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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6025738" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>We had only one more potential doorway to investigate and that was the dragon’s mouth, which we had seen in the initial room. That was obviously leading somewhere but we were very cautious. Everyone had a bad feeling about sticking their head into a dragon’s mouth, even if it was a stone one; especially, when that mouth was shrouded in darkness. Ultimately, John asked for a rope to be tied around his waist and stepped through; brave man. </p><p></p><p>Nothing happened thankfully; he returned and said that he had stepped into a small room which had one door in the wall opposite to his entry point. The door was surrounded by pulsing red runes. </p><p></p><p>“I really didn’t like the look of those,” he concluded. </p><p></p><p>Having said that, he then decided that he was going to get his invisible friend to “play with the door” as he put it. </p><p></p><p>A little later, there was a rumble and a blackened and burnt John scrambled out of the dragon’s mouth. </p><p></p><p>“Bloody, bloody lava” he shouted, wild-eyed and obviously disturbed, “there was a rain of lava falling out of the ceiling”. </p><p></p><p>Well, that was….unexpected. We didn’t quite know how to proceed. A little while later, after we had looked at each other, trying to work out what to do next, I told the others: </p><p></p><p>“I am going to try to get in there, just to see what is happening;” the others looked at me dubiously. I continued: “I still have my spell up.”</p><p></p><p>So, I stuck my head into the mouth and singed my beard, nose, chin, you name it and I burnt it. The lava was quite obviously still there. </p><p></p><p>The lava hurt me even through the fire protection although obviously not as badly as John. We waited a little longer and this time decided to poke a stick into the hole to see if it showed charring after we withdrew it. Mentally, I asked myself why we hadn’t done that previously but……never mind. </p><p></p><p>This time, we were able to withdraw the stick without any sign of burn marks. John went in again saying he would attempt to read the runes; he returned and said that they read as follows: “The Spirit of Damatarian shall destroy those who disturb his rest”; obviously we had found the tomb of the original owner of this villa: the pyromancer, Damatarian. </p><p></p><p>We cast various divination cantrips to see just what was trapped, what wasn’t and to try to determine just what were we up against. I wasn’t hopeful. It took several tries for John to determine just where the trap actually was, never mind trying to disarm it. Each time he failed, the lava rained down and burnt him, so Felix had to heal him. </p><p></p><p>Finally, he located the trap and triumphantly he pointed it out to Felix, who then tried to use one of his spell to dissolve the magic; unfortunately, he failed. So, John decided he would try to disable it the old fashioned way but after several attempts he finally gave up. </p><p></p><p>“I don’t know how they did it but that bloody door is sealed shut to us at this time. I really gave it my best shot but the lock is just beyond my skills at this time,” he muttered between gritted teeth.</p><p></p><p>“I’m beginning to really hate it here.”</p><p></p><p>We conferred. We had searched everywhere; if Faquaniel was to be trusted, then Lee had left the complex and could be anywhere watching the storm, ready to intensify it with the control wand; again we had to concede failure. Well, it was always going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. The magic needed to conjure a storm of this scale and size was of such magnitude that I was really groping in the dark as to its arcane mechanics. There was no reason to assume that Lee had to be in its eye, which is what we had been relying on.</p><p></p><p>I related this to the others and we decided that we had spent enough time here. There was nowhere else to search. We returned to the cells and said to Teymour and Faquaniel: </p><p></p><p>“To get here, we had to go through the sea. We have a spell which allows us to breathe underwater but we do not have a spare one, so we cannot take you with us at this time. Also, as you heard, there is a storm of such magnitude raging outside that it is certainly not safe for you to accompany us. So, we have to leave you here but rest assured that we will either return ourselves or send help.”</p><p></p><p>With that, we turned around and marched to the exit. It was a little cold but we were not too concerned about their opinion; after all, they had been less than forthcoming with us.</p><p></p><p>Our return to the upper floor was uneventful. It was a very good thing that Drudge and John had set up the rope through the shaft leading out of this cave as without it, we would have had problems but with it, ascending to the exit was easy. </p><p></p><p>After we had all been pulled up, we left this small chamber and as we exited, we realised that we had not searched this initial large room fully. We had been so anxious to follow the direction of the magic cast on Victor that we had ignored it. Correcting this omission, the room revealed four more cell doors but on investigation, little more of interest except for unidentified mouldy things. </p><p></p><p>Frustrated again, we left this large room and returned to the surface through the cell block. Unlike our previous experience, this room was now fully underwater but again the journey was uneventful. Finally we walked through the initial entrance hall and to my relief, we could finally see the exit; we were also aware that the water was far more disturbed than previously and even underwater we could hear that the storm had become even more intense. It was difficult to know just where the limit for this weather was. It was already flinging large stone blocks around as if they were leaves; I shuddered to think just what had happened to the general population of the peninsula. By this stage of the storm, it was irrelevant if someone was in a house in Seaquen or a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp; the storm was going to affect them irrespectively. I really hoped that there was enough suitable shelter for everyone but somehow I doubted it. Thankfully, Seaquen had a vast network of underground tunnels, otherwise, I suspected that the majority of the population would have been killed by now. </p><p></p><p>As for the elven fleet on the high seas…….unless they had some ability to control the winds, well then it was likely that the Shining Lands of Shahalesti had just lost a significant naval asset.