What have I done? I had one task. One simple task! Now I must suffer the guilt of seeing Castle Denmok buried in a white sea of snow.
Our hearts guided us to our first portal. Naturally we chose to come to the aid of our friend Corath who appeared to be in immediate and mortal peril. We said our prayers and took the plunge into the Denmok portal, appearing on a balcony of Castle Denmok, formerly Castle Dreknar, hundreds of feet in the air. We quickly barreled into the castle through a large set of ornate double doors which led directly to the throne room.
Here, poised for a fight and listening to the distant cries of battle echoing through the castle walls, stood Corath and Lim'Shargoth, along with a scattered few soldiers, most of which held shut another set of double doors which led into the castle. Something on the other side of the doors was trying to bash their way in.
We told the soldiers to line up on either side of the door and let them swing open. We were here to protect the castle and we elected to face this threat head on. Leading the charge as the doors opened was a rock elemental, tumbling in and flinging rocks and debri in all directions. Following this creature were a few blood fiends and a fearsome glabrezu. As they roared into the room, they must have sensed the ease in which they entered and set upon the waiting soldiers first, cutting them down.
What followed was a very difficult battle. It took a series of failed magical assaults for me to realize we should focus on attacking their weak spirits with soul-penetrating spells. I first unleashed my radiant flames against the glabrezu to no effect.
The stone elemental kept us on our heels, too, as his hardened form repelled the swings of Talos's vicious longsword swings. An assault of stones left my head spinning and Elwoz unconscious for a moment while the others struggled to contain the monsters. As I struggled to regain my composure, I began to call out to the heavens for aid. As if I had been doing it my entire life, I called forth an angelic servant of Corellon to fight beside us. The golden form appeared in a blast of light, stinging the demonic beasts, and immediately setting in against them. Eventually the stone elemental remained, focusing his unforgiving attacks on our helpless shaman, but with our focused efforts and the divine healing magic of Talos, we were able to defeat the monster and help Elwoz regain his senses.
It was apparent that I was the link which held my angelic accomplice to this plane, and could no longer keep him here, so as the stone elemental crumbled to bits upon the marble floor of the throne room, the angel faded away, returning to his divine domain.
Corath and Lim'Shargoth accompanied us as we tore out of the room and through the castle halls, striking down the occasional wandering beast, but we saw through the windows that the fight had poured into the courtyard from various points in the castle.
A frightened soldier passed us on his way to the fray, telling us the creatures seemed to have come from the quarters of someone named Galwaz, presumably the court wizard or another guard, and pointed us in that direction. In Galwaz's room, we came upon a demonic gate in which stood a portal to the abyss. In communion with the arcane spirits and council with Diesa, I determined the only means of closing this portal was from the other side. Sure of myself, I lept through the portal, ready to close it down behind me. The others followed, however, determined to join me in oblivion if it meant saving the Denmok lands. It was a good thing they did, too, for fiendish creatures soon set upon us as I attempted to close the portal.
The usual song of the flowing magic of the planes was silent, though. I was clumsy. I attempted to force the portal closed, but drew a blank. The portal rejected my magical probings, triggering a permanent fissure between the planes. I had failed, and failed miserably.
So we ran. Behind us, the portal unleashed more creatures into this world, but we just ran. Finally we arrived at our portal to the luminous body, but it repelled us before closing up. Corath and Alyana called for an evacuation. The call to retreat echoed throughout the castle until we heard the deep ringing of bells, signalling to the soldiers that it was time to abandon the castle.
Through the hallways we ran. Through the courtyard, between howling beasts and the terrified soldiers, some trembling, some laying wounded, some torn asunder. We ran still through the outlying village, up the mountains which flanked the Denmok capital. As we ran, the abyssal hordes were in tow, and slowly gaining on us. Through careful observation of our surroundings, we were able to create obstacles for our pursuers and find safer footing as we climbed the mountain. Our new plan was to bring the mountain down upon the city, for it was the only way to stop the outpouring of demonic creatures.
For hours we ran. In desperation, I summoned a small sparrow, sending with it a message to summon the airship which brought Corath back from Moraldrum, but it was in vain. For nearly a day later, we topped the mountain range, and Alyana blew hard into her family horn. The avalanche that ensued was a destructive force the likes of which I have never seen. For miles and miles, as far as the eye could see, a wave of white rapidly rushed down the surrounding mountains, filling the valley. Though many of the outlying homes and businesses remained, much of the city and the castle itself was covered, with only its five spires poking out from the thick snowy mound.
As we stood upon the mountain, gazing down at Alyana's ruined kingdom, a portal to the luminous body appeared, though Corath and Lim'Shargoth could not see it. We offered to let them join us, but their inability to see the portal suggested their inability to pass through it as well. We could only tell them to contact Stovokor and Moraldrum, and let them know of the disaster. Perhaps they, too, are under threat, or they could come to Denmok's aid. With that, we left in shame.
We did not speak when we settled down for our rest. I suppose each of us carried the burden of today's events, but it is I who should carry it all. What began as a valiant charge to the aid of our friends ended in a shameful retreat and the destruction of a grand city, and it is all my fault. I know my prophetic gift is at work, leaving me hints of our next journey, but it is drowned out by my sorrow as I look to the portal we took today, now an empty space beneath a small stone arch.
Perhaps this day has not yet happened. Perhaps we will leave this place and return to a utopia. Perhaps this is only a possible future. We do not yet understand the luminous body or how it relates to time or reality. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking, and I have made the first of many mistakes which will inevitably bring about the end of days.
May the gods have mercy on me.
