Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
The_Warlock
Explorer
Rackhir said:
Luna, in a tutu, tapdancing on lizardmen to the sounds of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy?"
shilsen
Adventurer
The Guardian Angels appear in the middle of a large courtyard surrounded by the walls and battlements of a small palace. Standing on a low hill, the palace looks down on the surrounding buildings and streets running down to a river and, beyond it, a huge expanse of water. On the opposite side, and on the far side of the river, rise the trees of an equatorial forest that stretches to the horizon. They are in Newthrone, the capital of Q’barra, a large port city on the mouth of the Whitecliff river, where it empties into Adder Bay. The city, though far smaller than the metropolises of the Five Nations, is nearly as heavily fortified, having had to fight off Lhazaar pirates and lizardfolk for over three decades. Those in the know notice that both palace and city replicate the architecture of old Galifar, especially pre-War Cyre, giving the impression that a small part of the nation had been picked up and dropped into the jungle.
The Angels are met by a trio of guards, startled at their sudden appearance but clearly expecting them. Once Nameless hands over the letter from Joseth ir’Kalain, they are quickly led into the palace to a meeting with Alzia ir’Kesslan. The First Minister of Q’barra and sister to King Sebastes is a rotund woman with a harried expression, who carefully reads over the letter from Joseth. Then she looks over the group and says, “Joseth speaks very highly of your abilities, and I have read of your exploits in the Korranberg Chronicle, so I’m grateful for your offer of aid. Is there any particular manner in which you thought you might be able to help?”
“We thought we’d destroy the lizardfolk army, actually,” says Nameless. Luna nods vigorously.
“You … plan to destroy the army? Alone?” Alzia’s diplomatic training allows her to pronounce the question as a polite query, but she cannot hide the expression in her eyes.
“Yes.”
“I … see. Let me tell you a little about the situation and then you can decide what to do.” Alzia proceeds to give the Angels a crash course about Q’barra. She explains that Q’barra has two major regions settled by humans and the other common races. The central area of New Galifar consists of Newthrone and a large number of towns extending along the Whitecliff river. Alzia adds that nothing smaller than a town can hope to survive for long, due to the lizardfolk. The second populated area, called Hope, consists of refugee villages at the base of the Endworld Mountains to the west and north.
The lizardfolk live mainly in the jungles to the north and east, and the Basura Swamp far to the northeast, and consist of three distinct types. The blackscale lizardfolk are the largest and most hostile, and they tend to guard ruins of holy significance to the lizardfolk, which dot the forest. The small poison dusk lizardfolk are stealthy and vicious, and also hostile to the settlers. The cold sun lizardfolk are the most common, and while suspicious of strangers are comparatively less hostile than the other two groups. One of the cold sun tribes, the Twilight Walkers, are actually friendly and work with the settlers, often coming to Newthrone and serving as ambassadors and guides. The three types of lizardfolk tend not to work with each other, but the blackscales sometimes influence and bully the weaker ones with their strength and position as holy guardians.
Starting nearly a month ago, groups of lizardfolk started raiding New Galifar more often and in much larger numbers than usual. It began with mainly the poison dusk and cold sun, but eventually lizardfolk of the three types were seen attacking together, which is very unusual. A week ago, the town of Woodhome was attacked and burned to the ground, with almost all the two thousand inhabitants killed. The few survivors reported that an army of many hundreds, maybe thousands, of lizardfolk attacked. Not only were all three types of lizardfolk present, but some were spellcasters, there were flying lizardfolk which breathed acid and fire, and a gigantic dragon accompanied them.
This is the point where Nameless interrupts. “A dragon? Are they certain?”
“A few of the survivors reported it, but I doubt it. The lizardfolk do venerate dragons, with some of their holy sites containing dragon skeletons, but we have never had a case of a live dragon aiding them. Right now, I’m less concerned about supposed dragons and more about the lizardfolk themselves. One army would be bad enough, but there are reports of at least two and probably three of them on the move.”
“What about these friendly lizardfolk,” Six asks. “Do they have any information?”
“Not really. The cold sun are evidently involved and while I believe the Twilight Walker tribe is not involved, they have completely cut down on communication with New Galifar too. We did manage to question some about the attacks, but they all claimed they weren’t sure why. During the attacks, however, there have been mentions of attackers shouting “Rhashaak” and “Haka’torvhak.” I have no idea what Rhashaak is, but Haka’torvhak is supposedly a holy site in the forest to the northeast.”
Luna, whose eyes have begun to glaze over during the information interchange, sits up a little and says, “Haka’torvhak? Means ‘the throne of the holy dragons’.”
