| Shadows on Isle de la Luna | |
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About this adventure
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| Mithrasia year: | 354/Winter |
| IRL date: | 2013-06-13 |
| GM: | Jan-Yves |
| Characters: | Aria, Zendri, Asha, Ghetsis, Mowakana |
| Organising character: | Aria
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Summary goes here
Map of Isla de la Luna
Aria's Report[]
Mawakana, Asha, Zendri, Ghetsis and I set off to Isla del Luna (the volcano island) as I had information of a shadow lord prison there.
Mawakana kindly summoned us a ride, as we arrived at the island the land looked different than previous reports. The east side of the island was not dead as had been previously reported, instead there was a village called Ashport with cobbled roads. We stopped and talked to Hank the blacksmith, who let us know that the town had been there for about 15 years and the settlers had come over from First Landing, he also told us that the volcano had last erupted 15 years ago. Time seemed to pass weirdly on the island and there was magic in the air.
We set off to talk to some mountain people, while on the way we found signs of a camp and followed the trail they left through a canyon and into a cave.
Mawakana broke a chalk line at the entrance and we continued into the cave. We came across a second chalk line, which Mawakana broke again while trying to learn how they were made from the two guys who were hired to maintain the line. This appeared to trigger a spell, that made the tunnel look old. Then we heard a voice telling evil doers to halt, it ended up belonging to Governor Arthur Guilder Blackwick the Third. Future Arthur told us the shadows had won. We decided to go with Arthur back to Whitmouth. When we got outside he pointed to the broken moon and said Xeno caused it, but it was for a good cause. Mawakana helped us shadow walk back to the safest place in Whitmouth, which just happened to be the govenor's closet.
Mawakana and Ghetsis took off into town, while Zendri, Asha and I talked to Arthur. He let us know that there was fish in the river (and plants growing along the banks before they froze) but that they had imported them from the empire as the indigenous species had not survived. It apparently got really cold at the head of the white river and people didn't do anything about it, instead they migrated north.
He also told us Whitmouth is the only "safe" place on earth.
Arthur had a really cool sword that was made of a shadow, brought back from the shadow realm and forged by a wizard into the shape of a sword. When he used it against the shadows later we could see his life force flowing through it.
Basically he said, the shadow lords got out 1 by 1, and people didn't try and stop them until it was to late. They were distracted by dragons that ganged up on Whitmouth (and successfully destroyed a part of it) before adventurers faught them off, the serpent men got upity and stuff happened to the white river. The ice spread faster as more shadow lords were freed, until it surrounded Whitmouth. Adventurers went out to deal with dragons. The empire stopped sending supplies and was eventually attacked by shadows. Gorilla and militia squads set out to defend the world. There is 1 dragon that survived and is now helping Whitmouth as the shadows are taking over the world. There was an outpost at Robbards Crossing, when a shadow lord appeared and started sucking the life out of everything nearby. Xeno stepped up and used a the moon to stop the shadow lord, leaving behind a broken moon and a crater (apparently he couldn't do it remotely).
The governor told us what we would need to get us home, and so the three of us set off to collect some magical items that were required from future Zendri's place.
While we were there a shadow attacked, who could create more shadows to hinder us mid-fight. I picked up a sentient sword and tried to battle with that. After the main shadow was knocked back I realised I wasn't as good with a sword as an arrow, so retreated into Zendri's place to grab a magical bow. I stepped back out to see Asha in need of aid, and sent an arrow flying which knocked back the two remaining shadows (Asha having finished off the main one, while I was grabbing a bow), and sent Asha into a tree. This new bow is pretty awesome.
Asha had lost his sword in the fight, so went to choose a magical sword from the pile in Zendri's place. I then set to heal Asha as he had a broken arm and was looking rather worse for wear.
We returned back to Whitmouth to find Ghetsis had lost a leg, and that there were two Mowakana's the one we came with and an older, burnt one.
At some point Arthur gave us a letter with the governors seal on it to hand into Governor Senjak, which we did promptly on arrival back in Winter 354.
Asha's Report[]
[This season, after Aria’s party’s startling return to Whitmouth in the middle of a sermon in the cathedral, Asha does not post a report in the tavern as he usually does. Instead, he posts a simple warning:]
“I have seen the future. The Dread Lords of Shadow are gathering their strength and growing in number. We must put all of our efforts into destroying the threat they pose before they engulf the entire world in darkness and cold. We must set aside our differences with the other inhabitants of Mithrasia and join together to defeat the Dread Lords before it is too late!”
