[IC] Evil Dungeonbuilder

[Archer the Cat]

The screams were dying down, but they also sounded more desperate; a good sign, it meant the last of the few remaining Dwarves were found and killed. Bluestone Pass, ancient hold for the northern Dwarves, the perfect fortress to hold the center of Frostholm. The attack had gone well underway with hordes of undead and monsters clearing out the inhabitants in the other tunnels, their deaths meaningless, their kills expanding the horde. As the master and his underlings strode to the foot of the keep's throne, the are flanked by a dozen undead warriors, some risen this very battle. The one at the front, a tall man, dark hair and a look of evil so palpable on his face it made the vampire assassin in the room look like a doe-eyed child.

One would be quick to remember the vampire, Maxwell (the Bloody-Handed) was in fact, also very evil, as the curved blade he had digging into the Dwarf king's stout leg would attest. The Dwarf, covered in his blood, barely conscious, muttered "Th-the dead drops...you wo-won't take this mountain; foul undead have entered the temple, the forge fell. This pile of rocks, take it a-and choke on them."

The runes on his armor glow a vivid orange, then fade away. As the deposed king coughs up more flecks of blood, you feel the very stone under your feet begin to shake, "This is my keep, and y-you cannot ha-have it..."

As the keep continues to dissolve and crumble, the arch to the throne room caves in, with part of the roof crashing down. The clear northern sky, so full of stars at night breaks into the Dwarven lands for the first time in eons. Finally the rumbling stops.

Maxwell leaves his blade in the king's leg and dashes up to the hole in the ceiling, after a look around he turns to the master of this dark horde; "Master, it's gone...the hold, half the mountain is gone."

The master and his two most powerful underlings turn to each other; this fortress was supposed to be the spearpoint of the empire in the North, the heavy storm cloud to wash away the pitiful filth and make way for the grand vision of Balkoth the Black.

What were they to do now?

[Sogen]

Balkoth strides forward and kicks the corpse of the dwarven king while giving vent to a growl of frustration. "Raaaugh! Cursed dwarves! I should have suspected they had some sort of failsafe!"

Balkoth turns to his lieutenants his normal calculating expression warring with a maddened rage he is obviously struggling to control, turning his visage into something fearful to behold. "Valmyr, Malikae, go and take charge of whatever is left of our forces. Tell them to salvage whatever they can from this.. this.. travesty. That includes any dwarven survivors. The actions of their king have earned them a far worse fate than something as simple as death. Report to me here once we have an accounting of whatever is left."

Balkoth turns back to the throne and the corpse upon it. He seizes the body and hurls it down the steps before sitting upon the throne and glaring broodingly down upon the broken corpse. After a few moments he speaks again. "Maxwell, have this offal removed from my sight. Do not lose it however. I'm going to ensure that one will spend the rest of eternity ruing that he dared attempt to foil me!"

[Athaleon]

"At once, lord." In contrast to Balkoth, Valmyr Thorne was coolly professional, ever the face of stoicism. Without another word he turned and flew, on conjured wings of shadow, towards the new hole in the ceiling. Once he'd reorganized the remains of the army and rooted out any dwarven survivors, he'd survey the damage in detail and work out what could be salvaged of this fortress. An engineer with mundane tools and mortal workers might take a lifetime to sort out this mess; Valmyr was not limited by either.




Level 0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Ghost Sound, Dancing Lights

Level 1: Mage Armor, Secluded Grimoire, Vanish, Heightened Awareness, Grease, Shield x2

Level 2: Darkvision, Mirror Image x2, Invisibility, Glitterdust, Resist Energy

Level 3: Heroism x2, Haste x2, Displacement, Slow

Level 4: Age Resistance, Lesser, Greater False Life, Emergency Force Sphere, Dimension Door x2, Greater Invisibility

Level 5: Fickle Winds, Baleful Polymorph, Wall of Stone, Dominate Person, Teleport

Level 6: Flesh to Stone, Emblem of Greed x2, Dispel Magic (Greater)

Level 7: Plane Shift, Greater Teleport, Waves of Exhaustion


Stance: Razor Wings of the Black Seraph
Spells: Mage Armor, Darkvision, Heroism, Greater False Life (for [roll0] temp HP), Age Resistance (Lesser), Contingency (when brought to 0 HP, cast Teleport to return to our Evil Lair)

[Archer the Cat]

Balkoth

The cold stone of the throne, lined with exotic furs and gilded with metal - appropriate that that survived the collapse, as Balkoth sat upon his new seat of power the others left to go analyze the destruction and fulfill their other orders. A few of your personal guard, over two dozen, are still standing ready for your command.

Maxwell
The vampire had been in the service of Balkoth the Black for some time now, and was a very, enthusiastic cohort; after being spared destruction by a hunter in exchange for his service, Maxwell has been a go to agent whenever Balkoth needed a target removed. Now he hefted the lifeless corpse of the deposed king over his shoulder like a pillow of feathers, and made his way through part of the damaged hall to bring him to a safe spot (as well as drain his royal blood, no one would doubt).

