Dawn of Magic

[dr_kromm]

Ah, gaming! Tonight we had Bonnie ("Leif"), Marc ("Mushamee"), Martin ("Kaeso"), and Stéphane ("Vinz"). Unfortunately, Mike ("Rufus") had an unscheduled hospital visit – yikes. Get well soon, Mike!

Time: Wee hours, Odin 19, 1002 Imperial Reckoning.
Place: Indu, Indistan.
Last Event: Divination of the hiding place of the Starfish-Man "curse engine" – a storehouse in Indu.

After poring over the architectural drawings of the royal storehouse divined by Vinz, as well as maps of the surrounding area, the adventurers get ready to deal with whatever lurks within. The five of them, as well as Queen Hippolyte, gird for battle. Before leaving the Shahim's palace, they reiterate what they would like him to do: Post troops nearby, but wait for the high sign before sending them in. Then the heroes depart into the dark.

The squad slows its pace within a few blocks of the objective and moves in stealthily. Once in sight of the storehouse, Rufus can see that it is surrounded with magical traps and curses – similar to but not the same as those surrounding a very similar warehouse in Tenosia many moons ago. Vinz pulls his wondrous cloak around himself, vanishes from sight, and scouts ahead.

A quick circuit of the building reveals two doors. One is broad and very stout, likely intended for carts and wagons. The other, on the opposite side, is neither as wide nor as strong, although it's still quite solid-looking. Vinz then casts a wall-walking spell and runs up to the roof. There he spots the neglected chimney revealed in the plans of the Shahim's architects. Unfortunately, somebody else appears to know about this entrance: Sharp blades obstruct the opening.

Meanwhile, Leif looks for and finds some local rats. Bribing them with food, he manages to engage a few in conversation. The rats are happy to get the snack, and as helpful as rats ever are, but really know little of value. Yes, there are tunnels into the storehouse . . . rat-sized tunnels. And no, there are no "people" in there . . . but of course, rats mostly work by scent in the dark, and a rather long list of Bad Things don't smell like "people."

Based on Vinz and Leif's intelligence, the heroes decide simply to bash down the door, hope the magical wards aren't too nasty, and try to take the enemy by surprise. After checking to make sure that lesser measures (like simply opening the door!) won't suffice, Mushamee takes a few steps back, draws on his inner strength, tucks his head and shoulder behind his shield, and hurls himself bodily at the door. The barrier proves to be no match for Mushamee's supernaturally violent, speedy rush. He tumbles through the shattered remains of the door and rolls to his feet, sword at the ready. Even as he does, a magical curse blasts him for his audacity. Unfortunately for the wizard, the general is magic-resistant, and the curse rolls off him harmlessly.

Leif, Vinz, Kaeso, Hippolyte, and finally Rufus follow on Mushamee's heels, fanning out into a crescent to either side, weapons in hand. As each hero crosses the threshold, another magical trap fires. Only Kaeso and Rufus are affected, and the effects – while they would no doubt be terrible for ordinary folk – aren't up to challenging heroes. Other than a slight sense of fatigue and malaise, both men are fine.

The curse's weakness suggests that perhaps the real defense is a more tangible foe . . . but no such enemy steps forth. All that's visible in the circle of light cast by Mushamee's blade is dusty crates and dangling, mouldy ropes. A steady, unnerving creaking noise emanates from the darkness beyond. But as the group moves to investigate, a strange moaning joins this sound, and Rufus can make out Indistani words for "brain," "spleen," and other vital organs.

Zombies!

Sure enough, a horde of undead Indistani warriors comes lurching out of the shadows, smashing blade against shield in a bizarre attempt to intimidate the heroes. Rufus, Mushamee, Hippolyte, Vinz, and Leif dash to one side and form a crescent anchored against the wall, with Kaeso enclosed within, his Gun at the ready. There's a tense wait, and then the zombies let out a blood-curdling scream and charge, covering the intervening space in half the time it would take human soldiers.

The clash is short and violent. The zombies press for close combat, attacking with a mix of sword slashes, shoves, shield rushes, and grasping hands aimed at overwhelming their living foes and crushing their formation against the wall. The heroes, however, are merely outnumbered five to one by flimsy, rotting undead. A few seconds later, all but a handful of monsters are destroyed, and the floor is littered with shredded, rotting flesh.

Vinz strikes down the second-last monster and moves to finish the fight when his sixth sense for danger, rarely wrong, warns him that the last zombie is somehow different. He shouts a warning to the others. Rufus turns his sight on the creature and realizes what's wrong: It has absorbed the strength, speed, and undead will of its allies, and now holds the concentrated evil, magic, and fighting strength of its entire platoon!

This doesn't faze anyone at first . . . not until the last zombie darts around at many times even Mushamee's speed, flanking the group and striking dozens of blows at such a blinding rate that even the group's superhuman swordsmen cannot avoid injury. Before the squad can tighten its formation to avoid this, Hippolyte, Leif, and Mushamee are all wounded – saved more by their superior armor than by anything else – and Vinz is on the brink of death.

The tide finally turns when Vinz, realizing his dire predicament, takes advantage of the pace-doubling spell he cast during the earlier hostilities to break contact, pull his cloak around himself, and maneuver invisibly behind the undead enemy while it rains down blows on his allies. As the others occupy the super-zombie – which almost immediately ignores the invisible mortal – Vinz holds onto consciousness (and his guts!) and summons his chi. With his strength built up to muscle-tearing levels, he strikes the thing in the brainpan not once, not twice, but three times. Its head explodes, and Mushamee has to duck flying brains (fortunately, as it turns out, because they prove acidic enough to dissolve the floor).

With the last foe felled, Kaeso and Leif immediately catch Vinz and set to treating his grave injuries. He'll live – mostly thanks to luck – but there's only so much they can do for him here. Meanwhile, Mushamee and Rufus turn to survey the scene and see what else wants to kill them.

To be continued . . .