It has been four months since the defeat of the Gnolls. The party has been aiding in the efforts to reconstruct the fort and bury the dead. A stone masoleum is constructed for Cardollan by the Brewing Brigade at the spot he was killed. Cardollan’s body and all of his belongings are placed in the shrine.

As we see Cardollan’s body, we finally understand the reason for his longevity. By his telltale ears, it is apparent that he is a Half-Elf.

There have been no reports of Gnoll activity in the area since the battle. The remaining Gnoll forces have either fled Gnollwood entirely or have remained in hiding.

The rangers of Fort Talathas are now leaderless and seemingly aimless, not knowing what to do next. Josephus approaches Porodo and suggests that he consider taking command of the ranger forces, to assist our group and the Dwarves in their efforts to regain control of Skraag.

We call a meeting between our group and Josephus late that evening. We decide that we will return to Daemyr to seek the advice of the Matriarch. We will take the rangers with us, and close down the fort. Porodo decides to take the responsibility of leading the rangers.

The next morning, Josephus announces to the rangers that Porodo will be their new leader. The rangers cheer with approval, and Porodo makes an empassioned speech, saying that they must assist the Dwarves in retaking Skraag, because they came to the aid of the Elves. The Dwarves join in the cheering.

Porodo then pays his respects to Cardollan. Josephus tells him that Cardollan mentioned before he died that he would have stepped down from his command to allow Porodo rule the rangers. Josephus gives to Porodo a gift from Cardollan — a magical ring with the etching of a shield and a unicorn.

The group starts packing up the fort for the long trek to Daemyr, and this takes the remainder of the day. The next day everyone is prepared to leave, and we decide on the (longer) easterly route to get to Daemyr, since we would travel through less forest.

We travel for three days with no incident, but as we near the northern border just 20 miles from the city, we hear a strange whistling roar on the wind. In the night sky we see a giant flaming ball that seems to be hurtling down to earth. It is coming down to the southwest of us, towards Daemyr.

Upon seeing the object and closing his eyes for a moment, Josephus orders us to ride to Daemyr, as fast as our horses will carry us.

We ride as quickly as we can to the city, but soon we hear an immense explosion that shakes the ground under our feet. Ahead we see the town of Fionna, which stands just north of Daemyr. The entire city had been leveled — blasted flat by the fireball.

We continue to Daemyr, riding on through the night. As we near the city, however, Josephus stops us. He informs us that Daemyr is gone, and a black citadel has arisen in its place. At that moment, Eilenos hears Necros’ voice in his head, mockingly saying “I am here!”

Josephus tells the party that Necros will raise all of the Elves that had been killed in the attack and use them as his undead army — we cannot stand against his might, even with the strength of the rangers and the dwarves together. We must travel to the Midlands, he tells us, to the River Rat tavern, to meet an “old friend.”

The Shadow Hunters agree to stay in Elleday and warn all of the villages in the area that they must evacuate. We travel north again to River Run, and tell the inhabitants there what has been happening. Josephus gives a small glass orb to the Shadow Hunters and one to Porodo — apparently this is something of a two-way radio so we can communicate directly with them over long distances.

We ride north, and on our way to River Run we warn as many towns as we can. We finally make it the River Rat tavern, more than a week later. We unload our gear and set up camp nearby.