</p><p></p><p>As usual, as I was speculating about this, I almost missed the jerk that Victor gave at the front; there was a flash in the water and a jagged spear of light hit the warrior; a lightning bolt! As soon as it was over, I saw several dark tentacles envelope and snatch him forward. That bloody squid! I knew it was around somewhere!</p><p></p><p>By this stage we were partly out of the water so I tried to cast a spell at the underwater mass which sprouted the tentacles but with no success. Victor was struggling mightily and Lula was having some difficulty in containing him. </p><p></p><p>There was a shout from above which we couldn’t make out as the wind was howling; we couldn’t see who was doing the actual shouting but we assumed that it was Lee. Felix quickly moved forward, cast a spell upwards and suddenly all the noise stopped; the howling wind, the splashing, everything. I could still speak so I was obviously out of range but it must have annoyed Lee. Drudge moved forward as well as something dropped from above; we couldn’t hear the splash but suddenly, we were able to make out one of the stone gargoyles from above, swimming towards us with obvious hostile intent. </p><p></p><p>For a moment I just shook my head….swimming, stone gargoyles.</p><p></p><p>Lula still had Victor in her tentacles at this point but it was all she could do to keep him enmeshed and Drudge was able to move up to her and make several cuts with his sword. It was still too awkward for him to fire a bow. This gave the gargoyle an opportunity to rip the ranger with her claws and teeth, staining the water red. </p><p></p><p>I was able to cast my tactically advantageous speed spell, to paraphrase Victor at this point and everyone perked up. With a couple of final blows, Drudge stuck his sword deep into Lula and she became an inert mass, her lifeless tentacles sliding off Victor; the warrior immediately stepped past Drudge and with a whirling combination of blows first sliced an arm off the gargoyle which was then followed by a slice to the neck which promptly decapitated it; not a moment too soon as another one quickly fell and splashed into the water next to Longhelim, who swung at it; it dodged. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the water rose up around us and we were fully submerged; either some druid spell or Lee playing with the storm. Unfortunately, this meant that we were unable to cast any further spells, which was very tiresome. Felix turned and began to move to the stairs that would lead him out of the water. Drudge followed him while Longhelim and Victor moved to the last gargoyle. I moved forward and followed Drudge and Felix; I didn’t think that the gargoyle would last long against the two warriors; moving through the water was slow and I was just able to see Drudge turn the corner in front of me, ascending the stairs. </p><p></p><p>I was fully expecting Victor and Longhelim to barrel past me any minute so I just kept going; as I emerged from the water, I saw a fairly horrible situation that was not very advantageous to us. The stairs were narrow, with a ruined wall on one side and the storm tossed sea on the other. Lee was there on the top of the stairs; cool, calm and collected in a strange martial pose, his body in a combat position and his fists clenched; his muscles were rigid and he looked as if he was ready to erupt into furious action at any moment; his face was serene except for brief moments when his visage suddenly developed a snout and huge teeth, resembling those of a bear; simultaneously, his fists briefly flashed as huge paws with massive claws; obviously not just a druid. Felix was already slumped in a fiery heap on the floor next to him with Drudge standing over the body and fighting desperately with Lee but finding it difficult to strike the swaying figure.</p><p></p><p>Tucked into Lee’s belt, I saw a stick, carved with runes: the control wand.</p><p></p><p>I saw him lean forward in a stylized move, one that he must have practiced countless times and his fists lashed out at Drudge, seemingly everywhere and from impossible angles and distances, striking him with massive force; every time he struck, the bear paws flashed. Drudge staggered as he was punched again and again and again…….</p><p></p><p>Knowing that the warriors were behind me, I had to run past, knowing the Lee would take a swipe at me but I couldn’t afford to get in the way; the swipe duly came, almost negligently but oh, it really hurt; despite my discomfort, the key thing was that I was past him! Not a moment too soon; even without turning around, I could hear the clanking of armour; I wasn’t sure who it was but it was a warrior of some sort, which was fortunate as at that moment, Drudge was hit again and burst into flame, joining Felix burning on the floor. </p><p></p><p>I moved away quickly and turned around. As I suspected, Longhelim was confronting Lee, followed by Victor; John had followed me and was also beyond the druid. Longhelim was faring better than Drudge and was able to strike Lee several times; I was thankful that my speed spell was obviously still working. Despite Longhelim’s skill though, Lee was still able to bludgeon him with his fists/paws but this time, the warrior withstood the battering and for