This week I played a solo Electric Bastionland adventure using the Clay Shelf by Yochai Gal.

THE CAST
This group collectively owes £10k to Flex Restaurant. They are blacklisted from every reputable eatery in Bastion until they pay. The group heard about a valuable artifact hidden in plain sight in the flooded city of Indigo–the Blue Tear. It might be worth enough to help with their debt.

There’s a line of trucks waiting to be weighed by the baboon at the weigh station, literally. It scratches at its ear as it waves the clanking traffic forward.

Katsun holds his lamp, a cigarette dangles from his mouth. Gizard runs his hand across the cooling metal of the float. It’s covered in dirt, the once-bright streamers are dull and torn. It’s out of electricity.

“It’s tired,” Gizard says. “I can sense it.”

Katsun points to the road. There’s a hefty fellow walking between the smoking trucks. He’s speaking loudly at each of the drivers and readjusting the bulky firearm that hangs from his belt.

“Ask him for a boost.” Katsun grunts.

“Do they even have electricity out here?” Vanessa asks, lifting her sunglasses for the first time since the group left the city. She squints at the weigh station. Wind scatters the dust between the trio.

The man smiles as Vanessa approaches, Gizard and Katsun watch from the float.

• Vanessa passes a CHA save for a favorable reaction.

“You’re from Bastion, right?” The man asks, placing his hands on his hips.

“How could you tell?” Vanessa lifts a cigarette from her handbag.

The man stumbles forward to hold out his lighter. It takes a few clicks before it lights–Vanessa inhales deeply–“thanks,” she smiles.

The man lights a cigarette of his own. The traffic starts to stall behind him.

“Husker,” the man says. “Husker Scon. Where ya headed?”

“Indigo,” Vanessa tells him, “but our vehicle has run out of electricity. You wouldn’t be able to, I don’t know, charge it somehow, would you?”

Husker looks over Vanessa’s shoulder. Sees the float. Sees the men standing with their hands on their hips. City folk.

“Sure, I could fix it up for you. It might take a day or so. In the mean time, you should see the sights. It’s early, you could walk to Elephant Rock and back before it’s dark.”

“What’s Elephant Rock?”

“It’s a big rock.” Husker says.

“Why would I want to see that?” Vanessa asks.

“Well, it looks like an elephant. But taller.”

“Ah.” Vanessa takes a final drag from her cigarette. She drops it in the dirt.

“Let’s go people!” An impatient driver shouts from his clattering machine. The baboon at the weigh station hoots and snarls at him.

“Well,” Husker says finishing his cigarette, “I’ll take a look at your vehicle once things slow down around here.”

“What now?” Gizard asks, “do we just wait?”

• Vanessa fails a CHA save, and doesn’t realize Husker is untrustworthy.

“We could check out this big rock he mentioned,” Vanessa suggests.

“What’s in White Lake?” Katsun asks, pointing at the sign. The trail disappears into the scrublands beyond the horizon.

“We need to focus on getting to Indigo,” Vanessa says impatiently. “If this Blue Tear is hidden in plain sight it’s only a matter of time until someone else gets it. I won’t let that happen.”

“It’s not like you need to worry about money,” Gizard scoffs.

“Hey,” Vanessa scowls, “eight barons–all of them very far from Bastion–still need to die before I’ll be the Faux-Reiner of Trave. I need to take care of myself until then.”

“Don’t pout.” Katsun says. “I’m sure I can fix this vehicle myself. Besides, I don’t trust anyone who abuses animals.”

Katsun lifts a pink crystal from his pocket and puts it to his forehead. He runs his hand across the surface of the memorial-float.

• Katsun fails a CHA save to fix the memorial float.

“It’s tired, like you said.” Katsun announces. “Gizard, remove this panel.”

Katsun begins pointing at the memorial-float with his ceramic rod and ordering Gizard to dismantle each section that “doesn’t react.” Only the barest metal frame is left when the two are done, and the sun is high in the sky.

“I can’t fix this now,” Husker says disapprovingly, standing over a pile of scrap metal and twisted wires. “You’ve wrecked the whole thing.”

The highway is quiet. The baboon rests its eyes, stooped-comfortably in its stool at the controls of the weigh station. Husker sifts through the scraps, looking for anything of value.

“Well, thanks for your offer.” Gizard holds out his hand to shake Husker’s.

• Husker passes a CHA save, prefers to not shake Gizard’s hand. He doesn’t know why.

