My scribblings have been published again

I don't think that I have mentioned on here previously that I am occasionally asked to write an article for one of the major wargames magazines - Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy published by Karwansaray Publishers.

My most recent missive was published in the latest copy of the magazine (issue 132) and is a stand-alone game involving two teams of hunters running down their dinner for the night.

As this is my fifth or sixth foray into being published, I thought I would start a list in this post and maybe a new page on the blog if things go any further (I have been asked if I would like to write another article for an issue of WS&S in about 6-12 months' time).

Here is a list of those that I still have a hard copy for. I think there were one or two other mini-articles (usually just one page) but I cannot remember where they were published, or even what they were about now!

White Dwarf

#26 (Aug-Sep 1981) - Potion of silent spell casting - a paragraph in Treasure Chest for AD&D

Crisis Gazette

7 Nov 2015 - Medieval Archers - a one page article on Medieval Archers

WS&S Magazine

#84 (Jun-Jul 2016) - Dynasty: Norman Style - a two page article introducing the Normans' rise to power

#84 (Jun-Jul 2016) - The Norman Godfather - a five page mini-campaign set in Sicily

#97 (Aug-Sep 2018) - Escape from Oxford - a two page bite-sized battle set during the Anarchy

#132 (Oct-Nov 2024) - We are all going on a Boar Hunt - a three page generic beer and pretzels game

My first foray into writing for gaming magazines was a short paragraph featured in White Dwarf when I was young and into AD&D in a big way. I submitted further items and monsters for consideration but none of them were published. I was very proud of my achievement back then and it still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I think back on how I felt at the time.

Before getting into writing full-on articles, I also wrote a small number of items for a couple of trade shows, but as those magazines are often lost to time (mine certainly are) I can only mention them in passing. I wrote a couple of one page articles for Crisis in Antwerp (I do have one copy left - see above) and maybe another but I cannot recall which show.

Most of my articles are historically based as my main area of study at Uni was history and archaeology with a focus on the ancient and medieval periods. I am looking to expand into fantasy gaming articles, but just need the right ideas. I have a lot of "history" with my fantasy gaming worlds, so maybe they could be consolidated and utilised somewhere? I also used to play a lot of sci-fi RPGs back in the day, so perhaps some of my old universe could even be written up for a campaign setting?

This blog kind of helps fulfil a bit of my writing passion, but I would like to write more often; full time work and very little time for myself leads to very little page time. I am hoping quite soon that the smallest bedroom at home will become free so I can move all my gaming paraphernalia in there. I miss the man-cave from my previous house, where I had stacks of room to store my games and miniatures and still have room for a decent sized table. I won't have the luxury of a gaming-sized room, but it could become a little haven where I can go write stuff.

White Dwarf #52 - The White Council and Radagast the Brown

After sorting through all my LotR miniatures during the last week, I decided today to pop into my local Games Workshop to pick up some new paints and so on. I picked up enough to get me started on my orcs - I chose these as my first army to paint as they can be used as allies for pretty much all Evil armies and can fight against all Good armies.

Whilst there, I noticed that the latest White Dwarf (Issue #52) was out. I picked this up and even got the manager to dig out a free copy of White Dwarf issue #47. I had heard that issue #47 had a small Bilbo vs. Smaug game that was played with cards. It got my interest piqued, so I grabbed a copy.

Once again, I will only detail The Hobbit articles that appear in the magazine and mention the overall theme for the rest of the contents.

White Dwarf #47

The front cover presents a rather nice picture of the new Smaug miniature. It is a very nice sculpt but unfortunately it is well out of my price range and I doubt I could paint it well enough to do it any justice.

The bulk of the magazine is taken up with the new Warhammer 40,000 Cities of Death rules and some free cards but my main interest was just the four-page article entitled Hunt for the Arkenstone. It is a playing card-based game that allows two players to recreate Bilbo's hunt for the aforesaid jewel before he is caught by the dragon Smaug.

White Dwarf #52

The main thrust of this issue is the reawakening of the Necrons for Warhammer 40,000.

What I was interested in though (and why I parted with my cash) was The Hobbit stuff. There is a fair amount on the latest figures releases in this issue...

