Session 98

07/19/2025

Ember whispers the incantation for true seeing, casting her magic over Peach. The world shifts for him: illusions dissolve…the Dark Spire’s twisted reality peels back.
Magic warps unexpectedly inside the Dark Spire, causing a barely seen ripple of ley lines in the low light. The Spire itself seems to awaken, a shiver running through stone and shadow, warning the denizens within.

The party steels itself as the first chamber erupts…a jagged crack in the wall spilling forth creatures forged from nightmares.
The group moves with practiced precision. Daggers flash, spells hum, and the initial wave falls quickly, but unease lingers in the air, as move noise is heard beyond the jagged crack.
Deeper inside, more adversaries gather. One attempts to parley, its words dripping with deceit, but Peach…unmasks the lie before their adversaries can take advantage. The party leaves no survivors.

Pressing on, Dax becomes the enemy…adopting the guise and gait of one they had slain. He slips into a third room where a creature anxiously straightens the golden statues of slain demons, one being Telemente.
This is the room for which the tome Maeryn seeks. Dax fishes for information about reinforcements. The answer is given: “They come quickly. You should return to your post.” The creature still falling for the guise replies.
There is no time for warnings. The group moves as one…striking and killing before the alarm can be sounded.

Once more, Dax dons his mask, but the magic is threadbare now. The creatures in the next room see through the illusion at once.
This chamber is a dead end. The three creatures in this room seemed weary and uninterested in a pointless skirmish as they appeared head deep in their labor of melting down gold of the slain . Without words, an understanding passes between both sides…the party moves on.

Retracing their steps, Peach’s intuition leads them to a concealed shaft. They descend, lanterns flickering, into a dark, cavernous space…its air thick with the scent of metal, blood would be the guess of an investigator.
At the center was a caged pit. Voices moan from within, echoing up from the depths.
The party hesitates but ultimately turns away, leaving the suffering creatures to their fate. It is a choice that tastes of ash.
The moment is not lost. In the silence that follows, Gardu…ever watchful…slips into Dax, exploiting the fissure in his resolve.