We picked up our Dungeons & Dragons game with the aftermath of the Battle of Castrum Stativa. The victors went through the bodies of their Quadi enemies, looting corpses, tents, and moving the hundred of dead to a mass grave south of the town and fort. The characters made a beeline to the commander’s tent, where they found a bunch of loot, including the war mace of the original general, Brutharius. They also found the corpse of the tiefling warlock that the monk, Icio, took out. In his coffin, the body was wrapped in muslin treated to preserve the body. Also there were scrolls with the spells he knew (including several that he never got a chance to unleash on them…) Also found was his amulet — a Christian cross in a pentagram. Fascinated by all things religious, our cleric, Augustinian, picked up the amulet…which promptly hit him for 8d6 damage and nearly killed him instantly. The necrotic damage aged him prematurely, and even after Icio laid hands on him and did a lesser restoration, the cleric was sickly and felt cold for days.

After a night of revelry to celebrate their victory, Legate Marcellus decided to take the remains of the cavalry and head for Augusta Vindelicorum to report the engagement and  their win over the Quadi. To bolster the severely weakened garrison at the fortress, Marcellus was able to convince their Marcomanni reinforcements to remain for a few weeks until he could arrange for Roman troops. they leave the fortress with two dozen horses laden down with their loot from the battle.

A two day trip, across the stone bridge the Romans built over the Danube and through the snow-covered fields led them to the Roman capital of Raetia. The characters arrive to a massive turn out by the town — soldiers on parade, citizens shouting and throwing flower petals, and the Proconsul waiting to present them with a victory wreath. They are houses with the praetor urbanis of the town in a massive villa, and treated to a state dinner with the finest of the city.

While Marcellus and Carrus are playing politics with the proconsul — Marcellus attempting (successfully) to support Castrum Stativa with a full legion, and to get troops to go to Lenta and investigate that troublesome tribe. Calvinus the Bard and Carona, their satyr friend, entertained the guests. Meanwhile, Icio went to find the local church, and Augustinian visited the Temple of Jupiter and Minerva.

The church in the city turns out to be a massive stone ediface with stained glass, a beautiful statue of Mary and the divine child behind the altar, and a bible. The bishop, Asis, welcomes Icio — he’s never met a barukhim (blessed) one, one of Jesus’ brethren. (In the campaign, he was an aasimar.) They are discussing the situation in town, with the slow incursion of Christianity over the pagans when they are interrupted by a tall, beautiful figure they first think is a woman…but turns out to be a man. The very sight of him is strangely disturbing, and both Icio and the bishop fail their Wisdom saves. Terrified by the creature, which dismisses the bishop, Icio learns that this visitor was looking for him, the “little angel” that is causing so much trouble in Germania. Icio, son of Zaccharius the Faithful…or so he was led to believe.

The creature questions him — he is the faithful soldier of the One True God, but hasn’t he wondered at all about the nature of these gods he’s encountered? Or of his guardian angel? Why are angels all male? Why has he never met a female aasimar? Perhaps not everything he has been told by the church is true — the best lie is wrapped in the truth. He should know; they call him “the Lie.” That isn’t his mandate, however: he is “the Accuser”, he who calls to account those whose faith has wavered, or who have committed sins. But when he noted falsehood in that god he served, and called him to account, he was cast down to Earth. Icio is paralyzed by fear in face of the Enemy, himself! But before things can go any further, the angel Michael, burst through the door to drive Sataniel off.

Icio is staggered by the implications: Satan, himself, has taken an interest in the monk. He finds Augustinian in a similarly shocked state. He has also received a visitation — the statue of Jupiter spoke to him! It told him of this demi-god, Sataniel, and his search for “the Shadow” — not a person as they had thought, but a veil that separates the planes of existence. This Shadow was cast by Jupiter, with the help of Minerva and Prometheus, after the Trojan War. The gods had realized their continued involvement in the affairs of Man could spell disaster for not just the people of the world, but the world itself. The Shadow keeps them from manifesting physically, but they can see the events on Earth and occasionally speak with those special folks who can hear them…people like Augustinian. Sataniel hopes to break the Shadow and collect an army to overthrow the god that cast him out. There are those protecting this veil, the Guardians of the Shadow,.

After bringing the rest of the party up to speed, Augustinian tells them they have one advantage over Sataniel and his minion Aiton, however…Jupiter told Augustinian where the Shadow is: the only plane that could not be separated from Earth — the Underworld. They need to travel to the River Styx. But where is the Styx? Augustinian had an excellent Religion test — the Styx has its source on Mount Aroania in the Peloponnesus. They need to get to Greece. Carona, however, warns that the Guardians are not to be triffled with. She has never seen them, but some of the dryads he people treated with described them as creatures “elemental in nature”, powerful and capricious.

The night ended with the group realizing that someone was observing them through the curtains over their door. The chased the figure into the hall, only to find the spy was gone, apparently disappeared into the night…

This was a big push episode, finally filling in some of the metaplot that has been hinting at since the start of the campaign. One of the challenges was pulling together the Christian and Greco-Roman mythologies, and providing a unified danger. Satan’s desire to build an army, pulled from the ancient creatures inhabiting the pit of Tartarus in the Underworld.