Chapter Text
The sun was setting as Nazira and Tam walked hand-in-hand through the streets of Maple Ridge, Tam in her true form for a change. Each wore a ring on her left hand, and Nazira wore a new amulet around her neck. Both were aware of a pair of large spider-like creatures following them on the rooftops to the left and right and as they walked, Nazira cast Death Ward on herself.
They had just turned onto their street when a semi-spectral figure rose up from the middle of the road. The figure appeared to be a Drow woman with reddish hair pulled back a little bit by a black bandana, swathed in a cloak and leathers. Due to her semi-spectral appearance, it was unclear if she had two, four, or six arms, but each hand clutched a curved blade dripping with liquid.
“Ser Nazira of House Blackbone.” The figure said. “Your inevitable end has come. Will you face it with dignity or defiance?”
“I’m sorry, have we met?” Tam asked as Nazira drew Concluder. “You’re talking like we should take you seriously, but before today we didn’t even know you existed…whoever you are.”
“I am Jourrael, the Caedogeist.” The woman said. “More certain than the death for which you have been marked. Speak, Zealot, or die silent.”
“And say what?” Nazira asked, reaching out with her divine senses. “That you’re a Fiend, which means fire isn’t going to be very effective?”
Tam marked Jourrael with her Evil Eye, then fired her arm-mounted crossbow. The bolt missed, so she reloaded with supernatural speed and fired again, hitting the spectral Drow in the chest. Jourrael vanished into the ground, then four of her rose back up directly beneath Nazira. Jourrael slashed with her blades, cutting into the inside of Nazira’s left thigh. Howling in pain, Nazira slashed down at her with Concluder, cutting through and destroying an illusory duplicate. Jourrael sliced into her right thigh, then rose up out of the ground.
At that moment, a strand of webbing hit Tam’s lower back, and the spider that had fired it used it to pull her across the thirty feet between them, then jabbed her with its stinger. Whipping her head around, Nazira saw a total of four spiders - two more than she and Tam had spotted following them. She cast Staggering Smite, then slashed at the Caedogeist, who parried her blade. Unfazed, Nazira attacked again, cutting into Jourrael’s abdomen.
Tam could hear hooves approaching as she freed herself from the Fiendish spider’s web and ran back into the road. She knew what was coming, but before it could arrive, a large spider-like construct emerged from the shadows to her left. It hit Nazira with a beam of concentrated energy, which had no effect, then it skittered closer and attacked with two of its four sharpened forelegs, cutting into her back. Sinking back into the ground, Jourrael reappeared on Nazira’s right and stabbed her in the ribs. Nazira slashed and missed, and Jourrael stabbed her again.
“I am inevitable.” The Caedogeist hissed, twisting the blade for good measure. “I cannot be stopped, only delayed.”
“Ugh.” Nazira grunted. “This bitch thinks she’s the Raven Queen.”
At that moment, a pale Fairy woman in black and a light brown-skinned Half-Orc man in yoroi armor appeared in the road behind Nazira.
“Who the fuck is this bitch?” Qirona asked, gripping a staff made of polished gray wood.
“Calls herself Jourrael.” Nazira replied. “Some kind of intangible Fiend.”
“Got it.”
The hooves grew louder as two skeletal Centaurs approached, followed by two skeletal Minotaurs and two zombified Ogres. Unlike traditional Ogre zombies, Qirona’s carried shields. The Centaur skeletons fired arrows as they approached, hitting the closest spider once each. At the same time, Hurushi positioned himself behind the metallic Retriever, drew his swords, and unleashed a flurry of eight slashes, seven of which carved into its metal backside. While the first spider missed Tam with a web, the second attacked Hurushi with its bite and stinger, and the third and fourth targeted the undead Centaurs, reeling them in with webs and stinging their skulls. Nazira cast Divine Favor, then slashed at the Retriever, cutting an X into its head.
A blue-skinned Tielfing woman in studded leather suddenly appeared behind the skeletal centaurs. Drawing her Blackbone Shortsword, Tam attacked Jourrael from behind, destroying one of her two remaining duplicates. The Retriever hit Nazira with a beam of kinetic energy, then slashed with its forelegs, inflicting a wound that would have been fatal if not for her Death Ward. Jourrael and her duplicate vanished into the ground, and when they emerged, they stabbed Tam in the back.
Landing next to the Retriever, Qirona cast Plane Shift, sending it to the Elemental Plane of Fire. While the Centaur skeletons struggled against the webs, the undead Minotaurs and Ogres caught up and attacked the spiders. Moving behind Jourrael, Hurushi slashed at her with his katana and wakizashi. She parried his first strike, only for the next four to get past her guard and cut into her torso. While the first two spiders continued attacking Tam and Hurushi, the others bit and stung the Ogres and Minotaurs. Nazira cast Blinding Smite, then slashed at Jourrael, cutting through her and causing her to simply vanish. With their leader gone, the four spiders didn’t last much longer, and they made their way to the house.
“What did we miss?” Titan asked as they entered the living room.
“Does the name Jourrael mean anything to you?” Nazira asked after healing herself and Tam.
“I’ve definitely heard it before.” Sharai said. “Let me check my notes.”
While she headed upstairs, Tam started helping Nazira out of her armor. After twenty minutes, Sharai returned.
“I don’t have much.” She said. “Just ‘Jourrael, the Caedogeist. Spectral assassin.’ I’d need to visit the archives to learn more.”
“We can always make a trip tomorrow morning.” Qirona said. “They recently got more spells from Grim Hollow, and I’ve been meaning to stop in and see what they’ve got.”
“Yeah, sure.” Sharai yawned. “Definitely tomorrow.”
