Session 62
General Summary
- The party moved out from Ashport, taking their carriage at a normal pace along one of the well-traveled roads.
- Travel along the main road was mostly uneventful. They hardly encountered anybody, just two other travelers on horseback passing the other way, who clearly didn't want to be bothered.
- They stopped at a campsite that happens to have a mock grave marker with Marvin's name on it. Marvin admits that he's been fibbing a little: his last party weren't actually eaten. They were actually attacked by bandits who stole all their gear, and he was just lucky enough that the bandits didn't get to him too. He was too embarrassed to tell the whole story before.
- Dwardazik, Dazki, Barry, and Marvin had a bit of an archery contest that ended in Dwardazik going around wrestling Barry and Kesmet, and they turned in for the night.
- Apparently, the campsite was visited throughout the night during first (Kesmet's) watch, though the visitors did not seem to leave the tall grass, nor did they leave any trail whatsoever that could be used to identify who they were. The only evidence of their visit is a path of displaced tall grass.
- During the second day of travel, the party spotted a pair of zombies. One zombie seemed smarter than the other. The smarter one kept poorly attaching an antelope's hide onto the other's abdomen, repeating the word "Repair" over and over. The party watched them for a while, but that's all that they were doing, so they just eliminated them (overkilling, per Alice's suggestion).
- Hershal's Rest proper is a ghost town, corpses scattered all throughout. Inside one of the houses is another smart(er) zombie smashing the legs of a dead half-eaten dog into where his own legs used to be, again repeating the word "Repair" as he does so. Dwardazik overkilled that one as well.
- The evidence gathered throughout the town suggests that zombies did attack about two weeks ago, almost certainly the same ones that the party encountered near Ashport, but that the hunters actually fended them off. Just a few days later, however, the zombie horde doubled back around and took the town by surprise, leaving no apparent survivors.
- Before they could finish completely investigating the town, they spotted a large monstrosity still in the town. Its name has been teased: this is The Glutton of Hershal's Rest.
Full Recap
The session opens with the party traveling out of Ashport in search of Hershal's Rest to follow the trail of The Flesh Artist. Barry drives the cart, as he is the only party member who's proficient in doing so. Kesmet begins happily playing his harmonica: he's been wanting to leave that city ever since he found out that Dennis wasn't in it.Dwardazik: I have to tell ya: being out of that city is quite enjoyable. We've been in there too long, surrounded by too many traitors and too much betrayal. Kesmet: Did you guys leave anything at the house? Dwardazik: No. Grogery: Other than furniture and things that are unwieldy to carry, like that scrying book? Kesmet: I'm good to never come back here again, although I have a feeling that we will be... Dwardazik: I'm not OK with that.The road here is paved with cobblestones, baked from the heat. They seem to be blown over by fine sand or dirt. So while it may look like a dirt road, it is, in fact, cobble. It's getting into the dry season around here. The wind has started picking up.
Dwardazik: Marvin, you've traveled around quite a bit? Marvin: Yes, I've been around these areas quite a lot. Dwardazik: Where do you come from? Marvin: Certainly not this city, I'll tell you that. Dazki: A surprisingly suspicious, and specific, denial. Marvin: Why are you so distrusting of me, Dazki? I come from a family of nomads. Dwardazik: Everyone knows that dwarves are from underground, gnomes are insane, elves come from the trees, goblins come from... the trees..., fish people come from Muckwater. The question is, where did you come from? I'm not asking for your whole life story, I'm just curious if you're familiar with this kind of land? Marvin: Yes, my family was part of one of the nomadic tribes out in this area. My recent journeys have taken me a bit around this area, in particular, but I'm from the northern area of the country. Dwardazik: Ahh, from the north... you know, this is the furthest I've ever been from Amber Falls. This is fairly north for me... I hear you elves are even further up north? Dazki: Yeah, we are. Grogery: Yup. Dazki: It's actually pretty nice, as long as you don't mind the trees or the rain. Dwardazik: Well, I've seen some trees, but... the forests up there, is there anything special about 'em? Dazki: Well, I grew up there, so it doesn't seem all that special to me, just like under the mountain wouldn't seem all that special to you. Dwardazik: I suppose. He looks around for any ambushes, spotting nothing out of the ordinary amongst the various farmers and cattle. Grogery: So Marvin, what languages do you know? Marvin: Common and halfling. Grogery: OK. There's a contingent of kobolds at The Spire of Beasts who are followers of Pelor... I was hoping to be able to strike up an actual conversation with them, but alas. Marvin: Aren't there spells that help you out with that? Grogery: Well yeah, but typically we've been in stressful situations where I can't dedicate resources to that. Marvin: I might be able to help out with that at some point. Grogery: OK. I believe that I should be able to do it, there's just lots of other valuable magic at that level that I've been looking into more. Marvin: That's understandable. When we're done with this, we can talk more about it. Dazki: You could always just see if you could hire a translator? Grogery: Sure, we could hire a dragonborn to translate, like, a sermon or something. Dazki: That could just be my upbringing talking, of course, that mentality of, "if you don't know how to do something, then hire someone to do it for you". Grogery: Yeah, I didn't really have the ability to hire people until very recently... Dazki: No, but you must have seen your family do it all the time? Grogery: Yeah.Further out from the city, the landscape changes. There are several ranches just past the farmland, where you would see large herds of goats or cattle. They graze from area to area.
