The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign

Now, your efforts will allow me to finalise my plans; as I discussed earlier with you, I hope you will play a part in my strategy.”

He took us to one of the tables, which showed a detailed map of the approaches to Gallo’s Fend. It was remarkable.

“The enemy can only come at us through one route and we both know this. Therefore, we have placed siege weapons at specific points – here, here, here and here - that will allow me to control the point where we will engage the enemy. Once engaged, we plan to pen them there and attack with archers and crossbowmen. Although it will not be possible to stop their forces there, they will be badly mauled by running through this gauntlet. We will be deploying our forces here, in a line just southeast of Markhold and Wicked Hill; it is close enough to our rear echelons that we can rotate damaged units. Each section of the line will be commanded by an experienced officer and the orders are simple: None Shall Pass!

Commander Hertiage will be in command of one of the sections of this line and you will be part of his forces. Apart from yourselves, these will consist of two chaplains, thirty two combat soldiers and two mages from Lady Timor’s contingent; you will also be given this.”

He produced a little device; it was difficult to describe. I had never seen anything like it before.
“I have been told this is called a thumper; you can use it once and if you do, it will draw the attention of an elemental ally, an elder xorn, Tupof Dzequifs. This ally can travel underground and fight for you, should you need him.

Now as for what we have been able to find out: the enemy forces are led by Konigsmarshall Malkan, who is under the supervision of Advisor Nina Glibglamer. There is also a magical contingent led by a war wizard, Kelkin Thravanvost, who has been trained in Gabal’s School of arcane tactics, whatever that means. Their troops number roughly ten thousand but there are also a number of non-human mercenaries in their forces, including monsters.

Finally, intelligence is still being gathered so in the next few days we may have an opportunity to strike some preliminary blows at the enemy. I hope that you will consider these opportunities as they become apparent.”

Without thinking, I had wondered over to the map where I saw what I presumed was going to be the deployment of the Duke’s forces; or at least some of them. I looked at the map for a time and then I began talking to myself, lost in the topography:

“Let’s see: first of all, it would be good to find out about the enemy commanders, this Kelkin Thravanvost, Koningsmarshall Malkan and finally exactly what Nina Glibglamer is actually doing here; just observing or actually supervising? Then, trying to work out their logistics would also be good; ten thousand men need an awful lot of food, supplies, weapons and other things; where would he put their supply train? Then, monstrous allies were mentioned: I wonder just what those are? Are there any more sphinxes around…..?”

Suddenly, I realised that everyone, the Duke, his advisors and the rest of my friends, had stopped talking; and they were all staring at me, including the Duke. He cleared his throat and said:

“Those are all very good questions and it is good to see you are thinking. We have answers to some of them but others are still unknown. Rest assured that in good time, you will be told all that we know. Now, may I have my map back please? We need to get back to our planning and you need to get some rest.”

A little embarrassed, I joined the others and we all left the war room. As soon as we did, John burst into laughter and Longhelim just looked at me and shook his head:

“I cannot believe you just did that; were you really giving lessons in battle planning to Duke Gallo?”

No one understood: “I wasn’t giving him lessons in anything. I just looked at the map and began thinking about all the questions I would want to know. Look, we are just about to risk our life for this place in a battle that is really nothing to do with us. The only reason we are involved is because we believe that the Ragesians are engineering this and if they are, then by definition it will be bad for Gate Pass and Seaquen. So, if we are taking this risk, then I think that forewarned is forearmed.”

Longhelim just smiled.

“Well, it looked as if you were bombarding him with questions while you were in the war room; that’s why everyone stopped talking.”

John interrupted: “I thought that his staff was going to have collective apoplexy. There was this little dwarf wizard, mumbling to himself while looking at the map and muttering all the questions that they were wanting to ask but didn’t dare; and it was obvious that others hadn’t even thought of them. Faden, that is just……so you.”

Victor did join in then: “Some of them were good questions. I would have liked to have received the answer to them as well.”

Even Drudge spoke up; both he and Victor usually let the others do that talking: “Yes, I would have liked to know if there are sphinxes in that approaching army. I have a little matter to settle with those flying flea bags after Bresk.

So, speculating on the answers, we made our way to our temporary house and settled down for the night.

The next day, I decided to devote to the scholarship of magic; I had a good breakfast, took out my books, ink vials, quills and the spell book which we obtained from Ivellios the mad magician of the steam tunnels under Seaquen. There were several spells which I wanted to copy and now seemed a good time to do so. The others were going to leave and have a look around; possibly help with war preparations if they could.

I also memorized several spells which would allow me to find out more about the magical items which we had taken from the Ragesian war party in the watchtower. Thus the day passed quickly as I first performed the item research and then lost myself in the formulae written by Ivellios. The man wrote in a very strange way; probably something to do with being mad. Anyway, before I knew it, the day had finished and the others were returning and filling the house with noise.

As we sat down to dinner, the others told me what was going on outside. They had all had spent the day drilling and practicing with the troops and others; Gallo, wisely, was exercising his troops incessantly. Both Longhelim and Victor, while experienced warriors in our group, knew that this would be the first time that they would participate in a large battle; therefore, they had all joined in the exercises, eager to learn as much as they could; their survival could hinge on these drills. These were not just drills in fighting but also in movement, order recognition and speed of reaction to commands. Hertiage was going to be our commander and as Longhelim said:

“So, when Hertiage shouts – Victor – front and centre – it would help if we knew what that actually meant. We do now.”

I looked at him blankly and said: “Good, because you can explain it to me then.”

Longhelim continued: “We also met the other members in Hertiage’s command; the chaplains, war mages and soldiers. They’re a good bunch. We will be proud to stand with them.”

“Any news of Steppengaard’s troops?”

“No,” was the reply, “but no doubt Gallo’s spies are busily ferreting around.”

I grunted: “Well, I am going to bed. I had a long day and my head is buzzing with magical script; and will also be tomorrow as well.”

The next day was a repetition of the previous one and I managed to transfer another spell into my book. That evening, when the others returned, Longhelim made an announcement:

“Gentlemen, we have been summoned to another audience with Gallo. No doubt it will be one of these difficult tasks, or opportunities as he puts it, that he was referring to. So, shall we go and see what is on offer?”

We went to the now familiar war room; Gallo was there with his usual gaggle of advisors and as soon as he saw us, he stopped and approached. He was looking incredibly tired, with pouches under his eyes, stubble and a pallor that was the result of too many nights without sleep.

“Ah, gentlemen, it is good to see you. Faden, as I told you a few days ago, we now have a few more answers to your questions; not all of them, but some of them. The monstrous mercenaries present in Bresk’s army include sphinxes, minotaurs, trolls and dragons. Their army is camped by Itnevel Hill and their supply train is within the camp. As you can imagine, they guard it zealously; Konigsmarshall Malkan, although I don’t know him personally, is obviously no fool. However, by the very nature of their layout and composition, their encampment will allow us with a few opportunities to cause havoc: that is where you come in.

Their siege engines are vulnerable. They have guards and engineers but they can be overwhelmed and thus leave the engines at the mercy of a sabotage team. There is one wrinkle though; they are also being guarded by a red dragon from the air. It would be a hard assignment but so worthwhile. Destruction of these engines would be a mighty set-back for the enemy.

There are ten catapults and eight ballistae; each catapult is guarded by four of their soldiers and four engineers. Each group of guards also has an officer in charge. The ballistae are powerful weapons but the most dangerous group there are the catapults and should you choose this task, then they should be your prime targets.

As you know, this area contains a labyrinth of tunnels and our dwarven allies will be able to guide you close to this section of the camp via a hidden exit.

Now the other opportunity is an assault on the leader of their magical contingent: Kelkin Thravanvost. Our spies have obtained a description of this individual. He is a dwarf, richly dressed in a particularly resplendent gray cloak that looks as if it is made of stone. He has a luxurious white beard which is threaded with silver medallions which look like coins. He also wears a gleaming skull cap and buckler. He is said to be powerful and learned in the skills of war magic.

His tent is on the outskirts of the camp and he is lightly guarded; only six soldier and one sphinx. It is one of the more powerful of these creatures with the body of a lion, the wings of a hawk and the head of a woman. My mages have told me it has access to very powerful symbol magic, is a strong combatant and very resistant to magic.

That may seem a light guard but as I said, let us not forget Kelkin himself; witnesses I trust have seen him cast a high order of magic, which would be very dangerous to our forces; I judge he is as dangerous as several siege engines by himself.

Again, our dwarven allies will be able to get you at least quite close his location through the tunnels.

So, to put it bluntly gentlemen, out of my teams you are the most likely to succeed so I will give you the choice of which opportunity you would like to pursue; ideally it would be best if you could exploit both but that would be almost impossible in the time allowed; so please choose one; if you wish to participate at all of course.”

Longehelim said: “Please forgive us Your Grace, while we have a brief conversation between ourselves.”

The paladin then led us to a corner while the Duke turned back to his map.

“The first so called opportunity is problematic due to the presence of the dragon; also, does anyone know how to actually sabotage a catapult?”

Victor replied: “From our perspective, I think you just have to hit it very hard; we don’t have the expertise to be able to cut through a vital piece of irreplaceable leather; we can smash it though.”

Longhelim then mused, almost to himself.

“And there are ten of them? With four engineers and four guards and an officer on each? And a dragon flying overhead?”

He frowned: “The other opportunity is problematic due to the unknowns. The wizard leader of the enemy is very likely to be powerful and it seems very strange that he is being so lightly guarded. Faden, what exactly is symbol magic?”

I had read about this: “It is the magic of sigils, runes and signs. You craft them on surfaces such as doors, walls, floors even shields and they are usually activated by sight or proximity. They are very powerful. I know the theory of how they work but they are beyond my knowledge to cast. I know that among other things, these symbols can blind, stun or even kill.”

John spoke thoughtfully: “I think the magician is a more feasible target for us. He is also potentially the more dangerous and six guards and a sphinx sounds far less dangerous than forty plus guards with a dragon.”

“Half a dozen guards, a sphinx and a powerful magician; we must not underestimate him,” I reminded him.

“I would rather attempt to somehow disable the catapults but I think that realistically, we have a better chance to remove the wizard from the battle. Are we all agreed to do this?”

We all answered in the affirmative and moved to face Gallo.

Longhelim said: “We will attempt to remove the wizard from the battle.”

Gallo looked relieved. It was obvious that both missions were very important to him and that he would count the success of even one of them as a advantage before the battle.

“Excellent! If you succeed, it will aid us greatly in our war effort. Please tell my dwarven allies of your plans and they will guide you into the Iltevel Forest. From there, you will have to negotiate the rest of the journey by yourselves. To aid you, I will allow you to requisition certain items or potions and wands that may help in your mission. Here are the orders.”

