"Patience. First, we need to make camp. We will be assigned a camp location and any guard rotations soon. As for who did that,' Alrathien indicated the opening, "the road to Celwynvian was laid down thousands of years before Earthfall, and has remained, though sorely abused by the encroaching forest over the millenia."
Calla sighs impatiently, tapping her foot as she waits for the army to decide her fate for the night.
She keeps an eye out for Kaerishniel.
It would be a shame if something were to happen to him...
Kel balks at the logistics of war. "Surely this can't be what the Gods want from us? Let's turn their armageddon echo into a paltry reverberation and be done with the drow."
It wasn't long before you were directed to a spot to pitch your tents, and informed that the Skin'Rakorath would be taking the watch tonight, and that you were free to do as you pleased. A warning was given that there should be no fires, for fear of overly warning the drow what was coming for them.
The night passed uneventfully, and the next morning saw the camp being stricken only a short time after dawn. As the march began again, you saw the first signs of the ancient elven civilization in the form of the road that Anklebiter had asked about the previous night. The well-laid blocks of stone were so tight fitting that even millenia of weather and flora had not completely overrun the road. Overgrowth made the traveling more difficult than an open road, but still far easier than going through the forest had been the previous night.
The march went fast now, and within a few hours, you came to another large clearing, where an advance camp was already well under way. A palisade had been erected, and elves were rushing here and there setting up tents, organizing supplies, and making other preparations.
Alrathien directed you to where your tents were to be placed, then pointed. "You see those tumbled down ruins over there? The heart of Celwynvian is about a half a mile in that direction. We have scout and skirmishing parties already looking for the best locations to prepare for a direct assault. A council of war will be held in the war pavilion," he pointed to a large pavilion being erect nearby, " tonight. Lady Eviana asks for your presence there. Until then, pitch your tents and get some rest. I have other duties to attend."
Lefrik had been quiet, though he had bristled a bit at insults thrown the group's way, and rolled his eyes more than once as much was made of his less than stellar ability to move quietly. While not quiet as a sneakabout or elf, he knew wilderness well enough and adapted.
Alrathien directed you to where your tents were to be placed, then pointed. "You see those tumbled down ruins over there? The heart of Celwynvian is about a half a mile in that direction. We have scout and skirmishing parties already looking for the best locations to prepare for a direct assault. A council of war will be held in the war pavilion," he pointed to a large pavilion being erect nearby, " tonight. Lady Eviana asks for your presence there. Until then, pitch your tents and get some rest. I have other duties to attend."
"Very well, may Desna guard your back on troubled roads," he says to Alrathrien.
When their liaison leaves, he looks to the others, "What do you make of all this, my friends? Even now it feels like the elves play things very tightly to the chest."
Calla's usual look of irritation returns to her face as the elf leaves her there, with nothing to do until the evening.
"And so we wait," she grouses to her companions as she settles down on the grass. "Not enough time to do anything useful."
"Anklebiter can do something useful," the Goblin says, a frown on his face. "Anklebiter ask again: how we supposed to get into Armageddon Echo? Not expert on pocket dimensions, me, but they don't have doors swinging open 'less the master wants it so. This attacking in force is donkey-work unless we have good plan."
"Maybe there is some magic word that opens the door? If we can find the wizard that knows this word, we can make him tell us?" Lefrik says scratching his head.
"Yeah, sure, but which Drow is right one?" Anklebiter asks, his frow deepening. "And who wants to bet wizard not have 'get-me-out-of-killzone'-spell? Anklebiter wants good answers to questions, because otherwise this mission pretty much doomed to failure."
"Then we ask Lady Eviana, friend, when we talk with her. We'll persevere, we always do." He assures his little friend trying to cheer him.
"And since we're stuck here with an army between us and them, it's a bit of a moot point right now, anyway," Calla notes.
"Building pavilions for war councils less than a mile from the ruins may be the reason the drow can always escape. I'm not versed in the art of war, but shouldn't the elves be less obvious and slow in their approach, certainly the drow have patrols in these woods?"
