As the session began, it was early afternoon on the 11th day of the 3rd Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The cavern still echoed with the grinding roar made as the Order of the Gate’s portal imploded upon itself. Fariedah, emotionally and physically drained, stood silently before the now-empty stone wall, watching the last remnants of the powerful staff Countersign crumble to ash. Though the portal’s destruction had Ordite cut off from his followers for now, a question would linger — was it truly the right decision?
With Fariedah unable to teleport the party due to her depleted magical reserves, the group settled in to spend the night in the cavern. During the night, Douglan’s magical halberd warned everyone of approaching danger as several Dark Elf soldiers and an adult Black Dragon teleported into the cavern and launched an attack.
The battle was fierce. The party fought valiantly against the powerful dark elves and the dragon, defending their wounded and holding the line. Eventually, they emerged victorious, though the toll was heavy.
In the morning, Fariedah now fully rested and recovered, the party teleported back up to Lyelion to speak with Adamar Aurorasong. He thanked them for ensuring that Ordite could no longer use the portal to communicate with his followers, then shared some troubling news. The Hidden recently confirmed that a rift had indeed opened in the eastern coastal forest of the Wilds, and a proud race calling themselves the Minotaur had begun to emerge. The 3rd Gathering had begun.
Fariedah and the party said their goodbyes and teleported back to Windrest to update Obadiah on the destruction of the portal. Obadiah awaited them and praised their efforts. Though the portal’s loss was grievous, he affirmed that it had denied Ordite further influence – for now.
Talk turned to the party’s meeting with Lafferty onboard the Stargazer and their learning of the location of the other two rifts to Arcmyth. Obadiah was convinced that Landis and he would soon have a way to destroy the rifts thanks to Havoc’s research and the Devil Star diamonds collected from his hideout. Obadiah emphasized the urgency of confirming the locations of the remaining Arcmyth rifts, so they could be destroyed as soon as the spell was ready.
With winter approaching, he advised the party to head north first, toward the Crags, where one of the rifts was believed to be located. The party agreed that getting north before the deep freeze of winter set in was the logical choice.
With their immediate plan in place, Fariedah drew the party’s attention and announced her retirement from the conflict, choosing to remain in Lyelion to live out her days. She entrusted the future of Emathan to the party, believing they would shape the outcome of the 3rd Gathering. Knowing that time was of the essence, the party returned to the Stargazer and set sail for the Crags.
As the skyship pushed deep into the frigid north, it became engulfed in a blizzard that threatened to drag it down by the weight of heavy ice buildup. The party joined the crew in trying to clear the growing ice from the ship’s decks and hull. The task was not easy, since just staying on one’s feet was an epic challenge.
Suddenly, several dragon-like creatures swooped out from the blowing snow and freezing rain that surrounded the skyship, buzzing the decks, screeching as they did so. The skyship broke into chaos as the crew tried to decide whether to fight the ice or the screeching creatures above them.