Celeste stares in shock as the trio of heroes toss down their weapons, then she bows her head as her cheeks redden in shame. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to think so badly of you after our last discussion months ago... Come now, though. Leave your fallen while my fellows attend to him in his last moments. I will take you to the Council." As you walk towards the door with her a horn is sounded with a long, forlorn note followed by several other horns that repeat the same pattern. Celeste becomes paler and her voice breaks as she says, "Your army is here."
You step out the door of the main chamber of the Council of Magi and find yourselves overlooking the battle. It looks as if the main Dorinthian force has arrived alongside of the Imperial cavalry and has engaged and surprised the posted elven guard. As you follow Celeste down the long journey to the bottom of the elven Magi tree you can see that the bulk of the elven army has awakened and formed on the other side of the city. Further behind the joint light human force can be seen the heavier Imperial, dwarven, and gnome units just beginning to catch up. Your allies are working together, but they seem to lack combined leadership that could make them more effective, probably because of continuing distrust. Because of this they lose their initial advantage and begin to get pushed back. It would appear that this battle will be won by brutal force rather than speed and trickery.
You finally make it to the bottom of the tree as the last of the heavy elven forces pass you and join with their army to push the Dorinthians and their allies past the center of the city. You rush with Celeste to cross the wide street to the tree housing the Council Tower when the earth in front of the tree explodes upwards and forms into a large humanoid composed of brown soil and rock. With glowing fiery eyes it glares at the nearest humanoids: the party. You hear loud shouts behind you and see that several more such creatures have formed amidst the allied army, causing chaos and swathes of broken human and dwarven bodies.
Celeste says in confusion, "What is the Council Voice doing? We summon the Elementals at our peril. Doing so drains the life trees and risks the very life of our forest!" She steps forward with her staff and yells at the elemental, "Let us pass! I am an elf and one of the Magi! I must escort these men and woman to the Council!" The elemental does not heed her and somehow chuckles and flames burst from its eyes as it steps towards the elven maiden.
Caramip's eyes narrow and she whispers, "Something is wrong. The Elementals have been summoned, but I don't believe by the Voice. Someone powerful controls these!" Caramip rushes forward and shoves Celeste out of the way of the approaching earth elemental, then widens her arms and closes her eyes as the giant creature's foot comes crashing down on top of the gnome, removing all sight of her. The elemental's chuckling becomes a bellow of laughter.
Dartis
[sblock]
You know that laughter... it is Banbosel's laugh.
[/sblock]
As you react to the shock of your teammate being crushed, the elemental's laugh gets cut off and becomes a gasp of confusion. A small bulge appears inside the creature's foot, then begins to travel upwards to its knee, then its abdomen. In panic, the elemental forgets about the rest of you as it beats its own chest and body with its fists to no avail. The lump continues to climb upwards into elemental's head before the creature screams and explodes into small pebbles that levitate and spin around the small, floating body of an earth-skinned Caramip. You go to congratulate her, but stop as she looks at you without expression. This is not the Caramip you know. She flies past you and over the battlefield, where she is joined by an equally victorious Phly Loughphray. The two begin to have some sort of conversation and seem oblivious to all else around them. Between them they may have taken out two or three more elementals, but they have not cleared the battlefield of them. In the process the two gnomes have somehow awakened inside of themselves something once lost, and you cannot help but wonder at what cost did they buy the allies additional time.
Celeste recovers first and hurries you along up the tree bridges connected to the Tower of the Council. In the distance you see on a nearby hill a strange fiery giant, of all things, chasing a horseman. He turns and fires a bow, but his arrow seems to fly for miles while growing larger, eventually becoming a glowing bolt striking into the remaining elementals. Bolts continue to strike the creatures until they are smashed and crumble into nothingness. The army is no longer beseiged from inside its own ranks, and a human shout begins to grow louder and louder as they notice the horseman far away: "The Rider! The Rider!" The Dorinthians begin to surge forward with renewed vigor. The battle becomes more fierce, and the casualties will soon mount sharply if it is not soon stopped.
You now stand by the main doors to the Council. Celeste seems somewhat numb and in shock from the sights that have occured so far. "Are you ready to enter? Beware, though. The Council Voice and his assistants have been acting erratic as they've grown more paranoid."
