Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Campaign Log – Eretria, human fighter

This blog post will serve as a campaign log for the adventures of my Savage Worlds character, Eretria.

• Session 5 (7/2/2019)
• Session 4 (6/25/2019)
• Session 3 (6/11/2019)
• Session 2 (5/28/2019)
• Session 1 (5/14/2019)

Eretria’s Backstory

“The ole bloke didn’t stand a chance!” exclaimed a burly man with great laughter.

“Tre, is that true?” asked another man seated at the table.

Eretria took a swig of her drink and replied with a smirk, “rule number one on fighting: never underestimate your opponent.” She winked and finished off her drink. “Alright, gentlemen,” she said as she rose, “tomorrow let’s finish this job. I’d like to get home in time for my brother’s birthday.”

As she walked away from the table a frantic young man burst into the inn. “It’s gone! It’s gone! It’s all gone!” he shouted hysterically. A crowd formed around the young man as people tried to make out what he was saying. Eretria listened from a short distance and her heart sank as she heard the words, “Pucksbridge is lost. Up in flames. Monsters destroyed everything.”

The burly man from Eretria’s caravan company looked towards her, his face pale. She made brief eye contact before darting out the door. “Tre!!!” he shouted, but she ignored his call. Her family lived in the outskirts. They’d be okay, right? They have to be okay. She borrowed a horse from the caravan she was guarding and raced towards Pucksbridge into the darkness of the night.

Pucksbridge was a 3 day journey from the tavern. The young man was right. The city was decimated. As she approached her family home she became overwhelmed the feeling of dread and despair. She made it about 30 feet from her home when she hopped off the horse and fell to her knees sobbing. Outside the front door laid 5 motionless, charred bodies.

Two Years Later

A steady drip of purple blood fell from her blade as the body of another monster collapsed to the ground. She approached the corpse, squatted and watched the monster’s body disintegrate into a vapor leaving behind a small stone.

“It’s not enough,” Eretria thought. “It’s never enough.” She pocketed the Soulstone and stood.

Two years have passed since the slaying of Eretria’s family. She was a shell of her former self, motivated by one thing only: vengeance. She removed a flask from her pouch and swallowed a gulp of its contents. The clear liquid burned as it traveled down her throat. Vengeance kept her moving, and alcohol numbed her pain. She sighed as she returned the flask to her pouch. Eretria hopped onto her horse and continued down the road. No destination in mind, just the desire to see more blood…

Adventure Log

Session #1 – 05/14/2019

[A few months have passed since end of backstory]

Eretria arrived in Tremenda two nights prior.

She hoped to find some new purpose to her life. Maybe guarding one of those bearers of the Mark of Ardrick. She heard the King of Tremenda’s call. She didn’t have the mark, but figured maybe one of those that did could use a little muscle to aid them, anything to get Erteria closer to killing monsters.

The king’s palace was at the center of city. Eretria spent her first day in the town scoping out the courtyard in front of the palace. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, a sign or something. A new calling. Unfortunately, she found nothing. As the sun began to set, Eretria returned to the inn where she was lodging at.

The Generous Helping doubled as inn and a tavern. Feeling dejected, Eretria took a seat at the bar. The barmaid approached. Her name was Ethel, Ethel Norma. A rough looking woman who got straight to the point, “what do you want?” Eretria looked to the man next to her and pointed at his enormous mug, “whatever he’s drinking.” The rumors of Tremenda were true she mused, “everything is comically large here.”

Eretria awoken to Ethel looming over her. “You can’t sleep at my bar. I’m trying to clean up and the bar is closed.” Ethel said frowning. “I’m impressed you can hold so much ale,” she continued as she wiped the bar counter. Eretria rose wiping drool from her cheek. She yawned and stretched asking, .“ how long have I been out?” “Long enough,” Ethel replied not looking up as she scrubbed the counter.

Eretria returned to her room. She flopped on the bed and allowed her sleepiness overcome her.

The next day started much like the previous one. Eretria returned to the courtyard but this time quickly grew bored of the people watching. “I’ve had enough of this,” she thought.

Eretria made her way back the Generous Helping. She stopped at the stables and tended to her horse before walking into the tavern.

