Our tafe group decided it would be a good idea to play DND together even though one of us had any experience in the game what so ever. We had to sit with our future DM and create our characters and typically I was quite excited to assemble my character together. When the characters all came together we had 2 dragon borns, one of which was lawful good, a half-elf paladin, a lawful monk and a halfling rogue. However, when I introduced my character, everyone immediately realised that most of the campaign was going to be spent keeping my drow-elf necromancer in check, being the only actively evil character.
Fast forward to a vacation city on the coast and my PC was already up to no good, just coming out of the woods which he had set on fire. I began conversing with a group of shady characters at the local tavern. The party was supposed to get to a town called "York" which was known for its shady ongoings and its cult of Orcis which my PC was very excited about. Of course, to get there the party would have to travel via boat and I wasn't willing to pay the full fee to get a ticket. Appealing to the egos of the shady wizards I tried to get them to smuggle me on board, but it still came at a price. I flash a stolen amulet of Orcis and the wizards say that they would send a message for when they need me. After several more hours of drinks, and the rogue blending in and stealing several items from the tavern patriots I headed to the inn to find the party slightly annoyed by the forest fire which they had to put out, and the stampede of panicking animals that followed it. Of course, I just shrugged it off, talking about how I believed in their ability to overcome such things. The Monk and Dragonborn Druid were having none of it. Of course the Paladin didnt really mind my character and somewhat supported his ideals. The relationship between the 2 characters was a little complex. My character just wanted an undead army so that he could be left in peace, and the Paladin respected his this, however, there were times when the Paladin had to talk me out of committing to some actions.
Meanwhile the Rogue had managed to intercept and communicate with a thieves guild, who had been stalking the shady wizards and had found out that they had been hauling around several valuable magic items in a chest. One item, in particular, was an orb. Of course, they never disclosed anything about what it was, and only talked about how valuable it was. The rogue was to locate the carriage the chest was hidden in. This information will become very relevant down the road.
The next day I received a message from the shady wizards with a seel of Orcis on it. I was to cause a distraction in a town so that the wizards could steal a particular item. My character eagerly accepted the task and was eventually picked up by a carriage pulled by shadow mounts. The rest of the party had already left towards the same town I was supposed to cause a distraction to get papers to board the ship. My carriage was first to arrive, and my Dragonborn companion who had tagged along as my hired mercenary assistant and I got to work. The town we were to cause chaos in was a town of gnomes living underground, so we thought it would be devastating to cause a large fire and several explosions in the lower levels of the town. My assistant got to work pouring his barrel of oil over several small houses as I pranced around with my flaming sphere lighting block after block ablaze. By the time the rest of the party had shown up and noticed the fire, half of the town's lower level had been scorched and the authorities and emergency services were in a frenzy. While the rest of the party was going to assist the gnomes in putting out the fires, the Rogue went back to the entrance of the town and located the carriage I had arrived in, which had been turned invisible. She informed her companions using a communications stone. It was also around this time I had returned from my rampage disguised, without the Dragonborn as he was assumed arrested. The rogue asked me to look away from the carriage and head back inside, and since I had no qualm with her I obliged. However the other shady wizards were also returning, and the rogue hid amongst the bushes but she was in such a hurry she forgot to warn her companions. When the wizards caught the thieves tampering with their magic lock, they were killed on the spot with magic. The wizards were quite frustrated that the item they were after had no effect outside of the range of the tree in which it came from, so I gave them the idea to seek a little revenge for the wasted time by corrupting the tree before leaving. We laughed maniacally away from the scene satisfied with how things went in the end.
At this point the wizards and I had become friends, however, we both knew we were just using one another. Of course came the day that we had to board the ship. The Rogue managed to smuggle herself on board in one of the wine barrels, followed closely by the Dragonborn wizard. The Paladin, Monk, and Druid paid the legitimate way as they had been rewarded for quelling the corruption on the tree. As for me, however, the wizards summoned me to the inn which they were staying at. They were packing their things and their luggage had been laid out on the floor as they packed. They welcomed me and congratulated on a job well done, opening a chest which had no bottom to it.
"Hop in. You'll be fine. The crew on the ship won't bother checking our belongings so you should be safe in here." This is where I was beginning to have my doubts about these men. As I hung my legs over the inside of the chest I looked over my shoulder, and the wizards were signalling with their hands to get inside. Jumping in I land on my feet from the 10-foot drop but landed softly and without injury. Looking around I take notice of the abundance of magical items and tools in the chest. I look up at the opening where I had dropped in from.
"So it's okay for me to mess around with this stuff right?"
