Session 22, VP1

Frozen in place, our heroes watched more dark forms sporadically crash into the dark waters of the lake. After a few seconds, the headless corpses would bob to the surface, like so many pieces of driftwood upon the sea.

Bronze broke the silence as she audibly retched, emptying her stomach on the lake's shores. As she composed herself, her friends began to discuss whether they should try to draw the attention of whomever was up above. Naivara cautiously had Flamon dim his glow, & attempt to get a better view through the trapdoor. He was able to discern a sole figure dragging the bodies to the hole & throwing them in.

The dark made it difficult to tell if the figure was another of Gudbrund's shades, or an unknown factor. Reasoning that whoever it was could be dangerous, the group considered their other avenues of egress. Reinhold suggested the group attempt to set up an ambush for Gudbrund when he returned in the morning, but didn't know where such a ploy could be used.

Bergie & Naivara did their best to explain what they recalled of the caves' layout from their previous treks through it. If things had not changed, there should be a crude chute leading up to the ground floor of the temple near the edge of a vast underground cavern. From there, they could make their way to the temple's memorium hall, & down to Gudbrund's crypt.

It was a guess, but the trainers believed he likely had been returning to it while the sun kept his forces at bay. Moving as a tight-knit group, our heroes followed the thin trickling stream that drifted off of the lake. With a combination of Flamon's light & Bronze's vision, shades could be discerned further along the path. Foes such as these were old hat by now, & they caused barely a stumble in the group's forward motion.

After freeing 6 more townsfolk, the chute was found, exactly as described. One by one, the trainers made their way up the steep, craggy tunnel. Some used their Pokemon to aid them, while others trusted in their physical strength & acrobatics, but they all reached the top in short order.

Bronze, having been the first to exit the chute, had been exploring the room she was now in. It appeared to be a bedroom, likely for one of the attendants of the temple. A large, but plain, door closed the room off from the main hallway. With her friends emerging behind her, Bronze trained her senses in front of her.

It was faint, but strange sounds could just barely be heard somewhere outside the room. Quietly opening the door, she poked her head into the corridor. The sounds spoke of some form of fighting, occurring in the direction of the main entrance of the temple. Worried that someone may have entered the temple and found themselves besieged by shades, Bronze reported her findings back to the group.

Though they were only a few minutes walk from the stairs to the memorium hall, the group found themselves conflicted. Though the greater good might call for them to rush to set up their trap, all of them found the thought of abandoning a potential victim hard to stomach. It was decided that they would move towards the echoing sounds as quickly as possible, before returning to their original plan.

Thankfully, the hallway seemed bereft of the possessed townsfolk our heroes had previously encountered there. With as much light as they could muster, the party sped to the foyer of the temple. As they entered the main room, their feet slipped on something coating the floor. In unison, they looked down.

The floor was decorated with immense detailed carvings, depicting Frigga & tales related to her. This, at least, had not changed with their absence. But coating these reliefs, filling their delicate grooves, was drying blood.

Nearby, two headless bodies lay strewn in a doorway. The sounds of battle continued from the other hallway branching off of the foyer. Only a few moments after our heroes started to move forward once more, they came to a standstill. Piled neatly in a corner near the exit, a pile of desiccated heads lay atop each other.

Strangely, the shrunken skin seemed to indicate these grim souvenirs must have began to rot in ages past. Each of the trainers fought to keep bile from rising to their gullets. A thud rang out from the darkened corridor, galvanizing them back into action. Lauren, unflappably calm, rushed at the head of the group, with Reinhold hot on their heels. Their lights flooded the earthen passage, revealing the source of both the sounds, & the headless corpses.

A stranger, garbed in black cloth & leather armor, swung a sword in a casual arc. The blade sliced clean through the neck of the shade he was battling, & our heroes watched in horror as the body fell to the ground in a heap. Another shade lurched towards the man from behind.

