After surviving the battle against the Countess, the party set to work trying to strip everything of value out of the lab. Reith and Ash salvaged what they could from the gun while Edward experimented with this crystals on the command console. He found that in addition to liquid fire and pillars of lightening, the crystals could produce massive disintegrate beams and torrents of ice and water. Edward spent so much time fucking around with the lightening crystal that he exhausted it completely. Reith joined Edward at the console to try and find what could be taken. They found hidden compartments with journals detailing how they had created arcane cores, the various types of crystals, the constructs as well as the crystal circuit boards that allowed these forms of technology to function. Feeling that they had grabbed everything of worth in the manor, the party set out in the rainy darkness back to the Guild Hall. They hijacked the steam tank in the courtyard and chugged their way back to the barricaded front gate of the hall.
The hall was unguarded, giving the party an uneasy feeling as they approached the doors. Opening the large double doors, they hit the body of a hybrid. They could heard shouting inside, panicked and shrill. Slipping past the body, they found dozens of bodies scattered across the great room of the guild hall, both guild members and hybrids. The only two left alive were Jones and Duncan. Jones was standing at the far end of the room, in front of the roaring fire, holding Duncan in the air by the throat. Jones was armed with two black bladed short swords and had a black band of fabric across his eyes. He was screaming at Duncan, something about the gate being open and how the coming storm could not be stopped. He repeated that he would not be taken as Duncan struggled to speak, only for Jones to stab him through the chest.
Removing the blade, Jones dropped Duncan and turned to face the party. Edward attempted to reach out to him but found Jones to be too far gone to be reasoned with. Jones pulled a small dark orb from his coat and raised it in to the air. He and most of the room became cloaked in supernatural darkness. They then heard the now familiar sound of magical teleportation and found themselves surrounded by the darkness. Jones struck at them from the dark, landing painful blows against Katya. The party struck back as best they could but missed as often as they made contact. Jones jumped back to in front of the fire, clearing the darkness around the party, letting them spread out to try and deal with him. As he prepared another attack, the party heard the sound of claws on the floor at the back of the room, followed by the *bamf* of Gilmour teleporting in and knocking Jones to the floor. The orb he was holding shattered, clearing the darkness as he got to his feet. The party focused everything they had on Jones, taking him to his knees. Once again, Edward tried to reason with Jones, with no effect. Jones once more yelled he would not be taken, making a fist with his left hand. He was immediately consumed in an explosion that caught Ash and Gilmour, killing Gilmour and wounding Ash.
The party took what they could from his body, as most of his possessions had been destroyed in the blast. His belt was new, made from soft reddish fur, with a silver buckle that resembled a dogs head. After examining the belt closely, Reith determined that it was made from blink dog hide, probably that of Waters. The party mourned the loss of their former allies, before Reith quietly slipped on the belt. They searched among the bodies scattered around the great room, hoping to find something of use in the senseless violence. They found the body of the potion vendor they met earlier, unfortunately her kit had been partially destroyed in the attack. The party gathered the remaining potions as well as Jones’ Bureau journal from the bunk room of the Hall. After taking some time to rest and prepare themselves, including Reith tinkering with R4D, they set out to confront whatever waited for them at the cathedral.
In the early morning fog, they drove the steam cannon up the cliff side road toward their destination. Looking down, they could see all of Istust contained in the hollow between the cliffs. Wisps of smoke could be seen from chimneys scattered across the city, hinting that maybe there could be some survivors of this nightmare. Cresting the clifftop, the party turned toward the rocky outcropping that contained the cathedral. Behind them was the road in to town and the graveyard they were ambushed at when they first arrived in Istust. It felt like a year since that first attack, just a few short days ago. The dark forest loomed large to their left, coming right up to the road. Looking in to the trees, they could make out bits of wreckage and debris scattered in deeper in the forest but they decided that it would be dangerous to investigate.
Pulling up the outer garden of the cathedral, Reith hopped off the tank and snuck through the large gate to investigate the entrance. The gardens had become overgrown but the courtyard was still mostly clear. In the center was a large dry fountain, filled by a large statue of the Songbird of Shelyn. The front of the cathedral had large wooden doors and a beautiful round stained glass window, made up of a rainbow in seven concentric circles. In the garden itself, Reith could see two armoured undead guardians and two hell hounds standing guard. As he scouted the yard, Edward put the tank in gear and drove through the large hedge the party was waiting behind. Edward ran to the cannon controls and fired straight up the middle of the courtyard. The log shattered the statue in the fountain, passed between the undead and hounds, and blasted through the doors of the cathedral. Edward watched it break through the pews beyond the door, coming to a stop at the base of the steps of the altar inside. Standing at the altar were three figures, now staring at the log. Two were hybrids, casters based on what they wore. The third was something different. Something worse. They made eye contact with Edward and started toward the now broken doors. Figuring the element of surprise was pretty much in the shitter, the party came around the hedge and engaged the guardians.
It was a serious battle, fireballs were thrown, bombs dropped, arrows fired, and asses kicked. In the end the party prevailed, although it was close for some members of the group. Heading inside, the cathedral was in bad shape. This was not helped by the log fired up the center of the room. The altar, once used in service of Shelyn, was now replaced with a black polished stone statue of Xel’lotath. Three of her arms were outstretched, bowls held in her hands. Her fourth arm was held aloft, three knife-like fingers reaching toward the ceiling. The party fanned out across the room, searching for anything of value and taking a closer look at the statue. Edward went back outside and attmped to bring the steam tank inside. Bounding up the steps and crashing through the front door, the tank rolled up to the altar. Edward then decided to actually help the party and began looking around. They found a few magic items and found residue of blood, flesh and bone in the three bowls. Edward supplied flesh and blood from the stash he was keeping while Reith went outside to retrieve some bone from the undead guardians they had dispatched. As the offerings were placed in the bowls, they were consumed by green flame. Xel’lotath lowered a finger on her outstretched hand for each until she was only holding a closed fist. A door slid open below the statue, leading down to the catacombs below. The party descended in to what would be their last stop in Instust.
Early Frost Warning 