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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: 6056102" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>This village, Macon, was a fairly typical settlement of this region; peaceful, prosperous farmers in large, neat farms and houses; we were able to purchase horses and no one paid us any undue attention. Once mounted, we spent began to ride north as quickly as possible. </p><p></p><p>We followed the river and fortunately did not meet any further incidents as we travelled, following the frozen River Nesham again. Tempers were short after our experiences in the dungeons and no one was feeling particularly garrulous so the journey was mostly silent. Several days later, we crossed the border into Duke Gallo’s land and almost immediately, at Jinis’s instructions, began to travel inland. </p><p></p><p>It was that evening that Felix began to look at Victor’s knee in earnest. He cast various detections spells on it and asked Victor a great many questions. He poked and prodded and asked him to walk several times, asking him what was painful and what was not. Then he asked the warrior to run and made detailed notes.</p><p></p><p> The next morning, he performed various rites and one complicated spell; when the priest finished, the warrior wordlessly rose up and began to perform one of his series of martial exercises; he managed to do them without limping or losing speed, unlike the previous days. The ritual even managed to replace the teeth that Victor had had knocked out during his ordeal.</p><p></p><p>When he finished, Victor simply said: “Thank you”, softly. Everyone could tell that he conveyed a great deal in that simple statement. </p><p></p><p>As the landscape was covered in snow, travel was still slow but Gallo’s lands were densely settled. Judging by the pattern of the settlement, they must have been widely cultivated and it was rare for us to be of out of sight of some village, hamlet or farm. </p><p></p><p>It was on that day that we saw a group of horsemen in the distance. We tensed, readying weapons just in case and slowly walked our animals towards them. As we approached, we saw that it was a patrol, led by a dwarf; fortunately he was known to Jinis: </p><p></p><p>“Commander Hertiage, well met. Please, how is His Grace? I must get to him immediately. Will you help us?”</p><p></p><p>“Lord Jinis? Is that you? We were not expecting you. Where have you been? Are you all right? We have heard all sorts of rumours from the capital and about the King. What has happened?”</p><p></p><p>“I will tell you all but please, take me and my companions to the Duke as fast as you can. It is very urgent.”</p><p></p><p>Hertiage immediately formed his patrol about us and we began to travel. As previously, he was full of questions and Jinis told him of events so far. </p><p></p><p>“Those treacherous Ragesians! What is the King thinking? Allow an army of forty thousand into the country? To get at Seaquen? I don’t know a great deal about Seaquen but at least they had the guts to stand up to that madwoman Leska and say no more; and good for them! Someone should have done it years ago. Coaltongue was bad enough but at least one knew where one stood with him; if you upset him, he sent an army after you. This Leska, she uses assassins, traitors and spies. Bah, it’s no way to fight!”</p><p></p><p>Commander Hertiage had strong opinions on everything but especially about Ragesians and Seaquen. The former was bad, the latter good. It is to be noted that I do not mean that he was simple; no, his reasons for his opinions were very valid and well thought through. It was very refreshing to meet someone who did not attempt to hide or layer his opinions. </p><p></p><p>As we approached Gallo’s Fend, the settlements became even denser and in each the Commander would speak with the person in authority, warning them of possible Ragesian aggression and telling them to prepare for war. His audience usually received the news with remarkable equanimity and I realised that these people lived with the threat of Ragesian raids and potential outbreaks of war throughout their lives; they trusted the Duke implicitly and knew exactly what to do upon receiving Hertiage’s warning.</p><p></p><p>During the journey, I had also been thinking about the most recent events. I was disturbed; there was so much going on and we knew so little. It was imperative that we tried to find out more so one evening, I took the others to one side and told them of my concerns; there was one that worried me most of all: </p><p></p><p>“I still fear assassins in Gallo’s Fend; people think they are safe but I am sure that the King’s family was protected by the best bodyguards in the Kingdom and it did not help them at all. Does anyone realize how difficult it is to synchronise eighteen murders within minutes of each other, in two separate locations? And by different methods? </p><p></p><p>Anyway, Felix, you have a cantrip that detects poison in the vicinity, don’t you? I have not been able to find an arcane version of it otherwise I would be taking every day. We must have access to it as much as possible and use it whenever we feel appropriate, no matter how embarrassing it may seem. I think we are past the stage of embarrassment and now have to concentrate on survival.