GM Kiora's Wrath of the Righteous

Game Master Kiora Atua

"More successful than I'd care to admit, to be honest." Ary responds with a grin. "I traded up again. And apparently, so did you." she motions to her armor, and then his horse, in turn. "A mount suits you; it'll get you in and out a lot better. And you'll always have at least one thing to guard." she says, patting the horse's flank.

"Would you believe that I didn't get to kill any demons the whole time we were in there? Not a single one. I got to hurt a few..." she shrugs. "What happened out here?"

Hrut grins at Ary. "Not a single one? Were you slacking off?" he jokes and then puffs out his chest. "Forty one. I kept count."

Indisy giggles. "He's a show-off, that one. Uh well, almost an hour ago there was this huge explosion. Massive wave of golden light erupted over everybody and everyone. And all the demons just kinda.." she wiggles her fingers. "Wooooosh. Gone! Like that! All of the ones in Old Kenabres. We stuck around for awhile wondering if there were going to be reinforcements... but... no one ever came."

"Hrut told us about what you were doing, and we assumed that the explosion of supreme holiness meant you were successful! But....we were worried about you when it took you so long to return to us. Most of the army should be back at Defender's Heart by now.... lots of men and women eager to get back to their families, but we volunteered to go investigate the Grey Garrison and bail you out if necessary. Looks like that's not necessary, huh?"

Well that was a major relief. "This is just the group sent to the Garrison, more are safe. Ary muttered, seemingly to herself.

"When I only saw this many..." Ary said, trailing off. "I guess we got everything in time, then. Do you think they might have been using the wardstone to stay?" she said, looking to Ehren.

Isilme watches quietly, trying to hear the conversation, but not quite making it out. They did seem awfully relaxed for people who were supposed to be fighting demonic hordes, however, so she suspected that these weren't the remnants of a defeated crusader force. Isilme thought for a moment that the news might even be good, but she decided it was best not to entertain such thoughts for now. Anyway, even the best news would likely still be dampened by the fact that the wardstone field was gone.

Commander Irabeth looks distant, thinking over Indisy's words. "Isilme. Come forward." she mutters.

Once she's arrived, Indisy continues, "Yeah! We sent out some scouts through Old Kenabres and it seems like the Rise is cleared out. It was... it was amazing!" She stares at the heroes, wide-eyed. "A miracle!"

Irabeth smiles, looking relieved. "That's good. We've successfully destroyed the wardstone. Kenabres should no longer be a location of interest to the enemy. But there have been complications. Once Ser Albright arrives, he will once again be Commander of the Kenabres Crusaders, and he will be debriefed. What happens next is in his hands," she says, though she sounds relieved at the prospect of relinquishing control.

She stares at the sky. There was at least an hour left before sunset. "We found Hinagiku and Annabelle Kir at the Grey Garrison as well." She pauses at Annabelle's name, thinking. "Something happened to her, and I won't abandon a companion in need," she half-murmurs. "In the meantime, Eagle's Watch. We've recovered a decent stash of arms and armor from the Grey Garrison. We need to prepare that for transport. There are also a number of our slain brothers and sisters who deserve a proper burial. Once we have that secured away, we will march back to Defender's Heart...for well deserved rest."

Commander Irabeth turns to Ary, and Ehren. "What do you think we should do while we wait?" she asks cryptically, evidently not eager to talk openly about Annabelle's condition just yet.

"No, they were never able to corrupt the stone," Ehren says to Ary, shaking his head. "But the energy that closed that portal and rended Vorlesh's image... the initial flash must have been far more powerful. Powerful enough to banish all of the demons." And to put us in our current predicament.

The druid ponders Irabeth's question, wondering how they might pass the time.

Somehow Ary's whisper hadn't quite registered with Isilme, but she came forward when Irabeth requested she join them. As she moves up she smiles at Hrut and says "It is good to see you made it through unscathed, Hrut! The group was worried about you, at least when we weren't too busy worrying about the fights we had before us." She gives a polite bow to the others and then listens to the commander explain the situation.

Just checking, but there were three unopened rooms on the second floor of the Garrison, but we only went through two of them (left most and right most), correct? (just looked at the battlemap ;))

Isilme isn't certain from Irabeth's statements if she wants the Eagles Watch to join them at the Garrison just yet, especially due to the situation with Annabelle. "Given the hidden armory we just found, it might be worth scouring the garrison a second time. We might very well have missed something else of value that's been hidden from both friend and foe."

