the gnolls hiding behind their (honestly, rather flammable) hay-bale barrier. Several of the gnolls are badly burned, while the barrier is instantly transformed into a flaming wall, obscuring that half of the room from view.

Ionoa and Peren manage to placate the enraged boar, while Saar pulls its chain free from the ground. The newly-freed boar begins enthusiastically goring the hell out of the hyenas. Meanwhile, Pype has a grand time facing down the four gnolls on his own with such a convenient wall of fire to push them into.

The party carries the battle, again without much real difficulty. They decide to head back to the barracks and rest for the night. Thee boar accompanies them, happily munching on the various hyena corpses laying around. The PCs notice he is branded with the dwarven glyphs for “UD”, but are unable to place the initials.

They decide to name him “Oscar”.

Then they go to bed.

January 4
Morning: The group decides to investigate the remaining door to the east. Within the room beyond, they meet two tieflings brothers, Azkelak and Katal. They urge the PCs to leave, but Pype and Saar press them with questions. Conversation, as it so often seems to do, degenerates to combat.

Azkelak shouts something, and two other doors fly open. From one, a gnoll female with a large flail emerges and attacks. Beyond the other door, there is a puff of brimstone and a sound like a whip-crack, and a hulking demonic creature covered in fur appears and roars, flexing deadly claws and revealing terrible fangs.

This battle goes not quite so easily for the party. The tieflings teleport about, stabbing various PCs with their poisoned swords. The gnoll repeatedly smashes them with her flail, knocking them prone. And the demon attacks at range with its long, powerful arms.

The party manages to stay upright with some judicious healing and magic item usage, and eventually kill the tieflings and the gnoll. However, when brought near death, the demon howls, pins Saar in its powerful grasp and, with another whipcrack and puff of brimstone, the two disappear!

(Saar, sadly, exits the game. The foul demon takes him not to the abyss, but a land far, far more horrifying … Saar is transported to … Texas. Thanks for gaming with us Vince, keep in touch!)

The five minions appear to be human like the other Eaters the PCs have encountered before, but they have their mouths sewn shut with rough thread. Silent as they are, they do exhibit the power to force the PCs to attack each other. Luckily, most of the party miss their attacks on each other, with the notable exception of Ionoa, who manages to critically hit Pype in the back.

The party quickly dispatches the minions, and makes short work of the leader despite the minotaur statue’s interference. Finally the statue itself is destroyed and the battle is won.

On the leaders body, they find two notes and a map to a location within the labyrinth labeled “Blackfangs”. The first note reads: “I don’t care how you do it, but deal with these adventurers. Take one of the bronze warders if you must. If they remain in the  Labyrinth, they could disrupt my plans. Once you’ve dealt with  them, deliver their bodies to our gnoll friends, along with the enclosed scroll.  -Paldemar”

The enclosed scroll reads: “To Maldrick Scarmaker, Exalted Chieftain of the Blackfangs and Chosen of Yeenoghu:  Paldemar offers you the corpses of these champions as a gift of ongoing friendship, that our arrangement might continue to be mutually beneficial. May you savor their blood.  -Your friend and ally, Paldemar”

There is some amount of difficulty getting the boulder out of the doorway, but eventually the party works together and moves it, and they all head back to the Seven-Pillared Hall and rest for the night.

January 1, 1480FA
Morning: The party starts off the new year with breakfast, followed by the stuttering sage Vadriar flagging them down and trying to communicate some dire warning. He appears to be suffering from a curse that prevents him from speaking on certain topics, but the party gets the vague impression that Hall itself is in danger of collapse. They promise to look into things for Vadriar, and leave to visit Lenina.

Afternoon: The party meets briefly with Lenina and fill her in on the notes recovered from their would-be assassins. That they are evidence that Paldemar, the missing Mage of Saruun that Lenina asked them to look for, is working with a demon-worshipping tribe of gnolls is alarming. Lenina copies these notes, and offers the party a reward of their choosing. The group asks for some time to think about it. She then tells the group they may want to ask Vadriar about the area of the labyrinth noted on the map.

The PCs head back to the Inn and find Vadriar, who tells them that the area is called the “Well of Demons”, which was once essentially a proving ground for evil worshippers of Orcus. The party decides to call it a day and follow the map in the morning, supposing that young Jono may have been delivered there.

January 2
Morning: The party sets out for the Well of Demons.

Evening: The closer the party draws to the Well, strange things begin happening, culminating in Saar glimpsing a tear in the fabric of reality that gives him a vision deep within the Abyss. Stunned, he needs a few minutes to steady himself after the horrific things he saw.

