[Horde] Chapter Four: Session Twenty-Five
Appearing Characters: Arthak Saurfang, Azgadaan, Azuka Stormbreaker, Blindeye, Go'el, Goc, Gruul, Halno, Kiggler the Crazed, Krosh Firehand, Lantresor, Leoroxx, Levia Blackflight, Maggoc, Maulgar, Nitrogg Thundertower, Olm, Nyxxa, Rexxar, Rorha Sundown, Sadras
Outland Day 36
The group gathers in the wake of the battle, taking a moment to rest and regroup. The rest of their allies join them briefly.
Nyxxa nods affirmingly.
Some of the healers quickly patch up some wounds. Arthak makes eye contact with Sadras, the heat of his anger at the necromancer and gronn fading now that she was alright.
Levia casts [Death Ward] on Azuka, and Azgadaan turns Nyxxa invisible, as they prepare to charge into Gruul’s lair. The smell of rotting flesh, sweat, and blood meets their nostrils as they run in, as well as the ever-present stench of fecal matter. It also becomes obvious by the scraping in the ground that Gruul had likely dragged the train as far as his lair.
They can hear voices shouting in ogre.
As they enter a wide-open chamber that branches off, they can see stones and treasures strewn about. It seems like some sort of primitive mining operation. On the far end, there are mounds of stone, and on them are massive ogre-shaped silhouettes. The largest sits with a massive maul--an ogre lord that has misshapen horns sitting in a crown around his head. His singular eye glowers down at them--and he is 3-4 feet taller than the others. The other ogres have different types of hide armor, body paints, and other decor that would indicate they are a council of magi. They all have two heads.
He strikes his maul into the ground.
The ogres start to rush forward at the approaching group. Nyxxa charges forward, still invisible, and runs for the felhunter that was flanking the warlock, Olm the Summoner. She appears as she slashes through the demonic hound. Olm looks quite surprised. Her second strike is narrowly evaded by the felhunter--straight into her second glaive.
He gestures to Olm, who swings at Nyxxa--but she is able to duck out of the way of the great staff. There is an aura of malice and oppression around the king that seems to spur his followers forward.
Maulgar then charges forward, raising his great club. He swings it around, and Rexxar is able to avoid the brunt of it, but Arthak and Azgadaan take the full hit. He then reels around on Azgadaan with his fist--grabbing Azgadaan’s face.
Sadras follows after Nyxxa to try and lock down Olm, landing two glancing hits as the ogre tries to parry with his staff. Meanwhile, Blindeye the Seer steps forward.
He casts [Spirit Guardians], and ghostly ogres start to swirl around him as he starts to flank Sadras, hitting her with his quarterstaff.
Maulgar then rounds on Arthak with his spiked greatlub, but the club hits the ground as Arthak deflects it aside. Azuka uses her crimson rite, thorns digging into her wrist as lightning crackles around her weapon, and she tries to attack Maulgaur--but the attack deflects harmlessly off his massive girth.
Azgadaan starts to cast [Fog Cloud] on Krosh Firehand and Kiggler the Crazed, but suddenly it swirls out of his control and becomes a small mote in Krosh’s hand that he crushes as he uses [Counterspell].
The felhunter tries to bite Nyxxa, but he bites off of her glaive and Nyxxa retreats out of range of the felhunter.
He looks over to Azgadaan and draws a burning rune in his hand before he crushes it in his hand, casting [Living Bomb] on Azgadaan. The ogrish rune appears on the chest of his armor.
Lantresor tries to assist with Maulgar, his blade leaving a slice in the high king’s thick fat. Burning ki charges through the ogre king, but he is able to shrug it off with some difficulty. Lantresor strikes twice more, and this time the stun lands with a blast of ki energy.
Halno casts [Chill Touch] on Maulgar, and the skeletal hand latches onto him.
Arthak slams into Maulgar with his blade, and Puffer starts to charge towards Krosh--knocking the ogre on his back. Rexxar hurls three axes at the downed ogre.
Motes of lightning crackling around High King Maulgar as Kiggler casts [Lightning Shield], the crackling orbs slamming into Azgadaan, Arthak, Lantresor, and Azuka. He then casts [Jolt] at Arthak, but Arthak is able to ground it with his stone-like sword.
He charges forward to try and lock down Kiggler, launching a harpoon into Kiggler’s gut--dropping Kiggler’s concentration.
Levia claps her hands together, and her wings unfurl.
She looks at Maulgar, readying her action to use path to the grave. She casts [Spiritual Weapon] as well, which swings into Blindeye--knocking him out of his concentration on [Spirit Guardians].
Go’el spins his axe around and runs forward, casting [Chain Heal], which jumps between Puffer, Arthak, and Azgadaan. He then plants a skyfury totem.
Krosh gets back to his feet and casts [Blur] on himself and swings at Puffer, who catches the greatstaff with his tusks.
Nyxxa races by the felhunter and slices through it and then carries into Olm.
The [Living Bomb] on Azgadaan explodes, catching both Azgadaan and Maulgar in the blast. However, the rune transfers to Maulgar. Azgadaan breaks free of Maulgar’s grapple and starts to run back towards Sadras and Nyxxa.
Olm looks at Azgadaan and casts [Drain Life] on him.
Nitrogg struggles with Krosh, restraining him with another harpoon before hitting Kiggler.
Arthak swings into Maulgar and then closes on Kiggler and Krosh, trying to get away from the radius of the bomb. Azuka strikes into Maulgar, restraining him before backing off, and Halno follows up with a [Chill Touch]. Lantresor runs for Kiggler, striking into him with a flurry of blows. With a flash, there is a gusher of blood that rips from Kiggler’s gut as the ogre drops to the ground, dead--before Lantresor runs for Blindeye. One of the heads gets stunned, but the other is still coherent.
Puffer backs up and charges at Krosh, but Krosh phases out of the way thanks to his [Blur]. Rexxar hurls three more axes at Krosh, and the blur on Krosh drops.
However, he drops [Blizzard] on himself, shaping it with a spell enhancement to partially protect himself as the ice storm rages around him for a moment. He then fires off a [Frostbolt] at Arthak, which goes wide.
Nitrogg hurls a rock at Maulgar, which smashes his nose--interrupting the order.
Blindeye tries to give Maulgar a small regeneration, but Halno’s [Chill Touch] prevents it. And in that moment, the [Living Bomb] explodes--bursting the massive ogre into flames. As the flames catch, Halno reaches out and snares the high king’s soul, crystallizing it into a soul shard.
Nyxxa slices over and over into Olm, interrupting his concentration on his [Drain Life] on Azgadaan.
With Nyxxa’s final strike, she drives her glaive into both of his throats.
He gurgles, dropping to the ground--dead.
Arthak slices through Krosh’s throat, dropping him dead, and then he runs at Blindeye. At the same moment, there is a scissor-strike of fullblades from Arthak and Lantresor, dropping the final ogre in a defeated heap.
With a quick look around, they see a lot of money and treasures, and they manage to find 600gp worth of diamonds, as well as a clear potion that seems to have a sliver of stone within it. Azgadaan takes a small taste, and the clear liquid is very heavy and thick. His muscles tighten and tense. It’s a potion that would allow someone to perform immaculate feats of strength.
He shakes the potion in Arthak’s direction.
Arthak takes it and downs the potion, and he can feel his body respond to it, his muscles bulging and tightening.
Sadras had started down another tunnel, followed by some of the others, and they find several of the slaves that had been taken, as well as orcs and mok’nathal--those that had likely been taken within the train.
The gathered prisoners move past them and start to flee from the cave just as they hear Gruul’s roar.
Instilled by the adrenaline of the necessity of the fight, the group feels at least a bit rejuvenated. Sadras gives Arthak a sad smile.
She puts a hand on his shoulder and casts [Gift of Alacrity] on the two of them.
Go’el casts [Freedom of Movement] on Arthak as well.
They start to run further into the caverns, seeing skeletons of massive creatures littering the tunnel, and Gruul turns to the group as they emerge into another chamber.
Two other gronn flank Gruul as they also turn to glower at the group, ready to fight. Arthak draws Champion’s Forge and immediately charges in, swinging in at Gruul’s ankles. Gruul responds with a strike from his hook. Arthak is knocked prone, and is impaled on the hook--the steel grinding into his armor--and he lifts Arthak up into the air.
Nyxxa tries to disappear into the shadows, but she notes Gruul’s eye flicker over to her--noting her presence. However, he hones in on Arthak, clawing into the impaled orc while Sadras runs up to Gruul’s feet, unleashing a battle cry as she rages and then swings into the massive gronn’s ankles. Gruul kicks her back and then unleashes an ear piercing roar. The sound echoes up and down, shaking the very ground. All they can hear is his roar.
Gruul takes a few huge steps forward and then roars again, which shudders through their very bones. Everything is already starting to look grim. He then starts to slam the blade of his hook into Arthak, and stomps at Sadras.
Maggoc closes on Sadras, striking her aside with two massive fists.
Gruul hones in on Azgadaan and bellows, the sound driving the fear down deeper. However, he casts [Mental Barrier], channeling the power of Spiritsong to steel himself against it.
Lantresor skirts around Gruul’s side and slashes in with four solid strikes. However, Gruul seems to be quite resistant to any stunning effects.
Goc runs forward as well, swinging his long arms wildly and striking both Sadras and Lantresor. Gruul continues to drive his hook into Arthak more and more, the metal gouging into Arthak’s flesh and opening up the wound further.
Nitrogg launches a harpoon at Goc, but the strike goes wide.
Azuka, meanwhile, is still transfixed in fear, and just tries to steel herself. Meanwhile Levia conjures a [Spiritual Weapon]--but the deafening echoes of the cave interrupt the casting.
She tries to cast [Toll the Dead], but it is unable to take hold. She takes a step back and shakes her head, managing to steal herself against the fear.
Rexxar, who is frightened, tries to throw three axes at Gruul anyway. One of the axes strikes into the flesh near Gruul’s eye, the blood momentarily blinding him. Rexxar then backs behind some cover. However, Puffer charges into Gruul’s leg, and Gruul staggers down to one knee as his balance is thrown.
Azgadaan casts [Mind Sliver] on Gruul, but the sheer rage in Gruul’s mind overcomes the spell. Azgadaan retreats behind cover with Rexxar.
Halno crushes his soul shard and tries to cast [Summon Undead], overcoming the reverberating roar and summoning a skeletal creature that resembles an ogre. Halno attempts to back off, but Gruul swings at him, clipping the mage, but Halno manages to hang onto the spell. The skeleton fires grave energy at Gruul, necrolyzing a small section of the massive gronn’s flesh.
Go’el plants his windfury totem, and winds start to whirl around the area. He then action surges and uses [Chain Heal], healing Sadras and then bouncing over to Arthak, and then to Azgadaan.
Arthak rips himself free of Gruul’s hook and grows giant, before running along Gruul’s arm and swinging down with Champion’s Forge and activating his fire rune. Arthak action surges, swinging again and again and again, spurned on by the windfury totem.
Sadras tries to back off of Gruul, but Maggoc clips her with an attack.
Levia uses [Toll the Dead] on Gruul, who once more resists.
Lantresor strikes at Goc, his blade getting through some of his rocky flesh. The attack momentarily stuns Goc, flames leaping across his flesh. Halno casts [Chill Touch] on Gruul.
The skeleton fires a grave bolt, and it almost hits Arthak, but it passes over Arthak’s head.
The ceiling rumbles from the tremors, and a massive chunk of rubbles plummets. Lantresor looks up, but is unable to get out of the way. He is knocked to the ground and pinned beneath the rubble. Nyxxa runs forward to back him up.
She turns to Goc and places a hunter’s mark on Goc. She strikes into him once, and then twice, climbing up Goc’s stunned body in a flurry of hits.
Azuka is still frightened.
Azgadaan dips out of cover and uses [Polymorph] to change himself into a savager.
Go’el holds his hands out.
He twin casts [Hold Monster] on them. He pushes the spell, and the magic takes hold on both as the earth grasps around them.
Nitrogg manages to get Lantresor out from under the rubble, but meanwhile Gruul starts to roar and slam into the ground. Several people go flying from the tremors, and Levia drops to the ground, unconscious.
Goc is not doing well, still completely held down by the magic, and still on fire. However, Maggoc breaks free.
Gruul roars and starts to try and rush forward, but Arthak drives Champion’s Forge into his flesh.
Rexxar throws three axes at Gruul, and two of them manage to stick--one of them inflicted with the magical poison of [Sting].
Puffer goes all out and charges Gruul.
