Leo's account
Leo's account:
The Margravine in Bretonia.
The pass hid a deadly ambush. Forty foot cliffs rose above a narrow road with little room for maneuvre. Both Elros and Leo had spotted Death Dealers ready to push rocks down the steep inclines. Death Dealers were the elite troops of Warmaster Kung of ruler of Mount Fire. They specialised in “removing” troublesome individuals or recovering things, which the Warmaster felt were rightfully his. They were expert in fighting and stealth with powerful supernatural support in the guise of weapons, armour and potions. In the army of the Warmaster, they were seen as the best of the best with the pick of the finest equipment.
Fortunately, the group had spotted them otherwise the situation could have become a bloodbath. Although only four had been found, Leo believed that there were others close by. So, a plan was formulated. The Margravine, her handmaiden and Larius were left behind. Saphie was able to make most of the group fly and others improved themselves in appropriate ways, including Titania who cast an effect, which made everyone faster. The group flew to one side, while Leo created a field of fiendish black tentacles managing to catch one of the enemy. The other scrambled out of the area. This ensured that the group flew unmolested towards the opposing side. Saphie was also softening up the Death Dealers with various damaging effects. Suddenly, the rest of the enemy squad decided to act. Out of a cave and some shadows at the bottom of the ravine, seven other soldiers showed themselves. Three of them were riding horses and had bows while four started flying and rapidly reached the group; or Cho to be exact as she was slightly ahead of everyone else. Suddenly the air was full of whirling blades; one of the weapons was a flame blade, another crackled in the afternoon air and the other two longswords gleamed powerfully in the light. The warriors tried to strike the agile woman but she avoided their blows with almost contemptuous ease. Arrows flew from the others but again they struck few targets. A ball of fire struck the melee and Cho performed a fast and powerful maneuver, avoiding this effect. The warriors however were buffeted by the blast and severely burnt. Then the group’s warriors acted. Sigurd, Aos and Xiang all struck powerful blows to the main enemy while Cho managed to stun the enemy commander with one of her precise blows. The battle was all but over then. The rest of the squad on the ground tried to ride away but were brought down with a combination of a lightning strike from Leo and arrow fire from Elros while the main warriors were easily dealt with by the group’s warriors. There were no casualties to the group. The Death Dealers were well equipped with dweomered weapons and armour, which was collected with a variety of potion bottles. Satisfied the group went back to Larius and the Margravine.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. The group arrived to see a spectacular view of the Ankan Lake, the largest freshwater lake on Ea. Built on the cliff above it was the city of Ankheight, now in ruins. This had been the capital of the Grand Duchy of Bretania. The group slowly made its way forward, the Gaxmoor flag prominently raised. Soon they were met by a patrol of Bison riders. Strong-looking men, dressed in leather and carrying powerful curved bows on strange shaggy beasts, far removed from the docile cattle that Leo was familiar with. These bison looked like effective war beasts, trained to follow the commands of their riders. The group was escorted through the city gates; inside the buildings were shattered. The normally voluble Titania paled at the sight and kept very quiet. The group was able to see the devastation spread throughout the settlement. Here and there were groups of tents. Dogs, children and adults stopped to stare curiously at the strangers, briefly ceasing their activities. A few riderless bison were grazing in nearby meadows. The city had more of the air of a nomad camp than a permanent settlement. Finally, the group reached the citadel where, after waiting briefly, they were taken to a rich, luxurious tent in the palace gardens. Leaving their weapons outside, the group was asked into the interior where they met the court of the Bison Rider King, Marowa. Introductions were made and gifts were exchanged. The Margravine and the King were obviously of a like mind and they quickly started a long and involved conversation. The group was invited to a state banquet that evening. In the meantime, the group was given a tent for their use and preparations were made to try to identify the various items taken from the corpses of the Death Dealers. Later, during the banquet and as Sigurd was yet again challenging someone to a drinking contest, a bent old crone approached Cho and started talking to her. Cho looked nonplussed until Titania approached and used one of her most useful tricks. She muttered a few phrases and made some passes with her hands and suddenly Cho was able to understand the old woman.
“A big bird comes to me in a dream” she claimed. “It told me to make these for you”. With that she gave Cho what appeared to be a pair of bladed gauntlets. Razor sharp, they slipped on to her hands as if they had always been there.
