Ghoul Score

Sorrow

Out on Prison Island, in the Scabport Prison, Sorrow [Jeff] was summoned to 2nd Lieutenant Sharples' office.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" she snapped, and gestured to Sorrow's night-black eyes.

"I worked for IMAG a leettle and zis was a gift," said Sorrow.

"So, you're an IMAG fan-boy?"

"I would not say zat. But zey do help me see par excellence at nigh..." Sorrow didn't manage to finish. She punched him in the eye, with a right hook. It dropped him like a sack of potatoes, and left a bleeding brow. She threw him out of her office.

"Keep them outa my sight!"

______________________________________________

Later on in the evening, El Cid [Shane] was summoned to her office.

2nd Lt Sharples

2nd Lieutenant Sharples had a bath tub filled with steaming water and soapy bubbles, and she wanted him to wash her. He was warned by the other guards that this might happen, but rather than the disgusting job as he had been lead to believe, it wasn't bad at all. The lieutenant was not very pretty of the face: "homely" would be a good adjective, but she had a slender and fit body [ like Kate Beckinsale ].

So, El Cid actually enjoyed himself, and even had to force himself not to "stand at attention" as it were.

She was annoyed that he wasn't repulsed. She didn't go as far as trying to violate him, thinking he'd probably enjoy it, so just gave him a good beating; a few bruises only.

"That wasn't too bad," smiled El Cid as he returned to the barracks. And it was certainly better than spending two hours in the ballista tower in the wind, or marching up and down the courtyard, or cleaning the latrines with a toothbrush.
______________________________________________________

The rest of the group (Huilam [Jamie], Tylin [Ian], Lammy [Kevin], Burrito [Darryl], Argile [Richard], Moonlight [Chris]; Dee Dee [Steven] and Ronnie [Deacon] were marmalading) was at the gates of the Graveyard.

The Knives patrol was there just closing the Necropolis gates for the night. One of them beckoned to Lammy.

"Stick your head inside," he whispered gesturing to an inviting hole in the gate.

So, Lammy blithely complied. When his head passed the threshold of the gate, he could hear whispering all around. Withdrawing his head, the whispering stopped and it was just the usual Scabport night noises. The whispering was just on the edge of hearing and he couldn't make out any words.

The Knives patrol wandered off, and the group experimented. It wasn't just the gate that this effect happened. At the many wall breaches, you could do the same trick: whispering on the inside and none on the outside.

The group then began the long trek to walk around the entire perimeter of the huge graveyard. They were too scared to venture inside, so walked the ring road. It was a three to four hour walk to circumnavigate the entire thing.

A few hours into the walk, about half-way, they could suddenly feel a throbbing. It was so low that they couldn't hear it, but could  feel it. It had probably started a while back, but only now was detectable. The throbbing sensation got strongest against one wall, so they ventured into the graveyard at that spot. There was a lot of suspicious unnatural (undead?) movement at this spot and they began to feel unease and dread.

Paladin of REAL

A REAL paladin patrol happened to wander past on the road at this time. They were happy to point out to the group that the throbbing was assumed to be some effect of the rumoured Wraith King, deep in the centre of the necropolis.

"Probably not a good idea for you to go there," one paladin said. "We would, of course! But we have been forbidden to. Politics."

They continued their patrol. The party quietly withdrew back on to the road.

Further on, they rounded a corner and stopped. There was a group of suspicious creatures congregating 50 paces ahead on the road, and they then darted into the nearby houses and alleys. They gave off no heat to the party members with infravision, so that was good enough evidence for Huilam. He pointed the REAL flare skyward and yanked the draw string. A silent flame erupted upwards, followed by a bright explosion a way overhead, bursting like a firework, but with no sound.

ghoul

Burrito and Lammy strode up to the alley where the creatures had vanished. One leapt from above. Lammy had his magical shield up to block it, and Burrito threw a vial of holy water at it. It screamed and scurried off. A second creature approached. Burrito hit it with a vial too, and Lammy cast a Light spell upon it. That give Burrito a clear target to shoot at. And he managed to drop it.

Argile and the rest of the group were right behind and they joined the two. And Argile and Lammy stood fast to block the alley, as two more creatures struck. Both Lammy and Argile were brutally raked by the long claws. Argile managed to twist his damage onto his armour. But not Lammy, who took the severe damage and was paralyzed. Burrito's vials of holy water managed to burn these two, and they scurried off hissing voicelessly. Huilam and Tylin had vials too, but Huilam threw his one onto the ground. Tylin drank his.

Huilam fired off another flare, and then the frightened group stayed huddled together and waited.

Eventually, the REAL paladins arrived. They were very pleased. The creatures were identified as ghouls, and the paladins now had the evidence that they sought. They swept up the ghoul body, and the party picked up the paralyzed wounded Lammy, and all withdrew to the REAL temple.

In the temple, Colleen Sanford was awoken and she cured Lammy.

The next morning, the party was paid the promised 9 COIN, and they withdrew to their secret base to do Downtime Activities.