Campaign 02: Shadows Unleashed
30 years after the Barrel Boys protected the Quintus Gems...
Table of Contents
Introducing our Adventurers
Having recently graduated to Bronze-rank adventurers after several years of tutelage under the Gold-ranked Iskierka Perscitia, a group from Lothal's Adventurer's Guild set out on their first unchaperoned adventure. Their mission was to investigate disappearances on the road between two settlements, an investigation that took them into the Giantsheel Swamp. There they discovered the green hag responsible for the kidnappings as well as a young woman who appeared to be in the hag's care. When the confrontation became violent, Hugh Morris noticed a hand inside a magic mirror and smashed it open as the hag fled. This action released Levira, Scout of the Heralds, from the hag's prison. The elf woman was happy to reward the adventurers for their assistance, as soon as she was done killing the hag's ward. Taking exception to this, Hugh attacked Levira and barely managed to flee with the young woman as Levira counterattacked and killed the remaining adventurers, save Kiri.Early Encounters
Returning the the guildhall with their mission technically accomplished, the surviving adventurers were joined by Kiri's cousin Chigiri before setting out on their next adventure. After a few short years, they found themselves qualifying for the exam to become Silver-rank adventurers. Their test was known as the Trial of the Elements where budding adventurers must work together to defeat a series of elementals summoned forth to test their mettle. Having only three members and requiring four for the test, the group was joined by the young woman Hugh had previously rescued. She introduced herself as Leliana, describing how she had become a cleric of the god Corellon and joined the Adventurer's Guild since they last met. Together with Leliana, the group that had taken to calling themselves the Headhunters passed the trial and earning their Silver-rank badges. As they continued their adventures, the group had several additional run-ins with Levira and other individuals who appeared to be working with her. Each new encounter made the adventurers more worried as they began to suspect that this woman was planning something terrible, some great evil that could threaten their proud homeland. When they encountered this faction, they often used monsters that were empowered past their usual limits by mysterious purple gems that radiated necrotic magic. More alarming was that these gems appeared sentient as one began to speak to Hugh Morris, explaining the nature of the Gravestones and asking for his aid in freeing the original stone from the Morlocks grasp. It was during this time that Chigiri began his search for seven legendary swords spoken of in the legends of his home village. He slowly began to find these blades scattered around Lothal, unaware of just how important a role they would play in future events. Sadly, it was also during this time that Kiri was slain by Levira when one of her allies, the warlock Moltor, isolated Kiri and forced him to face Levira and several of her Void Beasts alone. Their numbers were soon reinforced by the adventurer Artung "Artie" Dwarforged, but the death of Kiri weighed heavily on Chigiri and Hugh Morris both.Secrets Revealed
The Headhunters conflict with the Morlocks began coming to a head when two of the groups allies, fellow adventurers Cordelia and Mira, sent the Headhunters a message saying they spotted Levira heading to the northern sea and were in pursuit. Knowing they needed all the help they could get against Levira, the Headhunters spoke directly with Nergalee, the Guildmaster, about their previous encounters with her and the threat she posed. The Guildmaster was clearly puzzled as to why this was news to her, for any such information in the group's after-action reports surely would have come to her. It quickly became clear that their was a traitor within their ranks when the Headhunters paperwork was found to be missing. The enraged Nergalee began looking into the matter immediately while sending the Headhunters to rendezvous with a Platinum-ranked adventurer, Sir Hunter von Huntington V, who would assist them. Sir Huntington had urged Cordelia and Mira to wait for the Headhunters, but the pair refused to lose Levira's and had already gone to pursue her. Leaving by ship, the group was forced to fend off a dragon turtle before heading onto the island without Sir Huntington as he tried to save the damaged ship. Cordelia met them by the shore and explained the island was a dangerous place, filled with hungry carnivorous dinosaurs that had separated her from Mira. In time, the group managed to locate an injured Mira outside a ruined temple with evidence that Levira was inside as well. They found her making a rubbing of writing on an obelisk but were forced back to the beach upon discovering her allies were attacking and overwhelming Sir Huntington. Though they succeeded in forcing Levira's allies to retreat, the traitor was revealed as the "injured" Mira assassinated Sir Huntington, though Artie was able to save his body for resurrection later. Though Mira seemed torn between what she had just done and her feelings for Hugh, she teleported away without explaining her actions.Hidden History
