The Devil’s Riddle: Session 2

The pair flee into the foothills overlooking the village of Tylon. They hear no signs of pursuit.

As dawn touches the sky they come across a long-abandoned structure. It looks as though perhaps it was once a monastery or abbey. As they duck inside Rufus points out a carving over the entrance, tinged red in dawn’s early light.

The carving depicts a grinning demonic visage, encircled in a question mark. It matches exactly the sign that hung outside the inn, The Devil’s Riddle.

“What manner of monks were these?” mutters Lisandra.

They set camp in the building entrance. This time their sleep goes uninterrupted, and by the time they wake it is approaching dusk. By the time they have hunted and foraged for food it is dark once more.

“We should get as far from this place as we can” urges Rufus. “No doubt the bodies have been discovered by now.”

Lisandra shakes her head. “No, there is something troubling here, and I mean to find out what. I was too tired to sense it before, but this place… it near prevents me from touching the Source!”

Rufus stirs uneasily. “How can that be possible? As I understood it…”
“Yes. The Source touches all things. It is present in all places. Such a thing should not be. And yet here the Source feels… distant. Muted.”

Lisandra pauses for a moment. “But I have once read of such a thing. A being of myth near whom none could touch the Source. A creature of such supernatural beauty that none could look upon it for long without being driven mad. A creature who’s mere presence meant utter destruction for the spawn of the Dark. The Elysian.” She reaches for her staff. “Whatever the cause, we must investigate.”

Rufus’ scowl deepens. “Lisandra, our home is gone. Nothing we can do in this place can alter that. No creature of legend is going to change what happened.”

The Channeler’s only response is to rise and step into the darkness of the abbey’s interior. After a moment her guardian, with a sad shake of his head, follows her.