The Age of Worms - Morrus' Campaign - Finished 6th August!!


log in or register to remove this ad

Eccles

Ragged idiot in a trilby.
I usually write up the whole last session, but I'm a bit under the weather, so the rest is going to have to wait for a while!
 

Tamlyn

Explorer
Alright. You're a complete and utter rat bastard! Other than that, I completely enjoy the story and hope you feel better quickly.
 

Eccles

Ragged idiot in a trilby.
I stared in horror at the three massive lizardmen, who tossed aside the empty poison flasks and glared back at me.

“Is that it,” bellowed the King. “Am I now supposed to be invincible? I shall test my new strength on the prisoners.”

Once again, the psychopathic lizard monarch turned on the two supposed captives, who lay on the floor trying hard not to twitch. Concerned, I interrupted him once again.

“My liege, there appears to be something amiss with the flow of the magics. Allow me but to examine you.”

Swiftly, I cast a spell of magical sight, and scrutinised the figures before me. I could see Igmut, sword drawn, standing to one side of them cloaked in the invisibility spell I had cast on him earlier. I could also see Malachite, swathed in transmutation magics, warped into the form of a large snake. The lizardmen wore enchanted necklaces and bracers giving them some kind of protection, and each of them was cloaked in some kind of powerful enchantment. They all held magical tridents, although the king’s was the most alarming, both in terms of power, and because he was raising it to stab at the prisoners.

“The necklaces must be protecting them!” Yelling this in common, I dived for some cover and started up a chant of encouragement for the others. Even as I leapt back, Flynne swung down from the ceiling, firing 2 shots at the king whilst hanging by his knees from the roots of the roof.

From my rear, Endo stepped around into sight chanting, and my mystical sight could see the null-magic of his spell rippling around the targets, and stripping away the enchantment around the king, the dark aura surrounding him being stripped away in an instant. The captured soldier scrambled to his feet and dashed backwards, firing a captured crossbow wildly in a panic as he went.

Igmut blinked into view, his heavy sword swinging for the king’s neck with pinpoint accuracy. It sliced through the cord fastening the magical necklace to the huge figure’s neck, and we all held our breaths for a split second, willing the poison to take effect.

It didn’t.
 

Firedancer

First Post
I just had to drop a note; what a wonderfully underhand plan!
I was so disappointed for you that the poison has not taken affect, I can only imagine your own responses!

When did Morrus engage smug-mode?
 



Dpulse303

Meat head
Cmon Nic finish the blooming update!,
i know you wanted to "maintain the suspension" throught this one ...
but this is taking the p*$$ so get writing!!
cheers dude ;)


p.s. none of those sad excuses about being ill ,cos i know you went to your other session on saturday. :p
 

Eccles

Ragged idiot in a trilby.
As his necklace clattered to his feet, the King stabbed Igmut in the arm with his heavy black trident, and then stepped back behind his two bodyguards, clearly intending for them to take the brunt of our assault.

As this was clearly going to be a vicious struggle, Malachite’s features warped once again, as his slim serpentine form warped into that of a snarling wolverine. Flynne, still hanging upside-down from the ceiling, fired twice at the King, although the arrows glanced of his scaled form and flew off down the corridor.

The lizard king disappeared at this point, behind the wall of flesh which was his two bodyguards. One slashed down at Malachite’s small animal form, tearing open a wound with the point of its trident. The other launched his through the air towards Flynne, but missed as he hauled himself flat to the ceiling. The trident embedded itself in the roots, but then faded from sight. I looked around myself, trying to see where the weapon had gone, and to my horror saw it fading back into view in the lizardman’s claws.

To my left, I could hear Endo chanting the words to one of his two remaining spells – his own invention Endo’s Freaking Paranoia. He gestured at one of the guards, and a slight dazed expression crossed its draconic features, before it shook its head, and returned to trying to brutally slaughter Malachite.

I decided at that point to cease my encouraging chant, leaving its lingering effects in my comrades’ hearts, and cast a spell of my own, flinging the effect of a Sound Burst towards the King and one of his men. They were both shocked by the noise, and to my great relief, the guard was temporarily stunned, dropping his enchanted trident at his feet. The human soldier seized his moment by snatching up the weapon and darting back behind me and my comrades.

Marzena, the captive warmage, summoned up a large ball of flame, calling it into existence around the King, and his bellows of pain could be heard echoing around the chamber. Again Igmut slashed the King heavily with his enchanted longsword, clutching his magical shield in his other hand. Despite its protection, the trident bit deeply into the half-orc’s side. Malachite bit out at one guard, but was then hit several turns in turn by the furious lizardmen, multiple trident stabs causing him terrible wounds. From up in the ceiling, Flynne’s bow sang on, sending arrow after arrow slamming into the lizard king.

