Shadowdark: Session One, The Eye of the Lost

There were nine gods; that much is certain. But a void in the common knowledge burns brighter the more scholars study it. The fact is that two gods are lost to the ages. Their names purged from all ancestries’ memories. Their imagery vandalized, destroyed, or stolen. And yet, some texts from eons ago still mention these gods; though never by name. Not men, nor elves, nor dragons can make sense of this lack of information. Why were these gods purged from existence? Is this a punishment? Will they ever be known again? Scholars have wondered about those questions for centuries. Still, they hope that a new text, relic, or ancient location shall soon be unearthed and that it may hold the key to understanding the forgone past.

Our Heroes

Prolog

Twilight falls on the town of Cragbarrow on the edge of the Penedurn Forest and it’s people grow wary, as they have done almost every evening since the last waning moon; many gather within the The Itchy Pig Tavern for its warmth & comfort, and possibly some small measure of protection.

Here we find, enjoying food & ale at one of the larger tables, our party. Alastor, halfling defender of Wolfwater; Anrikk the Goblin wizard, and his companion Grixx the Alchemist from Fogbury; Equius, warrior priest of the Elves of Eysa Thalore; Miras & Oninsp, two rangers from the far north of Ecos.

Immersed in their libations as they are, our friends cannot help but notice the undercurrent of fear that permeates the tavern. Although filled with the usual racket of any tavern, there are groups here and there that speak in hushed tones, glancing from their own small group only to check the door… or possibly any strangers nearby. When someone leaves, they never leave alone.

The barmaid, Jen, says that the local bandits have gotten bold recently. “Being on a trade road, Cragbarrow has always had its share of bandit problems, robbin’ travellers & traders, and the like, but this last month it seems they’ve not been so much robbin’ as takin’… people that is”, she says. Some fifteen people have disappeared in that time, there one day, gone the next, for no apparent reason. “Now folks around here are scared, at night they travel in groups, or just lock themselves in their homes until dawn, and nobody goes too deep into the forest any more.”

The Bargain

After Jen leaves, the party is approached by an old man, finely dressed and comporting himself with a grace born of age and experience. He introduces himself as Ser Janos of Penedurn, and notes that Jen has told him of the party’s interest in Cragbarrow’s bandit problem. “It’s my daughter you see, Lady Anna.”

“She’s been gone four days now, with not a sight or sound of her, and I fear she is but the latest victim of these hoods. Were a group of adventurers such as yourselves to venture into the forest and return her to me, I would be both grateful and generous.” He reaches into his pocket and produces a large single pearl, easily worth several tens of gold pieces. “If she is returned unharmed and unsullied, I can be even more generous.”

The Forest Twilight and the Cave of Sins

Heading into the forest the next day, albeit with no clear idea of where the townsfolk vanished, it doesn’t take long for the rangers, Miras & Oninsp, to notice that something is awry with the trees. The deeper they go into the forest, the more it becomes apparent that a dark, foul, moss grows here, but only on the south side of the trees, and its growth becomes deeper and darker the further south the party moves. Southward they go.

Penedurn is not known for being a small forest, and even with the moss on the trees giving them direction it takes the party most of the day to find their goal. Deep within a small grove, a cave entrance lit by two large braziers prompts further investigation…

As the party approaches, they suddenly catch voices on the wind growing louder as they approach. “Hide!” says Oninsp, whispering loudly, and the party scatters behind tree & bush.

Approaching from the North East, two scruffy looking men in worn armour head purposefully for the cave, talking as if heedless of the possibility of being overheard. Behind them, a thin pale man dressed in poor clothing carries two brace of hare around his neck and drags a small deer behind him. Feverishly waving & signing between their hiding places, the party decides not to attack, but to observe as the three disappear into the cave entrance.

“Well, we know there’s at least three people in there now”, says Oninsp, and a lengthy discussion on the perils & pitfalls of how to explore an unknown cave with at least three potential hostiles in it follows. As we always knew they would, the party ventures warily inside…

A passageway twists lazily away from the entrance, light from outside gradually fading with both the dusk and distance, torches are lit to show the way as the passageway opens into a cavern.

In the heart of the underground cavern, a sinister scene awaits our bold adventurers. As they cautiously advance, their footsteps echoing through the chamber, they stumble upon a vast pile of bones at the cavern’s far wall. The skeletal remains strewn haphazardly, forming a grotesque mound that reaches nearly to the ceiling.

The adventurers exchange wary glances, recognizing that this grotesque bone heap is far from ordinary. Their instincts tell them that danger lurks within. With weapons drawn and spells at the ready, they approach the mound of bones with caution and begin to search for any valuables left behind by the dead.

Suddenly, from the very core of the bone heap, two skeletal figures emerge! With an eerie symphony of bone-on-bone clattering, the skeletons assemble themselves into their menacing forms, their empty eye sockets flickering with malevolent energy. With bony fingers flexing ominously around the hilt of their swords, the walking dead waste no time in launching their attack.

The first skeletal adversary lunges forward with surprising agility, swinging its bony arm like a deadly club at Alastor. He manages to raise his longsword in time to block the attack, but the force of the blow sends shockwaves of pain through his arms. The skeletal foe relentlessly presses on, its movements oddly coordinated, as if it retains some long-forgotten martial skill.

Anrikk, the goblin mage, conjures a bolt of arcane energy and unleashes it at the other skeleton. The bolt strikes true, blasting a hole through the creature’s ribcage and causing it to stagger backward. Oninsp and Miras keep up an assault of arrows from the rear, striking both skeletons, gradually whittling away the decaying bone. Grix quickly mixes potions, throwing them at the skeletons as soon as they’re ready.

But with their coordinated and relentless assault, the skeletal adversaries demonstrate a level of combat prowess that unnerves the adventurers. The battle has quickly taken an unexpected turn, and they need to adapt quickly to overcome this newfound challenge and emerge victorious in the dark and treacherous depths of the cavern.

Equius stands his ground, and when not striking with his warhammer, invokes the divine power of his deity. A radiant aura surrounded him as he chants a prayer, casting a healing spell to mend any wounds his companions have suffered in the battle so far. Under the skeletal onslaught, this act alone saves lives.

After several minutes of fighting, injured but not defeated and with one skeleton vanquished and the other severely weakened, the adventurers quickly close ranks. Together, they unleash a coordinated assault on the remaining foe. Equius’ warhammer lands a devastating blow, smashing the skeleton to pieces. Bone shards rain down as the creature collapses into a pile of bones once more.

The cavern falls silent, save for the echo of the adventurers’ victorious breaths and the soft patter of dust settling. They have triumphed over the eerie menace risen from the bone heap, their teamwork and determination proving stronger than the dark magic that had animated their skeletal adversaries.

Searching those now shattered skeletal remains, they find meagre treasures¹ but resolve not to disturb the other bones any more lest they arouse more fallen warriors… or worse.

Now, with the immediate threat eliminated, they decide to press on, determined to uncover the mysteries of the underground cavern and face whatever challenges await them in its shadowy depths.