"Maybe Elves hope to shoot them all as soon as they get close?" Anklebiter suggests, shrugging. "Anklebiter never ridden to war alongside Elves before. Maybe lovely ladies bat eyes and ask of Elf-men while their brains are still smoking?"
"The drow are sneaky. I'm sure they have spies and would be aware of what the elves are doing. You can't get this many people close to somewhere without that place being aware of it."
Anklebiter's ears twitch and he looks around at the Elves. His ears twitch again and swivel like a cat's. Then the Goblin leans forward and whispers so only the other people from the Golden Goblin can hear: "Elves crazy, then?"
"Maybe there are magics to ensure privacy at work? You'd know better than we, Anklebiter," Lefrik suggests
The Goblin nods, mutters a spell, and then looks around furtively.
Bruendor nods at Alrathien's words, and begins setting up his tent. As he does, he whispers the rest of the Golden Goblins. "They must have a plan," he breathes to the group. "The alternative is they're making a show of allying with us to get all these warriors killed, and that makes no sense at all to me. If they're finally moving, they must know something about the Echo that we don't. Something sensitive, that Eviana doesn't want to be widespread amongst the troops. Our info from Devil's Elbow must have been the clue they needed to march. But I'm with you, AB. I wish I knew what they knew. If they don't inform us during this council, then I have issues with this march to war."
Later that evening, as the camp settled in for evening repast, you followed Alrathien to the war pavilion to see Eviana seated at a large table with Kaerishiel, a host of her personal guard, and several important-looking elves in gleaming armor. After greeting you and pointing to a set of seats reserved for you, Eviana introduced the other elves as the leaders of the Celwynvian Watch, a group that has been patrolling the edge of the city for the past few years in an attempt to keep the drow bottled up inside.
That group is led by an elven ranger named Shalelu Andosana, an attractive woman who seems strangely at ease in the war pavilion, despite the grungy leathers she wore.
Dinner was a plain affair of steamed turnips, potatoes, and carrots, served with a light vegetable broth and some simple bread. A sweet wine was served as well, a light and fruity concoction, but only in moderation. The food was eaten in silence, or with topics that weren't related to the war. Every time someone tried to speak of conflict, Eviana would turn the conversation to discussions of the local flora and fauna, or the geography of the surrounding forest.
After the food had been cleared, Eviana said "To business."
She spread a map across the cleared table, a map of an obviously ruined city. "Shalelu, please tell our allies here what they are looking at."
Shalelu nodded and took up a long stick. "This is a map of Celwynvian, at least from what our years of scouting and spying can tell. I based the original on old Kyonin records, and then updated it as I could from there. In some cases, I've had to make educated guesses as to the condition of the streets and buildings from afar. The streets are patrolled by both drow and demons, making detailed reconnaissance difficult. There are only a few unobstructed ways into the city, and we must secure them first if we are to have any chance of reclaiming the site."
"Based on the information in the journals you brought, we believe the drow refuge is located here, in what used to be the Academy of the Arts. It is well behind the enemy lines, and before we can assault that stronghold, we must take and hold the approaches and bring the army in as a whole. To do this, we will need to infiltrate a few raiding groups that will take and hold these gateways, allowing us to bring in the Host."
"That's where you come in," she said, looking right at the handful of you. "We have heard of your prior experience at fighting the drow, and that you have been more than resourceful in dealing with similar situations. Specifically, I think your group would be ideal to infiltrate here, what used to be the Library of Reenai."
Lefrik has dressed up rather nicely for this himself, his noqual breastplate at fine shine, and his beloved gift of a great axe clean. Even his beard is trimmed up a bit.
He does not respond to any hostile glares he receives from whatever elves he approaches. Those that give him equal respect as a warrior get nods or greeting in return.