• The White Council and Radagast the Brown are detailed in a short article with attendant pictures (2 pages)
• The Fall of the Necromancer - a scenario in which to use the new White Council miniatures against the Necromancer and his nine attendant Ring Wraiths (2 pages)
• Stats for The White Council and Radagast riding a Great Eagle (4 pages)

 This is only a small haul of The Hobbit goodness (8/32 pages, or 25% of the magazine content) but I feel that I have to occasionally purchase the magazines with content relevant to me to show Games Workshop that I still want magazine support for the hobby. If everyone else interested in the ruleset were to do the same, the spikes in sales of White Dwarf with The Hobbit content may show Games Workshop the game is popular and warrants a little more attention - one mag per month or two chock full of only The Hobbit stuff would be ideal.

With regards the new minis detailed in the magazine; I doubt I will buy them. They do look very nice but as they are cast in resin they are in a medium I am not too keen on. Sadly, most of The Hobbit releases are in Finecast, so I doubt I will buy any of them. However, the few plastic sets that are available (and hopefully others soon to be released) may allow me to collect some minis and play a few battles from that era as well as combine them with my LotR minis to make larger armies for certain regions for the later War of the Ring period. My existing LotR metal and plastic miniatures can proxy for those minis of beings that appear in both eras (i.e. 60 years apart).

White Dwarf #46 and The Battle of the Five Armies supplement

A little bit late, but I thought I would comment on this issue of Games Workshop's weekly printed magazine. It is not so much on the content of the magazine itself, although there were a couple of The Hobbit themed pages, but on the inclusion of a rather nifty-looking gaming supplement that I am going to comment.

Cover of The Battle of the Five Armies supplement issued with White Dwarf #46

White Dwarf became a weekly printed magazine about a year ago, but it is now mainly aimed at Games Workshop's two main universes: Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, with a smattering of The Hobbit thrown into the mix occasionally. As I do not play in either of GW's universes, I am limited to how often I buy the magazine, but as it contained a supplement of a game I would like to get back to playing, I bought it.

It is in a stapled magazine format rather than a stiff-card bound cover so, unfortunately, it will not look good on the shelf with the rest of my LotR and The Hobbit supplements. Hopefully, if GW release another issue (see later), the two may be combined into a hard card cover at some later date and I will purchase that one for my shelf.

Anyway, onto the contents - please note if you have not seen the film yet, this may contain some spoilers.

There are two new scenarios featured plus a small section on how to link them together along with the scenarios from the preceding supplements already published. These combined now tell a narrative that spans all three films...

1. The first scenario is called Fire and Water. It pits Bard, 4 dwarfs, Tauriel, the Master of Laketown, Alfrid and a captain along with 3 dozen Lake Town guardsmen against Smaug. This is meant to represent the scene in which Smaug meets his nemesis
2. The second new scenario is Assault on Ravenhill. This is a battle that pits Bilbo, 4 dwarfs including Thorin, Radagast on an eagle, 2 great eagles and Beorn against Azog, Bolg, 3 Gundabad orc captains and 3 dozen Gundabad orcs. This is meant to represent the scene where the dwarfs attack the orc leaders upon Ravenhill to end the battle raging below them

After the scenarios section is a part with the profiles for all the new The Hobbit miniatures that have just been released...

• The Good Heroes section contains the stats for Bard, Lake Town captains, the Company of Dwarfs plus Bilbo, Saruman, Radagast, Galadriel, Elrond, Thranduil, Legolas, Tauriel and Mirkwood Elf captains
• The Good Warriors section contains the stats for Mirkwood Elf cavalry, Mirkwood Elves and Laketown Militia
• The Evil Heroes section contains the stats for Azog, Bolg and Smaug

The final section of the supplement contains details on how to create themed armies depending upon where they are from or who you want to build a force around...

• There are three new armies: Desolation of the North (Smaug), Erebor Reclaimed (The Company), and Survivors of Laketown (Bard, Laketown Captains and Laketown Miltia)
• There are also amendments to some previous army lists detailed in previous supplements: Thranduil's Hall, The Army of Laketown, Azog's Hunters, Radagast's Alliance and The White Council

The final page has summary details of all of the new stats.

