Klaszin watched.
There were so many things to see. Particularly for one whose eyes had been opened as Klaszin's had. The path to awareness was a long one, measured across the many generations of his family. Each person in that chain had done their part, carefully cultivating the magic within them and ensuring it was properly passed on. This was way to true power. This was the way to magic that reached beyond this world and into the many worlds connected to it.
This ability was new to Humanity. For so long magic had been caged, held fast by the Gods who drained this world of its resources. Earth's mana was stolen, its magic users culled before the seed within them blossomed.
It was only in secret that this power could be cultivated. Only in the remote holds in the blasted wastes could Humanity slowly gather its strength. When Klaszin's eyes opened, all things impossible became possible. The Gods became vulnerable.
At long last, a Godbreaker Mage. One who could finally free Humanity from its shackles.
Beside Klaszin stood a woman, wizened and crippled. Time had been unkind to her body, but her mind shined still. She watched Klaszin just as Klaszin watched the fabric of reality. Occasionally, she tutted, shaking her head slightly. "No. Not him. Not yet."
Klaszin grimaced, frustrated. "Why? I am powerful enough."
She smiled at her son. He was not wrong, but he was not right either. "This is not a question of power. It's a question of the proper ordering of things. Of removing the cancer infecting our world without killing the patient. Slaying Onima would remove our greatest tumor, but we would not survive it. We must nibble at the edges first. Cut away the lesser gods and increase our own resources. Put ourselves in the place of these false idols and restore Humanity to self-determination."
These were not words Klaszin wanted to hear. He was young and impatient. He lusted for grand confrontation, for true justice, not the slaying of pitiful demigods. But his mother had always been his guide, and he was loathe to disappoint her. It was she that showed him the path to Enlightenment. It was she that had taught him how to open his eyes.
He wondered, not for the first time, why she had not done so for herself. He had asked, once, and had received only a thin grin in response.
Then, a ripple. A wave coursing through the fabric as it was pierced. A gate from a world beyond as a God made their way to this world. Klaszin to feel the contours of the gate. The signature. Beside him, his mother tensed, her thin, bony fingers grasping his wrist.
"Yes! Him!" She hissed. "Go."
Klaszin nodded, his hand reaching down to pull a stream of mana from the vast vat sitting behind his chair. His mother would aid in protecting it, as would the others in his retinue, but it would still be his greatest weakness. He pulled the mana into him, connecting his body to the river flowing from the vat. The blue ether pulsed in time with his heart as power filled him. With each passing moment, he felt his magic well up within him. So many things sharpened when he drew upon his family's store.
But it came at a cost. Mana was precious. Every droplet was worth kingdoms. When he drew upon it, he must make the most of it, conserving what he could. God hunting was a terribly expensive business.
Klaszin raised his left hand, two fingers extended, in a vertical slice. A rent in the fabric appeared as a small window between places was carved open. The same hand now sliced horizontally, expanding the window. Then he stood and approached the incision. He reached out with two hands and pulled apart the seams of reality, opening a portal large enough to travel through. His retainers moved quickly, their own magic fortifying the boundaries of the portal, ensuring it would not collapse and separate Klaszin from the flow of mana from the vat.
His mother gave him a small bow. "Fight well, son. A victory against Gonchan, Keeper of Many Things, will alter much in this battle."
"He should not have come," Klaszin replied.
"They are hungry and arrogant. Their dead brothers and sisters can convince them for only so long. Good luck."
Klaszin nodded and then stepped through the portal.
He now stood in a vast throne room, an entire wall open to the air with a view of a vast city beyond. The entire city was nestled between the peaks of two mountains. Atop the taller of the two peaks was a massive, golden temple. Klaszin was familiar with the place, his tutors had taken care to instruct him on all of Humanity's God cities. This was Gon Jhian, capitol of the High Shelf. This was the seat of power for Gonchan. The heart of the land that worshiped him. Tithing their mana to him.
Commotion commenced shortly after Klaszin arrived. Dozens of bodies moved to intercept him as a shrill cry rose above the ruckus. "Intruder! Protect the King!"
Klaszin watched them come, curious. He had been to many different lands and he always found it curious how many things remained the same despite the distance between them. All reacted much the same way to unexpected events, treating every surprise as a threat. It wasn't an odd reaction, and the Kingsguard of Gon Jhian were to be commended for their discipline and speed. But it was still disappointing.
And a waste of mana.
"Stop!" Klaszin said, raising his hands. His fingers danced in front of him, directing streams of mana out. Within moments, the Kingsguard was subdued, the joints of their armor melded together. They tottered a few steps and then toppled over. It would take considerable time and access to a blacksmith to remove them from their makeshift prisons.
Grumbling, Klaszin turned to the King. He expected a man but found a boy, cowering atop an ornate, gold-encrusted throne. Klaszin frowned, "Where is your father?" He searched his memory for the name and found it buried in a dusty corner filled with history lessons from Scholar Hachin. "Yennis?"
The boy swallowed, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. "D-D-dead."
"Fine. You are?"
"King Flaharg."
It was a terrible name, but Klaszin saw little purpose in pointing it out. The new King had enough problems. Besides, Flaharg probably already knew.
"King Flaharg, I am here for Gonchan. I suggest you, and your troops, remain here."
His eyes widened, "Lord...Gonchan? He's returned? It's been so long."
A loud gong rang out from the temple above, reverberating through the valley, announcing the arrival of the God into his domain. Klaszin arched a brow and pointed in the direction of the temple. "I will make my way to him now." He began to make his away across the throne room toward a massive set of doors emblazoned with the symbol of a giant beast. It looked vaguely like a cross between a dragon and a cat. Gonchan.
Flaharg swallowed, "Who are you?" He moistened his lips. "What are you?"
Klaszin paused, "I am Godbreaker Klaszin."
"Godbreaker..." Flaharg repeated, trying to understand. But he would not, not until Klaszin had done what he had come here to do. There was no concept for a Godbreaker in Gon Jhian. There were only Gods. But they would learn soon enough.
Before Flaharg could say more, Klaszin was at the door. He pushed his palm out in front of him, and the doors slammed open, flying off their hinges and careening up the stairs beyond. He spared a brief glance back at the portal behind him and the thin stream of mana flowing through it. Members of retinue were making their way through the portal, their shields marked with the Godbreaker crest. They took up guard beside the portal, their faces grim.
Seeing no reason not to trust the matter to them, Klaszin reached to the smooth wall beside him. A hand of carved stone reached out of the wall and grasped his own hand. Moments later Klaszin was lifted up and then pulled along as the hand ascended the stairway. As much as he would like to float up the stairs, being dragged up by a wall hand was far more efficient. Perhaps, once he had access to more sources of mana, he could use it on luxuries.
Just before the top of the stairway the hand let him go, depositing him in front of a second set of massive doors. These two are subjected to the same treatment, blowing outward and off their hinges, slamming into the temple entryway beyond. Screams rang out as attendants fled his arrival.
Ahead, Klaszin could feel Gonchan stirring, awakening to his presence. Klaszin wished he could have simply opened a portal directly to the God, but it was too dangerous. Until the portal was well-fortified, it was easy to attack, just as Gonchan's portal was right now.
Klaszin could feel the gate in the room beyond the entryway. The God had left it open, but had not protected it. Klaszin wondered at the carelessness of Gods. Perhaps they had been too long unchallenged in their power to be anything other than thoughtless, but it still surprised him. Klaszin had already killed three lesser Gods, one would think that might create a reaction.
But preferences created patterns. Patterns settled into habits. Habits were difficult to root out.
Well, it was to Klaszin's advantage. He crouched down and two hands of polished marble reached up and lay ahold of his feet and ankles, yanking him forward and through the entryway. To either side loomed massive carved statues of Gonchan, the Keeper of Many Things. All these depicted was a mass of mouths, each open and waiting.
The doors ahead, towering and fortified, strained and then gave away at his approach. Klaszin was a Godbreaker, and barriers, regardless of their craft, would not keep him from his objective. As the doors swung inward, cracking on their hinges, they revealed the room beyond. It was an enormous space, dappled with ornate columns supporting a ceiling hundreds of feet above. The center of the chamber was dominated by a massive pool, bubbling and roiling from the heat of a hundred unseen furnaces below. All along the periphery of the room were shelves and display cases, holding precious gems, artifacts, and other treasures stolen from Humanity.
Klaszin took all of this in but remained focused on the pool. He could feel the portal between worlds deep below, obscured by the waters. He could also sense Gonchan, squirming its way toward the portal.
"Coward!" Klaszin snarled. The marble hands pulled him across the floor and to the pool. He peered down into the clouded depths, pulling mana from his thread to aid his perception. The portal was distant, but not unreachable. Traveling to it through the boiling water would be dangerous, but possible. It was unlikely to make a difference, Gonchan was faster and closer to the portal. Klaszin would not reach it in time.
The Godbreaker frowned, frustrated, as he considered unappealing options.
He would not get another chance at this. This was the time to act. Even if it came at a terrible cost, removing Gonchan from the pantheon would be worth it. Klaszin focused and called a much greater thread of mana through the portal. The torrent rushed into him, coursing through his body and setting his veins on fire. His eyes flared blue, crackles of energy sizzling at the corners. He knelt down, pressing both palms flat against the marble bordering the pool. He could feel the great slabs of it reaching deep into the ground beneath the temple, cradling the pool.
Mana began to flow into those slabs, concentrating on unseen fissures. Precious seconds trickled by before a groan rattled through the temple as the slabs began to crack, releasing the water from the pool through a thousand holes. Steam rose off the roiling water as it swirled away, and Kalszin leapt in, following it down into the rapidly draining cistern.
Klaszin could see portions of Gonchan's massive form appear from the pool as the great beast was tossed around by the rapidly receding water, drawn away from the portal it so desperately sought to reach. Klaszin had studied each of the Gods, but seeing them in person always cemented the nature of his task -- each God was a being of terrible beauty. Gonchan was no different.
According to his scholars, Gonchan was a Hydratic Leviathan. A creature of immense size, far beyond those populating Earth, its natural habitat was the boiling oceans of its own world. It feasted upon almost anything it could reach with its many gaping maws, though it took particular pleasure in objects of worth, particularly those vested with magical properties. The vast shelves in the temple chamber were priceless by any measure but in this place they were reduced to morsel for the God to dine upon at its leisure.
The water continued to drain away, bringing more of Gonchan in the view. Steam billowed in great gouts around it, but Klaszin could see the beast well enough. The center of its mass was an enormous body, mottled brown and oblong. Long, dragging tentacles emerged from it, interspersed with writhing serpentine necks capped with mouths ringed with rows of gnashing teach. On the body itself, a dozen oozing unblinking eyes stared outward at Klaszin as he approached.
[Who are you to stand before a GOD?]
The words rang out in Klaszin, drowning out his thoughts and pushing a compulsion on him to kneel. It was not the first time Klaszin had to contend with God Speak, but it still frayed his nerves. His opened eye saw it for what it was -- a forceful but intricate application of mana -- and pushed the compulsion aside.
Klaszin would not bow before a God.
"I am the Godbreaker," he replied. He brought his hands up into a steeple before him, gathering a mana blade in the small space between them. Then he drew his left hand downward, pulling the now formed blade along with it. It extended outward from his hand by few feet, a shimmering blue pane of energy. He raised his hand beside his head and then swiped it down in a chopping motion. The blue pane of energy released on the downward swing and flew through the air, meeting the fleshy neck of one of the mouths and severing it.
The God squealed, black ichor spraying from the severed mouth.
"You should not have come Gonchan. This is not your world. It is ours." Another blade slashed outward, severing a grasping tentacle in the process of trying to drag Gonchan along the floor of the cistern and toward the portal on the other side. "I am your end."
[I will feast upon you.]
A great gnashing of maws followed the words as multiple heads dove toward Klaszin. Marble hands reached up and lay ahold of Klaszin's feet once again and he slid along the cistern floor in a half crouch, occasionally leaping over the drainage holes he had created earlier. As the mouths darted forward, they were dealt with, the mana blade slicing through each, severing in some cases or carving off great heaps of flesh in others.
Severed heads began to reform, two maws emerging from the oozing stump. With each additional set of mouths, the corpus of the main body shrank slightly, providing substance to form the heads. An ocrean of mana flowed through the God as it sustained its attack. The assault was brutal but simple. Gonchan was a beast and followed its natural tendencies. These were understandable and exploitable.
Klaszin slowly circled the cistern, defending against the head and tentacles as he made his way to the portal. Unlike his own, it was a massive aperture easily a few hundred feet in diameter. As a gate between worlds, Klaszin could not peer beyond its surface, but he could feel the connection to the place beyond. Klaszin wished dearly to move through the portal and wreak vengeance on the world beyond just as Gonchan had done here, but it was not possible. His thread of mana could not follow him there.
All he could do was punish Gonchan for coming here.
Klaszin began to tear at the unprotected edges of the portal, collapsing the rent in the fabric and helping the tear to mend. Gonchan began to emit a keening wail as the portal began to fragment and dissolve. Klaszin had little concept of how Gods formed these portals but he knew creating one was no simple thing even for the Gods. Once lost, they became stranded in this world. Captured.
Klaszin studied Gonchan. Much of its massive body had been fed into new maws. Hundreds of them now swarmed about snapping futilely at Klaszin, who stood beyond their reach.
[FEAST!]
[FEAST!]
[FEAST!]
Gonchan screamed in his mind. Klaszin could feel the rage and hunger in the God. He could also sense the fear. Without the waters, it was growing cold and lethargic. With the new heads it was draining its energy far faster than normal. It needed food. It needed to escape this cold, miserable place.
It would not.
While the heads and tentacles flailed and writhed, Klaszin gathered pushed mana through his body once again, slowly shaping a ball of energy before him. It took some time to form, it was no simple thing to construct a weapon capable of killing a God. Once the ball had reached a sufficient size he began to draw it out, pushing energy into an infinitesimally small point of energy and then flaring out from there into a spearhead.
By the time he was done the mana spear was over two dozen feet long with massive rivulets of power coursing along its length. Dimly, Klaszin could sense the draining tank of mana back through the portal and regretted the cost of the weapon.
But there was nothing to be done.
God hunting was a terribly expensive business.
Klaszin began to feed mana into the propulsion apparatus at the tail of the spear, loading it with enough energy to travel to and through the God. Only when he was absolutely certain he had done enough to complete the task at hand did he release it.
The mana spear shot through the space between him and Gonchan, leaving a brilliant brue streaking afterimage in Klaszin's eyes. It pierced the great corpus of the God and disappeared in, leaving charred flesh at the entrypoint. Moments later Gonchan's body began to pulse blue and white as destructive fire lanced through it, traveling up the necks of the maws and then spraying outward as it was burned from within.
Within moments, the God shuddered and then was dead.
Klaszin stared at the beast, hating it. Centuries had passed with Gonchan weighing upon this land. Countless lives and treasures had disappeared into that being, only for it to demand more. It was the Keeper of Many Things, and it had taken all of them. There was no regaining what had been lost. The mana had been consumed or stored in the world beyond. It would take time for the people of this land to recover.
He let out a long sigh.
Marble hands reached up and lay hold of his feet, pushing him up the cistern and away from the great body of the dead God. Another gone, but so many still remained. Twenty-seven. Less and Greater.
Resjin with Many Hands
Nightstealer.
Onima.
They were all out there, taking from Humanity.
And Klaszin the Godbreaker would kill them all.

Klaszin watched.
There were so many things to see. Particularly for one whose eyes had been opened as Klaszin's had. The path to awareness was a long one, measured across the many generations of his family. Each person in that chain had done their part, carefully cultivating the magic within them and ensuring it was properly passed on. This was way to true power. This was the way to magic that reached beyond this world and into the many worlds connected to it.
This ability was new to Humanity. For so long magic had been caged, held fast by the Gods who drained this world of its resources. Earth's mana was stolen, its magic users culled before the seed within them blossomed.
It was only in secret that this power could be cultivated. Only in the remote holds in the blasted wastes could Humanity slowly gather its strength. When Klaszin's eyes opened, all things impossible became possible. The Gods became vulnerable.
At long last, a Godbreaker Mage. One who could finally free Humanity from its shackles.
Beside Klaszin stood a woman, wizened and crippled. Time had been unkind to her body, but her mind shined still. She watched Klaszin just as Klaszin watched the fabric of reality. Occasionally, she tutted, shaking her head slightly. "No. Not him. Not yet."
Klaszin grimaced, frustrated. "Why? I am powerful enough."
She smiled at her son. He was not wrong, but he was not right either. "This is not a question of power. It's a question of the proper ordering of things. Of removing the cancer infecting our world without killing the patient. Slaying Onima would remove our greatest tumor, but we would not survive it. We must nibble at the edges first. Cut away the lesser gods and increase our own resources. Put ourselves in the place of these false idols and restore Humanity to self-determination."
These were not words Klaszin wanted to hear. He was young and impatient. He lusted for grand confrontation, for true justice, not the slaying of pitiful demigods. But his mother had always been his guide, and he was loathe to disappoint her. It was she that showed him the path to Enlightenment. It was she that had taught him how to open his eyes.
He wondered, not for the first time, why she had not done so for herself. He had asked, once, and had received only a thin grin in response.
Then, a ripple. A wave coursing through the fabric as it was pierced. A gate from a world beyond as a God made their way to this world. Klaszin to feel the contours of the gate. The signature. Beside him, his mother tensed, her thin, bony fingers grasping his wrist.
"Yes! Him!" She hissed. "Go."
Klaszin nodded, his hand reaching down to pull a stream of mana from the vast vat sitting behind his chair. His mother would aid in protecting it, as would the others in his retinue, but it would still be his greatest weakness. He pulled the mana into him, connecting his body to the river flowing from the vat. The blue ether pulsed in time with his heart as power filled him. With each passing moment, he felt his magic well up within him. So many things sharpened when he drew upon his family's store.
But it came at a cost. Mana was precious. Every droplet was worth kingdoms. When he drew upon it, he must make the most of it, conserving what he could. God hunting was a terribly expensive business.
Klaszin raised his left hand, two fingers extended, in a vertical slice. A rent in the fabric appeared as a small window between places was carved open. The same hand now sliced horizontally, expanding the window. Then he stood and approached the incision. He reached out with two hands and pulled apart the seams of reality, opening a portal large enough to travel through. His retainers moved quickly, their own magic fortifying the boundaries of the portal, ensuring it would not collapse and separate Klaszin from the flow of mana from the vat.
His mother gave him a small bow. "Fight well, son. A victory against Gonchan, Keeper of Many Things, will alter much in this battle."
"He should not have come," Klaszin replied.
"They are hungry and arrogant. Their dead brothers and sisters can convince them for only so long. Good luck."
Klaszin nodded and then stepped through the portal.
He now stood in a vast throne room, an entire wall open to the air with a view of a vast city beyond. The entire city was nestled between the peaks of two mountains. Atop the taller of the two peaks was a massive, golden temple. Klaszin was familiar with the place, his tutors had taken care to instruct him on all of Humanity's God cities. This was Gon Jhian, capitol of the High Shelf. This was the seat of power for Gonchan. The heart of the land that worshiped him. Tithing their mana to him.
Commotion commenced shortly after Klaszin arrived. Dozens of bodies moved to intercept him as a shrill cry rose above the ruckus. "Intruder! Protect the King!"
Klaszin watched them come, curious. He had been to many different lands and he always found it curious how many things remained the same despite the distance between them. All reacted much the same way to unexpected events, treating every surprise as a threat. It wasn't an odd reaction, and the Kingsguard of Gon Jhian were to be commended for their discipline and speed. But it was still disappointing.
And a waste of mana.
"Stop!" Klaszin said, raising his hands. His fingers danced in front of him, directing streams of mana out. Within moments, the Kingsguard was subdued, the joints of their armor melded together. They tottered a few steps and then toppled over. It would take considerable time and access to a blacksmith to remove them from their makeshift prisons.
Grumbling, Klaszin turned to the King. He expected a man but found a boy, cowering atop an ornate, gold-encrusted throne. Klaszin frowned, "Where is your father?" He searched his memory for the name and found it buried in a dusty corner filled with history lessons from Scholar Hachin. "Yennis?"
The boy swallowed, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. "D-D-dead."
"Fine. You are?"
"King Flaharg."
It was a terrible name, but Klaszin saw little purpose in pointing it out. The new King had enough problems. Besides, Flaharg probably already knew.
"King Flaharg, I am here for Gonchan. I suggest you, and your troops, remain here."
His eyes widened, "Lord...Gonchan? He's returned? It's been so long."
A loud gong rang out from the temple above, reverberating through the valley, announcing the arrival of the God into his domain. Klaszin arched a brow and pointed in the direction of the temple. "I will make my way to him now." He began to make his away across the throne room toward a massive set of doors emblazoned with the symbol of a giant beast. It looked vaguely like a cross between a dragon and a cat. Gonchan.
Flaharg swallowed, "Who are you?" He moistened his lips. "What are you?"
Klaszin paused, "I am Godbreaker Klaszin."
"Godbreaker..." Flaharg repeated, trying to understand. But he would not, not until Klaszin had done what he had come here to do. There was no concept for a Godbreaker in Gon Jhian. There were only Gods. But they would learn soon enough.
Before Flaharg could say more, Klaszin was at the door. He pushed his palm out in front of him, and the doors slammed open, flying off their hinges and careening up the stairs beyond. He spared a brief glance back at the portal behind him and the thin stream of mana flowing through it. Members of retinue were making their way through the portal, their shields marked with the Godbreaker crest. They took up guard beside the portal, their faces grim.
Seeing no reason not to trust the matter to them, Klaszin reached to the smooth wall beside him. A hand of carved stone reached out of the wall and grasped his own hand. Moments later Klaszin was lifted up and then pulled along as the hand ascended the stairway. As much as he would like to float up the stairs, being dragged up by a wall hand was far more efficient. Perhaps, once he had access to more sources of mana, he could use it on luxuries.
Just before the top of the stairway the hand let him go, depositing him in front of a second set of massive doors. These two are subjected to the same treatment, blowing outward and off their hinges, slamming into the temple entryway beyond. Screams rang out as attendants fled his arrival.
Ahead, Klaszin could feel Gonchan stirring, awakening to his presence. Klaszin wished he could have simply opened a portal directly to the God, but it was too dangerous. Until the portal was well-fortified, it was easy to attack, just as Gonchan's portal was right now.
Klaszin could feel the gate in the room beyond the entryway. The God had left it open, but had not protected it. Klaszin wondered at the carelessness of Gods. Perhaps they had been too long unchallenged in their power to be anything other than thoughtless, but it still surprised him. Klaszin had already killed three lesser Gods, one would think that might create a reaction.
But preferences created patterns. Patterns settled into habits. Habits were difficult to root out.
Well, it was to Klaszin's advantage. He crouched down and two hands of polished marble reached up and lay ahold of his feet and ankles, yanking him forward and through the entryway. To either side loomed massive carved statues of Gonchan, the Keeper of Many Things. All these depicted was a mass of mouths, each open and waiting.
The doors ahead, towering and fortified, strained and then gave away at his approach. Klaszin was a Godbreaker, and barriers, regardless of their craft, would not keep him from his objective. As the doors swung inward, cracking on their hinges, they revealed the room beyond. It was an enormous space, dappled with ornate columns supporting a ceiling hundreds of feet above. The center of the chamber was dominated by a massive pool, bubbling and roiling from the heat of a hundred unseen furnaces below. All along the periphery of the room were shelves and display cases, holding precious gems, artifacts, and other treasures stolen from Humanity.
Klaszin took all of this in but remained focused on the pool. He could feel the portal between worlds deep below, obscured by the waters. He could also sense Gonchan, squirming its way toward the portal.
"Coward!" Klaszin snarled. The marble hands pulled him across the floor and to the pool. He peered down into the clouded depths, pulling mana from his thread to aid his perception. The portal was distant, but not unreachable. Traveling to it through the boiling water would be dangerous, but possible. It was unlikely to make a difference, Gonchan was faster and closer to the portal. Klaszin would not reach it in time.
The Godbreaker frowned, frustrated, as he considered unappealing options.
He would not get another chance at this. This was the time to act. Even if it came at a terrible cost, removing Gonchan from the pantheon would be worth it. Klaszin focused and called a much greater thread of mana through the portal. The torrent rushed into him, coursing through his body and setting his veins on fire. His eyes flared blue, crackles of energy sizzling at the corners. He knelt down, pressing both palms flat against the marble bordering the pool. He could feel the great slabs of it reaching deep into the ground beneath the temple, cradling the pool.
Mana began to flow into those slabs, concentrating on unseen fissures. Precious seconds trickled by before a groan rattled through the temple as the slabs began to crack, releasing the water from the pool through a thousand holes. Steam rose off the roiling water as it swirled away, and Kalszin leapt in, following it down into the rapidly draining cistern.
Klaszin could see portions of Gonchan's massive form appear from the pool as the great beast was tossed around by the rapidly receding water, drawn away from the portal it so desperately sought to reach. Klaszin had studied each of the Gods, but seeing them in person always cemented the nature of his task -- each God was a being of terrible beauty. Gonchan was no different.
According to his scholars, Gonchan was a Hydratic Leviathan. A creature of immense size, far beyond those populating Earth, its natural habitat was the boiling oceans of its own world. It feasted upon almost anything it could reach with its many gaping maws, though it took particular pleasure in objects of worth, particularly those vested with magical properties. The vast shelves in the temple chamber were priceless by any measure but in this place they were reduced to morsel for the God to dine upon at its leisure.
The water continued to drain away, bringing more of Gonchan in the view. Steam billowed in great gouts around it, but Klaszin could see the beast well enough. The center of its mass was an enormous body, mottled brown and oblong. Long, dragging tentacles emerged from it, interspersed with writhing serpentine necks capped with mouths ringed with rows of gnashing teach. On the body itself, a dozen oozing unblinking eyes stared outward at Klaszin as he approached.
[Who are you to stand before a GOD?]
The words rang out in Klaszin, drowning out his thoughts and pushing a compulsion on him to kneel. It was not the first time Klaszin had to contend with God Speak, but it still frayed his nerves. His opened eye saw it for what it was -- a forceful but intricate application of mana -- and pushed the compulsion aside.
Klaszin would not bow before a God.
"I am the Godbreaker," he replied. He brought his hands up into a steeple before him, gathering a mana blade in the small space between them. Then he drew his left hand downward, pulling the now formed blade along with it. It extended outward from his hand by few feet, a shimmering blue pane of energy. He raised his hand beside his head and then swiped it down in a chopping motion. The blue pane of energy released on the downward swing and flew through the air, meeting the fleshy neck of one of the mouths and severing it.
The God squealed, black ichor spraying from the severed mouth.
"You should not have come Gonchan. This is not your world. It is ours." Another blade slashed outward, severing a grasping tentacle in the process of trying to drag Gonchan along the floor of the cistern and toward the portal on the other side. "I am your end."
[I will feast upon you.]
A great gnashing of maws followed the words as multiple heads dove toward Klaszin. Marble hands reached up and lay ahold of Klaszin's feet once again and he slid along the cistern floor in a half crouch, occasionally leaping over the drainage holes he had created earlier. As the mouths darted forward, they were dealt with, the mana blade slicing through each, severing in some cases or carving off great heaps of flesh in others.
Severed heads began to reform, two maws emerging from the oozing stump. With each additional set of mouths, the corpus of the main body shrank slightly, providing substance to form the heads. An ocrean of mana flowed through the God as it sustained its attack. The assault was brutal but simple. Gonchan was a beast and followed its natural tendencies. These were understandable and exploitable.
Klaszin slowly circled the cistern, defending against the head and tentacles as he made his way to the portal. Unlike his own, it was a massive aperture easily a few hundred feet in diameter. As a gate between worlds, Klaszin could not peer beyond its surface, but he could feel the connection to the place beyond. Klaszin wished dearly to move through the portal and wreak vengeance on the world beyond just as Gonchan had done here, but it was not possible. His thread of mana could not follow him there.
All he could do was punish Gonchan for coming here.
Klaszin began to tear at the unprotected edges of the portal, collapsing the rent in the fabric and helping the tear to mend. Gonchan began to emit a keening wail as the portal began to fragment and dissolve. Klaszin had little concept of how Gods formed these portals but he knew creating one was no simple thing even for the Gods. Once lost, they became stranded in this world. Captured.
Klaszin studied Gonchan. Much of its massive body had been fed into new maws. Hundreds of them now swarmed about snapping futilely at Klaszin, who stood beyond their reach.
[FEAST!]
[FEAST!]
[FEAST!]
Gonchan screamed in his mind. Klaszin could feel the rage and hunger in the God. He could also sense the fear. Without the waters, it was growing cold and lethargic. With the new heads it was draining its energy far faster than normal. It needed food. It needed to escape this cold, miserable place.
It would not.
While the heads and tentacles flailed and writhed, Klaszin gathered pushed mana through his body once again, slowly shaping a ball of energy before him. It took some time to form, it was no simple thing to construct a weapon capable of killing a God. Once the ball had reached a sufficient size he began to draw it out, pushing energy into an infinitesimally small point of energy and then flaring out from there into a spearhead.
By the time he was done the mana spear was over two dozen feet long with massive rivulets of power coursing along its length. Dimly, Klaszin could sense the draining tank of mana back through the portal and regretted the cost of the weapon.
But there was nothing to be done.
God hunting was a terribly expensive business.
Klaszin began to feed mana into the propulsion apparatus at the tail of the spear, loading it with enough energy to travel to and through the God. Only when he was absolutely certain he had done enough to complete the task at hand did he release it.
The mana spear shot through the space between him and Gonchan, leaving a brilliant brue streaking afterimage in Klaszin's eyes. It pierced the great corpus of the God and disappeared in, leaving charred flesh at the entrypoint. Moments later Gonchan's body began to pulse blue and white as destructive fire lanced through it, traveling up the necks of the maws and then spraying outward as it was burned from within.
Within moments, the God shuddered and then was dead.
Klaszin stared at the beast, hating it. Centuries had passed with Gonchan weighing upon this land. Countless lives and treasures had disappeared into that being, only for it to demand more. It was the Keeper of Many Things, and it had taken all of them. There was no regaining what had been lost. The mana had been consumed or stored in the world beyond. It would take time for the people of this land to recover.
He let out a long sigh.
Marble hands reached up and lay hold of his feet, pushing him up the cistern and away from the great body of the dead God. Another gone, but so many still remained. Twenty-seven. Less and Greater.
Resjin with Many Hands
Nightstealer.
Onima.
They were all out there, taking from Humanity.
And Klaszin the Godbreaker would kill them all.
Want MOAR peril?
PerilousPlatypus

