Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)

[Lazybones]

Chapter 415

“There is nothing to be gained by delay,” Cal said. “We are not as prepared as we could be, but we have no choice but to act.”

The seven companions stood around the old table in the great room at Travelers’ Rest. Before them, spread out across the table, was an amazing assortment of weapons, cases of ammunition, scrolls, potions, wands, and other diverse items of magical power. They’d pooled their resources, chronicling everything that they had available to them, everything that could and would be needed in this deadly venture. Along the wall behind the gnome were piled cases, sacks, waterskins, coils of rope, small casks of oil, and other mundane supplies that would be carefully loaded into their extradimensional storage devices. Each would carry a small pack with additional items carefully selected from their total stores, a backup in case they were placed into a situation where their magical bags and backpacks failed to function.

“Mole and I were able to find the help we needed at Twilight Hall,” the gnome went on. “Cylyria was not in attendance, but fortunately the man we needed to see was there. Jarthel was reluctant to lend us his most prized treasure, but we ultimately prevailed upon him to lend the device to our cause.”

“We got a magic flying rug, too,” Mole added, indicating the ten-foot roll that had been laid carefully off to the side, out of the way. “A big one, that should be able to carry all of us.”

“You all know what’s at stake here,” Cal said. “Our primary mission is to find the location of the prison Skullrot, and recover Benzan. But several of the Cagewrights escaped to Carceri, and we also have in the mix a mad demon lord whose shackles may be failing.”

“Sounds like an average outing for this group,” Lok commented.

“Jarthel was able to provide the name of a starting point on Carceri from the Harper libraries,” Cal continued. “A citadel known as the Bastion of Lost Hope. We’ll start our search there.”

“Let’s be about this, then,” Beorna said. “We know what we’re about; all this chatter serves no purpose.”

They said little more as they packed up their gear, double-checking everything in the manner of experienced veterans. Cal had prepared a tally of everything they had, and had carefully totaled the cumulative weight of everything they were bringing with them. They literally had almost no spare space; everything had its place and every one had their specific assignments, down to the spells they’d selected for that day. They would be going in somewhat light in that regard, due to the spells that Dana and Cal had already cast, but they were not willing to sacrifice another day, to leave Benzan in the hands of their enemies longer than was necessary.

“I feel as though something is missing, without an acerbic complaint from Hodge,” Arun said, as he slid his backup weapon—an adamantine battleaxe won at Shatterhorn—into its loop across his back.

“His strength will be needed to help the people of Cauldron return and rebuild,” Beorna said. The dwarf templar’s mien was utterly serious, her solemn expression set in stone as she tended to her own weapons. She’d taken Jenya’s death quite hard, and the prospect of revenge was driving her as powerfully as Dana’s goal to recover her husband. She had immediately volunteered to join them as soon as Dana had shared her revelation about their next destination.

Finally, the table was empty, the supplies along the walls vanished into their assigned containers. Lok went to pick up the heavy carpet, when a solid knock on the outer door interrupted them.

A hiss of swords being drawn from scabbards was followed by the bright glow of Arun’s holy avenger shining in the room. Wary of yet another attack, the companions followed Cal over to the viewing port installed near the portal. The device, a gnomish innovation, consisted of several mirrors installed covertly in the frame of the door so that someone on the inside of the portal could look out at whoever stood on the outer threshold, without their being aware of being watched. Cal looked through for a moment, then stepped back, surprised.

“It’s a man in golden armor. One of his eyes is… burning, it looks like. He is accompanied by an avoral and a celestial whose flesh has been marred with abyssal markings.”

Arun, Dannel, and Mole exchanged a look. “Morgan,” Dannel said. “It’s all right, he’s a friend.”

Cal drew back the bolts and opened the door. The man in the golden armor smiled, although the expression was made ominous by the wisps of smoke rising from his left eye socket, where a bright orange flame burned.

“Greetings,” Morgan Ahlendraal said to his erstwhile companions.

 

[Solarious]

Hee hee. I was wondering when Morgan would show up again. He's quite neccessary for this last leg of the journey. Why, I won't ruin the surprise for those who haven't read up on the adventure. Too bad Nidrama's dead and gone, she would've been useful. Course, we have these -other- friends to help out. The more expendable bodies, the better, I say! The Couatal stays forgotten on the field of cysts... too bad about that. Oh well, more fun and pain for the rest of the gang.

Say, how is Morgan's power level these days? I am given to understand that he should have done some serious upgrading while on Occipitus. If not... he may last even shorter than Nidrama did in The Thirteen Cages. That won't do, we need them to struggle for a little while before closing the jaws of doom.

I also take it Zenna and Jenya ain't comming back anytime soon? Pity. I miss Zenna's occational angsting and Jenya's stotic leadership. It's like we stripped the flavour right out of Cauldron... I agree with recent posters that the story has slowly become more about the Traveler's struggles than with the Heroes of Cauldron. This makes me sad. Eh, great story anyways.

And Richard, I only root for Aurn's death only because everybody needs to die. Everybody else had a turn already, can't he feel the clammy touch of the reaper on his sholder too?

