Reinforcements had arrived that morning for Heironeous, about 800 of them. This put them ahead of the enemy in numbers. On the horizon one of the soldiers spotted 3 reinforcement ships of Hextor. The enemy was not going to give up so easily.
Our Paladin returned to his temple to check on the ex-cultist he saved and check in with the High Cleric. They sent men to hold the temple and keep tearing it down. He gathered the rest of their party, the rogue who was gathering information, the barbarian who was seeing his wife and the monk who was assisting in disestablishing the temple of Hextor, and they went to the port with about 8 other men to take on the 3 ships that approached. The ships drew closer, and the party realized they may have their hands full... as the ships would be carrying something close to 60 men. 12 vs 60? Perhaps the odds were not in their favor. The paladin sent for more troops, magic users. They came swiftly and as soon as the ships were in range they blasted the two smaller with fire spells (fireball, scorching ray, ect) until they burned themselves down and lost the entire crews of each. One ship was left, a crew of 30 upon it. They waited as it docked and soon the enemy was upon them. While greatly outnumbered they held their own, as only 4 could attack at a time without falling off the dock and into the ocean. The battle raged on, our barbarian falling down to 5 hp at one point, and near that several times. Soon, it became difficult to keep up the battle and the party's magic user (who for the last several sessions has been quietly sitting in the background due to the player's absence) cast a fireball on the ship and sent several enemy NPC's to their graves, as well as the ship itself. This battle was finished with two surrendered enemies. They were seized and returned to the temple for later questioning.
The port side of the city safe, the party disbanded. The barbarian returning to his wife while the monk and rogue went to their business. The paladin went and check the other wall, for he had received news in combat that the other side of the city was under attack by nearly 400 men. They held the gate, though at time barely. Once they were stable and holding their ground he mounted the wall, sending words of discouragement to the enemy, telling them of how their attack had fallen and how the temple was lost. This did little to discourage the enemy as they continued their attack. The paladin parted from the wall and went to his temple to check on his rescued woman again, she had grown a fair amount healthier and he spoke to her. It wasn't long until the conversion had happened and she was suited up. This lead to more thoughts on the creation of an elite force of women, devotees of Heironeous who would fight for his name and his glory... The paladin went on to create this in the name of his god.
Meanwhile, our rogue spent time interrogating prisoners, and killing the enemy to hang from the walls of the city. When he was finished with his three he met up with the barbarian and the paladin to go and interrogate the others. 3 more of whom died, and another who was released due to being seized for having a hidden alignment, but really just wanting his privacy. The final prisoner, a half-orc who was fighting for money under Hextor, offered up some information to the wife of the half-orc barbarian (as the party thought it best to let a woman charm the information out of him) and was allowed to leave... but had to fight the barbarian for the honor of his wife. They tangled, and the prisoner lost but he died a warriors death and was redeemed in the eyes of his god.
At the beginning of the next session it was clear that the death-toll was adding up and the ocean would soon run red with the blood of Hextor... The war was far from over.
Last night's game was going about the usual rounds, taking care of little things here and there. The paladin received a notice alerting him to the fact that they had the whereabouts of the Hextor high cleric. He returned to the temple.
The rogue showed up in the temple about the same time the paladin did, reporting his finding from his undercover work in a local tavern. He had discovered that Hextor men were coming in from a tunnel into the city, and also coming over the walls and through the gates with fly and invisibility spells. This news was presented to the Heironeous high cleric and he sent men out to tend the walls to and watch for invisible people.
In response to the high cleric's whereabouts three forces of people were going to be sent out, two groups of ten Heironeous followers and then a group lead by the paladin and 8 his actively ready Daughters of Heironeous. The rogue, his job at the temple done, decided to join the paladin in his quest to search the entire norther corner of the city with his other two troupes of men. As the first batch of ten left, the monk joined them and they went to check the northern part, of the northern corner. The second batch left not too much longer afterwards. The barbarian, having come fresh from a love-making session with his wife as they tried for a child, entered the temple just as the third group was shoving off; he joined them eagerly. The party of 11 headed to the southern part of the northern section.
