The Dark of Day, Part 1

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About the Saga

Contact has been lost with the fur trading outpost known as Brantis Hold. Is it the humanoids again or something far more sinister?

This is a re-working of one of my original college adventures. This was originally ran as The Dark of Day at RUCON IV at Lock Haven University in 1994.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

  • "That's a whole lot of ghouls." - Luc

What Has Come Before

Recovered from the debacle that almost saw the senior leadership of the Blackrazor Guild killed to a man, the Blackrazors prepare to launch an expedition to Brantis Hold.

The Saga

5th of Planting, C.Y. 587

Rain -- faint and annoying -- fell as the Blackrazors gathered to in the guild hall to learn about their latest job. Guildmaster Damaculas Everton, fretting over his latest shipment, turned over the negotiating chores to Ragnar so that he could hurry down to the docks.

Ragnar, although a mighty warrior, isn't known for his mighty intellect. In fact, the concept of counting escapes him, but because he controls the second largest number of guild shares he is the guild's second in command, and thus responsible for running the guild when Everton isn't available ("I think I see a flaw in this plan" Greggor once quipped). Ragnar, with the other guild members "guiding" him, met with Jasi Braceton, a half-starved young man who identified himself as a trader from Brantis Hold.

The hold, located three days ride north from the city, has been cut off from Obsidian Bay by a large humanoid army, Braceton told his would-be adventurers.

"We've been under siege for weeks, and every caravan we've sent out from the city hasn't returned home. Now we know that none of them made it through to Obsidian Bay. We were the lucky ones ... and we need your help to drive off these invaders"

"How many are there?" the dwarf Luc asked.

"Two to three hundred"

"You want the six of us to take on an entire army?" Luc asked.

"The w-w-w-word in the t-t-t-taverns is that you're g-g-g-great at harassing the h-h-humanoid forces," Braceton said, clearly intimidated by the dour dwarf.

"W-w-w-e just need you to k-k-k-k-ill their leaders -- we're sure that they will l-l-l-leave then."

The Blackrazors exchanged a quick set of doubtful glances, and then Luc reluctantly said: "All right."

The High Orcs Return

The Blackrazors, this time comprised of Luc, the earth elementalist Sven, the mage-ranger Tenaver, the mage Aesop, the ranger Kannet and the cleric of St. Cuthbert Calvin Cloudmore (standing in for the absent Kalib), quickly made their trip preparations and set out for Brantis Hold. After two days of riding through the wet and tepid countryside, they heard the sounds of horses approaching. Most of the Blackrazors -- Greggor, Kannett, Ragnar, Tenaver and Luc -- moved up to intercept the patrol.

Expecting the worst, they fixed a rope across the now-forested roadway. As the patrol approached they hoped to catch them by surprise -- which they did. As the High Orc patrol rounded the corner, their lead scouts were suddenly knocked from their steeds by the rope. A fierce fight broke out as the High Orcs reacted with terrible swiftness. Greggor fell under their evil influence and began attacking his companions. Meanwhile, Kannett had suffered a crossbow bolt to the chest -- a bolt that was attached to a High Orc's mount by a thin silver thread. The High Orc urged his horse out of combat, dragging Kannet along with him.

Meanwhile, at the back of the party, Cal and Aesop found themselves alone and facing a rear attack by another part of the High Orc patrol. As their companions managed to subdue the lead elements of the patrol, Cal and Aesop fended of three of the creatures by themselves.

Caught between the two combats, Kannett finally managed to free himself from the crossbow bolt and defeat his opponent. Just as he did so, his friends to the front of him -- who had engaged the mainstay of the patrol -- had defeated all but one of the High Orcs and freed Greggor from his magical enslavement. Joining up with Kannett they were able to handily defeat the foes threatening Cal and Aesop.  Heady from their successful battle, the Blackrazors continued their trek north.

The Lost Village

That afternoon, party approached the first of Brantis Hold's outlying villages.What they found there was the vestiges of a nightmare.

As they approached, they could see that the villagers had been trying to defend themselves against some sort of attackers -- makeshift barricades had been thrown up between the village's half-dozen stone and wood buildings. The barricades had been broken threw in places and as they drew closer they could see the buildings had been razed .  Fires still sputtered inside the buildings and on the remains of their thatched roofs. A quick examination of the village by the Blackrazor's two rangers, Tenaver and Kannett, revealed the tracks of not dozens, but hundreds of undead. The foot prints of the   attackers -- the hard press of bone obscured only slightly by rotting flesh -- filled the entire area around the village.

As they explored the village, the partly-cloudy skies darkened. Strange cresent shapes began to appear in the shadows of the trees around them. It was unnevering ... but not enough to stop them. The Blackrazors shrugged off the occurence, and contiuned to look for survivors.

They found one -- a badly burned man who begged for them to kill him. "Please ... burn me. Before they return. BURN ME!" The party could do nothing as the man fell into death. Immediately after his death, the party heard the now-familiar sound of an approaching High Orc patrol. They quickly hid in the remains of buildings as the patrol approached.

This time, instead of killing them, the party decided to parlay with their opponents.

The leader of the patrol was surprised, but not unwilling to talk. "Tell us what you are doing here," he demanded in perfect Common. Only the trace of an alien accent remained on his words.

The party quickly explained that they were here to restore contact with Brantis Hold. The High Orc admitted his men had been harassing the town, but claimed that the recent problems were the result of some mutual foe -- already, he said, some of his best patrols had gone missing. Based on what he'd seen, undead were to blame. Feeling particularly forgiving, he told the Blackrazors to leave the area immediately, and rode off. Naturally, they didn't leave.

Explosions in the Night

Midway through that night one of the guards posted by the party was startled by a series of explosions that rocked the eastern horizon. The Blackrazors quickly rallied and decided to investigate. On their way to the source of the cataclysm they were intercepted by a massive force of undead. These bizarre zombies, with a touch that could bring the living into their realm. While the creatures were as slow as the legends had said, the wounds they inflicted were far more deadly. Every hit left the victim with  a chance of suddenly transforming into an undead monster -- fortunately, the Blackrazors were able to counteract the effects before anyone fell. Several hours later the Blackrazors managed to fight their way through to the place where they had seen the explosions. It was a large, bare hill that had been home to a small orcish army.

But the army was gone. The entire force -- perhaps 200 strong -- had been slaughtered by the undead. Worse yet, the fallen were rising again as undead comrades of those who had killed them.  The Blackrazors, tired and mystified, decided to withdraw and rest. They climbed one of the large trees at the edge of the clearing and jury-rigged sleeping arrangements on its highest boughs.


6th of Planting, C.Y. 587

The morning did not bring good news. A hundred undead had gathered around the base of the tree and were milling about hungrily. The daylight -- which was feeble beneath the now overcast skies -- did not banish the foul creatures. Instead, the Blackrazors had to clear them with steel and magic, and found themselves fighting yet another running battle to get to Brantis Hold.

Late that day, they arrived at the hold. The farm lands around it had been ruined and spoiled by the packs of undead roamed the countryside. The hold itself, with its high, hard-wood walls, looked battered and tired. The Blackrazors sprinted for the hold, and were welcomed with a barrage of cheers by its inhabitants. Once inside, they found that the 200-odd holders were a sorry, half-starved lot. The buildings showed signs of fire damage, and the hold's temple of Heironeous had been smashed, presumably by a break-through force of undead.  It's one-time priest sat babbling and mad on its ruined steps.

The current ruler of the hold, Lord Jeremy Brantis, greeted the Blackrazors warmly, and brought him to his small, but well-decorated, office. He immediately launched into a tirade against the humanoids and demanded that the party do something about them. When informed that it appeared the entire humanoid force had been destroyed by undead, Brantis scoffed. "Serves them right for trying to meddle with dark powers," Brantis said. "They thought they could control then undead ... but look who's controlling who know eh?"

The party, ready for rest after their day full of fighting and running, eagerly retired to what passed for an inn in the town. Luc and Ragnar decided to stay up for a while as the others retired. Nightfall found them walking the walls of the city ... and witness to a horrific transformation.

As the last ray of weakened sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, the entire population of Brantis Hold underwent an unexpected and nightmarish transformation into undead. Suddenly, the entire town was filled with at least two hundred ghouls who wanted nothing more than to suck the marrow from the bones of the Blackrazors.

Luc let out a low whistle and then muttered: "That's a whole lot of ghouls."

Continued in The Dark of Day, Part 2

Experience & Loot

  • No experience and/or loot is available for this saga.
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