SESSION 215: The Ritual
We finally move to address the blight that has been festering just over there and find something deeper…
Day 133 - 135 Clear & Cold (12.20/0704/0605): A couple of days of rest at the ferry camp before the latest iteration of the crew set out to resolve the blighted sub-hex. Bunny had the crew setup her pavilion just beyond the contaminated influence as the three clerics entered the area to set up the ritual of purification. They could immediately feel the sickness, Mason even had a spontaneous nose bleed. They ignored the malady and set up a triangle of holiness to commence the ritual. Before them a stack of items carrying varied enchantments, including the wicked and powerful longsword – Burner. They began. Conduits opened between higher beings and the clerics. The offering pile began to glow as the ‘gods’ began to slurp up the magical essence of the items like great cosmic mosquitoes.
The clerics had anticipated that the ritual would take a day and would likely irritate the malign influence that held this sub-hex. The rest of the gang were tasked with protecting the ritual from disruption. It only took a couple of hours before the blight took form. Seven grotesque human/ scorpion hybrids. Armed with polearms and bows they launched missiles from afar targeting the clerics. That could have screwed things up quick but the three hunkered down clerics were like three iron bunkers largely impervious to anything that wasn’t a ‘dead-eye’ shot. The rest of the squad leapt to action. Charging across the wasteland towards the aberrations. All were immediately somewhat sickened upon entering the blighted lands. Ignoring the sickness they closed into combat. The scorpionoids were able to launch another volley and again the clerics were unharmed – lucky. The creatures stood at almost 12’ in height and swung their polearms in mighty arcs while their deadly stingers lanced down as the hobos closed into melee. The man-monsters were proficient fighters but could not penetrate the heavy armours of the front-line tanks with their stingers. The warrior-hobos pressed. Slowly, one by one the foul beings were dropped until the hobos once more cheered their victory. Before the ritual ended there was another assault by creatures of whatever malign influence held sway over this area. This time it was three giant scorpions. Way out numbered they were neutralized quickly and efficiently. Once again not having to ‘save vs. death’ is a great way not to die by poison.
The ritual concluded and the clerics were a little cheesed with the outcome. Their gods had elected to point them in the right direction rather than simply turning the evil off.
MORTALS.
YOU ASPIRE TO BECOME THE ARROW THAT TEACHES.
THE EMBODIMENT OF VIRTUE.
THE CARRIER OF LOGOS.
VOYAGE INTO UNCHARTED EXPANSES AND WAGE WAR ON THE LOST GODS.
BRING OUR LIGHT TO THOSE OF DARKNESS
Bimbles was really looking forward to other things but let out a defeated grunt and relayed the situation to the rest of the mob. “See that over there, the big column of holy light? We gotta go there to resolve this matter. Give a man a fish…”. With that they packed up camp and then marched forth across the wasteland to the marker. There was a cave somewhat hidden in a boulder cluster along a slope not far from the river’s edge. Looking in they were greeted by a fowl stench and some reddish discolouration, perhaps slime based, oozing out of and into the cave. The entrance lead to a number of small chambers before reaching a terminus where a ladder that lead deeper was found. Before that discovery there were four chambers all of which showed signs of human(oid) occupation. One if which was home to an altar of evil!
Returning to the ladder they descended further. They landed in a small chamber with a corridor that went off into the darkness to the west. Following the corridor lead to another chamber, wet and stained with reddish slime. In a pool of water at the back was a twisted and disgusting entity that lorded over two corpses covered in tiny crabs looking for morsels. Unbeknownst to our hobos the thing was Daothog Slime Reincarnated. It was once a man but now it is warped, twisted and mutated. Tentacles and a semi transparent gelatinous shell that revealed the mockery of man deep beneath. It attacked mindlessly sending forth tentacles and pseudopods. A vile way to live and a worse way to die. There is no mercy in the stars and no hope for man. Killing it may have been a mercy for something that had felt the touch of god or maybe it lived in the bliss of constant suffering we will never know.
For some reason, once the godling had been destroyed, Carla directed the corpse to be drawn from the chamber. Dislodging the creature from its nest resulted in the immediate sucking noise from the pool upon which Daothog lived. There was a hole underneath, no longer plugged and hidden by the blob. As the water drained through it became obvious that this was the gateway to another place.
The revealed tunnel was like a weeping sore. It was unsightly and a little more than simply just disgusting. The gang looked for ways to stall the inevitable descent into what could be called (we shall call) the Devil’s anus. “Hey why don’t we smash that altar? That must be the source of the massive disease upon these lands definitely whatever is found at the end of this slimy red stained hole!” “Ya ya ya! Toots ma groots that is the proper answer!” and with that they left the Devil’s gross and weepy butthole and went beak up the ladder to the Altar of Abyzou.