a few moments was able to give as good as he got. I took out my wand and fired several shards of cold at Lee which seemed to make little difference as he still concentrated on Longhelim; finally, the warrior, like the others who had confronted him, crumpled to the floor, burning. </p><p></p><p>Victor calmly stepped forward, over the fallen Longhelim, defending him; skillfully, almost casually, his falchion flashed towards Lee; the druid tried to dodge but Victor was ready for this; he must have been studying the druid as he was fighting Longhelim; as Lee twisted and swayed, Victor changed the direction of his blow and his blade bit deeply into the druid’s side; too deeply. Victor’s skill and strength with the weapon was too much for Lee; as the blade was lodged deeply in his ribs, Lee’s face suddenly changed to a bestial snarl and with his mouth twisting, he bellowed in a voice that could be heard even above the screaming wind: </p><p></p><p>“Master, let your winds destroy them!!”</p><p></p><p>The storm around the druid intensified even more if that was possible, and Lee began to turn into dust around the Living Blade of Innenotdar; dust that was quickly sucked into an intense whirlwind that had mysteriously appeared next to the struggle. Victor just stood there, in the same position he had taken when he struck his final blow; it was obvious that if we had been affected by the winds, he would have been sucked into the same vortex as Lee. </p><p></p><p>I rushed forward and grabbed the control wand that had been left behind before it disappeared as well. Desperately, I waved it in the wind and more in hope than in any knowledge I shouted:</p><p></p><p>“Stop!”</p><p></p><p>Amazingly, the winds died down, the howling stopped and although the sea continued to be choppy, it was not getting any worse. The clouds began to disperse with uncanny speed. In an extraordinarily short time, the weather calmed and for the first time in months, as the clouds dispersed, we even saw the starry night sky!</p><p></p><p>We stood and looked at each other in surprise and relief before quickly beginning to administer aid to Felix, Longhelim and Drudge. We revived Longhelim using the potions from the bodies of the soldiers we had met below. We knew they were healing potions as we had seen these before. We poured several into the paladin who finally groaned, having consumed six of them. He must have been very deeply unconscious!</p><p></p><p>When he was finally awake, he finally took Felix’s healing wand and used it on him, rousing the priest who in turn roused Drudge. </p><p></p><p>After repairing what damage we could, we began to prepare to return to the Lyceum; there was much to think about. Just before he was turned to dust, Lee called out to a “Master”; so there was another player behind him; Ragesian most likely. Then there was the devastation; even without going into the town, we could see that Seaquen was almost leveled. As I mentioned previously, I dreaded to think what had happened to the refugee camps. Thank the gods we still had the dragon’s lyre on loan; it would certainly help at the moment. I just hoped that Votberd wouldn’t do something stupid like decide to keep it instead of honouring the agreement we had made with Your Mightyness. </p><p></p><p>That’s all we needed; an angry green dragon deciding it had been robbed…..again!</p><p></p><p>The whole town would have to be rebuilt. I just hoped that this time they would calculate with the influx of refugees and that this would force the factions closer. </p><p></p><p>Then we began to walk back to the Lyceum. This time, the journey was even slower mainly because of all the obstacles we had to negotiate; there was rubble everywhere. With a sinking feeling, I looked around me. It was going to take years to rebuild even with the Lyre; and as for the money needed…...I felt that Seaquen’s function as a shining symbol of the Resistance to Ragesia was completely gone. If anything it was the opposite; what was it saying? Resist us and you will be destroyed! And we don’t even need an army to do it! We have agents everywhere! The fact the Lee had been destroyed accomplishing his mission was irrelevant. His mission had been successful. </p><p></p><p>As I was looking around, trying to remember what had been where, I almost missed Victor’s hissed warning; looking at where he was pointing, I could see a huge flying shape outlined against the night sky. Could Your Mightyness be making a foray to Seaquen, taking advantage of the devastation? Carefully, we readied ourselves. I began to point my staff towards the figure but as it flew closer we realised that rather than assuming a huge serpentine shape, it developed into a huge avian shape; then I remembered that although we had never seen it, Laura Beck Adelsberg’s mount was known to be a giant eagle; and what was approaching was definitely giant and eagle-like or aquiline if one wanted to use a more scholarly term in this case. </p><p></p><p>The shape landed nearby and then walked towards us, a little awkwardly. As we reached it, we could see that it was indeed an enormous eagle, with an odd weapon in its beak; it looked like a spear but it was not exactly one. Anyway, it tossed it towards us and then spoke: </p><p></p><p>“Mighty heroes; and you are mighty and heroes; never doubt that. What you have done was something only you could do, by your might, your wits and your magic. The town is destroyed, but houses can be rebuilt, things can be replaced; you have saved thousands of lives and that is the most precious gift of all. The storm was getting stronger and stronger and soon it would have reached even the shelters of the population. If it had, the consequences would have been catastrophic! </p><p></p><p>But there have been some deaths; there always are. My mistress went out again and again into the teeth of the wind, braving the storms, looking for the weak, the helpless, the children and guiding them to safety. Then she decided to go out one last time and didn’t return. Thus it is my fate, like hers, to go on one last flight. I will not be returning; but before I go, my mistress wanted you to have her favoured weapon. May it serve you as well as it served her.