Dazki: What sorts of things should we be on the lookout for here, Marvin? Marvin: The typical stuff. Sinkholes, giant ants, giant beasts that might eat you whole. Dwardazik: Speakin' of those giant ants, we saw some of those going back to that crypt over there a while ago, remember that? They were pickin' up bodies of the undead. Makes me wonder if this undead problem, the "undead who won't stay down", if we could somehow lure the ants into the area, maybe they could help us? Grogery: They'd just eat them all? Dwardazik: Let's just say I don't know how this all works. I'm sure Kesmet could inform you how all this magic mumbo-jumbo happens, but if you kill the leader of the undead, do all the other undead just die or go wild or something? Grogery: Well, according to Alice, zombies in this area have been acting like there's a horde, and then there's a hive lord that does basic directions. If the hive lord goes down, the zombies go rogue. They don't coordinate, they just wander off to get picked off by the elements or ants. Dazki: Think of it like a hive of bees. Grogery: I don't know if they have bees underground? Dwardazik: I know what bees are. They're important for pollination, that's how the farms work. It would have been nice to get the ants involved, but we'll see. Marvin: If that does happen, I might have some contingency for that. We'll see. Dazki climbs up to the top of the cart to keep a lookout from up there. Marvin: Dazki, I wouldn't recommend that. You're gonna get heat stroke real quick. Dwardazik: Grogery, could you tap some of that water? I'm getting kinda thirsty up here. Grogery: Sure. We can also get some food for the day, we just need to stop for a little while so I can do it. Dwardazik: I need to stretch my legs, anyway. Dazki looks around. He spots a gnoll shepherd in a yellow vest on one of the ranches, nowhere near the road. Grogery casts the spell to create food and water. The barrels fill up with water, and a variety of plants sprout out of the ground. Some carry fruits and vegetables, and others are entire loaves of bread. Dwardazik: Give me one of those loaves! I know it doesn't taste like anything, but at least it will go down with this water. Dazki: It tastes like loaf. What do you expect it to taste like? Dwardazik: Like delicious loaf! Not just... loaf. You know the difference? The difference between fresh bread and just... bread. Except here, it doesn't taste like fresh bread, even though it's fresh. It just tastes like... ... bread.Back on the road, the party has made it properly into the wilderness, evidenced by the familiar sounds of various ground-dwelling birds and insect noises that mesh with the rustling of the wind in the tall grass, as tall as even the taller party members. Dazki doesn't stay on top of the cart the whole time, since it is indeed quite hot. He's started going up for only a few minutes at a time. Kesmet stops playing his harmonica as they get into the taller grass.
Marvin: You could always burn the grass, Kesmet? Dwardazik: Let's not give him any ideas... Marvin: Oh, did this happen once before? It sounds like this has happened. Kesmet appears conflicted, as if he's considering it, but also remembering that there's probably a good reason not to. Marvin: I wouldn't seriously suggest that anyway. I respect the nature out here way too much. Kesmet goes up to the top of the cart to look around. Marvin: Hey, Dwardazik, I've got a proposition for you. You've got your brand new shiny crossbow all set up here... what do you say, when we clear this grass and come across some distant rocks, are you up for a little shooting contest? Dwardazik: Might as well! Gotta break it in, right? Marvin: Absolutely! Dwardazik: Gotta be careful not to lose too many bolts, though. Marvin pulls out a hand crossbow with a bit of a flourish. Dwardazik: Well, I've got 20 bolts, so how about 3 shots? Marvin: That's fine, you can take some of mine. I have 100. Dwardazik: I don't know if your small bolts will fit on my big weapon! Marvin: Oh, I see how it is. When we see the rocks, then we'll talk. Dwardazik: You're on! Kesmet comes back down to chat before they go further. Kesmet: It's a nice chilly day, and I'm comfortable on top of the cart. Grogery: I don't remember the Windscar ever getting this hot... "chilly day"... Dazki: At least it's not nearly as humid as some of the warmer rainy days back home.Further down the road, the party spots two people on horses coming the other way down the road. Marvin pulls up his cloak, showing off his leg, taunting them to try to get their attention.
Dazki: Just let them be. I'm sure they've got business of their own, just like we've got business of our own. Marvin: I'm just teasing 'em. We all need a good laugh when traveling days at a time. Dazki leans in and whispers to Kesmet: Hey, do you see any symbols or anything you recognize on 'em? Kesmet whispers back: I think I see what you mean. Exaggerated wink. Dazki: Uh... what do you think you see? Kesmet discreetly takes out a little bag of a light pink crystalline powder. Dazki nods. Kesmet: You don't think... maybe they could lead us to Dennis? Dazki: If they didn't have any identifying symbols, then probably not. It could very well be a different kind of substance that they're running. I say, just let them be. We don't want to make anybody else angry at us. Marvin: If you make someone angry, that just means you're doing something right. Kesmet: Fine. Once the other travelers have passed further down the road, Dazki explains: Those guys were just smugglers. They didn't want to be seen, they didn't want to see us. No threat there. Dwardazik: Good. Hopefully, no one's trailing them to stumble upon our campsite. Speaking of which, can someone find a spot for us to set up camp? Marvin: I'll give it a shot.
