Campaign: Dominion of Adventure 15/6/2023

Note – due to real life committments Sylas was unable to continue this fight and Iivan replaced him at the start of the combat

Having been half digested by the huge mutant Hamlet was crawling slowly away from it hoping it wouldn’t notice him, Navarro watched as he grabbed a handful of earth and stuffed it into his mouth before vanishing – only to reappear a moment later 30 ft away….but even at that distance the Paladin could tell something was wrong. Very wrong, Hamlet appeared to have mutated into some kind of part man part fish creature…and unluckily for it it seemed that it was the fish parts trying to so the breathing, Navarro watched as the striken man gasped and clutched at his throat in confusion terror writ large on his new unblinking piscine eyes. Unable to reach the beleagured warlock Navarro turned his attention to the huge creature in front of him, landing mighty blows and smiting the foul amalgam of mutant corpses with Helm’s might. As he did so one of the winged gargoyle mutants swooped down and carried the still suffocating Hamlet up to a lofty perch on the ruined keep’s walls to feast. Gregg was caught by a tentacle that snaked out of the shambling creature and was dragged towards it, but thankfully Dorian was able to slam their mace down onto the appendage and it released the druid before he could be absorbed by the horrorific thing. Gunnar and Iivan suffered blows from the armoured knight like mutants they were battling on the left flank. Not done aiding his companions Dorian then channeled his aura of vitality to heal Gunnar before using using their magic to heal Gregg who was still prone on the ground where the tentacle had left him, the druid staggered to his feet and prepared to evade any further attacks sent his way, relying on his powerful moon beam to inflict more damage on the large creature. Luther dashed across the open ground until he was able to pick out a glimpse of Hamlet on the walls above, and was able to land a healing spell on him that returned him to consiousness while Gunnar managed to find a chink in the armour of his foe and injure it. Looming above the fight the tower they had entered the castle from creaked as the stones adjusted to the damage caused by the powerful acid the corpse pile has spewed on it’s base.

Iivan slid his dagger into a chink in the armour of the hulking brute before him, the blade’s magic killing the beast outright and draining some of it’s life force to heal the drow who turned to Gunnar “See, I’ve done my bit” and scampered off with a grin. Hamlet drew on the corrupt power of the strange mineral he’d injested and teleported away from the gargoyle trying to eat him, bursting back into reality with pallid skin and missing his nose, lips and ears and scrabbled with the stopper on one of his stash of potions and drank deep of the vial. Navarro hacked away at the huge creature crashing through the courtyard devouring or absorbing more of the hapless lesser mutants being herded towards it. Lashing out again with it’s tentacle it tried to grab Dorian but Gregg was able to blast it with magic and save the cleric from being dragged into the creature. Swooping in from above a gargoyle raked it’s talons at Gregg while a flock of four descended on Iivan who found himself isolated from the rest of the party. Dorian reached out a hand and healed Navarro before clambering back to their feet and preparing to evade anymore attacks while Gregg shifted the focus of his moonbeam to keep the large mutant in it’s baleful light. The courtyard rang to the sound of a solemn bell as Luther used his magic to attack the remaining knight fighting Gunnar before the barbarian unleashed a flurry of slashing cuts with his sword, dismembering the mutant before it could hit the ground. The tower behind them creaked alarmingly, drowning out even the sounds of combat for a moment but remained standing.

Beset by flying mutants Iivan skipped between his tormentors and pounded towards the biggest mutant pursued by the winged nightmares shrieking in rage at his heels, screaming in horror either at his new face or the conviction that everything he could see was a threat Hamlet began blasting wildly with his dark powers. Navarro once more drew on Helm’s power to smite the huge mutant corpse pile which in turn tried once more to lash Dorian with it’s tentacle but the Dwarf slipped aside at the last moment, Gregg’s moonbeam finished off another two mutants before the corpse pile could absorb them into it’s mass and both Navarro and Iivan evaded the attacks aimed at them with skillful dodging. Dorian healed Gregg with his aura of vitality before calling on Helm to heal themselves as Gregg transformed into his strange symbiotic form. Luther called out words of encouragement to Gunnar before blasting a lance of power at the gargoyles attacking Iivan before Gunnar charged into combat alongside Navarro – his sword flaring with power and healing Gregg even further. The tower gave another rumble but aside from a light fall of dusty old mortar nothing else seemed to happen.

Outnumbered four to one, Iivan focused on maintaining his defence “Let’s stick together guys!” he called out hopefully after missing his counterthrust, Hamlet didn’t heed him though – hearing his cry for aid as a monstrous roar from another of the creatures hunting him and continued to run for some kind of safety as he laid about himself with eldritch blasts. A string of Vilmean curses announced to the world that Navarro had missed his mark, and the corpse pile shifted it’s weight and grabbed Dorian with it’s tentacle, dragging the cleric across the ground and enveloping them with it’s body. Gregg’s new form emitted a burst of spores that thickened the air and choked one of the closer gargoyles but the others pounced on his back and drove him down to the ground. Inside the belly of the beast Dorian tried to remain calm and focused on healing themselves before trying to free himself before it could digest them any further. Luther seeing Gregg fall used his magic to heal him then unleashed more arcane blasts against the gargoyles before Gunnar hewed at the corpse pile in a frenzied assault in an effort to save Dorian.

