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The Durnhill Conscripts
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7471599" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 21: DEATH FALLS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Galen Thorne, human paladin 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 7</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 25 July 2018</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>It had been a week since the team's most recent infiltration into the Azure Glade to rescue Orlin, the Guildmaster of the Conjurers Guild. During that time, the full story behind Anuja Graveshadow remained hidden - Skevros waved away questions about her, merely insisting that he trusted her implicitly. After awhile, Orion and Daleth gave up; they accepted the judgment of the king's advisor and let that be that. But Galen, Kaspar, and Syngaard still wanted to know what Anuja's deal was. "Nothin' good ever came from a name like 'Graveshadow'," Syngaard warned. Galen was puzzled because he had previously examined Anuja's aura and found it clear of the taint of evil...but still, she sounded like a necromancer and the proud paladin would have no dealings with those who disturbed the remains of the dead, animating them to unholy life.</p><p></p><p>Finally, after a week had passed and Anuja had still not returned from whatever mission she had been sent on in the Azure Glade, Skevros began to worry. "Very well," he agreed one morning in the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>, facing the three heroes who were continuing to pester him on the subject. "Anuja's mother is the high priestess of the Temple of Wee Jas here in Durnhill. She quite literally saved my life, early after my transformation into...my present form. Since then, she and Anuja have been the only source of my healing, as they are able to channel the negative energy needed to heal my body."</p><p></p><p>"So she's a cleric?" demanded Galen. It certainly beat being a necromancer!</p><p></p><p>"Indeed, and a very fine one at that," admitted Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"She been a cleric this whole time?" demanded Syngaard. "Why didn't she say nothin'? We coulda used her healing powers out in the field! We all thought she was just some dumb wagon driver!"</p><p></p><p>"It is my understanding," began Skevros, "That she opted not to open up to you once you began making jokes about her goddess...."</p><p></p><p>"Wee Jas?" asked Kaspar. "I do not recall anyone making sport about the Goddess of Death and Magic."</p><p></p><p>"More directly, about the hypothetical possibility that she had a brother named 'Hugh'," continued Skevros, frowning. Galen and Syngaard looked askance at one another, then broke out laughing. "Oh yeah," recalled Syngaard. "'Hugh Jas - that was a good one!"</p><p></p><p>"Be that as it may, it cost Anuja's trust in your group. I would hope that amends could be made, as soon as she returns."</p><p></p><p>"May we ask of her mission?" asked Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"I sent her to investigate Melvior's potential connection to the Seeker's of Eternity."</p><p></p><p>"Melvior? Which one was that again?" asked Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"He was the one who entered the Catacombs of Deserved Rest and animated those who had been interred there," pointed out Kaspar. "He was also a cleric of Wee Jas, as I recall."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed," agreed Skevros. "But that happened before we had learned of the Seekers of Eternity. I wish to know whether there was any affiliation between him and the Seekers, or if his was an unrelated action. But I would have imagined Anuja would have returned by now with news of whatever she'd unearthed about his past. Or, failing that, sent me a <em>sending</em> spell with her progress."</p><p></p><p>Any potential response was cut off by a primordial roar emanating from outside the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. "What the Hell was <em>that</em>?" demanded Syngaard, rising up from his seat and grabbing the morningstar at his belt. Then, to answer his own question, he cautiously exited the tavern by its front door and looked around. The others followed directly behind him.</p><p></p><p>The roar was repeated, and the scarred fighter pinpointed the direction of the sound to the south, from the direction of the Sanguine Swamp, on the far side of the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. Rounding the building, the group saw a large, draconic figure flying through the air, headed for the city - but this dragon had no scales, no muscles, nothing but its yellowing bones. How it managed to make any sound at all - or fly with wings made only of the bones that would normally support the leathery wings' structure - was beyond Syngaard. He closed his eyes and tried disbelieving in the creature (he'd been fooled by illusions before), but when he opened them up again it was still there - and even closer to the city.