The rest of the Angels turn and look at her in surprise, and Nameless says, “I believe that name refers to a site connected to the Age of Demons.” Alzia looks at him, waiting to see if he will add anything, and then continues, “If you could find out anything about the connection between Rhashaak, Haka’torvhak and these attacks, I’d appreciate it, but obviously the armies are my main concern. It seems likely that the next attack will be at the town of Whitecliff, near the headwaters of the river, over two hundred miles away. The nation of Riedra has promised aid and troops are on the way, but they will not be able to arrive and travel to Whitecliff in time. So helping fight off the attack would be the primary aim right now.”
Nameless nods, wondering if he should mention anything about what he knows of the Riedrans and their connections with the Quori. Due to the original settlers’ repudiation of the Five Nations during the Last War, Q’barra has always made alliances with other nations, such as the Lhazaar Principalities and Riedra. Q’barra has the largest Riedran population in Khorvaire, just as it has the largest collection of Cyran refugees after Breland. For the moment, Nameless decides to say nothing about them. Instead, he says, “Not a problem. Anything else?”
“There is another issue which might be connected to these attacks, though I doubt it. As far as I know, there have been no attacks in Hope, which makes little sense. The lizardfolk prefer easy targets, and the villages in Hope regularly fall to their lizardfolk attacks. But they haven’t been touched this time. I want to know why, and that’s something which you might help investigate later.” Alzia hesitates, looking at Gareth, and then adds, “I also hear that the local leader and priest at Wyrmwatch, the largest village, is claiming that the way to be protected from these attacks is by leading a holier life. In order to achieve that, he’s enacting some of the more … outmoded aspects of the Silver Flame. Including the Purge.”
“What?!” Luna is on her feet instantly, chair crashing over.
Gareth frowns. “Now that is something I did not expect to hear.”
“Of course not,” says Korm. “Nobody expects the Thranish Inquisition.”
“Okay, where’s this guy?” growls Luna. “I’m going to go rip his head off!”
Alzia says quickly, “I understand your outrage, but this is a new development, and I assume he has done little damage yet. I would appreciate it if you focus on the army.”
“And it’s likely that he’s looking to persecute lycanthropes, just like during the original Purge,” Gareth begins, but is interrupted by a growl of “Like during the original Purge is not a reassuring phrase!”
The others also step in to calm Luna down, promising that they will travel to Wyrmwatch once the armies are dealt with and rip off heads as needed. Alzia holds her peace, but she does look relieved when Luna grumpily subsides and says she’ll be patient for the moment.
“Thank you,” says Alzia. “I think that covers everything. Is there anything else you need to know or some aid I can provide?”
Nameless says, “Yes. I need a detailed description of Whitecliff, so I can teleport us there. And a door.”
“I … er, what?”
“A door. Actually, make that four doors. With a frame and supports at the bottom so that they’ll stand upright. They don’t have to be large; in fact, five feet across with the frame, at most. And I need four emeralds. This big.”
As Nameless spreads thumb and forefinger to indicate what he means, his companions stare at him. “What’s that for?” asks Korm.
“I have a plan!” says the alienist with a thin smile, before turning back to Alzia. “Do you think you could get that?”
“I shall try to, though the emeralds may be a little difficult. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all.”
Alzia has the Angels taken to a comfortable sitting room and leaves. Once she has gone, Six asks, “All right, what is this plan, Nameless?”
The alienist chuckles. “I know a spell which affects a door and causes an explosion in a huge area around it when opened. So I thought it would be amusing and create some confusion to drop a door or two with such spells on it into the forest and let the lizardfolk stumble into them. That’s what the emeralds are for too.”
“Wow! That is really kinda nuts!” says Korm. “I approve!”
* * * * *
A few hours later, the Angels stand in the town square of Whitecliff, explaining what they want to a significantly concerned crowd, led by a confused but receptive mayor. “So we want you to stay within the town’s walls,” Nameless says, “And we’re going to put a door outside the walls. Absolutely nobody should touch it, unless they want to be blown to smithereens. It’s for any of the lizardfolk who get here while we aren’t around. Got it?”
“Yes, yes. And you will be…?”
“Going into the forest and destroying the army. We should be back tomorrow.”
With that, the Angels head into the forest. A couple of hours after they enter, they are rejoined by Luna, now in the shape of a particularly large hawk, who had flown off to locate the army. “I found them,” she says, flying down to a landing on Six’s shoulder. “There are well over a thousand of them. But not as many now. I fried a bunch!”
Her companions sigh in unison. “What part of scout their position and don’t attract attention didn’t you understand?”
“But I saw the leader-types and thought I could take them out. But they’re tough! They took one of my flame strikes and an arc of lightning too and I only killed a couple of them. And then they jumped me and I had to run. That big leader hits really hard! Good thing I have that dimension door ring or I might have got killed.”
“What big leader? Can you just tell us what the army consists of? In detail!”
“That’s what I was going to do, if you bums didn’t keep interrupting. Now pay attention! They’ve got all three of the types, like that woman we met said. Mostly the brown ones that must be the cold sun lizardfolk, and also a lot of the small green ones. They’re the only ones with bows, from what I saw. The big black ones are a lot fewer, maybe a tenth of the lot or so.”
