Campaign: Stamus
Contra Malum: 1013-1014 YE
Chronicle: The Lost
Vault
The Light Bringers
(Active Members)
·
Ivanova
Hastinov - Half-Elf
Female, Black Swan Maiden (Paladin) of Fionnghuala, Heiress
Presumptive to Leadership of the High Elves
·
Lozen
the Lioness - Thracian Human
Female, Blade Dancer of Ianna, Courtier of Ivanova's Camarilla
·
Avery
Aileanach -High Elf
Male, Spell Blade, Ivanova's Lord Marshall
·
Garrick
Aileanach - High Elf
Male, Night Blade, Ivanova's Spy Master
·
Oberron
the Reborn - Dwarf Male,
Dwarven Fury, Son of Oberron Trollnose, Courtier of Ivanova's
Camarilla
·
Damien,
Son of Ulf - Danish Human
Male, Vagabond Paladin of Ammonar, God of the Sun
·
Moryna
Morning Star - High Elf
Female, Spell Blade, Scion of Morning Star Clan, Avery's Henchwoman
·
Noelia
Night Song - High Elf
Female, Night Blade, Garrick's Henchwoman and Lover
·
Robyn
Spring Rain - High Elf Male,
Man-at-Arms, Avery's Henchman
·
Mock
Wind Willow - High Elf Male,
Cavalryman, Avery;s Henchman
·
Tycho
the Terrible - Dwarven War
Dog, Oberron's Companion
Inactive or Former
members
·
Vilhelmus
Hastinov - Thracian Male,
Fighter, Capt of the Lion's Roar, Ivanova's Cousin
·
Lukos - Thracian Male, Explorer
·
Atticus - Thracian Male, Bard, Deceased
The Tomb of the
Banes
Juselen 16th 1014 YE (mid-morning)
The heroes opened their eyes and found they were lying on
the floor of the Tomb of the Banes.
They still bore the injuries they had incurred on the way to the tomb, but
there was no sign of the trauma they had suffered in the Soul Realm. There was
however a noticeable difference with the heroes.
Oberron, Lozen and Damien
looked several years older. Still in the spring of youth, but more
mature-looking with long hair. Ivanova and Avery looked about the same with
just slightly longer hair, but Garrick was the most changed. He clearly looked
older than Avery now, his hair now reached his lower back and he had facial
hair to complement his new crow’s feet.
Avery was once more himself—in his hand, he still held the
Beast Bane, but its appearance had changed. The hilt of the sword now had a
raven motif, a symbol of Calefa the Goddess of Mourning. The
malignant aura the sword once emitted was gone, but as Avery swung the sword
back and forth he could sense the weapon had not lost any of its potency.
Damien took a moment and reflected. “Praise Ammonar and the
Six, he has once more returned us to the land of living.”
Ivanova looked at the Dane and nodded, “indeed, Finnoughla
be praised that the gods have favored us on this journey. Remind me to leave a
bowl of cream at the next shrine we come across, the Shadowcat once more has
come to our rescue.” She took a moment, looked at her comrades and knew that
each of them had sacrificed much to get here. The weight of what was to come
settled on her shoulders like a lead mantle. Ivanova straightened her back and
pushed forward.
The party made the trek back to the lake and the lifts. The
journey was fraught with tension as they cautiously moved from corridor to room
to corridor. Had the gnolls sent more reinforcements? Were they setting up
ambushes? Was there some unseen horror lurking in the shadows waiting to attack
them?
The Light-Bringers made it back to the lifts without
incident. They had encountered nothing, the gnolls had not sent more troops.
The part picked a different lift to take up this time. As the lift began the
long crawl up, the party heard a distressing sound, the snapping of metal. The
lift suddenly plunged 30 feet and splashed into the cold water of the lake.
Everyone managed to get out of the lift; swimming to the surface and over to the
nearby platform. Avery had to assist his brother who had panicked and was in
danger of drowning.
