"The Rotten Soldiers" (RTx11) is the eleventh episode of The Re-Slayer's Take. The Timberblight has found the Re-Slayer’s Take and throws everything he has at them. They will have to stand strong with their new allies if they want to keep the undead army at bay. For the Hug Hive!
Synopsis[]
The adventurers realize that the entire village has felt the psychic attack and many goblins are unconscious. Thanks to scouts, they learn that skeletons are approaching Hug Hive, so they start organizing to defend the place while Freedom focuses on healing Timpani; the Re-Slayers themselves accept some healing kombucha, and then the tasks are divided: Idrin goes with the local mages, Heera chooses a team to prepare traps with bones, Frog does the same with noise and ropes, and Farah (after investigating) confirms the presence of marionettes among the enemies and remembers her allies how to deal with them, while Freedom asks them all to remain hopeful.
When the vine-covered skeñetons start arriving Frog acts as bait to attract them and then her team make the undead trip on a rope and they start to pile up, while Idrin and his mages cast multiple Magic Missiles to drop stalactites over the enemy. Farah notices a big rotting tree walking behind the skeletons and realizes that the bulb that acts as the source of the marionettes is there, so she and Heera start attacking it, until it is finally destroyed thanks to Idrin, who is Flying with his hawk over the battlefield and casts Scorching Ray, neutralizing all the skeletons connected to the tree. However, two more "cores" connected to the undead army (a moss monster and a mushroom monster) arrive too; Farah destroys the former with ease, but the latter is more resistant and starts approaching Freedom's place. Idrin uses Janet's musical instrument to disturb the creature, and Heera attacks it with fire, but as they are doing so, the skeleton of the mind flayer appears, producing a wave of fear and describing itself as "rot incarnate".
Freedom orders the goblins to evacuate, and Idrin, using his beads, protects Frog from fear; she then attacks the mushroom monster, managing to attack the core (that Heera just exposed) before the mind flayer identifies her as the weakest pray, focusing the attacks on the monk. Farah destroys the last core, neutralizing the remaining skeletons, but the mind flayer remains, using its psychic powers to confuse and weaken Heera and Frog. Idrin casts Fireball against the monster while his friends struggle, and Frog falls unconscious, tortured by the enemy's psychic energy. Seeing that, Farah attacks the mind flayer, shooting twice and hitting both its eye sockets; however, as the corpse falls, a dark entity of warping energy and fungus remains, and the blood hunter identifies it as the Timberblight: a revenant made of pure rot that abandons Hug Hive before they can do anything else. Freedom and Poogs arrive to heal Frog, and shortly after, Timpani appears too, healed and ready to fight their enemy.
Featured characters[]
"Re-Slayers"[]
- Idrin Shadowstep
- His hawk familiar
- Farah Vallari
- Heera Agneheart
- Frog
- Timpani Guff
- Poogs
Returning[]
New[]
Mentioned[]
Quotations[]
Trivia[]
References[]
Art:
- ↑ Re-Slayer's Take promotional art, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
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