Post by hubertbartels on Jul 27, 2019 13:22:19 GMT -5
Rested from a night spent in Binox’s Cave, the party set out again for the southern branch of the creek. Late yesterday afternoon, they discovered that something in the swamps of the southern branch was causing a circle of death. Isuma, the Kasathan fighter the party had rescued mentioned that there was something killing the area and Obin’s Commune with Nature spell had shown him that there was something very wrong.
About a half-a-hour’s walk brought them to the remains of Hysek’s camp. From there, the party headed along the banks of the southern creek, through a narrowing of the canyon walls to the swamp beyond. At first, the passage was easy, going along a path marked by firm ground and very shallow water – but then the party had to move into deeper water.
Signs of something wrong started to appear. The water, which should have been a deep green, was ashen colored and almost opaque. Erasmus and Grigoro noticed that the tree looked blighted, their leaves misshapen and small, their bark colored almost grey.
As the party proceeded deeper into the ashen milky water, they came across more dead trees, their upper branches falling into a grey dust. On a bit of sandy islet, Astrovel decided to cast a ritual, looking for radiation. He got started when from behind a screen of downed trees, 3 mutant trolls attacked. With two heads and three claws, they tore into Amelina and Obin, biting off their skin and cutting furrows with sharp claws. But Astrovel and Grigoro kept their regeneration halted with fire spells and Eramus slowed them down while Obin, Amelina and Istovar cut them down.
Continuing on, the party was now wading through calf-deep water, approaching the cave at the center of the death zone. Obin and Eramus felt tired and unwilling to leave the area, From a deep pool of ashen-colored water, a mutated frogbehemoth attacked. Erasmus quickly charmed the huge creature, ending the threat.
Brushing aside the fragile webs of ogre spiders, the party entered the cave. A side chamber held the body of a man, covered in pristine robes. When the party went to look, the ghost of an explorer named Benevess rose to confront them. An onslaught almost drove the spirit to destruction before it suddenly disappeared, taking possession of Grigoro’s animal companion, a squirrel named Pogo.
Grigoro took the robe, a robe of Shocking and the others took the Handy Haversack hidden by the body. Then they moved into the larger chamber. There were several piles of ash covered by robes or old armor and a 3 foot hole bored into the floor of this cavern.
Astrovel shone his flashlight into the hole and had to jump back as a huge shape of changing color erupted from the hole. It was a Colour-out-a-space and it tried to suck the vitality out of everyone. The party knew that they had to beat it quickly before it started to disintegrate people. A flurry of blows, a storm of spells and the thing died. Obin and Erasmus’s fatigue disappeared.
When the party left the cave, the frogbehemoth’s charm had worn off and it had wandered back to it’s lair. Passing by the lair upon leaving, the same frogbehemoth attacked again. Again, Eramus charmed the creature.
Leaving the poor creature in a dome of force, the party returned to the fork in the creek and headed up the northern branch.
The canyon walls narrowed a bit before widening out again. In this broad valley, a lake had formed – a lake caused by a immense beast-like shape that had crashed, belly-flopping across the creek and damming the flow. The remaining hulk was huge, 400 feet long, about 150 to 200 feet high. And it stank, filling the air with a stench that made Eramus sick. Huge blowflies buzzed over it’s thick, elephantine skin while burst pustules leaked yellow-green fluids into the lake.
Isuma pointed out several ventricular tubes, tipped with lamprey-like teeth at the things rear. She had seen the brain-collectors, the neg-thalggus, enter and leave the wreck that way. Wading across the shallow lake, the party was attacked by a lukwata, a mutated creature formed from chewing on the ship’s remains.
The tubes once opened and closed and flexed, serving to allow the Dominion of the Black soldiers to board enemy ships to seize them. Now they lie quiet and flaccid, their flesh valves offering no resistance to the party.
Inside, the party found several chambers, each in stages of dying. They had to fight an Engine Attendant, once tasked with caring for the space-beast’s massive engines and left to perish with the ship after landing. Astrovel drained the creature’s neural shredder of energy and Amelina put her dagger through the thing’s carapace.
In adjoining chamber, the party found three neg-thalggus salvaging things from the ship. They were quickly overcome and burned down. From here, the party had to use Paeytr’s peppers to open the flesh valves to get into the final chamber.
In a glass and iron cauldron hanging from the ceiling of this triangular chamber, the Ship’s Mind demanded telepathically what the party was doing – were they, like the neg-thalggus, come to feed on the remains of the ship? The thing was mad, being in a state of dying and abandoned by the Dominion of the Black.
When the Ship’s Mind began firing a psychic blast from it’s glass container, the party decided to finish it off. It discovered that while the glass container shielded it from axes and daggers, there was no protection against Isuma’s, Amelina’s and Astrovel’s laser and blaster weapons.
