OurRathessCampaign

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/08/2004 11:52:03

This is just a little informative post, letting y'all know how our campaign in Rathess went down. I thought it might be interesting to compare notes. It's extraordinarly long, so only read it if you're really curious, or really bored. (Don't say I didn't warn you!)

[[SPOILER ALERT: If you are a PC and your Storyteller plans on running something in Rathess, read no further!]]

Well, our troupe consists of three solars: -a night caste pirate, Drega is the most evil of the bunch. He enjoys stealth and thievery. He heard there was great treasure in this lost city called Rathess, and decided to check it out. -a twilight caste "sorceror supreme," B'riaga is probably "Neutral Evil." His motto is probably, "the ends justify the means." He focuses on little more than becoming the most powerful sorceror in the world. He believes that only through powerful sorcery can the glory of the First Age return, and he believes that there is much lost lore in Rathess. -and, finally, a zenith caste "paladin," Darius is the most righteous of the group. He believes whole-heartedly in the Unconquered Sun's goodness, and seeks to raise up an empire to worship him... through force, if need be. Darius, also, wishes to return creation to the glory of the First Age, and believes a lost First Age city will make the perfect capital for his empire. (We also had a Lunar, but she parted ways with us before we ever reached the city walls.)

Well, after the weeks of trudging through the hot, murky jungles, fighting of wild animals, carniverous plants, and local tribesmen, we finally made it to the city. Not too much exciting stuff happened so far, we mainly acquainted ourselves with the strangeness of Rathess, battled a few wild animals and Stalkers, saw the strange architecture, you know. We thought to pillage the tombs of the long dead exalted, but decided better of it after we all almost died fighting a single Celestial Lion (those buggers are tough!). We barely escaped with our lives (B'riaga lost half his Blood Apes), and decided that the tombs would half to wait. We explored the Underways and encountered a few of the leech people, again, nothing too exciting. he action didn't start until the Goblin King entered the picture. We had heard rumors of him from the tribesmen we had befriended, and all three of us--Darius most of all--decided that the Goblin King would have to go. His troops had seen our essence flairs from when we fought the Lions, and a large force was currently sweeping the octad, looking for us. Three solars versus 300 goblins? No problem. What the players came up with was quite impressive. Finding a road that lead into a threeway dead end, but that had an entrance to the underways, the solars set about making traps that would have made McGuyver proud. Pitfalls, dead falls, the works. My alternating flashes of anima banners, the solars tricked the goblins into splitting up their forces. 150 came towards us and the traps. The first pitfall worked perfectly. A group of the goblins tumbled downward and impaled themselves on the spikes. Now, you would think the goblins would be more cautious after that. But Drega, the Night caste, wouldn't give them a chance. He leapt out of hiding and used Graceful Crane Stance to stand right on the next pitfall. Goaded on by his mocking, the goblins rushed headlong at him, only to watch him Monkey Leap out of the way while another group fell in. This happened several more times, as the goblins were too stupid or too angry to figure it out. By the time they had figured it, Drega switched the trick, standing on firm ground and leaving the pitfall clear. Once all the pitfalls on that road had been sprung, Dreaga leapt out of the way, leaving Darius to his work. Being decked out in Superheavy Orichalcum plate, and having some of the best Melee charms there are, Darius was easily able to make quick work of the other half, as any who attacked him were immedeately slain by an instant counterattack! After much fire and blood, the Zenith's intimidating presence was enough to force the remaining goblins to drop arms and surrender. Darius appealed to the goblins' "Strongest survive" mentallity to win them over to his side. From them, we learned much valuable information about the Goblin King, his forces, their movements, etc.

We tried again to explore the underways, but Drega informed us we were being watched. Through a bit of stealth manuevering, we surrounded--what turned out to be--one of the civilized stalkers. It fought for its life like a cornered animal, believing us to be one with the Goblin King's forces, but it was finally trapped at the point of a reaver daiklaive. We descerned that it could speak Old Realm, as could Darius and B'riaga, but it would not believe Darius' assurances that we were enemies of the Goblin King. At this point, B'riaga volunteered to use a healing spell on the stalker's wounds, postulating that this might cause the creature to be more amenable. The others agreed this was a good plan, not knowing that no such spell existed. B'riaga instead cast Threefold Binding of the Heart upon the poor beast, locking it forever into thralldom. Darius was furious, but Drega merely shrugged his shoulders and agreed that Darius had been getting nowhere with diplomacy. And so, Ember Serpent (which was the name of the young Dragon King) led us to the Flying Tower where the last remnants of an ancient race made their final stand. We almost came to blows when Darius insisted that Rathess would be his and his alone, but in a very uncharacteristic turn of events, Darius humbled himself for the betterment of the mission, and apologized for his brash words. Eventually, he came to realize what Rathess meant to the Dragon Kings, and agreed to liberate the city for them, rather than for himself. (Though, one might wonder if it would have turned out differently, had the Dragon Kings worshipped a deity other than the Unconquered Sun!)