</p><p></p><p>"What's--?" began the fighter, but he was abruptly cut off by Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"Dracolich!" hissed the king's adviser. Turning back to the tavern, he called to his <em>unseen servant</em> within: "Karen! Bring me my battle gear!"</p><p></p><p>"We gonna fight that thing?" asked Syngaard in amazement.</p><p></p><p>"<em>I</em> am going to fight that thing," Skevros corrected him. "I want you to protect the city. Have everyone remain indoors until the threat has been dealt with." Skevros was magically confined to the boundaries of the kingdom of Durnhill and thus did not often get to join his team in combat, but this dracolich had made the mistake of coming to Skevros in his place of banishment. The wizard vowed it would come to regret that decision! With a word, he <em>teleported</em> away to do battle with the undead beast before it could attack the city proper.</p><p></p><p>Almost as soon as he was gone, a fetid odor assaulted the noses of the three heroes. Shambling out of the alleys across from the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> came a group of assorted undead, some skeletal, some covered in rotting meat. "Damnit!" cursed Syngaard; he'd been hoping to be able to go back into the tavern and finish off his ale before heading into combat.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar was the first to react. Crossing the street at his full speed, he leaped the last dozen feet or so and sent his foot crashing into the skull of the closest skeleton - an orc, by the hulking build of the thing. His kick sent the skull snapping from the skeleton's neck and careening across the rest of the street to shatter against the wall of an adjacent building. The remaining bones of its animated body collapsed into a heap. Unfortunately, in having rushed out that far away from his companions, the elven monk made himself a ripe target for the other undead in the immediate vicinity. A ghast and another orc skeleton approached him from two different directions, the ghast getting past Kaspar's defenses - the poor elf was having a difficult time dealing with the rotting thing's horrific stench - and bit at the monk's arm with a set of decaying teeth. Fortunately, despite being sickened by the overwhelming odor of rot, Kaspar was able to fend of the paralytic properties of the ghast's bite and remained fighting, although no longer at full strength. But the orc skeleton lashed out with a weapon as well, and Kaspar was surprised to feel the blade draw forth some of his life essence into its unholy steel. </p><p></p><p>Galen raced not for the undead but for the stables to the east of the tavern. Opening wide the doors, he called forth Seneca, his noble warhorse. But before he could even mount his steed, a pair of orc skeletons approached and, seeing the horse as the closest living being, closed in for the attack, each wielding the same type of glimmering blade as the one fighting Kaspar. Seneca cried out in pain as a pair of life-draining daggers dug deep into his flanks.</p><p></p><p>"Seneca, flee!" called out Galen, drawing his <em>sword of Zehkar</em> and advancing upon the animated skeletons. Seneca, having felt pain of a type he'd never experienced before, needed no further encouragement and raced down the street, away from the undead forces. Behind him, his master put his longsword to good use, cutting down both of the orc skeletons in a single, cleaving blow.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard charged over to Kaspar's side, smashing through the orc skeleton and allowing his swing to continue until it crashed into the side of the ghast's head, finishing its arc in a meaty thud. Kaspar finished the ghast off with a quick flurry of blows, his hands moving nearly too fast to see. Both undead combatants fell to the dirt of the streets. Then the two living heroes were out of foes at hand, for the other ghast was bounding over to Galen. In the span of time it took for the ghast to make it to the paladin, Galen used his <em>illumium scabbard</em> to channel positive energy in a burst that struck Kaspar, healing the worst of his wounds. In the meantime, he could hear screams of terror coming from behind him, in the direction Seneca had fled. And then the ghast was upon him - or rather, upon his blade, for the paladin had no trouble skewering the unliving thing upon the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>. Its unholy life ended in a mere moment as the blade's inherent goodness slew the shambling blasphemy.</p><p></p><p>Rushing toward the center of town, the three heroes came upon a small horde of undead assembled around a fountain. Among the various skeletons and zombies stood three black-robed figures, two of them walking skeletons but the third looking to be human. "I got the human!" Syngaard called out, planning to put his captured <em>human bane scimitar</em> to good use.</p><p></p><p>"Agreed!" called Galen.</p><p></p><p>As he advanced upon the horde, Galen cast a <em>protection from evil</em> spell upon himself, hoping to be a bulwark for the party. As he spoke the words to his spell, the zombies turned and shambled in his direction, moaning loudly. Kaspar practically tore the face off the first zombie with his initial attack, the rotting skin being torn by the monk's <em>tenryutsume</em>. But it didn't seem the least bit discomfited with its new skull-faced visage; snapping its rotting teeth at the nimble monk.