Varnhold Vanishing

[wrecking_yard]

After the Flower, Nyrissa stopped sharing anything of plans I wasn't directly involved in. I was on 'watch' duty, waiting for her to decide on a new specific task. I knew the Khellid moving into the area was her doing anyway; she'd had her sisters setting up one of the barbarian chiefs as another Doomed Ruler for years now, and she loved pitting her 'pets' against each other. It makes more sense now, knowing that she's collecting the 'ashes' of destroyed kingdoms; no matter which "pet" wins, she gets her ashes.

The lack of any messages or trade from Varnhold is more concerning. Either she's up to something I'm unaware of, or something else is moving, and we have enough troubles with her and the scars she's left on the land and people.

Anuriel almost sends a messenger, then rethinks and sends Ekun to scout and return. He gets back the same day the letter from Restov reaches us, asking us to investigate. No-one else has heard from Varnhold or its people, and Ekun found empty watchtowers and dwellings along the border, with no sign of the inhabitants - and wisely turned back to go with a proper team before getting any further.

We rode out for the city, hurrying through the river pass through the mountains, as close to "as the crow flies" as could be done without wings.

The border outposts were silent, serene, and empty; no sign of the inhabitants or what happened to them.

The city, when we get there, is just as eerily silent. There's more small signs - pottery shattered in a crossroads where it was being carried, food left out on tables, everything as if the people had been going about their business and then just ... vanished. The only small blessing at first is that the sheer number of people meant a noticeable lingering residue.

It's not Nyrissa. It's not fae either; if I had my true form I'm sure I'd recognize it in a heartbeat, but as a human, the aura just feels like a lingering blanket of dread, with a noticeable current of necromancy...

And something is watching us.

I'm not the only one who senses it either. Everyone is on edge; Okbo is slinking and keeps moving in front of us, ears pricking around and hackles bristling, and Ekun is keeping his bow readied. Anuriel is definitely also sensing it, but she's pointedly scanning the empty streets rather than trying to pinpoint it. Jubilost is muttering and clipping extra lenses onto his classes - magic detection.

The gnome sidles closer to me. "Tristian, my boy." He's keeping his voice down. "In your travels, have you seen anything like this?" 'Is this Nyrissa'.

"No. Never."

"That's what I was afraid of."

He returns his focus to the 'mission' - the group of us staying close together, slinking through the empty city, occasionally pausing to examine some particularly noticeable sign of sudden abandonment.

I spot our watcher by chance; a raven, easily twice the size of a natural bird with a red gleam in its eyes, in the direction Anuriel and Ekun have been avoiding looking. The brief moment of meeting its eyes sends a chill through my bones.

If I had my true form I would know it. As it is, all I know is it's something from the lower planes.

I look away; we don't want to provoke some unknown fiend carelessly, but the storm of cawing that starts a few minutes later leaves that feeling empty. Ekun and Okbo freeze and face the noise before the swarming flock of ravens comes into view. Jubilost manages to lob a firebomb into them, dropping some of them, but the flock doesn't even slow down. We're left flailing to keep them off us while they throw themselves at us, a mass of claws, beaks, screeching, flashing swords and Okbo's teeth snapping. They don't stop until none of them are left alive and we're all a mess of scratches and tears.

Anuriel's glaring straight at the fiend in bird shape, perched on a nearby rooftop; it just fluffs smugly.

"This is wrong..." Ekun's knelt down next to one of the dead birds, smoothing feathers and straightening a twisted wing. "Ravens are survivors. Smart birds, loyal, good friends." He's quietly distraught, shaking his head over the carnage; I've seen him feeding and talking to the ravens around the capital, fondly calling them his 'informant network'.

"Fiends rarely care who they use and trample." Not while they stay loyal to the lower planes and their dark instincts.

He gives me a short nod, pulling himself away from the dead birds.

The lack of tracks leading out or any other signs of the people being turned into undead is a very cold comfort.

Maegar Varn's keep is in the same condition; everything left where it was, as if the people had just disappeared. There's no other clues until we reach his "throne room", built as more of an open office. His quill is fallen on the desk, an ink blot drained from the tip in the middle of a letter, addressed to Anuriel - a half written plea for help. Some explorer in his employ had found strange ruins and brought a bracelet out of them that had his closest mage stumped, and the ink blot cuts off something where a name is mentioned -

"Vordukai".