"No, undead that I raise would never be intelligent enough to follow multiple commands at once." answers Markus. "We can go down by ourselves, it should be fine. And I can levitate, with the help of a little bit of Kenabres' old guardian." He produces Terendelev's scale, and it glitters a bit in the light. "It creates a column of mist that one can balance on, and if I understand it correctly somebody could drag me for as long as it persists - almost an hour using the scale's entire capacity for magic."

"It's okay about my pants though. Isilme can clean them later, or I can borrow Ary's ring."

Just checking, but there were three unopened rooms on the second floor of the Garrison, but we only went through two of them (left most and right most), correct? (just looked at the battlemap ;))]

Nope, you cleared the second floor.

Content that Markus had no intention to raise any undead at this time, Annabelle grips her torch in one hand and begins to lower herself down the trapdoor when the incoming footsteps grow louder and louder. She hurriedly moves back into the armory...finally countless heads start to stream through the tunnels below them. It appears that a small army is passing through the sewer tunnels, marching noisily through the water. Each and every person that passes through the tunnel is deformed in some way, appearing like a patchwork pattern of other different races, often in an asymmetrical configuration.

The army is quick to notice the small, lit hole in the ceiling from the trapdoor into the Grey Garrison. There is muttering in a language unknown to the three heroes and Annabelle, until eventually a familiar face (to Markus and Valaria, at least) appears standing under the trapdoor. Wenduag aims her bow up into the trapdoor and barks,

"If anyone is up there, reveal yourself! If you are a friend, or a citizen of Kenabres, come down unarmed. We hold no quarrel with anyone except the demons."

As she is unfamiliar to Hinagiku, Wenduag appears as a blue scaled woman with six vivid green eyes in a black cloak and a chain shirt. She has a long tail and several insectoid-like legs sticking out of her back.

Confusingly, she is accompanied by a small group of deformed humanoids who all appear to be wearing cultist armor and glaives.

"It's okay about my pants though. Isilme can clean them later, or I can borrow Ary's ring."

Isilme's Celestial Drycleaning. It's like magic! Same day service, open on all non-apocalyptic days.

"No, undead that I raise would never be intelligent enough to follow multiple commands at once."

Poor Annabelle.

"Well... if we've got an hour, I know for certain that there's a room or ten that needs cleaning back at the Garrison." Ary suggests.

"Yes, the altar. At the very least we can restore it to some semblance of its original state," she adds to Ary suggestion.

Val prepares to follow Annabelle down into the sewer tunnels, but almost falls back as the vampire hauls herself back out of the hole. "What are you doing?" she yelps before she sees the virtual army of strange beings passing by beneath them. "What in the world..." When a familiar face appears, everything becomes clear. "Surely you remember us Wenduag!" she calls out. "I'm guessing that since you're here, you managed to make contact with the crusaders and things went well."

Wenduag frowns as she struggles to recognize Valaria's voice....luckily she does not have to think long, as Lann, another familiar man emerges underneath the tunnel through the trapdoor. Lann appears to blend the features of an elven man, a lizardfolk, and a goat into one somehow still attractive being.

"Valaria? Is that really you? Praise the Inheritor!" Lann hoists himself up the rope ladder, followed by Wenduag. "You are the first crusaders we've seen... The city seems abandoned we were concerned it had been completely taken. Where are Ary and Li'an? Hrut and Ehren? Anevia and Horgus and Aravashnial?" Lann looks around at the murals in the room with admiration. "Where is this? It is beautiful! Ah, forgive my rudeness." He offers a bow to Hinagiku and Annabelle. His Common is raspy due to his strange mouth, and strangely accented. "My name is Lann. This is Wenduag, who commands our forces. My tribesman are below. We have sought refuge in Kenabres due to the earthquakes that have devastated our underground home of late."

"Lann! I'm glad you've made it out safe and sound!" She offers a hand down to help the pair up the ladder. "Wait, what do you mean we're the first crusaders you've seen? I thought Irabeth was sending messengers to you yesterday." She sighs and shakes her head. Considering what she saw happen to someone who looked much less changed by the Abyss than the people of Neatholm, perhaps it's best that the party be there for their first meeting. "We'll figure out what went wrong later. I'm just glad you're alright."

She gestures to the two newcomers. "Hinagiku, Annabelle, this is Wenduag and Lann. They're descendants of the warriors who fought in the first crusades who fled underground when their children were... changed by the Abyssal energy the fought. They helped us get out of the tunnels under Kenabres and their people have offered to aid the crusades however they can. Wenduag, Lann, this is Hinagiku and Annabelle, fellow crusaders and new friends of ours."