</p><p></p><p>Seeing a break in the line of opponents, Syngaard raced forward toward the human in the dark robes. He threw his <em>returning javelin</em> as he ran, hoping to catch his foe unprepared, but the throw missed by mere inches, doing nothing but alerting the spellcaster to the fighter's rapid approach. As the magic javelin returned to Syngaard's hand, the spellcaster turned his back on Syngaard and headed to a nearby building, casting a spell of some sort on his way.</p><p></p><p>The skeletons raced forward, most of them heading toward Kaspar and Galen but one veering off to attack Syngaard. Fortunately, unlike the orc skeletons from the previous fight, these weren't armed with life-draining blades, fighting only with their own clawed digits. The two robed skeletons each cast a spell, one enhancing the fighting power of the undead in the area with a <em>bless</em> spell, the other trying to cause Kaspar to flee in panic. Fortunately, the monk's willpower was strong and he mentally brushed the <em>cause fear</em> spell away with ease.</p><p></p><p>On a hunch, Galen concentrated a moment on the auras of the undead forces they were fighting. The zombies and skeletons all radiated evil as expected, and while the two robed skeletons' auras also blazed with evil, theirs seemed to blink in and out of focus, as if not always there. Galen had seen that sort of effect before, when dealing with the reanimated remains of the half-celestial bard in the Catacombs of Deserved Rest. Oddly enough, the human - who Galen recognized at once as Melvior, no doubt raised back to life by the Seekers - did not radiate any evil. But this meant nothing to the stalwart paladin; there were ways, he knew, of masking the evil in one's soul and likewise in the aura that surrounded all beings.</p><p></p><p>Galen brought the holy symbol of Hieroneous up before him. With a quick word of prayer, he caused a flashing burst of positive energy to blast the undead in his vicinity, turning most of them to ash.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard continued his pursuit of Melvior, who had stopped at the locked door of the building he was trying to enter. Neither of the robed skeletons had been harmed by Galen's turning, and they each struck out with spells: one caused a <em>spiritual dagger</em> to blaze into unholy life and stab down at Galen, while the other threw a <em>hold person</em> spell that stopped Syngaard in his tracks. But Galen rushed up to the nearest skeletal spellcaster and brought the <em>sword of Zehkar</em> down in a <em>smite evil</em> strike that split several of the creature's bones, nearly dropping it entirely. Kaspar struck out at the other one with a cobra-quick strike. Neither one fell, but neither looked to be far from that point in the battle.</p><p></p><p>Sweat broke out on Syngaard's bald head as the stubborn fighter struggled with all his might to release himself from the stupid spell keeping him immobilized. It took all of his mental strength - and mental strength was by no means Syngaard's strong suit - but he finally willed his frozen limbs back to life. Gripping his morningstar tight (for he had yet to switch to his <em>human bane scimitar</em>), he resumed his race towards Melvior.</p><p></p><p>Melvior, in the meantime, had heard the puffs of explosion as most of his minions had been turned to ash by Galen's holy power and turned to try to take out the upstart paladin. He cast a spell that would deprive Galen of his sight, but the stubborn holy warrior shrugged off the intended effects. In the meantime, both skeletal clerics healed themselves, their bones knitting back up through the power of their unholy magic.</p><p></p><p>Annoyed at having had his damage undone, Galen tried another turn attempt, focused directly upon the two skeletal spellcasters. Although there was no immediate visible effect, Galen could see the "flickering evil" of their auras bleed away. Kaspar, however, saw no such change and continued attacking his designated foe.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard tried rushing straight into Melvior with a flying tackle and was surprised to be thrown flat on his back instead. But he had gained a valuable insight from his failed attack: the body he had crashed into was bony, not covered in flesh. Melvior's human appearance was apparently nothing more than an illusion of how he had looked in life; he was just as much a walking skeleton as his other two undead spellcasting companions. Glad now that he hadn't switched from his trusty morningstar, Syngaard snarled an oath and crawled back to his feet, ready to strike at Melvior again. He took a blade to the back from his foe as he regained his feet, Melvior stabbing him with a life-draining dagger that sent the chill of unholy power through the scarred fighter's body.