Last Time on Emberheart Z: The Children of Fear (Part 1)

🔥Last time on Emberheart Z!🔥

((Alternative Title: Stuck in the Middle with Skeletor’s Rejects))

After months spent pursuing Vaer Ming, the location gleaned from her own mind was finally pinpointed to an ancient Amani crypt deep within the forgotten forests of Zul’Aman, long reclaimed by the wilds. Emberheart assembled a large assault force of Strikers, expecting a confrontation with the Witch—or perhaps the cult itself. Instead, they discovered the remnants of a site abandoned in haste: ravaged forward posts, half-sprung traps left un-re-armed (safely navigated through the combined efforts of Kiri and Trorick), and creatures of bone and shadow left in the cult’s wake. These undead were unlike the Scourge or the hex-bound dead often found in troll ruins. Their bones had been scorched to a deep onyx-purple, while empty eye sockets stared vacantly ahead as they wandered the halls without purpose. Only when disturbed did they lash out, proving individually weak, though they seemed endless as one rose to replace another. Under Bazrokh’s command, the Expedition secured the outer chambers before pressing deeper.

Creatures of bone and shadow, left in the cult’s wake within the Amani Crypt...

Among the old stones, the Expedition recovered an unusual troll fetish that the undead conspicuously avoided. Gwuee identified it as an ancient Amani Deathward, once used to repel restless spirits and other unnatural beings. Fearing it had been corrupted, the group initially left it behind. Their advance ended at a massive crystalline barrier sealing the crypt’s central chamber. Resembling solidified dry ice, it shed pale vapor while resisting Kiri’s enchanted fire knives and even Ioneid’s draconic flames. Only after Trorick returned with the Deathward and rattled it before the barrier did the crystal collapse into frigid mist, revealing the chamber beyond. 

Inside lay the cult’s abandoned staging ground. Supplies from Silvermoon had been scattered in haste, all bearing the insignia of a blue rising sun above crossed swords. Lockboxes contained correspondence between Vessar and Shadowsinger, with every letter from Vessar sealed by the same insignia, tying him—and the supplies—to the cult. Nearby, annotated maps showed mountain passes, and landmarks crossed out with notes such as “Too Defended,” “Supplies Impossible,” and “Unviable Hosts." At the same time, one location had been circled repeatedly, suggesting it had become the cult’s next objective. At the chamber’s center rested the mummified corpse of an ancient troll, surrounded by pages filled with disturbing illustrations and impossible script. Though the ritual had failed, the writings appeared significant enough to preserve for later study.

As Trorick continued rattling the Deathward, the ritual circle finally unraveled. At the same time, Gwuee observed the remaining undead converging on the chamber. The Expedition hastily prepared defenses while Kiri and Bazrokh gathered the maps and correspondence, and Merada secured the ritual pages. The instant the ritual fully dissipated, the crypt erupted into motion as the previously aimless undead surged forward in a single relentless wave. Emberheart held the doorway and, after a fierce battle, destroyed the final shadowed dead. With the crypt secured, the Expedition departed carrying recovered intelligence and the unsettling evidence that Vaer Ming’s followers had not been defeated, but had simply moved on in pursuit of a new objective.

Keen to force a confrontation on their terms, the Expedition decided to take the Deathward with them and regroup at the Enclave, where they could unravel the mystery on safer soil.

---------------------What awaits the Expedition? Find out next time on Emberheart Z!!------------------