Return to Ghoul Country (Part II)
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Morning came early for the group, and they all began to feel the
effects of the stress and lack of sleep. Still they knew that they
needed to make and early start in order to maximize their time with
daylight. Before heading out, Ruhdon wanted to search the upper
floors for more clues. They went up into the attic, finding more
storage rooms and other containers of mundane items. Inside a chest
at the back however they found a couple of golden ritual statues of
Pelor worth a fair price if they could escape the town alive.
Ballimor quickly pocketed the loot, despite Adrick’s objections to the
potential looting of divine objects.
Satisfied that they had gotten all they could from the temple the
group headed back out the doors, careful to check that the coast was
clear first. Ruhdon had studied the wizards journal overnight and had
learned that the wizard was convinced the madness was caused by some
intervention from the god of death. The ghouls were his calling card
and the images the boy suffered from where reminiscent of accounts of
that god’s plane. He wanted to learn more about the source of this
madness and intended to head to the boys home, but seemed to have been
interrupted by the ghoul attack. The group decided this was the best
place to go and headed for the river to find a safe crossing.
As they worked their way through the town the employed much of what
they had learned the day before. The group was becoming good at
working in tandem to traverse the ghoul filled streets and buildings.
They made much better time than their treks the day before as well.
Before long the river was in view and they traveled up a parallel
street looking for a bridge the looked safe to cross. On one
occasion, Ballimor stumbled into the side of a house, knocking down an
old wooden sign that landed with a loud crash. The group quickly
dived into a nearby alley to let the now alerted ghouls to pass. When
they reached the safety of the alley, they noticed that Xavril was not
amongst them.
Adrick was concerned that he had fallen or otherwise been left along
their path and wanted to go back in search of him, but Lucan and
Ruhdon were not convinced. They shared what they knew about Xavril
and the rest of the Charitable Marauders and concluded that the psion
had slipped away from the group to rejoin his comrades’ somewhere
along the route. Adrick was still uneasy about the situation, but
realized that heading back into the city would be foolish and deadly.
Hoping the best, the consented that they should continue onward.
Crossing the Bridge
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They ventured out to cross the bridge with Adrick, Ballimor and Ruhdon heading over while the two archers positions themselves on either bank and watched for signs of trouble. All went well at first and the group heading across the bridge made good time despite the cautious approach. When they reached the midpoint of the bridge Ruhdon took the opportunity to cast a spell on one of the ghouls on the far end hoping to draw them into the line of fire of the archers as they charge the other party members. But instead of charging, the two ghouls began howling in a high-pitched voice and banging on their chests, drawing similar howls from all the neighboring surrounding streets and ally's.
All at once the quiet area suddenly sprang into life with dozens of schools pouring down either side of the bank as well as more coming from the groups rear. Suddenly Hazlo cried out as he noticed more ghouls emerging from the water climbing up the support beams of the bridge itself. With that position compromised the two archers abandon their posts and headed for the bridge itself hoping to cross with the rest of the group before the hordes of ghouls reach them. Ballimor charged ahead to confront the two ghouls on the opposite bank while Ruhdon and Adrick turn to cover their approaching party members. Before long the first of the climbing ghouls reached the roadway and's lashed out at a surprised Adrick. He quickly shrugged off the attack and decisively struck the creature with his hammer driving it off the bridge and back into the water. More followed the first, but as soon as one appeared Adrick or Ruhdon quickly knocked them off the bridge and back into the water.
Lucan sprinted ahead best the ascending ghouls and reached the opposite bank with Ballimor, turning to provide cover fire for the rest of the party. Hazlo's crossing as less successful as he was caught of guard by one of the accending monsters. The ghoul grab him hard on the arm and threatened to pull him over into the water when Ruhdon suddenly came up struck the monster hard on the back. The momentary lack on concentration was enough for Hazlo to make good his escape and Ruhdon launched the creature back into the river with another solid blow. Soon after the party abandoned their posts on the bridge and sprinted ahead to re join Lucan and Ballimor. They reach their waiting teammates shortly after Ballimor finished off the last of the ghouls on this side of the bridge. A shake. Hazlo then took the lead quickly moving the group into the streets hoping to lose their pursues.