Leo found this exchange interesting. He had already guessed that this was one of the famous Makyan wise women; a powerful group with supernatural abilities who often acted as advisers to Makyan nobles. He had no idea where the bladed gauntlets came from, but Chos looked pleased though puzzled at the same time. He approached and asked Cho if she would ask her newfound friend to mediate for the group in a variety of barters. Hopefully this lady would facilitate matters. So it proved. The wise woman was called Hiragi and she was able to introduce the group to a variety of merchants. Leo had also decided to will himself back to Gaxmoor. There were many reasons for this. He talked to his friends and they asked him for various favours, which he was happy to oblige. They involved the acquisition of items or enchantments.
Arriving back in Gaxmoor, Leo received a great deal of news. The most immediate and disturbing fact was the activity of Heracules, who was gathering an army in the Dosk Heights. Having been foiled in his attempt to kidnap the Margravine, the cambion felt that it was time for more direct action. Margrave Kanor was employing a lot of scouts and was keeping a careful eye on the situation. It was very serious. There were also some political news from Imarr, where the democrats were being arrested in numbers although the White Way was not being targeted yet; and Tarkane was tightening his grip in Imgart where a woman called Magda Kullervo was declared Duchess of Imgart. This “lady” was the half sister of the sorceress Zalindra the Destroyer, consort to Tarkane. With dizzying speed, Tarkane was consolidating his hold on his new conquest. The province of Trafalgis was becoming a new client state to Imarr. Finally, Leo was approached by Dovistar and a stranger. A stocky individual with fair skin, a large nose and a bushy red beard.
“Ah, Leo,” said Dovistar. “Let me introduce you to Astragard. He is a friend of Clarendon and he has a proposition for you.”
Leo felt a shock course through him. He had come across this name through his studies. If this was the Astragard then this being was legendary.
“Leopold I believe”, said the stranger. “My name is Astragard and I was given your name by Clarendon. I have a project that I would like to pursue which I hope you will find of interest. In the deserts to the South lies a tomb from the early days of the Empire. It belongs to a man called Gutheron of Org and it contains many objects of archaeological interest. Please examine these two ancient fragments of a history which will give you an idea of what I have in mind.”
Leo looked at the fragments, written in an ancient tongue. They told the story of a lavish tomb built for a ruler by a master builder, Koram. There were hints of many traps inside. They also told of the ritual murder of the tomb workers, suggesting vicious trapped souls forever tasked to defend the structure. Finally they mentioned a small statue of the Demon Lord known as Thunder in the Mountain.
“I will be happy to let you and your companions have anything you find in the tomb. I only want the statuette of Thunder in the Mountain”, continued Astragard. “I have already been to the tomb once with another group. Unfortunately, they proved insufficient to deal with its defences. We also met Koram himself, who has now become a wraith. I almost lost my life but I am willing to try again.”
Leo shuddered. These powerful undead beings had many powers.
“If you would like to come with me”, said Leo, “I will put your proposal to the others. It is likely that they will accept as it sounds very dangerous.”
Leo then met with Margrave Kanor and apprised him of developments in Bretania. He also made various purchases for Saphie and Xiang as well as broking a deal with Laera on behalf of Sigurd to add an enchantment to his sword. Then he was ready to return to Ankheight.
Upon Leo’s return to Ankheight with Astragard, the latter had little trouble in persuading the rest of the group to join him in his project. Sigurd had already been complaining about how bored he was after he had won several drinking contests with the Makyans. The trip would take approximately several weeks and would enter the mysterious deserts of the Southlands. Preparations were made and after a fortnight, the expedition set out with the exception of Larius who was left as a personal bodyguard to the Margravine. As the group went further south, the weather became hotter and the terrain more arid, with slight scrub and hardy vegetation that did not need a lot of water. Striking, ancient solitary trees dotted the horizon and strange animals could be seen in the distance. From his reading Leo identified these as lions, zebras and antelope. Sigurd was delighted as it allowed him to pursue his passion for hunting and these were exotic creatures, which provided new challenges. With the fighting, drinking and hunting Sigurd again seemed almost jolly. The trip through the savannah took three days and as the group went further east, larger and larger areas of desert appeared. Eventually, it became areas of savannah in the desert and finally there were no areas of vegetation at all.
For Leo, the journey was exotic, uneventful and informative. He took careful notes about the flora and fauna, practiced his dweomers and held long conversations with Astragard, a fascinating companion. The rest of the group also fell into a routine and enjoyed the trip.
Then on the second day in the desert, Astragard pointed to a wall of sand that was rushing towards the group!
“Quick,” he shouted. “Take cover! Sandstorm!”
Leo then used an effect he rarely cast. However, having read about sandstorms in the accounts of past explorers he had memorised this sheltering spell. An opaque barrier appeared in a circle around him and his companions. Sands swirled and wind roared outside but inside all was quiet. The group sat down and at first listened to the sandstorm in fascination. It was difficult to imagine being in such a maelstrom. Several hours later, boredom had set in and some of the group was resting. Elros was looking out and reported that the storm seemed to be dying. About half an hour later, the storm died out. Elros was still looking in a particular direction and then he called to the others.
