EPT
[D&D] Kobolds of Wyweria - 3rd Session
This is an adventure summary from a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign I'm currently DMing. For information on the campaign, check out the introductory post here first: (link), the Genesis of Wyweria: (link), the 1st Campaign Session: (link), and the 2nd Campaign Session: (link).
We last left off with our four Kobold warriors, each reincarnated from the dead spirits of their people, about gearing up for the final confrontation with Bloody Jack. They are the great reincarnations of the legendary heroes of the Kobold race: Calhar (Monk), Errantspark (Bard), Sandwhale (Wilder), and Vodkaholic (Druid).
The players reconvene, and the plot begins.
The Session
Our heroes, such as they are, emerge from the Gate-Tree they chose outside Hoft. They darkly contemplate the nature of their mission. Bloody Jack, one of the Four Champions who led a genocidal campaign against the Kobold race, sits close to the throne-- and a grand throne it is indeed. Hoft, you see, is a unique city, perfectly situated for the capital of Lerka. Hoft was built not in the low planes like Telport was, but along the cliffs where the Worldspine plunges into the Great Sea. The King's castle, adriotly named Rib, is a mile above the water and only accessable via one path up the Worldspine. Originally built to hold off any invading force, it has never been successfully besieged. It has been taken, of course, by Treason and by Lies and by Trickery, but never by Strength.
In time, the city extended from the Hoft port all the way up to the castle, and now an invading army would have to pass through Hoft to reach the castle proper. Invasion, however, is not our heroes' plan-- they plot treachery. Discussion rises up between them again on how they should go about actually attacking Boody Jack. He no longer goes by that name, of course. Now he is Tarn Merus, head of the Royal Inquisition, said by some to be the most powerful man in the Kingdom. Merus the Bloody-Handed. Funny, that he should acquire two names so similar in his two lives-- it might say something about his character.
Men quake at his name, or at even the mention of the Inquisition. Tarn Merus commands an army of Inquisitors and they an army of Practicals, and it is by his vigilance that there has been no insurrection in these long years. He is a paranoid man, living mostly in the castle, surrounded by guards, traps, and magic defenses at all times. There have been many attempts on his life, and all have failed-- the assassins all executed for treason, but not before, under severe torture, giving up the names of their employers.
So how do you kill the most paranoid man in a country? Well, you start by learning about him. Errantspark's Bardic Knowledge tells the group of his patterns, about what he does, about who he talks to, and it helps. No lovers, no mistresses, no prostitutes, no family. Tarn Merus lives alone, and when he's not in his office administrating the Inquisition, he's at the side of the King, advising him in all matters. He rarely leaves the castle, only doing so for the King's annual Hunt, and occasionally if there is a grand tournament.
First, they spend a week scrying on him. It takes multiple tries to overcome his Will save, until at last they identify the room he's in. The players argue for a while. Calhar states the easiest solution is to fly up to his room and use his Cape of the Mounteback to Dimension Door in. Sandwhale suggests using scrying first to secure the area, and using his Flying Carpet to enter via the window. Vodkaholic suggests giving him a large plant and then using Transport Via Plants to get at him, but this is quickly shot down. At last, they come to a plan: the Cape of the Mounteback can carry 3 people, and the final kobold will fly in via magic carpet.
The Kill
The next night, they are hovering above the room and discussing their final preparations. The cold wind batters against them as Sandwhale struggles to control the Flying Carpet. The Worldspine is a harsh place, and they are lucky to be out here only briefly. ErrantSpark clutches at his fluttering scroll of Invisibility Purge and casts it in the wind and cold, preparing the group for the possibility of an Invisible opponent. He draws hold of his precious Wand of Dimensional Anchor-- bought with the gold lifted from Gloves' treasury. This would be a necessary weapon against Bloody Jack, to prevent his teleportation. He signals to Sandwhale and the Kobold Wilder presses the Magic Carpet forwards, close to the tower.
