CHRONICLE VAULT 20071115, FROM THE LIBRARY OF RHAVUS THE FIEND-SAGE ...
Sunsebb 24, 595 CY
With the siege of Blackwall Keep broken, the five companions - Shanks, Argo, Kong, Duke, and Kaspar - set their weary eyes south into the Mistmarsh to follow the trail of the kidnapped warmage, Marzana. Before setting out into the dangerous disease-ridden swamp, however, they were greeted by a former companion of Duke and Argo's, a hulking human warrior known simply as Drake the Slayer. With the party knowing that they were heading into dangerous territory and could use an extra sword arm, Drake was invited to join them on their quest into the swamp.
The halfling ranger Argo Moleskin took the lead and caught the trail of the passing lizardfolk with ease. The late afternoon passed uneventfully save for the constant buzzing of the mosquitos and black flies. As afternoon turned to evening the reason for the Mistmarsh's name became evident. Almost without warning the wetland was engulfed in eerie pale fog, obscuring vision out beyond a stone's throw. Argo's tracking skills kept them on the right path but as night settled in it was decided for everyone's benefit to camp for the night. Duke took first watch, was relieved by Argo, and finally by Drake for last watch. The night passed - thankfully - uneventfully.
With the rise of the autumn sun the next day came more fog but Argo's tracking skills proved infallible. As morning fell into afternoon, the sharp eyes of Kaspar and Drake spotted movement in the marshland ahead of them. Clearly humanoid but other than that they could discern few details. The decision was made to continue forward with very little caution, and most were surprised by the sudden appearance of a small force of lizardfolk that literally leapt out of the swamp around them. Curiously, one of the lizardfolk kept back while his brethren fought and died to blade, chain, fist, and spell. At the end of the quick melee the lone lizardfolk threw his weapon to the ground and pleaded with the "pinkbellies" to spare his life. Quickly surrounded by the adventurers the lizardfolk hastily related (in Draconic, a language which only Duke could speak) that the Twisted Branch tribe was split, with those loyal to the current king Shukak against those who remembered the old ways and followed the wisdom of the shaman Hishak. The lizardfolk, having seen the heroes' prowess in battle, indicated that he would lead the wise shaman to them and avoid unnecessary bloodshed if they spared his life. Discussions were sparked amongst the party, but eventually it was decided to agree to these terms. The lizardfolk left to fetch the shaman and "one of the pinkbellies" they had captured and would meet them after sunset under the branches of a nearby mangaroo tree.
The party waited patiently, with Kaspar and Shanks cleverly hiding themselves in the darkness of the Mistmarsh. As the fog rolled in and the sun set they were greeted by the wise old shaman Hishak and the lizardfolk they let go carrying an unconscious guard from Blackwall Keep. Reading their good intentions, Hishak proceeded to relate the sad story of the Twisted Branch tribe ...
"Two season cycles ago, the Twisted Branch tribe suffered a terrible tragedy. The clutch of eggs bearing their young festered with writhing green worms that devoured the hatchlings and left nothing but shell and blood. The tribe was visited shortly after by the Black Mother, Ilthane, who claimed that pinkbellies from the nearby dwelling of softskins were responsible for the worm blight. This enraged the warriors of the Twisted Branch but deprived of a generation of warriors there was little they could do but gnash their teeth. The Black Mother offered to provide protection for the newest batch of eggs, and as a sign of good favor offered one of her own eggs for safekeeping by the Twisted Branch as well as sending two of her children to guard the clutch. But something was wrong, as only the Black Mother and Shukak, king of the Twisted Branch, were allowed into the egg chamber. To deny the shaman access to the growing eggs was a sacrilege to Semuanya! But little could be done, for Shukak and his chieftain, Kotabas, held sway and many warriors were angry.
Then, three sun cycles ago, Shukak claimed a group of pinkbellies had invaded the egg chamber and destroyed a number of the lizardfolk eggs! This was enough to rouse the tribe into action and most of the capable warriors marched to raze the pinkbelly border tower to the swampy floor! But some did not agree with this action and now the time has come for Shukak and Kotabas to be removed from the Twisted Branch tribe."
Hishak the shaman asked that the adventurers carry out this plan. In exchange he would return the captured pinkbellies alive and intact as well as work towards a peace in the Mistmarsh with the pinkbellies, but they had to act quickly. Seskitar, the lizardfolk whose life was spared earlier, offered to lead the heroes to the Twisted Branch lair and into the lizard king's chamber. Hishak's story seemed too incredible to believe - or maybe just incredible enough. It was decided to take the shaman up on his offer, though Kaspar expressed his disapproval with the situation by remaining hidden in the darkness of the swamp. Seskitar led the rest of the party to the lair of the Tiwsted Branch lizardfolk two hours away, and they followed him into the twisted roots of massive mangaroo trees that made up the tribal home. After passing several chambers they came at last to the throne room of Shukak, the massive lizardfolk king, and his second-in-command Kotabas, a mighty lizardfolk barbarian. The battle was brutal, with Shukak's magical trident tearing into foes and Kotabas' feral rage leaving bloody chunks of his enemies strewn about the chamber. It was a tough fight but the heroes proved victorious.
The party did not escape the battle unscathed, and during the looting of their enemies they came upon two potions of cure moderate wounds. Kong and Argo claimed them (as they were the most wounded) and Kong sucked down his without a moment’s thought. Argo’s sharp halfling eyes caught a wriggling presence in the bottom of his pink potion – a green worm, similar to the one Alustan had shared with the party back at the tower. Duke took the worm out of the healing potion and placed it quickly into one of his empty vials, but the worm clearly died within moments of leaving the liquid. All eyes turned towards Kong, who only let out a satisfying belch. Did he ingest one of the mysterious worms?
Hishka entered the chamber at that moment, thanking the heroes for their help in saving the Twisted Branch. Kaspar followed close behind. The venerable shaman then asked that they accompany him to the egg chamber as it was unlikely that it was left unguarded. The egg chamber lay beyond a submerged passage which one by one the adventurers took a deep breath and dove in. On the other side lay a clutch of lizardfolk eggs in a shallow pond, and looming over them like a leering gargoyle was a massive black egg the size of a halfling. All were surprised when hissing laughter filled the chamber followed by the sudden appearance of two young black dragons from the ceiling! Their lines of acid affected everyone and a pitched battle followed, with Kong and Drake trying to one-up each other in sheer killing power. In the end the twin black dragons fell to the combined blows of the party. Suddenly the huge black egg at the end of the chamber began to quiver and then it erupted in a mass of writhing green worms! Duke’s quick thinking sent his flaming sphere hurdling towards the mess before it could spread, and the smell from the burning green worms was like unto a skunk’s behind. It was Drake who voiced what all were thinking – Ilthane (who must be a black dragon of some age) was planning on these green worms infecting the eggs of the Twisted Branch tribe, creating an army of … whatever they created. Hishak did not like this prospect. Honoring his end of the bargain, the elder lizardfolk shaman brought forth the unconscious Marzana and thanked the heroes for their assistance.
As they left the egg chamber through the secret tunnel Ilthane used and exited out into the darkness of the Mistmarsh, Kaspar’s acute elven ears picked up the distinct sound of wings beating against the wind of the night. A wave of terror passed over the party as a massive black dragon – presumably Ilthane the Black Mother herself – swept over the Twisted Branch lair. The heroes retreated into watery cave and held their breath as fear gripped their spines like the unwelcome grasp of the grave.
Meanwhile, back in Blackwall Keep …
The stalwart Greyhawk militia stationed at Blackwall Keep were a close knit group. They didn’t see much action, as incursions from the depths of the Mistmarsh were rare since the building of the tower, but that suited most of the men just fine. Captain Keys commanded the men and all of them enjoyed a position of unending boredom if not comfort. All that changed on Sunsebb 11 when a scouting party returned to the keep bearing news of increased lizardfolk activity not too far into the swamp. Captain Keys decided to send a small scouting force deeper into the Mistmarsh to ascertain the threat, and he put Lieutenant Largo in charge of the force. They left on Sunsebb 13, and life returned to relative normality for the soldiers.
Until, eight days later, a massive force of lizardfolk erupted from the misty shadows of the marsh and assaulted Blackwall Keep. Fully half of the thirty soldiers defending the tower died in the first attack and several were kidnapped, including the keep’s resident warmage Marzana. More died as the lizardfolk sent wave after wave against the tower and the soldiers were whittled down to a force of mere seven (Captain Keys and a few peons). All hope seemed to have been lost and the brave soldiers prepared for the final assault that would end their lives. But, miraculously, a band of adventurers happened upon the keep and drove the lizardfolk away! Captain Keys knew the lizzies dragged away Marzana and several other men alive and asked that the heroes follow the retreating force into the swamp to rescue them. They agreed and left with all haste.
The day grew long and still, and Keys tried to maintain some semblance of order and duty in the wake of the horrible attack. Watches were set, and as evening descended Santos and Hammond (two peons stationed on watch) caught sight of a man stumbling out of the swamp. Horribly wounded they still identified him as Lieutenant Largo and Keys quickly had the wounded man brought inside. There, with the remaining seven soldiers gathered around, he told the tale of how he and his men were savagely attacked by a strong force of lizzies. Only he survived and thankfully some of the lizzies kept healing potions as he surely would have died without them. One of his wounds must have gotten infected, however, as he felt his strength waning, but still he managed to make his way back to Blackwall. Keys ordered Santos and Grimwald to take the wounded man downstairs to the cellar and make him comfortable while they decided upon the next course of action.
Santos and Grimwald, supporting Largo between them, carried the wounded man downstairs. No sooner had they set him down upon the cot did he begin to transform. His skin, already stretched like thin leather over his bones, grew massive pus-filled sores, and as they stood in horror they witnessed a terrible sight. Largo’s eyeballs burst, and writhing green worms erupted from the bleeding sockets and oozing sores all over his body. An inhuman screech fell from his lips as he lurched at Grimwald, clawing at him and sending green worms hopping onto the unfortunate man. Santos backed away, an action that became a full bore retreat when he witnessed Grimwald’s blade cut their former companion – and then see in the next moment the wound seal shut. Grimwald’s throat was slashed the next moment by the worm-infested zombie’s claws and he started to feast upon the fallen body.
Screaming, Santos ran to the second floor (where the rest of the soldiers were) and related what had happened in his barely understandable grasp of Common. Hammond decided right there and then that he had had enough and left fleeing into the night. Captain Keys managed to convince the rest to stay and fight the monster in the cellar and “led the way” (from the back) downstairs. They barely made it to the ground floor when they spotted Grimwald brainlessly walking into a wall. Duncan stepped forward and poked him and was immediately set upon by the zombie of Largo. Yerrel shouted a war cry to Heironeous and charged but it was too late – Duncan was cut to pieces. Santos, Walton, and Keys decided frontal assault was a bad idea and they retreated to the second floor and closed the door. One of the green worms pierced Yerrel’s flesh and crawled along his insides, wriggling towards his brain. The zombies left him alone as he ran upstairs and pounded on the door to be let in. Moments later the worm reached his brain and all sanity fled from poor Yerrel. Wisely, Santos and Walton decided NOT to open the door for their once companion (Keys was cowering in the corner in the fetal position). All they could was hope the zombies weren’t strong enough to break down their makeshift barrier …
Session Updates
Whew! Good session. Quick update – next Thursday is Thanksgiving, so no session on Thursday. But maybe on Wednesday …? Let me know what y’all think of that.
XP Recap
5th-level Characters 6,000
6th-level Characters 3,000
7th-level Characters 1,500
‘Till then, Game On!
“Weird” Dave Olson
Dragonfyre Gaming Association
weird.dave.dfga@gmail.com
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