Session 12: The Zombie Purge Report

General Summary

As chaos was erupting throughout Toto, Aien was sneaking his way past a horde of undead now gathered at the door of the herbalist's shop trying to get at the nurse and herbalist inside. Aien made his way through the crowd and into the main fortress where he dropped his invisibility and decided to seek out the hidden passage he had found earlier. On his way there he was stopped by General Mak who was followed by a mountain of a man fully geared and ready for battle. The General questioned Aien on what he had seen before ordering him to notify the daimyo of the situation. Aien quickly agreed and headed for the daimyo's bedchambers.
Unfortunately, the two guards at the entrance saw no reason to let Aien through, especially since he had no form of identification. Frustrated, he began searching for another entrance until moments later when Daichi Tatsuo flung open the door and stormed down the hallway towards his throne room. Aien gave chase, catching a glance into the daimyo's room before catching up to the three men now marching with urgency. As he tried to relay the information to the daimyo he was met with impatient responses and a seeming indifference to the shinobi's presence. For this, Aien offered a quick apology for killing the daimyo's son before disappearing back into the shadows and heading back towards his fellow party members.
Outside, under the light of a single moon (a rare occurrence on a world with three moons), Seto was watching a horde of walking corpses begin to spill out of the tunnel leading towards the throne room from the main castle entrance. The undead were headed towards the sake den which was still playing music and echoing the sounds of revelry across the city streets.
Further into the city, Jerry and Astrea were leaving the local smithy and heading towards the sake den from the opposite direction. They knew that things were about to get ugly if they didn't act fast, sprinting towards the action, Astrea focussed solely on protecting her new friend. Jerry fell behind, cursing the fact that he was without his mount, though still managed to find a peasant in need of protection. The mouse soon caught up with Astrea who had managed to alert the patrons of the sake den to the imminent danger lurking outside.
A tabaxi captain took command, ordering his men to form a defensive formation around those unable to fend for themselves, though most of the people present were capable warriors in their own rights. Meanwhile, sounds from the main gate indicated that someone else was not far behind.
While their friends were running to the sake den and issuing their warnings, Aien and Seto had been reunited atop the wall overlooking the city and tunnel. Short on options, the pair entered the fray. Aien stuck to the rooftops providing ranged support while Seto dove into the thick of the fight, taking the horde on face to face. One sword, against a sea of gnashing teeth and grasping hands. There he made his stand.
As the first wave of undead rushed towards Seto he began making quick work of the walking corpses. In a split second, however, a zombie had grabbed a hold of his sword arm. Before he could break free, the zombie sank it's teeth into his flesh, tearing a chunk out of his arm and sending a sickening wave of hunger washing over Seto.
Knowing that his time had come, Seto recentered his mind. Focussed and ready for what lay ahead, he set aside his fear and stood his ground. One after another, the dead came at him. Biting, grabbing and grasping as he batted them aside, executing each and every assailant. As the pile of bodies grew at his feet, Seto's energy slowly began to fade, a sickness starting to take hold in his mind.
Above, Aien had been raining arrows down on the crowd, protecting Seto as best he could when an ally suddenly appeared. The shinobi from before had returned, now carrying a net filled with flasks of flammable oil. Excited, Aien signaled the shinobi to toss one over and the pair flung their flasks at the bodies filing towards the sake den. Once the trap was set, Aien lit an arrow and loosed it into the crowd, lighting the oil and sending a roaring flame high into the air, engulfing many of the remaining undead and illuminating Seto as he began vomiting blood all over the headless corpses at his feet.
Around the corner nearby, the group of survivors from the sake den was slowly and methodically moving towards safety. Astrea was at Kit's side and both of them were swearing to watch each other's backs no matter what happened next. Through the chaos, as Jerry fought off a zombie getting too close, he noticed Seto in the eye of the storm and instantly recognized his symptoms. Astrea had noticed as well and realised that their situation was dire. Thus, she closed her eyes and uttered a prayer to anyone who would listen. Thinking back on stories she heard as a child as she offered herself to the gods above, the clouds began to part. In her mind, a strangely familiar voice echoed.
Above, the heavens opened. A brilliant beam of golden light shone down on the city through the night's sky. A healing light that sobered up the samurai and helped close some recently received injuries whilst also burning the undead caught in it's light with furious divine energy. The divine magic lasted for but a moment, and yet Astrea felt a new power swell within her.
Jerry realised that Seto was still in danger of turning at any moment, despite the healing light slowing the process. So, with expert skill, he laid waste to the dead in his way and charged towards his dying friend before it was too late. Aien had already leapt to the ground and was helping Seto stay on his feet when Jerry arrived. The mouse was not a moment too soon and immediately used the last of his healing magic to cure Seto of any and all disease and poison, effectively stopping the zombie virus from taking hold just in the nick of time...
Not long after, the dead lay defeated and our heroes remained among the living. Before getting a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, a second horde of silhouettes approached from the main gate. The party readied for a fight, but as the figures drew closer, they noticed that it was in fact Jerry and Seto's new teacher leading his army of skeletons. Though tensions were high, their teacher assured them that he was on their side and helped the group get back to the throne room while his army went to deal with any remaining zombies.
This allowed the group to finally get inside the castle, safe from the horrors they had witnessed over the past few hours. There in the throne room, Daichi Tatsuo was busy speaking with General Mak while countless other samurai prepared to defend the throne room. The castle was in lockdown, siege protocol.
General Mak was the first to notice the group and seemed visibly more relaxed as soon as they entered the room, becoming very enthusiastic and singing their praises to the daimyo upon seeing that they were still alive. He credited them with defending the city and showing great bravery and skill while doing so before leaving to make sure the next guards would be equally effective.
Daichi was grateful for the service his new soldiers had provided and impressed that they had used this opportunity to prove their loyalty rather than escape. For this, he granted them all a promotion. From Ashigaru (Armed Peasants) to Hohei (Privates) in the army of the Dragon Clan. They were also given the order to Seek and Destroy anyone and everyone responsible for the attack on Toto the following morning, and with that they were allowed to reclaim their belongings and finally get some much-needed rest.

Campaign

Kiga Shogunate

Protagonists

Seto

Level 9 Tabaxi Monk - Way of the Kensei

/ 66 HP

Jerry Abershaw

Astraea Karasu

Chaotic Neutral Thylean Satyr (Astraea) (Anhropologist)
Bard 13
Warlock 6

122 / 122 HP

STR
12

DEX
18

CON
14

INT
14

WIS
16

CHA
22

Aien

0 / HP

Player Journals

The Pact by Astraea Karasu

Report Date

27 Nov 2020

Primary Location

Kiga Shogunate