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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EternalNewbie" data-source="post: 4767730" data-attributes="member: 6489">Heh.  Well, that makes one of us.  I absolutely hate the bastard <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious    :]" data-shortname=":]" />.  But in all honesty, most of that is residual from the first campaign played in this world where I had to rescue his sorry hide from an Ogre Magi that was holding him 'hostage', almost getting burned alive by a bunch of suicidal goblins in the process. (Turned out he was macking it up with her the whole time.  As bad as that sounds, he was getting the better part of that deal - I think Nargamon's charisma is somewhere just north of 5 or so).Anyhow, another little update to keep the story rolling along.* * * * * * * * *“So why don't you take care of that?” Shayla asked.  “You know,” she wiggled her fingers at him. “Boom.”“Ah, because he is not the master of this place,” Khalid said, his eyes narrowing shrewdly.“I am the Master here,” Nargamon barked, banging his fist on the table as he rose to his feet.  Struggling briefly to master his emotions, he sat back down slowly.  He stared at Khalid with obvious annoyance.  “Now.” he finished, grudgingly.  “I can keep them from getting through the city walls but I can not defeat an entire army or obviously I would have done so already.” He turned his withering gaze on Shayla.  “By now, they may have discovered the Key, as we have.   Even if they haven't, they're bound to have a few relics scattered throughout the troops.  Most of the artifacts were removed from this place by the time I arrived, and those books which would be truly useful are heavily warded and quite possibly beyond my skill.  It is far too dangerous.”“Your apprentices?” Gorak grunted.“Useless.  You were skilled enough to make it past the Dwerro and over the wall, so I'd wager than not one of them has more than a third of your ability.  He looked at Khalid condescendingly.  “Well, half anyhow.”“Have you told the people of the city?  The generals or commanders or whatever of the army?”“What's the point?  There's nothing they can do about it.  Even if the soldiers, and I use that term in the loosest possible sense, could break out, the refugees would never make it.  And where would they go?”“You have to tell them,” Shayla insisted.“Look.  Have you ever taken a bunch of rats, thrown them in a cage and shook it really hard?”“Obviously not.”“Yeah, well if you want a idea of what it's like, go down there and tell those people what I just told you.  You'll get a real good look at what desperate people will do to one another, when they're caught in a trap.”“Ah, yes, quite.”  Khalid muttered.  “So you want us to stop the caravan then?”“I don't care what you do,” Nargamon snapped.  “I'm just telling you that, in about six days, Dwerro soldiers are going to be traipsing through the streets of Caer Morag.  And when that happens, I'm going to destroy this tower and get the hell out of here.”“You can knock down this tower but you can't blow up a few fancy catapults?” Shayla asked.“That's easier than you might think.  Around here, all you have to do is open the wrong door and...” He wiggled his fingers in a mocking little imitation of her. “Boom.”“Yes, but provided we can intercept these devices before, yes, before they reach the city, you will permit us access to the books here?”“Maybe.  That still depends on what you're looking for.”“The secret, yes, secret to forging adamantium.  Or failing that, whatever information exists on a mountain, yes, a mountain called Martok.  It was once a Dwerro citadel.”Nargamon shrugged.  “Well, that sounds like the sort of stuff that you'd find here but I can't promise you that you'll locate the answers you seek.”“But you'll allow us to look,” Shayla pressed.“Sure,” Nargamon relented finally.  “That seems harmless enough.  If metalworking and ancient Dwerro culture are really that important to you, then who am I to stand in the way?”“Excellent.” Khalid exclaimed as he studied the map on the wall carefully.  “Then it makes sense, yes, sense to hit them here, at the furthest distance between the army at Caer Morag and the garrison at the bridge to Westgate.”“Here.”  Gorak poked his finger at the map.  “It's about half way between, and the forest looks like it comes up real close to the road.  Good place to retreat back to.”“If you want my advice,” Nargamon interrupted, “and the lost gods know you need it, I'd stay away from that forest if I were you.  It has a particularly unpleasant reputation.”“Don't worry yer pretty little head over us,” Gorak growled. “We can take care of ourselves.“Oh I'm not worried.  Not about you anyhow.  Now, if you wouldn't mind planning your collective suicide someplace else, I have work to do.”  Nargamon rather pointedly returned to the scroll in front of him.They let themselves out and were met at the bottom of the stairs by Kaleb.  He inclined his head slightly, and gestured down the hall.  “Nargamon has offered you use of four rooms within the tower, if you wish.  He presumes that you will not be departing the city until tomorrow.”Not really wanting to spend the evening within the magical portal if they did not have to, they took Nargamon up on his offer.  In truth, the rooms were only slightly more comfortable than the barren magical shelter, but anything was a welcome change to that flat gray expanse.  They rose early in the morning, but saw no trace of either Kaleb or their host.  Khalid prepared while the others packed up their belongings.  Without a word, the guards at the front let them out, locking the gate behind them.  They picked a random street and headed south, having decided the best way out of the city lay in that direction and the dubious safety of the woods.  Not willing to risk a forced landing on in the middle of the army, Khalid insisted that they get as close to the walls as possible.They walked quickly through the city.  Khalid stared straight ahead, not wanting to see the faces of the doomed.  Even if they were successful in thwarting the Dwerro this time, it would surely only delay the inevitable.  His sorrow was tinged with more than a little guilt as the only thing he truly wanted to do was use his powers to flee this place and never return.  Absorbed in his own thoughts, Khalid glanced up and realized he'd led them astray as they came out to the city wall in the southwest corner of the city.  Gorak scowled and pushed past him, taking up the lead and following the wall along its length.  The streets here were mostly deserted, littered with rubble and debris from the unrelenting siege.  The Dwerro had not yet taken up the day's assault and for the moment, the streets were strangely quiet.  They traced their way along the wall for while, before coming upon a group of soldiers huddled around a small cook fire in the ruins of a building.  The men glanced up at their approach, but didn't even bother to challenge them, returning their attention back to the thin gruel that bubbled over the fire.   Khalid couldn't help but sympathize.   Of all the places in the city to be stationed, they had been charged with defending a brutally weakened section of the fortifications.  Ahead, the wall bulged out dangerously, the huge stones at its base cracked and uneven.  The shattered remains of the guard tower than anchored it to the next part of the wall lay mingled with the rubble of the houses it had crushed when it toppled.  There was little doubt that when the siege engines resumed the assault, the Dwerro engineers would focus their missiles here.Gorak glanced at the pathetic looking soldiers and muttered something under his breath.  He shrugged the worn wicker basket off his shoulder, and turned to face the wall.  Curling his hands into fists slowly, popping each knuckle in turn, he leaned forward and placed his hands on the wall.  Lowering his head slightly, he began to chant, a low rumbling growl deep in his chest.  Beneath his hands, the stone began ripple outwards, like waves in a pond.  The cracks disappeared and the wall straightened as the huge blocks melded together.  When the last syllable rolled from his lips, Gorak stood before a smooth expanse of unblemished stone.In typical fashion, Gorak didn't even look back as he picked up his gear and set off down the road.  Khalid glanced back over his shoulder, before joining him.  The soldiers were all watching them, but not one moved or spoke.  With a sigh, Khalid hurried to catch up.  Even stone didn't last long in the face of indomitable Dwerro will; how could these men endure?  He forced his mind away from such depressing thoughts, occupying himself the rest of the hike reviewing the spells he was about to cast.  They left in the same manner as they arrived, this time heading due south and landing in the band of woods along the near bank of the great river that split the kingdom.  Turning west immediately, they rode Khalid's summoned mounts when possible, but were forced to walk as often as not, while Gorak scouted overhead.   Trying to stay close enough to see the road as they traveled, more than once they were forced to move deep into the woods, to the banks of the river, to pass Dwerro patrols.  At first Khalid feared that the road would be too heavily traveled to permit them to assail the caravan, but as the days passed, they saw fewer Dwerro soldiers.  On the third day, Gorak scouted ahead and determined the forest came no closer to the road then where they were.Khalid surveyed the area critically.  The road was still a good two hundred yards away from the bush here.  The space between was covered in the knee high stalks of last years growth, and the green shoots of spring.  A gentle slope led down to the road, bordered by a thin ditch on the far side, that would provide only the illusion of cover, should the plan Khalid was considering play out.Gorak swooped down and changed form.  “It ain't much,” he grunted.  “If we press on, maybe we can still trap 'em on the bridge from Westgate.”