Enter the Unholy

This is a report that I recently received from one of the few poor souls who escaped from the advance of the Undying:

Screams, pleas for mercy, and the gurgling death knells of the dying echoed throughout the burning village.

The blazing buildings with the living barred inside backlit the the throng assembled on the village green. Hundreds of vaguely humanoid shapes coalesced into a wall of shadow, watching with cold, empty eyes; the aftermath of the slaughter they'd enacted.

They stood before the village's shrine, mouthing silent profanities to their nameless dark benefactor. Upon the shrine's altar, an elderly bearded man lay bound and whimpering. Grisly runes carved into his chest wept, glinting occasionally from either the fires or fell sorcery...one could not tell.
A horn sounded. It's blast trumpeting thrice to herald the arrival of one of The Undying's dreaded generals, a Death Knight.

They were unwholesome men and women who were neither truly dead nor totally alive but, somewhere in betwixt. Unholy rituals and black pledges to unnamed evils allowed them to cheat the grave...and return stronger than ever.

The assembly parted to reveal three riders on skeletal steeds with eyes of blue-black flame. Their hooves singed the earth where the stood. Their caustic touch marking them unnatural beasts. Of the riders, two were immense beings clad in blackened plate, a greatsword slung across their saddles. One held a banner; a field of divided red & black. It's device a crowned skull.

Oddly, the third rider stood out. Smaller than the others. Thick of limb and clad in light armor. A strange mask made from basalt stone adorned his face. It too was shaped like a crowned skull and hid his pallid features.

He dismounted and then strode to the huddled man on the altar. The old man struggled against his restraints to no avail. Garbled pleas spewed from his mouth as the Death Knight's gauntleted hand reach toward him.

He shrieked, stiffened, eyes wide in terror.

"Thy lifeforce is mine, alderman." said the stout Death Knight nonchalantly.

At the alderman's drained husk rolled off the altar to the ground. Wispy tendrils of green hued smoke curled from the corpse's facial orifices. The Death Knight turned on a heel and walked back toward his steed.

"Plant the banner at the altar, let it mark the fates of any whom would dare oppose us," ordered the stout Death Knight to his companions, "They will know the name of Ekthor Ebonflame before the turning of the moons!"

Flicking the reins of the hellsteed, Ekthor, set off to the next village on the island...the Undying horde following not far behind.

I remember the name of Ekthor. He was one of those who followed Chaplain Hawthorne when he left the Wardens and founded the Witch Fynders. How did he come to lead the vanguard of the Undying?

OOC Game Notes

• This story is part of the background for our upcoming HFS day. I'm calling it the Holy War because it will feature the Wardens vs. the Undying.
• Robb Rodgers (aka Xhorja) penned the above story. He will be playing Ekthor so he took it upon himself to come up with a backstory. Nicely done!

Battle of Cul Cullach's Fangs

After returning to Ember Shoals, the Witch Fynders launched a war against the Moonborn, a tribe of werebeasts that once freely roamed the islands. The Moonborn were long-ago allies of the Druids, whose artifacts hold the hope of freeing the Shoals from the grasp of the Faedwyr. Alas, the Witch Fynders only saw them as abominations and set out to exterminate them.

Lately, Chaplain Hawthorne learned that the Moonborn were resettling Cul Cullach's Fangs, a long abandoned ring fort in the foothills of the Jagged Peaks. The Fangs are a place of spiritual significance & great power. Hawthorne could not allow the Moonborn to reclaim the Fangs so he gathered the Witch Fynders to march upon the fort.

A Witch Fynder

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/witch-hunter-omnibus_125.jpg

Another power has grown interested in the Fangs. The Undying, an army of undead led by the vampire lord Vicomte De Sangre, also covet the power of the ring fort. They too advanced on the Fangs.

The Undying
From https://tatarskiskandal.deviantart.com/art/Undead-King-43347978

Recently, the three armies clashed at the Fangs.

A few days ago, I Rufus was inspecting the ongoing construction at Freehaven when a messenger approached. I recognized him - Brother Simon, one of those former Wardens who joined with Hawthorne. Here is his account:

Our army approached the Fangs from the south. Hovering over the fort was a large bird; it began flinging missiles at us. We let fly with our pistols and charged the fort, only to run into a troll. The beast lay about, striking many of our number dead while a wererat caught us in a crossfire. Nevertheless, we were able to clear the abominations from the fort and secure control. But then the Undying attacked. Led by a vampire lord, this undead army routed us from the fort.

