Session 67 - And then there were four...
Leon's player was absent this week, so I was forced to take radical action to explain his absence:
- Even if Xambria hadn't woken the adventurers from their charmed state, the torrential rain might well have done. Finding themselves surrounded by dozens of shambling undead, they leapt into action and ran for the safety of the lighthouse building ahead. Uru arrived first and tried to open the weathered bronze doors, but they were barred.
- Leon and Korrigan lagged behind, and Leon was grabbed by one of the zombies. He teleported to away at once, leaving the zombie smouldering where it stood, but his knees almost buckled as he reappeared and vomited a lungful of seawater.
- "The Drowned Dead of Odiem seek to share their cold, dark fate with these living vistors," the Voice of the Island crooned.
- A blazing arc of radiance peeled down from the highest point of the crumbling lighthouse and struck Matunaaga squarely. He staggered up to Uru, almost brought to his knees too by the fierce, holy light. Malthusius was impressed (and disconcerted): Ottavia's level of power indicated a purity of heart and purpose that caused him to regret their enmity. Her earnest discourse earlier was clearly genuine (if, in his opinion, deluded).
- The drowned dead lurched closer on all sides. There were dozens of them on the island already, and more rising up from the waves. Korrigan dashed past Leon and ordered him to pick up his pace.
- Uru used his regalia to create a web, and scrambled up it to the top of the crumbling wall. At once, he too was struck by Ottavia's searing light.
- The Voice of the Island then uttered a single, hideous word that caused the drowned dead to recoil, giving the unit more time to get inside the lighthouse. The word appeared to affect Leon as well and he pitched towards the lighthouse as if drunk or deranged. Malthusius recognised the language as Abyssal.
- Matunaaga leaped the wall and he and Uru got the door open before dashing for cover. Malthusius ran in and hid in one of the side-chambers, while Korrigan paused in the doorway, waiting for Leon before he closed it.
- Leon dashed straight past him, failing wildly and - ending up in open ground - took a blast from Ottavia that caused him to clutch at his side in agony. At once, the cursed ground beneath him began to open up, but Leon was too far gone to help himself. Before the others could do anything about it he plunged through the ground out of sight.
- With the zombies gaining, and their numbers growing still, and with excoriating blasts of holy fire raining down upon them, now was not the time for the remaining four RHC officers to worry about their fallen comrade. They needed to deal with Ottavia and fast.
- Keeping an eye out for Luc and Bree, they dashed for the lighthouse tower. Parts of it were in utter ruin, including the stairwell, and it was very difficult to make the four-storey ascent, especially with the clergy oracle now targeting them with bursts of sonic energy, that could reach round corners and catch them even as they hid.
- By the time they reached the upper floor, all except Korrigan were flagging, as Ottavia's power had taken its toll; but between them it didn't take long to subdue her at close range (ignoring the suggestion of the Voice of the Island that they "kill the clergy bitch and come quickly down the stairs").
- When Ottavia eventually surrendered, the group restrained her was best they could (their mage cuffs and other equipment having been left behind in the dash from the train).
- Before Malthusius remove the headband that granted her telepathy, he sensed a curious mixture of relief and fear radiating from her.
- When questioned, Ottavia confessed, with no great relish or triumphalism, that Luc and Bree were not with her. She had used an illusion ritual to lure the party away in a desperate gamble following Luc's failure to banish them to the plane of Nem. But she had no escape plan. Ottavia was now trapped on the island with the unit, having sacrificed herself to protect her charge.
- She was no more keen to die than they were. Confident that none of them could escape the island until dawn, Ottavia was prepared to join forces with them in an attempt to survive the night. Uru was none-too-keen on this arrangement, but was outvoted. He took his frustration out on the Voice of the Island, threatening it, but couldn't be sure if it could hear him.
- They took a badly needed breather, as only Korrigan had remained relatively unscathed. They could see the hordes of dead filling up the lighthouse, scrambling up the staircase and climbing the walls of the tower, but they could not go on without healing. They even allowed Ottavia to heal some of her own wounds, and unbound her hands and feet.
- Once rested, they braced themselves and surged downwards, using flight spells to avoid the biggest drops. Their ranged casters took care of the first few zombies on the stairs, while the front-liners waded in and kept the remainder back, while the casters recharged and fired again. When a space was cleared they made a dash for the downward stairs that led to the vault, aided by the Voice of the Island, who once again used an Abyssal command to stun the drowned dead.
- They were able to enter the vault through broken doors, and brace them sturdily with other debris they found there. A wide passageway that would once have been heavily warded lay ahead of them. The wards were now broken, their magic long gone.
- This passage gave out onto a balcony over a circular chamber. Above, the ceiling had collapsed in places and rainwater poured in from the lighthouse. Right in front of them, the balcony had collapsed. There once might have been a platform here that could be raised or lowered: the platform and the mechanism were lost amid the wreckage thirty feet below, but there were chains hanging from the ceiling that, though rusted, looked sturdy enough to be climbed.
- Then, amid that very wreckage, they spotted the twisted form of Leon, his back arched over broken stonework - totally still and apparently lifeless...
Leon has in fact broken his back, which all sounds terribly serious, but will be resolved next week with Ottavia's help. (Unless the player accepts the bargain Ashima-Shimtu will offer him via email, which he probably won't.)
In accordance with the suggestion made in the adventure sidebar, I have beefed up the Odiem Vault somewhat, but the players took such a hammering over the last two encounters that it will turn out to be a very challenging dungeon indeed unless they take an extended rest.
Can't decide how to run Ottavia - whether as DMNPC (meh...) or player controlled (meh...); whether to leave her as a monster or stat her up as a companion (with surges, etc).
Also, not sure how to play her relationship with the group, or how she will respond when it becomes clear that Ashima-Shimtu can undo all of her hard work. Will she attack again, or resign herself to defeat?
Might the devil in any case refuse to transport Ottavia? Or evenOr trick the group and keep her in the vault? Might they find the oracle mysteriously absent, only to discover her tortured body when they return to the island in late paragon? Any ideas?
I want something interesting to happen beyond dragging a sullen prisoner around Vendricce!