Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6174866" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>So, a few more things have happened. Latest update: </p><p></p><p></p><p>Briefly I glanced at the invisible elven princess but she was just keeping up and making sure that she attracted as little attention as possible. Drudge was far in the distance behind us now; he still seemed to be dueling with the one remaining wyvern knight. The rest of us were standing back and looking at Syana with trepidation; well, except me, who cast a spell at her; a lightning bolt shot out of my hands and struck her in the chest, causing her to hiss angrily; it even left a dark mark on her skin so it must have hurt her; just as a precaution, I moved to the other side of the sled, in case she had seen the location from where the bolt originated.</p><p> </p><p>The dragon swooped down again and opened her mouth, spraying us with….something; I wasn’t really sure of what but again, I felt this overwhelming surge of anger at this creature that was pursuing us; I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think of anything else except hitting it and hitting it and hitting it…..I took my sling again and loaded it with my best bullet. She was really going to get it this time!</p><p> </p><p>Felix in the meantime, was moving calmly, healing Jorine who had been badly mauled earlier. Victor, in his usual manner, wasn’t saying anything but his gaze was fixed on the dragon in such as manner that his rage was palpable while Longhelim unusually, was shouting imprecations in its direction. Even John got into the act as he took out his sling and whirled it above his head. The bullet shot out but didn’t go anywhere near her.</p><p> </p><p>After this, Syana approached and as she flew closer, I let out a roar and fired my sling at her! The bullet flew true and hit her right on the nose; but just bounced off without doing much. That sobered me a little and I berated myself. What was I doing, firing sling bullets at a dragon? My most powerful weapon was my magic.</p><p> </p><p>Syana swooped in and took a mighty bite out of Longhelim; the paladin staggered and even though there was a little flash which showed that my defensive spell was still working him, the dragon’s bite was still incredibly powerful. Thank the gods for his tough skin, otherwise he would have been bitten in half by now! More frustratingly, the dragon was staying out of his reach, using her long neck to strike with snake-like speed and then withdraw.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t have it all her own way however; I cast a spell but this one did bounce off her hide; then, almost miraculously, from a huge distance away, an arrow hit her in the juncture between wing and torso. She screeched angrily and whipped around to look behind her; we could barely see him, but Drudge was flying at approximately the same height and was calmly keeping his distance and preparing to fire at her again.</p><p> </p><p>Shalosha was still doing nothing but had been joined by her bodyguard; or she had joined him. Syana still flew forwards and bit Longhelim again; the paladin looked very badly hurt this time, with blood pouring out of him from numerous wounds.</p><p> </p><p>I had received a little healing from Felix but realised that many of his most powerful healing spells had been cast already. Then suddenly I remembered!</p><p> </p><p>“Felix, use the healing scrolls we found in the castle!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” I heard a shout from behind me. I also heard a small scuffle from behind me again:</p><p> </p><p>“Give those back to me! You’ve no idea what you’re doing!”</p><p> </p><p>Glancing back, I saw that Victor was snatching back the reins from John’s hands, glaring at him while the rogue was looking abashed.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly I saw the Longhelim’s wounds closed miraculously and the blood stopped pouring out of him; Felix had used one of the scrolls; they must have been very powerful. Thus encouraged, I threw another spell at Syana; another lightning bolt left my hands and struck her in the chest, leaving another black mark. I moved again, just in case. Then, she was struck by another arrow from behind. She roared and looked behind her, as if unsure if she should pursue her archer tormentor or continue to attack the paladin who held out against her so stubbornly. She opted for the latter but fortunately, Longhelim had just been healed so although hurt, he managed to stand up to her attack.</p><p> </p><p>After that, I cast my last offensive spell against her, a shower force missiles but they barely scratched her; of far more import were the two arrows which hit her again and this time she had had enough! Wheeling around with almost magical agility, she flipped around and with several beats of her wings sped towards the archer in the distance. Suddenly, she was next to him and I was shouting at Drudge to fly away! I don’t know if he heard me but he certainly had the right idea as he flipped acrobatically through the air and rose above her; being Drudge he shot her as he was flying by. Syana roared one final time and after this last arrow struck her, began to plummet into the ground; as this happened, the flesh sloughed off her skeleton and disappeared; the newly revealed skeleton, bleached white and looking just like the trophy that had been mounted on the castle wall, crashed into the ground below, smashing itself into a myriad pieces!