Chronicles of Essenon: Blood on Snow-updated 4/12

[Tsillanabor]

I posted this before the crash, but it was lost. I've done some editing so that (hopefully) it will be a bit more interesting to read. More will come as I edit it.

From Versi’s Guide to Unusual Places in the Prime Material Plane

The world of Essenon is to the best of my knowledge unique. The vast majority of worlds in the Prime are spherical in shape. They tend to orbit around a sun, and often possess moons. Essenon’s sun is entirely encapsulated by a gigantic sphere, and the inhabitants live upon the inside of said sphere.

The inside surface is divided into roughly hexagonal areas approximately 400 miles across, bordered by high mountains. Adjacent hexes may have wildly different terrain, climate, and inhabitants. A vast river known as the Essena River winds slowly through many of these hexes, occasionally travelling underground through vast caverns. The world is easily billions of square miles in area, and its population must be incalculable.

The sun does not set of course. Instead, it dims to the approximate level of moonlight to produce nightfall.

The entire world seems artificial, and I wonder as to the purpose of its creation, as well as marvel at said being’s power!




Group:
Shinta the Worst (2 level elf swashbuckler)
Mard (2 level dwarf barbarian)
Draconis (1/1 level orc Ranger/Sorcerer)
Cliona (2 level elf wizard)

Part of the group had a past with one of the royal families. The evil
usurpers had been sending assassins after the group, so they decided
to leave the area of the world they were in. In the lower reaches of
the mountains they realized that they could not possibly get through
before winter set in. Coming across a river trading town called
Frostmoot they decided to winter there. They met the rest of the group
in a cheap tavern/lodging house near the docks. There were also
several NPC characters/replacements in case of PC death. They consist
of:

Girzim (gnome cleric 2 of the Tah'list, twin gods of healing and
guardians of the dead)
Zathas (warlock/monk 1/1-note that I allow monks to multiclass and
Warlocks have no alignment restrictions-I only hold to alignment
restriction in a few cases)
Eoghan (elf rogue 2)
Bokin (half black dragon Kobold fighter 2) The LA makes him ECL 5 but
this is somewhat offset by kobold weakness and the fact that I love
half dragon kobolds

Extract from From Angelheim to Scar Peak-the Travelling Journals of Tokin the Purple Wanderer

Frostmoot
The Westernmost city of the Silver Alliance is known as Frostmoot. It is located in the lower reaches of the Realm’s Barrier Mountains on the Great River, a few miles downstream from where it emerges from the mountains. It is the primary human trading point with the dwarves of Kar Gunnveld. It is also the home of the Silver Alliance’s largest Mage Guild.

The city is situated on the north bank of the river on a small alluvial plain. The city wall restricts access from the plain, which consists mostly of farmland. Within the city are three other walled areas.

The Inner City is the site of the original castle, which has become the Duke’s palace. Many of the city’s wealthiest citizens also make their homes within this wall.

The Wizards’ Quarter is in the northwest corner of the city. It consists of the nine Colleges of Magic, towers of the mages, laboratories, and other buildings unique to the needs of spellcasters.

The Garrison is the base of operations for the city garrison, city watch, and the training area for the Duke’s Royal Guard. It consists of barracks, training areas, smithies, armories, and other necessities.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 1, evening

Mard looked deeply into his mug. It had been a long road to this town, but he felt reasonably secure that they had evaded detection by the Kingdom of Varis’ agents. It would be a boring winter holed up here, but it would be a lot easier than facing assassins every other week.

Shinta shivered and moved closer to the fire. Where she was from it did not get so bloody cold! Mard had mentioned that it would get even colder in the coming weeks. She wished that they could have made it through to somewhere warmer-not for the first time, and almost certainly not for the last.

Draconis slapped the barmaid on her ample rump, throwing her a coin for more ale. After all, he knew how to warm himself up…

Cliona studied her books, trying to grasp the intricate words and symbols that would bring magic to life. She was still had a few reservations about her uncouth travelling companions, but at least one was an elf.

The night seemed to be passing as any other. Conversation in the common room made for a constant background. The center of attention was a newly arrived group of adventurers. They consisted of a lightly armed, charismatic elf named Eoghan, a shy gnome (obviously a cleric of the Tah’list) named Girzim, an unarmed yet somehow dangerous-seeming fellow named Zathas, and a small, winged, reptilian humanoid named Bokin, who was, to Mard’s point of view, far too…perky.

The night is broken by a shrill scream. The tavern’s patrons shift nervously, looking out the grimy windows. When a second scream is heard the adventurers bolt for the door.

Outside the tavern to the south and west is a large open area used as
a fish market during the day. The carts and stalls are taken to their
places now, leaving a barren expanse of naked earth. A mist has rolled
in from the waterfront, obscuring the opposite buildings.

To the south of the building two humans are wrestling with a young
woman. They appear to be biting at her. She struggles weakly, then goes
limp. Draconis shouts at the two and they drop the woman. They turn
towards the heroes with a snarl, blood dribbling down their chins.

“Get ready!” Draconis yells as the creatures charge.

The heroes pepper the things with arrows and crossbow bolts, but they keep coming until they are cut down in close combat. The warriors marvel at how easily they are cut down by sword and axe, yet suffer little harm from arrows.

Cliona and Shinta cover Draconis and Mard as they go to check on the
woman. Before they reach her more of the creatures emerge from the
mist in every direction. Everyone fires at the creatures, but piercing
weapons do little. Cliona and Shinta are barely holding out, trying to keep a path back to the tavern open, but Draconis and Mard are being overwhelmed.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Mard shouts over the din of combat.
“I agree,” Draconis replies, “let’s break off and get back to the tavern.”

To their horror the woman that they had originally been trying to rescue
rises and joins the attack. They are in danger of being cut off from the inn, so they turn to flee. As they do so Draconis falls under the fists of the creatures. Mard scoops him up and runs as fast as he can, taking several blows in the process but not falling. The other adventurers come out to help as everyone retreats inside the inn. In his hazy state Draconis sees a creature similar to the others but much faster pursuing them.

Inside the inn the civilians are starting to panic. While Girzim offers healing to the injured, Mard realizes that they need to fortify their position.

“We need nails and hammers,” he yells.

One of the serving wenches gets some nails from the innkeeper and anyone strong enough begins to hold tables against the windows and doors while others nail them in place.

“Uh-oh,” Bokin says as a thought occurs to him, “what about the stable entrance?”

With dawning horror they realize he’s right. Draconis is first through the kitchen door, but skids to a halt as three zombies enter through the door to the stables. He leaps back through the doorway.

“Too late!” he declares.

Everyone starts trying to block the doorway and open counter, nailing boards into place as the zombies pound on the other sides, trying to break free.

“We need to get out of here before they break through,” Mard says, “let’s get upstairs and check out our options.”

The heroes pull down the stairway and go upstairs to look out the windows. They see that the inn is surrounded. Zombies pound on the walls and doors, and they worry that the wooden building will not hold. As they ponder their options a scream below warns them that the zombies are coming through. A stampede for the stairs ensues. The frail wooden structure groans under the weight and as the last people head up the hinges give. Three civilians fall to the floor. Thinking quickly, Draconis lowers his orcish double axe to the fallen and (with help) pulls them up one at a time. On the third his arms give out and the man falls. As they try again the zombies break through. The heroes try to pull him up but several zombies drag him down. The man is ripped apart before their horrified eyes quicker than they can even react.