I hate it when a fly buzzes and taps against the inside of my bedroom window. You know that thing where you try to gently coax it out but it flits sideways? I lay there that early autumn morning focused on the irritating hum. I thought “that sounds like an odd fly, I should get it out”. But I was too cosy in bed. It would settle down and I could let it out when I got up. But then a buddy joined it, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. They dive bombed the window glass.
BUZZZ BUZZZ BZZZ TAP TAP
The good news that morning was my next-door neighbor was quiet. When I’d moved into this neighborhood, it was beautifully hush. Except in the mornings with the chorus of doves and goldfinches. If you listened carefully you could just make out the whisper of a distant freeway, almost calming. No noisy families.
Until my neighbor moved in.
She has a kid. And I’ve got nothing against single mothers. I’m not some holier-than-thou freak. But I can’t deal with noise. And this little kid… BAM BAM BAM went his feet early in the morning, excited at being alive, sprints round the house.
But not that autumn dawn. 6:30am said my clock, well into BAM BAM and “MUMMY!” time. Instead…blissful silence…like there used to be.
Apart from the buzzing flies headbutting my bedroom window.
The kid had looked cute enough when he played in the garden as they moved in. But my neighbor wasn’t so friendly. Seemed pretty introverted, sour. I tried to engage her in conversation but… stilted. I never found out who dad was, where she moved from, or anything, except…
One morning the kid had been sprinting round the garden at 6:45am. I was pissed, ready to confront her. It was one thing to be woken by the bangs from inside, but this was too much.
I had trodden onto the dewy grass barefoot in PJs. I tried to explain to her about my anxiety disorder. She blanked me. The kid ran up, hugged my legs. I softened a bit. Started to calmly explain how I had been in Afghanistan, was sensitive to loud noises.
She had just walked away into her open garage. Bright lights within, and a long table full of electronics hobby gear. Curious, I approached. Jars of coloured liquids on the bench, and at one end, some futuristic-looking large black oblong of metal.
She had caught my curious stares. For the first time she seemed interested to talk. “A PCR machine”. I was blank. “Allows rapid amplification of a specific segment of DNA.” Still blank. “It’s my hobby, I’m an amateur genetic engineer.” She motioned me in.
My neighbor had led me to a glass tank in the corner. Opened the top and pulled out a worm. Big one. It was the strangest worm I ever saw. I winced. “It’s safe” she said. Like a typical earth worm, but with… legs. A centipede without segments? She offered it to my hands. I explained I don’t like creepy crawlies.
“I crossed diplopoda with a lumbricus terrestris”, she said. “Earth worm with millipede.” It was…gross and sent shiver up my back. From behind me I heard the kid’s voice, “Hey mister if you like animals, you’ll love this!”
I had turned with a smile. The little boy shoved his hand in my face. In his palm, a house spider. I screamed. Pushed him away in terror. He fell to the concrete floor, crushing the spider accidentally under his palm. He sobbed, bloody scrape marks on his right forearm. All I had eyes for was the half dead spider. Black bulbous body, jagged legs with tiny hairs. It wiggled them with its death agony.
His mother had shouted at me, “Why’d you do that!?” She pushed me out of the garage. I had tried to explain. Severe arachnophobia. Amplified by my PTSD. She didn’t give a shit. All she saw was her bleeding kid and a violent man.
I backed out of that garage.
And pretty rapidly, things had gone south after that day.
After that I had become hypersensitive to any noise the kid made. At times I lay in bed with tears of frustration coming out of my eyes. I would try desperately to focus on reading, meditating, I even tried earplugs (which are painful for me).
I had stood on her front porch a few times, the first time trying to be calm. The second time, I ashamed to say, I had been rather more angry. She looked scared. I hadn’t meant to frighten her, but I was exhausted. I was tense as I hate confrontation.
She had slammed the door in my face.
The bumps and cries felt louder from that day. I ‘m sure it was my imagination. But they FELT louder.
I had hired a lawyer to send a letter. What a waste of money. I had begged the police to intervene, no response. I had called the mayor’s office, played the veteran card to get him to speak to me.
Nothing.
Who was going to take the side of a big ex-marine like me over a single mother with a little kid?
I had despaired. Played booming white noise to cover the kid’s sounds. I realised it probably was so loud it disturbed them. I am sorry to say that that thought pleased me.
So, I hope you now see why I was so surprised to wake up this morning to total silence! All I could hear was those beautiful birds (well, AND those pesky flies in my bedroom).
But I ignored the buzzing and got out of bed and headed downstairs. I went out into the awakening dawn, checked my mailbox. A veteran’s check and a second letter. A fly landed on the check and I brushed it off.
The garden seemed full of flies this morning! But I don’t mind them outside. I opened and read the second letter:
“Dear Neighbor, you’ll be pleased to know we’re moving out. My son is in tears but I’m sick of being scared of my neighbor. We’ve gone to visit family while the movers do their work. We hope you like the present we left you. X”
Yes! Yes!
I was so excited. At last. Every morning would be like this. Thank you God!
I kissed the letter. Took a deep breath and headed back into my front hall. I stood straight on an insect. Ugh! It sent a shiver up my spine.
I grabbed my foot, looked at the sole. A crushed spider. One of the big house ones I loathe. That squishy crunchy body and things that looked like fangs. I know they rarely usually bite, but apparently when they do… I shuddered, even seeing a dead one that had recently been alive. That had TOUCHED me.
I scraped off my foot on the concrete step outside. Another fly around the entrance so I slammed the door shut to stop them getting in. I went to the kitchen and washed my foot. Even a small bit of that black spider blood made me retch.
I did some breathing exercises standing at the kitchen window and calmed a little.
Back in my bedroom, all was peaceful. I still had that echo of fear from stepping on the spider. But was calmed when I realised the flies were no longer buzzing in the room. And without the sound of the kid next door, and knowing he was gone forever, I was in bliss. I re-read the letter, ecstatic. The promise of a gift didn’t register with me then…
I put singing monks on my phone Spotify, lowered the lights, got into my warm bed to meditate. Sat up and fell straight back to sleep.
I woke up and kept my eyes closed. Savoring that lovely sense of nothing to do, nowhere to go, silence, except nature and the sound of monks. I opened my eyes facing the opposite wall.
At first I thought I was seeing things. I did too much acid back at college so in low light I sometimes see things that aren’t there. I could see some spots on my wall. Weird There were 3 or 4 on the wall in front of my bed. There were a couple on the wall by the window. I rubbed my LSD-weary eyes, but the spots were still there.
The room lit up in a glare as I flicked on the main light. These were not spots.
They were fucking house spiders.
Every arachnophobe’s deepest fear is to have a spider creep into their room while they slept, and sit silent on the wall, waiting…
I tried all the techniques I’d learned. The breathing, reminding myself house spiders were harmless. But it wasn’t me in that bed now, it was a prehistoric neanderthal. Alone in his cave at night. Tending a fire, gazing out into the blackness, and seeing…something alive…but immobile.
Jumping out of bed made me feel less vulnerable. I kept glancing from wall to wall, as if they were going to leap off and attack. My fight or flight was coursed through me with the adrenaline. I had never seen so many house spiders in one place.
Then I had the thought of checking the ceiling above me.
Big mistake.
My throat was still hurting from my roar of fear as I leapt down the stairs. Oh god how was I going to deal with this? How could I ever sleep in there again?
I opened the front door, hyperventilating. Another fly buzzed in. FFS. But weirdly comforting. Flies and spiders are enemies. The fresh air helped me think more logically. House spiders are stupid and dull. They’re not like flies. When you try to kill a fly it’s hypersensitive. It senses the fly-swat approaching through the air pressures, launches in a few milliseconds.
House spiders, they sure can move with those triangular legs, but they’re not so sensitive. Easier to crush. If I tiptoed, they wouldn’t all rush to attack me. I could crush each one quickly with the heel of a shoe. One by one they’d become stains on the wall. I’d do it gently but fast, no vibrations for the others to pick up
Then I could clean and disinfect the walls. Maybe I could get in pest control, and spend a few nights in a hotel and…
I opened my bedroom door. The spiders were motionless. Including the 6 or so on the ceiling that had terrified me so. I wielded a small shoe with a firm heel. Tiptoed barefoot to the nearest spider on the wall. I couldn’t help but keep looking back and up at the others to see if they’d moved. Of course they hadn’t.
I positioned the shoe over the motionless spider, held my breath, and stopped. It did look a bit odd for a spider, but perhaps it was just my fear triggering me. I lowered the heel quickly, firmly and quietly onto it. It didn’t have a chance. I gently shuffled the heel from side to side, and pulled it back.
There wasn’t even a mark. I looked on the shoe, nothing there. No crushed spider. I checked the floor. No spider corpse.
I noticed a fly was buzzing around again. Not exactly my top priority right now.
I moved to the next spider on the wall. Gently gently lowered that heel. CRUSH. Lift.
Nothing.
Nothing on the shoe. Nothing on the wall. Nothing on the floor. For a horrible moment I thought it had dropped onto me. I scrubbed my body with my hand. Studied myself, panicked. Nothing there.
Silence except for the buzzing flies.
My fear changed its taste. A cocktail of the old arachnophobia combined with a sense of dread mystery. My arachnophobia won the day, I just had to keep on trying.
The third try, the third spider. EXACTLY the same result. The mysterious dread slowly grew. But the buzzing was starting to irritate me. How many darn flies were there in my bedroom!?
How many darn flies…were there in my bedroom!?
A fly landed on my arm.
No…
A large hairy house spider landed on my arm.
I froze for a moment, had a chance to see its fly wings. The same veined transparency from nature documentaries. I almost blacked out with anxiety. It flew away.
It FLEW away.
I blacked for a few moments there.
The next thing I knew I was out of breath. In the kitchen looking under the sink. Why was I looking under the sink? Of course! Liquid, what I needed was liquid. You could hit flies with a spray of noxious fluid. I had used spray bleach in the past.
I grabbed it. Stood a little staring out at the trees outside.
How could spiders be flying? It had looked like a spider AND like a fly. Were they all flies in my bedroom? All spiders? All some combination?
Oh shit. Some combination.
Some gift.
I glanced round. There were a handful of spiders on the walls in the kitchen. I stood motionless.
I felt a breeze. I was terrified it would set off the flies, no spiders. I searched for its source. It was on my ankles. Came from under the kitchen table. The table was pushed against the wall where my house faced my neighbors.
I bent down slowly, looked under the table there. That’s where the breeze was coming from.
I don’t want to write the next bit. But I have to get this down. I can’t keep it inside.
There was a fist-sized hole in the wall under the table. The entirety of the floor in front of the hole was a blackish brown carpet. Of house spiders. The whole of the underside of the table was covered in in the same jagged alive coating.
More. More spiders were constantly crawling through the hole. Joining the carpet, building a carpet of legs and bodies on the wall around the hole. There were hundreds or was it thousands?
Almost all had wings.
But there were a handful with centipede like torsos, which dragged behind them. There were spiders with large shells like cockroaches. I felt my stomach urging. My skin tingled painfully.
Which may explain why I did what I did next. And after I’ve told you, I won’t be able to write any more. Some things I cannot put into words.
Remember, I was that neanderthal, and the monster had come into the light and its horror was beyond anything I could’ve imagined.
So, I used the only weapon I had. I ripped the top off the bleach and flung its contents under the table.
And in that few milliseconds, everything with wings took to the air.

I'm writing this now from a hotel room many miles from my neighborhood. All the lights are on, the windows closed. I'm sat on the bed naked.
My skin is covered in the scratches of my own fingernails, and bright red from the boiling hot showers I've been taking. I've removed the sheets off the bed, turned all the furniture upside down.
I'm alone in the room, I'm sure.
I need to find my ex-neighbor, but I cannot go into my house or hers. I can't go back to my street to wait for her movers. Right now, I can't even move from this bed or close my eyes to sleep. I'm waiting for the sun to come back up, and keeping my eyes on the walls and ceiling.

​
[First][Previous][Next ]
First Deputy Jii looked pleased when Qui-a and I entered his office. My Mahfdan comrade stood at attention and I dipped my head respectfully. He sat at his desk, which obscured the lower half of his body and the floor beneath it alike. Had I trusted him any less, this would have unnerved me as a veteran of dealings with dangerous individuals. Contrasting Commander Hrin’s workplace, Jii’s office was not stark in decoration. He had a plethora of items scattered about, many seeming to come from different worlds, though a few appeared to be made on Earth. Some were purely decorative, others I thought might be religious, and a few more were weapons. Whereas the rest of the garrison gave me a feeling of sanctuary from the primitive outside world, Jii’s trophy case was almost a shrine to it.
“I must say, Yelth.” Jii said. “It is doubtless you have become indispensable to our operations in the past few weeks. Sit, both of you, please.” My new partner and I did as he asked. After spending so much time using human furniture, it was a welcome shock to find that I was quite comfortable in what was provided, as modern furniture off of this backwater world was designed to accommodate a variety of heights and leg structures. “I need to extend my congratulations to the both of you. Qui-a, I understand that field work is outside your normal purview, and yet you have performed admirably.”
“Thank you, First Deputy.” She replied.
“As for you, Yelth, I am pleased to see that you are adjusting well to working without First Lieutenant Hudson.”
“He was certainly an asset to my investigations.” I replied. “But situations change.” Hudson still brought strife to my thoughts. Had I allowed myself to be betrayed? Or perhaps worse had I needlessly tossed away a valuable asset? In my turmoil, my eyes fell to the floor. It was mostly pristine, well kept as most government facilities in the Federation were, yet coming out from beneath the desk seemed to be an oblong blob of black paint or wax. Perhaps something in Jii’s office had needed to be repainted, although I wasn’t immediately sure as to what.
“Indeed,” He replied. “I understand your familiarity with the Lieutenant gained over your time here facilitated your work with one another, as such I am glad have been able to find a soldier under our command that you had acquaintance with.”
“Likewise,” I replied. “It has been most useful to work so closely with the Army throughout this case, and especially now.”
“I would hope so.” Jii said. He shifted in his chair slightly. “Now, there is another matter: your quarry. Is he talking?”
“He is, although without much gusto, even after advanced interrogation.” I replied. Jii turned to Qui-a.
“What have you gotten out of him, soldier?” He asked.
“Apparently, on the night we rescued Commander Hrin, some of the rebel command were present, and subsequently killed.” She said. “We have them, as the humans put it, ‘on the back-foot’ for the first time since the surrender.” She explained.
“That bodes well, then.” Jii replied.
“I can have a full report on the subject on your desk by two one-hundred five, Standard time tomorrow, First Deputy.” She said.
“Unnecessary, soldier. I presume dedicated interrogators conducted the majority of the questioning? The Inspector needs his aide, especially in what is ahead.”
“Understood,” She replied.
“There is something else, Inspector.” Jii said, turning back to me. “While Commander Hrin would like to offer you her commendations for your work up until this point, she has also requested that I speak to you regarding issues of a more… internal inclination.” I drew in a breath to steel myself, I had forseen this.
“The PDF,” I said.
“That is correct. With Melendez gone some of our concern goes with him, but his Executive Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Larkin remains under some suspicion. Even in the event of his innocence, the trends we have found in our records indicate that Melendez simply could not have operated alone. There are, without a seed of a doubt, traitors in the midst of the local PDF. We simply need you to find them.”
“Under what pretext am I to be in their midst?” I asked. “Or will they be informed they are under investigation?”
“Criminal corruption.” I tilted my head inquisitively. “It could very easily be true that elements of the local PDF have connections to criminal organizations, facilitating the existence of the black market. Quite a few weapons disappear inexplicably, and there seems to be an illicit side to the salvage trade in the area, which would stand to reason could only exist if some in the PDF turned a blind eye.”
“If they are traitorous, they will stand in solidarity with one another should their loyalty be called into question, and they will be meticulous in safeguarding their secrets. If they are brought under observation under a different pretense, they may not be so wary.” I said, understanding.
“Admittedly, they are likely to see through it, but will give less protest. Perhaps after some time it will be possible to convince them our intentions are otherwise.” Doubtful, but not impossible. “I understand that this is no easy task, Yelth, but I believe you are the man for the job.”
“I will not let you down.” I replied.
~
“Inspector Yelth,” First Lieutenant Hudson said, poisonous words concealed behind an innocuous tone. “Glad to see you again.” He said. He turned to Qui-a. “I understand that you were the soldier that assisted the Inspector locating Commander Hrin.” She did not reply; standing face-to-face with a human was a bit much for her this early into her forays outside of the garrison. “You have our thanks.”
“The pleasure is mine, Lieutenant, although I wish we had met again in better times.” I replied.
“Doubtless,” He took a deep breath. “You have our full cooperation, but I’ll tell you right now we have no love here for the unrighteous.” Regardless of the true meaning of his words, I replied as though I was oblivious.
“That may well be, but even the most honorable of organizations may harbor festering within.” Hudson’s jaw clenched, and the contempt in his expression deepened. “And I do count your organization amongst the most honorable, Lieutenant.”
“You flatter us.” He replied.
~
Upon its funeral pyre the sun sank, splashing the sky a bloodred with its dying moments. The hills turned black, and the wind turned bitter with grief. All nature mourned the day’s passing. Winter night enveloped the land, a treacherous friend to any who would deal with it. It would cover you like a hood, or consume you depending on how well you knew it.
“You were right, you know.” I said. “Only in desperation do I see it.”
“We both knew what you really wanted, Jack, and what needed to happen. You didn’t want to admit it to yourself for my sake.”
“This war will never end, will it?”
She shook her head. “So long as we’re here, and they’re there. So long as it snows, and so long as we pray. Let’s hope it doesn’t end, because if it does, we end with it.”
“I love you.”
“And I you.”
“I won’t lose you.” I said. “I refuse to.”
“I’m not going anywhere, not without you.” My hand was rough and calloused, flat and close to bare. Hers, softer, with supple pads on her fingers and palms, with the smallest touch of fur between them. She squeezed my hand tightly. “We’ve fought too hard for what we have.” We stood in silence, waiting.
“Do you think it’s best for her to come here?” I asked, anxiously.
“I can think of nowhere better.” She replied. “If the Federation knew we were here, I would be dead or in chains a long time ago. We’re safest here.”
“God willing.” I said.
“God willing.” She agreed.
The brush parted to reveal a figure, dressed in blue like the night. The moonlight revealed a dark-haired woman, one I knew well.
“Vanessa,” I said. She smiled.
“It is good to see you both again.” She said.
“Likewise,” I said. “Now please, come inside.” Vanessa nodded, and we ushered her in.
“Coffee?”
“Please,” Vanessa said.
“Jack?”
“No thank you.” I replied. She started boiling water on the stove.
“Nice place you have here.” Vanessa said, idly, as her eyes scanned our small home.
“Old Federation research outpost.” I said. “We commandeered it when we got back from the war. Easier to hide here than in town.”
“I’d lived in one for about a year beforehand, too.” Vanessa nodded.
“Right, I remember.”
“They’re supposed to be weather proof, but I swear the concrete is colder than any wood building.” I said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a wooden house.” My wife replied. I shrugged.
“Not all that surprising, all things considered.” She took the pot of coffee off the stove, and poured herself and Vanessa each a cup.
“I’m afraid we don’t have any milk or sugar. Haven’t been able to get sugar for a few months now, and I can’t really have milk.” Vanessa smiled softly.
“It’s alright, I remember. Black is fine. I mostly live out in the field these days, so hot coffee is a luxury.” She took a cautious sip of the ebony liquid, then set the mug down. “I appreciate your hospitality, but I understand this isn’t a social call.”
“No, it isn’t.” I agreed.
“What could be so important that it couldn’t be left in a dead drop?” I leaned forward.
“The Federation started poking around the PDF headquarters yesterday. One Inspector Yelth to lead.” Her eyes went wide at that, and she swallowed with dread. “They say they’re there to investigate ‘criminal corruption’, but obviously that’s a thin pretext. They’re looking for rebels.” Vanessa averted her eyes with a frown a bobbed her head bitterly.
“Obviously I doubt there’s a man or woman in your unit that isn’t still a rebel at heart, but you mean those who are still in some capacity active.” She replied. “You need to know about the informants so you can coordinate with them to cover their heads.” I nodded.
“And you’re the only one I could reach out to.”
“You see how making contact with them puts them at risk?” I nodded.
“I do.”
“We don’t know where most of them live, either, so any contact would have to be made at the headquarters.” I sighed.
“I was afraid of that.” I said. “I can get you in. Easily, actually. All you need is a uniform and a nametape.”
“It can’t be that simple. What if I’m recognized?”
“I’d count on it. So long as you’re with me, they’ll know you’re there to further all our interests.”
“All it would take is one traitor to report it to the Federation.” She replied. “Do you trust your boys that much?” I opened my mouth to speak, but my words fell short of my tongue as I considered them. “No one is infallible. Most of the people at the PDF are there because they don’t think humanity can win, I’ve yet to meet one that’s willing to actually betray us, but you have to admit that they’re a step closer.”
“I don’t want to get into this right now, Vanessa. You want your informants to stay out of prison, I want my unit to stay together. We’ll undermine the Federation together in our own ways once this is over. I wish there was another way, but I don’t see one.” She averted her gaze and sipped her coffee. Finally, she sighed.
“You’re right.” She said. “I just hope you know that if I go down, it’s likely they’ll grab you too.” I nodded grimly. She extended her hand and I shook it.
“I’ll have a uniform for you by tomorrow.” I said. “The sooner we get this done, the better.”
“Agreed,” She replied. “Don’t get me wrong, Jack. You’re doing the right thing here. I just wish there was another way.”
“So do I.” I sighed. “Are you alright with her staying the night?”
“Of course.” My wife replied. “It would be good to catch up.” I nodded.
“We’ve got a shower. Alien style. Water pressure’s shit, but it’s hot.” I said.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll get you sorted for someplace to sleep. We’re going to have quite the day tomorrow.”