Eventually, the party reaches the entrance to the Well, a large, square chamber. Five columns, three set near the room’s corners and two in the middle of the chamber, rise up 15 feet to the ceiling. Each column has the face of a leering, fanged minotaur carved onto it. When they step into the room, the column speaks the following words:

“Greetings, seekers of the boundless glory of Orcus.
Those who prove unworthy of his attention
Shall be claimed forever as his slaves.
Those who prove worthy
Shall be granted power beyond mortal reckoning.
Mask, bell, blade, and tome”

Peren notices a hunched figure skulking behind one of the columns. Seeing that it has their attention, the creature, a ghoul, attacks. From the ceiling, two cavern chokers attack the party with their ensnaring tentacles, while a phalagar burrows up from the ground and likewise attacks with its tentacles. The battle is a chaotic flurry of tentacles, stunned PCs, more tentacles, ensnared PCs used as shields, and still more tentacles. Eventually the party manages to dispatch the odd assortment of creatures and pauses to take a short rest.

After a brief talk, they decide to end the duergar infestation here for good. Once again, they head back to the western Hold, where Murkelmor awaits. Part of the group enters through the main doors to Murkelmor’s chamber, while others sneak through a hidden passageway in an attempt to outflank any forces inside the room.

Batttle was quickly joined, and Murkelmor and three of his allies proved to be tough opponents. Murkelmor could summon flames which healed him, he set fire to several of the party with his flaming maul, and managed to knock Pype into one of the large fireplaces that surrounded the room. After a chaotic battle, the duergar were all put down, and the party claimed some treasure, an Amulet of Health, and Murkelmor’s Flaming Maul.

Afternoon: Feeling rather completionist, the party heads back to the ruined temple they noticed before. Upon entering, they are, to absolutely no one’s surprise, promptly ambushed by the undead hidden beneath piles of rubble. Already exhausted from the fight with Murkelmor, the PC’s are having a bit of trouble until some of the decrepit walls give way in a well-timed collapse. This enables the party to head back to the safety of the eastern Hold.

Evening: The PCs lead the Winterhavians back to the Seven-Pillared Hall and make arrangements for them to get home. They will take care of themselves, they say, and thank the PCs as heroes, and ask them to return to Winterhaven soon.

The PCs then go looking for Balgo, but get flagged down by the kobold Charrak. The runty messenger hands the party a note and a map, saying that “some guy” paid him to deliver them.

The note reads: “Your actions against the duergar are commendable. I am in a position of power in the organization behind the duergar’s actions, and I wish to help you defeat my comrades. I have been seeking a way out of the organization, and I believe you can help me. Follow the attached map so that we can meet in secret.”

The party then briefly looked for Surina, the dragonborn anti-duergar fanatic, but learn that she has headed off into the Labyrinth.

The party decided to head off for the meeting with this mysterious stranger.

Night: The group followed the map and arrive at the location indicated. It is a natural cave with a 10-foot-high ledge that runs around its interior perimeter, with several large boulders crowding the area. At first, there’s no sign of anyone waiting to greet them, but then suddenly creatures spring out of hiding and attack. It’s a trap! A large animate statue of a minotaur rolls one of the boulders, blocking the room’s entrance as not one but six robed figures emerge from the shadows. The group recognizes these creatures as Eaters, and prepares for a fight.

December 30
Morning: The group attacks the western hold via the southern bridge, battling duergar and their crossbow automatons. Winning through, they move on to search several empty rooms. One room, a ruined cathedral, piques their interest, but they decide to return to it later.

Afternoon: At the Hold’s southern gate, the party encounters and defeats several orcs and a huge ogre savage. The fighting is pitched, and just as the party is mopping up the survivors, one of them yells “Framarth! Kill the slaves!” Without pausing for a rest, the party moves north and discovers the Winterhaven slaves surrounded by duergar and, oddly, two devils.

Battle is once again joined, and the party is victorious. Exhausted and badly wounded, they gather the rescued slaves and bring them back again to the eastern part of the Hold.

Evening: Once again, the eastern part of the Hold is fortified and the party beds down for the night.

Afternoon: The path winds along the edge of a deep chasm, finally rounding a corner to reveal several large bastions clinging to the side of the chasm. Two bridges span the chasm’s depths, linking the bastions together. The path ends at the nearest fortress, where a portcullis blocked the way. A couple of orcs were visible behind the portcullis, keeping watch.

While the rest of the party hid around the bend, Pype approached the gate and attempted to taunt the orcs to open the gate and come outside. There was a bit of a language barrier, and some laughs were had by all. Then suddenly Pype moved to the side of the chasm and out of the view of the orcs. Curious to see if the crazy elf had thrown himself off the cliff or was trying to scale the walls, the orcs came outside to investigate – at which point the party attacked. After a brief battle, the orcs were slain and the party moved into the Horned Hold.

