Chapter 47: Alone in the Dark

General Summary

Date: 8th of Uktar, 1491 DR

After getting hurded into the Shadowfell, the party found themselves on a cliffside. The oppressive gloom of the planes of Shadows clinged on every surface, the air was thick with an unsettling stillness and the landscape that opened before them was barren, gloomy and grey. The adventurers began to doubt their decision to travel to this unfamiliar place.   Bene claimed to know the way to the Palace of Loss and beckoned the party to follow him. They descended down the small trail from the mountains until they reached a misty bog. Ranvas grew suspicious since Bene was rarely seen leading the group, but casted aside his doubt as the party headed deeper into the swamps. Eventually, the party stumbled upon an abandoned shack and decided to rest for the night.   As her watch began, Nomime noticed Bene clinging to the shadows of the hut, his eyes turning pale yellow. With a cryptic declaration, the strange obake told the party they would never leave the swamp and vanished into the shadows. With Bene gone and no knowledge of the path ahead, the Good Fellas decided to return back to the mountains.   The party pressed on, but was soon confronted by a humanoid creature with spikes for limbs. It attacked ferociously and a battle ensued, where the party managed to bring it down, but not without scratches. Soon after the party found another set of monsters, a pack of ghouls which they dispatched more easily than the Sorrowsworn. They came upon a gruesome sight of themselves, starved and death amidst a rotten campsite. This gruesome sight brought more dread to the party and they once again questioned their motive to come here.       Finally the party reached the edge of the swamp and met a spirit looking for its missing dog. The adventurers debated whether to aid the spirit, but eventually chose to prioritize their own survival and conttinued westward.   The heroes knew that Shadowfell was a reflection of their own world, so they thought themselves to be near the Mere of the Dead. By continuing west, they deduced to eventually reach an ocean and so with a destination in mind, they pressed forward. During this time the party was set upon by a group of undead that chased them near an cliff edge. A battle unfolded, forcing the party to confront the relentless undead. Clashing against them, they managed to survive yet another skirmish with the denizens of Shadowfell.     Days later, exhausted, the party came upon the edge of a mysterious forest. Their earlier deductions about their location were proven false, but no other choice in mind, the party decided to head further to the gloomy woods.   With their rations diminishing, the continues fights against undead and no clear way to return back home the heroes are at a desperate place. Will they ever find their way back to the Material Plane and save Nomime's brother? Or are they doomed to roam the land of shadow for all eternity, eventually becoming the very creatures they fight against?