Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Chapter 3 - The Imperials)

[Kobold Stew]

Danica reloads, and scans the water, looking for a target.

"You cross first. I can follow." She says with the confidence of command.: an authority that seems to be her true inner nature suddenly emerging from the shy persona she normally exudes. But then she remembers her place, "Er. Sir. If that's alright." She offers a coy smile.

 

[Fenris]

Danica reloads, and scans the water, looking for a target.

"You cross first. I can follow." She says with the confidence of command.: an authority that seems to be her true inner nature suddenly emerging from the shy persona she normally exudes. But then she remembers her place, "Er. Sir. If that's alright." She offers a coy smile.

Dartis pauses to give Danica a wry smile. "How kind of you. NOW MOVE! And that's an order. I'm last out. Danica, Chalik, Silas then Kel. now GO!" orders Dartis almost pushing his small band across the bridge.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Silas bends to recover the shield, then hurries after the party. The group's flight is a harrowing and frightful affair. These mutated skum camouflage with their surroundings, and they would pose a great threat if they were allowed to form into larger formations. But they are only able to attack in ones and twos, trying desperately to impede the party from escaping. Chalik's keen eye discovers several, which he points out to Dartis who is able to send such would-be ambushers back into hiding. The braver skum are made quick work of, although Dartis is taken by surprise once (-8 hpsto Dartis), and some invisible force around Danica seems to divert a clawed strike from another dark niche.

The pursuers become more aggressive as they realize that the party is heading for one forgotten direction: the way into the dwarven kingdom. The heroes disappear past the dwarven seal just as a dozen skum appear down one tunnel, but the dwarves act fast, firing crossbow bolts and throwing axes to disrupt the beasts while others work their backs into closing the great seal. Finally, with a loud creak, the seal slams shut, causing the sounds of the party's pursuers to cease reaching their ears, as if they never existed.

One dwarven sergeant sees the prize in Silas' arms and says, "Good job, lad. I'll send a runner to the king, who will inform the Imperials that we're ready to barter. I must say, I'm glad to see this thing is nearly at an end, although 'tis a shame to have to give up such a treasure."

Upon saying that, Silas turns the prize over for the party to see. The shield is round, and small; something fit for a warrior on horseback. Around the edges, in script amazingly similar to that used by ancient Dorinthians, are the words: 'The King of All Men' along with engraved laurels. A portrait of a man wearing a breastplate and furs has been hammered into the center of the shield, the exact bearing of a willful and handsome warrior-king from the old barbarian times before Dorinth was ever established. What is more stunning is that the face is an exact twin of Commander Sassarius.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Danica blushes instantly at Dartis' reproach, the sparkle in her eye apologetic, to a point. Chastised, she hurries across the path, past the large idol, and stands guard with her crossbow as the others cross.

When they are outside, she too marvels at the shield, makes a wee circle with her thumb and forefinger and holds it up to her eye. "Let me see its nature," she says, almost under her breath. [OOC: casting Detect magic]

She steps closer to Dartis -- does he need help with those wounds? she wonders to herself --, and asks, "Um. We're not actually going to give this to him, are we?"

 

[Fenris]

She steps closer to Dartis -- does he need help with those wounds? she wonders to herself --, and asks, "Um. We're not actually going to give this to him, are we?"

Dartis is broken from his study of the shield by Danica's question.

"I don't wish to. Such an artifact should stay with Dorinthia. But," he adds with a sigh, "I don't see any way to save our people without doing so. Much less without further endangering these fine dwarves who have already risked so much. But if any of you have any further suggestions I am glad to hear them."

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Danica
[sblock]
Danica detects a mixture of abjuration and enchantment magic. The magic of the shield seems quite stronger than anything she has seen before.
[/sblock]

OOC: The Shield of Kings, small Shield +2 of arrow catching, can be activated 3 times a day for a +4 charisma bonus that lasts one turn.

The party is ushered into a large chamber, where their wounds are treated and they are fully healed by the rough hands of the local dwarven clerics. Soon, the dwarven king himself comes to visit you and asks to see the shield. "This is a work of beauty, and something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime," he admits while holding the metal object in old, worn hands. "That strange gentleman has come to the front of our gates with an armed escort, and a large chest. He asks that we cover the shield in this," he says, showing a black cloth sack that he had curled underneath his arm. "It would seem that the only ones who are to see the shield are us and that robed man with the shifty eyes."

 

[GlassEye]

Silas looks with a little curiosity at Danica as she performs her nearly unnoticable ritual but the arrival of their esteemed hosts distract him. He respectfully greets the Dwarven king in his own tongue. He scowls upon hearing the shield is to go directly to the sinister wizard and not Commander Sassarius. He looks over at Dartis to see how the commander is going to handle the wizard's attempt to circumvent his agreement with Commander Sassarius.

 

[Kobold Stew]

"Um. Is it possible that we could give him another magic shield --or even a shield that he thought were magic -- instead of the one that he clearly needs? His expectations of us clearly indicate he doesn't want it uncovered in front of his troops. But what if we could make him think he had the Shield of Kings, maybe only for a short while? Would that be enough to accomplish OUR goals? I have an idea on how we might be able to trick him, for a short while, at least. Um, sir."

Danica's shy offer hear fills the silence. She knows that she must appear like a simple girl with a bad haircut--nothing more. But she does not want to give away such a treasure.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

The king thinks it over for a moment and says, "Well, we could just throw some shield with runic writing, but didn't that shady-looking Imperial know what this artifact was supposed to look like? We could try creating a duplicate, but it would take us a couple of days to make a decent likeness."

 

[Kobold Stew]

Danica shrugs at the King's query. "I really don't know what they know. But I do think that a nicely carved shield that radiatyed magic could be made to seem to be the Shield of Kings. Even if a wizard simply cast a Continual Flame spell -- is that what it's called? -- it would glow and flicker and radiate magic. That would make it seem to be a magic shield," she says, and pauses for a second, taking a quick glance at her companions. An incisor nibbles at her lower lip for a moment, and she exhales, deeply. Then continues: "After that, I think I know how to make it seem to be the Shield of Kings, for a while at least. What I don't know, is if such a ruse actually accomplishes our ends." She glances back and forth between the Dwarven King and Lord Dartis, expectant.