Shooting the Breeze
With Grogery assisting, Marvin stakes out a campsite. It's actually not that hard: being about 8 hours out from Ashport, there are actually several sites around that have been used for this in the past. He finds one that's been previously used, and it looks kinda decent, probably safe. He points it out to Grogery, who immediately notices a grave marker here, the kind that you would use to memorialize a fallen comrade whose body was not able to be recovered.Dwardazik: It looks like a reasonable campsite. Grogery, pointing out the grave marker: Someone died around here... Examining the grave marker further, carved on the front is the name "Undersky". Grogery: What's "Undersky"? Marvin: My last name! Grogery: Oh! They think you... died? Examining the back of the grave marker, someone else carved the text "Fuck you, Marv". Grogery: Wait, I thought your whole party got eaten? The looks fairly recent. Marvin: Oh boy, I think I know what this is... Dazki: Would you care to explain? Marvin: You know how I've mentioned that I've traveled with a bunch of different adventurers before? Some of 'em find my antics a little annoying, OK? And this one, he had a little too much to drink (me, not so much, no worries there). They just didn't like my sense of humor, OK? And maybe they got into some trouble and, hell, if I didn't get out of there, then fuck, we were outnumbered, like, 20-to-1, I swear. Dwardazik: Riiiight. So that happened here, then, right? Grogery: What kind of trouble was this? Bandits? Lions? Dwardazik: What's important to know is if this area is safe or not. Grogery: Obviously, whoever got out of that "battle" that Marvin was in was able to make it out to this place, and they had enough time to stick this stake in the ground. So, probably, but it might indicate some danger further down the line. Dwardazik: You know what, I don't even care. I'm tired, and I need some sleep. This place is as good as any. Marvin, whaddaya say we shoot that piece of wood over there as our target? Marvin: That sounds like a grand idea! Grogery: I'd like to hear more about this encounter of yours, though. Marvin: OK. They were called The Silver Arrows. They got jumped, and they got all their gear stolen, OK? Thankfully, the bandits didn't spot me when they got jumped. There's literally nothing I could have done. By the time I realized what was going on, they were already subdued! There was nothing I could do! Dazki: Note to self -- don't depend on Marvin. Marvin, getting agitated: I didn't see it happen! Grogery: So they got all their gear stolen, and then they set up tents, and all their tents got eaten? Marvin: That was different, that was a separate thing. Grogery: But, you said that was the Silver Arrows too? Dwardazik: These Silver Arrows sound kind of unlucky. Dazki: I don't think it's the Silver Arrows that are unlucky. Marvin: Halflings happen to be very lucky, I'll have you know! Dwardazik: What's your beef with Marvin, huh? Dazki: I said it right when we met him. I am suspicious of someone showing up with the exact information we need, at the exact moment we need it. It is suspicious. Dwardazik: I mean, yeah, but you don't gotta be mean about it! Marvin: I totally understand the origin of that suspicion. Let's just say that my past travels aren't actually that lucky. I've been trying to follow adventurers for a while now, and none of them have turned out too well, OK? I'm gonna be honest. Grogery, I did kinda fib earlier about them getting eaten. I tried to make something up on the spot to sound like I've been through some shit. Well, I have been through some shit, just very embarrassing shit. Grogery: I'm a goblin. People don't take me seriously. I understand the desire to try to puff yourself up and all that. My concern is that you were traveling with a group of people who can hold a grudge if they believe that their safety is threatened, and we also had Baxton doing a bunch of manipulating and lying to us. So it would definitely help if you were honest. Marvin: Fair enough. Kesmet: Guys, we've been through much worse shit than some guy lying to us to try to save face on some embarrassing nonsense. If this is, in fact, manipulation, then this is the most polite and nonthreatening manipulation we've encountered so far! Dazki: Yeah, that's what makes it even more insidious if it is! Kesmet: Well, if it's going to be bad at the end anyway, then let's at least enjoy not being chased, and stabbed, and poisoned, and withered, and nearly murdered, multiple times, in a row, and then bitten, and then almost murdered again, and then hypnotized into burning an old lady alive (that will haunt me for the rest of my days), -- Marvin: Holy shit, I need to get some notes from you later. That sounds awesome. Kesmet shudders. Kesmet: We've been through some shit. This is downright friendly. And, as we all know, he's not a werewolf. So we're fine. Dazki looks at Marvin. Dazki: You're not keeping watch tonight. Marvin: That's fair. More shut-eye for me. Grogery: Dwardazik isn't keeping watch tonight, either. Marvin: Just so you know, I am willing to contribute. I'm willing to pay my full share, like I have for this trip. I'm willing to put in the work. I'm very confident that my spells and expertise will help in combat, if it inevitably gets to that with the undead. Dazki: Well, when we come across the undead, that'll be a chance to prove yourself, then. How's that sound? Marvin: I look forward to it, Dazki. Dwardazik: Now wait just a minute! Did you say I can't keep watch? Grogery: You kept watch last night, so it only stands that other people should have a turn this time. Kesmet: Yeah, Dwardazik. We're all equal members of the party. You can't take that from us. You have to let us keep watch, and you have to get some rest so that you're refreshed when we fight the zombies. Dwardazik, grunting: Barry, get over here. You're helping me saddle the oxen. Err... unsaddle 'em... uh... put 'em on a post! Barry: I already did that, though. Dwardazik: Damn it, Barry! Go get a drink with me. Dazki: Thank you, Barry. I appreciate the help. Barry: For some reason, I know how to do this. Dazki: Yeah, you're good at this. Remember? When we were traveling before, you were good at it too. Barry: I don't think these pieces paint a picture. Of anything. Dazki: They paint a picture of someone who's good at traveling. Dwardazik: Come on, Barry. Drinks await. Dwardazik pours Barry a pint of dwarven ale. They both drink. Dazki: So where is the range for this supposed archery contest you guys are having? Dwardazik mutters incoherently. Marvin: What kind of distance should we do? Dwardazik: I want it to be a fair match, so how about 20 paces? Marvin: So about 20 feet? Dwardazik: Dwarven feet are bigger, so it's 100 feet! Marvin: That's some big feet! Grogery: Those are some big paces... do you consider it a "pace" if you have to somersault? Marvin: Dwardazik, you must make the ladies real happy. Dwardazik twirls his bears a little. Grogery: Only Tilda would know, I suppose. Dwardazik: Shut up! Grogery: I'm just teasing you. Dwardazik: Hey, I think I found a new target, Marvin! Grogery: No!! Dwardazik: ...all right... let's go ahead and take a look at that stake.Dwardazik walks out 20 paces from the marker, but before he takes aim, Kesmet speaks up.
Kesmet: I think I can offer a more interesting target, something smaller. He takes out 2 candlestick holders, puts candles in them, and lights them. Grogery: Couldn't you have just done an illusion where they're supposed to hit? Kesmet: Sounds like work. Dazki: Ahh, yeah. The goal is to snuff the flame with your bolt! Marvin: Ooh, I like it, I like it! Dwardazik: Hmmph. Easy!Without even putting down his ale, Dwardazik takes a shot with his heavy crossbow, snuffing out the flame. Marvin pats him on the back.