</p><p> </p><p>We all cheered in the sled; we couldn’t help it! This was something from legends. I suspected that no one would believe our escape but we didn’t care! We were alive! When I saw the dragon coming after us I feared the worst but against the odds, we had survived! Not only survived but triumphed! Drudge was tumbling through the air towards us, punching his bow in the air triumphantly and then, with a final flip, landed in the sled with the rest of us.</p><p> </p><p>A few moments later, our celebrations were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and the Princess Shalosha appeared on one of the sled runners.</p><p> </p><p>She was as stunning as before and her voice was as melodious as that of Longhelim:</p><p> </p><p>“Congratulations! That was a most unusual gold dragon; I have never heard of one that had so many different abilities.”</p><p> </p><p>We stopped talking and composed ourselves. The gnomes had no idea who this person was but they took their cue from us. Longhelim gave a small bow and replied:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, thank you. As you heard, we were expecting several casualties as Syana pursued us.”</p><p> </p><p>Then John interrupted:</p><p> </p><p>“That wasn’t Syana; she was probably possessed by a trillith; Deception.”</p><p> </p><p>Shalosha looked him in the eye:</p><p> </p><p>“So, that was Syana the Golden? The great dragon which was slain by Drakus Coaltongue in single combat? You say she was possessed? By a…..trillith? What is a trillith? Oh, apologies, we can come to that in moment. First, if you don’t mind, I have a very important question:</p><p> </p><p>You must have been inside the castle. Tell me, did you find the Torch of the Burning Sky?”</p><p> </p><p>The tone of her voice belied her anxiety.</p><p> </p><p>This time, Longhelim spoke: </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, we were inside the castle. Yes, we found where the Torch had been but it was gone. You didn’t really think it was going to be still there, did you?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim was being remarkably guarded in his conversation with Shalosha. I wanted to ask several questions of the elven princess but I held my peace. Longhelim was being careful for a reason and I didn’t want to spoil his game. This time, he asked her a question:</p><p> </p><p>“Your Highness, it may not be my place, but it is rather unusual to find you with a Ragesian army, especially due to recent developments. Please, would you explain that?”</p><p> </p><p>Shalosha looked at the paladin for a time and then suddenly said:</p><p> </p><p>“Of course! You were one of the groups in Seaquen, weren’t you? That is why you are familiar. Ah yes, this army is led by General Magnus. The general is not happy with Leska’s ascent to the throne. I have convinced him to join us in our war against the Ragesians; providing that we promise him Leska’s throne once we are triumphant of course.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, obviously proud of her diplomatic accomplishment.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim kept his face smooth; I did my best to follow suit although I had to contain myself.</p><p> </p><p>Then, carefully she continued:</p><p> </p><p>“We still seek an alliance with Seaquen; will you join us? The more of us who stand together, the better chance we will all have against Leska.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim took his time considering his words and then replied:</p><p> </p><p>“We will of course convey your words to the council in Seaquen. We cannot speak for the council ourselves.”</p><p> </p><p>“Surely, you have great influence. The very fact that you are here in Castle Korstull suggests that Seaquen holds you in high regard. Are you not able to accept my proposal on their behalf?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim was very careful in his reply again:</p><p> </p><p>“It is very difficult to tell; we have not been in Seaquen for some time. We may indeed have some influence but we certainly cannot speak for the Council. We will of course relay your proposal to them.”</p><p> </p><p>Shalosha tried another tack:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that will suffice; you are in favour of an alliance with the Shining Lands of Shahalesti are you not?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim said:</p><p> </p><p>“We are in favour of an alliance at this time.”</p><p> </p><p>Ah, clever, clever Longhelim; that last qualification made that statement meaningless. It was not an outright no but at the same time, as an experienced diplomat, Shalosha would be fully aware that it was a polite phrase of saying something without meaning anything.