I should know it, but the memory is just out of my reach. Jubilost repeats it a few times, frowning deeply.

"Do you know anything?", Anuriel asks him, a flicker of dim hope.

"I.... no. I need to hit the library, do some research..."

There's no sign of the bracelet mentioned in the letter; Anuriel folds it up and slides it into a small journal she keeps in her pack.

As we're leaving, the fiendish raven lands on the gates, croaking out "thieeef" at Anuriel.

"Excuse me?" She's got a hand on her sword, glowering at it; it's still out of easy reach for her.

"You're all the same. Vermin."

None of the rest of us are going to interrupt this confrontation, beyond Okbo quietly growling.

"Come again?"

"Vermin. Infesting the Master's land, taking what isn't yours, putting on airs. Oblivious." It cocks its head, fixing one glowing red eye on her. "Who are you?"

"A paladin of Saranrae."

It laughs, a loud, raucous cackle. "A paladin! How meaningless. What vermin dares tread the Master's lands?"

It's fishing for a name.

"The one that's going to end him." She motions to Jubilost, who shrugs and throws one of his firebombs at it. The creature dodges easily, and flies off, cackling to itself.

The ride home is uneventful, enough to be unnerving, the four of us quietly mulling over what few clues we walked out of there with. It's a warped breath of fresh air, to be able to speak freely, I just wish I had more to add.

The only people we saw before reaching our borders again was a Khellid band - small group, probably scouts, who Jubilost identified as Tiger Lords from colors they wore; we tried to flag them down, but they avoided us, disappearing into the hills.

As soon as we got into the keep, Anuriel calls a council, and soon the meeting room is silent and tense; everyone knows the sudden summons means dire news. The round table is barely enough for everyone she wanted involved - her entire cohort save Nok-Nok, who's out trying to wrangle his surviving kin; Jhod, Khasil, and the Storyteller. The blind old elf is bemused and bewildered at being included, but he might be the only one that would recognize our enemy's name.

Anuriel stands and speaks first - laying out what we found, the empty outposts and streets, Maegar's unfinished letter, the swarm of ravens, and the fiend's strange questions and accusations. She skirts the name, leaving it as "something to check after full reports"; the first one of us she calls on is Ekun.

"I do not know how many of you know ravens well. They do not swarm and seek fights; they are clever, and look after their own. A raven that gets close to humans is a raven that recognizes a friend, they flee from threats." He closes his eyes for a moment. "They were not the only animals acting strangely. I saw no sign of other beasts inside the city; no songbirds, tracks of dogs and cats who fled, not even rats taking the opportunity to eat the food left unguarded. Whatever happened, the wildlife wanted no part of it."

He motions to Anuriel; he's done with his additions.

"Jubilost?"

The gnome stands on his chair. "Well, skipping the riddle you've clearly left for last..." He rests his hands on the table. "I have been pondering the history of the land. It is part of the Stolen Lands, of course, if a border territory that is less prone to dramatic curses than our lands. Much of it is mountains and steppe hills, so there's few folk seriously trying to settle there other than hermits and occasional prospectors seeking mineral resources."

He frowns, tapping a finger on the table. "Our feathered fiend stated its master had a prior claim on the Stolen Lands, but the territory struck first - Varnhold - hasn't had more than drifting tribes passing through in clearly recorded history. Even most of the doomed attempts at claiming the Stolen Lands focused more on areas with better farmland and river access first, then fell before they could consider that area. There are, however, older ruins scattered about, from the Cyclops empires... which means we may be dealing with something that predates the Earthfall."

A sober silence falls over the table, and his history lesson brings a few pieces together for me. "Besides that...Amiri?" He leans on the table, looking to the Khellid.

She starts - she'd been almost nodding off. “Eh? What?” She looks even more confused that Jubilost is addressing her.

"What are your feelings on the Tiger Lords?"

She shrugs. "They're okay? Less stupid than the Six Bears...they have women leading warbands."

Which means she wouldn't get into a fight with them on principle.

