Aporeu chronicles Issue 28: Last Rites 2
Stories from the adventurers
This week
Getting rid of an necromancerLast Rites 2: Resurrection by Noaz Barc
The graveyard of the Church was rid of the reawakened dead. A magical rune was found outside one of the tombs, the tracks where followed, but lost when crossing the busy road. Then some villagers where infected, and also taken care of. I set up a militia with the townspeople to have a constant vigil, defending the graveyard and the people from other occurring undead threats. This was all the doing of some necromancer. And quickly we received a bit of Intel which suggested that the boyfriend of the Last breath Inns’ proprietor –Nightshadow– was apparently serving as an apprentice to this mysterious necromancer. After a week filled by random attacks of diseased squirrels plaguing the city, Lornan summoned a group of five adventurers to his office. Through various sources he had finally learned the name of the depraved necromancer. ‘Marwan’. Lornan then sent us out to deal with this wicked sorcerer, once and for all. As Nightshadow was our best lead into finding Marwan, we headed for the Last Breath Inn and asked her where to find her boyfriend. Nightshadow told us her boyfriend is Victor Crawmire, heir to the great Crawmire Estate and pointed to us that he might have been placed under house arrest by his parents, as she hadn’t heard from him in a long time. On our way to the Estate, I tried to learn more about my travel companions. I was familiar with Custous, whom I met on my first mission and Surron, who helped defeat the undead in the village previously, but the two new faces intrigued me: Bob and Otanyn. Bob looks like a plain farmer and wields a shovel and a pitchfork, but as I’ve learned ‘looks can be deceiving’. Otanyn is a very special specimen as she’s a blue female carrying an eel on her shoulders. Arriving at our destination, the butler answered the door and, after inquiring, escorts us to Victors’ room. There we knock on his door and request entry. But Victor seems to be quite distressed and weary, speaking through the door, refusing to open it. Luckily, Otanyn has a way with words and with her elegant eloquence, she somehow manages to sway him into granting us access. Once inside it becomes quite apparent that Victor has dug himself a hole he cannot escape on his own. He doesn’t need much further persuading before he tells us everything he knows about the necromancer we seek. Victor tells us how his admiration of Marwan has grown into fear and he draws us a simple map to his lair. He also tells us that Marwan told him to set a bunch of diseased squirrels loose during the festival, but that he ultimately was to afraid to do so. As such, the squirrels are still in his room, locked in wooden boxes. He begs us to help him get rid of them, and on that request, Otanyn and Bob step forward. All of a sudden Bobs chest burst open; his neck elongates and twist around behind his back, his head reappearing at his waist with his mouth opened and eyes rolled back; the bones in his body seem to crack and break as both his arms twist around, and extend outwards to form a unnatural terrifying image. Then, fire explodes from his abominable figure, launching itself at the boxes. As the boxes are set ablaze, the squirrels writhe and scream, in an instant, Bob original body is reformed and he looks as his adorable self again. My mouth agape in surprise and horror, I realize I pissed my britches. After a moment, we all gather ourselves and continue our journey. Following the map through the forest and to Marwans’ lair. When getting close to our destination, all of a sudden five human barbarians stand in our way. They call themselves the ‘Immortal Guard’ and say they serve Marwan. So, good news, we seem to be getting close! We quickly dispatch with all of them but one: Hyoth. Hyoth, who after the battle vowed to follow Custous (as Custous brought him back from the brink of death), leads us further on to Marwan’s hideout. Coming close to Marwans’ lair, we stumble upon a big lake. In its center lies a small abode and Hyoth confirms that this is were Marwan resides. Seeing as the only path that leads up to the house is blocked by a large thorny brush, we devise a plan and construct a raft to be able to bypass the gnarly looking bushes. But, just as we’re about to traverse the waters, a voice calls out. Having sensed our arrival, there, at the front steps of the house stands Marwan the necromancer. Initially, Bob tries to resolve the situation peacefully, tries to