The Borderland Crusade 004

Within are to be writ the tales of daring and adventure of those who have placed themselves on the path of glory. Share your exploits with other Castlers & Crusaders!
Post Reply
RedJack
Skobbit
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:38 am

The Borderland Crusade 004

Post by RedJack »

The Borderland Crusade
Session Log 004
Game Date: 20160416
Mystara Date: Yarthmont : Lunadain 01-Tserdain 03 1000AC
Lunar Phase: New Moon
Party Members in attendance:
Esa Human Free-Booter
Huey: Human Ranger/Ovate of Ahto
Alaric Human Paladin of Ukko
Pa-Gha Minotaur Wizard

Story:
After the Current party returned to Threshold with the Bell, Vorkhil instructed them to take some time off and get ready for the next mission. Huey had decided to shop for a new wardrobe and armor, while Alaric attended to more spiritual matters in his church, devoting his time to alms giving and prayer to Ukko, in gratitude for surviving his first true test as a paladin. In the mean time, Esa disappeared into the nearby taverns to indulge in the great past time o carousal and hedonistic excess.
Pa-Gha, on the other hand, returned to the Mage's guild where he assisted in the identification of the Bell of Chardastes' properties and possible origins. The head masters were able to determine that the Bell was a conduit for the powers of the god Hiisi and Tuonetar (God of Evil and the Goddess of the underworld specifically) which not only allowed the wielder to summon a significant number of Shadows, when struck (even by accident) it also summoned Gargoyles when struck with deliberate intent. Later research indicated that Chardastes did assist in repelling the Thyatian invasion of Threshold using the bell, however it was later made clear that SHE was a priestess in the service of Tuonetar and Tuoni (Tuonetar's Husband and God of the Underworld) who wished to conquer Threshold for her own nefarious reasons. Her participation in the defense of Threshold ended when she was later summoned to the underworld by her Goddess to enter into her service in the plane of Pandemonium, never to be seen again. The Bell however remained kept in seclusion by the Church of Traladar and later the Church of Karameikos until it was stolen by Elwyn and her minions.
It was then that the Wizards returned the bell to the Church of Karameikos for safe keeping.

Mission 002: The Zombie Plague of Table Mountain
Journey to the Crystal Shore Hamlet:
The party was finally summoned by Vorkhil, who informed the party that there have been complaints in the northern fishing district of Crystal Shores of a sickness sweeping through the fishing village. Given that this is a significant resource for the City of threshold, The party was instructed to find the source of this sickness and deal with it as quickly as possible. The group left immediately making their way to Crystal Shore, where they met the Hershel Gobinmeyer, a Druid who cared for the crops and provided the medical needs of the villagers along with Wider Veldar, Priestess of Ahto, the sea lord.

