The Moon in the Well

You emerge from the portal outside of a mineshaft entrance high up in the mountains. Nearby is a small wooden shack. It is dark when you emerge and the moon is full, the unseasonably hot hazy air of the night sticking uncomfortably to your filthy skin. The ground trembles continuously and you can feel a noticeable sucking of air into the darkness of the mineshaft.

You pause and take stock of who has made it out of the mines alive. Andreas is there, though whatever happened to him on that altar of chaos has changed him horribly; his eyes now pure black and the tracks of his veins run putrid up his neck. Raine has made it back from the dead as well, his eyes now reflecting golden light in the darkness as would a bat's. Slinky, now Verod, sniffs the hot night air with his newfound animal senses while Bishka and Slye stare at the trio in mild shock. Ziva, Ostarghi and Mathias emerge from the portal; Ziva and Mathias covered in blood and wearing slightly guilty looks on their faces.

Andreas, Raine, Mathias and Ziva realize, once they've finished with their panic, that they stand naked against the night covered only in the blood of their one time companions. Aside from the wooden shack, the only other feature of this alpine landscape is a narrow road through the mountain leading away from the mineshaft...

Despite his nakedness (by this point, everyone's seen much worse) Mathias creeps up to the house, at first looking for a window to peek through, then moving to the door. With so many of them out there, stealth was never a possibility, but they could at least be careful in their approach and get whatever they could out of this shack. If only he had a proper set of tools instead of just that shiv Ostarghi handed him...

Not far behind, Ostarghi readies his shield and makeshift weapon, prepared for anything nasty that might come out of the front door once opened.

Mathias finds that the wooden shack is little more than a shed with no windows and many gaps in it's construction that allow him to see that there is no life inside. He pops the crude latch and opens the rickety door.

Inside are pegs lining the walls, hanging from which are many sets of miner's coveralls with heavy leather boots lined up beneath them. The coveralls are filthy with dirt and soot and the boots are worn, but they seem better than facing the elements in naught but a haircut.

Andreas looks around the dark shed but it is clearly just a closet for the miners that originally worked this mine.

There are enough of the leather workman's tunics and boots for 10 miners in the shack, enough that everyone is able to cover themselves. The mineshaft is built such that the road runs into it, leaving only one path of egress. The narrow mountain trail leads off to the West, deeper into the rugged wilderness...

"Name's Mathias" Verod gets his response, a thousand yard stare in the man's eyes. It's not that Mathias is lost in thought, but he seems somewhat emotionally detached from all the crazy things happening around him, as though nothing can shock him any more. Clearly his mind is delaying processing everything, acting out of pure self defence to protect his sanity from the trauma.
Now carrying his shield and grappling hook with renewed confidence after surviving the Caves of Chaos, Ostarghi is a strange sight, a man with plenty of fighting left in him but the most off the wall equipment to do it with. "I'm Ostarghi, and you are right about resting. We have no idea what's up ahead, or when we'll be in relative safety again. We should however agree to watches and patrols, have someone stand guard while the others sleep so we don't get ambushed and slaughtered."

As you discuss watch rotations and sleeping armaments, you feel a noticeable increase in the strength of the tremors and suddenly a large earthquake shakes the ground and causes the shack to tremble. The sucking sound of air rushing into the mineshaft is now keenly noticable...

Raine accepted the manuscript from Verod and said, "Thank you, my friend. I am glad to see you embrace the changes that have come over you." He glanced at the writing inside long enough to verify that whatever Noctys had done to his eyes had imparted in him the ability to understand the strange writings in the manuscript. Satisfied, he tucked the manuscript into an inner pocket of the coveralls and addressed the group.

"What I am about to tell you may be difficult to believe. Having experienced it myself I am not sure that I would believe it were it not for the gifts that have been bestowed upon me." He paused for a moment then, believing that it added to the gravitas of what he was about to say. "I can only think that the chimera that attacked us struck me dead with a single blow because I remember it rushing toward me but then everything went black and I felt like I was falling. Gradually, I began to sense things around me. I was still falling, but the motion had begun a downward spiral. I was surrounded by dark flames that I could feel but couldn't see. I could sense other things in the darkness moving around me rapidly, too. Then I heard her voice.

'Mortal, can you hear me? I am Noctys, Goddess of the Night, the Cult of Chaos has imprisoned me but something has happened, a quake has weakened my prison. I will help you escape, in turn you must find my temple and set me free. Without me holding back the tide the night has become rife with the demons of chaos, soon the balance will tip beyond correction.'

I agreed, of course, for here I stand. She gifted me with her eyesight and I could suddenly see the things that I had only sensed before; all manner of fiends circling me hungrily. I can only imagine it was her presence that kept them from devouring me. I saw a light, as well, and I reached for it with my mind. It rushed toward me, or I toward it. I don't know which of us moved but when we collided I found myself standing before that portal with the rest of you and I leaped through it.

I can feel her now, Noctys, to the west and I must fulfill my part of the bargain. You all are under no obligation to help, but I would appreciate your assistance. If I fail in this task I fear the world will soon be overrun by monstrosities the likes of which only we have seen."

Suddenly, Raine noticed how unstable the area was becoming. "I agree that we need rest, Verod, but I think that this is not the place to lay our heads. Come. Let us seek shelter away from this cursed mine."