She hesitates for a moment. "Ary's with Ehren reporting on our mission today along with Irabeth, Anevia wife. Hrut was with the crusader forces fighting the cultists while we slipped behind their lines to invade their base. That's where we are right now actually, though it used to be a fortress for the crusaders. The cultists captured it when they first took the city. Anevia's injuries kept her back at base, but she was fine the last I saw her. Aravashnial's there as well, keeping an eye on some kids we rescued on our way through town. Li'an... Li'an didn't make it. She was defending a child from a group of cultists and..."

About to help Valaria down, Hinagiku has to take a few steps backward to leave space for Annabelle to come back up. Upon hearing voices coming from the seweres, and seeing the monstrous Wenduaq, she adopts a fighting posture, that is, until Valaria answer.

Staying polite she keeps a certain distance between her and the two mongrelfolk emerging from the sewers. After Lann introduces himself and presents their commander, Hinagiku bows to each of them, with a more profound bow for the one named Wenduaq. As she does, she introduces herself, pusposefully repeating what Valaria already said:

"I am Hinagiku. I am pleased to meet friends of miss Valaria." she straightens and is about to continue when Valaria speaks of Li'an. The Tian woman observes a respectful moment of silence before speaking again. "Commander Wenduaq, if your tribesman are not too numerous, they might find the garrison to be a safe haven. Even though it is despoiled, it is now free of the cultists." she finishes, trying to steer the conversation toward more utilitarian matters for the moment.

"...And we will remember her forever, but now is not the time for grieving. Please, come up. This building is safe to all appearances and we're still waiting for word on the other Crusaders. A bit of company until they return would be nice." He looks between the mongrelmen and the armory that they stand within. "Hm. Some strange coincidences. How many of you are there?"

Val hesitates again. "Maybe we should make sure that the crusaders know who's here if we bring them up to the garrison. Because if they show up not knowing that we've brought in allies to man the place and they see a bunch of people with Abyssal mutations armed with gear taken from cultists, they're likely to think they are cultists. And we really don't want to try to start an alliance like that."

so are you inviting the mongrels into the garrison or no?

Yes, but we need to inform the crusaders that we did so somehow.

Can just have them occupy the upper floors until things are sorted out. Maybe suggesting that they downgrade from cultist garb in the meantime would help too ;)

"Annabelle, it looks as though we won't need to take a trip down the sewers." she says with a hand on her shoulder. She looks at Valaria and Markus " I am sure the warriors down there made it safe. Although more gruesome of a task, we can now take care of the fallen crusaders as well the desecration that took place here. While we do so, one of us could stand guard at the entrance, to explain everything to the crusaders once they arrive." says Hinagiku, more and more assertive (yet still calm and collected) now that Irabeth as left.

Val nods. "Agreed. We should try to get this place cleaned up as much as possible. Maybe get the folks here some gear that's a little less cultist-like." She thinks for a moment. "You or I might be best to meet the crusaders at the door. We don't want it to be Annabelle and Markus should probably stay with her just in case there is some kind of complication."

"Here, come up. You can help clear this place out. There's lots of space on the surface for you. Lots of empty buildings to fill." says Markus. "And we can get you more..appropriate arms and armor. Cold iron longswords and such. Just as soon as Commander Irabeth checks you all over."

Markus/Valaria/Hinagiku

Annabelle hangs back, following the heroes' lead as how to treat the strange mongrelmen. She glances up at Valaria. "A complication? What do you mean?"

Lann grins at the open invitation, though his smile is lopsided as he does not have lips on half of his face. "I'll let Chief Sull know. But really, if there's anything I can do to be useful, we owe you so much already."

Wenduag doesn't say much - she listens, then heads down the ladder to inform her kinsmen what is going on. The Underfolk stream into the Grey Garrison a few moments later. They all fit, but they take up most of the building. There are approximately 200 total, though only around seventy of them are in fighting shape - the rest are the old, the young, and the other defenseless.

Chief Sull stands in the temple of Iomedae, looking sadly at all of the desecration. He looks to Markus. "What happened here? Has Kenabres fallen?"

Val shrugs. "I have no idea how vampires work. But I'd rather have the guy who does know how undead work keep close to you until you get used to this stuff. It would suck for you to get a second chance only for something weird to happen before you even get through the next 24 hours."

A low whistle escapes her lips as she sees the underfolk stream up to the surface. "Wow, they weren't kidding. I guess the earthquakes got really bad. This has to be most of their people."

