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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1257255" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 28, “Lieutenant Rizah Gains an Air Force”, September 13th, 1019, 7:30 P.M.Rizah’s forces have been following the Kadtanach at a safe distance for a hour now.   There has been minimal activity on the creature, the only thing of interest being the two wyverns now flying alongside the burning head howdah.    They have finally left the forests and are now traveling through farmlands on the outskirts of the town.    As they near each farmhouse or barn Rizah has one of his cavalry riders do a quick ride by the structure to confirm that they are unoccupied.  They now notice the two wyverns fly forward and engage two other flying creatures in combat.  One of these appears to be a flying human, probably using some type of spell or other magic.  The other is a human knight riding a winged lion.   Rizah becomes angry at seeing this, as a few weeks earlier he had seen the traitorous gnoll heretic transform into such a beast.   He tells the three Kegyai “This looks bad.  That winged feline is Gnu-Dalcom.   The Elvan deities must have resurrected him after Yeenoghu’s punishment, and he is now helping our enemies.”  “What should we do?” the shaman apprentice Drej-Kron asks.      Rizah gestures to a nearby barn and then commands “Have everyone move to behind that structure.  We may have to soon rescue our Chief and our God, which we will not be free to do if the flying enemies spot and attack us now.”      The horses and wagons move behind the cover of the barn.   Rizah sends four of the riders to move forward cautiously, using whatever they can find for cover.  He tells them to observe the situation and have one to return with a report every quarter-hour.  The first returning rider reports that the Kadtanach has stopped moving.  He says that the air battle is still going on, and that one of the gnoll archers was knocked from the sky by the knight’s lance.  The gargoyle that had been stationed atop Yeenoghu’s Howdah has also moved, now at the Chief’s Howdah instead.   The next rider reports that a battle is taking place along the rear deck, with one of the wyverns having been incinerated.   Rizah asks about the other wyvern, and is told that was last seen flying off in a southeast direction and appeared to have been wounded.    Rizah decides leaves Gogol in command of the troops at the barn, giving him strict order to stay put and fight only in a situation of self-defense.    The Lieutenant then orders Kegyai Wurgul to accompany him and the two ride off to the southeast.  They ride through the farms and fields, seeing the Kadtanach standing in the distance, fires now raging from at least two of the howdah’s.    Rizah tells Wurgul to keep his eyes peeled for the other wyvern saying, “It might be the only means of rescuing our leaders.”   In reality, Rizah has no intention of mounting such a mission, instead realizing the strategic value of adding a flying mount to his own forces.   If they are indeed trapped on this world then an aerial assessment of the territory and its dangers will be invaluable to them. They soon come upon the wounded beast, which has landed alongside a small duck pond near a farmhouse.   Rizah orders Wurgul to investigate the building and the large barn adjacent to it, and to kill any occupants inside.    Both of the gnolls alongside the wyvern are trying to tend to a wound in the creature’s side.   He recognizes the two gnolls as being two of the four troops experienced in riding the flying winged lizard.   At the sound of Rizah’s horse approaching both gnolls stop tending the beast and draw weapons.   Rizah commands in gnollish “Stand down.  I am the commander of our ground forces.  Report.”    The senior lizard-rider gives a summary version of what he knows.   Wurgul approaches, reporting that the house and barn look to be recently abandoned.    Rizah orders Wurgul to return to the other troops and to bring them and their equipment to this location.  Rizah asks the lizard-riders the condition of the animal.  They say that he has a puncture wound it his side and it no longer wishes to fly, although there is appears to be no damage to the wing.   Rizah tells them that his group includes a shaman who can heal the creature.  A short while later the wagons and riders arrive.   Rizah orders the shaman to cast two of his remaining healing spells on the beast.   The shaman reports, “The creature’s wound has now been healed over and is now moving its wings again.  It still appears to be weakened, probably from blood loss.”  Rizah orders the troops to help move the creature into the barn.  He emphasizes that they all remain out of sight from the townsfolk and the flying enemies.  He declares, “The wyvern will need to rest for several hours before we can even attempt to have it fly.”  The third and fourth riders report to Rizah that the Kadtanach has managed to scrape off the Head Howdah and that it is still standing in the same place.  The fourth rider reports that the Kadtanach is also now acting differently although he does not know exactly why.  The human knight atop the winged lion has returned and has been joined by a white dragon.   Rizah thanks them and then orders the other cavalry quartet to go observe for the next two-hours, sending a rider back every half-hour with a report.   He tells them to pay particular attention to the actions of the Kadtanach and to try to ascertain if it is still under Yeenoghu’s command. Rizah decides to call for a Leaders Council, this group comprised of himself, the three Kegyai and the two lizard-riders.   They head next door to the adjacent farmhouse, soon finding a kitchen table to meet at.   They also find some fruit, cheese, bread and a few bottles of mead to consume during their meeting.    He begins the meeting by having the two lizard-riders repeat everything that they have observed during the past several hours.  The meeting is interrupted by the return of the first cavalry observer.  He reports that the Kadtanach appears to again be free of Yeenoghu’s control, raising up its head and looking around the area.    The winged lion has returned to the center of town, but the white dragon remains, perched atop Yeenoghu’s Howdah.   Fires are now raging on both the Wizardess’s Howdah and Chief’s Howdah.   The observer is thanked for his report and given some of the fresh food found in the room to go share with the other troops.  The meeting is resumed, with Rizah going around the table and asking each of the others to speculate about what has occurred.    All are very pessimistic, although the shaman apprentice Drej-Kron still holds hope that Yeenoghu is unharmed and will reassert himself before the enemy.    Rizah says, “I truly hope that you are correct, however it would be prudent for us to proceed under the assumption that the Elvan deities have forced Yeenoghu to depart.   We will keep observing the situation and I will make no final decisions until we can better ascertain what has occurred.  If an opportunity to rescue our Chief or our God presents itself then we will do so, however I refuse to sacrifice your lives for a lost cause.”  Rizah then asks the two lizard-riders for their observations of the area from when they were flying towards the town prior to nightfall.    Only one of them had flown that run and he reports seeing forests on all sides of the town, with a major road heading west beyond the town and smaller roads heading north and south.   Far to the north, maybe some fifty miles away, he believes that they saw the presence of a great sea.   Rizah declares, “Large bodies of water and major roadways both lead to cities, and any city in this region will now be on full alert.  We are too small in number to fight a prepared city guard, let alone an army that might be headquartered there.   If the Kadtanach is lost to us then we should plan on being away from this town by sunrise and avoid contact with any large settlements.  Kegyai Gogol, take two of the cavalry troops with you and find us the safest path to get to this south road unobserved.   Look for open fields with tall trees behind them, so that a low-flying wyvern can travel without being silhouetted by the moon.  This meeting is adjourned.”</blockquote>

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