“What about the leaders?”
“They’ve definitely got some spellcasters among the cold sun ones. Druids, I think, but weak. But the main ones are the blackscales. I saw seven that had wings, and they were also the only ones wearing armor and carrying swords, so I’m pretty sure they’re special. The biggest of them had an axe, and that’s the one who really smashed me hard. Of course, I could take him alone, but not with all his six idiot buddies backing him up. Well, four now. I fried two.”
“You know,” Gareth hazards, “Now that Luna has thrown at least a bit of a scare into them, maybe we can try talking to them and warning them that if they don’t leave, we’ll take the army apart. Maybe start off by hitting them with some large area effects to make sure they’ll listen.”
“I don’t understand this talking to them stuff!” growls Luna. “They’re an army! And they’re killing people. And believe me, I don’t think talking will work.”
“I agree,” says Nameless. “Let’s make camp, get some rest, and take out the army when we have all our spells tomorrow. How far away are they, Luna?”
“If they move at the same speed as when I left them, six-seven miles.”
“Good enough. Let’s make camp. But first, we need to set up the alarm system. Someone help me get a door out of the portable hole.
* * * * * * * * * *
The poison dusk scouts sit silently, the starlight gleaming greenly in their wide, lidless eyes as they watch the speaker. Even in the darkness, they can see that Kaliya’s protective coloration is the pale green which betokens confusion and fear. He says, “I was with the guardians when the shaman arrived. He was burned, badly burned, with half of his feathers scorched off. And when he transformed I’ve never seen one of them so scared. He didn’t even stop to greet them. He…”
“What did he say?” asks one of the scouts impatiently.
The older warrior frowns. “I’m telling you! Mahaal said that death and destruction has come to the first army. All of the shamans are dead, even the guardians have fallen, half of the warriors are dead and the rest have fled back into the forests.”
Gasps arise around him, even though the rumors have spread through the army. “But that cannot be!” argues one of the scouts. “There were more hair-skins than us at the big village and we slew them and burned their wooden lodges to the ground while they ran from us. How could they send enough to defeat our army in the forest?”
Kaliya hesitates, fearing what the response will be, but has nothing but the truth. “It was not an army which slew ours. It was five … creatures.”
“What?!”
As derisive cries begin to rise, Kaliya hisses over them, “Silence! I speak the truth! If you think me a liar, go ask the shamans and the guardians!” As the voices diminish slightly, he quickly continues. “Mahaal said that the day before the disaster, the army was proceeding through the forest when a large hawk attacked the leaders with powerful magic. It struck them with flames from its claws and lightning from its beak, actually slaying two of the guardians and three shamans. The other guardians attacked, led by Gaarka, but though many struck the creature it simply disappeared. Nobody knew where it came from or where it went.”
This time there is no argument, only a quiet silence, until someone says, “Then…?”
Almost disappointedly, Kaliya says, “Nothing more happened that night, but all were worried after the death of the guardians,” but quickly adds, “But the next day, something strange happened. As the army went through the forest, our egg-brothers in the lead found a door in the forest.”
“A door?”
“Yes, one of the hard wooden mats the hair-skins block the air from their huts with. Just standing there in the forest! With writing on it.”
“Writing?”
“Yes. Mahaal saw it later, and it said ‘Do not open.’ It was in the language of the scaled lords. So the egg-brothers opened it.”
The scouts bob their heads in understanding. That was their task, to test all that they found for potential danger.
Kaliya flings his hands apart, startling them. “And the air around them exploded. Trees and bushes were torn to bits, and the scouts, all of them, were killed immediately, ripped into pieces.”
“But how? Why?”
“Who knows? Mahaal said it was magic, but even he was not sure, and he said he has never seen such destruction done by magic.” Kaliya’s voice falls dramatically, as he begins to enjoy the attention. “Until the demons came!”
Drinking in the rapt silence, he continues, “They rose from the forest before the army. The leader and the largest was a giant bear.”
“Bear?” asks one of the less experienced scouts.
“Yes. You see them come down from the mountains some years, thick and dark-haired, with paws that crush and fangs that rip. But this one was a giant. And it flew! And two things rode it. One looked like a hair-skin, with a giant sword and all metal armor. The other was also in metal, but also made of wood and stone, with no face, and a huge chain with blades on it. And there were two more. One was a gray-skin, but with large black wings, like those of the guardians, and a giant sword too. And the other was a hair-skin too, but with no arms, only long green tentacles in their place. Mahaal said they must have been demons.”
“Our egg-brothers tried to shoot them, but their arrows broke like branches against stone. The demon with the tentacles even seized the arrows in mid-air and hurled them back, killing the archers with their own shafts*. But otherwise they flew above the army as if it did not exist.” Kaliya pauses again, waiting for a response, and after a couple of seconds, one of his listeners asks in an awed tone, “Then what?”