It was a crowded day. She found an open spot at the bar, and ordered a large ale. The mugs here were 3x the size of your average mug. Eretria wasted no time drinking it all. She felt the buzz and the slight dizziness that came once she got into her drunken stupor. She took a final sip and stared at the empty mug. She sighed. Drinking once brought her joy. Now it was becoming a bad, expensive habit. Eretria looked up making eye contact with Ethel standing behind the counter. Ethel returned a curt nod before grabbing Eretria’s mug. 

Eretria turned around and scanned the room. She was observing the patrons when she noticed a hooded figure sitting alone at one of the tables. The person seemed so out of place. When Ethel returned with her mug replenished, Eretria pointed over her shoulder and asked, “who’s the guy?” Ethel shrugged, “he’s an odd one.” 

Eretria returned her gaze to the hooded figure. “Curious,” she thought.

Eretria stood with her mug in hand and approached the hooded figure’s table. She pulled out a seat, and sat her mug on the table with a loud thud. The hooded figured jumped and seemed nervous at first, but once short introductions were made, he became animated. His name was Wren and he had just arrived in the city. The lad was very talkative, almost annoyingly talkative.  He sounded young and a bit naive. Eretria estimated maybe 14 or 15 years old at the most. In some ways, he reminded her of her younger brother. She caught a glimpse of his dark skin and blue eyes as the young man continued on blabbing about someone he was looking for. She didn’t pay attention to most of what he was saying. He talked way too fast for that, especially in her current state. “I’ll help you find your uncle,” Eretria said as she took another gulp of her ale.  “To The Uncle Finders!” she cheered and she raised her mug.  

As she enjoyed another sip of her drink, Eretria noticed another hooded person take a seat at the table. Unlike Wren, this fellow seemed reclusive, almost annoyed to be joining their table. Both Eretria and Wren shared warm greetings. The hooded figure ignored them glancing at Ethel as she made her way to their table. “What do you want?” she asked dryly. The hooded guy opened his mouth to answer Ethel when Eretria shouted, “ale!” Ethel exchanged glances with Eretria before leaving the table.

Ethel returned with the stranger’s drink and Wren started talking about pufferfruit. Eretria was confused, “is he saying it’s edible or it’s not?” Eretria endured Wren’s chipper conversation when she caught the words of another conversation behind her. A small girl said, “I think the monsters got him.”

Eretria snapped out of her drunken haze. She jumped up exclaiming, “What?!” As she spun around she spotted a little girl running out of the tavern. Eretria looked towards the man the girl was conversing with. She walked up, grabbed him by the arm, and shouted “what monsters?!” The man stammered out something.

“Useless,” Eretria muttered as she shoved the man back to his seat and stormed out the inn chasing after the girl. 

“Great!” Eretria thought sarcastically. Outside the inn was a large crowd and the girl was no where in sight. She shoved passed the people in the crowd frantically searching for the young girl. She could hear Wren’s voice as he trailed behind her. The pair wadded through the crowd and approached a man with information. The information man handed out pamphlets about the city. Eretria ignored his offer for generic city info and said, “I’m looking for a little girl. She just ran out of the Generous Helping. Have you seen her?” 

The man paused and thought for a moment, “ah yes, about yay high and runs around with a little boy? Yes, I think I saw her headed towards the slums. Try looking at the West Wall.”  He pointed. Eretria gave a curt nod thanking the man and rushed towards the slums. Wren followed.

Eretria and Wren walked through the alleys. Beggars reached out with their cups as they passed. Eretria ignored them. She was focused on one thing only: finding the girl, killing the monsters.

The pair found a wall with claw markings. The cuts in the stone were deep. Wren grew oddly silent. His entire demeanor changed as he carefully examined the wall. These were the markings of a monster he confirmed.

Eretria looked around and picked up a trail. The trail led the pair to a sewer grate, but the grate was opened towards them. Like something had came out of the sewers instead going in. “Darn it,” Eretria thought. “We have to backtrack,” she said. As they made their way back to the clawed wall a piercing howl echoed throughout the alley. 

“Let’s go,” Eretria said taking off in a run.