</p><p></p><p>But now that the two skeletal clerics of Wee Jas were no longer under Melvior's sway, one retargeted his <em>spiritual dagger</em> at the dark-robed figure, while the other cast an identical spell and sent his weapon to strike at the same target. Melvior ignored the striking daggers and concentrated on regaining control of his errant undead; he managed to do so but was quickly brought down by the combined attacks of all three heroes. Once permanently released from his control, the other two undead spellcasters - their auras once again free of the taint of evil - begged to be released from their cursed forms that they may be returned to the side of the their goddess. It was only then that Syngaard noticed the symbols of Wee Jas each wore on a chain around their necks. But Galen was only too happy to comply with their wishes, cutting them both down with the <em>sword of Zehkar</em>.</p><p></p><p>Before the animating spirits left their bones, one of the clerics asked the paladin to look after Anuja. "She is the last remaining member of our temple," he said, indicating that Melvior had slain the other members of the Temple of Wee Jas - the building into which Melvior was attempting to enter when he'd been cut down.</p><p></p><p>The heroes looked all about them - there were no more undead in the immediate vicinity. Looking skyward, they saw no sign of either Skevros or the dracolich, either - in the heat of their own battles they'd forgotten that their mentor was engaged in a life-or-death battle of his own. So they did as they always did in situations like this: a little process Syngaard liked to refer to as "looting the stiffs." In doing so, they saw a familiar sideways hourglass emblem etched into the forehead of Melvior's skull - the symbol of the Seekers of Eternity. (It only made sense, as an animated skeleton couldn't wear a tattoo. But it looked like the group had validated Melvior's ties with the Seekers.)</p><p></p><p>They also discovered that the symbol of Wee Jas Melvior wore about his neck was actually hollow, with the image of another god's symbol hidden with its interior: that of Vecna, God of Secrets.</p><p></p><p>"It would seem he was trying to destroy the Temple of Wee Jas from within," observed Galen.</p><p></p><p>"It would also seem that he was successful," Kaspar added. Anuja might still be alive, but she was hardly an entire congregation by herself.</p><p></p><p>The group met up with a trio of city guardsmen, who confirmed the crisis seemed to have come to an end; they'd taken down several groups of undead themselves throughout the city, mostly skeletons and zombies. Somewhere out there, Daleth and Orion had likely been doing the same.</p><p></p><p>The three heroes returned to the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> to find Skevros already there. He was drinking from two different flagons, alternating between what appeared to be a stiff drink and a glass of what the group assumed was a mixture of <em>potions of inflict wounds</em> of various strength. The negative energy imbued in the potions - prepared by Anuja, no doubt - healed the living lich of his battle wounds.</p><p></p><p>"How did you fare with the dracolich?" asked Kaspar as the other two set about procuring drinks for themselves.</p><p></p><p>"It wasn't actually a dracolich," answered Skevros, taking a swig of alcohol. "I gather it was rather a spellcaster, presumably undead himself, under the effects of a <em>shapechange</em> spell. It would seem the whole point was diversionary, to draw me away from the events of the city, for the 'dracolich' <em>teleported</em> away before either of us could slay the other."</p><p></p><p>"So that Melvior could slay the members of the Temple of Wee Jas and reanimate them under his control," Kaspar noted, filling Skevros in on the events they'd been involved in.</p><p></p><p>"That leaves Anuja as the sole surviving member," Skevros sighed, mourning the loss of her mother, the High Priestess of the temple and a good friend to the king's adviser. "I wonder where she might be? I have purposely avoided trying to <em>scry</em> upon her while she's in the Azure Glade, lest I compromise her mission. She was to use a <em>sending</em> spell to inform me of her progress."</p><p></p><p>"I hope you're not thinkin' of sendin' us back into the damn Azure Glade on another damn rescue mission," griped Syngaard, slamming down his tankard of ale.</p><p></p><p>"We shall have to see," replied Skevros.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>Logan used Paizo's "Town Square" map for our final battle; the first one took place on our blank map grid with the Dungeon Tile of the tavern we use to represent the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> and some homemade tiles representing the nearby buildings. For the skeletal undead (to include Melvior), Logan used the "bone creature" template from the <em>Book of Vile Darkness</em> (which was lucky for us, as we initially feared we were up against liches, who would likely be too much for a trio of 7th-level PCs to deal with!).</p><p></p><p>Logan also gave Orion and Daleth half-XP for this adventure even though Vicki and Joey both stayed home for this session. Partly it was because he hadn't assigned them alternate (non-XP) missions to explain their absences, and thus they were likely in Durnhill fighting undead, but mostly it was because Orion and Daleth are our lower-level PCs and he didn't want the discrepancy between our respective levels to get too wide. (The three of us made it to 8th level as a result of this adventure, while Daleth is just now starting 5th level.)