</p><p></p><p>Above all, we have to be truly alert. Those assassins are out there somewhere“.</p><p></p><p>The others nodded grimly. </p><p></p><p>A couple of days later, in the distance, we saw an enormous structure which Hertiage confirmed as Gallo’s Fend; we were curious about this fortress and Hertiage was more than happy to enlighten us.</p><p></p><p>Although there were other passes through the mountains, they were narrow, difficult to negotiate and heavily defended by fiercely independent clans of mountain dwarves, who had been allied with Gallo’s family for generations. The only pass which an army could feasibly use was Alydi’s Gap; it was overlooked from the heights by several outposts along its length and at its exit into Dassen, it was blocked by the River Nesham, which was of substantial width at this point. The river curved naturally around a rocky rise of land upon which the fortress, Gallo’s Fend, was built; so, not only did the settlement have a river running around it, providing fresh water and preventing a siege, it also had a formidable natural defence in the form of jagged, rocky cliffs, disrupting any sort of organized enemy approach; this combination of natural obstacles had been artificially augmented over generations, making it an almost insurmountably strong redoubt.</p><p></p><p>Without going into details, Hertiage also referred to an extensive network of underground tunnels which were not only escape routes but also supply points and defensive conduits; it seemed as if the rocky rise upon which Gallo’s Fend was built was just as much an underground defensive strongpoint as it was an overground fortress.</p><p></p><p>It was also fortified from the Dassenian side although those walls were not nearly as strong or formidable as there were no rocky cliffs to negotiate. Hertiage mentioned that during the summer, small ships patrolled the river adding another layer of defence; they could not do this over the winter but winter campaigns were less likely and brought their own unique set of problems. </p><p></p><p>All in all, this would be a very strong nut to crack, even for a Ragesian army of forty thousand and its non-human auxiliaries.</p><p></p><p>As we came into sight of the city, we could see another cavalry patrol galloping towards us. Hertiage greeted them and they immediately formed around us and said that Duke Gallo would like to see us immediately. </p><p></p><p>As we entered into the city, we saw that it was bustling, busy and preparing for war; everyone and I mean everyone, including the children, was carrying some sort of weapon. Even the houses were built in such a way as to add to the defense of the fortress; house to house fighting would be very difficult and dangerous. I could see that Victor and Longhelim were exchanging a few words here and there, pointing at corners and down streets; John was looking around as well, as if seeking exits and Drudge was looking at the rooves of the houses, possibly for more ambushes. Obviously they had taken my warnings about assassins already in the city to heart; as well they should have. </p><p></p><p>We rode to a substantial castle where a group of people was waiting. At its head was a tall, dignified man, dressed simply; he looked solid and calm, like the fortress around him; he had blonde hair, some of which had turned gray and eyes that seemed to take in everything at a glance; I thought he and Simeon would get on very well. </p><p></p><p>Jinis jumped off his horse and knelt: “My Lord, it is good to see you.”</p><p></p><p>“And it is good to see you as well Jinis; I feared I never would again. Come inside; please introduce me to your friends”.</p><p></p><p>Introductions were quickly made and Gallo just looked at us as he steepled his fingers in front of his chest. The courtiers behind him looked at us with a mixture of curiosity, impatience and indifference. We were an unknown quantity. </p><p></p><p>Duke Gallo led us into a small chamber inside and asked us to sit down. </p><p></p><p>“Now, please tell me where you are from and what you are doing here.”