Episode VII: Serpents in Dark Water
Characters: Bronn Spellforger (shield dwarf male Wiz5); Caramip (gnome female Brd4); Corwyn Black (human male Ftr5); Daziel (human female Clr5–Selûne); Roman Gemlee (gold elf male Ftr4); Saeita Neví (wild elf female Mnk5); Van Dyksun (human male Rgr3/Rog2); Velm Trueforger (shield dwarf male Ftr4/Clr1–Clangeddin).
*Excerpted from Volume 3 of Aerunedar: The Rise, Fall and Reconquest of the City of Gold, by Jungoth Eddletarry of Waymoot, added to the library at Candlekeep in 1423 DR, the Year of the Thundering Hosts:
Chapter Seven: The Battle of Arglarllur Bridge.
If one must look back across the years to find the moment that defined what the Company of the Wolf (or Company of the Coin, if the villagers of Eveningstar are to be believed) would become, the curious student of Aerunedar’s tattered history should look no further than the 18th of Eleint, in the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR). On this day the members of Wolf Company were to rise above the petty squabbles that had plagued them, and face overwhelming odds. No name for the bridge upon which they made their stand could be more appropriate that Arglarllur.[¹]
After the bloody skirmish with the Scarlet Flame, the clash with Zhentarim wizard Faraugar “Leatherboots,” and the discovery of Hathos’ Drum and the dessicated corpse of Shieldcoil, Wolf Company found their food supplies running low. They foraged for mushrooms outside the Tombs and discussed their options.
But within the tombs, a strange discovery had been made: two goodly-sized boulders of rose quartz with hazy forms trapped at the center. Velm Trueforger and Corwyn Black set to work dismantling them, hoping that their contents would be akin to the gem that held Sir Temuel Khiv in the past month; in short, they once again hoped to resurrect the history of Aerunedar in the hope that it could aid them.[²] It did.
The quartz yielded the gnomish bard Caramip, and the gold elf warrior Roman Gemlee, both of whom the attentive Reader will recall from previous episodes in this very History[³]. For nearly two hundred years they had slumbered in Shieldcoil’s spellmade prisons, only now emerging to find Aerunedar long fallen. On the plus side, the longevity of their respective races insured that some of their family members still lived to welcome them home.
Their recollections served to correct a few legendary errors; in short, the Company of the Wolf came to understand that Hathos was no hero to the dwarves of Clan Darkfell–indeed, he had been exiled years earlier[4]–and that the mysterious “Flamecoil” trapped in the fungus forest’s tower was none other than Ruathgrym himself: the Corpsecoil.
Resolute that the bones of Shieldcoil should not be returned to “Flamecoil,” the Company set out for their appointment with destiny at the Arglarllur Bridge. It is known that they traveled close to, but not beside, the riverbank, due to the fears of Van Dyksun that the naga would return and pelt them with its Art. “In truth, it terrified me,” wrote young Van of the naga, “in my dreams and waking hours I often wished it dead. It [was] without a doubt the most frightening abomination I [had] encountered in my young life.”[5]
Before long Wolf Company found themselves surrounded by the ambulatory fungi of the forest: this time they came as a veritable mob of toadstools and mushrooms which encircled them stealthily and released a dusty cloud of spores. Most of the Company managed to hold their breath, but Caramip and Daziel did not: and so found themselves in mental rapport with the two-foot tall mushroom men.
“We mean you no harm,” said the voices in Cara’s mind. “We bid you welcome,” said the myconids, “battlers of the Consumer. Strugglers against the Despoiler.” Young Van Dyksun was quick to realize that they spoke of the black ooze, the horror that so easily devoured all fungus in its path, leaving clean stone in its wake.[6] Though their weapons were readied and all they needed was a single word to launch an attack, the Company managed to quell their bellicose urges and trust the mushroom men. ‘Twas a wise and lucky choice, for of all the underdark’s denizens, none are more peaceful and philosophical than the Myconids.
