Malevolent Wastes, Chapter 1: The Undertaker

General Summary

Tolvig Thundersong and Vilnathari, two strangers, work together and manipulate time itself to overcome an undead uprising in a world thats already braved one apocalypse.

Introduction to the Setting

This story takes place in a horrible land called the Malevolent Wastes, a small continent that was the center point of a horrible apocalypse. One hundred ten years ago, the vile Wizard King took the kingdom of Keoland by force. He. took the castle and called it Crow's Crest. Immediately following the start of his tyranical and malevolent reign were the appearance of the Rotspores, a fungal growth forged with the darkest Necromantic secrets.
Touching a Rotspore would rot and warp your mind as the fungus took over your motor functions and ultimately stole your agency. Even just breathing in the fumes of a Rotspore would often cause Rotplauge, a wretched disease that would eventually cause your body to rapidly decay away. Not a single person in the Malevolent Wastes knew it but they were the lucky ones.
All across the multiverse, this vile Wizard-King had spread the Rotplauge. His path of desruction was unstopabble and he had destroyed two-hundred-sixty-three other realities in his quest to destroy all life. The Wastes posed a new problem for him, however. Protecting the denizens of the Malevolent Wastes was Limonar the Light, the Wizard-King's own brother. The two battled each other for one-hundred years.
It was a sad day when the dust cleared and Limonar stood in front of the Wizard-King's statue, as a statue and trophy. A message sat engraved beneath the halted hero.

Here lies, entombed forever, Limonar. His Light was not enough to stop the natural state of blissful darkness.

Whispers spread across the land for ten years after that the Wizard-King was different now. Some whispered that he went by a new name. Some whispered that the dormant plauge would resume. But the Wizard-King was silent for 10 years, apart from the ocassional word of the other-worldly torture he would inflict on anyone near him for almost any reason.
Our story our story starts in Gravesmere, three days journey from Crow’s Crest. Gravesmere has very few features, containing only a graveyard and an inn. Named for the Rotwood Forest, The Last Forest Inn was the last stop before the forest on the journey to Crow’s Crest and it was built outside of the Rotwood for that exact reason.
Gravesmere itself was named for the rather large cemetery in town. Such a great volume of unknown adventurers died from exploring Rotswood Forest that the bodies that were recovered made a substantial graveyard right outside of its border. Eventually, a wise young couple decided to build the Last Forest Inn across from the graveyard and managed to run one of the only businesses that could operate in the apocalyptic climate of the Malevolent Wastes.

Taking on the Undertaker

Present

On this afternoon in particular, several people unknowingly driven by a much grander design were each present in the Last Forest Inn. Vilnathari, a Male Human Circle of Spores Druid, and Tolvig Thundersong, a Male Human Tempest Cleric, are talking with a Half-Elf named Elidar. They share unimportant small talk as the innkeeper, Vendi, serves them drinks. Eventually, Elidar excuses himself to leave the table.
The two Humans talk a while longer, while Vilnathari slurps on his Mold N Dew, and then the two go to their own rooms to sleep for the night and prepare for their personal missions. Not much sleep is had as they are awakened in the middle of the night by a loud banging and the collective screams of the inn's guests. The two rush downstairs and find the inn surrounded by the undead.
Vovok, Vendi's husband, and Ebbo, a Dwarven guest, begin to shore up the defenses as Zombies attempt to break the door down. Oscomb Inchgood, a Gnome tinkerer, is fiddiling with some gadget in the corner. People question his priorities, but he responds that if he can finish the device it will reverse time and they can stop the Zombie invasion.
Zombies break down the door and swarm the inn. Vovok and Ebbo are both quickly overpowered by Zombies. Then, Oscomb exclaims that the time machine is finished. As he celebrates he is grappled by another Zombie. Tolvig handily frees him from the Zombie and Oscomb, Tolvig and Vilnathari eeach look at each other, as they each reach for the device. They activate it as Vendi, the terrified barmaid, grabs hold of it too.