Overall, I am happy with the supplement, considering it cost me only the price of an issue of White Dwarf. However, I do have a few nits to pick...

1. I was hoping it would detail some of the cool evil troops in the film like the new troll variants, the ogre-type (Olog-Hai?), and the various other new orcs, as well as the Iron Hills Dwarfs, but I imagine GW are awaiting the release of some more minis before releasing another new supplement in White Dwarf that contains those missing stats
2. I had hoped a combined (this one plus my hoped-for evil one) supplement would have been released in hard card cover so that it matched in with the rest of the supplements I already own
3. As I am not a regular White Dwarf reader I have no way of knowing when these types of things come out. Even though I do subscribe to their newsletter, I still have to rely on rumours on the internet as The Hobbit material is not very well advertised

Doggerland Session 4:30 (Pool of the Standing Stones V)

Pool of the Standing Stones V (7^th May 2014)

The Adventurers

Bow – Ranger

Cormac – Fighter

Gull – Thief (NPC)

Johan – Cleric

Vox – Magic User

  

 Map courtesy of White Dwarf 12 - copyright Games Workshop

Out of the Frying Pan… - Moonday 1st Hextember (Day 62) – early morning

The darkness within the corridor held no horrors for Bow the ranger as he stalked ahead of his companions. After a few dozen yards a door appeared out of the shadows upon their left hand side. Bow surged through the unlocked door and found himself in a small vestibule with another similar door at the far end. He advanced upon the second door and thrust it open. A wave of heat hit his face as he entered a large chamber.

The centre of the large chamber was taken up by a huge pit, lit from within by the glowing embers of the world’s core. The ranger bypassed the pit and made his way directly to the two heavy wooden doors at the far end of the chamber.

The rest of the party arrived into the room soon after their scout and began to look about. They spotted that the molten rock from the pit flickered on the uneven surfaces of the walls and ceiling and cast eerie shadows upon them whilst they investigated the chamber for its secrets.

Bow, however, was in a hurry to get to grips with their final adversaries so he continued to push the doors with all his might. He called for Cormac to lend his strength too as he made ready again to heave.

The shadows that played upon the walls and ceiling grew larger by the minute, so Johan moved closer to the edge to see if the cause was from something within the pit. As he leaned out over the precipice, an iron spear ripped towards him with the hands of a demon-like monster holding it tightly in its grip. The salamander, for that is what Johan recognised the being as in the split second he could react, was clambering up the wall of the pit to investigate what the noises from the chamber were.

The cleric fought a defensive battle as he strove to stop the fire-demon from escaping the confines of its pit before his comrades could come to his aid. Cormac and Vox proved their worth as they helped Johan repel the fiery elemental and finally force it, seriously injured, to fall back to the confines of its molten tomb.

…And into the Fire

Bow renewed his call for Cormac to come and aid him in opening the double valves at the far end of the room whilst the rest of the party rued the opportunity missed to grab the salamander’s bejewelled helmet and iron spear as it fell. A tidy sum they would have brought at any market of curios.

The two fighters managed to push the doors open and the valves kept moving after they had stopped pushing. The scene which greeted them was not one they would wish to see again in a hurry.

The large audience chamber beyond extended before them for a distance before stairs climbed up towards a dais upon which there sat a throne. Ensconced on the throne was a huge bony devil. To either hand were a female in dress robes and the evil cleric, Braken. Guarding these two on either side of the steps were two pairs of gnolls and at a table before the steps a veritable boneyard of animated skeletons began to rise from their feet at the intrusion.

All the beings within the room leapt to their feet and either surged towards the approaching party or moved back to defend their masters. The party assumed that the great bony devil was Dando, the owner of the Sword of Solitude but they could not see him armed with it; he only had a great amulet suspended around his neck.

As the party took in the scene, the skeletons advanced with weapons drawn. They paced rapidly towards the party through a pool of stone coloured ichor but it did not seem to have any effect on them.

The robed woman took her chance and fired a small Fireball from the end of the baton that she carried at Vox. The young mage managed to save himself from the main part of fiery damage he would have received but was hurt sorely none-the-less. The evil cleric completed a chant and all sound around the doorway entrance was negated. This annoyed Vox and Johan as they wished to return the compliments with their own magical dweomers. Both of the party’s magic users retreated until they were outside of the influence of the Silenced area whilst the two fighters burst into the room to slow the tide of the approaching horde of bony death.

