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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: 6346413" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>Longhelim motioned the rest of us to retire to a corner of the square as a discreet murmur arose from the courtiers.</p><p> </p><p>We stood together and Longhelim spoke quietly:</p><p> </p><p>“Right, we all heard the proposals; what do people think? Victor, John?”</p><p> </p><p>John spoke first and to the point:</p><p> </p><p>“Him being the commander is obvious; he was leading armies decades if not centuries before any of us were born; now that Coaltongue is gone, he must be the greatest living military strategist; and more important, he’ll have the ability to react to anything magically unpleasant that the Ragesians throw our way.”</p><p> </p><p>Victor then added:</p><p> </p><p>“Assistance with the defeat of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] army is another obvious one; he wants it eradicated from Shahalesti. The thought of a Ragesian army walking through his lands must be anathema to the Shining Lands and he may be under some political pressure to destroy it; so, he is dangling the freedom of Gate Pass like a carrot in front of us to get our help.</p><p> </p><p>We need to be a little careful though; we don’t want to ally ourselves with the elves too overtly; they are not exactly popular with other nations; but…..this should work; Northern Shahalesti is so remote that barely anyone knows what is going on up there and if we move his army up there, no one will care. We should just make it clear to the Resistance and others that this is the only elven army we plan to move and that it is going on a purely internal Shahalesti mission. </p><p> </p><p>We’ll need is some powerful Ragesian prisoners from the conflict here to activate the Torch though; Shaaladel also will have to move fast here in Gate Pass as that Ragesian army was in the far North looking for the Torch; now that Leska knows that it did not find it, no doubt she will find something creative to do with it. She’s surprised us unpleasantly in the past and no doubt she’ll do it again; and as I have said before, she always seems to be several steps ahead of us.”</p><p> </p><p>I chimed in then:</p><p> </p><p>“The third one is being made Emperor of Ragesia after the end of the conflict; an elf as emperor over a nation of orcs and half orcs? That will be interesting. I really don’t know about that one, but since he could have walked into Gate Pass and taken over anyway, this one seems a courtesy request at best. I don’t think there is any problem here and now but what the South will think of that later on is the question.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim put his fingers on his chin thoughtfully and I knew he was wishing he had his pipe. Quietly, he mused:</p><p> </p><p>“Which leaves the last one. His request to be given the Torch.”</p><p> </p><p>I added:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that’s the big one. As I see it, the third one is meaningless without the last request. On the one hand, if we give it to him, it’ll mean he will become the ruler of the world unless we get another Rhuarc; and that bloody thing on your shoulder will continue causing more and more grief; bear in mind, we also promised the masters of the Monastery of the Five Winds in Ostalin, that once we finished with the War, we would destroy it.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim nodded and said:</p><p> </p><p>“I remember; this is an evil thing. I agree; with it, Shaaladel will become another Drakus Coaltongue, no matter how the elven bards dress it up. Except that instead of Ragesia, read the Glorious Everlasting Shining Empire of Shahalesti, where everyone is….what was that term they used when they wanted to take over in Seaquen Faden?”</p><p> </p><p>“Spiritually pure,” I added flatly.</p><p> </p><p>The paladin nodded:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that’s right; spiritually pure.</p><p> </p><p>So, we say no to the last one.”</p><p> </p><p>I drew my breath sharply; none of us had any idea how Shaaladel would react to being denied; yet we all realised that the last request was a step too far. Rantle, who was with us, had no comment to make; neither did Metamorphosis, who had managed to merge into the background as usual.</p><p> </p><p>So, Longhelim strode back to Shaaladel with the rest of us in tow. The elven king was conversing with one of the devas but he turned around as we approached.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim was short and to the point:</p><p> </p><p>“We agree to all of your requests except the last one; that one is non-negotiable, I am afraid.”</p><p> </p><p>The King’s face was unreadable and he looked at us for seemingly a very long time; the tension mounted and I began to think that something untoward would happen; finally, the King spoke quietly:</p><p> </p><p>“Then, I propose an amendment; instead of being given the Torch, I want it destroyed.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim looked at the King for a long time; I was trying to work out all the repercussions of the new request as well as trying to work out just what Shaaladel was playing at; without the Torch, he was giving up any realistic claim to the Ragesian Empire. Without a way of transporting armies, he did not have the manpower to cover the full area. The only explanation I could think of at this time was that he was going to sweep through the North and annex a large part of it; there were enormous forests there and they would suit his people; then he would then bide his time and sweep South and West generations into the future. He was an elf after all; thinking hundreds of years ahead was natural to him.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim looked at all of us; we all gave a small nod; to all intents and purposes, we had just determined the future of Gate Pass.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim said:</p><p> </p><p>“We accept.”</p><p> </p><p>There was no cheering but the tension in the air immediately lessened and a murmuring began among the courtiers again; Shalaadel immediately gave a signal and trumpets began to sound shrilly. Victor’s attention sharpened and he whispered something to Longhelim.</p><p> </p><p>The paladin smiled quizzically at King Shalaadel and said:</p><p> </p><p>“A day away?”</p><p> </p><p>The King smiled at Victor in appreciation and replied:</p><p> </p><p>“No; if you remember, I said within a day. Let’s just say that the situation in Gate Pass is in the balance right now and the sooner we get involved, the better.</p><p> </p><p>What will your role be now?”</p><p> </p><p>The paladin said:</p><p> </p><p>“There is a prison behind enemy lines; it is full of several important inmates, including one who could literally make the difference between the survival and fall of the city. We will go and rescue them.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, please let me name to you, Commander Rantle.”</p><p> </p><p>He pointed to the former thief.</p><p> </p><p>“He is one of the three leaders of the Resistance in Gate Pass. He will introduce you to the local men of power influence and acquaint them with the new alliance.”</p><p> </p><p>The King looked at Rantle and nodded.</p><p> </p><p>As this was happening, I was whispering urgently in Rantle’s ear:</p><p> </p><p>“Be very careful in how your treat him and how you speak with him; he may look all elven and kingly but he is obsessed with this purity of spirit. He has already led two separate crusades which resulted in the complete genocide of two nations; and they were elves. He saw them as a threat so he eliminated it; I have never been able to find out why but he is ruthless in a way you or I will never even comprehend. He will not hesitate to cleanse anyone’s spirit, if he sees fit; he may not do it immediately but remember he thinks tens if not hundreds of years ahead. He’s also someone who called Drakus Coaltongue his friend and ally.</p><p> </p><p>You have the tiger by the tail and he thinks your hands are filthy; remember that and pass it on.”</p><p> </p><p>Rantle was wide eyed as he nodded; I hoped he took my advice to heart. My own heart beat a little faster as I saw that one of the astral devas was looking at me but then my attention was absorbed by the approach of the Princess Shalosha:</p><p> </p><p>“I would like to show my appreciation of your diplomacy; my father is not the easiest of people but I hope this alliance is the beginning of a new age of understanding. Thank you and I hope we will see each other again.”</p><p> </p><p>After that, she walked away.</p><p> </p><p>With all the attention of the elven court now away from us, we moved from the tower and the square and all of us breathed deeply for a few moments.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim breathed out and said:</p><p> </p><p>“That could have gone very wrong; I just hope we did the right thing.”</p><p> </p><p>Then I took out a map of the city and laid it out on the ground; turning to Metamorphosis, asked:</p><p> </p><p>“Right, can you tell us where this prison is?”</p><p> </p><p>She pointed at a building:</p><p> </p><p>“Here.”</p><p> </p><p>I blinked and looked again:</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and I turned to Longhelim:</p><p> </p><p>“I know that place like the back of my hand; I’ve spent years there. That’s Gabal’s Tower.”</p><p> </p><p>The paladin looked again and nodded gazed at me with a question:</p><p> </p><p>“That’s good isn’t it? You knowing the place so well?”