Return to Ghoul Country (Part III)
Hazlo quickly moved the group deeper into the city and away from he river in an effort to lose the mass of ghouls at their back. He took several random turns and moves finally stoping in an an bonfires alleyway where the group sat in silence listening to the howles I the hungry horde. After some time the shrieking died down to typical levels and Hazlo felt it same for them to move on.
The east side of the river was much worse off than the west. It was clear that the ghoul infestation had hot here the hardest. Entire buildings had been torn to ruins and everywhere was the tell tale signs of brutal slaughter. The condition of the area made travel much more difficult than before. But by now the group was well adapted to traversing the city's monster infested streets. Each knew their roles and preformed the well. They made good time despite their exhaustion and winning nerves. Soon they were noticing landmarks from the priest journal indicating they were in the right area, but regrettably neither he not the town wizard had noted details about the boys actual home.
Midday was fast approaching as they started searching the area for the house. Fortunately they did not have long to look for as the rounded a bend of a gravel road the came upon a dilapidated cottage nestled amongst a grove of trees. Just by the sight of the building one could tell a great evil reused there. They were all over one with a felling of dread and Adrick reported that the cottage was emanating a powerful aura of evil. At last they had found the source of the plague.
Where it all began...
The area surrounding the cottage was eerily silent and abandoned. The home was set off from the surrounding units by a small path and the thicket of trees. The door was torn off and most of the windows were broken in several places. From the roadway the party could see that the interior had been ravaged, broken items and furniture strewn all about. For a few minutes they paused at the head of the lane considering their options.
Adrick resolved that there was not other option then to enter and see what they encounter.
The group entered the cottage cautiously, picking their way through the rubble. Once inside they were all overcome with sense of malice. The energy in the home was so thick and powerful that each of them in turn began hallucinating images, sounds and other horrors. Only Adrick was able to resist the effect completely. He quickly recognized the presence of a poltergeist in the home.He cast a spell to help the others resist the attacks on their will, while he settled in to perform an exorcism of the angry spirit.
As Adrick began chanting incantations and offering prayers to Moradin and Pelor, the sprint controlling the house shuttered in anger and pain. Objects began flying across rooms and several spectral spirits materialized and began attacking the various party members. Ruhdon recognized the need to defended Adrick from the poltergeists physical manifestations. The rest of the party fanned out through out the home seeking to draw the various specters away from the cleric.
The exorcism process was a long and difficult one. It required all of Adricks concentration to engage the angry entity in a battle of wills. As Adrick gained momentum in over powering the poltergeist he began seeing glimpses of the events leading up to the ghoul out break. At first they were just chaotic images of blood, gore and death, but as his power grew Adrick began seeing the images as clear as his own memories. Adrick dug deeper, summoning levels of will power he did not even know he had. As he battled the poltergeists while the others noticed that power of the martial manifestations began to wane.
As Ruhdon was busy fending off attacks on Adrick, he noticed that one of the specters seemed to be growing stronger while the others were weakening. Reasoning that this must be significant he risked leaving Adrick’s side to pursue it as it fled towards the back of the cottage. Soon after Adrick succeeded in finally breaking the poltergeists will. All at once the physical manifestations stopped and the other party members could think clearly again. Ruhdon’s specter was now fully formed into some ghastly creature, which turned on him with all its fury. Ruhdon withstood this assault and retaliated with an devastating blow that ended the poltergeist threat for good.
Peace returned to the cottage at last. The group gathered around Adrick, who was still recovering from the ordeal of the exorcism. Once he was received he explained to the group what visions he had witnessed.