Shaleu catches his attention, not just because of her beauty, but because she clearly is a workhorse of a warrior among some show ponies. Mind you, some of the ponies had bites, and Lefrik knew his own shine might mark him as one to some, but nevertheless, he liked the feel he got off of her: Quiet Competence.
The meal was wholesome, but disappointing. No wonder elves are so skinny, they don't have any proper meat in their diet He thanks them nonetheless, and eats slowly, wondering when this war council will actually speak of war.
Thank the gods, it finally happens once the food is away.
Shaleu's map is interesting, but her word choice surprises him, "You say 'Infiltrate'...that bespeaks of sneaking, if not outright disguise. I hope you have some magics to aid us, because neither Kelendra nor I excel in any way of such things."
Calla barks out a laugh.
"He's actually overstating their abilities," she notes.
Kel nods in agreement, silent and afraid of the war they are about to enter.
"I go where my friends go," Anklebiter says, simply. The Goblin crosses his eyes and meets Eviana's. "Just how do you expect us to hold a gateway, though, with a small group against many Drow? Is there a trick to it, perhaps?"
Eviana looked to Shalelu, who said, "As with most gateways, the library sits at a natural choke point in the ruins and vegetation. While our army has trained on large-scale tactics, we have very few groups trained in small scale tactics. Since we intend to hit several key installations at once, we thought that your prior expertise in assaulting the drow force in the sea caves would give you the experience necessary to take the library, while our other raiders take the other points."
"As for infiltrate perhaps that word implies more than I meant. I simply meant that you should be able to assault the library with a relatively small group, take care of the guard forces left there, and hold the location until a larger force arrives. Was that the wrong word to use?"
Kaerishiel spoke up, "I told you they wouldn't be able to handle this duty. Let the Shin'Rakorath assault all of the initial locations. We do not need help from these outsiders. This is an elven conflict, no matter the implications for the rest of the world!"
Anklebiter casts a cool glance at Kaerishiel and speaks to him in fluent - and rather frosty - Elven:
Turning his back on the Shrin'Rakorath, the little Wizard nods t Eviana and Shalelu. "If there is a natural choke-point, that makes all the difference, and it is good to know. But for completeness' sakes, I would ask whether you have maps. It would be good to have maps to plan. For reference, small-scale tactics work best if you pack in all the advantages that you can, such as having prior knowledge of the terrain. Also, I think it would be well for you to share what knowledge you have of the Drow troops who are camping out in your ancient city. After so many years of conflict, surely you have some idea of their leadership and troops structure?"
Lefrik feels his pride being pricked, and Kaerishiel rubs him the wrong way, "Thank you for clarifying. With multiple distractions our odds of success would increase, it's true." He looks at Kaerishiel, "And your advice is sour milk, Kaerishiel. Should the elves let pride ruin their chances at victory, and other peoples come to harm because of this, you will find it is not just the drow that come to hate you for it. Your lady is wise to ask for 'round eared' aid, if only to show this is NOT just on the elves. I detest politics, and even I know this."
"It might be good for all the small teams to take a few moments together," Anklebiter adds. "We can deliberate, synchronize our tactics where applicable, agree on emergency signals in case such are needed. Another thing to know about small-scale tactics is that although you are divided, you are still working as a team. Separate fingers, each doing their own thing but serving the whole hand."
The Goblin intertwines his fingers as he gives his little speech.
Eviana mations to the map on the table.
Kaerishniel scoffed. "It talks as if we have not considered the specifics, as if we would reveal all of our secrets to outsiders."
Eviana cut him off sharply. "Enough, Kaerishniel! You will be respectful at this council, or you will be silent! Anklebiter has spoken of what he sees as holes in the plan, not to crush anyone's hopes or reputations, but to ensure our victory. He cannot know what he has not been told. And, unfortunately, he cannot be told everything. Not just yet. The drow are most adept at wringing information from captives." Kaerishniel sat back with a stunned expression on his face. Then, he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.
