Monday, August 5, 2013

Beyond the Westwall: Sessions 4 and 5 (7/3/13 & 7/10/13)

Note: the following recap of sessions 4 and 5 was composed by the master bard Sir Charles Bakerson, a legend in the Grand Kingdom.

Mightily the adventurers strove against the giants, foul and two-headed,
With metal forged sharp but with wits all the sharper!

Muscle and mind the heroes combined in equal measure, and using
Weapons both metal and mental they slew the murderous ettins outright!

The band followed the trail of the abominations they'd killed,
Tracing it back to a scene of bloody slaughter.

The ettins had made an abattoir of the woodsmen's encampment,
Turning the snow on the ground to crimson ice.

The party turned their eyes and minds to the west, from whence
The trail of the two-headed giants appeared to have come.

Their path took them into the depths of Lanisdown Forest, where
They sought for some sign of an origin, a lair.

The group came upon a party of Dunbury halflings, lead by
A doughty sheriff and seeking some sign of the ettins as well.

After holding palaver with the small-folk but gaining little knowledge,
The adventurers chose to press north to the mystery of White Watch.

In due time they came within sight of the Westwalls, and there
They had their first glimpse of the long-abandoned fortress.

The once pure white walls of that Bright Empire ruin were now
The color of charcoal from time's ravages and scars of ancient battle.

Approaching the mist-shrouded fortress, the party saw a vast field of mud,
Strangely unfrozen despite the harsh winter.

The elf Umitsu, clever to the last, devised a way to cross the morass,
Using a spell to conjure a disk of floating metal on which to sit.

During their efforts to ferry themselves to the forbidding walls, they
Were attacked from below as things formed of mud erupted upward!

Once again by their wits did the adventurers prevail, foiling
The plot of the mudmen to drown the band in the murky depths.

The band then crossed into White Watch through a breach in the walls,
And looked on with wariness as mountain mists writhed in the courtyard.

As the heroes began their searchings, out of the swirling whiteness
Came a host of undead, long-perished victims of a conflict of old.

As the band sought safety in White Watch's gatehouse towers, it was
Umitsu who once again struck off alone to explore.

The elf-woman made her way stealthily through the mist, nimbly avoiding
Contact with the walking dead until she came to the walls of a keep.

Meanwhile her comrades fought to hold back the outnumbering undead horde,
Barring the doors of the gatehouse towers before seeking a means of escape.

The party fought back against the gathering undead, striking some down
While the Jarith the cleric drove some off with the power of faith.

But there's was a skirmish fought in retreat, as the tide of abominations
Grew into a flood that threatened to crush life in skeletal hands.

And while they fled before the relentless unliving, it was Umitsu who
First detected a new threat from the sound of beating wings above.

As Umitsu hid as best she could in the shadow of the keep,
A hulking, winged beast landed nearby in the courtyard.

She heard it sniffing the mist-filled air, as if seeking the elf by scent,
And she caught a glimpse of a grey-skinned creature with leathery wings.

The rest of the party also heard the beating of wings and inhuman screeching
As they made their way from the gatehouse to the top of the fortress wall.

The adventurers were attacked from above by the winged beasts, which were
Terrible to behold, with ember eyes and horned heads and taloned hands.

The band was able to find shelter in another tower along the wall, and found the
Bodies of long-dead defenders within, while threatened by the flying things without.

And Umitsu, who avoided the winged creatures, found a door to the old keep, and
Stepping inside, saw a mummified warrior in armor, sitting upon a wooden throne.

As the elf watched, the dessicated corpse stirred with life, shifting in its seat as it
Opened its eyes, to reveal glowing points of light in deep sockets.

Shriveled hands, more bone than flesh, gripped tightly the hilt of an archaic sword,
As dry lips cracked and opened to speak in a voice harsh with untold centuries:

"You dare to enter this place? The living are not welcome in White Watch!" The elf
Fled, but not before glimpsing the corpse-warrior rising slowly from its throne!

No comments:

Post a Comment