The Southern Campaigns

The Writings of Chalyb Sequitor - Part V

The Company of Steel - Return to the Vale of Onsho

The company gathered at the Gates to Lope. The morning was fresh and cool as the group gathered quietly. Although they were excited to be heading out again, there was a melancholy about them from the recent issues that had beset the group in the time they had spent in Lope.

Chalyb had become an involuntary anti-celebrity. With Ironhead having imbedded itself into Chalyb's skull, he created a fearful and intimidating presence wherever he went. He had taken to wearing a large cowled cloak about town to hide the helm. His washerwoman had eventually gotten over her initial fright, although she still wouldn't look Chalyb in the eye. The children had initially cried or run away from him, but he had begun keeping candy in his pockets and giving it away whenever one didn't run away. Over the course of the weeks, the children had started to get over the initial weirdness, and some had even asked Chalyb questions about the helm and whether it hurt. One had even asked if he could touch it.

Kentaro had spent the weeks in solitude. He could be seen in various places outside of town practicing the new forms and strikes that he had learned from the scrolls we had found in the monastery.

Raphael had spent the weeks playing and admiring his new tattoo. The moon of Yeotu eclipsing Mios.

Donna and Ana had spent the week identifying the magical items the party had retrieved. After that, Donna had spent time studying the strange bands and staff head that we had found in the Vale. Ana had spent time searching for mushrooms in the region.

Balla had a rough week as well. After getting thrown in jail for being drunk at the Wet Step, he was removed from his position at the kennels and also lost his apartment there. Apparently the Master of the Hounds didn't care for employees who wandered off in search of adventure rather than tending to their chores. Balla's father wasn't surprised.

Vanlenlo had the worst of it though. Although his farm had been rebuilt, there was still plenty of activity there. He wasn't staying there any more. He and his wife had gone round and round. She had married a pillar of the community, and now he was off adventuring. She wanted him to remain home and care for the farm with her. Her first husband had been killed, and now she felt as though she was losing her second.

Van attempted to explain what was going on. He told her of the records and the lore which said that there was a demon bound beneath the mountain. There had been an order of Knights that had pledged to keep the demon bound. If the records the party acquired in Lyme were accurate, one of the brothers had even sacrificed him to enforce the binding of the demon. These knights were members of a brotherhood devoted to the goddess Eria. If the dates in the records were correct the order of knights had disappeared long before the records of Donna's ancestors entering the Vale began. The journal from the keep in Onsho spoke of tribes of Northmen. That they followed some strange religion. At first Chalyb believed these tales to be linked to the cult of Yullick, but rereading the journal Chalyb began to wonder if these northmen might not instead be the descendants of the original knights.

Regardless, it wasn't enough for Margesi, Vanlenlo's wife. She wouldn't hear of it and chose instead to cast Van out of the house. Van went to his order and sought to get a divorce, apparently unaware that breaking a marriage was a great heresy to their order. The prefect, Fenris, took the opportunity of Van's broken marriage to cast Van out of the order. The violation of the marriage was certainly a serious offense, but Fenris certainly saw Van as a rival for the leadership of the order. He certainly took the opportunity to remove a potential threat.

Van's heart was heavy when he explained all that had happened to Chalyb. Chalyb had offered what support he could, and reminded Van that although he might have lost the political support of his order, clearly Eria had not withdraw her support of him. Together with Balla, they got Van a place to stay and moved his things out. Chalyb and Balla assured Van that Eria would resolve this all in her own way.

Thus with heavy hearts did the Company of Steel leave behind a town that may or may not even want them back with the intent of protecting the world from an ancient evil.

Riding forth on their horses they came to Galia. Stabling the horses and the mules they had a fine dinner and planned to spend the night. The party went to bed early planning an early start. They got one, earlier than they had planned.

At roughly 2:30 in the morning there was a terrible commotion, both Ana and Raphael were awoken by it. There was a rider, who pounded on the gates. He spoke to the innkeeper and the local militia boys and then rode off towards Lope.

