This was game session 21 of Age of Worms. After defeating the lizardfolk besieging Cromm’s Hold in the last session, the party teamed up with the elven tracker Zebaum Whitefeather. Together they headed into the Lizard Marsh in search of Marzena and the other captured soldiers.
Progress was slow but steady. During the first evening camp, the group was attacked by a huge monstrous hunting spider. It crept right up on the party, but their guard dog noticed it and barked loudly. The spider bit Valgen twice, injecting him with enough venom to paralyze him for days. While the party peppered the spider with arrows, Lyrin launched a lesser fire orb in its face. Injured from the flame, the spider attacked Lyrin. Bravely, Brutus attacked the spider and was horribly bitten for his troubles. A crippling dose of poison flowed through his limbs, but his orcish might still proved sufficient to split the spider’s head in two.
The team constructed a crude litter and loaded the paralyzed Valgen within and set off further into the swamp. Going was much slower dragging the hefty (and armored) warrior, but the trackers concluded they had not fallen more than a day behind the lizardfolk. Then, tragedy struck.
While following the tracks along the water’s edge, a submerged pack of ghouls led by a wicked ghast burst forth and attacked. Lyrin and Brutus quickly succumbed to the ghouls’ paralysis. Brutus’ dog fled into the swamp, and a ghoul attacked Valgen, not realizing he was completely helpless as well. Zebaum and Cam bravely held the line and fought back-to-back against the ravenous undead. While the ghast attempted to toy with them, a pair of ghouls began ripping Brutus apart and feasting on his corpse. Although horrific, it did buy the party time to regroup and destroy the flesh-eating undead. After the battle, the healers determined Zebaum and Lyrin had contracted ghoul fever.
The party searched the undead corpses, finding a large amount of Waterdhavian gold coinage as well as a perpetual talisman of cure light wounds, which greatly augments the group’s healing capabilities. After stripping Brutus’ remains, the ghouls, the ghast, and the slain half-orc were piled up and burned to prevent their return from the grave.
Mourning their fallen, the party moved on. The following morning, Zebaum’s magic restored Valgen to some mobility, although the spider’s poison still saps his strength. Unfortunately, the first signs of ghoul fever–festering reeking black patches of rotting flesh–have appeared on Zebaum and Lyrin, making them sluggish and weak. Undaunted, the group pressed on after the prize. Cam and Zebaum called the group to a halt and pointed out a raised mound ahead covered in intertwined cypress trees. Tracks in the mud indicate frequent patrols, and the party believes it has found either a waypoint or the lair of the lizardfolk.
Taking the side of prudence, the party decided to fall back into the swamp and cover their tracks. They await the arrival of their rear guard, including their dwarven priest and his dwarven friend, a renowned warrior. The team seeks to treat their sick and restore some strength to their comrades before taking on the lizardfolk menace.
