City of Towers

Monstrosities in the Sharn Sewers

Though the guard did not actively patrol the sewers, neither would they look the other way if they saw someone crawling into them, figuring that person might be up to trouble. Therefore, the entrance that Baratus spoke of was a grate in a loosely patrolled area- the entrance to a makeshift black market. The market had formed as a way station for smugglers bringing things into or out of the city surreptitiously. The architecture looked similar to that of the other scrap, so they figured that the hall had to be in the area. There were certain symbols that should lead the way according to the legend on the map Shade had provided.

The security was just as covert as the place that they were going, but Baratus made them out and gave them both the signals. He saw them relax and was glad that he didn't have to kill them. Going behind a series of boxes at the end of Chumwater Street, they dropped down into the muck.

The smell wasn't as bad as it could be with this section being shoreside- the water sloughed into The Hilt- the tributary right outside the city leading to the ocean. The pipe was lit dimly by hooded torches that could be snuffed quickly if the signal was given. There was some traffic, but it was relatively quiet as they walked through the pipe, headed towards the debris at the west end of the tunnel. Though the main part of the pipe was blocked, there was space to go past into the rest of the sewers. The lookout on that side was more obvious, though he didn't pay them much attention as they passed. Down here, the threats were further in tunnels.

Lighting the lanterns that they carried, they could see the signs of the sea air in the lichen that covered the brick walls. Baratus decided to take point, with Daakon bringing up the rear as they proceeded single-file through the tunnels.

It didn't take them long to find one of the symbols on the legend, carved high into the eroded latticework in the wall. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first symbol.

“Which symbol is it,” Callendin mused, looking down at the legend. This being the third symbol, they reasoned that they must be near the beginning. Though they scoured the area around their find and found a couple of symbols, they could not find the first one in the sequence. Being so quiet for so long, with frustration mounting as they scoured the area for the elusive beginning of the path, they almost missed the movement from the bloated bodies in the sludge beneath their feet until the Zombies began to moan and rise through the miasma.

(GM Rules no surprise and the heroes have the first action. The party chooses Daakon to go first. As this is the first adventure, the GM does tell them about Zombies and the fact that they can only be taken down by critical hits. This would be considered an Alternate scene, so has 4 zombies. Daakon decides to sweep widely, giving the others the chance to take the zombies down with relative ease. He tags Callendin as next. Spending 3 warfare, he rolls 6, choosing the booster Cleave. Damage doesn't really matter as none of them will be taken out by this, but they will lose their action, leaving only one zombie to attack)

Daakon pulled his sword from his hip across the line of foes, catching the three closest zombies with the edge of his blade. Flesh followed in his blade's wake, as it inflicted terrible damage to their soft skin. But they merely stopped their wailing for a moment- none falling.

(Callendin tags the last zombie, and also attacks it with a rush of fire, spending four sorcery. Rolling a 5, he crisps the zombie with a critical strike)

Fire leapt at Callendin's command to encircle the zombie's neck. As he tightened his fist, the fiery lasso constricted. The line of flame cut the zombie's head off its body, leaving the twitching remains to fall into the muck.

(Baratus is the last to act, and tags Callendin to start the next round. He attacks one of the inert zombies, spending 5 warfare on the strike. Rolling a 4, he incapacitates one of the zombies)

His sword flashing out, Baratus powered the sliver of blackened steel through one of the zombies' skulls, cutting off the top half of its head. It keeled over in the muck, dead.

(Acting first, Callendin tagged Daakon, seeking to take down the zombie in front of him. If he was able to do so, then Daakon would be free to kill the last one. If not, he could either attempt to cleave the last two, or tag Baratus to finish the last one. He spends 4 sorcery on the attempt, rolling a 5 for a total of 9.)

The flames still rippled around Callendin's hand, and with the merest exercise of his will, they winged towards the nearest zombie, illuminating its eyes as they burned through them and then out the back of its skull. It stood for a moment, before gravity captured it, bringing it splashing into the water.

(Daakon tags Baratus, and cleaves the last zombie, spending 4 warfare, and rolling a 6.)

Bringing his sword down heavily, Daakon cleaves the zombie from head to tail, splitting it in half. The halves fall heavily to the ground, as he spins looking for more.

(GM Notes post-combat – for 4 refresh, the party spent a total of 20 pool points. And this was with them getting lucky! Maybe the zombies are not as easy a target as he'd planned them to be.)

It seemed random for the zombies to just appear as they looked around. There had to be a reason that they would be found. Searching the area, they still didn't find the first rune in the sequence- but they did find the last. Knowing that the door should be close, they examined the rune on instinct and found that the lower dot on the rune pressed inward, a click revealing the seam of the door as a puff of dust escaped. They'd found their prize!