Escaping the burning ruins of Eugringe, Dolo and Vance find themselves with an unexpected companion – a soldier named Av who secretly hitched a ride in their cart. As they journey north toward Kerhill, our heroes stumble upon an abandoned military campsite that carries unsettling traces of both illusion and necrotic magic.
The air thrums with dark energy as they discover a captain's diary revealing increasing paranoia, strange eyes watching in the night, and soldiers disappearing after behaving oddly. When dawn breaks, the party awakens surrounded by spectral wolves – ethereal creatures that observe but don't attack, their glowing eyes burning into our heroes' minds.
Following a trail east, they discover a cave entrance decorated with real wolf corpses mounted on stakes – a macabre mirror to the spectral pack that stalked them. Inside, overwhelming necrotic energy pours forth "like a water faucet turned on," and deeper exploration reveals soldiers trapped in magical trances, unresponsive to rescue attempts.
In the central chamber, they confront the source of this corruption – a skeletal figure in robes with fabricated skin patches, ranting about betrayal. This necromancer reveals his connection to someone named "Alyssum" who broke promises that would have restored his body. When Dolo and Vance's attempts at deception fail, skeletal soldiers rise, and battle becomes inevitable.
This episode deftly weaves humor with horror as our heroes uncover connections between the mysterious woman they encountered earlier and this vengeful undead sorcerer. What role does Alyssum play in the larger conflict? What ancient pact was broken? And can our heroes survive the necromancer's wrath?
Subscribe now to follow Dolo and Vance's journey as they unravel conspiracies that stretch far beyond a simple war between nations, into realms of forbidden magic and broken promises.
