Aegon and the Troupe descend further into the Ulcaster School Ruins, fighting their way through the undead minions that now plague the old classrooms. The survivors of Recorder’s former expedition retreat to the surface as the Troupe fights their way deeper into the dark to face the necromancer within.
2 Eleasias 1368
Khalid leads us away from the shells of the spiders in their nest. The smaller spiders that still scurry around the webs don’t seem fazed by our slaying of their kin. We know many will grow to the same size again. The spiders are dead, but the nest isn’t.
There was another corridor leading away from the main chamber and Khalid. Khalid leads us down the corridor, Varscona gleaming in the dim torchlight. The air here is damp and carries the howls of distant wolves.
He disturbs two large wolves, perhaps dire wolves, who both turn to face him. As soon as they see Khalid’s steel their form shifts within the shadows, and they stand on their hind legs, taking on an almost humanoid form and howl as they rush the half-elf.
I call to Khalid through the snarls to fall back. He moves with precision, drawing the wolf-creatures into the corridor. I tell the others we can use this as a choke point, picking them off one at a time.
As we form up up in the main chamber, more wolves round the corner, their paws pattering on the stone floor. Their guttural growls echo around the room and we can smell the faint tang of blood. These must be the wolf-creatures pets, here to protect their masters.
The strategy works: Khalid and Verr’Sza hold the wolves off at the corridor. White strikes one of the lupines with an Arrow of Flame, setting fur and flesh alight.
The wolf-creature responds by biting Verr’Sza who lets out a painful hiss. I call upon the Weave for a Lightning Bolt, which sends the creature convulsing as electricity consumes its now-glowing corpse.
Verr’Sza pulls away from the clutching the open wound in his stomach. He is hissing loudly, clearly in pain. He takes a moment to drink a Potion of Healing and the wound starts to close. Cat takes his place holding the line at the corridor.
We try to reposition ourselves to better aim at the wolves in the corridor, but Recorder moves in too close and the remaining wolf-man slashes at her, tearing open her left arm. She calls out for a potion as she retreats back into the chamber. Verr’Sza hears her call and throws her a Potion of Healing.
The lupine is fighting to its last, growling and slashing wildly. It’s claws rip through my armour and it bites down on Cat who lets out a mrowr! I see my familiar bleeding out and I can feel his life draining away, just as he can feel mine. Is this it? Corellon save us!
Cat struggles free and escapes, and rushes to the far end of the chamber. Without his help, the wolves push us back into the main chamber. Khalid is surrounded now, fending off claws and teeth from all directions.
I know he won’t last long, so I quickly down a Potion of Critical Healing before using my Wand of Lightning to destroy the second wolf-creature. It continues to spasm after the last of the lightning fades from its corpse.
Without their masters, the dire wolves are slaughtered quickly. Recorder clutches her arm, both hands shaking. Through exasperated breaths she asks if she will catch their disease. Of course. These were lycanthropes and three of us were wounded by them. Shit. We might be infected.
I look to Verr’Sza. I’m not sure if Rakshasha is immune – he’s a shapeshifter already. He seems calm, simply licking his wounds. He looks up at us and realises what is happening and starts to laugh.
Before I can get too annoyed he explains: their primary form was a dire wolf, not that of a normal wolf, and they were able to change despite it not being a full moon. That means they are wolfweres, not werewolves, and they cannot pass on the disease of lycanthropy.
I feel a bit dumb. I already knew about wolfweres from my studies at the Keep. But panic had set in and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I know that wolfweres are intelligent and usually work alone. Why they would be guarding a necromancer I have no idea.
I turn to my familiar, who is licking his bloody wounds. He assures me that he is fine, but I want to ensure he remains alive.
Aegon: Come here. I want to pick you up and put you in my pack, where it’s a bit safer.
The familiar eyes my pack for a moment, and then reluctantly crawls inside.
Cat: Very well. It is better that you carry me. Do not bump me around so much this time, however.
Khalid takes point again, and we move deeper into the dungeon. Howls pierce the air once more and Khalid sees the now-familiar sight of wolves. These wolves don’t howl, but their bones crack as they move, and the smell of rotten flesh precedes them.