“And then the forest exploded with the demons’ magic. Sheets of fire hundreds of feet wide, which hunted through the forest or our warriors as if alive, burning them alive but not touching the bushes and trees. Giant fields of light that blinded them and then scorched off their hide**. Boiling rain that fell from a clear sky ***. They used even the magic of our shamans, making the plants seize our warriors and hold them so they couldn’t flee. In seconds, hundreds were dead. Our egg-brothers and the cold sun tribes mostly, Mahaal said, but even many of the blackscales fell.”
Only faint gasps answer him, and after a dramatic pause, Kaliya continues, “Since the demons were flying, our warriors could not reach them, and our egg-brothers’ arrows were useless. But then the shamans joined the battle. They caught the demons in a storm of sleet to blind their eyes, and struck them with giant stones made of cold water.” The listening scouts shiver at the thought. Cold-blooded, born and bred in the equatorial jungles and swamps of Q’barra, their only experience of ice is through the magic of their shamans.
Kaliya continues, “While the demons were stuck in the cloud of darkness, the guardians rose to meet them, attacking them as they emerged. The shamans aided them with their spells. The guardians struck them again and again, but their flesh was like stone. Even the blades given by Rhashaak only wounded them a little, as had the shamans’ spells. But before the shamans could help the guardians, the tentacle demon caught them in a cloud of darkness. Mahaal said the darkness was like mud, holding them in place, and it burned their scales like the acid breath of the guardians can. He fought his way through it, slowly. Luckily, he had a spell left to protect himself from the acid, and that saved him. Outside, he heard the sounds of battle continue, and the cries of the dying warriors. Finally, he emerged from one side of the cloud, just as the last of the shamans also did, from another side. And he saw…”
There is a long pause, but none of the scouts speak, and finally Kaliya does so again. “The guardians lay dead, hacked and torn to pieces, some with parts frozen as if the demons used cold magic too. The giant bear, the man with the sword and the gray-skin stood among the corpses, while the metal man flew above them. All were wounded from the guardians’ blades, some covered in blood, but they did not seem to care. Only Gaarka still flew, and he called to the army to slay them. Most had fled but some remained, especially the blackscales. They charged, in the name of Rhashaak. The other shaman cast a spell.”
Kaliya falls silent again, bowing his head. The listeners wait expectantly, but he does not speak again. Finally one asks, almost apologetically, “Then?”
The older poison dusk warrior sighs and says, “And Mahaal saw the chain strike Gaarka from the sky, while the tentacle-demon blasted the shaman to death. That is the last thing he saw. He ran around the fog, transformed to a bird, and fled. He said the laughter of the demons and the screaming of those that had charged them followed him for miles.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Gareth casts his spell and touches the head of the corpse. After a few seconds, the dead blackscale stirs and its mouth gapes, though the lidless eyes remain blank. “All right!” says the paladin. “Ask the questions.”
“Where is Haka’torvhak?” asks Nameless. The corpse replies, “At the city of the demons.”
The alienist nods at his companions. “I told you that armor and the axe was incredibly ancient, didn’t I?” Luna grunts from her position leaning against a tree just outside Whitecliff. “Yeah, yeah – you’re brilliant.” Turning to the corpse, she asks, “So where’s this city of the demons?”
“In the forest to the southeast.”
“We need specifics,” says Six. “How many days walk is it to the city?”
“One month.”
“A month?” asks Korm. “That seems high. Hell, they could almost cross Q’barra in that time, right?”
Luna shakes her head. “They use a different word for month in draconic. It means two weeks in our time.”
“That sounds more reasonable,” says Nameless. “So – what is your master Rhashaak?”
Despite its state and the inflectionless tone the spell makes it reply in, the corpse somehow manages to sound reverent. “He is the god made flesh.”
“Wonderful! How many others like Rhashaak are there?”
“There is only one Rhashaak. He is all.”
“That’s a little reassuring. I’d like to find out how many of these leader-types there are,” Nameless explains to the others, “And specifically like this guy, not just his support.” He then asks the corpse, “How many others exactly like you are there?
“Many. We are the guardians of the holy city.”
“Only one question left,” says Gareth.
“All right,” says Nameless. “I’d like to know how these ones came to be. They’re clearly part-dragon, so I’d like to know if there are a bunch of dragons popping them out somewhere in the forest.” The others agree that it’s worth knowing, so he asks, “How did you gain your wings and ability to breathe acid?”
“The aura of the holy city touched us.” With that, the corpse shudders and falls silent.
“Okay,” says Luna. “We hung out in this dumb town till you could prepare those spells and talk to the dead guy. Now can we go back to talk to the lady? I want to go beat up another army.”
