Twilight

Olkorinik 5th, 951

• The Peas entered the shadowy fortress, coming face to face with a large, armored shadow that spoke in Balnar's voice
  • The group spoke briefly to Balnar, but he did not reveal more than that he would not allow them to pass
  • Slamming a peculiar staff into the ground, Balnar covered the walls in a thick shadow that Leadbelly's axe could not cut through
  • The party began to investigate the room, discerning it was held together by magic and that a door warded by shadow magic prevented their passage
  • Leadbelly used Storm's Eye Reamer to attempt to look through the barrier, witnessing the Nightseeker gesticulating in a ritual at a blinding speed
  • The party continued to attempt to reason with Balnar, but he refused to budge, warning the party that he would take action if they approached
  • Wander started to push Balnar's limits, and the shadow engaged hostilities when Tyerjon began to approach as well
• The party attempted to calm Balnar down to talk again, easing away and asking him to put away his hammer
  
  • Phaelnah cast Death Ward on herself and Journey has the group tried to reestablish a dialogue
  • Seamus chose to approach regardless, and Balnar responded with force
  • Singling out Seamus first, Balnar began smashing into the half elf, creating a strange tether of energy in the process
  • Making their way across the room through strange pools of darkness, the party began to dogpile on Balnar, surrounding him and debilitating him with spells
  • Balnar summoned a number of shadow clones in response, feasting on the necrotic tethers he had manifested to the party and turning invisible (but still illuminated by Faerie Fire)
  • Balnar began to switch places with his clones, which took damage in his stead as he mired the room with debilitating dark pools
  • Leadbelly eventually came face to face with his son, and the two traded blows until Balnar attempted to turn invisible and Leadbelly responded by revealing him with his silver dust
  • The group finished off the clones as Balnar teleported yet again, pulling the party down into the pools with grasping hands (except for Journey, who was flying with her dragon wings)
  • Balnar managed to single out Wander, bashing into him with powerful attacks, eventually sending him unconscious
  • As the group finally managed to make their way over to the shadow and start hitting him, Wander was revived and dealt a final, devastating blow to Balnar that rendered him incapable of movement
• Balnar yielded to the party, stating he couldn't move
  • As the group attempted to squeeze information out of Balnar, Wander took the staff that Balnar used to trap them
  • Balnar explained that it created a sort of time bubble, and that he was only stalling to keep the party from interrupting the Nightseeker
  • Leadbelly contacted Onyr about using the reamer to escape the bubble, and the god advised against it, but encouraged Leadbelly to try
  • Wander used his Chain of Contracts to force Balnar to work with them in defeating the Nightseeker, resulting in him lowering the barrier
• As the barrier was removed, the front doors burst open as the armies, somewhat haggered by the ongoing hostilities, rushed into the room
  • The group was hailed by Rodariost, who mentioned that Gulchax appreciated the present the party gave him
  • A number of others made their way into the room to set up a front against the unending shadow army, including Halarain Ovastios, Elwar Dodren, some of the Lucent Hand, a number of mercenaries, some of the Broken Band, Chomesfield, Vetraxu, Ulian Bowband and some necromancers, Ryla Mulaweyrn, and an injured Vyloxen Shurilas, among others
  • The Rain Knight approached the party for an update, explaining they had been traveling to the center of the Unknown for the better part of three days
    • The Rain Knight informed them that the army was a bit battered after fighting the shadows on one front and the forces of Jylurm on the other
  • Selathwin Muleyr and Renbedar Uleshan began to investigate the shadow ward placed on the door to the next room
  • Karcius approached Journey with worry in his eyes, claiming that he lost Valx in the chaos
  • Leadbelly spoke with Selathwin about using the reamer to make it around the shadow ward, but Balnar warned the wards would keep anyone the Nightseeker didn't want in, out