While on this island, Hugh had a vision that showed him the seven swords Chigiri had been seeking were the key to defeating Levira. The group made finding the remaining swords their #1 priority and were still in the process of doing so when the city of Inkhear, home of the Adventurer's Guild HQ, came under attack. It began with a rush of monsters from the nearby Giantsheel Swamp and the adventurers went out to meet them before they reached the city. The Headhunters, accompanied by Leliana, were among the first to realize this was a diversion as smoke rose from the city behind them. The Morlocks true army had emerged from underground, digging up from the Underdark to bypass Inkhear's outer defenses. The Headhunters rushed back to the guildhall, discovering from their friends that the Morlocks had gone into the tunnels under the guild grounds. The adventurers pursued and caught up to their enemies just as Levira began a magic ritual. Though they tried to stop her, Levira's allies protected her long enough for her to use her incomplete version of the Decay Incantation to reveal the guild's greatest secret. Centuries ago, the son of the demon lord Orcus had ravaged the land that would become Lothal. This monster, Mesogog, had been defeated and sealed away by adventurers who lacked the means to kill him. The guild was founded to guard his prison, ensuring that individuals capable of facing him would be there should a time come he ever broke free. That time was now, and seeing a hopeless situation Artie used his magic to teleport his friends to safety before sacrificing himself by channeling the entirety of his lifeforce into a Gravestone to injure Mesogog and his lieutenants badly enough to force their retreat.Finding the Remaining Swords
Joined by Kiri's son Corvid and having already followed the leads they'd found, the Headhunters needed new ones to locate the last of Chigiri's swords. They had heard tell of an information broker who may be able to help them, though the rumors claimed they were located on the dreaded Black Isles, a cursed place that was said to swallow up any who came too close. But with no other options, they traveled to the fog-covered isles to meet this mysterious person. They arrived to discover themselves expected as the fog parted a path through the swamp that ended at a mansion located at the heart of the largest isle. The door opened after a knock and they were ushered inside by a hunchbacked man who brought them to a dining room after telling them to remove their shoes. It was here that they met the information broker, Lady Kemlar. With a bit of bartering (and sleight of hand on Hugh's part), they were able to secure one of the remaining swords directly from Lady Kemlar and learn the location of another. They did not realize during this visit that Lady Kemlar was also entertaining Mesogog and Mira as guests, carefully maneuvering both groups to ensure one would destroy the other for whatever her reasons. With that, they traveled to a sunken temple and found the final sword before returning to the guildhall in Inkhear. The united swords displayed a map for Chigiri and he noticed a glowing aura around Iskierka Perscitia that he'd never seen before. Explaining the situation to her, she told the group to follow her to somewhere of great importance, though they were forced to leave Corvid behind when he was summoned by his goddess. Along the way they met Vinnie Vice, who traveled with them to the Dragon Forge, one of the few places where the Seven Swords could be combined into one. Unfortunately, its hidden location was not as hidden as they'd hoped as Mesogog arrived to interrupt them. Iskierka told the Headhunters to forge the sword while she held Mesogog off, transforming into the gold dragon Shimmerscale to battle the Orcus' spawn. They they were interrupted by some of Mesogog's minions, they ultimately succeeded in forging Chōmei, the Sword of Chigiri. The Headhunters emerged just in time to distract Mesogog as he began to drain Iskierka's power, giving her a chance to escape into the nearby magma. A magic item then allowed them to put up a barrier to protect themselves, forcing Mesogog to merely talk and revealing the original Gravestone was something called a Quintus Gem. He left the Headhunters with these words, "A word of advice. Never turn your back on someone you respect or someone who would do your harm," before turning around and teleporting away.Stopping the Gravecannon
It was not long after that that the Morlocks began their endgame. The Adventurer's Guild received an emergency warning that the villains were constructing some sort of magical superweapon in the nearby Giantsheel Mountains. Guildmaster Nergalee immediately marshalled all their forces and requested military aid in an all-out assault on the Morlocks. But before she and the Headhunters could depart, the city guard informed them that Levira had been spotted in town. This turned out to be a trap as Levira released a purple worm within the city, forcing Nergalee to use up some of her most powerful magic against it before the fight against the Morlocks even began. Levira having teleported away, the group hurried to the mountains to reinforce their allies. While the bulk of the adventurers fought the Morlocks main force, the Headhunters took a secret path up the mountain they'd discovered on a previous trip there. A handful of other adventurers took the same route and Mesogog appeared to duel the Platinum-ranked Dume. Though Mesogog was successful in slaying Dume, the duel weakened him enough for Chigiri to destroy his physical form with Chōmei. Mesogog's angered spirit fled up the mountain with the Headhunters in pursuit, hidden from the Morlocks undead soldiers by unknowing being helped. There they found the Morlocks superweapon, the Gravecannon. A massive cannon powered by Gravestones to draw energy directly from the Void and aimed at Inkhear. They burst inside, battling the disembodied Mesogog and damaging the cannons controls while the panicked Moltor tried to stop an overload from destroying the entire mountain. As Mesogog was permanently destroyed by Vinnie, Levira appeared and destroyed the Gravecannon's remaining controls to accelerate the overload. It was here she finally revealed her true plan: to free a legendary apocalyptic monster sealed beneath the mountain, Urthemiel the Destroyer, and convert it into a Void Beast under her control. She jumped into the cannon's Void portal with a laugh, though thankfully the Headhunters were narrowly able to prevent the overload.Save Lothal, Save the World