The cavalier gives Valaria an odd look. "What are you so worried about? You guys don't bat an eye at the barefoot cleric summoning a horde of monkeys, but you're scared of me?" Annabelle laughs. "Anyway, I don't think my life can handle more weirdness right now. I've already had an insane 24 hours."

Her smile falters. "Also. I'm still, me, so."

Mythic Heroism wears off.

"Kenabres hasn't quite fallen, but there was a tremendous toll of lives during this latest attack.", Markus tells Sull. "Thousands dead, most of the city destroyed. A few hundred survived and remained within the city, and we've made contact with them. Reinforcements from elsewhere in Mendev are coming soon to fully retake the city."

"We've spent the past days navigating the city, fighting cultists and demons in the effort to reconnect the disparate Crusader forces together."

"We've done what we can to rectify the situation - for now, if you could get your people to help preparing the various fallen Crusaders for burial, cleaning up the desecration and arming themselves with what weapons they find. And maybe we can get some of that Deskari iconography off of your armor."

Knowledge (planes) DC 15: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Realizing his mistake upon reflection, Markus corrects himself. "-Ah, Baphomet. Not that it matters. Demonic is demonic and will be seen poorly by the Crusader forces."

"Scared of you? No. Shared for you? Yes. I don't want you getting hurt or something because you don't know how your powers work quite right. And it's not weird really. No more so than our last few days at any rate."

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

She examines the iconography. "If you say so."

Side note: There's a masterwork chain shirt in that room for Annabelle if she wants it! Ary totally didn't realize she was in such inferior armor ;)

She'll grab it and change into it!

Hinagiku welcomes the first few mongrelfolks with a bow, and introduces herself to them. She invites them to follow her and guides them through the different rooms so they might guide the others through the garrison. Once all this is done, she comes back to the armory, braving (fluidly and skilfully) the flow soldiers and refugees who are coming out of it.

Once she reaches Valaria, Annabelle, and Markus:
"I believe I have given them enough information to guide their brethren. If both of you agree, I will go to the main gate and wait for the arrival of commander Irabeth."

Val nods as Hinagiku approaches them. "Alright. We'll start getting things cleaned up. If our friends here are willing to help, well once we get those nasty cult marks off their armor, we can probably leave this place spotless by the time the rest of the crusaders get here." She looks out into the desecrated chapel and sighs. "It's the least we can do not to let them see this place like... this."

Ary/Isilme/Ehren

Ary, Isilme, and Ehren walk with the the Eagle's Watch, lead by their Commander and Hrut Ingvarson back to the Grey Garrison. By the time they arrive, the sun is setting, turning the sky a light and dusky purple filled with tiny stars.

Commander Irabeth walks up to the large, double doors and knocks loudly. "Segruchen" she says, in a loud, clear voice.

She is heard on the other side by Valaria, Hinagiku, and Annabelle, who never did leave Hinagiku's side for Markus' like Valaria suggested.

Annabelle hesitates for a moment when the knocking starts, but she soon moves away from the door and into the adjacent room.

Markus pulls the door aside to see Irabeth face to face. "Ignore the hundreds of Underfolk, Commander. They were here the whole time." he says.

Val playfully slaps Markus on the back of his head. "What he means is that we got some surprising but welcome reinforcements. The people of Neatholm showed up from one of the underground tunnels and they've been helping us secure the Garrison. The majority of them are civilians, but they have a number of warriors that are on our side."

Commander Irabeth, Ary, Isilme, and Ehren are accompanied by a small force of fifty soldiers, nearly all of which wear the blue and red tabards of the Eagle Watch. They move into the busy garrison. The half-orc looks astonished.

"Ah. I remember now. The scouts I sent out looking for them came up empty handed. The Underfolk."

"Why didn't you check your underground roads?" Wenduag asks, arms crossed. She regards the crusaders with barely concealed suspicion. "They are far safer than the ones above, from what we have seen."

"I don't think they know about most of the underground passages in the city," Val interjects before an argument can break out. "Unless you're talking about the sewers, in which case we don't really use them for moving around too often." She silently prays that her words can defuse the tension.

Ary thinks about the situation when she walks in... and remember's Lann's reaction, her own memory of the devastated city forcing her to stand still for a moment, and look distant, as the memory plays in her mind.

