Man, this week I see a Redshirt and necromantic, not to be confused with the absolutely awful Nekromantik & Nekromantik 2 films. With that being said, I will not, repeat, will not traumatize you with any video footage from them. I am busy watching The Simpsons and just saw one of my all time favorite scenes, and there are so many, but this still works on every level.
Tales from the Plunderbund Consortium
Dark Sun Campaign – Chapter 15
One by one Ilana, Alexa, Pane-Pan, and Darkius awoke in a dark chamber, lying upon what felt to be sand. The first thing they noticed was that all of their weapons, armor, and equipment was gone. Those with dark vision scanned the room and saw that Coraanu was nowhere to be found. Additionally, Hookeri’s headless body lay motionless in the sand, with Rock no longer lodged in the neck hole.
Inspecting Hookeri’s body, Darkius saw that Rock had shoved the party’s most value magic items into Hookeri’s chest cavity prior to them sinking into the Sea of Silt. The items were distributed to their respective owners, with Alexa receiving (temporary?) possession of Coraanu’s Bonesaw.
After the items were distributed to their owners and the party began considering their options, an eerie green light filled the room and the sand began manifesting into the shape of a woman. The manifestation began talking and introduced herself as the Sand Witch. The Sand Witch informed the group that Andropinis had promised her great power if she deliver the party’s Orb of Kalid‑Ma to him. The Orb was excited at this prospect since it wasn’t being used by Ilana and asked that it be handed over. When the party subsequently refused to turn the orb over, the Sand Witch told the group that she would leave them in the sand cavern to drown once high tide hit, and she would subsequently take the orb off of their bodies.
Upon the Sand Witch dissipating, Darkius prayed to the Earth and asked for the power to walk through the sand to safety. The spell cast, the group began their long trek to the surface. They would soon discover that they were trapped, with no food or water, on a tiny island in the middle of the Sea of Silt.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Sand Witch Island, six silt pirates were reevaluating their poor life choices. While sailing that morning they were caught off guard by a silt storm that resulted in their silt skimmer half-buried in the silt off the coast, most of their supplies floating in the silt, too far to reach, and their captain and the rest of their crew members at the bottom of the Sea of Silt.
After drawing straws, it was decided that new pirate trainee Guy Redshirt would scout the island and look for food and water while others tried to salvage the ship and any supplies. The first thing Redshirt noticed was that the island was teaming with undead. As such, he decided to say near the island’s cost and follow it north. About an hour of walking later, Redshirt was able to see a giant, livable Sand Castle off in the distance. As he came closer, he noticed patrolling guards of undead circling the castle. Again, not wanting to draw attention to himself, he continued to follow the coast, which turned to the west as he came around the castle.
Continuing along the coast, Redshirt saw what appeared to be four figures immerging from the sand, an elf, dwarf, thri-kreen, and halfling. Unlike the other inhabitants of the island, these individuals did not appear to be undead.
With nothing to lose, Redshirt cautiously approached the approached the group. Redshirt explained that he was searching for food and water for his crew, and that the rest of the crew was working to get their silt skimmer out of the sea. With their help, he was sure they could accomplish the mission. While Ilana was suspicious, the group, lacking any food, water, or way off of what appeared to be an island, agreed that working together would be mutually beneficial.
As the group was conversing, three undead Wights approached them from the south. While the battle was more difficult than usual, considering that the party was under-armed and armored, they were able to defeat the undead after a few minor wounds. They then looted the bodies for whatever weapons and armor they could find.
Continuing west, the party eventually saw on oasis off in the distance. Approaching cautiously, they saw that the oasis was the home to two Tlincalli, half-human and half-scorpion creatures. Unafraid of the party, the two Tlincalli, Rarbo and Zaldurxa, happily conversed with the party. The two agreed to help the party out with food, water, and any other assistance they could provide, if the party would help them find a new home. While the oasis provided all they needed, they hated being on Sand Witch island. Rather, right off the south-western coast was Giant Island, which was much nice. They wanted the group to get rid of the giants so that they could move to Giant Island. The party agreed to see what they could do. As a show of good faith, the Tlincalli provided each group member with a full waterskin.
Turning south, after a few hour’s journey, the party saw a deep hole in the ground. Approaching, they saw that the hole was, in fact, a pit filled with tens, if not hundreds, of bodies. The smell was terrible, but the bodies did not appear to move. Seeing that many of the bodies were still equipped with arms and armor, the party spend the next few hours searching the bodies. At the end of the third hour, Darkius moved a body and found an entrance to tunnel. When the tunnel became exposed, Ilana immediately felt a great magical power emanating from the tunnel. Rather than mess with whatever was below the pit, the group decided to head to Redshirt’s silt skimmer for the evening.
Upon arriving at the silt skimmer wreck, the group saw that the five remaining pirates had failed to pull the silt skimmer out of the Sea of Silt, and they even failed to recover any of the supply crates still bobbing in the silt. After considering their options, the party and pirates agreed that it would be easier to dispose of the giants than to continue trying to salvage the silt skimmer.
The next morning the group of 10 headed out and they soon saw Giant Island, which was not far off the coast of Sand Witch Island. Using magic and ropes, they easily crossed the straight, where they were quickly met by a giant. Luckily the giant, who introduced himself as Vegavith, was the friendliest giant they ever met. Vegavith invited the party to join he and his wife, Kuurea, at their nearby camp where they had plenty of food and water.
As they party ate and drank their fill, the group told the giants their story, including their desire to leave the island. Vegavith agreed to carry all of them to the mainland if they would take care of a matter for him. He informed the party that the body pit to the east of Giant Island was known as the “Undead Pit.” So called because every morning three of the bodies would rise as undead who wandered the island. Vegavith told the group that the stench of the Pit was becoming unbearable. If the group could stop the dead from rising, there would be no need for the Sand Witch to throw more bodies. Stop the necromantic process, and he would carry them to the mainland.
Having a clear way off Sand Witch Island, the group agreed to the terms. They assumed the undead animation could be stopped in one of two ways, by killing the Sand Witch, or by following the tunnel underneath the Undead Pit. They decided to try their luck with the Pit first.
Upon reaching the Pit, the group and their six (counting Redshirt) pirate companions headed down the cave. After a short journey, they arrived in a spacious cavern. In the center of the room was an obsidian orb pulsing with necromantic energy, and surrounding it was a number of undead guardians.
The battle was tough, and valuing her own life other the lives of the pirates, she used their souls to power her defiling magic, resulting in the death of two of Redshirt’s compatriots. After defeating the guardians and shattering the orb, an enraged Redshirt attached Ilana to avenge his comrades. Equally disgusted with Ilana, Darkius used the magic of the Earth to support Redshirt in battle.
Shrugging off some of Ilana’s most powerful spells (in part thanks to Darkius’ silence spell), Redshirt stabbed Ilana many times with his obsidian rapier, but alas, in the end, the young silt pirate was no match for the experienced defiler, and he died along with his other compatriots. The remaining pirates scattered to the wind, likely to beg the Sand Witch to help them get vengeance on Ilana.
A terse silence fell between Ilana and Darkius, each feeling that they had been betrayed by the other. In the end Darkius decided to back down . . . for now.
You can find us at the actual 9 Deuce website where we have the archives as well as other content such as horror movie reviews, wrestling blogs, podcasts, and some other material. We’re on Facebook, on Twitter @official9deuce, or Tumblr @ superkent92 or Instagram at Official9Deuce . Share this, like this, write us an email with a question or a comment at kent@9deuce.com. Hell, you can subscribe via RSS. Facebook and the website are probably the best bets. Thank you.