In which our heroes feel guilt, kill zombies and finish the scenario

Previously in DnD: Larisse, our beautiful but slightly vapid Tiefling Warlock attempted to have a bath but was intercepted by zombies, and accidentally and inadvertently caused the death of the local barmaid (a favourite of her elven Warlock friend, Ethanuel). The rest of the party had reunited with Lysimakos, the cynical but level-headed Human Fighter, and met with the local sheriff, Stefan. While it was held that Stefan was hiding something or protecting someone, the party felt it more appropriate to rest and investigate the following day when they were wide awake and at full fighting strength. We return to the main group returning to the sleepy village of Vue, a little past Midnight.

"Hark what is that noise, a scream?" said Lysimakos, his ears straining for some other noise in the darkness.

The group has just approached the village, when an ear-splitting shriek had pierced the air (see previous blog entry and what Larisse got up to). Wasting no time, the four adventurers rushed off to offer whatever aid they could. As they arrive at the inn, they saw the lights inside remain bright, no folk were wandering the streets, and a stunned Larisse was just coming round the side of the Green Man. After some hasty questioning, Larisse has filled the group in on here bath-time adventure while they were in the forest. While reeling from this new development, it is decided that resting and collecting their wits for the night is for the best. From inside the inn, there were sounds of crashing, and a heavy thud as the bolt on the door was removed. The innkeeper emerged, stumbling into the night, waving a longsword and crying for his daughter. (What the group knew, that the innkeeper didn't, was that his daughter was dead. He simply saw her stumble off into the night.)

Both Lys and Tez argued that it would be better to search for his daughter by daylight, while they attempted to escort him back inside the inn. The old man reeled against their decision, saying they weren't heroes, merely arrogant mercenaries and nothing more. Larisse was already inside the inn, making her way to her bed. Shoohey was waiting at the doorway, feeling uncomfortable with the argument raging in front of her and unsure of who to side with. On one hand, there was little they could for the man's daughter and a search in the daylight would minimise the risk of ambush. On the other hand, if it were someone close to her, the colour of the sky would do little to deter her from searching.

Ethanuel, Lys and Tez continued to argue with the old man, Tez at last leaving him to his own devices upon seeing nothing would change his mind. Ethanuel and Lysimakos had other ideas.

"You're not going anywhere. The last we need is another missing on our watch!" Ethanuel said through gritted teeth. The old man's stupidity was beginning to grate on the half-elf and he could feel the dark mystical energy in his blood begin to rise to the surface.

"What good will you do your daughter when you stumble over the first rabbit hole you meet? Come think this through. Keep a fire warm and a home prepared for her return," urged Lysimakos, his free hand outstretched to the older man in a calming gesture.

"No! I will not stand idly by when my daughter is out here somewhere! I lost my wife to this witch, and I'll not lose someone else!" screamed the innkeeper.

As the innkeeper made to push past Ethanuel, the half-elf whirled round with his staff to knock the man unconscious...and missed. With a snarl of rage born of sadness and loss, the old man turned on Ethanuel with his sword and slashed across his chest in one clumsy strike, carving a wide, bloody gash on the Warlock's chest. Staggering back from the innkeeper's frantic attack, Ethanuel felt the dark magics inside him finally boil over and hissed a string of syllables in an ancient language. As he raised his hands to the innkeeper, a burst of purple-black energy burst from his fingers, engulfing the distraught man. The innkeeper dropped his weapons and threw his hands to his head, and screamed. None could know what was happening inside the man's head. He began to start fighting unseen foes, his hands lashing out at invisible enemies above his head, as his darkest fears were given form and brought to life in his mind. After a few brief seconds, he fell to his knees, blood dribbling from his nose and crumpled to the ground unmoving.

For a brief moment, Ethanuel felt elated and relieved. A man, deranged by sorrow saved from an ignominious death in the darkness. This was short-lived. Tez gave the old man a quick check. He wasn't breathing.

The paladin rose slowly, his head bowed in regret. "You going to come inside or are you going to attack any more grieving parents before bed?"

"He's not breathing?"Shoohey slowly approached, her animal senses telling her Eladrin mind already knew.

"I only gave him what he deserves. i was trying to get him to bed and he hit me with his sword." Ethanuel couldn't believe it. He had taken an innocent life. Surely the Dragonborn was wrong.

"You hit him first, you punk! You're not as stealthy as you'd like to believe! We're in a dangerous situation, but don't think we won't talk about this some more tomorrow," cautioned Tez, as he picked up the limp body. "Get out of here before I forget we're on the same side."

The group retired to their rooms in the inn. An awkward silence had descended a tension present that was never there before now. While the other's slept through troubled dreams, Tez remained awake, keeping a vigil on the innkeeper's body throughout the night.

