Blood Moon - 07-09 "A Race to the Ritual"

(A bit of a compilation of the last three sessions...)

Beta scouts Redtown.

The party finds audience with Formuk, Sparca’s former apprentice and Redtown’s closest thing to a shaman.

The party is granted shelter and provided with information on Elemra, the Dream witch that has been hunting them.

With the aid of a potion, they enter Fathak’s dream-realm and fight the witch.

Fathak is at first bewitched by Elemra while the others fight her golden armored warriors on the rolling deck of Fathak’s ship.

Fathak summons his crew, the witch summons kraken tentacles. The battle is finally won and a lock of Elemra’s hair seals a promise that she will leave the party alone.

Mul-Narat and Red Spear come to Redtown with Badger warriors after they find the parties horses (which were Badger horses).

With the help of Formuk and Red Spear’s wise council, the party makes a temporary peace with Mul-Narat until they can explain the Badger Shaman Sidri’s death to King Jourl.

They are also told of the bear’s head that the Bloodwolves brought to the encampment weeks ago. They placed the trophy on a pole but Formuk has since had it buried. Rowen digs up the head to eventually take back to Graymantle’s lair.

Beta also manages to convince Mul-Narat that the edos deserve a chance to fight against the bloodwolves. If they aquit themselves well, they can perhaps start a new clan on Bloodwolf land, or join up with another clan.

Because time is of the essence with the Blood Moon ritual quickly approaching, most of the party sets out with Mul-Narat and his warriors while Beta and Cinder travel with the Edos on foot behind.

When scouts report the approach of a large bloodwolf warband the Order of the swan hides while Mul-Narat and his Badgers ride on.

Bloodwolf outriders almost give alarm but they are ridden down and killed in a dangerous chase through the slot canyons.

Reaching the Badger village, the Order brings their case before King Jourl. With the help of a splendid gift from Rowen (a Badger spear made with her magic), the group convinces the Badgers to fight with them against the Bloodwolves.

With time still pressing, the Badger warriors, Beta and the Edos set out for the Fingers of the Gods, the stone spires where the blood moon ritual will take place, while the rest of the Order and a small contingent of Badgers makes a side stop at Graymantle's lair, to pick up Scrim and lay the ghost of Graymantle to rest.

It's a long ride without rest. When the Order reaches graymantle's tree they find Scrim subdued and unconscious and are ambushed by the Bloodwolf, Barat with a cursed demonic shield and a band of fierce bloodwolf warriors.

Though the fighting is intense, and many Badger warriors give their lives, eventually the Order wins out.

As they reunite Graymantle's head with his body, the bear takes human form once more and items appear alongside it. A curved bronze sword with hawkwings for a guard. A blackwood staff and a silver horn engraved with swans in flight.

As the group examines and admires the treasures, Rowen spies large wolves approaching. One of the remaining Badgers calls out a warning as a winged shape from above drops something into their midst. In the explosion of light and energy that follows, all are knocked unconscious.

When they wake, it is to find that a whole day has passed and a white haired Oroka druid named Chul has saved them from Ahnfal's winged devil.

Unfortunately, the red moon rising tells them that they have mere hours to travel leagues to the Fingers of the Gods. In despair, they put their faith in Graymantle's horn.

When sounded the horn calls forth eight giant silver swans from the sky who through telepathy, offer to take the order to the ritual. The lead swan also tells them that Graymantle's staff is the only thing that can pierce the demon Korad's heart and end his threat.

With tremendous speed, the swans transport the order to the Fingers of the Gods, where they see the massive bloodwolf army readying to fight the Badger clan on the plains below the massive stone towers.

Under the light of the red moon, the swans find a narrow ledge and cave opening high on the tallest finger where they drop the order and the one Badger warrior who has accompanied them, before flying to aid the Badgers in the battle below.

By the magical light of Rowen and Cinder, the group enters the spire. After ascending through the caverns within, they find evidence of recent passage.

They eavesdrop on a pair of Bloodwolf warriors who are descending from above. By their conversation, they learn that the ritual is indeed ready to take place.

Sneaking higher, they surprise more guards and enter a large warren of caverns with large pools of water. They are doing well stealthfully taking out the enemy until the demonic shield strapped to Weylin's back gives their position away.

After a short but intense battle with the bloodwolves guarding the ritual, the group prepares to climb through the exit in the caverns north wall and hopefully finally face Orbeus and Ahnfal, fouling the ritual and preventing the summoning of the demon Korad....