Rel's Faded Glory II (Thanks Old One) Final Update 7/14

[Rel]

That seems about right

I am really waiting to hear how they got out of there.

There should be one more installment in this battle. I'll get that posted sometime this week. After that there will be a more "roleplay focused" interlude. And then, the climactic battle of the whole campaign. That one will likely be a multi-parter as well.

 

[Darklone]

I love climactic battles

 

[Darklone]

Babonk.

 

[Rel]

Just Completely Buggered

(Before we begin this last - and relatively brief - account of the Battle in the Dark Druid Camp, I'll just mention a quick rules reference. According to the Ability Score Damage rules on page 72 of the DMG, an ability score cannot be reduced below 0. This could be considered somewhat of a boon to Scar and Raven, in that, if scores were allowed to be reduced below 0, they would have Strength scores of -11 and -17 respectively. However, since a Strength of 0 is enough to leave you motionless and helpless on the ground under the force of your own body weight, the fact that they were not in the negatives was fairly cold comfort. With that in mind...)

Time seemed to slow down as every intricate detail of their doom seemed to become its own insurmountable obstacle. Things looked utterly hopeless and each, in his own way, accepted that his death may be at hand.

Scar cast off the magic that held him in bird form and stood up quickly to find a pair of Ogre skeletons looming over him. Raven did the same and came face to face with the she-elf Dark Druid wielding her sickle. She slashed out with it and caught Raven in the throat.

The Dwarf saw the blade slash through the air off to his left, droplets of red trailing after it. He saw a gleeful grin of triumph on the face of the female Dark Druid in front of him. He felt relief as the burdensome weight of his hammer let go his arm. His whole body felt light and his beloved earth came up to embrace him in darkness. His lifeblood began to rapidly soak the ground around him.

The Ogre skeletons rained blows down on Scar with their claw hands. He staggered under them and despair gripped him as he saw the terrible wound that Raven suffered. Looking to the sky, he saw Speaks, in eagle form, turn and alight a short distance away as he resumed human form. Was the human insane? Could he not see that they were going to die here? Clearly Speaks had decided that he would return so they could all die together.

Or perhaps not. The Druid didn't usually think in those terms. Could it be that he really thought that Scar might make it out alive? Well, it would be an insult to the Druid's sacrifice if he didn't at least try. Scar decided to live.

He ran.

Speaks saw Scar bolt back inside the pavillion and hoped that his return might buy the Half-Orc a few precious moments of respite to get away. The Dark Druids turned their ire on Speaks with a vengeance. First, the ball of glistening ice under the command of one of the evil elves came rolling toward him and struck his thigh with chilling impact. Even as he tried to dodge the first, the same Dark Druid summoned another such Snow Ball and sent it at him.

Then came the female Dark Druid who had just dealt Raven such a vicious blow. As she closed in on him, Speaks struck out with his long spear, skewering her shoulder and spoiling her attack. The tiny surge of revenge he felt at that blow was quickly overwhelmed as he saw the Dark Druid leader wave his glowing green rod of evil overhead and send four of the skeletal Ogres to attack him.

Scar found himself dodging between more of the large skeletons and saw that the exit he was angling for was now a gateway through which a dozen or more Gnoll skeletons were pouring through. That way was death. Looking toward the other end of the camp where at least three Dark Druids and four Ogre skeletons tried to kill Speaks, he knew that way was death too. But at least that way his death might be fast and glorious. Better that than having his flesh picked from his bones by the clawed hands of the Gnoll skeletons. He moved back the way he had come.

Speaks return hadn't bought Scar much time, but he had done the best he could. He backpedaled out of reach of the Dark Druid woman and the undead Ogres and took to the air as an eagle once again. He flew like his life depended on it. It did.

The Dark Druids and Ogre skeletons moved toward the northern edge of the encampment, guarding against another feint by Speaks. Their leader glanced back to see if his Gnoll skeletons had killed the Half-Orc yet and saw no sign of him. That was odd...

Scar ran with a grin on his face. He was running for his life or to his death and didn't know which. Either way it was going to be a memorable occasion. He darted through the ruined pavillion and spied the motionless form of Raven lying just outside the opposite entrance. Your hammer hasn't killed its last Dark Druid my brother in arms.

Barely slowing down, Scar scooped Raven's warhammer from where it lay next to his body. His eyes full of murder and with a hammer in each hand, he ran toward the eastern exit of the compound. And woe to he who tried to stop him.

The Dark Druids tried to stop him of course. A pair of them had already taken the form of eagles themselves to pursue Speaks, but their leader remained vigilant. With a wave of his hand, a Wall of Fire sprang up across the exit. His other hand pointed at Scar and his unliving servants closed in on the captive Half-Orc.

