The Tanius Campaign Journal – Chapter 14: Lights and Fires

I looked over at Josh, who was holding and shaking his head. I imagine the member of the City Watch was a bit disappointed by the party’s continued propensity for theft and arson, but I was relieved to eventually hear a couple of stifled laughs underneath his groaning. Renlia smiled at Josh’s reaction, and waited for things to quiet down before continuing her tale.

Something Seems Off Here…

Campaign Log Day 6 – Part 2
19th day of Kythorn – Dusk
Year of The Rebuked Storm – 1574 Dale Reckoning
Endgar Outskirts – Ajenar’s Hut

The party was able to make it the rest of the way to Blackheart Manor without incident, but they noticed the land around them changing. The sky had grown unnaturally dark, a light amount of rain was falling, and the trees and plants now seemed twisted and strange. Fortunately, Renlia was familiar with the area and she led the party to the base of the hill leading to Blackheart Manor.

There was only one path the party could take to easily approach Blackheart Manor. The sides of the hill were too steep to easily climb, and the summit of the hill was easily 100 feet high. The party opted for a path winding around the perimeter of the hill, and readied their weapons to offset their unease.

As the party rounded the corner, they noticed three large glowing lights floating further up the path. They were beautiful to look at, but Kroul was unnerved by the faint children’s voices he heard from their direction. Suspicious that some evil magic could be at work, he used a spell to detect good and evil, and approached the creatures.

His suspicions were confirmed.

Kroul immediately fired a magical salvo at the Wisps, but their erratic movements made it difficult for his spells to connect. Lilyth transformed into a ferocious Dire Wolf and fearlessly engaged the dancing lights while the party supported from behind. Renlia’s Bardic magic was particularly effective at discombobulating their foes, which helped her allies avoid multiple magical lightning attacks. There were some tense moments as the Wisps came in and out of invisibility, but in the end our heroes prevailed.

With the Wisps dispatched, everybody agreed it would be wise to take some time to recover before pressing forward. The party headed back down the hill and found a discreet overhang to use as shelter for a rest until the late hours of the night.

Eight hours passed without interruption. During this period Lilyth and Kiddo were able to catch up to the party. Fully rested and now reinforced, they formed up and resumed their trek up the winding path. Cresting the hill, they could see the Manor dimly lit in the distance. The wind continued to pick up and the air grew colder with each step towards the mansion.

Occam’s Lighter

The shortest path to the Manor was through one of the nearby fields. Whether due to bad luck or something darker, a large cornfield had clearly fallen out of use, but four old strawmen still stood dutifully at their posts. Our heroes decided weren’t in the mood for surprises, so they handed out torches and set the field ablaze.

They watched the fire quickly spread across the field, but before the hay-stuffed creations could be enveloped, their eyes began to glow.

The strawmen sprung to life, but the party was prepared. They fired an barrage of ranged attacks at the constructs, and their aim was true. Their attackers tried to charge through the flames, but those who emerged found a swift exit from this plane at the end by Rkard’s Maul.

Attempts to claw the Half-Orc fruitlessly rolled off his glistening green body. Hiding proved no more useful, as those taking cover in the weeds were found by Lilyth’s Flame Sphere. Before long the entire field was ablaze, and the evil constructs spent their last moments enveloped in flames before the sinister lights in their eyes flickered out.

Our heroes let the fire burn so as to ensure the threat was extinguished. Eventually the flames began to recede, and as the smoke cleared they saw the facade of Blackheart Manor looming menacingly in the distance.

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