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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: 6312395" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>Thus fell Vorax Hul, red dragon and Champion of the Ragesian army!</p><p> </p><p>We all looked down for some moments, unbelieving and wary, making sure that no other monstrosities were going to attack us. We did not want to be taken by surprise by some new version of Vorax Hul that had risen, like a phoenix out of the ashes.</p><p> </p><p>Rather desultorily, I was looking at the dragon’s treasure but that was now a molten slag of mixed metal; all of the coins were in the path of several of his breaths. Felix, John and Drudge were also moving around healing everyone; all of us were hurt by something or other.</p><p> </p><p>Victor was asking:</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, in the excitement, I have forgotten. What is our next course of action?”</p><p> </p><p>Picking one or two coins up, I replied:</p><p> </p><p>“We have to repair the bell and then ring it; this will signal the population that the dragon is dead and that they should get ready to rise up against the Ragesian oppressors. Rantle gave me a scroll with which to repair the bell; I shall go and do so immediately.”</p><p> </p><p>Victor nodded:</p><p> </p><p>“The Ragesians will be all over this tower in moments; they will have seen the dragon fall and realise that things have gone very wrong. We have to leave now!”</p><p> </p><p>I hurried to the cupola and began casting the spell. The bell needed the magic to be repaired but that was achieved fairly quickly; I was then joined by Longhelim, who took out the Torch and muttered something. I saw the Torch shimmer and change form from an axe to a mace. He hit the bell, producing a deep sound; he did this several times and then he stopped. As the bell faded, we could hear faint cheering in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>We both hurried to the treasure room. We saw that Drudge, John, Victor and Felix had gathered the adamantite glaive heads which had belonged to the gargoyles. Then Felix said:</p><p> </p><p>“I have one transport spell left; do we want to transport ourselves back to the manor?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim nodded and moments later, we were in the same room with Rantle and his group, who had managed to destroy the white column. He raised his eyebrows at us and Longhelim answered:</p><p> </p><p>“It’s done!”</p><p> </p><p>The rogue grinned and then said:</p><p> </p><p>“Excellent! Never doubted you for a moment! Now we had better get back to head quarters. The Ragesians will have squadrons of wyvern riders here in moments. Follow me!”</p><p> </p><p>With that, he began to weave his way through the alleys and ruined buildings, stopping every so often to watch for activity and motioning us to hide. We were not very good but we must have been sought by the weaker set of Ragesian forces because we were able to extricate ourselves from the district fairly quickly. Rantle led us through more of the city and I cringed inside at the destruction; massive battles must have taken place here. Thousands of people died; I already knew that but seeing the devastation personally brought it all home; literally and metaphorically!</p><p> </p><p>Finally, we skulked to the meeting place designated by the Resistance; we had been there before; it was the church where we had sought shelter after the initial, devastating assault by the Ragesians. We had spent the night there before going to Erdin Menash’s house and ultimately leaving Gate Pass.</p><p> </p><p>So much had happened to us and the city since then!</p><p> </p><p>As soon as we entered into the church, we could see commotion; something was happening as people were running around, some of them disappearing depths below the building and others running out of the church itself; they looked like messengers.</p><p> </p><p>Rantle took us to the basement through a maze of tunnels. Once there, we met the other two members of the triumvirate which made up the leadership of the Resistance: Erdin Menash, councilor and merchant and Diogenes the wizard of Gabal’s School. The former looked careworn and old; he had been a rotund jolly man with a flamboyant taste in colour and clothes; he had shed most of that rotundity and his clothes were sober; I suspected that it was not wise to draw attention to one self with brash clothes with the Ragesians stalking the streets. Diogenes was still as sardonic as ever but there was a more pronounced bitter cast to his face as he moved with the aid of two crutches.</p><p> </p><p>Menash was the first to speak:</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, well done! Well done! You really did it! I so hoped you would! Tell me, did my gifts from the past help you? That dragon cast such a bane on our lives. Now that it’s gone, we’ll kick those Ragesians out of the city for sure!”