DCC Post 2: Evidently they couldn't Pop-Up that much

 Narrative Rundown

After 6-months pass, much has changed in the village of Eng. Refugees, desperate from the terrible drought in Ditch, have begun flocking to Eng with little to no supplies. The kindhearted people spare what they can and provide areas for the poor to set up new lives here. At the head of a large column was the young Earl Bastardich, former ruler of Ditch who released all titles he had in order to guide his people away from that crumbling town. John the Archivist, the elven adventurer, who is also a member of the Parliament of Eng was busy for many of his rest months as the ruling body decided how to allocate food and resources to these new residents.

Thezum the Dwarf and Husqvarna the Warrior began work on a blacksmith business together while Kimbra, ever the faithful manservant, tended to them as best he could. The Church of Justicia swelled with new congregates and Serena and Saphira were busy providing as much aid as possible. John the Thief took to hunting in his free time in the woods surrounding the town. Grom, crippled as he was, was aided by Thezum and others in the creation of a small hut in a dead circle of trees in the nearby forest as well. During this time,around 2 months into their peace, Husqvarna and Kimbra became restless and took to the road to explore and keep moving.

Thezum and the two Johns, peacefully sleeping in the early morning of a cool fall day, were aroused abruptly by the urgent tolling of the Temple bells. As they ran out into the chill, they were greeted by the site of Serena and other village people being dragged off into the woods by strand green armored men that walked as if they were rigid. Rushing to save Serena, John the Thief took a terrible blow to the head and nearly passed out while the others engaged many of these men. Serena was out of site and, when the moment seemed desperate, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard.

Husqvarna led a small gaggle of refugees, magical sword alight with green flames as he bore down on the green men, slicing one completely in twain. His new companions, Elias the Barbarian and Dragor Rock-Drinker the Dwarf, dispatched another and the green men were swiftly routed. Upon death, strange magic was at work as some of the men shattered into dark emerald stones while others seemed to lose their pallor and become men... dead men, but still men.

Elias, ensuring his people would be safe in Eng, offered to track the trail of these emerald invaders off to the northeast in the forests surrounding the village. The party agreed and they set off at once when they realized how many members of the settlement had been kidnapped. Forced to make camp after a day of travel with exhaustion settling in, the group set up in a hollow of a few trees and swiftly fell asleep. While on watch, Husqvarna was jolted from his reverie by the sound of skittering all around him; igniting his sword, he realized the sleeping forms of his comrades were surrounded by crawling severed hands! Luckily, his quick thinking saved them and the hands posed no more threat to the group.

A second day of travel found the adventurers at small dirt road through the forest with an inn named the Cozy Cobweb off to the side of it. The innkeeper, Miss Alice, was kind and they spent a night with no issues before continuing north in pursuit of the emerald soldiers. The reavers discovered a great black rock with a citadel perched atop it in a clearing with two green statues positioned on either side of the door. Sensing danger, Thezum and others with ranged weapons dispatched their would-be assailants at range. One exploded into stones while the other turned into a man who uttered "Thesdipedes knows the word..." Sneaking in, John the Archivist and Elias both observed strange murals all along the walls depicting an emerald robed, elven wizard going on a plethora of adventures. While consulting his patron for help, John was surprised when the mosaics ripped from the wall and coalesced into a man shape figure who promptly slugged Elias in the face. A brutal combat ensued with this creature summoning more mosaics from the wall in the shape of dogs and healing its wounds as time progressed. A hard fought victory was won in the end for the residents of Eng.

Finally exiting the foyer through a secret door found in the wall, the travelers enter into some type of entertainment room with strange curios surrounding them. In the center of the room is a large, green, crystal table out of which two flying green skulls fly followed by an elf dressed in emerald green robes. He sneers at the party, mutters some words, and leaves back through the table. Elias charges behind him and slams his sword with enough force to smash the table in half, releasing the latent magical energy. This vaporized the two skulls and flung Elias away, peppering the rest of the party with shards. Sheepishly, Elias rose and suggested that they may want to move on from this room.

Two doors led out of this now ruined room, with the party choosing to enter into the left door. Finding themselves in a long hallway with pitch black walls, they noticed movement all around them but could not place where it was. Thezum, the brave but brash dwarf, examined the walls and noticed shapes swirling behind them as if people were swimming inside. As he moved to make the rest of the party aware, a clawed hand emerged from the black stone and slashes through his face and throat as Thezum tumbled the the ground and slowly oozed his lifeblood onto the floor. As more of these dark shades emerged from the wall, Husqvarna lit up his sword and the group engaged in a bloody and exhausting fight that culminated with John the Archivist conjuring a supercharged magic missile and dispatching their foes. Broken, bloody, and disheartened, the adventurers picked up their fallen comrade and retreated. Casting Ward Portal on the main doorway, they returned to the Cozy Cobweb to lick their wounds and plan.

Logistics Discussion

So, thinking about how I organize these adventures, I have decided to change it up a bit. The main page for the adventure will be updated with current characters in the party in real time during the campaign depending on who lives and who dies. I will add another page that holds all killed or retired characters over time. Additionally, the main page will be updated with what modules I have run in the campaign once I am finished running them in order to avoid spoilers for my players, who I know also read this blog.