Valmyr

As you examine the field of battle, you know the vampire spoke true, the failsafes of the Dwarves took most of the mountain down, as well as the resulting avalanche burying the foot of the mountain where most of the fighting was taking place. After some time, the results are worrisome: the king took several of his enemies with him, you find a scattering of your own soldiers in the rubble of the keep, and with those still combat capable, you have about one hundred remaining.

So assuming Balkoth has an effective Leadership score of 24 (level+ Cha + special power + ruthless), 130 followers plus Maxwell; once you begin dealing with underlings we'll adjust for that, and the +2 for base of operations will be added once the keep is back in working order. Your first order of business would be to regroup your troops and begin clearing out the rubble, and establish what parts of the keep are still usable. Or find slaves to do that for you.

[Athaleon]

Valmyr returned to his lord with the more detailed news. "We have about a hundred soldiers left in the keep. The collapse buried the foot of the mountain, along with the rest of the army. I will survey the damage in detail, ascertain which parts of the hold are salvageable, and start making this place usable again. It will be a process," he said with characteristic understatement.

[Sogen]

Balkoth nods at Valmyr's report. "I see. Well done Valmyr, yes, go and oversee for now. Be sure to have any relatively intact corpses that are found set aside, I can make use of them."

Balkoth leans back in the throne, obviously considering the problem. After a few minutes of pondering he calls out. "Maxwell, when you've finished snacking over there, I have a job for you."

[Archer the Cat]

Maxwell returns to the throne room after some time, wiping the blood from his mouth. "How may I serve?" he asks with a bow.

[Sogen]

Balkoth leans forward again at the vampire's return. "At next sundown I need you to reconnoiter the area as much as you can. This task will likely take you several nights as you'll of course need to be back by sunrise. Report anything of note that you find."

What time of day it is wasn't specified but I was assuming late night as the battle had been going on for a while in the intro and Maxwell was active during. If I'm wrong I'll amend my post.

[Celticbear]

Malicae, who had stayed silent since throughout the course of the battle he had accrued a sort of strange battle-lust unlike any other. His reaction to the battle seems to have died down a bit, and he finally feels he can speak without screaming.

Oh happy night to all. Though tomorrow will be harsh, we have won the day, says Malicae in a cheerful voice.

[Archer the Cat]

As Balkoth sends out his vampire servant, his other underlings assess the damage to the immediate area; those with the physical strength begin moving rocks and clearing debris, lieutenants organizing remaining soldiers for work tasks and reconnaissance, all knew the price for failing to begin work immediately.

As the night lingers on, the throne room is now reconnected to the main hall (albeit a very damaged main hall), work to dig a tunnel from the main hall to a new entrance has begun, as the main gate is destroyed and would require months to reconfigure as it was built into to mountain itself.

Maxwell has examined as much of the surrounding area as he could given his restriction on time. He approaches the new throne of Balkoth, "Master, it is confirmed, the northern and eastern sides of the mountain have broken down, the avalanche hasn't properly settled yet and is too unstable to properly explore. I can go back at sundown at see if anything salvageable made it through the battle."

[Sogen]

Balkoth settles back in his throne as he receives the vampire's report. "Very well. Yes Maxwell go out again at sundown. When next you are out be sure to keep an eye out for any fires or signs of habitation in the area. Our troops will need supplies before too much longer, we need more hands to do the work, and you of course will need blood soon," Balkoth brings his fingertips together while an evil smile plays about his face as he makes his next pronouncement, "It's time for a raid..."

[Athaleon]

Valmyr nodded. "Name the target and I will begin reconnaissance immediately."

[Archer the Cat]

The days had passed - a tension had permeated the keep since the battle; most of the troops, those capable of conscious thought, had an unease about the state of Balkoth. The battle was decisive, the Dwarves fell like flies, but the keep was ruined. Work began immediately to fix things, but it would never be fast enough. They knew the smallest mistake during this time would more than likely cost them their heads.

Three days later, the tension broke. Maxwell, the enigmatic vampire who had the master's ear, returned. After scouting the mountains during the night and hiding in caves during the day he had reached another scouting party. Dwarves from another keep had noticed the cave-in and were sending troops out to help the king. Maxwell had ambushed them and enchanted one to spill everything. It is then people notice the feral Dwarf he was holding by the collar; bloodshot eyes and pale skin, turned into his spawn. "A newly broken-in hound master," he tells Balkoth, "ready to obey and lead us to his former home."

[Athaleon]

"Excellent," Valmyr said with a nod. Turning to the Dwarf thrall, he ordered it, "Tell us everything you can about your former home, and your former lord. Let's start with the latter, and spare no detail."


Grilling him for minutiae to make Scrying easier, as well as major/pertinent details about the target.