* Reverse Arrow spell from Spell Compendium
** Blistering Radiance (SC)
*** Holy Storm (SC)
The Angels are met by a trio of guards, startled at their sudden appearance but clearly expecting them. Once Nameless hands over the letter from Joseth ir’Kalain, they are quickly led into the palace to a meeting with Alzia ir’Kesslan. The First Minister of Q’barra and sister to King Sebastes is a rotund woman with a harried expression, who carefully reads over the letter from Joseth. Then she looks over the group and says, “Joseth speaks very highly of your abilities, and I have read of your exploits in the Korranberg Chronicle, so I’m grateful for your offer of aid. Is there any particular manner in which you thought you might be able to help?”
“We thought we’d destroy the lizardfolk army, actually,” says Nameless. Luna nods vigorously.
“You … plan to destroy the army? Alone?” Alzia’s diplomatic training allows her to pronounce the question as a polite query, but she cannot hide the expression in her eyes.
“Yes.”
“I … see. Let me tell you a little about the situation and then you can decide what to do.” Alzia proceeds to give the Angels a crash course about Q’barra. She explains that Q’barra has two major regions settled by humans and the other common races. The central area of New Galifar consists of Newthrone and a large number of towns extending along the Whitecliff river. Alzia adds that nothing smaller than a town can hope to survive for long, due to the lizardfolk. The second populated area, called Hope, consists of refugee villages at the base of the Endworld Mountains to the west and north.
The lizardfolk live mainly in the jungles to the north and east, and the Basura Swamp far to the northeast, and consist of three distinct types. The blackscale lizardfolk are the largest and most hostile, and they tend to guard ruins of holy significance to the lizardfolk, which dot the forest. The small poison dusk lizardfolk are stealthy and vicious, and also hostile to the settlers. The cold sun lizardfolk are the most common, and while suspicious of strangers are comparatively less hostile than the other two groups. One of the cold sun tribes, the Twilight Walkers, are actually friendly and work with the settlers, often coming to Newthrone and serving as ambassadors and guides. The three types of lizardfolk tend not to work with each other, but the blackscales sometimes influence and bully the weaker ones with their strength and position as holy guardians.
Starting nearly a month ago, groups of lizardfolk started raiding New Galifar more often and in much larger numbers than usual. It began with mainly the poison dusk and cold sun, but eventually lizardfolk of the three types were seen attacking together, which is very unusual. A week ago, the town of Woodhome was attacked and burned to the ground, with almost all the two thousand inhabitants killed. The few survivors reported that an army of many hundreds, maybe thousands, of lizardfolk attacked. Not only were all three types of lizardfolk present, but some were spellcasters, there were flying lizardfolk which breathed acid and fire, and a gigantic dragon accompanied them.
This is the point where Nameless interrupts. “A dragon? Are they certain?”
“A few of the survivors reported it, but I doubt it. The lizardfolk do venerate dragons, with some of their holy sites containing dragon skeletons, but we have never had a case of a live dragon aiding them. Right now, I’m less concerned about supposed dragons and more about the lizardfolk themselves. One army would be bad enough, but there are reports of at least two and probably three of them on the move.”
“What about these friendly lizardfolk,” Six asks. “Do they have any information?”
“Not really. The cold sun are evidently involved and while I believe the Twilight Walker tribe is not involved, they have completely cut down on communication with New Galifar too. We did manage to question some about the attacks, but they all claimed they weren’t sure why. During the attacks, however, there have been mentions of attackers shouting “Rhashaak” and “Haka’torvhak.” I have no idea what Rhashaak is, but Haka’torvhak is supposedly a holy site in the forest to the northeast.”
Luna, whose eyes have begun to glaze over during the information interchange, sits up a little and says, “Haka’torvhak? Means ‘the throne of the holy dragons’.”
The rest of the Angels turn and look at her in surprise, and Nameless says, “I believe that name refers to a site connected to the Age of Demons.” Alzia looks at him, waiting to see if he will add anything, and then continues, “If you could find out anything about the connection between Rhashaak, Haka’torvhak and these attacks, I’d appreciate it, but obviously the armies are my main concern. It seems likely that the next attack will be at the town of Whitecliff, near the headwaters of the river, over two hundred miles away. The nation of Riedra has promised aid and troops are on the way, but they will not be able to arrive and travel to Whitecliff in time. So helping fight off the attack would be the primary aim right now.”
Nameless nods, wondering if he should mention anything about what he knows of the Riedrans and their connections with the Quori. Due to the original settlers’ repudiation of the Five Nations during the Last War, Q’barra has always made alliances with other nations, such as the Lhazaar Principalities and Riedra. Q’barra has the largest Riedran population in Khorvaire, just as it has the largest collection of Cyran refugees after Breland. For the moment, Nameless decides to say nothing about them. Instead, he says, “Not a problem. Anything else?”
