The Great Oubliette of Shyish, part 11 - The Witchlight

The cold air of the Oubliette shifted. A light wind lifted dead leaves and swirled them around the orruk pirates. Lost Uzzog shivered, but not from the cold. He could feel something was changing in the air. Kaptain Mogrum felt it too - his magical senses were getting stronger by the day. Tiny green sparks crackled over his long platted beard and made it writhe as if it were alive.

Mr Sludga twirled his kutlass to loosen his joints, craned his neck with a click and flexed his meaty shoulders. He looked sideways at Mr Deadwood to make sure he wasn't going to leg-it. But Deadwood was watching the Kaptain.

The orruk pirates walked over a long stone bridge that crossed a deep ravine. On the far side they came to a lightly wooded area of overgrown and crumbling stone buildings. In the distance they could see a light, moving between the buildings...

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The Adventuring Party:
Kaptain Mogrum (Wurrgog Prophet)
Lost Uzzog (Ship's Wardokk)
Mr Sludga (Savage Deck-Boss)
Mr Deadwood (Savage Deck-Boss)

1st Exploration Roll - Treasure!
Mogrum gained Bonesplitterz spell: Bone Krusha

2nd Exploration Roll - Boss Fight!
Boss: Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern
Minions: 4 Glaivewraith Stalkers (East) & 8 Chainrasps (West)

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Kaldrak the Pale appeared silently among the ruined stone structures. The Guardian of Souls bore a nightmare lantern: a ghostly beacon lit by the Flame of Nagashizzar. The mind-chilling black smoke it exuded did not rise up to the heavens, but instead drifted down, along the cracked flagstones of the Oubliette. Nearby Nighthaunts were invigorated by the wafting vapours, and the Guardian of Souls channelled the lantern so that the cold fingers of smoke snaked through the earth, beckoning spirits to rise out of their graves and mausoleums.

Kaptain Mogrum cast Bone Krusha and a Glaivewraith Stalker dissolved into black mist. 

Mogrum and the two Deck-Bosses moved toward the remaining Stalkers. 

Deadwood and Sludga charged! Sludga attacked first but his kutlass passed straight through the apparitions. Not to be outdone, Deadwood attacked straight after him with a shout of "Let Me At 'Em!" and destroyed one of the Glaivewraiths with his heavy belaying-pin.

The Guardian of Souls disappeared into the underworld. 

The Chainrasp Horde advanced without him.

Moaning and cackling among themselves the Chainrasps drifted through the stones of the ruins.

Mogrum left the Deck-Bosses to their steel-work and turned his attention on the Horde.

Sludga left Deadwood to finish the last Stalker and headed back to the Kaptain.

Deadwood cut down the Stalker with glee.

Uzzog summoned his Weirddokk powers and magic coursed into Mogrum, but...

The Guardian reappeared from the underworld, right on Mogrum's heels.

And the Chainrasp Horde charged!

Uzzog was enveloped! The Chainrasps' rusted blades and clubs rained down on him. He clumsily flailed about with his staff, to no effect.

Mogrum cast Fists of Gork but the unpredictable magic had no effect!

Mogrum's weirdmask protected him from the Guardian's ethereal blade! The Kaptain's bladed staff cut a sweeping arc through the ghostly leader: The Guardian howled in rage, then used a Twilight Translocation to escape!

The Guardian shimmered into view on the far side of the tree.

This left the Kaptain free to annihilate the Chainrasps.

He made short work of the minor spirits.

Soon the last of the Horde dissolved into the gloom, like smoke in the wind.

Lost Uzzog tended his own wounds... and hummed a shanty to himself as he worked.

"... to bring us sugar and tea and rum..."

His Grimdokk power knitted his flesh back together into some pleasing scars. He was still lightly wounded but he felt strong enough to continue.

As the Cleavermaws regrouped the Guardian of Souls approached... He hurriedly cast Spectral Lure, but the magic fizzled away to nothing.

And Kaptain Mogrum casually blasted him to nort but shreds of ragged cloth. His lantern landed on the flagstones with a metallic clatter.

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2nd Chamber cleared!

Loot: Spectral Lantern (This lantern illuminates the way forward in a ghoulish green light, but is soon spent. The next time you roll on the exploration table, add 1 to the roll (to a maximum of 12).

Mogrum also gained Command Trait: The Power of the Beast (add 2 to the general's Wounds characteristic for the rest of the campaign).

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3rd Exploration Roll - Short Respite

The Cleavermaws used up the Spectral Lantern's power to find a defensible area of the Oubliette, they knew they couldn't hang around for long, but it allowed time for Uzzog's last wound to heal before they set off again.

4th Exploration Roll - Treasure!

With great glee Mr Sludga found a Greatdrake Toof Sword under a pile of shattered timbers. (Unmodified Wounds rolls of 6 cause double damage)

5th Exploration Roll - Dungeon Fight!

4 Grimghast Reapers - but that is a tale for another night....

The Adventuring Party update:
Kaptain Mogrum (Wurrgog Prophet)

- Bonesplitterz spell: Bone Krusha

- Bonesplitterz Command Trait: The Power of the Beast

Lost Uzzog (Ship's Wardokk)
Mr Sludga (Savage Big Deck-Boss)

- Bonesplitterz Artefact of Power: Greatdrake Toof Sword
Mr Deadwood (Savage Big Deck-Boss)