As we entered the city, we realised that there was very little movement or activity to be seen as we passed street after street. There were bodies to be seen laying scattered in doorways and in the roads. Many were unconscious, barely alive, others were beyond all help. Many of the bodies were covered in a thick layer of slime which smelled noxious, we decided it would be better not to get too close to these until we knew what was happening. Lucy, the Halfling we had met on the way back into town, had sent her Raven aloft to scout out the area. The news he sent his mistress was alarming. The southern half of the city had been attacked, no-one was seen moving around, bodies were scattered everywhere.
Sam Taskil, the cleric, and Lucy stayed in the southern part of the city to do what they could for the injured, and also to make sure that nothing could followed us.
We made our way cautiously up to the council building, Captain Fotheray was most insistent that we check that the council members were safe. (I know he was only doing his job, but we had friends in the university)
As we entered the council building's outer corridor, we ran into four of the creatures. Several arrows were loosed from members of the party, but most bounced off the creatures rubbery looking, slime coated skin. Unfortunately, one of the arrows which bounced hit a council member at the end of the corridor, impaling him through the throat. Those which didn't, seemed to have little or no effect. Uruk attacked the nearest creature with his sword, only to have his sword start to steam and melt in front of his eyes. As the creatures recovered form the surprise, they began to attack. Whoever they caught with their sharp claws and teeth screamed with pain as acid burned into their flesh, Legolascarn fell to the floor, mortally wounded. Hollis used the powers of the land to attack the creatures, sending a creeping cold wave towards the nearest of the creatures. As it hit, the creature began to scream. The noise was terrifying. One by one, members of the party covered their ears and cringed from the sound. Even with our ears covered the sound had a strange penetrating quality, my ears began to hurt with a terrible pain and I ran from the building, ears bleeding.
As I ran towards the university I ran into Sauron and a couple of people I didn't know. They introduced themselves as Gothmog, a ranger; Saewyntmbus, a cleric and Amras, a wizard. We did a quick search of the university to see if we could find powder and shot for the two cannons outside the doors, but realised we would never find them in time to help our friends. We headed off back towards the council chambers armed with a hasty plan to at least imobilise the creatures so we could pick them off.
When we returned we found that there were now more frogs than before, they had materialised out of thin air, one of the party told me aftrwards, one of the other creatures appeared to have some magical talents. Gothmog caused the ground to rear up and vines to creep out to entangle everything in the vicinity. I then summoned two narga captains to aid us. The first narga took out the first frog creature in a blinding swirl of gracefully arcing blades. As the creature fell to the floor, it caught the narga with it's gaze. The narga instantly turned to stone.
The second narga was swiftly aproaching the second frog creature, and also the one with magic, he was beginning to glow with a faint blue light. The narga quickly dispatched him and as he fell to the floor, the remaining frog creatures disappeared. Gothmog, being nimbler than the rest of us, started picking his way through the vines towards the council chambers, to see if anyone was left alive.
In the meantime Amras had found an axe on the wall and was clearing a path through the vines, towards the university.
As Gothmog neared the door of the council chamber, he ran into a white robed man, a bloody dagger in hand, coming from the council chamber itself. He said that their was no-one left alive in there.
When we asked him why he was there, he replied that he was on business. He declined to illuminate further. I invited him to join us in some refreshment and he introduced himself as Kalen. After a quick search of the staffroom at the university, we found a notice, referring to a party at Grim's Tavern for the senior university staff. We decided to head over there to let them know what had happened.
On the way over to the tavern we ran into an aprentice from the university, we sent him to find as many healers as possible to go and aid Sam Taskil and Lucy in the southern part of the city. I also accosted a guard and told him about Grishnakh being tied up at the city gate. He promised to put him in the most secure cell until we could go down to the barracks to sort him out.