He handed us a scroll and we left the War Room.

We contacted the dwarves and they told us that they would be able to get us within a short distance of the camp. Then we all went to bed, mindful that we had a long day tomorrow.

The next morning, we all woke up and began to learn and pray for spells suitable for the mission ahead. Victor, Longhelim and Drudge had also gone to fulfill the requisition order with a series of potions which would be very helpful; they included magic which would toughen the skin of the warriors as if they were suddenly covered in tree bark; the other potions were going to help everyone see in the dark as we planned to strike at night; well everyone except me that is; I could see in the dark already; an advantage of being a dwarf.

We spent the daylight resting and as evening approached we met Gallo’s dwarven allies and were led into the tunnels. These were amazing pieces of engineering. Carved into the earth and rock, they were wide, tall and obviously designed for large amounts of people to use at once if necessary. There were torches and other light sources scattered regularly so darkness was not a problem for the humans. They were also remarkably clean. Suddenly, I could see why Commander Hertiage sounded so proud of this underground network below the environs of Gallo’s Fend. It really was a major defensive and offensive asset; especially if it led to a network of hidden entrances and exits. As such, it would be priceless; as the enemy were about to find out, I hoped.

We followed our dwarven guides until we found the exit in the middle of the Iltevel Forest; there the others drank the potions that allowed them to see in the dark. This allowed us to move quietly into position until we finally were reaching the edge of the clearing which contained the wizard’s tent. At this point, we cast various spells which were designed to both defend and bolster us in the coming conflict.

These spells included two spells for the warriors, which made their skin very hard and resistant to most weapons. I had already cast it on Victor once and he said that the spell was of such importance that it could turn a battle. Felix also bolstered Victor and himself against death magic, mindful of the symbols available to the sphinx; apart from that, several of the more common spells were cast on various members of the group, such as resistance to fire and magical defences and divine exhortations to Farlanghn; personally, I also gave myself the ability to see anyone who was invisible, especially useful against another wizard.

Finally, I cast a spell which rendered all of us speedy, another on Felix, which made us all invisible within a short distance around him and finally Felix cast his spell of magical silence on a stone; thus prepared, we moved into the camp.

Initially, our magical precautions worked. As we emerged from the edge of the forest, we saw the tent, a rather unassuming structure, which was surrounded by a guard of six soldiers, standing in a rough circle. They were well armoured and armed with swords and bows. Facing us, almost at the entrance, was the sphinx, as described; the creature seemed to be staring at the forest and so far had given no indication that it had detected us. There was also a fire pit in the terrain in front of us.

Using our stealth and aided by our trusted spell of magical silence and our invisibility, we moved to the sphinx and tried to strike it; something went awry though. I wasn’t sure whether it was the former or latter magic but both warriors lost their balance and they swung wildly at the monster without managing to hurt her. At this point, the warriors became visible; Drudge began to fire arrows at the soldiers and Felix dropped his stone of silence and moved away, swiftly followed by me.

The soldiers reacted commendably quickly, obviously well trained. Two immediately moved towards the warriors, to block them while the others began to fire arrows at visible members of the group. Foolishly, one of them began an archery duel with Drudge; that was only ever going to finish one way. It was at this point that Victor, facing two of the soldiers, performed one of his flowing moves, one stroke felling one and a follow up backhand slash nearly decapitating the other. I had seen it countless times before, mostly while he was practicing it endlessly in his sparring sessions but in a real battle, it was truly impressive. No doubt, the other soldiers thought so as well; there was a shout and most of the archery fire became concentrated on Victor.

Unfortunately, despite his heroics, the sphinx roared; it was a fearsome, magical sound, shaking one to the core of his being, raising primitive fears which almost demanded to be obeyed subconsciously. Thankfully, my reason took over and I was able to shake off the momentary panic; both Drudge and John were still within the confines of the silent pebble, therefore unable to hear it. Amazingly, Felix, Victor and Longhelim were also unaffected. The sphinx then stepped back to the tent. As Victor stormed after her, Felix cast another spell of magical silence, this time on top of the tent, making sure that she would not be able to use that demonic roar again. Finding herself silent, she ripped a hidden flap of the tent and revealed a symbol! This was hugely effective, as suddenly Longhelim, John and Drudge froze in mid movement.

During this time, I was having my own troubles, as two of the soldiers were advancing towards me. I turned my elemental staff on them and a moment later, they were engulfed in a ball of fire; this hurt them badly but did not put them down and they rushed towards me. Thankfully, I also moved away and before they reached me, I was able to cast my spell of force missiles at both of them and that finally achieved my aim. Just as I finished this, I saw a figure appear from the back of the tent, a dwarf, dressed and equipped in a manner to match our description of Kelkin Thravanvost. He was invisible but not for long, as he cast a spell which produced a bilious green cloud which enveloped everyone except Victor. It was a nasty spell, one about which I read. Against certain individuals, it was deadly; thankfully, we were too hardy to suffer that fate, but it was still a badly debilitating magic. I felt as if I had just crammed my spells; without the advantages. However, this turned the wizard visible and I alerted everyone of his presence. Then I cast a spell at him; a dust of metallic motes settled on the figure. It was a spell which was designed to stop him from turning invisible again; the motes could also settle into his eyes and blind him for a brief period but that was unlikely to happen to a powerful wizard. This was a basic spell that he would have studied in detail and would know how to defend against it.

I turned quickly, looking or Victor but saw that the sphinx had abandoned all pretence of casting spells and had torn into the warrior viciously with tooth and claw. Amazingly though, Victor stood there and took the wounds dealt by the monster and then with his usual economy of movement, proceeded to literally dismember her. His wooden falchion flashed once, twice, three times, dealing deadly slashes each time. She visibly recoiled and crumpled by the time the third struck her. It was quite incredible. Victor’s expertise with that sword was exceptional.

As he began to move towards the direction I pointed, a wall of flame appeared across the field, obscuring the magician. Nothing loth, Victor just moved through it; he was protected from fire after all. I lost sight of him at that point. I shot another ball of fire at two archers, causing them to fall and then followed Victor; I had the same protection.

As I moved through the wall, I was just in time to see Victor moving to the wizard and hitting him with his sword; as can be imagined, if a sphinx could not stand up to Victor’s skill then a wizard was not even close to matching him and a moment later, I saw the form before the warrior crumple. I could also see Felix just behind Victor.

At this point, Longhelim suddenly emerged through the wall of flame so whatever magic had been holding him in place had ceased to function; he quickly informed us that Drudge and John were following up behind him, now also able to move; oh, and that four riders were approaching at a canter.

The decision was immediate. We had discussed and prepared the spells for our escape. As soon as Drudge and John joined us, we cast another spell which made everyone in an area around Felix invisible, while the priest cast another spell of silence and taking Thravanvost’s body with us, we moved into the woods, fast. We concentrated in getting out of the camp unseen and did not look behind us; I breathed a sigh of relief as the trees closed around us. Thankfully, due to another spell cast by Felix, we left no trail in the snow. The forest offered a certain amount of shelter, especially against mounted pursuit, and we navigated the path until we found the hidden tunnel entrance. Once there, we disappeared underground and took a slightly more leisurely pace until we reached Gallo’s Fend.

We brought Thravanvost’s body with us to the castle, leaving it in the entrance hall in front of some gaping servants; then, even though we were dirty, hurt and blackened due to deadly magic, we asked for and obtained an audience with Gallo. He greeted us in a polite, friendly manner although he seemed tense. When we related our success, he looked very relieved:

“Gentlemen, you have lived up to expectations, thank the gods. I did send another team against the catapults but unfortunately, they have not returned. I fear I have lost them, making your victory doubly important. Do not doubt that this will make a huge difference in the battle. Rest assured, your conduct will be remembered yet again when this is over; and I will not forget my promise to guard Seaquen.

In the meantime, you look very tired. Please go and rest now. The battle will begin tomorrow. So far, the Konigsmarshall has not launched any special missions such as our efforts but that does not mean that he will not attempt to do so; so I would suggest you be watchful tonight. Thank you again for your efforts. You will have saved many lives.”

With that, he turned back to the table and just before we left, I saw him reach out and topple one of the small tokens on his map.

We collected the dwarf’s body and we went back to our quarters. There we cast a few spells on him, which determined what the spoils of war were; once we removed these, we buried the body. Finally, mindful of Gallo’s words and after setting watches, we went to sleep.

The next morning was a bright day; not a cloud in the sky and brilliant sunshine reflecting off the snow and ice. We sat down and discussed our tactics and strategy for the coming battle; talked about the spells which we were going to learn that day; the most advantageous magic which would aid us; the warriors talked about the opponents that they were most likely to face; how do deal with them and co-ordinate their blows and defences; how to fight most effectively against monstrosities such as trolls and minotaurs; Drudge joined in, talking about the range of his bow and the best use of his uncanny prowess with his arrows; certainly, the sphinxes were not going to find it quite as easy to subdue us as they did in Bresk. Personally, I had a feeling that my staff, so attuned to the elemental plane of fire, was going to become particularly useful that day. It also allowed me to take slightly different spells as I had several ideas of my own about our battle plans today; but as ever, everything depended on who the enemy was and how they were going to act.

As prepared as we could be, we joined Hertiage in the city as he mustered his forces and then we joined the army and marched to our section of the line. Horns blared and drums rolled as the town folk cheered us on our march. The army was on the move to defend the homeland!

As we approached the designated battle field, we had our first look at the enemy. There were so many of them! In the back of my mind, I knew that our numbers were roughly equal but just looking at the mass of men and things in the distance brought home the sheer scale of this conflict. Flags and banners flapped in the wind, with designs and arms about which I knew nothing but no doubt each and every one had a meaning; in some cases, no doubt some of these regiments had proud traditions and battle honours going back centuries; and I cursed Steppengaard for the umpteenth time for the madness that caused this conflict. Dassenians should be united against Ragesia, not fighting each other. This plan was code named “Madness” by the Ragesian high command and looking at the forces of men and dwarves arrayed against each other, never was the there a more apt description of what was about to happen.

The enemy was in good order, with their units separated between infantry at the front, archers behind and finally cavalry following up behind. There were also several separate units of other, larger hulking humanoids; it was difficult to tell just what they were, except that they were much bigger than us. Many of the banners also showed the symbols of the churches of Dassen, noting the presence of a variety of priests within the enemy army. Many flying creatures could be seen gliding above the army; sphinxes no doubt. I hoped that there were no more of the type that was able to cast the symbol magic, otherwise it was going to be a very short battle. Thankfully, we saw no sign of the dragon.

