Session 107 - Shadows, Rotted Hearts, Undead. Not Fun.
12th August 2025
In-game timeline: Start of session: 1490DR Mirtul 20. End of session: UNKNOWN (in the Shadowfell)
Our "Heroes" awake from a fitful night and hate the Shadowfell even more than they did before. They are keen to make a start on their next quest to recover the Conspirator's Visage.
They start by trying to find out more information from the Shadar-Kai who are tasked with helping them to the border of the Raven Queen's realm. They gain a bit more info about the Rotted Heart and how to get there. After some discussion, they head off and a portal appears to transport them to the boundary.
Before crossing the border, Iwee manages to persuade the Shadar-Kai to provide one of the ravens making up the portal to guide them for the first half of the journey, though they would have to leave them after half a day, as going too far into Vecna's realm would be dangerous. The Raven would like to be known as Darkness.
They travel on horse/salamander back, to save some time, as they really don't want to spend any more time in this place than they need. Jaxii helps them follow the map they have been given, though the path is not always easy to follow and at times they seem to get a little lost, though they do eventually recover the path once again.
As evening draws close, they hope to reach the Rotted Heart soon. Karoshi at the front, on Sully, spots a Shadar-Kai emerge from the mists of the wooded swamp around them. The Shadar-Kai seems to be injured and he seems relieved when he sees the group of travellers. He asks them to help him - his group of infiltrators were set upon by forces of Vecna nearby, and one was killed and another badly injured. He asks if they have any healing abilities and could help his group. He beckons them to follow him.
Our "Heroes" are unsure. They know that Raven Queen spies are abroad in this realm, but sense a trap. Karoshi tries to use Zone of Truth, but the Shadar-Kai is unaffected, so they still don't know if he can be trusted. As the group hesitate, Derrick suddenly realises that although he understood what the Shadar-Kai was saying, as did they all, he wasn't actually speaking in the common tongue, so Derrick had no idea how he was able to understand the language. He explains this to the others, and this makes up their mind - they suspect a trap, though they are still not totally sure.
They decide not to follow the Shadar-Kai, but do leave a healing kit on a nearby log, to provide some aid, in case the story is true. But then they press on their path, leaving the Shadar-Kai behind.
An hour or so later they arrive at the edge of the wood, where many trees seem to have been cut down. Through the mists they can make out a domed construction that seems to be covered in dirt. They stop to check out the area. Derrick summons Pacino to help out, and the owl does a pass around the building, finding out the extent of it, but also managing to spot a patrol of guards who seem to be walking around the building before heading back inside, before re-emerging later to do another patrol.
With darkness starting to fall, Iwee takes the plunge and becomes invisible so she can stealth closer to find out more information. The others, being pretty noisy, are happy to let her go ahead, though Karoshi is a little concerned.
The little gnome manages to get close enough to the building to check out the entrance, and the patrol, in more detail. There seems to be a "method" to enter the building, as there is no obvious handle, or lock, on the door. She hangs around enough to work out that the patrol would take about 30 minutes to do a circuit of the building, then head inside for maybe 10 minutes or so, before the same, or a different, patrol emerges to patrol once more. She heads back to the rest of the group to report her findings.
Darkness falls as they plan their next moves…