“Who’s going to clean all this up?” Husker asks, his hands still in his pockets.

“Your baboon, I imagine.” Vanessa replies sharply. “Boys, let’s go.”

• Husker uses his heliotrope to signal Flat Bandits ahead on the road.

ELEPHANT ROCK
The group walks along the poorly-maintained road bisecting the region. On either side of them, a vast desert extends until it reaches the distant caldera. The Clay Shelf. Occasionally, loud trucks break the silence as they blast between the despondent walkers.

• Three Flat Bandits hide behind Elephant Rock, waiting for the marks Husker signaled about.

Flat Bandit
HP 3
£d6, chewing gum, pistol (d6)

• Luck Roll. Do any of the PCs notice the bandits as they approach? Yes.

Vanessa stops walking. She remembers the creepy feeling Husker gave her. The way he wouldn’t shake Gizard’s hand.

“Hey,” Gizard says, “the rock does look like an elephant.”

“Only taller.” Katsun adds.

A crash zoom reveals Vanessa’s perspective: a wiry man runs and lays down on the ground behind a boulder, a pistol in his outstretched hand.

“There’s troublemakers in those rocks.” Vanessa warns the others. “We need to think carefully.”

“How many?” Katsun asks.

• Vanessa fails a CHA save. She isn’t confident.

“At least one…” Vanessa sighs.

“They probably mean to rob us.” Gizard says. “We should go back, maybe we can hitchhike to Indigo?”

“It’s not like we have any money,” Vanessa says, “but maybe they’ll just kill us.”

“What do we do, Boss?” Katsun asks. He crouches by the highway. Squints into the distance. Turns his pink crystal between his thumb and index finger.

Vanessa lights a cigarette. “Let me think.”

A flash of insight.

“Katsun,” Vanessa says, “give me your glue.”

As the group descends toward Elephant Rock, three figures step out from behind the boulders and form a line blocking the road.

“Hold it right there,” the wiry leader says in a monotone voice. He holds his pistol at his hip. His jacket is dusty from laying on the ground.

• Luck Roll. Are the other bandits pointing their pistols? No.

One of the bandits has an intense stare, and a constellation of tattoos across his shaved head. He keeps his arms crossed.

The third bandit is a young woman chewing gum, dressed in modern clothes. She keeps her hands on her hips, her pistol tucked in her belt.

“Empty your pockets.” The wiry leader says.

Katsun steps forward, he’s holding a fancy box of cigars in one hand, and a bottle of brandy in the other.

“Please,” he says flatly as he stretches out his arms, “don’t hurt us.”

“Charli,” the leader says, “grab that shit. The rest of you–” he points the pistol at Gizard, then Vanessa–“I said empty your pockets!”

Charli steps forward, rolls her eyes at her Boyfriend’s red-blooded display, and reaches for the bottle and the cigars. Katsun smiles weakly. There’s a faint smell of chemicals.

• Charli passes a CHA save to notice the glue.

“Ew, what the fuck,” she says, “there’s something sticky all over this stuff, I’m not touching that.”

Katsun drops the bottle, drops the cigars, and reaches for Charli’s pistol. He rips it from her belt and points it at her head.

• Katsun passes a DEX save to act before the bandits.
• Katsun passes a STR save to rip the pistol from Charli.
• The Boyfriend passes a DEX save to act before the PCs.

The Boyfriend turns his pistol to Katsun. He takes a sharp inhale and fires. A pink spray explodes from Katsun’s side.

• The Boyfriend rolls 6 damage, reducing Katsun to 0 HP and causing a Scar (p. 9).
• Katsun is scarred: A vital organ is in a critical state. If you take CRITICAL DAMAGE before seeing a Specialist you die. If you get it seen to, reroll your Maximum HP on 2d6 and keep the result if higher.

“Damn it,” Katsun groans, folding in half but staying on his feet. Blood soaks the sand.

Vanessa rushes the Boyfriend, revealing the wrought-iron fire poker hidden in her jacket. With her lit cigarette in her mouth, she strikes at the Boyfriend in a violent barrage.

• Vanessa rolls 3 damage, reducing the Boyfriend to 0 HP and STR 9.
• The Boyfriend critically fails his STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.

The Boyfriend collapses to the ground, Vanessa continues to slash at him, whittling away the flesh on his knuckles as he raises his arms to defend himself.

The bandit with the tattoos reaches for his pistol; aims it at Vanessa.

• The Flat Bandit fails his DEX save to act before the PCs.