They remember their location well. They know that the building to their west is a large stone warehouse and on the other side is a shop catering to adventurers. They decide to get to the roof of the warehouse. They chop a hole into the roof so that Bokin will have the height to glide to the warehouse roof. He glides across with one end of a rope and ties it off. Using bedding the civilians zipline across. Finally the heroes go across. As Draconis goes across he sees the fast creature emerge from the hole and glare at him. When he is across he cuts the rope to keep this seemingly intelligent zombie from following.

Much debate ensues on the nature of the zombies. The heroes have come to the conclusion that the zombie-ism is contagious. They theorize that there is some sort of hive mind, and that what one zombie sees, all of them might. They wonder if the zombies might regenerate. Heh heh heh.

They take a head count and realize there are 4 PCs, 4 NPCs, and 22 civilians to take care of. As the injured and spellcasters need rest, everyone huddles together to pass a cold night.

During the night the inn crashes to the ground.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Days 2-4

The dark figure fidgeted, glancing nervously at the powerful beings visiting his chambers.

“Everything is under control,” he said, trying to sound authoritative, “I don’t know why he feels…”

“We’re just here to…observe,” the largest said from one of his mouths.

Zombie Apocalypse Days 2-4

As the next day dawns, several of the heroes are still severely injured. Girzim prays for healing, as well as for one Hide From Undead spell. After the heroes are healed, a plan is worked out to raid the shop. As the strongest members of the group, Bokin and Draconis will be sent while the others distract the zombies to the other side of the warehouse.

Everyone, including the civilians, heads to one side of the building, yelling and shooting zombies with anything available. When the way seems clear Girzim casts Hide from Undead upon Bokin and Draconis. Bokin glides to the ground as Draconis drops down, injuring himself once again.

Moving quickly, the two move to the door, realizing it is locked. Bokin dribbles acid upon the lock, dissolving it.*

“First we need some rope and some sort of basket so the others can pull things up,” Draconis declares as Bokin looks at him like he’s an idiot.

They hurriedly rig a backpack and rope system, then begin bringing out ration packs, arrows, and crossbow bolts. Estimating their remaining time to be short, they climb the rope to safety.

For the rest of the day they take potshots at zombies. As the night chills, they realize the forgot blankets.

A conversation to plan the future begins. Hoping to get as close as they can over the rooftops, the group plans to travel to the temple sector, where they hope to find shelter upon the hallowed ground.

Later that night they are awakened by sounds of battle from the direction of the temple. The sky reddens with the glow of fires as the night wears on.

Over the next two days they clean out the store. They find armor for all of the civilians, crossbows, the entire stock of arrows and crossbow bolts, a few shields which they can upend to make fires in, tinderboxes, ropes, a collapsible ladder, oil flasks, and the entire stock of rations.

As the evening of the fourth day sets in the characters are discussing more options. They're pretty sure the temple is torched, so the new plan is to get to the waterfront and try to sail away. As they discuss this they hear something moving on the roof with them but see nothing. They begin to search by feel and hear something huge on the roof. They hear the flapping of enormous wings leaving the roof.

That night the docks burn.


*Getting to the door they didn’t want to break it down. A quick brainstorm later they ask if Bokin can use his daily breath weapon as a dribble. I decided he could.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Zombie Apocalypse Day 5

“You’re insane!”

Several of the townspeople looked over at the young noble’s outburst.

“Shut up!” Draconis hissed, “we’re trying not to start a panic here…”

Ducal Prince Ehren interrupted the orc, showing the same lack of wisdom that had seen him caught in the middle of this mess, “We’re safe here and you want us to move-that makes no sense. In case you haven’t noticed, there are zombies all over the place!”

“We don’t know how widespread this is,” Shinta says, “they might not have penetrated the inner city.”

“Exactly my point,” Ehren replied, we need to stay safe and wait for my father’s soldiers to rescue us.”

“I rather doubt that they can get to us,” Mard said, “and we need more shelter than this rooftop before winter really hits.”

“My father will risk it for me!” the prince said, “he’ll save me!”

“Perhaps,” Cliona said softly, “but he didn’t know where you were, did he? My guess is that you were-what’s the word…slumming. I bet he thinks you were somewhere else-at an uncle’s villa, perhaps? Your desire for a bit of illicit…entertainment has grouped you with us-dregs of society, every one. Do you really think that your father will be making a lot of effort to rescue dock workers and migrants?”

The prince’s face fell as he realized the truth of what Cliona said. He listened as the heroes explained their plans-everyone would carefully cross the street via a ladder bridge to the building to the north. The group would ultimately try to head towards the old section of the city where there are more stone buildings and where there might be a chance of no zombies. At the very least they should be able to hole up in an easily fortified building for the winter. The prince helped convince the people to leave the relative safety of the rooftop.

The collapsible ladder is set up between the two buildings and Bokin and Draconis cross first, readying a guide rope for those not as dexterous as themselves. One by one the civilians carefully cross as a number of zombies gather below them, apparently directed by an intelligent zombie. Most of the group gets across, but one of the civilians falls. Shinta jumps after her while Mard throws her a rope. Shinta grabs the civilian while the rest of the party tries to shoot down zombies. Mard tries to pull them up but fails. Bokin flies across to help. Shinta desperately fights off zombies but the intelligent zombie grapples her. Draconis starts back across the ladder to help
Bokin and Mard pull up Shinta and the civilian as everyone continues to fire at zombies, but slips and falls onto the ladder (whew!). Regular zombies grapple the two on the ground as the intelligent zombie begins to climb the rope. He reaches the top and attacks Mard, who is holding the rope. The zombies drag down the civilian and the intelligent zombie bites into Mard. Shinta is now being overwhelmed. Bokin and Draconis as well as fire from everyone else kill the advanced zombie, but it is too late. Shinta perishes.

The morose party stays atop their new building that night. Tears are shed for Shinta, and my poor wife takes over Bokin (he's cute in her opinion).

Day 6
The next morning Mard is feeling ill. The other heroes worry that the zombie infection has gotten him.

Three warehouses are connected, so the party goes to the northern most end to find themselves at an intersection too wide for the ladder to cross. After heated debate involving the possible use of ropes to cross the intersection, it is decided to risk a ground crossing. Chopping through the roof, everyone is lowered into the building, which turns out to be full of textiles.

Bokin, Eoghan, Draconis, and Cliona get Hide From Undead cast upon them to enable them to go ahead of the party and open the door. Eoghan picks the lock and the door is opened successfully. Cliona runs back to the other warehouse and tells all the civilians to run into their new warehouse while it is safe. Toward the end of the crowd of the civilians rushing in, a line of Zombies appears. Bokin blasts them with his acid breath and they all disintegrate to the ground. The warehouse doors are closed quickly and we find barrels of Salt Fish. Everyone rejoices at the idea of eating something other than iron rations that night. There are three other warehouses attached to the one they had chosen. Draconis hacks through the wall and found armor in the next. Upset that he didn’t find anything useful to us, Draconis slashes through the other wall. Inside of it is lots of wine, but Draconis, not satisfied with the lack of magical items (the rest are thinking that he’s an idiot by this point), chops through the other wall to find a warehouse full of ship supplies. That night everyone enjoyed wine. Mard, who was thrown in a barrel of it to hopefully eradicate the zombie infection, enjoyed it most of all.

