Egnarat and the Journey Home

With the badgerfolk defeated, the squirrelfolk quickly embrace their new heroes and invite them to a feast – an invitation which is accepted. Communication isn’t possible until the following day (and appropriate magic used), but nonetheless a fine time is had. Keeley also finds himself a new friend in the shape of Kippenvall, a squirrelfolk ranger with a sense of adventure in his blood and awe for the metal-covered, battle-weary Keeley.

The following day, the squirrelfolk help the party find their way to the portal to Egnarat, where they say their goodbyes and step through. With relief, they find themselves back in the planar city of Egnarat. They also find that Kippenvall has unexpectedly joined them and has firmly attached himself to Keeley as his little helper.

They immediately head over to The Mothex Oarsman and report to Justice their defeat of Tettungba and their escape from the Demonweb and journey through Urd. He seems pleased to see them, but soon informs them that there remains one more thing for them to do – to defeat the deity Hith and bring an end to his ambitions to take the crown of Herophet. To achieve this they are advised to return to the Temple of the Prophet to see what help it can offer, which they do immediately. The eye offers them the following insight:

Look west for the journey east
where wandering eyes seek you least,
and find the tooth for a secret way
to the tower of pain where Ornach lay.

Fix the beams of light to shining bright
and reduce your enemy for the fight
that will lead you up tower tall
where either you or they will fall.

The next week is spent selling, buying and upgrading their weapons, armour and general kit, while Justice uses the time to research what the prophecy may mean. He later tells them that Ornach is a powerful demon who resides in the Tower of Ornach in The Land of Hith, a terrible, barren country located in their own world of Arrasia and bordering the northern Karnish satellite states. Ornach has been charged with raising the army of Hith and leading it against the armies of Karnish and to defeat him would bring an end to those ambitions. With the tower being surrounded by a shanty town filled with Hith’s minions, another route would need to be found.

Justice informs them the prophecy indicates a secret path to the tower might be found in an old dwarven keep located east of the tower. The keep is now filled with the minions of Hith, of course, but that somewhere deep below is said to be a lake from which flows a river – and the river is said to lead to the dungeons of Ornach’s tower itself.

Fully equipped, the PCs step through the portal which leads them to the Land of Hith, and immediately set foot on the hard-baked, cracked desert that constitutes that land. The air there is oppressive and foerboding and the PCs immediately set off towards the mountains, where they are told to look for a rocky hillock on which sits a rock that juts upwards like a tooth.

After a couple of hours of travel, Kippenvall is suddenly struck from nowhere by a crushing fist and a terrible creature now confronts them, having appeared out of the very air – a nightwalker! Although Keeley, Werthic and Tara are immediately into the battle, the creature points its deathly finger at Tekkix and casts a spell. Tekkix immediately feels his lifeforce wrenched from him and falls to the ground dead. It then continues to pound Keeley with its fists.

Both Werthic and Tara rush in and cast heal on it, hugely draining its energy, while Keeley pounds away at it with his axe, eventually banishing the creature forever. Nothing can be done for Tekkix, however, though his body is taken and returned to its now accustomed place in the bag of holding.

They continue onwards and eventually spy in the distance a rocky outcrop with a large stone column atop it. They make their way up it following an old rocky path, until eventually they round a corner and see two orcs standing on guard, though completely oblivious to their arrival. They charge in and Kippenvall strikes one with an arrow, but the orcs retreat back into an entrance that leads deeper into the hillside.