SWADE. The Mourning After

A short adventure set in Dread Metrol, run using Savage Worlds.

The cast

• Darli Duskaxe, a elderly dwarven wizard
• Lem (short for Lemonade), a fabulous halfling bard.
• Lini, a lorghali gnome druid (later replaced by Jeremy Tew, the ogre)
• Sajan, a centaur monk of the Order of the Broken Blade.
• Valeros, a Cyran veteran of the Last War.

Session 1. The First Night

• The story begins in a tavern in Metrol, where Darli, Sajan and Valeros are drinking and eating their ragout. They're interrupted by Vadalis knockout gas.
• The characters wake up in the Vadalis Kennels, most of them having been at a pub the previous night. Lem and Lini aren't from Dread Metrol, they have no idea how they got here.
• They're all very confused, those from Metrol know roughly where they are. The Kennels.
• A guard opens the door to the barn they're in, and Lini immediately tries to befriend one of the dogs. She almost gets bit, which she doesn't love tbh.
• They look around and see the spider horse in the courtyard, and the fallen Vermishard of Gold. Lini is very confused.
• A guard kicks Lem awake and he complains, saying he paid for the whole night. He's very, very confused.
• A hobgoblin goes up to Lini and tries to comfort her. Her name is Vesile Dhakaan, and the others know her as a smuggler.
• Sajan knows what's coming, and he's going to fight. He'd rather be dead. Lini tells him to wait, and explain what's going on. Sajan explains they're in Metrol, which confuses them further.
• Lem drops the bombshell that Cyre is "super dead". Sajan argues that the world is dead.
• Lini produces some chestnuts from her pocket, evidence that the world is not dead! Sajan is confused.
• Darli, sensing food, butts in. He hasn't had proper food in months.
• Valeros loses the will and asks the guards to just take him away. Darli declares he is a true son of Cyre and he tells Darli to shut up.
• Sajan isn't going without a fight, and he starts fighting the guards. It takes several guards to subdue him and get him in manacles.
• Darli is falling behind, and tries to read a guards mind. He gets pushed over for his trouble, but Sajan helps him.
• Most of them notice a weird light flash outside, some kind of signal?
  As they cross under a watch tower, it explodes! A bearowl bursts through the breach and begins mauling guards. The party take the opportunity to escape, and follow Vesile out into the streets of Northshore.
• Vesile leads them through alleys and they take a moment to breath.
• Lem exclaims there's no way they're in the Mournland. The others are all very confused, what's the Mournland?
• Lini asks how Lem got here, if it was the same way Lini got here, and what that way is??
• Lem just says he got "shwifty" the night before and woke up here.
• Lini pats Darli on the leg and offers him some chestnuts. He's not him when he's hungry.
• Vesile explains that she knows people who can help, the Unbroken. They're terrorists, an organisation resisting Dannel's oppressive reign.
• Great, their only option is terrorists.
• The other problem is that the Unbroken in Northshore got wiped out recently, they'll have to go into Southshore, which means crossing Dead Man's Land. Oof.
• There is a way! The Bridge of the Dead is the safest route.
• They begin making their way south, when they run into Len Paddite, a drinking buddy of Darli's. Len is concerned about their state, all covered in mud, and offers them food and shelter. Darli tells Len that they're in trouble, which earns him a bollocking from Sajan. He talks too much, Len could be a Shepherd!
• They tell Len thanks but no thanks, and they proceed.
• They hear the hounds getting closer, so Lini stops and smears them all with mud to hide their scents.
• That seems to give them some more breathing room.
• They notice someone else is following them, a slender figure sticking to the shadows about a block back. Lini slips back and follows their pursuer.
• The woman seems nervous, as if she's internally debating approaching the group. Lini sneaks up behind her and says hi!
• She is spooked.
• The other begin to walk over, and the woman blurts out "you're the fugitives, aren't you!?"
• Smooth.
• Her name is Eyrena, and she's (correctly) deduced that they're the people that the Hounds are after. She's also deduced they're probably going for the bridge, as it's the only logical (safe-ish) escape route from Northshore.
• She offers to hide them if they take someone with them. It takes some pondering, but they agree.
• She takes them back to her house, and then Sajan goes to scout the bridge and sees it is swarming with guards, as Eyrena predicted.
• With Sajan back, they enter Eyrena's house and she introduces them to her "sister", a reconstructed woman named Ping. They aren't actually related, Ping rescued Eyrena during one of the nightly attacks, and Eyrena repaired her as best she could. Eyrena isn't an artificer, though, and Ping is deteriorating past her ability to fix.
• As a reconstructed, Ping is Dannel's property, Eyrena is stealing by harbouring her. She thinks Ping will be safer with the Unbroken, they can repair her.
• Ping goes and gets her disguise, and Lini hands out rations she stole from the guards back at the Kennels. Darli gives Ping an eyepatch to cover her warforged eye.
• Tomorrow, they brave the Bridge of the Dead.

