Skulls Crossing Dam Is Bursting!

Our Party returns to Turtleback Ferry with the remaining Black Arrows, and takes a couple of days to regroup and reconnoiter.  Torvan and Vig go exploring the six giant mansions up on the hills overlooking the town of Turtleback Ferry, and find one abandoned and empty, two that look used but currently unoccupied (one has a picture of Zeeva and Seoni Foxglove, Aldern's older sisters!), two are occupied by caretakers and servants, and one fully inhabited by servants and family.

Nothing looks necromantic or disturbing, though.  Antwon sees a couple more people with Sihdron tattoos, but spends most of his time hanging out with other halflings.

The Mayor of Turtleback Ferry and Jakardros meet with the party a couple of times, working out some of the details of retaking Fort Rannick.  They figure that between the last three Black Arrows (and Shalelu), Our Heroes, the other mercenary band stuck in TBF while their mage recovers, and the ten-or-so farmhands and marginally employed citizens that could be hired for the assault, there's a good chance of retaking the Fort.

And then the city floods!

The Party is awakened at the ungodly hour of ten am by the peals of the town Church Bells.  Donning their armor and gearing up Our Heroes find that their inn is flooded, and the water is around two feet high.  To the rooftops!

The Party climbs up to the roof to find the town flooded - some people are heading for the hills, some are up in the church (the tallest building in town), and some - like the school marm and her twelve students - caught on one of the Giant Turtle shells (usually used as Ferries, which give the town its name).  But what's this - oh my!  A giant Nightbelly Boa has just grabbed young Tabitha Kramm - pigtails, freckles, and all - and is beginning to squeeze her in anticipation of having her for a light lunch.  Whatever will become of Tabitha and the other frightened children?

Well not a Nightbelly Boa, if Our Heroes have anything to say about it!  To be more precise, what The Party has to say is 'oh HELL naw' and the language they use to say it with is PAIN.  Soon the Boa is bleeding out into the floodwaters of the Skull River, and is washed away into Claybottom lake.  The Children are saved!  The party, once again, are the Heroes of the Villiage, and Tillia Henkenson is weeping with joy and relief as she and the children...

Oh.  Hmmm - Torvan points out what looks like a huge black tree being swept downriver, right against the church.  It submerges just before striking the church and, for a moment, it seems like TBF has dodged another attack - until the waters surge, and the Legendary Black Magga rises from the flood!

Whoa - Black Magga, Bam-a-Lam

For an idea of size, Black Magga starts slamming her head into the top of the church.  She apparently feels the same way as Our Heroes about the incessant pealing of church bells.  Combat is joined!  Black Magga can see right through invisibility, and is able to grab both Torvan (from where he perches on the rooftops) and Vig, and begins to squeeze...

But after taking some damage both magical and mundane, she gets a 'oh FUCK this' look on her face, drops Our Heroes, and takes off for the depths of Claybottom lake.  Our Party wounds her grievously but is not quite able to finish her off - and she makes it into deep waters, where most likely she will stay to nurse her wounds and brood.

I'm sure it won't be a problem for the area.  A giant Lake monster being so close to civilized areas is just what Varisia's all about.  Maybe she'll decide to turn over a new leaf and enter into a trade agreement with the town.

But that is for future adventures and their adventurers; Our current Heroes have a more urgent task - namely, that the Skulls Crossing Dam might be ruptured!  The mayor of TBF asks the party to go see to the dam, which should have automatically opened to release a non-flooding amount of water.  Being Heroes, as they are, The Party heads up into the hills, up to the dam.

Skulls Crossing Dam - Damaged

Uh-oh.  Heading up the west side of the Skull river (the left, on the image above) the party finds an Ettin!  It's sleeping, though, and easily dispatched.  Then Our Heroes climb higher to find... a war party of Ogres!  They are also easily dispatched.  The group of four trolls is also of only a moderate amount of threat; bad tactical decisions on Our Heroes part poses the only real threat here (engaging each troll separately instead of concentrating forces).

It's still not MUCH of a threat.  Neither is a river troll in the rooms below the dam, who the trolls above seem to revere as a spiritual leader of some sort, but who REALLY just wants to peel away the flesh of his face in order to feel the cool water against its skull as its flesh regenerates.

It's... I guess it's a troll thing?  This one kind of has a thing for skulls to begin with.  Being in the skull-themed dam and all, you see.

Continuing down into the interior of the dam the party eventually finds the power source for the mechanism; two Magic Warding Circles, each behind iron portcullises - one of which contains a mound of dust, and the other what appears to be the skeletal body of a long-dead devil.

Maybe not ENTIRELY dead, though - as the party looks around he whispers in a guttural croak, "free me - freedom!"  The Pit Fiend Avaxial begs the party to destroy or dispel the ward keeping him trapped, and starts to promise riches or power but soon loses the energy and just explains what happened.  He (and until 70 years ago his cohort trapped in the other Circle) were trapped 12,000 years ago, give or take, and have had their life forces used to power the mechanism of this dam.  At first they were able to throw off the drain to their essences, but eventually it became harder and harder to shake it off, until the last time when Avaxial was almost destroyed (and the other Pit Fiend lost his final level of power, and turned to dust).  Avaxial doesn't remember (or refuses to give) the other Fiend's name, but does say that he can feel the magic of the dam trying to siphon his Energy away, and reiterates his desire for freedom, for salvation.

Antwon has a different idea, however, and offers himself as the second source of energy to power the dam - with a screech and a wail from Avaxial he enters the other circle and FEELS A BURN OF NEGATIVE FORCES THAT TEAR HIM APART as he loses a level.  Avaxial the Pit Fiend gets dusted, and the dam grinds into action, allowing Storval Deep's waters to be released in a controlled and less destructive way.

Quite Heroic!

But for now we must bid Our Party farewell - we will rejoin their adventures soon, back in Turtleback Ferry as they make plans to assail and retake Fort Rannick from the Kreeg Ogres!