After searching some empty rooms and closets, they noticed the ring of hammers striking anvils and the roar of flames coming from the next room. Inside, a large furnace roared loudly on one side of the room, stoked by an orc at the bellows. Several duergar worked at anvils nearby, beating glowing blades into shape. Racks full of recently finished weapons lined the walls. The party surprised this group, and attacked.

Urwol, the master smith, was killed almost outright by the group’s initial onslaught. Eventually, the duergar and their allies were dispatched. The party took a short rest before moving on down a passageway to the second fortress.

Evening: The group searches several more empty chambers before luckily entering a kitchen area staffed by two human men. Their names are Arum and Calder, and they, along with a woman named Bessa in the next room, are from Fallcrest. They were captured in a Bloodreaver raid six months ago and sold to the duergar. They have been slaves ever since.

While not the captives from Winterhaven that the adventurers are seeking, they do know that more slaves are held in the western fortress, because they bring food to them once per day. The thralls want only to escape, and they beg the party to escort them to the Seven-Pillared Hall, which they know about by reputation.

The party tells them to lock themselves in a storage room while they take care of the duergar in the next room, an expansive chamber which appears to be some kind of dining hall. Just finishing his meal is the duergar champion Rundarr, and several of his underlings. Combat, of course, ensues.

The fighting is difficult, especially when invisible duergar appear, poison a party member, then run off and disappear again. Things get even more interesting when Rundarr is seriously wounded and grows four times in size! The battle is bloody and chaotic, with the tide turning only when Phaean critically strikes Rundarr with a magic missile, blowing a hole through the giant duergar and putting him down for good.

A post-battle search of Rundarr’s body reveals some magical dwarven greaves that no one seems much interested in, and a small iron key. The party hands out some weapons to the three slaves, and, exhausted, decides to hole up for the night.

December 28
Morning: The group lures the giant wolf into the Chamber of Eyes, and heads out to return to the Seven-Pillared Hall. There is some talk of avoiding Surina, or withholding some information from her in order to avoid a fanatical reaction to the news. Also after some brief discussion, they decide to leave the door open and give the wolf a chance to fend for itself within the Labyrinth.

Afternoon: Upon arriving at the Hall, they are flagged down by Charrak the runty kobold. He tells them that Noristo has a message for them, and receives a generous tip for his trouble. The party meets with Noristo and discusses the fate of Krand and his men, and gets some information about Kedhira and her master, Murkelmor. Noristo then tells them that he received a Sending from Irel, with the message “Send them to Lenina. Especially Pype. Some information she has is about the favor he owes me.”

The party walks across the Hall to Lenina’s home, where they are greeted by a cautious Andra. “Lenina has been through much,” she says. “She is frail, has lost an arm and been aged beyond her years. Do not trifle with her, do not upset her. She has seen the worst this world has to offer, so be gentle and kind.” Missa and Balgo are also present and studying.

Andra leads the party upstairs to a large workshop/library/study to meet Lenina, a one-armed woman who appears to be in her 80s. She sits with the group and asks them how she can be of help, and becomes more insistent when they mention they are from Winterhaven. She reveals that she is originally from Winterhaven, and hears the party’s story of the portal, the Sleeper, and the cultist Kalarel.

She then tells them her story:

“More than ten years ago, I was part of a group of companions much like yourselves. “The Light of the Sun” we were, but people just came to call us the Lights.

There was Jayrn, my love, captain of the Lights and Paladin of Bahamut. Eloetha, Poer, and Grunn, a dwarf priest of Moradin. And myself – my much more whole and youthful self. Five people … five good people. Maybe we were brash and thought ourselves invincible, but with Jayrn guiding us, we were doing good works. We had been all over this vale, and even to the outside world from time to time.

At some point we began hearing rumors of something. Something evil. Jayrn began putting things together … a rumor here and there, the dreams of priests and hedge wizards, omens in the clouds. We were helping a settlement deal with a number of goblins raiders when we finally put it all together. Their leader had been making deals with someone, someone gathering a great number of creatures to him. Someone named Kalarel.

Whatever this Kalarel was planning, it would certainly be disastrous for the Vale. So the Lights swore an oath to put a stop to it. It took us years to track him down, but in 1464 we learned he was in a ruin called the Sword Barrow, and preparing a ritual to unleash a great evil upon the world.

So we attacked. For days we pushed ever deeper into the Barrow. There were horrors there. Horrors of flesh and magic, devils and the undead. Grunn was the first to fall. A bad omen, a sign of what was to come. He was dragged screaming into a pit of fiends … and I … he was gone from us. Eloetha was killed the next day; torn to pieces and … and eaten … by some fiend of flesh and chain.

But we remaining three had won through to Kalarel’s stronghold. He was there … before a massive stone arch filled with darkness. A darkness that … moved, it was … alive. There were others there, human and … other things … and they fell upon us.

