Encounter at Shadow Castle Keep Part 3

[patransom]

The party rests successfully and, the next morning, sets off on the journey back through the swamp to return to Shadow Castle Keep. Although they've lost one party member (Marcus), they are accompanied by the two rescued prisoners: a soldier from the Keep garrison and the witch, Marzena.

The soldier is sullen and quiet, but the witch has fully recovered from her injuries and able to talk now. She is quite knowledgeable about the swamp and able to assist Tex in guiding the party on the return journey.

OUT OF CHARACTER

You may or may not recall that consulting with Marzena was the whole point of this journey in the first place. I quoted the relevant backstory from Master Penkawr below. You can see it in context here. If you want to talk to Marzena before we start the conclusion of this module, now's your chance. She might have some valuable information...

 

“...the information in this scroll concerns me. It speaks of undead infested with worms of the Outer Darkness, specifically within in the nearby Calenvicar Swamp. If such an an infestation exists so close to us, that would certainly represent a threat to Rastingdrung. And possibly the greater region or the whole world! Greatly troubling and certainly in need of investigation.

If anyone knows what’s going on in the Swamp, it would be an an old friend and colleague of mine, Marzena. Marzena is a witch who resides at Shadow Castle Keep on the edge of the Swamp. Being a good witch, she’s fallen out of favor with her coven (who are mostly bad witches) and now serves the garrison at the Keep as a sort of advisor on the kinds of trouble the swamp coven can be expected to stir up. I'm long overdue for a visit with Marzena anyway.

So I would propose, my friends, that you might accompany me on a short trip to Shadow Castle Keep. I could introduce you to Marzena and we could determine if this worm business is really a concern. I can't offer any compensation, but perhaps you might be motivated by civic duty? Or just a sense of adventure? Also, the swamp is lovely this time of year...”

[ElectroZman]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Do we still carry the scroll? Did we retrieve Marcus' body or just his belongings?

 

[kabkal]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Do we still carry the scroll? Did we retrieve Marcus' body or just his belongings?

 

OUT OF CHARACTER

Sorry, did not mention this before. Lola would want to take the body with us for proper dealing with based on his background.

 

[JPetherick]

Worrel walks along with the group, keeping watch as they move through the swamp back to the keep.

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Yes, you still have that scroll. Anything else from the plot thread you want to bring up or ask about is fair game, too. And you can bring Marcus' body back with you. He was Master Penkawr's apprentice once, so he probably knows what do with the body.

 

[smeltdm]

On their return to the fort, Prost approaches Marzena while riding Fluffy...“Master Penkawr sent us to speak with you and to deal with the worms within the nearby Calenvicar Swamp.” “Since we have dealt with the worms here we still have concerns about further corruption of worm infestations. Perhaps you could help guide us.” Prost shares the information the party has gained and the scroll that was deciphered
“There is mention of a canyon and sending agents there. Where not sure what that means. Perhaps you might have some insight”

[JPetherick]

Worrel listens intently, wondering what Marzena will tell them.

[ElectroZman]

Worrel listens intently, wondering what Marzena will tell them.

As does Tex, but he keeps an eye on the path too.

[kabkal]

Lola half listens and half watches their surroundings.

[patransom]

Marzena reads the scroll and comments, “Whoever wrote this seems kind of crazy, or at least obsessed. I don't know what canyon they're talking about. Or what they mean by an Overgod. Or who this Yog-Sothoth character is supposed to be.”

“But the part about undead, bearing worms, among the lizardfolk, that part is true. My sisters and I have observed this problem. And it's potentially very bad. Makes this "Age of Worms" thing sound pretty ominous.”

“I can tell you more about the worm-ridden undead... we call them Shoggoth... but first tell me what you've already seen. Were there worms among the Twisted Branch lizardfolk? Is that why so many of them were dead? There were a lot more live lizardfolk when they captured us...”

[smeltdm]

Prost shares what his group had experienced with the lizard folks in their caves, and how they had destroyed the evil black egg that was about to infect the lizardfolk's eggs.“I believe the lizardfolk we killed were infected by these worms, or at least their leaders were.”

[JPetherick]

“"They were certainly evil,"” adds Worrel. "Unlike the other lizard-folk. And the black egg would have infected all of their eggs."

[ElectroZman]

Tex recalls, “There was a point during the fight when one of the dead lizardfolk burst from within with worms. It stopped some of the others from attacking for a moment or two.”

[patransom]

Marzena listens to the party's story, then comments, “I agree some of the Twisted Branch leaders were evil. Especially their king. We encountered him after we were captured. That doesn't necessarily mean he was infected, though. Was he the one that the worm burst out of when you killed him? Because that's how it works. If you kill an infected creature, you'll likely see the worms. Outside of a body, the worms will die eventually. They also cannot abide the touch of silver. So the worms alone aren't too dangerous by themselves. ”

She continues, “However, if the worms are allowed to thrive in a living creature and the infection runs its course, they'll kill the creature sooner or later. That's when things get bad, because the creature will become undead, a worm-ridden zombie. We call them Shoggoth to distinguish them from more ordinary zombies. They are terrifying; I've seen even brave witches flee from them. They are also much stronger than regular zombies and harder to destroy. The worms seem to knit them back together when they're damaged. Even worse, they can infect other creatures with their worms, leading to more of their kind. I think they might carry other diseases, as well.”