</p><p></p><p>Fare well!”</p><p></p><p>With that it took several hops and launched itself into the air. We stared after it; hearing that Laura had lost her life was saddening but she had done exactly what she had been doing all her life; sacrificing herself for others. I hoped that whatever gods looked after her soul would take that into account. I also hoped that if she could, she would take a peek at us now and then and maybe laugh; I remembered that she had laughed often when we had talked. </p><p></p><p>After that, we walked back to the Lyceum.</p><p></p><p>When we arrived, we found the place in an uproar. Everyone was running around, carrying, organizing, helping and generally at least beginning to make the place functional again; as we were spotted, I heard a shout: </p><p></p><p>“It’s them!”</p><p></p><p>Immediately, Simeon and Kiernan appeared; gently, they took us to an empty room. There, Simeon asked: </p><p></p><p>“So, what happened? I assume that the abatement of the winds and the clearing of the sky was your doing? Please report and leave absolutely nothing out; it is impossible to tell when the tiniest detail could be of the greatest importance.”</p><p></p><p>So, Longhelim took the two magicians through our investigations into the villa. As the paladin described the conversation he had with Fanaquiel the elven prisoner, he added: </p><p></p><p>“……oh, and this maiden was definitely not telling us all she knew; something odd about her story. I suspect that being an elf, it has something to do with the Shahalesti but to be honest, bearing in mind what was happening, we didn’t consider it important to try to find out at the time; it was fairly irrelevant given the current situation. Also I am not sure about the other mage, Teymar; they claimed not to know each other but it does seem to stretch coincidence that two people tried to teleport, bearing in mind the danger of the spell.”</p><p></p><p>He then continued: </p><p></p><p>“Fanaquiel and Teymar believed that this obelisk was some sort of beacon that subverted teleport spells, somehow forcing users to its vicinity; I have to say all of that is beyond me. Maybe Faden will be able to explain it better later.”</p><p></p><p>He then continued with the narration of our investigation: the two mages winced when they heard about the trap guarding the Pyromancer’s tomb and looked at each other when they heard of the epic final battle against Lee Sidoneth. </p><p></p><p>“Could you repeat again what he said at the end please?” interrupted Simeon.</p><p></p><p>“Master, let your winds destroy them!” answered Longhelim. </p><p></p><p>The two mages looked at each other again, as if communicating silently. </p><p></p><p>Simeon then said: “Please continue with your report.”</p><p></p><p>Kiernan and Simeon were saddened by the news of Laura’s death and when Longhelim finished his report, sat and looked at us for a long time. The Simeon said: </p><p></p><p>“May we look at that strange crystal ball you found please? We would like to investigate it together with this control wand you obtained. After that, please go and rest; no doubt we will have many news and further questions for you tomorrow.”</p><p></p><p>That night, my exhaustion and my spell cramming ensured that my sleep was dreamless. I slept late and still felt tired the next morning. At breakfast, I saw everyone else with the exception of Felix and John; I was told that they were awake but still in the process of their ablutions. They were spell casters as well so I knew exactly how they felt. </p><p></p><p>The other two duly arrived and as we were finishing our food Simeon himself approached</p><p></p><p> “First things first: as of this morning, our reports state that there is no sign of the Shahalesti fleet. Bearing in mind the severity of the storm, we fear the worst.”</p><p></p><p>Another blow although not completely unexpected; if the Shahalesti fleet had been sunk then Lee’s scheme had really succeeded beyond his wildest expectations. The Ragesians would have sacrificed hundreds of agents to sink eighteen elven ships and even possibly drown Crown Princess Shalosha. Having said that, whatever had happened to the fleet, I thought it was unlikely that she would have perished so mundanely. </p><p></p><p>“Now gentlemen, on a more personal note, I have a proposition for you: Faden, I know that you are like a hound on a scent when it comes to magic so I propose to allow you full access to our library and for the next few days at least, we will support your spell learning fully, including any expenses you may incur for magical inks. I suggest you use the time wisely; John, this offer is also open to you. </p><p></p><p>As for the rest of you, I know that you have already given much but your organizational skills are going to be needed. We would be most grateful if you aided in the re-building efforts. </p><p></p><p>Despite the bleakness of the situation, there are other things happening and I do have a task which is very much suited to your skills but I need to do some preparation work first.”</p><p></p><p>I must confess I had sort of lost him as soon as he told me I had unlimited access to their spell library at their expense. Immediately, I was impatient to get back there and begin to do further research. I had read several spells which I felt would really help the warriors as well as other, more mundane pieces of magic; there was one very handy little spell for example which would open any lock; from a distance no less, thereby avoiding any pesky traps.