After collecting several items from fluid-filled containers in the chamber, the party left the dying ship-wreck and returned to Binox’s caves...
About a half-a-hour’s walk brought them to the remains of Hysek’s camp. From there, the party headed along the banks of the southern creek, through a narrowing of the canyon walls to the swamp beyond. At first, the passage was easy, going along a path marked by firm ground and very shallow water – but then the party had to move into deeper water.
Signs of something wrong started to appear. The water, which should have been a deep green, was ashen colored and almost opaque. Erasmus and Grigoro noticed that the tree looked blighted, their leaves misshapen and small, their bark colored almost grey.
As the party proceeded deeper into the ashen milky water, they came across more dead trees, their upper branches falling into a grey dust. On a bit of sandy islet, Astrovel decided to cast a ritual, looking for radiation. He got started when from behind a screen of downed trees, 3 mutant trolls attacked. With two heads and three claws, they tore into Amelina and Obin, biting off their skin and cutting furrows with sharp claws. But Astrovel and Grigoro kept their regeneration halted with fire spells and Eramus slowed them down while Obin, Amelina and Istovar cut them down.
Continuing on, the party was now wading through calf-deep water, approaching the cave at the center of the death zone. Obin and Eramus felt tired and unwilling to leave the area, From a deep pool of ashen-colored water, a mutated frogbehemoth attacked. Erasmus quickly charmed the huge creature, ending the threat.
Brushing aside the fragile webs of ogre spiders, the party entered the cave. A side chamber held the body of a man, covered in pristine robes. When the party went to look, the ghost of an explorer named Benevess rose to confront them. An onslaught almost drove the spirit to destruction before it suddenly disappeared, taking possession of Grigoro’s animal companion, a squirrel named Pogo.
Grigoro took the robe, a robe of Shocking and the others took the Handy Haversack hidden by the body. Then they moved into the larger chamber. There were several piles of ash covered by robes or old armor and a 3 foot hole bored into the floor of this cavern.
Astrovel shone his flashlight into the hole and had to jump back as a huge shape of changing color erupted from the hole. It was a Colour-out-a-space and it tried to suck the vitality out of everyone. The party knew that they had to beat it quickly before it started to disintegrate people. A flurry of blows, a storm of spells and the thing died. Obin and Erasmus’s fatigue disappeared.
When the party left the cave, the frogbehemoth’s charm had worn off and it had wandered back to it’s lair. Passing by the lair upon leaving, the same frogbehemoth attacked again. Again, Eramus charmed the creature.
Leaving the poor creature in a dome of force, the party returned to the fork in the creek and headed up the northern branch.
The canyon walls narrowed a bit before widening out again. In this broad valley, a lake had formed – a lake caused by a immense beast-like shape that had crashed, belly-flopping across the creek and damming the flow. The remaining hulk was huge, 400 feet long, about 150 to 200 feet high. And it stank, filling the air with a stench that made Eramus sick. Huge blowflies buzzed over it’s thick, elephantine skin while burst pustules leaked yellow-green fluids into the lake.
Isuma pointed out several ventricular tubes, tipped with lamprey-like teeth at the things rear. She had seen the brain-collectors, the neg-thalggus, enter and leave the wreck that way. Wading across the shallow lake, the party was attacked by a lukwata, a mutated creature formed from chewing on the ship’s remains.
The tubes once opened and closed and flexed, serving to allow the Dominion of the Black soldiers to board enemy ships to seize them. Now they lie quiet and flaccid, their flesh valves offering no resistance to the party.
Inside, the party found several chambers, each in stages of dying. They had to fight an Engine Attendant, once tasked with caring for the space-beast’s massive engines and left to perish with the ship after landing. Astrovel drained the creature’s neural shredder of energy and Amelina put her dagger through the thing’s carapace.
In adjoining chamber, the party found three neg-thalggus salvaging things from the ship. They were quickly overcome and burned down. From here, the party had to use Paeytr’s peppers to open the flesh valves to get into the final chamber.
In a glass and iron cauldron hanging from the ceiling of this triangular chamber, the Ship’s Mind demanded telepathically what the party was doing – were they, like the neg-thalggus, come to feed on the remains of the ship? The thing was mad, being in a state of dying and abandoned by the Dominion of the Black.
When the Ship’s Mind began firing a psychic blast from it’s glass container, the party decided to finish it off. It discovered that while the glass container shielded it from axes and daggers, there was no protection against Isuma’s, Amelina’s and Astrovel’s laser and blaster weapons.
After collecting several items from fluid-filled containers in the chamber, the party left the dying ship-wreck and returned to Binox’s caves...