The monk, Michio, helped to check houses for the trapdoor the enemy was coming through but soon encountered combat. Two Hextor followers rushed out of the house while one attacked from a window in the building on the second floor. Combat was a bit extensive, considering them being out-numbered, but soon Michio and his companion overtook the enemy and continued to search their section of the city.
The southern group of eleven searched high and low without much success until they were ambushed in a more slow and threatening way, trapped in a street, blocked at both ends. It was about even, 11 to 11, 3 enemy archers in houses and 8 men on the ground. The battle raged on, the daughters fighting and Trogg the barbarian wiping out most anything he touched. There was a monumental moment where he dealt some 68 damage and annihilated his opponent. It didn't take long before they all fell to the might blades of the party. This finished, they received news that the norther section had been cleared and the middle section was nearly done. They continued their search of the area they were in, eventually reaching the Hextor temple they had seized and disestablished. The monk, Michio, joined the party and a party of now 12 pushed on until they arrived at what could only be called the base of operations where their underground work was coming from...
The house was distinctly evil and the group had no hesitation approaching, boldly blazing through in the name of their God. Their arrival was welcomed with a volley of arrows and two window archers fired down on them. Michio, feeling bold, climbed up the wall and into the second story, going head-to-head with the archer, now armed with his mace. The paladin took through the door, rushing into the house with his cohort, Franchesca (who is the now cleaned up and reformed cultist runaway saved a few sessions ago by our paladin), the lead Daughter of Heironeous. They began combat with the group before them, 9 men surrounding the small space in front of the door. The battle raged on inside the house and soon Trogg joined them, assisting as one of the heavy hitters. Outside, the Daughters of Heironeous watched the house and healed wounded. The rogue, Modelo fired up at the other window archer. The battle raged on, Michio struggling with his enemy, Modelo eventually slaying his through steady shots and determination, and Trogg, Yoren and Franchesca killing everything inside. More men came to fight, and soon the tally hit 15 lives lost, none of their own party.
A thorough search of the house revealed a trap door leading down into a room with a table, and some barrels and another door. This door lead to a hallway and another door. The rogue checked for traps, and nearly made it but alas, did not. The trap was triggered. The paladin took the hit and stopped the swinging pendulum. Modelo went ahead to check for more traps in the next room, but found only two men, and the high cleric. He retreated swiftly, wise to save himself for a time when he may be of better use. The high cleric went first, fleeing into a hallway, the monk chased him and grappled him. Yoren bullrushed the man in front of him that was blocking the hall, pushing him back, Franchesca cast 'hold person' on the other guard and froze him on the spot. Trogg moved forward and attacked the held person for an insane amount of damage. The high cleric, in this chaos, cast 'inflict critical wounds' on Michio and took him down to -8. Michio, unconscious and not stabilized, took another point of damage and sunk to -9. The next round passed, the paladin pushing the man back another 5 feet, Trogg and Franchesca wailing on the held man, and the rogue sneaking in to do his sneak damage during the flank with Ches. When the next round came up, the cleric fled further down the hall, with Michio taking another point of damage. This would have killed him, but with one more session left, I didn't see a point in letting him die and having the player without anything to do next session so I spared him. I stabilized Michio at -9 HP, as close to dead as a person could be in the game of Dungeons & Dragons.
A few more rounds passed, the held man was slain, Michio brought back up to 8 HP and the paladin in hot pursuit of the high cleric. The rogue, Modelo, dove into combat, chasing the cleric as well. He threw a tanglefoot bag, trying to ensnare him but to no avail. The monk chased him as well, making a fool decision as he tried to stop the very man that nearly killed him. The paladin ran forward, tumbling past the high cleric and stopping in front of him. Modelo threw another tanglefoot bag, this time successful. Franchesca and Trogg together killed the remaining guard and followed the party as they all ran down this long, narrow hallway.
The cleric, now stuck, turned and blasted the paladin, Yoren, with a 'searing ray' spell. The rogue threw a thunderstone, attempting to deafen the cleric and stop any spells with a somatic component. The cleric made his save and was unaffected. This lead to him sending another attack towards the paladin, this time an 'inflict critical wounds' on him. The monk and the paladin took turns beating on the cleric, our paladin at one point doing 70 some damage with his turn, two smites and a hard hit. It wasn't long until the enemy was down for the count, dead as dirt so to speak.
