Session 20: The Moonlight Sermon

General Summary

The heroes quickly lost sight of Faelyn as he entered the warehouse, obscured by the gathering crowd within. Aatavi climbed down to meet the others and they prepared themselves before they entered. The piper’s tune was still floating through the air, drawing even more hungry looking stragglers through the open door. Muttering a few arcane words, Aaura touched Aatavi’s shoulder and gave him the protection of Aquorra. Shadow also prepared herself, saying a blessing to Ajax that allowed her to detect the presence of fey, fiends, and undead. They walked into the warehouse.   Dozens of people were gathered within. At the far end a priest with a thick brown beard stood on a high platform. A cowled figure fingered a pipe behind him. Spotting Faelyn closer to the stage, Shadow and Aaura wound their way into the crowd as the priest’s sermon began. Shadow’s eyes flashed as she moved amongst the people, using her divine powers to detect the presence of evil while Aaura tuned into the mental wavelengths of those around her, trying to get a read on the flock that had gathered.   “These are troubled times indeed,” the Priest said, “destined only to get worse. The fish die, the crops wither, monsters roam the countryside. You no doubt have heard of the events to the south, where the dead rose from their graves, nearly overtaking the fort-“   At this Father Decroux was interrupted by a few in the throng. “The tabaxi!” they cried. “The cat people, they have brought a curse!”   Rising over the crowd Father Decroux dismissed this, “No. NO. Do not let your reason give way to fear. I understand the need to find blame. And it’s easy to blame the tabaxi but their arrival is only coincidence. They are only the first wave to be pushed forth by the rising tide. They are but a symptom of a coming evil. An evil that threatens us all!”   Having edged closer to the priest, Aaura could read his surface thoughts and could tell that he believed what he was saying. She continued to focus on his mind as his thoughts darkened further.   “I bring a warning. An alarm sounding the times ahead!” the Priest intoned, “But do not mistake, I also bring a message of hope. Those who sit high on the hill and divert themselves with petty festivities, those who have long looked down on you, taking all they could while you struggled to survive… they will not survive the coming tide of evil. I bring hope to YOU, who already know what it is to suffer and toil to survive. I bring you a way to rise above.”   Through the aid of her spell Shadow could see a few of the people within radiated evil intent but she stopped in her tracks when she drew closer to the Melody. To Shadow’s eyes the Melody shone bright, evil energy radiating off of him like the heat waves of a mirage, blurring his visage as he played his tune. She knew at once she was looking upon a fiend.   Meanwhile, as Aaura continued to listen to the Priest, the Melody’s tune began to take effect on her. By connecting to Decroux’s mind, she could clearly see what he was talking about. The coming wave of evil, the dead rising, dragons on the wing… Aaura’s heart raced as the Priest began talking about a city rising from ruined shadows. A city where a diabolic force screamed in misery and loosed a legion of devils upon the land. From within the Priest’s mind Aaura recognized the city. She had seen it before on the evening she entered Shadow’s nightmare.   Shadow had seen enough, “SILENCE!” she commanded.   Decroux stopped talking. The Melody took the pipe from his lips. The gathered crowd turned to face Shadow.   “I appreciate you not blaming my people for this curse,” she said, “but I’ve seen the hope you offer. You left the people of Barter’s Edge starving and cursed.”   Decroux was quick in reply. “I left them with the tools they need to survive. Like the poor people here, the people of Barter’s Edge struggled under the weight of oppression and would never have been able to rise above the tide of evil.”   Seething at what he was hearing, Aatavi stepped closer to Shadow and spoke up. “His promises are empty lies! The people of Barter's Edge danced to their tune and paid with bellies which could never be filled - making monsters of proud men. Do not listen to him - do not be swayed!”   But Aatavi’s words fell hollow as the Melody began to pipe his tune again, swaying the crowd back towards Father Decroux.   “There will always be those who stand rigid to support the status quo,” the priest reasoned “those who clench tightly to the way things are, to keep the oppressed in line. I’m sorry to see that you’ve been fooled by them stranger. Those who have gathered here tonight have come to hear a message of hope, not more lies of the privileged.”   Dark notes sounded from the Melody’s pipe and the crowd responded, eyeing Aatavi with malice and distrust.   Near the stage’s edge Aaura stood rapt and rigid. The Priest’s words resonated and the vision of the City burned clearly in her mind. Shaking the vision away, she turned her attention to the cloaked minstrel, reaching out to read his thoughts. From beneath the cowl she saw the face of an incredibly handsome man. His eyes flashed and from within her own mind she heard his voice.   “Well hello. What exactly are you trying to do?”   Aaura gasped and replied wordlessly with her own thoughts. The Melody didn’t miss a note as he pried her into mind. “You should stay. Listen. We’re only trying to help people.”   Mesmerized by the tune, reeling from the images of the Shadowy City, and taken aback by this sudden telepathic connection, Aarua stood rooted to the ground. She was suddenly aware of Aatavi who had grabbed Faelyn at the front of the crowd and put a hand around her arm. With a quick twist she escaped his grasp and moved to the far edge of the stage.   Enjoying the music, Faelyn protested but was no match for the barbarian’s strength. As Aatavi pulled him past Shadow she commanded the half elf to snap out of it, which helped clear his head as they stepped outside into the night air.   Not wanting to leave their friends behind, they waited a few short moments before returning. Shadow and Faelyn took to the rooftop to spy on the events through an open skylight while Aatavi strode back through the door.   