This is Bella's account of game session #5. As usual, it is in the form of a letter to her patron, Victor Starke.
Victor,
Due to the power of the skulls Flagg has managed to stay one-step ahead of us the entire chase and unfortunately seems to be heading for Grimmsburg. From what I can deduce from witnessing the victims of these artifacts they are powered by an ancient and dark divinity and any who bear the golden skull become possessed by a sinister spirit and are reduced to a savage animal of great agility and strength. Until recently I would have thought that any who wear the skull are already dead but in our last melee with them, one of their band still retained the power of speech, something we had not seen before except in Flagg himself. Unfortunately I was forced to land a bolt inside her head so further questioning was impossible; a fact that Androsax will not let me soon forget.
I am starting to suspect that Flagg may be amassing an army to take you on Victor, he obviously could not do so alone. The good news is that I have convinced my other companions to bring the next set of skulls we find to you. They seem to lose their potency once worn so we are now seeking a fresh bag out of the many that Flagg took from the well.
We will meet soon, but our trip goes slowly, it seems Flagg is determined to slow us down at every turn. From Fallcrest we had been able to procure transportation down the river, and I believed that we would make good time and finally close the lead that our quarry had frustratingly retained over us. Unfortunately, it was not to be for our trip back down the river was not as smooth as our first. A stinking island of refuge blocked our boat and from the garbage frogmen attacked us. Luckily, I was able to push their shaman off solid ground into the water with some well place shots and soon after they fled.
It was not long after this that we reached Brynnstead, and found that Flagg’s men were besieging the town. Not wanting to miss an opportunity at acquiring another skull we stayed to defend the town. Most able-bodied men had been killed in previous attacks; our defenses were sparse. We convinced the local church, a Church of Rao to shelter the populace while we positioned ourselves for the inevitable attack. Derren, either foolishly or bravely, volunteered to remain out in the open as bait disguised as a vagrant while I positioned myself on a roof and the rest took cover in a nearby house.
Soon Flagg’s men were upon us and as expected they went directly for Derren. From my perch on the roof I was able to grievously wound many of them from relative safety but was forced to retreat when re-enforcements closed in on my position. After dispatching the first wave of attackers we made our way into the church where several of the enemy had breached its walls.
Derren joined the battle crying out the name of his ancestor, which he has told us at length is a Saint of Rao. He also seems to be fighting better than usual, his gods seem to be with him…but which gods I wonder?
Early into the second half of the battle I was beset by the Androsax curse. A beast man smashed through one of the windows of the church and landed beside Derryl. The terrified girl ran straight to me. Knowing the brute would follow her I had no choice but to reposition myself and hope I could take him down with a few precise shots. My adrenaline pumping my aim proved true but it was unfortunately not enough to take down the monster and he leapt at me. Fortunately the pews we were standing in made him clumsy and he did not catch me with the full force of his clawed hands or I would have been much more gravely injured.
He stood in front of me, enraged, and my eyes darted in every direction looking for an escape. Unfortunately the battle had moved in my direction and other enemies had cut me off. Desperately I flipped over the pews, the creature’s claws barely missing me and I quickly took refuge in the shadows once more.
The fight was over soon after that and we were victorious. We plan on investigating where these possessed men and women were staying in the hopes of acquiring active skulls. After that, I will be coming home to Grimmsburg.
See you soon,
Bella
Victor,
Due to the power of the skulls Flagg has managed to stay one-step ahead of us the entire chase and unfortunately seems to be heading for Grimmsburg. From what I can deduce from witnessing the victims of these artifacts they are powered by an ancient and dark divinity and any who bear the golden skull become possessed by a sinister spirit and are reduced to a savage animal of great agility and strength. Until recently I would have thought that any who wear the skull are already dead but in our last melee with them, one of their band still retained the power of speech, something we had not seen before except in Flagg himself. Unfortunately I was forced to land a bolt inside her head so further questioning was impossible; a fact that Androsax will not let me soon forget.
I am starting to suspect that Flagg may be amassing an army to take you on Victor, he obviously could not do so alone. The good news is that I have convinced my other companions to bring the next set of skulls we find to you. They seem to lose their potency once worn so we are now seeking a fresh bag out of the many that Flagg took from the well.
We will meet soon, but our trip goes slowly, it seems Flagg is determined to slow us down at every turn. From Fallcrest we had been able to procure transportation down the river, and I believed that we would make good time and finally close the lead that our quarry had frustratingly retained over us. Unfortunately, it was not to be for our trip back down the river was not as smooth as our first. A stinking island of refuge blocked our boat and from the garbage frogmen attacked us. Luckily, I was able to push their shaman off solid ground into the water with some well place shots and soon after they fled.
It was not long after this that we reached Brynnstead, and found that Flagg’s men were besieging the town. Not wanting to miss an opportunity at acquiring another skull we stayed to defend the town. Most able-bodied men had been killed in previous attacks; our defenses were sparse. We convinced the local church, a Church of Rao to shelter the populace while we positioned ourselves for the inevitable attack. Derren, either foolishly or bravely, volunteered to remain out in the open as bait disguised as a vagrant while I positioned myself on a roof and the rest took cover in a nearby house.
Soon Flagg’s men were upon us and as expected they went directly for Derren. From my perch on the roof I was able to grievously wound many of them from relative safety but was forced to retreat when re-enforcements closed in on my position. After dispatching the first wave of attackers we made our way into the church where several of the enemy had breached its walls.
Derren joined the battle crying out the name of his ancestor, which he has told us at length is a Saint of Rao. He also seems to be fighting better than usual, his gods seem to be with him…but which gods I wonder?
Early into the second half of the battle I was beset by the Androsax curse. A beast man smashed through one of the windows of the church and landed beside Derryl. The terrified girl ran straight to me. Knowing the brute would follow her I had no choice but to reposition myself and hope I could take him down with a few precise shots. My adrenaline pumping my aim proved true but it was unfortunately not enough to take down the monster and he leapt at me. Fortunately the pews we were standing in made him clumsy and he did not catch me with the full force of his clawed hands or I would have been much more gravely injured.
He stood in front of me, enraged, and my eyes darted in every direction looking for an escape. Unfortunately the battle had moved in my direction and other enemies had cut me off. Desperately I flipped over the pews, the creature’s claws barely missing me and I quickly took refuge in the shadows once more.
The fight was over soon after that and we were victorious. We plan on investigating where these possessed men and women were staying in the hopes of acquiring active skulls. After that, I will be coming home to Grimmsburg.
See you soon,
Bella