This was a mission well done, they decided as the adventurous party took the body back to the temple. Their arrival was met with the high cleric of Heironeous' temple. He told them that, while he was proud and in debt to them for their good deed, this was not actually the high cleric.
The high cleric had been slain awhile back, this man they now carried had become the secret replacement for him. It was to discourage the enemy from becoming confident and to keep the morals on their side high, while it was never really the high cleric nobody knew different since he was 'in hiding' and trying to rebuild. The high cleric of Heironeous explained that it was a ruse. It was, however, a success still as it was a high ranking officer they had slain. The paladin agreed and said they would hang the body from the wall to demoralize the enemy.
A few more praises were exchanged, Franchesca was declared the leader of the Daughters of Heironeous and the party vowed that on the morrow they would return to finish exploring the tunnel they had battled within.
They must remember, however, while this battle may be won, there was still much more to the war....
The party left off preparing to explore the tunnel they had found that was letting Hextor followers into the city. Trogg went to see his wife and try for a child again while the rest of the party headed through the tunnel. The tunnel was long and fairly dark though Yoren's glow kept it bright enough to maneuver. They pressed on, taking a moment to widen a crawlspace that was far too small for them. It wasn't long until the party (minus Trogg) finally entered a cave. The wall to their direct right opened up, a hole leading to a dock with a small boat. Trogg caught up about this time and put a hole in the boat, pushing it down until it sunk. They moved on, entering another tunnel that stemmed off from the left side of the cave.
The tunnel was a water-worn hole that snaked through the earth, Yoren lead the pack with Modelo close behind him. Modelo searched for traps and found most out of seven, missing a hail of needles, a spike pit trap and a fireball trap, as well as an alarm on a trapdoor. The party made it through alive and exited the trapdoor into a camp of Hextor followers. They cleared it with little difficulty.
The trapdoor had left them on the eastern side of Doestag bluff, just north of the city they were in, Za'Lesan. In the distance four spirals of smoke drifted up, more camps. They moved to clear the second, which was done with ease. They pushed through the bluff, followed the entire way by four swift and stealthy druids. They reached the others side, Kal sleeping on Yoren's mount most the way. They breached the trees and Yoren headed into the camp with Franchesca by his side. The rest of the party circled the camp only to realize the entire camp was empty, cleared by the druids. The same was at the second camp. The final camp they approached was obviously the base of operations. The plan they started with was to set one tent on fire, this was a success, Modelo then set a second tent on fire. The enemy realized it was a trap and they began comabt. Our party entered and ended up tearing it up with little to no problem.
They finished, discovered a tunnel and covered it with a large boulder. This was all finished and they went back the city through the tunnel they entered through, at the temple Yoren reported in with a few battle plans and maps. Trogg went home with the spoils of battle: a large chest of gold and gems. They proceeded to celebrate the way that the orc couple knew best...
Michio, having felt like his job in the city was done, parted with the group to head to Cove City and proceed with his travels.
Yoren recruited more followers for the Daughters of Heironeous, about two dozen.
Modelo decided to set up shop with Trogg who had finally finished setting up his blacksmith and tannery. The rogue was going to add his trap-making skills.
Kallan finished the day fooling around with Juan Dooley, Yoren's squire. It was all-in-all a fitting end to a long but fulfilling campaign... The final act during the game was to roll and see who would survive the next 20 years...
Twenty years had come to pass since the Rival War of Za’Lesan and while the city has been secured and taken by the temple of Heironeous, driving out the Hextor enemies, it is still far from stable again. War causes strife and destruction, the center of the city is still under construction and the casualties continue to be mourned with heavy hearts. There are signs of war throughout the city, civilians are restless and weary, trade and business is still having difficulties with the port and occasional odd attack on merchant ships. The city is healing but the wounds of war are ones that only time will heal...