After they greeted the party, they explained that several villagers had been complaining of a debilitating sickness. Two victims of the disease had become Zombies which were dealt with by the blacksmith and the town guards. It was determined that the source of the infection, was from their water supply which was carried by Aqueduct from the near by village of Flat Mountain. Given the obvious Magical Nature of the disease, access to the water from the aqueduct was banned, however the nearby lake and river, while potable required extra effort to procure as well as the need to boil large amounts fairly quickly. The aqueduct also provided some revenue for Flat mountain since they were the ones who maintained the water supply and transit.
Hershel also advised the party that travel to Flat mountain was difficult due to the rough terrain and wild animals that still lived in the area. They also mentioned that another group of adventurers had passed by two weeks prior to the first incident of the outbreak. The prior group were headed to Flat-Mountain, which was built around an ancient ruined castle which the Aqueduct was built around. Herschel remarked that their cleric did seem rather strange in his behavior.
The party thanked Herchel and Priestess Veldar for their information and immediately set forth to the southern village. Huey had used his Ranger skills to navigate some interactions with the local wild life including migrating wolf packs and deer herds until they managed to find their way to the village.
Flat-Mountain Hamlet
The air itself seemed to hang heavily over the area as silence dominated the land scape. They were not confronted by the local militia or anyone when they approached a local farm house on the outskirts They then approached stealthily on the living quarters of the hired help and entered to find the lone farm hand beaten to death to the point where his features were fairly unrecognizable. Huey then scouted ahead to the main farm house where he then discovered the family of three had become Zombies. Having spotted the Ranger, they attacked, just as Huey summoned his comrades for help. The battle was joined, when Pa-Gha entered the domicile attempting to strike the Mindless undead with his staff, The Zombie evaded the attack and truck the Minotaur wizard with a solid blow, which surprised him. The party joined in the attack and finally dispatched the zombies before making their way to the local tailor shop.
They continued on the cautious approach, peering through open windows, where they discovered two zombified humans (The tailor and his wife) they dispatched them shooting arrows through the windows, and later they found the Couple's children also affected by the disease, and used the same tactics in dispatching their parents.
The group decided to double back towards the road, when they passed by an inn titled “The Dancing Skeleton”. Esa noticed a pair of waitresses holding mugs in their hands standing behind the bar. Suddenly, he was seized with the need to imbibe alcohol. He recklessly charged in past the party, through the door and attempted to tumble over the bar and past the zombified wenches, only to land flat on his back with a solid THUD.
Huey and Pa-Gha reacted quickly, the ranger loosed an arrow while the Minotaur fired a Magic Missile, blasting one undead wench, while Esa was struck by the zombie as he rose to his feet. The party entered the building quickly, only to be surprised by two more undead former patrons lumbering forward. They were finally dispatched when Alaric suggested that given the injuries the groups sustained, that they return to Crystal Shores to stock up on some healing supplies and report what they had seen so far to Herschel and Priestess Veldar.
Back to Crystal Shores:
Herschel and Wider were rather surprised to see the party return with injuries so soon. The party informed the two clergy members that they discovered that the members of the village had been turned into zombies, and that they require some healing and medical supplies. Priestess Veldar gave a small amount of supplies she had available. Once the party was cured of their injuries, an alarm was raised in the Hamlet that the local in was infested with undead. The party ran quickly to find that some of the stronger villagers were holding the door of the inn shut as zombies pounded on the door. Huey, Esa and Alaric drew their weapons and motioned for the villagers to release the door.
They flew open as three animated corpses lurched forward to attack the party. They quickly cut two down but had trouble dealing with the third who proved to be more nimble than expected. Pa-Gha, aggravated with the slow pace of the battle, stomped his Hoof several times, warning the party members to get out of the way. He roared and barrelled into the zombie goring her severely and knocking her onto the ground, several feet away, which gave Alaric the opportunity to dispatch it quickly.
The villagers were grateful for the party's assistance and allowed the group to stay at the town as guests before returning to Flat mountain.
During this period, Alaraic proffered a suggestion that perhaps the villagers were becoming Zombies due to a disease of some kind in a manner similar to influenza or a plague. Pa-Gha derided the paladin's idea, stating that zombies and skeletons are similar to constructs, mindless corpses which must be specifically prepared and enchanted through specific spells like Animate Dead. That while this sickness did result in the victims becoming zombies, there has never been an instance of even a magical disease having this effect. Taken somewhat aback by the Minotaur’s gruff refutation, Alaric acquiesced and went to sleep.

Return to Flat Mountain:
The next morning, the party left early to flat mountain and encountered first, a solitary zombie, and later, a zombified wolf before finally arriving at the eerily silent hamlet. They quickly decided to enter the ruined castle and Aqueduct source In an effort to find clues about the previous party, and the source of the infection. They traveled to the top of the mountain, discovering a large ruined castle burned and toppled over in several sections. It appeared to be the site of an ancient battle, built above the aqueducts which seemed to have originally part of the castle's design. In the center of the ruin's complex, a set of stairs descended into the mountain and turned into a corridor. Within the first room they encountered a large room which was caved in the center of the 60' by 40' chamber. It led to another room which apparently served as some kind of barracks for troops. The section was covered with debris and web which were created by spiders the size of goblins which moved to attack the party. The minotaur Wizard shook his head and impacted one spider than another with magic missiles while Alaric and Esa dispatched the other spiders fairly quickly. Alaric, however was poisoned and gained some weakness from the spider bite.
They traveled to another room, which one time served as an armory. They were surprised to discover a large worm-like creature with tentacles surrounding it's mouth. Realizing it was a dreaded Corpse worm. The party attacked it at a distance with arrows and Magic missiles before it's paralyzing tentacles could attach themselves to the nearest member. With the Armory conquered, the stalwart heroes prepared to explore the remainder of the cavern, prepared for the worst fate had to offer!

User avatar
joneshoward
Mist Elf
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:37 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: The Borderland Crusade 004

Post by joneshoward »

Cool -- I enjoyed the details you included. I particularly liked the moment where the minotaur stamped a warning.
"Who dies first?"
--Conan, "The Phoenix on the Sword"

http://www.howardandrewjones.com

Post Reply