A Brave Stand

As I mentioned last week, the players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign are running through the DCC adventure Saga of the Witch Queen, modified to fit the campaign's rules and level. This week, they lost an NPC while battling the Witch Queen.

Session 163: Duel with the Witch of Black Marsh

Lakima (human magic user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Luna (charmed human fighter NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon members are in their cloud ship, "Cloudstealer," hovering over a goblin fort in the middle of the Black Marsh. They believe that the answers to the Blight disease that is affecting Irllendom. They also expect to confront the Witch Queen of the Marsh.

“Okay, listen up, everyone. Here is my plan,” Lakima said quietly, waving everyone toward him.

“I will cast a spell, and then once I give the word, the rest of you toss ropes over the side and descend and kill the remaining goblins.”

The rest agree, with no better plan in mind. Lakima leans over, casts a wizard's eye, and then projects an image of himself down amongst the goblins of the fort.

“Flee before the mighty Lakima the grey, the greatest mage in all the lands,” the projected image yells and casts Fear.

The goblins are confused at first by the sudden appearance of a human in a blue cloak and his strange shouted words they cannot understand, but then the fear spell takes hold of them, and all of the goblins nearby run in fear. In this melee of confusion, Eathwund, Aldus, Ian, and Luna drop down from the sky and attack and kill goblins. Soon, the area was cleared of goblins and a few hobgoblins.

Eathwund and Aldus head toward one of the slave pits to free the inhabitants. In the pit below the flying ship, the humans and a few elves cower in fear of the adventurers. Luna uses a knock spell to break upon the door to the most prominent building. Aldus and Ian rush inside, and Aldus sees a fire giant working at a forge—the giant roars at Aldus in a language he does not understand. The goblin helpers of the giant then spill the hot coals out of several forges onto the floor, causing a raging fire. The fire giant bashes his way through the side of the building to the outside while the goblins escape through holes in the ceiling. As the fire catches onto the wood walls, Aldus and Ian run out of the way they came in.

Eathwund reaches the slave pit and sees a group of human men and women and one elf. All except the elf shrink back from the gore-covered fighter. The elf pleads for water. Eathwund tosses his waterskin to the elf.

Back beneath the flying ship, Lakima spots a large group of goblins approaching his projected image. He casts a lightning bolt through the wizard's eye spell, killing all the goblins. A moment later, a fireball spell comes back in the same direction, exploding around Ian, engulfing Ian Luna, Lakima’s image, and several goblins. The goblins are killed, but Luna and Ian survive the blast. Lakima then moves the image and the eye between buildings to the fireball spell's source. Here, he sees three identical witches, a fire giant, a hunch-backed elf, and five hobgoblins.

“The Witch Queen!” Lakima says, “Your time is over. Surrender to Lakima the grey!”

“You are not Lakima,” the witch says from all three images, “You are nothing but an illusion.” She yells at the hobgoblins to stop as they swing their blades through the image of the mage.

“You like fireballs?” Lakima yells and casts a fireball spell at the witch. Two of her images disappear, and only the real witch remains.

“Bacra, find the mage,” the witch says to the elf, “He is hiding somewhere nearby!”

The hunch-backed elf nods and disappears into the shadows.

The fire giant strides through Lakima and between the buildings until he confronts Luna. The Fire giant attacks and Luna struggles to avoid his giant hammer blows. Ian bravely attacks and draws off the giant's attention. Domago, who has been trying to help the prisoners, finds they have all been killed by the fireball. He joins Ian in attacking the giant.

Ian makes a brave stand

On the other side of the camp, Aldus and Eathwund are attacked by a pair of hill giants. They fight off the giants but are unaware of Domago, Luna, and Ian's desperate struggle with the fire giant.

On board the Cloudstealer, Lakima sits by the helm, peering through his wizard's eye and directing the projected image.

“Hey, someone is climbing up!” Dagmar says, pointing at the rope over the side, which has been drawn tight.

“Quickly! Cut the rope,” Lakima yells.

The crew, Dagmar and Cowan, grab hand axes and chop through the rope.

