Today we "met" (zoom!) for another session of Shadow of the Demon Lord.
Last time, the party cleared the fifth stronghold of Nar, but in the process, the twins (Veni and Genevieve) were accosted by dwarven militia. They escaped, naturally, the slippery little devils.
Some weeks later, Dagmar, Bashir, and Mayfly all walk through various doors (into a glazier's shop, a garden, and a little mini door of unknown providence, respectively) and find themselves in a stable. The stable holds thousands of stalls, each one housing a pale horse, and his name who tends them is Father Death.
Father Death greets the characters and says that he wished to congratulate them on killing the Herald of the Demon Lord, Crusius. They ask him what else needs to be done, and he says that the Shadow of the Demon Lord can be driven back, but doing that requires finding where it's falling. Mayfly mentions wondering if it was designed to be the key of Crusius, or if the lock was designed around it, and Father Death says that they could ask Mayfly's creator, if they'd like. Mayfly declines.
Dagmar asks if Queen Moira was a demon, and Father Death says no, just a woman. Dagmar laments that; it would have been easier to reconcile themself with the murder if Moira had been evil. The group notes that if anyone knows where the Shadow has taken root in the Holy Kingdom, it might be her. Father Death has them mount some of his horses (except Mayfly, who rides with Dagmar) and they zip across the skies to the Underworld.
Along the way, they see the Urth as Father Death sees it - billions of tiny lights, and every so often one turns blue and Death seems distracted. Bashir asks what happens then, and Death responds that someone just died and he had to take them to the Underworld, too. Bashir remarks that this is impressive, and Father Death replies that you have to be able to multitask to be Death.
They arrive at the gates to the Underworld, and Death warns them that staying here for any length of time might have side effects for the living. They wander the tunnels, noting the many restless shades, people apparently made of blue smoke that are slowly losing their coherence. They find Queen Moira's shade sitting on her throne, and Death tells them that to talk with her, they'll have to give up some life.
Bashir and Dagmar cut their arms and bleed into her smoke, making the Queen solid for a moment. She recognizes them and asks what they're doing here, and all three apologize - they didn't know what Genevieve was planning, though they should have realized or at least suspected it. Moira asks if Genevieve has been brought to justice, and they say that she's escaped for the moment, but Moira notes that it wouldn't change anything anyway.
The characters ask her if she knows about the Holy Kingdom's demonic infiltration. She tells them that the relationship between the Church and the monarchy has been tenuous for a long time, but previous rulers were happy to be figureheads. She, however, wanted to actually do something for the kingdom, and was trying to shift the center of power a bit. Her spy, Oballa, has a better sense of where the bodies are buried, so to speak, and she was going to get that briefing after she met with the characters.
Dagmar asks if there's a way to convey to Oballa that they've spoken, and Moira recites a two-part phrase in High Archaic, which she and Oballa use as an identifier.
At this point, Father Death notices an orc wandering through the tunnels. Bashir recognizes him as Homraz the Glorious, a former pit fighter turned mercenary (for his party, Homraz recognizes Bashir as one of Drudge's guards). Father Death asks how Homraz got into the Underworld, and Homraz notes that he's not the smartest of orcs on the best of days.
Father Death suddenly stiffens up and says "Wait, something's...I'll be back." He vanishes, leaving the characters more than a little concerned. Queen Moira, the last bit of blood running out of her, stands up and starts shuffling down the tunnel. They ask why, and she says "We're free. We're rising back to the flesh."
This is not a good turn of events. The characters mount their pale steeds and head for the gates. When they get there, they find that Father Death is covered in a horrible, viscous shadow, spilling out from a crack in the world. A massive demon stalks around him.
And that's all Homraz the Glorious needs to see. He charges in and smacks the demon with his ax. The demon grabs him in its huge pincer claw, but Homraz flies into a berserk rage and chops off said claw. The demon teleports over to the others and slashes at them, but Homraz keeps coming. Bashir makes his way to Father Death and attacks the shadow-goop on him; it seems to work, but it's a process.
The demon continues teleporting around and ripping up Bashir and Dagmar, but Dagmar shoots it in the throat and Homraz chops a big hole in it, and finally Bashir crushes its skull with his maul. Smaller demons emerge from the void as the characters beat away at the shadow holding Father Death fast, but they manage to sever it and Homraz crushes the little bastard.
Father Death tells the characters they need to round up the fleeing souls, so they mount the steeds and chase down the shades, driving them back into the Underworld ("yah!"). But the Void is still there, roiling like an angry sea. Mayfly enters Divine Ecstasy and tries to determine how to banish it, but can't quite figure it out. Dagmar points their magic knife at the Void, and learns that it can be banished from here, but not how.
Finally, they do what they all do best: Mayfly and Dagmar shoot it, Bashir and Homraz smack it, and all the while willing it to close and begone. The Void shrivels up and vanishes, and Father Death thanks them - they've saved him from falling under the Shadow and saved Urth from whatever that would have resulted in.
The Shadow of the Demon Lord falls in two more places - the Holy Kingdom and the Empire of Caecras. Drudge is under the Shadow, hence the fall of the Empire and the rise of the orcs, but the rightful king is Horus of Tear. The characters decide to go there, to try and suss out the situation with Horus, rather than risk going back to the Holy Kingdom where they're wanted criminals.
They emerge from a gateway (courtesy of Father Death) into the countryside of Tear, and begin a long walk to the nearest city.
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