Lest anyone be concerned: all three of the ongoing campaigns I'm currently refereeing continue, but I simply haven't had the time to write any posts providing updates of what's happening in each of them until now. In fact, so many sessions have occurred since my last update that this post is going to gloss over some of the finer details in the interests of brevity. I suspect few readers will mind. However, if there's something that's unclear or about which you wish to know more, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer your query.
Barrett's Raiders
Despite Michael's admonitions, Vadim revealed to Lt. Col. Orlowski the truth about his background and his connection to Michael. Strictly, he was not a prisoner of war but a military defector. A doctor by training, Vadim had been drafted to serve in a unit of the Red Army's chemical troops. While there, he learned of a project to unleash a cereal crop pathogen on the United States with the intention of fostering famine and civil unrest. As a doctor and man of conscience, Vadim saw this as a war crime in the making. He used his rank and position to obtain copies of certain documents pertaining to this project and fled his unit, hoping to make contact with someone in the West to whom he might give this information.
That contact turned out to be Michael, a deep cover CIA agent in Eastern Poland, who immediately recognized the value of the documents Vadim possessed. He promised to get Vadim first to safety, the GRU hot on his heels, and then to American lines, so that his information might be put to good use. Now that they were both on the other side of the Atlantic, Vadim felt it was the time to reveal what he knew and make every effort to aid American officials – military or civilian – who could make good use of it.
This conviction is at the root of a conflict within the characters' unit. As a CIA agent, Michael is pledged to support President Broward and his government in Omaha. Though traveling with soldiers loyal to USMEA, his ultimate loyalty lies with the reconstituted civilian authority of the USA. Orlowski has tolerated Michael's position, because of how steadfastly he had aided his men in Poland and, truth be told, harbors some qualms about USMEA himself. At the same time, he is not interested in going out of his way to cross his superior officers or otherwise do anything to undermine them.
Vadim is likewise grateful to Michael for his aid in getting him to America. Though now an American citizen under the provisions of AR 000-00 as adjudicated by V Corps HQ, he cared little for the politics of the post-war USA. From his perspective, all he wished to do was share his documents widely with as many people as possible, in the hope that they could counter the pathogen and spare America from famine at this critical moment. On this point, he was adamant.
Col. Franks, CO of Fort Pickett, recommended that Orlowski and his unit seek out Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. That's where many of the scientists and doctors from Fort Detrick were transferred after the nuclear attack on DC and Maryland in 1997. If anyone could make good use of Vadim's information, it was them. To calm Michael, Orlowski authorized the creation of a copy of Vadim's notes, so that they could be shared with whomever he wishes. At that, the unit then set off west toward Oak Ridge.
Dolmenwood
The characters set off into the region of the swamp known as the Flotsam Pools, after all the small pools of strange debris that had arisen along the banks of the nearby river. Led by Waldra, they made good progress through this unpleasant terrain before a group of bog corpses appeared. Lumbering through the muck, they attacked the group. Sir Clement leapt into action and handled the bulk of these foul undead, while his companions kept at a distance and attacked with missiles. The menace defeated, Waldra and her blood hound (Joremey) picked up the sent of Emelda, which led them to a strange hut by the river.
Exploring the hut, which sat on stilts, neither Alvie nor Marid found any evidence of Emelda. In fact, they found very little evidence of anything other than the possessions of an aristocrat down on his luck. Not long thereafter, an elderly longhorn Breggle appeared, advancing through the river's water. Identifying himself as Sir Tekwell Onehorn (on account of his single horn), he claimed to be living in seclusion, lest his "many admirers" continue to harry him. When asked about Emelda or the Hag, he was evasive, leading Sir Clement to be suspicious of him.
