Session 409 – Bog Mummies
General Summary
1st of Larane (Summer) 728TR
The story so far
A group of heroes battle the evils haunting the beleaguered Kingdom of Kanday.
Sir Odin, a former Erkan of the Order of the Checkered Shield, has been raised to knighthood.
Remy, a former master thief and active gambler, has won and lost fortunes.
Abaddon has traveled the wilderness, perfecting his impressive martial skills.
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the god of Knowledge Save K’Nor, joins them on their adventures.
This is the continuation of Session 408 – Wizel’s Doom.
The heroes have legally salvaged goods from the merchant ship, the Rosemary, which was wrecked after a freak storm. They are using the services of Aleath's best litigant, Mylene of Sarin, to return the goods to various foreign factors. Of course, they will extract a significant salvage bonus.
Meanwhile, Remy, unknown to the more honest party members, has recovered illicit goods hidden amongst the cargo and returned them to the Aleathian Thieves Guild. He now joins up with the heroes who are on another mission.
On behalf of an anonymous client, the litigant Mylene has hired the party to recover a long-lost artifact believed to be on the corpse of one Wizel the Boneforger, a particularly vile necromancer. The artifact in question is the Ebony Stylus, an artifact that can rewrite the commands of a golem or construct.
Location - The wilderness east of the Eryn River in the Kingdom of Kanday.
Part 1 – Lights in the Night
After Remy rejoins the heroes overlooking Witzal's Doom, the small, corrupted bog along the River Daven, nefarious creatures emerge from the bog to harass the heroes. Will-o-wisps shock the sleeping party members, and their ability to appear as a bright light and then wink out, turning invisible, is frustrating to the combatants. Eventually, the heroes prevail. And the mischievous entities fade from existence.
Part 2 – Fossilized Bone
The following day, the party continues their muddy travels through the despicable bog.
Emerging from the muck are more of Witzal's cursed minions and bog mummies, but they are quickly disposed of. After an hour of wading through stagnant water, the marsh becomes especially vile; only stunted grasses and reeds grow, and dead or dying trees surround a crude open barrow. While Remy takes to the air to scout, the remaining heroes cautiously approach.
Two more bog mummies crawl out from the muck, but that is the least threat. What emerges is far worse, a gigantic pile of human and animal bones, forming a vaguely misshapen humanoid shape. Mineral deposits have hardened its bones, and the evil construct hits Odin with a mighty wack. The valiant knight feels his bones start to lock and flesh harden.
Remy blasts the bone construct from above while Abaddon deals with the undead soldiers. Edelina supports the party with healing and magical guidance. The construct suddenly reorders its bones, changing shape from stocky to long. Now, it can reach Remy and hits him as well. Odin and Remy are barely holding their own, the bone construct hits too hard, so Abaddon leaves the bog mummies to help with the more significant threat. The heroes discover that many of their attacks are ineffective, bouncing off the enemy's semi-fossilized bones, but they soon work out that bludgeoning attacks cause cracks to form. Abaddon is struck and feels his body harden, he is one strike away from being petrified.
The two bog mummies attack Edelina, and she is soon knocked unconscious. Fortunately, Odin, using his hammer, shatters the construct, and the remaining heroes rush to her aid. The remaining minions of Witzel are quickly destroyed.
Part 3 – The Necromancer Witzal
Edelina casts a Light spell, and the heroes enter the barrow. It is an ancient Jarinese burial site, filled with bones and now occupied by the infamous undead Witzel lurking in the shadows at the back. He strikes first using dark magic, conjuring a sickly pall of life-draining magic that sickens the warrior monk Abaddon, followed by a blasphemous utterance that shakes him to the core. Then, the bones littering the barrow animate and skeletal forms, some merely macabrely animated rib cages, attack the confused dungeon delvers.
The heroes fight on, and only Edelina's healing magic saves Abaddon's life. The animated skeletons and bones are quite a handful, but the heroes, using bludgeoning weapons, eventually shatter their way through them to the mummified necromancer. Even then, Witzel proves a canny foe, backing himself into a corner so he can't be surrounded, lashing out desperately with bony claws, and nearly severing Odin's windpipe. After trading blows, the outnumbered Witzel eventually falls, impaled by Remy's conjured metal bars. His body collapses into muck, leaving only a tattered suit of smelly leather armor and some grim-looking trinkets.
The barrow is searched thoroughly, and under a pile of bones is the Ebony Stylus, the artifact wanted by the anonymous client of the litigant Mylene of Sarin.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
No one this week.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Player Characters
Odin - Human - L10 Ranger
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetype - Investigator and Fighter.
Abaddon - Elf - L10 Monk
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetypes - Druid and Familiar Master.
Remy - Human - L10 Aerokineticist (with Metal second gate)
Background - Acrobat.
Archetypes - Acrobat and Thief.
NPC Companion
Edelina - Human - L10 Holy Sage Sorcerer
Background - Astrologer.
Archetypes - Psychic and Time Mage.