</p><p> </p><p>Diogenes interrupted at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“What my enthusiastic friend is saying is that we now have at least a chance of defeating the Ragesians; it’s a small chance but at least there is one; especially with the help of your army from Seaquen. How many did you bring, by the way?”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim replied:</p><p> </p><p>“It was about three thousand in the time allowed by the spell. There were no instructions as to how many we should bring, as I recall, so we brought as many as we could.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a silence at this and then Rantle continued after this news:</p><p> </p><p>“We have about five thousand warriors capable of fighting in the city; these are now willing to come out and face the Ragesian army now that the dragon is gone; we also have three thousand of your men who I hope are on their way; finally, there is also an army of Shahalesti nearby.”</p><p> </p><p>Then Diogenes took over the conversation again:</p><p> </p><p>“The Ragesians have also several devils, monstrous allies and wyverns at their disposal. These are the jokers in the pack as their powers are unpredictable and mysterious.”</p><p> </p><p>Then Erdan began talking again:</p><p> </p><p>“The forces are under the command of General Danava, a noble man; we believe that he is being controlled by Ragesia but the level of his loyalty to Leska is unknown. There is a possibility that if you manage to reach him, then a negotiation could be initiated. Unfortunately, more recently, another Ragesian commander has arrived, a brute by the name of Legate Kolvus; he is particularly cruel and sends his soldiers into the city to “search for rebels” as he calls it. I don’t think I need to draw you a picture so what these searches are like. This man has to be dealt with before any sort of negotiation can be initiated; too many people have suffered his depredations and an accommodation with the Ragesians would be impossible to reach should he be still in the city.”</p><p> </p><p>Rantle then motioned us to a large scroll, which he unrolled. It was a detailed map of the city:</p><p> </p><p>“The plan is for the population to rise against the garrisons in the districts, here, here, here……”</p><p> </p><p>He was pointing to the eight districts in the eastern part of the city.</p><p> </p><p>Rantle continued:</p><p> </p><p>“There are two thousand Ragesians here; therefore they are vulnerable to our five thousand. The bulk of the Ragesian army, eight thousand men, is concentrated here, in the Western section of the city. As soon as they population rises, they will start screaming for reinforcements; I plan to station you here.”</p><p> </p><p>Rantle pointed at one section of the map. It showed the Emelk Way, the main road running through the city:</p><p> </p><p>“You and the combat trained troops are to prevent the reinforcements from the Ragesians reaching their garrisons. We don’t need them stopped, just slowed down. This will give the troops from Seaquen time to assault the Ragesians from the West and then we will catch them from both sides. You specifically should be here.”</p><p> </p><p>He pointed to a gate between the seventh and eighth districts.</p><p> </p><p>“Then he added. Oh, and if you do see the Shahalesti, please try to convince them to join on our side. I met the Princess, you know. She is a fine lady and is genuinely concerned about the city. I’m sure she would aid you in seeking an audience with Shaaladel.”</p><p> </p><p>Erdan continued at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, but the most important thing is to contact General Danava; he is the key. If we can get him to declare a cease fire and begin peace talks then we’re almost home; but…..you must get rid of Legate Kolvus; oh, Danava will be heavily protected as well; it wouldn’t surprise me if that Kolvus had some of his agents “protecting” Danava.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, one other thing. We know that there is an underground jail manned by the Ragesians; it’s full of political prisoners. It is imperative that you locate it and free them. The city must have a political structure when the Ragesians leave.”</p><p> </p><p>After he finished, Erdan beamed at us and walked over to a wardrobe, which he opened:</p><p> </p><p>“Like last time, I can offer some gifts.”</p><p> </p><p>He began taking out various items, handing them out to us:</p><p> </p><p>There was a set of armour with spikes painted a virulent green, a ring, a book, a phylactery, a rod and a small statuette of an animal with a long trunk. He explained the uses of all of these and looked at us expectantly.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim thanked him effusively on behalf of all us and Victor was eyeing the armour, fingering the straps and looking as if he wanted to try it on. Erdan looked at him with enthusiasm.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim stood and looked at the Resistance leadership.</p><p> </p><p>“Gentlemen, we thank you for the briefing, the plan and these gifts. Now, if you don’t mind, we would like to retire and rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. May we all triumph on the morrow!”