"Thank you, Nurah." Ary nods, taking the book in hand, her pulse quickening as she does so. "I'll likely do as much reading as I can tonight so that there's less for you to cover with me tomorrow. We'll likely spend the day resting and see to Icerift later. The Ewoks seemed keen to leave." she says, feeling deflated by the statement.
"I'll see you tomorrow Nurah, and thank you." she appends, raising the small pile of books as acknowledgement. "I'll start at the beginning and work my way forward from there."
Given permission, Ehren steps further into the tent. Right away he picks up on Aron's symptoms and frowns; he certainly was not lying about not feeling well. Unfortunately, he could think of any number of ailments that might have caused his current condition. He busies himself by digging through his stash of medicinal herbs, while contemplating the diseases they had come into contact with during their campaign. It's not gray pox, and it's certainly not demon plague. Then what...?
"Hm. This should help you fight off whatever this is," Ehren says as he takes out a packet of tea leaves, the very same kind he gave Isilme the previous morning. He had no idea what sickness Aron managed to catch, but the druid wasn't about to take any chances. He goes so far as to echo the same advice that he gave Isilme. "If you're not feeling better after a good night's rest, we'll probably need to resort to magic. Sosiel or I could always prepare remove disease for you."
"You are welcome." Hinagiku answers with a soft nod. "Yes, I think everyone has been worried about you." "And Mr. Ehren is right, although resisting a disease silently by oneself can be a sign of strength, here on the battle front is not the most ideal." she waves a hand meaning she won't bore him with more admonishment.
"Hm. I suppose I could," the Bound Horror says, sounding immensely bored at the prospect. In spite of this, he continues. "The Midnight Isles are located in the ocean of Ishiar.." he begins. Ayavah plops herself down on the ground in front of him, looking very much like an eager child being told a bedtime story. "The ocean of Ishiar of course is linked to the river Styx, which snakes through all of the lower outer planes."
"The ocean of Ishiar is pitch black," he drawls, picking at something inside of his ear as he talks. "And the Midnight Isles are so named because it is always night-time there. A great moon lights up the islands for several hours at a time, then vanishes, leaving the isles in darkness.... there are thirty islands total, forming a large archipelago."
"So is it true - the islands are formed from the demonic lords she has killed?" Ayavah asks.
The Bound Horror stiffens, his eyes narrowed. "...Indeed. That is, of course, why she is the demon lord of assassins." He exhales. "The center island is Alinythia, where Nocticula herself dwells. There is a large city there - Alushinyrra, a city composed nearly entirely of succubi and incubi."
---
Aron smiles and takes the tea leaves. "Thanks. I hope this helps whatever is wrong with me."
Annabelle wrinkles her nose. "Aron, why are you being so dodgy? What's going on with you?"
Aron frowns. "I... what? 'belle, I said I'm fine." He starts to grow agitated. "C'mon. Just... can all of you please leave? I think I need some rest before tomorrow, and if what I've got is contagious, I don't want any of you catching it."
Val shivers slightly as the demon begins his story. The description of the Isles is disturbingly familiar, and she can remember the endless nights and orgies beneath the moon from her visions. She shakes her the chill running down her spine and focuses again as Ayavah's voice cuts through his monologue. Only to flinch again at his clear discomfort. She had almost forgotten his supposed history. "She doesn't mean anything cruel by mentioning that," she thinks in his direction, hoping they can still communicate telepathically. "And honestly, she'd probably be very impressed by your history. Though mentioning that may just make her ask more questions, so perhaps save that part of the story for another time."
As Ehren stows his supplies, he listens carefully to the exchange between brother and sister. It was becoming increasingly apparent that Aron was hiding something beyond the severity of his condition. Most alarming was the fact that he felt the need to lie to the people closest to him. Deciding to respect Aron's desire for privacy and figuring that Annabelle had a better chance of getting to the truth of the matter, Ehren makes a move for the exit, stopping just short of actually leaving.
"I don't know what you're hiding, Aron, but you are fortunate enough to have people who care for you here. Some far more than others," he says with a tragically patronizing tone, glancing at Annabelle. "Every day out here can be our last. I don't think you can afford to keep secrets from them."
