Chapter 2-13: The Siege of Neverwinter
General Summary
After a comfortable night's rest in Neverwinter Keep, the party agreed to split up and run some errands to help prepare for the imminent attack. Ryoko and Clootie volunteered to speak to Peppik Skerrit at the Radiant Flask to source explosive materials. Ramas intended to seek out the Thieves Guild and ask them to help in the battle. The party agreed Miaug should speak to Arwyl and Olexia about replenishing her stock of explosive arrows. Meanwhile, Aetilius would fly south to scout out the approaching army. After a hearty breakfast, the group went on their way.
Ryoko and Clootie made their way to the Temple District to speak to the little gnomish alchemist. After they explained the situation and outlined their plan, Peppik looked understandably concerned,
"How long do I have?" he asked,
"We don't really know" Ryoko replied. The gnome stroked his chin absently as his eyes scanned the room,
"I've got enough materials in the shop at the moment to make up... I dunno. Four barrels of Alchemists Fire, I reckon. I've got three barrels of Naptha in the back, that'd be good for you. Beyond that, gimme a day or so and I can at least fill and seal another four or five barrels with accelerant. They'd make a fairly good bomb. You'd need to ignite them though..." he mused,
"I've gotta ask though... Will I be paid for this? This will pretty much empty my shelves, it could ruin me. I know that's not important if Neverwinter falls, but on the other hand, if you succeed, I'll be ruined." Peppik asked anxiously. Clootie reassured him that the Duke would pay him in full for his services, assuming they all survived. Peppik shrugged,
"I guess that's good enough. I'll get to work. Where do you want me to deliver them?"
"Just send them to the City Guard" Clootie responded
Meanwhile, Ramas made his way to the Black Dog. Inside, the tavern was unusually quiet, and the usually thick pall of pipe smoke which hung over the taproom was pale and wispy. Ramas strolled up to the bar and dropped a coin purse on the counter. Suddenly, the hard faced elven bartender appeared in front of him,
"Whatcha want?" he grumbled, absently swirling a filthy dishrag around an equally dirty mug. Ramas asked for a mug of grog, but as he spoke he used a combination of tiny gestures and unusual word choices to hide a message in Thieves Cant, asking to speak to the Thieves Guild. The bartender wandered off, then stomped back and clapped a mug of foamy liquid down on the bar in from of Ramas,
"Two silver" he demanded, showing no indication that he understood Ramas's message. The half-elf handed over the coins and picked up his drink. Ramas took a seat in the shadowy corner of the taproom, and scanned the room for any sign of Thieves Guild members. It was quiet, a couple of dedicated drunks sat alone at different tables, nursing headaches and desperately trying to raise their blood alcohol back to comfortable levels. After a few moments, Ramas decided this was a bust. He left his untouched grog on the table and slipped out of the bar.
Unnoticed by the rogue, a dark cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows in the opposite corner of the room and quietly followed him.
Aetilius flew south. Initially he kept himself at a high altitude, offering an eagle eye view of the land between the forest and coast. Along the road he could see empty farmhouses and hamlets, the inhabitants had all been gathered by City Guard forces and brought to the relative safety of the city walls. After a couple of hours of flying, Aetilius found himself exhausted. The effort of maintaining altitude while wearing his armour was excruciating. He swooped down towards the ground, stumbling slightly as he landed. He sat cross-legged on a grassy hillock, and watched the road while he caught his breath. The air was thick and pregnant, like the calm before an approaching storm. Silence reigned, no birds sang and no insects moved. Aetilius took a long drink from his waterskin, before getting to his feet and starting to walk towards the south road.
Miaug went to the Merchants Quarter to see Olexia. Inside Springs, Rings n Things, she found the little gnomish tinkerer sitting behind the counter sharing a cup of tea with Arywl. The two were laughing merrily as the tabaxi walked in. They looked up and smiled at her,
"Miaug!" Arwyl exclaimed excitedly, standing up and giving Miaug a warm hug, "You're back sooner than I expected"
Miaug explained the events of Tari Ce Morte in Phandalin. As she recounted the story, the mirth drained from their faces and Olexia set her jaw determinedly,
"Those bastards." she muttered, "What do you need?"
"Some more explosive arrows, as many as you can make"
"No problem. We'll get right on that, won't we Arwyl" the elf smiled gently at the gnome, squeezing her shoulder,
"How long do we have?" Olexia asked,
"We honestly don't know" Miaug replied truthfully,
"That's fine. Just come back whenever you need them, and you can have whatever we've managed to make"
Ramas made his way back south across the bridge from the docks. As he passed the Warehouse District he spotted a familiar symbol among the graffiti on one of the warehouses. A Thieves Guild marker. Curious, Ramas went to investigate the building. The door was locked, but Ramas made short work of it with his lockpicks. The padlock dropped to the ground, but Ramas nimbly caught it before it hit the ground, gently setting it down beside the door.
Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit. Shelves on either side were half filled with various trade goods: silks, ores and other items. The inventory was covered in a thick layer of dust, as though it hadn't been disturbed in some time. But, Ramas noted that the floor was fairly clear. This building had been well used recently, although not for storage. He scouted around inside the warehouse for a few minutes longer, but there was no sign of life and no further Thieves Guild symbols. With a sigh, he left and replaced the padlock. The trail was cold here as well.
As he made his way back to the road into the Merchant Quarter, a dark figure slipped out of the shadows between the warehouses and began to glide unseen behind him in the shadows of the buildings.
Clootie, Miaug and Ryoko met up back at the Keep. Clootie and Ryoko explained the limited available supplies of explosives. Miaug suggested they use cooking oil to cover the bridge. The group murmured in agreement and made their way down to the Keep kitchens to ask.
Meanwhile, South of the city, Aetilius had walked for a few miles since landing. It was difficult to make out much in advance from this vantage point in the perpetual twilight gloom. Feeling suitably rested, he crouched and leapt up into the air, allowing his leathery wings to carry him aloft.
Flying south for a few more minutes, he spotted flickering lights spilling down a shallow incline in the road ahead. He gained more altitude, and with it the perspective to see over the hill, he became aware for a sea of torches rippling in the darkness. Struggling to estimate the size or speed of the oncoming force, Aetilius descended, drawing closer to the army. He could clearly make out hundreds of goblinoids walking in rough formation, clutching flickering torches. Scattered throughout the humanoids were two huge ogres, each wielding massive clubs. Over to the eastern side of the assault was a notable area of darkness. No torches were lit in this area, but Aetilius could make out movement in the darkness. Curious, he swooped closer below the clouds. In the dark area he could see hundreds of humans, halflings and elves. Their eyes glowed with an eerie purple hue, and they walked in an uncanny uniform lockstep. Suddenly, Aetilius heard a commotion. Whirling around, he spotted a cluster of goblins pointing up at him. As he turned to flee, arrows flew up towards him. Mostly they fell short, plummeting back into the approaching throng; but one arrow found a gap in his armour, piercing deep into his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and his right wing missed a beat. He started to fall towards the ground and the waiting goblins. He gritted his teeth against the pain and set his wings, swooping down and picking up speed. He soared over the heads of the army, building momentum, before pulling up. Harnessing his inertia, he was able to flex his wings a little and quickly gain height, out of range of the goblin shortbows. Sighing in relief, he headed back north to Neverwinter.
As Ramas cut through an alley in the Merchants Quarter, heading towards the canal, he felt a flutter of movement behind him and the uncomfortable bulge of a dagger point resting against the small of his back,
"You've been asking questions. Curiosity's not good for your health"
Ramas twisted in his assailant's grasp, sweeping the dagger aside. Ramas settled into a fighting stance, both of his curved blades ready in his grasp. The thief who had attacked him reversed his dagger and regarded the half-elf,
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Ramas muttered in Thieves Cant, explaining who he was and that he needed to speak to Faila Brightwater. His attacker visibly relaxed slightly, lowering his blade slightly,
"I apologise brother. You can understand why we are paranoid at the moment. We are severely weakened, and we have many enemies. I can pass along your message to Faila, what do you seek?"
Ramas explained about the approaching army, and the fall of Phandalin. The thief was inscrutable as Ramas told the story. Once he had finished his tale, the thief took a deep breath and slipped his dagger back into his belt,
"I shall speak to Faila. We will aid you however we can. Who should we speak to?"
"Go to the City Guard. I'll ensure you are treated fairly, We need all the help we can get"
The thief nodded, and pulled his cloak tight around himself as he walked back towards the alley entrance.
Ramas joined the rest of the party back at the keep as they waited on Aetilius returning. It was late evening before the wounded tiefling returned to the city. As he landed in the courtyard, he was pale and weary from a combination of the flight and his injury. As the party helped to prop him up and hurried him inside, Gabriel asked the questions on all of their minds,
"How many? How long?"
"Too many. And tomorrow"
The next day, the party slept late, exhausted by the events of the last few days. After breakfast, Gabriel asked them to join him on a tour of the defenses. The Duke wore a set of beaten but well maintained scalemail, rather than the ornate black and gold chainmail the group had grown accustomed to seeing him in. Outside the gate, the City Guard had dug deep channels on either side of the road just north of the bridge. The pits were lined with sharpened sticks, and the displaced earth had been used to build earthenwork barricades beyond the channels, to create a longer choke point between the bridge and the gatehouse. Barrels of alchemists fire had been lashed to the central support of the bridge, ready to collapse the arch and close the access to the city. Groups of City Guardsmen were in the process of shifting explosive barrels into caches on the far side of the river and covering them with branches to hide them from the south.
Gabriel led the party up the stairs behind the gatehouse and onto the wall,
"Our people are going to be spread thin along the wall. I need people I can trust in command of each section of the defences. I'll command the forces on the wall at the gatehouse, as it's likely to be the site of most of the fighting. Milos will command the south eastern stretch of the wall, and will take responsibility for the naptha barrels we have hidden in the swamp. Aber will take command of the north eastern stretch and the keep, he and his men know the defences there and are well practiced with the ballista.
We haven't recovered from the famine yet, and don't have the supplies needed to survive a protracted siege. So we may need to mount a counterattack. I've got Sildar standing by with a force of relief troops ready to reinforce us during the fighting, or to lead an assault if the opportunity arises.
And that leads me to where I must ask you all a favour. I've arranged for nineteen of the best marksmen in the City Guard to man the archers towers over the gatehouse. Miaug, I'd like you to take command of them - they are good men and women but they will need to leadership of an experienced warrior like yourself to keep them focused. I'd like to ask the rest of you to lead the defenders on the south western and south central sections of the wall. Each section will have around twenty soldiers, city guardsmen, Champions and militiamen. Can I count on you?"
The party agreed, hesitantly. Ramas offered to take command of the south western flank, and Clootie agreed to take control of the central section of the south wall. Aetilius and Ryoko would help Gabriel and the guards around the gatehouse.
Suddenly kitchen staff from the keep arrived at the gatehouse with three big drums of cooking oil. The party thanked them and rolled two of the drums out onto the bridge. Ramas rolled the third down to the riverside upstream of the bridge. Just as they got the barrels into position, a small squad of breathless scouts raced up the road to the south,
"They are coming"
As the torches of the approaching army began to drift into view, Gabriel summoned the defenders back inside the gates. Ryoko and Aetilius cracked open the oil barrels on the bridge, covering the surface in thick viscous liquid, before heading back. The gates slammed shut behind them, and squads of guardsmen began to shift heavy wagons of rubble into position behind the inner gate. As hard faced guardsmen and nervous looking militiamen filtered up into their assigned positions on the wall, squads of Champions marched down the road through the Old Quarter, their brilliant armour glistening in the torchlight. With well drilled position, they separated into smaller groups and marched into position on the wall. The party looked at each other, shaking hands and uttering good luck, before they moved out to their assigned locations.
Miaug settled into position on the top floor of the western archer's tower, absently flexing her bow and watching the inexorable advance of the flickering torches across the river. Four City Guardsmen stood alongside her, watching in silence. More torches appeared lining the crest of the hill to the west of the road, the glow from the brands throwing the silhouette into stark relief against the sky. There were so many of them. The torches stopped their advance, forming into a long line running east to west on the far riverbank. Miaug felt a presence at her side. She turned to see Arwyl, looking nervous but determined, clutching a beautifully wrought elven bow in one hand,
"I'm here to help" she said, simply. Behind her, Olexia looked Miaug in the eyes,
"Keep her safe", before the little gnome descended back into the city.
The army stood silently for a long time. Nervous energy began to build among the defenders, unsettled by their enemy's stillness. Anxious whispers began to circulate along the wall. Experienced soldiers barked short commands to try to maintain focus among the guards. Anxious, Clootie leaped up on the edge of the wall and hurled Kulog down against a rock near the river. A deafening peal of thunder rang out across the battlefield, causing a momentary ripple of motion across the enemy force. As Kulog sailed back into the gnome's hand, a single figure could be seen walking across the bridge. A lone human, dressed in a tattered red cloak. His eyes glowed with an unnatural purple energy, and he seemed to move with a series of jerky, uncoordinated motions. Looking closely as the figure drew nearer, Miaug could make out a grey fletched arrow protruding from the figure's eye socket.
The figure approached the gate house, stopping thirty feet short and looking up at the defenders. He opened his mouth wide, and a raspy voice emanated from his throat,
"Open the gates and surrender yourselves to Iquath. It is futile to resist. All will die – all will serve."
Gabriel stood up on the edge of the parapet, pointing his glaive at the figure, and yelled back,
"We will fight you to the last. The day we surrender is the day hope dies, and only then will monsters like yourself truly triumph. Here's our answer!" he raised his glaive and a flight of arrows arced out from the wall. The Redbrand's corpse fell to the ground, pierced by a dozen arrows. It's purple glowing eyes remained open, staring up at the sky, and a rattling groan echoed from it's mouth, "So be it"
A swarm of goblins and bugbears raced across the bridge to attack the gate. Due to the narrow width of the road and the earthenwork defences, the creatures are clustered into small waves. The archers in the towers peppered the attackers with arrows, felling most of the attackers. The corpses fell across the path, further slowing the rest of the goblin's approach. As the creatures attempted to pick their way across the increasing piles of dead bodies, they were easy targets for the archers. Once the bridge was full, Miaug grabbed an arrow wrapped in an oil soaked rag and lit it on one of the nearby torches. She launched the flaming arrow onto the bridge, where the oil quickly caught light and turned the narrow stone channel into an blistering inferno. The darkness echoed with screams of agony from the goblins and bugbears caught in the blaze, and the rest of the approaching force stopped in their tracks.
Before the defenders could congratulate themselves, the force of goblins on the far side of the bridge parted, and through them passed a steady stream of purple eyed figures. These figures heedlessly walked forward into the flames. Their clothes burned and their skin started to blacken and smoulder, but they continued to advance until their bodies gave out and they fell forward. More and more of the purple eyed automatons walked into the fire, in what appeared to be pointless suicide. In despair, the defenders soon realised that the growing piles of corpses were smothering the flames. After another few minutes, the fire had died down enough to leave a path across the bridge. The goblins and bugbears began to scamper forward again, resuming their assault. The archers in the tower kept up a steady attack, but more and more of the creatures managed to slip through the hail of arrows and into the shadow of the gatehouse.
Miaug heard a sudden commotion from the lower level of the archer tower. She raced down the stairs to see two goblins standing in the arrow slots. The two archers positioned at the windows had been stabbed by the goblin's blades, one was dead on the floor, the other slumped against the wall and with their throat opened. The nearest archer spun around and kicked one of the goblins square in the chest, sending him sailing out of the window. Miaug instinctively nocked and arrow on her bowstring and shot the other through the throat. He spluttered blood for a moment before falling forward onto the stone floor. Miaug stepped over his corpse to take up position at one of the empty windows.
On the wall, Ryoko raised both of her hands above her head and channeled her druidic magic into the clouds above. Her eyes flashed with bright silver energy and a huge bolt of lightning, lanced out from the sky into the ground in front of the gatehouse. The smell of ozone and burned flesh filled the air, and smouldering goblin corpses were thrown backwards by the blast. Smaller bolts of lightning continued to dance across the ground in front of the gatehouse, throwing up clumps of dirt and forcing the remaining goblins to press themselves against the walls to hide.
Suddenly the defenders noticed a ripple of movement in the advancing goblin horde. As the ripple surged forward and reached the front of the assault, the goblins pulled back to reveal a contingent of hobgoblins in rusted chainmail armour and holding round steel shields over their heads. The hobgoblins marched forward in a tight phalanx formation across the bridge. Miaug and the archers focused their fire on the armoured soldiers. A couple of hobgoblins fell, but most of the arrows glanced harmlessly off the shields. Miaug launched another fire arrow, this time at the alchemists fire barrels under the bridge. The arrow streaked out into the darkness like a comet, but a sudden shockwave from a lightning strike below threw the arrow off course and it plunged harmlessly into the river.
The hobgoblins reached the gate, and dropped their shields to reveal a heavy battering ram. They rushed at the gate. As the ram struck their was a splintering cracking sound, but the outer gate held. Miaug launched another fire arrow at the bridge. This time it found it's target, and the barrels erupted in a towering geyser of flame and rubble as the bridge collapsed into the river, taking a large contingent of goblins with it. Another blast of lightning struck the ground in front of the gatehouse, killing a couple of the hobgoblins. The rest of them kicked their fallen comrades aside and rushed at the gate again. Again, the gate let out a sickening crack, but continued to hold for the moment. Clootie locked eyes with Aetilius, who nodded. The little gnome raced across the wall towards the gatehouse; jumped up on the wall and leaped off into space. Aetilius swooped down and grabbed her under the arms. The pair dived down towards the hobgoblins at the gate. Clootie dropped out of Aetilius's grasp, rolling as she hit the ground and coming up with Kulog in hand. Aetilius landed beside her, pulling Talon out of it's sheath. The pair fell on the hobgolins, hammer and sword flashing back and forth as they waded into the melee. The hobgoblins were taken aback by the ferocity of the attack. Clootie charged Kulog and smashed it into the side of one of the hobgoblin's faces, and at the same time another bolt of Ryoko's lightning arced down into the group, electrocuting another couple of hobgoblins. Aetilius ducked under a swinging longsword, thrusting Talon up through the creature's jaw and into it's brain. Clootie leaped up off one of the fallen hobgoblins and brought Kulog down on the last survivor's skull, crushing it and dropping him to the ground. Aetilius and Clootie both put their feet on the battering ram, and rolled it down the embankment into the river. Aetilius then grabbed the little gnome, and flew the pair of them back up onto the wall.
The enemy force fell back towards the hill, blending back in with the darkness. Aware of the assault on the archer tower, Ramas gathered four of the Champions on his section of the wall and sent them over to guard the towers. He also signalled to Daran, who was rallying the troops in Clootie's part of the wall. Daran grabbed four more nearby Champions and sent them along with Ramas's reinforcements to the Gatehouse.
Miuag stared intently into the darkness on the far side of the river. Shadows moved in the trees at the base of the hill, but she couldn't make out any detail. Loud groaning, thudding and tearing sounds drifted across the water, building an uneasy tension on the wall as defenders struggled to see what their enemies were planning.
Two huge humanoid figures lumbered out of the darkness to the west of the smoldering ruins of the bridge. In their massive hands the ogres held rough makeshift wooden ladders, made of crudely lashed together tree trunks and large branches. The giant creatures lumbered to the edge of the river, and threw down the wooden structures across the water to form makeshift wooden bridges. Heavy rocks tied to the far end thudded down into the soft dirt on the Neverwinter bank. As soon as they hit the ground, hundreds of goblins began to swarm across. The air around the defenders whirred with arrows and javelins, causing the soldiers on the wall to duck behind the parapet for cover. Suddenly a handful of loud clanging sounds echoed along the wall. Grappling hooks rattled across the stonework and wedged themselves against the battlements; teams of goblins began to haul on thick woolen lines, which connected up through pulleys to the far side of the bridges. With a protestant groan, the bridges began to swing upwards, pivoting around their heavy stone anchors, towards the top of the wall. Stunned, the defenders were slow to react and by the time they started to cut the support lines, the ladders had already crested the parapets. Goblins began to scurry up onto the wall, the first one leaping up onto the fortifications near Ramas. Before it could draw it's ragged shortsword, a massive hulking figure in Champion armour swung his warhammer into the creature's chest, sending it plummeting down the the ground below with a sickening crunch. A second goblin ducked under his flying comrade and leaped down onto the walkway atop the wall. Ramas slid the point of his rapier into the creature's throat, leaving it choking on blood on the floor. Along the wall the defenders recovered from their surprise and began to force the invaders back. The goblins fell by the dozen, but they seemed innumerable; while every guardsman who fell under the assault was keenly felt. Ramas grabbed a rope and tied it around his waist. He handed the other end to the big Champion wielding the warhammer, who held it, confused. Ramas ran at the nearest ladder, jumping slightly and twisting in midair to shoulder barge the structure. He struck the wood with a solid thud. The ladder jumped slightly, but landed back against the wall, and Ramas slipped back to the ground clutching his bruised shoulder. The big Champion rolled his eyes and handed the rope end back to Ramas, then grabbed a nearby guardsman. The two men grabbed the ladder and with a heave they threw it to the side. It slid down the wall, twisting as it fell, landing on a cluster of goblins and crushing them. Encouraged by their allies success, the defenders along the wall rallied and cast down the other ladder.
Meanwhile, on the far bank the ogres swung another two ladders into place across the river. Ryoko's eyes flickered with static charge as once again she channeled her magic into the roiling clouds overhead. With a deafening peal a bolt of lightning struck the ground on the far bank beside one of the bridges. The discharge ignited one of the hidden caches of explosive barrels, and the resulting explosion hurled chunks of rock and dirt high into the air. The burst of flame from the blast raced along the length of the ladder, setting fire to goblin's clothing and causing them to shriek in pain and leap into the river below. The wooden tree limbs were still moist and resisted the fire, the dried rope used to lash them together quickly caught fire. Within moments the entire structure groaned and collapsed into the water, drifting downstream.
While more goblins streamed across the remaining bridge, Miaug spotted a flurry of movement deep in the curve of the riverbank in front of the wall, a distance away from the epicentre of the battle. Curious, she raced up to the top floor of the archer's tower to get a better look. From her vantage point she could see shadowy shapes moving, silhouetted against the moonlight reflected in the water surface. Unable to work out what they were up to, she slipped an explosive arrow from her quiver and nocked it into her bowstring. She pulled the bow to full extension, taking a deep breath as she drew back the string. Her ears flicked, trying to pinpoint the direction of the wind. With a long sigh she released the bow. The arrow flew forwards, seeming to curve impossibly as the wind caught it. It traced a graceful arc around and landed right in the middle of the shadowy throng on the riverbank. The arrow exploded with a thunderous crack, sending goblins flying in all directions. A moment later it was followed by a deep, deafening roar and the ground beside the impact point erupted in a ball of fire. Massive chunks of rock and gore flew into the air, and blood showered over the area. A smoking crater lay open in the ground in front of the wall.
With a groan, the remaining bridge began to lift up towards the wall. The defenders in Clootie's section began desperately cutting down the grappling lines, but new hooks were thrown more quickly than they could remove them. The ladder crested the wall and goblins spilled onto the fortification next to two terrified looking civilian volunteers. With a vicious upward thrust, a goblin eviscerated one. The other militiaman, a young farmer with sandy blond hair, found himself pressed against the opposite parapet, desperately fending off strikes from goblin shortsword. With a bellow, a figure wearing Champion armour and a horned helmet leaped into the fray, swinging his battleaxe in a wide arc, cleaving through the throng and forcing the creatures back momentarily. He grabbed the young farmer by the shoulder and pulled him away from the attackers, as Clootie slipped in under the big Champion's arm and raised Kulog. She jumped forward into the mass of goblins, striking Kulog against the solid stonework below her feet. A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, hurling goblins in all directions. Many of the creatures were sent flying over the wall, plunging down to the jagged rocks below. The rest were momentarily broken, fleeing from the angry gnome. Encouraged, the rest of the defenders rallied and began to force the invaders back. Within minutes the goblins lay scattered across the wall and the ladder began to fall
Meanwhile, Miaug watched as the two ogres trudged forward again with more fresh siege ladders. The tabaxi jumped up onto the edge of the fortification, coiling her tail around a post to help maintain her balance. She crouched down and slipped another explosive arrow from her quiver, sighting along the shaft at the space between the ogres. She fired. The arrow shot through the air like a bird of prey, seeming to seek out it's target. It struck the lead ogre in the side of the head, blowing a chunk of it's skull away and causing the creature to stiffen and collapse to the ground. The blast caught the second ogre in the face, melting skin and causing it to howl in agony. The ogre began to run towards the river, dropping the siege ladder into place before jumping in and splashing ice cold water over it's burned face. It looked up and fixed baleful eyes on Miaug, then started to slog through the current towards her.
The goblins scurried across the remaining bridge and started to raise it up towards the wall. The defenders had become used to this tactic. Groups of guardsmen and Champions quickly found and dislodged the grapples. A concerted hail of arrows from the ground below forced the defenders to duck into cover behind the fortification. Four grapples bedded in and the ladder began to rise. Aetilius leaped off the wall, Talon in hand, and began to fly along between the stonework and the rising siege ladder. He swooped towards the first of the thick rope lines. Talon flashed in the moonlight and one line went slack. With a beat of his wings the Tiefling raised up into the air, arrows glancing off his armour. He brought Talon down on the second line, severing it. He swooped down on a third line and swept his blade through the air. The sword bounced off the rope, unable to fully cut through. The hail of arrows intensified and Aetilius was forced to land behind cover. Ryoko jumped forwards, grabbing a hold of the damaged line in one hand. She muttered a few syllables under her breath and the rope in her grasp started to smoulder. The thick hessian quickly burst into flames, and with a quiet popping sound, the fibres began to fray and unwind. The line went slack and the ladder, now suspended by a single line, began to sway wildly. The wooden structure pivoting around on one foot, and came crashing down against the bottom of the wall, crushing the goblins clustered beneath it.
As the ogre neared the Neverwinter bank of the river, Miaug calmly nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring. She sighted along the shaft, watching as the hulking brute grew closer. Just as the creature was about to reach the riverbank, she let the arrow fly. It sailed through the darkness, piercing straight through the ogre's eye and deep into it's brain. The creature stiffened and foamed at the mouth slightly before sinking into the water. Miaug hopped back down from her perch on the wall.
The tide seemed to be turning. A large contingent of invaders were now trapped in a kill zone between the wall and the river. The defenders fired wave after wave of arrows down at the unprotected goblins, slaughtering them by the dozen. Just as the guardsmen on the wall started to relax, a high pitched keening wail split the night and a massive dark shadow slipped pas underneath the thick roiling clouds. With a terrifying roar, a huge dragon swooped down out of the darkness, across the line of the wall, noxious green gas spewing from it's open maw. The defenders caught in the blast clutched at their throats and clawed at their faces, as they choked on the miasma and their skin blistered and burned. As the shadow passed and the cloud dissipated, dozens of guardsmen lay dead on the ground, their skin red and burned, their eyes wide open in a rictus of pain. The dragon glided east. Moments later screams echoed from the defenders on the eastern wall and the dragon attacked the other flank.
Clootie, Ramas and Ryoko searched the different sections of the wall for survivors. Beside Clootie, the big Champion with the horned helmet slung his battleaxe onto his back and started to help her pick up their allies. Miaug rallied the archers in the tower, who started to scan the horizon for the dragon. With another bellow, the beast swept down from the cloudline in front of the gatehouse. The archers loosed a steady stream of arrows, which barely seemed to slow the creature's assault. As it drew closer, Miaug was shocked to recognise the creature. It was Venomfang, the young dragon they had defeated in Conyberry. It's eyes glowed a now familiar eerie purple hue, large chunks of flesh were missing from it's side and haunches; and it's throat was a gaping, ragged hole. As it reared up to breath more toxic gas at the gatehouse, a small object streaked out of the darkness. Sparking and glowing like an electrified comet, Kulog smashed into the dragon's hindquarters, knocking it off balance slightly. It's head swivel around, looking for the source of the attack, and it fixed malicious purple eyes on a small figure standing on the edge of the parapet.. Kulog sailed back through the air and Clootie caught it in her outstretched hand. The dragon beat it's wings and began to weave it's way along the wall sinuously toward the little gnome. Aetilius dropped from the sky above the dragon, landing on the creature's back and driving Talon deep into it's flesh. Venomfang pulled up, the quick movement dislodging the tiefling. Aetilius spread his wings and spun in midair, slashing across the dragon's wings with his sword, slicing through leathery membrane and muscle. Venomfang roared in pain as his wing collapsed, and the dragon plummeted towards the ground. Ryoko threw her hands up towards the sky and her eyes glowed with barely controlled energy. The clouds overhead seemed to boil and series of lightning bolts struck the dragon, flickering from his head, down his spine, leaving a channel of charred flesh in their wake. Aetilius manifested his mythal axe and swooped down at Venomfang's exposed neck. The glowing ethereal axe bit into the gaping wound where the dragon's throat had been torn out, and the undead beasts snarling head fell to the ground. Venomfang collapsed, seeming to deflate, as tendrils of unearthly purple energy leeched out of the corpse and dissipated into the air.
Back with the defenders, a group of reinforcements and Sisters of Silvanus ascended the wall from a staircase in the Warehouse District, led by Sildar in full battle armour. The Sisters quickly moved to tend to the wounded, while the reinforcements stepped up to the parapet, weapons drawn. Across the field of battle, strewn with wreckage and goblin corpses, a figure began to walk forward, silhouetted against the darkness by an aura of crackling purple energy. Iarno reached the riverbank and raised his hands, his face twisted into a malicious grin. All around the battlefield, on the river bank and all across the wall, the dead began to spasm. With jerky, uncanny movements the corpses drew themselves up to standing. Iarno threw back his head and let out an inhuman, piercing shriek. The teetering corpses echoed the cry, and suddenly the night was split with a horrifying howl of rage and pain, torn from a multitude of mouths. As the shriek reached a fever pitch, the creatures began to twist and change. Hunching over, their rib cages seemed to collapse into their chest, ribs piercing through and tearing out their backs. The flesh on their forearms sloughed off, and the bones seemed to stretch and warp into long serrated blades. Their lower jaws split open, forming in to a pair of jagged mandibles. The creatures on the wall turned their heads to fix the living defenders; aghast at the gruesome transformation which had taken hold of their former friends and allies. Taking advantage of this uncertainty, the creatures pounced.
Ryoko reacted instantaneously as this happened, with a gesture she called another blast of lightning from the swirling stormclouds, striking Iarno directly in the chest, scorching his flesh and setting his hair and clothes alight. In the same breath, Ryoko shifted into the form of a massive tiger and slunk around Clootie. Both disappeared in a cloud of smoky tendrils as Ryoko teleported herself and the little gnome across the river to engage Iarno. From her vantage point on top of the archers tower, Miaug loosed an arrow at the possessed wizard. The shaft caught him in the face, piercing deep into his cheek. He second shot was deflected by a pulse of purple energy from his outstretched hand. Iarno locked eyes with the Tabaxi, and pulled the arrow out with a slight smile. Purple energy rippled across his body, closing the arrow wound and healing the burned flesh across his torso. A pulse of utter blackness erupted from his body, expanding outward for around twenty feet. Clootie and Ryoko were both in the pulse's radius; pain wracked their bodies as their muscles spasmed and locked solid, causing them to fall to the ground, paralysed. Overcome by the sudden sensation, Clootie slipped into unconsciousness.
On the wall, Ramas conjured a flickering ball of flame in his right hand and hurled it at Iarno. It streaked through the air like a meteor, striking the creature in the arm. The force of the impact and the resulting blast tore the arm off at the shoulder. Over at the gatehouse, three creatures leaped on Aetilius, tearing with their massive bone claws. He caught the first blow on his shield, but the second creature raked across his belly, catching his between the mail tunic and his greaves. The third creature pierced him deep in the shoulder, exploiting the same gap that the goblin archers had caught him in a few days earlier, causing his to cry out in pain. Two other creatures raised up to strike at Miaug, but Sildar slipped past her and caught both blows on his shield. Aetilius leaped off the battlements, extending his wings and soaring across the river towards Iarno. Around halfway across, blue energy began to swirl around his body, growing in intensity. Aetilius disappeared and the glowing aura lanced out towards Iarno like a javelin of light. It coalesced into a humaniod form directly in front of Iarno, and Aetilius drove Talon deep into the creature's chest. Iarno flicked his hand up and hurled the tiefling back. Purple energy once again raced across Iarno's body, and the wounds knitted back together. A gout of purple fire erupted from his shoulder stump, flowing into the shape of his arm. Flesh slithered out of the wound and wrapped itself around the pulsating outline, reforming the missing limb. He swivelled his head, flexing his new arm, and he smiled coldly at Aetilius, as the acolyte struggled to regain his footing.
Ryoko managed to regain control of her limbs, and lifted herself up onto her paws. Her tiger eyes flashed as she snarled at Iarno. Another bolt of lightning struck the creature, burning away flesh on his left-hand side, revealing a boiling furnace of purple energy beneath. Ryoko slipped back into her Dragonborn form, loosening Lightbringer and grasping it in both hands.
Miaug loosed another arrow, this one struck Iarno in the chest. As it hit, thick vines erupted from the earth, coiling around the creature and attempting to restrain him. Iarno released a small pulse of purple energy, tearing the tendrils apart. Miaug cursed under her breath and launched another arrow, which Iarno easily deflected.
On the ground beside Ryoko, Clootie spasmed breathlessly.
Ramas darted across the wall towards Miaug, weaving his way under blows exchanged between the revenant creatures and the desperate remaining guardsmen. He reached the Tabaxi, and showing no heed of the seriousness of the situation, slunk around her and tapped her on the opposite shoulder. Miaug sighed, and smiled wryly at the half-elf. Two creatures raced forward and swiped at Ramas with their wicked bone scythes. With uncanny reflexes, Ramas nimbly dodged between both blows. Sildar turned to help the half-elf, and as he did so two other creatures drove their blades into the old warrior's back. He arched his back in shock and pain, before slumping to the ground. Ramas and Miaug both hear Gabriel's cry of anguish across the sound of the battle.
Aetilius ran across the riverside and skidded to a stop on his knees beside Clootie. He rolled her gently on to her side, and touched her clammy forehead. She would not survive much longer. He stood up and sheathed Talon; then raised his hand. Energy swirled around his hand and coalesced into the form of his mythal axe. Aetilius passed his hand up the axes shaft, and the it burst into flickering blue and purple flame. Ryoko muttered something quietly under her breath and Lightbringer pulsed with life, bright daylight shining across the terrain for the first time in days. Iarno recoiled immediately. Taking advantage of her foe's reaction, Ryoko brought the mace down on his head, caving in a part of his skull. For the first time, Iarno screamed in pain. The edges of the wound glowed with a bright golden light.
On the wall, Ramas reached into his belt and pulled out two of his smoke/bearing bombs. He pulled the pins and hurled them over he heads of the creatures attacking them. They exploded in a cloud of smoke, scattering bearings across the top of the wall. Gabriel raced across the wall towards then, whirling his massive glaive he cleaved through creatures like a scythe. He reached them and dropped his glaive. Sinking to the ground he gathering up Sildar's limp form, cradling it to his chest.
Aetilius brought his mythal axe down on Iarno's head, cutting a deep gash into his skull. Iarno hissed in fury, unable to comprehend the pain he was feeling. Aetilius pulled the axe out and reversed his swing. The axe head caught Iarno on the lower jaw, tearing it off his face. Iarno glared at the tiefling savagely, and purple energy began to writhe across his skin as he raised his hands. Before he could unleash the building energy, Ryoko swung Lightbringer from her shoulder like a bat. It struck Iarno full in the face, and tore his head from his shoulders. The head spun up through the air, the face fixed in an expression of almost comical surprise. Purple energy poured from the gaping neck. It spiralled upwards, like fire smoke in a chimney, and formed the shape of an immense glowing skull above the body. The skull's mouth opened and let out a ghastly shriek, before it dissipated into the ether. Iarno's corpse dropped to the ground.
Unaware of their companion's victory, Ramas grabbed Miaug's shoulder,
"Get us out of here"
Miaug loosed her Blink Arrow. It sailed across the void and buried itself into the ground beside Aetilius, erupting in a swirling vortex of blue energy, which faded to reveal Miaug. Ramas was left holding onto empty air on the wall, looking confused. All across the wall and the battlefield below, the resurrected corpses suddenly halted their attack and collapsed to the ground.
Ryoko pulled a healing potion out of her pouch and knelt beside Clootie. Gently she tipped the gnome's head up and set he bottle to her lips. As the mystical liquid poured down her throat, Clootie's eyes flickered open. Breathlessly, Miaug explained what had happened to Sildar. Clootie looked imploringly at Ryoko, who immediately shifted back to her tiger form. Clootie grabbed a hold of her fur, and the pair of them teleported back onto the wall beside the fallen knight. Clootie placed her hands on his chest and muttered an incantation. Delicate silvery light spilled out from her palms, creeping across Sildar's body. However, this time there was no sound of rushing air, just deafening silence,
"I'm too late" Clootie said, stunned.
Gabriel pulled Sildar close to his chest, and sobbed.
Over the next days, Neverwinter tried to recover. The dead were buried, and the enemy forces were burned. Groups of guardsmen and Champions rode out to hunt down some of the remaining goblins, who had broken and ran as soon as Iarno fell. One of the refugee vessels had left the harbour when the dragon had attacked. The harbourmaster had dispatched ravens to advise them it was safe to return.
Gabriel was again indebted to the party. He asked them if there was anything he could offer to repay them. The group asked if it would be possible to get a property in the city, to use as a home base. Gabriel was visibly delighted by the idea, and promised them he would look into it immediately. Aetilius asked if he could visit the ruins of Shar Datai, the Nethonris temple they had discovered when hunting the Aboleth. Gabriel agreed, and advised them that the Watchers of Kelemvor had been studying and cataloging the site since the aboleth had been defeated.
The tunnel from the sewers was now lit with torches, members of the Watchers scurried back and forth in silence, carrying armfuls of scrolls, lanterns and other supplies. Inside the temple, a rough wooden bridge had been erected on top of the first level, while on the second floor a number of Watchers had set up tables both outside and inside the labyrinth. Inside the travelling room, the party found a Watcher sitting in a chair, annotating a detailed map of the labyrinth. In the final room, the two doors had been wedged open with large stone lintels, and the spinning blade trap had been partially dismantled.
Inside the Temple, lanterns had been hung on each of the pillars, bathing the room in bright light. Groups of Watchers were studying and faithfully recording the symbols on the walls, while a couple of older monks delicately cleaned away dust and grime from the carvings using soft brushes.
Aetilius stepped up and began to read the Nethonris script covering the walls, made clearer now by the monks restoration works. From what he could read, the Nethonris had built three Wayshrines across the Empire, including the hidden altar beneath Old Owl Well. The Wayshrines were constructed at nexus points, natural weak points in the Veil.
Each Wayshrine contained a central altar to one of the three Primordials. When a round key was placed in the receptacle on the altar, the device was activated. When a sacrifice was made, the device would tear open a hole in the Veil, drawing a tiny part of the associated Primordial's power into the victim's corpse, allowing them to move around and inhabit Lanath. The final passage Aetilius tried to translate was badly damaged and degraded, but seemed to allude to something happening once all three shrines were activated.
One of the Watchers, who had been scribing furiously as Aetilius had translated, tapped the tiefling on the shoulder and pointed up at the ceiling. Carved into the roof was a badly damaged map of Lanath. Overlaid on top of the map was the Nethonris triangle symbol. One corner seemed to align with the Neverwinter area. Another aligned with the southern tip of the Golden Coast near Aelbourne. The top of the map was badly damaged, but Aetilius guessed the tip of the triangle was somewhere around the Northwatch Mountains.
Aetilius awoke with a start from an incredibly vivid dream. He had found himself standing alone on a wide plain of black glass. The surface was rough, full of jagged jutting spikes, broad rolling dunes and what looked almost like frozen waves; giving the whole surface the impression of a great black ocean. Ahead he could make out an immense black mountain on the horizon, the peak obscured by a cloak of thick black clouds illuminated with a dull red glow. Aetilius felt an irresistible pull drawing him towards the mountain.
Over breakfast, Aetilius recounted the events of his dream to the party. Ryoko recognised the description from old stories she had been told about the Iskathi homelands in the Sea of Glass. The group decided to investigate. Ryoko explained that the Iskathi were notoriously aloof. They only engaged with other people either during their pilgrammage, or from their trading hub on Occatil. No-one outside of the Iskathi themselves had ever been to Iskaleth. No-one even knew exactly where it was. However, Ryoko explained that some of the older Wildling Dragonborn were among those who had first left the Iskathi civilization. They would know how to return. The party decided that their best bet would be to travel to Quan and to ask Ryoko's people if they could show them the way.
Ryoko and Clootie made their way to the Temple District to speak to the little gnomish alchemist. After they explained the situation and outlined their plan, Peppik looked understandably concerned,
"How long do I have?" he asked,
"We don't really know" Ryoko replied. The gnome stroked his chin absently as his eyes scanned the room,
"I've got enough materials in the shop at the moment to make up... I dunno. Four barrels of Alchemists Fire, I reckon. I've got three barrels of Naptha in the back, that'd be good for you. Beyond that, gimme a day or so and I can at least fill and seal another four or five barrels with accelerant. They'd make a fairly good bomb. You'd need to ignite them though..." he mused,
"I've gotta ask though... Will I be paid for this? This will pretty much empty my shelves, it could ruin me. I know that's not important if Neverwinter falls, but on the other hand, if you succeed, I'll be ruined." Peppik asked anxiously. Clootie reassured him that the Duke would pay him in full for his services, assuming they all survived. Peppik shrugged,
"I guess that's good enough. I'll get to work. Where do you want me to deliver them?"
"Just send them to the City Guard" Clootie responded
Meanwhile, Ramas made his way to the Black Dog. Inside, the tavern was unusually quiet, and the usually thick pall of pipe smoke which hung over the taproom was pale and wispy. Ramas strolled up to the bar and dropped a coin purse on the counter. Suddenly, the hard faced elven bartender appeared in front of him,
"Whatcha want?" he grumbled, absently swirling a filthy dishrag around an equally dirty mug. Ramas asked for a mug of grog, but as he spoke he used a combination of tiny gestures and unusual word choices to hide a message in Thieves Cant, asking to speak to the Thieves Guild. The bartender wandered off, then stomped back and clapped a mug of foamy liquid down on the bar in from of Ramas,
"Two silver" he demanded, showing no indication that he understood Ramas's message. The half-elf handed over the coins and picked up his drink. Ramas took a seat in the shadowy corner of the taproom, and scanned the room for any sign of Thieves Guild members. It was quiet, a couple of dedicated drunks sat alone at different tables, nursing headaches and desperately trying to raise their blood alcohol back to comfortable levels. After a few moments, Ramas decided this was a bust. He left his untouched grog on the table and slipped out of the bar.
Unnoticed by the rogue, a dark cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows in the opposite corner of the room and quietly followed him.
Aetilius flew south. Initially he kept himself at a high altitude, offering an eagle eye view of the land between the forest and coast. Along the road he could see empty farmhouses and hamlets, the inhabitants had all been gathered by City Guard forces and brought to the relative safety of the city walls. After a couple of hours of flying, Aetilius found himself exhausted. The effort of maintaining altitude while wearing his armour was excruciating. He swooped down towards the ground, stumbling slightly as he landed. He sat cross-legged on a grassy hillock, and watched the road while he caught his breath. The air was thick and pregnant, like the calm before an approaching storm. Silence reigned, no birds sang and no insects moved. Aetilius took a long drink from his waterskin, before getting to his feet and starting to walk towards the south road.
Miaug went to the Merchants Quarter to see Olexia. Inside Springs, Rings n Things, she found the little gnomish tinkerer sitting behind the counter sharing a cup of tea with Arywl. The two were laughing merrily as the tabaxi walked in. They looked up and smiled at her,
"Miaug!" Arwyl exclaimed excitedly, standing up and giving Miaug a warm hug, "You're back sooner than I expected"
Miaug explained the events of Tari Ce Morte in Phandalin. As she recounted the story, the mirth drained from their faces and Olexia set her jaw determinedly,
"Those bastards." she muttered, "What do you need?"
"Some more explosive arrows, as many as you can make"
"No problem. We'll get right on that, won't we Arwyl" the elf smiled gently at the gnome, squeezing her shoulder,
"How long do we have?" Olexia asked,
"We honestly don't know" Miaug replied truthfully,
"That's fine. Just come back whenever you need them, and you can have whatever we've managed to make"
Ramas made his way back south across the bridge from the docks. As he passed the Warehouse District he spotted a familiar symbol among the graffiti on one of the warehouses. A Thieves Guild marker. Curious, Ramas went to investigate the building. The door was locked, but Ramas made short work of it with his lockpicks. The padlock dropped to the ground, but Ramas nimbly caught it before it hit the ground, gently setting it down beside the door.
Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit. Shelves on either side were half filled with various trade goods: silks, ores and other items. The inventory was covered in a thick layer of dust, as though it hadn't been disturbed in some time. But, Ramas noted that the floor was fairly clear. This building had been well used recently, although not for storage. He scouted around inside the warehouse for a few minutes longer, but there was no sign of life and no further Thieves Guild symbols. With a sigh, he left and replaced the padlock. The trail was cold here as well.
As he made his way back to the road into the Merchant Quarter, a dark figure slipped out of the shadows between the warehouses and began to glide unseen behind him in the shadows of the buildings.
Clootie, Miaug and Ryoko met up back at the Keep. Clootie and Ryoko explained the limited available supplies of explosives. Miaug suggested they use cooking oil to cover the bridge. The group murmured in agreement and made their way down to the Keep kitchens to ask.
Meanwhile, South of the city, Aetilius had walked for a few miles since landing. It was difficult to make out much in advance from this vantage point in the perpetual twilight gloom. Feeling suitably rested, he crouched and leapt up into the air, allowing his leathery wings to carry him aloft.
Flying south for a few more minutes, he spotted flickering lights spilling down a shallow incline in the road ahead. He gained more altitude, and with it the perspective to see over the hill, he became aware for a sea of torches rippling in the darkness. Struggling to estimate the size or speed of the oncoming force, Aetilius descended, drawing closer to the army. He could clearly make out hundreds of goblinoids walking in rough formation, clutching flickering torches. Scattered throughout the humanoids were two huge ogres, each wielding massive clubs. Over to the eastern side of the assault was a notable area of darkness. No torches were lit in this area, but Aetilius could make out movement in the darkness. Curious, he swooped closer below the clouds. In the dark area he could see hundreds of humans, halflings and elves. Their eyes glowed with an eerie purple hue, and they walked in an uncanny uniform lockstep. Suddenly, Aetilius heard a commotion. Whirling around, he spotted a cluster of goblins pointing up at him. As he turned to flee, arrows flew up towards him. Mostly they fell short, plummeting back into the approaching throng; but one arrow found a gap in his armour, piercing deep into his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and his right wing missed a beat. He started to fall towards the ground and the waiting goblins. He gritted his teeth against the pain and set his wings, swooping down and picking up speed. He soared over the heads of the army, building momentum, before pulling up. Harnessing his inertia, he was able to flex his wings a little and quickly gain height, out of range of the goblin shortbows. Sighing in relief, he headed back north to Neverwinter.
As Ramas cut through an alley in the Merchants Quarter, heading towards the canal, he felt a flutter of movement behind him and the uncomfortable bulge of a dagger point resting against the small of his back,
"You've been asking questions. Curiosity's not good for your health"
Ramas twisted in his assailant's grasp, sweeping the dagger aside. Ramas settled into a fighting stance, both of his curved blades ready in his grasp. The thief who had attacked him reversed his dagger and regarded the half-elf,
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Ramas muttered in Thieves Cant, explaining who he was and that he needed to speak to Faila Brightwater. His attacker visibly relaxed slightly, lowering his blade slightly,
"I apologise brother. You can understand why we are paranoid at the moment. We are severely weakened, and we have many enemies. I can pass along your message to Faila, what do you seek?"
Ramas explained about the approaching army, and the fall of Phandalin. The thief was inscrutable as Ramas told the story. Once he had finished his tale, the thief took a deep breath and slipped his dagger back into his belt,
"I shall speak to Faila. We will aid you however we can. Who should we speak to?"
"Go to the City Guard. I'll ensure you are treated fairly, We need all the help we can get"
The thief nodded, and pulled his cloak tight around himself as he walked back towards the alley entrance.
Ramas joined the rest of the party back at the keep as they waited on Aetilius returning. It was late evening before the wounded tiefling returned to the city. As he landed in the courtyard, he was pale and weary from a combination of the flight and his injury. As the party helped to prop him up and hurried him inside, Gabriel asked the questions on all of their minds,
"How many? How long?"
"Too many. And tomorrow"
The next day, the party slept late, exhausted by the events of the last few days. After breakfast, Gabriel asked them to join him on a tour of the defenses. The Duke wore a set of beaten but well maintained scalemail, rather than the ornate black and gold chainmail the group had grown accustomed to seeing him in. Outside the gate, the City Guard had dug deep channels on either side of the road just north of the bridge. The pits were lined with sharpened sticks, and the displaced earth had been used to build earthenwork barricades beyond the channels, to create a longer choke point between the bridge and the gatehouse. Barrels of alchemists fire had been lashed to the central support of the bridge, ready to collapse the arch and close the access to the city. Groups of City Guardsmen were in the process of shifting explosive barrels into caches on the far side of the river and covering them with branches to hide them from the south.
Gabriel led the party up the stairs behind the gatehouse and onto the wall,
"Our people are going to be spread thin along the wall. I need people I can trust in command of each section of the defences. I'll command the forces on the wall at the gatehouse, as it's likely to be the site of most of the fighting. Milos will command the south eastern stretch of the wall, and will take responsibility for the naptha barrels we have hidden in the swamp. Aber will take command of the north eastern stretch and the keep, he and his men know the defences there and are well practiced with the ballista.
We haven't recovered from the famine yet, and don't have the supplies needed to survive a protracted siege. So we may need to mount a counterattack. I've got Sildar standing by with a force of relief troops ready to reinforce us during the fighting, or to lead an assault if the opportunity arises.
And that leads me to where I must ask you all a favour. I've arranged for nineteen of the best marksmen in the City Guard to man the archers towers over the gatehouse. Miaug, I'd like you to take command of them - they are good men and women but they will need to leadership of an experienced warrior like yourself to keep them focused. I'd like to ask the rest of you to lead the defenders on the south western and south central sections of the wall. Each section will have around twenty soldiers, city guardsmen, Champions and militiamen. Can I count on you?"
The party agreed, hesitantly. Ramas offered to take command of the south western flank, and Clootie agreed to take control of the central section of the south wall. Aetilius and Ryoko would help Gabriel and the guards around the gatehouse.
Suddenly kitchen staff from the keep arrived at the gatehouse with three big drums of cooking oil. The party thanked them and rolled two of the drums out onto the bridge. Ramas rolled the third down to the riverside upstream of the bridge. Just as they got the barrels into position, a small squad of breathless scouts raced up the road to the south,
"They are coming"
As the torches of the approaching army began to drift into view, Gabriel summoned the defenders back inside the gates. Ryoko and Aetilius cracked open the oil barrels on the bridge, covering the surface in thick viscous liquid, before heading back. The gates slammed shut behind them, and squads of guardsmen began to shift heavy wagons of rubble into position behind the inner gate. As hard faced guardsmen and nervous looking militiamen filtered up into their assigned positions on the wall, squads of Champions marched down the road through the Old Quarter, their brilliant armour glistening in the torchlight. With well drilled position, they separated into smaller groups and marched into position on the wall. The party looked at each other, shaking hands and uttering good luck, before they moved out to their assigned locations.
Miaug settled into position on the top floor of the western archer's tower, absently flexing her bow and watching the inexorable advance of the flickering torches across the river. Four City Guardsmen stood alongside her, watching in silence. More torches appeared lining the crest of the hill to the west of the road, the glow from the brands throwing the silhouette into stark relief against the sky. There were so many of them. The torches stopped their advance, forming into a long line running east to west on the far riverbank. Miaug felt a presence at her side. She turned to see Arwyl, looking nervous but determined, clutching a beautifully wrought elven bow in one hand,
"I'm here to help" she said, simply. Behind her, Olexia looked Miaug in the eyes,
"Keep her safe", before the little gnome descended back into the city.
The army stood silently for a long time. Nervous energy began to build among the defenders, unsettled by their enemy's stillness. Anxious whispers began to circulate along the wall. Experienced soldiers barked short commands to try to maintain focus among the guards. Anxious, Clootie leaped up on the edge of the wall and hurled Kulog down against a rock near the river. A deafening peal of thunder rang out across the battlefield, causing a momentary ripple of motion across the enemy force. As Kulog sailed back into the gnome's hand, a single figure could be seen walking across the bridge. A lone human, dressed in a tattered red cloak. His eyes glowed with an unnatural purple energy, and he seemed to move with a series of jerky, uncoordinated motions. Looking closely as the figure drew nearer, Miaug could make out a grey fletched arrow protruding from the figure's eye socket.
The figure approached the gate house, stopping thirty feet short and looking up at the defenders. He opened his mouth wide, and a raspy voice emanated from his throat,
"Open the gates and surrender yourselves to Iquath. It is futile to resist. All will die – all will serve."
Gabriel stood up on the edge of the parapet, pointing his glaive at the figure, and yelled back,
"We will fight you to the last. The day we surrender is the day hope dies, and only then will monsters like yourself truly triumph. Here's our answer!" he raised his glaive and a flight of arrows arced out from the wall. The Redbrand's corpse fell to the ground, pierced by a dozen arrows. It's purple glowing eyes remained open, staring up at the sky, and a rattling groan echoed from it's mouth, "So be it"
A swarm of goblins and bugbears raced across the bridge to attack the gate. Due to the narrow width of the road and the earthenwork defences, the creatures are clustered into small waves. The archers in the towers peppered the attackers with arrows, felling most of the attackers. The corpses fell across the path, further slowing the rest of the goblin's approach. As the creatures attempted to pick their way across the increasing piles of dead bodies, they were easy targets for the archers. Once the bridge was full, Miaug grabbed an arrow wrapped in an oil soaked rag and lit it on one of the nearby torches. She launched the flaming arrow onto the bridge, where the oil quickly caught light and turned the narrow stone channel into an blistering inferno. The darkness echoed with screams of agony from the goblins and bugbears caught in the blaze, and the rest of the approaching force stopped in their tracks.
Before the defenders could congratulate themselves, the force of goblins on the far side of the bridge parted, and through them passed a steady stream of purple eyed figures. These figures heedlessly walked forward into the flames. Their clothes burned and their skin started to blacken and smoulder, but they continued to advance until their bodies gave out and they fell forward. More and more of the purple eyed automatons walked into the fire, in what appeared to be pointless suicide. In despair, the defenders soon realised that the growing piles of corpses were smothering the flames. After another few minutes, the fire had died down enough to leave a path across the bridge. The goblins and bugbears began to scamper forward again, resuming their assault. The archers in the tower kept up a steady attack, but more and more of the creatures managed to slip through the hail of arrows and into the shadow of the gatehouse.
Miaug heard a sudden commotion from the lower level of the archer tower. She raced down the stairs to see two goblins standing in the arrow slots. The two archers positioned at the windows had been stabbed by the goblin's blades, one was dead on the floor, the other slumped against the wall and with their throat opened. The nearest archer spun around and kicked one of the goblins square in the chest, sending him sailing out of the window. Miaug instinctively nocked and arrow on her bowstring and shot the other through the throat. He spluttered blood for a moment before falling forward onto the stone floor. Miaug stepped over his corpse to take up position at one of the empty windows.
On the wall, Ryoko raised both of her hands above her head and channeled her druidic magic into the clouds above. Her eyes flashed with bright silver energy and a huge bolt of lightning, lanced out from the sky into the ground in front of the gatehouse. The smell of ozone and burned flesh filled the air, and smouldering goblin corpses were thrown backwards by the blast. Smaller bolts of lightning continued to dance across the ground in front of the gatehouse, throwing up clumps of dirt and forcing the remaining goblins to press themselves against the walls to hide.
Suddenly the defenders noticed a ripple of movement in the advancing goblin horde. As the ripple surged forward and reached the front of the assault, the goblins pulled back to reveal a contingent of hobgoblins in rusted chainmail armour and holding round steel shields over their heads. The hobgoblins marched forward in a tight phalanx formation across the bridge. Miaug and the archers focused their fire on the armoured soldiers. A couple of hobgoblins fell, but most of the arrows glanced harmlessly off the shields. Miaug launched another fire arrow, this time at the alchemists fire barrels under the bridge. The arrow streaked out into the darkness like a comet, but a sudden shockwave from a lightning strike below threw the arrow off course and it plunged harmlessly into the river.
The hobgoblins reached the gate, and dropped their shields to reveal a heavy battering ram. They rushed at the gate. As the ram struck their was a splintering cracking sound, but the outer gate held. Miaug launched another fire arrow at the bridge. This time it found it's target, and the barrels erupted in a towering geyser of flame and rubble as the bridge collapsed into the river, taking a large contingent of goblins with it. Another blast of lightning struck the ground in front of the gatehouse, killing a couple of the hobgoblins. The rest of them kicked their fallen comrades aside and rushed at the gate again. Again, the gate let out a sickening crack, but continued to hold for the moment. Clootie locked eyes with Aetilius, who nodded. The little gnome raced across the wall towards the gatehouse; jumped up on the wall and leaped off into space. Aetilius swooped down and grabbed her under the arms. The pair dived down towards the hobgoblins at the gate. Clootie dropped out of Aetilius's grasp, rolling as she hit the ground and coming up with Kulog in hand. Aetilius landed beside her, pulling Talon out of it's sheath. The pair fell on the hobgolins, hammer and sword flashing back and forth as they waded into the melee. The hobgoblins were taken aback by the ferocity of the attack. Clootie charged Kulog and smashed it into the side of one of the hobgoblin's faces, and at the same time another bolt of Ryoko's lightning arced down into the group, electrocuting another couple of hobgoblins. Aetilius ducked under a swinging longsword, thrusting Talon up through the creature's jaw and into it's brain. Clootie leaped up off one of the fallen hobgoblins and brought Kulog down on the last survivor's skull, crushing it and dropping him to the ground. Aetilius and Clootie both put their feet on the battering ram, and rolled it down the embankment into the river. Aetilius then grabbed the little gnome, and flew the pair of them back up onto the wall.
The enemy force fell back towards the hill, blending back in with the darkness. Aware of the assault on the archer tower, Ramas gathered four of the Champions on his section of the wall and sent them over to guard the towers. He also signalled to Daran, who was rallying the troops in Clootie's part of the wall. Daran grabbed four more nearby Champions and sent them along with Ramas's reinforcements to the Gatehouse.
Miuag stared intently into the darkness on the far side of the river. Shadows moved in the trees at the base of the hill, but she couldn't make out any detail. Loud groaning, thudding and tearing sounds drifted across the water, building an uneasy tension on the wall as defenders struggled to see what their enemies were planning.
Two huge humanoid figures lumbered out of the darkness to the west of the smoldering ruins of the bridge. In their massive hands the ogres held rough makeshift wooden ladders, made of crudely lashed together tree trunks and large branches. The giant creatures lumbered to the edge of the river, and threw down the wooden structures across the water to form makeshift wooden bridges. Heavy rocks tied to the far end thudded down into the soft dirt on the Neverwinter bank. As soon as they hit the ground, hundreds of goblins began to swarm across. The air around the defenders whirred with arrows and javelins, causing the soldiers on the wall to duck behind the parapet for cover. Suddenly a handful of loud clanging sounds echoed along the wall. Grappling hooks rattled across the stonework and wedged themselves against the battlements; teams of goblins began to haul on thick woolen lines, which connected up through pulleys to the far side of the bridges. With a protestant groan, the bridges began to swing upwards, pivoting around their heavy stone anchors, towards the top of the wall. Stunned, the defenders were slow to react and by the time they started to cut the support lines, the ladders had already crested the parapets. Goblins began to scurry up onto the wall, the first one leaping up onto the fortifications near Ramas. Before it could draw it's ragged shortsword, a massive hulking figure in Champion armour swung his warhammer into the creature's chest, sending it plummeting down the the ground below with a sickening crunch. A second goblin ducked under his flying comrade and leaped down onto the walkway atop the wall. Ramas slid the point of his rapier into the creature's throat, leaving it choking on blood on the floor. Along the wall the defenders recovered from their surprise and began to force the invaders back. The goblins fell by the dozen, but they seemed innumerable; while every guardsman who fell under the assault was keenly felt. Ramas grabbed a rope and tied it around his waist. He handed the other end to the big Champion wielding the warhammer, who held it, confused. Ramas ran at the nearest ladder, jumping slightly and twisting in midair to shoulder barge the structure. He struck the wood with a solid thud. The ladder jumped slightly, but landed back against the wall, and Ramas slipped back to the ground clutching his bruised shoulder. The big Champion rolled his eyes and handed the rope end back to Ramas, then grabbed a nearby guardsman. The two men grabbed the ladder and with a heave they threw it to the side. It slid down the wall, twisting as it fell, landing on a cluster of goblins and crushing them. Encouraged by their allies success, the defenders along the wall rallied and cast down the other ladder.
Meanwhile, on the far bank the ogres swung another two ladders into place across the river. Ryoko's eyes flickered with static charge as once again she channeled her magic into the roiling clouds overhead. With a deafening peal a bolt of lightning struck the ground on the far bank beside one of the bridges. The discharge ignited one of the hidden caches of explosive barrels, and the resulting explosion hurled chunks of rock and dirt high into the air. The burst of flame from the blast raced along the length of the ladder, setting fire to goblin's clothing and causing them to shriek in pain and leap into the river below. The wooden tree limbs were still moist and resisted the fire, the dried rope used to lash them together quickly caught fire. Within moments the entire structure groaned and collapsed into the water, drifting downstream.
While more goblins streamed across the remaining bridge, Miaug spotted a flurry of movement deep in the curve of the riverbank in front of the wall, a distance away from the epicentre of the battle. Curious, she raced up to the top floor of the archer's tower to get a better look. From her vantage point she could see shadowy shapes moving, silhouetted against the moonlight reflected in the water surface. Unable to work out what they were up to, she slipped an explosive arrow from her quiver and nocked it into her bowstring. She pulled the bow to full extension, taking a deep breath as she drew back the string. Her ears flicked, trying to pinpoint the direction of the wind. With a long sigh she released the bow. The arrow flew forwards, seeming to curve impossibly as the wind caught it. It traced a graceful arc around and landed right in the middle of the shadowy throng on the riverbank. The arrow exploded with a thunderous crack, sending goblins flying in all directions. A moment later it was followed by a deep, deafening roar and the ground beside the impact point erupted in a ball of fire. Massive chunks of rock and gore flew into the air, and blood showered over the area. A smoking crater lay open in the ground in front of the wall.
With a groan, the remaining bridge began to lift up towards the wall. The defenders in Clootie's section began desperately cutting down the grappling lines, but new hooks were thrown more quickly than they could remove them. The ladder crested the wall and goblins spilled onto the fortification next to two terrified looking civilian volunteers. With a vicious upward thrust, a goblin eviscerated one. The other militiaman, a young farmer with sandy blond hair, found himself pressed against the opposite parapet, desperately fending off strikes from goblin shortsword. With a bellow, a figure wearing Champion armour and a horned helmet leaped into the fray, swinging his battleaxe in a wide arc, cleaving through the throng and forcing the creatures back momentarily. He grabbed the young farmer by the shoulder and pulled him away from the attackers, as Clootie slipped in under the big Champion's arm and raised Kulog. She jumped forward into the mass of goblins, striking Kulog against the solid stonework below her feet. A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, hurling goblins in all directions. Many of the creatures were sent flying over the wall, plunging down to the jagged rocks below. The rest were momentarily broken, fleeing from the angry gnome. Encouraged, the rest of the defenders rallied and began to force the invaders back. Within minutes the goblins lay scattered across the wall and the ladder began to fall
Meanwhile, Miaug watched as the two ogres trudged forward again with more fresh siege ladders. The tabaxi jumped up onto the edge of the fortification, coiling her tail around a post to help maintain her balance. She crouched down and slipped another explosive arrow from her quiver, sighting along the shaft at the space between the ogres. She fired. The arrow shot through the air like a bird of prey, seeming to seek out it's target. It struck the lead ogre in the side of the head, blowing a chunk of it's skull away and causing the creature to stiffen and collapse to the ground. The blast caught the second ogre in the face, melting skin and causing it to howl in agony. The ogre began to run towards the river, dropping the siege ladder into place before jumping in and splashing ice cold water over it's burned face. It looked up and fixed baleful eyes on Miaug, then started to slog through the current towards her.
The goblins scurried across the remaining bridge and started to raise it up towards the wall. The defenders had become used to this tactic. Groups of guardsmen and Champions quickly found and dislodged the grapples. A concerted hail of arrows from the ground below forced the defenders to duck into cover behind the fortification. Four grapples bedded in and the ladder began to rise. Aetilius leaped off the wall, Talon in hand, and began to fly along between the stonework and the rising siege ladder. He swooped towards the first of the thick rope lines. Talon flashed in the moonlight and one line went slack. With a beat of his wings the Tiefling raised up into the air, arrows glancing off his armour. He brought Talon down on the second line, severing it. He swooped down on a third line and swept his blade through the air. The sword bounced off the rope, unable to fully cut through. The hail of arrows intensified and Aetilius was forced to land behind cover. Ryoko jumped forwards, grabbing a hold of the damaged line in one hand. She muttered a few syllables under her breath and the rope in her grasp started to smoulder. The thick hessian quickly burst into flames, and with a quiet popping sound, the fibres began to fray and unwind. The line went slack and the ladder, now suspended by a single line, began to sway wildly. The wooden structure pivoting around on one foot, and came crashing down against the bottom of the wall, crushing the goblins clustered beneath it.
As the ogre neared the Neverwinter bank of the river, Miaug calmly nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring. She sighted along the shaft, watching as the hulking brute grew closer. Just as the creature was about to reach the riverbank, she let the arrow fly. It sailed through the darkness, piercing straight through the ogre's eye and deep into it's brain. The creature stiffened and foamed at the mouth slightly before sinking into the water. Miaug hopped back down from her perch on the wall.
The tide seemed to be turning. A large contingent of invaders were now trapped in a kill zone between the wall and the river. The defenders fired wave after wave of arrows down at the unprotected goblins, slaughtering them by the dozen. Just as the guardsmen on the wall started to relax, a high pitched keening wail split the night and a massive dark shadow slipped pas underneath the thick roiling clouds. With a terrifying roar, a huge dragon swooped down out of the darkness, across the line of the wall, noxious green gas spewing from it's open maw. The defenders caught in the blast clutched at their throats and clawed at their faces, as they choked on the miasma and their skin blistered and burned. As the shadow passed and the cloud dissipated, dozens of guardsmen lay dead on the ground, their skin red and burned, their eyes wide open in a rictus of pain. The dragon glided east. Moments later screams echoed from the defenders on the eastern wall and the dragon attacked the other flank.
Clootie, Ramas and Ryoko searched the different sections of the wall for survivors. Beside Clootie, the big Champion with the horned helmet slung his battleaxe onto his back and started to help her pick up their allies. Miaug rallied the archers in the tower, who started to scan the horizon for the dragon. With another bellow, the beast swept down from the cloudline in front of the gatehouse. The archers loosed a steady stream of arrows, which barely seemed to slow the creature's assault. As it drew closer, Miaug was shocked to recognise the creature. It was Venomfang, the young dragon they had defeated in Conyberry. It's eyes glowed a now familiar eerie purple hue, large chunks of flesh were missing from it's side and haunches; and it's throat was a gaping, ragged hole. As it reared up to breath more toxic gas at the gatehouse, a small object streaked out of the darkness. Sparking and glowing like an electrified comet, Kulog smashed into the dragon's hindquarters, knocking it off balance slightly. It's head swivel around, looking for the source of the attack, and it fixed malicious purple eyes on a small figure standing on the edge of the parapet.. Kulog sailed back through the air and Clootie caught it in her outstretched hand. The dragon beat it's wings and began to weave it's way along the wall sinuously toward the little gnome. Aetilius dropped from the sky above the dragon, landing on the creature's back and driving Talon deep into it's flesh. Venomfang pulled up, the quick movement dislodging the tiefling. Aetilius spread his wings and spun in midair, slashing across the dragon's wings with his sword, slicing through leathery membrane and muscle. Venomfang roared in pain as his wing collapsed, and the dragon plummeted towards the ground. Ryoko threw her hands up towards the sky and her eyes glowed with barely controlled energy. The clouds overhead seemed to boil and series of lightning bolts struck the dragon, flickering from his head, down his spine, leaving a channel of charred flesh in their wake. Aetilius manifested his mythal axe and swooped down at Venomfang's exposed neck. The glowing ethereal axe bit into the gaping wound where the dragon's throat had been torn out, and the undead beasts snarling head fell to the ground. Venomfang collapsed, seeming to deflate, as tendrils of unearthly purple energy leeched out of the corpse and dissipated into the air.
Back with the defenders, a group of reinforcements and Sisters of Silvanus ascended the wall from a staircase in the Warehouse District, led by Sildar in full battle armour. The Sisters quickly moved to tend to the wounded, while the reinforcements stepped up to the parapet, weapons drawn. Across the field of battle, strewn with wreckage and goblin corpses, a figure began to walk forward, silhouetted against the darkness by an aura of crackling purple energy. Iarno reached the riverbank and raised his hands, his face twisted into a malicious grin. All around the battlefield, on the river bank and all across the wall, the dead began to spasm. With jerky, uncanny movements the corpses drew themselves up to standing. Iarno threw back his head and let out an inhuman, piercing shriek. The teetering corpses echoed the cry, and suddenly the night was split with a horrifying howl of rage and pain, torn from a multitude of mouths. As the shriek reached a fever pitch, the creatures began to twist and change. Hunching over, their rib cages seemed to collapse into their chest, ribs piercing through and tearing out their backs. The flesh on their forearms sloughed off, and the bones seemed to stretch and warp into long serrated blades. Their lower jaws split open, forming in to a pair of jagged mandibles. The creatures on the wall turned their heads to fix the living defenders; aghast at the gruesome transformation which had taken hold of their former friends and allies. Taking advantage of this uncertainty, the creatures pounced.
Ryoko reacted instantaneously as this happened, with a gesture she called another blast of lightning from the swirling stormclouds, striking Iarno directly in the chest, scorching his flesh and setting his hair and clothes alight. In the same breath, Ryoko shifted into the form of a massive tiger and slunk around Clootie. Both disappeared in a cloud of smoky tendrils as Ryoko teleported herself and the little gnome across the river to engage Iarno. From her vantage point on top of the archers tower, Miaug loosed an arrow at the possessed wizard. The shaft caught him in the face, piercing deep into his cheek. He second shot was deflected by a pulse of purple energy from his outstretched hand. Iarno locked eyes with the Tabaxi, and pulled the arrow out with a slight smile. Purple energy rippled across his body, closing the arrow wound and healing the burned flesh across his torso. A pulse of utter blackness erupted from his body, expanding outward for around twenty feet. Clootie and Ryoko were both in the pulse's radius; pain wracked their bodies as their muscles spasmed and locked solid, causing them to fall to the ground, paralysed. Overcome by the sudden sensation, Clootie slipped into unconsciousness.
On the wall, Ramas conjured a flickering ball of flame in his right hand and hurled it at Iarno. It streaked through the air like a meteor, striking the creature in the arm. The force of the impact and the resulting blast tore the arm off at the shoulder. Over at the gatehouse, three creatures leaped on Aetilius, tearing with their massive bone claws. He caught the first blow on his shield, but the second creature raked across his belly, catching his between the mail tunic and his greaves. The third creature pierced him deep in the shoulder, exploiting the same gap that the goblin archers had caught him in a few days earlier, causing his to cry out in pain. Two other creatures raised up to strike at Miaug, but Sildar slipped past her and caught both blows on his shield. Aetilius leaped off the battlements, extending his wings and soaring across the river towards Iarno. Around halfway across, blue energy began to swirl around his body, growing in intensity. Aetilius disappeared and the glowing aura lanced out towards Iarno like a javelin of light. It coalesced into a humaniod form directly in front of Iarno, and Aetilius drove Talon deep into the creature's chest. Iarno flicked his hand up and hurled the tiefling back. Purple energy once again raced across Iarno's body, and the wounds knitted back together. A gout of purple fire erupted from his shoulder stump, flowing into the shape of his arm. Flesh slithered out of the wound and wrapped itself around the pulsating outline, reforming the missing limb. He swivelled his head, flexing his new arm, and he smiled coldly at Aetilius, as the acolyte struggled to regain his footing.
Ryoko managed to regain control of her limbs, and lifted herself up onto her paws. Her tiger eyes flashed as she snarled at Iarno. Another bolt of lightning struck the creature, burning away flesh on his left-hand side, revealing a boiling furnace of purple energy beneath. Ryoko slipped back into her Dragonborn form, loosening Lightbringer and grasping it in both hands.
Miaug loosed another arrow, this one struck Iarno in the chest. As it hit, thick vines erupted from the earth, coiling around the creature and attempting to restrain him. Iarno released a small pulse of purple energy, tearing the tendrils apart. Miaug cursed under her breath and launched another arrow, which Iarno easily deflected.
On the ground beside Ryoko, Clootie spasmed breathlessly.
Ramas darted across the wall towards Miaug, weaving his way under blows exchanged between the revenant creatures and the desperate remaining guardsmen. He reached the Tabaxi, and showing no heed of the seriousness of the situation, slunk around her and tapped her on the opposite shoulder. Miaug sighed, and smiled wryly at the half-elf. Two creatures raced forward and swiped at Ramas with their wicked bone scythes. With uncanny reflexes, Ramas nimbly dodged between both blows. Sildar turned to help the half-elf, and as he did so two other creatures drove their blades into the old warrior's back. He arched his back in shock and pain, before slumping to the ground. Ramas and Miaug both hear Gabriel's cry of anguish across the sound of the battle.
Aetilius ran across the riverside and skidded to a stop on his knees beside Clootie. He rolled her gently on to her side, and touched her clammy forehead. She would not survive much longer. He stood up and sheathed Talon; then raised his hand. Energy swirled around his hand and coalesced into the form of his mythal axe. Aetilius passed his hand up the axes shaft, and the it burst into flickering blue and purple flame. Ryoko muttered something quietly under her breath and Lightbringer pulsed with life, bright daylight shining across the terrain for the first time in days. Iarno recoiled immediately. Taking advantage of her foe's reaction, Ryoko brought the mace down on his head, caving in a part of his skull. For the first time, Iarno screamed in pain. The edges of the wound glowed with a bright golden light.
On the wall, Ramas reached into his belt and pulled out two of his smoke/bearing bombs. He pulled the pins and hurled them over he heads of the creatures attacking them. They exploded in a cloud of smoke, scattering bearings across the top of the wall. Gabriel raced across the wall towards then, whirling his massive glaive he cleaved through creatures like a scythe. He reached them and dropped his glaive. Sinking to the ground he gathering up Sildar's limp form, cradling it to his chest.
Aetilius brought his mythal axe down on Iarno's head, cutting a deep gash into his skull. Iarno hissed in fury, unable to comprehend the pain he was feeling. Aetilius pulled the axe out and reversed his swing. The axe head caught Iarno on the lower jaw, tearing it off his face. Iarno glared at the tiefling savagely, and purple energy began to writhe across his skin as he raised his hands. Before he could unleash the building energy, Ryoko swung Lightbringer from her shoulder like a bat. It struck Iarno full in the face, and tore his head from his shoulders. The head spun up through the air, the face fixed in an expression of almost comical surprise. Purple energy poured from the gaping neck. It spiralled upwards, like fire smoke in a chimney, and formed the shape of an immense glowing skull above the body. The skull's mouth opened and let out a ghastly shriek, before it dissipated into the ether. Iarno's corpse dropped to the ground.
Unaware of their companion's victory, Ramas grabbed Miaug's shoulder,
"Get us out of here"
Miaug loosed her Blink Arrow. It sailed across the void and buried itself into the ground beside Aetilius, erupting in a swirling vortex of blue energy, which faded to reveal Miaug. Ramas was left holding onto empty air on the wall, looking confused. All across the wall and the battlefield below, the resurrected corpses suddenly halted their attack and collapsed to the ground.
Ryoko pulled a healing potion out of her pouch and knelt beside Clootie. Gently she tipped the gnome's head up and set he bottle to her lips. As the mystical liquid poured down her throat, Clootie's eyes flickered open. Breathlessly, Miaug explained what had happened to Sildar. Clootie looked imploringly at Ryoko, who immediately shifted back to her tiger form. Clootie grabbed a hold of her fur, and the pair of them teleported back onto the wall beside the fallen knight. Clootie placed her hands on his chest and muttered an incantation. Delicate silvery light spilled out from her palms, creeping across Sildar's body. However, this time there was no sound of rushing air, just deafening silence,
"I'm too late" Clootie said, stunned.
Gabriel pulled Sildar close to his chest, and sobbed.
Over the next days, Neverwinter tried to recover. The dead were buried, and the enemy forces were burned. Groups of guardsmen and Champions rode out to hunt down some of the remaining goblins, who had broken and ran as soon as Iarno fell. One of the refugee vessels had left the harbour when the dragon had attacked. The harbourmaster had dispatched ravens to advise them it was safe to return.
Gabriel was again indebted to the party. He asked them if there was anything he could offer to repay them. The group asked if it would be possible to get a property in the city, to use as a home base. Gabriel was visibly delighted by the idea, and promised them he would look into it immediately. Aetilius asked if he could visit the ruins of Shar Datai, the Nethonris temple they had discovered when hunting the Aboleth. Gabriel agreed, and advised them that the Watchers of Kelemvor had been studying and cataloging the site since the aboleth had been defeated.
The tunnel from the sewers was now lit with torches, members of the Watchers scurried back and forth in silence, carrying armfuls of scrolls, lanterns and other supplies. Inside the temple, a rough wooden bridge had been erected on top of the first level, while on the second floor a number of Watchers had set up tables both outside and inside the labyrinth. Inside the travelling room, the party found a Watcher sitting in a chair, annotating a detailed map of the labyrinth. In the final room, the two doors had been wedged open with large stone lintels, and the spinning blade trap had been partially dismantled.
Inside the Temple, lanterns had been hung on each of the pillars, bathing the room in bright light. Groups of Watchers were studying and faithfully recording the symbols on the walls, while a couple of older monks delicately cleaned away dust and grime from the carvings using soft brushes.
Aetilius stepped up and began to read the Nethonris script covering the walls, made clearer now by the monks restoration works. From what he could read, the Nethonris had built three Wayshrines across the Empire, including the hidden altar beneath Old Owl Well. The Wayshrines were constructed at nexus points, natural weak points in the Veil.
Each Wayshrine contained a central altar to one of the three Primordials. When a round key was placed in the receptacle on the altar, the device was activated. When a sacrifice was made, the device would tear open a hole in the Veil, drawing a tiny part of the associated Primordial's power into the victim's corpse, allowing them to move around and inhabit Lanath. The final passage Aetilius tried to translate was badly damaged and degraded, but seemed to allude to something happening once all three shrines were activated.
One of the Watchers, who had been scribing furiously as Aetilius had translated, tapped the tiefling on the shoulder and pointed up at the ceiling. Carved into the roof was a badly damaged map of Lanath. Overlaid on top of the map was the Nethonris triangle symbol. One corner seemed to align with the Neverwinter area. Another aligned with the southern tip of the Golden Coast near Aelbourne. The top of the map was badly damaged, but Aetilius guessed the tip of the triangle was somewhere around the Northwatch Mountains.
Aetilius awoke with a start from an incredibly vivid dream. He had found himself standing alone on a wide plain of black glass. The surface was rough, full of jagged jutting spikes, broad rolling dunes and what looked almost like frozen waves; giving the whole surface the impression of a great black ocean. Ahead he could make out an immense black mountain on the horizon, the peak obscured by a cloak of thick black clouds illuminated with a dull red glow. Aetilius felt an irresistible pull drawing him towards the mountain.
Over breakfast, Aetilius recounted the events of his dream to the party. Ryoko recognised the description from old stories she had been told about the Iskathi homelands in the Sea of Glass. The group decided to investigate. Ryoko explained that the Iskathi were notoriously aloof. They only engaged with other people either during their pilgrammage, or from their trading hub on Occatil. No-one outside of the Iskathi themselves had ever been to Iskaleth. No-one even knew exactly where it was. However, Ryoko explained that some of the older Wildling Dragonborn were among those who had first left the Iskathi civilization. They would know how to return. The party decided that their best bet would be to travel to Quan and to ask Ryoko's people if they could show them the way.
Report Date
03 Mar 2020
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