[EF] Haunted (9/2018-11/2018)

[Judas D'arc]

Summary: The spirits of three lost friends from her native shard-world haunt Faeryl Tyra’them, and she and the Emerald Fist must investigate the cause of their manifestation and decide their fates. Meanwhile, the ancient evil responsible for their demise returns to threaten Britannia.

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9/2018 - 10/2018:

Cultist followers of the imprisoned Titans of Pagan conspired to awaken Khal Ankur, the King of Seven Deaths, an ancient and undying evil entombed deep within the dungeon Khaldun in the Lost Lands. According to the muddled prophecy that they embraced, which also involved the use of a strange material from the stars called Caddellite, the rise of Khal Ankur would enable these cultists to free their Titan masters and resume Pagan’s brutal invasion of Sosaria. Their scheme was somewhat successful, and the King of Seven Deaths soon stirred within Khaldun as the champion of a gathering horde. During the following weeks, Britannia’s many adventurers and defenders journeyed to the dungeon to battle Khal Ankur, and they contained him and his army there, preventing the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy.



Unbeknownst to the Titans’ followers or Sage Humbolt, the ghost seeking to warn Britannians of the prophecy, Khal Ankur’s centuries of slumber were not spent in inactivity. The King of Seven Deaths’ spirit was recruited to serve the Demon Prince, the ruler of an inter-dimensional, infernal realm who once attempted to conquer ancient Sosaria. Appointed as the Demon Prince’s Right Hand, Khal Ankur was sent to one of the many shard-worlds of Sosaria in an effort to capture Celestia, the young girl destined to become either his master’s bride or his destroyer. It was in this role, a few years prior, the King of Seven Deaths was first encountered by Faeryl and Jolicia in their native Sosaria, and later, by Chanticleer Reich, during his time in Everywhere.

10/1/2018:

At Chanticleer’s suggestion, the Fist and their allies decided to pursue rumors that servants of the imprisoned Titans of Pagan were active in the dungeon Khaldun of the Lost Lands. In order to obtain access to Khaldun, which had been placed under the authority of the Royal Britannian Guard, the group aided Inspector Jasper of Britain into investigating the activities of the Titan’s servants. This led them to the ghost of Sage Humbolt in Papua, and a warning about the return of Khal Ankur, the significance of Caddellite, and the plan to free the four Titans.



10/13/2018:

A meeting of the Emerald Fist was interrupted by the appearance of yet another ghost, one that Chanticleer and Faeryl recognized as Lady Sofia Elias. On the elf’s native shard-world, Sofia was her companion in the Emerald Trading Company. Along with three others of the group -- the Castile siblings, Arturos and Renna, and Lucas Drachen -- a few years ago, Faeryl and Sofia had journeyed to the world of Everywhere to rescue Jolicia from Renthar. But the elf was forcibly separated from her companions and never learned what happened to them afterwards. Sofia’s spirit lingered briefly at Emerald Keep, acting rather confused about her whereabouts, and once she vanished, those gathered were left to ponder the reason for her manifestation.

[Judas D'arc]

10/15/2018:

Once again, Sofia Elias’ spirit appeared in Emerald Town, vanishing after saying she was trapped. Faeryl demanded that Chanticleer and Jolicia tell her the truth about the fates of her friends who journeyed with her to Everywhere. Chanticleer admitted he wanted to spare her from upset, before revealing that Sofia, Lucas Drachen, and the Castile siblings were dead.

According to the Fist's leader, all four of them had perished during the expedition to rescue Celestia, a young girl of prophecy who was also part of the Emerald Trading Company on Faeryl’s native shard-world. Celestia was under the thrall of a wicked Demon Prince she was destined to either wed or help slay, and his Right Hand was the spirit of Khal Ankur, King of Seven Deaths of Khaldun. Sofia and the Castiles fell in that final battle, Drachen was killed destroying the Demon Prince, and Celestia was rescued. However, neither Chanticleer nor Jolicia knew the reason Sofia’s ghost now haunted them.

10/18/2018:

A few days later, the spirit of Arturos Castile, one of Faeryl’s fallen friends, appeared at Emerald Town. He was immediately drawn to Faeryl, who apologized for not being there when he died. Arturos smiled in response and beckoned her to come closer. As she did, his ghostly fingers grasped for her throat, and he shouted angrily at her before he disappeared.

