The Cold Hand of Fate

Following a notice set on the tavernboard by local troublemaker slash genius slash resident, Rixa, a group consisting of herself, Sola, Maya, Coryn, Moreera, Lizzi and Ikaros met in the tavern following the return of the infamous Wolf of Shaemoor, Kellam Vulf. After some banter, Rixa explained they would be journeying to Ember Bay to gather up a form of Firestone crystals native to the island chain for use in a current project of hers, departing shortly after the meeting.

Once on the island, Sola took the lead in dealing with the local krewe setup on the island’s southern peninsula, due to Rixa and said krewe having an undisclosed history. After words with the camp overseer, Drex, they were provided with specialist containers for holding the crystals and directions too a forward camp belonging to the Krewe for further directions, which they reached with ease thanks to the combined efforts of Moreera and Rixa.

However, upon reaching the camp it was found to be entirely abandoned and devoid of life with no signs of battle or struggle. Life signs were found by Maya, yet their location was hard to ascertain, at first dismissed as the nearby destroyers. Fearing the worst, the group proceeded to make for the nearby cavern. Their destination. And only from there occurences grew stranger still.

The entire cave system seemed utterly devoid of life. Furthermore it was devoid of seismic activity. While a good thing for the group, it was an ominous omen given the nature of the islands. And the life signs Maya could detect simply vanished. Regardless the group chose to press on, as they set about gathering the nessecary crystals, making their way to the main cavern, though something truly felt off…(edited)
Feelings quickly justified by the appearance of destroyer corpses with their ‘organs’ and cores harvested. Within the main cavern an eerie chanting was heard. Maya detected the lifesigns once more in the form of the missing Krewe while Sola identified the source of the dark chanting. An Asura, near a lava pit,clad in dark robes. Before he could finish his incantations and likely wreak havoc, he was put down by a quick shot from Kellam. The group proceeded to free the bound krewe while investigating the corpse. One of the Krewe revealed he was one of them, an Elementalist named Marn.

On Marn’s person was a ritual knife along with several destroyer cores touched by the death magic of Zhaitan. And most curiously was an order from someone known simply as “A.F.” Orders stating something was drawing near. And that a woman was growing impatient. With the Krewe freed and the crystals obtained, the group departed from the cave and the island itself. While Rixa and Sola are following up on the evidence taken from this mysterious Marn, the group returned jubilant they prevented potential disaster….