Their whole advance was accompanied by drumming and horns, to keep the regiments marching in time.

Arriving in our place in the line, we deployed. Hertiage wasted no time in stretching us across “his patch” as he called it. Victor and Longhelim held the centre; Felix, John and Drudge were slightly further back; Drudge certainly needed to be mobile since he was going to be acting as a sniper. Two chaplains were sitting calmly on horses, ready to ride to lend support to the areas of the line which were going to be stretched. Finally, two mages from Lady Timor’s forces were stationed on either side of Victor and Longhelim. Hertiage wisely had left two small gaps in the ranks designed to give them firing line for their spells. He also designated a guard of four men each for the two mages as the enemy would no doubt concentrate their attacks on them. Personally, I joined one of the mages on the side, close to the firing gap.

Hertiage calmly exhorted, encouraged, persuaded and cajoled his troops, letting them know what would happen if they lost today; what the consequences would be for their city, their loved ones and the land. He also reminded them of their training, their exercises and their orders; and above all, he reminded them that they fought for the Duke and Gallo and that the line must not break! Finally he reminded them semi humorously that they had guests amongst them and that it would not do to let themselves down in front of strangers. All in all, it was a very effective speech as I could visibly see the soldiers being bolstered. I also knew that the enemy was doing exactly the same on the other side.

Then, the drumming and horns stopped! The enemy began to walk towards us, then trot, then suddenly they burst into a full run, charging towards our line! Facing this mass charge, our line suddenly looked very thin. Then the rain of death began; as he said, Gallo had stationed his archers in specially built defences: small circles surrounded by sharpened stakes pointed outwards. There was a special name for them but unfortunately, it has gone out of my mind. Then, balls of fire also began to appear amongst the ranks of the charging enemy; amazingly, I saw that the enemy soldiers were very skilled at avoiding this spell. Their commanders had an instinctive grasp as to where the spells were going to land and shouted instructions at their troops to move! The troops were obviously very well drilled and they managed to avoid a great many of the fire spells by the coordinating their movement. In return, the enemy siege engines began to bombard our lines with rocks.

As the enemy’s charge neared our lines, we were able to see the forces approaching our section: A row of soldiers in a line, led by a large creature with the head of a bull. A minotaur! A legendary being: an enormously strong, powerful warrior with powers over labyrinths. It was the first time I had seen one. It wielded a huge two handed sword. Behind the line were two more figures, one was a priest while another was obviously some sort of officer. Finally, there were two sphinxes flying with them, one at each side, providing aerial support. These creatures had the bodies of lions, wings and the heads of rams.

I was so distracted by the sight of our enemy that I almost missed the large rock that was dropping on top of my head. I managed to move and avoid the worst of it but it still grazed me badly; as I gathered myself, the two mages in our ranks began to cast fireballs from wands at the advancing ranks of the enemy. Their commander managed to pull some of his troops out of the range of them but as soon as the mages saw that, they cleverly began to target the extreme sides of the enemy formation; these poor unfortunates were not quite as synchronized as those troops closer to their captain and therefore they suffered. I also joined in with my spells of fire and rather quickly, we decimated their rank and file.

Unfortunately, this made the two mages prime targets for the sphinxes as they flew over our lines; they both swooped down and raked the mages badly, distracting them from casting any more spells. This tactic however, brought them within range of our sniper; and how he took advantage of that, firing arrow after arrow into the beasts. There was almost nothing they could do about that and one of them quickly almost faltered out of the sky under Drudge’s concentrated archery. Then the minotaur finally arrived at the line! I had seen him drink a couple of potions just before his charge; as I watched him, I missed yet another rock from a siege engine which almost hit me square in the head. As such, it grazed me again, although again it really hurt. Then, horrified, I watched as the minotaur lowered its head and hurtled into Victor. I was amazed as Victor stood there and took the charge; and then used his own falchion to open a bloody gash on the minotaur’s chest.

I stopped looking at that point though as I saw that their priest had stopped and was casting a spell. It was a long, complicated procedure and I realised that he was trying to summon a creature from some hellish place to do his bidding. That would not do so I cast my spell of force missiles into him; he didn’t like that. In fact, he liked it so little that it disrupted his summoning. Simultaneously, out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark ray hit the minotaur; I recognized the weakening spell; I wasn’t sure who cast it but it was very useful.

The sphinxes were swooping in again but this time Hertiage was ordering his troops to turn their crossbows on them. The creatures were met with a hail of bolts as they flew into range, both being hit by several, as well as Drudge’s formidable arrows. This time, one of them attacked the ranger, hurting him while the other still targeted a magician, wounding his victim badly. Dripping blood, they flew away again. Glancing at the front of the line, I saw a look of dreadful concentration on Victor’s face as he proceeded to carve the minotaur into little pieces. The look of horror on the enemy captain’s face was palpable as he watched this; it was obviously completely unexpected. The look quickly turned desperate though as he himself was engaged by Longhelim.

“Well done, Victor! You killed a cow!” was the irreverent shout from John at that point, as he saw the minotaur drop in front of the warrior; or rather several pieces of it.

Felix had cast a magical silence in the area of the priest. The enemy commander then disengaged with Longhelim and began to make his way towards me. I was concentrating on casting another of my spells at the time so he reached me and stuck his sword into my chest; which really hurt, again! Thankfully, Victor followed him and engaged. That was a short fight.

In the distance, suddenly, I discerned another wave of enemy approaching; or galloping towards us as this was a group of knights; knights and something else: large loping humanoids of some sort, which easily kept up with the horses.

I only had a brief chance to study the approaching enemy as the commander was still trying to slice me into bits but I withdrew while Victor dealt with him. The two sphinxes swooped down again, badly hurt and with bolts sticking out of them; this time they both concentrated their attacks on Drudge and the ranger suffered. Then the unexpected happened!

From high above, a huge, debilitating, soul shattering roar swept across our section of the battle line and all of our soldiers panicked; dropping their weapons and shields they ran! Except one! So did the two sphinxes and the two magicians. This left us, the two chaplains and Hertiage to face the new wave; oh and the one brave individual soldier who somehow resisted the sphinx’s magical roar.

Grimly, we realised that we were now pretty much on our own; holding this whole section of the line!

Thankfully, the enemy wave still had some distance to cover before they reached us. Felix and the chaplains quickly healed us as much as possible; then I cast a couple of important spells at the warriors; it was the spell that made them very difficult to hurt, impervious to a lot of weapons, giving their skin the characteristics of granite. Then, as I had just finished doing this, my heart sank; not only did I see that there were no less than sixteen knights on horses charging towards us but also that the strange humanoids with them were nine feet tall, with long, almost ape like arms and huge claws; their feet had three toes and they had greenish skins with warts and various disgusting lumps. Trolls! Again, I recognized them by their descriptions from books and knew of some of their powers, especially the difficulty in killing them. They were amongst the toughest of all monsters; and there were four of them.

The knights thundered towards us; they actually made quite a splendid sight with their lances held high and pennants fluttering. They cantered at our diminished line in ranks of four, spread out over the terrain obviously mindful of the fireballs that were being cast earlier. The trolls loped in the centre of the ranks but again spread apart for the same reason. Fire was particularly damaging to these creatures. I knew that and that was why I was waiting for the right moment.

That moment came and as the first rank of knights passed a particular point, I waved my staff and a wall of flames suddenly appeared across our whole section the battlefield. The knights, certainly the first two ranks were committed; they would have to canter through it, suffering the fire. As they went through it, I could hear men and horses screaming and the stench of burnt flesh and fur on fire suddenly assailed our senses. Then the first rank burst through and reached us.

The knights realised just exactly who put the wall of fire into across their path and they were eager for revenge; which was why three of them immediately charged in my direction. The next rank rode through and three converged in front of Victor; with his usual calm efficiency, I saw the warrior step up and with two swift strokes, drop two of the knights from their saddles; having done that, he half turned and slashed at one of the horses that was rearing and attempting to hit him with its hooves. Then, I felt the first of the knights hit me with his lance; there was little I could do but try to dodge; those lances hurt! Very briefly I saw another knight fall, with three arrows in sticking out of him, so Drudge was still around and I cast another ball of fire out of my staff, frying another knight; I managed one final action, which was to put another wall of fire across the battlefield, this one much closer to the battle; but then I knew nothing more as more lances were driven into my body.

Suddenly, I felt energy pour into me and I almost sat up but then froze; very close to me stood a troll, sniffing the air and looking at me. I pretended I was still unconscious, lying perfectly still. For an endless moment, it looked at me, still sniffing. I thanked the gods for the stench of burnt flesh in the air; after a moment, it loped away and I was able to open my eyes and look at the situation.

I heard a voice next to me: John’s: “Get up and do something! We’re in trouble!”

I could see that. There were four trolls on the battlefield and a couple of knights; the bodies of other horses and men were lying around everywhere, so the warriors must have been busy. Victor was facing two of the trolls. Longhelim was facing a troll and a knight and Drudge was up in the air, shooting. Commander Hertiage was down, as was the soldier. Felix was between Longhelim and Victor. It was difficult to see the extent, but everyone was wounded, blood flowing freely. Then Longhelim swung his sword and I could see the last knight falling; however, a troll moved forward and struck Longhelim three times; every time he landed a blow, there seemed to a be a little glow coming from the paladin’s skin. Obviously my spell was being “tactically advantageous” to use Victor’s description of long ago. Drudge was being deadly with his arrows and three struck the other troll which actually caused the creature to fall over. From the ground, I cast one of my most powerful spells of befuddlement at the two trolls facing Victor but they just shook off my magic fairly contemptuously. One of them turned towards me, but then Victor stepped forward and struck it twice as I had just distracted it; the other took advantage of this, attacking fiercely but Victor somehow almost wove a mesh of steel in front of him with a series of deflecting strikes of his falchion, actually aiming at the claws as they tried to grab him. Still, one got through but his body also looked as if it glowed slightly when the troll struck it.

Felix then shouted: “Hit them when they are down! They heal!”

I had known this. One of the great powers that trolls had, the one that really made them so feared was their ability to get up from almost every blow, eventually. The only way to kill the permanently was by burning them.

The trolls that were facing Victor suddenly realised that he was by far the greater threat and turned on the warrior; one of them was fended off by the strange fighting style that he was employing but the other managed to seize the warrior in two of his claws which enabled it to try to almost rend the warrior in two. Victor grimaced but then unleashed his own considerable prowess at the troll he had struck previously. At this point, I managed to unleash another spell, this time one that caused a glittery cloud to appear on top of the troll’s heads; both of them thankfully. One of them ignored it, the other suddenly began to flail around wildly; it had worked! Some of the cloud had got into the creature’s eyes, causing it to go blind for a short time. Victor immediately moved a short distance, to get out of its way.

