Session 390 - A Horrible Betrayal
General Summary
5th to 6th of Nolus Summer 728TR
The story so far
A group of heroes battle the evils haunting the beleaguered Kingdom of Kanday.
Sir Odin, a former Erkan of the Checked Shield, has been raised to knighthood.
Remy, a former master thief and active gambler, has won and lost fortunes.
Abaddon has traveled the wilderness, perfecting his impressive martial skills.
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the god of Knowledge Save K’Nor, joins them on their adventures.
This is the continuation of Session 388 - A Black Knight.
Location - On the road and in the City of Aleath, in the Kingdom of Kanday.
The heroes have destroyed the murderous Amorvin knight Sir Morghan Cade and prevented him from capturing a vile artifact contained in a small ebony box. The heroes believe this artifact needs its evil exorcised and are enroute to the temple of Larani in the City of Aleath. They know an expert in evil artifacts and curses.
Part 1 – A Horrible Betrayal
Abaddon holds the ebony box and as the party near the City of Aleath and crosses over a small rural bridge the evil artifact grows restless. The box becomes cold to touch, and a black mist forms around it. Suddenly, the heroes find themselves in a strange, unsettling shadow. But much worse, the party turns into foul, hideous monsters. More specifically, the evil from the box tricks the heroes’ perceptions, and they see their friends as the worst fiends imaginable who have just revealed their true form. Confused, paranoid, and repulsed, they begin fighting among themselves. Things get bloody.
Dazed, Odin is the first to recover his senses and backs out of the shadowy miasma. He soon recognizes that his friends are trapped in an illusion and considers ways to deal with it. He notes that the malevolent evil appears to be directed. Can he use trickery to convince it that it is in great danger from the purifying sunlight and that it has succeeded in causing mayhem so it can safely return to the box?
While Odin starts his elaborate ruse, the evil retreats momentarily as Abaddon also breaks free of its grip. The athletic warrior runs as far as he can, placing the box on the ground, and runs back to join his friends. The party is now outside the mind-rotting haze, but the evil illusion still holds Remy and Edelina in thrall, who are still brutally hammering at each other. Odin and Abaddon are forced to knock the pair senseless. Odin completes his deception, and the evil shadow recedes back into the box for the moment. When they wake up, the bruised Remy and Edelina are free from the corrupting curse but are unreasonably suspicious of their friends for the rest of the day.
Part 2 – The Shield of Belsirasin
The black-robed Erdin is a member of the Shield of Belsirasin, a congregation of the Church of Peoni specializing in exorcism, removing curses, and capturing evil spirits. He is at the city’s temple of Peoni and will help with the ebony box, but he is about to deal with a more immediate issue, some possessed horses. He asks the heroes to accompany him. These animals have killed their riders and are extremely dangerous. Leaving the ebony box under guard at the church, the party accompanies the good priest.
Part 3 - Possessed Horses
The horses charge, and the heroes feel their life force sap as they get near the party. They kick, bite, and prove very dangerous, but Edelina’s healing keeps the party in the fight. Exorcist Erdin proves a remarkably able warrior. Not only does his prayers sear the evil spirits with holy light, but he is also a skilled martial artist. Abaddon recognizes this as the Gently Winding Path, a defensive martial art renowned for avoiding damage and frustrating an aggressive opponent.
Eventually, the horse’s physical bodies are destroyed, and the evil spirits are soon vanquished. For good measure, after the dead human bodies have been respectfully returned to their home village, the cursed burial mound is sanctified.
Part 4 – Exorcism
Back at Aleath and the Laranian temple, Peoni and Larani clerics form a circle and assist Erdin in an elaborate exorcism ritual. The ebony box is opened, and it contains a creepy bone pendant set with a black gem. This is an Ara’Dunrangash, a receptacle to store all manner of evil, demonic, and necromantic forces fuelled by human sacrifices.
The exorcism proceeds cautiously, and slowly, the evil begins to bleed out of the vile artifact into a brightly painted dream box held in the Exorcist's hands. The foul corruption seems to scream, beg, and rage, but to no avail. The pendant is cleansed, and evil is contained in a small box of joy and purity. It will eventually dissipate to nothing.
Now that the artifact has been dealt with, the party plans to hunt down and destroy the evil undead knight Sir Morghan Cade.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Elgar of Biaza - Master of Archives of the Temple of Larani - The Sanctuary of Virtue.
Erdin Toradas - Exorist.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Player Characters
Odin - Human - L6 Ranger
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetype - Investigator.
Abaddon - Elf - L6 Monk
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetypes - Druid.
Remy - Human - L6 Kineticist (Air and Metal)
Background - Acrobat.
Archetypes - Acrobat.
NPC Companion
Edelina - Human - L6 Holy Sage Sorcerer
Background - Astrologer.
Archetypes - Psychic.
