Plowing the Depths

The party ventured out of the bar that they had been using as their home. They sensed that the guards were now on edge as they headed towards the census office. They went through the line and Jaxon stated their business. They were led down a darkened corridor and were told there are some discrepancies. Jaxon is listed as dead, so he tried to lie. Leoric tried his best to help him but the guards do not believe him. They were to be fined 50 rands for a fraudulent claim. They offered 15 rands as a personal payment. Leoric namedropped Pryce to get out of trouble, and the guards clearly knew the name. They looked nervous and handed the ID cards over. They told the party to keep them on their person at all times.

They saw a procession of guards and troopers who were escorting some prisoners through the streets. Some tribals looked weak, but there was a hulking figure flanked by two heavy gunners.

This was Draut, who was wearing a bear hood. He was of the Khemisa tribe, the rivals to the Claddghym. He swore an oath to take revenge on his old clan and to remake it as honourable once again. He was wearing impressive heavy armour, stitched together from different sets. He had a cloak on and used a warhammer. He had black warpaint and dark hair poking out from underneath his bear hood. He was being prodded with shock batons.

Sakiran expressed an interest in rescuing him to fight him. She realised that Leoric mentioned Pryce to the guards from the census office and urged Jaxon to do the same. She hung back as Jaxon tried to explain to the guard that he was sent by Pryce to collect the big prisoner. The guard went to his commanding officer and explained it, that if Pryce wants it then they'd better give them to him. They asked if he would like him to be prepared in any way, such as with a restraining collar. He handed him a restrainer and an explosive bolt. He explains that Draut "died", and he handed him over to Jaxon.

Sakiran and Draut talked in Tasari about the other two humans, with Draut asking how they are and if they use guns on their people. Sakiran said they probably don't know they exist and though Leoric is not like other humans, she isn't sure on Jaxon. She addressed him in Common and told them that they will take him back to their home base.

Draut and Leoric recognised each other and Draut explained that he freed Leoric. Draut then invited Sakiran to spar. Sakiran accepted an unarmed duel. Sakiran got the first hit in. It looked like Draut had the upper hand until Sakiran clocked him in the jaw and he is downed. She helped him back up.

Draut said that the rumours of the chieftain killer were true. Sakiran freezed and Draut explained that it spread among all the tribes, that the chieftain's wife went berserk and killed him. Sakiran sighed and said it was true, and she drank a full bottle of Faj Suyu and that's how it happened. She loved Zairan very much and she started to tear up. Draut told her he respected her. She said she wouldn't. Draut could tell from the way she fought that she was honourable. She went to the bar with Leoric and he poured her a dessert whiskey shot.

Draut investigated the bodies from before and was confused. He saw a vial of Faj Suyu and poured some into a wound he sustained, reflecting that he was clearly not strong enough. He felt the familiar pain of the Faj Suyu coursing through his veins. He handed the shotgun to Leoric. Feeling bad for her, he reached and rubs Sakiran's head.

Leoric searched the bar thoroughly for bugs. There were hidden recording devices all around the bar, hidden under false wooden panes. Leoric found a note on Nyra's person. It stated that they were planning to poison the water supplies and plant explosives around the city. Leoric started yelling for Draut to come and fight him after seeing the recording devices. Draut asked why he would fight him and cast Zone of Truth. Leoric told him that they are friends, but he was actually trying to get him to punch the thing in the wall.

Sakiran and Jaxon entered the Zone of Truth and Jaxon proved vulnerable to its effects. Draut asks Jaxon what the device was. He explained they are listening devices and fairly common. They normally went to intelligence.

Sakiran asks if he was hungry and he avoided answering. She seemed intrigued and cut herself, bleeding into a tankard. She handed it to him. Draut asked why is Jaxon here if he requires blood? Jaxon remained silent. Draut patted his head like a child. Leoric was confused and lights up a cigarette after destroying the remaining listening devices.

They hear a knock at the door to the bar when they wake in the morning. Draut believed it was the spirits talking. Leoric went to answer it. He saw a runty dwarf with no beard. Leoric was given a ream of letters - it was the postman. Some were addressed to strangers, one addressed to Nyra and one said IMPORTANT. He opened the Nyra letter - there was simply a picture of a pig's head on the top and a map with a location marked. "Bring explosives".

Leoric asked what they should do. Sakiran admitted she doesn't know much about the city but doesn't want to kill innocents. Leoric said it would be best to keep on Pryce's good side and they should go to the meeting point. They agreed to leave without the explosives, since the people wouldn't be worth bargaining with. Jaxon agreed to come begrudgingly, despite agreeing with the idea of bombing the city. Sakiran told Draut there was a fight coming up and he picked up his warhammer and smiled.