"Would they talk to you?"

"Probably, why?"

"We saw a band passing through, small enough to suggest they have a camp in the area; they avoided us, but they might have seen something we missed."

She thinks, then nods. "Sounds good. Just let me know when we leave."

She's probably going to tune out most of the rest of the council.

"That is all." Jubilost sits down.

"Tristian?" Anuriel looks to me.

"I think Jubilost's suspicion is correct." I pause. "I went over what I know about the types of fiends likely to move on a large scale; there may not be direct evidence, but the tactics are distinct. Demons thrive on chaos and destruction, they wouldn't have left so much intact. Devils seek control - they would've preferred to infiltrate, and Maegar Varn didn't have any protections they would've seen as a threat to annihilate." There's a few slow nods from the more esoterically inclined at the table, and Kaessi is starting to look uncomfortable. "Daemons seek despair and desolation. They use necromancy more often than any of the others, and they were revered and worshiped by the ancient Cyclops empires."

Kaessi-the-fire-wielder has a noticeable wince that she covers quickly, and a frown flickers across Anuriel's face. Something has them spooked, but they have been confiding in her, and she can handle whatever it is.

I nod to Anuriel, my input complete.

"This brings me to the one last thing we learned." She looks across the table; the old, blind elf has been listening, even if he hasn't shown much reaction. "Storyteller, have you ever heard the name 'Vordukai'?"

He frowns deeply, brows furrowed. "...No, I'm afraid not. If your comrades are right - the tales and relics of those old empires are thin on the ground."

If I had my true form, and my normal faculties...

The rest of the council is planning - who's going with Anuriel for the next foray out, who's managing what in the Barony in our absence. There's not much question about me going; I'm more knowledgeable about planar entities than Harrim, so there's no reason for us to switch out.

Linzi caught mention of Daemons being fond of emotion-affecting magic that she could counter, and took it as a Mission to be in charge of morale on the trip. Ekun's growing more and more despondently draped in the saddle at how attention-getting the music is while we're riding out, but it's a pleasant distraction. When we stop for the night, still in our own borders, she rounds the camp fussing over everyone, and Jubilost quietly nudges me to jokingly ask if telling her that was some kind of fae plot to drive them all insane. Amiri, on the other hand, is occasionally joining in on the singing, which is...

Much less of a pleasant diversion.

When we enter the mountain pass, Amiri takes to keeping ahead of us, often climbing partway up rocks for a better view. It starts feeling routine right around when Okbo freezes at a bend, and Amiri yells from her perch in Khellid.

"Hail Frostbloods! Our fire is open with news to trade!"

There's a pause, then an answering yell from further down the pass. "Hail Frostblood kin! We will share your fire!"

She climbs back down beaming; Jubilost is already sliding off his pony and rummaging bags.

"Break out the food and start a fire, we've got scouts to meet with!"

We make a hasty camp, Amiri giving directions to make sure we're up to Khellid customs with Jubilost occasionally filling in explanations - amusing Amiri that he has a rough familiarity.

It's clear why they're keeping to the main road instead of skirting it the way Khellid scouting bands usually prefer as they come into our camp. One of them in back is occasionally faltering or leaning on one of the others, feverish and pale. Anuriel and I both have a moment of concern and converge on her; before Amiri can even say whatever warning she was about to give, and the scout band can complete a sentence about It's Fine We're Meeting The Healer At Our Camp, Anuriel's touched the woman's arm with a burst of healing and cleansing energy.

There is a very awkward moment as Amiri's freezing and watching their reaction, then the team's apparent leader bows to Anuriel. "It looks like we owe you for this."

She tries to wave it off as nothing important, and Amiri tries to elbow her in the ribs; even if it just thunks against Anuriel's breastplate, the paladin gets the message.

Everyone settles around the campfire after that, with the Khellid group insisting on adding a couple rabbits and a bag of foraged roots and greens to the stewpot the gnomes are tending.

"Whose camp do we have the joy of sharing? We've heard about the Six Bears girl they were morons about, but the rest of you are no Khellids."

"Baroness Anuriel of Teloraes." I had no input on her naming the place "Thornbreak" in Celestial, which makes it more of an accidental joke I can't actually laugh out loud at.

