Aerois - Episode 152: The Silent Killer

Katie Morrison as Aila

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**The Silent Killer** is the 152nd episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on the highrollersdnd Twitch channel, and hosted on the Yogscast Twitch channel, on 3rd July 2022 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The team try to combat an unseen enemy in the jungles of Jakkesh!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players. Rhi is away this week "watching the vroom vrooms".
* The sponsor this week is D&D in a Castle and there was a special video played that Mark made. Mark's table is full this year but they are taking bookings for 2023 already.
* It is Aerois' 4th birthday this week.
* High Rollers is on TikTok - there is a special re-recording of the "Chug Jug of Holding" by DM Mark.
* Don't forget to subscribe on Twitch, use your Prime sub, join the Patreon.

### **Recap**

*"Having survived the seemingly endless hordes at the Guardians' abandoned outpost, the party have made their way deeper into the jungles of Jakkesh and learned of the plight faced by the Guardians they sent here to locate Nightbloom Hold, and the breach point into Kellara's demi-plane. Something has been stalking them, slowly whittling down their numbers, infecting them with some sort of disease and sickness. The Guardian commander, Hotshot, returned with even more bad news: The Stalker had pursued her and her specialist team from their mission to destroy something called a 'Rot Heart', and would arrive shortly.*
*The party, low on magical energy and still wounded, only had time for a short rest before they had to press on. Choosing to send the injured scouts back, taking only a few of Hotshot's specialists with them, the party have tried to make their way through the jungles, but their poor attempts to use stealth have drawn the attention of more undead hive, and more importantly, The Stalker, who has ambushed them. Hidden by camouflage and talented in stealth, this marksman has pinned the party down and things don't look good."*
### **Part 1**

*The team try to combat an unseen enemy in the jungles of Jakkesh!*

The party is currently in a dense, wooded jungle that is covered by a supernatural gloom, rendering it practically dark. Quill has cast *Locate Creature* which allows him to indicate the direction of The Stalker, and a disembodied voice has come from the now dead Tinker, whose body is slowly being covered in mould, fungus, and moss. The message they received was from The Stalker, indicating that their struggle was pointless and that they should just allow The Stalker to kill them.

Aila moves to where Quill has told her The Stalker is and attempts to track it but fails – she swings wildly and releases her lightning aura, but nothing is hit in the area. The remaining minions run into the frigid air at the back of the *Wall of Ice*, begin to frost up and eventually shatter. Tiangong moves into the nearby forest but cannot detect anything, Nova then asks Hotshot to aim her arms towards The Stalker if it is seen. Sentry moves to Quill and rips through the tether between Tinker and Quill. The same disembodied voice comes from Tinker’s husk, “Well, you may have bought yourself some time, but it won’t be of much use, I’m afraid.”

Quill tells Aila roughly where he thinks The Stalker is then summons Elder Quill to hold *Beacon of Hope*. Shade moves to the south, both trying to find The Stalker and on the off chance that he can draw fire to reveal The Stalker’s location. Tinker’s corpse speaks once more, “I did not think that you would send anyone out to try and die. The Guardians matter very little – I am not here for them.”

Lucius casts a *Vitriolic Sphere* just away from Aila, coating the vegetation in acid but not catching anything living. Protector makes his way back to the party, tries to detect The Stalker, but fails. Aila and Shade hear the whistle of arrows towards them and Aila catches a quick glimpse of The Stalker through the trees.

Aila makes out a shaped hood covering Elven ears that then drops to cover their shoulders, it is covered in moss, fungus, and mould. The Stalker wears stained, soiled leather armour with the faint outlines of a lantern and ebon rose, and a green cloak.

Aila is hit by an arrow covered in spores and an oozing, ichorous liquid that starts to make her arm go numb, but she manages to resist the poison covering the barb. Shade takes a serious hit, from his arrow and stumbles. The Stalker then vanishes, but Quill can sense that it is moving to the south; Aila follows, swinging her hammer and releasing her lightning aura but hits nothing.

Quill hears a voice, “Not close enough, I’m afraid. I’m surprised, Kellara thought I would only slow you down. She did not believe I could actually kill you. Perhaps I will prove her wrong.”

Nova, already blinded, is now starting to feel terrible; she is sweating, nauseous, and her hearing is beginning to be muffled. Sentry heals Nova then successfully tracks The Stalker, and they ask Shade to hide which he does. Quill prepares to launch a *Guiding Bolt* at The Stalker if it appears again then tries to see if he can spot it – which he does – The Stalker is behind Shade! He shoots his *Guiding Bolt,* and the outline of The Stalker is revealed: a feminine-looking Elven form dressed in muddy, fungus-covered leather and a peaked hood. Protector aims Nova in the right direction, and she shoots The Stalker with a barrage of *Eldritch Blasts.* Hotshot moves forwards and hits The Stalker with her arm cannon.