The group now soaked to the skin and freezing returned to
where the gnoll sentries had made camp and restarted the fire. As they laid out
their clothes and gear to dry, everyone noticed that Garrick now had a large
tattoo of a raven on his chest.
“When did you get that?” Avery pointed at his brother’s
chest.
Garrick mumbled “Little present from Calefa,” and then said
no more.
The group made the decision to make camp here; food, rest
and healing were needed. The challenges ahead were daunting. There were 70 to
80 heavily-armed, well-organized gnolls waiting for them above, yet they
numbered only six. In addition, there
was a large number of slaves being held by the gnolls, including Conor
Morningstar. Everyone had agreed, the slaves needed to be freed. The Fire Seeds
would have to come later.
The night passed uneventfully except for a visit by a party
of pygmy mycenoids who showed up to harvest some of the fungus growing on the
lake shore. They stayed away from the party and the party let them be.
The Twilight's Last
Gleaming
Juselen 17th 1014 YE (midnight)
The party broke camp and took a different lift to the top of
the shaft. The ride up was taking much longer. Finally they arrived at the top
of the grand shaft. Garrick and Oberron took point and scouted out ahead. The
fountain room was empty, so they moved into the great hall. The number of
bodies had been greatly decreased but there were no signs of sentries or
slaves. The rest of the party as a whole moved forward to the entrance of the
vault.
The gnolls had set a watch outside of the vault. The party
made short work of them and began to move forward but stopped when two figures
popped out from behind some boulders. A large four-legged creature came running
at the heroes and plowed into Oberron.
It was Tycho, Oberron’s faithful war hound, followed by
Moryna and Noelia. Avery’s raven had delivered their message to them and they
had been waiting. The two women led the party to a blind they had built
overlooking the valley. After a brief joyful reunion, the elves informed the
group of what had been happening in the valley.
The gnolls had dispatched a full warband south carrying
something of great import. The remaining gnolls had consolidated into four
camps. Camps manned by an understrength warband were established at the north
and south entrance of the valley. A small camp composed of a couple of gangs of
gnolls was guarding the entrance of the vault. In the center of the valley the
central camp housed a full warband plus a command staff which included two
trolls. All of the slaves were being kept in locked pits in this camp.
The group, now numbering nine, put their heads together and
devised a plan to free the slaves by taking advantage of the widespread
deployment of the gnoll camps. They would take out the vault sentry camp using
stealth first. Then they would move to the central camp and use a diversion to draw
the gnolls out of their fortified camp. They would storm the camp, liberate the
slaves and then defeat the gnolls. With the plan agreed upon, the party made
preparations.
 |
| Dawn Breaking |
By the Dawn's Early
Light
Juselen 17th 1014 YE (Pre-Dawn)
The heroes moved into position overlooking the camp outside
of the vault. When the sun broke over the eastern ridge of the valley, Damien
made a sign to Avery, who unleashed a lightning bolt that tore through the camp
striking several gnolls. The rest of the party stormed the camp and put down
the remaining survivors. The gnolls were so surprised they never got a chance
to sound the alarm. The first part of the operation was complete.
Once the camp was cleared, the heroes made their way across
the valley floor moving undercover as much as possible. After about two hours
they were finally in position. Lozen had taken Tycho and had moved into an
abandoned camp about a mile away from the central camp. The rest of the party
was in hiding about a half mile from the central camps main entrance.
Lozen unleashed her divine power and summoned the sounds of
an angelic choir. The sound of the choir echoed across the valley. The gnoll
camp was bewildered by the sound, they dispatched ten gnolls to investigate the
disturbance. Once Lozen saw the approaching gnolls she used her power to make
Tycho twice his size. Climbing on to his back, she made sure the approaching
gnolls could see her. With a wicked grin and an obscene gesture, she led the
gnolls on a merry chase.
With the enemy camp focused on Lozen, the rest of the party
began a fast march on the camp’s gate. Ivanova in almost a hushed shout said to
her friends.