After an instant’s chanting, Endo sent a dark ray across the room, striking and draining strength out of the King’s heavy frame. He sagged considerably, but kept lashing out at Igmut, stepping away from the ball of fire which simply moved to keep up with him, scorching him over and over again, whilst Marzena cast other spells of fire at the bodyguards.

“KORD!”

Bellowing, Igmut raged, foam springing to his lips as he drew his heavy greatsword and stepped up to the King. There was a heavy swing, and an equally massive backswing. Igmut’s swordwork left two terrible wounds across the lizard king’s torso. Still sagging from Endo’s spell, the King turned on his heels and dashed out of sight.

.oOo.

Flynne dropped from the ceiling, twisting like a cat to land perfectly on the floor before dashing across the room with sword in hand to stab at the lizardman who was poised triumphantly over Malachite’s heavily injured form. Another blow brought Malachite almost to the point of death, critically injured and only just capable of moving, whilst the other guard slashed across Igmut’s chest, adding to the huge number of tears in his flesh; blood poured down his lumpy flesh.

Endo, now wielding a wand in each hand, stepped fully into the room and pointed with his left hand, wreathing one of the two guards in dozens of familiar tearing and rending spirits, which added their own agonies to any wounds we could inflict. I joined the spellcasting by dashing up and healing Igmut somewhat with a spell of my own, whislt Marzena’s ball of fire bounced across the room to burn at the cursed lizardman.

Igmut looked mournfully down the corridor along which the King had fled, before turning back to the room and, still in a towering rage, slammed his sword down heavily twice on one of the guards. Malachite also carved into the tottering lizardman, his teeth biting deeply into the creature’s calf. He tore free, and with a spray of arterial blood and the whispering of Endo’s necromantic curse, the creature collapsed to the floor.

Another curse flew from Endo’s hand, afflicting the other lizardman, and we dashed to surround him. Igmut moved first, with a huge sweep of his sword, accompanied by a huge gout of blood. Flynne danced across the room, swinging his sword, and I followed, pulling out a wand and using some of its power to cure Igmut somewhat. Finally, the ball of fire bounced across the room, and the lizardman collapsed in its heat.

.oOo.

We paused in the room as Igmut, Malachite and I all used healing wands to bring all of us back to a healthy state, which took some time given how heavily injured Malachite and Igmut were, before we gave chase after the King.

Following him down the dark corridor, we reached a junction which the lizard priestess had explained to us. To the right was a closed off chamber, in which lay a number of the lizardmen who had been infected with the strange worm-plague. The King wouldn’t have gone that way. Straight ahead was the king’s chamber, at the door of which I had set my spell of alarm. I could sense that it had not been tripped, and therefore we knew that the King could only have gone to the left, towards the egg-laying chamber, through the deep water of a flooded tunnel.

Inspired, Igmut began to chant, casting one of his last spells for the day on us. By a miraculous coincidence, Igmut had been holding onto a spell of water breathing, which allowed us all to step casually into the flooded tunnel and walk towards where we knew the King to be. Igmut and Flynne took the lead down the long dark tunnel, whilst I was delighted to learn that my ever-burning torch continued to flicker with light even whilst underwater!

.oOo.

I emerged from the tunnel to the sounds of combat. 8 small, dark, scaled yipping forms were clustered around the legs of Flynne and Igmut (who had half a dozen small vine-line nooses wrapped around his legs, clearly from some traps within the tunnel). The sounds of tiny crossbows could be heard clicking, and tiny bolts clanking off Igmut’s heavy armour.

I left the water fully, and could hear a bellowing sound from further into the cavern. From behind a huge pile of rocks emerged the lizardman king, completely healed and standing proud and erect, clearly no longer affected by Endo’s strength-draining spell. His trident flew across the room and crashed into my chest. As stars erupted in my vision, I could just barely see the trident fading away and re-appearing in its owner’s hands.

Despite my wound, I could feel Endo from the water behind me pressing a wand into my hand as a kobold jabbed at me. From my side, Igmut’s heavy greatsword simply swept the creature from my path.

I raised the wand and pointed it at the King, triggering its magic with an effort of will as I had seen Endo do so often in the past. It worked, and the wailing spirits hurtled out of the thin wooden wand and wreathed around the heavy-set lizardman. By the eerie light of the spell, we could see a huge array of eggs, all lying in a shallow pool some 30 feet across. At the back of the pool lay a single huge black egg, easily three feet in height. Just beyond the pool were three chests, two of which were already open and surrounded by a small heap of empty potion vials, clearly used by the King in an effort to restore himself.

