Darkness Rising

Setting

This is a mid/high-fantasy campaign with elements of horror.

It is two years after the conclusion of the Ur campaign. Kojax occupies his time hunting for evil in the Plains of Ur with a small squad of Wolves, leaving the governance of Talathees to Brad and the elected civilian Talathesian Council.

It is a time of peace and prosperity along nearly the entire south coast of Kara-Tur, and in the fall of '09, as another rich harvest of grains is being wheeled into Talathesian granaries, ambassadors from several faraway lands have convened at Brad's invitation to discuss topics of mutual economic interest and security.

Intro

The foreign dignitaries include:

• Lord Camthalion representing Elven Queen Wendella of Alatyth
• Trade Minister Kamuzu, representing the interests of King Abdullah of Osiris
• Exalted Priestess Zaliki, representing the Pharaoh of Ra
• Commander Aishani of Sri
• Ambassador Vaselios, representing the loose federation of islands southwest of Talathees

Each is accompanied by an entourage of bodyguards, negotiators, tacticians, priests, servants, stylists, publicists, and other unspecified "assistants" to ensure their respective leader's interests are looked after.

You are part of one such entourage.

Seven days into the proceedings, which take place on the third floor of the recently rebuilt grand white marble halls of the administrative buildings of downtown Talathees, Brad makes an urgent announcement:

Hear ye, my distinguished friends. I bear this message with a heavy heart. In a short time,
a disaster will befall my fair city, and likely yours as well. My sages tell me an ocean wave
of great proportions will soon strike our shores, and I trust this warning. We have begun to
plan for its arrival; there is no time to move 15,000 souls to high ground.

I ask that you and your people remain in these upper meeting halls; do not attempt to return to
your lodging or your ships. There is no time, and me and my staff trust that this Talathesian
marble and our Talathesian architects will keep us safe.

The room breaks out in distinguished chaos, with murmurings of treachery and debates among the tacticians and bodyguards of whether to take violent action, or flee.

Minutes later, the wave hits, and the deep thundering of its arrival draws the assembled dignitaries and their councilors to the open-air windows on the south side of the hall. Several great wooden docks of Talathees are upended and splintered like kindling, many boats flipped over and crushed against the fortified seawalls, and millions of gallons of seawater plummets over the stone defenses and gush through the streets of the city, bowling crowds over like beetles in a river.

Scores of people and livestock drown, winter stores are ruined by the seawater, and half of all the Talthesian navy ships are destroyed. A gray-bearded man called Saul wades through the flood, pulling injured children out of the debris-littered water.

Late that evening, as the immediate effects of the crisis are ascertained and addressed, Brad and all the visiting leaders convene in a private meeting. The leaders emerge shaken, ashen-faced, but resolute.

Each leader then convenes their entourage to explain what must be done:

The tsunami was not a natural phenomenon. A ship must sail south towards the source of the great wave and prevent a recurrence. Aishani will provide a swift man-o-war vessel and crew, Brad will provide a small squad of Wolves, and each leader will send a representative along if desired.

You are those representatives.

Character Creation

This is likely to be treacherous journey, and so the leaders probably won't select their concubines or stylists for this mission.

Non-humans (except for elves representing Elven Lands) need to take a 10-point unusual background and develop a story that explains their position of trust and influence. Non-human races include elf, dwarf, goblin, orc, ogre, and halfbreeds thereof.

Since you are serving the interests of a political/religious/military regime, be sure to select appropriate traits like: Patron, Duty, Sense of Duty, Status, Military Rank, Police Powers, etc.

250 point max
80 points in advantages
60 points in disadvantages
15 max attribute

Check with the GM about any cinematic or supernatural traits. Some will be accepted.

Characters

• Kriger Hellig, appointed by Aishani, played by User:Jesster
• Sanura, appointed by Kamuzu, played by User:Mel
• Aryia, an acquaintance of Saul, played by Traci
• Damon, appointed by Exalted Priestess Zaliki, played by Dan

• Nienna, appointed by Camthalion, NPC
• Gaius Oberon, appointed by Ambassador Vaselios, NPC

What Happened

Departure

Commander Aishani

Sri's finest, "Varuna's Crown"

The appointed, and one volunteer, convene on an intact pier along the Talathese harbor, board Veruna's Crown, a sailing vessel and its crew provided by Commander Aishani of Sri, and are addressed by Aishani herself, looking radiant in a flowing ruby-red skirt and billowy white blouse and bedecked with gold and jewels:

Ladies and gentlemen, we are grateful for your service. We do not know what caused the great wave, but we believe that the dark forces that created it were unsuccessful in their goal, and will attempt it again soon. We can only guess what new disasters that will bring about.

