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1917

2025-Apr-05

  • The party collects themselves in the empty Crusade room
  • Kleb summons Acererak and argues with him, as usual, before flying off into the Alternate room, transporting the whole group to a new chamber
    • They are all hit with the smell of rot, evidently from bodies partially buried around them in a muddy pit. The stench of decay is almost overwhelming, and Rulkorf vomits almost immediately
    • Humans, orcs, and humanoid constructs are hunched over further along the trench. Kleb tries to speak to one of the orcs, who replies in a dialect he has some difficulty parsing
    • The terrain is mangled and desolate, reminiscent of the Nine Hells more than any earthly realm. Upon questioning from Kleb, the orc informs them that they have arrived in the Demon Wastes
    • Rowan tries to locate a key, and gets a faint signal from further down the trench. They are passed by an officer type, prompting Kleb to offer a salute and Rowan and Rulkorf to fall in alongside him
      • Kleb tells the orc they are special forces, who relays the message to the officer. The latter, amazingly, seems satisfied with that explanation
    • They set off in search of the key, trailing the officer. There are a conspicuously large number of automatons among the ranks, and the druid notices their mix of wood and metal has a distinct vibrance, as though the wood were still alive
      • Rulkorf communes with the plant essence in the construct, as Kleb tries to speak with the conscious side of the automaton. It is friendly but unfamiliar with the key, though it directs them to find the Major further along
    • They proceed down the line when the silence is suddenly interrupted by a sharp whistle, and everyone begins climbing over the top
    • An explosion vaporizes a group near the party, and a hail of weapon fire begins to rip through the air, though crossbow bolts are not visible. Under cover of a warding wind, the party continues through no-man’s-land
    • Kleb is struck a few times, particularly when he separates from the wind, but Rowan heals him while they take cover
    • The dwarf notices planes overhead, which seem inert until a nearby building explodes
    • While army crawling, a bomb lands in front of the group, but does not immediately explode. It is disarmed by Rowan’s dispelling magic. A nearby soldier waves them on but is shot through the head and drops like a rock. Kleb picks up his gun, having learned that these are like single-use heavy crossbows
    • Three paratroopers rocket towards the major, growing and transfiguring as they fall. Upon impact, they appear to be werewolves. Kleb damages two with fire but his gun proves ineffective
  • Rolled initiative!
    • Rowan tries to rip through the major’s pockets but it unable to find the key
    • The two nearest werewolves charge at Kleb and try to tear him limb from limb, while the other tears through the neck of one of the soldiers. The fighter retaliates, finishing off the one that was burned
    • A salvo of magic missiles shreds the other werewolf assailing Kleb, and Rulkorf offers him a little healing but cannot keep pace with the strafing fire coming down around them from nearby planes
    • Rowan trades strikes with the remaining werewolf and loses his shield to the creature’s overwhelming strength, but eventually is victorious
    • Kleb runs up to the major and tackles him. In his pidgin orcish and with the aid of his scribbled drawing, Kleb manages to communicate his need for the key, but the major refuses. An explosion tosses them all a bit, but Rulkorf stays on his feet
    • Rowan immobilizes the major with a Command: Surrender, and working with the dwarf they manage to retrieve the key from the officer’s belt loop
  • Before returning to the manor, Rowan feels a celestial presence on his shoulder, similar to Tymora but not immediately recognizable. Her symbol manifests as three lines with a wave, and feels to the paladin like a darker countenance of his Lady, the other side of the coin per se. She warns him that they should not meet again
  • The party reconvenes in the Alternate room and Rowan tells the others about the deity. Rulkorf feels like she might have been an extradimensional or extraplaner entity similar to ones he read about at Candlekeep
  • Season room: challenge to make a piece of jack-o-lantern toast. Zed won but all turned out well