Aeldari vs Pylon (Null) Tech

Near the end of the War in Heaven, the Void Dragon gave the Necrons various technologies that could suppress the warp. Pylons such as those found on Cadia were built on hundreds of worlds that skirted a tear in reality - which has recently been re-opened and has come to be known as the Cicatrix Maledictum (Genefather, Ch16).
More recently, the Silent King is re-building similar pylons such as those found in the Pariah Nexus (described from a Necron POV as contra-immaterean nodal matrix) with the ultimate goal of eventually covering the whole galaxy.
These pylons are worth a special mention because they were supposedly the Necron's trump card, which would have defeated the level 3 Eldar.
From Fall of Cadia we know that activated pylons have a massive area of effect (shrinking the eye of terror - a region of the galaxy that encompasses billions of stars - from Cadia), cause demons to wink out of existence, cancel psychic powers (Celestine's aura), cause Psykers to drop dead (though more powerful Psykers are able to resist and even continue to use their psychic powers – the pylons hadn’t reached full effect by this stage), and prevent warp travel.
There’s some lore that even claims that the pylons would have destroyed any creature with a soul! It's understandable why this would have been a game changer! What effects would this have on our hypothetical war?
In Wildrider the Ynnari attack the awakening Tombworld of Pantalikoa, the command hub for the Septaplurachy of Kiush, Seven worlds, each housing one of the the highly guarded Panatheitik Vaults. Having detected an earlier Eldar scouting party, the tomb world has activated its “null-pylons”, and erected a planet-wide “null field”, also referred to in parts as a “dampening field”...
How do null fields affect the Eldar war machine?
Null fields hamper, but do not disable the Eldar technology or psychic powers:
The following Excerpt describes how the Ynnari experience the effects of this field as they enter it:

To Yvraine it felt like being slipped into a pool of acid, burning into her from her skin and down to the bone. Particle by particle she was stripped away, every cell emptied of its vitality. The Whisper died with her, the ever-present buzz of her Ynnari fading to nothing as she sank between the waves of electric agony. She screamed but made no sound, writhing in silent torment. Choking on invisible fluid, she rose from drowning, throat burning, eyes afire with pain. Her corpse-self animated once more with the thrum of life, bringing movement to leaden limbs, turning her inert heart into a burning organ once more. With the return of life came the return of sensation. Light. Sound. The chill of the floor beneath her. And a horrific silence within her mind. The Whisper had gone…
‘It seems to have affected you hardest,’ said her bodyguard…
Even so, the shock of transition into the necrontyr dampening field was wearing off. The effect on her empathic link remained, her mind robbed of all sense of her followers, but the physical symptoms were softening. ‘I regain my strength. I will fight.’
- Wild Rider, Ch16

The Pylons are able to cut out the Whisper, an effect being generated by a nascent Eldar God! Similarly, the empathic link, used by the Eldar enhance their interface with their technologies is cut.
As the Eldar make planet fall though, the Eldar seem to have recovered use of much of their technology. There is no mention of Eldar craft simply falling out of the sky. Nor Are Eldar souls immediately snuffed out. The following excerpts show the Eldar using an empathic link, holo fields, and their communication equipment.

‘Get ready to drop!’ shouted the pilot, her alarm not only heightening the pitch of her voice but throbbing along the drop-craft’s empathic spirit-link. ‘Ground defences appearing!’...
The streaks of holo-fielded craft darted past, flashes of laser leaping from within the rainbow blurs…
The messenger bead buzzed with a long-range connection…
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch16-17

Upon disembarking, an Eldar Autarch comments that the Whisper, as well as all psychic activity is being ‘flattened’ by the Necrons technology.

‘The Whisper – the force of Ynnead that binds the Ynnari together – is silenced by the null technology of the necrontyr. The same energies that prevented the binding of the webway portals now flattens all psychic activity on Agarimethea.’
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch17

But crucially, 'flattened', does not mean 'fully canceled', because as we see over and over again, the Eldar are able to use their psychic activity. All the following excerpts from Wild Rider take place in a planet-wide null field. Some explicitly state this, others don't, but it’s very clear from reading the book.
These examples range from the trivial, such as their ability to link minds using spirit stones.

Minds amplified and linked by the spirit stones of their steeds, the Wild Riders converged on Nuadhu,
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch18

To the not so trivial.

+I descend.+ Nuadhu felt the presence of Eldrad Ulthran stronger than before, and from the throb across the empathic spirit-link knew that his message had not been for the clan heir alone. With these two words came a welter of impressions scorching through Nuadhu’s thoughts in quick succession. It was too fast to accurately recall each, but he felt an overwhelming urge to break off his assault and make for the central pyramid… Nuadhu saw a small cloudcutter piercing the darkening sky-veil. He marvelled at the power to project thought into so many minds at once, over a considerable distance and through the necrontyr null field, even as he resented the coercion that now summoned him to attend to the farseer.
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch18

Even tech that is explicitly warp based - such as distortion weapons which open holes into the warp and suck you in - seem to work in the null field.

Hemlock wraithfighters flocked down alongside the bombardment, the last of the aerial reserves. A gift from Iyanna Arienal, the former Iyanden attack craft were piloted by spiritseers recruited from various craftworlds, guiding the spirits of the dead that pulsed through the systems of the sleek wraithfighters. Yvraine smiled as ravening warp-tears exploded among the relentless Unliving legion, ripping apart metal skeletons and dragging warriors whole into the other-realm. Against such energies even the necrontyr were powerless, their soulless artificial bodies cast for eternity into the warp where no resurrection teleport could reach.
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch18

Sidenote: The fact that Necrons can’t teleport out of the warp should present another challenge to Necrons trying to travel the Webway, given that the Eldar can poke holes in Webway tunnels, causing them to flood with the raw warp, and even cause Webway tunnels to collapse, throwing their contents directly into the warp.
The Eldar can also pool their psychic power to overcome the null field.

Eldrad and the Saim-Hann seers had formed a cabal, conjoining their powers to hurl purple bolts and white flames even through the null field of the necrontyr. Though it swallowed the Whisper and hampered the craftworlders’ psychic might, Eldrad had been clear that if the field were to be raised, the entirety of the vault’s impossible contents would be vomited forth. With the aeldari seals breached, only the null-pylons were keeping Agarimethea in any semblance of reality.
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch26

As we can see, while one seer might not be able to use psychic powers in a null-field, by joining their forces seers are able to do so. And this sets up an extremely important point. Null fields do not exert an infinite force. They exert a force, which is opposed by the strength of the Psyker. As we’ve seen, Eldrad alone is able to breach it if needed (at least for mass psychic communication/suggestion). As we’ve discussed, the Ancient Aeldari sorcerers were many times more powerful than the current Eldar. It seems likely they too could have broken through null fields.
Sidenote: We similarly see the psykers of races cope with Necron warp suppression. Ahriman and his band of Thousand Son sorcerers make several incursions into warp suppressing null fields on Necron worlds.
Null fields do not affect the webway, though they can affect temporary Webway extension:
There's a quote from Wild Rider that at first glance seems to pose a problem for this proposition:

"We have a problem, the webway is blocked"
"Blocked? What does that mean?"
"It is the word used by the clan windweavers," Azkahr explained with a shrug."It is blocked. No further progress. We are halted"...
They were still within a main arterial route of the webway, from which the windweavers were supposed to create a temporary delving down to the surface of the tomb world. He let his thoughts free upon the Whisper.
"Eldrad?"
"I know of what you seek, but it cannot be done"
"There must be some way of getting us closer."
"None. I have tested the barrier and it encompasses the entirety of the planet. It is a null field of considerable power, which I assume has been activated following Nuadhu's rapid departure via the webway. The necrontyr have erected their anti-psychic defenses to prevent webway burrowing. We will not be able to breach the surface."
- Wild Rider, pg 226

To understand why this does not apply to our case we need to unpack some detail here. The 'temporary delving' or ‘burrowing’ that this quote refers to is something that seers (or technically specialization of seers called Wayseers) commonly do on all craftworlds. The Wayseer can align/bind temporary psychically conjured webway strand to a webway gate.

The wayseer stood in front of an oval, gold-rimmed portal, one of several such gateways extruded from the wraithbone floor in the webway chambers at the rear of the warship… About her extended hand orbited five white runes, twisting gently in the psychic breeze of her magistrations as she aligned the entrance with a temporary webway strand into the material universe. The mirror-like skein of energy within the portal’s frame shimmered occasionally, causing the runes to dance with more agitation for a moment before settling into their tranquil circling.
- Path of the Warrior

Windweavers are the Saim-Hann equivalent of Eldar seers, and they perform this same task (though evidently, they are not powerful enough to do so in a null field). The following excerpt shows that Nuadhu’s aforementioned ‘rapid departure’ was indeed created psychically.

Guided by him, the kindred set their minds to the goal. Of single purpose, their psychic potential throbbed within their union. Nuadhu sensed the touch of Alyasa’s thoughts, channelling the raw power, shaping it into a renewed entreaty to the webway… The portal spasmed. The insubstantial tunnel extended towards the windweaver’s outstretched wand, becoming a scarlet serpent with open maw. Nuadhu needed to issue no command. As one, the Wild Riders dived into the cosmic serpent’s gullet, finally reaching the sanctuary of the webway.
- Wild Rider, Ch1

If not already clear, It is made explicit in Fireheart, the preceding novel in the series, as well as later in Wild Rider, that the permanent Webway passed by the planets orbit but did not extend to the planet’s surface, and that psychic temporary webway tunnel was necessary to bridge the difference from a starship in Orbit.

After them came a trio of jetbikes. The first was ridden by Alyasa, windweaver of the Firehearts. It had been his psychic mastery that had forged the Webway branch from the starship in orbit.
- Fireheart (Rise of the Ynnari)

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With the necrontyr blocking any extension of the webway, the attack would launch from near-orbit,
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari Book), Ch 14

Level 1 Eldar can't build new permanent Webway tunnels, so they are forced to use these psychic extensions - which can be blocked by null fields (though perhaps if Eldrad was a Wayseer rather than a Farseer, he could overcome the null field for this purpose also).
However Level 4 Eldar can build strands for the actual permanent Webway (Codex: Chaos Daemons 4th ed, pg 18, Codex: Eldar 4th ed, pg 12) i.e. non-temporary strands. This 'permanent Webway' is not a psychically generated extension affected by null fields e.g. note that the main Webway artery in the first Wild Rider text is not affected.
Level 4 Eldar already have permanent strands that allow them travel to every corner of the galaxy in a few steps, and should have no problem building additional permanent, non-psychic strands into a pylon field if for some reason none exist. Once at their target, they should also have no problem breaching the Webway into real space using the kinds of portable Webway Portals carried by the Drukhari and Trazyn. We know that unlike the process of binding temporary strands to Webway portals on ships, these mobile Webway Portals do not require psychic activity because as we’ve discussed both Drukhari Kaballites and Trazyn are incapable of using Psychic powers.
_
In Ahriman Eternal we are introduced to a dimensional prison that the Triarch constructed for the Hyksos Dynasty for creating the aforementioned Key of Infinity. Given how dangerous the Triarch deemed the Key to be, we'd think they would have taken extraordinary measures to secure this prison.
As felt by the Thousand Sons:

The flow of the warp was now little more than a trickle... Gilgamos felt the flow of the warp break around him. It was like being caught in a riptide... the planet and everything on and in it were pushing the currents of the great ocean aside.
- Ahriman Eternal, Ch13&15

And yet, a group of Harlequins is able to open a webway portal to a ship in orbit (Ch13). This could be a function of the range of the warp dampening, but this would just show that even some extremely sensitive Necron sites could only guard their surface against the warp, and even then, only partially - Ahriman and his Sorcerers are still able to combine their powers and make use of them on the surface - just like Eldrad and his Seer Council. In other words, if many Necron anti-warp measures were short ranged, this would suggest some Necron strongholds could not stop orbital webway strikes.
In support of the short range hypothesis, there is a passage from Sons of Hydra where a Daemon Ship descends into a pylon field, and the effects are only observable near the surface.

Krayt's pirate ships escorted the Dissolutio Perpetua towards a chasmic crack in the planet's surface about the equator. With ancient pylons rising up above them the daemon ship plunged slowly into the planet. Under Krayt's guns the daemon ship glided silently down through the abyssal crack with the rocky mantle of the planet passing on either side. Quoda groaned as they passed within the planet and the intensified influence of the surface pylons. He could no longer exercise his powers of manipulation and the three members of the Redacted now appeared to all in the glory of their scaled plate and legionary colours. The deck servitors and cultist crew cared little for the change; they appeared barely aware of it.
- Sons of the Hydra

Again note the side effects. Discomfort and unravelling illusions? Yes. The Daemon Ship instantly evaporating into the warp? No. _
It would also make sense for Necron pylons not to affect the Webway given the Necrons themselves relied and continue to rely on the Webway pretty heavily. In the following excerpts Ephrael Stern, of the Adepta Sororitas is leading an assault on a Necron logistical hub hosting three Dolmen gates. The Solitaire Kyganil, has agreed to bring the Ynnari through Webway gates to attack the Necrons To her horror, instead of Ynnari marching through the gates, more Necrons emerge.

Surely now her vision must come to pass and Kyganil would bring the might of the Ynnari to aid her in this crucial moment. Stern had her own reasons for assaulting a location where trammeled sections of the webway connected with realspace. For a moment, she believed that all was beginning to align as she saw the distinct flare of the gates activating. Yet to her horror, it was Necrons reinforcements that marched through them, not infiltrating Aeldari.
- Psychic Awakening: Pariah, pg14

It is unclear whether the Necrons emerge from the Dolman Gates themselves, or other webway gates near the Dolmen gates. Previously the Dolmen Gates had been referred to by name, whereas this text just refers to “trammeled sections of the webway connected with realspace” (though this is also how the Necron codex describes Dolmen Gates). The point stands either way. This highlights that the Pariah Nexus does not destroy the Webway or stop movement through it. Kyganil also says he was able to travel through the gates.
Similarly Ahriman is able to activate and use a Dolmen Gate despite it being on a Necron world purpose built to negate the warp. Again notice that Thousand Sons psykers, a warp-attuned Navigator (Silvanus), and various warp infused technologies all suffer but are able to power through and breach the Dolmen Gate.

'They fought and feared those who wielded the aether. The anathema realm the creature Setekh called it. They feared it and loathed it. And like all things that one fears, it consumed their thoughts and sight until it was all could see. They made this place both to perform its task, and to steal the weapons of their enemy. They thought that if anyone not of their kind tried to unlock their gate they would do it with the power of the warp. To do anything else, seemed to them impossible, and what you think is impossible, is the flaw that undoes you'... The warp was weeping as Silvanus looked at it. Multicoloured light peeled back from the growing presence of the gate. He could hear the machine-wrights and tech-devotees howling in their code dirge as systems on the ships overloaded. Half-etheric systems and the warp-infused engines that powered their workings were failing. Silvanus felt sick. Sweat sheened the folds and frills of his skin. There was blood and fluid oozing from the breathing pores on his back. He wanted very much to look away from what he was seeing, to be anywhere else but here watching reality and the warp disassembling. Disassembling… Yes, that was it… Matter manipulated beyond its normal laws and limits, the warp, the great and forever ocean of the warp, pushed away and negated.
- Ahriman Eternal, Ch5

Szarekh himself travels through the Webway on his dais which is fitted with warp banishing noctilith beacons (Codex: Necrons, 9e, pg 31).
An analogy that helps me is to think of the warp as water and as the Webway as an underwater tunnel – evaporating the water does not destroy the tunnel. In reality the webway exists in its own dimension, one that separates real space and the warp. It is therefore much further removed from the warp than the tunnel through water analogy suggests, which might further explain it's resistance to warp suppressing effects.
As covered in the speed section the ancient Aeldari were also capable of warp travel. In Psychic Awakening: Pariah, Battle Group Kallides struggles (losing ships due to warp drive failure) but ultimately succeeds in performing various warp jumps through the Pariah Nexus.

Tech-magi warned of of warp engines laboring, requiring more and more power to propel the Imperial warships forward... Struggling to perform each warp jump and beset by eerie faults, the warships of Battle Group Kallides forged sluggishly on.
- Psychic Awakening: Pariah, pg 9

Difficult-but-possible warp jumps (as well as the use of psychic powers and manifestation of daemons) through a null field are confirmed again in the 9th ed Necron Codex (pg 15).

Where the cyclopean pylons rise to the skies, entire regions of realspace are cut off from the warp as though by a fractured wall of glass. Though the effect is not absolute, warp travel and translation, astropathic messaging and the manifestation of daemonic or psychic energies become vastly more difficult.
- Codex: Necrons 9e

This shows that warp travel offers the Eldar a second (though suboptimal) viable route to piercing pylon protected space.
We know that whole fleets of ships were able to ambush the Necrons during the War in Heaven. In the extract below the flagship of the Nightbringer comes under surprise attack.

60 million years ago...
An area of space behind the vessel twisted, shifting out of true and ripping asunder as the fragile veil of reality tore aside and a massive flotilla of bizarre alien vessels poured out from the maelstrom beyond. No two ships were alike, each having its own unique geometries and form, but all had the same lethal purpose. As though commanded by a single will, the rag-tag fleet of ships closed rapidly on the crescent-shaped starship, weapons of all descriptions firing. A series of bright explosions blossomed across the mighty ship's hull, bolts of powerful energy smashing against the uppermost pyramid. The craft shuddered like a wounded beast.
- Nightbringer, Prologue

That this battle took place 60 million years ago places it at the end of the War in Heaven. In other words the Necrons already had their networks of pylons up, and yet, an ambush of a such a key ship was possible.
Whether because null fields can't block warp travel, or another reason (e.g. maybe null fields can't provide complete coverage of Necron Space - recall, they were largely built along the great rift), warp travel is clearly a problem the Necrons had to face in the War in Heaven. On this point, let's recall that Talismans of Vaul are capable of popping out of the warp, destroying a Star System, and vanishing back into the warp - as they did in the case of Tarantis.
Null fields affect (and are sometimes affected by) Demons:
As warp entities, Eldar gods are technically demons and pylons have a devastating effect on demons. When activated, the Cadian pylons made demons disappear outright (and even caused demon-infused humans to lose the demonic half of their bodies!).
—
Sidenote: Necrons may have placed an emphasis on countering Daemons with null tech because a lot of other Necron tech doesn’t seem to work on them:

Necrontyr skimmers raced back and forth raking beams of devastating light across the spreading mass, but as deadly as their weapons were to the living, the immaterial manifestations of the Dark Powers drew their energy from a source anathema to the living dead. Spawn of the warp, the daemons shrugged aside scintillating rays that could sluice apart grav-tanks, while gauss beams that would strip a mortal creature to atoms in a few heartbeats passed through them without effect.
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch21

—
That said, we do have some lore that points in the other direction, showing powerful enough demons can not only exist in a pylon null field, but that they also weaken it.

The presence of the powerful daemon weakened the null field and Yvraine could feel the corruption pouring into the spirit of her followers, even as its acidic carrier melted the body… The daemon prince throbbed with warp power, an incarnation of the aeldari’s worst nightmares,
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch23

This again seems to describe a mechanic whereby the warp and a null field push against each other as opposing forces.
It should be noted that this example from Wild Rider differs slightly from the previous ones. Whereas the previous examples highlighted Eldar technology working in a null field, at this point in the battle, a giant warp rift has been opened and demons are pouring through. The presence of demons seems to be made possible by this warp rift, which we can see in the next example when the Eldar summon their own Daemon, an Avatar of Khaine.

The autarch felt the heat building beneath his fingers and let go his last restraint, welcoming the rush of battle, hearing the din like martial drums, the heat becoming the fire of vengeance. From within, the flames of Khaine burst free, immolating Meliniel with black and red. His distending figure grew thrice in size, plates of pitted iron replacing flesh and armour, boiling magma searing through him where blood had run moments before.... He looked with a demigod’s eyes at the scintillating play of energy that raged around him – the power behind the physical facade of the daemons. As an immortal he saw not dancing, shrieking figures, but nodes of power and consciousness, whirling about the storms that were the daemon princes, all linked back by vaporous tethers to the empty pit that was the breached vault.
- Wild Rider (Rise of the Ynnari), Ch23

So even though daemons are enabled by special circumstances, as we’ve already covered, the Eldar are more than capable of creating warp breaches when they need them, ranging from localized small scale distortion weapons which blow holes into the warp, to massive fleet destroying warp storms. And of course, the Talismans of Vaul, each contain a warp gate, which can channel planet destroying levels of warp energy.
Using some spoilery story plot stuff that would be hard to explain here, the Ynnari are eventually also able to summon the Yncarne into the null-filed, which restores the Whisper, and frees the Eldar souls clinging to their corpses in the null field.
Another case that's a bit of a mixed bag for daemons is the Ymga Monolith, a "A kilometres-long obelisk of some dark stone" (Clonelord, Ch18), and a Necron node of immense potency that calms the Cerberax warp storm in an orb surrounding it.

A new warp storm near Oberon has been codified Cerberax – appearing as a three-headed hound devouring the sky. It has occluded a trio of star systems since the Night of a Thousand Rifts. The Holy Requisitioners of Mars have brought to light the effects of the Ymga Monolith, for extending around that rune-carved monument is a perfect sphere of order untouched by Cerberax’s progress across the stars. The Tech-Priests’last report describes that ancient stone as a Necron phase node of immense potency. Its glow has intensified so much it appears as a bright green oblong in the skies of nearby Atilla. In the last month, the sky-borne pyramids of the Sautekh dynasty have been sighted in the thousands over Atilla’s skies, flying in perfect formation to surround the Ymga Monolith like a cage. According to the auto-visions of the Corinthe Mind-Scryers, a silent war fought between winged Daemons and Necron fighters rages in deep space every night. Furthermore, the visionaries insist that every Necron ship coming into direct contact with the Obelisk is not destroyed, but somehow duplicated.
- Fracture of Biel-Tan

However, as we can see from the text above, while the warp storm is pushed back, the Monolith doesn't just wink daemons out of existence, and the Necrons are forced to continuously defend it.
Conclusion: Pylons present a speed bump to using some psychotech, but they don’t seem like a total wall. Similarly, they don’t stop the Eldar from using their world-ending conventional weaponry. As far as I can tell there is nothing stopping the Eldar building a webway tunnel into the heart of a Crownworld, jumping out, and deploying a portable singularity (this is more or less how Hexachires deploys his singularity in Manflayer), or stripping a world layer by layer with Akiliamor warheads. As best I can tell, pylons would slow the Eldar down, but they are not an absolute defense by any means.
Sidenote: The Necrons fielded precursors to pylons, such as the Nexus Arrangement which was basically a less powerful pylon. It could prevent warp travel but not personal warp-mediated teleportation, nor could it prevent Daemons from manifesting, stop psychic powers, or the vortex grenade induced warp rift which ultimately destroyed it. For all intents and purposes the Eldar response to pylons is also a response to this.
Speculation: The Septaplurachy of Kiush is dedicated to guarding highly sensitive warp breaches, and would therefore likely have the highest level of null tech available. Eldrad also comments that this “null field is of considerable power”. Nevertheless the Watcher in the Dark remembers portals opening to assault these worlds, further reinforcing the idea that pylons are not a perfect defense against attacks from the warp.

The thought-trail brought another flash of memory-data: portal-rips of ravening warp spawn as they burst upon the inhabitants of Chazaokal. The denizens of the accursed under-realm had rampaged through half a continent before the first attack-cohorts had been ready to fight back. Beams of deadly fire crisscrossed the skies above the Lanternbridge, searing the forms of immense predators..
- Wild Rider

Despite being specifically designed as anti-warp invasion fortresses, there’s still a case to be made that perhaps the null fields encountered by the Eldar in Wild Rider were not full null power that Necrons could bring to bear.
Perhaps the best argument for this is some really old lore where the Eldar are surprised by the power of null pylons, as they destroy the craftworld shields they thought would protect them. They pylons breach the infinity circuits, causing a psychic shockwave that kills everyone on board and freezes time.

Alurmen's Farseers had thought that both themselves and the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit were fully shielded against the effects of the Necron machineries. It is not known whether they had miscalculated or if Umbros and the Chaos fleet - or even the sleeping Necrons - interfered at a critical point in some way, but as the warp-dampening pylons activated, the horrified Eldar saw too late that those ancient mechanisms were more powerful than they could have ever imagined. The energies from the pylons ripped through the Eldar shielding as if it wasn't there and totally annihilated Alurmen's infinity circuit. The death scream of those countless Eldar souls raced through the linked minds of the Eldar Seers and the Wraithbone hull of the Craftworld, shredding them all. Then the psychic shockwave collided with the energies emitted by the Necron pylons. The two wave fronts locked for a moment and then exploded outwards in a titanic detonation, tearing local reality apart. Everything changed - time, space, even the Warp itself. Alurmen was shattered, its population all but destroyed. And both the Craftworld and the Chaos fleet were frozen in time, trapped in stasis like flies in amber. The warp-dampening mechanism did managed to work though, despite the disaster. Alurmen and the traitor armada were hidden from the rest of the galaxy. No technology, no psychic, or magical power could locate them, or even discern that they still existed.
- Battlefleet Gothic - Magazine #13

As we see, the lore also suggests that this could have been because someone (the Chaos fleet that was attacking the Craftworld, or the Necrons) interfered with the Pylons somehow. This assumption would allow this old lore to be synthesized with newer lore which shows the Eldar operating fine in a null field. In the Wild Rider lore we’ve explored above we’ve even seen Eldar Ships, which have their own infinity circuits, and Hemlock Wraithfighters - which contain something akin to a mini infinity circuit (Codex: Eldar 9th ed, pg 46) - operating in a null field just fine.
We discussed null weaponry destroying a Craftworld in Ahriman Undying, but only when preceded by a catastrophic physical damage - the meltdown of the Craftworld's own plasma systems which had already blown up a quarter of its hull - and paired with further explosive and implosive munitions. All this makes the marginal contribution of the null field somewhat questionable. And in this most recent example, we don't see the time freeze effect of null fields interacting with the Infinity Circuit. All this would support the hypothesis that the Pylons that brought down Alurmen were possibly tampered with.
But there is also some newer lore which might suggest the Pantalikoa’s null fields were not the best the Necrons could offer.
In addition to generating an invisible dampening field, the OG Cadian pylons, also generate a black beam. This beam was pointed at the eye of terror - a warp storm spanning a significant chunk of the galaxy - and started to close it. This stands in stark contrast to the pylons on Pantalikoa which seem to cover a single world.
Furthermore, like the Cadian Pylons, the Pylons of the Pariah Nexus exert an absolutely huge null field. The lore of the Pariah Nexus could be interpreted to suggest that the deployment (in this context maybe meaning range?) of pylons, can be extended through the pattern in which they are arrayed.

