Using Four Against Darkness
Life had been quiet for Khamen ever since he returned from the adventure of the Three Rings. Oh, the High Priest at the Scotsile temple found occasional work for him - minor tasks below his skill level. He spent much of his time in the taverns, gambling and drinking (much to the annoyance of the High Priest).
One day as he huddled over a mug, he heard the tavern door open ever so quietly. He turned to look at who had entered, but could see no one.
"Hmm," he thought, "I must be getting rusty. I could have sworn that someone came in."
He returned to his mug, then felt a sharp point pressing gingerly into his back.
"Stay still, be quiet, and listen," came a rough, husky, voice.
Khamen relaxed his shoulders in relief. "What do you want Candorra?"
His elven friend gave a soft chuckle. Khamen hated to admit that he found it pleasing to hear her.
"Can't fool you, huh? And I thought you had let yourself go."
Khamen did not want to admit to her that he had not noticed her sneaking up on him. He just could never forget her voice, although there were many times he wished he could.
Instead, Khamen just repeated his question.
"Come with me. We have a new job!"
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A few days later, the duo rode up to an abandoned chapel.
"There have been rumors of foul deeds." Candorra explained. "We need to check it out."
They entered through the main doors into the narthex (1). The hallway was gloomy and covered with cobwebs, but not a creature stirred. Our heroes then entered the nave (2). Here they approached the altar. It had been defiled with foul sacrifices. Candorra felt a shiver of fear throughout her body. She knew that the horrid sight would distract her in coming battle. Clearly that was the evil intent of the new overlord of the church.
Khamen then led them through the western door into a long corridor (3). They could see a torch heading their way. Before they could back away, they heard a voice. "Intruders!" Four robed figures pulled out wicked-looking daggers and attacked. Candorra shot one down with her bow then drew her sword. Khamen dodged a blow and sunk his blade into his foe's vitals. He then backed away into the shadows. The remaining pair advanced on Candorra. Khamen got behind them and back-stabbed both.
The party entered the door at the end of the hall. Three devilish creatures lingered in the bare room (4). They rushed the duo, who retreated back down the hall. When the imps saw the fallen corpses of the cultists, they began to feast on the dead flesh.
"I guess we'll try this way," Candorra said as she crossed the nave and opened the eastern door (5). As soon as it opened, the duo heard a resounding roar. A three-headed monstrosity attacked. Khamen ducked under the beast and sunk his blade deep into a draconic head. The monster's head lashed out at our heroes - both were wounded. Khamen struck deep again. The dragon head crunched his arm. With a mighty blow, Candorra struck off the dragon's head. The wounded beast rushed past them and out of the church.
Our heroes bandaged their wounds and then steeled themselves for their next encounter. At the end of the corridor (5) they came to a door, which opened into a room (6). The walls were covered with arcane runes. In the center stood a robed figure.
The figure spoke. "I am surprised you made it past my guardian. No matter. You are fools if you can think you can stop the triumph of chaos."
He then raised his hand to cast a spell. Candorra pulled back her bow and shot him. Snarling in anger and pain, the Chaos Lord drew out a sword and attacked. His whirling strikes wounded both Candorra and Khamen. Stepping back, Candorra muttered an incantation. A bolt of energy leaped from her hand and struck the villain. He quickly recovered and struck both heroes again. Candorra backed away, reaching for a healing potion. The Chaos Lord advanced on her, sword at the ready.
Khamen then stepped in front of her. "Over my dead body, toad breath."
"That can be arranged, puny mortal!"
The Chaos Lord swung. Khamen somersaulted under the blow. Coming to his feet behind the foe, Khamen thrust with his blade. It drove deep into the Chaos Lord's vitals.
The enemy screamed in rage "Chaos shall overwhelm you all!" and then collapsed in a heap.
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Upon returning to Scotsile, our heroes reported to the High Priest.
"So there were no other enemies at the site?" he asked.
"None," Khamen responded, "and no clue as to what he was up to."
"The runes are the clue," the High Priest explained as he scanned a sketch of the arcane signs on the defiled church's walls. "Clearly he was trying to summon some abyssal entities into our world. I fear that we have not heard the last from the powers of Chaos."
OOC Notes
- My wife has gotten into Darkest Dungeon (a video RPG). It inspired me to write a new dungeon for Four Against Darkness. As I was pulling out my 4AD stuff, I found the game sheet for this dungeon. I must have played it last year but never bothered to record it. I decided to jot it down now.
- Note that I used the stats for orcs for the cultists and goblin swarmlings as imps. The guardian was a chimera.
- I notice that 2018 was a bad year for this blog. Only 3 posts and none since May! We'll see if I can do better in 2019. I have some thoughts and plots for a campaign. I hope to talk my wife into playing with me.
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