Othniel's Ironfang Invasion II

[CockroachTeaParty]

Torg landed, and transformed back into his dwarf form. He seemed a bit... drained. He shoved a fistful of goodberries into his mouth and seemed to recover much of the color to his face.

"What in blue blazes was that thing?"

He eyed the smoldering town, frowning.

"I didn't see any survivors on the wing. I think I picked up a hint of magic in the center of town... I think it was the town hall. Near where that cloud rose up to attack me. Some foul curse lingers here."

[Othniel]

Redburrow

Exploration of most of the settlement turned up little, save for what Torg had seen from the air. The majority of the village had been burned severely, and there were patches of blood soaked into the ground in places where either soldiers or villagers died. Throughout the area there were blast craters where alchemical bombs had been hurled over the walls of the town, making the entire area look like it had seen the terrors that the Ironfang Legion could inflict. The worst was in front of the largest building in town, some sort of town hall or other gathering place from the looks of it. The doors had been broken and were lying in pieces around the entrance. A lonely well stood opposite the building, between which was a large spot of bloody ground.

Spoiler: Nora

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The well detects as evil.

[Jade_Tarem]

Nora had seen... well, not worse, exactly, but close. That was in Irrisen, many years ago, and while the wrath of the winter witches was not to be scoffed at, this was something else entirely. War - power and violence in raw and naked form, and to hell with those caught in the way - had come to a peaceful town and left it an abattoir.

She wasn't expecting much of value, which turned out to be wise. The black aura leaking from the town well did pique her curiosity, though - and her concern. "Something's off about the well. Something vile is in it. Or maybe the well itself is cursed. I'm going to take a closer look."

[Othniel]

Redburrow

The scent of rotting corpses met Nora as she peered over the edge of the well. Inside, she saw a cloud of twisted, distorted faces roiling in a miserable cloud, screaming of their unquiet deaths.

Spoiler: Initiative

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Everyone except Torg wins initiative. Please place yourselves somewhere reasonable on the map.

Spoiler: Nora

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You know what this is. This is a Drocha Swarm.

Mostly translucent, drocha swarms contain only the faintest traces of black and green delineating the writhing mouths and rolling eyes of the faces within. The faces moan independently, creating a cacophony of voices, each shouting rage at its death or screaming for others to listen to the story of its plight. It would be maddening to pick out individual voices and follow their terrible cries. The swarm can expand and contract as necessary, pouring over enemies and draining them of the life drocha swarms were so violently denied, an action that does not seem to bring the pitiful creatures any relief from their hideous afterlife.

It is postulated drocha swarms can form anywhere death has occurred on a massive scale. The dead individuals that make up a drocha swarm have lost any identity they once had and are hideously transformed; they are now horrific vehicles of undeath, created only when the conditions are right. As dead souls trapped on the Material Plane are wont to do, drocha swarms are angry and vengeful, and attack any living thing near them with impunity.

Because of their roaming nature, these swarms infrequently encounter each other. As unintelligent undead, drocha swarms have no society. Even when swarms come across each other, they seem unaware of each other’s existence—which is perhaps unsurprising since drocha swarms focus on living things.

You know this is an incorporeal undead swarm. It has a fear aura, has the ghost touch and blood drain abilities with its swarm attack, and can target a creature within 30 feet and cry mournful wails that fill the listener with images of its own death. This works the same way as Phantasmal Killer.

[Jade_Tarem]

Nora took a reflexive step back as the storm of ghostly wailing faces rushed up the well at her. A glance at her left told her that her druid companion would not react in time to avoid the oncoming attack. Grabbing Torg, she burned through a big chunk of her magic to be somewhere else. That got her and the dwarf a precious few dozen feet away from the approaching horror. "Drocha Swarm!" She shouted, her voice carrying more edge than it had when she'd been facing a regiment of hobgoblins or the cloud. "A swarm of angry spirits! Incorporeal!" She prepared her judgments and readied her more curious arrows - heads pitted and crusty, with ghost salts baked onto them. "They bite, they suck the very life out of ye, and they try to kill you with yer own nightmares. Hit hard, hit fast, hit magically, and hit as many as you can at once!" She cast a spell to empower herself and waited for the storm to hit.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Dimensional Hop, using 60 feet to move her and Torg both 30 feet. She has no Dimensional Hop left today.
Swift Action: Activate Double Judgment the 3rd, using Justice and Destruction judgements.
Standard Action: Divine Favor from a 2nd level spell slot.

