Real Date: July 15, 2022
While eating his cabbage stew, Thrunk suddenly begins to act in a strange way. He casts odd looks at the group, checks his bags multiple times and quietly mutters to himself. After finishing his food, he stands up and swiftly exits the building, stating that he must leave for a while to attend to important dwarven business. Boone and Oliver are surprised by their friend’s sudden departure, but decide that it would be best to let him carry on with his quest. The two paladins soon finish their food and drink, before heading off to bed. Woods is escorted to a small room, while The Lorekeeper is brought to the guild archives. At the church of souls, Raz hands Clone Alton off to the clergy where he will be safe from harm. Raz performs a variety of sacred ceremonies and burial rites at the church, staying overnight in exchange for his service. In the morning, Raz searches for Clone Alton, but cannot find him anywhere. Upon questioning the clergy, Raz learns that the clone is being kept in solitary confinement within the basement. The clerics believe it would be best for the clone’s sanity and well-being. Raz continues with the ceremonies and rituals, lighting candles around the church before eating a bland-tasting breakfast.
Boone and Oliver awaken to the sudden sounds of agonised screaming coming from the main hall. The two quickly gather their supplies and head out to investigate the noise. One of the guards has been ripped apart, mutilated beyond recognition. The two look around the room and see several other guards lying on the floor, bruised and bloody. Questioning the survivors, the two paladins quickly learn that Woods has escaped, leaving a trail of carnage and bloodshed behind him. The guards tried to stop his rampage, but were unable to match the strength of the troll. Out on the street, several commoners lie dead on the floor, limbs torn from their bodies. The city guards surround this region, blocking access to all in the area. The two follow the bloodshed west towards Crosow Forest, before meeting up with Raz on the street outside the church. Raz suggests the group should travel to Ravenvale Manor, as the mayor may have been hurt during the attack. While approaching the manor, the party notices hundreds of Ravens circling the massive house, perching on its roof and peering through the windows. After walking through the creaky metal gate, the group knocks at the door before being greeted by a familiar halfling butler. He leads them to the dining room, where the mayor sits across from a strange man wearing a wide-brimmed hat. The group briefly discusses the nature of the attack with the mayor, who falsely believes the hulking masked monster slain earlier is to blame.
Noticing the piles of uneaten food on the table, Raz grows suspicious of the mayor and excuses himself outside. The man with the hat tries to follow him, though Raz is able to evade the man’s gaze. Raz knows that ravens are servants of Anima, Goddess of Souls. Raz speaks in the language of the gods to ask the ravens if anything is wrong. The ravens do not speak, though they clearly understand Raz’s words and peer inside the windows of the house. Raz sneaks back inside before stealthily heading upstairs towards the attic. In the attic, Raz finds dozens of portraits of the mayor, each is under a different name and many are dated hundreds of years ago. Raz throws a window open and swarms of ravens suddenly begin filling the house. In the dining room, the mayor excuses himself before leaving the table. Boone and Oliver are now alone in the room, sitting quietly by themselves. Ravens begin flying into the dining room and the two paladins follow the birds upstairs. The party regroups in the dusty, raven-filled attic to search for more clues. Not long after, they open a black door, leading into a small room with no windows. Large lit candlesticks fill this room, surrounding a single black coffin that lies against the back wall. Oliver approaches the coffin and notices an ornate skull carved into the wood itself. Throwing caution to the wind, Oliver slowly opens the coffin. Deep shadows flow from the opening like water, pooling onto the floor before moving out of the room. The group rushes to quickly close the coffin, stopping the moving shadows. The ravens are scared by the dark figures and swiftly exit the building. Raz feels he has seen enough and shoves a rag into his bottle of poisonous mead. He lights his explosive with a torch and throws it at the wooden roof, which bursts into flame. Boone and Oliver rush for the exit, while Raz continues to cause destruction throughout the house.
At the door, the Paladins are greeted by the halfling butler, who tells them to head into the dining room. The two refuse and the butler begins to grow irritated. Oliver tries to push the small butler out of the way, though the halfling grabs Oliver’s arm and twists it with supernatural strength, his eyes glowing red with malice. The paladins battle the butler, but are unable to match his speed and strength and soon grow tired from the onslaught of attacks. The two flee the burning building, luring the butler to the covered porch, shaded from the sunlight. Raz leaps onto the porch roof from the second story, descending from the burning building. The group battles the butler outside but the three remain outmatched. Raz has an idea and disguises himself as the mayor using magic. The butler foolishly believes that Raz is truly the mayor, protected from the sunlight using his powerful amulet and follows him out into the courtyard. The butler begins to crack in the sunlight, bellowing an unholy scream as he dissolves into dust.