Gizard rushes the bandit, brandishing a pick-axe and thrusting it into the bandit’s shoulder.

• Gizard rolls 6 damage, reducing the Flat Bandit to 0 HP and STR 6.
• The Flat Bandit fails his STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.

The bandit coughs blood and collapses onto the ground, Gizard falls on top of him. He can sense the bandit’s rage, the bandit’s bloodlust. But also… an intense desire to study the cosmos.

• Charli passes a CHA save to avoid fleeing.

Charli runs at Katsun, trying to rip her pistol out his hand.

• Charli fails a STR save to grab the pistol.

Katsun pushes Charli back. He steps back several paces, placing both hands on the pistol.

“Don’t move.” Katsun orders. “Gizard, get their guns.”

Gizard quickly gets to his feet, collecting both pistols scattered in the dirt.

Charli looks up at Katsun. Her Boyfriend is disfigured from the fire poker, crying out and spitting blood, Vanessa pants above him.

“This guy’s bleeding out,” Gizard says, “he’s not going to make it.”

Vanessa is quiet for a moment. Cicadas buzz in the surrounding shrubs.

“Vanessa?” Gizard hisses.

“You should have taken the cigars and the brandy…” Vanessa stomps over the bodies to Gizard.

“Give me those,” she says.

“Yes, Boss.”

Vanessa tucks one of the pistols into her waistband and points the other one at Charli.

“Did Husker put you up to this?” She asks flatly.

• Charli fails a CHA save.

“Yes.”

Three gunshots echo out across the Clay Shelf.

“Memento,” Gizard says, “it’s this way.” He puts his hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, “you obviously want to kill Husker,” he says softly, “but we can’t.”

Vanessa pushes his hand away, “I know. We need to get Katsun to a doctor. We can’t go back.”

“I’m fine boss,” Katsun says, “let’s go free that baboon.”

A cold breeze. The first stars are already visible in the sky.

“No,” Vanessa says firmly. “We’re going to keep moving, to Memento. Fuck Husker. I won’t forget his stupid face.”

MEMENTO
Small creek snakes through brightly-colored buildings, a brightly-lit saloon at its center. It’s late when they arrive, they’ve been walking all night.

THE FOUNDOUK
A rustic, lamp-shaped inn. Busy and brightly-lit all hours of the night. A constant, electrical buzzing hums from within.

“We need help!” Vanessa shouts as the group enters the brightly lit saloon. There’s a few people drinking at the bar, and the sound of mechanical whirring from the kitchen.

Katsun limps in behind Vanessa, he’s propped up by Gizard.

“Is anyone a doctor?” Vanessa asks the room, her voice softening now.

• Luck Roll. Is anyone in the saloon willing to look at Katsun’s wounds? Yes.

The sole patron–a middle-aged woman–stands up. She finishes her dark liquor and sets the glass down, “let me take a look,” she croaks.

Gizard rests Katsun on a dusty wooden chair. The woman lifts a penlight from her jacket.

“You’ve been shot,” she says, shining the penlight over Katsun’s flank. “Who did this?”

“Bandits,” Vanessa says, “on the road.”

“Flat Bandits…” the woman snarls, “they’ve been watching me ever since I got here.” She crouches to take a closer look at Katsun’s side.

• Ines passes a CHA save to assess the injury.

“Your liver is injured…” The woman slurs, “you won’t survive another injury.”

“Can you help him?” Vanessa asks.

“No, I’m not that kind of doctor.” The woman says, tucking her penlight back into her jacket. “There’s a hospital in Indigo. In the Orchard. You should take him there.”

“We’ll rest here tonight, and leave tomorrow.” Vanessa says.

“Let’s get a drink,” Katsun adds.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Gizard warns.

A golden cat sits on the bar.

“What can I offer you?” It purrs.

“Just a room,” Vanessa says, “are you the owner?”

“Mr. Bitters,” the cat sits back, “I’m the manager.”

Gizard turns to the woman, “I didn’t get your name,” he says, placing his hand on her shoulder. He senses her motivation–although dulled by liquor–to learn about the Idir people and the Cerulean Pearl.

“Ines,” she says sharply, her eyes fixed on the cat.

“Ines,” Gizard smiles, “what were you saying about the bandits?”

She turns to make eye contact with Gizard. “Not now,” she hisses.

• Gizard fails a CHA save to read the room.

The cat watches from the bar, “five pounds for the room,” it purrs.

