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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: 6911907" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>The night passed uneventfully; for once, there were no urgent summons to camp, no emergencies for which we were uniquely qualified, no threats to the mission. The spot we chose as our resting point was near the sea and the sound of the surf was soothing and relaxing. The next day, I woke up very refreshed </p><p> and ready to deal with Leska’s druid; I was also intrigued as the previous night, I had formulated a theory which would allow me to somehow change the nature of the energy of my spells. Usually, when I cast a spell such as a lightning bolt or a ball of fire, I had to specify the energy to which it was attuned at the time I learned it; but by changing a couple of details in the spell, I was sure that I could vary the type of energy at the time of casting; I had never tried that before but I was determined to see if my postulation was worked. I must confess, in a strange way, all of the different types of magic on show from Leska and her minions had inspired me; they had pushed the barriers of the study of magic by years in seemingly only a few months. It had shamed me; I was supposed to be one of Gabal’s more gifted students and here I was, just repeating everything I had learned; Leska and her followers were so far ahead of me in not only developing but also in the use of and practice of new magic that it beggared belief. Every time I met one of her more favoured followers or disciples, they showed an unexpected and exciting development in the discipline of magic. It was quite astonishing; they must have been working on the theories for years if not decades.</p><p> </p><p>In my own small way, I was determined to advance in new directions as well. </p><p> </p><p>So, I memorized my spells that morning with my new changes. It made my spells longer and more complicated so I could not learn as many of them but I felt it was going to be worth it. John and Felix also learned their spells and as usual we put our heads together to make sure we complemented our defensive spell capabilities which would cover everyone. Drudge, Victor and Longhelim practiced their combat disciplines as usual. </p><p> </p><p>Once the magic was ready, it was cast on various people. Defences against energy attacks, mental manipulation, physical blows, movement restriction……all of those were counted and discussed. Once we felt as ready as possible, one of Felix’s special breakfasts inside us, the priest also used one of his transport spells to get us back to command in the Wastes……..</p><p> </p><p>And we arrived at a scene of chaos, confusion and devastation. People were running around, there was no leadership or cohesion and it looked as if there was no one in charge. Most importantly of all, where the command tent had been, there was only a gaping, black hole in the ground. </p><p> </p><p>We approached the space and looked at each other. I already had a dreadful suspicion as to what had happened. It was very much in keeping with Leska’s extraordinary foresight as well as her spy network that she was able to assassinate the leadership of her opposition in one devastating strike. I was not sure how she did it, especially as Simeon had taken me through the security measures present on the command post quite painstakingly; and they were indeed very impressive. Unfortunately he seemed to have forgotten one specific factor; time and again, Leska had shown that she was usually two or three steps ahead of the leadership of the Resistance, in both strategy and tactics and that she developed spells and magic in such unusual and innovative ways that had never been used before. Whether she was inspired by her hellish allies or she just had an extraordinary ability to improvise, re-think and invent was moot; the end result usually meant calamity for her enemies. </p><p> </p><p>As we examined the smoking hole and Longhelim was just turning in my direction, there was a shout: </p><p> </p><p>“Longhelim!”</p><p> </p><p>We turned around to see Torrent hurrying towards us. She looked disheveled, her hair askew and dark rings under her eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Where have you been?” was her first question. </p><p> </p><p>The paladin replied: “Nowhere in particular but a pleasant place far away where we could recover and learn our spells.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked distressed and angry, almost shouting: “No one knew where any of you were. We looked for you all over the camp!”</p><p> </p><p>The priestess was obviously distressed and Longhelim answered gently and evenly:</p><p></p><p></p><p>“We decided to leave the camp for the night. We have had a long exposure to Leska’s assassination squads and her ability to recruit traitors. We were not happy with the security measures employed by the command group and told them so; we also left word with both Simeon and Kiernan where we were and how to get in touch with us.”