</p><p> </p><p>However, the elf took it with good grace and then changed the subject:</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know where the Torch has gone?”</p><p> </p><p>“In truth, we do not have the slightest idea. It could be anywhere.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you found no clue as to where it could have gone?”</p><p> </p><p>“No clue. We really have no idea.”</p><p> </p><p>At this point, John whispered something in Longhelim’s ear.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim seemed to lean back towards the rogue and I suppressed a wince as I saw that his armoured boot was on top of John’s foot.</p><p> </p><p>Then the paladin smiled and said:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I wouldn’t call this a clue but my colleague suggested it; it is in the form of a poem; someone called Darius wrote it while he was unconscious.”</p><p> </p><p>Shalosha was obviously very anxious as she did not even query that last comment. She almost snatched the sheet from Longhelim’s hand as he produced it and absently murmured:</p><p> </p><p>“Darius, Darius….yes; he was Coaltongue’s chief inquisitor.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim raised his eyebrows:</p><p> </p><p>“Really? He said he was a bodyguard. Unfortunately, he’s dead now; although if you go back to the Castle, you’ll probably be able to find him again; although I don’t think you’ll like him very much.”</p><p> </p><p>That got her to raise her eyes from the paper.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim went on to explain:</p><p> </p><p>“The strange flame ring we found; we think that was the Dark Pyre. It was dimmed but not extinguished. It is quite possible that it will re-kindle in time and cause the bodies to rise again. That may be your chance to question Darius again if you wish.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t reply but I was obvious that the idea did not appeal. Instead she scanned the paper but then looked up in disappointment:</p><p> </p><p>“This is all metaphysical, metaphorical and allegorical. I think these three lines here could mean something: <em>The earnest lie deceives, and his grandmother weeps echoes of souls primordial but the golden ship carries word to safe shelter.</em></p><p> </p><p>You mentioned this trillith creature? Deception? So – <em>the earnest Lie Deceives; then his grandmother</em> <em>weeps souls primordial</em> – I don’t know what that refers to but then we have – <em>the golden ship carries</em> <em>word to safe shelter</em> – that could refer to this sky sled and word being the information carried by yourselves to safe shelter – maybe Seaquen?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim looked back at her:</p><p> </p><p>“You actually got all that just from those three lines? I mean you may be right; who knows? That’s the problem; no one knows if you are right or not. The trouble is, if all the poem is like that then, if anything, we’ll be looking at it for things that have happened in the past and saying – well this could be that and that could be this; but everything else is so hidden and obscure that it is virtually useless as a tool for predicting the future or as a clue to locate the Torch for that matter; unless you know different of course?”</p><p> </p><p>In reply, she shook her head handed him back the piece of paper. Then she said:</p><p> </p><p>“Please remember me to the Council in Seaquen and let them know I am waiting for their communication. We will go back to General Magnus now. It was good to meet you all. Good bye.”</p><p> </p><p>Then she and her bodyguard flew off, back towards the castle.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim stared after her for a long time. Almost to himself, he said:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that was interesting; on so many levels.”</p><p> </p><p>I was lost in my own thoughts and murmured:</p><p> </p><p>“Quite.”</p><p> </p><p>John limped over to Longhelim and said:</p><p> </p><p>“You two are being very annoying you know that? Why didn’t you want tell her what happened in the castle? Are we really going to recommend an alliance with the Shahalesti to Seaquen? We do so have clues about the Torch; why didn’t we want to tell her that either?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Longhelim smiled at John:</p><p> </p><p>“Apologies for stepping on your foot. I felt that Shalosha should be told as little as possible. In their own way, the elves are as bad as the Ragesians, they just paint themselves in different colours. You yourself have already said that before. Let me put it another way:</p><p> </p><p>Say theoretically if we had had recovered the Torch and we had it with us now; and she found out, what do you think would be happening now? She would be taking it away from us.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim smiled and took out his pipe. The sled was still flying and he settled down on its cushions. He then nodded at me:</p><p> </p><p>“Faden, what did you think of that?”