“These Shoggoth have been appearing in the Calenvicar for some time now, mostly among the lizardfolk tribes, but other humanoids as well. A few of my coven sisters and I have been keeping these infestation contained so far. The good news is that the worms can be killed by magic that cures disease, even going so far as to make a Shoggoth more like a normal zombie. We've also come up with recipes for certain substances that can help fight the Shoggoths and their worms, if you happen to have some dead worms to serve as an ingredient...”

“The egg full of worms is a new one to me. Maybe something like that has been the source of these infestations all along? It sounds like a black dragon egg to me. Black dragons are not uncommon of in these parts, but I've never heard of them being infected by the worms, only humanoids. So I don't know if the worms could have come from the mother dragon. Or maybe someone or something else infected the egg? But who would do such a thing?”

[ElectroZman]

In reply to Marzena, Tex says, “I don't remember any worms coming from their King, just one of the other warriors.”

OUT OF CHARACTER

Are still near enough to collect some dead worms, or is that chance behind us?

 

“So what's our next move to be then?” he asks the group in general.

[patransom]

Are still near enough to collect some dead worms, or is that chance behind us?

OUT OF CHARACTER

You're at least halfway back to the Keep by now. Plus you burned the worm swarm to a crisp, so that ship's pretty much sailed. However, you might have some worms with you and not be aware of it...

 

[smeltdm]

“Fluffy! Oh no, do you have worms. Prost check Fluffy for worms.”

[CGM3]

Cyrius asks Marzena what symptoms being "wormed" might display, and suggests everybody be checked.

[kabkal]

Lola will check herself and everyone else to see if she sees anything that may indicate if anyone has the worms.

[JPetherick]

Worrel waits for Marzena's response. He had thought that he might be able to detect any evil associated with the worms, but that may not be true.

[patransom]

Cyrius asks Marzena what symptoms being "wormed" might display, and suggests everybody be checked.

Marzena explains, “Well, there are actually at least two types of worms I'm aware of. The first is the worm that comes directly from contact with a Shoggoth zombie. These burrow into your body rather quickly until they reach the brain. Then they eat your brain until you die and rise as a Shoggoth. So the symptoms are some type of small wound from the worm entering the body, then becoming stupider and stupider. It's a pretty fast process, so I think we would notice.”

“The second type of worm is more insidious, but slow acting. I've observed these in isolated swamp pools near where we've encountered the Shoggoth. These can enter the body through the mouth or other orifices if you bathe in or drink the water. Then they multiply, making you weaker and weaker until you die and rise as a Shoggoth. So the symptoms are a little different and more subtle, but the end result is the same. Is anyone feeling particularly weak?”

OUT OF CHARACTER

In game terms, the symptoms of the "fast" worms are at least 1 hp of initial damage, followed by a few hp per round, followed by INT damage per round. The symptoms of the "slow" worms are CON damage per day. None of the PC's have these symptoms. Worrel was able to detect evil from the worms inside the egg, but there were an awful lot of them inside a thin shell. He's not sure if it would work on a worm already inside a body.

 

[ElectroZman]

Tex checks himself for Worms (and ticks and other things).

“I suppose we should get word to Master Penkawr.”

[JPetherick]

Worrel thinks for a moment before speaking.

“"We could check each other's bodies for wounds,” he says. “"Do you know how these worm marks respond to magical healing? For that matter, is there a way to magically detect the worms' infestation?"”

[smeltdm]

Prost examines Fluffy for wounds. Then offers...“I can check you Worrel”

[patransom]

Worrel thinks for a moment before speaking.

“"We could check each other's bodies for wounds,” he says. “"Do you know how these worm marks respond to magical healing? For that matter, is there a way to magically detect the worms' infestation?"”

Marzena replies, “The entry wounds from the worms will heal with the usual magic, but that won't take care of the worms already inside the body. To kill those, you need the spell cure disease or something similar. I guess you could try to dig the worms out with a sharp blade... although that would be pretty painful.”

The party checks themselves thoroughly for wounds or any of the other symptoms Marzena described. Everyone seems perfectly healthy.

However, at this point you all realize you haven't seen the soldier you rescued since this discussion about the worms started. That was quite a while ago, with all the storytelling.

You are still on your way back to Shadow Castle Keep, in a very swampy area. Although you have a pretty good idea of the lay of the land, you can't actually see everything on the map below. The large trees block line of sight to most of the area to the southwest of you.

[ElectroZman]

Tex says, “Where did the soldier go? He was over this way some place.”

Tex moves to 0903 and looks around for him.

Perception:

(forgot to add +2 for favored Terrain, so 28 total.

Survival for Tracking if needed:

[smeltdm]

“Tex I think I saw him wander off to the SW”...Prost mounts Fluffy and moves to 1106. THINKING: This can't be good...Prost loads his sling staff on the way. Fluffy let's find the soldier, be quiet...

[CGM3]

Cyrius moves to 1204 and materializes his mind blade in its longsword configuration, watching to the southwest.

[JPetherick]

Worrel follows Tex to the west, going slightly beyond him.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Go to 0803

 

[kabkal]

Lola looks for any higher ground that can be used to spot the soldier from. She will stay with the witch. She draws her crossbow and loads a bolt.