Scar's grin kept its place on his face. He kept running as he tucked Raven's hammer under his other arm and then pulled out a potion. As it coated his throat, he felt ice-water running in his veins. With the Ogre skeletons in pursuit, he ran fearlessly at the inferno ahead.

Above, the Dark Druids closed in on Speaks With Stone. As wounded as they were, they knew that he couldn't have much fight left in him either. Flames surged from thier claws as they moved in for the kill.

Speaks banked over and saw Scar running at the Wall of Fire like a charging grizzly. In a moment, he would live or die and the only thing Speaks could do about either was see to it that the avian Dark Druids behind him couldn't hunt down the Half-Orc at their leisure. Speaks slowed and sent out his magic to Summon an Ally of Nature.

Scar leap into the flames. They swirled around him and blood boiled on his armor and weapons. An instant later, he emerged unharmed on the other side of the fire. His long legs stretched out and launched him into the woods. He hoped that he could outrun any Dark Druids that tried to follow him but those hopes sank as he saw the eagles pursuing Speaks overhead. He had worn the form of an eagle before thanks to the Druid's magic and he knew exactly how fast they were and how easily they could spot him from the air. His chances of evading them were virtually none.

As he watched, the pair of eagles closed in on the third and Scar prayed that St. Cuthbert would lend some justice to their fight and let Speaks strike a few last good blows. Then, as if in answer to his prayers, a giant bat seemed to burst into being just behind the flying Dark Druids and swooped in to attack them.

The Dark Druids were taken completely off guard as the sky darkened above them and they found themselves the targets of the Dire Bat. The thing moved in utter silence and was more maneuverable than they were as well. Trying to fight it off with their talons and beaks was going to be impossible and they couldn't focus on attacking Speaks or searching for Scar while it harried them. They turned and beat a desperate retreat back to their camp where their brethren might help protect them from the ground.

Speaks watched them retreat and breathed a ragged sigh of relief. He traded altitude for speed as he dove down to just above the treetops. His eagle eyes quickly found Scar below, running like he was being chased by the hounds of hell. Speaks glanced back to make sure that he wasn't.

The Druid thought of alighting so that they might regroup and talk of what they would do next. But he didn't. He couldn't imagine what he might say right now. They both needed to just flee for a while and let their bodies exhaust their minds to stave off the wave of despair that waited to crash in on them. There would be plenty of time to talk and mourn later.

----------------------------------------------

On the blood soaked ground of the Dark Druid camp, Irakthanbar Derin Khazundam, known to his friends as Raven, died. As the life slipped out of him, part of him was aware of what was happening. That part prayed.

I thank you, All-Father,
for letting me die this day on this hallowed and blessed earth.
For though these creatures may bring their evil into these lands
the earth itself is your domain and my home.

I thank you, Soul Forger,
for watching over me as I fought my way to this day.
I thank you for letting me die outside the cursed realm of the Bannites
where I would have arisen as an abomination to your sight and a foe to my friends.

I thank you, Creator, for letting me see the halls of the Glitterhame before I met my fate.
Its beauty and glory are a testament to your love for our people.
I die happy that those caverns are once again ruled by our people.

I thank you, Dwarffather, for letting me spend my last days fighting alongside those
who helped to clear the evil from those halls.
They have been my friends and, unlikely though they seem, friends to the dwarven people.
I only ask that if I have pleased you in my time upon your earth, hold your shield over them
and defend them with your hammer.

My lord, Moradin, take me into the earth and hold me in your halls.
I have come home.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I look forward to seeing who will join Speaks and Scar to avenge Raven's death.

 

[Darklone]

*Darklone abuses his handkerchief*

Damn! *excuses to Erics granny*

That's bad

 

[Darklone]

Bumpuleeee!

 

[Rel]

Unlikely Allies

Speaks and Scar soared above the treetops as miles of the Darkwood passed below them. Ahead on the horizon was a bulge in the treeline where a cluster of enormous oaks thrust higher than the surrounding trees. Another hour passed and they alighted on the outskirts of the grove.

As they transformed back to their normal forms, Scar reverted to practicality and immediately sought a tree to huddle against to try and rest for a bit. Speaks went directly to the center of the grove of great oaks.

Great Root was there, seemingly lost in reverie. A few moments after Speaks entered the clearing, Great Root moved slightly and a veritable flock of birds flew from his branches in all directions, going back out to bring word of the Treant's realm.

"I am glad to see you have returned, my friend." boomed Great Root. "Did you find what you needed to know at the Temple?"

"I did. It cost us a friend." replied Speaks.

Great Root's branches sagged, "I am sorry. Do you feel that his sacrifice was worthwhile?"

"I wish we had acquited ourselves better against the Dark Druids. They are powerful. And they have an army of undead."

"I know." Great Root replied. "They are coming this way."

"So soon?" asked Speaks.

"Yes. I suppose they wish to strike before you are able to organize much resistance. Can the people of the village to the south stand against them?"