</p><p> </p><p>I started out of my thoughts:</p><p> </p><p>“I believe she has a very inflated sense of her own abilities; especially in diplomacy; this supposed deal with the general. I am not sure exactly what she thinks he will do. Do we honestly believe that when one army of Ragesians confronts another army of Ragesians, they’ll start fighting each other? The very best she can do is to keep him here, uninvolved with Leska’s campaign, but he’s been here for seven months already and his army has been badly mauled. So what does she gain? My feeling is that there is a lot she’s not telling us; probably to do with the Torch.</p><p> </p><p>Also, one final thing: she was definitely holding back against the dragon. I recognized some of the spells she was casting. She could have helped us but she didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>I definitely agree with your initial assessment John; the one you made back in Seaquen; I wouldn’t trust the Shahalesti as far as I could throw them. Let’s remember, this bunch were the ones who wanted to – how was it they put it? – oh yes<em>, </em>here we are:<em> test the purity of our spirit in anticipation of the conflict ahead </em>whatever that means. They are also the ones who wiped out their elven kin in the Fire Forest.”</p><p> </p><p>John looked back, obviously thinking about everything that had been said:</p><p> </p><p>“To be fair, she didn’t look happy when she laid out those terms to Seaquen.”</p><p> </p><p>I snorted:</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t really matter thought, does it? I’m sure there are lots of things about which she disagrees with her father, but she’s still going to do them. I agree with Longhelim. The less we tell anyone from now on the better; we need to keep our own council and make our own decisions. If there is a clue about the location of the Torch among all that stuff we found in the Castle, then we have to make sure that it ends up in the hands of the Resistance; not in the hands of the Shahalesti, the Ragesians, Ostalin, or any other group.”</p><p> </p><p>Another voice broke into our conversation at this point: Victor:</p><p> </p><p>“There’s another thing that everyone seems to be missing; and its right in front of their noses. This general Magnus is just the latest to miss it. Leska is running rings around everyone; that includes Seaquen and the Resistance. Militarily, she’s doing everything right. In seven months, she’s ascended to the Imperial Throne; taken Gate Pass, a thorn in the side of Ragesia for decades; invaded Shahalesti; destroyed Seaquen without losing a single army and barely a few men; oh and she destroyed a large chunk of the Shahalesti fleet at the same time; almost did the same to Dassen and even having failed, weakened the Kingdom severely by sparking off a succession crisis that is waiting to happen; sent an army to Sindaire as a threat; that army is moving around so Sindaire is incapacitated until it is gone. She has done other things of course but the key is that she is always acting and her opponents are reacting. That gives her a massive advantage.</p><p> </p><p>Strategically speaking, those are all brilliant moves. You would almost think she had them all planned out in advance…….”</p><p> </p><p>I stared at Victor, working out the ramifications of what he had just said. He was quite right; I had not considered the military aspect before but it had all happened in the way he said.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim puffed his pipe and stared into the distant sky, murmuring:</p><p> </p><p>“Food for thought, food for thought indeed.”</p><p> </p><p>I was looking behind us; the orange glow of the firestorm had dimmed noticeably, but it was still there.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6174866, member: 6692807"] So, a few more things have happened. Latest update: Briefly I glanced at the invisible elven princess but she was just keeping up and making sure that she attracted as little attention as possible. Drudge was far in the distance behind us now; he still seemed to be dueling with the one remaining wyvern knight. The rest of us were standing back and looking at Syana with trepidation; well, except me, who cast a spell at her; a lightning bolt shot out of my hands and struck her in the chest, causing her to hiss angrily; it even left a dark mark on her skin so it must have hurt her; just as a precaution, I moved to the other side of the sled, in case she had seen the location from where the bolt originated. The dragon swooped down again and opened her mouth, spraying us with….something; I wasn’t really sure of what but again, I felt this overwhelming surge of anger at this creature that was pursuing us; I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think of anything else except hitting it and hitting it and hitting it…..I took my sling again and loaded it with my best bullet. She was really going to get it this time! Felix in the meantime, was moving calmly, healing Jorine who had been badly mauled earlier. Victor, in his usual manner, wasn’t saying anything but his gaze was fixed on the dragon in such as manner that his rage was palpable while Longhelim unusually, was shouting