At this, I will skip much boring to-do. The solars helped the Dragon Kings reclaim many of their lost artifacts, Darius began the repairing of the flying Warbirds (earning Relza's favor), and they continued to plot against the Goblin King. A close run in and quick combat with the ancient solar left Darius and B'riaga assured that it would be no easy fight. Indeed, they were lucky to have escaped at all. Therefor, a plan was needed. The artifacts in the Flying Tower gave our heroes a much needed advantage-that of flight. Many different plans were hatched, then scratched, until finally, one was settled on. A challenge would be sent to the Goblin King, counting on that stereotypical Solar pride to bring him to the battlefield. As soon as he had left, our stealthy thief Drega would slip into the King's manse, hoping to thieve as many of his powerful artifacts as Drega could carry. It was a hair-raising adventure, but Drega actually managed to get all the way down to the vaults. Many extraordinary and powerful artifacts were found, and Drega loaded as many of them into his Globe of Transport with him as he could. Then, the perfect distraction. Drega found a room full of the barrels of cheap wine that the Goblins drank. He set up one of the barrels right next to the door, and, very gently, placed a firedust grenade between them. By clever guile, he tricked to of the greater goblins into running into that room. The grenade combined with the flamable wine to make the largest explosion possible. Drega had hoped the explosion would draw the goblins away from his exit route, but it had the opposite effect. Unbeknownest to Drega, the goblins had long been afraid that one of the ancient artifacts would explode, and the essence radiation would mutate and warp them. So, when they heard a bang powerful enough to shake the walls of the manse, they fled the pyramid like rats from a sinking ship. As terrified as they already were, they jumped in panic from Drega's speeding Globe of Transport.

So, phase one was completed. After dealing out the artifacts, phase two had to happen quickly. The Goblin King returned to his smoking manse with fury. The explosion had riled Han-Tha from his slumber, and the two quickly took counsel. The interlopers had to be destroyed. Meanwhile, a false encampment was built near the Pyramid of the Sun. The plan was to make the Goblin King think that the solars had somehow ammassed a small army, and were ready to end the conflict in open warfare. At the center of the encampment, the solars placed five large barrels of firedust (Drega had made good use of his Globe and his Connections). Darius and B'riaga waited in the shadows near where the army would pass by, and Drega waited on a perch overlooking the encampment. When the goblins reached the center, and began scratching their scalps about why there was nothing in the whole camp but these five barrels, Drega used Triple Distance Technique and Precision of the Striking Raptor to drop off a little present in the middle of them... a firedust grenade. The ensuing explosion cleared out the entire camp, half a mile of surrounding forest, and all the remaining goblins of the King's army. The only people who were tough enough to withstand the blast were five of the greater goblins that guarded their King, and, of course, the ancient solar himself. However, it was not the Goblin King who had come out to face them, but the Ghoul King. Our heroes had no idea what they were about to face.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/08/2004 12:28:57

