Briggs Disappearances
Structure
Exposition
Shortly after Team 12 finished their assignment inside of Zalesh, a string of disappearances began to occur in Briggs. They were a rarity at first, but they quickly became a frequent occurrence that affected multiple areas of the region. The regional army was called into investigate and try to find leads regarding the cases, but their effectiveness was moot at best. Their training was in combat, not investigation and deduction. The only leads they could find were that gnolls were involved in the kidnappings, but otherwise, they were unable to find evidence of a base of operations. The disappearances continued and the frequency increased as the locations began to move west towards the coast. Without any other option, Zilvaroth requested the assistance of the Defense Force.
Team 12 was assigned to the case, due to their success down in Zalesh, but also the circumstances regarding the situation. The group had found evidence of gnolls in Zalesh and now they were popping up in Briggs? It was too much of a coincidence to disregard. After sending his request, Zilvaroth received a letter from Team 10 seeking a cooperative assignment with the 12's. At the behest and nagging of 10's leader, Nadia, Zilvaroth acquiesced and filed a referendum on his request, allowing Team 10 to join along.
Both teams met up at the border between Alezar and Ruxan, introducing each other and forming some bonds. With both teams now together, they set off north towards Briggs.
Rising Action
The group ran across a few conflicts along the way, some within themselves and others external. Tensions between some of the more prolific characters of Team 10 began to arise between members of Team 12. The Kobold Snek and Tiefling Pain and Depression were the main culprits, often causing discourse. Nadia's secrecy of both her and her brother's backgrounds also made it difficult for 12 to trust the rest of Team 10. The groups also had general disagreements in how to effectively lead their groups. Team 12 functions as an independent, free-thinking group that doesn't have a specified leader, while 10 was led by Nadia herself, and she controlled their assignments, as well as how they conducted themselves. Despite the internal affairs, the groups did complement each other in combat and were able to move past their differences enough to work alongside each other.
Once the groups arrived in Briggs, they began to make their way towards Zapusk. The group made a small detour due to the encouragement of Demetrius and Torvin to hunt a pack of yetis that had crossed their path. The chase led the group towards the ruins of Izgoy ot Gora, the abandoned town in shambles and practically desolate. After slaying the yetis, the portcullis that barred entry into the Severnaya Valley opened up to reveal an upset Frost Giant. This was now the second species of Giant that the groups had encountered in the last few weeks, which was an oddity considering the giants were supposed to be a near-extinct race. Realizing they were tired and likely out of their league at the moment, they made the wise choice to flee the area and resume their journey to Zapusk.
The groups split up when they arrived, each member going off to pursue their own separate tasks and gather information about the disappearances. After collecting what they could and finishing their personal desires, everyone reconvened at a local bar to share the gathered information and have a bite to eat. A poisoning that was meant for Torvin ended up affecting another bar patron, but quick thinking by Torvin led to the man being saved. The perceptive party managed to follow the assumed culprit into the snowy north of Zapusk, just away from Torvin's cabin. The culprit was revealed to be The Ranger, Torvin's niece. She wished him well, but also demanded that he stop helping Maru, due to the blood rivalry between the two families. Torvin's adamant refusal seemed to anger her, as she responded that she would not hold back against him when the time came. She took her leave and the parties journeyed to the cabin for a night's rest.
The following morning was the last day in Zapusk for the teams, as they departed to the west for Mestechko ot Okean. They came across a grisly scene of a slaughtered Eladrin and their followers. Investigation by Maru revealed they were slaughtered by a hag local to the area, utilizing creatures like Nightmares as subordinates. The Eladrin's dagger ended up in Igni's possession, and due to her fey nature, transferred the Eladrin's task of killing the hag to her.
Climax
The morning of the day the group was set to arrive in Mestechko, they awoke to fire, smoke and screams in the distance. They gathered their equipment and made haste in the direction towards the village. They were greeted by Kharne gnolls slaughtering village inhabitants, destroying property and causing havoc. As they readied themselves for combat, they were joined by a village local, an Ursinefolk named Birna Kinok. The guards at the gate stood no chance against the combined might of the party and were quickly felled with little effort. The lock they had enchanted the gate with was also bypassed by Althos' quick thinking and timely usage of spells to blast a hole large enough for the party to infiltrate. Once inside they saw the carnage that had been brought on the village.
People lie dead in the paths; children were hiding underneath the burning rubble of houses and shops. The gnolls were not the only creatures that were here, either. They were utilizing demons and necromancy, aspects of gnoll war not commonly used for simple raids. This was something more important to them than just a simple attack on a village. There was no other way to solve this other than fighting their way through the gnolls till they could find the leaders, so the group steeled themselves for a grinding slog. They were descended on by waves of enemies that didn't seem to end. When one gnoll fell, another one replaced it, only fueled by its comrade's demise, all the while the gnolls not involved in the midst of the fight slaughtered more residents of the village. Anytime there was some headway made in the number of gnolls, it seemed that another type of creature would appear, as well.