</p><p> </p><p>Torrent grimaced: </p><p> </p><p>“Simeon and Kiernan were both victims of the first strike!”</p><p> </p><p>Victor stepped forward at this point: </p><p> </p><p>“Could you please tell us what happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Her shoulders slumped as if a great weight had been placed on her shoulders and she spoke in almost a monotone: </p><p> </p><p>“It was very early in the morning; a group of trusted guards, including some of those who were stationed outside the tent suddenly turned and began forming a perimeter around the tent, killing anyone who wanted to approach; others took out some sort of containers and began throwing them at the tent. Then they began throwing more things inside the tent which produced a series of explosions. It was horrible. The guards all fought to the death; they were fanatics and killed many skilled fighters before succumbing. From what we can gather so far, the command group is a total loss. General Gaspard of Sindaire, King Steppengaard of Bresk, General Xavious Foebane, Magister Simeon and his deputy Magister Kiernan have all perished.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim turned to me and asked: </p><p> </p><p>“How could this have happened? What were these things that they were throwing at the tent? Could Leska really have suborned squads of guards without the command group knowing about it? It seems incredible!”</p><p> </p><p>I was thinking furiously, trying to remember certain things I had read and heard in the corridors of Gabal’s Tower and the rooms of the Lyceum. </p><p> </p><p>“The guards could have been possessed or bribed or Ragesians all along. We have certainly seen elements of Leska’s extraordinary ability to penetrate Resistance security. Let’s face it, we have said it ourselves many times, when it came to spies and assassins, the Lyceum and the Resistance were amateurs; do you ever remember meeting any member of the Resistance command who was the spy master or in charge of security? I certainly don’t! So, the fact that Leska was able to place a phalanx of guards around the command tent is no great surprise. It’s also the reason we left it and chose our own camp. We all said that we were not happy with many elements of the security around the camp and the tent.</p><p> </p><p>As for the containers, I have heard of a type of weapon called a null spellbomb which has a similar result; the Sindairians were experimenting with them but in a very limited way because they were fiendishly expensive for what they were but bearing what I read about them, they certainly should not have been able to affect the magic in the command tent; having said that, we have seen Leska and her cohorts do things which break the laws of magic as we know them time and again so I suspect that these spell bombs were the basis for what caused the collapse of the command tent. </p><p> </p><p>Once that happened, they probably began throwing in enormous amounts of alchemical fire.”</p><p> </p><p>Torrent was staring at me with horror as she suddenly began to envisage what had happened and how remiss the command group had been not taking these possibilities into account. Then she began speaking again: </p><p> </p><p>“That is not all that happened last night; somehow, while this was happening here, another group of Leska’s spies penetrated the elven encampment and took Princess Shalosha.”</p><p> </p><p>We all looked at each other and John spoke for all of us: </p><p> </p><p>“That is very unfortunate. I think that there will heads rolling in the elven encampment this morning; literally. Shalaadel will not take this lightly.”</p><p> </p><p>Torrent nodded and continued: </p><p> </p><p>“Indeed not. Shalaadel has taken over command of all the armies and declared that all Ragesians will be wiped off the face of the earth. He has also left orders. If anyone should find you or see you, he has said that your priority is to eliminate the druid on the top of the column. His creation of the glass storms severely curtail his tactical movement.”</p><p> </p><p>We nodded. Despite our dislike of the elven king, he made military sense. While the storms were in existence, it was difficult for our armies to move. </p><p> </p><p>Victor spoke up at this point: </p><p> </p><p>“So, Shaaladel is in overall command now, which makes sense but who is in command of the individual national armies?”</p><p> </p><p>Torrent replied: </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know about the Sindaire army, but I assume it is Gaspard’s deputy; Duke Gallo is in command of the Brescian forces; and I believe you are in command of the Lyceum forces, Longhelim.”</p><p> </p><p>The paladin grimaced as he realised the truth of her words. Then he said: </p><p> </p><p>“I need to do something about that druid first and then we will see to our forces. Hopefully, we will be seeing you soon, Torrent.”