Last question: what is to become of a certain old 'friend' of the Heroes?

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

Lookie here, Morgan's back - and he brought celestial cannon fooder! I'm curious as to what has happened back at our favorite abyssal layer in the hero's absence...

 

[Lazybones]

I started to post some answers to your questions, but realized I was putting a lot of spoilers. Fear not, all will be made clear...

Morgan's a Divine Agent now (from the 3.0 Manual of the Planes). I'll post his stats a bit later. I haven't updated Saureya from "Test of the Smoking Eye" but assume he's picked up a class level or two as well.

Update tomorrow.

 

[Solarious]

I started to post some answers to your questions, but realized I was putting a lot of spoilers. Fear not, all will be made clear...

Well, obviously. I just like asking anyways because I want to... and I was feeling particularly eloquent at the moment. We can all wait. I think.

Morgan's a Divine Agent now (from the 3.0 Manual of the Planes). I'll post his stats a bit later. I haven't updated Saureya from "Test of the Smoking Eye" but assume he's picked up a class level or two as well.

So, Saureya is reformed. Excelent. [/Mr. Burns] Ohhh, Divine Agent. *gets sidetracked*

Update tomorrow.

Have shotgun, will point at authors and grin widely.

 

[Lazybones]

Short update today, but I thought this revelation deserved its own (midweek) cliffhanger:

* * * * *

Chapter 416

The reunion was rushed, both because of the urgency of their own quest, and because of the news that Morgan brought with him from Occipitus.

“Adimarchus’s power grows within his prison,” the cleric of Helm told them, when they’d allowed him and his unusual companions into the great room of the tower.

“We’ve recently learned that as well,” Dannel said. “In fact, we had sought a way to contact you, to warn you.”

“I have heard you speak of this man,” Beorna said quietly aside to Arun, who was standing next to her near the hearth. With so many people in the chamber, it was getting a bit crowded. “A servant of Helm, yet he allies himself with one of the Fallen?”

“Morgan accepted the redemption of Occipitus as his task,” Arun replied. “Perhaps he includes the deva as part of that mandate. In any case, it is clear that the power of his god is with him.”

Beorna frowned, but her senses did tell her that Arun was right, that Morgan had in fact be chosen by Helm as a divine agent of the god’s will. By all rights—and the rules of her order—she should defer to him, but her eyes shifted to the scarred figure of Saureya, and her frown deepened.

“We have thwarted the plans of the followers of Adimarchus here on Faerûn,” Cal was saying. “The time has come for a final confrontation; we were in fact preparing for a shift to Carceri when you arrived.”

“Even in his prison, Adimarchus is powerful,” the fallen deva said. “Freed of his bonds, he will be beyond your power. Even in his madness, he is still what he is.”

“Who holds him?” Lok asked. “How was such a being imprisoned?”

The deva looked to Morgan, who nodded. It was a significant gesture. “He was betrayed by one whom he thought to be his ally,” the deva replied. “His closest companion, who turned out to be the son of his enemy. It is that enemy now that holds the key to the shackles that bind the dreaming god.”

“Speak plainly, Fallen,” Beorna rumbled. “Say the name of this foe.”

“Graz’zt. The one who holds Adimarchus, the master of Skullrot, is Graz’zt, Prince of Shadows, Lord of Azzagrat.”

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

It's a really nice twist, that the Travellers already know that son-of-a-demoness so well!

 

[Solarious]

Hee hee.

 

[Lazybones]

Chapter 417

The fallen deva’s words struck the gathered companions with the force of a trebuchet stone.

“Graz’zt!” Cal exclaimed.

“Gods, no… he has Benzan,” Dana said, staggering back as if struck. Lok quickly reached out to steady her.

“We cannot face a demon prince,” Dannel said. “No matter how powerful we have become, we are not that strong.”

“We have quarreled with the ebon lord before,” Cal said, although it was clear that he was shaken by the news.

“My oath is unchanged,” Beorna said. “And in any case, it is unlikely that the demon prince will be present at the prison when we arrive. From what I understand, they tend to spend most of their time secure in their fortresses; they are as much a danger to each other as they are to the realms outside of the Abyss.”

“Do not underestimate him, templar,” Morgan cautioned. To the others, he continued, “So then, you would continue on this mission?”

“We must,” Cal said, as Dana looked up, steel in her eyes.

“Without our intervention, Adimarchus will break free,” she intoned. “Such is the vision of Selûne.”

Saureya started slightly at Dana’s comment, but Morgan did not note it as he responded to the priestess. “I would offer my aid, but Occipitus lies on the edge of a razor. And there is the matter of more immediate import, that which brought me here.”

“You had said that Adimarchus’s influence is growing,” Cal said. “He is fighting your efforts to redeem Occipitus?”

“Not consciously,” Morgan replied. “But the taint within the plane… it is difficult to explain, but there have been… surges, waves of madness that have passed through the place. My bond with the place,” he said, subtly indicating his smoking eye, “makes me sensitive to these effects, although myself and those allies I have been able to recruit to my banner are resistant to their effect. However, there have been a number of manifestations in recent time, hindering our efforts.”

