Everyone died…wait, sorry, different group.

First and foremost, before the recap. If you can’t make it to a session? Please let me know ahead of time. Many people want to play with us, but our table has limited space. It’s better if we can keep the same group together.

Do let me be clear. We all have a life away from the table. Go, have fun, enjoy. We have families and other things to do. If you let me know, we can get ‘guests’ to fill in for a week or two, but it is hard to prepare if I don’t know who is coming. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Really! Thanks.

The party traveled to the far north. They spared no expense on their provisions and supplies, and they didn’t want to leave their very comfortable wagons. But they did venture out when they reached Rybalka, a modest-sized town. The group was greeted by Igor Leonid, the mayor of Rybalka, who invited them to participate in the ‘Vigil for Light’ ceremony (Northern Gods reference). The cleric Juriendor began the invocation.

The Gryphonwinnd Gatherers, a local adventuring band, interrupted the ceremony when they burst into the cathedral. Some were on the brink of death, and one was turned to stone. The ceremony began again after the clerics and the party tended to these hurts and rescued the Gryphonwinnd Gatherers from certain death.

The cathedral doors burst open again—this time by ‘hunters’ claiming to be cold and afraid of the darkness outside. The hunters lit torches and set the cathedral itself on fire. Juriendor pleaded for mercy for the hunters, who were under a spell. With the help of the party, Igor, the mayor, prevented the cathedral from being burned to the ground.

Juriendor once more started the ceremony. Villagers were eager for the Vigil of Light to finish and bring ‘the light’ back to their frozen village. Juriendor lifted the Moonshard and once again began the ceremony. Once he spoke the holy words, the Moonshard started to glow, and the villagers began to relax.

The hoped-for peace was not to last; Juriendor’s ceremony had unexpected consequences as he continued his incantations, the cathedral filled with a bright light that sent shadows scurrying out of the building. A hole was rented in the cathedral, and black orbs slipped into the holy chamber. The screams from the villagers let the party know this was not an expected outcome. Dark energy beams shot around the room, hitting villagers, walls, and even Juriendor, who was thrown to the floor, seemed to be knocked out. As the orb assaults the cleric, a brave villager screams, “NO!” and grabs a metal candlestick holder and strikes the orb.

The Moonshard falls from Juriendor’s hand and disappears into the floor. This threw everyone in the Cathedral into a panic. The orb does not allow itself to be hit, and a dark energy beam strikes the brave villager in the chest. This villager drops to his knees. Villagers now scream in terror and look for ways out of the building. What else could go wrong?

As the villagers attempt to escape, creatures set upon them at all three exits. Zombies! The zombies begin to attack and chew on the villagers. Screams erupt, wails of terror. Could this night get any worse? Mayor Igor, with some villagers, attacks the zombies outside to save their fellow citizens. Igor turns to the party and asks them to deal with the orb and save Juriendor while he and the others deal with the undead. The party quickly rallies to defeat the orb with magic, mayhem, and cold steel and rescues Juriendor. When the cleric regains his wits, he begs the characters to save his students trapped in the Bell Tower. His acolytes have limited experience dealing with the undead and need help. He must recover the Moonshard and fix all of this. Juriendor also gives a potion to Ronin, saying his students might need the healing. The students housed in the Bell Tower do indeed need rescuing, as the tower has also been set aflame. The party deals with the Mephits who caused the fire, Storm Crows, and some strange zombies with Elven ears who ast Darkness and Faerie Fire.

The party successfully rescues the students, and they all sigh with relief. Yet the party knows they aren’t finished -- the Bell Tower has at least another section to delve into. Plus, the Moonshard is missing. What will happen next? No, really, what will happen next?