Raphael went down and found out that there was a fire at Tori, the whole town was on fire. Quickly he came up and woke Chalyb reporting what he knew.

"Rouse the others, and get yer stuff together. We're off to Tori."

Chalyb arranged for the mules to stay behind, by then the party was gathered and mounted. With a nod, they rode off to Tori to see what aid they could render.

About halfway to Tori the Company saw torches headed that way. Chalyb called a halt and dismounted. As the torches came closer the Company saw that they were refugees. The people of Tori. Stopping a few of the travelers, they learned that a black fog had come down from the mountains and had lit the wall on fire. It had gotten in and the houses had been lit on fire as well. One little boy said, "I saw people... black people in the fog."

The party mounted back up and rode full speed for Tori. When they were almost 3/4 of the way there, they saw a deeper blackness in the twighlight of the early dawn. Chalyb called a halt and the party dismounted. Vanlenlo drew upon Eria's power and sought into the fog for evil. He quickly called out that there were evil forms within the fog itself. Ana drew up the gem and called forth it's power to see the truth in all things. Her eyes began to glow a soft yellow light as he saw into the heart of the darkness.

Donna gathered the horses together and Raphael prepared his bow as the others formed a line across the road. For a moment it seemed as though the fog waited, as though preparing itself. Then as if a decision had been reached, it launched itself down the road towards the Company of Steel.

The company stood firm as the fog approached. Ana raised the Gem of Kalir to her eye and peered through it, then called out, "Chalyb, Van was right, they're some sort of Zombie. And... Some of them are children!" And then the fog was upon the party.

Chalyb's sword blazed into flame as he swung blindly in the fog. Balla too was hampered by lack of sight, but his opponent happened to be right in front of him. Kentaro moved deftly forward having invoked the power of infravision from a magical token he carried. Thus the battle was joined.

Donna launched a fireball, then fell back, as Raphael sent arrows into the fog where he thought he saw shapes. The main party fought blindly and received a number of wounds. All this time Van seemed locked in some strange contortion, as though he were battling with himself. Then he uttered a strangled cry and raced into the fog swinging Blastbone before him.

The battle was not boding well for the party, Each of the warriors was beset by several of the Cinderdead, Ana had been knocked off her horse and then the horse had been slain by a Zombie. In fact the horse itself previously dead, was clear moving and rising again, even as a dark sooty cloud began to form around it. when suddenly Van called out "By Eria's promise to the living, let the dead be cast back to their graves." He raised Blastbone and a tremendous keening wail began to emanate from the Mace. The three skulls, which made up the flanges of the mace cried out in the horror of their duty. In a rushing wave the zombie things shattered and exploded all around the party, and with their destruction, the fog dissipated.

The party gathered itself together, Balla had been temporarily deafened by the use of Blastbone, but shortly he recovered. Van healed the group, and they remounted and began to move on to Tori.

As they rode onward at a fast walk, Balla brought his mount up to speak with Chalyb. It was then that Balla informed the group of his recent dreams, which had his dead brother returning in a dark unholy fog to lay waste to the living. He also informed them that he had offered the Lord of Vengeance five years of service for being able to destroy those who killed his brother.

Chalyb simply bowed his head and rode on. He had a sinking feeling there was more trouble ahead.

As the party came upon Tori, they saw that the village itself was on fire. The palisade and the buildings within were all on fire and mostly burnt to the ground. Meanwhile several of the farms around the town proper were also burning. The party dismounted and began to decide what to do when they saw a vast cloud of dense sooty smoke rise up from the center of the town and head towards them.

This cloud was easily twice the size of the earlier cloud. The party again readied themselves by giving Donna the horses and assuming a defensive formation. Raphael began sending arrows into the smoky cloud, Ana caused herself to fly up and began scouting out the source of the evil, even as Donna drew up a magical protection from the powers of evil. Van bestowed the blessing of Eria upon the party, and then suddenly froze in place.