.oOo.

Flynne scrambled up the pike of rocks and began to pour fire down on the King, whilst behind him Marzena the warmage scrambled out of the water and cast a spell, sending sheets of flame over the kobold creatures, scorching many of them. Igmut set about himself with his sword, incredibly not managing to kill one with a swing; the effects of our magical exhaustion beginning to be most telling.

Near Igmut, Malachite tossed down a feather, which writhed and extended, transforming into a long weaving whip, lashing out and damaging one of the kobolds.

The King’s trident hurtled over the heap of stones, slamming deeply into Flynne, who fired once down the side of the slope before leaping down and taking cover amongst us.

Marzena’s sheets of flame dropped a couple of the snapping kobolds, whilst Igmut and Malachite laid about themselves with weapons, and within a few moments there were only 2 left supporting their king, who hurled his trident once again, narrowly missing Igmut.

Endo cast another enfeebling spell, clutching a pearl of power, which lost some of its shiny lustre as he chanted. The lizard king’s eyes rolled to the heavens as his body sagged once again under the power of Endo’s spell.

The kobolds proved wholly ineffectual, flailing and missing both Malachite and Igmut, before being slain by another of Marzena’s sheets of fire. Igmut paused for a second to pray and cast his last spell – enhancing himself for the fight against the King.

Still dripping with water, Endo chanted, and a grey and ghostly hand materialised next to him, and began to float gently towards the King, who looked up towards us and snarled.

“Do not enter this chamber. You do not know the dangers, outsiders!”

We looked nervously at one another, and then simultaneously all drew missile weapons and trained them on the lizard king.

Marzena moved first, summoning up yet another huge ball of fire, which began to chase the King around the egg-pool, burning him whenever he paused to throw his trident at one of us. Each time it made contact, Endo’s wand-spell which I had set upon him wailed and gouged at the burns. Spell, slingstone, arrow and bolt were fired in a vicious barrage, whilst the King moved around the edge of the pool, doing his best to avoid the ball of fire, but frequently getting caught in the flames. The King flung his trident at Igmut, hurting him, but was then subjected to yet more of our missile weapons.

In response, the massive lizardman reached to a bandolier he was wearing, snatched up a small flask, and draining it. Immediately he began to move faster and more fluidly. Endo responded by hurling a tanglefoot bag at the weakened lizardman, which covered his form in thick glue-like strands, sticking him to the floor in an instant. More missiles slammed into his heavy-set frame, whilst Marzena began to throw small ice-spells at him, clearly now running out of spells herself.

Swallowing deeply, Malachite stepped into the egg-chamber to get a better line of sight on the King, and was immediately caught in the throat with the thrown trident, causing him yet another dreadful and life-threatening wound. A cloud of dark mist began to seep around Malachite’s mouth and nostrils, but he snorted, expelling whatever dreadful sorcery.

I finally restored myself to some semblance of health with the curing wound, removing the worst of the damage the King had down to me by throwing his trident earlier, before moving across and passing a second wand from my bag to Marzena. She grasped it, and began to fire small globes of force at the lizardman, each made all the more dangerous by the necromantic curse of Endo’s wand.

In response, the King drank yet another potion, which sealed up many of his serious wounds. In turn, I triggered the wand in my hand, which had a similar (albeit much smaller) effect on Igmut.

Still under fire, the King drank another flask, and immediately vanished from sight. In response, I dived into my haversack and produced a scroll, which I passed to Endo. He read from it, and a glittering golden dust floated down, landing on and around the spot where the lizard-king was still glued to the spot. He was once again made visible, this time in glittering silhouette.

We continued to hammer the King with missile fire, backed with the wand of magic missiles wielded by Marzena. Each shot which struck was backed with the strength of the curse, tearing the wound to be all the worse. In some desperation now, the lizard-king drank another potion, which made his silhouette grow slightly in strength and stature, although not enough to counter-act Endo’s spell of enfeeblement.

Remembering his spear, and having seen nothing unpleasant happen to Malachite, Igmut stepped into the egg-chamber, casting his sling to one side and stabbing the King, who bellowed in fury and rage, his glittering form thrashing around in the glue, but thankfully unable to break free. Flynne sighted his bow, and then his arrows flashed through the air. With a crash, the glittering, invisible, enfeebled, cursed, raging, strength-enhanced, glued lizardman fell to the floor. The day was ours.

Pausing only to glance nervously at the eggs, we collapsed in a heap in the egg-chamber.
 


Remove ads

Top