10/31/2019 – Abigail informed the rangers that she received a request for help from the druid Faolan, who ever year had been known to hold an ancient Sosarian custom known as the Ritual of Passage, typically held on the night of Samhain, the purpose of which was to help troubled souls pass into the next life. However, given recent spiritual upheavals and a profound disturbance in the the Spirit Realm, Faolan had decided instead to hold the ceremony at the very entrance of the Well of Souls itself.
At Iver’s Rounding, the rangers encountered Faolan finishing his preparations. After a brief explanation of the custom, the druid began. Not long after he called forth to the spirits did many angry souls descend upon the party. Yet, as the malevolent entities were held at bay, a few souls approached the sacred fire.
The first was a warrior who had once lived in Jhelom. He told a story of how he had hunted down and killed a man that had deserted his fellow warriors during battle in their hour of need. This man, however, had a son who the warrior ghost had spared, who grew into a warrior bent on taking revenge. The son eventually tracked down the warrior to kill him, but ultimately the warrior killed the son too. The warrior’s ghost seemed to have no regret when the rangers attempted to console him, but instead became only angrier as he scolded them for allowing the Shrine of Valor, a monument sacred to the people of Jhelom, to be defiled. The ghost went mad and lashed out at the rangers, rousing yet other maddened spirits to fight.
Eventually, another entity approached the fire, one that seemed of a much calmer disposition. The spirit spoke of having once been a knight in the armies of Lord British fighting the forces of Mondain long ago, but had betrayed his king after losing sight of what he was fighting for. In time he found himself in the company of the evil wizard, who had clad him in an enchanted suit of armor that rendered him invincible, and though his name was once Alistair, he was dubbed as the Pallid Knight. When he had awoken from a long slumber, he waged war against against the entire kingdom in order to slay his hated foe, Lord British, only to find in the end that his former king no longer even existed in Britannia. Having lost every shred of his purpose he was left to contemplate his sins in the quietude of death. Recognizing the sincerity of his regret, the rangers persuaded the ghost of the Pallid Knight that redemption was indeed possible, and that the evil that once fed on his soul in his darker days was the very same evil that now held him to this world. Seeing the wisdom in their words, the ghost of the Pallid Knight offered his farewell, and faded into the flames.
After yet another bout with angry ghosts, another entity appeared before the flame. This peculiar fellow began to tell the tale of how he toiled to get a gift for the girl that he liked, filling bulk order deeds by the cartload so that he may get a gift from the Artisan Festival elf. Only once his turn had come, the elf had run out of presents. Shortly thereafter he had been chased by a group of rowdy boys throwing snowballs and fell face first into a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. The man then threw off his robe, revealing that he was not, in fact, dead, but rather the infamous and nefarious necromancer Jack, the “Pumpkin King”. The mischievous loser began to summon the spirits of the dead all around the rangers as he danced around the fire, eventually disappearing himself.
Later, a final spirit approached the fire. To the collective shock of the rangers, it was the spirit of Shamino himself. After assuring the rangers that he was not truly dead, but only in a temporary state, he explained how he had arrived at that point. After the rangers had freed him from his imprisonment in the Realm of Dreams, Shamino had fled into the wilderness to understand the mystery that had been revealed to him in his dreams. This led him into the Spirit Realm, where he had encountered Jack the Pumpkin King, who managed to pull Shamino’s spirit from his body against his will. However, this attack offered Shamino an unexpected advantage, allowing him to traverse the ethereal void more easily and ultimately discovering that the Time Lord had been imprisoned. Though he was uncertain who trapped the Time Lord or why, Shamino came to realize that the key to freeing the Time Lord was obtaining the Serpent Amulet, a task which he would soon call upon the adventurers of the realm to help with. Before returning to his quest, Shamino told that rangers that he was proud of how far they had all come along the path of the ranger and making the Rangers Guild a success. However, as all things must come to an end, so he decided that the Rangers Guild would meet its conclusion. He appointed Abigail as the new leader whose responsibility would be to prepare its conclusion. With that, he said his fond farewell to his beloved companions and departed.
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At Iver’s Rounding, the rangers encountered Faolan finishing his preparations. After a brief explanation of the custom, the druid began. Not long after he called forth to the spirits did many angry souls descend upon the party. Yet, as the malevolent entities were held at bay, a few souls approached the sacred fire.
The first was a warrior who had once lived in Jhelom. He told a story of how he had hunted down and killed a man that had deserted his fellow warriors during battle in their hour of need. This man, however, had a son who the warrior ghost had spared, who grew into a warrior bent on taking revenge. The son eventually tracked down the warrior to kill him, but ultimately the warrior killed the son too. The warrior’s ghost seemed to have no regret when the rangers attempted to console him, but instead became only angrier as he scolded them for allowing the Shrine of Valor, a monument sacred to the people of Jhelom, to be defiled. The ghost went mad and lashed out at the rangers, rousing yet other maddened spirits to fight.
Eventually, another entity approached the fire, one that seemed of a much calmer disposition. The spirit spoke of having once been a knight in the armies of Lord British fighting the forces of Mondain long ago, but had betrayed his king after losing sight of what he was fighting for. In time he found himself in the company of the evil wizard, who had clad him in an enchanted suit of armor that rendered him invincible, and though his name was once Alistair, he was dubbed as the Pallid Knight. When he had awoken from a long slumber, he waged war against against the entire kingdom in order to slay his hated foe, Lord British, only to find in the end that his former king no longer even existed in Britannia. Having lost every shred of his purpose he was left to contemplate his sins in the quietude of death. Recognizing the sincerity of his regret, the rangers persuaded the ghost of the Pallid Knight that redemption was indeed possible, and that the evil that once fed on his soul in his darker days was the very same evil that now held him to this world. Seeing the wisdom in their words, the ghost of the Pallid Knight offered his farewell, and faded into the flames.
After yet another bout with angry ghosts, another entity appeared before the flame. This peculiar fellow began to tell the tale of how he toiled to get a gift for the girl that he liked, filling bulk order deeds by the cartload so that he may get a gift from the Artisan Festival elf. Only once his turn had come, the elf had run out of presents. Shortly thereafter he had been chased by a group of rowdy boys throwing snowballs and fell face first into a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. The man then threw off his robe, revealing that he was not, in fact, dead, but rather the infamous and nefarious necromancer Jack, the “Pumpkin King”. The mischievous loser began to summon the spirits of the dead all around the rangers as he danced around the fire, eventually disappearing himself.
Later, a final spirit approached the fire. To the collective shock of the rangers, it was the spirit of Shamino himself. After assuring the rangers that he was not truly dead, but only in a temporary state, he explained how he had arrived at that point. After the rangers had freed him from his imprisonment in the Realm of Dreams, Shamino had fled into the wilderness to understand the mystery that had been revealed to him in his dreams. This led him into the Spirit Realm, where he had encountered Jack the Pumpkin King, who managed to pull Shamino’s spirit from his body against his will. However, this attack offered Shamino an unexpected advantage, allowing him to traverse the ethereal void more easily and ultimately discovering that the Time Lord had been imprisoned. Though he was uncertain who trapped the Time Lord or why, Shamino came to realize that the key to freeing the Time Lord was obtaining the Serpent Amulet, a task which he would soon call upon the adventurers of the realm to help with. Before returning to his quest, Shamino told that rangers that he was proud of how far they had all come along the path of the ranger and making the Rangers Guild a success. However, as all things must come to an end, so he decided that the Rangers Guild would meet its conclusion. He appointed Abigail as the new leader whose responsibility would be to prepare its conclusion. With that, he said his fond farewell to his beloved companions and departed.
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