“There is another issue which might be connected to these attacks, though I doubt it. As far as I know, there have been no attacks in Hope, which makes little sense. The lizardfolk prefer easy targets, and the villages in Hope regularly fall to their lizardfolk attacks. But they haven’t been touched this time. I want to know why, and that’s something which you might help investigate later.” Alzia hesitates, looking at Gareth, and then adds, “I also hear that the local leader and priest at Wyrmwatch, the largest village, is claiming that the way to be protected from these attacks is by leading a holier life. In order to achieve that, he’s enacting some of the more … outmoded aspects of the Silver Flame. Including the Purge.”
“What?!” Luna is on her feet instantly, chair crashing over.
Gareth frowns. “Now that is something I did not expect to hear.”
“Of course not,” says Korm. “Nobody expects the Thranish Inquisition.”
“Okay, where’s this guy?” growls Luna. “I’m going to go rip his head off!”
Alzia says quickly, “I understand your outrage, but this is a new development, and I assume he has done little damage yet. I would appreciate it if you focus on the army.”
“And it’s likely that he’s looking to persecute lycanthropes, just like during the original Purge,” Gareth begins, but is interrupted by a growl of “Like during the original Purge is not a reassuring phrase!”
The others also step in to calm Luna down, promising that they will travel to Wyrmwatch once the armies are dealt with and rip off heads as needed. Alzia holds her peace, but she does look relieved when Luna grumpily subsides and says she’ll be patient for the moment.
“Thank you,” says Alzia. “I think that covers everything. Is there anything else you need to know or some aid I can provide?”
Nameless says, “Yes. I need a detailed description of Whitecliff, so I can teleport us there. And a door.”
“I … er, what?”
“A door. Actually, make that four doors. With a frame and supports at the bottom so that they’ll stand upright. They don’t have to be large; in fact, five feet across with the frame, at most. And I need four emeralds. This big.”
As Nameless spreads thumb and forefinger to indicate what he means, his companions stare at him. “What’s that for?” asks Korm.
“I have a plan!” says the alienist with a thin smile, before turning back to Alzia. “Do you think you could get that?”
“I shall try to, though the emeralds may be a little difficult. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all.”
Alzia has the Angels taken to a comfortable sitting room and leaves. Once she has gone, Six asks, “All right, what is this plan, Nameless?”
The alienist chuckles. “I know a spell which affects a door and causes an explosion in a huge area around it when opened. So I thought it would be amusing and create some confusion to drop a door or two with such spells on it into the forest and let the lizardfolk stumble into them. That’s what the emeralds are for too.”
“Wow! That is really kinda nuts!” says Korm. “I approve!”
* * * * *
A few hours later, the Angels stand in the town square of Whitecliff, explaining what they want to a significantly concerned crowd, led by a confused but receptive mayor. “So we want you to stay within the town’s walls,” Nameless says, “And we’re going to put a door outside the walls. Absolutely nobody should touch it, unless they want to be blown to smithereens. It’s for any of the lizardfolk who get here while we aren’t around. Got it?”
“Yes, yes. And you will be…?”
“Going into the forest and destroying the army. We should be back tomorrow.”
With that, the Angels head into the forest. A couple of hours after they enter, they are rejoined by Luna, now in the shape of a particularly large hawk, who had flown off to locate the army. “I found them,” she says, flying down to a landing on Six’s shoulder. “There are well over a thousand of them. But not as many now. I fried a bunch!”
Her companions sigh in unison. “What part of scout their position and don’t attract attention didn’t you understand?”
“But I saw the leader-types and thought I could take them out. But they’re tough! They took one of my flame strikes and an arc of lightning too and I only killed a couple of them. And then they jumped me and I had to run. That big leader hits really hard! Good thing I have that dimension door ring or I might have got killed.”
“What big leader? Can you just tell us what the army consists of? In detail!”
“That’s what I was going to do, if you bums didn’t keep interrupting. Now pay attention! They’ve got all three of the types, like that woman we met said. Mostly the brown ones that must be the cold sun lizardfolk, and also a lot of the small green ones. They’re the only ones with bows, from what I saw. The big black ones are a lot fewer, maybe a tenth of the lot or so.”
“What about the leaders?”
“They’ve definitely got some spellcasters among the cold sun ones. Druids, I think, but weak. But the main ones are the blackscales. I saw seven that had wings, and they were also the only ones wearing armor and carrying swords, so I’m pretty sure they’re special. The biggest of them had an axe, and that’s the one who really smashed me hard. Of course, I could take him alone, but not with all his six idiot buddies backing him up. Well, four now. I fried two.”
“You know,” Gareth hazards, “Now that Luna has thrown at least a bit of a scare into them, maybe we can try talking to them and warning them that if they don’t leave, we’ll take the army apart. Maybe start off by hitting them with some large area effects to make sure they’ll listen.”
“I don’t understand this talking to them stuff!” growls Luna. “They’re an army! And they’re killing people. And believe me, I don’t think talking will work.”
“I agree,” says Nameless. “Let’s make camp, get some rest, and take out the army when we have all our spells tomorrow. How far away are they, Luna?”