“Comrades, come with me once more as we go forth to danger! Let courage be our armor, let us show no fear! Let these evil creatures feel the bite of our steel. Let our light lift up the downtrodden and blind the wicked. LIGHT-BRINGERS CHARGE.”
Their hearts lifted by Ivanova’s battle cry, the party
quickened their pace and broke out into a full charge. The heroes were halfway
up the ramp to the front gate before the enemy was even aware of their
presence. The gnolls had failed to secure the gate and it was wide open. The
gnolls scrambled to block the gate, but the heroes smashed into them.
The air sang with the crackle of lightening, the clanging of
iron on iron, the sounding of war horns, and the howls of the gnolls. The smell
of blood, ozone and burning fur was soon overwhelming; Avery had summoned the
elements of air and unleashed jagged bolts of lightning upon the enemy like the
war-mages of old. Damien cried out to Ammonar, his flaming sword ablaze, as he
cut down gnoll after gnoll. It was here among the fighting that Damien’s heart
sang, for this was his true home, the battlefield, on the frontlines fighting
the forces of chaos.
Oberron was bereft of his priestess and his hound, so he
clung to Ivanova’s side, protecting her from harm. Ivanova had kept her bow
slung, this was the time for steel. Her blade slashed and stabbed at the gnolls
as they tried to close the gate. The paladin felt Fionnghuala’s grace fill her
and she became an island of iron resolve and calm in the maelstrom of battle. With
Oberron and Moryna on either side they were a wall of steel. Garrick and Noelia
had stayed behind with Avery as he called down death upon the enemies. Armed
with missile weapons they shot at any gnoll they could see.
The heroes now stood in the gate and could see into the
camp. Two gnolls armed with bows were shooting down from a central watch tower.
There arrows slammed into the party, but Moryna and Ivanova’s shields soaked up
many. More gnolls joined the fray as did two large trolls. Ivanova and Damien
engaged the trolls while Oberron and Moryna fought off the gnolls. Avery soon
joined them, his sword flashing in the early morning light.
Garrick had stayed behind, he had been watching for
something and he now saw what he had been looking for. The gnoll commander and
his staff had come out of their tents. The commander was shouting orders to his
soldiers when all of sudden he began to vomit blood. Garrick had a nasty grin
on his face as his fingers traced arcane symbols in the air. Noelia slipped
through the fighting and ran into the camp—her mission was to find the slaves
and set them free.
Ivanova and Damien, each facing a troll, were fully engaged.
The savage trolls were tough opponents, but the skill of the two paladins was
not to be denied. The trolls took wound after wound, before falling to the
noble warrior’s blades. Damien’s flaming sword ensured they would never rise
again as the smell of burning troll flesh filled the morning air.
The gnolls numbers were depleted but the commander had
finally overcame Garrick’s spell. Avery, Damien and Garrick moved forward to
engage them. Moryna and Oberron has dispatched the last of the gnolls on the
ground but were soon pinned by the archers in the tower. Oberron had been hit
by several arrows and Moryna was using her shield to cover the both of them. Ivanova
came to their aid unslinging her bow. As she drew back and took aim, one of the
gnolls arrows sliced through her bowstring. With her weapon disabled, she
raised up her shield.
Garrick stood by his brother’s side and traded blows with
one of the gnoll sub-officers. He heard a familiar voice cry out in pain. He
turned to see Ivanova and Moryna with their shields up trying to drag Oberron
to cover. An arrow had pierced Moryna’s leg and now they were exposed. Garrick
kicked the gnoll in front of him in the giblets and drove his dagger into its
eye. Without a moment to lose he sprinted towards the watchtower.
