…sipping their morning fantasy coffees on the fiery airship and preparing themselves for the coming excursion to Kalazart.
The human monk Turnin had risen early, in a vain attempt to coerce new information from their warforged prisoner. Bound for a few days now in the galley, Dirk was less than forthcoming on information about the Perpetual Legion or the party’s destination.
Gnofulk, the gnome barbarian (/ranger) had fed his flying squirrel Nutasha, and had selected weapons from his stash, including his magical axe and scimitar. He stood eagerly at the bow of the fiery airship, straining
The tiefling sorceress Comfort had recovered from falling out of bed in the night, and was enjoying a morning beer instead of the coffee with Ula, the half-orc barbarian.
The human Wizard Kylar had been fiddling with his artificer cube before turning in for the night, storing Shield and Invisibility into the configuration. As the spells were transferred into the cube… the wizard felt the unexpected pull he had come to expect with magic in the desolate Mournland. The spells would have additional effects, but he is unsure what… With the new day and adventure ahead, the wizard ascended to the deck, ensorcelled himself with Mage Armor, and gave Comfort the part of the artifact storing Shield. Hopefully, the squishy sorceress would be better protected… the tiefling was looking a little worse for wear.
The dwarf cleric Francis was having a bit of an off day, and stayed below deck. Probably praying or something. Hopefully the chastity belt isn’t chaffing too much… Things don’t tend to heal in the Mournland.
The dragonborn captain Rhogar relieved the roguish human Ruth at the helm, and Yip and Yap swapped out for Chester and Strudel. Exhaused, the ship’s engineer Montgomery Dwarf had reluctantly accepted the help of Kylar’s kobold manservant Kaz in the engineering duties and maintenance.
The retiring night crew had done well. With the fiery airship untouched by monsters overnight, Ruth had rediscovered the lightning rail path and set an easterly course running parallel with it. Shortly after dawn, the distant dark mound of a city known as Kalazart came into view…
Kaz the Kobold had konstructed spyglasses for the party, to help view the Race of the Eight Winds. In his spare time, he had produced a few more. As the fiery airship came within a mile of the edge of the city, the spyglasses and Gnofulk’s keen-eyes started noticing details. Rhogar starts inching the ship closer to the city while the party plans.
The desolate Mournland was formerly Cyre, and artisan nation and former headquarters of the tinkering dragonmarked House of Cannith and birthplace of the mighty warforged race. On the plains, the city of Kalazart arose as a nice waypoint for trade and travelers, governed not by traditional elders or elected representatives, but a cadre of wealthy and influential traders.
Between Turnin’s knowledge of commerce in the city and the general knowledge of the rest of the party, they agree on a general idea of what the city should look like, and it is in line with what Gnofulk is spotting. The city should be surrounded by a shanty town, and it looks to be. However, most of the shanties have collapsed in the 5 or so years since the Mourning, and the city is filled with rubble from the crumbling buildings.
Captain Rhogar doesn’t like the sound of the rubble. The fiery airship can still only get 5 or so feet up off the ground (deck is 20 feet up), and the lower elemental binding strut has enough issues with ground clearance without trying to deal with rubble. The dragonborn doesn’t think he can get too far into the city; he’s doubtful that he can even get through the shanty town ring without getting the airship stuck.
The party discuss, and about a half mile out, the party (minus Francis) decide to don the Wingies of Featherfall as a precaution, and board one of the skiffs. Ula’s “house-skiff” is left behind, as is usual. Rhogar and the fiery airship is to loiter outside the city while the party goes exploring. If they get into danger’s the say they’ll send up a flare. Somehow.
The group piles in, leaving Francis behind but gaining Kylar spell familiar bird, and depart, leaving the airship, now somehow called “Boaty McBoatface” behind. Opening a second beer as she pilots the airship, Ula admires her midnight handiwork. Surprisingly, the skiff is faring better than the airship, and can max out at about 60 feet above the ground.
As they approach the cocentric city, Gnofulk is continually spotting, and the gnome is able to confirm Turnin’s understanding of the layout of the city. Kalazart had no official town hall, or even city walls. Occasional towers pop up along the rail line as it bisects the city, passing through the shanty town ring to the merchant manors, then through the ring of warehouses, and finally to the central market and lightning rail station at the center of town, before continuing easterly towards Cyre’s capitol, Metrol.
Even at a far distance, the Gnome sees enough to know something is off in the city. Scattered throughout the shanty town are people. Sort of. Most have some kind of visible mutation, tentacles or things writhing where normal appendages should be. More disconcerting than their appearance are their actions. Wounds don’t heal, and bodies don’t decay in the Mournland. These creatures are pulling corpses from the rubble to consume.