The Stalker reacts by throwing something on the ground and an area 30 feet around them starts to fill with spores. Lucius drops the *Wall of Ice,* throws a *Vitriolic Sphere*, melting away a number of the spores and covering The Stalker in acid – part of their cloak falls away revealing a tragic sight: a Wild Elf whose body is riddled with plague and disease, their hair has fallen out, their skin has turned pallid yellow and is encrusted with growths, boils, and sores. They seem to catch their breath after being hit so many times, so quickly, then start laughing. As the acid burns it away, The Stalker flicks off the cape and all of the remaining acid off them. They speak again, this time using their own voice which is soft but stern, “Well, you found me. Unfortunately, it won’t matter, even if you kill me. She’ll just grow me a new body and send me back to continue this for another day. But…” and saying the last they see Lucius and Quill lined up and launch an arrow with a long piece of sinew attached. Quill is punctured with the sinew, but Lucius manages to dodge the attack.

The Stalker brings waves their hand up near their face as if calling a wind – Nova feels as if spores are driven from her body and carried on a wind from behind her towards Lucius who coughs and spits out whatever he has accidentally ingested until he is fine. The Stalker then moves back into the spore-covered ground and takes cover behind a tree. Aila uses her hammer to fly to The Stalker and smacks them with hammer and lightning – Aila hears The Stalker’s leg snap as it is broken, but they just looks down at it, irritated. The Stalker ducks under Aila’s second strike but takes a lightning blast to the face – Aila sees that underneath all the boils and sores, that The Stalker is clearly a Wild Elf, but not of a clan that she recognises. “It’s fitting,” says The Stalker to Aila, “…fitting that you should probably be the one to finish this.” Aila tells The Stalker that while she does not relish the thought of it, that The Stalker has destroyed a lot of her friends and asks her why they have done it. The Stalker tells Aila that it is not through choice but that they are bound, body and soul, and must do what “she” asks.

Aila asks how they would free The Stalker, but The Stalker does not know - one option is defeating Kellara: even if they manage to do that, The Stalker says that this will not the last that they will see of them because Kellara will just re-grow them a new body and put them back to spread more misery and death “as she has with the other three”.

Nova tries to blast The Stalker with her eldritch magic, but the cover is too good, and the blasts hit the tree in front of The Stalker. Sentry heals Quill and prepares to protect them in the event of an attack. Shade moves towards the group, out of the poisonous ground.

The Stalker apologises to Aila saying that they were told to slow the party down, and then pulls their bow close to their body – all the foetid ground that they are standing on, and their half-burnt cloak, begin to create sap as they start to form a foetid cocoon of filth and biomass around them. Quill flies around and hits the cocoon with a *Sacred Flame*, the radiant nature of which burns away at it and causes it to spew poison in Aila’s direction when it is hit, then puts *Shield of Faith* on himself. Lucius hurls a radiant *Chromatic Orb* at the cocoon burning half of it away and again injuring the nearby Aila.

They cannot see what The Stalker is doing inside the cocoon, but the body of Tinker speaks once more with their voice, “If you do manage to kill me and make it to the fort, if you do manage to make it past the others, I do sincerely hope that you can bring this madness to an end. I don’t relish being used as this carrier of death.” They then call the wind to try to affect Lucius with the poisonous spores, but he is too strong and avoids the effect. Aila slams her hammer into the cocoon twice, causing it to crack and almost break – the lightning seems to be largely absorbed, however, so she flies back towards Quill, away from the poisoning effects of the cocoon. Nova teleports close to the cocoon, but being unable to see, can do little else. Sentry dashes towards the cocoon, ending up ten feet away from it.

The cocoon suddenly explodes, poisoning both Sentry and Nova but removing the disgusting and terrain that had been created. The Stalker emerges, apparently unhealed, but now with insectoid wings emerging from their back; they fly 30-feet into the air. Quill casts *Guiding Bolt* in The Stalker’s direction but it sails past their flying form as the new wings fly them out of the way. Hotshot shoots with her arm cannon but also misses. Lucius uses his last *Chromatic Orb* to try to hit The Stalker, but they also avoid it. The Stalker pulls out their bow, saying sadly that they must do what Kellara demands, shooting at Quill, who avoids the first shot but takes the second via Elder Quill. The Stalker makes one last attack, firing with uncanny accuracy, shooting him in the chest and causing the ground around him to grow with fungi and spores: Quill falls to the ground, unconscious.

