Session 18 - The many colors of danger
General Summary
From Hassan's Journal, Martius 16
Scouting the village
After scouting the southeastern area of the fortress part of Lugdunum, we decided to explore the rest of the sewers, and then emerged to the sweet, sweet daylight, and mostly fresh air of the adjacent village. The broken walls of the inner fortress buildings were nothing compared to the devastation of every home and dwelling that used to be the village. It was worse than the inn at the waystation -- the walls were burned and ruined, ceilings collapsed, and rubble everywhere. We did see some of the lizardfolk and their mounts close to the fortress walls, guarding the entrance. Worse, we could hear the cries of the wyvern soaring through the air above, and realized there was not much shelter from being seen. Instead of leaving Lugdunum entirely, we decided to return into the fortress, through those horrid sewers, and try to find some more information, perhaps back in the Principia. Our goal was also, to finally surprise and capture one of the lizardfolk, and interrogate it for answers about their presence here, and anything we could glean from it. Red, Blue, and Green!
Well we certainly found something! We reached the Principia, and saw one of the blue toad creatures loitering about. I couldn't tell if it was the same one as before, but this presented the perfect opportunity to capture it, even if it wasn't one of the walking lizards. It was alone, and appeared to be muttering something to itself. Despite its vicious looking hook-like claws, it certainly seemed to be more than a beast, so we went ahead with the plan. However, as soon as we started to attack it, not only did a red toadie stroll right inside, but a third one appeared from nowhere! It was green, larger than the rest, and I could see a definite sinister look in its eyes. It had a staff, and even from where I stood, I could sense something arcane about its presence. It stared at us, at me it seemed, for a few moments then just disappeared. That's when the dice started rolling in my head. Things happened quickly after that. The red and blue toadies were on us, and it took quite a bit of effort to defeat them. Just one of the surprising moments, for me, at least, was their resistance to the fire, and cold, and lightning that I threw at them. It still surprises me sometime to this day, that I can make the impossible happen. But when the impossible does happen, and lightning leaps from my hands, it's supposed to flatten whatever gets hit by it, not just shrugged off with a growl! Anyway, no one died, except the blue toadie, and we were able to subdue the red one. Let the interrogation begin... What are the chances I could sense the thoughts of a creepy red toad creature that looked like it wanted to do something worse than eat me? Quite high, actually. It had thoughts, but nothing more than the destruction of our civilization, and something revolting -- I sensed it wanted to transform us in some way. As I was reading this part of it's mind it looked toward where it had injured Laura, then locked eyes with me, and I could feel its craving. I couldn't take it anymore after that, and stepped away from it. I relayed to the others what I learned, which caused Bandua to kill it straightaway. That's when I could swear I heard the cry of a woman just to the east. It was strange, and sounded...off... I wanted to find out what it was, but Kleeck insisted that we leave the area before more of the creatures showed up. As we headed towards the bathing area, I bumped into something unseen but solid. Before I could even react, the green toadie appeared with a guttural laugh, and attacked us with arcane skill. We tried to spread out, but it engulfed us in flame before we could move farther away. I have to say, that hurt quite a bit, and now I know what it feels like. Thankfully, it was not alone, and did not have the fortune of reinforcements. We were able to slay it without getting too injured. While part of me wished I could see its thoughts, a bigger part was glad it was dead, and I did not have to try, if I even could again. We still hadn't completed our last objective, and that was to hopefully find more information about the fall of Lugdunum, and whatever plans these toad and lizard creatures might have for the Empire. We got lucky. In what looked to be the meeting room of the Praetorium, we found a map with lines extending from a point inside the Empire to various cities, including Roma. What this means, I'm not sure, but if I were a betting man, I'd say this looked like a battle map, with the cities being targets for invasion.... Imagine an army of red and blue thinking beasts that can smash stone with their claws, sicken defending soldiers, and use the strangeness of the arcane against any that stood before them. What are the chances we will survive?