Hinagiku follows Ehren's example and prepares to leave too. Maybe Aron would feel more comfortable talking with his sister alone.... whatever it was that he was hiding.
"I will leave... but I think Annabelle should stay with you. I am sure she can help you with anything that's making you feel unwell." she says, before turning to Annabelle. "I will be not too far, meditating, join me if you get the chance." she says, gently patting the woman's shoulder.
"How big is Alushinyrra?" asks Ayavah. "As big as Egorian?"
The Bound Horror scoffs. "Mortals... your ideas of big cities are quite comical, really. Alushinyrra is larger than any mortal is able to comprehend - Material plane ideas like time and distance do not matter in the Abyss. Your pitiful city of Absalom could fit inside Nocticula's palace... let alone compare to the size of her city."
Ayavah exhales. "...Wow." she says, breathlessly.
Ayavah demands more information from the Bound Horror for the rest of the night - information about Alyshinyrra's visitors, its inhabitants, what life is like there... The Bound Horror paints it as a beautiful city of orgies, grand parties, and general debauchery and hedonism, but otherwise benign compared to some of the crueler locations in the Abyss. Ayavah drinks up the information, enraptured in the Bound Horror's tales, and by the time she is willing to go back with Valaria to their tent, it is very, very late indeed.
----
Aron doesn't say a word as Ehren and Hinagiku leave. Annabelle pauses, thinking to stay with him... then decides to follow Hinagiku out.
"He's right, you know... I can't help you if you don't let me in," she says. When she leaves, she leaves Hinagiku to meditate - she whistles once, and Blossom suddenly manifests in thin air, galloping before her. She takes her ghostly steed out for a ride alone under the night sky.
-----
18 Lamashan 4713
Morning. Weather is clear, and warmer than yesterday - a balmy 19°F (-13°C).
In the morning the heroes congregate under the Command Tent to discuss their next move. They are joined by the various captains of the army, Irabeth, Anevia, Sosiel, Nurah, Ser Jorsal, and Aron.
"So what is our next move?" Irabeth begins. "We have saved Ser Jorsal from Arastrax, though he and his invidiak minions still live. We have dispersed the majority of the demonic army, though Grueblox still rules at Vilareth Ford, and Exorius still holds command at the entrance to Keeper's Canyon.... so that means we have not one but two armies to pass through to gain entry to Drezen."
"But there is also the question of the prisoners at Icerift," Sosiel reminds.
"If they live - which is unlikely - since the bugbear army marched in their direction yesterday.... going after them would consume time and resources. We have a finite amount of food, Commander," says Ser Ilivan. "With the snow, it is a two day march to the river."
Xanderghul ponders for a while. "How does the Vilareth force feed itself? If they can last the winter here, even with Grueblox around, I think that we should leave them here, at Icerift. We want to keep the castle, don't we? And Vilareth is taken... and we can't really afford to feed them to take them with us."
"That way, the Crusades maintains a military presence in this region, the Vilareth armies get to keep a castle to live in... although they may need to spend some time cleaning it out... Although I don't believe they should have to contend with the bugbears. I think they left."
"I believe the plan was to bypass both of the groups of enemy defenders by using burrow, right? We need to think about whether it will be dangerous to leave the enemies behind us, of course, but if we can we can proceed directly to Drezen, right?" He strokes his chin. There were many problems with dragging so many people around. "Is there any way that we could extend our food supplies by using magic?"
"We have substantial food supplies at Vilareth," says Captain Alkalson. "Enough to survive the winter, though our main supply line hails from Valas' Gift. While I could spare the men to hold this castle, we would need access to our supplies in order to survive," says Ser Jorsal.
"If the plan is to bypass Vilareth entirely, perhaps the prudent thing to do is to split up the army and send the extra men to Millford Castle. Alkalson has a number of civilians also, unfit for marching into the Worldwound."
"But highly fit for setting up a defensive base at Drezen should we succeed at capturing it," says Nurah. "Our scouts indicate that Drezen is largely a tiefling settlement... they'll have at least some untainted food to subsist off of until we can establish a supply line to the south."