B'riaga was able to distract the goblin guards, leaving Darius and the Ghoul King to battle alone. However, Darius was shocked and dismayed to see how much more deadly his foe had become since the last time they met. Had he been holding back? Did he know some secret new technique? The Ghoul's attacks were like lightning, flashing so fast and furious that B'riaga could not even see them. Yet, for each attack the Ghoul King made, Darius had a counterattack equally quick. Yet, neither of them seemed able to pierce the other's defenses. B'riaga and the goblins soon ceased their fighting; they watched, amazed, as it seemed two titans clashed in flares of raging essence, their movements fast as the lightning. B'riaga thought to even the odds by using the small, spider-shaped automaton assassin he had gained from Drega's raid, but the Ghoul King proved too hardy and tough even for the magical venom. Thinking himself invinvible, he pressed on with combo after powerful combo, dealing out damage to Darius that would have killed two mortal men, but the zenith kept fighting. It was obvious they would need help. B'riaga's sorceries couldn't injure the Ghoul King; nor could Darius' daiklaive cut his skin. Drega, however, was not idle. Dipping his throwing knives into vials of sea adder venom, he began to shower the Ghoul King with them from the shadows. Charms pulled the knives right back to their thrower seconds after they touched the Ghoul's skin. Drega kept a fresh coat of venom on the knives and continued the onslaught. At first, they seemed to have no effect; most of the knives bounced right off his bronze hide, and the few that actually made tiny nicks and cuts didn't seem to transmit the venom. But slowly, the Ghoul King began to sweat. His movements began to slow. Sensing the change, Darius pressed on with renewed vigor, forcing the Ghoul backwards. Darius' daiklaive began to nick, then to cut, and eventually, slash at the mighty solar opponent. B'riaga continued to pour his essence into the tiny assassin. The entire empty field was lit up by the brilliant golds of Darius, the whites and blues of the Ghoul King, and the crimson and oranges of B'riaga. The Ghoul King's essence supplies began to run low, his muscles burned and moved sluggishly. He swung his great daiklaive high above his head and shouted out the name of his most powerful charm--but at that exact moment, the tiny spider bit again. This time, the Ghoul's body was too overtaxed with the sea adder venom to stand up to it. He screamed in pain and dropped to his knees as his blood began to burn. Darius let out a great cry of victory for the sun, and drove his daiklaive through the ancient solar's heart.

Exploding and burning in throws of essence, Filial Widom perished, and Han-Tha was destroyed, not to rise again til many centuries hence. As the new dawn rose over Rathess, the ancient city found itself back in the hands of its creators, the Dragon Kings.

It had been an adventure and challenge the likes of which our heroes had never before seen, yet they conquered it, and were victorious. They decided to depart, for a time, but having formed a bound of friendship through the adversity, they would return again, a year hence, and finish the job they had started.

Darius returned to his city in the East, and continued to train his troops and prepare for that war which he believed was to come.

Drega, in between pirating, spent much time in Rathess itself. He actually began to care about the Dragon Kings, and he learned much of their history and their ways. He continued to help them capture and civilize the rogue stalkers, as well as clear out other pests and enemies of the city.

However, a dark seed was taking root in the third part of their trinity. B'riaga had attained the highest command of Essence one could during a mortal lifetime. He mastered the third and highest circle of sorcery, and began to think of himself as mighty indeed. After learning a spell that he thought would make himself invincible to the armies of the dead, Light of Solar Cleansing, he decided to travel to Thorns and try to intimidate the Deathlord (his hubris had grown great). He wished merely to wave his power around, then bargain with the Mask of Winters for some great and lost lore, or artifact, or perhaps just riches. However, he found that his power was still trivial beside that of a Deathlord. With a new humility, B'riaga agreed to do a task for Winters, in exchange for a few spells. The task was simple: Drega was studying books and scrolls on the Dragon King's crystal technology. B'riaga was to sneak in and trace the letters of the book with a special ink. When Drega read these innocent characters, he would find himself more moved to sympathy with the cause of the Deathlords. Nothing major, but it represented a serious breach of trust in the team. B'riaga, of course, accepted the task gladly.

No one was ever the wiser, but when the year had gone by and the three were reunited, a dark storm cloud was on the horizon. The trios adventures in Rathess had just begun. . .

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went BaronSamedi - 01/08/2004 12:37:58 - baronsamedi@clownsquad.net

Thank You. I appreciate your work transcribing that. It made for an enjoyable read.

So is the group gonna be working at the new story soon?

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Sunny_Delight - 01/08/2004 12:49:09

That B'riaga is so jerky.

Awesome story, please keep us updated.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Della - 01/08/2004 14:20:40

cool. very very cool. kudos ^^

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/08/2004 22:04:11

Wow, people ~did~ actually take time to read it ^_^ *is so happy*. That was our first campaign. We've actually already completed a second "mini-campaign," but I wanted to see if people were actually interested before I posted the rest. Oh, and though I say "first campaign," that's their first together. Drega and Darius already had between 50-80 xp from other stories, and B'riaga was already around 100 xp.

