The morning of the 28th of Davor, 1329

After they had waked and broken their fasts, Savana went to the Tower of Divination, armed with Toirin's bat stamp – obtained in the smithy by Droog.

As Savana began her scrying for Toirin, Droog and Barome set out for Lok Giran a-horseback. Using the enchanted horses of Lok Magius, the dwarf and the desert elf hoped to reach Lok Giran inside of four marks, and from there place the last of the Marksmen's rings in the holy forges there, to be destroyed.

Thedlar had given up the ring with his blessings, after learning how it had been linked to Bunny's death.

Only a quarter mark after Droog and Barome had set out for Lok Giran, Savana had found Toirin. The mage was on his own horses, ghosting silently through the night, forty feet above the roadway. Savana gasped, realizing the power of the horseshoes Toirin had crafted for his mounts. It explained how Toirin had been able to kidnap Evelin from Lok Magius, and escape detection for so long. If Toirin only ever used that aspect of his horses when the situation was critical, then it was a reserve that was too powerful to be overcome without considerable preparations.

As Savana pulled the image out from Toirin, she realized with a gasp where the mage was, and where he was heading – a familiar oxbow lake's depression in the trees was plainly visible from her vantage point.

Shivastaenel had been a city of sylvan elves, hidden within the forests, until only a few centuries past. Few within Rakore knew of is existance, and its location was protected by those few who knew of it, to protect it against thieves, bandits, and treasure-hunters. Expeditions from Lok Magius had already combed the ruins of the walled city several times, and used it as a training ground for learning the elven script.

The city had taken some damage from an earthquake centuries past, but was otherwise intact, covered in rose vines with bright yellow flowers. Its proximity to the oxbow lake left it shrouded in fog much of the time, and pieces of the city lay in the lake, broken columns of marble breaking the surface of the vast, curved lake. The same earthquake that had damaged the city had rediverted the mighty Galanus River, leaving a lone, isolated elbow of the river lost deep within the forest.

Savana rushed to find Mistress Brin, but could not immediately find her. Using the staff given to her by the Baron-and-the-Bishop, she scryed the location of Mistress Brin, finding her in the Tower of Illusion's counsel room, in session with her advisors. Savana saw an illusion of battle plans within the crystal of her staff, and realized that the staff could see through the protections guarding Lok Magius.

The young mage rushed to the Tower of Illusion. Reed, Mistress Brin's executor, motioned the young mage to join them, and listened to what she had to say. Mistress Brin explained that they could not send a strike team after Toirin: 400 mages from Lok Magius would go to Loregard the next day, to reinforce the besieged frontier city against the vast ogran army assaulting it. Nearly all the 200 Foehammers would go with them to serve as escorts, as well as hundreds of other soldiers from within Rakore's hinterlands.

Savana felt defeated, until Reed told her that she could use the Eye of Galgiran, and see for herself if Doom Rex was there. If the doom was there, then she could send word back, and Reed would divert some of the forces bound for Loregard to Shivastaenel, to capture the doom. Reed armed Savana with a handful of tokens, and sent word to the dwarven clerics on duty that she would need the Eye of Galgiran soon.

The young mage was still in despair, for she needed Droog and Barome to help her. realizing that she and they had a destiny and a friendship together.

Master P'Arkon, one of the lead sorcerers of Lok Magius, offered to go tell Droog and Barome to turn back and return to Lok Magius, and in a blaze of green hellfire, he was gone.

* * *

The Eye of Galgiran took Savana, Barome, Droog – and Guardian – into that part of Shivastaenel that was near the oxbow lake's edge. Because of the Freeze and the lack of warming sunlight, a thick, heavy fog was over everything.

Barome's adrenaline was up. Just before the journey through the eye, Droog had told the desert elf how the ograns were shielding themselves – using Barome's mummified, tortured kin as altars of pain and stealth. Barome sought blood. In the dreary, wet, heavy fog, he heard nothing.