</p><p> </p><p>I was thinking hard, trying to work out all the repercussions:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yes and no. Yes, I do know all the nooks and crannies of the place; there was one floor to which I was never admitted; I wasn’t an adept of enough power; but as for the rest, yes, I know it very well; I also know all the defences; unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I know how to by pass them. For example, I know that there is a ward which will prevent us from transporting ourselves magically inside the Tower. That being said, I believe that we will be able to do so into the grounds, providing they’re not swarming with Ragesian troops, which may well be the case.</p><p> </p><p>Inside the Tower there was also powerful defensive magic; when it was not in use by the students, the Tower would fill with mist, making it very difficult to see anything anywhere; there was also an effect which would make you lose all sense of direction and annoying voices would scream next to your ears, giving you false directions; oh, and if you managed to find a door, then it was always magically locked. Now I know that it is all one particular spell, but believe you me, it was very irritating if for some reason you had to study or work outside of normal school hours. Master Gabal was inordinately proud of it; I think he gave it some personal tweaks which made it a little easier for him and his top assistants to move through his quarters. We lowly students were expected to be in our rooms or suffer the consequences.”</p><p> </p><p>John was shaking his head and grinning:</p><p> </p><p>“So, your lauded master was actually treating you like a bunch school boys; his mighty students.”</p><p> </p><p>I snorted:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, if you had met some of my fellow students, you’d lock them in their rooms at night as well.”</p><p> </p><p>Then I stopped speaking as I realised that most of these students were now probably dead, either fighting for the Resistance or taken for the Scourge; unfortunately, I had had no time to see if any of the spell casters we had rescued from Agony’s oubliette were students from Gate Pass; there hadn’t been any obvious ones anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim then said:</p><p> </p><p>“So, we better stop wasting time; how do we want to do this? Do we get into the grounds, try the main Tower itself, or go just outside?”</p><p> </p><p>I thought about it a bit and then said:</p><p> </p><p>“As I said, there was a ward inside the Tower which stopped magical transport into it; I doubt that will have changed. If this has now become a prison, there is a high risk that the Ragesians have stationed troops or guards in the grounds; that’s what I would do.</p><p> </p><p>Rantle was pretty sure that the Resistance had eliminated all the anti-teleportation pillars in the city so my suggestion is to teleport just outside the walls and see if we have any nasty surprises waiting for us; Metamorphosis can make us all fly just to give us more options.”</p><p> </p><p>“And when we get inside the walls, how do we access Gabal’s Tower?” asked Longhelim.</p><p> </p><p>Felix spoke then:</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll make another hole in the wall, in the same manner as the one I made into the clock tower.”</p><p> </p><p>The paladin considered for a moment and then said:</p><p> </p><p>“It looks like we have a plan. Let’s get to it!”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6346413, member: 6692807"] Longhelim motioned the rest of us to retire to a corner of the square as a discreet murmur arose from the courtiers. We stood together and Longhelim spoke quietly: “Right, we all heard the proposals; what do people think? Victor, John?” John spoke first and to the point: “Him being the commander is obvious; he was leading armies decades if not centuries before any of us were born; now that Coaltongue is gone, he must be the greatest living military strategist; and more important, he’ll have the ability to react to anything magically unpleasant that the Ragesians throw our way.” Victor then added: “Assistance with the defeat of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] army is another obvious one; he wants it eradicated from Shahalesti. The thought of a Ragesian army walking through his lands must be anathema to the Shining Lands and he may be under some political pressure to destroy it; so, he is dangling the freedom of Gate Pass like a carrot in front of us to get our help. We need to be a little careful though; we don’t want to ally ourselves with the elves too overtly; they are not exactly popular with other nations; but…..this should work; Northern Shahalesti is so remote that barely anyone knows what is going on up there and if we move his army up there, no one will care. We should just make it clear to the Resistance and others that this is the only elven army we plan to move and that it is going on a purely internal Shahalesti mission. We’ll need is some powerful Ragesian prisoners from the conflict here to activate the Torch though; Shaaladel also will have to move fast