In a sudden motion, automatic magical defenses spring online, and fire and lighting shoot through the air. An Alarm blares out. Cursing, Sandwhale hands control of the carpet to Vodkaholic. Calhar grabs Sandwhale and Errantspark. With the alarm raised, they had but moments to get to Jack and begin their plan. The Monk activates his Cape of the Mounteback as the carpet wildly flies clear of another flaming gout of magic. Suddenly the Carpet is vacant but for Vodkaholic, piloting it madly towards the window, alone in the darkness and cold.
The three Kobolds are suddenly in Jack's room, and there he is, disguised as old Tarn Merus, but in reality none other than the hero of legend, the slayer of Kobolds. "Now!" shouts Sandwhale, and Errantspark fires his wand, its arresting Arcane force binding Jack to this material realm. No Teleportation. No Etherealness. No escape. The three kobolds leap into action as Jack's mythical blade, Liberty, is unsheathed for one final battle.
Jack, ever known for his swiftness, speaks a secret whisper to his blade, and it returns with a shout. Liberty bathes the room in the power of Chaos, as pure as the alignment itself. The explosive ringing of the shout harms the Kobold heroes and saps at their very lifeblood, for Chaos is draining to those of Law. Only Calhar the Monk resists it, and he flies into a mad fury, swinging wildly at Jack. Errantspark uses his Haste to free Sandwhale of the slowing effects, and Sandwhale summons into existence an Astral Construct, blocking off the doorway out the room.
The battle with Jack continues, as he parries and dodges and stabs at Calhar, and Calhar returns with fury empowered by the Greatness Errantspark sings into his heart. Vodkaholic braves the tower's anti-air defenses and comes crashing through the window on the carpet, though his Turkey Vulture animal companion was lost to a runeward. Jack sees an opportunity for escape, for against 4 opponents the tide of battle turns against him, and goes rushing for the window-- but Vodkaholic's magic reshapes the wall around the frame and blocks it off. Cornered, Jack bloodies Calhar and smites the group once more before falling, his skull crushed in by a blow from the Kobold Monk.
Knocking on the door. Humans, come to find what happened to Tarn Merus. The group moves quickly. Sandwhale's Construct blasts a hole in the outer wall where the window stood, and, grabbing the body of Merus that the world might never know he was Jack, they make their escape. The tower's defenses sizzle and spark at them, but there is no stopping them now. It seemed almost an anticlimax, defeating Bloody Jack this way, but his defeat was not in the fight, but in the finding of him, for he was a man who spent 15 years leading an unobserved life and protecting himself with the insane paranoia of a rogue who made many enemies. He never even knew that his killers, his final assassins, were really Kobolds.
The Kobolds gather around Jack's body as they strip the magic gear from him in the woods. Was it tarnished with the lifeblood of their people? Did this dagger slay a hundred Kobolds? Perhaps. But they could not afford to be picky, not if they wanted to fight the The Sage Rotuvius. They'd need every magic item they could find. Sandwhale hears footsteps, suddenly. That's odd, there shouldn't be anyone in these woods. He turns, and see a massive metal being emerge from the woods. Two legs, a metal torso, and huge, powerful fists, all made of polished gold and iron. Sandwhale turns to his friends. "Run!" he cries, and he leaps into a sprint, unfurling his carpet in front of him, and climbing with it swiftly into the air. Calhar grabs the other two and uses his Cape to bring them, and the corpse, onto the carpet.
A few moments more and they are free of the canopy, sailing into the sky. Visible, perhaps, but safe. The warriors turn to each other and breathe a sigh of relief, a moment too soon: the carpet comes to an abrupt halt. The other three turn forwards to see what Sandwhale is doing, and they do so in time to catch the portal closing. The creature winks into existence in front of them, standing on the air. It presses its fists together menacingly. One resonates with vibrating energy, and the other glows with electrical power. A metallic voice creaks out of it as it approaches:
"Do not try to run. You have violated a basic Law of Existence: you have denied Death. Your god profaned those basic Laws that undergird reality. The end is coming. You cannot escape it now. Submit to your Death-- it is Inevitable."