The crew hops to it, commanded by Captain Haresh Vindra, as the party observes the debris and livestock floating in the harbor and a cloud of flies buzz.

Skirros

Late the next day, guided by Gaius Oberon, the island of Skirros is spotted and appears relatively intact. The ship docks at the sole deepwater pier of the town of Soronikos as dozens of small fishing vessels enter the aquamarine lagoon with nets full of fish.

Gaius, Kriger, Aryia, Sanura, and Damon disembark to find a cool drink and warm meal at the Salty Bow, where licorice liqueur, local wines and ales, and a variety of seafood specialties are available. They learn that the wave did damage to their eastern shores, and locals wonder about the fate of their friends in Lemnos to the southeast.

Unfortunately, Argos the Butcher interrupts the meal, and demands a "roll in the hay" with "slave" Sanura. Sanura attempts to defuse the conflict by offering a dance, which Argos seems to enjoy, but his appetite is not sated. Tensions rise when Argos grabs her again, Kriger rises from his seat, and Damon climb up on the table to give a short speech. Aryia dazes one of Argos' crew after he draws a dagger.

Meanwhile, Sanura's companion Babu enjoys a delectable pan-seared tuna steak under the table.

Babu

Just as the conflict is about to boil over, Damon urges the crowd to prevent any bloodshed, and the crowd responds by calling out to Argos to simmer down. No longer admired by the masses, Argos stomps out into the warm night to find another quarry.

The next morning, the party disembarks for Lemnos. In open waters several hours later, dolphins swim alongside the vessel, and soon the crew spots an object several hundred yards ahead, which turns out to be a large section of ship's hull, piled with 22 human corpses, and propelled by a dozen Merfolk.

As Veruna's Crown slows, several of the party disembark on the sole lifeboat to get a closer look and speak with the merfolk. They learn that the merfolk know that humans prefer to be buried on land, and have collected these people of Lemnos so that they may be put to rest. They have no knowledge of the source of the great wave.

The party volunteers to finish the transfer of the deceased, and cause the platform to be rigged to the back of the ship.

On arrival in the village of Kalamatos on Lemnos, the wave's destruction is evident. The pier is tilted thirty degrees, pools of water are evident high on the rocks, what remains of entire town appears drenched in mud, and mud-caked hungry-looking people come wandering out on the pier, peering morosely at the stack of bodies.

Aryia begins tending the the wounds of the injured while Kriger, Damon, and Sanura meet with the village elder and start a tremendous pot of rice cooking. The elder has no idea where the wave came from, but admits that its arrival coincides of a series of disappearances of young women and girls recently, causing some rumors that the village is being punished for some unknown sin. However, even Eminiscu the sage knows not what that sin may be.

That night, Kriger and Sanura's makeshift soup kitchen serves hundreds, while Aryia wanders among the wounded, helping all she can, and Damon rounds up a pack of children to collect sulfurous deposits from a nearby valley.

The next morning, the party travels twelve miles through the jungle to the cave of Eminiscu, with Damon experiencing many disconcerting spider encounters along the way.

As the elder warned, Eminiscu tests the party with her troll servant, which is dispatched with some difficulty. Aryia's magical firelight proves invaluable, while Damon's peaches seem not to help. Sanura is injured in the melee, and falls to the beetle-crunchy floor of the cave, but Kriger Hellig smashes the beasts skull a second later.

Eminiscu, in her riddle-riddled lilting style, says the party, whether they know it or not, seek Batzharikahn, as well as the "Unspeakable", which Batzharikahn himself also seeks. How ironic, she muses. She says the Black Ether is rising again, reconsituting on the isle of Kythria to the southeast.

Of Batzharikahn, she mutters:

He has a library of dark works bound in skin flayed from living human victims, and he traffics in the powers of darkness, trading screaming slave girls for unholy secrets.

Kythria, prior to the great wave

Patched up by Aryia's healing incantations, the party treks back to Kalamatos, arriving after dark, exhausted. There, Damon begins a promised fireworks display while Sanura starts another pot of rice and Kriger and Aryia rescue a sulfur-collecting child left behind in the jungle, bitten by a cobra. They save the wee lad's life.

The next morning, Nienna stalks into the village and finds Kriger just waking up. Unaware of the party's trek to Eminiscu the previous day, she demands to know just what the group is doing in this demolished little village. Kriger assures her of forward progress, and the ship disembarks as soon as Damon believes he has the raw materials to fashion new explosives.

