Session 396 - Wasp's Nest

General Summary

15^th to 15^thof Nolus 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 Checked 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 394 - Horrors under the Well.

Abaddon has learned of the Brothers of Belsirasin, Peoni worshiping priests who are masters of the Gently Winding Path. The good priests use this defensive martial art when dealing with aggression and worshipers of the dark gods. This is most unusual, and typically, priests of the goddess of the poor, peace, and agriculture are famous for their pacifism. Abaddon, a superb martial artist himself, could learn much from them, and he is especially interested in how they combat undead, especially spirits and incorporeal creatures.

The priests have a temple in the isolated Barony of Dunir.

Location - On the road to Dunir Keep in the Kingdom of Kanday.

Part 1 – Surprises on the Road

Ilfutin, art by Playground

Three predators lie in wait on the road to Dunir Keep. False Serpents, or Ilfutin, are cold-blooded ambush predators that have concealed themselves in burrows in the heath. When they sense the heroes walking past, they launch themselves out, wrapping around Odin and Remy. Rather than constricting them, the four-eyed Ivashu suck blood and become warm-blooded. Invigorated, they become faster and more aggressive.

As the heroes battle the twisting menaces, a man rides along the rough road from the other direction. He is a dirty and tired peasant who has been riding hard. After bursting free from Ilfutin’s grapple, Odin notes that the steed is a fine-riding horse with noble livery, not one usually ridden by a filthy peasant. He assumes it has been stolen. The peasant rides around the conflict and rapidly gallops out of view.

The Ilfutin are soon dispatched; with the element of surprise gone, they are no match for the hero's swords, spears, and magic.

Part 2 – The Horse Thief

The party races after the dirty peasant; fortunately, he has slowed his pace, and they quickly catch up with him. Abaddon grabs the horse's reins, and Odin demands that he explain himself. The man is cagey but given no choice. He clumsily dismounts, but it is a facade; he adeptly draws two concealed daggers and, with complete surprise, plunges them into Odin’s side and shoulder. The valiant knight falls to the ground, bleeding to death. “Die you Larani loving skum” the thief gleefully shouts.

Stunned by the despicable sneak attack, Remy and Abaddon attack and distract him while Edelina quickly casts a Healing spell. This is no common peasant; he is a fast, agile, and deadly close-quarter fighter. The healing is effective, and Odin regains consciousness while the rogue delivers several deep cuts to Remy. With a perfectly timed strike of his greatsword, Odin staggers forward and runs the would-be assassin through, instantly killing him.

Examining the corpse, the party notes that the grimy thief is covered in flour; possibly, he is a miller or a baker. He also has a Peoni prayer book with dozens of blank pages and a holy symbol made of metal and painted with a white daisy. However, on closer examination, this item reveals a false cover, and inside is the black and orange symbol of the Company of the Copper Hook, an evil fighting order based in the neighboring Kingdom of Rethem. This man was a spy!

Part 3 – Giant Wasps

Odin leads the horse, with the corpse of the spy on it back, into the Barony of Dunir. As they are near a small hill and the Manor of Leza, two panicked peasants rush in their direction. They claim to be chased by giant wasps. Then, three huge flying brutes appear, and they are ferocious. They have sharp angular features, red and black coloration, eight glowing red compound eyes, and a smell of brimstone. Worse, the wasps emit an unpleasant drone, and the party becomes temporarily disoriented and Confused, unable to distinguish friends from foes. However, they regain their senses and destroy the flying fiends. The corpse rapidly disintegrates into a speck of black smelly dust. These are monsters from another plane.

The commoners explain they were visiting the miller. He missed several appointments yesterday, and they were concerned and checking up on him. They identify the dead body as Philian, one of the miller's apprentices, and point up the hill, where the party spots a windmill with a haze, very much like a flying locus swarm, flying around it. The heroes investigate.

Part 4 – Infested Corpses

The party enters the windmill and spots a corpse, covered or, more precisely, infested with tiny versions of those hellwasps. The wasps look like they are devouring the body from the inside, and insects move in and out of the corpse's mouth, nose, ears, and a large opening in its throat. This man, the miller, has his throat slit before becoming infested. He was murdered.

Suddenly, the corpse lurches forward and awkwardly attacks the heroes with a wasp-covered fist. The party quickly cuts the corpse into manageable-sized pieces. When the body parts fall to the ground, the devilish wasps emerge from the hollowed-out corpse and swarm the heroes. It is dangerous, and several characters are again Confused by the hellish drone, but eventually, the swarm is chopped up and also turns to black sulfurous dust.

Upstairs are two more corpses, the Miller’s wife and the other apprentice similarly infected by fiendish wasps. The heroes are adept at dealing with such threats and will soon dispose of them. Examinations of the body reveal they were murdered before being infested.

Part 5 – The Spy and the Queen

At the top level of the windmill, the party hears buzzing from above and finds a dried blood and black ash summoning circle inscribed on the floor. There are also more blank papers and a well-concealed bottle of vinegar hidden under a bed. When the blank papers are brushed over with the vinegar, writing is revealed, including records of the movement of military forces and nobles through the road. The spy has been busy, using the mill’s excellent vantage point over the road for espionage and using a summon ritual to conjure the Hellwasps.

Nevertheless, there is another giant hellwasp on the windmill’s roof. Abaddon shape changes into a sparrow and flies out a window to investigate. The queen hellwasp is huge, much larger than the previous fiends, and it has created a nest of smelly waxy material. The party climbs up on the roof and attacks. Very quickly, both Abaddon and Odin are nearly killed, stung several times, both drowsy with her despicable venom. Remy leaps on the evil insect’s back and impales her with a conjured rod of electrified iron. By some miracle, Remy resists being thrown off the queen’s back and blasts her again with electric shocks. Then Odin cuts her head off with one mighty blow from his greatsword.

The queen’s body turns to sulfurous ash. Remy and Abaddon burn the vile nest filled with hell wasp larvae. The nest bubbles, melts, and then becomes a sickening, foul-smelling black smoke.

Party 6 – A Friendly Patrol

As the heroes leave the windmill, they spot two armed men riding in their direction. One is a Order of the Checkered Shield, Sir Alton, who recognizes Odin. They are hunting a thief who stole the Lady of Leza Manor’s riding horse. “That’s him,” they say when they show the horse and the spy’s corpse. They are angered, but not surprised, to learn he is a spy and escort the heroes to the nearby Checked Shield chapter house for a debrief and meal, then to Dunir Keep.

To be continued.