Arthak draws Quel’delar and starts to recklessly swing into Gruul again, and again, driving Quel’delar under Gruul’s jaw as the massive gronn goes to try and squish him--the blade of the sword piercing his brain. Gruul makes one last strike, but Arthak grabs his arm and shoves it away. Gruul tumbles to the ground, his hook driving into the wall.
The last thing he sees is Arthak walking towards him, and Arthak grabs Champion’s Forge.
He cleaves into and pierces Gruul’s heart. Blood pours onto the ground, leaving the massive gronn dead. There is a chorus of cheers as the thrill of battle runs through them.
Halno siphons Gruul’s soul into another shard.
The sounds of Gruul’s death throes reverberate through the cavern.
Nyxxa runs up to Goc, riding the high of Arthak’s conquest as she slices right through the gronn in a whirlwind of blades. She shifts her hunter’s mark to Maggoc. The gronn roars in anger, steam escaping his nostrils as he pounds on his chest.
Azgadaan climbs over the corpse of Gruul and starts to rip and tear into his flesh, blood splattering across the gronn’s eye. Halno casts [Chill Touch] and the skeleton tries to follow up, but both of its grave bolts go wide.
Azuka comes out from cover just in time to see Arthak put the finishing strike on Gruul.
Maggoc gets to his feet and claps his massive hands over Arthak. Lantresor runs forward and leaps onto Maggoc, two blows connecting and leaving the massive creature stunned as a surge of ki blasts through the gronn.
Nitrogg tries to fire his harpoon into Maggoc but his harpoon jams.
Puffer charges into Maggoc, flipping the gronn onto his back, and giving Go’el an opening to connect with two ice-rimmed strikes of his axe. Sadras also connects, and Arthak follows up--ripping Champion Forge from Gruul’s chest and bringing it down Maggoc once, twice, and three times. The gronn is incredibly wounded, but he continues to roar and flail with desperate strikes.
Lantresor sees his opening, joining in with the assault as he drives his sword through the back of Maggoc’s skull--the blade emerging from the giant’s mouth. Puffer flips the corpse over, driving his tusks into the gronn’s stony flesh.
With Maggoc’s death, the last of Gruul’s children in the cavern falls.
Nyxxa runs over to Levia to make sure she’s okay, and Arthak promptly starts to pry Gruul’s chest cavity open with Sadras’s help. They get the massive heart of the demigod free.
They heave the heart up and step out of the cavern, raising it up for the ogres to see. Azgadaan blows his horn to get their attention, while Rexxar raises Maulgar’s head--which he had retrieved--into the air.
Arthak takes a bite out of the massive heart.
Fear strikes through the ogres that remain, and weapons are thrown down as ogres flee in every direction. However, a few of them don’t. Instead, they fall to their knees--looking up at Arthak.
The mok’nathal start to laugh and cheer. A female warrior goes up behind one of the prostrating ogres, ready to cut him down, but Leoroxx stops her, and she sighs. The remaining captives are freed.
Inside the cave, Nyxxa had approached the train along with Nitrogg, looking for any other survivors. Halno also looks around the massive cavern for treasures, and he manages to find a great deal of coin.
The first thing Nyxxa sees Nitrogg do is pull a dead orc from the wreckage. She wordlessly nods to him as she continues to navigate through the shattered train. They mostly see skeletons, some more recent than others, and blood and corpses. However, Nyxxa finds an elf. As she looks closer, he looks dead at first, but then she sees him breathe. It’s the last of the slaves.
Nitrogg finds one other orc who had also survived.
Nyxxa lifts the elf up carefully, given he is currently unconscious, and he starts to come too.
Nyxxa puts a hand to her mask, telling him silently to be quiet.
She helps the elf out of the train, and Levia meets them.
She starts to mend some of his injures.
Levia looks at him closer.
Levia laughs.
He looks at Levia.
Nitrogg carries one of the unconscious warriors by and notes Rorha.
Nyxxa shrugs and Nitrogg looks down at Rorha.
Nitrogg puts a hand on the elf’s shoulder, and Rorha looks confused and terrified, unsure what is being said. Nitrogg gives Nyxxa a small smirk and continues on.
Nyxxa glares over at Halno.
The group gets situated for the night, working on getting the rest of the gronn harvested. Halno also sits down to examine the apexis crystal he had managed to secure from the ogre necromancer. It seems to be a very very well-maintained apexis crystal that likely belonged to the sect of Skalax--a rare magical item.