Even with Mesogog destroyed and Moltor captured, Levira and her remaining allies remained a threat. She did not give the adventurers much time to lick her wounds as a massive castle broke through the earth from the Underdark and rose up, floating in the sky. It quickly demonstrated that it was armed with a second Gravecannon as Levira began firing on settlements, turning entire populations into undead. The scattered Headhunters converged on the castle for what they knew would be their final battle, Vinnie, Chigiri, and Cordelia traveling with Shimmerscale while Hugh and Leliana received a ride from a strange goose. The two groups fought through waves of Shadow Skulls throughout the castle, eventually uniting and prepared to leverage the element of surprise against Levira. As they turned a corner to find a banner reading, "Welcome, Headhunters" hanging above a Void portal, they quickly switched their plan to brute force. Entering the Void and fighting their way past a small horde of Void Beasts, the adventurers found Levira waiting for them in the courtyard of a small fortress. The gates sealed behind them and after a brief bit of banter from both sides, their final battle began. Levira's first order of business was using shards from the very mirror Hugh had freed her from over a year prior to animate the groups shadows, forcing them to fight dark duplicates of themselves while she flew around firing blasts of dark magic. Once their twisted selves were defeated, they concentrated their efforts on Levira until they managed to strike a mortal blow. And in that moment...she laughed. She laughed and laughed and laughed, the sound escaping her mouth slowly becoming more monstrous as a dark, shadowy substance poured from her wounds and formed itself into a monstrous shape before them. Levira was not an elf and never had been; the corpse she wore was merely a puppet and now her true self was ready for round two. In her true form, Levira pushed the Headhunters to their absolute limits. It was a taxing battle that nearly killed the lot of them before Chigiri was able to channel the full power of Chōmei to finish her once and for all. But as before, Levira laughed. She mocked the Headhunters, asking if they thought this was some great victory. Because she claimed it wasn't. That she wasn't some world conqueror or destroyer of civilizations. She was a scout. And with her death, her superiors would be much more interested in Nexus.Epilogue
The Headhunters had little time to reflect on Levira's dying words. While they were fighting her true form, Mira appeared and dragged her abandoning elven corpse to the side before stabbing the end of the Purple Quintus Gem into it. The body convulsed during the battle, but the adventurers had been too preoccupied with Levira to worry about anything else. Now its transformation was complete as the flesh was reshaped into the form of an illithilich, the reborn Rhith. Rhith explained that the Gravestones had never been sentient and that his posing as such was just his efforts to get the Purple Quintus Gem, his phylactery with his soul trapped inside, out of the Morlocks hands. Mira, loyal to Mesogog but not Levira, had assisted him after Mesogog's death. But he had also been assisted by adventurers across the Kingdom of Lothal, for every time they used a Gravestone to increase their power he drained a portion of their lifeforce to rebuild his own. It was in fact Artie's heroic sacrifice that allowed him to revive not as the weaker alhoon he'd been before, but as a full-fledged illithilich. The Headhunters expected a fight from the monster in front of them, but much to the contrary Rhith instead thanked them. He was grateful for their (albeit unwitting) assistance and wished them the best before teleporting away with Mira. With Levira dead, her section of the Void began to collapse and the Headhunters quickly ran back through the shrinking portal to her floating castle, which was also unstable and falling from the sky. They had no choice but to jump and be caught by Shimmerscale who twisted and weaved among the debris to get her comrades to safety. They landed on a hill nearby and watched the falling castle as it crash landed into the nearby plains, the sun beginning to set directly behind it. And with the heat of battle now over, realization dawned on them. They'd done it. Levira was finally gone and her threat to Lothal was ended. True, there were other threats still out there, but those were problems for a future day. For now, these new national heroes could bask in the glory of their deeds as their names forever entered the pages of Nexus' history. Elsewhere, some of those future evil began to stir as Lady Kemlar sat in her mansion observing the victorious Headhunters through a crystal ball. She ended her scrying spell upon hearing a knock at the door as one of her servants announced her new guests had arrived. Rhith entered the room with Mira and bowed respectfully. Lady Kemlar merely smiled.
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