When our heroes returned to Rathess, they were met my a stranger. Darius had encountered him once before, but the man known only as "Asheron" (yes, he's cheesey) was still a mystery. He was an old and feeble looking man, but he was a Solar exalt, guarded by several powerful demons. He claimed to be an incredibly powerful sorcerer, and did not even flinch when B'riaga flexed his sorcerous 'muscles'. He claimed that he was interested in B'riaga, that B'riaga's essence seemed "familiar" to him. B'riaga didn't know what he was talking about, but decided it wouldn't hurt to let the old man follow him around. After all, he claimed to have knowledge of the darker arts of necromancy, and a sorcerer’s greed for new lore knows no bounds. The heroes had conquered Rathess' most powerful foe, but there was still much work to be done. The Fair Folk were easily dealt with, comparatively speaking. The Dragon Kings were anxious to fight for their city, and so led a full offensive charge at the base of the Fae's flying tower. At the same time, the four solars (as well as B'riaga's new pets, Octavian and Gervesin) used various means to fly to the top of the tower and begin an offensive from the opposite direction. It turned out to be a rather easy skirmish. One of the Fair Folk (the one who wasn't in love) betrayed the other two, taking a contingent of goblins and escaping into the underways. The other two put up a very good fight, but ultimately, they were outmatchted. Things did get a little interesting, though, when Darius missed with a shock gauntlet punch and accidentally hit B'riaga... Octavian jumped the zenith before he even realized his mistake, which made for quite an entertaining spectacle.

Once everything was straightened out, the remainder of the goblins were found and slaughtered, leaving the Dragon Kings the sole masters of Rathess above ground.

Our heroes next turned their attention to the underways. They never did find that Fair Folk, but they did find the lair of the Leech Gods. The battle was fierce--the leech gods' hides were quite resistant--but in the end, futile; the sickly underfolk and their waterbound masters could not face the fury of four powerful exalts of the Unconquered Sun. And so, with relative ease, the city of Rathess was cleared of all pestilence, and the true ownership was once again in the hands of the ancient lizards.

Asheron stated that he had other business to attend, but cryptically promised to keep an eye on B'riaga. The twilight just shrugged, and told the old man to be about his way.

The team continued to work with the Dragon Kings, trying to rebuild the city and rediscover its lost wonders, when a lone beastman was discovered and captured by some Dragon scouts. After some intimidating speeches from Darius, the wolfman announced that he served the mighty Nameless One, who had named Rathess as his own, now that it had been cleared out of most of its inhabitants. After a bit of scouting of our own, it became obvious to the heroes that a large beastman army was amassing to the northwest, and was making plans to move on Rathess.... (out of time... will have to finish later... ^_^)

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went BaronSamedi - 01/09/2004 12:16:08 - baronsamedi@clownsquad.net

thanks for the update

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went severus - 01/09/2004 13:41:02 - jduncan6@utk.edu

I love to hear how other people's chronicles are going. As far as I am concerned, feel free to update this as often as you feel like.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went light-bringer - 01/09/2004 14:33:05 - light-bringer@light-bringer.net

Thanks for the update, it makes me want to run a campaing in Rathess even more.

Does anyone else have war stories from Rathess?

(I promise to post mine when the game gets up and running)

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went BaronSamedi - 01/09/2004 14:38:46 - baronsamedi@clownsquad.net

None from Rathess, no, but someday I'll have to weave the yarn about how my PCs overthrew the Perfect of Paragon.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Della - 01/09/2004 14:40:35

i'm working on one.

but my PCs, right now, are too busy trying to find a way to hide this mysterious 12 years old girl who has apparently been in a comatose state since the earliest first age... she has something around Essence 25-30, and about half of the essence-sensitive people in the world of Exalted are currently hot on their heels. (the other half is running around screaming).

^____^ i love to puzzle my PCs

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/09/2004 15:45:19

Darius sent an emissary, wishing to parley with the leader of the army. He was told a certain neutral location to come to, and was advised to come alone. Cocky and bold as ever, Darius agreed and rushed to the location. He found himself on the sandy shore of some river that history had forgotten; jungle all around. He felt the presence of many eyes watching him, though he could see no one. Finally, after an uncomfortable solitude, a stirring arose. Out from the jungle stepped a giant of a beast: it had the horns and legs of a goat, or perhaps an antelope; its fur and mighty jaws were that of a wolf; and its stature was that of a man. Yes, though our heroes (and the Players) were still in ignorance of the importance of this figure, the leader of the beastman army was none other than Ma-Ha- Suchi, Lunar survivor of the First Age.