Before long they found themselves guests in the court of King Amanita, a toadstool who towered 20 feet above them, surrounded by the many Myconids whom he referred to as his children. “Welcome you are,” said the King, “partake of potables and comestibles as we talk.” Only the gnome Cara was happy to find squirming grubs on the menu, but the others were satisfied with edible fungus and a thick drink that Velm claimed “tasted just like mead.”[7]
In the course of their discussion with King Amanita, they were told of the Myconids’ long alliance with Glamerdrung and the dwarves of Clan Darkfell. Indeed, their tenantship of the Great Cavern predated the dwarves, but they were only too happy to share their domain with the others who arrived later.[8] In addition, it became clear that while Hathos had been exiled to the tower in the fungus forest before Aerunedar was invaded, he later managed to escape and trap Ruathgrym in his stead.[9]
The reverie was short-lived. An intruder approached. Myconids scattered in all directions, and after bestowing the boon of eight magic mushrooms upon the Company, King Amanita commanded them to flee.
Their flight was for naught. The pursuer caught up to them in the forest farther on, and they found it was none other that Ruathgrym’s golem, whom he called Corpus. No one ever accused the Corpsecoil of being especially creative. In any case, the shambling hulk of sewn-together appendages and flesh angled directly toward Van Dyksun and set in to clubbing the young ranger with its powerful arms, desperate to retrieve the bag which held Shieldcoil’s dry bones.
The battle was short and decisive, with the Wolf Company’s victory mostly attributable to the sure and powerful strikes of Steelwind, the blade wielded by Roman Gemlee.
Further along the river, Wolf Company found themselves at the foot of the Great Pillar of Iolar, which is carved into the titanic likeness of Aerunedar's first king, holding aloft the ceiling of the great cavern. With spells of levitation, Bronn made his way upward to inspect the pillar. The inside seemed to be hollow, and within he could hear voices arguing in Undercommon over whether to explore the ruins or bide their time. Though their names seemed to be "Nimira" and "Snurrevin," the actual identity of the mysterious debaters would remain a mystery, as Bronn decided to descend to the Company once more.
Now the Company made haste toward the bridge. On the way they met the mysterious prisoner of the Scarlet Flame, who now identified herself as Zandris Winter, daughter of Lady Tessaril Winter of Eveningstar. The details of this conversation, sadly, are lost to history. Both Van Dyksun and Velm Trueforger make passing mention of it in their respective journals, and the traveling spellbook of Bronn Spellforger which survives at Candlekeep notes, “Winter family: Traitors!!!” in the Spellforger’s customarily trenchant style.[10]
In any case, the Company of the Wolf came to Arglarllur Bridge expecting a row, and they were not disappointed.
Reconnaissance by Saeita Neví revealed that there were indeed more troglodytes waiting atop the far gatehouse, and that the portcullis–formerly open–was now securely closed. They advanced slowly, cloaked and nervous.
As they came within range, the trogs sprang up and sent down a hail of javelins. The shaman who led them loosed a spell that halted Corwyn Black in his tracks. And sticky webs burst over the group, trapping Daziel and Roman securely while forcing the rest of the party forward: it was clear now that they were trapped. Daziel called upon the Power of Selûne–a sword of moonlight that sprung from her hand–and used it to cut her way free.
At the shaman’s command, the troglodytes blew long sounding notes on chitinous horns–tones that carried off into the darkness of the cavern.
Things went from bad to worse: the naga rose out of the river to throw spells onto the bridge-bound Wolf Company, and although Bronn Spellforger entangled the gatehouse with answering webs of his own, it was apparent to all that they were in dire straits.
It was Saeita Neví who led the climb onto the gatehouse under the hail of javelins and spells, and Van Dyksun and Bronn Spellforger who followed. Cara and Roman’s climbing attempts landed them in the dark water of the river, where the naga dove in to attack the helpless pair.
Atop the gatehouse, Van wondered desperately what his sword could do to help. “I wanted it to have some effect on these lizards,” wrote Van, “and I wondered what the runes along the blade meant, and for a moment my mind just focused on the sword. ‘What is your wish?’ said a metallic voice in my head. And of course I just wanted that foul naga to be dead. ‘WISH,’ it told me, and so I said out loud, ‘I wish the naga was dead.’ If only I'd said 'Nightscale.'”[11]
In the river, as Roman was about to be pulled under, there came a flare of light. The singed and dead coils of the naga floated to the surface and slid downstream–dead.
Bronn loosed a stroke of lightning that slew all troglodytes except for the shaman, whom Daziel killed with a well-placed crossbow bolt from below. Though they were sorely wounded, the tide had begun to turn.
