Chapter 5 - Army of the Dead

General Summary

After fighting a great undead warrior, the party took the key, crossed the bridge, and came toward a gate which hid further secrets of this crypt.

The adventurers opened the skeletal gate with the key. Entering inside, they found a blood chamber. Here, a fountain of fresh-flowing blood was pouring. The party examined this, seeing that the blood was secretly warded by magic. Then, Hu-Long came onto the podium, and three wraiths came from the walls and attacked the party. The six adventurers guarded themselves well, using sword and magic to face these foes. Hu-Long discovered the blood made the wraiths temporarily corporeal, which helped defend against them. After defeating the wraiths, they investigated the wall they had come from. It could not be trespassed. Then, the party took a chalice of the blood and placed it in the second gate. Through the second gate, the party found more inscriptions, written in draconic.

The cursed followers of the Void rest in these halls. Their armies are buried and vanquished. Their prized artifact, the Star Map of Prophecy, remains buried with them.

May their doom ever be sealed.

May their doom ever be forgotten.

For forgetting their doom will trap them with Nihil as they rest in peace, and may never disturb us again.

Hu-Long mentioned he did not trust the happenings there, and suggested the party to turn back. The rest of the group, however, protested, intrigued by the nature of the place. They went further down the hallway of the second gate. Then, a sudden earthquake happened, bring a small cave in of the rocks behind them. Then, suddenly, the party heard a vile laughter coming from around them.

"You should have headed my warnings. But never mind. You have brought what I sought! Come, join my children in these chambers. Be free from the toil of life."

undead samurai by Joni Aikio

Coming up from the ground, the army of the undead arose, marching behind the party, to their front, to their left, and to their right. Forty in number. The skeletons mindlessly began to swarm the party, and the adventurers readied their weapons, fighting despite how they were horrendously outnumbered. Bastion led the group, creating a bit of a wall for the party by getting Kiu and Hu-Long to hold off the skeletons. The casters in the back faced off against a group of 10 skeletons, to which Angska summoned two tigers to help them fight.
Eventually, Bastion created a bottleneck for the party, stopping the skeletons from swarming around them and allowing only a few to attack them at once. Kiu showed a mastery of his Kung-Fu, destroying many of the skeletons with his quarterstaff and unarmed strikes, destroying the skeletons with his bludgeoning. After minutes of fighting, the heroes proved victorious, surrounded by a massive pile of bones scattered around the hallways.
Then, a clapping came down the hallway. A skeletal figure, limp and dressed in extravagant robes, appeared before them. She held a staff in her hands. She would smile, but her face was that of a skull, and her eyes glowed a bright green. “I knew Pung still had capable warriors," she said, "and you have been quite capable indeed. I feel little need to introduce myself, the walls of this crypt tells my tale. I am Si-Wang, the first and the last Queen of Men. But the children’s tales of the old wars and dragons call me the Lichqueen of the Great Divide.”

Wraith by Samarskiy

Then, the Lich looked toward Goldbloom, and merely said the word "Die" to cast a powerful spell. Before the spell could affect the infant dragon, however, Sorn Zavirr countered the Lich's spell. Hu-Long desired to talk the situation out, but Bastion became angry and tried to attack the Lich Queen. Kiu followed him, and soon a bombardment of spells came over the Lich Queen. However, during the fight she became desperate and cast Disintegrate on Goldbloom, turning her into mere dust. Kiu tried to attack her Staff of Power, but the shockwave from trying to break it sent him back. Bastion tried to grapple her, but she then cast Planeshift and escaped from the party's grasp.
Out of nowhere, a Jade Wizard teleported to the party. He asked them if it was "too late" and then found the disintegrated Goldbloom. He told the party that their Diviner warned such a thing would happen, and he tried to hurry to stop it. However, the events transpired regardless. Then, he told the party that they needed to find a Sacred Pool in Ukasan, which would revive Goldbloom from such a state. The party feared he would bring them wrath, but the Jade Wizard said otherwise, mentioning that such events were fated to transpire. Then the Jade Wizard cast shatter on the fallen stones to allow the party to escape.
The party, rather defeated, investigated the tomb and found a horde of treasure and the throne of Si-Wang. They also found a few artifacts among the horde: a Wand of Wonder, Gauntlets of Ogre Power, and a Robe of the Stars. Angska also found the rest of the Star Map. After dispersing the treasure, the party saw the final tale on the wall.

The buried queen, in all her might, will rise again with her army of the dead. They will unleash the Mighty Tarrasque, and wreak havoc against the lands of Pung.

Date (in world)

April 7th-8th, 1A 3510.

Report Date

28 Feb 2021

Player Characters

Angska is a human Druid of the Stars. She is an accomplished astrologer in her home village in Shikaizu, but in recent days has received visions of a coming doom to Pung. She seeks to restore her homeland's calendar to finish the pieces.

Bastion is a Goremu Cavalier, a living terracotta warrior in a sense. He was designed with the ideals of bushido in mind, and has taken it upon himself to serve his country despite the wars of the Six Kingdoms raging.

Hu-Long is a Dragonbord Bard of Valor who has been low on money and seeks opportunity for work. He loves his own music and seeks fame and fortune to the very end, hoping to be a star in the eyes of everyone.

Ki-Ku is a homeless wanderer after being driven away from village to village for his unstable magic as a Wild Mage. He is thus constantly searching for food and money, and seems to relish in that lifestyle.

Kiu is an Open Hand Monk, coming from the monastery of the Long-Quan. He was sent out on his pilgrimage to fix the imbalances in the local region of Tsino, and has displayed mastery over the art of Kung-Fu.

Sorn Zavirr is a Dark Elf draconic sorcerer, sent by his superiors to learn more of the dragons of the surface world and uncover the meaning behind his gift.