“Perhaps,” Khalid replied.  “But we, ah, do not know exactly where the caravan is.  We may come upon it in poor location.  And following, yes, following the caravan for any period of time exposes us to the risk of discovery.  Yes, quite.”“Maybe,” Shayla said eyeing the area skeptically.  “But how are we going to keep them from rushing over top of us.  I'm not sure Azarek's charm is quite sufficient for the task.”  She shot him a wry smirk.“Jes try me, darling,” he rasped with a wink.“Ah, yes, well, I have a few ideas about that,” Khalid offered.  “And I think the element of surprise, dropping out of thin air, is too valuable to risk.”“Yeah, I got a few tricks that should help,” Gorak rumbled.  “This might work out okay, if yer stuck on it.”“Indeed.”They set to work planning from the security of Khalid's magical shelter.  Gorak ranged out frequently, scouting the roads for any sign of the Dwerro column.  The next day, late in the afternoon, he climbed up through the portal, his expression grim.  “They're close,” he growled.  “They ain't going no further tonight, but they'll be here bright and early in the morning I'd wager.”Shayla didn't miss the look on his face.  “How many?” she asked.“There's one big bitch of a wagon, and about thirty Dwerro,” he grunted.  “At least.  I couldn't tell how many more might be in the back of that behemoth they've got carrying those things.”“So we're gonna do this then?”  Shayla looked at Khalid.“Ah, what choice do we have?” Khalid said with a confidence he didn't feel.  He knew the caravan would be guarded, but he had desperately hoped there would be fewer.  “I cannot help but feel as though we must try, for the sake, yes, sake of the city.”  Azarek stared at him intently, but said nothing.Gorak looked at Khalid, then nodded and turned to Shayla.  “I agree.” he grunted.  “We've gotta try.  The forest is close; we can outrun them if we have to.  With a portal prepared we should be able to hide and regroup.”  Huddled in a circle, they went over their plan in detail again before turning in for the night.  Sleep eluded Khalid for some time, as he considered the danger they faced.  He finally managed to drift off only to be woken a few hours later by the toe of Gorak's boot as he headed out to watch the road.  Khalid's grogginess faded almost instantly, his thoughts turning quickly to the task that lay ahead.  He dug out his battered spellbook and began to study.  Azarek grunted and rolled over, muttering something about waking him up when it was time to fight, promptly falling back asleep.  Shayla, despite having no need to prepare, yawned and stretched, sitting up and leaning back against the invisible boundary of the spell.  The minutes dragged past while Khalid silently mouthed the formulae to his most powerful spells, committing the calculations to memory.  He finished before Gorak returned, fortunately, but then was immediately faced with the prospect of the long terrible wait before imminent violence.   With Azarek's low rumbling snore marking the passage of each second, time seemed to crawl.Finally, unable to take it any longer, Khalid spoke, “Ah, does it bother you at all, that the Dwerro have started this war, ah, for you basically and here we sit, preparing to thwart them.”  The instant the words left his mouth, he regretted than. Shayla, who had been staring off into the dim horizons of the pocket dimension slowly focused on him.  “They're not doing it for me,” she said softly.  “Or for the memory of the elves.  Or for honor.  These wretched creatures lost that a long, long time ago.” The corner of her lip curled slightly as a look of disgust crossed her beautiful face.  “It's guilt that drives them.  It consumes them.  The whole race.  It's festered in them for four hundred years and they've convinced themselves that this will make it all better.  But it won't.  It's woven into the fabric of their identity and they'll never tear themselves free.  Believe me when I tell you that this isn't going to end here.  They'll sweep across this land, and whatever kingdoms lie to the east.  And when they hit the great sea, they'll turn around and come back for us.  And you know what the really sad thing is?” she asked him, not waiting for an answer.  “Some day, their children are going to harvest the same bitter fruit as those poor wretches in Caer Morag.  “Of course,” she continued, a fiery spark rising into her eyes.  “A few of them are gonna reap it a hell of a lot sooner.”No sooner had she finished when Gorak poked his head through the opening.  “It's time,” he growled.  “Let's go.”Khalid's heart began to hammer in his chest.  The hair on the back of his neck rose and he immediately glanced at Shayla.  He could feel the charge in the air, almost see the magical weaves gathering around her as she relaxed her self imposed restraints.  The gleam in her eyes turned into a raging fire.  “Well boys?” she asked coyly, a devilish smile playing across her lips.  “Are you ready to have some fun?”</blockquote>

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