The Deadly Necromancer

O-Sayumi and her mysterious older companion knelt motionless on the floor of the room at the end of the Shadow Maze, as everyone stood around her and wondered what their next step should be. They’d been on a mission to find the missing geisha, and technically they had, but they weren’t sure it would constitute “Mission Accomplished” to return her to the teahouse sans soul. Her samisen had been found in the next room, and Marie had confirmed that it was extremely magical. On a whim, Sandoval picked up the instrument and began to play, hoping it would have some effect on the frozen women. The bard was surprisingly proficient with the unfamiliar instrument, but the haunting tune he picked out fell on deaf ears as far as the two women were concerned.

The Shadow Maze (part 2)

Bella sat on the floor, her back against the cold wall of the subterranean maze, as Sawyer pushed the curtain aside and stepped through. She was sick and tired of being ignored, of being taken for granted. She knew she’d figured out the clues from O-Sayumi’s inro, but would they listen to her? No. She’d warned them that this was the wrong way to go, that they needed to backtrack and pass through the green jade gate they’d avoided earlier. But she was just a guttersnipe, what did she know? She wasn’t some all-holy cleric, or pimply learned wizard who could read and everything. The fact that she’d been finding and disarming traps almost since she could walk was worth shit to them. Well fine. They could just go on without her, and see just how well that worked out for them. Without her doing their dirty work for them, they’d all have been dead long ago. She was sure they were walking blindly into danger now – let’s see how long it would be before they were begging for her help again. She’d just sit here and let them beg, and listen to them scream as they died.

The Shadow Maze

While exploring Yugureda Shosaito’s island villa, the party had discovered a long tunnel beneath the house that ended with a trapdoor in the ceiling. Unfortunately, it opened into a village occupied by Yugureda’s undead pearl divers, and they took exception to the presence of uninvited visitors. The Lacedons were clawing and snapping at the party as they tried to emerge from the tiny hut over the trapdoor, as well as the large Earth Elemental that Zhustin had summoned outside to distract them. Luckily, Marie’s Freedom’s Call aura was preventing the ghouls’ bites from paralyzing anyone – for now.

Shinju-no-Ie - The House of Pearls

Marie watched in horror as the hideous flying half-women began flying away with Bella, Sandoval, and Zhustin clutched in their talons. Blood streamed from their wounds as the manananggals’ powerful wings carried them into the darkness. Moving quickly, she activated her Freedom’s Call, and rushed to the most central location she could find, praying that her friends weren’t already out of reach of her protective aura of freedom.