 

[Tsillanabor]

“Where the hell are these things coming from?” Genneth cried, cutting down another zombie from the seemingly endless wave of them.

“We’ve got to escape!” Horgat said, “I just cast my last lightning bolt and…”

“Horgat!” Dianne screamed as her husband disappeared under the zombie tide. She began to fight recklessly towards him, preparing to cast a healing spell.

Genneth grabbed the tiny foot of Coris, engaging in a macabre tug of war with a zombie over his unconscious friend’s body. He was beginning to think that these zombies seemed extraordinarily powerful…

Whatever the thought would have been, it was never finished. A fast, powerful zombie clubbed him to the ground, and the horde fell upon him.

Dianne realized she was the only conscious being. She redoubled her efforts to reach her husband, hoping and praying she wouldn’t be too late. To her joy she saw him rise and turn towards her…

Zombie Apocalypse Day 7

In the morning Mard is pale and seems considerably less robust than usual. The party decides to chance a ground level run through the poor residential section until they reach the better part of town. They hope to find a secure building. They gather everyone two by two, Zathas and Bokin in the front, Girzim, Cliona, and Roger the Blacksmith in the middle, and Eoghan and Draconis are in the back. A few zombies appear in front of the party while they are running, but Bokin and Zathas take them out quickly.

Zathas gets injured, so he is sent to the middle with the civilians. Mard decides to switch him places. Mard and Bokin kill every zombie that comes their way. As the group runs through the maze of homes, a veritable horde of zombies shuffles after them. Eoghan and Draconis begin shooting arrows at the zombies and then Cliona decides they could use her help. She uses her Magic Missile and Crossbow to try to kill the chasing zombies.

When several zombies appear in front of the line some of the chasing zombies catch up. There are tense moments as the players cut their way through the undead hordes, hoping to break through before they are swarmed.

A little later the group sees an area of burned down buildings within an ornamental wall and the zombies stop in their tracks. They have reached the temple sector remains.

That night, they kill all the zombies that are standing nearby and decide that this would be the best place to sleep. While everyone is sleeping, Bokin goes scouting to see which path would be best for the group to take.

Bokin's Night Out

(Typed by the player)As everyone was calming down in their sacred ground Bokin decided to see which path would be the fastest way to get o the upper class city gates. Girzim casts Hide from Undead on him and he leaves. First he goes north to only to find a road that leads westward. There are a few back streets, but he wants to take the road leading west to find a jewelry shop (we want silver to grind down to make holy water). As he goes west he sees many different shops. The first window he looks in is a clothing shop. The second is rugs, but across the street is a money changer shop. Something caught his eye as he was thinking of breaking in the money changer shop. Diagonally across from him was a jewelry shop. He lets his acid drip on the doorknob until the door opens and he steals all the silver he can carry. When he steps outside of the shop, he runs toward the long road leading westward. That's when he sees two zombies coming his way.

What a perfect opportunity to get rid of some more zombies, he thought. With his mighty battleaxe he swings at them until they both fall to the ground. Now visible to everything, he decides he must go check out the city gates. On the way there, he sees and kills many zombies. When he reaches the gates, to his satisfaction, he only finds a few zombies wandering around. He kills a few more with his battleaxe and decides to climb a building to see if he can see over the wall to the upper class town. When he first tries this he fails and falls to the ground. Irritated that a zombie should come after him after he fell, he gets up and kills it with one heavy blow. Then he successfully climbs up the building only to see empty streets and rich houses on the other side of the gates. That's a little comforting, he thought. He glides from the rooftop to the top of the gate's wall just to make sure there are no zombies inside. Sure enough, he didn't see any. By now, a few zombies are chasing after him and he decides it would be best if he returned to the temple grounds.

As he is running down the street he stops to kill a few more zombies. Suddenly, to his surprise, he hears "Impressive little one." It was a deep dark voice and he looks around to see if there was anyone near him. Scared to death, he runs faster than what he was before. With a thud, he stops running and looks at the large creature standing in front of him. It looks like a three-headed Dragon Ogre. The Dragon Ogre grabs Bokin by his wings and mentally plays with him a little bit. Bokin asks,"are you a friend or a foe? Will you help us fight the zombies?" The Dragon Ogre replies, "I don't think so." Bokin pulls out his battleaxe and swings it at the large creature. It hits with a loud thud, and he lets go of Bokin. While running Bokin spots a sewer grate, flings it off and runs through the sewers. He hears something behind him and ducks suddenly only to see flames going over his head. Bokin quickly gets up and runs until he sees a light coming from above. Without checking, zombies being the least of his worries, he jumps out from the sewer, takes his bearings, and runs toward the temple grounds.

Along the way, he ran into a few zombies, killed them as quickly as he could, and then ran onto the temple grounds. Knowing he wasn't safe from all the evil creatures that inhabit this town, he didn't sleep very well. He also decided not to tell anyone of his adventures that night for he wanted them to get the best sleep. He would tell them in the morning.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 8

Bokin awoke from an uneasy sleep to see Mard standing at the edge of the temple area. Bokin walked up to him. Mard was unsteady on his feet, swaying slightly with the breeze. Beads of sweat dotted his pale face. His gaze was far away, wistfully set upon the mountains.

“Are you alright, Mard?” Bokin asked.

“Hm?” Mard said with a start, “I wish I could see the mountains one more time…”

“You will, Mard,” Bokin said, knowing it wasn’t true, “you’ll see. It will all turn out right in the end.”

Mard smiled sadly, “I’d better wake the others.”

Bokin tells the group that there is a Dragon Ogre running around the town. He says that it's been watching him and possibly the whole group. He also says which route is the best to take to get to the gates and that he stole silver for making holy water.

Observing the zombies milling about outside of the sacred ground, the party notices several zombies that appear to be former adventurers. Desirous of their magic items, which they can clearly detect, the party decides they want to attack the zombies and drag their bodies onto holy soil. Bokin, Draconis, Eoghan, and Zathas leave the holy ground to attack the zombies while Clione and Girzim provide cover. The zombies are easily dispatched, but then hilarity ensues as the party (except Bokin) miserably fail to drag the bodies back.* Eventually they manage it.

Dividing up the loot, Clione gets a wand of fireballs with very few charges remaining and a ring of protection +1. Girzim gets a +1 small sized heavy steel shield, a wand of cure light wounds, and a grey bag of tricks. Draconis gets a +1 axe and 2 cure moderate wounds potions. Eoghan gets a +1 longbow and 2 cure moderate wounds potions. Bokin gets a +1 small battleaxe and 2 cure moderate wounds potions.

The party spends the rest of that day burying the bodies of the zombies.