The city had been built of stone, every surface covered in runes or images or elven blessings. Many of the towers spired up beautifully into the foggy night, lit above the fog by Maroth's growing light. The roses that covered the city's towers dripped with moisture, and the flagstones of the roadways were covered lightly in dirt, dust, and leaves.

At the base of a nearby tower, Droog cut away the roses quietly with his razor-edged armored gauntlets, and helped seal the shutters and the doorway closed. Guardian, with the amulet that silenced him about his neck, stood guard inside the doorway. While Barome scouted about the tower, Savana used her staff to try to locate Toirin.

The staff's powers were not infinite, but its light seemed at times to be so. The sealed room of the tower was the only place she could hope to use its powers without lighting the fog like a beacon. Soon, within the large crystal of the staff, she could discern that there were a number of humans, in towards the center of the city, where a great courtyard opened up.

After Savana explained the situation to them all, and explained how close Toirin might be, they began their preparations. Savana and Droog quaffed potions that rendered them invisible.

Savana, using the amulet about Guardian's neck, crafted about the golem a field of invisibility that rendered the golem invisible, as well. The work was difficult, because of the silencing affect of the amulet, but she had been preparing for just such an eventuality since their last confrontation with the Marksmen.

Together, the four of them rushed towards the center of the ancient elven city.

A great cry went up from ahead of them – a tenor – a man being tortured.

Barome raced through the fog almost blindly, searching with his ears for whatever might be coming. Hearing voices ahead in the fog, where the rose-encrusted buildings opened up into a great gray area of fog, Barome used one of Savana's magically crafted items to grow and grow and grow in size, reaching fourteen feet in height – and his weapons growing with him.

Despite the zone of silence around the invisible Guardian, his mass could be felt through the flagstones, as vibrations rippled out from him. Ahead, horses whinnied in fear.

The gigantic desert elf slammed into a group of Marksmen, sliding his enormous lance through the back plates of one Marksman's armor. The lance went through the armor, under the skin and muscle, and exitted the other side, effectively pinning the Marksmen on his feet from the pain of the unexpected attack.

A great blade engulfed in flames out in the fog, and they heard Vadrus Hague, Captain of the Marksmen, begin to shout orders.

Barome, using hand signals learned from Savana, gave silent commands to Guardian – to attack Vadrus Hague.

Battle erupted, as Savana and Droog arrived, unleashing bolts of magical power and prayers to Galgiran. Several Marksmen appeared out of the fog, others mounted horses, horses screamed in fear, men battled against the enormous Barome, and Toirin's echoing voice recited words of power that sent chills down their spines.

Droog called upon Galgiran's might to undo the powers of the mage, and Galgiran granted him the dispellment, causing the bat-like, traitorous mage Toirin to swiftly curse.

Savana unleashed an electric ball of power form her fingers towards one group of Marksmen, and the glowing green ball flew off through the fog, engulfing them in a ferocious ball of green electrical fire, blasting back the fog for a moment.

Vadrus Hague hacked and hacked at Guardian, who held the huge man up with one fist, slowing crushing the man's armor – and the chest within it. The flaming blade of the captain of the mercenary group struck the golem in silence, the magical flames of the blade repairing whatever damage the metal of the blade did to the golem.

And then it was suddenly over. Toirin was heard, fleeing through the fog – and there were no more Marksmen.

A sound of a struggle came to them from the fog, and Barome raced after Toirin – only to find the body of a drow with black hair. The drow barely lived, but his life's blood was running through thin cracks between flagstones at a ferocious pace. Droog arrived to help heal the drow, as Barome raced on after Toirin.

Droog called upon Galgiran's faith, and used it to stablize the drow. Unsure of who he was, Droog knew the dark elf was an enemy of Toirin's, and that was enough for him.

Barome returned a moment later, defeated. Toirin had escaped on his flying horses – but not without damage. The desert elf held up a grappling hook on a black silk rope that held bits of flesh and blood on its barbed tips. The hook and the rope matched the dark elf's other equipment.