“If they move at the same speed as when I left them, six-seven miles.”
“Good enough. Let’s make camp. But first, we need to set up the alarm system. Someone help me get a door out of the portable hole.
* * * * * * * * * *
The poison dusk scouts sit silently, the starlight gleaming greenly in their wide, lidless eyes as they watch the speaker. Even in the darkness, they can see that Kaliya’s protective coloration is the pale green which betokens confusion and fear. He says, “I was with the guardians when the shaman arrived. He was burned, badly burned, with half of his feathers scorched off. And when he transformed I’ve never seen one of them so scared. He didn’t even stop to greet them. He…”
“What did he say?” asks one of the scouts impatiently.
The older warrior frowns. “I’m telling you! Mahaal said that death and destruction has come to the first army. All of the shamans are dead, even the guardians have fallen, half of the warriors are dead and the rest have fled back into the forests.”
Gasps arise around him, even though the rumors have spread through the army. “But that cannot be!” argues one of the scouts. “There were more hair-skins than us at the big village and we slew them and burned their wooden lodges to the ground while they ran from us. How could they send enough to defeat our army in the forest?”
Kaliya hesitates, fearing what the response will be, but has nothing but the truth. “It was not an army which slew ours. It was five … creatures.”
“What?!”
As derisive cries begin to rise, Kaliya hisses over them, “Silence! I speak the truth! If you think me a liar, go ask the shamans and the guardians!” As the voices diminish slightly, he quickly continues. “Mahaal said that the day before the disaster, the army was proceeding through the forest when a large hawk attacked the leaders with powerful magic. It struck them with flames from its claws and lightning from its beak, actually slaying two of the guardians and three shamans. The other guardians attacked, led by Gaarka, but though many struck the creature it simply disappeared. Nobody knew where it came from or where it went.”
This time there is no argument, only a quiet silence, until someone says, “Then…?”
Almost disappointedly, Kaliya says, “Nothing more happened that night, but all were worried after the death of the guardians,” but quickly adds, “But the next day, something strange happened. As the army went through the forest, our egg-brothers in the lead found a door in the forest.”
“A door?”
“Yes, one of the hard wooden mats the hair-skins block the air from their huts with. Just standing there in the forest! With writing on it.”
“Writing?”
“Yes. Mahaal saw it later, and it said ‘Do not open.’ It was in the language of the scaled lords. So the egg-brothers opened it.”
The scouts bob their heads in understanding. That was their task, to test all that they found for potential danger.
Kaliya flings his hands apart, startling them. “And the air around them exploded. Trees and bushes were torn to bits, and the scouts, all of them, were killed immediately, ripped into pieces.”
“But how? Why?”
“Who knows? Mahaal said it was magic, but even he was not sure, and he said he has never seen such destruction done by magic.” Kaliya’s voice falls dramatically, as he begins to enjoy the attention. “Until the demons came!”
Drinking in the rapt silence, he continues, “They rose from the forest before the army. The leader and the largest was a giant bear.”
“Bear?” asks one of the less experienced scouts.
“Yes. You see them come down from the mountains some years, thick and dark-haired, with paws that crush and fangs that rip. But this one was a giant. And it flew! And two things rode it. One looked like a hair-skin, with a giant sword and all metal armor. The other was also in metal, but also made of wood and stone, with no face, and a huge chain with blades on it. And there were two more. One was a gray-skin, but with large black wings, like those of the guardians, and a giant sword too. And the other was a hair-skin too, but with no arms, only long green tentacles in their place. Mahaal said they must have been demons.”
“Our egg-brothers tried to shoot them, but their arrows broke like branches against stone. The demon with the tentacles even seized the arrows in mid-air and hurled them back, killing the archers with their own shafts*. But otherwise they flew above the army as if it did not exist.” Kaliya pauses again, waiting for a response, and after a couple of seconds, one of his listeners asks in an awed tone, “Then what?”
“And then the forest exploded with the demons’ magic. Sheets of fire hundreds of feet wide, which hunted through the forest or our warriors as if alive, burning them alive but not touching the bushes and trees. Giant fields of light that blinded them and then scorched off their hide**. Boiling rain that fell from a clear sky ***. They used even the magic of our shamans, making the plants seize our warriors and hold them so they couldn’t flee. In seconds, hundreds were dead. Our egg-brothers and the cold sun tribes mostly, Mahaal said, but even many of the blackscales fell.”
Only faint gasps answer him, and after a dramatic pause, Kaliya continues, “Since the demons were flying, our warriors could not reach them, and our egg-brothers’ arrows were useless. But then the shamans joined the battle. They caught the demons in a storm of sleet to blind their eyes, and struck them with giant stones made of cold water.” The listening scouts shiver at the thought. Cold-blooded, born and bred in the equatorial jungles and swamps of Q’barra, their only experience of ice is through the magic of their shamans.