Even in this clustered, smushed trade city, the lightning rail was given a safe distance. Even with the rubble, there looks to be a generally walkable path along the rail line. The party decides they will follow the rail line and try to scout the city from on high, hopefully avoiding these well… mutants. While they appear to have crude implements of war (or meal prep), like knives, cleavers and tenderizing clubs, the gnome spots no bows or crossbows.
As they “enter” the city, 60 feet high, they start rethinking their plan, loudly discussing that it might be a good idea to conjure come fog or other magical camouflage. This was not the best time to have this idea. As the pass over the foraging mutants, the party’s discussion grabs the attention of the mutants.
The monk tips his newly acquired bowler hat, and feet dangling off the side of the skiff, the sorceress waves, but the mutants don’t seem interested in talking. Grasping bits of rubble with any tentacled appendages, stones start whipping up towards the party. Turnin snatches one out of the air and decides to hide it under his hat.
Despite the quickly conjured illusionary cloud, the nearest mutants are onto them. And grunting and shouting unintelligibly, what seems like an echoing war cry starts to ripple out from beneath the party.
Kylar sends his familiar out, around to scout. It quickly succumbs to the slung stones, but not before the wizard can confirm that the party is attracting a fair amount of attention. Avenging his familiar, he fires off several Firebolts, but even after taking two… the wizard’s target still stands, climbing through the rubble after the flying skiff.
Ula decides it is time to get moving, and hits the magical throttle. The sudden jerk is most unwelcome, however thankfully none of the party tumble off. Even with the Wingies of Featherfall… landing among the pursuing mutants would very likely not be pleasant at all.
The party speed toward the center of Kalazart, towards the market and the lightning rail station. This high up, however, that can’t really do effective searching.
Eventually they pass over the shanty town ring, and into the merchant manor area. The structures here are in decay as well. Rubble fills the narrow alleys, obscuring many doorways, but here and there the party can see where walls have held up, particularly on the second floors, creating small protected alcoves among the rubble. Unfortunately, a number of the spotted potential sanctuaries also house clusters of the mutants. As the party continues flying above the sprawling city, these clusters join in the war cry and packs pursuing the party over the difficult rubble… it will take the growing horde some time to catch up though.
The party eventually leave the merchant manors behind them and pass over the ring of warehouses. From their vantage point they can determine that there are a wide variety of warehouses. All ate two-stories, but have been subdivided in different ways. Many of the roofs are saggy or collapsed, but the party are unfortunately too far away to spy any loot among the debris.
Minutes later, the party arrive in the center of town; a massive open market, littered with debris from countless splintered wooden stalls. Enough still stand to provide decent cover. A few cloth canopies are seen holding on, tattered and draping over broken counters of hanging limp from poles. The only building convincingly standing is the lightning rail station, a rather large platform in the center of the market.
The party decided to descend. Not seeing any mutants (yet), they decide to disembark, and Turnin begins to pilot the craft up to hover over the station; the monk can flip his way up to it, but their transportation should be out of reach of the mutants.
Thoroughly unimpressed with the loot of Kalazart at 60’, the party decide to explore the lightning rail station, and climb on to the slightly raised platform. It’s somewhat like a porch, with an overhanging roof to shield boarding passengers in lousy weather.
There are a few windows, mostly broken, and two sets of double-doors leading inside. Reconnoitering before entering, the party note no mutants, nor corpses. Though there are bones scattered around the market among the splintered stalls.
Opening one set of double doors suddenly reveals several large odd creatures scurrying away in apparent fright, and more scattered bones are revealed. The party gingerly poke around. Kylar finds a few tickets, and a crumpled note, wishing someone well on their trip. The party advance Inside the station.
Further in, the party discern broken benches, and littered bones. Facing the line is a ticket booth. Comfort and Kylar peer inside, and fine an undevoured corpse, almost serene, having fallen off his chair and out of sight of all but the most curious. The door behind him appears to be locked. Gnofulk advances directly ahead of the doors, flanking the booth on the party’s left. Ula walks past the wizard and sorceress to flank the other side of the booth.
Ula is intrigued by the odd creatures. They are easily medium in size, almost large. Walking on spider-like legs, their carapace body is like a nautilus seashell, the opening a writhing mess of tentacles obscuring any true face. The half orc approaches one, and shouts to intimidate it.
The barbarian succeeds not only in frightening the creature, but in triggering a “fight or flight” response from it. The creature recoils in shock before lunging back at the barbarian, loosing a screech.
A huge monstrosity collapses through the rafters, crashing down among the party. The thing is immense; a thick slithering body with brutish fists and a long, flat head with tentacle mandibles.