Further out lay networks of vast blackstone pylons - their deployment extending through patterns of non-Euclidean fractal cryto logic that would have driven the greatest mortal minds mad.
- Psychic Awakening: Pariah, pg 8

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The nodal matrix in the Nephilim Sub-sector was a work of dark genius. Entire systems had been shifted and planets' orbits realigned to match insane fractal geometries devised by the Necrons' ancient and arcane science.
- White Dwarf 479

We also know that Abaddon destroyed other worlds with pylons in previous black crusades, possibly knocking out the planetary alignment needed for that fractal pattern and weakening the null field - something the Eldar could also possibly do (it’s interesting to note that other Necron abilities like Orikan’s light form also rely on planetary alignment).
One explanation for the discrepancy between these larger null fields, and those on Pantalikoa could be that Pantalikoa was the first of the Septaplurachy to awaken. Perhaps, if multiple tomb worlds had awoken, they could have linked up with each other, and extending their deployment though patterns of non-Euclidean fractal cryto logic (though recollections by the Watcher in the Dark that the Septaplurachy suffered demonic incursions before the Great Sleep, presumably fully prepared and on high alert, seems to suggest otherwise).
There’s at least a case to be made that when fighting a full force Necron empire, the Aeldari would face Pylon fields with much greater range, and maybe much greater power.
What effect would this have?
The Imperial survivors of Cadia escape through a Webway gate, so we know even linked pylons can't permanently destroy webway sections.
We’ve also already discussed a few examples of how the imperium adapted to and eventually prevailed in larger null fields like the Pariah Nexus (employing warp travel). Pariah also showcases that Aeldari holofields on an inquisitorial ship continue to function in the null field. It’s not a lot to go on, but there certainly doesn’t seem to be a clear example of the Pariah Nexus being much more powerful than the null fields generated by the pylons in Wild Rider. Eldar like Kyganil are also able to fight in the null field without imploding.
And then there’s the fact that the null field of the Pariah Nexus does actually have counter in the form of faith:

The Emperor's servants had their faith and their fury, and by those weapons would this war be won! With that thought, Ephrael Stern's full power was unleashed. Hair and cloak flying and eyes shining with white fire, the Daemonifuge rose into the air at the battle's heart with the wings of the Aquila spread around her, wrought in lightning and flame. Where that light burned even those who had stilled rose again, their eyes clearing, while those who had flagged drove forward with blades flashing and battle cries on their lips. Phaeron Shemvokh watched, nonplussed, for surely the Crypteks' strange dampening field was supposed to prevent just such a manifestation of psychic power? He could not know or comprehend that it was holy faith, not warp-spawned puissance, that enabled this miracle to manifest.
- Psychic Awakening: Pariah, pg 15

​

Adepta Sororitas resisting the Pariah Nexus' debilitating effects raised Imperial morale. Where the resolute faith of the Battle Sisters illuminated the battlefield, warriors took fresh heart, and even those who had succumbed to the stilling were able to throw off its influence. The piety of the Adepta Sororitas, Black Templars and other zealots was not the only evidence of fallibility of the Pariah Nexus' grasp. Amongst others, the martial spirituality of Space Marine Chaplains and the binharic chants of Tech-Priests also provided a focus on which victory could cling, though none could explain why. The Necrons who witnessed this resistance to their hyper-advanced cryptoscience could not rationalize manifestations that the Imperial warriors knew to be pure faith... Faith was a weapon the Imperium could use to counter the Necrons' terrifying entropic shroud…
- Crusade: Beyond the Veil, pg 5

​

Kaseena's report of her latest skirmish indicated that the cultists' creed screened them from the influence of the Stilling in a similar manner to the Imperial faith. What did this in turn mean for the Tyranids themselves? … If faith and fanaticism, no matter how ill-advised, offered a safe harbour... this played right into the xenocultists' hands. The cult had to be routed before the Tyranids arrived, so that he could monitor the nexus's effect on them without interference.
- WD 496

Yet another type of Pylon, is of the kind built by the Warlock Am-heht on Carnotite.

The exodus fleet was safe for now. Thanks to vast noctilith arrays in orbit – branching, weblike structures that were unrecognisable from the pylons constructed by the major dynasties – the warp was becalmed here, in a sphere one hundred thousand sunsreach wide.
- The Twice-dead King: Reign, Ch11

Unlike the Pylons of the Pariah Nexus, these Pylons seem to offer the Necrons sanctuary from pursuit via the warp. The range on these Pylons pivots on what you think a ‘sunsreach’ is. A hundred thousands lightyears would cover the galaxy, so this seems unlikely. Perhaps this could mean a solar orbit? This would be significantly larger than the Pylons found on Pantalikoa, but a much lower range than those found on Cadia or in the Pariah Nexus. Perhaps suggesting an inverse relationship between range and concentration.
Yet another counter to pylons might be to destroy their command worlds. Cawl's complete map of the Necron Empire signifies a likely control node for the pylon network. Much like the Pharos network, the Eldar could try to cripple the pylon network by hitting this node. Cawl speculates that star this node was orbiting was black-holed during the War in Heaven, creating severe time dilation that froze the control world in time (Genefather, Ch16). That such a critical location could be attacked is further evidence that the Necrons could only do so much to limit Eldar mobility and protect their most crucial locations (Appendix I, XIII-a).
Next section
Table of contents

You bomb while I drop serene lines,
Unleashing verses so potent, they're deemed lyrical crimes,
The Monad Monarch of rhyme, ready for the end-times.
Got your spine in a bind, like Hades’s climes.
​
No time for posers with no honor,
Hoser, I escaped Toronto, hands gripping anti-mana,
Venomous like Plissken, buckra toaster,
John Carpenter, composer, consistently kosher,
​
I'm the cipher encoder, tech-savvy like Dozer,
Shatter your name, like “nobody knows her!”
Tatsuro Yamashita in the booth, a stanza master
Basta! No one's quite as smooth, sono lyrical pasta.
​
You’re a disaster, while my lips run faster
Artisan of verses, rhymes bust like a plaster.
Oblong like Farrago, I lambaster with bravado,
João Donato on the piano, I’m the rhyme tornado caster.
​
Amapiano is my beat, I'm the July to your December,
Affogato to your soft serve, diacritic to your descender,
Crush contenders in my blender, this rhyme inventor,
Leaves behinds feeling tender, like getting hit by a fender.
​
I net more than Musk, making y’all cuss,
In a brawl, I'm brusque but just, never go bust,
Haters combust, caught in my lyrical gust,
Before I boil you alive, I like my MC’s trussed.
​
Gazillions of rhymes like interplanetary dust,
Vermillion dollar dough, the Bake-Off’s upper crust,
Resilient words can't be crushed, they adjust,
Belligerence is my USP, that’s what’s the fuss.
​
Brand new turns of phrases flow my glossa like bossa,
I make fingers snap, from Gaza to Mombasa, Kaaba to Lhasa,
Make moulah, make masa, from Kinshasa to Vaasa,
Stage 2 Xenomorph in my posterior fossa. Makossa!
​
Reach for the sky, like plucking Silver Apples,
Hydrating my muscle with a chalice of Snapple,
Unruffled guzzle, unflappable like Krabapple,
Hear me cackle, while you grapple with this rap tussle.
​
High expectations, like edibles batters,
Flow unstoppable, feel your bones rattle,
This corned beef got you cornered like cattle,
I go by Frazzle, and this is your final rap battle.

Chapter 1: Invasion EARTH

Memory transcription subject: Governess Tarva of the Venlil Republic Date [standardized human time]: July 12, 2136
Credit: Pampanope
They descended on the galaxy like a swarm. From some little backwater system within our own claimed space, their warships had flooded the stars, assuming galactic eminence in a shorter span of time than the Federation took to adjourn a meeting. When we first saw their announcements, saw their faces, there was nothing my people could feel but dread. For their forward-facing eyes and sharpened fangs boldly proclaimed that they were predators. And we, the meek-minded Venlil, had always been prey.
The great galactic struggle, once between all federated herbivores versus the wretched predator menace, the Arxur, had received a new entrant. It had thought to be impossible for a predator to ever ascend to the galactic stage on their own. Not even the Arxur had managed such a thing. The brutish and cruel nature of such a life-devouring monster precluded it from cooperation at a spacefaring level. Or so we understood anyways. However these monsters had assembled an interstellar armada, they were here now. And with their predatory nature came a promise, something that every Venlil knew. They would try to devour the entire galaxy.
As soon as the threat had been theoretical, it became tangible. While we and the rest of the galactic community at large were still reeling from the appearance of this hitherto unknown threat, their armada had approached its closest target, us, with an unambiguous demand. “We are on approach. Surrender now.”
Hailing all channels, it had been delivered by a video-recording of a dark-clothed (we were fairly sure it wasn’t fur, with how the cloth seemed detached from the monster’s limbs) figure wearing an black visored helmet. The inky darkness of the mask almost made the figure more terrifying than the two helmetless predators flanking the figure. The bipeds with their… forward facing eyes and razor-like jaws.
Furless things, the similarities the bipeds shared to our own innocent curls and oblong heads felt like looking into a shattered mirror. Their form was as if a venlil had had its fur peeled off. And then all of the goodness, innocence, and vulnerability had been stripped from the poor herbivore. I’d shuddered, watching the short video.
E.A.R.T.H., they called themselves in their initial broadcast to the galaxy: the Evil Associated Reign of Terran Humans. Our best minds were still trying to work out what a Terran was, or how they’d so expertly snuck into the middle of our claimed space without detection, avoiding all of the probes we’d laid to detect Arxur raiding parties. Cloaking technology was my bet. Ever cautious, my military advisor, Kam, was holding off on making his own predictions.
Not that we were able to devote much time to guesswork at the moment. Venlil Prime was in a state of absolute panic. Anyone that wasn’t fleeing desperately for a bunker was trying to strengthen orbital defences. Planetary batteries, raising militias, anything that could help defend us. In the next room over, Kam could be heard yelling at the minister for infrastructure that he was willing to pay double for more ships, if he could get them to us now. The poor bureaucrat on the other end of the call was having to explain that that wasn’t how manufacturing worked. Kam was a sweetheart, but it was a good thing for our people that I was the one in charge.
I was becoming eminently aware that the downside to pooling species-resources into a Grand Federated Fleet was that, when we didn’t have enough time to request immediate backup, our homeworld was a little vulnerable. Something that frequently concerned me, as Governess of my people. The woman for whom the continued future of my race was wholly dependent on. A restless paw rubbed against my brow, as I felt the stress overtaking me.
My breath hitched and I nearly leapt out of my seat as an aide surprised me, bringing a fresh cup of tea around from my blind spot. Fragrant leaves still floated in the hot water as the mug was placed in between two emptied mugs which the aide dutifully took away. I waved my tail jerkily in thanks and took a sip from the mug. Taking a deep breath, I tried to steady myself.
“So, we know how the Arxur raid. They’ll try to claim low-orbital supremacy and bomb defences before any predators touch the ground.” I rolled my coarse tongue against molars, trying to discern how to save my species. Glancing at Kam, I prodded, “We’ll have to pray that this EARTH power follows a similar strategy. They’re new, right? Maybe they’ll be worse at this than the Arxur…” I trailed off, unsure if I was trying to convince others, or just myself. My brow furrowed and I looked to my military advisor.
“What is our orbital battery coverage, Kam?”
“Fifty percent, planetwide, ma’am.”
That wasn’t enough. That wasn’t nearly enough. Not when the bombs started dropping. It wouldn’t even stop raiding crews from landing on the planet, unimpeded, and getting their first taste of Venlil flesh. The defeat in my eyes had clearly become visible to Kam.
“B-but ninety percent coverage over most metropolitan areas and greater townships, governess!” The troubled advisor amended quickly, the fight not broken in him yet. Kam was a good one, stubborn ‘till the end and loyal to a fault.
Ninety percent of metro areas having at least one gun looking above them was a… little better. Perhaps there was a world where we could stall the predators for long enough for Federation fleets to save our world. I snorted an angry little snort. Fat chance of that. Doubly worse with how slow allied forces were mobilizing. No. If the stars aligned, my people fought well, and our “allied fleets” actually showed up, the cattle transports might get gunned down before leaving atmosphere and orbital strikes might leave enough of our world left behind for the surviving bunkers to recolonize. It wasn’t much of a strategy, but it would have to be enough.
“We need to coordinate with the battery teams, make sure nobody is balking,” I resolved. Looking over a holo-table projecting the beauty of Venlil prime, a smattering of blue dots represented defensive batteries of various qualities. In red triangles, swathes of enemy ships that had long since passed into visual range carved an ominous wedge above the range of our batteries, in high orbit. No ship had come in range to being effective bombardment. They seemed to just be falling into formation to do… something. They were unknown ships of an unknown menace, so who was to say what their efficacy against our defences would be. But… it didn’t look promising for us.
“Global defences have been integrated with central command, ma’am,” Kam murmured, his attention elsewhere.
Various other ministers bobbed heads or arced tails appreciatively. Agricultural ministers, ministers of housing, ministers of family development, they just stood quietly. Their time, and I supposed my own, had come to its natural end. There was simply nothing else to be done at this point. No more defences to bring online, no forces to rally, and the Federation was already aware of our plight. If we could project an air of confidence, in the face of predator terror, and keep others fighting for as long as they could, that would be our success.
“Good, we don’t evacuate until-” I started, waving towards the various bureaucrats around me until I was cut off by the slam of a door.
“Governess!” A soldier with the markings of a communications officer barged into the room. I twitched slightly in shock before turning to the intruder. Waving a data pad in their hand and barely suppressed terror in their eyes, the soldier bleated, “we have incoming small craft barrelling through low-Prime orbit! They’re moving way too fast for our defence batteries to hit!”
“What?!” I shrieked, echoed soon after by the majority of my cabinet. The ground defences were supposed to buy us time. Now I was to believe that the enemy had just ignored them? There was a restlessness in the room demanding we stampede, held back only by a firm determination to serve our species.
“They’re sending missiles from that range, son?” Kam spluttered, half a cup of an energy drink caught in his lungs from the shock.
“No, sir,-” the terrified comms officer mewled, shrinking in on himself “-craft. Tiny things. Barely two venlil tall, if our sensors are correct, and burning rapidly through the atmosphere. Their descent can’t be controlled at that speed. They must have some sort of ablative plating preventing them from burning to a crisp!”
A hiss of breath escaped Kam, by my side, and his tail danced around erratically. He was scared and it was making me scared.
“Our batteries are slow, plasma salvos, governess,” he whispered emphatically. Though the dread silence that had descended on the room ensured that every cabinet member heard his words all the same. “They’re made to shoot through the shields of slow orbital bombers. We have no defence against whatever this attack is.”
So, this was it then. The EARTH predators didn’t strike like the Arxur, so the little we had been able to do was pointless. I bit back tears, turning to the comms officer who couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off his data pad.
“How- how long do we have?” I droned tiredly.
“They’re already on top of-” the young officer tried to explain before a thunderous boom tore through the council room and half its occupants lost their footing.
As bodies tumbled to the floor, I clung to the holo-table before me, weathering the shaking of the gubernatorial palace. Kam, by my side, almost appeared unfazed. Wordlessly, he reached for a sidearm attached to his uniform. A singlemindedness filled his eyes with such resolve in the face of doom that, in other circumstances, he might have been accused of predator’s disease.
The same could not be said for the rest of the room, which was in turmoil. Crying, shouts, and directionless fleeing had overtaken the crowd. As if in a daze, I stumbled towards one of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of our governing complex. There, out on the scenic lawn, a trio of three blackened metallic pods were smouldering, half dug into the scenic green lawn. These were what the enemy predators had dropped onto us.
The scrambling and shouts behind me seemed to fade into silence. I was frozen in terror, a petrified paw held against the glass as smoke hissed off of the alien constructs. Quickly, too quickly, the black arks groaned. Like a lowed drawbridge, the a section of the pod opened up, detaching from the top of the pod and swinging on a hinge to slam into the lawn below, creating a ramp. Burning golden through the sky in their unmitigated fall, I could see a handful of other pods landing throughout the capital and surrounding area.
My hair stood on its ends and my eyes shrunk to pinpricks as black-armoured aliens marched from the landed pods. Some sort of defensive plates padded their thick arms, legs, and torso. But their heads were left unprotected. And, somehow, that was even worse. Their binocular eyes, jutting noses, and shredding fangs were on full display to the universe.
“Predators…” I whispered breathlessly, peeling away from the door in terror. Amidst the scrambling cacophony behind me, the soft words went wholly unnoticed. I fell back, turning to my cabinet.
“Predators are on Venlil Prime!” I shouted, arcing a paw towards the enemy craft.
I had succeeded in capturing their attention at least. Though I can’t say that knowing of our invasion made the situation better for us. The moment the venlil in the council chamber saw the predators, the predators beelining for us in a sprint at that very moment, what had been a panic turned into a stampede.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have a weapon on me. I needed to run- no, couldn’t do that. I- was there some place to hide? Like a river washing away a sandcastle, I could feel my psyche descending into a prey flight response in the face of the predator menace. In my moment of indecision, the predator raiders burst through the tall window I had backed away from. This was our governing gubernatorial palace complex, just a flat series of bureaucrat offices and park space. It was not made to withstand an attack of any sort.
As predators clambered inside ahead of me, the growing stampede of civil workers and military IT tried to flee deeper into the building. As I scrambled backwards, paws finding purchase against the floor and pulling myself up to my feet, I was just in time to see the wave of venlil bleat terrified cries as more predators rebuked their flight from the other side of our chambers, pointing strange alien weapons at the crowd and herding them back to the centre of our command chamber. Just like that, the heads of Venlil were cornered predator-food, frozen with no recourse but to frightfully watch the attackers that had surrounded them.
Suddenly, I felt myself shoved violently back towards the holo-table as a furry paw I recognized as Kam’s grabbed hold of my nice suit.
“Get back, Tarva,” he ordered, uncompromisingly. Pulling out his pistol, he seemed best able to fake composure among us.
“I have a weapon!” He shouted, brandishing his pistol for the droves of predators to see. In an imitation of a growl, he spat, “take another step you predator fu-”
He was cut off by a ream of biting crackles impacting his body. No simmering hole of plasma projectile or even spurting blood of kinetic firearms, it was like Kam had been punched several times as he doubled over, his pistol falling out of his hands. Still alive, he was beset by coughing fits. Not even half a second later, I could feel in my lungs the reason why. It was as if a burning vapor had filled the air around him. Some kind of poisonous gas racked my lungs and burned my eyes, causing tears to flow freely. Were the predators going to use poison gas on our world? Perhaps that was how their ilk chose to kill.
“Tsk tsk tsk,” a deep, grating voice sounded from the ranks of predators.
I looked up with grated teeth, biting through the pain. Striding confidently in front of me, stepping through the shattered glass window, was a lanky predator. Wagging one finger tauntingly, its movements were almost theatrical. In its left hand, one of the predator’s rifles was pointed in Kam’s direction, though the grip soon relaxed and waved about languidly. This one was different. This EARTH warrior, unlike its pack, had a familiar dark visor hiding its face from the world. It was the one who had announced the doom of our planet, the one who had condemned my people to death. I glared at the beast, my eyes screaming all of the hatred that my mouth could not seem to articulate.
Scrambling behind the predator were a pair of regular Terran warriors toting… was that a camera rig? Was this being televised?
“Sloppy mistake, rookie,” the masked villain taunted, marching over to Kam. Turning my defence minister and protector’s slumped body over with a foot, it was clear from the rise and fall of his chest that he was just unconscious, not dead. Perhaps the predators used a slow-acting poison on their meals. Spinning quickly to flash an upward-turned snarl towards me, the beast sing-songed, “if your enemies see you deferring to someone else, then they know who’s in chaaaaarge.”
Feeling my hatred boiling over like a kettle I flung myself at the looming black predator. Balling up a fist, it felt like the very rage of my people was pushing me forwards, guiding my righteous strike against the predator…
And then he grabbed my arm with his hand.
“So, you must be Governess Tarva,” the beast leered, the inky black of its mask hovering over my own face. “Well, it would be rude not to introduce myself. So,” the monster theatrically threw an arm to the air while trilling, “who am I, boys?”
“Glory to the Supreme Imperiarch of EARTH!” the raiding party roared in a practiced unison.
“That’s right-” the monster gloated “-lord of all worlds and all races. You should have taken my offer of surrender when you still had the chance, governess. This insolence of yours demands a… punishment,” the monster, the alien overlord trailed off, before snapping its fingers and barking, “set up the cameras!”
The predator camera crew scrambled to set up their technology on tripods, centring the devices towards myself. It looked like the execution would be televised. These were predators. Everything was a tactical play or a show of cruelty to them. It was all they knew. Somehow, they had worked out before first contact that our defensive batteries would break if the crews operating them saw that the government had already capitulated to the predator’s terror. It was a terrifyingly effective strike on their part. All of our government captured together and slaughtered on camera. What kind of prey could look at that and not feel the crushing weight of their own doom upon them?
The gravity of what I was looking at began to weigh upon me. My own death was imminent, next to the deaths of all the friends I had worked to govern with, and finally the deaths of my entire species. Finding myself faint of breath, I lost all strength in my legs. Falling to the ground, I’d almost assumed a foetal position, only the arm clutched by the ravenous Terran leader still left lagging behind. The inky blackness of his mask regarded me coldly. He’d have to take it off sooner or later if he wanted to feed. “Restrain her,” the pitiless thing intoned coldly.
As if choreographed, four of the predators grabbed me, hoisting me up from the ground. They grabbed me by the sleeves of my governess dress and pulled my arms wide open, exposing my soft chest fur to the camera team. My svelte body was too weak to offer resistance against the brutish predators, even as I twisted and writhed against them. All the while, I was too scared to open my eyes. They wanted my limbs out. Would they start by quartering me, before feeding?
I tried to still the trembling that had overtaken my legs, while keeping my eyes clamped shut. If not to preserve my own decency, then to preserve that of my peoples’ in this dark hour. Repressed memories of filmed Arxur raids and those predator’s calculated brutality crossed my mind. I censored most of the gristly footage passed on to the general public. Their psyches didn’t need to suffer from the recordings, but I could never remove the grisly images from my own conscience. Wordlessly, I prayed these monsters would be quicker in their execution.
“Let the enemies of EARTH realize the consequences of opposing our intergalactic ascendance!” The voice of the Terran Imperiarch cried out, and I knew the end had come.
By my hands, I felt a grabbing and twisting sensation. Thinking predator jaws had set themselves on my hands, I thrashed and bleated in terror against my captors briefly, still holding my eyes tightly shut. But the struggle was brief, and I soon realized that my hands were not getting devoured. Instead, something had been done to my worn suit. Like a puppet cut from its strings, the arms that had held me spread released me abruptly and I crumpled back to the floor. There I held, too afraid to move.
As one moment turned into two, curiosity won out over abject fear and I opened my eyes. Looking at my arms, half expecting to see stumps bereft of hands, I discovered that my sleeves had been tied into knots while my arms were still inside. I guess it kind of sort of… I struggled around a bit and found that, with the suit on, it was kind of a pain to move. Furrowing a brow, I looked up from my trapped paws and caught the camera team head on.
“Hear us now, Federation heroes!” the dark Terran Imperiarch bellowed to the cameras, “we are the Evil Associated Reign of Terran Humans! Conquerors of all! Malicious heralds of darkness and ruin! What you have witnessed here today is but a taste of what is to come to the rest of your worlds.” The black masked Terran spread his arms wide, seemingly trying to signal some encompassing scope. “Our time is now.” [First] [Previous] [Next]