[However, for the first time anyone can remember, Asha will stay and actually drink in the tavern, fidgeting absently with the glove covering his right hand. If anyone should care to buy him a drink, he will tell the following tale.]
“We—Aria, Mowakana, Ghetsis, Zendri and I—we set out to ensure that the Dread Lord trapped on the Isla del Luna [the volcano island]. However, when we entered the cave from which the magic saturating the island seemed to be emanating, we instead found ourselves struck by some sort of magical trap. When we recovered from the aftereffects of the blinding light, we noticed that the cave looked much more worn than it had. Before we could really do anything, a voice from the entrance challenged us. “Halt, evildoers!” cried the oddly dashing silhouette. As he strode closer, we recognised him—Arthur Guilder Blackwick the Third. Although… he looked much older than when I had last seen him, and was now missing an eye. When we convinced him that we were not, in fact, evildoers, he introduced himself—as the Governor of Whitmouth!
We eventually realised that, impossible though it seems, the five of us had somehow been transported about a decade into the future. And it was not a pleasant future, as we were soon to discover. Arthur explained that the Shadows had won. Whitmouth is the last bastion in the entire world holding out against their forces. When we exited the cave, Arthur pointed out the moon—it was shattered into pieces, all still floating in the sky. He later told us that when a Dread Lord took over the settlement at Robard’s Crossing, the wizard Xeno had defeated it by dragging a shard of the moon out of the sky, shattering it in the process. All that is left of Xeno, Robard’s Crossing, and the Dread Lord, is a massive crater. We accompanied him back to Whitmouth, where he gave Aria, Zendri and I a detailed account of the Shadows’ victory. We decided that we had to get back to our present to make sure this future could never come to pass. Our discussion was interrupted by an alarm bell signalling a Shadow attack, so the Governor—I mean, Arthur—sent us to the house of this future’s Zendri, where we could find enough magical artefacts to power a spell to return us.
While Mowakana searched for a wizard to help perform the spell and Ghetsis aided with the city’s defense, Aria, Zendri and I found the house an hour or so from the city walls—the sound of battle and death from Whitmouth could still clearly be heard—and Aria and Zendri found their way inside. Meanwhile, I stood watch outside. I was attacked by a colossal shadow monster—at least ten feet tall—and had little choice but to fight it. It picked me up and tossed me like a ragdoll, breaking my arm. Zendri and Aria joined the fight at that moment, but when the shadow creature summoned two more of its kind they retreated inside the house, leaving me to face it on my own. I managed to destroy it, but my sword—which once belonged to my grandmother, the fiercest warrior in all of the Endless Sands—was destroyed. The battle also left me too injured to fight the lesser shadows the monster had summoned. Luckily, Aria rejoined the battle before they could kill me, but her explosive attack further injured me.
She made up for this by casting a powerful healing spell which even knitted the broken bones in my arm. Zendri had already found the magical artefacts we needed, but I needed a new sword before I risked the journey back through the forest. A sword locked in a display case almost called to me, and it promised to help me defeat the shadows, so I took it with me. [Observant listeners might notice that Asha is not, in fact, carrying a sword at all, which is odd; he is normally never without one.]
We returned to the future Whitmouth and the Governor- I mean, Aurthur, organised for the ritual spell to be cast. Mowakana had found his future self to help with the ritual. As we vanished back to the present we saw Whitmouth overrun, and the gov- I mean, Arthur, giving his life to hold back the tide of darkness.”
[If anyone asks him when he’s slightly more sober, he’ll give more details about the future.]
“After the second Dread Lord got out no one managed to stop it because everyone was too busy with other things.
Some dragons razed large parts of Whitmouth in further retaliation. It would be wise to warn them of the coming danger and forge an alliance with them as soon as possible to prevent this from happening.
There was a Serpent attack east of the river. Again, we should focus on allying with the other races instead of fighting them.
Something odd happened with the White River—Arther refused to tell us what, exactly. Something about plausible deniability.
As more Dread Lords were freed, the ice spread faster and faster.
A group of adventurers killed one of the last dragons, destroying what could have been a valuable ally, all for the hoard of gold it guarded.
There were reports of war in the Imperium against shadows, and then all communication ceased. There had been no word from the mainland for years.
There was only one dragon left, and it allied itself with Whitmouth simply because there was no other option for it.
The outpost at Robard’s Crossing fell to a Shadow Lord, but it was defeated by Xeno, of all people. The reckless git threw a bit of the moon at it, but died along with it.”