</p><p> </p><p>Our mission had suddenly become far more urgent. There was no doubt that by decapitating the military structure, Leska had entered into her end game. So, Felix cast a spell and we all turned into clouds and flew high up into the air and sped on the wind until we reached a location above the druid. This did not prove difficult and as we flew above, we could see both the squadrons of wyvern knights who defended him as well as the infantry formations on the ground who were acting as his guards from a ground assault. Although it was difficult to ascertain, some strange runes seemed to have been carved on top of the column and the druid himself was in the shape of a bear. </p><p> </p><p>We communicated mentally and decided that the simplest and most direct tactic was the same that we had used in the Imperial Palace in Ragos; that was to fly above the column and then dismiss this spell and drop from the air onto the pillar with me casting a spell that would guarantee us a safe landing just before we hit the stone. That would allow us to engage the druid face to face for a few moments before his wyvern guards became involved. </p><p> </p><p>So, without more ado, we turned into mist and flew high above the column. As previously, this tactic worked brilliantly again and as we suddenly dropped in front of the bear, we saw that the creature’s head had part of its skull exposed, making his visage appear as if it was wearing an Inquisitor’s bear skull mask. Longhelim and Victor immediately attacked!</p><p> </p><p>The first thing that became immediately apparent was that the bear had the same sort of defensive spell that made his skin look like rough granite. We knew that spell; in fact, I had cast it on Victor and Longhelim before we embarked on this mission. We also saw that the bear did not seem at all fazed to see us; obviously, the enemy had been briefed on our presence; yet another sign of the incredibly efficient intelligence service that Leska employed. </p><p> </p><p>Several arrows impacted upon the surface of the bear, chipping at its fur slightly. The beast just seemed to shrug and the chips replaced themselves; it was impossible to tell if it had cast some magic or if it was some magical ability. Then, it let out an enormous roar and if wyvern bodyguards had not been aware of us previously, they were now. Another unpleasant surprise was just how hard both Victor and Longhelim were finding it to penetrate its skin. They had both struck him several times but he seemed to be unaffected by their blows. </p><p> </p><p>I tried to cast my spell to speed everyone up but suddenly I felt as if it was being suppressed. Again, I knew what that was immediately; it seemed that the wyvern squadrons had inquisitors as well. The warriors attempted to hit the druid again but were still finding it very difficult; he must have had powerful magic to resist them. Drudge managed to fire an enormous volley of arrows at one of the wyvern squadrons and he decimated it; unfortunately, the other two flew by and as they did, they let loose two volleys of crossbow bolts at Victor, who fell over, burning. Longhelim managed to land several blows on the bear this time but even so, it looked as if it was barely hurt. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly we all began to glow; I was not sure what that had achieved but the druid must have done it. A moment later, a whirlwind arose around us but as usual, wind had no effect on our group. More importantly, to those of us who were inside it, we were immune to any bolts fired by the wyvern knights as they flew by. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Drudge, who was very badly hurt by their volleys. Suddenly, they seemed far more dangerous than the bear. Then there was a shout from Longhelim: </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t get close to him! He’s blocked me somehow!”</p><p> </p><p>Again, I wasn’t sure what he had done, but somehow, the paladin could not get close enough to hit him with the Torch. More importantly, he then moved and literally sat on Victor’s burning body. I stepped out of the whirlwind and cast a powerful draining spell at the druid. It was difficult to tell if he was affected but everyone else was more concerned with the wyvern knights; John managed to cast a spell which enclosed them in a cloud of fog. As he did, he shouted: </p><p> </p><p>“They’ll have a hard time flying out of that one!”</p><p> </p><p>I understood that it was the more powerful version of that spell, which also hampered movement. Clever thinking. The other squadron was attacked by Felix, who caused a column of flame to strike them from above; this was devastating to their formation and they almost broke up but somehow managed to maintain their discipline. This must have been one of their most elite squadrons. I then cast a spell which caused a storm of lightning bolts to erupt in the centre of the formation and that finally dispersed them. </p><p> </p><p>I then turned my attention to the druid. I began to pepper him with a series of force missiles. They were not particularly powerful but they were very difficult to defend and I could see that they were penetrating his granite carapace. Longhelim