Session 48: Shadow over Aramore
General Summary
It's their blood...their b-blood...n-no...
Pondering their next steps, the Departed seek any advantage for the return trip to a turmoiled Aramore. Aurin flips through the pages of what has been discovered to be Rainier’s notes on the experiments conducted at Veilmar Castle. She learns vital information about the cruel experiments on the island, all stemming from a substance dubbed “the Lord’s Blessing,” which originated from the entity Aurin saw escape in her flashback. She also discovers that the Praetoria created items infused with the Lord’s Blessing, each possessing potent effects. These items are named: Her Strength, Her Agility, Her Defiance, Her Cunning, Her Resolve, Her Reach, and Her Gaze.This cannot be! I...I don't believe it! It's not right! It's not fair!
Meanwhile, Loghain honors Rainier, the late Knight Commander who turned against Malachi, and finds a mysterious key tightly gripped in the man’s hand. He pockets it silently. The Departed regroup and share their findings before beginning to hatch a plan to return to Aramore. During the discussion, Ganak presents a small, dark glass orb he found on one of the dead Praetorians. The group recognizes it as one of the orbs the Praetoria used to flee Elgus after the siege. With no better options, Loghain gathers everyone close and breaks the orb on the ground beneath him.Why us!? W-why them!? What did they do to deserve this?!
As the world shifts around him, Loghain finds himself in a mirrored dimension of mute colors: the ethereal plane. Here, under the effects of the dust within the orb, he gains the ability to fly at great speed and phase through solid matter. At the center of the room floats an ethereal door, locked. Rainier’s key pulses in his hand, almost alive within this plane. He fits it into the keyhole and unlocks the door. Inside, he finds a room filled with various items, armor, and weapons, all stashed in this hidden pocket of space. Loghain moves quickly, gathering a bowstring, a bow, two potions, a crate of the dark orbs, a set of armor, a shield, and a ring.Please...p-please...return them to me. Take me instead! Please, I beg of you!
Upon leaving the room, he reappears in the same chamber he left, the Departed and Revenants now realizing their opportunity to return to Aramore. With more people than available orbs, Ganak, Erivrola, and the prisoner decide to remain behind. With no use for them in this moment, Erivrola gifts Gloinn her prized possessions: a belt of cloud giant strength and a remorhaz cloak. With goodbyes said, the Departed - along with Ecrena, Nyssa, and Neloria - shatter their orbs at their feet, entering the ethereal plane. They fly swiftly across the bay toward Aramore, the town now deep in chaos.T-this is all my fault...I-I can't go on like this...not without them...
Upon arrival, Aurin breaks off to search for her crew, while Paz and Ecrena head to the Monster’s Milk. Aurin finds no trace of her crew aboard the ship, but instead is confronted by two sickly individuals who lunge at her, crying out for help. She quickly dispatches the notably weaker undead and rejoins the rest of the party. Aramore is in total disarray - many of the shadow creatures from Veilmar now roam the streets in search of prey. The Departed rescue a woman trapped under rubble, but the looming threat of the shadow dragon arrives too quickly. Its life-sapping breath strikes, killing and turning the woman before their eyes.Maybe if I can just get them to Luro...he can fix them...h-help them...
With no time to fight back, the Departed push toward the town center, where they find Maeve and Emri fighting off a swarm of dire rats. The group convinces them to help evacuate the townspeople and learns that Paz and Ecrena have already moved further ahead. Another commotion rises around the corner - a Harengon cleric named Luro appears and temporarily joins the group. Together, they narrowly escape another shadow dragon attack, regroup at the Monster’s Milk, and decide to take the alleyways to stay under cover. Their path through the back streets proves successful, and they eventually meet back up with Ecrena and Paz just beyond the town center. One last dash down the main road and another close call with the dragon brings the Departed face-to-face with the Grand Sanctifier himself.I'm sorry......there's nothing I can do...I've no strength to carry you...forgive me...please...
The party indulges Malachi for a short while before he requests Cul. He wishes to share a memory with his adopted son, honoring the promise not to harm him. In this moment, Cul learns the painful truth of his origins: what happened to his home and people, and that the one responsible was his lifelong friend, Loghain Tavinter. Though shaken, Cul sees the difference in the man Loghain has become. Malachi offers him a place by his side once again, but Cul refuses. He accepts that the past cannot be changed and that Malachi has lost himself to madness. Unable to accept Cul’s decision, Malachi plays his final hand, revealing 13 and Zero, both under his control and empowered by the Lord’s Blessing. With immense strength and supernatural gifts, they now stand in the Departed’s path. To stop Malachi and prevent the spread of the Lord’s Blessing, the party must now face down their own.
Report Date
13 Apr 2025
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild