Campaign: Dominion of Adventure 11/5/2023

Before we begin the tale we will take a moment, in true Tolkein style to include a song with at best vague links to what’s happening in the main narrative.

Fey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the Warlock,
A mutant cow flew over the moon;
The little horse laughed
To see such sport,
And the gish ran away with a boom.

There, now we’ve got that out of our systems….

Luther looked round wildly and realised he was about to be trapped by the encirling horde, calling out a hurried apology to his allies he summoned dark tendrils of energy which latched on to friend and foe alike and held them in place while he scampered away from the immediate threats. Shrugging off the eldritch tendrils wracking his body Gregg used his magic to save Sylas and then braced himself to defend himself against the zombies closing in on him, the hulking beast bludgeoned Sylas back to the ground in a flurry of blows. Outside Iivan was trying use his speed to evade the worst of the punishment coming his way, stabbing at the cow beast with his trusty shortsword, at his shoulder Navarro put his faith in Helm and his armour and tried to deflect the cow rider’s attacks with his shield, his counter thrust disembowling it’s mount and leaving it slumped on the floor. Across the street Gunnar grunted as he was caught by the scythe wielded by his foes but threw himself at his attacked with reckless abandon, shrugging off the lingering effects of the poison and slashing the mutated cow open in a spray of poisonous milk. Hamlet did his best to keep Gunnar between him and the larger mutants but steadfastly refused to run from the fight – unleashing beams of pure force to slam into his foes. Seeing Sylas fall again Dorian placed a magical ward on the fallen warrior to protect him before using his divine powers to bring him back from the brink of death.

A crash of thunder errupted from Luther and blasted one of the mindless creatures apart in a spray of gore, Greg summoned flames beneath another filling the air with the stink of charred flesh – a haze had formed around the druid, the tiny particles seemed to choke another of the mutants closing in behind him but the creatures pressed their attack, landing blows on many of the party in a whirling melee. Facing off against one of the armoured cow riders and a hulking mutant Gunnar span and hacked down a smaller mutant in an attempt to alliviate some of the pressure on his fellows but knew it would leave him wide open for a counter. Iivan cursing his companion’s disregard for stealth unslung his new blunderbuss and blasted a cone of shrapnel into the fray shredding the back of the rider advancing on Gunnar. Inside the guardpost Sylas was still locked in combat with the large mutant, landing a slashing blow but the thing leered at him and kept coming. Navarro duelled with the dismounted rider across the street from the others, his well honed technique letting inside his opponent’s guard to score another ragged wound across it’s body. Hamlet was screaming something to Kevin and sending blasts of magical power into the surrounding mutants as he ducked and weaved as best he could while Dorian cast another healing spell on Gregg and maintained his own defensive stance.

With the mutants closing in on all sides the party were fighting for their very survival now, Luther and Hamlet desperately tried to make their way back to the entrance to the church, hoping Father Ted might be able to come to their allies aid. Sylas was beaten back down to the floor under the crushing weight of blows from his opponent, Gregg also fell to the savage attacks of the corrupted and Gunnar was wounded yet again but remained standing….just. His counter attacks were slow and clumsy, the poison in his blood finally beginning to overcome his fearsome constitution but Iivan was able to find his mark again unleashing a storm of lead on the horde before moving swiftly back out of danger to reload. Navarro noticed the tattered remains of a knightly order on the rider he was battling, incensed that a noble warrior had fallen to this foul plague he cut the man down

“You are no knight” he whispered to the former warrior as he stabbed him through the chest, with his opponent down Navarro looked around and was torn between helping protect his squire and joining the fight swirling around Gunnar. Dorian again drew on his magical reserves to heal his companions but the constant drain on him was taking a visible toll now too.

Having scrambled clear Luther was able to heal Gregg before shooting a dark beam of energy into one of the beasts attacking Gunnar, Gregg staggered unsteadily back to his feet but was almost immediately cut down again by the feral beasts surrounding him. Sylas’ breif reprieve was also cut short when he was once more beaten to the floor again. Gunnar suffered yet more punishment from his attackers, but he managed to shake off the worst of the poison’s effects and managed to land a blow of the larger mutant facing him. Iivan unleashed his blunderbus again, the shrapnel shredding another 3 of the smaller mutants into mincemeat as Navarro charged in and finished off the other cow rider attacking Gunnar. Hamlet used his eldritch powers to destroy another of the mutants from afar while Dorian once more healed Sylas before unleashing holy fire against the hulking creature bludgeoning Gunnar.

Luther eyed the situation and began edging closer to the fight, as a mutant reared up in front of his the bard snapped his fingers and a peal of echoing thunder rattled the surrounding windows, the reverberations cascading and amplifying themselves within the body of the creature until it hit a key resonance and the beast exploded into motes of dust – utterly obliterated by the spells power. Luther’s face split into a satisfied grin and he turned to Hamlet, only to see the man dragged down to the floor under another of the ferals, it’s jaws snapping at his defenceless body. Gunnar reared and tried to hack down the creature between himself an his fallen comrade but yet again the dizzying effects of the poison made his blows slow and clumsy and he was unable to score a telling blow. Iivan and Sylas also tried to reach Hamlet but were also frustrated in their attempts to cut their way through the horde.

“Liuetenant! This is no time for rest!” bellowed Navarro as he cut down the mutant and placed his hand on the warlock’s chest, a pulse of Helm’s holy light flashed for an instant and Hamlet’s eyes flicked open and he began panting for breath – he raised his arm shakily and took aim at another of the creatures but his brush with death had clearly left him reeling and he blasted chunks of masonry from a nearby house instead of his intented mark.

“That’s the spirit” cried Navarro slapping the dazed warlock heavily on the shoulder and nearly sending him back to the floor with the force, before he moved to rejoin the fray

“Kevin…what happened?” gasped Hamlet to himself, though no one else heard anything he could hear Kevin’s voice in his head laughing mockingly at him.

“No time for questions either” called Dorian and he thudded past Hamlet to hurl divine flames at another of the creatures assailing them.

Luther was keening a strange screeching battle song as he unleashed blasts of dark energy from his hands, Gregg still badly hurt gestured at one of the mutants and engulfed it in flames before the horde moved in on them again. Sylas was cut down yet again by the brutish creature he was facing in the guardhouse and the creatures also landed blows on Dorian and Navarro. Gunnar roared in frustration and finally shook off the poison’s malaise to cut down a mutant before spinning and hacking at the larger beast attacking him. Abandoning his firearms Iivan slotted a bolt into his crossbow and aimed at the melee, a feathered shaft slamming home into the shoulder of one of the creatures as the Drow grinned with satisfaction and slotted another quarrel into his weapon. Navarro rallied and chopped his sword in sweeping arcs to slash at his opponent before Hamlet hauled himself back to his feet and blasted one of the larger beasts, the beams of power slamming home and finally sending the beast crashing to the floor dead. Seeing Sylas once again at his opponent’s mercy Dorian reached out a hand and sent healing magic to aid the fallen warrior.

The air was split by the sounds of a bell tolling, and Dorian looked over to see Luther marking another of the mutants for death, Gregg reached out towards another creature and barbed vines flew from his hand to snare his target but he was unable to haul the creature into the magical flames between them. The last of the creatures stalking Sylas crashed into him, cutting him down again before Gunnar charged to his aid, cutting the beast down finally with a grunt of satisfaction. Dorian rushed forward and pushed Gunnar aside so he could tend to Sylas’ wounds as the others gathered around, Navarro and Iivan keeping a careful watch on the streets for signs of any more of the creatures approaching.

“We need to get off the steets” urged Luther eyeing the entrance to the cellar where Father Ted and his fellow survivors were sheltering

“We wouldn’t need to worry if you lot had just stayed quiet and followed the plan” muttered Iivan, his eyes still scanning the buildings behind them

“There’s bound to be more of them out there, and no way they won’t have heard that fight” agreed Gunnar wincing as Dorian took care of his wounds

“Scout, go – find us a safe route through the city” said Navarro gesturing to Iivan but Sylas raised his battered hand and offered to send his familiar to check the surrounding area for them. Sylas grabbed some of the ashes left by the mutants burned in the fight and mixed it with some pungent smelling powders from his pack, he lit the small pile and muttered some arcane invocation and the whisps of smoke from the fire rose and swirled, blending to form the outline of an owl. With a final arcane command Sylas completed the spell and the owl flashed into existence and flew off over the rooftops, Sylas sat on the floor and his eyes glazed over as he reached out and began to see through the magical animals eyes, relaying what he saw to the others they learned that there were indeed many other hordes roaming the city and many of these had been drawn to the noise of battle and were heading their way – he also noted a large building that appeared to be some kind of armoury….Iivan and Navarro debated making a dash for that but the others were reluctant to stray so far from the direct path to their goal. Instead Sylas sent his pet screeching over the heads of the nearest groups of mutants and tried to lead them away from the party.

Using the time wisely Gregg cast a spell which deadened the sound the party made to aid their ability to sneak through the city undetected while Dorian used more of Helm’s power to heal the party members most in need before they set off.

“Better late than never” grumbled Iivan when he saw the effect of the Druid’s spell on his more heavily armoured companions normally noisier progress before he turned and flitted into the darkness to scout the path ahead. The others followed him at intervals, trying to keep the person in front in sight through the swirling mists that seemed to have enveloped the city streets and wreatherd everything in a dim haze. Gunnar let the others follow in turn before moving silently after them, his senses straining to hear any sounds of pursuit from behind. Ahead of the barbarian Iivan had found a relatively intact building, the sign hanging askew on the linten suggested it might be an apothecary.

“Potions?” he whispered to Navarro nodding towards the building

“A good find scout, it’s tempting but we don’t know what’s in there” replied the knight with a surprising restraint, the others gradually caught up with them and debated the merits of trying to investigate the building further when Gunnar barrelled into the back of Gregg

“Why have you stopped, there’s more of those things following us!” he whispered urgently, before turning to peer back through the misty street he’d come down

Iivan nodded and lead the way and the others followed, trying to emulate the Drow’s stealthy progress as best they could

“Look at that” hissed Hamlet as he passed the apocatharys window, inside was another of the huge creatures they’d faced in the sewers slowly feeding on the remains of the store owner and his wares. Several of the party offered thanks to Helm that they hadn’t tried to search the building as they saw what had been lurking within.

Their passage across the city was punctuated by many tense moments as they sprinted across open areas and used the all encompassing miasma to try and avoid groups of mutants shambling around the wreckage of their once prosperous town. The true horror of the corruption became evident as they passed a tavern, taking a moment to peek in through the windows in the hope of finding survivors they witnessed a purple hued worm devouring the poor souls who had sought shelter there – Iivan shuddered in fear, his people were all too familiar with these creatures and their propensity for snatching victims in the Underdark. Eventually they reached the edge of the city and saw a huge pile of corpses laid against the inside of one of the city walls

“It’s like a ramp for them to reach the army outside” whispered Luther in horrified awe as he stepped carefully around the still twitching bodies

“Someone will pay for this” agreed Navarro with grim determination, his sensibilities incensed at the misery inflicted on these innocents

They picked their way past the pile in silence, each following in the steps of the person ahead of them Iivan pointing out places to avoid as he went to aid those behind him. Gregg couldn’t take his gaze from the horror, this affront to nature’s order weighing heavily on his mind he shook his head and moved on. A large hand grabbed his arm and hauled him backwards, he spun in alarm to see Gunnar, his finger pressed to his lips before pointing to the floor – Gregg realised with a jolt that where he had been about to stand a mutated arm was grasping blindly for his ankle. Leaping over the searching limb carefully he shuddered and and continued on his way, the barbarian following closely behind to steady him.

They had gathered in the shelter of an alley while Iivan and Navarro debated which direction to take when Luther spotted a familiar figure casually walking along the street before casually leaning against a door a few hundred feet away and gesturing to the building

“I think we need to go there” said Luther, pointing to the building Fayd had marked and earning a facetious and silent round of applause from the shade before it stepped through the closed door and vanished from his sight

“What makes you think that’s where we need to go Squire?” queried Navarro

“Just a hunch” replied the bard evasively, but with no better ideas Navarro nodded and they crept along the street and made their way inside. The room they entered was well apppointed and seemingly intact despite the fall of the city. Hamlet groaned and threw himself down onto a couch, his cat Keving appearing and hopping up to lay on him as the others spread out to look for any signs of Dr Kleinberg and his research. Gunnar and Navarro began examining the rows of bookshelves coverig the walls, the latter no doubt in search of illustrated books of anatomy. Dorian and the others headed upstairs and discovered something far stranger. A magical barrier barred the entrance to one of the bedrooms upstairs, with the room was what was once a young man – likely Dr Kleinberg’s son Rupert chained to the bed. As he noticed the party peering at him he began to thrash and pull at his bonds, jaws snapping as he struggled to reach them.

Dorian made the sign of Helm again “No one touches him or the barrier til we can speak to the Doctor” he told the others before moving on to the other door he could see leading off the landing.

He located what seemed to be the Dr’s office and on the large table was a thick ledger filled with notes. Poring over the Dr’s handwritten notes Dorian began to piece together the story of what had happened, after Rupert had been infected the Dr had noted a growing addicition to the Necrodurlium mineral. This in turn began to change Rupert both physically and mentally and led the Doctor to imprison him in the room to protect himself and others. At this point the journal entries began to take a darker, frantic tone as the Doctor relayed the various treatments and magics he had employed to no avail and his need to cure his son driving him to seek more drastic solutions…veiled hints about a secret laboratory and the cruel and unthinkable experiments he had conducted there. Grabbing the book and tucking it away Dorian told the others to search for a cellar or hidden door. As they went about tapping on walls and the floorboards it was once again Luther that was able to locate the entrance – with more than a little help from the ghostly shape of Fayd which only he….and perhaps Hamlet’s strange cat Kevin could see.

They descended into the cellar and were immediately hit by the stench of death and decay, unsheathing their weapons they crept forward until they reached a larger space – the hidden laboratory the journal had made mention of. Chained to the walls and tables scattered around the blood splattered floor were…patients or perhaps victims of the good Doctor. Men, women – even those clearly carrying babies withim them had all been imprisoned here and used by the Dr in his search for a cure, Iivan baulked at the sight and nearly threw up before turning to leave. Gunnar and the others followed his lead leaving only Dorian, Hamlet and Navarro to endure the horror. Dorian searched for further clues while Navarro delivered a merciful quietus to the mewling victims to release them from their nightmare, Hamlet was drawn to a box of what seemed to be refined Necrodurlium, reaching out a hand as if in a trance he picked up some of the material and ate it, it burned it’s way down his throat and into his stomach. He couldn’t explain why he had done that but in some way he felt more powerful from ingesting the substance. Dorian managed to recover a scroll which seemed to be a spell which could slow or stall the progress of the Blight, while not a cure it showed that, despite the man’s methods Dr Kleinberg had indeed been close to finding a cure. Further searching also revealed that the Doctor had decided to go to the castle which loomed over the town. Satisfied there was nothing more to learn in this charnel house they headed back upstairs to the others to plan their next move.