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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 4970912" data-attributes="member: 5675">Tarn blinked back to wakefulness a few moments later to see Torrent standing over him, chanting healing words over him. Her hand lashed out to fire a spell at one of the corpses, which shudder one last time and fell. At the same time, one of the 2 remaining corpses lumbered forwards, tearing flesh off Grusalock’s prone form and leaving him utterly dead.Leaping to his feat, Tarn healed Wingwrath, and moved up to confront the lumbering foes, and from over his shoulder lashed a blast of cold. Torrent’s holy symbol sent both of the dwarf’s corpses stumbling back to the back of the cavern, where a volley of fire from all the surviving comrades made them shatter and die at a safe distance. There followed a long rest. In a lengthy ceremony, powerful scrolls were obtained from the most sacred areas of the temple. Burron and Torrent read from them, and the massive enchantments contained within brought Tyr and Grusalock back from the Raven Queen’s domain into the land of the living. .oOo.That night, a tremendous storm meant that the Ragesian wyverns would be unable to fly, and Gate Pass rested uneasily.While they waited, Torrent explained what had happened before she had returned to save the companions. She had been looking into rumours about the Wizard’s Academy. Most of the wizards had already fled, though one had remained behind; a Shahalesti named Shialis Amoril, who had stayed to celebrate her elevation to a higher tier of learning. She was researching the recent well-known problems with teleporting. She was known to have a solon familiar (much light the flying light creature the group had slain in the Repository). Given the rarity of the familiar, and her heritage, the cleric believed that she was very likely an agent for the Shahalesti. Torrent and Rivereye both knew of a halfling sorcerer, who ran a rival school for sorcerers within the town. She and Rivereye went to speak to him to try and enlist his aid to confront the much-more-powerful Shahalesti wizard. “Alert!” It was Burron, dashing into the chamber. “One of my men has overheard 2 suspected Shahalesti agents talking, and heard tell that the tunnel will be completed within the day! Shialis will leave unless we can stall her!”The group split – Torrent and Rivereye looking for their sorcerer whilst the others headed to the Wizard’s Academy through the thick drifts of snow. .oOo.Once there, they found the gates to be shut firm, and the only way across the moat was along a relatively narrow iron bridge. There was clear sign of people having been here in numbers the previous day, rumours that the wizards might be able to get people out of Gate Pass having been prevalent. A lone wizard stood smoking a long thin cigarette and watching them approach. The snow seemed to fall away from him and any near his feet had melted – presumably due to some spell he had in effect. “And what,” he asked “brings you here on a warm summer’s day?”Wingwrath swaggered up towards the gates he had previously been through to study.“Surely you remember me,” he asked confidently, his massive draconic form easily a head and shoulders over the wizard. “Nope,” came the smirking reply. Despite Tarn’s best efforts to break the ice, nothing worked until he happened to mention the death of the solon familiar. That got a smile out of him, and he began to talk about how he wanted to thwart and humiliate Shialis. At the discovery that the adventurers could lead to embarrassment for Shialis, he was quick to open the gate “before the riff-raff arrive”. The group consulted with him in the academy kitchens for a while, and he mentioned that he could erect a globe of force around Shialis’ cottage – the group agreed to this plan as it might at least delay her until the halfling sorcerer could be brought to confront her. However the group agreed that they should enter her cottage within the globe of force to stop Shialis realising what had been done. .oOo.“Enter”, rang out the haughty voice as Tarn knocked on the door. Within lay a generous salon/kitchen with an office just beyond. Many of the papers in the room appeared to have been packed away in preparation for a hurried journey. Shialis herself was a tall, noble looking woman dressed in shimmering chainmail armour. She spoke without preamble.“You’re here for the case. I don’t intend to allow it to fall into Ragesian hands.”. Tarn spoke persuasively – telling Shialis that an agent had given his life and that the contents of the stolen case could save hundreds of lives in Gate Pass. They discussed the history of Gate Pass and its good relations with the Shahalesti empire. As they spoke, Shialis moved some papers to cover a map on the table. Ever alert, however, Grusalock noticed her actions, and when the Shahalesti turned her back he moved the papers and blinked as he memorised the map of a Shahalesti ghetto. At length, the group reached an agreement with Shialis. She named a Shahalesti wizard who would act as a point of contact, and told us where we should meet. Although this seemed perfectly reasonable and made sense in the circumstances, Grusalock’s phenomenal elven instincts told him that Shialis would not make good on her promise. He only mentioned this on the way out of the wizard’s enclave, however…</blockquote>

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