### **Part 2**

*Tired, weary and running low on supplies the team rush for safety in the dangerous lands of Jakkesh!*

Aila uses her hammer to fly up to The Stalker and lands two mighty blows on her, also zapping her with lightning, and although The Stalker appears to be badly bruised and battered, they do not appear to be bleeding, instead a black, ichorous, sap-like substance is running from the wounds.

Shade dashes forward and throws his blade at the flying creature, impaling them in the shoulder. Nova manages, even though blinded, to strike The Stalker twice with *Eldritch Blasts*, and the rest notice a look of resignation cross The Stalker’s unmasked face as she smiles a soft smile and tells the party that they will see them all very soon. Nova calls on Hotshot to blast The Stalker with her arm cannon who blasts The Stalker, dedicating the wound caused to her squad.

Sentry, not being within range of the unconscious Quill, harnesses her divine power, *Misty Steps* to The Stalker, thrusts Starbreaker into the centre of The Stalker’s body then drives it into the ground as she falls back down. When Sentry lands, they see that The Stalker’s body has been ripped in two – their legs are several feet to the south and the rest of the body is still impaled on Starbreaker as it sticks into the ground. The Stalker maintains a moment of consciousness saying, “Good luck, I’ll see you at the fort. You’ve at least earned my respect if that means anything. Serrise Fairwind will perhaps, one day, know peace.” The body, the bow, and the cloak immediately begin to rot and turn into mulch and melt into the ground. Lucius tries to stabilise Quill but fails, so Aila flies back down and feeds him a potion, bringing him back around.

For a moment, the stillness of Gravebloom Valley is a comfort – there is no sound of undead, and the threat of The Stalker has, for now, been alleviated. Hotshot attends to Shade and Protector looks to Quill; Nova is still blinded with milky white, infected eyes and she feels distinctly unwell with some unknown disease. Nova is confused like her brain is on fire, her hearing is muffled as if she is underwater, and people need to be right next to her for her to hear them.

Quill wonders if they should return to the Stormchaser to rest up but Hotshot points out that the reason that they had the outpost was the difficulty with bringing teams in due to the thick jungle, ravines, and rivers: if they are going to rest, it will have to be in the jungle. Sentry is reluctant to bring Tinker’s soul into the Prime Matrix given that Nova’s disease is still present (and there are signs of it still on Tinker), she does not wish to risk infecting the Prime Matrix with it. She suggests that they take the body with them (being careful not to touch it) in the hopes that eventually, the soul can be saved – she suggests dragging the body behind them, but Aila is concerned that this will leave a trail and Hotshot agrees, telling Sentry that she has lost many soldiers. Sentry takes a moment to make a marker, suggesting that she will return to Tinker’s body one day.

They travel for an hour before Quill finds a huge hollowed out tree with a cavernous structure formed by a dug-out section under the tree roots. Tiangong uses *Creation* to make vines and other vegetable matter that is used to hide the entrances to the hideout.

The party makes camp and Hotshot tells them that they are about four hours away from Nightbloom Hold. They discuss their plans and consider how strong radiant damage has been against the undead and The Stalker, but they were also told to trust in the light of Kellara’s lantern. Protector tells them that Nightbloom Hold is full of hive undead, especially in the grounds outside. There is a walled keep on a hill with a large tree at the centre of it, a Rot Heart, that is what they think controls the undead and gives them their intelligence. Inside the walls are several buildings, and there are living foot soldiers, friars, and monks. While they have not seen the knights, there are reports of them wearing black plate armour and carrying two-handed swords (zweihänders), using powerful necrotic magic, and controlling the undead.

There have been other reports of a similar knight, a Half-Orc woman who was wearing blackened armour that almost looked like it was on fire, cracked with reddened metal, believed to be an absolute fury of warfare, carnage unleashed. It is thought that she can summon weapons from thin air, can break weapons when struck, and seems to have appeared when the other knights were struggling. They think that this other knight may be equal in power to The Stalker.

An analysis of The Stalker’s tactics in the recent battle has shown them something significant: its ability to hide seemed to become more difficult for it as the battle went on, so the suggestion is to concentrate on defence for the first few moments, then to concentrate attacks because it seems to be most dangerous coming out of an ambush. Furthermore, it did not seem to be particularly hardy against straight melee attacks.

Quill looks at Nova and believes that the disease that is affecting her is non-magical in nature. They should be able to return her to health in the morning after a rest. The camp beds down for the night and the party takes a well-earned rest.