• -£5 for the room.

“I don’t like that cat,” Katsun says. He peaks through the dusty, burgundy blinds into the brightly lit street below.

“Let’s just rest,” Vanessa says, pulling a sleep mask over her face, “we’ll go to Indigo as soon as we can.”

EAST OF THE BONEWATER
It’s afternoon. The characters walk the poorly-maintained road bisecting the region. A heavy haze obscures a large crowd gathered ahead. They hold long rifles and block the road.

• Random Encounters on the Road. Whenever the PCs stop to rest, leave a settlement, roll a d6.

• Luck Roll. Do the bandits see the PCs? Yes.

There’s a distant popping sound. Tiny explosions in the dirt and asphalt at Katsun’s feet.

“They’re shooting at us!” Gizard cries out.

• Katsun and Vanessa pass a DEX save to act before the bandits.
• Gizard fails a DEX save to act before the bandits.

“Run, run!” Vanessa shouts.

• Katsun passes a DEX save to run back to Memento.
• Vanessa fails a DEX save to run back to Memento.

Katsun turns and runs, disappearing over the hill and leaving a trail of dust. Several more explosions in the dirt, followed by the sounds of distant popping and shouting voices.

Vanessa stumbles, Gizard barely catches her. The two fall to their knees in the road. A crowd of bandits surround them.

“Fur coat,” one of them says, “just like Husker said.”

“Blow them away.” Another says gruffly.

• The bandits roll 11 damage, reducing Vanessa to 0 HP and STR 0. Vanessa is killed.
• The bandits roll 9 damage, reducing Gizard to 0 HP and STR 9. Gizard fails a STR save to avoid CRITICAL DAMAGE.

Vanessa and Gizard are shredded by rifle blasts.

“Go chase down that other one,” the bandit orders. “No one hurts the Flat Bandits and gets away with it…”

Seven Level 6 player characters (PCs) finish their adventure in Marin’s Hold…

When last we left our heroes, they had decided to kill Judge Eamon and help Sister Jules turn Marin’s Hold toward Shune the Vile.

Yarknig reunites with the group; the priest of Shune that helped destroy Mugdulblub has been hiding in the Bone Cave with the witches.

“Take her with you,” Sister Jules offers, “she is one of Shune’s most devoted worshippers.”

The characters return to Marin’s Hold in time for the following sunset. Thanks to Sister Jules’ raven familiar, they know Judge Eamon’s routine–each evening he escorts Reeve Tarley Winters to the Church of Gede for the sunset sermon, but because he can’t stand to listen to the priest he always goes to the Crayfish Tavern to drink alone until the sermon is finished. That’s where the PCs will strike.

To get through the gate, Leledish casts a spell on a guard on duty near the docks. He opens the gates and lets the group into town before he’s released from Leledish’s grip. With no memory of the last few minutes, he wanders back to his post confused.

The PCs move directly to the tavern; the half-orcs, Auglud and Grant, make the patrons leave. Ipshroom sits in a wingback chair by the fire. Grant climbs to the rafters and waits above. Yarknig and Auglud sit at the bar, their backs to the entrance. Leledish hides in the stairwell, Röylat ducks behind the bar, and Hald Frogley waits by the door to block the Judge’s exit.

When Judge Eamon strolls into the bar and sees there’s no bartender, he pours himself to an ale. He takes a sip, and looks around.

“Where is everyone?” He asks. The foam settles on his brew. Ipshroom watches Judge Eamon’s reflection in a polished platter on the mantle. Yarknig’s eyes flicker to Auglud’s. Now’s their chance!

But Judge Eamon reaches for his blade.

Ipshroom jumps to his feet and launches a crossbow bolt straight into Judge Eamon’s chest. Grant drops from above, Röylat lunges over the bar, Auglud and Yarknig tackle Judge Eamon. Judge Eamon masterfully deflects each subsequent attack.

Hald Frogley steps forward from the shadows behind the door, lifts a wand from his cloak and uses the power of his mind to lift Judge Eamon from the floor. He telekinetically pushes Judge Eamon back into the corner of the room. Judge Eamon curses Ipshroom and Yarknig, both of them grip their heads in blinding pain.

Once Judge Eamon is held aloft by Hald Frogley’s telekinesis, the group wastes no time. Röylat drives her blade through his chest, Auglud follows with an axe to the spine, and Grant finishes the work with a whisper to Shune the Vile. Judge Eamon’s body twitches, burns from the inside out, and collapses into a heap of scorched armor.