Poer was killed by … I don’t know. I was concentrating on defending Jayrn, and just … one moment he was there, and I looked again and his body was … burning and … in pieces.

Jayrn and I had driven Kalarel away from the portal, but Jayrn …

She weeps.

I am sorry. Jayrn had his back to the portal, and it … reached out and grabbed him. Tendrils of darkness had him bound by his arm, his leg, his … face. Forgetting Kalarel, I unleashed everything I had at the portal. It started to crumble, to collapse in on itself but … not fast enough.

The last thing Jayrn did as he was taken was to strike the keystone of the arch, destroying the portal even as he was pulled through. His eyes found mine and … and one last glance, then he was gone.

Kalarel and some of his gnolls had fled. I no longer cared what happened to me, so I pursued them. Back through the Barrow. Into the country. For days I went without sleep or food, trying to catch up with them. In the state I was in …

Kalarel had left his gnolls behind in ambush. Some creature in black … took my arm with with a bladed chain, and another … struck me with an arrow. Poisoned with some concoction of Kalarel’s. I ran, escaped, I … got away. Days more went by, but I was certain I was going to die. The poison was stealing years from my body. I was found, by luck or by the gods, near Fallcrest, half dead and the other half mad.

Andra was a healer there. I was taken to her, but I had slipped from consciousness by then. They could restore neither my lost arm nor my lost years, but I did not die.

For two years I slept. When I woke, I recovered. With Andra’s help I retrieved some of my things I had stashed away in this village or that, and sold much for coin. I knew Kalarel was still out there, and he would not stop. I can not face him directly … he has defeated me. But I had the money and knowledge to fund others. Other adventurers, knights, informants, thieves, whoever could lead me back to him. And, after a while, others approached me, others who were hunting him and his allies as well.

I can tell you, Kalarel is not dead. For the likes of him, passing beyond that portal is not the end. Only the … only the truly good die in the Shadowfell. Evil survives. Evil is reborn.”

She also reveals quite a bit of information about the group’s relations and relatives. It turns out that Lenina often employed Peren’s father Darnos, and through him the Evergreen Company itself. She tells Peren that Darnos was killed by an agent of House Oramis named Zirithian. He is a powerful drow who wields a blade called Nightbringer. Zirithian was last known to be somewhere in eastern Sureth, perhaps in the great trade city of Alwhar, hunting for Brynnan and Rayndn. She tells Ionoa and Phaean that Brynnan was a member of the Evergreen Company, and loved an elven woman named Aldara. They had a falling out, which led to the Company being disbanded.

She also tells Saar that the dwarf who ran him out of Hammerfast, Delg, has grown more powerful in the city, and is trying to ruin a good dwarf and ally of House Azaer named Grakas. She also asks why Saar gave up writing, but he offers her no reply.

This sparks much conversation within the group, as this unravels many of their personal puzzles and opens many paths before them.

With all that said, she continues. “You know of the Mages of Saruun? The mysterious arcane order which operates this entire Hall?

Well, the black-robed mage called the Ordinator is not just a single person, but rather each of the Mages of Saruun taking turns at filling the role.

They have asked me to look into the disappearance of one of their own, a man named Paldemar. From what I have gathered, he joined their order two years ago, but recently had a … falling out of sorts.

You have seen the great Minotaur statue in the Hall? Well, there are may like it throughout the Labyrinth, and this Paldemar may have been close to a means to bring them to life under his control.

Naturally this would upset the subtle, and very profitable, role the Mages have established for themselves here, so they wish to stop him.

If you discover anything, please let me know, and I shall offer you what reward I can.”

The party readily agrees to keep their ears open, offers their thanks, and takes their leave.

They then move on to find Surina in the temple. The group decides to tell her everything, although Pype waits outside to mull over his options. She insists they accompany her to the Ordinator to testify against the Grimmerzhul. They reluctantly do so, but the Ordinator dismisses her plea out of hand. They do not trade slaves within the Hall, and that is all that concerns the Mages. Dejected, Surina thanks the group and returns to the temple.

Evening: The course of action open to the group right now is the rescue of the Winterhaven slaves, so they decide to gather what information they can from the duergar in their shop. Conversation with the slavers, tense at first, quickly degenerates into combat. Kedhira and her crew make for a tough battle within the confined space of their workshop, and large, fire-based spells draw a crowd outside the building.

Eventually the party kills the duergar, with Peren landing the final devastating blow against Kedhira. There is time enough for a brief search of the shop (which turns up a map to the Horned Hold) before the ogre “sheriff” Brugg begins hammering the door demanding to know what’s going on.