"Ah, so you're the one who's been standing through everything this place can throw." He nods with an expression of renewed respect. "I'm Radna of the Tiger Lords, serving Chieftain Armag the Twice-Born."

And that confirms the Khellid presence is going exactly where I think it is.

"So, you were looking to trade news?" He leans forward, folding his hand while Anuriel has a brief moment of pause; she did not understand Amiri's greeting. "We've been running into undead roaming the lands, some of them led by undead cyclopses with ancient weapons...already agitated, even before we got here."

That tracks with our best theory, but I am Concerned at the phrasing implying they were expecting to disturb undead.

"Also if you're looking to visit the city ahead, don't bother.... we haven't seen hide nor hair of anyone else since we got here. Haven't wanted to stick around the empty places much either - no reason to seek out whatever dark spirits are at work here."

Anuriel sighs. "We were hoping you might have seen something - we're here to find out what happened. We ran into something briefly; we don't know much yet, but we do have a warning for you of our own."

"Yeah, there's apparently some creepy fiends prowling around - what'd you call them, Tristian?", Amiri adds.

"Daemons. We don't know what their goals are or why they're here for sure. Keep any wards you have close, and be sure to have counters for necromancy and enchantments that cause despair." I frown. "They might also have a hand in the undead activity, but I won't know without actually encountering the bands you described."

The leader heaves a sigh. "Aye, that's news we'd need to mind. We thank you for the warning." He pauses, glancing between me and Anuriel. "Somehow I doubt the undead will be too much of a problem for you."

She nods calmly, and Jubilost holds up a vial of alchemist's fire as a punctuation; between the amount of divine and healing magic we have, his firebombs, and Ekun and Okbo, undead really aren't that much of an obstacle.

"What brings the Tiger Lords this far east?" She motions at the hills around them.

He stares into the fire with a considering look for a few long moments. "Eh. There's some artifacts out here Armag's looking for. His old sword, of course, and something else his witches swear is important, but they won't tell us what it is."

Nyrissa's sisters are here, and she's intentionally left me out of the loop.
Wonderful.

"They keep telling us that we're guaranteed victory in anything we do if we can find that other one, and they need it to save the world from some great evil, but we've been out here searching for weeks now with nothing to show for it - and we're not even getting paid."

Their clan has been making their name outside of Numeria as mercenaries; it's plenty of reason to be exasperated over circling the wilderness skipping contracts.

"You can ask them yourself at our main camp - I'll mark it if you've got a map. If we're not back there by the time you reach it, tell them I've vouched for you."

Jubilost pulls his out, supervising as the mark is made and adding some notations. I'm not looking forward to awkwardly hanging in back while the others meet Nyrissa's sisters.

The conversation drifts to small talk and swapping stories over the stew. By the time we break camp and part ways, they're sending us off like old comrades wishing Gorum's blessing on our hunt; I think some of our stories intimidated them a little, even with the rest of us toning down Amiri's early exaggerations before she realized she didn't need to add it.

...Actually, what counted as toning down and corrections probably did more to make our accounts more intimidating than any exaggeration could. Something about”It wasn't the size of the keep, it was just two stories at the shoulder, Elina wouldn't have been able to use its hide as a rug for the inn great room if it were any bigger" while Anuriel had a few despairing mutters about the state of the streets and homes it passed through tempering bluster and bragging and all.

I'll have to ask Elina later if she gets any Khellid guests coming to verify the existence of the giant owlbear rug. Spending some time with the Tiger Lords while it's still possible to be friendly can only help - some of them might balk at Nyrissa sending them against us, for the help we've offered if not the amount of bloodshed for little gain.

As we start down the road again, Anuriel turns in her saddle to Amiri. "Why were you about to stop me from healing their warrior?"

Amiri inhales deeply. "Healer debt. It's taboo to turn a weapon towards someone who's used magic to heal you or one of your group, so a lot of Khellid get cagey about accepting it from strangers just so they don't get taken advantage of by some jackass who'd use it against them. It's like setting that scout band up with half an alliance before they even know who they're talking to. The Tiger Lords are probably used to dealing with people who don't know about it more than other groups, and I bet he saw your shield and symbol before he could take it the wrong way."

