Chapter V : Death from the North - The Adventure

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scenario is here.

As Constantius scuttled into hiding, the Hyperborean Emissary cast one withering glance around the Hall, and set her Dynwocor upon her enemies.  The two of them concentrated on the Brythunian crossbowmen, who would make more useful "allies" than the town militia.

Zoraya was the first to lay hands on her weapon, upon which she leapt over the balcony, and landed running to protect Chimène, who was busy ordering her men to flee to safety, and therefore vulnerable.  Brude sent his guardsmen to seal off the different stairwells and buy precious time from behind their shieldwalls.

This was indeed enough to make the Emissary hesitate, and concentrate her efforts on the Brythunian guardsmen, who were invulnerable to any undead and would have to be eliminated by magic.  In the meantime, the Dynwocor was tracking down isolated enemies, and the first wave of skeletons were seeking out the militia.

Brude had at last managed to snatch up his sword, and after kicking a couple of skeletons down the stairwell to shatter on the floor below, he decided to join Zoraya in hunting down the Dynwocor.  The creature was exposed, but was no easy target, due to the terror he inspired and his thick hide.  Brude was however undeterred, and slipped his heavy blade through the abomination's ribcage, bringing it crashing down.

 

Zoraya flared with rage as she spied the cowering Constantius, but there was no time.  She set off in pursuit of the Emissary, and it was obvious that the Hyperborean would fail.

The Emissary, however, dispatched the final Brythunian guard defending the stairwell with her Pestilential Swarm, ran up the stairs to where a militiaman was cowering, took him out with a vicious sword blow, ran back out onto the landing, and slew a crossbowmen with her Withering spell.  Chimène , armed at last, had smashed several skeletons into shards of bone, but had been unable to save everybody.

There was now only a single militiaman left, hiding in a room.  The heroes were on the brink of exhaustion.  Brude moved into position in the corridor, to slow down any attacks; he ordered Chimène further away, fearing for her unborn child should the Hyperborean abandon victory but seek bloody revenge. 

Time was indeed running out for the Emissary.  She was too far away to use her destructive magicks...but necromancy knew no such bounds.  She raised three skeletons, and spent all her remaining energy to guide them past Brude and onto the surviving militiaman.  The first strike went awry, the second would have hit home except for Chimène's last second warning.  Everything rode literally on the last stroke and the Emissary's ability to direct the skeletal wrath [one reroll left !]...and it hit home. 

 

 

The Emissary had triumphed !  With their men dead, and soon to be submerged under waves of undead, Chimène, Brude and Zoraya were forced to yield the Hall, and then the Keep itself, to the Emissary.

Within days, Ardon was in the hands of Hyperborea, and the Pillar of the North fissured.  Such a reign of terror had begun that even Constantius quickly ceased strutting about the keep, and kept instead to the shadows, hoping his new mistress would forget all about him....

 

Update heroes with wounds and experience

Victory for the Overlord, on what would have been the penultimate die roll of the scenario.  Nail-biting stuff !  This is a tough scenario for the Overlord, who must not give in to the temptation to raise the dead too fast and "drown" the River with them.  The Dynwocor [Bone Golem] is powerful, but can only bring down one enemy at a time...should it be used on the Heroes, or concentrate on the guardsmen who are tough to kill ?  As for the Heroes, they must trade off speed and safety to arm up, and avoid collecting in one place, an easy target for the Emissary's magicks...

Only Brude gains XP, +1 XP for having slain the Dynwocor.

Chimène did not receive any additional wounds, but is still severely hurt with the five she had previously.  She had a tough choice to make, and could have remained next to Brude in the corridor to hinder oncoming enemies, but risk being targetted and wounded.  Brude has no additional wounds, and Zoraya had only received a scratch from a skeletal blade.