Damien and Avery had their hands full with the Gnoll
Commander and his aides. The gnoll’s commander was close to eight feet tall and
clad in black iron armor. He wielded a black steel two-handed Cinnabarian sword
with ease as he delivered several blows. Avery was wielding Beast Bane however
and was an equal match. Damien was exchanging blows with a gnoll captain who
wielded a wicked looking Zaharan double-headed ax. Damien had taken several
wounds, he could feel his strength beginning to fade. Placing a hand on his
chest, Dane called out to Ammonar to grant him strength and his call was
answered. The Dane could feel a warmth like the summer sun fill him; a number
of his wounds began to close.
Garrick reached the base of the tower but did not slow down.
In a feat of amazing agility and speed, he scaled all thirty feet of the tower
without stopping. Garrick had become
something else—the sardonic wise-cracking elf was gone. In his place was a force of nature, instinct,
and violence. He flipped on to the top of the tower and delivered a double heel
kick that sent one of the gnolls flying out of the tower. Garrick spun, grabbed
the head of the other archer and smashed it against his knee. Without stopping,
Garrick back flipped, driving the heel of his boot in the jaw of the gnoll
shattering it. The gnoll tumbled off the platform crashing into the ground next
to its comrade.
Ivanova had rendered first aid to Oberron, healing most of
his injuries. As she looked around she could see Garrick on top of the tower.
Damien, having dispatched the gnoll captain, was fighting beside Avery against
the commander. The gnoll was hard-pressed now that he was facing both the
paladin and the spell-blade. Damien’s flaming sword and Avery’s gleaming blade
cut him down.
The Light-Bringers looked around; there was no one left to
fight. It was then that Noelia showed up, she was wounded, but alive. Behind
her came dozens of slaves, elves, dwarves and humans. The slaves let loose a joyous
noise at the sight of their slavers, dead at the feet of the heroes. The
celebration was cut short with a shout from Garrick.
“Lozen and Tycho are
coming up the ramp. They brought company!”
Ivanova ran to the gate to meet Lozen. She and Tycho looked
unharmed, if a bit winded.
Lozen looked around, “What,you
did not leave any for me?”
Ivanova hugged her. “It
looks like you brought plenty.”
Behind Lozen, just outside of bow range, a great mass of
gnolls were forming ranks. The remaining two camps and the patrol had gotten
there faster than they had anticipated.
“To Arms, To Arms”
Avery began shouting, Conor and Moryna soon joined them and began to gather
weapons and armor to equip as many of the slaves who could fight. Fully half of
the slaves were in bad shape and could barely hold a spear. The slaves gather
around the Light-Bringers, there was desperation in their eyes. Some of them
had been slaves for years and the memory of freedom was but a dream.
Ivanova conferred with Avery, Conor and Lozen on what their
battle plan was. She then turned to address the people gathered around her. Her
stomach was in a knot, people were going to die, and the gnolls were in
formation and waiting on them. They could set siege to this camp and without
water from the nearby lake they would not last more than three days. Before she
could utter a word, Damien jumped on top of some baggage and shouted to
everyone.
“Hear me brothers and sisters, children all, of the seven who reign in heaven the enemy of us all stands outside these gates and they think us trapped. I say NAY!Ammonar is the light; we shall not want.
He leadeth us to green pastures: He blesses us with clear waters.
He restoreth our souls: He leadeth us on the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though we stand in this valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil: for Ammonar is with us.”
Many of the freed slaves cheered at Damien’s words and hope
filled their hearts. Some of the slaves however were not so moved. They were Hattians
and the sight of the Dane wearing the colors of Ammonar left a sour expression
on their faces. Damien saw this and beseeched them to fight for their freedom
if for nothing else. This seemed to win them over. Ivanova joined Damien and
their mystic auras blazed brightly together. She clanged her blade against his.
“Now, let’s cross swords together in
battle once more!”
The Charge of the Light-Bringers
Juselen 17th 1014 YE (Noon)
Avery and Conor began to get everyone in position and ready
for the battle. Lozen used her staff of healing to get as many of the slaves
into fighting shape as she could. They were in awe of her power in the healing
arts and praised the priestess.