</p><p></p><p>So, Longhelim, using that marvelous voice, gave an abbreviated version of events; or tried to anyway. The Duke was very canny and wanted to know various details and refused to allow the paladin to skim over events because he didn’t deem them important. In truth, they were not important in the grand scheme of events but the Duke still wanted to know about them. Thus, finally, he had obtained a far more complete outline of events that Longhelim had initially planned to give. This was not an attempt to hide anything but more an attempt to give an account of events achieved by the group as a whole as opposed to the roles that various individuals played. However, I realised that by the end the account, Duke Gallo had cleverly drawn out our professions and capabilities in his quest for details. Thus, even Hertiage was staring at the warriors with a great deal of respect after Longhelim told them of our battle with the Great Ice Worm or our dealings with Her Mightyness, the Green Dragon of Sour Lake Swamp. </p><p>In the end, he stood up and said: </p><p></p><p>“Thank you for rescuing Jinis. For that alone, you have my gratitude; as for everything else, you have given me a great deal to think about.”</p><p></p><p>He rang a little bell and a small non-descript man appeared at the door. </p><p></p><p>“This is Roger. He will look after your needs.”</p><p></p><p>He turned to the man: “Roger, please take these gentlemen to the Blue House. It will be their quarters for the forseeable future.”</p><p></p><p>Then he turned to us: “Gentlemen, I hope you will forgive me. I would like to continue my conversation with Jinis and I also need to talk to my advisors. Could we please meet tomorrow morning? Here?”</p><p></p><p>We knew a dismissal when we heard one and followed Roger to the aptly named Blue House. There, we were offered food; and after checking it for poison, we partook gladly. After that, we had the evening to ourselves. </p><p></p><p>We wondered around the town. It was a cheerful, bustling place; full of shops, shouting people, crowds and markets. Unlike Bresk, where everyone was looking over their shoulders all the time, this was a far more irreverent setting. Although people were fully aware of the importance of Gallo’s Fend in the strategic sense, they had not lost their sense of humour; this could change if the Ragesian decided to besiege it of course.</p><p></p><p>Victor decided to sell his spare set of armour and after some dickering with an armourer, received a very good price; it seemed as if, in the case of arms and armour, demand was outstripping supply. </p><p></p><p>Once we ate a good meal at one of the many inns, we returned to the Blue House for a good night’s sleep. After camping out in the wilderness and the hospitality of Bresk’s dungeons, it was good to be in a bed again. </p><p></p><p>The next morning, we had a long breakfast; the conversation was animated and things were finally beginning to return to normal, especially now that Victor no longer limped; that had been a vicious reminder of our recent ordeal; then we left for our appointment with Duke Gallo. </p><p></p><p>As soon as we reached the castle, we were met by a servant who quickly led us to a room full of people. We saw various tables and there were scrolls and maps strewn around everywhere. It was obviously some sort of planning chamber. Apart from Gallo, we recognized Commander Hertiage and Jinis among the group; the others seemed to be functionaries, runners, advisors and servants. I hoped they were trustworthy but from what I saw, Gallo certainly had a better grasp of security than Steppengaard; not having any Ragesian Inquisitors in his Court was certainly a start. </p><p></p><p>Gallo had been leaning over a table, studying a piece of paper. He turned around: </p><p></p><p>“Ah, gentlemen, thank you for being so prompt.”</p><p></p><p>He then looked pointedly at the servants and the runners in the room. They all left, leaving only Jinis, Hertiage and a group of advisors. </p><p></p><p>Gallo continued: “First, as I mentioned yesterday, again I would like to extend my gratitude for your timely rescue of Jinis. His predicament was most troubling. Please accept this token of my esteem.”</p><p></p><p>One of the advisors handed Longhelim a piece of paper who handed it to me as usual. It was a promissory note on the Duke’s treasury for a sizeable amount of money. </p><p></p><p>“Should you wish to convert that into anything else apart from gold, please let one of my people know and I am sure we will be able to accommodate you.