Longhelim was now in a duel with the other troll on his side of the melee. Drudge had shot several arrows into the one he had already felled, making sure it stayed on the ground. Unfortunately, the paladin was losing; thankfully, Felix was doing some healing on him from behind. The troll noticed this and was beginning to aim his blows at the priest.

The sighted troll facing Victor turned towards me in a rage, but I managed to get another spell of force missiles into him, which felled it to the ground; Victor then hit it several times with massive blows, making sure that it stayed on the ground for a long time. Then he rapidly moved to help Longhelim. The blind troll still flailed around and the last sighted troll was suddenly confronted by both warriors; not a moment too soon. The troll’s blows no longer produced a slight glow every time they hit; they now produced spurts of blood. Thankfully, the last troll could not stand up to both the warriors together and was quickly chopped apart. That only left the blind one and that again was dealt with quite quickly.

Exhausted and panting, we conferred for a short period of time, with Victor hitting each of the fallen trolls every so often. We put them all together and I then hit them with several fire spells, destroying them permanently.

We looked at each other and looked worriedly into the distance; I was hoping that there would not be another enemy wave. We were in no shape to receive it. We drank several healing potions and made a quick list of what magic we had left. Not surprisingly, we were very short of healing although I still had several useful spells left. As we waited, we could see a rider cantering towards us; fortunately from our lines. It was a courier from Gallo. We were being relieved imminently and our presence was requested at Markhold at our earliest convenience; that was command speak for “NOW”.

Bloody, wounded and battered, we waited until our replacements arrived and then gingerly made our way back. I looked back at the figures of Commander Hertiage and the soldier and hoped that our replacements would take care of them. We had not had the time as Lord Gallo needed us to attend him at our earliest convenience.

We were still concerned that another attempt would be made to breach our section of the line; in the rear, we saw a huge logistical effort taking care of the wounded, supplying archers and catapults with ammunition, moving fresh troops to relieve battered sections of the front and informing the relevant commanders of their orders; the wonder of it was that it seemed to be actually working. There was little chaos and everyone seemed to have an idea of what they were doing. Gallo had trained his people well.

We were taken to his command tent. We were immediately shown inside. Gallo, for once, seemed to have lost his Ducal grace:

“You did it!” he shouted. “You held it! When that bloody sphinx roared and everyone ran, I thought we would have a breach for sure but you held it; and against trolls too; who would have thought that Steppengaard would stoop so low as to use such creatures.” He paced around the tent.

Then he seemed to notice our state: “You! Get some chaplains in here,” he shouted at one of his advisors.

Then he turned to us again: “Gentlemen, your deeds will become known throughout the army and they have given great heart to the men. You have done the extraordinary and shown that the monsters can be beaten. Everyone saw how you co-ordinated your crossbow troops to concentrate on the flying sphinxes and now they are all doing it!”

I wanted to tell him that that was actually Hertiage’s idea but…….

Gallo continue: “Now, to business. Having seen how Steppengaard’s army is fighting, I can now understand his strategy better. The main body of his men would contain my army while the monstrous troops would act as besiegers and shock troops. Imagine what would have happened if the sphinx had roared in the vicinity of the defenders on the walls of the city and together with assaults from trolls and minotaurs. Those monstrosities would have been able to climb siege ladders without opposition and begin to rampage through the city.

However, thanks in part to your example, we are fighting them to a standstill.

But……..just as Konigsmarshall Malkan has his own secret weapons, I have mine. My dwarven allies have constructed a tunnel into the enemy camp, right under the Konigsmarshall’s command tent. We convinced one of our earth elemental allies to scout it out and he found that there is a bunker that has been dug under the tent. The Konigsmarshall is there right now; but he won’t be there for long! You gentlemen, are my secret weapon.”

He paced back and forth, obviously agitated: “You have already done far more than I expected of you; you come out of nowhere and defeat four trolls and sixteen knights! Those are deeds of legends! But if you are willing, then we can breach that bunker from the tunnel and you would have an opportunity to remove Konigsmarshall Malkan himself from the battle. I realize that this is a lot to ask of you, especially after what you have done but this is an opportunity to turn a bloody stand-off or marginal victory at best into a decisive defeat for the enemy. If their commander is removed then their battle line will dissolve and victory will be ours.”

The chaplains had arrived at this point and were healing us as we discussed this.

I was muttering: “There he goes with his opportunities again.”

Felix said: “I would be willing to do it but I am almost completely out of spells; do you think we could cram?”

Longhelim asked: “Your Grace, do we have an hour?”

He looked at us and said: “No; it will take you an hour to get there underground and with the other hours your are requesting, it is unlikely that he will be in the bunker for that long; he will need to supervise the battle. We believe he is making some contingency plans to adjust for the fact that he has failed to breach the line.”

I grunted: “So, it’s now or never.”

We looked at each other. There was no choice really. We had to attempt it. If we didn’t then the battle would be fought to a bloody standstill and hundreds if not thousands of soldiers would die; soldiers that should be defending Dassen against Ragesia. The ultimate winner in this conflict would be the Empress Leska. So, we all just nodded.

Longehelim turned to the Duke and said: “Your Grace, we will go.”

It may have been the strain or the fatigue but Gallo for once looked human, relieved.

“You will travel to a tunnel that runs almost under the bunker; once there, magical explosives have been prepared which will blow a hole into the bunker floor. I will send a troop of ten men with you and they will have a ladder. Once the breach has been made, the rest is up to you. If you succeed, then another set of explosives has been prepared to collapse the tunnel to ease your escape. Good luck and gods speed!”

We prepared as best as we could but it was obvious that we had to move fast. A gruff dwarf acted as a guide; he met us at the entrance to Gallo’s tent and then took us across north, across the frozen river. There, in an incongruously small fort, was the tunnel entrance.
Wordlessly, we met our troop of dwarven soldiers. They just looked at us and nodded. We clambered down the tunnel entrance and began to the long trek to our destination. The tunnel was dark and presumably cold but above all, it was low; it must have been completed very recently and in other words, uncomfortable for my human friends who had to stoop. They all had to crouch and judging by the various bangs I heard, they were all glad to be wearing head gear. Due to the circumstances, the trip took quite some time until we reached the point where our dwarven guides stopped us.

One of them said: “The point of entry is just ahead. Now you are in charge. Tell us what you want to do.”

Longhelim replied: “Please wait a few moments and then blow the floor on our signal. Also, please get the ladder ready.”

Our last spells were cast on us. I still had a some defensive magics to cast on various people but they were a pitiful few. Moments later, Longhelim gave the signal and the explosives were activated.

A tremendous crash resounded through the tunnel, almost deafening me but the bottom of the chamber had been blown. The dwarves rushed forward and prepared a ladder for us. John shot up it, having the fastest reactions as usual. He was quickly followed by Victor, then Drudge, Longhelim, myself and finally Felix. As we rushed up, we saw that the bunker was surprisingly empty. There were a few tables and chairs as well as several bunks; there was also a hole in the ceiling in the far corner to the right of where we had emerged. As regards people, there were only two dwarves there, both wearing holy symbols. At the far end of the room, beside a table on which lay several maps, was a tall human, richly dressed, with a quill on one hand, with a surprised look on his face and next to him was the gnome wizard, Nina Glibglamer. She also looked surprised.

Victor was immediately next to the priests and moving forward rapidly, struck one with his falchion, opening a deep gash in his side. Drudge was already inside and fired an arrow at the human, Konigsmarshall Malkan, we assumed. We did manage to get nearly everyone into the room before they were able to react. Once they did, it was decisive. Two spheres of silence rendered this end of the room impossible as regards spell casting; Malkan snatched up a large heavy crossbow from the table and shot into Victor. I saw that it was like mine; it had a magazine so it could fire multiple bolts without reloading. Nina – well Nina did the most surprising thing. She became transparent, translucent; I recognized the effect. She became incorporeal, meaning that there was far more to her than met the eye; that power required a level of magic which was far beyond us at this time. The priests were also shouting as if the gates of hell had opened up beneath them.

The priests formed a rank in front of the Konigsmarshall, and one of them touched the other, healing. Victor had moved up next to the priest and managed to hit him again but he had been healed so he did not manage to remove him, to paraphrase Lord Gallo. I stepped up into an area that was not covered with the magical silence and managed to cast my speed spell, which caught everyone thankfully. Nina, well Nina was…..giggling. That seemed very odd; as before, it was obvious that there was a lot more here than met the eye but I just didn’t know what! The Konigsmarshall had switched targets and was firing at Drudge since the archer was the only one capable to hurting him while the priests were blocking the warrior’s path to him. I could have told him that engaging in an archery duel with Drudge, especially when the latter was in receipt of a speed spell was not going to end well for him. Then something strange occurred: Victor turned to me, a glassy look in his eyes and hit me; very, very hard!

When I woke up, I groaned. I could still feel that falchion slashing into me. I wasn’t sure what had happened but I could see that Felix was next to me. I was still on the ground at this point but I could see that both the priests had retreated to be nearer the Konigsmarshall. Nina was by the far wall as before, incorporeal and still giggling; and there were shouts from above.

The Konigsmarshall had dropped the crossbow and had drawn a golden flail. As he moved, I could glimpse a flash of beautiful silver armour under his clothes. The priests had again drawn ranks in front of him but I could see that now they were both quite hurt. Longhelim had just finished dealing a couple of severe blows to one of them and then Victor, stepped up and almost ferally sliced once, twice, and both priests were…….removed.

More arrows from Drudge hit the Koningsmarshall and still Nina did nothing, just watching until suddenly I saw her step through the wall. The Konigsmarshall tried to fight against the two warriors but he was badly overmatched. I am not sure how good a strategist he was but he was certainly only a middling warrior as both Victor and Longhelim tore into him. He did not last very long but then suddenly, an armoured figure dropped through the hole in the ceiling, which presumably led to the surface; obviously the first reinforcements from the camp.

Although this individual fell down the hole, he got up as quickly as he could and then charged into Longhelim and Victor. The paladin took a moment to begin making signs to get down the hole. We had achieved our objective. The Konigsmarshall had been removed; to make sure that this was so, Victor put a slash of his falchion into him as he finished dealing with the knight who had fallen down the hole. While the others were making their way down the hole and others were dragging Malkin’s body towards it, I put a spell under the hole. It was a mildly poisonous cloud; at best it was an inconvenience and at worst it was worst it was something that would bring up someone’s stomach contents and unsettle them quite badly for a short period of time.