Chalyb swore and then entered combat. Ana and Donna had warned him that if these undead were somehow tied to fire, that the flame from his magical blade may in fact be healing them, thus while he called forth its light he did not draw forth the flame. He quickly found himself beset by multiple opponents in the thick choking smoke and soot.

Balla took the left flank and held the line, even as Kentaro dropped several of the Zombies beside him.

Ana flew over the cloud in order to get into a more advantageous position when suddenly she found she was no longer flying, but rather falling. She landed roughly, but essentially unharmed, and was set upon by three of the Cinderdead. They struck at her, but the power of the gem she held created a magical barrier, which prevented them from touching her. Being the cautious woman she was, she did not decide to rely on its protection for ever, and thus turned and ran back towards the party.

She found that the cloud and the beings within which she had just flown over were now, of course, between her and her companions, so she turned right and ran hard. Fortunately for the rest of the party, three of the Cinderdead ran after her.

Chalyb had four of the things clawing through him. After being sliced for the third time he gave into his rage and called out a barbaric yalp and became a swirling whirlwind of death, his blade slashing and smashing through all four of the Cinderdead. Two went down, but the other two were larger and stronger. They took the hit, which would have dropped many men, and continued clawing for Chalyb's life-force. Two more of the things came up to replace the two Chalyb had dropped.

Van was set upon by several and unable to defend himself his eyes showed the fear his mind could still register. He was going to be fully aware while they ripped him apart. Having no other idea of what he might do, he released control of his body to the will, which obviously resided within Blastbone, but it was for naught, the Mace failed to take control of him. After a few strikes from the claws of the burning dead he fell.

Balla was holding his own, and Kentaro was showing off his new moves to good effect. Raphael's arrows took down a few of the dead, but he had switched to daggers to defend himself against the Cinderdead who, having finished with Vanlenlo had chosen him as their next victim.

Donna summoned spiders to protect Raphael, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Not before she was able to blast several with a powerful lightning bolt. This drew the attention of whatever evil led these things, and Donna shortly found herself unable to move.

Again the party stood at the brink of despair, Raphael fell to the claws of the dead around him. Ana was locked in a running battle with the three upon her. Casting forth bolts of energy, it was only the barrier, which the gem afforded her that kept her alive. Chalyb and Kentaro had suffered multiple wounds and were fading fast. The horses ran spooked by the burning dead, and Donna was surrounded by their leering empty eye sockets, just waiting for her own shield to falter.

As Balla fought on, the sooty cloud parted for just a moment. Across the brief parting of the cloud Balla came face to face with the risen dead body of the Evil Cultist whom the party had tracked down in the mountains and slain. The party had burned their remains, but apparently even that had not been enough. Balla lost all coherent thought. He cried out Leo's name and leaping and twisting, his blades became a blur of shadow and light. In the heavens above, a lone red star blazed hotly. For one brief instant a shaft of red-light shone down enveloping Balla and his foe. For a moment the world stopped except for the two of them. Then Balla smote his enemy and called out, "Vengeance is MINE!" The was a whisper in the wind, "Your vengeance is granted." And a great blast of hurricane force wind swirled out from Balla. Everywhere it touched, the Cinderdead collapsed into piles of ash, and the cloud dissipated.

The party was saved.

As the nightmare passed, the party pulled itself together. Kentaro immediately ran to minister to Donna who still lay unmoving. Chalyb yelled, "Kentaro, NO! Come and tend Van first."

"But Chalyb" Kentaro's head swung back and forth looking at Donna then Van, then Raph. "But she's wounded."

Chalyb, who was kneeling at Van's side. "No, Van may already be beyond saving. Come here and tend to him."

Kentaro nodded and came to Van. He knelt beside the fallen priest and began a low droning chant. He drew his left hand up to his chest with the palm vertically aligned to his sternum. His chanting continued and the Palm of his hand began to glow a brilliant silver. With his eyes closed he laid his hand onto Vanlenlo's chest, the claw marks slowly began to close and Van's breathing grew easier.