Part 1
Yarm woke the next morning to find Rarm already puttering around. When she saw him sitting up, she stepped over and kissed the top of his head. He smiled at her in return and she gestured for him to step outside.
As he had a full bladder and was heading out anyways, he quickly did so. Outside the hut, he found a small fire with some cuts of meat and a few eggs frying on flat stones around it.
"Eat something before you go," she said. Yarm smiled again and put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. "Thank you, mother," he said. "I just need to relieve myself, first."
He walked behind the hut, to the small hole with the wicker basket that held his family's excrement. He pissed all over it, stirring up the smell anew, but helping enrich the mess into fertilizer. He hoped they'd fill the basket before Gard left again, so he took off his breeches and squatted in service of that goal. His father usually got stuck with the unpleasant task of mixing it with sand to make mud for the field.
When he was done, he cleaned himself with water from the wooden bowl next to the pit, then pulled his breeches back on. Unlike most of his friends, he usually chose not to wear a tunic. When asked, he always claimed that he wanted to toughen his skin, but the truth was that he was lucky enough not to carry much visible fat on his body, and he liked the looks the others sometimes gave him.
It was getting late in the summer, however, so he slipped back into the hut and grabbed the wolfskin cloak he'd won for himself three years ago. He'd gotten it by killing the large, solitary beast after it wandered into the village and snatched Hin's baby right out of the cradle. He had, of course, presented the corpse to Hin once the deed was done, and though she had taken some scant comfort in knowing that the last connection she had to her recently-dead husband had been avenged, she had also wanted nothing to do with the body. Yarm had made himself this cloak from the skin and distributed the meat to those he felt needed it the most.
He stepped out to the fire and sat on the ground. Rarm took a large piece of bark and quickly flipped the meat and eggs onto it.
She watched him eat, smiling fondly and shaking her head. "I've never known anyone who liked to eat eggs and fried meat so much in the mornings. It's so much more of an evening food."
Yarm stuffed an egg into his mouth, then chewed briefly and swallowed. "Fried foods are so good in the morning. People just don't know, because they won't try it. But I promise you, while I'm still alive, they'll become staples for breaking the night's fast."
Rarm shook her head and went to go tend to her own ablutions. Yarm ate methodically, rising to grab a pomegranate from one of the trees cultivated throughout the village. He preferred eating a piece of fruit to drinking water this early.
When he was done, he stepped back in to find his parent squirming and gasping under a fur, so he kept his distance as he gathered a couple water skins and some dried meat and fruit. He threw the food into a bag big enough to contain it and three full waterskins. Then he added some more. A spare knife (his old one, from before Rus had given him the new one), an axe, a hunk of glitterstone which he could use to make sparks by striking a piece of flint, a large piece of tanned mastodon-hide, some shredded bark to help start a fire, a rope strong enough to take his weight and about ten body-lengths long and finally, the little carved stone figure of the pregnant mother. He kissed her belly and flicked his tongue across her swollen vulva, as he had been raised to do before slipping her into his bag.
"I'm leaving," he announced. The squirming forms under the skin stopped moving, and one edge was flipped back to reveal his parents' faces.
"You'll be back before six days, right?" Gard asked, still breathing heavily from his exertion. Yarn nodded. "I will. If not, come rescue me from wherever I got stuck."
"You be careful," Rarm said, flipping sweaty hair out of her eyes. "Yes, mother," Yarm said. He turned to leave, then stopped and called out to them as he grabbed a handful of spears.
"Make me a little sister while I'm gone," he said with a smirk over his shoulder.
"I shall do my best!" Gard replied. Rarm rolled her eyes, but had no objections. They resumed grunting and gasping as Yarm slipped through the leather curtain and out into the village.
----
Yarm found Rus, Ord and Brekka waiting for him by the path into the woods. All were dressed for the hunting trip, in long breeches and tunics, wearing bags over their shoulders and clutching bundles of spears in their hands.
"Good morning," he greeted them. "Where's Foss and Jor?"
"Graddi needed help chopping firewood, so Jor's not coming," Ord said.
"What about Foss?" Yarm asked. Ord shrugged. Yarm looked to Brekka for an answer, just in time to catch the tunic she flung at his face. "Put that on, showoff. We're hunting mastodons, not preening around the village."
"Yes, wife," Yarm said, carefully keeping his grin in check. Brekka turned bright red and slapped him in the stomach, driving the air out of him.
"Don't get presumptuous," she said. Yarm glanced at Rus, who was smirking at him. As he pulled his cloak off and tugged the tunic on under it, she stood next to him.
"If you're looking for a wife, you're looking in the wrong place," she purred. Yarm grinned at her and pinched her ass, eliciting a squeal. "I think I may need more practice before I become a husband," he said. Rus grinned and rubbed her offended butt cheek. "Well, we'll have to see what we can do about that."
Yarm caught Brekka rolling her eyes at them and gave her an exaggerated shrug. She made a dismissive gesture. "Foss hurt his back," she said. Yarm met Ord's eyes and both of them exploded into laughter.
----
The sun was setting when they stopped to make camp. Yarm used his mastodon hide and four of his spears to make a small pavilion, since it looked like it might rain. He cut enough sticks to make a bed (making a point of ensuring it was big enough for two, just in case) and gathered enough grass to make it comfortable. Ord did something similar, though he made his a lean-to.
Neither of the girls built anything to keep the rain off, as they were no doubt planning to spend the night with the boys. Yarm was suddenly glad that neither Jor nor Foss could make it. The other girls their age didn't care for hunting (though they could do it if they had to), and having parity in the sexes meant everybody got the chance to do a little rutting at night. A win, all around.
Well, maybe not for Jor or Foss, but there were still unmarried girls in the village. They'd be fine.
They built a small fire and used it to boil some dried meat in a bark bowl for dinner. They ate, chatting about various things, still clinging to the teenage need to stay up as late as possible.
"So what's your father going to do about the Stone Mammoths?" Brekka asked. Yarm nodded, still chewing, to acknowledge the question. He swallowed and then answered.
"He's going to go treat with their leader, Tald, next week. He wants me to come with him, probably to see how he does it."
"We should kill their men and bring their women into the village," Ord said. Yarm shrugged. "There's at least forty men, compared to our thirty."
"Bah, how many humans did you kill in that raid last winter?" Rus asked.
"Three, but that's different," Yarm said. "The Mountain Deer hadn't had a real fight since before our time. They were hunters, not warriors. The Stone Mammoths... Well, they wiped out the rest of the Mountain Deer, and the Witch Mother told us they had conquered at least four other tribes before they got here. Those humans are warriors. They might be small, but they're fierce. Like Brekka."
He said the last with a grin and a wink at the small woman, who responded with a rude gesture and a short laugh. Rus didn't care for it, though, scowling and scooting closer to Yarm. Yarm put a hand on her thigh to calm her down.
Being the center of attention made Yarm feel older. That, in turn, made him feel both tired and responsible. "We should turn down for the night," he said. "Get an early start and hope to find the herd tomorrow. My father wants me back before he heads to the Stone Mammoth camp in six days."
"Six days is tight, Yarm," Ord said. Yarm shrugged. "If we can separate one from the herd tomorrow, we can have it dead by the day after. Then a day to dress it and two days to get home. That's six days."
"We'll do it," Brekka said. "We'll come home with enough meat to last us until the grand hunt. Watch."
Yarm smiled at her and stood. Rus stood with him. "I'm tired," she said, though the twinkle in her eye made it clear that 'tired' meant something else entirely. "Come on then," Yarm said. He'd never gotten with Rus before, and he was looking forward to exploring her generous curves. He glanced over to see Ord whisper something to Brekka, who grinned at him. Looks like things were all set there, too.
They paired off and settled down. Almost immediately, Rus' hands began wandering. Unfortunately, the necessity of clothing in a camp meant they couldn't strip, but they quickly got their pants down and came together, spooning. She was every bit as much fun as Yarm had imagined.
----
The next morning, they found tracks before the sun had even crested the surrounding hills. The tracks led them up into the mountains, above the tree line, but that was no obstacle to the four teens, who'd been raised in these mountains and valleys. However, it was quite unusual.
"Where do you think they're going?" Brekka asked as she and Yarm examined the tracks. Yarm was the best tracker of the four of them, though Brekka made him work for the title. The other two, however, had always been content to let others do the tracking, saving their energy for the kill.
"I don't know," Yarm said. "I haven't seen any wolf or lion signs, nothing that would have chased them higher. There's been plenty of rain, so they're not after the snow."
"My mother said they used to migrate every year when she was young," Brekka said. Yarm nodded. Gard had told him much the same. "Yeah, but they stopped. Why would they start now? And why this way? If they had headed south, they'd find a much lower pass."
"I mean, they're not very bright," Brekka pointed out. Yarm shrugged. "They're not particularly stupid, either. If they cross the mountains by way of the glacier, several will die."
"That may make our job easier. If we could start dressing one today, even one that's partially frozen, we could be back even sooner."
"My father would like that," Yarm allowed, "But if we find a dead one, it'll likely be in a crevasse."
"I brought rope. Didn't you?"
"I did," Yarm said with a smirk. "But did Rus and Ord?"
"Ord did. Rus likely only brought her spears and some food and water. You know how she is," Brekka's words sounded a little bitter.
"No," Yarm said. "How is she?"
"Fat," Brekka spat. "And selfish. You know she told Elle and I that she doesn't even like to let men stick it in her butt. She just does it so they'll like her."
"Well," Yarm said philosophically. "It works." Brekka wasn't able to hold back her laugh. She swatted Yarm's shoulder a few times. "Don't be a smart-ass," she said.
"I can't help it. My ass is the smartest part of me. Certainly much smarter than my head. And my cock, for that matter. Gods above, my cock is stupid. Just last night, he crawled up Rus' ass and got so worked up he vomited."
Brekka giggled uncontrollably as he delivered his complaints with convincing vitriol and disgust.
"So you regret that, huh?" she asked once she'd caught her breath. "Wish you'd kept control of the damned thing?"
"Nah," Yarm said. "He's dumb, but he knows how to have a good time. I could hear you and Ord the whole time, too. Sounded like you were having fun. Did you maybe turn around and give him the wife hole?"
Brekka's smile faded and she punched Yarm hard. "Don't be a dickhead, Yarm. That's not nice."
"Sorry," Yarm said with a wince. "My father was telling me that most women prefer to use their wife hole, and I just meant that you two sounded like you were having fun."
"That was a mean way to put it, then," she said with a pouty glare. "Sorry," Yarm said again. He gave her a sheepish look, which mollified her somewhat.
"I like it in my butt," she said.
"I believe you," Yarm replied. Brekka narrowed her eyes. "You're an ass," she said. Yarm shrugged and did not contest it. He had been hoping to swap partners tonight. He really did like Brekka more, but now that seemed unlikely. Maybe Ord would be down to sleep with him and let the girls have his skin...
"Let's go get the others, then," Brekka said. "If there's any chance of finding one today, we're gonna need to make good time up this mountain."
Yarm followed the tracks into the distance, and then lifted his eyes up to the glacier that sat in a saddle between two peaks. He wondered again what had convinced the herd to climb this mountain. Nothing good, that's for sure.
----
They made the glacier before they spotted the first straggler.
The wind was blowing hard, stirring up the snow that fell almost year-round at this altitude and whipping it around in a screaming frenzy. All four of them huddled in their cloaks, and Yarm blessed Brekka for making him wear a tunic. They had been trudging uphill for several hours now, too cold to stop for food. Yarm had to hold two of his waterskins under his armpits to keep them from freezing, and they made moving his arms uncomfortable, which made it harder to keep his pace up.
"Look!" Ord cried, pointing ahead. Yarm squinted and just barely made out a moving dot, way up ahead.
"A straggler!" Yarm cried. They had to yell to be heard above the unceasing wind.
"Pick up the pace, let's see how weak it is!" Rus shouted and Yarm couldn't agree more. All four of them began to jog in the knee-deep snow, wading forward faster and faster. Yarm kept his eye on the tiny dot, watching it grow larger. He watched it turn oblong, and then resolve into a four-legged form with a bed of snow on its back.
"Come on!" Brekka called. They all sped up even more, snow flying as they slammed through it as fast as they could. As the shape resolved into that of a smallish, older mammoth, it finally noticed the pursuit. The shaggy beast stopped and turned to regard them with large, fearful eyes.
They raced forward, the creature's display of weakness egging them on. Yarm clutched five of his spears in his weak had, and the final one in his dominant hand. He adjusted his grip and prepared to throw, watching the others to make sure they were ready, as well.
Each of them go their spears up. Yarm watched the beast, realizing it was a male. "Throw!" he urged them, hoping to injure the beast and slow it down even further. All four of them hurled their spears. Four spears arced up, and because because they were thrown by White Lions, four spears slammed into the creature's shaggy flanks.
It trumpeted, a cry of pain, but also, Yarm realized too late, one of anger. Its eyes turned bitter at the pain, and it thrashed its head from side to side. Yarm readied his next spear.
The mammoth charged them. Now just a hundred feet away, thanks to their aggressive approach, it didn't have far to go. Yarm was the only one to get a second spear off, the flint tip driving into the creature's chest and embedding itself briefly in the bone before the tip gave way.
The pounding feet of the massive thing crushed the spear haft to splinters as it came. Its tusks barely missed goring Ord as it caught the young man and flung him away. Yarm dropped all but one of his spears and slashed at the beast's flank as it passed him by, opening a long cut with the sharp tip.
"Yarm, get back!" Rus cried as the mammoth swung its huge head towards him. Yarm leaped back, but too late, and was caught on one of the tusks. The creature easily lifted him off his feet and tossed him aside. Yarm flew and slammed into the ground, tucking and rolling and praying not to catch a rock.
As his tumble slowed, he caught his feet. He'd managed to hang onto the spear, but the head had shattered. Cursing, he threw down the haft and drew his knife. He saw Rus, standing next to a tree and readying her next spear. A fifth spear protruded from the animal's flank, though he didn't know who'd thrown it.
The beast was moving towards Ord, who was back on his feet and running for a dropped spear. Yarm shouted, a wordless bellow sent forth with all the force he could muster, trying to distract the beast. But it did not take the bait.
Yarm had no time to curse the inexplicable aggression of the creature. It had clearly been scared, as had the whole herd. Only fear would have driven them this high in the mountains. Yet when it had spotted them, fear turned to anger.
Yarm ran up to the beast's rear leg and slashed, drawing another bright line of blood, but the creature ignored him. It continued forward, catching Ord right as he seized his spear and lifting him up with its trunk.
Ord kept his wits, driving the spear down with both hands through the creature's trunk. It trumpeted again and shook its head, sending Ord tumbling down.
Yarm caught a glimpse of a spear on the ground and scooped it up, then drove it into the beast's belly with all the power in his body. The weapon sank all the way to his hands and he shoved off it, stumbling back.
"Yarm!" Rus cried, and he turned just in time to see her tossing him a spear. She rushed up and slammed the spear she still held into its belly, next to Yarms, but the creature spun, kicking both of them and sending them sprawling.
Another spear flew into it, wedging itself between two ribs. Yarm glanced back to see Brekka, lining up her third or fourth throw. He scrambled forward, seizing one of the spears still protruding from the beast and driving it back home again, then seized Rus by the cloak and dragged her back, giving Brekka room.
Her aim was perfect. The spear flew through the air and penetrated the mammoth's neck. Blood began to spurt out in huge arcs, spraying the ground, even the splatter enough to drench Yarm and Rus, ten feet away. She got her feet under her, and together, they ran to Brekka.
"Here," the smaller woman said matter-of-factly, picking up a trio of spears and passing one to each of them. They turned and raised their hands to throw, but the mammoth was swaying.
"Hold," Yarm said. The sounds of the fight, once a great racket that had echoed through the frozen air, were now gone. A strange hush settled over them, broken only by the rustling, almost drunken steps of the mammoth.
It stumbled around for only a moment longer before it finally collapsed.
"Yes!" howled Yarm. Both of the girls began to laugh and clap their hands. "We got it!" Brekka cried.
Yarm marched forward. "Ord! Where you at?!" he called, ready to celebrate this unexpected victory. But then, he saw his friend and his smile faded.
Ord lay on the ground, his chest thoroughly misshapen, his eyes staring sightlessly at the sky. The massive hollow that was most of his chest was visibly in the shape of the mammoth's foot.
"Ord," Yarm whispered. He heard Brekka gasp and Rus say "Oh no..."
As one, the three of them knelt by Ord's body, but it was already too late, Yarm knew.
Part 3

Lair of the Spider Hag A Touch of Black: Chapter 10

The gargantuan spider lay dead, oozing black blood from many wounds. Its mistress, Oma Syndy Spinster, has fled into the web choked tunnels below, surely hiding in the darkness waiting in ambush. Wisdom would demand that you leave well enough alone. That you turn back. That you forsake your duty. Adventurers, even if they have it in abundance, are not known for applying wisdom to problems. So the only real option is to plunge headlong into the Lair of the Spider Hag.
ADVENTURE MECHANICS

• This Adventure is Part 10 of 10
• Target Party: 4 Level 5 Adventures
• Expected Playtime: 3+ Hours
• Tone: Dark Dungeon Crawl

GET THE FREE PDF which Includes

• Custom Maps
• Extra NPC and Location Info
• Content that was trimmed to fit in a Reddit Post
• Links to all the other chapters!

Story Flow

The Player’s employer, Lady Persephone Trellu, came to Deleran’s Crossing to do three things. Restore her family’s holdings, cure her disease stricken paralyzed body, and start a family of her own. To accomplish this she entered into a dark pact with a Hag by the name of Oma Syndy Spinster. Syndy demanded three tasks to be accomplished before she would help. Gather Dark Root seeds, retrieve a Mythical Harp, and rescue her sister’s Child from a cosmic entity known as Aberrant Black. All three tasks were accomplished and Syndy fulfilled her bargains as well. But not in a desirable way. Persephone was cured, married, and was with child, but the baby grew rapidly and the child has begun to consume its mother’s life essence.
In order to save them the players must confront Syndy, and force her to lift the curse. The group has by now followed their leads deep into the woods. (Perhaps even with the help of Aberrant Black) There they found Oma Syndy Spinster’s lair, a massive rotting Treant corpse that has been hollowed out for the Hag’s use. There they confronted the Hag, demanding that she lift the curse on their employer Persephone Trellu, but knew going into this endeavor that the likelihood of those demands being met were minimal at best. Syndy like all hags likely made counter offers, but those were nothing more than shallow attempts to once again gain the upper hand. No, this problem would have to be resolved by steel and spell.
During the conflict Syndy fled into the tunnels below, leaving the players to fight her pet gargantuan spider, Rolb. They’ll now have to hunt her down and end her once and for all, but that will be no simple task. The Spider Hag’s Lair is a network of twisting caverns formed into the sides quarter mile deep pit. She will have headed deep into her sanctum to summon infernal reinforcements. If they are to catch up to her and defeat her once and for all they’ll need to disable her wards and shut down the ritual she has begun.
Game Opening and Hooks
As mentioned, this Adventure is part of a Series/Campaign. However, some people may just want to use the nuts and bolts of the Module for their own purposes, so I have provided some alternative ideas.

• Campaign: Persephone and her soon to be newborn are under a Hag’s Curse and in grave danger. The Players must find a way to save her.
• One Shot: The Group is hired by a local to end a Hag’s Curse on their daughter.
• One Shot Alternative: The Group comes across some locals in distress. His wife is about to give birth, but she wasn’t pregnant yesterday!

PRE-GAME

Story Arcs It is down to the Players and the Hag. They have fought their way to the doorstep of Oma Syndy Spinster’s Lair, and it’s time to head inside and confront the fiend. This episode picks up right at the end of the previous one. There should be little to no pre-game work to do if you’re running the campaign. If you’re using the bones here to run a one shot, the adventure becomes a Spider themed Dungeon Crawl.
Final Notes
As we begin the last chapter in our series, I want to make you the DM aware that if you’re thinking things aren’t looking good for our players… you’re right. This is, and always has been, a Gothic Horror Campaign. Which means the chances of the Heroes coming out on top were, from the beginning, slim to none. Of course there is Hope, but only a fools hope. Give them what they need to get to the final battle. Even give them what they need to beat Syndy. But the climax is written in a way that will likely leave at least some of them dead.

OPENING CUT-SCENE: Making Myself Known

She watches from behind them. She stands in front of them. Alongside them. With them. They never notice. It is horrific to be ignored. Miserable to be forgotten. Maddening to be unseen. Her father walks past her for the hundredth time this week. He doesn’t speak. No words. Not a glance. She is invisible. Her anger boils over. Like it has dozens of times before. But what will she do? Lash out? Speak harshly? Scream? They would not hear. Her eyes fall on the wood splitting axe. To them she does not exist. She did once. But no longer. She is dead to them. But not undead. No… she is no ghost. No Spirit. Not a specter. She is simply hated and ignore because she chose to do the one thing her father refused her. She chose to marry for love. But they took that from her too, and now the entire house ignores her. Her hand grasps the axe, she wasn’t sure she meant to. She feels its weight. The consequence. The definity of it. They won’t ignore her for much longer.

ACT 1: The Hag’s Lair

They will enter into the Spider Hag’s Tunnels. Down in the bowels of the Shadow Fey. Syndy has burrowed out a network of caverns all connected by a deep central shaft. The players will have to explore the cavern and destroy three skull altars that the Hag uses to charge a ward that will keep them entering into the deepest part of her lair. There she is using the harp to empower herself. This Act and Act 2 will blend together quite a bit. I have listed the important locations on the map, they should be easy enough to identify.

Locations

1) THE ENTRANCE
You pass through the claustrophobic tunnel into a chamber. The damp earth has turned to rocky walls. Webs crisscross the tunnel and skulls with red glowing candles surround the entrance, their eye sockets seemingly fixed on you.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Skulls: The skulls are basically there just to creep them out, however, this is an opportunity to alert them to the dangerous environment they just walked into. Perhaps have the skulls cast a “Bestow Curse” style of spell upon them that lasts for a while when they’re attacked. Something that they can remedy with a little magic but also something to let them know Syndy doesn’t mess around.

2) THE WEB SHAFT
You stand on the ledge of a pit choked with webs so thickly you can barely see water reflecting at the bottom, more than 200’ below you. There are also three other ledges you notice encircling the pit. Opposite you and some 40’ down. Off to the East about 80’ down, and another to the West about 150’ mark.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Webs: This is possible, but will have two adverse effects. First, it will draw out the Spider Swarms that nest here, who otherwise will remain hidden. It will count as an encounter, but it may also make the final battle easier, since Syndy will be robbed of the spider’s help and her extra mobility in this room. Secondly, they’ll have to make Dexterity Saving Throws to avoid damage from the webs snapping like tight cables and whipping around. Lastly, if they burn them they will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid being burned by fire and choked by smoke. I recommend the poisoned condition for an hour or exhaustion if you’re feeling a little on the mean side. I would also fill the tunnels with smoke limiting their vision and causing extra problems.

3) THE EGG ROOM
A dozen or so clusters of web woven oval objects are placed around this room. Egg sacks. They are webbed to the floor, walls, and ceilings. Creatures with the lower half of spiders and the upper body of elves skitter about tending to the sacks. Their heads are wrapped in webbing and seem to pay you no attention. Off to the south is a bone covered pedestal in a cavern niche. The pedestal displays a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Eggs: The Driders in the room have been taken over by Spider Parasites and turned into Mindless Drones. They aren’t interested in the players until they take action against the eggs or the skull. At that point they will attack until destroyed. If the sacks are destroyed they will release a noxious gas that inflicts the poisoned condition a hard Constitution Saving Throw can be made to avoid the effects.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. In either case the moment the players approach the skull the Driders will attack. If they destroy the skull it will fight back attacking them with “Eldritch Blast” type attack. It should have reasonable AC and Hitpoints. Simply extinguishing the candle should be a Medium Arcana Check or it will relight itself.

Encounter: Drider Drones

• These Drides have their heads wrapped in webs and dozens of Parasitic Spiders swarming over them controlling their actions. They typically operate by the commands of Syndy, or if left to their own devices with the instinctual intellect of the spiders. They have *Undead Fortitude* like ability (See Zombies) but this one is driven by the spiders not being undead.

4) DARK ROOT CHAMBER
Massive piles of twitching Dark Roots cover the walls and much of the floor and ceilings. Several corpses can be seen entangled among the roots. The air here is humid and thick with the smell of rot.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Roots: This room can be simply passed through. However, they may decide to destroy the Roots, which will start an encounter, but not necessarily a combat as they may find a creative way to eliminate them. Taking out the roots will remove them as an option for Sydny’s Lair Actions.

Hazzard

• Dark Roots: As they already know these roots are dangerous and can lash out with an attack similar to the spell Vampiric Touch. Appropriate checks and rolls apply.

5) ACRID POOL
There is a large pool of viscus green liquid in the center of this room releasing an odor into the air that burns your nostrils. Periodic bubbles rise and pop slowly in the thick liquid. Otherwise the room is fairly quiet. Down in the corner is a bone covered pedestal displaying a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pool: They will examine the pool. They may even attack it. If at all possible the pool should be described as a caustic liquid with the consistency of flowing mud. It eats organic material, wood, and most metals. Touching it will cause damage and being too close to a bubble will expose them to toxic gasses. The pit the liquid sits in has some small side tunnels in it where the Gelatinous Stalker hides. There should be something in these tunnels that is recoverable.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. This one is a trap. The Gelatinous Stalker is using it to distract intruders, hopefully giving it an edge if it attacks. The real Skull is acting as the central nervous system for the Stalker. They’ll have to face it to be able to turn the skull off.

Encounter: Gelatinous Stalker

• The Gelatinous Stalker is an Ooze in the Gelatinous Cube family. Unlike the Cube, a Stalker can be trained and commanded if it is well fed. Syndy keeps this particular pet content and it is well trained. It rests in it’s pool until something attempts to tamper with the skull in the room. It then rises silently out of the acid and attacks. It will attempt to pull attackers inside of itself and throw targets into the acid pool. The real skull protects the brain of this Stalker and can only be destroyed once the creature is dead.

6) BRAIN WEED
There is an odd looking plant in the corner of this chamber. Vines grow out like tentacles and a large pulsing fruit in the center looks more like a brain than anything plant related.
Hazard: Brain Weed

• Brain weed is an infectious plant that survives by attaching parasitic burs to living creatures. These burs drain the memories of those infected until their mind is an empty shell and dies. Once dead the Brain Weed then fully absorbs the mind of the creature into its own consciousness. Brain weeds can live for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, and can contain the memories of whole civilizations, if they are well fed. Creatures that get too close to the Weed must make Medium Intelligence Saving Throws or consider the Weed in need of their protection and begin having their memories Drained. If the Weed is destroyed nearby victims will regain their memories, and perhaps additional ones as well.

7) HAUNTED LEDGE
There is an uncomfortable feeling in this area. The air is cold and you could swear you hear whispers in the shadows. Things move in the corners of your vision, but when you focus on them there is nothing there to be seen.
Likely Player Actions

• Investigate: There are plenty of ways that the players can interact with the “ghosts” haunting this room. Leave that up to their imagination. Many folk have perished at Syndy’s hands and tuning into lost and trapped spirits, and both beneficial and malevolent spirits haunt this place, so depending on how they engage this room could benefit or hinder the players. Do they get a restful boon, or do they have to fight angered ghosts? Use this area as a great opportunity to manage their resources.

Encounter: Lost Spirits

• If you do engage them in a combat encounter be sure to use the spirits ability to become ethereal and move through objects. Half of what makes Ghosts scary is that they can move through solid things. I usually give “ghosts” a disengage as a bonus action when shifting into ethereal forms or passing through objects. Makes them more ghosty.

8) BONE PIT
This room is filled with bones. The floor is completely covered. So much so that you have no idea how deep the pile goes. Rotting flesh clings to many of the remains and swarms of larvae crawl over the rancid meat.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pit: The players will be expecting something horrible to come up out of the pit. I suggest only hinting at something horrible. Bones move a little not far from them, but nothing aggressive or supernatural happens. The wind picks up. It gets colder. Whispers. Things that make them uncomfortable. If they examine the actual bones, many will have carvings on them, mostly dark runes, but some will have names on them, and the details of the deals they made with Syndy that got them here.
• Destroy the Bones: If they want to go to the trouble of destroying the bones they canbe rewarded for the work. They’re tied to some of Syndy’s power and weakening them will weaken her. If they choose to do this though, don’t let them off without a fight. Bring some spidery minions from other areas after them while they work. Some Phase Spiders work nicely, since they can come basically out of nowhere.

9) ETTERCAP NEST
Webs choke this portion of the cavern. They’re not overly thick strands but they are layered very densely making it difficult to see even a few feet beyond. There does seem to be some funneling tunnels woven into the webs, perhaps for the arachnids that dwell here to travel through. You also note the large number of severed body parts hanging in the strands. Arms, legs, and even a separated torso or two can be clearly seen. The parts are dry and cracking, almost mummified.
Hazard: Ettercap Webbing

• These webs are extremely thick up top and in most cases interaction with them alerts the Ettercaps within. Cutting them certainly does, and burning them is a bad idea. They do burn slowly with a little effort. Unfortunately this releases a toxic gas that will require constant Hard Constitution Saving Throw. Failing the save will cause the players to become poisoned for ten minutes. A Medium Perception Check will reveal that the webs could be crawled under with limited interaction if care is taken.

