Ur

In which orcs and ogres mysteriously ally and demolish Talathees and spread mayhem throughout the Plains of Ur, led by Branok, half-orc/half-ogre warlord.

See also Talathees#Original_Ur_Campaign_Notes

Characters

Saul, the barrel chested monk/bard, played by John.

Kojax, the humorless and disciplined swordmaster, by Jacob.

Academis, the wizened historian and dabbler in mysterious magics, played by Jess.

Andrew the enthusiastic engineer, played by Omega.

Fabian Maximillus the hanky-wielding aristocrat, played by Brant.

Story

To the Caskets

The party trekked east, acquired certain caskets, toured Osiris, and then came back to pursue their quarry, the legions of Branok who had previous sacked Talathees and then turned their attention north.

Pursuing Branok

With a group of dedicated sailors-turned-soldiers dubbed the Wolves, Kojax led the force on the trail of Branok's army after hearing that an ancient mountaintop alert system had been triggered for the first time in generations.

The Wolves passed through the Broken Lands en route to Druid Grove where they found hundreds of orc corpses stung by wasps, some also speared. There they met Faunus McClavie who told them of his master Rasha's successful attempt to repel Brokan's forces, and advised the party that the army now travels south, back towards Talathees to obtain passage by sea to Alathyth where Branok believes the Breastplate of Ahkad resides.

Pursued by Branok

The Wolves traveled back through the Broken Lands (on a much smooth route advised by Faunus), had costly skirmishes with Branok's forces, and fled south towards Talathees.

After another costly skirmish and a week of travel across the cold brown hills, the party encountered the Cooper family, who had fled Talathees during the attack and were only now, some 7 weeks later, returning to the city.

Defense of Talathees

Upon arrival in Talathees, the party found General Veronus to have taken firm control of the city and was proceeding quickly with repairs, improvements, and fortifications.

As Branok's army approaches, Veronus is assassinated, Kojax skewers the half-orc known as Red with a crossbow bolt through the eye socket, and Colonel Flavius has a nervous breakdown, turning over his family treasure to Kojax.

Saul gives tells a powerful tale of heroism and vengeance from the city wall as a prelude to Brad's announcement of Veronus' death, Kojax's new role as commander of the city, and his own rank of executive officer (XO) to the Commander. The citizen soldiers accept the changes with renewed hope and pride, and preare for the onslaught.

A bloody battle follows, with the casketed warriors striking down orcs like so much cordwood, falling only to angry ogres. Andrew races from ballista to ballista offering guidance and repairs while Kojax and the Wolves hack through orcflesh and Academus causes disruptions, delays, and illusions to foil the enemies' operations.

In the end, Branok himself enters the blood-slick city, is injured badly by Brad's charging lance, unhelmeted by Academus' sorcery, and finally cut down by Commander Kojax. Branok's final words, though, are haunting:

	He that deceiveth The Master, 
	He that shall cause the blood of the Loyal to spill,
	This wretched soul shall perish in fire,

	The Master maketh great wonders,
	And maketh fire come down from the heavens in the sight of men,
	And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever,
	For the Master's power is complete,

	And they that deceiveth the Master shall perish in flames.

Academus... shall... suffer...

Abduction of Saul

For 17 days, the party engaged in the rebuilding of Talathees:

• Academus studied and pondered the recent events (and Branok's final words).
• Andrew advised the defense forces on additional defense preparations.
• Kojax brooded, planned, and signed paperwork occasionally, growing restless.
• Saul tended to the dead, and the bereaved.
• Brad took over all operational details of running and rebuilding the city.
• Fabian Maximillus negotiated government support for rebuilding his shipyard.

Then one brisk January morning, as Academus and Fabian made their way towards Kojax's simple apartment, a mad priest, foaming at the mouth, clawing his own chest raw, and dragging a diseased dog along, ran up to Academus and said, in a trance:

THE END DAYS HATH COME
WHEN THE MOON SHALL BE AS BLOOD 			
AND WATER AS THE VENOM OF THE ASP	 		
AND THE SEA DOTH BOIL, 					
AND DOGS BLEED INTO THE EARTH,			
WHILE  THE NEW MASTER STALKS,
OUT OF HIS MOUTH A SHARP SWORD GOETH,
THAT WITH HE SHOULD SMITE DOWN THE UNFAITHFUL,
AND HE SHOULD RULE THE NATIONS WITH A ROD OF IRON.....