They made it to Grand Ave Way and noticed several people also approaching the source of the howl. 

“Put him down!” a young girl shouted. “Is that the sound of the girl from the tavern?” Eretria thought. 

“Where is he?!” shouted gruff voice. Eretria couldn’t see who said it but she snarled and drew her sword. Today she would spill purple blood. 

Wren dashed ahead of her. Surprised, her snarl softened. Was this the same kid? Everything about him seemed so different. She pushed back the question and charged into the fight. As she rounded the corner she spotted two wolf-like creatures in the front and another in the back. A small boy was on the ground behind it. She also caught a glimpse of the young girl she had been searching for. 

Beside the girl was the same hooded figure from the tavern. “He is a mage?” Eretria thought. Two werewolves attacked him. He parried the first attack but the second monster landed a side blow.

“Arghhhhh!!!” Eretria shouted as she lounged into the fray. She swung her sword and chopped off the werewolf’s head. It tumbled onto ground before it faded away revealing a purple crystal, a Soulstone.

Wren attacked the monster in the back. The werewolf entered a berserker stance and began to violently swing its claws towards Wren. One of the claws slashed Wren’s chest removing some of his clothing and revealing an odd skin color.

The mage fired off icy blasts and frost formed on the fur of the monsters. Eretria saw a few arrows wiz by and to her right noticed the chanting of another man a few feet away. “A nobleman in the slums of Tremenda?” she ignored the thought and attacked the werewolf in front of the mage. The swing missed. As she prepared for another attack she suddenly felt invigorated, strengthened. Eretria swung at the monster again. This time the blow landed leaving behind a large slash across the creature’s chest. Blood poured out as the monster collapsed and faded leaving behind a Soulstone.

Eretria looked towards the remaining monster and watched Wren thrust his blade through the monster’s chest ending it’s life.

• Session 5 (7/2/2019)
• Session 4 (6/25/2019)
• Session 3 (6/11/2019)
• Session 2 (5/28/2019)
• Session 1 (5/14/2019)

Session #2 – 5/28/2019

Session #3 – 6/11/2019

Eretria swiped her sword at a fire monster from her horse. The attack hit, but it wasn’t enough to kill the monster. There were three fire monsters, and Eretria was their new target. The monsters were shaped like humanoid candles. One attacked Eretria and missed. Another launched a fireball towards her, but the attack missed. The third one hurled a fireball at Eretria and the blast hit. The attack singed her clothing but she suffered from no burns.

A frozen arrow whizzed by plunging into the candle fiend next to Eretria. The monster turned into a block of ice. Wren ran up to the burning caravan wagon and spotted two humans inside. He called out, “Do you need help?! Assistance?!” Eretria hopped off her horse, and charged into combat with one of the candle monsters. With a large swing, she sliced the monster in half. The body evaporated into a purple mist revealing a stone. Wren drew his swords and attacked the remaining candle monster. He cut straight through the monster.

A fire taking the shape of a humanoid split into multiple copies. One of the fire monsters lunged out in an attempt to grab Wren. Another leaped from the wagon and over Eretria’s horse. It sucked in air before it unleashed a cone of fire aimed at Wreck and Vesper. Wreck tumbled out of the way. The fire breath engulfed Vesper. His robes were on fire, but he was able to quickly pat down the flames.

The third flame approached Eretria and reached out in an attempt to grab her. Eretria parried the grab attempt, and the disappointed flame started dancing. It swayed back and forth. Vesper cast a burst of ice freezing two of the dancing flames. Eretria, no longer surrounded, moved towards the burning wagon and pulled a woman from the wreckage. The woman was a dead weight. She sleepily yawned as she was placed on the ground.

An arrow from Wreck split the remaining flame in half. In its place stood two smaller flames. Wren swung his sword through one of the flames. Meanwhile, Eretria pulled a man out from the caravan wreckage. As he collapsed to the ground he causally said, “Thanks. It was hot in there.” Wreck launched another arrow and one of the smaller flames disappeared into a purple mist.

The final flame monster sucked in a ton of air as it prepped for a fire blast. Wreck, Wren and Vesper were in its path. Fortunately, they all managed to roll out of the way. Eretria leaped over the burning wagon with her sword raised and plunged her sword into the remaining fire killing it. As sheathed her sword the looked around and wondered, “Where’s Waldo?”

