Session 3: The Western Founding Report
General Summary
Lyssa pushed them through the forest at a hard pace. Septum would complain now and then but eventually he grew too tired to voice his objections. Only Oso appeared to handle the pace well. Each morning he would recite ritual prayers to Koth and greet the morning sun with meditation. A week had passed without further incident. It is during the second watch one dark, overcast evening when Septum quietly awakens Lyssa and Oso. “There down the game trail. Some kind of animal. There is something very wrong with it and there is the smell of death on the wind. Could be that you’ve lead us all to our deaths Pathfinder.“ Lyssa ignores the snarky comment and looks down the game trail. Septum has skill as he has detected the creature some distance away. All three of them could smell rotting flesh on the faint breeze. The broken light of the moon through the clouds cast an eerie glow about the forest. Lyssa points to Oso’s spear and he understands her command. He grips the weapon tightly and stands his ground while the two rangers move down the animal trail that runs parallel to their camp. As they move Oso can see their forms in pushing the thick forest mist aside. It flows around the three of them like a living thing visible only due to a small amount of moonlight that manages to break through the forest canopy above. The monk advances some distance behind them to keep the two rangers in sight and watch for threats flanking them. Septum has his sword and shield out and Oso can faintly hear the sound of his chain armor links grinding against each other as the ranger tries to move quietly. Some of the clouds above them part allowing more moonlight to shine down upon the forest. All three of them see the creature clearly. Down the trail before them is a large stag that is limping as if it were wounded. There are patches of blackened flesh all over the creature. At first appears to be burns as if the creature survived some sort of horrific fire. Lyssa decides to put it out of its misery and fires two arrows at it from her longbow. Both shots miss as the creature hears the snap of the bowstring and darts to one side. Now fully aware of Lyssa, it turns to face her snorting angrily. The stag is now fully visible in the moonlight. Lyssa, Oso and Septum can all see that the animal is not burned. The blackened flesh is some sort of horrible festering disease. The three of them stare in horror as some sort of worm crawls out of the poor creature’s empty eye socket and then quickly burrows back into its skull. The one remaining good eye goes wide with a sort of crazy rage and the creature charges. Lyssa and Septum both skillfully dodge aside and the creature charges past down the animal path. With only one good eye and necrotic flesh hindering its movement, the stag is unable to stop easily. It’s rage takes it right past Oso who strikes out with his spear. With a strong sweeping motion the monk manages to bring the large broad spear head up under the charging stag’s neck. The force of its charge cleaves the head clean off and the stag falls at the monk’s feet, tumbling down the path from its momentum. Oso is showered with festering gore before he can dodge out of the way. One of the worms falls upon his arm and attempts to burrow into his skin. The monk rips the worm from his arm, throws it upon the ground and stops on it. All around him the flesh of the diseased stag is quickly dissolving, consumed by the necrotic contagion now that the poor creature is dead. Oso realizes that he is covered in the same contagion and motions for Lyssa and Septum to stay back. Within moments the monk has calmed himself and begins to strip off his clothing. The axes and belt are salvageable but all of his clothing is covered in necrotic pus and diseased blood. Oso is reminded about similar diseased flesh and rotting bodies he encountered under the old mountain fortress of the lich several weeks ago. This disease was likely similar or the same and that meant it was deadly to all life. The monk knew that his centered mind and years of disciplining his body provided him some resistance to the disease so he was not concerned for himself. He also knew that Septum and Lyssa would not be so fortunate. The situation is made even more dire as the rotting corpse of the stag begins to kill all the trees and plants nearby as it decays. Worms fall out of it and die but a ten foot area of forest around the body of the stag is withered and blackened. Septum and Lyssa keep their distance. It is decided they will risk a fire and one is lit with oil very quickly. Oso burns all of his clothing and contaminated gear and drags remains of the stag’s corpse into the bonfire to smolder and burn away any remaining disease. Oso cleans himself with the last of their water. Fortunately the monk is clean shaven and has no hair making the task easier. Half an hour later, the monk is standing naked in the cold forest night trying to remain close enough to the fire to stay warm. Septum grudgingly reaches into his pack and pulls out Laird’s cloak and hands it to Oso. It is bloodstained but intact and smells like the young ranger. Oso accepts it without a thought and wraps it around himself to keep out the damp and the cold. Septum refuses to look at Oso but the monk doesn’t notice. The ranger turns to Lyssa