SWT: Mörk Borg - Chapter Nine

Violent Shadows

Hello and welcome back to Solum’s Weird Tales - Mörk Borg! Last time we say the beginning of another dungeon crawl, this time through the undead haunted forest around near the catacombs. Our party has technically expanded, but as two are extremely old and sickly, and the 3rd one is infected with 2 HP remaining, they are mostly functioning as baggage at the moment. Let us dive back in and try to find our Nihilistic mercenary a cure before undeath claims him and his companions.

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Börda - Classless Mercenary           HP = 16/16     Omens = 0/2
Agility +3
Presence +3
Strength +2
Toughness -2

Traits: Loud Mouthed, Nihilist

Sack (10 Inventory Spaces) With
- One dose of Red Poison(DR 12 TOU test or d10 DMG)
- 48 Silver
- 4 Rations
- Waterskin [] [] [] [] (4 days of water left)
- Tent
- Flint and Tinder
- Chainmail (Agility Test have +2 DR. Amor Rating = d4) [Damaged]
- Sack of Pearls
- Bundle of Silk
- Wraith Skull

Equipped
- The Warstarter Shield [] []
- Longsword - D6 Damage
- Scroll - Heal 2 Creatures d10 (Currently used by NPC Companion)

Quest - Find out what happened to the 13 missing priests from Schleswig
3 Milestones [+] [+] []

Journey is 5 days - Complete
[+] [+] [+] [+] [+]
Dungeon Crawl - The Charnel Catacombs - Complete
[+] [+] [+] [+]
Dungeon Crawl - The Tenebrous Thicket 1/4 + Final Room
[x] [] [] [] + []

The Tenebrous Thicket - Time Left until Curse of Undeath? 1.5 Days

Dungeon Move - Weak Hit 
Normal Room - Smokey, Entrance
2 Exits
Contents: The remains of something

Börda led the three wounded priests deeper into the forest. Remnants of smoke and ash still filled the narrow trail, but it was starting to dissipate when they found another clearing. Börda spied the path that curled deeper into the woods, but it was the stone edifice built into the hills nearby that caught his attention.

“I think there’s a doorway.” He muttered, holding the lantern higher. The smoke curled away from the light, revealing a shadowed entrance that seemed to lead under the hill.

“Perhaps our cure lies inside?” Thera said cautiously.

“Perhaps.”

Dungeons Move DC 5 +1 = Weak Hit
Excavated, Prison
Contents - Unexpected Event. Ambush? - No, but hostile

There was a small stairwell leading into a chamber lined with ancient stonework.

“Someone lived here, at least.” Thera said, squinting into the darkness.

“Many of them unwillingly, I would guess.” Börda said with a grunt, gesturing at the rusty cages that lines the walls, many of them suspended off the ground. He had just long enough to wonder why when the stone below his feet went smooth and his world tilted. The others were far enough back, but he felt himself slip, the light from his lantern revealing that the floor had turned into a slope, and at it’s end, a wall of blood spattered spikes.

Hazard = Trap - Slanted Floor
General Adventure Move - AGI+3 - Strong Hit

Börda let out a curse and bent his knees, trying to keep his balance long enough to grip the stones beneath him, but the floor was as smooth as silk. He bounded upwards, before he fell too far and caught his boot on the edge long enough for Thera and Kratar to haul him back.

“Not a mundane trap, that.” Kratar said softly, squinting at the floor. Börda merely grunted.

Is the trap between me and one of the exits? No, and I can navigate easily to both
Dungeon Move DC 5 +1 Special Room = Weak Hit
Rustic Catacomb - 2 Exits
Unexpected Event - Unstable Floor. 

They moved down a spiral staircase, deeper underground and emerged into an ancient catacomb. Statue faded with time lined the walls, and the floor trembled slightly at their approach.

“We should be careful. The way ahead looks unsteady.” Börda said, but he was distracted by the glint of something on the far wall. Something that looked suspiciously like a throne.

General Adventure Move - PRE+3 = Strong Hit
Search Room for Object - Strong Hit
Find a useful Item - Weapon - d10 Zweihander (Nice!)