"Of course, of course. Just don't touch the orb." and the lid closes, leaving me with a goldmine of magical item. As everyone boards the ship, I feel nothing as the chest gets put into the luggage area. The Rogue getting out of her barrel decides now is a good time to go looking for the magic chest which she knew belonged to one of the passengers on the ship. After some rummaging around she managed to sneak her way into the luggage area. Meanwhile, I was having the time of my life in there. I had managed to get my hands on several new spells from the library in the chest. That's also when I had the bright idea to get my hands on some magical items. I find, and immediately put on some vampiric gauntlets, which squeeze and pierce my arm, but i get control over them. Chugging down a health potion I find a Moon Blade, and after talking to it for a while I also gain control of it, and it attaches to the gauntlet much like a claw as it glows red. After a couple more hours of reading, I began to sweat. The chest was beginning to feel quite stuffy. There was a heaviness on my chest, and it was getting a little hard to breathe. I try to slow down my breathing by meditating but its no use. I was beginning to suffocate. I tried searching for a book to create oxygen but to no avail. I was beginning to panic as I frantically search for means of escaping the chest. I find the entrance which I came in from and began to stack books from the library to try and make a staircase up. Roll for athletics… And its a nat 1.
I fall from my poorly constructed book stairs taking some damage, which was enough to get me to 0 hp because I had been thoroughly damaged from trying to dominate the Moon Blade from earlier. I'm laying on the floor choking and wheezing on the ground as I roll saving throws. Fail, fail, success, success. Its a 50/50 chance and I can see the Paladin's player beginning to stress out. I roll… and its a fail. I die at the bottom of the chest surrounded by the magics that led me here. Me and the Paladin player were rubbing our heads in our hands, as it was quite a heavy loss for us, but not for the rest of the party. That's when I heard a strange voice.
"That's quite unfortunate for you, Boy. However, I have an alternative for you. Your body, for your life." This is when the Rogue notices the chest is starting to vibrate. The Paladin perks up in terror feeling a great overwhelming evil coming from below deck, and the party drops everything they're doing and immediately rush towards the luggage area. Meanwhile in the chest. I'm trying to bargain with the voice to share the body. After all, I had gotten quite attached to my character's newfound look, and his overall story arc so far.
"You don't have a choice, Boy"
"Well I need this body. I'm not handing it over to some stranger." The conversation between the voice and I was quite silly, but it was all to try and stall the inevitable. In the luggage area the party managed to find the chest the Rogue was trying to get into, and it was vibrating violently emitting an extremely evil aura that scrambled the magical senses of everyone around it. The Monk prays to his god to give him the power to destroy the chest, and he succeeds and is granted an immense amount of power. He strikes the chest, but nothing happens. Meanwhile, inside the chest, I can feel the rumbles and clatter of everything shaking around me, as though the inside was being ripped apart.
"Touch the orb, Boy. TOUCH IT NOW!" My body begins to move on its own. I try to resist by pulling on the force but I end up on the floor once more, slowly crawling towards the intense glowing light on the pedal stool. The Paladin player is becoming more and more stressed, and in his haste comes up with another idea. He takes the silver dagger from the rogue and prays to his god, but there is no response. In the chest I am fighting the forces moving me towards the light but alas I am slowly being pulled towards it. There is even more panic as the Paladin could feel the evil getting stronger and stronger, and his god refusing to answer his prayers. My hand slowly but twitchily starts reaching up to the orb hovering just out of reach. The Paladin as a last-ditch effort smites the lock on the chest. I roll a saving throw… and it fails.
As the Paladin smashes the lock on the chest open, he tries opening the lid quickly, but before he could lift it, a huge force flung the chest open, sending the whole party tumbling back a few feet. The evil aura was at its strongest and the deck was beginning to rumble. I slowly floated out of the chest, glowing white and emitting blinding light. The noise in the room was deafening as the force tried to shove the party towards the wall. My eyes glowed and my skin burned as the party drew their weapons and prepared to roll for initiative. I levitate to the floor and take a few steps, and then I fainted. The party was terrified. The paladin was the first to examine my body. There were no injuries, and he couldn't detect any evil due to the interference from the chest. He tries to heal me and check for any wounds. Meanwhile, the Rogue is rummaging through the chest now full of fallen books and clusters of weaponry and armour. The druid sees the weapons that had become attached to me.
"We need to get those away from him."
"But how? They're stuck on." She looks at the Paladin's sword, and then to my arm. Everyone in the party refuses to touch my unconscious body, so it was up to the Paladin. He takes a swing at my arm above the elbow… but the wound immediately heals. There was a whole lot of confusion as he tries again, this time with smite. The wound heals over again. This time he uses the silver blade from the rogue, and the results are the same. The Rogue climbs back out of the chest with a concerned look on her face.
"What's wrong?" The Druid asks. The Rogue shows the party the orb, now empty and devoid of any magic. The party puts 2 and 2 together.
"We need to get out of here, now." The paladin hauls me over his shoulder, but as they try to leave, they could hear footsteps coming from the walkway above. The guards were coming.
[zombify_post]
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