Game log of a ToEE adventure that somehow turned into an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. You can find the original google doc here. Silver Mount didn’t really work for a space station, so the PCs started calling it The Sky Fortress.
Rogues Gallery – “General Puggin’s Moribund of Mercenaries”*
- The Rogue – Giselle der Gauner the Soulknife due to a mutation granting her telekinetic powers (character #2, previous character was Mirka the Rogue – Deceased)
- The Monk – Augusta “Tof” Bamberger and her henchmen Elmo the Ranger and pet pug General Puggins.
- The Druid – Lilie the Elf and her henchmen Wolfram and animal companion Fuyuko, the white wolf.
- The Knight – Lintelfaden Toshcobble, squire of Rufus the Bold.
- The Fighter – Fencil the Android (brain tape swap) (Character #2, previous character was a cleric – Deceased) and his (henchmen Zof the Jarhead Wizard – Deceased).
- The Ranger – Bustov Daman and his animal companion, The Mou-Mou Bird (bloodthirsty sparrow).
- The Cleric – Lorenz Brandt (character #2), the scribe.
The Wizard – Boris the Jaws-Dodger (Deceased Session 25, retired from the game).
*Due to a transcription error by the Verbobonc mercenary company registrar, “Merry” become “Moribund.”
Session 37 Recap
Gisella flung the gardener into the wall and crushed him as Lintelfaden and Wolfram destroyed the last of the crystal minotaurs. They had broken out of the skymetal ball but not without suffering serious wounds and were quickly dealt with before any reinforcements could arrive. But footsteps of dozens of cultists and guards could be heard rushing towards the garden; it wouldn’t be long before the real fight began.
“Which room did Augusta go flying into?!” Elmo cried, not seeing her on the battlefield.
He was answered as the lady in question went flying back out the window and slammed into the garden walls, reeling from the blow. The Grandmaster bowed respectfully before leaping out the window, landing without a sound, and he beckoned the intruders to attack him. As if that wasn’t enough, the ground erupted on the outside of the wall and a Guardian joined the battle, unsheathing the massive blade from its back.
Lintelfaden rushed over to Augusta’s side and healed her wounds with the medkit+. “I can hear the cultists inside the monastery getting closer… It’s not going to be long before we get overwhelmed.”
Lorenz supercharged Fensal and released a burst of healing from the gun. “I’ll leave it to you on who to target first but try to keep the Grandmaster alive. We can question him after the battle.”
Loading the Wand of Bullets, he dashed into the monastery faster than the Unicorn could sprint and busted down the door, walking straight through it. Over a dozen cultists wielding hammers and war picks greeted him, roaring and rallying together as they prepared to join their Grandmaster in combat.
And Fensal blew one of them to bits in a single shot. It was so gory and violent that he was hesitant to shoot again, opting to use the bow instead; at least the enemy wouldn’t literally explode. The fear was already established and their morale was shattered just as quickly as it was built. Dropping their weapons, they bolted for the nearest exit, tripping over each other to escape the glowing blue death machine.
Lintelfaden refused to let Fensal have all the fun and charged for the Grandmaster, lance in hand, blasting music out from the speakers. His opponent flinched a little, hearing the incessant and unfamiliar beat and he tapped the unicorn as it ran up beside him, muttering words of power. In a blink, he had teleported the knight out of his presence and the garden.
“That’s not good,” Gisella thought. “Where did he send him to-” The deafening music started playing again and his position was given away. “Oh, nevermind, right outside the garden.”
“With the Guardian,” Tobias reminded. “While my elemental faces against him, I will take you-”
Augusta landed a swift kick to his head and the engines in her legs increased the force of her kick. But it still wasn’t enough to break his guard and he caught the attack right before it landed. He used her momentum to power his own counter and threw her towards Elmo, knocking them both to the ground.
“Wow, you’re not good at this, are you?” Marvin sighed. “And now my face is in the dirt thanks to you.”
Elmo ignored his cloak, more concerned for his mistress. “Are you alright?”
“Ouch, yeah, I’m fine,” she assured. “He has way more ki than I do.”
“You’re still sitting on my face!” Marvin snapped.