Johan cast his own Silence spell at the far end of the chamber which contained the three most powerful opponents. Vox shouted for all those that could hear to beware and let loose with his own Fireball effect. This was much more powerful and less restricted than the small one that had hit him from the female mage. The effect on their enemies was devastating; the four gnolls were quickly enveloped in the ball of flame and fell to the floor silently screaming whilst their bodies contorted in agony. The female magician also fell to the floor in a crisping heap followed by most of the skeletons. Braken was noticeably stricken but the bone devil, Dando, merely laughed silently and descended the dais to take the fight to the party.

With the bulk of the skeletons now out of the way, Bow saw that he could charge the devil and tackle him one-on-one. Cormac held the last remaining skeletons at bay until Johan could Turn most of them and then he bore the brunt of the attack from Braken. Gull took pot-shots with his crossbow at whoever he could whilst Bow joined the minor devil in single combat. That combat was very short lived, however, as Dando instilled such a fear into the ranger’s mind that he fled the hall at full speed. The devil laughed at the change in fortunes and advanced to deal certain death to the remainder of the worthless band arrayed in front of him.

Braken was quickly put down by the combined might of Johan and Cormac, and the last remaining skelton met a similar fate very soon after. The rest of the party ganged up on the bone devil and he too was soon returned to the Abyss leaving behind just an empty husk and the amulet which Johan swiftly picked up and cast into the fire pit in the salamander’s room. There would be no devil summoning whilst he was around.

Bow’s Side-track

Bow broke from his induced fear alone in a corridor that he recognised from some time before. It took him several moments to realise what had happened and where he now was. He retraced his steps back towards the audience chamber where he fought the devil, but before he entered the room of the salamander his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to head on down the rest of the corridor to see where it led.

There were no other doors along its length and he surmised that the dead-end was a similar teleportation device to elsewhere in the complex. He advanced upon the wall and when he turned around he realised his assumption was correct. His lantern lit the scene of carnage where the party had fought the Temple guards with Theoderic.

Mimicry

Whilst Bow explored the corridor after his Fear induced rout the rest of the adventuring band explored the audience chamber. They could only find the (mostly) charred corpses of those they had already slain and a large earthenware urn beside Dando’s throne. A quick glance inside showed the fire blackened remains of rats and other vermin.

Gull looked all over the throne for a secret door release button but could find nothing, so Johan drew on the might of his trusty magical mace and smashed the throne to pieces. Beyond the back plate a narrow corridor extended into the darkness. Just as Johan had made his breakthrough, Bow returned to the room to relay all that he had found.

The Ranger, sore from his ordeal, led the party through the break in the wall along a short corridor that led directly down steps deeper into the bowels of the earth. The rest of the party follow him through but were slightly delayed due to the narrowness of the opening.

The party’s scout had managed to get a few yards ahead of the rest of his companions before they could form up and follow him in single file. He walked rapidly forward eager to meet any enemy before him and entered a small ante-chamber. On the far side of the room was a large chest.

Bow’s greed got the better of him and he strode rapidly to the chest in order to strike off its lock and plunder its contents. Unfortunately for the woodsman the treasure chest was not all it looked. As he stepped close to the chest, the floor and parts of the wall curled around him and began to smother him within its depths. The rest of the party heard his muffled screams and ran to aid their comrade.

The mimic was summarily dispatched and the party moved on. Vox realised that the earthenware urn that contained the scorched rodent remains must have been used to feed the strange creature whilst whoever needed to could pass it without fear of being eaten itself.

Treasure

A final set of stone steps led further down into the gloom. Bow again led the way and at the far side of the small room he espied a huge amount of gemstones cascading out of another large treasure chest. He threw caution to the wind and advanced upon the chest without pausing to wonder if the room may have been inhabited by yet another of those mimic creatures. He cast his sword into the depths of the pile of gems but he could feel nothing in there of any bulk. He relayed to his comrades that the chest was just literally full of gems and nothing else. Gull put his appraisal skills to good use and concluded that the gems were all made from paste or glass; albeit very finely cut.