had also had a very good idea: he summoned his horse and mounted it. The steed also had a powerful magical lance, which, ironically, we had also take from one of the wyvern riders in the past. </p><p> </p><p>He then lunged forward and managed to skewer the bear with it. For the first time, the bear roared in anger and frustration. John then hit him with another black beam, another draining spell although this one was not as powerful as mine. The beast, with another growl, scooped up Victor’s body in his paws, waddled over to the side of the column and threw it over the side. It was then that we noticed that the bear was also flying. John, with his usual extraordinary reflexes, cast a spell on the body which slowed its fall. Then immediately afterwards, he cast a flying spell on himself and dove after our plunging companion. </p><p> </p><p>Felix moved up to Longhelim and cast a spell on the horse, which allowed it to move onto the air, allowing Longhelim to skewer the bear again. Despite this, it seemed to be more frustrated at being unable to hurl Victor off the precipice as it looked at Victor’s corpse. I couldn’t see what happened but whatever it was caused the bear to roar again, so I assumed that whatever it was, had not worked. I pumped some more force missiles into it and then Felix cast another spell which finally caused the bear to slump and begin plummeting to the ground. </p><p> </p><p>The reaction to that was instantaneous. Bolts of lightning began to rain from the sky, many of them hitting this column, which could not stand this sort of treatment. Over the howling wind and the bolts, we were able to hear a shout: </p><p> </p><p>“I……got ….’tor. Help……”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim moved over to me and shouted: </p><p> </p><p>“I need to fly. John has Victor but he’s only just holding onto him.”</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, I did have a flying spell and quickly cast it on the paladin. While I was doing this, he caused the Torch to manifest a column of fire over the last squadron of wyvern knights who were laboriously extricating themselves from John’s spell. The sheer power of the Torch’s spell dispersed the squadron and then allowed Longhelim to fly down and retrieve Victor’s body. As soon as he arrived, Felix cast a powerful healing spell on the fighter and moments later we had transported ourselves back to the main encampment. I suspect it was not a moment too soon as we felt the column tilting beneath our feet as we cast the spell.</p><p> </p><p>Even in those few moments after we arrived at camp, we could feel that the storm of glass had abated slightly so we hoped that the druid was out of the struggle for the time being. </p><p> </p><p>Back at the camp, we found that the army was getting ready to mobilize. With the abatement of the storm and the defeat of the Ragesian forces, Shaaladel, now commander in chief, decided that it was the best moment to assault Two Dragon Arch, the entrance to the fissure that ultimately led to the Heart of History, Leska’s lair.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6911907, member: 6692807"] The night passed uneventfully; for once, there were no urgent summons to camp, no emergencies for which we were uniquely qualified, no threats to the mission. The spot we chose as our resting point was near the sea and the sound of the surf was soothing and relaxing. The next day, I woke up very refreshed and ready to deal with Leska’s druid; I was also intrigued as the previous night, I had formulated a theory which would allow me to somehow change the nature of the energy of my spells. Usually, when I cast a spell such as a lightning bolt or a ball of fire, I had to specify the energy to which it was attuned at the time I learned it; but by changing a couple of details in the spell, I was sure that I could vary the type of energy at the time of casting; I had never tried that before but I was determined to see if my postulation was worked. I must confess, in a strange way, all of the different types of magic on show from Leska and her minions had inspired me; they had pushed the barriers of the study of magic by years in seemingly only a few months. It had shamed me; I was supposed to be one of Gabal’s more gifted students and here I was, just repeating everything I had learned; Leska and her followers were so far ahead of me in not only developing but also in the use of and practice of new magic that it beggared belief. Every time I met one of her more favoured followers or disciples, they showed an unexpected and exciting development in the discipline of magic. It was quite astonishing; they must have been working on the theories for years if not decades. In my own small way, I was determined to advance in new directions as well. So, I memorized my spells that morning with my new changes. It made my spells longer and more complicated so I could not learn as many of them but I felt it was going to be worth it. John and Felix also learned their spells and as usual we put our heads together