“While I was fighting the spirit, I saw images of its memories. At first they were confused and chaotic, but after a time they began to clarify for me. I saw a young girl, who loved an older brother. I saw this same boy bring home a curious artifact that he found in the woods one day, and how his madness started the very same day. As much as he hated the visions that were tormenting him he could not bring himself to let go of his artifact. His sister pleaded him to seek advice and aid, but the boy simply fell deeper into his obsession. Soon he was unable to differentiate from his dreams and reality. One fateful night he miss took his sister for one of the monsters in his dreams. He brutally murdered his sister along with the rest of his family. When his sanity returned he was so consumed with grief and hatred of himself that he was transformed into a monstrous ghoul, and agent of the god of the undead Vecna. His sisters rage of her brothers actions, trapped her in this house, doomed to relive the events of that terrible night for ever. That is until we released her from that today. Though I fear that she was not the only creature with a strong attachment to this place.”
“Well that’s quite a story, but were does that leave us?” Questioned Hazlo.
“Simple,” answered Adrick, “the boy has become the Ghoul King, the source and power of this infestation. Kill the king and that should ended the blight for good.”
“Great, but how do we find one ghoul among thousands in this city?” wondered Hazlo.
“We won’t have too.” Answered Lucan. His elvish senses had keenly detected the suttle shift in the winds. “The creature has our scent, he knows us by sight and what’s worse, he knows that we know his most terrible secret. Try as we might we can not avoid it, the Ghoul King is coming.”
A Flight From Ghoul Country
The group had a decision to make. They could either stay and fight the Ghoul King in the remains of Hampstead, or they could flee the area and take their chances on the road. Lucan reminded the group that his hawk had been gone for the better part of a days time now and that the more time they bought the better the chances that word would have gotten to the garrison commander at Ithulios.
Still everyone agreed that time was defiantly not on their side. Staying in the city proved that the conflict would come sooner, but facing the beast on its own turf was not very appealing to the group. Furthermore, the assumption was that the Ghoul King would bring plenty of other ghouls with him, and the hope was that fighting them outside of the city might even the odds a bit. Finally, night would be coming soon and the city provided no opportunities for safely light watch fires without bringing hordes of other ghouls upon them. Based on these factors the group unanimously agreed that leaving the city as fast as possible was the best course of action. But in which direction should the flee?
Ballimor and Ruhdon were in favor of heading up river back towards the Janor Plaines and Whitefield. Their hope was that they wound run into a passing boat that could either transport them quikly up river or else bring word to other cities faster for aid. However, Adrick pointed out that the rivers course was such that the major cities to the south all ran past Hampstead and that pretty much prevented traffic upstream. If they were to encounter someone he did not feel they would be of much aid to them at this point.
He favored a march northward towards Whitefield through the plains. It was the most direct route to the city and he reasoned the could warn smaller settlements that they passed on the road as they went. If any of them could reach Whitefield quickly via horse or other means, then there was a chance that the garrison at Whitefield and perhaps even Goldtalon Spire could come to their aid. However, Ballimor noted that this route was likely the slowest to travel to a major settlement give the long trek overland. Furthermore, the plans were not idea for meeting the undead since the high grass and low lying plains did not provide many opportunities for cover or defense.
Lucan then spoke up, remembering that the mountains to their west were once part of the larger Ithulian empire. There should be old trails in the hills that can lead them up into the mountains. If they were lucky, they might be able to find a favorable cave, rock out cropping or even an old watchtower or keep that they can fortify. The hills also had the advantage of height over the surrounding area. If they moved high enough they would be able to see many miles out in any direction and hopefully spot the enemy coming. Finally the mountains were close, perhaps not more then a couple miles west of the city, and could be reached safely before nightfall. The only downside was that they would be trecking into wilderness at night. But Lucan was confident he could lead them saftley.
The group decided heading for their mountains was the best choice and they set out right away. The reach the foot of the mountains in only a few hours and began the assent into the woods before night fall. Moving up was slow going as the mountains were thinkly wooded and the light was low under the canopy of pine trees. Still Lucans expert wilderness skills guided them up in relative safety. They even found some old bear traps in the woods that Hazlo was able to recover. Just before sundown, Hazlo spotted an anomaly up ahead amongst the trees. The group made way for it and found to their joy, an old watchtower nestled in a tree clearing.