</p><p></p><p>Now, to business; I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that there have been developments: Steppengaard has committed himself and is marching up the river as we speak. My scouts tell me he has an army of ten thousand men. Now, normally, this would be a laughable amount……but the situation is complicated. It is complicated by the army of forty thousand Ragesians on the other side of Alydi’s Gap. If I march out to meet the King but leave enough men to man the walls of the Fend against the Ragesians, then the King’s army will outnumber mine; especially as he is aided by three other nobles: Lord Iz, Lady Namin and Lord Megadon. </p><p></p><p>I can call on help from several nobles, namely Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor, who are my neighbours; but……you are not from around here and you don’t know how wary we are of a civil war. Before Dashgoban and Timor join me in resisting the King, they must be convinced that this is a ploy by the Ragesians to weaken the Kingdom and that if the King takes possession of Gallo’s Fend he will no doubt be convinced to leave it undermanned and weak because “the Ragesians are our friends and have promised to defend us in these troubled times” to quote several individuals in court. </p><p></p><p>Having discussed it with my advisors, it is obvious that if Steppengaard is marching than something should be happening on the Ragesian side. If they decide to march to force me to fight on two fronts, then they will have to go through the Alydi Gap. As you know, the Gap is overlooked by various outposts whose sole purpose is to watch for exactly this eventuality. </p><p></p><p>I need you to ride to these watch posts. They are built every five miles up to a distance of thirty miles. First, please look for any sign of increased activity by the Ragesians yourselves; if you cannot find it, then record what the soldiers say; they are not aware of recent developments and they may not have registered any increased activity by the Ragesians. It is hard, boring duty out there and I am very aware that it is not easy to determine a genuine emergency from a false alarm. </p><p></p><p>In addition I would like Lady Timor and Lord Dashgoben to interview the guards from the most forward post. Therefore, please collect and return with two soldiers from there. If I am right and the enemy has suddenly become more active, then their first hand accounts should convince the two nobles of hostile Ragesian intentions; this ought to be enough for them marshal their forces and join them with mine.”</p><p></p><p>He looked at us, waiting for an answer.</p><p></p><p>Longhelim looked at the Duke: “Of course, Your Grace.”</p><p></p><p>I added a question at this point: “My Lord, please tell us: what is the method by which your soldiers alert you, should something untoward happen?”</p><p></p><p>“Each of the posts has a chaplain and this individual has access to a spell which magically warns over a long distance,” he answered. </p><p></p><p>Then John had a brief whisper into Longhelim’s ear, who nodded. After that, the rogue stepped forward: </p><p></p><p>“Your Grace, we have decided to take advantage of your generous offer and substitute this promissory note for a set of magical gauntlets: these strengthen the wearer. Is this feasible?”</p><p></p><p>The Duke made a small sign and one his gentlemen moved and took the sheet from John. Then the Duke continued: “So, if there is anything else, please let me know. Finally, Commander Hertiage will accompany you; he is known to all the garrisons of the outposts; this will allay any suspicion my men would have of you as well lending my visible seal of approval to your mission.”</p><p></p><p>And I had no doubts that the Duke would be getting a full report about any of our abilities and powers that we chose to show the good commander; ah well, I couldn’t blame the Duke; I would have done the same if I had been in his position. </p><p></p><p>“Horses will be provided for you. So, gentlemen, thank you for taking this task and I will see you after your return”.</p><p></p><p>As we exited the castle, we were already planning how to proceed. </p><p></p><p>As we walked, I spoke quietly with the others. I noticed Hertiage was already with us, at the rear: </p><p></p><p>“This is a test; perfectly understandable. The Duke wants to see how we cope with the environment, taking orders and how quickly and efficiently we will manage this. There is also a strong possibility that he has a very good reason to worry about his forward outposts. This tallies with our own thinking about Steppengaard. Even in his beffudled state, the King must realize that his sortie is hopeless……unless he or his advisors know something; like a plan for a Ragesian advance through the Gap; in which case, suddenly, his sortie makes a great deal of strategic sense and makes it very dangerous indeed. So, the quicker we perform this inspection and retrieval, the better.”</p><p></p><p>Felix spoke then: “I have a spell; a very useful spell which usually makes us walk on water but it also works on snow; if we cast in on the horses, we would cut down our travelling time considerably. It would mean taking an hour out to cram my spells though.”</p><p></p><p>“Do it”, said Longhelim, “ the amount of time you spend doing that will be more than made up by the ability of the horses to travel over the snow drifts at speed.”