The PCs quickly slip out the shop’s rear entrance, which leads directly into the Labyrinth. They rest in the darkness, and Phaean, using a ritual to translate the map, discovers that the slaves (except the young boy Jonno) have been taken to the Horned Hold.

The group then goes shopping, visiting the drow Gendar’s Curios and Relics shop. They make an appointment to meet Noristo Azaer at the merchant House Azaer and, when leaving, witness Brugg and the Ordinator executing a criminal in the street.

They meet Charrak, a scrawny runt of a kobold who seems to know a lot about the people of the Hall. They pay him for some names of local guides and merchants.

The group returns to the Inn, and meets Balgo and Missa taking a break from their studies. Missa leaves to return to her studies, and a bard friend of Balgo’s named Bennik arrives. Upon hearing that the party has come from Winterhaven, Balgo awkwardly excuses himself to return to his studies at Lenina’s.

Evening: The group tracks down Surina, a dragonborn warlock and devout follower of Erathis. In exchange for the location of the BloodReavers, she makes the party swear to provide her with any information they obtain against the Grimmerzhul. Surina tells them that she has mapped the way, and they may obtain it from the sage Vadriar.

Vadriar stays at the Halfmoon Inn, so the party found him easily. He behaves oddly, seemingly gripped with terror, sputtering and becoming jumpy at any mention of the Labyrinth, but speaks with ease any other time. He provided the group with Surina’s map.

Pype headed out to purchase a bundle of supplies to clothe and feed any of the slaves they might recover, then everyone bedded down for the night.

December 27
Morning: The party arrives early for their meeting with Noristo Azaer. After some initial confusion and suspicion, he speaks with the same arcane language as Irel did, indicating that he is also a member of the Blood Brotherhood, but implies that this cell of the organization is not aware of Irel and his operations. The group gets some information about the Hall and the BloodReavers, and Noristo asked them to let him know what they find out.

Afternoon: The party makes their way through the Labyrinth, following Surina’s well-annotated map. There are many twists and turns, but they travel for a few hours and reach a door covered with a series of eyes in a sequence from closed to open. They knock, and manage to bluff their way in by posing as new customers looking to meet Krand and make a purchase.

Once inside, they notice the repeating themes of awakening eyes, as well as a large pair of statues that clearly represent Eaters like they one that was with Ninaran in the Winterhaven graveyard.

As the bugbear underchief was leaving to get Krand for them, the party dropped their ruse and attacked. There was a running battle as BloodReavers streamed into the chamber from neighboring rooms, but the party defeated them and moved deeper into the complex.

They eventually faced Krand and his remaining BloodReavers. Several of the group were severely wounded in the fighting, but the group managed to flank their enemies and slew them all save for Krand’s giant wolf mount, who fled back to the entrance chamber after it’s master’s death.

Among the dead BloodReavers were two duergar, and the party found a magical set of leather armor, and some coins and gems. There was also a letter, written in Common, which appears to be a contract to purchase the Winterhaven slaves for 1,000 gp; it’s signed by Murkelmor Grimmerzhul, and dated two days ago.

December 22
Morning: The group leaves Irel’s cabin and heads to Winterhaven. There, they meet with Valthrun and discuss heading to Thunderspire to rescue the BloodReavers’ captives.

Afternoon: Phaean meets with Padraig, who is depressed and lets slip some information that seems to imply he had some sort of relationship with the missing Ena Indistel. Saar hears some odd talk about the missing Vella Indistel around town, and Peren and Pype ride out to check the trail.

December 23 – December 26
The party travels east to Thunderspire. After three days of travel, they skirt the town of Fallcrest and continue east to the mountain.

December 26
Morning: The party arrives at the entrance to Thunderspire, and finds bodies of Delphina Moongem and Francis Aleon in a ditch on the side of the path. From the crossbow bolts in their back, it seems like they were shot trying to escape. Inside, they rescue Balgo, a halfling, from BloodReaver slavers. Balgo gratefully leads them to the Seven-Pillared Hall, where the group checks in with the Ordinator then heads to the Halfmoon Inn.

The group held formation in the doorway and made short work of the zombies, but had more trouble with the ghoul, whose paralyzing attacks harried Saar and brought Pype down. Pype was quickly healed by his companions, and the ghoul was finally killed. The small gargoyle made a break for a set stairs leading down to a set of double doors, but the party gave chase. Unfortunately, the little creature was more powerful than it appeared, assaulting the minds of several of the adventurers and redirecting their attacks at each other. Just when it seemed to be making its escape, Phaean summoned a cloud of daggers around it and tore it to shreds.

Battered and exhausted, the party made a quick search of the area, discovering a magical bag of holding and a Safewing amulet amongst the dead. It was then decided to rest for the night. The group long suspected that Kalarel’s ritual would complete on the Queen’s Night holiday, which was the next night. They slept and readied themselves for a final push into the depths of the keep.