Oh, that's even better, even if Anuriel looks a little mortified at tripping over their customs that way. Whatever Nyrissa is planning, that's one scouting band saved from it and one less band we need to fight. I might need to ask Amiri later about details - it's probably just her closest cohort, but that still seems like it would be a reason to hesitate about attacking her lands or people.

-----
(Ruins, can't get inside them)
(Undead, cyclops undead, definitely Imperial remnants, some of them weirdly organized for zombies)
(There’s a lot of other bullshit here)

-------------------
The raven-fiend appears in front of us, red eyes gleaming in the dark corridor. "You who claim rulership, must be attended by the strong and powerful even in death. Who among your servants is strongest, to stand before any challenge, any threat to your rule?"

It is both some sort of old ritual and fishing for names, again. Anuriel bristles, fully ready to try to take a piece of out of it, unknown-enemy or not.

Unfortunately, she's not the only one who took offense, as Amiri steps just ahead of her. "Amiri, of the Mammoth Lords!"

I wince; she must not've been listening to the details about these creatures. The raven vanishes with a smug cackle as the rest of the group is staring at her, taken aback.

"What? If they want a challenge, I'll give it to them."

"It's a Daemon, Amiri." I heave a sigh. "It's planning our deaths, and following some old ritual that probably involves summoning Souleaters."

"So I just need to kill this souleater." She's utterly nonplussed.

Jubilost makes a strangled noise and almost cuts off the end of her sentence. "It's not a normal monster, you dimwit. It's a shadowy fiend that gains power against its target if it has their name - it can hunt you down no matter where you are, and when it finds you, none of us can do anything to it - for us it will be as if it doesn't even exist." Jubilost hasn't moved his hand from his face yet. "And if it gets you, it takes your soul to Abaddon to destroy, so you'd better hope Gorum likes you enough to send some powerful servant to fetch you."

"Yeah, and?" She adjusts the frost-giant sword on her shoulder. "What kind of warrior would I be if I let a little thing like that stop me?"

Maybe she did listen, and just took the warning in a very ...

Khellid.

Direction.

Jubilost grumbles something unintelligible. "As tempting as it is to just let it eat you, nothing will stop us from supporting and healing you, so I ...guess we just need to be ready for that."

It's one more thing on the pile of raw nerves for everyone involved, but we'll just have to deal with it like everything else - although Jubilost's point raises another question.

Almost every other threat in the Stolen Lands, Nyrissa is able to snatch me away from it or invoke her ban on my death and pull me away.

If anything short of the gods could defy that, it would be the Daemons - and it would leave her cheated of her prize with no-one to fetch it for her.

The hallway continues straight, lined with statues with old inscriptions invoking the Horsemen and the power of Abbadon; the oppressive atmosphere and layers of foul magic alone is enough to set my skin crawling.

The halls open again, and the raven appears in a bloom of darkness.

"You who claim rulership, must be prepared to sacrifice the weak. Who is the least among your servants, the poison, the one upon whom your rule falters?"

"Tristian."

It tilts its head at me oddly, and then vanishes; the hall is dead silent as everyone else is staring at me in confusion. Anuriel finally breaks the silence. "You know better!"

I shrug, exhausted.

Jubilost squints, makes a couple faces, and adjusts his glasses, much less perturbed, mumbling about "assuming it even works", but he's picked up watching me again, warily and with his own noticeable creeping sense of dread.

It is possible that the name of the human guise won't work, although it's been a long time since I've remembered my actual name -

And he's visibly watching me for clues to tip the scales between "Abusing the false name" and "Trying to die to stop Nyrissa".

(tap Amiri to holy-enchant her sword and protect her, she charges after hers with glee. Mine goes wandering in circles in confusion - "Hey idiot, I'm over here" in Celestial and throwing a rock at it, not trying to fight it, but the others are able to bring it down before it can get at me, and Jubilost DEFINITELY catches the hint and becomes Much More Concerned b/c that settles the debate between “Is he cheating to trick it” vs “Is he trying to commit suicide via Souleater so Nyrissa can’t use him for something”.)