Likely Player Actions

• Burn the Webs: Players do this a lot, and we as DMs usually let them get away with it. However if they do that here, they will quickly find that these webs do not burn well, and what does burn releases a toxic fume.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. The Skull here is acting as a lure bringing the players ever closer to the Ettercap Ambush. Once they are close the Ettercaps will lasso the skull with a web shot and yank it up into the webbing above beginning the Encounter phase of this room.

Encounter: Ettercap Ambush

• The Ettercaps will hide in their burrows and use the thick webs to their advantage. They are not hindered by them in the slightest. They will camouflage themselves up above the Skull and wait for the players to arrive. Once the party approaches the Skull they will shoot out Webs and yank it away, while simultaneously attacking the PCs. They will pass the Skull around to one another as a Lair Action. This begins a game of Keep Away which the Ettercaps should be quite good at. If the players are not quick enough, or if the fight turns against the creatures, the Ettercaps will dash out into the Lair and attempt to hide the skull away.

11) SYNDY'S CHAMBER
This room feels straight out of a nightmare. Your eyes first land on the small fire burning in the center of the oblong chamber. Thick red tinted smoke curls up from it, choking the air with a potent acrid smell, and feeding into a thick cloud that covers the web draped ceiling. There is a broken arcane circle on the floor near the entrance. Magical runes that you can’t decipher but cause your skin to crawl just looking at them have been inscribed in what appears to be blood all around its edges. There is a jumble of broken and web covered furniture in the north end of the room including a filth stained bed and some broken shelves that are held together by spider’s workings, their contents scattered about lying broken on the floor. In the south is what looks like a large egg sac, it’s top peeled open like the shell of a hard boiled egg.
Likely Player Actions

• Search The Room: The players will certainly want to get a close inspection of this room. Hopefully they’ve checked for traps, because there are several in here. I’ll describe them below in the Hazards section. Most of the items in here are nothing more than macabre trophies that Syndy has taken from those she has ensnared. There are some that are from still active clients and could be used to help free those under her obligations. Some of that strictly depends on what you’ve done on the side in town, and perhaps what you’d like to do. Searching around the room will reveal that Syndy likely sleeps in the egg sac and that “guests” sleep in the nasty bed. There is a book next to the bed with guests’ names in it. This too could help identify clients and lead to some follow up adventures. With some Medium Checks the Players should find a few things of note, I’d put potions and scrolls in here that have a darker tone to them. Maybe even some troublesome temporary side effects. Things like a healing potion that also causes mild paranoia. A scroll of Web that causes more eyes to form on the players forehead. Things like that.

Hazard: Syndy’s Traps

• Webs: The Webs throughout the Lair do function as an alert system. The ones in here more so. Any significant contact should result in swarms of spiders coming out of every nook and craney to attack the players.
• The Broken Seal: This ward works just fine, and only looks broken. It will cast Phantasmal Force on everyone in the room. If thye fail their saves they will believe they are being attacked by Syndy herself.
• Cursed Belongings: Syndy has put a Hex on her belongings in this chamber. anyone carrying items out of here will suffer disadvantage on Attacks, Saving Throws, and Skill Checks.

ACT 2: The Web Ward

Act 1 and 2 blend together quite a bit. Act 2 Really begins once they destroy all the skulls they find while Exploring the lair. Each with a black candle emitting eerie red light. They will look similar to the ones they’ve already found near the entrance. The major difference is that these are magical points that keep the Ward in Location 12 active. Once they have destroyed the ward will be disabled. However, that will not be a simple task. Each skull has a unique guardian that isn’t going to just allow the players to freely attack the skulls.

• Skull One is in Location 3)
• Skull Two is in Location 5)
• Skull Three is in Location 9)

12) WARD CHAMBER
You take one look into this room and immediately feel the sensation of powerful magic. There is a large warding circle on the floor in front of the passage to the south. There are three pillars surrounding it. (They are lit with the corresponding number of skulls out there lit) The circle is flanked on each side by a stone spider statue. They do not appear to be fully animated, but as you observe the room you hear the grinding of stone and watch their heads turn toward you.
Possible Player Actions

• Examine the Room: Easy and Medium checks can be made to tell them what they already know. That the fixtures in this room combine to form a deadly trap. They may even realize that the statues shoot webs and release poison clouds. Hard Arcana checks will tell them whether it is safe to pass or not. If all the skulls have been dealt with, then it is safe to pass. If not they could attempt to press their luck with the trap and ward.
• Attacking or Disabling the Room: I would allow this but it would require a series of Very Hard Checks, using both Physical and Magical abilities. Any failures at all set the mechanisms off.
• Passing Into the Next Room: If the ward is down then this happens without issue. If they are up, then they’ll find themselves having to deal with the traps of the room.

Hazard: Lair Ward and Stone Spiders

• If the trap is set into motion several things begin to happen. First the pillars around the ward begin spraying webbing. One over the north exit, one over the south, and one around the room. (Webbing has an AC of 12 and 50hp) The pillars restore 25hp each round and make the area difficult terrain. The players may attack the webbing over the doorways, but the easiest way to deal with it is to destroy the pillars (AC of 14 and 20hp). Compounding the difficulty of the room are the Spider Statues. They will spray poison clouds that fills the room doing 2d6 Poison Damage (Hard Constitution Save for Half), and add an additional 2d6 every round the trap is active.

13) VAMP-SPIDER LAIR
Beyond the Ward is a large cavern with a series of downward cliffs, dropping about 80’ before exiting out a tunnel below. Thick heavy webs cross-cross this room. Cocooned bodies of both folk and beasts hang in the webbing. Most of the cocoons look to have been here for some time as a thick layer of dust has settled on the cobwebbing. What did these poor souls trade to suffer such a fate? As you ponder this question you begin to hear a familiar sounding harp playing from the tunnel below.
Likely Player Actions

• Head Toward the Sound: Hearing the Harp will likely spur them into action. Though it may not. If they linger, have them make an Easy Charisma Saving Throw against Charm. Those who fail, can be easily shaken out of it.
• Examine the Cocoons: There are dozens of cocoons in here, I’d even put a small dragon shaped one webbed up against the ceiling if they start poking around. Doing so will distract them from some of the others and dial the tension level up. Marisilla and her family are here as well, recovering from their last battle. They should be about half restored. I would only have the players find them if they are being very thorough. However, the longer they stay in here the more intense the Harp’s playing will become, calling for more saves. They can fully destroy the creatures here.

Encounter: Marisilla

• This shouldn’t be a complicated fight. In fact it may even be the only fight that the players will have the upper hand. The Vamp-Spiders have retreated to their Cocoons (Coffins) to regenerate after being defeated by the players before. This will leave them in surprised and weakened condition. They will have to crawl out of their cocoons before they can attack, which should give the Players a round before real combat begins. However once the fighting starts the Vamp-Spiders will waste no time employing dangerous tactics such as throwing players off ledges and letting the fall kill them if possible.

ACT 3: Harp Concert

Once they drop the wards and move past the Cocoons they’ll be able to progress into the final chamber, a Ritual Room where Syndy is playing the Harp. She is using it to open a rift into the Hells, which is never good for players. They will begin their confrontation here, but it won’t stay here. Once the players enter the room she will flee out the back door while creatures from The Abyss manifest into the chamber. One of them will be Shoundra, the Shadow Demon from Sorrow Song. Shoundra will continue playing the Harp while the forces coming through the portal will run interference. They’ll need to stop her then chase Syndy down the tunnel and into the pit.
14) DARK SCANTUM
This chamber is a dome of worked stone and feels ancient. The floor is one massive dark arcane circle with red glowing symbols carved into it. Syndy is here playing the harp. Her arachnid features are extremely hard to read, but the predatory smile on her face is unmistakable. “You think you’ve won because you’ve slain my minions and found me here.” She laughs. A wretched chittering sound. “All you’ve done is present yourselves to pay our debts to a power you can’t possibly comprehend. And for that I thank you!” She steps away from the harp slinking toward the back of the room, but it keeps playing. The shadows are playing it! No… a particular shadow is playing it. Shoundra. The Shadow Demon insincerely thanks you as Syndy slips out a secret door behind her. “We won’t ever be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for us.” And with one discordant strum tears in reality form around the room and demons begin crawling through.
Encounter: Shoundra and the Harp

• This is a wave style encounter with demons showing up every round. Shouldra will continue to play the Harp which is keeping the portals open. Every round the Harp will also force a save against Fear and Slow. It should be pretty obvious that the Harp is the Epicenter of the problems and lead them to attack it. If they do not there is a very strong possibility of a TPK. Every round brings in low level demons and a challenging one. The CR of the bigger demon should increase every round they fail to stop the harp. To end the fight they can either destroy the Harp or Shoundra, which the other Demons will be working hard to prevent. The Harp should be immune to non-magical attacks with an AC of 12 and 100hp. Once it is stopped the portals close and what’s left will disappear. They will have to kill Shoundra. She won’t just poof away.

Likely Player Actions

• Follow Syndy: After the fight they can search for the secret door and chase down Sydny. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the secret door. They know it is there, so the only issue is how long does it take them to get it open.

15) ESCAPE TUNNEL
You enter a web filled tunnel and are standing on a ledge that slopes downward and disappears into darkness below. From somewhere in the darkness you can hear slurping sounds and soft whispers, it moves on its own and shadowy tentacles writhe in your direction.
Likely Player Actions

• Navigate the Tunnel: They can climb across the walls or attempt to find a creative way to get across. The tunnel has a number of hand holds and places they could get a rope and grappling hook into. This should not be hard, but it could be frustratingly time consuming.
• Investigate the Darkness: While it feels like something akin to the Hunger of Hadar, the darkness is only an illusionary trick designed to slow down pursuit. Think of it as a blanket that covers the lower passage. It does present sound, so if they are trying to cross it and someone falls through, they cannot call back up for help. The ledge only drops down about 30’ and can be carefully walked down. A Hard Perception Check will reveal the illusion.
• Swim: The only way out is undert the water. I would have them make one or two Constitution Saving Trows for Dramatic Tension.

ACT 4: The Last Thread

We're about to close the doors on Syndy. Unfortunately, The final battle wont be an easy one. She has fled back to the main shaft and this will very quickly become a three dimensional fight as Syndy will be up in the webs and using the entire shaft to her advantage. Furthermore, she won’t be alone. Marisilia and her family will join in fighting off the players.
Confronting Syndy
"You come up from the water bellow to find yourself at the bottom of the main shaft. Syndy is clinging to a web about halfway up. She hisses is anger as she spots you. “So this is what we’ve come to. Let us get to it then shall we!” She begins casting a spell. She shrieks in furious rage as she pulls her magic from the webs and stones around her."
Encounter: The Spider Hag
Syndy isn’t cornered but she has too much pride to believe she can’t win this fight. The players have been through several ordeals now, are surely hurt, and likely very low on resources. And so the Hag will sit in the middle of her webs and taunt them. She is still hurt from the previous fight in the last chapter and may even attempt to bargain with them, though breaking her contracts won’t be something she’ll do easily. Now this may be a fight that the players cannot win, and as this is the end of the campaign it will be a great place for a glorious death. Don’t be afraid to allow them to kill Syndy and thus end her reign of terror, but still succumb to Marisilla and her vamp-spider family or the environment around them. This is a Horror Campaign after all, and no one really wins, not really.
Tactics wise Syndy will use her spells, the terrain, and her lair actions keep the players at a distance as best she can. She will also attempt to restrain and knock the players from whatever they are standing on, forcing them to make Dex and Str types of saves and checks pretty regularly. Once they do begin to close in on her or start relying on ranged attacks she will summon her Vamp-Spider thralls to defend her.
The fastest but most deadly way to end this is the self sacrifice play and them burning the webs. Now, it has already been mentioned that this is a bad idea for the players, at least as far as their survivability. But they may have forsaken that at this point. If they light the webs up, Syndy should react in a mad panic, and be consumed by the flames. If you want to let them get killing blows in on her, have her plummet down to them. However, they should not be able to simply escape the burning lair. Near Impossible Checks should be made, not only to avoid fire damage but to be able to continue to breathe as the entire cavern fills with smoke. And since they are likely at the near bottom of the lair… they cannot get out.
Syndy’s Enhanced Lair Actions
These actions Replace Syndy’s Stat Block Lair Actions.

• Entangling Webs: Syndy shoots lines of heavy webbing in multiple directions. She can target up to eight creatures or objects. A Medium Dexterity Save must be made in order to avoid becoming grappled. If they are hit twice they become restrained. A Strength Save can be made to escape. These webs Can anchor from wall to wall as well.
• Hypnotic Pattern: Sydny Spins a glittering web in the air. Those in line of sight must make an Intelligence Saving Trow or become Hypnotized as the spell Hypnotic Pattern
• Swarming Spiders: Spiderlings swarm down any Web Strands or Walls Available and attack any creatures Syndy dirrects them to. A Medium Constitution Saving Throw must be made or the targets take 2d4 Poison Damage and are poisoned. They can attempt to save again at the end of their turns. This Lair action can be disabled if the players already fought the Spiderlings in the Shaft.
• Curse of Darkness: Syndy calls upon the Spirits of those whom she has trapped to obscure the area with Minor Darkness. This Darkness only moderately obscures the area causing Disadvantage on attack rolls for the round. This Lair action can be disabled if the Players have settled the Spirits in Syndy’s Lair.
• Grasping Dark Roots: Syndy can call upon the Dark Roots if the Players did not destroy them. Anyone within 15’ of the walls must make a Medium Constitution Saving Throw or have their Max Hp drained by 2d4. Syndy is Healed for half the amount drained.

SKILL CHALLENGE: Escape
Once the Hag is dead the lair will begin collapsing in on itself. Whomever is still alive will surely want to fight their way to the exit if possible. This will initiate a multiple roll Skill Challenge that should have increasingly difficult DCs. If the cavern is on fire things should be even worse, and almost certainly should force enough saves and damage to kill some of the players along the way.

1. The Main Shaft begins collapsing! Dexterity Saving Throw as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage)
2. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to begin their escape
3. The Main Shaft and Tunnels continue collapsing! Webs are snapping as boulders plummet and break them. Increasing risk of falling and lashing around the room like whips. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws as webs lash out (Slashing Damage).
4. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
5. The sides of the tunnels begin to cave in. Debris is falling everywhere. All areas becomes Difficult Terrain. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws tumbling stones and rock slides threaten to knock them off their feet and bury them (Bludgeoning Damage).
6. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
7. The Entrance Tunnel (Location 1) completely collapses. They can make a Very Hard Athletics or Acrobatics Check to dive through it if they’re quick. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage).
8. The collapse subsides. Any fire has spread to the Tree above. The Lair has completely caved in. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to possibly rescue those who “almost” made it. If the tree is on fire they must make appropriate saves and take fire damage.
9. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to reach the exit. If they survived they can flee the tree back out into the park.

CLOSING

It is likely that some, if not all of the Players have died either in the fight or during the escape attempt. If you do have survivors the first thing they’ll notice is the Shadow Fey area that overlaps the park is beginning to dissipate and daylight is shining through. Now there are two ideal ways to end this for the survivors. They either make it back safely earning their promised rewards, and that is a wonderful way to close out the story. Or, in classic horror movie style, they escape with their lives only to have something else tragic happen.
If you are allowing them to leave rather than ending their stories here they can stumble back out into the Park and then into the city. From there they will make their way back to Persephone and the Baby. No signs of the Shadow Fey will be left in the Park, which you need to make sure they realize it is a big win for the city. Even if they’re dead they’re heroes. We will close the adventure with a cut-scene. If you are choosing to continue playing, still give them the cut-scene and then move on however you see fit. Make sure to adjust it if Persephone has died already. I would suggest a “happy” adventure or two. They’ve earned it.
But I do really like the idea of one or two of them crawling out of the burning tree back into the Shadow Fey, and having their happy ending snatched from them. It is classic Gothic Horror storytelling. Terribly burned, completely exhausted, and on Death’s very doorstep… but alive. There is an initial feeling of relief. A feeling that is quickly yanked away. But what happens then? Are they captured by Dark Fey? The curse has been lifted, but as the Shadow Fey dissolves around them does it take them with it? Are there vengeful demons left from the ritual that drag them into the Abyss? Do Syndy’s sisters come for them? Maybe an agent of Aberrant Black or some other NPC they’ve crossed shows up to deal with them? Lots of possibilities. They should still get the ending Cutscene, particularly in this case. It’ll help them still feel like they won, even if they’re dead.
However you end it. I hope it is something you and your players love.

Ending Cut-scene

"A beam of sunlight breaks through into the bedroom window. It has a natural, pure feel to it. The screams of pain and terror that filled the night slow to whimpers, then murmurs, and then nothing but soft breathing. A clean breath of air takes over the room and Persephone’s eyes flutter open, filling with tears. She is older, aged unnaturally. Her youth is gone, but her ailments remain vanquished and she is alive. The baby, now nearly two years past newborn, unlatches from her breast and begins to giggle and coo. Vaemond races to their side. He gather’s Persephone’s head to his chest and allows the babe to grasp his finger. Her champions did it. Against all odds, they lifted the curse. The “young” family weeps in relief together in their private chambers. And for just a brief moment. A fleeting moment. A moment that feels like a treasured island of happiness drifting through the dark sea that is Deleran’s Crossing. They have peace. Soon after, her father enters the room and cheers with joy to see his girl alive and awake. Servants come and begin attending to their needs. They help her up and begin to change the sheets and help the new mother into less bedraggled clothing. One moves to the window and throws it and the curtains open. Sunlight, fresh wholesome sunlight, pours in. As she turns back into the room a large black cat jumps onto the window sill. It begins to lick its paws and bathe itself, purring loudly. It watches and begins waiting. It made a deal and now must wait. And waiting is of no real consequence. It leaps to the bed and rubs its head against mother and child, purring all the louder. Afterall, what is a handful of years in comparison to the eons to come?"

THE END…

THANK YOU

I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. Amplus Ordo Games https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames
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Lair of the Spider Hag A Touch of Black: Chapter 10

The gargantuan spider lay dead, oozing black blood from many wounds. Its mistress, Oma Syndy Spinster, has fled into the web choked tunnels below, surely hiding in the darkness waiting in ambush. Wisdom would demand that you leave well enough alone. That you turn back. That you forsake your duty. Adventurers, even if they have it in abundance, are not known for applying wisdom to problems. So the only real option is to plunge headlong into the Lair of the Spider Hag.
ADVENTURE MECHANICS

• This Adventure is Part 10 of 10
• Target Party: 4 Level 5 Adventures
• Expected Playtime: 3+ Hours
• Tone: Dark Dungeon Crawl

GET THE FREE PDF which Includes

• Custom Maps
• Extra NPC and Location Info
• Content that was trimmed to fit in a Reddit Post
• Links to all the other chapters!

Story Flow

The Player’s employer, Lady Persephone Trellu, came to Deleran’s Crossing to do three things. Restore her family’s holdings, cure her disease stricken paralyzed body, and start a family of her own. To accomplish this she entered into a dark pact with a Hag by the name of Oma Syndy Spinster. Syndy demanded three tasks to be accomplished before she would help. Gather Dark Root seeds, retrieve a Mythical Harp, and rescue her sister’s Child from a cosmic entity known as Aberrant Black. All three tasks were accomplished and Syndy fulfilled her bargains as well. But not in a desirable way. Persephone was cured, married, and was with child, but the baby grew rapidly and the child has begun to consume its mother’s life essence.
In order to save them the players must confront Syndy, and force her to lift the curse. The group has by now followed their leads deep into the woods. (Perhaps even with the help of Aberrant Black) There they found Oma Syndy Spinster’s lair, a massive rotting Treant corpse that has been hollowed out for the Hag’s use. There they confronted the Hag, demanding that she lift the curse on their employer Persephone Trellu, but knew going into this endeavor that the likelihood of those demands being met were minimal at best. Syndy like all hags likely made counter offers, but those were nothing more than shallow attempts to once again gain the upper hand. No, this problem would have to be resolved by steel and spell.
During the conflict Syndy fled into the tunnels below, leaving the players to fight her pet gargantuan spider, Rolb. They’ll now have to hunt her down and end her once and for all, but that will be no simple task. The Spider Hag’s Lair is a network of twisting caverns formed into the sides quarter mile deep pit. She will have headed deep into her sanctum to summon infernal reinforcements. If they are to catch up to her and defeat her once and for all they’ll need to disable her wards and shut down the ritual she has begun.
Game Opening and Hooks
As mentioned, this Adventure is part of a Series/Campaign. However, some people may just want to use the nuts and bolts of the Module for their own purposes, so I have provided some alternative ideas.

• Campaign: Persephone and her soon to be newborn are under a Hag’s Curse and in grave danger. The Players must find a way to save her.
• One Shot: The Group is hired by a local to end a Hag’s Curse on their daughter.
• One Shot Alternative: The Group comes across some locals in distress. His wife is about to give birth, but she wasn’t pregnant yesterday!

PRE-GAME

Story Arcs It is down to the Players and the Hag. They have fought their way to the doorstep of Oma Syndy Spinster’s Lair, and it’s time to head inside and confront the fiend. This episode picks up right at the end of the previous one. There should be little to no pre-game work to do if you’re running the campaign. If you’re using the bones here to run a one shot, the adventure becomes a Spider themed Dungeon Crawl.
Final Notes
As we begin the last chapter in our series, I want to make you the DM aware that if you’re thinking things aren’t looking good for our players… you’re right. This is, and always has been, a Gothic Horror Campaign. Which means the chances of the Heroes coming out on top were, from the beginning, slim to none. Of course there is Hope, but only a fools hope. Give them what they need to get to the final battle. Even give them what they need to beat Syndy. But the climax is written in a way that will likely leave at least some of them dead.

OPENING CUT-SCENE: Making Myself Known

She watches from behind them. She stands in front of them. Alongside them. With them. They never notice. It is horrific to be ignored. Miserable to be forgotten. Maddening to be unseen. Her father walks past her for the hundredth time this week. He doesn’t speak. No words. Not a glance. She is invisible. Her anger boils over. Like it has dozens of times before. But what will she do? Lash out? Speak harshly? Scream? They would not hear. Her eyes fall on the wood splitting axe. To them she does not exist. She did once. But no longer. She is dead to them. But not undead. No… she is no ghost. No Spirit. Not a specter. She is simply hated and ignore because she chose to do the one thing her father refused her. She chose to marry for love. But they took that from her too, and now the entire house ignores her. Her hand grasps the axe, she wasn’t sure she meant to. She feels its weight. The consequence. The definity of it. They won’t ignore her for much longer.

ACT 1: The Hag’s Lair

They will enter into the Spider Hag’s Tunnels. Down in the bowels of the Shadow Fey. Syndy has burrowed out a network of caverns all connected by a deep central shaft. The players will have to explore the cavern and destroy three skull altars that the Hag uses to charge a ward that will keep them entering into the deepest part of her lair. There she is using the harp to empower herself. This Act and Act 2 will blend together quite a bit. I have listed the important locations on the map, they should be easy enough to identify.

Locations

1) THE ENTRANCE
You pass through the claustrophobic tunnel into a chamber. The damp earth has turned to rocky walls. Webs crisscross the tunnel and skulls with red glowing candles surround the entrance, their eye sockets seemingly fixed on you.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Skulls: The skulls are basically there just to creep them out, however, this is an opportunity to alert them to the dangerous environment they just walked into. Perhaps have the skulls cast a “Bestow Curse” style of spell upon them that lasts for a while when they’re attacked. Something that they can remedy with a little magic but also something to let them know Syndy doesn’t mess around.

2) THE WEB SHAFT
You stand on the ledge of a pit choked with webs so thickly you can barely see water reflecting at the bottom, more than 200’ below you. There are also three other ledges you notice encircling the pit. Opposite you and some 40’ down. Off to the East about 80’ down, and another to the West about 150’ mark.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Webs: This is possible, but will have two adverse effects. First, it will draw out the Spider Swarms that nest here, who otherwise will remain hidden. It will count as an encounter, but it may also make the final battle easier, since Syndy will be robbed of the spider’s help and her extra mobility in this room. Secondly, they’ll have to make Dexterity Saving Throws to avoid damage from the webs snapping like tight cables and whipping around. Lastly, if they burn them they will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid being burned by fire and choked by smoke. I recommend the poisoned condition for an hour or exhaustion if you’re feeling a little on the mean side. I would also fill the tunnels with smoke limiting their vision and causing extra problems.

3) THE EGG ROOM
A dozen or so clusters of web woven oval objects are placed around this room. Egg sacks. They are webbed to the floor, walls, and ceilings. Creatures with the lower half of spiders and the upper body of elves skitter about tending to the sacks. Their heads are wrapped in webbing and seem to pay you no attention. Off to the south is a bone covered pedestal in a cavern niche. The pedestal displays a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Eggs: The Driders in the room have been taken over by Spider Parasites and turned into Mindless Drones. They aren’t interested in the players until they take action against the eggs or the skull. At that point they will attack until destroyed. If the sacks are destroyed they will release a noxious gas that inflicts the poisoned condition a hard Constitution Saving Throw can be made to avoid the effects.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. In either case the moment the players approach the skull the Driders will attack. If they destroy the skull it will fight back attacking them with “Eldritch Blast” type attack. It should have reasonable AC and Hitpoints. Simply extinguishing the candle should be a Medium Arcana Check or it will relight itself.

Encounter: Drider Drones

• These Drides have their heads wrapped in webs and dozens of Parasitic Spiders swarming over them controlling their actions. They typically operate by the commands of Syndy, or if left to their own devices with the instinctual intellect of the spiders. They have *Undead Fortitude* like ability (See Zombies) but this one is driven by the spiders not being undead.

4) DARK ROOT CHAMBER
Massive piles of twitching Dark Roots cover the walls and much of the floor and ceilings. Several corpses can be seen entangled among the roots. The air here is humid and thick with the smell of rot.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Roots: This room can be simply passed through. However, they may decide to destroy the Roots, which will start an encounter, but not necessarily a combat as they may find a creative way to eliminate them. Taking out the roots will remove them as an option for Sydny’s Lair Actions.

Hazzard

• Dark Roots: As they already know these roots are dangerous and can lash out with an attack similar to the spell Vampiric Touch. Appropriate checks and rolls apply.