After scouting the southeastern area of the fortress part of Lugdunum, we decided to explore the rest of the sewers, and then emerged to the sweet, sweet daylight, and mostly fresh air of the adjacent village. The broken walls of the inner fortress buildings were nothing compared to the devastation of every home and dwelling that used to be the village. It was worse than the inn at the waystation -- the walls were burned and ruined, ceilings collapsed, and rubble everywhere. We did see some of the lizardfolk and their mounts close to the fortress walls, guarding the entrance. Worse, we could hear the cries of the wyvern soaring through the air above, and realized there was not much shelter from being seen. Instead of leaving Lugdunum entirely, we decided to return into the fortress, through those horrid sewers, and try to find some more information, perhaps back in the Principia. Our goal was also, to finally surprise and capture one of the lizardfolk, and interrogate it for answers about their presence here, and anything we could glean from it. Red, Blue, and Green!
Well we certainly found something! We reached the Principia, and saw one of the blue toad creatures loitering about. I couldn't tell if it was the same one as before, but this presented the perfect opportunity to capture it, even if it wasn't one of the walking lizards. It was alone, and appeared to be muttering something to itself. Despite its vicious looking hook-like claws, it certainly seemed to be more than a beast, so we went ahead with the plan. However, as soon as we started to attack it, not only did a red toadie stroll right inside, but a third one appeared from nowhere! It was green, larger than the rest, and I could see a definite sinister look in its eyes. It had a staff, and even from where I stood, I could sense something arcane about its presence. It stared at us, at me it seemed, for a few moments then just disappeared. That's when the dice started rolling in my head. Things happened quickly after that. The red and blue toadies were on us, and it took quite a bit of effort to defeat them. Just one of the surprising moments, for me, at least, was their resistance to the fire, and cold, and lightning that I threw at them. It still surprises me sometime to this day, that I can make the impossible happen. But when the impossible does happen, and lightning leaps from my hands, it's supposed to flatten whatever gets hit by it, not just shrugged off with a growl! Anyway, no one died, except the blue toadie, and we were able to subdue the red one. Let the interrogation begin... What are the chances I could sense the thoughts of a creepy red toad creature that looked like it wanted to do something worse than eat me? Quite high, actually. It had thoughts, but nothing more than the destruction of our civilization, and something revolting -- I sensed it wanted to transform us in some way. As I was reading this part of it's mind it looked toward where it had injured Laura, then locked eyes with me, and I could feel its craving. I couldn't take it anymore after that, and stepped away from it. I relayed to the others what I learned, which caused Bandua to kill it straightaway. That's when I could swear I heard the cry of a woman just to the east. It was strange, and sounded...off... I wanted to find out what it was, but Kleeck insisted that we leave the area before more of the creatures showed up. As we headed towards the bathing area, I bumped into something unseen but solid. Before I could even react, the green toadie appeared with a guttural laugh, and attacked us with arcane skill. We tried to spread out, but it engulfed us in flame before we could move farther away. I have to say, that hurt quite a bit, and now I know what it feels like. Thankfully, it was not alone, and did not have the fortune of reinforcements. We were able to slay it without getting too injured. While part of me wished I could see its thoughts, a bigger part was glad it was dead, and I did not have to try, if I even could again. We still hadn't completed our last objective, and that was to hopefully find more information about the fall of Lugdunum, and whatever plans these toad and lizard creatures might have for the Empire. We got lucky. In what looked to be the meeting room of the Praetorium, we found a map with lines extending from a point inside the Empire to various cities, including Roma. What this means, I'm not sure, but if I were a betting man, I'd say this looked like a battle map, with the cities being targets for invasion.... Imagine an army of red and blue thinking beasts that can smash stone with their claws, sicken defending soldiers, and use the strangeness of the arcane against any that stood before them. What are the chances we will survive?
Rewards Granted
1,100 Experience Points
Missions/Quests Completed
Campaign Milestone: Find the Mysterious Map from Lugdunum
Report Date
07 Nov 2020
Primary Location
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