Tobias brazenly dashed into the centre of the party and slammed the ground, creating a shining glyph glowing with ki. He suddenly vanished and illusury forms of him teleported throughout the gardens. Nine different strikes from every angle, each reinforced with a powerful shockwave after the blow. He struck down all foes around him and took a deep breath, healing his wounds in the brief reprieve.
Gisella’s daggers flew in but he deflected them with ease, taking only minor shocks to his mind but his ki helped him resist the psychic attack. One thing he didn’t prepare for was the raw power of her telekinesis and he was held in place and lifted off the ground.
Lilie clapped her hands excitedly and created a portal for two massive wolves to leap out from. “We’re fighting cultists! My pet puppies can finally attack something!” Her puppies snarled and snapped at the Grandmaster, ready to go into a frenzy at a moment’s notice. “Aren’t you two the cutest, Lucifer and Asmodeus? Sic ‘em!”
Her hounds hadn’t a shred of remorse for their victims, rushing excitedly towards the Grandmaster and frothing at the mouth. Even he shivered as he sensed their bloodlust and he broke out of Gisella’s hold, but not before they were able to sink their teeth and pierce through his ki defenses. Wolfram was able to follow up with a powerful slash that tore a deep wound in his chest and knocked him off his feet.
Tobias performed strange hand motions and teleported away, leaving behind nothing but a trail of mist. But Lilie’s hounds had already had a taste of his blood and began to track him down, rushing for the monastery with their summoner on their back. Laughing, she commanded them to run faster as Wolfram desperately tried to keep up with them.
“They forget about the Guardian,” Tobias chuckled. “I can heal my wounds if I regroup with the cleric but they can’t chase me because-”
He looked out a window and his jaw dropped as a glowing blue android with a cannon blew a hole through the elemental. The sound of earth shattering was deafening and crystals poured out as its earthen body returned to dust, dropping its magical sword. Fensal opened a notch in the cannon and steam flowed out from the overheated weapon until it was ready for a second round.
“Grandmaster!” Lilie called, chasing him through the monastery halls. There was something creepy about her cheerful voice while riding bloodthirsty wolves. “Where are you?”
While she left to give chase, the battle wasn’t over at the garden. The ground rumbled and another Guardian stomped over, blade in hand, searching for its first target. On his back the Cleric of Black Earth chanted a spell and enhanced the elemental, calling for his allies to witness the power of their Elemental Prince, Ogremoch.
“Come, my brother!” he cried. “Let us show these fools the power of our prince! We are the Cult of Black Earth, we will stand firm in this time of hardship!”
The cultists rushed out from the monastery with their morale boosted by the inspirational speech. It didn’t matter what strange weapons their enemy had, it meant nothing next to the unstoppable force of the earth. Buffed by the cleric, they were ready to make an example of General Puggins’ Morbid Band of Mercenaries and put an end to any opposition that opposed them.
“Rise up!” the cleric continued. “We are the chosen ones who-”
He was cut short as six rockets homed in and exploded in radioactive smoke, melting through the enhanced stone and magical armour. Disintegrated completely, weapons and all, the cultists stared in shock, jaws slack, eyes wide, not a word to be said. Quietly, they sheathed their weapons, bowed to the party, and left in an orderly fashion.
Lorenz laughed as he changed a dial on the rocket launcher, charging it with a different kind of energy. “Can it swap between different elements? Oh, this is going to be good!”
Lintelfaden charged at the staggered Guardian and the white ‘yin’ guided the blade and it sliced through with ease; a perfect cut right through the middle, splitting it in half. It rained gems as he sheathed his blade, basking in his glory and jamming to obnoxiously loud music that was cut off halfway by an ad.
“Did you know that you can now get 20% off at Kwalish Laboratories only for a limited time?” it said.
While the battle still continued, Bustov and Aki pushed through the thick foliage and found the remains of the Guardians, surprised that they had already seen five return to dust. Lintelfaden waved for them to join the fight and rushed back into the gardens, charging towards the next enemy in sight.
“Oh, wow, did they take out all the Guardians?” Aki muttered in awe. “Everyone has gotten really strong.”
“Of course, they’re only equal to half of my true strength!” Bustov assured. After the trip, he somehow had an eyepatch now. “Maybe a little more if they combine their strength.”
“Really?! That’s pretty cool, so you’re holding back in every fight?”
