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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: 6407424" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>We walked back to the camp; on the way there, I managed to get a few more details of the epic struggle between the two titanic figures of the Coaltongue statue and Salubrious Drudge; this was something that would down in legend, even if Gate Pass ceased to exist as a city. Magic and power of that magnitude could not be forgotten so easily. </p><p></p><p>As we entered the camp, there was a huge cheer; we saw that the Resistance had been augmented by a huge proportion of people from Gate Pass. People must have seen Drudge fighting because he was immediately recognized; there were even calls for a statue to be raised to the ranger at Summer’s Bluff. </p><p></p><p>Drudge was being dubbed the Defender of Gate Pass and the Guardian of Gate Pass; I glanced at him and it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with the attention. Personally, I thought that a statue to him would be very appropriate; didn’t say that out loud to him of course; he had shot me once today already. </p><p></p><p>We went to Simeon’s tent; Kiernan and he were already there, sitting down, waiting for us; Simeon joined him, rushing from outside. As soon as he arrived, the Loremaster began: </p><p></p><p>“We have just achieved a momentous victory; but we must continue; we have momentum and we must not lose it. Let’s list the things we have to achieve and prioritise accordingly. We are still vastly outnumbered by the Ragesian armies; the Torch is our great equalizer. So, let’s start.”</p><p>Longhelim began: </p><p></p><p>“We need to listen to our friend Vigilance; he made some very salient points.”</p><p></p><p>The old orc looked around and began speaking quite slowly: </p><p></p><p>“My…….brethren will not take this defeat for long; this will have come as shock to Freedom; everything she has set out to do, she has achieved; she will be furious; we know that she has already allied herself with the Ragesians. I do not believe that we will be able to resist her next assault. It is imperative that an expedition is mounted deep underground, through the Dreamlands to wake up our mother, Trilla.”</p><p></p><p>I frowned at him: </p><p></p><p>“That’s all very well; but last time we heard about her, she was smuggled underground in the Haunted Forest of Ycengled; and there is a large Ragesian army there at the moment. We can probably sneak our way through, but it would help if we had a better idea where exactly she was.”</p><p></p><p>Vigilance had the grace to look a little uncomfortable: </p><p></p><p>“Actually she’s deep underground here.”</p><p></p><p>I looked at him blankly: </p><p></p><p>“Here?”</p><p></p><p>He nodded: </p><p></p><p>“Yes, here; under Gate Pass; or at least the entrance to the Dreamlands is here. Why do you think that the Festival of Dreams is such an important event each year. Why do you think people’s wishes and dreams came true; did you really think that the gods did it?”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly all sorts of strange events clicked into place: </p><p></p><p>“You mean all this religious ritual around the Festival is just a mask? To disguise the fact that Trilla’s dreams are so powerful that they can be given reality; or that other dreams and wishes can also be given reality due to her influence? That’s genius! Whose idea was that?”</p><p></p><p>His silence provided the answer.</p><p></p><p>Something else came to me: </p><p></p><p>“You kept this from Coaltongue as well didn’t you? When he was here in the city. And Leska? If they had known, they would have torn this place apart stone by stone, looking for her, and damn the consequences!</p><p></p><p>Vigilance, I don’t know what to say; if anyone should have a statue dedicated to them at Summer’s Bluff, it should be you!”</p><p></p><p>I looked at the old orc in admiration; the others just looked stunned as the full ramifications of the conversation suddenly became apparent to them. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim took out his pipe; I liked that; it brought a sense of comfort and familiarity; we always reached our best decisions when Longhelim had his pipe in his hand: </p><p></p><p>“So, Trilla, or I should say the entrance to her realm, is under the city; and we have to put a high priority to going there and waking her; Freedom will attempt to stop us and we will have to deal with that. Vigilance, do you know exactly where she is?”</p><p></p><p>“No. The network of tunnels under the city leading to the entrance is very extensive and you could be down there for a long time.”