Through the Mists

Session 6: Rex at Our Back

At a glance

Summary

The dead travelers still lay where the party had mistaken them for bandits.

Ignatius proposed dragging the bodies into the bog. Rage preferred a darker precaution: he severed a foot from one corpse and kept it as a grisly amulet. For a moment, some dormant power seemed ready to answer the act. Then the possibility guttered away without taking form. Rage stripped useful leather armor from the dead, and the party concealed what remained beneath the marshy undergrowth.

Beyond the hill waited Neblus, smaller and quieter than Rivalis. Blue gravelights did not gather at its outskirts. They floated everywhere, drifting among graceful, pointed-eared residents in flowing coats and through streets paved with individual gravestones. The oldest stone buildings resembled mausoleums more than homes.

An entourage moved through the crowd around a haughty elven woman. She welcomed the strangers to Neblus until Carver described them as travelers seeking shelter; then she dismissed them as yet more poor people. Rage answered by throwing a gold coin against the back of her head and ordering a beer. Her hand caught the coin with startling speed. Recovering her dignity, Lady Embermere invited them to find her on Chiseled Road if they wished to visit her manor, then swept away through the beggars following in her wake.

Lady Embermere catches the gold coin Rage tosses toward her before a watching crowd.

Rage makes his introduction to Neblus society. See the image record.

The party took rooms at the Dreamsong Inn, a large and austere hall kept by an elf named Drelm. Its meat pies were poor, its bedding functional, and nearly every patron elven. Rage immediately began asking strangers whether they were vampires. When one elf insulted him in Elvish, Rage answered in the same language and sent the man retreating down the table.

Near midnight, robed clergy began leaving the hall. The party learned that a private mass was about to begin at Neblus’s fortified Eternal Order church, the Shrine of the Spirits, and followed them into the night.

Inside, death covered the walls in carved processions. Bishops clustered around a still higher-ranking celebrant while the congregation chanted of “Rex.” Carver initially associated the title with Azalin Rex, whom he remembered from his parents’ conversations. Duskren’s later explanation established that the Neblus sect was awaiting the distinct figure Darcalus Rex, not Azalin. At midnight, a piercing sound cut through the droning ritual. A goat was killed before the assembly, and its blood was caught in goblets for the waiting faithful.

Carver fashioned a small vial and accepted a portion. As he leafed through Van Richten’s journals, the transparent figure of Erasmus van Richten appeared. The silent ghost painted history once more: Azalin presiding over an ancient church; a tower breaking; the faith splintering into distant sects; and, at last, this congregation in Neblus, praying and waiting through its strange rites.

Carver holds sacrificial blood as Erasmus paints the history of the Eternal Order into the air.

Blood and memory mingle during the midnight mass. See the image record.

Outside, blue light washed the gravestone streets. Worshipers knelt over individual stones and poured out the goat’s blood. Carver chose a gravelight resembling the one above his supposed relative’s grave in Rivalis. When he poured his offering, more lights gathered around him. Rage cut his own palm and offered blood, but the street gave no visible answer.

In the morning, Drelm greeted them cheerfully: “Rex at our back.” Rage demanded an explanation of the sacrifice. The innkeeper spoke of the magic beneath Neblus’s feet. The dead were kept underfoot so they could not rise before a coming day of reckoning.

Rage decided to test the claim with a shovel. Beneath one paving grave he uncovered a twine-wrapped package of burned remains rather than a body. The party collected some of the ash in another vial, giving them the makings of a second Darkon Talisman.

Rage uncovers ashes beneath Neblus while Black Lily offers a poison vial and key.

A grave opened for answers becomes the site of a conspiracy. See the image record.

The desecration attracted an unexpected admirer. A robed stranger calling himself Black Lily remarked that the people of Neblus knew little of the true afterlife. His manner and clothing reminded the party of Aldo in Rivalis. Then he offered them fifty gold pieces to infiltrate the Eternal Order and poison High Sentinel Ablander.

Black Lily claimed to serve the Kargatane. With Azalin gone, he said, Martira Bay meant to build power outside the Order’s control. He supplied poison and a key to Ablander’s room, advising the party to strike while the High Sentinel conducted midnight mass. They were to meet him beyond the town after the deed. He offered no named superior—only the promise that success might earn him promotion.

Rage agreed.

Before leaving, Black Lily and Rage found common ground in Screaming Cheese. Carver produced the sample hidden beneath his hat and offered to split it, while Rage praised Nevuchar Springs as a source of good cheese.

The afternoon brought a second offer. A small, dark-skinned elf introduced himself as a hunter pursuing a defector. He spoke of ancient scholars, the deep places beneath the world, and the need to prevent dangerous knowledge from spreading. The name Dark Delvers surfaced in his explanation. His price was five hundred gold pieces.

Rage demanded half in advance and a dossier describing the deserter, his contacts, and his habits. The Dark Delver paid 250 gold pieces, and the party accepted the hunt. Soon afterward, they crossed paths with Lady Embermere again. She told them that her name might open doors in Il Aluk.

Their search led back to the Shrine of the Spirits. Rage overheard a cleric mention an authors’ meeting, and the party followed. Ignatius and Carver entered among the scholars while Rage remained outside to study the patrols. On the second floor, a passerby directed them to a lecture hall.

Their quarry stood at its front wearing the vestments of the Eternal Order.

Nothing in his lecture sounded like forbidden Dark Delver doctrine. He preached only the familiar promise: the day would come when Rex returned and the dead rose again. For an hour Ignatius and Carver listened. Then, as the audience dispersed, they approached the supposed defector.