Session 2. The Mourning After

• They sleep in Eyrena's house, and prepare for the Bridge of the Dead in the morning.
• They wake up and Lini is gone, replaced by an ogre. Weird. Also Sajan is a centaur now.
• Darli is confused. He calls Sajan a horse, which he takes offense to.
• Sajan goes to scout the bridge and sees the Shepherd Death Squad there, and a sleazy looking halfling. He reports this back to the group.
• Vesile explains her plan, she has a contact on the bridge that could get them across, but it won't be free.
• Valeros and Jeremy accompany Vesile to the bridge. She has a coded conversation with Grovaine.
• Grovaine will get them across the bridge, but they need to do something for him. Vesile explains the options: turn over Ping/Eyrena, convince a couple to move out of their apartment (or kill them), or murder Grovaine's watch partner and set up two other people to take the fall.
• Sajan doesn't want to entertain any of those options, and would rather go through Dead Man's Land.
• They talk it out, and decide to try and convince the couple to leave their apartment non-violently. If that doesn't work, they'll go through Dead Man's Land.
• Lem, Jeremy and Valeros go to the apartment to try and convince the tenants to leave. Jeremy can't get through the door so he waits outside.
• Lem and Valeros between them manage to convince/intimidate the couple to vacate their apartment.
• They return to Eyrena's house and get the rest of the group. They go to the bridge and Vesile talks to Grovaine, and they get across the bridge.
• Ping asks what a bear is, Lem explains they're big mammals. Ping doesn't know what a mammal is.
• Lem continues to mention the outside world, and the others begin to get frustrated with him.
• Vesile leads them to a courtyard, where a voice tells them to explain themselves. Vesile defuses the situation.
• A medusa with dead snakes, grey skin and stony lifeless wings emerges. Her name is Wargoyle, she's the leader of this Unbroken cell.
• Sajan wants to join them and fight back against the tyranny of Dannel and her Shepherds. Lem just wants to go home, Jeremy doesn't know what's going on.
• A panicked messenger bursts into the courtyard and frantically explains that "They took him! I didn’t get to him in time. They’re moving him now. Taking him to the Vermishard of Law! We have to do something! But … it’s a full convoy."
• Jeremy panics and runs. He gets stuck in a doorway and Sajan has to push him through.
• Wargoyle explains they have a Vadalis contact in the Kennels who has been feeding them information. This contact requested extraction two days ago, but when the agent went to get them, the Shepherds had already got to them. They're being transported now to the Vermishard of Law, this'll be their only chance to get them out.
• Wargoyle asks the group to help, they agree.
• Vesile leaves the group to play her own part in this. Ping goes with the group.
• They make their way to the "no-fly zone" at the southern wall, where thick netting is strewn between the buildings. Valeros and Sajan remember these are to keep the deadwings out.
• They get into position, and are told to "wait for the doves". The convoy is crawling along, the wagon being pulled along by an owlbear.
• Unbroken agents fire bladed bolts into the netting, cutting a section of it away. Others release a flock of doves, which draw the deadwings to the breach. Chaos erupts.
• Combat! After several turns of nobody being able to hit each other, there are a string of raises and very high damage rolls that would result in players instantly dying if they didn't soak. Poor Lem ran in and got immediately one shot (though they soaked it!).