</p><p></p><p>So, again, I had the opportunity scour the Lyceum library except that this time it felt that my time here was coming to an end so I became very conscious that I had to manage it far more efficiently. I had also somehow acquired an extra spur of energy and the capability to grasp and write more advanced formulae; as usual, my mind skittered over thousands of paths; that strange shield of fire that Ivellios used to defend himself in the tunnels under Seaquen; a more advanced form of the spell of invisibility; hardening the skin of warriors to make it impervious for most weapons; an invisible scout; all of these seemed to be within my capability now. It was wonderful! </p><p></p><p>Now, if only I had the time…..</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6025738, member: 6692807"] We had only one more potential doorway to investigate and that was the dragon’s mouth, which we had seen in the initial room. That was obviously leading somewhere but we were very cautious. Everyone had a bad feeling about sticking their head into a dragon’s mouth, even if it was a stone one; especially, when that mouth was shrouded in darkness. Ultimately, John asked for a rope to be tied around his waist and stepped through; brave man. Nothing happened thankfully; he returned and said that he had stepped into a small room which had one door in the wall opposite to his entry point. The door was surrounded by pulsing red runes. “I really didn’t like the look of those,” he concluded. Having said that, he then decided that he was going to get his invisible friend to “play with the door” as he put it. A little later, there was a rumble and a blackened and burnt John scrambled out of the dragon’s mouth. “Bloody, bloody lava” he shouted, wild-eyed and obviously disturbed, “there was a rain of lava falling out of the ceiling”. Well, that was….unexpected. We didn’t quite know how to proceed. A little while later, after we had looked at each other, trying to work out what to do next, I told the others: “I am going to try to get in there, just to see what is happening;” the others looked at me dubiously. I continued: “I still have my spell up.” So, I stuck my head into the mouth and singed my beard, nose, chin, you name it and I burnt it. The lava was quite obviously still there. The lava hurt me even through the fire protection although obviously not as badly as John. We waited a little longer and this time decided to poke a stick into the hole to see if it showed charring after we withdrew it. Mentally, I asked myself why we hadn’t done that previously but……never mind. This time, we were able to withdraw the stick without any sign of burn marks. John went in again saying he would attempt to read the runes; he returned and said that they read as follows: “The Spirit of Damatarian shall destroy those who disturb his rest”; obviously we had found the tomb of the original owner of this villa: the pyromancer, Damatarian. We cast various divination cantrips to see just what was trapped, what wasn’t and to try to determine just what were we up against. I wasn’t hopeful. It took several tries for John to determine just where the trap actually was, never mind trying to disarm it. Each time he failed, the lava rained down and burnt him, so Felix had to heal him. Finally, he located the trap and triumphantly he pointed it out to Felix, who then tried to use one of his spell to dissolve the magic; unfortunately, he failed. So, John decided he would try to disable it the old fashioned way but after several attempts he finally gave up. “I don’t know how they did it but that bloody door is sealed shut to us at this time. I really gave it my best shot but the lock is just beyond my skills at this time,” he muttered between gritted teeth. “I’m beginning to really hate it here.” We conferred. We had searched everywhere; if Faquaniel was to be trusted, then Lee had left the complex and could be anywhere watching the storm, ready to intensify it with the control wand; again we had to concede failure. Well, it was always going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. The magic needed to conjure a storm of this scale and size was of such magnitude that I was really groping in the dark as to its arcane mechanics. There was no reason to assume that Lee had to be in its eye, which is what we had been relying on. I related this to the others and we decided that we had spent enough time here. There was nowhere else to search. We returned to the cells and said to Teymour and Faquaniel: “To get here, we had to go through the sea. We have a spell which allows us to breathe underwater but we do not have a spare one, so we cannot take you with us at this time. Also, as you heard, there is a storm of such magnitude raging outside that it is certainly not safe for you to accompany us. So, we have to leave you here but rest assured that we will either return ourselves or send help.” With that, we turned around and marched to the exit. It was a little cold but we were not too concerned about their opinion; after all, they had been less than forthcoming with us. Our return to the upper floor was uneventful. It was a very good thing that Drudge and John had set up the rope through the shaft leading out of this cave as without it, we would have had problems but with it, ascending to the exit was easy. After we had all been pulled up, we left this small chamber and as we exited, we realised that we had not searched this initial large room fully. We had been so anxious to follow the direction of the magic cast on Victor that we had ignored it. Correcting this omission, the room revealed four more cell doors but on investigation, little more of interest except for unidentified mouldy things. Frustrated again, we left this large room and returned to the surface through the cell block. Unlike our previous experience, this room was now fully underwater but again the journey was uneventful. Finally we walked through the initial entrance hall and to my relief, we could finally see the exit; we were also aware that the water was far more disturbed than previously and even underwater we could hear that the storm had become even more intense. It was difficult to know just where