Scenario 4 - The Mirror Enduring
For the past two weeks, the soldiers of Alladore have lost nearly every battle and skirmish they have fought against the forces of the Jungle Deep. The army has been forced to fall back along nearly the entire front and almost every beacon tower has been lost. While giant spiders, Hu-Mans, and undead continue to pour up out of the shadows, it is not their number or their fighting prowess that has caused these defeats, it is something else. There is dark sorcery at work that is sapping the strength and the will of the soldiers.
In all of these battles, soldiers have reported a few creatures carrying ‘shields’ of polished glass. These creatures stay behind the front lines, slowly waving these shields back and forth. Thankfully, after one skirmish, a brave group of rangers recovered one of these shields and sent it back for study.
Eventually, the answer was found deep in the library of The Cascades. The shields were ‘spell mirrors’. Somewhere within the Jungle Deep, an evil mage used these mirrors to see and cast his spells during the battle. Although the wizards of The Cascades could find no way to counteract these mirrors, they did discover a spell that could track the evil sorcery back to its original location.
The next time the forces of Alladore and the Jungle Deep met in battle, a conjuror stood nearby and waited. As soon as she saw a cultist carrying one of the mirrors she cast her spell, and received a vision of a long, dark road, leading to an earthen mound with a dark cave entrance. Inside the cave, everything was madness and confusion and the conjuror could understand nothing more. Still, before exhaustion overwhelmed her, she wrote down everything she had seen and drew a rough map of the road.
This precious map has just been given to you. Your captains have tasked you with taking a small team down in the Jungle Deep in an effort to find this mound and to locate and destroy the sorcerer who must dwell within. Your mission is crucial to the war. If you fail, then there is little doubt that the forces of Alladore will continue to suffer defeat after defeat.
Scenario 4 - The Mirror Enduring
Continuing to follow the winding tunnel, you descend deeper and deeper into the darkness. Eventually, you hear a soft, strange chanting up ahead. Creeping forward, you peer into a chamber, lit by several large braziers. At the far end of the chamber, a giant, gold-framed mirror hangs on the wall. In front of the mirror, on a slightly raised dais, is a sinister man, dressed in dark robes. He is chanting and gesturing toward the mirror. By his side stands a hulking, horrific, Elain-beast. Three other temple guardsman are moving about the room.
This, you think, must be the object of your quest. The evil sorcerer and the mirror he uses to send his spells. You nod to your companions, ready your weapons and leap into the chamber. Instantly, the sorcerer turns about, raises his hands and shouts a spell.
Two things happen simultaneously. A giant chain net raises up from the floor, completely separating you from the sorcerer and his beast. At the same time, a wall of fire leaps up between you and the other temple guardians. There is nothing for it though. You must brave the flames, find some way through the net, and end the sorcerer and his evil magic.
I added a Challenge Level to the scenario : -4 to all Survival Rolls if the heroes lost the scenario, which encourages withdrawal in the face of hopeless odds...
The company had the good fortune to come across an apothecary in the winding corridors. Aka took the health potion they found, but there must have been some narcotic in it, for once again he began to dream. Troubled, vague, it told of a powerful mage, Trekatis, and gave some hints as to his powers...mind control especially. Aka woke up with a start, Angadrême tugging at his shoulder. Was there something here in this barrow, trying to help them ?
(Yes, yes, I lost again...but the mission special rules allow a lost scenario to be replayed, so that is what I did...with little more hope than first time out, giving the state of my company !)
If Aka's dream was true, Ruairidh would be the target of the enemy's mind spell, so he was sent out on one flank, well out of the way. Edguin scooped up Shika and leapt through the flames, the cat then lunging forward to distract the enemy archers. Angadrême waved her paws in complex patterns, adding magical bindings to Aka's armour. The guinea pig went easily through the flames, followed closely by Kruxakhor. Only Nicolan balked, but he was reeling from the sickness the vampire bat had inflicted upon him in the previous encounter.
It turns out that Ruairidh shrugged off the mind-control attempt, although Shika was hurt by an arrow ricocheting off the stone floor.
The company carved their way through the Guardians, Aka avoiding a lightning bolt thrown at him by Trekatis and cutting down a guardian all in one movement. Trekatis tried to drain Edguin's will as the little mouse heading for one corner of the chain net, but could get no hold on him.
On the opposite side of the room, a necromantic spell had brought two squishy zombies rising from tombs flush with the stone floor, and these did for both Ruairidh and Nicolan, the latter vulnerable from many burns from the wall of flame, that it had taken him several attempts to cross.
One half of the net dropped, and Aka was already striding back and forth in front of it, waiting for the rest to fall so that he could engage his enemy. It was only Kruxakhor's lightning fast reactions that saved the samurai from the full brunt of a Life Drain, that the giant shrugged off.
Angadrême hitched up her skirts, climbed up the rough-hewn cave wall, and dropped the other half of the net, allowing Aka and Kruxakhor to charge the mighty Dynwocor. It moved a lot quicker than they imagined, and Kruxakhor reeled back, stunned and wounded, but not before he had also done great hurt to the beast. Whilst Aka distracted it with his swordplay, Edguin sneaked in from behind and brought the beast crashing down with a perfectly placed stab.
Bubbling with anger, Trekatis threw a lightning bolt at Edguin, who sidestepped it, almost casually. The Wizard Adept was proving to be no match for the Rangers of Alladore !
Aka, Kruxakhor and Edguin now faced the mage. Aka attacked first, but was thrown back by the dark power pulsing through the sorceror's staff. As the evil scion raised his arms aloft in triumph, blood suddenly stained his lips...Edguin had once again slipped behind his target, to deliver a single but instantly fatal blow between his ribs !
As life flowed out of the dark mage, the Mirror he had been using swirled into life, and told its story. It was quickly obvious that it was this mirror that had been sending warnings in dreams, and helping the adventurers whenever it could escape its master's grasp ! It also revealed surprising news, regarding the fate of the young prince Ruthic of Lorenthia, cousin to the King of Alladore.
Searching through the now empty room, Kruxakhor found a Wizard's Staff that he gave to Angadrême, as well as a golden ring.
Nicolan, Ruairidh and Shika had their Health reduced to 0, but made a Full Recovery.
The Ranger adds up his XP (our special rules for this do not apply, as there is only 1 Ranger on this mission).
Aka Morumotto and his companions took out Trekatis and his Dynwocor, three Guardians, two Squishy Zombies and a Blood Bat, and gained precious information from the mirror. All in all, Aka gains 112 XP, bringing him up to 394 XP. Reaching Level 3, he gains +10 RP, but has no spells to swap out.
Nicolan, Ruairidh and Shika gain only 1 PP. The other companions, for hearing the mirror's story, gain an additional 1 PP, for 3 PP in all. Kruxakhor gets another +1 PP for finding the Golden Ring.
We also have another House Rule : for each 5 XP (FRD) a Companion brings in for his Ranger, he receives an additional 1 PP. This benefitted only Edguin but in a big way ! (+6 PP).
Edguin made Level 2, gaining +1 Fight, which will make him even more vicious.All Heroic Abilities and Spells used are regained.
The company did not acquire any treasure.
The company redistributed gains from the scenario or previously, with Kruxakhor giving the Wizard's Staff he found to Angadrême.
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