The explored the tower and found it to be of simple design, a main floor with an intact door, and a parapeted roof top. There was also a trap door leading to an escape tunnel the let out about a quarter mile down the mountain. They agreed this was the best place to make their stand and quickly went to work fortifying their keep. The reinforced the main door and set bear traps up on the first floor near the trap door. The also cut some logs and made a makeshift barricade on the interior of the first floor facing the main door. They also gathered logs and prepared a large watch fire on the roof. Their hope was that this would both allow them good visibility in the dark of night as well as prove as a beacon for any reinforcements coming to their aid. Of course this would also draw the attention of the ghouls, but that was a risk they were willing to take. Within a few hours the preparations were made and the group settled in for the night, awaiting what might come.
The Ghoul King Cometh
Having finished all other preparations Lucan and Hazlo took your watch positions atop the tower and lit the Signal fire. Everyone sat in silence at their appointed positions watching, waiting, and listening for any sign of the king or his minions. They did not have long to wait for the ghoul king had been tracking them steadily ever since they left the remains of Hampstead. Within an hour of the signal fire being lit the ghoul king and his horde had surrounded the party members tower. Lucan heard the beasts coming well beifre they were in eye sight and warned the rest of the party. The ghouls proved to be as disorganized as they had been in the city, as many charged the tower recklessly. 5 or 6 reached the gate and began clawing at the wooden door while another dozen or so started scaling the walls to reach the upper tower. Lucan and Hazlo started firing at the climbing ghouls, but their main focus was still on the woods, searching for any sight of the king himself. Minutes later, a large hulking ghoul emerged from the woods in front of the tower doors and there could be no doubt that the king had finally come.
As soon as he caught sight of the monster, Lucan broke off his attack on the climbing ghouls and ran to the signal fire to light several arrows. Then in quick succession, he and Hazlo laughed arrows into the brush behind the ghoul king setting most of the eastern end of the clearing alight. The king was now trapped between the fire and the tower and cut off from many of his reinforcements. As soon as the trap had been sprung, Ballimor, Ruhdon and Adrick threw open the door and charged the monster head on. Ruhdon cast stinking cloud in the area that effectively destroyed the remaining regular ghouls in the area. Ballimor meet the king face to face and swipe at its legs and knocking it prone. Adrick came up and flanked the king in the rear, pilling on damage to the creature from behind.
The three of the went on like this for several minutes, Ruhdon addressing any weaker ghouls that emerged from the forest, while the dwarfs overwhelmed the ghoul king. Meanwhile Lucan and Hazlo finished off the climbing ghouls and proceeded to cover the party's flanks and fewer form any threats that arrose. The fighting went on for some time, but at length the party sensed the ghoul king was losing strength and the all focused their attacks upon this creature to bring him down. Ballimor ultimately had the final blow, slicing the creature head on with a powerful strike that ended the menace once and for all.
With the creature dead, the remaining ghouls seemed even less effective than before, but there number were still great and the continues to press the attack despite the death of the king. The party fought on for several more minutes until the sounds of streal and war cries could be heard from further down the mountain.
Before long the stream of ghouls coming from the forest died off as sounds of battle spread all over the mountain side. The group actually allowed themselves a moment of peace for the first time in days. Adrick took this moment to examine the Ghoul Kin’s corpse. He found it devoid of anything important say for a small shard of bone (perhaps a portion of a humanoid femur) clutched in the creatures right hand. As he touched the object to remove it he was overcome with the aura of anger and pain emanating form it. He sensed this object to be one of great evil and power, but all his knowledge of the arcane could not help him identify its origin or nature. He showed it to Ruhdon, but he to could not tell what this object could possibly be. Adrick carefully scoped up the bone shard and stored it deep within his pack resolving that he would have this took checked out by the headmaster of the White Lotus Academy when the arrived at Ithulios.