and mouths a single word “recon”. She nods and Septum proceeds to move out from the camp and the fire, in increasing circles to scout the area. Oso hears Septum cursing as he leaves. Thirty minutes later he returns. “There are more dead animals further down along the game trail, killed by the same necrotic disease. Just like here there are dead worms all around them. Smells like death, sick death and corruption. “ The ranger spits on the ground in disgust. The mist and fog remain and the moon is once again covered by clouds. It becomes more difficult to see clearly in the forest. The group decides to forgo rest for the night and moves out down the game trail heading south once again. Three days later Lyssa leads the group out of the Western Founding and into a less dense part of the forest. Septum has been depressed since the loss of Liard and the appearance of diseased animals is not helping his mood. The Pathfinder points foward into the forest. “We are within a few days of where Athelwold brought the dwarven artifact that the lich wants. We need to be very cautious here and expect trouble.“ Oso and Septum look momentarily confused. Lyssa continues. “When it was discovered that the lich Lotherym wanted the Orb of Light, Ranger One sent it south. He assumed that the lich would be able to detect it and he was correct. There is an Earthgate nearby. Athelwold brought it through the gate and then returned. Almost immediately we received reports of Lotherym abandoning his siege of Darkwood Gate. He sent his forces west into the forest likely to find and take the artifact. “ Again the two look confused. Lyssa just shrugs. “The lich has forces nearby. We need to avoid them.” This resonates and the two men nod. As they continue to press through the forest it is not long before they stumble upon the bodies of several dead gnolls. They look like they have been gnawed upon. Septum bends down to examine them closely and shakes his head. “Big. Tracks are old as are the corpses. Something bad happened here. Bad for these gnolls at least. Still, I don’t think whoever killed them will be friendly to our cause. “ The ranger draws his sword. It’s clear he expects trouble. All three of them know that the Sharpfang Gnoll clan has allied itself to the lich. These dead gnolls are the enemy. Lyssa and Septum converse for a few moments. It’s clear that Septum is unhappy but Lyssa doesn’t seem to care. She sends the ranger off to scout ahead as she and Oso separate and move more slowly scanning the forest for trouble. Septum returns to the group at dusk hours later. His face is grim. “Dead rangers a few miles or so ahead. Two of them. Come quickly.’ He leads Lyssa and Oso through the forest at a run and they reach the southwesterern edge of Darkwood just as the sun is setting. In the fading light the three of them see something that horrifies them. Two rangers have been gutted and long, crude iron spikes were used to hammer their bodies to a pair of oak trees. It is some sort of sickening corruption of ranger burial rituals. While this alone is an awful sight, what the trio observe next is truly frightening. The bodies are crawling with necrotic worms. The corpses are also moving as they are in a process of some sort of sick necrotic reanimation. There is dark sorcery at work. Oso approaches and points. “This is a warning to intimidate us and deter us acting against the lich. “ Lyssa nods. Her face is emotionless but Oso can tell she is hiding her anger. The young pathfinder keeps her distance and scouts the area around the corpses for threats. A few moments later she returns. Lyssa points at the corpses and says “These two are infiltrators. They work for Ranger Two - The Shadow. I knew them but not personally. They were highly skilled in subterfuge and spycraft. I did not know they were deployed to this area of Darkwood.” The death of the two very capable rangers is unsettling. Oso remains calm but it’s clear to him that both Lyssa and Septum are agitated and nervous. The rangers that worked for ‘The Shadow’ must truly have been legendary for the two of them to act this way. For the first time Oso sees fear in Septum’s eyes. The monk can hear the ranger mutter “I won’t end up like them.. I won’t.” A dense heavy fog rolls in as the sun sets blanketing the forest in a cold mist. Without warning a worm jumps from one of the rangers onto Oso’s bare chest. He stares at it for a moment as it tries to burrow into his flesh then grabs it with his hand and pulls it out. He throws it on the ground with disgust and crushes it with a bare foot. “Keep your distance. These worms are a real problem.