From a short distance away, she noticed Waldo as he trotted on his horse towards the party. Behind him, another caravan approached moving at a faster pace. Wren tried to pat out the fire on the wrecked wagon. Wreck and Eretria aided him as well. Eretria stifled a laugh as she noticed Wreck jump up to pat out flames on his hair. Vesper focused his attention on the collapsed man and woman.

As the new caravan came to a stop, Wren waved. A short, portly man hopped out. He walked up and asked, “what happened here?” The man had a thick mustache, and wore a hat. Wren started to explain the situation, but Eretria cut him off and explained it with fewer words. The boy could turn a five minute story into an hour long story. The man’s name was Roland Poli. Or Roli for short. Roli was head to Laboria with his daughter. He agreed to help out, and offered to carry the man and woman in his caravan.

The wrecked wagon was hitched to Eretria’s horse and they headed to Laboria. Wren road with Eretria. Vesper and Wreck joined Roland. Wren chatted for a while before he pulled out a wooden flute. He played a pleasant melody with the instrument.

The group finally made it to Laboria. Large smoke stacks and tall buildings lined the city. A thin film of smog permeated the air. The pollution really irritated Wren. He started coughing and didn’t look well. The city streets were empty. “Something is off,” mused Eretria. A large horn sounded off and people began to flow out of the buildings. But it was just children. No adults were around.

• Session 6 (7/9/2019)
• Session 5 (7/2/2019)
• Session 4 (6/25/2019)
• Session 3 (6/11/2019)
• Session 2 (5/28/2019)
• Session 1 (5/14/2019)

Session #4 – 6/25/2019

It was midday. The children were breaking for lunch. “Just how I remembered it. Wait,” Wren started. The kids filed out like worker bees. Roland wore a concerned look.

Eretria asked, “is this normal?”

“Oh no! Certainly not,” replied Roland.

Vesper suggested they should investigate the factory. Wren walked up to one of the children and said, “excuse me! Hi! Hi! Whose’s your mayor? King? Duke?” The kid was startled and responded, “uh, Zach’s in charge. Uh you should definitely see Zach.” Roland excused himself and others entered the factory. The children inside directed the party to a room in the back. Inside an young child reviewed blueprints in front of him. “Can I help you-” he started, but stopped mid-sentence once he looked up. Zach looked worried and said, “oh no! Adults”

Zach informed the group that all the adults in Laboria were resting.

“How long have they been resting,” asked Vesper.

“A few weeks,” replied Zach, “we’re taking care of it.”

“We here to help,” assured Vesper.

Zach seemed apprehensive and unsure, but he warmed up to Vesper’s offer. He opened up and said, “Ok, there was a man that came into town and it’s my fault. I said adults worked all the time. He asked if I wanted them to stop, and I said yes and then they rested.” Zach continued, “The man took up residence outside of town. Idlax. A big man.” He made a wide gesture with his arms.

They were able to confirm the two adults they found outside of the city were under the same resting spell as the adults in the town. The man and woman weren’t under the spell when they arrived in Laboria, and Zach suggested the same will probably happen to them too.

Vesper sensed a powerful, magical aura around the drowsy adults. It was anima magic.

Eretria, now feeling a sense of urgency asked, “how much time do we have? How long before the effects of the spell take place?”

Zach replied, “the two adults arrived, unloaded and departed. So about a day. A woman, Veronica, came and investigated too. She has not returned.”

A ruckus was being made outside. They overheard a man say, “Aye, what’s this then?”

Zach said, “Oh, I bet that’s Lenni. One of Idlax’s minions.”

Eretria peeked out a window and spotted an armored man approach Roland’s cart. She abruptly left the window, and power walked towards the exit of the factory. The others followed. Outside, there was a man wearing old, ragged armor sizing up Roland’s cart. These types disgusted Eretria. She had to deal with her fair share of bandits back in the day when she worked as a guard for caravans. She scowled and shouted, “Mind your own business!” The man turned around quickly. His jaw came apart from the force of his quick movement. He fixed himself and responded, “you shouldn’t be awake,” and drew his spear.

