Kaer Trovan

The party now consisted of five members. Brun - a hardened warrior, wielding his almighty claymore; Jaque - a nimble nobleman, a master swordsman who held all his hopes upon his family sabre; Marian - a moody elven woman who practised in the arts of illusion. Her whip being the embodiment of her torturous past as a slave to the Therans. She also carried a curious shepherd's crook, which was a magical artefact called 'The Deliverer'; Jarra - a young man with quick fingers, and a passion for the extreme; and Wyll - a quiet windling, who befriended animals and rode upon the back of a dog.
Jaque had discussed with the others his desire to return to his homeland. It was agreed that the others would accompany Jaque to the province of Charlo-Narev and to lay siege to it. His family were once noble members of this city before it was defeated by the Therans less than a year ago. In exchange for the assistance the others would provide, Jaque agreed to help the others gain residency in the new lands. The people of Narev would surely be grateful when the kind-hearted Royal family was restored. So they agreed to journey south along the bank of the River Servos.
However, only half a days ride along the river bank the party found a destroyed trading wagon. The bodies of its occupants had been haphazardly thrown onto the ground - their limbs twisted by some powerful creature. There was one survivor. A child who lay curled up in the wagon. She could not speak out of terror from the things that had mangled her relatives in the attack. Out of maternal instinct, Marian decided to protect the child until they could find the poor girls surviving family.
Meanwhile Jaque and Brun argued over the salvageable cargo from the wreckage. Jaque believed that the alcohol had intoxicated the owners of the wagon, who in a fit of rage, began to attack the others. Brun saw the barrels of ale, and could not bring himself to dispose of such fine liquor - regardless of the consequences of drinking it.
Jaque drenched the wagon with the ale and tried to set fire to it. Having failed in his attempt, Marian ignited the wagon with her spellcraft. The party was on the way again.
Just before the party entered the Servos Jungle, the discovered a small thatch hut and a skull shaped rock, the size of two men standing on top of one another. Jarra investigated the rock and found a group of three Chakta birds nestling in the rocks. Giving them half of his meal, Jarra exchanged information with the friendly birds.
They informed him of a corrupted Kaer that lay in the forest. Over the past few weeks travellers had fallen prey to the 'things' that came out of it. The victims themselves were springing back life, only to wreak more havoc among the local travellers. It was only a matter of time before these vile creatures found their way to Forgal.
The party camped in the hut for the night, in preparation for their journey into the forest. During the night, each of them had a dream that they were fighting the others. They were in the bottom of a huge dry well and had the overwhelming desire to hurt their companions. Jarra managed to escape the dream, by overcoming his will, and climbing out of the well. Having woken up, he realised that the hut was cursed, but it was too late for the others. They continued to battle amongst themselves. Jaque slew the mighty Brun by using his 'Taunt' talent to weaken his resistance. Marian destroyed the remaining survivors by casting 'suffocate'. When they woke, the horror that had marked this hut shook the walls with its sinister 'cat-like' screeching. Those who had lost the battle in their sleep had slept miserably, while those that had been victorious were energised. The horror fed off the deceit and trouble it had caused for the party.
They left the hut and ventured into the forest, in search of the Kaer that the Chakta birds had spoken of. After several days they found a giant triangular slab set into the ground, and cracked at one corner. A small cavern entry lay several yards below the cracked slab. While Marian wove the threads for a levitate spell on the cavern floor, Brun jumped down (merely grazing his skin) while Jarra climbed in. Jaque an Marian descended into the Kaer, while Brun and Jarra laughed at the impracticability of illusions. But Marian had forgotten something..hadn't she?
On the surface, in the menacing Servos Jungle, a little girl wandered around looking for everybody. She would have cried out, if only she could. A day later somebody found her..and one day Marian would find out - She just wasn't cut out to be a 'mother' after all.
The Kaer was riddled with zombies. They just seemed to wander about, pretending that the scourges had never ended, and that they had to keep the place tidy. The dead kept on living, even in the truest sense of the word - except for the fact that their hearts were no longer beating. A librarian made sure that his shelves were in order. A blacksmith hammered at his anvil. The only thing that was odd, was the way that they frenzied into attack whenever they heard that voice inside their head. The voice of 'Sorvina', the horror that dwelt these corridors.
They encountered a Jehuthra too. Brun leaped onto its back and skewered it with his claymore. Marian whipped it and did very little. Jaque and the others fell prey to it, and were being slowly crushed under its weight. So Marian did what little she could. Using raw magic she cast 'Suffocate' over the Jehuthra. The Jehuthra choked. Then Brun choked, Jaque choked, Wyll choked, and Jarra choked. Marian knew that she was going to be choked severely for this little incident.
During the cavern adventuring, Jaque found a piece of rotting flesh inside a pouch belonging to a ghoul. He saved it for later, knowing that Marian would appreciate this gift, almost as much as he appreciated being 'suffocated'. Jaque didn't know how to place objects on a person without them knowing. However he had seen Jarra do it once or twice. Then as they walked down a long corridor, Jaque slipped the meat into Marians food pouch. Admittedly, it took him about seven tries, but eventually the meat was delivered.
Jaque smiled.
Eventually, the party found 'Sorvina', deep in the Kaer corridors. She was feline in form, with six legs, and the tail of a giant scorpion. The giant cat-demon stood as tall as three trolls, and was decorated with tiger like stripes of black, against its grey flesh. When it howled, it shook the earth. Its sting was like hot needles digging through the flesh. Jaque struck it in the eye using an acrobatic strike. Brun hacked into its legs, and was very nearly stung by 'Sorvina'. Wyll charged the demon from the side, while riding his dog 'Kronoss', sending it over. With a surprise strike, the demon was slain by Jarra. But 'Servos would not be defeated so easily...
It's spirit left the damaged flesh it had created for itself, and inhabited a kitten that one of the zombies had been taking care of. Through the kitten, Sorvina used its powers - slowly weakening the party. The kitten was eventually found and Brun did the honours. His face was a blank mask, as the kittens neck snapped like a twig.
Everyone sighed in relief as they made their way back to the surface. Marian suddenly remembered that she had forgotten all about the young girl, so she ran ahead. The others came into the room just as Marian levitated out the crack in the roof. 'I think I hear her moving around up there!' she yelled hopefully, looking up toward the jungle outside.
Her jaw dropped when she saw the beast in front of her. Sorvina had escaped the kittens body, and inhabited one of the jungles bizarre creatures. Using all of its energy, it had shaped the creatures limbs into a similar form to the creature they had originally encountered. The animal in front of Marian looked like a cross between a rhinoceros, a tiger, and a giant scorpion. Its thundering wail shook the trees and buttresses. Logs and branches fell with deliberation all around Marian. The girl was gone.
It occurred to the others that they could leave Marian to her demise, in revenge for the suffocation incident. Fortunately for Marian, consciences prevailed. The four below leapt out of the Kaer and faced the demon that they had set loose upon the world.
In a bloody battle the beast was finally slain. Bruns body, usually covered in ceremonial war paint, was now a spattered crimson. He coldly cleaned his blade, and spoke as much to the forest as to his companions: 'Anyone for some hunting?'


NB ~ Any GM's wishing to use plotlines from my campaign feel free.