</p><p></p><p>So, we returned to the Blue House, where Felix retired and the rest of us prepared for our journey. By our calculations, with Felix’s spell, a two day journey would now be done in one. John and Drudge left to collect the horses and they returned just as Felix emerged from his room. He looked very tired and drawn but he took his pack and as we approached our horses, he touched each of them, muttering over them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6056102, member: 6692807"] This village, Macon, was a fairly typical settlement of this region; peaceful, prosperous farmers in large, neat farms and houses; we were able to purchase horses and no one paid us any undue attention. Once mounted, we spent began to ride north as quickly as possible. We followed the river and fortunately did not meet any further incidents as we travelled, following the frozen River Nesham again. Tempers were short after our experiences in the dungeons and no one was feeling particularly garrulous so the journey was mostly silent. Several days later, we crossed the border into Duke Gallo’s land and almost immediately, at Jinis’s instructions, began to travel inland. It was that evening that Felix began to look at Victor’s knee in earnest. He cast various detections spells on it and asked Victor a great many questions. He poked and prodded and asked him to walk several times, asking him what was painful and what was not. Then he asked the warrior to run and made detailed notes. The next morning, he performed various rites and one complicated spell; when the priest finished, the warrior wordlessly rose up and began to perform one of his series of martial exercises; he managed to do them without limping or losing speed, unlike the previous days. The ritual even managed to replace the teeth that Victor had had knocked out during his ordeal. When he finished, Victor simply said: “Thank you”, softly. Everyone could tell that he conveyed a great deal in that simple statement. As the landscape was covered in snow, travel was still slow but Gallo’s lands were densely settled. Judging by the pattern of the settlement, they must have been widely cultivated and it was rare for us to be of out of sight of some village, hamlet or farm. It was on that day that we saw a group of horsemen in the distance. We tensed, readying weapons just in case and slowly walked our animals towards them. As we approached, we saw that it was a patrol, led by a dwarf; fortunately he was known to Jinis: “Commander Hertiage, well met. Please, how is His Grace? I must get to him immediately. Will you help us?” “Lord Jinis? Is that you? We were not expecting you. Where have you been? Are you all right? We have heard all sorts of rumours from the capital and about the King. What has happened?” “I will tell you all but please, take me and my companions to the Duke as fast as you can. It is very urgent.” Hertiage immediately formed his patrol about us and we began to travel. As previously, he was full of questions and Jinis told him of events so far. “Those treacherous Ragesians! What is the King thinking? Allow an army of forty thousand into the country? To get at Seaquen? I don’t know a great deal about Seaquen but at least they had the guts to stand up to that madwoman Leska and say no more; and good for them! Someone should have done it years ago. Coaltongue was bad enough but at least one knew where one stood with him; if you upset him, he sent an army after you. This Leska, she uses assassins, traitors and spies. Bah, it’s no way to fight!” Commander Hertiage had strong opinions on everything but especially about Ragesians and Seaquen. The former was bad, the latter good. It is to be noted that I do not mean that he was simple; no, his reasons for his opinions were very valid and well thought through. It was very refreshing to meet someone who did not attempt to hide or layer his opinions. As we approached Gallo’s Fend, the settlements became even denser and in each the Commander would speak with the person in authority, warning them of possible Ragesian aggression and telling them to prepare for war. His audience usually received the news with remarkable equanimity and I realised that these people lived with the threat of Ragesian raids and potential outbreaks of war throughout their lives; they trusted the Duke implicitly and knew exactly what to do upon receiving Hertiage’s warning. During the journey, I had also been thinking about the most recent events. I was disturbed; there was so much going on and we knew so little. It was imperative that we tried to find out more so one evening, I took the others to one side and told them of my concerns; there was one that worried me most of all: “I still fear assassins in Gallo’s Fend; people think they are safe but I am sure that the King’s family was protected by the