Loose threads: Merry, the Immortal, yet lives
Participants: The Ashen Hawk, Anath, Jean Berée, Zinthu Jadegazer, Diane Firalel, Plumgrass & Flamemaw, Larian Vincke
Locations: dungeons of Unekawa's Reach
Short summary:
The Ashen Hawk seeks the power of soulforging and brings some friends. He meets with some Clerics to point him the right way, and he brings his team to Unekawa's Reach. A soul magic nexus is there, and in exploring it, Ashen Hawk unleashes ancient necromantic evil unto the land. But hey! He and everyone else unlocked the Soulforger Dedication. Mission accomplished?
Full report: Hawk
The Ashen Hawk, reporting in.
I sought the power of Soulforging, a legend among my people. To do so, I assembled a team of loreseekers, mages, and warriors. Anath the Deathspeaker was also there, on my request. Our first step was to the Unknown Cloister to meet the priest Olanu and his apprentice, Sarkav. We learned that the ritual could be done at any particular place of divine significance, like a tomb or temple. He also furnished us with divine artifacts that would be our focus for the ritual, or at least, the ritual he had in mind. The warnings were grave, and we may have been wise to heed them.
We venture to Roanokae Camp through the Elemental Portal Shrine and meet with Raket. He told of us some holy sites to the the Church of the Bright Star, but after he asked into our intentions, I was able to convince him of our virtuous intent. The Cleric pointed us towards Unekawa's Reach. There, we would find a magical nexus where exploration of soul magic took place. Centuries ago, the nexus released a flood of horrible creatures from the temple, and Clerics in the region magically sealed it with great effort. Raket would have us cleanse this place of its evil, and perhaps the secrets of Soulforging would reveal themselves to us.
We set out for Unekawa's Reach, a very literal title. A massive stone hand was reaching from the earth to the sky. After some digging, we found evidence that there was a temple beneath this hand, and we found an entrance. I squeezed through first with much effort, followed through by a few of my companions. A voice spoke to us, warning us of the extreme danger inside. While the rest were squeezing through, we were attacked by Zombies. Through a combination of Fireballs and Anath's radiant magic, we won handily.
We continued on, discovering that many of the doors were afflicted by a curse. Thankfully, Larian Vincke absorbed all the curses for us. There were many rooms in this temple dedicated to taking in and reflecting outside light. Overall, many of these rooms were destroyed or partially caved in. Another room was haunted by the victims of a Unknown woman - she was ripping the spines out of clerks in the room, or so we had a vision. The haunt sent many of us into a confusing spiral, and it was only when Jean Berée cast a Calm Emotions spell did we finally have enough focus for Zinthu Jadegazer to dispel the haunt.
Since some members of the party had no winter clothes, we rested inside the ancient, deadly temple. Jean set up traps, and rightly so - they triggered in the night, warning us of impending danger. The Zombies we had earlier slain rose again, and were escaping out the tunnel through which we entered. Three had peeled off to attack us, and in the ensuing fight, we nearly lost. Thankfully, after Anath and I were blinded, Flamemaw and Larian came in to save us. We continued our rest after our narrow victory.
In the morning, we kept moving through the once-haunted room, up through a destroyed room. Moving further in, we discovered a secret room with seats looking into a central ritual chamber. We presumed this chamber is where many of the necromantic magics took place. Additionally, we saw a stone statue of a Halfling woman with her hand pointed towards the sky - presumably the hand we saw outside. It was massive, and clearly constructed before the rest of the surrounding temple. Why was such an ancient Halfling statue here when there are no halflings in the New World?
We went down to the ritual chamber, and beyond it was the nexus. Jean divined some truly evil voices from the statue, and we had trouble identifying exactly what sort of magic we were encountering. But Jean used a cantrip to investigate the nexus, and what appeared before us was the Unknown of a Halfling woman flanked by two icy guards. She was proclaiming victory over Pharasma now that we had released her after centuries of waiting. As she appeared, however, the nexus released a magical blast that struck all of us. The soul magic performed here was wrought upon us, and each of us now has a damaged soul. Even now, I can feel it.
We knew this woman, calling herself Merry, was the source of so much of the evil and death that happened in this dungeon. And I cannot let evil stand. We fought; Merry initiated with a Cloudkill spell, some of the strongest magic I've ever seen in the New World, but Plumgrass was able to blow it away with a Wind Gust. But we were blasted again and again with ice magic, and there would be no reprieve. The party recalled on the precipice of absolute disaster.
Jean, before recalling, was able to glean a bit more information on our enemies. The ice golems are weak to fire and lightning and resist most everything else. Meanwhile, Merry is weak to being confronted by signs and symbols important to her in life. However, that conflicts with what Anath's oracular providence showed... that Merry has no weaknesses.
And so ends the adventure. We released not one, but two ancient evils from Unekawa's Reach, and nearly died in the process. Perhaps it would have been what we deserved. The Explorers' Guild must return and put a stop to Merry, permanently.