10/21/2018:

The spirit of Renna Castile also manifested before Faeryl and the Fist. She tore at her clothing and screamed so loudly that bottles shook and the stone table cracked. Renna recognized both Faeryl and Chanticleer, and she blamed the latter for leading her to her death. After the ghost had vanished, Chanticleer mentioned the seer Aila planned to hold a seance soon, and it might provide a good opportunity to ask for her help, despite Faeryl and Aila’s past disagreements.

Shortly thereafter, the King’s monthly council meeting began. When Governor Haxley of Trinsic delivered his monthly report, he mentioned three recent incidents that seemed to involve ghosts: a young noblewoman weeping at the Keg & Anchor tavern claiming to be trapped; a grinning warrior seated inside the Governor’s office; and dark-haired woman screaming in agony at the local healer’s. Haxley invited anyone with information about this matter to approach him.

Once the meeting was over, Faeryl spoke with the Governor in private, discussing what she and the Fist knew about the three restless spirits. He informed her that he might have a way to deal with them, but it required Faeryl to learn how and why they had manifested.

10/23/2018:

In a private meeting, Jolicia told Renthar about the various appearances of the spirits of Arturos, Renna, and Sofia, as well as Khal Ankur’s recent awakening. They both suspected it was not a coincidence, and he asked that she keep him updated on any related developments, as it might provide them with an opportunity to further their own plans.

[Judas D'arc]

10/27/2018:
One enchanted evening in Spiritwood, the seer Aila held a seance at her home, with a number of individuals in attendance, including members of the Fist, Faeryl, and Jolicia.



Arturos Castile was among the handful of spirits that appeared. Once more, he blamed Faeryl for his, Renna, and Sofia Elias’ deaths, accusing her of abandoning them. He also mentioned that the three of them were now trapped. When Jolicia asked how they were manifesting on this shard-world, given that they had died elsewhere, Arturos revealed it was because the creature who murdered them, Khal Ankur, was also here. The ghost then approached Faeryl and tried to choke here, until he was banished by Aila.



After the seance, the Fist discussed the ghosts of Faeryl’s friends. Chanticleer suggested that if Khal Ankur was truly responsible for trapping their spirits, they needed to more than just defeat the King of Seven Deaths in battle. Faeryl reminded them that Governor Haxley had indicated he might know of a way to lay the fallen trio to rest.

Upon speaking to the Governor, he told them that through the late Michael Mitre, he had learned about the spellbook of Iliana Stower, matriarch of the infamous Stower family. Currently in the possession of Iliana’s grandson, Lyric Stower, the spellbook contained a method of crafting soul gems capable of channeling the spirits of the dead. If the group obtained three of these gems, then Haxley could instruct them on what to do next. Chanticleer also noted that in the past, the original Emerald Fist once aided the Stower’s librarian Semidar in crafting one of these gems.

10/29/18:

The Fist, Faeryl, and Jolicia sought out Lyric Stower in Skara Brae, where he had recently been seen. In return for crafting three soul gems, Lyric requested they capture a living In Quas Xen for him. These were magical duplicates of various individualis, and the spell to create them was invented by Relthor of the Broken Ankh. Stower gave his word that he had no desire to make more of them, he merely wanted to uncover how they worked. They agreed to his terms, and he sent them to find a potential subject in mainland Skara Brae of Felucca.

However, they discovered that Jack, the In Quas Xen, was married to Aurelia, a local ranger, and together they had a baby. According to the couple, Jack had survived a terrible shipwreck, and lacked any memories from before they met. In private, the group debated on how to proceed, and ultimately determined to leave the unknowing family intact and in peace.

Despite their failure, Lyric provided them with the three soul gems they needed, in exchange for a favor from the Fist, to be repaid in the future. The gems were then delivered to the Governor of Trinsic. He asked them to return in a week, so that he could have them prepared by a certain ally whose identity he refused to reveal.

11/6/2018:

The Fist returned to Haxley to retrieve the soul gems, which had been properly attuned by his anonymous ally. He also instructed them on how to free the trapped spirits of Faeryl’s friends: the group needed to confront and defeat Khal Ankur and his minions in battle. In the moments following their victory, each gem would have to be held above the fallen body of the King of Seven Deaths by a different individual. These individuals then needed to call out the true name of the lost soul they desired to free, and their spirits would be absorbed into the gem that they wielded.