</p><p></p><p>And, other than my first swing that took out an orc skeleton and injured a ghast, my dice pretty much betrayed me all night. I finally got to try my Improved Overrun feat, with embarrassing results. (Seriously? Knocked flat by a skeleton? Not my finest moment!) Fate owes me another session where I'm a combat machine!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7471599, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 21: DEATH FALLS[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Galen Thorne, human paladin 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Syngaard, human fighter 7[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 25 July 2018 - - - It had been a week since the team's most recent infiltration into the Azure Glade to rescue Orlin, the Guildmaster of the Conjurers Guild. During that time, the full story behind Anuja Graveshadow remained hidden - Skevros waved away questions about her, merely insisting that he trusted her implicitly. After awhile, Orion and Daleth gave up; they accepted the judgment of the king's advisor and let that be that. But Galen, Kaspar, and Syngaard still wanted to know what Anuja's deal was. "Nothin' good ever came from a name like 'Graveshadow'," Syngaard warned. Galen was puzzled because he had previously examined Anuja's aura and found it clear of the taint of evil...but still, she sounded like a necromancer and the proud paladin would have no dealings with those who disturbed the remains of the dead, animating them to unholy life. Finally, after a week had passed and Anuja had still not returned from whatever mission she had been sent on in the Azure Glade, Skevros began to worry. "Very well," he agreed one morning in the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I], facing the three heroes who were continuing to pester him on the subject. "Anuja's mother is the high priestess of the Temple of Wee Jas here in Durnhill. She quite literally saved my life, early after my transformation into...my present form. Since then, she and Anuja have been the only source of my healing, as they are able to channel the negative energy needed to heal my body." "So she's a cleric?" demanded Galen. It certainly beat being a necromancer! "Indeed, and a very fine one at that," admitted Skevros. "She been a cleric this whole time?" demanded Syngaard. "Why didn't she say nothin'? We coulda used her healing powers out in the field! We all thought she was just some dumb wagon driver!" "It is my understanding," began Skevros, "That she opted not to open up to you once you began making jokes about her goddess...." "Wee Jas?" asked Kaspar. "I do not recall anyone making sport about the Goddess of Death and Magic." "More directly, about the hypothetical possibility that she had a brother named 'Hugh'," continued Skevros, frowning. Galen and Syngaard looked askance at one another, then broke out laughing. "Oh yeah," recalled Syngaard. "'Hugh Jas - that was a good one!" "Be that as it may, it cost Anuja's trust in your group. I would hope that amends could be made, as soon as she returns." "May we ask of her mission?" asked Kaspar. "I sent her to investigate Melvior's potential connection to the Seeker's of Eternity." "Melvior? Which one was that again?" asked Syngaard. "He was the one who entered the Catacombs of Deserved Rest and animated those who had been interred there," pointed out Kaspar. "He was also a cleric of Wee Jas, as I recall." "Indeed," agreed Skevros. "But that happened before we had learned of the Seekers of Eternity. I wish to know whether there was any affiliation between him and the Seekers, or if his was an unrelated action. But I would have imagined Anuja would have returned by now with news of whatever she'd unearthed about his past. Or, failing that, sent me a [I]sending[/I] spell with her progress." Any potential response was cut off by a primordial roar emanating from outside the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I]. "What the Hell was [I]that[/I]?" demanded Syngaard, rising up from his seat and grabbing the morningstar at his belt. Then, to answer his own question, he cautiously exited the tavern by its front door and looked around. The others followed directly behind him. The roar was repeated, and the scarred fighter pinpointed the direction of the sound to the south, from the direction of the Sanguine Swamp, on the far side of the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I]. Rounding the building, the group saw a large, draconic figure flying through the air, headed for the city - but this dragon had no scales, no muscles, nothing but its yellowing bones. How it managed to make any sound at all - or fly with wings made only of the bones that would normally support the leathery wings' structure - was beyond Syngaard. He closed his eyes and tried disbelieving in the creature (he'd been fooled by illusions before), but when he opened them up again it was still there - and even