Eretria drew her sword. She was a bit shocked by the man’s, no, monster’s appearance. Lenni was a lesionnaire, an undead creature. Wreck pelted Lenny with an arrow. The arrow went straight through his rib cage and into Roland’s cart. Waldo casted smite. A bolt of lightening stroked Wren’s katana and Eretria’s sword. Eretria could feel power radiating through her. Lenni charged into combat, thrusting his spear towards Wreck. The spear landed knocking the wind out of him.

Lenni announced, “Let’s do this!” He blew on a whistle and the sound of metal flapping on the winds approached them. Metal, mechanical owls swooped in attacking Waldo, Eretria and Vesper. They were clockwork cuckoos, and they used their metal wings as a weapon.

Eretria ran up next to Wreck and swung at Lenni. Lenni blocked her attack with his shield. Eretria used the momentum to swing again. The second attack landed. Eretria smirked and said, “call off your owls and then maybe we can talk.”

Lenni responded mockingly, “oh I’m shaking in my boots.”

Vesper focused his attention on the mechanical owls. He cast one of his frost spells, but something went wrong and the spell backfired. Ice erupted into his face. Wren turned and swung at one of the metal owls. He sliced it in half. The owl’s halves fell to the ground revealing a crystal. Unlike monsters they have faced before, the mechanical owl’s body did not fade into a purple mist.

Eretria attacked Lenni again. As her sword contacted the lesionnaire’s armor she said, “You should have taken my offer of talking. Now, you’ll die.” Lenni didn’t seem phased by her attack. Wreck took a few steps away from Lenni and fired another arrow. This one plunged into his skull.

Lenni looked towards Wreck and said, “That wasn’t very nice!” He returned his attention to Eretria. Lenni got into a fancy stance with his spear and launched three attacks. Eretria was able to dodge the first, but the second blow landed knocking the wind out of Eretria. The hit wasn’t enough to bleed, but it’ll leave a bruise.

Smug, Eretria responded, “that will be the last time you’ll hit me.”

Lenni replied, “we’ll see about that.” He lunged with his spear and the attack missed. Surprised, Lenni asked, “what are you? Some fortune teller?”

One owl attacked Waldo and the blow shaken Waldo. In response, he chanted a protection spell, and a rock shield emerged from the earth. Meanwhile, Wren swiped at another owl knocking it out of the air. The fell to the ground shaking. He looked towards Vesper and shouted, “Mr. Vesper! Take it out!”

Vesper, felling a little chilled and worn out, turned around and cast a frozen spell and took out an owl next to Eretria. The owl fell to the ground shattering. Lenni was also hit in the burst of frost. Wreck fired an arrow and it went through the remaining owl, destroying it.

Lenni glanced around and said, “You broke all my cuckoos.” Lenni made a desperate attack against Eretria. He lunged his spear with a large amount of force but his arm fell off. Eretria smiled and asked, “any last words?” She plunged her sword into Lenni’s chest killing him. His body faded away leaving behind a sizable Soulstone.

Zach emerged, surprised and said, “Wow! You killed Lenni. You guys are strong.”

Eretria sheathed her sword and said, “and we’ll kill Idlax next.”

Vesper corrected her, “We’ll talk to Idlax.” Wren nodded his head in agreement with the non-violent suggestion. Eretria realized her blood lust was taking over and blushed. She responded, “You’re right. He could be human, not a monster.”

Vesper collected a few samples of the clockwork owls and the party agreed to take a short rest before continuing. Vesper needed some time to recover from the backfired spell.

While the rested, they tried to get more information out of Zach.

Zach said, “I guess if Lenni doesn’t come back he’ll send more people.”

“Who,” asked Vesper.

“Larry,” replied Zach.

Vesper responded, “is Larry like Lenni?”

Zach nodded and replied, “yes.”

Wren confidently, replied, “We’ll handle them.”

They rested for about an hour, and began their search for Idlax. They passed a small wooded area as they made their way to the outskirts of Laboria, towards Idlax’s lair. The smog wasn’t as thick out here. One could tell just by the change in Wren’s demeanor. He was no longer coughing and looked better. Ahead stood a large decrepit building with large sliding doors. Darkness filled the abandoned factory. Perched near the doorway were two more mechanical owls. Their eyes followed the party’s movement.