the limit for this weather was. It was already flinging large stone blocks around as if they were leaves; I shuddered to think just what had happened to the general population of the peninsula. By this stage of the storm, it was irrelevant if someone was in a house in Seaquen or a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp; the storm was going to affect them irrespectively. I really hoped that there was enough suitable shelter for everyone but somehow I doubted it. Thankfully, Seaquen had a vast network of underground tunnels, otherwise, I suspected that the majority of the population would have been killed by now. As for the elven fleet on the high seas…….unless they had some ability to control the winds, well then it was likely that the Shining Lands of Shahalesti had just lost a significant naval asset. As usual, as I was speculating about this, I almost missed the jerk that Victor gave at the front; there was a flash in the water and a jagged spear of light hit the warrior; a lightning bolt! As soon as it was over, I saw several dark tentacles envelope and snatch him forward. That bloody squid! I knew it was around somewhere! By this stage we were partly out of the water so I tried to cast a spell at the underwater mass which sprouted the tentacles but with no success. Victor was struggling mightily and Lula was having some difficulty in containing him. There was a shout from above which we couldn’t make out as the wind was howling; we couldn’t see who was doing the actual shouting but we assumed that it was Lee. Felix quickly moved forward, cast a spell upwards and suddenly all the noise stopped; the howling wind, the splashing, everything. I could still speak so I was obviously out of range but it must have annoyed Lee. Drudge moved forward as well as something dropped from above; we couldn’t hear the splash but suddenly, we were able to make out one of the stone gargoyles from above, swimming towards us with obvious hostile intent. For a moment I just shook my head….swimming, stone gargoyles. Lula still had Victor in her tentacles at this point but it was all she could do to keep him enmeshed and Drudge was able to move up to her and make several cuts with his sword. It was still too awkward for him to fire a bow. This gave the gargoyle an opportunity to rip the ranger with her claws and teeth, staining the water red. I was able to cast my tactically advantageous speed spell, to paraphrase Victor at this point and everyone perked up. With a couple of final blows, Drudge stuck his sword deep into Lula and she became an inert mass, her lifeless tentacles sliding off Victor; the warrior immediately stepped past Drudge and with a whirling combination of blows first sliced an arm off the gargoyle which was then followed by a slice to the neck which promptly decapitated it; not a moment too soon as another one quickly fell and splashed into the water next to Longhelim, who swung at it; it dodged. Suddenly, the water rose up around us and we were fully submerged; either some druid spell or Lee playing with the storm. Unfortunately, this meant that we were unable to cast any further spells, which was very tiresome. Felix turned and began to move to the stairs that would lead him out of the water. Drudge followed him while Longhelim and Victor moved to the last gargoyle. I moved forward and followed Drudge and Felix; I didn’t think that the gargoyle would last long against the two warriors; moving through the water was slow and I was just able to see Drudge turn the corner in front of me, ascending the stairs. I was fully expecting Victor and Longhelim to barrel past me any minute so I just kept going; as I emerged from the water, I saw a fairly horrible situation that was not very advantageous to us. The stairs were narrow, with a ruined wall on one side and the storm tossed sea on the other. Lee was there on the top of the stairs; cool, calm and collected in a strange martial pose, his body in a combat position and his fists clenched; his muscles were rigid and he looked as if he was ready to erupt into furious action at any moment; his face was serene except for brief moments when his visage suddenly developed a snout and huge teeth, resembling those of a bear; simultaneously, his fists briefly flashed as huge paws with massive claws; obviously not just a druid. Felix was already slumped in a fiery heap on the floor next to him with Drudge standing over the body and fighting desperately with Lee but finding it difficult to strike the swaying figure. Tucked into Lee’s belt, I saw a stick, carved with runes: the control wand. I saw him lean forward in a stylized move, one that he must have practiced countless times and his fists lashed out at Drudge, seemingly everywhere and from impossible angles and distances, striking him with massive force; every time he struck, the bear paws flashed. Drudge staggered as he was punched again and again and again……. Knowing that the warriors were behind me, I had to run past, knowing the Lee would take a swipe at me but I couldn’t afford to get in the way; the swipe duly came, almost negligently but oh, it really hurt; despite my discomfort, the key thing was that I was past him! Not a moment too soon; even without turning around, I could hear the clanking of armour; I wasn’t sure who it was but it was a warrior of some sort, which was fortunate as at that moment, Drudge was hit again and burst into flame, joining Felix burning on the floor. I moved away quickly and turned around. As I suspected, Longhelim was confronting Lee, followed by Victor; John had followed me and was also beyond the druid. Longhelim was faring better than Drudge and was able to strike Lee several times; I was thankful that my speed spell was obviously still working. Despite Longhelim’s skill though, Lee was still able to bludgeon him with his fists/paws but this time, the warrior withstood the battering and for a few moments was able to give as good as he got. I took out my wand and