*An incredibly funny series of Strength check failures ensued where no one but Bokin could achieve anything.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Zombie Apocalypse Day 9

Mard dreamt. He dreamt of halls of stone and the smell of earth. He dreamt of the hearty cooking of his homeland. He dreamt of ale, and robust women, and the joy of finding a new silver vein. He dreamt forever.

Eoghan paused in his patrol. The sun was rising, and he hoped that this day would be warmer than the last. He stepped over to the fire.

“Cold night, wouldn’t you say Mard?” he asked. There was no reply.

“Mard?” he repeated. He looked closer. Offering a quick prayer for Mard’s soul to The Goddess, he went to wake the others.

A small memorial is held for Mard, and he is buried on holy ground. After everyone else leaves Eoghan promises Mard that he will try to return his body to Kar Stakkan.

The party theorizes that Mard did not rise as a zombie due to dying on holy ground. The plan for the day is to send several party members to Roger the Blacksmith's shop to get some files. The party plans to file down silver into powder in order to make Holy Water. Zathas has an ability that repels undead with a glowing light, so several party members stay close to him. They get the files and come back without incident.

While they are gone, Bokin takes out a few zombies for fun, one of them being Shinta the Worst. When he begins to get overwhelmed, he retreats back to the holy ground, and Clione uses the wand of fireballs to blast a bunch of zombies.

When the group returns from the blacksmith's shop, they have a large train of zombies following them. Bokin's breath weapon and Clione's wand kill even more zombies. That night, the party discusses what they are going to put the holy water in. They realize that they need containers.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 10

The party decides to raid a restaurant for wine bottles. Bokin, Draconis, Zathas, and Eoghan go to the restaurant while the rest of the party and the civilians file silver.

The heroes arrive at the eatery without incident and Eoghan picks the lock. Bolting the door, they quickly move to the wine cellar. Mourning the loss, they begin pouring wine onto the floor to empty some bottles.

While in the wine cellar, a couple of the heroes hear wood splintering upstairs. Zathas peeks out the door and sees zombies, including what looks to be an Ogre zombie. Everyone readies their weapons and prepares to fight.

The regular zombies are dispatched without difficulty, but the Ogre is another matter entirely. The heroes have a hard time closing with the creature, and each of its blows nearly kills one of them. In the enclosed space of the dining area they have a hard time outmaneuvering the massive creature, but eventually they fell it. Sorely wounded, the heroes flee back to the relative safety of the temple district.




Kire and Shinaltrix from The Tales of Essenon by Tokin the Purple Wanderer

Long had the Drow of Scar Peak warred with the Elves of the Misty Valley, with no clear victor in sight. Then Tosanus of the Drow found a solution-or so he thought.

Shinaltrix was a green dragon sorely vexed by the elves of the Misty Valley. Tosanus proposed to him an alliance, and the mighty wyrm agreed, thinking to betray the Drow at the first opportunity.

It was the dragon who was betrayed. The Drow set upon him, binding him with dark magics most foul. When he was secured, they opened a gateway to the Immaterium, and its corruption entered into the great beast. Howling in agony as his form warped, the dragon was transported to the Elven village and set free. In rage and pain Shinaltrix destroyed the Elven community in a single night. Only one survived-a boy by the name of Kire.

The destruction was obvious even from a great distance, and a group of Glade Guardians found the boy. Taking pity upon the child, they brought him back with them and the elf was raised among the rough rangers. He swore a terrible vengeance upon both Shinaltrix and the Drow.

Shinaltrix had other plans for the Drow of Scar Peak. His new form had grown into a twelve-headed monstrosity, and he had gained immeasurable power. He destroyed the Drow settlement and claimed it as his own.

Kire grew in power, slaying many evil dragons young and old. To this day he hopes to destroy Shinaltrix, but realizes that he does not yet have the power.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 11

The morning dawns cloudy and cold. The group has decided that they will try to reach the Inner City and hole up in a manor house for the winter. Now they are discussing plans to achieve this goal. Girzim begins making holy water as the others call over Ehren (the noble) to question him on gates and the city layout.

They discuss the uses of holy water, how to ensure that the zombies do not gain access to the inner city if they aren't there already, and what to do if the dragon ogre shows up. They theorize about zombie intelligence. They wonder if a necromancer is controlling the zombies, but think there are too many. Then they realize that a necromancer would only have to control the more intelligent zombies-the other zombies seem to follow them instinctively. They worry about being mobbed on the way to the gate-from experience they know that once they are outnumbered by 3:1 or worse they will be unable to protect the civilians. Remembering how he escaped from the Dragon Ogre, Bokin suggests the sewers. Part of the group begins to search for an access to the sewer while the rest reassure civilians that everything is under control.

Finding the living quarters of the priests, the party begins to clear a hole to the sewer. Early in the afternoon they hear sounds of battle towards the poorer section of town and go to investigate. They see an elf using two longswords to mow down dozens of zombies. The elves (and almost everyone else) recognize him as Kire, the most famous dragonslayer known. The zombies seem to barely slow him as he strides onto the sanctified ground.

“I hear you have a dragon problem,” he says.

He discusses the half-dragon situation with them. Kire is initially distrustful of Bokin (half-dragon, remember?), but the rest of the party convinces him that Bokin is trustworthy and they discuss the dragon ogre. He tells them that he'll take care of it.

The party spends the rest of the day widening a hole to the sewer system. Shortly after dark a magical symbol appears in the sky a few miles away. It is the symbol for "Safety" and the group discusses what it might mean. The consensus is that it may be a trap, but they still want to check it out after getting to a more secure location.

Later that night Draconis is on guard when he hears sounds of battle from the other side of the wall. The next morning the party finds an arrow with a note attached embedded in a wall.

"There are four. Chasing them out of the city. Kire."

After a bit of debate as to whether the theoretical necromancer/lich/
vampire/evil priest was one of the four, night falls

DM’s Note: Day 11 was an interesting session. No combat, just a couple of hours of in-character plot discussion.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Zombie Apocalypse Day 12

Dramus stood before the altar in the small chapel. His prayers done, he thought of his mission. He was to find out what was going on in the outer city. He would interview more of the refugees from the outer city, then check the city defenses again. He went to gather Casvel, wondering again at the man’s apparent inability to remember his own past.

Back at the temple ruins Girzim is creating holy water, but prays for a Hide from Undead spell to get three people to the wall. Draconis, Eoghan, and Bokin head that way.

Dramus and Casvel head up to the wall and talk to the guards. They climb up on the wall and are amazed to see three people walking their way, ignored by the zombies. Watching them from afar they eat peanuts. When both of the groups meet, they analyze and question each other.

Bokin, Draconis, and Eoghan look up at the wall, realizing that it is secured. Among the city guard are two unusual people. One has the dark skin and features of a Drow, but with silver wings and scales. The other is a human, wild looking with studded leather armor. What an interesting crew Bokin thought. The men on the wall start to throw peanuts at the group below. A guard asks the group to halt and Bokin responds with a threat. Eoghan tries to smooth things over while Draconis watches the zombies coming toward them, realizing that their protective spell must have worn off.