As Nazira lay in bed that night, she found herself thinking about an offer she’d received from the Raven Queen. Closing her eyes, she reached out to the goddess with her mind, and soon she found herself floating in a void across from a pale-skinned Elven woman in a black dress and a feathered shawl.
“You made me an offer.” Nazira said. “What exactly would being your champion entail?”
“There would be times when I would ask you to undertake certain tasks.” The Raven Queen replied. “In exchange for this service, I would bestow upon you a weapon worthy of my champion, and upon your death, you would be given the same chance at resurrection as my Shadar-kai followers.”
“I see.” Nazira thought for a moment. “What sort of tasks would I be required to undertake?”
“It is unlikely that any task will be required of you.” The goddess said. “As my champion, you would be expected to take on a number of tasks, but most of them would come with an option to decline. If you accept my offer, there is a task I would ask of you which falls within your area of expertise.”
“What is it?”
“A number of my children have abruptly broken off any ties to me, even some who were devout worshippers. Without knowing the cause, I can’t risk sending other Shadar-kai to investigate, so I would ask that you go to the Shadowfell and look into it. Should you accept, I can fill you in on more precise details.”
Nazira nodded. “I understand.”
“When you wake, there will be a sheathed sword that only you can see.” The Raven Queen said. “If you have decided to accept my offer, draw the blade.”
“What kind of sword is it?”
“It has an enchantment similar to your familial weapon’s, a combat enhancement like that of Concluder, and a little something to make travelling to the Shadowfell easier.”
When Nazira awakened, the sun was shining in the window, and Tam was in the process of getting dressed.
“Has anyone ever told you what fantastic tits you have?” Nazira asked sleepily.
Tam chuckled. “Yes, but I don’t mind hearing it again.”
Sitting up, Nazira saw a sheathed longsword laying on top of her dresser. Remembering what the Raven Queen had said, she ignored it in favor of approaching Tam and lifting her off the ground before she could finish unfolding her shirt.
“Hey!” Tam gasped. “Put me down!”
Nazira plopped her down on the bed, then climbed on top and kissed her. Tam kissed back immediately, wrapping her arms around her wife’s neck.
Downstairs, Qirona finished drawing a Teleportation Circle, then she, Sharai, and Hurushi stepped through it and into the Maple Ridge archive building, where a golden-haired High Elf man was waiting.
“Welcome back.” He said. “May I be of assistance while you’re here?”
Qirona shook her head. “I know where I’m going, but thanks.”
“I could use some help.” Sharai said. “I’m looking for information about someone named Jourrael the Cadogeist.”
He rubbed his chin. “The name is familiar. Follow me.”
“Thanks, Talivar.”
While Talivar was helping Sharai, Hurushi went down the block to Aeden and Berdar’s weapon shop to pick up his improved katana and yoroi armor. Back in the archive, Qirona made her way to the section labeled NEW SPELLS, where she removed a tome and brought it over to one of the dozens of tables in the archive. She flipped through the tome, and once she’d found the spells she wanted, she inserted platinum coins into a slot in the table. Ink appeared in front of her, and she used it to copy the nine spells into her own spellbook: Arcane Aegis, Chains of Beleth, Fiend Flesh, Fleshcrawl, Ghost Light, Lifesink, Mirror Spell, Undead Enthrallment, and Wall of Gloom.
After finding the information she was looking for, Sharai waited half an hour before exiting the archive and starting to walk home. She arrived to find Gromak making soup in an otherwise empty house. Heading out back, she saw Baldir working on something in his workshop while Tam and Titan watched Nazira and Hurushi spar. Nazira was wielding a longsword Sharai had never seen before. Its blade was made of a dark metal, and its guard was shaped like a wreath of feathers. Nazira was also wearing a dark cloak over her armor that she hadn’t had before. Sharai waited until the fighting stopped, then approached.
“Where’d you get those?” She asked.
“The sword is from Raven Queen.” Nazira replied. “There’s more to it, but I’ll wait until Qirona gets back. I got the cloak from Alphie’s while you were gone.”
“What’d you find out?” Tam asked.
Sharai pulled out one of her many notebooks. “Jourrael, the Caedogeist. Also known as The Inevitable End. Said to be the result of a coupling between Asmodeus and Lolth. According to some, she cannot die, because-”
Nazira snorted, cutting her off. “We’ll see about that.”
Sharai stared at her for a beat before finishing. “…because a contract between Asmodeus and Lolth forbids death from claiming her.”
“Oh.” Nazira’s expression became more serious. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Once Qirona returned, Nazira gathered everyone on the patio and explained what the Raven Queen had told her.
“Here’s what she knows.” She continued. “For the last few decades, two powerful extraplanar creatures called Daelkyr have been moving from plane to plane, trying to spread their influence. Their names are Dyrrn and Belashyrra. The Raven Queen believes that one or both of them are trying to get a foothold in the Shadowfell by converting Shadar-kai. She’s asked me to investigate whether there’s any merit to her hypothesis.”
“I wouldn’t mind a trip to the Shadowfell.” Sharai said. “Though I don’t have Plane Shift prepared.”
“Neither do I.” Qirona, Baldir, and Gromak said almost simultaneously.
“Well, I do now.” Nazira said. “If anyone has a reason to stay, I completely understand.”
Baldir shrugged. “Knowing our track record, odds are that this’ll turn into something big, which means you’ll need all the help you can get.”
“Do we know our destination?” Gromak asked.
Nazira nodded. “A village east of the Shadow Swamp. Whoever’s coming, grab your gear.”
Heading upstairs, Baldir doffed his Efreeti Chain in favor of the enchanted plate armor he kept as a backup. Half an hour later, the eight of them gathered in the living room, and Nazira used her Shadow Longsword to cast Plane Shift.