Chapter Nine: the Ragged Man (meet the man)

The mist coming from the glass coffin provided brief cover to the mummy inside who pounded mercilessly on Neil for a moment. A quick gust of wind from Alev cleared the air and the melee fighters waded into battle. The mummy found herself cornered and crushed rather quickly as Dinah's greatsword and Rygorh's holy longsword ripped through the undead creature's damage reduction. Casey's slashing blades were less effective.

Having crushed the mummy, the Starborn then spent a great deal of time discussing plans for the third bride and the Ragged Man himself. While not conclusions were reached a great deal of arguing ensued.

Seebo set out to find the source of some noise in the force tunnels while the others hung back. While on his own Seebo suddenly found himself in the swamp . . . outside of the dungeon as one of the crystals powering the force field maze failed. He swam around to motion the others back towards the temple. Kettle smashed the force crystal nearest the temple offering Seebo passage back into the temple with eveyrone else.

The heroes decided to rest for the day and replenish spells to face the final bride and the Ragged Man.

On the morning of May 10 they set out to face the last of the enemy brides. The door leading east of the massive cavern of vines refuses to give to sheer strength, but Neil manages to prise it open using the Sceptre of Life (found in the mummy's tomb) and channeling divine power into it.

As the door opened a massive rush of water from the Cavern of Vines pushed the heroes into the hall beyond. For a moment all appeared to be lost as Neil, Seebo, Casey and others hurdled down the hall towards a bottomless chasm. Dinah, with Kettle and Alev's assistance, managed to get the door closed and save her fellows.

Neil sets Kettle aflight, and Kettle and Seebo use their tools to set up a rope bridge across the chasm. Moving foward down the passage they find a curious room . . .

Before you is the entry to a shrine or tomb of some kind, surrounded by a ring of burning torches that give off no heat. The entryway to this structure is a simple dark aperture, with a curtain of blue beads on silver wire closing it off. Above the aperture is a silver plate on which an inscription gleams.

Kettle surmises that the inscription reads "The Fairest" and inspects the mirror to see a beautiful elfin woman beyond who is applying make up and brushing her hair. A great deal of discussion and attempts to move into the room beyond results in little until Rygorh breaks the mirror. A super fast action battle results in one dead vampire . . . Alev's scorching ray and Neil's holy smite were too much for the creature.

Now armed with the jewels of each of the brides the Starborn decide to rest up again before facing the menace of the Ragged Man.

The next morning the Starborn set out to meet the Ragged Man. They prepare for battle and move to the top of the pyramid. With weapons ready and a great deal of spells in place the burst into the top most chamber of the temple:

A hellish, throbbing blue glare lights this pyramidal chamber, its source the orb in the room’s centre. The light ripples like water, pulsing rhythmically as a heart.The sloping walls here are thickly matted with thorny briars. They are growing out of the very stone, as if the plants were merged with it somehow. The briars waver and twitch, writhing slowly like slender serpents. In each corner of the room stands a sturdy column, reaching from floor to ceiling.You see that the pulsing blue orb is held in the withered claw of a figure, sat upon a throne of carven stone. It is dressed in the ragged remains of a high priest’s robes. The skin, too, hangs ragged on the body, hanging in limp folds like wallpaper that has rotted and begun to peel. The head nods in time to the pulses of the light.

"So. At last, it is time. It is… strange. I have held this desiccated flesh for centuries and still I crave another minute of life. In the name of mercy, grant me another minute to breathe this foul air… to feel agony, for it is better than feeling nothing."

The Ragged Man answers questions as best he can:

• The other signature weapons have not gone far. They are in Crescent City. One is secreted in the old Testing Maze where the King and Queen of Thieves once held court. The others were bought by a merchant, Ombar Lutz, and are locked away in a vault in the Central Bank.
• His name used to be Severil Blackthorn, a member of the troupe led by Starkweather John. They fought the last survivors from the drow army a great many centuries ago on the island of Chillhame and were victorious, though at a great cost. He was killed in the battle but restored to life in the stone circle called the Tump. Returning from death to life convinced him that Kharad had singled him out for special duty on earth. Only a priest who had known both life and death could properly administer the rites of Kharad, who comprises both in one deity.
• The sphere he holds is called the Orb of Azurite. He was supposed to seal it up safely, until the new Starborn could come and claim it. That was meant to be his sacred duty. Instead, he warped its power to extend his own life, populating the Temple with strange entities, creating his undead Brides and establishing magical traps.
• The Dark is rising again. Whenever there is an Equinox of Heroes, the Starborn and the Host are forced into conflict, which decides the fate of the races who dwell upon the earth.
• The Orb's power is greatly reduced now, because he has been draining it away. It should, however, still be able to help them. It gives the bearer the ability to sense the nearest Node, if there is one. It also confers the power to detect the Host and the creatures sent forth from the Dark.

Eventually the Ragged Man succumbs to the Starborn . . . he gives over the Orb of Azurite and collapses in a pile of dust. The upper level of the ziggurat opens up revealing a gorgeous morning in the world above. The Starborn gather their things, including treasure liberate from the temple and a dragon horde beneath the swamp and set out for Crescent City . . . What will you do next?

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