Wren walked a few steps ahead of everyone and shouted, “Hey Idlax! Can you come out here?”

A red orb emerged from the darkness. It made it was towards the entrance of the factory and was revealed to be an automaton. The robot was equipped with a nasty looking maul and a huge ax.

• Session 5 (7/2/2019)
• Session 4 (6/25/2019)
• Session 3 (6/11/2019)
• Session 2 (5/28/2019)
• Session 1 (5/14/2019)

Session #5 – 7/2/2019

Wren shouted towards the automaton, “ah, so Mr or Ms Idlax, if you are making all the adults go to sleep, we respectfully ask that you stop!”

The automaton raised his ax.

Wren continued, “and another thing, like what was up with Lenni? Is he a monster? Why would you do that?” Wren’s dialog was interrupted with battle. The automaton was not interested in speaking. Wreck shot at one of the owls perched on the doorway. The owl was taken off guard when the arrow pinged off the its body. Vesper moved to the side. He took out his book and cast winter frost. His hand glowed on the book and from the ground erupted pillars of ice. The owl Wreck struck frosted over, and fell to the ground cracking open. The other owl was shaken by the attack.

The automaton approached Wren with his ax raised. Wren readied his blade before the ax came down. Wren swung and struck the automaton with his katana. The robot did not seem fazed by the attack, despite the obvious damage to its metal body. The automaton’s ax hit crashed into the ground next to Wren and the its other arm came down with a spiked maul. Wren rolled out of the way dodging the second attack.

Waldo cast smite. A lightening strike came down from the sky hitting Eretria’s and Wren’s weapons. Eretria welcomed the familiar sense of power radiating through her, and charged towards the automaton. She swung at the robot, her blade crackling with electricity, and sliced the automaton in half. Eretria turned facing the remaining owl and ran towards it. She took a few steps on the wall, making a running jump to reach the owl with her blade. She sliced it in half. Its body fell to the ground leaving behind a Soulstone.

A scrap of paper laid on the ground next to the Soulstone of the automaton. Eretria pocketed the Soulstone, and allowed Waldo to keep the Soulstone of the owl she killed. Despite being a bit of a coward, the man was very useful in battle. The abandoned factory was pitch black. Vesper picked up the paper. The number 14 was written on it. Wreck peered inside the factory. He observed some strange metal pillars and more doorways inside. Wreck used his tinder box to light Vesper’s lantern. Wren volunteered to lead the way.

Eretria warned, “Hey kid, be careful. There could be traps.” She had an uneasy feeling about entering this factory. Any enemy inside was probably preparing for their arrival after hearing Wren’s shouts earlier.

Inside the factory, Wren seemed to be in his natural habit. He moved with grace in the darkness. Eretria and Wreck followed suit, sneaking. The mages, however, shuffled about loudly. The doors slammed shut shortly after the group entered the factory, and suddenly the room became fully lit. They now had a clear view of the room. It was a large space with several doors leading to other areas. Most of the devices in the room seemed foreign. Vesper had a vague understanding of the equipment. None of it seemed to be for production, but rather for research. Vesper stifled a smile.

As he searched the room, Wren called out, “Hello? Mr. Idlax? We have some concerns.”

Eretria scanned the room for traces of monsters. She could only find dusty, old traces of humans. Waldo noticed a console in the room with some text on it. The text was old and worn. Wren looked around for signs of other people, movements or sounds. He moved around the room, and called out again, “Idlax? Person? Ma’am?”

Vesper looked around the room for books. He found some papers scattered across the ground. He picked up some of the papers searching for a relation to the number 14. Vesper found some blueprints and another scrap of paper with the numbers “00100” written on it. The handwriting matched the handwriting on the scrap piece of paper found next to the automaton.

Meanwhile, Waldo rubbed the grime off the console, and the text revealed the statement, “Numbers equal letters.” The console had a full alphabet of letters. Above that was an orb embedded into the wall with 6 spaces. Wreck opened a door to look for more clues. Inside revealed a woman hung upside down by her foot inside a cage.

