The Zombie Watchtower
…after a longer rest than they originally planned to take, the Regulators resumed their trek south, to the Black Jungles and the next segment of the Rod. After a short while of scouting before the party, Shady heard some curious crashing ahead. Upon investigating, the monk found an old stone watch tower that was being circled by several large zombies of multiple species. Shady returned to and informed the party what lay ahead, and they approached the tower cautiously.
Six of the largest zombies any of the Regulators have ever seen circled a four story watch tower: three ogres, two ankylosauri, and a Tyrannosaurus rex! Littered around the tower were the remains of several more undead, their bodies sporting arrow shafts that were similarly sticking out of a couple of those still standing.
The tabaxi stealthily made his way inside the tower, while Leo transformed into an owl and flew in through the ground floor, and up to the next level. As the monk and druid began clearing the humanoid zombies that infested the tower, a wood elf descended from the top level and joined the fight!
Meanwhile, Thaminor led the charge against the greater creatures outside. Igniting his flametongue, the high elf engaged the Tyrannosaurus, landing blow after blow while the creature’s feeble attacks glanced off the Oakenshield. Pix and Molish backed up their friend, leading with their signature Flaming Sphere and Spiritual Weapon spells. The zombies began to fall, despite their size and numbers.
As the elves finished clearing the third floor of the tower, the monk raced past them to the top and surveyed the battle below. Realizing that the Regulators had things we’ll under control, Shady stood back and studied this newly met wood elf, as he too returned to the top of the tower and promptly took aim at the ogre and dinosaur zombies below with his bow.
Once the last zombie fell, the Regulators turned their attention to the rescued wood elf…
Thaminor: “Gee what a surprise…. a bark eater runs away from the battle to get stuck in a tree like a cat…”
Shady hisses at Thaminor: “Undead buffoon.”
Pix: “Come on we’re all friends here!”
The wood elf gives shady an alarming/ questioning look when he called Thaminor undead.
Pix: “Undead? Where? Thought we killed them all?”
Shady: “Half undead?”
Wood elf: “What are the means of this? I saw him fighting the undead, so he doesn’t march with them?”
Pix: “Oh @Thaminor ? He’s only mostly dead…”
Shady: “He’s kind of shady…”
Thaminor: “Before we get into my condition…” The Ar’Tel’Quessir looks this Or’Tel’Quessir up and down. “How did you end up here? Why are you here alone? Seems like you’re a looong way from home and you happened to come across our path?”
Wood elf: “My name is Fell. I was with another group from Tall Trees hunting down and trying to diminish the bands of undead around Chult. We became overrun and my group perished in the jungle. I managed to get away and came across the tower. I was there for 2 days and eventually ran out of arrows.”
Molish: “Thaminor is a friend and ally, he was cursed in our many travels. We know how to cure his condition, but lack the power to do so. His condition has been to our advantage at times. We use what our gods have gifted us. He must have been turned undead for a reason.”
Fell: “It’s been my goal in life to abolish the presence of any and all undead. With knowing that he can be cured and isn’t completely mindless as a typical undead may be, I feel I can look past it. I cannot see his face but he strikes me as a fellow elf, one of maybe a higher class with how he regarded myself and your tabaxi friend.”
Pix: “He’s pretty snooty, that’s for sure! But a decent guy if you ignore that! I definitely wouldn’t call him mindless though, little on the dumb side sometimes maybe, but not mindless” the gnome laughed.
Thaminor: “So the saying ‘an Enemy of my Enemy is a Friend’. Well, if you’re looking for a friend, talk to Pix” as he gestures towards the gnome. “But we need to keep moving. Your fallen comrades are now most likely part of the horde now, and you don’t want to see that.”
Fell: “I agree. I couldn’t be more thankful for your groups aid and i believe we have similar goals. I would enjoy accompanying your group on your journey if you’d have me. Let me gather what arrows I can salvage from the corpses here and move out.”
Leo: “Where are you from, and why have you devoted your life to hunting undead?”
Fell: “I’m from the settlement of Tall Trees in the High Forest. When I was a boy, both my parents were rangers that got sent to war. When soldiers started returning home I discovered that my parents had perished fighting the undead. After that I had no one and nothing. I survived despite the odds. I vowed that I would avenge my parents death by exterminating the filth that are the undead.”
Thaminor: “So what did your merry band think is the cause of this undead uprising? What were you guys seeking?”
Fell: “After we got out of High Forest, we came across a member of the Order of the Gauntlet fighting alone against a group of undead. We started talking about the high volume of undead in Chult and decided to travel together to Camp Righteous where he could regroup with his order. While at the camp, we heard a lot of rumors about the lost city of Omu being the source of the undead uprising. My friend volunteered to lead an expedition in search of this city. We ourselves eventually got overrun and here I am now.”
Pix: “Do you know where this City is? Are you just wondering aimlessly hoping to find it?”
Fell: “The Order’s research places the city somewhere between the Valley of Lost Honor and the Peaks of Flame…“