“Exactly. Now that I’m here everyone can breathe a sigh of relief-”
He was interrupted as a spectral Moi Moi pecked him again, almost taking out his other eye. Bustov’s slander at the Enginseer’s room did not go unheard and the little bird wasn’t going to forgive that easily, taking one eye as punishment before being resurrected. He refused to perch on his master, choosing to rest on Aki’s shoulder instead.
“Let’s go join the others!”
Gargoyles flew out from the monastery and prepared to dive bomb the party, searching for the spellcasters for easy kills. Far out of the Wand of Bullets +1’s effective range, they hid on the corner of the roof and broke line of sight until it was time to strike. But Bustov could see them and he charged his Lenz, zooming in on their location with the visor. A single shot froze half the roof and restrained the gargoyles, making their earthen bodies weak and brittle, easily shattered by the following implosion.
“Fear not, team!” Bustov greeted, flicking his hair back. “Your carry has arrived!”
The battle was almost at its end once Lilie fired a lightning bolt down the corridor, piercing through the Grandmaster. The plan to regroup with the cleric didn’t survive once Badaboom the rocket launcher was a factor and, unable to be healed, the bolt pierced his ki and straight through him. Unfortunately, she didn’t remember the ‘non-lethal damage’ part of her plan either so the source of information was promptly fried.
After the fall of the Grandmaster, the only cultists that still fought were fanatics driven mad in the hopes their prince would bless them and a horrific cyclops. It was the size of one but it had one single, unprotected eye rather than a head, bloodshot and looking wildly for prey.
But Lilie had an infallible plan. Step one, Wolfram and her hounds would charge in; Step two, she wasn’t so sure of; but step three? Profit.
“Sic ‘em boys!” she commanded, firing another lightning bolt at the hulking monstrosity.
The guards had no hope of fighting off her beasts and Wolfram at the same time, knocked onto the ground or off their feet before being brutally mauled. Slamming the ground furiously, the cyclops swung wildly at the knight, breaking the wall with each missed blow and kicking the hounds away. Elmo was able to attack from behind but the eye spun as if it was on a swivel and stared at him, firing a ray of necrotic energy that ate away at his natural body.
Augusta tried to cut the eye but a magical shield protected it, too obvious of a weak point to be easily exploited. The cyclops caught her in midair and prepared to charge another ray, his eye glowing bright red with destructive energy.
Gisella forcefully loosened the grip on Augusta and pulled her out of the way just in time to avoid the laser that melted through the walls. They were glad this monster didn’t arrive with the first wave or the fight could have gone differently. It’s strength was something they could handle but its death rays was another story entirely.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Bustov assured and aimed an arrow for the eye. Before he could release the shot, Fensal dashed past him in a blink and shoved the cannon against the cyclops’ chest, pulling the trigger. The brutal power of the shot dwarfed the Lenz’s explosive arrow and the enemy was annihilated.
“I’ve got this,” Fensal corrected, mockingly flicking back his hair.
“Wow, that’s cool,” Aki admitted, but patted Bustov’s back confidently. “But he told me he has only been using half of his real strength.”
“H- Huh?” the ranger stuttered, still in shock. “Oh, yep, still not even trying.”
Lilie hugged Asmodeus and Lucifer, proud of her ‘cute’ puppies, but they didn’t care for her attention. They growled at the corpse of the cyclops, barking and ready to pounce. The eye of the monster rolled out of its body, spinal cord attached and dripping with blood, began to float into the air. It stared at Fensal and began charging another ray, body gone but still refusing to die.
“Eww, that’s disgusting!” Lilie gagged and she conjured a flame in her hand and hurled it.
The magic bounced off a protective barrier but it drew the eye’s attention, redirecting the laser towards her. Wolfram shoved her out of the way and blocked the ray with the greatsword but its energy still bypassed his armour, making him feel weak as it tried to drain his life.
It could’ve been dangerous but by itself it was vulnerable and weak. With no one to protect it, Lintelfaden was able to walk right up and slice it in half, katana guided by the ‘yin’ thanks to the yin-yang discus inside the suit. The battle was over and the monastery was theirs. Any survivors had either run away after seeing their cleric blow up or gone into a frenzy and fought to the death.