Balla had collapsed at first, and seemed to be listening to something, but after a few moments he rose and moved quickly to his brother who had also fallen to the burning dead. "Ken, please, help him!"

After a few moments, Kentaro moved over to Raphael. Chalyb had carried Donna's body back over near Van. As Van was recovering he raised his holy symbol and the calm peaceful light of Eria's love fell upon the group.

Some time later, the group had put out some of the fires, but most buildings were too far gone. Gathering the group together, Chalyb set Balla in charge and had him secure the area.

Meanwhile Chalyb and Donna rode back to Chalia to gather the mules. After riding for a few hours the lack of rest from having only had a few hours sleep the night before took its toll. The pulled off to the side of the rode and set up camp.

As Donna slept, Chalyb kept watch... well mostly, when he wasn't watching the inside of his eyelids.

His head jerked up at the sound of approaching horses. Striding out to the center of the road he commanded his sword to glow and called to the approaching riders to halt.

It was the militia, as Chalyb had hoped. Santo was at their head. Chalyb quickly explained the situation to Santo and clarified that he had left his company to hold down what remained of Tori. Santo nodded, not entirely sure about Chalyb's stories, which seemed to get more and more outlandish each time there was a new one. However, one could not argue with the evidence, and there had been that giant skull.

"Do you want some of my men to accompany you back?" Santo asked.

Chalyb shook his head. "No, we will rest a few more hours then be on our way.

"So be it." Santo nodded and signaled the troop to ride on ahead.

Chalyb and Donna arrived in Chalia and reclaimed their mules. Many of the refugees were there, and Donna spoke to them of what happened in the village. Chalyb tousled the hair of the young boy who had noticed the forms in the smoke and praised him. Unfortunately this earned him some trepidation on the part of the parents. Donna gave him a meaningful look and tapped the side of her head. Oh Yes... Chalyb pulled his hood back up and went back to preparing the mules for the return trip to Tori.

When the party had regrouped in Tori, the spoke briefly with Santo. There was a huge burnt path, which led down out of the mountains. Santo was preparing to send some troops up to scout it. Chalyb volunteered the party to do so, but told Santo that if they found nothing, they would likely continue on to Denshi Ferry.

Traveling up they found the place where they had slain the remains of the bandits. The gravesites appeared to be disturbed, and everything around the area was burned. The trail was a straight line more or less directly towards Tori.

As they began to head on towards Denshi, Kentaro held aloft his hand, and with a brief series of gestures and canted words, his palm again glowed silver, and a sparrow alighted on his glowing palm. He seemed to whisper to the bird and then cast it up into the air. "He will bear our message to Santo."

The group arrived at Denshi at midday. They took baths and all stayed in the nicest of the Inns. There they restocked their supplies, and heard a number of rumors about some crackpots who had headed up into the Vale and had never returned.

Well our crackpots headed back up into the Vale. Crossing the river, they began to explore the opposite side of the river.

Traveling for a few days they saw signs of the giant moving trees, but encountered none.

They did come upon a watchtower and found some trash and a chest filled with sealed jars of Balefire.

Continuing on, they came back to the Keep. Here they discussed the need they had for the staff to complete the ancient rites spoken of in the journal. It was here that Donna spoke to them of her dreams, and that she had learned the rituals that were required in these dreams.

The party searched for the staff in the keep and for the burial site of any of the aforementioned owners. They found none.

Disappointed and frustrated the party began mulling around as Raphael began putting together dinner. Chalyb sat at the edge of the water and muttered to himself. As Donna came to get him for dinner, he was grabbing sodden sticks that were waterlogged and barely floating through the graveyard.

"Too bad we can't use one of these damn things. They are certainly darkly stained and in Phenosh's grasp." Chalyb pulled back to cast the branch off into the river.

"Chalyb wait!" Donna said, suddenly excited.

"What?" Chalyb turned seeking out potential danger.