Below, Ian struggles in his fight with the Fire Giant. Domago is suddenly attacked from behind by the hunch-backed elf using a poisoned blade. Ian falls, felled by a massive blow to the chest, crushing his lungs. Lakima sees this through his image and summons an earth elemental to help Domago and Luna. The shouting also brings Eathwund and Aldus on a run.

Lakima tries to disintegrate the witch, but it does not work. The witch sends a summoned crow to attack Lakima on the ship, but it is driven off. Then she sends her demonic familiar.

Eathwund kills the Fire giant who falls over the body of the slain Ian. Lakima confronts the witch again, who, this time, flees. The witch turns into a crow and flies off. Seeing the adventurers arrayed against him, Bacra, the hunch-backed elf, tosses his dagger to the ground and surrenders.

“Don’t kill me,” he says, “I can tell you the witch’s plans!”

Lakima dismisses the spell and elemental, and everyone, including nine rescued prisoners, boards the ship. Initially, The prisoners are fearful, but Domago’s words calm them down. Lakima suggests that they return to Irllendom at once. But the others wish to hear what Bacra has to say. He makes them promise they will let him go if he tells them everything. He tells them about the blight blades that the fire giant was forging. The ore for the blades is mined from the pit they call the maw. This raw ore is forged into blades, and the orcs of the Mountain King come to pick them up. In return, the orcs bring supplies.

“What is it all for, you ask?” Bacra says.

He explains that a powerful wizard called Barrugal has convinced Kyleth the Witch to help him overrun Irllendom. The Witch held sway over the goblins and hobgoblins of the swamp and brought them to the demon rock as labor and protection. Bacra also tells them that Barrugal’s apprentice, Maeve, is below the Keep.

“Eathwund,” Lakima says, pointing at Bacra, “Throw him overboard.”

“No!” Domago yells.

Eathwund grabs Bacra and tosses him over the side. Bacra falls silently several hundred feet to the swamp below. Domago is briefly angered but gets over it.

The group returns and enters the large building Bacra identifies as the Keep. Inside, they find the quarters of the fire giant and several scrolls detailing weapon smithing. Lakima is attacked by Maeve with a poisoned dagger. He casts a charm spell successfully on Maeve. Maeve then details more of her master Barrugal’s plans and the location of Barrugal’s current hide-out. He is on the run, hiding from the wizard Bryan Sturlaker.

From the interrogation of Maeve and the details of a letter they find, it becomes clear that the witch is not directly responsible for the blight. The group returns to Irllendom. Domago needs time to rest and pray so he can raise Ian back to life. In Irllendom, Lakima casts feeblemind on Maeve and turns her over to the guard.

The next day, Domago successfully raises Ian from the dead. As Ian opens his eyes, he looks at Aldus and whispers.

“Did I kill the fire giant?”

“You did indeed,” Aldus says, “Well done.”

Ian then falls asleep. Domago tells them that Ian will be fine but will need a few weeks of rest to recover. The group discusses what to do next. Lakima argues that their quest is complete with the witch driven off and the Black Dragon killed. They should return home. He immediately looks to Domago, who is shaking his head.

“What, Domago.”

“St. Aleena’s Quest is not complete,” Domago argues, “We need to find the source of the Blight, which threatens the realm, and we need to find the witch and finish it.”

“Well, St. Aleena has been wrong so far,” Lakima says, “She said the threat was orcs, and all we encountered with the witch was goblins and hobgoblins.”

“We encountered orcs earlier fighting the dragon,” Domago replies, “Perhaps we do not have the entire story.”

“Well, ask her then,” Lakima says in exasperation. Domago agrees, but it means staying in Irllendom for another day.

The next day Domago communes with St. Aleena. He asks if the lizardman's lair's fountain is the blight's source. He is told it is not. The source is a demon skull that must be thrown into the maw to end the blight.

“I think the lizardman's lair is in an ancient barbarian tomb,” Lakima says. We are going to have to go back and search it.”

The adventurers board the Cloudstealer and once more fly toward the swamps. This time short, one man.