fired several shards of cold at Lee which seemed to make little difference as he still concentrated on Longhelim; finally, the warrior, like the others who had confronted him, crumpled to the floor, burning. Victor calmly stepped forward, over the fallen Longhelim, defending him; skillfully, almost casually, his falchion flashed towards Lee; the druid tried to dodge but Victor was ready for this; he must have been studying the druid as he was fighting Longhelim; as Lee twisted and swayed, Victor changed the direction of his blow and his blade bit deeply into the druid’s side; too deeply. Victor’s skill and strength with the weapon was too much for Lee; as the blade was lodged deeply in his ribs, Lee’s face suddenly changed to a bestial snarl and with his mouth twisting, he bellowed in a voice that could be heard even above the screaming wind: “Master, let your winds destroy them!!” The storm around the druid intensified even more if that was possible, and Lee began to turn into dust around the Living Blade of Innenotdar; dust that was quickly sucked into an intense whirlwind that had mysteriously appeared next to the struggle. Victor just stood there, in the same position he had taken when he struck his final blow; it was obvious that if we had been affected by the winds, he would have been sucked into the same vortex as Lee. I rushed forward and grabbed the control wand that had been left behind before it disappeared as well. Desperately, I waved it in the wind and more in hope than in any knowledge I shouted: “Stop!” Amazingly, the winds died down, the howling stopped and although the sea continued to be choppy, it was not getting any worse. The clouds began to disperse with uncanny speed. In an extraordinarily short time, the weather calmed and for the first time in months, as the clouds dispersed, we even saw the starry night sky! We stood and looked at each other in surprise and relief before quickly beginning to administer aid to Felix, Longhelim and Drudge. We revived Longhelim using the potions from the bodies of the soldiers we had met below. We knew they were healing potions as we had seen these before. We poured several into the paladin who finally groaned, having consumed six of them. He must have been very deeply unconscious! When he was finally awake, he finally took Felix’s healing wand and used it on him, rousing the priest who in turn roused Drudge. After repairing what damage we could, we began to prepare to return to the Lyceum; there was much to think about. Just before he was turned to dust, Lee called out to a “Master”; so there was another player behind him; Ragesian most likely. Then there was the devastation; even without going into the town, we could see that Seaquen was almost leveled. As I mentioned previously, I dreaded to think what had happened to the refugee camps. Thank the gods we still had the dragon’s lyre on loan; it would certainly help at the moment. I just hoped that Votberd wouldn’t do something stupid like decide to keep it instead of honouring the agreement we had made with Your Mightyness. That’s all we needed; an angry green dragon deciding it had been robbed…..again! The whole town would have to be rebuilt. I just hoped that this time they would calculate with the influx of refugees and that this would force the factions closer. Then we began to walk back to the Lyceum. This time, the journey was even slower mainly because of all the obstacles we had to negotiate; there was rubble everywhere. With a sinking feeling, I looked around me. It was going to take years to rebuild even with the Lyre; and as for the money needed…...I felt that Seaquen’s function as a shining symbol of the Resistance to Ragesia was completely gone. If anything it was the opposite; what was it saying? Resist us and you will be destroyed! And we don’t even need an army to do it! We have agents everywhere! The fact the Lee had been destroyed accomplishing his mission was irrelevant. His mission had been successful. As I was looking around, trying to remember what had been where, I almost missed Victor’s hissed warning; looking at where he was pointing, I could see a huge flying shape outlined against the night sky. Could Your Mightyness be making a foray to Seaquen, taking advantage of the devastation? Carefully, we readied ourselves. I began to point my staff towards the figure but as it flew closer we realised that rather than assuming a huge serpentine shape, it developed into a huge avian shape; then I remembered that although we had never seen it, Laura Beck Adelsberg’s mount was known to be a giant eagle; and what was approaching was definitely giant and eagle-like or aquiline if one wanted to use a more scholarly term in this case. The shape landed nearby and then walked towards us, a little awkwardly. As we reached it, we could see that it was indeed an enormous eagle, with an odd weapon in its beak; it looked like a spear but it was not exactly one. Anyway, it tossed it towards us and then spoke: “Mighty heroes; and you are mighty and heroes; never doubt that. What you have done was something only you could do, by your might, your wits and your magic. The town is destroyed, but houses can be rebuilt, things can be replaced; you have saved thousands of lives and that is the most precious gift of all. The storm was getting stronger and stronger and soon it would have reached even the shelters of the population. If it had, the consequences would have been catastrophic! But there have been some deaths; there always are. My mistress went out again and again into the teeth of the wind, braving the storms, looking for the weak, the helpless, the children and guiding them to safety. Then she decided to go out one last time and didn’t return. Thus it is my fate, like hers, to go on one last flight. I will not be returning; but before I go, my mistress wanted you to have her favoured weapon. May it serve you as well as it served her. Fare well!” With that it took several hops and launched