KoA Chapter 3: Fire in the Anthole

Opening

After a good night's sleep, Morgoth & Vesuvia wake up rejuvenated and ready to fight. The two formulate a loose attack plan on Szuvaki (the town they've been outside of) while Bruknuk keeps watch. Suddenly, Bruknuk seems to catch a scent, and leaves the two to investigate. As he is off searching, he notices several bugs moving in the brush, seemingly with purpose. Bruknuk finds himself in a light clearing as the clouds above him gradually shift to a central point above. Thanks to his Danger Sense, Bruknuk narrowly avoids the lightning bolt that smashes down on him, only taking 8 lightning damage from the ambush.  

Combat: Bruknuk vs. Ant King

Initiative

1. Bruknuk: 21 (86/94 HP)
2. Ant King: 21 (50/50 HP, 3/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 2/3 3rd, 2/2 4th)

Round 1

1. Ant King: Casts Earh Tremor (1st level) at Bruknuk's feet, who succeeds and takes no damage. Moves through the trees for a better vantage point.
2. Bruknuk: Searches with his eyes and successfully locates the elusive druid (but just barely). Angry, Bruknuk throws his axe, then tries to get closer. However, the slippery druid evades the axe's mighty blow.

Round 2

1. Ant King: Casts Summon Beast (2nd level) and conjures a giant earthy ant in front of Bruknuk. It attacks, but cannot pierce his skin.
2. Bruknuk: Enters a rage and begins pummeling the ant, beating it to dust.

Round 3

1. Ant King: Sensing that he can't seem to take this one down, the king retreats towards the direction of the others.
2. Bruknuk: Notices the retreat and begins chasing the bug man

Unlikely Allies

After a brief chase, both Ant King & Bruknuk end up at camp, putting Vesuvia & Morgoth on immediate alert. The Ant King & Bruknuk argue in their broken languages, while Vesuvia eventually calms them enough to learn about this bugman. Standing before them is a Wood Elf adorned in bug-based armor & clothing. There seems to be an entourage of ants nearby wherever he goes. They learn that this bugman calls himself the Ant King, as he controls all the local bug populations in this territory. Vesuvia eventually gets out that Ant King is frustrated from recent incursions into his territory by the townspeople, some of which seemed eager to expand their town limits and kill off the bug colonies in their way. Seeing an opportunity, Vesuvia convinces (or cons) Ant King into helping them execute all living members of the Szuvaki Guard. The only question is how they get back in. It is at this point that a fifth voice appears from the trees, putting all four on high alert once more. However, the voice assures them that they are here "to support their ventures, not inhibit them". Out steps a well-dressed individual resembling a casino dealer, complete with a fancy cane and a top hat. He reveals that he overhead their problem and can offer solutions, for a nominal fee. Morgoth steps out and squares up with the rogue, who does not flinch (but is internally sweating). "How do we know you aren't one of them in disguise? Perhaps I could kill you now, just to be safe."
"You won't attack me, because I'm your only way back into town. The guards are on much higher alert thanks to the prison break yesterday, which I assume you all had some part in. Not that its any of my business, but the point is the guards will be more skeptical at the gate. I have a plan to resolve this obstacle, but any further details will cost the chance of you killing me. Take your pick; kill me and valiantly fight your way through the outer edges before dying, or spare me and save your might for your prized strike location."
Morgoth sees this as complete truth. "Then you shall join our side in honor against these corrupt pigs." the elephant says as he playfully slaps the Dealer on the back with his trunk, before retunring to the camp. The Dealer explains how he moved the Szuvaki Guard carriages off the road and hid them from view. He will lead them to the carriage, then they enact the plan. Bruknuk will sit in the prison cell and pretends to be locked away, but with detatched chains and an unlocked door. Vesuvia will ride with him to keep him calm. The Dealer (disguised as a guard) & Ant King will ride up front so that Ant King can conjure bugs to pull the carriage to Szuvaki, where the Dealer will sweet talk their way in. If they ask about Ant King, he will add to the lie of them "being attacked on the road when none of his fellow guards survived, but this brave individual saved my life and is an ally to our cause". Morgoth will lie in the back of the carriage chamber with Dealer & Ant King, out of view. Once they are inside the city gate, they will lead the carriage wherever they want to strike.
Morgoth agrees with this war strategy and wants to go straight to the guard HQ. Vesuvia, while agreeing with the plan, asks "What's in it for you?"
"Well, I'd say given my efforts of hiding the carriages for you, providing the location of one for this mission, general risk premiums & time/labor for the recon, 50% of the financial proceeds is a fair price to me. You all seem like more of the 'destroy for the sake of destroying" types anyway, I'm sure you won't mind a little off the top." the Dealer replied in Elvish.
"Don't overvalue yourself Blue, I'm sure you won't mind an equal 20% cut, fair to everyone involved." Vesuvia snapped back in Elvish, not taking the first offer like a fool.
"Ohoho let me assure you, nothing about me is overvalued. Including the time and effort I've put into this job. But business is business amirite, we cut corners where we must, so how about I sweeten the deal for 35%? Seems fair to me." the Dealer assures. This time, Vesuvia doesn't see through the scam, and agrees to the negotiated price. They shake on it, and the Dealer chipperly leads the party to his stash spot in the woods.  