</p><p></p><p>I frowned: </p><p></p><p>“So, how do we find it then?”</p><p></p><p>Felix spoke at this point: </p><p></p><p>“It would be difficult but there is powerful divine magic which may be able to get us to the right point; especially if we can get at least an indication of where it may be.”</p><p></p><p>Vigilance also continued: </p><p></p><p>“There are also two beings who would be able to tell you immediately where she is: The Elder Elemental Lords; The Worldshaper Worm and the Tidereaver Kraken. If you knew how to summon them, they would be able to tell you; for a service, I suspect.”</p><p></p><p>I was thinking hard: </p><p></p><p>“The Elder Elemental Rulers are capricious; they do not even approach our level of thinking; their needs and desires are so alien as to be incomprehensible; trying to ask them anything is….well I wouldn’t even describe it as risky because it will be completely unpredictable.”</p><p></p><p>John spoke at this point: </p><p></p><p>“Be that as it may, but does anyone know how to even talk to them; or get them to talk to you?”</p><p></p><p>Rather reluctantly, I was remembering: </p><p></p><p>“When we explored the steam tunnels under Seaquen and found that mad druid….what was his name……?”</p><p></p><p>I rummaged through my pack to find my diaries when John said: </p><p></p><p>“Never mind his name; yes, we know what you’re talking about Faden; the steam tunnels under Seaquen; we stopped him from summoning an elemental army that was going to take over the world; or so he said. What about it?”</p><p></p><p>I was still looking for my diaries and spoke as I was rummaging: </p><p></p><p>“The druid, he had a collection of books about the planes; I read them and written there was a theoretical ritual as to how to summon the Elder Elemental Lords or whatever you want to call them; though bear in mind that the first thing that the ritual said about that was……don’t!”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim was looking blank: </p><p></p><p>“Don’t what?”</p><p></p><p>“Don’t try to summon them; but if you have to…..then this was the way to do it. It’s long, it’s complicated, it’s hard work, but it is possible if we absolutely have to.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim took a puff: </p><p></p><p>“Well, it looks as if we must. Do we need anything?”</p><p></p><p>“From what I read, we don’t actually need anything material; we need to be very polite, very respectful and we also need to have the ability to be able to do whatever service it or they will require of us. Apart from that, the best place to do the ritual is in a place where the water meets the land on a vast scale.”</p><p></p><p>Kiernan spoke: </p><p></p><p>“You mean like Seaquen maybe?”</p><p></p><p>I nodded at him: </p><p></p><p>“Yes, actually, Seaquen would be ideal.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim stood up briefly: </p><p></p><p>“So, that is agreed; we summon the Elder Elemental Lords and try to obtain the information from them. Then, we go and wake up Trilla and hopefully get her to control her dreams; Vigilance, is it even possible for her to control her creations once she is woken?”</p><p></p><p>The orc shrugged: </p><p></p><p>“I cannot tell you what will happen. Mother waking up is unprecedented; Freedom has spent a very long time making sure that does not happen though; that means that she at least suspects that something bad would happen to them.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim smiled, if a little humourlessly: </p><p></p><p>“What other recourse do we have left; you say that that it will only be a little time before the trillith are back; we have to do this.</p><p></p><p>Now, the other matter on the horizon is an expedition to find the Aquiline Heart; that is the source of Leska’s power. Etinifi would have taken us there and according to him, we have to destroy it.”</p><p></p><p>Simeon’s attention sharpened at this: </p><p></p><p>“Etinifi? That rather strange character who has been wondering around with you? What does he have to do with this?”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim replied: </p><p></p><p>“We rescued him from the Scourge; he’s Leska’s ex boyfriend. They found the Aquiline Heart together but he abandoned her when they couldn’t get to it because its defences were too strong; she didn’t take very kindly to that; somehow, she gained access to the power of the Heart, found him and threw him into the Scourge.”</p><p></p><p>Simeon grew very excited: </p><p></p><p>“This Etinifi is a former lover of Leska in her youth? And they found the Aquiline Heart? Where is he? He will be a fount of priceless information. We have to find him at once.