The party were frustrated at getting all this way and not finding the Sword they were looking for, so they searched for secret doors but could find none. Cormac dragged the chest out of the way just in case there was something underneath but all he found was some cryptic writing. Vox was quickly onto the scene and realised that it may be an important clue.

He did not have the correct spell ready at hand to read the cryptic writing so he suggested to the others that as they had to heal up anyway why didn’t they camp here, take some rest and a bite to eat so he could learn the spell that would reveal the meaning of the mystic inscription.

The Secrets of Dando’s Treasure - afternoon

Vox put his head into his spell books whilst Johan asked Balder for his divine help in healing his companions. Several hours later the little mage had learned what he required and read the words inscribed upon the floor aloud. “Magnus Dando” he exclaimed. A bright flash made the party shield their eyes, and when their vision returned there was another chest in the room.

This time, upon opening it, the party discovered a mound of silver and gold coins, a small ring, two scrolls, a musty tome and a fine sword that they hoped was the one that they were looking for.

Return to Steeplefell – late afternoon

The mission was now over, so the party retraced their steps back to the rope that was their exit from the dungeon complex. The rope was undisturbed so they climbed it and retraced their steps back to Steeplefell village where they were greeted in the Gryphon as heroes. When they looked around the common room and asked questions they found out that their one time companion Theoderic had taken his reward and sought adventure elsewhere.

They were rewarded for their rescue mission with a pouch containing a hundred silver coins. The party did not show their disappointment with the amount as they were now used to treasures measured in the thousands of gold coins. They were rich and the villagers were poor, so they accepted their reward of coins and free board and lodgings at the inn with humility.

Through Staneford and Nulb they Go (days 63 - 66)

The adventurers decided to stay in Steeplefell for a further three days to allow Vox to Identify the items within their new-found hoard. The two scrolls contained many high powered and useful spells that both Vox and Johan could use, and the sword matched the description that they were given for it – they had accomplished their mission. The vial of red liquid that Vox had previously identified as AGAU converted hundreds of the silver coins in their hoard to coins of gold. The scimitar that was the Temple Guard leader’s went to Gull for his help and everyone came out of the division much better off than they previously had been.

Vox also identified the libram as containing some every powerful wards, but he got nothing from the ring. Johan cast a Detect Evil spell upon the ring and tome and both glowed as inherently evil. The cleric quickly gathered them up and cast them into the fire. He would not be party to keeping such abominations in this world.

Their route back to Castleford meant that they would need to pass through Staneford and Nulb. As they passed through Staneford they decided to report their findings to the lords Rufus and Burne. They thanked the party for their continued support in putting down the Temple and suggested that they passed through the fens to see how Hallan was coming along with getting the moat house into use as a true fortification against any future evil advances.

The party took the route to Nulb through the fens and paid a visit on Hallan at the moat house as suggested. Their friend was pleased to see them and offered them food and drink whilst he showed them around the repairs. So far, the workmen had begun to drain the foul smelling fens, cut back the gnarled and sick looking plant life and cleared out all of the fallen masonry. The artisans had also moved in and had almost completed the ribs of the roof timbers. A pair of stout main gates and a drawbridge had been made anew and hung in the gateway, whilst the fallen masonry was reshaped for use a little later to repair the walls. All of the monsters’ corpses had been cleared out of the dungeon and it had been given a full airing to remove the stench of death and decay. Dozens of guards milled about on duty and messengers travelled to and fro throughout the duration of their stay.

The afternoon brought the party to Nulb. No longer was there an air of despondency and disrepair about the place. The motte and bailey castle had been completed and work had started on a stone temple dedicated to Sol Invictus. The two old inns had been completely razed and the scorched earth upon which they had been burnt had been raked in readiness for two new inns to be built in their place; in fact the foundations had already been set down.

Return to Castleford (day 66) – late evening

The weary travellers passed through the town gates as the sun began its final descent behind the gloaming hills in the distant west. The guards leant lazily against their guard room wall and waved the companions through. Any threat that was perceived to hang over Castleford had obviously been negated and the guards were a lot more at their ease.

