gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
Session 220, Part Two - The Old Cairns
A quick call to Uriel confirmed that the message used an old method of timekeeping based on the constellations. The Volgir Valley was home to several ancient rings of stones—the Old Cairns. Centuries ago giants crafted these hundred foot megaliths as an astronomical clock. Later, dwarves and humans buried their dead among the massive stones. All they needed to do was find the nearest circle. Korrigan used his roving eye and, after several attempts, spotted them higher in the mountains, about an hour away. They travelled there and waited. (Kvarti took up a hidden position, to draw a bead on whatever approached.)
Their patience was rewarded by the breath-taking sight of a flame-bearded vsadni arriving on horseback. This was Tzertze the war-drummer. He dismissed his steed and greeted them in ancient dwarven – old-fashioned in tenor but polite, despite his booming voice.
Rumdoom said he had a score to settle with the ‘Speaker of Ice and Snow’, a topic that Tzerzte warmed to at once: “I do not believe that she is a true speaker of the End Times, and I do not wish to serve her. Her plan is to use her mighty weapon to destroy every city in Drakr, and then order her army to kill itself. I see no challenge, no glory, no great battle. But Nebo follows her at the behest of our master, as do the others.” Then he detailed his grievances with the rest of the vsadni, as an invitation to persuasion.
Korrigan gave Rumdoom a few telepathic suggestions and he replied, “I am the Avatar of the Icy End and the Stone of Not she wields is mine. I seek to retrieve it and revenge many wrongs. But that is just for now. Our goals are bigger than that.”
“How?” asked the vsadni. Rumdoom told him about the Ob, and about the changes they had made to the world; that they sought to control it, and decide on the end for everyone. Tzertze grunted, and was clearly offended by such arrogance. Gupta spoke up in Ancient Dwarven, and wove a spell into her words, to impart an ideal to Tzertze: the Ob were a worthy foe. Rumdoom then made an eschatological pronouncement, to the effect that they should ally with Tzertze, handing the reins of negotiation over to Korrigan with this powerful edict ringing in all of their ears.
Before they could go any further, however, Tzerzte had a few demands: he wanted a harem (the practicalities of which he would work out later); and he wanted the tower of Bhad Ryzhavdut; and he wanted the weapons of any of his fallen brethren. Korrigan would not countenance the first two. Tzerzte was indignant. “What use are the weapons with nowhere to put them? I’m not going to cart them all about with me!” Korrigan would not budge, though he knew what it would make it much harder to win Tzertze over. In some strange way, his intransigence seemed to resonate with the vsadni, who suddenly declared, much to their surprise, that he would fight for them, even against his own brothers, if it came to it.
Tzerzte went on to share with them the powers and personalities of his warlord brethren and the array of the army. The most interesting bit of information was that the giants were only mercenaries. Unable to speak dwarven or common, the dictats of the Grandis meant nothing to them. They followed her for a share of the spoils, and certainly had no idea that Komanov meant to sacrifice them! Korrigan determined that he would find their leader and speak with her, to which end, Tzertze painted them all with a symbol – a bloody-eyed skull with a green forked tongue – visible only to them and the frost giants, indicating they were not to be harmed. This done, he said he must return to camp before his absence grew long enough to be questioned. They told him to be ready and he said he was looking forward to it.
When Tzertze was gone, Kvarti emerged from hiding and told the others that the vsadni had a weakness: a chunk of ice imbedded in their chests, just beneath their stony ribcage. “Vulnerable to fire,” he said.
Then Korrigan unveiled yet another mind trick he had been practising – inspired by the multiple ‘selves’ Sijhen had been able to manifest. Taking the group down to the lower slopes, he found a comfortable spot some distance away from the group, and meditated. After a time, he was able to manifest a mental projection of himself and send it forth into the frost giant camp – flying down into the valley and then walking casually in. Suspicious warriors gathered around him, but his demeanour flummoxed them. He demanded to be taken to their leader: Jarl Klar Pyaar of Clan Thunder. She was disdainful at first, and demanded to know why he had not come to her in person. Korrigan said that he did not have time for that, and that he had come to her with a warning: Grandis Komanov was a zealot, and planned to betray her clan.
The Jarl tossed her head back and laughed. “Why should I take the word of a wisp?”
“I have brought you the truth. Do what you want with it. There are others who have already chosen to side with us, as you can see.” He gestured at the symbol Tzertze had marked him with. After a suitable pause, he added, “Soon we will bring fire and destruction to this camp. If you stand aside, it will not fall upon you.” After another pause, he said: “To compensate you for the loot you will not earn, and to demonstrate my good will, I will bring you 10000gp from Risuri coffers.”
“Very well,” said the Jarl. “When I see the gold, I will believe you.”
Horns blared – the signal to decamp. The Five Lost Riders summoned their huge ice sleds and the army packed up around Korrigan. He dismissed his projection and awoke in the woods.
Uriel, he said telepathically, I have a few logistical issues for you to deal with.
Uriel had done all he could to help Leon for the time being. Leaving the tiefling to continue his exploration of the closest planes, he did as he was bid and brought 10000gp to the Coaltongue, now in the air above Mirsk. Leaving the gold behind, he took the form of an albatross, and flew along the valley, over the approaching army, on the lookout for a clockwork carriage, clattering along the ice. When he found it, he landed and hailed his friends. They disembarked, and Uriel used a teleportation ritual to take them back to the Coaltongue. They arrived two or three hours ahead of the Doomsday Army.
Korrigan flew down to the city. He did not have time to locate the city leaders, he simply used his macrophone to address the populace from the largest central square and warn them of the approaching force. They had heard rumours and seen signs, this was not completely out of the blue, but one sceptical dwarf shouted, “Who are you?”
“I am King Baldrey of Risur,” he replied, as the Coaltongue soared over the rooftops above them, and sky-writing augmented his words.
A quick call to Uriel confirmed that the message used an old method of timekeeping based on the constellations. The Volgir Valley was home to several ancient rings of stones—the Old Cairns. Centuries ago giants crafted these hundred foot megaliths as an astronomical clock. Later, dwarves and humans buried their dead among the massive stones. All they needed to do was find the nearest circle. Korrigan used his roving eye and, after several attempts, spotted them higher in the mountains, about an hour away. They travelled there and waited. (Kvarti took up a hidden position, to draw a bead on whatever approached.)
Their patience was rewarded by the breath-taking sight of a flame-bearded vsadni arriving on horseback. This was Tzertze the war-drummer. He dismissed his steed and greeted them in ancient dwarven – old-fashioned in tenor but polite, despite his booming voice.
Rumdoom said he had a score to settle with the ‘Speaker of Ice and Snow’, a topic that Tzerzte warmed to at once: “I do not believe that she is a true speaker of the End Times, and I do not wish to serve her. Her plan is to use her mighty weapon to destroy every city in Drakr, and then order her army to kill itself. I see no challenge, no glory, no great battle. But Nebo follows her at the behest of our master, as do the others.” Then he detailed his grievances with the rest of the vsadni, as an invitation to persuasion.
Korrigan gave Rumdoom a few telepathic suggestions and he replied, “I am the Avatar of the Icy End and the Stone of Not she wields is mine. I seek to retrieve it and revenge many wrongs. But that is just for now. Our goals are bigger than that.”
“How?” asked the vsadni. Rumdoom told him about the Ob, and about the changes they had made to the world; that they sought to control it, and decide on the end for everyone. Tzertze grunted, and was clearly offended by such arrogance. Gupta spoke up in Ancient Dwarven, and wove a spell into her words, to impart an ideal to Tzertze: the Ob were a worthy foe. Rumdoom then made an eschatological pronouncement, to the effect that they should ally with Tzertze, handing the reins of negotiation over to Korrigan with this powerful edict ringing in all of their ears.
Before they could go any further, however, Tzerzte had a few demands: he wanted a harem (the practicalities of which he would work out later); and he wanted the tower of Bhad Ryzhavdut; and he wanted the weapons of any of his fallen brethren. Korrigan would not countenance the first two. Tzerzte was indignant. “What use are the weapons with nowhere to put them? I’m not going to cart them all about with me!” Korrigan would not budge, though he knew what it would make it much harder to win Tzertze over. In some strange way, his intransigence seemed to resonate with the vsadni, who suddenly declared, much to their surprise, that he would fight for them, even against his own brothers, if it came to it.
Tzerzte went on to share with them the powers and personalities of his warlord brethren and the array of the army. The most interesting bit of information was that the giants were only mercenaries. Unable to speak dwarven or common, the dictats of the Grandis meant nothing to them. They followed her for a share of the spoils, and certainly had no idea that Komanov meant to sacrifice them! Korrigan determined that he would find their leader and speak with her, to which end, Tzertze painted them all with a symbol – a bloody-eyed skull with a green forked tongue – visible only to them and the frost giants, indicating they were not to be harmed. This done, he said he must return to camp before his absence grew long enough to be questioned. They told him to be ready and he said he was looking forward to it.
When Tzertze was gone, Kvarti emerged from hiding and told the others that the vsadni had a weakness: a chunk of ice imbedded in their chests, just beneath their stony ribcage. “Vulnerable to fire,” he said.
Then Korrigan unveiled yet another mind trick he had been practising – inspired by the multiple ‘selves’ Sijhen had been able to manifest. Taking the group down to the lower slopes, he found a comfortable spot some distance away from the group, and meditated. After a time, he was able to manifest a mental projection of himself and send it forth into the frost giant camp – flying down into the valley and then walking casually in. Suspicious warriors gathered around him, but his demeanour flummoxed them. He demanded to be taken to their leader: Jarl Klar Pyaar of Clan Thunder. She was disdainful at first, and demanded to know why he had not come to her in person. Korrigan said that he did not have time for that, and that he had come to her with a warning: Grandis Komanov was a zealot, and planned to betray her clan.
The Jarl tossed her head back and laughed. “Why should I take the word of a wisp?”
“I have brought you the truth. Do what you want with it. There are others who have already chosen to side with us, as you can see.” He gestured at the symbol Tzertze had marked him with. After a suitable pause, he added, “Soon we will bring fire and destruction to this camp. If you stand aside, it will not fall upon you.” After another pause, he said: “To compensate you for the loot you will not earn, and to demonstrate my good will, I will bring you 10000gp from Risuri coffers.”
“Very well,” said the Jarl. “When I see the gold, I will believe you.”
Horns blared – the signal to decamp. The Five Lost Riders summoned their huge ice sleds and the army packed up around Korrigan. He dismissed his projection and awoke in the woods.
Uriel, he said telepathically, I have a few logistical issues for you to deal with.
Uriel had done all he could to help Leon for the time being. Leaving the tiefling to continue his exploration of the closest planes, he did as he was bid and brought 10000gp to the Coaltongue, now in the air above Mirsk. Leaving the gold behind, he took the form of an albatross, and flew along the valley, over the approaching army, on the lookout for a clockwork carriage, clattering along the ice. When he found it, he landed and hailed his friends. They disembarked, and Uriel used a teleportation ritual to take them back to the Coaltongue. They arrived two or three hours ahead of the Doomsday Army.
Korrigan flew down to the city. He did not have time to locate the city leaders, he simply used his macrophone to address the populace from the largest central square and warn them of the approaching force. They had heard rumours and seen signs, this was not completely out of the blue, but one sceptical dwarf shouted, “Who are you?”
“I am King Baldrey of Risur,” he replied, as the Coaltongue soared over the rooftops above them, and sky-writing augmented his words.
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