The approach to Kythria is harrowing, with many sandbars, reefs, and atolls. Gauis hangs overboard from a rope, to be closer to the water for a better view. Kriger shares and gathers intel with the wolves before practicing spear and swordplay with them as the lizardmen are rumored to use spears. Damon fashions grenades and dons armor.

Kythria

In the late afternoon on approach to the west coast of Kythria, Veruna's Crown runs aground on a sandbar 500 yards from the shore. The Captain begins shouting orders, the crew scrambles, and soon it is ascertained that it will take many men many hours to get the craft floating again.

Elven Archer Nienna

The party loads into the rowboat with Nienna and the Wolves and starts rowing towards shore. Just before landing, they spot a slender waft of smoke coming from an inlet along the beach 100 yards away. They land and scout it out.

Two lizardmen and five black-robed men have apparently kidnapped two young women and have landed their black-sailed boat here on the beach. One of the women is being mistreated.

Just after sunset, the Wolves fan out silently into the jungle to take up positions surrounding the tormentors while the party creeps noisily along the rocky beach.

Aryia cannot tolerate listening to the woman's screams without taking action, and hustles her petite frame down the beach to assist. The black-robed acolytes spot her and demand to know who she is, just as Nienna pierces the arm of the man holding the victim's head under water. Aryia responds with a fireball, the Wolves fire at targets, and melee ensues.

Krigre Hellig

Seconds later, the lizardmen have been slain by bolts and slashes and bashes, and three injured priests have been captured. Aryia kills one captor with multiple stabs of her small knife, a Wolf beheads the next, and Kriger Hellig interrogates the third, who resists stoically but foolishly.

Natalia Modesta

One of the Wolves is selected to sail the women back to the ship and party debates next actions.

The Kriger notices the remaining captive peering into the jungle expectantly. Danger crackles in the air and several in the group ready weapons for an impending attack. Damon prepares a grenade.

Finally the captive shouts into the jungle, "ATTACK, YOU FOOLS!"

Spears hurdle through the darkness at the group, injuring several people and piercing the brain of one Wolf caught unaware. Damon hurls a grenade into the trees.

The lizardmen rush out of the darkness, surrounding the beachside camp. In a panic, Damon drops his second grenade into the campfire as the murderous foes approach with their spears. Aryia hurls a grenade into the jungle as well.

Brutal firelit battle ensues, and when the grenades go off, friends and foes are knocked to the ground, shards of ceramic shrapnel embedded in arms, legs, chests, and groins. Kriger alone, encased in steel, escapes their effect.

Mop-up is savage, with injured allies fighting from the ground, Kriger Hellig swinging his mighty maul through the ribcages of attackers in the darkness, and Aryia crawling from injury to injury trying to assist. Sanura, gravely injured, swings her mighty scimitar towards victory, while Natalia Modesta cradles her shrapnel-shattered hand.

An earthquake shakes the now-quiet battleground, causing the injured captive to assert that the summoning must now be complete.

The wretched party sleeps on the beach, wondering whether more lizardmen will attack in the night.

Demonmaster Batzharikhan

Katrina

In the morning, Agrippa returns in the sailboat, ready to assist. Injured and deceased Wolves stay with the boat and the captive. Babu identifies a path, and the remaining party marches for hours through the jungle, swatting mosquitoes.

They wade through a snake-infested bog and enter a huge natural cavern with many bedrolls and extinguished cooking fires. A bruised and battered woman, chained to the wall, is healed and set free. With some trepidation she agrees to hike down through the jungle alone to find the waiting sailboat.

The party lights torches and starts ascending an ancient lava tube that twists and turns up into the heart of the mountain. The earth shakes again, leadign Kriger Hellig to joke that it sure would be tragic if this tunnel collapsed.

An hour of ascent later, the tunnel ends with some hastily constructed wooden stairs leading up to a great stone door. Babu scouts, and then Kriger pushes the door open, to reveal the forgotten monkey temple within. Ancient columns hold up a high ceiling, and beyond a giant monkey statue is a snoozing lizardman guarding a door. He awakens and begins to rise, but is too late. Kriger's spear pierces his torso and he slumps to the stone floor.

Drumming from outside echoes through the dimly lit temple as the party approaches the other door. Babu reports that the drumming is coming from further down a forest path outside the temple, and that beyond the stone door are steps leading up. Believing this to be the way to the demonmaster's chambers, the party takes the door and the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, they can now hear the drumming both in front of and behind them, but they also hear the sounds of a woman in ecstasy. Around the next corner, Babu takes a peek and reports there's a young woman atop an old man, and they are not wearing cloths, and they are moving, possibly procreating.

Kriger Hellig confirms this perception when he rounds the corner and witnesses Batzharikahn and Katrina (in human form).