They descended into the depths and it was becoming less like the city above. It was over a bridge and in a warehouse, but it was very dark and deep within. Leoric proposed that someone stay up top to watch out for them. Jaxon and Leoric both took a vantage point.

There was an abandoned warehouse that had unstable ladders that served as the meeting point. The inside is quite well lit with generators. There was chatter among numerous people inside. They see light shining through the front door as Sakiran tries to peer through the door and see inside. She saw three people inside, with murmuring of talking inside the door. Draut lifted his hand and cast a pale shimmer of light on Sakiran. Sakiran smiled as he said he is expecting to enter combat and knocks on the door. Garthen, the contact, asked if they have the explosives, and she succeeds in her deception in saying that they did. They saw multiple armed guards.

Sakiran was able to tell Garthen that Nyra was dead, and the new contact was someone who was named Janus and he was an upstart. The contact cursed that they would trust an upstart and urged them to bring their explosives in. Sakiran told Draut to bring the explosives and clarified in Tasari that he should be ready to fight. She yelled for Jaxon and Leoric to fire and brought her arm down as a signal.

Leoric tries to disarm the contact though does some damage - he saw that the wounds stitched back up with nanophage. Draut hit Garthen with his warhammer twice. His bones were broken, so he created a biocannon out of his now broken arm. Sakiran, Draut and Jaxon start feeling a pounding in their heads as they are surrounded by these people. The pounding caused Sakiran to lose her focus as her blade got lodged inside and tendrils wrapped around her wrist as it tries to grab her. She rips her wrist away and see the tendrils had pierced her skin and are dangling off.

Garthen raised his hand as energy spiralled round it. A guttural, telepathic voice spoke to the infected to awaken. They saw the guards twist and transform, with their skin bursting out and transforming. They were dropping and crushing their weapons. There was a cacophony of psychic energy that even Leoric feels.

Jaxon's hands hurt and burned as his nails grew. His fangs pierced into his lip as he tried to stop the transformation and loss of control. He was unable to resist as he tries to attack Leoric, but dropped his weapon. Leoric kicked it off of the catwalk that they are on.

The guard moves and grabs onto Garthen, and the two guards closer are sinking into Garthen's body. The guards are moving to merge with Garthen.

Leoric shouted to Sakiran and asks if Jaxon is a threat. Sakiran responded that he is very high threat and Leoric tried to look for an escape route. He jumped down the ladder and fired at a guard and blew his arm clean off. The guards exploded in acid.

Draut attacks the guard next to him and it seems that is is on its last legs.

Sakiran slashed with Finisher and punches after, briefly blacking out as her mind is ripped out of her body.

A voice that sounds like Jaxon but deep and guttural started stating its desire to feed. Jaxon was able to snap out of it after seeing his reflection in broken glass. He was still thirsty but able to control himself for now. He attacked the guard next to Draut with his spiritual weapon, seeing that it was on its last legs. The sword missed. Jaxon used his spiritual weapon and makes a solid connection. Fire and blood trails across the back as Draut's weapon was cut free.

Garthen reached into his stomach and pulled out Last Rites, Sakiran's longsword. He poisoned the tip and stabbed it into her shoulder, ripping it out upwards and causing her to wince in pain. He then moved to grab her by the neck, using his talon. He succeeded and the talon pierced into her throat. She hears the voice in her head again as something was crushing her skull. She looks deep into its eyes and she sees something for the briefest moment. It looks like a formless shape full of swirling mists and eyes everywhere. Garthen lets go of her and drags and drinks her blood. Part of his body started to heal.

Leoric barraged him with bullets, desperate to see him dead. He succeeded and Garthen's body was ripped completely apart by the force of the onslaught. As it was falling, it traces a sigil on the floor. Its blood falls into the sigil. Draut, Sakiran and Jaxon each saw the same vision of a grey, abstract void with a being at the center of it. It stung their eyes like a wave of heat, then it faded quickly. They each felt a cold sense of dread. There were human skeletons all around, with bones cracked and rearranged.

Leoric saw there were multiple boxes and barrels with liquid in them as well as supplies, ammo, food and weapons. There were explosives and canisters or aerosols and books and documents, but written in a foreign script that no one understood. Sakiran could make out a few words though not enough to read it thoroughly. She picks Last Rites back up. Draut was about to submerge his head in a nanophage barrel and Sakiran pulled him away, telling him not to drink it anymore. Draut explained that it makes them strong. Leoric asked what this was and she explained it was a holy water for their tribe and it could give them great strength, but also cause deformities.

Leoric told them to take some of the nanophage. Sakiran filled 4 waterskins with tainted nanophage. They got some supplies from the warehouse as well. They managed to get to the surface without incident, but feel like something is going on.