Session 23, The Treason of Ecathan

Today, our adventuring party performed! No, really. We’ve been in many fights before, but we usually fought as individuals. Today, we fought as a team.
 
Let’s recap. A Nightwalker is attacking Ecathan, spawning various undead and zombies along the way. Preparing for the encounter, we rescued a Firebird named Takanashi and the Captain of some Ecathan Rangers. Now the Nightwalker is attacking, and the citadel is being overrun. In order to intercept the Nightwalker, we need to get through a field of undead. I know… easy!
 
Eowyn casts Aid on the party twice so that she can cover the entire party. We all feel a little stronger and ready to go. She then casts something on herself and Julia to help them be able to use the scrolls provided to us by Fassad’s simulacrum. As you recall, the Nightwalker is supposed to be particularly vulnerable to the spell Fassad’s Psychic Lance. We shall put those scrolls to the test.
 
But first… the undead between us and the gate. We attack, led by a volley of arrows from the Ecathan Rangers. Eowyn scans the undead and identifies one as a Bodak, a sort of undead made by a ritual (she’s so smart). She then immediately destroys a zombie with her Illuminating Knowledge spell.
 
Eowyn’s revelation that one of the undead is a Bodak could have implications. We thought the necrotic influence of the Nightwalker spawned the undead. However, if there are undead here that can only be created by rituals, that is beyond the Nightwalker’s aura. Someone, obviously an evil necromancer, has augmented the evil forces with the Bodaks. We need to be on the lookout, as a necromancer might be on the battlefield.
 
The Firebird, Takanashi, flies in and breathes fire on a group of zombies and kills five of them. The Firebird then veers away, sensing some sort of necromantic aura. We think the aura is radiating for the Bodak. The Bodak looks at Vardai and hits her hard with some sort of Withering gaze. She’s hurt… badly. I yell at Will to “take it down.” Will fires his arrows at the Bodak, killing it. With this group of undead mostly destroyed, Will heads to the Northeast to chase another group. The Firebird follows.
 
Vardai yells her battle cry and runs into the remaining zombies. Despite her wounds, she relentlessly attacks. Julia hits some Zombies with her Psychic Blades and I follow it up with my Ice Knife spell, killing that Zombie. With only two zombies left in this group, Vardai, Julia, and I finish them quickly… my attack being a Produce Flame spell.
 
Ember, my Wildfire Spirit, teleports us closer to Will and the second group of Zombies. As we approach, Vardai is greeted with a Cure Wounds spells cast by Eowyn and delivered courtesy of her familiar, Three Willie (See Session 20, You Need a Better Nemesis for the confusion on the names). Julia’s familiar Umbra, scouts ahead and locates something big approaching from the North. It must be the Nightwalker, and we are on pace to arrive at the city gates just before it does.
 
Takanashi breathes fire again. Will is hurt due to the necromantic aura of the second Bodak. Fortunately, he is able to kill that Bodak while Eowyn heals him. I put a Spike Growth spell onto the ground centered on the Zombies. Every time they move, thorns lash at them, wearing them down. With Vardai and Julia’s arrival, we cut through the remaining zombies quickly, and then we sprint for the North gate.
 
Eowyn and I both heal the party again as we arrive at the gate.
 
Hmmm. The gate is completely undefended. The townsfolk are not evacuated. Where is the City Guard? It is almost like there is no leadership, or maybe the leadership is sacrificing the city.
 
If the city had proper leadership, every militia member and able-bodied citizen would have been on the wall. They would have been armed with enough bows and crossbows and slings to take the Nightwalker down. Several ballistae would be loaded and readied for aiming. A capital city this size should have been able to put over a hundred archers on the walls, with at least 20 of them highly skilled and proficient. Even without magical arrows, that sheer number of archers firing that many arrows at once should have handled the zombies and the Nightwalker, even with the Nightwalker’s magical resistances. Two or three volleys of arrows and the town is defended. Of course, the Lord and his Lieutenants would be in front of the wall, inspiring the militia and massing their fires. Even citizens with no militia training can learn to fire a crossbow in a very short timeframe.
 
No leadership… more likely… treason.
 
Instead, people are in the streets with no organization, ready to be slaughtered. Will dispatches the Ecathan Rangers into the streets to evacuate the townsfolk, while we approach the wall to receive the horror of the Nightwalker.
 
Within seconds, it appears through the fog. It is tall and lanky. A black, deathly mist exudes off of its body. It walks with leaping steps with a singular purpose. It has two long winding horns which look as if placed there purely to horrify the visage. Any remaining grass and vegetation wilt at its approach.
 
Eowyn is first up on the wall. She places a rope to help everyone up and readies her scroll. Vardai is next up. She throws her Lightning Javelin. I cast Aura of Life to create an aura to protect against the Necrotic Energy. Ember teleports me up onto the wall. Will joins us and fires his arrows at the Nightwalker.
 