"The war raged on, strong as ever and without much sign of slowing. Our heroes offered something valuable to the city that raised morale, put a foot in the door for Heironeous and the entire city and warned Hextor’s followers that they would not give up. Time passed, the battles continued with casualties on both side… 2 years passed and it started to look grim, there had been massive reinforcements from the north and sell-swords had joined the fight with promise of gold, power and city property. The northern city gates were breached, Hextor followers swarming the city and setting back all that Heironeous’ temple and our heroes had worked for…. It took another several months to push the swarm back enough to regain the amount of control Heironeous’ temple previously had over the city. The battle continued, dedicated warriors dying on both sides as they fought for honor, glory and the names of their Gods.
Three years after the breach of the gates the Wee Jas followers siding with Hextor took the liberty of burning down the southern port and setting a full-frontal fire-assault over the wall. The southern residential area went up in flames and that night the babes of the city went to sleep to the lullaby of screaming civilians as they burned alive. It was hours before they could contain the blaze and another several hours before they could put out all the houses. A good portion of the south was burned to rubble and ash by the time the clerics and people of the city had it under control. If there were bodies nobody knew, as they were burned to nothing more than ash like the houses they had burned inside. This loss was tragic on the side of Heironeous but it did not stop them. The city folk stepped up to the challenge and began to rebuild the city. Heironeous struck back with full force and wasted no time in gaining the upper-hand in the war. They fought back the enemy, soon their city seemed safe as the enemy retreated from the peninsula and into the mainland. There was rejoicing and celebration amongst the townsfolk, but this was not so in the ranks of the warriors and leaders. They knew better. There was a period of rest, almost 5 months where nothing happened, but this time was soon broken as it became clear the enemy had regrouped, recruited more followers and were taking new tactics. They fought long and hard, taking the battle to the seas for a bit in the 3 and a half years after the false peace.
One fateful morning nearly nine years since the start of the war, smoke filled the skies as the bluff of trees to the north of Za’Lesan erupted in flames. The druids within did their best to escape, most being slain as they fled their burning home. The forest burned before the eyes of the city and the sky became dark with choking smoke. Many mourned this loss and even today as the city is rebuilt and thriving people still remember that day with heavy hearts. The burning of the forest enraged the city and they lead a full-frontal attack on the Hextor followers, it was a major victory as they took the opposing side by storm, outnumbering and overpowering them.
It turned to secrecy and lies while the enemy tried to regroup, Wee Jas followers and rogues and bards of all type came to and fro, selling truths and selling lies, selling their skills and their knowledge to whoever would buy. They sent spies, assassins and false-informants in all directions and for awhile the combat was minimal. The day the wall fell was the greatest combat anybody saw during the Bloodless Years. They had slowly begun to erode the wall from the outside, dissolving it slowly until one day it collapsed. There was a rush of people from both sides to stop the flood of men. It was another Heironeous success.
It was only 6 months after the collapse of the wall that some scouts working with Heironeous’ temple discovered what they had feared: The tunnels were back in use again. A small party of men and women went to clear the tunnels and fill them. It took a few days but eventually the tunnels were completely sealed. It was beginning to seem like this war would never end, despite the best efforts of Heironeous’ temple to stop it, and Hextor’s temple to seize the city.
It was 15 years after the start of the war, hundreds upon hundreds of casualties lost and unbelievable amounts of money spent in fortification and defense and repair of the city. The gates were breached again by Hextor’s men. It was all too familiar to the people of Za’ Lesan. This time, however, the people would not allow it and they rose to fight with the guard and the warriors. Hextor’s men took heavy losses, finally being forced back with their numbers cut in half. It looked bleak for the men of Hextor. It was only a year more until the High Cleric of the Temple of Hextor finally called it off, not wanting to relinquish the city but seeing that he had too many losses and not enough support. The war was finally over.
The next four years passed without much consequence. The high cleric of Heironeous passed on and was replaced, the city was finally being reconstructed and the port was rebuilt and reopened with the wartimes passed. The church of Hextor was turned into a memorial for those lost in the war, their names carved on the walls and small statues erected in the honor of the greatest of them. The church of Heironeous was expanded, a section for the Daughters of Heironeous was put up, a wall built around the temple and an area for training and the likes was added as well. There were the occasional outbreaks of violence, the occasional assassination attempt or attack on the church but nothing that wasn’t swiftly ended. It’s been almost 20 years since the beginning of the war, finally over there have been four years of peace… May the Gods smile down and always allow such peace to fill the land."