Terrorists at the Gate

The plan starts without a hitch. Ant King casts Conjure Animals (3rd level) to summon two Giant Spiders that pull the carriage. Once they made it to the gate, the Dealer did the talking, explaining himself the exact way they planned. The guars were SUPER skeptical at first (mechanically, they rolled a nat 19 & nat 20 on their Insight checks), but the Dealer's charismatic charm fooled them (21 on Deception). The whole car felt the tension of the situation, breathing a sigh of relief once they got in. The Dealer asks exactly where they would like to go, to which Morgoth says, "the Szuvaki Guard HQ, not the prison." The Dealer obliges, as the party strolls through town with Giant Spiders drawing the peoples' gaze.
The gang arrives at the Szuvaki Guard HQ, searching for a carriage garage. The Dealer deceives the garage attendant with his same story, even with the Giant Spiders giving him pause. Regardless, the carriage parks, and two guards (including the one who let them in) approach. The Dealer nods to Ant King, who releases the spiders to shoot Webs at the guards. Both get webbed up, while Morgoth runs over to impale one with Elephant's Point. The Dealer tosses his magical bow tie, slicing across the neck of the guard he chatted with and killing him instantly. The two open the back of the carriage and let Vesuvia & Bruknuk out, preparing their assault.
"Do we hav a specific target, or-" the Dealer starts before Morgoth interrupts,
"Everyone, we kill EVERYONE!" he exclaims proudly, to which Bruknuk roars in agreement. Accepting that there is no plan, Vesuvia activates her Mage Armor (1st level) & the gang barges in and begins their open slaughter of the Szuvaki Guard Department.

Combat: The Knights of Anarchy vs. the Szuvaki Guard Department (75 total, 1,875 XP)

Initiative

• Morgoth: 4, 75/75 HP (4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd)
• The Dealer: 6, 50/50 HP (4/4 1st, 2/2 2nd)
• Bruknuk: 23, 82/90 HP
• Ant King: 11, 50/50 HP (4/4 1st, 3/3 2nd, 1/3 3rd, 2/2 4th). Spides (24/26 HP & 22/26 HP)
• Vesuvia: 20, 34/34 HP (2/4 1st, 1/3 2nd, 2/3 3rd, 2/2 4th)
• Guards (Wave 1): 20 (20 guards, 500 XP)
• Guards (Wave 2): 14 (15 guards, 375 XP)

Surprise Round

• Bruknuk: Runs in and punches two guards to death immediately, then enters a Frenzied Rage.
• Vesuvia: Casts Faerie Fire (1st level) on 4 guards.
• Ant King: Sics the spiders on two other guards to fire webs. Both miss, so he casts Erupting Earth (3rd level) on the far right side. All guards fail to avoid and are crushed by the floor beneath them.
• The Dealer: Pulls out his magical deck, says "Pick a card!", then tosses a JacK (infernal explosive) at 4 guards on the far left. All but one fails their dodge, killing all but the wiiner.
• Morgoth: Casts Magic Weapon (2nd level) on his Pentablade and swings madly at the Faerie Fire guards, scoring a crit on one. All die, fuck the police