[Judas D'arc]

11/8/2018:

The Fist and a group of allies journeyed to the dungeon Khaldun to face Khal Ankur and free the spirits of Faeryl’s deceased friends. Before they left Emerald Keep, Sofia Elias appeared briefly to remind them that she was trapped, and Chanticleer volunteered to hold the soul gem for her, while Faeryl would carry the one for Arturos, and Kalanna the one for Renna. At Khaldun, the group fought the servants of the King of Seven Deaths, until they confronted him directly. After a brutal struggle, Khal Ankur was defeated. With some effort, Chanticleer, Faeryl, and Kalanna used the Stower soul gems to release Arturos, Renna, and Sofia from the creature’s grasp. As each of their names was called, the gem began to glow brightly and filled with their essences.

11/9/2018:

Jolicia met with Renthar to discuss recent developments. During their conversation, he proposed an alternative plan for the souls of the fallen Emerald Trading Company members. All three had perished in the realm of the Demon Prince, which was connected to Everywhere, the homeland of the Technocrats hunting him and the Emerald Empress. He believed this link could be exploited to watch for their pursuers and anticipate their next strike. However, the soul used for this would likely suffer an unpleasant fate. When contemplating whether the Fist or Faeryl would accept any of the three for this purpose, the sorcerer revealed that the true reason Arturos Castile joined the Emerald Trading Company on their native shard-world was to spy on behalf of Lady D’arc of the Camorra, one of the group’s deadliest foes. Knowledge of his betrayal might convince their allies to agree to the idea of sacrificing him, and Jolicia agreed to approach them about it. The couple also spoke about the identity of Governor Haxley’s anonymous ally, and Jolicia theorized it was the would-be Time Lord who possessed the powerful artifact known Sextant of the Ancients.

11/10/2018:

Earlier in the day, Faeryl received the following letter from Governor Haxley:

"Dear Faeryl,

It has reached my attention that you may have completed the task we discussed. If that is so, there is no need to return to me. That ally I mentioned will wait to meet you at the abandoned abbey north of Vesper to help with the next step. Good luck to you!"

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She later met with the Fist and their allies at Emerald Keep, and told them about Haxley’s letter. Jolicia raised Renthar’s plan to use one of the captured souls to monitor for Technocrat attacks, as well as the consequences to whoever was used to do this. She also explained that Arturos was secretly a spy and traitor to the Emerald Trading Company. A debate erupted amongst those present, and the Empress refused to participate, as she was understandably biased about ensuring her own survival. Eventually, they decided to defer to Faeryl about Renthar’s proposal, and the group then traveled to the abandoned abbey.

There, the Governor’s secret ally was revealed to be the would-be Time Lord and bearer of the Sextant of the Ancients. He stated that he desired to lay the souls of Arturos, Renna, and Sofia to rest for two reasons: first, he believed it was the right thing to do, and second, he was the one who provided Faeryl and her fallen friends with the method of journeying to Everywhere, which eventually led to their deaths. More discussion ensued, and Faeryl decided to turn over Arturos’ gem to Renthar, but only if he was returned to her once the Technocrats were defeated. The other gems were handed over to the would-be Time Lord, and he used his power to free Sofia, who manifested before them. He offered her the opportuntiy to be sent to a place of eternal rest, and after speaking to her rescuers, she agreed to move on. The same opportunity was given to Renna, and she chose the same.

The would-be Time Lord asked about Arturos’ fate again. As the others argued all around her, Faeryl suddenly experienced a vision, one that the Empress had warned she might receive due to her role in the ritual to ward Emerald Town. During this vision, Faeryl learned that Renthar’s plan would result in a swifter end to the conflict with the Technocrats; however, it would ensure that Arturos’ soul would never find peace. This new revelation caused Faeryl to change her mind about Arturos’ fate, and the would-be Time Lord released him. When he appeared, Arturos confessed his betrayal and explained his motives. He was also pleased that neither his sister nor Sofia had learned of his treachery.



His spirit then vanished, the last of the three souls laid to rest by the would-be Time Lord. Not everyone agreed with Faeryl's choice, but those gathered soon left and returned to Emerald Town. Once there, Chanticleer spoke to Faeryl about the evolution of their relationship these past few years, and he officially invited her to join the Emerald Fist. She happily accepted.