AAR (2/5/7 Event) Liberation of Grakor (2020-06-13@20:00 GMT)

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sigfriedmcwild
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Re: AAR (2/5/7 Event) Liberation of Grakor (2020-06-13@20:00 GMT)

Post by sigfriedmcwild » Wed Jun 17, 2020 9:21 pm

From "Notes on the world outside the kaers" as penned by Norg

It was finally time to remove the cult of Raggok from Grakor, the call to arms went out and over a dozen of adepts responded. Less than a score may not sound like a lot but when dealing with adepts numbers are deceptive. This happened just a week or so after a group of adepts had opened the gates to the cloister or silence.

Here are the names of those who marched on Grakor, recorded for posterity:
Azurea, troll Shadow
Daldorer, obsidiman Nethermancer
Dubhan, dwarf Wizard
Dvarim Bolg, dwarf Weaponsmith and Elementalist
Fort'seti T'silvar, t'skrang weaponsmith
Icarus Wolfswift, human Air Sailor
Jaen'val'Jael 'Jael' Savre, elf Beastmaster
Karl Tomsson, human Archer, Beastmaster and Journeyman
LaShana Tumblesprout, windling Thief
Moe'uhane, t'skrang Illusionist
Sek'thi, t'skrang Thief
Vlolkir, troll Skyraider
William Carver, human polymath
Zivilyn, windling Shaman and Wizard
and me, Norg, troll Gauntlet and Air Sailor in training

I had adventured with many of these adepts before, but several were new faces just starting on their journey. It was good to see so many willing to contribute to the eradication of the cult of Raggok.

We marched to Grakor with little care for stealth and by the time we arrived the cultists were ready for a fight. A group was erecting a ballista on one of the village watchtowers, while towards the back the foul mockery of a windling Lyrliant was raising the dead. In the middle of the village, by the stable, Bal the Carver, the troll leader of the assault on the cloister, was directing a group of mounted soldiers.

We split up to deal with these threats, I joined Moe, Daldorer, and Zivilyn in rushing to disrupt the cavalry before they could run us down. The magicians used vairous spells to disrupt their mounts, while I took position in the best chokepoint I could find to deny them the open field.

Meanwhile another group approached the tower and start disrupting the efforts on the ballista and another rushed Lyrliant.

The mounted cultists were surprisingly capable even if I'm told their choice of greatsword was odd for mounted troops, we managed to weather their fist charge even if Bal almost killed Zivilyn's wolf, Howler. After they let themselves get bogged down in a melee we made relatively short work of them, thanks in large part to a steady barrage of Phantom Fireballs. Zivilyn spotted a t'skrang that he called "the wizard" circling around the fight, and we took him out too before he could flee. Bal himself went down to a single punch with little fanfare.

After this fight we took a moment to regroup and take stock of the situation, while Daldorer used his magics to save Howler. The ballista tower was under our control, but a fresh group of cultists was preparing to counter assault it. Lyrliant was dead and the creation of new ghouls had stopped, but an Elementalist was manipulating the weather to keep the existing ones safe from sunlight.

The group that fought Lirliant moved on to the town hall, which burst open revealing Joranka the cult leader and a monstrous thing made of bodies stitched together.

We sent the remaining horses from the stables to distract the Elementalist (who I later learnt was named Ph'teve, what a ridiculous name) and moved to end the ghoul threat, while the group on the tower defended their position.

The following fight was quick and brutal, we were all worn down by the previous engagements, Jael and Vlolkir in particular looked in a really rough shape, it even looked like they had horns (or more horns in Vlolkir case), but in the end we prevailed, with Joranka, Ph'teve, and the abomination dead.

After that the town was more or less burnt to the ground to start cleansing any lingering taint.