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim looked at him with raised eyebrows: </p><p></p><p>“If you can find anything out from him, you are a better man than any of us. He does come across as quite insane. All of us, especially Faden, have asked him numerous questions which he just ignores or replies with nonsensical poetry or rhyme. To be frank, the only reason why we keep him around with us is because he claims that the will be able to guide us to the Heart; he can’t even tell us what the Heart does, apart from vague things like providing Leska with her power.”</p><p></p><p>The paladin looked at me: </p><p></p><p>“Where is Etinifi anyway?”</p><p></p><p>I remembered: </p><p></p><p>“Last time I saw him, he was flying above the statue of Coaltongue as it was trying to smash us into pieces, shouting that he would guide them to the Aquiline Heart; oh, and how to beat us up. However, the trillith were paying him about as much attention as anyone else did; so none.</p><p></p><p>We should find him I suppose. He’s probably hiding somewhere; for all that he comes across as being mad, he’s still quite cunning when it comes to saving his own skin. He also seems to have become a lot less trustworthy. If he was telling the trillith how to defeat us, then frankly, I wouldn’t trust him to take us anywhere.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim sat down and grunted at this: </p><p></p><p>“Now, what about the city?”</p><p></p><p>Victor had been quiet up to this point, but he spoke up: </p><p></p><p>“That is difficult. Diogenes and Erdin Menash have both gone. No telling if Rantle is still alive but even if he was, I am not sure if he’s more suited to be a hero of the Resistance than a civic leader; I am finding it difficult to imagine Rantle deciding what budget to allocate to the sewage system of the city for the next six months for example. Everything is in chaos at the moment and we are already planning to leave. None of us have even had a chance to find out if our families are alive; my brother is dead but I have not been able to find out about my father.”</p><p></p><p>I also thought about my extensive family; I knew my father was dead, turned into a wraith by Gabal but I had no idea about the rest; in fact I was trying not to think about them but it was time to begin.</p><p></p><p>Then, something else occurred to me: </p><p></p><p>“Actually, the very first thing we have to do is transport the elven army to Northern Shahalesti; we promised that in the agreement with Shaaladel. In fact, I am quite surprised that the King has not sent a messenger to us yet. Maybe, they had a little more trouble with the trillith. They seemed to be under quite a heavy assault as they were leaving; possibly, they were followed?”</p><p></p><p>I could see by the faces of the others that in the excitement of what had been happening, they had forgotten about the agreement but that it was coming back to them now.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6407424, member: 6692807"] We walked back to the camp; on the way there, I managed to get a few more details of the epic struggle between the two titanic figures of the Coaltongue statue and Salubrious Drudge; this was something that would down in legend, even if Gate Pass ceased to exist as a city. Magic and power of that magnitude could not be forgotten so easily. As we entered the camp, there was a huge cheer; we saw that the Resistance had been augmented by a huge proportion of people from Gate Pass. People must have seen Drudge fighting because he was immediately recognized; there were even calls for a statue to be raised to the ranger at Summer’s Bluff. Drudge was being dubbed the Defender of Gate Pass and the Guardian of Gate Pass; I glanced at him and it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with the attention. Personally, I thought that a statue to him would be very appropriate; didn’t say that out loud to him of course; he had shot me once today already. We went to Simeon’s tent; Kiernan and he were already there, sitting down, waiting for us; Simeon joined him, rushing from outside. As soon as he arrived, the Loremaster began: “We have just achieved a momentous victory; but we must continue; we have momentum and we must not lose it. Let’s list the things we have to achieve and prioritise accordingly. We are still vastly outnumbered by the Ragesian armies; the Torch is our great equalizer. So, let’s start.” Longhelim began: “We need to listen to our friend Vigilance; he made some very salient points.” The old orc looked around and began speaking