Eventually, Tekwell offered to lead the characters to the borders of the Hag's domain, the location of which he admitted under some duress. Approaching that locale, with its green mist and strange sounds, the characters were beset by black tentacles that seemingly grew from the ground, trying to snatch them. Tekwell was an early victim of the tentacles but, fortunately for him, Sir Clement bore no grudge against him. With the help of his companions, the tentacles were defeated and Tekwell saved. The grateful Breggle then admitted that he had not come to the swamp to avoid his celebrity but because he'd fallen from grace in service to a high Breggle lord. Inspired by Clement's bravery, he vowed to lead them directly to the Hag, which he did.
The Hag's dwelling was a floating hut, guarded by two ogres. Sir Clement challenged them to a fight, which they accepted. Initially, the fight went badly for Clement, despite the assistance of his comrades. However, Tekwell proved surprisingly effective and played a major role in slaying both the ogres. Next, the characters decided they needed to find a way into the hut, since it was some 10 feet above them. Clement placed Alvie on his shoulders, who attempted to reach and open the door through the use of a rope.
Just as he did so, the Hag opened the door, her eyes goggling. She looked down at Alvie and smiled, "Thief-son, you may come in. The rest of you, begone!" Reluctantly, Alvie agreed to enter, surreptitiously tying his rope to the handle of the hut's door. Just as he entered, Sir Clement grabbed Marid and threw the grimalkin enchanter headlong into the Hag's home, just as its door slammed shut.
House of Worms
Táksuru had not only sent the characters on their way to Avanthár but also provided them with an ancient device that would temporarily deactivate some of its external defenses, allowing them to make use of an auxiliary entrance. Once inside, however, the defenses would soon reactivate and they would not be able to leave by the same means. This was a one-way trip into one of the most well protected and secret locales in all of Tsolyánu, perhaps all of Tékumel. The only way out was through. One way or another, the members of the House of Worms clan would soon end their adventures.
The auxiliary entrance was located inside a rise near the Mssúma River, well hidden except to those, like the characters, who knew of its presence. Kirktá made use of the device Táksuru had given them, which opened a door disguised as a rockface. Beyond was a huge, vaulted chamber overgrown with weird vegetation. Everywhere were small pillars made of a strange crystalline material. Above, portions of the ceiling flickered with peculiar lighting – a reminder that Avanthár had once been some kind of fortress from the Ancients and would undoubtedly contain many examples of technology from before the Time of Darkness.
Thus began an extensive exploration of these forgotten, subterranean levels of Avanthár, in the hopes of locating the prison of the One Other, assuming it even existed. The characters then proceeded to move carefully from one chamber to another, ever mindful of the dangers they might encounter. One room contained a series of "windows" that seem to depict possible/alternate futures, not all of them pleasant. Another housed shadowy reflections of the characters lying in ambush. And another still seemed to be an armory or repository of some kind. For the most part, the characters avoided doing anything too bold in these chambers, lest they activate a trap or defense mechanism of some kind.
Eventually, though, their luck ran out and they came to a hallway with an energy barrier that allowed on Kirktá to pass through it. A voice in an ancient tongue – translated by an eye of incomparable understanding – stated the following if anyone else attempted this, "Incompatible genetic signature. Further access denied." Clearly, at least some of Avanthár was keyed to Tlakotáni DNA, meaning only Kirktá could proceed. This was not really an option, so much time was spent trying to determine a way to circumvent the system. They eventually succeeded in this and continued to advance.
One of the more worrisome aspects of their advance was the discovery, in multiple places, that Prince Dhich'uné was already in Avanthár himself, possibly racing toward the same destination ahead of them. Dead Sárku troops attested to this, as did the charred body of Jayárgo, Dhich'uné's top lieutenant. As the characters pondered this, they realized that it made sense Dhich'úne was already here, as he had been conspicuously absent in Béy Sü during the build-up of Eselné's troops. Clearly, Dhich'uné felt that the real battle was here, beneath the emperor's palace and that nothing less than reaching the prison of the One Other would secure the Petal Throne. Needless to say, the characters soon hastened their steps.
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