Recap of Session 55

As the last session began, it was late evening of the 4th day of the 3rd Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The party stood in the crucible of battle, steel clashing and magic erupting, locked in combat with the iron guardians of Havoc’s lair.After initially pushing forward in their attack against the party, Havoc’s Horrors suddenly withdrew in an apparent attempt to defend the entrance to Havoc's portal chamber.  This was in vain as the party quickly broke their ranks with swift, decisive force, cutting them down before they could regroup further.Once inside, the party discovered a large magical portal filled with a swirling red mist, which they could not see through.  An invisible wall of force kept the party from entering.  In an attempt to gain access, the party investigated a crystal orb filled with a swirling red mist similar to that in the portal.Ronin approached the crystal orb and cautiously laid a hand upon it, a single word formed in his mind. “Passage.”Wary of traps or curses, the group wisely asked Astana, Havoc’s mother, to touch the orb. When she did, the word “passage” formed in her mind. Speaking it aloud immediately dissolved the wall of force guarding the portal, opening the way beyond.Stepping through, the party emerged onto Arcmyth, a nightmare world filled with demonic and devilish inhabitants. Awaiting them was Havoc himself, a powerful Tiefling wizard steeped in cruel ambition, guarded on either side by two vicious Howlers.Seeing his "mother" with the party, Havoc told "the creature" to return to Emathan that he would deal with it once he returned.  Much to the party's surprise, Astana transformed from a frail old Tiefling woman into a pale, hairless, vaguely humanoid creature known as a Doppelganger, which quickly ran back through the portal. Havoc explained that, unlike Landis's efforts to use the Devil Star diamonds to close any portals that opened into Emathan from Arcmyth, he had used the diamonds to create a portal into Arcmyth.  A necessity to build a relationship with the world's inhabitants before they took over Emathan during the next Gathering.  The Tieflings of Arcmyth were slaves.  Havoc hoped he could keep this from happening once Arcmyth took over Emathan.  A fate he believed was inevitable.Next to Havoc, a large metal cage held a single being, shackled and hooded, concealing their identity.  Could this be Landis? Before the party could react further, Havoc commanded the Howlers to launch an attack upon the party.  The beasts launched forward without hesitation, engaging the party.In the chaos of the battle against the beasts, Douglan broke through the melee on his magical steed, galloping up to Havoc in hopes of finding an opportunity to deliver a strike against the mighty foe.  Havoc dismissed Douglan, believing he would not be a threat.  This was a fatal mistake as Douglan dealt a heroic blow, carving Havoc open from head to heart with a single, unstoppable stroke of his mighty halberd. The Howlers fell soon after.With Havoc dead and his defenses shattered, the party moved quickly to investigate the cage.  Inside, they found that indeed the shackled being was Landis, their companion they had travelled so far to rescue.  Landis, with his usual dry sense of humour, inquired as to why it had taken them so long, as he had been growing bored with the situation.With Arcmyth’s demonic legions potentially all around them, the heroes gathered themselves. They hurried back to the portal, preparing to return to Emathan before even more vile creatures could find them.

Recap of Session 55

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