The party were asked
by Marlae Roesone, Baroness of Roesone to help her retrieve the Black
Hart Ring.
The ring, a
family heirloom, was according to family lore taken from an enemy commander
slain by one of Marlae’s ancestors at
Deismarr. The ring was reputed to have magical powers, but had for the last
several generations been kept in the family vaults.
The Ring had
apparently been stolen, by Gervase
Allusi, a visiting scholar from Ainure,
who had been ostensibly researching the family history for a monograph.
In a long chase,
the party followed the scholar’s trail across the continent to a ruined temple of Azrai on a remote rocky
island off the northern coast. The island proved to be the tip of a dormant
volcano.
Beneath the
temple there was a complex of rooms and tunnels, carved out from ancient lava
flows.
At the heart of
this underground complex was an open
portal to the Shadow World where lay a dark counterpart of the temple. The
portal was guarded by Aelendril,
a baelnorn, who had once followed Azrai but was now self-appointed guardian of
the portal. Aelendril told them that Gervase was in fact a Brecht wizard,
Guillame Anders, who had managed to contact Ashnagasz, a powerful
Glabrezu. This demon, Ashnagasz, had been imprisoned in the Shadow World temple
by Azrai himself after attempting to betray the god. The demon had promised
Anders wealth and power if he would bring him the Black Hart ring - the ring
was in fact the key to the demon’s cell.
Anders had
passed through the portal only a hour before, Aelendril, sworn only to stop
creatures of Shadow coming through to this world, was unable to stop him,
however he gave Lord Norvaire the blade Soulblighter and bid him carry
it on in the fight against the Shadow.
The party then
went through the portal.
In the Shdow
counterpart of the temple the party
managed to find and defeat Guillame, but not before he had managed to free
Ashnagasz.
Ashnagasz fortunately was severely weakened from his long
imprisonment and in a confrontation with the party they managed to sorely wound
the demon forcing it to flee to it’s home plane.