enter conversation with the necromancer. But there is no talking to the man. This encounter has only one way of going, and that is the way of violence. Otanyn and Surron unleash a barrage of destructive spells towards Marwan, while once again Bobs’ body horribly distorts into an ungodly figure and fires of balls of fire; Marwan summons a humongous undead owlbear, which Custous and I fight. Rather soon into the skirmish it’s evident that Marwan underestimated our party and starts making grave mistakes, even landing the killing blow on his undead owlbear. Realizing he has no chance of victory, the coward attempts to flee by morphing into a fish and jumping into the lake. But his attempt is quickly thwarted as my spear pierces his flesh, undoing his transformation and Otanyn calls onto the life residing in the lake to stop his retreat. Marwan is captured and tied up, lucky to still have his life as my intent was to end it when I threw my spear.. As Bob and Otanyn inspect his home, they come across different notes and elements all concerning necromancy and the practice of this vile magic. Also, laid on a table in the centre of the room, surrounded by different runes and ingredients, lies the dead body of the necromancers’ wife. Bob picks up and carries her remains outside, where Otanyn start a fire. The body of Marwans’ deceased wife is given to the flames, forever saving her from any further necrotic desecration. Surron and Otanyn collect all Marwans notes to further study them on returning home, in the hopes of better understanding them and thus being able to better combat necromancy whenever encountering it again in the future. Bob eats some grass and I throw the necromancer over my shoulder to take him back to the city. Inside, Custous is holding a skull. A skull with silver eyes. For a moment it seems as if he is talking to the thing: “…Marwan, what purpose?”, “….If we both serve Kelemvor…” and a chill runs down my spine. Then Custous stands up, puts the skull in his bag and comes walking out. It’s probably a wizard thing.. Something I don’t know about, I should continue my study into the ways of magic and magic casters.. And so, Otanyn, Bob, Surron, Custous, our new companion Hyoth and I make our way back to Arnheim, release Marwan to the proper authorities and report our findings to Lornan.Last Rites 2: Resurrection by Surron
We can finally rest. Kalista seems rather content with herself, constantly jumping on tables and back up on my shoulders to get my attention and re-enact her feats of cunning and bravery. To be honest it gets a little annoying at times, but I shouldn’t be too harsh. After all, I have to agree, she did great out there. However, hearing the story through her all the time has driven me to write down what happened in my own words. My first couple of weeks in Arnheim I have encountered many more undead creatures than I’d ever imagined would be possible or healthy. These undead creatures were horrid in every regard. Their corpses reanimated to fit some sinister purpose, I could see the agony, the wish to rest, in their eyes. I can never forgive Marwan for what he did to these creatures, be they humanoid or beast, and that is why I made sure to come as prepared as I could when I saw the notice calling for the capture of the necromancer. I was glad to see Noaz was there. The whelp may have his flaws, but he’s eager and his heart seems to be in the right place. Kali seems to take a liking to him as well, although we agree his eagerness sometimes leads to recklessness. But, as Kalista keeps reminding me, he hasn’t gotten us or himself killed yet and I’m there to make sure he won’t. Another familiar face was that of Custous, the priest of the dead who despises undead beings. When first I met him, I wasn’t too sure what to think, but his respect for the dead and what remains of their spirits can’t be understated. He shepherds the souls of the people as I do those of the forest. Then there were three new faces. One was of a woman with blue skin and gills. GILLS. I may have called her “Blue Lady” a couple of times before I finally managed to memorize the Lady Otanyn’s name. Across her shoulders was resting Flotsam, an eel whose essence reminded me a little of my own companion’s, but darker. Yes Kalista, you’re dark and mysterious too <3. She looked capable enough and I figured we could use some more magic users if we were going to capture, or kill, this Marwan abomination. And then there was Bob. Bob is a farmer, from what I gathered, and at first this was all he seemed to be. At first.