[Nefarion Xid]

On command, Septimus cast haste and then went to hide.

[Tychris1]

Ulva leisurely strolled through the town, leaning her magical impervious glaive over her shoulder, and looking at the distraction about her with an air of freespirited confidence. She was kind of a badass. When the shouts of battle could be heard, the cry of stepping back, she rushed forward, and began to howl heartily "A ghostly wave? HELL YEAH! That's what I'm talking about! Come out here and face me! This is gonna look awesome!" She leapt infront of the pair, her glaive whirling around in both hands as she landed gracefully yet powerfully, and sent flying large chunks of the earth beneath her. Keeping her glaive to her side, she lined it up before her, and then quickly flipped her stance while swinging the glaive around. Its crescent cut produced a whip crack of wind that concluded into a faint hum as her metal glove caught the upper shaft, and the entire weapon began to faintly glow and phase in and out of reality.

"INCORPOREAL FRACTURING STRIKE!"

Spoiler: WARRIOR SPIRIT

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GHOST TOUCH AND +2!

[Othniel]

Redburrow

As the party scrambled to prepare for the ghostly swarm, a new threat made its presence known. From inside the building came the heavy tramp of armored feet, and what appeared to be gore-streaked statues appeared in the doorway. They resembled armored men, but having the head of a bull. The drocha swarm wailed, but made no further appearance...yet.

Spoiler: Nora and Ulva

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You identify the statues as Phantom Armours.

Raised from the corpses of knights and soldiers slain by treachery rather than battle or conflicts considered crimes even in the heat of war, phantom armors appear as suits of animate armor, walking or floating of their own accord. Most phantom armors haunt the halls and blasted battlefields where they were slain, seeking revenge against their murderers or, should that prove impossible, confronting any living creature that might give them the opportunity to do battle once more. Dastardly necromancers have also discovered the process for binding violent spirits to suits of armor, giving rise to eerie servants that combine endless patience with cold brutality.

[Nefarion Xid]

Septimus casually exploded the new threat. Veric shot whatever was left.

Spoiler: Fireball

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(8d6)[30] fire damage, 20 reflex

Spoiler: Ranger Death Turret

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(1d20+11)[15] manyshot
(4d6+16)[29] damage

(1d20+11)[31] rapid
(2d6+8)[19] damage

(1d20+11)[26] hasted
(2d6+8)[14] damage

(1d20+6)[15] iterative
(2d6+8)[17] damage

[Tychris1]

”Plot twist!” Ulva bellowed as she flipped her glaive in the air, caught it, and then surged towards the nearest suit of haunted armor “Nice design!”

Spoiler: CHAAAARGE!

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Attack:(1d20+19)[22]
Damage:(1d10+24)[29]

[Othniel]

Redburrow

The ghostly swarm of screaming faces left the well and paused a moment, seeking the living. Seeing two nearby, it drifted toward Torg and Veric and at the last moment veered toward the druid and screamed, a horrid, mournful wail that filled Torg's mind with images of his own death over and over in myriad ways.

Spoiler: OOC

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Drocha swarm leaves the well, pauses to choose a target, and drifts toward Torg. I need Fear saves from both Torg and Veric. If you fail, you are shaken (-2 to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks) for (1d6)[2] rounds.

I will need a will save from Torg to steel himself against these images, followed by a fortitude save to avoid instant death. If he fails the will save, but passes the fortitude save, he still takes (4d6)[15] points of damage.

[Jade_Tarem]

Seeing the cloud of screaming souls rise up at last, Nora wasted no time in trying to put it back down again.

Spoiler: OOC

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Swift Action: Active Bane
Full Round Action: Full Attack
Attack Modifiers: Haste +1, Bane +2, Divine Favor +2, Judgment +2, Rapid Shot -2, Deadly Aim -2
Damage Modifiers: Deadly Aim +4, Judgment +3, Divine Favor +2, Bane +2, Bane +2d6

Attack: (1d20+17)[33]
Damage: (1d8+16)[24] + (2d6)[8]
Damage: (1d8+16)[22] + (2d6)[8] (Manyshot)
Attack: (1d20+17)[23] (Rapid Shot)
Damage: (1d8+16)[19] + (2d6)[9]
Attack: (1d20+17)[33] (Haste)
Damage: (1d8+16)[22] + (2d6)[6]
Attack: (1d20+12)[28]
Damage: (1d8+16)[18] + (2d6)[10]

[Nefarion Xid]

"Aaah! I'm slightly startled," said Veric.