Longhelim covered the retreat while the others converged around the hole in the floor. Another knight jumped down the hole and engaged the warrior; Victor was shouting for everyone to get away while he fenced with this individual; then, glancing behind him, he could see that almost everyone was down the ladder, he gave a cunning twist to his sword and the knight fell. After that, Victor slid down the ladder and the dwarves removed it expertly.

Nearly everyone else was down the corridor at this point and Victor ran down it, shouting: “Blow it now!”

Then we all sped down, taking Malkan’s body with us. As we turned a corner, we heard another mighty explosion and an avalanche of dirt behind us. We still sped down the first part of the corridor as fast as we could. It should have been difficult to remove all that dirt behind us but one never knew what tricks the enemy had……as was proved in a moment.

As we sped down the corridor, suddenly Nina walked through the wall. She was clapping her hands and smiling gleefully. We could hear her shouting: “Well done boys, well done! You were magnificent!”

After that she just walked through the wall again.

As before, I really didn’t know what to make of that.

The return journey through the tunnel was made at a slightly more leisurely pace. The tension had gone and the dwarves were now joking and one of them had brought out a wine skin which he passed to everyone. Everyone knew that we had done it and that the special mission had succeeded. One of two of the dwarves even began to sing, a martial tune, cheerful and full of brim and joy. This was a mighty victory and quite rightly their reputation would soar after their participation in it.

We were also elated; we had just saved thousands of lives. The thought of the armies battling themselves to a bloody standstill was the reason why we engaged in this mission in the first place. I just hoped that Gallo would be able to negotiate a reasonable truce from a position of strength and one that could somehow ameliorate the suffering of the relatives who had lost someone in the battle.

Our journey back took a little longer because we did not have the sense of urgency we had when going there. However, as soon as we reached Gallo’s command tent, he was there, outside. He was effusive in his praise.

“You have done it! The enemy offensive is breaking up. It has lost cohesion. It began a little time ago but one can already see it. It doesn’t have the drive or confidence it had. All we have to do is hold and their battle line will break up.

Gentlemen, you have my gratitude. You have saved the lives of thousands of my men. I will never forget; nor will I ever forget my promise to Seaquen.

You look hurt and badly in need of succor. Please go back to the camp and rest. I will send chaplains to deal with your wounds; and thank you again.

We will speak in the next few days. I have things to organize.”

We took him at his word and first went back to our camp. There, the chaplains dealt with our wounds and after that, we went back to Gallo’s Fend, where we went back to our house. There, we slept as if we had not slept in a week.

The next day, I memorized several spells which would allow us to find out about our various spoils of war. We had found several interesting objects and pieces on Malkan and Thravanvost, including rings, wands, weapons, armour and the flashy skull cap, which would be of great use to me. All of this took several hours and also provided a restful day. We did not know what was happening outside but there were no messengers rushing to our door which we took as good sign.

I was certain that Gallo had not forgotten us.

I finally caught up. Good stuff as always.

Lwaxy said:

I finally caught up. Good stuff as always.

Click to expand...

Absolutely seconded -this is just awesome! What level are the PCs now? Victor seems to be able to take most of their foes single-handedly. I wonder when Nina Glibglamer will re-appear and whether at least she will cause 'em a bit of trouble...

My group is actually done with the AP (Xmas RPG marathon helped). I think I'll stay slightly behind your group in posting so nothing will get spoiled for you.

Thank you both.
Playing wise, we are slightly ahead of the accounts; in fact we have finished this adventure but as usual, I have to write, read, edit, re-read and edit again etc. We are at the beginning of the next adventure.

Lwaxy, you finished the AP? I hope you enjoyed it? Are you also planning to do a SH?
As for Nina, yes, she is turning out to be a pain but I won't say anything else until the account.

Azkorra, PCs levelled to 8 just after this point. As for Victor, yes, he is pretty deadly with his falchion and the Improved Crit feat but as usual with a fighter, he is weak on his saving throws. What makes both him and Longhelim strong is the combination of magic support such as Bull's St. and Haste from the cleric and wizard respectively. Stoneskin and Freedom of Movement make a huge difference as well.

I planned the SH for a while now, however, it is not me writing alone, and my co-authors did not want to start before they were sure the AP could be finished. This group had had some timing issues recently, which is why it was so cool to be able to finish something quickly for a change.

This was a great AP, and I'm sure to run it again for another group some time.

Great. Looking forward to the SH as and when it comes.

Hope the group won and that your campaign world is not under the heel of the Ragesian Empire at the moment.

As we went through our spoils, we discovered several items which would be of great use to us in the future. My magical research discovered the following: for Drudge, a pair of thin, worked leather gloves with runes and sigils etched into them. I had heard of such gloves; they made the wearer faster, handier and in the case of Drudge, helped with his archery. Kelkin Thravanvost’s strange skull cap was something that aided magic; or I should qualify that it aided in the learning of magic; it made thought and memory clearer and it was something that would be of great help to my discipline; there were two rings which provided some magical protection and one of them was even combined with another very useful magical characteristic: the wearer did not need to eat and could exist on far less sleep than normal. This ring was given to John while Victor received the other ring of protection.

There was also a magical chain shirt of that most precious of metals: mithril. Victor took that; there was also a strange twine which when wound around the hilt of a sword or a bow, added cold to the wounds caused by it; nasty thing; this was also given to Drudge. Finally, Longhelim was given a cloak which aided him immeasurably in all of his abilities, including his resistance to magic and poisons, his strange powers of summoning one great, powerful blow against evil and all the other skills in which he was so expert, especially his ability to convince and persuade; oh, and it made him look more stately and manly, but he didn’t need that really.

Determining all of the powers of these items took a great deal of the day. John helped me for part of it; he also had access to this research magic although he was not as expert in it as I was, due to his limited arcane spell casting. As John and I were engrossed in our research, Longhelim, Drudge and Felix went out to find out what was going on; Victor stayed inside and rested.

As he put it:

“Magical healing is a wonderful thing but I am still bruised and battered. That troll nearly killed me and I need to recover. Especially as I don’t believe that this is over. We defeated the King’s army, but we didn’t destroy it. So, something else is coming; especially as Nina is on the loose; there’s something very strange about that woman; or gnome; or whatever she is. Has anyone seen anything like what she did before?”

I shook my head; in truth, I hadn’t really thought about the gnome. Mentally, I chastised myself; I had meant to try to find out anything about creatures manifesting her powers but I hadn’t had the time as yet.

Seeing my denial, Victor went to bed.

Drudge, Felix and Longhelim returned in the late afternoon. The paladin sat down with his pipe as usual and everyone else sat around a table:

“Well, Gallo has won a great victory. The Battle of Gallo’s Fend is already passing into legend, especially the Duke’s masterful deployment of the Line at Otheril Vale. We are being recognized as one of the key bulwarks of this Line. “

I grimaced at this; being recognized was not always a good thing, as I have mentioned previously.

Longhelim continued: “One piece of bad news is that Commander Hertiage was slain in the battle with the trolls. His body has been recovered and I am not sure what the procedure will be after this.”

We contemplated this news for some time. The Commander had been a stalwart ally and it was saddening to hear of his demise. Just then, there was a thumping on our door.

As John called out for the person responsible to identify himself, a voice called out:

“Messenger from His Grace. You are summoned to his presence!”

“I knew it,” muttered Victor.

Quickly we gathered our equipment and hurried to the castle. There, we were ushered into a luxurious office, richly furnished and with a roaring fire. It looked very different from the utilitarian war room. Gallo was waiting for us, warming his hands. He looked much better. He had shaved, changed his clothes and looked as if he had caught some sleep at last.

“Gentlemen: first, let me give you some news; the fighting stopped when you removed Konigsmarshall Malkan. The enemy army withdrew and a little time ago, I received one of their heralds. He had some welcome news. Their army is withdrawing even further, back to Bresk in fact. Steppengaard is unwilling to shed more Dassenian blood. However, he has summoned all the nobles of the realm to a peace conference. He states that he has new evidence; evidence of Ragesian expansion plans. I have to go there, not only for myself but to represent my land. This conference will not be attended by proxies. All the nobles will be there in person, with their advisors.

Gentlemen, in light of your courage, your strength, your abilities, I would ask you to accompany me to the capital as part of my entourage…….

Longhelim almost interrupted the Duke before he could go on:”We’ll do it.”

Gallo stopped as if almost taken aback by our willingness. Then he said:

“I was going to offer this to you as an incentive but there is no need now; after your actions in the Battle and on the Line, it gives me great pleasure to formally offer you knighthoods in the land of Gallo. These will also help you in the capital as part of my entourage. They will add greatly to your prestige and open doors that would normally be closed to you.”

He sat down behind his desk and brought out a group of six rolled scrolls out of a drawer:

“These are the patents of nobility. The more elaborate ones will be handed over to you at your investiture. Welcome to the ranks of the aristocracy. There will be a full ceremony tomorrow.”

He cleared his throat and for a moment looked very tired again:

“This peace conference will be held in conjunction with a mid-winter festival. There will be a jousting tourney, various contests of might, displays of all types and much feasting.”

He looked at us: “No, I don’t like it either but I cannot afford not to be there; especially after the orders you found on the Ragesian officer. That is why I want you with me. I do not know what Steppengaard plans but he has just received a bloody nose here; but it is only a bloody nose. I would urge you to try to investigate anything you can during this festival; especially if you feel that it is suspicious. Everything you discover will put us in a much stronger position. I have not been in the capital for a long time and we are all out of touch.

Now, please go back and I will see you tomorrow morning for the investiture.”

As we were walking back, I said to Longhelim:

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course it is. We have to accompany Gallo. He is Seaquen’s best friend in this benighted place right now. Keeping him alive has to be our priority and we certainly can’t do that if we aren’t with him.”

“Yes, well, that particular plan didn’t go particularly well last time we tried it. We ended up in Steppengaard’s dungeons and had to drink half his sewers to escape.”

“Faden, stop exaggerating; his sewers were frozen; we had to walk over them, not drink them. Anyway, it’ll be different this time; trust me!”

With those words still ringing in my ears, we returned to the mansion and went to bed.

The next morning, we readied ourselves for the ceremony. As we left the house, I was surprised. Somehow, people must have learned about our exploits in the battle and our elevation as there were groups lining the streets and cheering us. I cringed a little; so much for being inconspicuous. These groups became crowds as we approached the castle. It seemed as if the investiture was going to have a large audience.