She shakes her head, and smiles softly. Good things from bad. Connecting the discovery of the underground passage to the Underfolk's arrival, Ary speaks up. "Actually, Commander... what are your thoughts on giving the Underfolk the Gray Garrison? It's solid, defensible, and gives them a a place to call their own, with a backup plan. From here, they could move all throughout the city unseen by our enemies... and there are no windows." she stops for a moment. "Lann... didn't really like seeing the sky." she explains to Wenduag, before she can take real offense. "Or do we have a better location for our new allies?" she says, returning her attention to Irabeth.

Lann tilts his head at Ary. "What gave you that idea? It's beautiful. Everything is so... vividly colorful in the sunlight, in comparison to in the darkness. The only reason we've been underground is because clearly the surface is not safe. Why would anyone want to stay indoors?"

Annabelle listens to Lann from the bench in front of Yaniel's defaced mural. She laces her fingers together and stares at the ground as the crusaders start to move through the fort. One stands next to her giving her a long look, but he quickly leaves.

The Eagle's Watch is a dedicated force to rooting out cultist infiltration, so they casually begin scanning the various mongrelfolk in the garrison while Chief Sull meets with Commander Irabeth.

Chief Sull of the Underfolk is an elderly man with both human and ratfolk features. He is short, fat, and bloated with large yellow teeth and one milky white eye. He approaches Commander Irabeth with an outstretched hand, which the half-orc accepts with a smile.

She looks at Ary and nods. "That's a great idea. I'm afraid I don't have the authority to make this a permanent residence, though I will do what I can."

Chief Sull is humbled at Ary's offer. "Miss Bishop, you and your group have been so good to us. I don't know how we could ever repay you."

"I... guess I must've misread you... sorry. Maybe I was just... y'know. Really, really sad and assumed you were, too, when you were mentioned it seeming like infinity*." she says, realizing she'd clearly been confused about the entire process.

As she hears the praise, she just shrugs a little. "You already have by coming to our aid when we need it. Plus, it's easy to give stuff away that isn't mine." she grins a little, then rolls a shoulder. "Either way... there's a temple with my name on it, that either really needs cleaning, or really needs prayers. Think a couple dozen worshipers praying at once will be enough to reconsecrate it?" she looks to the others, as she starts to slip back into the chapel.

*Ary's player realizes it being that the infinite abyss as the scary thing, not the daylit sky.

Isilme walks in behind the others and looks a little confused at the small army of 'underfolk'. "Underfolk?" she asks, looking at the abyssally tainted men and women curiously. Seeing that they seem to be interacting primarily with Wendaug and Lann, she introduces herself to them. "I am Isilme. It is a pleasure to meet you both." she says with a polite bow and a smile.

What does Isilme know of the crusaders who went down after the first Crusade?

As soon as the crusaders entered the fort, Hinagiku retreated. She did not know any of them, and the only role that made sense for her to pursue was that of Annabelle's support.

The Tian woman comes side to side with the cavalier.
"Annabelle, what would you thing of trying to get the mural here cleaned up?" she asks, hoping that working on restoring some work of art might direct her thoughts toward her faith.

Lann bows before Isilme. He gives her a strange look. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Isilme. Pardon me for asking this, but what are you? You do not appear human. You actually look familiar..." He peers at her, curiously.

Annabelle smiles at Hinagiku, though she keeps it tight-lipped. "Yeah. I'd like that very much."

Commander Irabeth thinks for a moment. "I am needed back at Defender's Heart. The sun is setting right now, and it will be dark very soon. Bishop. You are in charge of keeping an eye on your group. So. Are you going to accompany me back to Defender's Heart or are you spending the night here at the Grey Garrison?"

The light is dim enough right now that Annabelle isn't risk of being exploded. So what do you guys wanna do? You could of course, also spend some time at the Grey Garrison and leave later.

"I think Annabelle and I should come with you back to Defender's Heart. If we stay the night here, we'll be stuck for another day." says Markus, approaching Irabeth. "Though I think I overheard Annabelle and Hinagiku talking about restoring some of the building. If we're giving it over to the Underfolk, it might be more prudent to allow them to focus on the preparations of the building."

Ary stops in the doorway. "I'll have to defer to my people. It's not a snap decision... so it's for the best to invite speculation. Like Markus's." she grins. "I'm good with staying here and... you know, getting the place cleaned up and rededicated. But... I also understand that not going now can have some consequences." she says, letting the words linger for only a moment before moving on. "I'd much rather we be in charge of who we talk to about anything that's come up, rather than having it default over to you-know-who." she says.

"I'd love to stay and make sure this place is restored," Val adds. "But I want Loitr and the other inquisitors in convenient range for a boot to the ass if they get stupid. Again."