Darius thought himself a master of words and discourse, but he was as a mote of insignificance next to the honey coated silver of the Lunar's speech. He tried to plead for the city, to appeal for rationality and to disuade the Lunar from his course of bloodshed and the spread of the Wyld, but he instead found his words turned back upon him. Ma-Ha-Suchi mocked Darius, and allowed him to depart, stating that there would be no honor in slaying such a pitiful creature as he, but that the Lunar wished for Darius' balls to drop... then, he would deem to fight. Darius returned to our heroes with the convinction that it was the right of the strong to cull the weak, and with a beastman army at his back. Not surprised at Darius' failure (he was always far to noble and righteous for Drega and B'riaga to place their faith in), they began making preparations for war. There were only two main entrances to Rathess: the gate in the Eastern gate, and the Western gate. Because Ma-Ha-Suchi was coming from the northwest, it was agreed that he would try to take the Western gate. Each had his own role to play. B'riaga summoned Hopping Puppeteers to work on the defenses. They cleared out a hundred yard radius of forest all around the western wall, so that the jungle could not hide the attackers. The trees that were felled were either added to give the walls height, piled in front of the gate to make a barrier, or constructed into catapults that were to hurl flaming debris at the oncoming force. B'riaga also placed five previously constructed statues of high quality in a pentagon around the western manse, the Pyramid of the Setting Sun. He told his companions and the Dragon Kings that it would make it easier for him to cast offensive spells at the enemy, but when his Solar Sanctuary was cast and the Dragon Kings felt their attunement to the manse deaden, they called him in for questioning. Needless to say, they were quite angry, but B'riaga assured them that it was only a temporary construct, and that immedeately upon their victory, he would tear it down. With so great a threat bearing down upon them, the Dragon Kings reluctently agreed; but Drega gave B'riaga a single look that said, "Oh, don't worry. It ~will~ come down as soon as this is over with." Drega's task was to ferry in more firedust, and to train the Dragon Kings in the use of the catapults. Darius used his Globe of Transport to bring in elite archers from his city. They were to fly the warbirds in sorrees against the approaching army; rain down death upon them. On their first mission, the beastmen's bows were powerless to reach the warbirds, and Darius and his men were filled with confidence. On their second mission, a flare of silver essence was accompanied by a single arrow, which, with unerring accuracy, slew one of the archers, sending the warbird careening off to its doom. No more sorees were flown after that.

The idea was struck upon that our heroes should summon the King of the Forest for that area of the jungle. Its aid could be crucial to winning. Unfortunately, when B'riaga completed the spell, they were met by a lowly stick spirit. It informed them that the Forest King had been summoned and bound already, by a being called "The Nameless One." Apparently, Ma-Ha-Suchi was one step ahead of them. Within a week, the beastman army of several thousand (not all wolfmen) had arrived. Their howls and roars made the night before battle a long and sleepless one for the residents of Rathess.

(One night, while B'riaga was walking alone, Asheron appeared out of nowhere, looking much younger and healthier. He offered B'riaga a book, which he claimed was a tome of necromancy. He spoke some cryptic words about power and duties, which B'riaga did not understand, then he disappeared into the night again. Our sorcerer verified that the tome was authentic, but busy with other tasks, he put the book on the shelf. It would have to wait until later)

While B'riaga was occupied with Asheron, Ma-Ha-Suchi wasted no time in testing his opposition. Flaming arrows were shot at the wooden reinforcements of the walls, while Drega and his team of seige engineers hurled burning pitch back at them. Darius was standing near the gate where he was surprised by a strange occurence: the trees that formed the blockade suddenly stood up and began advancing! Drega leapt to Darius' aid, and together they were easily able to make firewood out of the impromptu soldiers, but the real damage had already been done. The gate was now wide open.

The invaders halted their hostilities for the night, but the morrow promised to bring a bloodshed the likes of which our heroes had never seen. As soon as the sun arose, the beastmen attacked. B'riaga stood in the gap long enough to cast Death of Obsidian Butterflies, slaughtering them in droves. Yet, the attack came on; thousands of beastmen stepping on the bodies of their comrades who died and their comrades who fell after slicing their paws upon the leftover butterflies. B'riaga cast the spell a few more times, then made way for the heavy fighting to begin. Darius stood in the gateway like the Rock of Gibralter, and when the tide of beastmen struck, they could not dissuade him of his position. His essence flared bright and furious, at first; so many beastmen fell around him in the first few seconds of combat that they began to form a wall around him in all directions. The bodies of the fallen were trampled over in haste, as it seemed as though the beastmen were eager to fall into the whirlwind of death that was Darius' great daiklaive. After the first few minutes, the zenith ceased to spend essence, and went on the defensive, slaying only those who attacked him. He never lacked for beastmen to kill. Any beastmen who flowed past Darius and to run through a series of well placed defenses, where they were ultimately cut down by the archers and the Dragon Kings, the Dragon Kings being, of course, great essence wielders, themselves. At one point, a wave of beastmen broke to the side, and sought to destroy the catapults, but Drega was ready. The beasts were no more able to strike Drega than a shadow, and one by one, he brought swift and silent death to each of them.