closer to the city. "What's--?" began the fighter, but he was abruptly cut off by Skevros. "Dracolich!" hissed the king's adviser. Turning back to the tavern, he called to his [I]unseen servant[/I] within: "Karen! Bring me my battle gear!" "We gonna fight that thing?" asked Syngaard in amazement. "[I]I[/I] am going to fight that thing," Skevros corrected him. "I want you to protect the city. Have everyone remain indoors until the threat has been dealt with." Skevros was magically confined to the boundaries of the kingdom of Durnhill and thus did not often get to join his team in combat, but this dracolich had made the mistake of coming to Skevros in his place of banishment. The wizard vowed it would come to regret that decision! With a word, he [I]teleported[/I] away to do battle with the undead beast before it could attack the city proper. Almost as soon as he was gone, a fetid odor assaulted the noses of the three heroes. Shambling out of the alleys across from the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I] came a group of assorted undead, some skeletal, some covered in rotting meat. "Damnit!" cursed Syngaard; he'd been hoping to be able to go back into the tavern and finish off his ale before heading into combat. Kaspar was the first to react. Crossing the street at his full speed, he leaped the last dozen feet or so and sent his foot crashing into the skull of the closest skeleton - an orc, by the hulking build of the thing. His kick sent the skull snapping from the skeleton's neck and careening across the rest of the street to shatter against the wall of an adjacent building. The remaining bones of its animated body collapsed into a heap. Unfortunately, in having rushed out that far away from his companions, the elven monk made himself a ripe target for the other undead in the immediate vicinity. A ghast and another orc skeleton approached him from two different directions, the ghast getting past Kaspar's defenses - the poor elf was having a difficult time dealing with the rotting thing's horrific stench - and bit at the monk's arm with a set of decaying teeth. Fortunately, despite being sickened by the overwhelming odor of rot, Kaspar was able to fend of the paralytic properties of the ghast's bite and remained fighting, although no longer at full strength. But the orc skeleton lashed out with a weapon as well, and Kaspar was surprised to feel the blade draw forth some of his life essence into its unholy steel. Galen raced not for the undead but for the stables to the east of the tavern. Opening wide the doors, he called forth Seneca, his noble warhorse. But before he could even mount his steed, a pair of orc skeletons approached and, seeing the horse as the closest living being, closed in for the attack, each wielding the same type of glimmering blade as the one fighting Kaspar. Seneca cried out in pain as a pair of life-draining daggers dug deep into his flanks. "Seneca, flee!" called out Galen, drawing his [I]sword of Zehkar[/I] and advancing upon the animated skeletons. Seneca, having felt pain of a type he'd never experienced before, needed no further encouragement and raced down the street, away from the undead forces. Behind him, his master put his longsword to good use, cutting down both of the orc skeletons in a single, cleaving blow. Syngaard charged over to Kaspar's side, smashing through the orc skeleton and allowing his swing to continue until it crashed into the side of the ghast's head, finishing its arc in a meaty thud. Kaspar finished the ghast off with a quick flurry of blows, his hands moving nearly too fast to see. Both undead combatants fell to the dirt of the streets. Then the two living heroes were out of foes at hand, for the other ghast was bounding over to Galen. In the span of time it took for the ghast to make it to the paladin, Galen used his [I]illumium scabbard[/I] to channel positive energy in a burst that struck Kaspar, healing the worst of his wounds. In the meantime, he could hear screams of terror coming from behind him, in the direction Seneca had fled. And then the ghast was upon him - or rather, upon his blade, for the paladin had no trouble skewering the unliving thing upon the [I]sword of Zehkar[/I]. Its unholy life ended in a mere moment as the blade's inherent goodness slew the shambling blasphemy. Rushing toward the center of town, the three heroes came upon a small horde of undead assembled around a fountain. Among the various skeletons and zombies stood three black-robed figures, two of them walking skeletons but the third looking to be human. "I got the human!" Syngaard called out, planning to put his captured [I]human bane scimitar[/I] to good use. "Agreed!" called Galen. As he advanced upon the horde, Galen cast a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell upon himself, hoping to be a bulwark for the party. As he spoke the words to his spell, the zombies turned and shambled in his direction, moaning loudly. Kaspar practically tore the face off the first zombie with his initial attack, the rotting skin being torn by the monk's [I]tenryutsume[/I]. But it didn't seem the least bit discomfited with its new skull-faced visage; snapping its rotting