The morning following the twig blight sortie, the group discovers that some
of their number were arrested by the Guard Captain for breaking into the
general store. However, in an act of judiciousness, Guard Captain Felosial
releases one of the prisoners into the care of the party on the condition that
they aid the town by ridding them of the Gnolls and other forces that besiege
Oakhurst.
The intrepid party agrees to the terms and meet Balra at the southern exit
of the township. The old road has seen better days and seems to have fallen
into disrepair from lack of use since barely anyone travels in the direction of
the Citadel.
On their way out, some of the individuals seems to notice Balra's odd
heritage. Her lack of reflection causes some confusion. Some of them
immediately question her about it and they discover that her otherwordly
features are a result of her tiefling heritage. After a brief exchange, the
adventurers continue on the path. Having escorted the group near the entrance of the Citadel, Balra bids
fairwell to them all. Despite some protest, she explains that her
responsibilities and her research require her presence elsewhere. She did
request that they keep an eye out for an Elven Bard named Aelara as Peren from
the scriptorium was worried about her well being.
Our heroes bravely press on but are ambushed by a gnoll raiding party.
Several hyenas and gnolls descend upon our adventurers, but when things began
to look dire, an ally appears seemingly out of nowhere. In a stroke of luck,
Aelara herself lends her aid to the party, using her bardic magic to flank the
gnolls.
After successfully fending off the ambush and taking a moment to recover
from the injuries they sustained during the attack, our heroes continue on to
the Citadel. They descend into an entrance via a rope that seems to have been
left by previous brave souls. Here, the party is instantly greeted by swarms of
rats. With barely a moment to breathe, our adventurers fend off vermin hordes,
using the layout of the tower to their advantage.
Stepping further down into the Citadel, our brave souls are met with a
strange haunting light that seems to implore them for help before disappearing.
Is this a sign of things to come? Are our heroes wandering into a trap or will
they prevail against the darkness that infests the halls of the Citadel...