</p><p> </p><p>We were taken to a small set of side rooms where we were left to retire for the night. As soon as our guide left, Longhelim motioned us into one room.</p><p> </p><p>Once we were there, he closed the door and spoke quietly:</p><p> </p><p>“Right, we have the gist of what is going on here. Victor, you’re the soldier; what are your thoughts on this? Do we stand a chance at all? The numbers don’t add up to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Victor sat down:</p><p> </p><p>“As I see it, there are two distinct agendas here: one is purely military. Rantle has certainly got a good grasp of the numbers, the tactics and what he is hoping to achieve. He also must be very aware that the numbers don’t add up, unless…….you factor in the Shahalesti. We have dealt with them before; we know what they are capable of, what they have done and what they want to do in the future; they are only slightly preferable to the Ragesians but in this case, they may be the only hope we have. The only advantage we have is that there is a Ragesian army rampaging in Northern Shahalesti. If Gate Pass is free of Ragesians, it will free them up to shore up the defences of their own homeland.</p><p> </p><p>The other agenda is political; this one is far more nebulous. If we get to this General Danava, we should try to talk to him? I am not sure just what is going on here or why Menash wants this; there is so much that is unknown here that it just too vague. If this General is not very loyal, how did he get the command of a whole army; why did they give it to him? Ragesia has plenty of generals. In fact, how would we even meet him? He will be in his command post, directing his troops. We will be preventing Ragesian reinforcements from advancing East. We may have some success blocking them for a brief period of time but that is the sort of problem, a general, especially a commanding one, delegates; especially if there is a Shahalesti army lurking nearby; that will be his greatest concern.</p><p> </p><p>As for this jail…….</p><p> </p><p>I will add one thing: all of these plans and ideas are all very well but we all know what happens to them once they meet the enemy.”</p><p> </p><p>John spoke at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“I have never heard of an underground jail in the city but there are plenty of places that could take the place of one.”</p><p> </p><p>I also wanted to make a point:</p><p> </p><p>“There is nothing we can do but we have to be prepared for the fact that the plans or aspects of the plan are already compromised. As we know, the Ragesians are very skilled in placing agents, assassins and traitors within the ranks of their enemies; and I am concerned about the devils. We don’t know what sort of power they command but a devil or squad of devils could appear anywhere in the city to perform a surgical strike; even here, tonight, if they need to. We should definitely keep a watch, no matter where we are; and sleep in the same room.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim took a puff of his pipe:</p><p> </p><p>“Good points all; so as usual, we asses the situation and do it our own way, right?”</p><p> </p><p>We all concurred with that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6312395, member: 6692807"] Thus fell Vorax Hul, red dragon and Champion of the Ragesian army! We all looked down for some moments, unbelieving and wary, making sure that no other monstrosities were going to attack us. We did not want to be taken by surprise by some new version of Vorax Hul that had risen, like a phoenix out of the ashes. Rather desultorily, I was looking at the dragon’s treasure but that was now a molten slag of mixed metal; all of the coins were in the path of several of his breaths. Felix, John and Drudge were also moving around healing everyone; all of us were hurt by something or other. Victor was asking: “Sorry, in the excitement, I have forgotten. What is our next course of action?” Picking one or two coins up, I replied: “We have to repair the bell and then ring it; this will signal the population that the dragon is dead and that they should get ready to rise up against the Ragesian oppressors. Rantle gave me a scroll with which to repair the bell; I shall go and do so immediately.” Victor nodded: “The Ragesians will be all over this tower in moments; they will have seen the dragon fall and realise that things have gone very wrong. We have to leave now!” I hurried to the cupola and began casting the spell. The bell needed the magic to be repaired but that was achieved fairly quickly; I was then joined by Longhelim, who took out the Torch and muttered something. I saw the Torch shimmer and change form from an axe to a mace. He hit the bell, producing a deep sound; he did this several times and then he stopped. As the bell faded, we could hear faint cheering in the distance. We both hurried to the treasure room. We saw that Drudge, John, Victor and Felix had gathered the adamantite glaive heads which had belonged to the gargoyles. Then Felix said: “I have one transport spell