The woman greeted them in a sleepy tone, “oh hi!” She was under the same spells effects as the other adults in Laboria.

Eretria suspected this woman was the same woman Zach had said went missing, Veronica.

Eretria asked, “What is your name?”

The woman replied, “Veronica.” Yes, she was the priest Zach had mentioned earlier. It looked like she sprung a trap when she entered the room.

Veronica said, “I came to check on some guy when I checked in town. Idlax. They said he made…” A long pause went by before Wren finished her sentence with, “…sleepy?”

“Yeah,” replied Veronica. The woman held a scrap piece of paper in her hand. Vesper retrieved it. The paper had the word “genesis” written on it.

Veronica yawned and said, “I’m a little tired.” Vesper asked Veronica a few more questions, and was able to confirm more monsters were in the abandoned factory.

Inside the room was another large console that seemed to be connected to a series of tubes in the room. The console contained a foreign language. Waldo recognized it as Puklipo, a non-human tongue. Wren helped Veronica out of the cage. Vesper suggested Veronica should return to town. Veronica walked towards the exit of the abandoned factory, but she couldn’t figure out how to open the door. The group decided it would be in Veronica’s best interest to stay in the room the found her in.

Back in the main room, Wreck moved to another door. Inside many automatons lined the wall. Their eyes did not glow red, and they appeared deactivated. Wreck slowly closed the door.

Eretria whispered, “Let’s barricade this room y’all.”

Wren and Eretria moved a large table to barricade the door. It was a heavy table, about 20 feet long. They made some ruckus as they moved it to the door. Wreck decided to leave the door opening up to Wren. They moved to the other side of the main room. Wren walked up and opened a door. It revealed a small hallway with two more doorways. Wren entered the hallway, and quietly opened the door on the right. Inside he saw the backside of another automaton. It was activated and stood in front of a furnace. Wren looked towards the party and raised one finger up. He beckoned everyone to approach. Eretria and Wreck quietly entered the hallway and approached the door way. With silent head nods and gestures, they had planed to ambush the automaton. The three got into position and attacked. Slash, slash and an arrow fired. The automaton crumbled leaving behind a Soulstone.

Eyes opened in the furnace and two dancing flames hopped out. These were just like the flame monsters they had encountered at the wrecked caravan outside of Laboria. Eretria swung at one. It yelped as it faded away leaving behind a Soulstone. The remaining fire sucked in air and blasted a cone of fire. Wren and Eretria quickly pressed themselves again opposing walls to avoid the flames. Wreck jumped out of the way and dodged the attack too. Vesper approached, and cast a frozen arrow. He conjured ice but the flame danced and dodged the attack. Wren swung his katana and destroyed the remaining fire monster. The furnace was now empty. Waldo searched the room. He noticed another scrap piece of paper inside of the furnace. On the paper was, “D+N.”

The scrap pieces of paper looked like some kind of pass code to open a door, or clues for deciphering a pass code.

Wren checked the other door in the hallway. As he opened it and peered inside he saw the back of a caped man and another deactivated automaton. The man held a shield and a lance. He was practicing his swings. He made a spinning motion and stopped once he noticed Wren standing in the doorway. The man’s jaw dropped.

Wren said, “you must be Larry.”

The undead creature responded, “Yes. Have you seen Lenni?”

Wren replied, “Ah yes, we meet him. Have you seen Idlax?”

Larry responded, “I think Master Idlax will want to meet with you personally.” Larry took a few steps forward.

“Can we meet with him,” asked Wren.

Larry replied, “You can, but you must meet with someone else first.”

“Who,” questioned Wren.

“Your doom,” replied Larry.

The automaton activated and it’s red light began to glow. It charged towards Wren and swung with its ax. The attack missed. The automaton followed up with a strike with its spiked maul. Wren avoided the attack, but it was a close call.

Small piles of junk in the room stirred as a mechanical owl emerged. It tried to attack Wren but missed. The owl exited the room, and headed straight towards Waldo. He panicked, held his sword up and closed his eyes. The owl flew straight into the sword and it split in half. Waldo opened his eyes and his demeanor changed from fear to confidence as he looked at the owl’s body.

