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They had been in the Shadow-Cursed lands for only a brief time, and Rhian was already sick of it. The dismal landscape seemed to stretch on forever, and how she already missed the sun and warmth and color. The darkness had a weight to it, pressing on her from every side until she felt like she was suffocating.
She eyed each of her friends. Lae’zel was as impassive as ever, all business, no matter the circumstances. But now that she knew the githyanki better, she could tell she found the darkness off-putting, unnatural, with the way her eyes constantly darted about, taking the measure of the land and being on high alert for any threats.
Karlach was more clearly bothered by it, not quite jumping at any strange suspicious sounds- of which there were plenty- but her hands were clenched around the handle of her axe much tighter than normal. Rhian longed to reach for her, to reassure her, but until they found Dammon again and saw about further upgrading her engine, the best she could offer for now was what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Karlach returned it, and her grip on her weapon relaxed ever so slightly.
And Shadowheart was… Well, Rhian wasn’t entirely sure what to make of her at the moment. She’d been insistent that Shar was protecting her in some way, keeping the shadows from affecting her as badly as everyone else. She had forged ahead once they got through the ruins, leading their small party out into the darkness. Rhian didn’t feel particularly comforted by that notion- her friend eager to race forward into the dark- and so now worry gnawed at her. She’d have to bring it up to her later, preferably when they had a moment alone.
The other half of their group had gone the other direction to scout out the area, once they’d made camp. Rhian hadn’t liked splitting up, but eight of them stumbling around in the dark was certain to draw the wrong kind of attention, and quickly. Hells, just the four of us nearly feels like too much, she thought, but any fewer and she didn’t like their odds.
They’d stumbled into one fight already, running into a group of Harpers out and about. Unfortunately it had cost the Harpers one of their own, and while Rhian hadn’t been terribly eager to jump into a fight, she and her companions had helped them take out their shadow-cursed ally, and the other shadows that had been lying in wait.
The lead Harper- Lassandra, Rhian thought her name was- had given them directions to an inn, somewhere safe from the curse. She’d offered to lead them there herself, but Rhian had waved her on, saying they’d catch up in due time. She’d wanted a moment to regroup and talk with her own party, before committing to joining up with anyone out here. But they’d all been in agreement- at the very least, if there was a sanctuary out here, it was worth checking out.
Shadowheart took the lead again, following the directions on the map. It didn’t take them long before they saw part of a shimmering dome off in the distance. “Perhaps that is our destination,” Lae’zel said.
Rhian hoped so; a beacon of light in the middle of the dark had to be a good sign, right?
As they drew closer, Rhian paused. On the path ahead of them lay a bird, a shimmer of shadows dancing around its corpse. Rhian knelt down for a closer look. “Looks like it’s been corrupted with shadows,” she remarked to her companions.
There was a rolled parchment tied to one of the bird’s legs. Huh, a messenger raven? Must have been carrying this when it got struck by the curse, she mused to herself, I wonder if it’s got anything useful.
She reached forward, intending to untie the paper. Behind her, Shadowheart was warning, “Careful, there’s no telling wh-“
The shadows exploded around them as soon as Rhian’s hand touched the bird. The now very much undead bird launched itself at her, forcing Rhian to scramble backwards. She lost her footing, hitting the ground hard at Shadowheart’s feet. Around them, other birds had materialized from the shadows.
“Ira et Dolor,” blinding white light blossomed around them, incinerating the first raven when it swooped in at Rhian.
She heard Lae’zel and Karlach fire off a couple of crossbow bolts behind her before they retreated inside the radius of Shadowheard’s spirit guardians. The rest of the ravens were upon them in seconds, but exploded into bursts of bright white fire as soon as they hit the spell.
In seconds, they had all disintegrated, leaving them standing in silence again.
Rhian’s heart was racing, her blood pounding in her ears, but she clutched the rolled parchment in one hand. Shadowheart ended her spell, then moved around to stand in front of her, securing her shield at her back. “Must we touch everything?” she intoned, giving Rhian a quizzical look before offering her a hand up.
Rhian took it, letting the cleric pull her back to her feet. She threw her a lopsided grin, “I’m just lucky you were faster than the birds.”
Shadowheart ignored the comment, turning to the matter at hand, “Tell me we at least got something useful?”
Rhian held up the rolled parchment, “Must’ve been a messenger bird.”
Unfurling the paper, she read out the message:
“‘HELP! A darkness has rolled into Reithwin, cutting us off on all sides. We’ve sent people through, but no one can make it more than a few steps before-‘ Well, the rest of that is unreadable.”
The last half of the sentence was obscured by several drops of blood. She skipped over it, continuing, “‘This letter is our last hope. Send help- anyone, from anywhere, I beg of you. I will renounce our Lady Loss and kiss the Moonmaiden’s feet-“ Shadowheart scowled- “if that’s what it takes. Just don’t let the darkness take us.’”
Rhian flipped the paper over, finding nothing additional other than a few more drops of blood. “Reithwin. Must be near here, if they were hit by the shadow curse. The raven probably didn’t get very far, I’d wager. Might be worth checking out, once we find this inn.”
“Sounds like whoever wrote it was Sharran too,” Shadowheart agreed, “Perhaps we’ll find more answers there.”
Rhian wasn’t so sure she and Shadowheart were after the same answers anymore. Her drive to prove herself to her goddess, this push towards something out here, it didn’t sit well with her. But rather than voice any of those concerns, Rhian stowed the letter in her pack. “Well, best find this inn first and see if we can’t make a few friends.”
Shadowheart gestured for her to take the lead, “After you.”