3) Cleansing the Lurking Evil

The skeletons, while annoyingly resistant to the weapons the party had on hand, proved to be little trouble. Kestrahl, with her selfless (but also self-desttructive) impulse to protect everyone took a few scimitar swipes which were quickly healed by Silva. Marvin grew frustrated as his arrows seemed to always pass right through the ribcages of the shambling fiends, as did Lucan's rapier. They took some time to search the surrounding rooms, where Garel uncovered a small stash of wine and was suspiciously unwilling to share with Silva. The party wondered if there was a conversation they would need to have later with the older man.

An Eerily Familiar Encounter
The center of the temple, after having been cleared of skeletons, lay empty save a room before them. Disconcertingly, it was magically darkened and hushed voices issued from it. After a few moments the darkness waned and a lone figure was visible standing beside an old but well-preserved statue. The carving stood almost as tall as the ceiling, and depicted a half-dragon holding a longspear and standing next to a giant dire bear. The figure next to it was much less imposing, a blond female wearing a black tunic that probably disguised a suit of armor. Another glance from a few of the party revealed that she was not along at all. Two devilish looking figures were hidden in the crates and detrius on the borders of the room. They made no move at first, seemingly waiting for the woman.

She spoke to the party in turn, saying things they hadn't spoken of to their new friends. Things they hadn't thought of in months in some cases. The brazen flaunting of otherworldly power spoke of insane confidence or disturbing knowledge. Kestrahl, Lucan and Marvin adopted an especially hostile attitude when her skin curdled and morphed until she was a mirror image of the bard Silva.

That was pretty much all the crypic shennanigans the party could take at that point. Like the spellcaster on the road, the hidden cutthroats and the strange woman fought to their last breath. The doppleganger, for that is what the strange woman was, shrunk in on herself when she died to reveal her true form - a thin and ash-grey shape with a particularly bulbous head.

At the far end of the room they found the reason behind the hushed talking they heard earlier. A ring of glyphs were carved into the floor to form what Garel determined was a magical communication circle. What was on the other side they could not tell, but in the death cries of the doppleganger they heard the name of the Dark Prince. According to all the stories and tales, demonic influence had been rooted out from this world, but if there is one truth in the world it is that all good things must come to an end. Dark fingers are creeping into the world now, and our party has heard the first whispers of it.

By Whom the Tracks Were Made
Exiting the temple, it seemed for a moment they might have another battle on their hands as a gigantic bear was waiting for them outside the formerly trapped back entrance. It stood as tall as a mad even sitting on its haunches and regarded the party with an uncharacteristically intelligent gaze as they emerged. It snuffled momentarily, eyeing Marvin who was raising his bow in a protective gesture, before speaking in the common tongue.

"I am Addremalech, the guardian," he growled, his voice rough from disuse and a jaw unsuited for speaking. "You must follow."

The guardian led them from the temple up a mountain path so well hidden its doubtful Marvin could have found it. The trail looked like it had been frequented by other bears, but no life beyond that. It led further and further into the mountain, the air grew colder and the snow thicker until they reached a small mountain peak. It was not the highest peak, which was fortunate since the tales told that these mountains were infested with white dragons. Strangely, neither Marvin nor Kestrahl could detect any signs of dragons either from the recent or distant past. Garel, his magical senses prickling, detected a warding around the place. There was an unearthly peace about the place, and it was barren except for a simple gravestone reading "Ashura Makoto". The gravestone was where Addremalech finally stopped, motioning for them to dig behind it but warning them not to disturb the grave.

A short distance down in the earth was buried a shortspear, its haft carved with runes and sigils and the point made of obsidian. Tied to it was a small bag which could not be opened, and once again Garel turned his intelligent gaze upon it. The bag, it seemed, would destroy whatever was inside unless the proper word was spoken into it. Garel took the artifact until such methods could be found to open it, but Kestrahl reached to heft the spear. As soon as she touched it its length increased until it was as long as the polearm she normally carried. At another thought it shrunk back down.

"It is Karavic, Spear of Nature's Fury," said Addremalech before leading them back down the mountain.