"What supply line?" says Ser Ilivan. "Valas' Gift was razed to the ground. Unless someone happens to know of an alternative with surplus food to spare..."
The events of the previous day weighed heavily on Isilme, leaving her feeling worn out. She had spent the previous night near Ledsa and Külə. Feeling terribly, she stumbles over to see Sosiel early in the morning.
"Sosiel," she says, coughing and sweating. "I think this illness is getting the better of me. Do we have anyone with remove disease prepared today?"
Isilme listens as Xanderghul lays out their plans. "We should certainly scout Icerift before we leave. If the wikkawaks are still present it would not be wise to leave anyone here. As far as whether we should leave anyone here, I believe our best bet is to move quickly and with all available forces. We can use the same trick we did in heading towards Mantarin to cut down on travel time to the river and beyond if the snow is a problem."
"If we need to take Vilareth back, then we need to take Vilareth back... I just don't know if I want to take down two more armies before we reach our destination, or even if we have the resources to fight that many times." Xanderghul sighs. "Even as-is, we only have the resources to march non-stop and win every fight. That's not a good margin, I think."
Sosiel immediately looks apologetic. "Oh, Isilme, why didn't you say something earlier?" he says. He raises a hand to his breastplate, focusing on the holy symbol of Shelyn that is engraved there. "By Shelyn's grace, you are life and health - your body as harmonious as your mind," he intones, grasping her shoulder. Isilme feels the disease dissipate from her body.... she is cured!
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Val lets the demon continue talking for a while. His story is almost entrancing, but she can tell he's embellishing and exaggerating his description of the city to a certain degree. Not that she's terribly surprised by that. Once Ayavah finally grows tired of asking questions, she helps her up and escorts her down to their tent. "Do remember that the Horror isn't an unbiased source," she suggests gently. "His stories are likely... idealized, compared to the reality of the place. But I am glad that you're trip has born some fruit now."
Val stays silent at first as the group tries to work out the logistics of the coming march. "What about a hit and run attack? We could hit Vilerath, drive the demons back, then load every piece of food we can carry and fall back. If the demons send more forces to retake the ford, they'll find it abandoned and everything useful removed. Then we march north and follow our original plan to reach Drezen by bypassing the ford and the canyon entirely. It might take an extra day or two, but it would ensure we have enough supplies to feed our troops and cut two fights down to one."
"Doing that might turn the enemy's attention back to Silvershore," Ehren replies grimly, still uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the remaining demon commanders unchecked. "Food and supplies were the reason they went there in the first place. Without our protection, the village will not be able to repel another attack."
"Also, don't forget that Exorius has boats and docks at his disposal. Many of the supplies Captain Alkalson speaks of might have already been transported to Keeper's Canyon."
"Vilareth for supplies might make sense. I believe we should use scrying to see if the fort is currently occupied. If it were not occupied, we might be able to send a few people to bring bag supplies quickly. I agree with avoiding fights overall. If we bypass their remaining forces, they will be less likely to have warning of our approach. Since it seems likely they will expect our approach through keeper's canyon, they will be preparing based on the advanced warning they expect to receive."
Val's suggestion strikes Isilme as an effective compromise should the Ford be garrisoned by demons. "That sounds like a workable plan. And if it is not garrisoned, perhaps Ehren and a couple others could head down to bring back supplies. I imagine if we prepare the two bags of holding, we could bring back significant supplies in one run."
"If you're wondering if this is favorable to being slowly tortured and ripped apart into a minuscule wounded soul fragment of my former self by a sadistic she-b*@+% demi-goddess, then, yes. But I could write books - many books in fact - composed of things that I'd rather be doing now than this or anything that has to do with your grandmother."
Xanderghul sighs, massaging his temple. He was not used to trying to think about managing so many people. "I know that we really ought to conquer the remaining demon commanders in the area. I am just worried about time. Not to mention, the longer we spend not going directly to Drezen, the longer they have to fortify and prepare for us."
"The time it would take is the biggest factor in any plan other than cutting our losses and heading straight for Drezen, but hurrying too much could put us in a worse position," Val agrees.
