The Rectifiers were pulled forth from their vision of the past, back into the private suite they had found in Harin’s crystal castle. Daren had seen what they had experienced, explaining that they just witnessed the maniacal King Thalend (brother of Korrin) execute The Talons of Scarlet, while The Fist of Korrin watched helplessly, having just been released from the Ebonyborn realm. Daren needed time to ponder what he had seen, and a mage knocked on the door to alert The Rectifiers that the Archmage awaited them in The Emerald Expanse and that Lady Zola wished to speak to them before they left.
Finding her at the tailend of a conversation with Vis, The Rectifiers learned that she wished to take ownership of the Touch of Malice gauntlets they had claimed from Count Blackrose. Her reasoning being that she wished to look more “fierce” in her new position of authority. The group was slightly suspect of her reason but gave her the gauntlets regardless. Pleased, she wished them luck in their mission with the shades.
With their meetings concluded, The Rectifiers resupplied and shopped throughout The Diamond Dwarvenium and The Emerald Expanse. During their outing, The Red Inquisitor bequeathed more gifts, one being another amulet to Gale. Extremely reluctantly, she placed the amulet around her neck and met The Red Inquisitor for herself. She reported back that there was no longer a statue of the strange warlock inside, but instead a red specter that walked the room freely. Though they were disturbed, they made one trade with the now timeless mage and continued on their way to the nexus leading to The Obsidian Depths, which was heavily guarded by knights and mages of Amanta.
At the nexus, the party met Archmage Sandon, an aged, bald Dwarf. He wore emerald robes with black fur similar to the other mages, but his robes held regalia apparently denoting rank. He spoke curtly with years behind his voice. He led them through the portal leading to the lowest level of Amanta. Before they followed, The Rectifiers noticed two dwarven mages slyly gambling as they watched, a foreboding sign.
Nearly all traces of sunlight had gone once they rematerialized in The Obsidian Depths. This level was made from darker stone and had a slightly glowing black crystal lining the streets and buildings. Tougher folk walked the streets of this level, nearly all armed, some wounded, others maimed. The Rectifiers passed through the city’s level, barely catching passing glances of the mercenary buildings, smithies, and adventuring supplies shops. They neared the outskirts of the level, touching the wall of the mountain. A stonework archway covering the threshold of a side tunnel awaited them. Sandon ushered the group inside.
The group spent a fair amount of the day traveling with their guide who was providing magical light to the caverns. The archway through which they had entered was the last sign of architecture they saw. After a fair bit of the evening spent traveling, the group entered a wider opening in the cave. Sandon motioned for them to stop and dimmed his light. He pointed upward where The Rectifiers saw large bat-like creatures sleeping near the stalactites. Their claws and eyes almost seemed to be dripping dark magic. Sandon told them they had no chance of making it across the chamber without alerting the bats, so they would have to be dispatched. On the signal of The Rectifiers, Sandon cast and held a spell that lit up the chamber, allowing them to effectively battle the bats.
After a short scuffle with the shadow-wielding beasts, The Rectifiers claimed victory and some claws from the bats. Sandon led them onward. Sandon stopped the group to rest at another small clearing. During their respite, the group learned that Sandon had been apart of the Amantan mage guild for some time. He told them he had not seen traces of shades since the one destroyed Amanta so many years ago. Sandon also explained that they believed these disappearances were the work of the shades as the bodies were disappearing rather than turning up dead or in pieces.
With their minds and muscles refreshed, the party continued through the tunnels. After a fair share of the day spent trudging through rock, The Rectifiers and their guide arrived at the breach in this cave used for scavenging supplies from monsters. They were in a wide clearing with a crack in the stone wall across the way, just large enough for a humanoid to fit through. Spilling from it like some misty liquid were tendrils of dark magic. A small camp of cave goblins had set up their home here and were in the midst of cooking their dinner, a large rat. Sandon stated he would provide the same support as last battle, but he waited to cast his spell until Azalea used her own power to detonate a campfire around which two cave goblins sat. Battle ensued, and The Rectifiers dispatched their foes.
The group looted what they could and say their farewells to their guide Sandon, as he would go no further into the tunnels. They journeyed into the spewing darkness in the crack made by whatever unknown force that lurked within. They traveled for another handful of hours, guided by the scant light of Azalea’s torch and Audrea’s magical light. As they walked, they spotted cracks in the natural stone that seemed to reveal man-made stone. As they delved deeper and deeper, the cracks became more frequent, revealing architected stone that had long since been covered by rock. Gale had some dark liquid spill upon her shoulder from above, spying a quick shadow scurry across the ceiling upon investigation. Gale also stumbled into dark, stringy web that seemed a bit too large to be a spider’s.
The group reached a large opening that revealed the biggest amount of architecture. Mortared stone floors and stairs sat in the chamber, though stalagmites pierced through some of the stonework. Magical darkness sat stagnant in a few of the corners of the room. The party could not quite spy what awaited on the far side. Gale took flight with her feathered friend, but before she could investigate much further, a bolt of dark magic struck the bird, sending both spiraling to the floor. It was unclear from where the bolt came. The group carefully stepped up the stairs to the higher level of the room, and as they did, they spotted several sets of dark green eyes light up in the pockets of darkness. Enormous many-legged creatures stepped forth from the shadow, their mandibles dripping with hunger and dark magic. The Rectifiers braced themselves to face this new enemy…