Another owl attacked Wren. It used wind as a weapon. The gusts of air were a direct hit on Wren, but the youth seemed unfazed by the attack. Vesper began to cast a spell. He crouched and placed his hands on the ground. His chanting was interrupted by Larry. The lesionnaire said, “Now, now,” and ran up to the doorway. He used his shield as a battering ram again Wren, and swung his spear at Vesper. The spear touched Vesper, but the attack did not have enough force to penetrate the mage’s skin. Vesper was able to complete his spell, but Larry was no longer within the radius of effect.

Wreck fired an arrow at Larry. The arrow pierced the lesionnaire, but the attack did not harm him. He responded, “I say, that’s not quite nice.”

Wren attacked the automaton. His katana hit the automaton, but was unable to penetrate its metal chassis. Waldo created a rock wall with with protection spell.

Eretria swung her sword at Larry. He blocked her attack with his shield. He aimed his lance at Eretria and said, “Aha! So we have a real fighter.”

Eretria smiled and said, “Yes, so how ’bout you just fight me.”

“So a duel then,” replied Larry.

Eretria swung her sword and Larry used his shield to block again. She gritted her teeth. Larry addressed Wren and said, “I’ll be completing my duel.” Larry started to move away from Wren. This left him open, and Wren used it as an opportunity inflict damage on Larry.

Shocked, Larry turned to Wren and said, “Dastard! You would interrupt a duel? You have no honor!” He looked at Eretria and called out, “The duel is off!” Eretria recognized Larry’s new stance. It was the same one Lenni had used on her. Wren was able to dodge Larry’s first two thrusts with lance. Larry made his third attack, and the final blow plunged into Wren’s chest. Wren’s clothes turned red with blood. Before he could react, the automaton swung its ax towards him. Distracted by Larry, he was not able to dodge the attack in time. The ax left a large gouge on Wren’s chest. Blood spewed out, and Wren collapsed to the ground motionless. Eretria watched the boy fall, and for a moment it took her back to the night where she found the body of her brother. She snapped out it just in time to sense the automaton’s mace being swung towards her. She barely block the attack, and the force of the blow knocked the wind out of her. She frowned. This automaton was hers.

Another owl attempted a flyby attack towards Waldo. As it came in for the cut, rocks jetted up from the ground and the owl collided into the rock wall. Vesper cast a freeze bolt towards the automaton. Frost accumulated on its metal chassis, making it hard for the automaton to move. Wreck fired another arrow at Larry. It was a good hit, but not enough to damage Larry. Waldo cast smite on his katana. The blade radiated with lightening. He attacked the owl near him, but was unable to land a hit.

Eretria’s attention was now on the automaton. She swung her blade and it made contact with the automaton’s metal body. She struggled as she pulled her blade through its armor. The automaton collapsed.

Larry made a wild attack towards Eretria. She recognized this as another move Lenni had used on her as well and dodged it effortlessly. Larry was left vulnerable.

Eretria smirked and said, “that was Lenni’s demise.”

A single tear fell from the corner of Larry’s eye. The lesionnaire asked, “Lenni is dead?”

Wreck fired again on Larry. It was a solid hit. Vesper turned his attention to Waldo. Waldo had healing magic, but was pinned down by the mechanical owl circling him. Vesper shot a frozen arrow, and shouted out to Waldo, “Please hurry and save the dying boy!”

Waldo ran up to Wren. The boy was losing a lot of blood. He placed his hands on Wren, calling a prayer to the almighty. Wren’s body glowed and his wounds began to close up on his dusty, purple flesh. A moment later, he opened his eyes and said, “Huh, that’s odd.”

Wren struggled to stand. He raised his sword and used gravity to swing his sword down, killing Larry with one final blow.

As Larry collapsed, his final words were, “ah, a fitting, final dual.” Another clue was found on Larry’s person. It was, “D+D-A.”

• Session 5 (7/2/2019)
• Session 4 (6/25/2019)
• Session 3 (6/11/2019)
• Session 2 (5/28/2019)
• Session 1 (5/14/2019)

Session #6 – 7/9/2019