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It wouldn't do for the commander to be late to her own meeting... but this warranted it, somewhat.
Prior to the meeting, she finds Anevia, and hands her several pieces of parchment, folded multiple times, then hands her one in particular. "I'm going to assign important civilians to the captains within our groups, and I'm going to do so by drawing lots. It is absolutely paramount that Irabeth receive this one. When you get a chance with her alone, let her know that I suspect there is a traitor, but this stays between you and I, otherwise. This is my prime suspect. No one else has had an opportunity to do so little harm, yet act as a direct spy. I may be wrong, but I want the person I trust most to keep an eye on her to do so. Again. No one else is to know."
* * *
As Ary arrives, Anevia follows in tow. "Sorry that I'm late, I've had much to work on. And... very little time to do it in." Anevia immediately sets to work as Ary moves to the table, setting the books down, passing out slips, seemingly at random to each 'captain'.
"I've decided to assign high-importance civilians to each of our captains, to keep everyone safe in the coming days. I'd also like to arrange a buddy-system for all of our soldiers. With the threat of spited Invidiak near, and what lies ahead, I don't want anyone in an important position becoming compromised, and the next leg will be more dangerous than the previous ones. Any strange behavior or deaths of a partner will be scrutinized, given the current threat. To keep things simple, I'm leaving Ayavah with Valaria, Ledsah with Isilme, and so on. Is anyone opposed?"
Assuming that no one objects directly, she continues. "I have a couple of special projects that I'd like to put into place. With dwindling food supplies, we don't have many options. I overheard mention of using giant birds to raid enemy food stores on our way south. That may need to be put on hold for a moment... because I have an idea the enemy couldn't possibly expect. Our plan to dig through the chasm? Why don't we do it from here, instead? it grants us an additional direction to attack from, an additional supply line that the demons need to break in order to keep us threatened, and offers the opportunity to reinforce the northern edges of our territories simultaneously to reinforcing supply lines. It would incorporate one of the few remaining active wardstones this far north into our military plans, instead of leaving it a forlorn outpost. We don't need the Ford or a Bridge with the Green itself on our side, and we have engineers more than capable of securing the passage. That leaves a day, maybe two, before we're upon our enemy.
If we can take the castle quickly from an unexpected direction, then we force the enemy to siege us and we can send out our usual small strike teams -" she nods to Valaria and Hinagiku " - to particular effect in disrupting them from a fortified position - and won't have to deal with the majority of their new fortifications as they'll be pointed the wrong way."
"The next project is to determine the state of Icerift without committing troops immediately. Xander, would you be capable of scouting it out safely? Or does anyone else have another plan or idea we could incorporate?"
Xanderghul nods. "I could scout it out, but it might be better for Ehren do to so. I can render Ehren invisible, and Ehren can wild shape... I can shape-shift as well, but a servant of the Green can be smaller and faster than I ever could coax from an animal body."
Xanderghul shrugs. "Or a gyrfalcon might not attract any attention up here anyway. Right?"
"Unless you need Ehren for burrowing. In that case, I can go. I doubt anyone else here is capable of both invisibility and flight."
"Indeed. I was wanting to do the two in tandem." Ary nods. "We'll need him to lead us across the river, then need him to do the majority of the digging."
Ehren frowns as Anevia passes out the slips, wondering how the idea might have occurred to Ary. Not that it was a bad one - quite the contrary, really - but its implementation seemed sudden. He decides not to ask, figuring that with three shadow demons on the loose, it made sense.
"Keep in mind that the prisoners at Icerift are likely all afflicted with wendigo psychosis. They would be a danger both to us and one another." After a moment, he adds, "To be frank, it is a small miracle that Isilme was able to save Variska. If we are going to rescue the others, we have to be prepared for all the risks. Even just one newborn wendigo would spell doom for all of us."
He looks back to Ary before going on. "That said, the menhir at Icerift was never a wardstone. It pains me to say it, but at the moment I feel that there is little strategic value in holding the castle."
"As for burrowing through the plateau... regardless of our destination, it will be slow going. Every last soldier in the army would have to help clear debris out of the tunnel. I imagine that by the time we emerged, everyone would be positively exhausted by the effort."