"Shalelu was just about to speak of what we do know, and then we can bring the raiding teams together, as was planned before you spoke up. Fear not, no one minds questions being brought to the fore, as long as everyone involved has an open mind. Shalelu?"
Shalelu spoke, catching Lefrik's eye with a twinkle in her own as she did. "Here's a summary of what we know. I can go into more details as you have questions. First, let me say that while we are fairly certain that we outnumber the drow here, we are less certain of their full numbers. By counting patrols, identifying individuals through clothing and appearance, we have a rough count. At least of those that are in Celwynvian proper. We have managed to push them back into the herat of the city several times, but each time they disappear and then reappear in our rear some time later."
"As is expected, the drow patrol the city streets regularly after dark, usually with multiple groups in overlapping routes. Demons patrol with the drow, as well as on their own. We have also seen a few instances of demons disobeying drow commands, though no outright violence between the groups. And one more thing. I am fairly sure that my scouts have found dragon sign in the area. None have reported contact with the creature, but with all of our losses...well, you can guess the rest."
"One of the buildings on the north side of the city, the one marked as Yuleral's Rain on the map, belches noxious fumes day and night. According to our research, it used to be an arcanists' building, used for all sorts of magical research. And that brings us back around to the synchronized raids. The best approach for the bulk of the army is the road that runs right by the library. The one we want you to take. My scouts and Kaerishnial's forces will be attacking locations here, here, and here, followed by smalelr segments of the army." she pointed to areas on the southern and western portion of Celwynvian.
"We will have the rest of the scouts and raiders running ahead of the armies to flush any drow scouts before they can note our plans. The library must be taken and held until the army gets in place, and we can make a stronghold, cutting off the drow avenues of escape from Celwynvian. Well, the mundane avenues, anyways. We had intended to do this with our Leaf Raiders. Unfortunately, we lost too many in the attack on Crying Leaf last week. This is why, I believe, that the elders have countenanced your presences, and even have asked you for your aid." She looked at Eviana, who nodded.
"If this is what it takes for me to be able to kill some drow, I'm up for the challenge. As you say, I assume Calistria directed me here to make up for the clearly poor quality of forces you have at your own command," Calla grates, her hard stare not leaving Kaerishniel for the entire time.
"Does each raiding party have at least one caster?" Anklebiter asks as he attentively watches the map. "If so, I assume they all have summoning spells to counter the demons? As for dragons... Any idea what kind? Green? Black? Blue? ... Red?"
"A dragon? This may yet be the stuff of legends indeed," The barbarian can't help but grin, "If the demons sometimes rebel, perhaps they have, among the drow groups, some witch or dark priest that has their leash? Kill the controller, and we could have a demon gone wild...or we might have a demon turn on its former masters, or at least just leave."
"A dragon?" Kel's bottom lip extends in a pout, her enthusiasm considerably less than that of Anklebiter and Lefrik as she remembers their lost horses and the acid burns from the drakes. "And demons? This war has many hidden surprises already."
"Well, we'd fought the demon servants of the drow before," Bruendor says in response to Kelandra. He had been studying the map that Shalelu laid out, and figuring the most likely plan of attack. "That one that was working with Saul had a pair of lemures, and there was the shadowy one in the caves of Devil's Elbow. But I like Lefrik's line of reasoning - find the puppet master, and the puppets come off their strings. A demon free of control is still a frightening thing, but if it eats a few indigos first, then I can live with that." He passes up the elf-wine, drinking only water.
"I assume we're infiltrating from the west," he said without looking up. "In order to get to your Library, we have to pass by what looks to be the city gates. I imagine they're heavily guarded, so our infiltration team will need to find an alternate route. What is this 'Path of Fallen Shadows'?" He looks up at last, his question directed towards Shalelu and Eviana.
Shalelu responded to each question in turn, saying "We are very low on offensive casting. We have a number of healers here, and a few support mages for the other raiding groups. The drow and the demons have been quick to identify our magic users and ... counter them. We have been dealing with the demon patrols physically, usually with flights of arrows from a defensive position."