Savana, going through the Marksmen's camp, realized that her ball of electrical fire had killed an innocent. Enshrouded in bloodied bandages, one figure was blackened by her magical fires. The Marksmen had been putting the figure onto a horse, to evacuate him, when she struck through the fog.

Gathering Marksmen's rings, ogran-cut rubies, and whatever else they could find, they quickly broke one of the portal tokens, and evacuated to Lok Magius.

During their battle, they had kept the mages of the academy informed with message tokens.

* * *

The dark elf's name was Xennith. He was the loyal and hired servant of Evelin Battachirus – the good 'bat'. With the aid of Lilliana Ravenwind, the High Priest of Agincoth for Lok Magius, they were able to ask questions of Evelin's body – much as they had done for Bunera's body.

Evelin's body told them that the Marksmen had everything: troop strengths, supply lists, weapons caches – all of it. All of Rakore was compromised, because the Marksmen had broken Evelin. Evelin had known it all. Mistress Brin and Reed had rushed to the main administrative tower. Moments later, Savana and Lilliana felt the power of Duke Henrik Kamus' teleportation into Lok Magius.

Barome, calling up on the powers of the ring the Baron-and-the-Bishop had given him, began putting to Vadrus Hague's body questions. The answers surprised even them. Doom Rex was also known as Rex Notimeh – brother to Duke Herod Notimeh of Korthair, and Chief Advisor to the King of Rakore. Duke Herod was the leader of the traitors, and it was his deceptions that had kept Rakore in the lurch during the invasion. All that Evelin had known – had been nothing compared to what Duke Herod knew of Rakore.

Savana, Droog, and Barome rushed to tell Mistress Brin, Reed, and Duke Henrik – but they were nowhere to be found. Breaking into Mistress Brin's office, they narrowly escaped death as the Headmistress' familiar unleashed upon them a fireball that brought security forces from all over the mages' academy. Chaos ensued, as everyone became involved in trying to find Reed or Mistress Brin, restoring order, and figuring out where they had gone.

In one corner of Mistress Brin's office was a closet door that had no closet. It was a teleportation to some other place. Droog, Savana, and Barome managed to leap through it – and found themselves in a dead end, a cavern deep within the earth with no way out. Luckily, they still had one of the portal tokens, and used it to escape. The teleportation closet was trapped, to prevent unauthorized access – and only the head mistress and her executor knew how to use it.

Thedlar took command of the situation. The mighty barbarian repaired the damage the fireball had done to the office – his sorcerous powers of transmutation showing for the first time since Droog or Savana had known him.

The tall barbarian led them to the Tower of Divination, and deep into its library, bypassing the guards on the door with a scowl. Inside the library, hidden in a particular book, Thedlar activated a secret door, and led them through a wall.

Inside were the fabled reserves of Lok Magius – scrolls of arcane power crafted by the most powerful mages ever known. Among them was one of the teleport scrolls crafted by the hand of Duke Henrik. Thedlar knew that Duke Henrik, and Duke Henrik alone, could teleport in to the halls of the Rakoran king.

With one mighty swipe of his hand, the scroll teleported them to one of the entry halls to the Great Hall, and they rushed forward. Two dwarves stood atop the steps that led to the double doors, and they brandished their arbalests at the ready, commanding the group to halt.

Before they could convince the guards to let them through, the corridor behind them filled with death.

The Marksmen were contracted mercenaries, who had signed on in the service to the ogremai of the Ogre Nations. Their contracts were valid even in Death. Their shades, enhanced by the power of their contracts and the bindings of their rings, moved to enter the Great Hall and do damage the king. They could not enter, though, thanks to the protections of Galgiran.

The entry halls, however, were not so protected.

Undead wraiths and shades of Marksmen battled the group in the entry halls to the King of Rakore. The guards' crossbows had one quarrel each of sufficient power to kill a shade, and kill they did – spectacularly. Unfortunately, once the quarrels were expended, they were gone for good, and none of the other quarrels the guards possessed could harm the shades. Their axes, however, were enchanted, dealt some harm to the viscious creatures.

