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Praedus 27 1120
The Gathering
The Torchwood heroes returned to Marhaven to report their findings to Grimaldi only to learn that in their absence the Guild Hall and everyone in it had temporarily vanished. The few survivors, including Grimaldi, had been driven mad by gods-knew-what (Sins of the Father). Left without their usual source of guidance, the party spent a few days attending to overdue business. Tika obtained a couple of items to augment her armor class, Ash learned a few new spells, and the others replenished their supplies. After a few idle days, however, Vladimir Vondran began to have strange nightmares in which he was overrun by the army of half-illithid sahuagin. A female voice warned that the instruments of death were gathering in the darkness. Convinced that his dreams were a warning from the Whale Mother, Vondran assembled the party and urged a swift return to the war-torn sea bottom. Their first destination would be the small settlement they had found in their last trip, where they had heard the story of the undead village (Casualties of War). The heroes' timing proved to be apt. They approached the village in time to interrupt an attack by a band of the half-illithid warriors. The mutants clearly had the upper hand against the weaker villagers. One had its tentacles around the skull of a young merfolk fighter and another clearly had its opponent stunned and ready for consumption. Ash moved quickly to send a magic missile volley into the middle of the enemy to get their attention while Vondran, Loki and Karu charged in. Tika followed after casting freedom of movement on herself. The strategy did distract most of the enemy from their weaker opponents. One aimed a mind blast at Tika, who shrugged it off easily, and others moved to engage the party. However, there wasn't time to save the young fighter; the mutant, who already had the young man in its grasp, skillfully consumed the brain before turning to face Karu. Loki, on the other hand, saved a villager by landing a strong blow against the leader of the group, forcing the creature to release the villager. Vondran followed up with a similar hit to save another villager threatened by the enemy, drawing reprisals from two separate mutants. Karu found himself in dire straits when he failed to shake off a mind blast, but Ash bombarded the enemy with sonic scorching rays and killed it before Karu's brain could be endangered. Tika cast castigate and stung the leaders with Pelor's rebuke. When the enemy leader fell to a psychic strike from Loki and another warrior died horribly as Vondran yanked the Arm of Telomir roughly from its gut, the end was clearly near. The second in command fled, leaving only one enemy to face the wrath of the party. Ash knew it was probably overkill, but seeing a barely-trained villager die so hideously left her wanting to inflict damage -- she crushed the final enemy with a sonic fireball. Meanwhile, Loki took off in pursuit of the fleeing warrior. His superior speed easily overmatched the enemy; in just a few seconds he caught up with the creature and landed a fatal psychic strike. Grateful villagers hailed the party and thanked them for their timely aide. Most of their numbers had, as the party had suggested, joined the "undead" colony. A few were uncomfortable with the idea of necromancy even in defense and had remained separate, which had unfortunately made them even easier prey for the marauding mutants. There was worse news, however: the small marauding bands were beginning to coalesce again into a larger, organized fighting force. The villagers did now know who, or what, was organizing the creatures but there was a gathering point in a ruined village some 18 miles to the south. The party spent the rest of the day with the villagers tending to the sick and wounded. Early the next morning they set out for the suspected gathering point. Sure enough, the party spied the figures of several half-illithid sahuagin warriors hanging around a desecrated altar in the middle of the ruin. They seemed to be standing watch, though not with any particular vigilance. Figuring that four on guard meant more out of sight, Tika summoned a water mephit and sent the creature into the area to create a distraction by knocking on doors. One of the four responded by seeking out the mephit and attacking it, but the others remained sharpening their tridents in the middle of the ruin. No further forces emerged from the buildings. Ash opened hostilities by lobbing a sonic fireball in the midst of the enemy, but their spell resistance protected them. They spread out and moved forward to engage the party. Tika called down some deific vengeance against the mutant who was attacking the mephit while Loki, Karu and Vondran advanced to fight. As the fighters engaged each other, Tika and Ash kept a look out for any reinforcements coming out of the buildings. None did, but very soon after the fighting started a gargantuan crab entered the combat area. Something about it looked wrong to Ash; she aimed a set of sonic scorching rays at the vermin and noted that while the rays did hurt it the creature seemed supernaturally hardened. Her suspicions were confirmed when a hatch opened on the crab's underside and two more warriors swam out from inside it -- they were dealing with a siege crab. The new enemies moved to engage Tika and Loki. Karu and Vondran fought hard against their opponents, landing telling blows against each, and Ash used more scorching rays against the strongest-looking of the enemy. The siege crab itself also participated, landing a vicious blow on Tika and then grabbing Ash in its powerful claw. Before it could crush her, though, Ash used baleful transposition to switch places with Tika's attacker, providing momentary relief for both of them. That relief was short lived, however, as a seventh mutant charged in from cover to strike Ash. Tika cast righteous might on herself, growing to impressive size and moving to put herself between Ash and the enemy leader. Ash used that cover to withdraw and cast false life; she then continued to help the cause from a safe distance with magic missiles and scorching rays. The leader displayed some psionic power, using a hit to siphon some of Tika's new strength and then creating a concealing field around itself. The crab, apparently directed by one of the enemy, also focused on Tika and Loki, delivering blow after blow from its huge claws. The situation turned grim enough that Vondran, after getting his harpoon stuck in this enemy, bit the creature in frustration. His sharp teeth found a soft spot in the mutant's neck -- green-black blood sprayed forth and the creature bled to death where it stood. Loki moved to engage the leader, enabling Tika to cast a mass cure moderate wounds and keep the party on its collective feet. That bought enough time for Ash to fell the leader with a magic missile volley. Loki took the coral circlet that gave control of the siege crab and directed the crab to destroy the remaining warrior, which it did expeditiously. A search of the compound revealed an array of well-made weapons and valuables obviously taken from the looted villages. There were indications of a larger population of warriors as well, suggesting that more would be returning from somewhere. The psionic power of the leader also held a potentially sinister message -- were these creatures developing more formidable powers as they gained experience? The heroes also had a new and powerful weapon at their disposal: the siege crab, which would respond to the orders of anyone wearing the coral circlet. If the party was to face an army, even in pieces, having an armored vehicle that could fight with them could be invaluable. They settled in to wait.
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