Eoghan shoots at a zombie and hurts it. Draconis and Bokin engage in combat with the zombies. Bokin hurts his zombie while Draconis misses his. Dramus shoots at one of Draconis’ zombies and damages it. Casvel decides to help by shooting Draconis’ other zombie. The guard shoots and accidentally hits Draconis in the back. Eoghan hits his zombie but barely damages it, while Bokin kills his. Dramus shoots at the zombie but hits Draconis, who is getting rather irritated at being shot. Casvel kills one of Draconis’ zombies.

Dramus drops a rope and since Bokin is the only one out of combat, they pull him up first. A zombie hits Eoghan, and Draconis is hit and is close to unconsciousness. Dramus kills a zombie, but more are coming. Bokin and Casvel try to pull up Eoghan, but he slips and is hanging. Draconis falls due to the zombies, and they munch on him. Eoghan finally gets pulled up by Casvel. Bokin destroys the zombies and Draconis’ body with his acid breath.

Bokin and Eoghan accompany Dramus and Casvel into the city. They go to a restaurant where Bokin and Eoghan eat their first real meal in well over a week. They discover that the King sent Dramus to Frostmoot after his oracle predicted that something bad would happen here. Along the way he encountered Casvel, who has no memory beyond the two weeks. Dramus has been trying to fit together clues to discover what caused the outbreak and how to stop it.

The heroes begin working on a plan to rescue the other heroes and the civilians. They make a plan to get firebombs to distract the zombies while the citizens are running to the inner wall. Dramus asks a shopkeeper, but, because he is a Paladin and firebombs are against the inner gate laws, he finds nothing. Eoghan disappears and Bokin messages him to get back to the Inn, their meeting place. The group is making a plan when Eoghan comes back with firebombs. Their plan is to go to the citizens in the temple grounds. Girzim will cover as many people as he can with Hide From Undead, then lead them out. He’ll be followed by Dramus who will glide from building to building to watch their backs. Then Zathas will use his aura to fit four people under his protection. The rest of the group will run as fast as they can to the gate.

Before night sets the small group flits from rooftop to rooftop until they make it back to the temple district. They will have to wait until morning for Girzim’s spells.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 13

The plan actually works. The group fights a running battle to the walls, where groups of archers armed with flaming arrows cut down the pursuing zombies. The heroes and civilians are placed in quarantine.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 14

Dramus gets tired of listening to Bokin, who is complaining of boredom and the apparent lack of gratitude for the heroes having saved some citizens. He commands the guard to ask the Magistrate if they could leave quarantine. The other travelers are set free as long as they have a guard with them. Girzim and Dramus go to the temple to pray and rest. Eoghan ditches his guard and disappears again. Bokin thanks Dramus for all his help and checks on the citizens to make sure none of them have turned. All the others are resting and relaxing.

Zombie Apocalypse Day 15
In the morning, everyone shows up for a preplanned meeting. Eoghan appears dramatically and declares that the Wizards Quarters is zombie free. They plan to try to make it there at midday.

Before they leave they are called to the temple. The priests gift each of them with a healing potion, and allow Dramus the use of the Sword of Life, a scimitar of great power. They bless each of the heroes.

The group rides out the gate at midday. They ride in a cavalry formation, cutting down zombies as they go. They seem to be making excellent time until they run into the intelligent attacks of one of the controller zombies. Bokin and Dramus lose their mounts by the time the fight is one. Bokin and Eoghan cast Expeditious Retreat on themselves and everyone else mounts up. The group rides on to their goal.

As the group sets off, snow begins to fall. Shortly after they set off they run into three zombies, which are quickly dispatched. Casvel hears a dull explosive roar from up ahead and mentions it to the group. They ride on, the sounds of battle ahead giving them a sense of urgency. A short time later the Expeditious Retreat spells end and the heroes double up on their horses.

As they ride on they come across a courtyard to their north. Through the driving snow they hear screams and ride onto the side road to investigate. The snow is too thick to see through, so they ride blindly into whatever is ahead. The screams sound human so they try to hurry.

“We need to save those people.” Cliona says.

They come across a small house with three people on the roof, trying desperately to fight off a large group of zombies. The heroes dismount so as not to endanger the horses. Cliona stays with the horses, shooting her crossbow at the zombies. Bokin quickly kills every zombie near them. Stepping back from the combat, he listens for any approaching creatures, hearing only snow.

“Go scout, Bokin!” Dramus says.

“What?!” Bokin yells, “Hell no!”

Eoghan yells, “Don’t split the group!”

“See!” Bokin says, “stupid idea!”

“We’ll see,” Dramus states grimly.

Everyone yells at Bokin to come help them. Being closest to Eoghan, Bokin begins to work his way down the line. Cliona still keeps listening for anything that might be coming. She hears only our fight and the continuing sounds of battle in the distance.

Bokin and Dramus attempt to talk the scared people off of the roof. They come back to the group.

“Maybe we half-dragons aren’t the people to talk these folk down,” Dramus says. Eoghan goes to do it. Dramus detects evil, seeing none in the people on the roof. He tells the group that they aren’t evil. Eoghan comes back to the group.

“We should help these people down from the roof,” he says, “I’m not that strong, so…”

“Is there no ladder?” Dramus says, “how did they get on the roof?”

“I imagine they climbed,” Eoghan deadpans.

“Then they can climb down,” Dramus says callously.

“Okay, fine,” Eoghan replies testily, “I’m just trying to give them a hand here, I was just trying to be polite, you want me to tell them to jump?”

“Let’s get moving,” Cliona says, “it is getting cold.”

Eoghan goes back to the people, “Okay, none of those idiots wants to help you, so jump.” He gives what aid he can, but one of the townspeople slips, twisting her ankle and glaring angrily at the other heroes.

“Okay,” Eoghan states, “we need to make riding arrangements and get out of here. We’ve been in one place for WAY too long.”

“I agree,” Dramus says.

They have three horses and eight people. They decide Casvel is fastest and Bokin toughest, so they’ll walk. The group sets off. The family is introduced as the Smiths-Johan, Janis, and little Johan. They head back to the road.

They come up on six zombies heading the same direction down the road. They ride them down, quickly destroying them. After the battle, Eoghan applies his healing potion himself and gives another healing potion to Casvel. Dramus heals Eoghan back to his original health. The group rides on.



Eoghan says, ”I think we’re getting close to the wall.”

Through the snow everyone sees a wall and a gatehouse emerging. Hammering at the gates are typical zombies, two of the controller zombies, and a huge giant zombie. Many charred corpses litter the ground, and the giant is rather charred itself. On top of the wall are a wizard, a warrior, and a gnome. All three are shooting at the zombies.

The group stands back and discusses how they will attract the zombies away from the gate.

Dramus says to Eoghan, ”detect how soon the door will break down.”

“I pick locks, I don’t break the door down,” Eoghan states.

Cliona interrupts, “I have some knowledge of architecture.”

From the distance, she couldn’t tell when the door was going to give way. Cliona explains to Dramus how effective her fireballs are. The group finally decides on a way to divert the giant’s attention to them. Bokin messages to the gnome, “ We’re going to try something, and we hope it works.”

The civilians and horses are ushered into a large house to keep them safe, then the party moves away from the gates. Dramus is on a house shooting at the giant, while the others are protecting Cliona on the ground.