Xanderghul nods. "Then I'm all yours. Shouldn't be too difficult to climb and flap my way up there and come back. Just let me know when to go."
When Ehren speaks up, he adds his own voice as well. "While I agree that there's little special about this place, I think it might still be worth keeping, if only because it's a castle that we own now. If we can feed people who stay here, we don't need to take any more castles to keep them safe. It was up here for a reason, after all, and we took it from Arastrax for a reason."
Isilme watches the parchments being handed out at random, but manages to catch Anevia handing a specific one to Irabeth. As she knew and trusted both Anevia and Irabeth implicitly, she suspected that it was likely a choice by Ary.
"In the long term, Icerift is a proper castle as Xanderghul says. Commander Pernegrais's task of securing northern Mendev with a proper castle was the correct one. We will be better off with a garrisoned, well provisioned castle here. Completing it will take time, however."
"As far as the prisoners, I agree with Ehren. When I broke the curse on Variska, I could feel its strength. My Lady Starsong must have smiled upon me then, for I am not certain that I could repeat that feat again. We cannot count on any of them being able to be saved, as much as it pains me to admit that."
"Also, while we are gathered here, I wished to ask a favor Ary. I would like to offer the Barding of Pleated Light we retrieved to Külə. Additionally, I would like to speak with our engineers to see if we can contrive a simple way of preventing his gaze from affecting others accidentally. He will be a valuable companion on our trip going forward, and is eager to help retake Drezen, and he is the most capable of putting the Barding to use."
"In regards to heading to Drezen. I believe we might still be able to raid Vilareth today. Assuming we head out immediately and begin burrowing as soon as possible, the digging itself will be completed long before the day is over. Once Ehren has completed the burrowing, the engineers could take over clearing the rubble and preparing the ramp while the army makes camp around it. Then we would be free to attempt a quick raid on Vilareth for supplies while that happens."
Ehren perks up slightly when he hears Isilme's request regarding Külə. He still felt bad about condoning the unicorn's death, but he also didn't fully trust him. Not that he had gone out of his way to speak with him since they met on the battlefield. I'll need to change that, if we are to fight alongside each other.
"Hm. What would a raid entail, exactly? This is a fortification we are talking about, not a war camp. I don't see how we could take any supplies without a confrontation with Grueblox's forces."
Lieutenant Irabeth nods. "Understood, Commander. The captains will set up a system of accountability among the troops to help prevent demonic possession before we disembark."
"Shadow demons do not have access to one's memories..." Ser Jorsal says. His long enslavement is still fresh on his mind, clearly. He takes a breath to recenter himself before continuing, "A simple password system to verify you are still you can suffice."
Aron raises an eyebrow at Isilme's sudden brilliance at engineering. "Er... yes. She's right. Given.." He turns to the large strategic map of northern Mendev, and pulls out a compass, measuring distances. "Hmm... if we left immediately, we could finish the dig by sundown, assuming we commit most of our men. Then 2 days march to Drezen."
Captain Alkalson nods. "I like the idea of getting food from my fort before leaving. We have a lot of mouths to feed, and while we could start halving rations, the march into the Worldwound will be taxing for our morale. Many of our men are still green, and are not prepared for the horrors that await us there. The very land and skies are cursed." He looks to Ehren. "The fort has a large granary towards the eastern side of the encampment. If one has extradimensional storage, you could smuggle quite a bit of food, if you are careful," he reasons, more learned than your typical crusader captain.
"I don't know if digging our way there is wise," says Nurah. "It leaves two large military presences at our back. We would be vulnerable to a flank maneuever."
"But, the Commander has a good point - if Vhane thinks we are coming from the Canyon, he will build fortifications in that direction. There is much to be gained from a surprise attack," counters Irabeth.
Even a Raelis forgets things sometimes, as is evident when Isilme looks confused for a moment. "Ah Yes... Grueblox... That is a valid point. While we might still be able to approach using invisibility. If the granary is accessible from outside we might be able to pull it off. It would certainly be a great risk, however."
"While it is possible they could flank us from behind, Nurah, it would be fairly trivial to conceal the path we used up onto the plateau. Once done, it would be nearly impossible for them to follow us. Furthermore, they are unlikely to move out from their fortifications, as they are not expecting us to bypass them at all. Thus far the demons have shown no inclination to scout out our movements. As is always the case with demons and their worshippers, they are overly smug and confident in their superiority. I see no reason to expect them to change that behavior."
"Oh?" Ehren responds, genuinely surprised and slightly embarrassed that his concern was practically a nonissue. It was hardly anything to complain about. "Well, if that's the case, I think I could carry a few people there. If we do it at night, while the army is camping, I'd still be able clear a path through the snow as a fire elemental during the march."
For a moment Ehren considers objecting to the tunneling plan for what would feel like the hundredth time, but he ultimately decides to drop it. He did have one caveat, however.
"If we are fully committing to burrowing through the plateau, then I would like to at least alert Silvershore of Grueblox's presence. That way, should the worst happen, they would be prepared to flee." He grimaces, only able to hope that typical Kellid stubbornness would not prevail if things came to that.
"I only hope that they'll listen." Ary agrees with Ehren. "I'm not saying that this is our best option, and I fully understand everyone's concerns. But it's the least expected option, and any opportunity that we have to surprise the demons is an opportunity to break their ranks a little. They should have difficulty working together in the first place, and then when you apply having to quickly react to new orders..." she trails off for a moment.
"If it were realistically possible to take out the remaining warlord without risk to our mission, I would gladly do so. But, frankly, I've already endangered this mission a dozen times over by using our troops for such things. We've come out the other side of each stronger and with a better position, but I feel I would be testing Desna's good graces if I pressed our luck any further in that regard."
"I don't like the idea of a flank any more than anyone else. That's why we'll have to hit Drezen hard and fast. As we've said before, we can't afford a siege in the World Wound."
She pauses, and looks to Ehren, eyeing his crown. "Any late night flights would require a lot of planning and effort, and be limited to you and two-or-three others. Who do you think would be ideal for the raid on food?" she asks, looking to Isilme, given that it seemed to be at least partially her idea.
"As for the pleated light... I'm uncertain. But it isn't mine to give in the first place. I don't know of any other claims to it, though."
Lieutenant Irabeth glances between Ehren and Ary once before speaking up. "Alright. Then all that is left is for us to ready to march. Captains, you have your orders - lets get moving, daylight is burning!" She sheathes her sword and follows Nurah out of the tent. "Nurah, one moment, can I ask you something?" she asks, before she walks out of earshot.
The captains leave the command tent to attend to their tasks. Ser Jorsal follows Xanderghul before he leaves. "Be safe," he says, bidding him farewell.
After Xanderghul leaves, Sosiel approaches Ary. "Commander, I have readied the restoration spell, as requested. Who requires my aid?"
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"A password system is the simplest means to verify that no one's been taken over, but there are other risks, especially with the mining ahead. As for worrying about the enemy coming through the top, we should be able to leave that last little bit until morning, meaning half-an-hour to an hour of work and we're all rested up, perhaps. I'm uncertain as to how wise it would be. Do we think it wise to try to use the excess material to make the river more easily forded at this point? Do we think that would do any lasting damage to the local wildlife?" she asks of Ehren as people begin to make their way out of the tent.
"I believe, loosely, we determined Isilme is the most affected by our enemies - and friends." she says, wryly. "Is anyone opposed to that?" Ary asks, looking to the others.
The West Sellen is fed by melting ice from the Rimethirst mountains. Any extra material added to the ford will be washed away come spring time during the thaw.
Val takes a moment to repeat her friend's words in her head to make sure she's followed the conversation correctly. "I never thought I'd be wishing I'd paid more attention to father's lessons on leadership." She takes a second moment to think over everything they've gone over. "I think the benefits of a surprise approach outweigh the risks, but we should make sure our rearguard is strong and that our path is very difficult, if not impossible to follow, just to be sure. And yes, I believe Isilme is suffering the worst, though everyone still suffering lingering effects isn't much better off."
