A Reckoning at Nightfang Spire
[Warning: Spoilers for the D&D adventure Heart of Nightfang Spire below.]
The town of Spirodon was no more, its populace murdered and transformed into the walking dead by the necromantic forces of Gulthias, Master of Nightfang Spire. Though the heroes of Helmsport had fled from Gulthias’ power once before, they knew that this evil could no longer go unchecked.
As the sun rose on the day following the annihilation of the undead forces controlling the desecrated village, seven determined heroes (and two brave cohorts) returned to the unholy seat of the sorcerer’s power. Smashing through the vampire’s outer defenses, the characters made their way ever deeper into the crypts beneath the tower. Though they fell back now and again to regain their strength and resupply, they never lost sight of their goal: the destruction of Gulthias and the scattering of his power.
The heroes fought past deadly traps, lurking undead, and powerful guardians, finally reaching the protected core of the tower—the seat of the sorcerer’s evil might. By now, the vengeful party numbered nine, plus two trusted cohorts:
Adarrial Smythe, a shapeshifting holy liberator devoted to protecting the weak against tyranny and evil;
Alarion Northsea, a paladin turned away from his beloved church to follow his blood path of draconic power, his very young bronze dragon cohort Verdigris at his side;
Beran Findalson, a lethal huntsman trained by both men and elves, and torn between their two worlds;
Duran Fortnite, revealed now not only as a powerful knight of Altius but as a scion of the Highfather himself, descended by blood from the angels of heaven, and guarded by the hound archon Rexander;
Eandrynn, the mysterious elven archer whose heritage stretched back to the very dawn of his people;
Jarvis Osburn, Giant Among Men, distant descendant of the ancient rulers of the Frozen North;
Stannis Alensin, wizard, loremaster, and ranking member of the enigmatic League of Scrolls;
Thomas Johnson, the deadly rogue whose ancestry was as old as the seas themselves; and
Thorgrimm, the savage dwarf with fire literally running through his veins.
Together, these bold companions—tired and haggard from their long struggles—faced Gulthias in his own lair. They knew instantly that this would be the final battle, for there above them hung an enormous black heart that beat with evil power: the heart of Ashardalon, the legendary dragon once worshiped by Gulthias’ dragon cult as a god. Here was the sorcerer’s power source, the true heart of Nightfang Spire.
Deadly magics rained down on the heroes as the vampire’s defenders threw themselves into one last fight. Finally, Duran called upon his most powerful holy prayers, assuming a form of great size and strength wielding a blade of divine power. He flew upward toward the villain and smote him, rendering Gulthias into a cloud of ash. Unleashing their remaining strength on the black heart itself, the heroes destroyed it, ending the threat of Nightfang Spire once and for all.
As the foul heart beat its last, the heroes of Helmsport congratulated themselves on a job well done. They had returned to the scene of one of their greatest failures and triumphed against great odds. With the winter holidays fast approaching, they returned to their respective homes in Great Rock, Helmsport, Blackmere, and Brithonen to rest and recuperate. But though the evil of Gulthias and his dragon cult was finished, and the land was safe once again, each one knew in his heart that this would not be the last time that a great evil endangered the world. But that didn’t matter right now, for when the time came again to battle the forces of malevolence and destruction, they knew that they would be able to face it…together.
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