After Dramus shoots at the giant, he watches as one of the controller zombies takes the regular zombies and heads in the group’s direction. The other controller zombie and the giant remain at the gate. Cliona shoots her wand of fireballs at the zombies as they approach and the heroes watch as only one zombie and the controller zombie survive. The group shoots at the powerful zombie until Bokin runs up and attacks it with his mighty battleaxe, quickly cutting it down.

“That was a powerful fireball,” says the wizard.

The warrior says, “Friend or foe?”

The gnome stands there and says nothing about the voice he heard.

Meanwhile, Dramus watches as the giant zombie is still beating on the wall. Bokin gets the idea that he can message the gnome on the wall and ask some questions.

“Gnome, ask the wizard if your wall is fireball proof, and if it is, please nod,” he sends.

The gnome pokes the wizard in the knee and explains that he hears voices and they are asking if the gate is fireball proof. The wizard replies, “Of course it is. It is a wizards gate.” The gnome nods and Dramus sees it from his perch atop a house.

The group decides to run toward the gate and shoot the nasty beast with a fireball. Bokin messages the gnome once more. “Gnome, when my friend on the rooftop nods, you need to duck. Nod if you understand this.” The gnome nods and tells the wizard what the voices said. Suddenly he sees Dramus nod. This makes him jump off the box he is standing on and duck, as do the other guys on the wall.

Cliona shoots the fireball and the regular zombies die. The giant and the controller zombie are still standing. They both turn toward the group and Cliona shoots a fireball again. All that is left is the giant zombie. Bokin suggests that they run behind the houses until they get to the gate to get some help, but with majority vote, the entire party votes for him and Casvel to run up to the giant and start attacking it while the rest of the group peppers it with arrows.

Before they attack the giant Eoghan gives Bokin the rest of his healing potion because Bokin will need it. Bokin hits and hurts the giant. The giant hits him and he staggers under the blow. Casvel hits the giant and hurts it some more. The group shoots at the giant and does a bit of damage, but when Bokin tries to attack again he misses. The breath was still knocked out of him. More shooting ensues, and Bokin and Casvel do some more damage to the giant.

With not much left in Bokin due to another hit, Eoghan yells, “we need to help them!”

“Stick to the plan!” Dramus cries, but Eoghan is already moving.

Eoghan jumps off a rooftop and lands behind the giant, attacking it furiously. Dramus decides to help by jumping down and attacking it from the side. Eoghan strikes the giant once more and it finally falls. The group cheers and Dramus tells Bokin to message the gnome to open the gate.

"Gnome, open the gate, we’re coming in,” he sends.

The group runs toward the gate and it opens. A man in the robes of a wizard, a heavily armed and armored man, and a gnome with gray hair and purple eyes greet them. The wizard introduces himself as Derek Sathas, the warrior as his brother Torrin, and the gnome as Fraup. They take them into one of the buildings so that they can rest. After the last few hours, the group collapses from exhaustion.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Day 14 was our most recent gaming session (actually it was the last two and part of the one before that) so updates will be (hopefully) weekly now. It was an enjoyable session-the players were really getting into character, friendly rivalries are developing, and the fights had everyone on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately my tape recorder's batteries ran out, so I couldn't transcribe all of the role-playing. One of the players takes notes, so I should be able to add more later.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Zombie Apocalypse Day 16 and 17

DM’s Note: For anyone wondering, the current characters are:
Eoghan (Elven Rogue 3/Wizard 2)
Casvel (Human Barbarian 2/Ranger 2)
Bokin (Kobold half-dragon Fighter 2/Sorcerer 1/Ranger 1)
Cliona (Elven Wizard 5)
Fraup (Gnome Rogue 4)
Dramus (Drow half-dragon Paladin 2)

Eoghan, Casvel, Bokin, and Cliona head downstairs, drawn by the smell of a hearty stew simmering in a big pot over the fire. Derek is stirring the pot.

“Ah,” he says, “I see that you’re awake. The paladin is in the chapel praying, and Fraup has disappeared, as he does quite often.”

Everyone takes a bowl and sits down to eat.

“So,” Bokin asks, “how long have you been here?”

“I’ve been here for about four years,” Derek replies.

“How long ago did the zombies show up?” Cliona asks.

“About two weeks ago I believe,” the mage says, “we’ve had a battle at the gates nearly every day-we’ve used up most of our resources fighting them off.”

Bokin asks, “have you seen many large zombies like the one we saw earlier?”

“Only occasionally,” comes the reply, “they’re pretty rare.”

Bokin continues, “what are the chances that the gate will hold up against them?”

“Well, we keep reinforcing it the best we can, but eventually they might be able to break through if they keep hammering it with ogres and hill giants like they have been,” Derek says.

“So are you the only ones left?” Cliona asks.

“There are a few acolytes and apprentices,” he says, “but yes, we’re pretty much it. All the other wizards disappeared.”

“Does anybody know how to call them back?” Bokin asks.

“I’ve tried to contact them,” Derek says, “but they don’t seem to want to be contacted. If a wizard doesn’t want to respond to a communication it can’t be forced. At least, not by someone of my power level.”

“So do you have any underground tunnels here?” Bokin queries.

“Well, there’s the sewer system,” comes the reply, “but there are locked grates blocking access between the different city sectors.”

“Why do you think they’re trying to get in here?” Bokin continues, “they usually just go after anyone that they see, why would they automatically go after a section of town that’s been mostly deserted and try so hard to break down the wall?”

“I assume that’s what whoever’s controlling them wants,” Derek replies.

“Who do you think is controlling them?” Bokin continues.

“That I don’t know,” Derek admits.

Continuing this line of questioning, Bokin asks, “do you know of anything in this area that they’d be after?”

“If I were a necromancer,” the wizard muses, “I would probably relish the thought of raiding the library of the College of Necromancy.”

“Okay,” Bokin asks, “where is that?”

“Down the road a bit,” he says.

“What would it contain that is so powerful?” Bokin queries.

“Scrolls, spellbooks,” Derek replies, “for a wizard, knowledge is quite literally power.”

“Well yes,” a somewhat embarrassed Bokin asks, “but what I’m asking is…what does it contain that the necromancer doesn’t already know?”

“Since I don’t know what the necromancer knows,” comes the amused reply, “I really don’t know.”

“What colleges are here?” Cliona interrupts.

“All of the schools of magic are represented in Frostmoot,” the mage replies, “I assume you’re a wizard?”

“Yes,” Cliona replies.

“Perhaps we can allow you access to some of our books,” Derek continues, ”in these troubled times we need all the help we can get. Perhaps you can add a few spells to your repertoire.”

“Thank you!” Cliona enthuses.

“Can we search the Necromancer College?” Bokin asks.

“Well I don’t have the keys…” Derek says.

“We have an excellent lock-picker,” Bokin says while eyeing Eoghan.

“Well,” the rogue says, “this IS a wizard’s college we’re talking about you know…”

“I have a knock spell,” Cliona adds helpfully.

At this point Torrin enters the room, whispers something to Derek, and leaves hurriedly. A troubled expression clouds the wizard’s face.

“It seems the child you brought in has been bitten,” he tells the group.