The sky was as blue as a robin’s egg, without a cloud in
sight. The sun was at its apex and the warmth drove away the chill air of the
surrounding mountains. The Gnolls were in battle formation and had not moved
from their position. Their black banners fluttered in the spring breeze making the death's heads on them seem to laugh at their former slaves in the camp.. Time was on their side, the camp only had enough water for
a day at best. As they waited under the noon-day sun, they were startled by a
howl that rang out through the valley. The gate to the camp opened and the
gigantic war-dog they had seen earlier came charging down the ramp with a
half-naked dwarf riding on his back.
Avery, Garrick, Noelia and Moryna unleashed a barrage of
fiery magical missiles that tore into the ranks of the gnolls. Several of the
freed slaves loosed arrows that rained down on the gnolls. Behind the great
hound came the rest of the Light-Bringers followed by the slaves. Ivanova was
leading the charge, flanked by Damien and Lozen.
“FOR FREEDOM!” Ivanova’s battle cry was echoed by all those
who followed her down the ramp.
Tycho and Oberron leapt over the front line of gnoll and
smashed into the rear ranks causing havoc and chaos. Just as the heroes and the
slaves reached the gnolls, Avery unleashed his last lightning bolt searing
through columns of gnolls. The gnolls lines began to fall apart and the heroes
tore through them. The gnolls fell back and tried to regroup, but the heroes
pressed forward. Lozen was a whirlwind of death as her blades painted the
ground with gnoll blood. Damien and Ivanova were covered in gore as they
cleaved their way through gnoll after gnoll.
Oberron had become unseated and separated from Tycho.
Surrounded by gnolls he fought with pure dwarven fury trying to reach Tycho,
when he heard his dog howl in pain. Wiping gnoll brains from his eyes, he
watched Tycho fall, gnolls hacking at him repeatedly with halberds. Screaming
with rage Oberron tried to reach him, but an unseen blow caught him unaware and
brought him low.
A Dwarf’s Best Friend
Juselen 17th 1014 YE (Afternoon)
Oberron could hear his name being called but it seemed like
it was far way. When the dwarf tried to move it felt like he was under water.
Pushing a dead gnoll off of him, he staggered to his feet and looked around
him. Dead hacked-up gnolls carpeted the ground around him. Interspersed among
them were dead humans, elves and at least one dwarf. He could see some people
helping the wounded back to the camp. Lozen was nowhere to be seen, maybe she
was in the camp healing the wounded?
He could see Avery and that Conor fella, giving order to the
others and shouting for him. Garrick was missing, no telling where he was.
Ivanova and Damien were kneeling down next to someone.
Oberron started to walk
over towards them. Damien saw him coming and nodded to Ivanova.
“Oberron, thank
goodness, we could not find you.”
“Got Stuck, Where’s
Tycho?”
“Oberron, I need to
tell you something.”
“Where’s Tycho?”
Ivanova tried to stand in front of him, but the dwarf pushed
her aside. On the ground was Tycho, barely breathing, his body ravaged by
terrible wounds.
“No, No, No, NO, NO,
NO, NO NO!!!”
The dwarf collapsed down next to Tycho and stroked the
war-dog’s head. Tycho opened his eyes; seeing his master, he let out a soft
whimper. He licked Oberron’s face with his washcloth sized tongue and his tail
thumped the ground, raising little dust clouds from the valley floor.
“His injuries are
beyond my meager skills, Master Dwarf, any other creature would have died from
these wounds. I think he was waiting for you.” Damien stood and gave the
dwarf some space. Ivanova looked on with tears in her eyes.
“Who’s a good boy?
Tycho is the good boy.” Oberron softly murmured to the dog as he stroked
its head.
Tycho rested his head in Oberron’s lap, his great barrel
chest took one last great breath, his tail thumping one last time. His paws
trembled as the great hound let out his last breath and became still.
The next sound to come out of Oberron was the sound of
unimaginable, irreconcilable grief.