Kaliya continues, “While the demons were stuck in the cloud of darkness, the guardians rose to meet them, attacking them as they emerged. The shamans aided them with their spells. The guardians struck them again and again, but their flesh was like stone. Even the blades given by Rhashaak only wounded them a little, as had the shamans’ spells. But before the shamans could help the guardians, the tentacle demon caught them in a cloud of darkness. Mahaal said the darkness was like mud, holding them in place, and it burned their scales like the acid breath of the guardians can. He fought his way through it, slowly. Luckily, he had a spell left to protect himself from the acid, and that saved him. Outside, he heard the sounds of battle continue, and the cries of the dying warriors. Finally, he emerged from one side of the cloud, just as the last of the shamans also did, from another side. And he saw…”
There is a long pause, but none of the scouts speak, and finally Kaliya does so again. “The guardians lay dead, hacked and torn to pieces, some with parts frozen as if the demons used cold magic too. The giant bear, the man with the sword and the gray-skin stood among the corpses, while the metal man flew above them. All were wounded from the guardians’ blades, some covered in blood, but they did not seem to care. Only Gaarka still flew, and he called to the army to slay them. Most had fled but some remained, especially the blackscales. They charged, in the name of Rhashaak. The other shaman cast a spell.”
Kaliya falls silent again, bowing his head. The listeners wait expectantly, but he does not speak again. Finally one asks, almost apologetically, “Then?”
The older poison dusk warrior sighs and says, “And Mahaal saw the chain strike Gaarka from the sky, while the tentacle-demon blasted the shaman to death. That is the last thing he saw. He ran around the fog, transformed to a bird, and fled. He said the laughter of the demons and the screaming of those that had charged them followed him for miles.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Gareth casts his spell and touches the head of the corpse. After a few seconds, the dead blackscale stirs and its mouth gapes, though the lidless eyes remain blank. “All right!” says the paladin. “Ask the questions.”
“Where is Haka’torvhak?” asks Nameless. The corpse replies, “At the city of the demons.”
The alienist nods at his companions. “I told you that armor and the axe was incredibly ancient, didn’t I?” Luna grunts from her position leaning against a tree just outside Whitecliff. “Yeah, yeah – you’re brilliant.” Turning to the corpse, she asks, “So where’s this city of the demons?”
“In the forest to the southeast.”
“We need specifics,” says Six. “How many days walk is it to the city?”
“One month.”
“A month?” asks Korm. “That seems high. Hell, they could almost cross Q’barra in that time, right?”
Luna shakes her head. “They use a different word for month in draconic. It means two weeks in our time.”
“That sounds more reasonable,” says Nameless. “So – what is your master Rhashaak?”
Despite its state and the inflectionless tone the spell makes it reply in, the corpse somehow manages to sound reverent. “He is the god made flesh.”
“Wonderful! How many others like Rhashaak are there?”
“There is only one Rhashaak. He is all.”
“That’s a little reassuring. I’d like to find out how many of these leader-types there are,” Nameless explains to the others, “And specifically like this guy, not just his support.” He then asks the corpse, “How many others exactly like you are there?
“Many. We are the guardians of the holy city.”
“Only one question left,” says Gareth.
“All right,” says Nameless. “I’d like to know how these ones came to be. They’re clearly part-dragon, so I’d like to know if there are a bunch of dragons popping them out somewhere in the forest.” The others agree that it’s worth knowing, so he asks, “How did you gain your wings and ability to breathe acid?”
“The aura of the holy city touched us.” With that, the corpse shudders and falls silent.
“Okay,” says Luna. “We hung out in this dumb town till you could prepare those spells and talk to the dead guy. Now can we go back to talk to the lady? I want to go beat up another army.”
* Reverse Arrow spell from Spell Compendium
** Blistering Radiance (SC)
*** Holy Storm (SC)
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shilsen
Adventurer
Vorput said:
We're very good people. All our horrible out-of-game references make sense in character. For a certain definition of "make sense"
Greater Sign of Sealing, from the Spell Compendium. I realized later that Rackhir had misread it, since the door can only be opened by breaking it open (or knock or dispel magic), and it has +10 to the DC, +10 hardness and +5 hp/lvl. So the lizardfolk wouldn't actually have got it open, but since I had them do so in-game, I put it in the writeup. Plus it didn't make a difference to the battle. But it was funny as hell when he said, "I need a door," and both Alzia and the other PCs went "Whuh?!"
carborundum
Adventurer
Wow - amazing!
I bet the army decimation was great fun to play and they really got to work their powers
I can't wait til my group is a few levels higher so they can have a showing-off fight against overwhelming odds ... though those guardians sounded reasonably challenging
I bet the army decimation was great fun to play and they really got to work their powers
I can't wait til my group is a few levels higher so they can have a showing-off fight against overwhelming odds ... though those guardians sounded reasonably challenging
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