About two hours into Aila’s watch, Hotshot and Protector come to her to advise her that there are undead nearby and coming their way, although there is no sign of The Stalker as yet. Protector tells Aila that because they all need rest, he will lure them away from the campsite. Aila initially disputes this but eventually realises that his sacrifice is necessary – she tells Protector that they will scour the woods for him to find him once they are done and return him to the Matrix. Protector is touched – he had not expected such a sentiment from a non-Guardian. Aila watches Protector stealth out into the jungle as the rest of the party rests, oblivious to his sacrifice.

As Lucius finishes his trance and the rest begin to waken from sleep, he gets a message from Oriya through the messenger ring asking if all is well because she has not heard from them. Valla is worried and has been waiting for their signal. Lucius tells Oriya that they may have to destroy a “big tree”, but she says that the darkness over the jungle is getting worse, she has no idea where they are or where the hold is – unless they can signal somehow, the Stormchaser may be useless to them. She asks Lucius to get navigation coordinates for them from Quill. Oriya tells Lucius that scrying and sending spells have not been effective, but that Valla thinks that she has a way to communicate with them briefly if and when it is necessary.

Sentry uses her *Lay on Hands* to remove the disease that is blinding and weakening Nova. Hotshot prepares them to move when Sentry notices Protector’s absence – Lucius asks if they are out on patrol: Hotshot looks at Aila then confirms that that is the case and says that they will meet the party at the keep. Everyone believes this except Quill who is uncertain of Hotshot, but then sees Aila’s discomfort, and she later confirms to him what has happened: because this would be devastating to Sentry, Quill says nothing to her about it.

Quill considers whether to ask the Eye about the other three knights. Sentry thinks it odd that The Stalker seemed not to be doing what she was doing and thinks that information that might be able to free or help them may be of assistance. Quill thinks he should ask what The Stalker was and both Lucius and Nova recall the term “Grief Knights” being used to describe them. Nova thinks that within the holy order of knights there would be a command structure: Knight Commanders, regular Knights, Squires, and so on. She thinks that the question, “Who are the Knight Commanders of the Order of the Blackened Rose” might reveal information about who they are or were.

Quill asks the Eye of the Storm, “How do the four Knight Commanders of the Order of the Blackened Rose fight?”

*The Eye turns to mist and fog and for the first time, Quill sees something he’s not seen before, the vision is split into two, as if watching two visions simultaneously.*

*The first that he witnesses is a Wild Elf, a familiar Wild Elf that he has seen before, in two forms. In one vision, she appears as a Wild Elf with brown, braided hair dressed in the black tabard and black leather armour of the Order of the Blackened Rose. She accompanies the other knights as a master archer, leading squires in volleys of arrows against undead creatures risen up through some foul act. Heroically and bravely, she is a huntress, but there is also a trepidation, she avoids the front lines. There is a fear that Quill senses, a past shame, a cowardice that once cost her dearly. And then, in the other vision, as if something divides your sight in two, perfectly, Quill sees The Stalker. A name comes to mind, you heard Serrise Fairwind, now you know her as the Grief Knight of Plagues, bringer of pestilence, able to fire arrows that conjure disease and spread poisons. A master of camouflage, of hiding, that cowardice, the sickness within her own body made manifest.*

*The next vision: Quill sees a bold, strong Half Orc woman. Burly muscles, decked in plate armour, carrying what almost appears to be a barrel on her back, full of weapons collected from battles and duels won. Dozens of them. She moves around the battlefield, inspiring her fellow knights and squires, taking on the biggest undead threats that the Order of the Blackened Rose seeks to eliminate. She defends the innocent and laughs and jokes and makes light of her victories, lifting up trophies she’s claimed in battle. In the other vision, this one you do not know the name, but you know that they’ve taken on the title of Grief Knight of War. They have swollen in size, gaining strength and durability. Their armour is almost breaking in points but where the fractures form, instead hot fire and steam begin to emanate from the blackened charcoaled skin beneath that is now encased in steel. Able to summon weapons to her side to fit whatever needs are required, she is indomitable. Blows deal less damage, but also ill-timed strikes, novice strikes that are easy and clumsy to avoid, she brings her own weapons down, damaging them, sometimes breaking them.*

*The next vision Quill sees is of a well-dressed Ember Elf wearing breastplate appearing almost like a priest. His bald head, studded with various diamonds and the shape of a moon around their forehead. They conjure great divine magics, again annihilating the undead with blasts of radiant energy and conjuring the elements when they defended life as a servant of Kellara, as a true Knight of the Blackened Rose. In the other vision, Quill sees the Grief Knight of Famine. Now that light that they once summoned has turned into cold frost, one arm completely encased in blackened ice. They emanate an aura of frigid death around them, and they are able to consume life… magic… hope.*

