The Rectifiers trudged through the strange labyrinth, finding traps, chests, and mystical cases along the way. They discovered the magical barriers blocking paths had to be broken by different means; physical attacks for the jagged crystal, magical attacks for the smooth orb, and projectile attacks for the cylinder. Before escaping the labyrinth, they also discovered long deceased bodies with dark corruption seemingly infecting their bones. Upon inspection of one of the bodies, Karth received a black mark on his finger, though he did not notice any consequence.
While navigating through the maze, The Rectifiers also met another agent of The Red Inquisitor. This man bore no face, and wore only black trousers and boots. Across his torso and arms were various shapes, sizes, and colors of eyeballs embedded into the skin itself. They all darted to-and-fro until they all conjoined their gaze upon the group. The man presented more boons to them, but also motioned Karth forward. A contract materialized in front of Karth, offering Karth a position as a “Reach of The Red Inquisitor” to retrieve the strange warlock goods when called upon, with the promise of reward or payment when The Red Inquisitor felt so inclined. Karth signed the contract with blood, sealing his fate to The Red Inquisitor. The skin on his right hand and forearm painfully disintegrated, revealing the bone underneath. Red magical ley lines appeared that occasionally pulsed with red light etched their way down the white bone. The eyeballed man offered Karth a dark glove to cover the hand. When Karth’s friends next visited The Red Inquisitor, he was also called forward to the storefront to offer something to his new master. While on this visit to The Red Inquisitor, The Rectifiers found the man attempting some grand spell with a large crystal apparatus, though it seemed to fail each time. The Red Inquisitor’s voice was also less crazed, though the insanity poked through at times. His hands also seemed to be fully materialized rather than the red spectral magic. The Rectifiers conducted their business and left The Red Inquisitor to his literal devices.
With the exit in sight, The Rectifiers journeyed up the stone stairs, through the stone doorway, and through a short tunnel to the final opening of this cavern. This final opening had the group standing on a stone precipice overlooking a dark abyss below. On the mountain walls, dark magma flowed downward toward whatever darkness hungered for it. On the edge of the stone cliff, a stone building towered. It was made from similar stone as the architecture they had encountered earlier, though it was accented with black facades and roofing that had a more elegant motif. A small stairwell led to the entryway. The Rectifiers stepped forward and entered the ominous tower.
As expected, the dark door shut behind them. The group found themselves in a black marble floored room lit by black fire torches. In the middle of the room stood two statues facing one another, their poses matched. Between them was an orb of magical darkness with two chains dangling from the center. The Rectifiers were uneasy about this display, so they continued to the open door across the room to the next floor.
The following floor was an armory of sorts. Tables of armor, shields, and weapons along with racks of various weaponry covered the room. There were dark-corrupted goblin shamans, two corrupted dwarven knights, and two elves that seemed on the brink of corrupting into shades themselves. They both wielded bows and their formerly lighter hair colors were being blotted out by black. The Rectifiers spoke with the woman, who explained she represented a group called The Black Triumvirate, and that they, the shades, seek a place of their own on the surface, free to experiment with their dark magic, especially on humanoid creatures. The woman continued, saying that their goal was to create supreme beings that could wield dark magic in its most potent form to set themselves up as a race to be reckoned with. The Rectifiers tried to reason with the representative, offering them perhaps an island and unsalvageable criminals, but it was not enough for the shades. They wanted to operate with impunity. Seeing no resolution in sight with these two shades, The Rectifiers drew their weapons.
The shades had their shamans use the darkness to their cover their arrows while the dwarves kept the group at bay. Just as the tide seemed to turn in favor of The Rectifiers, Karth released the power of a new spell he had learned in his forays into the lore of Matar. He raised his hand with purple electricity charging around it, releasing the power of a Doomlord of old. Unfortunately for the group, the spell could not be entirely controlled, and the power of Blot, the Doomlord of Shadows, was called forth, covering the armory in darkness. This gave the shades the advantage and made the battle much more harrowing for the group, though they eventually reigned victorious, ready to salvage what supplies they could before confronting The Black Triumvirate…