Monastery of the Shadow Sorcerers, pt. 1 & 2

General Summary

[by Bryan]
As the blood moon fell upon the Reach Unsung, Curie, Eliana, and Sig ventured to an ephemeral monastery with the hope of collecting a unique lotus flower for the mysterious hermit Roga.
They scaled the tall stone walls of the ominous exterior and entered a courtyard where the blood moon’s red light shone brightly through the mist, down into a vast opening at the center of the courtyard. The light was protected by a wall of force and illuminated a solitary black lotus growing on a small underground island far beneath them.
Dangerous traps and hidden shadow sorcerers ambushed the party as they searched for a path downward, but they were hastily dispatched by Clarissa, the Blackrazor, and Curie’s vicious claws. With expert perception, the party discovered Amara, the interim leader of the Ras-Godai, who allied with them on the condition that they would retrieve the Black Lotus for her and prevent the resurrection of their former leader, Manazusa. With clever distractions and a sprinkle of magical dust, the party avoided confrontation with the lethal contingent of acolytes and monks residing there.
Navigating downward, the party bested a trial of shadow and avoided deadly traps while completely blinded in magical darkness. With the help of Sig’s careful navigation and Curie’s plant growth, they accessed the lotus chamber.
Wind howled throughout the cavern as the spirit of Manazusa sprang forth to protect the Black Lotus from interlopers. After sustaining alarming injuries, Eliana managed to snatch the flower through an anti-life barrier while Curie mounted a rescue for Sig, who was nearly grappled underwater into a pocket dimension by an oni. As the party began their retreat, Manazusa attempted to completely drain the life from Eliana, but with perfect luck, the Blackrazor intercepted and reversed the life drain, beginning to devour Manazusa’s soul. Curie’s vines restrained the weakened spirit, and a hastened Eliana delivered an incredible number of attacks, each one draining her own life force as Manazusa was entirely devoured by the sword.
Moments later, Amara and the monastery’s guardians arrived, shocked to discover a defeated Manazusa. Prepared to seize this opportunity and lay claim to the order of the Ras-Godai, Amara gave the order to kill the party and retrieve the lotus. The forcefield above disintegrated, and Roga appeared, holding the Black Lotus, to confront Amara. Fear washed over Amara as Roga exacted vengeance on his traitorous kin. Without a sound, projections of Roga appeared behind all of the Ras-Godai encircling the island and slit their throats in unison before disappearing again.
Honoring his promise and thanking the party, Roga delivered several rewards. Curie accepted Roga’s mark, allowing her to move formlessly. Sig’s armament, Clarissa, was imbued with a petal from the Black Lotus, granting it the power to silently fire bolts of dark energy that can pierce through targets. Eliana discovered more about the nature of the Blackrazor as Roga explained that after consuming the souls of empowered foes like Manazusa, the Blackrazor gains the ability to temporarily ascend to another, terribly powerful form. However, absorbing sufficiently powerful monsters will also accelerate the Blackrazor’s hunger [Insert plot hook here].

Report Date

03 Sep 2024