I wasn’t sure just how people had known what we had done but I suppose that other soldiers must have seen us holding the line; then there were the servants in the castle who had witnessed us bringing in the various bodies. If your city is dependent on its survival by the removal of these enemy individuals then news like that is bound to get out.

We finally arrived at the castle to see a wooden stage had been erected just in front of the gates. Gallo and several advisors were already sitting there. As we arrived, he stood up and motioned us to stop next to the steps. Then he raised his hands and slowly the noise stopped.

He began to speak, in a loud, sonorous voice:

“We are gathered here to honour deeds of bravery; deeds above and beyond the call of duty; deeds that should and will be remembered; deeds by individuals who risked their lives so that hundreds, nay thousands would live. These individuals were first sent on a special mission which was successful beyond our wildest expectations; then they were part of the Line of Otheril Vale; and when all others lost their heads and were forced to run by fell magic – THEY HELD THE LINE – against trolls of all foul monsters; their example and fortitude saved a breach that would have been disastrous; finally, and most tellingly, they infiltrated the enemy camp and met, engaged and defeated Konigsmarshall Malkan and his guard. Thus, heretofore, in the lands of Gallo, Longhelim of the Farm, Felix Terpin, Salubrious Drudge, Slippery John, Faden Tarabond and Victor Trask are to be known as and granted the privileges of - Knights.

This I declare as the ruling Duke of Gallo.”

There was a huge cheer.

Gallo motioned us forward at this point and as we knelt in front of him, he tapped us with a rapier on each shoulder and put a chain with a medal around our necks. Then we also received a small pin to wear on informal occasions. As I went to him, he whispered to me:

“Turn around and wave. Let them enjoy you. Gods know, they lost enough fathers, sons, brothers and others yesterday. They deserve to know they won.”

I grasped immediately what he was trying to say and joined everyone else in turning around and waving at the crowd who cheered even louder.

Once the celebrations were over, we prepared to ride out. Gallo was taking forty other picked riders and advisors to Bresk; thankfully, he did not believe in a great deal of formality and most of the preparation had already been done so it did not take us long to get on the road.

The journey to Bresk took three days. The days were beautiful, with bright sunshine reflecting off the snow and ice. The pace was leisurely and we did not see anyone else. Wisely, everyone had made themselves scarce in front of large groups of armed men, despite the bright pennants and banners that announced us as the Ducal party.

We travelled over the frozen River Nesham as previously and although the journey was uneventful that did not mean that we relaxed. Gallo’s scouts reported that the King’s army was only about half a day ahead of us. This made me a little nervous, despite Gallo’s assurances. I was sure that they were aware of us and we should never forget that Steppengaard was mad, so despite normal assumptions and expectations, a chunk of that army could turn around and squish us, conventions be dammed; it would all have been a terribly unfortunate misunderstanding, of course.

Thankfully, despite my concerns, we approached the city gates without any incidents.

The gates were open and as we approached, we could hear cheering. I was curious about the excitement and shocked when I realised that they were cheering our entry. People lined the streets and shouted gleefully at Duke Gallo and his escort. Riding close to John, I heard him muttering under his breath:

“……messed up country…….”

I was very confused as well: the citizens of a city belonging to a King whose army had just suffered a major defeat were cheering the commander of the army that had won that victory. I looked at Longhelim and he just shook his head. He obviously didn’t understand either. Ah well, we would have plenty of time to talk later.

Several people ran ahead of us and began to sprinkle soil on the road ahead of us; I whispered a question to a soldier next to me and he explained that it was tradition and a sign of honour; making sure that someone is stepping on the sacred earth of the motherland is a token of great esteem and signifies that you have the highest respect for that person or group.

Suddenly I remembered that odd piece of lore that Dassenian cavalry sprinkled the insides of their boots to make sure that they always kept in contact with the motherland.

Gallo of course, took it as if it was perfectly normal for this to be happening; he waved regally, and proceeded slowly, in stately composure. We just followed his pace. It seemed to work; if anything, the crowds seemed to grow in size and volume as we approached the castle gates. There was even the sound of drumming and horns. At the gates, in front of us, we could see a group of figures, the most discernible being King Steppengaard.

When we finally arrived, the cheering and music died and Steppengaard looked at Gallo. It must be said that the King was looking much better than I saw last time; he was clean, had shaved and someone had cut his hair. He actually looked like a monarch although he was still gaunt and appeared as if he hadn’t slept for a few days.

He stepped forward and faced the crowds with Gallo. People drew back, visibly nervous about what he was going to say:

“My people, it has been a dark time for our country. From the tragedy that befell our house with the assassination of my family to rumours of sedition, it has been difficult. From today, this will stop! I have summoned all the eight Lords of the land to put a halt on all this petty squabbling.”

Then he turned to Gallo and said:

“Lord Gallo, I commend you for your bravery and your steadfast heart. Although we may have disagreed and crossed swords over our differences, I know that you have only the best interests of the land in our heart. I have brought you and the other Lords together to impart news; some frightening, some heartening. Despite this, I have no doubt that our land will survive; thanks to great Lords such as you and your warriors.

However, this news can wait until tomorrow evening; tomorrow, you will attend and some of your warriors may compete in the Tournament of Unity. It will bring us all together to face a group of thieves and tricksters lurking near our borders!”

That seemed to be the extent of Steppengaard’s speech and the crowd began cheering as he waved; there was an element of relief in the cheering. Just before it began, I saw Gallo leaning to speak in the King’s ear and I just barely heard him say:

“You are talking about the Ragesians, aren’t you?”

But I couldn’t see the King reply and he just kept waving at the crowd.

My own attention was distracted by the figure of Nina Glibglamer. She was part of Steppengaard’s entourage and I could have sworn that she gave me a cheeky little grin and then looked in a particular direction. Following her gaze, in a dark corner of the castle courtyard, I caught sight of the Ragesian ambassador Serimus and his Inquisitor lackey; or vice versa. Either way, it looked as if the Ragesians were not out of favour. I nudged Longhelim, pointed him that way and saw him stiffen as well.

After that, we joined Gallo’s entourage as we were led to the house of a dwarven aristocrat who had generously allowed Gallo to inhabit it while in Bresk.

Inside the house, or large manor to be exact, we were summoned to Gallo’s quarters:

“Well, that went about how I expected. Steppengaard is keeping us in the dark about his news. I don’t know what he is up to but we need to find out as much as possible. As I mentioned previously, the more we discover, the stronger our position will be.

There will be a banquet tomorrow evening, after the first day of the tournament. That will be the occasion when Steppengaard will tell us his news. I suggest you participate in various events. This will give you exposure to anyone who may want to impart information to you. I don’t expect you to try to actively find out anything initially; you don’t know anyone here, nor do you know the city; but……people know you for my allies and agents and that is what I am counting on; oh, and of course, should you do well in the tournaments, the prestige associated will do Gallo no harm either.”

Longhelim puffed on is pipe: “Yes, Your Grace.”

At this point, a liveried messenger appeared, walked over and whispered something to the Duke. He smiled and said:

“Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor are here. They are calling on me to celebrate our victory and discuss our strategy tomorrow. You are welcome to stay.”

After her comments about Gate Pass, I had no desire to spend any time in the presence of Lady Timor.

Quickly I said: “Please excuse me, my Lord but I have much to think about tonight. If it does not displease you, I will be going to my room and resting. Please pass my regards on to the Lord and Lady when you see them.”

Longhelim looked at me approvingly. Obviously I hadn’t made a diplomatic mess of this. Then he added:

“As my friend said, we must finalise our own plans for tomorrow Your Grace. Please add our own regards to the Lady and Lord as well.”

Gallo looked a little surprised but didn’t object to our departure.

As soon as we entered into our chamber we immediately set out our watches. Longhelim said:

“So far as I am concerned, we are in enemy territory. The Ragesians are still here. Nina Glibglamer is still here. Nothing has actually changed.”

I had been thinking: “Except that tomorrow there is a banquet; and let’s remember that last time there was a banquet in Steppegaard’s castle, most of the diners were poisoned. We will have to learn spells tomorrow to cater for this. Felix, you can do that spell that can actually magically show if something has been contaminated by poison; and you can also do the spell that can render you immune to its effects for several hours can’t you?”

The priest replied: “I can do better than that. Now, I have access to magic that can negate the effect poison completely; it is a complicated spell though and I can only do to one person at a time. Still, it will come in very useful.”

Longhelim said: “Right, all three of those spells should be taken. Then, we need to prepare ourselves for whatever deviltry is being planned at this banquet tomorrow; and yes, Faden, we all know; something is being planned.”

We discussed various ideas and thoughts late into the night and then went to bed; we all slept in the same room and kept watches as if in a hostile environment but fortunately, nothing happened.

The next day dawned crisp and clear. Even though it was early, we could already hear noise outside. The Tournament participants must have been setting up stalls the previous evening. Felix, John and I put our heads together and studied various spells which we discussed yesterday. Today was going to be a long and potentially interesting day.

Thus prepared, we met with Lord Gallo and together with his entourage, we walked to the castle fields where the Tournament was to be held.

The whole place was already a riot of colour. A collection of stalls, tents, and wagons which sold everything you could possibly want was laid out in neat squares; besides those, there were also various shows of magic and games of chance, skill and dexterity. Here was a stall which had several targets set up; knocking them off their stands with the rocks provided for a fee would win prizes; or so the owner of the stall claimed; in a very loud voice. Other tents offered to let you see fabled mermaids, the temptresses of the oceans; I wasn’t quite sure why that was so unusual but when John saw that tent, he nearly fell over laughing:

“The person who owns that tent has no idea what he is doing; he would be laughed out of any fairground in Gate Pass. Mermaids? In Dassen? That just screams fake,” he said, between gulps of air as he recovered from his amusement.

There were tents where one could see bearded ladies for a fee of course; personally I snorted at this but John assured me that they were human bearded ladies; apparently, they were very rare; if they were real that is.

“Surely any self-respecting magician could cast a little cantrip and put a beard on a woman for a few hours?” I asked John.

He replied: “You know that; I know that; but that bunch going into the tent to gawp has no idea. Look at the owner by the door; he’s coining it with that stall,” John said, enviously.

There were other stalls selling food, carvings, cheap jewellery, clothing, sweetmeats, and it went on and on; business seemed to be brisk as there were people everywhere; children were running around, shouting and screaming; elderly couples strolled slowly and younger couples moved a little more purposefully; it looked as if the whole of Bresk had turned up and they were determined to have a good time.
We had become separated from Gallo but we slowly made our way to the central field. This was the main jousting arena. There were less people selling around here and more spectators. There was also some very fervent gambling going on.