best bodyguards in the Kingdom and it did not help them at all. Does anyone realize how difficult it is to synchronise eighteen murders within minutes of each other, in two separate locations? And by different methods? Anyway, Felix, you have a cantrip that detects poison in the vicinity, don’t you? I have not been able to find an arcane version of it otherwise I would be taking every day. We must have access to it as much as possible and use it whenever we feel appropriate, no matter how embarrassing it may seem. I think we are past the stage of embarrassment and now have to concentrate on survival. Above all, we have to be truly alert. Those assassins are out there somewhere“. The others nodded grimly. A couple of days later, in the distance, we saw an enormous structure which Hertiage confirmed as Gallo’s Fend; we were curious about this fortress and Hertiage was more than happy to enlighten us. Although there were other passes through the mountains, they were narrow, difficult to negotiate and heavily defended by fiercely independent clans of mountain dwarves, who had been allied with Gallo’s family for generations. The only pass which an army could feasibly use was Alydi’s Gap; it was overlooked from the heights by several outposts along its length and at its exit into Dassen, it was blocked by the River Nesham, which was of substantial width at this point. The river curved naturally around a rocky rise of land upon which the fortress, Gallo’s Fend, was built; so, not only did the settlement have a river running around it, providing fresh water and preventing a siege, it also had a formidable natural defence in the form of jagged, rocky cliffs, disrupting any sort of organized enemy approach; this combination of natural obstacles had been artificially augmented over generations, making it an almost insurmountably strong redoubt. Without going into details, Hertiage also referred to an extensive network of underground tunnels which were not only escape routes but also supply points and defensive conduits; it seemed as if the rocky rise upon which Gallo’s Fend was built was just as much an underground defensive strongpoint as it was an overground fortress. It was also fortified from the Dassenian side although those walls were not nearly as strong or formidable as there were no rocky cliffs to negotiate. Hertiage mentioned that during the summer, small ships patrolled the river adding another layer of defence; they could not do this over the winter but winter campaigns were less likely and brought their own unique set of problems. All in all, this would be a very strong nut to crack, even for a Ragesian army of forty thousand and its non-human auxiliaries. As we came into sight of the city, we could see another cavalry patrol galloping towards us. Hertiage greeted them and they immediately formed around us and said that Duke Gallo would like to see us immediately. As we entered into the city, we saw that it was bustling, busy and preparing for war; everyone and I mean everyone, including the children, was carrying some sort of weapon. Even the houses were built in such a way as to add to the defense of the fortress; house to house fighting would be very difficult and dangerous. I could see that Victor and Longhelim were exchanging a few words here and there, pointing at corners and down streets; John was looking around as well, as if seeking exits and Drudge was looking at the rooves of the houses, possibly for more ambushes. Obviously they had taken my warnings about assassins already in the city to heart; as well they should have. We rode to a substantial castle where a group of people was waiting. At its head was a tall, dignified man, dressed simply; he looked solid and calm, like the fortress around him; he had blonde hair, some of which had turned gray and eyes that seemed to take in everything at a glance; I thought he and Simeon would get on very well. Jinis jumped off his horse and knelt: “My Lord, it is good to see you.” “And it is good to see you as well Jinis; I feared I never would again. Come inside; please introduce me to your friends”. Introductions were quickly made and Gallo just looked at us as he steepled his fingers in front of his chest. The courtiers behind him looked at us with a mixture of curiosity, impatience and indifference. We were an unknown quantity. Duke Gallo led us into a small chamber inside and asked us to sit down. “Now, please tell me where you are from and what you are doing here.” So, Longhelim, using that marvelous voice, gave an abbreviated version of events; or tried to anyway. The Duke was very canny and wanted to know various details and refused to allow the paladin to skim over events because he didn’t deem them important. In truth, they were not important in the grand scheme of events but the Duke still wanted to know about