Session 3. The First

• They continue fighting the Shepherds to rescue Crane.
• Jeremy manages to calm the owlbear, and releases it. It charges off into the streets.
• Valeros was heavily wounded in the fight. Sajan is gonna heal him, but Darli doesn't want to hand over the healer's kit. They convince him.
• Darli opens the wagon with his magic, and they get Crane out. He's unconscious, and doesn't wake up when Darli slaps him.
• Sajan pulls Crane to the entrance, and Jeremy picks him up. They then return to Wargoyle's hideout.
• Wargoyle thanks them, and asks them to accompany her to deliver Crane to the leader of the Unbroken.
• There's a debate about what to do. Jeremy and Lem want to go home! They want to brave the mists, but Sajan convinces them they need supplies first.
• They deliver Crane to a large warehouse, the Unbroken's base. They are introduced to Dalen Osserak, the commander of the Unbroken. Jeremy places Crane on the table.
• A doctor comes to examine Crane, and as they're doing so, Crane's chest bulges up and then bursts, releasing a bunch of horrible insects called Burster Bugs.
• Jeremy catches most of them with his net. Valeros defends people, Sajan attacks the bugs and Darli macgyver's some bug spray to kill them. Lem boosts the others.
• Crane is still alive, though not for long. He reaches towards Sajan and starts mumbling. Sajan gets close and listens.
• Crane gives some info before he dies, thanks Crane. He says Vadalis has made a "cure for hunger", that it'll make the people no better than the dead, and that it's in B12.
• Crane passes the Mark of Handling to Sajan. Weird, unprecedented.
• Dalen asks them to follow up on what Crane said, recover or destroy this Cure.
• Jeremy wants to leave, and Dalen is willing to give him supplies for a week. But, if he helps, Dalen will dedicate Unbroken resources to finding them a way to go home.
• They arrive at the Kennels, and go over the plan. They have enchanted froghemoth eggs to get over the fence, but they'll likely vomit. Darli and Sajan do, indeed, vomit. Lem doesn't eat the egg, Jeremy carries him when he jumps.
• They go into the lab and kill the guards. They don't search the first level, going immediately down to Level B. They explore and note all the door labels, but B12 isn't among them.
• They go into B7: Arachnoquestrium, and find a scientist with 4 smaller spider horses. Jeremy intimidates her and she hands over a key. Sajan ties her up and asks her about B12. She says you have to go through B10.
• In B10, they find a bunch of research notes which Darli and Lem read. They read about the bursters and the "successful matriarch", the hunger cure (Formula 45-1) and something called "The First".
• The First is their only successful test subject, and they're pending confirmation of transmission ability before releasing it.
• In B12, they find the Formula 45-1. Darli takes them, and also finds a jar of "accelerated burster larvae".
• They find an unmarked, reinforced door. Valeros opens it slightly and has a short conversation with a friendly teenage man who is currently eating the corpse of a Karrnathi Undead. Valeros lies about being a researcher and just checking some things, and then goes to talk to the others.
• Jeremy wants to kill the man and leave. The hunger cure is potentially transmissable, it's too great a risk. Sajan wants to test if the "cure" is transmissable first, they don't need to kill him if he can't tramsit the cure.
• Valeros really opposes killing the First, and so does Lem. 
• Sajan suggests sending the scientist they spoke to into the room with the First and seeing what happens. Lem opposes this, he doesn't want to responsible for what happens to the scientist. He volunteers to do it himself.
• Valeros takes a look into B11, and sees the Burster Matriarch, an ogre sized burster bug. Darli makes some alchemists fire to destroy it.
• Lem goes in to see if the "cure" is transmissable.
• Lem has a conversation with the First. The First volunteered for "enhancement", and was fully aware of what the researchers did to him. He wants to help his friends and family in Brokenshore, a district lost to the undead. Lem tries to make sure that the First hasn't been manipulated or lied to, but he seems fully aware of the situation.
• Lem accepts the First's "blessing" to test transmission. It works, Lem is no longer digusted by the smell of the rotting corpse.
• Darli makes knockout gas from some chemicals and some knockout gas, and then throws it into the cell to try and knock out Lem and the First.
• Lem tries to make a mask but eventually loses consciousness. The First does not.
• Jeremy walks out, he's had enough. He's gonna try to find the owlbear he released. He gives Sajan the ooze before he goes, as he has one of the froghemoth eggs still.
• Valeros takes the researcher's coat and puts it on to mislead the First and kill Lem.
• They get Lem out, take the research notes off of him. Valeros looks at Darli and asks who's gonna do it?
• Valeros cuts Lem's throat. RIP Lemonade. He did it in front of the cell door though, so there's now blood in the corridor. They drag the body away a bit.
• Darli starts throwing alchemist's fire around, specifically outside the First's room and Lem's body.
• They take the Formula 45-1 vials with them and leave the building, with Darli setting it on fire before they go. Hopefully fire works.
• They take the researcher with them, who's likely to be the only survivor here.
• Sajan uses the ooze to make a hole in the fence and they leave. He goes to find Jeremy because he's not sure he can take this place anymore.
• Darli and Valeros go back to the Unbroken. As a reward for recovering the 45-1 Serum, they offer both of them 500 gp (which is worthless). Darli calls them out on it, and Dalen gives them a bottle of Aundairian wine instead. Darli keeps the larvae.
• Valeros keeps the lab coat.
• Sajan finds Jeremy, and together they find Teremy (the owlbear), which Sajan is able to tame using his new Mark of Handling. Teremy says his name is actually Terrence, and they leave the city and brave the mists.