Having captured the assassin, the party negotiated a deal despite Landor Vess’s visible displeasure. The assassin, Lorand, would lead them to the cultist hideout in exchange for his freedom and 10 gold. As they traveled, Lirielle felt the unmistakable presence of traps ahead on the road and warned the party. Lorand insisted he had planned to warn them when they got closer, but his credibility was already questionable.
As they approached the hideout, Lorand advised them to leave the road and circle through the forest. They followed his lead until the cave entrance came into view ahead. Momeline, made invisible by Ferinthria’s magic, slipped ahead of the group to scout.
She moved past the bandits guarding the entrance unseen and used her misty step to reach a ledge overlooking the cave interior. Her foot landed on something that clicked ominously—a mine. She froze, knowing that lifting her weight would trigger an explosion. Below her stood two bandits, one clearly the captain. Thinking quickly, Momeline attempted to put them both to sleep with magic, but the captain resisted. Seeing his companion collapse unnaturally, the captain immediately sounded the alarm.
Momeline had no choice. She struck at the captain with a sneak attack and tried to leap clear of the mine in one motion. The explosive triggered, launching her backward into a stone pillar with bone-crushing force. The impact nearly knocked her unconscious, but through sheer will she stayed on her feet and taunted the captain through gritted teeth.
Dravencoles, Lirielle, Ferinthria, and Landor Vess heard the explosion and rushed to save Momeline. Lirielle attempted to convince Lorand to help them in the fight, but the assassin refused. True to their agreement, he departed as they had promised. The party charged into the cave without him. What followed was a display of brutal efficiency. Each member of the party cut down bandits with devastating precision. The cultists, desperate, summoned a dark shade to defend them—a writhing mass of shadow and malice. But the party’s coordination and power proved overwhelming. The shade fell quickly under their combined assault.
When the last cultist dropped, an eerie silence settled over the cave. The party searched the bodies and found some useful items, but the most significant discovery was Daran Grimsby, chained against the cave wall. His eyes were surrounded by terrible scars, evidence of torture or dark magic. Despite his wounds, Momeline recognized him immediately—she had seen him many nights at Rusty’s Tavern in Southaven.
In a back chamber, they found Tessa Durn waiting with an unnatural patience. When they approached, she begged the party to kill her and to forgive her brother Jesse Durn, pleading with them to help him escape the cult’s grasp. Her skin bore the terrible burns the assassin had mentioned. Momeline, perhaps showing mercy or perhaps following Tessa’s wishes, used one of her black poison darts to end Tessa’s suffering.
On the journey back to camp, Daran told them what he knew of the dire situation facing Southaven. He helped them piece together a map of the threats: blockades on the tradeway both north and south of the town, cutting off trade and reinforcements. To the east, a goblin war camp had established itself at Aramond’s Lookout along the River Aramond. From the west, bandits were emerging from the Hellrock Hills, and to the south, strange and unsettling events were occurring in Blacktide Swamp.
The picture Daran painted was grim. Southaven was surrounded, isolated, and under siege from multiple directions. Now the party must decide how to move forward—which threat to address first, and how to break the stranglehold closing around their home.