Future

In a maelstrom of Chromantic magic Oscomb, Tolvig, Vendi, and Vilnathari arrive in the ruins of the Last Forest Inn. It's unclear to them exactly how far ahead they've traveled, and there's no people alive to speak to. They looked around to make sure they are clear of Zombies. When they felt momentarily safe, Vilnathari cast Speak With Animals to communicate with some rats in the rubble. The rats told Vilnathari several things about their new, even bleaker circumstances.
Apparently, the Zombies were the minions of the Undertaker, a Necromancer who operated in the graveyard across from the inn. His power grew to such a level that he was eventually able to destory the Wizard-King. The Undertaker was now king of the Malevolent Wastes and only Zombies roamed the lands. The quartet reasoned that they should investigate his lair for more information, and then travel back in a time to a point when he was potentially weaker and walked towards his lair.
In front of the mausoleum they found the corpse of Elidar, he died grasping a note in his left hand. Strangely his ring finger was missing. They grabbed the note and read it.

“The dark magic was too much for him. He didn't stop at the Wizard-King. I’m sorry for my part in this, father.”

Now with greater understanding, the heroes entered the mausoleum, noticed nothing important, and activated the time machine again.

Past

Back in the past the group appeared in the mausoleum and were confronted by a powerful zombie guardian in the Undertaker's mausoleum. They cut down the undead monster and ran outside. They noticed Elidar leaving the inn and confronted him. They knew he would regret helping the Undertaker and told him of his future suicide as a precaution, but he had a hard time taking them seriously as they screamed and yelled covered in gore and Zombie juices. Mostly, he was confused how they beat him outside.
They interrogated him. "Where is the Undertaker?' they asked Elidar. "Inside the inn," Elidar lied quickly. Tolvig and Vilnathari kill the Half-Elf to prevent disaster and sprint inside the inn, stopping quickly to recruit their younger selves to their confusing mission to stop the Necromancer.
The more experienced duo take their younger iterations to Elidar's room to prove to them the situation is real and urgent. The younger iterations of heroes open a chest in Elidar's room and begin reading his journals. The journals confirm that Elidar is the apprentice of the Undertaker. They also noticed a ring. The younger Vilnathari slipped it on quickly, and the older Vilnathari found that he was wearing the same ring on his finger. The rings grant them new knowledge. The true location of the Undertaker. The pair of Tolvigs and the pair of Vilnatharis run back to the cemetery as the follow the ring's call. They notice Elidar is no longer laying dead on the ground. The older heroes follow the ring's call into a secret room, while the younger pair chase after a distant man who they think is Elidar.
The experienced Tolvig and Vilnathari barge down a hidden staircase. Vilnathari attempts to attack the Undertaker who is lying on a table gaining power. The Undertaker, senses a magic ring that gives him power over his servants, and holds Vilnathari under his control.

“How did you make two of my rings? No matter, it's for the best!" The Undertaker mocking a helpless Vilnathari

Outside, Vilnathari attempts to take out who he suspects to be Elidar, but finds himself frozen in place by the ring's magic. Tolvig quickly strikes down the target, and then turns to Vilnathari. The pair can think of only one solution.
The Undertaker readies his attack against Vilnathari, but the Druid dodges. He stands again, extending towards the Undertaker a stub that sat where his ring finger should have and knocks the Necromancer to the ground. The Undertaker is reeling from this. He is bewildered. It should be possible. He commands Elidar to flee, and the Half-Elf obeys. He ignores everything in his path. He continues running as Tolvig casts Shatter on his master. He continues running as the younger Vilnathari and Tolvig run past him towards the mausoleum. He escapes.

Aftermath

The younger Tolvig and the younger Vilnathari sprint into the secret room. They shout and scream, "We got him! We killed Elidar." The older Tolvig replies "That was quick, he just ran out of here!." "No, he was in front of the inn," the younger Tolvig replied. The older pair look at each other in horror and sprint back to the inn. They turn over the body. Oscomb burned by divine lightning, lays dead on the ground.
As the four men look at the body, Oscomb walks up from behind them. The older Tolvig reaches for the time machine, as Oscomb looked down at this younger incarnation angrily. He begin unleashing swears at the group, but was swiftly silenced as the Chronomantic magic of the time machine dissolved the rouge timelines.

Character(s) interacted with

Elidar Vendi Vovok Ebbo Undertree Oscomb Inchgood The Undertaker

Report Date

20 Apr 2020

Primary Location

Undertaker’s Lair

Secondary Location

Last Forest Inn

Related Characters

• Tolvig Thundersong
• Vilnathari