A9S3: The Trap

🕯️ A9S3: The Trap — A Cemetery, A Spellcaster, and the Shadow of Belemir

August 16th, Bree. Word of their plan was sent to Radagast the Brown via sparrow, and to Margo on the road to Hobbiton via lark, courtesy of Halfred Brandybuck, Bree’s resident Hobbit scholar. They enlisted Rymen Butterbur (the Prancing Pony innkeeper) to spread the tale of the fellowship's demise—poisoned by spider fangs. Caskets were loaded into a hearse and mournfully driven to the cemetery, then laid to rest in a mausoleum. The mourners returned to the Inn to drink and grieve. 

But the fellowship remained, hidden in the shadows, waiting.

🌕 Midnight Whispers and Moss That Strangles

Under a full moon, five hours passed in silence. Then nature called. Thran and Loegir stepped behind a tree—only to be ambushed by grey-beard moss, which stretched down to strangle them. Loegir escaped but Thran struggled as he gasped for breath. Kyan and Theo, focused on the trap, were too cautious in their reaction to the moss attack. And then came the Hummerhorns—flies with two-foot wingspans, buzzing like death incarnate.

Thran’s Thunderwave spell shattered the tree and tore the moss apart, freeing him and scattering the swarm. Kyan scolded him for the noise, but the trap was reset. A single candle flickered before the mausoleum, ready to trigger Thran’s Elf Lights when needed.

🧟 Who Goes There?

A lantern approached. Without taking time to study his mark, Thran activated his Elf Lights spell, enthralling the cemetery’s groundkeeper. No amulet. But Theo sensed undead. Dirt shifted. 

[Unbeknownst to them, Belemir cast Call the Undead.] Skeletons clawed their way out of graves and attacked. Silence shattered as arrows flew and blades sang. The groundskeeper, wounded and thus free of the enthrallment, fled. And Thran cast Thunderwave again, blasting his three skeletal attackers.

🌑 The Spellcaster

[Rain of Shadow] Darkness momentarily veiled the moon, and Theo and Loegir failed their CONsave to thus suffer necrotic injuries and Shadow corruption. A spell had been cast—but from where? [failed WISsave against Veil of Terror] Loegir, hallucinating, charged Thran mistaking him for a skeleton. Meanwhile, Kyan threw a grapple-rope over the mausoleum, hoping to trip the spellcaster Theo had spotted on the roof. 

But as he rounded the building, three spectral Wights appeared.

Thran fired a stinging-arrow. Theo followed with bane-arrows. Another wave of darkness momentarily fell, affecting Theo and Thran this time. The Wights closed in. Kyan’s battle cry rallied the group. His dog fled—useless against the undead. And then they realized: the spellcaster was Belemir!

⚔️ The Battle Swayed

Thran fired again. Belemir returned fire but fumbled, snapping his bowstring. The first Wight hit Kyan with its Dreadful Spell that paralyzed him (as he gained another Shadow point). Defenseless, the second Wight easily hit the dwarf. Theo struck Belemir with two arrows. Loegir vanished from sight per his small stature and stealth. [WISsave] Kyan broke free of his paralysis and killed the Wight to thus continue his plan. He dragged the rope around the mausoleum roof and managed to trip Belemir who fell, prone.

Thran cast Sunburst. [fumble] But the spell backfired—Pure Darkness erupted, harming allies and healing the Wights. Belemir stood and struck Kyan with his morgul blade. Theo fired again. One Wight healed itself then attacked Thran. Another failed to recharge its spell so swung at Kyan. Kyan ignored the hit, focused on Belemir. But Belemir’s Legendary Reflection turned the attack back on the dwarf, disarming him.

Thran hit his attacker. Belemir’s illusion spell failed. And then Loegir reappeared—leaping from the roof, then scrambling into Belemir’s space. As Theo killed a Wight, Kyan retrieved Ringwrist. [Sleight of Hand] Loegir reached up and broke Belemir’s amulet strap, yet nothing happened. “I thought you said removing the necklace would free him!” he shouted. [How would they know ten months' worth of corruption didn't immediately dissipate.] 

Kyan knocked Belemir unconscious with the flat of his axe. The last Wight fell. Silence returned.

🕯️ Truths Revealed

Belemir, tied and revived, and no longer under the amulet spell, slowly regained his humanity. He spoke of the shard he and Calanlas took from Orcs, and the ambush in Fornost where Calanlas was left behind. Belemir never returned. He now grieved at the loss of his best friend.

He confessed: he gave amulets to Falcor, Cardoc, and Belinda—under orders from the Dark Queen. Back at Amon Garzak, as they battled, she probed Theo’s mind, learning of the Hobbit shard in the Old Forest, and the Woses’ possession of another. She holds three shards and has already recovered Pallando’s Throne of Control. She now seeks the Hobbit shard before tracking down the Woses. “Smart of you to remove the metal threads from the tapestry to hid which tree it is buried under,” Belemir said. “But beware—if she dominates Theo or Kyan, she’ll learn everything.”

🍺 The Streets Are Empty

After healing, the fellowship returned to the Prancing Pony. But the Inn was deserted. So were the streets. No guards at the gates. Where was everyone?

And that's when the young lads Dusty and Oatden stumbled out of the cellar, ale on their breath. “We passed out,” they said. “When we woke, everyone was gone—walking west. A huge beast flew overhead carrying a woman sitting on a throne clutched in its claws.”

NEXT SESSION: A9S4- The Conclusion