Session XIII: Dark Herald's Trail

After the Twilight Advocates had collected their monthly salary as Twilight Advocates from the treasury (amounting to 90 gold each), they arranged to be teleported to Baldur's hometown of Khuramunz, a frontier settlement by the disputed Hinterlands. Incidentally, it was also a very short distance from one of Hazred's markings. Immediately after they arrived in the town's Pool Market the party's non-dwarves started a discussion about the layout, demographics, size, and peculiarity of subterranean holdings, with Baldur naturally acting as resident expert on these matters. A few minutes passed before Baldur noticed a group of armoured dwarven housecarls in a debate with an elven scout; he recognised the dwarven party's leader as Alfgeir Snowback, an Oathsworn and friend from before his voluntary exile. One of the dwarves approached the adventurers and called for the blackbeard (dwarven term for dwarven Hellknights) to join them in order to settle a dispute. Alfgeir and Eris, the elven scout, were locked in argument. Eris had provided Alfgeir information about a demon band that were in possession of his clan's ancestral sword, but Alfgeir was unwilling to let her tag along due to a lack of combat experience and "tactical incompatibility." However, he was more than willing to let the adventurers come along, in part because he knew Baldur likely wanted to leave Khuramunz as quickly as possible. With this additional party joining the search, Alfgeir allowed Eris to tag along.   As they were leaving the impressive fortification network of the town, Alfgeir gave a quick summary of what to expect from the demons here: no mercy and no rest. Aggression was the key to countering them, and proper Shadow Demons took priority since they can create other Shadows from those they kill. Once they stepped outside and into the Hinterlands, they quickly detracted from the main road and into the forest. At midday, they set up a fallback camp and sent out Eris and Del'Gado to scout ahead. Being extraordinarily quiet, they spotted what would be a rearguard consisting of 16 demons and shadow fey divided into two groups. They reported back, and Alfgeir proposed that they attack them simultaneously. The adventurers managed to move into position without alerting them, and then ambushed them.   The battle, which also saw a group of Shadows led by a Shadow Demon, was over in a minute thanks in part to Caerlin summoning horrors from beyond to assist them and in Jacqualine inflicting massive holy damage on the incorporeal fiends. Alfgeir's group suffered two wounded, and he recommended that some of his dwarves fall back to the camp whilst the rest push ahead to the main force. Eris was seen collecting the green sashes that was worn by the shadow fey, and Jacqualine conversed with her in Elven about it. She declared that she and the other (former) elves served in the same scouting party from Hyloshaera Faenyor and had been sent a few weeks ago to claim some recently-discovered Hyxian artifact on the (materially-incentivised) instruction of count Varil Keyran of the Perennial Court. But, as they were resting in camp one evening, Eris described how an unusually beautiful elven-looking woman wielding a blade of pure goodness had approached them and apparently made an offer to the scout leader, who was corrupted on the spot; thereafter cambions descended on them and ultimatums were issued. Eris herself was spared and let go, presumably to cause humiliation and knowledge of what happened. No longer interested in the mission, she expressed a desire to avenge her former friends and bring back some of their personal effects to Hyloshaera Faenyor.   In the afternoon, the joint force of adventurers and housecarls spotted a clearing with a clear presence of demons. Surrounding a white pedestal, a woman in elegant plate armour and some of the shadow fey seemed to be studying it; Alfgeir's ancestral sword was resting at the side of the pedestal.