teeth at the nimble monk. Seeing a break in the line of opponents, Syngaard raced forward toward the human in the dark robes. He threw his [I]returning javelin[/I] as he ran, hoping to catch his foe unprepared, but the throw missed by mere inches, doing nothing but alerting the spellcaster to the fighter's rapid approach. As the magic javelin returned to Syngaard's hand, the spellcaster turned his back on Syngaard and headed to a nearby building, casting a spell of some sort on his way. The skeletons raced forward, most of them heading toward Kaspar and Galen but one veering off to attack Syngaard. Fortunately, unlike the orc skeletons from the previous fight, these weren't armed with life-draining blades, fighting only with their own clawed digits. The two robed skeletons each cast a spell, one enhancing the fighting power of the undead in the area with a [I]bless[/I] spell, the other trying to cause Kaspar to flee in panic. Fortunately, the monk's willpower was strong and he mentally brushed the [I]cause fear[/I] spell away with ease. On a hunch, Galen concentrated a moment on the auras of the undead forces they were fighting. The zombies and skeletons all radiated evil as expected, and while the two robed skeletons' auras also blazed with evil, theirs seemed to blink in and out of focus, as if not always there. Galen had seen that sort of effect before, when dealing with the reanimated remains of the half-celestial bard in the Catacombs of Deserved Rest. Oddly enough, the human - who Galen recognized at once as Melvior, no doubt raised back to life by the Seekers - did not radiate any evil. But this meant nothing to the stalwart paladin; there were ways, he knew, of masking the evil in one's soul and likewise in the aura that surrounded all beings. Galen brought the holy symbol of Hieroneous up before him. With a quick word of prayer, he caused a flashing burst of positive energy to blast the undead in his vicinity, turning most of them to ash. Syngaard continued his pursuit of Melvior, who had stopped at the locked door of the building he was trying to enter. Neither of the robed skeletons had been harmed by Galen's turning, and they each struck out with spells: one caused a [I]spiritual dagger[/I] to blaze into unholy life and stab down at Galen, while the other threw a [I]hold person[/I] spell that stopped Syngaard in his tracks. But Galen rushed up to the nearest skeletal spellcaster and brought the [I]sword of Zehkar[/I] down in a [I]smite evil[/I] strike that split several of the creature's bones, nearly dropping it entirely. Kaspar struck out at the other one with a cobra-quick strike. Neither one fell, but neither looked to be far from that point in the battle. Sweat broke out on Syngaard's bald head as the stubborn fighter struggled with all his might to release himself from the stupid spell keeping him immobilized. It took all of his mental strength - and mental strength was by no means Syngaard's strong suit - but he finally willed his frozen limbs back to life. Gripping his morningstar tight (for he had yet to switch to his [I]human bane scimitar[/I]), he resumed his race towards Melvior. Melvior, in the meantime, had heard the puffs of explosion as most of his minions had been turned to ash by Galen's holy power and turned to try to take out the upstart paladin. He cast a spell that would deprive Galen of his sight, but the stubborn holy warrior shrugged off the intended effects. In the meantime, both skeletal clerics healed themselves, their bones knitting back up through the power of their unholy magic. Annoyed at having had his damage undone, Galen tried another turn attempt, focused directly upon the two skeletal spellcasters. Although there was no immediate visible effect, Galen could see the "flickering evil" of their auras bleed away. Kaspar, however, saw no such change and continued attacking his designated foe. Syngaard tried rushing straight into Melvior with a flying tackle and was surprised to be thrown flat on his back instead. But he had gained a valuable insight from his failed attack: the body he had crashed into was bony, not covered in flesh. Melvior's human appearance was apparently nothing more than an illusion of how he had looked in life; he was just as much a walking skeleton as his other two undead spellcasting companions. Glad now that he hadn't switched from his trusty morningstar, Syngaard snarled an oath and crawled back to his feet, ready to strike at Melvior again. He took a blade to the back from his foe as he regained his feet, Melvior stabbing him with a life-draining dagger that sent the chill of unholy power through the scarred fighter's body. But now that the two skeletal clerics of Wee Jas were no longer under Melvior's sway, one retargeted his [I]spiritual dagger[/I] at the dark-robed figure, while the other cast an identical spell and sent his weapon to strike at the same target. Melvior ignored the striking daggers and concentrated on regaining control of his errant undead; he managed to do so but was quickly brought down by the combined attacks of all three heroes. Once permanently released from his control, the other two undead spellcasters - their auras once again