The next morning, Shoohey awoke to a sharp tapping at the bedroom window. Her bird familiar, left at the Sheriff's hut, had returned. Opening the window, she took the small starling in her hand and instantly saw the scene played out before her. The sheriff and a young woman matching Elena's description. Night. Running through the forest. Not chased, chasing. Towards the manor. Hand in hand.

A shocked gasp, and she was herself again. Kissing the starling gently, she rushed into the other rooms to wake her companions. As everyone groggily rose from their troubled slumber, Tez and the innkeeper were conspicuously absent. As the group rushed outside, they heard the sound of digging from behind the building. Moving cautiously round the inn, they found Tez digging a grave, the innkeeper's body behind him and wrapped in cloth. There was once more a heavy silence, as Tez focused on the task at hand, unable to look at his friends or the one who caused the tragedy.

"Do you want some help Tez? Elena has been sighted you know," said Lysimakos at last, breaking the quiet.

"This won't take too much longer," replied Tez, gesturing to a pair of spare shovels proppred against the side of the inn.

Ethanuel silently took one and stepped into half-dug grave.

"Fine I shall prepare some food for us, we shall await you inside," murmured Lysimakos, turning back to the inn. "Help me with the food Larisse, please."

"I'm sorry Tez. It shouldn't have happened and won't again," whispered Ethanuel when the others were out of earshot.

The pair dig in silence until their task is complete.

GM Note: It is moments like these that make great role-playing. Sure the group could have followed the script (which would have made it easier for me!) but it is these unexpected moments that really make the characters come to life. It is the moments of group tension, of character – vs – character build-up that tells you that the players are doing something right. A GM can construct the most elaborate, convoluted and complex scenario that has more emotional conflicts than a soap opera and it wouldn't have the same weight as these individual instances. I can only say thank you, guys. The scenario screwed up and you made it work.

Once back inside, it was business as usual. The group began to draw up plans for investigating the manor. It was the destination of the sheriff and his female companion. Shoohey's animal sense could pick up the stench of decay wafting from the ancient building. Quickly getting their belongings together, the adventurers made all haste to the Marshall's home. As they approached the manor at the end of the main street, seeing the mill in the daylight seemed very strange - the ugliness of the building was striking , the structure leaning in several directions at several points as if were some curling tentacle stretching from the ground. The mill was only crudely attached to the manor, as if anchored to the side of the old building. There was a palpable aura of evil in the air.

Stepping up to the front door, Tez knocked several times, only to be greeted by silence. While Lys and Ethanuel entertained the idea of setting the place alight and waiting for the enemy to come to them, Tez was slightly more restrained after the previous night's events. As Tez tried to force his way through the manor's front door, an unearthly scream emanated from the mill. As they rushed to the side of the mill, the doors down to the underbelly of the building are open, possibly from Larisse's excursion the previous night. Grabbing a flaming torch from the wall, Tez lead the group down the stone steps into the darkness.

The adventurers' footsteps echo loudly in the dark silence, and after about ten minutes they reached the bottom of the staircase, and found themselves at the opening of a long carved tunnel, leading to a dimly lit cavern. As they carefully paced along the tunnel, they found statues of old gods and deities lined the sides in small, damp recesses. The place reeked of death and rot. Approaching the middle of the tunnel, a couple of the statues began moving. Several silhouettes blocked their way out and their way forward. A quick head count of the foes meant they were facing five unknown assailants. Yelling a warning to her companions, Larisse immediately recognised the shambling creatures as the zombies from the previous night.

As the creatures moved to surround their prey, the players began to fight their way through. Or attempt to. What followed was the most protracted combat I have ever known, with the most abysmal I have ever seen rolled before or since then. One hour and twenty five minutes of combat with five zombies. I personally was shocked. Especially when one started gnawing through Tez/Rob's armour! Suffice to say, the group emerged from the skirmish, bloodied and battered and unsure if they could face what lay in wait for them in the cave.

A deep sonorous chanting was echoing along the tunnel, though there seemed to be only one male voice chanting. After their battering by the undead, the group approached the cavern mouth with considerably more caution than usual. Ethanuel snuck ahead of the party, into a wide cavern, dimly lit by flaming brands on the wall. In the centre was a large altar with a young, bound woman lying on it, unconscious. The recognisable form of the sheriff lay in a corner. Over the altar stood Marshall Uther Kryp, chanting in his deep, gruff voice, his hands raised to the heavens, an orb of strange substance in his left hand.

