Chapter 4 - Return

Regardless of how the party goes, they arrive back at Fort Daylight just as the sun has set, the fort is already besieged by monsters from the Shadowfell, and they need to figure out how to get the Elderstone back into the hands of the Watcher Statue.

As they approach the fort, the sun will have just set, and they see bright flashes of light coming from the Watcher Statue as Horatio Verres uses his magic to fend off the shadows, Alfric leads some of his men to fight back the shadows.

Decisions the party will need to make might include:

• should they enter the fort through the gates and approach the statue from the inside, or approach from outside the fort?
• should they try to fight their way through the shadows, or do they make an all-or-nothing run for it?
• should they expose the Elderstone, or keep it hidden (exposing the Elderstone imposes Disadvantage on any shadows attempting to make melee attacks within 10 feet of it, however it is also a sort of beacon, drawing any and all shadows in the area that are able to move, towards it - seeking to destroy it).

In one playthrough, the party tried to approach the fort from the outside, but when they saw the sheer number of shadows assaulting the wall from the portal to the Shadowfell, they retreated and then climbed over the wall, approaching from the inside, two characters ran the gem back to the statue while the rest fought off shadows.

Whichever way they approach, the map for the encounter is as follows:

The brown shapes below the palisade wall are guard towers and a high platform allowing soldiers to peer over the palisade wall at the shadows on the other side. On the other side of the wall, dozens of shadows are clawing / climbing the walls to attempt to get over. Some have already made it over the wall and are locked in combat with Captain De'Lion. Horatio is standing on the right-arm of the Watcher statue, casting spells down at the shadows below. You, as the DM, can decide how many statues are inside the walls which the characters need to get through in order to make it to the Watcher Statue's hands. In any case, there is a set of ladder rungs running up the left side of the watcher, leading to the statue's left shoulder, and then a walkway out along the statue's left arm to its hands, where the gem needs to be placed.

Optional - Shadow dragon

If the characters reach the shoulders / arms of the Watcher Statue too easily, then you may consider (on the round before they put the gem back in place) adding a Shadow Dragon figure/marker to the map, the Shadow Dragon is emerging from the portal, and in its following round it will be able to attack the party. This sight is terrifying to any characters who are standing on the Watcher Statue's arms or shoulders, and they must pass a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC 13) or be paralysed with fear (they don't drop the stone, however - or if you want to be particularly cruel, perhaps they do and one party member must sacrifice themselves to retrieve it and throw it back - though a Mage Hand may also work).

Once the gem is in place, the radiant light erupts, destroying the shadows in the area and pushing back the Shadow Dragon (if it is in play).

Describe to the players that the garrison spends the remainder of the night destroying some straggler shadows which were far enough away from the Elderstone when it was put in place that they weren't outright destroyed.