free of the taint of evil - begged to be released from their cursed forms that they may be returned to the side of the their goddess. It was only then that Syngaard noticed the symbols of Wee Jas each wore on a chain around their necks. But Galen was only too happy to comply with their wishes, cutting them both down with the [I]sword of Zehkar[/I]. Before the animating spirits left their bones, one of the clerics asked the paladin to look after Anuja. "She is the last remaining member of our temple," he said, indicating that Melvior had slain the other members of the Temple of Wee Jas - the building into which Melvior was attempting to enter when he'd been cut down. The heroes looked all about them - there were no more undead in the immediate vicinity. Looking skyward, they saw no sign of either Skevros or the dracolich, either - in the heat of their own battles they'd forgotten that their mentor was engaged in a life-or-death battle of his own. So they did as they always did in situations like this: a little process Syngaard liked to refer to as "looting the stiffs." In doing so, they saw a familiar sideways hourglass emblem etched into the forehead of Melvior's skull - the symbol of the Seekers of Eternity. (It only made sense, as an animated skeleton couldn't wear a tattoo. But it looked like the group had validated Melvior's ties with the Seekers.) They also discovered that the symbol of Wee Jas Melvior wore about his neck was actually hollow, with the image of another god's symbol hidden with its interior: that of Vecna, God of Secrets. "It would seem he was trying to destroy the Temple of Wee Jas from within," observed Galen. "It would also seem that he was successful," Kaspar added. Anuja might still be alive, but she was hardly an entire congregation by herself. The group met up with a trio of city guardsmen, who confirmed the crisis seemed to have come to an end; they'd taken down several groups of undead themselves throughout the city, mostly skeletons and zombies. Somewhere out there, Daleth and Orion had likely been doing the same. The three heroes returned to the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I] to find Skevros already there. He was drinking from two different flagons, alternating between what appeared to be a stiff drink and a glass of what the group assumed was a mixture of [I]potions of inflict wounds[/I] of various strength. The negative energy imbued in the potions - prepared by Anuja, no doubt - healed the living lich of his battle wounds. "How did you fare with the dracolich?" asked Kaspar as the other two set about procuring drinks for themselves. "It wasn't actually a dracolich," answered Skevros, taking a swig of alcohol. "I gather it was rather a spellcaster, presumably undead himself, under the effects of a [I]shapechange[/I] spell. It would seem the whole point was diversionary, to draw me away from the events of the city, for the 'dracolich' [I]teleported[/I] away before either of us could slay the other." "So that Melvior could slay the members of the Temple of Wee Jas and reanimate them under his control," Kaspar noted, filling Skevros in on the events they'd been involved in. "That leaves Anuja as the sole surviving member," Skevros sighed, mourning the loss of her mother, the High Priestess of the temple and a good friend to the king's adviser. "I wonder where she might be? I have purposely avoided trying to [I]scry[/I] upon her while she's in the Azure Glade, lest I compromise her mission. She was to use a [I]sending[/I] spell to inform me of her progress." "I hope you're not thinkin' of sendin' us back into the damn Azure Glade on another damn rescue mission," griped Syngaard, slamming down his tankard of ale. "We shall have to see," replied Skevros. - - - Logan used Paizo's "Town Square" map for our final battle; the first one took place on our blank map grid with the Dungeon Tile of the tavern we use to represent the [I]Enchanted Flagon[/I] and some homemade tiles representing the nearby buildings. For the skeletal undead (to include Melvior), Logan used the "bone creature" template from the [I]Book of Vile Darkness[/I] (which was lucky for us, as we initially feared we were up against liches, who would likely be too much for a trio of 7th-level PCs to deal with!). Logan also gave Orion and Daleth half-XP for this adventure even though Vicki and Joey both stayed home for this session. Partly it was because he hadn't assigned them alternate (non-XP) missions to explain their absences, and thus they were likely in Durnhill fighting undead, but mostly it was because Orion and Daleth are our lower-level PCs and he didn't want the discrepancy between our respective levels to get too wide. (The three of us made it to 8th level as a result of this adventure, while Daleth is just now starting 5th level.) And, other than my first swing that took out an orc skeleton and injured a ghast, my dice pretty much betrayed me all night. I finally got to try my Improved Overrun feat, with embarrassing results. (Seriously? Knocked flat by a skeleton? Not my finest moment!) Fate owes me another session where I'm a combat machine! [/QUOTE]
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