them. Thus, finally, he had obtained a far more complete outline of events that Longhelim had initially planned to give. This was not an attempt to hide anything but more an attempt to give an account of events achieved by the group as a whole as opposed to the roles that various individuals played. However, I realised that by the end the account, Duke Gallo had cleverly drawn out our professions and capabilities in his quest for details. Thus, even Hertiage was staring at the warriors with a great deal of respect after Longhelim told them of our battle with the Great Ice Worm or our dealings with Her Mightyness, the Green Dragon of Sour Lake Swamp. In the end, he stood up and said: “Thank you for rescuing Jinis. For that alone, you have my gratitude; as for everything else, you have given me a great deal to think about.” He rang a little bell and a small non-descript man appeared at the door. “This is Roger. He will look after your needs.” He turned to the man: “Roger, please take these gentlemen to the Blue House. It will be their quarters for the forseeable future.” Then he turned to us: “Gentlemen, I hope you will forgive me. I would like to continue my conversation with Jinis and I also need to talk to my advisors. Could we please meet tomorrow morning? Here?” We knew a dismissal when we heard one and followed Roger to the aptly named Blue House. There, we were offered food; and after checking it for poison, we partook gladly. After that, we had the evening to ourselves. We wondered around the town. It was a cheerful, bustling place; full of shops, shouting people, crowds and markets. Unlike Bresk, where everyone was looking over their shoulders all the time, this was a far more irreverent setting. Although people were fully aware of the importance of Gallo’s Fend in the strategic sense, they had not lost their sense of humour; this could change if the Ragesian decided to besiege it of course. Victor decided to sell his spare set of armour and after some dickering with an armourer, received a very good price; it seemed as if, in the case of arms and armour, demand was outstripping supply. Once we ate a good meal at one of the many inns, we returned to the Blue House for a good night’s sleep. After camping out in the wilderness and the hospitality of Bresk’s dungeons, it was good to be in a bed again. The next morning, we had a long breakfast; the conversation was animated and things were finally beginning to return to normal, especially now that Victor no longer limped; that had been a vicious reminder of our recent ordeal; then we left for our appointment with Duke Gallo. As soon as we reached the castle, we were met by a servant who quickly led us to a room full of people. We saw various tables and there were scrolls and maps strewn around everywhere. It was obviously some sort of planning chamber. Apart from Gallo, we recognized Commander Hertiage and Jinis among the group; the others seemed to be functionaries, runners, advisors and servants. I hoped they were trustworthy but from what I saw, Gallo certainly had a better grasp of security than Steppengaard; not having any Ragesian Inquisitors in his Court was certainly a start. Gallo had been leaning over a table, studying a piece of paper. He turned around: “Ah, gentlemen, thank you for being so prompt.” He then looked pointedly at the servants and the runners in the room. They all left, leaving only Jinis, Hertiage and a group of advisors. Gallo continued: “First, as I mentioned yesterday, again I would like to extend my gratitude for your timely rescue of Jinis. His predicament was most troubling. Please accept this token of my esteem.” One of the advisors handed Longhelim a piece of paper who handed it to me as usual. It was a promissory note on the Duke’s treasury for a sizeable amount of money. “Should you wish to convert that into anything else apart from gold, please let one of my people know and I am sure we will be able to accommodate you. Now, to business; I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that there have been developments: Steppengaard has committed himself and is marching up the river as we speak. My scouts tell me he has an army of ten thousand men. Now, normally, this would be a laughable amount……but the situation is complicated. It is complicated by the army of forty thousand Ragesians on the other side of Alydi’s Gap. If I march out to meet the King but leave enough men to man the walls of the Fend against the Ragesians, then the King’s army will outnumber mine; especially as he is aided by three other nobles: Lord Iz, Lady Namin and Lord Megadon. I can call on help from several nobles, namely Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor, who are my neighbours; but……you are not from around here and you don’t know how wary we are of a civil war. Before Dashgoban and Timor join me in resisting the King, they must be convinced that this is a ploy by the Ragesians to weaken the Kingdom and that if the King takes possession of Gallo’s Fend he will no doubt be convinced to leave it undermanned and weak because “the Ragesians are our friends and have promised to defend us in these troubled times” to quote several individuals in court. Having discussed it with my advisors, it is obvious that if Steppengaard is marching than something should be happening on the Ragesian side. If they decide to march to force me to fight on two fronts, then they will have to go through the Alydi Gap. As you know, the Gap is overlooked by various outposts whose sole purpose is to watch for exactly this eventuality. I need you to ride to these watch posts. They are built every five miles up to a distance of thirty miles. First, please look for any sign of increased activity by the Ragesians yourselves; if you cannot find it, then record what the soldiers say; they are not aware of recent developments and they may not have registered any increased activity by the Ragesians. It is hard, boring duty out there and I am very aware that it is not easy to determine a genuine emergency from a false alarm. In addition I would like Lady Timor and Lord Dashgoben to interview the guards from the most forward post. Therefore, please collect and return with two soldiers from there. If I am right and the enemy has suddenly become more active, then their first hand accounts should convince the two nobles of hostile Ragesian intentions; this ought to be enough for them marshal their forces and join them with mine.” He looked at us, waiting for an answer. Longhelim looked at the Duke: “Of course, Your Grace.” I added a question at this point: “My Lord, please tell us: what is the method by which your soldiers alert you, should something untoward happen?” “Each of the posts has a chaplain and this individual has access to a spell which magically warns over a long distance,” he answered. Then John had a brief whisper into Longhelim’s ear, who nodded. After that, the rogue stepped forward: “Your Grace, we have decided to take advantage of your generous offer and substitute this promissory note for a set of magical gauntlets: these strengthen the wearer. Is this feasible?” The Duke made a small sign and one his gentlemen moved and took the sheet from John. Then the Duke continued: “So, if there is anything else, please let me know. Finally, Commander Hertiage will accompany you; he is known to all the garrisons of the outposts; this will allay any suspicion my men would have of you as well lending my visible seal of approval to your mission.” And I had no doubts that the Duke would be getting a full report about any of our abilities and powers that we chose to show the good commander; ah well, I couldn’t blame the Duke; I would have done the same if I had been in his position. “Horses will be provided for you. So, gentlemen, thank you for taking this task and I will see you after your return”. As we exited the castle, we were already planning how to proceed. As we walked, I spoke quietly with the others. I noticed Hertiage was already with us, at the rear: “This is a test; perfectly understandable. The Duke wants to see how we cope with the environment, taking orders and how quickly and efficiently we will manage this. There is also a strong possibility that he has a very good reason to worry about his forward outposts. This tallies with our own thinking about Steppengaard. Even in his beffudled state, the King must realize that his sortie is hopeless……unless he or his advisors know something; like a plan for a Ragesian advance through the Gap; in which case, suddenly, his sortie makes a great deal of strategic sense and makes it very dangerous indeed. So, the quicker we perform this inspection and retrieval, the better.” Felix spoke then: “I have a spell; a very useful spell which usually makes us walk on water but it also works on snow; if we cast in on the horses, we would cut down our travelling time considerably. It would mean taking an hour out to cram my spells though.” “Do it”, said Longhelim, “ the amount of time you spend doing that will be more than made up by the ability of the horses to travel over the snow drifts at speed.” So, we returned to the Blue House, where Felix retired and the rest of us prepared for our journey. By our calculations, with Felix’s spell, a two day journey would now be done in one. John and Drudge left to collect the horses and they returned just as Felix emerged from his room. He looked very tired and drawn but he took his pack and as we approached our horses, he touched each of them, muttering over them. [/QUOTE]
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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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