We advanced again, this time fighting against the Undying and the werecreatures. We would gain a temporary foothold, only to be scattered again. Sometimes, we were able to take advantage of the clashes between the Undying and the werecreatures to make a sortie, but our prayers were not sufficient, and we were driven back. Finally, the vampire lord led an assault that scattered both us and the moonborn. Both our armies fled, leaving the Undying in control of the Fangs.

Brother Simon then accused the Wardens of causing their defeat! Our "apostasy" had caused God to look unfavorably upon them. Only repentance, in the form of reinforcements, could alleviate the situation. I must say that it was an interesting way to beg for aid!

One thing struck me as odd, however. I asked " Did you say that the Undying and werecreatures fought each other?" Brother Simon affirmed his statement, which got me thinking. Why are the forces of evil fighting one another? This brought to mind a passage from the Book of Matthew "“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." This could be an opportunity. Or perhaps we misunderstand one of the factions. I would need to investigate.

OOC Notes

• The above account is my recollections from the Ember Shoals midreign last week.
• Robb created the 3 factions and encouraged us to dress as a monster. For this week only, we could play any monster. I, however, chose to play a witch hunter!
• Beast led the Undying army as the vampire lord. Ferrum and Orion were his undead cohort. Ferrum was particularly deadly with his sphere of annihilation! Artemis was the werebird (with nicely done garb!) and Cherry Picker was a wererat. They were joined by a troll, a visitor from Morohaven. Robb, Brutus from Morohaven, and I were the Witch Hunters.
• The scenario was essentially capture the hill, with the hill marked out by rope.

The Witch Fynders

Shortly after the coronation of King Beast  I was working in my office when I received a visit by Chaplain Hawthorne, one of the Wardens' pastors. I invited him in and greeted him warmly, but I was met with a stony stare.

"Brother Rufus," he pronounced haughtily, "you have sinned against the Wardens and against God Almighty himself. You must repent of your evil!"

I was quite taken aback. "How so?" I asked, puzzled by the accusation.

"You have placed yourself in the service of THE BEAST!"

I chuckled, which caused the chaplain to grit his teeth. I continued: "You are mistaken Chaplain. The Wardens support King Beast, a mere mortal who was won the crown of the Shrouded Isles. He has nothing to do with the Beast of Revelations."

"Fool." Hawthorne retorted. "How can you be sure of that? Wisdom dictates that we should have nothing to do with him!"

I brushed aside his concern, but he persisted in his denunciations.

"You have been far too lax in your associations. You ally us with abominations, like those cat-people that attended the coronation. You dabble with heretical, druidic magic. You have turned your back on our beliefs, and disaster has followed!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Faedwyr, the destruction of Ember Shoals!" Hawthorne shouted and his shook his finger at me.  "All because you have forsaken the True Faith."

"I believe you are mistaken, Chaplain." He would not let me get any further; he continued to rail against me.

After some fruitless argument, Hawthorne concluded with an ultimatum. "Either repent and shake off these impious associations, or we shall have to shake off the dust from our feet!"

"We?" I asked.

"There are others who feel as I do."

Three days later, a ship set sail from Freehaven port, laden with those zealots who followed Hawthorne. They were bound for Ember Shoals, determined to free the island from the control of the "abominations" and "servants of Baal." And thus was born the Witch Fynders.

OOC Notes

• The Witch Fynders were invented by Robb Rodgers as a faction in Ember Shoals's latest midreign. Robb described them as "a splinter sect of the Wardens. Disavowed for their fanatical doctrine & ruthless tactics . . ."
• I got into the spirit of the event by dressing as a Witch Fynder. I enjoyed it so much that I will be creating a new character, one of the Witch Fynders.
• Stay tuned for a report on the Witch Fynders' first combat action . . .

Chasms and Corrosion

Upon learning of the giant attacks in the High Forest, I Rufus organized a force of the Ironheart Accord to provide reinforcements. After landing on the island, we learned that stone giants had abducted some of the local villagers. We rushed to their rescue. The stone giants had set up camp upon a promontory that could only be reached by a natural bridge that wound between gaping chasms. We charged along path to be met by a withering hail of rocks. Then the giants charged. Some of our warriors fell prey to stark terror and ran. The rest of us steeled our nerves and held the line. From then on, I remember few details. I found myself locked in deadly combat with the brutes, while some of our more stealthy party-members, including Varic, sneaked behind the giants and freed the prisoners. With the rescue complete, we were able to retreat and escape.

As we were returning, we passed a cave and heard noises from within. We investigated, and found a horde of club-armed goblins escorting a strange, bug-like beast.