We arrived at the Last Breath Inn. It was as tacky as I remembered it from the first time Noaz and I went in there to meet Nightshadow. The Ever-Bored Lady of the Night was still running things there and sure enough, Victor hadn’t be seen or heard of since the night we cleaned out the city. While we were there, Custous revealed to us that he had died once and that the blood on the blade he carries with him is his own. I was already quite shocked at this revelation and just as I started imagining the horror the man must’ve gone through, Bob one-upped him and revealed he had died no less than three times! At this time Kali shared her concerns about this Bob creature, who didn’t seem to bright and had apparently died multiple times. Was he some sort of zombie? I don’t feel the same energies around him that I feel when facing undead, and the man claims to have devoted himself to Pelor I don’t think he’s evil, but something is definitely not quite right.
Nightshadow eventually pointed us towards the Crawmire residence. Upon arriving there, a figure dressed like he was part of the furniture of the house, all stiff and calculated, opened the door and let us in. We inquired after Victor and the stiff man told us he would try to find his “master”. A little too soon after that (wine had been brought in and it was good), the man informed us Victor was in his basement. The Lady Otanyn managed to convince Victor into letting us in and spilling his guts about Marwan. I started to collect what research into the necromantic ongoings I could before I heard a scratching sound coming from a chest in the corner of the room. Victor told us the chest contained infected squirrels to be released during the festival, but that he had backed out of it as his conscience had finally caught up to him. He drew us a crude map of Marwan’s location in the forest and we agreed to take care of his squirrel “problem”.
Thus was Bob’s true nature revealed. The bland and not too bright farmer stepped forward and his chest erupted. Blood sprayed all over the place as his body seemed to pull itself apart. Or maybe it was those internal beings he spoke of. There was a struggle of dark and light energies as his head was torn from his body, but somehow still connected through this maelstrom of magic. His face was twisted in pain, his eyes pale and cold. Accompanying this visual was a cracking and snapping of bone, a tearing of sinew and muscle, as his body twisted in agonizing deformation. The floor blackened and the room lit up. The horror unfolded in a matter of seconds and after it was done, the wooden chest was silent, and Noaz’ britches wet. It didn’t seem to bother Bob.
With this display of power we left Victor to his regrets, and started heading towards the forest. I sent Kali back to the Adventurer’s guild to inform Lornan of our proceedings and spoke to Bob about his past and the powers within him. Upon arriving at the forest’s edge, Noaz took out his compass and sextant and poured over the map to get a sense of where we were going and when he had it, led us into the forest. Inside, I could smell a stench upon the air. This forest wasn’t in balance, something was amiss in here and it could only mean we were on the right track to find the dark necromancer. And soon enough, someone in the group noticed it. We were being followed. Turning around, we saw the terrible beasts ourselves: squirrels. Tiny squirrels twisted into monstrosities with red, hungry eyes and whipped into a frenzy. This time, Bob’s sickening transformation was assisted by the magics of the Blue Lady, and the squirrels were dealt with easily. There was no time to see if any of their natural spirits still remained. We had to press on before nightfall.
After a while, we stumbled upon a path that was clearly being maintained by someone. We were getting closer to the necromancer. I remember thinking the forest itself was beautiful, looking around me to scan for wildlife not yet corrupted. I didn’t see any. Probably hiding from the dread undead creatures roaming about. We decided to follow the path before us, thinking it would lead us to the necromancer’s house. What we found, however, was not a lone necromancer. Five men stood atop a ledge that flanked the path and they bade us to stop. On their leader I saw a wound that seemed to crawl with black roots underneath his skin. It was the same magic to create the zombie plague, but it was sealed so that it wouldn’t hurt the men while they remained alive.
I tried to solve the situation without bloodshed but at the faintest whiff of magic usage by our party, the men attacked. What ensued next was an abysmal lack of discipline on our side and the combat turned into a chaotic maelstrom of magic, steel and blood. What didn’t help was that the farmer, Bob, exploded right away the moment he saw the men move to attack. His magics soared wildly over my head, slamming into the barbarians, killing one of them. Behind me I heard a grunt coming from Custous. The eruption that was Bob’s power had not only hit our adversaries, but also the priest. After this mishap we managed to deal with the barbarians, sparing only Hyoth’s life.
