Graveyard of Empires

Session 64 – July 8, 2015

Fulbrecht is pounding on the glass, as we approach the southern locker room. A klaxon can be heard  from above. Our lead group ascends to the Human research gallery where the klaxon is blaring over a familiar scene. Talon and the Mercs have recovering from a melee with the Undead Ogre last seen behind the west vivisection room. Talon reports the Mercs’ success, an unconscious Xelina was the price. He also point to one pedestal near the glass. Its’ ethereal display now says in ancient dwarven “ unauthorized tampering, desynchronized cells detected, security has been notified, if this is an error access the security program.” We did it again….

On top of the cacophony, a thudding is coming from the east. THorfus examines the open doorway to the west, while Chuq sees a human standing beyond the east vivisection room door. No doubt, like the Ogre, this body was last seen lying on a slab. His scars are visible now, he looks like the top of his head was shorn off then reattached. Unexpectedly, the door rises – there is an undead kobold moving to attack. We fell the kobold and the human with little effort.

Now it’s more babel in ancient dwarven. Looming over Thorfus, the articulated floating cylinder says “New dissection candidate identified” – back to work! Spying something on the slab farthest from the doorway, Chuq shadow steps across the room and dons a golden crown/helmet. Thinking himself clever he yells in modern dwarven “Stop!”

Ftiz contains the murder automation by sealing the door, with just a few saps on the wrong side.

Belroar slips in the room before the door slams shut, brandishing his Silverthrone card and barks “Halt”. Thorfus tries a command in ancient dwarven. The dissector ignores everyone, turns and advances on Chuq. It’s attack is quick and true. Close to death, the Monk shadow steps behind Thorfus by the doorway. Axel and Talon charge – Talon hits! Belroar raises the door allowing Chuq to scurry to Brice. Uthruk enters as Fitz closes the door again. The fight is in earnest now!  Our muscle takes some licks but answer back in kind!

Brice soothes the monk’s aches, so he returns to the fight. Belroar begins to fashion a connections between a javelin and rope hoping to bring down the dissector in a trap. Before he can attempt his plan,  Thorfus takes out the machine. 

Before Fitz can seal the door again, the Boyz all retire to the gallery. After our post battle clean up, we opt to exam the west vivisection room.  

Belroar wants to euthanize the single thrashing human body lashed to a slab. Chuq senses someone else’s feelings as he enters. Taking off the golden helmet, he loses the sensations. Donning it again, he speaks to the thrasher, expecting some acknowledgement. The body continues to thrash, but now Chuw “hears” a wailing voice in his head. Not understanding the words, he mimics the sounds out loud. Finkelmur recognizes it  as ancient common. Handing over the golden helmet, Finkelmur hears the same cry over and over again. “Stop the cutting” 

“We will ease your pain” Belroar whispers as he stabs the thrashing body. 

Finkelmur and Chuq search the drawers as Thorfus collects the strange metal instruments on the slabs. Belroar searches the nest of junk and drawers in one corner. He finds some trinkets and many clean bones.

The drawers contain organs that have been dressed and appear to be freshly butchered. We find Kidneys, hearts, lungs, intestine, stomachs, spleens, back bones, brains, feet & hands( the limbs separated by races – lizard men, elves, humans, kobolds & ogres). Thorfus tests the cube and gold amulet found in the rubbish heap with the raised pedestal in the gallery room.  The amulet causes the ethereal message floating above the pedestal to be replaced with a new interface. In ancient dwarven it lists “Security; Holding Cells; and Cube Interface” 

Touching CUBE INTERFACE the message changes again to a list of five options of random ancient dwarven letters and numbers.  The first choice yields to an image of a dwarf that is perfectly alive and healthy. Dwarf moves about and a detached voice from the pedestal says in ancient dwarven “So they’re here now. They’ve made it into the portal system. Don’t know what the chief is going to do, continue work, security on high alert” then the dwarf looks at something to his side then freezes. 