And at the end of every battle was Gisella’s favourite part: the loot. Giddy, she rushed over to the diamonds while the others searched the rest of the monastery for any gold or valuable magic items. The haul was more than satisfactory, returning with more gold and diamonds than they thought they would have. She was sort of sad once she realised that these Guardians had much less crystals than the previous three they had fought but money was money.
“This door is locked by magic…” Fensal realised when even Gisella couldn’t pick the lock. “Maybe we could kick it down?”
“It won’t be pretty but I definitely could,” Lintelfaden said and punched the steel door. To his surprise, his fist bounced off and, even when Augusta tried, they couldn’t make a dent.
Lorenz activated the fusion torch attachment to his rifle and began to melt a hole through the wall. “Let’s just get in this way, it doesn’t matter if the door is locked or not.”
He carved a hole big enough for the party to fit through and pushed the wall in, creating a path for them to enter. They never got the chance though, freezing as soon as they saw the skeleton wearing a red robe reading a book. He closed it and turned his head completely around, staring them down with bright orange eyes like fire in his sockets.
“Are you the ones being obnoxiously loud out there?” he sighed. “Annoying cultists…”
“We’re gonna die!” Marvin complained. “Why was I bought by a gang of blockhead mercenaries?!”
“We aren’t cultists,” Gisella corrected. The party desperately tried to drag her away but she refused to be moved, forcing them back with her telekinesis. “The door was locked so we made another way in.”
“By carving a hole in my wall?”
“Uh, yes? We didn’t know you were here.”
He got up and dusted off his red and gold robes, calmly approaching the party. “Any good reasons why I shouldn’t kill you… cultists?”
Bustov recognised the robes of the powerful mage who fought against the Elder Elemental Evil back at the battle of Emridy Meadows. Renwick was his name but he should have died in the battle and it seemed he did… but not permanently. In a world of magic, death could be very temporary at times.
It seemed Gisella realised the same thing. “You’re Renwick, right? I can tell by the robes. Weren’t you one of the mages that fought against the Elder Elemental Eye?”
At this, Renwick cocked his head to one side. “What of it?”
“If you’re trapped here surely you know of the threat of it returning. We’re trying to prevent that very thing like you were.”
“So you’re… heroes?”
“Meant to be,” Lorenz corrected and was immediately gagged and tied.
“We aren’t cultists,” Gisella assured. “We’ve taken Windvane from the Howling Hatred and have just taken this monastery.”
Something about heroes rang true inside Renwick and he sighed again, returning to his seat and back to his book. “So you’re trying to be like me… Leave then, don’t disturb me and I won’t disturb you.”
“Maybe you could help us?”
“My battle was over when I died. It should’ve ended there.”
What wasn’t a part of history was that, 10 years ago, Renwick was studying about the magic that bound lichs to the world. Not to become one but to understand his enemy and how to destroy them for good. His brother, Sir Michael Caradune, a paladin, had joined him in his studies, always working in tandem no matter what was the trial.
Yes, Renwick did die in the battle, but he was brought back to live eternally as a lich against his will by Michael. The latter though never made it out of the battle and went missing just as history said he did. Was he dead or alive, no one knew; Renwick didn’t care though. If he was going to live eternally against his will he would have rather lived it with Michael.
“I’m not fighting with you,” he stated, ending the hope there and then. “But… could you bring back my brother? Dead or alive, I do not care.”
“I mean, we could try,” Fensal offered. “But where would we look?”
“I do not know. His standard was that of the two-horned unicorn, perhaps that could give you a lead.” He flipped the page of his book and the part of the wall Lorenz had melted through began to seal itself. “I’ll keep this place clear of Black Earth cultists that come from below, a little way to repay you for helping me remember my lost past.”
“What’s with the sudden change of heart?” Bustov asked.
“Heroes should help heroes. In return, promise me that if you see Michael, you will bring him back so that I may rest in peace with him.”
The wall was sealed and blocked off completely with magic; it was unlikely that the fusion torch could melt through again. They weren’t in the best position to head straight underground towards the temple especially after Fensal shut down from the overdrive and Lorenz was drained of spells, using most of it to enhance the android to superhuman strength. With all the loot they had acquired, the best bet was to head back to KIT and rest, hoping Renwick could keep the place clear of cultists. Although for once, serious progress was made and they finally had a shot at tackling another one of the temples and they were confident in their abilities. At least it wasn’t filled with water.