Several grand tents had been erected around the jousting field and in one of those, we could see that Gallo had already established himself and his people. As we approached him, he turned around and spoke to us:

“Ah; the invitations to the banquet are here. Now, I trust some of you will register for the joust? The tents to do so are over there,” he said, pointing.

“Do the land of Gallo proud!”

Slowly and still looking around we made our way to the aforementioned tents. John and Victor led the way:

“We’d like to register for the joust please,” Longhelim said to the seated man who was annotating names on a ledger.

“Looking at you and your decorations gentlemen, I believe you will enter into the nobles’ competition? If so, the entry fee is one hundred gold pieces each.”

Goodness, this jousting was expensive business. I wasn’t sure but bearing in mind that the prize was only five hundred gold pieces and some magical armour for a horse, then someone, somewhere was making a handsome profit on this competition. Longhelim and Victor seemed to take it in their stride and paid up. Then Drudge stepped up:

The same man looked him up and down and said: “You’ll be for the commoners I take it? You know there is no magical protection in that competition don’t you?”

Drudge frowned: “Magical protection?”

“Yes,” the man explained, “there’s magical protection in place in the noble’s joust; no matter how badly they are knocked out or how hard they cut each other with swords, it is all magically protected; no one will actually get hurt.”

Suddenly, I realised where all that money was going. I was also incredibly curious as to what sort of magic that entailed. I made a mental note to try to find out as soon as I could.

The man continued: “That protection is not present in the commoner’s tourney. Just warning you before you enter. The fee is much lower; as is the prize. Do you still wish to participate?”

Drudge just nodded and the man said: “One gold piece,” which Drudge duly paid.

Then, we milled around with the rest of the contestants, waiting for the draw. The first result which affected us was a sturdy lad who faced Drudge. He looked to be young and obviously very nervous. He was finding it difficult to handle a lance on horseback. Drudge handled his horse quietly and calmly and as the two opponents raced towards each other, I looked on with interest. Then the lad’s horse seemed to suddenly lurch and shy, and I watched in dismay as Drudge’s lance took the poor boy straight in the face; the crunch of his nose being driven into his face was audible even from my position as a spectator and he went flying backwards. Drudge rode by and as he turned around, his opponent was flat on the ground with several priests already next to him. One was shaking his head. Drudge slowly rode back to his starting point and there were a few boos from the crowd as he did so.

Next to ride was Longhelim who was up against Quincy Pell, or so the announcer said. Pell was wearing the colours of Lord Rago. Both riders cantered towards each other at huge speed and both of them knocked each other off the horse. This time, they rose unharmed due to the magical protection. The rules stated that if that happened, then the combat would continue on foot. So Longhelim duly drew his sword and was able to defeat Pell quite quickly and easily. Much cheering followed such an intense early bout.

Finally, Victor was riding against Woodbar Earthis, who represented Bresk. In this case, Victor was able to knock the man off his horse on the first pass. The cheering was more muted in this case, as it had been such a quick confrontation.

That was round one.

There was a certain amount of time until the next round so we amused ourselves by sightseeing. I even found a small ring where mages were doing some spell dueling. They were very good. I wasn’t able to tell at all when they released their spells.

After looking around some more, it was time for the next round of the joust. This time Victor was up against Grim Morgentsen, a military refugee from Ragesia, who promptly proceeded to knock Victor on his backside. Victor picked himself up and saluted his opponent. Then he joined us and grinned ruefully, muttering:

“I hope that’s visible enough for Gallo since that’s me out of the competition.”

Drudge came up against another rider from the commoner’s joust and this one actually survived the bout; Drudge did win though.

Finally, Longhelim’s opponent was Zwervenkarsh Hectonoff, a Dagobashian knight whose level of expertise was completely unknown to us; the paladin knocked him off on the first pass. Again, there was cheering; people were beginning to recognize Longhelim and give him their support; they continued their applause and acclamation as the paladin reached us. I suspected that wearing Gallo’s colours did help his popularity, if our reception of yesterday was any indicator.

Again, there was a break between Longhelim and Drudge’s next rounds and we wondered in a different direction this time; as we mingled with the crowd, our attention was taken by a ludicrously dressed individual; he wore a robe with stars, moons and comets. He also wore a pointed hat in the same ridiculous design. His wagon bore the legend: “Whizbang Fireworks” and he was trying to convince people to come and see his firework display. He wasn’t getting a great deal of attention so in the end he sat down on the steps and muttered to himself.

We stared at him curiously.

“Sorry friend, but you are unlikely to attract anyone to your display if you don’t give them at least a little demonstration,” I said to him.

He looked back at me:”I would but I have almost no fireworks left. I was going to buy some here but all the alchemists have shut up shop. I asked around and they are all at the palace; and have been for the last three days.”

“All the alchemists in the city? Gone to the palace?”

“Yes,” he answered, “every single one that I know of.”

I stowed that piece of information away and looked at Longhelim and John.

“Now, why would the palace need all the alchemists in the city?” I asked the others but no one gave me an answer.

After that, it was time for another round of the tourney. This time Drudge and his opponent knocked each other off their saddles; whereupon Drudge decapitated his opponent in the fencing match which followed. The booing was appreciable and loud this time.

Longhelim in the meantime came up against Jareth Butchaven, a soldier serving the King. These two also knocked each other off their saddles and Longhelim won the ground combat, this time to even greater acclaim than previously. Amazingly, that only left Longhelim and one opponent; quite extraordinary bearing in mind that neither he nor Victor were trained jousters, nor were they taking this very seriously. They were only doing it to be visible, as per Gallo’s instructions. Having said that, I think the most visible of us at the moment was Drudge, but not in a good way.

Longhelim’s final opponent was to be the tournament favourite, a lady knight who was an experienced jouster: her name was Lady Sylvia Cassola, and she wore the colours of Lady Namin. As usual, there was going to be a break between the rounds and as previously, we were going to go for a stroll through the crowds, being as visible as possible.

We mingled and did come across a curious scene. A wagon had been set up as a kitchen, presided over by a halfling. A man with a plate, a customer, was being berated by the chef, who spoke with a heavy accent:

“You don’t like it? You barbarian; you…Ragesian. I have cooked for nobles, for Knights, for Dukes; I cook for the King. If it wasn’t for those imbeciles taking away my kitchen tonight………special duties they said……not needed tonight they said……..bringing in their own staff for the banquet…….bah, just go; you are accustomed to gruel; you have the palate of a troll!”

With that, the halfling stomped into his wagon and closed it with a bang.

A little crowd were staring at the whole thing in bemusement but I was thinking: First all the alchemists are employed at the palace for three days and now it looked as if their head chef had been given the evening off on the day that a major banquet was being prepared; by a different set of staff. Really, this didn’t look good at all.

Then it was time for the final joust. It was a little anti climatic. Lady Sylvia was obviously a very skilled jouster and she carefully and precisely knocked Longhelim out of the saddle on her first pass. Despite this, she was an honourable knight and complimented the paladin, finding it difficult to believe that it was his first tournament.

Drudge, in the meantime, had gone a step further and had bought a black cloak and mask; he was planning to unnerve his opponents he said. I really didn’t think that they needed any more unnerving, considering that he had killed two and left two others badly unconscious. His last opponent was a young girl; talented and raw. She didn’t stand chance. Drudge was the winner among the commoners.

At this point, we decided to get in touch with Gallo. There were too many coincidences about the alchemists, the cooks and the timing in the palace. We were admitted immediately:

“So, did anyone make contact?”

He looked disappointed when we replied in the negative. He listened to what we had found out and what we surmised and replied:

“It is certainly suspicious but it is circumstantial and not proof. We should of course be very careful but without actual proof, we cannot go to the rest of the Lords saying that the usual chef is not working in the kitchen tonight and that all the alchemists are in the palace. That’s meaningless.”

Frustrated, I acknowledged his point. We thanked him for his time and left.

As we were walking back, we stopped at one of the stalls and then we heard a voice. It was coming from someone who was part of the crowd by the same stall and it was whisper, yet one we could all hear:

“Don’t move, don’t look at me; I recognize you! You ride with Duke Gallo; I am a guard at the castle but I don’t like what is going on there now. Things have changed. I was part of a detachment watching a sewer outlet from the castle in a graveyard. Several days ago, we were ordered to leave our post and so far as I know, it is now unwatched; this leaves an unguarded entrance into the castle! Something is going on. I heard that priests have been seen going into the sewer. I have even heard that the guard detail from the Royal Vault itself has been dismissed. The Book of the Eight Lands could be defenceless! It must be protected!”

The talking then stopped and when I glanced again, there was no one there.

Quickly, we grouped together.

“A sewer outlet that comes out in a cemetery? Doesn’t that sound familiar?” I asked the others.

“Yes,” Longhelim replied. “But if it’s true, it’s also our way into the palace. By the looks of things, all the regular staff and guards are being kicked out and being replaced by others; and something is obviously being planned. We need to get in there and find out what.”

“I just knew you were going to say that,” I muttered.

“Your mind reading skills never cease to amaze me Faden; now let’s go and see Gallo and tell him what we plan to do.”

“It could be a trap,” I said.

Longhelim replied: “Yes, it could be; but it may not be. We need to go over there and at least find out if that is the case. It may be our only opportunity to infiltrate the castle.”

The Duke greeted us as we witnessed the parade of the victorious Lady Sylvia. As soon as he heard about the sewer outlet and the information that the guard relayed, he stepped into a more private section of his tent, and motioned us to follow him. Then he reached into his jacket and took out a piece paper:

“This is a plan of the castle. The information this guard provided may be our best chance to get in there and find out what is going on. There are only a few hours before the banquet so if you are going to go, you have to do it now. I realize that this is a lot to ask of you, especially after your last experiences in those dungeons, but somehow, I feel that Dassen is facing one of the greatest threats to its existence; I can only appeal to your sense of honour and your desire to thwart the Ragesians.”

Well, the man certainly knew which buttons to push. Longhelim just nodded and we all left.

“There is no time to lose. Considering where the cemetery is, we have to go now.” This was a comment from Drudge. He knew the fastest route to the cemetery and soon we were out of the city walls and walking rapidly towards the dilapidated graveyard.

Entering, it looked as it had when we had left it; badly kept and shabby, with several of the head stones knocked over. As we slowed down and approached, suddenly, a dreadful cry filled the air. It sounded like a myriad of voices screaming in pain and misery. This cry came from a diaphanous, transparent figure that had just emerged from the wall and was flying at great speed towards us, emitting this dreadful cry!

We braced ourselves for the coming onslaught but strangely, the creature wailed again and then retreated back into the wall. We all looked at each other.

Longhelim said: “Felix, any idea of what that was?”