Marvin: Fair enough, fair enough! Dwardazik: Top that! Marvin: I'll give it a shot!Marvin extends his hand and makes a big show of pointing his finger at the other candlestick. Editor's note: the spell in 5e is only supposed to be S, but it's listed in Marvin's character sheet on Roll20 as V, S, M. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or intentional. With the crossbow in his non-pointing hand, he takes a shot and snuffs out the flame of the other one.
Dwardazik: That was a mighty fine shot there, Marvin! I gotta say, though, what was with all that huffin' and puffin', and magic wavin' you did there? Marvin: You know, I gotta hype myself up!Dwardazik goes to retrieve his bolt, but realizes something when he gets there.
Dwardazik: Wait a second... ... who won? Dazki: You guys have to take another pace back and shoot again. Kesmet: We'll have to make it a little harder this time. Let me --As they are discussing, Barry takes a shot at the candle and hits Dwardazik on the rear. Dwardazik whirls around, glares Barry, and charges at him. For a brief moment (or was it imagined?), Barry looks cool, calm, and collected, as the dwarf charges him. Nonetheless, he reverts to the more familiar face of utter terror as Dwardazik tackles him.
Dwardazik, rapidfire: Damnit, Barry, what the hell are you doin' with that thing, you don't know how to aim that shit, you hit me right in the fuckin' ass! Kesmet: Dwardazik, relax. He's drunk. Marvin: Yeah, Dwardazik, get off of him!During the brawl, Kesmet rips the arrow out of Dwardazik's behind. It makes an unsavory noise, and Dwardazik turns to Kesmet, charging at him instead. Kesmet attempts to dodge out of the way, unsuccessfully.
Kesmet: Dwardazik, what the hell, I was trying to help!Grogery sees this from across the campsite and just ignores it.
Dwardazik: Y'all stupid. This match is over. I need another drink.Kesmet picks his undamaged candles and candlesticks back up and puts them back in his pack. Marvin looks dissatisfied, which Dazki picks up on.
Dazki: If you want a shootout, I'll take you on. Marvin: I didn't know you practice? Dazki pulls out the giant human spine from his back and the flintlock pistol from his side. Kesmet: While I was in my pack, I found an even better target for you.Kesmet takes out a sheet of paper, affixes it to a wall using one of his daggers, and draws a target on it with one of his charcoal sticks.
Dazki: So, do I handicap myself by using this pistol that I'm not really good with yet, or do you want an actual contest? Marvin: Do whatever you feel comfortable with, Dazki. Use that horrifying-looking bow you have there! Dazki: I need some practice. I'll use the pistol. Kesmet: That's Baxton's letter, if that does anything for you.Dazki waits for Kesmet to clear the area, then he fires a single shot. It makes an incredibly loud, thunderous booming sound that echoes far into the distance.
Marvin: Whoa! You might have just woken up every single dinosaur in the area! Grogery, rushing in from across the way: Did something blow up over here? Dwardazik also rushes in, taking a defensive stance. Dwardazik: What the hell was that?! Dazki: Sorry, just trying out my new weapon. Dwardazik: That's a weapon? Dazki: Yeah, it shoots a little slug of lead. Marvin: I need one of those... Dwardazik: You're tellin' me that there's a giant boom, and then it shoots out something? Dazki: Yeah. It's a small controlled explosion. Marvin: What is it called, a boom...stick? Or something? Dazki: It's called a flintlock.When everyone regains their senses, they look at the target: the shot hit the exact center.
Marvin: And you said you just got that thing? Dazki: Yeah! I mean, it's not that hard to just aim and pull the trigger, but I'm not great with it yet. Not as good as I am with a bow. Marvin: OK, OK, OK, OK. My turn.Marvin does his over-the-top finger pointing again, and he shoots at what's left of the target. It hits pretty much exactly in the center as well, though it's hard to tell exactly where his bolt hit relative to Dazki's bullet, as Dazki's shot severely damaged the paper target.
Marvin: Well, shit, you just blew the whole thing up! You guys really are something. He just got that crossbow, and he nailed his target. You just got your boomstick, and you destroyed the bullseye. Holy shit, you guys are naturals! Grogery: I guess we're just lucky. Dazki: I definitely got lucky with that one. Dwardazik: It was all dwarven ale! Marvin: Yeah, he even did it while he was drunk! Dwardazik, agitated: Excuse me? Marvin: A few down the hatch... Dwardazik: If you're going to be chronicling our adventures, you're going to have to understand how many drinks it takes for a dwarf to even get close to drunk. Dwardazik points to his pint. Dwardazik: You see how many's here? Count 'em! Marvin: ...one. You've got one. Dwardazik: Now multiply that by eight! Marvin: ...eight. Right? Dwardazik: That's when I get buzzed. Marvin: Shit! Marvin starts frantically writing. Dwardazik: And don't you forget it! Marvin: It's committed to memory. Dazki: Well, I usually take first watch, so... Marvin: Seriously, I will contribute, if you want me to. Kesmet: Actually, I'm going to volunteer for first watch this time. The weather's very pleasant, we're out of that rat's nest of a city... I feel happy. There's a bunch of flammable grass everywhere, it's amazing! Dazki: OK. It's all right, Marvin, I only need four hours of rest. You can go ahead and hit the hay. Marvin: All right, if you're sure. I will not say no to some rest, for sure, but my offer still stands. Dazki: Maybe if we need you tomorrow night. Barry: We got this! Dwardazik: Barry, you're with me! Barry: No, no, no, us elves stick together! Dwardazik grabs Barry. Kesmet: Barry, you've got a very important job. You have to keep track of Dwardazik while he's sober. Grogery: Make sure Dwardazik gets some sleep tonight, OK? Dwardazik: All right, Barry, I need to talk to you one-on-one. Barry: I suppose somebody's gotta watch him. Kesmet: Yeah, you keep tabs on him. We'll look out. I will take first watch. Grogery: I was going to volunteer to take a watch, but it sounds like Kesmet and Dazki have it? Dazki: You can take last watch, Grogery.Grogery sleeps in the carriage. Dwardazik follows.