imprecations in its direction. Even John got into the act as he took out his sling and whirled it above his head. The bullet shot out but didn’t go anywhere near her. After this, Syana approached and as she flew closer, I let out a roar and fired my sling at her! The bullet flew true and hit her right on the nose; but just bounced off without doing much. That sobered me a little and I berated myself. What was I doing, firing sling bullets at a dragon? My most powerful weapon was my magic. Syana swooped in and took a mighty bite out of Longhelim; the paladin staggered and even though there was a little flash which showed that my defensive spell was still working him, the dragon’s bite was still incredibly powerful. Thank the gods for his tough skin, otherwise he would have been bitten in half by now! More frustratingly, the dragon was staying out of his reach, using her long neck to strike with snake-like speed and then withdraw. She didn’t have it all her own way however; I cast a spell but this one did bounce off her hide; then, almost miraculously, from a huge distance away, an arrow hit her in the juncture between wing and torso. She screeched angrily and whipped around to look behind her; we could barely see him, but Drudge was flying at approximately the same height and was calmly keeping his distance and preparing to fire at her again. Shalosha was still doing nothing but had been joined by her bodyguard; or she had joined him. Syana still flew forwards and bit Longhelim again; the paladin looked very badly hurt this time, with blood pouring out of him from numerous wounds. I had received a little healing from Felix but realised that many of his most powerful healing spells had been cast already. Then suddenly I remembered! “Felix, use the healing scrolls we found in the castle!” “Yes!” I heard a shout from behind me. I also heard a small scuffle from behind me again: “Give those back to me! You’ve no idea what you’re doing!” Glancing back, I saw that Victor was snatching back the reins from John’s hands, glaring at him while the rogue was looking abashed. Suddenly I saw the Longhelim’s wounds closed miraculously and the blood stopped pouring out of him; Felix had used one of the scrolls; they must have been very powerful. Thus encouraged, I threw another spell at Syana; another lightning bolt left my hands and struck her in the chest, leaving another black mark. I moved again, just in case. Then, she was struck by another arrow from behind. She roared and looked behind her, as if unsure if she should pursue her archer tormentor or continue to attack the paladin who held out against her so stubbornly. She opted for the latter but fortunately, Longhelim had just been healed so although hurt, he managed to stand up to her attack. After that, I cast my last offensive spell against her, a shower force missiles but they barely scratched her; of far more import were the two arrows which hit her again and this time she had had enough! Wheeling around with almost magical agility, she flipped around and with several beats of her wings sped towards the archer in the distance. Suddenly, she was next to him and I was shouting at Drudge to fly away! I don’t know if he heard me but he certainly had the right idea as he flipped acrobatically through the air and rose above her; being Drudge he shot her as he was flying by. Syana roared one final time and after this last arrow struck her, began to plummet into the ground; as this happened, the flesh sloughed off her skeleton and disappeared; the newly revealed skeleton, bleached white and looking just like the trophy that had been mounted on the castle wall, crashed into the ground below, smashing itself into a myriad pieces! We all cheered in the sled; we couldn’t help it! This was something from legends. I suspected that no one would believe our escape but we didn’t care! We were alive! When I saw the dragon coming after us I feared the worst but against the odds, we had survived! Not only survived but triumphed! Drudge was tumbling through the air towards us, punching his bow in the air triumphantly and then, with a final flip, landed in the sled with the rest of us. A few moments later, our celebrations were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and the Princess Shalosha appeared on one of the sled runners. She was as stunning as before and her voice was as melodious as that of Longhelim: “Congratulations! That was a most unusual gold dragon; I have never heard of one that had so many different abilities.” We stopped talking and composed ourselves. The gnomes had no idea who this person was but they took their cue from us. Longhelim gave a small bow and replied: “Yes, thank you. As you heard, we were expecting several casualties as Syana pursued us.” Then John interrupted: “That wasn’t Syana; she was probably possessed by a trillith; Deception.” Shalosha looked him in the eye: “So, that was Syana the Golden? The great dragon which was slain by Drakus Coaltongue in single combat? You say she was possessed? By a…..trillith? What is a trillith? Oh, apologies, we can come to that in moment. First, if you don’t mind, I