Session 44 – The Flight of the Omarin

[avisarr]

Session 44 – The Flight of the Omarin

After welcoming Callister back to the world of the living and giving him a few hours to recover, the party packed up their gear, downed another dose of the antidote and continued their journey.

While traveling north into the hills and highlands, heading toward mountains, the party encountered several horde groups. The heroes battled one of the smaller groups, went around a slightly larger group and then, ultimately, was forced to flee to higher ground when a huge group of hordelings caught wind of them. Despite brilliant tactics and use of spells against the horde creatures, their efforts were ultimately ineffective due to the sheer numbers of the Horde. They killed dozens on their weapons and slew hundreds with spells. But still they kept coming... by the thousand.

The party fled north up into the mountains. They found ancient trails and crisscrossed on the slopes heading up. Eventually, the party came to a pass in the mountains where the road crested between two peaks. A third smaller trail continued up a side slope, curving toward one of the peaks. The main trail continued on down the other side of the mountain. The party started down the main trail, but soon saw a group of humanoids charging up the trail toward them. As they got closer, the party saw they were phanglir warriors, weapons drawn. Then they saw the horde behind them, spilling on the trail, blanketing the slope like a carpet. Thousands of horde creatures were coming up the slope after the phanglir. The phanglir and the heroes quickly joined into one large group and fled back up the slope to the pass. They took the smaller trail that shot off to the side up toward the peak.

The trail was narrow and rocky. It wandered uphill for some ways and then ended abruptly at a large level rocky mountain top. Sitting at the center of this rocky clearing was the ruins of a small stone fortress, two stories high.

The heroes and the phanglir warriors ran into the building and barricaded the door. The horde spilled up from the top of the trail, approaching like a shiny black carpet of beetle shells. The heroes and phanglir took up defensive positions around the fort and prepared to make a final stand.

Horde creatures enveloped the building, pouring over the walls by the hundred. As the battle begun, the heroes saw a shadow pass overhead and looked up to a strange sight. They saw a man strapped into a bizarre winged contraption of wood and leather and seemed to be gliding on the wind like a bird. Two more of these gliding men flew overhead. But the heroes couldn't pause to wonder at these flying men. They were in the middle of combat.

Soon afterwards, a bigger shadow passed over the battle and the heroes and phanglir looked up to see an enormous structure floating above them. It was a flying ship suspended in the air by four enormous hot air balloons integrated into its structure.

As the flying balloon ship maneuvered into position, the crew on board, who appeared to be omarin, dropped down ropes to those fighting below. The heroes scrambled onto the ropes as the horde creatures closed all about. The phanglir warriors fought bravely, buying precious time for the others to escape. Several of the phanglir were killed. However, most of them, including the heroes, managed to scramble up onto the air ship just as the ruined building below was overwhelmed by Horde creatures.

The airship rumbled as the bellows roared to life and the ship began to rise. Great sails were deployed. Omarin (the blonde indigenous natives of the Desolation with whom the party was now familiar) in leather armor ran about the small ship deck operating controls and firing bows at the Horde below.

The party peered over the railing of the ship and down at hundreds of Horde creatures swarming over the ruined building below where they had stood only moments before.

The ship slowly rose into the sky and joined a group of similar ships. The ships were of varying size and structure. The smaller vessels had but a single balloon with large baskets. The larger ones had as many as six balloons and involved large ship decks, balconies, railings and complex rigging.

The party marveled at the air ship. It was a blend of building, ship and balloon. Hot air and bellows kept the balloons inflated. The ships were fashioned from a remarkably strong and light wood. The balloons themselves seemed to be huge strips of some kind of plant skin sewn together.

The party talked with the Omarin crew, thanking them over and over for rescuing them. The party learned that this omarin tribe escaped the horde each summer by taking to the skies in these remarkable air ships. The party asked if the ships could take them to the ruins of the ancient city of Shidar to the north.

The omarin chieftain told them that they would take them to the vicinity of the ruins, but the ships would not go near the city ruins. Not within sight of them. The omarin steadfastly held that the ruins were cursed and that the party was foolhardy to venture there. The ships turned north and began the final leg of the journey to the ruins.

During the flight, Callister spent a huge amount of time talking to the crew about the workings of the air ship. He even piloted one for a few hours.

Ugita checked the enchanted map chessboard – it indicated that the main Duthelm force had united into a single force and was now moving north, over Garreon's Wall. They were far to the south but moving fast.

The air ships traveled slowly and steadily gliding over the rugged land below. The air ships made good time and headed due north, moving about 15 miles per hour, at an altitude of about 500 feet.

That evening, in the failing daylight, the convoy of ships came across a "sarga pod"... a swarm of the floating balloon-like plants. The omarin "hunt" them... shooting them with tethered arrows and reel them in. Rothgar put his bow to good use. Everyone dined on these strange balloon plant creatures in a great feast.

The air ships continued their progress all night and into the next day.

In the afternoon, the air ships came across a huge Horde group below them. Some 10,000 creatures at least.

After having traveled over the Horde group for an hour, a dozen horde "flyers" came roaring up from the crowd below.

The horde flyers were carrying other horde creatures and dropped them on the deck.

During this battle, the party fought species of Horde creatures which they had not previously encountered: Winged Horde – which can fly, carry heavy loads and spit gobs of acid as an attack. And Flamers – heavily armored and able to spew bio-napalm.

A great battle played out on the decks of the air ships. The phanglir warriors, the omarin and the party fought side by side against a variety of Horde creatures as they struggled to prevent damage to the airship balloons and keep the vessels airborne.

One of the smaller 3-balloon ships began to loose its battle. A Flamer Horder creature dropped on board along with Flyers and Reapers. When the players finished their battle, they looked over to see this small ship on fire and the nose balloon ruptured and hemorrhaging hot air. It was losing altitude and slowly diving down into the sea of Horde creatures below.

Several of the party, led by Callister, jumped over to the smaller ship and aided in repairs. Callister heroically climbed onto the damaged balloon. The rupture was two feet long and losing pressure. Callister pulled out a Scroll of Creation which he had tucked in his belt (a magic item he had been carrying for most of the campaign) and summoned a glob of pitch and tar. He spread the thick mass onto the rupture and sealed the leak. The balloon began to re-inflate.

This small ship dropped down to an altitude of 20 feet before the ship regained stability and managed to pull up and begin rising again. (The hull of this ship bears scars where hundreds of Horde creatures were raking it with claws).

Eventually, all Horde creatures on board were killed. The ships rose to a safe altitude and continued on.

For several more hours, the ships flew eventually leaving the horde far behind.