1st Round

• Guards (9 pigs left): The Faerie Fire guards rush Morgoth with their longswords, but Morgoth parries them both. The other two on the right come in to do the same, but both clink off his armor. The other 5 rush Bruknuk, while only the injured guard hits for 4 piercing thanks to Bruknuk's rage
• Bruknuk: Backhands the weakened guard to death, then wails on two more for instant cop death. Takes a couple steps back to bask in his kills, as he has been contained for too long
• Vesuvia: Casts Cinder Snap (2nd level) on Bruknuk's victims, killing all of them in a literal pig roast. Her eyes reflect the glow of the fire as she smiles maliciously at her prize.
• Ant King: Has the spiders attack the remaining two Faerie Fire guards, They both sink their venomous fangs into the corrupt cop flesh, dealing 6 & 3 piercing & 5 & 6 poison (11 & 9 total). One of the cops goes down like a bitch, twitching and writhing into venom paralysis as the spider starts eating him. The other just barely hangs on, watching in horror as his pig in arms gets consumed. Ant King isn't about to let this slide; he casts Infestation (cantrip) to conjure a bunch of ants on the survivor, consuming him alive as the spider digs in
• The Dealer: Pulls out a poker chip, says "Sorry guys, the house always wins. But here's a consolation prize!" and tosses the chip at a guard attacking Morgoth. This time, the guard parries the chip away, much to the Dealer's shock
• Morgoth: Takes advantage of the pig's distraction and relieves him of his head. Using the momentum, he swings twice at the last guard, but it seems that watching his corrupt brethren fall gave him enough resolve to parry both strikes

2nd Round

• Guard (1): Strikes twice at the Elephant of Wrath, but fails miserably due to his lack of real training and inherent cowardice.
• Bruknuk: Runs over and wails three times on the last cop, beating him into a bloody mess on the floor as he cries like a bitch. As this is happening, the next wave of guards run down
• Vesuvia: Pulls out her Fire Stoker and uses it to cast Heat Wave (3rd level) and roasts the first spit of pigs alive, relishing in their pathetic screams. This is the law and order designed to protect the Szuvaki people? The Knights of Anarchy are doing this town a favor by cleaning house
• Guards (10): The front line of pigs is horrified by the deaths of their friends, and charges. They try to rush Vesuvia, but she is behind Morgoth & Bruknuk so they are forced to fight these behemoths. Only one hits Bruknuk, dealing 4 slashing. The other 5 guards pull out their crossbows and fire; one at the Dealer, one at Ant King, two at the spiders & one at Morgoth. The Dealer & Ant King dodge, Morgoth grabs the arrow with his trunk & breaks it, while the spiders both get hit for 2 & 4 piercing.
• Ant King: The spiders fire webs at two of Morgoth/Bruknuk's attackers. One is webbed, while the other dodges. Ant King casts Shillelagh (cantrip) and leaps towards to stab the webbed guard with the Ant King's Scepter, impaling him to the ground and forcing bloody tears from his pathetic eyes. The spider who webbed him starts munching on his face, finishing him off.
• The Dealer: Tosses a Queen (lightning strike) on the two leftmost guards engaging Bruknuk/Morgoth, both are fried by divine will of the sky; cops don't belong in the world of good.
• Morgoth: Engages the guard in front of him with righteous fury, channeling his holy quest of cop killing. This time, he uses the Elephant's Wrath, dropping one guard with one swing and the guy next to him with two. Pieces of pig lie on the floor in front of him as his trunk exudes a demonic smoke, snorting it back in with glee.

3rd Round

• Bruknuk: Charges forward to the right and wails on the ranged guards, missing a couple times due to nimble pigs. He still kills one on his third hit, caving his chest in and vomiting blood and organs from the impact
• Vesuvia: Casts Gamma Flame (2nd level) and killed the two guards on the left, irradiating the area
• Guards (2): One attacked Bruknuk while the other took a shot at Vesuvia. Both failed, as police normalyl do because they can't do shit against skilled opponents
• Ant King: Sent the spiders after the failures. They sink their teeth into the juicy pigs, dealing 4 & 8 piercing/4 & 6 poison (8 & 14 total). One dies as his flesh is poisoned and feasted upon, whiele the other holds on. Ant King tosses his scepter at the other, but the surprisingly competent pig parries the spear to the side.
• The Dealer: "Let's try this again" and tosses another poker chip, straight at the last guard's head. This, of course, caves his forehead in, looking like someone tried to jam a coin into a broken coin slot as the guard falls lifeless.