December 21
Morning: After night again filled with nightmares, the part awoke and returned to the stairway and double doors. The doors opened into a massive cathedral, where it seems Kalarel’s agents had been at work to corrupt the once holy ground. Streams of blood flowed from a black altar and disappeared through a pit in the center of the room. A priest of Orcus and his cadre of vampire spawn and berserker followers attacked the party.

Saar and Peren split off to harry their opponents flanks, while the rest of the party did battle near the pit. Despite the vicious attacks by the beserkers’ battleaxes and various curses from the priest, the party eventually won through. After some investigation, it was discovered that huge chains, slick with blood, descended into the pit to a large chamber below. Fifty feet down, the group could see a shallow pool of blood and hear a voice chanting softly in an unknown language.

Afternoon: As the sun was setting, the party descended into the lower chamber. A yawning, black portal dominated the northern wall of the chamber. Something strained against the darkness within, as if it were a thin film keeping back a vicious clawed beast, while black tentacles lashed out from within. A set of blazing runes had been inscribed on the floor before the portal.

Opposite the portal stood a massive statue of Orcus. It pointed toward the darkness with a skull-capped wand. To the east, a series of steps lead to a platform where a small pit was flanked by two smaller statues of Orcus. To the west another set of steps ascended to an altar of bone flanked by wide pillars.

A human clad in heavy armor and carrying a skull-capped rod stood behind the altar. His eyes were closed, and a book rested open before him. This was, at last, Kalarel. With the arrival of the party, he rose and shouted, “How dare you! I am Kalarel, the Scion of Orcus! I will send your souls to Orcus and reanimate your corpses to serve me!”

With that, battle was joined. Skeletal warriors attacked Pype and Saar from the east, while a shambling undead abomination spit foul black icor at Ionoa and moved in from the west. Kalarel himself attacked the party with powerful beams of necrotic power, curses that hindered their ability to heal, and repeatedly raised his undead servants when they were killed.

When Saar managed to make his way to Kalarel, the evil priest unleashed another attack that immobilized the bard and teleported himself to the center of the glowing runes. The battle was long and brutal, and the party unleashed everything they had. Ionoa had kept everyone up and fighting, but eventually her healing abilities were exhausted and most of the party was badly wounded. Pype had moved in to fight Kalarel but was grabbed and felled by one of the tentacles, and was being dragged toward the portal.

Just then, the party heard a shout of, “Masters!” from above, as the goblin Splug slipped from one of the chains and fell into the pool of blood. Ionoa and Splug raced forward to pull Pype free and Saar poured a potion of healing down his throat, bringing the elf back into the fight.

Kalarel himself was bloodied and nearing death when two of the tentacles latched onto him. “No!” he screamed as he was pulled toward the portal, “it must not end this way!” The party redoubled their attacks, and, just as Kalarel managed to break free, Peren landed an incredible shot, piercing Kalarel’s chest with an arrow. Dying, the evil priest stumbled back, and was immediately ensnared by the tentacles and pulled screaming through the portal.

The moment he disappeared, the runes before the portal exploded, scattering the party. The portal itself began to crumble, while the tentacles latched onto the sides and seemed to be struggling to pull whatever they were connected to through the gateway. The adventurers made a few more ranged attacks against the tentacles as they raced away from the portal. Suddenly, the archway collapsed entirely, and a great explosion of dark energy blasted forth. For one horrifying moment, everyone present seemed to relive every nightmare they had ever had, and then all was silent.

The party regrouped and searched the area, finding a magic dagger and a large stash of gold behind the altar. Splug mentioned he had found “other goblins” who would take him in, and that they were “heading north”. He bade farewell to the party and departed.

Evening: The party returned to Sir Keegan to let him know the portal had been destroyed. The undead knight told them they had done a great good for the land, and bade them keep Aecris so that it may continue to do good throughout the land. Sadly, he would never be at rest and would remain in his tomb. The party thanked him and moved to the entrance of the keep to rest and discuss their next move.

The decision was made to travel straight to Irel’s cabin, and the party headed out of the keep. The question of what to do with Splug was raised, and it was decided that his actions thus far had earned his freedom. He told the group that he would remain in the Keep and await their return, warning them if any new danger presented itself. Satisfied, the party rode for Irel’s.

Evening: The group arrived at Irel’s as the sun was setting. A discussion was held outside on how to proceed, and several of them noticed the abundance of birds present in the area. Ionoa in particular noticed a pair of sparrows perched on the cabin’s roof that seemed to be watching them. The group got the same strange feeling that they were being watched, and on looking again, one of the birds was gone.