Watching all of this transpire, Keokan had stayed still near the edge of the warehouse. As Aatavi entered again, the goliath could feel tempers rising once more. While many in the crowd focused their ire on Aatavi, Keokan slowly made his way to Aaura.   Aaura was still rapt in the mind of the Melody. Sweat broke from her brow as the minstrel begin to pry into her mind: who she was, where she was from, snaking his thoughts into her most private details. Suddenly she felt the large and comforting presence of Keokan behind her and her mind broke free. Taking her by the shoulder the goliath moved her past the crowd and towards the door.   Aatavi stood once again in the center of the room, raising his voice and a defiant finger at the priest. “If no other man stands before you, I will. If no other soul rebukes your evil, mine will. You can leave this place and live, but stay here and you will pay a greater price than the people you have cursed.”   The Priest retorted, “Truly I am sorry that you have been deceived. Perhaps we can speak another time when you won’t be such an interruption. Where are you staying stranger?”   At the question Aatavi felt a strange presence in his mind, as if someone was prying around, looking to read the answer before it became words on his lips. The barbarian clenched his jaw and shut his mind, forcing the interloper out. With a defiant laugh he spat back at the Priest. “You will find that Mysati are not so weak willed! Look upon me and know. Should any harm come to my friends, I will be your end!” With that, Aatavi turned on his heel and followed Keokan and Aaura out the door.   Taking a moment to reconnect outside, the party decided to wait outside and track Decroux and the Melody once they left. Soon after the crowd had dispersed they watched as the duo left with a handful of followers, walking down the crooked streets of the Sideways Warren.   Keokan had marked the Melody with a Hunter’s Mark, helping him to track the group as it skirted around the many corners of the Warren. They managed to keep quiet and unseen until they found themselves in a dry canal. At the far end Decroux opened a large metal door and exited inside with the Melody. The rest of their group stayed behind however, and as the party watched from a distance they saw the forms of the men begin to shift and move under their clothes, transforming into hideous, yellow eyed rat men. The fight was on.   The melee within the dry canal was fast and bloody. Taking a hard fall on the ground, Shadow found herself beset on nearly every side by wererats who stabbed her repeatedly with their blades and sunk their long rodent teeth into her side and shoulders. Coming to the aid of his friend, Aatavi’s rage grew as a sudden thunderstorm. Despite the lack of room, the barbarian hurled his javelin of lightning at point blank range, fully skewering one of the lycanthropes and roasting it like a rat on a spit with electrically charged energy. Aaura flew above, her magic wings bright in the darkness, raining down bolts of blue magic. Next to Aatavi, Keokan made sweeping strokes with his moon sickle, decapitating one of the villains before they could do more harm. Having hung back form the fray, Faelyn found himself suddenly assaulted from behind. Swarms of rats came rushing down the canal towards him. Focusing his mind, he blew forth a great plume of flame from his lungs, engulfing the entire width of the canal and frying most of the rats as they approached. During the sudden bright flash he saw another shape silhouetted in the darkness beyond, rushing towards them. Its hulking frame and long strides made Faelyn’s heart leap. “Guys! Something else is coming… and its BIG!”   A monstrous wererat leapt from the shadows to attack Faelyn. From above Aaura quickly apparated a magical force to shield her friend but to no avail. The momentum of the huge wererat broke through the barrier and Faelyn once more found himself near the jaws of the biggest foe on the battlefield. Still feeling the dragon’s breath burn within his lungs Faelyn let loose another plume of fire, roasting away much of the beast’s fur and covering it with awful blistering burns. Yet still it stood, towering over Faelyn.   Aatatvi had had enough. Wrenching his javelin free from his dead foe he leapt at the wererat. With a massive upswing he pierced directly through the bottom jaw of the beast and out the top of its skull. As it fell to the ground dead Aatavi screamed “Your moon is false and made of blood which I will drink! Show your face, men of the false moon, and I will drink you down!”   But the only reply was the beating of their own hearts and the panting of their own breath.   In the resulting quiet the heroes took stock of their situation. Shadow was bleeding badly from a number of knife wounds. Even worse though, she had been bitten by one of the horrid creatures. She wasn’t the only one. As his rage subsided Aatavi realized that he too had been bitten. With so much of their energy spent they decided to leave the door Decroux and the Melody had disappeared through and journey back to the Old Pantheonic Temple temple for help.   Elder Triftan invited them in, glad to see Keokan again. As he looked at Shadow and Aatavi’s wounds he was able to say without question that they had been cursed with lycanthropy but reassured them that he would be able to help. “I’m not as useful as I once was” he told them “but I should be able to help one of you tomorrow, and the other on the day after that. But tonight please rest yourselves and take sanctuary. You’ve had quite an ordeal.”   The Shore’s Light agreed to take advantage of the Elder’s hospitality and began to find blankets and benches to sleep upon. After a quick trip to the local Damarask Diligence Service (DDS) to send a message to Omori, they settled in for a long rest.   It was not to be.   During the night, Faelyn was awakened by strange whispering voices. Investigating further he discovered the source from within his backpack. The voices were coming from the Blightstone Orb, now glowing with ominous negative energy. As Faelyn raised his voice in alarm the orb flashed brightly, releasing a wispy black wraith into the confines of the temple.