Kylar is first to react, casting grease onto the horrid thing, but the thing remains upright, ignoring the wizard’s spell. Rearing back, it zeroes in on the threat that summoned it; Ula. The pair of heavy fists land devastating blows upon the half orc as it bellows an unworldly response to the nautilus creatures. Those that had been scurrying away, now turn to face the direction of the bellow…
Turnin is still “parking” the skiff, but hearing the ruckus and unworldly noises, takes the ship down to the platform porch, to see that is going on. Through the broken window panes, he sees the battle start to unfold, and tosses a solitary dart at the behemoth, and urges the party to flee.
The half orc is durable, and after enduring the pair of mighty blows, yanks free her shield. The party is used to the animistic totem rages of Gnofulk, but Ula’s raging is different. Armored spectral orcs and half orcs shimmer into existence around the monstrosity as Ula’s axe bites into the carapace. The specters fan out near the horror, each drawing ghostly weapons to hinder the creature’s attacks.
The nautilus-like creatures, having rallied, surge into the party. Two scurry into Ula, the tentacles landing a few slaps. A third smacks into Gnofulk at the other end of the station interior, and unfortunately the writing tentacles find purchase and grapple the gnome.
The monstrosity hand landed next to her, but Comfort wants no part in this fight. The tiefling twirls to disengage and runs out of one of the sets of double doors, diving into the skiff hovering out on the platform porch.
Still grappled, the Gnome seethes, and grimly starts hacking at it, his magic axe taking chunks out of the shell-like carapace.
The brawl isn’t going great. Ula is surrounded by two nautilus drones and the huge monstrosity. Gnofulk is near the wizard, but grappled. Turnin is piloting the skiff and Comfort has bailed from the melee. Quickly weighing his options, Kylar shouts for Ula to trust him, and releases a spell.
As the woven magic leaves his fingers, the wizard becomes worried. Polymorph can be quite potent, and the last picture in his mind’s eye as his finished the spell was of a poor sheep. Fortunately, Kylar successfully fought through the oddities of Mournland magic, and Ula was transformed not into a mild sheep, but a brutish hairy gorilla.
Transformed, Ula still holds the monstrosity’s attention, though another pair of mighty fists crash down upon her. As the second blow lands, the creature’s weight shifts, and it slips down to the floor of the station.
Turnin is unsure what to do. No one is fleeing. He asks the tiefling Comfort to watch the skiff for a moment, and in a blur of motion, flings himself out of the skiff and through the double doors towards Gnofulk. Pivoting near the gnome, the monk lines up an overhead smack, and cracks the creature good. The tentacles fall limp, releasing Gnofulk. The monk then bounds back out the doors to the platform porch, and hops into the skiff.
Ula the gorilla rages, bashing the monstrosity recklessly with her fists. With the added strength, she’s giving about as good as she’s getting from the monstrosity. However, she is alone. Seeing the creature fall, her spectral ancestors give her a stern look, and the barbarian has the presence of mind to back off towards the skiff. The two shelled creatures surrounding her continue to slap away with their tentacles, and the monstrosity lands one final blow as the half orc withdraws, through the second set of double-doors, and out onto the porch and into the bow of the skiff. The skittering shell creatures follow, but are unable to land any tentacle smacks.
From the safety of the skiff, Comfort rights herself, and looses a Firebolt … into the wall of the lightning rail station. Free of the grappling tentacles, and gnome rushes to help Ula; his weapons biting into the creature’s slithering, still greasy form, before he too withdraws, hopping into the stern of the skiff.
Kylar retreats to the skiff, hitting the prone monstrosity with Firebolt… igniting the grease. Engulfed in flames, the monstrosity rights itself-
-and crashes through the wood wall of the lighting rail station, crashing out onto the platform. It raises it’s massive, now-burning fists and bashes into the skiff, splintering it. The party tumbles out, with Comfort falling prone.
Turnin landed on his feet, and the monk flings himself at the flaming monstrosity, landing a quick succession of blows. As he follows up with special strikes, the creature resists both a stunning strike and the monk’s attempt to sweep the leg. Still raging, with her ancestors watching on, Ula pummels the monstrosity, her hairy fists coming away covered in gore. The monstrosity tumbles.
Exhausted and prone, Comfort misses another Firebolt at the still-skittering shell-beings. Gnofulk obliterates one, and Kylar and Turnin dispatch the other.
The party helps Comfort to her feet and regards their situation as they catch their breath.
The cleric Francis is back on the fiery airship with Rhogar and the rest of the crew, but they are almost two miles away. The party has no immediate means of contacting them. Their skiff is broken, splintered and shattered at their feet. They are surrounded by crumbling ruins; stranded in the middle of Kalazrt. Hearing echoing commotion far in the distance, the party then remember the mutants that had been following the flying skiff…
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