Second option shows the same dwarf speaking “Odar I don’t know if you are receiving these. No attacks here but the battle is not going well. They should have better luck at Pathogens. This stuff is hundreds of years old don’t know if it will help fighting the rebels.” 

Third option shows same dwarf. He appears not as well groomed previously with  more haggard look in his eye. “Now we’ve done it. So, the chief bio forgers sent some of the specimens through the portal. It failed! A whole wing is now quarantined. Security keeps us in our rooms with only one bathroom for everyone.”

Fourth option is the same dwarf bedraggled worse than before. ”Lost all communication with rest of the facility, on emergency power protocol. No portal, some have had an argument with security team to leave. Others will try again I will wait for the all clear. Maybe we can pull out”

The last and fifth option shows our dwarf disheveled and somewhat emaciated. “Most of the supplies are gone, can’t get to cafeteria, no hope of rescue. Looks away, static, much later he is hysterical “the dead, they have come back. It’s revenge for what we have done to them!”  

After selecting the last option, the screen is now blank, Thorfus plays with the ethereal image until he finds and chooses “Holding Cells”. This list appears: Records of Current Occupants; Synchronization Status;  Door Locks; and Sonic Control Deterrents. 

Selecting Current Occupants shows: 

1. Three lizard men

2. One elf

3. Three elves

4. One ogre

5. Two kobolds

6. Three lizard men

7. Four elves

8. One human

9. Three humans

10. Three elves

11. Two lizard men

12. One elf

13. Empty

14. Four elves

15. Empty

16. Two humans

17. Empty

18. Three elves

Next, Synchronization Status:

1. Synched

2. Synched

3. Synched

4. Desynched 100%

5. Synched

6. Synched

7. Desynched 100%

8. Desynched 100%

9. Desynched 100%

10. Desynched 100%

11. Desynched 100%

12. Desynched 100%

13. Desynched 100%

14. Desynched 100%

15. Synched

16. Desynched 100%

17. Synched

18. Desynched 100%

Thorfus changes number 4 from Desynchronized to Synchronized. Belroar take the elevator to check and finds a single naked ogre in one of the cells we could not open. Belroar slams the door shut on the Orger and runs back to the gallery to tell us what he found.. 

Thorfus now synchronize number 8 with Uthruk, Finkelmur and Fritz checking to see if there is actually one human occupant. They find a humanoid sitting with his back to the door. When spoken to, he doesn’t respond. He is before a makeshift altar and the walls are blood smeared. The old dark man turns and hoarsely barks in ancient common “Humans? Here? You come to free us? Are the dwarves dead? Did the dragon emperor send you?” Everyone is curious after Finkelmur translates.

Our interrogation of the man is far from one sided. Hardly fazed when we explain his time is long forgotten in our most dim past, he peppers his short answers with pointed questions about the dwarven people, the city of Xen’Kehl and our opinion of the Dragon Emperor (which is undoubtedly his patron hero and the architect of the downfall of the Dwarven empire). He encourages Throfus to kill Brice as an apostate, claiming her “Zen Tellar” is an imposter. He also is very interested in the SilverThrone company and their agent Marchmain Sivis. 

Piecing his answers together, we know his mission was to poison this research facility from within. His magic seems to be a cross between Wizard and Cleric, perhaps he is a sorcerous witch? He calls his patron deity/hero Zen Tellar but insists the god known to the dwarves today as Zen Tellar is actually Zelina Tel. An evil personage that was cut off from the ancient dwarves and entrapped by some instrument of the Dragon Emperor of old. 

His intents seem aligned with ours after we loosely sketched our suspicions of the SilverThrone and Empire conspiring to enslave Midmarkers. But he is reticent to assume the Dragon Emperor could be an agent of evil.  Perhaps we should lubed his tongue with food and drink before exchanging information but we hoped he could lift the curse of undead from this place. 