left; do we want to transport ourselves back to the manor?” Longhelim nodded and moments later, we were in the same room with Rantle and his group, who had managed to destroy the white column. He raised his eyebrows at us and Longhelim answered: “It’s done!” The rogue grinned and then said: “Excellent! Never doubted you for a moment! Now we had better get back to head quarters. The Ragesians will have squadrons of wyvern riders here in moments. Follow me!” With that, he began to weave his way through the alleys and ruined buildings, stopping every so often to watch for activity and motioning us to hide. We were not very good but we must have been sought by the weaker set of Ragesian forces because we were able to extricate ourselves from the district fairly quickly. Rantle led us through more of the city and I cringed inside at the destruction; massive battles must have taken place here. Thousands of people died; I already knew that but seeing the devastation personally brought it all home; literally and metaphorically! Finally, we skulked to the meeting place designated by the Resistance; we had been there before; it was the church where we had sought shelter after the initial, devastating assault by the Ragesians. We had spent the night there before going to Erdin Menash’s house and ultimately leaving Gate Pass. So much had happened to us and the city since then! As soon as we entered into the church, we could see commotion; something was happening as people were running around, some of them disappearing depths below the building and others running out of the church itself; they looked like messengers. Rantle took us to the basement through a maze of tunnels. Once there, we met the other two members of the triumvirate which made up the leadership of the Resistance: Erdin Menash, councilor and merchant and Diogenes the wizard of Gabal’s School. The former looked careworn and old; he had been a rotund jolly man with a flamboyant taste in colour and clothes; he had shed most of that rotundity and his clothes were sober; I suspected that it was not wise to draw attention to one self with brash clothes with the Ragesians stalking the streets. Diogenes was still as sardonic as ever but there was a more pronounced bitter cast to his face as he moved with the aid of two crutches. Menash was the first to speak: “Oh, well done! Well done! You really did it! I so hoped you would! Tell me, did my gifts from the past help you? That dragon cast such a bane on our lives. Now that it’s gone, we’ll kick those Ragesians out of the city for sure!” Diogenes interrupted at this point: “What my enthusiastic friend is saying is that we now have at least a chance of defeating the Ragesians; it’s a small chance but at least there is one; especially with the help of your army from Seaquen. How many did you bring, by the way?” Longhelim replied: “It was about three thousand in the time allowed by the spell. There were no instructions as to how many we should bring, as I recall, so we brought as many as we could.” There was a silence at this and then Rantle continued after this news: “We have about five thousand warriors capable of fighting in the city; these are now willing to come out and face the Ragesian army now that the dragon is gone; we also have three thousand of your men who I hope are on their way; finally, there is also an army of Shahalesti nearby.” Then Diogenes took over the conversation again: “The Ragesians have also several devils, monstrous allies and wyverns at their disposal. These are the jokers in the pack as their powers are unpredictable and mysterious.” Then Erdan began talking again: “The forces are under the command of General Danava, a noble man; we believe that he is being controlled by Ragesia but the level of his loyalty to Leska is unknown. There is a possibility that if you manage to reach him, then a negotiation could be initiated. Unfortunately, more recently, another Ragesian commander has arrived, a brute by the name of Legate Kolvus; he is particularly cruel and sends his soldiers into the city to “search for rebels” as he calls it. I don’t think I need to draw you a picture so what these searches are like. This man has to be dealt with before any sort of negotiation can be initiated; too many people have suffered his depredations and an accommodation with the Ragesians would be impossible to reach should he be still in the city.” Rantle then motioned us to a large scroll, which he unrolled. It was a detailed map of the city: “The plan is for the population to rise against the garrisons in the districts, here, here, here……” He was pointing to the eight districts in the eastern part of the city. Rantle continued: “There are two thousand Ragesians here; therefore they are vulnerable to our five thousand. The bulk of the Ragesian army, eight thousand men, is concentrated here, in the Western section of the city. As soon as they population rises, they will start screaming for reinforcements; I plan to station you here.” Rantle pointed at one section of the map. It showed the Emelk Way, the main road running through the