The skeleton’s gory arrival brought with it a supernatural fear that washed over the party, affecting all but Golkir and Zildar. The towering monster teleports around the space, disrupting the party with spells and assailing them with claws and supernatural visions of death. Reginald’s dog is struck and killed, much to Reginald’s dismay. Golkir charges at the monster alongside Thuun, but the paladin is paralyzed by a spell. Their contracter, Francina, cannot seem to overcome the fear’s hold and huddles by Reginald’s side.
Meanwhile, Fian who waited outside is nowhere to be seen. A warforged, covered head-to-toe in a red robe, walks through the double-doors of the defiled temple, calmly walking up to tap various members of the party on the shoulder mid-battle, asking where he can find ‘Reginald’. The warforged does talk to Reginald, but the sorcerer is too distraught by fear and loss to respond. Eventually the warforged, called FAF, talks to Francine, who asks why they would attempt conversation in the middle of a battle. FAF asks if she would ask for his assistance, which she confirms. FAF turns towards the skeletal monster and one hand hinges downward, revealing the barrel of a magical cannon.
The fight continues, enough members overcoming their fear so they can attack the creature and stop its rampage. It falls to a bolt of radiant energy from Zildar, who then hurries to the dead dog’s side, casting a spell that halts decay, should Reginald wish to resurrect it. The sorcerer declines, and they bury the dog in the desicated gardens of the temple, alongside Olfgrim’s corpse.
With the battle over, FAF introduces itself as F.A.F Unit nr. 1337 to the party members and hands a letter to Reginald, saying that Jeriah asked it to follow along the party, both to help and to advance the Warforged’s own knowledge. Reginald does not share the full content of the letter, but mumbles the word ‘Thrane’, a sovereign nation to the northeast of Sharn. Francine pays the party the agreed amount and they begin returning to Driftwood to leave Fallen.
On the trek, several of the members notice a black, amorphous shape with red eyes stalking them, staring from toppled buildings and dark shadows. Halfway along their trek they pass through an old abandoned township, mostly a jumble of damaged houses with a church-building towering over. Golkir’s divine senses find a foul scent in the air, the scent of an undead strangely familiar. Thuun darts off to the side of a house to scout the village, finding the amorphous shape from earlier stalking down an alley. Further inside, he spies through the window of the church to see it filled with skeletons about to batter down the door.
As the shade begins to approach the party, they talk of dodging out of town and taking a less direct route, when FAF raises its cannon-arm and fires a bolt of magic at the shade. It howls in fury and surges at them, even as the skeletons inside the church begin their push. Alas for them, the powerful bugbear has barred the doors, and they batter uselessly at the church doors.
The shade is elusive, phasing through the walls of the houses and through people, entrapping them with tendrils of black, smoky energy. A fear similar to that of the black skeleton washes over the party, but this time they are ready for it, and only Francine succumbs. Eventually Reginald graps the shade with a magical hand, holding it still while the party piles on it, dispersing it and releasing everyone from their bonds. Meanwhile, the skeletons are still trapped. Reginald jumps to a window and casts an explosive fireball inside, hoping to destroy them before they become a threat. The fireball annihilates the church building, scattering bricks and timber in all directions. The skeletons step out of the fire and smoke, raising their bony arms to the sky in an evil cheer. Their number is reduced, but not gone. Instantly they surge over Golkir and Reginald, hacking at them with rusty swords and deafening them with the clatter of their bones. The party lays into them, destroying skeletons with every attack, but the swarm is numerous. Eventually Reginald casts a spell that causes the skeletal swarm to float up into the air, rendering them harmless as the party finishes them off with ranged attacks. Calm falls over the smoking township as the last skeleton is defeated.
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