You Broke It, You Bought It

Ezekiel told us that since we'd broken the orb, it was our responsibility to fix it. We hadn't intended to do so, but we were the ones that interrupted the ritual. Ezekiel told us we would need to take the orb to the Witch, who lived on an island. We agreed to the task for a fee of 5,000 gold in place of our previous contract, and cold iron weapons.

We told Ezekiel about Michael's visit & mission. Ezekiel instructed his apprentice, Barclay, to contact him as soon as Michael Merchants showed up again. We would have to keep Michael talking as long as possible, and figure out a way to signal Barclay.

The boat would stay with us, though we'd have to turn around. There were a few resupply points in the canal with areas were the boat would have room to turn. Over the next day, we had a few scares, but nothing came out of the orb. A couple of times, the room just got very cold and frosty for a while. I changed my spell repertoire to hopefully help us in the event another demon came through. We also moved our quarters next to the Barclay, so we could knock on the wall if Michael showed up. Shatain also rigged up a simple bell system.

In the late afternoon that day, before we turned around, Michael came to us. There was a knock on our door before the latch opened and Michael walked in. Shatain used sleight of hand to ring the bell without alerting Michael. Michael took a seat on a barrel and asked us how we were doing. He then told us that he couldn't get the full amount, but he had 1,000 gold and a large diamond that should cover the rest. We told him about the shadow demon we'd encountered.

Just as I launched into the description of the demon, the door opened from a force effect. Shatain slid the bag of gold and diamond out of sight during the momentary distraction. Michael magically froze in place as Ezekiel entered the room. He told us he'd take care of Michael, and he'd secured a loyal crew & guard; our captain was in the loop and was staying on. I took a moment to show Michael the crack in the orb, so he didn't think we were double crossing him for no reason.

Barclay entered and made sure everything had been well taken care of. After his brush with the shadow demon, he was a little skittish. Shatain borrowed a magnifying glass from him, but our light was too poor to asses the diamond's value. After the Barclay left, we divided up the gold. It totaled to 1112. Brennen took 370, Shatain & I took 371. The room went cold during the count, but nothing appeared to attack.

Another day passed before we reached the lock, with a few more cold spells. We docked and resupplied before turning. The old crew & guards left without a word; they were very tight-lipped. The new crew and guards joined. We were able to speak with the ship captain later, just to make sure everyone knew what they were in for. He told us the guards knew, but he wasn't telling the crew.

A day after we turned around at the lock, I tried something new on the orb at the next cold spell. I set it on the floor, and I created a magical circle around the orb to contain anything that might be coming out. We suspected entities had been leaving the orb without manifesting. A shadow demon appeared, and seemed contained by the spell.

The demon laughed, and the circle broke. Shatain attempted to bluff the demon, but failed. He successfully hit, but didn't do enough damage to get through its damage reducing aura. The demon attempted to summon an ally, but failed. Brennen hit with a 2-handed swing, doing 6. (All damage at this point is after a reduction of 10, and halved due to the incorporeal nature of the shadow). I summoned magical daylight, so that the demon wouldn't be able to hide from us again. We all shied away a bit; we hadn't seen the sun in weeks. The demon shrieked in annoyance.

Brennen swung again, missing with the first swing, but hitting critically with the second for 10. The demon fumbled for the door, and backed out through the wall. We checked the boat, but there was no sign of it. The guards calmed everyone down; the crew was a little disconcerted by the bright daylight emanating from my holy symbol. We assured the guard captain that all was well; we'd driven the beast out.

Over the next 3 days, we had 4-5 cold spells per day. On the third day, one of the demons decided to attack. The room was enveloped in darkness, and the demon attacked me. I conjured daylight again. That made the cabin at least lit, though dimly. The demon was effectively invisible. Shatain attacked, but missed. Brennen attacked nextis 2 swings missed.

Brennen & Shatain waited for me, in hope that I could align one of their weapons. The demon attacked me again, hitting twice for 16 total. I made Brennen's axe good, so he could attack and do damage. Unfortunately he missed with both his attacks. Shatain rang the bell to the apprentice's cabin. She also swung at the demon, but missed.

The demon clawed me again, hitting critically for 12, and again for 8. It missed with its bite. I attempted to dispel the creature's darkness, but failed. Brennen attacked twice, but missed. Shatain attacked and hit, but didn't get through the reduction.

The demon attacked me again, hitting for 10 with 1 claw. The bite and other claw missed. I healed myself for 48, bringing me back fully. Brennen hit for 9, but missed with the 2nd attack. Shatain ran next door to Barclay; he looked terrified when she burst through the door. He was in a state of high panic, but he steeled himself and went in. The darkness was very intimidating, wreathing the room in eerie shadow from my magical light countering the demon's. Shatain was fairly sure the wizard wet himself as he attempted to dispel the darkness. His magic fizzled however; it wasn't good enough to break the spell, and he didn't have another dispel.

Shatain kept an eye on the wizard, ready to keep him from running. The wizard cast daylight again, on Shatain. It was enough to make the demon visible. Shatain hit the creature from behind with his sword, for 4. I conjured a spiritual warhammer, but it disappeared as soon as it tried to hit. The creature hit me for 7, but then stumbled. Shatain & Brennen took advantage and hit; Shatain for 4, Brennen for 9. Brennen attacked again, hitting for 7. His 2nd swing fumbled, letting the demon hit him for 3.

I attempted to make Shatain's weapon good, but the spell fizzled because of the distractions of combat. Brennen attacked again, hitting for 10. His 2nd swing missed. Shatain attacked, hitting for 6. The demon promised to remember us, and teleported away. Barclay ran out of the room.

Binky huddled in the corner until he felt it was safe to uncurl. He'd made it through unscathed. After a few minutes, Barclay returned, and told us Ezekiel had the cold iron weapons we'd requested, but he wasn't happy about it. Ezekiel would join us shortly.

The room grew cold again. For a brief moment, we saw a shadow in the corner near Binky before it went into Barclay's room. We all ran over.

The demon hit Barclay out of nowhere with both claws and its bite, hurting him badly. I charged into the room and smote the demon with holy energy, blinding it and hitting for 26. Shatain critically hit it for 13. Brennen hit for 6, then hit critically for 13. It was still alive, barely.

Shatain struck again, hitting for 8. The demon was still blind and too disoriented to escape. Brennen hit again with his axe, for 7, enough to kill it. The entire floor turned black.

Ezekiel arrived moments later, with a bundle of cold iron weapons. There were 20 arrows, a short sword, a battle axe and a warhammer. It was immediately apparent that these had cost Ezekiel a lot of coin - they were all masterwork quality pieces, and judging by the gold inlays and gems, came from someone's treasury. They were quite functional though, and would be a great help if we were attacked again. Shatain's short sword was a Demon Slayer - we had a potent surprise if the shadows decided to attack again.