The beast

Upon seeing us, the goblins shouted "Kill the humans!" and attacked. Now battle against some goblins would normally not be particularly hazardous, but the beast changed things. It would strike out at our weapons, which would corrode in our hands. One time, I found myself disarmed and having to protect myself with throwing daggers! Fortunately Ferrum used his healer powers to mend our weapons. We slew the beast and then called on the goblins to surrender. They ignored our offer and paid the price with their lives. With the cave secure, we were able to return to Landfall Castle.

OOC Notes

• The above account describes our battlegames from last weekend. I had the opportunity to play on the side of the heroes so framed the narrative from my perspective.
• The first scenario involved the heroes rescuing "prisoners", represented by heart shaped throwing weapons. The second was a mutual annihilation scenario.
• Robb, who came up with the scenarios, threw in some interesting terrain.

Challenges to the King

No sooner had Beast been crowned than he faced challenges to the security of the Shrouded Isles.

As King Beast and the ambassadors of the various islands sat at the coronation feast, a horde of snake-men rushed into the hall. Their target was the representative of the Meow'tzlan. Beast rallied his loyal retainers and they drove off the assassins.

A few weeks later, an army of giants came crashing through the High Forest, destroying villages in their path.

From http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=8476867&postcount=360

The Sentinels sortied from their stronghold, engaged the giants, and drove them away from the villages. The giants then assaulted one of the Sentinel's castles. At first, the giants strove in vain, as Ferrum with a polearm and Slab with a bow slaughtered the enemy as they tried to cross the drawbridge. But then, more giants smashed through the wall and rushed into the castle. The defenders retreated toward the courtyard, where they found themselves surrounded.

That was when horns sounded from outside. King Beast had arrived with a relief force! He rushed into the castle, catching the giants in the rear. None could withstand his blade; the enemy was cut down in droves. The giants had enough, and fled!

OOC Notes

• This account briefly summarizes events at the last two High Fantasy Society days at Sherwood Forest park
• Last month, after Beast was crowned, I ran a game with snake-men assassins. It was essentially Kill the King. Beast led the good guys while Xhorja stood in as the snake-man leader.
• This month, I ran some scenarios revolving around a giant invasion. The first scenario featured 5 control points representing villages. In a timed battle, the giants had to destroy the villages while the humans tried to stop them. The giants managed to destroy 3 of the 5 for a marginal victory.
• The second scenario featured a castle battle, with the castle walls made from ropes tied between trees. The giants had to cross a drawbridge, get through the gate, and reach a control point before they ran out of lives. It was a drawn out battle but the humans held (with Ferrum and Slab performing great feats). We then switched teams; this time the giants won multiple times (with Varic managing to slip through defenses).
• The final scenario was to be a last ditch defense, but I was too exhausted to run it, and the players decided on a full class free-for-all instead. I think Beast won. Regardless, I turned to a bit of fiction to round out the account.

On Being Knightly

At one point, I googled the word "knightly". Here is what returned:

associated with or typical of a knight; chivalrous.

"a knightly quest"

synonyms: gallant, noble, valiant, heroic, courageous, brave, bold, valorous; chivalrous, courteous, honorable

Notice what's not listed? There's nothing about personal achievement, either on the battlefield or in crafting. This is why I disdain the "lifetime achievement award" that most take when determining knighthood. Instead, I feel that knighthood should be about chivalry and service, which is the approach taken by the Order of the Morning Sun (the official order of knighthood for the Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles). 

A King for the Isles

Earlier this month, the inhabitants of the Shrouded Isles met at Freehaven to formalize our new kingdom.

Coat of Arms of the Free Kingdom of the Shrouded Isles

The representatives of the various islands signed the appropriate treaties; we were now pledged to the realm. But who would be the monarch?

Lord Xhorja, a half-orc leader, first put his name into the mix. Others quickly stepped up - Rage and Ferrum from the Sentinels of the High Forest and Beast, a former Sentinel. We decided to have a grand melee to decide the matter.

The candidates formed their supporters, lay on was called, and the combatants charged one another. Ferrum soon lost his healer to a dagger (or axe?) thrown by Lisander. Rage was eliminated, although one of his supporters (XIII) remained to plague the other forces. Xhorja, using his bardic powers, seemed to be doing quite well. Ferrum's and Beast's armies were whittled down.

At this point, Beast issued a challenge to personal combat to the remaining candidate. He first faced off against Ferrum and defeated him. Then he turned on Xhorja. With a scowl, Xhorja strode out from his battle line and engaged Beast. The clash of their arms echoed across the valley of Freehaven. Ultimately, Beast prevailed, and was declared the first King of the Shrouded Isles!

All hail King Beast I!