The priest then spontaneously ignites from the inside out -- a sequence of events Academus recognizes as a sign of demons.

Simultaneously, an inn owner runs up to Academus from the other direction to announce that Saul was kidnapped in the night.

Pursuit of Saul's Captors

The party fans out to collect evidence, and is soon on the trail of Ace Braylee and his crew, whom they track to Camp Argent 30 miles outside the city. A violent altercation follows, but all combatants survive after Ace and others are gravely wounded throws in the towel.

Ace explains that his crew was hired by a woman named Katrina to kidnap Saul. Ace and his crew are carried back to Talathees to be imprisoned (but not before Fabian nearly burns the prisoners and the tavern down).

The party comes to learn that Katrina left (with a large wooden box) recently for the islands of the southwest aboard a trading vessel, and the party pursues aboard Fabian's pleasurecraft.

As they approach, the water seems to boil as they traverse a huge school of fish.

Academus summons himself a vision of Saul's whereabouts, and sees him crucified in a cave on an island.

At the first island encountered, the party learns that the merchant vessel belongs to one Ovid Battista, a shrewd and obese merchant with a penchant for pretty girls, who travels with a 4 huge lizardman bodyguards. His crew unloaded the planned shipment of tools and grains, and left with just one passenger, a beautiful scarlet-haired woman, and her cargo.

The next day, the party's pleasurecraft was boarded and inspected (and taxed) by Valenti Monrovia's men and informed that Battista travels west, towards the Isles of the Black Ether.

The next day, the party spots Battista's anchored ship and goes ashore to search for Saul. With no firm leads evident, the party is advised to consult the wise old hag Eminscu (accompanied by her troll servant Maleluca). After testing the party by telling her troll to slay them (and the troll being handily cut down), the hag informs Academus that he is both marked and warded ("some irony, yes?"), and provides directions to the Temple of the Cobra, where Saul is supposedly held.

The night, the party witnesses a group of 50-dark robed men standing in a 50-yard pentagram formation, black candles in hand, and chanting:

By those four animals that hold up the world itself,
And by the light and the earth and all its creeping things,
By the gates of Paradise,
By the six golden candlesticks, 
Audi ergo et time ergo,
Hear me now and be afraid,
Oh noxious spirit,
Oh destroyer of worlds,
Oh grand dragon of the underworld,
For it is I that summon and command thee....

In a short while, the chanting ends, and the acolytes progress in an orderly and silent fashion out of the clearing and the party moves in to investigate.

An Assassin Cometh

While scrounging, a fireball approaches, revealing itself to be a flaming demon of the Gortegag (assassin) variety. Both accompanying Wolves are seized with terror. Wielding a nine foot flaming scythe, it sets Kojax as its target, while four small gibbering 3-armed minor demons pursue Academus. Kojax defends with expert parries while Academus draws a magic circle to keep the beasts at bay.

In the end though, one Wolf is pierced through and subsequently beheaded, Kojax is felled by a mighty chop across the chest, and Academus' attempt to banish the assassin is too costly for his mortal frame to withstand, and he falls unconscious. The beasts make off with the Helm but do not harm the old man.

Assault on the Black Ether

The party rests the night and uses some of Terreth's powerful elven herbs to heal their wounds enough to push forward towards the Temple. The entry tunnel, 200 yards deep, slithers serpentine into the mountain, lit by slowly pulsating, humming blue stones every 10 yards, allowing mosaics and carvings of snake worship and human sacrifice to be seen.

An inner chamber, similarly lit, contains four priests, four lizard men, two podiums, an altar, a pit, a kettle suspended over crimson coals, a weapons rack, and a crucified monk.

The priests begin a lecture and issue their demands to Academis, to give up his knowledge concerning the summoning of a certain demon. The party opens fire with crossbows and the priests send in the lizardmen to slay the warriors. Bloody combat ensues; the party emerges victorious, though barely so, and sails back to Talathees, taking Ovid Battista's ship along with them.