Not long after Jak, Hakka and Xavril appeared from the forest to the south. The signs of battle were all over them, it was clear that they had been assisting the Last Drop in their efforts from the woods. Jak approached Ballimor, axe still in hand, and addressed him in a firm, yet friendly tone,
“Hello again friend, it is good to see you again after two days of hectic fighting.”
“Well, I never expected to see you again, we all assumed your lot had run off in fear or something,” mocked Ballimor. Ruhdon and Adrick chuckled at the comment.
“No, we have assisted you in your efforts from the sidelines, just as we had agreed upon when we split up,” replied the obviously annoyed minotaur.
“Well this one over here didn’t even tell us he was leaving. He just slinked away in the middle of a fight like a coward. On top of that he’s a dirty thief who does not feel completed to share his take with the rest of the group, so forgive me if I’m not fawning over your supposed help,” retorted Ruhdon.
“I would not expect one of such limited mental capacity to possibly comprehend my actions or intentions. I would only as that you offer me the respect you would any other of superior intelligence,” replied Xavril in a tranquil tone.
“Enough of this,” boomed Jak. “This pointless bickering is unimportant and time is wasting. Your group proved themselves worthy fighters, now I ask that you match your valor with your faith. There are things happening here that you can not possibly understand. We have come to this area in search of an object of considerable power and danger. When we arrived our worst fears had been confirmed as the object had already been found and its influence had spread death and destruction in its wake. Alas, this was just a precursor to a much larger plan. The object in question must be secured away from those who would use it to do great harm. I must as you to turn over the bone shard that you recovered from the creature you slew tonight.”
“How do you even know we have such an object?” questioned Ruhdon.
“Do not lie. I saw you Adrick recover the object not more then a few minutes ago. Listen, you can not understand the power you now hold in your hands. Nor the danger. There are forces at play that threaten to all of us. I understand the leap of faith you would be making, but I ask you trust us now,” said Xavril.
“Well, you haven’t given us a lot of reason to do so. Besides, we are a hardy group, I’m not afraid to face a challenge. I think the objects safer with us. Why don’t you trust us instead?” replied Ballimor.
“So you won’t give over that which you have recovered?” asked Jak.
“No,” said Ballimor.
“Then you leave me no choice. I am sorry, you are worthy opponents. Fighting you brings me no joy, but I can not allow you to have the bone,” said Jak as he readied himself for another fight, flanked by his fellow compatriots.
“We’ll see about that,” replied Ballimor who likewise has readied his weapon in preparation. He was soon joined by Adrick and Ruhdon, while Lucan and Hazlo readied arrows from the top of the tower. The groups held this stand off for a minute or so, neither one willing to deal the first blow. Suddenly the sound of approaching soldiers came from the west. Jak looked off in the direction of coming sounds, with concern. He shared a glance with Xavril who nodded in agreement. He then turned and said, “It appears that fate has forced our hand on this matter. Let us hope that you prove up to your word.
Keep the object secret and safe, trust no one, and should you lose it, you will have much to answer for.”
With that they Charitable Maunders disappeared into the woods to the south without another sound. Moments later several Eladrin Knights bearing the insignia of Ithulios arrived into the clearing.
“Thank the gods we found you, we have feared the worst. Send word to the commander that we found the members of the Last Drop, alive.” Word was soon passed down the mountain and soon after the commander of the garrison appeared and greeted each member in turn. He explained that they had marched all night to reach the outskirts of the city when the noticed the signal fire and encountered the ghouls streaming up the mountain.
“Tis a damn good thing you did here today,” he said. “You can not imagine what horrors would have occurred has this blight spread out into the country side. As it were the damage is near unthinkable. I dare say you saved the kingdom with your actions today. Thought don’t ask for much from that King, that dodgy old bugger never really acknowledges true bravery anymore.”
They made came in the tower for the night and when the sun rose, the commander personally lead the escort of the group to Ithulios. The rest of his garrison stayed behind to clear the country side of stray ghouls. The group was relieved to finally be done with the ordeal, but the words of Jak and Xavril weighed heavily upon them as the made the final trek to Ithulios.