First Watch: Kesmet
Kesmet is distracted by the night sky and "not being in a murder city". He doesn't spot anything during his watch, and he wakes Dazki after two hours.Second Watch: Dazki
Dazki climbs up on top of the cart to take watch from there, while Kesmet takes the tent that he was in. He notices that something has recently traveled through the grass to the campsite, most likely during Kesmet's watch. They didn't stick around, but it's not clear what they might have done. They don't seem to have left the tall grass. He keeps his bow ready. Nothing else happens during his watch, so he wakes Grogery, telling him to pay special attention in the direction that the visitors might have left in.Last Watch: Grogery
Grogery notices that the bugs around here are fairly big. He briefly considers that some of them might even look somewhat tasty, before catching himself, thinking to himself "why would I think that? I'm a civilized person, and I don't eat bugs!" Nothing happens during the watch.Next Day
Dazki: Hey, Marvin? Marvin: Yeah? Dazki: There was something that came near the camp last night. I only saw the trail. Since you're familiar with this area, would you mind coming and taking a look at it? Marvin: Sure... I hope it's not one of those things again... Dwardazik: Don't take too long, I'm gonna work on breakfast! Marvin: So was it footprints? Dazki: All I could see was the trail in the grass, from the top of the cart. Apparently, it came during Kesmet's watch. Marvin: Hmm...Whatever left this trail is incredibly light-footed. Even though there are spots where the grass was displaced, there are no actual footprints of any sort of person or animal. Whatever it is, it moved the grass as it traveled, but left no prints or anything. The path itself is wide enough for maybe two humanoids side-by-side, and it widens a bit further as it gets closer to the camp.
Marvin: Gosh, even a snake would have left a print. This is really strange... something floaty, something light. Either a person who knows how not to leave a trail, or just some supernatural shit that can somehow float past us without leaving a trail. Dazki: It couldn't have been just bugs, or anything? Marvin: This is not like any bug I've ever encountered out here. Dazki: All right, well thanks! Marvin: Well... we're all here, and it looks like nothing really happened last night. Should we get back to it? Dazki: Yeah, sounds good.They pack up camp and head out. Marvin starts playing his mandolin for the second day of travel.
Grogery: So, Marvin, you've been trying to travel with adventurers, but nothing's really worked out yet? Marvin: Yeah. I don't have any good stories yet, and all the travels I've had so far have just led to, "hey, this big barbarian got eaten by a giant dinosaur", or "these guys got mugged by those bandits", or any number of weird disasters happening out here. Why am I still doing this? Because I need a story, and those stories are too short. Grogery: You need something that doesn't just end in an anticlimax. Marvin: I need heroes! Not, "big dumb man gets eaten by dinosaur". Sure, it makes for an interesting little quip, but it's not something to be remembered for the ages. Based on what you guys have told me so far, you guys are up to something, and I want to be a part of it. Grogery: Well, if you stick around with us long enough, you're bound to find something worthy of a story. Marvin: I'm sure of it too. Grogery: What was that one thing you mentioned yesterday, where you went, "I've got to learn the story behind that" or something? Something we said? Dazki: It was Kesmet's list of crazy shit. Marvin: Yes. "Grandma being burned alive", did I hear that right? Kesmet: I don't want to talk about it. Marvin: One day, Kesmet! Grogery: What do you know about Baxton? What's your actual opinion on him? Marvin: I heard he's a nice guy. I never really met him, but I heard he did an OK job in the office that he held. And that you guys probably murdered him. Grogery: Yes. So, the fact that you believe he's a nice guy means that Baxton was very good at doing his job. He was messing around with a lot of Turmoil experimentation, and he was doing a lot of... generally not-good things. Marvin: That sounds fucked. Dazki: You remember that big stack of papers I gave The Queen of Hearts? Marvin: Vaguely, yeah. Dazki: That was all blackmail that he had on important and noteworthy people in the city. Marvin: Holy shit! That's a lot! Dazki: And that's only what he had that we could find evidence of. Marvin: Was he gunning to take over the whole damn city with that? Grogery: He was trying to become head of the House of Crystal, and then possibly move up from there. Dazki: According to his own words, he deserved to be Firelord. Marvin: Whoa. That's some fighting words. Well, it sounds like he got what he actually deserved, then. Grogery: Regardless of his threat to the governing powers, what he was doing was hurting a lot of innocent people. So we went to go stop him, and he did a bunch of crazy Turmoil magic that interfered with our ability to see who people were. The area we were in had some civilians, and people who got badly affected by his magic, all they could see was a bunch of different Baxtons running around. So some innocent people got caught up in that crossfire. Kesmet plays a somber melody on his harmonica. Marvin: Wow, OK. It sounds like you guys really did save the city, whether or not the city knows it. Grogery: Well, the Firelord knows it. Marvin: That's not too bad, to be in his good favor! Grogery: We got a pardon from him for some of the shenanigans that Baxton tricked us into pulling. Marvin: There was the whole thing with your mugs apparently being plastered over the whole city, which was kind of surprising. Kesmet: Then he threatened to personally atomize us if we stepped out of line even once more. Marvin: Sounds about right. Dwardazik: I'm just glad to see the Firelord actually taking an interest into some of the things happening in his city. A ruler should be proactive, not leading from the sidelines. Dazki: Oh, he's going to be proactive just long enough to deal with all of the "incompetent" heads of the houses, and then he's going to go right back to doing what he always does. Which is nothing. Kesmet: And we will not be there for that, because we are on this expedition!The party travels a little further along the road.