And so the battle continued. All day long, Ma-Ha-Suchi sent his warriors against them, and all day long they were slaughtered. Yet, at the end of the day, Darius and Drega had both suffered their minor wounds, and it seemed as though, despite the scores of bodies all around, the invading army was not diminished in any significant amount. B'riaga did his part, attending the wounds of the fighters with Sesseljae. But Darius and Drega were getting tired.

When the dawn broke anew, so did the battle. It went as before, with Darius standing in the gap, and Drega slaying from the shadows. However, before the sun could reach its zenith, Darius had lost his patience. "Enough!" he hollered, and he called on his allies to come with him: they were to fight their way through the hydra to cut at its heart. Drega came with him, and B'riaga consented to send Octavian.

They carved their way, leaving a path of carnage in their wake. Eventually, the beastmen merely moved aside, and a path was made for them. Darius and Drega did not know it at the time, but they would later hear that the fighting had ceased on the frontline. It seemed as though the battle hung in the balance, and was about to be decided; for, indeed, it was.

Darius Kingfisher, Drega the Heartless, and Octavian, the Living Tower, found themselves in a ring of beastmen who eclisped them in size. They were all wolfmen, but they had strange appearences. One, had green scales beneath its fur, another had strange stripes and claws, another had a skinny snout and thin fangs, and the list went on. Seated at the head, on a throne of bone and wood and flesh, was Ma-Ha-Suchi, the Nameless One. Darius, ever the bold, issued forth a challenge to the ages-old Lunar, but in reply he received only a silvery laugh and scorn. Ma-Ha- Suchi declared that it was not fitting that he should slay the two solars here and now, that they were not yet ready for that gift. But, if fight they must, they may face Sem-Na-Sora, one of his sons. The circle closed in, blocking our heroes' way to Ma-Ha-Suchi, but another beastman stepped to the fore. This one appeared, like the others, to have a strange combination of traits from other animals. It howled out a terrible sound, a silver spikes erupted from its bones and mushroomed over its flesh to form armor. It's claws and fangs elongated, and turned to moonsilver. Our heroes knew that this was no ordinary beastman they faced. Darius swung his grand daiklaive high above his head, and struck strong and sure, but Sem-Na-Sora flinched not, and its return attack sent Darius sprawling. Octavian thrust forth his Malfean iron stave with a blow that would have shook mountains, and the beastman grunted. He flared out his claws, and barely nicked one of Octavian's bandoliers. This greatly surpris

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/09/2004 15:53:04

This greatly surprised the demon--he hadn't expected on receiving any marks from the battle. Drega fired off shots with his crystal bracer, but the bolts rang with fading hope. And so, the battle was begun in earnest. Octavian took the forefront, using his demonic charms to attack between the ticks of a second, and to strike sure and true. The great iron stave seemed to rattle Sem-Na- Sora in his carapace, but did not slow him down. Darius continued to fight valiently, but time and again he was thrown to the ground. Drega hatched a plan, and he told Darius. With little hope remaining for victory, Darius agreed. He leapt upon the beastman's back, using his daiklaive across the creature's throat as a bar to hold onto. Sem- Na-Sora, predictabely, roared, and Precision of the Striking Raptor placed a firedust grenade securely between its jaws. The beast threw Darius off of it just as the grenade blew. The explosion added extra momentum to the throw, and Darius landed on his back some many yards away. When Drega lowered the arm he had raised to shield him from the flash, it was to a horrifying sight. The silver coated wolfman amalgam, its jaw hanging halfway off, was bearing down on him with a vengeance and a hatred only an animal heart could know. Sem-Na-Sora leapt, and Drega barely managed to dodge between the creature's legs. It spun around and leapt again, but Darius had sprung up and was ready; he struck a cruel blow to the creature's injured jaw, dragging his orichalcum across it as the beastman leapt. The creature continued to ignore the pain, but then Octavian's stave flashed, and half a dozen blows sent the wolfman sprawling. Darius was again ready, and took the opportunity to leap upon his foe, and drive his daiklaive through the monster and into mother Gaia below.

Darius stood, triumphant, but the victorious feeling did not last long. Nearly all his essence was spent, and he had taken quite a few fell blows. Octavian, also, had taken a few more hits than he expected. Drega alone was unhurt, but he could certainly not take on the remaining foes alone. And Ma-Ha-Suchi claimed this was only his son.