Shifting quickly back, Ethanuel quickly filled the rest of the group in on the situation. No cover, a scary looking, chanting Marshall. A bound damsel in distress. No other exits. This was all that Tez, the headstrong but stereotypical knight in shining armour needed. Rallying his friends to him, they charged into the cavern and confronted the Marshall.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" muttered Uther, his hands dropping to his sides, his beady eyes darting between the heroes. "You adventurers are all the same. Not content with the simple answers. I should have killed you when I caught you in the forest with the skeletons."

As he continues muttering, our intrepid heroes noticed the Marshall slipping a silver wand from his coat.

"But never mind, your lives will making an added enticement to Kharnak the bloody when I call forth his spirit tonight with this woman's blood!" screamed Uther, raising the orb again to the cavern roof.

At this, before anyone could react, Uther screeches some enchantment in an evil language, and a layer of ice covered the cavern walls and floor, spreading out from Uther's feet. And at this point, I shall have to pause for a brief moment. Another problem with DnD combat is that things can go horribly wrong. And things can go horribly right. Remember those five zombies? That was horribly wrong luck. What follows was horribly great luck. Six weeks had led to this climatic confrontation with an evil necromancer who had held the lives of his village to ransom. This was not what was meant to happen.

While her companions struggled to get a grip on the ice, Shoohey managed to shape-shift into the form of a bear. Running at full pelt, she carved huge gashes in Uther's side, darting out of the way at the last second to avoid a counter-attack. While the necromancer was distracted, Larisse weaved her magicks and let loose an Eldritch Blast at the foul man, wreathing him in a dark fire. This was swoftly followed by Ethanuel masterfully rolling forward and firing his loaded crossbow, hitting Uther in the arm and spinning him on the spot.

Uther struggled to keep his feet, and aimed his silver wand at the two armoured warriors approaching him. An electrical blast arced out and struck both Tez and Lysimakos, sending them staggering back a little at the force of it. But it was not enough. Tez managed to get within swinging distance, his great axe cutting a glittering arc in the frosty air. Slamming into his chest, the axe opened a gaping wound in the necromancer's chest, sending him hurtling down the steps of the altar. Lysimakos was not far behind and followed the falling necromancer, feinting with his blade before bringing his foot down on the man's knee, sending a sharp crack echoing through the cavern. Uther screams in agony. His screams are swiftly cut off though, as Shoohey's bear-form closes in, her maw clenching around his left arm, mangling it. Unable to get a clear shot, Larisse could only close the gap, along with Ethanuel. Struggling to his good knee, Uther muttered a strig of dark words, the air around him filled suddenly with ethereal daggers as they darted into his enemies.

"Now you'll pay," he screamed, holding his bloodied, chest and using the altar to steady himself.

While the heroes recovered, Uther began murmuring what sounded like a lullaby, and they began feeling a heavy weight on their shoulders, their thoughts turning to sleep. Tez and Lys remained awake, though groggy, but both Ethanuel and Shoohey succumbed to the spell and fell into a light slumber. With an oath on his lips, Tez struggled to his feet, and began to stumble towards the necromancer. Raising his axe he plunged it down into the crippled man. As Uther's life slowly slipped away, he whispered to the Dragonborn. "You have won here, dragonchild. But I was still right about the witch..."

Freeing the woman, and reviving both her and Stefan, it is revealed that she was indeed Madam Elena. Her trip to Vue was far from what gossip circles had supposed though. She was a spy in the Emperor's court. Simin, her 'lover' was her contact in Vue and Stefan was the only one here who knew her purpose. It had long been supposed that the plague was part of Uther's machinations, though it is now clear that this was not the case. Uther was corrupted by the plague, he wasn't the instigator. When he discovered she was to report his change, he had her chased by patrols of the ndead and since then she has hidden with Stefan in his hut.

The strange, silver rod and the orb are pocketed by Larisse, as she noticed Tiefling script on both, though in an ancient dialect.

And the group got experience, though not the treasure Tez/Rob had expected.

And with the end of the first scenario, after seven weeks of gaming and schedule-changing, I leave you with the group's final act in the gaming evening that night.

[18/09/2009 00:04:32] Rob: can we end the adventure with us all standing around laughing, like a bad cartoon?

[18/09/2009 00:04:39] Andrew: i don't see why not

[18/09/2009 00:04:43] redmanphill: HA ha

[18/09/2009 00:04:45] Sophie: XPPPPPPPPPPPP

[18/09/2009 00:04:58] Andrew: but in the short animation after the credits the cavern would collapse, killing you all

[18/09/2009 00:05:00] Sophie: Hahahahahahahahaa *takes breath* hahahahaha

[18/09/2009 00:05:05] Rob: "I guess you could say Uther's zombie necromancy plans have come to a DEAD END"

[18/09/2009 00:05:06] Andrew: lol

[18/09/2009 00:05:16] tamara: hahaha

[18/09/2009 00:05:18] Rob: HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO