[v.3.5] Realmsian Dragonstar: The Battle of Toril PbP Game [IC] (Game Cancelled)

[Knightfall]

Silhouette grimaces at her lapse. Then again, she didn't have the magic to keep a disguise running all day. Not without crippling herself. Thrak's magic hat would help, but she refused to do without her headband. She'd need the clarity it brought, and the power.

She looked at the female guard and nodded slowly. "Do not apologize for the sins of others," the tiefling replied quietly. "As I do not for those who came before me. We are each our own, and will bear the consequences of our choices." She shook her head slowly. "If I let the fear and ignorance of the world into my heart, there'd be nothing of it left by now anyway."

"That is a wise way of looking at the world," Loranys replies. She stares at the sky with a look of woe. "The world. That doesn't have the same meaning now." She shakes her head. "I always knew there was life beyond this one, but I never expected a star-spanning empire ruled by dragons."

But Thrak, ambling along nearby, gave the guard a respectful nod. He knew better than most the importance of even a single person who understood what wasn't said.

Loranys silently acknowledges the goliath's understanding of the situation.

Soumral sighs at the stubbornness of the people but can not fault them for not wanting to leave their homes. Nor will she force them to unless it becomes absolutely neccessary.

As the caravan continues to move forward along the road, Soumral notes that there are some families that choose to abandon their homes and join the growing train of wagons, carts, peoples, and animals. The Fists work hard to try to keep everyone together but soon there are so many that the refugees stretch for more than half a mile up and down the road. The news of what has happened seems to proceed them towards the coast and more and more people join the caravan.

Yin Hun only vaguely remembered a mention of the Shou in one of the briefings about Toril he read in preparation for the mission. One of the human ethnic groups native to the lands east of Faerûn.

"Perhaps," he tells Loranys. "I was amazed the first time I learned of actual human beings originating from other worlds. To be honest, though, I've had to focused more on how to kill them than finding out where they came from. I'll leave that to the anthropologists."

"So you have been fighting this draconic empire for most of your life," Loranys replies. "I hope you can teach us their vulnerabilities, so we can prevent them from taking our world away from us."

Emiko blinks in surprise. That was not the response she expected. Solar Prime? That's Commander Madden. What is the leader of the Freedom League doing on planet? And Rebel Three, that's... Caranarth? Of the Soldier of Freedom, I think? She looks to Yin Hun, and they share a look at the significance of the call signs. Her commander nods to her to respond.

"Dragon. Two. Two. Blue Star. Four. Ten. Minotaur. Confirm. What is the situation, Rebel Three?"

"Blue Star! Damn it is good to know you made it planet-side! The situation is damn insane!" Caranarth yells over the comm. "We are under heavy fire! The empire has landed here in full force and has recruited a local militant group called the Zhents!" Emiko hears blaster fire and explosions through the comm. "Rebel One doesn't think we can stay here much longer! We are in a place called Shadowdale! The locals are good fighters but can't fight with advanced tech!" A intense explosion roars across the comm and their is silence for several seconds. "Damn, that was too close! We haven't been able to contact Solar Prime, and there has been no contact with Rebel Two. He was supposed to contact us hours ago with vital data on the Imperial's shield frequencies." Another explosion booms through the comm and several screams tear into Emiko's soul. "Wherever you are, try to contact Solar Prime, if you can! Tell him we need ground support!"

Another voice rings through the comm. “Retreat, retreat into Cormanthor!” The voice was like an angry dragon roaring. It shook Emiko to her knees.

She listens intently through the comm for Caranarth's voice but for several minutes there is only the sounds of battle and what sounds like heavy breathing and footfalls. Eventally, Caranarth realizes that the comm is still open. "B-blue S-star, are you stlll there? We need those shield frequencies or we're all going to die. If you're anywhere the region the locals call Anauroch, try to find Rebel Two. That is where he last made contact." Caranarth pants as he talks. Emiko can tell he is running flat out. "Shadowdale is lost. We're in full retreat into the forest. Watch the skies for landers. If they come in full force, either hide or use guerrilla tactics." Caranarth goes silent over the comm and his footfalls stop. "Get down, get down." There is almost five minutes of eerie silence through the comm, except for the man's breathing. "I don't think they saw us," he whispers to someone on the other side of the comm. "But stay down and hide." Caranarth's breathing is loud and raspy through the comm. He coughs. "If you're still there, Blue Star, I have to sign off. My power cell is nearly gone and I've been hit. I n-need to stop the b-bleeding. T-take care of yourself. I'll t-try to contact you t-tomorrow. Stay safe." The comm cuts out and there is only silence and static.

"Gods," Loranys says in shock and awe. "Shadowdale has fallen. If they can take Elminster's home, how are we going to fight them off?" She looks at both Shazer'a and Yin Hun before staring at Sil.

Several locals had gathered around Emiko to listen to the voice coming through the comm. Her earbud had stopped working in the humidity of the day. She'd tried to keep the volume low, but the sounds coming through the comm had been impossible for many to ignore. The news of Shadowdale's defeat quickly spreads and the locals gasp in shock or cry in disbelief. Others shake their head in resignation. Others simply keep walking in numbness.

"Is Elminster dead?" a young woman asks.

"I do not know," Loranys replies. More questions are flung at her. Questions she could not possibly answer. She soon starts snapping at people to get them moving again. "This feels like the end of the world," she finally says to Sil.

 

[Shayuri]

"The end of a world," Silhouette agrees grimly, "But the beginning of another. I don't know that we can save the world we knew...but we may yet have a say in what replaces it, and what our place in it is."

She raises her voice to address Emiko.

"The Anauroch is a desert northeast of here. It is a great distance off...and it's large enough that simply saying 'in the Anauroch' is not especially helpful. Although..."

The tiefling looks away for a moment, thinking.

"I can only think of one place in that wasteland that your people might be interested in. So perhaps not so useless after all."

 

[Buddha the DM]

Soumral listens to everyone that is speaking and makes a mental note of all names and places that are mentioned. She realizes that if this goes on too long she'll have to start writing everything down.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Rodan ponders what he has heard over the radio and takes in the panic of those around him. He nods to himself, as all this seems familiar to him. Rodan has been in this same place emotionally and mentally time after time. He finally says softly, "The end of your world? No, perhaps the end of this age, but not the end of the world. You still have your lives, and as long as you keep living you will still have hope. As long as you keep running, you will still have your freedom. And it is good to know that it is not only our motley band of refugees that still struggles against the Empire."

 

[Buddha the DM]

"Agreed," Soumral responds to what Rodan just said.

 

[KainG]

"Emiko, try to raise Solar Prime and Rebel Two. Solar Prime first," Yin Hun orders. His face is grim. While he is glad to have made contact with additional allies on-planet, the current situation is not going well for either of them.

Emiko nods, and attempts to raise Solar Prime over the comms. Meanwhile, Yin Hun turns to the others. "If we can get those Imperial shield frequencies, we'll be able to bypass some signficant defenses of theirs. Even the natives of this planet would be able to inflict some damage on the invaders." Looking at Silhouette, he says "We'd be grateful for any helpful information you might have to where to start looking."

Yin Hun pulls out his electronic mapbox from his handy haversack, and turns it out. He brings up a map of Faerûn, centered on the Sword Coast. Although their current position was not shown on the map due to a lack of a GPS network, he still had a good idea where they were since they hadn't gone too far from Baldur's Gate. He presented the map for all to see.

"We should be about here," he says, tapping on the spot designated as Baldur's Gate. "Can you pinpoint this 'Anauroch' place on the map?"

 

[Shayuri]

Silhouette shakes her head. "This is the wrong map. It's nowhere near here."

She reaches out to point, and is a little surprised when the map changes as her finger drags across it. After a few seconds of experimentation, she manages to pan the map over to the north and the east, where she taps it.

"The Anauroch is in this area. A journey of weeks, not days. As for where in the desert..."

Her violet lips curve into a smile.

"The shadow of old Netheril, of course. Candlekeep will have what we need to plan an expedition."

 

[Buddha the DM]

Soumral is fascinated by the map that Silhouette manipulated and shakes he head at the marvel of it.

"It would seem that we have a course of action laid before us now," she says with a little firmness to her tone. "How shall we proceed now with what we must do?"

 

[Shayuri]

"We push on to Candlekeep. We'll need to do some research, gather supplies, and perhaps find a guide."

 

[Knightfall]

"The end of a world," Silhouette agrees grimly, "But the beginning of another. I don't know that we can save the world we knew...but we may yet have a say in what replaces it, and what our place in it is."

"If that is true, there will be many people who will have trouble accepting it. It could be worse than the Time of Troubles," Loranys says with a sigh. "Many lives will be lost. I guess the best I can do, the best any of us can do, is try to save who you can when you can and hope there is something left of our culture once the dust has settled."

"If it ever does," the guard Belgeon adds. He had moved in to listen to the comm. "An invasion from the sky likely won't be over quickly." He looks at Rodan for some confirmation. "And will this empire take slaves?"

She raises her voice to address Emiko.

"The Anauroch is a desert northeast of here. It is a great distance off...and it's large enough that simply saying 'in the Anauroch' is not especially helpful. Although..."

The tiefling looks away for a moment, thinking.

"I can only think of one place in that wasteland that your people might be interested in. So perhaps not so useless after all."

"I've seen the edge of that place, once," Belgeon notes. "Six years ago, Lord Belt tried to form a trade alliance with the dwarves of Citadel Adbar, and I and a dozen Fists went along as an escort. It was my first major assignment as a Fist. However, the trip there turned out to be for nothing, as Lord Belt did not think the dwarves' alliance to the Silver Marches was strong enough to preclude an agreement for forged goods. While in the region, I got a chance to see the northwestern edge of Anauroch. It was beautiful, in an eerie sort of way."

Soumral listens to everyone that is speaking and makes a mental note of all names and places that are mentioned. She realizes that if this goes on too long she'll have to start writing everything down.

Rodan ponders what he has heard over the radio and takes in the panic of those around him. He nods to himself, as all this seems familiar to him. Rodan has been in this same place emotionally and mentally time after time. He finally says softly, "The end of your world? No, perhaps the end of this age, but not the end of the world. You still have your lives, and as long as you keep living you will still have hope. As long as you keep running, you will still have your freedom. And it is good to know that it is not only our motley band of refugees that still struggles against the Empire."

"Agreed," Soumral responds to what Rodan just said.

"Yes, I'm glad to know that we are not alone in this fight," Loranys says. She turns to Rodan, "Hopefully, there are even more clandestine agents like you and these others here to help fight this empire and protect the peoples. I know I will not give up my freedom without a fight. I don't like the idea of having to run away, but if what we're going to face is so strong that is can conquer Shadowdale, running might be the only course of action."

"Better to run and live to regroup and fight again," Belgeon adds.

"Emiko, try to raise Solar Prime and Rebel Two. Solar Prime first," Yin Hun orders. His face is grim. While he is glad to have made contact with additional allies on-planet, the current situation is not going well for either of them.

Emiko nods, and attempts to raise Solar Prime over the comms.

Emiko quickly discovers that there is a scattering field in the planet's upper atmosphere. There isn't any way for her to contact any ships in orbit without a more powerful signal. Her datapad just can't punch through the field.

She hears a faint signal of, something else, but it is barely audible. It was almost as if someone had pinged back to her signal, but she can't be certain. She tries to zero in on it but it fades as quickly as it appeared. If she can get to higher ground, she might be able to find it again.

OOC: She'll need access to a powerful computer terminal with suite of communication software to have any chance of contacting Commander Madden.

Meanwhile, Yin Hun turns to the others. "If we can get those Imperial shield frequencies, we'll be able to bypass some signficant defenses of theirs. Even the natives of this planet would be able to inflict some damage on the invaders." Looking at Silhouette, he says "We'd be grateful for any helpful information you might have to where to start looking."

Yin Hun pulls out his electronic mapbox from his handy haversack, and turns it out. He brings up a map of Faerûn, centered on the Sword Coast. Although their current position was not shown on the map due to a lack of a GPS network, he still had a good idea where they were since they hadn't gone too far from Baldur's Gate. He presented the map for all to see.

"We should be about here," he says, tapping on the spot designated as Baldur's Gate. "Can you pinpoint this 'Anauroch' place on the map?"

"Amazing," Loranys says, fascinated. The city's citizens are drawn in, gawking at the map hovering in the air. Most of the rural folk shy away from Yin Hun and his floating map.

Silhouette shakes her head. "This is the wrong map. It's nowhere near here."

She reaches out to point, and is a little surprised when the map changes as her finger drags across it. After a few seconds of experimentation, she manages to pan the map over to the north and the east, where she taps it.

"The Anauroch is in this area. A journey of weeks, not days. As for where in the desert..."

"Yes, it's quite some distance," Belgeon adds. "If this empire of yours is here already, I doubt spending weeks on the road to the desert would be productive. Magic would be the fastest way, or you could take a ship up the coast to Neverwinter and then cross by land. It would still be a long trip, but I doubt it will be safe to ride the roads during an invasion."

Her violet lips curve into a smile.

"The shadow of old Netheril, of course. Candlekeep will have what we need to plan an expedition."

"I never saw that place, thankfully," Belgeon says. "The dwarves told us that the place is full of shades and Zhents. The shades have an empire somewhere in the center of the desert. I only got to see Ascore on the desert's edge and only from a distance. One dwarf did mention a mountain range called, hmm, the Spire of Swords, or something like that."

Soumral is fascinated by the map that Silhouette manipulated and shakes he head at the marvel of it.

"It would seem that we have a course of action laid before us now," she says with a little firmness to her tone. "How shall we proceed now with what we must do?"

"We push on to Candlekeep. We'll need to do some research, gather supplies, and perhaps find a guide."

Everyone comes to the same conclusion. The best thing to do is continue on to Candlekeep and hope the monks let them inside. Day quickly becomes night, as the caravan approaches the northeastern edge of the Cloak Wood along the southern road the locals call The Coast Way. The horses pulling the wagons soon give up their strength and refuse to pull anymore. The locals begin pulling their wagons off the road, away from the forest, to make camp.

"We will have to make camp for the night," Loranys informs the group. "The horses can't travel anymore and their are wounded that must be tended too. They need their rest as do we all. We will set out at fist light."

She orders the Fists to secure the camp and begin patrols. She has taken charge of them with great aplomb. Belgeon acts as her second while most of the other Fists appear worn out physically and mentally. Those that are exhausted are allowed to sleep for a few hour first before taking up their duties once again. City folk and farmers huddle together around campfires. Food is rationed out to the weak and young first.

"We could use your help with patrols," Loranys says. "The Cloak Wood is very dangerous and we have to be prepared anything that might come out of it."