Hyoth also had the same wound that his leader had had, before we killed the latter and I took his hat. Custous managed to convince the man of Kelemvor’s righteousness and the new convert told us everything we needed to know about Marwan and his lair. His residence was built in the centre of a lake, with only a small isthmus connecting it to the land surrounding it. The isthmus was blocked by a wall of thorns and there’s a steep drop into the water surrounding the peninsula. Hyoth brought us to a cave on top of a hill shortly before nightfall. This cave held the belongings of the barbarians that had set up camp here before we had to fight our way through them.
The next morning, Bob and I decided to fashion a raft to allow us to cross the lake. As we drew nearer to Marwan, I asked Kalista to scout ahead, allowing me to see through her eyes to get an overview of the layout of the lair. About halfway around the peninsula, a man in druidic robes opened the door and squinted at Kali for a moment, seeming to recognize the raven as something magical. He raised his staff at her and started an incantation and I quickly sent her back to her Nest. I don’t think I’ve heard the last about that. Our presence was known. In fact, it looked as if he was expecting us, probably using his magic to track us all along.
This time it was Bob who tried talking to our adversary. He talked about his late wife and kid, how he too knows betrayal, and there is a better way to deal with this. It turns out that Marwan’s wife, Mariël, had passed away, getting killed on a mission she never should have had access too. Marwan blamed the people of Arnheim, or specifically the Adventurer’s guild, for his sorrow, and Bob tried to convince him of the good in people. Sadly, it didn’t matter. The man had been blinded by grief and he wouldn’t hear more of it. Before we could speak again, the ground in our midst started rumbling. The rumbling intensified and the loose dirt on top started to shake, as cracks began to appear. The grass and flowers made way for matted, sickly fur. A mound of fur was sprouting from the ground in a gross mockery of the blooming of new life. Clawed limbs shot up and a shriek rang through my ears as the undead owlbear turned its head to face us.
For some reason, the owlbear charged straight toward me as I was held in place by Marwan’s corrupted vines. I stared into its empty eyes to gauge if any trace of its own will was left, and I was horrified to find none. All of this anger, this intent to kill me, came from the druid. It was his hatred for us that fuelled this unfortunate creature. As grim as the situation had seemed, Bob’s words had clearly gotten to the druid. His magics were erratic instead of calculated, as the zombie curse had been. Custous and Noaz were assisted in disposing of the undead owlbear by Marwan’s own spellcasting and I managed to escape the vines that had grabbed me before. Realising that he was losing the fight, Marwan broke and attempted to flee.
Flotsam and Kali then went straight after Marwan as he shapeshifted into a fish and jumped into the water. To ensure he wasn’t going anywhere Noaz skillfully thrust a spear right through him, causing him to shift back, as Lady Otanyn called for the denizens of the lake to go after him. A moment passed before dozens of fish and even an aquatic snake swarmed the druid and this allowed us to capture him.
Inside the house, there were myriad scrolls and papers on necromantic magic scattered about. Lady Otanyn and I quickly gathered them for further research into preventing this from happening again. Bob and the Blue Lady then quickly went outside to burn what remained of Mariël, as Custous’ eyes were drawn to another object in the room. When he picked up the skull, his eyes seemed to be transfixed on the silver ones inside the skull’s sockets, mumbling words about Kelemvor and some purpose. Speaking to death and the dead seems to be a rather pervasive occupation in Arnheim and I’m not sure that’s a good thing, but I trust Custous to know what he’s doing.
After returning to Arnheim, Hyoth ended up joining the church of Kelemvor and Marwan was handed over to the authorities and Lornan informed of what had happened.
And that concludes the story of how the brave and mighty Kalista risked her life repeatedly to save her helpless friend Surron.
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