With Queen Aelra declared innocent and her commitment renewed, the party gathered at the Scarlet Shield Tavern to prepare for their return to Southaven. The Queen informed them that General Landor Vess would accompany them with 200 elven troops to aid in defending the town against the goblin raids. Before departing, Momeline sent a carefully encrypted message to Tilly and Finn in Fadrín, using their secret code. The message was brief but clear: “Going Home.”
Landor Vess arrived at the tavern with his squire, Seren Valewyn, a young elf with bright blue hair and an infectious enthusiasm that seemed the complete opposite of her stoic commander. The general did not seem pleased about being ordered to Southaven immediately after returning from defending the Elfwood against Sandwalker attacks in the north. Lirielle introduced herself to Seren, commenting that she liked her blue hair. Momeline noted with amusement that the two were like opposites—Lirielle with her blue skin and white hair, and Seren with white skin and blue hair.
The party set out the next morning for the five-day journey back to Southaven. From the first night, an uneasy feeling settled over the camp. They felt watched, though they could identify no immediate threat. On the third night, Lirielle spotted someone spying on them through the tall grasses. She attempted to stop the figure with Hold Person, but the spy escaped before they could be identified. The party remained on guard, and Momeline decided to sleep in a tree rather than her tent. Landor sent Seren ahead with scouts during the night watches.
On the fourth night, just a day’s travel from Southaven, the party was sleeping when Lirielle awoke to an unnatural silence—perhaps warned by her growing divination abilities. She couldn’t even hear herself breathe. She immediately woke Ferinthria, who was sleeping beside her. Ferinthria cast Light on her tent to raise an alarm, which roused Landor. The general, sleeping beneath Momeline’s tree, threw a rock to wake her. Ferinthria then woke Dravencoles in the next tent.
From her perch high in the tree, Momeline spotted the threat: a cultist casting a spell, guarded by two berserkers. She loosed an arrow at the spellcaster, but he continued his incantation. Ferinthria and Lirielle ran around the tents to flank the attackers. As Ferinthria passed one tent, she saw blood splatter on the inside of the canvas and signaled Dravencoles. Both she and Lirielle unleashed devastating Chromatic Orbs at their enemies. Though none fell immediately the silence lifted and they could hear again: the clinking of swords and screams from around the camp. Dravencoles, consumed with fury at the cultist, charged past the bloodied tent and cast Aid to bolster his allies as he closed. The berserkers intercepted him but dealt only minor wounds.
Then Lirielle felt a knife plunge into her back—an attack that nearly brought her down. Whirling around, she saw an assassin, his other hand already aiming a crossbow with a glowing black arrow at Momeline. The bolt struck true, and Momeline gasped as dark energy surged through her. Landor charged into the fray, cutting down two berserkers with precise, brutal efficiency. The cultist retaliated against Dravencoles with a necrotic ray. Thinking quickly, Lirielle trapped the assassin in Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere. The killer pounded against the magical barrier in visible frustration.
With Landor’s aid, Dravencoles delivered a Divine Smite that finally brought the cultist down.
As the sphere faded, the guards surrounded the assassin and seized him. He nearly slipped through their grasp, but Ferinthria’s Bend Luck turned the tide at the critical moment. Dravencoles cast Zone of Truth, but the assassin refused to speak. Landor’s patience quickly wore thin, and he resorted to harsh methods—nearly drowning the prisoner in a nearby stream. The party searched the assassin and found a note mentioning a hideout. Finally, Momeline, Lirielle, and Ferinthria struck a bargain: if he showed them the hideout’s location, they would release him with 10 gold. The assassin agreed and revealed that Tessa Durn was at the hideout—her skin badly burned. Landor was visibly displeased with the deal but said nothing. Momeline claimed the assassin’s three remaining dark magic crossbow bolts for herself.
With Southaven now just a day away, the party must down decide ― continue on to Southaven or investigate the assassin’s hideout.