have a very important question: You must have been inside the castle. Tell me, did you find the Torch of the Burning Sky?” The tone of her voice belied her anxiety. This time, Longhelim spoke: “Yes, we were inside the castle. Yes, we found where the Torch had been but it was gone. You didn’t really think it was going to be still there, did you?” Longhelim was being remarkably guarded in his conversation with Shalosha. I wanted to ask several questions of the elven princess but I held my peace. Longhelim was being careful for a reason and I didn’t want to spoil his game. This time, he asked her a question: “Your Highness, it may not be my place, but it is rather unusual to find you with a Ragesian army, especially due to recent developments. Please, would you explain that?” Shalosha looked at the paladin for a time and then suddenly said: “Of course! You were one of the groups in Seaquen, weren’t you? That is why you are familiar. Ah yes, this army is led by General Magnus. The general is not happy with Leska’s ascent to the throne. I have convinced him to join us in our war against the Ragesians; providing that we promise him Leska’s throne once we are triumphant of course.” She smiled, obviously proud of her diplomatic accomplishment. Longhelim kept his face smooth; I did my best to follow suit although I had to contain myself. Then, carefully she continued: “We still seek an alliance with Seaquen; will you join us? The more of us who stand together, the better chance we will all have against Leska.” Longhelim took his time considering his words and then replied: “We will of course convey your words to the council in Seaquen. We cannot speak for the council ourselves.” “Surely, you have great influence. The very fact that you are here in Castle Korstull suggests that Seaquen holds you in high regard. Are you not able to accept my proposal on their behalf?” Longhelim was very careful in his reply again: “It is very difficult to tell; we have not been in Seaquen for some time. We may indeed have some influence but we certainly cannot speak for the Council. We will of course relay your proposal to them.” Shalosha tried another tack: “Well, that will suffice; you are in favour of an alliance with the Shining Lands of Shahalesti are you not?” Longhelim said: “We are in favour of an alliance at this time.” Ah, clever, clever Longhelim; that last qualification made that statement meaningless. It was not an outright no but at the same time, as an experienced diplomat, Shalosha would be fully aware that it was a polite phrase of saying something without meaning anything. However, the elf took it with good grace and then changed the subject: “Do you know where the Torch has gone?” “In truth, we do not have the slightest idea. It could be anywhere.” “And you found no clue as to where it could have gone?” “No clue. We really have no idea.” At this point, John whispered something in Longhelim’s ear. Longhelim seemed to lean back towards the rogue and I suppressed a wince as I saw that his armoured boot was on top of John’s foot. Then the paladin smiled and said: “Well, I wouldn’t call this a clue but my colleague suggested it; it is in the form of a poem; someone called Darius wrote it while he was unconscious.” Shalosha was obviously very anxious as she did not even query that last comment. She almost snatched the sheet from Longhelim’s hand as he produced it and absently murmured: “Darius, Darius….yes; he was Coaltongue’s chief inquisitor.” Longhelim raised his eyebrows: “Really? He said he was a bodyguard. Unfortunately, he’s dead now; although if you go back to the Castle, you’ll probably be able to find him again; although I don’t think you’ll like him very much.” That got her to raise her eyes from the paper. Longhelim went on to explain: “The strange flame ring we found; we think that was the Dark Pyre. It was dimmed but not extinguished. It is quite possible that it will re-kindle in time and cause the bodies to rise again. That may be your chance to question Darius again if you wish.” She didn’t reply but I was obvious that the idea did not appeal. Instead she scanned the paper but then looked up in disappointment: “This is all metaphysical, metaphorical and allegorical. I think these three lines here could mean something: [I]The earnest lie deceives, and his grandmother weeps echoes of souls primordial but the golden ship carries word to safe shelter.[/I] You mentioned this trillith creature? Deception? So – [I]the earnest Lie Deceives; then his grandmother[/I] [I]weeps souls primordial[/I] – I don’t know what that refers to but then we have – [I]the golden ship carries[/I] [I]word to safe shelter[/I] – that could refer to this sky sled and word being the information carried by yourselves to safe shelter – maybe Seaquen?” Longhelim looked back at her: “You actually got all that just from those three lines? I mean you may be right; who knows? That’s the problem; no one knows if you are right or not. The trouble is, if all the poem is like that then, if anything, we’ll be looking at it for things that have happened in the past and saying – well this could be that and that could be this; but everything else is so hidden and obscure that it is virtually useless as a tool for predicting the future or as a clue to locate the Torch for that matter; unless you know different of course?” In reply, she shook her head handed him back the piece of paper. Then she said: “Please remember me to the Council in Seaquen and let them know I am waiting for their communication. We will go back to General Magnus now. It was good to meet you all. Good bye.” Then she and her bodyguard flew off, back towards the castle. Longhelim stared after her for a long time. Almost to himself, he said: “Well, that was interesting; on so many levels.” I was lost in my own thoughts and murmured: “Quite.” John limped over to Longhelim and said: “You two are being very annoying you know that? Why didn’t you want tell her what happened in the castle? Are we really going to recommend an alliance with the Shahalesti to Seaquen? We do so have clues about the Torch; why didn’t we want to tell her that either?” Longhelim smiled at John: “Apologies for stepping on your foot. I felt that Shalosha should be told as little as possible. In their own way, the elves are as bad as the Ragesians, they just paint themselves in different colours. You yourself have already said that before. Let me put it another way: Say theoretically if we had had recovered the Torch and we had it with us now; and she found out, what do you think would be happening now? She would be taking it away from us.” Longhelim smiled and took out his pipe. The sled was still flying and he settled down on its cushions. He then nodded at me: “Faden, what did you think of that?” I started out of my thoughts: “I believe she has a very inflated sense of her own abilities; especially in diplomacy; this supposed deal with the general. I am not sure exactly what she thinks he will do. Do we honestly believe that when one army of Ragesians confronts another army of Ragesians, they’ll start fighting each other? The very best she can do is to keep him here, uninvolved with Leska’s campaign, but he’s been here for seven months already and his army has been badly mauled. So what does she gain? My feeling is that there is a lot she’s not telling us; probably to do with the Torch. Also, one final thing: she was definitely holding back against the dragon. I recognized some of the spells she was casting. She could have helped us but she didn’t. I definitely agree with your initial assessment John; the one you made back in Seaquen; I wouldn’t trust the Shahalesti as far as I could throw them. Let’s remember, this bunch were the ones who wanted to – how was it they put it? – oh yes[I], [/I]here we are:[I] test the purity of our spirit in anticipation of the conflict ahead [/I]whatever that means. They are also the ones who wiped out their elven kin in the Fire Forest.” John looked back, obviously thinking about everything that had been said: “To be fair, she didn’t look happy when she laid out those terms to Seaquen.” I snorted: “It doesn’t really matter thought, does it? I’m sure there are lots of things about which she disagrees with her father, but she’s still going to do them. I agree with Longhelim. The less we tell anyone from now on the better; we need to keep our own council and make our own decisions. If there is a clue about the location of the Torch among all that stuff we found in the Castle, then we have to make sure that it ends up in the hands of the Resistance; not in the hands of the Shahalesti, the Ragesians, Ostalin, or any other group.” Another voice broke into our conversation at this point: Victor: “There’s another thing that everyone seems to be missing; and its right in front of their noses. This general Magnus is just the latest to miss it. Leska is running rings around everyone; that includes Seaquen and the Resistance. Militarily, she’s doing everything right. In seven months, she’s ascended to the Imperial Throne; taken Gate Pass, a thorn in the side of Ragesia for decades; invaded Shahalesti; destroyed Seaquen without losing a single army and barely a few men; oh and she destroyed a large chunk of the Shahalesti fleet at the same time; almost did the same to Dassen and even having failed, weakened the Kingdom severely by sparking off a succession crisis that is waiting to happen; sent an army to Sindaire as a threat; that army is moving around so Sindaire is incapacitated until it is gone. She has done other things of course but the key is that she is always acting and her opponents are reacting. That gives her a massive advantage. Strategically speaking, those are all brilliant moves. You would almost think she had them all planned out in advance…….” I stared at Victor, working out the ramifications of what he had just said. He was quite right; I had not considered the military aspect before but it had all happened in the way he said. Longhelim puffed his pipe and stared into the distant sky, murmuring: “Food for thought, food for thought indeed.” I was looking behind us; the orange glow of the firestorm had dimmed noticeably, but it was still there. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
Top