Session 09: Axeholm (Part Two)

"'I am Morgan of Estoc, castellan and last protector of Axeholm, the defender to the throne of Clan Mountaincleaver.'"

Summary
Latham and Varien survived their encounter with the deadly wail of a banshee but the adventurers' healing resources were running low. Once again, Moneux took the lead using the shield of Axeholm with Quoorin by her side.

The Protector of Axeholm
The party found their way to the throne room of Axeholm, where they encountered an undead soldier that looked more like a human or elf than a dwarf. The soldier was wary of the adventurers but Latham used his divine sense discerning the soldier to be good and spoke to them.

The soldier said their name was Morgan of Estoc, a follower of Lathander. Morgan was the last defender of both Axeholm and the throne of Clan Mountaincleaver. Morgan questioned the adventurers' motives and learned that they had defeated the constructs in the ruined halls of Axeholm.

Morgan told the adventurers that only she and the constructs were able to keep an evil entity known as a bodak within the walls of Axeholm. Morgan the adventurers had no choice but to help destroy the bodak before it could make its way back into outside world.

Retrieving Lightbringer
The adventurers were instructed to retrieve Morgan's weapon, Lightbringer, while the undead soldier kept their position to defend against the bodak.

The party made their way to the fortress' ancient forge where they found the handle of Lightbringer without its mace head. During their search for the other piece of the weapon the adventurers encountered a large group of undead dwarves, one of which was wearing a blacksmith's apron and had the head of Lightbringer.

After defeating the undead dwarves, the adventurers managed to affix the handle and head of Lightbringer together, the holy weapon created a bright light as it was reforged.

Distracting the Bodak
With Lightbringer back in Morgan's hands, they needed the adventurers to lure the bodak away from the second floor long enough for the undead warrior to don their armor that the bodak had made nearly impossible to access let alone don for combat.

Latham, Moneux and Varien led the search on the upper floors while Quoorin, Shanjan and Spills the Stew waited below. The adventurers were able to track down the bodak who had gathered a large group of dwarf ghouls and ghasts. The adventurers could feel the life draining from their bodies just be staying too close to the bodak. They fled to the bottom floor while the bodak slowly advanced while keeping the ghouls and ghasts close to it.

Morgan and Shanjan ran for the upper floors while the remaining adventurers tried to keep the undead enemies occupied. The bodak eventually unleashed the ghouls and ghasts on the adventurers as it moved toward the upper floor and Morgan.

The Battle of Axeholm
The party split themselves between the throne room and upper floors of Axeholm. Undead flooded into the throne room as Quoorin, Varien and Spills the Stew attempted to pick them off. Latham, Moneux and Panther blocked a line of undead from reaching the top of a set of stairs.

As the bodak approached and a swarm of undead paralyzed Quoorin in the throne room, Latham and Moneux broke their defense of the upper floor. Moneux and Panther retreated to the throne room to help their allies. Learning of Latham's situation, Spills the Stew bolted to the upper floors to backup Latham. With Varien's magic and Moneux's arrows the adventurers were able to destroy the undead swarm around Quoorin, helping him escape their undead clutches.

In the upper floors, the bodak sicced two ghouls on Latham and Spills the Stew. The two adventurers ran from the undead dwarves as the bodak's mere presence drained their vitality. Having cleared the throne room, the rest of the party made their way to the upper floors where they hurled attacks at the bodak in vain as the evil creature continued to destroy each party member's vitality.

The Dawnbringer
Just as the bodak moved down the hall towards Latham and Spills the Stew — who were still engaged in combat with ghouls — a flaming sphere expanded into existence near the bodak. Shanjan burst out from a room at the end of the hallway, followed by Morgan wearing armor adorned with the gold motif of a dragon. Morgan marched through the halls with Lightbringer and struck down the ghouls facing off against Latham and Spills the Stew.

Morgan's vengeful glare paralyzed the bodak in place, allowing Latham to pull Spills the Stew to safety. Moneux, Quoorin and Varien unleashed a wave of attacks at the paralyzed bodak. Shanjan pummeled the bodak with the flaming sphere and magic missiles as the evil being started to spasm and spew out black smoke. Morgan raised Lightbringer and struck down as a blinding light engulfed the darkness, reducing the bodak to nothing.

Conclusion
The adventurers breathed a sigh of relief as the bodak was destroyed, but Morgan fell into Latham's arms as their body began to deflate and crumble. The undead warrior tried resisting their fate, saying that they still needed to see Clan Mountaincleaver return to Axeholm. As Morgan's body became weaker and more frail, they thanked the adventurers for their heroism and dispensed Lightbringer, their armor and their gauntlets to the adventurers. Bright light streamed through the arrow slits of the hallways, it blinded the adventurers before fading away. Morgan's body was gone and only their gifts were left beind.

Player Characters

 * Latham the goliath paladin of devotion
 * Moneux the shifter beast master
 * Quoorin the wood elf battle master
 * Varien the half-elf warlock of the fiend

Non-Player Characters

 * Morgan, the female undead guardian of Axeholm.
 * Morgana, the panther animal companion to Moneux
 * Shanjan, the male human spellcaster and squire to Latham.
 * Spills the Stew, a male tabaxi bard and adventurer looking to catalog the adventures of heroes.

Deaths

 * Morgan was laid to rest after finally destroying the bodak that had invaded Axeholm.