“ Oso knows that his body is immune to most diseases but these worms are clearly a threat. Lyssa nods as Septum pulls out two clay pots filled with oil. “Last of our oil…” he says as he throws one pot on each of the corpses. A minute later a torch is lit and the corpses are burning. Septum continues to complain. “Without oil it will be nearly impossible to light a fire tonight since the forest is damp… “ and he moves off grumbling about their foul luck. It is night now and the partial moon is obscured by clouds. The group moves away from the fire for several miles in case the light attracts attention and makes camp in a small burrow. They don’t even try to light a campfire as the wood is wet and they know there are enemies nearby. Stealth is important given what they have all seen. It is cold and damp and Oso is mostly naked having burned his clothing when it were covered in necrotic puss and blood. The monk is unable to meditate and center himself. The cold fall air and damp forest makes him shiver uncontrollably. Septum tosses over his blanket without saying a word. Oso wraps it around himself and thanks him . “Thank you Septum, but won’t you be cold?” The ranger shrugs. “I can’t have you freezing to death tonight. We need you. I’ll sleep in my armor.” True to his word the ranger is snoring in his armor several minutes later. Lyssa stays up on watch and wakes Oso 6 hours later to relieve her. They let Septum sleep. By morning the fog has lifted. The three of them move out silently and by midday they break through the line of trees that marks the edge of the forest. The sun is bright and before them is an area of grass for several hundred feet ending in a wide river. Off to the north in the distance the river appears to widen. “Starfall Lake” Lyssa says pointing. Oso and Septum nod. They came out of the forest exactly where they intended to. Septum is still in a foul mood. “We need a boat or raft. We may have to build one. That river is too deep and too strong to risk swimming.” The ranger points to the river it’s clear that he is right. The river is fast flowing and almost half a mile wide. Lyssa nods. “We need to cross the river to get to the Reed Folk village. Let’s search the area. “ As the three of them approach the shoreline to look for a fishing boat, raft or skiff they see a cloaked form rise up out of the shallow water. The area around them is swampy and they were almost taken by surprise. “Unnatural.” is all Septum says as he grabs the shield from tis back and draws his longsword. The figure is cloaked in rags and looks to have emaciated skeletal hands. As it begins to move towards the group, it fully reveals its nature. Flesh covering the creaure is decayed with only random pieces clinging to its skeletal frame. It has two glowing red eyes set deeply within its fleshless eye sockets. The entire figure is crawling with worms - the same worms encountered before but these look much more active. The creature sees them immediately and begins to lumber towards them. As it walks the grass and swamp reeds all around it begin to die. It’s clear that this creature is a scourge against the living. Lyssa turns to Oso and Septum and says one word. “Flee!” They waste no time and flee north along the riverbank. Oso is clearly the fastest as he is unencumbered by any gear and his talents allow him to move with superhuman speed. Lyssa is close behind since she is only encumbered by light armor and her pack is mostly empty as the group is nearly out of supplies. The only heavy item she is carrying is the rotting head of the bugbear they killed days earlier. Septum is not so lucky. His heavy mail armor, weapons and his shield slow him down. The creature is gaining on him. Lyssa sees that Septum is in trouble and shouts to Oso “Go to the swampy area! We can try and lose it in the swamp!” Oso wastes no time and runs close to the water. The river has overflown its banks due to recent heavy rains and the ground sucks at his boots. As they flee from the undead abomination the trio run into an area where the river water has mixed with the soft earth of the grasslands. This has creatd a thick mud that is difficult to traverse. The monk bounds through this muck with ease and Lyssa manages to do the same. She almost gets stuck several times but manages to keep moving. The plan seems like it will be a success until Septum is forced to cross the same area. He moves through the swampy bog with skill but no amount of ranger training can make his armor lighter. The heavy chain mail makes him sink into the mud and he is unable to flee from the creature As he begins to sink he realizes what a bad mistake this was. Unable to flee, he turns to face the worm ridden creature which is almost upon him. Lyssa and Oso watch in horror as Septum engages the undead fiend in single combat. As it approaches it throws several worms at the ranger who simply knocks them aside with his shield. The worms fall into the mud corrupting the earth where they fall. As it moves within range, Septum bashes the animated corpse with his shield trying to knock it down but the creature is too strong. The skilled ranger is just able to recover and raise his shield in time to avoid a clawed bony hand from ripping out his throat. The other clawed hand rakes across Septum’s chest but cannot penetrate his chain armor. Septum counter attacks but his sword swing is deflected by a bone arm and pushed aside. Lyssa and Oso race back to help. Oso gets there first and stabs into the creature with his broad shortspear. Flesh and worms go flying from the wound. Oso remembers the diseased stag and dodges aside to avoid having the worms and corrupted flesh land upon him. Septum takes this opportunity to swing his sword again but he is knee deep in mud and his attack falls short. Lyssa is there moments later. Both her dagger and longsword hit the creature in a flurry of blows that don’t seem to do much damage. The creature is already dead and it must be smashed apart to be defeated. Normal wounds do nothing. The ranger sees this and turns her sword to use the flat of the blade