quite slowly: “My…….brethren will not take this defeat for long; this will have come as shock to Freedom; everything she has set out to do, she has achieved; she will be furious; we know that she has already allied herself with the Ragesians. I do not believe that we will be able to resist her next assault. It is imperative that an expedition is mounted deep underground, through the Dreamlands to wake up our mother, Trilla.” I frowned at him: “That’s all very well; but last time we heard about her, she was smuggled underground in the Haunted Forest of Ycengled; and there is a large Ragesian army there at the moment. We can probably sneak our way through, but it would help if we had a better idea where exactly she was.” Vigilance had the grace to look a little uncomfortable: “Actually she’s deep underground here.” I looked at him blankly: “Here?” He nodded: “Yes, here; under Gate Pass; or at least the entrance to the Dreamlands is here. Why do you think that the Festival of Dreams is such an important event each year. Why do you think people’s wishes and dreams came true; did you really think that the gods did it?” Suddenly all sorts of strange events clicked into place: “You mean all this religious ritual around the Festival is just a mask? To disguise the fact that Trilla’s dreams are so powerful that they can be given reality; or that other dreams and wishes can also be given reality due to her influence? That’s genius! Whose idea was that?” His silence provided the answer. Something else came to me: “You kept this from Coaltongue as well didn’t you? When he was here in the city. And Leska? If they had known, they would have torn this place apart stone by stone, looking for her, and damn the consequences! Vigilance, I don’t know what to say; if anyone should have a statue dedicated to them at Summer’s Bluff, it should be you!” I looked at the old orc in admiration; the others just looked stunned as the full ramifications of the conversation suddenly became apparent to them. Longhelim took out his pipe; I liked that; it brought a sense of comfort and familiarity; we always reached our best decisions when Longhelim had his pipe in his hand: “So, Trilla, or I should say the entrance to her realm, is under the city; and we have to put a high priority to going there and waking her; Freedom will attempt to stop us and we will have to deal with that. Vigilance, do you know exactly where she is?” “No. The network of tunnels under the city leading to the entrance is very extensive and you could be down there for a long time.” I frowned: “So, how do we find it then?” Felix spoke at this point: “It would be difficult but there is powerful divine magic which may be able to get us to the right point; especially if we can get at least an indication of where it may be.” Vigilance also continued: “There are also two beings who would be able to tell you immediately where she is: The Elder Elemental Lords; The Worldshaper Worm and the Tidereaver Kraken. If you knew how to summon them, they would be able to tell you; for a service, I suspect.” I was thinking hard: “The Elder Elemental Rulers are capricious; they do not even approach our level of thinking; their needs and desires are so alien as to be incomprehensible; trying to ask them anything is….well I wouldn’t even describe it as risky because it will be completely unpredictable.” John spoke at this point: “Be that as it may, but does anyone know how to even talk to them; or get them to talk to you?” Rather reluctantly, I was remembering: “When we explored the steam tunnels under Seaquen and found that mad druid….what was his name……?” I rummaged through my pack to find my diaries when John said: “Never mind his name; yes, we know what you’re talking about Faden; the steam tunnels under Seaquen; we stopped him from summoning an elemental army that was going to take over the world; or so he said. What about it?” I was still looking for my diaries and spoke as I was rummaging: “The druid, he had a collection of books about the planes; I read them and written there was a theoretical ritual as to how to summon the Elder Elemental Lords or whatever you want to call them; though bear in mind that the first thing that the ritual said about that was……don’t!” Longhelim was looking blank: “Don’t what?” “Don’t try to summon them; but if you have to…..then this was the way to do it. It’s long, it’s complicated, it’s hard work, but it is possible if we absolutely have to.” Longhelim took a puff: “Well, it looks as if we must. Do we need anything?” “From what I read, we don’t actually need anything material; we need to be very polite, very respectful and we also