Session 21: Umber, Black Seas, and Giants
The Darkness, ??? CE
- Ragnar, Moira, Maeve, and Marcus had followed Chaaya, the Dark Elf, for several days.
- Chaaya mentioned that the landscape in the Darkness changes, and it is very easy to get lost in it.
- Eventually, the group came upon the town of Umber, an underground city surrounding the Umbertree.
- The party met Mother Magun, the Shepard of Umber.
- Magun welcomed the party into the town and gave them their own home.
- The party were able to enjoy light for the first time since they extinguished their camp fire when they met Chaaya.
- Magun explained that the town was separated mostly into the Shepards, the Scouts, and the Hunters.
- The Shepards were the leaders of the town,
- the Scouts mapped the changing landscape, and
- the Hunters killed monsters that got too large or plentiful.
- The party then spent the next few weeks in Umber, learning about the town, their history, and getting to know the people.
- Maeve spent some time with Chaaya, learning how to the Scouts track and map the changing terrain in their head.
- While out scouting, the party came across a large group of Undead trudging towards somewhere Chaaya called the Giant's Graveyard.
- Having spent so much time with the Chaaya, Maeve learned how to navigate the land of the Darkness like a Scout.
- Moira and Ragnar spent some time with Irdreth, an Umberan Hunter.
- They went out on a ranging party to defeat a large infestation of worm-like monsters.
- While out, Irdreth explained that the monsters come from the Black Sea, and that they grow and become enraged, so the Hunters kill them before they become too plentiful.
- Marcus also spent some time with Mother Magun, and learned of the History of the Dark Elves.
- The short history of the Darkness was that, there were once stars in the Sky, until they met the Light.
- The Light seemed good, but from the Light the Black Sea was born.
- Marcus also learned about the dark secret that the Shepards will only tell one person at a time.
- Apparently, Terra and the Light came together to create the Moon. But the Light betrayed Terra and both it and the Moon were killed because of the betrayal.
- Mother Magun also told the party that if they wanted to return to where they were from, they could ask the White Shade how.
- The White Shade lived in the Black Sea, but the people of Umber didn't go near the Sea because it is the source of the monsters.
- Later, Chaaya returned with information as to where the Black Sea was currently.
- As the party was gearing up to go, Marcus said that he wanted to stay behind.
- Even if they found a way back, he was happy in Umber and decided to stay permanently.
- The party, plus Chaaya, left Umber to find the Black Sea.
- After about a week of travel, the party came upon a purely black sea.
- Maeve looked into the sea, and eventually found a being of white swimming inside the water.
- The being, calling itself the White Shade, explained a few things to the party.
- White Shades are created from the Pure Darkness being missing from the Black Sea.
- There were currently two White Shades, he who had existed for a thousand years, and another just recently created.
- He appeared to be benevolent, saying that he was the absence of evil.
- He told the party that there was a way out of the Darkness, if they traveled through the Tower of Thorns.
- The Tower was locked, however, and would require a key to open.
- He told them, “At the Heart of where Giants lie, is the Key.”
- The party then left to find the Giant's Graveyard.
- The Giant's Graveyard appeared to be home to hundreds of bones and human skeletons.
- The found it, and proceeded to leap down the spiral chasm.
- When the entered the bones came alive and began to fight them.
- Ragnar, having yeeted himself down to the bottom of the Graveyard, found a giant crystal heart embedded in the wall.
- After a close encounter, the party managed to free the heart, and slay the skeletons that fought them.