Phaean called out for Irel, and, almost on cue, the front door opened. Irel stepped outside, saying, “Come on in, I’ve been expecting you.” After some deliberation, the group followed him down into his cellar, a large room half taken up by some sort of ritualistic circle surrounded by six chairs. Irel invited them to sit, and began a short ritual. Those of the group knowledgeable in the arcane and religious could tell that the ritual was just ceremonial, and when asked, Irel stated that it was an ancient tradition for the beginning of honest and productive discourse.

“Why should I trust you?” Irel asked. “The sins of the father,” he continued, glancing at Saar and Peren, “or the father figure”, to Ionoa,  ”and sometimes the mother or even child,” to Phaean and Pype, “are revisited again and again.”

He continued, “The Raven Queen weaves the threads of fate, some flow together and form a glorious tapestry of life. Some …” he smiled, nodding to the group, “form a tangled knot that’s impossible to predict. So tell me some secrets. And in exchange, I will share with you.”

The party began discussing their dreams. When Ionoa mentioned a rotting crow with one eye of violet flame, he became angry, shouting, “That BITCH and her meddling! Think on it! Look to your neighbors, look to your sad little lord for the answer to THAT riddle. I would watch for this crow, and kill the bitch quickly.”

A few party members recalled that only one family in Winterhaven has violet eyes – the Indistels. While Mitchell has black eyes, his wife Vella’s are violet. Their daugter Ella has beautiful violet eyes, and when that was mentioned, Phaean recalled that the missing daughter, Ena, had mismatched eyes – one black, and one violet. Irel would answer no further questions on this branch of the talk, directing any inquiries the party had to Lord Padraig.

Irel seemed to have a bit of information for each member of the party once they shared something of their own. To Ionoa he said, “Brynnan is not dead, yet stands in mortal danger. He moves far to the east, but they are hunting him. I know this, but do not yet know more.” He then said, “Azaer asek selice”, and everyone present heard the phrase, “He was one of us” in their mind.

To Peren, he said “Your father’s killers stand astride the road you walk. Do not stray, and you will meet them I am sure. Darnos’ death was a loss for us all. Azaer asek selice (He was one of us).”

To Phaean, “Aldara’s death was foretold by your father. She chose to bear you regardless, and left him to spare him the pain. An impossible choice for anyone to make … you should honor her. Azaer asek salice (She was one of us).”

For Pype, Irel first requested that the party restrain him, saying “I have seen his temper, and I do not want my house destroyed.” Pype promised to control himself, so Irel stated flatly “You son still lives. Azaer … asek selice … algara (He … was one of us … and may still be).”

To Saar, “Ah, Saar. The one I should be most able to trust … and yet the very one I can trust the least. You made such an impression in Hammerfast, and then disappear on us. That woman in Fallcrest could have been your redemption … a tragedy, you have my sympathies. Your father had her killed. Na Azaer asek vasoor (That son of a bitch is NOT one of us).”

These revelations sparked a flurry of conversation. The graves in the party’s dreams – two filled and two empty – seemed to represent the dead and living among the party’s relations. Saar subtly volunteered that the gravedigger was probably his father.

Irel said, “I look around and see questioning eyes, ignorant as a pile of newborn birds in the nest. You are fateweavers and the children of fateweavers and I am afraid you are stuck with each other. Take the damn key, get down there, and prove yourselves. Earn a name that will carry you beyond this village and out into the world.” With that, he presented the party with a pendant in the shape of a leaf of holly on a silver chain. Ionoa took the key and placed it around her neck.

When asked how he could know all this, Irel hinted that he was a representative of an ancient secret society he referred to as “the Brotherhood”.

Before the conversation could continue, one of Irel’s sparrows burst into the room, chirping madly before flying back upstairs and outside. “Something is wrong,” he said, as the group moved outside. In the distance, several columns of black smoke could be seen rising over the village of Winterhaven. The party mounted up and rode hard for town.

Night: Upon arriving at the town gates, the party saw signs of a battle. Several fires were burning within the town, and the bodies of slain villagers and orcs littered the ground. A wounded Lord Padraig called to them from the town’s walls. He said that they were attacked by orcs, and someone had sabotaged the city gate’s lock to allow them entry. They had made off with some of the villagers, but there was also other trouble – walking dead had been seen at the village graveyard.

The party made for the graveyard. Venturing inside, they noticed that several of the graves appeared disturbed, and a sickly green glow emanated from beyond one of the mausoleums. A strange cloaked figure was perched on the top of the largest mausoleums, unmoving. As the party advanced, suddenly another shadowy figure fired and struck Saar with an arrow as a horde of skeletons burst from the ground. Battle was joined as Pype rushed the bowman, who he soon discovered was the elven huntress Ninaran! The rest of the party fought the skeletons while the cloaked figure watched from his perch.