Key events

  1. The party hid the slain roadside travelers; Rage mutilated the bodies and kept one severed foot.
  2. The party entered Neblus, where gravelights drift throughout streets paved with graves.
  3. Rage antagonized Lady Embermere, who nevertheless invited the party to her manor on Chiseled Road.
  4. The party secured rooms at the Dreamsong Inn and met Drelm.
  5. They attended the Eternal Order’s midnight mass at the Shrine of the Spirits and witnessed a ritual goat sacrifice.
  6. Erasmus appeared while Carver consulted Van Richten’s journal and showed the apparent history and fragmentation of the faith.
  7. Carver poured goat blood upon a grave and drew additional gravelights.
  8. Rage excavated a paving grave and found cremated remains suitable for a second Darkon Talisman.
  9. Black Lily hired the party to poison High Sentinel Ablander and supplied poison and a key.
  10. A dark-skinned elven hunter offered five hundred gold pieces for an alleged Dark Delver defector.
  11. Ignatius and Carver located the supposed defector lecturing inside the Shrine of the Spirits and approached him after his address.

Decisions and consequences

  • The party concealed the roadside dead instead of reporting the killings.
    • Rage further mutilated the corpses and kept a severed foot. Any future discovery will now reveal both the violence and its concealment.
  • The party joined the midnight mass and accepted sacrificial blood.
    • Carver witnessed another vision from Erasmus and learned that the Order’s history may extend back to Azalin and a shattered tower.
  • Rage dug beneath one of Neblus’s street graves.
    • The party found cremated remains and collected ash for a second Darkon Talisman.
  • The party accepted Black Lily’s assassination contract.
    • They now possess poison and a key to High Sentinel Ablander’s room and have promised to strike during midnight mass.
  • The party accepted the elven hunter’s bounty.
    • Their supposed target is an Eternal Order lecturer accused of defecting from the Dark Delvers, but the party has not verified either the accusation or the hunter’s identity.

People

  • Lady Embermere: Haughty elven noblewoman who invited the party to her manor and offered the use of her name in Il Aluk.
  • Drelm: Elven keeper of the Dreamsong Inn and believer in Neblus’s funerary customs.
  • Erasmus van Richten: Appeared while Carver handled Van Richten’s journal and conjured a history of Azalin, a broken tower, and divided sects.
  • Black Lily: Self-proclaimed Kargatane agent who hired the party to poison Ablander.
  • High Sentinel Ablander: Leader of the Shrine of the Spirits and target of Black Lily’s plot.
  • Elven Dark Delver: Hired the party to pursue an alleged defector from his organization.
  • Duskren Kalvar: Scholar found lecturing in Eternal Order vestments and accused of defecting from the Dark Delvers.

Places

  • Neblus: Elven-majority city built over an ancient necropolis, with gravestones paving its streets.
  • Dreamsong Inn: Austere inn where the party lodged.
  • Shrine of the Spirits: Fortified Eternal Order church where the midnight mass and scholarly lecture took place.
  • Il Aluk: City where Lady Embermere said her name would carry influence.
  • Nevuchar Springs: Place Rage associated with good cheese.

Clues, lore, and notable items

  • Neblus’s streets are paved with gravestones, and cremated remains lie beneath at least some of them.
  • Residents believe keeping the dead underfoot prevents them from rising before a future reckoning.
  • Gravelights permeate Neblus rather than gathering only around its outskirts or above particular graves.
  • Goat blood poured over a grave drew additional gravelights when Carver performed the rite.
  • Erasmus’s vision connected Azalin historically to a broken tower and the splintering of the faith that eventually produced sects such as the Darcalus-following congregation in Neblus.
  • Black Lily claimed that Azalin is gone and that Martira Bay seeks power outside the Eternal Order.
  • The Kargatane and Dark Delvers each have agents or interests operating in Neblus, if the two recruiters spoke truthfully.
  • The party acquired a second vial of corpse ash, poison intended for Ablander, a key to his room, and a dossier concerning the alleged defector.

Story threads

Rewards, losses, and character changes

  • Rage spent 1 gp provoking Lady Embermere.
  • Rage recovered leather armor from the slain travelers as party loot and kept one severed foot.
  • The party collected corpse ash suitable for a second Darkon Talisman.
  • Black Lily supplied an unidentified poison and a key to Ablander’s room; no custodian was recorded.
  • The elven Dark Delver offered 500 gp and paid the negotiated 250 gp advance into party funds.

Memorable moments

  • Rage threw a gold coin at a noblewoman and ordered her to fetch him a beer.
  • Rage asked an elf whether he was a vampire, then revealed that he understood the resulting insult in Elvish.
  • Carver accepted goat blood in a magically improvised vial and watched Erasmus paint the Order’s past.
  • Rage dug through a public street to test whether Neblus truly kept its dead underfoot.
  • Two unrelated conspirators attempted to hire the party before the afternoon was over.

Open questions

  • What power almost answered Rage’s severed-foot amulet?
  • Why did goat blood draw more gravelights for Carver while Rage’s blood did nothing?
  • Is Erasmus traveling with Van Richten’s journal, or did something else allow him to appear in Neblus?
  • What event did the breaking tower in Erasmus’s vision represent?
  • Who truly commands Black Lily, and why does the Kargatane want Ablander dead?
  • What is in Black Lily’s poison, and what will happen if the party uses it?
  • Who is the elven bounty hunter, and what proof supports his accusation?
  • Why did the alleged Dark Delver defector join the Eternal Order?
  • What will Lady Embermere’s name mean in Il Aluk?
  • What consequences will follow the concealment and mutilation of the roadside travelers?

Next session

  • Immediate situation: Ignatius and Carver have approached the alleged Dark Delver defector after his lecture inside the Shrine of the Spirits, while Rage watches the church from outside.
  • Likely goals: Question the lecturer, decide how to handle the bounty, investigate Ablander’s quarters, and determine whether to carry out Black Lily’s assassination contract.

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