here in Gate Pass as that Ragesian army was in the far North looking for the Torch; now that Leska knows that it did not find it, no doubt she will find something creative to do with it. She’s surprised us unpleasantly in the past and no doubt she’ll do it again; and as I have said before, she always seems to be several steps ahead of us.” I chimed in then: “The third one is being made Emperor of Ragesia after the end of the conflict; an elf as emperor over a nation of orcs and half orcs? That will be interesting. I really don’t know about that one, but since he could have walked into Gate Pass and taken over anyway, this one seems a courtesy request at best. I don’t think there is any problem here and now but what the South will think of that later on is the question.” Longhelim put his fingers on his chin thoughtfully and I knew he was wishing he had his pipe. Quietly, he mused: “Which leaves the last one. His request to be given the Torch.” I added: “Yes, that’s the big one. As I see it, the third one is meaningless without the last request. On the one hand, if we give it to him, it’ll mean he will become the ruler of the world unless we get another Rhuarc; and that bloody thing on your shoulder will continue causing more and more grief; bear in mind, we also promised the masters of the Monastery of the Five Winds in Ostalin, that once we finished with the War, we would destroy it.” Longhelim nodded and said: “I remember; this is an evil thing. I agree; with it, Shaaladel will become another Drakus Coaltongue, no matter how the elven bards dress it up. Except that instead of Ragesia, read the Glorious Everlasting Shining Empire of Shahalesti, where everyone is….what was that term they used when they wanted to take over in Seaquen Faden?” “Spiritually pure,” I added flatly. The paladin nodded: “Yes, that’s right; spiritually pure. So, we say no to the last one.” I drew my breath sharply; none of us had any idea how Shaaladel would react to being denied; yet we all realised that the last request was a step too far. Rantle, who was with us, had no comment to make; neither did Metamorphosis, who had managed to merge into the background as usual. So, Longhelim strode back to Shaaladel with the rest of us in tow. The elven king was conversing with one of the devas but he turned around as we approached. Longhelim was short and to the point: “We agree to all of your requests except the last one; that one is non-negotiable, I am afraid.” The King’s face was unreadable and he looked at us for seemingly a very long time; the tension mounted and I began to think that something untoward would happen; finally, the King spoke quietly: “Then, I propose an amendment; instead of being given the Torch, I want it destroyed.” Longhelim looked at the King for a long time; I was trying to work out all the repercussions of the new request as well as trying to work out just what Shaaladel was playing at; without the Torch, he was giving up any realistic claim to the Ragesian Empire. Without a way of transporting armies, he did not have the manpower to cover the full area. The only explanation I could think of at this time was that he was going to sweep through the North and annex a large part of it; there were enormous forests there and they would suit his people; then he would then bide his time and sweep South and West generations into the future. He was an elf after all; thinking hundreds of years ahead was natural to him. Longhelim looked at all of us; we all gave a small nod; to all intents and purposes, we had just determined the future of Gate Pass. Longhelim said: “We accept.” There was no cheering but the tension in the air immediately lessened and a murmuring began among the courtiers again; Shalaadel immediately gave a signal and trumpets began to sound shrilly. Victor’s attention sharpened and he whispered something to Longhelim. The paladin smiled quizzically at King Shalaadel and said: “A day away?” The King smiled at Victor in appreciation and replied: “No; if you remember, I said within a day. Let’s just say that the situation in Gate Pass is in the balance right now and the sooner we get involved, the better. What will your role be now?” The paladin said: “There is a prison behind enemy lines; it is full of several important inmates, including one who could literally make the difference between the survival and fall of the city. We will go and rescue them. In the meantime, please let me name to you, Commander Rantle.” He pointed to the former thief. “He is one of the three leaders of the Resistance in Gate Pass. He will introduce you to the local men of power influence and acquaint them with the new alliance.” The King looked at Rantle and nodded. As this was happening, I was whispering urgently in Rantle’s ear: “Be very careful in how your treat him and how you speak with him; he may look all elven and kingly but he is obsessed with this purity of spirit. He has already led