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Re: AAR (2/5/7 Event) Liberation of Grakor (2020-06-13@20:00 GMT)

Post by etherial » Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:54 pm

At last the reckoning has come. What began as a misguided errand of mercy has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Namegivers and the creation of monstrous undead. We have beaten back the Cult of Raggok, protected what remains of Rashomon's legacy, and now we are to wipe them out and salt the earth. Our initial scouting detected three initial areas of concern: A defensive tower that had been constructed, a herd of horses that would be used as cavalry, and a pit where vile undead were being assembled out of spare Namegiver parts. A crack team of intrepid Adepts slipped into the tower and barred the door behind them, securing it for our use. Another group used force majeure to wipe out the breeding pit. That left the group I was in to take care of the horses.

Some of their party were already mounted when they saw us coming, charging into our zone of control where we were able to use Fog of Jeer and my Death's Head Spell to neutralize their mounts. Their leader, however, was quite a force to be reckoned with, laying into Norg and Ziv with uncanny zeal. They were supported also by a creature that purported to be a Wizard, but whose mystical arts were easily outclassed by our own. Our many months of passing through each other's spheres of influence ensured we had a successful team and we were able to rout our foes.

Pursuing deeper into the fray, we saw the familiar features of Ph'teve the wicked miscreant and a pack of Ghouls. A quick spell on my part wiped out his minions, but he proved surprisingly resilient and engaged our team for some time.

In the midst of this battle, a monstrous amalgam of flesh and sorcery burst forth, requiring all of our most experienced Adepts to keep it in check. The team in the tower had assembled a ballista for their troubles, however, and loosed a bolt into the beast, detonating its rotten flesh across the battlefield.

Quietly on our own, we Nethermancers encircled the town with a thin stream of salt, proving the earth against further misadventure.

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Re: AAR (2/5/7 Event) Liberation of Grakor (2020-06-13@20:00 GMT)

Post by Aegharan » Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:13 pm

The area around Throal reported followers of Raggok acting strangely. Sightings of Undead and Constructs have increased, and we ourselves saw at the gates of the Cloister of Silence what Mayhem the "townsfolk of Grakor" would cause if they're not stopped. Of course we have not forgotten the betrayal of this windling Lyrlian, and our desire to make it right and avenge her nearly ripping Semyon Targalig's husband to shreds.

We gathered all we could, many of which I've fought with, some I've heard good things about, and some new in the Adept's way, eager to make a name for themselves. We rolled up to Grakor, anxious to see how they would react. We were met with some troops scrambling towards a defensive tower, trying to ready a Ballista, and a group of Scorchers breaking free from the village to fall into our flanks, while a steady stream of undeads comes from a nearby graveyard. Along with Dubhan, Jael, Vlolkir and William we followed the stream of undead, slaughtering minor constructs and cadaver men on the way, to spot this b**ch Lyrlian.

She taunted us, calling out our weaknesses, and right off the bat distorted Jael's Skull, so that it seemed that he indeed had Horns. Funnily, they did the same to Vlolkir, indenting the Horns into his skull. So Lyrlian is a Changeling, not a Necromancer. Still easy to hit and rather straightforward to kill. Hidden in a couple trees were a couple more changelings. William managed to break one's wings, locking that beast on its tree for the remainder of the combat, until it tried freeing himself and left an ugly speck in the grass where it "landed".
What irritated me was a severe rattling of bones, coming from behind Lyrlian. We later learned that this is a "Bone Shamblers". And something as horrendous as a turning sawing wheel of Bones exist. I concentrated and fully laid all I had into this thing, trying to stop it before it crashes through us. Luckily I hit it to good effect, so it only crashed into Vlolkir once, and we managed to kill it. That left us with the remaining Changelings, which were easily disposed.

The rest of the group met up with Dvarim who oversaw disabling the fortifications and charged into Grakor. I staid back, keeping watch out for more enemy reinforcements, and killing off the remaining undeads and constructs occasionally coming from the graveyard and forest. Once the magically artificed stormclouds no longer blocked the sun, our sight of the surroundings improved, showing no more reinforcements approaching. Also the undead crippled or fell over. Entering Grakor I saw a giant, stitched together beast, with Cleavers for Hands, with Vlolkir and Jael debating whether they should get a painter out to create a portrait of them standing near this beast's head. We burned the dead and the village, for it to be cleansed by Questors later.

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