“Aos, Leo. Come and take a look. I can’t find the horses and there seem to be buildings that have been…”
The others had joined Elros on that side of the sphere when out of the darkness, a group of hideous creatures jumped towards the group. Moving with unnatural speed, these were humanoids with the heads of hyenas. Their bodies were the colour of the sand and they were able to hide with great skill. Some were small, some were enormous but they all had gleaming fangs and long razor sharp claws. Moving in an arc they closed upon the group.
The first to react was Elros who shot two arrows into one. Then he gasped in horror as he saw his arrows being unnaturally expelled from the body of one of the things. The enemy then closed upon the group bringing with them a hideous overwhelming stench. Several stayed back, catching the eyes of some of the group with a mesmerising stare and others spat at Saphie. Aos was paralysed by the stare while Saphie was paralysed by the spittle, which entered her system. Meanwhile the first wave attacked and dealt several blows to the group. The group then retaliated. The warriors returned the blows and Leo was able to cast one of his balls of fire, which was particularly damaging to them. He then prudently retreated to make sure none of them could reach him. After this, both Cho and Sigurd were able to contain the enemy on the left flank and eventually, they were able to subdue the creatures on that side. The other side was disastrous. With Saphie paralysed, there was no arcane support available for the right flank. Two of the creatures sprang upon the paralysed Aos and ripped out his throat. Tarquin called upon the power of his god to drive off these monstrosities but they proved to be strongly resistant to his faith. Xiang fought valiantly but took a fearful beating and miraculously seemed immune to their paralysing stare. Fortunately, both Sigurd and Cho were able to abandon their flank and provide support for the opposite side. This turned the tide and with spell support from Leo the enemy were finally routed although at fearful cost. Aos, the greatest duelist of Gaxmoor, had perished.
The situation was still dangerous. Tarquin sat down and prayed to his god. It was a long and complicated prayer, needing great sacrifice. As the last of the jewels disappeared, groaning, the corpse of Aos started stirring slowly. There was a muttering from his lips, “Please Dlamelish, take me back”. Several moments later, the figure of Aos, pale, weak and now with a scar across his throat, sat up. He seemed withdrawn and very angry. His demeanour made it clear that he did not wish to talk at this moment.
In the dusk a bonfire was lit. The unnatural corpses were burnt on this pyre. Revealed by the pyre and the moonlight was the gleaming of coins and jewelry, which the group collected. Rapidly they then left the area and set up camp for the night. The next morning, they were about to set out when Tarquin was contacted by an urgent sending from Petronius.
“Tarquin, get Leo to take off his scrying protection and gather three people. Heracules is on the march to Gaxmoor”.
Quickly Leo gathered Sigurd, Aos and Saphie and they were summoned to Dulleaburg. Tarquin and Xiang teleported to Gaxmoor.
Leo was greeted by Dovistar.
“Thank goodness we were able to find you Leo. Heracules has gathered an army. It is made up of orcs from the Broken Bone tribe, gnolls, hobgoblins and a substantial group of goblin warg-riders. With it he plans to retake Gaxmoor. He is on his way north now. Against him, we have the household knights, Goldhammer Clan dwarves, crossbowmen, longbowmen, pikemen and the infantrymen of Gaxmoor. He has about 3000 troops, we have about 1800. However, we also have a gathering of famous and powerful individuals. As well as yourselves, there are ourselves, the mages of the White Way, Grimhelda the Witch, Red Ivy the warrior, Xyzzy the sorcerer, Botolf the Sage, Sir Kohnar of Thrin, Petronius the High Priest and Mageris the magist of Gaxmoor although I am aware that he is a bit eccentric. You were successful in defeating Heracules last time and the Margrave is hoping you will repeat this feat.”
Sigurd hurried to speak with the Margrave as did Saphie. Leo went to consult with Dovistar about getting the rest of his companions from the southern desert. Tarquin and Xiang, surprised to find Gaxmoor almost deserted, rode hell for leather to Dulleaburg and collapsed exhausted upon arriving into camp.
After consultation between the various military commanders, it was decided that the battle would take place just outside the village of Jarrakig. There the forces of the Scornic League would meet Heracules and his Dark Folk to decide the fate of this region. Sigurd would command the Scornic forces, the famous heroes would take strategic positions throughout the army, Dovistar and Laera of the White Way would provide support, while the group and a few others would take a roving role with their main task being to find and attack Heracules himself.
The die was cast.