Iivan and Hamlet both were unable to land telling blows, though in Hamlet’s case that could have been a blessing in disguise as he still could not differentiate between friend or foe. Navarro slashed with his sword and tore a rent in the corpse pile’s gut, allowing Dorian to spill out riding a wave of gore

“Thanks!” they gasped then healed Navarro for his troubles, ducking instictively as a rush of wind signalled the arrival of more gargoyles swooping in to attack Luther and the huge creature looming over them all crashed Gunnar to the floor with a powerful limb. Seeing no other course of action Gregg eyed the tower looming over them all

“I’m going to try and bring the tower down on the big one – be ready to run” he called to his striken comrades

Shaken, Luther summoned dark tentacles to engulf the gargoyles attacking him, snaring and killing three of the winged mutants before he scampared away from the last one as Gunnar raged and landed another devastating blow against the corpse pile mutant. Gregg eyed the towert carefully looking for the best point to attack to bring it crashing down on their foes when he noticed a skitter of stones fall from the weakened walls, watching in horrified slow motion he realised the building was coming down without any aid from him….and it was falling directly towards him

“Fuck” he managed to blurt out by way of warning before he, along with the gargoyles he was battling were buried under a tsunami of broken stones and masonry in thunderous cacaphony that shook the very ground under their feet like an earthqake

Seeing Gregg crushed filled Hamlet with elation, for as far as he could tell the tower’s collapse had crushed several slathering monsters which had been hunting him and he pulled out another of his seemingly endless supply of potions to toast the occaision. Iivan and Navarro both ignored the fallen tower to keep up their assault on the corpse pile beast, both wounding it to add to the damage caused by Gunnar and finally they seemed to have done something serious as it began to lumber away from the trio of warriors attacking it. In it’s desperation it spewed another wave of acidic bile from it’s guts, melting several winged mutants and three of the armoured warriors that had been feeding it fresh victims, many of the renegades were also caught in the blast but only Iivan succumbed dropping unconsious from the pain as he frantically tried to get the corrosive muck off his skin and clothing. Dorian was on hand to heal him and bring him back from the brink of death, but the cleric’s attentions were focused on the pile of rubble and he rushed forward trying to find his fallen comrade Gregg. Sensing the beast’s weakness Gunnar launched another reckless attack, finally managing to drive his sword deep into the beast and end what passed for it’s life, lungs billowing the half orc watched as the creature seemed to split back into it’s component parts as limbs and corpses slithered down around him.

Iivan repaid Luther for his aid earlier by sighting down his gun’s sight for a moment before dispatching the gargoyle still harassing the young bard with a single shot through the skull. Hamlet seeing his allies as threats panicked and began to sprint across the courtyard towards a set of stone steps leading down, perhaps he could wait out of sight for these monsters to leave? Alas, it seemed one of the foul beasts had spotted him and was giving chase!

“Liutenant! Stop! Get back here!” bellowed Navarro as he pounded across the courtyard after his trusty ally, ignoring the threat of the remaining few gargoyles confident that the others could deal with them while he tried to save Hamlet from himself. Back at the remains of the fallen tower, Dorian thought he had figured out where Gregg lay buried and began to dig frantically among the stones. Luther contined to blast at the remaining mutants while Gunnar sprinted to help Dorian rescue Gregg.

Iivan still moving at supernatural speed thanks to his magical boots dashed after Hamlet calling out to him that the fight was over, but the warlock fled down the steps and out of sight. Seeing that Iivan was following Hamlet Navarro gave up his own pursuit and turned back to try and help dig Gregg’s body out of the rubble. Luther, not built for heavy lifting instead tried to play a tune to lift his friend’s spirits as they worked. Gunnar found himself humming along before breaking into a sotto voiced chant “I am a dwarf and I’m digging a hole, diggy diggy hole….diggy diggy hole” he stopped as he heaved aside another huge masonry block and uncovered a patch of Gregg’s tattered clothing. Navarro took one look at the mangled body and knelt, making the sign of Helm he began muttering a prayer that Helm would guide Gregg’s spirit to whatever heaven he’d believed in, ignoring the paladin’s mourning Dorian helped Gunnar free the rest of the body from the rubble before pulling a diamond from his pack and beseeching Helm for aid – the magic coursed out of him and Gregg’s wounds began to heal – his eyelids flicked open and he drew a breath to scream before Dorian placed a hand on his chest

“Welcome back to the world of the living my friend” the dwarf said softly grinning down at the battered man.

“We need to find somewhere to heal up, come on” said Luther, shattering the moment

Across the courtyard Iivan was stood by a set of steps beckoning to them, gathering themselves the Renegades headed towards him.