Speaks considered for a moment. The folk of Glynden were tough and determined as had been proved in the Winter War, and they had fairly good fortifications. But then he envisioned the columns of fire pouring out of the sky as commanded by the Dark Druids. Flaming Spheres would roll through the streets of Glynden and the Dark Druids would set fire to every building in town as their eagle forms swooped above the town, fire shooting from their talons. The town would be an inferno before the undead army was even at their gates.

"No. If we fight on their terms, we will die." said Speaks, looking up into the deep eyes of Great Root.

The Lord of the Forest replied with an air of finality, "Then we fight them on our terms. Here, in the woods."

Speaks nodded. They began to plan...
--------------------------------------------------------------------

A pair of falcons soared over the walls of Glynden and alighted near the center of town. Suddenly Speaks and Scar stood in the middle of the road between Nan's Tavern and the Church of St. Cuthbert. Speaks went in search of Kyndalyn and Scar entered the Church. Word of their arrival spread like wildfire through town and within an hour, a Council of War was convened inside the Church and the doors were closed to the public and guarded by one of the men-at-arms under the command of the the Inquisitors.

Inside were gathered a diverse group. Speaks and Scar were there of course, as were Father Thomas and Kyndalyn. Also in attendance were Lucius Capito and the other Inquisitor of St. Cuthbert, Cornelius. Boss Brathwaite was the only other member of the Glynden Council there, as it would still take several hours before word could be taken to the various castellans. One other figure was present who was not familiar to Speaks and Scar. He wore the mantle of a War Wizard of the Imperial Legions of Emor.

Apparently the dwarven envoys who had passed through Glynden some months ago had made their way south to Oar and had, with some trepidation, sailed across the Crescent Sea to Emor. There they sought guidance from the Imperial College of Wizards. Their missive from the dwarven High Priests of Mithrak Ghul had indicated they should seek out those who "spoke with stones" and it was widely known that the Imperial Wizards used crystals for scrying and communication.

The visit by the Dwarves piqued the interest of the Imperial Wizards who had consulted with the Church of St. Cuthbert for any portents that could be provided by the state sponsored religion of the Empire. The Church rather smugly informed the College of Wizards that they had been aware of a possible "disturbance" in the Northlands for months and had dispatched "top men" to look into the matter. Upon getting this news, the Imperial College of Wizards felt that they could ill afford to ignore the situation and dispatched one of their younger, but well trained, members to see to it that nothing of interest occured in the Northlands that would escape thier notice.

Thus, the Imperial War Wizard known as Lazarius (he refused to reveal any more of his name than that) arrived in Glynden a week prior and had been rather bored ever since. His boredom was rapidly coming to an end.

During the last two months, the Inquisitors had ventured to the barbarian lands across the Fodor and conducted an investigation into the mysterious amulets that bore the symbol which had been the subject of so many dreams and portents. They were unable to find anything concrete and further found the barbarian tribesmen rather inhospitable to thier imperious demeanor. They had only just returned to Glynden a couple of weeks prior and were about to complete their reports and return to Oar when Speaks and Scar had arrived. What they learned from the pair of adventurers was enough to warrant a delay of their return to Oar.

As Speaks described the coming army of undead and their Dark Druid masters, faces around the table ran the gammut from grimly determined to utterly horified. Speaks explained their tactics and his fears if they were to reach the walls of Glynden.

The War Council quickly and unanimously decided that such a thing must not be allowed to happen. The enemy must be confronted well away from Glynden so that if they failed, the people of the town could abandon the place and seek refuge to the south. Doing so would mean relinquishing the last shred of the great Empire of Emor that still stood in the Northlands, but the only alternative was death.

Or worse.

NEXT: The Final Battle


I am finally caught up at work and I was rather hoping to maybe finish the Story Hour today. But I decided to finish posting the old installments in the Rel's Faded Glory - The Early Days thread. Some 45 posts later, it was done, and a big chunk of my afternoon was gone. But it was fun too. I skimmed over those old installments as I was posting them and it was a great walk down memory lane.

So, I only got the above update done and you'll have to wait for the rest until I'm back from Texas where I'm attending a wedding this weekend. Trust me though, it should be worth the wait.

 

[Darklone]

Story hour goodness!!

Thanks, Rel!

Boredom came to and end.

 

[Jon Potter]

Darn you, Rel!

Darn you for getting me hooked on another Story Hour!

And darn you for making me plow through both of your Faded Glory threads only to find that I have to wait along with all the rest of your addic- err... fans for the final update(s).

Your games seem like a lot of fun to play and I know that the SH is a lot of fun to read. Well done on all accounts.

Except for the timeliness of your updates of course. That's not well done at all.

Of course, having a toddler of my own, I know how the time can disappear without you even noticing until its gone.

And now, I look forward to NC Game Day II even moreso that before.