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Oct 8, 2018

Heroes of Silvermoon, Chapter 7: The Curse of House Lightwalker

Contents:
  1. The Cultist
  2. Arena Games
  3. Phoenix Sorcery
  4. The Half-Moon Crucible
  5. Castle Mistamere
  6. Bringing Back the Dead
  7. The Curse of House Lightwalker
  8. Captured
  9. Far from Home
  10. Through the Underdark
  11. A New Port of Kings

The Tale of the Heroes of Silvermoon

Chapter 7: The Curse of House Lightwalker

Reunited and with duties to attend to, the group prepared themselves to set off again to Silvermoon. Gorthuk spent a couple of days with his new clan of orcs, teaching them to raise pigs and hunt the forests to the north rather than to pillage from Waterbrink as they had been previously taught. They also revealed to him a strange journal they had found in the ruins of the castle that bore the emblem of House Lightwalker. Gorthuk gave the journal to Julian, who examined it on the trip back. A couple of days into the journey, Nysae felt the call of the wild, and decided to bid the rest of the group goodbye as she took her own path for a while.

When they reached Silvermoon, they were surprised to meet Xilmar at Julian's restaurant. He looked different from when they had seen him months before, with shorter hair, darker-colored (though just as fancy) clothes, and a red-jeweled cane that he never seemed to go without anymore. Unbeknownst to the group, Xilmar had had a rough few months. All his life he had swindled others and used illusion to fool people's minds for the fun of it, but he had never been deceived himself so badly as he had in the Half-Moon Crucible. Questioning what was real and whether he still had the skills he had focused on, he had made a deal with a dark entity in order to ensure he never had to lose his mind again.

Soon after arriving, a group of the Crown Guard arrested Julian. The group soon found out that the local tabloid newspaper of Silvermoon, the Corellon Times, had published a story slandering Julian's noble house because of an incriminating journal they had found. The journal, they claimed, was written by Julian's great-great-grandfather. It spoke of illegal necromancy practiced in the family and completely discredited the family's claim (via their Lightwalker name) that they were descended from an angelic ancestor.

The heroes visited Julian in the elvish prison, which was rather comfortable by human standards. Julian didn't know much about his ancestors, but he urged the group to learn more and exonerate him and his house that he had just been trying to build up again after so many of his family had died.


Cristoff joined the town guard, which was something he had been aspiring to do for quite some time. Ari and Xilmar turned to the Silvermoon thieves' guild, of which they were both members, and searched for rumors there. Gorthuk and others visited the Corellon Times and tried to find out more about the journal, but he didn't know much except for what one of the lord of House Silverlance, the noble who had found the journal, had said. He offered a cash reward if the journal could be recovered, as it would bring him and the Times more business. Gorthuk tried to intimidate one of the Corellon Times's employees by following him and using his divine powers to instill fear in him, but this only drew attention to him and forced him to use his powers to feign death when he was caught by the guards.

The group met together each evening, combining the things they learned. They realized that in order to find out more, they would have to find the journal, or at least learn more about it from the noble houses. Xilmar cashed in a favor from a half-elf informant from the thieves' guild named Skinny Quinn in order to get a seat in the back of the Silvermoon High Council meeting. He couldn't hear much, but he narrowed down the noble house that had information about the journal, House Silverlance. Xilmar also found out, along with Cristoff through his connection with the guard, that there was to be a Harvest Festival in a week or two in Silvermoon where they might be able to learn more.

The group visited Julian a couple more times trying to find out clues, but Julian couldn't think of any other way to help them being locked up. He did recall one of the only remaining connections to House Lightwalker, a fired servant named Jude, who might have some inside information. They found him working for the thieves' guild and, with his help, found a way into the magically-restricted House Lightwalker estate. They investigated the building, but all they found were old books and a strange symbol on the wall in the basement. Trying to lay low after his stunt with the guards, Gorthuk decided to stay in the mansion and study the books to see if he could figure anything out. Meanwhile, Xilmar reluctantly visited his parents, clerics of the goddess Celanil, asking if they knew anything about the religious symbolism. The only thing he could find out was something about the name "Jezreel."

