Vhakizla – Chapter 4

“Spoiled Shore. Summer of 67. Second Age.
Victory. Sweeter’n summer wine. A thirst the company’s not quenched in far too long.
Yet I see a shadow on the horizon, a bitter pill that’ll spoil the savor from any victory. These new recruits – from Tharzavok, Papha, even as far back as Brigandia – they’ve no idea what awaits them beyond that shore. They’ve never seen what the undead do to the lands they conquer. People imagine a desert of blackened earth and bleached bones. They imagine a foul smell, a cloudy sky, maybe a few shambling corpses. Those people are children.
Me? I’ve no need to imagine. I’ve seen what awaits us once we make landfall – the desolation, the decay, the stagnant air that hangs heavy with palpable dread. I’ve seen the lands that Thanatos made and they aren’t dead – at least, not any longer.
And the Commander? She’s seen them too.”
– Beholder's Log, Gnoson 11, 67 2A

As the sun rose, the Menagerie and their pirate hosts prepared to enter Vhakizla. There was little farewell with Zelene Silvers – Mouse stole her coinpurse and Umber slapped her ass – and with that, she was gone, promising to return and collect her favor one day.
Before them spanned Vhakizla and the Spoils.
First, they took ferry from the small island of Phary, loading the entire company onto a skeleton-rowed riverboat. Next, they sighted the Ghostmire at a remove, then passed into the crumbling city of Izla. Beyond the city, the river wound up into the hills and eventually deposited them at the foothills of Mount Zyraxes, where the city of Vhak perched.
Along the way, Griffon spoke to the troops to steel their nerves. Mouse pestered Basilisk for help with reading. Remorhaz and Beholder traded grim war stories. Umber gambled with Cerberus about whether the winged shadow they spotted was truly their patron. The Commander, meanwhile, was tense - her history with the undead a painful burden on this contract.
Climbing the stairs to the dracolich's fortresss, they met Logsiticos Tefar, a lipless wight and the necrotyranny's chief bureaucrat. He gave the mercenaries an invocation to read before the dragon, to "summon her from beyond the void", but, in her presence, the Menagerie made a royal mess of this. Vhakizla the Valiant – resplendent upon her rotting throne – was not pleased.
In her presence, the Commander's Tent met her three sycophants – Logisticos Tefar, Hierarch Oskamos and Strategos Kharix. They learned of the problems plaguing the necrotyranny – the missing vampire lord , the Pious Blockade and the rebel faction in the city of Izla. Promising to crush all opposition, the Menagerie was dismissed from her presence and escorted to their accommodations.
At Thariza Place, the company was bedding down to rest from the long journey. Umber found a private room to claim for himself. Griffon shared words with his mother about the contract and she congratulated him on his resolve. Mouse played with the various draconic idols they found scattered across the house. Remorhaz studied the undead foliage and inadvertently invited Willow to stay with him in his room.

Campaign: The Menagerie
Game Date: Gnoson 11 – 12, 67 2A
Starting Point: Spoiled Shore
Player Characters:

• Griffon
• Mouse
• Remorhaz
• Umber