Thereafter

• Clearly facing no trouble, the gang cuts their way through the department, slaughtering about 40 more guards during their raid. The spiders are worn down and killed during this time, and the gang uses more spell slots. When they make it to the top floor, they face their final challenge between them and victory; Chief Gondr, Paladin Sorcerer

Combat: Knights of Anarchy vs. Chief Gondr (3,500 XP)

Initiative

• Morgoth: 3, 60/75 HP (3/4 1st, 1/3 2nd)
• Bruknuk: 6, 72/90 HP
• Ant King: 14, 45/50 HP (1/4 1st, 1/3 2nd, 0/3 3rd, 1/2 4th)
• Vesuvia: 10, 28/34 HP (1/4 1st, 1/3 2nd, 1/3 3rd, 0/2 4th)
• The Dealer: 22, 28/50 HP (4/4 1st, 2/2 2nd)
• Chief Gondr: 17 (0/120 HP, (4/4 1st, 2/3 2nd, 2/2 3rd)

Round 1

• The Dealer: Tosses a Ten, dealing 15 radiant damage to the Chief
• Chief Gondr: Using Bruknuk's Bone Axe, he leaps forward and cleaves at the Dealer, missing once but hitting the other with a 2nd level Smite, dealing 10 radiant/7 slashing (17 total) to the squishier fighter. The Chief then looks at the rest of the group, saying "Justice will prevail as the heavens cast their judgement on your CRIMINALS!!"
• Ant King: Since the ceiling was tall, Ant King mockingly shouted "Here's some judgement from the heavens!" and launched some Call Lightning (3rd level) onto the Chief, dealing 12 lightning to the self righteous Chief
• Vesuvia: "Justice? Criminals? What about justice for the criminal cops that killed my FAMILY?!" She shouts as she runs up and smacks the dickhead with her Fire Stoker, casting Melt (4th level) and dealing 35 fire damage to the hypocritical prick. The chief's flesh becomes gooey, and he struggles with fear at his miscomings
• Bruknuk: Still frenzied since he never stopped fighting, Bruknuk sees the pathetic cop queen wielding his favorite axe, the axe Bruknuk crafted himself from the bones of his abusive ogre father. He looses it, wailing 3 times. The Chief of Pricks stumbles, his melty form not having much left.
• Morgoth: Excited for taking the last strike, he looks his fellow paladin in the yes. "I use to think like you, back when I was a naive fool. I believed in justice, I believed in the law. But now I know the truth. The law brings no justice, only corruption and pain for those not in power. And those who represent the law are liars and criminals, with only one fate awaiting them. Pronoxus has the answers; yours is a divine DEATH!" He reaches back with his axe and, with Great Weapon Master, swings at his gooey adversary. He adds a 2nd level Divine Smite to further drive in his point, dealing 9 slashing/17 demonic radiant (26 total) to cleave through the Chief's clavical. His upper body slides off his lower body as he sheds a divine tear, having upheld his oath to his final pathetic breath. Bruknuk claims his axe, Morgoth absorbs the demonic smoke he emitted, the Dealer loots the office, Vesuvia cries with relief over her moment of vengeance, and the Ant King doesn't feel much beyond satisfaction at protecting his ants.

Aftermath

  The Knights of Anarchy use their magic & the various tools at their disposal to set fire to the Szuvaki Guard Department HQ building. The guards remaining in the city rush to this beacon of anarchy, but are easily dspatched by Morgoth & Bruknuk at the 5 walk calmly to the town gate. Vesuvia burns everything she can along the way, truly embracing her power and vengeance against society. Bruknuk rips guards in half and eats their limbs, torsos or heads to kill them, acting like the vicious beast he is. Ant King summons swarms of bugs to terrorize the guards who came to him, even allowing his pets to eat some townsfolk. The Dealer doesn't partake, as he realizes this level of genocide isn't exactly what he signed up for. In this moment, the group embraces what they are & what they accomplished today.
After making it out of the town, the Ant King chooses to embrace this life of societal destruction, as he has peaked in ruling bug kingdoms. Antrovius, Morgoth, Vesuvia & Bruknuk realize that they can accomplish alot together, choosing to become a mercenary team that liberates settlements of their oppressive law enforcement agencies. The Dealer, seeing an opportunity for consistent income after the riches he looted off of the Szuvaki Police, decides to stick around. The others agree, as his charismatic tactics & magical gadgets would both be of great use to them. Together, the four walk off into the distance, seeking their next job in the vast expanse of Dalterra.
Total XP Earned: 5,375 XP
KoA Chapter 4 is a crossover with GaioCorp Chapter 9, and takes place 1 year after the end of this chapter.