against the creature. She bashes into its chest sending bone and necrotic flesh flying. Lyssa’s expert attacks came at a cost however - a worm has landed on her and begun to burrow into her arm. The air around them smells like a hundred corpses and they all begin to gag. Septum tries to move to protect Lyssa who is desperately trying to remove the worm from her arm. He is still stuck in the mud and the undead creature moves first. It flings several worms at the ranger and two of them land true. Septum stares in horror as they begin to burrow inside his flesh. The ranger screams in pain, fear and rage. With a burst of strength driven by fear, he brings the flat of his sword down upon the creature’s head in one sweeping overhand blow. The animated corpse shudders twice and then seems to shatter from within. It falls to the ground in pieces and the worms within it scatter into the mud. Septum quickly drops his sword and begins to desperately claw at the worms that landed on him. One is burrowing into his shoulder and one has entered his leg through a small gap in his armor. Seeing that the creature appears to be destroyed, Lyssa continues to attack her own arm with her dagger. She grits her teeth against the pain and slashes open her skin. With a twist of the knife she manages to flick the worm out of her flesh. It lands in the mud and sinks into the earth. There is a track in her arm showing that the worm was burrowing up towards her heart. The wound is bleeding but not life threatening. Septum was able to get the worm out of his shoulder using his sword hilt to crush it and the blade to cut it out from his skin. The worm in his leg has crawled up into his groin. Septum screams in pain and falls backwards. His feet remain stuck in the mud. The ranger screams “Get it out! Get it out now!” Lyssa bends down and begins to cut away Septum’s armor with her dagger. There is no time to take it off properly. Oso looks at the ranger grimly. He moves his eyes up from the screaming ranger on the ground and looks around them. This sound will give away their position to anyone nearby and there could be more of those creatures about. Septum gabs Lyssa and shouts into her face. “Do it. Cut me. Get it out!” and bites down on the leather of his quiver strap while looking at her with wide eyes. “Oso help me dammit!” Lyssa shouts as she pulls up Septums’ chain shirt and slashes into his abdomen with her knife. The ranger screams against the leather and it seems they may have been too late. The worm is already moving up into the poor man’s chest. “Get it monk! Reach in and get it!” Lyssa shouts as she holds the screaming ranger’s flesh open with her hands. Oso bends down and slams his fist into Septum’s abdomen and attempts to follow the trail of damage left by the burrowing worm. Warm blood sprays everywhere and Septum struggles against the pain. Lyssa screams at the monk desperately, "Do something!" “Be calm Lyssa I have the worm. “ Oso’s voice is low and soft. He pulls his hand gently out of Septum and she can see the worm crushed within it. The monk’s fist is covered with dark blood. Below them Septum is barely conscious and is now coughing blood. Oso looks down at him sadly. “The worm is destroyed Septum. It won’t turn you. “ Septum nods. There is a softness in his eyes as he knows his life is ending. He refuses to look at Lyssa instead turning to Oso with the last of his strength. “Thank you monk.” he whispers and then stops moving. Lyssa and Oso stare for several minutes at Septum's body and say nothing. The Pathfinder stands up after taking Septum’s shield. “He was married to Til. She will want his shield.” Lyssa is strangely unemotional. Oso believes it to be an act but cannot be sure. She turns to the monk “Waste nothing. He is roughly your size and you have no clothing.” Oso nods and begins to remove Septum’s boots, gloves, armor and padded clothing. The boots and clothing fit the rest is left behind. Lyssa finds a small box of dried and oiled tinder among Septum’s possessions and takes it knowing that it will help them start at least one or perhaps two fires if they can find dry wood. Oso notes that there is a small runic tattoo on Septum’s left wrist under his clothing. It is not something he can understand or decipher but he makes a mental note of it. The body of Septum is raised into a nearby tree and left to nature in honor of his beliefs. “These worms, they carry the necrotic disease that has been killing animals here in the woods.” Lyssa mumbles. "It's the same plague that killed hundreds of farmers at the edge of the forest generations ago, but it's been modified. It acts much faster now. " She furrows her brow trying to understand the nature of this threat. Oso ponders this for a moment then adds “If these worms carry an ancient plague and they can animate the dead as we saw with the rangers nailed to the oak trees, they are likely an evil abomination created by the Lich. Had we not taken action Septum would now serve a dark purpose for a dark master." Lyssa agrees. "Such will be the fate for many in this land if we fail at our mission. “ The ranger turns away and is silent for some time.
Missions/Quests Completed
The group makes it to Starfall Lake but are attacked by an undead creature crawling with necrotic worms. Septum is killed in the aftermath of the fight with the horrible creature.