Spoiler: Ranger Mini Death Turret

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(1d20+9)[11] manyshot
(4d6+16)[26] damage

(1d20+9)[11] rapid
(2d6+8)[16] damage

(1d20+9)[23] hasted
(2d6+8)[16] damage

(1d20+4)[12] iterative
(2d6+8)[14] damage

[CockroachTeaParty]

Torg stared at the cloud of angry and frightened souls, no doubt a manifestation of wholesale slaughter at the hands of the Ironfang. The dwarf stood, implacable as a mountain, and let their fury wash over him. His heart, perhaps, was made of the stone that was his namesake. As the apparition withered under a hail of arrows, the druid waves his sprig of holly in the direction of the well.

<Druidic> "Be at peace."

[Jade_Tarem]

With no screaming undead horrors to occupy her attention, Nora went back to examine the well again. When she did, her face lost any trace of the usual faint smile it normally wore. She could see - and Aidan confirmed - that the Ironfang had thrown the bodies of the townsfolk down the well, leaving them to bob about.

"They deserve a burial," she muttered. "You can search the rest of the town without me. I'll get them out of the well." With that, she began to fill the massive well a few gallons at a time with her magic, allowing the corpses to float higher until she could retrieve them. Burying them would take a while, but she would not - could not - be callous about a mass slaughter, nor would her deity allow for the indignity of a mass grave. While she did not know their names, she could at least afford them the final grace of an individual marker, allowing those who came later to count the sins of the Ironfang.

She would not rest until they did.

[Othniel]

Redburrow

In the end, it took until nightfall, but Nora managed to fill the well with enough water that the bodies were able to be retrieved. When she was done, there were roughly two-dozen in total; men, women, and most heartbreakingly of all, several children. A cold reminder of how little value the Ironfang Legion placed upon those not among their number.

Aidan, for his part, turned up a safe in the ruins of the town's hall. Inside, he found a small pouch that contained a handful of topaz gemstones, and a fully-charged wand of Heat Metal.

Spoiler: XP and Loot

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2733 XP each

6 x Topaz gems (worth 200 gp each)
1 x Wand of heat metal (50 charges)

[TheDarkDM]

Aidan

Confident that the corpse of Redburrow had been thoroughly gutted, Aidan began preparing for the morning ahead. Taking charge of the assembled miners, he had them drive four stout stakes into the ground, tying a length of rope around each before securing them snugly in loose nooses around the insensate wolf. His tools were cleaned, and numerous chemical compounds were left to boil, before he tranced over his operating theater. In the morning, he began.

With slow precision, the limbs and body of the wolf were opened and injected, muscle and bone warping and cracking with each new compound and unguent. He completed the legs first, tightening their bonds as he finished. Then came the arms. The torso. And finally, the head. A final injection into the occular cavity sent a starburst of sudden awareness through the newly-humanoid creature, and Aidan stood above his creation in bloody triumph.

"Speak, for I am your maker! Know me as Aidan Kael, and reveal the name of your rebirth!"

[Othniel]

Redburrow

The wolf - if wolf it still was - came to slowly. Nostrils flared and the creature's jaws opened in a wide yawn. Eyelids flicked open to reveal amber-colored orbs that took in their surroundings, and then the creature tested its bonds, struggling for a few moments before lying still, warily eyeing Aidan as he addressed it. Then it spoke, slowly at first, testing an ability it had never used, and yet somehow instinctually knew how to use, as if its natural ability to communicate to others of its kind had been transformed into the power of speech. "I...I..am...Gruzak," he said, haltingly. "What...have...you...done?"

[TheDarkDM]

Aidan

His eyes shining maniacally in the morning light, Aidan extended a hand in front of the wolf man's face.

"I have given you a mind to reason, and hands to shape the world! I have given you mastery, where once you were a slave! You served the Ironfang Legion as a mount, and they failed you. Join me, and I shall lead you to wonders and luxuries you never could have dreamed of before today!"

[Othniel]

Redburrow

"No join," Gruzak replied simply, blinking slowly at Aidan. "No more fight. Let go? Give food?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

Although the party had put some distance between themselves and the destroyed town before making camp, Torg spent the night restlessly, keeping long watches, half expecting something horrible to assail them in the night. It had been a long, long day.

