After killing the antagonist

The previous session in my Swords & Wizardry campaign was the battle and victory over the primary antagonist of the campaign. After the battle, I asked the players if this was a fitting end point and they did not agree. They wanted to keep playing. At the level the players are now at (10-12) it is not easy to find compelling adventures to adapt. But the even bigger issue is that the players have become attached to the characters making it challenging to threaten them without them just backing away. I will keep running a little longer but at some point, I think I will be telling the players that it is time to wrap up the campaign. I am not going to introduce another antagonist but there still is the original antagonist I had for the campaign (the Ghoul King). His threat has been minimized as the player's characters have handed over artifacts he needs to gain full power (his missing body parts) to the Church. There is also the question of the Duke's brother in the realm wanting to grab the throne, but this would lead to a political campaign that neither I nor the players are interested in. This campaign began as a dungeon crawl OSR campaign and I want to keep it as close to that as possible.

That being said the first session after the epic victory was not great. The party leader wanted celebrations in their honor and he wanted to get right into building a mercantile empire based on his newly won ability to create flying ships (with much study and cost). This was not something the other players were interested in. In an online game, it is very easy for one player to take over the conversation since you cannot see whether other players are interested. I kept asking the other players for input on what they were doing and did not get much. There was a hook for a new adventure that I dropped into the session but the players all waited to see if the party leader took interest in it. By the end of the session, I had 2 of the 4 players AFK.

Session 122: Festival

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Aldus (human cavalier), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Domago (human cleric NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon has defeated the great menace to Valnwall – the White Worm. They begin the travel home on their flying ship.

The group is soon approaching Winterhaven, the city of the gnomes. They see no signs of damage to the city walls and assume that the Frost Giants never made it this far south. Arriving they settle the flying ship over the entrance as they did last time. The gnome customs official again charges them for bringing the flying ship into the city.

The adventurers leave the ship with only the crew left behind. Most of the group heads toward the wizard’s cottage. Fenris heads over to the Quiettop Inn to arrange rooms for the night. They tell Erwin Truecase the wizard about the death of the White Worm. He nervously checks his Ring of Charm protection a few times before being convinced that they have not fallen under the charm of the White Worm. He notices that Eathwund is no longer carrying Wormbane and learns of its destruction from Alrix. Alrix asks about weapon crafters in Winterhaven and Erwin directs him to a shop.

Lakima, Eathwund, and Domago head to the inn while Aldus and Alrix head over to the weapon shop. There Alrix commissions a magical low bow for 1,800 gold. He learns that it will take 2 weeks to make. Back at the Inn, the group settles in to eat a good meal. Dusig is anxious to return to Gundamark and promises them a warm welcome and a feast in their honor. Lakima is anxious to get home to Edgerton. Alrix decides to join them and return later to collect the bow he has commissioned.

They decide to set watches on the flying ship. They have been telling all who are in earshot in Winterhaven about their exploits and they figure the temptation of the gold hoard they have been talking about on board the ship may draw thieves. Everyone rotates watches. Late in the night Eathwund and Fenris are on watch on the flying ship. Fenris sitting by the fire in the tent and Eathwund patrolling the deck. Eathwund hears a thunk sound and sees a grappling hook sliding across the deck. The hook bites into the railing. Eathwund reaches the hook and tries to remove it but he finds it is held fast because of the weight on the other end. Looking over the guardrail he sees a man holding the rope 20 feet below and another man climbing the rope.

“Are you going to climb back down or do I need to cut this rope?” Eathwund loudly states.

He hears a gasp of surprise and then sees a second man holding the bottom of the rope runoff. The man climbing the rope slides down to the ground and follows his companion.

Fenris pops open the tent flap and asks Eathwund who he is talking to. Eathwund shrugs and asks Fenris if he wants a grappling hook. There are no further incidences.

The next day they set out for Gundamark. On the way, an enormous Roc shows some interest in the flying ship. It approaches but is warded off by an air elemental summoned by Lakima. They arrive in Gundamark after a day and a half of travel. Dusig immediately begins telling the assembled crowd about their triumph over the White Worm. The crowd of dwarves (and a few humans) cheers.

For the next two days, they are feted in Gundamark. The Company wants to get underway home but Dusig manages to convince them to stay for a feast in their honor. Finally, they are ready and say goodbye to Dusig and set a course for Edgerton. The trip to Edgerton is uneventful but long. It is a week before they spot Edgerton on the horizon. From the air, all appears normal. The bell of the Church of St. Johan rings out as they approach from the air settling down just over their Manor House. Inside Alayna rushes to greet her husband, Lakima.

“You said you would be gone for a few weeks!” Alayna says.