ROLECALL
Carla the Green High Priestess of TMB (C9) 293571 xp +10% <300001> CRT 1d12/III
Scars: permanent loss left index finger and scarring on arm
Bimbles the High Priest of GSS (C9) 267687 xp +5% <300001> CRT 1d12/III
Lasting injury: -1 STR, mashed arm
Hobo Steve the Lord (F9) 279046 xp +5% <360,001> CRT 1d24/V
Brain Damaged: reduced mental capacity (tough night on the town)
Touched from Beyond the Grave (Sloth): Eating disorder (x2 food) -5’ mve
Blessing of Orcus (Consumption -1 CON)
Injury: -1 STR from brutal arm shatter
Rahgnar the Dwarven Superhero (D8) 200035 xp <280001> CRT 1d20/IV
Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)
Critical Wound: disembowelled less able to process poison (-1 penalty)
Missing thirteen teeth
Raul the Voyager (MD8) 238829 xp +10% <240000> CRT 1d12/III
Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -4,
Removed one of his own nostrils.
Boris the Dwarven Lord (D9) 352754 xp +10% <400001> CRT 1d20/IV
Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -3, carved up face
Lasting injury: -1 STR, mashed arm
Wound: Bad leg (-5’ MV)
Multiple Injuries: lost 25 teeth (7 remaining), drools a lot CHA -1
Serious Injury: Brain Drain -2 INT
Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)
Injury: -Crushed -8” H
Ding-We the Peg-Legged Sorcerer (W9) 453394 xp +10% <470001> CRT 1d10/I
Critical Wound: Left leg obliterated, runs at ½ rate (peg required)
Bunny the Thief! (T9) 247178 xp <280001> +10% CRT 1d20/II
Light wound: permanent loss of pinky finger, off hand
Ramrod the Cloned Magsman (T8) 153935 xp +5% <160001> CRT 1d20/II
Serious wound: Bad Back (-1 stone CC)
Scars: Neurological damage to hip, noticeable limp (-5’ mve)
Missing eight teeth talks with a lisp
The Henchmen
Saffron the Mad Fairy Queen of Ribbits (FY7) 171622 xp <200001> CRT 1d10/III
Moderate wound: Scar on abdomen
Lasting injury: -1 STR, mashed guts
Sloth the Bopper (L7) 170997 xp +10% <178800> CRT 1d20/IV or 1d6/G (vs. s, m)
Mental Illness: Mummy-a-phobic
Missing ten teeth
Nara the Nearly Naked Purple Swami Girl (PS7) 109599 xp +5% <125000> CRT 1d16/II
Wraith Drained: -1 CON
Biff Bartley the Half-Orc Blackguard (HO7) 101166 <120000> +5% CRT 1d12/II
Lasting injury: Crushed spinal column -6”H, -5’mv, -10% thieving
Sasha Plasha the Warden (R8) 116826 xp +10% <200000> CRT 1d10/III
‘BOB’ the Deadly Shade (N7) 64817 <90000> +5% CRT 1d16/II
Felix Ignatius Hemlock the once skeletal Sleuth (I7) 47017 <80001> +5% CRT 1d16/II
Mason the Lama of Yrrrg. (C7) 55787 <100001> CRT 1d10/III
Charles in Charge the Myrmidon (F6) 53918 <64000> +10% CRT 1d16/IV
Critical Wound: Punctured lung (-2 CON)
Mostly DEAD. (-1 CON)
Gurn Hammerhand the Dwarven Swashbuckler (D4) 21514 <36000> +5% CRT 1d12/III
Wendul the Magician (W6) 43262 <80000> 5% CRT 1d8/I
Dolec Da the Hero (F5) 38738 xp +10% <64000> CRT 1d20/IV
Missing five teeth
Camillus the Myrmidon (F7) 81443 <120001> +5% CRT 1d20/IV
Injury: -1 STR from brutal arm shatter
Injury: -5’mv from brutal arm shatter
Willy the Reformed Burglar (T5) 18256<20000>10% CRT 1d14/II
Chung-Li the Myrmidon Warlock (E6) 103411 xp <120000> +10% CRT 1d8/II
Brett & Jermaine Kobold Cooks & Eavesdroppers Extraordinaire
RESERVES
BoB is the lone lawn ornament for the Basilisk Knights.
Boris & Camillus rehab (correction of structural injuries) for 14 days
Elapsed: 5 days
Chung Li needs 12 weeks and a stack of coin to rewrite his lost spell book.
Elapsed: 5 days
Elapsed Campaign Time
583 days at beginning of session (also applies to recuperation)
Join us for session Two-Hundred-and-Sixteen when we ask the questions:
Tale of the Tape
Exploration
Location hex: 12.20
KILLS
Scorpionoids (7)
Giant scorpions (3)
Daothog slime reincarnated
LOOT
Gems (14) 2940 gp
Jewelry (10) 11300 gp
Bottles of mid-grade rum (6) 2% chance of mutation
4500 gp
Rubys (2) 500 gp each
+1 2h Sword
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