He claims he can help somewhat but insists on the boys killing Brice in return. We still look upon Brice as a dupe but maybe he is right and she’s the best actress we’ve ever met? We need to know more about him, his mission and his relationship with the last Naga before we have our meeting with her.

Session 63 – July 1, 2015

We finally make our return to the depths of Xen Khel and make it to the temple unobserved and cross over to the hidden area.

After much debate about how to proceed, we decide to avoid a face to face confrontation with the dozen or so undead on the other side of the doors. We were greeted with a foul rotting smell that was not there before, and it is coming from the lower level and the undead below us are active.

This is too reminiscent of Kaligan. At least these undead stay down when we “kill”them.

We finally agree to go to the north rooms and peeking in on one room and knocking leads to an ogre getting off a table and failing to get through the door.

We find a room with a slightly open door with a slime creature and a box full of that yellow mold like we found in Kaligan. We slew the slime creature and shut the box with the mold.

We worked our way to a lower level and found rooms we could not open and another gate, like what brought us here, but we can’t seem to activate it.

We found several platinum shapes and lots of bodies.

We were wandering what to do next, when the ogre finally gt past the door, but our mercenaries slew it. It was nice to not have to fight, and even nicer to not have to bury anyone.

We still have several hours until our appointed meeting with the surviving naga.

Session 62 Summary

Journal Entry 102

Well hello me, it’s good to chat with myself again, a true credit to Insanity. It’s time to lay down another chapter of my dark yet blurry past and bury  it in the backyard or throw it in the  back of the closet so no one will ever know or find it.

It seems that I found my dead companions today, and those pesky raptors had to bring that shinning moment back on the stage so that everyone could see it.  I wonder if they saw what really happened and if they know what I really did. I wonder if that’s how they knew where to find them.

I bet they are trying to scare me or maybe it’s just some sick joke or both! Wait… I must be paranoid there is no way  they saw.  I made damn sure no one was looking and Wilby would have said something. Wilby wouldn’t have lied, I mean he told me to do it.

I have to keep this together, I almost blew it when I just up and burned those dead bodies, like no big shit. I mean did you see the way everyone looked at me?

Anyways, so I’m appointed or maybe blackballed, not sure which, into being the one to talk with a giant talking serpent, who by the way is very angry at us, cause well she thinks we killed its kin.

There was no cents in arguing with them about how ridiculous this idea was. I think that I am already assumed to be this negative Nancy when it come to how to proceed. They are starting to think I’m weak and this was the prefect way to show how brave or just how damn insane I really plowing am.

In either case it seemed to work out for me because that I didn’t get eaten, well not yet anyways. I am sure it was the puns that caused it to spare my life. Always laugh death in the face I always say.

So now we will go talk to her after we go explore the dwarven ruins some more. I suggested that we feed Brice to the serpent as sacrifice, but no one took it very seriously, they just laughed it off.  I wonder if the group will do what it takes to survive and succeed or will they be falling down a dark shaft as well.

Time will tell…

Session 61 summary 

To: Brother Mac

I send word by raven today brother, hopefully this message gets to you soon enough. I know it’s been a fortnight since we last spoken but the group I left with is not the same group I am with now.

Without getting in to much detail all that you need to know for now is that I am alright and am in good company. They have no love for the Empire that is for certain  and I’m not having to look over my shoulder here at the edge of the world.

Since I have come up out of the ruins there has been a few events that have taken place. Firstly the snakes that guarded the entrance to the ruins are no longer in power. 

Second the dwarves are trying now to fill that vacuum. They wish for the group I’m now running with to tie up any loose ends if you catch my meaning.

But then  there is another faction here that works from the shadows of the ruins. This bunch of low life scum call themselves the Raptors. I’m sure you would get along great with these Sallies just fine, if you were here.

Anyways I wish I could be more specific but there is to much going on right now and I fear that this message may get intercepted.

I will write again as  soon as I can, but until then take care of yourself brother, I know somehow you always do.

-Fitz Ravan