Thedlar caught the battle axe that Barome tossed to him, and taking an enchanted axe from a fallen guard, used both axes together to keep some shades at bay. He and Droog together managed to finally finish off one shade, with Savana's wand of arcane bolts driving into the shadowy beasts.

Droog, frustrated with the situation, called upon Galgiran's wrath, and from the palm of his gauntlet unleashed the heat, fire, and power of the Soul Forger's glowing coals – putting the fear of gods into one shade in particular.

The battle was finally over. One of the guards had been felled, and even turned into another viscious shade in service to the other shadows.

There was a sublte shifting in the arcane, and Savana felt Duke Henrik's powerful form of teleportation coming from the Great Hall.

The remaining guard was willing to listen to reason.

Inside the Great Hall of the Rakoran King, the battle was already over.

Dozens of dwarven bodies were scattered about the great hall, and humans, elves, and other denizens of the kingdom moved about the carnage, helping survivors, and bracing for more trouble.

The lone guard with Droog, Savana, Barome, and Thedlar, announced them to the Great Hall, and resealed the door.

The High Priestess of Agincoth, fearing that the group would not be able to warn the king in time, had sent a missive to Duke Henrik. Duke Henrik, himself a mage, and the King's Own advisor on magic, received the warning that Duke Herod was the traitor.

Duke Herod's retainer, armed with a powerful and viscious sword, had felled half a dozen of the king's guard and impaled the king himself before being cut down. Duke Henrik had teleported out, chasing Duke Herod.

Wounded as he was, the King of Rakore handed over his sword – so cold that air froze against its surface, and drifted down to the floor. Mistress Brin, for the King of Rakore, knighted Thedlar, Barome, Savana, and then Droog. From Duke Henrik and Mistress Brin, he knew who word of the traitor had come from, and rewarded them justly.

King Feldspar Graniteshoulders of Rakore bid Droog join him as a servant to the crown. He bid Savana service to Mistress Brin.

Droog had one request to make. “One boon, for one soul.”

Among the wounded of the Great Hall and the warriors of the Rakoran king, a great appelation brought light to the farthest corners of the underground complex. A powerful image stood in midair.

The thundering voice of the figure spoke. “Ask thy boon, Soulbringer.”

Droog said without hesitation, “Free my Shah'Reer. Free him to protect what he chooses to protect. Do not leave him bound to me.” Droog turned to the desert elf at his side, his face the respect of a friend.

Thunder pealed through the Great Hall, and the figure said, “It is done. The first of the Shah'Hudir now walks the earth.” The figure turned to Barome. “Tread carefully, Shah'Hudir. And go with the gods.”

The apparition faded into darkness, leaving the Great Hall all the darker for its passing.

There was silence, as all eyes turned to Barome. The desert elf was introspective, thinking, for a moment, before turning to Mistress Brin. “I choose – to protect Lok Magius. I choose, to be a Shah'Dureth for the mages' academy.”

The king nodded. “Good… It Is Done.”

So ends evening of the 28th of Davor, 1329.

Final sessions are such, bittersweet joy. We knew Friday night was our last, together, as players and DM. We knew we had to get as much done as possible, and so there was at once a wild urge to press forward and compress events – and a grim determination to let History play out before us.

Doom Rex and Toirin remain at large – but the traitorous Marksmen are all but destroyed. The Traitor has been exposed; Duke Herod Notimeh is now known to all as a traitor. This was… unforseen. I never expected James and Erin to reach so high, that night! Though the doom got away; though Toirin escaped, yet again; the highest traitor in all the land has been exposed.

Excellent work, gentlemen. It was a pleasure being your Dungeon Master – and an honor. May Sir Droog Grimfire the Soulbringer, Sir Barome Revelstoke the first Shah'Hudir, and Lady Savana Lomaksan of Lok Magius, live on in a world you've helped create, and a world you've helped to shape. James. Erin. My thanks.

4,500. (total XP awarded for the campaign is 21,000)