Olkorinik 8th, 951

• Tired of waiting, Wander stepped through the ward, meeting Vortek in a cage on the other side
  • Vortek begged Wander to free him so that he could punch the Nightseeker in the face
  • Wander denied him (for now) as the rest of the party made their way through
  • Phaelnah spoke with the Nightblight, learning that she had taken the Nightseeker's connection to it
  • Leadbelly attempted to help the armies through by using the reamer, but the wards prevented them from moving forwards
  • Believing Vortek might be helpful, Leadbelly and Seamus both attempted to slice open his cage, but to no avail
  • The group eventually decided to leave the depowered demigod behind as they entered the doors to the Nightseeker's ritual room
• The Nightseeker addressed the group calmly as they entered, seeking a dialogue
  • The Nightseeker expressed that she would likely not be capable of preventing the Peas from eventually getting to her, so she figured she would just let them in to prevent an escalation
  • She divulged her backstory to the party, explaining the pain she suffered and the hurt she witnessed across the world
  • The Nightseeker revealed that her ritual would remove all lies, deceptions, secrets and shadows across the realms
  • With the party disagreeing with her motives, now-demigod spoke of the history of the the region of Hassant, and how the overwhelming power of the goddess Elevarani led to its destruction on a mere whim, causing untold death and suffering for ages as a result of the chaotic fallout
  • The Nightseeker also spoke of the duplicitous and mysterious natures of gods like Aeltra and Kalar, that hide behind plots and schemes, manipulating those below them
  • As the party protested, the Nightseeker refused to budge in her determination
• The party, wary of what might be a stalling tactic by the Nightseeker, began to space themselves around her for a fight
  • Unsure who should make the first move, Seamus eventually rushed in, sparking the final encounter with the shadow lady
  • Despite her weakened state after losing the power of the Nightblight, the Nightseeker was a formable presence, capable of raising shadows to fight for her, gaining armor from their life forces, and manipulating the battlefield with magic and illusions
  • Journey let loose Journey's Icefire Cluster early on, scarring the battlefield with thick ice
  • The party carefully engaged the Nightseeker's minions, taking them out to focus on keeping her armor low
  • The Nightseeker created illusory clones of herself as the party resisted her powerful attacks
  • Leadbelly got big as Tyerjon and Seamus cuts through the swathes of shadows
  • Phaelnah kept the party alive as Journey flew above the battlefield and Wander carefully chose his fights
  • The party fell and rose multiple times, but the savage and mindless attacks from the shadows put Seamus down for good
  • Phaelnah rushed to his aid, rescuing him with a Revivify, but the party began to run out of resources
  • The Nightseeker dropped most of the party and knocked out Leadbelly, leading to his amulet turning his person to stone
  • As the battle dragged on, with both sides running low on steam, Phaelnah turned Leadbelly back with a Greater Restoration, as the Peas passed around their potions
  • Seamus was killed yet again, but was raised from the dead yet again with thanks from Gulchax, who blessed him with a boon of filth that splattered out into the environment due to Seamus' ley effects
  • The Nightseeker retreated to finish her ritual as the party attempted to get some footing, but Seamus went straight for her
  • The would-be king laid into the demigod with his swords, cutting away at her as she fell to the ground, not ceasing his onslaught until the was limp, unmoving and unbreathing
• The party barely had time to collect themselves before the magics swirling in the room became to destabilize and the shadow fortress began to crumble
  • An avatar of Kalar manifested and began to swallow up the spiraling energy, as well as the shadows flying around it and a chaotic mass of virulent red energy, which Vortek demanded be given to him
  • Kalar advised the party to warn the army to leave quickly, as he wasn't sure if he could hold in the energy for long
    • Phaelnah contacted Selathwin and told her to "run" as quick as she could
  • As Kalar swelled, Malae began to animate, flying out towards Kalar and snatching Vortek's energy from his stomach, smashing through the stone wall and out across the sea
  • As the room began to crumble around them, the party began to book it themselves after picking up the corpse of the Nightseeker
    • Wander freed Vortek on the way out, who ran in to try and seize power from Kalar
  • The party ran into the previous chamber, just as a foot disappeared into a closing portal
  • With no other course of action, the group ran down the shadow bridge as the fort collapsed behind them
  • Despite their best efforts, they could not outpaced the crumbling bridge and Phaelnah cast Water Walk as the party fell to the ocean
  • The ocean pulled them into its waters, breaking Phaelnah's spell and dragging them into its depths
  • Tyerjon heard a raspy voice thank him for the souls he offered back in Godsreach, and the party was encased in a sphere of bone and flesh that pulled them out of the sea and began to move them towards the mainland
• The party looked back at the tower as the sea was rocked by a massive explosion from the center of the Ring of Mirrors, and reflected on their actions as the sphere rocketed them back to land