Session 18- Through the blasted lands onwards to the Amethyst

General Summary

Having rested after their encounter with Elva Tripalkin, the Party proceeds towards the shore of the black lake, where they now know a group of cultists, led by Casnemos Tripalkin have taken over the Amethyst and have gone rogue from Elva.   They agree, that they do not want to Help Elva, but this seems like the right course of action regardless.   Navigating through the blasted, rocky and canyon filled landscape is not easy, especially not under Thorduns watchfull Leadership. They Arrive at a junction of several different paths, and take the one easiest to pass. Along the way they notice this path seems not to have been used at all anytime recently, but undeterred they step forward on this Virgin soil. After some time the path opens up into a large circular chasm with to paths circling around a central well with several large rock pillars sticking out of it. 10 infact.   On initial observation it seems like rocks, but Muk investigates further through touch, and that reveals the pillars for what they are- Massive ossified snakeheads, disguised as rocky pillars. A difficult battle ensues, with Thordun blasting several heads with is grenades, only to be covered in exploding bony spikes. MukYuks second skin activates several times causing spikes to pass through him harmlessly. Soren calls upon the power of a storm, and Killian helps aswell. After an intense fight this massive ossified Hydra creature explodes in a hail of splinters, and silence covers the land.   The party takes a short brake to nurse their wounds and then moves on.   Hours later they arrive at the edge of the massive crater, nay Caldera, that houses the dark waters of the Blacklake. And they spot a lone black tower with a low wall at some kilometers distance, which Thordunn, through his vast architectural knowledge, identifies as distincly Mandran in Architecture. They also observe a group of people moving between the tower and the edge of the Caldera, moving something into the tower. The decide to sneak along the edge, and make it most of the way to the site the cultists are collecting from, but they are spotted by a lookout who takes flight towards the Tower.   In The meantime the party sees what the Cultists were transporting. Dead Bodies. Killian does his speciality and speaks with the dead who reveal that they are from Biluda, one of the raided towns that they had visited days before. In the meantime Thordun and Muk set fire to the pile inorder to give the dead an honorfull burial, aswell as denying Casnemos's cult a vital resource. The also notice a party of seven people moving towards them from the tower, and the party prepares on both sides of this small ravine.   Thordun attempts to negotiate with the leader of this small group, a masked priest, but sneak a bomb out behind his back. To his dismay the Archers where just as treasonous as him and they fire. Taking many arrows Thordunn engages, and the ghoulish looking footmen storm forward. The battle is brutal, but well placed bombs, fists and several ingenious windwalls by Soren make good work of the enemy and largely neutralize the Priest who finally perishes when Muk pulls him onto the pyre of corpses with his water whip.  

"For posterity I was also in this battle and infact jumped down the crater wall and speared one of the Dark footmen through the head" ~Killian All'ofem