two separate crusades which resulted in the complete genocide of two nations; and they were elves. He saw them as a threat so he eliminated it; I have never been able to find out why but he is ruthless in a way you or I will never even comprehend. He will not hesitate to cleanse anyone’s spirit, if he sees fit; he may not do it immediately but remember he thinks tens if not hundreds of years ahead. He’s also someone who called Drakus Coaltongue his friend and ally. You have the tiger by the tail and he thinks your hands are filthy; remember that and pass it on.” Rantle was wide eyed as he nodded; I hoped he took my advice to heart. My own heart beat a little faster as I saw that one of the astral devas was looking at me but then my attention was absorbed by the approach of the Princess Shalosha: “I would like to show my appreciation of your diplomacy; my father is not the easiest of people but I hope this alliance is the beginning of a new age of understanding. Thank you and I hope we will see each other again.” After that, she walked away. With all the attention of the elven court now away from us, we moved from the tower and the square and all of us breathed deeply for a few moments. Longhelim breathed out and said: “That could have gone very wrong; I just hope we did the right thing.” Then I took out a map of the city and laid it out on the ground; turning to Metamorphosis, asked: “Right, can you tell us where this prison is?” She pointed at a building: “Here.” I blinked and looked again: “Are you sure?” She nodded and I turned to Longhelim: “I know that place like the back of my hand; I’ve spent years there. That’s Gabal’s Tower.” The paladin looked again and nodded gazed at me with a question: “That’s good isn’t it? You knowing the place so well?” I was thinking hard, trying to work out all the repercussions: “Well, yes and no. Yes, I do know all the nooks and crannies of the place; there was one floor to which I was never admitted; I wasn’t an adept of enough power; but as for the rest, yes, I know it very well; I also know all the defences; unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I know how to by pass them. For example, I know that there is a ward which will prevent us from transporting ourselves magically inside the Tower. That being said, I believe that we will be able to do so into the grounds, providing they’re not swarming with Ragesian troops, which may well be the case. Inside the Tower there was also powerful defensive magic; when it was not in use by the students, the Tower would fill with mist, making it very difficult to see anything anywhere; there was also an effect which would make you lose all sense of direction and annoying voices would scream next to your ears, giving you false directions; oh, and if you managed to find a door, then it was always magically locked. Now I know that it is all one particular spell, but believe you me, it was very irritating if for some reason you had to study or work outside of normal school hours. Master Gabal was inordinately proud of it; I think he gave it some personal tweaks which made it a little easier for him and his top assistants to move through his quarters. We lowly students were expected to be in our rooms or suffer the consequences.” John was shaking his head and grinning: “So, your lauded master was actually treating you like a bunch school boys; his mighty students.” I snorted: “Well, if you had met some of my fellow students, you’d lock them in their rooms at night as well.” Then I stopped speaking as I realised that most of these students were now probably dead, either fighting for the Resistance or taken for the Scourge; unfortunately, I had had no time to see if any of the spell casters we had rescued from Agony’s oubliette were students from Gate Pass; there hadn’t been any obvious ones anyway. Longhelim then said: “So, we better stop wasting time; how do we want to do this? Do we get into the grounds, try the main Tower itself, or go just outside?” I thought about it a bit and then said: “As I said, there was a ward inside the Tower which stopped magical transport into it; I doubt that will have changed. If this has now become a prison, there is a high risk that the Ragesians have stationed troops or guards in the grounds; that’s what I would do. Rantle was pretty sure that the Resistance had eliminated all the anti-teleportation pillars in the city so my suggestion is to teleport just outside the walls and see if we have any nasty surprises waiting for us; Metamorphosis can make us all fly just to give us more options.” “And when we get inside the walls, how do we access Gabal’s Tower?” asked Longhelim. Felix spoke then: “I’ll make another hole in the wall, in the same manner as the one I made into the clock tower.” The paladin considered for a moment and then said: “It looks like we have a plan. Let’s get to it!” [/QUOTE]
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