Dwardazik: I need some water! Grogery, do you think it's about that time? Grogery: The water will last forever. It's the food that goes bad after 24 hours, so eat up while you can. It would be best to cast it at night while we're setting up camp, but I cast it early yesterday because we were getting thirsty. Dwardazik: We're good! Someone pass me up one of those Pelor loaves! Grogery does. Grogery: I think the reason why it's so tasteless is because it's a magical spell. You're not putting real work into it, so while it provides what you need for life, you need to actually contribute to the world to actually have happiness, you know? Kesmet: Fascinating. Kesmet pulls out his magical spice box and uses it on some of the food. Looks like he found his happiness. Dwardazik: You're telling me that Pelor's gift is merely... nothing? Grogery: No! He's giving the bread of life, but... Dazki: Pelor cares about sustenance, not enjoyment? Dwardazik: I understand. Grogery: It's like a metaphorical thing. You shouldn't be rewarded too much for just taking the easy way, you know? Sure, you could cast the spell over and over to get your food, but it's worth it to go do things and better yourself. Dazki: Oh, becoming a cleric as powerful as you, that's easy, Grogery? Grogery: No no no! Dazki: Then it seems like a reasonable reward for such significant effort. Grogery: It's more that, even once you become a cleric of my level, you shouldn't stagnate. Always better yourself, allow for a fertile mine and body. Dwardazik: I believe I understand. Because you have been blessed by Pelor, you should continue on your quest, and this is merely a tool to provide solutions to problems. For example, people who need food. Grogery: Yes. Dwardazik: But it is part of the journey, not the destination. Grogery: Yes.They have reached the point on their map where they have to leave the safer main road. There's a game trail that leads up there. As they go down that path, Marvin remembers some of the landmarks and points out the exact location of Hershal's Rest on their map. They're on the right path. Dazki spots a clearing about 40 yards up ahead, where hunters have been laying snares to catch game. There are two undead individuals gathered around a dead antelope caught in one such snare now. He points this out to the others.
Dazki: Looks like we found something getting one of the hunters' traps. Grogery: Seeing these guys next to some big game gave me an idea... sadly, we're too far away from the city to act on this, but what if we had stuck a pinpoint in one of the zombies? That would allow the church to track their movements more easily. Dwardazik: An interesting idea... so these things, they're undead?They are, quite obviously. They hide in the shade of a prickly bush. One of them moves with purpose, using a bit of rawhide rope to affix some of the antelope's hide to cover a piece of the other undead's abdomen that's missing.
Dazki: Clever. These aren't just your basic mindless zombies. Dwardazik grabs his crossbow. Grogery: Do we want to sneak up on them? Dazki: I say we let them continue, and then follow? Grogery: It might be hard to follow them if they go back into the grass. Dwardazik: I say we simply slaughter them. What's the point in waiting? We can take 'em on. Grogery: We're taking this trip for information, though. We want to know where these zombies are coming from, and if they have anything to do with the Flesh Artist. Dwardazik, with a grunt: Fine. Dazki: Well, Marvin, do you think you could track them through the brush, where they came from and everything? Marvin: Probably. The smell alone would give them away. Dwardazik: Keep in mind, we are now in dangerous territory. We should be considering our options for where to spend the night, now that we know where Hershal's Rest is. Grogery: There's still some daylight. We could try following the zombies, and if they lead us too far away, we can turn back towards Hershal's Rest and still have enough time to travel before it gets dark. Marvin: If they're not moving on their own, let's just... getting rid of two of these monsters would be good for the world, don't you think? Dwardazik: Now that, I can agree with! Marvin: Looks like they're going to be there for a while, at least. Dazki: OK, but if one of them is smart enough to run, we chase them and don't kill it. Marvin: Yeah. Dwardazik, with an exasperated grunt: Ugh. Fair. Grogery: I suppose if they start going in the wrong direction, we should probably end it anyway, since we won't be able to follow them effectively if we're going to have to detour to Hershal's Rest. Dwardazik: All right folks, let's settle this like dwarves. Everyone, huddle up. Thumbs-up = kill the zombies, thumbs-down = don't kill the zombies. Marvin: It's not a binary thing. We need to see if we can get information off of them, there might be clues on their bodies indicating what's going on. Kesmet: If we engage them at all, I want to capture them. They seem like not ordinary zombies. Dwardazik is the only person in favor of immediately killing the zombies, though... Dazki: What about Barry? Barry: Oh, I get a vote now? I didn't get a vote on whether or not I can come, but now I get a vote? Dwardazik: Barry, are you gonna vote, or are you gonna complain? Marvin: You can abstain, that's always an option... Dwardazik: Abstaining is not an option! Grogery: Abstaining is an option... Barry: I mean, we're supposed to kill the zombies. If we don't kill the zombies, and then we go to the town, then the zombies are gonna come from behind us and eat us. Marvin: We're not gonna let that happen! Dwardazik: There we go, I agree! So we're gonna kill them! Marvin: ...if we need to. It's not the first branch in the tree. Dwardazik: Fine, 4 vs. 2. Let's wait and see if we can figure out where this master is. Dazki: We'll give them 10 minutes.Dwardazik lies down and tries to take a nap. During those 10 minutes, the more intelligent zombie does nothing but try to repair the other using the antelope hide. Occasionally, the more intelligent one repeats the word "Repair", over and over again.
Dazki: OK, we're not going to get anywhere with these guys. Grogery: Two options. Either we purposely scare the zombies and see where they run, or we attack them. Dazki: Third option. Marvin, how quiet are you? Marvin: I can be pretty quiet. Dazki: Let's you and me go over there and see if we can find trails showing us what direction they came from.They sneak up and look around. These zombies wandered in from the direction of Hershal's Rest, encountered this antelope, and decided to repair whatever damage happened. The pair head back to the rest of the party and repeat that information.
Dwardazik: So, they came from around Hershal's Rest? I don't know if that bodes well or not. It confirms our direction, but the fact that they survived indicates that it might not be as well defended as it should be. Marvin: It seems that this cannot be a coincidence. We're in the right spot. Something fishy's going on here. Dwardazik: So what's the plan? Marvin: Take 'em out? We got the info we needed. Dwardazik: I don't see why not. Grogery: Yeah.
