Arthas wakes to darkness, unsure of where he is. The last thing he remembers is meditating at the Inn of the Defender's Heart, during the final night of preparation for his Ritual of Possession. As hunger and fatigue had overcome him, his vision had grown red at its edges, the world narowing to a tunnel of light. Then... nothing. The paladin stands in the darkness, feeling an unfamiliar, broken ground beneath his feet. Drawing forth Radiance , Arthas commands the sword to provide light, revealing the interior of a large cave. Nearby, Eovan is also getting to his feet and in the edges of the sword's holy light, Flumph can be seen floating quietly. Arthas and Eovan confer, but neither has any idea how they got to this cave. The last thing Eovan recalls is a battle with ghasts in the Abyss; the broken terrain and the fact that the very land exudes evil suggests that they are still on that plane. With no other obvious options, the two heroes exit the cave and proceed along the bottom of a deep ravine. Flumph follows. Soon, they encounter Elaryan, Aron, Lor, and Nor, who have just completed their epic battle with Soltengrebbe. Reunited, the party decides to press onward. The ravine seems to be widening, and the more perceptive companions can just make out the dim light of twin fires in the distance. The lights resolve into large signal fires as the party draws close. Standing before them, rising out of the Abyss's perpetual gloom, stands Drezen Keep! Lor scouts ahead, only to fired upon from the keep's ballistae. Foul demons named brimorak man the walls, firing down with massive bolts and with the occasional fireball . The party flies to the wall and a melee ensues. soon, the brimorak are forced to teleport away to regroup. The heroes proceed cautiously down into the main gatehouse, only to be confronted with more brimorak sentries. Another battle erupts, as the party throws spells and arrows down the corridor at their abyssal foes. Elryan even manages to bend a lightning bolt around the party, catching two brimoraks in its path-- only to discover that the foul beings are immune to lightning! Still, the demons are clearly outmatched, and they are eventually defeated. Having cleared the gatehouse, the party must decide whether to not to forge ahead into the castle proper. They decide (as usual) that discretion is the better part of valor, and that their best strategy is to retreat a distance and rest before continuing. They leave the keep, and Elaryan casts rope trick to give them a place to hide for a few hours. As they climb into the rope trick's extradimensional space, Arthas falls to the ground, overcome by a seizure. He begins to chant odd phrases, only a few which can be made out ... five then four then three... visited upon the fruits of their loins... all hail... and in the darkness... and other strange words. This peculiar behavior lasts for over an hour, at which point the paladin is himself once again-- though he remembers none of it.The party tries to rest as best they can, with the howling of the Abyss just outside their small shelter. Everyone who played gains 3,000 XP