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Xanderghul takes out the packet of diamond dust that they'd found in Ugmitok's lair, parcels out a fifth of it, and hands it over to Sosiel so that he can complete the restorations on Isilme. He was happy that the others had listened to his recommendations... correct as they were.
At the word that it was time for him to ascend the mountain, he begins by warding himself against the weather. Then, he simply begins hiking up the mountain. It shouldn't be much of a hike for him to make it within eyeshot of the castle itself, and that should be a good way to gauge whether there are bugbears up there. He was sure that the bugbears would be leaving, although since it had only been a day, he supposes that it's possible that they're still up there. If he doesn't see any guards atop the walls, he'll walk up to the front gate and waltz straight in.
Xanderghul simply hikes up the mountain. It's a pretty decent hike, uphill, in the snow, after having been spoiled by Ehren's magic the previous day it is noticeable how much slower the ascent is. After about 45 minutes, he reaches the top. He doesn't see any guards on the walls, or on the skywalks, though he notices the deep footprints of many polar bears in the area. He simply walks up to the ruined, front gates.
As he approaches, he hears a low muttering.
'What? What? What's going on? Joshua? Joshua? Why? Why? Stop! Please, please stop! Why are you doing this? Why?'
'Lord Pernigrais! Lord Pernigrais! Where are you? We need to leave this damned place... oh gods... the howling... the howling, where is it coming from? Why?"
"Hm." says Xanderghul, stopping where he is. He was fairly certain at this point that there were no bugbears up here. It would be difficult, after all, for them to coexist with such a dangerous incorporeal creature. It begs the thought... is there anything worth discovering up here?
Might it be worth it to fight the allips? There seemed to be at least two, which probably means a pretty significant expenditure of resources on Xanderghul's part, as he isn't equipped to fight solo today. Maybe... three spells, maybe more. He creeps forward slowly, ready for anything. He crouches down, picks up a rock, and then tosses it at the gates, hoping to make a sound. Then, he renders himself invisible with a quick incantation and a flourishing arcane gesture.
Two whirling masses of shadows manifest in the air, boiling and writhing like foam in a cooking pot. Their skeletal maws eerily babble semi-coherently as their claws manifest from the darkness. The two allips float around languidly in the direction of Xanderghul's thrown rock, seemingly oblivious to his nearby presence.
With the meeting over, Hinagiku silently leaves the tent, her mind as usually lost in the sheer amount of information and planning. Although she knew she was now able to better understand what transpired during the meetings, she was still a long way from being able to fully participate.
Now back into the cold, she raises her head and look at the frigid blue sky above, remembering the few bits of the meeting she had understood. She was glad that the wikkawak’s prisoners had not been forgotten. That, if they still lived, there was a chance they might be rescued. Though glad for this, she had been… disappointed… by Ehren’s comment about the menhir. His words had pierced her pool of inner calm, stirring emotions she had long forgotten. Worst was, if it had been anyone else, it wouldn’t have affected her, and she knew that. Shaking away the thoughts, Hinagiku remember something… well remembers having forgotten… who was it she had been paired with. Turning around, she enters back into the command tent.
”Captain Irabeth, with all the talk going around, I seem to have forgotten who my… buddy… is. Do you still have the papers?”
'Okay, okay... I need to do this quick...'
Xanderghul creeps in closer, closer... and then unleashes a powerful shout by surprise against the two tortured ghosts! His improved spellcraft allows him to maintain his invisibility this time, for the first time. He is counting on that to protect him. His cactus ring crackles and shifts, still living, fueling his spell.
The shout spell blasts over the startled ghosts. They turn around, seeking blindly for the source of the spell... though it is ultimately in vain.... they have no idea where he is.
Xanderghul is up!
---
Irabeth smiles gently at Hinagiku. "If you did not get a slip of paper, then the Commander must not need you to watch over one of the civilians. You should ask her who should be assigned to you to be your partner, to protect us against possession in the night, though. Perhaps Annabelle would be a good choice?"
Xanderghul frowns, displeased with the effect of his spell - the first piece of evidence that this is a poor idea. No, not the first. He does some quick cost-benefit analysis... and then simply turns and retreats, making sure to go slowly.