to make sure we complemented our defensive spell capabilities which would cover everyone. Drudge, Victor and Longhelim practiced their combat disciplines as usual. Once the magic was ready, it was cast on various people. Defences against energy attacks, mental manipulation, physical blows, movement restriction……all of those were counted and discussed. Once we felt as ready as possible, one of Felix’s special breakfasts inside us, the priest also used one of his transport spells to get us back to command in the Wastes…….. And we arrived at a scene of chaos, confusion and devastation. People were running around, there was no leadership or cohesion and it looked as if there was no one in charge. Most importantly of all, where the command tent had been, there was only a gaping, black hole in the ground. We approached the space and looked at each other. I already had a dreadful suspicion as to what had happened. It was very much in keeping with Leska’s extraordinary foresight as well as her spy network that she was able to assassinate the leadership of her opposition in one devastating strike. I was not sure how she did it, especially as Simeon had taken me through the security measures present on the command post quite painstakingly; and they were indeed very impressive. Unfortunately he seemed to have forgotten one specific factor; time and again, Leska had shown that she was usually two or three steps ahead of the leadership of the Resistance, in both strategy and tactics and that she developed spells and magic in such unusual and innovative ways that had never been used before. Whether she was inspired by her hellish allies or she just had an extraordinary ability to improvise, re-think and invent was moot; the end result usually meant calamity for her enemies. As we examined the smoking hole and Longhelim was just turning in my direction, there was a shout: “Longhelim!” We turned around to see Torrent hurrying towards us. She looked disheveled, her hair askew and dark rings under her eyes. “Where have you been?” was her first question. The paladin replied: “Nowhere in particular but a pleasant place far away where we could recover and learn our spells.” She looked distressed and angry, almost shouting: “No one knew where any of you were. We looked for you all over the camp!” The priestess was obviously distressed and Longhelim answered gently and evenly: “We decided to leave the camp for the night. We have had a long exposure to Leska’s assassination squads and her ability to recruit traitors. We were not happy with the security measures employed by the command group and told them so; we also left word with both Simeon and Kiernan where we were and how to get in touch with us.” Torrent grimaced: “Simeon and Kiernan were both victims of the first strike!” Victor stepped forward at this point: “Could you please tell us what happened?” Her shoulders slumped as if a great weight had been placed on her shoulders and she spoke in almost a monotone: “It was very early in the morning; a group of trusted guards, including some of those who were stationed outside the tent suddenly turned and began forming a perimeter around the tent, killing anyone who wanted to approach; others took out some sort of containers and began throwing them at the tent. Then they began throwing more things inside the tent which produced a series of explosions. It was horrible. The guards all fought to the death; they were fanatics and killed many skilled fighters before succumbing. From what we can gather so far, the command group is a total loss. General Gaspard of Sindaire, King Steppengaard of Bresk, General Xavious Foebane, Magister Simeon and his deputy Magister Kiernan have all perished.” Longhelim turned to me and asked: “How could this have happened? What were these things that they were throwing at the tent? Could Leska really have suborned squads of guards without the command group knowing about it? It seems incredible!” I was thinking furiously, trying to remember certain things I had read and heard in the corridors of Gabal’s Tower and the rooms of the Lyceum. “The guards could have been possessed or bribed or Ragesians all along. We have certainly seen elements of Leska’s extraordinary ability to penetrate Resistance security. Let’s face it, we have said it ourselves many times, when it came to spies and assassins, the Lyceum and the Resistance were amateurs; do you ever remember meeting any member of the Resistance command who was the spy master or in charge of security? I certainly don’t! So, the fact that Leska was able to place a phalanx of guards around the command tent is no great surprise. It’s also the reason we left it and chose our own camp. We all said that we were not happy with many elements of the security around the camp and the tent. As for the containers, I have heard of a type of weapon called a null spellbomb which has a similar result; the Sindairians were experimenting with them but in a very limited way because they were fiendishly expensive for what they were but bearing what I read about