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The Vanguard of Eastening: Sacrifice & Redemption
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<blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids1" data-source="post: 8334335" data-attributes="member: 7030604"><p><u>Season One / Session Three</u></p><p></p><p>The heroes return to the city of Knightsbridge to find it has fallen to orcs – or, at least, the southern half of the city has fallen. A contingent of armed soldiers have barricaded the titular bridge to the wealthier districts across the river. Paupers Gate is guarded by the shambling figure of a large zombified ettin! Endon pales and hides under a bush, he cannot be witnessed slaying another ettin <em>(or technically, the same ettin a second time)</em> lest his undeserved reputation for heroism grow exponentially. Overturned wagons lie scattered across the ground outside the city walls. Hunkered down behind one of the wagons is a rock gnome barbarian called Nemin the Perturbed (played by Steve), who had been serving as a caravan guard when the green menace descended and drove off his employers.</p><p></p><p><em>Note: Paul was absent this week and Steve took his place at the table.</em></p><p></p><p>Sir Henry marches forth and commands the ettin to move! The two-headed zombie groans and attacks! The clash of steel draws orcish archers to the city walls and arrows are soon raining down across the battlefield. With white foam frothing from his mouth, Nemin scales the walls and kills the archers. Meanwhile, Ezeke, lops off one of the ettin’s legs to bring the giant crashing down, then finishes it off with his greataxe.</p><p></p><p>The poor district is in chaos, orcs loot and pillage unchecked while the citizens cower in abject terror. It appears the soldiers have pulled back to hold the bridge, leaving the slums to burn. After collaring a lone orc, the heroes learn that the attack is only a distraction, while the half orc necromancer Mazoga infiltrates the Knightsbridge museum and steals the skull of the last Orking, Urim Rex. Ezeke is shocked! His half-sister is called Mazoga, though he hasn’t seen her for years. Could it be the same person…?</p><p></p><p>The museum is across the river, in the wealthier part of the city. Soldiers bar the crossing, commanded by Sir Basil Fondlewood, resplendent astride his trusty warhorse. Sir Henry grinds his teeth, he and Sir Basil have a long running animosity for one another. The two knights bicker for a while before Darvin steps in to smooth their ruffled feathers. Grudgingly, Sir Basil permits the party to cross the bridge.</p><p></p><p>The museum is an old stone building with thick doors and barred windows. Miasma picks the lock(s) on the front entrance. The exhibition hall is a cavernous space overshadowed by the painstakingly reassembled skeleton of a young black dragon suspended from the high, domed ceiling. Two hooded figures malinger near the glass display case containing the skull of the Orking. The taller figure turns and throws back her cowl, revealing the face of a young, half-orc woman with tiny bird skulls braided into her hair. Ezeke is stunned, it is indeed his half-sister Mazoga Strongtusk! The smaller figure turns out to be a zombified goblin.</p><p></p><p>Mazoga warns Ezeke to stay out of her way. She will use the skull of the Orking as a conduit for his warlike spirit, so that he may lead the orcs to victory against their enemies! Ezeke stands his ground and tries to sway his sister from her reckless course. His allies stand with him (except Miasma, who is even know creeping up behind the necromancer). Mazoga curses her brother’s stubbornness and uses her magic to animate the skeletal dragon! The dragon tears free of the cables suspending it from the roof and drops to the floor of the exhibition hall to attack the party!</p><p></p><p>The zombified goblin starts ringing a small silver bell (Toll the Dead) that stuns those who heed its dolorous peal. Darvin fires acid arrows at the dragon, melting through the old bones. The dragon snaps Nemin up in its jaws and swallows the gnome whole, but lacking a stomach, Nemin just tumbles back out between the exposed ribs. Mazoga turns back to the display case and breaks the glass. She reaches in and extracts the skull, laughing maniacally as it blooms with black fire. Suddenly, the skull is knocked from her grip by a magic missile! It clatters across the floor and ends up at Miasma’s feet, glaring up at her with empty eye sockets alight with malice. Miasma pops the skull into her bag and makes a dash for the exit. Mazoga loses her naughty word and drops a <em>Cloudkill</em> spell in the middle of the room. Ezeke and Poddlebrim breathe deeply of the poisonous yellow fog and fall prone, writhing on the ground as the life leaves their bodies. Nemin seems resistant to the noxious fumes - if anything, it just makes him even angrier than he already was. Sir Henry drags Ezeke into the foyer, away from the spreading cloud. Nemin calms down long enough to haul Poddlebrim to safety. The zombie goblin is still ringing that f***ing bell!