Lakima tells Alayna about the trip and the death of the White Worm. Alayna listens but seems more interested in telling them about the party she hosted a few nights ago.  The adventurers settle into their rooms in the Manor and relax for a day. The next day Eathwund heads across town to his tavern – the Sign of the Purple Bugbear. He finds business is doing well. Perhaps because of the reputation of the owner, or because of the stuffed bugbear in the common room, the tavern has become popular with adventurers. In fact, two groups of adventurers are currently staying at the tavern. Eathwund overhears one group talking about the 400 gold they made for a bounty on the heads of undead creatures. He learns that for the past month, there has been a bounty issued by the Castellan because of the danger of groups of undead wandering the farmlands southeast of Edgerton. To hear the adventurers tell it the undead are from a long-forgotten battlefield in the Sistermoors that has been recently disturbed. Others say that the infamous necromancer Mourn has risen again and is intent on sacking Edgerton (ed. Look guys this is an adventure hook!).

Lakima heads over to the Wizard’s Guildhall and speaks with Chancellor Rune Frost. He unloads several of the magic items and books found on the recent adventure to librarian Culon Krem. Rune Frost introduces the newest teacher to Lakima, telling him it is someone who insists he is a friend of the company. The new teacher turns out to be Deost who asks about Alrix (clearly the charm enchantment is still upon him). Rune also tells Lakima that one teacher and one student are missing. They were recruited by some adventurers to go into the Sistermoors looking for bounties on the undead. Lakima learns about the growing concerns over the undead coming from the moors. Lakima asks to meet the top student. Meeting Thorold he presents the surprised student with his Continual Flame staff. The student is surprised and says his thanks.

Lakima next heads over to the Apothecary to see Malyn. Malyn talks to Lakima about the rise of the undead in the moors. He discounts the tales of Mourn being the cause. Assuring Lakima that if Mourn rose he would be aware of it. Lakima uses the Medallion of ESP to check the truth of Malyn’s statement but finds Malyn protects his thoughts with a cacophony of horrifying and otherworldly surface thoughts. Malyn just smiles at him and warns Lakima from trying to check his thoughts again. Lakima asks Malyn to get to work on trying to understand and duplicate the flying ship as soon as possible.

Alrix says goodbye and flies back to Winterhaven. It is a long flight but he does it while invisible and encounters no issues. In Winterhaven, he picks up the commissioned magical longbow. A few weeks later he is back in Edgerton.

Lakima goes to visit Castellan Edmund and apprise him of the death of the White Worm. The Castellan reveals that he had heard the rumors of the danger posed by the White Worm and the Earl was aware of the machinations of the White Worm’s servant Ud Lux. He is glad to hear the threat has been dealt with and that Ud Lux is dead. He tells Lakima about the issue with the undead coming from the moors. He has put a bounty on the undead but the situation is worsening. Lakima asks the Castellan for permission to have a festival to celebrate the killing of the White Worm and honor the Company of the Black Dragon. The castellan agrees to the festival date and agrees to clear the town square. He will provide militia to keep the peace. He suggests Lakima work with the Church of St. Cuthbert to plan the festival. Lakima tells the castellan that the company will pay for the entertainment, food, and drink. For the next week, Lakima spends time arranging for singers, performers, and a staged re-enactment and pays a bard to compose a ballad about the White Worm’s defeat at the hands of the Company. A few days later the festival is held. The flying ship is even brought down close to the ground and rides are given to some children.

Eathwund hears that Norine Gayheart, the wizard they found trapped in a bottle, has been arrested and has been incarcerated for several weeks. He goes and tells Lakima. The two go to visit Norine in the jail. They lean that she confronted her former fiancé using sleep on his family and hold person on him. She was soon arrested. Norine seems at a loss as to what to do with her life. Everyone she knew 20 years ago when she was trapped in the bottle has moved on. Most of her friends have passed away. Her fiancé married and had children. Lakima offers her a job as a teacher at the Wizards’ Guild. After some thought on the matter Norine accepts. Lakima pays her fine and assures the guards that she will be under the rules of the Wizards’ Guild.

About a month goes by. Malyn and Lakima study, test, and research the flying ship almost every day. They learn that the magic used is a mix of cloud giant and Titan magic. It involves the spirit of an air elemental. Malyn constructs a box to contain the essence of an air elemental and uses it to contain an air elemental summoned by Lakima. Meanwhile, Lakima (with financial support from Eathwund) looks into the costs of buying a riverboat to use as a test for a new flying ship. The costs prove to be prohibitive so Lakima goes to Rasmus Orbin at the Merchant Adventurer’s Guild. He strikes a deal where Lakima will provide the enchantment to make a ship fly, and the merchants’ guild will provide a ship and pay for the costs (55,000 gold) to enchant it. In return, the Merchants Adventurer's Guild will take possession of the ship.

Castellan Edmund visits the manor and talks to Eathwund and Lakima (the only two members of the company currently home). He asks them to find the source of the undead coming from the moors and put a stop to it. After some negotiation, he agrees to pay them 15,000 gold if they can accomplish the task. Lakima tells the Castellan that he will have to check with the other members of the company to see if they wish to take on this mission.