"Combat"
It's pretty trivial. They get in a surprise round at range, instantly destroying the less dumb one, and then another standard round before the smarter one have a chance to respond. Dazki is about to leave them alone, but Grogery reminds him that Alice told them to do overkill. Fortunately, they would have been reminded about this anyway, since the zombie says "Repair" again. They all lay into it, destroying it for good.Back to the Road
Dwardazik recovers three of the snare traps.Grogery: Don't those belong to somebody? Marvin: Not anymore... well, now they belong to him! Grogery: So, I have a spell that I can cast on people that can prevent them from dying. When I cast it, for 8 hours, ..., and then the spell ends. I'm concerned that Hershal's Rest might not be in a very good state once we get there, so does anybody want this? It's pretty high up there in terms of spell magic I would need to spend, but it's not my highest level... Marvin: If you're gonna do that to someone, you might as well put it on the most vulnerable people at the front? Dwardazik: I haven't died yet, I don't need that. Keep it for someone who's gonna be vulnerable, like Dazki! Grogery: Dazki can stay away from danger and knows when to fold 'em. I can do it on myself, if you want to make sure the cleric doesn't die? Marvin: That sounds like a fine plan. Dazki: Yeah, when Grogery thinks about undead, he touches himself. Grogery casts it on himself. Dwardazik, elbowing Dazki: Hey, he ended up touching himself anyway!Marvin seems to have been correct. It's not too long of a travel before they spot the tall wooden walls that would surround a small hunting camp.
Hershal's Rest
The clearing around Hershal's Rest is quite vast. This is a good spot for a hunting town: you'd be able to see game for a while, from the wall. The camp itself, however, is far from a hive of activity.Marvin: It's supposed to be more active than this. Something's not right.Dazki moves into the clearing a little to listen for noises and see what he can see. There's absolutely nothing going on outside. He does spy a makeshift graveyard, still outside the wall. It's freshly made, with a few plots that probably contain some bodies buried there. He relays this information to the rest of the party.
Dazki: Let's head that direction. Marvin: We need to be cautious. Should we leave the cart somewhere... not in the clearing? Like, in the brush? Barry: Well, we could just leave the cart, like, far away from the zombies? And I could watch the... the buffalo just, like, the whole time? Grogery: We're going up to scout. If it's too dangerous to bring the cart in, we can wait outside. Dwardazik: Hold up. Barry, is that what you want to do? Barry: I'll do... whatever I have to do to make this a success! If it means I have to watch the cart, a safe distance away from all the problems, then... Dwardazik: If that's what you're gonna do, then that's what you're going to do, all right? I'm tired of you passive-aggressively pretending like you're not an equal member of the party, when you clearly are. Is that what you want to do? I want to hear you say it! Barry: I want... I want to watch the cart. Dwardazik: All right. Barry's going to be guarding the cart.They leave the cart (and Barry) in the grasses and the brush. They then sneak up towards the graveyard. There are two vultures picking at a corpse in the road leading into the structure. Sundried and mangled, clearly the aftermath of some sort of desperate conflict.
Marvin: Holy shit! Weapons out, guys. Dwardazik, surprisingly calmly: Keep your wits about you. No more games. First things first, let's get close to the wall and make our way to those graves.There are six graves here, each with a name marker (nobody recognizes any of the names). Two of them were dug, but seem not to have been filled in. The rest are covered with various trinkets, probably things that the owner (in the ground) probably had or cared about, or else offerings to help quell their soul. Grogery says some rites over the dead, in Elven.
Dazki: One of those empty graves is probably for the guy in the entryway... Grogery: Digging graves is hard work. You don't do that unless there's a dead person. So there are two dead people somewhere. The question is... why are their graves not filled? What happened to whoever was going to bury them? Dazki: Well, you dig two graves for two people. Like I said, that guy in the entryway... Grogery: Yes, but these graves aren't super recent. What happened to the people who were going to bury them? Marvin: They're probably dead too. Let's go find out. Grogery: That corpse we saw is not two weeks old. It's still getting picked apart by vultures. You don't just leave a corpse in the road. Dazki: So, I shouldn't just shoot my flintlock up in the air to scare the birds off and get whatever's in there to come out and greet us? Marvin: Well, if we're going to fight something, then having a chokepoint like this wouldn't be a horrible idea. Grogery: True, but these are smart zombies. They're not just going to come running. Some are probably going to hide more. Dwardazik: Instead of talking, why don't we move? Dazki: All right.Marvin sneaks into the camp, so stealthily that even Dazki can't manage to see where he went. Dazki mutters "Oh, so that's what it's like. It's even cooler than I thought!" when Marvin leaves his vision. Grogery checks the corpse to see how it died. It died only about 3 or 4 days ago, from a traumatic injury. Otherwise, he was probably a fairly healthy individual. Maybe a hunter, maybe a poacher.
Grogery: This body has been here for a few days, and nobody has taken care of it. Yeah, something very bad happened to this camp.Dwardazik rummages through the corpse's affects. This was definitely a trapper.
Dwardazik: This might be one of those trappers that never returned. Grogery: He died due to an actual injury, it's not a sickness or anything. So maybe he got killed by the zombies?Dazki climbs on top of the barricade to see what's going on in the rest of the settlement. He can't quite see details for the entire camp, but he sees a lot further in. There's a door with a barricade in front of it. Dead bodies are scattered about, including some bodies of horses. In what must have been the town square, there is a centerpiece with a skeleton of a large sauropod, its bones laid out to dry and bleach in the sun, in the center of the camp. In short... this town has seen better days. The party disperses near the entryway.
Dwardazik: This is unnerving.Marvin is taking everything in, and briefly leans against a wall around the house with the barricaded doorway. He hears a noise coming from the other side of the wall. The noise sounds like somebody squishing a couple of steaks together, repeatedly.
Marvin, whispering: Dwardazik, there's definitely something moving in this building.Dwardazik moves the barricade out of the way and opens the door quickly. He signals to the others to get into position and goes in. Inside, there is a hunter's corpse. The hallway is also barricaded, with whatever scrap wood that this person would have used to try to block themselves into this room. They're definitely dead, though, having succumbed to their injuries. She still clutches a gore-splattered hatchet.
