Deeper Into Citadel Cavitus

The group tends to their wounds after the battle with the hoard of zombie goblins, or zoblins, lich hounds and a minotaur skeleton. Lirath and Hope rush into the ancient keep and begin to scour the dirty and decrepit rooms and find a trove of ancient coins, gems and other such treasures.

As the group rests they discuss what their next course of action should be. They are not in any rush to pursue Osterneth immediately after their last battle. They need to restore their health and spell abilities. To rush headlong after the priestess of Vecna would be foolhardy. While they discuss they pass the small griffon statue around trying to puzzle out its riddle.

Relaxed I sit upon my perch 
Till suddenly I give a lurch 
And off I speed on wing-tips three 
Before my prey can think to flee. 
I make its flesh and tendons part 
And claw my way into its heart. 

Now only kin can set me free 
so strike this statue with one Of me.

Inside The Statue
5,000 XP

Finally, Hope takes an arrow from Katya and stabs it into the statue. The head pulls back on unseen hinges to reveal a small hollow inside. Katya reaches inside and pulls out a long and ethereal black arrow. Wisps of black ether fall from the arrow. Katya tucks this away for later.

They decide that they should pursue Osterneth now that they are capable of fight.

They find the stairs that Lirath says he say the priestess descend and they too follow the ancient stone steps downwards. Moving ever downwards, the stairs twist and turn and the air begins to feel cold and damp. When they finally reach the bottom they are in an ancient temple, cold mist flowing a foot deep along the ornate floor tiles.

In the middle of the temple is a black portal. An oval stands 10 feet high, black liquid-like magic separates this world from another as they watch a foot disappear into the black flowing portal. Osterneth, who still stands beside the portal holds in her hand a cylindrical device which has multiple rings surrounding it. She spins these rings, jumbling whatever pattern which held the portal open. The portal collapses silently, leaving only Osterneth standing in front of the group with a sly smile, as she tucks the device into her robes.

Vecna Escapes
26,800 XP

She tells them that they are too late. Vecna has left to kill The Raven Queen. Now it is time for her revenge upon them. They are to be punished for casting her into the Astral Plane, the last time they fought.

Smallfang growls and charges in, Barb right behind him. Osterneth raises her hand and stuns them. As they are unable to move she uses a scepter and uses their inability to defend themselves to inflict grievous damage. She screams and laughs as she takes her revenge upon them.

Lirath, Hope and Katya close in and attack. They land their blows but Osterneths blood, or what passes for blood within the undead creature, splatters back upon them burning into their skin and spreading.

Rook moves back out of harms way. He casts the illusion of a rope over the scepter that Osterneth uses to bash in the skulls of Barb and Smallfang, and then forces it into reality. Osterneth frustrated with this tosses the rope/scepter aside.

As Smallfang and Barb regain their senses they continue their assault on the priestess, getting splashed with her necrotic energy, but again Osterneth raises her hand and casts power word kill upon the dragonborn. Knowing she has beaten him to the point where the spell can now instantly kill him. Laughing as Smallfang drops to his knees but Smallfang's resilience prevents him from being outright killed. He looks up into the eyes of Osterneth and smiles defiantly.

Smallfang's smile instantly fades as the necrotic damage he has sustained, pulses yet again and plunges him into unconsciousness. Smallfang is dying.

Osterneth uses her powers to call upon the dead of the temple to come to her aid. Several mumified skeletal remains rise up out of the mist and begin to attack. These are merely a distraction as they are easily dispatched leaving again only Osterneth to be dealt with.

The Death Of Osterneth

Between Barb and Smallfang's close quarter attacks Hope hopes that Osterneth has been injured enough for her favorite spell, disintegrate, to work. A blast of arcane energy leaves Hope and hits Osterneth directly. When the spell ends, Osterneth collapses on the floor. There is a pulsing arcanic energy which comes from the chest of Osterneth and she rises once more. The power spreading out of her exposed, blackened and shriveled heart fills the priestess' body and she smiles at the group. Clearly she cannot be killed this way.

But while Osterneth is gloating, Katya moving from within the shadows has nocked the black ethereal arrow, which they had found within the statue of the griffon. She uses all of her skill to aim directly for the heart. She releases the arrow and it finds its target.

The black arrow disappears but the heart begins to liquify and Osterneth screams as her body withers and collapses. Black ooze pouring out from where her heart would be.

Katya Destroys The Artifacts

The group stands around the dead priestess and debates whether or not they should destroy all of  Vecna's artifacts. But the debate is soon ended when Katya pulls out of her bag of holding the artifacts she has within her possession and stabs them. The arguing stops as they watch her destroy them and they turn into a puddle of black slimy liquid.

Going through the robes of Osternath they find the cylinrical device which they had seen her close the portal with and they after little time figure it out and open the portal.

They enter in pursuit of Vecna.

On the other side they find themselves within the Shadowfell.

The Shadowfell
10,000 XP

A bleak and stark land perpetually in twilight. The landscape is rough and broken. The sparse forest they find themselves in, has thin and twisted trees with no leaves. Rook, who has for years been hoping to find himself in the Shadowfell in service of The Raven Queen, has read much on the Shadowfell. He prays to his queen and asks for direction.

At this, ravens hidden thus far, in the dead trees of the forest, take flight and head off in a single direction.

They follow.

Soon they come across a pile of dead bodies after a quick inspection, Rook notices they are uniformed as the Deathless Watch, the militia and law enforcement here. He also notices a now familiar look of dead bodies who have died because their skeletons have been liquified. Vecna has passed through here. How long ago is difficult to determine, Rook tells the others that time here runs different. He might have come through here moments ago or days or even weeks ago.

A different group is approaching from near the direction they are headed.

It is a group of fanatics to the Raven Queen, the Ebony Guard. They begin to question the group trying to be friendly at first but soon the group notices their interest in Rook. His odd eye and hidden hands being suspicious. The adventurers attack.

They find the Ebony Guard hard to injure but soon they fall under Rook's hand of Vecna.

The Shadowfell is not very inviting.