The ancient Lunar clapped and laughed, then ordered the body taken away. "Sem-Na-Sora," he said, "is new, and had to be tested. Unforunately for him, he failed the test; but such is the way of life." Darius spoke bravely, but it was obvious to all that if Ma-Ha-Suchi wished, the three would all die. Darius sued then for the Dragon King peoples, stating that they would not fight them for Rathess if he would allow them to safely bring the Dragon Kings from harm, as they are the last of their kin. The Lunar laughed at this, pointing out the fact that they were in no position to bargain, since he could obviously take Rathess whether or not they would cede. Despair began to set in, but Ma-Ha-Suchi announced that it was disgraceful to wet ones sword with the blood of cowards as they retreat, and so as long as they were running, he would not stab them in their cowardly backs. Darius insisted they were not cowards, and asked for time to gather the Dragon Kings and leave, but the Lunar assured them that cowards they were, and that his attack would continue, whether they were out of the city when it burned or not was up to them. At this, our heroes returned to give the Dragon Kings this dire news.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/09/2004 16:49:10

Darius went alone into the Pyramid of the Sun to inform the Elder Dragon Kings of the situation. Drega immedeately went to prepare for the evacuation, saving as many of the irreplaceble texts and artifacts as possible. B'riaga, upon hearing the news, disappeared...

The Elders took the news rather well, all things considered. They would rather cut off their own tails then lose their last and greatest city--especially after so recently regaining it--but they knew that their solar defenders were great warriors, and if they said it was hopeless, then it was hopeless. They would go to live in Darius' city, until the time came when they were all strong enough to retake Rathess. They wanted to discuss it amongst themselves, but it was obvious what their choice would be. They had little options.

B'riaga, however, did not accept so easily defeat at the hands of a beast. If sheer strength bested his solar intelligence, his entire worldview would come crashing down. No, Ma-Ha-Suchi would not take this city. The sorcerer mounted upon his beauteous wasp, who opened a portal and flew into the night.

In the morning, nothing much had changed. Darius stood to break the tide, while Drega led the Dragon Kings in the few Globes they had to Darius' city. Darius never had to pull back, as every beastman seemed intent on being the one to take him down. When night fell, none had succeeded, and so they withdrew once more to the forest. B'riaga appeared, then, and announced that he had a solution. The other solars listened eagerly as B'riaga claimed to have found a spell in his research that would protect the city from all harm. He told them to collect the blood of all the fallen beastmen into great cauldrons, and that his bloodapes would carry the cauldrons for him as he painted certain arcane runes onto the walls of the city with the blood. He claimed that the blood shed would prevent bloodshed. With little hope left, the Dragon Kings postponed further evacuation and told B'riaga to hurry. Preperations were begun immedeately, and B'riaga began in haste, for the walls were great, and spanned many miles. However, after watching him a few times, Gervesin (who was ever B'riaga's faithful blade) was able to repeat the steps of the ritual, and so begin from the otherside, and thus were they able to cover twice as much ground.

B'riaga was telling the truth in that the ritual would prevent the Lunar army from advancing into the city, but, as ever, his words were slippery, and disguised the true nature of the spell. Months ago, when B'riaga had completed his task of betrayal, he was led in to the libraries of the Mask of Winters. Here he learned his first Solar Circle spells, but his hunger was not sated. He saw walls covered in skeletal, soulsteel hands, which held a seeming never ending amount of scrolls, all of them full of lore that was lost to the living world forever. A fire of lust was kindled in his heart, for with that lore, who could truly stop him? And so, the previous night, a deal had been struck. The Mask of Winters would provide B'riaga with a certain ritual that, once completed, would mingle the leftover necrophagic energies of the Ghould King's cult with the death energy of all the recent slaughtered to open up a shadowland around Rathess. The Deathlord's armies would be there, waiting in the Underworld, and when the way was open, would strike out, and drive the Lunar's army from existence. In return for handing over an entire First Age city to the Mask of Winters, B'riaga would gain unlimited access to the libraries and vaults of lore of the Deathlord. He would never again lack for sources of knowledge.

Drega approached B'riaga and, discerning his true purpose, became furious. However, B'riaga's betrayal was at work even here, as Drega found his heart not so turned to loathing towards the dead as he might have thought. He consented to the lesser of two evils, as he named it, but his anger towards B'riaga for his secrecy burned hot. Yet, Darius did not discern the true purpose of B'riaga's spell, and so it went forward. On the third morning, dark clouds began to form above the once tropical city. My midafternoon, the winds were fierce and the sky was dark, but the clouds did not break, and no refreshing rain came. That night, strange sights were spotted from the walls, pail humans and strange creatures. Horrible sounds were heard, and eventually, it seemed as though the beastmen armies were fighting amongst themselves. The battlefield was pure confusion.