need to have the ability to be able to do whatever service it or they will require of us. Apart from that, the best place to do the ritual is in a place where the water meets the land on a vast scale.” Kiernan spoke: “You mean like Seaquen maybe?” I nodded at him: “Yes, actually, Seaquen would be ideal.” Longhelim stood up briefly: “So, that is agreed; we summon the Elder Elemental Lords and try to obtain the information from them. Then, we go and wake up Trilla and hopefully get her to control her dreams; Vigilance, is it even possible for her to control her creations once she is woken?” The orc shrugged: “I cannot tell you what will happen. Mother waking up is unprecedented; Freedom has spent a very long time making sure that does not happen though; that means that she at least suspects that something bad would happen to them.” Longhelim smiled, if a little humourlessly: “What other recourse do we have left; you say that that it will only be a little time before the trillith are back; we have to do this. Now, the other matter on the horizon is an expedition to find the Aquiline Heart; that is the source of Leska’s power. Etinifi would have taken us there and according to him, we have to destroy it.” Simeon’s attention sharpened at this: “Etinifi? That rather strange character who has been wondering around with you? What does he have to do with this?” Longhelim replied: “We rescued him from the Scourge; he’s Leska’s ex boyfriend. They found the Aquiline Heart together but he abandoned her when they couldn’t get to it because its defences were too strong; she didn’t take very kindly to that; somehow, she gained access to the power of the Heart, found him and threw him into the Scourge.” Simeon grew very excited: “This Etinifi is a former lover of Leska in her youth? And they found the Aquiline Heart? Where is he? He will be a fount of priceless information. We have to find him at once.” Longhelim looked at him with raised eyebrows: “If you can find anything out from him, you are a better man than any of us. He does come across as quite insane. All of us, especially Faden, have asked him numerous questions which he just ignores or replies with nonsensical poetry or rhyme. To be frank, the only reason why we keep him around with us is because he claims that the will be able to guide us to the Heart; he can’t even tell us what the Heart does, apart from vague things like providing Leska with her power.” The paladin looked at me: “Where is Etinifi anyway?” I remembered: “Last time I saw him, he was flying above the statue of Coaltongue as it was trying to smash us into pieces, shouting that he would guide them to the Aquiline Heart; oh, and how to beat us up. However, the trillith were paying him about as much attention as anyone else did; so none. We should find him I suppose. He’s probably hiding somewhere; for all that he comes across as being mad, he’s still quite cunning when it comes to saving his own skin. He also seems to have become a lot less trustworthy. If he was telling the trillith how to defeat us, then frankly, I wouldn’t trust him to take us anywhere.” Longhelim sat down and grunted at this: “Now, what about the city?” Victor had been quiet up to this point, but he spoke up: “That is difficult. Diogenes and Erdin Menash have both gone. No telling if Rantle is still alive but even if he was, I am not sure if he’s more suited to be a hero of the Resistance than a civic leader; I am finding it difficult to imagine Rantle deciding what budget to allocate to the sewage system of the city for the next six months for example. Everything is in chaos at the moment and we are already planning to leave. None of us have even had a chance to find out if our families are alive; my brother is dead but I have not been able to find out about my father.” I also thought about my extensive family; I knew my father was dead, turned into a wraith by Gabal but I had no idea about the rest; in fact I was trying not to think about them but it was time to begin. Then, something else occurred to me: “Actually, the very first thing we have to do is transport the elven army to Northern Shahalesti; we promised that in the agreement with Shaaladel. In fact, I am quite surprised that the King has not sent a messenger to us yet. Maybe, they had a little more trouble with the trillith. They seemed to be under quite a heavy assault as they were leaving; possibly, they were followed?” I could see by the faces of the others that in the excitement of what had been happening, they had forgotten about the agreement but that it was coming back to them now. [/QUOTE]
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