Börda guided them forward, watching the tremble of stone for signs of weakness. When the fingerless old timer nearly tottered into a patch of nothingness, he gripped the old man’s arm as flecks of ancient stone fell into the deep. They never heard the stone reach the bottom.

“I fear we do not want to know what is beneath this hill.” Kutz said faintly. “This is most troubling.”

“Let’s not tarry here longer than needed, then.” Börda said, moving forward. The throne was simple and rotted with age, but mounted atop it was a sheathed blade almost as tall as he, with a long hilt and spiked pommel. The sheathe was as black as midnight, and Börda took it reverently from the wall. He drew it an inch from the sabered, and he knew it was still sharp before he saw the gleaming steel.

“A rare find.” Börda murmured. He unhooked the shield from his back and passed it to Thera. “You’ll have more use of this for now.” He said, eager to be free of the weight.

there took the shield with a look of slight distaste. “This is not my favorite of our order’s artifacts. Best it is forgotten, in my opinion.” Börda slung the blade onto his back and let the weight settle. He had fought with a Zweihander before, but mostly in training. He had the aptitude, but lacked the practical combat experience to get the best from the weapon, according to his sergeant. He was sure the last few weeks had made up for that.

Dungeon Move DC 5 +1 = Miss with a 1
The way is blocked/locked

Börda eyed the large, iron door to the left of the throne, but even form here he could see the intricate locks that culminated in a large, brass ring in the center. They weren’t getting that open without a key or the floor beneath them tumbling down. He shook his head and turned to the last door, leading deeper into the hill. Hopefully this one was on sturdier ground.

Dungeon Move DC 5 +1 = Strong Hit
A Cracked Sarcophagi revealing a flayed corpse with a silver crown
Is the Corpse awake? Yes, but it waits

The room at the bottom of the stair well was musty and smelt like grave dirt. It was cramped and small, with intricate carvings on the wall and an old sarcophagi in the center. Something had cracked it open, revealaing a foul corpse that, despite it’s age, was in rather too good condition. The skin had been artfully removed, leaving a stark tableau of muscle and sinew, coated with cobwebs and dust from age. A brilliant silver crown sat atop the skinless skull as the body spilled out of the crack.

“Börda, what are you doing?” Thera hissed. The mercenary had already moved forward, seemingly without noticing.

“If I’m going to die, better to die as king rather than a pauper.” He said. He was only half joking.

“Dead is dead.” Thera said, but didn’t move to stop him.

General Adventure Move PRE+3 = Weak Hit
Retrieve crown, no damage taken, but the foe has initiative
Using Stats for a "Blood Drenched Skeleton" with Bonus HP
HP = 13/13 AR = d2 Damage = d4

Börda plucked the crown form the corpses head and then leapt back as a claw attempted to rake his face. He had been mostly expecting it, but he hand’t expected it to be so damned quick! It opened it’s mouth and Thera’s voice emerged from its grisly face.

“DEAD IS DEAD DEAD IS DEAD IS DEAD IS DEAD!” it screamed as it’s jagged, boney hands grasped for Börda’s face. He dropped the crown and had the two handed blade in his hands in moments, ducking the blow and swinging the blade around.

Combat
Defend - 18 - Success
Attack - 16 - Success (3-2)=1 DMG (12/13)
Defend - 14 - Success
Attack - 16 - Success (8-1)= 7 DMG (5/13)
Quick note, this should have ended the fight, as Blood Drenched skeletons crumble if dealt enough damage in one hit. But I was in the moment haha.

Börda moved around the the claws and jabbed the blade forward, still unfamiliar with it’s weight. The tip tore flesh from bone, but didn’t slow the creature down as it clawed at his face.

“Börda!” Thera called, placing their shield on her arm.

“Börda. Is DEAD!” The foul creature screamed, the perfect echo of Thera’s voice.

“Not now. Stop talking!” Börda yelled, ducking around another blow and swinging the sword over head. He severed an arm and gouts of thick, rank blood sprayed across the ground as it screamed his name over and over again.