“The most recent of these… effects… directly impacts you,” the cleric went on. “Occipitus has of late been visited by a powerful entity. A huge beholder, infused with dark energies and fiendish potency, named Vhalantru.”

“Vhalantru!” Arun exclaimed. “But we destroyed him!”

“Not thoroughly enough, it would seem,” Dannel noted.

“The beholder seeks revenge upon those who defeated him here on the Prime,” Morgan said.

“But Morgan… you left us before we learned of Vhalantru’s true nature,” Mole pointed out. “How do you know about him?”

The cleric deferred to the angel beside him. “It was I who initially detected the beholder’s presence upon Occipitus,” Saureya said. “Being curious, I approached the creature, and spoke with it.”

“I am surprised that it did not destroy you out of hand,” Dannel said. “It had a bit of a temper, as I recall.”

“I surmise that the creature was reborn out of Adimarchus’s madness,” the deva continued. “It was disoriented, and had no knowledge of how it had arrived upon Occipitus. But it burned with a fury for vengeance against those who had defeated it. After speaking with it, I notified the Chosen of my findings, and he raised a force to destroy the tainted monstrosity.”

Morgan nodded. “We tracked it to the Smoking Eye, in the center of the plane. It overcame the guardians I had placed there, and entered the plasma matrix. The energy column should have destroyed it, yet somehow it used the power there to transport itself out of Occipitus.”

“Where is it now?” Mole asked.

“That I do not know, but I suspect that it will come here if it can, and destroy you. It is driven by the last motivation that animated it in life, and is now likely insane.”

“Well, it can follow us to Carceri if it wishes,” Dana said, standing straight. “We thank you for the warning, sir cleric, but this changes nothing.”

“Wait a moment,” Cal said. “If this thing did return to Faerûn, it would seek us out first at Cauldron. We cannot leave an insane, fiendish beholder wandering about.”

“We don’t have time…” Dana began.

“Our personal obligations do not obviate our obligation to the people of Cauldron,” Arun said. “We have the power to at least confirm where the beholder is, at least.”

”And if it can travel between planes, we would be ill-advised to let it come upon us at a time and place of its own choosing,” Dannel said. “Vhalantru was a fierce enemy; he has infused himself with the power of a Tarterian creature, and his powers go well beyond even the considerable abilities of a normal beholder.”

“I can attempt to scry the location of the beholder, if it is upon this plane,” Morgan said. “It will take time…”

“I can do it faster,” Dana said. “Lok, I will need my font.” The genasi withdrew the small platinum basin from his bag of holding after a minute’s search, which Dana filled with a vial of holy water. The liquid formed a thin, shimmering sheen along the shallow bottom of the font, into which the priestess summoned the power of her goddess. It took only a matter of seconds before a picture formed in the font, and the others crowded around to see.

“By the gods,” Dannel said.

The beholder filled the image, a huge, bloated monstrosity. It looked even more terrible than it had the last time they had faced it, its foul hide broken and mottled with patches of cracked, blackened flesh, trailing ugly lines of glistening ichor. Its central eye had been replaced with a blazing ember of flame trailing smoke, a foul copy of Morgan’s own marking. As they watched, they could see beams of energy erupting from its eyestalks, and they saw it fly over a wall, with smaller structures visible below. The spell did not give them enough distance to clearly distinguish what it was attacking, but Mole recognized the location from the subtle clues visible in the font.

“That’s Redgorge!” she said. “Remember, Arun, Dannel? We were there, for that meeting with the Chisel…”

“They will not be able to stand before the beholder,” Arun said. “We must take action!”

Even Dana seemed overwhelmed by what she saw, and she nodded. “I can take five with me. Cal?”

“I can bring four,” Cal said, staring down at the image in the font, marking a target location for his greater teleport. “I’ll take Mole, Dannel, and Lok. Dana, you take Arun, Beorna, Morgan, and his companions. We’ll be out in the open, and it may notice us right quick, so spread out at once and be ready to attack. Everyone better get a missile weapon ready. I don’t know if that flame effect upon its central eye means that it no longer possesses its antimagic power, but be ready to have any spells upon you cancelled when it faces you.”

“Arun, give me your quiver,” Dana said. “I can only affect one batch of arrows, so you will have to share them out once I have laid my enhancements upon them.”

“Go ahead,” Dannel said. “My missiles require no such enchantment.”

The paladin nodded, distributing a number of the empowered arrows to Lok and Beorna. He slung his shield across his back, and fitted one of the long shafts to his bow.

The companions quickly readied themselves, gathering around their appointed spellcaster. They waited only about twenty seconds, casting buffs and other spells in anticipation of engaging the enemy. Then, taking hands, they formed two circles around Dana and Cal, who cast their teleport spells, sending them halfway across Faerûn into the mouth of danger.

 

[Mogney]

Nice story

Been reading this story for a few days now and I thought I was doing pretty well, I got all the way through page 8. Now I discover the story is on page 29!

I am enjoying the story very much, thanks for writing it.

Mogney