When Phaean tried to move to assist Pype, the figure jumped down and attacked Phaean with a spiked chain. Phaean was gravely wounded and dragged back away from where Pype and Ninaran fought. The figure looked like nothing more than a normal human, if foreign to this area. However, when he was wounded, he did not bleed, yet a dark, sandy substance leaked from him. With a heavy, strange accent, he implored the group, “Good people, please. I am so hungry, I beg you – lay down your arms, I will give you a painless death. Please, I am so hungry.”

Ninaran called out, “You are fools to think you can win here! Can you not see what Oramis have sent me? An Eater! This place and your souls are doomed!” She and Pype continued to trade blows while the Eater savaged the party with brutal attacks.

With the skeletons destroyed and Ninaran bleeding badly, she cried out, “Fenetego, to me!” The Eater moved to close with Pype, but the rest of the party engaged it in battle. Pype managed to pin her up against a fence, and finally run her through with his magical blade.

However, upon her death, the Eater cried out, “No!” and a tremendous burst of force flew from him, doing great damage to several party members. The Eater again lashed out with its chain, this time striking Pype, doing a great deal of damage and leaving him unconscious and bleeding out. Finally, the party managed to kill the Eater, with Peren striking the final blow with a well-placed head shot from his bow. The creature’s weapon quickly rusted away to nothing upon its death, but it wore an amulet identical to one Ionoa has seen before.

From Ninaran’s body, Peren recovered a magical longbow and a note which read:

“I received your report on these meddlers and the rather interesting
activities of the other Indistel woman. As far as she is concerned,
we will wait and see. Perhaps she’ll make the rest of our work all
the easier.

The next time you see these “adventurers”, however, House Oramis
has sent orders to put an end to their interference. Mix the blood
of ten people with the elixir Fenetego brings. Then trace the
following pattern on the ground of a graveyard and pour the
liquid into the lines. That should supply you with a force sufficient
to eliminate them.

I’m very close to completion; see that I’m not interrupted. If
you do come to the second level of the keep, remember the
passphrase – it wouldn’t do to have those idiot bugbears killing
you by mistake.

Beware Fenetego as well. He is a creature of the Oramis, sent
to ensure our success here. I’m certain they have also provided
him with instructions to “clean up” anything that may implicate
them should we fail.”

The party opted to not return to town this night, and instead to make camp in the grove next to the graveyard. As they were settling in however, one of the town guards, Phil, having been sent to investigate the fate of the party, found them. He told them the story of the attack on the town, and recounted those missing and dead. Among those killed were Alla the baker, Eilian the Old, and sadly, both Sister Linora and Salvana Wrafton. Those taken captive by the orcs included Delphina Moongem, Rynn the baker, and the entire Eber, Aelon, Noros, and Ovair families as well as the young orphan Jonno Edwain.

Saddened by the days events, the party thanked Phil and bedded down for the night.

December 20
Morning: The group returned to town and held a discussion about their next moves. Valthrun made it known that he was available if he was needed, but Lord Padraig was apparently holed up in his keep. Irel had come to town in the night, and briefly talked a bit more with the party.

The party was able to determine that long ago this “Brotherhood” had an ideological split, splintering into two opposing Houses. Irel seems to be a member of “House Azaer”, attempting to peacefully empower Tieflings and fight prejudice against them. A “House Oramis” seems to be their opposition, and, according to Irel, they “seek a return of Bael Turath” – the fallen Tiefling nation. Irel mentioned that House Oramis deals with demons, devils, and the undead, and that the Eaters were a foul tool of theirs, born of a deal made with Orcus.

Phaean mentioned that it seems like everyone in the party knew someone in a previous group. Ionoa put forth the thought that it was possible that her mentor Brynnan may very well be Phaean’s father. Pype pulled Irel aside and agreed to an exchange of favors if Irel were able to locate Pype’s son and wife.

After some more discussion, it was decided that Kalarel and the portal were the most immediate danger present, so they would deal with him first. They departed once again for Shadowfell Keep.

Afternoon: Upon their return, the party found some alarms Splug had apparently set near the entrance, but no sign of the goblin himself. They briefly searched for him, but found only that some of the bodies had been picked over and some food was missing. Peren saw the tracks of a single goblin moving in and out of the keep a few times, but no other sign could be found.

The group moved to the locked iron doors, and, upon touching the key to the silver plate. they slowly swung open revealing stairs leading down. Immediately, the group was challenged for a passphrase they did not have, and battle was joined with a squad of bugbear guards at the foot of the stairs and their pet giant spider.

Although the monsters hit hard and wounded many of the party, the companions eventually won through. They managed to slay them all and prevent any of them from getting away to raise an alarm. The party took a short rest as they contemplated what lay ahead.