Khalid draws them back just as he did the wolfweres, and one of the dread wolves runs into a flurry of arrows.
Its partner meets the same fate. The necromancer must be raising the wolves who have died to reinforce their army of minions.
Khalid finds a lone wolfwere while leading us into another chamber. The wolfwere extends its claws and runs at Khalid.
He calls back to us as he draws it around the corner into our line of sight. As soon as he is around the corner I call on him to duck as I raise my Wand of Lightning. Bright electrical sparks leap over Khalid and into the wolfwere. It convulses as electricity flows through it. Unfortunately, it recovers quickly and starts tearing and biting through Khalid’s armour.
Verr’Sza throws another Potion of Healing to him. After he drinks the potion he swings his Varscona with such force it rips the wolfwere in two. Khalid comments that these creatures are tough, but our strategy of drawing them into the tight corridors seems to work well.
Two is unusual. Three is a pattern. The wolfweres must be working with the necromancer, but why? I ask Recorder and she doesn’t know enough about the creatures. Verr’Sza suggests that they may seek immortality, but it is still strange that so many of them would work together. He conjectures that they are probably being manipulated by the necromancer. A necromancer is still a wizard, after all.
Recorder says she has learned more about dungeon crawling after seeing such efficiency in taking down the wolfwere. She says she is more confident we will beat the necromancer now, and knows we will not betray her as he did.
She gets 1 more Weapon Proficiency which I place in Darts. She also gets 20 more Skill Points which I use to increase Open Locks and Find Traps. She also gets 1 more Hit Point.
We go into the wolfwere’s chambers and find it empty. The walls in this chamber are cracked and crumbling, and one side looks more like a cave-in than a wall. Before we can search the room thoroughly, Recorder spots the makings of a trap and calls for us to back away..
She cheers after she successfully disarms it, and we examine the strange-looking wall. There seems to be some stairs leading down, and I swear I can hear some faint whispers. Recorder says that this isn’t where her party was when the necromancer betrayed them. She says we should double back and find the place where Sir Mark is being held.
There is another dungeon added by a mod here, but I want to fight the necromancer before I descend to the next level.
Recorder leads us around to another passageway where she thinks the betrayal occurred. Bones crunch underfoot as we move through. There is a charred corpse on the opposite side of this chamber, so she checks the area for traps before the rest of us go in. She finds a rune that would trigger a spell if we got close to it.
Thankfully, her newfound confidence allows her to easily disable the trap without setting it off.
Khalid checks the charred remains and finds a surprising amount of equipment that has survived. Recorder is able to tell us that the darts we find are infused with the power of fire.
This reminds her of the darts we found on another corpse down here, and she asks to take a look at them. She realises that these ones are infused with the power of ice.
Khalid also finds a zircon gem and 38 gold on the corpse.
There are also some arrows remaining in what is left of the corpse’s quiver. 3 that we cannot identify, and 2 that carry a strong poison.
There is also a cloak attached to the corpse that is completely unscathed. It is obviously a magical cloak, but we cannot fathom its enchantments. Khalid tries it on and he seems to fade as his form becomes blurred. It is giving him some kind of camouflage.
Inside the cloak, Khalid finds an old, ornate key. We can only speculate what the key might unlock. There may be a chest of drawers or a cabinet within the school that it can open. Then again, if the body is from another adventurer or one of Recorder’s expedition, it could unlock anything.
Something tells me it might be a good idea to keep this body safe. One less corpse for the necromancer to play with. So Khalid puts it into the Bag of Holding.
Recorder says that we are close. She remembers running through this chamber when she first fled the necromancer. She knows Sir Mark is nearby. Has to be, in fact.
I start to get a headache when I look at the corridor ahead. Visions of death start swirling around in my mind again, skeletons and wolves tearing at my flesh this time. I can almost feel their teeth slowly crushing my skull as I see the corpses of companions around me.
Yeah, this necromancer was a tough fight – I died and had to replay it a fair few times.
I tell Khalid to stop and wait. We must be close to the necromancer, but we need to take time to prepare. White has good aim, so he takes the Arrows of Biting and other enchanted arrows we have been holding in our Ammo Belts. We check our weapons and White takes notice of Bashrik’s Hammer.
