Chapter IV : A Bloody Clue - The Adventure

 The scenario is here.

The heroes reach the sprawling camp in the Eastern Desert; more than ten thousand men and women have already flocked to Natohk's banner, without counting the army of the Stygian Prince Kutamun.

Thanks to some clever coordination and the use of "Mystical Barrier", the company managed to remain fairly discreet, until Ethelglyth (top right of the photo) got into serious trouble.

The Warrior Nun of Mitra finally confronted the Avatar of Set, in a well-balanced fight that saw neither gain the upper hand.  Zarese rained lightning down on the counsellor, shattering the roof of his house and wounding him.

Look at this for an action shot ! :

Although badly wounded, Ethelglyth survived despite the odds stacked against her, then leapt from the roof - risking death in the doing - to join with Zarese and offer her "Support".  On the same rooftop, the timely arrival of Shevata had allowed the heroes to discover the whereabouts of the scrolls.  The Alert Level was now dangerously high, though, at 8.

Ethleglyth's presence allowed Zarese to efficiently bring more lightning down on the Stygian counsellor.  Although he survived the attack due to the intervention of powerful black magic [ie. saving rolls], the Overlord was, in the doing, now left without any defense.

Once Marotte opened the door with the key in her possession, she stepped in to slay the Stygian with one mighty blow.  The heroes had just enough time to reunite a Turanian corpse with that of the Stygian, allowing them to escape with no risk of being followed, and without alerting Natohk to the presence of the Fellowship of Light.

 

Things looked difficult for the heroes to start with, but they stayed cool-headed and finally won through, a last-minute nail-biter.

Ethelglyth was heavily wounded - 3 permanent wounds - and lost her axe to the bargain.  She gained +1 XP.  Marotte, who slew the Stygian counsellor, acquired +2 XP.  Shevata and Zarese both gain +1 XP.