“Some sort of undead, judging from the fact that it walks through walls, but I don’t know exactly what type. Possibly a particularly nasty one; a spectre but I have never heard of it wailing like that; with so many voices.”

The paladin looked thoughtfully at the wall: “Well, I don’t know why it ran away but it’s still lurking around somewhere so we’d better be on our toes.”

After that, we arranged ourselves in single file and with everyone bar me ducking their heads, we made our way into the sewer entrance. We were familiar with this tunnel and quickly reached the main sewer which ran through a larger cave. It was as charming as ever, with frozen sewage providing a solid if slippery floor. Thankfully, the temperature also nullified the smell. We could see the shaft going up at the far end when there was a yell from behind me. I turned around and saw that the incorporeal figure had made another appearance, just in front of Drudge who had the rearguard as usual. It took a clumsy swipe at the ranger but didn’t make any contact; then before it recovered its momentum, Drudge stepped back and blazed at it with three of his arrows. One of them sped straight through its chest but the other two seemed to meet more resistance on their passage through its body. They seemed to leave punctures in its flesh.

Everyone else had turned around and were getting ready to rush to Drudge’s aid, when another yell drew our attention to another of these creatures appearing out of the wall, this time in front of Victor. This one laid its hand squarely on Victor’s head and I could see the warrior recoil, as if struck by a mighty wind. Then he swung his sword wildly into the undead’s torso and in this case, both of his strikes seemed to go through it and leave rents. The undead were wailing in a hundred voices, ranting, screaming, pleading, crying; all seemingly terrified of being cursed to this unnatural existence forever. The cacophony was unsettling to put it mildly.

The undead facing Drudge pursued the ranger and swiped again; and missed again when I decided to cast my spell of force missiles. These were particularly effective on incorporeal creatures as the nature of the spell also made it effective on the ethereal plane, which acted as a part refuge for beings such as these. It visibly recoiled as my missiles struck its chest. Then it was hit by another set of arrows from Drudge and seemed badly hurt.

The creature facing Victor was having much greater success in touching the warrior and Victor was looking increasingly pale; nevertheless, he swiped determinedly at the enemy and was rewarded with several strikes. These left visible marks on the undead and at the last set of these, the creature dissipated around the Living Blade of Innenotdar.

Seeing this, I cast my last spell of force missiles at the enemy facing Drudge and as it struck it, the creature broke off its attack on the ranger and flew to confront me with an outspread hand. As it touched my chest, I felt a coldness and type of weakness I had never felt before. It was as if part of my energy had been sucked out of my body; I also felt that I had lost access to one of my most powerful spells; it was dreadful. Then there was a thunderous cry:

“Back from whence you came, you foul creature of darkness!”

This utterance came from Felix, who was brandishing his holy symbol at it. The effect was immediate. It cowered briefly and then sped through the wall.

We were all shaken after this fight; these were the very worst of undead. They preyed on the life force of the living and attempted to convert their victims into their undead state; it was a living death, not least as the victim turned was then completely under the thrall of its new master.

Victor grunted: “I am badly weakened. The enemy hit me several times and I will not be as effective. I feel weakened.”

John added: “We have to go on. We can’t afford to stop.”

“Felix, is there anything you can do?”

The priest thought: “Not at this time, but I will be able to once we rest. It will involve spell cramming, but there is a spell which will aid you to recover to your usual self.”

“And I as well?” I added.

“Were you struck?” asked the priest.

“Oh, yes.”

“Bloody undead! These things have really exacted a heavy toll on us and we’re not even in the palace yet!”

“Well, not much we can do about it now. Let’s go,” this from Longhelim.

With nothing else left to say, we moved forward and entered the shaft. The rope ladder we had left dangling was not there anymore but since we had been told that the passage had been in active use, this was not a great surprise.

I looked up: “Longhelim, let me cast some magic on you which will allow you to fly. Then you can take a quick look up there.”

I quickly cast the spell on the paladin, who flew up there and then came down.

“Nothing up there,” he grunted. “That grate looks solid now though.”

John stepped up: “Take me up there. I’ll have a look at the catch.”

So the paladin picked up the rogue and as soon as he was up there, John began to do something to the catch. It was obviously a little more difficult than he expected as it took longer than usual but finally, he said to Longhelim:

“Take me down and then fly up and try to open it.”

Longhelim did as asked and then flew up. Again, it took him a little longer but he finally leveraged the grate open and quickly after that, a rope ladder unrolled at our feet. Everyone quickly ascended. The last person below had been Felix and as we looked down we heard another thunderous imprecation:

“Back into your kennel, you undead scum!”

Then Felix appeared from the pit and he muttered:

“Well, you can add me to the list of victims of those things, whatever they are!”

Rapidly, we recovered and then looked at the door leading into the corridor. John manifested his invisible friend and attempted to open the door. It was locked but fortunately, John remembered that he still had his set of keys which had been looted from the body of our jailer in this delightful place.

The door was opened and we filed out in single line again. We were making our way to the quarters of the main jailer for this section of the dungeons. Victor was obviously still suffering as he staggered and scraped his plate armour against the wall several times; it was very noisy.

Victor reached the door and this time it was open. As he opened it, he let out a shout:

“The Ragesians! Serimus and the Inquisitor!”

Then he stopped and seemed to shake his head briefly. Then, suddenly, a wall of fire sped along the right wall of the corridor, cutting us off from the Ragesians. I cursed myself for not casting my fire protective spells previously, but it was too late now. Foolishly, I had not thought that we would meet the enemy so quickly.

Well, there was no help for it; we burned; it hurt. After the initial burn, we also had to quickly jump through the wall, one by one, being burnt yet again. I let various others go by me as I felt that it was far more important for the warriors to reach the enemy in this case but once I was ready, I did run along the corridor and, jumping through the wall, I saw that Serimus and the Inquisitor were penned to the far wall. Victor was next to the ambassador, but strangely, he seemed to be wielding a burning brand instead of his usual wooden sword. Serimus was looking at his bloody side and shouting:

“I surrender! I surrender!”

The inquisitor, sweating and with a snarl on his face twisted towards his companion: “Surrender is not an option!” he screeched and then incanted a spell.

This was a column of flame which came down from the ceiling and engulfed everyone in the room; including himself and his companion. The orc was obviously a fanatic! This was too much for Serimus. There was little more than a burnt smear left on the floor where he had been standing. The rest of us were little better off. One or two of us managed to react quickly enough to this suicidal tactic, managing to dodge the worst of the flame; namely Longhelim, Drudge and Felix, but the rest of us got the full blast. I was barely on my feet and Victor and John were little better off.

Then the orc stepped through the wall of flames, disappearing from view. Longhelim was about to step after him when I shouted:

“Hold!”

Then I stepped forward and cast my spell of fire protection on the paladin; better late than never and it would allow him to chase that bloody orc.

Longhelim stepped through the wall and we lost sight of him.

The wall of flame died shortly afterwards and we could see Longhelim in a corner, standing over a crumpled body.

We were all blackened, bloody and badly burnt. John, Felix and Longhelim immediately began to heal everyone, mostly with their wands. As they were doing this, I cast a small cantrip, trying to determine if our two former enemies had any worthy spoils of war, which indeed they did.

Then, we also searched the room and found one thing of interest. A note which stated two results for the Ragesian plan, code named Madness. One which claimed categorical success, leaving Dassen ripe for the picking of the Ragesians and the other result which was a complete failure and would someone come and pick them up now please as things were very difficult. Felix looked at these notes and said that they were of exactly the correct length for a magical message. It looked as if the Ragesians were preparing for all contingencies.

Once everyone had been healed, the note found and stored, we all sat down to discuss our next move.

Concerned that someone would decide to visit the Ragesians, we vacated their quarters and stepped into one the store rooms; the small one initially. There, we found that it looked very different from our previous visit. Now, all of the stores had been neatly piled to the walls and the centre contained a large table on which stood a collection of alchemical equipment. Sitting on the table was a note book. It contained the recipe and description of a poison named the Red Madness. A cursory reading through the notes revealed that it was an ingested substance which produced confusion, disorientation and finally overwhelming rage. It looked as if we had found one of the laboratories used for the manufacture of the poison.

It was a difficult situation. On the one hand, we had yet more highly circumstantial evidence in the form of the note found on the Ragesians and now the notebook. Yet, it was not truly solid evidence; but then I asked:

“Just what is this solid evidence?”

Longhelim answered: “A piece of poisoned food from the kitchens on a plate to be given to Gallo; a set of orders from Steppengaard detailing plans to take over the Kingdom on his own; a group of assassins hiding in a cellar, waiting to jump into the banqueting hall as they did on the King’s family previously.”

I looked at him: “In all honesty, just what do you think the chances are of us accomplishing that with the one single sweep of the castle we are going to be allowed before someone starts to question us?”

The others looked at me. They were just as aware of the enormity of what we needed to do.

Then Longhelim said: “We need to get to the kitchens. If anything is happening, it will be happening in the kitchens.”

John replied: “The kitchens are on the ground floor. We are three floors below that. That means negotiating through three floors of heavily patrolled corridors. We are good, but we are not that good.”

“Could we bluff our way through? Maybe saying that we have been invited and that we are inspecting security in the name of the Duke?” I asked.

For once, it was Victor who replied: “No one will believe that; especially if we begin down here, near the dungeons. We were too visible anyway; Longhelim nearly won the joust and Drudge did win his section; they’ll know who we are; and once they start asking, then it won’t take them long to work out that we didn’t come in through the front door. I suspect that security up there is pretty stringent right now. That’s not going to work.”

Longhelim was deep in thought: “So, realistically, the kitchens are out of reach; but……the guard was also concerned about the vault; with the Book of Eight Lands. That’s only on the floor above this one; John, you could slip up there if you were invisible and just confirm that the Book is still there; and that it hasn’t been tampered with.”

John was looking a little dubious: “My invisibility doesn’t last that long; but I agree, it’s worth a look. What are you going to be doing?”

The paladin answered: “I think we need to cram spells. Victor, Felix and Faden are all affected by that undead. After that, we need to get to the banquet. If we do that, we won’t have time to do anything else.”

John smiled: “Well, we will have given it our best. Now, I have an interesting idea about my little jaunt to the Vault.”

With that, he cast a spell and all of a sudden, his features changed, rippled and moulded themselves; suddenly, we had someone next to us who looked like the late, unlamented Ambassador Serimus.

“Now that’s a good trick. I hope that ambassador Serimus really threw his weight around; that will greatly ease your passage through the castle,” I said admiringly.

He winked at me and scurried out of the door. We sat down and began to cram.