All thoughts of hardship were left behind when the party turned onto Market Street. They knew they could now rest and recuperate for a while before they were to be tasked with their next mission. The party made straight for the Talehangers’ Inn and booked the best rooms in the house.

Training in Castleford (days 67-76)

After a long night of drinking and debauchery the party members, who nursed serious hangovers until they were rapidly dispelled by Johan’s divine orisons, headed to the Castle to report in to the baron Tancred. Bow was allowed to keep the Sword of Solitude as he would need it if they were going to take on the next challenge of destroying the Temple and sending the demoness Zuggtmoy back to her domain in the Void.

The adventurers split up over the next ten-day and went their own separate ways, only meeting back up each evening to eat and drink together. Bow and Cormac hunted down new weapons, armour and a decent trainer to help them improve their skills at arms, whilst Johan gave alms to the town’s poor. Gull spent most of his time running the gauntlet of the Wynde and improved his skills at the hands of the guild’s master thief. Vox, forever doe-eyed in her presence, dogged the lady Mathilde and improved his spell-casting abilities.

Ten days was more than enough time for the party to rest up so, fully recovered from their ordeals, they left the town behind and headed back towards Nulb to seek the whereabouts of the Temple which they knew was to the east or south-east of the village as that was where they spotted the lightning displays the night of the first earthquake.

Doggerland Session 4:29 (Pool of the Standing Stones IV)

Pool of the Standing Stones IV (30^th April 2014)

The Adventurers

Bow – Ranger

Cormac – Fighter

Gull – Thief (NPC)

Johan – Cleric

Vox – Magic User

 

 Map (amended) courtesy of White Dwarf 12/Games Workshop

Fighters in Stitches - Sunday 28th Quinquember (Day 61) – late night

As the sewn together corpse sat upright, the fighter and ranger prodded and turned more dials on the strange wall device in the hope of reversing what they had started. More sparks flew and rivers of blue power flowed along the metal cables to the second figure. The energy from the strange contraption flowed into its mighty thews and caused it too to rise up.

The rest of the party quickly made their way to the chamber when they heard the cries of anguish that emanated from the two warriors’ throats. The reanimated corpses turned towards their awakeners and advanced upon them slowly.

Johan joined his companions and attempted to turn what he thought were undead but with no luck. This would come down to old fashioned methods; weapons and brute strength.

The combat that ensued was brutal. The slow moving corpses were hacked and stabbed at but even after several blows that would ordinarily have de-limbed an ordinary man they still advanced upon the fighters. Slow as they were, the monsters hit their marks on several occasions and caused many severe bruises and cracked bones to be heaped upon their targets. The party’s fighters were severely pressed, but eventually skill won out against brute force and the two reanimated corpses were eventually hacked to pieces and fell again dead to the floor.

Whilst the fighting took place, Gull, the thief, investigated the banks of levers and pulleys. He saw many of the contacts were made from precious metals, but as he tried to remove some of them he took a great shock of glowing blue energy which reduced him to within an inch of his life.

Jacob and the Blue Pool

Whilst the rest of the party collected their thoughts and re-gathered their strength, Vox decided to head back towards the bed chamber the party had just passed through before getting to the laboratory. He knew that there must have been some sort of secret exit as the room mirrored that of the cleric they had encountered elsewhere in the subterranean complex.

Bow, Cormac and Johan left Gull on guard at the right hand doorway and opened the door to a large chamber beyond. Half of the floor area was given over to a glowing turquoise pool. The other half of the floor contained a mixture of empty vials, bandages and a few small glass containers that contained what looked like more of the blue liquid. The room also housed what looked like the remains of a chained and starved man.

Cormac moved towards the prostrate man and prodded him. The chained man awoke and scuttled backwards further into his corner and begged the party not to harm him. The party placated him and said that they would not harm him. They then asked him to tell them what had happened. The emaciated man told them that his name was Jacob and that he had been captured by Braken and Prisilla to perform acts of thaumaturgy and artificery for them. He had created the blue pool which allowed them to strengthen the skin of the reanimated corpses; the next stage of preparation for the army that would serve at the coming of the demoness herself. Bow asked whether it would hurt him if he jumped in the pool, and Jacob responded that it would not.