them, they certainly should not have been able to affect the magic in the command tent; having said that, we have seen Leska and her cohorts do things which break the laws of magic as we know them time and again so I suspect that these spell bombs were the basis for what caused the collapse of the command tent. Once that happened, they probably began throwing in enormous amounts of alchemical fire.” Torrent was staring at me with horror as she suddenly began to envisage what had happened and how remiss the command group had been not taking these possibilities into account. Then she began speaking again: “That is not all that happened last night; somehow, while this was happening here, another group of Leska’s spies penetrated the elven encampment and took Princess Shalosha.” We all looked at each other and John spoke for all of us: “That is very unfortunate. I think that there will heads rolling in the elven encampment this morning; literally. Shalaadel will not take this lightly.” Torrent nodded and continued: “Indeed not. Shalaadel has taken over command of all the armies and declared that all Ragesians will be wiped off the face of the earth. He has also left orders. If anyone should find you or see you, he has said that your priority is to eliminate the druid on the top of the column. His creation of the glass storms severely curtail his tactical movement.” We nodded. Despite our dislike of the elven king, he made military sense. While the storms were in existence, it was difficult for our armies to move. Victor spoke up at this point: “So, Shaaladel is in overall command now, which makes sense but who is in command of the individual national armies?” Torrent replied: “I don’t know about the Sindaire army, but I assume it is Gaspard’s deputy; Duke Gallo is in command of the Brescian forces; and I believe you are in command of the Lyceum forces, Longhelim.” The paladin grimaced as he realised the truth of her words. Then he said: “I need to do something about that druid first and then we will see to our forces. Hopefully, we will be seeing you soon, Torrent.” Our mission had suddenly become far more urgent. There was no doubt that by decapitating the military structure, Leska had entered into her end game. So, Felix cast a spell and we all turned into clouds and flew high up into the air and sped on the wind until we reached a location above the druid. This did not prove difficult and as we flew above, we could see both the squadrons of wyvern knights who defended him as well as the infantry formations on the ground who were acting as his guards from a ground assault. Although it was difficult to ascertain, some strange runes seemed to have been carved on top of the column and the druid himself was in the shape of a bear. We communicated mentally and decided that the simplest and most direct tactic was the same that we had used in the Imperial Palace in Ragos; that was to fly above the column and then dismiss this spell and drop from the air onto the pillar with me casting a spell that would guarantee us a safe landing just before we hit the stone. That would allow us to engage the druid face to face for a few moments before his wyvern guards became involved. So, without more ado, we turned into mist and flew high above the column. As previously, this tactic worked brilliantly again and as we suddenly dropped in front of the bear, we saw that the creature’s head had part of its skull exposed, making his visage appear as if it was wearing an Inquisitor’s bear skull mask. Longhelim and Victor immediately attacked! The first thing that became immediately apparent was that the bear had the same sort of defensive spell that made his skin look like rough granite. We knew that spell; in fact, I had cast it on Victor and Longhelim before we embarked on this mission. We also saw that the bear did not seem at all fazed to see us; obviously, the enemy had been briefed on our presence; yet another sign of the incredibly efficient intelligence service that Leska employed. Several arrows impacted upon the surface of the bear, chipping at its fur slightly. The beast just seemed to shrug and the chips replaced themselves; it was impossible to tell if it had cast some magic or if it was some magical ability. Then, it let out an enormous roar and if wyvern bodyguards had not been aware of us previously, they were now. Another unpleasant surprise was just how hard both Victor and Longhelim were finding it to penetrate its skin. They had both struck him several times but he seemed to be unaffected by their blows. I tried to cast my spell to speed everyone up but suddenly I felt as if it was being suppressed. Again, I knew what that was immediately; it seemed that the wyvern squadrons had inquisitors as well. The warriors attempted to hit the druid again but were still finding it very difficult; he must have had powerful magic to resist them. Drudge managed to fire an enormous volley of arrows at one of the wyvern squadrons and he decimated it; unfortunately, the other two flew by and as they did, they let loose two volleys of crossbow bolts at Victor, who fell over, burning. Longhelim managed to land several blows on the bear this time but even so, it looked as if it was barely hurt. Suddenly we all began to glow; I was not sure what that had achieved but the druid must have done it. A moment later, a whirlwind arose around us but as usual, wind had no effect on our group. More importantly, to those of us who were inside it, we were immune to any bolts fired by the wyvern knights as they flew by. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Drudge, who was very badly hurt by their volleys. Suddenly, they seemed far more dangerous than the bear. Then there was a shout from Longhelim: “I can’t get close to him! He’s blocked me somehow!” Again, I wasn’t sure what he had done, but somehow, the paladin could not get close enough to hit him with the Torch. More importantly, he then moved and literally sat on Victor’s burning body. I stepped out of the whirlwind and cast a powerful draining spell at the druid. It was difficult to tell if he was affected but everyone else was more concerned with the wyvern knights; John managed to cast a spell which enclosed them in a cloud of fog. As he did, he shouted: “They’ll have a hard time flying out of that one!” I understood that it was the more powerful version of that spell, which also hampered movement. Clever thinking. The other squadron was attacked by Felix, who caused a column of flame to strike them from above; this was devastating to their formation and they almost broke up but somehow managed to maintain their discipline. This must have been one of their most elite squadrons. I then cast a spell which caused a storm of lightning bolts to erupt in the centre of the formation and that finally dispersed them. I then turned my attention to the druid. I began to pepper him with a series of force missiles. They were not particularly powerful but they were very difficult to defend and I could see that they were penetrating his granite carapace. Longhelim had also had a very good idea: he summoned his horse and mounted it. The steed also had a powerful magical lance, which, ironically, we had also take from one of the wyvern riders in the past. He then lunged forward and managed to skewer the bear with it. For the first time, the bear roared in anger and frustration. John then hit him with another black beam, another draining spell although this one was not as powerful as mine. The beast, with another growl, scooped up Victor’s body in his paws, waddled over to the side of the column and threw it over the side. It was then that we noticed that the bear was also flying. John, with his usual extraordinary reflexes, cast a spell on the body which slowed its fall. Then immediately afterwards, he cast a flying spell on himself and dove after our plunging companion. Felix moved up to Longhelim and cast a spell on the horse, which allowed it to move onto the air, allowing Longhelim to skewer the bear again. Despite this, it seemed to be more frustrated at being unable to hurl Victor off the precipice as it looked at Victor’s corpse. I couldn’t see what happened but whatever it was caused the bear to roar again, so I assumed that whatever it was, had not worked. I pumped some more force missiles into it and then Felix cast another spell which finally caused the bear to slump and begin plummeting to the ground. The reaction to that was instantaneous. Bolts of lightning began to rain from the sky, many of them hitting this column, which could not stand this sort of treatment. Over the howling wind and the bolts, we were able to hear a shout: “I……got ….’tor. Help……” Longhelim moved over to me and shouted: “I need to fly. John has Victor but he’s only just holding onto him.” Thankfully, I did have a flying spell and quickly cast it on the paladin. While I was doing this, he caused the Torch to manifest a column of fire over the last squadron of wyvern knights who were laboriously extricating themselves from John’s spell. The sheer power of the Torch’s spell dispersed the squadron and then allowed Longhelim to fly down and retrieve Victor’s body. As soon as he arrived, Felix cast a powerful healing spell on the fighter and moments later we had transported ourselves back to the main encampment. I suspect it was not a moment too soon as we felt the column tilting beneath our feet as we cast the spell. Even in those few moments after we arrived at camp, we could feel that the storm of glass had abated slightly so we hoped that the druid was out of the struggle for the time being. Back at the camp, we found that the army was getting ready to mobilize. With the abatement of the storm and the defeat of the Ragesian forces, Shaaladel, now commander in chief, decided that it was the best moment to assault Two Dragon Arch, the entrance to the fissure that ultimately led to the Heart of History, Leska’s lair. [/QUOTE]
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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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