DM note: I apologise to all who have been following this campaign and who have been reading the synopsis' as they have been coming out. The start of the year has been somewhat chaotic and due to this there have been some changes to the nights that the game has been played on. For your information, the game is now played fortnightly on Monday nights, so expect future synopsis' to be available from Wednesday night after each game. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Since we last left our Adventurers, they had battled the Flameskull and his four friends, another Flameskull and two Ghosts that it called out to as Calico woke the rest of the Party. During the battle Catsi and Bardryn both fell victim to being possessed by the Ghosts losing all control of their movement as the Ghosts took over their body and used them to battle their friends. Ultimately, the Party succeeded in defeating the four, returning to their camp to rest for the remainder of the night. (Unfortunately, in doing so none of the Party saw the Flameskulls reanimate and flee). The following morning the Adventurers continued Eastward to Eaden, passing the day without trouble. However, they did notice that the further they progressed the land began to change. The grass became dry and stiff, the trees barren, and there was little sound of wildlife. By the end of the day's travel, the land showed signs of barren dirt where the grass and foliage had withered away, the trees were totally barren and dead, and there was no sound of wildlife at all. They were about to make camp by the side of the road at the base of a bluff, when they noticed an oddity in the stone wall of the bluff. Looking closer they saw that the oddity was caused by a circular stone that was blocking an entrance to a cavern beyond. Curious, and also thinking that the cavern could provide a warmer area to sleep, they gathered the horses and tied rope around the stone to the horses, which they used to pull the stone aside. Creeping into the cave they found it empty; although there were decayed bodies of soldiers within. After a thorough search of the cavern, they widened the entry and brought the horses and cart inside for the night. After an uneventful night, they were preparing to leave when a broken table that was on the floor suddenly rose to tilt to it's side and the large head of a Troll rose from an entry beneath where the table was. Surprised at seeing the group, the Troll immediately turned and headed back down from where it came with a loud cry, setting the group into quick motion as they gathered the cart and horses and raced out of the cave. Using the last of her makeshift bombs, Catsi lit them and threw them down the stairwell and with successful rolls managed to demolish the stone around the stairs causing the area to cave in and block any further exit of the Trolls. Deciding to err on the side of caution, the Party did not stop to see what happened but continued along the road. As midday arrived, the Adventurers finally reached Eaden, entering by the West Gate. Before they did anything else, they immediately made their way to the Emperors Palace to meet with the Emperor and complete this next task of their quest. Approaching the gate of the Palace, Catsi took the lead, introducing herself as Princess Krrina and with successful persuasion rolls, gaining entry to see the Emperor. On meeting with him, they introduced themselves and informed him that they had an item that could be used in the Heart Sphere's stead until they Orb of Power could be replaced. A high Insight roll gave Jett the feeling that the Emperor was not acting as a person in his position should and thus he refrained from telling the Emperor that he had the Heart Sphere until he could be sure that all was well. After questioning the Emperor, Jett finally revealed that he had the Sphere and further informed that he had a plan to use the Sphere to draw Gareth out of hiding from his stronghold by unveiling it in a place where they and the Emperors Army could battle him at their advantage. The Emperor saw vailidity in this though he stated he would have to run it by his advisors first and that Jett and one other should attend the meeting to discuss the plan. Catsi volunteered to go with Jett. They spent the rest of the afternoon about the city, exploring and completing some minor tasks until evening dawned and they were to return for dinner with the Emperor.