Skirmish 4: (Five Klicks: Fantasy)

 

From the Journal of Sigrún Þórsdóttir, Fourth Skirmish.

Rumors of strange, guttural chanting in the marshes drew us back to the wilderness outside the village. On the first day that came where we had only mists instead of rain, we made our push, and ended up facing things truly not of this world.

The marsh was filled with strange, one-eyed demons with skin as slick and green as slime. They were preoccupied with something, and so we were able to set up in the cover of some old ruins.


This, of course, gave us a front-row seat to the summoning of a horror much worse than any of the other demons chattering in the marshes.


It was big, tall as a man, with a flaming face made from a roughly-carved gourd. In its hand, it held what looked like a short, iron wand. The green demons howled with delight as it appeared and stepped out onto the summoning circle from some fiery, nether dimension.


There were other interesting things on the field of battle as well. All told, I think I counted six coffins. 'Crates was the first to go to one, and, where he thought he might find treasure, he encountered only a blade-wielding undead horror for his trouble.


Fortunately, Styxlyhizz was watching his back.


Meanwhile, Marzhin and Fallah set out toward another two coffins.


It was then that the demons moved toward us, their gourd-headed champion striding forth boldly among them.


What none of them seemed to expect was Barbulax and his uncanny accuracy with a fireball.

With a single burst, the Dwarf obliterated two of the demons immediately. Much to everyone's surprise, I think, the gourd-headed demon simply poofed out of existence under the hail of body parts and fire.


Invigorated by this early victory, we moved into positions from which we could easily fire upon the enemy.


Barbulax was grinning, stumping along as fast as he could.


Some of the demons closed with Barbulax and Fitztandalus, but their hastily-summoned balls of otherworldly flame were easily dispelled by the two friends.


Meanwhile, one of the demons crawled onto a coffin and tore the lid off. Reaching inside, he pulled a horn that made a horrible sound.


In the distance, much to our dismay, there was an equally horrible answering cry.


Another pack of the green-skinned horrors closed with Bella and I, but working together, we turned aside every ounce of their fel magics.


Pensively eyeing a coffin, Marzhin reached out to lift the lid. The instant he touched it, however, it rattled and teleported away, leaving the wizard unnerved in the silence that followed.


Next to me, Bella tore open the lid of the coffin she had selected, only to be confronted with another blade-wielding spirit. Thinking quickly, she threw a bolt of fire at it, blasting it into nothing.


Raising my hammer, I sent a bolt of lightning arcing toward one of the demons, obliterating him and scaring off one of his allies in the process.


And then I saw something truly awe-inspiring. Drawing upon all of the power in the wilderness around him, Fitztandalus summoned a horde of spectral bears that rushed toward the closest pair of demons, tearing them to ribbons in the space of a single frantic heartbeat.


Witnessing the ferocity of the magic and the screams of its allies, one of the demons simply popped out of existence then. Another of the demons ran for cover, perhaps thinking to link-up with its inbound brethren.


Slinging a single lightning bolt, 'Crates blew apart one of the demons rushing in to attack Barbulax, but the effort left him momentarily drained.


The demon that had run, ran again, driven away by the sounds of its allies being picked off, one by one.


Coordinating, the rest of our group moved up to face the horrors more directly.


Though many of us were eager, all of us were content to wait and let the remaining horrors come to us.


Rushing in, one of the horrors flung fire at Fallah, but she dodged, dispelling it as she stumbled.


And then Fitztandalus unleashed his swarm of spectral bears again, turning the very fury of the woodlands against the demon horrors.


This was too much for the last of the demons. With a squeak, the final horror gathered himself up and poofed out of existence.


We surveyed the battlefield as the mists began to turn to rain again. Only the final coffin of those scattered across the battlefield remained untouched, as Marzhin and I both felt that, if it was capable of teleporting itself away from those that touched it, perhaps it was better left floating in the bog, unopened.

Bella noticed that, by some miracle, it seems that the gourd-headed demon dropped his iron wand when he disappeared. Enchanted by the thing, by the otherworldly ripples in the metal itself, and the sheer aura of power radiating from it, she was more than happy to take it for herself. No one else had any interest in the thing, so we were all more than happy to let her keep it.

Returning to the village, we took some time to drink, train and drink some more. In our revels, I learned of another rookie decent with a stick who was more than happy to remain at the ready should we need his assistance in the days to come.

*

Fitztandalus is MVP (+1xp)
All others gain +1xp
4 AP spent on training.

*

Loot (1): Short Sword (Light Melee Weapon.)

Trade (3): Healing Elixir (Med-Kit), Demon Wand (Gauss Gun), Holy Salt (Defusing Tools)

Fitztandalus levels up! +1 to Toughness!

Sigrún levels up! +1 to Toughness!

Marzhin levels up! +1 to Combat Skill!

Fallah levels up! +1 to Combat Skill!

Bella levels up! +1 to Toughness!

Styxlyhizz levels up! +1 to Combat Skill!

Settlement levels up! +1 To Resources!

Settlement is now 2/1/2

Recruit: Rookie


*

Post play notes: Campaign Turn 4: Settlement Event: Quiet Day. Encounter: Battle: Hooligans (9) with one Brute. Condition: Prepared Positions. Did not seize initiative. 

Also, I made some adjustments on the roster page, as I forgot until now that Level 1 is attained with 3xp while all following levels come with 5xp.

Comments

Popular Posts