Deliverance from the Darkness
Retrieving the Arcanus Labyrinthus
- Kiris, Adikia and Arc enter a chamber containing the Arcanus Labyrinthus. Five orc warriors and an orc spellcaster are inside the chamber.
- A combat ensues. During the encounter, Arc notices that Arcanus Labyrinthus and the altar it is on fits together perfectly; this suggests to Arc that the two objects are complementary in nature. Kiris also observes that the orc spellcaster is in the middle of channeling the Arcanus Labyrinthus.
- Arc manages to pry away the Arcanus Labyrinthus. Adikia falls unconscious.
- Arc throws the Arcanus Labyrinthus to Kiris and administers a greater Potion of Healing to Adikia.
- Kiris uses the Shadow Sigil to teleport back to Shadowfell.
Back to Shadowfell
Over the Shadows
- Arc, Kiris and Adikia teleport to the same spot in Shadowfell, which is just outside the main gatehouse of Darkcastle Mound.
- The party hears fighting from within the Darkcastle Mound’s outer walls. Arc observes the army of Shadow Knights and deduces that running through them is out of the question.
- Adikia casts polymorph on Arc and turns him into a quetzalcoatlus, a huge flying dinosaur.
- Arc flies Adikia and Kiris over the Shadow Knight army without any threat. They land on the Darkcastle Mound balcony where Kristofer welcomes them.
- Kirren hugs Kiris. The party sees Leneia, Roldan and Elix at the dining room adjacent to the balcony. Kirren explains that Michaela is leading the defense of the Darkcastle Mound.
- Kristofer asks the party if they retrieved the Arcanus Labyrinthus. Kiris shows his father the Arcanus Labyrinthus. Kristofer motions to have the portal room fixed.
A Threat Appears
Prisoner Negotiations
- The party senses a surge of magical energy emanating from the gatehouse. They see a figure looking at them. Adikia realizes that the man in front of them is Elvin Claymore.
- Elvin speaks in a booming voice:
“Bring me your prisoners, or face the consequences.”
- Adikia, Arc and Kristofer rushes to fix the portal room, leaving Kiris, Leneia and Kirren to negotiate with Elvin.
- Kiris talks to Elvin through Leneia’s magic. Kiris pleads for time to prepare the hostages.
Fixing the Portal Room
- Adikia, Arc and Kristofer enter the portal room, which is two floors below the balcony and dining room. Kristofer removes the broken pieces of the Magus Labyrinthus from the central pedestal and puts the Arcanus Labyrinthus on it. Kristofer channels magic onto the Arcanus Labyrinthus; Adikia aids Kristofer by casting stone shape on the pedestal to make it fit the Arcanus Labyrinthus’s shape. Kristofer tells his two companions that the process will take at least five minutes. Adikia leaves the two to inform the others.
- On her way out, Adikia meets with Michaela and discusses with her briefly about the plan.
- Kiris delays the negotiation. Adikia arrives at the dining room and communicates telepathically with Kiris. She informs Kiris about the time required to fix the portal room.
- Elvin sends a warning; as a show of force, Elvin hurls meteors and directs it towards the Darkcastle Mound.
- Kiris decides to give up Roldan and Elix. He, Adikia, Leneia and Kirren escort the two prisoners to the castle gate.
- Arc sees Kristofer retrieve the gem shard from his locket and put it on the pedestal. Kristofer asks Arc to tell him about their destination. Arc describes the location they want to go to vaguely. Kristofer tells Arc that a unique object or person could help triangulate the destination of the teleportation spell. Arc tells Kristofer to hone in on Splix’s Ymerald Staff. Kristofer, who is familiar with the magical signature of Ymerald Gems, targets the Ymerald Staff as the teleportation’s destination.
Improvising
- Arc informs Adikia about the situation. Using Leneia’s sending spell, Adikia asks Kiris to stall for more time.
- Kiris walks Elix and Roldan through the open field between the castle and the gatehouse; the meteors phase through the castle as if they are illusory objects.
- Kiris formulates a plan; Adikia tells Kiris that she will provide him with cover to help him with his plan.
- Kristofer tells Arc that he has set the portal room’s teleportation spell. Arc tells Adikia that he will accompany the first batch of Wayravens who will be teleported out of Darkcastle Mound.
- The first batch, consisting of Arc and most of the Wayravens, teleport out of the Darkcastle Mound.
- Elix finagles his way out of his mouth cover and talks to Kiris discreetly. Elix pleads to Kiris that he would rather be killed than be given back to Elvin. Kiris asks if he still has affinity for Thoradin; Elix did not respond, but Kiris gleans newfound sincerity from Thoradin’s old friend.
- Roldan disapproves of Elix’s suggestion. Roldan runs towards Elvin.
- Kristofer, Kirren, Leneia and Michaela all wait for Adikia’s casting of hallucinatory terrain. Adikia fails to cast the spell as it needed a lot more time to cast---a fact which Adikia disregarded.
- Sensing a problem, Kiris pursues his plan. With a dagger, he methodically slashes Elix and pierces his chest. Then, he casts dimension door, bringing Elix’s bloodied body with him. In truth, Kiris only faked killing Elix, an act that everyone in the field, including Elix, believed.
- Enraged with the apparent death of Elix, Elvin casts meteor swarm and targets the Darkcastle Mound with it.
- Kiris, Adikia, Kristofer, Kirren, Leneia, Michaela, Elix and the remaining members of the Wayravens enter the portal room and teleport out of Darkcastle Mound.
- As the Darkcastle Mound is destroyed, Kirren, Kiris and Kristofer feel their connection to Shadowfell weakened; Kiris’s Shadow Sigil turns inert.