Seeing where the strike would land, Reinhold dashed forward, raising his sword to clash with the stranger's. The blades locked, stopping the man from killing the new shade. This close, it was easy to discern that something was odd with his weapon: across its entire form, it appeared rusty, pockmarked with cracks & splinters. A blade in this state of disrepair looked hardly able to stay whole, let alone inflict the degree of damage the trainers had seen.

As Reinhold braced his sword arm, he could see that, impossibly, the man's sword was beginning to bite into the metal of his own. The three heroes with extrasensory abilities felt a chill as they discerned a strange energy limning the rusty sword's edge. With a smirk, the man quickly withdrew his sword, shoving the shade towards Reinhold in the same motion.

Keeping his own sword levelled at the stranger, Reinhold rolled with the blow, allowing the shade to stumble towards the friends behind him. Olli quickly dispatched the already wounded shade non-lethally, & Reinhold tossed the Sapphire Gible Dagger to Lauren to free the possessed citizen.

The stranger drew up to his full height, his sword held out to his side in an open stance. Despite the overwhelming wave of unease radiating off of him, his posture seemed surprisingly non-aggressive. After a few tense seconds, Reinhold began verbally accosting the man. What was he doing here, & what did he hope to gain from his actions?

With a voice laden with disdain, the man explained that he was here to "clean up his mess", referring to Gudbrund & his supernatural threat. The two swordsmen did not move, their nerves on edge as they fenced verbally. When asked, the man revealed his name to be Aegson. At this, Naivara & Bergie let out sudden gasps.

Recalling the letter Gunnar had stolen from Erling what seemed like a year ago, Bergie asked if the man was Aegson Adelbrand. The man nodded in confirmation. Bergie quickly explained that Aegson had been the one to hire the construction crew to tear down the Frigga Temple in the first place, sparking this whole series of events. Paying no heed to our heroes, Aegson quickly turned on his heels, & made to stalk off down the black hallway.

Unwilling to let this killer walk, the group called out to him again, seeking more answers. Aegson made it clear that he had no intentions to stop killing the shades in his fight to put an end to Gudbrund. Sneering, he claimed he would then be free to "settle things" with the group, & Reinhold in particular.

Tensions were palpably high, & it seemed blood was soon to be spilt. Thankfully, Bronze had realized that sentiment would carry no worth in debating with Aegson. Instead, she spoke to him with reason: if Aegson was so confident about his ability to strike Gudbrund down, it would be wisest to travel at their side. The trainers would take care of any possessed townsfolk, freeing Aegson up to "save his energy" for the larger fight.

After weighing the suggestion in silence, Aegson agreed to allow our heroes to "handle the grunt work". With a bow, he gestured for the group to lead the way onwards. Reinhold immediately refused to let Aegson stand behind our heroes, fearing a literal backstab. Aegson scoffed disparagingly, falling into lockstep at Reinhold's side.

As the group began walking the path to the memorium hall, it quickly became apparent why they had not seen many shades lurking in the dark. Blood could be seen splashed in several spaces across the temple's passageways. In time, Naivara & Bergie successfully led their allies to their destination.

While the group descended the stairs into the hall, Gunnar's Pokedex chimed. He hung a few steps behind the rest of the party while he listened to a voicemail from earlier. A chill filled the somber hall as our heroes took a quick survey of the space. Tall standing stones were placed in neat rows, fading off into the darkness. Using her enhanced vision, Bronze once again took the lead as the group proceeded down the cavernous room.

From what Bergie & Naivara remembered, the trainers were nearing the path down to Gudbrund's crypt. With the far wall of the memorium hall finally coming into view, a sigh of relief rippled through our heroes. Suddenly, Bronze came to a dead stop, but it was too late: their lights, flickering in the dark like their fading hopes, were not unseen. A small horde of shades began to rush from the dark like rabid dogs. Our heroes steeled their spirits, & readied for yet another wave of evil they would need to endure. Deep beneath the city, battle raged in the dark. And above, Drillsberg was ablaze with light.