3/7/214 - Report of Walter Lefkaris
General Summary
We set out from Gatefall to the Southeast to clear the area of Monsters and search for a suitable campsite. We encountered these strange boulders on the road. They appeared to be moving. Ma'ago's Skeletons shot it and they stood up to be giant frogs. Another type of large evil frogs. I'm calling them Rocklicks. Ma'ago said they were Frog Fiends. So anyway, I started casting. I shot at one with my new Chromatic Orb. It was excellent. The other one trundled towards us and then it teleported in a cloud of shadow to the ridge above us. The Rocklicks can fucking teleport?! Also they have massive tongues that they can shoot out and grab a man at up to 15 feet. Fucking evil frogs. How many of these things are there in this place?! We killed them. It took Wounds like any beast. But upon "death" it vanished into a shadowy mist like it was not corporeal. Iskender theorizes it was summoned to this plane by a magic user.
We pressed on and made camp. Iskender's owl saw these shimmering blue spectral shapes waiting for us to go to sleep. We encountered three Banshees. Their screams made my ears bleed once again. One of them saw an illusion of herself and lost her shit, referring to her death on her wedding day. All three of their screams were too much and I blacked out. Vadim got me up again and I killed one of the banshees with my sword. Their spirits seemed to be at peace when we destroyed them all. We pressed on without incident.
We found two possible sites for the Militia's outpost. The first was a clearing surrounded and obscured by high ridges that was very defensible. The outpost was more hidden from view in the air. The enemy could approach from a couple of narrow valley passes, which are good choke points, but it is harder to surround and easier to escape. The enemy could climb the ridges to gain height over the outpost, but guns can mitigate that so it's worth the risk.
The second option was the Panther cave Herris and a previous scouting party had encountered. Now empty, it was the most defensible location. It had a single choke point and sneaking up on the entrance was all but impossible. However, it was smaller than the valley, visible from the air, and it offered no escape should the enemy approach and lay siege to it. Perhaps it should be kept in mind for a secondary outpost. We chose to set camp in the valley.
We sent a message back to Gatefall and awaited reinforcements. Vadim built a literal polished wall. Iskender and I scouted the area around the camp. No immediate threats, but after a 20-30 minute walk away we found tracks. The indentations appeared to be boney feet without flesh. Undead. Two sets of tracks that looked almost coordinated like they were scouting. We followed. The tracks met up with others to be a set of 5 or 6. We pressed on to see a soft yellow glow in the direction of the track. Iskender pressed on and saw a camp in a small clearing. He observed undead manning the camp organized in a military fashion with good quality equipment. They were keeping watch. Also next to the tent was a strange red bulbous glistening mass. Iskender believed it a large fleshy undead curled up on itself in an inactive state. Iskender peaked into the tent and said he saw a pale man with white hair. He wore Armor that had the appearance of ribs. Unknown if he was undead but Iskender is reasonably sure he's with the Cult. There were 10 Skeletons, 3 Undead Horses, the fleshy mass, and the leader.
Iskender set an alarm spell, which triggered in the night. He woke us and we believed the undead were scouting our camp. We set off after them and Iskender took out the two scouts. We looted a shortbow, studded leather armor, breastplate, longsword, and shield. They weren't magical but they were in good condition for undead. Their master must have animated them and put the new gear on them. The breastplate has a symbol in it. Five runes in a pentagon pattern with a sixth rune in the corner. The symbol of the Sixfold seal. This is indeed a cult force. We destroyed the bodies and decided to confront them.
Iskender and Ma'ago moved ahead to arrange a surprise attack on the Cult camp. I waited behind since I could not hide. I heard the leader's name was Siamun. I did not hear the prior conversation. He said he was from Imaskar, the country to the south. They appear to be moving in to conquer what remains of the Archaean Empire. Iskender was negotiating with them. They didn't attack us on sight like the Zarites. He apologized for the animal-like undead that had attacked us and sought to negotiate with us.
He said he learned his craft of necromancy through many years of study. They clearly have infrastructure and civilization. He said his people had studied the undead for thousands of years. Focused on life, death, and second life. Necromancy is their culture and even the undead there have a feudal caste system based on their stature in life. They claim they are retaking their lands the Archaean Empire took from them.
I asked him about The Plague-Death. He said only a God could have brought that curse upon Archaea. He didn't know if his Goddess caused it, but they are certainly taking advantage of the opportunity. He agreed to withdraw as a gesture of good faith. He said they would return to discuss terms. We agreed. He gave us a choice of a gift and we chose the Wand of the War Mage.
I asked Siamun more questions. He said the city of Sirmium was overrun with undead. He said he had never seen a magic like the Plague Death in his lifetime. He said they only worshipped the one goddess and she can be very jealous. I vaguely referred to Pholtus and his propensity for...jealousy. Siamun said the prospects of peace would depend on whether our gods could get along. Something far beyond our capabilities. True to his word, the Imaskari left the next morning. We shored up our position and on the 4th day, the Militia arrived. The Gatefall Militia captain said the Imaskari symbol was the same as on the Obelisk. Perhaps the path to understanding the Obelisk lies to the south in Imaskar. We hereby name this fort Fort Ridge.
Rewards Granted
300 Guilders, 1x Permit redeemable for Militia escort in Ceefar Grasslands or Fal'ithri Woods, 1655 XP
Missions/Quests Completed
Created Content
Report Date
20 Jun 2023
Primary Location
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