Becuase B'riaga reported that his ritual was done, the Dragon Kings called him forth. They told the solars what their scouts had seen, and asked B'riaga, directly, what it was his spell had done. He had planned on claiming a misspell, but becuase Drega already knew, B'riaga confessed, unashamedly, what he had done to save the city. The Dragons were roused with anger like the solars had never seen them before, and Darius was so furious that he almost drew his sword. B'riaga assurred them again and again that the Deathlord had no interest in the city itself, and that Dragon Kings, leaving no ghosts, were worthless to him, and that B'riaga did only what he could to save the city, but he availed not. Drega could pierce B'riaga's deception and see that the sorcerer had acted for himself, rather than for the city, and Darius and the Dragon Kings refused to see the Deathlord as anything but pure evil. "B'riaga, once sorcerer of the sun, now corrupted," the Elders spoke, "the debt we owed thee for thy part in the defeat of the Ghoul King is now paid in this: that we do not end thy life here and now. Go hence from these walls, and never return within!" Behind B'riaga's Ghost-Seeing Blindfold, his eyes were cold. "So be it," he said, "I see that this is how the Dragon Kings repay the one who saved their grand city. Nevertheless, you may one day find that you no longer hold the power to decide who does or does not come through your walls; and strength alone is not always sufficient to decide a war." With that, B'riaga turned and walked out, and did not stop walking even as he reached the gate.

Darius now renewed his plea for the Dragon Kings to flee and come unto his city, and they agreed, beleiving their city to already lie in its own grave. Darius lit his anima like a great beacon, and marched bravely out into the dark beyond the walls. None challenged him, save one derranged wolfman, and he quickly found his way to the leader. It was not hard, B'riaga was shining forth brighter than the sun, and the leader was holding discourse with him (albeit from a distance). He found B'riaga and the Mask of Winter's servant, Sad Ivory, holding discourse. Ignoring the sorcerer, he asked Sad Ivory the same thing he asked Ma-Ha-Suchi, for succor enough to let the Dragon Kings escape to his city. Sad Ivory repeated what B'riaga had already told: that neither the city nor its inhabitants were of matter to His Excellency, and that they may do as they please.

And so, another chapter in the long existence of Rathess came to a close, and a new one began. The Dragon Kings were evacuated, even as the Lunar army was driven forth by their own fallen comrades. Finding Rathess bereft of owners, B'riaga decided that such a city should not go to waste. Therefor, he had the Pyramid of the Sun torn down, and he raised up a tall tower in its place by the great power of a Solar Sanctuary. He renamed the city Azhrarnath which, in the old language, meant "City of the Wise," or "the Powerful."

Darius returned to his city, and became a watcher over the last of a race more ancient than man. Drega returned to the seas, and his pirate fleet continued to grow. A year and a half would go by, as each of the three continued to grow stronger and to follow their own ends. However, events were stirring on the horizon that would soon bring the three together again... whether they like it, or not.

Subject: How our Rathess camp. went Gorol - 01/09/2004 16:59:27

Thus ends my run of storytelling, and the end of the Rathess campaign. I'm really glad you guys enjoyed it, I can't tell you how much that cheers me. I certainly enjoyed writing this for y'all a great deal. The events I transcribed covered everything all the way up into our session this past week, where I turned the reins over to Darius' player. He claims to have a very awesome story for us, which takes place up in the North and involves heavy influence from his favorite character, Asheron. This fits my purpose just fine, as I've been wanting to run The Invisible Fortress since the book first came out, and this allows me a nice way to slip that in there once he's done! By the end of the Rathess chronicle, B'riaga was nearing 300 xp, and both Drega and Darius (though they don't keep count) must be approaching the 200's. And, yes, if you haven't guessed by now, B'riaga is my character ^_^. Hee hee, I know, he's a jerk. But don't worry, every stunt he ever pulled, I ran by the other players first for their approval, so it wasn't some case of me using my storyteller power to give B'riaga all the goodies. We have a weird troupe that way: we play so little, that the storyteller always has his own character, so that they don't feel left out whenever we switch up positions.

Feel free to ask me any questions you like about the campaign, such as certain elements of the Rathess book that I left out, or certain events that you didn't understand. After all, for the sake of dramatic narrative, I left out a lot of small details that just wouldn't have fit.

Peace.