A story of swolerbeam
31.01.2250 NG
Agreeing to split the party to cover the woods more quickly, Ernodal had Tarnak guide Celeste, Tulip and he through the now silent glade. Gritgoz and Throkk teamed up for a duo, buddy-cop episode, and plunged deeper into the wode, picking their way through the fetid stillness of the dying woods. The trees leered over them in the silence, the bleached and barren limbs reaching towards them, as if their very essence was being leached into the soil. Our heros discovered some unusual empty fruit skins, or shells – their origin unclear, Throkk examined the large wrinkled prune like material, estimating it could have been 5 or 6 feet long before it burst. Following the path, the party found themselves in a recognisable clearing – the small pond where they had first fought the skoll. Silhouetted against the stagnant water were the two familiar figures, suspended and seemingly impaled on stakes, hung the bodies of the green knights, Ovic and Sudelu. As Gritgoz moved closer to inspect the creatures he realised the “stakes” were in fact roots. As the realisation dawned him that he didn’t recognise one of the trees from last time, a crack of roots and vines whipped through the air and he was grabbed and engulfed into the acid filled maw of the orcwort tree. The bushes erupted around Throok as he was rushed by short, fruit like humanoids, their faces formless, smelling of rotten fruit and raking their claws across the barbarian.
As Gritgoz and Throkk battled the bludlings and tree, throkk was brought to his knees under their weight of their multiple blows – at the last minute he managed to prise Gritgoz free of the plant. Perhaps sensing the peril they were in (they really were) Gritgoz summoned the spirits of his ancestors to his aid and the a wave of furious spirit apes crashed through the trees and tore the bludlings to shreds.
After a brief respite, the trek continued to the chapel – the building was now a ruin, being pulled apart in front of their eyes by the wood itself. The underground cloister that the party had encountered Lady Duskthorn in was just visible, the sunlight streaming in through a roughly hewn hole in the ground. Throkk spotted the Dryad 60ft below, pacing around her alter, muttering to herself.
Being the careful tactician he is, Throkk took plenty of time to consider the most advantageous action, and weighted up multiple options carefully before concluding (in constant consultation with Gritgoz naturally) that the only reasonable plot-developing action to take was to drop the 60ft straight down and attempt a mid-air strike imbued with the additional momentum, and basically manifest to the Lady as the dramatic sephiroth themed orcish angel of death he is fast becoming. Through a serious of excellent athletics checks and attack rolls Throkk descended in a stylish anime type montage ( accompanied by Guiles theme) and almost killed her on the spot. In the following skirmish, Throkk deflowered a venusaur, Gritgoz blocked the healing sunlight with well placed a storm cloud ( resulting in no HP regen for the plant based enemies, and no solar beam for the venusaur) and the capitalised on the heavy Throkk advantage they had earned.
Yielding beneath their fury, Lady Duskthorn spoke to the party as she clutched her wounds:
She confessed she had killed the green knights – she had to – they had come to her and demanded change, demanded to rid the chapel of her, claiming she was not fulfilling her knightly oath. They accused her of losing her mind!
The herald had shown her the death and destruction to come, perhaps she had lost some of her mind, but she was changing. Evolving. She once thought she was protector of nature, a gardener, maintaining balance. The truth – that it would all be for nothing, futile, perhaps broke her. She couldn’t cope with the idea, that she, everyone was just prey for the herald’s master. But she had been thinking. The reality was even wose, it was systematic.. so much worse… we would not be prey, we were just livestock. To be farmed. The herald is sowing discord and chaos to soften us up for his masters harvest.
When Trokk pushed her for more information , she confessed she did not know who this master was, but knew that the Herald was undoubtedly touched by the divine.
She refused to be livestock, she would become a predator, and survive the coming harvest.
As she reached for a tree behind her to Treestride again ( aka teleport via trees) Throkk noticed (?just in in time) and furious at her attempt to escape him ,slew her where she lay, Chernobog exploding through her head in a shower of gore.
Escaping and tracking back to the horses, the party found a raven waiting once more for Gritgoz, another Letter from Eleri.
G,
Apologies for the brevity of my recent letter – communications were undoubtedly being monitored, but I have since secured a more secured method via and old friend.
3 days ago, the Judges came for Luca. He was arrested and charged with treason, and for the murder of Lorenzo, found death that morning.
His trial is to be in 2 days time.
The day you left, the risen emerged from the sewers. They rampaged through the streets, killing dozens. The watch were not prepared and would have been over-run were it not for the presence of the Judges and Namtharites. They were hailed as saviours, and have since pressed their new political advantage , ingratiating themselves into every noble house in the city.
They say war with Kossos is now all but imminent, this is surely no co-incidence.
Many of us plan to leave the city, it no longer feels welcoming for those who do not follow Namthar, even less so for the few Kossovians around who hide their worship of Alastor from suspicious eyes.
E
And so the party stood by their horses, weighting up the diverging paths infront of them.