5) ACRID POOL
There is a large pool of viscus green liquid in the center of this room releasing an odor into the air that burns your nostrils. Periodic bubbles rise and pop slowly in the thick liquid. Otherwise the room is fairly quiet. Down in the corner is a bone covered pedestal displaying a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pool: They will examine the pool. They may even attack it. If at all possible the pool should be described as a caustic liquid with the consistency of flowing mud. It eats organic material, wood, and most metals. Touching it will cause damage and being too close to a bubble will expose them to toxic gasses. The pit the liquid sits in has some small side tunnels in it where the Gelatinous Stalker hides. There should be something in these tunnels that is recoverable.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. This one is a trap. The Gelatinous Stalker is using it to distract intruders, hopefully giving it an edge if it attacks. The real Skull is acting as the central nervous system for the Stalker. They’ll have to face it to be able to turn the skull off.

Encounter: Gelatinous Stalker

• The Gelatinous Stalker is an Ooze in the Gelatinous Cube family. Unlike the Cube, a Stalker can be trained and commanded if it is well fed. Syndy keeps this particular pet content and it is well trained. It rests in it’s pool until something attempts to tamper with the skull in the room. It then rises silently out of the acid and attacks. It will attempt to pull attackers inside of itself and throw targets into the acid pool. The real skull protects the brain of this Stalker and can only be destroyed once the creature is dead.

6) BRAIN WEED
There is an odd looking plant in the corner of this chamber. Vines grow out like tentacles and a large pulsing fruit in the center looks more like a brain than anything plant related.
Hazard: Brain Weed

• Brain weed is an infectious plant that survives by attaching parasitic burs to living creatures. These burs drain the memories of those infected until their mind is an empty shell and dies. Once dead the Brain Weed then fully absorbs the mind of the creature into its own consciousness. Brain weeds can live for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, and can contain the memories of whole civilizations, if they are well fed. Creatures that get too close to the Weed must make Medium Intelligence Saving Throws or consider the Weed in need of their protection and begin having their memories Drained. If the Weed is destroyed nearby victims will regain their memories, and perhaps additional ones as well.

7) HAUNTED LEDGE
There is an uncomfortable feeling in this area. The air is cold and you could swear you hear whispers in the shadows. Things move in the corners of your vision, but when you focus on them there is nothing there to be seen.
Likely Player Actions

• Investigate: There are plenty of ways that the players can interact with the “ghosts” haunting this room. Leave that up to their imagination. Many folk have perished at Syndy’s hands and tuning into lost and trapped spirits, and both beneficial and malevolent spirits haunt this place, so depending on how they engage this room could benefit or hinder the players. Do they get a restful boon, or do they have to fight angered ghosts? Use this area as a great opportunity to manage their resources.

Encounter: Lost Spirits

• If you do engage them in a combat encounter be sure to use the spirits ability to become ethereal and move through objects. Half of what makes Ghosts scary is that they can move through solid things. I usually give “ghosts” a disengage as a bonus action when shifting into ethereal forms or passing through objects. Makes them more ghosty.

8) BONE PIT
This room is filled with bones. The floor is completely covered. So much so that you have no idea how deep the pile goes. Rotting flesh clings to many of the remains and swarms of larvae crawl over the rancid meat.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pit: The players will be expecting something horrible to come up out of the pit. I suggest only hinting at something horrible. Bones move a little not far from them, but nothing aggressive or supernatural happens. The wind picks up. It gets colder. Whispers. Things that make them uncomfortable. If they examine the actual bones, many will have carvings on them, mostly dark runes, but some will have names on them, and the details of the deals they made with Syndy that got them here.
• Destroy the Bones: If they want to go to the trouble of destroying the bones they canbe rewarded for the work. They’re tied to some of Syndy’s power and weakening them will weaken her. If they choose to do this though, don’t let them off without a fight. Bring some spidery minions from other areas after them while they work. Some Phase Spiders work nicely, since they can come basically out of nowhere.

9) ETTERCAP NEST
Webs choke this portion of the cavern. They’re not overly thick strands but they are layered very densely making it difficult to see even a few feet beyond. There does seem to be some funneling tunnels woven into the webs, perhaps for the arachnids that dwell here to travel through. You also note the large number of severed body parts hanging in the strands. Arms, legs, and even a separated torso or two can be clearly seen. The parts are dry and cracking, almost mummified.
Hazard: Ettercap Webbing

• These webs are extremely thick up top and in most cases interaction with them alerts the Ettercaps within. Cutting them certainly does, and burning them is a bad idea. They do burn slowly with a little effort. Unfortunately this releases a toxic gas that will require constant Hard Constitution Saving Throw. Failing the save will cause the players to become poisoned for ten minutes. A Medium Perception Check will reveal that the webs could be crawled under with limited interaction if care is taken.

Likely Player Actions

• Burn the Webs: Players do this a lot, and we as DMs usually let them get away with it. However if they do that here, they will quickly find that these webs do not burn well, and what does burn releases a toxic fume.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. The Skull here is acting as a lure bringing the players ever closer to the Ettercap Ambush. Once they are close the Ettercaps will lasso the skull with a web shot and yank it up into the webbing above beginning the Encounter phase of this room.

Encounter: Ettercap Ambush

• The Ettercaps will hide in their burrows and use the thick webs to their advantage. They are not hindered by them in the slightest. They will camouflage themselves up above the Skull and wait for the players to arrive. Once the party approaches the Skull they will shoot out Webs and yank it away, while simultaneously attacking the PCs. They will pass the Skull around to one another as a Lair Action. This begins a game of Keep Away which the Ettercaps should be quite good at. If the players are not quick enough, or if the fight turns against the creatures, the Ettercaps will dash out into the Lair and attempt to hide the skull away.

11) SYNDY'S CHAMBER
This room feels straight out of a nightmare. Your eyes first land on the small fire burning in the center of the oblong chamber. Thick red tinted smoke curls up from it, choking the air with a potent acrid smell, and feeding into a thick cloud that covers the web draped ceiling. There is a broken arcane circle on the floor near the entrance. Magical runes that you can’t decipher but cause your skin to crawl just looking at them have been inscribed in what appears to be blood all around its edges. There is a jumble of broken and web covered furniture in the north end of the room including a filth stained bed and some broken shelves that are held together by spider’s workings, their contents scattered about lying broken on the floor. In the south is what looks like a large egg sac, it’s top peeled open like the shell of a hard boiled egg.
Likely Player Actions

• Search The Room: The players will certainly want to get a close inspection of this room. Hopefully they’ve checked for traps, because there are several in here. I’ll describe them below in the Hazards section. Most of the items in here are nothing more than macabre trophies that Syndy has taken from those she has ensnared. There are some that are from still active clients and could be used to help free those under her obligations. Some of that strictly depends on what you’ve done on the side in town, and perhaps what you’d like to do. Searching around the room will reveal that Syndy likely sleeps in the egg sac and that “guests” sleep in the nasty bed. There is a book next to the bed with guests’ names in it. This too could help identify clients and lead to some follow up adventures. With some Medium Checks the Players should find a few things of note, I’d put potions and scrolls in here that have a darker tone to them. Maybe even some troublesome temporary side effects. Things like a healing potion that also causes mild paranoia. A scroll of Web that causes more eyes to form on the players forehead. Things like that.

Hazard: Syndy’s Traps

• Webs: The Webs throughout the Lair do function as an alert system. The ones in here more so. Any significant contact should result in swarms of spiders coming out of every nook and craney to attack the players.
• The Broken Seal: This ward works just fine, and only looks broken. It will cast Phantasmal Force on everyone in the room. If thye fail their saves they will believe they are being attacked by Syndy herself.
• Cursed Belongings: Syndy has put a Hex on her belongings in this chamber. anyone carrying items out of here will suffer disadvantage on Attacks, Saving Throws, and Skill Checks.

ACT 2: The Web Ward

Act 1 and 2 blend together quite a bit. Act 2 Really begins once they destroy all the skulls they find while Exploring the lair. Each with a black candle emitting eerie red light. They will look similar to the ones they’ve already found near the entrance. The major difference is that these are magical points that keep the Ward in Location 12 active. Once they have destroyed the ward will be disabled. However, that will not be a simple task. Each skull has a unique guardian that isn’t going to just allow the players to freely attack the skulls.

• Skull One is in Location 3)
• Skull Two is in Location 5)
• Skull Three is in Location 9)

12) WARD CHAMBER
You take one look into this room and immediately feel the sensation of powerful magic. There is a large warding circle on the floor in front of the passage to the south. There are three pillars surrounding it. (They are lit with the corresponding number of skulls out there lit) The circle is flanked on each side by a stone spider statue. They do not appear to be fully animated, but as you observe the room you hear the grinding of stone and watch their heads turn toward you.
Possible Player Actions

• Examine the Room: Easy and Medium checks can be made to tell them what they already know. That the fixtures in this room combine to form a deadly trap. They may even realize that the statues shoot webs and release poison clouds. Hard Arcana checks will tell them whether it is safe to pass or not. If all the skulls have been dealt with, then it is safe to pass. If not they could attempt to press their luck with the trap and ward.
• Attacking or Disabling the Room: I would allow this but it would require a series of Very Hard Checks, using both Physical and Magical abilities. Any failures at all set the mechanisms off.
• Passing Into the Next Room: If the ward is down then this happens without issue. If they are up, then they’ll find themselves having to deal with the traps of the room.

Hazard: Lair Ward and Stone Spiders

• If the trap is set into motion several things begin to happen. First the pillars around the ward begin spraying webbing. One over the north exit, one over the south, and one around the room. (Webbing has an AC of 12 and 50hp) The pillars restore 25hp each round and make the area difficult terrain. The players may attack the webbing over the doorways, but the easiest way to deal with it is to destroy the pillars (AC of 14 and 20hp). Compounding the difficulty of the room are the Spider Statues. They will spray poison clouds that fills the room doing 2d6 Poison Damage (Hard Constitution Save for Half), and add an additional 2d6 every round the trap is active.

13) VAMP-SPIDER LAIR
Beyond the Ward is a large cavern with a series of downward cliffs, dropping about 80’ before exiting out a tunnel below. Thick heavy webs cross-cross this room. Cocooned bodies of both folk and beasts hang in the webbing. Most of the cocoons look to have been here for some time as a thick layer of dust has settled on the cobwebbing. What did these poor souls trade to suffer such a fate? As you ponder this question you begin to hear a familiar sounding harp playing from the tunnel below.
Likely Player Actions

• Head Toward the Sound: Hearing the Harp will likely spur them into action. Though it may not. If they linger, have them make an Easy Charisma Saving Throw against Charm. Those who fail, can be easily shaken out of it.
• Examine the Cocoons: There are dozens of cocoons in here, I’d even put a small dragon shaped one webbed up against the ceiling if they start poking around. Doing so will distract them from some of the others and dial the tension level up. Marisilla and her family are here as well, recovering from their last battle. They should be about half restored. I would only have the players find them if they are being very thorough. However, the longer they stay in here the more intense the Harp’s playing will become, calling for more saves. They can fully destroy the creatures here.

Encounter: Marisilla

• This shouldn’t be a complicated fight. In fact it may even be the only fight that the players will have the upper hand. The Vamp-Spiders have retreated to their Cocoons (Coffins) to regenerate after being defeated by the players before. This will leave them in surprised and weakened condition. They will have to crawl out of their cocoons before they can attack, which should give the Players a round before real combat begins. However once the fighting starts the Vamp-Spiders will waste no time employing dangerous tactics such as throwing players off ledges and letting the fall kill them if possible.

ACT 3: Harp Concert

Once they drop the wards and move past the Cocoons they’ll be able to progress into the final chamber, a Ritual Room where Syndy is playing the Harp. She is using it to open a rift into the Hells, which is never good for players. They will begin their confrontation here, but it won’t stay here. Once the players enter the room she will flee out the back door while creatures from The Abyss manifest into the chamber. One of them will be Shoundra, the Shadow Demon from Sorrow Song. Shoundra will continue playing the Harp while the forces coming through the portal will run interference. They’ll need to stop her then chase Syndy down the tunnel and into the pit.
14) DARK SCANTUM
This chamber is a dome of worked stone and feels ancient. The floor is one massive dark arcane circle with red glowing symbols carved into it. Syndy is here playing the harp. Her arachnid features are extremely hard to read, but the predatory smile on her face is unmistakable. “You think you’ve won because you’ve slain my minions and found me here.” She laughs. A wretched chittering sound. “All you’ve done is present yourselves to pay our debts to a power you can’t possibly comprehend. And for that I thank you!” She steps away from the harp slinking toward the back of the room, but it keeps playing. The shadows are playing it! No… a particular shadow is playing it. Shoundra. The Shadow Demon insincerely thanks you as Syndy slips out a secret door behind her. “We won’t ever be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for us.” And with one discordant strum tears in reality form around the room and demons begin crawling through.
Encounter: Shoundra and the Harp

• This is a wave style encounter with demons showing up every round. Shouldra will continue to play the Harp which is keeping the portals open. Every round the Harp will also force a save against Fear and Slow. It should be pretty obvious that the Harp is the Epicenter of the problems and lead them to attack it. If they do not there is a very strong possibility of a TPK. Every round brings in low level demons and a challenging one. The CR of the bigger demon should increase every round they fail to stop the harp. To end the fight they can either destroy the Harp or Shoundra, which the other Demons will be working hard to prevent. The Harp should be immune to non-magical attacks with an AC of 12 and 100hp. Once it is stopped the portals close and what’s left will disappear. They will have to kill Shoundra. She won’t just poof away.

Likely Player Actions

• Follow Syndy: After the fight they can search for the secret door and chase down Sydny. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the secret door. They know it is there, so the only issue is how long does it take them to get it open.

15) ESCAPE TUNNEL
You enter a web filled tunnel and are standing on a ledge that slopes downward and disappears into darkness below. From somewhere in the darkness you can hear slurping sounds and soft whispers, it moves on its own and shadowy tentacles writhe in your direction.
Likely Player Actions

• Navigate the Tunnel: They can climb across the walls or attempt to find a creative way to get across. The tunnel has a number of hand holds and places they could get a rope and grappling hook into. This should not be hard, but it could be frustratingly time consuming.
• Investigate the Darkness: While it feels like something akin to the Hunger of Hadar, the darkness is only an illusionary trick designed to slow down pursuit. Think of it as a blanket that covers the lower passage. It does present sound, so if they are trying to cross it and someone falls through, they cannot call back up for help. The ledge only drops down about 30’ and can be carefully walked down. A Hard Perception Check will reveal the illusion.
• Swim: The only way out is undert the water. I would have them make one or two Constitution Saving Trows for Dramatic Tension.

ACT 4: The Last Thread

We're about to close the doors on Syndy. Unfortunately, The final battle wont be an easy one. She has fled back to the main shaft and this will very quickly become a three dimensional fight as Syndy will be up in the webs and using the entire shaft to her advantage. Furthermore, she won’t be alone. Marisilia and her family will join in fighting off the players.
Confronting Syndy
"You come up from the water bellow to find yourself at the bottom of the main shaft. Syndy is clinging to a web about halfway up. She hisses is anger as she spots you. “So this is what we’ve come to. Let us get to it then shall we!” She begins casting a spell. She shrieks in furious rage as she pulls her magic from the webs and stones around her."
Encounter: The Spider Hag
Syndy isn’t cornered but she has too much pride to believe she can’t win this fight. The players have been through several ordeals now, are surely hurt, and likely very low on resources. And so the Hag will sit in the middle of her webs and taunt them. She is still hurt from the previous fight in the last chapter and may even attempt to bargain with them, though breaking her contracts won’t be something she’ll do easily. Now this may be a fight that the players cannot win, and as this is the end of the campaign it will be a great place for a glorious death. Don’t be afraid to allow them to kill Syndy and thus end her reign of terror, but still succumb to Marisilla and her vamp-spider family or the environment around them. This is a Horror Campaign after all, and no one really wins, not really.
Tactics wise Syndy will use her spells, the terrain, and her lair actions keep the players at a distance as best she can. She will also attempt to restrain and knock the players from whatever they are standing on, forcing them to make Dex and Str types of saves and checks pretty regularly. Once they do begin to close in on her or start relying on ranged attacks she will summon her Vamp-Spider thralls to defend her.
The fastest but most deadly way to end this is the self sacrifice play and them burning the webs. Now, it has already been mentioned that this is a bad idea for the players, at least as far as their survivability. But they may have forsaken that at this point. If they light the webs up, Syndy should react in a mad panic, and be consumed by the flames. If you want to let them get killing blows in on her, have her plummet down to them. However, they should not be able to simply escape the burning lair. Near Impossible Checks should be made, not only to avoid fire damage but to be able to continue to breathe as the entire cavern fills with smoke. And since they are likely at the near bottom of the lair… they cannot get out.
Syndy’s Enhanced Lair Actions
These actions Replace Syndy’s Stat Block Lair Actions.

• Entangling Webs: Syndy shoots lines of heavy webbing in multiple directions. She can target up to eight creatures or objects. A Medium Dexterity Save must be made in order to avoid becoming grappled. If they are hit twice they become restrained. A Strength Save can be made to escape. These webs Can anchor from wall to wall as well.
• Hypnotic Pattern: Sydny Spins a glittering web in the air. Those in line of sight must make an Intelligence Saving Trow or become Hypnotized as the spell Hypnotic Pattern
• Swarming Spiders: Spiderlings swarm down any Web Strands or Walls Available and attack any creatures Syndy dirrects them to. A Medium Constitution Saving Throw must be made or the targets take 2d4 Poison Damage and are poisoned. They can attempt to save again at the end of their turns. This Lair action can be disabled if the players already fought the Spiderlings in the Shaft.
• Curse of Darkness: Syndy calls upon the Spirits of those whom she has trapped to obscure the area with Minor Darkness. This Darkness only moderately obscures the area causing Disadvantage on attack rolls for the round. This Lair action can be disabled if the Players have settled the Spirits in Syndy’s Lair.
• Grasping Dark Roots: Syndy can call upon the Dark Roots if the Players did not destroy them. Anyone within 15’ of the walls must make a Medium Constitution Saving Throw or have their Max Hp drained by 2d4. Syndy is Healed for half the amount drained.

SKILL CHALLENGE: Escape
Once the Hag is dead the lair will begin collapsing in on itself. Whomever is still alive will surely want to fight their way to the exit if possible. This will initiate a multiple roll Skill Challenge that should have increasingly difficult DCs. If the cavern is on fire things should be even worse, and almost certainly should force enough saves and damage to kill some of the players along the way.

1. The Main Shaft begins collapsing! Dexterity Saving Throw as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage)
2. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to begin their escape
3. The Main Shaft and Tunnels continue collapsing! Webs are snapping as boulders plummet and break them. Increasing risk of falling and lashing around the room like whips. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws as webs lash out (Slashing Damage).
4. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
5. The sides of the tunnels begin to cave in. Debris is falling everywhere. All areas becomes Difficult Terrain. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws tumbling stones and rock slides threaten to knock them off their feet and bury them (Bludgeoning Damage).
6. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
7. The Entrance Tunnel (Location 1) completely collapses. They can make a Very Hard Athletics or Acrobatics Check to dive through it if they’re quick. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage).
8. The collapse subsides. Any fire has spread to the Tree above. The Lair has completely caved in. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to possibly rescue those who “almost” made it. If the tree is on fire they must make appropriate saves and take fire damage.
9. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to reach the exit. If they survived they can flee the tree back out into the park.

CLOSING

It is likely that some, if not all of the Players have died either in the fight or during the escape attempt. If you do have survivors the first thing they’ll notice is the Shadow Fey area that overlaps the park is beginning to dissipate and daylight is shining through. Now there are two ideal ways to end this for the survivors. They either make it back safely earning their promised rewards, and that is a wonderful way to close out the story. Or, in classic horror movie style, they escape with their lives only to have something else tragic happen.
If you are allowing them to leave rather than ending their stories here they can stumble back out into the Park and then into the city. From there they will make their way back to Persephone and the Baby. No signs of the Shadow Fey will be left in the Park, which you need to make sure they realize it is a big win for the city. Even if they’re dead they’re heroes. We will close the adventure with a cut-scene. If you are choosing to continue playing, still give them the cut-scene and then move on however you see fit. Make sure to adjust it if Persephone has died already. I would suggest a “happy” adventure or two. They’ve earned it.
But I do really like the idea of one or two of them crawling out of the burning tree back into the Shadow Fey, and having their happy ending snatched from them. It is classic Gothic Horror storytelling. Terribly burned, completely exhausted, and on Death’s very doorstep… but alive. There is an initial feeling of relief. A feeling that is quickly yanked away. But what happens then? Are they captured by Dark Fey? The curse has been lifted, but as the Shadow Fey dissolves around them does it take them with it? Are there vengeful demons left from the ritual that drag them into the Abyss? Do Syndy’s sisters come for them? Maybe an agent of Aberrant Black or some other NPC they’ve crossed shows up to deal with them? Lots of possibilities. They should still get the ending Cutscene, particularly in this case. It’ll help them still feel like they won, even if they’re dead.
However you end it. I hope it is something you and your players love.

Ending Cut-scene

"A beam of sunlight breaks through into the bedroom window. It has a natural, pure feel to it. The screams of pain and terror that filled the night slow to whimpers, then murmurs, and then nothing but soft breathing. A clean breath of air takes over the room and Persephone’s eyes flutter open, filling with tears. She is older, aged unnaturally. Her youth is gone, but her ailments remain vanquished and she is alive. The baby, now nearly two years past newborn, unlatches from her breast and begins to giggle and coo. Vaemond races to their side. He gather’s Persephone’s head to his chest and allows the babe to grasp his finger. Her champions did it. Against all odds, they lifted the curse. The “young” family weeps in relief together in their private chambers. And for just a brief moment. A fleeting moment. A moment that feels like a treasured island of happiness drifting through the dark sea that is Deleran’s Crossing. They have peace. Soon after, her father enters the room and cheers with joy to see his girl alive and awake. Servants come and begin attending to their needs. They help her up and begin to change the sheets and help the new mother into less bedraggled clothing. One moves to the window and throws it and the curtains open. Sunlight, fresh wholesome sunlight, pours in. As she turns back into the room a large black cat jumps onto the window sill. It begins to lick its paws and bathe itself, purring loudly. It watches and begins waiting. It made a deal and now must wait. And waiting is of no real consequence. It leaps to the bed and rubs its head against mother and child, purring all the louder. Afterall, what is a handful of years in comparison to the eons to come?"

THE END…

THANK YOU

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Lair of the Spider Hag A Touch of Black: Chapter 10

The gargantuan spider lay dead, oozing black blood from many wounds. Its mistress, Oma Syndy Spinster, has fled into the web choked tunnels below, surely hiding in the darkness waiting in ambush. Wisdom would demand that you leave well enough alone. That you turn back. That you forsake your duty. Adventurers, even if they have it in abundance, are not known for applying wisdom to problems. So the only real option is to plunge headlong into the Lair of the Spider Hag.
ADVENTURE MECHANICS

• This Adventure is Part 10 of 10
• Target Party: 4 Level 5 Adventures
• Expected Playtime: 3+ Hours
• Tone: Dark Dungeon Crawl

[GET THE FREE PDF]() which Includes

• Custom Maps
• Extra NPC and Location Info
• Content that was trimmed to fit in a Reddit Post

Story Flow

The Player’s employer, Lady Persephone Trellu, came to Deleran’s Crossing to do three things. Restore her family’s holdings, cure her disease stricken paralyzed body, and start a family of her own. To accomplish this she entered into a dark pact with a Hag by the name of Oma Syndy Spinster. Syndy demanded three tasks to be accomplished before she would help. Gather Dark Root seeds, retrieve a Mythical Harp, and rescue her sister’s Child from a cosmic entity known as Aberrant Black. All three tasks were accomplished and Syndy fulfilled her bargains as well. But not in a desirable way. Persephone was cured, married, and was with child, but the baby grew rapidly and the child has begun to consume its mother’s life essence.
In order to save them the players must confront Syndy, and force her to lift the curse. The group has by now followed their leads deep into the woods. (Perhaps even with the help of Aberrant Black) There they found Oma Syndy Spinster’s lair, a massive rotting Treant corpse that has been hollowed out for the Hag’s use. There they confronted the Hag, demanding that she lift the curse on their employer Persephone Trellu, but knew going into this endeavor that the likelihood of those demands being met were minimal at best. Syndy like all hags likely made counter offers, but those were nothing more than shallow attempts to once again gain the upper hand. No, this problem would have to be resolved by steel and spell.
During the conflict Syndy fled into the tunnels below, leaving the players to fight her pet gargantuan spider, Rolb. They’ll now have to hunt her down and end her once and for all, but that will be no simple task. The Spider Hag’s Lair is a network of twisting caverns formed into the sides quarter mile deep pit. She will have headed deep into her sanctum to summon infernal reinforcements. If they are to catch up to her and defeat her once and for all they’ll need to disable her wards and shut down the ritual she has begun.
Game Opening and Hooks
As mentioned, this Adventure is part of a Series/Campaign. However, some people may just want to use the nuts and bolts of the Module for their own purposes, so I have provided some alternative ideas.

• Campaign: Persephone and her soon to be newborn are under a Hag’s Curse and in grave danger. The Players must find a way to save her.
• One Shot: The Group is hired by a local to end a Hag’s Curse on their daughter.
• One Shot Alternative: The Group comes across some locals in distress. His wife is about to give birth, but she wasn’t pregnant yesterday!

PRE-GAME

Story Arcs It is down to the Players and the Hag. They have fought their way to the doorstep of Oma Syndy Spinster’s Lair, and it’s time to head inside and confront the fiend. This episode picks up right at the end of the previous one. There should be little to no pre-game work to do if you’re running the campaign. If you’re using the bones here to run a one shot, the adventure becomes a Spider themed Dungeon Crawl.
Final Notes
As we begin the last chapter in our series, I want to make you the DM aware that if you’re thinking things aren’t looking good for our players… you’re right. This is, and always has been, a Gothic Horror Campaign. Which means the chances of the Heroes coming out on top were, from the beginning, slim to none. Of course there is Hope, but only a fools hope. Give them what they need to get to the final battle. Even give them what they need to beat Syndy. But the climax is written in a way that will likely leave at least some of them dead.

OPENING CUT-SCENE: Making Myself Known

She watches from behind them. She stands in front of them. Alongside them. With them. They never notice. It is horrific to be ignored. Miserable to be forgotten. Maddening to be unseen. Her father walks past her for the hundredth time this week. He doesn’t speak. No words. Not a glance. She is invisible. Her anger boils over. Like it has dozens of times before. But what will she do? Lash out? Speak harshly? Scream? They would not hear. Her eyes fall on the wood splitting axe. To them she does not exist. She did once. But no longer. She is dead to them. But not undead. No… she is no ghost. No Spirit. Not a specter. She is simply hated and ignore because she chose to do the one thing her father refused her. She chose to marry for love. But they took that from her too, and now the entire house ignores her. Her hand grasps the axe, she wasn’t sure she meant to. She feels its weight. The consequence. The definity of it. They won’t ignore her for much longer.

ACT 1: The Hag’s Lair

They will enter into the Spider Hag’s Tunnels. Down in the bowels of the Shadow Fey. Syndy has burrowed out a network of caverns all connected by a deep central shaft. The players will have to explore the cavern and destroy three skull altars that the Hag uses to charge a ward that will keep them entering into the deepest part of her lair. There she is using the harp to empower herself. This Act and Act 2 will blend together quite a bit. I have listed the important locations on the map, they should be easy enough to identify.

Locations

1) THE ENTRANCE
You pass through the claustrophobic tunnel into a chamber. The damp earth has turned to rocky walls. Webs crisscross the tunnel and skulls with red glowing candles surround the entrance, their eye sockets seemingly fixed on you.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Skulls: The skulls are basically there just to creep them out, however, this is an opportunity to alert them to the dangerous environment they just walked into. Perhaps have the skulls cast a “Bestow Curse” style of spell upon them that lasts for a while when they’re attacked. Something that they can remedy with a little magic but also something to let them know Syndy doesn’t mess around.

2) THE WEB SHAFT
You stand on the ledge of a pit choked with webs so thickly you can barely see water reflecting at the bottom, more than 200’ below you. There are also three other ledges you notice encircling the pit. Opposite you and some 40’ down. Off to the East about 80’ down, and another to the West about 150’ mark.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Webs: This is possible, but will have two adverse effects. First, it will draw out the Spider Swarms that nest here, who otherwise will remain hidden. It will count as an encounter, but it may also make the final battle easier, since Syndy will be robbed of the spider’s help and her extra mobility in this room. Secondly, they’ll have to make Dexterity Saving Throws to avoid damage from the webs snapping like tight cables and whipping around. Lastly, if they burn them they will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid being burned by fire and choked by smoke. I recommend the poisoned condition for an hour or exhaustion if you’re feeling a little on the mean side. I would also fill the tunnels with smoke limiting their vision and causing extra problems.

3) THE EGG ROOM
A dozen or so clusters of web woven oval objects are placed around this room. Egg sacks. They are webbed to the floor, walls, and ceilings. Creatures with the lower half of spiders and the upper body of elves skitter about tending to the sacks. Their heads are wrapped in webbing and seem to pay you no attention. Off to the south is a bone covered pedestal in a cavern niche. The pedestal displays a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Eggs: The Driders in the room have been taken over by Spider Parasites and turned into Mindless Drones. They aren’t interested in the players until they take action against the eggs or the skull. At that point they will attack until destroyed. If the sacks are destroyed they will release a noxious gas that inflicts the poisoned condition a hard Constitution Saving Throw can be made to avoid the effects.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. In either case the moment the players approach the skull the Driders will attack. If they destroy the skull it will fight back attacking them with “Eldritch Blast” type attack. It should have reasonable AC and Hitpoints. Simply extinguishing the candle should be a Medium Arcana Check or it will relight itself.

Encounter: Drider Drones

• These Drides have their heads wrapped in webs and dozens of Parasitic Spiders swarming over them controlling their actions. They typically operate by the commands of Syndy, or if left to their own devices with the instinctual intellect of the spiders. They have *Undead Fortitude* like ability (See Zombies) but this one is driven by the spiders not being undead.

4) DARK ROOT CHAMBER
Massive piles of twitching Dark Roots cover the walls and much of the floor and ceilings. Several corpses can be seen entangled among the roots. The air here is humid and thick with the smell of rot.
Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Roots: This room can be simply passed through. However, they may decide to destroy the Roots, which will start an encounter, but not necessarily a combat as they may find a creative way to eliminate them. Taking out the roots will remove them as an option for Sydny’s Lair Actions.

Hazzard

• Dark Roots: As they already know these roots are dangerous and can lash out with an attack similar to the spell Vampiric Touch. Appropriate checks and rolls apply.

5) ACRID POOL
There is a large pool of viscus green liquid in the center of this room releasing an odor into the air that burns your nostrils. Periodic bubbles rise and pop slowly in the thick liquid. Otherwise the room is fairly quiet. Down in the corner is a bone covered pedestal displaying a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pool: They will examine the pool. They may even attack it. If at all possible the pool should be described as a caustic liquid with the consistency of flowing mud. It eats organic material, wood, and most metals. Touching it will cause damage and being too close to a bubble will expose them to toxic gasses. The pit the liquid sits in has some small side tunnels in it where the Gelatinous Stalker hides. There should be something in these tunnels that is recoverable.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. This one is a trap. The Gelatinous Stalker is using it to distract intruders, hopefully giving it an edge if it attacks. The real Skull is acting as the central nervous system for the Stalker. They’ll have to face it to be able to turn the skull off.

Encounter: Gelatinous Stalker

• The Gelatinous Stalker is an Ooze in the Gelatinous Cube family. Unlike the Cube, a Stalker can be trained and commanded if it is well fed. Syndy keeps this particular pet content and it is well trained. It rests in it’s pool until something attempts to tamper with the skull in the room. It then rises silently out of the acid and attacks. It will attempt to pull attackers inside of itself and throw targets into the acid pool. The real skull protects the brain of this Stalker and can only be destroyed once the creature is dead.

6) BRAIN WEED
There is an odd looking plant in the corner of this chamber. Vines grow out like tentacles and a large pulsing fruit in the center looks more like a brain than anything plant related.
Hazard: Brain Weed

• Brain weed is an infectious plant that survives by attaching parasitic burs to living creatures. These burs drain the memories of those infected until their mind is an empty shell and dies. Once dead the Brain Weed then fully absorbs the mind of the creature into its own consciousness. Brain weeds can live for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, and can contain the memories of whole civilizations, if they are well fed. Creatures that get too close to the Weed must make Medium Intelligence Saving Throws or consider the Weed in need of their protection and begin having their memories Drained. If the Weed is destroyed nearby victims will regain their memories, and perhaps additional ones as well.

7) HAUNTED LEDGE
There is an uncomfortable feeling in this area. The air is cold and you could swear you hear whispers in the shadows. Things move in the corners of your vision, but when you focus on them there is nothing there to be seen.
Likely Player Actions

• Investigate: There are plenty of ways that the players can interact with the “ghosts” haunting this room. Leave that up to their imagination. Many folk have perished at Syndy’s hands and tuning into lost and trapped spirits, and both beneficial and malevolent spirits haunt this place, so depending on how they engage this room could benefit or hinder the players. Do they get a restful boon, or do they have to fight angered ghosts? Use this area as a great opportunity to manage their resources.

Encounter: Lost Spirits

• If you do engage them in a combat encounter be sure to use the spirits ability to become ethereal and move through objects. Half of what makes Ghosts scary is that they can move through solid things. I usually give “ghosts” a disengage as a bonus action when shifting into ethereal forms or passing through objects. Makes them more ghosty.

8) BONE PIT
This room is filled with bones. The floor is completely covered. So much so that you have no idea how deep the pile goes. Rotting flesh clings to many of the remains and swarms of larvae crawl over the rancid meat.
Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pit: The players will be expecting something horrible to come up out of the pit. I suggest only hinting at something horrible. Bones move a little not far from them, but nothing aggressive or supernatural happens. The wind picks up. It gets colder. Whispers. Things that make them uncomfortable. If they examine the actual bones, many will have carvings on them, mostly dark runes, but some will have names on them, and the details of the deals they made with Syndy that got them here.
• Destroy the Bones: If they want to go to the trouble of destroying the bones they canbe rewarded for the work. They’re tied to some of Syndy’s power and weakening them will weaken her. If they choose to do this though, don’t let them off without a fight. Bring some spidery minions from other areas after them while they work. Some Phase Spiders work nicely, since they can come basically out of nowhere.

9) ETTERCAP NEST
Webs choke this portion of the cavern. They’re not overly thick strands but they are layered very densely making it difficult to see even a few feet beyond. There does seem to be some funneling tunnels woven into the webs, perhaps for the arachnids that dwell here to travel through. You also note the large number of severed body parts hanging in the strands. Arms, legs, and even a separated torso or two can be clearly seen. The parts are dry and cracking, almost mummified.
Hazard: Ettercap Webbing

• These webs are extremely thick up top and in most cases interaction with them alerts the Ettercaps within. Cutting them certainly does, and burning them is a bad idea. They do burn slowly with a little effort. Unfortunately this releases a toxic gas that will require constant Hard Constitution Saving Throw. Failing the save will cause the players to become poisoned for ten minutes. A Medium Perception Check will reveal that the webs could be crawled under with limited interaction if care is taken.

Likely Player Actions

• Burn the Webs: Players do this a lot, and we as DMs usually let them get away with it. However if they do that here, they will quickly find that these webs do not burn well, and what does burn releases a toxic fume.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. The Skull here is acting as a lure bringing the players ever closer to the Ettercap Ambush. Once they are close the Ettercaps will lasso the skull with a web shot and yank it up into the webbing above beginning the Encounter phase of this room.

Encounter: Ettercap Ambush

• The Ettercaps will hide in their burrows and use the thick webs to their advantage. They are not hindered by them in the slightest. They will camouflage themselves up above the Skull and wait for the players to arrive. Once the party approaches the Skull they will shoot out Webs and yank it away, while simultaneously attacking the PCs. They will pass the Skull around to one another as a Lair Action. This begins a game of Keep Away which the Ettercaps should be quite good at. If the players are not quick enough, or if the fight turns against the creatures, the Ettercaps will dash out into the Lair and attempt to hide the skull away.

11) SYNDY'S CHAMBER
This room feels straight out of a nightmare. Your eyes first land on the small fire burning in the center of the oblong chamber. Thick red tinted smoke curls up from it, choking the air with a potent acrid smell, and feeding into a thick cloud that covers the web draped ceiling. There is a broken arcane circle on the floor near the entrance. Magical runes that you can’t decipher but cause your skin to crawl just looking at them have been inscribed in what appears to be blood all around its edges. There is a jumble of broken and web covered furniture in the north end of the room including a filth stained bed and some broken shelves that are held together by spider’s workings, their contents scattered about lying broken on the floor. In the south is what looks like a large egg sac, it’s top peeled open like the shell of a hard boiled egg.
Likely Player Actions

• Search The Room: The players will certainly want to get a close inspection of this room. Hopefully they’ve checked for traps, because there are several in here. I’ll describe them below in the Hazards section. Most of the items in here are nothing more than macabre trophies that Syndy has taken from those she has ensnared. There are some that are from still active clients and could be used to help free those under her obligations. Some of that strictly depends on what you’ve done on the side in town, and perhaps what you’d like to do. Searching around the room will reveal that Syndy likely sleeps in the egg sac and that “guests” sleep in the nasty bed. There is a book next to the bed with guests’ names in it. This too could help identify clients and lead to some follow up adventures. With some Medium Checks the Players should find a few things of note, I’d put potions and scrolls in here that have a darker tone to them. Maybe even some troublesome temporary side effects. Things like a healing potion that also causes mild paranoia. A scroll of Web that causes more eyes to form on the players forehead. Things like that.

Hazard: Syndy’s Traps

• Webs: The Webs throughout the Lair do function as an alert system. The ones in here more so. Any significant contact should result in swarms of spiders coming out of every nook and craney to attack the players.
• The Broken Seal: This ward works just fine, and only looks broken. It will cast Phantasmal Force on everyone in the room. If thye fail their saves they will believe they are being attacked by Syndy herself.
• Cursed Belongings: Syndy has put a Hex on her belongings in this chamber. anyone carrying items out of here will suffer disadvantage on Attacks, Saving Throws, and Skill Checks.

ACT 2: The Web Ward

Act 1 and 2 blend together quite a bit. Act 2 Really begins once they destroy all the skulls they find while Exploring the lair. Each with a black candle emitting eerie red light. They will look similar to the ones they’ve already found near the entrance. The major difference is that these are magical points that keep the Ward in Location 12 active. Once they have destroyed the ward will be disabled. However, that will not be a simple task. Each skull has a unique guardian that isn’t going to just allow the players to freely attack the skulls.

• Skull One is in Location 3)
• Skull Two is in Location 5)
• Skull Three is in Location 9)

12) WARD CHAMBER
You take one look into this room and immediately feel the sensation of powerful magic. There is a large warding circle on the floor in front of the passage to the south. There are three pillars surrounding it. (They are lit with the corresponding number of skulls out there lit) The circle is flanked on each side by a stone spider statue. They do not appear to be fully animated, but as you observe the room you hear the grinding of stone and watch their heads turn toward you.
Possible Player Actions

• Examine the Room: Easy and Medium checks can be made to tell them what they already know. That the fixtures in this room combine to form a deadly trap. They may even realize that the statues shoot webs and release poison clouds. Hard Arcana checks will tell them whether it is safe to pass or not. If all the skulls have been dealt with, then it is safe to pass. If not they could attempt to press their luck with the trap and ward.
• Attacking or Disabling the Room: I would allow this but it would require a series of Very Hard Checks, using both Physical and Magical abilities. Any failures at all set the mechanisms off.
• Passing Into the Next Room: If the ward is down then this happens without issue. If they are up, then they’ll find themselves having to deal with the traps of the room.

Hazard: Lair Ward and Stone Spiders

• If the trap is set into motion several things begin to happen. First the pillars around the ward begin spraying webbing. One over the north exit, one over the south, and one around the room. (Webbing has an AC of 12 and 50hp) The pillars restore 25hp each round and make the area difficult terrain. The players may attack the webbing over the doorways, but the easiest way to deal with it is to destroy the pillars (AC of 14 and 20hp). Compounding the difficulty of the room are the Spider Statues. They will spray poison clouds that fills the room doing 2d6 Poison Damage (Hard Constitution Save for Half), and add an additional 2d6 every round the trap is active.

13) VAMP-SPIDER LAIR
Beyond the Ward is a large cavern with a series of downward cliffs, dropping about 80’ before exiting out a tunnel below. Thick heavy webs cross-cross this room. Cocooned bodies of both folk and beasts hang in the webbing. Most of the cocoons look to have been here for some time as a thick layer of dust has settled on the cobwebbing. What did these poor souls trade to suffer such a fate? As you ponder this question you begin to hear a familiar sounding harp playing from the tunnel below.
Likely Player Actions

• Head Toward the Sound: Hearing the Harp will likely spur them into action. Though it may not. If they linger, have them make an Easy Charisma Saving Throw against Charm. Those who fail, can be easily shaken out of it.
• Examine the Cocoons: There are dozens of cocoons in here, I’d even put a small dragon shaped one webbed up against the ceiling if they start poking around. Doing so will distract them from some of the others and dial the tension level up. Marisilla and her family are here as well, recovering from their last battle. They should be about half restored. I would only have the players find them if they are being very thorough. However, the longer they stay in here the more intense the Harp’s playing will become, calling for more saves. They can fully destroy the creatures here.

Encounter: Marisilla

• This shouldn’t be a complicated fight. In fact it may even be the only fight that the players will have the upper hand. The Vamp-Spiders have retreated to their Cocoons (Coffins) to regenerate after being defeated by the players before. This will leave them in surprised and weakened condition. They will have to crawl out of their cocoons before they can attack, which should give the Players a round before real combat begins. However once the fighting starts the Vamp-Spiders will waste no time employing dangerous tactics such as throwing players off ledges and letting the fall kill them if possible.

ACT 3: Harp Concert

Once they drop the wards and move past the Cocoons they’ll be able to progress into the final chamber, a Ritual Room where Syndy is playing the Harp. She is using it to open a rift into the Hells, which is never good for players. They will begin their confrontation here, but it won’t stay here. Once the players enter the room she will flee out the back door while creatures from The Abyss manifest into the chamber. One of them will be Shoundra, the Shadow Demon from Sorrow Song. Shoundra will continue playing the Harp while the forces coming through the portal will run interference. They’ll need to stop her then chase Syndy down the tunnel and into the pit.
14) DARK SCANTUM
This chamber is a dome of worked stone and feels ancient. The floor is one massive dark arcane circle with red glowing symbols carved into it. Syndy is here playing the harp. Her arachnid features are extremely hard to read, but the predatory smile on her face is unmistakable. “You think you’ve won because you’ve slain my minions and found me here.” She laughs. A wretched chittering sound. “All you’ve done is present yourselves to pay our debts to a power you can’t possibly comprehend. And for that I thank you!” She steps away from the harp slinking toward the back of the room, but it keeps playing. The shadows are playing it! No… a particular shadow is playing it. Shoundra. The Shadow Demon insincerely thanks you as Syndy slips out a secret door behind her. “We won’t ever be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for us.” And with one discordant strum tears in reality form around the room and demons begin crawling through.
Encounter: Shoundra and the Harp

• This is a wave style encounter with demons showing up every round. Shouldra will continue to play the Harp which is keeping the portals open. Every round the Harp will also force a save against Fear and Slow. It should be pretty obvious that the Harp is the Epicenter of the problems and lead them to attack it. If they do not there is a very strong possibility of a TPK. Every round brings in low level demons and a challenging one. The CR of the bigger demon should increase every round they fail to stop the harp. To end the fight they can either destroy the Harp or Shoundra, which the other Demons will be working hard to prevent. The Harp should be immune to non-magical attacks with an AC of 12 and 100hp. Once it is stopped the portals close and what’s left will disappear. They will have to kill Shoundra. She won’t just poof away.

Likely Player Actions

• Follow Syndy: After the fight they can search for the secret door and chase down Sydny. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the secret door. They know it is there, so the only issue is how long does it take them to get it open.

15) ESCAPE TUNNEL
You enter a web filled tunnel and are standing on a ledge that slopes downward and disappears into darkness below. From somewhere in the darkness you can hear slurping sounds and soft whispers, it moves on its own and shadowy tentacles writhe in your direction.
Likely Player Actions

• Navigate the Tunnel: They can climb across the walls or attempt to find a creative way to get across. The tunnel has a number of hand holds and places they could get a rope and grappling hook into. This should not be hard, but it could be frustratingly time consuming.
• Investigate the Darkness: While it feels like something akin to the Hunger of Hadar, the darkness is only an illusionary trick designed to slow down pursuit. Think of it as a blanket that covers the lower passage. It does present sound, so if they are trying to cross it and someone falls through, they cannot call back up for help. The ledge only drops down about 30’ and can be carefully walked down. A Hard Perception Check will reveal the illusion.
• Swim: The only way out is undert the water. I would have them make one or two Constitution Saving Trows for Dramatic Tension.

ACT 4: The Last Thread

We're about to close the doors on Syndy. Unfortunately, The final battle wont be an easy one. She has fled back to the main shaft and this will very quickly become a three dimensional fight as Syndy will be up in the webs and using the entire shaft to her advantage. Furthermore, she won’t be alone. Marisilia and her family will join in fighting off the players.
Confronting Syndy
"You come up from the water bellow to find yourself at the bottom of the main shaft. Syndy is clinging to a web about halfway up. She hisses is anger as she spots you. “So this is what we’ve come to. Let us get to it then shall we!” She begins casting a spell. She shrieks in furious rage as she pulls her magic from the webs and stones around her."
Encounter: The Spider Hag
Syndy isn’t cornered but she has too much pride to believe she can’t win this fight. The players have been through several ordeals now, are surely hurt, and likely very low on resources. And so the Hag will sit in the middle of her webs and taunt them. She is still hurt from the previous fight in the last chapter and may even attempt to bargain with them, though breaking her contracts won’t be something she’ll do easily. Now this may be a fight that the players cannot win, and as this is the end of the campaign it will be a great place for a glorious death. Don’t be afraid to allow them to kill Syndy and thus end her reign of terror, but still succumb to Marisilla and her vamp-spider family or the environment around them. This is a Horror Campaign after all, and no one really wins, not really.
Tactics wise Syndy will use her spells, the terrain, and her lair actions keep the players at a distance as best she can. She will also attempt to restrain and knock the players from whatever they are standing on, forcing them to make Dex and Str types of saves and checks pretty regularly. Once they do begin to close in on her or start relying on ranged attacks she will summon her Vamp-Spider thralls to defend her.
The fastest but most deadly way to end this is the self sacrifice play and them burning the webs. Now, it has already been mentioned that this is a bad idea for the players, at least as far as their survivability. But they may have forsaken that at this point. If they light the webs up, Syndy should react in a mad panic, and be consumed by the flames. If you want to let them get killing blows in on her, have her plummet down to them. However, they should not be able to simply escape the burning lair. Near Impossible Checks should be made, not only to avoid fire damage but to be able to continue to breathe as the entire cavern fills with smoke. And since they are likely at the near bottom of the lair… they cannot get out.
Syndy’s Enhanced Lair Actions
These actions Replace Syndy’s Stat Block Lair Actions.

• Entangling Webs: Syndy shoots lines of heavy webbing in multiple directions. She can target up to eight creatures or objects. A Medium Dexterity Save must be made in order to avoid becoming grappled. If they are hit twice they become restrained. A Strength Save can be made to escape. These webs Can anchor from wall to wall as well.
• Hypnotic Pattern: Sydny Spins a glittering web in the air. Those in line of sight must make an Intelligence Saving Trow or become Hypnotized as the spell Hypnotic Pattern
• Swarming Spiders: Spiderlings swarm down any Web Strands or Walls Available and attack any creatures Syndy dirrects them to. A Medium Constitution Saving Throw must be made or the targets take 2d4 Poison Damage and are poisoned. They can attempt to save again at the end of their turns. This Lair action can be disabled if the players already fought the Spiderlings in the Shaft.
• Curse of Darkness: Syndy calls upon the Spirits of those whom she has trapped to obscure the area with Minor Darkness. This Darkness only moderately obscures the area causing Disadvantage on attack rolls for the round. This Lair action can be disabled if the Players have settled the Spirits in Syndy’s Lair.
• Grasping Dark Roots: Syndy can call upon the Dark Roots if the Players did not destroy them. Anyone within 15’ of the walls must make a Medium Constitution Saving Throw or have their Max Hp drained by 2d4. Syndy is Healed for half the amount drained.

SKILL CHALLENGE: Escape
Once the Hag is dead the lair will begin collapsing in on itself. Whomever is still alive will surely want to fight their way to the exit if possible. This will initiate a multiple roll Skill Challenge that should have increasingly difficult DCs. If the cavern is on fire things should be even worse, and almost certainly should force enough saves and damage to kill some of the players along the way.

1. The Main Shaft begins collapsing! Dexterity Saving Throw as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage)
2. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to begin their escape
3. The Main Shaft and Tunnels continue collapsing! Webs are snapping as boulders plummet and break them. Increasing risk of falling and lashing around the room like whips. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws as webs lash out (Slashing Damage).
4. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
5. The sides of the tunnels begin to cave in. Debris is falling everywhere. All areas becomes Difficult Terrain. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws tumbling stones and rock slides threaten to knock them off their feet and bury them (Bludgeoning Damage).
6. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
7. The Entrance Tunnel (Location 1) completely collapses. They can make a Very Hard Athletics or Acrobatics Check to dive through it if they’re quick. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage).
8. The collapse subsides. Any fire has spread to the Tree above. The Lair has completely caved in. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to possibly rescue those who “almost” made it. If the tree is on fire they must make appropriate saves and take fire damage.
9. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to reach the exit. If they survived they can flee the tree back out into the park.

CLOSING

It is likely that some, if not all of the Players have died either in the fight or during the escape attempt. If you do have survivors the first thing they’ll notice is the Shadow Fey area that overlaps the park is beginning to dissipate and daylight is shining through. Now there are two ideal ways to end this for the survivors. They either make it back safely earning their promised rewards, and that is a wonderful way to close out the story. Or, in classic horror movie style, they escape with their lives only to have something else tragic happen.
If you are allowing them to leave rather than ending their stories here they can stumble back out into the Park and then into the city. From there they will make their way back to Persephone and the Baby. No signs of the Shadow Fey will be left in the Park, which you need to make sure they realize it is a big win for the city. Even if they’re dead they’re heroes. We will close the adventure with a cut-scene. If you are choosing to continue playing, still give them the cut-scene and then move on however you see fit. Make sure to adjust it if Persephone has died already. I would suggest a “happy” adventure or two. They’ve earned it.
But I do really like the idea of one or two of them crawling out of the burning tree back into the Shadow Fey, and having their happy ending snatched from them. It is classic Gothic Horror storytelling. Terribly burned, completely exhausted, and on Death’s very doorstep… but alive. There is an initial feeling of relief. A feeling that is quickly yanked away. But what happens then? Are they captured by Dark Fey? The curse has been lifted, but as the Shadow Fey dissolves around them does it take them with it? Are there vengeful demons left from the ritual that drag them into the Abyss? Do Syndy’s sisters come for them? Maybe an agent of Aberrant Black or some other NPC they’ve crossed shows up to deal with them? Lots of possibilities. They should still get the ending Cutscene, particularly in this case. It’ll help them still feel like they won, even if they’re dead.
However you end it. I hope it is something you and your players love.

Ending Cut-scene

"A beam of sunlight breaks through into the bedroom window. It has a natural, pure feel to it. The screams of pain and terror that filled the night slow to whimpers, then murmurs, and then nothing but soft breathing. A clean breath of air takes over the room and Persephone’s eyes flutter open, filling with tears. She is older, aged unnaturally. Her youth is gone, but her ailments remain vanquished and she is alive. The baby, now nearly two years past newborn, unlatches from her breast and begins to giggle and coo. Vaemond races to their side. He gather’s Persephone’s head to his chest and allows the babe to grasp his finger. Her champions did it. Against all odds, they lifted the curse. The “young” family weeps in relief together in their private chambers. And for just a brief moment. A fleeting moment. A moment that feels like a treasured island of happiness drifting through the dark sea that is Deleran’s Crossing. They have peace. Soon after, her father enters the room and cheers with joy to see his girl alive and awake. Servants come and begin attending to their needs. They help her up and begin to change the sheets and help the new mother into less bedraggled clothing. One moves to the window and throws it and the curtains open. Sunlight, fresh wholesome sunlight, pours in. As she turns back into the room a large black cat jumps onto the window sill. It begins to lick its paws and bathe itself, purring loudly. It watches and begins waiting. It made a deal and now must wait. And waiting is of no real consequence. It leaps to the bed and rubs its head against mother and child, purring all the louder. Afterall, what is a handful of years in comparison to the eons to come?"

THE END…

THANK YOU

I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. [AMPLUS ORDO GAMES](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames)
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