In the morning, Torg returned to the main group after seeking some solitude to pray for his spells. It was not long before he came across Aidan and his bound... experiment. The dwarf pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Aidan... do you need my help? I asked for a charm spell this morning in case we needed to wrangle the wolf further. But it seems you've done some wrangling of your own... or mangling, as it were. Whatever's your plan, let's not tarry. We need to get these people to Longshadow."

When the group was ready to leave, Torg transformed into a mighty bull aurochs. His strength supplemented by further druidic magic, pulling the wagon would be a simple task.

[Jade_Tarem]

Nora was likewise unimpressed with the wolfman. "So, I'm not criticizing," she said, criticizing, "but what exactly was the point of this? Ye gave sapience to a giant wolf, mutated its body, gave it free will, then immediately subverted it by charming it like a creepy bampot mageling getting rejected by the barmaid. All for what I assume is supposed to be some kind of bestial guardian for us that barely lasted a few seconds in combat."

She was happier about Torg's transformation, though. Having a massive bull tow them to their destination was very convenient, and she made several appreciative noises as the magically enhanced auroch druid pulled them through difficult obstacles.

[Tychris1]

"Wow that's really gross. Absolutely f***ing disgusting." Ulva said whilst her single eye appraised it "I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for this. Please don't do that again." She mounted her summoned steed uncomfortably and contemplated whether killing the wolf or setting it free was the more heroic action.

Riding alongside the wagon she looked curiously at Nora's armor throughout the trip, mentally appraising its structure, and critiquing it silently from time to time.

[Nefarion Xid]

"Uh ... yes. Yes. I too am outraged?" said Septimus, who was currently imagining a way to hybridize sharks and owls.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Torg had successfully charmed the poor malformed beast. He spoke to it, somewhat sardonically.
"Why don't you follow us a ways... Gruzak, was it? You can walk alongside me. I'd like to hear what you've been through, what your life was like with the Ironfang. It'll help you get used to those new legs of yours. Don't be alarmed when I take the form of an animal; that's just something I can do, as a servant of nature, you see."

Torg could still speak while in aurochs form. Aidan could defend his own actions; Torg concerned himself with getting to know the strange wolf. It would help him decide what to with Gruznak when the charm wore off. He made sure to mention Rollo and Kur, and that there was something of a small pack allied with his companions, if the wolf was indeed desirous of a new place to belong.

[Othniel]

Hollow Hills

Gruzak was not particularly talkative, though this was primarily due to the difficulty of a newly-awakened intelligence attempting to grasp ideas more complex than fighting, hunting, and eating. Still, the wolf did what he could to answer the druid's questions. It turned out that Gruzak and his siblings had been raised from pups by the Ironfang and trained for war. The wolf knew little of the world outside this small realm, save that it offered freedom to hunt at will away from the cruel whips of the hobgoblins.

Some ten miles southwest of the remains of Redburrow, Torg noticed something in the road...

Spoiler: Torg

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Something ahead in the road looks odd. Unsafe. Like a trap?

[Tychris1]

Gripping her reins Ulva galloped forward fullstop.

”Woooooo!”

[CockroachTeaParty]

Torg, an enormous bull rippling with muscle, came to a stop, the wagon trundling to a halt behind him.
"There's something in the road up ahead!" he bellowed, his deep voice booming with amplified size. "Could be a trap. I'm going back up the road a few dozen yards, then someone unhitch me!"

After taking the civilians back to a slightly more reasonable safe distance, Torg was unhitched, and he returned to the group.
"Let's see what happens if I alter the consistency of the road?"

He clomped down with his hooves, softening the road until the dirt turned into thick mud.

Spoiler: OOC

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Torg will cast Soften Earth and Stone on the strange patch of road, turning it into mud. Maybe that'll make something happen?

[Othniel]

Hollow Hills

Torg cast his spell, and the edges of a pit started to appear as the hard-packed dirt around transformed into loose dirt and what was once a trap slipped into a hole in the ground with a loud crash. From inside the hole came a loud hiss followed by the sound of chittering.

Spoiler: Initiative

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Aidan, Nora, and Ulva have won initiative. Then the creatures in the pit. Then everyone else.

[TheDarkDM]

Aidan

Dismounting his summoned steed, Aidan assumed his horrific beast form. Looking towards the bull that was Torg, his head cocked slightly to the side as his finger rose to the hold. Crouching down, the alchemist scuttled forward to get a better view of what awaited them.

Spoiler: OOC

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Stealth: (1d20+26)[29]