Written by: Mike "Swoop" Zajac
Day 264 Sol 1025
The proud village of New Fjallhom stood fast against the tyrannical invaders. Through violence of action and countless sacrifice, the brave heroes of the Realms fought back against the menace erupting from the ground to save the patriotic citizens of the village. Below is the totally accurate and not exaggerated for propaganda purposes account of events from your truly, Super Sergeant Swoop, newly appointed member of the Arcanum Corps.
Local Time:12:34
Upon arrival at the area of operations, we were greeted by one Colonel Brusque ranking member of Blackwood’s recently established Arcanum Corps. By channeling the power of the Blackwood ley lines into ingeniously designed Arcanum towers, Arcanum Corps members are able to manifest powerful stratagems to dispatch enemies. From powerful weapons, devastating aerial strikes and elemental walls, the new recruits trained diligently for multiple minutes to master this advanced new technology. I myself decided to capitalize on the new technology and attuned my prophetic abilities into the new system, expanding my sight to nearby towers. I was accosted by visions of wretched green skinned creatures, villainously striking at fellow arcanum corps members. After skimming through the lengthy contract and agreeing that all our previous ailments were not service-related, we were given our badges of office and sent on our first mission: spread our glorious network of towers to the nearby town of New Fjallhom.
Along the way, I was tactically introduced to a fellow compatriot, one Lyssa of Blackwood. A powerful necromancer and devout follower of Marduath, her conviction to our cause emboldened the troops. Once we arrived at the village, the local populace was reticent to allow entrance to ranking members of the corp, as their local customs made them weary of our awesome new technology. After a quick survey of the local populace we found that travelers had been going missing on the road, being captured by a mix of kobolds and green skinned humanoids. When we heard that the town Skáld named Stark had disappeared under similar circumstances, we strode out heroically to meet these scoundrels on the road.
Local Time: 13:31
It didn’t take long for our daring heroes to be accosted by the scheming kobolds. We fought with such vigor that they swiftly retreated into their cavernous kobold holes. When we followed, we found they had captured a local water elemental named Sebon and had strapped a bomb to his chest! Sebon, a hardened veteran of being captured, stayed perfectly still while the best and brightest minds of the corp defused the device.
Local time 14:23
Upon return to the village, a greater threat emerged from the forest. Great green skinned beasts, surly and odorous, accosted us with evil weapons of war. A tough battle was fought on the town limits. Many unnamed but super heroic soldiers sacrificed their lives to push toward the source of these creatures: a foul mound of decay and wickedness, later found to be called a spore mound. Our cunning investigators found this mound to be an amalgam of tortured souls. With quick thinking, our intrepid heroes placed soul orbs, a local remedy from the nearby village to soothe restless souls, on top of the mound, which after a short time dissipated the unpatriotic assemblage. After that, we fought hard uphill against these Ork’nes to their repulsive cave.
Local time: 15:??
After a short reprieve and resupply of Blackwood’s finest cheese in grilled form, we ventured deeply into the hostile caves. After defeating many insidious Ork’nes and their lackeys, we discovered the illustrious and insightful Skáld Stark imprisoned. Once released he regaled us with epic tales of Domai runes and his quest to become the best Skáld of the land. Eager to help spread his patriotic message to the far end of the Realms, we followed him back to the village. With their Skáld returned, the village folk warmed-up to the deployment of our Arcanum Tower and allowed us to install one in the center of the square. Once online, I received a Super Prophecy from the tower, showing an army of Ork’nes encroaching on the village and our compatriot Lyssa getting sucked into the deep earth. It was time to mount our heroic defense!
Waves of wicked creatures poured through the town’s gate. Green skins, joined by their yippy underlings besieged us from mostly one side. They were also accompanied by a creature new to most of us, a bouncing headache known as spigs, which bounded over our heads and crushed any hapless enough to fall under their springy tyranny. They were commanded by a particularly cruel and noisy commander who rode atop a giant boar, who ravaged our vanguard with relentless charges. Thankfully with support from our arcanum tower, we conjured a shoulder-fired wand which shot 40mm magic missiles at the boar, filling him with patriotic holes. After the siege was lifted, we found my dire dream had come to pass and Lyssa had gone missing.
Local Time: 20:47
With a solemn deliberation in the tavern, the corp decided with a super vote to employ stealth to reach a location that the Skáld Stark relayed to us in ballad form. We clinged to the shadows and weaved through the darkness to make our way far afield, where more of the wretched greenskins were spawning from their wicked dens. The corp punched through, the element of surprise on their side. While the wise amongst worked on a Domai rune based puzzle, we secured the area of the foreign invaders. Once the runes were deciphered, a languished scream and a burst of flame emerged from a nearby doorway. Much to our surprise, our compatriot Lyssa emerged in a flash, but drastically altered. Her skin now green, her hands sporting dangerous claws, yet her mind was still her own. Though there was no doubt, she had become one of these Ork’nes. We fell back to the safety of the tavern to compile our findings.
Day: Sunday
Local Time: [not military time anymore]
Sunday was a real treat, from fabulous dishes, entertainment and excellent prizes. Notable dishes included the Hungarian mushroom soup, the beef wellington, and a personal favorite was the dessert of apple crumble, chocolate trifle and lemon cheesecake bar. Mathies graciously hosted a bardic competition where multiple contenders, like yours truly, performed a dazzling array of songs and poetry. During court, Toah was promoted to Steward of Acteon, Liana was awarded a Blackwood North Star for general excellence in leadership, High Mage Irri was made an Elite in the Lunar Aegis and Tempest was asked to be their champion. Overall, much fun was had and I look forward to our next adventure in Blackwood!
