DCC Campaign Update: Bad Choices Edition

In this past adventure, the PCs unexpectedly encountered:

-a highly successful Phylactery Spell, only to have the elf who cast it left wondering where to safely put his new-made soul-crystal.

-the first of a series of bad choices, the elf handing over his phylactery to his ultra-powerful ultra-selfish archmage patron. 

-in the second in a series of bad choices, the other elf faking his way into the Azure Order.

-the order sending its newly-made member off to investigate reports of woodland animals acting in strange and violent ways, driving out the local mutant communities.

-An encounter with a frantic Brown Mutant, the last of his tribe not to have fled or died at the hands of the Crazy Forest Druid's army of woodland mammals, plus one duck.

-After brief initial skepticism, confirmation of the woodland terror when the party is set upon by a highly organized guerrilla assault from vicious Electro-Squirrels, even as the party's horses go out of control... well, their riders' control, at least.

-the frightening possibility of being total-party-killed by a bunch of squirrels.

-the one PC who fled the scene ending up facing a beret-wearing Revolutionary Bear.

-said PC fortunately remembering the old adage about playing dead when confronted with a bear.

-said PC unfortunately committing the third bad choice of the night, choosing to forget the prior adage to try to use Chill Touch, to little effect... other than being beaten unconscious by the guerrilla bear.

-the fortunate survival of the rest of the party, meanwhile, thanks to the timely application of the Pythian Sword's Sonic Blast.

-the group's luck running out when the party suffers a surprise attack from Ninja Badgers.

-in the fourth of a series of bad choices, the elf taking up the Pythian sword from the slain human wizard, the ultra intelligent mind-controlling sword that he already knew despised rogue Daemons and chaos wizards.

-said sword then manipulating the elf, through a freely-taken magical oath (in what constitutes bad choice of the night number 5) to try to go find and kill the elf's patron, a rogue daemon chaos wizard... the very same one that has the elf's soul in a gem.

-a planewalk to said patron's personal domain, in what might almost certainly have been a very fatal bad choice, were it not that the luckiest fumble of all time freed the elf just long enough for his Patron not to have to destroy him utterly.

-the patron granting forgiveness, in the most asshole-ish way possible, through a binding geas on his elf-servant, sending him on what may well be a suicide mission. 

-in relation to the same, the shocking news that the Daemon Mistress of All Dragons, Tiamat, is apparently mortally wounded in her own lair, assaulted by some powerful and terrible entity from the void beyond the limits of the universe.

-the geas mission, to be resolved as soon as possible (which is to say, after the Crazy Druid and his revolutionary army of Anarcho-Syndicalist Woodland Animals are defeated), consisting in destroying whatever attacked Tiamat... and then also destroying Tiamat.

-meanwhile, the other elf, now a prisoner (with a few others) of the Crazy Druid, finding that the Druid is controlling the woodland creatures through a strange and terrible mammal-controlling gem that he has had bio-implanted right into his chest. 

-noting that the duck, however, is not controlled (not being a mammal).  He is out to start a humanoid-animal apocalyptic war for his own sinister purposes.

-in the sixth really bad decision of the night, the prisoner-elf deciding to use his time to make a bond with a totally random patron.

-getting the Lord of All Flesh as said Patron, partly due to his membership in the azure order; which, it should be remembered, was done only as an opportunistic act of fraud.

-the rescue mission conducted by the Azure Order, where perhaps for the first time the PCs see what the Azure wizards are really capable of, with just a dozen of them taking on an entire army of vicious wolf shock troops, badger ninjas, beaver engineers, electro-squirrels, guerilla bears, and, of course, the Evil Duck.

-an epic escape from woodland custody, where salvation comes only when the Azure wizard Leandra (with the help of her sorcery, and her laser sword) takes down the Crazy Druid and shatters his hold over the forest animals.

-the apparently resolution of this week's crisis, with no one still alive having been left without at least some regrets.

-a shocking and terrifying denouement, after everyone thought all the horror was over, of a vicious night assault from the Evil Duck, who had survived his Druid ally's death and came after the PCs in a mission of vengeance.

-the conclusion that Ducks are the total assholes of the animal world.

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