“Is there any holy ground around here?” Bokin asks.

“There’s the chapel,” Derek says, “and the grove of the Goddess. Why? What does holy ground do?”

“Holy ground…” Casvel starts to say.

“But if we get trapped in the grove of the Goddess and surrounded by zombies…” Cliona adds.

“It is within our wall,” Derek interrupts.

“I think we should kill the child,” Bokin says quietly, “do you have any way to…”

“What!” Derek exclaims.

“What do you mean what?” Bokin retorts, “its been bitten, and could turn into a zombie anytime…”

“This is a child, not an ‘it’ to be disposed of,” Cliona replies, “it is a boy, and his parents love him!”

“So we’re going to let him turn into a zombie?” Bokin argues, “and then the plague will be within the walls.”

“When he turns into a zombie,” Cliona says, “then you can kill him.”

“I’m just saying…” Bokin mutters.

“We should go talk to his parents and tell them what’s going to happen,” Cliona continues, “and then if they want to kill him they can.”

Derek looks shocked, “your first response is kill the child?”

“When he dies he’ll try to kill us,” Bokin responds.

“Has there been any way found to stop a person from rising?” Derek asks.

“Bury him on the holy ground,” Bokin says.

“Really?” Derek replies, “makes sense.”

“Are we sure?” Cliona asks.

“Not really,” Bokin says glumly, “worked for Mard.”

“Can I look through your library?” Cliona asks Derek, “maybe I can find something that will help.”

“Feel free to try,” he responds, “I haven’t found anything, but maybe someone with a fresh perspective might.”

The group decides to try to break into the College of Necromancy, hoping to find some clue to help understand the plague or help the child.

The group walks to the College of Necromancy. Examining the building, they try to find a way in. Eventually Cliona uses Knock to open the Arcane Locked servants’ door for ten minutes. The group searches through the building. They cannot get into the fourth floor, which is where the offices of the instructors are. There is a locked room off of the library that they also cannot get into. Cliona uses all of her knock spells on the restricted books room, but the arcane lock holding the door is too powerful and resists her attempts. She rests, re-memorizes her spells, and tries again, failing again. She tries again, and fails yet again. She rests one more time and tries again, once again failing to open the door. She leaves one casting of Knock for opening the servants’ door again, and the group leaves. As they head for the street they hear Dramus calling for them, as it has been a full day that they've been missing.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Zombie Apocalypse Day 18

On the way back Fraup joins the group. Dramus slips on a patch of ice hurting his ankle and will not be joining the group on this day. By the time they return dawn is breaking. They realize that they are still faced with the problem of the child who has contracted the plague. They can either return to the inner city in the hope that the priests can do something or dispose of the kid when he turns.

“If we decide to go back,” Cliona says, “why don’t we travel atop the city wall? We wouldn’t have to fight all the way through that way.”

Fraup replies, “ we haven’t actually decided to go back yet…”

“I want to go,’ Cliona says, “I don’t want to stay here and watch the kid fight for his life without trying to help, and I can’t kill the kid in front of his parents-I just can’t.”

“You know, I think this could be a good test case,” Eoghan says, “it will be a lot easier to get this kid to the temple than a full-grown adult.”

“But it is risky,” Fraup opines, “we’re risking getting bitten and turning into zombies ourselves.”

“Not if we travel on top of the wall,” Eoghan replies, “we shouldn’t have to fight many zombies that way.”

“Well if we try to stay here all winter we’ll risk it anyway,” Cliona says, “we’ll need to leave for food at some point. We’ll need fuel for fires and all sorts of other things.”

“I know originally I wanted to kill the kid,” Bokin finally gets to say, “but I’ve thought about it and I think that if one of us happened to get bitten it’d be nice to know that there’s a cure.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Eoghan says, “it is an excellent test case. Even if he turns he’d be small so we could restrain him.”

Fraup is looking troubled.

“What is bothering you, Fraup?” Eoghan asks.

“Well it sounds risky,” Fraup replies, “but I guess we’ll have to leave sometime.”

“They are running out of resources here,” Eoghan says, “so at the very least we need to see if the Inner City can spare some protection. We can’t transport the entire Colleges of Magic there, and by their own admission they can’t hold out too much longer.”

“We also need to get some food to the Inner City,” Bokin says, “they’ll run out eventually.”

“When shall we go?” Eoghan asks.

“Let’s go,” Cliona answers, “we have daylight.”

“We do need to get out of here pretty soon,” Fraup says, “if we’re going to get back before dark.”

“Let’s go tell Derek and Torrin we’re leaving,” Cliona says.

“I think the first thing we should do,” Eoghan says, “is get the kid from his parents.”

“Should we take the parents with us?” Bokin asks.

“I think they’d just slow us down,” Eoghan replies.

“If the kid turns into a zombie,” Cliona adds, “I don’t want to kill him in front of them.”

Casvel continues, “They’d probably get in the way.”

“Wouldn’t it be the best place for them though?” Bokin asks.

“Possibly,” Eoghan answers, “but they’d slow us down too much. We will have to journey a short distance through the zombie-occupied part of the city.”

The group journeys off to talk to the sick child’s parents. They have been set up in a dormitory room. The group decides that Fraup will do the talking. He knocks on the door and the father answers.

“Hello,” Fraup says cheerily.

“Hello,” Johan replies. He has obviously been under a lot of strain.

“Do you know what’s happening to your son?” Fraup asks.

“Not really,” the father replies, “we know he’s sick but nobody’s really told us what’s going on.”

“He’s been bitten,” Fraup says, “we’re going to try and take him to the priests in the Inner City.”

“How’s that going to help?” Johan asks.

“We think they might be able to help him,” Fraup answers.

“Can we go with you?” Johan continues.

“I don’t think it would be safe,” Fraup says, “I can assure you that we won’t allow your boy to come to any harm.”

The man turns and goes back into the room. After a few minutes the parents come to the door.

“Well,” the father says, “we’re not pleased with it, but these are hard times and we realize that sometimes we have to do what’s best for him rather than our own peace of mind. I guess we wish you well.”

“We shall do our best,” Fraup promises.

Casvel goes to create some sort of harness to carry the kid in. The rest of the group goes to talk to Torrin and Derek. They find them on the wall, surveying the damage from the last attack. They tell them of the plan to get the kid to the zombies. Derek suggests that they ask for reinforcements, and agrees that something should be done for the kid. Rope, a rope ladder, and torches are supplied to the group. The group has an early lunch and then leaves. They climb one of the towers, emerging out onto the wall.

The group walks along the 10-foot wide wall. Bokin in front, Eoghan second, Cliona third, Casvel fourth, and Fraup last. Bokin says, “someone needs to keep an eye on the child,” so Fraup does so while traveling. On the other side of the wall, the group sees a wall of Iron surrounding the stone wall.

Cliona says, ”it looks like someone’s trying to keep us in here.”

Eoghan states, ”are they trying to keep us in or the zombies?”

Bokin replies, ”I bet they are trying to contain the zombies.”

As they move along an occasional zombie is seen. Eventually there’s a small train of zombies following the party.

Casvel suddenly says, “I see something ahead.”

Bokin asks, “what is it?”

