Rise of The Runelords 1 - Burnt Offerings

"Well...." Shathys says, his body aching from the swim.

"At least we have plenty to eat." he says and begins to laugh, a choking, harsh sound that echoes into the blackness.

"Let's not burn our platform just yet though." Jack moves out, wincing as dead ravens crush under his feet.

Shathys takes a sun rod out of his pack, Stabbing it down into the ravens with a sickening crunch.

"In case we need to find our way back."

"This might be the most uncomfortable thing i have ever done" Shara says, panting.

With a disgusted look on her face she follows the guys, trying to ignore the crunching sound under her feet. Osmus on the other hand seems to be enjoying himself with the cruncy stuff. He jumps around on the platform, but stays close to the party.

"Luckily I didn't bring Mishka with, might have ended badly for her."

Shathys picks himself up and begins walking on the path well trodden...well...crunched by Jack.

A few minutes of walking later, Jack spots a flash of red in the darkness ahead of you.

Jack alerts his team mates to the red light and puts out whatever source of light they would have. Then he's completely silent and still.

There is darkness.

You hear the faint sound of a little girl laughing, and a flapping of wings.

"More children. Great." Shathys growls.

A ghostly figure fades into being before you. A young girl, rosy-cheeked and clad in a red dress, sits in a green meadow. She laughs as a bald and powerfully muscled man - with a pair of impressive mutton chops adorning his cheeks - hands her something small, red and fuzzy. A fox pup with bright, orange eyes squirms gently in the girl's hands. As she pets it ever so gently, it nips playfully at her small, pale fingers.
'Thank you, father,' she says in a breathless voice. 'It's beautiful.'
The girl's father smiles, ruffles her auburn hair and leaves.

The vision changes. The girl is a little older, perhaps nine or ten, and she's running through a village you recognize: Sandpoint. A fox, not yet fully grown, is running along beside her. The girl laughs as she reaches out a hand and slaps a young boy on the back.
'Tag!' she says, 'You're it!'
She turns on the spot and races off in the other direction, the fox yipping and jumping around her feet.

The vision changes. The girl is running through Sandpoint, tears streaming down her face. It's dark and cold, lonely snowflakes falling from the dark sky.
'Mother?' she calls. 'Mother, I'm scared! Where are you?'
She rounds a corner and comes to a sudden halt. Her mother lies motionless on the ground not six feet from her. Crimson stains the snow around her head. A tall figure clothed in darkness stands above her, a knife shining wetly in his hand.
'Mother?' the girl says in a small voice. The fox whines softly by her feet, and she picks it up by instinct.
The dark figure steps towards the petrified girl, the knife disappearing from his hand. A long-fingered hand reaches out of the darkness and lifts her into the air. Tears stream from her wide, terrified eyes.
The girl's father bursts out the house behind the dark figure, holding a blacksmith's hammer in one hand.
'No,' he whispers at the sight of his wife. 'Oh Mai, no.' His head whips around to stare at the dark figure. 'Let go of my daughter,' he growls and stands up. 'Let. Go. Of my Katie!'
Three hundred pounds of muscle throws itself at the dark figure with a roar like an angry bear. Gleaming metal flashes from the dark figure's hand, and the girl's father stumbles back with a deep gash through his left eye.
As if carried on invisible wings, the dark figure flows out into the darkness, taking the girl with him. Her father's screams is the last thing she hears before darkness overtakes her.

The vision changes. The girls is sitting on a small pile of sheets in the corner of a dark room with bare stone walls. Several pieces of parchment lie scattered across the floor. The girl is rocking back and forth, hugging her knees. The fox is whining and clawing desperately at the foot of a stone door, its claws long since worn down to bloody nubs.

The vision fades.

Jack touches his fake eye unconsciously and mutters, "Shit. What in the nine hells is going on down here?"

Shathys shakes his head, clearing the last dregs of the vision from his eyes.

"Poor, poor child. Let's find the remains of the bastard and be done with it."

Shathys marches forward solemnly, the rhythmic crunching of the bones underfoot going unnoticed.

While walking silently behind the guys, Shara is desperately trying to hide the fact that she is crying. Being a very emotional person, the vision has touched her deeply. Under the tears her eyes are changing colour. Getting darker. If you were to look inside her head, you would be able to see anger and perhaps even hatred, burning like a newly lit bonfire. She has to do something for this girl, she feels a connection to her.

The ravens underfoot begin to sink into the water, and within moments you are back to treading water.

"And so we're back"

Spoiler:

"Start swimming!"
And so he did.

Do you swim in any specific direction?

Endurance check!

Spoiler:

The walk on the raven platform, seems to have brought new energy to Shara. She swims forward with her hopes high.

Shathys sighs with great disdain.

"I was just getting warmer too." he growls as he dives into the water.

Spoiler:

Jack loses 1 healing surge.

You swim on in darkness, and eventually you spot a pinprick of light in the distance.

"Finally!"

As you approach, it quickly becomes obvious that the source of the light is the torch you left where you first entered the water. You have returned to your starting point.