Defend - 21 - Success
Attack - 19 - Success - 6 DMG - Dead

It leapt at him then, it’s one remaining hand scratching at his throat and so he leapt to the side as it landed heavily, it’s feet under it and ready to go again. Börda kicked it in the small of the back, feeling his boot sink into putrid flesh before finding bone and he swung the sword down, crushing the flayed skull into shards. It’s strange, foul voice cut out suddenly as he reared back and struck again, leaving nothing to chance. Börda sighed and cleaned the blade, returning it to his sheathe as he moved to retrieve the crown.

Is the crown magical? No, but it is valuable 2d100 silver
Roll = 29 Silver (lol)
It is mostly iron, with a small amount of silver to give it a shine
Look for Key to vault - Strong hit

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Börda grumbled, eyeing the crown. The band was made mostly of Iron, with a thin layer of silver on the edges, designed to catch the light. “Fucking fraud.” He said, kicking the corpse. He placed the crown on his head regardless, and moved to the sarcophagus. The creatures skin was pilled neatly at the top and smelt like an abandoned slaughterhouse, but buried in it’s folds was a large, ornate key. He held it up and shook it at the others.

“Let’s see what’s in that vault.” He said cheefully

“I feel as though you have become distracted.” Thera observed, glancing at the crown. “Or gone mad. We are here to find a cure, and the ally of the bastards that did this to us.”

“I haven’t forgotten. Do you think they will help us for free? I doubt it. The more we have to bargain with, the better off we will be.” Börda said blandly, moving past them and up the stairs, his lantern held high. Eventually, the three priests followed.

Dungeon Move - Strong Hit (With two 20s!)
1 exit
Dark chamber
Looted, but for 4d6 silver = 12 Silver

Börda slid the key into the lock and heard the various tumblers and bolts disnegage as the vault door slowly opened. He was rapidly disspointed. The vault was empty, a large hole in the back of the room the most likely culript. A few paltry piles of silver lay in the corner, which he scooped up into his bag, but other than that, the room was empty.

“We should return to the forest.” Thera said sharply. “I do not like this.”

“Aye. But let me just see.”

Dungeon Move - DC 5 +3 - Weak Hit
Bleak, Shrine
A Gathering of Worms

Börda raised the lantern and observed the chamber at the back. A cord of rope leading upwards and a pile of rock revealed an escape route that was no longer availble. An ink black shrine was in the wall, it’s runes long faded but it still made him uneasy, not least for the corpse in tattered clothes slumped against it. it’s face was pressed against the shrine, an old knife sticking out if it’s back. It seemed as though the person who had looted the vault had no desire to share. There was a crack and squelch of meat as the back of the corpses skull collapsed, revealing a small knot of worms, writhing and undulating as they left the body. More worms appeared on the ground and out of other parts of the body, and Börda held back a surge of bile at the accompanying smell.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He whispered, but he needn’t had bothered.

ON

A

QUEST

FOR TALENORN!

WE LOSE OUR WAY

The worms sung in defeaning unison and Börda hurled the lantern at them.

“What the fuck is Talenorn you spineless little shits!” He hissed. They sung the same god benighted song every day, and he still didn’t have the first idea what in the 9 hells they were talking about!

“Börda?” Thera asked as the lantern sputtered out and he stomped back into the vault. “What’s back there.”

“Nothing worth seeing.”

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Go back to room Slanted Floor
Go through the other exit
Dungeon move DC 5 +3 = Weak Hit
Smokey, Hall - 1 Exit
Trap - Wall holes with poison arrows.

“I think we should return to the forest. This place is ancient and unstable.” Kratar said archly.

“I would have thought you’d be right at home then.” Börda snarled over his shoulder. They had backtracked to the room with the cages and slanted floor, and he cautiously opened the door. A hallway that was filled with smoke an old stonework led ahead.

“Smoke is coming from somewhere.” He said, pointing at the door on the far wall. He took a step forward and felt his foot sink into stone. “Shit.”