"That's it!" She ran up to him and leaping up she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the lips. "We CAN use that!"

Chalyb, stunned by Donna's attention, began to blush furiously. As Donna took the staff and ran up towards the keep calling for Ana.

The ritual would actually be four separate rituals that would take place over the next month or so. Each portion had to be accomplished at a different phase of each of the moons.

Fortunately for the group, the first ritual could be performed on the following day. Donna began her preparations, and the others went about various projects of their own. Chalyb got Ana to cast fly on him, and he went and retrieved the chest with the Balefire and brought it to the keep.

That day as Donna was performing the ritual with Chalyb standing guard outside her door, Ana and Raphael were on the roof. As Mios rose, the low fire they had going suddenly swirled up towards the heavens and then lashed out at Ana engulfing her and burning her.

After Van had put her out and tended the burns, Donna came out, and the party saw that the branch Chalyb had found was now bound at one end by one of the bands. The branch itself had seemed to straighten more than a little and was certainly more sturdy than before.

Searching the rest of the vale, the party found nothing of interest, and then found themselves back at the large temple.

They entered, setting off the magic mouths Donna had left behind.

Removing the spikes, the group opened the great slab and descended into the beneath.

They tethered the mules near the underground lake, and left them with an open bag of oats and a continual light coin.

Chalyb flew the group over the water thanks to Ana, and they went down the right hand passage.

They spent the rest of the day wandering through the passages below. They found little of interest, although Raphael almost managed to get crushed under an unsafe rockfall.

They camped outside a large open cavern, when Raphael called out that something was coming. Listening they heard a great flapping.

"Bats!" Chalyb yelled. He strode to the front and prepared to face the bats.

A great black swarm of giant bats came around the corner and began to boil down towards the party. Chalyb tensed for battle when suddenly he heard canting, and whoosh, the passage in front of him exploded into flame. The bats squealed, and then zzzzzttt a bolt of lightning crashed into them. Their charred corpses fell to the floor and ceased to move.

Chalyb nodded. "Nice."

There were many more hours that seemed like days underground as the party found their way around. Chalyb kept a rough map and marked the passages with chalk, and the soon found places where the passages came back upon each other.

At one point they came upon a place where the natural passage was bisected by a giant round smooth tunnel. Balla quickly surmised that these were likely the remaining tunnels left behind by the giant worms the dwarves had told the party about. The party chose not to explore them at this point.

At another point they found they were not alone. Coming upon the group was a small hunting party of what would turn out to be some type of bug people. Chalyb called out to them in underspeech, and after a few back and forths they found that some of them could speak a passable form of Vichese.

Negotiating with the people turned out to be profitable. For roughly 2 weeks of food they learned where the tunnels of the people, where the tunnel worms were, and where the tunnels grew unbearably cold. Which was one of the signs of where the demon should lie.

Traveling on based on the notes from "the people" the group came upon a passage that led further downwards, and quickly grew unbearably chilly. Balla and Ana suffered frostbite. Van called upon the divine endurance of Eria to sustain the group, and her power made them capable of bearing it.

After healing Ana and Balla the party continued until they came to a great hole in the center of the room ringed with ice. Kentaro deftly approached the hole and looked over the side.

Suddenly the hole began to collapse around him. He did a backflip to safety as the rest of the hole exploded around him.

Some strange bug made of ice crawled up out of the whole, and spreading its crystalline wings flew up and spat a freezing stream of icewater at Chalyb. The water hit his shield and froze instantly, forming a pillar to the ground, until Chalyb smashed it.

The party flew into action with fire and steel, and suffering only a few wounds were successful in shattering the bug. Preparing to withdraw, they heard sounds from beneath them as two more flew up out of the hole.

Their wings proved razor sharp, and their spittle was freezing death waiting to happen. The party stood firm, and unlike against the burning dead, their fire weapons served them in good stead.

As soon as the other two were dispatched the party pulled back and retreated back up to the intersection.

FINI