Casvel replies, “looks like dead bodies.”

The group continues to move closer to the bodies. The line of zombies is getting fairly large, so Bokin and Eoghan shoot at a few.

Cliona casts a web spell on the mass of zombies, then sets the web ablaze, destroying most of the foul creatures.

The group finally gets to the bodies. There are four bodies that are roughly human sized and covered in snow. Bokin and Fraup brush the snow off of them. Cliona, Casvel, and Bokin can tell that they were cut apart by large sized weapons.

Bokin states, “this was done by something big.”

Fraup searches the bodies but finds nothing. They look like they were commoners. Bokin theorizes that there are guards on the Iron Wall, and anything that attempted to leave the area was shot down due to someone’s orders. Eoghan theorizes that the big dragon could have come back.

Fraup says,” I don’t think we should go on the ground due to the zombies, but I do think we should exercise caution.”

Casvel states, ”that would probably be wise.” The group throws the bodies off the wall and continues on their way. Up ahead they see a guard tower. Cliona and Bokin see something moving in the tower. They ready their weapons and walk toward the tower. Eoghan and Cliona cast Mage Armor on themselves.

The party looks on as Eoghan pulls out two sickles and says,” I picked these up in the wizards quarter. I’m tired of poking zombies with my sword.”

As they get closer to the tower they hear, ”Halt!” The group stops.

“Who are you?” asks the voice.

Bokin replies, ”people.”

“Are you sassing me boy?” the voice growls menacingly.

“We’re people who are traveling to…”

Cliona interrupts Bokin and says, ”we’re looking to find a cure for this young boy that we have with us. He’s been bitten.”

Eoghan says under his breath, ”oh that was the wrong thing to say.”

Fraup nods his head, walks over to Cliona, taps her shin and says, ”will you please stop talking?”

The voice says, ”enough yelling, send one person forward.”

Fraup walks up. He waves and says, ”greetings.”

The voice replies, ”so you’re trying to get into the inner city.”

The gnome says, ”yeah, we have some friends there we are trying to help survive.”

The voice replies, ”well, we have some questions.”

Fraup says,” okay.”

“How long has this thing been going on?”

“We’re not entirely sure. At least I’m not. They’ve been… I just joined them. I’d say for quite some time.”

“Very well, go back and get someone who might know.”

The gnome nods and returns with Bokin. Off to the side Fraup tells Bokin not to mention the child and what we’re really doing. They consider claiming that Cliona is crazy.

Bokin says, ”what do you need?”

“How long has this been going on?”

“For about two and a half weeks.”

“What’s causing it?” the voice says.

“We think it is a necromancer,” Bokin replies, “but we aren’t entirely sure. We’re trying to protect the wizard’s quarter because it seems like whatever is behind it wants to send the biggest zombies to…well, basically we think they want to get to the restricted section in the College of Necromancy.”

“Why?”

“There are some pretty rare books there most likely.”

The voice is silent a moment before continuing, “I believe that we shall ally ourselves with you for a time.”

“I have a few questions for you,” Bokin says, “we ran into four bodies upon the wall. Have you seen anything big with a weapon?”

The voice laughs and Bokin and Fraup hear the door being unlocked. It opens and three ogres walk out onto the wall. Bokin is speechless for a moment, but then yells back to the group, “don’t worry, they’re on our side!”

The ogres beckon the group forward as Bokin asks, “so you were the ones that killed the four people?”

“They weren’t people anymore,” comes the reply.

Bokin tries to question the ogres to discover their purpose but the leader is evasive. The group arrives and the ogres introduce themselves. The leader is Kuhl. He is larger than the others and carries a greatsword upon his back. The next is Gnith. He is the smallest, yet seems the most intelligent. The last is Roht. He is quiet and seems to exude an aura of menace. They are dressed in black and move with a grace not often seen in ogres.

The group journeys on to the inner city. They decide to cross where the inner city wall and the outer wall are closest. They decide that Bokin will hang the rope ladder from the wall, and after everyone descends he will glide to the inner city wall and hang it from there so that they can climb up. The plan works well, but as the group fights their way across and up the ladder several guards approach Bokin on the inner city wall.

“Remember me?” he says cheerfully, “I was with the paladin Dramus.”

“Yes,” the guard replies warily, “where is that ass?”

“I’m not saying he isn’t an ass,” Bokin replies as the group joins him, “but he twisted his ankle in the wizard’s quarter.”

“How do we know you didn’t take care of him?”

“Do you really think we’re going to kill a paladin for no reason?”

“You might,” the guard accuses, “I don’t know you that well.”

“Don’t you remember how well we worked together?”

“When did I work with you?”

“Not you,” Bokin says, beginning to feel frustrated with the guard, “the paladin.”

“I wasn’t there,” says the surly guard, “there is a rule of quarantine on anyone coming into the inner city, and we’re not very pleased that you climbed our wall.”

“We apologize for the inconvenience, but it was convenient for us.”

“Come with us,” the guard says, “you’re going to quarantine.”

“Again!” Bokin groans.

Fraup interrupts, “I don’t know if that is the right thing to do-we’re clearly clean.”

“How would I know that?” the guard asks.

“You can check me for bites,” Bokin offers.

The guard eyes Cliona lasciviously, “does that go for the elf wench?”

“No!” Cliona shouts.

Thus they go into quarantine. They explain that they need to get the boy to the temple and demand to see the high priest, the magistrate, Prince Ehren, and anyone else they’ve met. A short time later the guard comes back, much more contrite than he had been.

“There are some people here to see you,” he says, unlocking the door.

The magistrate, High Priest Yorrick and Prince Ehren all greet the group warmly. The heroes tell them what has occurred, and the magistrate goes to organize a force to reinforce the defenders of the wizard’s quarter. After saying goodbye to Ehren they walk to the temple with Yorrick. They explain the situation with the child, and the cleric promises to do his best. Bokin and Fraup notice that the ogres seem to be surreptitiously searching the temple. Bokin asks what they’re doing.

“Eh,” Kuhl says, “we’re not used to finery like this.”

Bokin senses that he’s being lied to, but lets it pass. “So what are you going to do now that you’ve made it to the inner city?” he asks.

“We’ve been assigned to find something, but I don’t know where..” the ogre muses.

“Maybe I can help you,” Fraup offers, “I’m pretty good at finding things that don’t belong to me.”

“Perhaps we’ll talk later,” Kuhl replies.

The group goes to eat lunch. A short time later they are joined by the magistrate. He asks them to check the garrison for him after they return to the wizard’s sector. They haven’t had any contact since the troubles began. The heroes agree, and he tells them that he’ll take a group of the city guards with him to the wizard’s quarter at midday the next day.

Shortly thereafter a priest gets the group. They go to the temple. Yorrick is jubilant-the child has been cured. The plague is clearly magical in nature, as it took a remove curse to cure the boy. They take the kid with them and head back to the wizard’s quarter. They arrive without incident shortly before sunset.

As they prepare for bed Bokin theorizes that Dramus’ sword is what the ogres are after.

 

[Rackhir]

Interesting scenario. I've been toying with the idea of running something similar for some friends in NYC, so I might steal some of your ideas.