Grogery: So... zombies are usually made from humanoid corpses. But... the ones we've seen are kind-of stitched together with animal parts, so... I'm getting nervous, being around so many dead bodies. Don't turn your back on any corpses. Dwardazik: Kinda hard with them surrounding us.Dazki goes back and beheads the corpse in the entryway, while Dwardazik smashes the head on the corpse inside.
Grogery: We shouldn't just smash the heads of the next corpses we see. Remember those coin things we have? We can put them into their eyes and ask them questions. Dwardazik: Sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me. I'll believe it when I see it.Inside the building, there is indeed a noise. Others might describe it like somebody lightly punching an overcooked ham. Dwardazik bashes his way through the barricade. The first thing that he notices in the next room is the half-eaten body of a hunting dog, its wet fur and the majority of its back having been devoured. Hiding in the corner is a rotting husk of a person, an undead just sitting there, its legs mere stumps that are incapable of supporting any weight any longer. It rhythmically thrusts the dog's leg where there would normally be a shin, trying to get the dog's leg to stick. Dwardazik rushes in and bashes the zombie with his warhammer, ultra-overkilling it.
Grogery: These zombies seem to have some sort of desire to "fix" themselves. Marvin: That's... very bad.Dwardazik searches the room. There's a note on the dog's collar. He brings it out and calls everyone over to read it.
Hershal's Rest under siege again from zombie horde. It is lost, do not come here. Rumors of a cursed healer are true. He healed Donovan's leg and when the zombies killed him during the siege he GOT. BACK. UP. Please watch over Lucky, she is the only thing I have ever loved.It seems that the dog was meant to leave the building and deliver a note, but didn't make it.
Marvin: Are we even going to find what we need here? Grogery: We have confirmation about things, at least. Marvin: But this horde... a horde? That would leave a trail! And we haven't seen anything. Grogery: Unless they took the roads, like a smart person. Dazki: Or they could have left out the other side of the town. Marvin: Right, we haven't searched everything yet. Grogery: It doesn't seem like this entrance is barricaded, unless someone broke through. The zombies killed someone, and they got back up. Implying that other people who are killed by the zombies who weren't healed by the Flesh Artist, didn't get back up. Dwardazik: The healer is cursing these people to get back up as zombies when they die! Dazki: Like we said. He's doing Turmoil shit. Did none of you expect horrible Turmoil black magic? That's why we were coming here! Grogery: I understood this, but it feels so wrong... Dwardazik: Just more blood, more violence, more Turmoil. I'm actually a bit relieved, because at least this is exactly what we were expecting to see. Imagine if we came to this town and the healer was here dancing around, and they're all praising him. Marvin: Can we even find this guy? Dwardazik: Let's keep searching. Dazki: Yep. There might be notes or something like that.
Marvin just wanders around aimlessly, not straying too far away from any party member. He was familiar with some of the people from this camp, and the dog (half a dog, now) really liked him. He hops onto the centerpiece and sits down on a spot that won't disturb the dinosaur bones.
Dwardazik checks out the half remains of a skeleton near what must have been a forge for repairing weapons. Despite its location near the wall that the party entered through, it's one of the older corpses. Little bits of dried sinew on the skeleton still twitch a little. He smashes the skull with his warhammer. Grogery encounters a similar situation in the area that looks like it would have been used for butchering the meat: an older corpse, but still twitching.
Kesmet enters another house. This room seems entirely untouched. The bed is even still made. He investigates the room further. It's really cozy. There's a little footlocker with a basic pair of leather boots in it, and a tunic. No blood in here at all, which has become a real selling point for property in this camp. Kesmet rummages through the drawers, sits on the bed. It's fairly comfortable. He lays down in the bed for a few minutes.
Dazki moves to the center of the town to investigate. This must have been where a lot of the action took place. Even a horse is freshly down. There's a combination of human and zombie corpses. It's easy to tell the difference between the freshly killed corpses of humans: one of the beheaded zombies has goat horns for hands, there are bits of another one that have a combination of human, boar, and dwarf. As Dwardazik and Grogery have also discovered, the remains don't look perfectly satisfied as remains. This combat happened days ago, and yet, bits still twitch around. Dazki goes to dismember and destroy the corpses, but even as he lops off limbs and crushes parts, the bits still twitch around.
Dazki, shouting to the others: Hey, put all the twitching corpse pieces into a pile! We'll have to burn it later.While some of the others start piling up corpse bits, Dazki focuses on one particular corpse and tries to make sense of what happened here: This is a town that was attacked two weeks ago by a zombie horde. This first zombie attack certainly came from Ashport, where the party encountered some of the horde earlier. The hunters managed to fend them off. The zombies fled, probably to where the party saw those two zombies earlier. But then, just a few days ago, the zombies returned. They all fought. A few hunters tried to gather their horses and flee to get additional help, guards, or anybody who could help. They must have been low on resources from the first zombie attack, and the second caught them totally off guard. This time, the zombies definitely won: it seems like nobody was capable of fleeing Hershal's Rest in time. Judging by how thoroughly some of the zombie corpses have been destroyed, the inhabitants definitely knew about the zombies' ability to get back up, so it must have been similar zombies from before, which means that they probably did actually double back around. This would confirm Alice's suspicions. Dazki puts on his gloves and starts helping to put the zombie corpses into a pile.
Suddenly, Dazki hears a loud (for him) crunching noise coming from the northwest, like the breaking of a wet tree branch or the snapping of a bone. He drops the corpse pieces and draws his bow. The others around him also vaguely hear something, and they motion for the rest of the party to get into position. Dazki stealthily peeks around the corner. Dazki encounters a large entity, not a rotting corpse for sure. A strange deformed monstrosity, thick pale flesh (living flesh, not rotting or decaying) covering an unnatural, almost centaur-like form. Its long back legs and shorter front legs cause it to have an uncomfortable-looking bowed and arched posture. A pair of short arms sprout from the sides, and a terrifying vertical maw of overlapping teeth span the length of its chest, neck, and eyeless head.