As the Nightwalker closes in, the wood in the palisades starts to crumble and rot; the collapse of the wall is imminent. Eowyn casts the scroll; the spell incapacitates the creature and we start teleporting out of its way. We have respite for a few seconds as we all hit it with another round of attacks. Although we have hit the Nightwalker solidly, it doesn’t appear to be fazed other than the very short pause cause by the Fassad’s Psychic Lance Scroll.
 
The Nightwalker hits Vardai twice. She is still standing. Her sheer rage and perseverance, bolstered by my Aura of Life spell, are enough for her to withstand the Nightwalker’s full assault. I doubt she can withstand a second attack.
 
As this is happening, Julia reports that, as viewed through her familiar, the Ecathan Rangers are delayed in evacuating the townsfolk… they have run into a hoard of zombies inside the walls.
 
Julia then attempts to use the second (and final) scroll on the Nightwalker. Unfortunately, the scroll doesn’t seem to work. The Nightwalker hits us again. This time, I am caught in its attack… must focus on keeping up the Aura of Life… fortunately, I keep up my concentration. The Nightwalker is now completely over the wall as the wall starts to buckle.
 
I am doing ok, but Vardai is hurting. We need her axe in the fight. I promise Vardai, “I’ve got you.” I hit the Nightwalker with a Thorn Whip, and then cast Healing Word on Vardai as I follow her down the ramp to escape the crumbling wall. It appears the Nightwalker is singularly focused on some target up ahead and only attacks us when we get too close. That’s good for us, but bad for the townsfolk who still remain in the Nightwalker’s path. We hear many shouts as the Rangers are fighting the zombies and saving the townsfolk. When the Treason of Ecathan is fully revealed, today will also go down as one of the finest days ever for the Ecathan Rangers.
 
Eowyn casts her Illuminating Knowledge cantrip again twice. Julia and Will make major strikes with their ranged attacks. Vardai rushes up to the Nightwalker and hits it again with her axe. I teleport the rest of the way down to keep Vardai in my aura, and I heal her again with a Healing Word.
 
The Nightwalker hits Vardia again and then continues its march forward. Vardai is doing well, as my healing and her fortitude are keeping her in the fight. Then, Julia hits hits the Nightwalker particularly hard with her Psychic Blades. For the first time, we can see the Nightwalker diminish. We hurt it! Eowyn tries to use the Command Spell to tell it to “Halt,” which has no effect.
 
New tactics. Eowyn delivers a shocking grasp through Three Willie. The shocking grasp doesn’t do much damage, but it slows the reactions of the Nightwalker. This allows the Rangers ahead of the Nightwalker to withdraw, and it allows the Firebird to attack without getting counterattacked by the Nightwalker. Now we have another combatant in the mix, as Takanashi starts actively blocking the Nightwalker’s path.
 
The Nightwalker attacks the Firebird. Takanashi is ok, but probably can only take one or two more of those attacks. By attacking Takanashi, Vardai receives a respite from the blows, allowing my constant healing to make up some ground on Vardai. Eowyn cast Shocking Grasp again to allow the Firebird to reposition. Vardai uses one of her Ancestral abilities to protect the Firebird and the Rangers, as the Nightwalker can’t focus on other targets.
 
Crap! We are out of time… the Nightwalker has reached the inner wall. We see the royal family bound and tied, laid out as sacrifices to the Nightwalker... this is now confirmed as treason. One more step and the royal family will fall into the Nightwalker’s aura and die.
 
Will pulls back on his Dreadful Bow, the magical bow we picked up back in the Necromancer’s tower (See Session 14, Exploring the Tower), and delays just a second. He is clearly ensuring his aim is true. His arrow flies and strikes the Nightwalker. The Nightwalker dissipates! We did it!
 
Eowyn channels a Destroy Undead aura to clean up the remaining zombies as Will rushes to the family. He unties and kisses (maybe not in that order) the person who is most likely the prince. The Archbishop is present. He is clearly responsible for the Treason. Grandma Willow appears, probably through one of her portals. She disposes of the Archbishop as we free the remaining family.
 
It becomes apparent rather quickly that there was a love triangle between the prince (who’s name is Prince Chandler), his wife Clara, and Will. Will and the Chandler’s relationship was hidden under the auspices of “Duty” to the royal family and his public marriage to Clara, now revealed as an arranged, loveless marriage. This relationship explains Will’s strange behavior back when he kept getting drunk and thrown in jail. (For more on the story, read George Sanders’ short story Dream of Ancient Castle Stairs in the anthology Written by Candlelight Vol 1, edited by Sersa Victory, available of DriveThruFiction.com)
 
 
Things wrap up rather quickly as we give Will and the royal family space, and we look forward to a good meal and a long rest.
 
 
• Thank you to George Sanders, his Anhult Campaign, and World Anvil. Thank you to Lassastrix for proofing.