Velm and Corwyn took up positions on either side of the portcullis, weapons ready, as Bronn yelled from above in his best Draconic imitation, “We are raising the gate! Forward and attack!” The ruse worked. The throng of troglodytes waiting to rush through and stamp out remaining resistance found only the axe of Velm and Corwyn’s hammer, and they were dispatched with brutal speed.
Silence fell.
Daziel moved forward to heal Corwyn, and Bronn leaned out over the battlements to yell, “Everyone into the tower!” Everything slowed as a serpentine neck covered with black scales, a skull-like reptilian head festooned with spurs and spikes of bone, rose up out of the river and loosed a smoking blast of acid from its maw over Corwyn, Daziel and Velm. It was Nightscale herself, answering the summons of the horns.
"Run!" shouted Bronn. All fled into the tower. From the vantage point of a second-story arrow slit, Saeita warned them that reinforcements were approaching from the direction of the ruins: ten more troglodytes led by a hideous snake-man.
Though they readied themselves to meet the onslaught, the Company was unprepared for the breath of Nightscale. The wyrm landed atop the gatehouse and spewed acid into the tower again and again, as below the door burst open in splinters and admitted the serpentine phalanx.
But the serpents' mistake was to mount the staircase en masse. Bronn Spellforger’s voice formed the bass syllables of a mystical incantation, and a deep thrumming rose in the stairs, followed by a sharp cracking of rock. The stairs fell inward in a cloud of dust, and all but one of the troglodytes were slain instantly. Only the abomination–an eight-foot tall snake wielding a falchion in one of its scaly human arms–remained to fight them.
As the snake-thing let out a dying hiss and collapsed in a bloody coil, yet another blast of acidic breath plumed into the tower. This time Daziel folded to the floor. Corwyn staggered back, terribly wounded. Enraged and screaming, “By Clangeddin’s furious axes!” Velm rushed out onto the battlements to face Nightscale.
“I don’t know what came over me,” Velm later wrote in his journal, “I was terribly injured and exhausted. But when I saw Daziel fall, the idea that this wyrm thought of us as her playthings just filled me with such wrath as I have never felt before. I wanted to bury my axe in her skull.”[12]
Cara had crept to the roof of the tower on stealthy gnome feet, to see for herself what had become of the dragon. As she peeked her head out, she saw the beast from behind, perched on the battlements like a cat about to pounce, its black serpentine tail twitching back and forth in almost feline anticipation. She gasped to see that it was nearly forty feet long, from head to the tip of its tail. And before she could call out, Nightscale plunged downward.
“At first I was surprised to see nothing when I emerged,” wrote Velm. “And as I realized my mistake, the shadow covered me, and doom descended. It was, without a doubt, the luckiest moment of my life. That wyrm had me dead to rights. But I felt her hot stinking breath on my neck as her jaws snapped shut on air; I felt a terrible wind as her claws swept past my back; and then I was slapped silly by the buffeting of her black wings. It was all I could do to disengage and stagger back into the tower. ‘Don’t go out there,’ I warned.”[13]
Bronn looked out in time to see the wyrm soaring away, doing a wingover into the darkness. He ran out onto the battlements and shouted into the shadowy deeps, “This isn’t over!!”
But for one, it was. Corwyn and Saeita stood up slowly from Daziel's unmoving, acid-scarred form. "She's dead," said Corwyn, and a tear slipped from his eye.
Notes:
1. From the Dethek, lit. “Butcher River.” Sometimes translated as “River of Slaughters.”
2. See A History of Starwater Gorge, by Ummatin Tencloak.
3. See Volume Two, The Fall of the City of Gold, pp. 789-825.
4. Ibid., pp.221-365.
5. Dyksun, Van. The Woodland Journal of Van Dyksun, p. 62.
6. Ibid., p. 70.
7. Trueforger, Velm. My Story, p. 24.
8. See Volume One, The Rise of the City of Gold, pp. 14-23.
9. See Volume Two, The Fall of the City of Gold, pp. 445, 523-545.
10. Spellforger, Bronn. Bronn’s Book of War, p. 73.
11. Dyksun, Van. The Woodland Journal of Van Dyksun, p. 63.
12. Trueforger, Velm. My Story, p. 35.
13. Ibid.
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