</p><p></p><p>Miasma runs for the exit with the skeletal dragon in pursuit! Fortunately, it is too big to fit in the foyer and gets wedged in the doorframe, snapping at her heels. Mazoga casts <em>Dimension Door</em> and lunges for Miasma through the rift. Darvin tackles the necromancer to the ground. While they are tussling, Miasma gets the front door open and escapes with the skull. Realising that she has lost this battle, Mazoga teleports into the sewers and makes good her escape. With its Mistress fled, the zombie goblin looks forlorn. Poddlebrim twats it with his staff and takes the silver bell.</p><p></p><p><em>Note: When I planned this adventure, I intended that Mazoga escape with the skull – from the moment the party knocked it out of her hands and ran off with it, I was forced to frantically fabricate plot twists and story hooks on the fly.</em></p><p></p><p>Somehow, the orcs rampaging through the poor district are made aware of the failed heist and retreat to their foetid territories deep in the Gnarlroot Marsh. The heroes regroup in the <em>Old Red Flagon</em> and examine the skull. It is clearly animated by some manner of loathsome sorcery. Nemin tries to smash the skull with his hammer, but a burst of necrotic energy blasts him across the bar. Sir Henry recalls the Battle of Knightsbridge, where 12 brave knights held back the combined forces of the Orking long enough for the King to amass his own army and destroy the horde. One of those knights was his own grandfather; Sir Aelfred the Great, whose statue stands proudly on the bridge in the centre of the city. Legend has it that with his dying breath, the defeated Orking cursed those 12 valiant knights, swearing he would one day return to bring ruin to the realm of men.</p><p></p><p>Sir Basil seeks out the heroes and informs them they are summoned to the residence of Governor Hobart, lord of Knightsbridge and some distant relation to the King. Nemin decides to sit this one out and orders another drink. The rest of the party make themselves respectable and present themselves to Lord Hobart. The Governor thanks them for saving the city and rewards them with their choice of either a +1 weapon or a Cloak of Resistance. Lord Hobart agrees that the skull of the Orking is too dangerous to display in a museum and asks the party to undertake a quest to destroy it permanently, by delivering it to the workshop of the gold dragon Tyrsientom on Seasend Isle.</p><p></p><p><strong>TBC</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mikeawmids1, post: 8334335, member: 7030604"] [U]Season One / Session Three[/U] The heroes return to the city of Knightsbridge to find it has fallen to orcs – or, at least, the southern half of the city has fallen. A contingent of armed soldiers have barricaded the titular bridge to the wealthier districts across the river. Paupers Gate is guarded by the shambling figure of a large zombified ettin! Endon pales and hides under a bush, he cannot be witnessed slaying another ettin [I](or technically, the same ettin a second time)[/I] lest his undeserved reputation for heroism grow exponentially. Overturned wagons lie scattered across the ground outside the city walls. Hunkered down behind one of the wagons is a rock gnome barbarian called Nemin the Perturbed (played by Steve), who had been serving as a caravan guard when the green menace descended and drove off his employers. [I]Note: Paul was absent this week and Steve took his place at the table.[/I] Sir Henry marches forth and commands the ettin to move! The two-headed zombie groans and attacks! The clash of steel draws orcish archers to the city walls and arrows are soon raining down across the battlefield. With white foam frothing from his mouth, Nemin scales the walls and kills the archers. Meanwhile, Ezeke, lops off one of the ettin’s legs to bring the giant crashing down, then finishes it off with his greataxe. The poor district is in chaos, orcs loot and pillage unchecked while the citizens cower in abject terror. It appears the soldiers have pulled back to hold the bridge, leaving the slums to burn. After collaring a lone orc, the heroes learn that the attack is only a distraction, while the half orc necromancer Mazoga infiltrates the Knightsbridge museum and steals the skull of the last Orking, Urim Rex. Ezeke is shocked! His half-sister is called Mazoga, though he hasn’t seen her for years. Could it be the same person…? The museum is across the river, in the wealthier part of the city. Soldiers bar the crossing, commanded by Sir Basil Fondlewood, resplendent astride his trusty warhorse. Sir Henry grinds his teeth, he and Sir Basil have a long running animosity for one another. The two knights bicker for a while before Darvin steps in to smooth their ruffled feathers. Grudgingly, Sir Basil permits the party to cross the bridge. The museum is an old stone building with thick doors and barred windows. Miasma picks the lock(s) on the front entrance. The exhibition hall is a cavernous space overshadowed by the painstakingly reassembled skeleton of a young black dragon suspended from the high, domed ceiling. Two hooded figures malinger near the glass display case containing the skull of the Orking. The taller figure turns and throws back her cowl, revealing the face of a young, half-orc woman with tiny bird skulls braided into her hair. Ezeke is stunned, it is indeed his half-sister Mazoga Strongtusk! The smaller figure turns out to be a zombified goblin. Mazoga warns Ezeke to stay out of her way. She will use the skull of the Orking as a conduit for his warlike spirit, so that he may lead the orcs to victory against their enemies! Ezeke stands his ground and tries to sway his sister from her reckless course. His allies stand with him (except Miasma, who is even know creeping up behind the necromancer). Mazoga curses her brother’s stubbornness and uses her magic to animate the skeletal dragon! The dragon tears free of the cables suspending it from the roof and drops to the floor of the exhibition hall to attack the party! The zombified goblin starts ringing a small silver bell (Toll the Dead) that stuns those who heed its dolorous peal. Darvin fires acid arrows at the dragon, melting through the old bones. The dragon snaps Nemin up in its jaws and swallows the gnome whole, but lacking a stomach, Nemin just tumbles back out between the exposed ribs. Mazoga turns back to the display case and breaks the glass. She reaches in and extracts the skull, laughing maniacally as it blooms with black fire. Suddenly, the skull is knocked from her grip by a magic missile! It clatters across the floor and ends up at Miasma’s feet, glaring up at her with empty eye sockets alight with malice. Miasma pops the skull into her bag and makes a dash for the exit. Mazoga loses her naughty word and drops a [I]Cloudkill[/I] spell in the middle of the room. Ezeke and Poddlebrim breathe deeply of the poisonous yellow fog and fall prone, writhing on the ground as the life leaves their bodies. Nemin seems resistant to the noxious fumes - if anything, it just makes him even angrier than he already was. Sir Henry drags Ezeke into the foyer, away from the spreading cloud. Nemin calms down long enough to haul Poddlebrim to safety. The zombie goblin is still ringing that f***ing bell! Miasma runs for the exit with the skeletal dragon in pursuit! Fortunately, it is too big to fit in the foyer and gets wedged in the doorframe, snapping at her heels. Mazoga casts [I]Dimension Door[/I] and lunges for Miasma through the rift. Darvin tackles the necromancer to the ground. While they are tussling, Miasma gets the front door open and escapes with the skull. Realising that she has lost this battle, Mazoga teleports into the sewers and makes good her escape. With its Mistress fled, the zombie goblin looks forlorn. Poddlebrim twats it with his staff and takes the silver bell. [I]Note: When I planned this adventure, I intended that Mazoga escape with the skull – from the moment the party knocked it out of her hands and ran off with it, I was forced to frantically fabricate plot twists and story hooks on the fly.[/I] Somehow, the orcs rampaging through the poor district are made aware of the failed heist and retreat to their foetid territories deep in the Gnarlroot Marsh. The heroes regroup in the [I]Old Red Flagon[/I] and examine the skull. It is clearly animated by some manner of loathsome sorcery. Nemin tries to smash the skull with his hammer, but a burst of necrotic energy blasts him across the bar. Sir Henry recalls the Battle of Knightsbridge, where 12 brave knights held back the combined forces of the Orking long enough for the King to amass his own army and destroy the horde. One of those knights was his own grandfather; Sir Aelfred the Great, whose statue stands proudly on the bridge in the centre of the city. Legend has it that with his dying breath, the defeated Orking cursed those 12 valiant knights, swearing he would one day return to bring ruin to the realm of men. Sir Basil seeks out the heroes and informs them they are summoned to the residence of Governor Hobart, lord of Knightsbridge and some distant relation to the King. Nemin decides to sit this one out and orders another drink. The rest of the party make themselves respectable and present themselves to Lord Hobart. The Governor thanks them for saving the city and rewards them with their choice of either a +1 weapon or a Cloak of Resistance. Lord Hobart agrees that the skull of the Orking is too dangerous to display in a museum and asks the party to undertake a quest to destroy it permanently, by delivering it to the workshop of the gold dragon Tyrsientom on Seasend Isle. [B]TBC[/B] [/QUOTE]
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