itself into the air. We stared after it; hearing that Laura had lost her life was saddening but she had done exactly what she had been doing all her life; sacrificing herself for others. I hoped that whatever gods looked after her soul would take that into account. I also hoped that if she could, she would take a peek at us now and then and maybe laugh; I remembered that she had laughed often when we had talked. After that, we walked back to the Lyceum. When we arrived, we found the place in an uproar. Everyone was running around, carrying, organizing, helping and generally at least beginning to make the place functional again; as we were spotted, I heard a shout: “It’s them!” Immediately, Simeon and Kiernan appeared; gently, they took us to an empty room. There, Simeon asked: “So, what happened? I assume that the abatement of the winds and the clearing of the sky was your doing? Please report and leave absolutely nothing out; it is impossible to tell when the tiniest detail could be of the greatest importance.” So, Longhelim took the two magicians through our investigations into the villa. As the paladin described the conversation he had with Fanaquiel the elven prisoner, he added: “……oh, and this maiden was definitely not telling us all she knew; something odd about her story. I suspect that being an elf, it has something to do with the Shahalesti but to be honest, bearing in mind what was happening, we didn’t consider it important to try to find out at the time; it was fairly irrelevant given the current situation. Also I am not sure about the other mage, Teymar; they claimed not to know each other but it does seem to stretch coincidence that two people tried to teleport, bearing in mind the danger of the spell.” He then continued: “Fanaquiel and Teymar believed that this obelisk was some sort of beacon that subverted teleport spells, somehow forcing users to its vicinity; I have to say all of that is beyond me. Maybe Faden will be able to explain it better later.” He then continued with the narration of our investigation: the two mages winced when they heard about the trap guarding the Pyromancer’s tomb and looked at each other when they heard of the epic final battle against Lee Sidoneth. “Could you repeat again what he said at the end please?” interrupted Simeon. “Master, let your winds destroy them!” answered Longhelim. The two mages looked at each other again, as if communicating silently. Simeon then said: “Please continue with your report.” Kiernan and Simeon were saddened by the news of Laura’s death and when Longhelim finished his report, sat and looked at us for a long time. The Simeon said: “May we look at that strange crystal ball you found please? We would like to investigate it together with this control wand you obtained. After that, please go and rest; no doubt we will have many news and further questions for you tomorrow.” That night, my exhaustion and my spell cramming ensured that my sleep was dreamless. I slept late and still felt tired the next morning. At breakfast, I saw everyone else with the exception of Felix and John; I was told that they were awake but still in the process of their ablutions. They were spell casters as well so I knew exactly how they felt. The other two duly arrived and as we were finishing our food Simeon himself approached “First things first: as of this morning, our reports state that there is no sign of the Shahalesti fleet. Bearing in mind the severity of the storm, we fear the worst.” Another blow although not completely unexpected; if the Shahalesti fleet had been sunk then Lee’s scheme had really succeeded beyond his wildest expectations. The Ragesians would have sacrificed hundreds of agents to sink eighteen elven ships and even possibly drown Crown Princess Shalosha. Having said that, whatever had happened to the fleet, I thought it was unlikely that she would have perished so mundanely. “Now gentlemen, on a more personal note, I have a proposition for you: Faden, I know that you are like a hound on a scent when it comes to magic so I propose to allow you full access to our library and for the next few days at least, we will support your spell learning fully, including any expenses you may incur for magical inks. I suggest you use the time wisely; John, this offer is also open to you. As for the rest of you, I know that you have already given much but your organizational skills are going to be needed. We would be most grateful if you aided in the re-building efforts. Despite the bleakness of the situation, there are other things happening and I do have a task which is very much suited to your skills but I need to do some preparation work first.” I must confess I had sort of lost him as soon as he told me I had unlimited access to their spell library at their expense. Immediately, I was impatient to get back there and begin to do further research. I had read several spells which I felt would really help the warriors as well as other, more mundane pieces of magic; there was one very handy little spell for example which would open any lock; from a distance no less, thereby avoiding any pesky traps. So, again, I had the opportunity scour the Lyceum library except that this time it felt that my time here was coming to an end so I became very conscious that I had to manage it far more efficiently. I had also somehow acquired an extra spur of energy and the capability to grasp and write more advanced formulae; as usual, my mind skittered over thousands of paths; that strange shield of fire that Ivellios used to defend himself in the tunnels under Seaquen; a more advanced form of the spell of invisibility; hardening the skin of warriors to make it impervious for most weapons; an invisible scout; all of these seemed to be within my capability now. It was wonderful! Now, if only I had the time….. [/QUOTE]
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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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