The day of the Harvest Festival came, and Xilmar forged an invitation for himself, taking on his old guise of Tevis, a wealthy high elf merchant from the countryside. Ari also snuck in with a stolen invitation, and Cristoff entered for free as a member of the town guard. The group spoke with the various guests trying to learn more. Xilmar focused in particular on Meriele Silverlance, trying to charm her into giving more information. Unfortunately, she herself had been curious about the journal but had had no success in finding out more from her father or breaking into the vault where the journal was kept.

Suddenly, a throng of undead attacked the Silvermoon Citadel where the ball was taking place. Dropping their disguises, the group fought off the undead and saved as many civilians as possible. Xilmar used his fly spell to travel rapidly back to the Lightwalker estate to alert Gorthuk, but he found upon arriving that Gorthuk and the estate were already under attack by shadowy behemoths. After he helped Gorthuk fight them off, the pair were surprised to meet the vampire Sergei. Sergei explained that something odd was happening in the Shadowfell—the undead were being drawn to Silvermoon, specifically against the Lightwalker house. Sergei showed them several copies of a journal he had found that was identical to both the one they had found in Castle Mistamere and the one described in the Corellon Times. They inspected them and realized the journals were each written in a different language. From studying Julian's great-great-grandfather's handwriting in the mansion's study, Gorthuk determined that the handwriting was slightly different, and Xilmar's skill in forging confirmed the fact. It was clear that someone was trying to defame House Lightwalker. Sergei bid them farewell, demanding that they fix the problem, which he claimed was "bad for business" now that he had overthrown an entire region of the Shadowfell.

Xilmar brought one of the journals to the Corellon Times and sold it back to them, but before they could profit off of more stories about it, he also turned in the other copies to the Silvermoon High Council, proving that it was more of a propaganda tool than a legitimate journal. With the heat off of House Lightwalker and his name more or less cleared for the time being, Julian was let out of jail.

The group returned to House Lightwalker and examined again the symbolism of the various markings they found. Through Julian's insight and Gorthuk's study, the group found a secret door leading into a basement chamber, where there was a sarcophagus strangely not covered in dust. They tried to open the coffin, but it was magically sealed. Inspired by an inscription written in Celestial on the coffin, Gorthuk cast a speak with dead spell. All of a sudden, the room erupted with angelic light. A beautiful angelic being appeared before Gorthuk, then used his body and voice to speak with the rest of the group.

The being identified itself as Jezreel the Lightwalker, the original angelic ancestor of the Lightwalker bloodline. He spoke of the origin of Silvermoon and an impending danger coming toward it. He explained that, millennia ago, a terrible dark power manifested in the world that threatened to destroy all of elvenkind. Despite his celestial brethren wanting to leave the elves to fend on their own to preserve the balance, Jezreel wanted to save them, having fallen in love with one of them and begotten a child—the first of the Lightwalker line. Jezreel sacrificed his life essence, infusing his child and wife with divine power that they could use to defend themselves against the darkness. This power ran through their very blood, and unbeknownst to the other elves of the world, their very life was what kept Silvermoon safe by sealing the darkness away. Unfortunately, with the slaughter of Julian's family months earlier, the bloodline of the Lightwalker family had run thin, which had made the barrier holding back the dark power thin as well. When Julian had died, even for a week, the barrier had opened. Jezreel warned the group that, having failed at killing the last Lightwalker through incrimination, the darkness was now heading toward Silvermoon to destroy it once and for all. The angel expressed desire to speak to Julian, but because of his dabbling in necromancy and his bitterness, he could only depend on the heroes instead. He bestowed powers upon each of the group—the last of his power—and bade them ward off the darkness so that it could be imprisoned once again.

The heroes alerted the High Council, and thanks to their help defending people at the ball and Julian's testimony, they believed them and prepared for battle. Gorthuk aided in evacuating the citizens while Julian led the guards to the gates. That evening, an army of undead marched on Silvermoon, and at their head was the dark power's avatar—an immense, shadowy dracolich. The town guard with Julian fended off the undead creatures while Gorthuk, Ari, Xilmar, and Cristoff fought the dracolich at the palace. The battle was long, but with Gorthuk's healing, Xilmar's firepower, Ari's cunning, and Cristoff's divine might, the dracolich at last fell, and the shadows lifted from Silvermoon's streets.

The group were hailed as the "Heroes of Silvermoon," and were given special recognition among the nobility of the city. With Julian exonerated and his house ready to grow again thanks to his fame, the pathway looked bright for them once again.

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