Bow swiftly removed his armour, weapons and clothing, and dived straight into the pool. He swam around and coated every inch of his body with the blue fluid before he jumped out to see what the effect might be.

Vox, meanwhile had finished his search for a secret tunnel, which he found behind the headboard of the luxurious four-poster bed, and made his way back to join his companions. He saw Bow was swimming in the pool and that Johan and Cormac had a shrivelled little man under their control, so he advanced across the room past Gull and made his way through the door opposite. He found himself in a large ante-room with another door opposite.

Bow climbed out of the pool and, after he had picked up his sword and shield, caught up with his magic-wielding companion. He shoved past him, only to find that his limbs had begun to stiffen slightly. He ignored the sensation and pushed open the door to a room full of steam. He edged his way inside to find that a bench ran all around the perimeter of the room, and sat upright upon this bench were several corpses with a slightly blue sheen to them.

Zombie Attack!

As he backed away, the figures stirred and began to move towards him with red menace in their eyes. The ranger backed out of the room as swiftly as his steadily seizing legs would carry him and brushed past his wizardly companion at the door.

Vox called for Cormac and Johan to aid him against the zombies as he held the doorway whilst Bow ran to vent his anger upon Jacob, who had lied to him. Cormac held onto Jacob to prevent him from escaping, but the wizened man just cackled with laughter. Johan, upon hearing the word “Zombies” strode over to Vox and saw that the first of the walking corpses had emerged from the steam room.

Johan called upon the might of Balder to strike down the abominations before him, and five of the corpses collapsed therewith. The remnants of the animated corpses carried on their advance none-the-less unperturbed.

Bow and Cormac roughly questioned Jacob, who only cackled with delight in answer until he was pierced by Bow’s sword. The two fighters realised that they could threaten the unhinged little man no more so decided to throw him into the blue pool. Bow’s limbs and digits slowly got stiffer as he and Cormac struggled with the little man who was stronger by far than either of the magically Strengthened warriors would have believed. After a few minutes of struggle, Bow slashed Jacob’s hamstrings and the duo was able to loft him into the pool. Jacob, weighed down by his chains and hampered by his injuries, surfaced once to gasp for breath before he slowly sank beneath the surface never to rise again.

Gull ran to aid Bow into his armour whilst Cormac and Johan swapped places defending the doorway from the zombies. Although the zombies were tougher than any that the party had previously encountered, they still fell swiftly to the metronomic blade of the fighter.

Johan realised that the magical effect of the pool would probably kill his companion so he cast a Dispel Magic dweomer upon him. The effects of the blue liquid stopped straight away and the radiance of the pool dimmed. Unfortunately, some of the party’s magical potions also lost their potency.

Cormac destroyed the last of the zombies whilst Gull searched through the debris on the floor. The thief found a small vial with a red liquid inside and magical writing upon its surface. He handed the potion to Vox who swiftly deposited it within one of the pockets of his voluminous cloak for later research.

Cormac and the Ogre

Whilst Bow got himself together and the rest of the party searched around the room, Cormac headed off on his own. He passed through the steam room, through a second ante-chamber and emerged into a long, shelf-lined room.

The fighter noticed the curios behind the glass cabinet doors but decided not to search within the lower cupboards. He decided to leave them for later as he advanced ever onwards. He passed through the room and exited through the doorway opposite onto a scene of carnage.

He was about to draw his breath to shout for aid when he realised that he had emerged at the point where the party, with Theoderic’s aid, had fought the black-caped soldiers of the Temple.

He now had a grand idea of how this part of the complex was laid out and so he made his way back to inform the party. As he stepped back into the cabinet-lined room his torch picked out the huge ambling shape of an ogre. He did not have time to think how the ogre had appeared behind him but only rushed towards his foe with a battle-cry upon his lips.

Bow heard his companion’s shout and dashed towards the source of the noise. Cormac held his own against the ogre but Bow’s rage gave his limbs a speed he did not know he possessed until now. He saw the back of Cormac’s assailant and hewed down the mighty foe with one sweep of his trusty sword.

The rest of the party arrived in dribs and drabs to see the two fighters’ handy-work and began to search the cabinets and shelves.

Rest and Recovery

There was nothing to be found in the cupboards except dismembered corpses and strange curios like monkey paws, coloured pebbles and such like; nothing of any value except to maybe a collector of odd items. Nevertheless, Vox picked up a few handfuls of what he thought might come in handy at a later date.

The party were in a badly beaten way at this point, and as it was getting late, being close to midnight, they decided that a few hours’ sleep and some magical healing would be the best policy.

The party barricaded themselves into the old guards’ quarters and set about resting, healing and learning or invoking new spells. Johan used up the last of his healing spells upon those who needed them most and then set himself to pray for more aid from his god.

Earthquake - midnight

An hour or so into their respite, the whole complex shook violently. Bow voiced what they were all thinking; the second doorway to the demoness’ lair had been breached. This disturbance stopped the magic users from regaining all of their spells, so the few that they had learned were used there and then. More healing was distributed by Johan, and Vox was able to read the magical inscription upon the vial of red liquid. The magical writing spelled out AGAU but the cryptic way in which it was written was deciphered to mean “from Silver to Gold”. The foul-tasting mouthful that Bow had taken as an antidote to the blue liquid had caused him no harm but he realised that this act may have cost him money.

Layout of the Land – Finding the Secret Tunnel

Several hours later, after the party had fully rested and the magic users had regained all of their spells afresh, they gathered to work out what they would do next. Vox mentioned the secret tunnel he had found in the woman’s boudoir and said that it may be best if they checked it to see if a corridor ran between that chamber and that of the cleric.

Vox and Bow returned to the woman’s chamber whilst Cormac, Gull and Johan, armed with Vox’s knowledge of the secret door’s release mechanism, returned to the cleric’s chamber.

Johan quickly found the release button to the secret corridor beyond the headboard of the large bed and shone his light within. The corridor beyond extended beyond the range of his lantern.

Meanwhile, Vox returned to the woman’s boudoir to do the same. Whilst Vox made his way to the secret corridor, Bow took a slight detour down the steps within the flesh constructs’ chamber. He saw that the bottom of the chamber was flooded with brine and within the brine were many limbs. He drew his sword and stirred the brackish waters for a better view when suddenly a long, slim shape erupted from the depths. One swift swipe of his sword carved the giant lamprey in half before it could attach itself to one of his limbs. Bow slid the dead parasite from his sword and let the parts fall back into the water. A glint from beneath the surface revealed an earring, with an ear still attached. He thrust his hand into the brackish water and retrieved the small treasure.

Vox’s patience began to wear thin with his dallying companion but his caution overwhelmed that feeling so he held his place. When Bow arrived at his side, the pair pushed the door inwards and shone their torches along the corridor.

They advanced along the corridor slowly, their eyes wide for traps and ambushers. In the distance they espied a lantern approaching them, so Bow hissed to the magic user to slow down whilst he readied his sword.

At the other end of the same corridor the other three companions also saw the approach of a lantern. They had the wherewithal to call out and the party realised that the corridor did indeed link the two bed chambers.

As Vox and Bow advanced towards their companions, there came a crashing sound as the ground ahead of them crashed down into a large pit. Cormac and Gull had narrowly escaped plunging down a deep hole in the floor that they had triggered the trip device for.

As the floor ahead was known to be safe, the party followed in Vox’s and Bow’s footsteps and emerged with a sigh of relief back into the woman’s chamber. Vox helped himself to a few choice items of make-up before the party headed out into the corridor beyond.

Another Dead End?

The party slowed to a halt in the corridor and started to wonder what to do next when Vox had an idea. They advanced towards one of the last remaining dead-ends that they had not already explored and hoped that it too was part of another elaborate teleportation device.

The adventurers formed up into their usual battle order and walked towards the dead-end wall and disappeared one at a time. When they looked around they saw that the corridor behind them was different to the one they had just walked along and was also different to any of the others they had traversed.

Maybe this was the third and final part of the complex where they would meet the owners of the two boudoirs and the bone-devil Dando and reclaim the magical sword power that would undo the magic of the Golden Orb that held Zuggtmoy captive upon this plane of existence?