Monastery of the Red Moon

cy 4863 10th Arr - 2nd Mayan

Twelve robed and hooded monks confront the party; the acrid sulphurous air claws at their throats as the monks speak.

"Welcome to the Monastery of the Red Moon. You are our guests and not our prisoners here in the Sundered Realm of Asharok, for we need your help."

As Daryal and Badal question the monks Scalpel shifts onto the Paths of the Dead to confirm they are still on Grayhawk and – once satisfied – returns to the conversation. The monks tell them that they are the protectors of Universal Laws and are aligned to no gods. "Our only concern is the continued existence of all life – life that is threatened presently by Malakar and his antics in Van Myrid."

Before speaking of Malakar the monks inform them of the party’s transformation as they drank from the Fountain of the Dead. "Your souls are now suffused with earthsblood and as such you are now primal creatures; never tiring and never hungry, your nourishment comes from the blood of the earth itself – as there is death so you shall gain strength and live.

"It will affect every aspect of your skill, enhance much of what you are and what you will become. We can help you in this; our knowledge of all the primal powers make us well suited for the task that the universe has set for us. But that universe is in danger, which is why you are here.

"The danger of which we speak comes from Malakar. His thirst for power is well known to you all but perhaps the lengths with which he goes will surprise you. It all revolves around the Ninth Facet, the artefact that you possess, the artefact that calls the other eight to it and will – ultimately – lead to a catastrophe beyond imagining.

"Malakar seeks to construct a Void Bridge as well as a permanent gateway between the Abyss and Grayhawk. Should he succeed then the universe will be ripped apart; Grayhawk is the centre of all power but that power will be swamped by demons and by the resultant Void chaos. Even now the rest of the gods are in council to form battle plans against the dark god. This will enable him to walk once more on the prime material plane thus ending his temporary banishment.

"The key with which he will accomplish this is in your possession. The Ninth Facet – like it’s counterparts – is invulnerable yet paradoxically it will become vulnerable when all nine are conjoined. When that happens the power of all nine will focus and puncture two holes in the very fabric of our existence; one onto the Void and the other to the Abyss. We have the power – and indeed we will share our knowledge of that power with you all – to destroy the instrument of Malakar’s plans. But first they must be gathered…indeed the Ninth Facet will call to it’s own, drawing the others inexorably to it.

"The dark god will seek a smoke screen. He has already made Vanyar the king of Myrid and hopes to create a theocracy in the east. The burning of the Jarik temple is just the start. He will attempt atrocities against Gorat Stern in an attempt to drag Illeum into a bloody conflict. All the resulting turmoil will provide a smoke screen so that his real plane can succeed."

The party digest what they have heard with Badal seeking assurances from his god about the influence of the Ninth Facet on the young female assassin called Daryal. Although he creates a shrine he is unable to commune directly with Jarik. The monks begin their instruction on their new powers as well as offering a multitude of choices regarding training. Arryn Wavecatcher and Scalpel learn the katana, Daryal learns to flee and use combination, Kadesh begins to learn the subtleties of quiet casting whilst Badal Chaining is taught how to catch the sword arm of opponents.

As the weeks pass the party become used to the new blood coursing through their veins. Three weeks of no sleep, three weeks of hard study, they begin to realise some of the properties of their own blood. Scalpel and Badal experiment the most. When Badal blesses Scalpel’s sword the martial artist bleeds onto the blade. The primal blood binds the magic not only to the blade but also to himself. He suddenly realises that this blade is blessed forever and no other creature without the power of earthsblood can even touch it.

Soon Badal becomes disquieted by the lack of contact with his deity. He urges the party to head back to Myrid; when the monks show him a vision of Junction Town and his temple – which is intact – it forces them into a decision. "We head for my temple," he says firmly.

The monks teleport the entire party into the grounds of Badal’s temple and a startled gardener bows quickly and mumbles a respectful greeting. Badal heads inside to see Vorten, the priest he left in charge weeks earlier. Each one of them perceives the world differently. The incarceration in the monastery and the altering of their blood has changed them profoundly; the world seems different now. Their senses more attuned to physical, mental and psychological changes around them.

They all follow Badal to the altar. Vorten bows.

Immediately Jarik speaks to the high priest. The god instinctively knows what is in Badal’s mind and the high priest realises that his god is trying to stave off a world war of Malakar’s making. Jarik assures him that Malakar cannot have any influence over any of them; "Your blood is primal and therefore you are all beyond his manipulation."

Badal sighs and thanks his god. Then he gets an idea; without warning he opens a small cut on his thumb and watches as two small droplets of his powerful blood hit the altar. Nobody expects the crashing explosion as the altar splits in two followed by a searing blast of energy that fells all the temple staff apart from Vorten. In that instance Badal realises he has made a mistake; the temple he consecrated has now been destroyed. Vorten shakes violently and launches himself at Badal with arms outstretched.

Before the priest reaches Badal Scalpel cuts him with a lightning draw opening a huge gash across his midriff. Badal also clubs him with the flat of the blade trying not to kill his priest. But Vorten tries to strangle Badal leaving Scalpel no choice; a swift backhand cut decapitates the priest.

Chaos reigns outside. The militiamen charge around screaming; "The Malakarians are here!" but in the panic the party are calmer. They use the confusion to slip away into Junction Town and realise that they need horses to escape. There are many horse traders in the town as well as some of Grayhawk’s finest horses. When Daryal leads a merchant into a dark alley she expertly snaps his neck and rifles his pockets, taking a purse bulging with Myrid gold crowns.

Daryal finds some good horses and deals sharply with the traders getting eight excellent riding horses for a fair price. Soon they head out of town to the northeast, the road to Kulthar is packed with traffic but their intention is to head north into the hills south of Elenoria when they are far enough out of danger.

Daryal senses they are being followed. Once they get off the road she is certain that an expert has picked up their trail. "So it begins," she murmurs to herself, realising that one of the other facets is onto them. Scalpel shifts but finds nothing. Kadesh Lovespear casts find familiar on a crow and they move off north.

Arryn decides that she will hang back from the party and effectively offers herself up as bait. As her companions ride out beyond her sight she clings to the awesome katana she took from the throne room of Leandra.

A sibilant voice whispers to her. "You have much great sorcery about you my lady…but it will not help you."

Arryn Wavecatcher clutches the katana and – through its power – is able to see the shadowy killer before her. She realises that this is a wielder of one of the other facets drawn to them and launches herself at the killer. The man is surprised by her attack but reacts with the awesome speed of an expert assassin. Two knives flash before the elf and both are locked in deadly combat.

High above them is the crow familiar witnesses the fight. Badesh leads the rest of the party back at full gallop but the sorcerer knows that the fight will be over well before they reach Arryn.

The elf wields her newly gained katana efficiently but the assassin is more than equal to her efforts. With hope fading Arryn tries to get lucky. Inevitably however the killer is too quick; a missed parry is all it takes and the elven woman feels a keen blade puncture her throat and release a torrent of blood from the fatal wound.

When the party reach her Arryn is dead. The blood, however, has pooled all around the body tainting the sword, which hangs loosely in her grip. Scalpel immediately lifts the powerful katana from the fallen elf and consumes the blade with his own blood, thus binding it to him.

Badal points out the only other magic remaining on the corpse – the ring of regeneration. He worries about the effects of Malakar’s influence but Daryal laughs off the suggestion. "Malakar cannot influence us any more," she says. "Let us leave the ring to do its work."

Scalpel shifts onto the Paths of the Dead and regards Arryn’s soul noting how it remains in stasis awaiting the power of the ring to resurrect it.

But Arryn’s soul cannot withstand the awesome power of the ring; the same power that tries to raise her obliterates every last trace of her and she is gone forever. Badal grimly lifts the ring of regeneration and pockets it, his eyes everywhere wondering where the killer is hiding...