A shadow crosses the window. Sister Jules arrives, teleporting through her raven familiar. The air ripples as she steps from the bird’s shadow into the room.

“It’s time,” she says, her silver hair flickering in the candlelight. “The Reeve must be turned to Shune.”

Outside, Reeve Tarley Winters is on his way back to the hold. Leledish stretches out a trembling hand and speaks a few words of puppeteering magic. The Reeve’s eyes glaze over. His steps falter. Under Leledish’s control, Winters walks into the tavern.

Guards gather outside, uncertain. Inside, Sister Jules presses her palms to the Reeve’s temples. Black tendrils of smoke curl around her fingers as she whispers vile incantations. When she opens her eyes again, they burn crimson.

“Reeve Winters,” she commands softly.

“Yes… my lady,” he answers.

Outside, the guards hear his voice: “Stand down! Stand down!”

*

In the days that follow, Sister Jules consolidates power. The Church of Gede is emptied, the banners of St. Ydris are torn down. Her witches move openly through the streets of Marin’s Hold. The terrified villagers do not resist.

The PCs meet with Sister Jules in the reclaimed chapel. She outlines their next task: “The Knights of St. Ydris are Almazzat’s tether to the Gloaming. Kill St. Ydris the Unholy, and we sever that link forever.”

She sends a company of guards north to attack the Greywall Priory. The assault is swift and merciless. The surviving knights retreat to the catacombs below, led by Inquisitor Justinia Morvin.

When the PCs descend into the candlelit basement, Justinia stands with the last of her Knights, her sword raised.

“You don’t understand,” she pleads. “St. Ydris is possessed by Almazzat. If you kill him, you free the archdemon. He is the prison.”

Röylat doesn’t hesitate; she’s come too far to stop now.

Her blade flashes. Justinia Morvin falls. Hald Frogley raises his hand, lightning crackling from his fingertips, and the remaining knights collapse to the floor, their armor smoking.

At the heart of the priory, they find St. Ydris, an ancient man chained within a glowing circle, his flesh carved with runes and bleeding endlessly. His eyes are white, he chants in diabolic and taunts the PCs to destroy him.

The party ignores St. Ydris and loots the vault of gold and relics while Sister Jules and her witches gather the Knights’ sacred texts, the last records of their order. One by one, the grimoires are cast into a growing pile.

Sister Jules steps forward and touches the saint’s brow. A flash of red light. The scent of sulfur and burning incense. St. Ydris is destroyed, reduced to ash. When the screams end, the silence of the Greywall Priory is absolute.

The Knights of St. Ydris are no more.

Our heroes stand bloodied in the aftermath of a fierce battle with Knight Marshal Yslen. Röylat holds her head in her hands. Pounding tension; lost memories return in nauseating waves.

“We have to get out of here,” Brunhilda says, shivering. “Please, I’ll take you to Sister Jules. She can help you.”

A young guard stumbles up from below, his tunic torn and his shield splattered with black bile.

“They’re all dead!” He screams. “We have to-“

The guard stops when he sees Knight Marshal Yslen dead on the floor. His eyes flicker to the stairs. “I can get you out of here,” the guard says sheepishly.

The PCs share a look. They lock him in Brunhilda’s cell–“please,” he begs, “you can’t leave me here. It’ll get me.”

The PCs descend back into the canals below. Back to the Possessed One. Knight Marshal Yslen cools in her armor.

Below, the Possessed One sits by its runes eating from the chest cavity of a dead man. It uses its free hand to paint diabolic runes in blood while it chews shiny flesh. The summoning ritual is nearly complete.

“Don’t hurt Wallow, he’s not well!”

Hald Frogley lifts a Wand of Telekinesis from his bag. Concentrating on Wallow, he lifts him from the floor and suspends him in the air. Röylat and Auglud bind the writhing, demonic mutant catfish. They hand Wallow over to the other mutant catfish waiting below. They can’t save him, but he and his family have a chance.

Before they resurface, Leledish gives Brunhilda a Potion of Invisibility so she can sneak out of town and meet up with the group outside the walls. The guards outside the sinkhole are none-the-wiser as the PCs emerge, but Judge Eamon is looking for them.

“He wanted to have a drink with you tonight,” the guards say.

In the Crayfish Tavern, Judge Eamon sits with a couple of guards, a foaming mug of ale in his hand. “Sit, drink.” He’s hospitable, he asks the group about their investigation at the apothecary.