Yes, White. I’m a priest, after all. Corellon forbids the use of bladed weapons. I suggest we rest so we can prepare our magic. As we set up a defensive camp we hear the creaking of bones and the howl of another dread wolf. The necromancer is sending his scouts!
Jaheira cracks open the skeleton’s skull and it is no longer a threat. The dread wolf decides to take on Khalid despite his blurred visage.
Khalid drives Varscona deep into the beast’s side, a growl rumbling through its chest as it collapses. A swift strike of his shield ensures it doesn’t rise again, the cracking of its skull echoing through the school.
We set up a makeshift camp and take turns keeping watch. None of the necromancer’s minions return, and we are able to recover our strength and prepare our magic for the upcoming fight. During our rest, Recorder expresses her hesitance to continue. She feels she betrayed her companions just as much as the necromancer did.
I remind her that she is the only one who came back with help. The only one who cared enough to do so. She smiles for a brief moment, then thanks me. My headache fades away, as do the visions. We may have a chance now.
Before we continue into the chamber I ask for Corellon to bless us with bravery, to Remove Fear from us. A necromancer’s insanity can easily affect the mind, as can their minions. We need to keep our heads together if we are to win this coming fight.
Verr’Sza and White seem unchanged in their composure. But I can see the calm on the other’s faces, especially on Recorder. I feel a bit relaxed myself. We are ready. I look to Khalid. He knows it’s time to go.
Khalid cautiously follows the corridor down, Recorder behind him keeping an eye out for traps. On the walls of the next chamber we can barely make out some strange glyphs in the dim torchlight. We aren’t alone here – Recorder points out the man who betrayed her and her companions. We have found the necromancer’s domain.
He is wearing the robes of a wizard, and a blood-stained book hangs from his belt. With one hand he pets the deep red fur of a large wolf – this one larger than any we have encountered thus far. He is talking to a human woman in leather armour, and sword at the ready.
At the back of the room I can make out a skeleton holding on to a heavily armoured man in the flickering torchlight. He sways back and forth as if in a trance. I recognise him from the time I saw him at the Keep. This is Sir Mark!
We move slowly, though we know little of stealth. The necromancer locks eyes with Recorder as soon as we enter the chamber and his eyes widen. He is surprised to see her come back. He eyes up the rest of us slowly and scoffs.
Ruby turns her head, and is clearly relieved to see us with the gnome.
Ruby: Recorder! Your timing is perfect.
Recorder: We’re here! Mark, hang in there!
Sir Mark Harmon: Ghn…
Ruby: The odds are against you now, Harris. You will pay for your betrayal.
She points at him with her sword in challenge.
Rick: Hasty, hasty… these others are not as invested. Perhaps they will listen to reason.
Ruby turns to look at us again, her eyes pleading us for our help. She needn’t worry. We don’t plan on listening to another mad necromancer. They are a plague on the Coast.
Aegon: You are so desperate to think you can talk past us? Think again.
Rick: Do you know what they would do if they found anything of worth in here? Put it in some case and file it as a collection, something to be admired.
What a waste of something useful. *I* will use the magic knowledge I’ve found here for what it should be… in a caster’s hands.
He raises his hands as he says this, as if to emphasise his point.
Surely you agree? In fact, let us walk from each other in peace and I will grant you one of the scrolls I have found.
Is that it? He just wants power for himself? He doesn’t seem as mad as the other necromancers we have thought. But he’s already betrayed and killed his companions. Why would it be any different for us?
Aegon: And let justice go unpunished? The people you killed unanswered for? I think not.
Rick: You underestimate my power. Let me show you who is in control. Prepare to become one with eternity.
His voice reverberates and gets louder as he says this. He raises his hands again and starts to make a familiar gesture. This time we know it’s a threat. He’s talking to the Weave.
Ruby advances on the necromancer. Khalid draws his Varscona. Verr’Sza and White take aim at Rick Harris. The rest of us prepare for a magical duel.
Shadows bounce around the room as the skeleton releases Sir Mark and lurches toward us. The demonic wolf lets out a bloodcurdling howl that I swear could be heard on the surface.
It’s time to kill another necromancer.
