Characters: Though they were removed from the battlefield, the commanders had bought enough time for Thicket's army to defeat the undead horde, and the ghost was driven back across the bridge along with them. Barrages from archers further thinned the undead ranks, while to the south, Mielikki's forces continued their advance to the entrance of the Labyrinth. Only too too late did he realize that they had been lured into an ambush by the necromancer, who had possessed yet another puppet.
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster
Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
NPC: Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Segreta
Curzo, Pomegranite, and Ulrich worked in concert to cast a large illusion that could be triggered at any point to "summon" a pride of lions, which would disrupt the undead when they appeared. The other earthlings continued with their earlier preparations until they were done as more and more undead poured out of the Labyrinth. They were already going to be in a losing battle if it came to attrition, so better to take to the field as soon as possible.
After their allies' retreat in the face of the unnatural lightning storm days earlier, they first had to cross the River Fiume. Fortunately, there were a multitude of crossings, so they could pick their battles quite effectively. Mielikki and Granmarg took the southern flank with intent to charge forward while Thicket held firm on the bank of the north bridge. Pomegranite had a trick up his sleeve and would move up the center, where there was as yet no crossing.
The ghost soared across the northern bridge and tore into Thicket's west-most formation, ripping open a breach for the undead horde to flow into. To the south, the undead advanced more evenly, and Mielikki charged to confront them while Granmarg held his flank. Another clearly self-aware undead in nobles' clothes met Mielikki and his escort on the field and mockingly wondered aloud why they had declined to pursue negotiations. Up close, it was clear that makeup and perfumes had been caked on to obscured the fact that this body was dead and rotting. He pointed a finger at Mielikki accusatorily and a disembodied purple hand shot forth.
The field marshal ducked and evaded the spell, then shouted back that he had been outvoted; the undead bemoaned the "tyranny of democracy". Smugbrush ran up and knocked the undead off his feet, leaving him wide open wide open. Mielikki's Sea Sword shot a beam of high-pressure water that passed through his rotten flesh, but blows from Felix's sword and then a slash with Smugbrush's short spear sent the undead's head flying. The body dropped while the head laughed maniacally until it hit the ground and fell silent.
Another horde of undead surged forth from the entrance to the Labyrinth, accompanied by a tendril of black lightning that shot out to the eastern battlefield and reanimated the fallen. At Mielikki's command, the undead on the southern flank were felled without mercy, though again the living suffered more casualties than they should have. They swept forward, but found themselves in another pitched battle orchestrated by the necromancer, who was now puppetting a noble lady.
She reached out and grabbed at Smugbrush, who felt his life force drain away, but as she moved toward Mielikki, she slipped on entrails and fell. Mielikki and Garmnrag chopped at her, while the undead raised herself up with help from severed arms on the ground. The same arms grabbed at Felix and threatened to pull him down, but the young knight broke free. Smugbrush finally shook off the life drain and impaled the undead through the chest; again, it laughed before it collapsed, its strings cut.
In the east, Thicket lured the ghost into his own ambush on the collapsing riverbank in front of a bridge. Up close, it was clear this was the ghost of an elf, and he wailed as a green bolt of magic spewed from his mouth, disintegrating the earth beneath the feet of the living. Then, before they could react, a torrent of water flew at them, and Curzo and Barrend were sent tumbling into the river where they struggled to keep their heads above the muddy water. Thicket charged, another bolt of green lightning flashed, and his staff melted to sludge in his hands. Morkral followed him in, and with another flash his shields had dissolved into dust.
Another spray of water passed over Thicket, who proved sturdy as a rock. He retaliated with an Earth Spike that harmlessly flew through the ghost, while Morkral ran up behind it with intent to get into a close-quarters brawl. He failed to connect with his fists, while the ghost reached through his reinforced armour and tore at his flesh directly, then spun and sent Thicket flying into the river with another spray of seawater. Now alone, and not fancying his odds against so powerful a foe, Morkral jumped into the relative safety of the river and was carried away by the current.
Notes:
The players figured out that the "meta" in the fight with the ghost was to jump in the river to run away early. They took some damage, but probably less than they would have in a prolonged fight with the ghost.
If someone's weapon is destroyed, they take a -2 to combat skill until it can get replaced. At the end of every mass battle round, they check to see if they get it back on a 12 or less.
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