[RPG] Swords Against Khyber

[stevekenson]

Chapter 14: Lair of the Keeper

Fortified in the ruins of a Sovereign temple in Desolate, the heroes confront the approaching threat. It turns out to be the Night Wolves, a barbarian tribe of shifters, humans, and half-orcs, charged in the ancient past with guarding the borders of the Demon Wastes. Their leader recognizes Achon as a Flamist Templar and the potential fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. The tribe’s shaman confirms it: Achon’s lycanthropic curse is the “Heart of the Wolf” the shifters have awaited for generations, since the Silver Flame crusade wiped out most of the lycanthropes in Khorvaire.

The Night Wolves agree to aid the heroes in their quest in exchange for what Achon bears. They ritually bring out his werewolf self and the heroes must defeat the wolf in combat for the tribe’s shaman to extract the Heart of the Wolf, placing it inside a Khyber dragonshard, where it will empower the tribe. Freed of the curse, Achon and his companions accompany the barbarians out into the Wastes. There they encounter an army of undead, and the Night Wolves draw them away, allowing the heroes to slip past their lines towards the Lair of the Keeper.

Crossing the treacherous wastes, rivers of lava, and deep chasms, the party has their final confrontation with the necromancer Maralon, who has beaten them to the Lair and awaits their arrival with the Heart of Khyber. They overcome Maralon and his skeleton warriors, and Achon’s final blow severs the undead sorcerer’s head. The Heart of Khyber is placed in the depths of a lava flow, taken into the deepest part of the underworld, there to remain, and the world is safe from the demon lord trapped within.

So ends the tale of the Swords Against Khyber, although not the stories of our heroes, but those tales remain untold for now.

Comments

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

I wish I could be in your games. :( That sounds like a really cool campaign!

[wudawasa.livejournal.com]

*the crowd goes wild with applause*

There's something satisfying about bringing a campaign to a successful conclusion. Do you think you'll be leading these heroes into further adventures across Khorvaire sometime?

[xomec.livejournal.com]

You never know. Right now, I'm in the mood to do something different (and plans for the pulp 1930s Thrilling Tales of the Midnight Society are just that), but overall I'd say the experiment with Savage Worlds was a success and there are unresolved plots to revisit. The tale of our heroes and the Warforged Uprising may yet be told...