*Finally, Quill sees a figure. A noble Human man. Older but no less regal in his appearance. This is clearly the Commander of the Order of the Blackened Rose, bedecked in the most ornate, beautiful plate armour you’ve seen before. Inscribed with stylised roses and the cycle of life built into their very armour itself. Greying thin hair pulled back, but they are a legendary figure, like something from a storybook as they direct their knights and they mount a horse and parade through the streets to cheers and cries of life. In the other vision, they ride a skeletal steed. Its eyes glowing with blue flames. His visage is gaunt... haunted... eyes sunken, black. His sword arm, now a skeletal hand, as it clutches a blackened, silver scythe at his side(see Trivia). Undead, skeletal creatures swarm around him, powered by his mere presence but also spirits cling to the ground around him as Quill sees the Knight Commander, the Grief Knight of Death itself.*

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro
0:08:27 - Dun Duns
0:09:25 - Part 1
1:40:25 - Part 2

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Nova V'ger
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry (played by Mark, run by Tom in combat)

#### **New NPCs**

* Grief Knight of War
* Grief Knight of Famine
* Grief Knight of Death

#### **Returning NPCs**

* The Stalker
* Hotshot
* Shade
* Protector

## **Featured Locations**

* Jakkesh
	+ Jungles

## **Trivia**

* Mark told the players that they could always stop to make a skill check, and that if they felt that their odds of winning were not good, that they could also choose to try to escape. Running from a battle will cost them an exhaustion level, but certain circumstances will cost them more exhaustion levels: Quill, being tethered to Tinker, cannot run unless someone carries Tinker, but doing so would cost them an extra exhaustion level. If someone is diseased or poison, that would cost them another exhaustion level.
* Mark allowed Aila to make perception checks as a bonus action to see if she knows where The Stalker is because of her Outlander background. He also made a change to last week: because The Stalker is not invisible but just using natural camouflage, the party can use a survival check (instead of perception) to track the creature: this will give them (individually) a stacking +2 bonus to perception checks to track it down (although it is a fairly high DC at 17).
* Mark had to warn them that he was about to open a can so that this didn’t happen again.
* Tiangong is an extension of Nova for the purpose of weapon attacks but cannot cast spells.
* The Stalker’s AC is 21.
* Saving against The Stalker’s poison effect takes a constitution saving throw of 19.
* The Stalker
	+ Legendary action – foetid cocoon – becomes engulfed in an egg-like sphere of sap and biomass. When damaged, the cocoon will shoot poison at nearby creatures doing ?d? (Mark rolled 18, and did 23 poison damage to Aila on the first attack, and 7 points on the second – 2d10?) damage to them. Mark describes the cocoon as being spongy and organic “like the eggs in Aliens but almost translucent and covered in pustules, boils, and fungus. It’s gross.”
	+ Legendary action – create poisoned/difficult terrain – throws an object to the ground causing a 30-foot radius of mould, spores, and poison – the area is counted as difficult terrain and anyone within it must make a constitution saving throw against poison.
	+ Legendary action – grow wings and fly away – does not provoke an attack of opportunity
* Mark rolls a nat 20 on The Stalker’s last arrow shot at Quill before the break, doing 102 points of poison damage. 151 would have been enough for an outright death.
* Shade normally has +8 to attack rolls. When hidden, he has +14. Normal weapon damage is 2d6+4, when hidden he does an additional 6d6.
* Because Nova is blinded, her spell attacks are at disadvantage. Because Tiangong can see, her melee attacks would be unaffected, however.
* Hotshot’s damage from her arm cannon is 2d10+5.
* While Nova is swaying and unwell on her feet, Lucius asks her about whether food created with Tiangong’s *Creation* spell would sate him. Kim threatens to throw up on his feet. Mark answers as Tiangong, yes, but there are other easier methods of creating food.
* In the vision of the Knight of Death, Quill originally saw him with a longsword clutched at his side. Mark changed this just after the vision to make it a scythe on his back.

## **Quotes**

* **Ooh, Matron!** (Link)
**Tom**: Alreet, want a bit of slap and spit?
**Trott**: I'd love a bit of slap and spit!

* **The party has to make stealth checks to hide at the tree.**
**Katie**: 18
**Mark**: The DC isn’t as high because of the great spot that Quill found, and you’ve already got one success.
**Tom**: Well, Sentry gets an 8. I get a 6.
**Katie**: Oh my god.
**Trott**: 9
**Katie**: WHY?
**Tom**: How are we so bad at stealth?
**Katie**: This is how we’re going to TPK, because of stealth.
**Tom**: We consistently are just garbage at stealth.
**Trott**: Lucius sets off another forest fire.