A Barlgura and Shoosuva, demons commonly given to Yeenoghu's followers, were among the ranks attacking the party. The charging barlgura wreaked havoc amongst the village, destroying buildings and separating the party into two groups, while the Shoosuva nearly killed Torvin and Birna both when they ended up isolated against it. Matters were only made worse when both demons revived upon their supposed deaths. To top it all off, a demonically enhanced gnoll known as a Flind jumped into the fray with the group and combined its attacks with the Shoosuva. Despite the increasing numbers and stacked odds against them, the 12's were able to hold their own and push back against the onslaught.
The normal gnolls stayed dead, and a single gnoll was no match for any one of the group members. Through attrition and perseverance, the group finally made it into the center of town where they could gather a clean view of the situation and fight with purpose. They regrouped despite the Barlgura's earlier separation, and with the use of spells, locked down the demons in a way that immediately upon their revival would die once more. The lone Flind, despite its strength, could not continue the fight against the forces of seven capable soldiers all bearing down on him with spells, attacks and enchantments. Torvin dealt the last blow to the desperate Flind, decapitating it with a powerful and swift strike; the Flind's death also caused the demons to stop reviving, and permanently sent their souls back to the Abyss.
The conflict was far from over, however. The group noticed the Ranger to the southern end of the town, just outside the front door of a church. The church was surrounded by members of Torvin's family and was at the center of a demonic ritual symbol. Torvin made an effort to talk his niece down from whatever they were planning, but he instead incited her into recalling the event that led to their families slaughter, a piece of information he didn't want revealed: Their family was the group that assassinated Simeon Tinderhoof, Maru's father, with Rey'viri's assistance. She taunted the minotaur and her uncle, calling it ironic how they do the dirty work for the Council when they're the ones most responsible for their troubles. With discourse set into the party, she then initiated the symbol that was engrained in the church grounds.
Torvin made a valiant effort to stop it but was unsuccessful. As the church was engulfed in a demonic radiance, the sounds of pained screams and death wails from sacrifices inside the church doors pierced the party's ears. The lights and sounds died out after a few minutes of them continuing. Something seemed off, though no one but Torvin could understand why. The familiar scent of Klonghyr Kharne leaked from the church and the gigantic gnoll made his presence known. The doors to the church flew off their hinges, revealing the gnoll and his massive stature. Taunts and teasings immediately flew from his mouth while he observed where he was and who was around.
Falling Action
As Klonghyr paced towards the group, he made threats, mocked them, and further incited discourse within the party by recalling more details about the events of Simeon's death. Despite having ample targets to fight, he picked out Maru as his desired target and demanded Torvin hand him over, on the threat that he would gnoll-ify every villager left alive if Maru didn't face him. It looked as if the group would have to fight this foe they knew they had no chance against, only for the spirit of Simeon to take corporeal form and stop him in his tracks. Nothing at this point made any sense, but the situation deepened further when the Obsidian dragon rose from the southern mountain ranges. Now faced with no hope left, the situation seemed bleak for the heroes, only for fortune to call their name. The Obsidian dragon caused some form of spacial warp that removed both Klonghyr and his family, along with Simeon's body and itself to other locations. The fight was over.
Resolution
With the fighting finished, both teams focused their efforts on helping the injured and halting further damage to the village. Demetrius and Igni took to healing the wounded with their divine powers, while the stronger members such as Snek, Torvin and Soren began to remove the rubble and debris of the destroyed buildings. The teams partook in an extended stay to aid the village in rebuilding as much as possible. While it wasn't enough to restore the village to what it was before, they helped to get them back on their feet. During this stay, the 12's made friends with Birna, who had just found out that the gnolls had kidnapped her mentor during the attack. Knowing that the group would encounter them one day again, she decided to join with the group and accompanied them on the rest of their journey.
Defense Force 10 elected to stay in the village for another couple weeks to help rebuild and saw Team 12 off on their departure to the capital. They finished their business within the capital and saw to Igni's business with the hag, then returned to their home base in Ruxan. However, the attitude towards Torvin and Reyviri may have been permanently altered due to their involvement with the dark side of Draconia's political sphere.
Mestechko Aftermath
by
StaticStar1 via Openart
An aerial view of the destruction caused by the Kharne clans attack.
Completion Date
3/12/2023 (Real Time), 10/13/3045 (In game)
3/12/2023 (Real Time), 10/13/3045 (In game)
Plot type
Major Act
Parent Plot
Related Characters
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