General Adventure Move +Agi - Weak Hit. Damage but no Poison
1 DMG

Small holes opened up on the walls and blurred shafts shot from the walls. Börda leapt backwards, bowling into the others as one sunk into his arm. He looked down at the small, finger length arrow and cursed as he pulled it out.

“Let’s check out the forest then. I can take a fucking hint.”

Catch Breath - Strong Hit
Restore HP to full. Kratar casts spell and heals Thera to full
Return to forest room before entering the hill
Dungeon Move - Weak Hit
Flooded Pit, 2 exits
Common Encounter - Zombies

A dangerous break in the gloom. Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael, Waterfall in the Foothills 1670. Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Most of the smoke and dissipated outside as they trudged deeper into the forest. Börda wondered idlily what had been behind that hallway of smoke and traps, but he supposed the priests were right, and there was little to indicate that their destination was within the hill. The sound of running water echoed over the ambient sounds of wildlife, accompanied by a long, loud groan. They moved at a crouch, and Börda saw that there was a large pool over water ahead, a small bridge made out of rock giving way to quick moving rapids below. The bridge had an inch or two of surface water and the trail continued on the other side, but standing guard, facing down into the white water, were two shambling corpses, remnants of adventuring gear on their person.

“Shove them into the water and lets move.” Börda whispered.

General Adventure Move+STR - Miss - 1 DMG. already cursed, so no TOU check needed

The moved forward quickly, but not quick enough. When Börda made to shove his opponent into the water, it’s turned on it’s heel and sunk it’s teeth into his arm. He batted it back and drew his blade with a curse.

Zombie X 2. HP = 8/8 8/8 AR = d2 DMG = d4
Defend 15 - Success
Thera Defend - 11 - Failure - (1-1)=0 DMG
Attack - 7 - Miss
Thera Attack - 8 - Miss

Thera let out a yelp as she earned a bite of her own, and both fighters scrambled back, drawing their weapons. The undead bastards moved forward with no grace but alarming speed, and the two warriors were unable to land a blow as their bulk descended on them.

Defend - 18 - Success
Thera Defend - 15 - Success
Attack - 7 - Miss. 
Thera Attack - 8 Miss
Defend - 13 - Success
Thera Defend - 12 - Success
Attack - 8 - Miss
Thera Attack - 20 - Critical - 12 Damage - Dead Zombie

Börda struggled to keep his opponent at bay, it was always pressing in too close for him to get a proper swing with his long blade, but after a tense exchange of ineffective blows, he heard a loud squelch from beside him as Thera crushed her openents skull with her warhammer. She let out a battle cry and flanked his openent.

Defend - 9 - Miss - 2 DMG
Attack - 15 - Success - 2 DMG
Thera Attack - 1 - Fumble - Weapons shatters

The creature sank it’s teeth again into Börda’s arm and he punched the thing hard in the face, backing up to get room as Thera swung the warhammer into the creature’s flank. The remnants of it’s armor must have been more sturdy than he had guessed, because there was a loud crack, and the creature turned on Thera as she stumbled backwards, her flat faced warhammer cracked. As she used it to block the creatures follow up blow, the warhammer shattered into a dozen pieces, leaving her with a heavy, useless stick.

4 more rounds of nothing and then
Attack - 12 - Success - 7 DMG - Dead

After a tense, useless exchange of blows, Börda looked down at the mangled corpse of the undead bastard and spat on it for good measure.

“I fucking hate these things.” He muttered, sheathing his blade.

“That warhammer had been with my family for generations.” Thera said softly. Börda unbuckled his longsword from his belt and pushed it at the woman.

“Well, unless you’re about to pop out a bairn, I don’t see how that was likely to continue.” Börda said blandly, walking across the bridge.

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Let’s end it there. The zombie stat block is so bland, I have no idea why they are such a pain in the ass to deal with! My luck using a d20 probably is related, but this felt like night and day compared to my fight with the wraith haha. We have one more special room to find, and then the final room, where the ‘cure’ is located. I’ll post a map at the end (poorly drawn, of course). Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading!