Session 39 Justice or Mercy—Part 2
The landing party rush through the entrance to find six settlers turned zombies have escaped their cells. One of the zombies sinks its teeth into a settler’s neck, abruptly ending her scream. Her veins turn purple at an alarming rate, her bones crack and miasmatic pustules begin to erupt from her skin. A corvum doctor examines the transformation with curious glee. The zombies shriek the doctor’s name, giving Sporg cause to retreat. Firien’s eyes grow wide. The zombies were in the final stages of Miasma psychosis. But something was different—they shouldn’t be able to talk.
Bantonio steps forward, hoping to reason with the zombies. Though unsuccessful, he learns that the zombies blame Sporg’s improvised medicine for their zombification. With bated breath, Firien quietly orders the settlers to withdraw and capture Sporg. The zombies charge! Grasping their hair clip, Firien casts turn undead. The wave of holy energy has no effect on the zombies! Though undead in appearance, the settlers had become aberrations. Clara guards Firien against a zombie’s slashing claws before retaliating with a swing of her lantern flail.
Captain Brush orders the Verity to fly overhead, enveloping the town in its radiant shield. He and Gomruss rappel into the fray. From his vantage point atop a stack of crates, Guy trains his gemlock rifle on the furthest zombie. Though the triple-barrelled blast relieves the zombie of its arm, it continues its rabid assault. Guy calls for greater firepower. Above, the crew of the Verity roll out the port cannon. A well-timed cannonball tears through the chest of an unfortunate zombie, completely disintegrating it.
Arti plunges his claws into an attacking zombie and it bursts into miasmatic viscera, infecting two more settlers! Their spines contort as purple tendrils begin to sprout from their orifices. Hadley slides between Arti’s legs to touch one of the zombies, forcefully purging the Miasma from its body. The zombie inhales sharply as the purple tendrils recede, revealing the panicked settler beneath! Realising the settlers can be cured, Gomruss clenches his fist around a lump of clay to summon a giant earthen hand. The hand erupts from the ground beneath the zombie to grasp it securely.
Captain Brush calls for blood hunter reinforcements and Doom and Lathraia rappel down to help cure the zombies. Guy then spots Sporg trying to slip away. Holstering his rifle, he tackles the corvum to the ground. The doctor struggles to no avail and explains that his medicine is made from powdered unicorn horn. Though the medicine could delay the effects of psychosis, it was making the settlers very ill. Bantonio spies a gnome wizard in one of the cells. Unable to pick the lock, he pulls down the rotten wooden door frame instead. The gnome thanks Bantonio and explains that she was the one who dumped the gliders to prevent the settlers from stealing any more unicorn horns. She reaches out to prepare a helpful spell.
“Oh crap! I need my spell book!”
“I am over here, you vertically challenged buffoon! Follow my voice!”
Agrippina to Hans von Buch
While Grippy frantically searches the cluttered watchtower for Hans, Gomruss traps the remaining zombies in a gravity well, allowing Arti to administer potions to each of them. Firien escorts the surviving settlers to the medical tent where he and Clara heal their wounds. Guy drags Sporg in front of Firien. The dragonborn’s teeth sparkle as they interrogate him. They were now faced with a dilemma. Leave the foolish settlers to their fate or take them aboard the Verity and sacrifice their rations. After some deliberation, the Six of Steel decide to take the settlers aboard, intent on delivering them to the unicorns after they find Glimback.
“You could have stopped, but you didn’t.”
“We lost our cleric! It was the only way I could save them.”
“Tell me, did you take your own potion?”
Firien interrogates Sporg.
Gomruss helps Grippy find her talkative spellbook, then introduces her to Arti. She immediately recognises the warforged and claims to have been the scribe for Glimback’s expedition. Hans contains detailed notes about the chimera attack and how Grippy became separated from the expedition when they encountered a dense field of magnetic earthmotes. When Arti reveals that he knows about Arthur, Glimback’s late son, Grippy expresses her sympathies. Leading the evacuation, Captain Brush orders the Verity’s night crew to prepare bunks for each of the settlers except Sporg, whom Firien promptly leads to the brig.
“Sorry, I didn’t know if you knew. Terrible thing, Cor’s disease.”
“What’s Cor’s disease?”
“It’s… necrosis of the heart. It’s hereditary. Your mum died of it too.”
Grippy to Arti.
996, Inceptum 7th
The Verity
Unable to sleep, Firien approaches Spiro to apologise for relieving him of duty with such an intense scolding. Now healthy and notably unstressed, Spiro expresses his understanding. As a gesture of good will, Firien invites Spiro to join them in performing an augury; something that often brings them peace of mind. Firien rolls a collection of gemstones shaped like dragon features. As they interpret the meaning, Spiro considers the unflinching compassion the dragonborn has shown for him over the last few days, despite their opposing faiths. It was woefully unfamiliar and more than welcome. He offers Firien a warm smile when they find the augury to be encouraging.