city: “You and the combat trained troops are to prevent the reinforcements from the Ragesians reaching their garrisons. We don’t need them stopped, just slowed down. This will give the troops from Seaquen time to assault the Ragesians from the West and then we will catch them from both sides. You specifically should be here.” He pointed to a gate between the seventh and eighth districts. “Then he added. Oh, and if you do see the Shahalesti, please try to convince them to join on our side. I met the Princess, you know. She is a fine lady and is genuinely concerned about the city. I’m sure she would aid you in seeking an audience with Shaaladel.” Erdan continued at this point: “Yes, yes, but the most important thing is to contact General Danava; he is the key. If we can get him to declare a cease fire and begin peace talks then we’re almost home; but…..you must get rid of Legate Kolvus; oh, Danava will be heavily protected as well; it wouldn’t surprise me if that Kolvus had some of his agents “protecting” Danava. Oh, one other thing. We know that there is an underground jail manned by the Ragesians; it’s full of political prisoners. It is imperative that you locate it and free them. The city must have a political structure when the Ragesians leave.” After he finished, Erdan beamed at us and walked over to a wardrobe, which he opened: “Like last time, I can offer some gifts.” He began taking out various items, handing them out to us: There was a set of armour with spikes painted a virulent green, a ring, a book, a phylactery, a rod and a small statuette of an animal with a long trunk. He explained the uses of all of these and looked at us expectantly. Longhelim thanked him effusively on behalf of all us and Victor was eyeing the armour, fingering the straps and looking as if he wanted to try it on. Erdan looked at him with enthusiasm. Longhelim stood and looked at the Resistance leadership. “Gentlemen, we thank you for the briefing, the plan and these gifts. Now, if you don’t mind, we would like to retire and rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. May we all triumph on the morrow!” We were taken to a small set of side rooms where we were left to retire for the night. As soon as our guide left, Longhelim motioned us into one room. Once we were there, he closed the door and spoke quietly: “Right, we have the gist of what is going on here. Victor, you’re the soldier; what are your thoughts on this? Do we stand a chance at all? The numbers don’t add up to me.” Victor sat down: “As I see it, there are two distinct agendas here: one is purely military. Rantle has certainly got a good grasp of the numbers, the tactics and what he is hoping to achieve. He also must be very aware that the numbers don’t add up, unless…….you factor in the Shahalesti. We have dealt with them before; we know what they are capable of, what they have done and what they want to do in the future; they are only slightly preferable to the Ragesians but in this case, they may be the only hope we have. The only advantage we have is that there is a Ragesian army rampaging in Northern Shahalesti. If Gate Pass is free of Ragesians, it will free them up to shore up the defences of their own homeland. The other agenda is political; this one is far more nebulous. If we get to this General Danava, we should try to talk to him? I am not sure just what is going on here or why Menash wants this; there is so much that is unknown here that it just too vague. If this General is not very loyal, how did he get the command of a whole army; why did they give it to him? Ragesia has plenty of generals. In fact, how would we even meet him? He will be in his command post, directing his troops. We will be preventing Ragesian reinforcements from advancing East. We may have some success blocking them for a brief period of time but that is the sort of problem, a general, especially a commanding one, delegates; especially if there is a Shahalesti army lurking nearby; that will be his greatest concern. As for this jail……. I will add one thing: all of these plans and ideas are all very well but we all know what happens to them once they meet the enemy.” John spoke at this point: “I have never heard of an underground jail in the city but there are plenty of places that could take the place of one.” I also wanted to make a point: “There is nothing we can do but we have to be prepared for the fact that the plans or aspects of the plan are already compromised. As we know, the Ragesians are very skilled in placing agents, assassins and traitors within the ranks of their enemies; and I am concerned about the devils. We don’t know what sort of power they command but a devil or squad of devils could appear anywhere in the city to perform a surgical strike; even here, tonight, if they need to. We should definitely keep a watch, no matter where we are; and sleep in the same room.” Longhelim took a puff of his pipe: “Good points all; so as usual, we asses the situation and do it our own way, right?” We all concurred with that. [/QUOTE]
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