The PCs lie for the witches, they say they found nothing. Judge Eamon can see the disgust in Röylat’s eyes. “Let’s take a walk,” he says.

“I can see you know the truth…” The Judge begins. Outside, he casually confesses that he and the other Knights in Marin’s Hold have broken their oath. Judge Eamon is one of Almazzat’s Blackguard; mortals who betray their own for a place at Almazzat’s feet.

“Almazzat believes mortals and demons can live in harmony, like wolf and sheep,” Judge Eamon explains, “those of us who are strong can be the shepherds. We will lose some, but that is nature.”

The PCs (briefly) consider the advantages of siding with Almazzat and the demons before shaking their heads in unison.

“Almazzat has come to the Gloaming for a reason,” Judge Eamon reveals, “it’s looking for something here. Only it knows what…”

The PCs manage to save face with Judge Eamon, but they commit to siding with the witches. Outside the walls, they reunite with Brunhilda and travel to the Bone Cave.

The group waits under Leledish’s starry witch light at the edge of the river and watch as a slow-moving ferry approaches through the mist. The ferryman, now stone-cold and silent, extends his hand–this time there’s a toll.

The PCs hand over a bag of gold. He spills them into the river and invites them aboard. As he rows upriver, the mist becomes so thick they can barely see. Then, the ferryman is gone.

Leledish sends his witch light out into the mist ahead. There’s a shadow of a giant being with elongated limbs moving through the river toward the ferry. Someone screams. In a blink it’s gone.

“What is that?” Brunhilda asks.

“Don’t look,” Ipshroom warns. “The Willowman…” He describes what happens to those who look. Brunhilda gasps in fear.

A creaking moan across the river betrays the Willowman’s satisfaction. But still, it moves closer. The ferry begins to rock back and forth turbulently. Grant draws his longsword and takes a defensive stance. Hald Frogley tries to cast a protective ward. Leledish preys to Memnon for guidance.

The Willowman appears: elongated limbs, no face, each limb a knotted scythe. It raises a finger as thin and wicked as a reed and points at Grant. The branch snaps forward, a precise, needle-like strike aimed at the temple.

Grant deflects the branch with the flat of his blade. The willowy finger tings against steel and ricochets into the mist. Wood dust rains down like ash.

Leledish is not so lucky.

The willowy finger slides through the air with a terrible patience and finds his head. Brain matter and river-spray splash against the raft. The PCs turn in unison, horror flattening their faces.

Hald Frogley staggers under a third blow but manages to hold on, clutching at his robes. Röylat screams and covers her mouth. Auglud curses and hauls Brunhilda close.

In a blink, the Willowman is gone again. Not far, though.

The river is silent, save the group’s pounding heartbeats.

“It wants fear,” someone whispers.

Everyone drops to their knees. For a long moment the Willowman stands silently. Another creaking groan. It inhales and, somehow, the mist listens.

When the fog clears, Leledish is standing. He wipes something from his brow and praises Memnon under his breath. “Not today,” he whispers.

The Willowman watches them a heartbeat longer and, with a hollow, wood-gnawed sigh, slips into the pale and is gone.

They reach the Bone Cave, where the exterior is littered with brittle bones. Supposedly it’s home to a pack of werewolves.

Inside, a dozen witches huddle around a dwindling flame. Their faces are worn, wary, ready. Victoria, the only werewolf left, lounges in the shadows, her eyes are haunted, her voice soft and broken when she speaks of the hag Drusilla and her children stolen into the Fey.

Sister Jules waits at a candlelit shrine to Shune the Vile. She’s a silver-haired elf with arcane tattoos spiraling over her hands like roots. A raven–the very same that watched the PCs in town–perches on the shrine’s edge and cocks its head.

“I’ve been watching you,” Sister Jules smiles without warmth.

She tells them of Shune’s designs: Shune wants Almazzat halted in the Gloaming. There is more at stake than Marin’s Hold. Sister Jules knows the Knights’ secret: St. Ydris has more in common with Almazzat than the people of Marin’s Hold would like.

“The Knights of St. Ydris must be destroyed,” she declares. “Their blood is Almazzat’s connection to the Gloaming. But first we must take Marin’s Hold…”

Her proposal is blunt: unmake Judge Eamon’s influence over the Reeve and turn Marin’s Hold toward Shune the Vile. Judge Eamon must be removed.

The PCs agree.

Judge Eamon will die tonight.