"As for the dragon, I can't swear to this, but I believe it is the juvenile green dragon, Razorhorn, the spawn of the dragon that attacked Crying Leaf over two centuries ago, killing many...including my mother. Hopefully we will not have to deal with the dragon and the drow at the same time."
"You will indeed be coming up from the west, but have no fear for the gates. They were destroyed long ago. The dark elves appear to be using the library as their guardpost against approaches from the west. There are usually one or two patrols that go in and out, plus whatever forces may be garrisoned inside. From our scouts, we do not believe the library holds more than a score of drow, including the patrols, and perhaps as few as ten."
"The Path of Fallen Shadows is evil. I cannot describe it any more than that. Early on in our struggle against the drow, an elven patrol fell to an ambush. Though the survivors drove the drow away, when they went back to reclaim the bodies, all they found were the shadows of the dead, imprinted on the roadway. Now, few will approach this path, and those that have have reported whispers of the dead, voices that nearly drove them mad, and in one case at least, did."
"Mages, come to me, please?" Anklebiter asks. He pulls his spellbook out of his pack and thumbs to the chapter on summoning magic. "If you can still learn spells today, I have a fine summoning spell. You can study it from my book for free if you don't have it already. Creatures of the Upper Planes should be a good counter for demons."
Eviana smiles. "I am sure that some of our wizards would like to take you up on that, though we have few that are proficient in summoning magics."
"I'll teach them, if I have to," Anklebiter says, completely serious. "If nothing else, I'll just teach them to do. Understanding can wait."
"If the gate has alarms ready as well as guards, we've really little choice but to try to avoid it, dangers aside. We can't have every damned dark elf on high alert and knowing our general area before we even begin... that's just not good raiding," He finds himself considering this shadow path despite the dangers.
"Surely an invisibility spell can help us. Even I can cast it, so I'm sure Kaerishniel can easily provide each of us with such a spell."
Calla's voice is strange for its sweetness, even if it's clear the honey is laced with deadly poison.
"Invisibility would be a welcome gift. I won't crack any twigs," Kel wiggles her toes to display the air beneath her feet, "But I'm terrible at keeping out of sight."
Kaerishniel sneered, "It is well that you can do something, as your ability to shoot a bow left a lot to be desired against those drakes. Fear not, I am sure that someone has spells to waste on you." He cut off as Eviana's hand slammed into the table.
"Enough, all of you! If you want to bicker like children, go outside and let the adults continue the planning session. Invisibility might be welcome, but we have not enough arcanists that can cast it, as most of our magic users are druids and rangers. If you can prepare multiple uses, perhaps that is your best use of magics. However, we intend to attack in the daylight, hampering the drow's vision and ability to respond. That should work nearly as well."
"I don't have the spell to make people invisible myself, but if you have the means to scribe and your Mages are as willing to let me work from their books as I am to work from theirs, I can help scribe scrolls," Anklebiter offers. "Your druids and rangers can still cast spells of light, right? Drow conjure darkness, so we need to counter that."
"I can make four of us invisible, but not more than that, and even that power will be lost should they attack," Calla says, turning back toward the discussion.
"Enough, all of you! If you want to bicker like children, go outside and let the adults continue the planning session. Invisibility might be welcome, but we have not enough arcanists that can cast it, as most of our magic users are druids and rangers. If you can prepare multiple uses, perhaps that is your best use of magics. However, we intend to attack in the daylight, hampering the drow's vision and ability to respond. That should work nearly as well."
Seeing her point, Lefrik apologizes, "Forgive, tempers run too hot and not against the foe as they should. You mention the drow weakness towards daylight. Are their spells that can mimic same? or perhaps mirrors we can use to direct more light their way even with out magic?"
"Yes, light spells are useful when we can make them, though the drow have innate abilities to counter them. Any support you can offer your squad will be appreciates by your teammates, I am sure."