Session 4 of Grancrest Records

= Session 4 - The 4th of the Lone Moon Month - Thursday =

Session's Length
The sessions were slow and the days went by. The first session was a whole day, going towards almost after 11:30 P.M. The second session, too, was a whole day, stopping short of about 9:00 P.M. The third was an even shorter day, stopping at about 4:00 P.M this time. Surely, the 4th session can't end even shorter, right?

The Start Of An Exodus & A Night's Rest
Continuing off of last session, and with Ryze freed now, Elessa would gather the elves and, alongside our adventurers, begin the travel late in the day towards the ruins. Stopping at nightfall, the wagons and horses were taken into a forested area with some difficulty and a wagon camp was made. The few hours were silent for the elves, who were tired of running away constantly. Roy would bond with the Wayfinder siblings and Ryze to gather herbs while Sage was visited by Thali, whom gave her an elvish medallion, which hummed and vibrated whenever it is close to a place of power, or an elvish rune. Margaret and Alaire would find time to bond amongst themselves in their assigned wagon and talk about how to "experiment" with Roy's "curse." With Roy allowing Ryze to sleep in their wagon, and the Wayfinders keeping watch, it was set to be a peaceful night. That is, until Roy became supposedly possessed, and stealing the ring that Sage had back.. Walking out, and with Sage being caught off-guard, Elladan Wayfinder would be seen and heard arguing with Roy, before the party would see him being knocked to the ground with a punch from Roy. Sage attacked him while Margaret and Alaire tried to assist him however possible. Eventually, Roy would be knocked out while already sleeping, if that wasn't confusing already.

Next Morning & The Night's Aftermath
The morning began with things vastly different. Roy was tied up a bit, Ryze's chains were gone, both their faces were drawn upon, Sage hid the ring in a more "secure" spot, and the two magic users, Margaret and Alaire, had even more plans on what to conduct on Roy. Nevertheless, breakfast was had, which was mostly greens and a single rabbit that Roy caught, and Elessa moved the caravan forward, with Sage and Elladan knowing that the Witch Hunters were closer to the ruins then they were, with a forced march during the night. The Elven caravan moved as close as it could safely before stopping short, near the mid-section of the ruined town. With a quick discussion, Elessa and the Wayfinders would scout the castle north, while our party would venture into the town south, where Old Nan's dwelling and the lord's manor was.

Southern Traveltown
In what was Southern Traveltown, our group started in the Northwest sector of it, departing from the mid-section of the ruins and splitting from Elessa's party. Facing creatures affected by chaos, they found enlarged spiders in many buildings, as well as witch hunters strewn about the place. Never the less, we pushed forward, killing those who would see us dead, and seeing what they were doing here. We even found a few treasures, one of which was a doll in a box that Roy found. Sage would find the 3 gold pieces inside, however. We would find out how many groups were in the area, eventually, and that they were chasing after Darren instead of the Elves.

Deeper inside, and fighting what Alaire and Margaret could conclude was a Grick, Sage would stumble upon Old Nan's home. Entering, a voice said for them to leave, or to die. Eventually, Alaire and Roy would take the hint, while Sage and Margaret stayed, with a taste for curiosity and a feeling that this was Old Nan's house in mind. A shadow of an elf appeared, and attacked Margaret, before questioning Sage, having felt something in her. Roy would rush in, before also being attacked by the shadow. Sage would allow the shadow to access her memory, in which the shadow revealed many secrets, and with Alaire eventually coming inside again, the diary that he took was taken again, into Sage's hands. The words in Old Nan's diary was of how she had to flee, and of how her brother - the shadow - stayed. Having her memories, the shadow would point Sage to the rune, and with it, enchanted the Elvish Scimitar that Sage inherited.

Leaving, and going Northwards, the party would hear loud sounds of steel clashing and of screaming. They would happen upon Witch Hunters killing their own. It was the Black Swords faction wiping out the White Shield faction here. Intervening, the party would battle four of these Black Swords in fierce combat, and would learn the taste of Blackened Steel. With the Black Swords being injured with the slaughtering of White Shields just prior to the fight, however, gave the party an edge on exhaustion. With Roy standing his ground, and Sage unlocking the new power of her blade, the party managed to best the Black Swords and pressed onwards towards the Mages' Tower.

Mage's Tower
Sage would use her new rune magic to aid Roy, giving him strength that he and Margaret lost earlier prior to the fight with the shadow. Restored, they entered the building and quickly wiped out the Black Swords member inside, with Margaret somehow being enhanced by another power of some kind, blasting the man backwards and shattering his bones. They would hear arguing above the tower - Darren's voice, and another female voice. Quick to act, the party ran up the tower and faced off against Darren and, who the party would learn, Emma, the mysterious elf from previous sessions. Fighting, Emma would turn invisible, and Darren would face against the five, or four with Ryze down below, alone.

Darren stood little chance, but Roy would be, yet again, "possessed" by what he thinks is Lord Magnus, when Emma whispered into his ears. He would go up to Alaire, and grab him, failing at first, but attempting again without being noticed. Meanwhile, Darren would shoot a shot at Margaret after she casted an Eldritch Blast that missed, only for Margaret to counter with a Hellish Rebuke, dealing the maximum amount of damage and killing Darren instantly. Roy, in that instant of victory and confusion, would succeed at grabbing Alaire - by his neck - and almost tossed him off the tower, if not for Roy fighting back with all he had to regain his body. The voice of Emma would laugh, and ran away, still invisible.